This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden

  • Morales; US military behind Honduran coup

    Hugo Chavez’ poodle, Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia charged the US military with leading the removal of Honduran President Zelaya from his bed chambers two weeks ago, parroting the official Bolivarian party line from Chavez;

    “I have first-hand information that the empire, through the U.S. Southern Command, made the coup d’etat in Honduras,” President Morales said during a visit to the Uruguayan capital Montevideo.

    The coup that saw Honduran President Manuel Zelaya swept up by the military on June 28 in his pajamas and expelled from the country “is an aggression, a provocation of the empire,” he added.

    “Maybe I do not know Obama, but the imperial structure remains in force.”

    Meanwhile Chavez has ramped up his anti-US rhetoric warning that he has information on other planned coups in the region in EL Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. All of that gladhanding and smooching Obama did with Chavez got him this statement (quoted by El Universal);

    “Obama is not going to trick us with an ambiguous discourse or with a smile (…) Zelaya will return to his country (…) The process of change in Latin America is not going to stop, President Obama. You can send the Fourth Fleet and the Sixth Fleet, but changes will not end.”

    The commie Chavez worshipers at Venezuelanalysis provide us with this quote from Hugo;

    “Don’t deceive the world with a discourse that contradicts your actions,” he warned Obama, “demonstrate that it’s true that you are disposed to confront the imperialist hawks, if not, its better that you go away, because you will end up worse than Bush.”

    This is the result of hugging dictators and thugs. The more Obama lets them bully him, the more they’ll bully him.

  • Clinton to NY; Drop Dead

    New York State propelled Hillary Clinton into politics by forsaking every other qualified New Yorker for a Semate seat. The former First Lady, who had never lived in the State before her election, repaid those folks today.

    Six months into her tenure as secretary of state she has suddenly exempted diplomats from paying some property taxes here.

    “It is totally unfair,” [NYC Mayor Michael] Bloomberg said.

    The mayor said it’s not only a double cross but a double flip flop. As New York’s junior senator, Clinton fought to make diplomats pay up. And he said her reversal changes a longstanding policy.

    “Since 1873 they’ve been saying this is taxable,” Bloomberg said.

    What’s more, the mayor predicted that — freed of paying property taxes — some governments would see it as a business opportunity to buy up properties and make money renting them out.

    “It’s just patently unfair to New Yorkers and Americans and it contravenes established policy for 130-odd years and it just doesn’t make sense,” Bloomberg said.

    Again, with the Obama Administration, Americans, who are looking at higher taxes, take a back seat while the clowns in Washington suck up at light speed.

  • More Carter Culture in the White House

    This morning the Washington Post, eager to rewrite history and trumpet Our Lord, Barack Obama in article they titled “In West Wing: Grueling Schedules, Bleary Eyes“, all they did for me was recall the Carter years;

    All West Wings face fatigue at some point, but the Obama team has had a particularly frenetic start, the result of inheriting the worse economic crisis since the Great Depression and the team’s own seemingly chaotic drive to push an agenda that includes the creation of a new health insurance system, auto bailouts, Middle East peace, nuclear nonproliferation, two wars and education reform.

    Political Washington has long fostered a workaholic culture, the expectation that the rewards of service on the big stage of national government come with 18-hour, on-call days. But even the most hardy of Obama’s staff members are beginning to recognize the toll that the pace is taking.

    We heard the same stories from the Carter Administration. Jimmy Carter and his staff worked endless hours spinning their wheels and coming up with idiot speeches and proposals that they never implemented. I guess it’s hard work trying to change our political system into something it wasn’t designed to be – a support group for morons.

    I also like how the Post blames the Bush Administration for Obama’s dilemma. We’ll probably hear that right up until the 2012 election – that’s why the Justice Department will be focusing on phony torture orders and phony “secret programs” just to keep the Evil Bush Administration (TM) in our collective consciousness as the culprit of all of our woes.

    See, here’s some advice for the Obama Administration if they want to get some rest – stop what you’re doing. You’re working too hard AGAINST the American people which is why you’re meeting stiff resistance for your idiot proposals. Try focusing on ONE thing at a time instead of trying to cram 100 years of European-style liberalism down our throats in one big gulp.

    Oh, and Washington Post, we’re on to you – you stop, too.

  • Media’s mental masturbation

    They’ve been running headlines like this one from the Washington Post;

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    The Post writes:

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  • Political campaigns as foreign policy

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    Well, I feel better, don’t you? The guy who makes weekly pronouncements about how he “created or saved” hundreds of thousands of jobs while the unemployment rate increases by hundreds of thousands of jobs lost reassures the world. And then he impores the other leaders of the world to follow his plan (AP Link);

    Obama urged national leaders to unite behind a global recovery plan that includes stricter financial regulation and sustained stimulus spending.

    The short version; more regulation, more government spending, more taxes.

    The president rejected suggestions that the summit fell short of expectations by failing to call for tough new sanctions on Iran for its crackdown on democracy advocates after its disputed presidential election.

    “What we wanted is exactly what we got — a statement of unity and strong condemnation,” Obama said. He said the leaders’ declaration was even more significant because it included Russia, “which doesn’t make statements like that lightly.”

    How many statements of unity and strong condemnations have there been in the last few years? Did human history begin on January 20th, 2009? All history before that date doesn’t count? North Korea is launching missiles like bottle rockets, the Islamic Republic’s police are beating the snot out of everyone on the street (when they’re not shooting them or hanging them). And that “Russia doesn’t make statements like that lightly” line should have been made on his knees with his face buried in Putin’s shorts.

    Is he saying the whole rest of the world DOES make statements lightly? Thanks, allies, now get behind Russia – everyone who does things to the detriment of the US and our security seems to get a seat in front. Screw the rest of them.

    Just like Obama’s political campaigns. Blacks, Hispanics, unions, gays, the traditional Democrat voters – get tossed aside so he can woo the folks who don’t want to vote for him. When Obama goes overseas, American interests and those of our allies get tossed aside so he can woo the thugs. Remind you of anyone?

    Read my post at my Latin American politics blog, Tall & Rich, for another example of our current poor foreign policy.

  • Nuclear Russian roulette

    Earlier this week President Obama signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia proudly claiming it’s benefits. He stopped just short of waving the treaty and pronouncing “peace in our time”. This morning in the Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer writes;

    Obama says that his START will be a great boon, setting an example to enable us to better pressure North Korea and Iran to give up their nuclear programs. That a man of Obama’s intelligence can believe such nonsense is beyond comprehension. There is not a shred of evidence that cuts by the great powers — the INF treaty, START I, the Treaty of Moscow (2002) — induced the curtailment of anyone’s programs. Moammar Gaddafi gave up his nukes the week we pulled Saddam Hussein out of his spider hole. No treaty involved. The very notion that Kim Jong Il or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will suddenly abjure nukes because of yet another U.S.-Russian treaty is comical.

    Wasting no time to prove that his treaty with Russia will do no such thing, today Obama set a final deadline for the Islamic Republic to provide a bit of transparency on it’s nuclear program according to the Washington Times;

    On Iran, Mr. Obama raised expectations for a September international summit in Pittsburgh, saying the invited nations will take stock of whether Iran has complied with international demands over its nuclear programs. He also denied reports that Washington tried but failed to achieve agreement on new sanctions here, saying the statement was what he wanted.

    “It provides a time frame,” Mr. Obama said. “If Iran chooses not to walk through that door, then you have on record the G-8 to begin with, but I think potentially a lot of other countries, that are going to say we need to take further steps.”

    Further steps? More deadlines that Iran will ignore? Actually, I think the Obama Administration and Old Europe are hoping Israel will strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities and bomb them into dust as Joe Biden hinted earlier in the week. That would free them up from making any tough decisions. The same tactic Old Europe used in regards to Iraq – sit on their hands until someone else does what needs to be done, and then condemn the one one who had the guts to act. That way they’re absolved of having to act in a politically unpopular manner.

    Obama’s random deadlines and imprecise brow beatings just make it more likely that Israel is going to get tired of the Old World’s procrastination.

    So now that there’s no George Bush to save the world from itself, Israel has to step up and be the man among children – and then take their lumps in the form of stern rebukes from the UN’s General Assembly.

  • Tankerbabe and other news

    Tankerbabe has a real cool story to tell you about a guitar. You need to read it. She emailed the story around a few weeks ago, but it hasn’t lost it’s luster when I read it again this morning.

    Something going around and showing up in my inbox is a story about Joe Biden’s speech to 200 new citizens who also happened to be military members and assigned to units currently deployed to Iraq.

    “As corny as it sounds,” he told the troops, “Damn, I’m proud to be an American!”

    Knowledge Is Power has pretty good response from DougM. (Hat tip to Chuck)

    Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley tells a constituent that if they want good health care, they should work for the government…and eat cake, too, I suppose;

    I don’t know why anyone thinks government employees’ health care is so good, by the way. There are a bunch of plans and if you want to pay a lot, you can get a great plan – I’ve had better and cheaper plans from civilian employers. I get the impression that everyone thinks government employees get free health care or something.

    Stars and Stripes reports that tourism is “booming” in Iraq. S&S also does a story about the 3rd Infantry Division “wargaming” the withdrawal from Iraq.

    Michelle Malkin started the story about fallen soldier Aaron Masters, Twitter spread it, and now Fox News writes about him.

    This isn’t news, but the price of oil fell again – just like it falls every year after the 4th of July – and every year, for some reason, it’s news.

    And this is just funny from Genghis at Ace of Spades.

    I’m actually working on something that’s pretty complicated and it won’t be up for awhile yet, so I threw these links together so everyone didn’t think I was in the stupid hospital again.

  • Zelaya heads home to Honduras (Updated 3x)

    Scroll for UPDATES.

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    A few minutes ago, Manuel Zelaya, the ousted President of Honduras, headed back to Honduras on a Venzuelan (surprise!) jet, according to the Associated Press. The Constitutional President, Roberto Micheletti, has instructed the Honduran military to prevent the jet from landing with the former president.

    Thousands of protesters descended on the airport in the Honduran capital in anticipation of the showdown, some of them pressing against several hundred soldiers with riot shields. Police helicopters hovered overhead, and commercial flights were canceled.

    Micheletti also alleged that Nicaragua is moving troops to their border in an attempt at psychological intimidation, and warned them not to cross into Honduras, “because we’re ready to defend our border.”

    Zelaya is flying back to Honduras on a Venezuelan jet, the Nicaraguan army is on Honduras’ border, and where is our President? I guess he’s taking his instructions from Daniel Ortega these days;

    Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega called on the White House to hold firm against Honduras coup.

    Ortega recalled that after two months as president, Barack Obama suspended all form of cooperation with the de facto government in Madagascar.

    The least we can expect of Obama is to act with the same firmness now, he pointed out.

    The Sandinista leader told pres that the struggle against the coup continues, seeking the reestablishment of constitutional order through the return of President Manuel Zelaya to complete his mandate.

    From El Universal, my Calle J translation;

    The director of Civil Aeronautics of Honduras, Alfredo San Martin, assured the media today that the airplane that transports the demoted president of Honduras Manuel Zelaya from Washington [DC] will land in El Salvador because it does not have authorization to land in Honduran territory. San Martin indicated to the press that, because of the refusal of the Honduran authorities, the plane ” was turned aside to El Salvador, and will not land in Tegucigalpa”.

    The Honduran chancellor, Enrique Ortez, among others announced that his Government would not allow the landing of the airplane of Zelaya, reasons, for ” prudence” , he indicated.

    So where, exactly, is our President? I guess he’s in his Russia mode and can’t switch back to American mode right now.

    UPDATE: Fausta confirms that Zelaya’s plane landed in El Salvador and Honduran police have allowed protesters pass onto the airport after they promised not to commit any acts of violence.

    UPDATE: Noticias 24 reports that Zelaya’s plane is attempting to land in Honduras;

    The channel TeleSur reports that the airplane which President Zelaya has been flying over the Toncontín airport is unable to land due to the obstacles that the military placed.

    Vehicles of the troops were deployed along the runway, while helicopters flew over the airport to prevent the demoted president of Honduras from landing.

    The pilot of the airplane, in a contact with Telesur, indicated that they requested the authorization to land but it was not granted to them, threatening that they would intercept them.

    And to answer MD’s comment below;

    Zelaya, from the airplane, called for the President of the US, Barack Obama to take a firmer position in the conflict and to collaborate to speed his return to the power.

    President Chávez, minutes later, made the same plea and said that “there is no longer any doubt that the “gorilla government” [he said “gorilla” not “guerrilla” and he refers to the new Honduran government] had the support of the North American Empire”.

    Why would Chavez and Zelaya want US intervention if they weren’t already assured of the outcome.

    UPDATE: BBC reports at least one dead at the airport in clashes with the police.