Post-vacation...

Just back from a few days of stress-free vacation. Except for reading the news of course, where I'm treated to continued coverage of the deliberate destruction of the US by our Radical-in-Chief. This bit from Victor Davis Hanson on our "post-racial" president's too good not to excerpt (but go read the whole thing!):

From “Cowards” to “Wise Latina” — We Get it Already. Had Eric Holder not accused the nation of being cowards, had the president not appealed to voters in a recent video on the basis of race, had the president not intervened to stereotype the police in a minor matter at Harvard, had the Supreme Court justice not suggested racial background can make a better judge, had both the attorney general and the president not implied, before reading the bill, that 70% of Arizonans were intent on racially stereotyping, we would not quite be where we are — in which a bankrupt country in the middle of two wars is obsessed over the NAACP calling the tea party veritable racists and the dropping of charges against a fringe crack-pot group like the New Black Panther Party.

Obama attacks state of Arizona

On top of all his other deliberately destructive policies, Prez Fershizzle has decided to sue the state of Arizona. His legal theory: that the Feds have the legal authority to not enforce the law of the land. No kidding. It'll definitely be comical, watching government lawyers trying to make that argument.

How is the Obama administration not in breach of Article 4 Section 4 of the Constitution?

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

Aside from the legal points, Obama's brazen chutzpah in attacking an American state while the federal government is derelict in its duties: simply mind-boggling. I predict an ugly outcome.

Plus: a great comment on a blog I frequent:

Isn't it amazing that we have a hostile democrat federal govt that wants to prohibit a state from protecting it's borders from an invasion, not to mention the unspoken of war on our southern border where Mexican drug cartels and paratroopers have shootouts with US border patrol agents on US soil.

The Artist formerly known as Prince, blabbering like an old guy

Hah! My first non-political post in awhile!

Here's what rock-star Prince has to say about the internet:

"The internet's completely over," he said. "I don't see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won't pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can't get it. The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

The stuff about royalties & copyright I get completely, but his comments about "fill your head with numbers" sound much like a cranky old guy railing about the evils of new-fangled gizmos.

Great stuff!

This is too good not to pass along.

Relevant Tidbit on the 4th of July

I just saw this wonderful tidbit from the Declaration of Independence:

"He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them."

Sure sounds like our Narcissist in Chief.

Why is the Gulf Cleanup so Slow?

An excellent piece from the Wall Street Journal outlining Obama's unwillingness to do what needs doing in the Gulf. Maybe if he'd trim his golf game to nine holes...

Why Is the Gulf Cleanup So Slow?

There are obvious actions to speed things up, but the government oddly resists taking them.

As the oil spill continues and the cleanup lags, we must begin to ask difficult and uncomfortable questions. There does not seem to be much that anyone can do to stop the spill except dig a relief well, not due until August. But the cleanup is a different story. The press and Internet are full of straightforward suggestions for easy ways of improving the cleanup, but the federal government is resisting these remedies.

First, the Environmental Protection Agency can relax restrictions on the amount of oil in discharged water, currently limited to 15 parts per million. In normal times, this rule sensibly controls the amount of pollution that can be added to relatively clean ocean water. But this is not a normal time.

Various skimmers and tankers (some of them very large) are available that could eliminate most of the oil from seawater, discharging the mostly clean water while storing the oil onboard. While this would clean vast amounts of water efficiently, the EPA is unwilling to grant a temporary waiver of its regulations.

Next, the Obama administration can waive the Jones Act, which restricts foreign ships from operating in U.S. coastal waters. Many foreign countries (such as the Netherlands and Belgium) have ships and technologies that would greatly advance the cleanup. So far, the U.S. has refused to waive the restrictions of this law and allow these ships to participate in the effort.

The combination of these two regulations is delaying and may even prevent the world's largest skimmer, the Taiwanese owned "A Whale," from deploying. This 10-story high ship can remove almost as much oil in a day as has been removed in total—roughly 500,000 barrels of oily water per day. The tanker is steaming towards the Gulf, hoping it will receive Coast Guard and EPA approval before it arrives.

In addition, the federal government can free American-based skimmers. Of the 2,000 skimmers in the U.S. (not subject to the Jones Act or other restrictions), only 400 have been sent to the Gulf. Federal barriers have kept the others on stations elsewhere in case of other oil spills, despite the magnitude of the current crisis. The Coast Guard and the EPA issued a joint temporary rule suspending the regulation on June 29—more than 70 days after the spill.

The Obama administration can also permit more state and local initiatives. The media endlessly report stories of county and state officials applying federal permits to perform various actions, such as building sand berms around the Louisiana coast. In some cases, they were forbidden from acting. In others there have been extensive delays in obtaining permission.

As the government fails to implement such simple and straightforward remedies, one must ask why.
More

* As Storm Stalls Cleanup, House Passes Victims' Bill
* Florida Sees New Threat to Its Beaches

One possibility is sheer incompetence. Many critics of the president are fond of pointing out that he had no administrative or executive experience before taking office. But the government is full of competent people, and the military and Coast Guard can accomplish an assigned mission. In any case, several remedies require nothing more than getting out of the way.

Another possibility is that the administration places a higher priority on interests other than the fate of the Gulf, such as placating organized labor, which vigorously defends the Jones Act.

Finally there is the most pessimistic explanation—that the oil spill may be viewed as an opportunity, the way White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said back in February 2009, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." Many administration supporters are opposed to offshore oil drilling and are already employing the spill as a tool for achieving other goals. The websites of the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, for example, all feature the oil spill as an argument for forbidding any further offshore drilling or for any use of fossil fuels at all. None mention the Jones Act.

To these organizations and perhaps to some in the administration, the oil spill may be a strategic justification in a larger battle. President Obama has already tried to severely limit drilling in the Gulf, using his Oval Office address on June 16 to demand that we "embrace a clean energy future." In the meantime, how about a cleaner Gulf?

New Black Panthers and Obama's Dept. of Justice

This is so blatant, so overt a miscarriage of justice that Holder must be hauled in front of a truly independent board to answer for his actions. Firing him won't be enough; he needs to go to jail for this. Should the trail lead back to Obama, he'll have to go as well (among other impeachable offenses for which he's responsible).

Former U.S. prosecutor to testify on New Black Panthers charges

By Emilie Lounsberry

Inquirer Staff Writer

As voters were casting the ballots that elected America's first black president in November 2008, a troubling incident occurred outside a polling place in North Philadelphia, the Justice Department later contended.

There, two members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense hurled racial threats and insults at black and white voters, federal prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division alleged in a complaint accusing the group and three members of violating the federal Voting Rights Act.

The prosecutors later won a default judgment against Minister King Samir Shabazz, whom they identified as leader of the Philadelphia chapter, and sought dismissal of charges against the organization and two other members.

Now, one of the prosecutors, J. Christian Adams, has resigned from the Justice Department amid a widening flap over the case. He said he was scheduled to testify Tuesday before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in an investigation over dismissal of the charges.

Adams said Friday that he disagreed with the decision to dismiss charges. Though his name is on the court document seeking the dismissal, Adams said he believes the case should have been pursued.

"I was just following instructions to dismiss the case," Adams said in an interview.

Adams said there has been long-standing opposition in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department toward "race-neutral enforcement" of the voting-rights law during the Obama administration as well as when President George W. Bush was in office.

"I believe in a robust protection of voters," said Adams, who has been busy doing interviews on Fox News and radio talk shows since leaving the Justice Department in early June.

According to court papers, Shabazz, brandishing a nightstick, and a second member stood at the entrance to the polling place in the 1200 block of Fairmount Avenue. The two "made menacing and intimidating gestures, statements, and movements," the complaint said.

While the prosecutors dismissed charges against the organization, its leader and the third member, they won an order barring Shabazz from displaying a weapon within 100 feet of any open polling location in Philadelphia on any Election Day through 2012.

Justice Department spokesman Tracy Schmaler told the Associated Press that the charges against the New Black Panthers were dropped because they were not supported by the facts or by the law.

On its website, the New Black Panther Party says that "the white man has kept us deaf, dumb, and blind," and that it seeks "the overdue debt of reparations." A group spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20100703_Former_U_S__prosecutor_to_testify_on_New_Black_Panthers_charges.html#ixzz0sgmiODGZ

Feds warn Pacific Crest Trail hikers about crossing border

Wow; I'm on a roll.

Apparently the federal government's all in a tizzy because hikers following the Pacific Crest Trail from Canada into the US don't divert 50 miles to the closest 'port of entry' to declare their border crossing when hiking the trail. Hikers have been officially warned and threatened with a fine of $5,000 and a year in jail.

Oh good. Obama's finally getting serious about enforcing the borders. Sure hope they're not profiling though...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012259887_pcthikers02.html

Pelosi...

This isn't meant to be predominantly a political blog; just a safe place for me to rant and blow off steam in a benign fashion. But since Obama's administration is so industriously doing and saying idiotic stuff at such a breakneck pace these days, it's hard to resist commenting.

Here's today's headline:

Pelosi: Unemployment Checks Fastest Way to Create Jobs

Yup. The same genius who told us that the Health Care Reform bill had to be "passed so we'd know what's in it" has uttered another gem: that unemployment ultimately creates jobs. As long as these folks are in power, the country doesn't have a prayer.

Oi: yet another Obama rant:

Our Prezident sez:

"Our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only with fences and border patrols," Mr. Obama said. "It won't work."

Heh; guess he's never heard of the Great Wall of China.

Too good not to rant about...

Obama's immigration reform speech today. AP reports:

He said that a comprehensive solution is needed, instead, urging one that holds everyone accountable, from illegal immigrants to the businesses that hire them.

Mmmm, all that stuff's already in current federal immigration legislation. Why won't the Obama administration try enforcing some of it? And:

Obama decries political posturing on immigration

Really? Like refusing to enforce existing federal laws? Of course that's not politically motivated. Let's ask the constitutional scholar: Barack, what's your constitutional mandate to not enforce federal legislation? Please be specific.

On a LESS positive note...

Turns out my evil ex-wife gave me the wrong time for my son's graduation: one hour later than it started. I missed seeing my oldest boy graduate because my ex-wife is a fuck-up.

This is the kind of thing that can't be forgiven (not that I was on any kind of good terms with her anyway).

Sheesh...

On a more positive note...

Tomorrow #1 son graduates from high school. He's turned out smart and strong and decent, and I couldn't be happier. Since he'll be going off to study medicine this fall, I imagine I won't be seeing nearly as much of him as now (currently every other weekend). This is a milemarker in my life: both happy and sad.

The inevitable Obama post (and probably not the last...)

No time like the present for this post, although his crimes against the Constitution have been coming fast and furious these last 17 months. Fist I though it was inexperience, then ineptitude. Now it's clear to me that our Precedent is out for nothing less than the destruction of the United States in its current form. He's such an easy target, and so many of his actions are indefensible, it's hard to know where to start my righteous bitching.

- The debt. I occasionally run up debts; not huge ones, and they always get paid off. Most everyone does. What's astounding about Obama's administration is its apparent goal of bankrupting the United States. The Stimulus bill back in January was nigh on a trillion dollars. Folks simply can't wrap their heads around these types of numbers. A trillion dollars: If you stacked $1,000 bills flat, it would take a stack nearly 68 miles high to amount to a trillion dollars. No shit. And between health care, bank bailouts, takeovers of various industries, payouts and payoffs to folks like ACORN and his union buddies, Obama's committed us to nearly 20 trillion dollars of debt within the next ten years.

- The US was always meant to be a representative democracy. You vote for like-minded individuals who'll go to Washington and do your bidding. The recent spate of Obama-led legislation (health care reform's the perfect example) is being put into force against the will of the American people. Every credible poll shows the vast majority of Americans want health care reform repealed. What does the administration do in response? Run an expensive ad campaign to show citizens how wrong they are; that they really, really need this bill. There can be only two explanations for this: either Obama is the arrogant narcissist that so many claim he is, or he is actually bent on simply destroying the country. Come to think of it, maybe both explanations are valid.

- This thing in Arizona. Obama's taken an oath to defend the borders, although during his tenure to date, he's had his minions cut back on enforcement of illegal immigration laws by almost 80%. For months he refused to meet with Arizona governor Jan Brewer, or even acknowledge her correspondence, all the while brazenly announcing to the world that he's willing to meet with each and every despot the world over, without preconditions. Apparently it's only Americans he doesn't like. Three weeks ago, Obama promised governor Brewer 1,200 National Guardsmen within two weeks to help with logistics near the border (God forbid they should be sent there to keep illegals out...). She's heard nothing since. Obama can't keep even the simplest of promises.

- Obama claimed his administration would be the beginning of "smart diplomacy". Since then, he's alienated almost every long-standing ally they US has ever had, while warming up to every tin-plated dictator who'll take his call. Along the way, he bows and scrapes in front of foreign dignitaries, just to show them he doesn't know how to behave on the world stage. Staggering.

- Gulf oil spill. This kind of thing can happen during any administration, and the blame for its cause shouldn't be placed at his feet, but his reactions to the spill are his alone to own:

- delay in taking the accident seriously.
- pure hypocrisy, saying "I will not rest until the leak is stopped." Then he's either off golfing, or throwing lavish parties at the White House on the taxpayers' dime. Brazen...
- non-cooperative attitude toward Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, a can-do kinda guy who wanted to deploy containment booms and build protective sand berms to protect the coasts of his state. Obama has done everything in his power to prevent Jindal from taking action.
- Obama's 20 billion dollar "shakedown" of BP (and that's exactly what it is!). BP is certainly liable for a fair amount of damage, and they've already said they're willing to pay. Obama's decided however they must also be publicly humiliated as well. Remember folks: if BP goes bankrupt (a distinct possibility, and an increasingly attractive option for BP), that 20 billion dollar slush fund amounts to nothing.

- "Post partisan". Heh. Nothing could be further from the truth. I read an interesting and prophetic piece from 2006 positing that Obama is merely a human Rorschach test.

Sen. Obama is a Rorschach test. I see hope! I see brains! I see a whole new kind of politician! I see an amazing life story! I see an orator! I see a natural! I see a hero!

Well, real people aren't Rorschach tests. They aren't blank slates. And by January 2008, Senator Blank Slate, D-Ill., will be a messy chalkboard. He may well be a fabulous chalkboard with cool stuff all over it. But more likely, he'll be pretty much like an American politician, though perhaps one who is a great guy, with a big brain and a powerful voice.

This is how the guy got elected; that and yuppie white guilt. A perfect illustration of what I mean from one of my sons. Upon Obama's election, #2 son proclaims how "great it is that a black man won!" I explained of course that while being black isn't a defect, it's also not any sort of job qualification or special ability either.

- The New Black Panther Party and the Department of Justice. For some reason, this hasn't gotten much media attention, but then again, most of the media seem to have rewritten their job descriptions: from accurate observation and reporting, to spin and editorial commentary. The Panther story, briefly by one of the DOJ lawyers involved who's since quit as a result:

On the day President Obama was elected, armed men wearing the black berets and jackboots of the New Black Panther Party were stationed at the entrance to a polling place in Philadelphia. They brandished a weapon and intimidated voters and poll watchers. After the election, the Justice Department brought a voter-intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party and those armed thugs. I and other Justice attorneys diligently pursued the case and obtained an entry of default after the defendants ignored the charges. Before a final judgment could be entered in May 2009, our superiors ordered us to dismiss the case.

Based on my firsthand experiences, I believe the dismissal of the Black Panther case was motivated by a lawless hostility toward equal enforcement of the law. Others still within the department share my assessment. The department abetted wrongdoers and abandoned law-abiding citizens victimized by the New Black Panthers. The dismissal raises serious questions about the department's enforcement neutrality in upcoming midterm elections and the subsequent 2012 presidential election.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has opened an investigation into the dismissal and the DOJ's skewed enforcement priorities. Attorneys who brought the case are under subpoena to testify, but the department ordered us to ignore the subpoena, lawlessly placing us in an unacceptable legal limbo.

It seems obvious that DOJ's decision not to pursue the Panthers is politically motivated. While shocking, it doesn't seem out of character at all for Obama: member of a hate church for 20 years, clearly pursuing anti-Israel policy, and some of the stuff in his 2(!) biographies concerning "white folks" is nothing short of hate speech.


Alright: that's a start. You'll be sure to see more on Obama here in the future.

Holland: Nation of Losers

I've lived here in the Netherlands over 20 years. I've stayed not because I liked it, but because early on I produced two wonderful sons who I felt (and still feel) obliged to grace with my "Daddy duty". While I have no regrets on that point, I've suffered many indignities at the hands of the local population. They advertise themselves as free-thinking and tolerant, but nothing could be further from the truth. Their version of free-thinking means spitting in the face of common sense, and the local definition of tolerance would be unrecognizable to the rest of the world. Some examples:

- Zwarte Piet, or "Black Pete". He's Dutch Santa's bumbling, ne'er-do-well slave. He's black with big red lips and an Afro. Here's a picture of him:



Nice, eh? The locals love him dearly, and don't see anything offensive about ol' Pete. I theorize it's this same mindset that allowed the Dutch to lead the world at slave-trading for centuries. They're unapologetic sociopaths.

More examples of local NL tolerance and free-thinking:

- Recent local elections where party platforms included lowering the age of sexual consent to 12 years of age(!) and decriminalizing sex with animals. No fooling.

- Euthanasia. The Dutch see themselves as world-leaders on this front, although the UN has criticized them numerous times for their vague rules concerning this. Some of the complaints: Doctors informally give life-ending drugs to patients who come to them with complaints as petty as being "tired of living". Jeezus H. Christ! Who amongst us hasn't had a bad week or month where living wasn't a whole lot of fun? And given the convenient opportunity to stroll down to your MD and easily end your life? Bad idea. Also: it turns out that euthanasia isn't always dispensed at the patient's or his family's request. Apparently doctors here occasionally decide that the guy in room 27 doesn't have much to live for, so we'll just surreptitiously slip him a little something to ease his passing. The family doesn't really need to play a part in the decision...

- Liberal drug policy. As nice as potheads the world over might think a drug abuser's paradise like Holland would be, it's created several 'lost generations' here: folks who spend the entire day in the coffee shop, doing nothing but getting and staying high. And don't believe those who say dope doesn't lead to harder drugs. A high percentage of locals walk around with that "meth face" look.

- Back in the 60's, liberal politics began to rule Holland; right when the North Sea oil and gas fields were being discovered. All of a sudden the government coffers overran with money from these mineral royalties. The Dutch Parliament was rife with rhetoric amounting to "work = slavery", so an extensive welfare state was formed, with overly generous provisions for almost everyone. Of course, once the cork is out of that particular bottle, it ain't going back in. A significant portion of the potential work force here has decided to call in sick and stay home forever on the public's dime. Obviously this can't be sustained forever, and NL finds itself in a huge budget crisis. Of course cutting back the existing social programs (which amount to nothing more than 'redistribution of wealth') is unthinkable.

Of course, every country has its problems and a segment of unreasonable people, but Holland takes the cake as far as folks who are simply unwilling to recognize what's right and what's not.

Awright: 2nd post.

Like most folks online, I have a Facebook presence. I see it as one of those odious adult responsibilities, done not because it's fun or rewarding, but mainly because that's just what folks do nowadays. I've made peace with that reality, but I also see there's a whole no-win protocol that comes along with being on Facebook: People you don't know who want to be your 'friend', or folks from back in college who were never friendly at all, or professional colleagues who are sometimes downright hostile; all wanting to be chummy online, but not so much in the real world. Fine: they send a 'friend' request, and it demands attention on your Facebook page. "Ignore"? Hmmmm; that's seems rude, even towards someone who's pretending we're actually 'friends'. "Accept"? Then the circle gets larger, causing even more unknown- or quasi-hostile acquaintances to shuffle forward, asking for proof of our 'friendship'. Arghhh! There's no winning it.

I've also observed a certain type of Facebook personality who seems to be in a frantic rush to see how many 'friends' they can accumulate. It's apparent it's almost all about professional networking: they hope to get gigs or claw their way into a higher echelon of freelancing by having lots of 'friends' in the professional community. That looks so cheap. Be honest: a classical musician with 4,000 'friends' the world over? Not likely. Those who do this, be aware: your motives are transparent, and you look like the smarmiest type of hand-shaking, joke-making, back-slapping used car salesmen on the planet.

First Post

Here's the first post of my blog. I'm starting this because I seem to rant much lately, and sometimes at the expense of the patience of my loved ones and innocent acquaintances. Surely this is a safer and more cathartic way for me to rage at the world ... right?

About me: I'm an American expat living in the Netherlands. I've lived here 20 years, but it'll never ever feel like home to me (don't worry: you'll eventually get to hear my frustrations with this 'perfect' land). I'm a professional musician, and have the worst employer in the world (who shall of course remain nameless!). I've got some great kids, and an incredibly smart and beautiful wife for whom I'm grateful every single day.

So: what gets written here is entirely for me, but should you care to read along, you'll eventually see some fine rants about American politics (how unique!), life abroad, petty frustrations of everyday life, and whatever else happens to come along.