Obama Fact Check

Wow, a news agency actually checking out what he says, its almost unbelievable:

• Obama Disowns Budget Deficit He Helped Create - MyWay

This next article documents the environmental movements desire to change terminology, from "global warming" to "climate change." I know people who have drank the environmentalist Kool-Aid will disagree, but this article articulates why this whole notion is a scam. We have been fed a steady diet for the past 10 years that "global warming" is going to lead to the extinction of mankind. But now that evidence is coming in that global temperatures ARE NOT rising, they are redefining terms. Why? Because it never was about saving the planet in the first. This line sums it up perfectly:

“Another key finding: remember to speak in TALKING POINTS aspirational language about shared American ideals, like freedom, prosperity, independence and
self-sufficiency while avoiding jargon and details about policy, science, economics or technology,” said the e-mail account of the group’s study.

Basically, we don't want to confuse anybody with "science, economics, or technology", so just tell them things that make them all warm and fuzzy inside. Anyway, here's the article:

• Seeking to Save the Planet, With a Thesaurus - NYTimes

Torture Memos

I have not really touched on the released "torture" memos much, so allow me to do that now. First, I find it almost completely laughable that Ms. Pelosi is claiming that she knew absolutely nothing about the torture being carried out by the CIA. A guy named Herb Denenberg layed out a pretty good article saying the same thing I am, that the lies from Democrats are glaringly obvious. Its turning out to be pretty well documented that Ms Pelosi and other Democrats were briefed on interrogation techniques, but never voiced any complaints. It started back in this 2007 Washington Post article:

• Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002 - Washington Post
• Pelosi Playing Defense on Torture - Politico
• Pelosi Briefed on "Enhanced Interrogations" - Washington Post

How Not To Run the DHS

Remember when DHS Secretary Napolitano made some serious waves last week with her memo about "right-wing" extremists. Well, she keeps stepping in it, this time with immigration. So much so that people are starting to question her fitness for the position. Also an article on Obama and his ability to fight terrorism.

• The Border for Dummies - National Post
• Is DHS Secratary Napolitano Just an Ignoramus? - National Review
• The President Ties His Own Hands on Terror - WSJ
  

And in global warming related news:

• 'Quiet Sun' Baffling Astronomers - BBC News
• Selling the Green Economy - Real Clear Politics

And in other news:

• Senator's Husband Cashes in on Crisis - Washington Times
• Democrats Benefit From Distracted Public - FoxNews

MN Recount News

I've been following the Minnesota recount quite closely. If you have as well, then you may have seen that Norm Coleman lost a recent decision by a three judge panel. So now Democrats, and even some Republicans, are asking for Coleman to accept defeat. Under normal circumstances I would tend to agree with that sentiment. But there is one major problem, the entire recount process has been a shining example of unconstitutionality. I've blogged about much of this stuff already, but here are just a few highlights of inconsistancies:

1. Franken got 519 additional votes after the recount from 3 Minnesota precincts. All other candidates in all other races across the entire state (4127 precincts) there was a total of 486 changed votes.
2. Some precincts used recount tallies, not election night totals, for their final numbers which resulted in additional votes for Franken.
3. Other precincts used the election night tallies rather than the recount totals, which in this case too resulted in additional votes for Franken.
4. Some more conservative counties threw out absentee ballots if they were witnessed by un-registered voters. More liberal counties counted all ballots without regard for whether the witness was registered or not.

#1 above represents a statistical improbability. #2-4 are in direct opposition to the equal-protection clause in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. In essence, not everyone's vote was treated equally across the state. 90% of Coleman's case is based on equal protection violations, yet to this point no seems to care. The Secretary of State and his canvassing board didn't care, and now the recent three judge panel claims it didn't have the authority to rule on equal protection. The Wall Street Journal has a piece that does about as good a job as any in describing the current situation.

• Minnesota's Missing Votes - WSJ

But the facts are irrelevant I guess, as that is the only reason these articles could have been written:

• Norm Coleman's a Sore Loser - Media Matters
• Its Over, Norm. O.K.? - NYTimes
• Poll: Minnesotans Want Coleman to Succeed - Politico
• DNC to Coleman: 'Enough is Enough' - LATimes

Publc Enemy #1

The Dept of Homeland Security has recently released a statement against right-wing extremists:

• Republicans Criticize Report - AP
• Enemy of the State - American Thinker
• Right Wing Extremists Seen as Threat - LA Times
• Homeland Insecurity - SF Chronicle

Yesterday I attended our local Tea Party. I know they were happening all over the country, but as I searched online today I could barely find anything about it. Nothing on CNNs frontpage, nothing on MSNBC's either. The only place in the main media outlets that I found anything was on Fox. That just blows me away considering the estimates are that there were around 800 parties and roughly 189,000 Americans who took part in it. That's not news worthy? After 15 minutes of trolling through every news site, I was able to find a few articles buried deep under the covers.

• Thousands of Anti-Tax Tea Party Protesters Turn Out in US Cities - FoxNews
• That's Tax, With a Tea - NY Post
• Tax Day is Met With Tea Parties - NY Times

How Easily Media Bias Shapes Public Opinion

I missed this report on Friday by 20/20, but apparently they did a piece on guns. Here are the 5 parts.

1. Can You Defend Yourself with a Gun?
2. When Older Kids Find Guns
3. Damon Weaver's Plea to Obama
4. 10 Guns in One Hour
5. Shooting Under Fire

Jason Lewis had Dr. John Lott on his program yesterday to discuss the piece. I have to admit, after watching the videos above from the 20/20 website, they make a very compelling case for the danger of guns. Now, despite the fact that the entire piece eviscerated the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, there were plenty more serious flaws with it. Namely:

1. Not a single proponent of conceal and carry was consulted for the piece.
2. Every multiple person (3 or more) shooting in the US, every last one has occurred in locations where guns are banned.
3. The statement US guns are arming the Mexican drug cartels is demonstrably false.
4. Their classroom shooting "experiment" was rigged.
5. Gunshows do not make buying guns easier. Nor do they arm criminals. Less than 1% of all guns used in crimes were purchased at or through a gun show.

Those are just a few of the things they screwed up. I was surprised to hear that it was 20/20 that did it because John Stossel usually does a very good job. What I wasn't surprised to see was that Diane Sawyer was the correspondant in charge of this piece. If you want to hear all the specifics of this hatchet job called reporting, you can listen to the podcast here, listen to the 3rd hour on 4/13/09.

Moving on. I wanted to point out this article which shows that these tiny motorized wheelchairs known as "smart" cars may not be all they are cracked up to be, atleast from a safety standpoint. Note that in the article the makers of these cars claim the crash test was "not an ordinary" scenario. That's interesting because I'm not sure what is amiss in the test. The results of the tests were that you are at severe risk of head and leg injuries if you are driving one of these go-karts. One glaring detail in the report is that while these may have be simulated "high speed crashes that rarely happen on the road," one thing is for sure. These smart cars where totaled, but the bigger Accord, Camry, and C-Class Mercedes were in great shape.

• Small Cars Get Poor Marks in Collision Test - FoxNews

Who's To Blame?

If you followed the G-20 talks you heard how we, the United States, have been blamed for leading the world into an economic recession. The fingers of foreign nations are pointing at American banks and the housing markets as the cause of the global economic crisis. But it turns out that may not be the case after all if actual facts are used. As this article points out blaming the US is wrong for several reasons. First, our nations economy was one of the last in the world to slow down. Nearly every other country was in recession before we were. Second, nearly every other country that was in deep decline before the US had no economic ties to our housing system and banks. But that didn't stop President Obama from accepting full responsibility for the economic malaise. It turns out that every single postwar recession, save one, has coincided with a huge spike in crude oil prices. In no way am I implying we give the banks and easy money from the Fed a free pass, but it doesn't appear they caused the global meltdown.

• We Are Not To Blame - NY Post

The Bow, The Lawyer, and the Do-It-Yourself Island

I have to admit, I thought the uproar over Obama's "bow" to the Saudi king was much ado about nothing. But then I read this article. It articulates why bowing to royalty is not acceptable. It is a direct affront to Article 9 of the Constitution and our founding fathers.

• Barack Takes a Bow - Washington Times

Obama's appointment of Harold Koh as the top lawyer at the State Department shows us another example that in the eyes of a liberal, it is much more important to be liked by the world than to adhere to our Constitution.

• Obama vs The United States - Philly Inquirer

And possibly the greatest evidence I've seen in awhile showing how pathetically inept the government is at doing its job. There are so many examples that were used by liberals (Katrina and the VA come to mind) of how the government didn't work. Here's another example that the private sector is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than any government agency.

• Kauai Road Repairs - CNN

Compare that to when the government does it.

• $25million Per Mile - LA Times
• $57million For Highway Studies - AP

Taxes and the Nanny State... I Hope the Nannies Pay Taxes

• Single Nuke Could Destroy America - NewsMax


• Loan Modifications Rise, but Many Don't Pare Payments - AP

I found this article to be quite interesting. Apparently Obama is refusing to take paybacks from banks that were forced to take TARP money. I have heard there were several banks that did not want the money, but were forced to take it. I am still looking for articles explaining exactly how they were "forced", but it seems to be common knowledge that was the case.

• Obama Refuses Repayment of TARP Money - WSJ
• Obama's Attack Machine - WSJ

This article does a great job of explaining how Obama's claims to reduce the deficit and not only inaccurate, but horribly misleading. It goes into detail the difference between Obama's current budget and the budget if we did absolutely nothing over the next 10 years.

• Obama's $163,000 Tax Bomb - WSJ

And more on how stupid our elected officials are and how good they have become at destroying this country through the law of "unintended consequences." The nanny state is alive and well!!!

• Toys R Congress - WSJ
• House Bill to Overturn Ban on Youth ATV - Examiner
• Pelosi's Library Quarantine - WSJ

A small glimmer of hope:

• Cap and Trade Advocates Press On - NYTimes
• Cap and Tax Collapse - WSJ