Ontario's green subsidies under attack
Democracy Imperiled?
Ahmadinejad Presses His Luck
Do You Need a Chinese Bank Account?
The progressive “climate of hate:” An illustrated primer, 2000-2010
Subject: Who’s Afraid of Sarah Palin?
The National Council of Churches Should Have Died
We Beg to Differ
Virginia Creates Subcommittee To Study Monetary Alternatives In Case Of Terminal Fed "Breakdown", Considers Gold As Option
Mortality statistics: every cause of death in England and Wales
Comprehensive List of Tax Hikes in Obamacare
“Together We Thrive”: Slogan From Tucson Massacre Memorial Souvenir T-Shirts Appeared on Obama’s “Organizing For America” Website in 2008…
The Next (Jewish) Miss America?
World's Craziest Toilet Bowls
Boy, 9, has Disney World trip ruined after US immigration rules him a threat
Tunisia riots: more protests threatened as President Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia
Could Britain be heading for a crash?
British Army bomb disposal team breaks record
Russia launches arms race with new intercontinental ballistic missile
Russia slams Britain over alleged Kremlin spy
Kazakh parliament votes through referendum extending President's rule until 2020
Kuwait minister offers to quit over torture death
Australia floods: journey to the epicentre
Woman pleasures herself in train – other passengers not amused
Court orders workers to wear bras
Man shouts 'bomb, bomb' on plane, creates panic
Saturday, 15 January 2011
News..........
Want to know why oil will hit $100 a barrel?
Model of Deliberative Democracy: Gabrielle Giffords
During my first few days of the semester this week I was afforded an unusual opportunity to engage in a discussion on "deliberative democracy," the theme of my textbook, from Joseph Bessette and John Pitney, American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy, and Citizenship. And as announced by the publisher, a key element of the the text is the focus on "thoughtful, selfless consideration of issues and on civic participation as essential components of good citizenship."
And it strikes me that while the "deliberative democracy" model outlined there is often quite idealistic, we do have many role models for the kind of elevated politics to which the model aspires. And while I'm about as partisan as they come, I noticed immediately that Gabrielle Giffords was a different kind of Democrat, a moderate "Blue Dog" with strong credentials on security and border control. So it's interesting that today's Los Angeles Times features a background report on Congresswoman Giffords stressing these key points, "Arizonans Praise Giffords as Politician Who Tried to Remain Above the Democrat-Republican Divide":
Outside the Tucson office of gravely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the well-wishers bearing crumpled notes and pink roses are emblematic of the breadth of her support.There's more at the link.
They are tattooed college students and flannel-clad construction workers. They are retirees who clutch their canes and weep. Giffords is Jewish, yet many leave candles depicting the Virgin Mary. Giffords is a Democrat, yet many are Republicans.
"I saw her as a voice of reason. In Arizona, they're real hard to find," said Sharon Baker, a 63-year-old Republican whose face fell at the sight of the cluster of red and blue balloons, greeting cards and stuffed animals.
In a state known for rhetoric gone wild, Arizonans are mourning more than Saturday's shooting, which killed six people and left Giffords battling a traumatic brain injury. The gunman's actions have, for the moment, silenced a rare voice of calm amid the political cacophony.
"She appealed to everyone and that's what we need. We need to elect more Gabby Giffordses," said Laura Walls, 47, a personal trainer who visited the roadside tribute this week. She voted for Giffords' "tea party" rival in November.
And I don't want to downplay partisan differences too much here. Rep. Giffords supported progressives on both ObamaCare and cap-and-trade (the one-time hot Democrat prioriorty item), but she certainly appeared as genuinely interested the process of governing itself --- and she has served as an especially dedicated representative of her constituents. And I admit to having a soft spot for her, given that she voted against Nancy Pelosi as the House Minority Leader.
I'll have more on Gabrielle Giffords in the days and weeks ahead. God bless her.
(The interview above is from January 7th, the day before she was shot --- i.e., her most recent television appearance.)
Cross-posted from American Power.
Friday, 14 January 2011
Tucson Shooting Survivor Claims Palin, Beck, and Angle 'Got Their First Target'
At communist Amy Goodman's Democracy Now!, "Tucson Shooting Survivor: 'It Looks Like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the Rest Got Their First Target'." (Via Memeorandum.)
CROSS-POSTED from AMERICAN POWER.
RELATED: At Politico, "Tucson shooting victim blames Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Sharron Angle," and Jammie Wearing Fool, "Tucson Shooting Survivor Blood Libels Palin, Boehner, Beck and Angle."
Harvard Professor Jill Lepore Links Tucson Massacre to Tea Party 'Constitution Worship'
See, "Harvard's Jill Lepore Ties Jared Loughner to Tea Party 'Constitution Worship'."
And breaking developments throughout the evening at American Power.
RELATED: At The Other McCain, "How to Talk to a Follower of the Zeitgeist Cult (If You Must)."
Disconnect: The Liberal Left is As Sick as Jared Loughner...........from Dan Friedman
By now, many of us have already realized a byline in the NY Times or a handsome face on Face The Nation indicates neither expertise nor a balanced state of mind. Instead, it’s often a calling card for consuming jaundice and intellectual depravity. So if anything good can possibly come out of this tragedy then it will be the average American’s further alienation from the influence of the sickos who populate the elitist liberal media.
An F/A-18C Hornet launches from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 8, 2011. The Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing 17 are deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. The hornet is assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 25. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Nicolas C. Lopez
H/T Marc
News............
Global Warming Hoax Weekly Round-Up, Jan.13
Why the sheriff of pima county is a cynical, disingenuous, duplicitous and deceitful political hack
Rush Speaks on the Left’s Unbridled Hatred for Sarah Palin (Video)
Great Democrat Memorials Past: Clinton's Tear for Ron Brown, 1996
Quotable Montana Tech Football Coach Retires
Obama team to evaluate new gun control proposals
Too Asian! Too Asian! The Dying have just killed Multiculturalism
Racing to Be Wrong
Chinese spend big on Belgian racing pigeons
With fox hunts outlawed, English hunt people
Technician in Israel is producing alternative energy harvesting system
Fox Bites Off Woman's Finger
EU sends out £4.4m diaries to schools which list Muslim, Chinese and Hindu holidays... but miss out Christmas and Easter
Immigration is too high, say four in five Britons
Now 300 dead birds fall from the sky in Alabama (how much longer can scientists keep saying this is normal?)
Tunisia riots: Reform or be overthrown, US tells Arab states amid fresh riots
Australia floods: residents warned against entering flooded suburbs
Fox 'shoots hunter' in Belarus
Burmese prison inmates 'used as human mine sweepers'
How can we feed 9 billion?
Roast beef and a pirate chaser
Iran arms smuggling details to be disclosed
Illegal Immigration: Shutting the Back Door to Fortress Europe
and finally......
Still running on empty... just by little Jimmy May
6 really messed up origins of classic fairy tales
A Gallery of Movie Posters from a Parallel Universe
"Blood Libel" For Dummies...........from Dan Friedman
Origins: Classic anti-Semitic canard that Jews use Christian blood to make Passover matzo. Since Passover and Easter are close to each other on the calendar, the blood libel was a big favorite among Christian clergy who repeated it in sermons during Easter mass in order to incite their flock to pogrom against Jews on their way out of church.
Today: Still crazy after all these years, but has come to have a broader meaning. A false accusation that someone’s speech, conduct, politics, analogies, opinions, tone of voice, lipstick - and now graphics - has led to the shedding of blood by a totally zoned out third party who couldn’t tell a Republican from a hot dog bun. Big favorite among desperate liberals and the Left who repeat the nonsense in sermons in the New York Times and on MSNBC in order to incite their dwindling flocks to pump up flagging circulation, credibility, influence and ratings.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
9 Year-Old Christina Taylor Green Laid to Rest
At LAT, "Funeral Held for Christina Green, 9-Year-Old Victim of Tucson Shooting":
PREVIOUSLY: "Christina Taylor Green (Profiles of the Arizona Shooting Victims)."The U.S. flag that flew atop the World Trade Center is displayed at the service for Christina Taylor Green, who was born on Sept. 11, 2001. 'I felt I had to be here to pay my respects,' says a mourner outside the church.
Less than a week after the deadly mass shooting that left six dead and 13 injured, Tucson began to bury the dead on Thursday.
The first funeral from Saturday's shooting was for the youngest victim, Christina Taylor Green, a 9-year-old girl who was born on Sept. 11, 2001, the day of the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
The U.S. flag that flew atop the World Trade Center was displayed at the funeral, linking the two tragedies that served as parentheses enclosing the brief span of the child who has become a symbol of how violence can shatter a life.
Hundreds of mourners lined the roadway leading to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church, where the funeral began at 1 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Many wore white and carried a single rose.
"I felt I had to be here to pay my respects," said David Johnson, 38, of Phoenix. "It was something I felt really strongly about. It hits really close to home."
According to the program, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas led the service, a Mass of resurrection. Readings included Psalm 23 and John 14:1-6.
The University of Arizona choir performed as did a piper, who played "Amazing Grace."The front of the program had a picture of a smiling Christina wearing a tiara. On the back were the lyrics to Billy Joel's "Lullaby," with its haunting lyric, "Good night my angel, now it's time to sleep."
RELATED: "Why Progressives Lost It."
CROSS-POSTED from American Power.
Top Ten Things We Can't Say Anymore
According to the Dept. of Homeland Security the following words, phrases and idioms are henceforth verboten:
1. Target audience
2. The movie bombed
3. I have a question. “Shoot!”
4. Attack ad
5. He shot his big mouth off
6. Over my dead body!
7. Annie get your gun
8. Bullets over Broadway
9. Killer app
10. I almost died laughing
H/T Dan
Krauthammer: Palin's Statement on Tucson 'Unfortunate and Unnecessary'
Charles Krauthammer responds to Jewish criticisms of Sarah Palin's use of the term "blood libel."
He mainly laments that Palin gave the speech at all. Sure, it might be a sensitive issue given that Gabrielle Giffords is Jewish, and she's fighting for her life while the rest of the nation debates allegations of "blood libel"? I'm personally not bothered by the use of the term as it's applied to the libelous attacks on Palin and tea party conservatives. Frankly, Glenn Reynolds' essay at WSJ the other day has been one of the most penetrating: "The Arizona Tragedy and the Politics of Blood Libel." Harvard's Alan Dershowitz vigorously defended Palin today. And Joe Weisenthal at Business Insider writes that "Sarah Palin has finally weighed in with a long, thoughtful reaction to the Arizona tragedy and all the talk that it was somehow the result of 'heated rhetoric'." There's still lots more up on this at Memeorandum, but see the Los Angeles Times, "Sarah Palin Video on Giffords Aftermath Stays True to Who Palin Is":
The video had elements of a presidential-level address, with an American flag featured prominently in the frame. Palin spoke in a calm tone — noticeably different from her rousing "mama grizzly" style during last year's election campaign — about the democratic process and the need to condemn violence "if the republic is to endure." She appealed for a common response to the tragedy, saying, "We need strength to not let the random acts of a criminal turn us against ourselves, or weaken our solid foundation, or provide a pretext to stifle debate."More at the link.
She released the video on the same day that President Obama traveled to Arizona to speak at a memorial service, and won a position opposite the president on many news outlets. By comparison, potential GOP candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee this week issued statements on the shootings that went largely unnoticed.
Ken Khachigian, a former speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Reagan and a longtime GOP strategist in California, said he was struck by Palin's bearing in the video, saying he thought the former vice presidential nominee "appeared more grown-up."
"She captured some of what she did at the [Republican] convention in '08," he said. "She was more conversational, more dignified."
In her message, Palin did not refer directly to accusations that her use last year of a map showing Giffords' Arizona district, among others, targeted in crosshairs helped foster a climate of violence. Instead, she said, "After this shocking tragedy, I listened at first puzzled, then with concern and now with sadness to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event."
The resulting "blood libel" serves "only to incite the hatred and violence that they purport to condemn," she said. "That is reprehensible."
Jewish groups and others reacted swiftly, saying Palin had associated her political plight with centuries of anti-Semitic behavior. A "blood libel" is a term that dates back to the Middle Ages, when Jewish people were accused of using the blood of Christians in religious rituals.
"Palin's comments either show a complete ignorance of history or blatant anti-Semitism," said Jonathan Beeton, a spokesman for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who, like Giffords, is Jewish. "Either way, it shows an appalling lack of sensitivity given Rep. Giffords' faith and the events of the past week."
But Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz, commenting Wednesday on the Big Government website operated by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, defended Palin's use of the term.
"There is nothing improper and certainly nothing anti-Semitic in Sarah Palin using the term to characterize what she reasonably believes are false accusations that her words or images may have caused a mentally disturbed individual to kill and maim," Dershowitz said.
And previously: "The Great Communicator: Sarah Palin Calls Out Despicable 'Blood Libel'."
And also Instapundit here and here.
Cross-posted from American Power.
From Ireland-President Obama's First Campaign Song for 2012
Corrigan Brothers the Irish band who have amassed over 7 million YouTube hits and charted all over the world with their 2008 hit "There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama" are back with a 2012 version of the song. Lead singer Gerard Corrigan explained "we received a number of calls from our American friends to think about updating the song for 2012 so we did just that. The band have had a very busy three years since their first hit, they have toured the USA, racked up over 40 tv appearances around the world and played at President Obama's inauguration. This new version of the song has already seen them invited to many campaign events later this year. Canon Stephen Neill and President Obama's cousin Henry Healy will join the brothers for a recording of a new video in Oliie Hayes's pub in Moneygall in early February. Lead singer Gerard Corrigan said, "we can't wait to get back to Moneygall and strut our stuff with the Obama dancers. We hope that the wonderful researcher Megan Smolenyak will also join us for an Irish Hooley! Our ambition is to play the song for President Obama when he finally visits his ancestral home in Moneygall Ireland”
Editors Note: When the Corrigan's first asked me to help with the original song how was I to know the idiot would beat Hillary to the White House. However they are a great band and I will continue to support them despite the politics.
Here is another of their songs
American Dream
Uploaded by wellywanger
You can buy their brilliant album HERE
Movie Review: The Last Exorcism (2010)
Short Review: Now if we could only exorcise these Blair Witch Project knock-off pseudo-documentaries from the industry.
Full Review Here
Video: The Water Brothers - HD Teaser
The Water Brothers is a T.V. series that will be airing on TVO in the Fall of 2011, about two young eco-adventurer brothers who travel the world to explore humans relationship with water. What are the problems and where will the solutions come from? The next generation takes us on the search.
