Thoughts and opinions from the Rocky Mountains
From Fox News:
The FBI is severing its once-close ties with the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, amid mounting evidence that it has links to a support network for Hamas.
Named as an un-indicted co-conspirator after a 15 year investigation that came to a head at the Holy Land Foundation trial. Yep, that’s a pretty good reason to sever ties.
From the AP:
The Republican Party chose the first black national chairman in its history Friday, just shy of three months after the nation elected a Democrat as the first African-American president. The choice marked no less than “the dawn of a new party,” declared the new GOP chairman, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele.
Admittedly, I don’t know anything about the guy. However, this concerns me:
Steele, an attorney, is a conservative, but he was considered the most moderate of the five candidates running.
Looks like the Republican party is well on its way to becoming “Democrat Lite.” Not good. Not good at all.
From AFP:
US lawmakers were to hand Barack Obama the first major win of his week-old presidency on Wednesday, overriding chiefly Republican objections to pass an 825-billion-dollar economic stimulus plan.
Well, we get lots of pork, including $335,000,000 for STD prevention, and a stimulus package that’ll do little to fix anything.
CHANGE! HOPE! POST-PARTISAN!
Whew, that makes it all better!
One of the best Senators out there (and probably a top 5 reason to consider moving to South Carolina) talks stimulus:
HT: Business & Media Institute
From CQ Politics:
A bill that would delay the digital television transition until summer is expected to clear the House on Tuesday.
Why? The TV stations have done their job getting the word out, the percentage of people that are aware of the change is about 90 (which is unheard of!). Why?
Oh, it’s because the government dropped its end of the deal and needs more time. Never mind the cost to the stations…
I have an easier answer, by the way: people without the voucher for a converter buy the thing at full price & keep the receipt. When the voucher arrives, treat it like a mail-in rebate. Way smarter than screwing an already-hurting industry out of millions more dollars.
From MyWay:
President Barack Obama on Tuesday chose an Arabic satellite TV network for his first formal television interview as president, delivering a message to the Muslim world that “Americans are not your enemy.”
Maybe it’s me, but don’t the problems at home trump what the rest of the world thinks about us? America needs a President, not a world leader or celebrity spokesperson. Talk to the people that voted for you, and stop worrying about how popular we are in the rest of the world!
Check us out & become a fan: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Conservative-Insurrection/46520778423
It’s a bit vacant at the moment, but I’m working on it.
Remember the scene in the movie Blow where George Jung (played by Johnny Depp) claimed to have entered prison with a Bachelor’s in marijuana, but was leaving with a Master’s in cocaine? I have the feeling we’ll be seeing the terrorism equivalent of that happening down in Florence really soon:
Gov. Bill Ritter supports the idea of bringing terror suspects to Colorado to be housed at the federal Supermax prison in Florence.
From The Associated Press:
The new Obama administration circulated a draft executive order Wednesday that calls for closing the controversial detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year and halting any war crimes trials in the meantime.
I don’t necessarily support torture, but it really feels like we’re trying to play an honorable game with people who will lie, cheat, and steal to win. How many Americans are we putting in harms way by trying to respect people that want us dead?
From The Guardian:
Barack Obama has only four years to save the world. That is the stark assessment of Nasa scientist and leading climate expert Jim Hansen who last week warned only urgent action by the new president could halt the devastating climate change that now threatens Earth. Crucially, that action will have to be taken within Obama’s first administration, he added.
So, if man’s attempts to end Global Warming Climate Change are failing, could it possibly be that this isn’t a man-made problem? Maybe, just maybe, the warmth is part of a natural cycle of the Earth.
And where does that impending ice age fit in?
From IHT:
A Muslim scholar chosen to speak at President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural prayer service Wednesday is the leader of a group that federal prosecutors say has ties to terrorists.
Honestly, things like this make me wonder if we’ve been duped or if Obama is just that naive about the connections of these people. Neither is good.
Also, while it’s entirely possible this is a mistake, do you really let someone with who’s ties are in question get that close to the President?
From Citizen Patriot:
Ben & Jerry’s has renamed one of its flavors in honor of the change coming on Jan. 20.
Ah, political ice cream. There’s nothing better than unhealthy snack food used to promote a company’s political agenda.
HT: Truemors, via a Twitter friend.
Admittedly, he caught Nora off guard. However, this should’ve been said a looong time ago:
HT: Copious Dissent
From Reuters:
Americans may reduce the amount they spend on food in response to a sour economy but some experts fear they may pick up weight in the process.
Sadly, most of the cheap food has very limited nutritional value. So, no job, resulting in no health insurance, canceling your gym membership to save money, and now health concerns over crappy food. Fun stuff ahead!
So, there’s a bit of a phishing scam going on over at Twitter right now, and I’m pretty sure Fox News has become a victim:
From Fox News:
The first President Bush said he would like to see his other son, Jeb, become president one day, but if now’s not the time he’d be an “outstanding senator.”
I’ve heard rumors that Jeb is the “smart Bush,” whatever that means. However, unless Obama bombs hard, Jeb’s chances are pretty slim; his brother has done a lot of damage to the family name in the political arena. Unless the 55-year-old can hold out for at least a decade, he’s going to face an uphill battle to convince people he isn’t “W: The Sequel.”
From Politico:
The defiant move by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to name a Senate successor to Barack Obama has triggered a political and legal mess that could drag on for months and is already prompting uncomfortable racial questions for Democrats.
Question: why is race even a factor? Burris was appointed by a guy who tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder! This appointment is tainted, whether it’s a black man, white woman, Samoan pre-op, or anyone else. In all honesty, I have no idea why anyone would accept an appointment from Blago; until this is all sorted out, anyone he appoints should turn him down.
As someone who has really missed HamNation, I’m happy to see that ol’ Mary Katharine is still at it:
