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The GOP response to the State of the Union; wait for it

Joni Ernst, the newly elected senator from Iowa, will give the Republican response to the president’s State of the Union address tonight, and the long knives of the media are already out.

Of course, they recalled the anemic responses made by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Sen. Marco Rubio, while failing to mention last year’s impressive performance by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the most senior GOP woman in House leadership.

ben Baker for politico

Politico published this unflattering wide-eyed photo of Sen. Joni Ernst with its coverage of her selection to give the Republican response to the State of the Union address. (benbaker for politico)

Bachmann (village voice.com)

Newsweek did a number on Rep. Michele Bachmann with this wide-eyed cover shot in 2011. (villagevoice.com)

While most of the media published flattering pictures of Ernst in their coverage, Politico, the publication that promises to deliver nonpartisan news, fast, fair and first, chose to use a tight close-up featuring a wide-eyed Ernst.  It reminded me of the unflattering cover photo Newsweek published of Rep. Michele Bachmann in 2011 accompanying its piece, Queen of Rage. Continue reading →

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Peggy Noonan advises Mitt Romney not to run; why should he listen to her?

Those of us who follow the political scene and remember who said what about whom, recall how Peggy Noonan shook up the right with her “endorsement” of Barack Obama in 2008.

Noonan (lonelyconservative.com)

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan’s advice to Mitt Romney is dissected by kramerontheright. (lonely conservative.com

“He has within him the possibility to change the direction and tone of American foreign policy; his victory would provide a fresh start in a nation in which a fresh start would come as a national relief,” she wrote about Obama in her Wall Street Journal column.  She went on to comment that he was steady, calm, and showed good judgment.

Noonan was taken in like many other members of the media. New York Times columnist, David Brooks, wrote that he could tell by Obama’s perfectly creased pant leg that he was going to be president and a very good one at that; and MSNBC’s Chris Mathews remarked how he felt a tingle up his leg when he heard Obama speak.

Since 2008, however, Noonan has seen the light, writing a number of critical pieces on Obama, his policies and programs. “Mr. Obama seemed brilliant,” she wrote in 2011, recalling his longing for unity; that we weren’t divided into red and blue states; we can solve our problems together.

To conservatives, Noonan became someone we loved to hate.  As a writer, I never stopped reading her columns, and often found myself agreeing with her in later years.

Reagan (blog.heartland.org)

President Reagan delivered Peggy Noonan’s Pointe du Hoc speech in usual fashion at the 40th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. (blog.heartleand.org)

You may not be aware that Noonan was a speechwriter in the Reagan White House.  She wrote the famous speech Ronald Reagan gave at the 40th Anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1984.  I’ll never forget the memorable line as he spoke of the daggers thrust into the top of the cliffs, “And before me are the men who put them there.  These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs.” While you will find the complete speech on the Internet, click here to hear that stirring line. Continue reading →

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Is the White House delaying Bergdahl decision?

Mrs. Bergdahl (daily mail UK

In an unusual photo op, President Obama walks to the Rose Garden with his arm around the waist of Jani Bergdahl, mother of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. (dailymail.co.uk)

A casually dressed President Obama was all smiles as he left the Oval Office with his arm around Jani Bergdahl as they headed for a Rose Garden photo op to announce that United States had secured the release of her son, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, in exchange for five terrorists being held at Guantanamo.

I have witnessed a number of such walks to the Rose Garden, with staff appointments, judicial nominees and special guests, but never has the president taken them arm and arm let alone with his arm around their waist.  It was truly unusual.

Who thought this photo op was something he should do?  Obama himself?  Yes, he was prisoner of war being released, but what about the murky circumstances of the case?  Clearly, he deserted his post in Afghanistan five years earlier. Continue reading →

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“We’re going to close Guantanamo.” – Barack Obama, June 24, 2007

It’s unconscionable that President Obama is more concerned about keeping a campaign promise, and preserving some sort of legacy with his base, than he is in protecting our national security.  Yet it’s happening before our eyes.

The faces of the five detainees (below) released in exchange for the release of Army Sgt.… read more

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What’s in the Delaware water? Biden, and now Coons

“Seventy percent of Americans in a recent national poll also said they want a carbon tax or they want the EPA to be able to regulate Carbon Dioxide.” – Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)

You may have missed this astonishing statement made by Senator  Chris Coons on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.  Disappointingly, it went unchallenged by Wallace. How many viewers do you suppose thought Coons’ statement was truthful?

coons (foxnews.com)

Sen. Chris Coons, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said 70 percent of Americans want a carbon tax. Not! Wonder if he believes in the tooth fairy. (foxnews.com)

I thought some background would be helpful for you to understand where his statement originated.

In December 2012, Friends of the Earth (FOE) contracted with the Mellman Group to do what they called a “national survey” by telephone.  You are aware of the FOE, but may not be familiar with Mellman, which has a long history of polling for Democrats, including Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Al Franken and Carl Levin.  They have also done work for the Sierra Club, the World Wildlife Fund and a host of unions, including the NEA and the AFL-CIO.

Mellman pollsters were able to determine the respondent’s political leaning in the opening question, asking if they had a favorable or unfavorable impression of Barack Obama, environmental groups, Wall Street banks, Democrats in Congress, Republicans in Congress and companies that emit carbon pollution.

Then the pollster asked, “Which is a better way to reduce the nation’s deficit – Tax carbon pollution from big polluters such as oil, gas and other companies, or cut spending on programs like education, Social Security, Medicare and environmental protection?”  Well, duh! Continue reading →

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Duly noted …

                                                                                              We won’t miss you, Ma’am

Boixer (politico.com)

Sen. Barbara Boxer announced she will not seek reelection in 2016. She apparently sees the handwriting on the wall for her party (politico.com)

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced she will not seek reelection in 2016.  It’s appropriate, I think, that the signal memory of her is one that clearly illustrates the arrogance of this egotistical, liberal senator.  It was in June 2009, during testimony by Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh of the Army Corps of Engineers, when he addressed her as “ma’am.”   Senator Boxer immediately interrupted him saying, “Do me a favor, can you say ‘senator’ instead of ‘ma’am?’”  Continuing, she said, “It’s just that I worked hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it.  Thank you.” Click here if you want to see it.

A good soldier, he obliged, but it will be this incident that will linger when Boxer’s name surfaces long after she’s gone. Continue reading →

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Liberal columnist, who regularly destroys reputations, bemoans loss of sense of awe

The left-leaning Arizona Republic columnist, EJ Montini, bemoans the loss of his sense of “awe” when it comes to politicians, entertainers, writers and ballplayers.

Montini (azcentral

Liberal columnist EJ Montini regularly tears down politicians, yet he bemoans the loss of a sense of awe. (azcentral.com)

“One of the worst things about the news business is that it robs you of your sense of awe,” he writes, “you recognize very quickly that the rich and famous and powerful are just … people.”

While commenting on the cynical times we live in, he owes it to television and social media, but fails to recognize that he regularly tears these people down in his columns.

“Individuals for whom previous generations would have looked upon with awe, simply owing to their status, we look upon with suspicion, even disdain,” he writes as he refers to outgoing Governor Jan Brewer.

He blames cynical parents for robbing their children of their sense of awe when it is he, with his liberal views, who persuade us to view people and events cynically.  If that were so, how does he explain the majority of those in the audience at President Obama’s Central High School appearance were impressionable teenagers?

Several students expressed their appreciation that the president would visit their school, citing that it doesn’t have the best reputation. Continue reading →

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Obama’s warm-up for State of the Union address

Ramierez cartoon

President Obama made no mention of the failure of automakers to put a million electric cars on the road by 2015 during his visit to Ford this week. (Cartoon courtesy Michael Ramierez, IBD)

Understanding that many of you may not have noticed, President Obama made stops in three states this week to do warm-up speeches in preparation for his State of the Union address, here are the low-lights.

Speaking at a Ford plant in Detroit, he again credited his steps to rescue the economy and rebuild it on a new foundation, stating that we are entering the New Year with new confidence that America is coming back.

“You don’t have to take my word for it.  The facts are the facts,” he stated while touting his administration’s statistics on job creation and unemployment.

Missing, however, was his glowing vision of the electric car market.  Could it be the reason that Ford and the other manufacturers have fallen far short of his goal of having a million of them on the road by 2015?  Some 850,000 short.

Having “invested” $8 billion in taxpayer funds, the president quietly shelved his goal.  The lower price of gas at the pump is sure to further reduce electric car sales. Continue reading →

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Obamacare: Looking past the heartbreak and a little bit of humor to a pending Court decision

With the U. S. Supreme Court scheduling of oral arguments in the case of King V. Burwell on March 4, 2015, I thought I would again touch on the controversial ObamaCare.  At issue is the questioning of how people in states with federally-run exchanges can lawfully get tax credit subsidies under the so-called Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare).  The law clearly states they cannot.  Recently, two health insurance related stories came to my attention, providing the impetus for this blog post.

Doctors (dailycaller.com)

While many doctors are retiring, others are forming Concierge practices in order to better serve its members. (dailycaller.com)

I’ve been reading numerous stories about the misfortunes taxpayers are experiencing with increased premiums and deductibles, and those IRS penalties soon to hit many of them.  Bringing it a bit closer to home, a friend sent me a copy of a letter he received from his doctor outlining the challenges faced in his daily practice of medicine brought about by ObamaCare.

Faced with a decision on how to provide the kind of care he believed he wanted to provide his patients, like many physicians, he decided to transition to the Concierge model of care.  Beginning this month, he is limiting his practice to 500 patients agreeing to pay an annual membership fee.  As a result, 2,500 patients will be forced to find a new doctor.   This is happening across the nation. Continue reading →

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Muslim attack evokes memories and reminders

247BCD7500000578-2900259-image-a-71_1420643665252

One of the terrorists in Paris is shown shooting a policeman despite his pleading for mercy.

Waking up this morning to the news of Muslims killing 10 journalists and two police officers in Paris reminded me of the several times my readers have directed me to a 2009 You Tube video of Muslims shutting down Paris streets for prayer. Click here to see it.

My wife and I have enjoyed our many trips to Paris and other parts of France.  I vividly recall that the usual warnings we received about hoodlums, who want to rip off unsuspecting tourists, became more serious as the Muslim population grew there.  The same was true in London.

More recently, a reader sent me a piece being circulated about the growing Muslim U.S. terrorist network, the increasing number of mosques appearing in our cities and the Muslims who are gaining regular access to the White House, thanks to Obama administration appointments. Continue reading →