My wish is your command

Is considering an initiative to advance their immigration agenda without, oh, say, having to consult that pesky Congress:

With Congress gridlocked on an immigration bill, the Obama administration is considering using a back door to stop deporting many illegal immigrants – what a draft government memo said could be “a non-legislative version of amnesty.”

The memo, addressed to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas and written by four agency staffers, lists tools it says the administration has to “reduce the threat of removal” for many illegal immigrants who have run afoul of immigration authorities.

“In the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, USCIS can extend benefits and/or protections to many individuals and groups by issuing new guidance and regulations, exercising discretion with regard to parole-in-place, deferred action and the issuance of Notices to Appear,” the staffers wrote in the memo, which was obtained by Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican.

The memo suggests that in-depth discussions have occurred on how to keep many illegal immigrants in the country, which would be at least a temporary alternative to the proposals Democrats in Congress have made to legalize illegal immigrants.

Mr. Grassley said it confirms his fears that the administration is trying an end-run around Congress.

Remember when it was en vogue to criticize Boooooooooooosh! for being a fascist dictatorial leader who was intent on Shredding! the Constitution?  I wonder why we’re not hearing that same uproar from the usual suspects over this?  Just askin’…

Oh, and, remember how the same eeeevollll despot wanted to invade everyone’s privacy?  Well, it seems that along with the other Boooooooooosh! policies he has quietly kept in place, or expanded, his Imperial benevolence, Lord Obamus, has decided the FBI shouldn’t need to consult the court in order to access internet records of individuals activities and contacts:

The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.

The administration wants to add just four words — “electronic communication transactional records” — to a list of items that the law says the FBI may demand without a judge’s approval. Government lawyers say this category of information includes the addresses to which an Internet user sends e-mail; the times and dates e-mail was sent and received; and possibly a user’s browser history. It does not include, the lawyers hasten to point out, the “content” of e-mail or other Internet communication.

*Whew* That’s a relief. At least they’re not looking to read the actual text of our private communications-yet; I guess that will come in the next increment of “progress”

This must be more of that New Kind of Politics!, or maybe the Transparency! Obama spoke about during campaign 2008.  Just Words?!?  Well, you make the call.

I won’t go into the wonky details, but according to my lovely wife the ADA, records such as these can already easily obtained by order of a judge very quickly just by showing that they’re needed as part of an ongoing investigation.  So neither of us can understand the need to circumvent the usual judiciary.  So while we can all agree on the validity of combatting terrorism, it seems to me at least that there is already an efficient method in place to get this very information, by simply talking to a judge.  But as always, YMMV.

New.Kind.of.Politics…

Change! you can believe in…

Just keep repeating that mantra; you know, for the hope !

Update:  According to White House spokes-nozzle Robert Gibbs, Obama doesn’t even support amnesty, let alone have any secret plan for using regulatory measures to effectively allow it.  Sure he doesn’t Bobby, sure…I believe you.  I also still put teeth under my pillow so I can be reimbursed by the tooth fairy, and send my wish Christmas lists to Santy Claus each year.

Do you believe him kind reader?  I mean, if you do I have a friend who’s got a bitchin’ bridge in Brooklyn he says he’ll part with cheap.  Let me know if you’re interested.

(Image courtesy of Moonbattery)

Though admittedly not as hurtful as when I found out that most F-14s at the boneyard would be shredded, in the interest of preventing the Iranians from getting parts for their small, but no less potentially threatening, complement of Tomcats via unscrupulous middlemen.

Still, seeing this image among those in this photo essay of “the boneyard” in Tuscon is like seeing one’s former love in a strange and unfamiliar setting.  But enough Drama…If you have time, check out the photo spread.  There are some fascinating vehicles there, from aircraft to space vehicles, stored in the desert where the conditions are the most conducive.

In the picture I can make out the aircraft’s tail codes, and, indeed, it was part of CVW-8, the air wing that my beloved VF-84 was part of.  But this particular Tomcat appears to have belonged to Fighting 31, the “Tomcatters”.  And that’s about all I can say, except that I presume this is an F-14D.

Oh, and that even wrapped in protective plastic, she is still a sight for these sore eyes…

“Hey baby, it’s been a long time…The years have definitely been good to you, because you’re as beautiful as ever...”

(H/T NeptunusLex)

Douchebags hardest hit

At least, in Israel.

JERUSALEM – Lying for sex. It happens all the time.

Yet a married Palestinian man has been ordered jailed for 18 months for having sex with an Israeli woman after giving her the impression he too was Jewish, as well as single and interested in a relationship.

His conviction of “rape by deception” has drawn charges of racism and questions about whether courts should be delving into this fraught topic.

Saber Qashor, a 30-year-old father of two, says he was approached by the woman in September 2008 on a downtown Jerusalem street where he had parked his motorcycle, and introduced himself as “Dudu,” a common Israeli Jewish nickname.

Within half an hour they were having sex in a Jerusalem office building stairwell.
[empasis-ed.]

Within a half hour !?! What was she thinking?  That this was an episode of “Big Brother”, or an MTV reality show?  Either this dude, Dudu, is the smoothest guy in the known universe, armed with a golden pick-up line, or, well…

I won’t go there.

But the Judge in the case saw matters, er, clearly

“If she hadn’t thought the accused was a single Jewish man interested in a serious romantic relationship, she would not have cooperated,” Judge Zvi Segal wrote in sentencing Qashor.  The court must protect the public from “sophisticated and slick-tongued criminals who would lead innocent victims astray, at the unbearable price of the sanctity of their bodies and souls.”

“Innocent victims”… Ones who “cooperate” 30 minutes later in an office building stairwell.  Well, the judge’s pronouncement is a construct that should cause sphincter tightening and member shrinkage in singles-bar-sharks everywhere.  Because it could soon be coming to a place near you.

A bill before the Massachusetts state legislature would target those who employ deceit — and not just physical force — to engage in sex. But it’s aimed at sociopaths, not people who falsely boast of being doctors or sports stars, says its sponsor, Rep. Peter Koutoujian.

Massachusetts…Will there be a Kennedy exemption, I wonder?  And, how long before other deep-blue states pass similar laws?  It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if NOW forced this into the national Democratic platform.

So, just to recap, real Tort reform is out of bounds, the SEC no longer has to honor FOIA requests, Massachusetts has passed a law subordinating the choice of that states voters to the winner of the national popular vote, and they may make lying for conquest illegal…

All I can say is young men better start taking certified copies of their CV with them to the club.  And, if by some chance they find themselves in a courtroom, accused of a similar offense, where a judge is questioning them as to their intentions, remember the legal wisdom once proferred by Redd Foxx when in a similar situation:

“Your honor, I never promised that woman I’d take her to Florida; I just said I was goin’ to tampa with her …”

Sage, indeed.

Safely back into the Democrat fold, where they really belong anyway, right?  I apologize, dear reader, for seemingly obsessing over this like AllahP over Meghan McCain, but the smarminess of this ploy, the gall, the willingness to further diminish and debase of the Presidency is firmly stuck in my craw.

Unlike most guests who come to ABC’s “The View,” President Obama does not have a new movie, album or reality show to promote.

Instead, he’s promoting himself and his agenda, sitting in the hot seat of the daytime talk show in an effort, once again, to go beyond the traditional media filter and speak directly to the American people, especially women.

Obama’s Thursday appearance was taped today and will be his third on the show. It is his first as president — indeed it is the first appearance of any sitting president on a daytime TV talk show.

So why sit down with “The View’s” feisty and opinionated five hosts in the first place?

On Tuesday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the decision was made to put the president on “The View” because it provides an opportunity “to talk to people where they are.”

The president’s approval ratings have hit new lows, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Nearly six in 10 Americans say they lack confidence in the president to make the right decisions for the country, and a majority doubts his handling of the economy.

The ABC daytime program is unique because it is hosted by five women and its audience skews heavily female — a voting group that has trended Democrat and went for Obama 56-43 over Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the 2008 presidential election.

As Obama’s overall approval ratings have dropped, he also has lost support from women, from a high of 72 percent support in February 2009 when he was still glowing from the presidential campaign and inauguration to an approval of 51 percent today.

So even ABC’s own site doesn’t attempt to sugar coat the President’s purely political ploy.  My favorite line?  The one that characterized the show’s hosts as “5 feisty and opinionated women”.  Puh-leez.  It’s more like 4 uber-libs and a token conservative.  Based on their own words it is crystal clear that the only thing the Obama bunch really values about women are their potential votes, and they believe that to earn them all they need to do is have O! get his “Mack” on

Jessica Coen, editor of Jezebel.com, a popular website aimed at women, sees “The View” appearance as a prime opportunity for Obama to show some personality and “lay on the charm,” which she feels has been in short supply given recent challenges.

“You go on ‘The View’ and you sit Obama down with these women and some of them may fawn on him; some may not. But either way he’s going to be charming,” said Coen. “The target audience for ‘The View’ is going to appreciate and be reminded of Barack Obama’s personality when he goes out here.” [emphasis-ed.]

O.M.G…In all my years of flying high performance fighters I never needed a barf bag; certainly not like I do now, after reading these passages.

And furthermore, I’d like to stress to the women out there that Barack Obama, and the Democrat party, believes that his good looks, demeanor, personality, and charm trump, you know, actual issues with you all.  That women don’t really worry their pretty little heads about issues, fiddle-dee-dee; why pesky thinking might give you the vapors, a migraine, and cause wrinkles !  No, what truly, and completely, influences women voters is simply how “smooth” a politician comes off.  Hah!, if that were so, Billy Dee Williams would have been the first black President 25 years ago…

The Financial times sees through the charade to the underying political play.

When Barack Obama appears on Thursday on the homey set of The View, all couches and coffee cups, he can expect laughs and soft questions from “the ladies” – led by television mavens Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg.

Mr Obama’s administration, facing dismal marks even from friendly pollsters, is making a new push to talk to Middle America, trying to recapture some of his old campaign magic before November’s midterm Congressional elections. And all without having to go through the pesky medium of the White House press corps.

Hence the new drive to present Mr Obama as a regular guy, sitting on a couch talking about his daughters with a bunch of moms. Before heading to the studio for the show’s taping on Wednesday he visited the Tastee Sub Shop in New Jersey, another high-calorie photo opp for a president once derided for his penchant for arugula (rocket).

All this is aimed at reminding voters why they turned out in droves for the man who promised change in 2008, and encouraging them to do the same in the less-glamorous midterms.

But his recent attempts to connect with the public have simply served to underscore the extent to which the shine has come off Mr Obama’s halo.

I hope that it’s really true, that folks are seeing through this entire act, and won’t be bamboozled again.  Especially American women.  As usual, I fall back on my customary thought experiment; what if a prominent conservative blatantly bypassed the traditional media outlets and made an appearance on a daytime show, fielding only softball questions, openly believeing that his charm and good looks alone could sway substantial numbers of female voters?  Can you imaging the white hot OUTRAGE!?!?  And when is the press corps going to finally get tired of being blown off by this guy, and get wise to the fact that he played them like useful idiots; the role Democrats have seen the press as fulfilling for years.

This episode not only reveals the low opinion that Democrats have for women, but the shameless pandering that’s inherent to their identity politics; and in this instance all the panderer-in-chief is offering is his charisma!  I only hope that few are swayed.

And I’ll get down off my soapbox now, and let you tell me what you think.

Illustration courtesy of Fox news

Will preclude the President from speaking at the Boy Scouts of America’s jamboree; an event that coincides with that group’s milestone 100th anniversary.

President Obama will make history as the first sitting president on a daytime talk show when he visits with the ladies of “The View.” But he’ll be missing out on another historic occasion — the Boy Scouts’ Jamboree marking the group’s 100th anniversary, right in the president’s backyard. 

But the president will instead be traveling Wednesday to New York for a taping of the ABC show, as well as Democratic fundraisers and a stop in New Jersey. The talk show appearance comes as campaign season moves into full swing, but also amid efforts to cap the Gulf oil spill for good, contain the damage from an unprecedented leak of Afghanistan war documents and battle Arizona over its immigration law — set to go into effect Thursday. Obama also has an out-of-town event planned for Friday in Detroit. 

Every president is typically invited, though not all are able to attend. Obama’s three predecessors each made it to one Jamboree in person. President George W. Bush spoke in 2005, President Bill Clinton in 1997 and President George H.W. Bush in 1989.

I mean, I guess one really can’t be too hard on the President for standing up the Boy Scouts in favor of more pressing business; getting some face time on “The View” without the inconvenience of facing, you know, actual reporters and spending some time in a toney uptown Manhattan salon collecting big bucks from fat-cat uber-libs.  A man’s got to have his priorities in order, know what I mean?

And, I mean, then there’s the optics of the whole dealio.  Conventional wisdom on the left is that the Boy Scouts are basically homophobic, quasi religious, ultranationalist, fly-over country rubes; kind of a bumpkin brownshirt jugend in their opinions.  They’re not cosmopolitan, tolerant or transnational enough I guess, even though, in reality, they are a multi-national organization.  But facts are stubborn things, so it’s not surprising that at a time when he’s struggling to energize his liberal base to see Mr. Obama conveniently find other things to do, such as lining his pockets at a fundraiser;  and certainly not be hangin’ with an organization who’s values seem diametrically opposed to the ideology of his political base.

Of course there are many, even some among his supporters, that question the dignity of the President appearing on a coffe clatch TV show like “The View”, and would prefer he stick to serious news programs instead; cue “fast Eddie” Rendell:

“I think the president should be accessible, should answer questions that aren’t pre-screened, but I think there should be a little bit of dignity to the presidency,” Rendell told MSNBC, at one point comparing “The View” to “The Jerry Springer Show.”

This isn’t the first time I’ve been inclined to agree with fast Eddie.  But in my humble opinion, dear reader, Mr. Obama gave up his dignity long ago.  What do you think?

It turns out that the same reports that people keep saying reveal nothig new, provide no big surprise to Americans who’ve been keeping up with the news from the AF-Pak theater, or as Cap’n Ed keeps quipping, read Long War Journal, actually do contain some fresh revelations; the names of hundreds of people who are either cooperating with, or acting as informants for, US forces!

Hundreds of Afghan civilians who worked as informants for the U.S. military have been put at risk by WikiLeaks’ publication of more than 90,000 classified intelligence reports which name and in many cases locate the individuals, The Times newspaper reported Wednesday.

The article says, in spite of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s claim that sensitive information had been removed from the leaked documents, that reporters scanning the reports for just a couple hours found hundreds of Afghan names mentioned as aiding the U.S.-led war effort.

One specific example cited by the paper is a report on an interview conducted by military officers of a potential Taliban defector. The militant is named, along with his father and the village in which they live.

“The leaks certainly have put in real risk and danger the lives and integrity of many Afghans,” a senior official at the Afghan foreign ministry told The Times on condition of anonymity. “The U.S. is both morally and legally responsible for any harm that the leaks might cause to the individuals, particularly those who have been named. It will further limit the U.S./international access to the uncensored views of Afghans.”

One former intelligence official told the paper that the Taliban could launch revenge attacks on “traitors” in the coming days.  [emphasis-ed.]

Well, this is sure going to make it hard to recruit people to take the places of those “outed”, eh?  Not only because their names might be printed in a newspaper somewhere, rendering them ineffective anyway, but because of, er, peer pressure; you know, the fact that they’ll probably be effin’ killled!  That’s some reward for sticking their necks out to help US forces, especially when the Taliban already thinks it can outwait us until next summer when Obama will begin ordering the troop withdraws in order to fight a more important battle; with the Rethugs! during campaign 2012…

But, Mr. Obama is not the focus of my anger today, especially after reading this story.  No, that is reserved for Bradley Manning, the “inside” source for the leaks; just what the heck was he thinking anyway?  Clearly this is treason.  He violated his oath, and needs to spend the rest of his days at Fort Leavenworth where the other inmates can constantly “remind him” of the especially loathesome nature of this traitorous act. YMMV.

My very special, white hot, OUTRAGE! though is reserved for that asshat Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks.  Because, as Cap’n Ed points out, although Manning provided the information, Assange is the one who chose to publish it.  And his cheap publicity stunt will effectively become a death sentance for Afghan collaborators.  This piece of sh*t will have the blood of any and all victims of Taliban reprisals on his hands, as well as of the US troops killed in the future due to the local’s reluctance to  step forward and cooperate.

Of course, this weasel is worried about his own skin:

Julian Assange, the Australian founder of Wikileaks, has said he has been warned by “inside sources in the White House” not to return to the US as he could be arrested.

Yeah…Inside the White House.  If this putz wasn’t such a weasel, I might be able to get a little h8te going over that statement.  Too bad “the company” doesn’t specialize in “wet work” anymore.  Maybe they can get a contractor to do the job.  Or maybe, just hack his site and put up a post declaring a new Mohhamed cartoon drawing contest…

That would surely get results.

Oh, pardon me, I mean mil-ah-tree air-croft, so sorry old man; as a pair of Harrier (pronounced, Hah-ree-ar, don’t you know) pilots here on an exchange program corrected me once.  And maybe they had a point, considering most of their ships are multi-role; what we would call Fighter/Attack in our armed forces. 

But, as the photo record confirms in this Daily Mail article confirms, don’t be fooled by the what may incorrectly percieve as a pretentious or condescending temperment among some British warriors, it’s merely a reflection of institutional insistence on precise verbage as well as gentlemanly reserve; these guys like to have fun as much as anybody else.  And, while this isn’t exactly Monty Python, whaddaya want?  Indeed, our Whizzo’s used to occasionally engage in amusing, and sometimes rude, signage as well.  But, you know, they weren’t busy driving the plane; pilots really only occasionally have time for a judiciously chosen, ahem, hand signal…

But I must point out a couple of errors in the body of the article.  First, the back seater in the Tornado is not simply the navigator.  Just like in our military aircraft, he is the Whizzo(WSO), or weapons systems operator; which is a combination navigator/weapons officer/flight engineer and works closely with the pilot to optimize the crew’s situational awareness at all times as well as the overall mission effectiveness.  The second, well, that would be their reference to Top Gun, which would be OK if they were only talking about the movie starring my beloved Tomcat; and I mean the F-14, not Tom Cruise.  No, the US NAVY Fighter Weapons School at NAS(now MCAS) Miramar in Sandy Eggo is properly referred to as “TOPGUN”; one word, all caps.

You know, since we want to be precise; like Mil-ah-tree Air-croft, eh what?  And not just because I want to pick at nits.

A preview of the President's appearance on "The View"

Is there anything I really need to, or can, add to this?

Photo courtesy of hackedirl

(H/T bh in the comments at Protein Wisdom)

A "hard-hitting" interview to be sure

Because, you know, he doesn’t have anything better to do…

ABC’s “The View” has welcomed many notable guests, but none more prominent than President Barack Obama, who is scheduled to visit for Thursday’s edition.

In making the announcement on Monday, executive producers Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie said this marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has visited a daytime talk show.

They said the majority of the hour will be devoted to Obama’s appearance, which will touch on topics including jobs, the economy, the Gulf oil spill and family life inside the White House. It is scheduled to tape on Wednesday.[emphasis-ed.]

Here’s an idea Mr. President, why don’t you spend some time, like, actually working on those challenges rather than stopping by the gaggle of 4 ultra-liberals and their token.  I mean, for a guy who decried Boooooooooooosh!, for being in perpetual campaign mode and “politicizing” various government agencies, during the seemingly never-ending 2008 campaign he sure seems to think he’s entitled to do so; as usual, it’s do as I say, and not as I do.

Sure, I can understand his desire to talk over the heads of the press corps, especially with “Recovery Summer” going sooooo well.  Also, there are serious questions about Afghanistan, and even the lastest scrum involving the knee-jerk dismissal of Shirley Sherrod that the fourth estate might like to explore.  Where better to evade such hard questions than on the view?  Instead, he can discuss the nuances of his summer vacations, all while not having to own the inconvenient truth that the first canine, Bo, flew to Maine separate from the family in high style on his own private jet!  I wonder what all of the unemployed, struggling to make their bills, think of that, or the Enviro-nazis that are wringing their hands over people using air conditioning?  Seems a bit, oh, out of touch with what most Americans are experiencing; another of Goebbles Axelrod’s campaign 2008 talkiing points.

Yes, it’s a golden opportunity for him too woo disgruntled low information voters with a one hour vapid Barack-show, where he can showcase his charisma and good looks, and the hosts can keep busy telling thier audience just how awesome and great Mr. Obama is.  No, no ones ever been too seriously injured by a softball pitch, and you can be sure that’s all he’ll be getting during the tongue bath “The View” ladies give him.

Is this galling any of you kind readers half as much as it’s galling me?  I’m just curious.  There is a silver lining, though, to all this; who really watches “The View” anyway ?  And, I wonder when the real press is going to get fed up with this guy?

This kind of gives another twist on Michael Ramirez’ cartoon commentary regarding the journolist revalations.   Maybe he can draw one that has “The View” ladies as part of O!’s protection detail.

FREEDOM!

Well I’m shocked, SHOCKED!, that O! would lie to the public about the regime’s role in this:

Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.

The intervention, which has angered US relatives of those who died in the attack, was made by Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US embassy in London, a week before Megrahi was freed in August last year on grounds that he had terminal cancer.

The document, acquired by a well-placed US source, threatens to undermine US President Barack Obama’s claim last week that all Americans were “surprised, disappointed and angry” to learn of Megrahi’s release.

Scottish ministers viewed the level of US resistance to compassionate release as “half-hearted” and a sign it would be accepted.

The US has tried to keep the letter secret, refusing to give permission to the Scottish authorities to publish it on the grounds it would prevent future “frank and open communications” with other governments.  [empahsis-es.]

High crimes and misdemeanors?  Maybe not, but can we call it the usual hypocritical rank dishonesty that we’ve grown used to with Obama?  Yes We Can!

Ace snarks:

But given the choice — jail or freedom — the White House chose… freeeeedommm!

Yeah…Too bad they don’t seem so committed to freedom here at home.

What do you think about this revoltin’ development, kind reader.  And what do you think your trust level for the Present-dent’s future palavering pronouncements will be?