A great day for America, not so good for liberal Washington

Simply amazing. Thousands lined the streets of major U.S. cities to protest big government. They brought their homemade signs with thoughtful messages (none of that "Bush = Hitler" crap). They brought along their children. They demonstrated peacefully. And best of all, they chanted "USA" whenever given the chance.

The success of Tax Day tea parties is revealing in many ways:

• It proved that ordinary citizens do care. They care about their kids' future, their families, and more importantly, their beloved country.
• It proved that the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress are very out of touch with America. President Obama pretends he's never heard of these tea parties, further insulting Americans' intelligence.
• It got on the nerves of the liberal mainstream media big time. Why else would they refuse to cover them? Or why would CNN's Susan Roesgen make an ass of herself on national TV? More evidence of the MSM's leftist alignment with the current administration.
• It also promoted the FairTax! (Hey, Chuck Morris is a believer!)
• It demonstrated that conservatives are even better with grassroots organization. These parties were not led or organized by political parties, established organizations, etc. They were organized by volunteers around the country. Conservatives get the last laugh when it comes to utilizing technology.

Nashville, Tennessee: 10,000. Rochester, NY: 1,000. Cincinnati: 4,000. Madison, Wisconsin: 8,000. Chicago: 4,000. Olympia, Washington: 5,000. Boise, Idaho: 2,500. Austin, TX: 1,500. Lansing, Michigan: 7,000. Jacksonville, FL: 2,000. Atlanta: 20,000. And that's only the tip of an iceberg...

And those ACORN or liberal saboteurs? Probably decided to stay home and watch the rallies on TV instead. I have no doubt that they secretly tuned into Fox News tonight.

DHS' Napolitano should resign over "rightwing extremism" report

This controversial report has touched the nerves of half the country by broadly defining "rightwing extremists" as anyone who is pro-life and supports states rights. It even warns of military veterans being vulnerable to be recruited by rightwing extremist movement.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, fully aware of this report, comes out to say she stands by it 100%. Does she realize that this report pretty much categorizes any supporters of the U.S. Constitution as a rightwing extremist?! How ridiculous is that?! This report clearly targets the conservatives who are speaking out against the liberal Obama administration. The report includes no particular names of organizations or individuals.

Secretary Napolitano should resign for this shameful report. Today we have a President who's a good friend of domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and foul-mouthed pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, yet she's standing by this report?! Obama wouldn't pass a security clearence for a regular federal job with his past associations!

Today is Tax Day, time to have Tea Parties

Tax Day has finally come. And as the WSJ points out, nationwide there are more than 300 tea parties being organized. Each state of the union will have one:

Today American taxpayers in more than 300 locations in all 50 states will hold rallies -- dubbed "tea parties" -- to protest higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. There is no political party behind these rallies, no grand right-wing conspiracy, not even a 501(c) group like MoveOn.org.

The most revealing aspect of these tea parties is that it's not led by a political party, labor union, or organization. It is purely a grassroots movement of ordinary Americans who want to give the government a piece of their mind. Of course, liberals are making snarky comments at these protesters, and the mainstream media joins the chorus. They label the tea party movement as "AstroTurf," claiming it is not a real grassroots movement. (Liberals would like to trademark "grassroots" if it were legal to do so.)

Whatever. Nobody really cares what the liberals think anyway. Look back at their rallies and you'll notice something oddly similar. They're often coordinated and led by organizations such as ACORN, MoveOn, Code Pink, NOW, etc. In their case, the protesters are mindless followers.

Today's tea parties, the protesters are leaders. Everyday citizens who work hard to feed their families, make payments on mortgages, and have a simple message: We want more of our own money kept in our wallets. They are not gathering because a political party or activist organization tells them to. In fact, many conservative organizations are the followers of the movement.

Look at this map. This is the real change we can believe in.

It's official: Administration sees conservatives as "rightwing extremists"

This is unbelievable. Michelle Malkin confirms the validity of this DHS report about "rightwing extremism" after Obama's historic election. Check out this footnote on page 2:

(U) Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or
rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

Now you may close your jaws and take deep breaths. No kidding about the "broadly divided" categorization! This pretty much sums up how this liberal administration sees its conservative opposition.

It gets better! Big Brother is watching and listening on the Internet (page 3):

(U//FOUO) Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the
economy, the perceived loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures. Anti-Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish “financial elites.” These “accusatory” tactics are employed to draw new recruits into rightwing extremist groups and further radicalize those already subscribing to extremist beliefs. DHS/I&A assesses this trend is likely to accelerate if the economy is perceived to worsen.

Conservative bloggers, radio show hosts, Twitter users, or even visitors of conservative Websites who like to leave comments -- be warned! Especially if you like to criticize the White House's economic policies.

With the revelation of this DHS report, I'm going to assume that federal agents will be present at the tea parties in major cities. That's a reasonable assumption now. I'm also going to assume that federal agencies will compile reports about these mass demonstrations, too.

Obama's economic policies pave way for America's indebted future. What future awaits us now we know how serious his administration views the opposition?

Are Republicans really anti-gay?

Sen. McCain's daughter, Meghan, writes in support for "A Gayer GOP"... She makes very good points:

The Log Cabin Republicans’ mission "is to work within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians." The group is centered on core Republican values, such as limited government, individual liberty and responsibility, an economy based in free markets, and a strong national defense. And in the spirit of the GOP’s founding beliefs—personal freedom and liberty—they are dedicated to securing full equality for gays and lesbians in America to create a stronger, larger, and more-unified GOP.

What I found most interesting about the Log Cabin Republicans is where and when they got their start: in California, during the late '70s. At the time, much of the progress made in securing equal rights for gays was drawing a backlash. A successful movement to overturn antidiscrimination laws in Dade County, Florida, was led by singer Anita Bryant. States like Arkansas and Oklahoma prohibited gays from teaching jobs. And a California Republican state senator suggested a proposition for voters to keep gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools. (At one point, the initiative was leading in polls with more than 60 percent of voters supporting it.) In the end, voters rejected the proposition in November 1978, by a margin of more than a million votes. While several prominent Democrats and Republicans rallied to secure its defeat, one Republican in particular helped turn the tide—former California Governor Ronald Wilson Reagan.

She's absolutely correct about those Republican values. Also, bonus on bringing up the tidbit about Reagan's fight for gay rights. But President Bush's eight years have brought about an unexpected split among the GOP: the "social conservatives" no longer identifying with the "political conservatives," the Republican Party we know today. And that's one of the reasons Meghan's father lost to Barack Obama. Disillusioned conservatives punished the GOP by not voting or worse yet, voting for Obama.

Perhaps the Republican's message on gay issues isn't clear enough? The anti-gay backslash stemmed primarily from gay activists' agenda of redefining marriage on a national level. Marriage is an institution established way prior to the gay rights movement. Most Americans don't care what adults do in their own homes and in their own times, but most Americans aren't ready to accept a family with two "married" daddies or mommies. More importantly, gays today enjoy the same civil liberties as everyone else. It's left to the states to determine how they want to treat marriage and that's just fine. The Constitution says nothing about the federal government defining marriage, so it's reasonable that this decision is left to the state legislatures.

I applaud Ms. McCain's effort in turning the GOP into a more gay-friendly political party, but should that be the focus of party leaders? There is comfort in knowing about the existence of the Log Cabin Republicans and gay conservatives. After all, we hardly ever hear about pro-life liberals. Doesn't that clearly illustrate the Republican Party's wider acceptance? Let's hope her efforts do not end up being a distraction to the core GOP agenda.

Navy SEAL snipers save captain

Three dead Somali pirates. One held in custody. The captain is safe and lives to tell the story of exceptional SEAL sharpshooters.

Let's pause for a moment and really think about the circumstances of this mission. Captain Richard Phillips already had one failed escape attempt, and the pirates were ready to shoot him if he tries again, or if the negotiations break down. The snipers shot the three pirates when two came up to get fresh air and one through the window of the lifeboat. Remember, these sharpshooters are on a boat on the high seas. Their targets are on a boat, too. Imagine shooting a target that far away while bobbing up and down. And you only have one chance.

Amazing! They are truly American heroes.

Which part of "no supporters of abortion" doesn't Obama understand?!

The White House is struggling to find an ambassador for the Vatican. Strike two: Caroline Kennedy, who publicly supports abortion.

It's not that hard, really. The Vatican's requirements are quite straightforward and even has nothing to do with taxes: Don't send us an abortion supporter! That's it! Send us an ambassador who values life and preferably a Catholic.

But President Obama cannot get it through his head that no means no. And the choice of Kennedy? Obviously to make up for her blundered pre-campaign to fill Hillary Clinton's senate seat. He is clearly politicking this diplomat choice, and the result once again demonstrates that he's not as popular in Europe as he thinks. How arrogant of him to push the issue of abortion onto the Holy See?!

I'm not a Catholic and I'm even mad about this appointment! It's truly an insult.

The ginormous left-wing conspiracy

Forget about the vast right-wing conspiracy. You need to read about the ginormous ("gigantic" and "enormous") left-wing conspiracy. Happening right in front of your eyes.

Still any doubt of the mainstream media not being a left-leaning establishment?

Have a blessed Easter weekend

Thanks for all your support. I wish you a great Easter weekend with family and friends!

Beyond tea parties... FairTax!

If you're a reader of this blog, I assume you already know about the Tax Day Tea ("Taxed Enough Already") Parties organized across America on April 15. This is a grassroots movement of citizens to protest the irresponsible spending that's coming from Washington under the Obama administration and Democratic Congress. Concerned citizens realize that although we are in a recession, we believe the recent government economic measures prolong the suffering and we do not wish for our future generations to pay for this administration's expansion of power and path to socialism.

The mainstream media, as always, refuses to acknowledge the growing angst among not just conservatives, but any ordinary citizen. I bet you will not see a lot of news coverage about these tea parties. Why? Because in the MSM's minds, these protests are pro-Republican and anti-Obama. They have failed to understand that these tea parties are not about partisan politics. It is about America's principles and the attacks thereof from the current administration.

The hope is that these tea parties will send a clear message to Washington and wake Americans up. But I hope to see the momentum continue on April 16, the day after. America is the least productive from January 1 to April 14 because of Tax Day. Will the tea parties also educate the public about America's ridiculous tax code? Each year Americans spend countless hours filing their tax returns. It's a necessary evil, nobody likes to do taxes -- not even accountants. American corporations are losing competitiveness because of the tax code. Companies and talents are going overseas to build businesses. Something has to be done or we no longer stay as a global economic power.

The FairTax is a good answer and deserves more attention in this recession. It's no coincidence that supporters of the FairTax are also going to tea parties. The FairTax bill, sponsored by Rep. John Linder (GA-7), and endorsed by many other leading policitians and conservatives (e.g. former Gov. Mike Huckabee, talk show host and author Neal Boortz, etc.) is attracting more eyes in Congress as the word is spreading among constituents. People are fed up with taxes!

Take a closer look at the characteristics of a strong nation. It needs a powerful military and a strong economy. Look eastward to Asia and you'll find the Chinese economy and military rival ours. The only difference? China is ruled by communists and Beijing in recent years have been undermining America's military and diplomatic efforts. So it's fitting to say that a strong economy is even a matter of national security.

No one expects the tax code to be revised or the IRS abolished overnight. But now more than ever is a good time to start thinking about how to restore America's economic might again by way of a new tax system.

America's global image isn't any better with "surrender monkey" Obama

Seriously, I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this from the Telegraph:

Then came the dramatic bit, the authentic West Wing script, with the President wakened in the middle of the night in Prague to be told that Kim Jong-il had just launched a Taepodong-2 missile. America had Aegis destroyers tracking the missile and could have shot it down. But Uncle Sam had a sterner reprisal in store for l'il ole Kim (as Dame Edna might call him): a multi-megaton strike of Obama hot air.

"Rules must be binding," declared Obama, referring to the fact that Kim had just breached UN Resolutions 1695 and 1718. "Violations must be punished." (Sounds ominous.) "Words must mean something." (Why, Barack? They never did before, for you - as a cursory glance at your many speeches will show.)

President Pantywaist is hopping mad and he has a strategy to cut Kim down to size: he is going to slice $1.4bn off America's missile defence programme, presumably on the calculation that Kim would feel it unsporting to hit a sitting duck, so that will spoil his fun.

Watch out, France and Co, there is a new surrender monkey on the block and, over the next four years, he will spectacularly sell out the interests of the West with every kind of liberal-delusionist initiative on nuclear disarmament and sitting down to negotiate with any power freak who wants to buy time to get a good ICBM fix on San Francisco, or wherever. If you thought the world was a tad unsafe with Dubya around, just wait until President Pantywaist gets into his stride.

"President Pantywaist"? "Surrender monkey"? Where's the love from across the pond, President Obama? Europe absolutely went wild for you even when you were just a candidate! What has changed since January 20, 2009? You spoke of lifting America's global image, but look at us now.

Thanks, Topix readers!

Wow, a lot of traffic coming from Topix today! Thanks to Topix member "Agent of Chaos" for reposting. I take it a lot of readers are paying attention to immigration reform and the White House's take on it. This is an issue that demands more dialog and scrutiny.

EFF: Obama DOJ worse than Bush's

So there you have it. The Electronic Frontier Foundation says President Obama's DOJ is even worse than President Bush's. What really rubs the EFF lawyers the wrong way?

Sad as that is, it's the Department Of Justice's second argument that is the most pernicious. The DOJ claims that the U.S. Government is completely immune from litigation for illegal spying — that the Government can never be sued for surveillance that violates federal privacy statutes.

This is a radical assertion that is utterly unprecedented. No one — not the White House, not the Justice Department, not any member of Congress, and not the Bush Administration — has ever interpreted the law this way.

Well, I'm not surprised. President Obama and his administration has shown blatant disrespect for the Constitution and other principles of our Republic.

The polarizing president

Remember Obama's promise of bipartisanship during the campaign? Remember his message of unity at the inauguration? Well, that may be kind of hard when he's the most polarizing president in the first few months of his term:

The Pew Research Center reported last week that President Barack Obama "has the most polarized early job approval of any president" since surveys began tracking this 40 years ago. The gap between Mr. Obama's approval rating among Democrats (88%) and Republicans (27%) is 61 points. This "approval gap" is 10 points bigger than George W. Bush's at this point in his presidency, despite Mr. Bush winning a bitterly contested election.

Part of Mr. Obama's polarized standing can be attributed to a long-term trend. University of Missouri political scientist John Petrocik points out that since 1980, each successive first term president has had more polarized support than his predecessor with the exception of 1989, when George H.W. Bush enjoyed a modest improvement over Ronald Reagan's 1981 standing.

But rather than end or ameliorate that trend, Mr. Obama's actions and rhetoric have accelerated it. His campaign promised post-partisanship, but since taking office Mr. Obama has frozen Republicans out of the deliberative process, and his response to their suggestions has been a brusque dismissal that "I won."

Karl Rove in this WSJ piece also points out the fact that even moderate Democrats in Congress decided to join the Republicans to oppose the budget. Ironically, if any unity has been shown in Washington, it's from the Congressional Republicans.

The next bailout: illegal immigration!

The White House with the support of the Democratic Congress so far have bailed out irresponsible homeowners, banks, insurance companies, and automakers. And why stop there? The illegal immigrants deserve their piece of the pie, too!

President Obama strikes the iron while it's hot. With the country still struggling with the recession and jobs are hard to come by, he'll have the undivided attention of the illegal immigrant communities. According to the NYT, he's asking politicians for immigration "reform" to go out amongst the voters (wait, can illegals vote?!) to garner populous support:

That is why Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, a Democrat from Mr. Obama’s hometown, Chicago, has been on the road most weekends since last December, traveling far outside his district to meetings in Hispanic churches, hoping to generate something like a civil rights movement in favor of broad immigration legislation.

Mr. Gutierrez was in Philadelphia on Saturday at the Iglesia Internacional, a big Hispanic evangelical church in a former warehouse, the 17th meeting in a tour that has included cities as far flung as Providence, R.I.; Atlanta; Miami; and San Francisco. Greeted with cheers and amens by a full house of about 350 people, Mr. Gutierrez, shifting fluidly between Spanish and English, called for immigration policies to preserve family unity, the strategic theme of his campaign.

At each meeting, speakers from the community, mainly citizens, tell stories of loved ones who were deported or of delays and setbacks in the immigration system. Illegal immigrants have not been invited to speak.

Mr. Gutierrez’s meetings have all been held in churches, both evangelical and Roman Catholic, with clergy members from various denominations, including in several places Muslim imams. At one meeting in Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, officiated.

First, only the NYT would compare this to a civil rights movement. Sorry, but in America you only have civil rights if you're a lawful resident or citizen. (So the Democrats want terrorists to have civil rights, too, but that's another story...)

Second, "broad immigration legislation"? That's liberal-speak for "amnesty." Last time I checked America is still governed by rule of law, and we do have immigration laws in place for law-abiding immigrants to go through a process in order to obtain residency and citizenship. Millions of immigrants do it. Why can't these illegals? If the President and Congress have their way, these illegal immigrants get to take the easy and cheap way out.

Third, why don't we say what this is really about? Much like the other bailouts involving trillions of taxpayers money, illegal immigration amnesty is just indirect vote buying. This isn't just luring voters. This would actually create voters! And guess which party they'll likely to vote for?

Obama's sensitive diplomacy is idiotic

President Obama is afraid that accepting a sincere invitation from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit Normandy would offend the Germans and British. According to the Telegraph:

"During this trip, we wanted to maintain a balance between the British, German and France". A White House spokesman in London declined to comment. Last month, White House officials briefed that a Normandy visit had been considered but it had not been logistically possible.

Mr Obama will arrive in Strasbourg on Friday for the Nato summit. He will hold a meeting with Mr Sarkozy and a brief press appearance in Strasbourg and then fly to Baden-Baden to do exactly the same with Chancellor Merkel of Germany. He will then fly to Prague on Saturday.

This is so Obama, the celebrity. He thinks the presidency is a popularity contest. Since he gave the speech at the DNC as the junior Senator of Illinois, the mainstream media has been treating him like a king, and he really does think he's a global celebrity these days. He'll do anything to stay as the most likable world leader, even at the cost of showing his unprincipled diplomacy skills to the press.

When one of America's foremost European allies invites you to visit a historic site, it's a no-brainer. If for whatever reason the invitation is to be declined, you don't say it's for the sake of being sensitive to other nations. Come on, we're all adults, we've already learned from history and understand that life isn't fair.

What would he say if America suffers another Islamist terrorist attack? Would he refrain from issuing a statement for fear of offending the millions of Muslims in the world? His views on diplomacy is amateurish at best. I sure hope he has it in his heart knowing that America is great because it's not afraid to offend.

Sham bill: D.C. House Voting Rights Act

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is sponsoring this bill, along with a bunch of other Democratic Senators and a couple of RINOs, to give the people of Washington, D.C. a House representative because their voices need to be heard blah-blah-blah...

Never mind that Article I Section 2 of the Constitution clearly states that only states can have members in the House:

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

D.C. is not a state. D.C. does not have a state legislature. So why are Congressmen sponsoring such a bill which blatantly violates the Supreme Law of the Land? I mean, how can this even be constitutional if passed?

Congressional Black Caucus politicking in Cuba

You think the North Korean nuts are demanding attention? I give you the Congressional Black Caucus. No, these black Congressmen are not shooting missiles, but they fly to communist Cuba to cozy up with the Castro brothers. Maybe the socialists and communists are exchanging ideas on how to better their respective countries. I'm waiting on the day that Islamofascists are invited to the meeting too.

The PUMA Weeniemobile: Detroit nails its own coffin

Say hello to PUMA, the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility project from General Motors with the help of Segway. Obama doesn't think the G.M. Volt could save the company, so he "kindly" asks for a replacement project, and it's going to be PUMA. Oh yes, that's what happens when the government runs an auto company. The Volt was generating a lot of buzz, and G.M. poured so much time and money into the project, but now we have to look forward to PUMA.

Fierce sounding name, but it's just a glorified Segway. Top speed: 35 mph for 35 miles. That means commuters will have to wake up another hour early just to make it in time to the office. That is, if PUMA drivers don't get killed by SUVs and trucks first. And hoping the weather is balmy.

Seriously, nobody in Detroit would even want to drive this. Do you know how cold it gets in Detroit?

I want to see a picture of the President sitting in one of these ugly things. He ought to take the lead in endorsing this product.

Obama should re-read the Declaration of Independence

I get it: Obama wants to define his presidency as one of tolerance, unity, and change. That's probably why he made a global fool of himself while speaking in Turkey:

President Obama told reporters in Turkey that America is not defined by any one religion. "I've said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is, although as I mentioned we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values," said the president.

Is he not fan of U.S. history and our Founding Fathers? The Declaration of Independence, which founded the country, contains the words "God" and "Creator" and "Divine Providence." Look at the U.S. currency: "In God We Trust." Many leaders end their speeches with "God bless America"...

We are a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values and are not afraid to stand up for God (unless you're a President worried about how Muslims perceive you).