Scozzafava's Exit Speech (VIDEO)

From the Minority Report, "Dede's Farewell Speech":

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Throughout the course of my campaign for Congress, I have made the people of the 23rd District and the issues that affect them the focal point of my campaign. As a life long resident of this District, I care deeply and passionately about its people and our way of life. Whether as a candidate for Congress, a State Assemblywoman or a small town Mayor, I have always sought to act with the best interest of our District and its residents in mind—and today I again seek to act for the good of our community.

The opportunity to run as the Republican and Independence Party candidate to represent the 23rd District has been and remains one of the greatest honors of my life. During the past several months, as I’ve traveled the district, meeting and talking with voters about the issues that matter most to them, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support I’ve received as I sought to serve as their voice in Washington. However, as Winston Churchill once said, Democracy can be a fickle employer, and the road to public office is not always a smooth one.

In recent days, polls have indicated that my chances of winning this election are not as strong as we would like them to be. The reality that I’ve come to accept is that in today’s political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money—and as I’ve been outspent on both sides, I’ve been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record. But as I’ve said from the start of this campaign, this election is not about me, it’s about the people of this District. And, as always, today I will do what I believe serves their interests best.

It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so. I am and have always been a proud Republican. It is my hope that with my actions today, my Party will emerge stronger and our District and our nation can take an important step towards restoring the enduring strength and economic prosperity that has defined us for generations.

On Election Day my name will appear on the ballot, but victory is unlikely. To those who support me – and to those who choose not to – I offer my sincerest thanks.

Dede

Also at Pat Dollard, "Communist-Posing-as-Republican Drops Out of New York Congressional Race."

Video Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit, "RINO Season Officially Opens – SCOZZAFAVA SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN! (Video)."

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UPDATE: Getting lots of linkage today! Thanks to Ace of Spades, Atlas Shrugs, and Astute Bloggers - the Triple AAA threat!. Plus, Fausta as well. Gateway Pundit too, who is sending me a tertiary Instalanche! Oh, and don't forget Dana Loesch!

RINO Scozzafava Suspends Campaign in NY-23!

From Fox News, "Republican Scozzafava Suspends New York Congressional Campaign":

Republican state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for upstate New York's 23rd Congressional seat, leaving Democratic nominee Bill Owens and Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman in the race that will conclude Tuesday, Fox News has confirmed.

The move comes on the heels of a new poll that showed Scozzafava had fallen behind her two competitors in a race too close.

The Siena College poll has Owens picking up 36 percent of the vote, while Hoffman has 35 percent. Scozzafava has 20 percent, with nine percent of voters undecided.

It's a turnaround from the first Siena poll on the race in September, which had Scozzafava leading, followed by Owens and Hoffman.

The special election is Tuesday.

Hoffman will pick up most of Scozzava's 20 percent in the Siena poll. This race is pretty much a done deal.

See Robert Stacy McCain for the details (he's been working this story like a mofo), "NY23: SCOZZAFAVA QUITS! UPDATE: New poll shows Hoffman in dead heat with Democrat Owens."

Plus, from the Watertown Daily Times, "SCOZZAFAVA SUSPENDS 23RD CAMPAIGN," and Ed Morrissey, "Breaking: Scozzafava Quits After Siena Poll; Update: Hoffman Campaign Asking for Endorsement?" And, from Dana Loesch, "BREAKING: Dede Dumps Herself." Ha!

Added: The best headline so far, "Radical Leftist GOP Candidate Dede Scozzafava Quits."

This is What They Do: Chester County Democrats Smear Conservative School Board Candidate - UPDATE! Sean Carpenter is Upbeat!

UPDATE! I've just heard from Skye at Midnight Blue. Her report:

I've just spoken with Sean Carpenter and he is upbeat about his chances of winning a seat on the school board. He said he's receiving nothing but positive feedback from everyone he talks to and that Karen Porter's smear campaign is pissing people off.

Thanks for posting on this subject.

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My good friend Skye at Midnight Blue reports on the vicious smear campaign Chester County Democrats are waging against Republican school board candidate Sean Carpenter. See, "The Definitive Post on Hypocrisy."

Below is the Democratic video that libels Carpenter, a conservative and pro-victory activist, as an extremist::

This is the blurb at the YouTube page:

The definitive video about Sean Carpenter and the Sheepdogs, a pro-war, pro-torture, far right wing group. In their own words, their own actions, and their own vile behavior they expose their real values and true nature to the West Chester, Pa community and the entire world.

Skye responds:

Despite a recent exposure of a vicious backdoor smear campaign, in which Democrat committeemen and a representative of the Democrat WCASB candidates conspired to subvert campaign finance rules for a negative literature drop on the Republican candidates; they still press on with a negative campaign. You can view their latest attempt HERE. The video was crafted by John Grant, an avowed socialist and chavez groupie. The candidate highlighted in the video is Sean Carpenter, a well respected member of the West Chester community and devoted dad.

Plus, Skye's got video, "Peaceful hypocrites on display in West Chester":

Obama Salutes the Troops

From Chris Muir:

And in the news, from the Washington Post, "Obama Seeking Options on Troops Levels in Afghanistan."

Commentary from Jules Crittenden, "Advanced Baby Splittage," and Prairie Weather, "Pullout Not an Option" (via Memeorandum).

Cartoon Hat Tip: Midnight Blue.

What's to Disavow? J Street is Extremist

From Jamie Kirchick, "The Fork in J Street: Will the New Israel Lobby Disavow Its Extreme Left Flank?" After the introduction, Kirchick writes:

In the weeks leading up to its conference, J Street was wracked by a series of controversies. The group had to cancel a poetry session after it was exposed that one of the participants had compared the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to Auschwitz and another likened Israel to a "whore." The organization's credibility was further challenged when Israeli ambassador Michael Oren refused an invitation to speak at the conference, and an embassy spokesman said that J Street could "impair Israel's interests." Due to these incidents and pressure from the group's skeptics in the Jewish community, 13 senators and congressmen removed their names from the event's host committee. ("Had we known more about J Street back in the summer, it would've been a different story," says a spokesman for one of these members, who affirmed that the congressman would refuse to appear on the host committee next year if invited.)

In the wake of these public defections, Ben-Ami granted an interview to the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg in which he repositioned himself much closer to the center. He criticized Walt and Mearsheimer's views and backed away from his initial calls for Israel to negotiate with Hamas. He said that the prospect of threatening to cut off military aid to Israel "should not be on the table." And, he added, "I hope that we have a very strong left flank that attacks us."

But Ben-Ami's stated goal of having J Street represent "the center" of American Jewish sentiment on Israel was undermined by a variety of events at this week's conference, most notably a bloggers panel featuring the likes of avowed anti-Zionists Philip Weiss and Max Blumenthal, as well as Helena Cobban, the newly-appointed executive director of the Council for the National Interest, one of whose founders has spoken at a conference of a Holocaust denial group. At the panel, Blumenthal attacked Ben-Ami for "capitulating" to Goldberg ("What happened really disappointed me, at least on the point of Walt and Mearsheimer," he said) and mocked Elie Wiesel for investing money with Bernie Madoff. Though information about the event did not appear on the conference agenda and Ben-Ami told Goldberg that J Street was not giving "sanction to their beliefs," the organization provided space--adorned with a giant J Street banner--for the panel, and Ben-Ami himself dropped in on the event.

While Ben-Ami has distanced himself from the Walt-Mearsheimer thesis, their theories about the Israel lobby were widely touted at the J Street conference. At a full Monday afternoon panel entitled, "The View from the Hill: Congress and the US-Israel Relationship," Democratic congressman Bob Filner cited the defeats of his erstwhile colleagues Earl Hilliard and Cynthia McKinney as examples of how the Israel lobby "intimidates" politicians. In response, freshman Democrat Jared Polis repeatedly implored the audience to avoid talking about the pro-Israel lobby in such dark tones. "I encourage everyone to resist talking about this in ways that demonize the Jewish people," he said.

And while Ben Ami is trying to assert his group's Zionist bona fides, a number of speakers at the conference questioned the very idea of a Jewish state--and actually received loud applause. Cheers greeted Bassim Khoury, the former Palestinian Authority's Minister of National Economy, when he said that "if the majority of the Israeli people want to define Israel as a state with a religion like the Islamic Republic of Iran, let them." And Hussein Ibish of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee similarly received applause after delivering a lengthy denunciation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

More at the link.

See also, "Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace; or, Pro-Palestinian Destruction of the Jewish State..."

Ayn Rand and the Tea Parties

From Adam Kirsch's book review at the New York Times, "Ayn Rand’s Revenge" (via Memeorandum):

A specter is haunting the Republican Party — the specter of John Galt. In Ayn Rand’s libertarian epic “Atlas Shrugged,” Galt, an inventor disgusted by creeping American collectivism, leads the country’s capitalists on a retributive strike. “We have granted you everything you demanded of us, we who had always been the givers, but have only now understood it,” Galt lectures the “looters” and “moochers” who make up the populace. “We have no demands to present you, no terms to bargain about, no compromise to reach. You have nothing to offer us. We do not need you.”

“Atlas Shrugged” was published 52 years ago, but in the Obama era, Rand’s angry message is more resonant than ever before. Sales of the book have reportedly spiked. At “tea parties” and other conservative protests, alongside the Obama-as-Joker signs, you will find placards reading “Atlas Shrugs” and “Ayn Rand Was Right.” Not long after the inauguration, as right-wing pundits like Glenn Beck were invoking Rand and issuing warnings of incipient socialism, Representative John Campbell, Republican of California, told a reporter that the prospect of rising taxes and government regulation meant “people are starting to feel like we’re living through the scenario that happened in ‘Atlas Shrugged.’ ”

Actually, Ayn Rand's influence on the tea parties wasn't all that strong over the summer, outward influence at least. (As measued by the popularity of Ayn Rand paraphernalia at the tea parties and town halls.) Of course, Rand's philosophy has been prophetic this year, and current interest in objectivism is record-breaking (which explains why some neo-communists are strangely trying to expropiate her work). And some argue we're living the state-socialist wrecking ball. See, "We Are Living in an Ayn Rand Novel." Leftists can spin all they want. Atlas Shrugged is not a slip cover for what's happening today, but its accuracy in so many other ways in mind-boggling.

Image Credit: From the Orange County Tax Day Tea Party, April 15, 2009.

Passport of 9/11 Plotter Found in Pakistan Al Qaeda Stronghold

"The cold fact is that there were no Iraqis or Afghans on the planes that were hijacked on Sept. 11, yet hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans are dead because of the U.S. invasion" ... Brian Becker, International ANSWER

Perhaps, and yet, from the New York Times:

A suspect in the 9/11 plot whose German passport was found in a mud hut in western Pakistan this week has not been in touch with his family for two years, his mother said in a telephone interview on Friday.

The suspect, Said Bahaji, a German citizen whose father is Moroccan, was the main logistics supporter of the 9/11 attackers, paying their rent and telephone bills, according to the authorities. The Pakistani military said it found his German passport five days ago in the village of Sherwangai in South Waziristan, during a search operation.

Mr. Bahaji was part of the Hamburg cell of Al Qaeda, a tightly knit group of young Arab men who met in Germany in the mid- to late 1990s under the leadership of Mohamed Atta, who eventually became the central planner of the 9/11 attacks.

A Pakistani military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said that Mr. Bahaji was not in custody, and that the military did not know whether he was dead or alive. He said the passport stamp for Mr. Bahaji’s entry into Pakistan — Sept. 4, 2001 — was too old to shed any light on his current whereabouts.

The Pakistani military is in the second week of a major military operation against militants in their South Waziristan stronghold, and General Abbas said one aim was to flush out foreigners.

German intelligence officials have said they believe that Mr. Bahaji, who is still on the German authorities’ wanted list, has been in Pakistan’s tribal areas since Sept. 11, 2001. The discovery of the passport this week was the first concrete evidence.

Many top Qaeda members are believed to have taken refuge in the area. A Pakistani intelligence official interviewed on Friday said the discovery “proves that our militants have had close associations with Al Qaeda.”

Image Credit: Islamization Watch, "9/11 Suspect's Passport Found in a Mud Hut in Pakistan."

Obama's Halloween Horrors!

Happy Halloween!

It's "The Children of ACORN" (from America is an Obamanation)!

Check the blog for the whole "horror show, "The Halloween 2009 Cavalcade of Horror!"

Click Obama's ACORN for more information.

RELATED: At Big Government, from Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, "These Are the Times That Try Men’s Blogging Souls."

Plus, the obligatory disclaimer: THIS POST IS HUMOR!

Administration Denies William Ayers and Jeremiah Wright on White House Visitors' List -- UPDATED!!

UPDATE: To be clear on this, who knows who actually visited the White House? I previously posted pictures of Chicago Boss Richard Daley with the president on the White House lawn (but not a word about it in the press at the time). Anyone from the old community organizing gang's got entrée as far as I'm concerned; and folks should put nothing past this regime, the most corrupt administration in recent American history. The press is totally in the tank, so the truth is relative to power and access. Never believe what these people say. Thanks to Dan Collins for the heads up on where this story's going.

And it's likely more involved than just some fake names filled in by prankish tourists. See, "A Tip On Using the White House Visitor Logs, Just Posted":

As far as I can tell, THE Andrew Stern was the top outside visitor to the White House with approximately 20 visits, or about three visits per month, including four relatively small meetings with the president and a dozen with other White House staffers. Stern has openly bragged about the SEIU's $61 million investment in Barack Obama. It certainly bought him a lot of access.

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This is one of the most cluster**ked things I've heard all year.

In a move it is hailing as "transparency like you've never seen before," the White House on Friday released nearly 500 visitor records of individuals visiting the executive mansion between Inauguration Day and the end of July.

Many of the names appear, on first glance, to be boldface ones -- such as Michael Jordan, William Ayers, Michael Moore, Jeremiah Wright, Robert Kelly ("R. Kelly") and Malik Shabazz -- but the White House warned on its blog that these names in particular were "false positives."

"The well-known individuals with those names never actually came to the White House," wrote Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform.

And Think Progress is ejaculating at "catching" conservatives "falsely" claiming these "boogeymen" visited 1600 Pennsylvania.

Yeah. Right. "False positives"? That's a good one.

We just happen to have a "William Ayers" and a "Jeremiah Wright" on the administration's visitors' list along with Thomas Daschle, Howard Dean, Kim Gandy, Edward Kennedy, John Podesta, and Andrew Stern - all Democratic-Socialist power hitters [source].

Yep, those crazy conservatives sure are wacked out. I mean, William Ayers was "just a guy who lived in Obama's neighborhood," remember? Besides, it's not like Obama actually heard Reverend Wright preach hatred of America in nearly 20 years of attending those sermons.

Sheesh!

For shame you scurrilous right wingers!

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UPDATE!! Linked by Doug Ross and Theo Spark. Thank you!

Michele Bachmann on Hannity: House PelosiCare is 'Crown Jewel of Socialism'

I tweeted this at 6:00pm:

'Crown jewel of socialism' - Michele Bachmann on Hannity now describing the Obam'ntion of PelosiCare in Congress. 'Only one week to stop it'

Now Gateway Pundit's got the video, "Michelle Bachman on Pelosi Health Care Bill: 'This Is the Crown Jewel of Socialism'":

PELOSICARE– “THE CROWN JEWEL OF SOCIALISM”

Rep. Michelle Bachman is calling all Americans to join her on the steps of the Capital Building in Washington DC on Thursday November 5th to stop “the Crown Jewel of Socialism” – the democrat’s bill to take over the US health care industry.

See also, Power Line, "Do They Need the Public Option?" (via Memeorandum).

The Real Significance of Hoffman in NY-23

From Marc Ambinder, "What the NY-23 Special Election Is Really About":

In the span of a few short weeks, the special election in New York's 23rd congressional District has become the one result that the savviest church members are polishing off our sharpest metaphors for.

But what would a victory by the Democrat, Bill Owens, or the Conservative, Doug Hoffmann, actually mean? And is it possible that the political community will over-interpret the consequences? Most certainly. We're all lit-crits now; on Wednesday morning, the real lesson will be decided by whose explanation triumphs in a contested arena: Republicans versus Conservatives, Governing Conservatives versus Theoretical Conservatives, Palin-Beck Crazies versus Sane Modernists.

Actually, at the post, Ambinder gets sidetracked with local political minutia. Not to say that stuff's unimportant, but frankly Doug Hoffman in NY-23 is symbolic of the monumental success of grassroots conservativism this year. See, Dan Riehl, "NY - 23: Conservatives Should Declare Victory." (More at Memeorandum.)

Image Credit: Right Klik (and see, "Hoffmania: What Does it Mean?").

Markos Moulitsas Weasels Out of Scozzafava Endorsement

Remember my earlier report on Kos the radical and Newt the RINO, "Newt Gingrich Joins Daily Kos in Dede Scozzafava Endorsement!"

Well it turns out that Kos has had a major change of thinking. At Dump Dede, "Kos Un-Endorses Scozzafava."

And quoting from Kos' un-endorsement (the link's at Newsbusters):

I have no love for the Democrat, Owens, and I clearly have no love for Scozzafava in that post, so only an idiot would construe that as an "endorsement". An endorsement implies love for the candidate being endorsed. I wish nothing but ill will for all candidates in this race. But the GOP is full of idiots, and they've run strong with it, making my "endorsement" part of their anti-Scozzafava narrative. And now we're in a situation in which the conservative candidate Doug Hoffman has a real chance of performing better than the Republican.

Yeah. Right.

What a bloody freaking liar.

I've got the wretch quoted at my earlier post:

... Dede Scozzafava, the Republican, is actually the most liberal candidate in the race ....

Sure, she is a Republican, and opposes the public option. But she's been willing to raise taxes when budgets require it, and is to the left of most Democrats on social issues (including supporting gay marriage) ....

So it's official, I'm rooting for the Republican to win. As a congresswoman, she could either move even more to the left to properly represent her progressive-trending district and be a pain in the side of the GOP caucus (they have nothing like our Blue Dogs), or Democrats can field a real Democrat to challenge her in 2010.

Obama's Economic Stimulus Sham

This is a jobless recovery, so the White House/Media Industrial Complex obviously has incentive to invent good news. (CNN's on the case, "Stimulus Creates 640,000 Jobs", via.) Obama/Biden economic advisor Jared Bernstein has a report, "New Report Shows Recovery Act Creating Jobs Throughout the Nation."

But recall yesterday's piece at Breitbart, "Stimulus Jobs Overstated by Thousands."

The government has overstated by thousands the number of jobs it has created or saved with federal contracts under the president's $787 billion recovery program, according to an Associated Press review of data released in the program's first progress report.

The discrepancy raises questions about the reliability of a key benchmark the administration uses to gauge the success of the stimulus. The errors could be magnified Friday when a much larger round of reports is released. It is expected to show hundreds of thousands of jobs repairing public housing, building schools, repaving highways and keeping teachers on local payrolls.

See also, Michelle Malkin, "The Stimulus Jobs Inflation Index."

MSNBC Airs Full-Frontal Breast Exam Clip: Added Bonus, Dr. Nancy Snyderman is Top ObamaCare Shill

Via Hot Air, "The 'Courageous' Breast Self-Examination News Spot Debate." Of course, it's with Dr. Nancy Sniderman, one of MSNBC's biggest ObamaCare shills:

In September, Dr. Snyderman predicted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's public option name change this week (Dems are calling for a "competitive option"):

From Newsbusters:

Snyderman was chatting with White House advisor Melody Barnes, who didn't seem to take the possible defeat as hard as did her host . . .

NANCY SNYDERMAN: Melody, it was all going so well. It was all on track. The president went to Europe and--honest to God--I could feel sitting in this chair, that the energy sucked, just sort of went out of the whole thing. And then, frankly, the rumors, the innuendoes, the half-truths, the mistruths, the frank lies, have they all hijacked the conversation? So if it's stability and reassuring the American public, how do you address those sort of hot-button issues that frankly I think need to be reframed? How do you take something like the public option and give it a new name?

More Democratic values for you.

Also, from Town Hall, "MSNBC Airs Uncensored Breast Self-Exam." (Via Memeorandum.)

BUSTED! - New York Times Doctors Piece on Obama Dover Photo Op: More White House/Obamedia Collusion?

Ed Morrissey's got the scoop, "Did White House Pressure NYT Into Changing Dover Story?":

Originally, the New York Times reported on President Barack Obama’s visit to Dover AFB and the arrival of fallen serviceman by explaining that the White House wanted Obama to be seen as concerned and aware of the sacrifices made in America’s war policies:

A small contingent of reporters and photographers accompanied Mr. Obama to Dover, where he arrived at 12:34 a.m. aboard Marine One. He returned to the South Lawn of the White House at 4:45 a.m.
<…>
The images and the sentiment of the president’s five-hour trip to Delaware were intended by the White House to convey to the nation that Mr. Obama was not making his Afghanistan decision lightly or in haste.

Following that link now, the second paragraph quoted is nowhere to be seen. The Jeff Zeleny report contains no editorial announcement of changes after its publication, and no indication of any retraction. Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette and Nice Deb both noticed the change, however, and Greyhawk also noticed that the NYT didn’t quite redact that paragraph from everywhere on its servers. The story now reads like this:

The trip was a symbolic one for Mr. Obama, given the gravity of his coming announcement of a new strategy for Afghanistan.

The image of the commander in chief standing on a darkened tarmac, offering a salute to one of the soldiers, highlighted the poignancy of a decision he is facing.

More at the link.

You can see Ed's search at the Times' website, which shows the original language.

Remember, it's not like the Old Grey Lady's in the tank or anything. See Big Governmnet on Obama's ACORN, "The Media’s Complicity: Analysis of ACORN Coverage."

More at Memeorandum.

About Obama's Staged Photo-Op at Dover Air-Base - UPDATED: Villainous Company Routs Firedoglake!

People often criticize me for "dishonoring" the office of the president (the anarcho-socialist James Webb, for example), but I wrote a respectful post yesterday in response to President Obama's visit to Dover: "Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Dover." Sure, the president's visit was perhaps the worst instance of political grandstanding since taking office, but knowing he's already stabbing our troops in the back, I imagine Obama sleeps better having staged the Dover event.

Nice Deb has the best post on this, "Obama At Dover Air Force Base: Tribute or Photo-Op?"

It's too awful to think that the President would be so base and cynical as to use the death of these brave and worthy men to prop himself up. One is inclined to hope that he only had the best of intentions.

But one wonders.

Via The Mudville Gazette I noticed that The New York Times had originally reported in their article, Obama Visits Air Base to Honor Returning Dead:

The images and the sentiment of the president’s five-hour trip to Delaware were intended by the White House to convey to the nation that Mr. Obama was not making his Afghanistan decision lightly or in haste.

That line was changed to this:

The image of the commander in chief standing on a darkened tarmac, offering a salute to one of the soldiers, highlighted the poignancy of a decision he is facing.

Greyhawk noted that the President’s approval ratings on Afghanistan have been in free fall:

How to turn the situation around? Some say more troops, some say change strategy, others say withdraw – but someone in the White House got the bright idea that now would be a good time for a photo op.

See also, Right Wing Nut House, "OBAMA’S TIMELY VISIT TO DOVER."

My friend Mark at Snooper's Report tipped me off to a despicable post over at our familiar hate-site, Firedoglake. From Blue Texan, "Disgraceful: In 8 Years, George W. Bush Never Greeted Fallen Troops."

See Mark's post, "Blue Texan: A Blustering and Bloviating Moron." Also, in response to the administration, "Dover Dead: Obama's Disgrace."

Also, from Cassandra, at Villainous Company, on the nihilist Firedoglake:

Obama could have visited Dover at any time during the past 8 months - 10, if you take into account the fact that there was no need to have the press document his visit for the TV cameras. But I don't think the facts matter to these people at all. Their hatred is so strong that it blinds them to anything but simmering anger and poisonous contempt. To them, fallen warriors are nothing more than cannon fodder, conscripted against their will - even in death - to fight an obscene war against a President who is no longer in office. Consumed by hatred, they just can't let it go.

What they cannot understand is that unlike Barack Obama, who makes sure the few sops he throws to the military are well documented by the press, George Bush understood our wish not to be used as photo ops. It ought to be simple to understand why George Bush was never photographed at Dover: under George Bush, the press were not allowed at Dover. So there would be no photograph. But more importantly, President Bush understood that the families of the fallen had given enough. The last thing grieving families want is to have a camera or a microphone shoved in their faces; to have legions of Secret Service, White House aides, and other support staff invade an exquisitely private moment that ought to be reserved for those who knew and loved the deceased. Our funerals are not public spectacles, but private observances of grief. Our last President, unlike the antiwar left, understood and respected that.

Read the whole thing. Cassandra includes this video, and adds: "When hatred is so strong that its adherents fear the truth, no factual rebuttal is likely to pierce the wall of lies that surrounds the willfully ignorant. But the truth remains, regardless of their stubborn refusal to admit it":

Also, Cassandra's doing exemplary work with the Project Valor IT fundraiser, "Project Valour IT - Who, What, When, Where, Why (and How!)".

Please join me making a contribution, here.

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UPDATE: Welcome Firedoglake readers, "Attention Bush Apologists: Reagan Greeted Fallen Americans at an Air Force Base, Idiots."

Have a look around, learn something, then behold Cassandra's response, "Attention, Firedoglake":

Reading, as they say, is fundamental:

It appears my post yesterday got the teabaggers all riled up.

Apparently, their position is that George W. Bush’s refusal to honor fallen Americans as they return to this country for the last time — something his predecessors all did — is proof that a) he loves the troops more than anyone else and; b) because Obama did so, he shamefully, cynically exploited our dead.

As much as I hate to have to interpret plain English for someone who apparently does not know how to read, there are times when such measures are necessary.

Nowhere in Confederate Yankee's, Donald Douglas' or Gateway Pundit's posts (the three Blue Texan linked to "support" his dishonest claim) do any of these bloggers claim that Bush loved the troops any more than any other President.

When the only way you can "win" an argument is to manufacture false claims and then "disprove" them, you're in trouble.

Furthermore, the Dover ban was not in effect when Reagan was President.

It was put in place by President Bush, Sr. in 1991 in response to CNN doing exactly what Firedoglake just did - politicizing the deaths of American soldiers ...

More at the link.

But Blue Texan, you're messin' with the wrong woman, LOL!

Michael Moore: 'Capitalism is Evil'

Larry King gives Communist Michael Moore a soapbox (and at around 12:00 minutes Moore would make ANSWER proud with his comments on Afghanistan):

On healthcare, Moore might as well have been separated at birth from Paul Krugman, "The Defining Moment" (via Memeorandum):

Past efforts to give Americans what citizens of every other advanced nation already have — guaranteed access to essential care — have ended not with a bang, but with a whimper, usually dying in committee without ever making it to a vote.

Blah, Blah ...

Babe Blogging: Bonus Overnight Hotness!

Well, to follow-up GSGF's "Soft Power" entry, let's continue tonight with some bonus hotness. From Theo Spark, "Bedtime Totty ...":

And by the way, click the full photo-upload for the full majesty!

Plus, Bob Belvedere's been tearing up the blogging of late, so check him out!

And while I'm at it, don't miss Carolyn Tackett as well - turns out she's a rocker!

Your ObamaCare Future

From Serr8d's Cutting Edge, "'Welcome to Government-Run Health Care'":

This image, of Milwaukee citizens waiting in line for flu shots (h/t Insty), shows what's likely in our future, if Obamacare passes with the public option intact.

Plus, "House Democrats Blocked the Public From Attending the Unveiling Ceremony of Their Health Care Bill Thursday Morning."

Not hard to see why, of course (via Memeorandum).

GOP Leaders Climb Back Up Off the Mat, Embrace Hoffman in NY-23

I doubt anyone with half a brain didn't see this coming. With Doug Hoffman continuing to pull ahead in New York's 23rd congressional district, Republican Party hacks are left with little choice but to get behind the conservative ideological insurgent. From the Politico, "In Shift, GOP Leaders Embrace Hoffman":

The House Republican leadership is prepared to welcome Doug Hoffman into its ranks, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said Thursday, a sign that the GOP establishment is recalibrating its approach toward the contentious New York special election and the Conservative Party nominee whose candidacy has divided the party.

“He would be very welcome, with open arms,” Sessions told POLITICO in an interview off the House floor.

Sessions’s comments came as polls showed Hoffman surging in the Nov. 3 special election against Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava, a moderate who supports abortion rights and gay marriage, and Democratic attorney Bill Owens. Nearly a dozen rank-and-file Republican members announced their endorsements of Hoffman Thursday.

While the NRCC–along with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.)—have all thrown their backing to Scozzafava, grassroots conservatives have revolted against the GOP nominee, asserting that she is too liberal for them to support. Some have even called for conservatives to withhold donations from the NRCC in protest.

On Thursday afternoon, Sessions appeared to tacitly acknowledge that Hoffman may represent the GOP’s best chance to keep the Republican-held seat from being picked up by a Democrat.

Gee, you think?

See also, "NY23: Worry-Warts Are Worried, and the Hand-Wringers Are Wringing Their Hands." Plus, Memeorandum.

RELATED: The Rhetorican, "A Round Up of NY23 News."