George Washington

Remembering the man without whom there wouldn’t be a United State of America:

Today is the anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Of all the great men of the revolutionary era to whom we owe our freedom, Washington’s greatness was the rarest and the most needed. At this remove in time, it is also the hardest to comprehend.

Take, for example, Washington’s contribution to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Washington’s mere presence lent the undertaking and its handiwork the legitimacy that resulted in success. The convention’s first order of business was the election of a presiding officer. Washington was the delegates’ unanimous choice.

Read the whole thing.

Dick Cheney Hospitalized

Fox News has the breaking story.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been hospitalized with chest pains, Fox News confirms.

The 69-year-old Republican, who served as Vice President from 2001 to 2009 in the administration of George W. Bush, was said to be resting comfortably Monday at George Washington Hospital, Washington D.C.

“His doctors are evaluating the situation,” a statement from his office said.

We at Blogs For Victory offer our prayers for Dick Cheney’s health. We will keep you posted.

The New, Even Worse ObamaCare

Geesh:

In the course of unveiling Obama’s new health reform proposal on a conference call with reporters this morning, White House advisers made it clearer than ever before: If the GOP filibusters health reform, Dems will move forward on their own and pass it via reconciliation.

The assertion, which is likely to spark an angry response from GOP leaders, ups the stakes in advance of the summit by essentially daring Republicans to try to block reform.

“The President expects and believes the American people deserve an up or down vote on health reform,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said on the call.

Pfeiffer said no decision had been made how to proceed, pending the outcome of the summit. But he added that Obama’s proposal is designed to have “maximum flexibility to ensure that we can get an up or down vote if the opposition decides to take the extraordinary step of filibustering health reform.”

Translation: If the GOP doesn’t cooperate with us in any meaningful sense, we’re moving forward on our own.

Me: if I were GOP Senate leader, I’d say “once you Democrats get to 59 votes, I’ll provide the 60th to bring it to the floor. This is because I care about our republic and don’t want Democrats to destroy our protections just to get this dog of a bill through.” Trust me on this one – the amount of garbage Democrats will have to insert in to the bill to get the 59th vote will ensure it is toxic to the American people. They’ve put lipstick on a pig, tacked on a bit of populist nonsense about limiting insurance rate hikes (as if ObamaCare won’t increase costs and deny coverage even more) and hope to spin things that the GOP isn’t offering any alternatives (except for all the alternatives we’ve provided…) and thus Democrats are fighting for the little guy and other sorts of pure BS they’re always on about.

Once again – go ahead, Democrats: make my day.

Monday Morning Open Thread

Traveling back to Las Vegas today – so, have fun and I’ll have something later.

Liberal Capitalism

In a nutshell, as it relates to Cap and Trade:

…Unlike traditional commodities markets, which will eventually involve delivery to someone in physical form, the carbon market is based on lack of delivery of an invisible substance to no-one…

Fake products traded for what amounts, in the end, to taxpayer money – this is perfect for liberalism is it doesn’t require results and allows the richest of the rich to benefit the most, thus ensuring a continuing supply of fat grants to liberal groups.

What is wrong with America is terms of the economy has been our relentless destruction of the means of wealth creation – liberalism does this, on purpose, because people who create wealth tend to rock the boat, thus putting the liberal elite in danger. Cap and Trade is tailor made to kill off the remainder of the American economy while keeping rich liberals, rich. Its why they want it.

Homosexuality and Conservatism

With the Great Sorba Issue, it is now time, I guess, for all of us conservatives to lay out our views not so much on homosexuality as a thing, but on the place homosexuality can have within the conservative movement.

At bottom, the Reagan Condition is correct: if you’re 80% with me, then I’m going keep with the 80%. Of course, homosexuality is a bit different than, say, someone disagreeing with you on the worth of federal funding for the art.

The left embraces homosexual activist groups simply because they view such as yet more acid to pour upon traditional morality. The utter contempt we routinely see of homosexuals, themselves, tells the true story of leftist attitudes. This isn’t about being anti-gay but, rather, about being anti-human. Anyone who can advocate for “abortion rights” is not someone who can then turn around and show genuine respect for people. All is political on the left – as is best demonstrated by the vile hatred which will directed against any homosexual (or black, or woman, or other selected group) who strays from the leftist path.

The right has tended to reject homosexual activists because most conservatives are strongly Christian in outlook. It has been difficult to separate out the person from the act – and doing this separation was not helped by some overt acts by homosexuals (it was a terrible thing – and entirely unjustified under any circumstances whatsoever – when Christians were pelted by condoms as they left Church. It didn’t help matters at all when some gay activists would enter a Catholic Church and desecrate the Blessed Sacrament). But as time has gone on the old poisons have faded – and the growth of conservative homosexual groups and individuals has broken down a lot of barriers.

I don’t think that anyone can say how conservatism and homosexuality should approach each other. It remains difficult to bring the right and homosexual groups together. Accepting individual homosexual conservatives is a lot easier. Treating all people, regardless of status, with love and respect is a requirement. At bottom, it is only a people with strong morals and a clear, Judeo-Christian outlook which can afford homosexuals essential tolerance.

For me, it is a matter of refusing absolutely to hate anyone; an understanding that I have no cause to act high and mighty as regards morality. And a determination, at this moment, that the defense of liberty trumps all.

The Final Word on the Campaign in Iraq

From David Bellavia:

The war in Iraq was no different. While many scurried to blame Donald Rumsfeld, General Franks or President Bush for losing the war in Iraq, they bet against the American fighting men and women to turn the tide of the war. “The mission” in Iraq was evil. The troops would never be maligned as they were in Vietnam.

I don’t begrudge these people. They simply will never get it. They are the type of people you need to protect in a society. They are innocent and naive.

It is the job of the warrior to hide them under the bed and tell them it will be okay, before we run off to combat the threat.

The ones that hold my contempt are those who, even today, know of the sacrifice made, the incredible progress gained and still will not acknowledge what was won on the ground in Iraq. They cheapen the sacrifice of how it was earned. Operation Iraqi Freedom is no more.

Operation New Dawn (the exact same name of the Battle of Fallujah in November 2004) is the new name of the deployment to Iraq.

What we achieved in the face of an implacable enemy, overcoming many in our own government willfully ignorant of our struggle, is what I believe to be the defining moment of my generation. The veteran today is the embodiment of what it means to be an American. Even when our valor was used for political sport, we continued to serve quietly.

The best America has to offer went to Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere in the War on Terrorism. Some on the right grew tired of th war and turned against it. The left hated it from the start, and eventually got no less a personage than the Senate Majority Leader to assert that it was lost. We still hear the complaints and lies about why we went there, and what we did.

The soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who served know better – and those who never broke faith with them also know better. And it is comforting to know that even after decades of lies, moral degradation and spreading cowardice that our nation can still raise such a military force.

Now, we who didn’t fight must prove worthy of those who did – to ensure that the America they fought for is a land of freedom, of decency and of respect for honor and sacrifice. To this cause I pledge the rest of my life and all of my efforts. It still won’t equal the sacrifice of even one of those who died. It is, literally, the least I can do – but it will be done, and as they never quit in worse circumstances than I’ll ever face, so I will never quit.

Craven Fear of Islam in Arizona

Geesh:

Remember the case in which Faleh al-Maleki, an Iraqi-American father brutally ran over his daughter, Noor, in Arizona, then attempted to escape but was apprehended in Britain and returned to face justice?

Guess what’s just happened? The Arizona prosecutors have been scared off seeking the death penalty. Public defender Billy Little raised the specter of “How will it look for Christians to execute a Muslim?”

I kid you not.

Billy Little asked the judge to “take special precautions to ensure the County Attorney’s Office wouldn’t wrongly seek the death penalty because Almaleki is a Muslim.” Little called for an “open process (to) provide some level of assurance that there is no appearance that a Christian is seeking to execute a Muslim for racial, political, religious or cultural beliefs,” referring to County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ Christian faith.

Keeping in mind that I’m opposed to the death penalty, I’m still upset that a American prosecutor would eschew imposing a certain penalty out of fear for a bad Moslem reaction to it. We are not a Moslem nation – “honor killing” your daughter is not something we recognize as a legitimate action, nor are concerns for religious scruples a mitigating circumstances in such a barbaric action. If this is Islam, then the whole thing should be banned in the United States.

It is time – and past time – that we started dealing with this social blight with courage. Islam is what it is and the real world is what we live in. Lets face the fact that as people who are considered such a pollution we cannot enter Islam’s holiest city, there is nothing we can do to “offend” Moslems. We are an offense to them – at least to those who might attempt to use an execution for murder as just one more bogus excuse to seek further murder of Americans.

Obama, Democrats: Still Stupid After All These Years

Its like they can’t even buy a clue:

…Democrats are struggling to push healthcare legislation over the finish line in the face of sagging public support and solid Republican opposition bolstered by recent election victories in Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey.

The legislation the White House will post on its website is expected to reflect common ground negotiated over the past several weeks by House and Senate Democratic leaders…(emphasis added)

Uh, idiots: the reason you can’t get this thing through is because all you’ve done is talk amongst yourselves (and bribe each other, of course) and the American people aren’t liking what they see. If you want to pass a bill with popular support, you’re going to have to work with the now-surging GOP. You had your chance with your super-majorities and blew it – now its time to pay the piper.

But, the morons won’t pay it. Which is fine – ram it through, Democrats. As I’ve said, “go ahead, make my day”.

UPDATE: Charlie Cook – Health care is Obama’s Iraq

Heavy Fighting in Afghanistan

The battle continues:

Six Nato troops have been killed in Afghanistan in the worst single-day loss for international forces since the launch of a big offensive to drive Taliban insurgents from the town of Marjah.

The deaths on Thursday, followed by the loss of another soldier on Friday, underscore the risks US, UK and Afghan troops face as they seek to clear what commanders describe as pockets of resistance by fighters digging in to resist one of the biggest operations launched by Nato in Afghanistan since 2001.

The seven casualties brought the death toll of international troops from the six-day operation to 12, an official for the Nato-led force in Afghanistan said.

We’re all busy, but do not forget about these men and women. Think about them, every day – and say prayers for their victory and safe return.