From NRO this morning.  Why can't I write like VDH?

"Obama the Magician   [Victor Davis Hanson]

I think the speech has wowed Obama’s base, yet after its mesmerizing delivery wears off, it will perhaps raise more questions with most others.

The Obama narratives suggest a disturbing lack of responsibility, or of any notion of free will. Michelle, for example, apparently had no free will in taking out big loans to go to Harvard Law School, only pique that they must be paid back.

Barack had likewise no free will in allying himself as friend, parishioner, and confidant with an abject racist who is now evolved into a “former” pastor, and a “scholar” and “an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy” and “controversial” (apparently “not particularly controversial” is now inoperative).

Indeed, the last thing Obama wants, in fact, is an honest, painful discussion about race in America, especially how centuries of racism, but also as well as present demagogic leadership, white guilt, and ineffective and counterproductive government programs, have all factored into present endemic problems of illegitimacy, extraordinary high crime rates, and often racist narratives from the likes of Wright and Farrakhan to rap music — and yet have not precluded the amazing success and parity with the rest of America on the part of well over half of the African-American community.

Two corollaries always follow the Obama victimology: moral equivalence and the subtle suggestion that any who question his thesis of despair are themselves suspect.

So we hear of poor Barack’s grandmother’s private fears in the same breath as Wright’s public hatred. Geraldine Ferraro is understood in the same context as Reverend Wright. The Reagan Coalition and talk radio are identical to Reverend Wright — albeit without similar contexts for their own purported racism. Your own pastor, priest, or rabbi are analogous to Rev. Wright.

And then, of course, your own motives are suspect if you question any of this sophistry. For Michelle it is always “they” who raised new obstacles against this deprived Ivy League couple and their quest for the Presidency; for Barack it is those who play “snippets”, or the system of “corporate culture” that has made Wright the object of anger to similarly victimized poor white pawns.

The message? Wright’s motives for espousing hatred are complex and misunderstood; your motives for worrying about Obama and his Pastor are simple and suspect.

When Obama the magician was all done this morning, Obama was no longer under examination for terrible judgment in subsidizing a racist by his association and purse, nor was even the racist Wright under doubt; instead almost everyone else, from the system to his grandmother, to talk radio, to corporate culture, to your rabbi or priest suddenly was.

The result? This will apparently play well with a Democratic African-American audience and white elite liberals, who are already giddy and comparing the speech to Martin Luther King’s best. In this way of thinking, after all, that for the last seven years the most powerful diplomats in the world have been two African-Americans counts little (Wright, for example, slurred Sec. Rice), but that anyone would dare ask a presidential candidate to dissociate himself from a racist counts a lot.

Yet in the general election, millions will still remember how Obama’s pastor and confidant Reverend Wright cursed their culture and their country, and they will still remain confused about his relationship with and influence upon their would-be next President—and in the end they will be very much angered by all that indeed."

03/19 07:41 AM

Not much to say on this today.  I am getting despondent as it seems more and more that Pelosi has been able to subdue the dhimmis that want to vote for the Senate bill.  They voted en masse for the latest trail lawyer garbage and went home for two weeks.  So be it.

Pelosi is acting like she pulled a royal flush on the flop, and is all in.  Bush is dancing around with a high pair, and is ready to fold. FDD is running ads in key districts, but they are apparently having little effect.

What is wrong with this guy?   He still holds the veto pen, but what happens then?  It is appearing more certain that the latest garbage from the House may actually prevail in conference as the Senate dhimmis see an opportunity to further punish Bush.  Don't worry about the prior vote, it means nothing.

So the outcome is:  No bill.     Negative impact on SIGINT continues.    Country is less safe from the Jihadists.  Nobody gives a damn!
[except for a few voices in the wilderness]

Hello Mr President!  You are in charge pal.  Time to make the donuts.  A little  crybaby session with the press corps is meaningless.

However, after watching your continuous march to the rear, and failure to confront the enemy on the malicious NIE Iran Report;  the false reporting on the Pentagon Saddam/AQ report; and the ongoing waltz with Mrs. Pelosi, I ain't got much hope.

TommyO

Obamar has tried to put out the fire created by his boy, the 'Rev" on some friendly blogs and then, shudder, on Fox and the other cable outlets, and now, we are told, a big spread in Monday's NYT.  All smoke, no fire as usual from the Obamar, who apparently slept thru 20 years of racist sermons from the 'Rev'.  Anyway, below is an e-mail I sent this morning to a friend that says what I think is going on.

It seems to me that Obamar is working feverishly today on the 'Rev Wright' fiasco, not to have any influence on the primary or super-delegates, but for November.

When one takes a good look at the Obamar backers, are they not carbon copies of the old 'Rev'?  Many blacks feel the same way as the 'Rev', as do many of the young minds full of mush, as do many of the elitist white lefties.  So, as far as the campaign for the nomination goes - NO PROBLEM BRO!  The 'Rev' is not a drawback at all, but a plus to the Oamarmaniacs.

However, the nomination being only step one, how do we corral the independents and other left leaners in November including the Hillbaby women if we are perceived to be an empty, racist suit?

Answer:  dump the 'Rev', as least publicly [can you picture this guy giving the invocation at the inauguration?]

So this will all be history by next Friday, unless Hillbaby wants to use it on the white steelworker, coal miner, union type middle class in Pennsylvania to turn a few votes her way.  [Note:  I grew up in Philly and immediate suburbs in the 50's.  The working class whites are as racist as they come and wouldn't vote for Obamar if he was the last dhimmi on earth. My poor departed brother-in-law, as staunch a dhimmi as they come, used the 'N' word as a reference [less than complimentary] to blacks as a matter of course.  Reminds one of Boston, eh?

Anyway, the 'Rev' is in the closet until December when he will be allowed out of retirement for some guest sermons back at good old Trinity.  Meanwhile, the Obamarmania rolls on to victory.

TommyO

Posted below is my e-mail this date to Quin Hillyer of American Spectator.  Last week he was completely pissed off at the dhimmi and said he was going to go further than a post.  so far, I have not found anything.  The dhimmis are pushing a new proposal that supposedly lets the telecoms off the hook if the gov gives the lawyers for the plaintiffs the classified docs for the TSP [which they can then sell, give to the NYT et al]

Here is the e-mail which basically says that those who have the clout need to get off their dead asses and join the fight:


I see the dhimmis have come up with a new wrinkle designed to reveal our collection secrets to the enemy via their seditious pals, the trial lawyers.  I know this move is destined for the trash bin of history per a Bushitler veto.

Questions:  I have been looking for the column you promised us in your AMSPEC blog post last week, you know, the one where you finally lost your temper and called a spade a spade.  Did I miss it because I don't know where to look other than AMSPEC?

I think it is time, since the President does not wish to enter the fray, for those with a consummate knowledge of SIGINT facts to get together and absolutely blast the dhimmis for their complete lack of patriotism.  There are a number of vulnerable dhimmi 'blue dogs' that should be attacked in their local districts immediately.

This group needs a leader [I nominate you for the job] to organize those with the knowledge an the DC clout, such as McCarthy, May, Levin, McConnell, Hayden [you know who to get] including responsible Republican leaders in the house.  Get a web site going and link everywhere you can.  Get the paypal going and collect some dough for advertisements [where the hell is the RNC in this mess?]

Where is McCain?  He is looking to get some press and is being shut out by dumb and dumber.  HERE IS HIS ISSUE!!!!!!!!

All the best,

TommyO

Copy of my e-mail today to Quin Hillyer of the American Spectator.  I am coming to the conclusion that we are all being used in another political game by both the Prez and the dhimmis.  As usual, the people lose.

"Another week, another nothing!

As the weeks pass with the Pelosi dhimmis holding firm, finding any mention of FISA in the MSM becomes more and more difficult.  The outrage in righty blogs shrinks  to , perhaps, one or two columns per week, your post on the American Spectator blog re the lack of patriotism by the dhimmis, being the latest that I have read.  You indicated that you would have a column up this week on the subject, and I await same.

However, the questions I posed immediately after the infamous House recess both on my own blog and numerous e-mails to yourself, McCarthy, May, et al, remain, the prime question being: 

What the well is going on here??

Both sides maneuver basically in silence.  President Bush speaks thru surrogates, and not very loudly.  Speaker Pelosi mainly speaks thru her actions, or, actually,  lack of action.  So, the best opportunity that the President has had in years to frame the debate on National Security lays somewhere in the weeds.  You tell me.

Have we all been taken in by a fraudulent  premise?  Is there really no threat to national security as the dhimmis say?  There is certainly no compelling argument from the White House to the contrary.  Are they correct in holding out until Bush allows the trial lawyers to proceed with their lawsuits against the telecoms? 

So, just another political confrontation in a long line of confrontations.  I believe that the issue has to be re-examined in the light of the strictly political motives of each side."

Tom O'Reilly

This morning I complained again about the lack of commentary on the FISA renewal [or lack thereof].  Lo and behold, Quin Hillyer of American Spectator, on the blog, has weighed in with a devastating accusation of 'lack of patriotism' by the dhimmi congress.  BOOYAH, Quin!!!

Read it all here:  http://www.spectator.org/blogger.asp?BlogID=11893

Perhaps such a startling charge might awaken others who have both the clout and perspective to chime in.  Unfortunately, I am with the crowd that is just pissing into the wind, our voices unheard beyond our mirrors.  The questions I have been asking for weeks, however, are still unanswered, and probably will continue to be so.

Let's see where Mr. Hillyer goes from here.

Sent the following this morning to FDD: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/

"Al Qaida is incredibly resilient, and they are receiving people and supplies through Syria — although numbers through Syria are down as much as 50 percent," Petraeus said.

From Drudge/World Tribune 3/4/08

Gee, I thought Speaker Pelosi fixed all that when she met with that wonderful guy, what's his name?  Oh yeah, Hassad.  You don't think he lied to her now, do you?

It's OK though, the new Prez, Hillabamar, is going right over there after the election and fix it again!

Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition!

I see that nothing has changed in Pelosi land.  The Republicans are still pissing into the wind and the dhimmis have not moved.  Maybe I was wrong yesterday.  Maybe the dhimmis still think they can win.

Now that the Hillbabe has outflanked the Obamar, will the MSM really open up on him.  Great consternation in Obamar land over the MSM actually asking questions of the messiah.  Wow, what if they really start asking pertinent questions of both of them? I guess it depends on who you are for, today.  It must be pretty tough  getting up in the morning pulling for the Hillbabe everyday.  So much easier to be in Obamarland.  Makes you feel squishy all over, right Chris?

I wonder if Rush is correct in favoring the Hillbabe over Obamar?  We shall see.

Recent reports indicate that Rep Reyes, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is rolling over for the Prez on the issue of telecom immunity, and that the House may be voting on the Senate bill passed last month.  A big win for the Prez, and a big loss [another one] for the House Mama.

I previously had Pelosi winning big, as there was not a whole lot of noise coming out of the White House [see earlier posts], and the bill was languishing in some dark hole off the House floor.  Obviously, the evil people in  the WH were working behind the scenes to twist some arms rather than adopt my straight on, in your face, strategerey of all out confrontation.

Ah, I will never understand politics.  I want politics to be more like football or hockey, or even WWE throw them over the ropes so they land on their heads, when you have an advantage.

As of this morning, the bill is not back on the floor.  Perhaps the dhimmis are waiting until super-duper tuesday II is over before giving the bushitler his victory.

Meanwhile, I still believe that we did not lose any intelligence, the gaps being covered by our friends.

Go to this site and watch the presentation in full. Remarkable work.

http://www.axpdf.com/wake/index.htm

I have been reading with great interest the words of Andrew McCarthy, Cliff May, Senator McConnell, the DNI, DIRNSA, and assorted Republican and Dhimmi politicians on FISA/PAA. I left out the President, as he has stepped away from the battlefield, and left the fighting to his subordinates.

I remain puzzled as to the tactics being employed by the crusaders for freedom [GOP] against the forces of evil [dhimmis]. The dhimmis appear to be winning the propaganda battle. I do not see an uprising in the hustings clamoring for the ability of President to collect intelligence on foreign nationals, on shore or offshore, as he sees fit to remain true to his prime directive to protect the people. It appears that the dhimmis have convinced the populace, with the willing assistance of the lefty media, that there is no danger in not having a revised FISA/PAA in place. Considering the deafening silence from the White House, the Pelosi dhimmis seemingly have won the propaganda war.

What is the normal American thinking about all this? Obviously, he/she is not very upset about the ‘intelligence gap’. There is no overt threat to the U.S. anymore, is there? All of this is just political maneuvering, the same nonsense we see every day in Washington, isn’t it? If there was a serious problem would not the President, who is charged with keeping me and mine in safety, have something to say to me, directly, and not through surrogates? Everything must be OK, then, ne?

All of the folks mentioned in para one have extensive experience in intelligence production, particularly  that derived from SIGINT.   Historically, the President has had the duty and discretion to direct foreign collection efforts as the need arose. The Congress thru legislation, now aided by the FISA Court, has severely limited the options of the executive to perform these duties. If, as screamed from the housetops, we are now hampered in the gathering of intelligence on the enemy [has the current administration ever, clearly defined the ‘enemy’ or defined the current ‘state of war’ that we find ourselves involved in] what are the options available?

A)     A)  Continue to march in the propaganda battle, hammering the hapless dhimmis for lack of patriotism, support of the troops, ad infinitum, all the while either continuing to collect everything we need, FISA or no FISA [probably getting anything we miss from our friends and allies in the WOT, as we have done in the past] and hope that the idea that the dhimmis are helping the bad guys finally resonates with the public. No word from the President other than some mention at a press conference.

B)     B)   Actually determine that there is a significant gap in the collection sphere, and have the President take action via executive fiat, directing the resumption of collection against foreign targets. This would require an address to the nation and cause great consternation in the dhimmi world.

I love (B). No doubt the dhimmis would hold impeachment hearings immediately [the President would address that topic in his speech, indicating that his personal legacy is not as important as protecting the peoples, etc, etc.] 

Here is what we get:

COMINT is resumed, we get as much intelligence as can be produced. The people win!

The dhimmis get their fondest wish fulfilled, impeach GWB. They are then trapped, similar to the Republican debacle of impeaching Bubba, fighting a ‘who is protecting America’ battle during an election year that features two dhimmi candidates who voted against, or who did not bother to vote, on the FISA/PAA bill in the Senate. Delicious! A trial in the Senate with the main focus on SIGINT for which most of the duffos are not even cleared to see.

The trial lawyers lose big time. No class action suits, no big house in North Carolina. [Don’t forget that Obamar is thinking of John Edwards for AG, but that is another story]

Will any of this happen? Doubtful. This is strictly a political battle between the Executive and the Congress, with the needs of the people not a factor by either side. The stakes are high, and the dhimmis appear to be winning.  Speaker Pelosi is gambling that nothing will happen to make her and the dhimmis look bad, and she is probably correct. The dhimmis have sent enough signals to the enemy to hold off until after the elections until ’we can talk’ that they are comfortable with their stance. The GOP, on the other hand, is out of ammo, and have proven they are incapable of mounting a serious challenge to Pelosi. This battle requires the presence of the CIC on the field. He is apparently not ready to risk his personal reputation for the needs of the citizens.

Stay tuned.

 

Copy of my e-mail to Quin Hillyer, editor of The American Spectator and Washington Examiner, 2/24/08:

"Read with interest, your latest on the FISA mess, along with Mark Continetti in the WS, and, of course, Andy McCarthy.

I am severely disappointed in President Bush's response to this obvious threat to our national security.  In a word, he has lost the battle to Speaker Pelosi by failing to hold the dhimmi's feet to the fire.

Since the dhimmis left Washington, as far as I can find, the President has limited his comments on the matter to a press briefing on Friday last and his radio address on Saturday, last.  So much for urgency and my personal safety.  If this is so damn important, why the silence?  If, as the dhimmis maintain, there is no big deal, why all the noise in the first place?

So, what is going on?  Two possible answers:

A)  The President has quietly continued the intercept programs at the same level as before, or

B)  The President does not have the stones to confront the Congress by publicly continuing the program on the grounds of national security, executive authority, etc, and suffering the probable move to impeach that would invariably result. 

If the answer is (A), would we not already have a leak from NSA/CIA/FBI/State [pick one or all] in the NYT/WP?

If the answer is (B), which I believe to be the case, then the President has lost the battle, and Pelosi et al have won.  Expect, at best, a watered down bill at odds with the Senate bill, especially on the telecoms, that will probably stand up to a conference, thus putting Bush in the veto position, but without the ammunition he needs, because he allowed the program to lapse and cannot show any damage to the security of the country as a result.

As an old SIGINT guy, i can tell you that he has all kinds of arrows in the quiver that could be used to embarrass the dhimmis, and he should have been on this every day the dhimmis were away, and let McC carry it on right thru November. 

Based on the silence from the White House, Republicans in the Senate and House, and administration officials, with the exception of Mike McConnell, why should the American people worry about this issue at all.  If it was so damn important, why didn't someone tell me?

What was that muslim pilots name in Minnesota, again? "

Henry Kissenger from Powerline 2/24/08

"Terrorism, what we call terrorism, refers to a method. What terrorism represents is an assault by radical Islam on the political structure of the Islamic world, but in a deeper sense on the secular structure and international structure of anything, any society, within reach of Islam, which means almost every part of the world. That is a fundamental challenge. Therefore, to talk about withdrawal from any battlefield is to describe defeat. There is no way to escape the conflict with Islam by leaving Afghanistan or leaving Iraq. Now that is not only delusion and it is not something that will have long term consequences, it is something that would have almost immediate consequences. That is the fundamental problem of our period. That this is a war against radical Islam that has to be won."

From NRO corner:

Holding Congress to Account   [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

THE WHITE HOUSE

 

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release                          February 14, 2008                

 

 

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

 

 

Democratic leaders said today that if the Protect America Act expires, there will be no impact on our intelligence gathering capabilities, and no cost to our national security.  They are wrong.

Although PAA authorizations permitting current intelligence activities will not immediately expire with expiration of the Act, Senator Reid is wrong and irresponsibly misleading to say that we will be just as safe if the PAA expires as we are with the PAA in effect.  The House’s willingness to permit the PAA to expire without passing the bipartisan Senate bill will harm our ability to conduct surveillance to detect new threats to our security, including the locations, intentions, and capabilities of terrorists and other foreign intelligence targets abroad.  The Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence would be stripped of the power to authorize new certifications against foreign intelligence targets, including international terrorists, abroad.   And they could be stripped of their power to compel the assistance of a private company not already helping us. This means that surveilling new terrorist threats will require the Intelligence Community to go back to the old pre-PAA process of seeking court approvals that created the dangerous intelligence gap that we temporarily closed with passage of the PAA last August.  The Intelligence Community will be stuck with the authorities it currently has and would be hampered in its ability to protect us from new terrorist threats that emerge.  This risks creating new intelligence gaps, which damages our national security and makes no sense if the first priority is making sure our citizens are safe.    

The House’s failure to act will also raise risks with respect to current intelligence activities.  This is because the PAA provides liability protection for our private sector partners assisting in current activities, but those partners are likely to raise questions about whether the liability protection they currently enjoy expires with the PAA.  Similar questions could arise regarding whether the PAA’s provisions authorizing courts to compel cooperation by the private sector also expire with the Act.  At a minimum, the private sector would become less willing to help our efforts to defend the country because of this uncertainty; at worst, they would cease helping us at all.  And if we don’t have their cooperation, we don’t have a program.

The terrorist threats to our nation are very real and grave, and inaction by the House in the face of these risks is unacceptable.

Democrat leaders know that if they put the Senate bill on the House floor today, it would pass with bipartisan support.  Make no mistake – letting the PAA expire without replacing it with the bipartisan Senate bill results in greater risk to our national security, and it is irresponsible and false for Democrats to suggest otherwise.

 

Keep reading this post . . .

02/14 04:47 PM

Item number two on this subject:  again from NRo corner:

That House GOP Walkout   [David Freddoso]

Yesterday, the Senate voted to reauthorize the FISA bill with a veto-proof majority. As Corner readers know, the president wants to sign the legislation before it expires on Saturday.

But House Democrats did not have time to pass the Senate bill, because they faced the crucial and time-sensitive matter of voting on contempt charges against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers.

This is why the walkout took place. Republicans say they were not avoiding the contempt vote so much as they were upset that the House has time for that but no time to reauthorize a bill that is widely supported on a bi-partisan basis in Congress and by the public, and which must be reauthorized before Congress leaves. "The walkout still would have happened," said one staffer. "Our message was that it’s interesting that you guys are willing to stay in town to play this useless political game, but you won’t renew the FISA bill, which has serious implications for national security."

To be fair, the walkout did allow Republicans to skip the aforementioned vote on the contempt citations. But FISA is obviously the more important issue.

The Senate FISA bill has enough support to pass the House, if it's only brought to the floor. The Democratic House leadership is playing to the left-wing base. They tried yesterday to pass a temporary extension, during which they could significantly alter the bill that passed the Senate.

If the president does not sign the bill before Saturday, then we revert to the previous FISA law. The feds will be able to continue certain ongoing terrorist monitoring activities, but they cannot initiate new ones. (It becomes easier to start up a terror cell on Saturday.)

The idea of a walkout was conjured up this morning, Boehner's office told me. Members were slightly unhappy with how cold it was outside, but they sent a powerful message when they came out onto the Capitol steps. The House hasn't had a day like this since last year, when the "stolen vote" controversy caused chaos on the floor.

Tensions were already unnecessarily high today because of an earlier scheduling snafu — a simple error, apparently in the Speaker's office. Under a bipartisan agreement, the House was not to come into session until after the Tom Lantos memorial service. But the service ran long, and the session was gavelled in anyway. The first item up for consideration was a Republican motion to adjourn. At first, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's (D., Md.) office believed at first that this had been the Republicans' fault. Later on, that misunderstanding was cleared up and explained on the floor. Someone just messed up, no ill will intended.

Will the FISA bill be allowed to expire over the Presidents' Day work period? It's all in the hands of the House Democratic leadership right now.

02/14 04:12 PM

The dhimmis are pure dnager to the country.

TommyO