As Sharp As Attacks

(As always, you can click the cartoon for a larger view)
As Yogi Berra would say, "It's Deja Vu all over again." Only this time we're not talking about Barack Obama's latest effort to spend hundreds of billions of dollars (that we don't have) on shovel ready jobs (which don't exist).

No, we're talking about "Attack Watch," the new website which exists for the sole purpose of letting people rat out anyone who speaks negatively of Barack Hussein Obama. The website, which sports a black background which is about as welcoming as a hug from Darth Vader, invites people to share what "attack" they've heard, where they heard it, and promises that tipsters will receive 30 pieces of silver in the future "if those terrorist sons of bitches in the GOP House just pass the president's entirely paid for spending bill".

Okay, it doesn't actually say that, but it's pretty clearly implied.

And the reason that all of this smells so familiar is because Obama did it all before when he demanded that citizens turn in their neighbors at the offensively-named Flag@Whitehouse.gov a couple of years ago (and which Hope n' Change covered here).

And while all of this suggests the frightening totalitarian mindset of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, or East Germany, there is good news to report.

The president's "Attack Watch" website has rapidly been turned into one of the biggest jokes on the Internet by tens of thousands of Americans who believe that Freedom of Speech is something to be exercised instead of reported...and that attacks on the Constitution are more dangerous than attacks on a sleazy, hate-mongering political hack from Chicago.
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From the man who said national "unity" should be the legacy of 9/11.
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Thereby Hangs The Tail

The answer to our young equestrian's question is, of course, that a horse's digestive system is long, complicated, and not designed to create applesauce. Similarly, the governmental system is long, complicated, and not designed to create jobs. In fact, the government system produces exactly the same thing that a horse does...but in greater quantity and at far higher cost.

But that hasn't stopped Barack Obama from saying that his "American Jobs Act" will cause the government to magically start excreting jobs ("topped with cinnamon!") if he's just given another half-trillion dollars to feed into the beast.

And where is that half-trillion dollars going to come from? If you said those "evil millionaires and billionaires" who earn $200,000 a year running businesses, you'd be partially right. But surprisingly, with the nation's poverty rate at new, shocking highs, you could just as accurately say that Obama wants to take that money from the poorest people in America. But how?

Simple. Despite claiming in his alleged jobs speech that his plan would be entirely funded through spending cuts, almost 90% of the president's plan would be funded by eliminating deductions for charitable giving. Which means the poor won't get the efficiently (and privately) administered money, benefits, and services they desperately need...and Obama will use their money to buy votes, "creating" short term jobs at an average cost of over $250,000 each after the money has worked its way through the system.

And if that's not horseshit, we don't know what is.
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American Heroes

Readers: no "official" cartoon and commentary today, but after yesterday's admittedly (and unashamedly) angry post, I wanted to share something positive and uplifting with you.

The image you see above is from a commemorative t-shirt that I received in the mail yesterday. It was a gift from frequent commentor Jim Hlavac, whose brother-in-law perished with other firefighters in the elite "Rescue 1" group on September 11th, 2011 after rushing into the burning World Trade Center to save lives (which was his unsung job every day).

His name is in the list above, but I didn't want to single it out...in part out of respect for his family's privacy, but also because every name listed above is that of a hero.

When the daily news and the world of politics wear me down (which is often), it's important for me to take time to reflect on the real heroes out there who are doing far more courageous things every day than writing an opinion blog.

It's those heroes, living and dead, that have made this a country worth celebrating and worth defending.
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Vermin

I almost made it.

I almost got all the way through the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks without being overwhelmed by anger or filled with rage.

But of course, all that changed when America was brutally and viciously attacked again on this most solemn and sacred of days. Only this time the attack didn't come from a much-marginalized Al Qaeda, it came from Paul Krugman of the New York Times in his oxymoronically titled column "The Conscience of a Liberal."

Krugman labeled the ten years following the 9/11 attacks America's "Years of Shame," and decried the fact that what should have been a unifying event became a "wedge issue." He then demonstrates his odd view of "unity" by saying that Rudy Giuliani and George W. Bush "raced to cash in on the horror." Krugman then sneers at our "fake heroes," and says that our corrupt leadership "hijacked" the atrocity. He says that 9/11 "has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it."

Here's what I know, Mr. Krugman...

I know that you and your despicable kind have continued attacking America every day since September 11th, 2001. Personally, I think the "wedge" that ended the spirit of unity began with Hillary Clinton on the Senate floor, holding up a newspaper declaring "BUSH KNEW!" to help cover her husband's cheating ass for repeatedly failing to pursue terrorists, including letting Osama bin Laden slip through his fingers.

And then it was open season, whether it was Bill Maher praising the courage of the hijackers, Jeremiah Wright telling our nodding president-to-be that our "chickens have come home to roost" and "God DAMN America," or Whitehouse "Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones accusing George W. Bush of setting the explosives which allegedly brought down the twin towers.

You want "wedge issues," Mr Krugman? How about a president who refused to speak to the American people about a Ground Zero mosque...but days later told the guests at his Ramadan dinner that the mosque needed to be built in the shell of a building damaged by falling aircraft debris?! How about watching our nation's manned space program come to an end after Barack Hussein Obama declared that NASA's main mission is Muslim outreach?

How about Janet Napolitano warning that the people who should be watched for terrorist inclinations are veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan? How about Nidal Hasan screaming "Allahu Akbar" before brutally killing and wounding our military people, after which a general says that "diversity" mustn't be a casualty, and the president gives a joking "shout out" to a Native American political ally before mentioning, in an "oh, by the way" fashion, that there's been a massacre at Fort Hood?

And now the Left, which celebrates all things Islamic and has nervous palpitations when even contemplating profiling of any kind, routinely describes flag-waving "Mom and Pop" Tea Party members as barbarians, hijackers, hostage-takers, and terrorists?!

I pause now for a deep, cleansing breath...

Nope, it didn't work; I still taste harsh bile behind my gritted teeth.

So I'll just wrap this up with a quick summary. The attacks of 9/11 have never stopped...but now the majority of them come from the ideological Left. Inside and outside the media and the government itself. And I consider these enemies of our nation and freedoms to be far more dangerous than Al Qaeda was on its strongest day.

By the way, Krugman said he would not allow comments on his New York Times piece "for obvious reasons." I firmly believe that those obvious reasons are that he's a mewling, pontificating coward who knows that his anti-American opinions can't stand up to scrutiny or criticism...and is secure in the knowledge that he'll get neither at the New York Times.

If Paul would like to leave comments here, however, he's free to do so for obvious reasons: because our "fake heroes" genuinely fought and died to give him that ill-deserved privilege.
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Ten Years - 9/11/11

Please click on the image above to see the full-sized version.

On this solemn and terrible anniversary, there is no way that I can accurately put into words what I'm feeling, or express how much my life and worldview changed on that horrorific day.

In these past ten years, I have tried (and struggled) to channel an overwhelming flood of thoughts and emotions into being a better and more conscientious citizen. I am much more aware of the importance of protecting our American institutions from threats within and without, and realize that this is not a duty I can simply hope others will do for me. It's the reason this blog exists.

My respect for the heroes who serve this country in the military, police, and fire departments grew immeasurably on 9/11. I am in awe of these men and women, and know myself to be inexpressibly in debt to them and their families.

For me, 9/11 isn't simply an event that happened 10 years ago today. It's something that started on that date, and continues with the same urgency and immediacy every day. It was the beginning of a new America that we're still exploring, still creating, and still fighting for.

Please take time today to think not only of the lost lives of 9/11, but also about ways to honor those losses. This is a day to mourn our dead, but also a day to celebrate the strength and inherent goodness of our country and our citizenry.

A day to rededicate ourselves to protecting the principles that our enemies thought, erroneously, they could bring down with cowardly attacks on the innocent.

Let's roll.
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