Wednesday, September 5, 2012

As You Leak It



Yesterday saw the release of "No Easy Day," the story of Osama bin Laden's killing by one of the Navy Seals who actually took part in the mission.

But the author, writing under the name Mark Owen, has come in for heavy criticism from the Pentagon for revealing tippity-top secret information about the training programs and operational details of the Navy Seal program which "may provide enemies with dangerous insight into their secretive operations."

Except what the book reveals is that Navy Seals train really, really hard and most of those who try to enter the program wash out. And it then goes on to say that when Navy Seals are told to deliver a heapin' helpin' of whupass, you can bet your last dollar that someone is about to have a really bad day.

Not exactly stunning revelations, huh?

Certainly not as stunning as the genuinely top-secret information which the Whitehouse has leaked repeatedly to make our feckless Commander-in-Chief seem slightly less of a hand-wringing wimp. For instance, the Whitehouse leaks betrayed the man in Pakistan who helped us find Osama bin Laden...they've given operational details of how the mission was planned and carried out...and they revealed that the Seals recovered computers and harddrives from bin Laden's hideout, thereby making the information nearly worthless.

Even worse, Team Obama has given nearly unlimited access to top secret documents in order to facilitate the making of a Hollywood film which was originally intended to be released, by some almost inconceivable coincidence, just before election day.

The politically-motivated Whitehouse security leaks are endangering the lives of Americans domestically and abroad, whether civilians or uniformed members of the military. But to combat these leaks, Obama has done nothing other than ask Eric Holder to look into it. And considering Holder's inability to see New Black Panthers with billy clubs in front of polling places, or "Fast & Furious" guns flying across the border, we're thinking that Helen Keller is more capable of "taking a look" than the Attorney General.

In light of all the leaking, Hope n' Change finds it unacceptably hypocritical of the Obama administration to criticize "No Easy Day. " Though perhaps they're only worried that the "spoilers" in the book will put a damper on their movie's box office profits.

Because for this administration, the profit (blessed be the name) always comes first.



The Navy Seals aren't happy with Barack Obama.
This 22 minute video makes it clear why we shouldn't be happy with him either.

-

58 comments:

Unknown said...

My thoughts exactly, couldn't have said it better. Unfortunately, many that have made their way into the upper flag/field grades have either bowed to or have been beaten into PC correctness - no one has to look further than the Fort Hood massacre.

Any bets that the 'person' determining that 'sensitive information was leaked' is an Eric Holder clone? Friends that were in the SpecFor community were outraged that the information about the computers was leaked - neutralized the whole intelligence coup. Meanwhile, Mr. Nobel Peace Prize continues to prosecute terrorists through the 'Hellfire' method of intelligence gathering, where there isn't enough left to interrogate.

FlyBoy said...

I'm surprised that the Pentagon thinks there's any classified material left to leak. Maybe Barry believes that all of the "official" leaking should come from him and his sycophants, not some amatuerish simpleton who's dumb enough to actually LOVE his country and be willing to die for it......

TrickyRicky said...

My wife and I are avoiding all media this week due to the DNC coverage. I have this strange aversion to projectile vomiting, coming "fast and furious" enough to quickly devolve into dry heaves. Unfortunately I cannot miss a day of Hope n' Change, so here goes the blood pressure up to 200/100 again.

Angry Hoosier Dad said...

@ Sea Dog:
I have believed for some time that the acquisition of that first star has a magical property that transforms a military officer into a politician. Not all, but many cease to calculate militarily and begin to make political decisions designed to benefit themselves; too often at a high cost to others.

Colby said...

Once again, the POS occupying the White House has shown his true colors (was that racist?). The most important thing in the universe is... him. The second most important thing is his re-coronation.

I find it somewhat amusing that "Mark Owen" is selling these books like mad (#1 on Amazon), so the horse has already left the barn, so to speak.

I pray for many things, like for our country to be returned to the people. We should also pray that this man will prevail against Holder and his goons long enough for us to get an American President. I also pray that soon to be president Romney will publically scold obama over this travesty because I guarantee the MSM will be painting him like a traitor and madman, while the true traitor continues his campaign between golf games and vacations.

My Dog Brewski said...

I can only second what the General said near the end of the video: Shut the f*ck up, Obama.

Unknown said...

@Angry Hoosier Dad:
Only two exceptions come to mind, General Schwarzkoph (USA) and General P.X. Kelly (USMC) - there may be others but they are truly in the minority. It starts with junior officers adopting the meme of their superiors - again the Ft. Hood mess is a true study of how those who can affect a difference have been castrated by the PC correctness of their superior's beliefs. And, yes, when you make a grade that requires you to attend the 'War College', you turn from a field commander into one who sees 'the big picture', a CEO/COO type that plans the future course - usually involving K Street job offers. Cynical? Yes!

Unknown said...

The obvious method of operation for this administration is that if the 'leaks' are good for Obama, that's public discourse - if they are bad, that's a 'breach of national security'.

Fortunately, there are some of us that can absorb and catalog information at more than 140 characters at a time. Well documented information that Jarret required polls to be taken prior to 'Mr. Gutsy' making the call - the first two polled unfavorably, so the operation was canned - the last polled semi-favorably, so the order was postponed for a day while Jarret and Axlerod phrased the order's language so that if it went well, it would be Obama's glory, if it went south, it was on the Admiral.

When Eisenhower ordered the D-Day invasion, he had two messages prepared, one for success, and in the one for failure, he accepted the complete responsibility for the failure. Have our 'leaders' totally lost the moral compass of you can delegate authority, but you can't delegate responsibility? Obama won't take a dump unless he has Jarret give him directions, and Axlerod preparing the paperwork. When did we elect Jarret, Axlerod and Mooch the Wookie to lead this country?

Irene Peduto said...

The cartoon was upsetting enough - but the video link was incredible. I actually follow politics and, although I had heard about "leaks", I didn't get the truth behind it - 'til I saw this video. I pray to God that we can still save America from this administration's mishandling of America & Americans. We are not safe as a country with him at the helm! Please share as the Seals have requested we do.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@SeaDog- I've got (barely) mixed feelings here. I don't like the idea of a Navy Seal possibly breaking an oath of silence to write this book, but I also feel like once the Whitehouse has leaked everything of importance, then the topic should be open season for anyone who wants to write about it. And if I have to choose who to trust when it comes to protecting sensitive information, I'll take the Navy Seal (any Navy Seal) instead of this president every time.

@Flyboy- It's all about controlling the information for maximum political benefit. And as a side note, I have no doubt that Obama sees the Navy Seals as stupid cannon fodder. How else to explain that when 30 Seals died not long after the bin Laden mission, he sent form letters of condolence to their families, and had them signed with his auto-pen (presumably while he was out golfing) rather than even deigning to put his real signature on a piece of paper acknowledging their ultimate sacrifice.

@TrickyRicky- For what it's worth, I'm not watching the Dem convention and won't really mention it here unless something genuinely interesting or surprising happens. But sadly, there's no way to avoid negative news entirely when it comes to this president. In complete truth, I was looking at the non-convention news yesterday to find a topic for today's cartoon, and it put me into a pretty dark hole. Cutting support for Israel, adding taxpayer-funded abortion to the Dem platform, the debt hitting 16 trillion, Bernanke looking for the ability to print money on demand (instant inflation), Paul Ryan being portrayed in the media as a liar and by Dems as a nazi...

Oops, sorry. Now BOTH of us have got our blood pressure up!

@Angry Hoosier Dad- All "political" decisions will affect others, but surely it is within a military setting that the bad effects can be the most extreme and fastest to materialize.

@Colby- After reviewing your prayers, I can only add "amen."

@My Dog Brewski- After reviewing the statement of the general, I can STILL only add "amen."

@SeaDog- I don't have military experience, so I appreciate the perspectives of those who do.

And let me applaud your statement about absorbing information as "more than 140 characters at a time." As glib as it is to say Tweets turn us into birdbrains, I'm completely serious. People are losing the ability to deal with complex issues and stories which require a lot of information and a lot of analysis. People are coming to rely on Thought McNuggets being delivered by an electronic drive-thru window. And it scares me.

But back on topic, Obama has no courage whatsoever - and I tend to think that Valerie Jarret is the one calling the shots (in this case, quite literally).

@Irene Peduto- It's a long video (22 minutes), but it's both credible and damning. Funny how often those two words go together when it comes to criticism of this president.

CenTexTim said...

There will be "No Easy Day" for any of us until the empty-chair-in-chief is booted out of office.

Unknown said...

Upon hearing that officially the DNC will not support Israel brings to mind that there is a series of books by Joel Rosenburg beginning with The Ezekiel Option, written in 2005, that are based on the prophecies in the book of Ezekiel. Mr. Rosenburg ‘s premise is:
1. A charismatic candidate is elected as the President of the United States, and is misidentified as the Anti-Christ.
2. Under this President’s leadership, the United States abandons Israel, and supports the populous uprisings in the Arab Nations of the Middle East, and their merging into an Islamic nation under the leadership of Iran. Israel stands alone in the world.
3. The Islamic Nations reveal they are a nuclear threat, that they have developed nuclear bombs/missiles in secret for the express purpose of annihilating Israel. The Islamic Nation aligns itself with Russia and Russia’s leader proclaims mutual support/aid.
4. An enormous reserve of oil and natural gas is discovered offshore of Israel, dwarfing the Saudi Arabian Reserves.
5. The Islamic Nation and Russia attack Israel (Gog and Magog).

Colby said...

@SeaDog,

Rosenburg's words are chilling to say the least. The first three you list are happening before our eyes. If oil is discovered off the coast of Israel...

Unknown said...

Interesting that they have moved the convention's Thursday speech night location from Panther Stadium because of 'Lightning Strikes' - afraid you po'd the higher order Barry? Surely your stance on abortion doesn't have you ducking for incoming? Charolette never had a history of extreme lightning, closer to what we got in the Houston area - now in the mountains, it's impressive, and for the time I lived in NC, I never remember a Panther's game called for extreme weather.

Unknown said...

@Colby:
A massive oil reserve was discovered off Israel's coast about a year ago. I don't know where they are in developing the field for production, but the reserve conservatively was estimated to be 3x the Saudi reserves.

Colby said...

@SeaDog,

So it's 4 for 5 in the prophesy department. Can the Russia part of it be far behind? Scary, indeed.

I live about 45 minutes away from Bank of America Stadium (the dems don't want to call the stadium this, but it's the real name). It has been cloudy and rainy for a few days now; we had a real downpour last night with some scary lightning strikes. I was secretly hoping for sunny weather Thursday with a sudden, huge storm right when BO came on to bless us with his wisdom, but alas it is not to be. The best part was going to be the 50,000 empty seats!

In other completely non-related stuff... I have not watched even one second of the anti-American rally going on 45 miles away, but I saw some pictures. The podium looks like a giant bucket or barrel. If BO is expecting his socialist followers to fill that bucket with money, he will be waiting a long time to empty it! I am also secretly hoping Clinton clinches the Romney presidency tonight in his speech. Maybe he was watching and learning from Clint???

Unknown said...

@Colby:
I'm going to watch Clinton when it comes to YouTube to cut out the media salivating, main reason, if I know Billy-Bub, he's going to give The One a back-handed endorsement, i.e., the economy is bad, but it could have been worse - imagine if he had done anything.

Look for Hillary - find the point on earth farthest from the DNC and she'll be there. This is a lose-lose prop for her, any association will doom her 2016 chances (and don't believe for a minute she's not going to run - Bill and her supporters wanted her to run this year).

Billy-Bub and Hillary hate Obama, and the feeling is mutual - that he's giving a speech just shows how desperate things are for the campaign despite the glowing media polls whose biased results indicate he's just barely above water and is sinking.

Ogrrre said...

Given the defintion of "treason", it is apparent that Barak Hussein Obama has committed treason, and is subject to impeachment for "high crimes and misdemeanors". He should be removed from office, stripped of all pensions from the government, and put in a supermax type prison for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, this will never happen, due to his political affiliation, his political leanings, and the color of his skin. For me to even mention that he should be impeached for this will bring cries of "racism" from a brain dead leftist.

Sarah Rolph said...

SeaDog, maybe you can help me understand the Clintons. I agree with you that they hate Obama (and I assume the feeling is mutual). So why is Clinton giving a speech at the convention? Does he want the attention that much? Did he get something in return? And why did Hillary take the position at State? Surely that counts as an "association"--she has done a terrible job at State and is part of the Obama failure. Don't you think that will keep her out of the running in 2016? Why didn't the Clintons just wait in the shadows for four years and then come swooping in as the saviors of their party? There is a lot I don't understand about party politics (roughly everything....)

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@CenTexTim- It's certainly been a long time since I've had an easy day with Obama in office. And my first "easy day" will come on Romney's inauguration day. And oh, how I'm looking forward to it!

@SeaDog- I'm not really a subscriber to Biblical prophecy, but I have to admit that Armageddon would cause me to seriously rethink my position. Gulp.

@Colby- The pieces fit together disconcertingly well.

It's funny to read about the downsizing of Obama's outdoor stadium event. How great would it have been to see all those empty seats (or better still, shoot a GOP commercial in which Clint Eastwood is pretending to COUNT the empty chairs?)

@SeaDog- I haven't watched any of the convention but AM curious about Slick Willy's speech. I never liked the man, but he's good at what he does - and I think it's entirely possible that there may be a little "damning with faint praise" from old Bill. I know Clinton was beyond pissed when the Obama campaign accused him of being racist (when Hillary was still in the primaries). This could be the shot at revenge he's been waiting for.

@Ogrrre- It's my personal belief that Obama's actions in multiple areas have met the definition of treason. Though you're right that he'll never face such charges (or even accusations in our cowardly culture). My fervent wish is for Obama to simple by "Cartered" (ala Jimmy Carter)... driven from office, and labeled as a failure and a punchline.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Sarah Rolph- I think Bill Clinton is speaking because he's an attention whore, and also because he's a political player who enjoys the exercise of power. He's now relishing the fact that a man he dislikes, Barack Obama, has had to crawl to him for help - and I'm sure that behind the scenes, he's making life miserable for Barry. Regarding Hillary, I'm sure she joined the Obama team only to build her own credentials for a presidential run, and it won't matter how good a job she did or didn't do because everyone (except conservatives) will have forgotten and believe whatever the MSM tells them ("The most successful Secretary of State in history!")

Unknown said...

@Ogrrre:
I agree with everyone, though treason as defined in the Constitution might be a tough sell, but multiple, multiple high crimes and misdemeanors - but the House issues the article of impeachment, and the Senate tries - same,same Clinton, fat chance the Dem Senate would do anything.

@Sarah Rolph:
Clinton will do the 'speech' for the good of the Democratic Party and to show his loyalty (for 2016). Sec of State can usually pan off any criticism because it was by Obama/Jarret's directions.

PRY said...

What struck me about the first night of the dem's deal...on the surface, they say pretty much the same things about this country and its people as I would...but we must always remember, their definitions of justice, freedom, liberty and all that good stuff is radically different than what you or I would say it is. It makes it more difficult for someone who doesnt pay really close attention to what is going on in a progressive's mind.

Unknown said...

I have to say that this DNC has been a total cluster****! A five year old could put together a better Chinese fire drill. What genius put Bubba's speech on the same night as the season opener Cowboys vs Giants?

Pete(Detroit) said...

Stilt, Armageddon becomes even more frightful when you consider that one of the major players (or wanna be's, at any rate) considers starting WWIII and dying in retaliation as the express elevator to paradise...
MAD worked (well, sort of) w/ the Russians because they believed it. The radical Islamists (yeah, redundancy, I know) look at it as a GOAL...

Emmentaler Limburger said...

@Sea Dog: You forget that they (the DNC) are all pretty much narcissists. They don't believe there could possibly be anything on the planet more important than whatever they might do or utter, so what fool would be watching a football game instead?!

Viewed in that light, it all makes sense. The only sane ones are those who are going about trying to make it appear as if what the narcissistic leadership believes is true, vis-a-vis, moving the dipshit-in-chief's speech to a smaller venue so the camera picks up heads rather than empty space around him. These are the truly dangerous ones - the ones forming perception - as they are the ones that move the destroyers into position...

Me? I have laid nary an eyeball on the proceedings, and refuse to do so, even under morbid curiosity. Didn't look on the RNC convention, either. What would occur in either would occur whether I witnessed it live, or not, and I have far better, more profitable things to do with my time than than indulge the media...

Armageddon? I believe. globally, we've been on a greased rail toward the end for over a hundred years. However, it is not to be predicted, so any such prediction - such as those of Rosenburg, "reverend" Camp, etc. are just entertaining sideshow.

And, per the video, I think Øbama's regime is not releasing this type of information for political advantage here in the US. I think they are doing it specifically to aid the islamists. I think the bin laden killing was an accident - I don't believe the administration wanted it to occur, but the mission got out of their control and went forward. But that's just me...

Unknown said...

Interesting shot - GretaWire has a camera shot of Villaraigosa's teleprompter showing 2/3's voted in the affirmative before the vote was taken. Clearly heard over the TV that the 'Nays' were at least as if not more vocal than the 'Yeas', but Bob Beckel explained that they turn down the mike volume to direct the vote the way the DNC wants it to go. Evidence is mounting that it was not even close to a majority of the DNC delegates that wanted the changes re: God and Jerusalem to be made. Why wasn't the DNC policy of returning to the '67 borders and the 'Right of Return' addressed as well? Might po the muslims.

Angry Hoosier Dad said...

The Dems are running a commercial with Clenis shilling for Obama. I turn the channel when it comes on because I can't bear to watch somebody I know in my heart is a rapist act like some great moral authority on anything. He doesn't deserve to be heard; he deserves a twelve-gauge load to the groin.

John the Econ said...

Unfortunately, I've been more distracted that planned this week, and have watched far less of the DNC Convention than I had planned. But I did catch a bit of Bill Clinton last night.

The biggest fantasy that the Democrats have been selling as of late is that Bill Clinton was responsible for the boom of the late '90s, and that another 4 years of Obama might result in the same. In reality, Clinton had relatively little to do with the late ‘90s, and Clinton’s agenda and style certainly doesn’t compare with Obama’s at all. Clinton himself was not anti-business, at least when compared to Obama. And recall that the economy only boomed once the Democrats had lost control of Congress for the first time in 40 years, and black clouds over the economy like HillaryCare and Al Gore's "BTU Tax" were vanquished once and for all. If anything, it was the application of "Reaganomics" that caused the Clinton boom; certainly nothing the Democrats were responsible for.

If the Democrats really want to recreate the "Clinton Miracle", then they should purge Obama, surrender the Senate to the GOP, restore the size of government and spending as a percentage of GDP to 1996 levels, repeal Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank & ObamaCare and countless other bad post-2000 ideas for starters. Clearly, that's not what they have in mind.

Clinton said that the Obama administration has been all about "cooperation"? Seriously? With whom? Was he in a coma between 2008 into 2011?

Ironically, this morning ABC highlighted the Clinton speech line about “cooperation”, and then immediately after renewed Bob Woodword's new book, which completely contradicts that notion.

Also, Clinton introduced us to Obama's new educational plan. Previously I’ve explained the "Education Bubble", which is exactly the same phenomenon that was the "Housing Bubble"; grants and easy subsidized financing have allowed students to bid up the price of a college education to absurd levels; several times inflation for decades now. Obama's new plan will only make this worse; Loans will be remain subsidized at low interest rates, and repayment will be based upon a students income after graduation; so now students will feel free to go into debt as they prepare themselves for the low paying jobs that Obamanomics will be providing. (like country doctor, according to Clinton) Want to spend 10 years and $200,000 to get that “community organizer” PhD but are worried how you’d ever pay that back making “Occupy” non-wages? It’s no longer a problem! (Perhaps now Sandra Fluke will be able to afford birth control) You’ll only have to pay if and when you get a job, and even then, not so much per/month. So now students will be even less afraid of debt (the real problem) so they'll borrow even more, thus inflating the bubble to new levels. (The Democrats that run the educational establishment will clearly love this idea; no “change” for them)

George Stephanopolus this morning did comment on rumors that the Democrats were having difficulty filling the empty seats. (Actually, my local Democrats were trying to give them away) White House adviser David Plouffe blamed it on the weather. The GOP in Tampa in the wake of a hurricane last week had far worse weather than the Democrats, (which just had rain) and had no trouble filling seats. Let's hope that Democrats are as easily dissuaded come November.

to be continued...

John the Econ said...

...continued:

Where are my “FACT CHECK”s? Each morning after a session of the GOP convention, my Associated Press news feed contained at least 1 “FACT CHECK” article, picking apart whatever supposed lies or half-truths they thought they had heard the previous evening. Most of the time, the “FACT CHECK”s are fact-checking not facts, but opinions, hypotheticals or the future. This week, the “FACT CHECK”s have been MIA. It’s just more proof that the media’s “FACT CHECK” phenomenon isn’t about “facts” at all, but are just media opinion masquerading as news on behalf of liberals.

Are we better off? That’s the meme that the Democrats boldly trying to establish, and I have to give them credit for trying. And I have no doubt that there are many people for whom the Obama years have been good. But unless you are the type who’s relationship with the government involves signing checks on the back instead of the front, the argument is laughable. I've personally created more jobs than Obama. And not being a government employee or a recipient of "stimulus", I'm certainly not better off. My local taxes and utilities are much higher. Gasoline again flirts $4/gallon, and the pundits are again predicting $5 within months. Our grocery bill is 11% higher in the last year alone. And yet they say inflation doesn’t really exist. 4 years ago, Obama promised that my health insurance would be $2,500/year cheaper. Today, it's almost $5,000 more expensive than it was when he took office, going up nearly 15% every year. So as far as I can tell, my personal Obama deficit starts at $7,500/year on health care alone. I don’t think I can survive another 4 years of this.

Perhaps I’ll just quit and go back to school until retirement age. The loans will be cheap and as long as I remain poor I won’t have to pay much of them back. And January 1st, 2014 when I can dump my health insurance, it will be just like getting a $12,000 raise.

I just hope it’s raining on November 6th.

Unknown said...

“Wot’ta nightmaah”, my favorite Marisa Tomei line from My Cousin Vinnie can be used to describe the Democratic National Convention. Name the category, and they’ve screwed the pooch, not that it will register, or even matter to the Obamabot Kool-Aid drinkers. The DNC has elevated the act of outright lying to a new art form, but is particularly telling when the video proof is rolling right behind them as they try to maneuver their way around the obvious. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was, as even CNN stated, living in an alternate universe in her denials of her many statements yesterday.

The cap was the ‘God and Jerusalem’ deletion from the DNC platform. According to a Politico report, quoting a campaign source, Obama had seen the language prior to the convention, but did not seek to change it until after the massive targeting by the GOP late Wednesday. Now, even worse, Villarigosa called for a voice vote on the amendment and was shouted down with boos and ‘nay’s”. He had to try three times before announcing that in his judgment, a two-thirds majority had approved the measure. Odd thing, d*** those pesky cell phone cameras, a screen shot of Villarigosa’s teleprompter screen (source: GretaWire & Weasel Zippers) shows the outcome was planted in the teleprompter before the vote was even taken. Another source quoted Bob Beckel saying that they turned down the volume on the ‘nays’ so that it appeared to have a majority of ayes, though watching the audio from the TV stations it was obvious that it was not anywhere close to passing by a majority.

The next favorite was the stadium change deflections. Announced that it was out of overriding concern for safety due to the severe weather forecasted for the area, an enterprising reporter called the Charlotte NBC affiliate weatherman, who stated that the threat of severe weather occurring during that time was about zero, the worst would be some intermittent light rain – less that ¼” accumulation. The truth was that they found that the unions weren’t willing to bus their people into a non-union state no matter what; the ‘black churches’ they had lined up to bus their congregations from NC, SC and Georgia to attend were both having problems rounding up people who were willing to go and the logistics of having all these people descending into Charlotte with no coordination and no motel rooms available became problematic. Per Baghdad Bob Gibbs, they had 65,000 tickets out with a 19,000 waiting list. Possibly they had that many tickets out, but they were handing out tickets to any volunteer that worked a three hour stint (pissing off those who had paid big campaign donations to get tickets), and as one person stated, “If you went through a McDonalds and got a Happy Meal, you got a ticket to the speech”.
I know last night I avoided all coverage of the DNC and Bubba’s speech and watched the Dallas-Giants game, though almost as painful as watching “The Life and Times of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz” on MSLSD.

Pete(Detroit) said...

Rain, John? Here in MI I'm hoping for a effing Blizzard! (Snow on Halloween is not common, but hardly unheard of)

I *do* love your illustration of people who sign checks on the front vs the back, somehow we need to condense that down to a soundbite meme like "makers vs takers"...

John the Econ said...

@Pete(Detroit), I prefer Ayn Rand's "Producers vs Looters". By any objective standard, the Democrats are the party of "looters".

Didn't during his last term, Clinton declare that "the era of big government is over"? I laughed at the time, and Democrats conveniently forget.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@SeaDog- Bottom line is that there's no chance that Obama will ever be impeached or even reprimanded. It's simply a painful, irritating fact of life. Sort of like hemerrhoids.

@Pry- Most of the Libs words sounded good. The only thing is that we know they're lying because we've seen what happens when they get power. But what saddens me more than the lies from the podium are the lies from the allegedly impartial MSM news analysts who will tell the undecideds that the DNC is the party of love and light, and the BOP is the party of hate. Which is exactly what they're doing.

@SeaDog- I'm surprised that Obama didn't order the football game cancelled to protect fans from nonexistent lightning.

@Pete(Detroit)- I've always thought that the suicidal martyr streak in Islam is sort of an impediment to dealing with them rationally. Because there's MAD and there's just plain crazy.

@Emmentaler- I've been avoiding the Dem convention, too. Even I've got limits to what I can stomach, and believe me - that's over the line.

Per the Seal video, I think most of the Whitehouse leaks about the mission were intended to make Obama look good...though I certainly agree that this Whitehouse does plenty of other things to give aid and comfort to radical Islam.

And I share the opinion that Obama didn't spearhead the mission to kill Osama - rather, things reached a point where he could no longer stop the mission. The word was out in the intelligence community that we knew where bin Laden was - and so the only "risk" Obama was really concerned about was having the public find out that he hadn't acted on the information. Personally, I believe the accounts that say Hillary and Panetta gave the go-code while Obama was golfing. So the terse look you see on his face in the situation room (while wearing his golf clothes) reflects only his concern about his immediate political future.

@SeaDog- It was very clear that there was no two-thirds majority to reinstate God and Jerusalem. In fact, it seemed that there was no majority whatsoever. But even with the faked vote, it's clear where the Dems stand no matter what they bother to write in their platform.

@Angry Hoosier Dad- Like you, I can't really watch Bill Clinton. A rapist and serial abuser of women. His only redeeming feature is that I don't believe he actively hated America or wanted to destroy it, which I absolutely believe of Barack Obama.

@John the Econ- Masterful summary of the convention, the economy, and darn near life in general. Excellent.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@SeaDog- Great comment, and you do a terrific job of cataloging some of the most glaring screw-ups in this convention!

@Pete(Detroit)- To me, "Check, please" is what you should say to your waiter - not your elected representative.

@John the Econ- The era of big government is over. But the era of gargantuan government is really just getting started.

Emmentaler Limburger said...

And, of course, Ayn Rand comes up again. Scary, isn't it?

The staged riot at Rearden's foundry seems to have been the script for much of what we've seen around us today - particularly the "Occupy" morons. (Wondering if there won't be a staged event even more similar to this near the election?) Her characterization of the attitudes of the looters - "I deserve to be respected...I have a right to a job..." - sounds an awful lot like today's liberal democrats - "Everyone gets a trophy...The rich don't pay their fair share...Spread the wealth around...We have to pass them, or they'll be socially stigmatized (school kids)". Too, like the government in Atlas Shrugged, we have EXTREME cronyism, and the "emergency" socialization of industries (which, thankfully, have not yet entirely enacted the Century Motors plan...). Her characterization of the language of the looters and moochers would have been comical if one didn't have a foot grounded in today's PC reality.

Geddy Lee once sang that the words of the prophet were written on the subway wall. Uh-uh. The words of the prophet were written in the pages of Atlas Shrugged. Now: if only a willing John Galt would come quickly to the fore...

Earl Allison said...

I'm disgusted with the whole charade.

Obama didn't know about God and Jerusalem not being part of the Platform? BS, plain and simple.

Again, Obama and his campaign didn't know about the ad declaring us in essence property of the Borg -- I mean Government? Double-BS.

Moving the venue because of possible RAIN? Seriously? Does he think we don't remember him BRAGGING about getting huge crowds in bad weather in the 2008 Campaign? As pointed out, didn't the RNC have, you know, ACTUAL bad weather, and they managed? We all know it's about butts in seats, why lie about something so painfully obvious?

The First Lady's speech: Where were all the fact-checkers? Oh, right, only REPUBLICANS lie, silly me.

I'm left with one of two possible answers to these issues;

Either Barack Obama is as deceitful, lying, and dishonest as the day is long, or ...

He and his campaign are so painfully inept, so rock-stupid, so ... so incapable of running a campaign OR a convention that they shouldn't be trusted with a lemonade stand on a sidewalk.

Neither one tells me that he should get one more MINUTE as POTUS, nevermind four more years!

Gah! It feels like my grinding teeth are trying to circle around and eat my brain so I will calm down!

Man, just how stupid do the Dems think the country is? Just think about that a moment. Do they really think that a majority are going to ignore how far and how fast the Hope and Change rhetoric and campaign have fallen in just a few days?

Thanks for posting!

John the Econ said...

@Emmentaler Limburger, a second Obama term and a Senate still in control of the Democrats will undoubtedly emulate later chapters of Atlas Shrugged. There will be more "emergencies" and unconstitutional remedies already prepared to address them. It's possible that we are mere months away from a Directive 10-289. Point 4 is soon to become a reality in the medical research arena in the name of containing costs. Point 7 was already attempted in the '70s, and I'd expect the same once inflation starts to really kick in. We currently have plenty of "czars" in place to impliment Point 8 as soon as Obama signs the executive order.

The looters are following shrugged as though it was a script.

Emmentaler Limburger said...

@Earl: The answer is, of course: Yes.

Barack Obama is as deceitful, lying, and dishonest as the day is long, AND he and his campaign are so painfully inept, so rock-stupid, so ... so incapable of running a campaign OR a convention that they shouldn't be trusted with a lemonade stand on a sidewalk.

I hope I've helped.

Earl Allison said...

Emmentaler Limburger,

You have. I weep for all mankind.

It's just painful to watch.

Not sure if you ever watched 'The Simpsons.' There's a scene in one episode where Krusty the Clown is watching a Harlem Globetrotters game where one of the Globetrotters is spinning the ball on his finger while a member of the opposing team just watches helplessly, and Krusty screams "just TAKE it from him!"

It's like that, only in the Simpsons it's a joke and meant to be funny. Not so funny when people who can vote can't see the scripted performance or see through the act -- especially when it seems to be so blatantly obvious to others.

Thanks for replying.

Unknown said...

From Drudge - ratings from last night

NBC NFL Football 23% share 21.81M viewers
CBS Dem Convention .9% share 3.94M viewers
ABC Dem Convention .9% share 3.54M viewers

Maybe there is still some sense of values out there?

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

D'oh!!! Mrs. Jarlsberg just pointed out that I made a reference to the BOP somewhere above, when I meant the GOP. It's already been a long week, folks...

Colby said...

It's OK Stilton, copious amounts of whiskey have the same effect on me! Actually, BOP is probably what BO let Bill do to him in order to get the speech he wanted Bill to deliver.

@SeaDog,
You, sir, have brightened my day. Less than 2% of viewers were actually watching the Charlotte Clusterf**k? Probably, if you threw in CNN, PMSNBC, PBS, and some of the other stations that Rachael Maddow's relatives watch, the viewership might creep up to a whopping 2.5%, but who's counting?

I hate to give any credit to Democraps for possibly having brains, but cancelling Bank of America Stadium was a smart move. It is cloudy and humid today (a good sign that it will rain), and there is ZERO parking at BofA Stadium (look on Google Maps). Even if they could have bussed in the 43 Democrats that live in South Carolina, there would be nowhere to park the bus.

Chuck said...

I've been hitting the "coffee" hard these days, and I'm not going to be able to cut back any time soon, I think. Reminds me of the Lloyd Bridges character in "Airplane", "Heck of a week to give up [insert substance to abuse here]."

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Emmentaler- By the way, I just saw the trailer for Atlas Shrugged, Part Two and it looks pretty good!

And actually, it was Simon & Garfunkel who sang "the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls," though Geddy Lee gave them a tip of the hat by singing "the words of the profits are written on the studio walls."

@Earl Allison- We are so in the same place right now. I think I'm overdue for a primal scream.

@John the Econ- Obama has already declared that if the Republicans won't cooperate with his second term agenda, then he'll enact what he wants without waiting for legislation. "Emergency measures" will be enacted daily if not hourly.

@Emmentaler- Your clarity is matched only by your brevity.

@Earl Allison- I haven't seen that Simpsons episode, but it sounds like the perfect metaphor.

@SeaDog- Reruns are never popular, and viewers already saw this show in 2008.

@Colby- I'll have you know that I never touch liquor on a workday unless it's noon. Somewhere.

@Chuck- I think I'm up to Lloyd's "sniffing glue" stage.

Unknown said...

Atlas Shrugged - Part II, before the elections? Kewl!!!

Pete(Detroit) said...

Yes, Cool indeed! Just finished (last night) reading the book (again!). Still loving it, but skimmed / skipped most of the speeches this time. Love the story, and the points she makes, but good LORD is it LONG!!!

John the Econ said...

Wow, I didn't even know that they were making it after the lackluster first movie. I hope it's better than Part I, which lacked the depth and substance of the book.

Emmentaler Limburger said...

Damn. Mixed my music. Again. Sigh...

I agree that AS Part I tried to pack WAY too much into it (and if Part II includes Galt's speech, it will be longer than Gone With The Wind...), but I think it did a pretty fair job of putting forth the tone & intent of the book. But who'd-a thunk Eddie Willers was a gaunt, somewhat effeminate black dude?

Colby said...

If the producers are smart, they will shorten Galt's speech by about 30 book pages so it's only about an hour long. Seriously, if they put all of it in the movie, they'll have people committing suicide with popcorn bags.

Most of this book was pretty good, but what is it about Russian authors and books from hell? She could have left out a good 75% and still have made the point. I'm afraid the movie will be lost on the nut cases that need the message most; they're too busy watching important things like American Idol or Entertainment Tonight.

Unknown said...

When I read Atlas Shrugged around 2009, I was struck immediately about the parallels between the book and the current administration’s game plan to ‘fundamentally change America’. Recently, I watched Part 1 of the movie, and either I had become more aware, the movie script was tailored to current events, the book became truly prophetic, or a combination of all. ‘Course, this administration has moved further along in its avowed course of burying the Constitution and the Rule of Law by Executive Directives that violate the Constitution, bypass the elected members of Congress, and are in most cases, flat out illegal in the fact that they bypass or ignore US Codes, Federal Laws/Statutes, and in at least three cases, this administration has been found in outright contempt of court (this does not even address F&F). It should also be of note that in every suit that Holder’s DOJ has initiated, the DOJ has lost because they have no legal ground – just obstruction – the recent dropping of the investigation of Sheriff Joe is one prime example – no evidence found. It is this administration’s tactic to hammer any one or thing that opposes it, not to just beat the opposition but to overkill the opposition.

While Rand was centered on Objectivism, Atlas Shrugged leaned more heavily towards Corporatism. One of the main types of corporatism is economic tripartism (a popular form of economic policy during the economic crisis of the 1930’s and is a core part of the economic systems and policies in Europe) involving negotiations between business, labor unions, and state interest groups to establish economic policy. Because of that, the parallels between Atlas Shrugged become more apparent when you understand that Obama’s beliefs are a melding of Corporatism with the anti-colonialism views from his father (thanks, Dinesh D’Souza)that he decided to accept as a core belief.

Beginning to sound familiar?

Stan da Man said...

President's Speech - wtf moment #1, thanks "greatest wife ever" okay, fine, what ever. Suppose he HAD to... Next, the girls "yes, you have to go to school tomorrow" - er, WHAT? it's 10:30, and he's just STARTING. It will be midnight at LEAST before they can be ANY where CLOSE to leaving, like an airport? Hour flight back to DC, 1/2 hr to get back to WH, ANOTHER 1/2 hr to get to bed - that's like 2 am? At LEAST?!?!? And he expects them to be at school in the am? Dude, logistics much?
Then "this is about trying to restore the system that brought about the greatest middle class..." 3x WTEffity EFF in 2.5 min - sorry dude, I have guns that need to be cleaned... (cause I been clingin' to 'em...)

Stan da Man said...

Sea Dog - I vote all three. I first read AS many years ago, and last read it four years ago, almost could not finish it, as I knew the ending, and could see the middle in the papers. I think it was then I started stocking up on "precious metals" - not gold / silver like you hear advertised, but brass / lead.
Zombie Apocalypse might just be closer than you think...

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Readers- I just tried to post, and Blogger is doing some oddball thing which makes it nearly impossible for me to comment. I'll do what I can WHEN I can, but until then I'll just say "carry on!"

Stan da Man said...

@Stilton - HATE it when that happens!

Noelegy said...

"Geddy Lee once sang that the words of the prophet were written on the subway wall. Uh-uh. The words of the prophet were written in the pages of Atlas Shrugged. Now: if only a willing John Galt would come quickly to the fore..."

The members of Rush are fans of Ayn Rand, or at the very least Neal Peart is. It's interesting to see her influence show up in his lyrics.

Noelegy said...

You really have to wonder what kind of crystal ball Ayn Rand had. Or, knowing that she escaped communist Russia and knew all too well that this has been tried before (and failed miserably), maybe you don't have to wonder.

I have a "Who Is John Galt?" sticker on my car. A guy came up behind me on the service road the other day and I could see in my rear-view mirror that he was holding his hands up and slowly clapping with a big grin on his face, while making eye contact with me. :)

Sarah Rolph said...

Thanks for the replies, SeaDog and Stilt! (I was traveling yesterday so that's why this is late)

Nice thread here. I sure enjoy this community of commenters!