Then and Now: Fingers vs. Fingerprints

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Iraq 2009	Libya 2012
Thank you, George Bush	Thank you, Barack Obama

This is what the election is about.

Stoutcat

A Quiet Unyielding Anger

Never forget.

Today we still ask for your prayers, for all who still grieve and all who still remember.

Stoutcat

Glad To See Mitt’s Taking My Advice

Not only is he taking my advice, but he’s actually ahead of the curve! The Weekly Standard reports:

At an event in London, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, “I’m looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again.”

As you may recall, ahwile back I made a list of Day One Action Items for President Romney. And guess what was #1 on that list… yep, getting that Churchill bust back. Although I have to admit, the rest of the list was pretty good, as well.

And really, it’s not so much the bust and its unceremonious return back in 2009. After all, the bronze was loaned to G.W. Bush after 9/11, so there’s hardly a long-standing tradition of it being in the Oval Office. But that return represented a certain something…  a rejection of what has come before; a turning away from the values and friends of the past, and by extension, a tacit refusal to learn from our history, both the mistakes and the victories. And in fact, that seems an entirely appropriate description of Presdident Obama’s tenure so far.

So hurray for President Romney and his outreach to our allies across the Pond.

If you’ll just keep taking my advice, you’ll do just fine.

Stoutcat

Happy Independence Day

From the Declaration of Independence:

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

November is coming. I’m just sayin’.

May you all enjoy this 236th year of our Independence, and pray that we survive as the nation envisioned by our Founding Fathers for at least another 236.

Stoutcat

Choices

Either Chief Justice Roberts is a genius or an idiot. He’s either a traitor or the savior of the Supreme Court’s reputation. I’m not a constitutional scholar, but my tendency is to think that he bartered his conservative values for a mess of pottage. But in the end, history will be the judge, and we’ll only know what the intent of this ruling was when the Honorable Chief Justice retires and decides to write a tell-all book.

But one key quote from the decision has been resonating with me since I saw it:

“Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our Nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” [emphasis mine]

So once again, we are learning the hard lesson that elections have consequences.

We have a choice to make in November. I truly hope we will all choose wisely.

Stoutcat

Minding My Own Business

You really couldn’t ask for more than Bill Whittle’s latest video on a steamy hot summer Thursday:

Stoutcat

Don’t believe me?

Ask Aaron Walker. Ask Patterico. Ask Stacy McCain. Ask Ali Akbar.

Don’t be silenced. Stand strong. Donate if you can.

Stoutcat

On, Wisconsin!

As you likely already know, Wisconsinites today are voting on whether to oust Scott Walker, their duly elected governor, and replace him with someone else.

And you’ll probably be relieved to know that the WI Department of Justice has stepped in and will be monitoring the election, especially in the larger cities of Milwaukee and Madison where fraud may be rampant. And just to make you feel extra-specially better, the U.S. Department of Justice — yes, that would be Eric Holder’s gang — will also be monitoring.

And of course, the Democrats will have an “army of lawyers” in case the election doesn’t come out the way they want it to. After all, that’s why they’re trying to recall the Governor, isn’t it? What’s the good of spending millions of state dollars on a recall, if you don’t get your way in the end?

And that’s what this is really all about. This recall is nothing but the petty politics of spoiled brats, unwilling to behave like adults (anyone remember last year’s “fleebaggers“?) If they don’t like what’s happening, they run away. If they can’t run, they whine until they have enough signatures for a recall. And now that the recall is happening (and it looks likely that Gov. Walker will retain his job by a comfortable margin), they’re gearing up for an inevitable recount:

“We’re very much anticipating that there’s a chance that we could be in a recount scenario,” said Mike Tate, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He said the party will have more than 440 lawyers in the field on Tuesday “doing election protection activities but also tasked with recount preparation, making sure that we know where absentee ballots are at, making sure that we have a strong handle on what’s happening out there.”

If at all possible, they’ll recount… and recount… and recount… until enough votes are found to boost their guy over the top. Remember Al Frankin in Minnesota just next door? How many “uncounted” absentee ballots mysteriously turned up in a car trunk? Just enough to steal that election.

And what the heck are “election protection activities”? Will Wisconsinites be seeing Black Panthers with billy clubs at the door to each voting place? (See above, Eric Holder’s gang…)

Recall elections should be saved for corruption or other egregiously bad or illegal behavior. Gov. Scott Walker was simply doing his job–the job he was elected to do. Wisconsin, it’s up to you. Do you want to be ruled by the whims of spoiled brats and petty tyrants? Or would you rather live by the rule of law?

So get out and vote! Because spoiled brats do not make good leaders.

Stoutcat

Memorial Day 2012

I recently had a discussion with a friend (a veteran) regarding an email he received. It was an email full of glurge, about how birds could can exhibit bravery, compassion, loyalty, etc. The message was entitled, “His Eye Is On the Sparrow“, and was quite touching; the included pictures were heart-wrenching. The problem we both had was the way the email opened:

“While many use this holiday weekend to celebrate war and those who engage in it, there are other forms of courage, kindness, tragedy, and other innocent hearts filled with forever love of for the also innocent…” [emphasis mine]

Ugh! That’s all quaint and warm and fuzzy except that it’s both profoundly stupid and grossly flawed reasoning. It’s stupid in that no one in his right mind celebrates war, and the reasoning is warped because birds didn’t end slavery, demolish Nazism, or stop ethnic cleansing. Most of us observe Memorial Day as a time to reflect on the sacrifices made, to consecrate the blessings achieved in blood, and to say thank you.

This is a photo of  my uncle Horace. He was born in 1920 and died by his own hand in 1945. He was wounded while serving as a machine gunner on a B24 Liberator. From what I’ve been told, he never did get over his injuries and chose to end the suffering.

Look into his eyes. His skin tore and burned just like yours might. His bones broke just like yours might. And his mind no doubt went wild in horror, just like yours would. But there was a terrible cancer upon this earth, and he rose to try to help excise it.

Dear readers, have a safe and happy holiday, and if you could be so kind and respectful, amidst the car races and the hot dogs and the beer, stop for just a moment and think of my uncle’s face. He never got to have a career, children, or grand kids. He never got to earn his college degree or celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary. He missed out on a lifetime of Thanksgivings and Christmases. He never watched humans on the moon, listen to the Beatles, or fuss with the Internet. Gone, baby, gone. Just meditate a prayer and whisper a soft thank you.

With that, we give heartfelt thanks to all who serve, active and reserve. Thanks to the past, present, and future members of the United States Marine Corp, the United States Army, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, and the United States Coast Guard.

Alan Speakman

Cross-posted at eBirdseed.com

Mending Fences

Now that the dust is settling in the Republican candidate stakes, it looks like Mitt will be our nominee. And I’m fine with that. Really. I am.

After four years of President Downgrade, we will need to do some fast damage control if we hope to regain even a bit of our former standing in the world community. With that in mind, I have several suggestions for actions President Romney can take very soon after he is sworn in:

1. Contact someone in England and suggest that, because of the very special relationship that exists between the two countries, we’d really love to have that bust of Churchill back and proudly displayed in the White House.
2. Issue an invitation to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to a White House state dinner in his honor. Allow him to dine with the guests.
3. Ditto the Dalai Lama. Allow him to enter and exit by the front door.
4. Make sure there is a fully-staffed Protocol office, and that they actually know what they are doing regarding things like vetting guests at state dinners and choosing special gifts for foreign dignitaries.
5. Make sure you know how to pronounce military jargon… like “corpsman”.
6. Start practicing now so that you can throw a baseball from the pitcher’s mound across home plate. Bonus points if you don’t wear mom jeans while doing so.
7. Call a spade a spade: Drop the stupid “kinetic military action”, “overseas contingency operation”, “man-made disasters”, jargon and call them wars, terrorists, etc.
8. From the time of your election to the day of your inauguration, don’t begin your transition using the non-existent position of ”Office of the President-Elect”. And definitely don’t design a seal for this non-existent office.
9. And please, whatever else you do, when you accept the nomination at the convention, do not fist-bump Ann.

If you can start off your presidency with these few things, you’ll definitely be on the right track. And I’m fine with that. Really. I am.

Stoutcat