Obama gets slammed

John McCain seems to have the ability to skillfully dissect foolishness that I had never appreciated before. While the empty suit with lofty rhetoric (but only when reading from a teleprompter) is attempting to make political hay, McCain does an excellent job of showing just how shallow and juvenile Obama really is. And as a bonus, he does it with grace and style.

Read the whole thing.

Hunt, Meet the Hatch Act

Lt. Col. Jim Hunt, Democratic candidate for no other reason than no one else was willing to run, has a posting up on that great source of information for all soldiers, the Daily Kos. Now, I have heard that Mr. Hunt is actually an okay sort of person, but his ignorance of the law, especially as a lawyer, and an officer at one time are astounding.
Let me begin with his first line - "Lt. Col." Jim Hunt. In the Army, at least the Army I left 13 years ago, we abbreviated the rank for Lieutenant Colonel as LTC. The Air Force uses the abbreviation that Mr. Hunt has in his posting, but I thought that he was supposed to be in the Army. Maybe he's confused.
Then he goes on to make himself a victim by saying:

Yesterday, the Montana Republican Party and Rehberg attacked me and my 23 years of service in the Montana Army National Guard – citing an obscure, new Pentagon regulation regarding photos of candidates in their old uniforms.

Obscure, new Pentagon regulation? When I was in the Army, we used to have our biannual lecture on the Hatch Act, which is a federal law, and applies to the Reserves as well, and was passed in 1939. I do understand that the laws were relaxed a little bit in 1993, but the prohibition still includes that you cannot use your uniform in any political activity. In fact, when we were briefed, we were told that we could not even put up partisan yard signs at our home, lest someone think that the military was lending its support to one party or the other.
Hunt then retreats to being a victim, and says that he will not let anyone take down the ad, even though it violates federal law, and military decorum as well.
In his defense, and I know that I am going to get into trouble for this, but he really was only part time help. He should rely on that defense for his lawbreaking activity.

Heretics

Being raised Lutheran, we learned how Martin Luther became enraged at the selling of Indulgences as a way to raise money for the Catholic Church. Eventually, it led to his posting of the 95 thesis that was to mark the beginning of Christian Protestantism. Even though Luther believed in his God and his Church, he detested that which he believed was wrong. As punishment, his church excommunicated him and branded him a heretic.

Get ready for a new bunch of heretics. Over 31,000 science degree holders, including more than 9,000 with Ph.Ds, have signed a petition saying that there is no science to back anthroprogenic Global Warming.

Just like before, they are objecting to the selling of indulgences (carbon credits) to finance some unholy activity. I am sure that there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but I predict it won't result in another 30 Years War.

We don't have the patience for that anymore.

Brilliant!

The Foundry has the brilliant idea of having Libertarians adopt the polar bear as their mascot. Now, most of the time, I think that using mascots is a shortcut to avoiding thinking. But as the Foundry points out:

Normally libertarians are not a litigious bunch, but if they are willing to adopt some new tactics, Section 7 of the ESA could provide them the tool they need to end federal government interference in the economy forever. See the polar bear will be the first animal ever listed as endangered on a global warming theory. Normally, species are listed due to harms to their habitat from local factors like logging, farming, or hospital building. So when the Army wants to build a firing range to train troops to protect our country, environmentalists can sue to stop the activity since it will harm local endangered bird populations.

But global warming is just that: global. Virtually every federal government action anywhere in the country can be connected to increased greenhouse gas emissions, which after all, are the cause of the destruction of the polar bear’s habitat according to the Interior Department. So you wanna stop the Agriculture Department from sending subsidy checks to millionaire farmers? Claim the increased emissions from transporting the crops to market will harm the polar bears and sue to stop them. Wanna stop a new high way from being funded? Just point out the new traffic will increase emissions and ‘presto’ … no more high way. Wanna end increases in Medicare spending? All you need to do is show that increased health care spending prolongs peoples lives who inevitably emit more carbon. The possibilities are endless…..

What a wonderful thing to do to stop the government from doing anything.

Brilliant!

Age and Memory

Getting old does terrible things to your mind. I used to have an excellent memory, and even if I forgot something, when given a cue, I could then recall it in its entirety. But lately, I have found that if I don't take my vitamins and supplements that my wife (The Good Democrat) provides for me, I have memory lapses and can't always do the most difficult levels of Sudoku.
So it is with a certain amount of sympathy that I feel for people who make those "Senior Moment" kind of mistakes. Sure, the politically incorrect make jokes about it: The advantage of Alzheimers - Just think of all the new people that you will meet everyday. But we should still be kind, nonetheless.

Of course, senility can come earlier for some than others.





President of these "57" States?