• Barack Obama,  Hugo Chavez

    Photo: “The United States Empire is on its Way Down and it Will Be Finished in the Near Future, Inshallah (God Willing)”

    chavez and obama 2

    This is what Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in New York at the United Nations a few years ago.

    “The United States empire is on its way down and it will be finished in the near future, inshallah,” Chavez told reporters, ending the statement with the Arabic phrase for “God willing.”

    Chavez said that the United Nations is a “deceased” organization because it was formed to bridge the differences between the United States and Russia, and a brand new international organization would have to be formed to replace it.

    Earlier, Chavez initiated a verbal assault on President Bush, calling him “the devil” during an insult-riddled address to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.

    obama and chavez 1

    Maybe Chavez has a point. Does Obama get it?

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  • Arnold Schwarzenegger,  Devin Nunes

    California GOP Congressman Devin Nunes Calls on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to Resign Over Water Policy

    Congressman Devin Nunes

    Rep. Devin Nunes is joined by Mayor Ortega of Tulare, CalTrans Regional Director Alan McCuen, and CHP Officer Mark Walker for the groundbreaking of the new K Street Off-Ramp Project

    A bold move that unfortunately will NOT bear any fruit except build the political credibility of the Tulare area Congressman.

    Rep. Devin Nunes, a Tulare Republican, called on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to resign Friday – not over taxes, but water.

    Nunes said he was none too thrilled by Schwarzenegger’s speech Friday at the San Luis Reservoir outside Los Banos at a California March for Water rally. The governor spoke about his efforts to seek permanent solutions to the state’s water problems, including new dams and a conveyance that can transfer water around the Delta without harming endangered species.

    Schwarzenegger led chants of “We need water! We need water!” He told the crowd he has been working on the problems for the last five years to “create a water infrastructure that is for 38 million people rather than 18 million people.”

    But Nunes said he wanted to hear the governor promise to seek a federal waiver of the Endangered Species Act so Delta water pumps can transfer their full capacity of water to the San Joaquin Valley now. Environmental restrictions and drought conditions have curtailed water deliveries this year, and unemployment has approached 40 percent in some farming towns like Mendota.

    Nunes said Schwarzenegger should resign because he has “utterly failed.”

    “He’s had five, six years in office to figure this water situation out, and he hasn’t done it,” Nunes said by phone. “Then he shows up to the San Joaquin Valley today and says nothing. You’ve got to turn the pumps on in the Delta, and we have to go back to historic levels. This is not a drought like it’s being portrayed in the news. This is a man-made drought.”

    But, Nunes is RIGHT. Schwarzenegger is a “FAILED” California Governor and his protection of the Delta Smelt is just another one of his environmental extremist positions that has crippled the business climate of the state.

    Schwarzenegger has to go and not soon enough.


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  • Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2009-04-17

    • John McCain’s lead vice presidential vetter said Friday that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin “impressed” in her interview, knocking the senator’s most important questions “out of the park.”

      A.B. Culvahouse, a powerful Washington lawyer and former counsel to President Reagan, told an audience of Republican lawyers that for McCain, selecting a vice president came down to three questions: Why do you want to be vice president? Are you prepared to use nuclear weapons? And the CIA has identified Osama bin Laden, but if you take the shot there will be multiple civilian casualties. Do you take the shot?

      “She knocked those questions out of the park,” he said at an event held at the National Press Club by the Republican National Lawyers Association. “We came away impressed.”

      (tags: sarah_palin)
    • I figured that readers could decide whether the former Bush official’s comments sounded defensive or vindictive. And POLITICO readers aren’t so delicate that we have to deceptively pretend there’s no other side to a major issue. So at the bottom of the Axelrod story, I tacked on an ellipsized excerpt of the former Bush official’s quotes, removing several ad hominem attacks on Obama. I quoted less than half of the comment and took out the most incendiary parts — a way to hint at the opposing view without giving an anonymous source free rein. I also added a final sentence with additional White House perspective, so the former Bush official wouldn’t have the last word.
    • Anyway, for what it is worth, the Pajamas Media folks have put together a count of 551,919 using both media accounts and organizers' estimates. Another collection of counts is here. My number, of course, aims to give the indisputable minimum; I'm using only media numbers and 200 every time a news report just says "hundreds," 2,000 every time a report only says, "thousands," etc.

      Many, many folks argue that the local press was lowballing the count, which is another argument for another time; my aim in yesterday's post was to point out that just by using Nate Silver's measuring stick, numbers from press accounts, the number was signficantly higher than the initial 262,025.

      (tags: Tea_Parties)
    • John Ziegler, the provocateur behind "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Sarah Palin was Targeted," tried to cover attendees of the Walter Cronkite Awards Dinner, but was met with forcible resistance.

      Campus police at USC set up a barricade for Ziegler that would have prevented him from having access to attendees. Their rationale was based on classifying Ziegler as a "protester."
      I certainly don't agree with him that Couric's Palin interview was advocacy, not journalism. If I'm Katie Couric, or the awards organizers, I don't want John Ziegler around making a nuisance of himself, bothering attendees. But here's the thing: This is America, and he gets to do that.

      If you're going to give an award for excellence in journalism, which is all about asking people questions they don't necessarily want to answer, John Ziegler gets to do that. Like him or not, agree with him or not, in a free country he gets to do that.

    • Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates denied permission for the U.S. Northern Command to use the Pentagon's most powerful sea-based radar to monitor North Korea's recent missile launch, precluding officials from collecting finely detailed launch data or testing the radar in a real-time crisis, current and former defense officials said.

      Jamie Graybeal, Northcom public affairs director, confirmed to The Washington Times that Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, the Northcom commander, requested the radar's use but referred all other questions to the Pentagon.

      Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Mr. Gates' decision not to use the $900 million radar, known as SBX, was "based on the fact that there were numerous ground- and sea-based radars and sensors in the region to support the operational requirements for this launch.

    • A former top official in the administration of President George W. Bush called the publication of the memos “unbelievable.”

      “It's damaging because these are techniques that work, and by Obama's action today, we are telling the terrorists what they are,” the official said. “We have laid it all out for our enemies. This is totally unnecessary. … Publicizing the techniques does grave damage to our national security by ensuring they can never be used again — even in a ticking-time- bomb scenario where thousands or even millions of American lives are at stake."

      “I don't believe Obama would intentionally endanger the nation, so it must be that he thinks either 1. the previous administration, including the CIA professionals who have defended this program, is lying about its importance and effectiveness, or 2. he believes we are no longer really at war and no longer face the kind of grave threat to our national security this program has protected against.”

    • You are right in reporting that such weapons could not be legally acquired through US gun shops, and they have not been in US service for decades. However, they are still used throughout the world, including South and Central America where many were provided through the US government, again, decades ago.

      I'm assuming the pictures of the weapons are these. I was going by the news story, and wouldn't know what I was looking at in any case. It could be, of course, that there are multiple weapons, but regardless, this suggests a new rallying cry for gun-grabbers — "Stop the smuggling of antique firearms to Mexico!"

      (tags: Guns Mexico)
    • Nonetheless, he's playing his part in the administration's diversionary effort at seeming to respond forcefully to the problems at the Mexican border without actually mentioning illegal immigration. This centers on claims that 90 percent of the guns seized in Mexico are from the United States, and thus stopping that southbound flow of weapons has to be our chief goal. This was reinforced recently by a complete non sequitur of a story about the seizure of a U.S.-made .50 caliber Browning machine gun by Mexican police, which somehow is further justification for a planned ATF enforcement blitz in Texas.
    • How do urban legends retain their vitality? Ignorant people pass them along as fact. Unfortunately, sometimes that includes the national media, as it does today in the Washington Post. In a report on Barack Obama’s get-tough policy with Mexico, reporter Spencer Hsu repeats the canard that 90% of the guns seized by Mexican authorities come from the US:
      (tags: Guns Mexico)
    • Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) blasted "tea party" protests yesterday, labeling the activities "despicable" and shameful."

      "The ‘tea parties’ being held today by groups of right-wing activists, and fueled by FOX News Channel, are an effort to mislead the public about the Obama economic plan that cuts taxes for 95 percent of Americans and creates 3.5 million jobs," Schakowsky said in a statement.

      "It’s despicable that right-wing Republicans would attempt to cheapen a significant, honorable moment of American history with a shameful political stunt," she added. "Not a single American household or business will be taxed at a higher rate this year. Made to look like a grassroots uprising, this is an Obama bashing party promoted by corporate interests, as well as Republican lobbyists and politicians.”
      +++++++
      From Illinois – of course.

      (tags: Tea_Parties)
  • John Ziegler,  Katie Couric,  Marty Kaplan,  Norman Lear,  Sarah Palin,  University of Southern California

    Video: John Ziegler – “I Did Absolutely Nothing Wrong”

    Conservative Filmmaker John Ziegler interviewed by Greta Van Susteren

    Remember the Flap from yesterday.

    Apparently, the University of Southern California does NOT appreciate this type of journalism. The video above shows John Ziegler as he is handcuffed, detained and then escorted off the USC campus for attempting to interview people attending the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism.Also, Ziegler wanted to give away copies of his film on Sarah Palin.

    Watch the video above and then read this piece from a left-wing pundit.

    Press awards are generally open events, but even if it was a closed affair, Ziegler had a right to be a nuisance at USC.

    After all, this is America.

    A bad move for the Annenberg School of Communications, the Norman Lear Center and the University of Southern California.

    Wonder if Katie Couric will EVER have a comment?


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  • Del.icio.us Links

    Flaps Blog Links for April 17, 2009

    Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates denied permission for the U.S. Northern Command to use the Pentagon’s most powerful sea-based radar to monitor North Korea’s recent missile launch, precluding officials from collecting finely detailed launch data or testing the radar in a real-time crisis, current and former defense officials said. Jamie Graybeal, Northcom public affairs director, confirmed to The Washington Times that Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, the Northcom commander, requested the radar’s use but referred all other questions to the Pentagon. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Mr. Gates’ decision not to use the $900 million radar, known as SBX, was “based on the fact that there were numerous ground- and sea-based radars and sensors in the region to support the operational requirements for this launch.

    A former top official in the administration of President George W. Bush called the publication of the memos “unbelievable.” “It’s damaging because these are techniques that work, and by Obama’s action today, we are telling the terrorists what they are,” the official said. “We have laid it all out for our enemies. This is totally unnecessary. … Publicizing the techniques does grave damage to our national security by ensuring they can never be used again — even in a ticking-time- bomb scenario where thousands or even millions of American lives are at stake.” “I don’t believe Obama would intentionally endanger the nation, so it must be that he thinks either 1. the previous administration, including the CIA professionals who have defended this program, is lying about its importance and effectiveness, or 2. he believes we are no longer really at war and no longer face the kind of grave threat to our national security this program has protected against.”

    You are right in reporting that such weapons could not be legally acquired through US gun shops, and they have not been in US service for decades. However, they are still used throughout the world, including South and Central America where many were provided through the US government, again, decades ago. I’m assuming the pictures of the weapons are these. I was going by the news story, and wouldn’t know what I was looking at in any case. It could be, of course, that there are multiple weapons, but regardless, this suggests a new rallying cry for gun-grabbers — “Stop the smuggling of antique firearms to Mexico!”

    Nonetheless, he’s playing his part in the administration’s diversionary effort at seeming to respond forcefully to the problems at the Mexican border without actually mentioning illegal immigration. This centers on claims that 90 percent of the guns seized in Mexico are from the United States, and thus stopping that southbound flow of weapons has to be our chief goal. This was reinforced recently by a complete non sequitur of a story about the seizure of a U.S.-made .50 caliber Browning machine gun by Mexican police, which somehow is further justification for a planned ATF enforcement blitz in Texas.

    How do urban legends retain their vitality? Ignorant people pass them along as fact. Unfortunately, sometimes that includes the national media, as it does today in the Washington Post. In a report on Barack Obama’s get-tough policy with Mexico, reporter Spencer Hsu repeats the canard that 90% of the guns seized by Mexican authorities come from the US:

    Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) blasted “tea party” protests yesterday, labeling the activities “despicable” and shameful.” “The ‘tea parties’ being held today by groups of right-wing activists, and fueled by FOX News Channel, are an effort to mislead the public about the Obama economic plan that cuts taxes for 95 percent of Americans and creates 3.5 million jobs,” Schakowsky said in a statement. “It’s despicable that right-wing Republicans would attempt to cheapen a significant, honorable moment of American history with a shameful political stunt,” she added. “Not a single American household or business will be taxed at a higher rate this year. Made to look like a grassroots uprising, this is an Obama bashing party promoted by corporate interests, as well as Republican lobbyists and politicians.”

    +++++++

    From Illinois – of course.

    It’s a good list, but it appears to have left some events off, which would boost the numbers even higher. I don’t see Macon, Ga., listed, and that was reportedly “almost 600” and “about 500” at Warner-Robins, Ga. Roanoke, Va., is not listed, and the local newspaper article mentions “325 people.” Perhaps most glaringly, Columbus, Ohio doesn’t appear on Silver’s list, which had, according to organizers, 7,000 people. Even if you think the organizers are overestimating the number, it’s more than the zero that are in Silver’s current count. ANOTHER UPDATE: Okay, this is starting to look like a fairly significant undercount. While Silver uses 7,000 for Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Public Safety estimated the crowd at 15,000.

    Obama is a very popular President, at the moment, his unpopularity among Republicans notwithstanding, and it’s awfully hard to see the Tea Parties doing much to change that reality in the short run; if anything, they’re far more likely to reconfirm the majority in its opinion that American conservatism is increasingly wacky, echo-chamberish, and out-of-touch. Still, here we are in the sixth year of the Iraq War, and all those anti-war protests, their excesses and stupidities notwithstanding, look a lot more prescient in hindsight than they did (to me, at least) when they were going on. So if you’re inclined to sneer and giggle at the Tea Parties, keep in mind that just because a group of protesters looks ragged, resentful, and naive, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re wrong to be alarmed:

    A number of press reports have characterized the tea parties as anti-Obama exercises. The Wall Street Journal carried an online story headlined “Anti-Obama ‘Tea Party’ Protests Mark Tax Day.” CNN introduced a tea-party story by saying, “This is a party for Obama-bashers.” The Los Angeles Times ran a column headlined, “Anti-Obama Taxpayer Tea Parties Steeped in Insanity.” But in Winchester at least, the atmosphere was not so much anti-Obama — organizers posted a note on their website asking that everyone “Please DO NOT personally attack the President or any member of Congress by name” — as it was a classic conservative Republican, limited-government, anti-spending talkfest. Anyone who covered the GOP primary contests in 2007-2008 would have recognized it immediately.

    THE top suits and some of the on-air talent at CNBC were recently ordered to a top-secret meeting with General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker to discuss whether they’ve turned into the President Obama-bashing network, Page Six has learned. “It was an intensive, three-hour dinner at 30 Rock which Zucker himself was behind,” a source familiar with the powwow told us. “There was a long discussion about whether CNBC has become too conservative and is beating up on Obama too much. There’s great concern that CNBC is now the anti-Obama network. The whole meeting was really kind of creepy.”

    But if 100-1,000 people show up at a town council, city council, etc. meeting, in most places, that’s an earthquake. It varies widely, but most local government budget meetings are sleepy affairs, and many local lawmakers are used to settling their spending with minimal scrutiny. They’ve never seen anything like several hundred people showing up with the same message of “don’t waste my money.” In other words, if conservatives want to make sure stimulus funds don’t get spent on crap, applying pressure at the local level is a way to leverage the tea party energy into something with real impact on the ground. Who knows? It might even get some conservatives involved in government on a more regular basis.

    This is an update and probably the last one. Those of you who are interested in extending the analysis (there are undoubtedly many events missing, although most of the major ones should now be covered) are encouraged to do so at Wikipedia or elsewhere. But, based on news accounts of 306 “Tea Party” protests in different cities across the country yesterday, I get a cumulative attendance of 262,025, with a fair number of (probably mostly smaller) events still unaccounted for.

    1. The jury remains out (to say the least) on the Michael Steele era (see especially: nuts and bolts, communications, fundraising).
    2. The inordinate actual power that radio and cable hosts have over the actions of Republican elected officials.
    3. The media’s fascination with the actual (and exaggerated) power that radio and cable hosts have over the actions of Republican elected officials.
    4. The failure of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to agree on and/or execute a daily, disciplined coordinated message plan.
    5. The worst nativist instincts on immigration, that will cripple any chances the party has to survive the here-and-now and impending demographic changes.
    6. The weakness of almost all of the potential 2012 candidates.
    7.  The relative weakness of the conservative 527s, think tanks, and activist groups compared to their counterparts on the left.
    8. The Obama White House’s commanding command of the powers of the executive branch.
    9. The near impotence of the right’s long-term Big Three issues (national security, taxes, and social issues).
    10. Rahm.

  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day,  Rick Perry

    Day By Day by Chris Muir April 17, 2009 – 56 Varieties of Such

    day by day 041709

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    Clearly, Texas Governor Rick Perry’s pronouncement of a possible Texas state secession from the United States was political hyperbole. Perry was playing to the far-right of his constituency since he is in a GOP primary battle against Texas United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison for re-election.

    The Democrats are glad to spin Perry’s rants in portraying the Republican Party as out of the mainstream whackos.

    This is not the direction of the future Republican Party or conservative movement for that matter. Policy direction and the BEST ideas are the ways back into electoral success – NOT shocking and meaningless political  rhetoric.

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