Archive for September 1st, 2011
The Phase Change Toward Ron Paul and Tea Party Principles: Why An Establishment Republican Can’t Win In 2012
One of the things I enjoy most about writing for Hillbuzz is watching the uptick in hate mail that my Ron-Paul-oriented posts generate. Here at Buzzquarters, we consider that a sign that we’re doing something right, since such a huge percentage of the manufactured outrage we receive is sent in by paid operatives and concern trolls.
From Ron Paul: The Founding Father in Esquire Magazine, April 2011
I enjoy knowing that we’re helping to deplete a secret “dirty tricks” campaign slush fund in the basement of the White House or the Romney Campaign Headquarters. And even more fun is knowing that most Hillbuzzers are sophisticated enough (by now) to be able to spot concern trolls and paid operatives from a mile away, so those slush fund dollars are going right down the toilet.
This post should generate a lot of billings to those slush funds.
I don’t enjoy linking to HuffPo, but an opinion piece there today is so outstanding and insightful that I couldn’t resist. It was written by a UK native, Robin Koerner, who is in a unique position to comment on U.S. politics–he runs a website called WatchingAmerica.com, which gathers and translates into English foreign news stories about America.
Side note, my favorite piece on WatchingAmerica.com today is an article from Austria’s Der Standard, About Weak Leadership, which includes a gem you will never see in America’s “mainstream” media:
Two-and-a-half years after his election, Barack Obama, the first African-American president in the history of the United States, is in danger of becoming a one-term president, a failure who has largely lost the support of the urban liberals, workers, black and Hispanic Americans, environmentalists and youth of the 2008 election through his hesitation and wavering. The 50-year-old Obama is no longer the shining light for the start of a new age, but rather a politician, who, through his zigzag course and sellouts in economic, finance and social policy, has deeply disappointed the (admittedly inflated) expectations of his supporters.
So, apparently the Hopeychange has worn off in Europe, too.
Anyway, Mr. Koerner writes in the Huffington Post four words that strike terror into the hearts of both the Cocktail Party GOP and Obama Regime: Ron Paul Can Win.
And better than anyone else so far (including me) Koener has, I believe, correctly identified the political, historic and cultural forces that are coming together to make this presidential campaign unlike anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes. It explains the rise of the Tea Party movement (fueled originally by Ron Paul supporters). It also explains the shrinking ranks of both “major” parties. Koener writes,
One has to reach back a good way in American history for a time of such rapidly rising sentiment that not only are our leaders unable even to think of real solutions to the problems of greatest concern (rather than just making expedient changes at the margin), but also that the prevailing political and economic system is structurally incapable of delivering any long-term solutions in its current form.
The sheer range and interconnectedness of the problems that the nation faces are such that any permanent solution to any one of them will require profound systemic change that will necessarily upset many economic, political and cultural equilibria. And that is nothing more than a definition of a national phase change.
The average American may not know what is to be done, but she can sense when the system has exhausted all its possibilities. At that point, not only does the phase change become reasonable; it becomes desirable — even if what lies on the other side cannot be known.
Koerner also correctly identifies the spine-cracking contortions the mainstream media must put itself through to ignore Ron Paul’s ascendancy in this campaign cycle, brilliantly encapsulated in this John Stewart bit on The Daily Show: Ron Paul and the “Top Tier”.
“If it is true that the studied neglect of data to hold tight to a paradigm is the best evidence that the paradigm is about to collapse,” says Koerner, “then the massive and highly subjective neglect of all things Paulian is specific evidence that the country is moving in Paul’s direction.”
And the LSM has had plenty of practice ignoring this impending paradigm shift–though it wasn’t just Ron Paul. They had the Tea Party movement on “ignore” for most of 2008. Finally, when the Tea Party movement became “worthy” of media attention in about 2009, it was only so the homeschoolers, Constitutionalists, religious people, veterans, entrepreneurs, retirees, patriots and other “undesirables” who make up the Tea Party movement could be labeled “extremists” and “RAAAAACISTS.”
Herman Cain political cartoon by Don Surber, The Daily Mail
And yet, Koerner continues,
…on all the metrics that a year ago everyone accepted as useful indicators of political standing, Ron Paul is not just a front-runner but a strong one.
First, and most directly, he does extremely well in polls. The organization of his grassroots support is not just excellent; it is remarkable, by historic and global measures. His ability to raise money from actual voters is second to none. His appeal to independents and swing voters is an order of magnitude greater than that of his competitors. Secondarily, he has more support from military personnel than all other candidates put together, if measured by donations; he has the most consistent voting record; he has the magical quality of not coming off as a politician; he oozes integrity and authenticity, and, as far as we know, he has a personal life and marriage that reflects deep stability and commitment.
Two years later, the economy is far, far worse than anyone in Washington, DC will admit. A new CNN poll reveals that only 34% of Americans surveyed approve of how Obama is handling the economy. (I suspect they all work for the government.) Not surprisingly, most Democrats (68%) approve, and most Republicans (91%) disapprove–but a striking 71% of Independents think Obama is a loser on economic issues.
And yet, our Messiah in Chief and his wife Michelle Antoinette felt comfortable taking separate taxpayer-funded jets to a lavish $5 MILLION vacation to the playground of the rich and famous.
The disconnect between the “reality” of Washington, DC, where yesterday’s biggest story was the president’s attempt to upstage the long-scheduled GOP debate with his latest retread big-government “jobs plan,” and what the rest of the country is going through, couldn’t be more obvious, or less reported in the LSM.
Tea Party sign: H/T OregonCatalyst.com
Since January of 2009, the Obama Regime has partied its way through the Treasury, buying itself lavish gifts, luxury vehicles, vacations in elite locales, gourmet meals; creating countless kickback programs for political buddies; subsidizing a permanent unemployed class and pissing away our childrens’ and grandchildrens’ futures.
Real people are suffering, every single day, in this country. Millions of people can’t even read this post today because they haven’t had electricity since Saturday, thanks to Hurricane Irene. By now, all the perishable food they owned is garbage. Their homes are gone; their clothes, their cars, their family photos, their keepsakes; and in some cases, their pets or loved ones. Their jobs may be gone, along with their life savings, if they didn’t have flood insurance.
And because the Federal government has borrowed and spent like drunken, dissipated, self-hating, irresponsible sailors since Obama was elected, there is no money to help these people. None.
When Americans need help here in America, there’s no one left to help us.
Because we have troops deployed in 140 foreign countries, our own borders are wide open to illegal aliens, drug gangs and Islamic terrorists.
Our infrastructure is crumbling…but we’re borrowing money from China to build bridges in Afghanistan.
The citizens of Vermont who have been cut off by flood waters are desperate for food, but have to wait for help from Illinois National Guard units because the Vermont National Guard’s entire helicopter fleet is deployed on a mission in Iraq.
We are $14 TRILLION in debt and what do we have to show for it?
Literally hundreds of thousands of brave Americans have given their lives over the past two and a half centuries to secure our freedom, and what do we have to show for it?
It is facts like these that are fueling the deep angst among the people who built America and make it work. It’s fueling nostalgia for a time in our lives when there were more jobs than people looking for work. When the United States was an unapologetic superpower that had just broken the Soviet Union, then the greatest threat to the security of the world. When we had presidents one could disagree with on policy–but whose patriotism and belief in the American Dream was unquestioned. When parents truly believed that their children would be more successful, healthier, and lead better lives than they did.
And whether the LSM and establishment politicians want to acknowledge it or not, it is this gap between today’s reality and the America so many of us remember that is going to determine who wins in November, and whether or not this country survives. Says Koerner,
To believe that Ron Paul’s victory is a long shot in spite of all standard indicators that directly contradict this claim is to throw out all norms with which we follow our nation’s politics — and that is a huge thing to do. The only way it can be done honestly is to present another set of contradictory reasons or metrics that are collectively more powerful than all those that you are rejecting. I am yet to find them….Of course, none of this means that Paul will definitely win. But it does mean that a bet against him by a politician is foolhardy and by a journalist is dishonest.
An ordinary, inoffensive, cucumber and mayo Republican has no chance. Because in their hearts, no one believes an ordinary Republican will have the guts to ruthlessly excise the cancerous tumor that is the Obama Regime, and then go after over 75 years of unconstitutional big-government malignancy that have metastasized into every facet of our lives.
This is not a year in which an ordinary politician can win. It’s not a year in which we can afford four more years of politics as usual.
FUN PROJECT: Gather up good photos of Governor Palin sitting at a desk to be photoshopped into Oval Office pictures
Can you spend some time on the Internets today looking for good photos of Governor Palin sitting at her desk, signing papers or reading various things…or sitting at a desk while meeting with people?
I bet if we searched through photos of her in her office in Alaska, we’d find some that would be just perfect for photoshopping into pictures of her behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
I ran a great photoshop that someone sent me yesterday and liked it so much I’m actually going to sit down and start using the photoshop tutorial Justin has on his computer so I can learn to start making these myself.
I think it’s a fun project to learn on — and these little images of President Palin in her Oval Office will be useful in the 2012 campaign.
Once we get the image of President Palin at her desk down, we then just have to add all the personal touches that would be in a real Palin Oval Office.
What sorts of personal mementos from Alaska do you think she would bring with her? What sort of art would she put on the walls? What sculptures would decorate the side tables?
What do you think the Palin Oval Office will be like?
The first step to making anything real is visualizing it.
And in this case, the first step in visualizing it is gathering the source material photos of Governor Palin sitting behind desks that can be photoshopped into her at the Resolute Desk.
Either add a link in this thread to a good pic you find or email the pics to us at HillBuzz@gmail.com
Thanks for the help!
QUESTION: Have you ever seen any studies charting the life success of people raised “bilingual”?
My anecdotal experience with people raised “bilingual” (speaking a foreign language at home but English at school and in the workplace) is that while trying to straddle two worlds, they never end up fitting in anywhere.
My good friend Joaquin’s grandparents were Mexican immigrants, and his parents still speak Spanish exclusively at home. Joaquin and his three brothers all have good jobs, but their writing is terrible. Joaquin also misses about 30% of pop culture jokes and historical references, so he doesn’t get subtle humor in anything he reads. If we’re watching a movie or TV show together, he’s forever asking me why something is funny. Largely, this is because of all the Spanish that was spoken in his home, which took away from the American culture he would have been exposed to if his family wasn’t in a bubble all to themselves in his formative years.
All of this is on my mind today because it’s not just Spanish-speakers who do this to themselves. The absolute most aggressive case of this self-isolation is a Polish family I know, who are terrific people, but I think they’re also incredibly foolish to have created “New Poland” in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.
A Muslim Flash Mob
Playland Park in New York
On Tuesday, a large group of Muslims visited Playland Park in Rye, New York to celebrate the end of Ramadan ( I’d celebrate the end of it too). Playland is a smaller version of Six Flags…with rides and games and concessions. About mid-day…things got a little heated.
(NYT) The Muslim American Society of New York had arranged the trip to Playland Park in Rye, which was expected to bring some 3,000 people to the site from New York City, as well as surrounding suburbs like Yonkers and parts of Long Island.
About 2:30 p.m., the day took a sour turn when some of the female Muslim visitors, most of whom arrived in head scarves, were told they could not get on certain rides — including the Catch-a-Wave ride, the Crazy Mouse roller coaster and the Dragon Coaster — because their heads were covered by the Muslim hijab.
Most of us who grew up going to American amusement parks like Six Flags (I frequented Six Flags over Georgia as a teen…and loved the Mind Bender and the Scream Machine), know that you can not get on most rides wearing such things as flip flops, sunglasses or baseball caps. It’s just plain dangerous because people behind you…or on the ground…could get hit in the face if those items flew off while you were flying at high speed while turned upside down. I rode many a ride barefoot….after leaving my flip flops behind at the starting gate. Imagine what a scarf would do to someone’s neck (and air supply) if it got wrapped around a pole at high speed? Lights out.
Of course, the ” Religion of Peace” doesn’t really care what other people think…and they don’t care about rules and regulations. They only care about pushing and forcing their sharia compliant laws down our throats. Well…apparently a few of the women were denied access to some of the rides because they refused to remove their hijabs….and that’s when things got ugly.
“It got heated,” said Kathleen M. O’Connor, commissioner of the Westchester County Parks Department. “They were frustrated they couldn’t get on the rides.”
According to park officials, disappointed customers were then offered a refund, and several people proceeded to the park’s main entrance to get back the $20 each member of the group had paid.
Then, the Parks Department said, about 20 members of the Muslim American group started fighting among themselves. Peter Tartaglia, the deputy commissioner of the department, said there was pushing and shoving, so some park rangers intervened. One ranger sustained an injured shoulder; another injured a knee.
Fifteen people, men and women, were placed under arrest, county officials said, though they did not specify whether all of them were members of the tour group. They were charged, the officials said, but the charges were not specified, and all of the arrested were released.
Some people who came to the park with the group said the fight began when a park employee touched a Muslim woman, at which point tempers flared.
Touched a woman? Perhaps he touched her elbow in an attempt to get her to move back? It’s quite obvious that the strict Muslim/Sharia culture really isn’t compatible with American/Western/Freedom culture. It’s like the immigrants coming from other countries ( of course I mean Mexico)…assimilate or go home.
It’s really as simple as this….
If you will not remove your hijab…then don’t go to an amusement park.
If you want to live in America…respect our laws.
