High Comedy at the Republican Convention

And, no, I am not referring to Clint Eastwood’s routine.  To be honest, I found it awkward although he had his moments, particularly when he zinged Obama for attempting to try terrorists in the middle of New York City.  Still, I think those in charge trusted him a bit too much, letting him speak without a script.  But does anyone really want to tell Clint Eastwood what to do?  Be my guest!

As for Romney’s speech, I wasn’t wowed.  But it was adequate, and he came across as Presidential.  And the rest of the evening well debunked the meme that he’s a felonious unfeeling plutocrat.  And that was the sort of night that was needed.

So, anyway, what do I find high comedy about the convention?  Liberal attempts to decode the words of Republicans to find racism and other evils.   The contortions particularly MSNBC went to find RAAAAACISM were absurd.  This week they practically invented the game Six Degrees of Racism.

And last night MSNBC found Birtherism in Romney’s speech.  How?   From these words:

Tonight, that American flag is still there on the Moon. And I don't doubt for a second that Neil Armstrong's spirit is still with us.  That unique blend of optimism, humility, and the utter confidence that, when the world needs someone to do that, you need an American.

Yes.  Those are obvious code words meaning, “I am a birther!”

While analyzing Mitt Romney’s convention speech on Thursday, Schultz couldn’t help but hear a birther reference tucked within the oration.

“Here is another thing that jumped out at me. ‘When the world needs to do really good stuff, you need an American,’” he said.

He continued:

“That was the other line, you know, we’ve got to do big stuff. We’ve got big problems. We don’t have an American. How else are we supposed to take that line? To imply that the guy who’s leading the country right now is not an American, ‘when the world needs to do really big stuff we need an American.’ I felt that was below the belt, and it was a dog whistle, whatever you want to call it, a bone throw to the birthers out there that ‘I’m not that far from you.’”

Co-host Rachel Maddow was all too happy to agree.

“It struck me as the same way,” she said, “especially coming on the heels of his birther joke from this past week.” That, of course, was a reference to Romney making the comment that he doesn’t need to show his birth certificate in Michigan (where he was born).

Hey, let’s join the fun.  Readers are invited to play Six Degrees of Racism/Birtherism with my posts even. 

Here I’ll start: “fun” >> sex >> birth >> BIRTHERISM!  See, it’s easy!

A Speech for the Ages?

I might need to keep this short.  For I’m a bit tired this morning, perhaps because Paul Ryan’s speech revved me up so much that it took me a while to get to sleep.

Now I am not one to just love every Republican speech.  To be honest, I think Tuesday night was a disappointing dud.  But last night Ryan’s speech soared beyond my high expectations.  Ryan was clear, earnest, upbeat, and winsome; and at the same time his critique of the Obama administration was devastating.  Here’s a good summary.

And the reaction of the Obama camp shows they know they just took a big hit.

Love or hate Romney, you got to give him credit for making a smart pick for Veep.

I think Ryan’s speech might be remembered for a long time.  It is the best convention speech by someone not named Reagan I can remember.  This part alone could make it one for the ages (And I’ll conclude with it because I cannot do better.):

None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us. Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate.  It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up in Wisconsin, or at college in Ohio.  When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life.  I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself.  That’s what we do in this country.  That’s the American Dream.  That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners.

Republican Minorities Don’t Exist . . . On MSNBC

Minority Republicans do not fit the liberal meme that the GOP is a bunch of white racists.  So therefore minority Republicans do not exist . . . on MSNBC:

MSNBC wants you to think the Republican Party hates minorities. So much so that the liberal news network cut minority speeches from it’s convention coverage.

When popular Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz, the GOP nominee for Senate, took the stage, MSNBC cut away from the Republican National Convention and the Hispanic Republican from Texas’ speech.

MSNBC stayed on commercial through former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis’ speech, as well. Davis, who recently became a Republican, is black.

Then, when Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuno’s wife Luce’ Vela Fortuño took the stage minutes later, MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews opted to talk over the First Lady’s speech.

And Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval? Noticeably missing from MSNBC, too.

Mia Love, a black candidate for Congress in Utah, was also ignored by MSNBC.

Avoiding Artur Davis is particularly inexcusable as he gave a speech seconding Obama’s nomination at the 2008 Democrat Convention.  To excise his newsworthy Republican Convention speech is flat out bad journalism.

In the old Soviet Union, those who did not fit into Communist political orthodoxy were reduced to “non-persons” and were expunged from news accounts.  But something like that could never happen in America.

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MORE: Ed Morrissey weighs in and very well:

No doubt, they were trying to keep their 20 19 17 viewers up to date with all of the antics of raaaaaaaaaaaacist Republicans, and so had no choice but to block out Republicans like Mia Love, Ted Cruz, and Artur Davis.  I’ve seen news reports from Communist countries that had less Orwellian message control than this.

Do read his whole post.

Honker: A New Biography

No, I am not going to write a book with the above title.  So those excited by the prospect can go away now.  Please.

And if I were to write such a book, I would be considered strange at best, and not fit for serious public discourse, and with good reason. 

In short, men who are overly obsessed with their nether regions, whose brains are in their pants, if you will, are considered in great need of maturity and wisdom.  And society makes needful efforts to protect itself from such men (if “men” is even the appropriate word).

Then why is it that certain women – excuse me – womyn think it a wonderful thing to be obsessed with their nether regions and even to parade them all over the place, literally?  Why do such write Vagina: A New Biography and write and perform again and again and again and again and again and again The Vagina Monologues?

And, more to the point, why doesn’t society consider such with the same disdain it has towards men who are overly obsessed with their nether regions?

I do.

Rigged Washington Post Poll Has Romney Up 1. . . Huh?!?

The Washington Post must be getting slack about rigging, I mean, conducting its polls.  For the latest WaPost poll has that RAAAACIST Mitt Romney up 47-46.  That just cannot be so.

So let’s see where they went wrong . . .

As mentioned, this poll has a D+9 sample, with Republicans ridiculously undersampled at 22%.  The 2008 election had a split of D+7, 39/32,29, and the 2010 midterms had a split of 35/35/30.  The likelihood of getting a D+9 turnout in this election is nil, as is the likelihood of an electorate that is comprised of 22% Republicans. 

Yes, that is ridiculous indeed.  Only puppy-killing plutocrats and RAAAACISTS are Republicans anymore.  22% Republicans is way too high!  And how can the sample only be D+9 under the GLORIOUS rule of The Dear Leader?

C’mon, Washington Post, you are not doing your part for The One!

[Sarcasm off.]

There should no longer be any doubt that Obama is in trouble.  This poll (pleasantly) shocks even me.

Norway Sentences Mass Murderer to 100 Days Per Victim

Among the things about Europe that make me puke is that their laws and courts strain at gnats and swallow camels.  Practice your religion and try to live by it?  God help you.  (Muslims get a pass, of course.)

But burglarize a home or car or, heck, commit mass murder? No big deal.

Why are our taxes and military defending them again?

German Rabbi Charged with Practicing Judaism

Anyone who has any knowledge of European history will find this as chilling as I do.  A German rabbi has had criminal charges pressed against him . . . for performing a circumcision.

About Todd Akin and the Democrats Who Helped Him

First off, yes, I am among those who have called for Todd Akin to withdraw from the Missouri U. S. Senate race, repeatedly so on my twitter feed.  He is just too stupid to win this election.  His rape remark is not the first time he’s put his foot in his mouth recently:

But barely two weeks into the general-election campaign, Akin committed a series of gaffes. He called a McCaskill campaign website attacking his record accurate, admitted not knowing what was in a farm bill important to his state, suggested reconsideration of civil-rights laws, and called a federal school-lunch program unconstitutional. Akin’s recent statement that “legitimate rape” rarely causes pregnancy, while uniquely offensive, was just the worst in a series of statements advertising his unsuitability and the final straw that caused GOP leaders to conclude that he is unelectable against even the extremely vulnerable McCaskill.

But he is not only too stupid to get elected; he is too selfish to be a good team player as well.  He insists on staying in the race, likely turning an almost sure victory into defeat and six more years of Senator Clare McCaskill.

Speaking of which, that she and fellow Democrats are denouncing Akin and at the same time Republican efforts to get him off the ballot is downright comical. McCaskill and Democrats helped Akin win the Republican primary with meddling ads.  Here’s one primary ad from McCaskill herself and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that all but begs conservatives to stick it to the Democrats and vote for Akin.  And here’s another McCaskill ad from back in July:

If I ever run for public office, I want “opposition” like that! “WannabeAnglican opposes Obama and everything us liberal Democrats believe in.  He’s a true conservative who actually believes in freedom!  Pleeeease don’t vote for him!”

So a big part of the blame for Todd Akin being the Republican nominee belongs to Democrats.  They paid good money to get the candidate they wanted to run against and succeeded.  So when they wax indignant about him, you may kindly tell them to shut up.

But what else to do now?  If Akin runs a perfect campaign from here, maybe he can win.  McCaskill is indeed unpopular.  But remember, this man is Grade A stupid.  A perfect campaign is not in the cards.

Sarah Palin has suggested a third party run.  A write-in is also possible.  I doubt either works.  It’s hard to see one candidate getting enough votes to overcome splitting the anti-McCaskill vote.  But if Akin runs such a distant third that he pulls out before November, who knows?

Guess for what else Sandra Fluke thinks you should have to pay.

Remember Sandra Fluke, that poor set-upon 30-year-old Georgetown Law student who thinks you should have to pay for her contraception?

That’s not all she thinks you should pay for.

… Birth control is not all that Ms. Fluke believes private health insurance must cover. She also, apparently, believes that it is discrimination deserving of legal action if "gender reassignment" surgeries are not covered by employer provided health insurance. She makes these views clear in an article she co-edited with Karen Hu in the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law.

For not covering such is "heterosexist", don't ya know.

And if private health insurance is required to pay for something, that means you health insurance costumers out there will be paying for it through premiums.  It’s also safe to say that by the same "logic," she likely thinks you suckers who pay taxes should pay for “gender reassignment” surgeries through Holy Obamacare.

Just letting you know.

Obama Lies about Ryan on Contraception

It is becoming more and more clear that the chief weapon of the Obama campaign is the Big Lie technique. 

The latest example? Obama-Biden says Paul Ryan “would ban common forms of birth control.”

I’m at a loss.  Do they really expect people to believe that?  I mean, I really, really dislike Barack Hussein Obama, but I’m not going to say he’s a space alien from Planet Zort intent on taking over the planet and killing us all.  Reality is bad enough.

Next thing you know they’ll lie and say Ryan wants to take away Medicare from Granny. . . .

Oh, never mind.

About the Pet Shop Boys Last Night . . .

Procession of the Pet Shop Boys during the Olympic Closing Ceremonies:

Procession of heretics during an Auto-da-fe:

I hope this explains everything.  You’re welcome.

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MORE:

An Oxford fellow and friend reminds me that the video for the Pet Shop Boys’ 1987 hit “It’s a Sin” uses Inquisition imagery.  And so it does.

I should warn that the song and its history is quite sad.   But having reexamined “It’s a Sin”, I appreciate it and the Pet Shop Boys that much more. 

Paul Ryan a Courageous Veep Pick

I was pleasantly surprised to find out this morning that Romney has chosen Paul Ryan to be his running mate. I did not expect Ryan because I expected a safer pick.  For Ryan is the premier man associated with entitlement reform.  Democrats demagogue against just about any entitlement reform every election.  It has long been one of their chief weapons.  Romney just gave them a juicy target and that willingly I’m sure.

Grandmas, you better hide . . . now.  Democrat ad men are already looking for grannies to push off cliffs in Mediscare ads.

I am gratified that Romney is serious enough about entitlement reform and willing enough to take heat for that to pick the point man for reform as his Veep.

I consider it a smart pick as well.  The Obama campaign is based on deception and lies, big lies.  Ryan has the temperament, smarts, and communication skills to take those lies apart.  It is not for nothing that he is known as a policy wonk.  He is great in dealing with facts in a clear, even tempered, and convincing way.  The Romney campaign needs that.

Also, some polls indicate that, while other potential Veep picks would not help much in delivering their states, Ryan will help in Wisconsin.

This is a smart, serious, and, yes, courageous pick.

MORE: Even before the pick was formally announced, the mediscaring began.

Obama and the Big Lie Technique

The sleazy Obama SuperPAC steel mill closing ad, which all but accuses Mitt Romney of killing a worker’s wife by closing a steel mill, has me thinking about something again.

But first some links to provide a review for those not familiar with the ad and its lies.  It is so out of bounds that even CNN debunked it, and the Washington Post gave it 4 Pinocchios and went even further: “On just every level, this ad stretches the bounds of common sense and decency.”  Just Asking sums up the most obvious problems with the “gutter” ad:

The problem with this, is that, Mitt Romney actually left Bain Capital (1999) two years before the mill closed (2001) and Mrs. Soptic died of cancer five years (2006) after the mill closing. That’s 7 years AMR….After Mitt Romney.

But Romney is soooo powerfully eeeevil that he killed Mrs. Soptic . . . or something.  The ad is so absurd that, in spite of its slimy nature, it begs for spoofing.  And sure enough . . . .

But of course the problem is that many people have neither the time nor desire to find out what a lie this ad (and the rest of the Obama campaign) is.  And others assume that surely Obama and his men wouldn’t tell such a huge lie.

And I think the Obama campaign is betting on that that.  Further, I think Obama and his men have decided to use this Big Lie technique as a key strategy for their campaign as a whole.  And I am not the only one. 

The PJ Tattler sums up my thinking well:

. . . We’re dealing with something in the Obama campaign that we haven’t seen much at the top of American life, except in the worst moments of the Clinton era. [ed.: I do think the Tattler owes Clinton an apology here.  Clinton’s lies, though frequent, were more effective and less outrageous than Obama’s.] We’re dealing with a president who is entirely without any sense of ethics, honor or morals. He has lived a lie for most if not all of his life, hiding his true political convictions in gauzy language that makes him appear reasonable and moderate. Having lived a lie, what’s one more lie, in the service of keeping himself in power? What’s one more lie if, in Obama’s mind, it accomplishes the “good” of keeping Romney out of power?

Obama cannot win on the truth, so he’s going for the gold on lies.  But will it work?

The danger for the Obama camp is that they risk going over a tipping point. There is a point at which the negativity becomes absurd, and instead of depressing the opponent’s vote, angers the opponent’s supporters and draws the undecided over to the opponent’s side. No one can really put a finger on where that point is, but it’s real and we saw the effect of reaching that point in the Texas Senate run-off last week. The Dewhurst campaign went too far into negative territory, no one really believed their last-minute attacks, and the backlash ended up ensuring that Cruz would win running away. Obama risks the same dynamic hitting him.

The Obama campaign has gone from accusing Romney of boyhood bullying to adulthood felony, to being a murderer in all but name. What accusation is left to throw at him? There aren’t many, but rest assured that the Obama campaign and its allies will find one.

It is going to be a long 89 days people.  Lord, have mercy upon us.

Why won’t Obama release his college transcripts?

Why Obama won’t release his college transcripts has long been a puzzler to me.  What could be on college records that could really hurt politically?  Bad grades?  A little foolishness?  Who cares?  

And to be honest, there is so much out there already that exposes Obama as untrustworthy and dangerous that I haven’t paid that much attention to the question.

But now I think Wayne Root, who was a fellow classmate of Obama at Columbia, is on to something:

Why are the college records, of a 51-year-old President of the United States, so important to keep secret? I think I know the answer.

If anyone should have questions about Obama’s record at Columbia University, it’s me. We both graduated (according to Obama) Columbia University, Class of ’83. We were both (according to Obama) Pre-Law and Political Science majors. And I thought I knew most everyone at Columbia. I certainly thought I’d heard of all of my fellow Political Science majors. But not Obama (or as he was known then- Barry Soetoro). I never met him. Never saw him. Never even heard of him. And none of the classmates that I knew at Columbia have ever met him, saw him, or heard of him.

But don’t take my word for it. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2008 that Fox News randomly called 400 of our Columbia classmates and never found one who had ever met Obama.

That is passing strange and smells of a student who skated and was socially promoted to put it nicely.

If you could unseal Obama’s Columbia University records I believe you’d find that:

A)   He rarely ever attended class.

B)   His grades were not those typical of what we understand it takes to get into Harvard Law School. (ed.- Can you say “affirmative action”?)

C)   He attended Columbia as a foreign exchange student.

D)   He paid little for either undergraduate college or Harvard Law School because of foreign aid and scholarships given to a poor foreign students like this kid Barry Soetoro from Indonesia.

I think the foreign exchange student bit may be the most damaging to Obama.  And before you call me a birther, remember that a book bio had Obama born in Kenya.  There clearly was some confusion . . . or deception going on.

And I suspect his college transcripts would reveal more confusion and/or deception.  Let’s say they have Obama as a foreign exchange student.  Then he was getting an elite education on false or at least questionable pretenses or . . . .  Did I mention I’m not a birther?

No, I don’t think his transcripts are the smoking gun birthers yearn for.  But now I would be willing to bet they would reveal some serious deception.

Has Obama Just Lost Ohio (and the election)?

Most readers are aware that the Obama campaign has sued to stop an Ohio three-day early voting preference to those serving in the military.  What may shock is that I’ll concede the Democrats may have a legal point, at least, on this one.  Here and here give more details.

Given repeated past Democrat attempts to disenfranchise troops, I am most certainly not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt on this, however.

But, instead of my frequent focus on the pure evil of Democrats, I want to focus on their pure stupidity, namely the political impact of this lawsuit. 

It cannot be good for Obama, particularly in Ohio.  It is bad politics to make it the least bit more difficult for troops to cast their ballots (which is why Democrat attempts to do so usually occur after Election Day in very close races, Florida 2000 being the most infamous example). 

Combine that with Obama’s Department of Justice suing to stop voter ID, and the optics are awful.  Obama and his men quibble with cutting the troops some slack on voting deadlines while at the same time willfully enabling vote fraud.  Wow.  Even if he does succeed in doctoring the election in this manner, the votes he is losing could easily be much greater.

I think the political impact of this could become so bad that it will cost Obama Ohio.  And given the importance of that swing state (not to mention pro-military votes elsewhere), that could end up being the election.

At the very least, this is something to watch.

5 Reasons Matthew Paul Turner Failed Yesterday

Yesterday, one Matthew Paul Turner posted concerning Chick-fil-a Day “5 Reasons the Church Failed Yesterday.”

I believe this calls for “5 Reasons Matthew Paul Turner Failed Yesterday.”

ONE

Turner said, “it was not love.”

Hell if it wasn’t.  If taking up for people being bullied by fascists isn’t love, I don’t know what is.  I remember when I was picked on as a kid.  When someone took up for me, that was love, and I felt love.  As a kid, I had more sense than Matthew Paul Turner does now.

Taking up for others and for their freedoms is love, period.

TWO

Turner said, “People felt hate, and we ignored that.”

No, people used the smears of “hate” and “bigotry” to try to ban a legitimate business.  And if there are sensitive souls out there who actually feel hate, any number of people any number of times made clear this was about supporting freedom of speech and freedom of religion in this country, not about gay bashing.

Perhaps that should have been made even more clear, but the issue of “hate” was most certainly not ignored.

THREE

Turner: “Christians put an issue above people.” 

The presenting issue was freedom of speech and of religion.  When you defend people’s freedom, you defend people, most of whom want to be free.  ‘Nuff said.

FOUR

Turner: “Once again, the mass actions of Christians built another wall of distrust between the Church and the GLBTQ communities.”

Excuse me.  Were Christians trying to ban the businesses of those who support gay marriage?  Am I missing something?

At the very least, in this episode it is the GLBTQABC rights crowd who has acted in an untrustworthy manner.  For years, they preached tolerance.  But now they seek to ban Christians and their businesses? That’s not tolerance. That’s called bait-and-switch, and it is not trustworthy.  It is fraud.

I should add that there are any number of liberals and gays who are appalled by the actions of the mayors of Boston and Chicago because they, too, value freedom for all Americans.  Kudos to them.

But it is not Christians who have acted in an untrustworthy manner in this episode.

FIVE

Turner: “Yesterday’s hoopla surrounding CFA did nothing to prove that Christians don’t hate gay people.”

Since when does everything I do have to prove I don’t hate gay people . . . or Canadians for that matter?  When I go buy beer, must I buy Canadian beer to PROVE I don’t hate Canadians?  Must I put Canadian bacon on my burgers?

Actually, those opposing Chick-fil-a have been treated graciously.  Protesters have been given free water.  Even this now infamous jerk was treated very kindly by Chick-fil-a.

But when I got up this morning and ate breakfast, I did nothing to prove I don’t hate Canadians.  I repent in dust and ashes.

SIX

(Yes, this is more than five, but I’m on a roll.)

What many Christians along with many other Americans did on August 1^st was a positive thing.  Although the actions of the mayors of Boston and Chicago and their ilk were outrageous, the response was peaceful and positive.  Many waited in long lines in the summer heat to support freedom of speech with their time and business.  And those who opposed this effort out of their small-mindedness were nevertheless treated graciously. 

What happened August 1^st was something Christians and Americans can be proud of.

And Matthew Paul Turner crapped all over it.

He is the one who failed.

Putting the Jobs Number in Perspective

The monthy (Un)employment report was released this morning.  It was so-so - 163,000 new jobs; the unemployment number up to 8.3%.

But as for the big picture of jobs under Obama, nothing I’ve seen puts matters in perspective like the following chart from Political Math:

All those calling Obama’s term the second term of Jimmy Carter can apologize now . . . to Jimmy Carter.