Category Archives: Politics

2008 Election, Media, Politics

John Edwards Out Of VP Consideration

July 27, 2008 Ross

Under most circumstances, if you’re a married man having a ‘meeting’ with a single woman at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, you would have no chance for consideration to be Barack Obama’s running mate. Emphasis on ‘under most circumstances.’ For Bill Clinton, a little extramarital affair was a resume enhancement. But I don’t think that Clinton’s ‘pass’ will pass on to former senator John Edwards.

As always, you have to consider the source. OK, it is the National Enquirer. After that, you have to consider that they caught Edwards cold, down to the room numbers rented, who was in them, how both Edwards and Hunter got there, and how they left the hotel, and who drove them.

There is no evidence of what went on in the room between John Edwards and Rielle Hunter. After all, they could have been watching Keith Olbermann on TV. He could say ‘I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Hunter,’ and everything would be OK. But he is not saying a word about it to reporters. Edwards was in the room from 9:45 p.m. Pacific time last Monday until 2:40 a.m. Tuesday.

His leaving was more like an escape than anything else. And there were plenty of witnesses that were not employees of the tabloid.

Knowing he had been caught, Edwards did not leave through the lobby. He went down a stairwell and into a bathroom, possibly to comb his hair. Or maybe to call hotel security to escort him out of there without the reporters all over him. Security did go down there and he was escorted out. Coincidence?

You haven’t seen a word about this little adventure in the mainstream media have you? It is in the undernews media and the blogosphere. And the Obama campaign is aware of it. One thing is for sure, he isn’t on Obama’s short list for Vice-President any more.

Energy, Politics

Democrats Oppose Increasing Oil Supply

July 26, 2008 Ross

To know where Democrats in Washington stand on increasing oil supply, one only needs to look at what they are doing and what they want to do.

They want to . . .

Punish the oil industry with higher taxes. This punishes everyone in the form of higher gas prices at the pump.
Control the oil industry by telling them where they must drill. They whine about the 8 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico that are not as promising, efficient, or as easy to get to than the millions of acres on land and in other places in the surrounding Gulf, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and ANWR that they demand are off-limits. If it is harder to get to and has less capacity, it will be more expensive at the pump. Not less.
Control the auto industry by telling them what kind of cars to build and what kind of ‘performance’ they must have. Right now, GM for example, pays out more in benefits to people that no longer work for them (retirees) than their current employees. In total, they pay out more in benefits than they are making from sales. They pay more for health care for people that don’t work for them than steel for making their product.
And right now, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is refusing to send a bill (H.R. 6566) to the floor of the House for a vote that, if passed, will remove the ban on exploration and drilling in all the areas with the most potential. Why is she doing this? Because there are enough Democrats in the House that believe it is the right thing to do and will vote for it. And the last thing Pelosi wants to see is gas prices come down and the economy improve while there is a Republican in the White House. She cares more for her party and holding power than the welfare of the country and you.
Prevent development of what is potentially as much as 800 billion barrels of oil shale in Colorado. Rush Limbaugh explains this point in this video, below.

2008 Election, Media, Politics

Obama Speaks At Concert Venue In Berlin

July 24, 2008 Ross

Like what happened in Oregon a few months ago, which was also ignored by the media, the crowd of over 100,000 young people in Berlin today were there because of a day and night of rock concerts more than they were there to see Barack Obama. al-AP describes it this way . . .

Police estimated that more than 200,000 people came to watch the speech, according to The Associated Press.

Oddly enough, the estimates of the size of the crowd varies from between 100,000 and 200,000. I guess it depends on who you want to credit with the turnout, the concert performers or the American political performer, Barack Obama.

Wolf Blitzer’s report on the ‘Situation Room’ said that the crowd was there to see Barack. The truth is that they had no choice but to sit through Barack’s performance. Got to give his campaign credit for the image that the pictures of the crowd create, disingenuous as it is. Trouble with all that is, Barack isn’t running for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s job.

Holebrooke Has It Wrong On McCain And Timetable

July 21, 2008 Ross

But that’s never stopped him before. On MSNBC’s Morning Joe show this morning, former Ambassador to the U.N. Richard Holbrooke perpetuates the media spin about Iraqi PM alMaliki and the timetable and McCain. In speaking about Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Holebrooke portrays McCain as being at odds with both Bush and alMaliki regarding a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq when they are all, in fact, on the same page.

The reality is that the timetable the three are in agreement with is more Table than Time, based on progress on the ground and political progress in Baghdad, not on the calendar. They next interviewed Andy Card, former Chief of Staff for Bush, who corrected Holebrooke’s spin. And much to their amusement, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski laughed at him.

What is most amusing, or disturbing, about the hosts on the show, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, is that they could not discern the difference between the two.

2008 Election, Media, Politics, Race Relations

Jesse Jackson Shows His True Color

July 17, 2008 Ross

Stocks tumble in the race industry. Jesse Jackson’s stock that is. Affectionately called America’s beloved race pimp, the good Rev. Jackson took issue with first-term Sen. Barack Obama’s speech to a Black audience. It was a speech that was much the same as what Bill Cosby had said years ago. Fox has not released the transcript, but did say Jackson’s comment had to do with Obama telling them ‘how to behave.’

According to Fox, Jackson was referring to the audience in using the N-word. Jackson, like any entrepreneur, is seeing a rookie threaten his market share in the race business by making him irrelevant. And when you consider that Jackson is out for Jackson, and not Blacks, something like ‘Listen to him, he’s telling those n_____s how to behave’ would be a believable statement coming from Rev. Jackson.

One can’t rule out some personal animosity where Obama is concerned either. Obama, as far as we know, has not had a love child outside of his marriage like Rev. Jackson. In that respect, Obama is head and shoulders above Jackson.

About a year ago, Jesse Jackson and the NAACP buried the N-word in a mock funeral in Detroit. Now Rev. Jackson has resurrected it. But will he get the same treatment as Don Imus, Michael Richards, or George Allen?

Fox news showed great editorial restraint in not publishing the transcript. Their rationale is they can get the news out of the recording, which is Jackson’s hypocrisy and contempt for Blacks, without having to release the recording or the transcript.

Who thinks that the New York Times would have chosen that route if the offender was a republican, white or black? My guess is that there wouldn’t be anything else on the news until the guy was driven out of his job, if not charged with a hate crime. Or both.

2008 Election, Pensacola, Politics

Mental Recession And Its Whiners

July 14, 2008 Ross

Had to come to the defense of Sen. Phil Gramm for his comments about ‘mental recession’ and ‘whiners.’ After all, John McCain didn’t. Pensacola News Journal editor Carl Wernicke misses the big picture in his Gramm hit piece entitled ‘It’s all in our heads? Take a pill, get over it.‘ And where are these whiners Gramm was talking about anyway?

The ‘mental recession’ that Gramm was talking about was the one created by nearly 8 years of running down the Bush administration at every step of the way. A direct result of the effectiveness of how the media can shape, if not create, public opinion to mirror their own. So for that, you and others in the MSM can be proud of your success. But the antidote is simple. Don’t read the papers and it will go away.

Talk jobs? The big picture is unemployment still in the 5% range. Not all that bad.

Talk recession? Two quarters of negative growth. Haven’t yet had one month of negative growth.

Talk price of gas? The media’s party, the Democrat party, is responsible for preventing any increase in supply from happening starting with Bush’s first term. No, starting with Clinton’s first term.

There’s your mental recession.

The whiners? (Enter number here) Americans don’t have (enter Democrat entitlement here). There they are.

2008 Election, Politics, Uncategorized

McCain Campaign Needs A Clue About ANWR

July 12, 2008 Ross

Need proof that the McCain campaign is misleading their candidate? The place where the drilling would be looks nothing like the Grand Canyon or the Everglades as even John McCain himself would see, if he had a clue. Here he is making a complete fool of himself at a town hall-style meeting Wednesday at Missouri State University in Springfield. McCain said . . .

I’ll be glad to review over time in light of changing world events on any issue. But I also believe that the ANWR is a pristine place and if they found oil in the Grand Canyon, I don’t think I’d drill in the Grand Canyon.

McCain says that if the people in Louisiana want to drill off of their shore, that’s fine. And if the people of Florida want to do that too, that’s also fine. Well, the people in Alaska want to drill in ANWR. OOPS! Now it’s not fine?

Some things are worth repeating, and debunking the myths about ANWR is one of them. The media and the environmentalists will show you the prettiest pictures of the reserve, then actually tell you that this is where BIG OIL wants to drill.

This is the coastal plain, the place designated for oil exploration. ANWR Coastal Plain

And this is the coastal plain in the spring.

Coastal Plain in ANWR

And this is representative of pictures that the media and environmentalists will show you and why we need to save the planet. This also appears to be Sen. McCain’s view as well.

ANWR protected wilderness

Somebody ought to physically take John McCain to ANWR. Then I’d be interested to see if the added information would be enough for him re-consider his position on not drilling there.

So what does that say for Sen. McCain’s, I don’t know, judgement?, inquisitiveness?, malleability?

Media, Politics

Iraq's Timetable Is More Table Than Time

July 12, 2008 Ross

Good news. Iraq is finally in the position to look toward taking over complete control of their country, and us out.

In politics, nothing happens by accident. Although the last of the five Army brigades that made up the surge will be leaving this month, political solutions still need to happen. 15 of 18 goals set forth last year have been met.

The widely publicized, and misrepresented, ‘timetable’ is a lesson in political maneuvering. PM al-Maliki has some coalition building of his own to undertake. Bringing together all the political parts to unify the country is required. Talk of a timetable, it is hoped, will facilitate that. The real timetable isn’t based on the calendar. According to his national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, it is based on the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security, which is in agreement with the Bush administration, not against it.

It is the media’s interpretation of a TIMEtable that the administration is against. Not Iraq’s.

Media, Politics, War On Terror

Senate Overwhelmingly Passes FISA Law

July 10, 2008 Ross

In a 69-28 vote yesterday, the Senate approved a revised FISA bill that the House approved last month. The President is expected to sign it. It is a little disappointing that the vote wasn’t 97-0, since we are talking about taking out terrorists and terrorist cells, but it does show the far left’s commitment to their wacko base.

Bowing to President Bush’s demands, the Senate approved and sent the White House a bill Wednesday to overhaul bitterly disputed rules on secret government eavesdropping and shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits complaining they helped the U.S. spy on Americans.

alAP is not pleased. In fact, if you want to know where alAP stands on the issue, one only has to read the title of their article, ‘Senate bows to Bush, approves surveillance bill.’

They could have approached it from a different perspective, like an unbiased news perspective. They might have used one like this, ‘Washington United In Fighting Terror.’ Had they done that, it would have also sent the correct message to the enemy, instead of the wrong one.

link: Senate bows to Bush, approves surveillance bill

Pensacola, Politics

How The Left Likes Capitalism

July 10, 2008 Ross

What does the left like about capitalism? Air America Radio host Mike Papantonio has something to say about it in this weeks gem of an article, ‘Deregulation a bonanza for Big Business, not for you.’

‘During the long run of Republican leadership, prior to the Great Depression, Corporate America and the Republicans had an agreement: government would not regulate’

The premise is BS. No matter when in time. Free enterprise is not free if it is overly regulated. That could only be offensive to a socialist.

‘Corporations were able to generate bigger profits at the expense of workers’

Success is always attributed to one of two things by the left. It is either ‘at the expense of workers’ or ‘on the backs of workers.’

‘Eight years of deregulation have again been profitable for Big Business’

That’s a good thing. Proving the point that capitalism is handicapped and deformed when regulated. Oh the success of the capitalistic system.

‘but not for the average American.’

. . . more socialist-speak.

He goes on in the article but, generally speaking, much of Papantonio’s rants and writings seem to follow a checklist like this one. They’re all there in this week’s installment. But this checklist is not exclusive to Papantonio. You’ll find this checklist employed everywhere the far left resides.

Exxon, BIG OIL, check.
Halliburton, like BIG OIL, only worse, check.
Tom DeLay, check.
Karl Rove, check.
Dick Cheney, check.
Enron, check.
Wall Street, check.
AT&T, check.
Shell Oil, BIG OIL, check. Did I mention BIG OIL?

Bio: Mike Papantonio hosts a nationally syndicated radio show, the Ring of Fire, on Air America Radio and is the founder of GoLeft.tv. He is a partner in the Levin Papantonio law firm in Pensacola.

link: Deregulation a bonanza for Big Business, not for you.

The Lunch Counter