A thousand words…

How can you not laugh? Behold, my first screenshot:

Fellow Potlucker Adrienne made fun of O riding a girl’s bike this weekend.  How can a man with such an inflated sense of self not know that this makes him look like a total pogue? 

Ever the consummate blogger, Althouse chastizes Drudge for giving Obama a hard time while posting this winner of a pic, which she entitled “dumbrella.”

She wonders:

Imagine if Bush had made an error of that kind?

Ah, media field day, I’m sure.

I guess we all can’t be this cool:

Clipped in, too. 

Unlike Putin’s array of I’m-a-man-look-at-me-roar media hype photos, W’s MTB passion is the real deal.

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Why MLK’s niece will speak at Beck’s rally: “It’s a matter of honor”

Did you know Dr. Martin Luther King’s niece, Dr. Alveda King, speaks today at Glenn Beck’s rally?  You wouldn’t from the MSM coverage of the event, decrying the horror of Beck claiming King’s mantle.  But to Alveda King, it makes perfect sense:

In front of the Lincoln Memorial in June, a group of students caught up in a moment of spontaneous patriotism broke into song. But the US Park Police were quick to shush the members of the Young America’s Foundation, saying singing is not allowed at the memorial. The song that was stifled? “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

So much for freedom of speech.

At the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta this July, an official at the memorial to one of the greatest civil rights leaders in the world – my Uncle Martin – removed a bullhorn from the hands of Father Frank Pavone, an internationally recognized leader of the pro-life movement. We were a group more than 100 strong, in Atlanta to declare that abortion is the greatest violation of civil rights in our day. We brought a wreath to lay at Uncle Martin’s grave while we prayed, but due to a King Center official’s barricade at the gravesite, we weren’t allowed. The National Park Service said that would constitute a demonstration.

So much for freedom of assembly.

Americans are hungry to reclaim the symbols of our liberty, hard won by an unlikely group of outnumbered, outgunned, underfunded patriots determined not to live in servitude to the British Empire. If we want to sing the national anthem at a memorial to the man who led this fledgling nation out of slavery, and made my people free, we should be able to send our voices soaring to the heavens.

Glenn Beck’s “Rally to Restore Honor” this Saturday will give us that chance, and that’s why I feel it’s important for me to be there.

Before the words were out of Mr. Beck’s mouth announcing the Aug. 28 rally, The New York Times noted that it would be at the same place and 47 years to the day since my Uncle Martin gave his “I Have a Dream Speech.” When asked why he chose that date in particular, Beck said he had not realized its significance, but in thinking about it, he saw it is an auspicious day to rally for the honor of the American people. He has said, and he’s right, that Martin Luther King didn’t speak only for African-Americans. He spoke for all Americans, and his words still ring true.

Read the rest.  Dr. King is the director for African-American outreach for Priests for Life. 

For the first time since moving, I miss being in DC.  It’s not the same as being there, but via Mommy Life, here’s streaming video of the event.   Hot Air also has an open thread with streaming video.  I had better luck with the latter but am in a hurry to start staining the deck.  Fun, eh?

Though it looks like Stacy and Smitty are lost,  I’m not counting them out just yet.  Will be heading to The Other McCain later for updates, and I suggest you do the same.

H/T: Memeorandum for all the latest in MSM lefty rage.

TGIF: VDH optimism and Krauthammer eviscerates the liberal crutch. Who could ask for more?

Light blogging ahead: my in-laws will be here in a week and the rest of the boxes must be unpacked.  Books and papers are the bane of moving.  Twitter feed and google reader will be updated, but posts might be a little skimpy.  Apologies.  It’s funny how life happens, no?

Optimism from VDH who argues that “Decline is a choice.”  He writes:

As the summer winds down, there is more and more talk of decline in the air. Some of it comes from the left, as a sort of giddy notion that we are now, at best, devolving into what the Greeks called prôtos metaksu isôn, first among equals, enjoying traditional prestige but otherwise nothing much special in comparison to the Europeans, India, and China.

In the age of Obama, the notion of not being exceptional or preeminent comes as a relief to millions on the left who pretty much are in sync with the protocols of the United Nations. On the right, there is a sense that Obama is the ultimate expression of downfall; given the wild spending, the iconic efforts abroad at apology, and the rampant entitlements we simply aren’t what we once were. In between, most aren’t quite sure—but sure are worried that we may never climb out of our self-created indebtedness crater, and that the culture’s education, the nation’s borders, and the civilization’s values are eroding.

I agree with the latter take, but see decline in history as largely psychological. After all, a Rome that was little more than 4 million and half of Italy almost simultaneously fought both Hannibal and Philip V and ploughed on after losing over 100,000 dead between 219-216 BC to victory, while by AD 450-80 an empire of 70 million, with a million square miles of territory, could not thwart thuggish tribes across the Rhine and Danube.

A very poor United States in 1941 defeated imperial Japan and helped to defeat Nazi Germany in less than four years. A few hundred thousand immigrants between 1870 and 1960 took a godforsaken desert in California’s central valley and turned it into an oasis of agriculture, for nearly half a century with no more than muscle and mule power.

He goes on to point out our exceptionalism in every field–well, sans the arts which have succumbed to race/class/gender orthodoxy.  And he’s right.  Read it, smile, and know that as we recovered from Jimmy Carter, we will recover from Obama.

(As an aside, did Carter have fans who still wore campaign t-shirts?  I was too young.  And I still see women decked out in their Obama paraphenlia snatching up magazines on which he graces the cover.)

Charles Krauthammer examines the liberal tendency to cry “Racist rube! Bitter clinger! Idiot!” which he refers to as the “last refuge of a liberal.”  He writes:

Liberalism under siege is an ugly sight indeed. Just yesterday it was all hope and change and returning power to the people. But the people have proved so disappointing. Their recalcitrance has, in only 19 months, turned the predicted 40-year liberal ascendancy (James Carville) into a full retreat. Ah, the people, the little people, the small-town people, the “bitter” people, as Barack Obama in an unguarded moment once memorably called them, clinging “to guns or religion or” — this part is less remembered — “antipathy toward people who aren’t like them.”

That’s a polite way of saying: clinging to bigotry. And promiscuous charges of bigotry are precisely how our current rulers and their vast media auxiliary react to an obstreperous citizenry that insists on incorrect thinking.

The great unwashed don’t want a Ground Zero Mosque, fail to see the brilliance of a judge who decides two men can marry, and feel the borders should be protected.  Rubes, all.  Too bad those rubes can vote, eh? Read it.

Boxes call!

 

How do you restore confidence in the falling dollar? Just a thought, but this wouldn’t help.

Unless, of course, you have a penchant for colorful toilet paper.  (Sheryl Crow would approve, since you’d only use one sheet.)

From graphics firm Dowling Duncan:

We have submitted a design concept to a competition being run by New York designer Richard Smith. The Dollar ReDe$ign Project hopes to bring about change for everyone. We want to rebrand the US Dollar, rebuild financial confidence and revive our failing economy.

With all the news of the Hindenburg Omen, I wonder if this would force the market collapse.

Go check out the rest of it, which Jonah Goldberg points out is not a joke. Included in the all-new designs, an ode to the first 100 days of FDR (predictable), an homage to our Native forebears, because, well, you know those evil Pilgrims are so passé, and oddly enough, the Bill of Rights.  Maybe if the libs at Dowling Duncan are lucky, the Obama administration can help cross the second off the list.

♥ Rubio

Backdoor amnesty, here we come (because the Democrats need voters, stat!)

And where is our beloved fourth estate? 

Crickets.

Via Doug Ross, the DHS figured out how to conjure more voters for Obama and his minions:

Critics assail the plan as a bid to create a kind of backdoor ‘amnesty’

The Department of Homeland Security is systematically reviewing thousands of pending immigration cases and moving to dismiss those filed against suspected illegal immigrants who have no serious criminal records… Critics assailed the plan as another sign that the Obama administration is trying to create a kind of backdoor “amnesty” program…

“They’ve made clear that they have no interest in enforcing immigration laws against people who are not convicted criminals,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for strict controls.

“This situation is just another side effect of President Obama’s failure to deliver on his campaign promise to make immigration reform a priority in his first year,” said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “Until he does, state and local authorities are left with no choice but to pick up the slack for prosecuting and detaining criminal aliens.”

…Tre Rebsock, the ICE union representative in Houston, said even if the efforts involve only a fraction of the pending immigration cases, “that’s going to make our officers feel even more powerless to enforce the laws.”

And the vast majority of Americans who think the laws should be enforced a la Arizona.

Holy Smokes: Host a playdate only to find the political class and media take a big one on the chin.

Or, as Pundette said: “Hear her roar.”

I sit in awe.  I couldn’t squeeze in my usual nightly reading yesterday as I had to furiously clean in advance of a playdate this morning.  Followed by more frantic tidying this morning.  A wild afternoon. 

I caught that McCain won last night, and a tidbit about the Alaska primary–the foregone conclusion that RINO Lisa Murkowski would win and Palin would have more egg on her face for endorsing an impossible candidate.

Except that candidate won.  The Other McCain explains why.

Murkowski stayed classy  is “exploring her options” for a third-party run, but Alaska has a rule preventing sore losers from doing so.  There might be a way.  But it would be difficult at best.

Ed Morrissey on repercussions for the chattering classes:

When Shira Toeplitz notes that no poll predicted this outcome, it’s not an exaggeration.  Palin’s endorsement of Miller was seen as a long shot, as well as another volley in a years-long political feud between Palin and the Murkowskis.  Few people gave the endorsement much chance of changing the status quo, especially since Murkowski didn’t have a record that produced anywhere near as much ire among conservatives as Palin’s former running mate John McCain — who won his primary by 30 points.

If Miller wins this race, it’s a testament to the power of Palin in Alaska and the energy of the Tea Party.  It may also be a warning to pollsters to start making some adjustments to likely-voter models in the days ahead.  We’ll keep an eye on the outcome of this race today.

Unbelievable.

ROAR!

(Because I can see November from my house.  And it looks mighty fine.)

“Who is the new guy?” and the “old guys” are bastards

Heh.

Ed Morrissey aptly notes:

After the midterms, that last line may become the new catchphrase on Capitol Hill: “Who’s the new guy?”

The only problem with the “old guys” via Erick Erickson at RedState regarding earmarks in Congress:

But it was all for show, or so it seems. House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) declares earmarks will be back in full swing once the GOP takes back Congress.

Cantor said, “Republicans may roll back their ban on earmarks, as long as the spending items have ‘merit.’”

“Merit” is a focus grouped way to obfuscate the reality that Eric Cantor and the House Republicans are perfectly happy to be wallowing back in the mud pit once they get back in charge. If the earmarks actually had merit, they could withstand the entire appropriations process, including review by committee, etc. instead of being added in.

In other words, the GOP has learned nothing and forgotten nothing.

Isn’t that the truth.  Live by the earmark, die by the earmark, Mr. Cantor. 

We must remake our party. Sans the politicians, it seems.  Related: The Other McCain, “Wake up, GOP!”

Obamaitis and Democrats on the Lam

Pardon my respite this weekend.  I am so sick of the news–highly unusual given the life-long addiction–in part, I think, because I’m just so sick of Obama.  Yes, he’s a jackass.  Yes, I mentally vomit every time I see him.  Two.  More.  Years.

But I admit a certain satisfaction when I read things like this:

Throughout this long year, President Obama’s advisers have sometimes looked to Ronald Reagan for comparison and inspiration. If the Gipper could survive a deep recession, low approval ratings and an adverse midterm election in his first two years and win reelection handily two years later, then Obama could easily do the same, they reason.

Seriously?  They think he can channel Ronnie?  Better call an astrologist, Michelle, because she’ll tell you it ain’t possible (and not to take so many vacations).

Jennifer Rubin comments:

Perhaps if Obama did a 180 on his agenda and started expressing affection for Americans and their values, he too could be popular again.

And since we all know that isn’t in the stars, then, sit back, relax, and watch the president lead his Democrats to slaughter.

From Jen-Ru again, a Democrat said this? 

The Obama administration’s policies and programs are not producing real, long lasting results, and there has been no real growth. Put another way, an unprecedented degree of federal government spending and intervention vis-à-vis the $787 billion dollar economic stimulus package, the $81 billion dollar bailouts of GM and Chrysler, and the enactment of health care and financial regulatory and reform bills have done nothing to stimulate our anemic recovery and have fundamentally failed at creating private sector jobs, or generating economic growth necessary for a sustainable, healthy recovery.

It’s only going to get worse when the Bush tax cuts expire.  pjHusband and I wondered yesterday how much more we’ll be paying Uncle Obama.  Part of me wants to know so we can adjust our finances accordingly.  The other part wants to stick my head in the sand. 

Via Michelle Malkin, the Chamber of Commerce economist:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce economist Martin Regalia on Monday said the tax increases advocated by President Obama would essentially kill any chance for an economic rebound. 

“That’s what you’re suggesting, is a corporate bullet in the head,” Regalia said. “That is going to be a bullet in the head for an awful lot of people that are going to be laid off and an awful lot of people who are hoping to get their jobs back.”

We all know how well that “Recovery Summer” is working out.  Read the rest of Malkin’s series, the Obami war on jobs (yes, it’s a series.  In five parts.  More to come, I’m sure).  Doesn’t it send a thrill up your leg to know that your President could care less about destroying 23,000 jobs?  Who knew hope would mean pining for a job and change would be all that’s left in your pocket! 

More from Jen-Ru on the Obama-whisperer driving Democrats into the ditch:

The fury among Democrats shouldn’t be underestimated. A longtime Democratic operative steamed to me: “Valerie Jarret is the Barack-whisperer-in-chief. She has nurtured the myth of Obama’s supernatural powers longer than anyone — second only to her sidekick, Axelrod — and the two of them, and their bad ideas, are at the root of virtually every mistake and overreach out there, especially the ill-fated Muslim-outreach campaign launched in the first hours of the presidency. It was probably Jarrett who told the president it was a good idea to bow down to the king of Saudi Arabia, too.” Ouch.

But wasn’t this an act of bravery and courage, as the left punditocracy has trumpeted? Not for those trying to win elections, the operative explained:

“By getting involved in this issue — which was on a glide path to work out fine at the local level — the president and his team have put every Democrat running for Congress in the crosshairs of an issue that is 70-30 the wrong way. “Mr. Candidate, do you agree with your president?” This is just the latest insult these guys have hurled at Congress. And what do you get? Does your 30% base like you more? I can’t remember a White House with so much contempt for its own party. And why? Because they love the sound of their own voice.”

Keep talkin, Obama-whisperer.  And destroy the Democrats in the process. 

More reads:

Can we take the Senate?

Will it matter if we do sans any political cojones?

What liberal policies have wrought upon young black men who grow up fatherless: less than 50% graduation rates.  Please, Obama-whisperer, destroy liberalism for at least two generations to come.  We might have a chance saving ourselves from the destruction of entitlement-mentality-social-programs that only limit the opportunities of the poor to break free from the helping-hand-of-big-brother.

New meaning to going postal: duck if you hear Allahu-akbar!  It’s all just workplace violence,  you know.

UPDATE: linked by Pundette as a Recommended Read.  Thanks!

Enjoy your vacation, Mr. President. Please, take a swim!

Swimming in poop seems fitting, doesn’t it? H/t: Drudge.

Cue most obscure Beach Boys album ever:

Yes, that’s the Beach Boys. The hippie album.