Those of us old enough still treasure the memory of Peter Finch playing crazed newscaster Howard Beale.  In the movie, Network, released in 1979, Howard suddenly starts shouting:  “I’m mad as hell & I’m not going to take it anymore!”

Currently, we are experiencing another Howard Beale moment.  Glenn Beck was the original Howard Beale, but while he got great ratings, he was too easy for the main stream media to ignore.  Donald Trump has picked up the torch and that is a much more serious threat.  Trump is saying he won’t take it anymore with regard to the obvious cover-up of Obama’s personal history.  While the news media started out “shocked” they are quickly learning that Trump has touched a nerve.

Today there is a major headline with regard to which banks were loaned money by the Fed in October of 2008:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-01/foreign-banks-tapped-fed-s-lifeline-most-as-bernanke-kept-borrowers-secret.html

Bernanke even gave money to Libya.  Nice!  I can’t imagine anything that will piss off an already pissed off American electorate more than that. 

But the real story is that this is just the first of numerous Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests blocked by the Obama administration.   The pattern of the Obama administration has been to block the release of any documents about anything, just like he has blocked release of his birth certificate.  The following link shows the pattern:

 http://cnsnews.com/news/article/investigations-find-unprecedented-politi-0

The main stream media, including Fox, has ignored all the warning signs.  Obama has been given a free pass from day one.  When you think about it, it is ridiculous that we have elected someone President of the United States and no one really even checked to see if he was eligible to run for office.  He has refused to release documentation on any of his personal history and people have ignored huge red flags, like suspect selective service registration documents, potentially fraudulent Social Security Numbers, a questionable academic record, surrender of his law license, a missing birth certificate, radical friends and disappearing legislative records.  He is a product of the Chicago political system, which is considered to be one of the most corrupt in the country.  The last three governors were indicted.  There is even a well-documented story of how he purchased his home with a highly questionable sweetheart deal from Tony Rezko, who is in prison as we speak for bribing public officials.  Yet somehow the main stream media never even considered the possibility of corruption on the part of Barack Obama.

But now, finally, real documents are starting to get released.  With Darrell Issa Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, with subpoena power, expect a lot more.  So far the releases, like wikileaks, are mostly embarrassing.  But future releases could be much worse. 

Recently Herman Cain joined in the chorus in support of Donald Trump:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52372.html

Orly Taitz also just filed another lawsuit regarding Obama.  She is often criticized for doing substandard legal work, but her recent lawsuit includes some very interesting exhibits.  The first is with regard to a Social Security Number used by Barack Obama that, according to official records, was never issued to anyone.  The second appears to be an official record from Columbia University verifying Obama’s degree.  It also shows that date of attendance is from September 1, 1982 to May 31, 1983.  Obama said he attended there from September 1981 to May 31, 1983.  That would appear to indicate that we are missing an entire year of his life.  Who knows?  The point is that once again, with regard to Obama, there are more questions than answers. 

Bill “O’Reilly tried to brush Trump aside by saying there were contemporary birth announcements regarding Obama in the Honolulu newspaper.  Karl Rove, who is a very bright guy, says that Trump is stupid to pursue this.  But, Donald Trump is not stupid and he is certainly not delusional.  Instead he is a very dangerous man.  He is an experienced business man who knows there is no substitute for proper documentation.  There is a reason why states issue official birth certificates just like they issue official death certificates.  There is a reason why most of us have had to produce our birth certificate on several occasions to enroll in school, to register to vote, to apply for a passport or get a social security number.  The next time you try to get on a plane intending to travel overseas, try doing that with a newspaper clipping of your birth announcement as a substitute for a passport.  Of course screening someone before they board an international flight is obviously more important than verifying whether or not they are eligible to be President of the United States. 

A lot of people in the media have speculated as to why Donald Trump continues to pursue Obama’s birth certificate.  They come up with all kinds of explanations, except the obvious.  Trump told them and they didn’t listen.  He has seen fraud before, he knows the warning signs, and he is too smart to be distracted.  We’ve only just begun.  Fasten your seatbelts.  I think with Donald Trump we may have reached the “Beale Point” where a whole lot of people are going start shouting, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

TDM

The problem for Obama is that birthers keep coming up with more ammunition.  A retired Air Force Colonel, Gregory Hollister, impersonated Obama and managed to get a copy of Obama’s Selective Service record.  That record allegedly shows a Social Security Number, never issued, that starts with 042.  Social Security Numbers are assigned by state, so this number is from Connecticut.  Since Obama was living in Hawaii at the time, this is interesting:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/springs-115381-colorado-obama.html

Naturally, the response has been to try and prosecute this Col. Hollister for impersonating Obama.  That may be well and good, but there are a couple of obvious questions that should be asked of Obama.  For example:  What is your Social Security Number?  Did you ever use another Social Security Number; and, if so, why?

Earlier there had been speculation with regard to whether Obama even registered for the Selective Service, as required.  The following link provides some insight with regard to that story:

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama-did-obama-actually-register-for-selective-service/2/

This article is actually supportive of Obama and provides the following quote from the Selective Service:

Barack Hussein Obama registered at a post office in Hawaii. The effective registration date was September 4, 1980.

His registration number is 61-1125539-1.

Daniel Amon
Public Affairs Specialist

This fits the standard Obama pattern.  When Obama is challenged he NEVER releases the actual document, he just gets someone to write a letter or give a statement that Obama can use as a substitute. 

But, as with everything else, there is always more to the story.  This is not new.  The following blog from 2008 reveals that some people had serious questions about Obama’s Selective Service record from the start:

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/4428/exclusive-did-next-commander-in-chief-falsify-selective-service-registration-never-actually-register-obamas-draft-registration-raises-serious-questions/

Why is it that everything, and I mean everything, about Obama’s personal records has this kind of nonsense?  This is true with regard to his birth certificate, his academic records, his law license application, his tax records, and even his legislative record.  Even his own autobiography is allegedly written by William Ayers.  The sad fact is that this misdirection has been remarkably effective.  Time and time again the main stream media has allowed Obama to get away with refusing to really answer questions.  He has never been forced to produce any real documents.  I guarantee you that if there was even a hint of a question regarding George Bush’s birth certificate, the main stream media would have gone nuts.  No other political candidate, in either party, would have gotten away with this.  John Kerry did a great job of hiding his military records, and he never released all his records, but he did have to release some documents.  Obama has never released anything.

This reminds me of the scene from “FARGO” where the corrupt auto sales manager is trying desperately to cover up the fact that he has an automobile missing.  He completes the forms, but deliberately uses sloppy handwriting to make the form impossible to read.  Then he mocks anyone who questions him as being unreasonable.

I have met several people who resisted providing documents that everyone else willingly provides.  In most cases, I learned that these people were hiding something, and it was very important for me to find out what.  So far, Obama, with the support of the main stream media, has managed to intimidate everyone who challenges his personal history.  He has spent millions of dollars in legal fees avoiding the release of his birth certificate.  Perhaps the most significant comment was from Donald Trump when he was on the view.  He said he was from New York and he had seen fraud first hand.  He said he had met people who could make a $100 bill look like a million. Then he said, “I believe Obama was born in Hawaii, but I want to see the birth certificate.”  At some point, sooner rather than later, Obama is going to either find a way to get Donald Trump to shut up, or he is going to finally be forced to produce documents.  So far, Trump shows no signs of backing down.  Collision warning!

TDM

Note:  It is becoming increasingly clear that the “birthers” are the ones with the facts.  There is a concerted effort by the main stream media to just shout them down, but so far they have not challenged the facts.  Lincoln once wrote:  “you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”  A lot of people recognize nonsense when they see it.  In spite of all the efforts by the Obama administration, this story is growing and growing.  I predict we will see more Chris Matthews moments when he said:  “why not just release the birth certificate.”  The answer Chris is because he can’t.)

Donald Trump has either lucked into a major political wind, or he has brilliantly maneuvered himself into position.  In either case, he has the wind behind his back because he was the first major person in either political party willing to take on Obama with regard to his birth certificate.  He is on a roll, he is not letting up, and the pressure on Obama will build exponentially from this point forward.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-on-birth-certificate-obama-spent-millions-of-dollars-trying-to-get-away-from-this-issue/

Trump says he has been getting a lot of e-mails, letters and phone calls encouraging him to pursue this matter.  I would suspect he is also getting a lot of “off the record” assistance from the “Clintonians.”  Sean Hannity admitted that when he was challenging Obama about his radical past, during the Democratic primary in 2008, he was getting a lot of his information from the Clinton campaign.  They were afraid to take this on themselves, because they knew it would result in a charge of racism, so they leaked it to the only person in the media who had the moral courage to take it on.  (This is a good reminder that Sean Hannity is a much more important journalist than most people realize.)

The problem for Obama is that he has turned out to be a really lousy President.  The Bill Clinton fiasco taught us that as long as people thought he was doing a good job as President, they were willing to ignore almost anything, including perjury.  But Obama is staggering from disaster to disaster, looking more incompetent by the hour.  The latest was when his Secretary of Defense said that Libya was no threat to us and is not a vital interest to the U.S:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/03/28/Libya-not-a-threat-to-US-Gates-says/UPI-96601301295600/

Hillary Clinton immediately grabbed the microphone and desperately tried to backfill, but the damage was done.  A strong President would have immediately fired Gates.  Obama won’t even consider doing that;  instead, he tried to “explain” to a skeptical public why a peace-loving President is spending billions on a war that doesn’t appear to impact our national security.   So far, the UN, NATO, and ARAB LEAGUE Coalition (“UNA”) appear to be scoring an easy victory.  But, perhaps that is because it is easy to knock off tanks driving in the desert.  The fight is moving to Sirte, and it is likely to become house-to-house fighting.  Gadhafi has a real army, with a real command and control structure.  The rebels may pull this off, but this could also turn into a long, bloody stalemate. 

It is also important to understand that a significant factor in the opposition to Gadhafi is al Qaeda.  If anyone has listened to Gadhafi lately, he has been reminding us of that. 

http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2011/03/gadhafi-im-fighting-terrorists-just.html

While it is easy to dismiss Gadhafi, there is actually evidence that he was telling the truth:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/263220/its-not-qaddafi-was-right-its-we-knew-he-was-right-andrew-c-mccarthy

Obviously, I do not know where reality starts and ends in Libya.  At a minimum, this is a lot more complicated than is being reported.

To top it off, Joseph Lieberman went off message by saying we ought to implement a no-fly zone over Syria:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/27/lieberman-suggests-fly-zone-option-syria-violence-escalates/

Lieberman has a point.  If it was in our national interest to take on Gadhafi, then it is certainly in our national interest to take on Assad in Syria.  If anything, Assad is a bigger threat to us than Gadhafi.  He certainly is a bigger threat to Israel.   Since it appears that Hillary, not Obama, is leading this parade, the following article is quite interesting:

 http://www.examiner.com/geopolitics-in-national/clinton-calls-syrian-tyrant-a-reformer-despite-assad-s-bloody-repression

Anyone who has done even minimal research quickly learns that the gaps in Obama’s personal documentation are pervasive.  The only thing that even gives pause is the disbelief that this was allowed to happen.  Did it really take more than two years after Obama was sworn into office as President of the United States before someone finally said:  “show me the beef?”   Really?  Even Trump ignored this issue until very recently.   

This is not new.  In 2001 George O’Leary was hired as the head football coach for the University Of Notre Dame.  Five days after he was hired, he had to resign when it turned out that he didn’t actually have a Masters Degree from NYU and that he had never really played college football at the University of New Hampshire.  He was exposed by Jim Fennell, from the Union Leader, who learned that no one at the University of New Hampshire remembered George O’Leary playing football.  Fennell started cross checking references and it soon became very clear that O’Leary’s story did not add up.  (O’Leary is now coach of the University of Central Florida). The problem is that this should have been really obvious from the start.  The gaps in O’Leary’s resume were really blatant.  O’Leary claimed to have a Masters degree from NYU – Stony Brook University.   (These are actually two completely separate universities more than 50 miles apart.)  O’Leary fooled a lot of people besides Notre Dame.  He coached at Georgia Tech for several years.  Yet it only took a minimal amount of real investigation before this all unraveled.  How did he get away with this?  Easy!  No one, prior to Jim Fennell, ever bothered to cross check his references.  Sound familiar?  The following link is to the interview where Fennell explains how he broke the story:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/video/sports/2001/12/14/fennell_oleary.jpg.html

Anyone who has ever watched Celebrity Apprentice knows that Donald Trump despises a lack of leadership.  The quickest way to get fired on his show is to demonstrate insufficient backbone.  He probably has known about the problems with Obama’s birth certificate for a long time.  Perhaps the real issue regarding Barack Obama, for Donald Trump, is not the lack of a birth certificate, but rather the lack of a spine.  Regardless of his motivation, he is giving Obama a good Trumping.  Just like O’Leary, this has the potential to unravel at light speed.

TDM

On January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo was attacked by vessels from North Korea in international waters.  The ship was captured and the crew was detained for 11 months.  The ship itself was never returned and is currently moored on the Taedong River in Pyongyang, where it is used as a museum.  The capture of this ship was an important intelligence coup because it provided North Korea, China and the Soviet Union with the most valuable intelligence information in the world.  It let them gain firsthand information on what we knew about them.  Everyone knew that we were spying on North Korean, China and the Soviet Union.  We also knew they were spying on us.  But what they didn’t know was how effective we were.  All of that changed with the capture of the USS Pueblo, and it took years for the U.S. intelligence community to recover.

This brings me to my point.  Donald Trump has challenged Obama with regard to his birth certificate when no one else, including Rush Limbaugh, was willing to do that.  I had to ask myself, why?  I finally figured it out.  Donald Trump is a very wealthy businessman who has his own business intelligence operatives.  I suspect that Donald Trump already knows exactly what is and is not on record in Hawaii.  Unlike people like Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, Donald Trump actually has the resources necessary to find out.  The main stream media is pathetic at conducting really effective investigations.  They tend to go for the quick and dirty ambush stuff, but don’t really have serious people who are skilled at really verifying information.   Businessmen, like Trump, have their own intelligence operations.  Trump is dropping strong hints that he has a lot more.  He brought up the subject of Obama’s college transcripts and other records.  At one point, during the View appearance, Trump said that he was from New York and that made him aware of the potential for fraud.  Why would he say that?  I doubt that this was an innocent remark.

The bottom line is that Trump knows enough that he is willing to risk challenging Obama.  The problem for Obama is that he does not know what else Trump has up his sleeve.  That is the challenge with managing a cover-up.  Eventually, someone forgets which lie was told and when.  Trump is not going to back down, and he is too big to ignore.  In addition, Trump has already figured out that the next President is very likely to be the one who is most willing to take on Obama.  Perhaps the most important lesson to learn from this situation is that Trump thinks Obama is toast.  Otherwise he would never risk challenging someone who is likely to be re-elected President of the United States.  Trump knows he has a lot of baggage, and that he is a long-shot candidate.  But, if he manages to expose Obama, he will soar to the top of the leader board.  The American people will tolerate a lot from someone they respect as a leader.   By taking on Obama’s birth certificate, Donald Trump will deliver real change.  Trump change.

TDM

Whether you like Donald Trump or hate Donald Trump one thing is certain, the man knows how to cut to the chase.  Today on the view Trump challenged President Obama to show his birth certificate:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/03/23/donald_trump_to_obama_show_the_birth_certificate.html

It is about time.  The simple truth is that Obama has never produced his birth certificate and this is a national disgrace.  Trump is apparently the only major Republican willing to call it like it is.  He was absolutely brilliant.  He didn’t back down one inch.  This is going to be national news.  Game on!

Finally, finally, finally we’ve got someone with the moral courage to tell the truth.  Obama hasn’t documented squat.  This has been one shell game after another and no one, prior to Donald Trump, was willing to call him on it.

Wow!

Hang on to your seatbelts!

TDM

A few weeks ago I wrote an article called “Sieve.”  It was about how a word can grow and grow in volume until it became impossible to ignore.   Newt Gingrich used the word impeachment with regard to Obama’s decision to declare the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.  Obama not only disregarded the will of congress in making that decision, but he also took upon himself sole authority with regard to what is and what is not constitutional.  We don’t need a Supreme Court when we have Obama.  I did not expect Gingrich to start proposing the impeachment of Obama, but the word had been mentioned, and it had been mentioned by someone too prominent to ignore.

Now the word has been used again, only this time from members of both parties and with considerably more emphasis.  Dennis Kucinich, possibly for the first time in his life, is starting to sound coherent.  He pointed out that the issue was not whether or not Obama was doing the right thing, but rather whether what he did was constitutional.  Several key legislators in both parties have echoed this opinion.    Kucinich has unusual support for his opinion.  He referred to a quote from Barrack Obama in 2007:

“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation which does not involve stopping an actual or imminent attack on the nation.”

Did anyone hear Obama mention an actual or imminent attack on the nation?  I didn’t think so.  Since he dithered over this decision for more than a month, it is hard to argue that this was an unforeseeable emergency.

Perhaps Congressman Tom Rooney said it best:

http://rooney.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3182:rooney-president-must-seek-congressional–not-un–approval-before-taking-further-action-in-libya&catid=48:2011-press-releases

“The President sought approval from the United Nations and the Arab League before taking any action in Libya, but he never consulted the United State Congress,” Rooney said.  “That sets a terrible precedent.  By seeking only U.N. approval, the President is transferring authority that should rest in the people of the United States through their Congress to an international community.

Virtually every President has taken a position that the War Power Act is unconstitutional.  But, they have also gone to great lengths to avoid a constitutional crisis over the issue.  For example, Bush took the position that he did not need congressional approval to invade Iraq, but he got that approval anyway.  At a minimum, this puts a President in a position where he can argue that, in his opinion, he believed he did have the authority.  Even if the courts ultimately find that the War Powers Act is constitutional, the President can argue that he acted in good faith.  But Obama has a much harder time making that argument because he is on record saying that he KNOWS that what he did is unconstitutional.  What’s his defense?  That he didn’t really understand the constitution after all?

This does not mean that I am predicting impeachment proceedings any time soon.  But it does mean that Obama is as isolated as a President can be.  He is rapidly losing support from both parties.  Perhaps our military will score a quick and decisive victory in Libya, Gadhafi will be removed from power and peace and love will prevail.  That would be great for everyone.   If that happens, Obama will come out smelling like a rose. 

However, the odds of this turning out much worse than expected is much higher than of it turning out better than expected.   Today we shot up a bunch of “friendly” civilians trying to help our downed pilots.  Nice!

Obama was thrilled to have the support of the Arab League.  Except that the Arab League is back tracking on their support big time. 

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/first-cracks-emerge-in-military-coalition-on-libya-20110322-1c42z.html

To top it off, Obama is promising to transfer the command from the U.S to someone else at the first opportunity.  Rumors are that this will be a French admiral.  Brilliant!  Perhaps Obama is unaware that it was the French who led the world into World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War.  In every case the French got slaughtered and the United States had to ride in on a rescue mission.  In every case the French originally demanded that our troops report to a French commander.  Fortunately, for our troops, neither Woodrow Wilson nor FDR were that stupid.   In Vietnam, the French were already gone before we got involved.  Only in Korea did we manage to get into a messy war without French help. 

Just remember this:  in 18 months we will have elected the next President of the United States.  Odds are really high that won’t be Barack Obama.  If things continue to deteriorate he may have difficulty getting the Democratic nomination.  Contrary to her public statements, a lot of experts are claiming that Hillary Clinton is seriously considering a run at the White House.  In her public statement on Libya, which was far more impressive than Obama’s, she referred to Sarkozy and Cameron as her “colleagues.”  Remarkable language for a Secretary of State to use with regard to the President of France and the Prime Minister of Great Britain.  

Obama’s performance has deteriorated to the point of embarrassment.  If recent news reports are any indication, his Libya adventure may be the most embarrassing U.S. foreign policy fiasco since the Bay of Pigs.  A lot of canaries are biting the dust.  Democrats would be wise to take seriously.  The way things are going Democrats may be more anxious to get rid of Obama than Republicans.   

TDM

Once again a Democratic President appears to be poised to get us involved in a politically correct war.  Obama has never hinted that our national security is at risk with regard to Libya.  Everyone agrees that Gadhafi is a bad actor and no one will miss him, but is he really a threat to us?  George Bush at least made the argument that Iraq under Saddam Hussein represented a significant threat to our national security.  Obama has not made that argument, just like Clinton failed to make that argument with regard to the military action in the Balkans.

This is a typical UN action.  No one is suggesting that Libya is a threat to anyone other than the people unfortunate enough to live there.  If the UN is going to respond whenever people are getting killed, they apparently have been asleep with regard to other garden spots like the Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia and Darfur.  This clearly isn’t just about preventing people from getting killed; the UN has seldom shown a backbone with regard to that topic.  It also isn’t just about getting rid of Gadhafi, although there is a certain appeal there.  The real question is:  Why?   Why Libya, Why now?  

The answer, at least with regard to Obama, is that he is far more concerned over how the international community views this than about the impact on our national security.  The real pressure is coming from Britain and France who are determined to deal with Gadhafi.  There is little political pressure coming from the U.S. for us to get involved.  That is one reason Obama was so slow to act.  He didn’t feel the urge.

What changed”  Did Gadhafi change?  No.  Is this the first we realized that he was killing people?  Please!  The only thing that has changed is that it looks like Gadhafi is going to win, and more importantly for Obama, the UN is upset.  If Obama had taken action immediately, like sending a carrier to the Mediterranean, things might never have gotten this far.  Now it sure looks like we are going in a day late, a dollar short and with no particular strategy other than to limit our losses and look good in the eyes of the international community.

Obama may even have trouble getting congressional authorization.  Senator Richard Lugar is far from impressed and he appears to be organizing the opposition.  

http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/18/lugar-heads-to-white-house-for-meeting-on-potential-libya-attack/

To a large extent Lugar has a point.  If this is such an emergency, why did it take Obama over a month to make a decision?  It appears that Obama’s primary standard for sending in U.S. troops is the blessing by the UN.  That, unfortunately, is all too consistent with the way Obama approaches everything.  Just recently someone pointed out current slogan on the “new” Department of Justice website:

 http://www.justice.gov/

THE COMMON LAW IS THE WILL OF MANKIND ISSUING FROM THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE

I have been unable to verify the source of this quote, but it sure isn’t from the U.S. Constitution.   But it is exactly the kind of verbiage one associates with the UN. 

To put this in perspective, I will provide the following quote from Ronald Reagan:

America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere.”

Now compare that with some comments by Barack Obama:

“The fact that I am very proud of my country — and I think that we’ve got a whole lot to offer the world — does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries, or recognizing that we’re not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise, and that includes us,”  

This is a long way from the shining city upon a hill. 

When asked how he would decide whether or not to use military force, Obama gave the following answer:

Note that there is zero mention of a threat to our own national security.  The only issue for Obama is whether or not the international community thinks it’s a good idea.

His stated goal for our country is as follows:

“less global leader than global facilitator, less savior than responsible partner.”

Some of this information was taken from the following Time article, but there were numerous other sources saying the same thing.   

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1910057,00.html#ixzz1H0EDMySu

That is the real problem with Libya.  It is the real problem with Obama.  We have become nothing more than a subservient tool of the all powerful UN.  The most pathetic thing of all is that none of this should have been a surprise.  This is exactly what he promised when he campaigned.  Perhaps, as others have pointed out before, the real problem is not Barack Obama, but rather the country that was stupid enough to elect him in the first place. 

TDM

This is just to brighten your Friday afternoon.  Has anyone noticed that Nancy Pelosi has been very silent lately?  It is not because she has shut up, but rather that no one in either party is listening any more.  The following blog article tells the tale:

http://www.publiusforum.com/2011/03/18/for-nancy-pelosi-its-lonely-at-the%E2%80%A6-bottom/

I predict that Queen Nancy will soon discover an urgent need to pursue other interests.  She went from having her own wide body jet (actually our wide body jet) available to wisk her around the world with her adoring entourage to flying commercial and giving press conferences no one bothers to attend.  

Take your victories where you find them.

TDM

The following article, from Jack Cashill is very interesting:

http://cashill.com/intellect_fraud/another_look_at_obamas.htm

It is hard for me to believe that this is possibly true.   I mean this is really easy to check out.  Either Obama used this social security number or he didn’t.  This is either a valid social security number or it isn’t.  How is it possible that we elected someone President of the United States with this type of question about his background?  But then for some reason neither the main stream media, or fox news, or even people like Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity are bringing this up.  What am I missing here?  If there is no fire, what is the source of all the smoke?  If this was just one thing, maybe you could dismiss it, but it isn’t just one thing.  It is everything about him.  Nothing ever seems to really add up. 

Today Donald Trump raised questions about Obama’s birth.  At a minimum this will make it a topic of conversation for a little while.  Of course when the economy is tanking, Gadhafi is gloating, Japan is melting and gas is soaring, there are a lot of other things to talk about.

This is utter nonsense.  These kind of stories, which go on and on, are either true or they aren’t.  If they aren’t, then someone should shut these people up.  If they are, then someone should pay attention.  But it seems no one who matters really cares.  Perhaps I am missing something, but I sure don’t know what it is.

TDM

I used to have a calendar on my desk titled, “The 365 Dumbest Things Ever Said.”  I do not need a calendar this year, because President Obama has set the ultimate new standard.  Following is his statement today regarding the crisis in Japan from the White House Blog:

One of the things I wanted to do on the show was, as people are filling out their brackets — this is obviously a national pastime; we all have a great time, it’s a great diversion.  But I know a lot of people are thinking how can they help the Japanese people during this time of need.  If you go to usaid.gov — usaid.gov — that will list all the nonprofits, the charities that are helping out there.  It would be wonderful for people to maybe offer a little help to the Japanese people at this time — as they’re filling out their brackets.  It’s not going to take a lot of time.  That’s usaid.gov.  It could be really helpful.

During a time when the Middle East is on fire, when the Stock Market is collapsing, when gas prices are soaring, when Japan is literally suffering a meltdown, Obama has been busy filling out his NCAA tournament bracket and planning his trip to Brazil.  (These were followed after his golf game over the weekend.)  He has shown zero leadership on this issue, and it has become too obvious to ignore.  Today his press secretary literally told reporters they should check with their own staff to find out what is happening with regard to that nuclear power plant in Japan.

The nuclear power plant fiasco in Japan is a world altering event.  No matter how this turns out, nuclear energy will never be viewed the same anywhere in the world.  Usually, the press can be counted on to overplay the disaster card in any situation to get more ratings.  In this particular case, even CNN has been slow to pick up significance of the problem.  If recent reports are accurate, this plant is melting down and is already so toxic that anyone trying to fix the problem will receive a lethal dose of radiation.  The problem is that this plant stopped producing electrical power almost immediately and then the tsunami destroyed the backup diesel generators.  That meant they only had eight hours of battery power available to run the pumps.  This happened last Friday, so it appears that all this time they have been trying to prevent a meltdown by a handful of brave workers trying to pump water by hand.   In the meantime, highly radioactive nuclear fuel rods have been exposed to the environment.   Even if this gets no worse, this is a very devastating event.  The pictures of Japanese helicopters desperately trying to “save” these reactors by air drops of water are horrifying.   This situation is completely out of control.

Obama did not cause this problem, but he dropped the ball big time with regard to providing leadership.  As a result, we have a nationwide run on Potassium Iodide pills and a whole lot of conflicting information.  This was an opportunity for Obama to truly take charge and appear Presidential.  Because he failed to do that, he has probably thrown away any chance of getting re-elected.  (We can only hope.)

It no longer matters whether nuclear energy is a great or terrible idea; it is now a political nightmare.   It will be political suicide to support nuclear energy for a long time.  Whether he deserves it or not, Obama is going to be the nuclear meltdown President.   His energy policy is in complete shambles.  He finally figured out that nuclear energy was the only alternative energy source that had a chance of replacing coal, oil or natural gas.  That is why he morphed from opposing nuclear energy to at least pretending to embrace it.  He seemed to want to appear to be in favor of nuclear energy, while simultaneously making sure it never actually developed.  Whether you think nuclear power plants are a good idea or not, they weren’t going to be built anytime soon.  We can’t even build the Oakland Bay Bridge in a reasonable period of time; my guess is that it will take about 20 years to get a nuclear power plant built.   In the meantime, gas prices are going through the roof, and they’ll no doubt get worse.  There will be national outrage if gas prices reach $5/gal, which seems quite possible, if not probable.   Suddenly, the drill-baby-drill crowd is looking pretty darn good.   In addition, that black smoke coming from all those coal fueled power plants look pretty good, too, compared to the pictures we are seeing from Japan.  After Obama leaped over to the nuclear energy side, he got knocked off his perch by the tsunami.

Expect to see a lot of reports similar to the following:

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-near-misses-nuclear-plant,0,85570.story

I am sure a lot of really bright people are more than capable of explaining why nuclear power plants remain a great idea.  They may even be right.  But ultimately, the winds from Japan are blowing radioactive particles over the United States.  While the actual risk is quite small, with regard to the future of nuclear energy in the United States the fallout will be severe.

Obama will be known as the Nuclear Meltdown President who failed to provide leadership one too many times.  Unless something even worse happens, this will be the signature event of his administration, and it is a really ugly picture.

TDM