An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for 30 July 2008
Since Congress Has Nothing Better To Do….
House votes to ban lead from children’s items
Alarmed by a year of recalls targeting millions of tainted toys, the House voted overwhelming Wednesday to ban lead and other dangerous chemicals from items such as jewelry and rubber ducks that could end up in kids’ mouths.
The legislation also would toughen rules for testing children’s products and take steps to give more muscle to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which was criticized last year for its feeble handling of a flood of goods from China deemed hazardous to children.
“It should be a given that toys are not dangerous,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in welcoming legislation that was lauded by lawmakers and consumer groups as one of the most far-reaching product safety bills in decades.
With the bill, said Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, “our children’s toys will be tested in the laboratory before they are tested by our children on the living room floors of America.”
The bill, a product of House-Senate negotiations, would impose the toughest lead standards in the world, banning lead beyond minute levels in products for children 12 or younger.
It would also ban children’s products — either permanently or pending further study — containing six types of phthalates, which are chemicals that are found in plastics and suspected of posing health risks.
The 424-1 vote sends the measure to the Senate, which could approve it before Congress leaves for its August recess at the end of this week. The White House has voiced opposition to parts of the legislation but has not threatened a veto.
Now, while I do believe children’s toys should be safe for them to play with, I find I’m at a loss for words.
We have record high gas prices, we have out of control spending, we have an absurd federal deficit, we have an invasion of illegals coming across our southern border, we have criminals running wild on our streets, and on The Hill, we’re attempting to fight a war against Islamonazis….the list is endless….and THIS is what they are spending their time, AND OUR F’ING MONEY ON?
NOT one of those in Congress have any business darkening those marble halls. NOT ONE deserve to call themselves a “representative”.
My anger right now prevents me from expressing my extreme disgust for EVERY DAMN ONE OF THOSE SONS OF BITCHES!
A Blogger’s B-Day!
Miss Cindy of Fairly Conservative has hit the Big Day! She’s a whopping ** years old!
Go wish her a Happy Day!
Took Him Long Enough
PM, bitter but dignified, says he’ll quit after Kadima primary
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert intends to hand his resignation letter to President Shimon Peres the day after the September 17 Kadima primary and ask him to entrust the new party leader with forming a new government, Olmert’s associates said Wednesday night.
They spoke soon after the prime minister had made a somber speech at his official residence in Jerusalem in which he announced that he would not seek to retain the leadership.
By law, Olmert will remain prime minister until a new government is formed. If the new Kadima leader forms a government soon after the primary, Olmert will then leave office. But if no new government is established, Olmert, despite having formally tendered his resignation, could remain prime minister until after a general election that would likely be held in spring 2009.
Olmert decided 10 days ago to announce his imminent departure on Wednesday – to coincide with the last day of the Knesset’s winter session and the Kadima election committee’s formal decision to set the September 17 date for the primary.
Olmert has pretty much been a flop as the PM of Israel. He hasn’t shown a bit of leadership, he’s caved to terrorists, and he doesn’t appear to be a very honest guy. All ’round, I’d say this decision was LONG over due.
Ann on The “Two Americas”
A Baby Daddy For Both Americas
The mainstream media really seem to imagine they can prevent Americans from knowing information by refusing to mention it in newspapers or on TV.
For those few Americans without an Internet connection and to whom I have not faxed the National Enquirer stories: Evidence is accumulating that John Edwards is right — there really are “two Americas.” There’s one where men cheat on their cancer-stricken wives and one where men do not cheat on their cancer-stricken wives.
To put it another way, it would appear that ambulances aren’t the only things John Edwards has been chasing lately.
Odd
Iraq’s Interior Minister Thanks U.S. Troops for Liberating Iraq
A top Iraqi official visited wounded American troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Tuesday to thank them for their part in ending Saddam Hussein’s rule in his country.
“We have come … to express our gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices made by these great warriors, soldiers, in freeing the Iraqi people and in helping us in Iraq recover from tyranny and dictatorship,” Jawad Karim al-Bolani, Iraq’s minister of the interior, said through a translator to a handful of journalists in the lobby of the medical center.
“We also want to express our gratitude to the families of all these great men and women and express how important their sacrifices are for our nation,” he added.
Don’cha find it just a wee bit interesting that this Iraqi officials could take time to visit wounded U.S. troops, to thank them for their sacrifice, but a candidate for the POTUS can’t? Curious.
What Is Wrong With These People?
I will admit, I’m not a huge fan of Steve Cohen, but that being said, he does NOT deserve this kind of BS….again!
Is it Okay to Vote Against a Candidate Because of His Race?
The answer to the question is no. It is, in fact, the only acceptable answer and if you think otherwise, RedState is not a good fit for you.
But I ask the question because it raises an important point about the media, the Democrats, and Barack Obama himself.
We are, each year, treated to national media reports on race relations in this country and they invariably discuss white America coming to terms with other races in this country. Very, very rarely does the media ever report on other races coming to terms with white America.
It is not really relevant, frankly, to point out that most black voters are going to vote in droves for Barack Obama. Regardless of his race, black voters would vote for the Democrat. But when you read about Congressman Steve Cohen’s race in Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District, you really are confronted by both racism and anti-semitism in a way we rarely think about in this country. And the media is silent. Barack Obama is silent.
This poster is almost verging on the obscene! Where is it written that “Jews Hate Jesus”? Where did these buffoons come up with this crap? Are there really “churches” that believe Jesus was a “Christian”? Such ignorance of the Bible, and history, constantly boggles my mind.
Steve Cohen just might lose his re-election not because he has been ineffective in representing his district, but because he is white. And a number of black members of Congress are happy about that.
Don’t we hear consistently that we, who are dead set against B. Hussein becoming POTUS are racists? I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t give a flying flip what color his skin is! I will NOT vote for him because he supports damn near everything I am against! Why on earth would I vote for someone like that? Yet, there are many who will.
So, here we have Steve Cohen, who is not only white, but Jewish, running against a black woman, a very pretty black woman, Nikki Tinker, who he beat in the previous primary to win the 9th Congressional District. Tinker did not condemn the fliers when they first surfaced. I wonder why? Has she condemned them since and I haven’t heard about it?
So, because Cohen is not black, he’s not qualified to represent a predominantly black district. Do I have this “logic” correct? If that’s the case, then B. Hussein is not qualified to be President of a predominantly WHITE nation, right?
Cohen is decidedly a liberal Democrat, and I wish there was a strong conservative running against him. There isn’t even a Republican running this time around. That being said, I do NOT, in any way, condone such a racist, anti semite slam on the man.
I posted on this nonsense previously, and I still stand by what I said then.
These types would have done real well in Nazi Germany……if they weren’t black.
HOPING for a Change….
As Cindy (who I swiped this from btw) says, may his ship go the way of The Titanic!
You can put lipstick on a pig, but…..
Coming Soon, To A Neighborhood Near You!
Mexico’s drug cartels target bystanders
The killings here — a massacre of eight people who were not suspected of drug-trafficking ties — punctuated a vicious turn in Mexico’s drug war, a savage conflict between rival cartels and the federal government that has taken more than 7,000 lives in the past 2 1/2 years.
In the past, cartels have killed their rivals, as well as police and public officials. Occasionally even family members have been slain. Yet in recent weeks, an increasing number of innocent bystanders have been gunned down by suspected drug cartel hit men here in Sinaloa, a cartel stronghold on Mexico’s Pacific coast, as well as in the brutally contested drug corridors along the U.S. border.
In most instances, investigators believe, the victims were merely at the wrong place at the wrong time, gunned down by assassins who were once known for their precision but have now taken to wildly spraying bullets. The effect of the carnage has been widespread terror and a society afraid to demand justice.
Don’t think it’ll happen here? Did you miss the story about the family who was murdered in San Fransisco, aka “sanctuary city”? How about the numerous murders attributed to Hispanic gangs?
Those of us who want to put a stop to this madness are called out for their “racist extremism“, and named “extreme right wingers“, along with many other off the mark names. Why? For nothing more than wanting to protect our country, families, and homes. THIS is our home people.
While the useless representatives in Washington, D.C. are sitting in their comfy leather chairs, pretending to give a happy crap of the people of this country, we have a border that is leaking like the proverbial sieve! The Border Patrol is being prosecuted, and persecuted, for doing their jobs, and the drug dealers and assorted trash get a free pass. Instead of standing up for those who voluntarily put their lives on the line every day on the borders, we have a system who would rather believe a low life POS than heroes.
Is this what it’s come to? Attacks on those who WANT to protect our nation? Does Donald Douglas, at Real Clear Politics really believe that we encourage murder of innocents? On what planet does he reside?
Do I hate anyone? No, I do not. I do, however, hate the political correctness and corruption that has invaded by way of liberal/socialistic ideology. Do I advocate for the murder of those I disagree with? HELL NO! Do I advocate for the protection of our nation, if that includes the use of deadly force? DAMN STRAIGHT I do!
I would love to see gun turrets every 25 to feet 50 along our borders, with a moat fill with alligators, or piranhas! Next to the moat, land mines.
We are being invaded. It’s time to take a stand.
H/T: Texas Fred’s
Sen. Corker Speaks Up
Corker: Administration’s Updated Budget Projection Not Honest View
“This is not an honest view of our country’s budget deficit and the administration knows it. Their failure to include a realistic assessment for war spending and refusal to make accurate assumptions about the alternative minimum tax is disappointing and does not set the right tone for having a serious discussion about our country’s dire fiscal situation. As we rapidly approach $10 trillion in debt, we cannot continue to play games with how we look at our fiscal situation.
“Both the White House and Congress are guilty of such gimmicks on a yearly basis, and it is time for it to stop. The American taxpayers deserve to be shown the true scope of our financial problems. Our country’s resources have been mismanaged and the economic downturn we’re experiencing will only make the situation worse. We need to work together on a bipartisan basis to overhaul our budget process, reform entitlement programs and restrain our spending.”
Both Congress AND the White House has been playing fast and lose with OUR money! Personally, I’m fed up! I have a suggestion though. Every time we elect a candidate on the basis of their economic policies, and they do just the opposite once they get into office, we should start a recall effort based on the LIES that was spouted during his/her campaign. Corruption has had free reign in D.C. for way too long!
More Pap From The Left
Honestly, I can not understand how so many people can be so totally oblivious, and get paid for it too!
The Untouchable
Why nothing the press throws at Obama sticks
You’re welcome to believe otherwise, but I don’t think the press has gone in the tank for Barack Obama.
As long ago as March, the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz demolished charges that the press was soft on Obama by cataloging the tough pieces published by reporters exhuming the candidate’s past: his financial relationship with friend and fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who is now a convicted felon; his friendship with former Weather Undergrounder William Ayers; his casting of 130 “present” votes as an Illinois legislator; his nuclear energy compromise in the U.S. Senate, said to benefit a contributor; incendiary comments made by his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; and more.
To that list add the recent critical dispatches tarring Obama as a flip-flopper. The New Yorker’s Hendrik Hertzberg found “the big papers … assembling quite a list of matters on which the candidate has ‘changed his position,’ including Iraq, abortion rights, federal aid to faith-based social services, capital punishment, gun control, public financing of campaigns, and wiretapping.”
Read the rest here.
Good thing I haven’t had breakfast yet. Otherwise, I’d be losing it about now.
Watch This
I LOVE Glenn Beck! The man speaks common sense!
H/T: Politeia via Freedom’s Cost
Obamarama
Morning Coffee 07/30/08
Sons of Revolution Appeal City’s Denial of Parade Permit
“I’m concerned that every imaginable ethnic group gets to celebrate their pride, every year, on the main thoroughfares of this city. But we’re not allowed to celebrate the end of the war that formed this nation and ensured our liberty as Americans. We only have this parade once every 25 years,” the executive director of the Sons of the Revolution, Richard Gregory, said.
He should be more than just ‘concerned’! He should be outraged! It’s ok for gays to go traipsing through the streets, some half naked, but it’s not ok for proud Americans to celebrate their heritage? 
Bush Signs Housing Bill to Provide Mortgage Relief
President Bush on Wednesday signed a massive housing bill intended to provide mortgage relief for 400,000 struggling homeowners and stabilize financial markets.
Bush signed the bill without any fanfare or signing ceremony, affixing his signature to the measure he once threatened to veto, in the Oval Office in the early morning hours. He was surrounded by top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing Secretary Steve Preston.
The man has truly lost his mind. The stress has gotten to him. At one time, he had some common sense goals. Now, it seems he’s caving into every stupid idea that comes along, and in some cases, is actually cheer leading for absolute stupidity! I don’t trust this Paulson guy, anymore than I trust the Congress….and that’s NOT at all!
Governor says buyout picture looks bleak
Only about 1,200 of the applications in hand are deemed “acceptable” because they are for jobs the administration thinks can be eliminated. The buyouts are aimed at saving $64 million in state spending.
Bredesen said the administration may consider offering buyouts to more employees because “there are a lot of people who want buyouts who are not in the 12,000″ who were sent buyout packages.
Most people seem to think their job is more important than someone else’s. sigh… I can’t say as I blame the folks to don’t want to accept the ‘buyout’. Right now, they have a job. They take the deal, they’ll have some cash in hand, with no job, but how long will the money last? Unfortunately, the state needs MORE employees in some areas, like DCS, and the like, yet tends to give fat paychecks to ‘cronies’ that uses money better spent elsewhere. Something really stinks in state gubmint.
Riots erupt during funeral in Ni’ilin
Clashes between Palestinians and Border Police broke out Wednesday during the funeral of Ahmed Ussam Yusef Mousa, a 11-year-old boy who was killed Tuesday evening in Ni’ilin in the aftermath of a violent demonstration against the West Bank security barrier. Palestinians accused Israel of being responsible for the boy’s death.
It would not surprised me one little bit to find out the Pallies had shot the kid in order to start some kind of ruckus. Any people who think it’s ok to teach children to hate enough to blow themselves up, wouldn’t hesitate to murder a child in the name of their “cause”.
Grand jury indicts Savannah man on first-degree murder charge
A Hardin County grand jury has indicted a Savannah man on a charge of fatally shooting his ex-wife’s boyfriend, according to the Hardin County General Sessions Court clerk’s office.
Carl Couch, 42, was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder and was arraigned Monday.
(…)
Couch had previously threatened to kill Gary, according to investigators.
Couch has a criminal history and was scheduled to appear in court on child abuse charges the day after the shooting occurred. Authorities have said the child abuse charges are not connected to the homicide.
Couch’s girlfriend, Katinie Lynn Jen-sen, 35, also was indicted by the grand jury on charges stemming from the incident.
Oh, this POS is a real class act, isn’t he. Small town living gets more and more interesting.
McCain extends olive branch to Pelosi, Gore
Republican Sen. John McCain, engaged in increasingly sharp attacks on rival Barack Obama, pledged that if elected president, he would work closely with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, praising her as an effective leader and an “inspiration to millions of Americans.”
“I respect Speaker Pelosi. I think she’s one of the great American success stories,” McCain said during an interview with The Chronicle prior to a fundraiser at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.
Dear Lord in Heaven! We have a choice between an inexperienced buffoon puppet, and a doddering old man who can’t tel his ass from a hole in the ground. He DAMN sure better pick a REAL good running mate!
Minneapolis police: A mistake, an apology and then medals
First, the city apologized. Then it gave awards.
Eight Minneapolis officers received medals in City Hall Monday for their valor in a botched raid that the city apologized for last year. That isn’t sitting well with the family shot at multiple times by the officers.
“I’m shocked that they’re receiving awards for that night,” said Yee Moua. “My family is a mess right now. My [9-year-old] son, who saw the shooting, still has nightmares and has needed therapy. They’ve ruined a life, and I don’t understand why they would get rewarded for that.”
I have to say, I’m pretty baffled myself. I have all the respect in the world for the police. They do a really tough job. However, I do not believe they should be rewarded for such a horrible ‘mistake’. I would hope the PD is doing a thorough investigation on this screw up!
Visit to Pakistan by CIA officer reported
Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency has long been accused of arming, training and sponsoring the Taliban and affiliated Islamic extremists, first in Afghanistan and more recently in Pakistan, and of using them as proxies in Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Kashmir.
But the visit by Stephen Kappes marked a significant escalation of those U.S. concerns, and was carried out before this week’s visit to Washington by Pakistani Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gillani, according to one senior U.S. official who confirmed the trip.
Undoubtedly, the Pakistani gubmint hasn’t noticed all the bombs going off, and the dead bodies lying around.
Voters likely to approve judges
Voters on Aug. 7 have an opportunity to reject Gov. Phil Bredesen’s appointments of two Tennessee Supreme Court justices and five other appeals court judges, but it’s a pretty safe bet they will not.
Of the 146 judicial retention elections held since the state’s system for selecting top judges was established, 145 resulted in a win for the incumbent judge, according to Brian T. Fitzpatrick, an assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt University who has studied the system.
I wouldn’t take bets that this ol’ broad will be approving any of Bredesen’s appointment.
Aide to Sen. Jim Webb Found Dead
An aide to Sen. Jim Webb was found dead from a gunshot wound Tuesday morning, the Virginia Democrat’s office confirmed to FOX News on Wednesday.
Frederick Wayne Hutchins Jr., 26, ran Webb’s Roanoke office.
According to media reports, local police had not made a ruling on the cause of his death and were awaiting the results of an autopsy.
I don’t mean to sound flip here, but with a SHOT GUN wound, what do the police think caused it, appendicitis? My sincere prayers are with the family.
The indictment of a sitting senator, particularly one of Mr. Stevens’s seniority and stature, reverberated swiftly and ominously through the Capitol, in no small part because of the political implications. Democrats already had high hopes that they would win more seats in November. They now control the Senate by a razor-thin 51 to 49, thanks only to two independents who vote with them. As far-fetched as it might seem, some Democrats have started thinking aloud that they may be able to win nine more seats in November, bringing them a filibuster-proof majority of 60.”
I’ve no doubt such indictments could have been brought about at any time in the past. The man has been notorious. The timing is suspect.
Verse of the Day
Isaiah 35
1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
