Pledge of Allegiance is Under Attack

Should Students Be Warned Before Reciting the Pledge?

The ACLU and other critics of the 117-year-old Pledge of Allegiance are pushing for legislation that requires all public school students be given a "Miranda warning" that informs them of their right not to recite the words and instead remain silent. Should schools be required to inform students that they have the right not to say the Pledge of Allegiance?

The Pledge is the Citizen's Oath. It binds us as Americans. The "Melting Pot" only exists if we are ALL Americans.

I have lost all respect for the ACLU these days. They have fallen to O'Sullivan's First Law. (John's a terrific person by the way.)

Follow the above link to vote in a FoxNews Poll with the question framed as "Should schools be required to inform students that they have the right not to say the Pledge of Allegiance?" Currently 95% have voted NO.

So How Many Were There

Charlie Martin over at Pajamas Media has a fairly balanced look at the numbers in a well-linked post titled, "March on Washington: How Big Was the Crowd?"

His take? A fair and reasonable estimation would be 850,000. About the same (revised) number of people who attended the Obama Inaugeration.

And yet, this HUGE protest march was deemed a non-event by the mainstream media.

Protests and Media Coverage

Read here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here to find my posts on the virtual media blackout.

Lack of Faith

Or lack of trust if you prefer. Either way Congress and Obama are in trouble.

In In Obama We Don't Trust Salena Zito discusses the public's growing mistrust...

On the eve of Obama’s health-care pitch to Congress and the country last week, an Associated Press-GfK poll highlighted his fall from grace: A whopping 52 percent of the country disapproved of his handling of health-care reform.

“I can’t emphasize enough how bad it is for a politician to lose trust,” says Democratic pollster Pat Caddell, a former senior adviser to President Jimmy Carter.

It's bad all over. Star Parker reports "Some Blacks Now Have Doubts About Obama." African-American's overwhelmingly voted for Obama so for him to loss this core constituentcy is big bad.

According to the Pew Research Center, the president's approval rating nationwide is now 10 points lower than last April. Included in this is a three-point drop in his approval among blacks.

You might say, Star, a drop in approval ratings among blacks from 95 percent to 92 percent is trivial. But I say not so.

If we assume this reflects the 16 million blacks who voted for Obama last November, a three point shift means there are about a half million blacks who now have buyer's remorse.

Rasmussen reports that polls indicate a bump for Obama after his healthcare speech but it will be interestng to see if that bump continues an upward trend or if it drops down again once the impact of the DC TEA Party protest sinks in and after Congress finally starts revealling its Obamacare plans.

How's That Foreign Policy Workin'?

Bin Laden reportedly calls Obama 'powerless'

"If you end the war, so to it," bin Laden said. "But if it is otherwise, all we will do is continue the war of attrition against you on all possible axes."

From Breitbart

Breaking News: Czar's Bad for Democracy

So what do these czars do? Do they advise the president? Or do they impose the administration's agenda on the heads of federal agencies and offices who have been vetted and confirmed by the Senate? Unfortunately -- and in direct contravention of the Framers' intentions -- virtually no one can say with certainty what these individuals do or what limits are placed on their authority. We don't know if they are influencing or implementing policy. We don't know if they possess philosophical views or political affiliations that are inappropriate or overreaching in the context of their work.

The above is a quote from Kay Bailey Hutchinson's column in the Washington Post titled, "Czarist Washington"

While administrations on the left and the right have had "czars", no president has established as many as Obama. These men and women are unscrutinized and have unknowable power - exactly what our Founding Fathers did not want when they framed the US Constitution's checks and balances.

Her call to action is telling....

The deployment of this many czars sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the Constitution's guarantee of separated powers. It must be stopped. President Obama should submit each of his many policy czars to the Senate so that we can review their qualifications, roles and the limits on their authority. To deliver anything less is to deny the American public the accountability and transparency the Constitution guarantees.

Obama's Trade War

Hope and change and now a trade war with America's biggest creditor, China.

Was this a wise thing to do? Was it smart? Or was it yet again another misguided decision from an inexperienced administration.

You can judge for yourself with this article from the UK's Financial Times titled, "US tyre duties spark China clash." (That's how they spell tire in Britain.)

Being Rude is Wrong

But the Democrats/Liberals started it.

Well, the inestimable Victor Davis Hanson says it a little better with his piece from The Corner titled, "Now Wait Just One Minute . . ." in response to Maureen Dowd.

ACORN Round-UP - Updated

(standing up to bullies)

Do NOT say you were not warned! This article, "Inside Obama’s Acorn. By their fruits ye shall know them." came out in May 2008 but you never read it because no one but National Review would publish it. Yet again, the mainstream media are reaping what they have sown. Read all four pages of this extensively linked article and weep.

City Journal also covered ACORN in 2003 in this article here which I read at the time. here (the link is also in the above article).

Third Videotape Reveals ACORN Assisting 'Pimp,' 'Prostitute' in Brooklyn, N.Y.

'Pimp & hooker' catch B'klyn staff

The scandal surrounding the left-wing activist organization ACORN has spread to New York, with employees at its Brooklyn office caught on video helping supposed ladies of the night get loans for their dream houses of ill repute.

Rather than reminding the women that prostitution is dangerous and illegal and advising them to change their careers, counselors at the social-services group shockingly offer suggestions on how they can launder their earnings.

Of course, ACORN tried to claim this was a fake - Filmmaker Demands Apology From ACORN for Claiming Undercover Video 'Doctored'

American Spectator: Big Media Ignores ACORN Scandal

FoxNews also claims "ACORN Story Grows But Mainstream Media Refuse to Cover It."

Census Severs Relationship With ACORN.

It's get worse for ACORN (and hopefully never get better). After Census Severs Ties, ACORN May Face Scrutiny of Housing Grants. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

And my previous ACORN related posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Actually there's more but I didn't want to seem too crazy.

But I am in good company. Over at Townhall.com you can read lots of ACORN exposes.
ACORN: Don't believe your lying eyes

ACORN Crackdown: Investigation Continues Undercover in New York, NY Meredith Jessup

Michelle Malkin's ACORN Watch here.

Republican Lawmakers Turn Up the Heat on ACORN

TEA Party Protest Round-Up

From GatewayPundit - CLEAN Conservatives vs FILTHY Liberals-- A Photographic Essay Damn Dirty Hippies!

Tea Party March on DC Draws Somewhere between 2 million and 60,000 People. Go figure.

Still no love from the Washington Post and one single, hard-to-find article from the New York Times, here.

The American Spectator agrees with me that this lack of coverage "sucked"

DC wasn't the only place hosting TEA Party protests - Quincy Tea Party fires up participants and Tea Party speakers rally Quincy crowd with call to 'take back your country'

Final analysis (and coverage) from VodkaPundit Stephen Green here.

Tea Party in D.C. [Darleen Click] Updated again and again Pointing out that Obama left town for this.

How We Got Here.

I love the opening sentence to this post here, "Can you hear us now?" It's titled, "I Went To A Party, And America Showed Up." Nice photos too.

An Impression Of The Protest

A Small Gathering in the Capital

A day at the Conservative Woodstock Lots of pictures with this one!

Inside the 9/12 protest

Thousands Rally in Capital to Protest Big Government

Another review of the TEA Party protest NR Cruisers March

Some more pictures and videos in this post titled, "9/12 "Million MOB March" A Success Without MSM Help." Sweet.

Obamacare Daily Round-Up 09-14 - Updated

Failure to discuss big government over-reach, including Obamacare protesters, is hurting Mainstream Media. T’was Accountability That Killed The MSM

Where Politics Don’t Belong

Give It to Us Straight

Like the creators of South Park who famously said, "We hate Republicans but we hate Liberals even more.", Libertarians make their own way in the world of politics. In this post over at Reason, they hit both Republicans and Democrats with "The Republican Health Care Failure. Why the GOP should save a share of blame for itself." They make some good points.

From the Boston Globe (!) What ‘right’ to health care?

Federal health care will mimic IRS

Anyone who quotes Peter Singer as a "good" source is a bad man.Death panels: Wrong name, right idea Basically this article argues for rationing healthcare. Or as the National Review cover article for 9/21 puts it Obamacare ushers in "The Creeping Culture of Euthanasia."

Health-Care Math. Mr. Obama says he won't add one dime to the deficit, but a lot of dimes remain unaccounted for.

The health care "reformers" go after medical technology

Review of the Sunday chatter - Today on the Sunday Talk Shows

From The Wall Street Journal's op-ed pages - Fact-Checking the President on Health Insurance. His tales of abuse don't stand scrutiny.

More fact-checking here with "Presidential Assertions vs. Facts"

That's It? That's the Bounce?

Congress Can’t Rely on Public Opinion

Democratic Dissenters. How many House votes will Obamacare lose because of its abortion subsidy? Hopefully all of them.

Wouldn't these organizations be the perfect vehicle for helping the uninsured? And yet, and yet - Nonprofit Groups Upset at Exclusion From Health Bills My husband's think tank is a non-profit by the way.

Instapundit "Glenn Reynolds on the hidden cost of national health care." from the Washington Examiner.

It’s Showdown Week for the Baucus Six, With a Medicaid Fight Looming.

Still not buying, I just do not trust these jokers. - Reform Opposition Is High but Easing. More Support if Public Option Dropped.

Gotta love the patronizing one gets from the Left - The Ghosts of 1994

Wait a Second. Why Shouldn’t We Insure Illegals? Maybe Virgil Goode can explain it to you with this post "Legal Immigrants and "Anchor Babies" Weigh Down Obamacare."

A Health Insurance Mandate That Works Like Auto Insurance? Think Again.

Baucus Remains Hopeful That Republicans Will Like Committee's Health Bill

A Whole Bunch of PJTV Videos

For your viewing pleasure.

Rev. Wright is Really Wrong, Olbermann Retreats & How Many Princess Leias Does One Man Need?

A Tale of Two Revolutions: The War of Ideas & the Tragedy of the Unconstrained Vision. Modern day philosopher Thomas Sowell has a theory. Beneath politics and party, beneath even ideology and morality, lies a conflict of visions about the very nature of what humanity is. Watch as Bill Whittle applies this theory against Rousseau, Hobbes & Robespierre to breakdown what it means to be free.

Can Sarah Palin Defeat ObamaCare? Can The President Convince Americans We Need It?

The Congressional Corruption Parade: Rangel's Hits Keep on Coming.Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation sits down with Glenn Reynolds to suss out the hottest scandals on the Hill. From Rangle to Dodd, we've got you covered.

Trifecta: Who's Funding Your Local Elections? Pulling Back The Curtain on the Influence of Faceless PACs. Some of the wealthiest people around are giving money to both sides when it comes to an election. It's a win-win for them, but is it ethical? The Trifecta gang sorts it out.

No Justice Under Obama

Obama Administration Stonewalls U.S. Civil Rights Commission on Black Panther Case

It seems that we are therefore headed for a clash between the administration, which has bragged about its transparency, and the Commission. It remains unclear whether the Justice Department will continue to stonewall as some fear or ask the president to invoke executive privilege to block the DOJ’s cooperation with the Commission’s investigation, thereby significantly impeding the only truly independent entity examining this issue.

Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill remain wary. Rep. Frank Wolf and Lamar Smith expressed relief that an investigation was finally underway. But given that the Justice Department controls the timing and contours of OPR’s inquiry, some Republicans are not willing to give up all leverage over Holder’s Justice Department.

To that end, a hold has been placed, it is believed by Sen. Tom Coburn, on the nomination of Civil Rights Division head Thomas Perez. In light of the proclivity of Holder’s Justice Department to be less than forthcoming with information and its track record to date in the New Black Panther case, it seems that savvy Republicans will not be anxious to lift that hold until there has been a full accounting of the New Black Panther case.

In sum, the heat is being turned up on the Justice Department but we can expect that every effort will be made to block and sidestep the Commission’s investigatory efforts. This will come as no surprise to conservatives who have seen (with, for example, the proliferation of unaccountable “czars” exempt from congressional confirmation) that this administration prefers to operate with a minimal amount of accountability and outside scrutiny.

And that is precisely what the Commission is threatening to bring. If it succeeds we may finally learn why Obama’s Justice Department walked away from a high-profile victory against the New Black Panthers.

National Grandparent's Day

Today is National Grandparents Day. While I am no fan of the me-too-ism of holidays such as these, I am also ready to acknowledge that it is nice to take a moment and be grateful for the people in your life and their roles.

So my deepest love to all of my children's grandparents (aka our parents). Happy Grandparents Day! And thank you.

This Ain't Good

Some of Britain's most elite soldiers have been training Libyan forces in counterterrorism and surveillance for the past six months, a U.K. newspaper said Saturday.

Uh-oh.

Gordon Brown is goin' down. Read about how "British Special Forces Train Libyan Troops." here.

Pusback on ACORN Expose

"Patricia Jessamy, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney whose office threatened to prosecute the undercover reporters that exposed ACORN’s pimp-protecting and tax-evasion operation". HotAir.com askes why and pushes back at Jessamy for her hypocrisy in this post titled, "Will Baltimore prosecute other journalists, too?"

That the magnitude of liberal double-standards are finally being exposed is one think we can thank the Obama administration for. These folks would never have become as brazen as they are now if they hadn't believed they had the political cover of a leftwing legislature, a leftwing executive, and a leftwing press.

Were it not for the blogosphere, this rotting corruption would never see sunlight.

(Yes, I know it appears across the political spectrum. It's there just seems to be so much of it on the left these days. I mean compare 8 years of newspaper investigations during Bush with 8 months of blogosphere investigations during Obama.)

Obamacare/TEA Party Round-Up 09-13

Because there is so much analysis on yesterday's HUGE Tea Party in DC which evolved from the big-government over-reach typified by Obamacare, I will be combining the two today.

Roger L. Simon apologizes - America Goes to Washington: I was wrong about the Tea Party Movement. I do not believe it was 2 million folks, I think something in the low-to-mid six figures is more accurate. That said, these people all HAVE JOBS.

Shhh! Quiet down. Thomas Sowell is speaking - Obama's Rhetoric vs. Common Sense

To tell us, with a straight face, that he can insure millions more people without adding to the already skyrocketing deficit, is world-class chutzpa and an insult to anyone's intelligence. To do so after an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office has already showed this to be impossible reveals the depths of moral bankruptcy behind the glittering words.

Quick Impressions of the D.C. 9/12 Protest. From Matt Welch over at Hit & Run.

May God curse the New York Times. Go to their main webpage and see how deep they buried yesterday's astonishing march. ARRGH! Their story is here.

The Washington Post buried it on their website here too. Bastards. Sure, you can click on a picture of their front page with a shot of the protesters and a headline that includes the phrase "Lash Out" but I'm not seen to many obvious links to coverage.

I felt better after reading this piece here. The Tea Party Movement: How We Got Here.

Dems seek to play down role of public option idea

Via Althouse, here's a solid round up of the chatter on yesterday's TEA Party over at memeorandum.

Thousands rally with or against Obama. As president leads a health care rally in Minneapolis, protesters in Washington denounce his policies.

Is There Hope for Health Reform? I hope not. I'd rather see the insurance regulations and tort reform, than an overhaul of our entire healthcare industry.

Public Option Fades From Debate Over Health Care. It's not fading from my mind.

Obama as Tony Soprano, or, flipping America the bird

Obama, Congress easing debate on public option. Basically, they think if they don't talk about it, we'll forget about it. NOT LIKELY. And here.

Snowe Urges Obama to Drop Public Plan to Pass Health Overhaul. What part of fix, not overhaul do you people not understand?

Election trouble brewing for House Dems in 2010. Ya think?

Father of the Green Revolution RIP

The reason why we have less farmland and more woodland is Norman Borlaug.

The reason why we have more food for more people using less farmland is Norman Borlaug.

The reason why we have better nutrition, better health, and longer lives is Norman Borlaug.

Who is Norman Borlaug? He is the father of the Green Revolution. A scientist who developed agricultural innovations that produced high-yield foods and saved millions, if not hundreds of millions, of lives the world over.

My husband's think tank honored him with their Promethus Prize but Dr. Borlaug has won the Nobel Prize and the Congressional Gold Medal for his work.

This obituary has all the details of this great man's life. My God take him to heaven for he has saved so many lives here on earth.

Another tribute to the great man is here.

(FWIW - I do believe this is also my 2,000 post.)

Final TEA Party Update for 9-12

I'm sure we'll see a lot of analysis tomorrow and Monday but for now below are the latest links I could find.

UK's Daily Mail is reporting - Up to two million march to US Capitol to protest against Obama's spending in 'tea-party' demonstration. I'd be surprised if that number is true because that would be twice the inaugral numbers but this photo is impressive.


Time Lapse Aerial Video of 9/12 Protestors Brilliant!


NRO at the 912 March - scroll down for some pretty wonderful pictures of protest signs.

Dueling Narratives in DC

VodkaPundit's continuous updating here. "They will be heard is good" but I still like Can't Stop The Signal best.

Memo to Baghdad Bob Gibbs: The Infidels Have Arrived.

Tea Party Express Takes Washington By Storm

The New York Post via AP is reporting - Marchers say, 'Enough spending!'
'
And direct from AP comes this - Thousands of downtown DC protesters blast Obama

Tea party activists rally at U.S. Capitol - From CNN with reasonable number of links.

Videos below:

Another TEA Party Protest Update

"Hell hath to fury like a taxpayer scorned" is one of the quotes from this Washington Post article titled, "Anti-Government Protests Draws Tens of Thousands to D.C."

CSPAN Coverage here and here.

Follow the tweets. Or this twitterer. Or this one.

State-Level Pushback on Federal Over-Reach?

State lawmakers try to halt health care changes

Lawmakers in eight states, only half of which are controlled entirely by Republicans, have filed proposals this year to ask voters to amend state constitutions to prohibit what they bill as restrictions on a person's freedom to choose a private health care plan, mandatory participation in any given plan and penalties for declining coverage. Similar measures were considered in two other states, though they wouldn't have been decided by voters. And lawmakers in three other states say they plan to file similar ballot proposals in the coming months.

Another 9-12 March Video

PLUS - Conservatives rally in D.C.

Power To The People

A tad dramatic but still good!

Message: Never underestimate the Will of the American People.

Of course, my husband finds this terribly offensive but I think most Americans do not see this as equating Obamacare with Hitler so much as what I believe the intended message is - equating the American People's willingness to fight for their personal liberty with the anti-big-government movement. But everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Looking For A Headcount

We know that roughly 10,000 people signed up for today's TEA Party protest on Washington DC. But there's no official headcount yet.

Estimates range from thousands to tens of thousands but I find this post here quite compelling.

An unnamed Fox news reporter told some attendees that there were 50 people per second marching down Pennsylvania Avenue for 2 and a half hours, plus some stragglers for another 45 minutes, at about 20 people per second. This translates to about 500,000 people in the march, headed for the Capitol lawn.

Currently the DC Police website has nothing up regarding this event, here.

More Great TEA Party Protest

THE website to follow today's TEA Party Protest in DC from FreedomWorks - Follow the March on DC From Home. Then visit their homepage and donate so we can keep up the fight against ALL these terrible tax policies!

VermontTiger has some new pictures up. This protest is HUGE. Where the heck is the media? Oh right.

Loud 9/12 protest reaches the Capitol We're loud. We're proud. And we're not paying any more!

Big Crowds In DC - Pics Rolling In

Wow! Thousands Gather In D.C. To Protest Health Care - How Will The Media Ignore This?

9/12 DC Style This site is heavily linked (excellent) and gives you the twitter hashtags.

Good News Everybody (uh-oh Prof. Farnsworth!)

Obama Adviser: High unemployment for years.

The president’s chief economic adviser warned Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate could stay “unacceptably high” for years to come — a situation that would seriously complicate Barack Obama’s ability to convince Americans that he’s beating back the recession.

“The level of unemployment is unacceptably high,” National Economic Council Director Larry Summers said Friday. “And will, by all forecasts, remain unacceptably high for a number of years.”

You know, this should come as no surprise but the newspapers are so desperate for Obama to succeed (else they must realize their own culpility) that they fudge to outright lie about the US economy in order to make Obama look good. The pain is spread everywhere and when 1/2 a million Americans apply for unemployment for the first time EVERY WEEK, the economy is in trouble!