Hmmm

Is this the War on Terror?

The 26-year-old Massachusetts man, Rezwan Ferdaus, was arrested as part of an FBI sting operation in which he was made to believe he was working with members of al Qaeda, who were actually undercover agents.

I think it's great to remove potential terrorists from our midst, but are we just luring young Middle Eastern men into thinking that they're living out their terrorist fantasies and then arresting them for it?  The FBI led this man to believe that he was working with Al Qaeda.  How about actually infiltrating Al Qaeda?  There are countless men (and women, I guess -- don't want to discriminate) out there like Rezwan Ferdaus.  It seems a rather inefficient use of resources to create sting operations like this to capture one dude at a time.

Newt for VP

I've given it about five minutes of thought and I think Newt should be the Vice President.  He knows the ins-and-outs of Congress and would work well with the almost inevitable Republican majorities in both houses (I think the as yet to be determined president should designate him as the man for that job) .  He's an idea man and could just churn out a bunch of good stuff for a seasoned executive to sift through and decide which to pursue.

Anyway, I'm still undecided (leaning Perry) on the presidential nominee (and haven't been able to watch many debates), but I think I'm on to something here.

Inside Baseball

What is the deal with Tim Pawlenty and Thaddeus McCotter dropping out and endorsing Mitt Romney?  Romney was the main nemesis for both during their primary runs.  (Excepting, of course, Pawlenty's whiny attacks on Michele Bachmann.)

I read that Pawlenty was getting his campaign's debt taken care of by Romney (in exchange for the endorsement?).  I'm not sure what McCotter's motivation is.  He had previously said of Romney, "our struggling families, entrepreneurs, and workers think Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama are not rivals, they’re running mates."  Very true, in my opinion.  So what gives?


Politics certainly does make strange bedfellows.  You just have to wonder what's going on behind the scenes that we are not privy to.  

The Road to Recovery Is Actually a U-turn

This is why the economy won't get back on track:  CEO fined for hiring too many workers.

At a certain point you have to wonder if Obama administration doesn't want the economy to improve.  They seem to do everything within their power to prevent a recovery.  The question is why.  Are they purposely creating an economic condition under which the only jobs available will be government jobs or jobs funded by the government?  I think our current debt situation shows that is not a viable plan.  

FREEDOM!!!!

A couple in California is being fined for holding a bible study in their home.

Homeowners Chuck and Stephanie Fromm, of San Juan Capistrano, were fined $300 earlier this month for holding what city officials called “a regular gathering of more than three people”.

That type of meeting would require a conditional use permit as defined by the city, according to Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), the couple’s legal representation.

"A regular gathering of more than three people" is cause for a $300 fine?  Excuse me?  Is this America?  Is this freedom?  You have to have a freaking permit to meet regularly with more than three people?  Do family dinners count?

We don't think about stuff like this and when we find out about it, we think it sounds utterly ridiculous.  But this is the country we've created.  We did this.  And now we have to fix it.  Our liberty will perish by a thousand little regulations and ordinances such as this one.  We elect people to office and then turn our backs because we don't want to be responsible or aware of how the sausage is made.  But we must be ever vigilant against this type of thing because this is what people in power do.  Unfortunately, this kind of law isn't how it begins; it's how it ends.  Good luck.

Somebody's Watching Me (and You and You and You and You)

I once thought about writing a screenplay about something like this ... if, you know, I knew how to write a screenplay.  Instead I'll just tell you two about it.  (Hi Kerr!  Hi Mom!)

Much of the technology developed to make our lives more convenient can easily be re-purposed to make our lives monitored and tracked -- cell phones, bar codes, credit cards, GPS, Netflix, IP addresses, the internet etc. etc.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't use it, but we should be aware of how it can be used against us.

Unbelievable

My husband refuses to believe that this is real because it looks so ridiculous.

Remember how much of a dumbass everyone thought George Bush was?

What?

I opened my email this morning to find an email from Barack Obama asking if I want to get dinner sometime. The email is actually asking me to donate $5 "to be automatically entered for a chance to join [Barack Obama] for dinner."  Forget AttackWatch, this is unseemly.

Creepy Much?

I bring you AttackWatch.com from Obama For America.

It's hard for me to articulate all that I find offensive about this.  There's the premise that everyone who disagrees with Obama is a liar.  There's the rather aggressive design and tone of the website itself.  There's the link to "Report an Attack" inviting us to spy on our fellow citizens (don't worry, I already let them know that Drudge is reporting that they've launched a really creepy website to monitor criticism of the President).

I know the guy has to run for re-election, it's just kind of unseemly for this to be part of a sitting President's campaign.  I don't like it.

Solidarity

Via Instapundit, we learn of one union boycotting another over layoffs of the latter union's staff.

It's just too perfect.

Update:  My husband's immediate reaction was "I hope they both win."

Here's Why I Like Perry

He doesn't back down when confronted with a position which people think he shouldn't hold.  He calls Social Security a Ponzi scheme and even the people who agree with him that it is a Ponzi scheme say that Perry shouldn't say that because he won't get elected.  What does Perry do?  Reiterates that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme!  Amen.

Confronted by the Tea Partiers about his laissez-faire approach to illegal immigration, and again he doesn't tell them what they want to hear:  that he made a mistake, that illegal immigrants are everything that's wrong with this country, that a fence will solve all our problems.  Nope.  He talks about the American Dream and how it doesn't matter where you came from, but where you are going.  I'd prefer if he included some talk about assimilation and embracing the common culture that makes one an American as well, but still, Perry's not just going to tell you what you want to hear.

It's almost as if he believes what he's saying.  It's almost as if he's letting the voters know where he stands and allowing them to make up their minds on the merits of his ideas rather than trying to bamboozle them into thinking that he agrees with them on every single thing they believe.  News flash:  no two people on this earth will agree about everything.  An election is about deciding whose larger view you agree with (or can stomach).  So, if your main issue is building a fence and shipping all the illegal immigrants back to where they came from, don't vote for Rick Perry.

Spoke Too Quickly

I'm sorry.  I must admit, when I wrote the previous post I hadn't yet read all the way through the material that the White House graciously provided for us.  Here are the details about how the act will be paid for:

5. FULLY PAID FOR AS PART OF THE PRESIDENT’S LONG-TERM DEFICIT REDUCTION PLAN. 

To ensure that the American Jobs Act is fully paid for, the President will call on the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit target. 

The President will, in the coming days, release a detailed plan that will show how we can do that while achieving the additional deficit reduction necessary to meet the President’s broader goal of stabilizing our debt as a share of the economy.

That, my friends, is how f***ing stupid they think we are.  

The "President's long-term deficit reduction plan"?  What?  I didn't know he had one of those.  It's all good then.  But wait!  It says it's his plan in the header, but then the very first sentence says that the President will ask the Joint Committee to find a way to pay for it.  The next sentence then switches back to the President doing it.  Which is it?  Does it matter?  No.  Because it will never happen.

The Final Straw?

This is how much the Obama White House disdains you.

Under the headline "American Jobs Act:  Read All the Details" on the White House blog, you are directed to a series of links to highlights of the bill, a so-called "complete overview" of the bill, and a blah-blah-blah of PR crapola about the bill.

To be clear, this White House believes that we are stupid enough to think that a post on their blog with a couple of links covers all the mother-lovin' details of a $4.5B (BILLION!) stimulus package.  There's still not even a bill!  Do you know that?  The "pass this bill" mantra Obama was chanting the other night was a complete farce.  That's how stupid they think we are.  Please don't be that stupid.

It's actually kind of terrifying to realize how much (I hope) they underestimate us.

Top Secret Jobs Plan Speech -- First Impressions Part II

Pass this jobs bill and maybe I'll shut the hell up before kickoff.

Update:  Does he really believe that wealthy Americans don't already "pay their fair share"?  That's absurd.  He just characterized the wealthy as "the most fortunate" -- maybe they worked harder.  Not everybody is John Kerry and married into their wealth.  Some people got their money the old-fashioned way.

Update II:  Is he comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln?

Update III:  I think this is Obama's "I Have a Plan (details to follow)" speech.

Top Secret Jobs Plan Speech -- First Impressions

It's been about 10 minutes -- and maybe my expectations are too high -- but President Obama just keeps saying that he has a "jobs" plan.  And that Congress should pass the jobs plan.  But he hasn't said what the freakin' jobs plan is.  He did say what the plan will allegedly do and that there are certainly no reasons to oppose it.  But again, what exactly is the plan?