NRA vs. Obama

For some reason I don't think Obama is looking forward to this war.

NRA gathers ammo against Obama

The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year’s presidential campaign, with $15 million of that devoted to portraying Barack Obama as a threat to the Second Amendment rights upheld last week by the Supreme Court.

John McCain POW

Excellent read:

Prisoner of war

John McCain sat on a stool in Hanoi, his teeth broken, his body battered from a savage beating, his arms tied behind him in torture ropes.

A guard entered the room.

The Anti-Mandela

South Africa's silence has gone beyond embarrassing, it's criminal.

Mugabe: The Anti-Mandela

Freedom fighters turned politicians often refuse to relinquish power once attained. Nelson Mandela’s greatest legacy was his ability to leave office when he felt he had done all he could to lead South Africa out of the darkness and when he felt the country was ready for new leadership.

Robert Mugabe, unfortunately, does not subscribe to this way of thinking.

Obama Likes Waffles

Flip flop, flip flop...

Obama: Riding Tall In The Straddle

While campaigning in Pennsylvania earlier this year, Barack Obama was having breakfast with his Democratic Senate colleague Bob Casey. A reporter asked Obama about Jimmy Carter's trip to see the terrorist group Hamas. Obama responded: "Why is it that, like, I can't just eat my waffle?"

There's going to be another waffle Obama's going to eat as he tries to explain his simultaneous support for the District of Columbia gun ban he called constitutional and the Supreme Court decision in the Heller case that said it wasn't. Obama has developed an almost Clintonesque ability to take both sides of an issue.

That ability will be put to the test as gun-rights groups sue to overturn similar gun bans in Chicago and nearby suburbs. Hours after the high court's 5-4 ruling was made public Thursday, the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association sued Chicago and its mayor in an effort to overturn the city's 26-year-old ban on handguns.

Brainstorming? No, thought showers!

Some things are so absurd, words fail.

Council bans brainstorming - Telegraph

A council has banned the term "brainstorming" and replaced it with "thought showers".

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in Kent was accused of taking political correctness to extremes after instructing staff to make the change.

The move came as council chiefs feared the word brainstorming might offend mentally ill people and those with epilepsy.

The Pope and Islam

China is going to change the face of Christianity.

Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs

Muslims are in dialogue with a pope who evidently does not merely want to exchange pleasantries about coexistence, but to convert them. This no doubt will offend Muslim sensibilities, but Muslim leaders are well-advised to remain on good terms with Benedict XVI. Worse things await them. There are 100 million new Chinese Christians, and some of them speak of marching to Jerusalem - from the East. A website entitled Back to Jerusalem proclaims, "From the Great Wall of China through Central Asia along the silk roads, the Chinese house churches are called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ all the way back to Jerusalem."

President Obama?

A little pride with a side of arrogance?

The Brits and Climate Change

This is surprising:

Poll: most Britons doubt cause of climate change

The majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans - and many others believe scientists are exaggerating the problem, according to an exclusive poll for The Observer.

The results have shocked campaigners who hoped that doubts would have been silenced by a report last year by more than 2,500 scientists for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which found a 90 per cent chance that humans were the main cause of climate change and warned that drastic action was needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Bush's Legacy

Quite honestly, it's to early to tell what his legacy will be. If Iraq continues to improve expect it to be held higher than most would think possible.

History will say that we misunderestimated George W Bush

As he leaves the White House at the end of his second term, the President has a poll rating of only 23 per cent, and is widely disliked and even despised. His foreign policy has been judged a failure, especially in view of the long, painful, costly war that he declared, which is still not over.

He doesn't get on with his own party's presidential candidate, who is clearly distancing himself, and had lost many of his closest friends and staff to scandals and forced resignations. The New Republic, a hugely influential political magazine, writes that his historical reputation will be as bad as that of President Harding, the disastrous president of the Great Depression.

I am writing, of course, about Harry S Truman, generally regarded today as one of the greatest of all the 43 presidents, and the man who set the United States on the course that ended decades later in the defeat of Communism.

Disillusionment with Obama

Mark Shields on Public Financing and Obama

If Mark Shields is after Obama...well this isn't good for him.

Shields, Brooks Discuss Obama's Fundraising Shift, McCain's Energy Proposal | Online NewsHour | June 20, 2008 | PBS

MARK SHIELDS, syndicated columnist: Judy, Barack Obama made history this week. He became the first presidential nominee since Richard Nixon in 1972 to state that his campaign will be funded totally by private donations with no limits on spending.

It was a flip-flop of epic proportions. It was one that he could not rationalize or justify. His video was unconvincing. He looked like someone who was being kept as a hostage somewhere he was so absolutely unconvincing in it. It could not have passed a polygraph test.

I mean, coming up with this bogus argument the Republicans have so much more money -- the Republicans don't have so much more money. He's raised three times as much as John McCain has.

He has every possible committee, except Republican National Committee, Democrats at the Senate level, congressional level have this lopsided edge over Republicans. They spent three times as much, did Democratic leaning 527s, in the last election as did Republicans.

So what Obama didn't admit was, up until February of this year, when he told Tim Russert that not only would he aggressively seek an agreement on public financing, that he personally would sit down with John McCain and work it out, then, all of a sudden, they realized that all these small contributions were coming in and he was going to have a financial advantage in the fall against the Republican, and they grabbed it.

Obama's Lies

He seems to be getting caught in a lot of falsehoods lately.

FactCheck.org: Obama's Lame Claim About McCain's Money

Obama announced he would become the first presidential candidate since 1972 to rely totally on private donations for his general election campaign, opting out of the system of public financing and spending limits that was put in place after the Watergate scandal.

One reason, he said, is that "John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs."

We find that to be a large exaggeration and a lame excuse. In fact, donations from PACs and lobbyists make up less than 1.7 percent of McCain's total receipts, and they account for only about 1.1 percent of the RNC's receipts.

Viruses and Porn

Wow. I must say, that he must not have been very computer savvy, but that is the average user. Stay on guard!

Kiddie-Porn Charges Dropped; PC Virus Blamed - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News

Computer malware may have cost a former Massachusetts civil servant his job, his friends, his health insurance, his pension — and nearly his freedom.

Michael Fiola entered his own personal hell in March 2007 when his boss at the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents told him that a large amount of pornography, including kiddie porn, had been found on his state-issued laptop — and that he was being fired immediately.

"It felt like the blood drained right from my body," Fiola told PC World magazine. "I never expected anything like this to happen."

Four months later, the state charged him with possession of child pornography, charges that carried a penalty of 30 months in prison.

• Click here to watch a MyFOXBoston report on the case.

But on Monday, the state dropped the charges. Fiola's own computer expert concluded that the porn was the result of a massive computer infection that was using his PC to secretly store and upload pornographic images, and the state found no reason to contest that.

"The overall forensics of the laptop suggest that it had been compromised by a virus," said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney, according to the Boston Herald.

Tami Loehrs' 30-page report said the laptop had outdated and misconfigured virus-protection software, leaving it open to all sorts of exploitat
ompromised by a virus," said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suf

Pregnanct Boom?

The social dynamics going on need to be studied.

Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High - TIME

As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, "some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal says, shaking his head... The girls who made the pregnancy pact—some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers—declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Ireland says. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."

NAFTA Flip Flop?

Yep, and now uses the excuse of political rhetoric for a lie.

Obama: NAFTA not so bad after all - Jun. 18, 2008

"Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified," he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA "devastating" and "a big mistake," despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy.

Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? "Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don't exempt myself," he answered.

Right-wingers are nicer!

Interesting:

Don't listen to the liberals - Right-wingers really are nicer people, latest research shows

The statistics I base this on come from the General Social Survey, America's premier social research database, but they are just as relevant to the UK, as I believe political belief systems drive one's attitudes, regardless of where you happen to live.

Those surveyed were asked: 'Is it your obligation to care for a seriously injured/ill spouse or parent, or should you give care only if you really want to?' Of those describing themselves as 'conservative', 71 per cent said it was. Only 46 per cent of those on the Left agreed.

To the question: 'Do you get happiness by putting someone else's happiness ahead of your own?', 55 per cent of those who said they were 'very conservative' said Yes, compared with 20 per cent of those who were 'very liberal'.

It's been my experience that conservatives like to talk about things outside of themselves while progressives like to discuss themselves: how they are feeling and what their desires are. That might make for a good therapy session but it's not much fun over a long dinner.

Research also indicates those on the Left are less interested in getting married: 30 per cent of those who were 'very liberal' said it was important, in contrast to 65 per cent of Right-wingers.

The same holds true when the question of having children arises. Progressive American cities such as San Francisco and Seattle have become 'childless liberal boutique' cities, according to Joel Kotkin, an expert on urban development.

Canadian Human Rights

They are having some real problems:

Alberta's HRC: breeding the next generation of complainers - Ezra Levant

Yesterday I mentioned the new propaganda document circulated by the Alberta human rights commission. It's disgusting to begin with, but the fact that it is deliberately targetting new immigrants is downright vile. The Alberta human rights commission -- in other words, the Government of Alberta -- is trying to persuade newcomers to Alberta to support their grievance industry, and become little race hustlers, little Al Sharptons, just like Khurrum Awan of the Canadian Islamic Congress. It makes sense; complaints are down 15% year over year in Alberta; if all of those professional race hustlers in Ed Stelmach's government are going to keep their jobs, they need new complaints, and fast.

Suicide and the Military

His blessedness makes an inquiry to the Secretary of Defense.

Cocky Ignorance::By Thomas Sowell

Now that Senator Barack Obama has become the Democrats' nominee for President of the United States, to the cheers of the media at home and abroad, he has written a letter to the Secretary of Defense, in a tone as if he is already President, addressing one of his subordinates.

Bugs and Fuel

Wow:

He means bugs. To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very
small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips
or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.


Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol

Obama and Guns

This will hurt:

An Illustrated Guide to Obama’s Gun-Grabbing

The Church and Political Activism

Yes.

Let's stay on message

If you are known for your political agenda more than for your commitment to Christ, your values are upside down. If you make the gospel subservient to a political strategy or a partisan agenda, you're probably doing more harm than good.

From campaign to presidency?

As of late it doesn't look to promising.

Does the Obama Campaign Foreshadow His Presidency?

Democrat refuses to endorse Obama

This has got to hurt:

"We're much more conservative," Boren said of district. "I've got to
reflect my district. No one means more to me than the people who
elected me. I have to listen them." He called Obama "the most liberal
senator in the U.S. Senate."

Rep. Boren declines to endorse Obama - Politico.com

BushLied?

This meme has always been too simplified and now completely politicized. Here's hoping for a little more objectivity:

But dive into Rockefeller's report, in search of where exactly President Bush lied about what his intelligence agencies were telling him about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, and you may be surprised by what you find.

On Iraq's nuclear weapons program? The president's
statements "were generally substantiated by intelligence community
estimates."

On biological weapons, production capability and those infamous
mobile laboratories? The president's statements "were substantiated by
intelligence information."

On chemical weapons, then? "Substantiated by intelligence information."

On weapons of mass destruction overall (a separate section of the
intelligence committee report)? "Generally substantiated by
intelligence information." Delivery vehicles such as ballistic
missiles? "Generally substantiated by available intelligence." Unmanned
aerial vehicles that could be used to deliver WMDs? "Generally
substantiated by intelligence information."

'Bush Lied'? If Only It Were That Simple. - washingtonpost.com

Numbers and the end times

As the rise in end time books continues, our skepticism should also rise:

Biblical numerology fascinates people. Those who study biblical
numerology believe that numbers in Scripture show a design that reveals
the work of God in the world. The way certain numbers are used in the
Bible suggests that their use has a deeper meaning that calls for
understanding.

What the Bible Predicts Will Happen in the Year 2000

Atonement

Really nice summary:

There has been a great deal of discussion lately on the subject of
“atonement”, sin, and the nature of Jesus’ death, burial and
resurrection. In many cases, adherents of specific views of atonement
(particularly the theory of Penal Substitutionary
Atonement) have taken a dim view of groups of Christians who do not
hold to identical views - in some cases, suggesting that the “correct”
view (theirs, of course) is required both for evangelizing and for
salvation.

Atonement

Free Speech in Canada

Or the lack there of:

What could Mark Steyn's punishment look like? Look at Alberta

The Commander: Which One?

Good article on the judgment of the two men.

Voting for Commander in Chief

New RNC Website

A nice welcome for Barack now that he has clinched the nomination.

MeetBarackObama.com

Lot's of Oil?

Could be:

The Bakken oil formation and national security

George Will on Comedy Central

The Iraqi situation is improving

This is going to cause all kinds of problems for the Democratic party.

The Apologists Are Stymied

Angry White Women

They are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

White Women Take the Gloves Off

Conservatives more honest than liberals?

This ought to get some people hopping mad!

Conservatives more honest than liberals?