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

Category: Usual Suspects

  • DoD is an air taxi for elitists

    I know you’ve all read about the EIGHT jets that Congress wanted the Depart of Defense to buy for the sole purpose of making travel more convenient for our betters in the House of Representatives, while we scurry around looking for those nebulous jobs they’ve created for us on public transportation. Well, the outcry seems to be hitting home, according to the Wall Street Journal;

    “The whole thing kind of makes me sick to my stomach,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) in an interview Sunday. “It is evidence that some of the cynicism about Washington is well placed — that people get out of touch and they spend money like it’s Monopoly money.”

    “Some of the cynicism”? Seriously? Gee, ya think?

    Lawmakers who support funding for the planes say the move would save the government money down the road because the new planes are less expensive to operate than the older planes, some of which are now grounded.

    “The key here is not whether or not planes will be bought, it’s when planes will be bought,” said Ellis Brachman, a spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee….

    The Pentagon even said they don’t want the extra planes, but Congress is cramming it down their throat. Brachman continued;

    He has said the planes are predominately used by the military, with roughly 15% of the Air Force’s passenger flights dedicated to congressional travel.

    Then why is Congress forcing DoD to buy twice the number they need?

    As far as saving money for the tax payer, the only way that could happen is if they packed the planes with Congress and flew them to the Kodiak Archipelago on a one way flight.

  • McCaskill constituent event canceled for “safety concerns”

    1CavRVN11B sent me a link to St Louis Today in which they announced that a Claire McCaskill event was canceled there by the school which was to be the venue due to safety concerns;

    A day after a Russ Carnahan event led to the arrests of five participants and a reporter, University City High School — where U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill was set to hold a similar event on Tuesday– announced that the forum has been canceled.

    The school district sent a news release this afternoon stating that the “reasons for the cancellation by the school district are due to concerns for the safety and security of its staff, community members attending the event, and for the students who would be on campus during that time.”

    There is no word on whether McCaskill will find a new venue or keep a second town hall forum scheduled for later the same day in Jefferson County.

    Well, you know what’s funny, Gateway Pundit went to a rally today to protest the Service Employees International Union for beating a man who waqs peacefully handing out Gadsden flags. The SEIU didn’t show up and there was no violence.

    Imagine that. No thugs, no thuggery.

  • Our mob is good; your mob is bad

    DrewM at Ace of Spades and our buddy DanNY at Gathering of Eagles NY posted this video from the Democratic National Committee decrying the “well-funded Right Wing mobs” who’ve been heckling Democrats.

    In my inbox this afternoon, I get this email from the President;

    There are those who profit from the status quo, or see this debate as a political game, and they will stop at nothing to block reform. They are filling the airwaves and the internet with outrageous falsehoods to scare people into opposing change. And some people, not surprisingly, are getting pretty nervous. So we’ve got to get out there, fight lies with truth, and set the record straight.

    That’s why Organizing for America is putting together thousands of events this month where you can reach out to neighbors, show your support, and make certain your members of Congress know that you’re counting on them to act.

    But these canvasses, town halls, and gatherings only make a difference if you turn up to knock on doors, share your views, and show your support.

    So I guess our mobs are bad, while theirs are good. I wonder what will happen when the mobs meet. I remember the union thugs in Philly a few years back beat a protester at a Clinton event. Since the Democrats rely heavily on unions for their “events” I can see the same thing happening again. Y’all watch out for those purple shirts.

    Oh, and that message was paid for with DNC funds, too.

  • Victor Agosto update

    According to preliminary reports, Victor Agosto, the Fort Hood soldier who refused to deploy to Afghanistan, was sentenced to 30 days confinement at his Special Court Martial today (Connect.Amarillo.com link);

    Spc. Victor Agosto of Miami was sentenced in an hour-long military-court hearing Wednesday at the Central Texas Army post. It was the maximum penalty specified under his plea agreement under his military prosecutors.

    The judge also reduced his rank to private, the lowest rank in the Army hierarchy.

    Agosto served in Iraq, but somehow linked that war to Afghanistan and decided he’d rather do jail time than deploy again after he was stop-lossed (he was scheduled to leave the service in August, I believe)

    Before he was sentenced Wednesday, Agosto told the judge he believes the war violates international law. He said, however, that courts haven’t recognized soldiers’ rights to refuse an order they deem illegal.

    I wonder if he bothered to tell the judge with international law the war violated.

    Actually, I’d hoped he would get a year or more – just because he had an idiot for a lawyer. His lawyer, the guy who until recently lived in his grand parents’ basement, called the owner of the IVAW/VFP/VVAW-connected Under the Hood Cafe operator Cynthia Thomas to testify for some reason.

    Before the trial, he was quoted by the Bryan College Station Eagle;

    Agosto said he was never mistreated by his fellow soldiers or superiors. Many troops have said they support him and flash him the peace sign, and even those who disagree with him still say they respect him, he said.

    “This whole experience has been pretty liberating,” Agosto said. And while he has been nervous at times, “it’s better than going to Afghanistan and serving in a war I don’t believe in.”

    Yup, being a criminal is always better than doing what you promised to do in the first place.

  • Questions about a middleclass tax hike

    A month ago, when asked about whether the Obama Administration wouold raise taxes on middle class Americans, Robert Gibbs said “We’re going to let the process work it’s way through” meaning no one was going to mention tax increases, but they weren’t off the table.

    This weekend, White House officials made it clear that tax hikes on the middleclass were inevitable.

    Yesterday, when asked about tike increases on families making over $250k, Gibbs said “The President won’t raise takes on those making more than $250,000”;

    So, of course, there probably won’t be tax hikes in the marginal tax rates, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to pay taxes on other things – like the $.51/pack tax hike on cigarettes earlier in the year. They could could take away the tax advantages of 401ks and IRAs (my biggest fear). Make no mistake, we’re going to start paying more in taxes by the end of this year. And it’ll probably be George Bush’s fault.

  • Left doesn’t like it’s own tactics

    At Ace of Spades, you can see videos of Kathleen Sebelius and the Senate’s newest Democrat Arlen Specter getting shouted down at a Townhall meeting and Lloyd Doggett getting a dose of Tea Partiers at his own town hall meeting.

    Well, Think Progress thinks they’ve found a “talking points memo” from Freedom Works that outlines ways to disrupt these townhall meetings. And they’re not happy about it. One commenter at Think Progress complained;
    (more…)

  • Dingy Harry stokes nirther passions

    Dingy Harry Reid apparently sees a way to lower Republican approval ratings – he brought up the birther controversy on the Senate floor for no good reason today according to The Hill;

    “Let’s be clear, it’s a phony issue and does not deserve even a minute of our attention on the floor of the United States Senate,” Reid said. “It’s absurd, irresponsible, baseless, and the false claims of long ago have been refuted … The American people should know that rather than helping them get ahead, some of my colleagues would rather spew ludicrous conspiracy theories.”

    Reid accused Republican lobbyists of orchestrating an attempt to discredit Obama by sending out fake letters purporting to be from minority groups. He did not name the groups specifically but called the acts “sick, dishonest and really undemocratic.”

    (more…)

  • Philly Panthers investigation halted

    perreli

    Last May I wrote that the DOJ had decided to not prosecute the three Philadelphia Black Panthers who were caught on tape intimidating voters last election day. The man in the picture above is Thomas J Pirrelli, the Obama Justice Department official who decided to drop the investigation against the Philadelphia Black Panthers. The Washington Times describes the time line of events;

    Front-line lawyers were in the final stages of completing that work when they were unexpectedly told by their superiors in late April to seek a delay after a meeting between political appointees and career supervisors, according to federal records and interviews. The delay was ordered by then-acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King after she discussed with Mr. Perrelli concerns about the case during one of their regular review meetings, according to the interviews. Ms. King, a career senior executive service official, had been named by President Obama in January to temporarily fill the vacant political position of assistant attorney general for civil rights while a permanent choice could be made. She and other career supervisors ultimately recommended dropping the case against two of the men and the party and seeking a restraining order against the one man who wielded a nightstick at the Philadelphia polling place. Mr. Perrelli approved that plan, officials said.

    The reason?

    Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler told The Washington Times that the department has an “ongoing obligation to be sure the claims it makes are supported by the facts and the law. She said that after a “thorough review of the complaint, top career attorneys in the Civil Rights Division determined the “facts and the law did not support pursuing the claims against three of the defendants.

    Well, sure, as long as you disregard the fact that the video on YouTube doesn’t exist. Who needs evidence when you can just pull excuses out of your ass. Correction; I just noticed that the video on YouTube has been pulled “due to terms of use violations”. Sweet. Apparently Winston Smith is on the job.