After the Debate (or I’m a Party Pooper)

First, let's get some things out of the way.  I am encouraged by the first debate.  There is no question Romney won.  Even some prominent Lefties concede that, and a few of them even went in meltdown mode last night, particularly Chris Matthews and Andrew Sullivan, who called it “a disaster for Obama.”  I think Obama constantly looking down and smirking while Romney spoke hurt him.  And Romney effectively called out Obama’s lies (my word, not Romney’s) yet in a winsome manner, which is not easy to do.  Moreover, Romney was likeable throughout.  I've been hard on Romney, but he did good, as we say in Texas.

One of the reasons last night may be significant is that millions of viewers found out that Romney neither has horns nor advocates any number of things Obama says he advocates.  And it could be the beginning of undecided voters moving to Romney.

However . . . Obama committed no major gaffes.  And this is only one debate with two presidential debates to go.  Sitting presidents have had weak first debates before and gone on to win the election.  The remaining debates or other events could easily undo any damage Obama sustained last night and then some.  Yes, two more debates like this one, and Obama may be done for.  But that is highly unlikely to happen.

I saw a lot of my fellow conservatives get a bit carried away last night.  I am not one of them.  Last night was encouraging and certainly a setback for Obama, but, contra Andrew Sullivan, no disaster for Obama, at least not yet.

Yes, I’m a party pooper.

A Problem with Polls and a Call from Rasmussen

I’ve given certain pollsters a hard time.  But I have to admit their job is not easy.  One factor that makes it difficult is that so few cooperate with pollsters.  (And do read the interesting and detailed article at the link.)

Even though I am inclined to cooperate with what I consider legitimate pollsters, I have to admit I am one of those who have not been cooperating.

For the other day Rasmussen’s polling company called me.  I thought that was cool at first because his polls are among the few I respect.  So I eagerly cooperated even though it was a computer calling me and asking me questions.

That is I cooperated until it seemed question after question dealt in some fashion with my finances.  The computer did not ask me for bank account numbers or anything like that.  But I became suspicious that this was not Rasmussen at all but an attempt at fraud instead, and I hung up.

I was curious about the call and wanted to alert the Rasmussen people if it was fraud, so I called them.  They were very helpful, and we determined that the call was very likely indeed from Rasmussen.  And if their computer calls back again, I intend to complete the poll if I have the time.

But this episode nonetheless illustrates a problem with polls. Few answer them.  And the composition of those few who cooperate and those many who do not cooperate with polls surely affects the results.  I think it safe to say that conservatives are less likely to cooperate with a poll from NBC or CBS.  Someone, like me, who is not very trusting with financial information will be less likely to cooperate with a poll like the one from Rasmussen the other night.  And the very busy just do not have time to deal with polling calls.  Others are very prejudiced against computer calls (as I am). 

I could go on.  But surely all this self-selection has to affect polling results.

Anyway, nothing really scientific here.  I'll leave that to others.  But, as you can see, I am part of the problem with polls.

BOMBSHELL: Obama Administration Refused “Repeated Requests for Increased Security in Benghazi”

I know I’ve mentioned the Benghazi, Libya attack and the aftermath already today, but this is huge.  House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa has revealed in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that our consulate in Benghazi repeatedly asked for increased security but that those requests were declined by Washington.

“Based on information provided to the Committee by individuals with direct knowledge of events in Libya, the attack that claimed the ambassador’s life was the latest in a long line of attacks on Western diplomats and officials in Libya in the months leading up to September 11, 2012. It was clearly never, as Administration officials once insisted, the result of a popular protest,” the committee’s chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and subcommittee chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, write. “In addition, multiple U.S. federal government officials have confirmed to the Committee that, prior to the September 11 attack, the U.S. mission in Libya made repeated requests for increased security in Benghazi. The mission in Libya, however, was denied these resources by officials in Washington.”

I think this brings down Hillary Clinton.  Her political career is over.  

But will this bring down Barack Hussein Obama?  We shall see.  I know enough by now not to underestimate the Mainstream News Media’s commitment to suppressing the truth in service of their Dear Leader.  But this revelation (and it hopefully becoming a campaign issue) may force their hand.

Scandals? What Scandals? UPDATED

One way is which the “Mainstream” News Media has become “an enemy of the American people” in Pat Caddell’s words, is its sweeping what should be scandals from the Obama Administration under the rug.

It takes Univision to give Fast and Furious the attention it deserves.  Obama and Holder are reckless accessories to murder; they cover it up with the help of Obama’s Nixonesque executive privilege claim; and with the notable exception of one intrepid CBS reporter, Sharyl Attkisson, the MSM snoozes.  (And the Obama Regime has given Ms. Attkisson a hard time for her efforts.)

Then Obama and Hillary’s State Department are woefully negligent in securing the embassy in Benghazi, Libya.  And on the day after the attack, Obama skips yet another intelligence briefing and flies off to campaign in Vegas.  Then for days, his regime lies to us about the attack, saying it was a spontaneous demonstration against a dumb youtube video that got out of hand, when they had intelligence within 24 hours that the attack was anything but spontaneous.

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UPDATE: And now it is coming out that the Benghazi consulate was repeatedly bombed and threatened before the 9-11 attack. And yet still next to nothing was done to secure it?!?

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To top it off, the Obama Regime is leaning on defense contractors to violate the law and delay layoff notices until after the election, of course.

If this were a Republican administration, the news media would fan these and other outrages into national scandals we would hear about night after night, and said Republican administration would be going down in flames.  (And any Republican administration that incompetent and corrupt would deserve it.)

But, with Obama in the White House?  Scandals, what scandals?

Praying the Litany

It is October 1^st.  Voting has already begun in some areas of the U. S. in this crucial election.  We are just over a month away from Election Day itself.  The Crowns Nomination Committee is deadlocked.

Such are more than enough goads for me to pray The Litany this morning at sunrise, partly sung, partly said.

(The version linked is from the 1662 BCP.  I prayed the current Reformed Episcopal Church version, which has slight differences.)

Warrantless Surveillance Skyrockets Under Obama and Holder

I do not wear a tin foil hat.  But I have asserted on occasion that Obama has a totalitarian streak.  And if you follow me on twitter (The link is on the right.), you may remember that my icon long was a glowering pic of Obama with the caption “He’s watching you” (now replaced with a heart warming photo of Her Majesty vanquishing her enemies).  So perhaps you, being slightly naive, have thought that I am off my rocker or at least paranoid.

Well, think again.  Warrantless surveillance of cell phones, e-mail, internet activity, etc. have roughly quadrupled under Obama and Eric Holder.   Not the eeeeevil Bush and Cheney; Obama and Holder.

In fact, more people were subjected to pen register and trap and trace surveillance in the past two years than in the entire previous decade...

Let that sink in.  Then you may read more angles on this here.

The Obama Administration Lied to Us on Libya

I’ve restrained myself in posting on the attack on our embassy in Benghazi, Libya and its aftermath.  Through this, I wanted to be sure I had my facts straight and understood the big picture.

But now there is no getting around it – the Obama Regime lied to us.  They knew within 24 hours that it was a planned attack by al Qaeda operatives.  Yet for days afterward, they gave us the lie that it was a spontaneous demonstration over a stupid You Tube video that got out of hand.

I’m awaiting the news media outrage.

*crickets*