Bemused

Today we learned that President Obama is "amused" when he hears people saying he should become involved in the debt crisis talks:

"If you know you have to do something, just do it. And I have to say, I am very amused when I start hearing comments about 'well the President needs to show more leadership on this.' Let me tell you something: Right after we finished dealing with the government shutdown, averting a government shutdown..."

Er, I mean averting a government shut down...

"...I called the leaders here together. I said we have to get this done,"

This guy doesn't see it as his responsibility? The trillion dollar spender, and he feels he is above it all? I thought he has been pitching that his TARP program, which itself gave the president a chuckle, saved the economy. No? Does he not contend that he needs to stay in office because he still has a lot of work to do?

Obama told Congress it is up to them and "they need to do their job."

Very amusing.

"Now's the time to go ahead and make the tough choices, that's why they're called leaders,"

Well, yes, some would contend that the president should consider himself a national leader.

Hmm.

Obama Caught With Thumb In The Pie... Again

Robert Stacy McCain, writing in The American Spectator, has uncovered a bit of skulduggery on the part of the president and his minions, this time on opening up the military to gays in yet another social experiment gone awry.

"The Pentagon IG's report on the leak, prepared in April, was recently obtained by the Center for Military Readiness (CMR), which opposed repeal of the DADT policy that had been implemented by President Clinton in 1993.

The IG report shows that the Pentagon study "was a publicly-funded, pre-scripted production put on just for show," Elaine Donnelly of the CMR said in a statement, adding: "The purpose of the contrived CRWG process was to neutralize military opposition to repeal of the law by manufacturing an illusion of support. The administration misused military personnel, resources, and facilities to help President Obama to deliver on political promises to gay activists at the expense of unknowing troops who became props in the pro-repeal campaign.""

The Democrats slipped it through December 22nd, during the lame duck session, largely on the basis that the people serving in our military did not oppose the change.

Misrepresentation is so often the case with this president. He has no care for the Republic, no care for the rule of law, and no care for the people he was elected to lead. I am embarrassed to admit this is our president. Distorting our governmental system to reach his ends is always the way with this man. It's a low down dirty shame.

- 'Moonstruck' Open Thread

What did you think?

Liberals Construe Thomas Admirer As An Ethics Complication

The libs over at the Huffington Post are all in a twitter over Clarence Thomas. It seems the New York Times has been trying to grind out an ethics violation accusation against the USSC’s only black judge, and they’ve gone to a great deal of effort to make up a case.

“A quaint historical museum in Pin Point, Georgia, that is set to open this fall has become the target of an exhaustive ethics examination by the New York Times. Why would the Times devote almost 3,000 words to a community heritage museum?”

Why indeed. This must be the stuff that Anthony Weiner was all in a lather about, until the semi-nude photos tweeted nationwide by the Weiner himself made the self-righteous accusations he was looking forward to impossibly awkward. Well, with all the problems of corruption in government, The Times has taken it upon themselves to make hay out of a museum built in honor of Justice Thomas. Shaken to your soul? Brace yourself, there’s more. Apparently an anonymous donor contributed to a library dedicated to Justice Thomas. The times was able to uncover the name of the person making the anonymous donation, and horror of horrors, it was a wealthy man who has long admired Justice Thomas.

There’s more that The Times has uncovered, of course. Apparently Judge Thomas was given the gift of a bible. My, that is troubling. More still? Oh yes, he also apparently was given... wait for it ... a bust of Abraham Lincoln. I am shocked, shocked I say, to learn of such malfeasance. Yes, the stench of corruption has soured our halls of justice.

It’s hard to say which is the more embarrassing, the New York Times or the Huffington Post.

It’s all one, I suppose.

TSA At It Again

The security threat on St. Patrick's Day.

Never one to rest on their laurels, the TSA is out demonstrating their crackerjack safety protocols with the pat down and diaper search of a 95 year old leukemia patient.

On her way to Michigan to be with family during the final stages of her fight against the disease, the frail, elderly woman was picked out for special additional screening. The woman's daughter, Jean Weber, related the episode:

“It’s something I couldn’t imagine happening on American soil,” Weber said Friday. “Here is my mother, 95 years old, 105 pounds, barely able to stand, and then this.”

Sari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Miami, said

“The TSA works with passengers to resolve any security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner”

Fair enough, but in the future I insist you submit yourself to a simulacast pat down while making your heartfelt statements to the press, just to communicate to the public your deep, shared sense of commitment to the pat down program.

Weber’s mother entered the airport’s security checkpoint in a wheelchair because she was not stable enough to walk through, Weber said.

Wheelchairs trigger certain protocols, including pat-downs and possible swabbing for explosives, Koshetz said.

“During any part of the process, if there is an alarm, then we have to resolve that alarm,” she said.

Alarms should be going off all right, but they should be the ones in your head that warn you when you are doing something indefensibly asinine. You are clearly working with a protocol that places no value on human judgment, that holds the unsupportable view that searching every conceivable person will not degrade the effectiveness of your searches, and are working with a bunch of dolts who are no more likely to make the nation safe by their pathetically pointless searches then they are to generate a workable Grand Unified Theory of Physics.

Weber said her mother was first pulled aside into a glass-partitioned area and patted down. Then she was taken to another room to protect her privacy during a more extensive search. Weber sat outside the room during the search. Security personnel then came out and told her they would need her mother to remove her Depends diaper because it was soiled and was impeding their search. Weber wheeled her mother into a bathroom, removed her diaper and returned. Her mother did not have another clean diaper with her, Weber said.

Pity. I suppose this still falls under the category of respectful and sensitive?

“I don’t understand why they have to put them through that kind of procedure” she said.

No one can understand it. It is one of those imponderables of the TSA.

Koshetz said the procedures are the same for everyone to ensure national security.

Ah yes, to ensure national security. We had to remove the depends and left her to travel on the plane without one... in the interests of national security.

“TSA cannot exempt any group from screening because we know from intelligence that there are terrorists out there that would then exploit that vulnerability” she said.

"We know from intelligence" is simply a non-sequitur when speaking of the TSA.

“I’m not one to make waves, but dadgummit, this is wrong. People need to know. Next time it could be you.”

I'm sure she is not one to make waves. She was simply overwhelmed by the dogged stupidity of the TSA. Well, damn straight.


Update June 27th

Mark Steyn comments on the inner workings of the TSA:

"Big Government – more-more-more money-no-object government — will by definition be profoundly stupid government."

Exactly. Read the whole thing here.

Steyn Declares: "I'm Phobia Phobic!"

In defense of Australian Andrew Bolt, Mark Steyn has emerged from the frosts of New Hampshire, shed his Great North accoutrement's, donned suit and tie and has spoken out in defense of free speech:

Hear him, hear him!

Ho Hum Huntsman

The Republicans received the suspect benefit of another candidate to the field of presidential hopefuls June 22nd in the form of one Jon Huntsman, President Obama's former ambassador to China and former Republican governor of Utah. His announcement was met with much excitment on the part of our friends in the media, less so from conservatives across the nation.

He made his announcement from Liberty Park, the same location where president Ronald Reagan kicked off his campaign after winning the republican primary in 1980. Any hopes that he would carry the Reagan mantle were soon dashed as Mr. Huntsman opened his mouth and began to speak of sitting president Barack Obama:

“He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help a country we both love,” Mr. Huntsman said of Mr. Obama. “But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is who will be the better president, not who’s the better American.”

Wow, now that's fire in the belly!

If all Mr. Huntsman has to offer is different shades of grey, then no sense in making his announcement at Liberty Park. If he wants to take on the Reagan mantle, he will first have to start thinking like Reagan, and that is unlikely, as Ronald Reagan had no trouble calling out the left when their policies were wrong headed and harmful to this nation, as he did in speaking of then sitting president Jimmy Carter. We're not looking for mean, we are looking for tough, someone who isn't afraid to call it like it is.

The fact is it is unfair to the American people to fail to do so.

Shattered Sword

I have been a fan of history through much of my life, and a student of the conflict of my father's generation through my teen years, but had largely moved away from such historical works years ago, the writing being a tad dry.

It was with surprise and delight than that I read through the preface of this work, convincing myself to purchase the book. Excellent choice. It is written from the perspective of a dispassionate observer perched amongst the Japanese officers and crewmen as they prepared for and undertook the attack on Midway. The book details the inner workings of Japanese aircraft carriers, their doctrines and guiding principles, and how such could all go wrong for them over the course of the fateful day of June 4th, 1942. Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tulley have given Japanese operational records close scrutiny, the reading of which only recently becoming readily available in English translations. Thus, we here in the Western Hemisphere are just now understanding things about the battle that have been common knowledge among Japanese military historians for the past forty years. Reading through you could see how decisions made based on false presumptions and expectations played out in a manner that eventually led to disastrous consequences. An excellent piece of scholarly work infused with a fine touch of writing all made for an interesting tale. It had broad applications to many of life's endeavors and was well worth the read. I highly recommend it to the student of history and military affairs.

Year of the Bowmen! Sherwood Takes State Title!!

To win the State Championship in Baseball, the Bowmen had their work cut out for them. Facing them were the Wilsonville Wildcats, Northwest Oregon Conference champions, who boasted senior ace pitcher Spencer Cumiford (6-2, 3.86 ERA). Cumiford had twice shut down the Bowmen in their earlier contests, winning the first in a solid 2-0 performance. The second was a 5-1 bombing, and though Wilsonville was not swinging the big bats, they did have great team speed, managing 136 stolen bases over the course of the season to advance their runners into scoring position. In contrast, their opponents got away with just 22 steals off the Cats. Leading the theft parade for the Wildcats was senior outfielder Michael Gonzalez, who was swinging a hefty .455 batting average and capered 32 of those 136 stolen bases.

To win Sherwood had to solve the Cumiford riddle. "We're going to have to show up and play almost a perfect game to beat them," Sherwood coach Jon Strohmaier said.

"He's the best big-game pitcher I've been around," said Wilsonville coach Matt Kosderka.

Wilsonville and Sherwood stand about 13 miles apart just to the southwest of Portland. Both schools compete in the Northwest Oregon Conference.

“After the second game, after they beat us, I didn’t think our kids showed up,” Strohmaier said. “I told them ‘You boys just blew your last opportunity to beat Wilsonville... unless you meet them in the championship game."

They got that opportunity.

After a scoreless first inning, the Bowmen got a two-out single to left out of No. 9 hitter Connor Munro, followed by singles from designated hitter Justin Davis and right fielder Joseph Balfour to score four runs for the Bowman. Wilsonville countered, getting on the board by scoring a run in the bottom of the second, and the that's how the score stayed, with Sherwood up 4-1 till we came to the sixth inning. There Balfour got on base again, scoring off Jake Lawrence's sacrifice fly to right field to make it 5-1. Wilsonville fought back, scoring in the bottom of the sixth to close to 5-2, but the Bowmen answered again when Munro scored for Sherwood in the top of the seventh.

That brought the game to a desperate bottom of the seventh inning where Sherwood reliever Tanner Kichler attempted to close out the Wildcats. Kichler got the first Wildcat batter, striking him out swinging. The second batter went down as well, striking out looking. That brought up Tanner Antonson, who got good wood on and lined to right field for a double. Kyle Austin followed, cracking a hard grounder down the left-field line for another double, and scoring Antonson. Sherwood’s lead was now down to three, 6-3, and the game was tightening up. With the pressure on Kichler, up came Seth Gearhart, a solid hitter who potentially could bring the Wildcats to within one. Kichler brought the heat, striking out Gearhart, ending the rally and the game, and spurring a jubilant Sherwood dog pile between the mound and home plate.

“They executed all the chances they had, and we didn’t. That’s what it came down to” Wilsonville coach Matt Kosderka said.

Sherwood starter Jordan Ramp pitched five innings, allowing six hits, one run and four walks and booking two strikeouts. The starting quarterback on the Bowmen’s football team, Ramp was among roughly half the players of the baseball team who played both sports.

“Definitely being a cross-town rival it’s a big win for us. We’re always in for a good game against Wilsonville, and to win a State Championship against a good team like that makes it even more special.”

Asked who he thought had had a good game in the title contest, Jordan replied:

“Tanner, coming in and closing the game for us, he really shut the door. And Joseph Balfour made some great plays out in right and also drove in some runs for us, and just everyone coming up and doing their role for us, and doing it well.”

It has already been a banner year for Sherwood High School athletics, with both the girls winning the state championship in Volleyball, and the Football team taking the State title in dramatic fashion in an overtime win last fall. Their winning ways carried on into the spring, with the Bowmen earning an improbable win over cross town rival and Northwest Oregon Conference champion Wilsonville to take the State Title in Baseball.

“There’s no better feeling than winning a state championship.”

We are all very proud of them! Well done!!

Weiner Focuses On Health

In a dramatic press conference held at a Brooklyn Senior center, Anthony Weiner, the Democrat congressman from New York, submitted to the pressure of his party's leadership and resigned from office.

Anthony Weiner was an extremely aggressive, caustic, partisan congressmen, who routinely bullied people and had designs on disparaging US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Those plans were sidelined when the Weiner scandal broke, and Justice Thomas was spared whatever unpleasantness Weiner had hoped to cause him. All that makes it hard to have much compassion for this man. Even in departing, the self-focus of the man that is so troubling was evident:

"To repeat, most importantly, most importantly, so that I can continue to heal from the damage I caused."

People make mistakes, I understand that. But most important are the people around you that are affected, either wittingly or unwittingly. That is where your remorse should be directed, Mr. Weiner. If we can get past that, this focus on self, then there is a chance at getting better. But let us hear no more about your hard work for the people that don't have jobs.

That, and take it one day at a time.

'Out of the Past' Open Thread

    

     What did you think?

Now for those of us who had to go through this odyssey, a treat in the form of a promotional image made of the young Miss Jane Greer. I've got to say, she seems to really enjoy having a little fun with simply being an appealing young woman.

Good for her!

Rogue Wisconsin Judge Overturned, Legislature Upheld

Anti-government protestors.

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin overruled a Dane County judge who had struck down the legislation which ended collective bargaining by government unions against their government employers.

Acting with unusual speed, the state Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated Gov. Scott Walker's plan to all but end collective bargaining for tens of thousands of public workers.

The opinion voided all orders in the case from the lower court.

The court heard the case and ruled on it one week later. That's an impressively fast ruling.

The court ruled that Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi's ruling, which had held up implementation of the collective bargaining law, was void ab initio, or invalid from the outset.

In its decision, the state's high court concluded that "choices about what laws represent wise public policy for the state of Wisconsin are not within the constitutional purview of the courts."

The court concluded that Sumi exceeded her jurisdiction, "invaded" the Legislature's constitutional powers and erred in halting the publication and implementation of the collective bargaining law.

These poor people in Wisconsin voted and placed these people in power, and the government employees and union thugs don't care what the people want who voted in this government. What is outrageous is their attempt to portray the legislature's actions as somehow subverting the democratic process. People holding this opinion couldn't be further from the truth.

The legal fight over Walker's plan will continue on other fronts.

I'm sure. That's part of mob rule and subverting the will of the people. "Who cares how they voted, we've got union stiffs we can bus in to yell and scream, and that's what this nation was founded upon!"

Right.

During arguments, four of the justices signaled they were skeptical of Sumi's ability to halt the law. "I think frankly you've got to amend the constitution" to have the open meetings law apply to legislators, Roggensack said during arguments.

In its ruling Tuesday, the Supreme Court said it took up the case because the lower court had "usurped the legislative power which the Wisconsin Constitution grants exclusively to the Legislature."

That's a slap down.

Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?

"The advertisement was in poor taste on a number of levels, not least in the way they likened me to their chocolate bar."

What?!

For those of you that enjoy a good bit of writing, you have got to check out blog fav The Venerable Bede and his latest observations of the lifestyles of the rich and famous among us.

Too funny!

Weiner Oprahsizes His Wiener, Seeks "Help"

The Democrat from New York has taken the drastic step of Oprahsizing his behavior.

Two officials told the New York Times that the randy rep, who is fighting for his political life after posting racy pictures of himself on Twitter and then lying about it, is planning to go to rehab. The details were not immediately clear. Weiner also plans to take a leave from the House, the paper reported.

"Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person. In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well" said spokeswoman Risa Heller.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has called for Weiner to resign, but so far, love of family and heartfelt desire to get help not withstanding, he has not done so.

The move to seek treatment comes after it was revealed Weiner had been tweeting a 17-year-old Delaware girl, which the police are investigating.

Weiner, who represents Brooklyn and Queens, has so far refused calls to step down.

Okay.

This Is Too Rich!

We were all miffed to hear the airy claims President Obama made at a Chrysler plant in Toledo Ohio a few days back. It all was a bit much to take. Even the union creeps were booing him. How ironic it is to hear that after patting himself on the back for using tax payer money to stabilize local businesses, the hard cruel reality of the economy this man has created sang him a few notes, as noted by Mark Steyn:

"This plant indirectly supports hundreds of other jobs right here in Toledo," Obama told the workers at Chrysler. "After all, without you, who'd eat at Chet's or Inky's or Rudy's? Manufacturers from Michigan to Massachusetts are looking for new engineers to build advanced batteries for American-made electric cars. And obviously, Chet's and Inky's and Zinger's, they'll all have your business for some time to come."

A couple of days later, Chet's announced it was closing after nine decades. "It was the economy and the smoking ban that hurt us more than anything," said the owner.

Are you starting to feel like Pagliacci? It's kinda funny, but it kills you to laugh when the economy is in taters and businesses are in hard straights. Mark continues:

"I'm not concerned about a double-dip recession," Obama said last week.
Nor would I be if I had government housing, a car and driver, and a social secretary for the missus. But I wonder if it's such a smart idea to let one's breezy insouciance out of the bag when you're giving a press conference.

Oh, man! Pagliacci ain't in it. Read the whole thing here.

E-Mails Probed: The Woman Looks Remarkably Good!

The most feared woman in America is undergoing close scrutiny. The Washington Post has been the first national newspaper to write an article after having their reporters troll through 13,000 of Sarah Palin's gubernatorial e-mails. They attempted to highlight what they felt were troubling findings. After all the work put in, I gotta say, that Sarah Palin's looking pretty darn attractive!

Among the revelations uncovered: she had kind words to say about then Senator Barack Obama:

Sen. Barack Obama “gave a great speech this morn in Michigan—mentioned Alaska,” Palin wrote to aides. In a speech in Lansing, Mich., Obama had spoken of the need to complete the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline, and open more oil and gas drilling in Alaska. “So.... we need to take advantage of this [and] write a statement saying he’s right on.” A year before, in February 2007, a staffer recommended to Palin that she meet Pete Rouse, “who's now chief of staff for some guy named Barack Obama,” when she was in Washington, D.C. on an upcoming trip.
“I’m game to meet him,” Palin wrote back.

She is pulling for her state and is willing to take advantage of help from any quarter. Sounds good.

Other e-mails make clear that Palin relied on her husband, Todd Palin, for advice on policy issues. In a March 2008 e-mail, for instance, the governor makes clear that he also weighed in on how to deal with Alaska's burgeoning wolf population, a topic of debate at the time among officials and environmental experts.

Eleanor Roosevelt was called Franklin Roosevelt's legs, and it was meant as a high complement to her. Hilary Clinton was advertised as the bonus package in the Clinton two-fer. Bonus or not, she certainly had more power in the White House than any other presidential spouse, before or after. Is the Post really expecting us to believe that wives could not be expected to take advantage of the wisdom and insights of their husbands, whereas men are routinely thought of as wise they make use of the sounding board of their wives? Perhaps we are not as sophisticated as Chris Matthews and his ilk.

Well, what came of her talks with Todd?

“Todd interviewed buddies who live out there... Some confirmation that state intervention isn’t first choice w/the locals,” Palin said. ”We need to incentivize here,”

Right on the money. And about media criticism of her performance while being a mom?

“Pls remind Julia Omalley that ‘they’ said the same thing throughout my career- ‘too young,’ ‘pregnant,’ ‘kids’...’She won’t be able to do it,’ ” Palin wrote. “This coming from good ol’ boys who don’t like change...And so far along in my career we’ve proved them wrong at each turn.”

Sounds great again! In another e-mail from 2008, an aide asks about a tanning bed at Palin's house. A Web site, he said, was implying that the state had paid for it--which had set off a flood of calls from other media.

“The old used tanning bed that my girls have used a handful of times in Juneau?,” Palin wrote back. “Yes, we paid for it ourselves.”

Why am I not surprised.

Palin also expressed concern that she did not have the time to personally monitor and respond to the various press coverage.

She told staffers: “i need folks to really help ramp up accurate counter comments to the misinformation that’s being spread out there.”

You got that right. Look, this is getting a little wearing. When are we going to get back to the titillation of Weinergate?

The e-mails also show Palin dealing with the management of the Governor’s Mansion.
For example, as mother of two teens, Palin was concerned about the alcohol stored in the liquor cabinet in the governor’s mansion, suggesting it should be stowed away in boxes. “Here’s my thinking: with so many kids and teens coming and going in that house, esp during this season of celebrations for young people — proms, graduations, etc. I want to send the msg that we can be - and ‘the People’s House’ needs to be - alcohol-free,”

Why, I'd love for my kids to be hanging around this woman. Could I say the same for Anthony Weiner, Barney Frank or the rest of the leftoids of Congress?

Could you?

TSA Singles Out Developmentally Disabled Man For Further Scrutiny

Drew Mandy

What?! More clownish antics from the rumpus room of national security? Yes, I'm afraid so.

The latest to make the headlines was TSA's handling of Drew Mandy, a 29 year old developmentally disabled citizen on his way with his family to visit Disneyland.

"I realize they're trying to keep people safe, but come on, does he look like a terrorist?" said Dr. David Mandy.

No, Dr. Mandy, and of course they recognize that. But there's no sense in complicating matters. The TSA is not interested in terrorists, per se. They're not really interested in security. Their interest lies with security procedures and exerting their authority.

The family was going through security when two TSA agents singled Drew Mandy out for a special pat down. Drew is severely mentally disabled. He's 29, but his parents said he has the mental capacity of a two-year-old, which made the experience that followed at metro Detroit's McNamera Terminal that much harder to deal with.

"You have got to be kidding me. I honestly felt that those two agents did not know what they were doing," Mandy told us.

Well, that's a pretty safe bet...

Dr. Mandy claimed they asked Drew to place his feet on the yellow shoe line, something he didn't understand. They proceeded to pat his pants down, questioning the padding which was his adult diapers. When the agents asked Drew to take his hand and rub the front and back of his pants so they could swab it for explosives, his dad stepped in and tried to explain that Drew was mentally challenged.

"They said, 'Please, sir, we know what we're doing,'" Mandy said.

Wow.

The TSA agents saw Drew holding a six-inch plastic hammer.

Oh no...

"My son carries his ball and his hammer for security. He goes everywhere with (them)," said Mandy. The TSA, it seems, saw the toy as a weapon.

Of course they did.

Dr. Mandy explained:

"He took the hammer and he tapped the wall.

'See, it's hard. It could be used as a weapon,'"

So could your head, a**hole.

"So, Drew's also holding the ball, and I said, 'Well, how about the ball?' He (said), 'Oh, he can keep that.'

Oh, dear....

Dr. Mandy was told he would need to have the toy shipped if he wanted to keep it, a process which caused them to almost miss their plane, so he pitched it.

"It just killed me to have to throw it away because he's been carrying this like for 20 years," Mandy said.

Incredible.

We also spoke to a federal security director who said this incident is still under investigation, but as far as they can tell right now, better judgment was needed.

Yeah.

'To Have And Have Not' Open Thread

  What did you think?

TSA Personnel Demonstrate Their Talents... Yet Again

Had enough of Anthony's Weiner? Absolutely?! Yeah, well, kudos to Andrew Breitbart and Stacy McCain.

Now back to more familiar territory: The folks over at the Transportation Security Administration have been their busy selves, this time abusing a bunch of elderly British citizens on a two and a half month cruise of the US, who made the mistake of making port in Los Angeles. There, they were put through scrutiny that made no sense what so ever, given their obvious age, citizenship and multiple prior port stops in the US. That's bad enough, but it gets worse:

"But when a handful of them questioned whether the lengthy security checks at the port were strictly necessary for a group of largely elderly travellers officials were not amused. Although they had already been given advance clearance for multiple entries to the country during their trip, all 2,000 passengers were made to go through full security checks in a process which took seven hours to complete. The fingerprints of both hands were taken as well as retina scans and a detailed check of the passport as well as questioning as to their background."

Brilliant. Thank god we have the retina scans on these elderly citizens of the realm.

"The passengers complained that they were “herded like animals” and made to stand for hours in temperatures up to 80F with no food or water or access to lavatories.

Well, the real mistake these intrepid travelers made was to question the sanity of the TSA'a practices in ear shot of the TSA. Having the temerity of mentioning that the TSA's methods make little sense is a tip off of likely terrorist association, and at this point the TSA was obliged to take these people down, and take them down hard. Nothing sets off one's public employees as making obvious comments on the idiocy of the decisions they make.

Some are said to have passed out in the heat while others were left confused and bewildered. When one lady asked in desperation whether she could use a bathroom, one immigration official is said to have replied: “Do it over the side, we won’t mind.”

You see? And you thought they were totally lacking in humor.

"The delays forced the liner to extend the stay in LA by a day, forcing it to cancel a later stop-off at Roatan, Honduras, scheduled for this week."

Yep, can't stop in Honduras because the twits at TSA got their panties in a wad, resulting in their kicking it up a notch to display the kind of crack screening that has made the TSA the scourge of al Qaeda. And why, pray tell, did all this occur? Dr. John Randall, a retired dentist on board the cruise offered his observations:

"A couple of passengers got a bit stroppy about having to go through all the rigmarole again and these petulant officials decided to take revenge. They were just doing basic checks to begin with but after the argument we had to do full finger prints on left and right hands and all the biometric stuff. Then their computer system broke down but no one was bothered about helping us. A couple of people struggled to control their bladders and someone said they'd suffered a prolapsed disc.”

I love that, "got a bit stroppy" Well, these are the measures we need to keep our nation safe. And these are the same people Janet Napolitano wants unionized, so you can never fire them, never, never ever. I'm sure that will do wonders for their care and consideration.

“We are holiday makers, here to try and enjoy ourselves - we are not potential inmates of Guantalamo Bay, and should not be treated as such.”

You'd be amazed how many of these guys fit in a car.

Yes, they know that, but that is mere detail. We're talking security here.

A spokeswoman for the company stated:

“The US has a record for the most stringent and thorough security and entry requirements in the world, and they felt the need to enhance their security checks further, which they have the power to do.”

Certainly they have the power to do so, ma'am. The question is do they have the judgment. The short answer is...

No.

- Can Weiner Handle the Pickle of the Press?

First off, that Stacy McCain is all over this Weiner story. Checkout the wiener linkage he has happily strung together. It's a veritable Bavarian sausage fest over there.

Curiously, despite the intense interest in the Weiner, the press are still quite happy to embrace him, and are quick to suggest there is no reason to consider his political future suspect. Case in point is the lovely Kirsten Powers, columnist for the New York Post, who stated:

"A lot of people have speculated that this would harm his chances for mayor of New York. Ed Koch suggested it would harm his chances of being mayor of New York. Nobody will remember this story. Come on, really, what is this in the end? I don't think he has done anything wrong here. There is a lot of speculation. His wife seems to be perfectly fine in standing by him. I don't think we should suggest there is infidelity here when I don't think there is any evidence of infidelity."

Wait a minute... Kirstin Powers took a peek into this Weiner thing and couldn't find anything to get excited about? Is that a good thing?

Wow.

Be Wary The Advice Our Betters Offer

As we prepare for the upcoming republican primary, we are treated to an awful lot of advice, offered freely and liberally by the wisest of the wise. We are told that moderation is the only way for conservatives to win. It's the only thing that's won in the past and it's the only thing that'll win today.

I would, however, caution us to be wary of the political arguments pitched our way. A key example of the double speak that raises my ire would be the 1996 Presidential race, in which the Dems strenuously made the argument that if Bob Dole was serious in running for president, then Bob Dole had to resign from the Senate. Though an effective majority leader, he had to take this step if he was serious about running a campaign, as certainly any man involved in a presidential campaign would necessarily be short changing the American people if he were to keep a valuable senate seat while spending most of his time for a year or more making the run for office. Bob Dole was a straight guy. Bob Dole thought the argument had merit. Bob Dole resigned his seat in the Senate.

Since then we have had presidential campaigns involving Senators Joseph Lieberman (VP candidate, Democrat 2000), John F Kerry (Pres. candidate, Democrat 2004), John Edwards (VP candidate, Democrat 2004), Joseph Biden (VP candidate, Democrat 2008), and Barack Obama (Pres. candidate, Democrat 2008), and not one of these men resigned their Senate seats during their campaign efforts. Of these five, the senate seat John Edwards held was up for election at the same time as the presidential election. He chose not to run to hold this seat. It was largely thought he would have had a hard time winning re-election, but all of that is neither here nor there. The bottom line is he did not resign from his seat while running in the presidential election. Five senatorial candidates in twelve years, all Democrats, and not only did they not resign from their seats while campaigning, the issue never even came up.

Palin Questioned, Scoffed At... Revere Questioned, Taken Seriously

Our betters on the left are all a twitter over Sarah Palin and her curious comments on Paul Revere during her "unconventional" and "really unfair" One Nation Tour.

Admittedly, her take seems different from what I learned about the silversmith Revere while reading Johnny Tremain and watching the Disney production of same. But wait, Mr. Revere himself would like to comment on the discussion.

"I observed a Wood at a Small distance, & made for that. When I got there, out Started Six officers, on Horse back,and orderd me to dismount;-one of them, who appeared to have the command, examined me, where I came from,& what my Name Was? I told him. it was Revere, he asked if it was Paul? I told him yes He asked me if I was an express? I answered in the afirmative. He demanded what time I left Boston? I told him; and aded, that their troops had catched aground in passing the River, and that There would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up. He imediately rode towards those who stoppd us, when all five of them came down upon a full gallop; one of them, whom I afterwards found to be Major Mitchel, of the 5th Regiment, Clapped his pistol to my head, called me by name, & told me he was going to ask me some questions, & if I did not give him true answers, he would blow my brains out. He then asked me similar questions to those above. He then orderd me to mount my Horse, after searching me for arms"

My word, I did not know that. Thanks Sarah.

With a tip of the hat to William Jacobson over at Legal Insurrection.

Chrysler Plant Employees Boo Obama

President Obama tried to peddle his wares with the union types at a Chrysler plant Friday, but found the reception a tad chilly:

“We’re going to pass through some rough terrain that even a Wrangler would have a tough time with,” Obama said, in reference to the Jeep truck produced at the Toledo plant. The quip was met with boos.

What?! Union thug types booing the president over the bleak economic outlook?

Obama said the economy has faced “headwinds” in recent months, including rising gas prices, the earthquake in Japan and instability in the Middle East.

Yeah, the earth quake in Japan. Our economy under Obama would be rip-roaring... if it wasn't for that earth quake in Japan. What a bozo.

The president did not mention a surprisingly poor jobs report, which showed unemployement continuing to rise from a hefty 9.0 percent to the slightly heftier 9.1%. The lackluster numbers were further blackened by the fact that McDonald's new burger flipper hires accounted for half of the dismally poor 54 K total.

“We had a few options: we could have followed the status quo and kept the automakers on life support … but that would have just kicked the problem down the road,” Obama said. “Or we could have done what lots of folks in Washington thought we should do, and that is nothing."

Well, that certainly would have been better than what you did do. Strong arm the bond holders while you took tax payer money to throw at the unions. Then using the power of government, you placed the unions in a majority ownership position. That's not good. And all the spending and union kick backs sucked up all the remaining capital, while de-stabilizing the economy by introducing a great deal of uncertainty.

"Oh, happy day!"

The black hole of the Obama presidency continues to suck down jobs and suffocate the worlds most resilient economy, and that's saying something. For most people, it is decidedly bad news.

One couple, however, found themselves strangely invigorated and ready to celebrate:

Pundette Points To Source Of Discord

That Jill over at Pundit and Pundette wrote a great piece about the latest brouhaha on Capital Hill. It's a pull together, but there really is a trick to doing a good job of these, and Jill's got it.

Nice post.

All Hands Prepare To Unmoore Ship!

My word, they're really ramping it up:

THE NATIONAL REVIEW CRUISE
STEYN AT SEA!
NOVEMBER 12th to 19th 2011
FORT LAUDERDALE~GRAND TURK~SAN JUAN~ST THOMAS~HALF-MOON CAY
Join Mark and the National Review All-Stars for a week of sun, sea, sand, shipboard romance and dancing under the stars to the dulcet tones of the NR panel on the Iranian nuclear program. Steyn plus Fred Thompson, S E Cupp, John Bolton, Kathryn Lopez, Bernard Lewis and many more will be cruising the Caribbean in search of unspoilt beaches and offshore tax havens. And aside from the heavyweight discussions on debt and doom, Mark will be getting together with Rob Long and Jonah Goldberg for another one of their rare Three Caballeros appearances. The NR cruise is always a great way to get to know your favorite writers a little better, and, if you get tired of drunk columnists hitting on you, you won't be the first to jump ship and swim to Cuba for political asylum. More details here.

Okay, all you Steyn fans who bummed by looking to read on Weiner Wednesday, we chatted it up, you've had your fun, now it's time to pony up! We've got a Steynette that needs a little help getting on board. Hit this site, go to the tip jar, do your duty, hit submit.

Nicely done!

Wiener Wednesday!

"Anthony Weiner examined!"

Mark Steyn hosts the Rush Limbaugh show today, discussing among other things the Wiener Twitter of Anthony Weiner (Democrat, New York), who apparently twitted a photo of his bulging grey boxers to a twitter feed that he follows on a college co-ed in the great state of Washington.

"That is not my wiener!", Weiner exclaimed, "It is a mere hack of my wiener."

Whether that's true or not, it still strikes me as curious that the congressmen is following a college co-ed and exchanging tweets.

Anyway, catch Mark Steyn on Rush today!

Update
CNN's Wolf Blitzer probed further into the wiener controversy with the following exchange with the Democrat from New York:

"Have you ever taken a picture like this of yourself?"

"I can tell you this, that there are -- I have photographs. I don't know what photographs are out there in the world of me. I don't know what have been manipulated and doctored and we're going to try to find out what happened. But the most important reason I want to find out what happened is to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Obviously somebody got access to my account. That's bad. They sent a picture that makes fun of the name weiner. I get it. Touche."

Well, I don't know that he does get it. Clearly he looks to cloud the issue. I don't have any photographs. Maybe that's the thing with young people today, but this guy is no young person, though the co-ed he has been following is. It all strikes me as kinda creepy. There's no upside for Mr. Weiner here.

Nice job, Blitz.

Update II
Apparently Weiner was married just last fall, and guess who this guy asked to do the wedding for him?

"When Abedin tied the knot with Weiner in Sept. 2010, Bill Clinton, who officiated the ceremony, chatted more about the big day than she did.

“If I had a second daughter, it would be Huma. She looked “like a Dior model.”

If you had a second daughter it would be Huma? She looks like a Dior model?! You don't want people to be your daughter because you think they look hot in their wedding dress. And this is from the guy who is doing the ceremony?! That's just .. off.

Meanwhile, Weiner has commented on his wife as well:

"She’s lovely and elegant and brilliant and widely respected throughout this town so obviously opposites attract.”

Perhaps, but that doesn't elevate your current position.