Middle East unrest: Romney? presidential, Obama? busy campaigning

On Sept. 11th, a statement on Obama's State Department website agreed with the U.S.Embassy in Cairo's 9/11 apology for "hurt Muslim feelings". Then violent protests sprang up at the embassies in Egypt and Libya, resulting in Ambassador Stevens' death (along with 3 others) in Libya.

A very Presidential Mitt Romney, rightly condemned the attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Egypt and Libya. He said, "I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks."

Before dashing off to Las Vegas, at 10:43am, on Sept. 12th, the President made a statement, that was about as dynamic as a bowl of cold oatmeal.  He included this curious statement: "Libyan security personnel fought back against the attackers alongside Americans.  Libyans helped some of our diplomats find safety, and they carried Ambassador Stevens’s body to the hospital, where we tragically learned that he had died."

In another story, it would seem it was the same Libyan security personnel who told the protesters where the officials were taken!

And where did Obama get that information that Libyans helped carry Stevens to the hospital? Because if you look at, Muslims Execute US Ambassador Christ Stevens, the pictures (graphic) depict a battered man being dragged, not an injured man being carried. The post also includes a very positive YouTube introducing us to Ambassador Stevens when he took his post. What a tragedy.

Now keep in mind there has been controversy swirling over whether or not Obama has been attending his 'Presidential Daily Brief' intelligence meetings. In that article, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor didn't dispute the Govt. Accountability Institute's numbers that tabulated Obama's attendance record in the last 2 years at just 38%. For contrast, President George W. Bush "almost never missed his daily intelligence meeting".

The White House denies this accusation and says that if Obama doesn't attend the PDB, he at least reads the briefing book (crib sheet) every day. I think it is clear that with this latest Middle East unrest, Obama needs to stop just reading the Cliff Notes on intelligence briefings and meet face to face with those involved. 

And speaking of face to face meetings, as our world moves closer to Armageddon, why is it our President Obama has no time to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, our only true ally in the Middle East? He has time to do a radio interview with a hip-hopper in Florida, fly off to Las Vegas for a big fundraiser (what ever happened to avoiding Las Vegas?), or make plans to do the David Letterman show?

The Middle East is a volatile region, made even more volatile by Obama administration policies: "The Obama administration has played a central role in overthrowing U.S.-aligned regimes and replacing them with regimes that are hostile to the U.S. and its strategic interests".

You might say some of Obama's policies' chickens are coming home to roost.

Remember Hillary Clinton giddily proclaiming that in Libya, We came, we saw, he [Gaddafi] died? And in Egypt, Obama supported the Arab Spring revolt. Then in August, after the new regime got rid of Hosni Mubarak, opponents (some Christian), who were against the U.S. supported Morsi, were crucified  by the Arab Spring 'Brotherhood'.

Morsi has also refused to condemn Tuesday's 9/11 Cairo Embassy attack.


And let's not make the mistake of thinking this violence is all about a movie. Some of the protesters yelled, “'Obama! Obama! We are all Osama!' went one chant, referring to Osama bin Laden, the late head of Al Qaeda"  That ire was addressed directly to Obama. Why? Possibly because killing Osama was touted 20+ times at the DNC convention?

Anti-American violence is now spreading to other counties in the Middle East, and our President is too busy being the Campaigner in Chief, hip-hopping around the country, to be Commander in Chief.

At least there is one candidate in the 2012 election acting Presidential: Mitt Romney.

More Reading: 
Fatal Arab Spring 

Romney campaign links embassy attacks to Obama's failed Middle East policies 
Michelle Malkin: Obama, Clinton, Romney deliver Egypt, Libya remarks &
Egyptian faux-rage, deadly American dhimmitude...US Ambassador & Marines dead
Arab Spring Run Amok: 'Brotherhood' Starts Crucificxions "The Arab Spring takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood has run amok, ...radical Muslims have begun crucifying opponents of newly installed President Mohammed Morsi."

Links: Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, WisPolitics Quorum Call, Wisconsin Reporter, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation, The Way <><

Not exactly a fairytale royal wedding

APRIL 28, 2011

One can hardly turn on the news without hearing some buzz about the royal wedding between Prince William and Kate. I even witnessed a young mother today, shopping with her toddler, for an expensive hat and shawl to wear to her friend's royal wedding party on Friday.

The royal wedding is being referred to as a fairytale wedding, as in young woman meets handsome prince, marries, and lives happily ever after. But since this young couple has been living together for some time now, I just find it a sad reflection on today's mores.

I remember when Charles and Diana married; it was also a big deal. Some people watched during the wee hours to see the wedding unfold. I knew moms who had royal wedding tea parties for their daughters--that sounded like great fun to me. However, this time around, if a parent is encouraging their teens to be abstinent until marriage, how can they then celebrate this wedding between William and Kate, as if it is perfectly fine? That would really be a mixed message.

Don't get me wrong, I am glad William is making an honest woman of Kate, as they used to say, but I won't be watching the wedding this time. Curiosity will prompt me to look on the internet to catch a glimpse of her dress (it has to be better than Diana's, right?) but that will be the extent of my royal wedding watch.

With all the bad news today, be it war, rioting, flooding, fires, tornadoes, the economy, high gas prices and our debt crisis, I can see why this wedding would be such a welcome diversion for some. I just wish it wasn't a tarnished one.

Links: Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, RandyMelchert, Betterbrookfield, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

Who knew? Kevin Costner's super-slurpers to clean up BP spill

No reasonable person believes the President is solely responsible for the BP oil explosion. Nor do they think he should don deep-sea gear and go down and cork the hole himself. The well itself is some 12,000 feet under water, with the burst pipe at around 5,000 feet. Obviously, these are not friendly working conditions.

What people do want is their President to act like a leader and make the containment and clean up process as efficient and effective as possible, while BP works on capping the well. Unfortunately, our government, under the President's authority, seemingly has done everything but make the containment/clean up process as easy as possible.

W. Wansley at American Thinker wrote a great piece comparing Katrina and BP, "In the Gulf, a group of people have been trying to get in -- to apply American ingenuity to clean up the oil spill or prevent it from reaching the shore." Unfortunately, they "have been held up -- by government."

We are now hearing more about these rejected possible solutions to bar, contain and clean up the oily water before it reaches the shores. One of the pleas came from Governor Bobby Jindal. "...Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has begged for approval to put up temporary sand bars as a barrier to the oil. The EPA, worse than saying no, delayed and studied and pondered and then said no." Tired of waiting for BP, Jindal gave the order to build them on Monday.

From Am. Thinker: "We have seen countless stories in the news of innovation and ingenuity by Americans attempting to bring proven applications, equipment and tactics to bear on the oil. Each attempt is met with the same federal dithering, inaction and impedance. ... In the Gulf oil spill,...After they show their process to the media, the inevitable question is asked, 'Have you shown this to BP or the EPA?'" They answer, "yes, ...they are considering it" or "they would get back to us".

But at long last, enter actor Kevin Costner. An actor? Yes, but also a partner in Ocean Therapy Solutions, a company that has developed a machine that separates oil from water. Last week he testified at the House Science and Technology Committee meeting.

Even Costner, ever so diplomatically, said, "'We’re coming to this fight very late, I think everybody would recognize that. And so we’re going to do the things that we can do but this company is poised to mobilize in order to step this up and to create an environment where people can go back to work. There is a single moment that exists right at this moment and that is there are people out of work. There’s a moratorium and there’s no way to lift that unless I believe the government feels that people can operate in a safe way. This represents that pivot point.' "

"'If we want to discuss the ‘what ifs’ looking back, I think you could fill in the blanks of understanding if these machines were already deployed, what we would be looking at,' said Costner. 'I could scale this out for you and we would be chasing this oil out at the derrick itself. We couldn’t do anything about the size of the leak but we would be chasing that and we would be keeping that offshore.'"


Well, better late than never. BP recently placed an order for 32 of these clean up machines. With an efficiency rate of 99+%, it should help. Some are not so optimistic.

For everyone's sake, I hope between Costner's centrifuge machines, sand bars, siphon tankers, and other clean up measures, they will help clean up the water and prevent further damage. Time will tell.

Read the complete article: Heritage Foundation: Crisis of Competence
American Thinker: Katrina and BP, Two Sides of the Same Coin
Kevin Costner Says Early Use of Oil-Cleanup Machine Could Have Kept Gulf Oil Spill Offshore

Links: Practically Speaking, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

Pres. Obama's oil spill action plan: Ignore, delay, blame, demand, overreach, Cap & Tax (no real containment / clean up)

Last night Obama declared from the Oval Office, "We will fight this spill with everything we've got for as long it takes." But it doesn't seem like many Americans are buying that sales pitch. Even Democrats and Liberals are shaking their heads over his inaction so far and hum-drum Oval Office spiel. How will he make sure this never happens again? By talking it to death? We are now at day 57.

Never one to let a crisis go to waste to implement more government control, regulation, taxes, and now even overreaching to dictate how a foreign owned company should spend its money and use its stock dividends, President Obama is using the BP oil spill to push his Cap & Trade tax agenda. He says we need "...to move forward on legislation to promote a new economy powered by green jobs, combat climate change, and end our dependence on foreign oil."

Amidst his floundering in the Gulf he is touting alternative energy like wind and solar as a way to end oil spills--as if America can thrive without oil? Since Cap and Trade deals mainly with electricity generation, how will wind and solar end oil spills? America only uses oil to generate about 2% of our electricity. Maybe he would like to lead the way by converting Air Force 1 to solar panels?

In an email he sent out yesterday, the President wrote, "Many businesses support this agenda because shifting to clean energy creates opportunities for entrepreneurship." I am betting those businesses are involved in writing the Cap and Trade legislation or will benefit from the Carbon Credit exchange or an increase in wind and solar use? Companies such as BP--Beyond Petroleum or GE?

I think it is clear that the President squandered his Oval Office clout to peddle his Cap & Trade Tax bill. Most aren't buying it. No matter, his EPA can do what the Senate won't.

As for the spill, from what I have seen, Obama's first action on the spill was to ignore the event. The 11 workers who died as a result of the explosion on April 22nd were barely noted. At last, Obama went to the gulf on May 2nd. "The visit, which White House officials said on Saturday would be within the next 48 hours, signaled Obama was anxious to be seen to be paying close attention to the cleanup and containment of one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history." "Anxious to be seen" seems to be the key phrase there.

The President has visited several times since then but does not have much to show for it. Obama did authorize the deployment of 17,500 National Guardsmen; so far, only 1,600 have been deployed. Gov. Jindal just announced he will be using Guardsmen to build a barrier.

The Jones Act still has not been lifted (as it was after Hurricane Katrina) which would have allowed the Dutch and others with their offers of containment booms and salvage tankers into the area to at least contain and suck up some of the oil. Our own government had their own disaster plan that included the use of containment booms. Trouble was, the U.S. never purchased those emergency booms! In other oil spills, booms are put in place and then tankers come in to suck the oil/water mixture into their holds. They then then separate it later. But you need to contain the oil to do this. There are some booms in place but not nearly enough.

There are some things that just are not adding up with the BP accident. I am sure there is plenty of blame to go around. Let's face it, a blow out a mile under the sea is a problem that won't correct itself. Where was the discussion by the President on how to clean up or keep the oil from the shores? The one thing that is clear, Obama will use the spill to push for green energy, regardless of its negative impact on the U.S. economy!

More reading: BP Accused of Repeated Shortcuts
Sen. McConnell: Obama 'Holding the Gulf Hostage"
Gov. Bobby Jindal Orders National Guard to Build Barrier Wall Off Louisiana Shore
Cap and Trade: A New Disaster Waiting to Happen in 2009
The Spill, The Scandal and the President, How Obama failed to crack down on corruption of Bush years and let world's most dangerous oil company get away with murder.
Obama's Uncertain 'Battle Plan'


Links: Practically Speaking, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

That was scary; stock market falls nearly 1,000 points--How about that recovery?

I had just come back from praying at City Hall Plaza and because I was wondering about the Greece debt ripple effect, I checked the stock market quote page. It was at -350. Ooh, that is not good.

Then I refreshed it: -468. Refresh: -800 something. -963 at 1:47pm, Central Time. Pretty surreal. Talk about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!

Then it started recovering: -717. -697. -580. -472. At 2:10 back "up" to -338.95. In all, it fell 998.5 at about 2:45 pm Eastern Time, for its largest intraday drop ever, and recovered to close at -348.63. Who would ever think that number would look good?

Why? Blame it on bad news from Greece and maybe some China news too. After all, if China's economy crashes, who is going to buy our debt?

After the market rebounded back to the 300s, I checked Gold: $1,203.90 at 2:48pm ET, refresh, $1,204, refresh, $1207.10, refresh, $1,210.70 at 3:31pm ET

I don't believe gold has been in the $1,200 range since last December 2, 2009 when it hit $1,213. For metal market watchers, Mark Belling predicted during the summer of 2008 that gold would reach $1,200 by year end 2009. He then updated that prediction in Feb. of this year to be $1,325 by Labor Day 2010. (Silver to reach $19.75.) If the Greek debt problem expands to other downgraded countries of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, [Greece ] and Spain or PIIGS for short, Belling may need to make a new prediction.

I have long called our present recovery the falling in love with love recovery--something based on nothing more than a desire for a recovery--no real substance. Our unemployment rate is only under 10% because of all the government jobs created. The private sector still isn't really hiring.

Look at Europe with its PIIGS and huge debt. America isn't far behind--Moody's has threatened reducing our bond status. Investors look at what is happening in Europe and worry about what is happening here. In the meantime, our President, and you could add Governor Doyle and Mayor Barrett too, spend money like water. Even the CBO says our Fiscal policy is 'unsustainable'.

We cannot build a recovery on spending money we don't have. Economies at the state level aren't in much better shape. California and New York are near the brink; Wisconsin is not far behind. Wisconsin is hemorrhaging jobs, yet we still push for High Speed Rail and a 3.8 mile trolley line to mention 2 foolish expenditures.

No real recovery? Roller-coaster stock and metal markets? I think we have to start saying it: It's the Spending, Stupid, both here and abroad.

Links: Practically Speaking, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

I don't often quote Jon Stewart, but "Poor Al Gore" cancels Copenhagen

You know an issue has traction when the the lib comics start jabbing their own on the left. This week, Comedian Jon Stewart threw this zinger at Global Warming Guru Al Gore. (I don't watch Jon, but Vicki McKenna mentioned it on her radio program. It is funny--raunch removed):

"Poor Al Gore, global warming completely debunked by the very Internet you invented. OH, OH the irony, the irony."

He also chided the CRU for throwing out raw data.

"But here's what's great about science, in disagreements we go back and look at the raw data (clip showing data destroyed) ... ...Why would you throw out raw data from the 80's?...", after all, he still has his girlie magazines from the 1970s!

This morning, I learned** that the Guru himself, Al Gore, CANCELED his special Copenhagen $1,209/ticket book promo, photo op, and snack with Al event!

Why?

The Danish ticket coordinator stated, "'great annoyance' was a factor in the cancellation, along with unforseen changes in Mr. Gore's program for the climate summit." Gore's cancellation affects 3,000 believers, um, make that ticket holders.

"Great annoyance"? "Unforseen changes in Mr. Gore's program"? Could it be Mr. Gore doesn't know how to incorporate eating crow into his slide presentation?

Al Gore's credibility was already on thin ice. Remember Gore has photo-shopped some of his pictures for greater affect in his movie and on his book cover. He won't debate any naysayers--he says he will, but then he cancels. And he will not answer pointed questions. Most recent example, when Gore was in Madison, WI, he would not respond to a simple question about polar bears being considered threatened when their population is growing*.

Whatever you might believe about man made global warming, this latest cancellation is HUGE. Certainly in a crowd of 3,000 believers, willing to pay $1,200 just for the privilege of being in his presence, Gore was on friendly turf.

The man made global warming believers will still believe because it is a religion, not science, but canceling was a major faux pas, in my opinion. As any religious leader knows, you don't disappoint the faithful.


More reading: ClimateGate Overview
Houston braces for about 2 inches of snow, earliest ever!
Take back Al Gore's Oscar, two Academy members demand in light of Climategate

*I know "threatened" is a matter of semantics and doesn't have so much to do with population as with thriving habitat. Still, increasing by 20,000 in 30 years shows polar bears are faring better.

**Thanks to Jay Weber's link page

Links: Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

No Global Warming: One less thing to worry about? Don't count on it

Last week, hackers broke into the computers at Britain's Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia. This was important because the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change uses the CRU as their source for data.

The hackers then posted over 1,000 emails and 72 documents on the internet revealing how the CRU was suppressing data that showed there was no warming of the planet:

"Those e-mails involved communication among many scientific researchers and policy advocates with similar ideological positions all across the world. Those purported authorities were brazenly discussing the destruction and hiding of data that did not support global-warming claims."

The British press is up in arms over this. Brits are, after all, ahead of us on the Carbon Tax parade. In the U.S., there has not been much coverage.

In fact, as far as President Obama is concerned, it seems it is global warming business as usual.

Despite this huge nail in the global warming coffin hitting the press last week Thursday, President Obama still met with Indian and Chinese leaders this week, to coax them "one step closer" to climate deal:

"US President Barack Obama said Tuesday the world has moved 'one step closer' to a 'strong operational agreement' on climate change at next month's Copenhagen summit after his talks with Indian and Chinese leaders."

And Obama is still planning on attending the beginning of that U.N. climate meeting in Copenhagen.

Why? Global Warming is big business and can be used to control people's behaviors.

"Obama has made climate change a top priority of his administration..." The President still wants Cap and Trade to pass early next year.

In light of this new information, that the planet isn't warming, one would hope the push for taxing and controlling carbon emissions would be halted.

American scientist John Christy was was criticized in the hacked emails for asking that IPCC reports include dissenting points of view. He wrote, "It's disconcerting to realize that legislative actions [Cap and Trade] this nation is preparing to take, and which will cost trillions of dollars, are based upon a view of climate that has not been completely scientifically tested."

Disconcerting indeed. If only our President would check the Drudge Report once in a while!

More Reading: Climate Emails Stoke Debate, Scientists' Leaked Correspondence Illustrates Bitter Feud Over Global Warming

Hiding evidence of global cooling, Junk science exposed among climate-change believers

Global Warming with the Lid Off, The emails that reveal an effort to hide the truth about climate science

The Day Global Warming Stood Still

How the global warming industry is based on one MASSIVE lie (The Hockey Stick exposed)

Links: Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

Fall of Berlin Wall's 20th Anniversary gladdens and saddens

Remember the fall of the wall in 1989? It was like a dream come true to those like me who recall it's construction and lived through the height of the Soviet Union's power.

Fast-forward 20 years and today we celebrate the anniversary of that momentous day. But when I compare the state of our country in 1989 to the U.S.A. of today, it saddens me.

Our House of Representatives just passed the most expensive and oppressive health care reform bill AGAINST the wishes of the majority of Americans.

Ordinary citizens have risen up in unprecedented numbers for Tea Party rallies, Town Hall meetings and an impromptu' House Call press conference on the stairs of the nation's Capitol, all to no avail. Turning a deaf ear, 220 Representatives ignored their constituents' wishes and voted for it.

The house bill includes what I believe are unconstitutional mandates for insurance purchase and a hefty $25,000 fine and/or up to 5 year imprisonment for noncompliance. So much for America being called the Land of the Free.

I don't know which saddens me more: the fact that our president didn't think the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall was important enough to merit his time? or that if he would have gone, any commentary from him about New Berliners being freed from oppression would ring hollow, considering his own socialist agenda.

But I do celebrate in spirit today with those gathered in Germany and recall the boldness of President Reagan's famous words: "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall," and the bravery of leaders like Lech Walesa for freeing Poland.

``We Poles owe him [Reagan] freedom,'' Walesa said through an interpreter. ``Freedom is just like good health - when in good health, you take it for granted, and you appreciate good health only when it's gone.''

Ironic that Obama's health care bill brings more oppression to our country than anything we've seen so far, isn't it?


Four Little Words - Reagan deliberately confronted criminal regimes with what they fear most: the publicly spoken truth about their moral weakness.
Why the Berlin Wall Fell - From Truman to Reagan, the benefits of moral clarity.

POST SCRIPT: Heritage Foundation: Reagan, Obama and the Berlin Wall: "But the leftists in America do not want us to remember Reagan’s role in history. That is why President Barack Obama (the same man who found time to jet to Copenhagen at the drop of a rumor that his presence could win the Olympics for his hometown of Chicago) could not be bothered to attend the 20th anniversary of the wall’s fall last night. Instead, President Obama taped a video message that completely failed to mention Reagan or British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher."

Links: Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize vs. Sat. Night Live bit

You can't make this stuff up. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize!

For what? Even Saturday Night Live skewered him for his lack of accomplishment.

It is not like he hasn't done anything though. With all the bailouts and spending, we now have a deficit that is 10% of our GNP. (That level of indebtedness is considered unsustainable. The dollar is taking a beating; the price of gold has hit record highs.)

If our current deficit doesn't push us over the solvent edge, we have Cap and Trade and ObamaCare waiting in the wings to finish the job.

As for world peace, the president turned a blind eye to the Honduran and Iranian's desire for democracy and fair elections, reneged on missile shield protection for the Czechs and Poles, and is talking about a role for the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Analysis: Obama's Nobel honors promise, not action, in some ways, reads much like the script from Saturday Night Live's parody on Obama's accomplishments.

Since the deadline for peace prize applications was February 1st, just 11 days after taking office, I can only surmise that the nominator really believed Obama would solve the world's problems?

As for the peace prize committee actually awarding it to Obama, well, let's just say the president joins other great men such as President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Al Gore as peace prize recipients. The prize is often more about slapping the former president's face than anything.


More reading: Comment: absurd decision Obama makes a mockery of the Nobel peace prize

He won, but for what?

Links: Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

Olympic Egg On Face, or The Emperor Is Naked

I can't decide which title is more appropriate for this post. Chicago being eliminated on the first round of voting is horribly embarrassing, considering it was the president who made the pitch to the Olympic committee and presidents usually don't do that sort of thing.

It was bad enough that Obama spent millions of taxpayer dollars to go, but he also spent precious time to make the trip. He is after all the same president who for months said he was too busy to meet with our General McChrystal to discuss Afghanistan war strategy. (Obama did finally squeeze in a 25 minute meeting while en-route to Copenhagen*.)

The most devastating expenditure of Obama's ego-trip to Denmark was his squandering of world political clout. I believe that when a leader sticks his neck out for a cause, it better be an important one. Being rejected right out of the gate was a huge slap in the face.

What is most interesting to me is the reaction of the news media that cannot understand how their darling could have come up empty handed. It reminds me of the story of The Emperor's New Clothes. The media has all been fawning over their Emperor for so long, bolstered by each other and the Democrat Party, they failed to notice he was naked--totally devoid of any real experience or solutions to our many problems.

What I hope will come from this insult is that it will wake up Senate and House Democrats who still support Cap and Trade (Tax) and ObamCare despite their constituents' opposition. I hope they will realize that it is a little difficult to ride on the Obama-euphoria coattails in the 2010 elections if the president is really naked.

Post Scripts: I don't watch Saturday Night Live, but I did see this clip from the show on Boots and Sabers: SNL Rips on Obama. The T-shirt bit was funny.

*White House angry at General Stanley McChrystal speech on Afghanistan (Obama didn't have time to meet with the General about strategy but time to call him on the carpet?)

Links: Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation

Much ado about swine flu: If it's serious, why no quarantine?

First, I better state my disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I have not had any medical training outside of a college class in nutrition, physiology and anatomy, and genetics. However, sometimes I am dubbed Dr. Quinn or Dr. Spock by friends and family. I have been interested in natural medicine pretty much all of my adult life.

Sunday's big Elmbrook news was that Tonawanda Elementary School will be closed for the week because of a confirmed case of swine flu*. That sounds serious. But is it?

It seems the swine flu is already fizzling out in Mexico; the worst is over. That is very good news indeed. According to the CDC:

In the United States, the flu has spread to 30 states and infected 226 people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. It seems to be hitting mostly younger people, with very few cases in those over 50 years old. [nN03327731]

CDC acting director Richard Besser said there were "encouraging signs" the new strain was not more severe than what would be seen during normal seasonal flu.

But he still expected the virus to have a "significant impact" on people's health. "We're not out of the woods," Besser told "Fox News Sunday." [nN03498213]

So CDC's director says the swine flu is pretty much like the normal flu we experience every year. This is not the BIG ONE like the flu pandemic of 1918. But if it was, would simply closing schools have prevented its spread and death?

What will Tonawanda students do this week while not in school? Concerned parents might keep their kids at home, but probably most kids will view this as another week of vacation and play! Working parents must find day care for their children--so much for keeping the germs at bay.

In Milwaukee, the middle school and high school students will no doubt hang out at the malls and movie theaters. Again, so much for reducing exposure to the flu bug.

Do we as a society even understand the concept of keeping our germs to ourselves anymore? It does not seem so. Many businesses no longer give workers designated sick days; instead they have Personal Time Off--PTO days--days off given for any reason. But no one wants to give up a potential vacation day when they are sick. Consequently, they come to work when they should be home convalescing and share their germs with coworkers.

The idea of a quarantine is long gone too. Yesterday, my neighbor and I were talking about the current swine flu hype and reminisced about the polio quarantine in the early 1950s. She and I both remembered that summer in the 1950s when we could not leave our yards. No playing with the neighbor kids. No going to the school playground. We were grounded--quarantined--for what seemed to be an eternity. Polio was a real threat back then; there was and still is no cure.

If this flu outbreak was the big one, we certainly have not gone about preventing its spread very well. Our borders are still open. (Google maps doesn't have all the cases but gives an idea of where swine flu hot spots are.)

Some schools might be closed this week. Thankfully, this time I don't think it really matters what the kids do on their time off--it's just the flu. I do hope we get our act together though. One of these times, the warning won't just be hype; it will be real.

*With today's Nanny State mentality, I suppose it was too much to hope that parents would be the ones to decide if their child should attend school or not. It seems it was the Waukesha County Health Department's call to close the school. Dr. Gibson did request that students avoid contact with each other for the week.

Links:
Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki McKenna Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, The Heritage Foundation

Lest we forget: Holocaust Remembrance Day & Hallmark's Irena Sendler

Orig. post date: Tuesday, Apr 21 2009

While many in the world remember the Holocaust on this day, The Day of Remembrance, Iran's President Ahmadinejad spoke before the UN anti-racism conference, spewing his usual Holocaust denial sentiments. Those comments prompted "Dozens of diplomats" from Britain and Europe to walk out. The United States, Israel, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand and Poland did not opt to attend at all, because of concerns that the forum "would be used as a platform for attacks on Israel."

Iran's President lived up to that expectation with his assertion that "the Israeli state was created by 'military aggressions to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering' from the Second World War." I guess his pretext of suffering was in reference to the Holocaust, where over 6 million Jews were murdered by the German government? Don't ask me where the military aggression came in since the homeland of Israel was a initially a diplomatic solution, not a military one by the Jews.

It is difficult to understand how people like Ahmadinejad can deny the Holocaust when there are people still living who witnessed it, photos and film showing the camps, Jewish prisoners exist (pretty hard to get actors to starve themselves to death just to fool the world), and there is historical evidence--military records, hospital records, newspaper accounts, etc.

One such witness was depicted in Hallmark Hall of Fame's production: The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, which aired on Sunday, April 19. (If you missed it, it will be coming out on DVD soon.)

The production was based on the true story of Irena Sendler, a young woman who lived in Warsaw, Poland during the war years. Soon after Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the Jews were rounded up and forced to live in a confined area of the city, a ghetto. We learn that Irena's father was a doctor, who died of typhus years ago, that he contracted while treating the Jews. Irena, like her father, had a heart for the suffering of others and tried to make a difference. She was a social worker.

So she decides to not just help by bringing food and supplies to the ghetto dwellers; she sees that the children must be smuggled out and put in Polish homes for safe keeping. The rumors are that the Germans are emptying neighborhoods and taking the residents to "work camps." Irena sets out to find homes for the children.

Her actions are not without cost; she risks her life and safety to rescue the children. When asked if she realizes how dangerous her actions are, she quotes her father saying something like this: Didn't father used to say that if you see someone drowning, you must try to save them even if you can't swim? "A requirement dictated by the heart," she later said. Irena was taken prisoner herself, beaten so badly her legs and feet were broken, but she managed to escape execution.

Hallmark did a great job portraying what true heroism looks like. Irena Sendler didn't possess any special abilities, she just saw a job that needed doing and risked all to do it. As Renata Zajdman--a rescued survivor said, "she [Irena] is proof that an ordinary person can accomplish extraordinary deeds." In all, Irena rescued 2,500 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. (Oskar Schindler, of Schindler's List rescued 1,100.)

The movie portrayal was a fitting tribute to one of the many people who put self aside to help others during that horrible time. Hallmark has some background information on their website that is worth reading. It tells how this almost forgotten woman's deeds came to be known again. I was surprised to learn that after the war, she "was shunned into obscurity, and branded a Fascist for saving Jews." If you didn't get to view the production on TV, look for it when it comes out on DVD. (Check the library later this year.)

The Holocaust was real. It was not a pretext of suffering. There are still many who lived through it alive today--some thanks to Irena Sendler.

Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project

Links:
Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki McKenna Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, The Heritage Foundation

Obama's vision of Nuke Free World Shot Down by N. Korea Missile

President Obama is getting a taste of what it is like to be a president whose ideas aren't embraced by the rest of the world. While he speaks of a world without nuclear weaponry, North Korea shoots off a rocket! Guess they let us know what they think of a nuke free world! Rather like a big thumbing of the proverbial nose, eh? Saying, "North Korea broke the rules" is hardly going to make the North Korean's quake in their boots!

What is he going to do as a threat? Talk them to death? He reminds me of my elderly neighbor in Milwaukee who used to scold her dog for incessant barking. "Now Charlie, stop barking," she would say and then wouldn't do anything to remedy the situation. Pathetic.

Look back to the Cuban Missile Crisis; it wasn't our rhetoric that saved the day, it was our technology. We had The Ace in the Hole a.k.a. the Minuteman Missile. And President Obama wants to cut new development of offensive and defensive weapons? Our president's naivete' is stunning and scary.

Some suggest the US should put greater pressure on China to keep North Korea in line. But we are hardly in any position to lay down the law with China, since they hold so much of our debt.

It is ironic that one of the primary purposes of even having a federal government is national security, and this is an area the President proposes cutting? That's "both breathtakingly naive and incredibly dangerous to our national security."

More reading:

US Offers to Cut Nuclear Arms

...The administration is also working to develop an international nuclear-fuel bank, potentially hosted by Kazakhstan, that fledgling nuclear-power states could tap, according to a senior Obama administration official.

And the Rockets' Red Glare

In Prague on Sunday, President Obama pledged an effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons, calling them "the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War."

Well, we won that war in part because of our possession of those weapons and in part to the commitment by President Ronald Reagan to build a missile defense against them.

Obama's Unreality Tour

Barack Obama vowed to turn to the U.N. Security Council for strong action following North Korea's weekend missile launch. He would have done better by turning to Dr. Phil.

So, as the good doctor likes to say: Get real. Get real about North Korea. Get real about the U.N. Get real, also, about NATO, arms control, Russia, the global financial system, and every other item headlining the president's unreality tour through the capitals of Europe.

Obama Milks Military to Offset Domestic Spending

The military will eventually suffer combat readiness problems as it did under Democratic presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who both inflicted deep wounds in defense spending.

With a rocket, Obama's hope is shot back down to earth

History may one day record it as a stark irony - and let us hope an amusing one rather than the tragic kind - that on the very day that Barack Obama was sketching out to an adoring throng in Prague his vision of a post-nuclear world, North Korea launched a rocket that may one day give it the capacity to fire a nuclear warhead as far as 3,700 miles. This means, to get down to brass tacks, that it could hit Alaska.

Palin Attacks Obama's Anti-Missile Cuts

Responding to North Korea's missile test, Gov. Sarah Palin reaffirmed Alaska's commitment to protecting America from rogue nation missile attacks, according to a statement her office released Monday.

"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," 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."

Links:
Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki McKenna Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, The Heritage Foundation