The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Civil War or Uncivil Peace

Posted on | November 11, 2010 | 13 Comments

My colleague deploys to defend our freedom recalling the stoic song of Scottish courage:

War or peace, it’s all the same to me.
I’ll be killed in the war or hung during peace.

Or, as that same dauntless spirit was once expressed on a famous battlefield: “Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer!”

It happened that, earlier today, I received a tersely mystifying e-mail from another warrior, my friend Allen West:

It is with deep regret that this Congressional office and the people of CD 22 will not have Joyce Kaufman as my Chief of Staff. Joyce is a good friend, and will remain loyal to South Floridians and to me. I will always seek Joyce’s counsel for being a good Representative of this Congressional District.

What was this about? Who is Joyce Kaufman? Why was this staffing decision being announced via an e-mail from the West campaign office? A bit of research revealed that her hiring had been announced Tuesday:

A proud Puerto Rican Jew, Kaufman became a de facto spokeswoman for South Florida’s anti-illegal immigration movement in 2007. . . .
“Her 20 years of experience on the political scene in South Florida (always as a radio host) will give me helpful insights and perspective,” Tea Party fave West told Page2Live Monday night. “As chief of staff, she’ll be my right-hand person. “
A screaming liberal Democrat turned independent, Kaufman also gave West plenty airtime as he ran against Democrat Ron Klein in 2008 and this year. West is believed to have been on Kaufman’s show more than 100 times.

That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow did a hit job on Kaufman:

A media dogpile ensued and today Kaufman announced she would resign as chief of staff rather than be used as a weapon against West. But watch that video and ask yourself, what’s wrong with what Joyce Kaufman said?

“I am convinced that the most important thing the Founding Fathers did to ensure me my First Amendment rights was they gave me a Second Amendment. And if ballots don’t work, bullets will. . . . [S]ome things are worth fighting for, and some things are worth dying for.”

Does anyone disagree? Or is there nothing worth fighting and dying for?

And isn’t it true that the Founding Fathers specifically intended the Second Amendment as the ultimate guarantor of our liberty?

A friend of mind down home is a ranking police officer. He once told me that Americans have three means of redressing our grievances: The soap box, the ballot box and the cartridge box. So long as we have the first two — free speech and free elections — there is no need to resort to the third.

In point of fact, the stupendous success of Allen West and other Republicans at the ballot box has averted the scenario in which Joyce Kaufman felt she would be justified in going into the wilderness to form an armed resistance. Read more

Category: Allen West, Florida, MSNBC

Cogadh No Sìth

Posted on | November 11, 2010 | 116 Comments

by Smitty

Stacy has greased the skids here, but there will be a hiatus in regular blogging activity for the Smitty portion of this blog duo at the close of this post. I hold orders to activate in mid-November and report to Kabul, Afghanistan in time for Christmas. Bandwidth, and latitude for skylarking online will not exist until the end of 2011.

The attentive may recall that I’m a Navy reservist, and Afghanistan hasn’t much coast. Welcome to the modern, double-Jointed world, where Semper Gumby (always flexible) is the watchword.  Have you supported Project Valor-IT yet?

As a staff REMF, it’s unlikely that I’ll be in harm’s way. This is really one year in an isolated locale, supporting the a few doughty Americans.  Should some sort of combat situation come upon me, there in the capital, things shall have gone really awry. Unlikely. Also, as a 40-something ship driver from the Navy, there is no interest in reliving my non-existent Rambo days. Let’s be crystal clear on that. Besides PowerPoint, I’ll be doing staff officer sorts of things.

But don’t thank me; thank Americans, from the Founding Fathers forward to the Tea Parties, to my electrician brother-in-law who just runs around fixing things all day. The exceptional American dedication to individualism, the ideals of the Constitution, and the courageous soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in whose bigger footsteps I follow make it all worth it. I’ve benefitted so much from the American people, educationally and otherwise. Thus, it’s with a sense of gratitude to you that I depart on this set of orders, finishing out my Navy Reserve career in active duty style.

The post title is a bit of Gaelic meaning “War or Peace:”

Probably the best known playing of Cogadh no Sìth was at the Battle of Waterloo when Piper Kenneth MacKay of Tongue played the tune. Kenneth MacKay was a piper with the 79th Cameron Highlanders. As his regiment was forming a square to defend themselves against the charging French Cuirassiers, the proudest cavalry of its day, Kenneth MacKay stepped outside the square and took up his pipe to play Cogadh no Sith. And there outside the square he marched despite the repeated charges of the French cavalry, all the while playing Cogadh no Sìth.

So, the tune is a Piobaireachd, which is either a sort of beautiful tone poem, done correctly, or a regrettable disaster if I’m the one working out on it. But “War or Peace” was also a poem, a tiny fragment of which survives, in its sweet, fatalistic Scottish glory:

Cogadh no sith, cogadh no sith,
‘S coma leam, ‘s coma leam,
Cogadh no sith;
Marbhar sa cogadh,
No crochar an sith mi.

In English:

War or peace, war or peace,
Alike to me, alike to me,
War or peace;
I will be killed in the war
Or hanged in the peace.

The “War or Peace” link concludes:

The words complemented the mindset of the Cameron clan who were accustomed to rally to the cry:

Chlanna nan con thigibh a so’s gheib sibh feail.

Probably that rhymes in Gaelic. In English, it’s:
‘Come, you sons of hounds, and I will give you flesh’.

And that the attitude that must be presented to the enemies of liberty; Taliban in Afghanistan, or  Progressives closer to home. Thinking you stupid, they will continue to say that you ‘vote against your own interest’, and turn down their bread-and-circus substitutes for Liberty.  Liberty ain’t cheap, and rejecting Progressivism may resemble pain for a while. That’s not pain. That’s Socialist weakness leaving the country, and don’t let these liars sell you otherwise.  Stand and deliver, the way a Progressive cannot, for, at heart, modern Progressivism is a synonym for cowardice.

If I’ve done you any favors, I’d ask that you make this the single most linked post in this blog’s history.  I do have one other project that I want to get out, and something for Pearl Harbor day, but the regular features I’ve been doing are in a hangfire for the nonce.

Yes, there is a ‘Dread Post’ positioned in Draft, backdated to November 2009. Pray that Stacy lacks occasion to publish it.

Now, you sunny beaches know how I feel.

Category: Uncategorized

Glenn Beck Criticizing George Soros? Beck’s a Jew-Hater, Says Media Matters

Posted on | November 11, 2010 | 7 Comments

Sammy Benoit at Yid With Lid disassembles the latest product from the Smear Factory.

Somebody needs to research whether Media Matters rang the anti-Semitism bell when the Left was routinely accusing the Bush administration of being controlled by a sinister cabal of Zionist neo-cons.

Better yet: Why wasn’t it Jew-hating when Media Matters was going after Pamela Geller? (Twenty-one hit pieces in September alone.)

Remember that it is wrong to accuse liberals of not having standards. They have exactly two standards: One for them, and one for everybody else.

UPDATE: Commenter Joe in the previous post links to Jeff Goldstein’s mocking link to a post by Professor Bainbridge telling us that the problem with the conservative movement is . . . Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, Mark Levin and Dan Riehl?

Somehow, I’m thinking that the ghost of Russell Kirk might object to being invoked in support of that argument. And, relevantly, is Professor Bainbridge ignoring the charge of anti-Semitism against Kirk?

“And not seldom it has seemed as if some eminent Neoconservatives mistook Tel Aviv for the capital of the United States — a position they will have difficulty in maintaining, as matters drift in the Levant.”

Just kidding. I’m not going to do the full-on Media Matters guilt-by-association smear on Professor Bainbridge. Rather, I’m trying to point out that this argumentum ad verecundiam trick of invoking Famous Dead Conservatives to condemn Famous (or Semi-Famous) Living Conservatives is generally invalid — mainly because the Famous Dead Conservatives you cite were, in their time, denounced by their enemies as hateful Know-Nothings.

Trying to use Mark Levin as Exhibit A in an indictment of anti-intellectual populism is likely to prove a difficult project: He’s Phi Beta Kappa and a magna cum laude graduate of Temple University.

UPDATE II: Mess with the bull, you get the horns:

I cite to several intellectuals in Liberty and Tyranny. [Professor Bainbridge] quotes Russell Kirk. I am a big fan of Kirk’s. I even cite him in my book, which the professor clearly has not read. I also cite Tocqueville, Locke, Montesquieu, Smith, Lewis, Friedman, and many others. Somehow I missed the professor. Does that sound like an anti-intellectual? And I routinely do the same on the air.
I don’t cite Bainbridge in anything I do because he is sadly inconsequential. . . . His influence, intellectual or otherwise, appears minimal in academia or elsewhere. I’m sure he’s a smart guy. He might even be likeable. But who knows? Who even cares?

Levin links to Bryan Preston’s fisking of David Frum:

When the Democrats all but locked Republicans out of the health care bill negotiations, Frum denounced . . . the Republicans, for not “compromising.” When the Democrats passed that bill over the objections of the majority of the people, Frum denounced. . . the Republicans. Now that the Republicans have won big over the Democrats, here comes Frum to denounce . . . the Republicans. Seeing a pattern in any of this?

Category: Atlas Shrugs, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Yid With Lid

You Should’ve Listened to Glenn Beck

Posted on | November 11, 2010 | 20 Comments

Back in May, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) made himself political point-man for a left-wing attack on Goldline — which just coincidentally happens to be one of Glenn Beck’s few remaining advertisers. (Beck’s show is the No. 1 cable news program in its time slot, but has lost advertising revenue because of the Left’s vitriolic boycott campaign.)

Weiner said that Goldline “takes advantage of fears about President Barack Obama’s stewardship of the economy — which are stoked by its stable of paid conservative endorsers including Beck, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham and Fred Thompson — ‘to cheat consumers.'”

What Weiner and his allies on the Left were saying is that, because Goldline advertised on Beck, it was wrong for Beck to tell his viewers that gold is a wise investment in a time of economic instability. But I advised:

Everybody Should Buy Gold, Even If
Glenn Beck Gets Paid to Tell You So

Gold was then selling at $1,192 an ounce. And now? How does $1,399 an ounce sound to you?

So if you had listened to Glenn Beck and bought gold in May — when Anthony Weiner was telling you that Beck was part of a scheme “to cheat consumers” — your investment would have made you a profit of 17.4% in six months. And check out the news today:

Gold gained in New York as European debt concerns spurred demand for a protection of wealth and as faster inflation in China boosted demand for commodities.
Gold futures climbed to a record $1,424.30 an ounce on Nov. 9 on concern that some European governments may struggle to raise funds. Portuguese and Spanish government bonds declined on mounting concern that nations on Europe’s periphery will be forced to restructure their debt. All six main industrial metals on the London Metal Exchange gained after China’s inflation reached a two-year high.
“The re-emergence of sovereign risk should ultimately help the yellow metal,” Edel Tully, an analyst at UBS AG in London, said in a report. “Rising inflation is one of the single biggest factors driving China’s appetite for gold.”

Did you catch that? Now the Chinese are buying gold.

Maybe they’re watching Glenn Beck in Beijing.

UPDATE: Malice or incompetence? “It’s almost as if the Feds are purposely trying to destroy our currency. That, or they have no clue what they’re doing.”

UPDATE II: Five weeks ago, I suggested that rising stock market indexes were actually a reflection of inflation: Stocks were going up in dollar amounts, because the dollar was losing value. Now, via Instapundit:

“By pushing the dollar down 15%, the Fed managed to goose the S&P 500 by 19% since June 1. Stated that way, the leap in stocks can be seen as mostly the result of the Fed’s eradication of the dollar’s purchasing power. Priced in wheat, which has soared 71% since June, then the U.S. stock market has woefully underperformed.”

In the long run, markets cannot be deceived.

UPDATE: Welcome, Ace of Spades HQ Morons. And I mean “moron” as a compliment, having done quite a bit of commenting there over the years, occasionally under such pseudonyms as “Chuck Norris’ Left Testicle.”

Category: China, Economics, Glenn Beck

Winners and Losers

Posted on | November 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

Right Wing News polled conservative bloggers:

1) Out of the following people and groups, which do you think was the most valuable player in the election cycle?
Jim DeMint: 10.6% (7 votes)
The NRCC: 16.7% (11 votes)
The NRSC: 0.0% (0 votes)
Sarah Palin: 62.1% (41 votes)
The RGA: 9.1% (6 votes)
The RNC: 1.5% (1 vote)

2) Out of the following people and groups, which do you think did the most disappointing job during the election cycle?

Jim DeMint: 0.0% (0 votes)
The NRCC: 4.5% (3 votes)
The NRSC: 55.2% (37 votes)
Sarah Palin: 6% (4 votes)
The RNC: 34.3% (23 votes)
The RGA: 0.0% (0 votes)

Sarah Palin wins, John Cornyn loses. You can read the rest at Right Wing News.

Meanwhile, Allahpundit notes that Palin’s favorable ratings are up.

Category: Election, Polls, Republicans

LIVE AT FIVE – 11.11.10

Posted on | November 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

TOP NEWS

Iraqis Agree On Unity Government

PM Nouri Al-Maliki meets with former PM Iyad Allawi in June

Shiite Maliki To Remain PM, Kurd Talalbani Remains President, Secular Allawi’s Role As Yet Undefined; May Head New Security Council.

G-20 Leaders Gather Amid Currency, Trade Tensions
A quick primer from the WSJ

Crippled Cruise Liner To Reach San Diego Later Today
Left powerless after a fire in the engine room, the Carnival Splendor is being towed to port.



POLITICS

Deficit Panel Draft Leaks; Democrats Howl Loudest

Erskine Bowles (L) and Alan Simpson (R) of the deficit reduction commission

Calls for abolition of popular tax credits, cuts to social Security, Medicare, and other spending, raise in retirement age.

Bachman Drops Bid For Conference Chairman Slot


Write-In Ballot Count Starts In Alaska

Nine House, Governor Races Remain Undecided

FDA Proposes Graphic Warnings For Cigarette Packages
Because nobody’s figured out that cigarettes are bad for you.



THE ECONOMY, STUPID

Cisco Stock Plunges On Bleak Outlook

ROK/US Trade Talks Go Down To The Wire

PRC October Inflation Accelerates to 4.4%, Highest In Two Years

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Is iPad’s First Real Rival

“Call Of Duty: Black Ops” Breaks One-Day Sales Record @7 Million Units

Android Now #2 Phone OS



SPORTS

Moss Gets To Work As Titans Prep For Dolphins

Randy Moss works out with the Titans

“I am not coming here to start no trouble. I am just coming in here to work every day and hopefully win.”

Mariners Broadcaster Dave Niehaus, 75, Dies


Nyets Rally In Second Half To Beat Cavs, 95-87

Yao Injured As Rockets Collapse Against Wizards

Veteran Scott Rolen Wins Gold Glove Over Nats’ Ryan Zimmerman

Front Row Lap Dance At The Cowboys Game (Video)



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS

Demi Lovato Doing Coke On Camera?

Demi Lovato, while not allegedly doing blow

Disney looking at plan B for “Sonny With A Chance” while Demi’s in rehab

Pink Is Pregnant

Some Women Should Not Wear Bikinis. Ke$ha Is One Of Them.

Vanessa Hudgens Will Make It All Better.


Wes Anderson Attracts All-Star Cast For “Moon Rise Kingdom”

Daniel Radcliffe Dishes On Kissing Emma Watson



FOREIGNERS

Whining Commences Over G-20 Security Fence In Seoul

British Claim Parcel Bombs Set To Detonate While Planes Over East Coast

Iraqi Christians Suffer From Al-Qaeda Persecution; PM Al-Maliki Promises Protection But One-Third already Fled Abroad

Sri Lanka Publishes Porn Faces In Crackdown



BLOGS & STUFF

Greg Mankiw: Deficit Commission And I Thinking Alike

Sundries Shack: Rich Get Richer  – In The Federal Government

John Nolte: Pleasing Republicans Necessary For Network Success

Althouse: Bush Talks About Supreme Court Nominees

Gateway Pundit: W Schools Matt Lauer On Economics (Video)

Dennis The Peasant: Go Ahead And Take Away Our Light Rail. Nobody Cares.


— compiled by Wombat-socho

Category: Live at Five

VIDEO: Zombie Six Flags

Posted on | November 11, 2010 | 3 Comments

Brief explanation:

Six Flags New Orleans, which closed as Hurricane Katrina approached in 2005 and has never reopened. The sign outside the park still announces that it’s “CLOSED FOR STORM.”
The theme park was in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, one of the hardest hit areas during Katrina and the flooding after the storm. Though many of the rides still stand, Six Flags says that saltwater from the flood has corroded them to the point that they cannot be saved. . . .

Category: Video

Demi Lovato’s Downward Spiral

Posted on | November 10, 2010 | 5 Comments

Once you get dumped by Joe Jonas, you need something for the pain:

She was doing line after line [of cocaine] like a pro — and she was 17 at the time.

Let’s see: Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Demi Lovato . . . Is there an ex-Disney child star who hasn’t turned into a celebrity basket case yet?

Does anyone want to bet that, within a year, Miley Cyrus will either be (a) busted for DUI, (b) hospitalized for rehab, or (c) both?

Double-or-nothing if she ends up dating Keith Olbermann.

UPDATE: One of my Twitter friends remarked: “What does Disney do to those girls? Did Hayley Mills ever have problems?”

For benefit of younger readers, it is perhaps necessary to explain that Hayley Mills was the star of a number of wholesome old-time Disney movies, including the 1961 original version of The Parent Trap.

So, did Hayley Mills have problems? According to Wikipedia: In 1971, at age 25, she married the 58-year-old man who had directed her in a 1966 movie. They divorced a few years later, and Mills eventually became a Hare Krishna.

Not quite the drugs-DUI-and-rehab trip of latter-day Disney girsl, but I guess Mills’ bio might qualify as “problems.”

Category: Celebrities
« go back — keep looking »

    About

    This is an area on your website where you can add text. This will serve as an informative location on your website, where you can talk about your site.

    Subscribe to our feed

    Search

    Admin