The Chicago Way–Obama's Thuggery Exposed

J. Christian Adams, up until just recently a Department of Justice attorney, has blown the whistle on the Obama Justice Department with regard to their willful ignorance on the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case

The New Black Panther case was the simplest and most obvious violation of federal law I saw in my Justice Department career. Because of the corrupt nature of the dismissal, statements falsely characterizing the case and, most of all, indefensible orders for the career attorneys not to comply with lawful subpoenas investigating the dismissal, this month I resigned my position as a Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney.

Read the whole thing

This is illustrative of the Obama administration’s willful ignorance and total disregard for the rule of law. The Obama administration has put its imprimatur on voter intimidation, especially if it enhances his agenda and cements his power.

Expect more of this come November and expect more intimidation of voters and of citizens in general until the day that this thug regime is removed from power.

At the same time, expect a push-back from Americans who will not allow themselves to be subjected to these fascist, jack-booted tactics from a megalomaniacal regime whose aim is to not govern but to subjugate.

There is no American who should stand for this, and any move to excuse this flagrant abuse of power by any Obama apologist (or anyone else) should be presumed as coming from one who is, like Barack Hussein Obama, an enemy of liberty.

New Rules of Engagement for Afghanistan?

Seems that “courageous restraint” might not stick around quite as-is – from the Telegraph:

“There will be no change in overall policy but all aspects of tactics and implementation will be looked at afresh,” a Pentagon official told The Daily Telegraph. “The issue of ‘courageous restraint’ is a controversial one on the ground and there may be ways it can be modified.”

War is a brutal business and can’t be made otherwise – what is chivalrous in war is to not deliberately harm non-combatants. To offer mercy to the vanquished. But when someone starts shooting at you, “restraint” must be left aside and only once the shooting has stopped can restraint be exercised.

A dose of realty has been needed in Afghanistan policy, and its looks like we’re goig to get it.

Are We Heading in to a "Double Dip" Recession?

John Mauldin rates it fairly likely:

…My take is that Bush cut taxes in 2001 and again in 2003 in the face of weak economic circumstances. Unless something changes, we are going to enact the largest tax increase in US history. And that will be matched by equally large tax increases and spending cuts by state and local jurisdictions. And we are going to do it at a time when the above research suggests that growth may be in the 1% range and unemployment will still be in the 9-10% range. Extended unemployment benefits will be long gone for many people. Housing will still be in the doldrums (more on that in next week’s Outside the Box) and housing prices are likely to fall from here.

Growth in the first quarter was revised down (again!) to 2.7%, or about half that of the 4th quarter of last year. Much of what passed for growth was inventory rebuilding and stimulus. The underlying economy may be weaker than the headline number reveals. And by the 4th quarter, there is very little stimulus.

Given the above, I think we have to increase the odds of a 2011 recession to 60%, and those odds will rise and fall based on the economic performance of the next two quarters.

Personally, I don’t think we ever really left the recession – in terms of real growth absent the massive, bankrupting bit of borrow-and-spend from Obama and his Democrats, my belief is that the private economy has not stopped contracting since 2007.

There is probably no way, at this point, to stop the GDP numbers from slipping back in to recession either later this year or early next. The only thing we can do is soften the blow – and the best means of doing so is to renew the Bush tax cuts.

This is not likely to commend itself to Democrats who are salivating over the huge tax increase – they think it will provide them the revenue to allow another round of vote-buying spending initiatives. They don’t realize that any revenue gains will be swiftly offset by renewed economic decline, and thus lower revenues.

Meanwhile, the debt burden remains – public and private. And once there comes a time when the money men figure that the governments of the world can’t meet their debt obligations, then there will be a run for the financial exits. We’re in for a long, rough year, at least.

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Have a thing to do early Saturday morning, boys and girls, and so am unable to write something go for you in the AM.

Plenty to talk about – how about starting with just what make a person a crazed sex poodle?

Abortuary to Cease Killing Children

The power of prayer?

A Raleigh abortuary that has seen constant prayer from pro-lifers with the popular 40 Days for Life campaign has ceased performing abortions.

The Raleigh News and Observer reported Wednesday that National Women’s Health Organization of Raleigh is, in the words of one local pro-abortion affiliate, “in transition.” The affiliate, Ann Rose, said that the last abortions would be conducted on Saturday, but she would not explain what other changes the “transition” would entail…

Did the endlessly repeated prayers work a chance in some one’s heart? We don’t know – and won’t be able to know while we live on this earth. But it is heartening to see such a miserable, anti-human place willing to change. However it was done, it was well done.

Gov. Brewer Hammers Obama's Border Security Failure

An unanswerable attack – and if this ends up being the way the immigration issue is framed in November, then the GOP will win it handily.

100 Americans Most Hated by the Left

Townhall has constructed the list and you can view it here in PDF. I have to say, it hurts a bit – I figure that I’m hated more than Michael Barone (#100), and who the heck has even heard of Philip Anschutz (#89)? I mean, has anyone ever advocated having Barone beaten up, or suggested that Anschutz be strung up from a lamp post with a meat hook? I might not be as famed as some, but I really do get the lefty hate-juices flowing!

I pledge this to you, my fellow Americans, I will do all I can to make the list next year!

Geithner Surrenders

From the BBC:

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has told the BBC that the world “cannot depend as much on the US as it did in the past”.

He said that other major economies would have to grow more for the global economy to prosper.

Geithner, you sniveling, little coward – what you are really saying is that because your tax and spend liberalism can’t fix America, America can’t be fixed. The world can depend on America – we just can’t depend on you and your boss.

Just another example of the spinelessness of liberals – and their willingness to consign average Americans to destruction, as long at rich, powerful liberals can remain rich and powerful. Geithner doesn’t care – he’s got his pile of money and once he’s out of DC, he fully expects to be re-hired in the corporate world where he can pile up even more money – and then cheat on his taxes some more, because taxes are for the little people to pay.

Have you had enough of these weak, worthless liberals?

Korea: The Forgotten War?

There is a lot of deserved hoopla over the sacrifices made by our veterans in WWII, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and OIF I & II. But somehow, WWII is often mentioned, with a skip over to Vietnam, and Korea appears to be but a footnote.

On this 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, lest we forget, (emphases mine)

• 6.8 million served on active-duty during the Korean War
• 1.8 million served during period of hostilities 36,940 died in theater during the war
• 4,793 died while missing in action
• 92,100 service members were wounded in theater, some several times
• 8,176 are still listed as missing in action 7,140 were POWs of whom 4,418 returned
• 131 Korean War participants received the Medal of Honor

The median age of Korean war vets in 2003 was 69, thus bringing the age now to 76.

In the series, M*A*S*H, the self-righteous surgeons (i.e., Alan Alda) of the 4077th often decried the ‘futility’ of the war, and the overarching message was that our men in the service were killed and wounded for no reason.

I beg to differ:

Without the sacrifices endured by our fighting men and women in Korea, the whole damned peninsula (and quite possibly beyond that) would have shared the fate of the northern half, and the pall that currently reigns over North Korea would have relegated a similar fate to untold millions more.

The next time the White House feels the compulsion to apologize for American “arrogance,” the Apologist in Chief may do well to take a gander at the above photo.

Grim News for Democrats

Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, normally, but it stems from all the grim news for the United States – from the Wall Street Journal:

Americans are more pessimistic about the state of the country and less confident in President Barack Obama’s leadership than at any point since Mr. Obama entered the White House, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The survey also shows grave and growing concerns about the Gulf oil spill, with overwhelming majorities of adults favoring stronger regulation of the oil industry and believing that the spill will affect the nation’s economy and environment.

Sixty-two percent of adults in the survey feel the country is on the wrong track, the highest level since before the 2008 election. Just one-third think the economy will get better over the next year, a 7-point drop from a month ago and the low point of Mr. Obama’s tenure…

The real kicker for the Democrats is that 57% prefer to have someone else in Congress come next year. Polls are polls, of course, and there is a long way from here to November, but it is abundantly clear that without a major game-changer, Obama and his Democrats are in for a long election night.

A couple days ago I was up talking with the Mrs about the overall state of the world and we agreed that it seems like we’re all holding our breath, waiting for a plunge in to disaster. Being a bit impoverished these days, we don’t get out of Las Vegas as much as we used to, so I can’t speak much from first hand experience outside of my town but what I can see here indicates spreading disaster. This manifests itself in large and small ways.

The largest thing we see is that “Space Available” seems to be our booming industry. That sign is popping up with great regularity in business parks, malls and commercial properties. Among the smaller things are the fact that I used to get annoyed by regularly getting stuck behind slow moving cement trucks on my way to work – the other day I was startled to see one on the road…the first in about a year, I guess.

Other things are seeing signs for new homes starting in “the low 100s” when four years ago you couldn’t find anything for less than “the high 200s”. The Mrs’ hairdresser is very stressed by her collapsed cash flow. You can go to the mall and get a parking place steps from the entrance.

I don’t care how much happy talk the banksters and bureaucrats put out – the economy just isn’t happening. Couple this with the abject failure of Obama’s leadership and the rank, nauseating corruption emanating from Congress, and you get a powerful political stew. The sort of thing which ushers in generational change.

We’ll have to see how it all comes out. Keep faith in God; say your prayers. Do the right thing, day by day – and don’t worry about the rest. But, my friends, I do believe we are doomed to live in interesting times for at least some years.

HAT TIP: Mish’s