Meet The Real Barack Hussein Obama!

Here he is, readers. Not as different from his spiritual mentor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, as he would now have you believe.

In his own words.

With a few juicy bits from his wife, Michelle, as well.




Vote your conscience.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Obama's Claude Rains Moment

Longtime readers know that I've featured many Republicans' Claude Rains Moments over the years on this blog. Alas, today's moment comes from a Democrat.


Would you believe Rev. Wright could fool Obama for 20 years?




Would you believe it took what Wright said just on Monday --and not those other 20 years worth of audacity-- for Obama to finally get angry?

"I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday," he said.

Obama was shocked and outraged, I tell you! Shocked! Outraged!

Obama has now washed his hands of his spiritual mentor and wants you to concentrate on hope, change, and unity ponies.

However, Indiana votes next Tuesday, and Obama has a big problem there:

”How can you go to a church for 20 years and not heard your minister say something off-color? Either he’s heard it and is lying about it, or he’s lying about going to church as much as he does,” said Demmin. “In which case he’s not the Christian he says he is.”

Tsk. Tsk.

Obama sure gets fooled easily by his long-time friends, doesn't he?

Looks like Tony Rezko isn't the only questionable character who can fool Obama for 20 years.





Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

George W. White Knight Is Talking Backwards

I turned down the TV's sound during Bush's "press conference" (aka Snippy Little's Hissy Fit About His Failures) and cranked up my laptop speakers for this, instead...




Remember what the doormouse said.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Wright Happens.

And Obama flinches.

Barack Obama's "hastily arranged," 3-question press conference yesterday was extremely revealing.

The Illinois senator spoke at a hastily arranged press conference on the airport tarmac in Wilmington, N.C., as media traveling with him were about to board his campaign plane. Airplane engines roared in the background and a plane taking off interrupted the brief media availability, which lasted less than six minutes and permitted only three questions.

Obama might as well have said:

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

Instead, he offered, sans eye contact:

"Some of the comments that Rev. Wright has made offend me, and I understand why they offend the American people. He does not speak for me. He does not speak for the campaign," Obama said.

Hm. Short & sweet, but no substance. As usual.

List the comments which offend you, Obama.

Why do those comments offend the American people, Obama?

Wright "spoke for you" from the pulpit for years and even added anal sex pantomime, mocking Bill Clinton, on your behalf. Did he "speak for you" then, but not now? Is that your best answer?

He "doesn't speak" for the campaign? Of course, not. Now, that you don't need him any longer.

"Many of the statements that he's made, both that triggered this initial controversy and that he's made over the last several days, are not statements that I have heard him make previously. They don't represent my views," the senator added.

So... Imagine David Axelrod's dilemma: This guy's managing the Obama campaign while also coordinating the PR blitz to defend Wright's church. It's probably safe to say that the PR blitz for Wright isn't going so well. As for the Obama campaign, imagine Axelrod's new check list for Obama...

Obama wasn't there. Check.
Obama saw nothing. Check.
Obama heard nothing. Check.
Obama read nothing Wright ever wrote. Check. Except that "Audacity of Hope" sermon, which Obama used as the basis for his book and his campaigns.
Obama talked to no one, EVER, about church. Check.
Obama barely knows Wright. Check.

You chose this guy, Obama. Even the Obama-loving Rolling Stone magazine article in Feb., 2007, about you read thusly:

This is as openly radical a background as any significant American political figure has ever emerged from, as much Malcolm X as Martin Luther King Jr. Wright is not an incidental figure in Obama's life, or his politics. The senator "affirmed" his Christian faith in this church; he uses Wright as a "sounding board" to "make sure I'm not losing myself in the hype and hoopla." Both the title of Obama's second book, The Audacity of Hope, and the theme for his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 come from Wright's sermons. "If you want to understand where Barack gets his feeling and rhetoric from," says the Rev. Jim Wallis, a leader of the religious left, "just look at Jeremiah Wright."

Obama wasn't born into Wright's world. His parents were atheists, an African bureaucrat and a white grad student, Jerry Falwell's nightmare vision of secular liberals come to life. Obama could have picked any church — the spare, spiritual places in Hyde Park, the awesome pomp and procession of the cathedrals downtown. He could have picked a mosque, for that matter, or even a synagogue. Obama chose Trinity United. He picked Jeremiah Wright. Obama writes in his autobiography that on the day he chose this church, he felt the spirit of black memory and history moving through Wright, and "felt for the first time how that spirit carried within it, nascent, incomplete, the possibility of moving beyond our narrow dreams."

Translation- Rev. Wright's church was useful to Obama. That's why he chose it.

Hey, Obama!

If you can't look reporters in the eye and defend your chosen "spiritual advisor," just whom can you defend?

Anyone? Anyone who's not even bitter?

Anyone over the age of 45 (like Obama, himself)?

Anyone who's a woman?

And, readers... Don't hold your breath waiting for Obama to give you any details. On anything.

'Cause that's not the way he rolls, you know. Uh. Uh. Um. Um. You know? Uh. Uh...





And even on his worst day ever...

he just can't help welling up with that whole cat-who-ate-the-canary grin, can he?



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

LOL! "Canadian Government Sabotaged Barack Obama"

When all else fails...

Blame Canada!

Desperate much, KosObamazoids?

You'll have to read this ridiculous Daily Kos (aka KosObamaMedia, Inc.) diary to understand the implications of accusing the Canadian government of sabotaging Barack Obama's presidential campaign, but the nitty-gritty lies in this cui bono graph:

I believe the evidence clearly shows that the Harper government believed that one, Hillary would win so they didn't want to make her an enemy, and two, they recognized that Hillary is the establishment candidate who most shares their agenda on free trade. Remember, the Canadians knew all along who was really posturing on NAFTA. And it wasn't Obama.

Sure. Uh huh.

So... the Canadian government made Obama admit that he had no idea what his campaign advisers were actually doing?

Barack Obama said Monday that his campaign never gave Canada back-channel assurances that his harsh words about the North American Free Trade Agreement were for political show — despite the disclosure of a Canadian memo indicating otherwise.

According to the memo obtained by The Associated Press, Obama’s senior economic adviser told Canadian officials in Chicago that the debate over free trade in the Democratic presidential primary campaign was “political positioning” and that Obama was not really protectionist.

The adviser, Austan Goolsbee, said his comments to those officials were misinterpreted by the author, Joseph DeMora, who works for the Canadian consulate in Chicago and attended the meeting.

In Carrollton, Texas, Obama told reporters: “Nobody reached out to the Canadians to try to assure them of anything.”

Asked why he had appeared to deny a report last week that such a meeting had taken place, Obama said: “That was the information I had at the time.”

Blaming Canada is a sorry state of affairs, even for Obamatrons.

Get a grip, Kidz.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

You Just Can't Take Bush Anywhere!

This two picture combination photo shows President Bush, left, congratulating David J. Rivelli, one of two recipients of the Deborah Orin Scholarship, during the Annual Dinner of the White House Correspondents' Association, Saturday, April 26, 2008, in Washington. The photo at right shows Bush's reaction to the height of Rivelli. Bush quickly noticed how much taller Rivelli was and decided to gain a foot or two by standing on the chair.
(AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Truly heavy sigh.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Today's Sermon: Praying For Lower Gasoline Prices?

File this under: The Gab It & Grab It Gospel...

Pray-in at S.F. gas station asks God to lower prices

Rocky Twyman has a radical solution for surging gasoline prices: prayer.

Twyman - a community organizer, church choir director and public relations consultant from the Washington, D.C., suburbs - staged a pray-in at a San Francisco Chevron station on Friday, asking God for cheaper gas. He did the same thing in the nation's Capitol on Wednesday, with volunteers from a soup kitchen joining in. Today he will lead members of an Oakland church in prayer.

Yes, it's come to that.

"God is the only one we can turn to at this point," said Twyman, 59. "Our leaders don't seem to be able to do anything about it. The prices keep soaring and soaring."

Gab it- Pray for it.

Grab it- Get rich.

Gospel- Prosperity is just around the corner.

The prosperity gospel developed in America after the Second World War, its proponents teaching that health and wealth are not only good and godly but the inalienable right of every believer. Preachers did not merely ignore the examples of St Francis and Mother Teresa, they condemned them, teaching that poverty was the work of Satan.

“Lacking the traditional British embarrassment about money, Americans are more likely to see wealth as something to be invested and exploited,” the report says. “The movement has been an unabashed advocate of material prosperity and this has naturally invited the charge that it promotes a lifestyle and ethos fundamentally at odds with the values of the kingdom of God. Analyses of the movement abound with anecdotes about luxury cars and Rolex watches.

The emphasis on debt reduction in prosperity teaching is clearly a response to a serious and widespread social problem.”

The prosperity gospel has proved particularly fertile for leaders among black-led churches, among the fastest-growing churches in the world. One recent survey showed that more than half of all churchgoers in London are black or Asian.

Thus endeth today's sermon.

Go forth today in the knowledge that, while photo-op preachers are praying for lower gas prices, others are praying for the end of global warming and traffic deaths.

Which prayer is worthy of supernatural action?

Think about it.

I mean it, damn it!



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Olbermann: How To Snuff Out Hillary Clinton

Keith Olbermann and his cohort Howard Fineman had one of their on-air chats about how to get rid of Hillary Clinton last night. At one point, Olbermann offered...

"Yeah, somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out."

Watch Olbermann say it,




Under what possible circumstances is Keith Olbermann not calling for Clinton to be taken out... physically?

Metaphor, my ass.

If 2 white guys suggested that "somebody" take Obama into a room and Obama doesn't come out, how would that sound to you?

If it sounds more...um, outrageous to say such a thing about Obama than it is to say it about Clinton, then you need to take a long look at your personal beliefs about human rights.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Obamaniacs Started The Fire (March, 2007)

If you missed this pro-Obama YouTube video, posted on YouTube on May 6, 2007, you probably aren't aware of the real reason Obamamaniacs don't care that voters are turning bitterly against him now.




By framing a tried & true Dem as Big Brother, Obamaniacs jumped the shark soon after Obama declared his candidacy.

The real reason Obamaniacs don't care that voters in PA "unwisely" and bitterly turned against Obama?

He's not a candidate; he's a movement.




Movements don't answer questions about their long-time associations with questionable characters friends like these.

Obamaniacal videos, blog posts, punditry, voter intimidation and family arguments over Hope & Change (Obama) v Tried & True (Clinton) won't mean jack when it comes to a possible future of...

Hope & Change (Obama) v Down & Dirty (McCain).

Movements don't plan for October Surprises, either.

Remember this FOO (friend of Obama)?



Yesterday, Republicans addressed Obama's minister, Rev. Wright in an issues ad.

Today, Republicans started framing Obama as "soft on gang violence" in a new issues ad.

Believe it, Obama Babies. This is only the beginning.

You can cry "Movement" all you want and continue your sophomoric hope & change mantra.

But Republicans play for keeps.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Obama's Concession Speech: Bashing Dems Again

What is it with this guy? Does he really feel this way about the Democratic Party? If so, why does he want to be its standard bearer?

Senator Barack Obama's Pennsylvania concession speech last night, delivered in (ahem) Indiana, contained some decidedly anti-Democratic Party sentiment...

"These Americans cast their ballot for the same reason you came here tonight; for the same reason that millions of Americans have gone door-to-door and given whatever small amount they can to this campaign; for the same reason that we began this journey just a few hundred miles from here on a cold February morning in Springfield – because we believe that the challenges we face are bigger than the smallness of our politics, and we know that this election is our chance to change it."

Since when have Democratic Party politics been small?

The Franklin Roosevelt Administration (The New Deal, WPA, TVA, SEC, Social Security, etc.)

The Lyndon Johnson Administration (The Great Society, Civil Rights, The Kerner Commission, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.)

The Carter Administration (Cleaning up after Nixon, established the Depts. of Energy and Education, The Camp David Accords, etc.)

The Clinton Administration (Family Medical Leave Act, Earned Income Tax Credit, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 22 million new jobs, etc.)

These are neither "small" ideas nor "small" politics.

"Because the truth is, the challenges we face are not just the fault of one man or one party."

Uh, yes they are. But for Republicans, their greed-bloated congressional cabal, and their cardboard cutout presidents, we'd be a damned sight better off, and Obama should know that.

"We can do what I did in Illinois, and in Washington, and bring both parties together to rein in their power so we can take our government back. It’s our choice."

Hm. So many problems with that statement, I don't even know where to begin.

Oh, yeah. "What I did in Illinois" is a good start.

But wait. What did Obama do in New York? He talked to community college students about the importance of recycling, instead of concentrating on the more important issues his PIRG colleagues emphasized.

Mr. Obama says he spent three months “trying to convince minority students at City College about the importance of recycling” — a description that surprised some former colleagues. They said that more “bread-and-butter issues” like mass transit, higher education, tuition and financial aid were more likely the emphasis at City College.

What did Obama do in Illinois? There's NO (Paper or electronic) RECORD of his legislative doings or meetings, and NO ONE is stepping up to provide any information on the state senator's (cough) singular accomplishments (cough). We do have his record of voting present on multiple occasions, instead of taking a principled Democratic Party stand on the issues.

What did Obama do in Washington? He certainly didn't convince any BushCo Republicans to reach across the aisle and work with Democrats, so why is he saying he did? Obama has spent 2 out of 3 years in the US Senate as a newbie, voting present 39.9% of the time and the last year and a half running for president (while criticizing John Edwards' senate record). Even after being given a plum assignment as chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations' Subcommittee on Europe, HE DIDN'T CONVENE A SINGLE MEETING. Aren't we at war?

Hm. Maybe not holding hearings or hosting meetings is Obama's way --along with his history of voting present-- of reaching across the aisle. If so, that's disturbing.

"Or this time, we can build on the movement we’ve started in this campaign – a movement that’s united Democrats, Independents, and Republicans; a movement of young and old, rich and poor; white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American. Because one thing I know from traveling to forty-six states this campaign season is that we’re not as divided as our politics suggests."

If you believe that Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all have the same hopes and dreams for America, you haven't been paying attention. Democrats want everyone to benefit from government; Republicans want 30% to benefit; and Independents want whatever they can get from either side.

And 2008 is the year that "young and old, rich and poor; white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American" voters had no intention of voting Republican whatsoever.

We're not as divided as our politics suggest?

Then why is Obama wasting his time and several tons of money trying to convince voters to tick off his name on a ballot?

"Because in my two decades of public service to this country, I have seen time and time again that real change doesn’t begin in the halls of Washington, but on the streets of America."

2 decades of service? Let's see: He was one of a zillion community organizers in Chicago, where he registered people to vote and shook a lot of Dem Party hands; he was one of 177 state senators, and the people in his district couldn't even get him to force his friend, Antonin Rezko, to do something about the squalor in the buildings they lived in. Oh, yeah. He joined a church, where he never heard his infamous minister say a negative word about anything. For 20 years.

As for Obama's Washington record, he's now spent as much time running for president as he's spent supposedly representing Illinois in the US Senate.

I also know that real change has never been easy, and it won’t be easy this time either. The status quo in Washington will fight harder than they ever have to divide us and distract us with ads and attacks from now until November.

Uh oh. Sounds like Obama knows something big is coming out, and he's trying to get ahead of it, doesn't it?

Something that will divide us and distract us?

For a candidate who lives and breathes "Yes, we can," Obama sure does sound like someone who prefers, "I am that I am."

Some concession speech. Why did I expect anything different from the Hope & Change candidate? This speech was almost exactly the same as his Springfield speech, delivered to launch his presidential bid in February, 2007:

What's stopped us from meeting these challenges is not the absence of sound policies and sensible plans. What's stopped us is the failure of leadership, the smallness of our politics — the ease with which we're distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle the big problems of America.

--snip--

By ourselves, this change will not happen. Divided, we are bound to fail.

If you want a cut & paste president, Obama's your guy.

I'd prefer the actual Democrat in the race: Senator Clinton isn't all things to all people on the campaign trail; she's for all good things for all people. Period.

And that makes me proud to vote for her.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

In Honor Of Obama's Behavior, It's Chicken Day

And don't even think about calling me a racist. We Texans have been known to fry up a hen or two from time to time.

It's Chicken Day because Obama would rather eat a waffle than answer press questions (Scroll down this page for the details). Adding insult to injury, Obama hasn't answered press questions for the last 10 days.

It's Chicken Day because Barack Obama left Pennsylvania yesterday for Indiana, knowing he didn't want to stick around for today's Dem primary. Why? It's a closed primary. Not a caucus. Not an open primary. just Democrats choosing between Obama and Clinton. Just the juiciest state prize in a long list of crucial states needed for November 2nd against John "Snoozefest" McCain. That's why.

It's also Chicken Day because Obama doesn't want to debate Clinton in Indiana on the 24th.

“There have been 21 Democratic debates and four one-on-one debates with Senator Clinton, all televised nationally,” said Kevin Griffis, Indiana communications director. “Our focus will be on meeting with voters in Indiana and hearing directly from them. We will make a decision about debates shortly.”

Nor will Obama debate Clinton in North Carolina. Too risky for the hope & change guy.

It's also Chicken Day because Obama turned down TV time with one of his most vocal cheerleaders, Keith Olbermann. Hillary Clinton didn't turn down the offer. In fact, she confused the holy hell out of the former sportscaster by detailing her "umbrella of deterrence" foreign policy strategy. In a nutshell, which should describe Olbermann's mental ability but leaves room for his tiny brain to roam around in, Clinton tells Iran that if they attack Israel, we'll turn their country to glass. And we can do it, too. So listen up, bullies. We're done tolerating your crap. Got that?

Besides, this isn't anything new if you remember the 1950's, Keith. What's so hard to understand?

I'm sure Obama's people are working on a hope & change scenario for Iran, even as I type this. (Even though Obama's said he'll attack Pakistan.) Will Keith say, "Huh? He said whaaa?"

Chicken: It's on the Obama menu today.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Obama's Choice: Eat My Waffle Or Talk About Foreign Policy?

Guess what Obama chose to do...

Obama: 'Why Can't I Just Eat My Waffle?'

SCRANTON, Pa. - As Sen. Hillary Clinton was preparing to campaign here today, Sen. Barack Obama was meeting with voters at a diner and apparently pretty hungry.

"Why can't I just eat my waffle?" he said, when asked a foreign policy question by a reporter at the Glider Diner.

On the day before the Pennsylvania primary, Obama is campaigning in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, avoiding the so-called "T" section of the state dominated by rural and conservative voters.

Congrats, Obama!

You've surely won the National Waffle Association's Waffler of the Year award.



Seriously, who pitches a hissy fit about the press on the day before the Pennsylvania primary, for cryin' out loud?



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

The Kidz Are Alright, Even Without Obama

When Obama surrogates claim that we'll lose the youth vote if Clinton is our nominee, they're either lying or ignorant.

Take heed, superdelegates. Don't be seduced by those who tell you that the sudden swarm of kidz registering as Dems to vote this year won't support anyone but Obama.

Hey. I'm all for the kidz registering to vote and backing the candidate of their choice.

And I'm all for a healthy dose of partisanship, too.

But the kidz who're swooning and carrying on over Obama aren't the only "youth vote" out there.

Obama Girl didn't even make it to the primary voting booth, and a lot of the kidz who actually showed up to vote for Obama just ticked his name and left the building...

Completely ignoring all downticket candidates and issues on the same ballot.

Obama supporters were more likely to vote in the presidential race and then skip the other contests than Clinton supporters, who tended to continue voting down the ballot, a Dallas Morning News analysis finds.

Like, dontcha know?, Duh, it's all about Obama, Dudes.

For Obama kidz, like, who cares about those other fogies on the ballot? Or those, like, retarded issues that have have nothing to do with the price of beer and pizza?

Are the Obama kidz donating money to the Democratic Party, whose fogies use it to target downticket candidates and issues development? Hell, no. It's all about Obama. And only Obama.

For all the success that Democratic presidential candidates have had in raising money — taking in a combined total of over $500 million in the current race — the Republicans are beating them in one crucial area of fund-raising: the money being raised by the parties themselves.

The Democratic National Committee ended 2007 nearly flat broke, with cash of $2.9 million and debts of $2.2 million. Since then it has raised some money, paid down debt and managed to put $3.7 million in its piggy bank. This compares, however, with $25 million that the Republican National Committee has in cash on hand, after having raised $97 million since the beginning of 2007.

That's, like, so lame, for Obama kidz.

Hey, O Kidz. Where do you think Saint Obama came from?

The Democratic Party targeted his Illinois races, Dudes. With chunks of change, donated by fogies who care about your future.

Guess what, superdelegates...

In 2000, the last time both parties had contested primaries, young people were 8 percent of both primary electorates, and they increased their turnout in the elections of 2004 and 2006 over 2000 and 2002, respectively.

So youth turnout is even up this year in Republican primaries where Obama does not appear on the ballot.

And the fact that young voters skew Democratic is nothing new. In 2004, they favored John F. Kerry by 9 points. In 2006, they supported Democrats over Republicans by 20 points in House races and by 27 points in Senate races.

"Whether or not Obama's in the race, the youth vote is going to go up, it looks like," said Karlo Barrios Marcelo, a researcher at the nonpartisan Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement at the University of Maryland. "The question is: How large will the margin be?"

Marcelo noted that when Howard Dean dropped out in 2004, many people asked whether his dedicated young supporters would become disengaged, but they continued to vote in great numbers.

"Young people are enthusiastically supporting Democrats up and down the ballot, as they have been since 2004," said Alexandra Acker, executive director of the Young Democrats of America. "The young voter revolution didn't start with Obama's candidacy, and it won't end with his candidacy."

Cop a clue, supers. Obama wants you to think that he can singlehandedly control millions of new young voters.

That's simply not true.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Today's Sermon: Free Will & God's Playlist

Someone has made a cross-shaped MP3 player. Ah, free will. I have to ask: Does God have a playlist?

According to this site, here are the top ten songs NOT on God's playlist:

10. Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be AC/DC
9. Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap) AC/DC
8. Ramblin' Gamblin Man Bob Seger System
7. Friend of the Devil Grateful Dead
6. Burning for You Blue Oyster Cult
5. Straight to Hell Drivin 'n Cryin'
4. The Number of the Beast Iron Maiden
3. Highway to Hell AC/DC
2. Burn Bitch Burn KISS
1. Sympathy for the Devil Rolling Stones

Hm. How do they know what's not on God's playlist?

They don't.

Back to the question of the day...

Does God have a playlist?

If so, what's on it?

My best guess: Lots of Mozart, Bach, and...

The Beatles?

Would God really put "Imagine" on His playlist?

Who knows? Maybe.

Thus endeth today's sermon.

Go forth today and create your own personal playlist...

And know that you can change it whenever you want to. That's what free will is all about.

Think about it.

I mean it, damn it!





Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Silly Saturday: Stupid Questions

Remember that scene from "Wolf," where the doctor tells Jack Nicholson about the kid who was bitten by a snake and suffered brain damage? Then Nicholson asks, "Is he OK?" And the doctor says, "No, you idiot. He has brain damage."

How many stupid questions do you hear on a daily basis?

My all-time favorite: Back when I was a teacher, a student asked me, "How do you say bon voyage in French?"

Not kidding. True story.

OK. One more: Sometimes, when you share a classroom, you find the last teacher's stuff on the blackboard. Well, one day I arrived to find a detailed drawing of a paramecium on the board. One of the kids asked: "Why do you have an orgasm on your chalkboard?"

Try not laughing at that.


Have a silly Saturday, and watch out for stupid questions.

They're everywhere.


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

The Pope Just Left Town

So why do I have this tune stuck in my head?






Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Obama Flips Off Senator Clinton In Front Of Children

Ask any classroom teacher if Obama was merely scratching his face with his middle finger.




Don't tell me Obama was only scratching his face.

Obama knew exactly what he was doing, and his facial expressions afterward betray any and all attempts his followers will make to defend his juvenile jab at the woman who mopped the floor with him in the PA debate Thursday night.

Those kids sitting behind him learned a new way to disrespect people, didn't they?

What a role model!

Here's another camera view (from CBS) of the incident. Watch the reaction of the people behind him.

Notice how CBS chose to place a logo banner over the children? Clever.

Along with the middle finger move were the fist thrust and the final brush off gestures.

Respect women much, Obama?

Oh, yeah. Sure.

But only if they know their place.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Last Night's Dem Debate (In Photos)

Disclaimer: These are random AP photos, used in random order, to describe last night's Democratic primary debate in Pennsylvania.




Caption: Goin' to the candidates' debate.



Caption: Damn. I thought my close personal friendship with Ayers would come in handy someday. No luck. She's still breathing.



Caption: They're all laughing at me. It's not fair to ask me about my friends and associates and not about my accomplishments. Oh yeah, I haven't accomplished much in 3 years... But it's still not fair.



Caption: Commercial break! Study time. Maybe I should've prepared more. Maybe Michelle and I shouldn't have let our Illinois Law Licenses expire. What were we thinking? Why isn't Hillary studying? And why is she smiling?



Hey, her notes look better than mine. I don't see any ums and uhs anywhere on her page. What's that about?



Caption: John McCain may be the best of his ilk, but that ilk got us into this horrible mess. I plan to fix it.




Caption: This whole debate thing sucks. I'm too cool to have to stand here and answer questions about my life. People should read my books, damn it. I'm amazing! Maybe if I pray...




Caption: Dear Jesus, don't let the girl win. Smite her for me, please. Smite her good. In thy loving name, I pray.



Caption: Ayers, and Wright, and "bitter." Check. Hm. How long will it take for his people to start calling for the moderators' heads? 5... 4... 3... 2...

And now, the reviews...

Obama's supporters are already blaming the "establishment" -- that is, the powerful institution of the mainstream media -- for the tone of the debate. This sets up a blowback scenario wherein his supporters will rally to his defense and lash out at the media very loudly. But Obama's going to be the next president of the United States, maybe. The most powerful person in the world. And questions about his personal associations, his character, his personal beliefs, his statements at private fundraisers -- the answers to these questions tell us a lot. Sometimes the questions are unfair (( -- nothing about Colombia and Mark Penn -- )), but this ain't Pop Warner; the artificial distinction between politics, personality and policy doesn't exist in this league, and if you're uncomfortable with it, then change the rules or don't run for office.

(Chuck) Todd says there was “a near disastrous performance by Obama in those first 40 minutes” of the debate in which he was forced to talk about his controversial remarks about “bitter” Pennsylvania voters, his troublesome former pastor and his relationship with a former member of the Weather underground. “This debate is going to lead a lot of Obama supporters to ratchet up the calls on Clinton to either withdraw or tone down the attacks. Clinton supporters will point to this debate as proof that he’s not yet ready for the general, that’s why she should stay in, and that’s why superdelegates should overturn the winner of pledged delegates,” Todd writes.

Barack Obama likes to say he can take a punch. Well, he got his chance to test the theory Wednesday night.

And the strange thing is not that he was knocked back on his heels - although he was, repeatedly.

The strange thing is that, somehow, he never seemed to see a single punch coming. He was stunned - maybe out on his feet. That's the best explanation I can come up with.

Democratic front-runner Barack Obama was repeatedly thrown on the defensive last night in a television debate that spotlighted campaign gaffes, his association with a controversial former pastor and a '60s radical, and his reluctance to wear a flag pin in his lapel.

Obama described those as "manufactured" issues and tried to fend off criticism of his recent gaffe about "bitter" small-town Americans by turning it into an attack on Hillary Clinton.

In an edgy debate in Philadelphia last night, Senator Barack Obama found himself repeatedly put on the hot plate both by the moderators of ABC TV and his rival for the Democratic Party nomination on issues including his association with a controversial pastor and his remarks about blue collar voters feeling bitter.

It left Mr Obama sometimes taking a defensive tone at a crucial time in the nomination marathon as Pennsylvania prepares to choose between him and Hillary Clinton in its primary election next Tuesday.

Of course, Obama supporters will scream that he "won" the debate.

Reality isn't their strong suit.




Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

The Many Lies Of Michelle Obama

Does this look like a tenement to you?





Me, either.


I'm sick to death of this woman standing up in front of hopeful crowds or never quite looking Stephen Colbert directly in the eye and lying about how few spoons her family owned.

Michelle must think we're too stupid to understand how many damned spoons $42,686 a year could buy in the late 1960's, even in Chicago.

Of course, we have to read the British press to learn the truth about Mrs. O:

When The Mail on Sunday went back to the gritty district of Chicago where Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was raised, we found a rather different picture from the one so single-mindedly promoted by Camp Obama.

Instead of the one-room tenement that now appears in most accounts of her upbringing, we found a well-kept neighbourhood of red-brick Arts and Craft-style houses which have long been home to respectable black families.

But... but, hasn't she claimed that her father was a poor Water Dept. worker?

No one could pretend they were rich and it is true that her father, Frasier Robinson, spent some time as a maintenance worker for Chicago's Department of Water Management.

However, he was a good deal more than the labourer that many seem to imagine.

Indeed, according to family friends, Michelle's father was a volunteer organiser for the city's Democratic Party, a by-word for machine politics in America, and his loyalty was rewarded with a well-paid engineering job at Chicago's water plant. Even before overtime, he earned $42,686 - 25 per cent more than High School teachers at the time.

Yes, Michelle overcame a lot to get where she is, but don't be seduced by her "Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple" act.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with, and actually a lot to admire about, the truth behind Michelle Obama's upbringing.

In fact, it could inspire future generations of children.

So, why lie about it?

Sad.

Speaking of sad, click over to Sugar N Spice for some sweet truth, served daily.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Pity Of The Day: Obama Supporter Kills Pennsylvania Blog

Yes, Virginia, an Obama supporter/ elected official (a Dem Party Regional Coordinator, no less) can --and will- kill your blog.

Farewell

I am ending The Pennsylvania Progressive. Over the course of 23 months we published about 3,800 articles and 435 more at Berks Democrats. I attended many campaign events, read countless books and websites and too many public meetings than I care to count. I'd like to thank our readers and the commenters who made this a virtual community of sorts. I particularly want to thank our writers.

The blog has died because of one woman, a Democratic Committee woman from Pike Township, Berks County who filed a complaint with Typepad, my host, that I used her name without permission. I use people's names all the time, it's impossible not to. These are public figures with no legal expectation of privacy. This woman was angry that I exposed the treachery she and her husband used to smear several Democratic candidates and officials. She objected to my linking her to her blog even though, when she created it, she sent an email announcement to several hundred people. That identity was no secret.

To continue The Pennsylvania Progressive I would have to cease using anyone's name, as subjects, sources or any other reason. I won't write half assed articles that way. The only other alternative is moving the blog and beginning anew. After two years of work and effort on this that's devastating to face. It takes too long to build a blog and, at 56, I'm not prepared to do that again. I could relocate to an offshore server where these issues would never arise again but that means hiring someone to create the website. The business model and funds for that don't exist. Not one paid advertisement appeared on this blog in 23 months. Democrats and Pennsylvanians have not supported this blog and there is no prospect they will. It doesn't make financial sense to invest money in such a venture even if I had it.

So this is farewell. I loved doing this and will miss arising every morning and deciding what topics and news to discuss. I'll miss driving around Pennsylvania covering the campaigns and supporting our candidates. I was headed to the Pittsburgh area this week to work with a Congressional candidate there and to Gettysburg to finish an article on private development of the battlefield. I regret not being able to continue my work.

I'll continue to write. A friend suggested I do an anthology of the most important blog articles and I rather like that idea. I also think I'll do a book about blogging, its trials and tribulations, the stories behind the stories. I even have a working title for that one, "The Nefarious Blogger." Aside from that there's a good bit of litigation ahead so that will also keep me busy.

I want to close by thanking the family and friends who did support this blog financially. It wouldn't have existed without your support. It's a shame Democrats refused to join you in this.

Update: Thanks for all the emails and invitations to join other blogs. I now have an attorney working on this matter and I'm going to spend some downtime figuring out what to do next. I have a lot of thinking to do and we're now fearful of what these Obama supporters might do next. I've never seen a campaign breed such hatred and vitriol at those not supporting their candidate. What is it about Barack Obama which is causing this meltdown among his supporters?

It can happen here.

Never underestimate the power of the recently beguiled to use any and every means possible to stifle free speech if it furthers their own agenda chosen candidate.

Truly heavy sigh.

UPDATE: Thank goodness for Google's cache system!

Ahem...

Out of Control Obama Volunteers

One of my chief concerns about Barack Obama are the out of control volunteers turning people off. I wrote an article a couple weeks ago about some of them and I understand the campaign has little or no control over these people. This is the flip side of a grassroots operation which is largely volunteer driven. One local Berks County volunteer is especially out of control and this is about her and her blog Pennsylvania For Change, a pro Obama website. It is written by several people including Cats R Fly Fishin' (Censored by Typepad.com) and Allen Minch, both of whom have commented here. I finally banned ------ (censored by Typepad and subject to litigation) for repeatedly posting false and malicious comments as smears. She knows the facts and ignores them so she can spread her vile rumors.

People like this are hurting Barack Obama and I'm afraid they'll cost us a general election should he be the nominee. Can you imagine these folks trying to persuade swing voters? There's an article on their blog even showing one of their writers using a non union print shop to make Obama posters. Oops. There go the union voters.

Then there's this article which must have been written by an elitist autocrat:

"The vast majority of the voting republic is either too ignorant, or too set in their ways and close-minded to make a fair assessment to make their choice…"
"Why should the outcome of these people who are most likely much less informed be held at a higher standard than people who are most likely in the know.

Now obviously this doesn’t apply to all people, but i would say its a good chunk 70-80%."

Wow, 70-80% of the people shouldn't be allowed to vote because they're too ignorant. It's difficult for me to digest that this was written by an Obama supporter. Not just a supporter but one who got his picture taken with the candidate this week:


(censored by Typepad.com) has been sending emails and leaving comments here (cats r fly fishin) accusing me of being paid by the Clinton campaign. She knows this isn't factual, she knows it isn't true, she has no concern for facts of any kind and now has been banned for leaving false and malicious comments. The fact is she and her husband have a habit of using false information to smear fellow Democrats. A year ago they used false information faxed to them from the Berks County Office of Commissioners by County Commissioner (Republican) Mark Scott to smear incumbent Democrat Tom Gajewski. The Wentz's sent the information out via email along with copies of the faxes.
I have the faxes and the fax number for the Berks County Commissioners is right on the page as required by law. Mark Scott denied being the source but Lou Wentz has acknowledged they came from a Republican in an email.

I'll recap the controversy for a second. Berks County is one of the top four counties in the nation for farmland preservation. This was a major issue in last year's commissioners election when Gajewski lost his seat to Christian Leinbach, the Home Builders Association candidate. We lost the majority of the commissioners and now the Republican Board is trying to privatize county services, throw good people out of good jobs and are sitting as the Elections Board in a major election year. This email helped derail Gajewski's re-election by accusing him of accepting $90,000 from the HBA. It was a false smear. They knew it came from Mark Scott, the minority Republican on the Board but they used it anyway. The information was easily debunked with a visit to the County Elections Services to examine the campaign finance reports or with a phone call to Gajewski.

Mark Scott denied having sent the faxes when I confronted him with one of them this morning. He also denied knowing Lou Wentz even though both are very involved in trout. Scott owns a trout farm and Wentz is heavily involved in PA trout. For good measure they took a swipe at me in that smear email also and have yet to apologize.

Cats left a comment on my first post on Sunday's Obama event in Harrisburg. After having gone around accusing me of bias, for being paid by Hillary (false) and leaving comments to that effect here on my blog, she berated me for not posting video. The event hadn't even begun so there was nothing to record... When I did begin posting video during the event, instead of realizing she was wrong and apologizing she, again, posted comments (twice) accusing me of being on the Clinton payroll.

FEC rules require all expenditures be reported and when this quarterly report is filed by Hillary's campaign Cats will not find any such payment to me or anyone else I know because we were NOT paid by or worked for Hillary's campaign. Why she persists in making these malicious claims on a repeated basis is beyond me. One look at her blog however and one can gain some perspective.

Are these the people we want doing phone banking and canvassing in the fall?

Update: The blogger who has publicly revealed her identity and made no attempt to conceal her identity on her own blog and at TPZoo.com has filed a complaint against me with Typepad, the host of The Pennsylvania Progressive. This woman freely and opnly volunteered to me and two other individuals on January 26, 2008 that she was blogging at TPZoo. It only takes a few seconds to determine her blogger identity if you know anything about the woman.

She never said she blogged anonymously or made any statement that the information she provided was at all confidential. In fact she freely and openly discusses facts about herself and her husband which clearly indicate her identity. She has made no effort to conceal her identity on her own blog and even linked to this article discussing it. When she told me she was blogging and where she also told others, did not say the information was off the record and none of us, to my knowledge, presumed it was secret. There is no presumption of confidentiality, it must be clearly expressed. She failed to do so.

In her blogging persona she left a comment on my blog seeking to damage my reputation and factually wrong. She knew the facts to be otherwise but chose to make public false information in a malicious attempt to damage my reputation with my readers. Now she is seeking to damage my relationship with Typepad. They have ordered me to remove her name from this article and I will do so pending legal action.

This is further action taken by a woman who is criminally harassing me with false public statements. If she is so concerned with, after the fact, trying to keep her real identity secret, did she link to this article and inform her readers they could discover her actual identity here? She has made no attempts in her own blog articles to remain confidential. No one could reasonable conclude she blogged confidentially.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Hey, Obama! Annie Oakley Was From Ohio!

Obama has no clue that smearing Senator Clinton by alluding to six-shooters and Annie Oakley is actually a good thing. Oakley is one of the most famous people born and raised in Ohio... where a lot of people... um, vote.

Nor does he have a clue that most of us women wanted to be Annie Oakley when we were children.




By the by, my daddy also took me hunting and taught me to shoot.

Sorry, Obama. Six-Shooters aren't used for hunting ducks, you out-of-touch asshat.

Keep talking about the high price of arugula at Whole Foods...

“Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?” the senator said. “I mean, they’re charging a lot of money for this stuff.”

The state of Iowa, for all of its vast food production, does not have a Whole Foods, a leading natural and organic foods market. The closest? Omaha, Minneapolis or Kansas City.

Mr. Obama, perhaps sensing a lack of reaction from the crowd, moved along to the next topic.

...And bottle-feeding calves in a designer suit.

And keep slamming the values, lifestyle, and religion of white middle-class voters while trying to convince them to ignore your own 20-year membership in Rev. Wright's House of... Whatever it is.

Here's a hint, Obama: When you apologize for saying something offensive, it's best not to attack others for noticing the offense.

It just makes you look petty and small...

The same way you tried to make the voters of Pennsylvania, Iowa, and now Ohio feel.

Maybe you should buy that Annie Oakley action figure for your daughters, O-Man.



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Today's Sermon: His High Holiness Regrets...

... he's unable to dine at the White House on Wednesday.

Wednesday night's dinner, hosted by the president, will be in the East Room, which normally contains little furniture and traditionally is used for large gatherings such as news conferences, bill-signing ceremonies, awards presentations and after-dinner entertainment.

"It's in honor of his visit," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said. "There will be leaders from the Catholic community from all over the country who are in town for that visit."

He said he did not know why the pope would not attend.

Gee.

I can't imagine why the Pope would turn down dinner with George W., can you?



Frankly, the thought of these two men, both of whom claim that God speaks through them) breaking bread together makes me queasy, to say the least.

Thus endeth today's sermon.

Go forth today and ask yourself: why is the Pope snubbing the torturer?

And consider why His High Holiness didn't just come right out and condemn the Creep-in-Chief and toss his crumpled dinner invitation over the White House fence.

Hm. Pot and kettle, you say?

Definitely something to think about.

So think about it today.

I mean it, damn it!



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.