Institutionalizing Blacks ... BLOOD OF MARTYRS UPDATE!!

Picking up from my post the other day, "Institutionalizing Blacks," recall The Blog Prof:

I have pointed this out many times before, but it's worth repeating yet again. One of my all-time favorite movies is The Shawshank Redemption. In it, Morgan Freeman, aka "Red", coined the term when prisoners become dependent on the prison system and can no longer survive without it - institutionalized. One of the older prisoners, Brooks, was willing to kill to stay in the system as he knew nothing else after so many years. Yet they let him out and he promptly hung himself. He was institutionalized. The Democrats have institutionalizing the black population in this country, no different than slave masters did many decades ago. The same party that fought for slavery, not against it, segregated schools and filibustered the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 now has shackled the black population to another form of slavery - slavery to the state. Stripped naked of their dignity, their hope and their self-reliance.

And don't forget the Democratic Party's "Blood of Martyrs" racial grievance shakedown strategy:

The "Blood of Martyrs" refers to the chokehold the far-left grievance masters have on the post-1960s Democratic Party. As told by Juan Williams, in Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America - and What We Can Do About It, the story goes back to Al Sharpton's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, where Sharpton attacked President George W. Bush for taking the black vote for granted:

"Our vote is soaked in the blood of martyrs, the blood of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner, soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham, Alabama. This vote is sacred to us. This vote can't be bargained away...given away. Mr. President, in all due respect, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale!"

But as Williams asks, what record of achievement could the Democrats claim to justify continued black partisan support?

The answer: absolutely nothing. But by waving the red flag labeled "blood of martyrs," Sharpton diverted all attention from dealing with bad schools, persistent high rates of unemployment, and a range of issues that are crippling a generation of black youth. Somehow, "blood of martyrs" remains the anthem of black politics at the start of the twenty-first century. Black politics is still defined by events that took place forty years ago. Protest marches are reenacted again and again as symbolic exercises to the point that they have lost their power to achieve change. As a result, black politics is paralyzed, locked in a synchronized salute and tribute, by any mention of the martyrs, the civil rights workers who died violent deaths at the hands of racists. The major national black politicians invoke these icons and perform shallow reenactments of the powerful marches of the movement as hypnotic devices to control their audiences. And if people try to break the spell by suggesting we move beyond these ancient heroes and their tactics, they are put down with language that implicates them as tools of the white establishment, reactionaries who've "forgotten their roots." Race traitors.

And leftists will defend this bankrupt agenda to no end, despite contrary evidence from real folks on the ground:

RELATED: John Fund, "Why the Left Needs Racism."

Steve Benen Concern Trollery on Lindsey Graham Sexual Orientation

The post is really about delegitimizing the tea parties, and especially a recent South Carolina Tax Day Tea Party. As one website put it:

Tea party activists in South Carolina apparently didn’t receive the memo to tone down their incendiary rhetoric, in the wake of death threats and violent acts waged against U.S. lawmakers. A tea party rally held in Greenville over the weekend provided the few thousand in attendance a cornucopia of racism, hate, paranoia, seditious calls to take up arms against the government and anti-gay rhetoric. And the offensive remarks receiving the most attention were those made by the event’s keynote speaker, race-baiting nativist and former U.S. congressman Tom Tancredo. He took to the podium and whipped up the crowd with an anti-Obama racist birther rant: “If his wife says Kenya is his homeland, why don’t we just send him back?”

The rally was organized by the Upcountry Conservative Coalition. The group’s mission statement: “We the People…are coalescing to reclaim our God given rights by restoring our Constitutional Republic.”

But leftists have long attacked Senator Graham on his sexual orientation, often using crude homophobic stereotypes:

Lindsey Graham (R-SC), an unmarried/never married 52 year old with a funny, forced way of walking, has been far more fastidious with his homosexuality. Again, "everyone" knows-- except the voters in conservative South Carolina. Not that it doesn't come up from time to time; people talk. In fact, the head of the Democratic Party in South Carolina said something when the effeminate Lindsey decided to run for Thurmond's senate seat. "He's a little too light in the loafers" to succeed Strom Thurmond. Graham got into a really queenie tizzy fit and loudly threatened to sue-- although he didn't. (They never do.)

And thus notice Digby's total hypocrisy:

In light of the teabaggers' crude outing of Lindsay Graham, I took a little trip down memory lane and revisited the history of the right wing attacks on gays as threats to national security. I guess that Mad Men craze has unfortunately put McCarthyism back in vogue.

Yeah. Right.

No Oaksterdam: Most in U.S. Against Legalizing Marijuana

At LAT, "Poll: Majority oppose marijuana legalization, new nationwide poll finds -- but where do Californians stand?":

A new poll shows most Americans oppose legalizing marijuana, but as California voters are set to consider the always controversial topic in the fall, many readers are questioning the poll's validity.

In the Associated Press-CNBC poll, 33% of respondents favored legalization while 55% opposed it. The results showed a division in age as younger people were more likely to support legalization, while older people were more likely to oppose it. Women and Republicans also strongly opposed legalization.

California voters will consider the issue of pot legalization in November.

The California initiative would allow anyone 21 or older to possess, share and transport up to an ounce of weed for personal use and grow up to 25 square feet per residence or parcel. It would allow local governments, but not the state, to authorize the cultivation, transportation and sale of marijuana and to impose taxes in order to raise revenues.

Proponents of legalization cite the financial and social cost of enforcing pot prohibition and argue that marijuana isn't as dangerous and addictive as legal substances such as tobacco or alcohol. While opponents can argue rising teenage use and the harm that marijuana can cause smokers.

According to the AP, the poll conducted April 7-12 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media involved telephone interviews with 1,001 adults nationwide. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

Marijuana is always is a hot topic among our readers -- and some questioned the accuracy of the poll. Here is what they had to say about the results ....

If a driver under the influence of marijuana runs into my SUV...do I have the right to beat the living crap of the stoner? ....

Pot users will be more likely to be unemployed and more likely to need free public health care.

RTWT and check the links.

Taco Bell Blogging!

On break with my boys, Saturday. Hanging out at Taco Bell across the street from the dealership.

Also, cleaned up my post from this morning with the profanity. My apologies. That's not so much like me, and I haven't felt right most of the day. Frankly, I do it mostly to push the boundaries and confound the lefty freaks. But that needs to be way less frequent. I'm practically morphing into that which I reject (i.e., unwashed netroots atheist commies), and THAT bothers me.

Anyway, getting in bed ... I was up at 4:00am.

More later dear readers ...

White House Closets Media at DADT Protest‎‎: Rachel Maddow's 'Lafayette Tapes' Forthcoming!

I love Andrew's tweet:

And at Big Journalism, "Media Kept Well Away as Obama Clashes With Gays and Lesbians in Washington, L.A.":

The fact of the matter is that many Americans have soured on President Obama, including those who once were his passionate supporters – the left-wing gay community. I never quite understood their support, since Obama’s views on gay marriage (the Gay Left’s litmus test) are the same as former President Bush’s — and Bush was seen as the devil incarnate. But that being said, there are enough bodies under the Obama bus to have tipped off The Gays that they’d be next.

Looks like some gay Americans aren’t playing their part in the Obama script now. It is just sad that the White House increasingly looks like the Soviet-era Kremlin when it comes to tolerating different points of view.

More from Ben Smith via Memeorandum.

Tea Party Movement Stronger than Ever

Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks, at PJTV, "Still Going: Matt Kibbe on Why the Tea Party Movement is Stronger than Ever":

Kibbe starts to talk like a third party leader, which bothers me. Good stuff other than that (and toward the end, Kibbe predicts for a landslide GOP takeover in November).

Hat Tip: Glenn Reynolds.

Reading the Goldstone Report

From James Traub, "Fearful Asymmetry: Reading the Goldstone Report":

Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, has asserted that the report “bestows virtual immunity on terrorists and ties the hands of any nation to protect itself.” The U.S.-led war on terror, with its vast tally of civilian deaths, Oren wrote, could never pass muster before such an inquiry. Ehud Barak, Israel’s minister of defense, declared that democracies “must not allow themselves to be handcuffed by the abusive application of lofty ideals.” What, after all, was Israel to do against an enemy that intentionally based its fighters and rockets in the midst of civilians, daring the IDF to produce the kind of collateral damage that would provoke international opprobrium? The argument comes down to this: If international humanitarian law really does criminalize Israel’s behavior in Gaza, then abiding by it is a suicide pact for countries, like Israel, confronted with terrorism. And if that’s the case, then states must choose either surrendering to their enemies or enduring global censure—or international humanitarian law must change.

RTWT.

Advances in Automobile Safety

Fascinating video, via Ruminating Out Loud:

'Vote the Idiots Out': Union Construction Workers Against Obama!

At LAT, "Democrats Face Uphill Climb in Midterm Elections":

With just over six months to campaign, Democrats face a substantial risk of losing the House and surrendering much of their advantage in the Senate, as Republicans capitalize on strong discontent with President Obama and continued voter concern over jobs and the economy.

The trend marks an erosion for Democrats since the beginning of the year, after the retirement of several senior lawmakers and the polarizing healthcare debate. Even recent signs of an economic rebound — the first glimmers of job creation, the stock market surge, a big rise in consumer spending — may not help Democrats, unless it translates into a significant drop in the unemployment rate by fall.

The good news for Obama and fellow Democrats is that, unlike the Republican landslide of 1994, strategists are well aware of the peril the party faces — Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown saw to that — and have much more time to fight back.

"Democrats got a heads-up," said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster with dozens of clients in the midterm election. "They can raise more money, do opposition research against opponents, do focus-group testing on how to beat these guys. ... In 1994, they had very little notice a wave was coming" ....

Still, several trends are running strongly in Republicans' favor, after two dismal elections that first cost them control of Congress, then the White House.

The party holding the White House almost always loses congressional seats at the midpoint of a president's first term; since World War II, the average is 16 House seats. However, the losses have been much greater when a president's approval rating is below 50%, where Obama has been hovering of late ....

"The question is not whether we have an uphill climb," said Maryland Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, head of the party's House campaign committee. "The question is the steepness of the hill."

It's going to be tougher in the Senate (the GOP must win all 10 closely contested states), but it's not like it's getting any easier for the Dems (see, "Distrust, Discontent, Anger And Partisan Rancor").

Photo Credit: A union construction worker tea partier at the Ivine Tax Day Tea Party.

Lego Blogging!

My son and I build stuff during off-blogging hours. That's one of the cool things about having a wife and kids (not to mention God). Maybe JBW should quit troll-stalking babes on the web and try some traditional values. Seriously, that's got to beat posting anti-child atheist trash or Rachel Maddow bullhockey talking points:

Michele Bachmann: Democrats ‘Celebrating Oklahoma City Bombing’

An update on "Leftist Political Crisis Exploitation." From Tea Party Patriots Chicago:

Also, at Althouse, "Why is Bill Clinton suddenly making such a spectacle of himself over the Tea Party?":

Oh! It's a memorial for human beings who died 15 years ago. We are remembering them, and that brings Bill Clinton, who was President in 1995, to the fore. There was nothing partisan about who lived and died in the Oklahoma City bombing. Children — individuals who never thought about politics — died that day. Yet here is Bill Clinton using his special prominence today to unleash a political attack to push back a populist movement that threatens his political party.

Yes, Obama's Lying About Taxes (And So Are Radical Leftists)

Dr. Biobrain's hurting for traffic, I guess. He complained long ago that I was ignoring him (whaa!) so by now he's crawling on hands and knees for attention. See, "Donald Douglas Doesn't Know What a Tax Cut Is."

And Ex-DLB, who's apparently a gang-bang blogger, finally found some cajones in the comments at Biobrain's, although he's still fail on Obama taxes. See, "Obamacare and Taxes: The Final Tab."

The Obligatory Obama Heckled by Same-Sex Fanatics Post

He really does get agitated, and don't miss the full clip, at RealClearPolitics, which shows this moment, at about 5:00 minutes:

More at Another Black Conservative, "Gay Rights activists heckle Obama at Barbara Boxer rally," and Michelle also, "It’s not the color of his skin. It’s the thinness."

Added: "Bummer for Boxer."

Leftist Political Crisis Exploitation

I long ago dumped my subscription to Newsweek. But I had my van serviced over the weekend, and the car dealership had a stack of recent volumes of the magazine. I saw this report from Evan Thomas and Eve Conant earlier, while out at Barnes and Noble last week; and then Glenn Beck smacked down the article on The O'Reilly Factor on Friday. See, "Hate: Antigovernment Extremists Are on the Rise — And on the March." Notice how there's a not word on the hatred, misogyny, racism, and violence that's routinely heard on left-wing cable outlets, blogs, and radio:

It is hard to know how much such grim fantasies are stirred by the steady stream of conspiracy theories pushed by talk-radio hosts. Rush Limbaugh talks about the Democrats planning to "kill you" with health-care reform and suggests (agreeing with black Muslim minister Louis Farrakhan, of all people) that it "seems perfectly within the realm of reality" that the H1N1 vaccine was "developed to kill people." Like many talk-show hosts, he uses martial language to rouse the faithful: "The enemy camp is the White House right now," he says. Former Alaska governor turned media star Sarah Palin posted on her Facebook page a list of House Democrats who voted for health-care reform with crosshairs aimed at their home districts, while tweeting to her followers, "Don't Retreat, Instead—RELOAD!" She strongly denied any intent to incite violence. Other conservative talkers insist their foes are preparing violent attacks on them. Glenn Beck of Fox News is the master purveyor of this particular brand of sly paranoia. He suggests that he will be the victim of violence. "I'd better start wearing a [bulletproof] vest" to guard against White House attacks, he says, and warns that the Democrats will sic goons on him to break his kneecaps. Some talk-show hosts see the risk of going too far. Bill O'Reilly, the top-rated talker on Fox News, interviewed Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers in February and treated him coolly. After the interview O'Reilly said to his audience, "We have a system to uphold the Constitution. It is called the judicial branch. The Supreme Court. The Oath Keepers are not the system." Wise words, but it's a sign of disturbing times that O'Reilly felt required to say them.

Pretty pathetic.

But it's all of a piece. The lamestream press has formally launched a war on the tea parties, and they've labeled any opposition to the Democrats' radical big-government agenda as "extremist."

And as I noted this morning, today, on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, Rachel Maddow will host a chilling broadcast that exploits current anti-government protests for political gain, "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing." And citing the Newsweek piece above, Byron York points how former President Bill Clinton shamelessly sought political gain out of crisis: "How Clinton exploited Oklahoma City for political gain." And right on cue, here's President Clinton in today's New York Times:

Criticism is part of the lifeblood of democracy. No one is right all the time. But we should remember that there is a big difference between criticizing a policy or a politician and demonizing the government that guarantees our freedoms and the public servants who enforce our laws.

We are again dealing with difficulties in a contentious, partisan time. We are more connected than ever before, more able to spread our ideas and beliefs, our anger and fears. As we exercise the right to advocate our views, and as we animate our supporters, we must all assume responsibility for our words and actions before they enter a vast echo chamber and reach those both serious and delirious, connected and unhinged.

Civic virtue can include harsh criticism, protest, even civil disobedience. But not violence or its advocacy. That is the bright line that protects our freedom. It has held for a long time, since President George Washington called out 13,000 troops in response to the Whiskey Rebellion.

Fifteen years ago, the line was crossed in Oklahoma City. In the current climate, with so many threats against the president, members of Congress and other public servants, we owe it to the victims of Oklahoma City, and those who survived and responded so bravely, not to cross it again.

And note the timing at WaPo, which has a big story on today's Second Amendment demonstration in Washington: "Militia Movement Will Be Packing Heat at Gun Rally on the Potomac." According to the report, some consider the event "an alarming escalation of paranoia and anger in the age of Obama."

Yeah. Right.

Michelle Malkin pulls the mask off of these opportunistic hacks, "Oklahoma City, Waco, and Crisis Exploitation":

Today in Washington, gun owners will march in defense of Second Amendment rights.

Predictably, left-wing groups are taking their cue from Clinton and using the event to smear Tea Party activists, the NRA, and limited-government advocates all as potential OKC bombers.

In the Left’s playbook of Rahm Emanuel-esque political crisis exploitation, the Timothy McVeigh card has no credit limit.

RELATED:

* Melissa Clouthier, "Why the Left Must Destroy the Tea Party Movement."

* Robert Stacy McCain, "Mark Potok and the Hijacking of ‘Hate’."

* Saber Point, "Timothy McVeigh's True Motivations."

Take Back Congress! Philadelphia Tax Day Tea Party

At MyFox Philadelphia, "Tea Party Rallies On Independence Mall":

At Midnight Blue, "Take Back Congress Tea Party – Philly Style":

Andrew Breitbart on Nightline!

At Founding Bloggers, "Andrew Breitbart Interviewed By Nightline’s Terry Moran Outside The Whitehouse":

The interview's scheduled for sometime this week ...

Rachel Maddow Hosts 'The McVeigh Tapes' ... Rachel Maddow!!

I saw this at Andrew Breitbart's Twitter stream and just now found some media tidbits.

Ellen Gray, at Philadelphia Daily News, offers a hint of condemnation, but doesn't go far enough:

McVeigh's victims were silenced forever, but their killer, it turns out, lives on in 45 hours of audiotapes from interviews he gave for Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck's 2001 book, "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing."

The cable network has married the previously unreleased audio from the interviews with McVeigh to what MSNBC describes as "state-of-the-art computer re-creations" - resulting in footage that at times looks a bit too much like video-game animation for comfort.

I don't care where you fall on the use of re-enactments in news documentaries: There's something a bit cold about most computer animation and superimposing an impassive McVeigh-like mask on the face an actor only adds to the chilling effect of hearing the Oklahoma City bomber describe how he killed all those people and suggesting that victims' families need to "get over it."

But then graphics aren't the only aspect of MSNBC's presentation of "The McVeigh Tapes" that left me a little queasy.

In introducing the special, host Rachel Maddow can't resist an attempt to peg the Oklahoma City bombing to current events.

"Nine years after his execution, we are left worrying that Timothy McVeigh's voice from the grave echoes in a new rising tide of American anti-government extremism," she says.

You want to go there, Rachel? Really?

What happened in Oklahoma City wasn't some tea party - it was mass murder. Invoking the name McVeigh in the face of some angry rhetoric is (and we can only pray will remain) overkill.

It's more than that. It's evil.

Israel and Obama

At WSJ, "The View From Jerusalem: Why Israel is anxious about the Obama Administration":

Imagine that you're an Israeli perusing the past week's headlines. Senior U.S. military officials have told Congress that Iran may be a year away from producing a bomb's worth of fissile material. Efforts to sanction Iran are again bogged down at the U.N., even as the sanctions are watered down to insignificance. And senior Israeli officials now say that Syria has supplied Hezbollah with Scud-D missiles that can hit every city in Israel with a one-ton warhead to an accuracy of 50 meters.

Oh, and now the Obama Administration seems increasingly of the view that Israel is the primary cause of instability in the Middle East. In a press conference last week, President Obama said the U.S. had a "vital national security interest" in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on the theory that "when conflict breaks out . . . that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure."

The remark, which echoes previous comments by senior Administration and Pentagon officials, is being widely interpreted as presaging a concerted Administration effort to press even harder for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement over territory. After the recent flap over Jewish settlements north of Jerusalem, concern is growing that the U.S. wants Israel to return to its pre-1967 borders. At their narrowest, those borders give Israel a nine-mile margin between the West Bank and the Mediterranean Sea.

RTWT.

CHANGE! Poll Finds Epic Distrust as Public Repudiates Congress, Obama Administration!

A new survey at the Pew Research Center finds "epic dissatifacation" with government and elected officials. See, "Distrust, Discontent, Anger and Partisan Rancor: The People and Their Government":

By almost every conceivable measure Americans are less positive and more critical of government these days. A new Pew Research Center survey finds a perfect storm of conditions associated with distrust of government -- a dismal economy, an unhappy public, bitter partisan-based backlash, and epic discontent with Congress and elected officials.

Rather than an activist government to deal with the nation's top problems, the public now wants government reformed and growing numbers want its power curtailed. With the exception of greater regulation of major financial institutions, there is less of an appetite for government solutions to the nation's problems -- including more government control over the economy -- than there was when Barack Obama first took office ....

Source: Pew Research, "Public Trust in Government: 1958-2010"

Hostility toward government seems likely to be a significant election issue and an important element in both midterm voting intentions and turnout. While there was widespread distrust of the federal government in the late 1990s, just 37% went so far as to say that the federal government needed "very major reform." Today, that figure stands at 53%; increasing numbers of Republicans, independents and Democrats say that government needs very major reform. Still, far more Republicans (65%) and independents (54%) than Democrats (41%) express this view.

Consistent with this pattern of partisanship, anti-government sentiment appears to be a more significant driver of possible turnout among Republicans and independents than among Democrats. Among Republican voters who are highly dissatisfied with government, 83% say they are absolutely certain to vote in the midterm elections; that compares with 67% of Republicans who express low levels of frustration with government. By contrast, there is no difference in intention to vote among Democrats who are highly frustrated with government (63%) and those who are less frustrated (64%).

Perhaps more troubling for Democrats, the link between dissatisfaction with government and voting intentions is at least as strong among independent voters. Independents who are highly dissatisfied with government are far more committed to voting this year than are independents who are less frustrated (78% vs. 58%). Overall, independents voters slightly favor the GOP candidate in their district by a 41%-to-34% margin, but those who are highly dissatisfied with government favor the Republican candidate by an overwhelming 66%-to-13% margin. Independents who are less dissatisfied with government favor the Democratic candidate in their district (by 49% to 24%), but are much less likely to say they are certain to vote.

While the GOP has a decided enthusiasm advantage predicated on discontent with government, it has a potential unity problem given the appeal of the Tea Party to many of its members. Only about half of Republicans (49%) say that the GOP is the party that best reflects their views right now, while as many as 28% cite the Tea Party. Among independents who lean Republican, the problem is potentially greater: As many say the Tea Party best reflects their views right now (30%) as the GOP (29%), with nearly as many saying nobody is representing their views (28%).

IMAGE CREDIT: Serr8d's Cutting Edge.

Airlines Face Bankruptcy Amid Volcanic Ash Flight Bans

The world economy's getting some massive fallout from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano. See Financial Times, "Airlines Warn of Bankruptcy and Call for End to Restrictions." And from LAT, "Airlines Carry Out Test Flights in Europe's Ash-Filled Skies":

Their losses deepening, European airlines on Sunday stepped up pressure to reopen the skies by carrying out passenger-free test flights despite the layer of volcanic ash that kept most planes across the continent grounded for a fourth day.

Airlines in Germany, the Netherlands, Britain and France sent jets close to or into the plume of ash and dust thrown up by the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland, in bids to demonstrate that flying conditions over Europe were safe. All the flights landed without incident, they said.

There was no indication, however, that aviation authorities would immediately ease restrictions on European airspace. Officials said new wind patterns could disperse some of the ash cloud and allow more regularly scheduled flights to operate Monday, but thousands of stranded passengers and affected businesses braced for the ban on air travel to extend into the new week.

British Airways canceled all service Monday into and out of London. Lufthansa also announced the cancellation of all of its flights worldwide Monday. The French government said airports in northern France, including Paris, would remain closed until at least Tuesday morning.

Except for a handful of flights allowed where a gap appeared in the cloud of ash, no-fly zones were in force in all or part of more than 20 countries on the continent Sunday, the Europe-wide aviation agency Eurocontrol reported. The list included southern nations such as Italy that had hitherto escaped restrictions but are now being hit as the high-altitude grit drifts farther south and east.

Communist-Obamacrat Tea Party Infiltration Busted!

This is getting too funny.

First, Gateway Pundit has a report, "Socialist Infiltrators Hand Out Fake Tea Party Literature at NY Protest." Pretty pathetic. Click on the full communist phony "tea party" flyer here:

Plus, check this out, from Erick Erickson, "Is the Obama Administration Behind An Astroturf Anti-Tea Party Website?" (via Memeorandum):

Astroturf is the act of professional interest groups designing campaigns that appear to be grassroots efforts, but are not. It is what the left has accused the tea parties of being. Only more and more it looks like the anti-tea party movement is truly astroturfing.

Writing on January 15, 2010, Glenn Greenwald at Salon noted Barack Obama’s new head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Cass Sunstein, had championed creating fake websites and using outside 501(c)(3) interest groups to act as alleged independent champions of government policy and to “cognitively infiltrate” opposition websites, etc.

In other words, Cass Sunstein has favored the government using outside parties as government propaganda agents to paint their opposition as fringe and undermine their credibility. Kind of like what has been happening with the tea party movement – lots of SEIU members pretending to be tea party activists causing violence in front of TV cameras.

Sunstein advocates that the Government’s stealth infiltration should be accomplished by sending covert agents into “chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups.” He also proposes that the Government make secret payments to so-called “independent” credible voices to bolster the Government’s messaging

Considering Sustein’s recommendations, it is not far removed to speculate the Obama administration is behind a new anti-tea party website called The Other 95, which defends the government from tea party criticisms and attacks the tea party movement as fringe.

More at the link. Also, at Moe Lane's, "#rsrh The Other 95 and faux-populism."

New Details on Bloodthirsty Communist Counter-Protest in Los Angeles!

Let me say once more up front that I despise Neo-Nazis and white supremacists, obviously. But it's worth pointing out the heights of leftist thuggery in smashing the Nazi group's First Amendment rights to peaceably assembly. The video indicates the violent nature of these communist youth thugs:

Also, check out the report at LAist, "Neo-Nazi Rally and Counter-Protest End With Arrests, Some Violence." The guy with the tatoos showed up about an hour before the march, and police said he wasn't even with the Neo-Nazis. But the ANSWER communists beat him to a pulp anyway:

And the communists sure took advantage of their own First Amendment rights:

And once the Neo-Nazis (NSM) left the scene, the communist mob attacked the media and anyone else who stayed behind. Animals:

As the NSM members began a return march to the parking lot, angry counter-protesters lobbed rocks, chunks of concrete, bottles, a metal wrench, and other objects at them, aiming in particular at one NSM member's vehicle, which wouldn't start up.

At about 2:30, the police thanked the crowd and asked them to disperse as the event was over and all the NSM members had left, however many people remained on-scene, throwing bottles and rocks at the police and members of the media.

Institutionalizing Blacks

The Blog Prof has one of the must-read posts of the day, "Detroit Free Press likens tea party movement to the Confederacy":

I have pointed this out many times before, but it's worth repeating yet again. One of my all-time favorite movies is The Shawshank Redemption. In it, Morgan Freeman, aka "Red", coined the term when prisoners become dependent on the prison system and can no longer survive without it - institutionalized. One of the older prisoners, Brooks, was willing to kill to stay in the system as he knew nothing else after so many years. Yet they let him out and he promptly hung himself. He was institutionalized. The Democrats have institutionalizing the black population in this country, no different than slave masters did many decades ago. The same party that fought for slavery, not against it, segregated schools and filibustered the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 now has shackled the black population to another form of slavery - slavery to the state. Stripped naked of their dignity, their hope and their self-reliance.

'Cause I'm Already Gone...

The Eagles in concert at Honda Center is next Sunday. I'll try to post a couple of my favorites in the meantime. Here's "Already Gone":

And as always, don't miss Theo Spark and Washington Rebel. Plus, from Anton at PA Pundits International, "Sunday Music – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall – The Bob Dylan Series (Part 3)." And Sir Smitty's "Rule 5 Sunday" is here.

BONUS: Swedish Meatballs Confidential, "Probably The Best Blog In The World -- International Security 101."

Baby LuLu's Coming to L.A.!

With her mom, Karen Alloy:

Be sure to watch until the end (I love Baby LuLu!) ...

Obama Zombie Professors

From Orit Sklar, "Obama Zombies Versus Countercultural Conservatives":

College campuses have become the most intolerant environment for free speech in America over the last few decades, with conservative students, speakers, and ideas in the crosshairs of hostile leftist professors and administrators who use their resources to advance a radical political agenda while suppressing the opposition. For years this was treated as a problem that was isolated to the campus community, but during the 2008 presidential campaign, the country learned that this problem breached the campus wall without a single sandbag laid down to reinforce it. In Jason Mattera’s Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation, he demonstrates how comprehensively the Obama campaign hijacked an entire voter generation to win the election. The good news is that, by heeding Mattera’s advice, the Obama Zombies – and the country — can be saved.

RELATED: It's not just students, obviously. The kids are assaulted by their radical professors with a constant barrage of neo-communist disinformation and propaganda. See, "What Do Professors Want":

Many academics not only envy people with money, but also those who enjoy political authority. Professors are more confident than most that they have the truth and are convinced that, if given the opportunity, they would rule with intelligence, justice, and compassion. The trouble is that few Americans, at least since the time of Andrew Jackson, will vote for intellectuals. (The widespread assumption that Presidents who have Ivy League degrees are intellectuals is highly debatable. The Left declared consistently that George W. Bush, who had diplomas from Yale and Harvard, was mentally challenged. Barak Obama, who was not really a professor, has sealed his academic records.) How many professors run City Hall anywhere? How many would like to? How many humanities and social science professors are consulted when great civic issues are discussed and decided? Who would even invite them to join the Elks?

Instead of steering the machinery of local, state, and national politics, academics are relegated to writing angry articles in journals and websites read by the already converted and pouring their well-considered opinions into the ears of young people who are mostly eager to get drunk, listen to rap, watch ESPN, and find a suitable, or at least willing, bed partner for the night.

On the Left and Right money means power, and we "pointy heads" and "eggheads" are on the outside looking in. One thinks of Arthur Schlesinger Jr swooning over the Kennedys for the rest of his life because they gave him a title and a silent seat in some White House deliberations. Those making as much money as, say, an experienced furnace repairman account for little in this world, despite the PhD. How many academics even sit on the governing board that sets policies for their campus? It is all most humiliating. (To see how intelligently and objectively academics use the authority they have, examine the political correctness the suffocates the employment practices and intellectual lives of almost all American campuses. Aberlour's Fifth Law: "Political correctness is totalitarianism with a diploma.")

Blazing Cat Fur's Constantly Dealing With This Stuff...

It's no surprise that Matthew Yglesias hates American sovereignty and would toss American exceptionalism to the "supranational" legal authority of a "North American Union." Here's how the guy dresses up in his free time:

But actually, I'm just getting a kick out of this comment at the blog, from a lefty in Canuckistan:

As a Canadian, I have absolutely no interest in having to deal with Tea Party in my politics. Or, for that matter, a leader who can have citizens assassinated at their whim. Or a population that, in the majority, thinks evolution isn’t true. Or, a population that would deny its citizens health care. Or, a leadership that sends its armies to kill in foreign countries. Or… well I think you get the idea.

Clean up your act. Become a nation of laws again. Treat your citizens with respect. Treat the world’s nations with respect. Then, maybe, we’ll talk.

Yeah. Right.

Recall that my good friend BCF is constantly dealing with this stuff, for example, "Don’t roll your eyes at Islamic incursion into the Toronto Public Library." And, "Video Now Available - Press Conference: The Islamist Threat in Quebec."

Hey, no wonder Yglesias wants a North American Union!

International jihad solidarity, hooray!!

'Bounce Boxer' Bumper Sticker!

I picked up a new batch of "Bounce Boxer" bumper stickers at the Irvine Tea Party. And it turns out that Opus 6 recently displayed a sample on her soccer mom transportation unit:

I'm going to be updating my bulletin board today and tomorrow, and will update with photos.

Oceanside Hotties For Obama! (Not)

More from the Oceanside Tax Day Tea Party:

These babes are totally hip on this dude (not):

More photos from Oceanside at Left Coast Rebel.

BONUS: "Geithner Praises 'Positive Side' of Tea Parties." Actually, he's just mostly digging the conservative hotties!

(Via Memeorandum.)

New York Central Park Restroom Fail: Free-Market Alternative Flushes the Competition ... Plus, Bonus ObamaCare Comparison!

Amazing photos at NYT, surprisingly.

New York Central Park's public restrooms are practically out of a Mel Gibson "Road Warrior" movie, while the free-market alternative, at 25-cents a sitting, could easily have been featured in Tom Cruise's "Minority Report."

Here's the main article: "Sunday in the Park, Feeling Nature’s Call." And at the photo, the women's restroom near Central Park's historic Bethesda Fountain: "... one of the city's most beautiful landmarks. The bathroom inside, not so much":

This is the men's room, at the southwest corner of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx: "Discreet, to be sure. But not a great place to be if you find yourself in need of assistance."

And here's the free-market facilities: "The 25-cent pay toilet in Madison Square Park opened just over two years ago, originally intended as the first of several to be installed around New York."

And look inside: "The surfaces are shiny and high-tech, and after each visit the entire interior gets a quick wash."

Now, in the broader scheme of things, the administration's ObamaCare legislation is represented by Central Park's public stinkholes. America's private healthcare system, providing the best medical care in the world, is represented by the shiny fee-for-use private restroom facilities. See also, Astute Bloggers, "NOW THEY TELL YOU: OBAMACARE WILL MAKE RATES SKYROCKET!"

ANSWER Communists Savagely Beat Neo-Nazis at L.A. Counter-Protest: Police Escort Victims to Safety; MSM Cheated Out of 'Fascist' Tea Party Angle!

I'm obviously not sympathetic to Klansmen and Neo-Nazis. In fact, this quote pretty much sums it up: "'It's just one group of racists protesting another group of racists', an officer said." But I'd say the ANSWER fanatics are more dangerous, despite what the MSM keeps feeding us about "right-wing terrorists" and "tea party violence."

Notice at the video how it's the leftists who are beating the Neo-Nazis (who had a permit to hold a demonstration). The communists were even throwing bottles. Comparative hatred, yes, but which group of extremists is quicker to resort to violence?

And check out headline at the Los Angeles Times, "White supremacist rally ends with five arrests and two assaults, police say." But when you get down to the meat of the story:

One man, who sported Nazi tattoos, was severely beaten near City Hall while another man, who carried a confusing sign about religion with a scribbled swastika, was pummeled by a mob of people on Spring Street between 1st and 2nd.

The Los Angeles Police Department went on tactical alert during the event and took responsibility for escorting the white supremacists to and from the demonstration site. Earlier in the week the group had obtained a permit for the demonstration.

At the end of the rally, after 2:30 p.m., police escorted the white supremacists to the criminal courts building parking lot to get in their vehicles. However, one car failed to start. A crowd of counter-demonstrators ran to the lot and began hurling rocks and bottles into the parking lot's southwest corner, hitting cars and shattering glass. As some of the white supremacists held shields emblazoned with swastikas over their heads to protect them from the projectiles, others attempted to jump-start the car.

And you know, this just doesn't fit the MSM narrative. At the OC Weekly earlier this week, "Orange County Tea Parties Open To All, Including Neo-Nazis." And ANSWER's Party for Socialism and Liberation even tried to link the tea parties to the Neo-Nazis:

The Party for Socialism and Liberation will rally against an upcoming neo-Nazi group’s celebration of Hitler’s birthday later this month, and attempted to tie Tea Parties and Minutemen into the same “ultra-right-wing” category. The PSL’s advertisement of the event states:

In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the U.S. is witnessing a significant rise in ultra-right-wing activity--from the "Tea Party," to neo-Nazi groups, to anti-immigrant Minutemen. In LA, fascist Nazi forces from the misnamed "National Socialist Movement" are coming to hold a racist, anti-immigrant protest on April 17. The PSL is organizing to be there and defeat the Nazis.

Of course, most news stories tonight will be reluctant to indicate how the communists perpetrated the real violence during today's protests. Doesn't fit the left's storyline.

Obama's Socialism in America: UPDATED!!

For socialist commenter Tim Gaskill, here's Dr. Sanity, "THE POLITICAL LEFT: UNITED IN HATE WITH AMERICA'S FOES":

If the left understands anything, it is that in order for their ideology and its promised utopia to be born, they must thoroughly destroy America and undermine everything America stands for in the world. Once that has been accomplished, then their way is clear. Of course, they truly believe they will be able to control the Islamist genie they have encouraged, appeased and enabled along the way. That's why they are so nonchalant about terrorism and the threat of Islamic jihad. First, they see themselves on the same side politically; and second, they believe they won't have any trouble stopping the Jihad once they are in power. What's the big deal? They also intend to roll back the rising seas, stop global warming, and heal the planet, after all.

Cited there is Jamie Glazov's United in Hate: The Left's Romance with Tyranny and Terror.

Fidel Castro agrees, and the results are witnessed below at Che Guevara's revolutionary firing squads:

Recall that Fidel has repeatedly endorsed Barack Obama, most recently in praising Democratic-socialist ObamaCare:

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform “a miracle” and a major victory for Obama’s presidency, but couldn’t help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago.

See also, "Obama's Socialism in America" (images from the Oceanside tea party).

RELATED: Ronald Kessler, "Obama Espoused Radical Views in College."

White House AFPAK Strategy

From the White House Flickr page:

President Barack Obama speaks, during a meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the Situation Room of the White House, April 16, 2010. Listening at the table, from left, are National Security Advisor Gen. James Jones, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Deputy National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, and Vice President Joe Biden.

And to keep up with the conflict, bookmark Foreign Policy's, "AFPAK CHANNEL." For example, from Friday, "Daily Brief: Quetta Hospital Blast Kills 12."

Added: From Bernard Finel, at Foreign Affairs, "A Substitute for Victory: Adopting a New Counterinsurgency Strategy in Afghanistan."

Tax Day Tea Party Washington DC 2010

From Looking at the Left, "TAX DAY REVOLT- Washington DC 2010":

Is Elena Kagan Lesbian?

Hey radical lesbian feminists! Stop throwing your bras at Elena Kagan! ... "Potential Justice Elena Kagan Supports Gay Rights, Has Short Hair. Ruh Roh."

In the high-stakes politics of Supreme Court nominations, Solicitor General Kagan needs to take a stand:

If she is not a lesbian, she needs to come out and say it, and put to rest the rumours and concerns. If she is gay, I believe she needs to say that too, and quickly. While being gay is not a shameful thing, being chased out of the closet can certainly make a person appear weak and lacking in integrity.

Or, perhaps she'll take a page from La Roux: "Sorry girls, I'm not a lesbian":

La Roux singer Elly Jackson has said she is sick of getting bras thrown at by lesbian fans.

In an interview with Heat magazine, 21-year-old Jackson said she always knew she would have a large lesbian following, but she wished they were just interested in her music and nothing more.

“It’s the fact that they think I want their bras - that’s what’s weird about it,” explained Jackson. “One girl in Toronto stood there for ages with her boobs out. Everyone just thinks I’m a raging lesbian and I want to see everyone’s boobs. Sorry, I’m not.”

RELATED: Legal Insurrection, "Kagan Rumors Expose Left-Wing Hypocrisy and Homophobia."

And don't miss Americablog-Gay, "Is it homophobic for the White House to deny the 'charge' that Elena Kagan is gay?"

BONUS: The whole debate's at Memeorandum.

Heidi Montag Bikini Pics!

Man, that is some transformation!

Previously at American Power: "Heidi Montag's Plastic Surgery," and "Heidi Montag: 'I Feel Very Plastic...'"

See also, Sir Smitty's pre-FMJRA tea party blogging. Plus, at The Classical Liberal, "Amy Acker presents “The Federal Reserve: Engine of Corruption”." And Washington Rebel, "To My Libertarian Friends."

BONUS: Theo Spark, "Just having the lawn mowed ..."

FLOTUS FAIL: Michelle Obama and Military Spouses

From Rebecca Noah Poynter, at The Best Defense, "Michelle Obama and Military Spouses: Here's Why We're Frustrated and Angry":

I'm a military wife. We don't mind that America doesn't know the 685,000 of us. We learned during that first deployment years ago that there are times in the middle of the night when there is no one to talk to assuage the loneliness, the frustration and the chilling worry that in fact nobody might really care.

But we really thought Michelle Obama did -- because she told us so. She visited our bases during the campaign. Then, in May, she said in an Army press release that, "I promise you that I will use every ounce of my energy to make sure that America always takes care of you." Then she suggested Americans should take us to lunch for Military Spouse Appreciation Day.

But she wasn't there for us when the going got serious. In November, new legislation gave spouses a home state, something service members have had since WWII. The new law offers us civil protections for income, voting, property tax. Some 14,000 spouses celebrated our first political victory on Facebook. Not included was Michelle Obama because the First Lady's office indicated no real interest. The bill was signed into law on Veteran's Day with only the virtual Facebook party for spouses across the country, the day after the shootings at Fort Hood.

In December the Defense Department said the new law, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, was "confusing," even though it simply supports the same rights offered to the military by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Where was Michelle? On the same day of that announcement about the MSRRA, a Defense Department press release told us that the "First Lady Delivers Toys For Tots."
Which do you think matters more to us? "The markers and board games" collected from her staff (the largest of any First Lady's, yet without anyone dedicated full-time to her declared issue of military families), or acknowledging the MSRRA, which Army Times called "landmark legislation" for equal and civil rights for military spouses. The Pentagon and the First Lady had both missed their first opportunity of the new administration to genuinely support us.

FLOTUS FAIL.

And more FLOTUS FAIL at the link.

Houston is Hot!

From Kathleen McKinley (full pic is here):

And she's with Michelle Lancaster and Kevin Jackson, yo!