I'm getting an early start on my
campaign button collection

Here's a good one to start with.

h/t to Michelle Obama's Mirror's Blog, my favorite blog, and ThePeoplesCube.com

Never Before in My Lifetime: "Europe Takes Lead
on Libya, North Africa as US Treads Water"

I don't remember a single time in my lifetime when the U.S.of A. waited for Europe to take the lead on an international issue. This whole deal makes me sick. Read it and weep at HotAir.com. I don't even pretend to understand what's going on in O'Dummer's administration.

Here's how one foreign newspaper is viewing Big Zero's response to the Libyan crisis: "The Obama Administration’s spineless response to Colonel Gaddafi's reign of terror"

Well, Europe, you always hated it that the U.S. was a world superpower. How do you like it now that we're not? And evidently there's selective memory in Europe about the way they absolutely slobbered over Obama when he was campaigning in 2008. When France takes a "far tougher line" on Libya than the U.S., you know that we're living in upside-down-ville. Good Lord. Yet the freaking lamestream media continues to cover for this guy, all day long.

Not to mention that this country is evidently being run by ignoramuses who evidently can't even spell "Libya," let alone know what to say about it. [h/t to Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit]

Several times during Big Zero's address on Wednesday about Libya [Lybia], he denounced the violence there as "outrageous" and "unacceptable." Says Chris Wallace of Fox News: One of the things, words that the president or speech writers ought to take out of this lexicon is ‘unacceptable.’ Yesterday, he said the events in Libya are unacceptable. He’s going to accept them. What does unacceptable mean? Unacceptable would mean I’m not going to accept it, but he’s not going to do anything about it. It’s like what he said about Korea or Iran, it’s unacceptable.” According to Wallace – without action, it paints the president in an unflattering light. “It makes you look impotent,” Wallace said. [And there's our gal Hil, standing by her man. Woman, you look exhausted. The one who needs the Vail vacation is Hillary, not Michelle.]

How are Americans getting out of Libya? They're taking the freaking FERRY. Delayed by bad weather, three-hundred people remain trapped on the ferry, waiting to sail for Malta. Where's our military?

So far the State Department has not requested the U.S. military to assist in the evacuation of civilians from Libya, something it would specifically have to request. Several U.S. officials have confirmed to CNN there is a vigorous debate inside the administration about whether to involve the military because of concern it could cause further provocations by the Libyan regime.

And what's on Big Zero's schedule for today? Because, you know, he's a very busy guy. According to his new WonderBoy press sec'y, it was a "scheduling issue" that kept Obama from responding to the chaos in Libya for nine days. Last night, of course, it was party time again at the Big White. My big fear is that Lady Michelle was too tired to enjoy herself at the party night last night because she isn't quite rested up yet from her Vail vay-cay. All that sacrificin' can make a person tired.

Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin
(Updates for an earlier post)

Here's a must-read article about the issue of public service employee wages and benefits packages from American Thinker: "Unionized Public Servants Meet Their Enemy." Every benefit the civil servants have prized is under assault by the effects of the socialist programs of their own side of the aisle.  Our government's very growth has been its undoing.

It's a great article which shows why members of these unions may find that the sympathy of the 88% the populace who are non-union workers may not be on their side.

Here is Andrew Breitbart talking about his reaction to the rallies in Madison on Saturday.



Something was going on in Madison on Saturday that may really come back to bite someone in the butt: real physicians were giving out fake medical excuses to AWOL teachers. Seriously?

“I asked this doctor what he was doing and he told me they were handing out excuses to people who were feeling sick due to emotional, mental or financial distress,” said Christian Hartsock. “They never performed an exam–he asked me how I was feeling today and I said I’m from California and I’m not used to the cold, so he handed me a note.” The notes include the physican's name, signature, and medical license number. These people could be in some serious trouble--like, kiss your physician's license goodbye, sucker. Unbelievable.

Fabulous. h/t The RightScoop. Here is Breitbart's kick-ass speech on Saturday in Madison: "America is going to be community organized no more. . . . I consider this to be an electronic civil war in which the mainstream media has taken its side."



Here are more examples of the "civility" on the Left from Saturday's rally in Madison. These signs and the people behind them are simply disgusting. To think that any of these people are teachers is abhorent. "Home schooling" would come immediately to my mind if I had a child of school age. I'd like to see parents force these "teachers" onto the unemployment lines.

Wisconsin Union Bullies

Updates below.

This whole thing in Wisconsin seems like it's just going to continue to get nastier. Surely the union people who are demonstrating don't think that the other millions of taxpayers who pay their pensions and health care are going to just sit this one out?

Michelle Malkin brings people up to speed on the issue on her blog: The lowdown: State government workers in the Badger State pay piddling amounts for generous taxpayer-subsidized health benefits. Faced with a $3.6 billion budget hole and a state constitutional ban on running a deficit, new GOP Gov. Scott Walker wants public unions to pony up a little more. He has proposed raising the public employee share of health insurance premiums from less than 5 percent to 12.4 percent. He is also pushing for state workers to cover half of their pension contributions. To spare taxpayers the soaring costs of Byzantine union-negotiated work rules, he would rein in Big Labor’s collective bargaining power to cover only wages unless approved at the ballot box.

Tea Party groups are organizing a counter-rally for today, Saturday, in Madison from noon to 3:00 p.m. saying that it's time the other side of the story is heard at the Capitol. After a week-long protest from the left, which included organization by the O-bot group, Organizing for America, plus an address yesterday by AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, the other side is calling for people to show up today for a counter-protest. "Stand With Scott Walker" is their rallying cry. You can believe that these people will be armed with their best weapons: video cameras. One thing the Tea Party has become during its short life is sophisticated in the tactics of the other side. And the best weapons against those tactics are two-fold: 1) show up; and 2) film what happens and plaster those videos all over the internet.

According to Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit, he will attend the rally along with Andrew Breitbart. Other speakers will be announced.

Unsurprisingly, fearless leader, the Big Zero, has weighed in on the union side. He called what the governor is doing in Wisconsin "an assault on the unions." Andy Stern, SEIU president emeritus and one of the most frequent White House visitors in the first two years of O's term, called O's statement "a clear, clean, quick statement" that will "help enormously." Yes, I'm thinking it will "help enormously" towards making O a one-term president. His "leadership" on this issue is as pathetic as everything else he does.

Speaker of the House, John Boehner, ripped Obama yesterday for his demagoguery on the issue: Rather than trying to ‘win the future,’ the President’s political allies are trying, desperately, to cling to a failed past by fighting reforms our nation needs to liberate our economy from the shackles of debt and create a better future for our children and grandchildren. The President should make it clear to his friends that the people of Wisconsin, and states across America, can handle their own affairs without Washington special-interest money and meddling.

Gov. Scott Walker has gone on record as saying that Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate and State Assembly are "stronger than ever" and "won't be bullied" by the union protestors. He also had this to say to President Obama: "We are focused on balancing our budget. It would be wise for the government and others in Washington to focus on balancing their budgets, which they are a long way off from doing."

At American Thinker, Joseph Ashby says that the demonstrations in Wisconsin are "eerily similar" to recent protests abroad; clearly, he writes, the Mob in Madison see themselves as very like the Crowd in Cairo. Not so fast, says Ashby: "The public employees' desire to align themselves with the angels notwithstanding, their protest is more Greece than Egypt." At the same site, Sonny Palermo writes that the runaway senators in Wisconsin are making a mockery of Democracy.

On Friday, more than 600 teachers in the Madison, WI school district called in "sick" to attend the protests, forcing the state's largest school district to close down for the day. Some on the other side are encouraging parents to temporarily disenroll their children from the public schools and shut them down. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal is calling for the the teachers and Senators to get over their "snit" and get back to work.

Charles Krauthammer weighs in on Obama's sweet words on the side of the unions: "In the end it will sink the country at the state and national level."



And this is quite hilarious. Even Joe Klein of all people (good Lord) at Time Rag is chastising the Democrats for running away from the vote in Wisconsin: I mean, Isn't it, well, a bit ironic that the protesters in Madison, blocking the state senate chamber, are chanting "Freedom, Democracy, Union" while trying to prevent a vote? Isn't it ironic that the Democratic Senators have fled the democratic process? Isn't it interesting that some of those who--rightly--protest the assorted Republican efforts to stymie majority rule in the U.S. Senate are celebrating the Democratic efforts to stymie the same in the Wisconsin Senate?

And finally, here we go, today's example of the "new civility" from the Left. And I'm just sure the lamestream media is reporting this all day long. That's sarcasm. We haven't forgotten the completely unhinged, ginned-up "hysteria" on the Left about Sarah Palin and her "Bulls Eye map" that was reported ad nauseam in the media.  



I plan to watch for coverage of the Tea Party counter-rally, starting at noon today, which I'm hoping will be covered by Fox News, but we'll see. If not, I know it will be well-covered by Tea Party people there with their cameras. Then I think I need to make plans to go to Ohio when this issue hits there. Had I known about today's rally sooner (I just wasn't paying attention--and this is how we lose democracy), I would be on a bus this morning, headed to Madison from St. Louis.

Update. Right Network interview with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker today. h/t to Gateway Pundit.

Governor Walker on what will happen if his proposals are not passed: It means 5,500 state workers would be laid off. It means anywhere from 5,000- 6,000 local employees would have to be laid off. That’s anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 people in a time when we have a 7.5% unemployment rate. We can’t afford to have anyone laid off. I’m trying to save jobs.



Updates from Madison posted by Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit. There was some really charming leftist crap there today, but as Hoft said, at least they didn't beat any skulls on the cement.

Niall Ferguson, Obama on Egypt:
"Flip followed by flop followed by flip"

Niall Ferguson, Harvard professor and new Newsweek columnist. Oh my. . . when you've lost Harvard and Newsweek--just sayin'. MSNBC had Ferguson on the "Morning Joe" show. The clip from the show is below.  Here's a link to his column that appeared in Newsweek.

Here's a partial transcript from the video, but first from a commenter at HotAir: Question: How many libs does it take to out-argue one man with a brain? Answer: Unknown, but obviously more than five.

"Mubarik was old and sick, yet nobody [in Obama's administration] seems to have considered the proposition that there would not be an orderly transition to his son taking over. You have to have a strategy, which means prioritizing, and you have to scenario-build. They did neither. . . . You cannot make up the foreign policy of a superpower as you go along." This guy really took off the gloves. When asked if O's administration was "overly sensitive" about looking like they were taking over in a soverign country (??), Ferguson said, "No, they just looked like they hadn't a clue. It was as simple as that. . . . We haven't got a plan here, and if we don't have a plan to build a secular democracy here in Egypt, it's not going to happen."

The professor was asked if he sees any stars or big thinkers in foreign policy this administration, "and if so, who are they." His answer: "None. The National Security Advisors have been mediocrities." The previous security advisor, Jim Jones, while Ferguson says, "I'm sure he's a very nice person," but as a strategic thinker, "he's a C-minus." The present person in that position was a lobbyist for Fannie Mae. "It's embarrassing."

"President Obama is one of the least experienced men in terms of foreign policy ever to occupy the White House, and yet he has advisors around him who are, frankly, second if not third-rate. . . . And some of us said this, when he ran for election, that it was a huge risk to put somebody with that kind of experience into a position of Commander-in-Chief of the United States. I think what we're seeing unfold in Egypt reveals the truth of that statement."

"I do think that the president regards making touchy-feely speeches as a substitute for having a strategy. . . . Most revolutions lead, not to happy-clappy democracies, but to periods of internal turmoil, often to periods of terror, and they also lead to internal aggression . . . .The scenarios that the Israelis are looking at involve a transition, not to some peaceful and amicable democracy, but to a Muslem Brotherhood dominated regime, which then leads to an aggressive policy towards Israel. This is not a zero-probability scenario; this is a high-propability scenario, and as far as I can see, the president isn't considering it."

"As far as I can see, President Obama's strategic concept is, 'I'm not George W. Bush--love me.'"

"Remember what was said in that Cairo speech, going back to 2009. Mr. Obama said, that in his view, Islam was a religion of peace and tolerance. Well, we'll just see how peaceful and tolerant the Muslem Brotherhood is if it is successful in getting into power in the months ahead. I think those words will come back to haunt Mr. Obama."

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

And here's the Rock Star himself, Cairo, 2009. That seems like about two decades ago. He was sure looking like Mr. Cool back then, at least in his own mind.

What has Andrew Breitbart been up to lately?

Updates below: (This statement is from Andrew Breitbard) On Thursday, February 10th, at CPAC, I will release to the press, bloggers and citizen journalists two hours of complete, unedited audio of a behind-closed-doors meeting directly related to the Pigford case that show direct evidence of fraud and abuse in the settlement. This audio will be released with a set of notes making it easier to navigate and find specific sections and statements.

He's been investigating the Pigford fraud controversy. This is huge. Breitbart's presser today began with Michelle Bachmann asking why Eric Holder has yet to investigate the allegations of widespread fraud.  Bachmann said that “people are milking the system for all it’s worth,” and that the money belongs to black farmers who actually suffered discrimination.  “We have a tremendous story to tell today,” Bachmann said, calling it “a stunning story.”

Breitbart: "The Republican Party is too stupid or cowardly to take on this absolute injustice, not just against the American taxpayer, but against the original Black farmers who now, they claim to have gotten justice."

h/t to HotAir, "Live Blog, Breitbart presser on Pigford." Click on the link for more.

Breitbart has released a two-hour video today recapping his seven-month involvement in the case. Quoting from HotAir: Breitbart then described how he reached out to Lee Stranahan from the Huffington Post to check the story out for himself.  Breitbart says that he was aware that his conservative background would tend to discredit his investigation of Pigford, and wanted Stranahan to pursue it independently.

Here's Breitbart talking about the Pigford fraud scheme. Again, h/t to HotAir.





Update. Here's a link to an article at Pajamas Media: CPAC Presser--The great Pigford fraud

Update #2. Here's the link to the issue at Breitbart's Big Government: CPAC Release of Explosive Pigford Undercover Audio Evidence, by Andrew Breitbart.

Health Care Mandate Is Unconstitutional,
Says Florida Judge

The people writing and voting for the ObamaCare bill were both arrogant and stupid. For an excellent discussion of the issue, see Michelle Malkin's post: "Hey, remember when conservatives objected to the Obamacare federal individual mandate on constitutional grounds and the liberal establishment laughed?"

Plus, of course, if ObamaCare is so great, then why all the waivers? Malkin say when she last examined the list of "privileged escapees" from ObamaCare given out by the govenrment, the number was 222. This past week, the list suddenly grew to 729--plus four states (Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee). Plus four SEIU locals, bringing the total number of ObamaCare-promoting SEIU escapees to an estimated 45,000 workers represented by seven SEIU locals. And we know that list will grow. The Hill reported last week that the GOP freshman (Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.) put in charge of a congressional oversight committee on health says he'll use his powers to investigate waivers given to businesses or individuals for any part of the new healthcare reform bill. "If there are exemptions," Gowdy said, "what was the process by which those exemptions were sought and given?" What, indeed.

I love Ann Coulter. "If Congress can force all citizens to buy a product--if this is Constitutional, then Republicans should turn around and mandate that all persons should be forced to purchase a gun and a Bible.  And, there’s a lot more evidence that owning a gun and a Bible is better for society than everyone having to buy health insurance.”

Ann has a way with words, doesn't she? She also has a way of making the absurdity of the other side's argument crystal clear.



Update. The White House has responded to the Florida judge's ruling, reported at Forbes: "Obama Administration Fires Back at Judge Vinson and His Decision." Spokesperson Stephanie Cutter wrote on the White House blog that the ruling is a "plain case of judicial overreaching." Really? Good try, Stephanie.

Update #2. Here is an exerpt of Judge Vinson's decision plus a link to the entire 78-page ruling. "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void."

The issue is the unserverability of the mandate, which, as Greta Van Susteren at Fox News has explained: It was the first time a federal judge declared the entire law unconstitutional, saying that the mandate requiring every American to purchase healthcare cannot be severed from the bill, because it does not contain a severability clause. Van Susteren also said not putting a severability clause in Obamacare, which would have allowed the mandate to be removed, while the rest of the law stood, was “so stupid. With all due respect, any idiot knows to put a severability clause in a statute. This is not hugely sophisticated stuff,” said Van Susteren.