Reaction to Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize

 

As far as I can tell, it’s not an Onion parody. President Obama really has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

This makes Obama only the fourth United States President to win the prize. Having been in office only nine months, the award might have been a bit premature.

The Times of London is handling the news well. Their headline: Comment: absurd decision on Obama makes a mockery of the Nobel peace prize

The Times article goes on to say:

[T]he prize risks looking preposterous in its claims, patronising in its intentions and demeaning in its attempt to build up a man who has barely begun his period in office, let alone achieved any tangible outcome for peace.

The pretext for the prize was Mr Obama’s decision to “strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples”. Many people will point out that, while the President has indeed promised to “reset” relations with Russia and offer a fresh start to relations with the Muslim world, there is little so far to show for his fine words.

Fox News also puts it succinctly:

Despite less than one year in office and leading two wars, President Obama snatched the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, stunning the world one week after failing to win an Olympic bid for his adopted hometown.

The Nobel committee’s decision was motivated by Obama’s initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.

Yet the choice was stunning given the nomination deadline of Feb.1, less than two weeks after the Obama presidency began. [emphasis mine]

Even the Huffington Post, usually one of the President’s staunchest supporters, is surprised into asking: “Whatever Happened to Awarding For Deeds Actually Done?”

HuffPo author Michael Russnow elaborates on his title:

As the 2 a.m. PDT CNN commentator interviewed Norwegian experts and past Peace Laureates, just about all of them repeated the obvious: Obama was being honored for the hope of what he might accomplish as opposed to what he has actually achieved.

So, at the moment, I believe it is enormously premature for Obama to be getting this great tribute, which to a certain extent cheapens the prior recipients and the work all of them performed over so many years.

Michelle Malkin writes:

From community organizer to Illinois state senator (present!) to U.S. Senator for 143 days before moving into the White House…and now, the recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize — not for anything he’s actually done, but for the symbolism of what he might possibly accomplish sometime way off in the future…

And she ends with a whammy:

The World Apology Tour yields dividends.

As for me, I only hope that President Obama can live up to even half of the hype has been generated on his behalf. If he can, then I say, “Good for him.” If not, we’ll have a different President in 2012.

And to quote a favorite author: “You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.”

I’ll take freedom.

Stoutcat

The Day ObamaCare Died

 

UPDATE: Sorry, folks. Evidently someone without a sense of humor at YouTube has pulled the vid. When it is restored (cross your fingers!) we’ll re-post.

UPDATE II: Commenter Solana2012 found a less detailed version of the video. Good work, Solana! Let’s see how long this one is allowed to stay live:

In the same tenor as a previous musical post comes a hilarious parody of Don McLean’s great American classic, American Pie. I think this version is destined to become a classic, too.

H/T: DirectorBlue

Stoutcat

“Safe School Czar” Defends Graphic Classroom Descriptions Of Gay Sex Acts To Children

Organization Founded by Kevin Jennings And Funded By Federal Tax Dollars Presenting Graphic Classroom Descriptions Of Gay Sex Acts To Children As Young As 12.

Warning: What follows is not an indictment of homosexuality. It is, however, an indictment of some people (straight and gay) who have crossed the line of extraordinarily inappropriate behavior regarding school-age children of this country. Perhaps most disturbing aspect: the program  has the endorsement of a member of the Obama administration.

Kevin Jennings - Do you entrust this man with your child? (Photo: Fox News)

Meet Kevin Jennings, selected by President Obama to be the director of the office of ”Safe & Drug Free Schools.”

Jennings is yet another Obama appointee brought into the fold while avoiding any legislative approval process. And, as you will read, he is a classic example of why Obama should not be allowed to continue choosing advisers without any vetting process by both houses of Congress. “Czarhood” is a loophole Obama has used repeatedly to surround himself with extreme radicals like Van Jones, Cass Sunstein and others.

Jennings, a former Massachusetts school teacher who is openly gay, has admitted to using unacceptable judgement in a case involving a 15-year-old male student who was having an ongoing sexual relationship with an adult male. As a school teacher in 1988, Jennings was approached by the student, then a sophomore, who told him about the relationship with the adult male he had met in a bus station bathroom in Boston.

Jennings’ responsibility as a school teacher was to be a sage counselor to his students. As a law-abiding citizen, his obligation was to report to the authorities that an older man was involved in an illegal sexual relationship with an under-age student. Rather than consulting with legal authorities, however, Jennings simply advised the boy to be sure to use a condom. This alone should illustrate Jennings’ inappropriateness for the position to which he has been entrusted with by President Obama.

As this piece was being edited, the young man involved has come forward and is now claiming he was actually 16 at the time, not 15 as stated by Jennings. The difference is significant because if the boy was, in fact, 15, as Jennings had claimed, he should have reported to the authorities as a case of statutory rape. If the boy was in fact 16, no crime was committed, although it still showed incredibly poor judgement on Jenning’s part as a teacher to simply recommend using a condom. And it makes one wonder if the young man wasn’t approached by someone and “encouraged” to change the stated age as 16 to protect Jennings.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Another, even more troubling part of the iceberg is this:

On Oct. 25, 1997, at a conference for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Mr. Jennings stated, “One of the people that’s always inspired me is Harry Hay.” The late Hay was a “gay-rights” activist most notorious for supporting the North American Man Boy Love Association. This is definitely not the kind of guy you want to see as an inspiration for the person with the title of “Safe and Drug Free School Czar.”

Jennings is also the founder of the innocuous-sounding Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

On GLSEN’s home page, they state as their mission:

“The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.”

If that were the extent of their actions, I would have no problem with it.  However, dig a little deeper and let’s take a look at just what GLSEN, which operates on grants (translation: your tax dollars and mine) really does behind closed classroom doors under the rubric of “seeking mutual respect for all students.”

According to watchdog group Mass Resistance:

GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) is a national homosexual organization that targets children in the public schools, and has formed “gay straight alliance” clubs in schools across the country. Jennings was the Executive Director of GLSEN at the time of this conference and defended it.

Setting up chapters or “clubs” in schools in Massachusetts enables direct access to students in school. It also qualifies them to use the school facilities as their base of operations while receiving federal funding to pay for the cost of these programs.

But these programs aren’t about preaching “acceptance” and “respect.” Rather, these programs are more about “How to perform” certain sexual acts and they include graphic descriptions and instructions promoting dangerous sexual behavior. This is being taught to school children as young 12 years old.

I apologize in advance for the graphic list that follows, but you need to know this is exactly what is being presented to your children in graphic detail. The topics being covered by GLSEN members include (but are not limited to):

• Anal Sex (all aspects)
• Oral Sex (all aspects)
• Golden Showers (urinating on your partner)
• Fisting (the insertion of one’s hand – and, sometimes, arm – into the rectum  or vagina of your partner).

The source for the above is the audio recording where you can hear these topics actually being discussed at one of their meetings.   Available at link #1 below. 

The programs have been defended by Jennings. It’s not a big jump to see Massachusetts as the testing ground for rolling out this program on a National level now that he is in position as Obama’s director of the office of ”Safe & Drug Free Schools.”

All American taxpayers needs to know about this and make their own decisions, rather than allowing Obama and Jennings to make this decision for your children behind your backs!

I urge you to click on the following links to better educate yourself as to just what is taking place in our schools right now, using your tax dollars. I believe it is IMPERATIVE  that all parents be aware what this group is doing behind closed doors with your children.

Link 1: Takes you to a web site where the MASS Resistance covers in more detail the vile and disgusting nature of these presentations to our children. These are going on behind your backs. They are making decisions about the content and timing of your child’s sexual education without your input.

Note: This page also has links to recordings made at a state-sponsored meeting. Keep in mind that the audiences these state employees are addressing are our children, some as young as 12 years old. I know I keep stressing this, but I remember how innocent life used to be for 12 year-olds… and still ought to be.

Link 2: More on Kevin Jennings’ activities with GLSEN and links to additional information about his ultra-radical approach to homosexual teachings and how GLSEN uses “anti-bullying” programs as their foot in the door.

A final thought: I spent several years working with “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh when he was in the early stages of his child advocate days after his son Adam was murdered. One of those years was spent working with him at his organization’s headquarters in Florida, assisting in providing the technology to address the issue of child protection legislation.

During that time, I was shocked to see some of the literature being made available to the public by such groups as “NAMBLA” (North American Man-Boy Love Association), a group of pedophiles dedicated to doing away with laws prohibiting sex between adult males and boys.

But never, and I mean never, did it ever occur to me that a President of the United States would select a person to oversee the “Safety” of our schools who, based on his actions (or lack thereof), appears to condone and promote the teaching of sexually deviant acts in our classrooms.  Ask yourself this question: What’s next on his agenda for your children? I don’t think it’s “Change We Can Believe In.” Kevin Jennings must go!

This is President Obama’s vision of “fundamentally changing the United States?”  Excuse me while I vomit.

Update: Michelle Malkin weighs in on the issue here.

Gerry Ashley

Head to Head: Obama and McChrystal

 

I don’t think that President Obama ever acknowledged that the surge in Iraq actually worked.

Because of that successful strategy, the world in general now considers the war in Iraq (one theater of the Global War on Terror) a victory.

But because if his reluctance to admit a surge strategy has already worked once, I guess it’s not surprising that the President is stonewalling General McChrystal on his (now-on-the-back-burner) request for a surge of 40,000 more troops for the Afghanistan theater. 

In London last week, in response to a question about whether a more drone and special ops-focused strategy would work, the Telegraph reported McChrystal’s response, about which the President is reportedly furious:

“The short answer is: No… Waiting does not prolong a favorable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely, and nor will public support.”

Is it the President’s hope that the General’s request, if ignored or denied, will cause McChrystal to resign or retire, thus allowing Obama the luxury of appointing someone he feels might be more complaisant to his point of view on Afghanistan (whatever that POV might be)?

I truly hope this is not the case, but it’s getting harder and harder to think otherwise as the President continues to stall on either answering McChrystal or even proposing a workable strategy of his own.

General McChrystal is an able and honorable man, wanting only the best for his country and his troops. I hope that the President can see this, and get beyond his evident distaste for military strategies that have proven to work in execution as well as in theory. Who knows? He might even begin to like the smell of victory…

Stoutcat

President, Doctors Kiss and Make Up

 

Right now, President Obama seems to be BFF-ing with doctors, as evidenced by his latest meet-up in the Rose Garden yesterday, where 150 doctors from all 57 states 50 states gathered to support the President’s healthcare plan. The physicians weren’t invited to give testimony or expert opinions on healthcare or the bill currently being cobbled together, but simply as a photo op to prove that doctors stand with the President on his plan. 

Sadly, as far as photo-ops go, this one was a bust. Even though all the doctors on the guest list were requested to appear in costume in white lab coats (because we rubes only understand that they’re doctors if they’re wearing their doc-garb), many forgot to do so, and so the White House, in an unexpected burst of preparedness, handed out props to those who arrived.

These actions are definitely at odds with the ways in which the President has portrayed doctors in some of his recent speeches about health care. For example, back in July, he very definitely cast doctors as villains when he accused physicians of deliberately mis-diagnosing children’s illnesses in order to get more money by performing tonsillectomies rather than prescribing cold medicine.

“Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that’s out there. … The doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, ‘You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out,’” Obama told a prime-time news conference. The president added: “Now, that may be the right thing to do, but I’d rather have that doctor making those decisions just based on whether you really need your kid’s tonsils out or whether it might make more sense just to change; maybe they have allergies. Maybe they have something else that would make a difference.”

And in August, doctors were the villains again when, in his infamous Portsmouth, NH town hall meeting, he accused them of preferring to do amputations to other remedies because amputations netted the doctor more cash.

Regardless of my feelings about health care, were I a doctor, I don’t believe I’d care to be portrayed as a money grubbing scoundrel simply out for the bucks, and then show up for a pep rally to support the man who called me a villain.

But that’s just me.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin says Halloween came early to the White House.

Stoutcat

Obama To McChrystal: “Shut Up And Obey!”

General Stanley McChrystal

Alex Spillius writes on today’s London Telegraph, that the recent speech in London made by the Commander of Nato Forces, General Stanley A.  McChrystal ”enraged”  US-OJT (On-the-Job-Training) President Barack Obama.  

I”m not exactly sure what Obama’s point of reference was. I mean, let’s be brutally honest here. In the war arena, I think a fair and unbiased comparison of credentials will give General McChrystal a slight advantage over President Obama. Let’s just see:

• On one hand (according to Wikipedia), General McChrystal is the current Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A). He previously served as Director, Joint Staff from August 2008 to June 2009 and as Commander, Joint Special Operations Command from 2003 to 2008, where he was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He assumed his current assignment on June 15, 2009. His father was Major General Herbert McChrystal. He was the fourth child in a family of five boys and a girl, all of whom would serve or marry into the military.  
• On the other hand, while researching Barack Obama’s military experience, about the only thing I was able to uncover was that he once had a friend who had a GI Joe lunch box. 

So who do you feel more confident with when it comes to running the war in Afghanistan? Yet Obama reportedly threw a major hissy-fit over General McChrystal’s comments in London which prompted him to order the General to meet with him aboard Air Force One on the Copenhagen tarmack.

According to the article on The Telegraph:

In London, Gen McChrystal, who heads the 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan as well as the 100,000 Nato forces, flatly rejected proposals to switch to a strategy more reliant on drone missile strikes and special forces operations against al-Qaeda.

He told the Institute of International and Strategic Studies that the formula, which is favoured by Vice-President Joe Biden, would lead to “Chaos-istan”.

When asked whether he would support it, he said: “The short answer is: No.”

He went on to say: “Waiting does not prolong a favorable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely, and nor will public support.”

Let me make this short and sweet. Obama and many other members of the left were quick to criticize the Intelligence gathering skills of the Bush administration.

Yet, it would appear that Obama’s intelligence wasn’t even up to the task of determining there was no point to fly to Copenhagen to lobby for the 2016 Olymics in Chicago.

Count me as one American who thinks this is one time President Mmm-Mmm-Mmm Barack Hussein Obama should mmm-maybe check his ego at the tent and listen carefully to what General McChrystal has to say.

But don’t count on it.  

Gerry Ashley

And Now for Something Completely Different

 

Yes, a completely different show began its wildly successful run this day 40 years ago. On October 5, 1969, the first episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired on BBC One. The episode, entitled, Whither Canada? included the following sketches, and I defy anyone reading this to say that they haven’t heard of at least one of these: 

• It’s Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Italian lesson
• Whizzo Butter
• “It’s the Arts”
• Arthur ‘Two Sheds’ Jackson
• Picasso/Cycling Race
• The Funniest Joke in the World

 In honor of this momentous occasion, here is The Funniest Joke in the World. View it at your peril:

Gentlemen, thanks for 40 years of hilarity.

H/T: Reader Scott

Stoutcat

The Terrible State of Health Care in America

 

If it’s so bad, then why did three Americans just win the Nobel Prize for Medicine? The New York Times reports:

Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer…

The trio solved the mystery of how chromosomes, the rod-like structures that carry DNA, protect themselves from degrading when cells divide.

The Nobel citation said the laureates found the solution in the ends of the chromosomes — features called telomeres that are often compared to the plastic tips at the end of shoe laces that keep those laces from unraveling.

Blackburn and Greider discovered the enzyme that builds telomeres — telomerase — and the mechanism by which it adds DNA to the tips of chromosomes to replace genetic material that has eroded away.

Based on the research of these three (and many more like them), some drug makers and pharmaceutical companies are beginning to make and test drugs that may one day provide better treatment or possible cures for certain cancers:

[Following the work of Grieder, Blackburn, and Szostak] U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co. and Menlo Park, California-based biotechnology company Geron Corp. began testing a cancer vaccine that targets telomerase last year in patients with solid tumors, including lung and prostate cancer. Geron is also testing another telomerase inhibitor in breast and plasma cell cancer patients.

Yes, those evil pharma companies are actually trying to make drugs to cure things like cancer!

But back to the sad, sad state of medicine in America today and Grieder, Blackburn, and Szostak. Based on what’s been reported over the past six months or so about healthcare in this country, you might think that the fact that these three won the Nobel Prize for Medicine was a fluke, a blip, a mere abberation. However, you’d be wrong. Even a cursory check of past winners shows that the United States has been more than well-represented among the honorees.

The fact remains that the United States has the best medical facilities, the best doctors, the best hospitals, the best research, the best researchers, in short, The. Best. Healthcare. In. The. World.

Congratulations to Ms. Blackburn, Ms. Greider, and Mr. Szostak for perpetuating the best America has to offer.

Stoutcat

Letterman’s Personal Top-10 List Is Not So Funny

 

For years, David Letterman has made millions by making fun of other celebrities, sometimes as they sat there as guests (Cher and Madonna come to mind) and sometimes in his monologues.  As with many comics, he’s reveled in the escapades of celebrities caught in compromising positions (Eddie Murphy & the transsexual, Hugh Grant and the hooker in his car, etc.).

In a shocking twist, it would appear that this is a case where the Late Show Emperor has no clothes… literally. It turns out that Letterman (who is married with a young child) has had a series of affairs with employees of his production company, ironically called “World-Wide Pants.” This all came to light within the past 72 hours in a bizarre “movie of the week” manner with the arrest of a CBS producer who tried to blackmail Letterman.

Letterman with son Harry

First things first: I hope the person who attempted to blackmail Letterman goes to prison for his efforts. There’s no place in our society for those who prey on others, whether it be through blackmail or in any other manner. Which brings me to my second point.

Letterman has admitted on his program to having had sexual relations with members of his production company. As such, he needs to take responsibility for the position he put himself in. It would appear his on-air admission to the affairs is an attempt to do that. It doesn’t excuse the stupidity and selfishness of his actions, but it does mean that he acknowledges it. That is the first step. I can only hope this was before his marriage and the birth of his young son. Which brings me to my third point.

As in any blackmail case, the real victims are the members of the immediate family of the person being blackmailed.

I’ve got mixed feelings on this. Consider:

• I hope Letterman’s wife and son will be able to cope with this. It can never be pleasant to be the spouse of someone who’s dalliances have been thrust into the spotlight. And the father/son relationship could be jeopardized as a result of Letterman’s selfish actions if, in fact, these dalliances took place while he was in his marriage or long-term relationship with his wife.
• Letterman is just the latest example of employers who use their position of power inappropriately when it comes to dating underlings of both sexes. So far, there has been no word as to whether any of the people Letterman had sex with felt pressured to do so. I hope each event was consensual, but if not, I hope Letterman is prosecuted for sexual harassment or rape if appropriate.  I don’t care how famous or funny you are. Wrong is wrong.
• It now remains to be seen what this will do to Letterman’s career. If it were 20 years ago, Letterman might have found himself pounding the pavement. But in this era of non-accountability (especially in the celebrity world), it’s highly doubtful that CBS will punish Dave in any manner at all.

It would be wise for people like David Letterman to keep in mind the following: With increased wealth and power comes increased responsibility. It’s easier to get what you want, and easier for that want list to grow to ridiculous excess. We see it every day.  Some choose to use this power to achieve personal goals that involve causing others to compromise their lives and situations–others who don’t have the luxury of your wealth and power.

When someone like Letterman forgets this and simply goes for his own pleasures, it affects others’ lives in ways that may not be immediately apparent to either party. But the price must be paid eventually, and it’s seldom the rich and powerful who pay.  This, by the way, is not limited to the rich. Anyone who forces, cajoles, or simply fast-talks another into compromising their standards is wrong to do so.

Letterman now has to face the truth of what he’s done. He admitted it on the air to the laughs and applause of the audience. That’s not facing the ugly truth, David. That is something you will have to do on your own and with your wife and child.  I could care less what the impact is ultimately on David Letterman. But I do care what that impact might be for his elderly mother, his wife, young son and the families of the employees he slept with.

I originally did my own “Top 10 List” to end this rant.  Like Letterman’s it was crass but humorous.  But in thinking about it, it didn’t feel right.  I might send it to a few friends in the privacy of an e-mail, but to post it on a public blog seemed wrong. This is a public site and there’s a child (Letterman’s son) at risk here.Plus, if there’s one chance in a million that a family member of one of those involved were to read this and be offended it, too, would be wrong. Letterman may like acting on his impulse without regard to how it impacts others. But I don’t.

It’s more than simply a case where “The Emperor of Late Night Has No Pants.” His hypocrisy finally having caught up with him publicly, it’s no longer simply about Letterman. We know CBS doesn’t have the guts to do what’s right, so all that’s left is to consider the victims and “the victims behind the victims” including his wife and young son who is now left to wonder for real: “Who’s Your Daddy?”

Gerry Ashley

Olympic Loss Aftermath: Immediate, Ugly, and Predictable

 

From our Tongue-In-Cheek News Service

Despite President Obama’s repeated apologies for America’s greatness, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was not moved, and the city of Chicago was eliminated from consideration for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the first round of voting.

Michelle Obama was clearly not pleased with the decision of the Olympic Committee.

Upon hearing the news, Michelle Obama suddenly appeared to lose her balance and clutched the President’s arm for support.

A spokesman said Mrs. Obama  had ”experienced a sudden lack of pride in being an American.”

As a precaution she was taken to a hospital, but with Denmark’s national healthcare program, the earliest she could be seen was March of 2012.

As the IOC continued their announcements, Kanye West ran onto the stage and grabbed the microphone away from the head of the IOC and announced, “Yo, ahm monna let you finish, but first ah  just gots to say Chicago have da best hot dogs of anywheres! Of ANYWHERES in da whole wurl! Oh, yeah, and Beyonce’s video shouldda beat Taylor’s.”  

Meanwhile, back in the United States, the people of Chicago tried to cope with the realization that their city really didn’t impress the members of the IOC, who are mostly European.

But it wasn’t Chicago per se that put off the IOC. President Obama may have sealed Chicago’s fate with his last minute pleading. In his pitch to the IOC, Obama apologized for America’s greatness, then promised to cut back on taxes for the poor and increase taxes on the rich (all of which made no sense to the Committee). Obama later apologized again, saying an aide had put an old speech on his teleprompter. As a last-ditch attempt, Obama promised the IOC that a Summer Olympics in Chicago would combine the magic of 2002′s Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City along with the Southern Charm of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

It might have worked, if it weren’t for the fact that what the IOC remembered from those events was the bribery scandal that nearly cancelled the Salt Lake event and the bombing incident at the games in Atlanta.  They quietly validated the Obamas’ parking and sent them home with some lovely parting gifts.

Reaction to the news has been swift. In Hollywood, Bill Maher called the IOC “a bunch of tea-baggers” and Janeane Garbagefellow… well, she mumbled a few obscenities and then reminded people she’s still available for acting jobs.

In Georgia, former President Jimmy Carter dismissed the IOC as a bunch of racists for not giving Obama what he wanted.

In a related story, a number of pieces of run-down properties that were recently bought up for large sums of money by local area politicians in speculation of being the site of the 2016 Olympics were placed back on the market this afternoon at “significantly reduced prices.”

Gerry Ashley