Reagan was a sure loser too.

Not since Herbert Hoover has a party out of power had such an opportunity to run against everything that troubles the American family—prices, interest rates, unemployment, taxes, or the fear for the future of their old age or the future of their children—than is now presented to the Republican Party.

The Republicans, however, haven't figured this out. This is their basic problem. They have no strategy for defeating an Obama administration that is highly vulnerable on both domestic and foreign policy.

That's the conventional wisdom in a nutshell, isn't it?

It will come as no surprise that these words appeared in a Feb. 29 column in the New York Times. They are reproduced here exactly as written, save for one small adjustment.

The president whose failings they describe is Jimmy Carter, not Barack Obama. The lines were written in 1980, not 2012. The author was the then-dean of conventional wisdom, James "Scotty" Reston. The headline was "Jimmy Carter's Luck," a reference to Reagan's victory in the New Hampshire primary three days earlier.


This is an excellent article written by Bill McGurn. Like Matt keeps hammering home, "don't let the media define our candidate"; I'll just expand on that to say let's not allow them to damper our enthusiasm either for our choice among the current hopefuls to take the White House. Read it all here in the WSJ online.

Chevy Volt Testimonial

Another Online Petition

I usually don't bother with these, as they are essentially silliness, but this one is on the official White House.gov site, and the language is very simple and direct.

'We petition the Obama admininstration to Resign.'

It was started today, and as I am typing this, it is passing through 500 signatures.

Happy Birthday lady red!!!

So sorry to be so late in the (Birth) day with your card. I put up this sign so the postman would know where to deliver all your cards and pressies.



Hope Mr. red spoiled you rotten and that you are relaxing with your feet up with a glass of whatever tickles your fancy in your hand. Here have some Champagne!





We do, we do! Love ya lady :)

I Want One!

H/T: Legal Insurrection

Who Will Continue The Fight?

From the good professor:

I only spoke once with Andrew Breitbart. He reached out to me, and we spoke by phone. The topic is not important, but I was shocked that he even knew who I was; but as I’ve come to learn, Andrew seemed to know who everyone was in the conservative blogosphere. He was just that way.

Since my wife called this morning to let me know of Andrew’s death, it has been hard to focus on anything else. In her words, we don’t have that many bright media lights, and to lose him hurts.

Andrew lived in a world without restraints. He could be who he wanted to be, a luxury few bloggers have, particularly those who blog under their own name and work for others.

I live in a world of restraints, and I envied Andrew’s freedom more than you can know.

Andrew is irreplaceable, but we would serve his memory well to aspire to more freedom of thought and more freedom of action.

I’ve often wondered where to go with this blog. I now know.

Stunning News

Andrew Breitbart passed away this morning at age 43.

RIP Davy Jones

All the girls loved Davy! RIP Davy, 66 is way too young to die.

Dispatches From the Department - 4

No, not another of my observations, but an actual, real dispatch from the Department:

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC

February 29, 2012

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A U.S. delegation has just returned from Beijing following a third exploratory round of U.S.-DPRK bilateral talks. To improve the atmosphere for dialogue and demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization, the DPRK has agreed to implement a moratorium on long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and nuclear activities at Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment activities. The DPRK has also agreed to the return of IAEA inspectors to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment activities at Yongbyon and confirm the disablement of the 5-MW reactor and associated facilities.

The United States still has profound concerns regarding North Korean behavior across a wide range of areas, but today’s announcement reflects important, if limited, progress in addressing some of these. We have agreed to meet with the DPRK to finalize administrative details necessary to move forward with our proposed package of 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance along with the intensive monitoring required for the delivery of such assistance.

The following points flow from the February 23-24 discussions in Beijing:

•The United States reaffirms that it does not have hostile intent toward the DPRK and is prepared to take steps to improve our bilateral relationship in the spirit of mutual respect for sovereignty and equality.

•The United States reaffirms its commitment to the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement.

•The United States recognizes the 1953 Armistice Agreement as the cornerstone of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

•U.S. and DPRK nutritional assistance teams will meet in the immediate future to finalize administrative details on a targeted U.S. program consisting of an initial 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance with the prospect of additional assistance based on continued need.

•The United States is prepared to take steps to increase people-to-people exchanges, including in the areas of culture, education, and sports.

•U.S. sanctions against the DPRK are not targeted against the livelihood of the DPRK people.

Congratulations to my colleagues who pulled this off, an amazing achievement that I know was the product of years of work. While no doubt much of this has to do with a new leader's calculation as to the best course to keep himself in power, the fact remains that we were well-placed to seize the opportunity presented. With the IAEA under the leadership of a sensible Japanese professional, we have a good chance here of de-nuclearizing a very dangerous state, not to mention putting an end to missle launches which likely would result in a nuclear-armed Japan in time.

I'll be sure to keep the CKT crowd up-to-date on how this plays out from this end, though I should note that I have no inside information and, of course, would never share or even hint of any information I did have that is not for sharing.

An espcially "congrats" to my former Ambassador, Glyn T. Davies, who took over as special envoy to North Korea in December. While I don't know for sure, I can guess that his hard work in Vienna with the IAEA gave him insights and relationships that made this possible.

Dispatches From the Department - 3

Today I began Urdu training with 2 others sentenced to Islamabad. Along with me, there were some 300 other American diplomats starting today to learn everything from Danish to Lao, Spanish to Turkish, Tagalog to Haitian Creole.

I take the shuttle to work in the morning to the training facility. Right before we cross Arlington Blvd. we pass an elementary school. Since it's morning time, there are a number of children and their mothers heading to the school. At the busy intersection, they wait for the light to turn green to cross on the crosswalk.

As we cross Arlington Blvd. we come to the national headquarters of the U.S. Army National Guard. Much of their parking is across the street, with a single well-marked crosswalk connecting the parking lot with the main entrance.

In the island of the crossing walk are two U.S. law enforcement officers. You can tell who they are because they wear bulletproof vests outside of their shirts, marked "POLICE" in white, front and back. At their hips dangle gigantic automatic pistols. And they wear large, shiny black combat boots.

As U.S. Army officers arrive at the crosswalk, in full uniform (meaning, of course, camo pajamas with a backwards U.S. flag at the shoulder), the two officers spring into action, stopping traffic in both directions while the officer slowly walks across the street.

And as you are watching this, you can turn around and see unaccompanied 4th graders making their way across the same street.

Sans well-armed police escort.

ps: I note the Doors video below. One of the pleasures of coming of age in Los Angeles during the punk era was getting to know a certain member of a classic rock band who remained very active in the scene. See if you can guess who I'm talking about from the two songs below, one from L.A.'s own X, the other from Manchester's Echo and the Bunnymen.

X - "Nausea"



Echo & the Bunnymen - "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo"

I Wrote My Letter. Have You?

Dear Mr. West:

I am an American citizen living in Canada not because of any political reason, but because I married a woman living in Canada. I still consider myself a proud American and I am greatly concerned about the direction the United States is taking under the current administration.

Along with a number of on-line friends, I post on a conservative blog. We are all concerned that the current candidates for the Republican nomination for President are not the best that the party has to offer or that the nation needs.

All of us hope that for a Republican candidate in 2012 who is a strong, proven leader. I believe the person whom would best fill that role is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and current Member of Congress named Allen West.

Your leadership experience, your understanding of the Constitution, your knowledge of current events, and your understanding of historical perspective clearly make you the best person to lead the United States into the future. Your strong support for Israel is also vital to America’s interests. Sir, I strongly urge you to enter the race for the Republican nomination. The country needs someone of your character and caliber becoming President next January.

Thank you for your consideration.

I Miss George

I'm a bit late but today, Feb 25, would have been George's 69th Birthday. Such a great talent who died way too young. Lots of people think that all of The Beatles hits were written and performed by Lennon/McCartney but George had his fair share, here are some examples:

Don't Bother Me


Something


I Need You

Racist Conservatives Won't Vote For Romney!

Well, it's pretty much as we all knew.  Anti-Mormonism is still rampant.

Oh, wait.

As usual, the party of slavery, Jim Crow, Anti-Israel and the Ku Klux Klan is the one that is biased.

Saturday Humououour

Here's a few headlines that may tickle your funny bone. Enjoy!

Friday Night Music From An Old guy

Still don't know how to do this.  Remember, I have a mind like a steel sieve.

This is in honor of the single loud peal of thunder we heard last night.

In Pennsylvania.

In February.

Sarah Versus Barry - Compare And Contrast

Yesterday, Barry showed the strength of his spine, when he whiningly apologized to Afghanistan for the burning of some otherwise trashed Q'urans.

My scoring:  Two ping pong balls.

Today, Sarah Palin called for an apology from Afghanistan for the idiotic, sub-civilized murders, assaults and other behavior unbecoming a human being, resulting from that burning.

My scoring:  Two medicine balls.

Mark Steyn on Natl Review

Excellent short article about Obamacare vs the Catholic Church, et al.

Link here.

The True Face Of The Far-Left

When is it acceptable to call a man a "chink"? When he's a devout Christian, and you're a far-left news organization, that's when.

"Broadcast giant ESPN has apologised after an offensive and potentially racist headline appeared on one of its websites attached to an article about basketball star Jeremy Lin.

An article about the New York Knicks' Mr Lin was given the headline 'Chink in the Armor' on ESPN's mobile website, but the offensive line was removed within an hour."

Hmm, I'll bet they wouldn't have called Mr. Lin a "chink" if he were a Muslim. Or better yet, an athiest. ESPN is to sports news what MSNBC is to political news; a running sewer.

I hope Mr. Lin shrugs off the insult, as we all should when faced with such ignorance, intolerance, and bigotry.  Keep talking, progressives and Marxist fools. The mask is slipping a bit more each day.

Friday Night Music...

...that doubles as the weather report for Vancouver.

Purple Rain, Prince

Rainy Night In Georgia, Brook Benton

I Wish It Would Rain (be careful what you wish for Fay!) The Temptations

The Rains Came (ain't that the truth!) Sir Douglas Quintet

The Day That The Rains Came Down, Helen Shapiro (amazing voice for a 15 year old!)


Enjoy!

And Speaking Of Schools...

...here's a bit of gobsmacking idiocy.

"The Chicago Teachers Union is asking for raises amounting to 30 percent over the next two years, the opening salvo in heated contract negotiations with school officials who are implementing a longer school day across Chicago Public Schools next school year."