Alrighty let's get down to it.

Barry Soetoro: Profiles in Chaos
In this interesting Canada Free Press article Joy Tiz points out that when reporters have belatedly looked into the details of Obama's autobiography nearly every detail seems to have been exaggerated or just made up. Of course the auto part is even in doubt given the strong evidence that Bill Ayers ghost-wrote most of it. But even beyond that the parts of the story that presumably came from Obama himself don't quite stand up to scrutiny - it seems more like the life story that Obama might have imagined in the future Oscar-winning movie about him than the confused, semi-dysfunctional, somewhat privileged life that he actually had growing up. And it's not clear that Obama has ever come to terms with it.

Barry Soetoro suffered through a traumatic childhood. He didn’t get the stable, nurturing, loving parents he needed. But lots of people overcome childhood trauma and live healthy happy lives. What we need to be concerned about is Obama’s lack of insight into his own issues. In Dreams, he falls into the typical pattern of idealizing his absent parents rather than confronting the reality of who they were and how they treated him. At no point does Obama acknowledge that his childhood caused him any problems instead he projects his rage onto white people. Every bad break, including his parents’ divorce was caused by “racism”.

Well a lot of people including Ronald Reagan have overcome bad childhoods, but usually at some point they've had to be honest with themselves about the reality of their parents and family. In any case they were ultimately judged based on their actions and accomplishments as adults. But Obama with a thin resume devoid of any concrete accomplishments was mostly about his story, skin color, and speechmanship. And now his life story turns out to have been more fantasy than reality. So who is Obama really? I doubt anyone truly knows perhaps not even Obama himself. Maybe he's just a guy in a Barrack Obama suit playing the greatest role ever.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:34 PM | Comments (502)
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Above the post update:

I know hockey isn't everyone's thing but you really should give this game a chance. It's being played at an insanely high level and fast pace. The US is leading 2-1 off a pair of goals by NJ Devils Detroit Red Wings Defenseman Brian Rafalski.

I know it's tempting fate to poke a sleeping bear but here's what American born NY Ranger, though not Olympian, Brandon Dubinski had to say about Canada's all world player Sidney Crosby last week.

The game is on MSNBC and really worth a look.

Heh, I just got a text message from tmi3rd: "If this were the NHL, there would have been a monster fight after the third goal".

I was thinking the same thing...you can tell some of the boys wanna go. Alas, it's the Olympics. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 02:50 PM | Comments (699)
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If the claims are true, this might be the first "biofuel" to actually make any economic sense.

...With algal oil productivities that could potentially reach annual average levels in the range of 3,000 to 5,000 gallons per acre, the land footprint required for large volumes of renewable fuel production would be minimal when compared with other conventional oil crops, such as soy and canola, that produce between 50 and 120 gallons per acre per year.
...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 09:56 AM | Comments (271)
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It was great to see so many new faces at the latest L.A.-area meetup. I almost got to talk to everyone.

I appreciate the predictions about the California senate and gubernatorial races. Everyone pretty much had the same glum reaction to our possible 2012 candidates—except for one gung-ho Palin fan! I got to talk about DADT repeal with a Marine and a soldier. And I learned a new word for the Ronulans: "Paulistinians."

All-in-all it was a very pleasant evening. Special thanks to h2u for organizing. We will be doing it again.

This is an open thread.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:43 AM | Comments (176)
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The President's micro-bounce after the State of the Union is over. Just 22% "strongly support" Obama, the lowest that figure has ever been.

Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19. The Approval Index has been lower only on one day during Barack ObamaÂ’s thirteen months in office (see trends). The previous low came on December 22 as the Senate was preparing to approve its version of the proposed health care legislation. The current lows come as the President is once again focusing attention on the health care legislation.

The President is not going to take no for an answer. Tomorrow he will unveil (finally, finally) his own version of ObamaCare. He hopes that his own popularity will buoy this latest attempt to pass something—anything—that has "health", "choices", and "America" in the bill title.

I think he's going to be disappointed. First, most Americans have now had a chance to evaluate the healthcare system and the alternatives proposed by the Democrats. Maybe if he'd done this seven months ago—remember, back when the time for debate was through?—he could have rallied people.

But now we know too much. We've heard about the individual mandate and the public option. We're sick to death of pie-in-the-sky boasts about "bending the cost curve". Regurgitating the same old talking points they've been using since July isn't going to make Americans any more likely to support ObamaCare.

Second, the President doesn't actually have any popularity with which to buoy the bill. Americans keep telling Obama and the Democrats that they don't want more expensive healthcare, more taxes to pay for it, a single-payer Trojan horse, and fewer options for insurance. But those are the features of ObamaCare, no matter how often the President trots out his panicked "we must do something, quick!"

Third, Independents who formerly supported the President are asking why, if he could just propose his own bill, did he not do that seven months ago? It's just ridiculous that he could have shown some leadership at any time, but substituted a speech and five prime-time addresses instead. It's given the Independents a reason to be pissed at Obama without having to endorse Republican ideas about healthcare. It's the process story, stupid.

Finally, Democrats in Congress also have their noses out of joint. They put in the time last year, it failed. Now they'd like to get on with the election season, if you don't mind, Mr. Let Me Eat My Waffles. Instead, the President is still pushing his "signature policy effort" while Democrats watch their districts trend more and more Republican.

So my prediction is that they will take every single opportunity to decide that the President's proposal is just not cutting it. The ones who made stands against abortion funding will stick to their guns because it gives them the perfect stage on which to make hay for November. The same is true for those opposed to the public option and the excise tax.

Obama thinks he's taking control of this issue at Thursday's* healthcare summit. He's not.

*Corrected thanks to newrouter.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:34 AM | Comments (127)
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In his weekly radio/web address, the President vilified health insurers and singled out California insurer Anthem Blue Cross: "The other week, men and women across California opened up their mailboxes to find a letter from Anthem Blue Cross. The news inside was jaw-dropping. Anthem was alerting almost a million of its customers that it would be raising premiums by an average of 25 percent, with about a quarter of folks likely to see their rates go up by anywhere from 35 to 39 percent."

What's jaw-dropping is the President's willingness to imply that more regulation on health insurers would lower rates. In fact, part of the reason for the Anthem Blue Cross rate hike is new rules from Sacramento. The insurer is also having to find alternatives to income from younger, healthier Californians who, having been laid off in disproportionately high numbers in Obama's failed economy, are forgoing insurance in the individual market at greater numbers. That drives up the cost of the individual market.

This is going to be Obama's new "one hundred years of war in Iraq" claim. During the election, he used McCain's statement that he wouldn't be surprised or bothered if there were American troops stationed in Iraq for "maybe a hundred years" over and over again to imply that McCain wanted to fight the war for a century. In fact, McCain was talking about military bases, much like our bases on Okinawa and in Germany, not fighting a century-long war. That didn't stop Obama or the Democrats from endlessly parroting the "one hundred years of war" paraphrase until it became received wisdom.

That's what the President is aiming at with the Anthem Blue Cross claim. If he can golly-gee-shucks-jawdrop this story enough, he's hoping people will forget that the alternative to raising rates is cutting costs and, to the extent possible under California's draconian regulations, refusing to insure more sickly, expensive customers.

The failed Obama economic policies brought us here. The anti-prosperity policies of "progressive governance" in Sacramento did too. Democrats are blaming Anthem Blue Cross for trying to stay in business to distract voters from their own failures. It will be front-and-center in Monday's healthcare summit. Republicans must resist this populist claim.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:48 PM | Comments (235)
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Hello, hello all M&Ms. Welcome to your weekly SatCaturday night ONT. Yeah it's kinda early for the ONT but it's been quiet today. Maybe too quiet.

A Guide to Asian Emoticons - Kitteh Style
Why learn Japanese - this is all you really need to know. And why do they describe this girl as an emo goth girl - she's way too happy, non-suicidal and non-cutting for that.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:20 PM | Comments (550)
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Somber update: Alexander Haig has passed.

Korea. Two Silver Stars. Bronze Star with Valor device. Seven campaigns in the coldest war. Vietnam. DSC and Purple Heart. An excerpt:

When two of his companies were engaged by a large hostile force, Colonel Haig landed amid a hail of fire, personally took charge of the units, called for artillery and air fire support and succeeded in soundly defeating the insurgent force...the next day a barrage of 400 rounds was fired by the Viet Cong, but it was ineffective because of the warning and preparations by Colonel Haig. As the barrage subsided, a force three times larger than his began a series of human wave assaults on the camp. Heedless of the danger himself, Colonel Haig repeatedly braved intense hostile fire to survey the battlefield. His personal courage and determination, and his skillful employment of every defense and support tactic possible, inspired his men to fight with previously unimagined power. Although his force was outnumbered three to one, Colonel Haig succeeded in inflicting 592 casualties on the Viet Cong... (HQ US Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 2318 (May 22, 1967)

Requiescat in pacem Soldier. Thank you.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 05:28 AM | Comments (397)
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HI!

There's a whole weekend here right now, get your lazy butts out of bed, get some coffee in you and get moving goofballs.

Couple of non-news news items for you to have with your coffee and cigarettes:

Justice Dept. Clears the Men Who Kept More Americans From Getting Killed.

If by "cleared" you can accept the stupid slapping and incoherent yammering from Pat Leahy.

The Justice Department is closing the books on its probe of the Bush administration lawyers whose legal memorandums authorized the CIA to waterboard terrorism suspects, but the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he remains offended by the memos and will hold hearings

An internal review said the department lawyers showed "poor judgment" but did not commit professional misconduct in giving CIA interrogators the go-ahead at the height of the U.S. war on terrorism to use harsh interrogation tactics.

I wouldn't care if these memos had recommended taking a blowtorch and pliers to KSM, and I suspect a lot of us feel the same way. I have the good manners to thank John Yoo and Jay Bybee for doing us all a service at considerable personal sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Obama seeks to improve relations with the Congress by providing them Commission Cover™, Republicans shuffle along with it.

Even as he unveiled an executive order creating the panel, President Obama acknowledged that he is asking its members to attempt "the impossible." For decades, budget projections have shown that rising health-care costs and an aging population would drive the nation deeply into debt. Government spending to ease the recent recession has accelerated that process.

Bi-partisan commissions are where the people who are actually entrusted with performing the duties of legislation drag a couple of former dinosaur public servants out of retirement (those who will actually retire) to make unpopular recommendations to the people responsible for things they don't have the stones to recommend themselves. Think "military base 'realignment'".

In this case, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson will lead the effort to take a hard look at the federal deficit, ignore reality, and tell Congress to raise taxes.

Obama says "everything is on the table". It's a remarkable gift, the ability to say clearly what clearly isn't the truth.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:48 AM | Comments (198)
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How desperate are they for the racism charge?

I saw this charge earlier, but had no idea what it was about. In the middle of the first clip here, Andrew Breitbart calls this NYT reporter "despicable" to her face.

Here's the article.

CPAC Speaker Bashes Obama, in Racial Tones

By KATE ZERNIKE

How can conservatives win the youth vote that overwhelmingly went for Barack Obama in 2008? At the Conservative Political Action Conference, apparently, some are betting on using racial stereotypes.

In a panel appealing to conservatives under 30, Jason Mattera, author of a forthcoming book called “Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation,” likened the gathering to “our Woodstock.”

“Except that unlike the last gathering, our women are beautiful, we speak in complete sentences and our notion of freedom doesn’t consist of snorting cocaine,” he said, “which is certainly one thing that separates us from Barack Obama.”

After the laughing died down, he added, “Actually, on the cocaine front, I do believe many people in America viewed Barack as they do drugs: it was a substance to experiment with.”

Dramatic pause for more laughter, and then, “But like most narcotics, the hangover afterward has them thinking, What the hell did I just do?”

It's not a racial stereotype that Barack Obama did cocaine. He did do cocaine. It was in his Bill Ayers' autobiography.

...

He then mocked what he described, with a Chris Rock voice, as “diversity,” including, he said, college classes on “cyber feminism” and “what it means to be a feminist new black man.”

Now, here's the clip. Go to 3:30. That's where he's supposed to do the "Chris Rock voice."

Did you hear it?

He didn't do a "voice." That's his voice, you moron. That's the way the guy talks, you fucking imbecile.

I've talked to him in person. Lady -- this is not a "Chris Rock voice." This is Jason Matter's actual voice. And, by the way, if he's doing a "voice," how is it he does the entire address in this voice?

It's odd that this woman identifies an accent (here, a Brooklyn accent) as "black."

Accents tend to sound (sorry) uneducated to the upper-crust. Funny that the enlightened NYT reporter hears what sounds to her like an uneducated inner-city accent and deems it "black."

So what have we learned? Jason Mattera's Brooklyn accent sounds "black" to Kate Zernicke, but Jason Mattera, you see, is the one indulging in racial stereotypes.

BTW: This is no bullshit. I have talked to Jason a fair amount. This is how the man talks.

I guess he talks like one of those darkies Kate Zernicke has seen on the subway sometimes.

Posted by: Ace at 06:07 PM | Comments (225)
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