August « 2010

19Aug/101

What Mosque Supporters Won’t Say

They won't say that Israel has a right to exist. And they won't say that they'll reject money from Iran:

The developers of the Ground Zero mosque are refusing to flat out reject cash for the project from Holocaust-denying Iranian nuke nut Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“I can’t comment on that” was the reply of mosque spokesman Oz Sultan yesterday when asked specifically if the fund-raising would extend to Iran and Saudi Arabia. "We'll look at all available options within the United States to start."

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the leader of the project known as Park51, has said at meetings with downtown officials that he would raise money for the 13-story mosque from local Muslims, foundations and the sale of bonds.
But in an interview with a London-based Arab newspaper earlier this year, he admitted his fund-raising would also extend to Muslim nations around the world.

The possibility of tapping the radical rogue Islamic state of Iran for funds comes as the United States is stepping up sanctions on the regime in retaliation for its support of terrorism and what is feared to be an illegal nuclear-weapons development program.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday weighed in on the controversy, saying she wants to know about the funding for the mosque -- but also calling for a probe into funding for the project's opponents.

During an interview with a San Francisco radio station, Pelosi said opponents are trying to politicize the project. She told the station she wants to know: "How is this being ginned up?"

Sixteen thousand dollars for Imam Rauf to travel on his fundraising mission was provided by taxpayers, through the State Department. It's no wonder that Hillary hasn't weighed in, I guess.

Lefty church-state separation hawks could not be reached.

And check out this awe-inspiring rant from Juliette. [Correction: From Juliette's co-blogger King Shamus]!

via @justin_hart on Twitter.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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19Aug/102

Attn: Muslims of Ill-Intent

Enoch_Root

AKA. Bobby Donn Brubaker (the most popular man in Mesa, AZ), the Umbrella of Terror, Jack Ketch.

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19Aug/100

Mitsubishi Harbor Theme Park

An Artist's Rendition of USS Arizona Memorial sporting Mitsubishi logo and Rising Sun - Proposed "Mitsubishi Harbor Theme Park"

Q: What do you say to people who see the move to turn Pearl Harbor into a theme park as an unnecessary provocation of the sensibilities of the American Public?

A: We see the Theme Park as a great opportunity to promote product - at Mitsubishi we are always looking to promote the Brand. We do not seek in any way to offend. Quite the opposite, in fact. As good corporate citizens, we feel it is our obligation to bring attention to products of benefit to the marketplace.

Q: What do you make of the charge that Mitsubishi is the very last company - and Japan the very last nation - that should be looking to capitalize on the atrocities visited upon this nation?

A: We are not looking to capitalize on so-called atrocities. The location is incidental. And further, it cannot be said that all Mitsubishi employees - whether managers or otherwise - are culpable for the acts of the pilots and navy personnel of the past. Most are fun-loving people, in fact. It would be un-American to paint every one of them with too broad a brush. In fact, it would be tantamount to racism in our opinion. Xenophobic to be sure. Potentially racist. I think a better question is to ask who is funding the opposition to Mitsubishi Harbor.

Q: No doubt there will be legal challenges.

A: You are correct. But we are not breaking the law. Quite the opposite, in fact. We are taking every precaution to work within the law.

Q: Even so... is there anything to be said about having enough restraint and empathy for survivors and the memory of the victims? I mean just cause you can doesn't mean you should... What do you think of that?

A: As I have said. We have not, nor do we intend to run afoul of any law.

Q: That wasn't my question. It is hard not to see this as an idea that is in really bad taste.

A: Ha! We didn't build the bombers used in that attack. And anyway, the attack at Pearl Harbor was, at least in part, a response to American aggression.

Q: But you built and profited from the fighters used in the attack.

A: The A6M3 Zero was quite a machine, no doubt. And out ingenuity and engineering skills have not waned one bit since that time. In fact, we have redoubled our efforts to remain at the forefront in this respect.

Q: Why the Rising Sun flag? Why not a contemporary Japanese flag?

A: Good question. Well, we see it as a nod to the ... era. That is, it is important to preserve the integrity of that bygone era. Plus, many proud Japanese put their lives on the line that day. And a few lost their lives too.

Q: But the Rising Sun? It smacks of a certain militant and hostile period in the history of Japanese Imperialism.

A: No. No. No. We are a peaceful nation. Any one who looks at the history books with an open and objective mind sees that we prefer peace. It's just, ours is a small island... and, well, occasionally we do look for some elbow room. And, well, none can say America is innocent. Some might say she deserves what she gets. I mean, we aren't saying that... at least not publicly... but some might be thinking it. And, well, unless you are close-minded in general, it is hard to argue with the fact that you can't provoke a dog with a bone and not expect to get mauled. You know? And plus, let's face it, our product is superior and of benefit to all consumers. Even women.

Q: Erm.

Enoch_Root

AKA. Bobby Donn Brubaker (the most popular man in Mesa, AZ), the Umbrella of Terror, Jack Ketch.

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Filed under: Hypocrisy No Comments

18Aug/103

The Innocence of the People

Det. Dwight Hendricks, Memphis PD

So last night I was watching Memphis Beat (which, if you're not watching...you hate Elvis, BBQ, Beer and Guns.....and not necessarily in that order) and the story was about a corrupt politician (yes, I know what you're thinking, but that's not where this is going.) So....corrupt politician is taking kick backs, his soon to be son-in-law finds out and calls a reporter is going to expose corrupt politician's corruptedness. Then, soon to be son-in-law ends up dead the night before his wedding. Turns out....corrupt politician's daughter had him killed so he wouldn't expose her daddy's corruptedness. In the course of arresting her she says something that struck me and made me pay close attention. She says "Not just my daddy, but generations of my family have served this beautiful, complicated city that needs their protection. They have served the people of this city and I couldn't let Gary ruin that. There is something more noble than the truth....and that is the innocence of the People." Basically that the "People" can't handle the truth of politics. And that's probably true. We would all mostly like die of apoplectic fits if we knew all of what really goes on in our governments. Just the recent tsunami of sewage to come out of D.C. has been nearly enough to kill me, but I'm still breathing. I can handle it. And so can you ...I'm quite certain. The best disinfectant...is sunlight, my grandmother always said. We have witnessed members of our Congress accuse American Citizens of all kinds of vile things because we disagree with their policies and we've watched them twist themselves in knots trying to defend the indefensible. Ethics problems, kickbacks, wasteful wasteful spending, and it goes on and on. The Speaker of the House of Representatives more concerned about who is funding the opposition to the Ground Zero Mosque than who is funding the Mosque.

We are innocent no more. We no longer believe in "public servants". We don't believe they exist. We see them for what they are...power hungry, hypocritical lying jerkfaces. We no longer blindly listen and believe the spin flying out of politicians faces....even the ones we like.

We've grown up, we're making them take a position and then back it up with action. If we ask a question and get spin....we ask until they answer or get pissy and stomp off...either works for us I suppose.

It's sad sometimes when innocence is lost....I am not looking forward to the day when my niece and her brothers no longer believe in Santa or the Tooth Fairy or magic. But sometimes, the faster innocence is stripped away the better. We have been living in a fairy tale for too long...pretending we don't see what we see, and hear what we hear and that those who represent us in government really do represent US. We are innocent no more. Silent no more, and we see them for what they are. At first we didn't want to look, we were appalled and frightened by the truth...and that's okay, fear is a great motivator. Because now....now we fight back.

Dede

Sometimes stuff rumbles around in my brain that's longer than 140 characters and, well......twitlonger just seems like cheating. :)

Tagged as: innocence lost, jerkfaces, lying liars, memphis beat, Politics, power hungry, Santa Claus, tooth fairy 3 Comments

18Aug/105

RIP WorldNetDaily

Let me be clear, this post isn't about gay marriage.

Via The Daily Caller: World Net Daily drops Ann Coulter from conference over speech to gay conservative group.

Recently, gay conservative group, GOPROUD, announced Coulter would headline HomoCon next month in New York City. This announcement was a very big deal, but I don't see how anyone who actually knows anything about Ann Coulter could have been surprised. She's just cool like this. I hope Kathy Griffin doesn't find out about it. She'll have a stroke. DO NOT GO AND TELL KATHY GRIFFIN ABOUT THIS JUST SO SHE'LL HAVE A STROKE. That wouldn't be nice, and it would probably get her another Emmy.

Anyhoops, WorldNetDaily (yes, they still exist) is pissed. So pissed they've dropped Coulter from their shindig next month in Miami. That's right, they're punishing Coulter for hanging out with gays by disinviting her from their non-gay party in MIAMI (Miami is known for having lots of gay people). Why:

“Ultimately, as a matter of principle, it would not make sense for us to have Ann speak to a conference about ‘taking America back’ when she clearly does not recognize that the ideals to be espoused there simply do not include the radical and very ‘unconservative’ agenda represented by GOProud,” said WND Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah. “The drift of the conservative movement to a brand of materialistic libertarianism is one of the main reasons we planned this conference from the beginning.”

Under "What We Believe" GOPROUD's website states, "We are Republicans and conservatives who believe in limited government, individual liberty, free markets, a strong national defense and a confident foreign policy. We believe that every individual should be equal under the law."

Color me radical and unconservative. It's one thing to be against gay marriage. Many conservatives are against gay marriage for a variety of reasons, some of them are even related homosexuality. But WorldNetDaily seems to just be against gay people. Much like the Ground Zero Mosque (Park 51 hates it when you call it Ground Zero Mosque, so be sure to call it that every time), WorldNetDaily has every right to drop Ann Coulter for any stupid reason they want, and I still have the right to express my opinion that they are homophobic dinosaurs and big jerkfaces.

You know what I would do if I was a gay conservative? Keep my mouth shut. Who would want to deal with what they do? Unless you were a sincerely concerned, patriotic American that thought the hardship was worth it. I don't know if I would have the guts.

Hmm, I'd like to go into how great the gay conservatives I've gotten to know are, but there's no way to do it without sounding patronizing. Instead, I offer you a first hand account from my friend, Trev, reconciling his sexuality and his politics. Gaystapo be damned! And like all human beings, gay and straight, Trev has a lot of interests, including his important work as a griffin advocate.

(If I remember correctly, Trev is to the right of me on gay marriage. It's hard when conservatives aren't predictable isn't it?)

crossposted at KillTruck, Snark and Boobs

Kill Truck

KillTruck is a wife, mother, blogger and native midwesterner now living in Eastern Washington state. She writes about politics, pop culture, parenting, wifing and a few other subjects she has no authority to write about. She has macabre fascinations with prostitution and/or cannibalism. In her free time she enjoys eating and/or drinking her feelings, liveblogging Lifetime movies, thinking about Scott Brown and mocking things she doesn’t understand.

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Tagged as: ann coulter, goproud, homocon, worldnetdaily 5 Comments

18Aug/109

Nancy Pelosi Is Insane

I'm sure there will be news today, but it's hard to imagine that anything could possibly top Pelosi's call for an investigation into who's funding the outrage regarding the Ground Zero Mosque:

UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi reconfirms that she's insane.

Michelle Malkin catches her trying to cash in on Treasure Island.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Filed under: Too Lazy to Categorize 9 Comments

17Aug/100

No Sympathy for the Bawney

Remember that dweeb in Junior High who was always encouraging stupid people to break the rules, but who always weaseled out of complicity when called into the vice principal's office? That's our Bawney.

The guy who didn't know that a gay escort service was being run out of his basement, who slept with a Fannie/Freddie lobbyist, who doesn't know what pot smells like, tried to warn Maxine Waters that she shouldn't get directly involved in saving her husband's bank (because . . . BUSH!) because he could take care of it himself.

But she wouldn't listen. Wouldn't wisten to the voice of weason.

Even Reuters is coming around:

Geithner said the government needed to more clearly delineate its housing policy goals, separating efforts to provide affordable mortgages to most Americans from efforts to provide affordable housing for low-income Americans.

Fannie and Freddie both jumped into subprime mortgages during the housing boom in the early 2000s in an attempt to broaden home ownership -- with disastrous results.

Participants will include executives from Wells Fargo and Bank of America, as well as Bill Gross, the co-founder of bond-trading firm Pacific Investment Management Co,, and Lewis Ranieri, who helped develop the model for the private mortgage-backed securities market that was central to the housing bubble that burst in 2007-2008.

The conference occurs a day after U.S. homebuilder sentiment unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in August to its lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years, according to a survey that added to evidence of slowing economic recovery.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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17Aug/101

Sympathy for the Gibbsy

The guy makes my flesh creep, but I do feel for him a little.

After talking about the obtuseness of the far left, such luminaries as Alan Grayson called on Gibbs to resign. Lot's of people have written about it, but one thing I haven't seen (and please correct me if I'm wrong) is anybody connecting what Gibbs said to his earlier admission that Democrats might lose the House during the upcoming elections. Given all the trends, it seems very likely, and it's possible that they may lose control of the Senate, as well.

The result of his stating the obvious was hysterical denial on the far left. So, when Gibbsy says they need to get a grip, he's trying to prepare them for the all but inevitable. They don't like it, but then again, they've never much cared for reality.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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16Aug/103

On Mandatory Insurance

I can think of several ways of answering this question, given the context of what's in "Health Care Reform," but I'm more interested in hearing your responses to Jerry Wilson's question in his latest insurance post:

The argument in favor of such a law rests, among other items, on the basis of not placing an undue financial burden on one party carrying insurance by another not carrying insurance. This ultimately translates into an undue burden placed on the insurance providers, but it is more than a little doubtful this fact often enters the consideration.

In this light, what is the difference between mandating everyone who drives carry auto insurance and mandating everyone who breathes carry health insurance? Assume for a moment the purpose of mandatory auto insurance is avoiding an unfair financial burden being placed on those who carry insurance, thus are charged higher rates than would be the case if everyone had insurance. Why? To cover the expenses of those with no insurance.

Why, then, is this not applicable to health insurance?

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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16Aug/100

How Little Are We Feeling, Today?

I don't often post these, but here you go:

Unless you live in Vermont or are a Revolutionary War history enthusiast, you probably haven’t heard of Bennington Battle Day. It is a Vermont state holiday that commemorates the important Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777, a victory that helped to deplete British forces and supplies, and led to their eventual defeat at Saratoga. The battle actually occurred in New York, but was over weapons and munitions kept in Bennington.