Seething in a Cauldron of Hate

Christmas Day was an interesting time for those of us reading in the political corners of the blogs, Facebook and Twitter.  As most of you know I follow an equal number of Conservatives and Progressives/Liberals on Twitter and in my reading of blogs.  I work hard to do this as I feel it's important to get both points of view.

While my observations are merely anecdotal and not scientific, they startled me greatly.  Progressives and Liberals posted Tweets filled with hate and vitriol all day Christmas.  It was sad and disturbing to see and read.  Regularly posted were hate filled condemnations of Republicans,the Tea Party and, especially mocking or outright condemning Christians.

Meanwhile the conservatives all were posting greetings of love, cheer, blessings and Holiday Joy! Conservative posts contained pictures of family and friends, Christmas Trees and Holiday anecdotes.

I don;t understand the hate.  Seriously, I don't know why so many Liberals are consumed in hate.  It just can't be healthy.

The hate is so all encompassing, it prevents even remotely logical thought.  It becomes an obsession.  Witness this terribly sad example of hate filled insanity from Joy Reid on MSNBC.  She hates Sarah Palin so much she felt obligated to file an astonishing piece of complete nonsense about Palin's anti-biblical worship of.... Christmas Trees!  As you watch this short clip notice Sarah Palin was talking about Family Love.  Shere never once mentions Christmas Trees.  That didn't stop Reid.

 

I know Reid hoped to illustrate some flaw in Sarah Palin, perhaps Biblical hypocrisy, but she sailed way off the mark into sea waters of stunning stupidity. Only sheer hatred can take you this far off course.

Compare Palin's Chirstmas Greeting with Michelle Obama's wonderful White House tour of the many Christmas Trees found throughout the Obama Home and Nation's Capitol.  You'll notice immediately how Sarah Palin's message and Michelle Obam's message are virtually IDENTICAL!! Yet Joy Reid's hate and vitriol are reserved only for Sarah Palin.

 

It is interesting to note that no Christmas Tree was ever displayed in the White House until 1856 when President Franklin Pierce, a Democrat from New Hampshire, installed the very first White House Christmas Tree. The move was incredibly unpopular. There was even talk of impeachment for President Pierce for allowing a pagan German tradition into the White House.

It is the ultimate irony that Joy Reid is condemning Palin for following a tradition started by a open minded Democrat President.

With Love & Affection to All The Sarah Palin Haters Out There

I have many friends and readers who really, really, really, really dislike Sarah Palin.  Their dislike is so intense it can only be called hate.  Their view of Sarah is colored by this intense hatred so deeply they actually are unable to even understand what she says, writes or believes.

To make matters much, much worse, they actually do believe they understand her.  They believe she is a grandstanding, money grubbing, fool and everything she says and does is strictly for her own profit. They simultaneously believe she is a bumbling fool and a Machiavellian genius and they see no conflict in these opposing views.

They are all horribly wrong.  She is neither.  She actually is a bright, thoughtful conservative voice and her words and opinions bear thoughtful review.  She speaks for millions of Americans, Americans who understand her perfectly.  And these people are no fools, either.

You need not agree with her to appreciate her talent, her wisdom and her eloquence.  As Liberals we ought to be impressed and consider her words carefully, not casually dismiss and deride her.

The above post from her Facebook Page bears a lot of thought, for she is spot on correct.

This post was in response to Melissa Harris-Perry's now famous MSNBC spot   I'm a huge Melissa Harris-Perry fan and watch her show whenever possible.  Harris-Perry's primary point in her ad was that we need to invest in our children's education and we most certainly need to do just that.  Here is the infamous Harris-Perry Ad:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

But the underlying message Ms Harris-Perry made misunderstands the very fabric of American Society.  And many American's reacted very negatively to the Orwellian Animal Farm Group Think Collective Ms Harris-Perry seemed to advocate.  I know I reacted negatively and I'm a Harris-Perry fan!

Sarah Palin's response at the very top of this page is nothing short of brilliant.  Sadly, I'm willing to bet not one of my Liberal Friends will even get Palin's point, but they'll be quick to claim Palin missed Harris-Perry's point.  Such is the sad state of dialog in our country today.

Why Romney Lost

There is no point in writing a post telling you why Romney lost because I've already spent an entire year telling you why Romney would lose.  And he lost for the exact reasons I already have posted.

November 18, 2011 - Why Mitt Can't Win

February 19, 2012 - Mitt Romney Can't Win

July 18, 2012 - Dear Mr Romney

September 18, 2012 - NOT BREAKING NEWS: Mitt Romney Can't Win

September 28, 2012 - Why Mitt Romney Must Win and Why Mitt Romney Will Lose

November 1, 2012 - Obama is a Lock for an Eight Year failed Presidency

But there are a couple of new points I can add.

My first point is that President Obama waged a brilliant campaign.  Many now say his 2012 campaign will be studied for years to come. He had everything working against him from high unemployment to exploding national debt to a Watergate caliber scandal (Benghazi) that would have easily sunk any other President.

But he ran a text book campaign including the key act of defining the opponent in May and June before the opponent has a chance to define himself.  Romney was quickly defined as an elitist, out of touch, business CEO, a multi-millionaire who genuinely had no regard at all for the lower classes.

Meanwhile Romney also ran a textbook campaign: but his was the textbook about how to lose!  Romney never responded to a single attack in a timely manner.  After playing four quarters of defense, he then tried to run out the clock.

My second point comes from a genuinely great analysis of voter turnout in Real Clear Politics today: The Case of the Missing White Voters by Sean Trende.  Trende points out that minority turnout equaled Obama's first election in 2008.  It had been expected minority turnout would drop.  What did drop and drop dramatically was white middle class turnout.  Had Mitt Romney simply got the votes John McCain and Sarah Palin got in 2008, he would have won.

Obama's ground game was superb.  He got his vote out. And by successfully turning off the middle class voters with his negative defining of Mitt Romney, potential Romney voters stayed home.  

Romney's ground game was, well, pathetic.  He counted on "enthusiasm" instead of a real get-out-the-vote effort.  The Republican Party is also largely to blame.  There are real lessons to be learned here.

But there is also a lesson about enthusiasm.  Romney never got people excited.  And he failed to use the single most powerful weapon in his (potential) arsenal, Sarah Palin, until it was too late.

Palin should have been the keynote speaker at the convention.  Certainly not the traitor Chris Christie, who gave a lackluster speech that was all about Chris Christie.  And Palin should have been on the road.  

To her credit Sarah Palin was on Romney's side to the very end and, when finally asked, recorded robo-calls for Romney.  It was way too little, way too late.

But that's not Romney's style. In fact, Romney has no style. Therein lies the entire problem.

Dear Mr. Romney....

Of course it's unlikely Mitt Romney will ever read this blog or my rather blunt "letter" to him, but here goes......

Dear Mr. Romney,

I read news reports daily about the "Sarah Palin Controversy."  It seems you or someone on your staff believes it would be unwise for Mrs. Palin to have a speaking role at the August Republican Convention in Tampa.  At this point the news is a dull roar, but it's not going away and it's getting louder daily.

I could easily make a case that snubbing Sarah Palin is a serious mistake because her supporters are so loyal and their support is so critical to your success. But I'm guessing your large and well paid staff have analyzed this factor and believe the benefits of her presence are outweighed by the liabilities, whatever those liabilities might be.

So my point today concerns another big factor in your potential success.  I'll summarize it in two parts.  Number ONE, the mainstream media really prefers President Barack Obama and their reports will be slanted against you throughout the convention.  There is nothing you can do about this, it's a fact of life in American Politics.

But, Number TWO, the media really, really loves controversy.  And snubbing Palin is just the raw meat the media craves.  I believe that, by leaving Palin on the sidelines, the convention will actually become ALL PALIN, ALL THE TIME.  She'll get massive amounts of media coverage, interviews and more.  Your messages will be drowned out by an error you can easily avoid right now.  

Invite her and give her a prominent speaking role and she'll electrify the base.  Omit her and she'll be the ghost that haunts your convention every night.

I know there are ill feelings between you and the former Governor.  She has been critical of you on more than one occasion.  But it is actually that criticism that gives her so much credibility among the base.  Embrace her and that all that credibility will flow over to you.

Sincerely,

Bob Keller,

Wizard Extraordinaire 

Disorganized, Dispondent Republicans Are Not Ready for Victory

I really regret that I haven't had the time to address many of the important issues swirling around our nation over these last few weeks. I appreciate all of you who stop by here daily only to find the nest empty. I am humbled by your loyalty.

There are three points that deserve to be discussed and I've decided to cover them in three separate blog entries over the next three days.

First, in what will be the shortest entry, I'm going to take just a couple of paragraphs to discuss the sorry state of the Republican Party. This ought to be really short.

Al Gore wrote to me today (along with about ten million other Democrats and liberal leaning folks). What former Vice President Gore wanted, of course, was money for the Democrat Party. But he did make a really important observation.

Dear Robert, (Good old Al always calls me Robert) I've seen it happen. In 1992, Democrats had finally regained the White House and had control of Congress. Everything was in place to bring about historic change. But in 1994 - just two years later - the Republicans surged back, capturing the Senate and the House. As a result, every bit of progress was a struggle, and Republicans blocked many important initiatives entirely. We can't let it happen again, but history is not on our side. In all but three midterm elections since the Civil War, the president's party has lost seats.

Good old Al is right. If one party controls both Houses of Congress and the Presidency it is likely the opposing party will take some of that power back. It happens for a variety of reasons: buyer's remorse, desire for a balance of power, and a re-energized opposition.

This year, for reasons I will discuss thoroughly in my third blog entry, Republicans should really gain ground. The mistakes President Obama and the Democrats are making are huge and potentially devastating to the country. But the Republicans may not be able to pick up the pieces.

In 1994 Republicans had a secret weapon: Newt Gingrich. Gingrich was probably the brightest and most able member of the House of Representatives in our generation. And he was organized and had a superb marketing plan. He capitalized on Clinton's mistakes and energized the party and, ultimately, the nation.

Today there is no Newt Gingrich, not even the badly tarnished and out of power Gingrich himself.

Although we Democrats are wasting our time, energy, intelligence and credibility attacking Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, neither of these people, nor any of the other talking heads are leading the Republican party or speaking for the Republican party. And potential leaders like Governor Mark Sanford are self destructing.

In the House and Senate there is literally no leadership with even marginal credibility. A few are captive of far right Christian groups bent on repealing the laws of Evolution, others lack the charisma to capture the imagination of the populace.

So while my close personal buddy Al is right, history favors the Republicans, there is no cohesive group able to capitalize on this historic opportunity.

That is a shame and I'll explain why in part three.

Mechanical Issues

I want to apologize for the lengthy delay between posts and the very brief post today. The major reason for the delay is a very difficult work schedule primarily caused by our tough economic conditions. I am reminded daily just how pathetically poor the Obama/Pelosi stimulus package really is. Make no mistake about it, our government has failed us badly in this current crisis.

I also have some minor computer problems that have limited my ability to post. These will be corrected very soon. It is interesting to note that tonight's post is actually being made on an iPhone!

I have three short observations to make tonight. First, and by far the most important, is to simply note that the absolute greatest strength of our democracy was illustrated by last weeks back to back speeches by President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney. Such an open, honest, articulate debate couldn't happen anywhere else. And it was all so civil and peaceful and gentlemanly. Regardless of your position on the issues presented, it was a moment that should have made us all proud.

Second, I applaud and endorse President Obama's nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Republicans will bluster, but look for a speedy confirmation. By the way, if any of you happened to witness Rachel Maddow's silly Whiskey Sour analogy, it was spot on correct (but still silly).

Finally, President Obama's cuts in missile defense are stupid and extremely dangerous. It is moments like this that I wish Alaska Governor Sarah Palin were Vice President (or President). Not only would we have a stronger, better and more intelligent defense program, we would have had a real and effective stimulus program.

A Voice in the Wilderness

This is a relatively short post stating something I believe ought to be obvious. I'm going to emphasize the need for a strong, well tested and fully deployed missile defense system.

After the successful test of a multi-stage rocket by North Korea and the strong likelihood this delivery system will end up in the hands of Iran, it is absolutely certain we will need a missile defense system in the next few years. If we are not prepared to face the ultimate test from a renegade state, thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocent people will perish.

But I am going to digress for a few very important paragraphs before I finish this argument in favor of the continued funding of a missile defense system. I will be quoting Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska and former candidate for Vice President of the United States. In quoting Governor Palin I am fully endorsing her position on this issue. But I feel a stronger statement about Sarah Palin is important.

I've been reading with ever increasing disgust bordering on horror, the continuous, hateful and moronic attacks on Sarah Palin. Most are simply stupid, based on ignorance, hate, rumors, spin and outright lies about Mrs. Palin or her family. Virtually none are based on any real facts.

So I want to simply state the following. I am a huge fan of Sarah Palin. I find her to be refreshing, honest, gracious, kind, warm hearted, bright, brave and genuinely gifted. I would be proud to have her as a Governor, a Vice President or as President. And I am totally confident she would do an excellent job in any position.

I disagree with Mrs. Palin on many, many issues. I would be part of the loyal opposition on several important matters facing our country today and in the future. But, with Sarah Palin, I would be confident these matters would be weighed thoughtfully and good decisions would be reached by someone who had the best interests of our nation in her heart.

I find it tragic that many of my fellow Democrats and Liberals just cast a few clever hate filled diatribes or slander in Governor Palin's direction rather than listen to or consider her real positions or ideas. Such is the state of political debate today. If we can just call someone a name, we can dismiss all their ideas and never consider their solutions to today's most pressing problems.

So all you who suffer from the absolutely terminal disease of Palin Derangement Syndrome can just leave your snide, sarcastic or hate filled comments below and move on, confident and snug in the cocoon spun out of your willful ignorance.

The rest of you can read and consider this press release from the Governor's office. It is so well written, I need add no further comments:

April 6, 2009, Juneau, Alaska – Responding to the missile test by North Korea, Governor Sarah Palin today reaffirmed Alaska’s commitment to protecting America from rogue nation missile attacks. “I am deeply concerned with North Korea’s development and testing program which has clear potential of impacting Alaska, a sovereign state of the United States, with a potentially nuclear armed warhead,” Governor Palin said. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that we continue to develop and perfect the global missile defense network. Alaska’s strategic location and the system in place here have proven invaluable in defending the nation.” Governor Palin stressed the importance of Fort Greely and the need for continued funding for the Missile Defense Agency. The governor is firmly against U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ proposed $1.4 billion reduction of the Missile Defense Agency. Greely’s isolated location in Alaska as well as its strategic location in the Pacific allows for maximum security and development of the country’s only ground-based missile defense complex. “Our early opposition to reduced funding for the Missile Defense Agency is proving to be well-founded during this turbulent time,” Governor Palin said. “I continue to support the development and implementation of a defensive missile shield based in Alaska. We are strategically placed to defend the critical assets of the United States and our allies in the Pacific Theater.”

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

I must admit that my lovely wife and I are secretly addicted to The Secret Life of the American Teenager. We love every minute of this breakthrough drama about a 14 year old girl who becomes pregnant and has to deal with ALL the consequences. The show is at once hopeful and heartbreaking, tragic and inspiring, funny and sad.

It's easy to fall hopelessly in love with Amy Juergens (played beautifully by Shailene Woodley, pictured to the right), the 14 year old who makes a terrible mistake one night while away at band camp. Through much of the first season Amy kept the secret from her parents and most of her friends and even her new boyfriend Ben (played with a deft romantic touch by Kenny Baumann) who is NOT the father of the baby.

And all America has fallen in love with Amy and Ben and Ricky (the baby's father) and the extremely large cast who cover the very real issues of sex and pregnancy and growing up without ever sugarcoating or holding back on any issue.

As you might suspect, writer and producer Brenda Hampton's Secret Life is a very, very liberal Hollywood values show. Sex is dealt with openly and honestly. The show is a weekly one hour commercial for sex education and then tops that off by providing a great deal of sex education right in the show.

Abortion was covered logically and dispassionately as a real option to be considered by any young girl who finds herself in this situation. Amy, for several weeks, considers having an abortion and visits an abortion clinic. She almost goes ahead with the abortion.

But the "pro-life" position was also handled fairly through a strong Christian character, Grace (played by the very beautiful Megan Park). Grace, who wore a "chastity ring" until recently, is terribly tempted to have sex and is having great difficulty reconciling her emotions, not to mention her hormones, with her Christian teachings. No subject is taboo on this show.

Most importantly the show empowers young women. Amy stays in High School and works to graduate and go on to college. It certainly doesn't romanticize pregnancy, but it never condemns it, nor does it ever condemn Amy who faces some of life's toughest decisions with a realistic mixture of fear, ignorance, bravery and hope. Amy is the hero of her own life.

Even though the show on cable (ABC Family), it has a huge audience (3 million viewers plus) and often actually out performs major network shows in the ratings.

However, back in the real world, the cable and network news today covered with occasional irrational glee, the breakup of 18 year old unmarried Bristol Palin and the father of her baby, Levi Johnston. MSNBC has, frankly, been disgusting in their coverage of a young lady whose only claim to fame is to be the daughter of Alaska Governor and former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

But what is truly pathetic is the left wing and progressive blogosphere's treatment of Bristol which has been sexist, vitriolic, hate filled and often just grossly pornographic. It is simply hard to even imagine this much hatred. And it's tough to read this much filth.

When they aren't portraying her as a slut who was begging to be used and abused by a variety of men, they portray her as mindless bimbo completely incapable of controlling her urges and sexual libido. And I'm cleaning most of this up. Every foul word to describe women and every gross misogynistic term used to degrade women can be found on The Daily Kos, The Huffington Post and other bastions of supposed liberal thought.

So as liberal Hollywood producer Brenda Hampton works to bring America into the 21st Century of enlightenment about teenage pregnancy and the innate worth of every woman, the so-called progressive left does their damnedest to treat women much worse than the most horrific fundamentalist Muslim Taliban society or extreme, backwards, fundamentalist Christian sect.

Amy Juergens, American Hero. Brstol Palin, American Whore and Slut.

It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

Walking A Tightrope

As Barack Obama completes his first week in office we should all be pleased at his effort to set a new, bipartisan, tone in Washington. In the pressure boiler of Washington even a single week is an accomplishment.

The question is how long will the political party leaders allow Obama to continue his voyage into the uncharted waters of compromise. Already Nancy Pelosi is making a solid effort to sink his ship and Republicans are testing his leadership.

I've come to believe Nancy Pelosi is genetically incapable of compromise. Her continued refusal to include a single Republican in the development of legislation is totally out of step with Barack Obama's stated goals. And Pelosi is supplying Republicans with all the ammunition they need to take continuing shots at the President's ship of state.

Actually, so far I'm impressed at Republicans restraint. I only wish Pelosi was using the same maps and charts as the President.

President Obama is receiving expected support from the press

, who are praising Obama's bipartisan approach and his general leadership. The press is actually helping mute the actions of Pelosi and other hyper partisan leaders.

Far right bloggers are rightfully criticizing the double standard shown by the press today versus the instantaneous trashing that President Bush received from the press four and eight years ago. While my friends on the right are totally correct, they should be pleased President Obama is being treated more fairly.

Far left bloggers have actually been more critical of Barack Obama than those on the right. For many of these "progressives," revenge and vengeance topped their list of priorities for the new administration. Obama's signals of compromise and tolerance, not to mention his outright endorsement of some Bush policies, have outraged his supporters on the left, many of whom feel betrayed.

The pressure from the far left and far right to return to rigid partisan dogma will be great. But the vast majority of Americans do not want to return to the gridlock that became the hallmark of the Bush administration and many of the last few administrations.

Barack Obama has my full support and I hope other bloggers, commentators and politicians will join me in supporting his approach of compromise and reasoned discussion and debate.

---

I want to add a few words to high praise for Sarah Palin who I heard yesterday on one of the cable news channels. I'm sorry that I don't have a link or video clip. But she was very gracious and extremely supportive of Barack Obama.

Sarah Palin emphasized that Barack Obama was "her president" and that he had and deserved her full support. She has high hopes that he will succeed in his efforts. She promised to oppose him on policy issues only and never allow the debate to become divisive or personal.

As Palin moves to position herself for a bigger political role in 2012 it will be damned difficult for her to maintain such a lofty position. But I applaud her for this early show of support and statesmanship today.

Tea Leaves

Wouldn't it have been nice for politicians of all stripes, the media and the public to be able to take a few days off and bask in the glory of Barack Obama's election to the office of President. We should all be pleased and proud of this historic election. Absolutely everyone, including McCain supporters should take a bow.

Alas, the politicians, the pundits, the mass media and the blogosphere hardly missed a beat, dissecting every breath from everyones mouth. Talk about "much ado about nothing." Even Joe Scarborough was reduced to using the infamous "F-Word" live and on the air when discussing "Rahm 'F--- you' Emanuel." It's a hot video over on You Tube. I'm guessing no one ever heard the word before.

And, oh my god, the hysteria about Sarah Palin! What the hell is that all about? I don't believe she was elected to anything. Did I miss something? Let's see here. We elect the first African American President in history and the media is obsessed with Sarah Palin. So is the blogosphere. The #1 topic today at The Huffington Post, based on the number of times a tag is used is Sarah Palin!!!! Talk about a rock star.

So here I am reading all the posts about everything, which are, in reality, little pieces of nothing.

We are all reduced to reading the tea leaves, trying to find a sign. And I did find one especially good sign today. It seems Barack Obama wants Senator Joe Lieberman to remain in the Democrat caucus in the US Senate. Obama has sent a sign to Senate Majority Leader Reid to "back off." and let Lieberman remain, with his chairmanship in tact.

It seems President-elect Obama really does want reconciliation. And he may well just recognize Lieberman's value to the party and to the country.

It's a good sign.

John McCain: You Can Win! Here's How....

I don't think John McCain is reading my blog. And I rather suspect his advisers are too busy, too. But, if you are out there John, you can still win (easily).

How? Simply return to the full and open press availability that was the hallmark of your earlier campaigns. Your advisers (or should we call them "handlers") are giving you really bad, bad advice. Sarah Palin knows it. And, in your heart, you know it too.

You'll never close the 3% to 4% gap in the polls following your current plan. It's not possible. Barack Obama is out spending you in paid advertising 20 to 1. His 603 million dollars dwarfs your 87 million dollars.

O.K., accepting public financing was a huge mistake. But you can't fix that one now.

Barack Obama is completely hiding from the press. He hasn't had a press conference in ages and refuses more than two to three (carefully controlled) questions, and only on some days. And Obama has a lot of reasons to hide. More importantly, the press is finally starting to return to real journalism. They've been shamed into it.

And Joe Biden.... well, Biden is a disaster.

Sarah Palin is now the only available candidate and it's working. But you are the pro! You cannot match Obama's spending. But you can absolutely dominate every news cycle. Trust your instincts and return to the open, honest, available, candid, funny, controversial, folksy, trustworthy candidate that got you here in the first place.

John McCain, you can win. Talk to the press every hour of every day. And encourage Sarah Palin to continue to do the same thing.

The Manchurian Candidate

Is Barack Obama The Manchurian Candidate?

If somehow you are not familiar with Richard Condon's best selling 1959 novel or the 1962 blockbuster movie of the same name starring Frank Sinatra or even the rather sluggish and strange 2004 remake starring Denzel Washington, the "Manchurian Candidate" is a charismatic candidate who runs for President only to be the puppet of another, much more sinister, power. In the novel and 1962 movie that unseen power was the communist Chinese (hence the name). In the 2004 version the hidden villain was updated to be a domestic corporation, replacing our cold war fear of communism with the more politically correct (and rather prophetic) fear of Wall Street greed.

So is Barack Obama the real Manchurian Candidate? Do we have a man who has one very charismatic public persona, but a radically different personal and political agenda for the country once he takes office? We really don't know.

And this is EXACTLY what happens when the bulk of the Main Stream Media decides, in mass, to simply stop doing their jobs. When the main stream media (most importantly the print media) decides to elect one candidate instead of reporting the news and investigating the facts, the real electorate is left with a lot of questions and a whole lot of fear. That is where we are today.

The right wing blogosphere is erupting with the story of a video tape they claim is so explosive it could and would, by itself, cost Barack Obama the election. The LA Times has admitted it has the tape and has had it for months. They claim it's nothing, certainly not news. But, so far, they refuse to release it. Now that does strike me as odd. And it's the stuff conspiracies are made of.

All agree the tape in question does show Barack Obama at a party for radical Islamist Rashid Khalidi along with the left wing anti-war group Not In My Name, the Electronic Intifada, and the ex-Weatherman domestic terrorists Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers. Supposedly Obama gave a speech heaping high praise upon Khalidi and, according to others, spoke harshly of Israel and the jews.

Except we don't really know, because absolutely no one in the media has bothered to lift a pencil in reporting this relationship, or the event in question.

Much worse malfeasance on the part of the MIA MSM is their failure to look into the money flow (called money laundering by many on the right) into Obama's campaign. It has been proven that Obama's campaign has turned a blind eye toward the source of the massive cash inflow, reportedly 150 million dollars last month. It is entirely possible that the hundreds of millions of dollars Obama has used to swamp McCain came from one single individual or a small group of individuals or even a foreign country or terrorist group.

All this happened (whatever may have happened) with the willful cooperation of the Obama campaign which disabled the normal name and address verification procedures for credit card donations. These are the facts we do know.

What is stunning is that the Main Stream Media has completely ignored what might be the biggest story of any election in history.

While the media was completely enraptured with front page story after front page story about Sarah Palin's wardrobe, not one single reporter was looking into this gross and now proven (thanks to the bloggers who investigated themselves) violation of campaign fund raising procedures. The MSM is still trying hard to ignore the story.

I don't think for a minute that Barack Obama is the pawn of either Islamic militants bent of the destruction of Israel or he is the pawn of George Soros or a small cabal of liberal kingmakers. Although I am certain his campaign is grossly violating campaign fund raising laws.

But we don't know. We just don't know. Because the adoring press won't or can't ask any tough questions. Not of Obama or anyone on his team.

Why the Media's Mistreatment of Sarah Palin is So Important

The mainstream media and liberal/progressive blogosphere's grossly unfair treatment of Sarah Palin is not really an issue in this years campaign, at least as far as I'm concerned. Governor Palin herself has rarely complained and it does go with the territory. When you are plucked out of nowhere and placed in center stage the media is going to investigate, research and then test the new star.

And frankly, she did scare the heck out of the Democrats and Obama supporters with good cause. Barack Obama's egotistical elimination of Hillary Clinton as Vice President rubbed millions of Americans the wrong way. The left believed that McCain's Vice Presidential pick had to be destroyed in order to keep the Democrat faithful in the fold.

I do not fault any Democrat or liberal/progressive pundit or blogger for their full throated objection to everything Sarah Palin represents. Hell, it's just good politics.

What is really important is what many are calling the "death of modern journalism." When our journalists consciously make a decision to throw the election to one candidate over another, we are genuinely lost as a society.

But make no mistake, journalism is dead. Deader than a doornail. And Sarah Palin is the poster child. It all happened when the mainstream media decided to become the tabloid media. Not one reporter ever made even a pretend passing effort to actually investigate Palin, instead 100% of the effort was to dig up dirt, find embarrassing skeletons in the closet or outright fabricate totally false stories that make the Brothers Grimm look like non-fiction writers.

This all finally got to be too much for Newt Gingrich last night and he literally exploded in one of the most brilliant rants I've even been privileged to hear. Both the video and the copy follow. And Gingrich is 100% correct in every word he utters.

The elite media's attack on Governor Palin again and again has been factually wrong, intellectually dishonest, totally biased, worthy of the Polish State news media attacking Lech Walesa back in the 1980's. I mean this is the type of deliberate, vicious, dishonest, total distortion of who Governor Palin is including by the way, the Saturday Night Live Skit some of which by the way, I think were slander and were worthy of a lawsuit. And, I think the American people should realize that the elite media on the Left is so desperate to elect Barack Obama that the view they are giving you of Governor Palin is fundamentally a falsehood. And, the one you saw from CNN is so outrageous that they owe her an absolute apology. But frankly, Katie Couric misquoted Henry Kissinger, earlier than that, ABC News misquoted the Bush Doctrine. Again and again you've seen elite reporters do things that were false in order to try to make Governor Palin look bad... If you would look at the coverage Michelle Obama has gotten and the coverage that Cindy McCain has gotten you have to believe that the fix is in. When you look at the magazine covers, the pictures that were taken, again and again, over and over for the last year we have been brainwashed, propagandized, insultingly lectured by the news media. If you look what happened to Joe the Plumber... Now, I haven't seen anyone from the elite media do a live broadcast from the non-existent Katie's Restaurant to point out that Joe Biden is just out of touch with reality. He's either dishonest or has a total memory lapse about his hometown. Yet, nobody notices it. Again and again there were 14 factual mistakes by Biden in the vice-presidential debate. Nobody said that disqualified him. This has been a totally one-sided campaign where the news media has been the best ally that Barack Obama has gotten. And we ought to be honest about it. There's no pretense, not a shred of neutrality on the part of the major networks or The New York Times... I've been thinking about having one of my researchers look at every single elite media interview of Governor Palin to see if any of them asked her how she gave $1300 a person back to Alaskans as a tax break, how she negotiated and got so much money out of Big Oil, how she worked out the deal for the natural gas pipeline, or anything of substance about how she shaped an $11 billion budget involving 29,000 employees of the state government. I don't believe by the best of my knowledge that there has been a single question by an elite television journalist about her actual career in Alaska. And, I think it is the most insulting. I can't say this too strongly. This is like watching Pravda. This is a one-sided vicious unending dishonest campaign.

GayPatriotWest (B. Daniel Blatt) also has an excellent article on the same issues. Be sure to link on over and read MSM More Interested in Palin Gossip than her Record

Sarah Palin is Very Qualified to be President

We have only a few days until we cast our votes for President and Vice President. In fact many of us have already voted.

I have so much I would like to write between now and November 4th, but I also have real world duties and obligations.

Before I do anyhing else, let me thank those who read and comment here. I do really appreciate the dialog discussion following the last several posts. I deeply appreciate the quality, the wisdom and the honest and civilized debate.

I have started and then discarded several columns outlining and defining my endorsement of John McCain and Sarah Palin for President and Vice President. They will receive my vote, although I still believe that Barack Obama and Joe Biden will win. It would be a huge upset if McCain and Palin pull this one out.

I certainly do not think for even one second that anything I write here will change a single vote. The world isn't waiting on the wisdom of the Wizard for their instructions.

I've looked at dozens of different issues in making this decision. In some areas, like health care, I feel that Barack Obama has the best program. In other areas, most notably foreign policy, I feel McCain is more correct.

There are two defining areas that tipped the scale in favor of McCain and Palin. The first is obvious, and that is that John McCain and Sarah Palin have the real world experience to hold the offices they seek. And while the same can be said of Joe Biden, it cannot be said of Barack Obama.

I've said often that Obama has never made a single tough decision in his entire life and it is tragically true. He has literally voted present his entire life and throughout his public career. Such a record is actually helpful when running for President because you have no history, no paper trail. There is nothing for the press to check (as if anyone in the press was actually looking at Obama's record). You can claim to stand for anything and no one can disagree. The bottom line is Obama gives great speeches. That's it.

Compared to Barack Obama, Sarah Palin is experienced, tested and ready. She has made the toughest decisions and handled intense and detailed negotiations and faced difficult situations. She has created and submitted budgets. She has worked with the legislature in order to get things done, get laws passed. And she excelled in every single effort, building a stunning 80% approval rate. She has been wildly successful in handling a damned tough job.

Obama, by contrast, can not point to a single accomplishment throughout his entire career beyond winning a Senate seat against only token (no offense intended) competition. He can't even point to any legislation. There is no McCain-Feingold anywhere in Obama's past.

Obama has good ideas and we should not diminish his wonderful ability to communicate. But we do not know what he really stands for, at least not from any real world examples.

Now the press and the left have been grossly unfair in handling Palin. Her mistreatment is stunning, yet she has rarely objected or complained. And recently, all the networks have noted, Palin has been the most available and most interviewed of all four candidates with more press availability every day than Obama, McCain and Biden combined. And she looks and sounds good.

I've read, heard and watched literally hundreds of news stories, articles and blog posts that criticized (or more correctly defamed) Governor Palin. I've not read a single one of importance, substance or credibility. Only those rare posts that discussed Palin's policies or positions were reasonable and fair. It is certainly fair to oppose her over issues like abortion rights or sexual rights or gay rights. I applaud those who support Obama and disagree with Palin because of those issues.

Now, before I depart this evening, I want to also mention the second deciding factor in my decision to endorse John McCain. I feel McCain has the best plans to handle the economy, taxes and Washington special interests. I will be writing a full and detailed column on this issue in the next few days.

Sarah Palin

A Reality Check Courtesy of Michelle Malkin

O.K., can we all come back to earth now? I mean the escalation of abject stupidity is now stratospheric. If we fly any higher we will all singe our wings on the sun and crash in flames to the earth.

No one is soaring higher than Frank Rich, who has never had any ties to the mother earth. He really believes he is a certified genius and the world's most learned student of history and politics. This, of course, has never been true and his flights of fantasy are numerous and far flung.

Often we mere mortals realize he is simply shooting off gas and we ride along for amusement, laughing at him and not with him. But I do tire of his constant effort to explain matters simple beyond his meager comprehension through his use of tired analogies and historically incorrect references. I'll cite an example in a moment, but let me broaden the discussion to other liberal, progressive and left wing narrators of current events.

The (totally false) story today across the blogosphere and main stream media wasteland is that the McCain and Palin devotes are raging out of control and may well explode into full blown revolution. Murder and mayhem are in the offing, if we can believe what we read. Conservatives are, we are told, certifiably insane.

This is all because of a couple of questions poised at John McCain's virtually constant Town Hall Meetings and catcalls during Sarah Palin's mega-rallies. Trust me when I tell you the media had to film and them ignore countless hours of thoughtful questions and great speeches to locate and explode these occasional outbursts.

Then they still had to carefully edit the sloganeering to eliminate the intelligent and calming responses from Senator McCain himself (or "that one" as I prefer to call him).

Enter the Frank Rich's of the world (and his cohorts are legion). Let me actually begin with Paul Krugman writing today in the New York Times (I will get to Rich later, I promise). Krugman is simply terrified as he writes:

“Something very ugly is taking shape on the political scene: as McCain’s chances fade, the crowds at his rallies are, by all accounts, increasingly gripped by insane rage…What happens when Obama is elected? It will be even worse than it was in the Clinton years. For sure there will be crazy accusations, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some violence.”

Not to be outdone (and to prove beyond a doubt he is an astute student of history and mankind) Franks Rich implies Sarah Palin and John McCain are engaging in behavior that will assure Barack Obama is assassinated. Rich's logic and his inferences are astonishing:

"Some voters told reporters that they didn’t want Obama to run, let alone win, should his very presence unleash the demons who have stalked America from Lincoln to King. After consultation with Congress, Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, gave Obama a Secret Service detail earlier than any presidential candidate in our history — in May 2007, some eight months before the first Democratic primaries." ".......what has pumped up the Weimar-like rage at McCain-Palin rallies, is the violent escalation in rhetoric, especially (though not exclusively) by Palin. Obama “launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist.” He is “palling around with terrorists” (note the plural noun). Obama is “not a man who sees America the way you and I see America.” Wielding a wildly out-of-context Obama quote, Palin slurs him as an enemy of American troops." "By the time McCain asks the crowd “Who is the real Barack Obama?” it’s no surprise that someone cries out “Terrorist!” The rhetorical conflation of Obama with terrorism is complete. It is stoked further by the repeated invocation of Obama’s middle name by surrogates introducing McCain and Palin at these rallies. This sleight of hand at once synchronizes with the poisonous Obama-is-a-Muslim e-mail blasts and shifts the brand of terrorism from Ayers’s Vietnam-era variety to the radical Islamic threats of today."

You've just got to love Rich's tossing in the phrase "Wiemar-like rage" to be certain that is brilliantly educated, elite readers understand the Palin and McCain are actually inciting their followers to assassinate someone or everyone of a different race, color or religion.

For those of you who haven't studied pre-World War II history lately, the phrase is used (very often by Rich and many progressive bloggers) to compare the actions of Republicans to the actions of Hitler in inciting mob violence in order to build the Third Reich. Often, in fear that readers might miss the not-so-subtle point , Rich and others simply call their opponents Reich-Wing Republicans. Isn't that clever?

Thank goodness there is someone writing this Sunday who has an ounce of intelligence and a simple sense of balance and perspective. There is someone who can actually look at both sides of the coin. There is someone to provide a "reality check."

Who knew the voice of reason and rational thought would be none other than Michelle Malkin? I hope what I have written above has peaked your interest, because I refuse to spoil one sentence of Malkin's brilliant blog entry by repeating it here. Please just link immediately over to Crush the Obamedia narrative: Look who’s “gripped by insane rage”
After reading Malkin the only word you'll be able to use to describe Frank Rich and his friends is "hypocrite."

Could We Have a Mulligan?

I enjoyed a series of conversations during the day that speak volumes about the current and generally unexpected economic meltdown and the terribly poor timing of the 2008 Presidential election. Talk about an October surprise. This is an October Nuclear Explosion.

I hope every one of you, readers and passersby all, will add your thoughts in the comments section.

Here's the question: What if the primaries were held tomorrow, not months ago. Who would you nominate from each party, in light of the economic meltdown?

The consensus in discussions earlier today was that neither Obama nor McCain would get their party's nod. Obama is way to inexperienced. McCain way too weak in the area of the economy.

Many folks feel we really need Republican Mitt Romney at the helm. He is an acknowledged economic genius. And he has solved big, big crisis in the past.

Many folks feel we need Hillary Clinton's experience and that Bill's advice and counsel would be critical in handling what could be a major depression.

What do you all think?

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P.S. I thought tonight's debate was simply terrible. Boring. Tom Brokaw was worse than Gwen Ifill and I thought that would be impossible. The questions were old and tired. The answers were right from the stump speeches. And there was never a follow-up or a demand for clarification.

Did Obama really win? The early polls say he did. I'm not so sure Obama won. I'm positive McCain lost.

But before you pull that lever on November 4th remember one thing: Barack Obama has never made one single tough decision in his entire life. Not one. Not ever.

He makes a good speech. But he tends to vote present or miss the vote or dodge the issue as he did last week during the bailout debate. Give it some thought.

The End of the World as We Know It

It's really ugly out there.

I'm not sure where to start. But I don't like what I see. It is ugly out there.

John McCain has decided to play ugly. Really ugly. I'd like to be able to devote an entire entry to the mistakes John McCain and his advisers are making in this campaign. I believe Barack Obama is vulnerable. But not to the type of attacks McCain is contemplating.

The press and main stream media are really ugly. Journalism is indeed dead. Way too many editors, publishers, reporters, newsrooms, magazines and newspapers have an agenda. And it is interfering with their their ability to fairly report the news. And most of them don't realize what they are doing. It's all about the O. This is so ugly. And we the people are being so short changed.

And the economy is ugly. Really ugly. We are headed right into a major depression. Not just a recession, but stagflation, too. Prepare today for double digit inflation. And double digit unemployment. Life as we have known it is about to come to an end.

I wish I had confidence that Barack Obama could handle all of this. I don't. He is in way over his head. You want a frightening dose of reality. Obama has never made a single tough decision in his entire life. Not one. Not ever. But he's about to learn. On the job training.

Of course nobody is discussing this. The main stream media is orgasmic. It's all about the O. Oh, and Sarah Palin. Let's not forget the fluffy bunny from Nome. The press is so obsessed with her.

Oh look, it is all about the O's. Obama and obsession.

Meanwhile John McCain is lost in endless and meaningless cycles of Ayers and Wright. If McCain can't handle this election, why would we think he could handle the economy?

A fluff bunny could beat Barack Obama. Oh wait, maybe a fluff bunny will.

Change.

Be careful what you wish for. Things are going to change. It's the end of the world as we know it.

The Wolverine

It was another great debate. I was terribly impressed with the Obama McCain debate last week. I assumed, incorrectly as it turns out, that tonight would be simply terrible. Far from it. Tonight was a very entertaining evening.

My favorite quote of the night comes, not from the candidates, but from Howard Fineman on MSNBC late tonight. Fineman said (and I'm working from memory here), "I've always wondered what a wolverine looked like. Tonight we saw it. Palin was like a wolverine chewing through plywood."

O.K. I thought Senator Joe Biden won the debate. He was knowledgeable, poised and articulate. He also had passion.

And I am so very pleased with Senator Biden's position and support for the people in Darfur. Senator Biden is willing to lay it all on the line. Darfur needs and deserves that kind of support from the United States.

I believe Biden is actually much stronger, more forceful and more committed than Barack Obama on many issues, especially the genocide in Darfur. Obama is very fortunate to have Biden on the ticket.

But, while Biden clearly won the debate, Governor Sarah Palin gained tremendous credibility. She was strong, articulate, forceful and just damned tough. She definitely got the better of Biden on several occasions.

Now I do believe that Obama's victory on November 4th is still on track unless McCain can somehow win landslide victories in both of the next two debates.

But Obama needs to hope the McCain campaign continues to very foolishly keep Palin under wraps. If the Republicans were to turn her loose, she might just chew through Obama's lead like wolverine through plywood.

Gwen Ifill Can, Should and Must Resign Immediately

Gwen Ifill can, should and must resign immediately as the moderator of tomorrow night's Vice Presidential Debate. Her conflict of interest is the size of the Grand Canyon. Ifill is writing an iconic Obama book that is pre-planned to release on the very day Obama will be inaugurated as President in 2009 (yes, Obama will win; stop worrying about it).

If, somehow, McCain were to win, Ifill's bookn would be an publishing and financial disaster. Ifill has a huge financial interest in insuring that Obama wins the election.

To make matters worse, YouTube has gone viral with Ifill videos that prove beyond any doubt that she is in the tank for Obama, and that Ifill is not capable of being fair to Palin.



Ifill won't resign, of course, and so everybody loses. Well, everybody except perhaps, Sarah Palin. This is a virtual get out of jail free card for Palin. No matter how badly Palin does in the debate, it will be easy to argue that Ifill was unfair. That's because Ifill lacks any professional journalistic ethics. Because if Ifill had one ounce of integrity, this would never have happened.

At this point I have virtually no remaining respect for Gwen Ifill. And frankly, she deserves no respect. I would be hopeful that PBS would actually discharge her for her astounding lack of professionalism.

If Gwen Ifill cares at all about her reputation, she will immediately apologize and resign as debate moderator.

If Gwen Ifill cares at all about journalistic ethics, she will immediately apologize and resign as debate moderator.

If Gwen Ifill cares at all about fairness, she will immediately apologize and resign as debate moderator.

And finally, if Gwen Ifill cares at all about Barack Obama, she will immediately apologize and resign as debate moderator.

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UPDATE: October 2, 2008 - Mary over at FREEDOM EDEN forgoes her usual rant and has posted a thoughtful and restrained review of Gwen Ifill's Omission.