Conservative Wanderer

“A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.” — Ronald Wilson Reagan

Monthly Archives: January 2011

Terrorist Caught Trying To Cross Mexican Border

All you pro-amnesty types who thought the concern about terrorists crossing into this country from Mexico were overblown, please explain this:

U.S. border authorities have arrested a controversial Muslim cleric who was deported from Canada to Tunisia three years ago and was caught earlier this month trying to sneak into California inside the trunk of a BMW, according to court documents.

Said Jaziri, the former Imam of a Muslim congregation in Montreal, was hidden inside a car driven by a San Diego-area man who was pulled over by U.S. Border Patrol agents near an Indian casino east of San Diego. Jaziri allegedly paid a Tijuana-based smuggling group $5,000 to get him across the border near Tecate, saying he wanted to be taken to a “safe place anywhere in the U.S.”

Of course, he just wanted to do the jobs Americans won’t do… like blow up Americans.

Obama’s SOTU Price Tag: $20 Billion Or More, Plus Higher Taxes

The National Taxpayers’ Union Foundation has crunched the numbers, and the results aren’t pretty:

President Obama’s statement in yesterday evening’s State of the Union speech that “the rules have changed” will likely surprise many taxpayers hoping for more specifics on how much they’ll save – or pay – due to his fiscal policy proposals. According to a line-by-line analysis of his State of the Union speech by the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), all the quantifiable items in President Obama’s speech taken together would increase federal spending by more than $20 billion, but the large number of items whose impact is unclear could dramatically affect this total.

“President Obama’s speech last night hinted at tax reform, and spending restraint, but also opened the door to tax increases and major spending initiatives,” said NTUF Senior Policy Analyst Demian Brady. “Americans heard encouraging words about more efficient government, but little in the way of specifics about spending priorities. This leaves taxpayers wondering not only whether the federal budget deficit is headed upward or downward, but also by how much.”

So, Obama is still a tax-and-spend Democrat. Remember that in 2012.

Medicare Actuary On ObamaCare

I think the proponents of ObamaCare are gonna have some trouble explaining away this testimony under oath:

Two of the central promises of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law are unlikely to be fulfilled, Medicare’s independent economic expert told Congress on Wednesday.

The landmark legislation probably won’t hold costs down, and it won’t let everybody keep their current health insurance if they like it, Chief Actuary Richard Foster told the House Budget Committee. His office is responsible for independent long-range cost estimates.

Foster’s assessment came a day after Obama in his State of the Union message told lawmakers that he’s open to improvements in the law, but unwilling to rehash the health care debate of the past two years. Republicans want to repeal the landmark legislation that provides coverage to more than 30 million people now uninsured, but lack the votes.

Foster was asked by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., for a simple true or false response on two of the main assertions made by supporters of the law: that it will bring down unsustainable medical costs and will let people keep their current health insurance if they like it.

On the costs issue, “I would say false, more so than true,” Foster responded.

As for people getting to keep their coverage, “not true in all cases.”

In other words, the proponents of ObamaCare lied, plain and simple.

Read the whole thing.

You Stay Classy, Loretta Sanchez!

Behind closed doors, California Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez has proposed removing Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) until she recovers from injuries sustained after being shot in the head on Jan. 8 in Tucson, The Daily Caller has learned.

The proposal sparked an outrage, according to those in the room — including from those in Sanchez’s own party.

“It’s not appropriate,” Texas Democratic Rep. Silvestre Reyes told The Daily Caller, adding that there was outrage among some members in the room when Sanchez made the suggestion. “It’s bad for morale during her recovery period.”

Reyes and Rep. Adam Smith of Washington put up most of the fight against Sanchez, and helped squash the idea.

“From a woman who memorialized her cat, you’d think she’d show a little more compassion for a woman shot in the face,” said one GOP aide, referring to Sanchez’s 2010 Christmas card that paid tribute to her late cat, Gretzky.

Kudos to the other Democrats who helped stop this ludicrous idea. As for Rep. Sanchez, maybe in 2012 her district will decide that she’s been an embarrassment to them long enough.

Pro-Democracy Protests In Egypt

In a move largely credited as sparked by the recent revolt in Tunisia, pro-democracy demonstrators have taken to the streets in Cairo and other large Egyptian cities. Here’s a quick list of reports that I’ve dug up:

Seems like watching this story develop might be a lot more interesting than watching His Obamaness pontificate tonight.

Update: According to the Daily Mail (UK), the protests have spread to Lebanon.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, a prime minster backed by pro-Iranian Hezbollah was appointed sparking angry street protests and fears the move would plunge the country into a new crisis.

Billionaire businessman and former premier Najib Mikati, Hezbollah’s chosen candidate, moved immediately to try and reassure the country declaring : ‘My hand is extended to all Lebanese, Muslims and Christians, in order to build and not to destroy.’

But thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of major cities on what they also called a ‘day of rage’, accusing Hebzbollah of engineering the collapse of the previous unity government of outgoing Premier Saad Hariri.

Things definitely seem to be getting interesting in the Middle East.

No SOTU Coverage Here, Sorry.

I agree with those, including Roger Kimball, Ed Morrissey, and others who are refusing to watch the political pep-rally that is the modern State of the Union address. I agree with Ed that it would probably be better to return to the old tradition of the President sending his required annual report on the State of the Union to Congress in written form. A good example is Thomas Jefferson’s 1801 State of the Union.

However, I understand that PajamasMedia’s VodkaPundit will be drunkblogging the speech tonite, and PJTV will be providing extensive coverage, so it’s not like the conservative side of the political equation will be completely absent.

Iran Deploys “Cyber Police”

One more avenue for the Iranian thugocracy to oppress the Iranian people:

TEHRAN, Iran—Iran’s state TV says the country has launched its first cyber police unit in the latest attempt by authorities to gain an edge in the digital world.

The Internet has been a key outlet for Iran’s political opposition since the disputed presidential election in 2009. Iran also has been trying to boost its web defenses after the Stuxnet computer worm made its way into computers involved with its nuclear program.

Any bets on whether or not the only thing allowed on the Iranian internet will be state-approved propaganda?

Rahm “Dead Fish” Emanuel Ineligible To Run For Chicago Mayor

Guess, what, Rahm-bo? An Illinois appellate court has just handed you a dead fish of your very own.

“A candidate must meet not only the Election Code’s voter residency standard, but also must have actually resided within the municipality for one year prior to the election, a qualification that the candidate unquestionably does not satisfy,” the court stated in the decision.

Of course, he is going to appeal, which may set up the most-watched court case since Bush v. Gore.

Judge John Roll: An Unsung Hero Of Tucson, But Why?

That’s the question Sandy Rios is asking:

Federal Judge John Roll was killed in Tucson trying to save another man’s life. As soon as madman Jared Lee Loughner finished his attempt to murder Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, he turned his gun on the people to his left, then the people to his right. Recently released video shows his first target to the right was Ron Barber, Gifford’s district director, who was standing next to Justice John Roll.

Barber was shot in the arm. Judge Roll then pushed him down and, shielding Barber with his own body, steered him to shelter under a nearby table. While under the table, Loughner aimed for Roll’s exposed back and pulled the trigger. The video continues as Judge Roll looks up over his right shoulder, lies back down and dies at the scene.

Why don’t we know that? We know that an intern to Gifford, Daniel Hernandez, held Congresswoman Gifford’s head in his lap, putting pressure on the wound to save her life. We know that retired Army National Guard Colonel Bill Badger, though injured, tackled Loughner. We know Joe Zamudio, a young bystander carrying a gun, ran to the scene initially to stop the shooter by his own deadly force, but aided Badger instead in the restraint. While both held Loughner, Patricia Maisch removed another loaded magazine from Loughner’s pocket.

We know the stories of these people well as recounted by the press and by President Obama at the memorial service. We are collectively proud of them and each deserve recognition and praise. But what about Judge Roll?

It’s a very good question. Rios herself provides a probable answer, too:

Could it be the heroes of this story have been chosen and that Judge Roll doesn’t fit the template? Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, could it be that Judge Roll’s act of courage was seen to diminish or interfere with the aggrandizement of a Democratic Congresswoman from her tragic shooting? Could it be that in an attempt to trade on her tragic circumstances, the report of a heroic Republican Judge would be inconvenient?

Read the whole thing, and decide for yourself.

 

Obama’s SOTU: Spend, Spend, Spend, More, More, More!

That seems to be the gist of it…

President Barack Obama will call for new government spending on infrastructure, education and research in his State of the Union address Tuesday, sharpening his response to Republicans in Congress who are demanding deep budget cuts, people familiar with the speech said.

Mr. Obama will argue that the U.S., even while trying to reduce its budget deficit, must make targeted investments to foster job growth and boost U.S. competitiveness in the world economy. The new spending could include initiatives aimed at building the renewable-energy sector—which received billions of dollars in stimulus funding—and rebuilding roads to improve transportation, people familiar with the matter said. Money to restructure the No Child Left Behind law’s testing mandates and institute more competitive grants also could be included.

While proposing new spending, Mr. Obama also will lay out significant budget cuts elsewhere, people familiar with the plans say, though they will likely fall short of what Republican lawmakers have requested.

On behalf of everyone who’s in favor of fiscal sanity, Mr. Obama, let me thank you for ceding the issue to the GOP.

Now we just have to hope that the GOP doesn’t follow their usual pattern of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.