The Left's Opportunistic Antiwar Movement

A good clip, from Reason.tv:

It's obviously true that the antiwar movement of the early 2000s was an anti-Bush, anti-GOP campaign. But what's not mentioned is that the ANSWER folks are an all-purpose perpetual protest organization. They latch on to any developments on the far left and attempt to seize the initiative. That happened at the outset of the protests against Prop. 8 and also during the anti-S.B. 1070 protests in Arizona. And while Democrats have clearly dropped any pretense of being antiwar during the Obama interregnum, these same partisans have little compunction against allying with Stalinists of the ANSWER sort. It's all about timing. ANSWER keeps itself afloat with non-stop outrage, but they're just one segment of the broader progressive left that is anti-American and neo-communist. Code Pink would be a good example. Friendly with President Obama, they advocate extreme positions on the revolutionary left. Recall what John Tierney wrote in 2005:

The irony of the modern “peace” movement is that it has very little to do with peace — either as a moral concept or as a political ideal. Peace is a tactical ideal for movement organizers: it serves as political leverage against U.S. policymakers, and it is an ideological response to the perceived failures of American society. The leaders of anti-war groups are modern-day Leninists ...

And speaking of ANSWER, they're gearing up for their 8th anniversary protest march in Hollywood: "STOP THE WARS: Resist the War Machine! — 8th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq."

Saturday, March 19, 2011, the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, will be an international day of action against the war machine.

Protest and resistance actions will take place in cities and towns across the United States. Scores of organizations are coming together. Demonstrations are scheduled for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and more.

I covered last year's protest, which saw about two thousand demonstrators on hand. I expect to be there again this year, so expect more top-quality coverage.

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly Shreds Governor Brown's Budget

Cool video:

And at LAT, "GOP lawmaker tears up Jerry Brown's budget. Literally.‎"

Leftists Get Lifeline to Hell With Philadelphia Abortion Case

I've probably said it before, but I'm simply blown away. Is there no bottom too deep for the progressive left? The politicization of the Arizona shooting was pure evil and hard to beat. But after yesterday's news of the arrest of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, I think progressives got a lifeline to Hell.

I commented yesterday on Barbara O'Brien's cheers for Dr. Kermit Gosnell. And now coming back to it, it turns out the line on the progressive left is that the Philadelphia case is an argument for more abortions, that is, more support for purportedly legal and safe abortion, rather than legislation to further restrict access. I don't make a case either way. Perhaps there are some extreme medical circumstances in which obtaining an abortion is absolutely necessary. But over the past few years it's been clear that the right to an abortion has become the equivalent to a license for death. And while it's impossible to imagine a more heinous case, the Philadelphia horror is the direct result of the left's destruction of the sanctity of life. One thing leads to another. God help the poor women who come into the wrong circle of people, who direct them to the clutches of the likes of Dr. Gosnell.

Of course, progressives couldn't care less about God, so it's pretty easy for them to choose up sides. Notorious atheist PZ Myers sums up progressive thinking on the case:

No one endorses bad medicine and unrestricted, unregulated, cowboy surgery like Gosnell practiced — what he represents is the kind of back-alley deadly hackery that the anti-choice movement would have as the only possible recourse, if they had their way. If anything, the Gosnell case is an argument for legal abortion.

The statement's false, if not an outright lie. Gosnell was practicing for thirty years, and clinics like that are sustained by huge networks of pro-choice activists. This is the logical outcome of the left's culture of death. Unrestricted access is exactly what progressives want, screw the quality, obviously. Myers simply drills the point home by suggesting this is the case for legal abortion.

And go read Scotty Lemieux at Lawyers, Gays and Marriage. He's a clinical monstrosity himself, not only stupid but completely unoriginal. And I've responded to dim bulb Malaclypse at the post.

Top 10 Tragedies Exploited by the Left

From Megan Fox, at NewsReal Blog:

By now, Americans should be hip to the Left’s jive. Exploiting the dead and the tragic is a premeditated, proven attack plan that is a staple of the Left. They have one goal and that is to destroy their opposition by any means necessary. Slander, libel, slime and lies is the name of the game. And they aim to win. The pattern is evident. The minute a tragedy occurs and there is any way to tie a conservative to it, they will do it before the bodies are cold. Once they’ve assigned blame they start trying to legislate away more personal freedoms. This is the formula. Tragedy+Outrageous Blame Shifting=Legislative Victory. There is no shame on the Left, only shameful behavior.

RTWT.

Rush Limbaugh Reads Legal Insurrection's, 'We Just Witnessed the Media's Test Run to Re-Elect Barack Obama'

Congratulations to William Jacobson. That's called having an impact:

This Day in History: Inauguration of President Ronald Reagan

Exactly 30 years ago today:

And see USA Today, "Ronald Reagan: A 'Folklore' President Who Led a Revolution":

Thirty years ago, Reagan was sworn in as president of a downbeat nation that elected him despite concerns about his age — at 69, he would be the oldest president in history at inauguration — and his ideology. Was he too hawkish toward the Soviet Union, too hostile to social safety-net programs?

Now his estimation by presidential scholars and the American people continues to rise, though skeptics say acolytes exaggerate his legacy.

In a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, nearly one-third of Americans predict history will judge him an outstanding president, double the number who held that view when he left office. Among modern presidents, only John Kennedy gets higher ratings.

A C-SPAN survey of 65 historians in 2009 ranked Reagan near the top tier of presidents, 10th of 42. A Siena College poll of 238 presidential scholars in 2010 put him in the middle range, 18th of 43, though he ranked in the top five for communication skills, leadership of his party — and luck.

His two terms marked "a clear turning of a chapter" from the Great Society liberalism of the 1960s to a new conservatism, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley says. And his personal connection to many Americans endures.

Adding to his story: surviving an assassination attempt with reassuring humor two months after his inauguration in 1981, and leaving the public scene in 1994 with a letter to the American people revealing his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

He was 93 when he died June 5, 2004.

"He's become a folklore president," says Brinkley, who edited Reagan's diaries. "He's as much Buffalo Bill or Kit Carson as he is Harry Truman or Lyndon Johnson."

Admirers credit Reagan with ending the Cold War — he both increased defense spending by a third and embraced Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev— and reviving the economy. After the unhappy tenures of Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, Reagan returned a sense of optimism and buoyancy to the White House.

"No matter what political disagreements you may have had with President Reagan — and I certainly had my share — there is no denying his leadership in the world, or his gift for communicating his vision for America," President Obama says in an appreciation written for USA TODAY.

"It was a hell of a record," says James Baker, who ran the campaign of Reagan's chief rival in the 1980 GOP primaries and then became Reagan's White House chief of staff and Treasury secretary. "What I mean is, you did have 25 years of sustained, non-inflationary growth. You had a restoration of the country's pride and confidence in itself. You had peace. What more could you ask for?"

Since Reagan left the White House in 1989, just about every Republican presidential hopeful has sought to claim his mantle, including those weighing bids for next year's nomination.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich has co-produced a documentary of Reagan's life called Rendezvous With Destiny; he'll screen it in Tampico at the town's centennial celebration of its most famous son.

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin routinely quotes Reagan in her Facebook postings. Indiana Rep. Mike Pence's paean to American exceptionalism recalls Reagan's oft-repeated description of the United States as a "shining city on a hill."

Read the whole thing.

The Sienna presidential poll is not to be trusted, as I reported earlier, "Who Are the 238 Presidential Scholars, Historians, and Political Scientists Polled for the SRI Presidential Rankings?"

I think the USA Today/Gallup rankings sound reasonable. And speaking of ranking, at CNN, "CNN Poll: JFK Remains Most Popular Past President." And Althouse has the nostalgia, "Half a century ago, the inauguration of JFK."

JFK died when I was two year-old. He'll always be one of my favorites, but Reagan and George W. Bush are tops for me.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to Be Relocated to Houston’s TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital

At ABC News, "Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Stands on Both Feet, Looks Out Window: Giffords to Be Moved to Houston Rehab Facility":

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords stood on both feet with assistance and looked out a window, another milestone in her recovery after a gunman fired a bullet through her brain during an attack in Tucson, Ariz., 11 days ago, according to University Medical Center officials.

She soon will be moved to a hospital in Houston.

Giffords is expected to be transported Friday to the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research at Houston's Memorial Hermann hospital, which specializes in brain injuries, her office said today. The exact day of the move could change, depending on Giffords' condition.

The institute, also known as TIRR Memorial Hermann, is part of the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. Giffords' office said in a statement that facilities across the country had been considered for her rehabilitation but TIRR was chosen because of its reputation and proximity to Tucson.

Her husband, astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, lives in Houston, where he trains at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

More at the link.

Bloggers Quitting

Blue Crab Boulevard took a long hiatus late last year, and I was reminded of it while reading this piece, "Bloggers Quitting What They Call a Demanding Task With Few Rewards." The main thing I can relate to is the time commitment. Jules Crittenden mentioned that, and the fact that he'd pretty much done all he'd wanted to do. The article is about business blogging, but I think political bloggers can take away a few nuggets in any case. You gotta love it and you gotta work it. Self-promotion isn't an option if folks are looking to have any kind of impact, and you gotta write like a mofo. Give no quarter and don't look back. The progressive nihilists will chew you up and spit you out faster than a wad of raw Southern snuff. Shoot, these f**kers will kill you given the chance. More later, in any case. I'm still fighting the good fight.

National Archives of Canada Cancels Screening of 'Iranium'

After getting "unspecified" threats.

Blazing Catfur has been all over the story, and see also Ottawa Citizen, "Film cancelled after Iranian request: Library and Archives staff report threats after embassy's formal complaint." Plus, at National Post, "Archives Canada cancels screening of Iranian film" (via Memeorandum).

The End is Near for Southern California's Conventional Aircraft Manufacturing

At LAT, "Boeing cutting 900 Jobs at Long Beach C-17 Plant":

Time is running out at Southern California's last major conventional aircraft factory.

Citing declining orders for its C-17 cargo planes, Boeing Co. said it was cutting 900 of the 3,700 jobs at its sprawling Long Beach plant. Barring congressional intervention or a spate of foreign orders — which analysts say is unlikely — the factory is expected to shut down completely by the end of next year.

"There's just not that much of a market for this aircraft," said Scott Hamilton, an aviation industry consultant in Issaquah, Wash.

The layoffs, which the company announced late Wednesday, continue the decline in local aerospace jobs. The industry, which employed more than 160,000 people in Southern California in 1990, had an estimated workforce of about 47,650 last year.

The C-17 Globemaster III, a massive, four-engine jet that hauls 60-ton tanks, troops and medical gear across continents and yet lands on short runways, has been in production since the early 1990s. The plant, next to Long Beach Airport, is a symbol of a bygone era in Southern California when factories ran around the clock building colossal aircraft.

"Our rich history of aerospace manufacturing makes this an emotional day for Long Beach, as the C-17 plant is the last of what was previously a robust aerospace manufacturing industry in California," Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster said.

Boeing once built the 717 jetliner in Long Beach. It was also where McDonnell Douglas manufactured the MD-80 commercial jet. Farther north, Lockheed Corp. produced the Constellation and Electra in Burbank. Now, those facilities have been shuttered.

In recent years, the industry has transformed from blue-collar manufacturing work to more white-collar engineering, concentrating on high-tech systems such as spy satellites, precision missiles and robotic planes. But this work doesn't need nearly as many people.

Newly laid-off workers will also face a tough hiring environment. Unemployment in California stands at 12.4%. In Los Angeles County, it is 12.9%. Workers were told about the layoffs Wednesday, and termination notices will begin to be issued Friday, the company said.

"There are a lot of people upset about it," said Ray Luciani, 60, a maintenance mechanic at the plant. "I'm just hoping to last three more years to get my pension."

My college is right next to the old 717 plant. It's a ghost town around the facility, and it's weird.

More on this later.

The Tolerant, Compassionate Non-Violent Left

Here's a couple of interesting posts, from Nice Deb, "Leftism Really is a Mental Disorder." And at Kathleen McCaffrey at Legal Insurrection, "Evil Schmevil." Kathleen examines the question of whether Jared Loughner is "insane or just evil?"

At the comments, I suggested that Loughner's crazy. The left's exploitation of him is evil.

The System Worked: Mahablog Cheers 'House of Horrors' Abortion Doctor Who Killed Seven Babies by Severing Their Spinal Cords With Scissors

The main story is at Wall Street Journal, "Philadelphia Abortion Doctor Charged With Murder":

Warning: The following will likely be the most disturbing story you read here all day all month.

With that disclosure, here goes.

A Philadelphia doctor who provided abortions for minorities, immigrants and poor women has been charged with eight counts of murder in the deaths of a patient and seven babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors, prosecutors said Wednesday. Click here for the AP story; here for the Philadelphia Inquirer story.

Working out of his Philadelphia office (pictured), Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 69, made millions of dollars over 30 years, performing as many illegal, late-term abortions as he could, prosecutors said.

Gosnell “induced labor, forced the live birth of viable babies in the sixth, seventh, eighth month of pregnancy and then killed those babies by cutting into the back of the neck with scissors and severing their spinal cord,” Williams said.

Nine of Gosnell’s employees also were charged ...

And at Lonely Conservative, "Abortionist Charged With Multiple Murders":

This has to be one of the most horrific things I’ve ever heard .... Ghastly doesn’t begin to describe it. Good Lord.

And it's true. Here's this from the Grand Jury report:

This case is about a doctor who killed babies and endangered women. What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable, babies in the third trimester of pregnancy – and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors. The medical practice by which he carried out this business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels – and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths. Over the years, many people came to know that something was going on here. But no one put a stop to it.

Let us say right up front that we realize this case will be used by those on both sides of the abortion debate.We ourselves cover a spectrum of personal beliefs about the morality of abortion. For us as a criminal grand jury, however, the case is not about that controversy; it is about disregard of the law and disdain for the lives and health of mothers and infants. We find common ground in exposing what happened here, and in recommending measures to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

I'm glad the Grand Jury placed that disclaimer at the beginning of the report, because for me, this isn't so much about abortion politics as it is the normalization of evil. I wish women didn't have abortions, although I'd never deprive a woman her right to make the decision. But this isn't about that. What happened in Philadelphia, over a period of years, it turns out, is what happens when life itself becomes cheapened and coarsened at the altar of civil liberties. Just because one has the right to do things doesn't mean they ought to do them. And here the case could be made that that right itself is illegitimate if not exercised with the same kind of common sense and professionalism that we'd expect of those providing any kind of medical service, from routine doctor visits to open-heart surgery. That is to say, if one's going to perform this service, shouldn't it be treated with the same kind of dignity as any other operation? Instead what's revealed here is the production of death, and for what reason I can't possibly fathom. It's not so that women can exercise "choice." If someone is on the fence on the question of abortion, here's a case study of how badly things not only can go wrong but will go wrong, since taking scissors to just-born babies is the next logical step in the agenda of moral annihilation at the center of the pro-choice movement. And I think the point is illustrated at The Mahablog, where not once do we witness Barbara O'Brien's condemnation of the slaughter, but we instead gasp at her first impulse, which is to blame the right: "It appears to me this is not a bogus charge concocted by 'Right to Life' operatives." Seriously. Read the whole thing, especially this jaw-dropping conclusion:

This is the system working. If abortion is criminalized, thousands of clinics like this will spring up like mushrooms, operating underground, out of sight of the law.

No, Barbara, the system didn't work. But I will pray. I'm saddened by the industrial-scale death that you promote with your radical pro-choice ideology. And I'll pray for those babies --- and for you as well.

See also, The Other McCain, "Abortion Is Murder, and Sometimes We Are Brutally Reminded of That Fact." And Dr. Melissa Clouthier, "Abortion Abomination - Murder. Vile, evil, disgusting, loathsome murder." (Via Memeorandum.)

Obama Rides Wave of Support After Arizona Shooting: Seven-in-Ten Americans Reject Progressives' Blame-Righty Allegations

At WSJ, "President's Ratings Climb." The president is at 53 percent approval. It's a tragedy bump, to be expected following such a horrific event, and the sensational media coverage:

The poll was conducted days after a shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., in which six people died and 14 were injured, including Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic congresswoman from the state.

Surges in presidential popularity are common after a galvanizing national tragedy, said Bill McInturff, a Republican pollster who co-directs the Journal/NBC News poll with Democrat Peter Hart. Bill Clinton saw a four-point jump after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. George W. Bush a huge surge after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

And at the raw pdf survey, 71 pecent said that the shooting was an "isolated incident by a disturbed person" (Question 35):

Thinking about the shootings of a Member of Congress, a Federal judge and others in Tucson, Arizona last weekend, do you feel the extreme political rhetoric used by some in the media and by political leaders was an important contributor to the incident or do you feel this is more of an isolated incident by a disturbed person that occurs from time to time?

That's 7-in-10 who reject the left's blame-righty campaign, although given a choice, substantial numbers say that radio and television, and blogs and the Internet, contributed "to a climate that some say encouraged the shootings" (at Question 37).

Encouraging overall, but those latter items remind me of William Jacobson's comments earlier:

The ruthless efficiency with which the left-wing blogosphere tied Palin to the shooting, and the success of their efforts in equating Palin with mass murder, is a lesson we should not forget.

Rep. Steve Cohen Compares GOP Healthcare Opposition to Nazi Party's 'Big Lie'

Well, fancy that.

Now that Democrats and fever-swamp progressives have been hammered for their blame-righty campaign following Tucson, we'll be hearing ObamaCare lackeys in Congress attacking GOP opposition as the "Big Lie."

That's sad, I gotta say. At Weasel Zippers, "Dem Congressman Compares GOP ObamaCare Claims to Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, Lies About Jews That Led to Holocaust," and The Hill, "Democratic Lawmaker Compares GOP Health Law Claims to Nazi 'Lies'."

And from Michelle, "Civility Watch: Nazis and Crosshairs and Killers, Oh My":

When is it hate speech to compare politicians to Nazis? Only when the accusers are Tea Party activists or Republicans. When it’s Democrats, just move along. Nothing to see or hear ...

Democrats Continue to Blame Palin for Arizona Shooting

As we learned previously, in a CNN poll, a majority of 56 percent of Democrats thought Sarah Palin was to blame for the tragic shooting in Arizona.

And in a new Public Policy Polling survey released yesterday, 45 percent of Democrats believe that "Palin is at least partially responsible for what happened in Arizona." The survey contacted voters January 14-16, fully one week after the news broke. And of course it was known by Sunday at least that alleged killer Jared Loughner had acted without having seen Palin's target map, and by Tuesday, January 11, Loughner-friend Zach Osler reported that the shooter "didn't listen to political radio, he didn't take sides, he wasn't on the left, he wasn't on the right." And, according to William Jacobson, "We Just Witnessed The Media's Test Run To Re-Elect Barack Obama":

The false connection of the Palin electoral target map to the shooting did not start in the mainstream media. As I have documented, that false connection started with bloggers at DailyKos and Think Progress using Twitter to push the issue into the mainstream media within hours of the shooting with the help of their followers.

The ruthless efficiency with which the left-wing blogosphere tied Palin to the shooting, and the success of their efforts in equating Palin with mass murder, is a lesson we should not forget.

The Democrats and their mainstream media supporters were put back on their heels in 2010, and are regrouping. And if regrouping requires falsely accusing a major Republican figure of complicity in mass murder, and then amplifying that false accusation for several days in the face of contrary evidence until a substantial portion of the population believes it, they will do it.

Yeah, the progressive left got the meme going, but William discounts the epic lies of MFM Tuscon reporting, especially at the New York Times.

More later ...

CARTOON CREDIT: Saberpoint.

CNN's John King Apologizes for Guest Using Term 'Crosshairs'

In the news this morning. See Doug Powers, "CNN Apologizes for Guest Using Term ‘Crosshairs’; America Still Awaiting Apology for Parker/Spitzer."

And Byron York, "Before banning 'crosshairs,' CNN used it to refer to Palin, Bachmann" (via Memeorandum).

Michael Douglas at Golden Globes

Nice slideshow at Chicago Tribune.

I'm happy for Michael Douglas:

RELATED: At Weekly Standard, "Ricky Gervais and the Golden Globes Roast."

Reason to Believe

We need more loveliness.

And we need good reasons to believe amid all the progressive death, destruction, lies, and hypocrisy:

If I gave you time to change my mind
I'd find a way just to leave the past behind
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe ...

James Casper, Stalking Nihilist, Ignores Calls for Civility and Peace in Wake of Arizona Shooting

I've had few dealings with stalking asshat James Casper since he revealed his first-class progressive racism late last year. I do see the hate blog American Nihilist at my Sitemeter on occasion, so I know what these freaks are up to. Or, what they're not up to, actually. It turns out that since the Arizona shooting on January 8th, RepRacist3 hasn't authored a single commemoration for the fallen at his blogs, nor has he denounced the hate and libel on the progressive left. Of course, it'd be just more typical progressive hypocrisy, but RepRacist3 claims to be all about goodness and love: "I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm letting those I disagree with be just as wrong as they want to be for the next 24 hours or so ..." Being respectful of others only applies on opportunistic holidays, apparently. Christmas is a day to score political points, it turns out, as RepRacist3 claims to be all about transcendance and Yuletide cheer (as if December 25th was some political cease-fire day). But then shortly after the New Year dawned, when blood flowed on Tucson's streets, RepRacist3 went silent. What's up with that? Evil. Instead of well-wishes, we have Reppy's demonic henchmen Fauxmaxbaer posting sick screeds attacking my comprehensive reporting as alleged "exploitation." There is no bottom too deep for these vile beasts. And yet, there's rejoice for those entering the Gates of Hell, for a new level of epic godlessness has demonstrated its world historical totalitarianism at American Nihilist. And note that when my regular commenter Bartender Cabbie called them out for unhinged stalking, they wasted no time pumping out lame responses in the comments. They'd rather noxiously allege "bullying" than publish a public prayer for the too-soon-an-angel Christina Green.

I've made screencaps of RepRacist3's blogs. Folks can see for themselves. Clearly civil discourse is a hammer with which progressives suppress dissent. When the times really call for kindness and deliberation, we get silence instead. So unoriginal --- and hateful. So here's a challenge to RepRacist3: Make good on the sentiments of the one-day holiday well wishes by deleting American Nihilist. Follow that up with a new effort --- something good and truly decent --- dedicated to the memories of the fallen, and use that initiative to promote a genuine dialogue of peace and harmony with fellow Americans. I blog about any and all things under the sun, and I pray for those who are suffering. RepRacist3 runs a hate-filled stalking operation with pudd-fiddling Fauxmaxbaer. Never do they post a prayer for the grieving, and never do the denounce the evil in their midst. Thus, do everybody a favor and hang it up. Move on. If you can't do it, it's simply one more confirmation that you're nothing about goodness and cheer, and all about denying reality and destroying political enemies, even in times of tragedy.

Hu Jintao's Visit May Be More Show Than Substance

At LAT, "Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit with Obama may be more show than substance":

When Chinese President Hu Jintao visits America's industrial heartland this week, he'll demonstrate why President Obama will have a tough time winning concessions on economic issues creating friction between the world's two largest economies.

In advance of formal meetings between the leaders, which begin in Washington on Wednesday, the administration has signaled that Beijing must get serious about halting Chinese theft of American intellectual property, eliminating barriers to U.S. imports and revaluing China's currency.

But Hu's planned visit to the Chicago area Thursday represents an attempt to turn the tables on Washington — at least in terms of public perception. Thanks to a relative handful of Chinese investments in U.S. companies there and in other parts of the Midwest, Beijing can argue that it is helping to bring economic renewal to a region long plagued by decline.

In effect, Hu will be saying, "Look here. Despite all your complaints, we're not a problem for the U.S. economy. We're actually creating and sustaining jobs right here in America."

In parts of Illinois at least, Hu's message is likely to be well received. Chicago has a sister city relationship with Shanghai, and Chicago-area companies including the parent company of United Airlines and Continental Airlines, Boeing Co., McDonald's Corp. and Motorola are deeply embedded in China, heightening the perception of mutually beneficial ties between the countries.

The message is likely to be well received in China as well. Washington's complaints have stirred popular anger over what is seen as an attempt to deny China its rightful place as a world power.

"Hu's job is to re-brand China," said Minxin Pei, a China specialist who directs the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies at Claremont McKenna College.

It won't be easy. Outside of purchases of U.S. bonds, China invested an estimated $6.2 billion in U.S.-based companies, real estate and other assets last year, according to Derek Scissors, a China expert at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. That's a blip compared with the projected $275-billion trade surplus China enjoyed with this country.

More at the link.

Rightful place as a world power?

If Obama bows to Hu I'm gonna puke. Because let's face it, China needs the U.S. consumer market as much as we love Chinese products --- there's mutual vulnerability interdependence --- and given the stakes surrounding regional issues where China's power is becoming more important (the Koreas), why get too soft and squishy?

Lots of stuff at Foreign Policy, especially, Richard McGregor: "5 Myths About the Chinese Communist Party." And I'm getting a kick out of this: "China's Intimidation at the U.N."

Civil Discourse in Laguna Beach on Martin Luther King Day

A follow-up to last night, "United States Flag at Half-Mast at Sunset on MLK Day in Laguna Beach."

I spoke for a few minutes with these two beautiful young women. They were taking all kinds of pictures, and they asked me to help for a minute. It was a nice day.

I'll update with more later.

On Hannity's, Sarah Palin Speaks Out Against Left-Wing Hate and Lies

Nice Deb has the commentary, "Video: Hannity Interviews Sarah Palin."

And I'll just add that it's a great interview. Sarah Palin has been exhibiting tremendous leadership and poise over this past week or so. She's an immensely needed voice of moral clarity, and especially so in these difficult times of progressive un-reality.

RELATED:

* "CNN Poll: Majority Says Palin's 'Crosshairs Map' Not to Blame in Arizona Shooting — 49 Percent Say 'Harsh Rhetoric' Not a Factor."

* "Dana Loesch Gets Death Threats in Wake of Arizona Shooting."

* "United States Flag at Half-Mast at Sunset on MLK Day in Laguna Beach."

* "'Heated Rhetoric' Not to Blame in Arizona Shooting, Poll Finds."

ALSO: There's lots of commentary at Memeorandum. I'll link Nate Silver, who's amusing if not fully competent at political analysis.

'Heated Rhetoric' Not to Blame in Arizona Shooting, Poll Finds

At the Washington Post (full survey here).

The poll does not break down by party. I'm still tripping on the 56 percent of Democrats in yesterday's CNN poll who blamed "heated right-wing rhetoric" for the attacks. It's 100 percent untrue, of course, and is thus a bigger statement on the ideological denial of reality that's the hallmark of radical progressive thinking in recent years.

John Hawkins has more on this, "Understanding How The Left Thinks: It’s Not About What’s True, It’s About Who’s On Offense." And previously at Dr. Sanity, "Rage Against Reality All You Want":

Today's political left are the hands-down, gold medal winners in the Denial of Reality Sweepstakes. Watch them spin, lie, distort and finally resort to personal attacks on their critics without any debate on the facts--and learn all you need to know about their creatively dysfunctional coping.

Reality is coming for them. The spectacle would be interesting if only they did not intend to drag the rest of us along with them into the abyss.

They can rage against reality all they want. It won't change anything. But I imagine that getting all those intense feelings out will be sufficient for the children of the left, since that is the only 'reality' they care about or understand.

United States Flag at Half-Mast at Sunset on MLK Day in Laguna Beach

From my visit to the beach yesterday afternoon.

I'll have more pictures in a new post later today. It was so wonderful to see people from all walks of life enjoying the beautiful holiday weather. I'm glad I got away from the news for a few hours. It was like a summer day, probably in the 80s, but I haven't even checked the weather on local news. More on that at the update. Stay well my friends. Love to you and your families, and God bless:

Dana Loesch Gets Death Threats in Wake of Arizona Shooting

From Dana on Twitter.

And on Facebook, "Another death threat from one of those tolerant, loving liberals who loves to preach about 'civility'."

****

From: mikkicrulz@xxxx [mikkicrulz@xxxx]

Sent: Mon 1/17/2011 9:31 PM

To: Dana Loesch

Cc:

Subject: Tag Your It

Attachments:

View As Web Page

Dana,

Defend Sarah if you must with your bullshit, but now you must answer

for your crap. Dana, there are now crosshairs on you. Enjoy looking

over your shoulder. Hey, this aint nothing that Sarah didnt do but you

just never know what the results may be. Enjoy looking twice over your

shoulder.

Crosshairs Jones

All of that from the tolerant left. And for what? Suggesting that there wasn't a thread of evidence tying Jared Loughner to Sarah Palin and the tea parties. Here's Dana on AC 360 on January 10:

ANDERSON COOPER: Dana, is this an opportunity to examine ourselves? Is that what's been happening?

DANA LOESCH, RADIO HOST/TEA PARTY ORGANIZER: Well, I think that the rhetoric -- the rhetoric has been the same as it has always been. Nothing has changed from now from the '60s until now. Everything has always been the same.

What we have to realize is that people can say what they want to on both sides, but we cannot excuse the fact that someone chooses to willfully interpret or perceive things how they want to. And again, there's no evidence at all whatsoever that this guy listened to talk radio or watched news programs on the right or the left.

CNN Poll: Majority Says Palin's 'Crosshairs Map' Not to Blame in Arizona Shooting — 49 Percent Say 'Harsh Rhetoric' Not a Factor

A new CNN poll finds that Americans expect that a "shooting like the one is Arizona will happen again regardless of what action is taken by government and society" (66 percent). Also, a large majority (69 percent) says that their opinion on gun control has "not changed as a result of the shooting in Arizona." The suvey's full pdf form is here. And with the exception of Digby (who says it's depressing the massacre's going to waste), there's not one of the blame righty progressives commenting at Memeorandum.

RELATED: At The Hill, "Palin Defends 'Blood Libel' Description: 'That's Exactly What Was Going On'."

Added: My first inclination was to disregard the partisan numbers, since the left has been so thorougly repudiated by the facts, and instead discuss the majority and plurality findings. But William Jacobson goes with the focus on the astounding number of Democrats who endorse the blood libel smear: "56% of Democrats Believe Palin Map Myth."

Where News is Power

"Aides Fight to Be Well Armed," at NYT (FWIW):

WASHINGTON — Bobby Maldonado has the morning routine of a well-trained marathoner.

With the help of three alarm clocks, he gets up at 4 a.m., is showered and out the door in less than an hour, and scans his BlackBerry almost constantly as he makes his pretimed 12- to 13-minute trek to the Red Line Metro stop where he catches the first train downtown.

He knows exactly where to stand so he can get into the car that deposits him just steps from the escalator at the Farragut North station. “It’s an efficiency thing,” he explained, “so I don’t get stuck behind people, so I hit the crosswalk at the right minute.” Cutting diagonally across Farragut Square, he arrives at his office at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on H Street just after 5:30 a.m. There, in a darkened cubicle, he scans the Internet for the day’s news and condenses it into a two-page memo that he shoots off to Thomas J. Donohue, the Chamber’s president, and other top executives before 8 a.m. He is never late.

Mr. Maldonado, 26, is one of the dozens of young aides throughout the city who rise before dawn to pore over the news to synthesize it, summarize it and spin it, so their bosses start the day well-prepared. Washington is a city that traffics in information, and as these 20-something staff members are learning, who knows what — and when they know it — can be the difference between professional advancement and barely scraping by.

“Information is the capital market of Washington, so you know something that other people don’t know and you know something earlier than other people know it, is a formulation for increasing your status and power,” said David Perlmutter, the director of the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. “So any edge you can use to get stuff faster, earlier, better or exclusively is very important.”

This is interesting.

There's more at the link, but I like this passage especially:

Getting up early is nothing new, but the lightning speed of news on the Internet and the proliferation of outlets like Politico, which place a premium on “winning” the day, has made the job more demanding and pushed the mornings ever earlier.

I can spend all day blogging and searching for a scoop, so this hits close to home. An interesting study might be to examine how much greater a premium political actors put on up-to-the minute information today than in earlier years. It's not like this kind of thing is new. Back in the '60s, President Johnson had three televisions set up so he could flip back and forth between the major networks. And since at least Bill Clinton's administration, political campaigns have deployed rapid response teams working, ready and able to have "fact-check" ads on the air within 24-hours. But that quote with Politico recognizes a new qualitative dimension, illustrating the changes in the news cycle wrought by Internet technology. That is different.

RELATED: From Jake Tapper, "J ‘Accuse! President Obama Says Chamber of Commerce Using Foreign Funds to Influence US Elections, " and Doug Ross, "Ruh Roh: In 2010 the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Gave 43% of its Contributions to Democrats."

Left-Wing Media Keeps False 'Heated Rhetoric' Meme Alive

William Teach has the appropriate headline, "Today’s Unhinged, Insane, and Over the Top Discourse Comes via The Washington Post."

See, "Giffords's border district symbolizes the heat of Arizona politics" (at Memeorandum):

DOUGLAS, ARIZ. - The congresswoman's grueling path to reelection took her from her Tucson base across the barren high desert, through an empty expanse of tumbleweed and mesquite trees, to this dusty town at the Mexican border that has come to symbolize the tinderbox of Arizona politics.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned here on a sweltering day last June to gather footage for her campaign advertisements. A moderate Democrat in a classic swing district, she walked a main street where American flags hang outside shoe stores and barber shops. A voice-over emphasized her strengths: independence . . . courage. . . integrity.

The camera rolling, a man stormed out of the Gadsden Hotel, a historic landmark. He screamed that Giffords was about to get "thrown out" of office, creating such a scene that police intervened.

"He began viciously, verbally attacking Gabby," said Jason Ralston, Giffords's Washington-based consultant directing the action. "I've never seen anything like it."

The man channeled his anger toward Giffords, but this was about much more than a lone congresswoman. He seemed to give voice to the long-simmering frustrations and passions in southern Arizona that boiled over during Giffords's hard-fought 2010 campaign.

Pitched emotions - centered on the issues of immigration, health care and the economy - have fueled an atmosphere here that encourages vitriol, according to interviews with more than two dozen state political leaders and residents. An anti-Washington sentiment has flourished as people blame their elected leaders, not just for failing to fix problems but for passing laws that only add to the mess.

There's more at the link, but you get the picture. It's been nine days and the Democrat-Media Complex is still hammering the "heated rhetoric" meme.

AND RELATED UNDER-REPORTED NEWS: "Tucson's James Fuller: 'My Personal Agenda Promoting Social Justice'."

New York Times Blames '1440/7 News Cycle' for Despicable Reporting on Tucson Massacre

Actually, it's Arthur Brisbane, the Times' public editor, but his essay's a reprehensibly base apologia, so it's a distinction without a difference. See, "Time, the Enemy" (via Memeorandum):

JIM ROBERTS, the assistant managing editor who has helped create today’s NYTimes.com, likes to call it the 1440/7 news cycle — 1,440 minutes every day, seven days a week, each one of those minutes demanding news for delivery to a networked world.

RTWT.

Jonathan Tobin provides a thankfully honest response, "Was It Time or Bias that Caused the Media to Slant the Story?":

Journalists never have enough time. But that’s no reason to take an event and shoehorn it into a fabricated story line that is based on the delegitimization of those who espouse political views that the Times opposes.

Word.

WaPo's Richard Cohen: 'How Much Time Do We Have Left to Talk About How Stupid Sarah Palin Is?'

I guess that civil debate thingy's not going over too well on the left:

Nice Deb adds:

He's absolutely sure the hapless redneck, Palin, had never heard of the term, "blood libel," didn't know its history, and it was only through dumb luck that she even used the term appropriately. Why would some dumb snowbunny from ALASKA know the meaning of "blood-libel"? Only people on the coasts have enough knowledge of history to have heard of such an archaic term.

Word.

Don Surber Says Screw Civil Discourse

You probably would too after being Photoshopped fucking a tailpipe:

See, "I Do Not Want Civil Discourse" (at Memeorandum):

For two years now, I have been called ignorant, racist, angry and violent by the left. The very foul-mouthed protesters of Bush dare to now label my words as “hate speech.”

Last week, the left quickly blamed the right for the national tragedy of a shooting spree by a madman who never watched Fox News, never listened to Rush Limbaugh and likely did not know who Sarah Palin is.

Fortunately, the American public rejected out of hand that idiotic notion that the right was responsible.

Rather than apologize, the left wants to change the tone of the political debate.

The left suddenly wants civil discourse.

Bite me.

That goes on for a while, and rightly so. Be sure to RTWT.

See also, Instapundit, "ANN ALTHOUSE: 'I guess Firedoglake is flouting the ‘civility’ bullshit that’s been bandied about lately'." Plus, Nice Deb, "Re: Civil Discourse," and iOWNTHEWORLD, "Civil Discord?"

The Imam Shuffle at Ground Zero Mosque

That's Jamie Glazov's term at about 2:40 minutes into the clip:

And Dr. Glazov mentions Pamela Geller as the authoritative source on developments at GZM. See, "Jamie Glazov on Fox and Friends: New Ground Zero Imam's Radical Ties to WTC Bombing Co-Conspirator." And especially, "AFDI/SIOA VICTORY: RAUF OUT! Ground Zero Mosquestrosity Names New Imam: Abdullah Adhami UPDATE: Daisy the Khan Out, too."

Also, I'm just seeing this right now, but I'm stoked since I'm all booked up for CPAC and will be on hand: "World Premiere of AFDI/SIOA Groundbreaking Film at CPAC: The Ground Zero Mosque: The Second Wave of the 911 Attacks."

Britney Spears — 'Hold It Against Me' — Rule 5

I've been getting some updates on Rule from, from American Perspective and Maggie's Notebook, for example. And no updates needed from Theo, who's always on fire.

That said, I'm on a Rule 5 semi-retirement currently, and thus haven't been posting a lot of hotties. Not to worry, though. The Other McCain hasn't let the Tucson tragedy detract from the issue at hand: "Ignoring Public Outcry for ‘Civility,’ Britney Spears Releases New Single." I planned to post the clip at some point, so here you go. Sony Records has been aggressively pulling down unauthorized "Hold It Against Me" videos from YouTube. But at top is the audio from Britney's VEVO page, and Daily Motion has the full theatrical clip below --- but no guarantee how long that stays up. Britney's hot. And later down the road on I'll reprise some of the hot Britney blogging that had been a staple around here in the past.

I also found this production video from 2008, and it's pretty killer.

And don't miss all the great blogging at Blazing Cat Fur and Director Blue.

Plus, Astute Bloggers, Bob Belvedere, CSPT, Dan Collins, Gator Doug, Irish Cicero, Left Coast Rebel, Mind-Numbed Robot, Pirate's Cove, Snooper, WyBlog, Yankee Phil, and Zion's Trumpet.

Thanks for all the linkage friends.

As always, drop your link in the comments to be added to the roundups.

ADDED: See also Pat in Shreveport, "Full Metal Jacket Reach Around: The 'True Grit' Edition," and Saberpoint, "Moving On":

The Left is more than ruthless, they are evil. They seek to rule, not by persuasion or honest debate, but by any means necessary. They revel in slander, character assassination and violence. They are steeped in hatred for all who oppose them. They seek to create and hold a monopoly on news media and editorial opinion; they support voter fraud and stolen elections; they prosecute political opponents on trumped-up charges in kangaroo courts. They have raised "the politics of personal destruction" to a high art form. Fairness, civility and common decency are unknown to them. I do not see the American Left as fellow citizens, I see them as sworn enemies for whom I feel little or no commonality or fraternity.

Added: "AN IMPORTANT RULE 5 WARNING! - Do NOT tell Robert Stacy McCain that Morena Baccarin is now on Twitter!"

The Left's Big Lie: A Chronology of Progressive Deception in the Aftermath of Tucson, 1/8/11

I'm intrigued by the meme this weekend on the blame-righty progressive left. It turns out that Gateway Pundit mistook the closed-captioned "applause' text at the Phoenix Jumbotron for audience prompts at last Wednesday's Obama-Democrat Tucson exploitation rally. And then faster than you can despicable smear, Charles Johnson slams Gateway as a "dim bulb" troglodyte of the "wingnut blogoshpere." But Gateway's Jim Hoft came back with a withering reply: "Figures. Charles Johnson’s Crackpot Hero Arrested For Threatening to Kill Tea Party Leader on National TV." Heh. That's good.

And staying with it for a moment, compare these two screencaps from Little Green Footballs. When James Eric Fuller threatened some conservatives at this weekend's ABC News town hall in Tuscon, Johnson chalks that up to the "Wild West" atmosphere in Arizona. Completely understandable, no doubt.

But just the other day we had news that Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington State received death threats, but that was the work of raving right-wing "lunatic." And Charles chirps in with feigned superiority: "I wonder how the wingnuts will try to explain this one away."

That's typical for the morally bankrupt "husky pony-tailed blogger."

But there's more.

I cruised over to Althouse earlier, and she has a hilarious post picking up on Whiskey Fire's demonic ramblings at Firedoglake: "Hoft gets this through Instadouche and, unsurprisingly, Ann Althouse, who has been looking at pictures again, something that never ends well..." The Whisky Fire proprietor is Thers. He's a classic progressive and morally-bankrupt attack blogger from the TBogg "F*ck Me Pumps" school of racist misogyny and character assassination. Or, as Ann responds, "Heh. I got FireDogLake writing in the anti-Althousiana genre." The link goes to FDL:

Jim Hoft, The Gateway Gobshite, the Dollar Store version of Michelle Malkin, is very possibly the dumbest wingnut on this or any other Internet. To be sure, he has his competition (SASQUATCH ISRAEL!). But he is rather special!

Notice that? The "competition" is me, from last September and my "Sasquatch Israel" gaffe. I noticed some traffic coming in last night from the Sadly No! asshats, and I chuckled this morning at finally figuring out the source. Even better is that I'm lumped to not only with Jim Hoft, but the great Michelle Malkin. Now that's some bragging rights, yo!

But stupid is as stupid does, as they say. Or in this case, as evil does, and you can't touch the left on that. Because as I've been documenting, along with many other voices of moral clarity on the right, the aftermath of Tucson has revealed a depth of progressive depravity thus far unknown to man. I have yet to see a single progressive publish an apology or retraction for their baseless smears that came within minutes of the shooting on January 8th. It's been truly sickening. Here's Thers, for example, at Whiskey Fire, alleging "heated right-wing rhetoric" for the death and destruction at the Gabrielle Giffords event:

Busting wingnut rhetoric for these latest shootings wouldn't be like busting Al Capone for tax evasion. It would be like busting Al Capone for fucking jaywalking.

The reason the Tucson nightmare fearfully resonates is not because of a simple causal relationship between say Glenn Beck and direct incitements to murder, but because "conservatives" have an insatiable appetite for crazy bullshit.

Are wingnuts opposed to incitement to murder because, well, it's incitement to murder, or because they're afraid being caught out doing it might lose them Valuable Political Points?

Dunno! But once you've gone ahead and, say, made excuses for state-sponsored torture, if you want the benefit of the doubt, fuck you.

These people have no shame.

Whiskey Fire posted these lies on Wednesday, fully four days after the shooting. By then it was fully known of Jared Loughner's insanity. But the Democrat-rats smelled a political opportunity, and that night we saw crowds erupt in applause for President Obama at the progressive's University of Tucson progressive pep rally that should have otherwise been an evening of somber reflection. It was just that morning that Zach Osler, a "best friend" to the deranged Loughner, indicated at ABC News that the shooter "didn't listen to political radio, he didn't take sides, he wasn't on the left, he wasn't on the right":

But this is how it all works.

It's the big lie of the progressive-left, as I argued yesterday, as well as Diana West earlier, "Tragedy Exposes 'The Big Lie'":

The suppression of the facts is by no means the most dangerous aspect of any Big Lie. After all, facts don't go away even amid efforts to suppress them. All sorts of inconsistencies, impossibilities and clues remain behind, and sometimes in plain sight, for anyone who cares to look. The real threat the Big Lie poses to society comes when it is not stopped in its tracks, exposed and trashed for what it is -- a lie -- but rather accepted, accommodated and, indeed, treated as if it were the truth. At that point, a Big Lie is a big success, having created an alternate reality that turns its very targets into hapless accomplices.

Unfortunately, that last bit describes most Republicans' supine reaction to the reaction -- the Big Lie -- about the Arizona massacre ....

In the end, though, what's worse than the Big Lie itself is the failure to reject and expose it -- the failure, in this case, to identity the lie as a naked influence operation to mute conservative political expression. This failure is the crime Republicans are guilty of each time they stoop to defend themselves within the phony terms of the lie itself.

I'm not completely down with Diana's condemnation of conservative capitulation to the left's Big Lie. Politically, it would have been much worse to hold back a response in real time, just as the nihilist hordes were building up their deceits and distortions. But she's right to place the lies squarely in the longstanding tradition of leftist totalitarian utopianism. She illustrates her blog post with the image of Joseph Stalin above, and writes: "'Never mind, they'll swallow it', said Stalin, the 20th Century's first successful progenitor of the Big Lie."

Exactly.

I'll have more later.

Meanwhile, the Big Lie continues with the latest from Frank Rich of the New York Times, "No One Listened to Gabrielle Giffords" (via Memeorandum).

RELATED: "The Lies of Bill Maher — And the Epic Struggle Between Good and Evil in the Aftermath of Tucson, 1/8/11."