A Great American Died Last Week

Our Father & My Father by Rev. John J. McCartney on National Review Online

We lost a great American this week. He was Dr. John Joseph McCartney, a man who lived his whole life in emulation of the father of Jesus, to whom he prayed every day. St. Joseph, pictured above, is spoken of in eloquent terms by the son of Dr. McCartney, Father John J. McCartney, pastor of St. Matthew’s Church in Dix Hills, N.Y., who eulogised his father at his Mass of Christian Burial. After living an exemplary Christian life of 93 years, Dr. McCartney passed away quietly with hardly any notice outside his circle of friends and family. Thanks to his daughter, Dorothy McCartney, who is research manager at National Review and a longtime researcher for the late William F. Buckley Jr., this poignant homily by her brother was published on National Review Online.

Requiescat in pace.

Sundays are for Beauty - Hole in the Head

This is the song that won an Academy Award for Best Music-Original Song for the 1960 Movie, "A Hole in the Head," starring Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson. The movie was also nominated for three other Oscars, and is one of those old movies you can enjoy with your entire family. Here's hoping the video makes your Sunday a little more beautiful.

Black conservative Lloyd Marcus on tour across America

That's Lloyd Marcus who is about to embark on a trip across America, on the national TeaPartyExpress.org tour. The tour will finale at the Taxpayer March on DC and rally Sept. 12th. He discusses the tour and more on a piece he wrote for The American Thinker Blog yesterday. See below link.

Black conservative Lloyd Marcus on tour across America

For more on Lloyd Marcus, please copy and paste the below URL into your browser.

http://www.lloydmarcus.net/


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Obama Officially Abandons Missile Defense in Europe

Obama Officially Abandons Missile Defense in Europe - The Foundry

This was on the Blog of The Heritage Foundation today. The elderly in Poland and the former Czechoslovakia now know what it feels like to be abandoned twice by a country to which they have always been loyal. It's a disgrace.


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Howard Dean tells the Truth about Tort Reform

The War on Terror Is Over

Daniel Henninger, a deputy editorial page director of the Wall Street Journal, addresses the "compassionate release" of the Pan Am 103 bomber (and the defense of that action by Scotland's Justice Minister, Kenny Mac Askill) with the recent decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate the enhanced interrogation techniques of the C.I.A.

The message of Scotland's release and the Holder decision is that the will born in the wake of 9/11 is waning. The war on terror is being downgraded to not much more than tough talk. Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the Iranians, not yet converts to the West's caricature of its own legal traditions, will take note. In time, they will be back. The second war on terror is in the future.

To read the whole opinion piece go here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574374500451334282.html

My All Time Favorites - Barney Miller

Double Standard III

The inestimable Andy McCarthy (top photo) points out yet another double standard: this one, though, involves Attorney General Eric Holder.

Remember No Controlling Legal Authority? by Andrew C. McCarthy on National Review Online

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Steve Hayes (bottom photo) of The Weekly Standard, the bright new addition on Special Report with Bret Baier, addressed the same issue in his posting on The Blog today.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/08/not_so_mysterious.asp

Debunking the "Debunkers"

The Heritage Foundation has made several videos in which their Research Fellows correct misstatements made by the White House about criticisms of Obamacare . You can view the short videos at Fixhealthcare policy.com, a Project of The Heritage Foundation. Here's a link:

http://fixhealthcarepolicy.com/reality/

Former VP Cheney on CIA Interrogations

Former VP Cheney on CIA Interrogation Docs - NRO Staff - The Corner on National Review Online

Nothing need be added to this statement from former Vice-President Dick Cheney.



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Liberals Hate the C.I.A.

Bret Stephens is a deputy editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal, responsible for the Journal's European and Asian editions. From 2002-2004, he was editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. In 2008, he won the Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism (Charles Krauthammer was the 2009 winner). His column today details the liberals' disdain for the Central Intelligence Agency, and their lack of consistency regarding the protection of the identity of C.I.A. operatives.

Here's a link to the column:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574370311712840406.html

Myths and Facts about Obamacare

Morning Bell: Myths and Facts about Obamacare: The Foundry

The Heritage Foundation's Morning Bell puts the lie to claims by the president and his followers that those against Obamacare are playing loose with the truth. Truth, unfortunately, is one of many Absolutes with which this administration is totally unfamiliar.



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Rep. Brian Baird Meets the Truth

Brian Baird, Democrat representative from the state of Washington, held a town hall meeting, on August 18, where he was confronted by a constituent who happened to be a disabled Marine veteran. The Marine gave him a history lesson about the term "Brownshirt," and also acquainted the congressman with the truth.

SEMPER FIDELIS!

Napoleon and Squealer in the White House

Lauri Regan of the American Thinker Blog writes an interesting piece (below) in which she compares President Obama and his spokesman, Robert Gibbs, to the characters Napoleon and Squealer in George Orwell's novel, Animal Farm. I can see the similarities - and I really miss Tony Snow.

Napoleon and Squealer in the White House



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NOTE: This article was originally posted on this Blog, on August 19, 2009, but was inadvertently deleted.

Sundays are for Beauty - Terfel

That's Bryn Terfel, the Welsh bass-baritone famous for his performances in the Mozart Operas: Cosi fan tutte and The Marriage of Figaro, with the same orchestra he was singing with in this prior post:

http://wwwpopblogger.blogspot.com/2009/03/time-out-while-mushers-rest.html

Have a beautiful Sunday, and make it even more beautiful by clicking on the above link and listening again to Bryn Terfel.

My All Time Favorites - Mash 4077th

This will be a regular weekly feature of this Blog until I run out of short videos of my and my three sons' all time favorite TV shows - the kind you could watch with young sons, remember them?

Oops! Relax, Greenland.

That’s Gerd Leipold, the outgoing leader of Greenpeace, admitting that his organization's recent claim that the Arctic Ice will disappear by 2030 was "a mistake." Greenpeace said in a July 15 press release that there would be an ice-free Arctic by 2030 because of global warming. That’s BBC reporter Stephen Sackur on his program, "Hardtalk," pressing Leipold into admitting that claim was wrong.

According to Greenpeace, distortions, exaggerations, and downright lies are acceptable in furtherance of the right cause – their cause. In such a case, misleading statements that distort, exaggerate, and spread falsehoods are deemed to be “wise, rational and reasonable” by these climate zealots. Science be damned.

Brett the Viking

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? "The Yankee Clipper," the only baseball player to be selected for the All-Star Game in every season he played, is one of the few great athletes who had the sense to go out on top. Brett Favre will never be spoken of in that way. As he gets further and further from his "top," he continues to make "comebacks." Personally, I applaud his tenacity, but just wish he had stayed with the Packers for the duration.

Minnesotans for Global Warming (see link to their site on the right) marked the occasion with a special video even though Brett's signing most likely was not caused by global warming (but you never know). Here's the video:

What really happened in Montana?

Anyone who suspects the health care love fest in Montana a week or so ago might have been staged will find support for their suspicion in an E-Mail forwarded by a former fellow Marine who is from Montana. The author, who lives in Bozeman, Montana, asked only that her E-Mail address be deleted before sharing the information. Here's the E-Mail; it speaks for itself.

This was sent to me by a friend in Bozeman, MT who was there. Why do we tolerate this?

Hello All,
By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not covered. I feel that since Bill and I live here and we were at the airport on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this on.
On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date.
On about Tuesday Bill found out that they would be holding the "Town Hall" at the airport. (This is only because Bill knows EVERYONE at the airport) Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very remote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public.
FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$
During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was, especially during a recession. $$$$$
Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday.
Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm......900 tickets just DISAPPEARED.
This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama. Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!! And it would have been really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of the Recession?? Just think...with all of the traveling the White House is doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.
On Friday Bill and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that wanted to protest Obama's spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up onto the area (illegal)and unloaded right there. It was quite a commotion and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a fight. Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd.
The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns and PROFESSIONALLY made signs. Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh, and Planned Parenthood folks were with them.....professing abortion rights with their T-shirts and preprinted signs. (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to protest in ANOTHER area)
Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man.
So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to protest.
If you are wondering about the press.....Well, all of the major networks were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away. None of these crowds were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about the crowds.
We did have some local news media around us from this state and Idaho. Speaking of the local media...they were invited. However, all questions were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn't want anyone to have to think off the top of their head.
It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare. Even those people that talked about their insurance woes........the White House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee) and asked for names. Then the White House asked those folks to come. Smoke and mirrors...EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!
I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House. The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable. I felt I was not living in the United States of America, more like the USSR!! I was physically nauseous. Bill and I have been around when Presidents or Heads of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care about our country please get involved. Know the issues. And let Congress hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on in Washington DC. Scary!!

Kathy
Bozeman, Montana

Misplaced Compassion

Sir William Wallace is spinning in his grave. Wallace is the 13th century Scottish Knight and landowner who led the Scottish resistance during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is a national hero in Scotland, and was lionized in the 1995 movie, Braveheart.

It is doubtful that Scotland will ever lionize Kenny MacAskill (top photo), Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Justice. He is the politician responsible for releasing Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi on "compassionate release." Al Megrahi (that's him below MacAskill) is the Libyan convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. The full story, along with MacAskill's prolix statement attempting to explain his decision is contained in an article in the Telegraph. Here's a link:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/6061306/Lockerbie-bomber-released-Scottish-Justice-Secretary-Kenny-MacAskills-statement-in-full.html

Double Standard II

http://patriotpost.us/

As if we need yet another example of media bias, this is one that should not go unreported. The failure to cover this horrid crime can be blamed on political correctness as much as bias in the media. Reader discretion is advised.

If Alexander's Essay #20 does not appear, search for "Media Blackout" in Alexander's Essays, dated August 20, 2009 (on the left).

Note: To subscribe to the Patriot Post, go to the bottom of this page and click on "Sign Up." It's free!

Double Standard

The best example of the media's double standard is manifest in the coverage given to "death threats" against the current occupant of the White House and the coverage that had been afforded the multifarious and sometimes serious threats against his predecessor. Yesterday's post on Zomblog provided numerous examples of the threats against George W. Bush that mostly went unreported by the major media. For some reason, threats against Bush did not seem to matter, but even a perceived threat against his successor engenders near hysteria in the mass media.

Here's a link to the post:
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621

Obama's Bait and Switch

Obama's Bait and Switch by Thomas Sowell on National Review Online

Dr. Thomas Sowell (see prior posts: July 28, July 29, August 5) continues to dissect Obamacare in the above article published today on National Review Online. Here are two snippets from the above article:

Despite incessant repetition of the fact that millions of Americans do not have medical insurance, hardy souls who have actually read the mammoth medical-care legislation being rushed through Congress have discovered all sorts of things there that have nothing whatever to do with insuring the uninsured — and everything to do with taking medical decisions out of the hands of doctors and their patients, and transferring those decisions to Washington bureaucrats.

If telling us that he is not for a single-payer system will soothe us into going along, then it is perfectly understandable why he said it. But that is no reason for us to believe him.


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Who votes for Barney Frank?

He's an absolute disgrace, and obviously does not understand that he works for the people he is so flippantly castigating in this video. He is the poster boy for term limits.

Is the dynasty bought by Joseph Kennedy over?

"All good things must come to an end," and fortunately for the United States all bad things must also come to an end. The below article by Daniel J. Flynn in City Journal gives reason for hope.


What's in the Kennedy Name? by Daniel J. Flynn, City Journal Summer 2009




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Beware "The Panel"

Andrew Klavan of City Journal is a former liberal, and his following quote explains why:

The thing I like best about being a conservative is that I don’t have to lie. I don’t have to pretend that men and women are the same. I don’t have to declare that failed or oppressive cultures are as good as mine. Leftism has outlived its own failure by hiding itself within the most labyrinthine construct of social delicacy since Victoria was queen.

In today's Wall Street Journal, Klavan (who is also a screen writer) paints a scary picture of government controlled health care, i.e., Obamacare. Here's a link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204683204574356241709682828.html

American Thinker Blog: The 'Enemy List'

American Thinker Blog: The 'Enemy List'

Please click on the above link to read a personal and poignant piece by Ben Briscoe of the American Thinker Blog.



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TIME OUT!

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of Obamacare and all the attendant lies, distortions, and obfuscations. I'm just taking "Time Out" today and listening to the Dave Brubeck Quartet's album entitled, appropriately, "Time Out." This cut from that album is called: "Take Five." It was written by alto saxophonist Paul Desmond; that's him playing his alto sax in the video. Dave, of course, is on piano; Joe Morello, on drums; and Gene Wright is playing the bass. "Take Five" is the signature piece of the Brubeck Quartet and is universally recognized as a jazz classic.

Sundays are for Beauty - Penguin Dance

Beauty, according to an on line dictionary, is defined as:

1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).

This cut from the 1964 movie, Mary Poppins, is called the "Dance of the Penguins," and it fits the above definition perfectly. It was a great favorite of our (at the time) 18 month old grandson, Brian. We had only to say "Penguin," and he would begin his performance, mimicking the penguins as they pranced around with Dick Van Dyke. Brian is 18 years old now, and just started Navy Boot Camp. His fascination with those penguins evolved (around age 12) into a fascination with seals - Navy SEALs. After graduation from Navy Boot Camp, he'll head to Coronado, where "The only easy day was yesterday."

Minnesotans for Global Warming - M4GW

Please take about 10 minutes to enjoy these videos made by Minnesotans for Global Warming. Who said that state is full of left wingers? I've attached a link to M4GW's website below, and there is now a link to their Blog under My Blog List over on the right.







Here's the website for M4GW:
http://www.m4gw.com:2005/m4gw/home.html

Rationing in Canada is Real

How’s That Government Run Health Care Working Out Canada? » The Foundry

The proponents of Obamacare keep telling us there will be no rationing of health care under the plans being considered by Congress, but if they are successful in including a "government option" we need only look to our neighbors to the north to know better (see above article from the Heritage Foundation).


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Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jack Kemp

President Obama has taken a lot of well-deserved criticism for bestowing the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, on some very controversial individuals. He has not received enough praise, though, for a most excellent choice: Jack Kemp.

On May 5, 2009, this Blog published a tribute to this great American. Here's a link:
http://wwwpopblogger.blogspot.com/2009/05/we-need-another-jack-kemp.html

We do, indeed, need another Jack Kemp, and we need to thank President Obama for honoring one of the most selfless public servants we will ever see: Jack Kemp, an authentic Renaissance man.

The Right Way to Reform Health Care

That's Congressman Paul Ryan (R) Wisconsin, in a video made at the unveiling of the Patients' Choice Act in May 2009. Senator Tom Coburn (R) Oklahoma, a medical doctor, is one of the co-sponsors of the legislation. President Obama, on more than one occasion, has accused opponents of Obamacare of wanting to maintain the status quo. We should not be surprised at the falseness of that accusation.

The Patients' Choice Act has been presented in both houses of Congress, but its chances of making its way to the floor in either chamber are closer to none than slim. The Senate Bill is S.1099; the House Bill is HR. 2520.

More information on the Senate Bill can be found at this link:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.1099:

For more information on the house Bill go here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:1:./temp/~bdOQiw::|/bss/111search.html|

"Potemkin Village" - Anachronous Metaphor

That's Grigory Potyomkin, a Russian diplomat and military reformer during the reign of Catherine the Great, in 1787. The story is told that Potyomkin, who had led the military campaign in the Crimea, had hollow facades of villages built on the banks of the Dnieper River, in order to impress the empress as she cruised on the river. It is doubtful that Catherine was fooled, but it's a good story. In any case, "Potemkin Village" has come to mean any hollow or false construct meant to hide an undesirable or damaging situation.

Metaphors, like everything else, get old and stale. This one has probably run its course, but after what happened yesterday in New Hampshire, we have the perfect replacement. It's the new metaphor to be used to describe any hollow or false construct meant to hide an undesirable or damaging situation: Obama Townhall .

Obama Lies About Supporting Single Payer at NH Town Hall

Obama Lies About Supporting Single Payer at NH Town Hall




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The Alinsky Way Vs. the American Way

The Alinsky Way Vs. the American Way

Saul Alinsky is the father of community organizers in America. His Rules for Radicals is said to be their bible. He is given credit for the student demonstrations (some even called them riots) on campuses across the country during the turbulent 60's. One of his ardent disciples, who became a fairly successful community organizer himself, is pictured above with him.

Kyle-Anne Shiver, in the above piece on The American Thinker Blog, draws clear distinctions between Alinsky's ideas and real American ideas.


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Get ready for cuts in Medicare

Will Obama pay the price for cutting Medicare? | Washington Examiner

Byron York is a nationally syndicated columnist. He is the chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner, and a frequent guest on television news shows. The article above points out the vastly different reaction (by the Democrats) to plans to cut Medicare, depending on who is proposing those cuts. Interestingly, the "cuts" proposed by Newt Gringrich back in 1994-1995 were not cuts at all; they were a diminution in the annual growth of spending. The cuts necessary to fund Obamacare, however, are real and will be hurtful.

And yet now, here is Obama, proposing to squeeze hundreds of billions of dollars out of Medicare, and Democrats who were apoplectic in 1995 are strangely quiet. "When we proposed it, it was called a 'draconian cut,'" recalls one veteran Republican Hill aide. "Now, it's called 'savings.'"

What a difference 15 years and a change of administrations can make.


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Criticizing The President Is Not Racist

But calling private tax-paying citizens, who are simply giving voice to their valid objections concerning the loss of their private health insurance, racists, is playing the race card. Rather than counter those valid objections with facts, our elected representatives (including the president) have chosen to launch personal attacks against those who think their Constitution gives them the right to be heard.

I remember vividly the adage of defense attorneys in Dade County, Florida and other places:

"When the facts are not on your side, argue a point of law; when the law is not on your side, argue the facts; when neither the facts nor the law is on your side, attack the character of your opponent!"

Let's see, does that seem to fit here? You bet it does. The facts are against them (we will lose our personal health coverage); the law is against them (we do have a right to protest); so all they can do is call us racists - and in an Op Ed today by Pelosi and Hoyer: Un-American.

The Heritage Foundation addresses this today in its Blog: The Foundry. Please click on the link below.

Criticizing The President Is Not Racist » The Foundry


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Say Goodbye to Private Health Insurance

Anyone who still does not believe that the goal of Obamacare is a single payer system, i.e., socialized medicine, has to watch this video. The president keeps assuring us: “Let me be exactly clear about what health care reform means to you. First of all, if you’ve got health insurance, you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan. Nobody is talking about taking that away from you.”

Au contraire, Mr. President, the truth (and you know it) is: If you’ve got health insurance, you like your doctors, you like your plan, get over it. We're taking that away from you, but we'll be doing it in incremental steps so it will hardly be noticed by those who trust in their government officials. Just relax and trust us. We're your government and we'd never do anything to hurt you.

Sundays are for Beauty - Nella Fantasia

Because there was such an outpouring (from both readers of this Blog) of accolades for Ennio Morricone's Gabriel's Oboe, posted on Sundays are for Beauty- Part 14, I did some more searching. Turns out that Sarah Brightman (the world's best-selling soprano) was granted permission to make it into a song, which is called Nella Fantasia (In My Fantasy), and just how she was able to obtain permission to do that makes for an interesting anecdote. Here's Sarah Brightman in her own words:

"About three years ago I wrote Mr. Morricone, asking if he would give me permission to turn this particular piece into a song. He flatly refused. So every two months I would send yet another begging letter, until I think he got so sick of me he finally relented. And I am really glad that he did, because I think it works beautifully as a song."
The lyrics, by the way, are by Chiara Ferraù.

Of course, no one can sing it better than Sarah Brightman, but I was surprised to find that in all the versions she has recorded, there was not one with an oboe solo. Since the original piece had Oboe in the title, and all renditions of it prominently featured an oboe solo, I kept searching. The above video by Chloë Agnew of Celtic Women sounded exactly right, and the oboe solo by her father, the Irish oboist David Agnew, is terrific. It makes a beautiful way to start a Sunday.

Obama and Public Debate - The American Thinker

Obama and Public Debate

Isn't it amazing how the promises made by candidates for public office never seem to get fulfilled? The man who promised to have a full and fair debate about major legislation before signing it into law is now calling American citizens, who are trying to question his plan to totally revamp their health care, nothing more than a mob. Indeed, in the previous post we saw him blaming them for the "mess" he inherited, and basically telling them to shut up. How dare these people who are being so brazen as to speak up when being lied to by the men and women they sent to Washington to represent them.

On Presidential Demeanor

Barack Obama has been criticized on this Blog for acting - not being - presidential. This health care issue, though, finds him abandoning his act. Maybe it's just me, but the man on this video does not sound, or look, particularly presidential.

He is, though, our president, and he has finally identified an enemy with whom he is not afraid to engage. That enemy is us.

Government Medicine vs Hippocrates

Government Medicine Kills by Deroy Murdock on National Review Online

Deroy Murdock is an American conservative syndicated columnist for the Scripps Howard News Service and a contributing editor with National Review Online. In the above article he draws factual comparisons between the health systems of the UK and Canada with the one we currently enjoy here in the USA. Here's a tease from the article:

Obamacare proponents might argue that their health reforms are neither British nor Canadian, but just modest adjustments to America’s system. This is false. The public option — for which Democrats lust — would fuel an elephantine $1.5 trillion overhaul of this life-and-death industry.

Welcome back to 1984.

Linda Douglas, the health reform communications director at the White House, needs your help. She recently sent out a notice on the White House website that ended: "If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

Anyone who isn't reminded of George Orwell's "1984" or the Hitler-Jugend by such tactics on the part of the White House is hopefully not considered a "likely voter" by Scott Rasmussen. This, frankly, is as scary as it gets, and should be considered a major scandal. Don't count on it, though, and don't expect to hear much about it in the main stream media. Now, if George Bush's White House had done this, there would be incessant calls for his impeachment in every major outlet.

At least they weren't waterboarded.

These are two accurately described left-wing journalists: Joanie de Rijke of The Netherlands, and Robert Fisk of Great Britain. The next time you read a sympathetic article by either one concerning radical islamists, you should consider the source. The below is taken from "The Week" section of the August 10th issue of National Review.

In 2001, Robert Fisk, the hard-Left, jihad-sympathetic British journalist, was attacked by Afghan refugees along the Afghan–Pakistani border. He wrote that “young men . . . began smashing stones into my face and head. I couldn’t see for the blood pouring down my forehead and swamping my eyes. And even then, I understood. I couldn’t blame them for what they were doing. In fact, if I were the Afghan refugees . . . I would have done just the same to Robert Fisk. Or any other Westerner I could find.” Flash forward to November 2008. A Dutch journalist, Joanie de Rijke, is kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They did “horrible things to me,” she has now written in a book. They raped her for days on end. But “they also respected me.” And “they are not monsters.” Between bouts of rape, they gave her tea and biscuits. And the commander, she explains, “could not control his testosterone. I had the impression that afterwards he regretted what had happened.” De Rijke denies that she is suffering from Stockholm syndrome. But she and Fisk are suffering from something.

I would be willing to bet that both of these objective journalists were appalled when they learned that the Great Satan had waterboarded three of the most heinous Islamic terrorists in the world and thereby saved untold thousands of lives of innocent citizens.

The ACLU is Right! - That's SCARY!

Another Take on the Rescue

Guess whose jet?

Ed Lasky provides much to think about in this piece he just posted on the American Thinker Blog. Like Ed, I agree with John Podhoretz:

"...The interpolation of this melodrama and its resolution have made this nation's policy toward North Korea even more messy, though that hardly seemed possible, entirely due to a preventable error on the part of two amateurish journalists and their amateurish network..."

This whole debacle was preventable and is certain to cost us more than we know at the moment. Thank you Al Gore and Bill Clinton.

Care Versus Control by Thomas Sowell

Care Versus Control by Thomas Sowell on National Review Online

As we've all come to expect over the years, DR. Thomas Sowell has said more in fewer words than any other intelligent person could hope to say. He has an unmatched talent for getting to the heart of the matter and making what others would rather be kept opaque, crystal clear. He does it here with the idea of government controlled health care. It's another "must read" in this ongoing debate.

A Contrast of Style and Personality

Since November 10, 1775, United States Marines have been willing and eager to fight, and even die, for their country when sent into harms way by their commander-in-chief, regardless who occupies that office at any given time. Their respect for the office has never waned; their respect and admiration for the occupant of the office, though, can vary. That fact is manifestly clear in the above video.

God bless the U. S. Marine Corps – the finest fighting machine the world has ever seen.

Semper Fidelis!

Note: Please click on the You Tube icon on the video and then on (more info) in the upper right corner to see how the current administration attempted to "spin" this video, attributing the difference in the level of enthusiasm on the part of the Marines to the different forums in which the meetings were held. It doesn't work.

The House Health Bill (Obamacare): What you must know

Let's face it, none of our elected representatives in Congress (good facsimiles above) has any intention of reading the 1,000 plus pages of the House Health Bill - or its Senate version when it is finally written. The first thing we should do is start chanting: "No taxation without representation!" Thanks to The Heritage Foundation, we now have a clear glimpse of what those rascals on the Hill are doing to our health care. Here's an excerpt from a longer piece published on the Heritage Blog today:

Three major Committees of the House of Representatives have finished mark-up of HR 3200, a bill the size of a telephone book. Members of the House Ways and Means Committee have clarified their policy positions on crucial items, including the right of employee choice of coverage, the right of Americans to keep private health plans or purchase the private coverage that they like, their right to get medical care without government interference, or whether or not abortion coverage would be a matter of personal choice or government mandate. The House Ways and Means Committee has clearly answered these questions. Moreover, the Committee’s answers, in several instances, directly contradict President Obama’s oft-repeated promises to the American people.

Here's a link to the entire piece. Please read it carefully: that's exactly what the Capitol Hill scoundrels don't want you to do.

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/08/03/the-house-health-bill-the-house-ways-and-means-amendments/

Eric Holder, Rotten to the Core

Quin Hillyer, over at the American Spectator Blog, published en eye-opening column yesterday on the politicization and corruption in the Eric Holder Justice Department. Here's a link:
http://spectator.org/blog/2009/08/03/eric-holder-rotten-to-the-core

In case you are unable to link to the Jennifer Rubin piece at the Weekly Standard mentioned by Hillyer, here's a link to that:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/799hlime.asp

The Green Czar was a Red

That's Van Jones, our new Green Czar, and here's a quote from Czar Jones, the man responsible for $60 BILLION of stimulus funds.

"I met all these young radical people of color -- I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.' I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary. I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th. By August, I was a communist."

He said that in the wake of the Rodney King riots in 1992. He was a student at Yale Law School at the time; he graduated in 1993. We reap what we sow.

On July 28, 2009, Czar Jones was interviewed by Newsweek's Daniel Stone, and was asked the "gotcha" question: Why are we still without an objective definition of a green job? For his answer (or non-answer) to that and other questions, please read the interview. Here's a link:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/209073/page/1

A Good Day for the Corps - SEMPER FI!

Outnumbered 8 - 1: 'A good day for the Corps'

By Peter Bronson

"Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our humvees was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast." That's not from an episode of The Unit or 24. It's not from an anti-war movie. It's not from any newspaper or TV news reports I could find.

The quote comes from a "designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified." He was reporting what happened recently in the city of Shewan, Afghanistan. The story was told in a Marine Corps News report by Cpl. James M. Mercure. It will give you goose bumps and make you want to stand up and salute the nearest flag. Here's more, because it's a lot better than anything I could write today:

"The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat,” the marksman said. Mercure reported, "Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines' deployment here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, because it controls an important supply route into the Bala Baluk district. Opening the route was key to continuing combat operations in the area."

"The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the
Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour
battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades.

After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon
sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.

"The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they're given the opportunity to fight," the sniper said. "A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong."

"During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn't miss any shots, despite the enemies' rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position. "I was in my own little world," the young corporal said. "I wasn't even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target."

After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed
forward and broke the enemies' spirit as many of them dropped their
weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines
had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more. "I didn't realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies' lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us," the corporal said. "It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured."

Such an amazing story of heroism and victory would have been on Page One in every paper in the country during World War II. Just 30 Marines giving eight hours of hell to 250 insurgents is the kind of story that would make a good movie -- if that kind of movie still could be made. But these days, it did not even make Page 10. I couldn't find a story about it anywhere. The only mentions were on conservative blogs and military Web sites. The soldiers who are fighting for their lives and our country might as well be in another dimension. News from the battlefronts in Iraq and Afghanistan is apparently not important. It reminds the jaded anti-war crowd that they were wrong. We're winning. It reminds a self-centered nation that some Americans are making sacrifices much bigger than a loss in their 401(k)s. So we don't hear about it. But we need to hear news like that, because a good day for the Marine Corps is a good day for freedom. And that's a good day for America.

________________________________
Note: It is, for some reason, difficult to find news of the war in Afghanistan in the MSM. Bronson is right: "The soldiers who are fighting for their lives and our country might as well be in another dimension." While they live and fight their way through episodes as the one described above, our Congress consumes itself with the warming of the earth (which is not happening), and with completely changing the best health care system in the world (which might need a little tweaking), and our president sips beer in the rose garden with the professor and the policeman in an attempt to solve a problem that he, as much as anyone, helped create.

The above account by Cpl. James M. Mercure went practically unreported by the media, but it's a great story deserving of wide circulation. The 8-1 odds, I think, were about right considering our guys were Marines.

Panther Politicization at Obama DoJ

Panther Politicization at Obama DoJ » The Foundry

For those who think the new "hate crime" legislation is a good thing, it might be a good idea to read this one carefully.

House Health Care Bill Yields $9.2 Trillion in Deficits - Yikes!

House Health Care Bill Yields $9.2 Trillion in Deficits » The Foundry

On top of this, your benefits go down, your care is rationed, and your choice of doctors and hospitals disappears. Can't beat that, right?

Sundays are for Beauty - Cinema Paradiso

Let's do two "Sundays are for Beauty" in a row with Ennio Morricone. This is another one of those haunting melodies for which he's famous. It's the theme from the movie: "Cinema Paradiso," which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1990. If you listen to it twice, it will haunt you for a long time. See last week's "Sundays are for Beauty - Part 14" for more information on the musical accomplishments of Ennio Morricone. That's him, by the way, conducting the symphony orchestra in the video. He was born in 1928, on November 10th, the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. I knew there was something other than his beautiful music that I liked about this guy.

Chappaquiddick Revisited by R. P. George and D. Quinn

Chappaquiddick Revisited by R. P. George and D. Quinn on National Review Online