Serves Congress Right!

Everyone's heard about Roger Clemons, Steroids, and Congress.

The judge presiding over Clemon's perjury trial declared a mistrial on Day 2. The prosecution ignored the judge's order, and presented evidence to the jury that had been ruled inadmissable. This was either gross incompletence on the prosecutor's part, or they did it on purpose to end this sham of a trial. I don't know which ... we'll see when the government decides whether to retry the Rocket.

I don't know if Clemons did steroids or not. Probably so, given what we've heard. I don't care. It's up to MLB to deal with this, if they care to. It's up to the appropriate law enforcement agencies to file charges against Clemons if he is accused of anything specifically illegal involving steroids.

My question is why the hell was Congress involved?

The answer is the Spanish Inquisition mentality that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) took with his precious committee chairmanship, given to him by Nancy Pelosi after Dems took control of Congress in 2006. Waxman went through a laundry list of people and organizations he wanted to attack, and he used his position and committee to do it with.

His tactic was to drag people in to testify on a given subject, and then try to trap the poor suckers into saying something wrong. First thing you know, the 'criminal' is being hauled up on perjury charges for lying to Congress. Didn't matter if the subject was actually accused of committing a crime, Waxman worked them around into a position where he could charge them.

All Waxman did was cause a lot of people trouble, and waste a lot of Congress' time and taxpayer's money carrying out his personal vendettas. It was a gross abuse of power, and a textbook example of official oppression. He ought to be hauled in front of a judge and jury, and found guilty of stealing from the American public.

How many millions of our dollars have been wasted on this? Three years of investigations, 100 law enforcement officers involved, ruining a man's finances and reputation ... and for what? So the Waxman Inquisition can hang a skin on his wall?

This Man Has No Shame

Barack Obama rolled out the tried and true Democrat scare tactic today in reference to the debt ceiling debate. During an interview, he suggested that Social Security checks won't go out if a deal is not reached.

The Federal Government will not be 'broke' and unable to write checks if a deal is not reached.

The Federal Government will collect over $220 billion in revenue in August to operate with.

Obama and Tim Geithner have control over what gets paid, in what order, if there is a 'shortfall'. The only way the US would default on debt is if these two decide to spend money on other things first.

The only way Social Security or other entitlement payments will not go out is if Obama and Geithner specifically decide to not send them. If seniors do indeed not receive their checks at the end of August, it is no one but Obama's fault. I would not put it past him - he could decide to pay his union 'dues', pet projects, payoffs, and payments to ACORN and Planned Parenthood first, and then claim he doesn't have money for Social Security (and then try to blame Republicans).

There is more than enough money to operate the Federal Government if a deal is not reached. It would require cutting back on some spending that shouldn't be happening anyway, but that is not a bad thing.

It is an amazing thing when the President of the United States looks into the camera and tells a bold faced lie to the American People, for the express purpose of scoring political points. I guess we should be used to it with Obama by now. I've gotten to the point that if he said the sky was blue, I would question my own eyes if they agreed with him.

You would think that seniors would wise up and realize this tactic for what it is. Democrats have been lying through their teeth for decades about Republican plans to have seniors dying in the streets. You would think that organizations like AARP would call them on the lies, expose the tactic for what it is. Unfortunately, AARP's leadership is in bed with Democrats, and are actively helping them in continuing this scam.

Democrats, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid in particular, have no shame when it comes to lying to the public to get what they want. People in the middle and on the left need to wake up and look at them objectively. They need to wake up and see what sorry excuses for oxygen thieves they have leading them.

For All You Soccer Haters Out There

Hope Solo, US Goalkeeper, diving to block away a Brazilian PK at the end of the game. This block delivered the US victory. Solo had major reconstructive surgery on her right shoulder 9 months ago, and has difficulty raising that arm abouve shoulder level. However, she fought through the pain, hampered by several hard hits on that shoulder during the game, to make several outstanding plays, including this clincher.

The US Women's National Team beat Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup today. It was one of the most dramatic games, of any sport, in history.

The game went full time (90 minutes), then through full overtime (30 minutes), and into penalty kicks before it was decided. The US played the last 55 minutes of the game with only 10 players, due to a questionable officiating decision. The US was prevented from winning in regulation due to another questionable officiating decision. The US went down 2-1 in overtime, again due to a questionable officiating decision. The US tied the game on an Abby Wambach header in the second minute of stoppage time after the second overtime period, after full time. The official stats will show the goal scored in the 122nd minute, making it the latest goal ever scored in World Cup competition. If you add up all the stoppage times, the goal actually took place in the 130th minute (but that is not the 'official' time).


Abby Wambach (20) heading in the ball in the 122nd minute. The crossing pass came from Megan Rapinoe - a 40 yard kick hit on the dead run, off her left foot (she's a right footed player), that would have not connected had it been 12 inches off in any direction when it reached Abby. And they call a US football kicker accurate if he can get it between goal posts from 40 yards!

The US took the match in a penalty kick shootout, 5 goals to 3.

Brazil is the #2 ranked team in the world. The US is ranked #1

The game should be an embarrassment to FIFA. The officiating was horrendous. Bad calls went against both teams, but were more detrimental to the US side. To have that kind of performance from an officiating crew at this level of competition was pathetic.

The only thing that keeps this from being the greatest game in women's soccer history is that it took place in the quarterfinals. The US team's penalty kick victory over China in 1999 to win the World Cup that year still ranks as the best, simply because it was for the title. BTW - that 1999 game was played 12 years ago to the day.

I am a fan of women's soccer, courtesy of my daughter's involvement in the sport - so my perspective is not totally neutral. That being said, this was an incredible game! I have not been as excited about a sporting event as it happened since that 1999 World Cup final - any sporting event!

This game will be remembered by fans of women's soccer in the same breath as that 1999 victory. However, it will not be treated as highly as it should by others. If a gutsy, dramatic, long, exhausting, thrilling, decided in the last second game had happened in baseball, or pro football, or college football, it would be immortalized in sports lore as one of the greatest events in sports history.

These women really should be recognized for their accomplishment, and for the outstanding way they represent our country in international competition.

A postscript - These women wrap themselves in our flag when they play as our team. They train year round. They play dozens of games as preparation for the Olympics and the World Cup, where they represent us. Most of them play professional soccer, albeit for very small salaries when compared with other pro sports. Very few of them get endorsement deals. Very few of them have careers that last more than a few years. They leave their blood, sweat, tears, torn knee joints, broken ankles, torn groins, and ripped muscles out there on the field for nothing more than the honor of representing the United States.

All they ask in return is a little fan support, a little recognition.

Update - well, it didn't end the way we wanted it to. The US beat France to get to the final game, to face Japan. Japan won in a penalty kick shootout. Japan, who no one thought would make it to the playoffs of the tournament, much less the final. Japan, who had never defeated the US in women's soccer before.

Before the game, pundits were crowning the US, and hoping Japan at least put up a good game. After the game, pundits were declaring Japan the team of destiny, the team that fate watched over, the team who needed to win to give their country a lift post-tsunami. Maybe ...

My take is that the US lost because of poor accuracy (missing the goal on 12 scoring opportunities in the first half), poor defensive lapses that let Japan come from behind twice to tie the game, and very poor PK performance. (Note to US penalty kickers - kicking the ball 10 feet above the crossbar and lobbing hospital ball passes to the goalkeeper's midsection isn't going to score much.)

In the eyes of Japan and much of the rest of the world, this now becomes the most exciting game in World Cup history. You get to do that when you win. It relegates the US performance against Brazil to a footnote ... and that is a shame.

FIFA and neutral observers will be proud of the game, as they should. It was dramatic, exciting, fair, well played, and very well officiated. It was refreshing to watch a game that didn't feature players diving, playing dirty, and officials screwing up.

It hurts to be a US fan right now, but thank you ladies. It was a heck of a trip you took us on.
Photos courtesy Getty Images.

Justice Served, Texas Style

Texas executed Humberto Leal yesterday evening. He was pronounced dead at 6:21pm.

Leal was convicted of the brutal rape and murder of Adria Sauceda, a 16 year old San Antonio girl, in 1995. After raping the girl, he assaulted her sexually with a stick that had a long screw taped to the end of it. After he was done, he smashed her head in with a 30 pound piece of asphalt.

When he was arrested, he confessed to the crime. He has been on Death Row for 16 years. He has filed appeals and motions almost constantly during that time, citing every possible excuse - all of which have been denied.

His lawyers tried a last minute tactic to try and get not only a stay of execution, but attempting to get a pardon from Texas Governor Rick Perry. The Obama Administration jumped in, stating that the President had the right to interfere under international agreements. The UN stuck its nose into it. The Mexican Government tried to interfere.

Leal was an illegal immigrant. His parents entered the country illegally when he was 2 years old. As far as anyone knows, he had never returned to Mexico. When he was arrested, he reportedly produced a Texas driver's license as ID.

The 'outrage' over this execution was the fact that Leal was not told by the arresting officers that he should contact the Mexican Embassy after his arrest, for legal assistance and advice.

First - Why would the arresting officers presume that Leal was a foreign national? What reason would they have to - a Latino, in San Antonio, with a Texas ID? Indeed, if a Hispanic was asked his immigration status under Obama's Administration, there would be cries of horrendous persecution, discrimination, and racial profiling. So, the Obama gang's stance was that officers erred in 1995 for doing exactly what Obama demands they do today.

Second - the Mexican Government spits in the wind when they complain. They cared absolutely nothing about Leal, or any other illegal immigrants. This is simply a mechanism for them to act like they actually matter.

Third - the UN - an organization that has countries like Libya, Syria, and Iran sitting on human rights committees. Yeah, like they really give a crap about anything except living it up in New York on our money.

Where is the sympathy for the young girl and her family? Where is the acknowledgement that this man was found guilty, and had confessed to the crime. Where is the acknowledgement that he received proper legal council during and after his trial?

By the way ...

Leal's parting statements as the drugs were flowing included admitting to what he did (again), acknowledging the pain he has caused, and saying he was sorry for it all. His final words were "Viva Mexico". If he loved Mexico so much, why didn't he go back before he took the life of that young girl? Too bad he didn't ...

Good riddance, asshole.


Thank you Rick Perry, for ignoring the pressure from Obama and allowing justice to run its course.

This Is Democrat Leadership?

Meet Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a leading Democrat member of the Senate. One of the Senate's longest serving and most admired Democrats. Someone the Democrats in Congress hail as one of their leaders.

Here is Senator Durbin, pandering to a room full of illegal aliens, during a Senate committee meeting on the DREAM act:



Now, someone in his own party needs to remind Sen. Durbin that according to our Constitution, people serving as President of the United States must be natural born citizens. No one who stood up for that fake roll call he asked for is eligible to hold the office.

Either Senator Durbin is just plain stupid, or like most left wingers just doesn't give a shit about what the Constitution says. Maybe both?

Playing Chicken With Our Future

The current 'negotiations' between Obama, Democrats, and Republicans regarding increasing our country's debt ceiling are critical, but not for the reason both sides are stating publicly.

Republicans are demanding that any increase in the debt ceiling be matched by reductions in the national debt. Republicans, so far, are adamant that this must be achieved through spending cuts, not by raising taxes.

Democrats counter by saying that reductions in debt are fine, but must be achieved by raising taxes.

The immediate issue is the debt ceiling. If an agreement isn't made in the next month, an artificial 'deadline' established by Obama's finance czars will pass and result in a default by the United States on its debt. That is complete horseshit. No debt will be defaulted on, unless specifically directed by Obama. The government will continue to run, payments will continue to be made, Washington will continue to bleed billions of our tax dollars each and every day. It does mean that we can't raise the amount of money that we borrow from China to a higher level than it already is, without cutting an identical amount of spending.

Democrats are screaming that the end is near, that the earth is going to break open and swallow us all up if a deal isn't met. Then they turn around and refuse to have serious talks about reaching a deal. Then they turn around again and publicly start blaming Republicans for failures of the talks, and the impending doom. Lies, lies, lies ... all meant to set themselves up as blameless for this mess.

As I said in the opening, the stakes are very high, but for a different, less visible reason.

These talks set the ground rules which will apply to ALL future talks/discussions/negotiations aimed at reducing our crippling debt.

If Democrats 'win' and get any tax increases included in the deal, then the FIRST thing that will be brought up in any future talks will be tax increases. Actually cutting spending will be an afterthought.

If Republicans 'win' and tax increases do not take place in this deal, then spending cuts become the focal point of all future talks.

The key players in this mess know this. That is why they are staking out their positions with such inflexibility. That is why you have Obama calling a press conference today to discuss the negotiations, and all he has to offer are tax increases - not a single spending cut mentioned.

Some ancillary points in support ...

In his new conference, Obama singled out two tax increases that should take place. First, the tax deduction corporations can take to operate their corporate jets. Second, tax breaks extended to oil companies covering their exploration investments. He portrayed these as evil money grabs, mentioning the jet tax item at least 6 times in his speech. He equated leaving these tax incentives in place with letting children starve. With all of his zeal on the two parts, you would think that killing these two tax breaks would solve our deficit problem.

Charles Krauthammer offered his analysis on this. Paraphrasing ... If the corporate jet and oil tax breaks were eliminated entirely, and the resulting revenue collected for 100 years, it wouldn't equal the amount of debt Obama incurred on this country in the month of April.

The amount of money the Federal Government spends has gone up 24% since Obama was inaugurated. All of that money is borrowed, none of it is generated revenue. Every single penny of that increase directly piles onto our deficit.

42 cents of every dollar the Federal Government spends is borrowed.

Despite calling for reductions in government spending, Obama and Democrat leadership in Congress have yet to offer a SINGLE proposal that reduces spending on anything. They are quick to savage any Republican proposal, but have nothing at all to offer in response.

During Obama's tenure, Democrats have not offered or passed a single federal budget. Even when they controlled both Houses of Congress, they made no effort at putting forth a budget. This is done on purpose ... if there is no budget, there is no limit on what they can spend. This is the only time in our history that I am aware of that the government has been operated in this fashion, with no fiscal plan at all.

Over the past year, Republicans have repeatedly proposed rolling back spending to 2008 levels, to the amount that the Federal Government was spending before Obama took office. Democrats have screamed bloody murder and refused to even consider it. They use scare tactics, saying Republicans want to kill senior citizens and starve poor children in the streets by making horrendous cuts. Funny ... I don't remember a single instance of a child dying of hunger in the street, or of a Senior citizen dying because all of their benefits were cut off, during the Bush Administration.

This insanity has got to stop. Republicans MUST stand up during these negotiations and refuse to allow tax increases to occur. Later, if corporate tax breaks and loopholes are closed as part of a tax system overhaul, so be it - but that is another battle, and the precedent of raising taxes instead of cutting spending must not be established so early in the process.

One looks at this and has to wonder if Obama and the Dems are truly so stupid that they can't see what they are doing to our country, or if they are doing it on purpose in order to collapse our financial system so they can rebuild it into their socialist utopia. I suspect there are some of them that fall into each category. The thought that they are doing it according to a plan would have been unthinkable two years ago. However, with all we have seen them do, it has to be considered a legitimate possibility.

7/4 Update - rumors are flying around Washington that a 'mini-deal' will be pulled out just in time to save the day. Both sides are counting on this, because they don't want to lose face by backing down, and don't really care about whether the problem is fixed or not. So, we'll get a short term 'deal' that increases the debt ceiling a little bit, reduces spending a little bit, increases taxes a little bit, and kicks the problem on down the road - hopefully until after the 2012 election.

Democrat leadership wants this because they don't want it to be a campaign issue. Republican leadership wants this because they don't want it to be a campaign issue. That's the only thing the two sides agree on - put it off to help their own election chances.

That's the crux of the problem, isn't it? A horrible problem for our country takes a back seat to petty partisan politics and the all-mighty need to be re-elected.

7/10 Update - Efforts to come up with a package of 4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years appear to have fallen apart, The reason - no compromise over tax increases. Dems demand them, Republicans refuse them. It appears that a more modest 2 trillion package is more likely.

Stand fast, Republicans. Do not give in. If it means the smaller deal goes through, then so be it. It is more important to set the stage for future deficit reductions than the relatively small difference (can you believe that we've gotten to the point where 2 trillion dollars is considered a 'small' sum?).

The important spending cuts are in our future. This is just setting the table - and it is critical.

Republican Hero of the Day

Meet Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA).

There are a few people in Washington who actually have their heads screwed on straight enough to see what is happening and are willing to stand up (or sit down in this case) and say something about it. This is well worth a listen.

We need a whole lot more Mike Kelly types running this country instead of the brain dead morons who are in charge right now.

Obama Craps on the Military, Again

I'm not in the military, so I don't know this for certain. However, I can't imagine how frustrating it is for those who do serve, to have a Commander-in-Chief who repeatedly sh*ts all over them.

Mr. Obama, in prepared remarks he delivered at Ft. Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division, yesterday:

"First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn't receiving it posthumously."

Jared Monti died in the action he received the Medal of Honor for, in 2006.

President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to his parents on September 17, 2009.

The soldier Mr. Obama's speech writers were trying to refer to is Salvador Guinta, who was awarded the Medal of Honor on November 16, 2010.

In Obama's eyes, he probably thinks this is just a tiny mistake, not worth noting at all. For the family of Jared Monti, I can't think of a harsher insult to the memory of their loved one. For Salvador Guinta, the disrespect shown because the President can't be bothered to remember who you are, mere months after having awarded you this nation's highest recognition of bravery.

Obama should travel to the Monti and Guinta families, and apologize privately, in person, for the gaffe. He should publicly apologize to the units involved, and the US Army as a whole. He should immediately fire the idiots who prepared that speech for him.

The previous Commander-in-Chief would never, NEVER have allowed this to happen.

Thanks to Outlaw13 over at Threedonia and BlackFive for sharing this info ...

Update - President Obama telephoned Jared Monti's father to apologize for the mistake. How gracious ... he took a couple of minutes to TELEPHONE an apology. Way to phone it in! I suppose we should be grateful he at least did that much ... NOT!

Republican 2012 Campaign Slogan

More Obamacare Wonders

Remember when George H.W. Bush uttered those fateful words "Read my lips. No New Taxes", and the fallout from that? It cost him re-election.

Well, Nancy Pelosi's comment "We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it" uttered while Obamacare was being rammed through Congress should come back to haunt Democrats.

Well, here is a small gem that has been 'found out'.

A 'small glitch' in Obamacare, stemming in a redifinition of the word 'income' will result in 3 million middle class Americans receiving 'free' healthcare beginning in 2014. These folks do not currently qualify for Medicaid, which is intended as healthcare fo the poor. However, under Obamacare, they will suddenly qualify for it. Which means that 3 million more people will get medical care paid for by the rest of us (the taxpayers).

Estimates floating around indicate this will cost the taxpayers (the few who are left that can actually pay taxes) $450,000,000,000 over the first 10 years. That equates to over $300 per taxpayer per year to provide 'free' healthcare to these 3 million people - people who don't currently qualify for it.

Democrats are falling all over themselves trying to explain this as an unintended glitch. It is not, it was put into Obamacare on purpose. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) stated that the issue had been discussed specifically while the legislation was being drafted.

Now that this glitch has become public knowledge, and the outcry over it is building, Dems are trying to portray it as a minor issue that they will go back in and fix - setting themselves up as the good guys. What horseshit. They got caught, and now they're trying to take credit for trying to undo it.

This is one 'minor' item in Obamacare's thousands of pages of legislation and hundreds of thousands of pages of resulting rules. I have no doubt that there are thousands more of these little items buried in there, each and every one of which is going to cost us a bunch of money.

I said this over a year ago, but it bears repeating. Exposing Obamacare and doing everything possible to roll it back is a key to the 2012 election for Republicans. There should be a concentrated effort underway at a national level to dig out things like this and make sure the voting public is aware of them. If Republicans don't expose Obamacare for what it is, and isn't, and use it as a political weapon, they have no one to blame but themselves. We can be sure that the Dems aren't going to tell us what is in there.

Oh, and by the way ... If you look at that figure of $450,000,000,000 ... divide it by 3,000,000 people, and then divide it by 10 to get a yearly figure ... you come out with a very instructive number. $15,000 per year, per person is what we, the tax payers, are going to have to come up with to cover all those millions of people who Obama has probmised 'free' healthcare.

In other Obamacare news ... as his Administration continues extending waivers by the hundreds to entities and corporations exempting them from having to comply with Obaamacare, the Administration is refusing to tell us who is getting the waivers and why. A few corporate names have been leaked out, but the majority are unknown to the general public. A group of Republicans in the House sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on June 2 asking for a list of recipients and reasons. She has ignored the request. Why? Because it is an embarrassment to them, on multiple levels. First, if Obamacare is so great, why would anyone need a waiver? Second, how many political favors have been extended by giving those waivers and to whom?

Falling Skies? More Like Falling Crap

Like a lot of Sci-Fi fans, I had been eagerly awaiting TNT's new 'epic' series Falling Skies, which had its two hour debut last night.

Good God, what a disappointment.

From Executive Producer Steven Spielberg comes this lame effort that is nothing more than a cut and paste of plot pievces from at least a half dozen different 'alien invasion' moves/series. There wasn't a new element anywhere in the two hours - every situation, every line, every character had already been seen in something else.


Hell, the "50 GTO" (supposedly a GTO convertible with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted in the back), wasn't even real. It was a plain old Tempest convertible - and yes, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.

Lame, weak, predictable waste of electrons ...

Mr. Perry For Pres?

It certainly appears that Texas Governor Rick Perry will announce he's running for President before too much longer.

This is already drawing responses from Democrats and Republicans alike from all over the country - not another Texan!

Well, let me point out some facts about the Governor of our state:

He is the longest serving Governor in Texas History, having taken the reigns when George W went to the White House.

He has run the most successful state in the Union during mulitple economic messes that have occurred since 9/11. People may try to argue that, but they can't based on facts. Texas continues to have the best economy and job situation of any major state. Just ask all the yankees who continue to move here by the thousands each year in search of work.

He is a 'no apologies conservative'. He will work with Dems when they will work with him, but he will not become a moderate just to win votes. He works across the aisle when it is to the benefit of his conservative agenda.

He has a forceful personality. He is charasmatic. He comes across well as a public speaker. He is not afraid to come out and criticize his opponents. He is not afraid to address in blunt terms the lunacy that is going on in Washington today.

He does have a few skeletons in his closet. If you haven't already, you will hear about immiment domain, toll roads, HPV vaccinations, and other stuff. I admit to not agreeing with everything Perry has done during his tenure. However, I would take him with some minor issues over any Democrat and most Republican contenders - no question about it.

I've heard Dem pundits on TV already attacking him. They recognize a legitimate threat, and are focusing attacks on him even though he's not in the race. So far, the substance of the attacks is just juvenile, and ought to be embarrassing for them.

Perry/Bachmann. Perry/Pawlenty. Either of those tickets would work for me. Perry/Romney would be great for the country, though neither of them would agree to it. That would be an incredible team for our country - Perry leading the country, with Romney serving basically as CFO. My goodness - the potential of that team versus the pair of clowns we've got in there now is off the chart.

If you need evidence from other sources, just look at how the mainstream media is savaging Perry after his recent speeches. Sarah Palin is perhaps the only Republican who has gotten attacked with this much fervor. We know what that means - the left fears him.

Also, there is no other candidate that is generating as much excitement with Rush Limbaugh. Rush does not endorse candidates, but he's come as close as he ever has with his praise of Perry and his statements.

Folks, you have to remember/realize - we are not going to get Obama out of office by fielding a middle of the road, tepid, moderate candidate. We had that with John McCain, and look what happened. We need a conservative with a conservative, non-apologetic message - one who conservatives will rally behind and has a strong fiscal message. That will win. Conservatives are 40% of the voting population. Liberals are 22%. The mid-terms of 2010 proved that a lot of moderate/independents in the country will vote for a fiscal conservative, especially if their choice is to leave Obama in office.