Market Break

The Financial Times of London has the story:

US stocks soared on Friday as the dollar saw its biggest one-day jump against the euro in eight years and oil prices plunged.

The moves marked a key reversal of a trend that many investors had followed profitably for months – betting that high commodity prices would keep the dollar weak.

The dollar reached its highest in five months against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, while oil fell more than $5 to $114.87, 22 per cent below its record high of $147.27 last month. The S&P 500 closed 2.4 per cent higher in New York.

The shift in sentiment was triggered by Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, who warned on Thursday that third-quarter eurozone growth would be “particularly weak”. This sparked talk that the ECB would be forced to abandon its hawkish policy stance and start cutting interest rates, thereby weakening the euro.

“This is the watershed week for the US dollar,” said Marc Chandler, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. “The magnitude of the dollar’s moves and the breaking of key technical levels suggest that a major shift in the outlook towards the dollar is occurring as massive positions are adjusted.” Other analysts described the widespread buying of dollars as “capitulation”.

Wasn't Obama calling for a strengthening of the dollar the other day? I think he got his wish. Before the government could do anything.

It also looks like the US economy is holding its own.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. business productivity rose solidly in the second quarter as companies cut jobs to cope with rising costs, helping curb inflation pressures while also keeping a tight grip on stocks of unsold goods.

A Labor Department report on Friday showed worker efficiency, or output per employee, gained at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the second quarter.

While slower than the first quarter's 2.6 percent gain, analysts said it was strong enough that Federal Reserve policy-makers may be able to keep interest rates low into 2009 to bolster growth.

The Fed said on Tuesday that it considered inflation risks "of significant concern" but held its benchmark federal funds rate at 2 percent. Labor costs rose at only half the rate in the second quarter as in the first quarter.

It is hard to say what this will mean. Lower oil prices? Probably. Higher trade deficit? Yep. American consumers with more buying power? Yep. Lower inflation? Likely. Recession? Not likely. Economic slow down in China? Possible.

Now add in one other factor that makes Europe shaky. The war between Russia and Georgia.

MOSCOW -- Russia and Georgia, once united under a single Soviet banner but now sworn enemies, were on the brink of all-out war as Russian troops and tanks surrounded the capital city of the Georgian breakaway republic of South Ossetia after a day and night of bloody clashes.

Russia ordered its troops into the rebel southern republic a day after Georgian forces were sent in to seize the region, which declared independence after a 1992 civil war.

Fighting reportedly raged into the night with Georgia's Interior Ministry saying early today that warplanes attacked three Georgian military bases and key facilities for shipping oil to the West.

After more than a day of violence, Russian news media reported overnight shelling of the regional capital, Tskhinvali. They said Georgian forces were responsible.

So besides the economic fundamentals you have what is known as the flight to safety. "Pack your ermines" time as William Burroughs would say.

In addition there is the mortgage melt down going on in Europe. Let us start with the British version.

Britons have come to an uncomfortable realization in the last few weeks: after 17 years of uninterrupted growth, the British economy is moving closer to recession, and may already be in one.

Figures released on Thursday by HBOS, Britain’s largest mortgage lender, showed the housing market slump, which has been dragging down consumer confidence, is gathering pace. The average price of a property fell 8.8 percent in the 12 months ended July 31, the biggest drop since the company started tracking prices in 1983. Repossessions, bankruptcies and unemployment, though at relative lows, have started to creep up in the last three months.

The Bank of England, the nation’ s central bank, is unable to lower interest rates to keep the economy growing because inflation looms. It left lending rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday.

Now many economists are predicting the situation will drastically deteriorate over the next six months, leaving Britain to face a longer, more painful downturn than the United States.

And just months ago they were laughing at us for our stupidity. Heh.

How about the Spanish property market? Here is a report from the end of March this year.

Spain's once-booming property market is in freefall, official statistics have revealed for the first time.

The announcement that house sales had plunged has dashed government hopes for a "soft landing" in the sector that has driven the Spanish economy for more than a decade.

The buying and selling of homes fell by 27 per cent in January compared with the same period last year, Spain's National Statistical Institute (INE) announced yesterday. The collapse coincided with a 25 per cent fall in the granting of mortgages, the biggest drop since 2004. The size of individual mortgages has also fallen, by nearly 4 per cent, as providers fear for the security of their loans.

There are also problems in Ireland and a number of other European housing markets. So while the US is slowly coming out of its slump Europe is going into one.

Where will all this end? Probably with the US stronger than ever. Especially with a lot of very interesting new technology coming out of US Labs in a month. For instance there will be a final report in the next few months giving the results of fusion experiments now going on in New Mexico. If the results are positive expect a further boost to the US economy because it could mean practical fusion power in as little as five years. It would also mean a decline in the long term prospects for oil. Cheap electrical power or even cheap steam could provide a very big boost to oil shale and tar sand extraction and conversion. It would also make ethanol cheaper by reducing the cost of distillation.

The future is so bright I gotta wear shades.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Kill The Rich

It has come to my attention that the way to stop global warming is to kill the rich. I say we start with Al Gore. Problem solved.

Picken Apart Pickens

Bob Zubrin discusses the T. Boone Pickens plan to replace natural gas electricity with wind based efficiency. He seems a bit weak in understanding how wind and natural gas electricity are complimentary. So I wrote a comment:

Bob,

Evidently you don't know what natural gas is used for in America. It is not for base load, it is for peaker plants. Wind and natural gas are dispatchable in the same time frame. About 15 minutes. So if the wind is blowing you can shut down the peakers. When the wind declines you can start them up again.

In addition distributed wind can supply about 20% of nameplate rating as base load. Not bad since a wind plant delivers about 33% of nameplate rating on average.

Love your flex fuel plan for autos. Your understanding of the electrical generation market indicates further study is required.

==

Let me add here that using natural gas for home heating is its most efficient use. Wind would lower natural gas demand and thus lower heating bills. That would be a good thing.

H/T Instapundit


Cross Posted at Classical Values

Money Doesn't Matter

It apprears that there is a group backing Obama that intends to scare the big money away from McCain's campaign.

Nearly 10,000 of the biggest donors to Republican candidates and causes across the country will probably receive a foreboding “warning” letter in the mail next week.

The letter is an opening shot across the bow from an unusual new outside political group on the left that is poised to engage in hardball tactics to prevent similar groups on the right from getting off the ground this fall.

Led by Tom Matzzie, a liberal political operative who has been involved with some prominent left-wing efforts in recent years, the newly formed nonprofit group, Accountable America, is planning to confront donors to conservative groups, hoping to create a chilling effect that will dry up contributions.

Is it likely to work?

...Ed Patru, a spokesman for Freedom’s Watch, scoffed at Mr. Matzzie’s plan.

“This idea sounds even more sloppily thought out than his last venture, which, of course, went belly-up for lack of financial support,” Mr. Patru said.

“I doubt anyone will be intimidated by him,” he said, “but if it gives anyone pause, they are always welcome to give to Freedom’s Watch — all of our donors are entitled to complete anonymity by law.”

Indeed, anonymity is a potential obstacle to the group’s efforts. Outside political groups organized as 501(c)4 entities, including Accountable America, do not have to disclose the names of their donors.

Chris LaCivita, a Republican strategist who helped organize the Swift Boat effort, said Mr. Matzzie’s group was likely to have the opposite effect on potential donors, firing them up instead of discouraging them.

“They’re not going to be intimidated by some pipsqueak on the kooky left,” Mr. LaCivita said.

So it is liable to backfire. Just what I would expect. Americans are not easy to intimidate. We are the descendants of outlaws, misfits, and revolutionaries. People not easily pushed around.

There are operatives in the Obama campaign who believe money matters.

Democrats say that Mr Obama needs to accomplish two critical things on his return next week. First, he must put on a good event to announce the selection of his running mate. Second, his speech at the party convention in Denver must be exceptional.

In contrast to the jittery nerves among Democrats in general, the Obama campaign conveys serene confidence that it will accomplish both. Tad Devine, a Democratic consultant, says: “If he pulls off a good convention, as you would expect him to do, then he will go into the general election with a serious money advantage over John McCain.”

And yet I remember Obama out spending Hillary 3 to 1 and 4 to 1 in some of the primary campaigns and despite that Hillary came out with wins.

The Obama campaign is not factoring in the Internet 2.0 where money is not a significant factor and people with small change (heh) can get on YouTube or other video services and create ads that millions will watch, post to blogs, and e-mail to their friends. Heck Paris Hilton even did an add that the Republicans piggy backed on. And none of this counts as campaign donations.

The guys worrying about money in this campaign are fighting the wrong war. The key in this campaign is internet time. Speed of response. The French had a bigger Army than the Germans at the start of WW2. How did the Germans beat the French? They beat them with speed, blitzkrieg. Lightning war.

Here are some links to anti-Obama videos produced by independents.

Leave Barak Alone
Changing Grove Parc
Jon Stewart on "Playing the Race Card"
Paris Hilton Has An Energy Plan
Kiss Him Good-bye
The John McCain Campaign On You Tube
NoBama For Beginners
Just Say No Deal
More From Just Say No Deal
The Art of Hypocracy
Chicago Style
Talking About Change
Glass Ceiling

As you can see money doesn't mean much this election season. The important issues for the campaigns this season are interest and time. Obama took the early lead, but McCain is coming back strong with the efforts of his campaign and the efforts of people not connected with any campaign.

And what is the first rule for advertising? You can only sell to those interested in buying. From what I can see the electorate is not buying Obama. If that is the case it does not matter how much selling he does.

==

London American has been collecting these videos and many of the links were gotten from his site. There are loads more there. No Quarter also has a nice selection of videos.

H/T Instapundit and Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Nine Years

From the comments at The Herald Sun in an article by Andrew Bolt.

markusbondi replied to Rose of Rose Bay
Fri 08 Aug 08 (01:42pm)

Irrelevant Rosey.

It is proven that all socialist powers fall 9 years after hosting an Olympiad. Despite any misgivings at the time....

It is written in the destruction of socialist destiny that Commie China will fall in 2017; 9 years after hosting the Olympics.

National Socialist Germany fell in 1945; 9 years after the ‘36 Olympics.

Socialist Soviet Union’s rotten murderous core collapsed in 89… NINE years after the Moscow Olympics.

You read it here foist.

I nominate NKorea for next Olympics. Then Cuba. Then Sydney, again; just to clean house.

Interesting theory. I hope I live to see it.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Muhammad Ali On The Canvas

Did you know that the word canvas was derived from cannabis? Well, I digress. Even before I have started. How is that for lack of discipline? Now on to the heart of the matter. Patrick Buchanan (yeah I know) has an interesting column on this past week in Presidential politics.

Barack Obama just had the worst week since his beloved pastor, Jeremiah Wright, decided to expatiate on black liberation theology at the National Press Club.

Coming off his royal progress through the Near and Middle East, Berlin, Paris and London, Barack had surged to a nine-point lead in the Gallup tracking poll. By Friday, he was back to a dead heat with a 72-year-old opponent with none of his natural skills, in a year when grocers are pulling Republican brands off the shelves.

For all its gracelessness, the McCain campaign, given openings by Barack, stepped in and put Muhammad Ali on the canvas.

The first opening was the clumsiness with which Barack dealt with a planned visit to wounded U.S. troops in Landshul, Germany.

While the first half of his foreign trip, to Afghanistan and Iraq, was official, the European tour was campaign related. Yet, it was on this leg that a visit to wounded U.S. soldiers had been scheduled. As campaigning in a military hospital is prohibited, the visit was canceled.

But, instead of going ahead and visiting the troops alone, without aides, press or cameras, Barack bailed out and flew on to Paris.

Wait til his wife finds out. Fooling around with Paris. Oh? Not that Paris? Never mind. I guess she comes into the story later.

This left the McCain folks an opening to paint Obama as a cold-hearted opportunist avid to visit a military hospital only if he could bring in press and cameras to record his compassion.

Enraged Obama aides savagely accused McCain of running a dishonorable campaign. This reflex reaction, and the ugly brawl that ensued, made some Americans think less of Obama, but many more forget what a success his foreign trip had been.

Came then the Paris-Britney ad. This opens with shots of the wayward blondes, then of Barack, presuming to equate the three as vacuous, insubstantial and aimless. Purpose: Disparage Barack’s rock-star popularity and turn it into something laughable.

While the ad seemed both defensive and non-credible, too much of a stretch to be believed — even Republicans derided it as “childish” — it apparently acted as something of a matador’s cape snapped in front of an already tormented Obama.

Stung, Barack retorted: “What they’re going to try is make you scared of me. You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills you know. He’s risky.”

Barack was accusing the McCain campaign of implying he is risky because he is black.

This was the opening Rick Davis of McCain’s campaign needed to deliver a vicious uppercut to Obama’s jaw, charging him with “playing the race card … from the bottom of the deck.” Added Davis, this was “divisive, negative, shameful and wrong.” McCain, sadly, agreed.

With that, both benches cleared.

Saturday, Bob Herbert of The New York Times charged McCain and the Republican Party with producing ads that are “slimy … foul, poisonous … designed to exploit the hostility, anxiety and resentment of the many white Americans who are still freakishly hung up on the idea of black men rising above their station and becoming sexually involved with white women.”

Sunday, Gene Robinson of The Washington Post accused McCain of “running a desperate, ugly campaign.”

The Britney-Paris ad calling Obama “the biggest celebrity in the world” was an attempt to “turn Obama’s popularity into a flaw.”

Now, undeniably, McCain’s ad was designed to minimize and mock Obama’s popularity as a modern form of Beatlemania.

But what is wrong with that?

On the weekend, the McCain folks released another ad. Called “The One,” it features Barack’s grandiose pronouncements about who he is, what he means to mankind and the marvelous miracles that await our messiah’s arrival — and twins him with Moses (Charlton Heston) parting the Red Sea in “The Ten Commandments.”

The effectiveness of the ad is that people laugh with it, and so doing, laugh at the perceived pretentiousness of Barack Obama.

In a week, Barack, an object of media homage on his trip abroad, has become an object of mockery in much of Middle America. Though his media allies may howl racism, most Americans tend more and more to dismiss this. That card has been played so often it’s dog-eared.

And Barack’s raising the race issue anew seems suicidal. When one is winning the black vote 94 to 1, does it make sense to keep pushing into the face of the 87 percent of Americans who are Asian, Hispanic and Caucasian that the next president will definitely not be one of you?

Barack has not been reticent about playing the race card. In fact Jon Stewart of Comedy Central, no Republican, has made fun of Barack and others supporting his campaign doing just that.

It looks like McCain is On His Six and is not going to give up his position. And Pat didn't even mention Obama's underinflation problem. It looks like the air is leaking out of his campaign. Not only is he on the canvas he can't seem to catch a breath of air.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

More Carol McCain

It has come to my attention that Carol McCain has donated to her ex-husband John's campaign. She also works for The American Beverage Association Political Action Committee. If it is the same Carol McCain. The American Beverage Association represents soft drink bottlers. They have a link on their main page to another page called Straight Talk. It is about selling soda in schools.

It appears that the The American Beverage Association Political Action Committee gives to Republicans and Democrats. None to John McCain. They did make a $5,000 contribution to the Blue Dog Political Action Committee. Blue Dogs are conservative Democrats.

William Ball who works for the Loeffler Group is a McCain national security advisor. One of the clients of the Loeffler Group is the American Beverage Association.

What do I take away from all this? John and Cindy through their friends have seen to it that Carol has a job. One that may help him, on the margins, in politics. Considering that Carol worked for Ronald Reagan, I'd say Carol is doing what she likes and is helping her ex-husband. Good for Carol. Good for John and Cindy.

Now the question is: What is Obama doing for his grandmother. Besides throwing her under the bus?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

John McCain YouTube Hero

It seems that in the last two weeks John McCain has taken the lead in YouTube hits.

Paris Hilton may think John McCain is just a “wrinkly white-haired guy,” but the Republican presidential candidate apparently has figured out the younger generation just fine. Over the past two weeks, his “celebrity” attacks have stomped Democratic presidential opponent Sen. Barack Obama in YouTube hits.

Mr. McCain has pumped out a series of brutal yet entertaining attack ads and Web videos mocking the press and Mr. Obama, and the combination of wit and insult has pushed his YouTube channel to the sixth most watched on the site this week. Mr. McCain has beat Mr. Obama's channel for seven straight days and 11 of the past 14 days, in a signal he intends to compete for the YouTube vote.

That is a giant reversal. Mr. Obama had been quadrupling Mr. McCain's YouTube views and beat him every day since February, according to TubeMogul, which tracks online video viewing.

“I want to know who he hired. They went from recycling their TV ads to like putting out these witty shorts,” said David Burch, marketing manager for TubeMogul.

Wretchard at The Belmont Club thinks McCain was laying low until Obama defined himself in a way that defied a reversal. The One. If Obama is no longer The One then his followers come to their senses. What happens when followers find their god has feet of clay? They destroy the idol. This will be very interesting to watch. And ugly.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

On His Six

Wretchard of the Belmont Club has an interesting take on my piece Obama Be. My favorite is:

...McCain the old attack pilot is on Barack’s six and BHO’s no Alinsky.

Go read the whole thing.

H/T linearthinker

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Obama's Favorite Positions

Comenter Lisa Nolan at Classical Values left a link to a site that looks at Barack Obama's positions on various issues. Lisa has her own favorites.

Obama SUPPORTS The US Paying a "Global Tax"
Obama OPPOSES Traditional Marriage
Obama SUPPORTS Partial-Birth Abortion
Obama OPPOSES Domestic Oil Production (or did he just flip to McCain's position on that?)
Obama SUPPORTS Doubling the Capital Gains Tax

Here are some of my favorites.

There are no short term answers to bringing down gas prices says Obama. YouTube Video. That was in April. He does have an answer now. Take oil out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That was quick.

Here is another good one. Don't trust bloggers or other people's opinions because people lie. I think he is trying to reduce my traffic and ruin my reputation (such as it is).

This one is hilarious (and possibly true). Ralph Nader says Obama is running for Bush's third term. If you believe that why not get the real deal and vote McCain? Or Nader? Depending on how you feel about a third term for Bush.

There is lots more. Have a look.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Gauging Your Tires

It appears that Republicans do agree that gauging your tires is a good thing. They are selling (at a hefty profit I might add) and giving away custom engraved tire gauges.

Politico has the story.

McCain aides are distributing them to the campaign's travelling press corps and back at the HQ they're offering Obama tire gauges in exchange for donors who send in $25.

"John McCain says we need offshore oil drilling and we need it now," says campaign manager Rick Davis in an email to supporters. "Senator Barack Obama has consistently opposed offshore drilling - calling it a "gimmick." Senator Obama's solution to high gas prices is telling Americans to make sure their tires are inflated."

The story goes on to call this effort a gimmick. Does that mean Obama's energy plan is a gimmick? If not where are Obama's tire gauges? Doesn't he want to do something right now about the energy crisis? Or is he just all talk?

Me? I like the Paris Hilton/Republican Plan. All the above. Drill now to get us through the tough times and reduce our dependence on foreign oil while we work on solutions and make efforts to roll those solutions out.

It looks like John McCain's Campaign is still inside Obama's OODA loop. The fighter pilot is on Obama's tail and he is not giving up his position. It also looks like McCain's Campaign is having a lot of fun. Obama is supposed to be really internet savvy and McCain is a dunce about the net. Yet it is McCain's campaign which is operating on Internet time and Obama's which is plodding along. My guess? Obama has too much money and the things that come with that. Too many layers of management. I guess Obama never learned about economy of force during his study of military matters.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Carol McCain

All this will probably come out as the election progresses so I thought it might be a good idea to look at the story of John's first wife Carol.

Before John McCain's tour of duty in Vietnam, he married Carol Shepp, a model from Philadelphia. On his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam in 1967, McCain was shot down and captured.

While he was imprisoned, Carol was in an auto wreck (1969), thrown through her car's windshield and left seriously injured. Despite her injures, she refused to allow her POW husband to be notified about her condition, fearing that such news would not be good for him while he was being held prisoner.

When McCain returned to the United States in 1973 after more than five years as a prisoner of war, he found his wife was a different person. The accident "left her 4 inches shorter and on crutches, and she had gained a good deal of weight."

Yearning to make the grade of admiral, McCain enrolled in the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. and underwent physical therapy in order to fly again. The Navy excused his permanent disabilities and reinstated him to flight status, effectively positioning him for promotion.

In his book, The Nightingale's Song, Robert Timberg chronicled McCain's post-Vietnam military assignments and some of his "adulterous" behavior leading to his divorce from Carol and marriage to Cindy Hensley.

Well that is going to look bad. In fact it is bad. Of course the counter to that is our previous Democrat President. Bill Clinton.

In 1979 at a military reception in Honolulu, McCain met Cindy Hensley, an attractive 25-year-old woman from a very wealthy politically-connected Arizona family. Cindy's father, Jim, founded the Hensley and Company, the nation's third-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor.

McCain described their first meeting, "She was lovely, intelligent and charming, 17 years my junior but poised and confident. I monopolized her attention the entire time, taking care to prevent anyone else from intruding on our conversation. When it came time to leave the party, I persuaded her to join me for drinks at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. By the evening's end, I was in love."

While still married to Carol, McCain began an adulterous relationship with Cindy. He married Cindy in May 1980 -- just a month after dumping Carol and securing a divorce. The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii.

McCain followed his young, millionairess wife back to Arizona where her father helped catapult McCain into politics.

That is pretty romantic. Except that he was married.

Subsequently McCain divorced Carol and married Cindy. So how did John treat his ex-wife in the divorce settlement? To get the dates right consider that this was written in 2000.

John McCain gave up his interest in two homes and agreed to pay $1,625 a month in alimony and child support when he divorced his first wife 20 years ago, court records show.

The senator and Republican presidential candidate divorced his wife Carol in 1980 when he was a Navy captain with a home of record in Orange Park, Fla., about 12 miles south of Jacksonville.

McCain, 63, gave her his interest in homes in Alexandria, Va., and South Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., according to records of the divorce settlement obtained by The Associated Press and other newspapers.

The Arizona senator agreed to give her their furnishings, $1,325 a month in alimony, $300 in child support. He also agreed to pay an additional $500 monthly if she couldn't find a job.

She was subsequently employed in the Reagan White House, according to George "Bud" Day, McCain's attorney during the divorce. Day also was one McCain's cellmates when they were prisoners of war in Vietnam.

Carol McCain, who has remained friendly with her former husband, did not immediately return a phone call to her Virginia home Thursday seeking comment.

So how does Carol feel about John these days?

Another friend added: ‘Carol didn’t fight him. She felt her infirmity made her an impediment to him. She justified his actions because of all he had gone through. She used to say, “He just wants to make up for lost time.”’

Indeed, to many in their circle the saddest part of the break-up was Carol’s decision to resign herself to losing a man she says she still adores.

Friends confirm she has remained friends with McCain and backed him in all his campaigns. ‘He was very generous to her in the divorce but of course he could afford to be, since he was marrying Cindy,’ one observed.

McCain transferred the Florida beach house to Carol and gave her the right to live in their jointly-owned townhouse in the Washington suburb of Alexandria. He also agreed to pay her alimony and child support.

I don't know if this will rank up there with Obama's divorce of the revered Wright, his long associations with terrorist Bill Ayres, his seeking out Marxist professors, or his learning a social conscience from Communist Frank Marshall Davis, but it is going to hurt.

One way to neuter this would be for him to bring Carol along with him for a while on the campaign trail. I hope he does. She deserves it.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Too Much Pressure

EE Times Asia has a story about Olympic Torches for the masses.

When viewers around the world turn on their TVs on Aug. 8 to watch the opening ceremony of Beijing Summer Olympics, only few will be aware of a behind-the-scenes controversy quietly brewing in China over the use of MEMS-equipped electronic toy torches in the stadium.

This tempest in a teapot represents both China's desire to put the nation's best foot forward and its government's intention to quash even the slightest hint of potential political dissidence.

Suspense is building around a single question: Will the Chinese Olympic Committee allow spectators during the opening ceremony to use the Waving Torch—a replica of the Olympic Torch designed to spell out messages in midair when spectators wave them rapidly back and forth? Officials are thought to be concerned that the programmable torches might be hacked.

What kind of hacks were they afraid of? Maybe a torch that spelled out "Free Tibet" or some other equally scary phrase.

The Olympics was supposed to highlight the entry of China into the modern world. What it is really highlighting is that China is a repressive regime afraid of the opinions of its people and much of the Western world.

It high lights the problem of all repressive regimes. When you have a pressure cooker with steam up it is best to let the pressure off slowly or you get accidents. Taiwan and South Korea accomplished this. It will be interesting to see if the People's Republic of China can. If they become a failed state there will be a host of problems especially considering their significant Muslim population.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

A Captive Of Big Air

I just saw a cute comment at Althouse about Obama's plan to inflate our way out of the energy crisis.

Whip Underinflation Now

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Juhah Benjamin On Obama's Birth Certificate

Judah Benjamin has some thoughts on the Obama birth certificate controversy.

Remember that this is a unique situation in the History of the USA and only the Republicans have any relevant experience in this area. Until he is the Candidate the only place in which an objection could be lodged would be Illinois. Subsequent to his candidacy any State is open.

It is not for me to verify facts about Senator Obama; it seems to have been made either difficult or impossible for me to do so. It is up to Senator Obama to verify the facts. He has not done so, he has not tried to do so, all that he has done is to create more doubt. And if you are supporting him you should demand that he does and not insult those who actually ask for answers to which every single citizen in the USA is entitled.

This reminds me of the Form 180 controversy surrounding John Kerry. Obama like Kerry could put this question to rest by releasing the relevant documents. Obama has not done so. What has he got to hide?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Affirmative Action

The commenters over at Althouse are having a lot of fun with the politically correct crowd. I joined in and had some fun too.

Zach, just because black people sometimes call each other "niggers" doesn't make it ok for white people to do that.

What ever happened to equal opportunity? Don't leftys believe in that any more?

It looks like us whiteys need a lot of affirmative action in this department.

Wait 'til we start marching. You'll be sorry.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Do You Have A Friend In Weed?

My friend linearthinker sent me this bit about your government in action. I know to a lot of you this may seem stupid, but there you have it. Your government in action.

The City of Weed sounds like something akin to Homer Simpson's Land of Chocolate, but honestly it's just a city in California named after a guy named Abner Weed who founded the town in the late 19th century by picking up land cheap when he dropped a few hundred bucks for a lumber mill near Mt. Shasta. Of course, everything is relative and a few hundred bucks was a considerable sum back then, but I digress... the City of Weed is really known for very few things, one of which is its name. The city founders don't go out of their way to trade in on that name, but plenty of collegiate adventurers have traveled far and wide to have their picture taken next to just about any sign or banner that has Weed, CA. displayed on it. The town's essentially one big in-joke for the 420 crowd and is frequently showcased for a few guffaws on late-night TV monologues, but among its various claims to fame is the current tussle the town is having with the Feds over its... beer.

The Mt. Shasta Brewing Co. is a small microbrewery with big ideas on how to cash in on their location in the town of Weed (they're located on College Ave. which must say something about higher education... haw haw haw, but that's how it goes in good ol' Weed... bad puns, accidental or not, seem to be the coin of the realm in this quiet little mountain town). They frequently have fun with the town's image via their Shastafarian Ale and distinctive labeling on the bottles. What got them in trouble with the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, as the AP and Los Angeles Times recently reported, is their bottle caps which declare "Try Legal Weed" and a play on that old stoner motto "A Friend in [with] Weed is a Friend Indeed." As you can see here, the caps are obviously having a laugh at the perception of the town's image. Weed is, as the LA Times put it is " no counterculture haven," but still the overall perception persists, so why not have fun with it, right? Well, the Feds, in their drug-war-addled reasoning, see things in shades of black and white rather than gray, and insist that the brewery and the brewery's owner, Vaune Dillmann, are purposefully crossing the line and selling something illegal, or at least putting forth the idea that something illegal might reside in that bottle along with the frothy suds of Mt. Shasta Brewery's Lemurian Lager. As you can see, the law is clearly being broken here:

I dunno about you, but I really fail to see the federal offense.

I think this is a very blatant attempt by the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to make themselves look totally stupid. Or more like stupider than usual. I think they have a very good chance of succeeding. One point not noted in the above rant. The owner of the brewery, Vaune Dillmann, is a former cop.

BTW may I suggest a visit to the blog at the first link above. There are some totally awesome pictures of a rather scantily clad Mary Louise Parker in some interesting poses illustrating the evils of sex, drugs, and alcohol, which it seems the government has no interest in. The pictures that is. The proprietor of the blog has some theories about why that is.

And if you want to have some of that beer before the Feds take it off the market (or at least a souvenir bottle cap) may I suggest contacting the brewery. Link at the above mentioned blog.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Not A Citizen?

Commenter Jane at Just One Minute posted this interesting e-mail she received.

Barack Obama is not a legal U.S. natural-born citizen according to the law on the books at the time of his birth, which falls between December 24, 1952, to November 13, 1986. Federal Law requires that the office of President requires a natural-born citizen if the child was not born to two U.S. Citizen parents. This is what exempts John McCain, though he was born in the US Panama Canal Zone.

US Law very clearly states: ". . . If only one parent is a U.S. Citizen at the time of one's birth, that parent must have resided in the United States for minimum ten years, five of which must be after the age of 16." Barack Obama's father was not a U.S. Citizen is a fact.

Obama's mother was only 18 when Obama was born. This means even though she had been a U.S. Citizen for 10 years, (or citizen of Hawaii being a territory), his mother fails the test for at-least-5-years- prior-to Barack Obama's birth, but-after-age-16.

In essence, Mother alone is not old enough to qualify her son for automatic U.S. Citizenship. At most, 2 years elapsed from his mother turning 16 to the time of Barack Obama's birth when she was 18. His mother would have needed to have been 16 + 5 = 21 years old at the time of Barack Obama's birth for him to be a natural-born citizen. Barack Obama was already 3 years old at the time his mother would have needed to be to allow him natural citizenship from his only U.S. Citizen parent. Obama should have been naturalized as a citizen . . . but that would disqualify him from holding the office.

Now I'm starting to see why the birth certificate issue is so important. It would list his father. It also explains Bill Clinton's statement: "I never was mad at Sen. Obama. I think everybody's got a right to run for president who qualifies under the Constitution.

Which may mean the forgery issue re: the birth certificate is a red herring. The real issue is who is your daddy?

So the question is: was Hawaii a State when Obama was born? He says he is 46 years old. That would be 1962. Hawaii became a State on August 21, 1959. Well that blows that theory. If he was born in the USA he is an American citizen. Period.

OTOH commenter Sarah had this to say:

As a genealogist, I could not list Barack Obama Sr. as the legal father since he was never "legally" married to Barack's mother. He was already married. So technically Barack would be considered illegitimate, a more complicated matter back in 1961 than today.

Texas Darlin did a post about adoption when the adoptive parent is Indonesian and how if the child is under 5, citizenship reverts to Indonesia, over 5, dual citizenship, which is not recognized by Indonesia, but is by the U.S.

The answer lies somewhere in the illegitimate birth and possible subsequent adoption by Soetoro.

Texas Darlin looks at the citizenship angle from the adoption point of view.

1. Obama was born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961, with the legal name Barack Hussein Obama II, and Barack H. Obama Sr. was identified as his legal father. [NOTE: an alternative theory, that Obama was born in Canada, is still being researched.]

2. Obama was adopted by Lolo Soetoro in Hawaii sometime around 1965-1966.

3. As part of the adoption procedure, pursuant to Hawaiian law, Obama’s original Birth Certificate (BC) was sealed, and a new Birth Certificate was issued with his new name, Barry Soetoro, and the name of his new father, Lolo Soetoro.

4. Mother and son joined Soetoro in Indonesia, where Barry Soetoro was registered in school as Lolo’s son, a Muslim, and a citizen of Indonesia.

5. After approximately 4 years, Barry Soetoro returned to Hawaii as a U.S. citizen to live with his grandparents, the Dunhams, and attend private school.

6. At some point before his 18th birthday, he most likely changed his legal name back to Barack Hussein Obama, but his Birth Certificate would not have been modified again unless there was another adoption (by the Dunhams, for example).

What does all this mean? Maybe nothing.

All Barry has to do to scotch the rumors is to release his birth records.

If he does have dual citizenship that will cause him problems with a lot of the electorate. If he is not an American citizen it is all over for him.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Bloom Is Off The Rose

Take a look at this report excerpted here and then watch this video.

Barack Obama has lost ground among some of his strongest bases of support, including young people, women, Democrats and independents, according to a new ATV/Zogby poll.

The Illinois Democrat has also lost some support among African-Americans and Hispanics, where his lead over Republican John McCain has shrunk, and among Catholics, where he's lost his lead.

The net result, pollster John Zogby found, is a race that's neck and neck, with McCain supported by 42 percent; Obama by 41 percent; Libertarian Bob Barr by 2 percent; and independent Ralph Nader by 2 percent. Another 13 percent supported other candidates or were undedcided.

Zogby called the results a "notable turnaround" from a July survey he did that showed Obama leading by 46-36.

May I also add that Obama is losing support with people. Put a fork in him. He is done.

And then there is this HuffPo piece which looks at Obama's personal problems which can be summed up: there is no there there. Obama is a far left guy (read Marxist), who ran a moderate far left primary campaign and is now adopting a great many of McCain's positions with caveats. As the HuffPo points out, America is a moderate right country (in terms of American politics) and McCain is right in the center of the American political demographic. Which is why many on the right don't like him. Still, when the choice is a Scoop Jackson Democrat or a Marxist the right is going to go with Scoop every time.

As to "Change we can believe in" I think Obama is correct on that without reservation. He is a weather vane blowin' in the wind. It has gotten to the point that not even his supporters know where he stands. Add in the dirty deeds he did to win the primary and it is obvious Obama has made a lot of enemies and is not making any headway with people he now wants to be his friends.

The only question now is: will it hurt the Democrats in the down ticket races. My guess? Yes. Will it be enough to change control of Congress? Too early to tell.

H/T Instapundit and Instapundit

Update: 05 Aug 008 1805z

Instapundit links to an article in The Nation that lists the changes Obama followers can believe in. It is a socialist environmentalist laundry list. Almost every one of which Obama has qualified or repudiated recently. Evidently the recent changes are not ones they can believe in.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Obama Birth Certificate Issue Heats Up

Texas Darlin takes a look at the Obama birth certificate issue and has a few words on the matter.

Techdude’s latest report, written exclusively for the TexasDarlin blog, is mind-blowing. This report responds to critics; solves the “security border” mystery; AND exposes THE SMOKING GUN that will be conclusive in proving that the Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) proffered by Barack Obama on his official campaign website IS FAKE.

I am grateful to Techdude for his dedication to the truth, as I am to Polarik, Michele (who donated her COLB), Judah Benjamin, JimJ, the No Quarter team, and everyone who supports our efforts.

I have no opinion one way or the other at this time. Every time I see a point made in the comments pro or con I am swayed. So my opinion on the matter is not worth a damn. However, Bill Clinton had a very interesting thing to say about Obama. From Atlas Shrugs:

...Bill Clinton made an intriguing turn of phrase when he said, during a trip to Africa: "I never was mad at Sen. Obama," the former president said. "I think everybody's got a right to run for president who qualifies under the Constitution. And I'd be the last person to begrudge anybody their ambition." Even Snopes has accepted that Obama cannot qualify for the presidency based on his mother's citizenship. He must be born in the United States to be a "natural born citizen." If this latest analysis is borne out as true, and the certificate of live birth was derived from a lady, whether it's his sister or not, Sen. Obama will have a lot of explaining to do.

You can read more on this at Israeli Insider and No Quarter.

The first comment at Texas Darlin is interesting too: (edited to make the url work.)

I just came across this news item, and it made me wonder if it might have some play in the discussions over Obama’s mother’s marriage and Obama’s birth. Barack Obama Sr. ’s third wife was named Ruth Nidesand, and her surving son (Barack Jr.’s step-brother) is named Mark Ndesandjo. Here’s what the TimesOnline says in part about Mark: “Obama, however, refers to him simply as ‘my brother’ and says he was the only uncontested heir after their father, a Kenyan, died in a car crash in 1982. ” How could Barack Jr.’s step-brother be the only “uncontested heir” of his father? Why were people contesting Barack Jr.? Was he considered illegitimate as an heir, as it appears? Or am I reading this in the wrong way?

Interesting. I wonder if it makes any difference? What are the rules of citizenship if his mother's marriage was not legal?

Curiouser and curiouser. Some one ask Alice. I think she'll know. When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead...

Update: 05 Aug 008 1237z

Larry Johnson says that Obama's sister, Maya Kassandra Soetoro, is the name on the birth certificate that some one has allegedly altered to be Obama's birth certificate. Larry says:

Here’s the simple summary–an authentic COLB was used as a template to create the so-called “birth certificate” that was first posted at Daily Kos and the official Barack Obama campaign site. Why doesn’t Barack come clean with his own, genuine Certificate of Live Birth? We do not know for sure but it appears that the name listed is that of BARRY SOETORO. Barry Obama was adopted by Lolo Soetoro and, by virtue of that adoption, was registered as Barry Soetoro in Hawaii.

Barry aka Barrack has some “splaining” to do (to quote Ricky Ricardo).

You can find more details at Texas Darlin.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Obama Be

Team Obama has figured out a way to stop his slide in the polls. Summer Camp.

The BHO campaign has sent out emails to me and probably millions of other lucky recipients encouraging us to sign up for a local "Camp Obama" (my.barackobama.com/page/s/campobamaus, my.barackobama.com/page/s/campobama08la), a two-day session where we'd learn how to be effective organizers for the campaign. Hopefully a citizen reporter will sign up to report back with a critical eye, but for now all we have are the positive and very many negative connotations brought to mind. You can see a full copy of the email here, and if you want to be creeped out even more see the description of last year's "camps" here:

Rivals of Obama know that while he may at times appear to channel Martin Luther King Jr., his methods sometimes give evidence of his allegiance to [Saul Alinsky], who shunned starry-eyed idealists and recommended purging do-gooders from organizations. Alinsky wanted results. And his methods often forced the hands of elected officials... It's not enough to want to help others, [an Obama campaign staffer] says. These campers need to focus on people's self-interests. What do they want? How can Obama help them? ..."We want you to stop thinking about Barack Obama and be Barack Obama," she says.

Did some one say Clone Wars?

Obama has taken Mau-Mauing The Flak Catchers and turned it into a national campaign. Can you say reparations?

So let us have a look at Alinsky's handbook Rules For Radicals. Just so we can see the train coming and get off the tracks. Here is a list of the rules.

RULE 1:"Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." Power is derived from 2 main sources - money and people. "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)

That would explain a lot of the current campaign's dynamics. Obama is running on the idea that a lot of people fear being called racists. If that fear is not there then his campaign has no power. McCain has neutered that whole line of attack. It may play well among the latte liberals (Tom Wolfe called them the radical chic) but it will not play well against the original anti-slavery party (Abe Lincoln was a Republican).

RULE 2: "Never go outside the expertise of your people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don't address the "real" issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)

This would explain Obama's One note campaign: "I'm Black. Vote for me or we will brand you a racist." All his other policy positions are amendable (see flip-flop, Obama). Obama might not know math, science, economics, or any number of other things. He does know race and so does his base.

RULE 3: "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)

Again. This may work for latte liberals but Clinton supporters (whose husband was touted as the first "black" President) are not buying it. Did I mention that Republicans were the original anti-racist party?

RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)

There may be racists in the Republican Party (as there are racists in the Democrat Party). McCain is not one of them. His strength is as the strength of ten because his heart is pure.

RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)

This has been turned against Obama with McCain's "Paris Hilton" ad and his "The One" ad.

RULE 6: "A good tactic is one your people enjoy." They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid "un-fun" activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)

Evidently the Obama Campaign and his mighty minions love calling people racists. I don't see any fun in that. Only sadness. However, to each his own.

RULE 7: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." Don't become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)

So far the Obama campaign has been a one note campaign. Besides any tactic that is over used wears out its welcome. The "cry wolf" syndrome. I wonder which way they can turn now? The post racialist candidate has been branded a racialist. Where do they go from here?

RULE 8: "Keep the pressure on. Never let up." Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)

Well they have to find pressure points. Places where the pressure is effective. So what are Obama's choices? Anti-surge? The surge is working. McCain was way out front on that one. More drilling for oil? McCain was at least a month ahead of Obama on that one and Obama's statement was not unequivocal. He wants limited drilling. McCain placed no such limits on his policy. Higher taxes? That has been death for any candidate pushing that proposition hard. So what can he come up with that will keep his team on side and make advances on his opposition? This is going to be interesting to watch.

RULE 9: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists' minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)

Ah yes. "We will call you a racist if you keep attacking our positions. How is that working out Barry? That threat is gone. He is going to have to come up with a new one. Fear of labeling McCain a war monger? I think Obama is weak on that. He called for pulling out of Iraq and attacks on Pakistan in August of 2007. He labeled McCain McSame. So what has Bush done? Well he has attacked the terrorists in Pakistan and threatened further attacks if Pakistan didn't straighten out. Preempting Obama's whole line on that front. I wonder if Bush and McSame are working together? They are both Republicans. What are the odds? In any case warmongering does not play well to Obama's base. He will have to tread lightly. So far he has not come out with "we were right all along" on this one. No need to remind the base about it, because for him it is a double edged sword.

RULE 10: "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management's wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)

How is that racism thing working out? McCain has refused to take the bait. In turn he has counter attacked making Obama look obsessed with race. And he is obsessed with race. Just read his books.

RULE 11: "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)

Of course the alternative to racism is the post racialist candidate. Obama needed to present himself as anti-racist not anti-white. He screwed the pooch on that one with this primary attacks on Clinton. Ooops.

RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)

Well he has gone after McCain in particular AND the Republicans in general. McCain blunted the attack, and counter attacked. Republicans are not buying it at all.

McCain, the fighter pilot, has gotten inside Obama's OODA loop. Something the Navy teaches fighter pilots to do.

The OODA Loop, often called Boyd's Cycle, is a creation of Col. John Boyd, USAF (Ret.). Col. Boyd was a student of tactical operations and observed a similarity in many battles and campaigns. He noted that in many of the engagements, one side presented the other with a series of unexpected and threatening situations with which they had not been able to keep pace. The slower side was eventually defeated. What Col. Boyd observed was the fact that conflicts are time competitive.

Elections are nothing if they are not time competitive. Evidently the "freezing of the opponent" that Alinsky recommends has not worked on McCain. He was not frozen. Once that happened McCain was operating inside Obama's decision loop.

Evidently Boyd is beating Alinsky. Or to put it another way. The fighter pilot is beating the community organizer. As a Navy man myself, I'm not surprised.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Cadaver Is Getting The Best Of Them

I recently did a post on how a number of Democrats view the McCain campaign so far. Here is my favorite quote from the long list of quotes:

After Axelrod swiftboated Hillary, I tell you, he has no play book for the GE. For such a "brilliant team" they are struggling with a cadaver and the cadaver is getting the best of them.

Evidently there is still some life in the old cadaver yet.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Obama's Axelrod Is Busted

There is a discussion going on at Talk Left (which has banned me as a commenter - boo frickin hoo) about Obama playing the race card. Some of the comments are quite amusing. I'm going to pick the best of the lot (something like 200+ in the lot) and post them so you needn't spend as much time in the fever swamps as I did.

The bigger irony
by gyrfalcon on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:15:15 AM EST

to me is that the Very Serious charge against the Clintons initially, by Josh Marshall very strongly and by others in actual media, was that the Clintons were dropping subtle racialized hints precisely in order to provoke a defensive reaction from Obama on race so that he would end up having to define himself as a black man (which of course nobody had noticed up to that point).

And now here we are in the general, and who starts talking about race with zero provocation?

Huh. Maybe McCain would
by Cream City on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:31:35 AM EST

not have noticed that Obama never had a whit of experience -- in the military, on a committee, even one where he showed up -- for CiC. That's what an Obaman in my family told me when blaming Senator Clinton, she of armed services committees and such, for bringing Obama's inexperience to McCain's attention.

Ah-ten-shun!

Ludacris still on his iPod, even though Obama said
by catfish on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 09:08:19 AM EST

he was concerned about his daughters hearing those types of lyrics (but Ludacris is a "great talent" and a "great businessman.) Notice they had a spokesperson denounce the lyrics of the latest rap, where he called Hillary a b**.

Have you noticed how Michelle and BO
by Shainzona on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:54:05 AM EST

slip out of their "Harvard diction" into AA speak when they appear before certain audiences? I remember seeing one video of Michelle (I think in SC) when you would have thought she was right off the streets of some big city, talking about "folks" and "you know".

It was. It was also very wrong of
by masslib on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:25:17 AM EST

Obama to run around SC and imply to african american audiences that the Clintons were trying to "hoodwink", "bamboozle" and play them the ole "hokey doke". I think BC was pissed and he handled it poorly.

Well stated!
by EL seattle on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 11:03:52 AM EST

I agree completely that "Yes, it was racial but not racist."

They say that when you're carrying a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. This campaign is bound to have a lot of challenges for the Obama team. Some of these challenges are not related to race at all. Some are slightly related to race. And some will actually be racist matters. But for folks to cry "racist!" at every problem is as productive as using a hammer to fix a crack in a windshield.

They are quite a pair of actors/frauds.

and the revisiting
by ccpup on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 09:07:45 AM EST

of how the media played the race card against the Clintons with Obama is yet another unfortunate and angry reminder to those who supported Clinton just what kind of candidate Obama really is and how the Clintons were unfairly and savagely maligned.

Not exactly the best way to get all aboard the Unity Express. Funny, though, how it looks like the underside of a bus.

Huh.

And to shut down legitimate criticism
by BernieO on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:26:56 AM EST

by making opponents fear they will be portrayed as racists. I have heard several pundits say that calling Obama arrogant is racist, even though this was and is a common criticism of Bush.

Ah, must have been pundits here
by Cream City on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:42:41 AM EST

coming to visit TL when they tied up threads with the same line here the last couple of days, saying that "arrogant" is racist.

Unfortunately, I know a lot of arrogant folks. Wait 'til I tell them that they're black.

Bet they will be shocked
by BernieO on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:49:47 AM EST

to find that out.
Hilarious!

And Dems fight back
by ruffian on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 09:47:28 AM EST

by whining about Paris and Britney in the ads.

Didn't obama compare himself
by PssttCmere08 on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:43:21 AM EST

Paris or Britney waaaay back when?

Yes, he compared himself to Paris Hilton
by Cream City on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:45:27 AM EST

a week after he got into the Senate. The link is on an earlier thread. Haven't seen it in media yet . . . but give it time. McCain camp has got it, I betcha.

However
by MichaelGale on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:44:26 AM EST

he will give a speech today to explain it all and the followers will be grateful and everything will be ok.

He will speak about being taken out of context and he will say that America has changed in re to race and he is grateful for that. He will state that this is the Old politics of the Republicans and McCain and he is for changing that. He will accuse McCain of dividing America when we all have to stick together. Then he will offer many comparisons to McCain and Bush and old politics.

In the end, everything will be okay and he will be hailed for his exceptional speech on Aug 2, 2008.

This is the crap I knew
by Stellaaa on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:05:13 AM EST

was going to happen. McCain now dominates the discussion and swoops all the Democratic issues under the table. Adios, replay Gore and Kerry.

After Axelrod swiftboated Hillary, I tell you, he has no play book for the GE. For such a "brilliant team" they are struggling with a cadaver and the cadaver is getting the best of them.

And
by cmugirl on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 11:03:13 AM EST

If this theme continues, it is not good for Obama. Many people, who are not racists, but just plain, regular people of all stripes, do not like hearing that they are considered racists. If that is the subtext coming from the Obama camp (And I believe it is - "If you don't for Obama, you must be a racist"), then people are going to think twice about voting for him -even those who might be disposed to do so.

Trying to make people feel guilty for something they haven't done or don't feel is a sure fire way to tick them off.

The race narrative you propose
by Valhalla on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:43:49 AM EST

is the same assuage-white-latte-liberal-guilt undercurrent that did work well for him in the primaries.

But now it's the GE. That riff does not work nearly so well with the general voting population, since the major demos that are susceptible to it are already supporting him, and made up a much higher percentage of Democratic voters than they do the general population.

Since that sub rosa meme has already been circulating for 6 months and has not been successful in garnering any significant additional support so far, it seems unlikely to be a winner going forward.

Yep, gays next
by lambertstrether on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 09:40:36 AM EST

Too bad Obama threw them under the bus, too, Reverend McClurkin.

Unless there's a subtext I've already missed.

He already threw "no off shore" drilling
by Radix on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:01:05 AM EST

under the bus. A big win for McCain, I might add.

I believe obama just "modified" his
by PssttCmere08 on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 11:02:15 AM EST

stance on off-shore drilling. Could "modified" be code word for flip-flopped?

Actually
by Steve M on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 11:04:37 AM EST

It was just a "refinement." And everyone agrees we need more oil refining.

Platform
by Miri on Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 10:47:36 PM EST

"They want to win on a 'platform' of vague hopey-changey rhetoric, Millenial self-esteem boosterism, latte liberal white guilt expiation, and rapidly shiftable political platitudes regarding bread-and-butter issues."

This is not a political platform. It is an Oprah/Dr Phil show.

Obama is not running on ideas or policy. He is running on Hallmark card slogans like lets hold hands and get along.

This is why he is constantly flip flopping. He doesn't really stand for anything other than getting along. Which means if drilling will make us get along let drill!

This is the opposite of the FDR model. His presidency was based on ideas and policies. He was not worried about getting along. He didn't care if the republicans hated him.

Whew. That is more than enough for one day. Maybe two weeks. I think the consensus of these lefties is that the race card has been played and it can't be played again unless the deck gets reshuffled. i.e. Hillary gets the nod or in 2012.

I think Obama has dropped another point in the polls and the race (har) is all tied up. That is a very bad Omen for the Obama campaign this early in the season.

Obama has a very big handicap. He has only been in significant campaigns against Democrat opponents. (Alan Keyes was/is not significant) He doesn't know how to campaign against a serious Republican. Campaign tactics that work in Chicago and other Democrat enclaves (New York - Elliot Spitzer) are not going to work nation wide. Some one needs to tell Axelrod.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Something To Worry About

John Tierney asked folks to leave comments about what big problems people should be worrying about. Here is what I worry about:

I worry about people who worry about Lebensraum. You know, too many humans on the planet.

I'd keep a close watch on those boys.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Higher Gas Prices Are Killing GM

Megam McArdle is discussing GM's woes.

GM has declared a stunning loss--over $15 billion dollars. Their cash position has fallen by about 10% since last year. That cash cushion used to comfort analysts, the notion being that GM had the reserves to ride out a long rough spell. Now liquidity fears are firming up. I'd put the probability of a GM bankruptcy in the next 10 years at 50%.

The company is scrambling to retool for small cars, and I'm sure we'll hear a loud chorus of voices saying that GM did this to themselves by becoming so dependent on light trucks. Well, they did, but I'm not sure it's fair to blame management.

The Unions want to maximize employment and the Wagner Act gives them lots of clout. What union is going to allow labor saving machinery in a plant that replaces workers? They are after all Labor Unions. They don't collect dues from robots.

And then we have the Democrats - those great supporters of unions - preventing the drilling for American oil making the prices sky rocket. Now where do American car companies make their profits? Big vehicles which use a lot of fuel. Americans want those vehicles if the price of fuel is not too high.

What is the Democrat response? Well they are no longer the party of labor. Their support from labor is an anachronism. They are now the party of Ultimate Greens. You know that party. The one that says that there are too many humans consuming too much stuff and it has to stop. Right now.

And you know, in the whole comment section at Megan's post every one is saying it is labor or it is management. No one (except me) has said anything about higher oil prices.

Let me add that the American auto industry is booming. Just look at who and where. It is foreign companies locating in right to work states. American auto companies are unable to take advantage of the laws in those states because the union will not let them. Where is the profit in that for them?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Democrat Energy Plan

H/T Gateway Pundit

War Stories - 3

Q and O has the details.

As Emanuel notes, the odds were set. 500 vs. 70. Even so, Emanuel entitled his article, “An Alamo With a Different Ending.” The 500 terrorists apparently didn’t realize they were attacking US Army paratroopers.

The unit in question was 2nd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, led by 1LT Jonathan Brostrom.

The first RPG and machine gun fire came at dawn, strategically striking the forward operating base’s mortar pit. The insurgents next sighted their RPGs on the tow truck inside the combat outpost, taking it out. That was around 4:30 a.m.

This was not a haphazard attack. The reportedly 500 insurgents fought from several positions. They aimed to overrun the new base. The U.S. soldiers knew it and fought like hell. They knew their lives were on the line.

The next target was the FOB’s observation post, where nine soldiers were positioned on a tiny hill about 50 to 75 meters from the base. Of those nine, five died, and at least three others — Spc. Tyler Stafford among them — were wounded.

When the attack began, Stafford grabbed his M-240 machine gun off a north-facing sandbag wall and moved it to an east-facing sandbag wall. Moments later, RPGs struck the north-facing wall, knocking Stafford out of the fighting position and wounding another soldier.

Go read the whole thing to find out what happened.

H/T Irons in the Fire

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Pence Report

Congressman Mike Pence gives an after action report on yesterday's after hours session on oil drilling that took place on the House floor after the session was adjourned by Speaker Pelosi.

...we had a hundred people, a hundred people signed up to give speeches at the end of the day, which is a very, very ordinary way to end a day on Capitol Hill, with members giving us speeches that are five minutes in length each. This time, there were so many Republicans outraged that we were leaving for a five week paid vacation without having had an up or down vote on give the American people more access to American oil, you know, we had about half of the Republicans in Congress were going to speak if we went all the way to Midnight. But then they brought their motion to adjourn, they adjourned and shut the whole thing down. And quite frankly, Congressman Tom Price of Georgia and I, who were kind of organizing some of those speakers, looked at each other and said well, cameras are off, lights are off, but you know what? There’s still Americans up in the Gallery. Let’s have at it. And before it was over, more than fifty Republicans in Congress came to the floor, spoke from their hearts, standing ovations all day long. And by all indications, we got the message across to the American people that the Republicans in Congress want to be working, and we want to be working to give the American people greater access to our domestic reserves.

There is more and it is a very interesting read.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

In Ten Years We Won't Need Any

Democrats keep telling us that if we open the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling we won't get any oil out of it for ten years (the real number is two or three years). Are they trying to tell us we won't be needing oil for our vehicles in ten years? I'd like to see the plan.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Unforced Errors

I like the McCain Campaign so far.

Jab. Jab. Jab. Obama throws a round house. McCain then lands a solid punch.

McCain is peeling off the Obama voters. A half percent every day. That will put Obama 15 points down by 1 Sept. I think with the dynamics of this campaign too much fear in one dose will not work.

The unforced errors are starting to make Obama look like an amateur. Which he is.

In other words McCain is making Obama self destruct.

And just wait for the Dem Convention. A significant number of Dems HATE Obama. Where as the Rs respect McCain and just hate his policies. Lots of opportunities there which McCain capitalized on with his reminder of Obama's race baiting Clinton.

I think people will look back on Friday, 1 August and say that it was the turning point.

Inspired by a column by Dick Morris.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

House Republicans In Revolt Over Energy Bill

Breaking News: House Republican are holding an after session session to try to get House Speaker Democrat Nancy Pelosi to bring the House Back in Session to debate the Republican plan to open the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf of the US for oil exploration and production. Speaker Pelosi has ordered the lights, air conditioning, and CSPAN shut off. Here are some quotes from the links below provided by the commenters at Just One Minute.

Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the dimly lit chamber is a "vision of the future by the Democrat Party: The lights are out, there's no power, and the air conditioning is gonna go off soon."

Update: A GOP staffer just informed me that post-adjournment protests by the minority party are not unprecedented. The Democrats did it back in 1995, when the Republicans were in control. Democrats placed a big photo in the speaker's chair of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) wearing a diaper. Republicans note they are being more respectful this time.

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), who was on a plane headed home, went back to the Capitol, walking on to the floor dragging his luggage. He got a standing ovation.

Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) called it a "new Boston Tea Party!"

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said he was "not leaving until we call this Congress back into session and vote for energy independence."

House Dems turn out the lights but GOP keeps talking

Dems turn out the lights but GOP won't go home Part II

GOP talkathon Part III: No shirt? No tie? No problem

GOP revival: Twittering the House revolt; Hoekstra: “Our voices can’t be shut down”

Blackout: Pelosi turns off the lights as GOP demands action on drilling; Update: Video added; Update: Pelosi moves to shut it down?

House Adjourns, But Republicans Linger to Bash Democrats on Energy

Video via Instapundit

CSPAN2 has intermittent coverage

Contact Your Government:

House of Representatives
The Senate
The President

Not Playing With A Full Deck

Obama has been playing the race card a lot lately. The McCain camp is hitting back hard. Very hard

“The McCain campaign was compelled to respond to this outrageous attack because we will not allow John McCain to be smeared by Senator Obama as a racist for offering legitimate criticism,” he said. “We have waited for months with a sick feeling knowing this moment would come because we watched it incur with President Clinton. Say whatever you want about President Clinton, his record on this issue is above reproach.”

In the Democratic primary campaign, Mr. Obama’s supporters at several occasions accused the Clinton campaign of using racially charged tactics, particularly after Mr. Clinton equated Mr. Obama’s victory in the South Carolina primary with the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s victory in the nominating contest there in 1988. Mr. Clinton himself then complained in a radio interview in April that the Obama campaign had “played the race card on me.”

A not so subtle reminder for the PUMA crowd. Which is Democrat speak for Party Unity My Ass. In other words Hillary supporters.

And it appears that Obama is tanking in the polls. This is not going to help. I did a Bounce Check after Obama returned from his Ego Trip to Europe and found that Obama didn't get any bounce from that trip. Now his numbers are falling. My guess is that Team Obama is starting to run scared. Well playing the race card didn't help. That means he is at least one card short of a full deck.

My prediction? Obama is going to take a lot of Democrats down with him in November. Denver is going to be one ugly place for the Democrat Convention at the end of the month.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

A New Kind Of Solar Cell

The boffins are at it again They have just invented a new kind of solar cell that produces hydrogen from salt water.

In Situ Formation of an Oxygen-Evolving Catalyst in Neutral Water Containing Phosphate and Co2+

Matthew W. Kanan 1 and Daniel G. Nocera 1*

The utilization of solar energy on a large scale requires its storage. In natural photosynthesis, energy from sunlight is used to rearrange the bonds of water to O2 and H2-equivalents. The realization of artificial systems that perform similar "water splitting" requires catalysts that produce O2 from water without the need for excessive driving potentials. Here, we report such a catalyst that forms upon the oxidative polarization of an inert indium tin oxide electrode in phosphate-buffered water containing Co²⁺. A variety of analytical techniques indicates the presence of phosphate in an approximate 1:2 ratio with cobalt in this material. The pH dependence of the catalytic activity also implicates HPO₄^2– as the proton acceptor in the O2- producing reaction. This catalyst not only forms in situ from earth-abundant materials but also operates in neutral water under ambient conditions.

There are two possible flies in this ointment.

Indium is not abundant.

Efficiency.

It will be interesting to see if this can be manufactured at a reasonable cost.

The New York Times has more.

H/T Just One Minute


Update 02 Aug 008 1415z

Commenter Bill Woods at Classical Values tells me that this is not a solar cell but a more efficient way to separate hydrogen from oxygen. He is right.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

A Song For Obama

Commenter bgates at Just One Minute has run with a suggestion of mine and written an outstanding song parody.

I see a White House and I want it painted black
No Clintons anymore they both can kiss my sack
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head or Michelle will break my nose
I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
Idling with my entourage but Al Gore cuts me slack
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
They're in the media and ignore all my mistakes
I look inside myself and see my heart is black
Prob'ly because every day I smoke more than one pack
Maybe soon I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
I'll just claim those bitter rubes could not vote for a black

No more will I be showing up at Trinity
Turns out they hate whitey, hey man, it was news to me
If I look cool enough in front of these Germans
Maybe I can say I won before November comes

I see a White House and I want it painted black
Anyone who criticizes me is smoking crack
I am a symbol of what's good in this country
That's why I sometimes seem to lack humility
Hmm, hmm, hmm,...
I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I want Republicans blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black

Outstanding bgates.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Battling Against Wealth Increases

The truth has finally come out. Officially. Greens think more wealth is a bad idea.

Environmental campaigners, citing government-commissioned research, have said that the UK's claimed carbon emissions figures are "a big lie". The analysis adds carbon burdens associated with offshore manufactures, shipping and aviation to the UK total, and - according to the activists - shows that economic growth and carbon emissions are inextricably linked, and that the UK is actually responsible for much more greenhouse gas than it admits.

John Barrett, one of the authors of the reports by the Stockholm Environment Institute at York (SEI-Y) for the government and campaign group WWF*, was quoted by the BBC today:

"We are constantly battling against increases of wealth... There's a very fundamental problem here that no one really wants to talk about."

I believe that is going to make greens really popular with the poor people of Britain and the rest of the world.

I do think he has a point though. Have a look at this chart. A country's wealth correlates very well with its CO2 output. Except for a few resource extraction countries like Bahrain and Libya which actually put out more CO2 per dollar of wealth than average.

Next the greens will be telling us that poverty is good for people. That not is going to sell well. Not well at all.

Update:

Commenter lkdemott has this to add:

"Next the greens will be telling us that poverty is good for people."

With one small change, I think most greens will agree with the statement:

"Next the greens will be telling us that poverty is good for other people."

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Obama Is An Airhead

Eric at Classical Values discourses on Obama's prescription for saving gasoline.

I have been so engaged in the move (truly the most harrowing one of my life) that I have barely been able to keep abreast of news developments, much less blog about them.

But that did not mean that I missed Barack Obama's fascinating assertion about tire inflation.

Via Ace, the exact quote:

"we could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling if everybody was just inflating their tires."

So Obama is an airhead?

I thought every one knew.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

China - The Most Racist Country In The World

La Shawn Barber has a bit up about the racism of global warming. It is no joke.

On Tuesday, liberal Congressman James Clyburn spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to kick off the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, sponsored by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The left-leaning think tank created the Commission to Engage African-Americans on Climate Change to encourage blacks to join the global warming debate.

“It is critical our community be an integral and active part of the debate because African Americans are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change economically, socially and through our health and well-being,” Clyburn said.

With no Klansman to defend against or whites-only signs to tear down, certain blacks are consumed with searching for racism in a single glance or an innocuous comment or on a magazine cover or under rocks. In this case, they looked for and found racism in the skies.

That would make China whose CO2 output now surpasses America's the most racist country in the world.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Obama Gives McCain Some Help

The Obama camp has a new blog up The Low Road Express, which discusses McCain's "distortions" of Obama's words. This is the print version of WORM which stands for What Obama Really Meant. Here is one of my favorites from Cincinnati Enquirer.

The McCain ad’s claim that Obama says ‘he’ll raise taxes on electricity’ is based on an interview Obama gave to a San Antonio newspaper in February in which he said ‘what we ought to tax is a dirty energy like coal, and, to a lesser extent, natural gas.’

And raising taxes on our two chief sources of electrical energy won't raise prices?

So what is the paper's answer to this? They say McCain is for the same cap and trade tax raising policies Obama supports. Evidently they have not been keeping up. McCain Is Taking Economics Lessons.

...on deep background, this senior McCain advisor told me I was correct: no cap-and-trade. In other words, this central-planning, regulatory, tax-and-spend disaster, which did not appear in Mac’s two recent speeches, has been eradicated entirely — even from the detailed policy document that hardly anybody will ever read.

Evidently the advisor was right. None of our betters in the press have read it. Nor has any one from the Obama camp.

Fortunately you have me to help you keep an eye on things.

Did I mention McCain was looking into the near term prospects (good) for fusion a year ago? That is something else the press is unaware of.

Cross Posted at Classical Values