Obama's Coordinated McCain Attack

Upon Wes Clark's absurd claim that McCain doesn't have the necessary presidential qualities because he wasn't the one ordering bombs to drop while serving in Vietnam, Obama appeared to disown Clark's comments.

But to a keen eye like mine, this was a deliberate attempt to elevate himself and his own "patriotism," thus trying to deflect any future advantage that McCain owns because of his military service. The most telling statement was Obama's description of McCain's time in captivity. From the AP:

About the same time, Obama told an audience in Independence, Mo., that McCain had "endured physical torment in service to our country" and "no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides."

By carefully using the term "torment" instead of "torture," I believe that Obama carefully tried to reduce the advantage of McCain's service. Obama's view is that they are both equal when it comes to patriotism and service to one's country. And that's what this show was all about.

George Carlin on Environmentalism

In the wake of Carlin's death last week, some of the media talking heads are selectively playing clips to imply that he was a Leftist like them. But I doubt they will ever share with us Carlin's position on global warming.

CARLIN: Let me tell you about endangered species, all right? Saving endangered species is just one more arrogant attempt by humans to control nature. It's arrogant meddling. It's what got us in trouble in the first place. Doesn't anybody understand that? Interfering with nature. Over 90%, way over 90% of all the species that have ever lived on this planet, ever lived, are gone. They're extinct. We didn't kill them all. They just disappeared. That's what nature does. We're so self-important, so self-important. Everybody is going to save something now. Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails. And the greatest arrogance of all, save the planet. What?

I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths, people trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. There is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The people are (bleep) -- difference, difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. It's been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little more than 200 years.

Two hundred years versus four and a half billion, and we have the conceit to think that somehow we're a threat, that somehow we're going to put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun? The planet has been through a lot worse than us, been through all kinds of things worse than us, been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sunspots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles, hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages, and we think some plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet isn't going anywhere. We are! We're going away.

RIP.

McCain: Carter Was a Lousy President

From Politico. John McCain at least can distinguish failing policies from winning policies in hindsight. That's more than can be said of Obama. For the record, I highly doubt that Obama will publicly disagree with McCain's statement (though he might call them a "smear.")

Jindal: We'll Castrate Them Instead

In response to the Supreme Court decision to prohibit a Louisiana death penalty law for child rapists, Governor Bobby Jindal signed into law a bill that will either physically or chemically (prisoner choice) castrate the prisoner. Not quite as effective a deterrence, but not a bad replacement.

Iran Involved in Syrian Nuclear Program

According to the Telegraph, Iran was involved in the building of the plutonium plant in Syria that was destroyed by Israel last September. According to an Israeli intelligence source:

"The Iranians were involved in the Syrian programme. The idea was that the Syrians produce plutonium and the Iranians get their share. Syria had no reprocessing facility for the spent fuel. It's not deduction alone that brings almost everyone to think that the link exists."

Delahunt's response, according to Powerline is that he was simply saying to Addington how happy he was to see him again. (No, this isn't a joke.)

Mass. Rep. Delahunt: I'm Happy Al Qaeda Can See You

Democrat Rep. William Delahunt (MA) questioned David Addington, Chief of Staff for VP Cheney, about the use and technique of waterboarding while interrogating members of Al Qaeda. Upon Addington's response that he wouldn't go into details because Al Qaeda could be watching, Delahunt responded:

"I'm glad they finally have a chance to see you."

I don't think there is much ambiguity here. And according to the Dems, this is likely the highest form of patriotism.

OPEC Purposely Inflating Prices

Every time oil prices fall back, a manufactured news item comes along to push it to new record highs. Today OPEC President Chakib Khelil said that oil prices could reach $150-170 this summer but "aren't likely to reach $200." Libya added to the price jump by saying that it might actually cut production because there is already enough supply.

Everyone knows that Libya would never unilaterally cut production - they're making too much money. And they want more - so they will jack the price while they can and while traders are nervous.

The only silver lining to the price spike, which is virtually guaranteed to create short term economic problems for the U.S., is that the Environmental Leftist ideas that have caused all this manufactured alarm about global warming and oil drilling might finally be heading to their deathbed. Even Democrats will have to eventually listen to their constituents complaining about subsidizing foreign nations because we're too worried about disrupting the rhodophyta algae population.

Constitution Trumps Liberal Justices

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Americans indeed have the right to bear handguns. Most Americans believe that the second amendment is unambiguous, so the fact that four liberals on the Supreme Court wanted to change the Constitution from the bench is a very scary thought.

Even if conservatives hate McCain, it is clear that they should be moved for the sole reason of Supreme Court considerations. The swing of even one additional liberal Justice means that the Constitution can be changed by fiat without any amendment process. How that doesn't bother everyone is beyond me.

No word on whether the liberal justices are in favor of granting those same rights to terrorists that they want to deny Americans...

Novak Thinks Powell and Hagel are Conservatives?

Bob Novak claims that it's only a matter of time before Colin Powell supports Barack Obama. That's not surprising. Nor is it surprising that Chuck Hagel is an Obama supporter. What I can't understand is why these "Obamacons," as Novak calls them, are supposedly conservative.

Bob Novak is one of the best journalists in Washington, but it's simply ridiculous to claim that "conservatives" are supporting Obama based on the profiles of Chuck Hagel and Colin Powell. Both are very liberal, dovish Republicans (but R in name only). How Novak believes these two guys qualify is way beyond me.

North Korea's Nuclear Declaration

North Korea today handed over a "list of all" of their nuclear facilities to China in an effort to get the U.S. to lift sanctions against the country. Condi Rice in the WSJ this morning said the U.S. strategy is working and noted the following:

North Korea now faces a clear choice about its future. If it chooses confrontation – violating international law, pursuing nuclear weapons, and threatening the region – it will face serious consequences not only from the United States, but also from Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, as it did in 2006 after testing a nuclear device.

Excuse me if I don't buy it. This has been tried over and over again since Madeline Albright toasted champaign with the Dear Leader in the 90's and it hasn't worked. And judging by how the world dealt with Iran and North Korea over the past decade, I don't think either of those countries are buying it either.

Obama in '06 Speaks Out Against Ranting Pastors

Hard to believe, but in a speech in 2006, Barack Obama had the audacity to speak out against pastors (the "religious right" pastors, no doubt) who are more "screed than sermon." From Gateway Pundit:

"No matter how religious they may or may not be, people are tired of seeing faith used as a tool of attack. They don't want faith used to belittle or to divide. They're tired of hearing folks deliver more screed than sermon. Because in the end, that's not how they think about faith in their own lives."

The Obama joke continues.

Friedman Promotes Additional $1/Gallon Gas Tax

I have to give NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman credit - he's a liberal who is not lying about his goals. He wants the price of gasoline to skyrocket so that people will reduce consumption. He believes the government should increase taxes by another $1/gallon.

This is what the Left has always wanted. A significantly higher price could only be achieved through dramatic reductions in domestic energy supply versus demand, and over the past 30 years, that goal has finally been achieved. Since 1980, our oil supply is down 40% while demand has nearly doubled.

The only problem is that most Americans like to drive, like to fly, like their homes heated and essentially - like cheap oil. So the Left no longer want to take credit for what they have been trying to achieve for the past 30 years. Friedman is simply taking his due credit. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the Democrats in Congress should be so honest.

MSNBC: WMD Traces at Islamic Camp in Iraq

That conservative news outlet MSNBC has conducted its own preliminary tests at an Islamic terrorist camp in Iraq and found traces of ricin and botulinum. Confirming what has already been confirmed by Al Qaeda leaders and former Iraqi regime members. Of course, this story was reported in April but has yet to appear on tv in any way (doesn't fit the thesis).

Israel-Hamas Truce Over

That was quick. And MSNBC seems to agree that it's Israel's fault. Hamas agrees to truce with Israel in Gaza, to which Islamic Jihad does not agree. Israel kills commander of Islamic Jihad in West Bank. Hamas fires rockets into Israel from Gaza, ending truce.

It's Israel's fault - again. From Hot Air.

OPEC President: No Need to Raise Supply

The President of OPEC reiterated his statement that there is no need to raise oil supply because oil price increases have been related to other factors such as a weak dollar and U.S. pressure on Iran.

The interesting thing is that, despite Democrats' dislike of the OPEC cartel, they come to the same conclusion - that we don't need to increase supply. And Obama's claim that increased drilling would have no effect on prices is laughably ignorant. Most people understand that the futures market is a discounting mechanism so that even the prospect of more supply 5-10 years from now would bring down prices almost immediately.

Obama's Ignorance of the Markets

We already knew that Obama is clueless when it comes to economic and tax policy. Now we also know that he is clueless about how markets work. Regarding drilling for oil, this is what Obama said:

"There's no way that offshore drilling would lower gas prices right now."

Don't Democrats know the most basic rule of capital markets? All securities, including oil futures, discount information regarding future fundamentals, including future supply. Regardless of whether the oil wouldn't come online for several years, I think an announcement that we will drill offshore and in ANWR would lower oil prices by $30-40 within weeks. Yet Obama doesn't have the slightest idea what drives oil prices. I wonder if he thinks biotech companies are completely worthless because they may not have commercial drugs for several years.

Congress's Book of the Month Club Meeting

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) said all that needs to be said on Scott McLellan's testimony this morning:

"Welcome, everyone, to the Judiciary Committee's first Book of the Month Club meeting. It's hard to take Mr. McClellan or this hearing seriously."

Obama Wins Another Overseas Endorsement

Obama keeps winning endorsements - this time from Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who says that Obama should be proud of his Muslim upbringing.

EU Lifts Cuba Ban; Desire to Drill of FL Coast?

The EU lifted its sanctions against Cuba in defiance of U.S. wishes. Although European countries enjoy sticking their fingers in the eyes of the U.S. whenever possible, I believe the bigger factor was oil drilling off of Florida's coast. Apparently the lifting of sanctions was heavily pushed by Spain, which is already drilling between Florida and Cuba, courtesy of Fidel. I have no doubt that BP and TotalFinaElf would love to get a piece of that action as well.

Meanwhile, the U.S. will sit back and watch as the Euros drill our oil and then sell it to us for $135/barrel.

Iran Hails Gaza Ceasefire

You know that when Iran hails the ceasefire in Gaza that Israel made another big mistake. I think it's time for them to get Olmert out - seems like a Jewish Obama to me.

Democrat Governor Spends $170K on Italy Trip

North Carolina Democrat Governor spent $170,000 in taxpayer funds on a 9-day "recruiting trip" to Italy with his wife and several others. Notice in the article that his party affiliation doesn't appear until paragraph seven.

At least it's only the North Carolinian taxpayers who are getting screwed for this.

Dems: Nationalize Refineries

In response to President Bush's desire to increase drilling in the U.S., Democrats have come up with their own plan - nationalize all refineries.

Unfortunately they're serious - welcome to Venezuela.

Another Reason to "Threaten" Iran

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the useless IAEA has given us another reason to bomb Iran. He promised he will resign if Iran is "threatened." Since ElBaradei has been head of the agency, he has been nothing but an apologist for Middle East and terrorist nations, so the world would be better off.

Al Gore Still Guzzling Energy

Since installing his "energy efficient" technology in his home, Al Gore's energy usage is up approximately 10% this year, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. He uses approximately 20 times the energy of an average American household. And I can guarantee his plane travel is well north of that multiple as well.

It's the same thing with taxes. The people who are most willing to increase tax rates are the same people who set up shelters so they can avoid paying theirs.

Obama Team: Osama to Get Habeus Corpus Rights

In a conference call with top Obama advisors, Bill Sammon of the Washington Examiner asked if Osama bin Laden would receive habeus corpus rights enjoyed by American citizens if he were caught.

Apparently, Team Obama believes the matter is settled and Osama would indeed be entitled to those rights.

Jamie Gorelick as Obama's Attorney General?

Democrats are speculating that Jamie Gorelick of Clinton's Justice Department is one of the frontrunners in a would-be Obama administration. In case anyone forgets, John Ashcroft testified that it was indeed Gorelick who did the most damage to our intelligence in the mid-90s by raising the "wall" that prevented intelligence sharing among US agencies.

So how's that for change - going back to prosecuting terrorists in civil courts just as the Clinton Adminstration had done since the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993?

Obama Advisor: Winnie the Pooh = National Security

Richard Danzig, former Navy secretary in Clinton's Administration and a key Obama security advisor, said that Winnie the Pooh is a "fundamental text on national security."

Richard Danzig, who served as Navy Secretary under President Clinton and is tipped to become National Security Adviser in an Obama White House, told a major foreign policy conference in Washington that the future of US strategy in the war on terrorism should follow a lesson from the pages of Winnie the Pooh, which can be shortened to: if it is causing you too much pain, try something else.

He spelt out how American troops, spies and anti-terrorist officials could learn key lessons by understanding the desire of terrorists to emulate superheroes like Luke Skywalker, and the lust for violence of violent football fans.

Are we really supposed to build our national security around Winnie the Pooh? It's an interesting idea and is in line with Obama's desire for "change," I'm not sure that will stop terrorism.

Red State interprets the statement to mean that fighting terrorism is too hard for us.

McCain: Drill Offshore but not in ANWR

Sen. McCain decided it is ok to drill for oil offshore but not in ANWR. Drilling offshore is a no-brainer, as foreign nations are already drilling off the coast of Florida, courtesy of our Cuban friends.

But ANWR is apparently too "pristine" to drill. McCain rightly claims that Obama has no idea of what the situation in Iraq is like because he hasn't been there. The same thing can be said of McCain on ANWR. McCain should visit the mere 2,000 acres of barren tundra in northern Alaska and see if he still thinks the land is "too pristine." Alternatively, he can simply read this article by Johah Goldberg that explains what life (or lack thereof) in ANWR is like.

Brazil Finds Another Massive Oil Deposit

For the second time in a few months, Brazil has another major oil find off its coast. Apparently they will soon be drilling off the coast of Florida as well.

It would be nice if American companies were allowed to do that.

Democrats Continue to Spend

The major criticism against Republicans in Congress over the past 8 years has been their huge spending increases. The Democrats have not gotten the message. Their latest spending bill would increase domestic spending by 6%, or $30 billion more than President Bush has requested.

For those hoping for "change," forget about it - unless you are talking about pocket change.

Caught in Ethical Problem, Sen. Conrad Makes Donation

Democrat Senator Kent Conrad said that he will donate $10,500 to Habitat for Humanity after it was disclosed publicly that he received preferential treatment on a loan from Countrywide. He said that he had no idea he received preferential treatment or that it was a conflict of interest. Sen. Chris Dodd will likely say the same thing. Of course, ignorance of conflicts of interest are no excuse.

Let this be a lesson to bank robbers - if you get caught, just donate the money to charity and everything is ok.

Democrat List of Preferential Mortgage Rates Grows

Add a few more names to the list of prominent Democrats who have received preferential mortgage rates from Countrywide, including Richard Holbrooke, Senator Kent Conrad and Senator Chris Dodd, who is also conveniently chairman of the Banking Committee.

The "culture of corruption" continues with Dems.

CBS' Take on Higher Corn Prices

CBS isn't known for accurate reporting, so it shouldn't be a surprise that their take on corn prices is off the mark. While CBS correctly reports that the corn crop will be down 10% this year, they imply that this is due entirely to weather and have conveniently forgotten about the government ethanol mandates, which have diverted much of the food corn crop to the fuel corn crop.

Graham: Amend the Constitution to Overrule Court

Lindsey Graham said that he will push for a Constitutional amendment to overturn the Court's decision to give habeus corpus rights to foreign terrorists.

“The American people are going to wake up tomorrow and be shocked to hear that a member of Al Qaeda has the same constitutional rights as an American citizen,” said Graham.

“[Even] the Nazis never had that right.”

Although I agree with Graham's approach, it will never happen. Democrats love the court decision because they hate the military and would prefer to check military power with politically appointed judges. Also, several members of the Supreme Court doesn't appear to have much reverence for the Constitution, so I'm not sure it would even help.

Barnes & Noble: Obama = God?

If you go to the Barnes & Noble website and search for a book called God: A Biography, you get Obama's Audacity of Hope. Some kool-aid drinker at B&N obviously is entranced by the Messiah Obama.

*Update*
It appears that B&N had enough feedback that they changed the search results.

Gitmo Detainees Can Challenge in Civilian Court

For the first time in U.S. history, enemy combatants captured in foreign battlefields now have constitutional rights in civilian U.S. courts, according to a 5-4 Supreme Court decision.

So now, U.S. soldiers will have to read prisoners Miranda rights before detaining them, as well as documenting the exact events leading to each prisoner's capture.

The MSM will describe this as a loss to the Bush Administration, but this is a loss to the country and to the taxpayers. Terrorists now have as many rights as American citizens. This is really quite an abomination. The only solution now is for American soldiers to simply kill all combatants and not take any POWs.

Here is a portion of Scalia's scathing dissent, courtesy of Hot Air:

Today the Court warps our Constitution in a way that goes beyond the narrow issue of the reach of the Suspension Clause, invoking judicially brainstormed separation-of-powers principles to establish a manipulable “functional” test for the extraterritorial reach of habeas corpus (and, no doubt, for the extraterritorial reach of other Constitutional protections as well). It blatantly misdescribes [sic] important precedents, most conspicuously Justice Jackson’s opinion for the Court in Johnson v. Eisentrager. It breaks a chain of precedent as old as the common law that prohibits judicial inquiry into detentions of aliens abroad absent statutory authorization. And, most tragically, it sets our military commanders the impossible task of proving to a civilian court, under whatever standards this Court devises in the future, that evidence supports the confinement of each and every enemy prisoner.

The Nation will live to regret what the Court has done today. I dissent.

*Update*
The more damning quote from Scalia follows:

“The game of bait-and-switch that today’s opinion plays upon the Nation’s Commander in Chief will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.”

And if it happens, we will have the Left to thank.

Shalala to Receive Medal of Freedom

President Bush is going to present Donna Shalala with the Medal of Freedom...and no, that's not a typo. Does he think the Dems are going to be nice to him or something?

Ortiz Becomes U.S. Citizen

Congratulations to David Ortiz, who became a U.S. citizen today...and he did it legally.

NBC's Economic Views

Any sense of objectivity from NBC has been gone for some time now. Andrea Mitchell provides this thoughtful economic "analysis" to her viewers:

MITCHELL: It is a classic contest between old-fashioned, Republican, supply-side economics—John McCain—and Barack Obama's melding of Clinton sort of growth economics, and also mainstream, centrist, Bob Rubin-style of economics.

SCARBOROUGH: What is this Bob Rubin style of govern--this centrist style of economics? What is it in terms of policy?

MITCHELL: Well, what it means is helping people, doing things on health care. Government programs that do help people on health and education, but paying for everything. So it is the kind of responsible economics, some would say, that led to a lot of growth in the 90s because people on Wall Street were reassured you wouldn't be growing the deficit.

GOP Forcing Dems to Address Energy Crisis

From Gateway Pundit. The GOP is finally on the offensive to try to tackle the energy problem. They point out that the Democrats have been blocking our path to energy independence for decades now while talking about raising "windfall profits" taxes on oil companies.

Democrats have blocked the development of new sources of petroleum.
Democrats have blocked drilling in ANWR.
Democrats have blocked drilling off the coast of Florida.
Democrats have blocked drilling off of the east coast.
Democrats have blocked drilling off of the west coast.
Democrats have blocked drilling off the Alaskan coast.
Democrats have blocked building oil refineries.
Democrats have blocked clean nuclear energy production.
Democrats have blocked clean coal production.

Meanwhile, China, Canada and Spain are all drilling right off of the Florida coast.

Obama as the 21st Century LBJ

Jeffrey Lord at American Spectator reminds us of just a few of LBJ's big-government programs that Obama believes are going to save the country. In Obama's victory speech, he said:

"Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal..."

Lord gives us a few of the LBJ programs from his first two years:

College Facilities
Clean Air
Vocational Training
Indian Vocational Training
Manpower Training
Federal Airport Aid
Farm Program
Pesticide Controls
International Development Association
Urban Mass Transit
Water Resources Research
Federal Highway
Civil Service Pay Raise
War on Poverty
Truth-in-Securities
Medicine Bow National Forest
Ozark Scenic Riverway
Administrative Conference
Food Stamps
Housing Act
Nurse Training
Revenues for Recreation
Library Services
Federal Employee Health Benefits
Wilderness Areas
Medicare
Aid to Education
Higher Education
Four Year Farm Program
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Housing Act
Social Security Increase
Fair Immigration Law
Older Americans
Heart, Cancer, Stroke Program
Drug Controls
Mental Health Facilities
Health Professions
Medical Libraries
Vocational Rehabilitation
Anti-Poverty Program
Arts and Humanities Foundation
Aid to Appalachia
Water Pollution Control
High Speed Transit
Community Health services
Water Resources Council
Water Desalting
Juvenile Delinquency Control
Retirement for Public Servants'

And yet somehow, despite all this public spending on new programs that would fix all of our problems, we apparently have nothing to show for it. The good news according to Lord is that, this big-government agenda paved the way for conservative ideals. Anytime the Democrats remind us what they stand for (Hillarycare in 1993), there is a massive backlash and we move back to small government principles. Hopefully next time the GOP will stand by them.

Democrats Shun Oil Shale Development

The Democratic congress is doing all that they can to keep gas prices at an all time high.

Some experts are saying that the state of Colorado has as much in oil and gas reserves as Saudi Arabia. The only problem is that a big chunk of the shales are on federal land, and so require governmental (run by democrats) approval.

Well, on a recent vote to use federal land for shale development in Colorado/Utah/Wyoming, democrats voted it down 15-14.

On yet another bill to develop off shore shales off the coast of Virginia, the new congress (run by democrats) again knocked it down. Voting mostly went according to party lines, 51-47.

Presidential candidates Obama and Clinton voted against development, while McCain was absent.

If Republicans were serious about winning some elections in 08, they would bring up democrats' opposition for more drilling in every ad. With gas at $4/gallon, this would win votes, but more importantly, might persuade democrats to change their "we will not look for oil" platform.

The Idiocy of a Windfall Profits Tax

With Obama and McCain arguing about who is more serious about a "windfall profits tax" on oil companies, let's revisit what happened when this exact law was passed in 1980. According to a recent article in Investors Business Daily:

"Over the entire 1980-1986 period," the study said, "the (windfall profits tax) reduced domestic oil production from between 320 million barrels . . . and 1,268 million barrels." "The effect of reducing domestic oil production was to increase the level of imported oil."

At the time, the U.S. imported about 30% of its oil; today, we import about 60%. In part, that jump in oil dependency was due to the huge tax advantage we gave foreign oil companies in the 1980s — and to the continuing advantage we give them today by refusing to let our oil companies produce more crude from our own reserves.

By the way, if they try to sell you on the idea that this will be a deficit-cutting move, don't believe it. Revenues from the windfall tax were far less than expected, because producers pumped less and nontaxed imports flooded our market. Compared with a forecast of $393 billion in windfall tax revenues from 1980 to 1988, Congress got a mere $80 billion.

(This study actually claims that revenue was only $40 billion, or 10% of the projected amount.)

In short, the windfall profits tax is a loser — on every level.

Likewise, the Senate's proposals for new penalties on "price gouging" are also fated to fail. This we know because when Jimmy Carter tried price controls, they resulted in massive shortages, blocklong lines at gas stations and, ultimately, gasoline rationing.

Knowing what we do, it's unfathomable that Congress would ponder a return to '70s-era energy policies that nearly destroyed our economy. But that's exactly what it's doing.

WaPo: "Bush Lied" Was a Lie

The bastion of conservative thought, The Washington Post, says today that the idea that "Bush lied" to get us into the Iraq War is a bunch of nonsense. The only surprise is that the MSM would ever dare to admit it, even if the Senate Intelligence Committee has said the same thing for several years now.

Obama: Prosecute War Crimes in Iraq

Barack Obama's website has a couple of items to "change the page" in Iraq, one of which is to "prosecute war crimes." It's hard to tell who he is referring to, but as Little Green Footballs implies, he probably means American soldiers.

$45 Trillion to Combat Global Warming

We are now well beyond the "jump the shark" moment on the global warming joke. According to the International Energy Agency, we now need to spend $45 trillion to halve greenhouse emissions by 2050.

For a situation in which global temperatures were 0.7 degrees higher in 2007 than in 1998, I think the world's environmental alarmists should be laughed off the world's stage with such a ludicrous suggestion.

Even Dems Don't Want Obama

From Bob Novak:

Clinton backers who will now declare full support of the nominee in public take a different position when promised that their names will not be used. They frankly question whether Obama should be president. I asked one Democrat, a longtime political worker and sometime candidate for public office, whether he actually would vote for Obama. He paused, then replied: "Let me put it this way. I would sleep better if John McCain was president."

Obama-McCain. I can't think of an election that had a worse guaranteed outcome.

Katrina Charity to Host Democrat Convention Party

The Friends of New Orleans, a charity designed to help Katrina victims rebuild their homes and lives, is hosting the welcoming party for Democrats in Denver at the convention. [Interestingly, Friends of New Orleans was founded by Clinton friend James Carville.]

The part [sic] will commemorate "the recovery and rebuilding of areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in lieu of individual delegate welcoming events," according to a news release. The Friends of New Orleans will host the event, to be held Sunday, Aug. 24.

Military-Style Checkpoints In DC

Police in Washington DC are setting up military-style checkpoints in some of the most violent sections of the city.

This is a war that can't be won - the police need to pull out now so we can redeploy them elsewhere.

Obama: Not the Tony Rezko I Knew

Add another man to the list of Obama's "this isn't the same person I knew." The latest is Tony Rezko, who raised huge amounts of money for Obama's 2004 campaign and sold him a parcel of land immediately adjacent to Obama's land at a below market value.

Obama and Mortgage Lenders

What does Obama think of mortgage lenders? (In case you didn't know, he doesn't like them.) This is now a key part of his stump speech:

The top mortgage lenders spend $185 million lobbying Congress, and we wonder why Washington looked the other way when they were tricking families into buying homes they couldn't afford.

Let's just scratch Obama's very superficial surface on this. Now that Obama has the nomination wrapped up, he has fully engaged Jim Johnson to find him a running mate. The interesting thing is that Jim Johnson, former CEO of Fannie Mae was the king mortgage lender in the country. (Yes, that Fannie Mae that has been under investigation for several years for accounting fraud.) But somehow Obama's rules don't apply to himself or his campaign.

Sen. McConnell Shuts Down Senate

Woohoo! Finally, the GOP decided to grow a pair and effectively shut down the Senate this afternoon by forcing the reading of all 500 pages of the Lieberman-Warner (cap-and-trade) bill. This is getting back at Harry Reid for lying on his promise to vote on judicial nominees.

I hope it stays shut down through the end of the year.

Bernanke Says Strong Dollar

Finally, as oil has tripled in a few years to nearly $130/barrel, Ben Bernanke has decided that enough is enough and is starting to talk up the dollar again. As Larry Kudlow explains, this is a campaign theme that McCain should start promoting now, which would likely continue to drive commodity prices lower through the fall election.

UK Jihadis to Get Therapy, Not Jail Time

The UK is working on a new program to "deradicalize" Islamic Jihadi youths rather than give them jail time. I'm sure some time with Dr. Phil will help them not want to kill the infidels (that's us).

AP Throwing it to Obama

Lo and behold, just a few hours after it was reported that Obama still would not have the required delegates to win the nomination and a rumor that Hillary would step aside if Obama did get enough delegates, the AP has suddenly decided that Obama has enough to clinch the nomination.

Translation: get the hell out, Hillary. Obama's our man.

Congress Tries to Ban Military "Propaganda"

Unbeknownst to many, the House recently passed legislation banning military "propaganda," defined as "any form of communication in support of national objectives designed to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes or behavior of the people of the United States in order to benefit the sponsor, either directly or indirectly."

Of course, that means that any good that the military is doing in Iraq or elsewhere is prohibited from being shared with the public. We know the Democrats and MSM will never violate that law.

McLellan's Original Book Plans

Before Scott McLellan prostituted himself to the Far Left, he had presented a very different book idea than the one he ended up "writing." In fact, his original idea, explained here, was supposed to skewer the press, explaining why they always end up with such a liberal view towards stories.

Instead, McLellan decided he could make a lot more money by jumping into bed with the press. I suppose that's why Bob Dole called him a "miserable creature" lacking in "courage and integrity."

America the "Greatest Sin" Against God?

Obama has spoken very highly of Father Michael Phleger, whom Obama calls a close personal friend. Surprise, surprise: Phleger is another America-hating preacher who says that America is the "greatest sin" against God.

Of all the people who Obama associates with (including his wife), it would be nice to see just one that actually appreciates this country.

Sen. Inhofe: Global Warming Bill Won't Pass

According to Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the Lieberman-Warner bill designed to curb "global warming", which is before the Senate this week, is unlikely to pass.

The bill would simply create the largest new tax increase in the history of this country, raising the cost of business by several trillion dollars over the next 30 years.

One interesting point Inhofe made was that, even if all the countries who signed the Kyoto Accord abide by their "mandates" for the next 40 years (and not a single one has done so yet), it would at most reduce the global temperature by 0.07 degrees. And at a very cheap cost...