What's "Divisive"?

by John Hinderaker
Power Line

A postscript on the Rush Limbaugh/St. Louis Rams story, which I wrote about here: the conventional criticism of Limbaugh, by those not dumb enough to fall for the fake racist quotes, is that he is a "divisive" figure. That, for example, was the objection that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell voiced: Rush is too "divisive" to be involved with the NFL.

Well: as I wrote last night, it is ironic that Keith Olbermann, who, unlike Rush, is actually a hatemonger, is a network commentator on NFL games. Apparently no one thinks Olbermann is too "divisive" to be associated with the league.

Which raises this thought: has any liberal ever been labeled "divisive"? I can't recall a single instance. President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are trying to dismantle our health care system, an effort to which most Americans object and about which many millions care deeply. So, why are they not divisive? If that isn't divisive, what is?

These thoughts are prompted by Olbermann's latest outrage: another attack on Michelle Malkin, in which he accused Michelle of being a "fascist" and described her as "a big mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on it." It is impossible to imagine a conservative with a network television contract using language like that about a liberal woman. Impossible. It is, to begin with, misogynistic; it's also aesthetically ridiculous. Agree with her or not, Michelle is a beautiful woman. One can only wonder what kind of twisted, sick psyche could produce this sort of venom. (Michelle writes about Olbermann's bizarre outburst here.)

But let's apply a much lower threshold: by what conceivable standard is Keith Olbermann not a divisive figure? It would be impossible to be more intensely partisan or to be more vicious toward those with whom he disagrees. How can that not be considered divisive, by the NFL's standards?

The only answer is that "divisive" is a criticism that applies only to conservatives. It is not possible for a liberal to be "divisive," however crazed he or she may be. This is true even though the whole point of a political system is to decide issues about which people disagree. If people don't disagree, it isn't a political issue. So to argue for any political point of view is necessarily divisive. But divisiveness is a one-way street. When liberals express liberal views, that's just being a patriotic American. When conservatives express conservative views, it's "divisive."

That is, sadly, how much of our country's establishment thinks.

Lefty anger splits Dems -- and may sink them | Washington Examiner

Self-styled progressives across the country are angry, not just at Obama, but at the rest of the Democratic power structure, as well. That anger is causing an ugly split inside the Washington Democratic world.

"Can I speak freely about the liberal whiners?" asks a well-connected Democratic strategist. "These are the same people who have never participated in, much less won, a campaign, who have no idea what it takes to maintain a majority and keep a speaker of our party, who want Obama to kowtow to the loony Left, and then they're going to be the ones who say, 'What happened?' in November 2010, when we lose the House and possibly the Senate and maybe a lot of governorships."

READ ON.

LIFE

We lost a family friend yesterday to cancer. He was only 31 years old and was married about one week shy of 1 year.

Life can be cruel at times.

"We lay it down as a fundamental, that laws, to be just, must give a reciprocation of right; that, without this, they are mere arbitrary rules of conduct, founded in force, and not in conscience."

--Thomas Jefferson

"[W]here there is no law, there is no liberty; and nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community."

--Benjamin Rush, 1788

"[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them."

--Candidus in the Boston Gazette, 1772

Saudis weighs major F-15 buy as Iran advances

WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia is negotiating another major order of F-15 fighter-jet from the United States.

CIA hurt by 'administration's war with the U.S. intelligence community'

A senior member of Congress said last week that Justice Department prosecutions of CIA personnel over detainee treatment is undermining morale at the agency and prompting resignations.

GAO report: Saudis are top fianciers of Taliban

WASHINGTON — The United States has determined that Saudi Arabia continues to be the leading source of funding to Al Qaida and is also the top financial backer of Taliban.

Kerry Says Recession Helps Environment

Echoing White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's maxim, "Never let a serious crisis go to waste," Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA) wants to capitalize on, extend and even increase current unemployment rates to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Endorsing draft legislation of a so called "cap and trade" bill co-introduced with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kerry stated, "Let me emphasize something very strongly as we begin this discussion. The United States has already this year alone achieved a 6 percent reduction in emissions simply because of the downturn in the economy, so we are effectively saying we need to go another 14 percent."

Translated: the recession is good for the environment, so we should make it permanent. Or, as the Heritage Foundation notes, "It took a solid year for the United States to reach 10 percent unemployment through the financial meltdown and the housing crisis, let's keep it there, or make it worse, with cap and trade. Why not be even more aggressive?" Democrats apparently want 18 percent unemployment to hit the magic 20 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions. Never mind the nearly two million jobs that cap and tax will extinguish by 2012. What's a job when the environment is supposedly in question? Nice to know where Senator Kerry's priorities lie.

Meanwhile, Leighton Steward, a geologist and former believer in global warming is on Capitol Hill this week to inform our wise representatives that CO₂ does not cause warming. In fact, carbon dioxide emissions are good for the planet.

-- The Patriot Post --

Dollar Looking Weaker

With the dollar's continued decline due to excessive debt racked up by the Obama administration, the oil-rich nations of the Middle East, along with a cabal of other countries including Russia and China, are discussing a switch to currencies other than the dollar for trading oil. This would mark the first currency change since the Bretton Woods Agreements (signed during WWII) collapsed in the early 1970s, eventually resulting in the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency.

Such a switch away from the dollar obviously portends a loss of American influence on the world's currency system. This erosion of the dollar is a direct result of out-of-control government spending, debt and money printing. These policies have so destabilized the dollar that even the Communist Chinese government has asked the administration to change course before inflation further devalues the dollar and Chinese investments in the United States.

Unfortunately, Obama's agenda doesn't include saving the dollar. When the dollar crashes under the pressures of unsound monetary policies and rising inflation, it will be too late to refocus.

-- The Patriot Post --

Obama No Friend of Dalai Lama

It's been at least 18 years since the Dalai Lama trekked to Washington without paying a visit to the White House, but this week's visit from the Tibetan religious leader lacks a meeting with Peace Prize-winning Barack Obama. And while an appointment with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is on the agenda, the fact that Obama is snubbing a face-to-face visit with this prominent human rights advocate and critic of the Chinese regime is yet another signal of his willingness to bow to the world's despots. Strangely, it also serves as a rare break from the Obama sycophants in Hollywood who desire to "free Tibet."

Furthermore, environmental concerns can't be discounted. Considering the huge sum of Treasury bonds currently held by the Chinese government, this appeasement could be seen as part of a larger shift in our relationship with China. The administration appears willing to overlook Chinese human rights and trade abuses in the interest of worldwide cooperation on environmental issues.

While the Dalai Lama is a man symbolic of a people's plight, China's abuse of its Tibetan minority is real. It's unfortunate that, while Obama snubs their religious leader, Tibetans may be persecuted out of their enjoyment of the greener planet Obama's supporters seek in their dealings with the Beijing regime.

Clearly, standing firm for human rights in the face of tyranny is not a prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

-- The Patriot Post --

"I don't expect to actually read the legislative language [of the health care bill] because reading the legislative language is among the more confusing things I've ever read in my life."

--Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE)

The Nobel Prize to Obama: Europe's Bid to Re-Colonize America
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann

Whether it was rewarding Jimmy Carter for criticizing the Iraq War or supporting Al Gore in his crusade against global warming, the Norwegian Parliament -- which chooses the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize -- has sought to use the award as a political tool to influence American politics. Its prestige and moral power make the prize a potent weapon with which to help steer the direction of the colossus beyond the seas that controls a quarter of the world's economy and most of its military power.

Now, the Norwegians have weighed in to support Barack Obama in his bid to reshape America so it looks more like, well, Norway -- or at least like Europe.

Lindsey Graham to the Rescue

By Robert Ringer

If you’ve ever wondered how the Republican Party lost its way, some of Senator Lindsey Graham’s recent comments should help you to understand. Graham is part of a clique of progressive Republicans who for decades have been pressuring party members to become Democratic look-alikes.

When I say clique, I am referring to political lifers like John McCain, Orrin Hatch, and Arlen Specter (who finally had the decency to bolt to the Democratic side of the aisle when he admitted that his Republican constituency was likely to throw him out of office in 2010). All were bosom buddies of Teddy the Lion — and remain pals with hard-left Democrats who are still among the living. Read the rest.

What Are They Smoking In Oslo?

JOHN FUND

A prize for not being George W. Bush.

Most Embarrassing Moment

JAMES TARANTO

The Norwegian Nobel Committee makes President Obama look ridiculous.

Fannie's Next Big Adventure

Piling a guarantee on a guarantee on . . .

Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

An award for the end of American exceptionalism.

The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Obama yesterday was greeted with astonishment as much as any other emotion, even among many of his admirers. Our own reaction is bemusement at the Norwegian decision to offer what amounts to the world's first futures prize in diplomacy, with the Nobel Committee anticipating the heroic concessions that it believes Mr. Obama will make to secure treaties that will produce a new era of global serenity.

Maybe he really is The One.

Mr. Obama seemed more than a little......

He Won - But For What?
by: Michael Medved

President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize reflects the prevailing perception by Europeans (and most of the rest of the world) that the USA is an evil, racist, incurably bigoted society. I've spoken with visiting Europeans who expressed their surprise after touring the USA that white, black and brown seem to get along in the real-world USA much better than they'd anticipated. They had......

A Defense Bill Should Be About Defense — Not Liberal Social Policies

by Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.)

Throughout my nearly nine years in Congress, I have been downrange with our troops every year in Afghanistan and Iraq. I also supported every defense authorization bill that came before the U.S. House of Representatives.

Therefore, it was with a heavy heart yesterday that I joined 130 of my House Republican colleagues in breaking that personal tradition and opposed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

The reason? The Democrat majority cynically included hate crimes provisions in the bill that threaten the very freedoms of speech and religion that draw our soldiers into the uniform of this nation. More.

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Boehner: ‘Just Plain Wrong' for Democrats to Attach Hate Crimes Measure to Defense Authorization Bill
(CNSNews.com) – Republican congressmen accuse House Democrats of using an otherwise bipartisan defense-funding bill as a means to ram through a key piece of legislation on the homosexual activist agenda –- expanding the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation. Democrats have done a great disservice to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces today by using them as leverage to pass radical social policy,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).

House ethics panel to expand Rangel probe - Washington Times

The House panel investigating alleged ethics violations by Rep. Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat, said Thursday it voted unanimously to expand the probe.