"Ethicsgate" Video Restored to YouTube

UPDATE: Jeanne Devon of the Alaskan Democrat bloggers got it removed a second time. However, the video is now available at NMATV.COM. See my next post for links.

I've joined an organization known as "Team Sarah." On their website I learned that they managed to get "Ethicsgate" restored to YouTube. View it before the Alaskan Democrat Bloggers have it taken down again. It's embedded below.

Just Horsing Around: A Photoshop Caricature of Barack Obama

This morning I wanted to practice drawing and painting in Photoshop, using ONLY Photoshop without the assistance of Xara X. I so used Barack Obama as my subject and drew this admittedly crude caricature of the man. If you want to learn to paint, you paint; there is no other way. I particularly like the nose in this creation, as noses are difficult -- they have to appear three dimensional and yet blend with the face so they appear attached and not just floating in space.

So there it is. I won't win any prizes, but I had fun doing it. Hmm, maybe if I changed my name to Pablo Picasso?

Why People Become Democrats

Were you weaned too soon?

We can help. Contact your local chapter of

the Democratic Party today!

Must Read: The Destruction of Sarah Palin

Bill Whittle of PJTV and the blog "Eject Eject Eject" has a great article on the Left's planned destruction of Sarah Palin. You can read it or watch Bill's video.

Bill says what I have said on this blog several times: the Left files bogus ethics complaints against Palin for two reasons: (1) to destroy her financially through the huge legal fees needed to defend herself and (2) to poison the well of public opinion with an implication of wrong-doing. If every time you hear Palin on the news channel and hear "ethics charges" mentioned in the same sentence, your subconscious will pick up the intended message. It is really dirty politics, but that's what the Left is all about.

Whittle says that we must begin employing the same tactics against the Left as a form of retaliation. I reluctantly agree. It goes against the grain for most conservatives to resort to dirty fighting, but the Machiavellian Dems allow us no other options. We must give them full measure of what they have given to us.

Perhaps our first Fight Back strategy is to identify Democratic politicians in the state of Alaska for targeting with bogus ethics complaints. Our Alaskan operatives can file complaints on the lack of ethics in their neckties, or for wearing plaid, thereby violating fashion ethics. Any Dems who have dyed their hair to hide the gray could be targeted for lack of ethics in personal grooming. We could state that the Dem politicians have attempted to enrich themselves through their political offices...by accepting salaries. All of our complaints will be quickly denied and thrown out, but not until the Dems have incurred substantial legal fees. Whoops, there goes Junior's college fund or mom's retirement account. Oh well.

Of course, we don't have the leftwing mainstream media to assist in the effort, like the Associated Press, who falsely reported Palin was guilty of the last ethics charge, filed about a week ago.

Nevertheless, we will do our best. Hope you Alaskan Democrats have your checkbooks ready; your attorneys will be needing retainers soon.

The Biker Priest and a Harley Named Elvis

My eldest son "Dooj" is staying with me for a few weeks. He rode all the way from Seattle on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, one that he got at auction and restored himself. It's a Road King and its official Harley color is Black Cherry. Dooj named the bike Elvis.

Also in town is my brother in law from the Philippines, who is a Catholic Priest. Dooj and the priest hit it off and Dooj posed the priest on Elvis, but insisted that the priest wear the do-rag. At right is the result: Bad-Ass Biker Priest.

The priest then took out his little red book of blessings, thumbed to the Harley section and blessed the bike, sprinkling holy water over it as he did so.

Why Islam Sucks: Islamo-Nausea Explained

The Stogie Culture Center presents a guest lecturer today on the joys of Islamophobia and multiculturalism. Enjoy.

Nebraska - Next to Assert State Sovereignty?

According to the Omaha World Herald, Nebraska is considering joining the new States' Rights movement, which consists merely of putting the federal government on notice that it has exceeded its Constitutional authority with a demand to cease and desist.

“My goal here is to shine light on the fact that the federal government is overstepping its bounds,” said State Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln. “We would be making a statement on behalf of Nebraska."

However, an obviously liberal state senator impugned the integrity of those supporting the resolution, implying that it was "racist:"

State Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln said the proposals sound disturbingly similar to the states' rights arguments made in defense of racial segregation and laws blocking blacks from voting.

“The history of this movement is rife with racism in the name of states' rights,” he said. “I'm not saying that the people making the case now are racist, but I don't think Nebraska needs to be getting in bed with these kinds of resolutions.”

Avery's analogy is, of course, completely off the wall and typical of a liberal; if you can't win the argument, slander the opposition. Do not assert your Constitutional rights lest you somehow be considered a "raaaaacist." But the Dems have used that dirty pool way too many times for it to have any real effect.

States' rights are guaranteed by the 10th amendment, which states:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The state of Massachusetts had cited the 10th amendment in its decision to legalize gay marriage within its borders -- and it is correct in stating it is the right of the states to make that decision. So according to Bill Avery, if you support "States' Rights" then you must be in favor of gay marriage. Brilliant logic, Avery.

Other issues that are (or should be) within the rights of the states under the 10th amendment are:

• abortion (either for or against, notwithstanding the bad law of Roe v. Wade)
• medical marijuana
• right to carry
• age of consent
• legalized gambling

What is interesting in the article noted above is that Arizona has proposed a resolution that would exempt its citizens from a federal health care plan. I love it!

The Revolution continues. Read it all here.

Gov Rick Perry Says Texas May Refuse Obamacare

I have been posting for some time that the individual states should refuse to go along with Obama's socialist agenda. They can pass laws until they're blue in the face, but red states should simply tell the Feds to shove it.

Governor Rick Perry of Texas seems to agree. He strongly implied that if Obamacare passes, Texas will resist its implementation in the state of Texas, citing states' rights as a defense.

This is exactly the kind of REBELLION I had in mind. I may move to Texas yet.

Read all about it.

WATERLOO Starring BARACK OBAMA as NAPOLEON!

Click on image to see it full size.

Obama Swallows Blue Pill, Avoids the Red

Great article today from the Washington Examiner: Obama refers to the red pill and the blue pill from the popular film "The Matrix." The red pill allows you to see reality; the blue pill allows you to continue deluding yourself. Obama has clearly opted for the blue pill on his socialized health care plan.

Read it here.

Via the Drudge Report

The Coming Fiscal Ruin of the Western World

Cheery news today, thanks to you Hopen-Changers.

The Fiscal Ruin of the Western World is foretold by the UK Telegraph:

Britain, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the US, and Japan are in varying states of fiscal ruin, and those tipping into demographic decline (unlike young Ireland) have an underlying cancer that is even more deadly. The West cannot support its gold-plated state structures from an aging workforce and depleted tax base.

Ah yes, the fruits of leftism are to deplete both the economy and the tax base (i.e. productive, living human beings) simultaneously, which works to increase human misery, poverty and want. Way to go, Lefties. Four more years!

Sarah Palin Signs Alaskan Declaration of State Sovereignty

Sarah Palin signs declaration of state sovereignty for Alaska, which states in part:

BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature hereby claims sovereignty for the state under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution serves as Notice and Demand to the federal government to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.

As pointed out in this World Net Daily article, the federal government was created to be an agent of the states, not the other way around. With the expansive growth of the federal government over the years, the states have become de facto federal subdivisions instead of soverign bodies.

A number of states have a similar resolution on the drawing boards, but so far only Alaska and Tennessee have actually completed one. Let's hope the movement grows. If Obama isn't stopped, I suspect it will.

Obama's Sorry and So Are We

The Jim Robinson Doctrine: Questions and Answers

Pastorius of Infidel Bloggers Alliance and the Astute Bloggers (see blog roll) has asked some good questions about Robinson's essay on taking power away from the federal government. He writes:

Stog,
I'm not exactly an expert on the whole states rights argument. Why would this guy want to repeal the 17th amendment? That doesn't make sense to me. He seems to be calling for less democracy if Senators are not elected by popular vote.

And, how is the NSA going to protect ports, bridges, roadways, etc., if the Federal government is supposed to cede all it's property to the states?

Are the states going to take over the ownership of Federal buildings and lands, and then lease them to the Federal government? Is that the idea?

Another problem I have with the FR post is that it is vague in that it does not explain the specifics of how the Federal government has usurped or overextended it's powers.

This is a lot of hot air if no one is willing to be specific.

As you probably know, I believe Obama is governing in a way which is outside the American Tradition. However, I believe he has generally been smart about not comitting impeachable offenses. I do believe that his firing of Inspectors General are probably impeachable offenses. His handling of Chrysler and GM is outside the American Tradition, but unless it can be proven in a court of law that dealerships were shut down for political reasons, that is going to go nowhere.

I am merely saying we have to have specifics around which people will rally. Otherwise, this is just b.s.

Check out this post:

http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2009/07/first-in-relentless-series-of-national.html
Pastorius Homepage 07.20.09 - 1:51 pm #

My response:

Pas, originally U.S. Senators were selected by the legislatures of the individual states; they were appointed. Congressmen, however, were to be popularly elected. It was believed, with a great deal of common sense, that the Senate was to be a deliberative body unconcerned with political partisanship and petty politics. Since Senators were appointed, there was no need for this. Today we have really nasty politics, the politics of personal destruction and the stupid McCain-Feingold Act, which would be unnecessary if the 17th amendment were repealed. See arguments for repeal at this link: http://www.conservativefront.com/2009/05/13/rethinking-the-17th-amendment/

For your second question, ownership of land and property by the federal government now greatly exceeds its constitutional authority. Currently the federal government "owns" about one-third of all land in the United States; 98% of all land in Alaska, 86% of Nevada land and 65% of all Colorado land. How can the federal government "own" most of a state? That destroys the sovereignty of that state and trashes the "Equal Footing Doctrine" that the original founders wished to preserve, i.e. that all states in the Union are equal in sovereignty vis a vis the federal government.

Despite the intentions of the founders and the clear intent of the Equal Footing Doctrine, the states east of the 100th meridian are vastly "more equal" than the states to the west.

The Constitution is clear about what land the federal government is allowed to possess and the means for acquiring it: see Article 1, Section 8, which describes it thus:
"all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings." That's all! The federal government has no legal right to own 98% of Alaska or any other state.

As far as the Dept of Homeland Security or the armed forces protecting the land of the United States, they are obligated to do so by the same Article I, Section 8, and there is no requirement or necessity for them to own the land that they defend; they are an arm of the states and carrying out duties specifically delegated to them by the Constitution, i.e. to raise armed forces for the common defense of the states.

So Jim Robinson is right about taking back the illegally seized lands from the feds and restoring the full sovereign rights of the states. The lands and natural resources of the individual states belong to the people of the states, not to the federal government. The federal government is currently greatly exceeding its Constitutional powers in this regard.

Also see this article:
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43824

See Article I, Section 8 here:

http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A1Sec8.html
Stogie Homepage 07.21.09 - 12:29 am #

Jim Robinson is Right

The Free Republic post that Rick Moran and Charles Johnson find so disagreeable is here.

Jim Robinson, the founder of FreeRebublic.com, is not a friend of mine. I have had my issues with him and have stated categorically that I consider the man an asshole. However, on the topic of his post I would have to say that he is right. Right in assuming that the radical left administration now in power is beyond the scope of normal politics and normal solutions through normal channels.

I too have called for steps by the individual states to resist the tyrannies now being foisted upon us in the name of socialism and environmental extremism. Robinson is merely posing some possible alternatives to just sitting still and accepting the extreme hardships that Obama has in store for us. It is a discussion worth having. Yes, we can wait four years until a new election, but much damage will have been done by then, to the Republic and to future generations who will have to pay for the fiscal catastrophe that this neo-Marxist is busily implementing.

If we do nothing, the economic destruction will be devastating, creating a new depression similar to the 1930's, with poverty and misery our lot for many years to come. We have to decide whether "politics as usual" is worth that price.

I don't necessarily believe that Robinson's solution is the correct one or the only one, but it is a starting point for a discussion worth having. My own solution would include a convention of all willing states to form a pact or block that would actively resist socialist tyranny by a flat refusal to go along. Representatives of these states should state that they will not implement or allow implementation within their borders of socialized medicine, cap and trade taxation or the reckless creation of debt that is unprecedented in our history. Further, they will not honor as binding law any unconstitutional decrees by a dogmatically leftist and activist Supreme Court (such as, for example, any decrees stating that the 2nd Amendment does not apply to individuals, a position that Obama has long held).

How all of this could be accomplished is something that would have to be worked out by a conference of the willing states. Secession should not be ruled out as an option to be used only in an extreme situation. "Consent of the governed" is the foundation of our Republic and perhaps it is time to withdraw our consent. Such a movement would indeed create a lot of controversy but the implications of it might be enough to stop Obama's aggressive program. The Democratic Party might grow some gonads and join us in stopping him.

Yes, Obama won the election; however, the Constitution is supposed to create boundaries beyond which elected officials cannot go. Obama and his administration do not feel in any way obligated to respect those boundaries. Therefore, we are put into a position of accepting serfdom or finding new ways to peacefully resist.

Jim Robinson is right: we need a serious conversation about our alternatives.

Rethinking Blogging and Cleaning Up My Blog List

Cleaning Up the Blog List

It's good to reconsider your blog list from time to time and delink those who are no longer supporting the conservative cause. Today I deleted Right Wing Nut House, as I could no longer take the PC opinions of wussy Rick Moran. Check out his latest wimpy post, "Why Conservatism Sucks Right Now."

Moran seems to be a Charles Johnson wannabe. He seems to be saying "Look at ME, I'm a RESPONSIBLE conservative!" Maybe he should change the name of his blog to "Moderate Wing Nut House," or maybe "RINOs R US."

Last week I deleted French blog SPQR who has apparently sold out to the Truthers movement; he was publishing incredible merde about how Bush planned 9/11 as an "inside job," and getting lots of new hits in the process. The gullible French public loves to believe the Truther crap, and if lots of hits are your goal, I guess that's good. However, if tons of hits are your only consideration, start a porn site; you'll get plenty.

Rethinking Blogging - Are "Tons of Hits" the Major Goal?

Now as far as getting lots of hits, is unethical activity really worth it? I am speaking of "Google bombing" by creating titles like "Lindsay Lohan in the Nude," when there is not really a picture of Lindsay Lohan in the nude, but just a fake come-on to get lots of hits. Then the visitors discover you're full of shit and will never return. I guess that doesn't really matter, since Google searches will send you a steady stream of new suckers.

Several blogs are taking advantage of a crime committed against ESPN reporter Erin Andrews; someone made a peephole video of her undressing in her hotel room and uploaded it to the internet. Andrews says she is working with the police to find and prosecute the perpetrators. Link to the video and get lots of hits!! No thanks.

Update: I received this email from Dan Riehl and it is good advice.

This is not a post. Given some questions, just my quick, experienced-based thoughts on group blog projects.

All groups should be opt in when started. This is common practice for Internet professionals and amateurs alike. It will win you friends and not create enemies, or cause trolled link emails to be ignored as a waste of time.

Don't use mass CC. There's a BCC option for a reason. Use it, as I did here, or look inexperienced and risk aggravating people whose in boxes are aready much too cluttered, Blog project groups have proven in-effective and actually counter-productive over time. It's why the practice was abandoned. They are inside bogging posts for bloggers that do not grow readership over time unless you want to blog for a small circle of people across a small number of blogs over and over, again. That's fine. But don't think it will "grow" your blog in rankings, or traffic to an appreciable degree. It doesn't work.

For many blog readers, most of whom never comment, nor want to be part of an Internet clique - they have lives, unlike we bloggers and have a beer with the neighbors when they want to talk - the posts are annoying. There are no short cuts to writing quality posts over a long period of time. Too many of such posts won't create new return readers, they will more likely give you a bad rap and cause people to stop bothering to look in, or follow links to you.

Presumably you have a blog roll. Refer your readers to it if you want to refer a list of other blogs. A long mass of 100 blogs linked one after another offers nothing and accomplishes nothing. Nor does fifty links in one post I can't imagine anyone frittering away their time writing. But be my guest.

Have fun. If this sort of thing floats your boat - go for it. I don't mean to judge anyone too harshly. But understand what it is you are actually accomplishing and for heaven's sake, please follow commonly accepted Internet ettiquette as the experienced hands you would purport to be, or become.

Thoughts on My Alleged Life

A Family Matter

I've been watching episodes of "Dead Like Me" all week. A year ago it was Alfred Hitchcock. I get on these kicks.

This week we learned that my mother-in-law, who just turned 83, has congestive heart failure and will not live much longer. She's in the hospital right now but will be moved to a hospice this week. I love my mother-in-law and will miss her, but for now I plan to visit her often and share as many moments as I can with her. She seems at peace with it and plans to enjoy every day that God gives her. As a Filipina, she lived through the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, avoiding rape by the Japanese soldiers while members of her family joined the resistance. (One, my wife's aunt, was captured, tied to two saplings and split apart as a cruel form of execution.) I guess the Japs figured that if you are going to be assholes, be really good ones.

Photoshop Training

Since I have plenty of free time these days, I am working on expanding my Photoshop skills. I am studying political caricatures created by Linda Eddy of Iowapresidentialwatch.com; she is the most skilled Photoshopper I know: her work is simply stunning. I am attempting to recreate her caricature of Joe Biden (that's it on the right); not so I can plagiarize it, but so I can learn her techniques. (I won't publish my copy.) How did she create those realistic skin wrinkles? How did she make this effect of that? Then I experiment until I can create a reasonable facsimile. It may take me a week to finish my copy but I will learn a lot of new skills in the process.

She creates her digital art using only Photoshop. It seems much easier to just use a vector drawing progam like Xara X, but I am not going to take the easy way out any longer. Vector art is easier but not nearly as realistic.

Linda Eddy's art requires many layers, which are separate drawings that are finally blended together to create the image. An eye, for example, includes the eyeball, iris, pupil and a bit of reflective light; the upper eyelid, the lower eyelid and the eye brow, not to mention wrinkles in the skin to give it texture and realism. It's time for me to really learn how to use the pen tool, which accounts for much of Eddy's realistic touches. Linda Eddy makes the most realistic human hair I have ever seen; she uses Photoshop brushes (another digital tool) to do this and she is a master.

Fortunately for us, Linda Eddy is a Republican.

Ellen Muth: a Special Young Woman

Since I am one of the many unemployed from Obama's economy, I don't have to get up early to go to work. So at night I stay up until 1 AM watching "Dead Like Me" episodes on my laptop. I sit in the backyard gazebo where it is cool and quiet and smoke my pipe and watch the show on Hulu.com, a great source for free movies and television episodes.

I have been impressed with young Ellen Muth, whose role as grim reaper Georgia Lass was highly entertaining. She was born a couple of months after my youngest son's grand entry into the world and is now 28 years old. I'd like to see her back on television or in a movie. Here's a photo of her. She is quite lovely.

"Mr. Bill" Obama: OHHH NOOOOO!

Here's a nice Barack Obama doll for you.

He kind of reminds me of "Mr. Bill" of Saturday Night Live fame, the playdough puppet who was always getting squashed and who yelled "Ohhh NOOOO!" as he bit the dust.

Let's hope Mr. Bill Obama will have a similar fate, politically speaking, in 2010 or earlier. Like when conservative Democrats say they have the votes to block the House medical bill.

Squash this sucker, conservative Dems!

Babs Boxer Gets Some Needed Come-Uppance

Harry C. Alford, CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, recently did to Barbara Boxer what she loves to do to military officers and Republican nominees: he gave her a much needed dressing-down, a long overdue come-uppance. To Mr. Alford I just want to say, "You da man!"

Barbara Boxer is a hot hair balloon of liberal arrogance and Alford a sharp pin. It's obvious that Harry Alford is a helluva man. He's not only got balls, he's got BUCKETS!

The Left's Tactics Against Sarah Palin Explained

Since Sarah Palin resigned, three new ethics complaints have been filed against her by Democrat activists. There is no real expectation by the complainants that Palin will be found guilty of any ethics complaints. The complaints are bogus and they know it. But the complaints waste Palin's time and money and insinuate into the minds of the public the taint of wrong doing. By taking away her time and resources, the Left undermines a future threat to their political dominance.

Why can't the Democrats just stick to the issues? The reason is given by Saul Alinsky, author of "Rules for Radicals" (1971). Alinsky taught that to defeat your political enemy, you must personalize and polarize your attacks. He writes:

Tactics, Rule 13: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it.

In conflict tactics, there are certain rules that the organizer should always regard as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and "frozen."

Alinksky describes what he means by "frozen":

The forces for change must keep this in mind and pin that target down securely. If an organization permits responsibility to be diffused and distributed in a number of areas, attack becomes impossible...you disregard... for the moment all others to blame.

Why pick a target at all? Whom do you pick? Alinsky explains:

Obviously there is no point to tactics unless one has a target on which to center the attacks.

One of the criteria in picking your target is the target's vulnerability--where do you have the power to start? [In Palin's case anyone has the power to file frivolous ethics complaints with no cost or penalty to themselves.]

Why "polarize" the target? Polarizing the target means demonizing it, denouncing it as evil and totally negative with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. In other words, gin up your membership's hatred of the target because hatred motivates. Alinsky writes:

The other important point in the choosing of a target is that it must be a personification, not something general and abstract such as segregation or a major corporation or City Hall.

With this focus comes a polarization. As we have indicated before, all issues must be polarized if action is to follow...One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.

Sarah Palin is the target du jour, and now you know how and why.

The good news is that, by resigning, Palin removed much of the Left's power to attack since she will soon no long be subject to Alaska's highly flawed ethics processes.

Sonia Sotomayor: We Don't Need No Stinking Confirmation!

This is probably over the top. But then again, Sonia Sotomayor is over the top.

According to this website, Sonia Sotomayor supported Puerto Rican terrorists. If so, then her new nickname of "Soto-Bandito" is apt.

There's just something about Obama and terrorists: Bill Ayers, Sonia Sotomayor...who else?

R.S. McCain: When She Kisses You, You Stay Kissed!

Robert Stacy McCain ran this photo of a lady in the entertainment industry who got a lot of plastic surgery done. Notice the size of her lips. When she kisses you, you stay kissed. Imagine the sound when she yanks those smackers off your face. It must sound like a bathroom plunger on steroids.

To illustrate, I have acquired this actual photo (as in "Photoshopped") of R.S. McCain, after receiving a kiss from this bodacious porn star. Since R.S. is a happily married man, and his lovely wife hits really hard, the star only gave McCain a kiss on the forehead. Note the size of the imprint!

Like I said, when she kisses you, you stay kissed.

Sonia Sotomayor Ready to Begin Shredding the Constitution Today

Justice Sonia Sotomayor is a moonbat liberal stereotype on steroids. Today she will undoubtedly be confirmed as a justice of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court was designed to be a key player in our Constitutional system of checks and balances. If Congress passed laws abrogating individual rights, the Supreme Court would strike down such laws. No more.

Today the Supreme Court is an ideological free-for-all; ideological judges like Sotomayor are appointed, not because of their knowledge or their love for the Constitution, but because of their willingness to help Congress subvert it. In Sotomayor's case, she has indicated that her judicial decisions will be, in part, based on her ethnic identity, her personal racial biases, and her "empathy" for one party over the other.

The final guardians of liberty have been compromised, perhaps fatally for the Republic.

Vector Art: Digital Drawing of Sarah Palin

I spent most of the day drawing this in Xara X, a vector graphics drawing program.

I just wanted to draw something difficult in order to hone my digital art skills.

Feel free to use it as you see fit.

I understand that the Democrats filed the 18th frivolous ethics complaint against Palin today. They are determined to bankrupt her family and torture her as long as she's a possible candidate for office. Whatever the ethics monitoring procedures are in Alaska, they need to be seriously reconsidered. Immoral people seek to derail Democracy without cost or recourse to them. This is classic Saul Alinsky: using the system to destroy the system.

I will never vote for Mitt Romney again (and I did vote for him in the primaries); nor will I vote for Huckabee. I will vote for Palin or Jim DeMint if he happens to run. All the rest of the Republican establishment can go straight to hell.

Hmm, Palin-DeMint in 2012. I like the sound of that.

Update: I used Photoshop to make the hair more realistic.

Caricature of Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California

Using an image from my previous post, I made a more recognizable caricature using Photoshop. In this case I simply copied and pasted his ears, then enlarged them to exaggerate them. I did the same with his nose. Finally, I used the Dry Brush filter to give it more of a painted look.

..

Use as you see fit.

If you liked this Photoshop, take a look at one I did on Harry Reid some time ago.

Henry Waxman: Fun With Photoshop

The wireless is still working for now, but I am confined to my upstairs office while they install new flooring below. I watched two South Park cartoons on my laptop and, still bored, decided to practice some Photoshopping.

I found a photo of Henry Waxman that I intended to savage, but figured I need to remove the microphone first, which blocked part of his face. See the before and after on the left.

Below is the same Photoshop with some artistic rendering applied. On the left the rendering is called "Poster Edges" and on the right "Dry Brush."

If you need help with a Photoshop project let me know. I have nothing much else to do these days as there are no jobs in sight; blogging, bass practice, reading and Photoshop are the contents of my day.

And finally, we erase the background and fill it with a nice light blue, then use Photoshop to exaggerate and distort Waxman's features to transform him into a caricature. To make it look more like art, I used the "Poster Edges" filter to finish it off. However, this caricature is probably too over the top: he looks like one of the zombies in "Night of the Living Dead." (Oh no, he'll eat our brains!) See above post for a better caricature.

Use as you see fit.

Posting May Be Light This Week

Mrs. Chomper is replacing our disgusting old 13 year old carpeting with new wood laminate floors. That means the wireless will be turned off and I won't be able to access the internet.

So posting may be light this week.

Must-Read Article on NRO: "I Still Hate You, Sarah Palin"

David Kahane assumes the viewpoint of a leftist in his article, "We Still Hate You, Sarah Palin," posted at National Review Online.

He writes:

Not only were we offended at the sheer effrontery of McCain’s pick: How dare the Republicans proffer this déclassée piece of Wasilla trailer trash whose only claim to fame was that she didn’t exercise her right to choose?

And so the word went out, from that time and place: Eviscerate Sarah Palin like one of her field-dressed moose. Turn her life upside down. Attack her politics, her background, her educational history. Attack her family. Make fun of her husband, her children.

Read the whole thing.

Mark Belling, filling in for Rush Limbaugh today, read the whole thing on the air. Belling is a good man. He asserts that we as Republicans must stop being fatally nice and start fighting back.

A Great French Blog: Serum de Liberte

I like to read French blogs to improve my understanding of the French language. I even have a special section in the left sidebar, "Favorite French Blogs." I would like to bring one of them to your attention today, Serum de Liberte [pronounced "Say-rum de Liber-tay"] ("liberty medicine").

Note: Serum can also mean the blood fluid in which the red blood cells are suspended; for purposes of my illustration, I have assumed the medicine metaphor.

I have been increasingly impressed with the output of this pro-American, French blog. If this blog were all in English, it would soon be a top blog in America -- it's that good. I learn a lot of facts and read a lot of stories that most other blogs miss; the author obviously is very interested in American politics and constantly digs for new information.

If you link to pro-American foreign blogs, please do include Serum de Liberte in your blog roll. And visit it often! It will give you ideas on topics to write about and often posts great cartoons. Encourage our foreign friends by leaving comments to their posts (you can leave them in English).

Not all of Serum de Liberte is in French (if you want to polish your French, it's great for that) -- a lot of it is also in English.

Give this modern Marquis de Lafayette the benefit of your support and your friendship.

Sarah Palin as Blood Sport

The Arkansas Republicans (ARRA News Service) has a good post by Gary Bauer on Democrats practicing the Politics of Personal Destruction, or as Sarah Palin put it, "Blood Sport."

Read it here.

The Second American Revolution?

Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs has a good post today, The Coming Second American Revolution, written by Dr. Jack Wheeler. Dr. Wheeler makes a number of great points, including:

For the first time in US history, we have a president who hates his own country. A president who is on the side of America's enemies, not on the side of America.

We have a media who reveres and worships as a demi-god a president who hates his, and their, country.

We have a government spending trillions of dollars it does not have in a seemingly determined effort to destroy everyone's life savings via inflation.

We have a Congress that passes the largest tax increase in the history of the world (literally) via a 1,300 page Climate Bill that no one has read and based on utterly fraudulent science.

Read it all.

Diana Krall Sings "Temptation"

I love the bass in this song.

Finally, a Carbon-Free Environment!

An old saying goes "Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it."

No Pasaran ran this cartoon to illustrate the stupidity of liberal meddling in the private sector; this one illustrates the move to ban smoking from bars and other establishments.

The same principle applies to "low carbon footprint" schemes to combat non-existent global warming. The thousands of business buildings now sitting dark and vacant, no doubt, have a very low carbon footprint.

I'm reading a book called "Green Hell" (by Steven Milloy -- see link at bottom of page) that describes the aims, goals and schemes of the luddite environmentalists ("the Greens"). Indeed, the Greens are almost as crazy and damaging to humanity as were "the Reds" whose shoes they seek to fill.

Milloy shows how the Greens not only oppose oil and gas energy, they also oppose natural gas, nuclear energy and even solar and windmill energy. They oppose energy, period. Their true goals are to reduce the population and roll back modernity. He writes:

...greens don't really want to increase our energy supply--whether with fossil fuels or renewable energy--because that would undermine virtually all of the greens' ultimate goals: zero population growth, limiting the development of physical infrastructure, impeding economic growth, and redistributing wealth.

The Greens are just another crazy totalitarian ideology that is ultimately anti-human; they should be fought vigorously. Milloy indicates that the so-called Sierra Club is one of the major enemies of low cost energy. It is they who most frequently file lawsuits to stop the building of new oil refineries, coal plants, offshore drilling, and nuclear power plants. The next time you fill up at $4 a gallon, thank the Sierra Club.

On the other hand, if you are a believer in manmade global warming and the benefits of living green, you may feel ecstatic when you find yourself sitting in the dark because you can no longer pay your electric bill. At least you can say, loudly and with enthusiasm: "It's working!"

Get the book:

Bloomberg Bashes Barack

Democrat-leaning Bloomberg savages Barack Obama:

The federal picture is so bleak because the Obama administration is the most fiscally irresponsible in the history of the U.S. I would imagine that he would be the intergalactic champion as well, if we could gather the data on deficits on other worlds. Obama has taken George W. Bush’s inattention to deficits and elevated it to an art form.

The Obama administration has no shame, and is willing to abandon reason altogether to achieve its short-term political goals. Ronald Reagan ran up big deficits in part because he believed that his tax cuts would produce economic growth, and ultimately pay for themselves. He may well have been excessively optimistic about the merits of tax cuts, but at least he had a story.

Read it all here: California’s Nightmare Will Kill Obamanomics

Bloomberg is wrong about the merits of tax cuts; under Reagan tax revenues tripled as his policies created one of the greatest economic expansions in our history. His deficits were largely due to the military spending that bankrupted the Soviet Union, which could not keep pace and gave up the fight.

Rush Limbaugh Comments on Sarah Palin's Resignation

Sunday and Secession

My friend Donald Douglas is fighting with another of my friends, Mike Tuggle, over the question of secession. I usually agree with Donald over Mike, but this time I agree with Mike. Secession was and is legal and constitutional, and Lincoln's war of aggression hasn't changed that.

I will have to write an essay on the efficacy of secession or more importantly, the threat of secession in light of tyrannical policies designed to change our constitutional republic into something else. If a number of red states coordinated their efforts, they could threaten to secede as a block unless Obama ceases his march towards socialism: no nationalizing health care, no cap and trade, no restrictions on energy production, no nationalizing of the banking and auto industries, and no exorbitant taxes or pork project spending.

I don't want to live under tyranny, even with the American flag flying overhead. Secession may be considered by some to be an extreme solution, but no doubt they thought the same thing in 1776 and 1861. Those secessions, however, are safely ensconced in the dusty pages of history; it's easy to cheer the secessionists of 1776, since they are safely in the past and unlikely to draw British minie balls fired in our direction.

Our constitutional republic has been eroded over time by the constant undermining of the statists, our rights slowly sloughed away, almost imperceptibly. Barack Obama has only increased the pace. The complete control of Congress and the White House by the statists has effectively destroyed our system of checks and balances. The barbarians have breached the gate and are ransacking Reagan's "Shining City on a Hill."

The question is, when is enough enough? At what point do we, the heirs of freedom, say to the statists, "thus far but no farther" ? (Actually, I would say, "too far, you need to back up.") In your own mind, there must exist an imaginary line in the sand, beyond which the statists may not advance. Where is that line? What does it involve? We need to be asking ourselves this.

We also need to be asking ourselves this question: is it time for a new installment of the American Revolution? If not now, when? And if it is time, how do we go about it?

A Response to Right Wing Nut House

Right Wing Nuthouse posted what seems to me a Pollyanna piece today, called "C'mon America, Snap Out of It!" The piece frosted me. The writer scolds all of the Americans who are depressed about the country's future, in light of Obama's radical changes now underway, and gives what I think is a rather annoying pep-talk.

Here are some expamples of their post:

Holy Christ people! Are you saying that you don’t have the same will to succeed as the guys who leveled mountains, bridged mighty rivers, and threw thousands of miles of steel across a continent to connect us by rail? Do you seriously believe that the spirit that animated personalities like Washington, Lincoln, King, and Reagan is lost, that Obama killed it?

No, we aren't saying that. What we are saying is that many of us are out of jobs, our pension plans eroded and future prospects bleak because some far-left community organizer with big ears and an even bigger ego is destroying the economy. He is incurring massive amounts of debt unheard of in our history, for no purpose and for no good, is nationalizing some majory industries, like health care, banking and auto manufacturing, and by his own admisstion, causing energy prices to skyrocket. He is seriously limiting the economic future and opportunties for all of us.

We are saying that though we may recover and reverse Obama's idiocy, it will be a long, costly and painful process, and our lives will be harder even so. Sappy pep talks like the one above don't do anything to improve the situation, and they really irritate people who are out of work and struggling with hard reality.

Speak for yourselves. Don’t count me in with those who throw up their hands in despair and whine about Obama being a communist (he’s not) or even a socialist (he’s not - he’s a liberal) and that he wants to use illegal aliens to build a permanent Democratic majority. The challenges posed by an Obama presidency are normal political challenges, not a reason to start a war or revolution except in our own minds.

Okay, we won't include you because you have obviously lost your grip on reality and are assuming that empty platitudes are what is needed to free us from our current distress.

Obama is definitely a socialist, which goes beyond liberal; or did you not read about the nationalizing of the auto industry? Cap and trade is merely a wealth redistribution scheme, a form of disguised socialism masquerading as environmentalism. The challenges posed by the Obama presidency are NOT normal political challenges, but radical changes that seek to remake America into a European style socialism. In the process, it will greatly increase the tax burden, rewrite the 2nd amendment, take charge of the census, and assure an uninterrupted supply of socialist Democrats for a long time to come.

Personally, if the Obamization of this country cannot be reversed, I would opt for secession of the red states, or at least an organized resistance by those states and a refusal to go along with unconstitutional laws now on the drawing board. The great people you refer to in the first quote above didn't face adversity armed with platitudes; they ACTED.

Obama cannot alter the America that lives in our minds and hearts. In the end, each of us defines America in our own way and we imbue that vision with our own experiences, our own worldview. Try as he might, that America is safe as long as we keep it alive with our words and deeds.

What a load of Pollyanna crap. So if I am being taxed to death, all I need to do is imagine America as I would like it to be, keeping it safe in my own mind, and forget external reality? Should I smoke some dope to facilitate the process?

Interfering with the free market will not destroy America. Cutting defense spending will not destroy America. Cap and trade may grievously hurt the economy but it won’t destroy America. National Health Insurance may change our relationship with government but it will not destroy America.

Whether or not these asinine policies "destroy America" isn't the point. What they will do is destroy jobs, prosperity and much individual liberty. They will funamentally change America into something I don't want it to be. We have a lot of misery to face in the near term, and frankly, I'd rather not. Sure, after a decade or two of economic misery, the American people may get wise and throw out these inept bastards, but in the meantime, we all will suffer.

Interfering with the free market is exactly what brought us the current recession, the worst of my lifetime, and I am not young. Interfering with the free market will deepen and prolong the recession and murder a lot more jobs. So you admit that Cap and Trade may "grievously hurt the economy" [which is half dead already]? So is your little speech supposed to make us feel better about this? Will it pay our mortgages, fill our gas tanks, reduce our tax burdens?

Cutting defense spending won't destroy America, but Iran and North Korea and Al-Qaeda will be emboldened to commit aggression against our friends and allies and possibly drag us into another war. National health insurance will not destroy America, just the quality and availability of health care for most people. As has been demonstrated so well by Canada and the U.K., nationalized health care is a disaster.

"But America will not be destroyed by it." Did you ever consider the fact that America is being destroyed a little at a time, bit by bit, law by law, in a dance of "death by a thousand cuts"?

In short, we can give rah-rah speeches until we pass out, but that doesn't change the grim future we have, compliments of Barack Obama and the Party of Treason. Silly posts like the one from Right Wing Nut House do nothing to change that and only serve to piss off grouches like me.

Why the Left Attacks a Disabled Infant

William at Legal Insurrection has a great post today regarding the vicious leftist attacks on Trig Paln. They write:

The internet is full of Trig Palin conspiracy theories, name-calling and Photoshopping. No matter what month, event, or excuse, Palin haters find a reason to attack Trig.

If Sarah Palin had aborted Trig, the left would have been okay with it. If she hid Trig offstage and out of sight, all would be good. But treat the child as you would any other child, and that cannot be tolerated.

There is something about a Down syndrome child in plain view which has exposed the moral and emotional bankruptcy of the left-wing of the Democratic party. And they hate Sarah Palin because deep down, they hate themselves for being who they are.

Read it all.

Update: Another Black Conservative agrees but adds this to William's points:

William is close, but not quite there. The reason why they hate Trig and Sarah is because the two of them force people who believe in abortion to confront their actions.

The Most Depressing July Fourth of My Life

Roger Simon at Pajamas Media expresses my feelings exactly:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen my country so divided and depressed on the Fourth of July in my lifetime and - no matter what Bob Dylan dreamed up - I’m not young, or otherwise. That includes the Vietnam War period when both sides at least had some conviction and excitement for the future, even if wrong. Not so now. The current situation is grim.

Obama is already over. In six short months the now-spattered bumper stickers with “Hope and Change” seem like pathetic remnants from the days of “23 Skidoo,” the echoes of “Yes, we can” more nauseating than ever in their cliché-ridden evasiveness. Although they may pretend otherwise, even Obama’s choir in the mainstream media seems to know he’s finished, their defenses of his wildly over-priced medical and cap-and-trade schemes perfunctory at best. Everyone knows we can’t afford them. His stimulus plan - if you could call it his, maybe it’s Geithner’s, maybe it’s someone else’s, maybe it’s not a plan at all - has produced absolutely nothing. In fact, I have met not one person of any ideology who evinces genuine confidence in it.

Read the whole thing.

I feel the same way; I have not much optimism for the future of this country or our personal liberty and economic security. We have elected a naive ideologue who hasn't a clue as to how the world works or why. Our national security is being weakened at a time when our liberties are being eroded and our economy trashed by statist schemes. The immediate future appears to hold hardship for many, a higher cost of living, more taxes, greater government intervention into our private lives (via the global warming scam), and crushing national debt. For many years into the future, many of us will be living hand-to-mouth. The path of economic self-betterment and opportunity has thus been made much more difficult for those seeking to rise.

I agree with Simon. The outlook is grim.

Via Powerline

Independence Day 2009

"Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Leutze, 1851

Click on picture to see it full size.

Mark Levin Comments on Sarah Palin's Resignation

Mark Levin comments on Sarah Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska and what it means.



Via Conservatives 4 Palin

Related post: Leftist Reaction to Sarah Palin Resignation, at American Power.

My good friend Donald Douglas has compiled the latest vile hatred from the American Left; read it and be disgusted, but also resolved to defeat this evil.

Sarah Palin Won't Seek a Second Term

Sarah Palin issued a formal announcement from her home in Wasilla, Alaska a half an hour ago. The tape from that announcement has not yet been released to major news outlets, but CNN is reporting that Governor Palin of Alaska will not seek re-election next year.

This is bound to be disheartening to her many supporters in Alaska.

Sarah Palin has been savaged by members of the McCain election team since McCain's loss in the presidential election last year. Observers say the McCain campaign staff seeks to avoid responsibility for the loss by blaming it on Sarah Palin. Other Republicans have piled on, including Jonah Goldberg who published a public "Letter to Sarah Palin" today, admonishing her for political mistakes and offering advice on what to do differently.

More as the situation develops....

Update: CNN is now reporting that Sarah Palin will step down as governor by the end of the month, transferring power to Lt. Governor Sean Parnell.

Does this mean that Sarah Palin is giving up her political career? Or does it mean that she is preparing to run for President in 2012? If the latter, it seems a bit early for that. Palin's motivations are not yet clear.

Update 2: I saw the tape on CNN. Palin stated that she did not want to be a lame duck governor, and wanted to take her fight for Alaska in a different direction. She feels she can do more for the state outside of the office of the governor. Palin stated that she didn't want to disappoint her supporters, but asked them to trust her decision. Palin mentioned the recent, vicious Photshops of her infant son, Trig Palin, as one of many of her motivations. No doubt this will give renewed enthusiasm to the Vicious Left and encourage more of the same.

What will Sarah Palin do now for Alaska, America and the Republican Party? The answer to this question is yet to be determined.

Update 3: Michelle Malkin has reported that Palin's brother, Chuck Heath, says the constant attacks on Sarah Palin have weighed on her and that she could not govern effectively while having to constantly defend herself from attacks. Palin has been the target of 15 ethics complaints, all resolved in her favor, that indicate the Democrats seek other than argument, persuasion and democracy to achieve their political aims. They fight very dirty and are very ruthless and dishonest. Democrats believe that "politics is war by other means" and their sabotage of Sarah Palin will only encourage more of the same.

I don't know about you, but I plan to fight back.

Also see Memeorandum.

President Obama Addresses the Iran Situation

President Obama stands up for democracy...sort of. The above montage was inspired by No Pasaran's post,

Islamic nazis are crushing dissent in Iran, and Obama talks about "lively debate"

The Past Speaks: Obama Are You Listening?

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence.

You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

– Quoted by Ronald Reagan (from Rev. William J. H. Boetcker [1916], commonly misattributed to Abraham Lincoln)

Via Tammy Bruce

See also Left Coast Rebel's discussion of the above points here.

The Cap and Trade Bill, as Sung by Michael Jackson Boehner

Via Serum de Liberte

Honduran "Coup" a Triumph of the Rule of Law

Was the removal of Mel Zelaya as president of Honduras a "coup?" Here's what a Honduran attorney says about it"

Sometimes, the whole world prefers a lie to the truth. The White House, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and much of the media have condemned the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya this past weekend as a coup d'état.

That is nonsense.

In fact, what happened here is nothing short of the triumph of the rule of law.

Octavio Sanchez, a lawyer and former minister of culture in Honduras, gives the facts in this article in the Christian Science Monitor. Read the whole thing.

Via: Powerline

Barack Obama's Staged Hug for Health Care Reform

Barack Obama has now adopted the role of fundamentalist faith healer in his quest for socializing medicine in the United States. In the days of yore, phony preachers would hold tent revivals in rural areas where the common folk would be bilked of their donations. The impetus to give was reinforced by "miraculous" cures of the lame and afflicted. Some old person in a wheel chair would be pushed over to the preacher, who would yell, "HEAL HIM!" and then smack the old guy on the forehead with his open palm. The old guy would then stand up, take his first shaking steps and exclaim, "I'm HEALED!" The weeping congregation would then load up the collection plate with cash.

The only problem was that the afflicted person was a fake, a member of the faith-healers troupe, and it was all just an act -- an act to manipulate the emotions and purse strings of the faithful.

Now fast-forward to 2009: Barack Obama holds a "town hall meeting" on national television to pitch his plan for nationalizing health care in the United States. He takes three "random questions" from the audience about health care and knocks them out of the park. One of those people asking questions was Debby Smith of Appalachia, West Virginia. The Washington Post has the story:

The president called randomly on three audience members. All turned out to be members

of groups with close ties to his administration: the Service Employees International Union, Health Care for America Now, and Organizing for America, which is a part of the Democratic National Committee. White House officials said that was a coincidence.

The most dramatic moment came from Debby Smith, 53, of Appalachia, Va., who was near tears as she described for Obama her fragile health, including a recently discovered tumor for which she cannot get treatment.

Obama waved her over and hugged her, saying, "I don't want you to feel like you're all alone." He promised to "find out what we can do within existing law" and called Smith the "perfect example" of the kind of person his health plan is intended to help.

"Coincidence" my foot. This was another staged presentation of Obama & Company, with questioners and questions chosen in advance. It was staged, and for the same reasons noted in the traveling preacher show: to manipulate the emotions and the purse strings of the audience.

Helen Thomas, a pro-Democrat reporter, newspaper columnist and member of the White House Press Corps, was disgusted by the attempts of Barack Obama to "manage the news" and said so this week. She said:

“I’m not saying there has never been managed news before, but this is carried to fare-thee-well--for the town halls, for the press conferences,” she said. “It’s blatant. They don’t give a damn if you know it or not. They ought to be hanging their heads in shame.”

Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press.

“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try."