Heavy-Handed Politics: April 13, 2008

The Dictatorship of Relativism

By Rich Lowry

Mainstream Media Oblivious to Relevancy of Many Obama-gates
By David Limbaugh

The dirty little secret about Barack Obama's indictment of flyover country is that he said what liberals, including Hillary Clinton, believe. Read on.

The Ayers-Obama Connection

Airing the Ayers-Obama Connection
By Hugh Hewitt

Before we comment on the significance of Barack Obama's connection to William Ayers, the domestic terrorist from the '60s Weatherman Underground, let's get the facts of the connection out.

Read on...

Seven Uncomfortable Truths For Liberals

By John Hawkins

"The biggest problem with liberalism is that much of it is based on incorrect assumptions about human nature, the government, and how the world works."

Nonproliferation's Time Has Passed

By Charles Krauthammer

During the first half-century of the nuclear age, safety lay in restricting the weaponry to major powers and keeping it out of the hands of rogue states. Read on...

Midwest quake felt far and wide - CNN.com

(CNN) -- People nearly 900 miles away felt a magnitude-5.2 earthquake that shook southern Illinois early Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of major damage after the predawn quake, which struck at 4:36 a.m. (5:36 a.m. ET).

However, some minor damage was seen in the region.

The epicenter of the earthquake -- the strongest in the region in 40 years -- was about seven miles below ground and 38 miles north-northwest of Evansville, Indiana, the USGS said.

People as far away as Niceville, Florida, 891 miles away, reported to the USGS Web site that they had felt the quake.

Reports also came in from such distant places as West Virginia, Alabama and Kansas.

People as far away as southwest Michigan and northeast Georgia e-mailed CNN to say they felt Friday's tremor.

The earthquake occurred in the Wabash Valley fault system, adjacent to the New Madrid Seismic Zone, Applegate said.

That zone, named for the town of New Madrid, Missouri, was the site of a series of huge tremors in 1811 and 1812.

This Earth Day, an Unlikely Foe: Biofuels

Environmentalist extremists Lester Brown, Ken Cook and Jonathan Lewis were invited by the Grocery Manufacturers Association to come and speak before them and to reporters on their views on biofuels and their unintended consequences.

You might be surprised on what they had to say. I was.

They brought up: it is exasterbating world hunger, has led to increased pollution from coal-fired ethanol refineries, increased fertilizer run-off, and increased the rate of deforestation - causing more carbon dioxide emmissions.

H/T Bob McCarty Writes.

Franklin Delano Bush Pushes a Bad Idea
The Independent Institute

By William F. Shughart II
Contra Costa Times

By signing legislation creating Medicare Part D, George W. Bush became responsible for the most significant expansion of the welfare state since LBJ's Great Society. It turns out, though, that forcing taxpayers to help buy Granny's meds was the proverbial camel's nose of big Republican government. So what was next? The overhaul of financial market regulation announced recently by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, which, if adopted, would extend the federal government's reach more so than any policy initiative since the New Deal. (read more)

Code Pink 'Bundles' for Barak

By Catherine Moy
HUMAN EVENTS

The co-founder of the radical anti-war group Code Pink has “bundled” more than $50,000 for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and pro-troops groups are demanding that he return the money.

Barack's terrorist-sympathizing fundraiser

As Gen. David Petraeus testified under the glare of the klieg lights before Congress this week, we were treated to a close-up of the character of not just the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, but also those attempting to sit in judgment of him. (read more)

USA Today:
Obama has ties to lobbyists
Despite boasts of not taking their money.

Related:
Washington Times:
Obama ad hits Clinton's ties to lobbyists

Uneasy About Byrd Uncertainty

Heading into the most critical legislative battle of the spring, Senate Democrats are privately wondering who will lead their fight to pass a $108 billion spending bill for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that will also contain important provisions for stimulating the domestic economy.

More at washingtonpost.com.

Pa. Sen. Arlen Specter diagnosed again with cancer

Read it at washingtonpost.com.

Nine Worst Business Stories (of the Last 50 Years)

From Business & Media Institute

"What makes a bad anti-business media report? It’s one that is based on hype and/or faulty info and that causes a negative impact. Is the worst one that time NBC rigged the exploding truck?"

Check out The Balance Sheet's list of the nine worst.

I'm Baaaaaack.....

Yes, conservative Silvio Berlusconi is back in power in Italy, winning in his re-election bid, although it has gone largely unnoticed by the old liberal media.

Times Watch notes, however, that the New York Times does cover the story. Times Watch says:

[NY] Times Greets Bush-Supporting Berlusconi's Comeback in Italy with Raspberry
Oh no, not him again: "Silvio Berlusconi, the idiosyncratic billionaire who already dominates much of Italy's public life, snatched back political power in elections that ended Monday...the least bad choice...."

To the lefts' dismay, America-loving Berlusconi has returned to power. Damn.

Related:
Berlusconi’s Comeback Welcomed by Like-Minded French Leader

'Ear 'ye, 'ear 'ye, 'ear 'ye

Somewhat surprisingly, liberal New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd takes a swipe at Obama because of his comments he made in San Francisco, in a setting he thought was safe from "enemy"ears. Sorry Barack, no pun intended. We know you are sensitive about the size of yours.

Times Watch comments about Dowd's column here.

How Can We Forget?

Xenophobia: San Francisco Style
Debra J. Saunders

Howard Dean voiced the same condescending view of voters in 2003 when he said that Democrats had to stop letting the GOP woo voters on "guns, God, gays" and abortion. More.

Jimmy Carter: Emissary of Evil

By Ben Shapiro

Jimmy Carter is an evil man. It is painful to label a past president of the United States as a force for darkness. Read on.

Political Crusaders

By Thomas Sowell

The latest political crusade is the crusade to replace ordinary light bulbs with the new CFL light bulb that is supposed to save electricity. (Read more)

Can I say, "Me, Too?"

Market Magic
By John Stossel

I'm against a system that can encourage lawyers to enrich themselves by manufacturing grievances and allows them to force even innocent companies to surrender big bucks in settlements because the cost of litigation is so great. (read on)

Barack Obama to Rural Voters: I Can't Believe in You

By Mary Katharine Ham

Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned by Democrats from this week's "bitter" brouhaha is that when you get advice about how to hook rural, white, blue-collar voters from a guy named Mudcat, you'd best listen. (Read on)

The Devastating Cost of Family Fragmentation
By Michael Medved

"An important new study of divorce and out-of-wedlock birth shows that taxpayers lose more than a hundred billion each year to cover the costs of family break-up.

The Institute for American Values and allied organizations analyzed the additional costs to the legal system, welfare programs, and anti-poverty efforts as bureaucrats, cops and social workers try to cope with the tens of millions of kids and adults in fatherless households.

The report proves that even a minor improvement in family stability would save the taxpayer billions. A mere 1 percent decline in family fragmentation would, for instance, save the taxpayer at least $1.1 billion every year. Defending and repairing the institution of marriage is therefore not just a moral issue: it's a major factor in healing a wide range of social problems, rejuvenating our troubled economy, and avoiding governmental bankruptcy.

Those who can't depend on strong families far too often become the dependents of government."

Tyranny's Enabler

By Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.

Jimmy Carter?s pathetic need for political rehabilitation following a presidency widely regarded as one of the worst in American history is once again making news. (Read on.)

North American Union: Conspiracy or Cover-Up?

Phyllis Schlafly

Ever since former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton proclaimed that she and her husband were the victims of a "vast right-wing conspiracy," "conspiracy" has been the hot word used to ridicule your opponents. (Read on)

The Underside of Hope

By Rich Lowry

Barack Obama was caught saying something he believes. (Read on)

How Liberals Lost a Liberal

By Dennis Prager

The Democratic Party's preoccupation with the question of when America will leave Iraq rather than with how America will win in Iraq reminds me of how and why this nearly lifelong liberal and Democrat became identified as a conservative and Republican activist.

I have identified as liberal all my life. How could I not? I was raised a Jew in New York City, where I did graduate work in the social sciences at Columbia University. It is almost redundant to call a New York Jewish intellectual a liberal. In fact, I never voted for a Republican candidate for president until Ronald Reagan in 1980. But I have not voted for a Democrat since 1980.

What happened? (Read on)

Obama's Audacity

By Cal Thomas

We've heard about Barack Obama's hope from his bestselling book "The Audacity of Hope." Now we are getting a glimpse of his audacity. Read on.

A Living Lie

By Thomas Sowell

An e-mail from a reader said that, while Hillary Clinton tells lies, Barack Obama is himself a lie. That is becoming painfully apparent with each new revelation. Read on.

Barack Obama's Bitter Liberalism

By George Will

Barack Obama may be exactly what his supporters suppose him to be. Not, however, for reasons most Americans will celebrate. Read on.

See No Progress, Hear No Progress
—Hugh Hewitt

"Senator Joe Lieberman summed up the attitude of his Democratic colleagues towards General David Petraeus and the general's report on conditions in Iraq. Petraeus: "See no progress. Hear no progress. And above all, speak no progress."

What Senator Lieberman was voicing was a great frustration not with his Democratic colleagues' opposition to the continued deployment of American troops in Iraq. He expects that. But he is very frustrated that his Democratic colleagues cannot bring themselves to admit that the facts on the ground in Iraq have changed. The Iraqi government is making huge political progress. The level of violence is way down. The process of reconciliation is advancing.

But most Democrats simply don't want to hear it. They refuse to salute the progress made by the coalition and in the process they dishonor the troops that have achieved so much and they especially dishonor those who have fought and have died to bring that progress about.

We salute General Petraeus and the troops he leads, and cheer their incredible progress. We only wish leading Democrats would join the nation in doing so."

NOTE TO THE TAX AND SPEND CROWD:

"If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds. This forms a complete barrier against any material oppression of the citizens by taxes of this class, and is itself a natural limitation of the power of imposing them."

-- Alexander Hamilton --
1787

“Never mind the unbelievable arrogance of a foreign policy boob like Barack Obama, lecturing the two most knowledgeable on-the-ground figures [Petraeus and Crocker] in Iraq on the best military strategy for Iraq. Barack Obama’s scariest characteristic isn’t his ego, though its sheer size threatens to shift the globe out of orbit. Obama’s scariest characteristic is his puerile belief that everything can be solved by talking with dictators.”

—Ben Shapiro

“Most of what Congress is constitutionally authorized to spend for is listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and includes: coining money, establish Post Offices, to support Armies and a few other activities. Today’s federal budget is over $3 trillion dollars. I challenge anyone to find specific constitutional authority for at least $2 trillion of it. That includes Social Security, Medicare, farm and business handouts, education, prescription drugs and a host of other federal expenditures. Americans who have become accustomed to living at the expense of another American would not want Congress to obey the Constitution, especially if it left out their favorite handout.”

—Walter Williams

“Letting the Bush tax cuts expire... would be the largest increase in personal income taxes since World War II... The tax code changes enacted in 2001 and 2003 are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. If they do, statutory marginal tax rates will rise across the board; ranging from a 13% increase for the highest income households to a 50% increase in tax rates faced by lower-income households. The marriage penalty will be reimposed and the child credit cut by $500 per child. The long-term capital gains tax rate will rise by one-third (to 20% from 15%) and the top tax rate on dividends will nearly triple (to 39.6% from 15%). The estate tax will roar back from extinction at the same time, with a top rate of 55% and an exempt amount of only $600,000. Finally, the Alternative Minimum Tax will reach far deeper into the middle class, ensnaring 25 million tax filers in its web.”

—John Cogan and R. Glenn Hubbard

“An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.”

—John Marshall

Perseverance Pays Off in Baghdad
BY MELIK KAYLAN

The Iraqi capital is much better off than it was a year ago. Ahmed Chalabi's hard work is part of the reason. Read on.

Rose-Colored Foreign Policy
BY MICHAEL RUBIN

Democrats keep hoping for the best in our enemies. Read on.

Stateless in Pakistan
BY ANNA HUSARSKA

An important nonmilitary upheaval is under way. Read more.

Politico.com:
Barack Obama's flip side revealed

Politico.com:
What Clinton wishes she could say about Obama

USA Today:
A 'bitter' aftertaste? How Obama gaffe plays in Pa.
Small-town voters don't mince words

Gore’s Campaign to Win Over 'Tiny, Tiny Minority'
By Dan Gainor

If only a “tiny, tiny minority” of Americans reject Al Gore’s global warming creed -- as Gore himself has said -- why is he committing $300 million to convince them he is right?~~ Gore’s been trying to force America to embrace his apocalyptic vision on global warming for years, and while the mainstream media has fully embraced Gore’s position, Americans still don't agree. His new campaign is called “The We Campaign.” Who is funding it?

Bush About to Disappoint Again

George W. Gore
By Alan Caruba

Having betrayed Republicans on all other key issues from education to immigration, the announcement that George W. Bush intends to introduce global warming legislation should come as no surprise. The Washington Times on Monday reported that “President Bush is poised to change course and announce as early as this week that he wants Congress to pass a bill to combat global warming, and will lay out principles for what that should include.” Republican members of Congress, briefed last week, told the administration that they thought the White House was making a mistake...

DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY.

Heh, heh.
From Tammy Bruce:

Open Letter to Barack Obama

From some clodhopper in a Small Town who pulled his head out of Bitter long enough to send me an email.

To: tammyblog
Subject: My State's As Red As My Neck
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:02:32 -0400

My hands is so sore from draggin’ my knuckles that I caint rightly hold onta my scripture book or my shootin’ arn and I caint neither get my hood over my head. And I’m a bitter one I is. Please Mr. College Man tell me what I needz to do. I knowz now cuz a you tellin’ me that the Govmint is my one true Savior. You’re an audacious hopin’ man so I’ll stop takin’ care of my own life and I’ll hand them reins over to y’all in Warshington cuz y’all know what’s better for us than we does ourselves. You kin be the arkyteck of my life and I’ll just be settin’ here out by the cement pond a waitin’ fer all them Govmint checks. They all’ll know me, I’m the one what’s got more elbows than teeth. Thank y’all.

P.S. Gomer and Goober say Hey

Indeed.

Powerline has several comments/posts worth reading on Obama's speech to the elitists in San Francisco about us little people.

Hillary was for gun control; before she was against it.

The Astute Bloggers make note of Hillary Clinton's extreme gun-control makeover.

12 reasons 'bitter' is bad for Obama
By Mike Allen

A Clinton comeback was looking far-fetched. But operatives in both parties were buzzing about that possibility Saturday following the revelation that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told wealthy San Franciscans that small-town Pennsylvanians and Midwesterners “cling to guns or religion” because they are “bitter” about their economic status.

ETHANOL

Is the veil finally being pulled back from the biofuel sham?

Today The Boston Globe has an article "Can't Eat Ethanol" that starts out with this:

CORN should be used for food, not motor fuel, and yet the United States is committed to a policy that encourages farmers to turn an increasing amount of their crop into ethanol. This may save the nation a bit of the cost of imported oil, but it increases global-warming gases and contributes to higher food prices.

They further report that:

Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production. The energy self-sufficiency that all the candidates seek should not come at the expense of the environment or the food supply.

Increased ethanol production isn't the only reason for the spike in food costs, but it's more controllable than drought in Australia, higher fertilizer prices, or increased meat consumption by the Chinese. Unlike those other cost-drivers, ethanol production is encouraged by federal subsidies.

And it's not as though ethanol improves the environment. When emissions inherent in the production process are included, ethanol consumption generates more carbon dioxide per gallon than gasoline, according to a recent report in Science magazine. Conversion of other cultivated biomass, such as sugarcane or soy, presents the same problem. The only biofuel that produces a net benefit is agricultural waste, an uncertain source. The best way for American motorists to use less gasoline is to drive fewer miles in lighter vehicles, rather than rely on the false promise of biofuels.

Now this might not be revelatory to some, perhaps even many, of you. But I do think it is significant that a member of the "old media" is reporting it.

I have seen it reported elsewhere that if we used all of our planted corn crops and all our soybean crops for the purposes of making ethanol, it would produce only 6% of our needs.

Let's hope more of the "old media" start doing some honest reporting on the ethanol sham.

Let's 'Surge' Some More

By MICHAEL YON
WSJ.com

"It is said that generals always fight the last war. But when David Petraeus came to town it was senators – on both sides of the aisle – who battled over the Iraq war of 2004-2006. That war has little in common with the war we are fighting today.

I may well have spent more time embedded with combat units in Iraq than any other journalist alive. I have seen this war – and our part in it – at its brutal worst. And I say the transformation over the last 14 months is little short of miraculous.

The change goes far beyond the statistical decline in casualties or incidents of violence. A young Iraqi translator, wounded in battle and fearing death, asked an American commander to bury his heart in America. Iraqi special forces units took to the streets to track down terrorists who killed American soldiers. The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about 'GoArmy.com.' "

Scientific Manipulation and the Dignity of Man

By Ken Connor

Popular culture is blindly embracing science and ignoring legitimate moral concerns. Human dignity is steadily being eroded in the pursuit of the "advancement of science" and the quest for "cures." Increasingly, we are losing our common understanding of what it means to be a human being, and the idea that human beings are something "special" is rapidly becoming an antiquated notion.

Science is unquestionably a worthwhile pursuit, but many have come to view science as an end unto itself. The unbridled pursuit of science and technology is glorified, and any who suggest constraining science within limits of morality or propriety are condemned. Raising the simple question of whether something should be done is considered taboo. Radical science advocates are only interested in whether something can be done. Central to the "science without limits" view is the notion that man is merely an animal, the product of random chance. God is removed from the creation equation and the notion of moral truth is abandoned. Notions of right and wrong are relegated to the spheres of theology and philosophy and do not constrain the consciences or actions of radical scientists.

The latest example of the results of radical science is ... (read on)

Obama's Buddy List
By Guy Benson

"John McCain is a good man. He's an American hero. We honor his service to the nation. But he's made some bad decisions about the company he keeps." This magnanimous pronouncement from Barack Obama in February sounded noble at the time it was uttered. The country should reject Senator McCain not because of his biography, he argued, but because of his questionable associations—many of whom are wicked right-wingers like President Bush. With his remark, Obama unwittingly constructed a new standard of judgment that can, and should, be used against him mercilessly in the general election. An alarmingly large portion of the company Obama keeps seems to be a ragtag posse of unreformed leftists, race baiters, and blame-America-first polemicists. Although none of these individual associations will singlehandedly derail his candidacy, when considered in the aggregate, they will give many Americans reason to pause before pulling the lever for the unvetted freshman senator.

Countless columns have already been devoted to the subject of Obama's twenty year relationship with his crackpot pastor and spiritual adviser, Jeremiah Wright. Now Obama's "friendly" ties to unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers are emerging as another headache for his campaign. After all, voters may be curious as to why Obama countenanced a political friendship with a man who in 2001 told the New York Times, "I don't regret setting bombs...I feel we didn't do enough." Meanwhile, a procession of Obama aides have been forced to issue public apologies or resignations over controversial comments. Samantha Power's not-so-off-the-record denunciation of Hillary Clinton as a "monster" comes to mind. As team Obama seeks to shrug off these setbacks, the hits just keep on coming. New rhetorical fires seem to flare up every few days—and Obama is starting to get burned..... More

HeavyHanded, Jr. Sings

My son, HH Jr., had a school choir concert about a month ago. One of the songs they sang was MLK. He is a sophomore in high school, and I quite naturally, think he is the most gifted of the bunch. Ha, ha. Would you expect a father to say anything less?

Anyway, he sings the solo at the beginning of the song. It's posted on YouTube.