Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds is up at Health 3.0, and Volume 7, Number 48 is up at Suture for a Living. (You won't be in stitches.)

Minimized

Warning! Prepare to be sickened if you dare to read about how Obama plans to observe September 11. It includes minimizing references to the "irrelevant" Al Qaeda; and to "present a positive, forward-looking narrative.” As writer Andrew Malcolm says, "And all these years we've been thinking of 9/11 as something sad." Obviously not. I guess in Obama's way of thinking, we should minimize references to the Japanese on December 7, and minimize references to the Nazis on Holocaust Remembrance Day. After all, we mustn't hurt the enemy's feelings!

Obama's Jobs Plan

As always, Drew Curtis can amusingly summarize a news story:  "It's taken two years of increasing joblessness, economic stagnation, billions in Federal bailouts, unemployment and perpetual war, but by golly Obama's got himself a job plan. Uh, next week, I mean. He'll have one next week." Whatever, it's too little, too late.

A Prescription for Insanity

Read and pass along this great column by P. David Hornik, about suffering from "Islamophobia". I rarely reprint entire columns, but I couldn't help it this time.

"I tried poring over the new Think Progress report, but it didn’t help. The paranoid delusions kept recurring.

I tried exercise, listening to soft music before going to bed, thinking only pleasant thoughts. And still, late at night, the dreadful fantasies came back.

I went to a doctor in Beersheva. Though he’s known in southern Israel as one of the best in the field, I don’t normally seek out help of that kind; I was pretty desperate.

I was sure that, in his line of work, he’d heard about all sorts of appalling phenomena. Still, some things are almost too shocking and shameful….

Sitting in his office, I sunk my face in my hands, sighed deeply.

Finally I mustered up the courage to say, 'I’ve got…Islamophobia.'

I waited for the shock of the word to dissipate. He seemed to be sitting patiently; he seemed able to take it.

I sighed again.

'I have…these fantasies. They wake me up in the middle of the night, and I can’t seem…'

He waited patiently.

I stared stoically forward. 'I hear air raid sirens, and I think…they’re shooting at me. Rockets.'

I added, 'I hear…booms.'

Finally he spoke, slow, patient, and kind: 'Who is shooting at you?'

I sunk my face in my hands again; raked it with my fingers.

'Who? Well…Muslims.'

Again his slow, gentle voice: 'From where are they shooting?'

I removed my hands from my face, gazed forward like a grade-school kid who’s been asked a tough question in front of the whole class.

'From Gaza.'

Now we both fell silent. I thought that—with all his experience—this might really be too much for him. We both knew that the people in Gaza were Zen Buddhists.

But he said, in the kindest, most patient voice possible, 'Islamophobia is a multifactorial phenomenon. We will have to talk about what stresses in your life, or possible unresolved issues from your earlier life, could be making you think that people are shooting rockets at you in the middle of the night. Meanwhile…'

I peered. He was typing diligently into his terminal.

'…I will want you to take these, twice a day. Once in the morning, once in the evening. Before meals.'

It printed out, and he handed me the page with an almost paternal smile.

I took it and—as if, in my emotional state, I had the slightest ability to make out what it said—gazed at it.

'And if, for the time being, the delusions keep returning,' I heard him say, 'I want you to feel free to call me. At any time. Even in the middle of the night.'

Now I looked up at him, genuinely impressed.

'Thank you.'

'Well,' he smiled dismissively, 'I might be awake at those hours, too.'"

(Via Frontpagemag.com)

A Day For Remembrance, Not Volunteerism

I agree with this post at Atlas Shrugs  and I brought this very point up to someone just the other day -- how did we go to a memorial day to a volunteer day?  You can volunteer on the other 364 days of the year, can't you? What -- are we still not supposed to acknowledge the death and destruction that was committed on September 11?  (For example, does the name Cantor Fitzgerald mean nothing anymore?) Political correctness is so out of control that you're no longer even allowed to hate the enemy!

Haveil Havalim Time

Ima 2 Seven is the host of the August 28 edition of Haveil Havalim. Prepare yourself for some informative reading!

Tea'd Off

I enjoyed this article, another example of tampering with success:  "We're pining for our old Twinings: Furious Earl Grey drinkers dismiss new recipe as 'an affront to tea'".  (Via Fark)

Book Recommendation

I've never cared that much for Katharine Hepburn, but because I couldn't find anything better at the library,  I picked up "Kate Remembered", which I assumed was a biography. To my delight, I found it's a witty, gossipy memoir by A. Scott Berg, who was writing a biography of Samuel Goldwyn and who became good friends with Hepburn in her later years.  It's very amusing, and I don't want it to end.  Now I'll have to read his book on Goldwyn and hope it's just as enjoyable!

They Must Be Desperate

I did a double-take when I saw this ad in today's paper. And it costs only $149.99!  I'm sure everyone on welfare and unemployment benefits will rush to get theirs before it's sold out.

A Big Bag of Wind

I'm relieved that Hurricane Irene has now become Tropical Storm Irene, and that the death and destruction are much less than feared.  Better to overhype than underhype, but on the other hand, there's not much you can do about people too stupid to heed the warnings, or people who are never prepared and who are unable to live by their wits because everything is now done for them. Power Line's John Hinderaker writes:

"I’m sure it’s a relief to everyone on the East Coast to know that Obama is personally directing hurricane response efforts. Never mind that he isn’t competent to organize a Little League baseball team; today’s charade obviously is a corollary of the Hurricane Katrina fiasco, in which America’s mass media committed group malpractice, somehow managing to blame the inevitable consequences of a severe weather event, magnified by incompetent local authorities in New Orleans, on the Bush administration. Obama is setting the stage to receive praise, rather than blame, no matter what actually happens between now and when Hurricane Irene blows itself out.
This is one more step in the degradation of American politics. One hundred years ago, people understood that the president had nothing to do with hurricanes. Now, the president is expected to pretend to have control over more or less everything. This has something to do with the inexorable expansion of federal power, and also something to do with the dumbing-down of the American people."

It's Obama who is a blowhard and a disaster, so this is appropriate.

Remembering 9/11: The George W. Bush Interview

Tonight I will be watching the interview with President Bush on the National Geographic Channel.   Tammy Bruce says, and I agree, that this is must-watch television.  All through the years, National Geographic Channel and The History Channel have shown the best documentaries about the September 11 attacks,  and I have watched them many times.

Obama's Excuses

Take a look at this appropriate editorial cartoon at Protein Wisdom.  (It's by Michael Ramirez, naturally!)

The Great New England Hurricane

Here are some memories of the Great Hurricane of 1938. Let's hope Irene isn't a repeat performance.

Clever Charles Krauthammer

I love this tweet by Charles Krauthammer: "Earthquake, hurricane, Obamacare. When does it stop? Seven more and I vote we let the Israelites go." (as seen at Instapundit and at Yourish.com)

Howie Carr on Obama's Vacation

I love Howie Carr!
(Obama would still be in Martha's Vineyard if Hurricane Irene didn't force him to leave!)

The Write Way

Here's a very nice article about good, old-fashioned letter-writing, a relaxing notion to which I've always subscribed, even as a child. Just as the Kindle could never replace a book for me, there's nothing as warm and personal as a letter. An unknown author wrote, "What a wonderful thing is the mail, capable of conveying across continents a warm human hand-clasp."

The Pure Horror That Was September 11

From the UK Telegraph, "Francesc Torres's Imperial War Museum exhibition reminds us of the horror of September 11, 2001". It's always impressed me that foreigners seemed to be more affected by, and less politically correct about, the attacks that day than many Americans.

An Offer They Couldn't Refuse

What fun! Don Surber and Peter Wehner take up Jonathan Alter's challenge to explain exactly why Obama's been such a bad president.  Let us count the ways!  (As seen at Lucianne.com)

Watcher's Council Winners

Here are the latest Watcher's Council winners. Is it just my imagination, or are there more weasels now than ever before?

That Was Entertainment!

I've always enjoyed Greg Crosby's nostalgic columns about entertainers. Click here to read about the great comedy teams of the past.

Goodbye, Irene!

From Instapundit, information on Hurricane Irene. I'm glad they're telling idiots who refuse to leave that they will not be rescued later. Why should others risk their lives for them? It's not as if they haven't been warned far enough in advance.

Singing for Your Supper

Gary Johnson offers an alternative to unemployment: "Why do we pay the jobless not to work? Why not tie benefits to voluntary service?"  Nothing infuriates me more than seeing young, able-bodied men and women who won't work. You should never get something for nothing, so this is a very good idea. Don't just expect others to hand things to you. You want something? Work for it! Earn it! Do something in return.

What We Watched On September 11

Metafilter links to this invaluable resource called  "Understanding 9/11: A Television News Archive", which has TV news coverage from September 11, 2001.

The Anchoress has a link to this touching story  about the priests at Ground Zero.

To Be A Jew and a Dodger

In a lovely article, Gerald Eskenazi describes what it was like to be Jewish and a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in 1951.

Politically Correct 10th Anniversary

Oh come on! Stories like this show how political correctness has taken over our society. Whatever happened to old-fashioned decency, and heart? These people are bending over so far backwards for PC that they've forgotten what it means to be human.

"Clergy Banned From 9/11 Ceremony. Religious leaders are calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reverse course and offer clergy a role in the ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Rudy Washington, a deputy mayor in former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's administration, said he's outraged. Mr. Washington organized an interfaith ceremony at Yankee Stadium shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. 'This is America, and to have a memorial service where there's no prayer, this appears to be insanity to me,' said Mr. Washington, who has suffered severe medical problems connected to the time he spent at Ground Zero."

That goes for me, too.  You don't like prayer? Then don't attend the ceremony, and don't watch on TV! The rest of us don't mind one bit.

"Israel Stands Alone"

Israpundit links to this Giulio Meotti column comparing Israel with London during the Blitz -- both facing the enemy alone and without support.

The Summitt of Courage

I don't follow women's sports, but I had heard of Pat Summitt by reputation. Her brave disclosure of early-onset dementia showed great character, and it reminded me of Ronald Reagan's letter to the American people about his Alzheimer's diagnosis.  A tragic disease, and a great woman.

I'm Overstimulated Already!

Michael Tanner says “Stay on Vacation. Spare us another stimulus.” Amen to that!  He writes,  "Now President Obama prepares to call for another extension of unemployment benefits, more infrastructure spending, and an extension of the payroll-tax cut."  No, no, and NO!

Jerry Leiber

Here's a nice tribute to the prolific songwriter Jerry Leiber. I always associate him with Elvis, but I think I liked "Stand By Me" best.

Desperate in America

Investors Business Daily says that desperation is on the rise. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to get the attention it deserves unless there's a Republican in the White House.

Links from Nealz Nuze

Here's a bunch of reading assignments from Neal Boortz.

Egypt Part II

Victor Davis Hanson on Libya:

"As for outcomes, there are many scenarios, but these two may be the most likely: either a sort of on-again-off-again chaos until a military-backed clique or strongman emerges and the same old cycle resumes, or some sort of constitutional system in a decidedly Islamic context, analogous to the Turkish model. In the latter case, we could expect the new state’s foreign policy to be anti-Western, friendly to China and Russia, virulently and actively anti-Israel, and more accommodating with Iran and its subsidized terrorist appendages. Given Western insolvency, public weariness with the Middle East, the announced draw-downs in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the president’s leading-from-behind diplomacy, I think the region will do pretty much what it wants without any worry whatsoever about U.S. feelings or interests.
On our end, it would seem wise to keep our defenses strong and ready, and finally start exploiting our own sizable fossil-fuel reserves (especially oil and gas offshore) in the Gulf, the West, and Alaska."

(From National Review's The Corner)

Friends of Israel

Actor and friend of Israel Jon Voight has visited the victims of the latest terrorist attacks there. 

"He told them he was heartbroken by the attacks and the suffering. He reassured them that as a result of his visit to Israel, he would go back to America and bring Israel’s situation to the attention of the American public, so they would understand what Israel was undergoing, and how much she needed friends like the United States behind her."(Via e-newsletter from Chabad's Terror Victims Project)

And Barry Rubin has a good column about Glenn Beck's stand on Israel.

The Scourge of the EPA

This great article by Doug Ross @ Journal demonstrates just how powerful the EPA has become, and how they along with Obama, with their anti-American rules and regulations, are destroying this country.  Why can't anyone stand up to them and stop them before it's too late?

Haveil Havalim Time

Haveil Havalim #325 - the post-Tu-B'Av edition is up at Velveteen Rabbi. (Per Jack) At least I think it's #325, even though it says #236!

Terror in Israel: Deja Vu

Here's an update on the Hamas attacks on Israel.  It's ridiculous that Israel should be apologizing!

Do You Want Four More Years of This?

Here's an Obamanomics lesson from Roger Kimball (as seen at Instapundit):

"Now, class, why did the 2008 economic collapse happen? You there, waving your teleprompter: Mr. Obama: what say you? George Bush? Wrong answer. I’ve been over this before. Review an earlier reading assignment: 'Who caused the global economic crisis (Hint: it Wasn’t George W. Bush)'. Here’s the formula:

1. Make $1.5 trillion of risky loans to people you know are unlikely to repay them;
2. Allow financial institutions to slice, dice, and repackage the loans, leveraging them up to 30-1;
3. Require financial institutions to value their assets according to strict 'mark-to-market' rules, thus denying businesses needed flexibility during a crisis;
4. Impose onerous new regulations not only on financial institutions but on U.S. business across the board;
5. Keep talking about raising taxes so people and businesses pay their 'fair share,' even though 43.4 percent of those who file pay no income tax at all;
6. Create an economic leviathan in the form of health care legislation that will simultaneously worsen health care in the U.S. while also making it wildly more expensive;
7. Keep emphasizing 'green' jobs and 'green' energy production at a time when unemployment is above 9 percent and energy costs are skyrocketing;
8. Invest billions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money into failing private businesses with huge union obligations to keep the business going for a while longer so that the unions can squeeze more money out of the taxpayers.
9. Ignore the warnings of credit-rating agencies when they warn you are spending too much money and do not have a credible plan to address your skyrocketing deficits and then blame them when, months later, they downgrade your credit rating."

Lots of Links

As always, Larwyn's Linx offers a great deal of reading, including this piece on Obama's obsession with illegal aliens and the nightmarish DREAM Act. On a lighter note, Mental_Floss has a bunch of interesting weekend links.

September 11 Artifacts

The National Museum of American History has an exhibit of personal items recovered on September 11.  The ordinariness of some of the items make them more poignant when you consider the context.

Idiots of the Day

It's just amazing the things you see in the headlines these days.
This one proves that liberalism really is a mental disorder: "Judge apologizes to inmate seeking sex-change" . (Look at the inmate's photo!)   And  this one is an insult to people with real handicaps:  "'Drinking is a 'handicap,' fired former Florida State administrator says." (via Obscure Store)

The Failures of This President

Here's an article by Boyd Richard Boyd that was highlighted by Lucianne.com: "... Obama is not incompetent; he is an intelligent anti-American president.  Obama is not a failure at his job -- his job is the failure of our country." When you see the evidence mount up every day of his presidency, what else can you think?

Look at this photograph. I give these people credit; they are standing in line at a job fair, not standing in line to receive handouts. But this picture is worth a thousand words in showing the failure of this administration, and heaven help us if we have four more years of this.

Cartoon of the Day

Here's the great Michael Ramirez, via Power Line.

Money-Grubbing Jews

I was never a fan of Howard Stern, but the antisemitic attack against him by this nobody, Andy Dick, is beyond the pale.  It infuriates me when, as with other infamous antisemites, they're making excuses for him and blaming it on his "addiction"!  It's not an addiction, it's an infamous stererotype, pure and simple. His career, whatever it is, should now have self-destructed, and good riddance.

Wish You Weren't Here

I love these clever Obama vacation postcards created by the Republican National Committee. Now, if only they could come up with a candidate clever enough to defeat him! (via The Anchoress)

Silence is Golden

Here's another story about cell phone rudeness, and the movie theatre that's received standing ovations for its no-tolerance policy. Read the comments, too. Why people feel they must talk incessantly is still a mystery to me. And why would you pay $8 to see a movie only to spend your time babbling? Is anyone quiet any more?

Like a Hitchcock Movie

American Spectator's Lisa Fabrizio explains the difference between liberals and conservatives, and why this country is in such bad shape:

"'They Won't Believe Me' was a 1947 Alfred Hitchcock movie starring Robert Young as a charming yet roguish hustler whose duplicitous ways finally lead to personal disaster, both for him and those he deceived. And although the title refers to Young's inability to convince anyone of his innocence, it could easily be applied to our current political situation. For it is descriptive of the plight not only of our president, but of conservatives too, because no matter how many times we lay out the facts or how often history proves them wrong, liberals and those who vote for them just won't believe us."

The Religion of Peace Strikes Again

The latest terrorist attacks in Israel hardly received any news coverage here this morning, and I didn't even learn about them at all until I was on the web at lunchtime.  I'm sure Israel will be criticized for her "disproportionate response", as usual.  Meryl Yourish has an update.

Democratic Desperation

Boy, they must really be worried about Rick Perry!  I just heard about Ed Schultz's latest "mistake".  It shows the lengths to which the Obama supporters will go and is so ridiculous it's funny.

"Perry was ribbing President Obama about his 'listening tour' on job creation when he said, 'That big black cloud that hangs over America, that debt is so monstrous.' Using the editorial judgment of a highly trained and reliable news man, Schultz simply chopped off the last half of that sentence and bluntly told his audience that Perry was calling Obama 'a black cloud.'"

Read the whole article at Human Events while shaking your head in amazement.

Funny - He Doesn't Look Jewish!

This sounds like a joke, but isn't :  "An internet jihadist has called upon American Muslims to kill comedian David Letterman", referring to him as a "lowly Jew"!  Maybe Letterman can come up with a "Top 10  Islamic Curses" for his next show! (via TVTattle.com)

Obama The Diplomat

Israel Today magazine always gets right to the point in its headlines. Today's is very infuriating: "Obama to Israel: Apologize to Turkey, or else". Read the article and weep, then explain to me again why the Jews still support Obama.

The Way We Were

American Digest has a beautifully written post, with photographs, about the summer of 1910.  It's extremely poignant, as one of the commenters says.

Obamanomic Excuses

So, in this administration's bizarre way of thinking, food stamps are now considered an economic stimulus.  Boy, they keep making excuses for everything, don't they?  First unemployment benefits, now food stamps. Maybe next they'll claim that welfare stimulates the economy, too. (Via Michelle Malkin)

Wow!

Isn't this something!

An Absolute Disgrace

The Republican candidates should keep hitting Obama hard on his economic failures.  You would think that this fact alone would be a national embarrassment. But I suppose that it's only when a Republican is President that anyone finds it shameful:  “With an unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent and millions of people working part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time positions, a record 45.8 million people -- one of every seven -- received food stamps from the government in May. Demand for this kind of federal help has risen in all 50 states.”  I wonder what Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and Truman would do!

Elvis: His Life In Pictures

Here are some great photographs of Elvis Presley. Photo #21 is so stunning...and #24 is so sad.

Banking on Success

I like reading stories like this: "100-year-old woman has bank account dating to 1913". 

"Gregg still has the little blue passbook from when the account was opened with an initial deposit of $6.11. Her father, Gilbert, a farmer who grew corn, wheat and hay, was a Savings Bank customer and wanted his only daughter to learn thrift.
'That's what he always taught us: to stay out of debt and save our money and not buy anything until we had the money to pay for it,' Gregg said in an interview."

  (As seen in the supermarket tabloid The Examiner.)

Complainer-In-Chief

Obama can't even keep his comparisons straight!  After comparing himself to Martin Luther King, he's now comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln! Who will it be next, Jesus or Gandhi?

Scarecrows

Here are some colorful and clever participants in England's Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival.

Telling It Like It Is At Last

Too bad it has taken the destruction of England to get people to speak out in no uncertain terms against our entitlement culture!  Make sure you see this video clip by Pat Condell on the "root cause" of the inexcusable thuggery (via Israpundit.).  And read Peter Hitchens, via Lucianne.com, where a reader comments as follows, "One of the most damning indictments of the liberal elites I've seen thus far about their part in the eruption of civil disorder. Easily applicable to the  U.S.--we've all seen crime move into historic districts where the liberal elites can't figure out why the people they've mollycoddled are now stealing laptops from their unlocked cars, planters from their front yards, and their wallets via armed robberies."

Happy V-J Day!

That means "Victory over Japan", for you politically incorrect types.  Instapundit links to this 1945 V-J Day celebration at Vimeo. (Note: I was able to view this clip with Internet Explorer but not with Firefox)

Rooting for the "No Names"

Regarding Tiger Woods' self-destruction in the PGA Championship, Rom Chimelis writes: "Can the media and fans talk about someone else, anyone else? Meanwhile, interesting stories about the admitted no-names atop the leaderboard were ignored by comparison." That's always been my pet peeve, too, that other golfers are ignored or slighted by the media, which continues to fawn over and excuse Mr. Arrogance. 

The Obama Blame Game

From Doug Ross @ Journal, Top Ten Obama Excuses for the Failing Economy. On a Russ Limbaugh radio show rerun this morning, I heard him read a list of Obama's excuses and blames -- but these weren't tongue-in-cheek, and he had about 10 pages of them!

Haveil Havalim Time

Jack is back and has announced that  Haveil Havalim #325 is up at To Kill A Mezuzah.  Founded by Soccer Dad and coordinated by Jack, HH is the Jewish blog carnival.

What's Happening To This Country?

In a statement of utter cluelessness, Obama actually said: "There is nothing wrong with our country. There is something wrong with our politics."  Yes -- and that 'something' is his presidency!  Case in point from BizzyBlog: "Obamacare and NLRB v. Boeing as Economy-Killers". What kind of a leader actually dislikes his own country, as well as business, success, and employment in that country?
From Free Republic, here are the 5 best sentences you will ever read.

Watcher's Council

For some interesting reading, take a look at the latest Watcher's Council winners.

"God Bless America"

From Israpundit, the story behind our other national anthem, and the voice that made it great.

In The Mood for Glenn Miller

I just love the Big Band sound.

Three Cheers for Mayor Nutter!

Isn't it too bad that a no-nonsense attitude like this is more the exception than the rule in our sick society?  Rich Lowry: "He proceeded to unloose a 25-minute speech that must rank among the most brutally forthright calls for personal responsibility and adult authority that an elected official has ever delivered in these United States."

Another Reason to Hate Obamacare

This is just unbelievable. From the Weekly Standard,  "Obamacare Mandates (Free) Coverage of Abortion Drug":

"In addition to morning-after pills and the pill, Sebelius’s pronouncement covers other territory. She has decided that everyone will now be on the hook for sharing the costs accrued by those who rent breastfeeding equipment, who undergo 'sterilization procedures,' or who receive 'comprehensive lactation support and counseling' — all of which will soon be required to be free at the point of service.
So, under Sebelius’s decree, anyone with cancer, a heart ailment, or a major injury will have to pay copays and deductibles, but anyone who wants to go on the pill or rent breastfeeding equipment won’t incur any personal cost — and nobody will be free to decide otherwise. In other words, certain forms of voluntary or elective care (the type of care that a lot of health insurance might well be expected not to cover at all, and once didn’t) will now be granted a status more favorable than is accorded serious medical conditions. Sebelius has turned things on their head — and imposed that inversion across the land. This is what politicized medicine looks like.
In all, Sebelius’s decree will prevent Americans from freely deciding what they want their own health policies to cover. It will force them to pay for other people’s care — even if they find that care to be morally objectionable. It will force those who have religious or moral objections to contraception to pay for contraception — including long-term contraception that many people now assume they can’t afford. And it will force even the most ardent pro-lifer to pay for abortion pills.
Sebelius cavalierly describes the policy she’s imposing nationally as a no-brainer, declaring, 'Not doing it would be like not covering flu shots.'"

The Washington Times' Jeffrey Kuhner says Obama should resign. 

"Mr. Obama is the most arrogant, self-absorbed and self-obsessed president in U.S. history. Nothing is ever his fault. He blames everyone and everything for America's economic woes - Tea Partyers, Wall Street, Japanese earthquakes, insurance executives, oil companies, millionaires and corporate jet owners. He lashes out at imaginary enemies without ever taking personal responsibility. In his mind, he is - and always will be - the Anointed One.
There is only one solution: Drive him from office. Americans should forge a mass grassroots movement demanding that Mr. Obama step down - immediately. Through bumper stickers, picket signs, posters, T-shirts and rallies, tens of millions of citizens should express the same message: Leave. It is highly unlikely he will step aside, but such a movement would cripple the president's authority and possibly blunt him from doing further harm. It also would puncture his boundless ego. A widespread manifestation of no confidence would break him - politically, morally and psychologically - in order to save America. Mr. Obama is out of his depth. He lacks the character, intelligence, skills and experience - the basic competence - to be the leader of the free world.
Resign, Mr. President".

No such luck! 

Through a Lens, Darkly: September 11 Photography

Here's an article about five of the most unforgettable images from September 11, and the photographers who captured them.

The Battle of Britain

Read Melanie Phillips on what liberalism, political correctness, and the victim mentality have wrought: 

"When church leaders stop prattling like soft-headed social workers and start preaching, once again, the moral concepts that underlie our civilisation, and when our political leaders decide to oppose the culture war that has been waged against that civilisation rather than supinely acquiescing in its destruction, then — and only then — will we start to get to grips with this terrible problem. Until then, within the smouldering embers of our smashed and burned-out cities, we can only look upon the ruins of the Britain we have so dearly loved; the Britain that once led the world towards civilisation, but is now so tragically leading the way out."

The Barking Moonbat Early Warning System offers a round-up of coverage from the U.K. It's obscene when buildings that survived World War II have been destroyed by their own people. I just can't get over it.

Obama The Small And Meek

Don Surber shows Tim Pawlenty's very effective anti-Obama ad.

Also, I saw this incredible statement at the Drudge Report: "Carney: Unemployment Benefits Could Create Up To 1 Million Jobs". 

"It is one of the most direct ways to infuse money directly into the economy because people who are unemployed and obviously aren't running a paycheck are going to spend the money that they get. They're not going to save it, they're going to spend it. And with unemployment insurance, that way, the money goes directly back into the economy, dollar for dollar virtually."

In other words, not working is good! This administration should be embarrassed.

"Where Are The Parents?"

If I hear the phrase "root causes" one more time, I'll scream! Whatever happened to plain old-fashioned right and wrong?
When you see the photos of the destruction, you wonder how this is the same Britain that survived the Blitz and stood together against the Nazis! 

What will the response be here when the "flash mobs" turn into another Tottenham?

The Telegraph's Allison Pearson wonders where the parents are,  a question that can be asked here at home as well.   "Why can’t they feel things properly? How did we end up with some of the most indisciplined and frighteningly moronic youngsters in Europe? How come our kids are the best at being bad? There’s no use blaming the police; it’s the parents, stupid." 

Read Max Hastings and just substitute the word "American":

"So there we have it: a large, amoral, brutalised sub-culture of young British people who lack education because they have no will to learn, and skills which might make them employable. They are too idle to accept work waitressing or doing domestic labour, which is why almost all such jobs are filled by immigrants.
They have no code of values to dissuade them from behaving anti-socially or, indeed, criminally, and small chance of being punished if they do so.
They have no sense of responsibility for themselves, far less towards others, and look to no future beyond the next meal, sexual encounter or TV football game.
They are an absolute deadweight upon society, because they contribute nothing yet cost the taxpayer billions. Liberal opinion holds they are victims, because society has failed to provide them with opportunities to develop their potential.
They are products of a culture which gives them so much unconditionally that they are let off learning how to become human beings. My dogs are better behaved and subscribe to a higher code of values than the young rioters of Tottenham, Hackney, Clapham and Birmingham.
Unless or until those who run Britain introduce incentives for decency and impose penalties for bestiality which are today entirely lacking, there will never be a shortage of young rioters and looters such as those of the past four nights, for whom their monstrous excesses were ‘a great fire, man’."

A Feast for the Eyes

Photos of a young Elvis.

Streaking Into Legend

I just started Kostya Kennedy's book on Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak, and I can't put it down. It's a mixture of sports and history in 1941.

Keeping His Promise

Well, Obama is certainly fundamentally transforming America, all right.

Random Thoughts by Thomas Sowell

You always end up nodding your head in agreement when you read Thomas Sowell's columns. One of today's items is, "I have never believed for a moment that Barack Obama has the best interests of the United States at heart."

The Crime of Being Jewish

Here's yet another tragic story recounting the toll resulting from the crime of being Jewish in Nazi Germany.

Thuggery in England

This is what happens when political correctness trumps common sense, and excuses are made for wild animals looting and rioting in the streets.  Remember what happened in Vancouver? And how about the so-called "flash mobs" here at home?  How bad will things have to get, and how many innocent people hurt and killed, before shame & stigma are associated with criminal behavior, and before order is restored?

Haveil Havalim Time

Haveil Havalim #324 (?) is now up at Homeshuling, a Jewish Parenting Blog with Amy Meltzer.

Obama Campaign Slogan

A very appropriate image (via Instapundit, whose 10th anniversary of blogging is today. Congratulations!)

Love Letter To New York

Read about McCartney on September 11.

Downgrade This!

600 points! That's how much the stock market fell today, thanks to that incompetent fool in the White House. NRO's headline is "'Tea Party Downgrade'? They’ve got to be kidding." Unfortunately, they're not kidding at all: 

"The Obama administration and congressional Democrats are betting their political futures on the hope that the American electorate is ignorant and forgetful, and hence the memo has gone out to functionaries hither and yon, from David Axelrod to John Kerry: This is to be called the 'tea-party downgrade.' That this is said with straight faces bespeaks either an unshakable contempt for the mind of the American voter or an as-yet unplumbed capacity for Democratic self-delusion."

How I loathe this man. How desperate can they get?

GOP AD OF THE DAY

Via Newsbusters.

Victory Gardens

Here's an article about the victory gardens of WW2. But the difference between then and now is that back then, you didn't have welfare or food stamps or 99 weeks of unemployment, so you either did everything you could to help yourself -- or you did without, period. People were self-reliant then, not totally dependent on the government. It's really a shame and an embarrassment to see how unmotivated and lazy people are today. I doubt too many Americans today would want to do the work of planting a Victory garden, just as long as there are others to do the work for them.

Good News (For a Change)

While dreading the stock market reports tomorrow (and further losses to my 401k), I just read some good news from Israel that'll cheer us up.

Watcher's Council Winners

See which weasels needed watching by reading posts by these Watcher's Council winners.

Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds Vol.7 No. 45 is now underway at the office of James Logan, M.D.

We All Loved Lucy

Need a good laugh? Take a look at these famous scenes from Lucy's funniest episodes. Even now, fifty years later, these are still some of the best shows on television. There was only one Lucy (and Desi was a genius in his own right.)

Entitlement Derangement

I give up! Warped thinking like this has contributed to America's decline: "A new law making it illegal for people on welfare to use the money for alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets is an 'attack' on the state’s most vulnerable residents, according to welfare advocates. Critics say the bill, signed by Gov. Deval Patrick last week, does nothing more than stigmatize low-income people as prone to vices and irresponsible with money."

"Why is Barack Obama President of the United States?"

Stanley Kurtz asks:

"Why is Barack Obama president of the United States? Media coddling? A weak McCain campaign? A strong, if dishonest, effort by Obama to present himself as a pragmatic centrist? All of these things played a role, but the advent of the subprime crisis at the height of the 2008 presidential campaign was the decisive factor."

Why is he President? Because he's black; because he's a liberal darling; because Oprah Winfrey led her sheep to see him as the Messiah; because he has always had the media propaganda machine behind him to protect him; and because the American voters are morons!
This debt downgrade is the latest embarrassment and proves his incompetence (and of course it's a mistake by S&P, and not his fault!). It's outrageous to have as President at this moment a socialist who hates capitalism, and someone who encourages the people to be dependent on government. The Republicans had better get their act together quickly to avoid our being burdened with 4 more years of destruction. How much more of this can we take?

A Love Story: Leon and Natalie Weinstein

Just read this and pass it on: "Leon Weinstein survived the Warsaw Ghetto. But it is the story of the little girl that he wants to tell."

Thugs and Thieves

Every day you read these disgraceful stories of copper and metal thefts, and nobody ever seems to get caught.  Among other things, they've even stolen urns from cemeteries.  And everyone ought to be outraged that a woman died from the heat after a lowlife stole her air conditioner!  The best poetic justice for these heartless creeps would be instant electrocution from whatever they're stealing (which does happen once in a while). Now, these thugs are obviously healthy, for how else could they manage to lug away air conditioner units and even entire bleachers?  So if they are physically fit and are that desperate for money, how about taking the so-called "jobs that Americans won't do"?

How the Mighty Have Fallen

Remember when the New York Yankees was a legendary team? Remember the 1927 Murderers Row? Remember classy, dignified Yankees like Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio?  Kids growing up wanted to to be Yankees.  In contrast, this morning on "Mike and Mike in the Morning", I heard Alex Rodriguez referred to as the Lindsay Lohan of baseball. No further comment is necessary.

Oh Baby!

I've always enjoyed the TV commercials starring the E*TRADE baby, so I really got a kick out of this spoof, via Maggie's Farm.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Here's the wonderful Charles Krauthammer on Obama and jobs. I hope we can fill Obama's own job next year!   Meanwhile, Roger Simon wonders if Obama should resign because of today's market plunge. We can only hope.

What Happened to America?

Once again, I have to link to Victor Davis Hanson, because this column reflects the way I feel about a culture gone totally downhill, in which political correctness and feeeelings have trumped common decency.  In "Snapshot of a Sick Society", he writes, 

"In the transition from a shame culture to a guilt culture, America has become a confused society that values the sensitivities of the felonious living far more than respect for the law-abiding dead."

Every day, you hear one revolting story after another, and it doesn't seem to end.

The September 11 Memorial Museums

This is a well-written, illustrated article on the 9/11 museums.

Courage

Here's an extremely touching column by Debbie Lee, mother of the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq, whose last letter home is also mandatory reading.  (As discovered at Larwyn's Linx)

Irrational (But Somehow Acceptable) Antisemitism

Jonathan Rosenblum has written a column about antisemitism: "Bottom line: the double standards applied to Israel and the claims about Israel genocide and apartheid reveal an animus to the Jewish state that is beyond the range of rational discourse. Indeed it is just a new form of obsessional anti-Semitism." We have read the same arguments over and over and over, but the hatred continues to grow. Does anyone but Jews read these excellent analyses?

Oh, Just Shut Up!

What petty people! So it's OK to have a Ground Zero Mosque, which doesn't belong there, but not OK to have the Ground Zero cross, which does? It seems sacriligious that there's even any argument at all about memorials to September 11 victims, weeks before the anniversary!

"Obama-Induced Irritation Syndrome"

How do you cope with Obama-Induced Irritation Syndrome (OIIS)?  I try to minimize my daily flareups by quickly turning the channel as soon as I see him or hear his voice -- but even that doesn't help. (via Instapundit)

"To Hell With You People"

That's the name of this must-read column by Jonah Goldberg on the subject of the Obama media. Here's an excerpt, on Biden's despicable smear: 

"No one cares. I hate the 'if this were Bush' game so we’re in luck. Instead imagine if this was Dick Cheney calling the Progressive Caucus (or whatever they’re called) a 'bunch of terrorists' on the day Giffords returned to the Congress. Would the mainstream media notice or care? Would Meet the Press debate whether this raises 'troubling questions' about the White House’s sensitivity? Would Andrea Mitchell find some way to blame Sarah Palin for Dick Cheney’s viciousness? Would Keith Olbermann explode like a mouse subjected to the Ramone’s music in Rock and Roll High School? Something inside me hidden away shouts, 'Hell yes they would!'"

There are some good comments at Lucianne.com.

Oppose UN Palestinian Statehood Resolution

Instapundit reports:

"Nashville (August 1, 2011)-Laurie Cardoza-Moore, President and Founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN), and Dr. David M. Hudson, Senior Pastor of Riverside Apostolic Church in Morgantown, WV and President of a leading international evangelical organization representing 7 million members around the globe, will be joined by many other prominent Christian and Jewish leaders in an unprecedented inter-faith event, held in Jerusalem, to protest UN plans to vote on a resolution to declare a Palestinian state. The group will arrive in Jerusalem on Aug. 30, 2011, and join their Jewish brethren in prayer at the Western Wall in a demonstration of solidarity. On Sept. 1, the group will conduct a press conference in Jerusalem (place and time to be determined).

PJTN’S position is clear stating that this is the most outrageous violation of the UN’s democratic principles yet, in a long list of disproportionate treatment and application of double standards against Israel. Time and time again, Israel has made concessions and agreements to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority (PA), and each time, the PA has fabricated a flimsy excuse to refuse to negotiate. Now that Hamas and Fatah have agreed to unite under one government, there is no doubt that they do not plan to reach a peaceful negotiation under ‘Land for Peace’. The PA and Hamas have refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist, they continue to promote propaganda against the Jewish people and the Jewish State, and now they have put the world on notice that they are not interested in seeking peace. UN knows all of this all too well and should stay out of a negotiation process previously agreed to by the Palestinian Authority as outlined in the peace process authored by the Quartet on the Middle East."

Jumping for Joy

Whoever D.B.Cooper really was, he certainly covered his tracks awfully well. Maybe Geraldo can open a safe on live TV this November and reveal his name at last.

Bad Samaritans

Everyone sues! I guess from now on, rescuees will have to give their rescuers a form to sign stating they won't sue them.

Smear Tactics

So that's where he got it! I just heard Bob Beckel on "The Five" refer to the Tea Party as the "Tea Terrorist Party", and now I read at Instapundit that Biden has used the same charming language. It's the same old desperate Democrat smear machine.

Haveil Havalim Time

You can read Haveil Havalim #323 - The Mid-Summer Edition at Esser Agaroth,