Sarah Palin: Anathema to Leftists

It goes without saying, Sarah Palin drives the left nuts! The vitriol and hatred can be seen wherever the leftists linger online: The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Newsweek, the list goes on and on. All you have to do is follow the comments on a leftist's post and you'll see it.

The question is why? What causes opponents to a conservative argument to circle the drain with their every comment?

It's called the Internet. Anyone with a computer can post a comment and spew whatever hatred they like for all to see, anonymously. It's a deliberate debasement of dialogue that is perpetrated by the owners of leftist blogs. Thoughtful discourse is relegated to the "in-between" comments of rants and raves. The thoughtful discourse is lost in the maze of hatred, drowned out by the sheer number of anonymous commenters.

At first, I thought it necessary to include every single comment to every post I made. I quickly modified my process to "monitor" comments, for good reason. I don't want my blog to be infested by leftist hate-speech, which I receive regularly. I have since decided to limit my blog comments to those that are willing to post a name. I will not have any more anonymous comments. I am trying to bring a subject out for honest debate and I will not provide a forum to any leftist nutjob to have a say. If you want to comment, fine, I'll consider your argument. I have no qualms posting opposing views, I will just not stand for that discourse to be less than civil.

By all means, let me know if you agree or disagree.

Jump the Shark | aka George Will

From Politico:

George F. Will, the elite conservative commentator, will call in his next column for U.S. ground troops to leave Afghanistan, according to publishing sources.

“[F]orces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent special forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters,” Will writes in the column, scheduled for publication later this week.

You can read more here.

I think George Will is the perfect person to send the Obama administration to ruin in Afghanistan. I can just hear the White House elites saying "OMG, George Will thinks we should pull out of Afghanistan! We have our cover".

It don't really care if we pull out. Although I would like to see success, it's becoming apparent that the Obama administration is incapable of it. It would be better to save the troops for real leadership that to have them commanded by a fool.

Let Obama take the fall for failure in Afghanistan. It's the least we can do.

BTW, I am no fan of George Will.

Cheneys Rip Obama, CIA Probe

Former Vice President Dick Cheney took to the airwaves on Fox News Sunday to defend the Bush administration's use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and to rip the Obama administration's decision to investigate those that participated in them.

"It's an outrageous political act that will do great damage, long-term, to our capacity to be able to have people take on difficult jobs, make difficult decisions, without having to worry about what the next administration is going to say," Cheney told "FOX News Sunday" in a no-holds-barred interview.

He said the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to launch a probe into alleged abuse of prisoners under the prior administration "offends the hell out of me," as he seemed to question Obama's fitness as commander-in-chief.

"I have serious doubts about his policies," Cheney told FOX News' Chris Wallace in Jackson Hole, Wyo. "Serious doubts, especially, about the extent to which he understands and is prepared to do what needs to be done to defend the nation."



Wow! You can read the transcript of the interview here.

Also, kudos to Dick's daughter Liz for standing up to Sam Donaldson's attempt to push the CIA smears:



Not to be outdone, the White House trotted out Press Secretary Robert Gibbs to respond to Dick Cheney's comments. What a lightweight Gibbs is!

I sense the White House is starting to reel from criticism. I can't wait to hear Sarah Palin's next salvo!

In God We Still Trust

Although this was posted on YouTube back in 2006, its relevance has not changed.



Hat Tip: Bob Dornak

Kaoma - Lambada

I stumbled across this after watching a video posted on Hot Air about Sergio Mendez & Brasil '66. What struck me about it was the number of views: over 34 million.

I thought you might enjoy it.

Obama's 3am Phone Call

H/T: Conservatives4Palin

No Treats from Obama

This dog knows that taking a handout from Obama will destroy his owners' ability to keep him in treats!

Consider this. I do not endorse this, but it is eye-opening!

Hat Tip: Kelley Dornak

Limbaugh and Beck

This conversation aired yesterday on the Glenn Beck show. Sarah Palin recommended it via Facebook yesterday morning and seemed to drive an additional 400K listeners, based on Beck's average audience number.



H/T: Conservatives4Palin

A Telling Response to Different Presidents

Hat tip: Bob Dornak

The Lion in Nature

We've heard a lot about the "Lion of the Senate" today. My heart goes out to the Kennedy family for their loss. He truly was an icon for the lost years of "Camelot" and he will be remembered for the extension of that legacy.

Having said that, I would like you to entertain the idea that Ted Kennedy was miscast as a lion. Granted, lions are predatory and ruthless in the pursuit of prey. In the course of the wild, they are but one of many feline predators. There is also the cheetah and the leopard. They also play an important part in the balance of nature.

So why the lion? The lion denotes power and strength. It has been used as a metaphor for many an ancient warrier. It's understandable why the press would grab this symbol to describe Ted Kennedy. But, I think they got it wrong. Ted Kennedy was better cast as a leopard.

A leopard prowls in the dark. Its camouflage of spots help it as it stalks its prey. It does not attack in the light of day. It waits until there is an opportunity to pounce on the unsuspecting. It does not use strength and speed as its ally, it uses subterfuge. Granted, it does have strength, but not so to challenge the lion. It knows its place

Ted Kennedy was never a lion. He always used subterfuge to neutralize his prey. After being named to help craft the "No Child Left Behind" legislation, the leopard showed his nature. Once legislation passed in a spirit of "bipartisanship", he turned on his benefactor, George W. Bush. Consider his comment about Abu Graib: "Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management: U.S. management."

So much for bipartisanship. Ted Kennedy could have cared less about "No Child Left Behind". It was only an opening to pounce on his prey and further his agenda to devour the vestiges of our liberty.

All told, I wish Ted Kennedy HAD been a lion, putting his strength and aggressiveness out in the open for all to see. Sadly, he chose darkness, and we are only beginning to see the results of his voracity.

Reagan & Palin: Partners in Common Sense

Seth Adam Smith put together an excellent video to highlight Ronald Reagan's 1961 speech on socialized medicine. I believe that Ronald Reagan and Sarah Palin would have been very good friends.



I think that their natural common sense presents a strong bond between them, no matter the distance, no matter what realm of life they now enjoy.

Hat tip: Conservatives4Palin

Louie Giglio sermon - Laminin

If you haven't seen this video, it is well worth your time. We so desperately need inspiration today and I have to pass this on for that very reason.



Hat tip to Bob Dornak
*

Do Not Underestimate Our Will!

This video was made by high-schooler in Trussville, Alabama for the April 15th Tea Party. If this video doesn't put a lump in your throat, you must be a flaming liberal.



HT: Conservatives4Palin

Is Obama Weak?

It depends on what the meaning of "is" is.....

Wapo

Do these guys breed somewhere that I don't know about?

Obamacare

Do you believe this guy? I know I don't!



I have never, in my entire life, watched a President go down in flames like Obama. It is breathtaking to watch!

Awesome Sarah Palin Video

I was accumulating videos of Sarah Palin in a separate blog post, but this one deserves its own. It will put a lump in your throat.

Sarah Palin Videos

You know what? I don't know if Sarah Palin is going to run for higher office and, honestly, I don't care. She has already demonstrated that she can steer the conversation from Alaska with her Facebook entries. If she decides to run against Obama, that will be the icing on the cake!

Enjoy! (I'll keep them coming as I find them)









If you liked that, check out this one:



I loved the John Adams series on HBO and this one got my attention:



Athough this one is not strictly a Sarah Palin video, it's a good one and includes her.



Hat tip to Conservatives4Palin

Scorpions - Rhythm of Love

All I can say is Wow!

Man, I wished this guy lived in my neighborhood!

Somehow...

Somehow, your work in Alaska got noticed.

Somehow, the McCain camp had an epiphany and chose you. Yes, you.

Somehow, your voice became nationalized. Yes, you!

I believe that John McCain is an American patriot. His time in captivity speaks volumes about his love for country.

I admire his eagerness to run for President. Yes, we understand his commitment, and, yes, we cherish it. We recognize his ability to stand tall and represent us.

However, he did something out of the main stream.

He selected YOU as his running mate. OMG, what was he thinking?

..............

I believe that he was thinking with his heart.

I believe that he saw something in you that he could not pass by.

I believe that you were what he was looking for...not a running mate, but a leader.

..............

You have a curious obligation. We also see what John McCain saw and we see that leader. And we also see someone who can stand up for everything that WE believe in.

..............

We recognize that we have not been vigilant. We have squandered our ability to be heard, because we bought into the thought that "tomorrow never comes". We vainly thought that today was all we needed. We turned away from God.

..............

We do not deserve your sacrifice, but we yearn for it. We cannot find it within ourselves to take on the beast, so we defer to you.

..............

I pray that we will find other Sarah Palins to fight for us. We need champions because we have lost our way. We need Alaska to show us the way!

Obama's High Water Mark

During the Civil War, it was claimed that the North's victory over the South at the Battle of Gettysburg demonstrated that the Confederate Army had reached its "high water mark" in the war and that its capabilities were now in decline.

Rasmussen's latest polling seems to suggest that Obama's high water mark was at or near July 3rd. Is it a coincidence that the date also corresponds to Sarah Palin's announcement that she was resigning her governor's post to pursue another calling? Is it also a coincidence that the decisive Battle of Gettysburg took place on July 3rd, one hundred and forty-six years ago?





To paraphrase Jim DeMint, has Obama met his Waterloo? And is it Sarah Palin?

I'm not the only one that sees the significance of July 3rd. Read this.

Obama's Charge

I've visited the battle site at Gettysburg and walked among the monuments that dot the landscape. I've listened to park service guide's descriptions and watched re-enactments to try and understand the depth of what happened there. I remember looking out over the battle field and using my imagination to picture "Pickett's Charge".

The monument to the "high water mark" has stayed in my memory. It is still there, right behind the rock fence that the Union soldiers pressed up against in anticipation of the Confederate's advance. It has been preserved for all of us to understand the meaning of that day, so many years ago.

What will we remember of today? What defines our continuing battle to maintain our Republic and our liberty? What will be the catch-phrase that comes to define the importance of this moment, this month, this year? Moreover, will we accept the judgment of history when this moment is defined, but then is a distant memory?

I am reminded of William Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride". I had to memorize that poem when I was in grade school. I failed in my attempt to recite the entire poem (only a very small percentage of my class did), but I have never forgotten the beginning:

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

What I'm still left with is the phrase "Hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year." In my youth, I often wished I was there. I cherished the memory of this country's birth and sacrifice. One of my favorite movies is "The Patriot", starring Mel Gibson. I remember watching it and being taken by the character of his son, played by Heath Ledger. I imagined myself being this character, if only to be a part of that history.

We can't appreciate the importance of the moment when we are in the middle of making history. It's sort of like the old saying "can't see the forest from the trees". We listen, we react and we take action, not knowing that what we do will make a difference.

I'm sure that the Union soldiers at Gettysburg had similar thoughts. They did not retreat as General Lee had anticipated they would. They held firm and turned back the tide of the Confederate Army. At the time, they could not have known that their efforts would result in the high water mark. History has shown that they their efforts did, in fact, result in just that.

Similarly, I do not think that we, the people, can know that we have taken a definitive stand against socialism and that its progress has reached its high water mark. I pray that history will remember this year and this time as such. And I thank God for the Sarah Palins and Rush Limbaughs that shore up our ranks.

We will withstand Obama's Charge!

Another "Evil" Comment

Seems like Sarah Palin is not the only one that describes HR3200 (aka Obamacare) as "evil".

The New Bully Pulpit?

Facebook has an innocuous feature with allows you to post "Notes". This is Facebook's way of allowing you to post something lengthier than a few sentences. Most users of Facebook stay within the norm and just update their "Status" to communicate to others.

I find it interesting that Sarah Palin has chosen the Facebook platform to communicate her ideas and positions. Not a blog, not Twitter, not a news conference, but Facebook! I think that a combination of its novelty and her appeal to both those that agree and disagree with her have given her a very unique megaphone. Her spot-on comments have driven the discussion in the media. It should no longer come as a surprise that a Facebook posting on Friday will become the major topic of discussion the following week.

I'll guess that Obama thought HE had the bully pulpit. Too bad he's squandered its relevance with his partisan caterwauling. Do you think that next week he'll be defending his opposition to tort reform? You betcha!

It must be painful for him.

John Stossel & Obamacare

(Un) Intended Consequences?

The left has been focusing on all the arguments against nationalized health care by saying that those arguments are either lies or "misinformation". As the best example, since HR3200 doesn't actually contain the words "death panel", that term and the underlying concept must be a false claim.

Newsweek has taken it upon themselves to highlight some of the so-called "myths" being circulated about nationalized health care. In a cute, little corner of their website appears "The Gaggle: What Are the Craziest Myths About Healthcare?".

Their featured "loopy" claims include:

- Doctors will be imprisoned if they provide life-saving treatments not sanctioned by the government

- Private insurance will be outlawed

- Obama wants to revive a Nazi program of killing incurably or mentally ill people

- Medicare will be ended

- The bill allows the government to access your bank account

The blog goes on to accuse the likes of Hot Air, Investor's Business Daily, National Review Online, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck of repeating these "lies" and fomenting right-wing activism at town hall meetings.

I'd like to share some of the conventional understanding behind these so-called "loopy" claims. I can't respond directly to them, because their itemized claims are actually true in the way they have parsed them. Instead, I'll look at the substance behind the claim.

Doctors will be imprisoned if they provide life-saving treatments not sanctioned by the government

Obviously, this is absurd. But the dirty little secret is that doctors will not be compensated for procedures that are not acceptable to the government. Hence, doctors will be "imprisoned" by a government dictate on how they run their business. Is this an unintended consequence?

Private insurance will be outlawed

Again, ridiculous on its face. However, once an employee loses their health insurance due to leaving a job, their only option is Obamacare. Employers will not add incoming employees to their private insurance plan, because, presumably, they will be already be covered by the government plan. Again, is this an unintended consequence?

I'm going to skip the next two "loopy" assertions and focus on the last one, my personal favorite:

The bill allows the government to access your bank account

Sounds ridiculous, right? Not according to Diana Furchtgott-Roth, writing for National Review Online:

According to section 163, the standards will “enable the real-time (or near real-time) determination of an individual’s financial responsibility at the point of service . . . ” In addition, they will “enable electronic funds transfers, in order to allow automated reconciliation with related health care payment and remittance advice.”

Huh? She goes on to explain:

What is envisioned is a “machine-readable health plan beneficiary card” that, in addition to information about a person’s medical history, will contain checking-account or credit-card information, so as to allow electronic payments and, if a person is lucky, occasional remittances. Since under the proposed legislation everyone would be required to have health insurance, all Americans would have to provide this information.

The required collection of such data is unprecedented. At no other time has the government sought to collect this type of financial information from everyone in America.

The idea of wholesale collection of checking-account information by Uncle Sam raises many questions. Who would see it? How would people be protected from theft of their account numbers? Fundamentally, who would control this sensitive information?

There are other takes on this particular section that may differ in their analysis, but at least we're now talking about the substance of the bill.

I've downloaded the pdf version of HR3200 and my eyes started to roll into the back of my head after a few minutes of reading it. If you don't have a comprehensive command of legalese, you're quickly lost. Moreover, it's very hard to convey a possible consequence of a specific section without resorting to the use of metaphors or hyperbole to aid your analysis. The bill is just too darn complicated and most people won't understand the potential of the bill's text without doing so.

Sarah Palin used the phrase "death panel" as a metaphor to help describe the potential consequences of Section 1233. When faced with the substance of what Sarah Palin was describing, the Senate quickly removed such potentially consequential language from their version of the health care bill. Score one for the "Cuda".

Obama and the left are focusing on the semantics of these arguments instead of their substance. They have to. If they focus on the substance of the arguments, then they might let slip the intended consequences of this outrageous bill.

Obamacare Will Destroy Innovation

Our leadership in Congress loves to demonize the free market. They pick out certain industries to agitate the population into thinking that they (the population) are being taken advantage of. In the last 6 months, we have seen the mortgage industry, the banking industry, the automobile industry and, now, the medical insurance industry demonized to frame the political discussion in Washington. All these efforts are an assault on ONE thing, the free market economy that our country was built on.

Consider the workings of the free market as it relates to the medical industry. Millions of people work countless hours to bring us healthcare that we generally take for granted. That's not a bad thing, it's just a simple fact that typifies a free market. Those countless people behind our healthcare system have found niches that are too numerous to mention, but I'll suggest a few: cardiology, dentistry, neo-natal care, labor and delivery, orthopedics, ophthalmology, pediatrics, geriatrics, etc., etc., etc.

The United States' healthcare system is HUGE. There are millions of participants dedicated to an enormous range of specialties. These participants continually look for ways to improve the experience and care of their patients. In a lot of cases, these participants are rewarded for improving processes, suggesting enhancements, and improving overall care. This is the dynamic of a free market system. A better process/procedure/experience will improve the bottom line, aka, profits. That is a good word in the free market. It's what made buggy whips obsolete, or, at best, highly unprofitable.

What does the government offer? No profits, no incentives, no improvements, no rewards, just cost containment. The millions of committed healthcare workers can never be replaced by a handful of bureaucrats in Washington. Nor can we replace the competition that drives innovation in our automobile industry. If there is no competition, there is no innovation. Think of it this way: innovation is spurred by the motivation to increase PROFIT! And profit increases employment, salaries and return on investment. Success is rewarded in a free market economy, not demonized.

This entire debate on healthcare is an abomination of free market economics. I don't care what you call it. Whether it be "single payer, public option, co-op or government mandate", it's all the same and it results in the destruction of the free market. It destroys innovation, it destroys incentive, it eliminates the one thing that has made our economy the best in the history of the world: the pursuit of wealth/profit!

Why do you think there are so many TV shows about doctors/hospitals/nurses? It's because there are so many of them out there. The population of people in the health care industry can drive viewership. Why bother? Because it's profitable!

Even more, if cost containment is the main consideration in treating age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's and Dimentia, what incentive is there to pursue cures for these issues? Innovation in medicine is driven by demand. If the government defines these two ailments as, in essence, "lost causes", what incentive is there to invest in research and development to find cures?

Ronald Reagan on Socialized Medicine

This man understood the creep of socialism more than anyone in the last 50 years. His words are more relevant today than ever!



This is even more prescient and a true classic!



Here's another take from PJTV.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

We Were Warned!

I meant to post this a few days ago and a friend reminded me about it. An email claims that Sean Hannity was supposed to air a segment about Obama on August 9th and that certain elements were cut from the program. The truth is that the 6-part series aired on Hannity's America in October, 2008. Having said that, it is still a very interesting series to watch, especially after we've had a chance to see Obama in action since his election as President. It looks like Fox News is still the only network willing to do the dirty work on investigative, on-air reporting.

Michelle Malkin: A True American Heroine

I keep track of Michelle Malkin daily, because she in constantly in motion. I had an opportunity to meet her in Dallas for the July 4th Tea Party at Southfork Ranch. When I met her, I asked her if she would pose for a picture. She gladly accepted.



While my buddy was readying the camera, I leaned over to her and said "Michelle, you have inspired me to start blogging". She looked at me and said "Excellent! Do everything you can! Don't stop!"

I've watched Michelle's influence rise over the last several years and follow her "HotAir" blog regularly, in addition to her own blog. This woman is an absolute treasure and, hopefully, these two videos will explain why.



The video continues here.



Michelle Malkin is a treasure. Born of an immigrant family, she truly exemplifies the fact that anyone can make a difference. I am currently immersed in her new book "Culture of Corruption" and dream about how I might have the same influence!

Questions for Townhall Meetings

via AskHeritage.org

Questions for Health Care Townhall Meetings

The details of the latest health care plan don’t match the rhetoric of the Administration and Congress. And Americans are beginning to notice. Many of the concerns expressed at some of the townhall meetings sweeping the country are legitimate and demand a response from our elected officials. Here are a few simple questions constituents should think about asking their elected officials over the August recess:

* Will I lose my current plan and doctor? The vast majority of Americans get their health insurance through their place of work. The Lewin Group estimates that about 88.1 million people would lose their employer-based coverage if the House bill became law. Moreover, new regulations and mandates will likely change existing coverage. Reps. Barney Frank (D- MA) and Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) along with Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman have all admitted the public option will inevitably lead to government-run health care.

* Can you promise that you and your family will enroll in the public plan? Recently, a House committee voted down a measure that would require lawmakers to enroll in the same public health plan that nearly 104 million other Americans could be a part of. If the public plan isn’t good enough for our public servants, why should it be thrust upon the rest of us?

* Who’s going to pay for the plan? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius demands that health care reform has “Got to be paid for. And we all have a shared responsibility that we all need to play a role.” Yet Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)’s surtax plan falls disproportionately on families and small businesses making more than $350,000 ($280,000 for individuals). His plan would levy an additional income tax of 1-5.4% on America’s high income earners.

* Is taxing the rich for health care a responsible and effective plan? The top 20% of U.S. income earners currently pay almost 70% of all federal taxes, and more than 86% of all income taxes. In fact, the bottom 40 percent of tax filers pay a net negative income tax rate (they receive money instead of paying out). High earners already have a vast majority of the federal income tax burden, and the proposed tax hikes will badly damage the economy at a time when it cannot absorb any new negative shocks. Increasing the tax burden on the wealthy would lead to larger future deficits. Hence, a surtax plan will unduly burden the rich without benefiting the public’s fiscal or real-life health.

These questions are important, and details do matter. Americans should demand real solutions that put individuals and families in charge of their health care dollars and decisions.

If I had to guess...

If I had to guess, I would think most people believe Obamacare is not a good thing.

If I had to guess, participating in the Cash for Clunkers will not improve energy consumption.

If I had to guess, Cap 'N Trade will cause energy costs to go up, particularly mine!

If I had to guess, Obamacare will not nurture my mother, who is 86 years old and in good health.

If I had to guess, Obama is going after life insurance next.

If I had to guess, my life won't be worth much when I turn 65 and retire, since my economic productivity will end.

If I had to guess, my grandkids will remember me as only a figment of their imagination, because Obamacare will make sure that I'm not alive to influence their lives. I'm currently 55, my kids are 16.

If I had to guess, we should probably prepare ourselves for a slow, painful death.

Unless I'm wrong, I'd rather see Obamacare defeated than resort to guessing.

We the People....

In case you haven't seen this video, watch it now. I've read that it has gotten Barack Obama's attention, but there is no confirmation that he has stopped it, although I read that he tried.

Over 5 million hits. You be the judge:



Rock on!

*

An Alternative Preacher for Obama?

Wow!



Boy, would it be fun to get Rev. Manning and Rev. Wright on Hannity's show!

Hat tip to Bob Dornak!

Snitch Site Results?

Although Robert Gibbs doesn't seem to have a clue, Major Garrett of Fox News begs the question as to why people are getting unsolicited email from the White House in support of Obamacare.

Could this be the work of the "Snitch Site"?

Where is the ACLU in all this? Do I have to block http://www.whitehouse.gov in my spam filter?

BTW, those are rhetorical questions. I already know the answers: Nowhere and Yes.

Grandma Got Run Over by Obama

It's pretty chilling when the President of the United States suggests that health care dollars may have been wasted on his Grandmother. She had hip replacement surgery after being diagnosed with cancer and succumbed to that cancer a number of weeks later. It begs this question: Why would doctors suggest and carry out hip replacement surgery after the cancer diagnosis if they didn't think it would help? Hip replacement surgery requires extensive rehabilitation that can typically take six to eight weeks to complete, longer for elderly people.

Here is what the Mayo Clinic has to say about the reasons to consider hip replacement surgery.

Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staff

The goal of hip replacement surgery is to relieve pain and increase the mobility and function of a damaged hip joint. If a stiff, painful hip joint has forced you to cut back on everyday activities, successful surgery may allow you to resume them.

Before thinking about surgery, though, your doctor may recommend other treatments, such as pain medications, physical therapy, exercise, and using a cane or walker. If these treatments are not enough, hip replacement may be the right option for you.

Conditions that can damage the hip joint, sometimes necessitating hip replacement surgery, include:

* Osteoarthritis
* Rheumatoid arthritis
* Broken hip
* Bone tumor
* Osteonecrosis, which occurs when there is inadequate blood supply to the ball portion of the hip joint

Symptoms that might lead you to consider hip replacement include:

* Pain that keeps you awake at night
* Little or no relief from pain medications or walking aids
* Difficulty walking up or down stairs
* Trouble rising from a seated position
* Having to stop activities you enjoy, such as walking, because you're in too much pain

I suggest that the benefits and risks of this surgery were well-considered for Obama's Grandmother. It now appears, however, that Obama was willing to throw those considerations and his Grandmother under the bus to help sell his health care initiatives. This man will take advantage of anything to further his political career. Do you want him making decisions for YOUR Grandmother?

Perhaps Obama's "death panels" should include a representative of his Grandmother's physicians. They seemed to be opposed to limiting health care for "lost" causes.

Here's a parting thought. If the government limits health care to age-oriented issues (Alzheimers, Dimentia, etc.), do you think there will be any incentive to pursue cures for these ailments?

Update: At least the Senate doesn't want to sing the same tune. Do you think Sarah Palin had anything to do with this? Some seem to think so.

I tend to agree. But that's just me.

Michael Burgess' Town Hall Meeting

Damn! I had no idea that Steve Crowder was at Rep. Michael Burgess' town hall meeting, held in Denton, Texas, last Saturday at 10am. I was too focused on the podium, although from the looks of his video, Steve did his filming before anything started. This parking lot was packed by the time Michael Burgess started the meeting. I'll add my own video once I get my ass in gear.

Do the Opposite!

I am sick and tired of listening to liberal and beltway pundits suggest that the Tea Party movement is damaging the conservative cause. If that's so true, then why do the polls say otherwise?

We've seen the public's appetite for nationalized health care tank in the last few weeks and it's only the 11th of August. I predict that, given the polling data, the Democrats will suspend town hall meetings in the hope of turning attention away from the "angry mob".

Don't think for a second that this issue is going away because a bunch of yellow-bellied Democrats decide to inhibit the voice of opposition. They can run, but they can't hide!

Anything you hear from the liberal media or anyone from the beltway (outside of Stacy McCain) should be listened to closely. They are telling us what NOT to do. I say, do the exact OPPOSITE of what they tell us we should do.

Better to be a dog!

I'm reprinting this entire article that appeared in the "Daily Record", which comes from Scotland. It is a very chilling account of socialized medicine's consequences.

A MUM suffering chest pains died in front of her young son hours after being sent home from hospital and told to take painkillers.

Debra Beavers, 39, phoned NHS 24 twice in two days before getting a hospital appointment. But a doctor gave what her family described as a cursory examination lasting 11 minutes, before advising her to buy over-the-counter medicine Ibuprofen.

Family members claim the medic was abrupt and rude - and when Debra clutched her chest, he told her: "Your heart is on the other side."

Seven hours later, the mum-of-two collapsed and died from a heart attack in front of her 13-year-old boy.

Debra's furious family insist she could have survived, had medics not been so "dismissive". They believe she should have been given medicine which could unblock a coronary artery.

Her sister Darlene McConnell said: "We are heartbroken. She tried to get help but no one would help her."

Debra, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, called Darlene on Saturday, July 25, at 5pm to say she was unwell.

She was suffering numbness in her toes, swelling around the ankle and leg pains. She contacted NHS 24, who took her details and said they would be in touch.

However, Debra's condition worsened and she began to suffer severe chest pains by the early hours of Sunday.

She rang NHS 24 again at 2am and requested a doctor. They instead booked an appointment for her at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, later that day.

Darlene, 44, said: "We now think Debra was actually having a heart attack around the time she telephoned NHS 24. I spoke to her on Sunday morning and she said the pains were so bad, she thought she was going to die.

"She went to the hospital as arranged at 1pm and was back out in minutes. The doctor told her to go home and take Ibuprofen.

"She said he was very rude and, as she clutched her chest, told her 'Your heart is on the other side'.

"He also told her she had probably 'racked' her chest due to coughing. She went to a relative's house nearby and lay on the settee in complete agony until she had a seizure around 8pm."

Debra''s son John Paul, 13, was in the room at the time, while his 11-year-old brother, Luke, was upstairs. The older boy saw his mum in extreme distress and called for an ambulance - but she could not be saved.

Darlene said: "A neighbour came in to try and help but my sister had taken her last breath."

The family say Debra was a smoker and had suffered minor health problems before, although she'd never been seriously ill.

Her cause of death was atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, which is a heart attack caused by narrowing of the arteries.

If a patient is suspected of having a heart attack, a doctor will order an electrocardiogram test, which indicates if a coronary artery is blocked.

Medicine to dissolve a blockage is then usually injected into a forearmvein. To be effective, the "clot busters" must be given within an hour.

The family say they'll lodge an official complaint over "rude and dismissive" treatment Debra received at the hospital .

Darlene said: "We want people to know what happened, so we can at least try to ensure there is less chance of this happening again.

"We believe people should at the very least be properly checked before they are sent home."

Full-time mum Debra was separated from the boys' dad, w h o ' s n o w looking after them.

A spokeswoma for NHS Fife said: "We would like to express our condolences. NHS Fife's duty to uphold patient confidentiality prevents us from making any comment on an individual case."

NHS 24 executive nurse director Eunice Muir said: "We can confirm Ms Beavers contacted NHS 24 and that her onward referral was managed safely and appropriately.

"We would ask her family to contact us if there are any aspects of the case they wish to discuss."

In the Wall Street Journal, Theodore Dalrymple writes:

In the last few years, I have had the opportunity to compare the human and veterinary health services of Great Britain, and on the whole it is better to be a dog.

As a British dog, you get to choose (through an intermediary, I admit) your veterinarian. If you don’t like him, you can pick up your leash and go elsewhere, that very day if necessary. Any vet will see you straight away, there is no delay in such investigations as you may need, and treatment is immediate. There are no waiting lists for dogs, no operations postponed because something more important has come up, no appalling stories of dogs being made to wait for years because other dogs—or hamsters—come first.

The conditions in which you receive your treatment are much more pleasant than British humans have to endure. For one thing, there is no bureaucracy to be negotiated with the skill of a white-water canoeist; above all, the atmosphere is different. There is no tension, no feeling that one more patient will bring the whole system to the point of collapse, and all the staff go off with nervous breakdowns. In the waiting rooms, a perfect calm reigns; the patients’ relatives are not on the verge of hysteria, and do not suspect that the system is cheating their loved one, for economic reasons, of the treatment which he needs.

If you think it's just me, check out how dogs intuitively know what is not in their best interest, even if trained to do so:



I'm not trying to make light of the Scottish women's plight. My heart goes out to her family's anguish. I'm just trying to make a point about socialized medicine.

Hat Tip to Mark Steyn

Rasmussen Update

45% Rate Obama Good or Excellent As A Leader, Down 19 From January

32% Favor Single-Payer Health Care, 57% Oppose

And lest we forget, the latest Presidential Tracking Poll.

Uh, I think I see a trend. But maybe it's just me!

Resistance Is NOT Futile!

This country is steeped in freedom unlike any nation in the history of the world. We love our form of government and trust that it will not do anything to tip the scales against that freedom. Historically, we have risen up to protest affronts to that freedom, and it is chronicled in our history. If that history was rigorously taught to our youth, I have no doubt that they would embrace our legacy and continue to carry the torch of freedom. Sadly, that has not been the case in the recent past, but I sense something changing.

The aging population of our country is starting to get upset. When I say aging, I'm referring to the baby boomers and earlier. Those born after WWII grew up with freedoms that those born before could only dream about in their youth. Perhaps those freedoms were a function of a smaller population, I don't know. At any rate, the baby boomers and their parents are now starting to notice a significant change in the direction of our country from what was fought for and and enjoyed during the span of their lives.

Protesting against the establishment was a status symbol in the 60's and 70's, but once the Vietnam War ended, much of the public discourse ended with it. After all, there were families to raise and wealth to pursue. The baby boomers became part of the mainstream. A small percentage of them continued to rail against the government because that is what defined them. Some focused on the political arena and got involved. Most of those politically-oriented agitators gravitated to the Democratic Party, which was trying to rebuild their congressional coalition after devastating electoral defeats that ushered in Ronald Reagan.

After Reagan left office in 1988, these former agitators began to gain seniority in various government capacities. Although the Democratic Party had always enjoyed a strong presence in Congress, they had not been an extremely left-leaning party. The agitators changed that. After losing control of Congress due to Newt Gingrich's Contract With America, the Democratic leadership shifted farther left. Radical techniques to hold on to and enhance power became the sought-after skills and those that espoused those skills rose within the party leadership.

George Bush was not prepared to deal with this new brand of Democratic leaders. Steeped in the traditions of party etiquette, he resisted their assault on his agenda by trying to stay "above the fray". The Iraq War energized the left-wing of the Democratic Party, since it was reminiscent of their Vietnam War efforts. The anti-war movement had come full circle. No longer confined to the fringe, those anti-war organizers were now front and center in the halls of Congress.

Now emboldened by the results of the 2008 elections, the left-wing continues to pursue their far-left agenda: trying to remake the United States into a socialistic utopia. The anti-war movement was always influenced by leftist organizations. It is common knowledge that the Communist Party supported their efforts wholeheartedly. And now they are in control.

Unfortunately, all of a sudden, the left-wing agenda has hit a snag. Their brazen attempt to take over health care in this country has awaken a sleeping giant. For the first time in MY lifetime, ordinary citizens are standing up and protesting the left-wing's agenda. Not to be outdone, the leftists are deploying Soviet-style responses: demonizing health care companies, establishing hot-lines to snitch on opposition, and smearing citizens who are speaking up in anger against their agenda.

What is to come of all this? It really depends on who is right and who is wrong. On who is steeped in the traditions of this country and who is not. On who is willing to fight for our freedoms and who would hand those freedoms over to bureaucrats in Washington. I know I stand on the side of freedom. Where do you stand?

Our country has a history that teaches us that resistance is NOT futile. Care to sign up with your fellow patriots? You'll be in good company.

History 101 (Tongue in Cheek)

For those that don't know about history ... Here is a condensed version:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

1. Liberals, and
2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. Those became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.

Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer, mostly Bud or Miller. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, engineers, corporate executives, athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:

It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it.

A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to tick them off.

Email Writer: Anonymous
Hat Tip to Bob Dornak

Are We Being Targeted?

You decide. Check this out.

The Wonders of Computer Animation

This video is awesome. The wonders of computers never cease to amaze me.

Dueling Videos Deemed Terrifying

Swedish TV viewers are terrified by this ad, featuring their supermodel, Adina Fohlin.



If the Swedes are terrified by that, I have something that should scare the bejesus out of everyone. It's the President of the United States acting as Agitator-in-Chief:

I Am The Mob!

How convenient, a YouTube music-video called "I Am The Mob"!


If you really want to state your position:

The Mother of All Two-Faces!

This video captures Barack Obama's Rhetorical Gibberish. The BORG!

Great GOP ad!

I normally don't put a lot of faith in the GOP to respond to any issues that concern you and I. After all, they really don't have much of a track record over the last 8 years toward focusing opinion on anything that didn't serve their cause. I think they are starting to understand how they strayed. This is a great ad. Let's hope they continue to serve OUR interests and not theirs.

The Obama Deception

There are elements of this video that I totally disagree with. I don't like the Bush bashing. I'm trying to reconcile those elements to the film's central premise. This is an advanced look at a major conspiracy theory. Despite all that, I'm left with a very uneasy feeling.

Any thoughts on why Sarah Palin is so feared?

Pravda: American Capitalism Gone....

This article appeared in today's English online version of Pravda. It is very revealing.

American capitalism gone with a whimper

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin

Facts ARE Stubborn Things

Now, the video she is talking about:



What is so hard to understand?

This is why liberals hate having history taught in the classrooms.

Clinton vs. Palin?

Scott Rasmussen has an interesting poll out today. In it, he says that 51% favor Clinton, while 39% favor Palin. He goes on to talk about why voters feel that Clinton is most-likely to be the first female President. He breaks down the demographics for Clinton, but, interestingly, doesn't do the same for Palin.

Given that Sarah Palin has been continuously vilified in the mainstream media, I think that 39% is pretty damn impressive. Now that Sarah is no longer tethered to the governor's job, I would expect that to change in the coming months.

What do you think?

Shhhhh! Don't criticize ObamaCare

In what could only be described as truly Orwellian move, the White House (Big Brother) has asked people to report criticism ("something...fishy", in their words) directly to the White House. I kid you not!

I have a suggestion. Why not forward them this link from the Heritage Foundation? It will tell them everything they want to know!



Hat tip to Michelle Malkin

Obama = Joker!

For some history on this poster, go HERE.

The libs are all in an uproar about this picture. They sure didn't care when Vanity Fair ran this caricature of George Bush in their July 29, 2008 online edition (Just read some of the comments):

Obama's real birth certificate?

For a bigger look, go here.

For a truly horrifying look, go here.

Sarah Bashing: A Cottage Industry?

I don't think that my lifetime has witnessed a greater assault on a good, American citizen as has been the case with Sarah Palin. The Left has taken their investment in "Bush Derangement Syndrome" and reinvested it in "Palin Derangement Syndrome". It is stunning to watch.

Do a Google search on "hate sarah palin" (without the quotes) and you will turn up over 4 million entries. Obviously, the Left is basking in their hatred. They feel totally justified in their derangement.

PJTV is doing a series of videos on why people hate Sarah Palin. You can see the first in the series here and the second here.

Besides the above series of videos, check out Bill Whittle's commentary on PJTV. He eviscerates the Left's hatred in a way that, well, will make Palin supporters very proud.

Finally, type in "love sarah palin" (again, without the quotes). You'll turn up over 15 million entries. Obviously, there are far more people that care about Sarah Palin than hate her. So why do we only hear about the "hate"? I think the mainstream media is (once again) showing its bias.

More importantly, the Left just doesn't understand the free market. Why build a cottage industry of hate around 4 million, when you can hit the mother-lode by catering to the 15 million who love her?

Why do you think that the New York Times is losing money and scrampling to find readership, while the Fox News Channel is kicking butt?

The latest rumor has Sarah Palin getting a divorce. Stacy McCain has the inside scoop on debunking this ridiculous claim and outs the Palin-hater that started it. It's way past time to start going on the offensive to give these people their just rewards!