A Little Saturday Night Music

Dr. Hook - Only Sixteen

Saturday Linkaround

Cartoon of the Day – NRO Home page

The Sun Also Sets

Annals of censorship


Amanda Carpenter destroys Harry Reid’s “Rail Solyndra” – in 140 character chunks

Obamacare: The Reckoning - Krauthammer

What we can learn from Thomas Jefferson and Star Trek… a recipe for limited government

In Obama’s world, the murder of a couple of British tourists by someone who could look like his son isn’t worthy of comment

President Obama’s Hall of Blame

In one graphic, what’s wrong with American healthcare

Did 'Stand Your Ground' Actually protect Trayvon Martin?

Pro-life 'October Baby' rejected by major studios, blitzes box office

Another $17 trillion surprise found in Obamacare

Obama's "None of the above" Energy policy.


The Sad Plight of Obama’s Edsel

5 Uncomfortable Truths About Liberals

Marines down on Obama

The Obama Women Are in Vegas

‘KillZimmerman’ Twitter advocates violence against Martin’s killer

Injustice Department –Mark Steyn


If you have crushing student debt, it ain't capitalism

Hugh Hewitt Interviews Mark Steyn

Inflammatory Expert Cited –Iowahawk

All you need to know about Canada's penny withdrawal

Final Count Of Democrats Who Voted For Obama’s Budget Proposal

John Bolton on Obama's Unprecedented Betrayal of Israel

Earl Scruggs Dead At 88

We have officially reached the David Dinkins stage of the Obama presidency

Oldie but a goodie: Obama By the Numbers





Rule Five Roundup*:


American Power- Rachel Bloom: Inside the Mind of a 12-Year-Old Boy NSFW

Malaika Arora Khan

Camp of the Saints - Rule Five Saturday, Hump Day Rule Five

Classic Liberal – Kim Smith

Idle...hands? NSFW

The Daley Gator – Daley Babes –Melanie Tilbrook and Misaki Nito

Dustbury – Jennifer Love Hewitt

El Opinador Compulsivo – Redhead, Next time, take the train

Eye of Polyphemus – Claudia Black

The Feral Irishman – Beauty

Friday Night Babe – Katie Holmes

National Cleavage Day - with Jeri Ryan

The Right Way -Friday Babe

Guns and Bikinis – Darlene Ramirez, Juju Panicat, Nicole Graves

Hookers and Booze - Both of them

Jake Finnegan –Jennifer Nicole Lee

Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – Friday Pinup , National Cleavage Day

Maggie’s Notebook – Rule 5 – Estella Warren

On the red carpet


Pirates Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup, If all you see..., Danicamania, If all you see...

pitsnipesgripes – Eyes (couple NSFW)

PostalDog - Vanessa Hudgens

Randy’s Roundtable –Midweek Break, Thursday Nite Tart

Reaganite Republican – Elin Nordegren, Miss Estonia

Rio Norte Line – Rule Five oldie: Pussycat Doll Made Good Edition

Sex in Advertising

Soylent Green –Friday Corset

Support your local Gunfighter – Bengals Cheerleader


The Last Tradition –Helen Flanagan

Theo Spark –Bedtime Toddy, Bath Night

The Other McCain- Rule 5 Sunday

Three Beers Later – Noomi Rapace

Rule Five Dream Girls
http://totus-blog.blogspot.com/2012/03/fridays-rule-5-dream-girls.html

Vintage Babe of the Week – Dyanne Thorne

Rule 5 Woodsterman Style : Post- It notes




*By no means comprehensive.

Use the comments as an open thread on any of these topics. If you feel that I’ve neglected a link, news, commentary, humor or Rule Fivage, send a link to the contact email on the sidebar at Proof Positive. (All spambots must die!)

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

“Ninety-nine of every hundred people are interesting, and so is the hundredth, for he is the exception.”

-William F. Buckley Jr.

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB* is Katie Holmes!

(*a.k.a. Rule Five Friday)

"National Cleavage Day"

According to a tweet by Jeri Ryan ( @JeriLRyan), it's National Cleavage Day!



Let's all show our support!

"Don't Bring Skittles® to a Gunfight"

Too soon? Given the media circus surrounding this shooting, it's hard to tell. Did you know that there were 14,748 murders in the U S in 2010? The vast majority were either blacks killing blacks or whites killing whites. Whether or not the Martin shooting was justifiable in any way shape or form, the carnival like atmosphere that has surrounded the Trayvon Martin/ George Zimmerman incident is highly regrettable.

First, the reporting is abysmal. How many times were we shown a five year old photo of Trayvon Martin, looking like a fresh faced schoolboy of twelve. Once might have been because of a rush to get the story out. Continually showing the picture of an innocent 12 year old, was done to manipulate people's emotions...as if no one could be outraged over a seventeen year old being shot. Every time that five year old picture was shown, it was a lie of omission. All that was missing was a choir robe and a halo.

And the politics were shameful as well. Democrat congressmen wearing hoodies on the House floor, accusing Republicans of playing politics with the shooting. All the anti-second amendment types are trying to find some way to turn this to their advantage, and a President who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, meddling again in a local police matter where he doesn't have all the facts. Seems to be a habit with this one. "Hoodie rallies" filled with people who do not possess all the facts, "making a statement".

Trayvon's mother, who should be able to grieve over the loss of her son in peace, is beset by race hustlers and lawyers. I won't speculate what or who may have prompted her to try to trademark her son's name, but I can't say that greed on someone's part doesn't come to mind.

Then, there are the Spike Lee's and New Black Panthers of the world, calling for vigilante justice, offering bounties, without a single word of censure from the President, Attorney General, or the MSM in general.

There's no way this ought to have been a partisan issue. For what it's worth, Zimmerman is a registered Democrat. But it wasn't his party affiliation that pulled the trigger. It's first a question of whether or not a Hispanic man with a German name was justified in shooting a seventeen year old black youth and secondly, is there enough evidence to prosecute him? The President should have learned from his "the police acted stupidly" remarks, not to make any local crime a national issue.

But, obviously, this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through. And when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids. And, you know, I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together -- federal, state and local -- to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.

Every parent in America? Every aspect of an incident where we may never know all the facts? What makes this shooting different from thousands of others? What makes it different from the shooting of two young British tourists, whose parents sought a comment from the White House? The fact that that one was black on white violence? What's the matter, Mr. President? Did it not fit the narrative?

"federal, state and local -- to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened"

At the risk of being cynical, is it because this is an election year, and the president doesn't have a record to run on?Is it because the facts may never be known for certain, so that race baiting opportunists can shape the narrative to fit their agenda?

So I'm glad that not only is the Justice Department looking into it, I understand now that the governor of the state of Florida has formed a task force to investigate what's taking place. I think all of us have to do some soul-searching to figure out how does something like this happen. And that means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident. But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. And, you know, I think they are right to expect that all of us, as Americans, are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened

And after promising to be the post racial president, Obama tells us we need to "search our souls"? pardon me, but there is no soul searching required. Either the shooting was justified and all the race hustlers are seeking to persecute George Zimmerman solely on the basis of race, which they accuse him of, or the shooting was not justified and the local authorities should prosecute Zimmerman if they have the evidence to do so. And if the local authorities have need of state and federal resources, they should by all means ask for them. But, this should not be driven by a national agenda. Allowing local authorities to handle local crimes might free up federal authorities to investigate obvious voter intimidation at polling places or the murder of border patrol agents with guns provided to the drug cartels by agents of the US government?

Maybe President Obama should call the parents of the dead British tourists and the parents of the dead border patrol agent and call on all Americans to take that shooting "with the seriousness it deserves and...get to the bottom of exactly what happened", or do the victims simply don't look enough like they could be his son?

And while I hope that the Martin family finds some measure of peace and that justice may be both impartial and just, may I ask what ought to be a rather obvious question: Is there any reason why Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman should be judged on the color of their skin and not the content of their character? I didn't think so.

Quote du jour

Before the 1980 election, ex-secretary of state Cyrus Vance told Mayor Ed Koch that Jimmy Carter would sell Israel down the river, if he got a second term. I’m a little nervous about O too. Better not to find out.

- Jay Nordlinger

Vintage Babe of the Week

Tonight's Vintage Babe* is Dyanne Thorne!
(*a.k.a. Rule Five Thursday)












Like fine wines, the ladies improve with age!

Semper Flexible

or, "Why Obama doesn't see anything wrong with hiding his agenda for a second term."

Quote du jour

You can’t invent scenes and quotes and then insist the film is “completely accurate and truthful.”

-Jim Geraghty, on HBO's Lame, er, Game Change

Medal of Honor

Staff Sergeant Leroy A. Petry

Citation:

For acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the vicinity of Paktya Province, Afghanistan, on 26 May 2008. As a Weapons Squad Leader with D Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Staff Sergeant Petry moved to clear the courtyard of a house that potentially contained high-value combatants. While crossing the courtyard, Staff Sergeant Petry and another Ranger were engaged and wounded by automatic weapons fire from enemy fighters. Still under enemy fire, and wounded in both legs, Staff Sergeant Petry led the other Ranger to cover. He then reported the situation and engaged the enemy with a hand grenade, providing suppression as another Ranger moved to his position. The enemy quickly responded by maneuvering closer and throwing grenades. The first grenade explosion knocked his two fellow Rangers to the ground and wounded both with shrapnel. A second grenade then landed only a few feet away from them. Instantly realizing the danger, Staff Sergeant Petry, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his safety, deliberately and selflessly moved forward, picked up the grenade, and in an effort to clear the immediate threat, threw the grenade away from his fellow Rangers. As he was releasing the grenade it detonated, amputating his right hand at the wrist and further injuring him with multiple shrapnel wounds. Although picking up and throwing the live grenade grievously wounded Staff Sergeant Petry, his gallant act undeniably saved his fellow Rangers from being severely wounded or killed. Despite the severity of his wounds, Staff Sergeant Petry continued to maintain the presence of mind to place a tourniquet on his right wrist before communicating the situation by radio in order to coordinate support for himself and his fellow wounded Rangers. Staff Sergeant Petry's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service, and reflect great credit upon himself, 75th Ranger Regiment, and the United States Army.

S/Sgt. Petry: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.



Hat tip Home of Heroes

There are fewer than a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice. In the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy:

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors; the men it remembers.”

Cross posted at Say Anything

Happy Fourth Blogiversary!

It's that time of year again! The fourth blogiversary of Proof Positive. A little "inside baseball": This time last year, there were about 4200 posts , and 154,000 hits from 169 countries around the globe. Nine days after I started, I added the widget from Sitemeter, which started off at about three hits a day (and one of them was me!).

Today, nearly 6000 posts, 382,000 hits from 198 countries, (which, I think is every country on the planet*), averaging around six hundred hits a day. I'd like to think that some of that growth is because of the content, provided by members of "Team Proof", some because of the "kindness of strangers" linking from some great blogs and some mighty fine looking women, occasionally featured on these pages. (Stacy McCain's Rule Five) And in the last year, the blog expanded into the social media of Facebook and Twitter, though not to their fullest extent.

For those of you who visit on a regular basis, again, I thank you kindly for the time you spend here, whether contemplating the deep mysteries of life or just laughing as we poke fun at the foibles of fools. For those of you who were just suckered in, er, enticed by a headline or photograph, I am grateful to you, too, and hope that once you stumble in here, you stay a while and take a look around.

I ultimately take credit and/or blame for everything that appears here. To make this something you enjoy reading, I first make it something I would. Not everything here is meant to be earth shattering or profound, sometimes it's just funny, or interesting to me. And there's at least some new content everyday for non subscribers. (Subscribers sit with me on the beach, sipping rum drinks at Hanauma Bay. Subscription price To Be Determined.)

It's been a great four years. Most days are more fun than work. I have been joined by some outstanding bloggers, to entertain, enlighten and inform you, some great commenters and I am looking forward to more great things this year, with this very important election coming up. Let's take back our country, and let's do it in style!

I appreciate every one who visits here, even the ones who disagree with me. (And you know who you are!) I'm trying to educate you just as fast as I can!

-Proof

*My bad. My 199th country visited 4/3/12. #200 on 4/7/12

Find me on Twitter @ProofBlog and Facebook

(BTW, There was supposed to be cake! )

Second blogiversary posting is here. Third is here.

Quote du jour

"Will no one rid me of this turbulent blogger?"

-paraphrased from "A Man For All Seasons"

Sex in Advertising

For all you connoisseurs of advertising...



I may not be sure exactly what she's selling, but, I'm pretty sure I'm in the market!

"After My Election, I'll Have More Flexibility..."

Does the word "duplicitous" come to mind? Does it give you warm fuzzy feelings for your president when he implies to the leader of a foreign country that he cannot do what he would like to do to our country because it might cost him the election?



Obama has been governing against the will of the people ever since his fanny hit the big chair in the Oval Office. He does not deserve a second term. Period.

Whatever he is planning to do as a lame duck president will not be in the best long term interests of America.

Quote du jour

"Cheney gets new heart; nation also hopeful that Biden gets brain, Obama courage and House drops on Pelosi."

-Kim Hedum (@coyotered9)

Quote du jour

Every time I see "The Road We've Traveled", I can't help but think, who knows fellow travelers better than Barack?

-Proof

Themes Like Old Times

Have Gun Will Travel

Another Fundraiser for the Campaign to Elect Anyone But Obama

Through Rose Colored Glasses...

...he probably sees himself getting re-elected, too!

Obama's "All of the Above" Energy Plan

Update : Or Maybe it's in the acronym for Coal, Oil, Wind, Solar : COWS

Methane, perhaps???

Quote du jour

"What's the opposite of diversity?
University."

-Kate McMillen

A Little Saturday Night Music

Kathy Mattea - Time Passes By

Saturday Linkaround

Cartoon of the Day – NRO Home page

Obama’s History Lesson –Mark Steyn


Senator Obama: Rising gas prices are Bush’s fault! /President Obama: Rising gas prices are someone else’s fault! Part 2


War Is Hell


Obama Lashes Out at “Flat-Earth” Republicans For Not Supporting His Decision to Blow $54 Million on a Solar Plant With 5 Full-Time Employees


Bristol Palin: definitely her mother’s daughter

Obama On Solyndra THEN And NOW -video

Obama Heckled in Ohio

Obama’s XL Pipeline Etch A Sketch: The Knobs Do Nothing

A golden Oldie: Che Chic It's trés disgusting.- Jay Nordlinger

Perspective is Very Important

Don't Support the Zombie Apocalypse! Stop it with Voter ID!

Mark Levin at the Reagan Library - video








Rule Five Roundup*:

American Power- Kelly Brook

Camp of the Saints - Rule Five Saturday, Rule Five News

Classic Liberal – Rule 5 – Monica Keena

The Daley Gator – Daley Babe Sae Mizuki

Dustbury – Holly Hunter

El Opinador Compulsivo – My eyes are up here!

Eye of Polyphemus – Jenna Louise Coleman, Natalie Portman

The Feral Irishman – Ripped

Friday Night Babe – Chrissy Teigan

The Right Way -Iliana

Guns and Bikinis – Hot girl with glasses

Hookers and Booze - Inkspell

Jake Finnegan –Lina Hellqvist

Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – Friday Pinup

Maggie’s Notebook – Elin Nordegren, Rule 5 Worthy: Isn’t It Embarassing When You Have a Kid and Your Dreams Go Right Out the Window? Jesse Watters Spring Break Tape

Kate Moss

Pirates Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup, If All You See…, If All You See…, If All You See…

pitsnipesgripes – Celebrity Cleavage

Randy’s Roundtable –Midweek Break, Thursday Nite Tart

Rio Norte Line – Marx Madness

Sex in Advertising

Teresamerica – JWoww

The Last Tradition – Simone Farrow

Theo Spark –Bedtime Toddy , Bonus Babe, Bedtime Toddy

The Other McCain- Rule 5 Tuesday

Three Beers Later – Musical Interlude

Vintage Babe of the Week – Anne Francis

Rule 5 Woodsterman Style




*By no means comprehensive.

Use the comments as an open thread on any of these topics. If you feel that I’ve neglected a link, news, commentary, humor or Rule Fivage, send a link to the contact email on the sidebar at Proof Positive. (All spambots must die!)

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

"I spent all those years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, kept in the dark, fed scraps. Why in the hell would I want to do that all over again?"

-John McCain, on why he didn't want to be vice president

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB* is Chrissy Teigan!

(*a.k.a. Rule Five Friday)

What Are the Odds We Can Afford Another Four Years of Obama?

Quote du jour

"I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman... and a woman and a woman."

-Mitt Romney (he was joking)

Vintage Babe of the Week

Tonight's Vintage Babe* is Anne Francis!
(*a.k.a. Rule Five Thursday)













Like fine wines, the ladies improve with age!

George Will on Creative Destruction

Wikipedia

Cross-posted at the Left Coast Rebel

From Will's excellent Washington Post column today on creative destruction:

Creative destruction continues in the digital age. After 244 years — it began publication five years before the 1773 Boston Tea Party — the Encyclopaedia Britannica will henceforth be available only in digital form as it tries to catch up to reference Web sites such as Google and Wikipedia. Another digital casualty forgot it was selling the preservation of memories, a.k.a. “Kodak moments,” not film.

America now is divided between those who find this social churning unnerving and those who find it exhilarating. What Virginia Postrel postulated in 1998 in “The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise and Progress” — the best book for rescuing the country from a ruinous itch for tidiness — is even more true now. Today’s primary political and cultural conflict is, Postrel says, between people, mislabeled “progressives,” who crave social stasis, and those, paradoxically called conservatives, who welcome the perpetual churning of society by dynamism. tasists see Borders succumb to e-books (and Amazon) and lament the passing of familiar things. Dynamists say: Relax, reading is thriving. In 2001, the iPod appeared, and soon stores such as Tower Records disappeared. Who misses them?

Theodore Roosevelt, America’s first progressive president, thought it was government’s duty to “look ahead and plan out the right kind of civilization.” TR looked ahead and saw a “timber famine” caused by railroads’ ravenous appetites for crossties that rotted. He did not foresee creosote, which preserves crossties. Imagine all the things government planners cannot anticipate when, in their defining hubris, they try to impose their static dream of the “right kind” of future.

Read The Rest.

Will is correct in that progressive tend to reject -- and even viscerally hate and/or loathe -- the dynamism of so-called creative destruction. But unfortunately that doesn't necessarily mean conservatives understand the true brilliance of laissez faire capitalism; they are just less hostile to its tenets...

But just what is creative destruction, you ask?

Investopedia:

Creative destruction occurs when something new kills something older. A great example of this is personal computers. The industry, led by Microsoft and Intel, destroyed many mainframe computer companies, but in doing so, entrepreneurs created one of the most important inventions of this century.

Schumpeter goes so far as to say that the "process of creative destruction is the essential fact about capitalism."

Why is it unknown?

A-ha! That's why progressives hate the concept of creative destruction: for the dynamism of free markets (and the symbiosis of rationally self-interested individuals that fuel the brilliance of free markets to work,) something "newer" needs to "kill" something "older."

Like any other area where individual folks are left alone to pursue happiness, it is chaotic and in many cases not "fair" because someone eventually ends up with "more" than someone else!

This quote from Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist, strikes a note on the creative destruction topic (hat-tip Adam Smith Institute):

A Bronze Age empire stagnated for much the same reason that a nationalized industry stagnates: monopoly rewards caution and discourages experiment, the income is gradually captured by the interests of the producers at the expense of the interests of the consumers, and so on. The list of innovations achieved by the pharaohs is as thin as the list of innovations achieved by British Rail or the US Postal Service.

FURTHER READING: At the Ayn Rand Institute, "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal":

Readers of Atlas Shrugged are struck by the moral fire of Ayn Rand’s defense of business and capitalism. She does not regard capitalism as an amoral or immoral means to some “common good”—as do most of its defenders—but as a profoundly moral social system. It is, she wrote, “the only system geared to the life of a rational being.”

In Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, which Ayn Rand called “a nonfiction footnote to Atlas Shrugged,” she and others explain the social system that she held has “never been properly understood and defended—and whose very existence has been denied.” That system is laissez-faire capitalism: a social system in which the government is exclusively devoted to the protection of individual rights, including property rights, and therefore in which there exists absolutely no government intervention in the economy.

Capitalism is not a treatise on the economics of capitalism, but a collection of essays on the philosophy of capitalism: the basic truths and principles that make capitalism the only moral and practical social system—the only system consistent with man’s nature and the requirements of his life—the only one that enables each individual to reach his full, glorious potential.

Quote du jour

"There are some things only intellectuals are crazy enough to believe."

-George Orwell

A Tale of Two Pipelines

I hear the Bamboozler-in-Chief is heading to Cushing, Oklahoma tomorrow, to give a speech to a yard full of sections of oil pipes, to try to give himself political cover for his failed energy policies. Apparently the public is not invited to this self serving photo op, er, important energy address, and it was figured that the pipes would heckle him less that a live audience who had just filled up their cars with $5.00 a gallon gasoline to come hear him speak. Smart man, that president!

So, I got out my maps to see just where Cushing was in the big scheme of things.



See the solid line in Phase one? That's the Keystone pipeline. The one that has already been built. The one that George W. Bush's State Department issued a Presidential Permit on March 17, 2008, "authorizing the construction, maintenance and operation of facilities at the United States and Canada border". The pipeline that crosses six states and three Canadian provinces. The pipeline that was completed in June of 2010. Eighteen hundred and fifty three miles long. That Keystone pipeline!

In all the talk about the Keystone XL pipeline, the one that will double or triple the amount of oil carried from Canada to the US, plus delivering domestic oil to Gulf refineries, do you remember anyone mentioning the first pipeline, the one that was already built? Hear any big stories about the environmental catastrophes that the first phase of the Keystone project has caused in the last two years? Me neither.

TransCanada has a great interactive map here. It shows Phase 2 of the pipeline from Steele City to Cushing, which was constructed and put into service last year, in February of 2011. Nearly three hundred miles of pipe there, minding its own business for about a year now. Anybody want to step up and tell us about the great environmental disasters caused by this brand new stretch of pipe over the last year? Beuller? Beuller??

After fighting the expansion of the Keystone XL pipeline, Obama now says he wants to "fast track" permits for the third phase, from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf. I sincerely hope his photo op speech includes the number of jobs he'll want to take credit for on this stretch of pipeline, because the Keystone XL pipeline he is obstructing stretches three times as far, so, would provide three times again as many construction jobs (or three times again the duration of those jobs), not to mention the number of jobs that would be created by the doubling or tripling of oil delivered per day, and giving an outlet to 18 billion barrels of American oil reserves in the Bakken fields of North Dakota and Montana.

A pipeline through the Bakken oil fields would go a long way towards meeting Obama's professed goal of energy independence. It would be a serious step towards ensuring for America the supply of oil, the energy of the present, the energy that fuels this economy. Serious in a way that Dreams of My Father's Algae will not nor could not accomplish in this century.

One pipeline, vetted and permitted in the last year of the Bush administration, constructed and put into service with no problem. Another pipeline, proposed by the same company, meeting the same standards, covering three fewer states and one less province, but proposed during a presidential administration that is openly hostile to petroleum exploration and production, one that is held captive by environmentalists and is fearful of upsetting its base, in what promises to be an uphill struggle for re-election. This pipeline falls victim to politics, plain and simple.

It will be good to have the Cushing/Gulf pipeline fast tracked, but that end of the project really didn't need presidential intervention. Getting the XL pipeline permitted across the US/Canadian border requires the approval of Obama's State Department and the political will to do what is right for the country. If President Obama were truly serious about all the empty platitudes he will undoubtedly utter in Cushing, Oklahoma, Obama would be making this speech on the other end of the pipeline, to cheering crowds rather than mute, empty pipes.


Cross posted at LCR, Reaganite Republican, Say Anything

Medal of Honor

Staff Sergeant (then Specialist) Salvatore Augustine
Giunta

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on 25 October 2007. While conducting a patrol as team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment, 173d Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Specialist Giunta and his team were navigating through harsh terrain when they were ambushed by a well-armed and well-coordinated insurgent force. While under heavy enemy fire, Specialist Giunta immediately sprinted towards cover and engaged the enemy. Seeing that his squad leader had fallen and believing that he had been injured, Specialist Giunta exposed himself to withering enemy fire and raced towards his squad leader, helped him to cover, and administered medical aid. While administering first aid, enemy fire struck Specialist Giunta's body armor and his secondary weapon. Without regard to the ongoing fire, Specialist Giunta engaged the enemy before prepping and throwing grenades, using the explosions for cover in order to conceal his position. Attempting to reach additional wounded fellow soldiers who were separated from the squad, Specialist Giunta and his team encountered a barrage of enemy fire that forced them to the ground. The team continued forward and upon reaching the wounded soldiers, Specialist Giunta realized that another soldier was still separated from the element. Specialist Giunta then advanced forward on his own initiative. As he crested the top of a hill, he observed two insurgents carrying away an American soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other. Upon reaching the wounded soldier, he began to provide medical aid, as his squad caught up and provided security. Specialist Giunta's unwavering courage, selflessness, and decisive leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoons ability to defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American soldier from the enemy. Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment, and the United States Army.

S/Sgt. Giunta: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.



Hat tip Home of Heroes

There are fewer than a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice. In the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy:

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors; the men it remembers.”

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

I confess, after years of "teabagger" snickering, grotesque fingerpointing over the Tucson shooting, and most recently the high-fiving on Twitter over Breitbart's death, it's increasingly difficult to blog about these sporadic "civility" lectures. What's left to say? They're frauds. They care about "tone" precisely to the extent that it can be exploited to electoral advantage and no further.

-Sarah Palin

Sex in Advertising

For all you connoisseurs of advertising...



I may not be sure exactly what she's selling, but, I'm pretty sure I'm in the market!

Quote du jour

Millions of Americans voted for Barack Obama in the hope that he would be a trailblazer who would conduct the presidency in a new way. Well, he has: Obama has been the most divisive president in our modern history, unabashedly stirring up hate against not only his political enemies, but against private citizens who exercise their right to participate in our democracy.

-John Hinderaker

Quote du jour

"Pigs will fly before Ron Paul becomes the nominee."

-Tom Sullivan

The False Dichotomy of the Bamboozler-in-Chief on Oil

Barack Obama, Bamboozler-in-Chief of the US, made a rather hinky statement about oil the other day. He posited a false dichotomy about oil being the "energy of the past" and alternative energy being the wave of the future. This is becoming part of his stump speech, as he elaborated on that talking point a few days later, trying to depict anyone who opposed his policies as "flat earthers".

Let's look at what he said, he called oil "the fuel of the past", as opposed to algae and electric cars and windmills and solar that he deems "the fuel of the future". But, isn't he omitting a rather large part of the equation? How about: The Present?

You know, algae might make a fine fuel someday, but when you go to fill up your car to get to work tomorrow, to go to the grocery store, to carpool the kids to school, to take the baby to the doctor, you can't fill up at the corner algae station, because there is none. If Barack could snap his fingers and put an algae powered car on every driveway in the nation, most of you would have to stay home, because there is no infrastructure to support it.

Those mean, nasty oil companies (more about them later) and their dealers have put up an awful lot of money to make sure that there's a gas station as convenient to you as possible, so you won't get stuck by the side of the road in downtown Cleveland or Left Wingnut, Wyoming, because you couldn't find a gas station. That infrastructure was not built overnight. And it did not come cheap, either.

And historically, even big breakthroughs in science did not take effect universally. People were still using kerosine lamps after Edison invented the light bulb. Many people still rode horses and horse drawn buggies after the automobile was invented. People were still riding trains after the Wright Brothers' invention made its first commercial flight. Ever heard of "Amtrak"? There are people today who take trains to cities where they could fly. Most times the things of the past have coexisted with newer technology for years and years. Some things are even more enduring and compete with new technology for a century or better.

The point is, that a) our need for a stable petroleum supply for both our manufacturing and energy needs is not going away any time soon. The monitor you're reading this on was made from petroleum products. The keyboard you use to type your nasty response, disagreeing with everything I say, is made largely from petroleum products.

b) The infrastructure to support electric, or algae, or hydrogen, or nuclear powered cars is not there yet, and for many people, won't be there for many years. You may be able to refuel your car's hydrogen fuel cell at the corner of Fifth and Main in the next five or ten years, but those people who use a tractor to clear the snow off their unpaved roads in the winter, will never see a hydrogen fuel cell for that old Ford 9N. Before we relegate any fuel "to the past", there must be something else to take its place. And we are not there yet.

Electric cars are still mostly playthings for the well to do. Worse yet for their prospect, is the fact that China is the primary source for acquiring the "rare earth" elements needed to make high tech batteries and devices. Even as you read this, the Chinese have backed off from selling us as much of the rare earths as we would like to buy. What if that source were cut off from us completely? What's "Plan 'B'"?

And a nation of electric cars and electric high speed trains (don't get me started on THAT one!), will require more and more electric capacity, not less. And every solar or wind powered facility needs a full fledged back up system for when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing, unless you had a very efficient storage system, which we do not currently (pun intended) possess. Yet, Obama and his EPA are shuttering coal fired plants left and right (mostly left), leaving our grid in a much more precarious position to provide for the needs of a growing economy. I guess his first step in bringing these goals to pass, was to make sure the economy wasn't growing!

But the only reason we’ve come this far as a nation is because we refuse to stand still. Because we put our faith in the future. Because we are inventors and builders and makers of things. We’re Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. That’s who we are. That’s who we need to be right now.

After disparaging the past, he cites Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers. We are still using Mr. Edison's lightbulb today, and many of us prefer it to the "CFL" (Catastrophic Failure Lamps; see also: Exploding Mercury Bombs). We may all be using LEDs someday, but for now, many people object to the price of LED bulbs and the environmental hazards of CFLs.

I bought an LED bulb just yesterday. I'm glad I didn't buy two! When I got it home, it didn't fit in the fixture I had purchased it for. Maybe one day, they come out with a different bulb or someone designs a different fixture and we all live happily ever after. But, that's not today.

Mr. President: I don't live in the past. I resent you trying to falsely paint everyone who disagrees with you as ignorant, particularly in light of that historically inaccurate tripe you included in that particular speech. I live in the present, where petroleum and petroleum byproducts fuel my transportation and provide my livelihood. There are millions of Americans just like me. You were not elected to bring about some sweeping change that would alter our future. You were elected to defend and uphold the Constitution. Last time I looked there was nothing in there about algae powered cars, LED lighting, solar power or universal health care.

Quit bragging about how much higher oil production has been during your administration, seeing as how oil production on federal lands has dropped and the increases are all in spite of your policies. Stop playing politics with America's energy security. Approve the Keystone pipeline. Facilitate drilling in the far northern, barren and desolate regions of ANWR.

Tell your hippie, environmentalist friends that it is essential to become energy independent to preserve our liberty, and that oil and coal are the energy of the present.

Cross posted at LCR.

Themes Like Old Times

Casey Jones

Obama Shows No (Weight) Class in Meeting with Foreign Heads of State

Read the subtitles. Our allies aren't fooled.

See how many times the Bamboozler-in-Chief condescendingly refers to smaller countries as "punching above their weight". One time might be an off the cuff remark, but to repeatedly make the same condescending, even mildly insulting boxing comparison shows either a complete lack of imagination on the part of Obama and his speech writers, or the fact that there is no teleprompter in these Oval Office meetings, and trite, near meaningless phrases are all he can muster.

A little lesson in logic and language...not every nation can be our "closest" ally. They can be among our closest allies, but every nation cannot be the closest. Sounds a lot like empty flattery and pandering to me. Kinda reminds me of some lounge lizard Lothario, whispering to every woman in the room that she's the prettiest one there, hoping none of the other ladies can hear him.

To use another boxing metaphor, Obama has proven himself to be a flyweight in international affairs. Time for him to throw in the towel.

H/T Mind Numbed Robot, American Digest

Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.

Quote du jour

“A man in Albuquerque has registered his dog to vote. Apparently the dog likes the current administration but he’s not sure he wants another 28 years of Obama.”

–Conan O’Brien

A Little More Saturday Night Music

Not exactly Irish, but this song sort of has a St. Patty's Day feel to it.

Toby Keith - Clancy's Tavern

A Little Irish Saturday Night Music

Irish folk music - Oró sé do bheatha 'bhaile by Arany Zoltán

Obama Burned in Effigy Again Constantly

Well, at least it's not that cowboy Bush! Remember back to those halcyon days of 2008 and 2009, when candidate, and then, newly elected Barack Obama was singing his own praise before phony Styrofoam columns and claiming that he would stop the rise of the oceans and make the world like us, because he wasn't anything like that cowboy George Bush, and all we needed was a little bit of hope and change, and peace would guide the planet and love would stir the stars? Oops! That last part was from the hippie musical "Hair", but you get my drift!

So, I was mildly interested when I heard in passing of Obama being burned in effigy again in Afghanistan this week. "How's that 'hope and change' working out for you," I thought? But it was far worse than that In searching for a photo to illustrate what I thought would be just a gentle dig at my liberal friends, I found the one above, which was from India, Nov. 2010.

And at least according to one source, the Afghan burning of Obama in effigy is a weekly occurrence. Weekly? Yes, my good friends, Barack Obama, beloved around the world for his unique unicorn taming abilities and Nobel Peace prize winning management and launching of several wars is not as quite beloved as we were lead to believe.

So, I have a question for the Lame Stream Media: Obama gets burned in effigy (B-i-E), at least once a week somewhere around the world, is it not news because,
a) it happens so often, or
b) because it reflects badly on the president? Or
c) both.

BTW, there was a nice little ironic touch to the story of the latest B-i-E,

At least five children were seriously burned during and taken to a U.S. military hospital following the effigy (burning).

Get that? After chanting death to America and burning our president in effigy, the US is the first place they turn, to get aid and help for their children.

Seeing as how beloved Barack "I'm not that cowboy Bush" Obama is around the world, after the dust has settled and we see the full results of Obama's "diplomacy" towards Israel and Iran, Pakistan and Egypt, Syria and Russia, China and North Korea, will we see a more stable and peaceful world, with allies at least neutral to the US, or will we see a more dangerous world, with more nations openly hostile to the US? I'd say, get this man out of office before he commits another act of "diplomacy" against the interests of the US and world peace.


Having said that, has there ever been a Nobel Peace Prize winner burned in effigy as often as this one? A brief glimpse of Obama flambé around the world:



Egypt, Feb. 2011


Pakistan (or Pockistan), Sept. 2011

And remember the naked glee from the left when someone insulted George Bush by throwing a shoe at him? A little love token from Egypt:



And, BTW, I just want to let you know that it is going to be awfully hard for Barack to keep the oceans from rising, if you people insist on emitting that much carbon from burning him in effigy, that often, around the world. Think of the planet! Think of the children!!


Update : Here is the picture from this week. The photographer apparently showed up after the Obama effigy was ablaze, so they burned a cross for good measure.


Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.

Saturday Linkaround

Cartoon of the Day – NRO Home page

Democrat Alan Grayson Runs Red Light & Hits Bus on Way to Fundraiser

Why We Should Keep Reaching for the Stars

The Real Entitlement Mentality

Media Matters astroturfed the Limbaugh secondary boycott

Racial-Quota Fallout :How Derrick Bell became Derrick Bell- Thomas Sowell

If Obama's Past Isn't A Concern, Why Cover It Up?

Obama’s big lie “If you like your doctor, you can keep him!”: CBO says millions will lose coverage because of ObamaCare

Nerf: The gateway gun?

Obama ‘Fanatic’ Guilty In Arpaio Death Threat Case – Obama calls for civility, that number disconnected

State Department claims records gone for Stanley Ann Dunham prior to 1968

Fix the Ike Memorial






Rule Five Roundup*:

American Power- Smokin' Hot Young Women

Camp of the Saints - Hump Day Rule Five, Rule Five News

Classic Liberal – Holly Valence

The Daley Gator – Daley Babe –Ayaka Nola

El Opinador Compulsivo – Hip, Hitchhiker

Eye of Polyphemus – Charisma Carpenter, Jeri Ryan

The Feral Irishman – Friday Afternoon Beauty

Friday Night Babe –Jessica Rafalowski

The Right Way -Hilary Rhoda

Guns and Bikinis – Rainbow bikini

Hookers and Booze - Lazy Sunday

Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – Friday Pinup , Summer

Maggie’s Notebook – Rule 5 – South of the Border

Pirates Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup, If All You See…

pitsnipesgripes – The ladies

POH Diaries -Kate Upton

PostalDog - Eva Green

Randy’s Roundtable –Midweek Break, Thursday Nite Tart

Reaganite Republican – Miss Switzerland

Rio Norte Line – Scherri-Lee Biggs

Sex in Advertising

Soylent Green – Corset Friday

The Last Tradition – Sam Faiers, Amy Childs

Theo Spark –Bedtime Toddy , Bonus Babe, Bedtime Toddy, Bedtime Toddy, Kate Upton

The Other McCain- Rule 5 Sunday

Three Beers Later – Lita Ford - video

Vintage Babe of the Week –Jessica Walters

Rule 5 Woodsterman Style




*By no means comprehensive.

Use the comments as an open thread on any of these topics. If you feel that I’ve neglected a link, news, commentary, humor or Rule Fivage, send a link to the contact email on the sidebar. (All spambots must die!)

Cross posted at Say Anything