Sarkozy Says Obama Is Very Naive and Conceited

Real Clear Politics describes Sarkozy’s contempt in detail.

The contempt with which the president of France regards the president of the United States was displayed in public last week.

Nicolas Sarkozy was furious with Barack Obama for his adolescent warbling about a world without nuclear weapons at a meeting Mr. Obama chaired of the United Nations Security Council last Thursday (9/24).

“We must never stop until we see the day when nuclear arms have been banished from the face of the earth,” President Obama said.

What infuriated President Sarkozy was that at the time Mr. Obama said those words, Mr. Obama knew the mullahs in Iran had a secret nuclear weapons development site, and he didn’t call them on it.

‘President Obama dreams of a world without weapons…but right in front of us two countries are doing the exact opposite,” Mr. Sarkozy said.

“Iran since 2005 has flouted five Security Council resolutions,” Mr. Sarkozy said. “North Korea has been defying Council resolutions since 1993.”

“What good has proposals for dialogue brought the international community?” he asked rhetorically. “More uranium enrichment and declarations by the leaders of Iran to wipe out a UN member state off the map.”

If the Security Council had imposed serious sanctions on the regimes which are flouting UN resolutions, the resolution Mr. Obama proposed about working toward nuclear disarmament wouldn’t have been so meaningless, Mr. Sarkozy implied.

“If we have courage to impose sanctions together it will lend viability to our commitment to reduce or own weapons and to making a world without nuke weapons,” he said.

The extent of President Obama’s naivete – or duplicity – was on display Friday at the G20 summit when the president, flanked by Mr. Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, revealed to the American public that Iran had a second nuclear weapons site on a military base near the holy city of Qom.

News reports indicated Mr. Obama had been briefed on the site before his inauguration. But he’s been conducting his foreign policy as if the mullahs could be trusted.

“Iran has been put on notice,” President Obama said in Pittsburgh.

Iran responded to being “put on notice” by testing Monday two ballistic missiles that could carry a nuclear warhead 1,200 miles.

It was to protect Europe from such missiles that the ABM system President Obama abruptly cancelled earlier this month was designed.

Obama administration officials said the ABM cancellation – regarded as a betrayal by Poland and the Czech Republic, where the missiles and radars were to be located – actually improved U.S. security, because it has made Russia more amenable to sanctions against Iran.

The UN Security Council has never passed strong sanctions against Iran because Russia and China have vetoed them. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he still doesn’t like economic sanctions, but will support them if diplomacy fails. China remains opposed.

President Obama shouldn’t count on Russian support, said Soviet expert David Satter.

“Words are cheap for the Kremlin and the Iranians are aware of this,” he said. “The Russians, having endorsed sanctions, will now find hundreds of reasons why any specific sanctions package is unfair…The reason is that support for Iran is Russia’s most important trump card in foreign relations and there is little likelihood they will give it up.”

Iran has been put on notice before. At the G8 meeting in Italy in July, Mr. Obama and other leaders set a “firm deadline” of Sep. 10 for the Iranians to make a serious offer to negotiate about their nuclear program. When the mullahs blew him off, Mr. Obama quietly extended the deadline until December.

December could be too late. “Tehran soon could have humankind’s most frightening weapon if substantial diplomatic progress is not made in the coming days,” Rep. Howard Berman (D-Cal), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Saturday (9/26).

If severe economic sanctions are not imposed immediately, in months if not in weeks, only a military strike will b e able to prevent an Iranian bomb.

But after sternly lecturing Iran on its international obligations Friday, President Obama didn’t call for sanctions. He called for more negotiations. And then, as the Iranians were spitting in his eye with the missile test, he jetted off to Copenhagen to lobby to have the 2016 Olympics held in Chicago.

No wonder Nicolas Sarkozy holds him in contempt. And I could not agree more.

Powerline adds to the argument with a theses on Obama and Iran.

If any sentient person had serious doubt, last week’s news that Iran has a covert uranium enrichment facility under construction at a military base outside Qom should serve to clarify Iran’s intent to obtain nuclear weapons. News that Obama had been briefed on the existence of this facility during the transition makes it difficult to understand what Obama has said and done about Iran since then. His statements and actions need to be reconsidered in light of the state of his knowledge. In the spirit of inquiry I offer the following premises and tentative theses:

1. In statements going back to the primary campaign, Obama repeatedly referred to Iran’s prospective acquisition of nuclear weapons as unacceptable and stated that no option to prevent it should be taken off the table. Yet Obama accepts the legitimacy of Iran’s nuclear program and will do nothing to retard it.

2. Obama has known about the second Iranian enrichment facility since the transition.

3. Obama has repeatedly demonstrated an eagerness to avoid confrontation with the Iranian regime — to the point of fawning over the regime. He prides himself on accepting the legitimacy of the Iranian regime. (more…)

From Flopping Aces

Very clever. Destined to be a classic.

Roll the tape:

also:

On Floor of U.S. House Dem Accuses GOP of Wanting Sick People to “Die Quickly”

Congressman Joe Wilson was sanctioned by the U.S. House of Representatives in a resolution that condemned his outburst “YOU LIE” by saying it brought “discredit” and violated the “decorum” of the House. GOP House leaders were quick to also condemn’s Joe’s outburst.

But when a Democrat speaks from the floor of the U.S. House and suggests the GOP wants sick people to die, there is a deafening silence from Democrats!

Will there ever be real civility in the political process where Democrats are completely exempt from the standards they daily demand of Republicans?

From Michelle Malkin

How are President Obama’s national service grants being used?

To train the next generation of union organizers, of course.

From the “Learn and Serve Clearinghouse” of lesson plans and curricular materials funded with taxpayer-subsidized service grants, here’s a course study in collective bargaining taught at the L.A. Unified School District (hat tip: @natlanthem):

A Collective Bargaining Simulation

Brief Description:
In a classroom simulation of collective bargaining, students learn about unions, employers, the labor movement, and workplace issues. Students will interact in small labor and management teams to bargain a union contract at a fictional workplace on issues that include wages, medical insurance, childcare, affirmative action, etc. Students are coached by labor relations professionals who volunteer from the fields of labor and management. Following the simulation, students analyze the outcomes of their collective bargaining experiences and determine issues they want to learn more about and take action on. Some examples include: creating a public awareness campaign on the cost of healthcare insurance and legislative action for a single-payer system, identifying union vs. non-union employers in our local economy, creating an oral history project about the causes and impact of a strike in their community, creating a peer education program about workers rights.

Grade Level:
9-12

Subject Area / Discipline:
Social Studies/History

Area of Service:
Civic Education/Civic Responsibility, Oral Histories, Public Safety & Disaster Preparedness/Relief

Contact:
Los Angeles Unified School District
A Collective Bargaining Simulation
333 S. Beaudry Ave., 24th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017 USA
Phone: 213-241-1000
E-mail: superintendent@lausd.net
Fax: 213-241-8442
Website: http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us

And here’s another one in which students participate in a union representation election, also funded with a grant to the LAUSD:

Union Representation Election
(more…)

From Red Maryland

Well, it looks like the worship of his holiness Barack Obama has infected Longfellow Elementary in Howard County. See this email below, and get ready to be disgusted. Because no President, Republican or Democrat, should be glorified like this.

* * * * *

From: (Removed)

Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 1:30 PM
To: (Removed)
Subject: Song

Hi everyone, below is the email that our son’s Assistant Principal sent us to let us know the wording of the Obama song that our son told us his class was instructed to sing last week…the teacher is part of the first grade team of teachers and is really nice, but this is not what we want our son doing at school or anywhere!

Any advice?

Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 11:33 AM
To: (Removed)

Subject: Song

Hello Mr. (REMOVED),

The words to the song are below.

Thank you!

Laurel Marsh

Obama,

President Obama,

President Obama,

President Obama,

President Obama–He says

Yes we can!

President Obama–We say

Yes we can! (more…)

From Big Hollywood

Whoopi Goldberg defends rape, unless it is a Republican of course.

Whoopi ‘Not Rape-Rape’ Goldberg: Child Advocate

by John Nolte

Toys-R-Us: ”I’m Whoopi Goldberg and I love kids.”

The View: “I know it wasn’t rape-rape. … It was something else but I don’t believe it was rape-rape.”

Are those who declare themselves “child advocates” required to go through some sort of accreditation or licensing program in California? Because if they are, maybe Whoopi missed the part about actually “advocating” for children, as opposed to, say…. millionaire, celebrity child-rapists.

Here’s the definition of “advocate”: to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument;

I must lack the sophistication necessary to understand how this works, but it doesn’t sound like “child advocacy” to me when someone argues on national television that drugging and sodomizing a thirteen year-old girl against her will doesn’t meet the definition of rape. Or could it be that Whoopi’s definition of advocacy is to “speak in favor of” splitting hairs for those who do irreparable damage to children?

Hollywood is desperately trying to come to his rescue. Woody Allen, Debra Winger and Whoopi Goldberg, among others, have come to his defense – in what can only be described as brave acts of selective anti-feminism.

What is a selective anti-feminist? It is a feminist who turns a blind eye to sexual abuse if it`s done by someone who shares their assumptions about the world (like a creepy film director or a left wing politician with a penchant for opening his front door without his pants on).

In other words, they`re “chickenhawk rapists.”

You must remember, during the Bush years, how places like the Huffington Post would call anyone a “chickenhawk” who strongly supported the Iraq war without ever seeing combat. How funny is it, now, that the Huffington Post is saturated with columns supporting Polanski – by people who I assume have never had their underage daughters sodomized by a ghoulish director in a hot tub. And that’s a chickenhawk rapist: a person who supports a scumbag, without actually experiencing the brutality caused by that scumbag.

Surely some of these sympathetic directors and actors must have a teenage daughter. So, to prove their belief that Roman is a truly gentle man exempt from stupid American ideals of justice, these supporters should feel confident enough to leave their daughter alone with the man, in a hot tub.

The upside is, Roman is in his seventies now, so maybe this time the girl will have a fighting chance.

And if you disagree with me, then you`re probably a racist. (more…)

Liberal Democrats:

Support child rapists [polanski]
Support cop killers [mumilla]
Support domestic terrorists [ayers]
Support the trafficking of child sex slaves [ACORN]

from a comment on Big Hollywood

From Flopping Aces

Iran continues to treat us like suckers because we behave like suckers born every minute:

“I made it quite clear that when they argue that their nuclear facilities are genuinely for peaceful purposes the burden of proof is on their side,” he said.

Ahmadinejad said Friday his country has complied with requirements to inform the IAEA six months before a new enrichment facility becomes operational, and was giving 18 months notice.

Iran has agreed to allow the IAEA to inspect the new facility. At the news conference Tuesday, Ban was asked why he didn’t wait for the U.N. nuclear agency to issue its report, as Ahmadinejad said.

“To be transparent and credible, when you have such an intent to build facilities, they should have informed _ notified the IAEA long time before, not just before everything would be completed,” Ban replied.

“That’s what I’m raising. So there is a question of transparency. That is why the world leaders have expressed their deep concern and that is why I have also expressed my concern,” he said.

“I urged him that Iran as (a) historically rich and proud country should take the constructive role in the international community by making very transparent and directly involvement and engagement in negotiations to prove all the pending issues,” Ban said.

The secretary-general said he was following up his meeting with Ahmadinejad with a meeting later Tuesday with Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

“I sincerely hope that all these questions pertaining this new facility and other facilities _ all the pending issues concerning nuclear development programs of Iran should be resolved through dialogue in a transparent and objective manner with (the) international atomic agency involved,” he said.

*Groan*…why do we insist on being played like a violin?

Last week in wake of the disclosure of Iran’s “secret” “semi-industrial enrichment fuel facility”, Curt linked to this sentence in the WaPo:

President Barack Obama reiterated that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy _ provided it takes steps to prove its aspirations are peaceful.

“Prove its aspirations are peaceful”?!

Nima Gerami and James M. Acton at Foreign Policy spell it out:

the evidence that the new facility is part of a military program is compelling. According to unclassified U.S. government talking points, the clandestine facility near Qom is “intended to hold approximately 3,000 centrifuges” of an unknown type. In 2007, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, then head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said that Iran’s target was to have 50,000 centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment facility. This number was needed to make “meaningful amounts of nuclear fuel” for one or two commercial-scale power plants to generate electricity.

Thus, by Iran’s own admission, the Qom facility is too small for civilian purposes. It is not, however, too small to produce meaningful amounts of highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapons program.
(more…)

The link is here.

BEL AIR, Maryland – October 20, 2008 – A county in Maryland has agreed to halt enforcement of a sign ordinance cited when members of a team of pro-life protesters were arrested, shackled and strip-searched while expressing their opposition to abortion.

According to a statement from the Alliance Defense Fund, a consent agreement has been reached that will halt enforcement of the ordinance while its constitutionality is argued in federal court.

“It is unconstitutional to require small groups of Christians to obtain permits to exercise their First Amendment rights in a public area like the one involved in this case,” ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot said. “Police used this permit requirement as part of their justification for the unacceptable treatment of our clients, who simply desired to share their pro-life message.”

The enforcement suspension was outlined in an agreement approved by a federal judge hearing the dispute. It prohibits Harford County from requiring protesters with hand-held signs to get a permit first.

In August, a dozen police officers handcuffed peaceful participants in Defend Life’s “Face the Truth” Pro-Life Tour and then denied them a reason for their arrests.

Three young female participants – including teenagers – were subjected to two rounds of strip searches after being charged with loitering, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a lawful order, charges which later were dropped. (more…)

From Powerline

The Senate Finance Committee has voted down the “public option.” The vote wasn’t even close. With five Democrats (Lincoln, Carper, Baucus, Conrad, and Bill Nelson) joining all of the Committee Republicans, the tally was 15-8.

The Democrats now, I assume, will attempt to enact a public option by tweaking the failed proposal and giving it another name. Nonetheless, today’s vote is good news.

By Dick Morris

What will be our economic trajectory? How will we do as we come out of the recession of 2008-2009?

There are those foolish optimists who predict a “V” shaped recovery – the swift crash will be followed by a buoyant surge. Others, more sober, believe in a “U” – the crash will gradually ease and slowly be followed by gradually increasing growth. Pessimists see an “L” – the crash will be followed by a long period of stagnation and no growth.

I believe a “W” is more likely. Foreign stimulus (e.g. China) will rekindle export markets for American manufacturing and government lending will start the housing industry. But consumer demand, which accounts for 70% of America’s growth, will continue to be stagnant in the face of high unemployment and lingering fears. The rebound will be short-lived and followed by a further downturn, the second part of the “W”.

But this second dip will be accentuated by inflation. We will face, not the stagflation of the 70s, but depressflation, negative growth and high inflation simultaneously. Unfortunately, the policies that would cure one condition will only worsen the other one. The low interest rates and economic stimulus necessary to kindle growth will exacerbate inflation while the high rates that would cure price increases would depress the economy further.

There is just too much debt out there and inflation is inevitable. The United States now borrows between 40 and 50 cents of each dollar it spends. The deficit has tripled since 2008. And, with all the world’s governments following the U.S. into debt and deficit, governments cannot find enough lenders and have to print their own money, a sure portent of disaster.

Voters are getting that the cycle of deficit, debt, and inflation is the inevitable consequence of statist economic policies. (more…)

By Barry Rubin

The problem with President Barack Obama is not that he makes gaffes or factual errors when he speaks but because he expresses an ideological framework so shocking and dangerous.

Take the latest such remark, made in the G-20 press conference, referring to Iran’s nuclear program:

“I’m not interested in victory. I’m interested in resolving the problem.”

Totally detached from actual international conflicts, this is a rational and noble statement. Hey, says Pragmatic Man, I’m not seeking something to brag about, a total victory and my opponent’s humiliation. I just want to solve problems and leave everyone happy.

Yet he’s not playing a game of bridge here but dueling with a dictatorship that thinks it has divine support and wants to build a massive totalitarian empire. The fact that Obama thinks this way makes him a person not fit to deal with real enemies.

Briefly, here are several reasons why:

–In a misunderstanding with those who are otherwise friends, this “no victory” approach makes sense. If the United States has some minor problem with, say, Canada or the United Kingdom, it would be good to seek a resolution in which it wasn’t a victor. Sure, get the blip in an otherwise good relationship out of the way so the two allies can get back to cooperating on a hundred other matters.

But Obama doesn’t seem to understand the profound difference between friends and enemies.
As Obama has repeatedly shown, he is more eager to resolve conflicts with enemies than to back up friends. For him, enemies don’t exist but have only been created by mistaken U.S. policy. Apologies or concessions will suffice to end any friction. (more…)

From the people who will not allow God in school:

We have praying to Obama!

Please see Deuteronomy 5:6-7. Has anyone heard Obama denounce this?

or this?

or this?

We do not worship any leader or pledge to serve him. We pledge to serve the Republic and our Constitution. If anyone needs any more proof that liberalism leads to socialism and then fascism, this is it.

From the American Spectator

Newly discovered evidence shows the radical advocacy group ACORN has a man in the Obama White House.

This power behind the throne is longtime ACORN operative Patrick Gaspard. He holds the title of White House political affairs director, the same title Karl Rove held in President Bush’s White House.

Evidence shows that years before he joined the Obama administration, Gaspard was ACORN boss Bertha Lewis’s political director in New York.

Lewis, the current “chief organizer” or CEO of ACORN, was head of New York ACORN from at least 1994 through 2008, when she took over as national leader of ACORN. With Gaspard at work in the White House, Lewis might as well be speaking to President Obama through an earpiece as he goes about his daily business ruining the country.

Erick Erickson of the website RedState recently did an excellent job explaining the relationship of Gaspard to Lewis and President Obama so I won’t take up space here recalling all his valuable insights. Suffice it to say Erickson reported that Gaspard figures prominently in Lewis’s rolodex, which Erickson has in his possession.

Skeptics among you may ask, How do we actually know the low-profile Gaspard, who prefers to work outside the public spotlight and who can hardly be found in Nexis searches at all, was Lewis’s right hand man?

Because Gaspard’s employment with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now is acknowledged by no less an authority than ACORN founder Wade Rathke himself. Rathke writes at his blog:

Tell me that 1199′s former political director, Patrick Gaspard (who was ACORN New York’s political director before that) didn’t reach out from the White House and help make that happen, and I’ll tell you to take some remedial classes in “politics 101.”

The “before that” time period Rathke is referring to is 2003 when Gaspard was executive vice president for political and legislative affairs for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. According to publicly available disclosure documents, Gaspard registered as a federal lobbyist for SEIU on Oct. 22, 2007. The registration and subsequent disclosures indicate he lobbied Congress on SCHIP, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Incidentally, the lines between ACORN and radical left-wing SEIU, whose acronym stands for Service Employees International Union, become fuzzy in places. (more…)

From Flopping Aces

Obviously, Obama has higher priorities! Like seeing how many times he can say “I” or “my” in his next speech!

General Stanley McChrystal told CBS reporter David Martin in a television interview that aired Sunday on 60 Minutes that he’s only spoken with the President once in the 70 days since being appointed by Obama to oversee our efforts in Afghanistan.

Remember that during the 2008 campaign and at the start of the Obama Administration the focus was on making Afghanistan the highest priority national security issue.

Remember also that in 2008, candidate Obama promised to listen to the generals. This was a mantra that Democrats beat like a drum during the Bush years.

But now, the Gen. McChrystal writes a requested report leaked in PDF in which he says:

“Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible.”

Time is critical to turning this situation around. But Obama’s response is to wait, study and evaluate. Evaluate what? Either you believe the general you appointed knows what he is talking about and give him the support he requests or you don’t.

Team Obama will only start discussing the issue this week with the first of what is billed as a series of meetings with no deadline set for reaching a decision regarding Gen. McChrystal’s request for tens of thousands of additional troops.

How long will we have to wait until a reporter asks Obama why he doesn’t listen to his general?

How long will our troops in Afghanistan have to wait to find out whether the Commander in Chief will support their mission?

also:

Socialists Repudiated in German Elections. Will U.S. Follow the Lead in 2010?

It was a victory for tax cutting, pro-business, labor union reform that swept the field in Germany!

German Chancellor Angela Merkel savors conservative victory.

Results in this weekend’s parliamentary election in Germany has achieved what some in Europe call a “resounding triumph” for conservatives. One which saw the Social Democrats (socialists), who were part of the former governing coalition with Merkel, getting beat worse than at any time since World War II.

Merkel can now govern without compromise with socialists. All of this on a low tax, pro-business, labor reform platform!

Merkel’s victory follows on the trend in other western governments like Italy, France and Canada (Britain may soon follow in the next six months).

The aberration among western governments is the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

The world and our friends are turning to tried and true conservative solutions. How much longer until we join them?

Finally:

Obama’s Blunder On Iran

Obama suggested that he could resurrect the European missile defense plan if Russia doesn’t help with the threat presented by Iran. This kind of accessory statement further weakens America’s hand. It suggests a lack of resolve on the initial reversal of the strategy, and it also infers apprehension about the new strategy and the underlying technology. Can America rely on the new capabilities and technologies or not? Are the interceptor capacities more flexible and cost-effective? Are the advanced sensor technologies capable of detecting and tracking enemy missiles, or aren’t they? Why would Obama even hint at such uncertainty?

The signals showered on Americans and their allies by this Administration’s decisions and announcements are confusing, but to Russia, they seem to be welcome and they reinforce its strategy of saber rattling. Sanctions have also not deterred Iran’s ayatollahs. Now, with the loss of a major strategic and negotiating option against the Kremlin, the enlistment of the Russian bear’s assistance will undoubtedly be impossible, and will lead to a more belligerent Iran. We can expect an increase in its destabilizing activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, and its financing of terrorism. The violence we witnessed against the Iranian people after the recent elections should be indication enough that a strategy pursuing, “engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect,” as Obama wishes it, is simply just that, … wishful thinking.

From Powerline

As Scott noted here, President Obama’s insistent support for deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is bizarre, in view of the fact that Zelaya is a) virulently anti-American, and 2) apparently insane. The Obama administration’s demand that Zelaya be returned to power is based on the claim that he was removed “illegally” by a “military coup.”

Many observers, however, have pointed out that the deposition of Zelaya was entirely legal under the Honduran Constitution, and that constitutional formalities were followed by both the National Congress and the Supreme Court of Honduras. Now, the Law Library of Congress’s Directorate of Legal Research has reviewed the legal issues under Honduran law and concluded that the deposition of Zelaya was entirely legal:

As stated in the answer to question II(a), above, the Supreme Court, based on its constitutional powers, heard the case against Zelaya and applied the appropriate procedure mandated by the Code of Criminal Procedure. … Available sources indicate that the judicial and legislative branches applied constitutional and statutory law in the case against President Zelaya in a manner that was judged by the Honduran authorities from both branches of the government to be in accordance with the Honduran legal system.

What was going on, of course, was that Zelaya was trying to set himself up as an anti-American dictator for life, along the lines of his heroes Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Why an American administration would want to lend support to such a usurpation of power is inexplicable, assuming that the administration is not itself anti-American. (more…)

By Lauri B. Regan
submitted by Laryn:

“The memory of evil will serve as a shield against evil;
…the memory of death will serve as a shield against death.”

– Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate 1986

I was watching FoxNews after Obama’s UN speech and Dick Morris was the interviewee. While we all know that Obama has made numerous mistakes to historical references in his various speeches over these agonizing months, Morris made a comment that struck me as one of the most insightful lessons of history that has been completely overlooked by Obama and his advisors. Morris said,

“Ever since Mein Kampf, you have to take these guys seriously.”

It is customary for Jews to repeat the phrases “Never forget” and “Never again,” and in so doing, we take great comfort that the world is in agreement. The horrors of the Holocaust are so utterly brutal and inhuman that civilized people in the year 2009 cannot imagine such atrocities ever occurring again. And yet they have and they do. Human rights violations and mass murder have occurred on horrific scales since the end of World War II in places like Cambodia, Sudan and Iraq to name a few. It would be easy to stick our heads in the sand and ignore the fact that evil dictators such as Hitler, Pol Pot, and Saddam Hussein exist in the world, but that simply would not be realistic.

And so the question becomes, what do we, as humane and compassionate people do? What do we, as Americans who have been educated and taught about the world’s carnage and immorality do not only to protect our citizens, but also our fellow human beings?

One thing for certain is that we do not forget that evil exists. We do not stand up in front of the United Nations General Assembly, before some of the globe’s most vile and depraved tyrants, and sing “Imagine,” “Kumbaya” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends.” America holds a special place in the world and with that comes responsibility. We are not the world’s policemen. But we certainly should take our rightful place as leader of the free world and let the planet’s despots who declare that the Holocaust is a fabrication and announce their intent to wipe Israel off of the map know that we take them seriously and they and their hateful speech will not be tolerated.

Much has been written about what motivates Barack Obama. Some suggest he is simply naïve; others suggest he is pure evil. Some look to his socialist upbringing and his narcissistic personality. Still others believe him to be a “Manchurian Candidate,” placed here by a foreign enemy determined to bring our country down.

The one obvious and consistent feature self-evident in speech after speech comprising his world apology tour is Obama’s disdain for America. Obama stands with the world’s evil-doers in rejecting American exceptionalism. If there was a question about Obama’s love of his country, the disparaging remarks on Wednesday about the country he was elected to lead confirm his scorn. There was no mention of the good that American men and women have done for the people of the world in the 20th and 21st centuries. There was no mention of the soldiers that have fought, been maimed, and died on battlefields across the globe so that people could be free of dictators the likes of which sat in the General Assembly and applauded for Obama. There was no mention of the financial support, the humanitarian aid, or the work of various American not-for-profits that exist solely to help individuals less fortunate the world over. And of course, there was no mention of the international AIDS-fighting campaign launched under George W. Bush, Obama’s predecessor who received the biggest bashing in his speech. (more…)

By Regina Sztajer

President Barack Obama spends a great deal of time on Air Force I,making speeches everywhere and anywhere. We would rather he spends more time being invisible working in the White House. The world is a stage and you can only play one role at a time sir.He snubs world leaders that are our allies and buddies up to dictators who hate America and want to kill us. Obama turned his back on our allies in Eastern Europe and put America in danger by canceling ballistic missile protection in Europe. He considers the State of Israel expendable and Iran’s nuclear threat a no brainier, after all he can soft talk any dictator into behaving human? Government health-care? He has decided that he can get the Democrats to ram it through.

He has made a concerted effort to turn America into a Socialistic pro- Communistic dictatorship as fast as he can before the American people wake up to his scheming.You asked for and wanted CHANGE and you got I!!!!. He went to University of Maryland to speak to students last week. He took advantage of the liberal philosophies of the school and preached his message. Ranting to the masses, we can change the world and told his followers, when they cheered hysterically, he loves them. That kind of love is scary!!!

Obama is a narcissus, one who falls in love with his own reflection and considers himself above all others (a GOD, ) with unusual powers others can’t possibly possess. Observe him at times standing with his head upturned and a self- loving expression on his face. He considers himself to have unusual powers and will stop at nothing to achieve his visions. The people who he follows are pure radicals and their advice governs his thinking. Last week public school children sang his praises on a video instead of pledging allegiance to America. (more…)

From Flopping Aces

Let’s see Obama spin this one!

By now readers may be aware that the health care bill proposed by Democrats creates an individual mandate which requires all Americans to buy health insurance (illegal aliens will still be able to get their care free).

Even though then Sen. Obama campaigned for office against a mandate, he’s on record supporting one now and claiming that it does not constitute a tax even though just about everyone else concedes it is a tax.

Republicans in the U.S. Senate tried to get the individual mandate removed from the bill Democrats are pushing rapidly through the Senate Finance Committee but their amendment was voted down on a largely party line vote.

What readers may not be aware of is the penalty for not buying insurance is more than a fine. It may also include jail time. Senator John Ensign (R-NV) questioned Senate Finance Committee Chief of Staff Thomas Barthold on the issue of penalties and got a handwritten response:

“If there is a willful failure to file, pay, maintain appropriate records and the like the taxpayer may be charged with a misdemeanor with a penalty up to $25,000 and not more than one year in jail.”

Democrats will use the I.R.S. to enforce this tax and to hold every American accountable for signing up for health care insurance. OR ELSE!

Once again, Republicans are standing up for freedom and self reliance and Democrats are standing up for more big government, big brother and the IRS!

Don’t tell me there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats!

also:

Peace through Weakness

In wake of the disclosure that Iran’s been secretly developing (at least one) secret underground uranium enrichment facility (sounds like spies were caught) or face more harsh words and stern warnings from the “outraged” international community, Iran offers the following response:

Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles during military drills Sunday by the elite Revolutionary Guard, a show of force days after the U.S. warned Tehran over a newly revealed underground nuclear facility it was secretly constructing.

Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force, said Iran also tested a multiple missile launcher for the first time. The official English-language Press TV showed pictures of at least two missiles being fired simultaneously and said they were from Sunday’s drill in a central Iran desert. In the clip, men could be heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” as the missiles were launched.

“We are going to respond to any military action in a crushing manner and it doesn’t make any difference which country or regime has launched the aggression,” state media quoted Salami as saying. He said the missiles successfully hit their targets.

President Obama’s biggest weakness is the perception (and the reality?) that he is “no George W. Bush”; that military action as a means of kumbaya diplomacy is off the tables and not an option. In short, President Obama is not feared.

Ahmadinejad praises Obama. Castro praises Obama. Chavez praises Obama. Now why do you suppose this is?

George W. Bush was feared (at least in his first term, up until he became damaged politically).

Gee, I wonder what NK’s been up to in the shadow of the media spotlight on Iran.

Barack H. Obama is loved. Is America any safer?

Finally:

French President Tells Obama “We Live In The Real World”

You know its bad when the French are tougher then the United States….what a change:

Sarkozy: “We live in the real world, not the virtual world. And the real world expects us to take decisions.”

“President Obama dreams of a world without weapons … but right in front of us two countries are doing the exact opposite.

“Iran since 2005 has flouted five security council resolutions. North Korea has been defying council resolutions since 1993.

“I support the extended hand of the Americans, but what good has proposals for dialogue brought the international community? More uranium enrichment and declarations by the leaders of Iran to wipe a UN member state off the map,” he continued, referring to Israel.

The sharp-tongued French leader even implied that Mr Obama’s resolution 1887 had used up valuable diplomatic energy.

“If we have courage to impose sanctions together it will lend viability to our commitment to reduce our own weapons and to making a world without nuke weapons,” he said.

Mr Sarkozy has previously called the US president’s disarmament crusade “naive.”

Ouch.

This on top of The Telegraph calling him President Pantywaist last week in response to his roll back of the missile shield: (more…)

From Big Hollywood

by Big Hollywood

A full investigation by both Congress and the NEA inspector general is the only way to bring this story to a close.

Today’s Washington Times:

The facts are simple and public. During the transition, President Obama’s top arts adviser made it clear that his ambition was for the arts to become an integral part of the West Wing. After the inauguration, meetings of artists and political activists at the White House explicitly discussed how to keep the arts community in campaign mode to back Mr. Obama’s legislative agenda. An NEA grants official, Mario Garcia Durham, was at one such meeting for which the attendee list is public.

As those meetings occurred, Yosi Sergant, a key cog in the Obama campaign’s outreach to artists, was transferred from a position at the White House to a position as the communications director of the NEA. When the grant spigots opened at the NEA, more than $2 million went directly into the coffers of arts organizations (and their members) attending these meetings and publicly backing elements of the administration agenda.

Does that prove laws have been broken? Of course not. The worst appearances can be completely innocent. However, the administration’s assertions that Mr. Sergant acted alone (”unilaterally and without … approval or authorization” in Mr. Landesman’s words) and that the administration’s efforts were “completely unrelated” to grant-making are at odds with the facts. The public deserves more than bland reassurances.

A full investigation by both Congress and the NEA inspector general is the only way to bring this story to a close. Answers to these questions would be only a start:

- What was an NEA grants official doing at a White House political meeting? What other grants officials have been meeting with White House political officials?

- So far we know about a handful of conference calls last month and White House meetings last spring. Is this the full extent of the coordination between the White House political staff and the NEA?
(more…)

From Powerline

The New York Post reports that unemployment among young people is at a post-WWII high:

The unemployment rate for young Americans has exploded to 52.2 percent — a post-World War II high, according to the Labor Dept. — meaning millions of Americans are staring at the likelihood that their lifetime earning potential will be diminished and, combined with the predicted slow economic recovery, their transition into productive members of society could be put on hold for an extended period of time. …

During previous recessions, in the early ’80s, early ’90s and after Sept. 11, 2001, unemployment among 16-to-24 year olds never went above 50 percent. Except after 9/11, jobs growth followed within two years.

A much slower recovery is forecast today. [Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute] believes it could take four or five years to ramp up jobs again.

These numbers caused me to go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ site for some additional comparisons between the present recession and recent history, as it relates to unemployment. The numbers are surprisingly (to me, anyway) bad. This recession has hit men especially hard, as many have noted.

I don’t think anyone can deny that the employment numbers are very bad. The article linked above includes quotes from Al Angrisani, an assistant Labor Department secretary under President Reagan, who places the blame squarely on the Obama administration:

“There is no assistance provided [in the Democrats' stimulus bill] for the development of job growth through small businesses, which create 70 percent of the jobs in the country,” Angrisani said in an interview last week. “All those [unemployed young people] should be getting hired by small businesses.”

There are six million small businesses in the country, those that employ less than 100 people, and a jobs stimulus bill should include tax credits to give incentives to those businesses to hire people, the former Labor official said.

“If each of the businesses hired just one person, we would go a long way in growing ourselves back to where we were before the recession,” Angrisani noted. …

Angrisani said he believes that Obama’s economic team, led by Larry Summers, has a blind spot for small business because no senior member of the team — dominated by academics and veterans of big business — has ever started and grown a business.

(more…)