Attacks on Obama Driven By Racism?

Check out this great symposium on charges of racism against President Obama, at Booker Rising, "Is Criticism of President Obama Driven by Racism? Is The Race Card Being Used To Prop Up Obama?":

Robin Martin: "Black America Is In Dire Need Of A Collective Lobotomy":

Asserts the conservative blogger, about Rep. Hank Johnson's (D-Ga.) comments claiming that criticism of President Obama marks the return of the white-hooded Ku Klux Klan terrorizing black areas: "I am convinced that my people need a collective national lobotomy. Why? Because we are clearly clueless about what real racism is. This is evidenced by the fact that we are unable to tell the difference between racism and bad form. Absolute everything is processed through the lens of race. Look at this disgusting display of black pathology...The fact that an overwhelming amount of black folks view reasonable and valid criticism of President Obama as racist indicates that we are indeed suffering from a collective mental illness and in dire need [of] treatment. Clearly, liberal programs haven't cured the ills that grieved us over the last forty years so I fear the only cure is a national collective lobotomy."

More great stuff at the link.

See also, "Analysis: ‘Racist’ Claims Defuse Word's Power" (via Memeorandum). Plus, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, and Stop The ACLU."

Cartoon Credit: William Warren at Americans for Limited Government.

The Glenn Beck Supremacy

You know, ever since last spring, when Glenn Beck aired his comments about "preparing for anarchy in America," there's been something extraordinarily accurate about his commentaries on the Obama administration. The Van Jones resignation certainly cemented Beck's status as the premier commentator on the contemporary right. Indeed, just last week I argued that "Beck has emerged as cable TV's Rush Limbaugh."

Well, my remarks might have been clairvoyant (or someone's reading my blog!). The Beck-Rush comparison's picking up steam. For example, there's a good buzz today over Time's new piece: "Mad Man: Is Glenn Beck Bad for America?" And here's a key passage:

Beck is 45, tireless, funny, self-deprecating, a recovering alcoholic, a convert to Mormonism, a libertarian and living with ADHD. He is a gifted storyteller with a knack for stitching seemingly unrelated data points into possible conspiracies — if he believed in conspiracies, which he doesn’t, necessarily; he’s just asking questions. He’s just sayin’. In cheerful days of yore, he was a terrific host of a morning-zoo show on an FM Top 40 station. But these aren’t cheerful times. For conservatives, these are times of economic uncertainty and political weakness, and Beck has emerged as a virtuoso on the strings of their discontent. Rush Limbaugh, with his supreme self-confidence, holding forth with “half my brain tied behind my back just to make it fair,” found his place as the triumphant champion of the Age of Reagan. Macho Sean Hannity captured the cocky vibe of the early Bush years, dunking the feckless liberal Alan Colmes for nightly swirlies on the Fox News Channel. Both men remain media dynamos, but it is Beck — nervous, beset, desperate — who now channels the mood of many on the right. “I’m afraid,” he has said more than once in recent months. “You should be afraid too.”

The piece describes Becks' schtick as a combination of "entertainment and enlightenment." And the article is surprisingly sympathetic, if not fawning. Mostly, though, it's condescending toward conservative-libertarianism. Beck taps into real anxieties. And as these anxieties are dovetailing with truly monumental policy impacts, advocates of Beck's scenarios are excoriated as "fringe elements" and "racists."

What's amazing, and this is why the Time story is significant, is how quickly Beck and others on the right - like Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit (who is cited in the article) - have had a dramatic effect on politics at the highest levels. This stuff is almost like All the President's Men without Deep Throat. If President Obama were in turn to be impeached - not a far-fetched scenario, given the Bill Clinton presidency - commentators will no doubt "pin the blame" on "fear-mongerers" like Beck. Natually, Beck and others will be demonized for their "hatred," while the legacy media gives a pass to the administration's corrupt communist ties. This creates a classic feedback loop. When the press white-washes real scandals and Democratic malfeasance, the Beck-heads become even more feverishly delirious.

Anyway, Beck's only going up right now, and note how Politico's Michael Calderone's picking up on my theme of Beck's new supremacy. See, "Glenn Beck vs. Rush Limbaugh."

More at Memeorandum.

Obama as Witch Doctor Another Chance to Smear Conservatives

Could be a hoax. At all the events this year, I've never seen the "Obama as witch doctor" tea party sign.

But even if real, leftists denounced the alleged "witch doctor" imagery months ago, so there's nothing new here. Move along.

Naturally, the "witch doctor" sign is just perfect for the radical left's meme that tea partiers are "racist." We've been hearing it all year; and as noted previously, huge majorities reject the idea that opposition to the administration's program is racist. See, Fox News, "FOX News Poll: Are Obama's Opponents Racists?"

Cartoon Credit: William Warren at Americans for Limited Government.

Nancy Pelosi: Tearful Warning of 1970s-Style Political Violence - 'This Climate is Frightening'

The Blog Prof gets the hat tip: "Video: Nancy Pelosi Worries About Tea Protest Violence. Chokes Up. Likens It To What Killed Harvey Milk."

But check out this from The Hill, "Pelosi Concerned About Potential for Political Violence Like S.F. in '70s":

A usually steely House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday began to tear up when, in responding to a question about the tone of the national debate, she recalled the politically charged violence that tore through her hometown of San Francisco in the late 1970s.

At her weekly news conference, Pelosi (D-Calif.) was asked if she was concerned about whether the debate over healthcare and the role of the federal government — much of it wrapped in escalating anti-government rhetoric — could lead to acts of violence.

“I think we all have to take responsibility for our actions and our words. We are a free country and this balance between freedom and safety is one that we have to carefully balance,” Pelosi began.

But she then reached back some 30 years, to the very beginning of her career in politics, to recall how heated rhetoric led to the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by a disgruntled former supervisor on Nov. 27, 1978.

“I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw … I saw this myself in the late '70s in San Francisco,” Pelosi said, choking up and with tears forming in her eyes. “This kind of rhetoric is just, is really frightening and it created a climate in which we, violence took place and … I wish that we would all, again, curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements that are made.”

More at Memeorandum.

ACORN Prostitution Scandal in San Diego: Housing Pimp Juan Carlos Caught On Tape!

At Big Government, "ACORN Video: Prostitution Scandal in San Diego, CA":

Lots more commentary at Memeorandum.

Panoramic Image of 9/12 March Makes Leftists Look Like Idiots

I first saw this over at The Rhetorican, "Panoramic View of the 9/12 March."

The full image is here, care of iOwnTheWorld.com and Memeorandum.

Nice Deb has the discussion, "70,000 Tops, Right Nutroots?":

iOWNTHEWORLD’s Mr Pinko obtained this photo from Freedomworks photographer, Michael A. Beck, who was offered a rare opportunity to photograph the massive gathering of patriots on 9/12.

This is a RARE photo of the 9/12 Rally taken in extreme High Resolution from atop the Capitol Building. Mr. Beck was personally escorted to this rare vantage point by a congressman who will remain anonymous. This panoramic view offers the viewer documentation of the epic scale of this peaceful demonstration of democracy in action.

The main netroots freaks are at Media Matters. See, "Beck, Limbaugh Run Wild With Estimates on Size of 9/12 Protests." And while 2 million sounds higly inflated, pictures such as that above, the time-elapsed photos, as well as the traffic-camera photo and the one massive crowd shot by Mary Katherine Ham, all make the claim that just "70,000" attended look patently stupid.

London's Daily Mail strikes a reasonable line here, "A Million March to US Capitol to Protest Against 'Obama the Socialist'":

As many as one million people flooded into for a massive rally organised by conservatives claiming that President Obama is driving towards socialism.

The size of the crowd - by far the biggest protest since the president took office in January - shocked the White House.

The key phrase there is "as many as one million people" flooded the mall. The available images and sophtisticated analytical reports confirm those estimates.

For a full analysis, see Charlie Martin, "More 9/12 Crowd Data: Yeah, It Was Big: The Latest Sourced Information on the 9/12 Crowd Points to a Lower Bound of at Least Half a Million."

ACORN Video San Diego: Housing Official Solicits Hannah Giles!

The hat tip goes to The Rhetorican, "NEW ACORN VIDEO: San Diego":

But see AOSHQ, "Vid of Creepy ACORN Guy Soliciting Hannah, Asking How He Can Help Smuggle Girls Across Border":

Let's Recap: In all five offices, ACORN officials sought to help out a prostitute. Fine, let's let that slide.

In five offices, ACORN officials sought to help out a prostitute who told them she was bringing around a dozen girls 13-15 years old into the country to be sex slaves.

In four of the offices (and maybe the fifth, we don't know yet), various methods of tax evasion or false statements on tax filings were encouraged by the ACORN staff.

In one of the offices, a tweaker seemed interested in leaving ACORN to come help out at the underage child sex slave brothel.

In one of the offices, a creepy guy told Hannah he had "connections" in Tijuana which might be useful for smuggling 13-15 year old sex slaves across the border.

He also solicited Hannah for sex. People are blowing this off as no big deal. I think it is. Because the reason I think he was offering to help smuggle child sex slaves across the border is he wanted to have sex with Hannah, and he figured that was his in.

So: In all five offices -- which are official federal "partners" with the IRS, being paid to help low-income people file taxes -- ACORN provided advice chiefly amounting to tax fraud or evasion and in several cases offered assistance in running a child sex slave brothel.

Five for five.

More at the link, and Memeorandum.

Allahpundit's also on the case, and snarks, "You’re all modern-day McCarthyites for watching this. You know that, right?"

More snark from Darleen Click, "The White House is starting to nudge ACORN under the bus. No word yet if Charlie Gibson has figured out what ACORN is.

See also, Big Government, "It’s Not Just ACORN; SEIU’s Underage Sex Scandal."

Hannah Giles, James O'Keefe Profiled at New York Post

From the New York Post, "Duo Who Turned This Trick":

The two conservative activists who captured ACORN employ ees giving advice on the sex trade and money-laundering only play a pimp and prostitute on video.

In real life, Hannah Giles, 20, isn't a lady of the night. She's a minister's daughter studying jour nalism at Florida International Uni versity.

And James E. O'Keefe III, 25, a Fordham MBA student from New Jersey, isn't a pimp so much as a pro vocateur -- determined to expose what he sees as the hypocrisies and moral lapses of liberals by employing their own tactics against them.

The pair met last year on Facebook after O'Keefe posted his own gotcha videos, showing Planned Parenthood employees agreeing to his request to earmark his donations for the abor tions of African-American babies.

After Giles proposed the ACORN video-sting idea, O'Keefe -- who started making the videos while a stu dent at Rutgers University -- pounced on it. "Why go after ACORN?" Giles asked. "Because I love America, I love God, and corrupt institutions don't help that."

Lots more on the ACORN scandal at Big Government. Also, Memeorandum.

Michelle Malkin on ACORN's Prostitution Scandal (VIDEO)

Via Hot Air, "Video: Michelle on the Media’s ACORN “Protection Racket" (from tonight's Sean Hannity show):

Jim Treacher Investigates the Czars!

The "boob czars," that is:

As successful as the 9/12 Washington Tea Party was, it still left us with some questions: Who were those wonderful czars? Where did they come from? And most importantly, do they mind if we take some more pictures?

Thanks to the Green Czar (AKA Floridajayhawk on Twitter), we now know a little more about these cheerful, good-natured lovers of liberty and what they're trying to get off their chests. He was nice enough to answer a few questions via e-mail:

Greetings, Green Czar! So, who are you fine folks?

We live in South Florida. Boob Czar lives in a state close to Florida. We got involved with southfloridateaparty.org. We have done many protests in South Florida.

More at the link. And more pictures of ... well, protest signs!

Charles Johnson Attacks Pamela Geller for Defending Rifqa Bary!

Here's the screencap from Charles Johnson's post, "'No Evidence' Rifqa Bary's Parents Want to Kill Her":

Johnson writes:

The anti-Islam blogs have been hyperventilating for months over the case of Rifqa Bary — a Muslim teenager who converted to Christianity, ran away from home, and found a new home with a radical fundamentalist Christian preacher, Blake Lorenz of the “Global Revolution Church.”

People like Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer have injected themselves into this case, judged her parents, and found them guilty of intended murder — because they’re incapable of imagining that Muslim parents might not be murderous monsters. In their twisted paranoid world, all Muslims are honor killers, and that’s all there is to it. Evidence be damned. If her parents say they love her and would never hurt her ... well, that’s just what a lying Muslim would say, isn’t it?

Charles links to a CNN story on the a Florida Law Enforcement report claiming that there was "no clear evidence of criminal activity" against the parents. Yet, Rifqa Bary recorded new testimony indicating her dreadful fears for her life:

I am sixteen and I love Jesus, um... crazy how I found the Lord but, people were blown away but, my parents are Muslims, radical, radical Muslims. You guys don't know the history of Islam, it's really hostile towards Christianity and the mere word of Christian can bring such a hatred in them right. I'm a secret Christian, I've been hiding for a long time, three of four years. They can't know of my faith, because if they do know, the consequences are really hard. Just the culture and background they come from like, is so hostile towards Christianity ... the consequences are great.

Check Pamela's post as well, "Libel blogger Goes Anti-Rifqa Bary."

And isn't big ole' Charles Johnson supposed to be a firm advocate for truth and reason. Boy, look at this smear: At the screencap for LGF at top above, you can seen this sentence at the bottom of the post, in parentheses:

(I’m fairly sure that Spencer and Geller will now attack me, but that’s standard fare for them when they’re caught out espousing bigotry and inciting hatred.)

Well, call me a bigot or something, because I believe Rifqa Bary when she says she fears for her life. And her fear is certainly justified. She was threatened with death by her father and allegedly abused by her uncle. (And see Jihad Watch, "12-Year FBI Veteran Says Serious Flaws in FDLE Report Claiming Rifqa Bary Wasn't Abused.") A Facebook message from a Muslim group threatened to kill Rifqa Bary ("Rifqa Bary Facebook Fatwa: 'We Need to Kill Her'"), and the CAIR-backed Muslim community erupted in outrage in August when Florida Judge Daniel Dawson granted a stay on Rifqa's threatened return to Ohio. See a full report at Red County, "Muslim Assault against Apostates: the Rifqa Bary Case."

See Jihad Watch for additional information.

*********

UPDATE: ... I've made some adjustments to the post. Pamela did not link Charles, although Johnson routinely redirects those who link to him. See, Jihad Watch, "Charles Johnson's Latest Libels Answered."

ADDED: Saber Point, "BAN CHARLES JOHNSON: Don't Read or Link to 'Little Green Footballs'."

Marsha Blackburn, Mike Pence Interviews on 9-12 March on Washington

Here are intervews with Representatives Marsha Blackburn and Mike Pence, speaking on the 9-12 March on Washington:

More at the Washington News Observer.

Maxine Waters Wants Probe of 'Birthers' and 'Teabaggers' (AUDIO)

Maxine Waters is reallly too much some times. See, "Waters: Probe 'Birthers and the Teabaggers' at Rallies for Racist Views." Listen to her at the video:

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said that it's not enough for African-Americans to levy allegations of racism against the right-leaning protesters, and that the media must look into their views.

"I want those people talked to; I want them interviewed," Waters told the liberal Bill Press Radio show in a podcast. "I want journalists to be all over those rallies and the marches with the birthers and the teabaggers."

"What I'm looking for is the very people who carry the signs who are referring to the policies in very, very strange ways like 'Obamacare' and 'Bury Obamacare with Kennedy,'" she said. "What I've been interested in is hearing from those people that everybody's referring to -- everybody on the Mall, in the rally."

See also, Gateway Pundit, "Maxine Waters: Media Should Probe the "Birthers & Teabaggers" at Rallies."

Plus, from Voting Female, "Maxine Waters Calls All Tea Party Protesters Homosexuals in her Latest Attack on Free Speech: For Those Who Haven't Figured It Out Yet ...'Tea Bagger' is a 'Male Homosexual'":

Way to Go, Maxine Waters, you Socialist Racist Anti-Constitution Anti-Homosexual Anti-White ASSHAT! Show the World just how much of a BIGOT YOU REALLY ARE!

Leave it to a MOONBAT TROLL Like Rep. Maxine Waters to denigrate freedom loving rightfully dissenting Americans by calling them all Homosexuals and attacking them as Homosexuals.

While we have all witnessed the likes of Janeane Garofalo and Keith Olbermann using such personal attacks on constitutionally protected Political Dissent, these two idiots are not members of Congress and loss of respect for you, Maxine Waters, by the Greater American Public, for a Congress Man or Woman to use these tactics and these Minority Pejoratives is a WHOLE OTHER KETTLE OF FISH.

Keith Olberman has been dismissed as a Wall Eyed Manic by Mainstream America and Janeane Garofalo’s career as a professional comedian has been destroyed by her own behavior.

For the Socialist DEM Political Party Office Holders in Congress, who pretends to defends the Homosexual Community, to use Extremely Offensive Slang Terms like Tea Bagger as an insult to Tea Party Protesters is equal to calling Tea Party Protesters, Red Neck NI*GERS.

The Only Difference between calling people Tea Baggers and calling people Nig*ers is which Minority Group’s Perjorative is used for personal attacking purposes on people.

More at Memeorandum. And Weasel Zippers, "Maxine Waters (D-Gestapo) Wants "Teabaggers" Interviewed to see if They're Racists ..."

Rachel Maddow: Joe Wilson a 'Mascot for Incivil, Racist Fringe'

I've said it many times by now, but Rachel Maddow's show is simply a platform for the left's unsubstantiated smears against conservatives. Last night, she looked at comments in support of Joe Wilson as evidence that the right is "uncivil" and that the movement is "unhinged." Check at 2:45 minutes:

Maddow goes on to present a far-fetched "history" of right-wing extremism and postulates that the fate of groups like the John Birch Society is in store for today's conservative and libertarian activists. Maddow's elevation of Joseph Farah and Dick Armey to the center of the "movement" is a classic straw man fallacy.

Of course, the public's not buying the left's "racism" scare tactics. As Rassmussen points out this morning, "12% Say Most Opponents of Obama Health Care Plan Are Racist":

Twelve percent (12%) of voters nationwide believe that most opponents of President Obama’s health care reform plan are racist. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 67% of voters disagree, and 21% are not sure.

In recent days, several Democrats have suggested that racism is a factor. The most prominent to make that accusation is former President Jimmy Carter.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Republicans reject the notion that most of the opponents are racist. So do 78% of voters not affiliated with either major party. However, just 39% of Democrats share that view. Twenty-two percent (22%) of those in the president’s party say that most of the opposition to his plan comes from racists, and another 39% are not sure.

Okay, think about this: Two-thirds of respondents reject Rachel Maddow's hard-left claim that opposition to the president is racist. And 9 of 10 Republicans along with 8 of 10 independents reject the view as well. Maddow's appealing, in fact, to a genuine fringe element herself. Of those 39 percent, a large segment would be the same fever-swamp radicals who have burned George W. Bush in effigy.

And if you check Gallup's piece up today, "Healthcare Bill Supporters Cite Uninsured; Foes, Big Gov’t."

Basically, the common responses see ObamaCare as an unnecessary expansion of big government. And the response for "government should not be involved in healthcare" measures support for a total government takecare of health markets, not simply a government role, since we know Medicare is a traditionally popular program for the elderly.

Most importantly, there's nothing here that indicates racist sentiment. Democrats are playing the "race card" because they're desperate. If you noticed at the video, Maddow repeatedly refers to President Obama as a "relatively popular president." The only problem is that he's not relatively popular. As early as March analysts were indicating how President George W. Bush (the evil "Chimpy") was more popular than President Obama at the same stage in the presidential term. And as this essay indicates, "George W. Bush was in office 37 months with an unpopular war before he fell to the Obama historically low level according to Gallup."

See more at Cold Fury, Power Line, Protein Wisdom, QandO, Say Anything, and YID With LID.

Conservatives Find Winning Formula in ACORN Attacks

From the New York Times, "Conservatives Draw Blood From Acorn, Favored Foe":

For months during last year’s presidential race, conservatives sought to tar the Obama campaign with accusations of voter fraud and other transgressions by the national community organizing group Acorn, which had done some work for the campaign.

But it took amateur actors, posing as a prostitute and a pimp and recorded on hidden cameras in visits to Acorn offices, to send government officials scrambling in recent days to sever ties with the organization.

Conservative advocates and broadcasters were gleeful about the success of the tactics in exposing Acorn workers, who appeared to blithely encourage prostitution and tax evasion. It was, in effect, the latest scalp claimed by those on the right who have made no secret of their hope to weaken the Obama administration by attacking allies and appointees they view as leftist.

The Acorn controversy came a week after the resignation of Van Jones, a White House environmental official attacked by conservatives, led by Glenn Beck of Fox News Channel, for once signing a petition suggesting that Bush administration officials might have deliberately permitted the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Even before Mr. Jones stepped down, Mr. Beck had sent a message to supporters on Twitter urging them to “find everything you can” on three other Obama appointees.

Conservatives believe that they have hit upon a winning formula for such attacks: mobilizing people to dig up dirt, trumpeting it on talk radio and television, prompting Congress to weigh in and demanding action from the Obama administration.

At the video, Bill O'Reilly, "The Collapse of ACORN."

See also, Big Government, "The Science Behind the Acorn Sting." (Via Memeorandum.)

ACORN Prostitution Scandal Threatens Democrats' Hold on Power!

From Atlas Shrugs, "Exploding NUT CASE: ACORN Employee "names names of politicians she talks to each day, plus what bills they are lobbying heavily for (with taxpayer money). Oh, this Acorn employee is also a former hooker herself, admits to killing husband":

If you didn't think ACORN could get any worse after several of their employees (in multiple locations) tried to help a prostitute buy a house, lie to the IRS and run a brothel with underage hookers from El Salvador ... you were wrong. It gets much worse. In today’s tapes, this ACORN employee gives away the farm - she names names of politicians she talks to each day, plus what bills they are lobbying heavily for (with taxpayer money). Oh, this Acorn employee is also a former hooker herself, who (in this audio tape) admits to killing her abusive husband. Your tax dollars hard at work! ( Transcript, Insider Audio)

Also, Andrea Shea King links to FrontPage Mag's, "Valerie Jarrett: The Next Van Jones." But see, Lame Cherry, "From Little Acorn: Arrest:"

What now must be reviewed by the FBI is why ACORN was using of all the places on earth, a New Orleans based front, that was basically a house with dozens of "businesses" operating from it. The name of the front was CSI, and in interviews reported here, CSI said they had nothing to do with stage lighting and various other things ACORN was dumping money into their coffers for and yet the money was disappearing.

Valerie Jarrett is the link through her power friend, a friend she stated in Chicago Magazine had the following necessary attributes:

Quote Valerie Bowman Jarrett: “Linda has a real ability to see all sides of a situation,” Jarrett says. “And when I’ve had a horrible day, I’ll call Desirée and say, ‘Meet me for a drink.’ I need friends I can trust to keep my confidences.”

Trust to keep my confidences? That sounds a great deal like secrets in three power brokers in Chicago's black side might have a whispering push to have ACORN find its way into corrupt New Orleans at the behest of friends conducting the same push now finding the FBI arresting people.

It was Valerie Jarrett who was the womb for changeling embryo Bearick Obama who this group of communists noted and was apparently artificially inseminated into blackness by delivery artist Bill Ayers who was modeling the Barry wonder.

Valerie Jarrett would steer Obama as she is still his control. She would be the first to read his rambling Dreams of a Deadbeat. She would be the first to host Obama and be the driving force in Obama finding his presidential run voice when he was lost in the crowd.

From little ACORNS grow mighty convictions as the branches of corruption spread upon the limbs weighing down the names of those who were directing ACORN in election fraud and money laundering.

I have faith in the FBI in this job well done under Director Robert Mueller, what I have absolutely no faith in is Eric the bagman Holder who is a shill not seeing election crimes in Pennsylvania and the head of all the US Attorneys who will be prosecuting these cases in Patrick pay and play Fitzgerald, who just got his appointment at a most opportune time in somehow not being able to see Rahm Emanuel, Bearick Obama and Valerie Jarrett were guilty as Rod Blagojevich for trying to buy as Senate seat Blago was selling.

If this proceeds as it should in making the piglets squeal, the piglets in deals will roll over on the sows on top with names Pritzker, Jarrett, Plouffe, Axelrod and Obama who all benefited by what ACORN was doing illegally in stealing the presidential election.

See also, The Real Barack Obama, "Why Was Obama’s “Brain” Valerie Jarrett So Happy to Hire Communist Van Jones? Was it Fate?"

Related: Staff Report, U.S. House of Representatives, 111th Congress, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (July 20, 2009), "Is ACORN Intentionally Structured As a Criminal Enterprise?"

Black Thugs Beat White Student on Bus in St. Louis

The American Prospect is running a despicable piece today, "Stuff Some White People Don't Like: The Right's Animosity Toward Obama Isn't About Fascism or Socialism - It's About Racism."

Actually, what whites don't like is getting beaten in unprovoked attacks by gangs of black thugs. Racism? That's bull. The real racism we've been seeing since last year's Democratic primaries is on the left. But, as is typical now on the left, basically any substantive differences conservatives have with President Obama can only be chalked up to "racism." It's a sickening indication of how down and low leftists have devolved. As Peter Wehner has argued, with reference to Maureen Dowd's allegations that Joe Wilson is racist:

... the charges of racism we are now seeing are evidence of a movement that is getting a bit desperate and more than a bit angry. The trouble is that throwing around the term racism with such promiscuity dilutes the charge and makes it less potent when it is really needed. It is yet one more example of the harmful effects of contemporary liberalism.

The fact is, the racist incidents we see these days are when when white SEIU thugs beat black conservatives or when a bus full of young black hoodlums beat a white classmate in an unprovoked racial assault. In other words, Democratic racism. There's a thread at Memeorandum.

Hat Tip: Blog Prof, "Video: White Student Beaten On School Bus To Cheering Crowd." And The Rhetorican, "I Have the Strong Urge to Blame Maureen Dowd ...": "I think it’s safe to say that Obama has not ushered in a post-racial era just yet."

Also, Michelle Malkin, "A Teachable Moment: Racial Thuggery in St. Louis."

Tea Party Update! More Fabulous Pictures from 9-12 D.C. Rally - And More!!

My good friend Matt at St. Blogustine attended the 9-12 March on Washington, and I mistakenly omitted his post from my roundup yesterday. What a beautiful picture!

I need to throw a link back over to Lynn Mitchell, who is still posting photos from her big day in the Capitol!

Also, from Charlie Martin at Pajamas Media, "March on Washington: How Big Was the Crowd?" And at the Wall Street Journal, James Freeman, "Angry, Polite 'Mob' Descends on D.C."

Plus, from Mike's America, "Largest Political Protest in History was More "Green" Than Obama Inaugural!"

Don't miss Glenn Reynolds as well, "TEA PARTY UPDATE: Okay, I was busy this weekend in Quincy and didn’t have time to cover all the tea parties going on outside of Washington, DC and, of course, Quincy. But there were a lot. Here’s a picture from El Cajon, California, sent by reader Josh Swanson ..."

And back home, from Richard McEnroe, "More Pictures from the LA 9/12 Tea Party!."

Charles Johnson Attacks Robert Stacy McCain as Racist

As of this moment, Charles Johnson has over 1,000 comments on a "private" afternoon comment thread devoted to smearing Robert Stacy McCain as racist:

Here’s a private open thread, restricted to registered LGF users, for a mind-boggling Monday as the right wing blogosphere unites to support an open racist who associates with white supremacists and neo-Nazis, Robert Stacy McCain — a man who believes Abraham Lincoln was a “war criminal” who should have been tried for treason.

Charles Johnson's free to do what he wants with his own blog, but he strains legal and moral boundaries with his libel-blogging against Robert Stacy McCain. And I am happy to disabuse Charles of the notion that R.S. McCain is an "open racist who associates with white supremacists and neo-Nazis." There is no proof for the allegation, not one shred of it. I have known R.S. McCain for two years now, and there's nothing in him that remotely reeks of racist sentiment. Indeed, R.S. McCain represents the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar, and I testify to his unimpeachable integrity on civil rights.

The sources for the common attacks on R.S. McCain as "racist" have long been discredited. Most recently by Stogie at Saber Point, a personal friend of R.S. McCain's during the period of the allegations of racism, "Robert Stacy McCain: I Know Him Better Than Charles Johnson Does." Stogie cites three posts that R.S. McCain has written:

1. "Point One: Charles Johnson doesn't know me from Adam's house cat."
2. "Point Two: Charles Johnson is prejudiced, and subscribes to stereotypes."
3. "Point Three: Charles Johnson will regret it but once, and that will be continually."

I wrote recently that Little Green Footballs "was getting pummeled from all sides." I noted at that entry that it was never personal with Charles Johnson. It's been more a fascination to watch someone who I read and linked to many times descend into cowardly incoherence and megalomaniacal infirmity. It's no longer fascinating; it's now a matter of concern, if not pity. A look at Johnson's blog over the last week shows a search for fringe elements to validate a warped theory that the GOP is taken over by extremists. Sure, the fringe is out there, and these elements include myself, if you want to be technical. It's called the conservative/libertarian base, and it's diverse. I hardly agree with the most unhinged allegations against President Obama and the Democrats. But I endorse many of the charges against them, and I'll defend my positions competently and with ease.

It gets ridiculously boring listening to people like Charles Johnson demean common folks as racists and Nazis. Such smears reveal a shallowness of character and a flickering of ideological commitment.

The "right wing blogosphere" has noticed. See:

* "Goodbye Little Green Footballs, Hello Powerline."
* "Talkin' Charles Johnson Paranoid Blues."
* "Little Green Footballs' Johnson Sinks Further Into the Abyss."

Image Credit: Saber Point, "Charles Johnson Rides Into the Sunset."

Christopher Knight on 9-12 March on Washington: Stick to Art Reviews

Christopher Knight, at the Los Angeles Times' "Culture Monster" blog, argues that Glenn Beck's 9-12 logo is based on "century-old communist, socialist and other left-wing designs."

I like Knight's work as the Times' chief art critic (see here), but the guy really should stick to reviewing the masters. After his attack on Glenn Beck's 9-12 logo, he concludes with a jab on the crowd-size estimates for Saturday:

Turnout for the 9-12 Project's Saturday march on Washington was a bust; 30,000 protesters signed up in advance (MSNBC reporter David Shuster tweeted that D.C. park police called that figure "generous"). But even if three times that many actually showed up, the number would fall far short of the hundreds of thousands (and even millions) claimed to be planning to attend. Even in that reduced crowd, however, surely someone recognized how odd the right-wing gathering's left-wing logo was.

Maybe Beck will explain. Sort of.

There's lots of good analysis on crowd size from bloggers, and the numbers are way more the 30,000 (or 70,000). For one of the better analyses I've seen, check Transterrestrial Musings, "An Impression of the Protest."

9/12 Tea Parties Galvanized by Health Care Reform

From my report on the Wilshire tea party at Pajamas Media, "9/12 Tea Parties Galvanized by Health Care Reform":

Bill Whittle of Pajamas Media.

In Los Angeles, during what I thought was the keynote address on Saturday, Bill Whittle rallied the crowd to keep the momentum going. Grassroots citizens “need to run for office themselves,” was Whittle’s exhortation. He said that the only way Americans will preserve liberty is by taking it back themselves. Go to Washington and do your “tour of duty as a citizen legislator,” Whittle exclaimed! Then “come back home to your families and communities” to let other patriots steer the ship of state for a time.

It was a dramatic and powerful message. My sense is that Whittle captured the real nature of what we’ve seen in the protests this year. Whittle noted that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are brief documents, but members of Congress apparently hadn’t read them. And if they had, they failed to understand the simple call to freedom found therein — manifestos of liberty, painstakingly outlined by our nation’s Founders. In contrast, legislators can parrot by rote the nationalizing principles embodied in House Bill 3200, with its 1,018 pages of proposed bureaucratic tyranny.

So, yes, while only a few thousand were on hand in Los Angeles on Saturday, it’s clear that by now activists are heartened by a triumph of democratic significance. That is, people are making a real difference. After months of being smeared as “racist teabaggers” and “right-wing political terrorists,” the movement is now an unmistakable force with which to be reckoned.

Rosslyn Smith, commenting on the Washington protest at the American Thinker, suggested that “we are witnessing a very rare phenomenon, the genuine, broad based spontaneous political movement with no visible charismatic leaders.” But Ms. Smith’s only partially right. The “visible charismatic leaders” are the real people, drawn from all walks of life, who have rallied to the cause of freedom this year in record numbers. Many have told me personally that they’d never attended a protest or a town hall event in their lives. It’s hard to find a better testament to the enduring Americans values of freedom and individualism than that.

Congratulations to marchers nationwide who are revitalizing the American democracy.

Something Going On in America! 9/12 March on Washington Roundup

I think I speak for a lot of conservatives when I confess I'm overwhelmed with information and blog links for the 9/12 March on Washington. So, I'm going to do a little roundup of friends, some of whom graciously linked to my 9/12 report yesterday.

First, here's the e-mail I received from my friend Lynn Mitchell in Virginia:

Donald,

We did it!! The 9/12 March on Washington yesterday was absolutely breath-taking, an emotional experience for many who thought they would never see that many conservatives in one place at one time. It was a sea of faces, flags, signs ... young, old, short, tall, all shapes and sizes, some on walkers or canes ... it was the face of America.

To march down Pennsylvania Avenue -- which is a wide street -- shoulder-to-shoulder with like-minded patriots took your breath away. As far ahead of us as we could see was a sea of people carrying flags and signs ... behind us as far as we could see was a sea of people carrying flags and signs. Chants would go down the street like a vocal wave ... approaching as a low roar in the distance, catching up with us as we joined in, and washing over us to continue down the street to the thousands behind us.

I am telling you ... there is something going on in America. You have seen it in California ... I have seen it in Virginia ... and we have both seen it in every state between us.

Yesterday we made history. Will conservatives continue on this quest to take back our country ... or will they quietly slip back into their complacency of the past 30 years?

Time will tell.

I am busy posting photos today -- I took 600 photos yesterday -- of the faces, the signs, the flags and banners. I'm 56 years old ... I never thought I would see this day.

Keep up the good work and the good fight on the Left Coast. We will do the same here. And thank you for being a conservative educator who is not indoctrinating our children into the culture of the Left.

Best regards,

Lynn Mitchell
SWAC Girl

Lynn's been spending the day uploading pictures and blogging the protest, so check out her blog for the fabulous photos and commentary!

Also, Darleen over at Protein Wisdom linked to my Wilshire report yesterday, "Hundreds of Thousands." Darleen makes the definitive case on the numbers in attendance in D.C. yesterday. Plus, my friend Skye at Midnight Blue attended the rally. She argued in the comments here that the crowd was over a million, for sure.

Mike at Cold Fury linked with his post, "More Tea Party Coverage." Stogie at Saber Point did so as well, "America Flips Obama the Bird: Mass Tea Party Convincingly Rejects Obamunism."

Okay, my friend The Rhetorican is like a whirlwind of blogging! He linked with, "9/12 Tea Party West." And my new friend Andrew Berman also linked with, "How Many People Attended The 9/12 March?"

And don't miss the towering figure of the blogosphere, The Blog Prof, who links with, "Thousands Turn Out At Tea Party West In LA." In addition a new towering (thundering?) figure, Thunder Pig: "9-12 March on DC and Tea Parties Across the USA."

My longtime blogging buddy Blazing Cat Fur picked up on the "Real Hope" t'-shirts, which feature the caption on the back from Matthew 12:21, "In his name the Nations will put their hope."

I think that's most who've linked, but check Dan Riehl as well, "9/12 Attendance Issues Addressed." Related: My good friend Doug's post at the Daley Gator, "9/12 Tea Party – Only Thousands? Or At Least A Million? You Decide." And the Red Hunter, "Tea Party 9-12-09 March on Washington DC," and the Astute Bloggers, "DEDUCTIVELY WE CAN PROVE THAT THE "TENS OF THOUSANDS" FIGURE THE MSM HAS BEEN USING TO DESCRIBE THE 912 NATIONAL TEA PARTY IS FALSE."

Plus, Kenneth Davenport's been doing some hot blogging of late. See, "Media Ignores D.C. Anti-Obama Protest - No Surprise." More good stuff at Carolyn's Closet, "United We Stand."

I apologize if I've missed anyone who linked to my 9/12 post. Feel free to send me an e-mail (at my Blogger profile), and I'll work on getting some more roundups posted this week.

Bonus Post: Don't miss Pat Austin's powerful essay, "Editor of HuffPo's Health Unit Mocks Death of Cornell Student."

9-12 Tea Party West: Wilshire Federal Building

Saturday, September 12th, was a special day for democratic participation in America. The nation witnessed a phenomenal display of grassroots action in defense of liberty. London's Daily Mail reports that upwards of 2 million people marched on Capitol Hill. I was unable to travel to Washington, like so many others. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to attend a great rally at the U.S. Federal Building in Los Angeles. I'd say roughly 2,000 people attended, although another estimate places turnout at 3,500.

Here's a shot of the crowd when I arrived about 2:30pm - with hundreds of people already on hand. Below, we see the Wilshire Federal Building sign, to the West side of the property, near the Eastbound offramp at Interstate 405:

Here's my first shot of demonstrators, an enthusiastic couple:

Here's the crowd shot at about the same time:

Here's a video of the event, from Richard McEnroe:

What a cool sign - can you imagine our first president saying, WTF?

I walked back over to the sidewalk at Wilshire to get some photos of demonstrators. This guy's sign sports a damning condemnation of the president:

Vendors were selling loads of t-shirts (you can see the tables set up at about 3:35 minutes at the video). I actually first noticed the "Real Hope" shirts on these two brothers. They let me take their picture:

The caption on the back of the shirt is from the Matthew 12:21, "In His Name the Nations Will Put Their Hope." This young lady, hanging out with her mom, models the shirt:

This mom below was really sweet, and eager for me to get shots of her "tea party toddlers":

I told this guy straight out that he had the best sign of the day. I've said the same thing many times at the blog, and boy does that drive the lefties batty:

The crowd was filling out pretty good by now:

Back out on Wilshire, I said hello to this fellow below. Regular readers might remember him (and his sign) from the Adam Schiff town hall:

I didn't know this gentleman, but I liked his sign:

Joe Wilson's influence reaches to the West Coast:

Back over to the podium, I thought Bill Whittle - the great host of Pajamas Media - gave the best speech of the day (or at least of the speeches that I really listened to):

An old friend of mine, Michael, from 30 years ago, gave an impassioned address. I didn't recognize him until he started speaking. We spoke afterwords for a few minutes. Love the shirt:

As I was saying my goodbyes, I noticed this pretty woman with the great Photoshopped mini-poster, "Comrade Obama Leading Us to the Glorious Future!:

Well, maybe not so glorious after all:

More photos at my good friend Mark Goluskin's," Scenes From The Los Angeles 9/12 Rally."

Whoa Nelly! Crowd Estimate Now 2 Million for 9/12 D.C. Protest!

I'm heading out in a few minutes for the 9/12 West protest. A few thousand are expected, but if it's a tiny fraction of what's happening in Washington today, I'll be in tea party heaven!

Pamela Geller has some great coverage of events, "A Failed Presidency .... And Its Only Six Months, Hundreds of Thousands On the Mall." Pics at Instapundit! And Michelle Malkin, "Update: Turnout Estimated at 2 Million."

Check also Nice Deb. And Vodkapundit has lots of pictures, with updates throughout the day (via Memeorandum). And at Newsbusters, "WaPo Presents 9-12 Event as GOP Danger, Full of 'Right-Wing Nutballs' and 'Freaks'."

The White House is trying to blow off the event. But as Jennifer Rubin notes:

The long-term consequences of this and the preceding populist gatherings are hard to predict. We may see a more libertarian Republican party. A huge turnout for 2010 may result. New, real outsiders may enter politics. And, of course, these protests may scare the dickens out of lawmakers. But while everyone is decrying the collapse of civility and the resulting harm to the country, it is worth noting that we are witnessing a grassroots outpouring of support for limited government, the rule of law, fiscal sobriety, and generational responsibility. That must be heartening to conservatives, but more than that, it is a tribute to the vitality of our democracy and the energy of its citizenry. And that is a very good thing indeed.

I'll update from L.A. with photos later tonight!