Worth a Thousand Words! Updated

This is one of the images which was posted on the White House blog of the photo op event following the "racial profiling" arrest in Cambridge, Mass. As Thomas Lifson writes, it is incredible that the White House staff would publish it.

Sergeant Crowley, the sole class act in this trio, helps the handicapped Professor Gates down the stairs, while Barack Obama, heedless of the infirmities of his friend and fellow victim of self-defined racial profiling, strides ahead on his own. So who is compassionate? And who is so self-involved and arrogant that he is oblivious?

Enough said.

Update:
The graphic below shows the contrast between the "messiah" currently residing in the White House and the former occupant referred to as "chimpy McHalliburton Bushitler" and how political opponents were treated.

More Nonsense from the Messiah

"Dignity is worth more than any visa"

July 29 - On Tuesday, the State department announced that the Obama administration has revoked the diplomatic visas of 4 Honduran officials.

The reason, according to spokesman Ian Kelly, is that "we do not recognize the government of Roberto Micheletti."

This shows the stupidity of US foreign policy under this administration.

They do not recognize the government that is in charge, and has the support of the armed forces, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the majority of the Honduran people and even the Catholic Church, which normally remains neutral.

They recognize the non-government of a Chávez's puppet, who was trying to put in place an anti-American dictatorship like the ones in Venezuela and Nicaragua, and who has made a clown of himself by saying for four weeks that he is going back to Honduras, but still hasn't.

While the Obama administration keeps making concessions to the brutal regime in Cuba, they are trying to act tough against a weak country whose only crime is that their people refuse to lose their freedom.

Ramón Custodio, National Commissioner for Human Rights and one of those whose visa was revoked, told a Honduran newspaper that "Dignity is worth more than any visa."

"If for what I have to say they cancel my visa, if for what I have to say they do not invite me again to any of their parties, they can keep their caviars and rotten hams," Custodio told El Heraldo.

Custodio also told the paper that he will refuse any invitation to any embassy affair, if he would be forced to listen to mandates that no other country has the right to impose to the Honduran people.

"I will continue to defend the Constitution of Honduras and will oppose any attempt to deliver Honduras to Hugo Chávez."

After that, all I have to say is: Amen. Thank God for people like Ramón Custodio!

reposted from "The Real Cuba"

A Moral Issue?

On the basis of verifiable facts the Warmista religion is undeniably immoral.

Memories

Heretofore in his blogging career your humble blogster has hesitated to relate "war stories" of the experiences he lived during his years as a cop on the streets of Los Angeles and environs. Recent events in the news have however dredged up memories of events which have remained dormant but never far below the surface of consciousness. I am referring in this instance to the recent confrontation between a white police officer in Cambridge, Massachusetts and black Professor Henry L. Gates of Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

The circumstances as they relate to race relations and described in the above linked article have conjured up memories of an incident (I can assure you, there were others) which occurred some years ago in the Vermont district of south central Los Angeles.

A business establishment on south Vermont ave. which I shall call the "Road Runners club" had been the scene of many "disturbance" calls to the Lennox Sheriff's station. The calls generally resulted from brawls involving two or more combatants and the use of various weapons ranging from fists, knives and razors to the occasional firearm.

In this particular instance an ambulance as well as law enforcement personnel was dispatched to the scene indicating the possibility of more than the usual violence. My partner and I arrived and entered the establishment amid considerable confusion and witnesses directed our attention to a black gentleman seated in a chair holding his hand over a wound to his upper abdomen which was bleeding profusely. He was conscious and stated that "Jerome cut and stabbed me" pointing to a young black man standing near the end of the bar. At about this time the ambulance crew arrived and began treating the "victim". As I approached "Jerome" he turned around and ducked into the mens restroom and my partner and I followed and confronted him noting that a large switchblade knife was lying on the floor next to the door to the men's room. Not surprisingly, "Jerome" was taken into custody and escorted to our radio car which was parked at the curb in front of the establishment.

Although the time was now approximately 12:35 AM a crowd had collected on the sidewalk consisting of a dozen or more members of the local citizenry. Upon viewing the assembled humanity, our suspect "Jerome" began shouting repeatedly: "You honky pigs is only bustin' me cause I is black." This refrain continued unabated during the ride to the station and through the booking procedure.

As the station jailer escorted "Jerome" to a holding cell, my partner explained to him: "Yeah Jerome, we only arrested you 'cause there wasn't a single white dude there we could hassle."

The irony seemed to escape Jerome and he continued to call all and sundry a "bunch of honky motherf#@&%r pigs".

I never learned the outcome of the incident as I did not receive a subpoena to testify in court. In any event, discussion of the incident did not come up during a presidential press conference and the President did not call me to attend a meeting at the White House with himself and "Jerome". Come to think of it, "Jerome" was not even a Harvard professor.

Honduran Saga Updated

As the recent "festivities" in Honduras continue to unfold more dots continue to reveal themselves for connection. Sr. Zelaya was arrested on the orders of the Honduran Supreme court for violating that hapless nations constitution by attempting to circumvent the term limit provision. The Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez had helpfully supplied the "balloting" equipment for the election which Zelaya had planned for last June 29th. The news items describing the "balloting" equipment neglect to mention the nature of the items whether they be paper ballots or electronic voting machines manufactured by the Venezuelan firm SmartMatic . Strangely enough, the "results" of the election which was not held have turned up on 45 computers controlled by Zelaya and his followers.

While much of the world has lined up with Manuel Zelaya, the ousted president of Honduras, time and truth do not seem to be his cause's friend. The latest shoe to drop is a shocking Catalan newspaper report stating that Honduran authorities have discovered 45 computers containing election results for an election that never took place.

All this comes after revelations that Zelaya and his staff are probably guilty of theft from the Honduran central bank

A security video from the Central Bank of Honduras made available to The Washington Times shows officials entering the bank June 24 and withdrawing large amounts of Honduran currency. The money was driven to the office of Mr. Zelaya's chief of staff, Enrique Flores Lanza, according to depositions by three witnesses to Honduran prosecutors.

Meanwhile, the most vocal protesters against the ouster of the far leftist Honduran president continue to be the Castro brothers of Cuba, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and our very own messiah who currently resides in the White House. These gentlemen are what one would characterize as committed adherents to the Marxist philosophy. Coincidence? Doubtful.

cross posted at: Eternity Road

When is a "Fine" a Tax?

During the Watergate era the phrase "follow the money" gained widespread exposure. The efficacy of the advice however, has always and continues to apply. What is most amusing in the following incident is the blatant assumption by our rulers that we are tricked by their prevarications. Oh well, most of us are products of the government indoctrination centers skools.

As of 1 July of this year Florida statutes provide for a $100.00+- "fine" for all motor vehicle passengers who fail to utilize seat belts. While few will argue with the advisability of wearing seat belts while traveling in a motor vehicle the various seat belt laws are difficult to justify on the basis that violators of such laws are a hazard to highway safety. That has however not precluded a corollary to the effect that tinted windows on vehicles which do not reduce the ability of a vehicle's occupants to see outward should be prohibited . "'We can’t tell if they’re wearing their seatbelts,' said one cop... So tinted windows, which are pervasive in Florida, are seen as a major obstruction to revenue collection highway safety."

In the immortal words of Robert Heinlein: "Taxes are not levied for the benefit of the taxed."

The Descent

The arbitrary date most historical texts designate as the de facto end of the Roman Empire in the west is September 4, 476 AD. On that date a German chieftain, Odoacer ascended to the Imperial throne in Ravenna deposing the reigning Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus. The date is a convenient but arbitrary construct in that Roman bureaucratic administration continued for many decades after Romulus had retired to a comfortable life in Campania with an annual pension of 6,000 silidi. . Heretofore all Roman emperors, be they usurpers or members of dynastic families, had been undisputed citizens of the Empire.

Not a few students of history continue to draw parallels between the Roman Empire and the global role that has devolved to the United States during the last several score of years. One can be forgiven for perceiving an eerie resemblance between events occurring on that date in the 5th century and those of January 20, 2009 for the simple reason that the recently elected US president continues refusing to offer conclusive and credible documentary evidence that he is constitutionally eligible to serve in his present capacity.

In his recent book, The Ruin of the Roman Empire (which your humble blogster is just completing) James J. O'Donnell posits that in point of fact, the true author of the so called "Dark Ages" of western civilization is the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian who sent his general Belasarius to "re-conquer" the western provinces from the romanized "barbarians" we know as Goths, Ostrogoths and Vandals.


In any event, the administration of government here in the US will doubtless continue for the immediate future, but as the old cliche goes: "Nothing is Forever" and you dear reader are free to evaluate the prognostications of both doomsayers and Pollyannas.

In the meantime keep your powder dry and:

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

cross posted at: Eternity Road

A "Man of the People"

The deeds of Honduras' president in exile Mel Zelaya give new meaning to the quote from the George Orwell classic "Animal Farm": "All Animals are Equal. Pigs are however more Equal".

On Sunday 28 June Zelaya was flown from Honduras to San Jose in neighboring Costa Rica. It was only a matter of hours until the usual Leftist suspects in the hemisphere including Hugo Chávez, the Castro brothers, Daniel Ortega and our very own marxist messiah denounced the Honduran government for the supposed "coup".

In less than the first 5 days of his exile the "Man of the People" managed to run up charges on his government credit cards to the tune of USD $80,000.00+. Those silk suits used for strutting before the UN General Assembly apparently don't come cheap. Understandably the Honduran government canceled his credit cards in addition to the lease of 50 luxury cars and other perks.

The chancellor of Honduras confirmed that Mel Zelaya ordered the withdrawal of 40 million lempiras [USD $2.8 million] from the Central Bank of Honduras.

When the investigations were made at the presidential house, black garbage bags filled with thousands and thousands of dollars were found, as well as in almost every drawer.

Investigations documented over 600 million lempiras [USD $31.2 million] worth of expenditures that Zelaya had spent on his quest to hold the “opinion poll” to allow the fourth vote [to remain in office beyond the constitutional term limit].

It appears that the lawfully elected government of Honduras has been expelled from the Organization of American States while Cuba has been invited to join.

More here

h/t Daniel Duquenal

Thank You Greenies!

As if the economic situation in the country and especially California is not bad enough, just the other day Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barbara Zuniga ordered work to be stopped on the upgrading of the Chevron Martinez refinery a short distance north of Berkeley.

To achieve the upgrade of the 107 year old refinery Chevron obtained a permit from the city of Richmond and hired over 1,000 workers late last year. Those workers will be idled by the court order but interestingly enough an attorney for the luddite environmentalist groups "Earthjustice" and "Communities for a Better Environment" Will Rostov, argues that they should be retained on the payroll. This lends new meaning to the old soviet workers truism: "They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work."

It would be interesting to learn if the Greek goddess of retributive justice, Νέμεσις (Nemesis) will intervene in the state of California and assure that judges such as Ms Zuniga and attorneys such as Mr. Rostow are compensated by IOUs soon to be issued from Sacramento in lieu of legal tender.

h/t: Thomas Lifson

The "Fair Tax" coming soon?

For each of the last six years a bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman John Linder (R-Georgia) which would eliminate the Federal income tax and replace it with a sales-like tax on all commercial transactions in the US. The bill (HR 25) which currently has 55 co-sponsors has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

A book touting the bill has been co-authored by Congressman Linder and Neal Boortz, a libertarian talk radio host based in Atlanta. In the interest of full disclosure: your humble blogster has not read the book but believes he has a decent understanding of the legislative intent of the author.

The bill as introduced would abolish the current income tax, capital gains and estate taxes, eliminate the IRS and tax the sale of all goods and services at the rate of 23%. The proponents of the idea allege that the Fair tax is revenue neutral and would fund "current government expenditures at their present level". Provisions are included in the bill to re-emburse households for "basic living expenses".

The good news thus far? The present Byzantine tax code disappears as well as the gestapo-like Internal Revenue service. Also down the tubes is the ability of politicians to utilize the tax code for social engineering and to buy votes from various and sundry special interest groups. Labor and savings are not taxed and only consumption falls under the purview of the avaricious government. What's not to like?

Here are just a few of the possible down sides. Enactment of the legislation as written implies radical changes to, or outright repeal of the 16th Amendment. This requires the usual super majorities in Congress as well as ratification by the legislatures of three quarters of the states. No mean task in view of the politicians' addiction to the wielding of the taxing power at both the federal and state levels. The creation of fiat (paper and electronic) money by the politically manipulated Federal Reserve Bank as well as ongoing budgetary deficits will continue to exert inflationary pressures resulting in the temptation of Congress to raise the initial 23% rate higher.

The greatest danger your humble blogster sees in the movement of this legislation through the enactment process is the power of both houses of the Federal legislature to attach amendments. Heretofore the proposal has garnered little support from members of Congress from either party for obvious reasons. That situation is likely to change very soon for the following reason.

If the provision for repeal of the 16th Amendment is stripped from the bill the distinct possibility exists that the final version could be the enactment of the so called "Fair Tax" in addition to retention of the income tax. This euro-like monstrosity would be the "wet dream" of our current crop of collectivist politicians. We would for all intents and purposes be saddled with the European system of a progressive income tax in addition to an extremely regressive value added tax.

As Ms Duckwell says: "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

cross posted at: Eternity Road

Birds of a Feather...

Graphic courtesy of: The Real Nicaragua.com

On 22 January of 1980 your humble blogster experienced the doubious honor of viewing what passed for a Nicaraguan (Sandinista) jail from the inside. The account of that saga can be read here. At the time, Daniel Ortega was "president?" of that unhappy nation. Since then, Nicaragua has experienced its ups and downs with recent emphasis on the downs by having returned the Marxist child rapist Ortega to the presidency.

One day in 1998, Zoilamerica, [Ortega's stepdaughter] a militant Sandinista, walked into one of the counselling centres she had established to challenge the cult of machismo and abuse of women and told her friend, psychiatrist Marta Cabrera, 'I want to talk.' The story she told was that since she was 11, Ortega had fondled, abused and finally raped her.

With the recent events in neighboring Honduras seizing the attention of the media, one can not be blamed for wondering what on earth is going on. A simple explanation by way of analogy is probably appropriate:

Let us suppose that in June of 2008 with the November election upcoming and George W. Bush due to be term limited out of the White House he decides to stage a special election to decide if he should be allowed to be a candidate in the November election. Houston, we have a problem. There's a little matter of the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution which clearly states that "chimpy bushitler mc halliburton" cannot be a candidate in said election. Not to worry. Since various administrations routinly ignore the Constitution, Bush proceeds to stage the special election (which he probably intends to rig anyway) but the supreme court declares the special election to be illegal and orders the military to prevent it by any means; which it proceeds to do.

That is the simplest analogous description of what has transpired in Honduras. However, Honduras being a smallish republic of about 7.5 million souls, outside powers feel free to intervene, and local governments led by those of the Marxist persuasion are lining up to flex their international muscles by restoring their soul mate Mr Zelaya to the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa (this aparently includes the Obamessiah).

The Messiah's international hands off policies only appear to apply to entrenched despots and not to democratic governments attempting to apply the rule of Law.