Inside The Liberal Mind -- Juan Williams, if we were armed, "We'd all be shooting our husbands and wives!"

via RedLasso

Inside the liberal mind -- Juan Williams explains the honest truth, liberals believe people can't be trusted, especially with guns. Even his fellow elite media members can't be trusted as he explains that they would be shooting their husbands and wives if they were allowed to carry weapons!
DKK

A Day Of Rest -- Post Testing

Hey, I am restarting meds today, slowly, and recovering from an exhausting week.  Regular posting to begin shortly.
DKK

Testing Day Number Five

Testing continues.  Posting to follow!
DKK

Supreme Court Strikes Down DC Gun Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the individual's right to bear arms.

Check out SCOTUS blog for the ruling.

Lunch break from testing, more to follow.
DKK

Testing Continues

Testing continues and I am miserable, but that won't stop the Supreme Court from issuing their ruling on the DC gun ban! It should be on the SCOTUS Blog sometime after 10am central.
DKK

Who Is Ultimately Responsible For High Gas Prices -- So That's Why We Can't Get A Compromise

Bottom line:

Democrats blame YOU!

Hence their solutions are designed to punish and rehabilitate each and every one of us!
"It's your fault so you must pay and change!"

Republicans blame Government.

Hence their solutions are designed to get Government out of the way and let Americans
do what Americans do best!
"We can solve this problem without starving the world or some other stupid government run debacle if you just get out of the way!"

Extended explanation:

There is a fundamental difference between the belief of the Democrats and the Republicans in Washington about who is ultimately responsible for today's high gas prices and this difference is why a compromise is so hard to reach on this issue.

Democrats make noise about blaming the oil companies, the speculators, the Saudi's and of course the Republicans. But the Democrats underlying belief, deep down, is that the ultimate responsibility for our current energy situation falls squarely on the every single resident of the United States! (This should be no surprise to any observer of history over the last 45 years or so.)

That's right, you and I, your neighbor and even their infant child!

You use too much, don't conserve, are wasteful, and fat too -- if you would walk more you would use less energy and maybe loose some of that butt you have!

Barack Obama, Sunday, May 18, 2008,

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times..."

That is why their solutions are all punitive. Tax increases, increased regulation, forced change, even outlawing incandescent light bulbs. These are all punishing roadblocks and attempts at social engineering.

On the other hand Republicans believe that the ultimate responsibility for high gas prices lies with Government.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.
Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address

Thus their solutions involve eliminating restrictions and getting government out of the way.

The American people need to send a message to the Democrats in congress, loud and clear, that we are not to blame -- THEY ARE. We can't afford to let this continue!

As Jean Kirkpatrick said back in 1984, "(T)hey always blame America first. The American people know better."

Until the Democrats understand this they will not allow the American people the freedom to do what Americans do best -- solve the problem using hard work and ingenuity.
DKK

Wow, That's A Responsive Campaign!

Just Monday I noted that Congressman Don Manzullo's campaign site was lacking even basic elements such as his bio as well as quickly accessible links to items such as Manzullo's energy plan.

Well, by Tuesday morning both of those items had been corrected. Now that is a responsive campaign! I'm sorry I wasn't able to mention it right when I noticed it Tuesday AM but I had to get to my specialist.

Having links to web based (non-pdf or word doc) information about policy and issues right on the front page and throughout campaign sites is a must for any campaign in 2008, pdf's and doc files are not web or mobile friendly as you are not always somewhere you can download the files.

Congressman Manzullo also has a presence on Youtube, here.
DKK

Hey, Did You Know Someone Is Challenging Durbin For Sentate -- Meet Dr. Steve Sauerberg!

I like what he has to say.

Having watched Durbin on the news for years now I would add that Durbin is probably the most partisan politician in Washington today. He will do anything to prevent solutions that do not advance his party's ambitions (and thus his own as the second ranking Democrat in the Senate) no matter how much harm is done to Americans.

There are not many people in the world that can make my stomach turn as the speak, but within a couple of minutes of Durbin blaming everything on George Bush I really have to fight back the acid burps!

Here Dr. Steve Sauerberg's YouTube channel and here is his Senate Campaign Site. In case you forget his name he made the site easy to remember, Dr. Steve For Senate. It is also a pretty good campaign site, even including a multimedia page that includes his YouTube videos.
DKK

Testing Continues

Testing continues today so nothing this AM.

I will try for a Daily Trek and catch up later today.
DKK

CO2 Rises, Temperatures Remain The Same

The American Thinker has two posts today on Carbon: the New Chemical Villain, and Your 2007 Carbon Footprint that do a great job of educating readers of some of the facts relating to CO2.

Another interesting post this weekend was by Anthony Watts on his blog, Watts Up With That, where he does the math on the numbers from the last 11 years and finds that despite continuing increases in CO2 levels (which are still only 385 parts per MILLION) the earths temperature has remained virtually the same.

Yet, as if in a panicked response, James Hanson of NASA is set to testify this week before congress and is expected to:

(C)all for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.

Is it a wonder that most Britons, who get more of a daily dose of eco-wacko alarmist media then we do:

The majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans - and many others believe scientists are exaggerating the problem, according to an exclusive poll for The Observer.

The results have shocked campaigners who hoped that doubts would have been silenced by a report last year by more than 2,500 scientists for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which found a 90 per cent chance that humans were the main cause of climate change and warned that drastic action was needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

In our solar system planets with atmospheres start with the crushingly thick air on Venus, Mercury having lost any it may have started with as it was burned off by the nearby sun. As you progress out past Earth to Mars the atmosphere gets thinner and thinner. Could it be the sun has something to do with that?

The Earth has had far higher levels of CO2 in the past but it currently has only 0.038%. Venus has 96.5% CO2 and Mars has 95.3% CO2.
DKK

Mr. Bill Returns To TV

A true classic from Saturday Night Live has returned to television in a new Mastercard commercial. It's nice to see he has continued acting and that Mastercard has given him this opportunity.

DKK

Testing All Week

As I noted earlier I will be undergoing routine medical testing this week. Posting may be sporadic.
DKK

Manzullo Calls On Democrats To Allow Vote On Common Sense Domestic Energy Increase

From Congressman Manzullo's house site:

Congressman Don Manzullo (R-Egan) today echoed calls for House leaders to schedule votes on bills that will allow more domestic production of oil to reduce gas prices in America and end our addiction to costly foreign oil.

More than 112 billion barrels of oil exist within our borders and along our shores – enough to power 60 million cars for 60 years – and Americans should be allowed to extract the oil as part of our plan to reduce surging gas prices in America.

Unfortunately, House Democratic leaders have refused to call for a vote any legislation that allows extraction for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR – exploration would occur on 2,000 acres of the 19 million acre refuge), along the Outer Continental Shelf off our coasts (Congress banned drilling along the OCS in 1981), and on other federal lands in the United States. Manzullo added there are now more environmentally friendly and safer offshore oil and gas extraction methods today. Case in point – not a drop of oil was spilled from oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico when Hurricane Katrina passed over them nearly three years ago.

“The ultimate plan is for alternative energy – such as electricity, hydrogen or something not yet invented – to power our vehicles in the future, and I support comprehensive efforts to spur research and development on a host of alternative and renewable fuels. But the mass commercialization of those products could be many, many years away,” Manzullo said. “In the meantime, we must take additional steps to increase the supply of oil and gas in this country so we no longer have to rely on foreign countries that often don’t have our best interests at heart. Americans simply can’t afford to keep paying these surging gasoline costs at the pumps.”

Additional drilling was already part of Congress Manzullo's 12 point gas price reduction plan but this call for a vote is very welcome. Gas prices are hurting Northern Illinois particularly hard due to our regressive state sales tax and our higher then average unemployment rate.

So that no one is confused as to which party is the part of higher gas prices, the Republican controlled Congress approved drilling in ANWR in 1995 but Democratic President Clinton vetoed that measure. Every year thereafter until control of the house was lost to the Democrats in 2006 the house approved drilling in ANWR but were blocked by Senate Democrats. The Democrats mantra that the oil won't be available for years is amazingly short sighted and foolish -- does anyone really think we won't need that oil the minute it comes out of the ground years from now? (Not to mention the fact that we could have it by now if we had just taken action!) Not everyone will be able to get a new car in 5 or 10 years!

Congressman Manzullo's opponent, Robert Abboud would put party loyalty ahead of gas prices by bashing oil companies and hanging his hopes on alternative energy that ignores the reality of life for those of us who live in the 16th! Gas is not an option!

As an aside, as I have pointed out previously Manzullo's campaign site is really sad -- even his bio isn't on the bio page. It still says to check back later -- isn't there an election coming up? He has a bio on his congressional page that should be accurate, right?
DKK

George Carlin Dies at 71

George Carlin died Sunday at 71 year of age.

Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs, dirty words and the demise of humanity, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday. He was 71.

Reuters
DKK

Obama's Candidacy Described In 40 Seconds

Brit Hume summarizes Obama's entire candidacy in 40 seconds on Fox News Sunday
Redlasso
DKK

NY Times Identifies CIA Interrogator Against CIA Wishes

Too bad, because an otherwise fascinating story about the scramble to build a counterterror apparatus after 9/11, the merits of coercive vs. non-coercive interrogation, and the stings that nailed Abu Zubaydah and KSM is going to be submerged in a debate over their decision to publish the lead interrogator’s name against his wishes and those of CIA chief Michael Hayden. Here’s the obligatory editor’s note justifying the decision. Quote:

After discussion with agency officials and a lawyer for [the interrogrator], the newspaper declined the request, noting that [the interrogator] had never worked under cover and that others involved in the campaign against Al Qaeda have been named in news stories and books. The editors judged that the name was necessary for the credibility and completeness of the article.

The Times’ policy is to withhold the name of a news subject only very rarely, most often in the case of victims of sexual assault or intelligence officers operating under cover.

Read the piece and you’ll see that credibility and completeness have nothing to do with it. It’s not a story about him; he’s just the springboard to explore the themes I mentioned earlier.
Hot Air -- NYT reveals name of KSM’s chief interrogator — against CIA’s wishes

Hey, didn't Valarie Plame work for the CIA? This case, like the Plame case did not involve a covert agent -- but unlike the Plame case this agent was overseas within the last 5 years, which I think was of concern when determining Plame's status.
DKK

The Attempted Neutering Of McCain Continues -- Obama Plays Preemptive Race Card

Earlier I posted my explanation of how the Obama campaign neutered the Clintons through a combination of claiming Hillary's attacks were all below the belt while at the same time attacking Hillary in the very same manner. Then came the inevitable race sensitivity. The combination of these two virtually eliminated all of the Clinton's tools from their tool belt.

Previously I noted that Obama had already begun the duplicity by attacking McCain for political posturing even as Obama was political posturing himself.

Well, as expected, Obama has now preemptively played the race card.

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said on Friday he expects Republicans to highlight the fact that he is black as part of an effort to make voters afraid of him.

“It is going to be very difficult for Republicans to run on their stewardship of the economy or their outstanding foreign policy,” Obama told a fundraiser in Jacksonville, Florida. “We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run. They’re going to try to make you afraid.

“They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?”

He said he was also set for Republicans to say “he’s got a feisty wife,” in trying to attack his wife Michelle.

Right Wing Nut House notes the effect:

We expected it, of course. It is his greatest political weapon and he will use it again and again, shamelessly accusing the GOP of bringing up his race (even, as this proves, when they don’t) in order to deflect criticism away from he and his wife for anything they say or any associations in their past.

The press will let him get away with it because they are terrified of being accused of racism themselves.

This neutering worked against the Clintons effectively removing all of the tools from their tool belt by unilaterally changing the game (with the willing help of the MSM).

Let's hope the McCain camp have a workable tactic for this. One suggestion is for McCain to go to BOTH the places Republicans won't go and the places Obama won't go! McCain already started this with his visit to New Orleans, but this won't be enough
DKK

Daily Trek June 22, 2008

What'd I miss?

Basically a link dump of some of the stories that have backed up on my list. Let me know if you like the format.

US News has a list of 7 Ways McCain can use energy to beat Obama.

Barack Obama's foreign policy advisers said Tuesday that Osama bin Laden, if captured, should be allowed to appeal his case to U.S. civilian courts, a privilege opposed by John McCain.

Obama has decided that NAFTA isn't so bad after all! Funny, isn't that what his campaign strongly denied what one of their own told Canada he was just playing politics?

9th Circuit Court overruled a previous decision and has ruled that people can't be fired for having social security numbers that don't match as being theirs. Meanwhile the EU has strengthened their ability to hold and deport illegals.

Obama's campaign had to correct his mistaken words when he told AIPAC that Jerusalem should be the 'undivided' capitol of Israel. "Barack Obama has no grasp of the basics of diplomacy, and doesn't even realize it. That is a frightening thought about a potential commander in chief."

Removing Muslim women from behind Obama is what happens when your image is overly managed and your campaign is supported by people who are so desperate to win the White House they can taste it! Things will only get worse as the election approaches -- the wacko left wants it win after so many losses!

The GAO has ruled in Boeing's favor on issues related to the 35 billion dollar tanker contract that was originally awarded to Airbus/Lockheed partnership.

McCain called for the construction of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 and pledged $2 billion a year in federal funds for clean coal development in an effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

In an attempt to counter McCain's energy proposal another Democrat, Maurice Hinchey,has called for Nationalizing refineries -- all the better to control every aspect of our lives!

When Obama said there wasn't much difference between his position and Bush's, after opposing the war and now opposing the war again, was he basing his policy on the waxing and waning of convicted felon and FOB (friend of Barack) Tony Rezko's business prospects with the Iraqi government?

"Obama has yet to make one important decision in his adult life."

Senate Housing Bill Requires eBay, Amazon, Google, and All Credit Card Companies to Report Transactions to the Government

China reduces oil subsidy, increasing price. Oil drops on hopes of reduced demand.

"While Michelle Obama was fixing her image on “The View,” Cindy McCain was in Vietnam and working for children with facial deformities."

The US Treasury Department froze the assets of two Venezuelan diplomats who are Hezbollah frontmen. Yet Hugo has the left wrapped around his finger.

Obama goes back on his promise to use public financing in his campaign -- what's worse is that he blamed the flip on non existent Republican 527's that he claims attacked him already and then lied by saying McCain had put campaign finance reform ahead of his political ambition. Anyone remember McCain Feingold that conservatives have railed against for years and even took to the Supreme Court!

"Along with the two mentioned at the end of my earlier post, this makes three separate lies springing from his decision to opt out of public financing."

After the Supreme Court told Mexico that US laws are all that matter they have taken their appeal of the death penalty to the UN for a Mexican National convicted of murdering a Texan!

Republicans have a history of eliminating income inequality by moving people up from the lower levels while the Democrats have repeatedly failed at redistribution of wealth. Now the effects of their programs, including Section 8 have lead to a crime wave in previously crime free neighborhoods.

Mars Phoenix Lander finds ice on Mars!

Oregon's public health care system won't pay for new expensive cancer treatment, but they will pay for assisted suicide if you want to be responsible and end it early and save your fellow citizens some money!

"Obama wants change unless, change might bring down the price of gasoline, in which case, Obama wants to change back to the status quo!"

The government has banned incandescent light bulbs after 2014, switching to Chinese CFL's but one Congressman wonders if that ban was constitutional.

When would 100 professors object to naming a new department after a recently deceased, world renowned professor? When that professor was a conservative economics professor named Milton Friedman!
DKK

New Tool -- Bringing You The News You May Have Missed

I received my invitation to join RedLasso, an online video recording system that records live TV and radio on numerous channels nationwide. It allows you to clip and save videos you want to share with others.

With that in mind, I present my inaugural video:
Red Eye -- Like A Fat Chick


Via Redlasso
DKK

Wait Pat, Did You And Barack Have The Same History Professor?

Pat Buchanan has a new book out, Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World, that, despite his best efforts, has been getting panned by many, including Victor Davis Hansen, whom I have a great deal of respect for as an historian.

I have not read the book yet but it is my understanding that people disagree with Buchanan's interpretation of history and his cherry picking of historical fact. Leaving out what is inconvenient to his premise, that Hitler was (well not to bring up recent wounds) "contained" and was not out to conquer the world. Christopher Hitchens hit him hard in a column earlier this week on theses issues.

It is Pat's belief that the war was made necessary by the mistaken policies of the British (specifically Churchill) and that the war was the cause of many of the terrors of that followed, not Hitler and the Nazi's.

Yesterday he published a column that was posted to Townhall.com entitled, Was the Holocaust Inevitable? Here is a bit of the column:

If Hitler were out to conquer the world, why did he not build a great fleet? Why did he not demand the French fleet when France surrendered?
(...)

That Hitler was a rabid anti-Semite is undeniable. "Mein Kampf" is saturated in anti-Semitism. The Nuremberg Laws confirm it. But for the six years before Britain declared war, there was no Holocaust, and for two years after the war began, there was no Holocaust.

Not until midwinter 1942 was the Wannsee Conference held, where the Final Solution was on the table.

That conference was not convened until Hitler had been halted in Russia, was at war with America and sensed doom was inevitable. Then the trains began to roll.

And why did Hitler invade Russia? This writer quotes Hitler 10 times as saying that only by knocking out Russia could he convince Britain it could not win and must end the war.

Hitchens mocks this view, invoking the Hitler-madman theory.

"Could we have a better definition of derangement and megalomania than the case of a dictator who overrules his own generals and invades Russia in wintertime ... ?"

Christopher, Hitler invaded Russia on June 22.

The Holocaust was not a cause of the war, but a consequence of the war. No war, no Holocaust.

He then finishes by correctly pointing out that Western Europe was not freed by WWII and that Stalin was worse then Hitler.

Again, I have not read the book, but when I read this column my first thought was, "wow, this guy completely missed some historical facts growing up! What, did Buchanan and Obama both go to the same school or something?" Both he and Obama have demonstrated fundamentally flawed views of historical facts.

(To my surprise I found that Columbia University WAS on both of their resumes, Pat attended Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Barack attended Columbia University as an undergrad.)

Let me just make a couple of corrections to the two points quoted from Buchanan's column quoted above.

Why didn't Hitler build a great fleet?

In reality Hitler had actually begun doing just that with Plan-Z (German Navy -- History ):

The Z-Plan was Germanys fleet building program started shortly before World War 2.

In the mid 1930s a major discussion about a new fleet program started in Germany. There were two major opinions, what kind of program should have been chosen. One plan was focused on a large submarine fleet and a relatively small surface fleet for coast protection, this plan was preferred by the U-Boat fraction in the Kriegsmarine command. The other alternative was a mixed fleet of various surface ships and a much smaller U-Boat fleet, quite similar to the Imperial Navy in World War I or the British Royal Navy. In the end, this plan was chosen as the new fleet building program, after several modifications it was called the "Z-Plan".

According to this plan, the German Kriegsmarine should have grown to about 800 units, consisting of 13 battleships and battlecruisers, 4 aircraft carriers, 15 Panzerschiffe, 23 cruisers and 22 so called "Spähkreuzer" which were basically large destroyers. In addition to this many smaller vessels should have been build.

Those ships should have been build between 1939 and 1946, in this time, the personal of the Kriegsmarine should have been enlarged to 201.000 men and over 33 billion Reichsmark should have spend for building the new units.

When Plan-Z was implemented Hitler had promised the woefully unprepared German Navy that there would not a be war until 1945, his invasion of Poland short-circuited his own build up plans. Had Churchill waited he would have been met with a formidable fleet that would have put Hitler in a far stronger position then he was in 1939.

For comparison the Royal Navy was, in 1939, the largest naval force in the world. However the Home Water and Atlantic fleet contained just 9 Battleships, 4 Aircraft carriers, 35 cruisers, 95 Destroyers, 25 submarines and support vessels. The Navy had 200,000 men in service. Of the capital ships only 2 were built after WWI, the sea air power was limited to short range slow moving aircraft and the surface ships were unprepared for submarine warfare. While a build up was underway many of these ships were intended as replacements for the older ships and were built under the restrictions of tonnage, gun size, total fleet tonnage, and start date for new construction that was agreed to under the naval treaties post WWI. Hitler undermined these treaties during the 1930's and with the start of Plan-Z completely abandoned them.

Clearly German's planned fleet of newly designed and built vessels, unrestricted by treaty size, would have been a direct challenge to Britain had the war been put off for a few more years.

This doesn't include the Italian Navy which ranked 5th in size behind France,

Why didn't Hitler demand the French fleet?

In reality Hitler did demand that the French fleet be returned and neutralized, either scuttled or interred, "under German or Italian supervision."

With the start of war in advance of Hitlers planned naval build up there was a change in German Naval policy from that of Plan-Z as described above to the other major alternative, a large submarine fleet and a relatively small surface fleet for coastal protection. With that change in strategy Germany simply did not have the manpower available to man the fourth largest fleet in the world at that time.

However it was feared by the allies that this would leave the French fleet available in the future should Germany demand it and the main body of the French Fleet was destroyed by the British at the battle of Mers-el-Kebir. It is really not possible to know what Hitler would have done with the fleet had it been allowed to return to France.

For the six years before Britain declared war, there was no Holocaust, and for two years after the war began, there was no Holocaust.

In reality:

Hitler hesitated to eliminate Germans he considered undesirable by systematic killing. In 1935, he told Dr. Wagner he was considering a program of involuntary euthanasia and would start it in wartime. In 1938 he stopped waiting for war, deciding to use instead the cover of a health program and to keep the killing secret. Children were the first victims, as midwives and nurses were instructed to report births of defective infants (a category enlarged during the war to include “racially undesirable” ones). Thousands were killed by injection or deliberate starvation.

The killing was soon extended to adults, beginning with people in mental hospitals.

(…)

Up to 1939, about seventy thousand adults were killed. (…)

By 1940, the “euthanasia” program was a cover for killing political prisoners, slave laborers, Jews, half-Jewish children, and Gypsies.

Hitler: The Pathology of Evil By George Victor

Pat Buchanan has presented himself as some "conservative" standard bearer intent on preventing a repeat of some version of history he has constructed in his mind. Rather as his own column demonstrates he doesn't even have a basic knowledge of the subject.
DKK
Buchanan Column Via Gateway Pundit -- Nazi Tool Pat Buchanan Says Hitler Did Not Plan Holocaust