Boston College Gets A Clue, Students Don't

Boston College has uninvited Domestic Terrorist William Ayers from speaking on campus:

Boston College yesterday abruptly withdrew two student groups’ invitation to former radical William Ayers to speak on campus Monday.

... Ayers was a founding member of the violent radical-left anti-war group the Weather Underground, which was blamed for a series of bombings that killed several people.

Ayers, a professor of education at the University of Illinois, Chicago, was due to speak at Boston College on education reform and civic engagement at the invitation of Americans for Informed Democracy and the College Democrats. Ayers could not be reached last night, but before the decision was announced, he said: “This isn’t Saudi Arabia or Cuba. Speech is something we believe in in a democracy.”

Yes, and Ayers has also said:

“I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.” Asked whether he would do it again, he answers, “I don’t want to discount the possibility.”

"Free as a bird. Guilty as sin. America is a great country."

Yes, it is.

But ....

But student organizers reached last night said they want to try to hold the speech off-campus.

“All of us who have put a lot of hard work into planning and defending this event are really disappointed because we had hoped this would be an open academic forum for someone who’s widely respected,” said College Democrats member Melissa Roberts, 21. “We’re going to make sure this respected academic gets heard.”

Melissa, just what is it that you respect about William Ayers?

His ability to get away with murder and mayhem?

How about having the Schroeder family heard?

I dare you to Read (with an open mind):

Bill Ayers

William Ayers, Model Citizen

Unearthing the Weather Underground

Ron Radosh: Shame on the New Yorker

B.H.O.'s record: 0 for 10

Yes, some of us are paying attention.

President Obama promised to make his administration the most open and transparent in history, and taking questions from the public kind of looks like that. But it also kind of looks like a gimmicky, canned publicity stunt, rather than true openness in government.

Real transparency would include fulfilling his campaign promise to post bills online for five days before signing them. The president has now signed 10 bills into law and not subjected any of them to that five-day public review. --Jim Harper: Canned Transparancy

The Maine War Front

This movie about Troop Greeters in Bangor does indeed sound like a Must See! 

 The Maine War Front 

 H/T: Stable Hand at the Jawa Report

Thought For The Day

Not just for today, but next Election Day, too!

545 People
by Charley Reese
former columnist, Orlando Sentinel

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congess does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

AMEN to THAT!

An archive of Mr Reese's columns may be found HERE

 

My LOL Addiction

Yes. I admit freely that I have an LOL addiction.

 LOL Cats 

 LOL Dogs  

 LOL Politics 

 I visit these places everyday. 

Sometimes twice a day. 

Usually after hurling invectives at the media morons and political fools on television.

 Here are a couple of my very favorite LOLs:

 

Geith-stapo

First the banks. Now This.

If you aren't paying attention, your company might be next.

Any idiotic congressperson who votes for this lunacy should be the next to lose his/her job.


U.S. Seeks Expanded Power to Seize Firms

The administration's proposal contains two pieces. First, it would empower a government agency to take on the new role of systemic risk regulator with broad oversight of any and all financial firms whose failure could disrupt the broader economy.

The government also would assume the authority to seize such firms if they totter toward failure.

Besides seizing a company outright, the document states, the Treasury Secretary could use a range of tools to prevent its collapse, such as guaranteeing losses, buying assets or taking a partial ownership stake. Such authority also would allow the government to break contracts, such as the agreements to pay $165 million in bonuses to employees of AIG's most troubled unit.

H/T to Robbie at Urban Grounds

TOTUS

Teleprompter of the United StatesNow has its own blog:

TOTUS

Today's Reason to Dislike B.H.O.

This was part of a previous post, but I am just so incensed by it, I decided to give it singular attention:

Obama likened the financial firms Geithner is dealing with to terrorists. "They've got a bomb strapped to them and they've got their hand on the trigger."

Barack Hussein Obama should visit Bethesda and Walter Reed Hospitals and see what damage REAL terrorist bombs do before making casual hyperbole.

Five Signs

Five Signs of a Flailing Presidency

The White House tries its hand at damage control.
by Fred Barnes
03/30/2009,
Volume 014, Issue 27

The Highlights:

1. His allies are moving to protect the president.

In a political emergency, this is the highest obligation of everyone in the administration. The president must be distanced as far as possible from decisions that led to the problem, even if he is made to look out-of-touch or actually incompetent.

>NF: And when the POTUS actually IS incompetent?

In the AIG case, Obama is like a cuckolded spouse, portrayed by administration officials as the last person to learn about the bonuses, though HE signed the economic stimulus legislation with a provision assuring they'd be paid. A front-page account in the Washington Post played along, absolving the entire administration of blame.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said he didn't tell the White House until March 12, two days after he learned of bonuses totaling $165 million and the day before the checks went out. What could Obama do? He was "stunned," the president told Jay Leno last week. Obama said he takes full responsibility for the mess. Then he went on to blame others.

>NF: That's too funny. I laughed until I puked. Well, I would have puked anyway.

2. The president gets out of town.

... last week was a good time for Obama to skip town, mingle with worshipful fans, and dodge the (suddenly) unfriendly Washington media mob. The idea is to get through to the American people directly, without the press filtering his every word.

>NF: Without the press reporting something that resembles the actual truth, you mean.

3. Top spokesmen dismiss the crisis as a 'distraction'.

Anything the president doesn't want to deal with or discuss, like AIG bonuses, is automatically a distraction from the important business the American people have elected him to focus on.

>See #2 for that distraction thing.

4. Administration figures can't keep their stories straight.

It's easy to keep your story straight when you're telling the truth. It gets harder when you're not.

>NF: They should just ask the Clintons how they did it.

5. The president indulges in hyperbole.

Presidents sometimes lose their rhetorical grip during a political controversy. Obama has. He went into high gear defending Geithner... Not only that, Obama likened the financial firms Geithner is dealing with to terrorists. "They've got a bomb strapped to them and they've got their hand on the trigger."

>NF: Barack Hussein Obama should visit Bethesda and Walter Reed Hospitals and see what damage real terrorist bombs do before making casual hyperbole.

Oh wait. Barack Hussein Obama coming face-to-face with brave and honorable men and women wounded in service to their country? That won't happen. Not unless the media circus is allowed in also.

One more thing. If Obama is showing the effects of a political crisis, how can he josh about basketball and bowling and other light subjects with Jay Leno? When in trouble, play to your strengths, such as being a likable, regular guy.

It worked with Leno.

"Mr. President," he said, "I must say this has been one of the best nights of my life."

>NF: Aww, Jay. I used to like you a lot. I guess I can start going to bed earlier now.

Fred Barnes is executive editor of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

Have You Got What It Takes?

From the Sgt Grit Newsletter :

"Sgt. Grit" ~ As a Gold Star Mother, I am asking for your assistance in spreading the word to as many Marines as possible regarding a memorial event to honor my son, SSgt. Christopher Zimmerman, USMC, who was killed September 2006 while on patrol with 2d Recon Bn. in Zaidon, Iraq.

This year is the first year that we, as Chris' family, have assisted in holding the Zimmerman Reconnaissance Challenge in Austin, Texas.

It would do my heart proud to have 200 or more Marines accept this Challenge, to assist us in making a donation to the Marine Executive Association to assist Marines transitioning from military to civilian life.

Even though Chris is no longer with us, we honor his sacrifice by finding a way to make something good come from his death.

He was a Marine's Marine, and he would accept no less.

Thank you for everything that Sgt. Grit contributes to the USMC community.

Always faithful,

Faith Zimmerman

Proud Gold Star Mother of SSgt. Christopher M. Zimmerman, USMC

 

This nation will remain the Land of the Free Only so long as it is the Home of the Brave. --Elmer Davis

Snake in The House

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told a group of both legal and illegal immigrants and their families that enforcement of existing immigration laws, as currently practiced, is "un-American."

-- Fox News

I'll tell you what is un-American. SEDITION

I'll tell you what is very scary.
This seditious idiot is 3nd in line for the presidentcy.

Thank You. Not on ABC News

I just watched what passes for the evening news on ABC.

There was a segment on how life was so much better for Iraqis in Baghdad:

How roadside bombs had given way to street racing (picture of: young Iraqi men in a Porsche); 

How Iraqi women can now wear clothes they like instead of being covered up from head to foot    (picture of: young Iraqi women in in tight skirts);

And yet there was not one thank you to the US and the US military from the Iraqi people, from ABC News, or from Charlie Gibson.

Perhaps they would like Saddam and his psycho sons back.

I know that I would like to have the lives of 4200+ brave American men and women back.

Words of War

Barack Hussein Obama's administration has decided that the term "enemy combatant" is too harsh.

Howie over at The Jawa Report suggests using "Blood-Thirsty Murderous Muslime Terrorist Bastages".

Secretary of Incompetence

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a gift bearing an incorrect translation      

and then ... Hillary Clinton Rewrites History in Front of Puzzled Europeans

So, who is to blame for these embarrassments?

Since the Clinton philosophy of taking responsibility is to not to, the buck will 

undoubtedly stop somewhere down the hall.

Barry Zito, Hero

I really dislike hearing athletes referred to as heroes.
 
Since when is throwing, catching or kicking a ball, jumping high or running fast considered heroic?

But sometimes there is an exception.

Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants is definitely an exception.

BLACKFIVE has the story.

Business As Usual

As a presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama criticized Congressional "earmarks"; he promised to reform the way Congressional bills are written.But.

As president, it was "crucial" for him to sign the $410 Billion bill - loaded with 8,816 earmarks worth $7.7 billion. 

 Taxpayers for Common Sense

BTW, this bill was largely written last year but was held back because President George W. Bush opposed it.

And, just so you know:

Notable among them (the earmarks) are $155.9 million worth of projects that six members of the Obama administration who were members of Congress last year, when the bill was originally written, inserted into the bill.

Top among them was Vice President Joe Biden. As a senator from Delaware, Biden added 56 earmarks that cost a total of $52.1 million, including $13.7 million for the Intracoastal Waterway from the Delaware River to the Chesapeake Bay and $190,000 to help build a children's museum in Wilmington;

— White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who as a House member from Illinois, added 16 earmarks worth about $8.3 million, including money for a Chicago planetarium and suburban children's museum.

— Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, formerly a Democratic senator from Colorado, $44.6 million;

— Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, formerly a Republican congressman from Illinois, $26.5 million;

— Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, formerly a Democratic House member from California, $15.5 million;

— Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, formerly a Democratic senator from New York, $6.7 million;

The White House has pledged to send legislation to Congress seeking the rescission of all earmarks sponsored by current members of the Obama administration.

Steven Thomma and David Lightman

I Hope the Change begins soon.

REAL SOON.

Insulting Our Allies

  This is just unbelievable.

  It is traditional for world leaders to exchange gifts when they visit one another.

  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, was the first European leader to visit Barack Hussein Obama in the White House. 

  Here is what Prime Minister Brown presented to Barack Hussein Obama:

_ a pen holder made from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.

_ a framed commissioning paper for HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. It is the sister ship of the HMS Gannet.

_ a first edition of Martin Gilbert's seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-Anglo alliance.  

_ and for the Obama kids: an outfit for each from Topshop, a British chain of clothing stores, and six children's books by British authors which have yet to be published in the U.S.  

  Here's what PM Brown received from Barack Hussein Obama:

  _ a 'special collection' of 25 'classic' Hollywood film DVDs; 

   (and do we know if they were even region 2 versions?  Because you know region 1 versions will not play across the pond)

 and for PM Brown's two boys:

 _ toy helicopters modeled after Marine One. (like the ones that may be purchased in the WH gift shop )  

  And here is the icing on the cake, the butter on the scone ... 

 From the British Sunday Telegraph:

A British official conceded that the furor surrounding the apparent snub to Mr Brown had come as a shock to the White House. ..."A number of our US interlocutors said they couldn't quite understand the British concerns and didn't get what that was all about."

... a State Department official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

Read all about it HERE

 

B.H.O.'s O.J.T.

POTUS is not exactly the place for On The Job Training. 

 Barack Hussein Obama is finding that out the hard way. 

 Last week's embarrassing gift swap with Gordon Brown, the U.K.'s Prime Minister, was apparently due to the duly elected leader of this country being "overwhelmed".

 That's a comforting thought ... NOT.

"Barack Hussein Obama's offhand approach to Gordon Brown's visit last week came about because the president was facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs."

Sunday Telegraph

"Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest."

Well, did he expect to show up in the Oval office and vote 'present'?

Aclockalypse Now!

Daylight Stupid Time is upon us!

Will somebody please explain why we still set our clocks to Spring Ahead, Fall Back?
There are the same 24 hours in a day, no matter when the sun rises and sets.

And since 2007, we're doing it three weeks earlier!

(Thanks to Mike Masnick at techdirt for the wonderful phrase!)

Chasing the Dream

Dogs do dream. His name is Bizkit.

  

 Thanks to Failblog.com

Sir Teddy of Chappaquiddick

Queen Elizabeth II, in her infinitely dubious wisdom, has granted Senator Edward Kennedy an honorary knighthood. 

 But then QE II had also bestowed honorary knighthoods upon Nicolae Ceausecue and Robert Mugabe (both have since been rescinded). 

  Perhaps Sir Teddy will be known as the Lord of Chappaquiddick. 

 I especially like this account by Earl Grey at The Spoof:

It has been confirmed today that Ted Kennedy is to be knighted for services to car driving. In a controversial move Gordon Broon confirmed that the US senator was to be made a nit of the British Empire. The award will be bestowed upon Kennedy during a ceremony at Chippaquiddick.

The event will be attended by many famous politicians and celebrities. Simon and Garfunkel will perform "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in honour of the new Sir Ted. There is much debate as to whether these awards have any relevance in modern society. The British Empire once stretched around the globe. Now you are a Knight of an area the size of Hemel Hempstead. However, some still believe that an award bestowed by the Queen counts for something.

Ted Kennedy was asked to comment. "I was not drunk. I did not drive carelessly. It was a long time ago."

Miss Mary Jo Kopechne was unavailable for comment.

 

Hell To Pay

Never mind what most economists say - that the economy would have self-corrected itself, maybe even within a year - W H O is going to pay for Barack Hussein Obama's $3 trillion+ bill full o' liberal goodies?

Will it be the bunch of idiots living in houses they couldn't afford then, can't afford now, and won't be paying the bills for in the future?
No.

Will it be those millions of illegal aliens living in this country illegally, to whom certain liberal idiots want to hand over rights to health care, education, etc.?
No.

Will it be those CEOs who ruined their companies and who can continue to do so with the the help of all those bailout dollars?
No.
Will it be the U.S. Military?
Yes. Barack Hussein Obama's asking the U.S. Military to take a $55 billion cut while at the same time he ramps up the war in Afghanistan.

Will it be the American taxpayers?
Yes. And our kids, probably our grandkids, too, paying for years. And years.