Erick Erickson's Blog, page 171
March 31, 2011
Fun With Wieners
Another Steven Crowder original:
Herman Cain Joins Me Tonight on the Erick Erickson Show
Tonight on the Erick Erickson Show, Herman Cain will join me at 7:35 p.m. ET. We'll talk about his exploratory bid for the Presidency, Libya, and more.
You can listen live online at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.
Consider this an open thread.
American Orchestrated Air Strikes In Libya Kill Innocent Civilians
You and I both know that anytime you have a war, innocent civilians get killed.
But Barack Obama told us this is not a war. This is just a kinetic military action.
The whole reason we are in Libya is to stop innocent civilians from being killed. It is the raison d'être of Susan Rice, Samantha Powers, and Hillary Clinton. They wanted to stop a massacre.
According to Vatican officials we have now killed 40 innocent civilians in Tripoli.
"The so-called humanitarian raids have killed dozens of civilian victims in some neighborhoods of Tripoli," said Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli.
"I have collected several witness accounts from reliable people. In particular, in the Buslim neighborhood, due to the bombardments, a civilian building collapsed, causing the death of 40 people," he told Fides, the news agency of the Vatican missionary arm.
War is hell. I guess kinetic military action is too.
"But," you lefty hacks say, "these are unconfirmed reports. They are enemy propaganda." So you are saying that Saddam's Minister of Information was more truthful than the Gaddafi regime? Because you bought hook, line, and sinker all of his reports of innocent civilians killed.
Morning Briefing for March 31, 2011
RedState Morning Briefing
For March 31, 2011
Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.
1. Joanne Kloppenburg Is Bothered By Outside Money Spent in Judicial Elections, Except for the $3 Million in Outside Money Being Spent to Elect Her
2. Ten Reflections On Libya
3. According to Dick Durbin, Presidents Should NOT Come To Congress Before Going to War
4. AARP Investigation Reveals Obamacare Will Enrich Non-Profit Seniors Lobby
5. Lies, Damned Lies and DOI Press Releases
6. Organized Labor or Organized Thugs? AFSCME Openly Threatens WI Businesses
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1. Joanne Kloppenburg Is Bothered By Outside Money Spent in Judicial Elections, Except for the $3 Million in Outside Money Being Spent to Elect Her
We have covered extensively how the liberals in Wisconsin are trying to overturn the results of last year's elections by funding a massive campaign to oust conservative Justice David Prosser in favor of liberal assistant AG Joanne Kloppenburg. One of the things we have covered extensively is that Kloppenburg is the beneficiary of a massive $3 million advertising campaign sponsored by outside Democrat and union groups who hope that she will overturn the recent legislation on collective bargaining for public employees. These groups are running sleazy and malicious ads which Kloppenburg herself sees no problem with and feels for some reason that she cannot denounce.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
2. Ten Reflections On Libya
In war, a questionable decision made swiftly is often better than a good one made too late. At least Sarah Palin, who supported a no-fly zone weeks before Obama, understood this. If anything, Obama's reliance on the humanitarian argument (Benghazi will be flattened) suggests that he was more inclined to back the rebels as their chances of victory diminished. I am left with the creeping suspicion that Obama isn't anti-war so much as he's uncomfortable with American victory.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
3. According to Dick Durbin, Presidents Should NOT Come To Congress Before Going to War
From the "say or do anything to defend your man" file, Dick Durbin just ingratiated himself to the American anti-war left with a doozie of a tale on the floor of the United States Senate.
According to Dick Durbin, a man who once called American soldiers nazis, Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush broke precedent by going to Congress before initiating hostilities.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
4. AARP Investigation Reveals Obamacare Will Enrich Non-Profit Seniors Lobby
An 18-month congressional investigation into AARP reveals that the organization stands to make more than $1 billion over the next 10 years from Obamacare, a law the seniors lobby supported despite opposition among its core constituency.
AARP, which operates as a tax-exempt organization in Washington, would profit from an increase in its insurance business, specifically from the sale of Medicare products to older Americans. The lucrative business has already transformed AARP into an insurance powerhouse. If it were a for-profit business, AARP would rank as the sixth-largest insurance company in America with profits of $427 million in 2009.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
5. Lies, Damned Lies and DOI Press Releases
In an effort to deflect blame for high gasoline prices away from the Obama Administration, the Department of the Interior today released a report which purports to show that the oil and gas industry, not DOI or BOEMRE, is guilty of dragging its feet on offshore energy exploration and development. This, in spite of a 10 month regulatory moratorium/permitorium that has brought new well drilling to a near standstill, and the first year-long offshore lease sale hiatus since 1958.
This is propaganda, pure and simple. Interior's career staff certainly knows better, but for the time being they find it expedient to facilitate the Obama/Salazar green jihad against the American oil and gas industry. As a result, the report is one which bolsters Democratic talking points while twisting reality.
Please click here for the rest of the post.
6. Organized Labor or Organized Thugs? AFSCME Openly Threatens WI Businesses
Well, that didn't take long. Union threats that were somewhat isolated a couple of weeks ago are now gaining in popularity among union bosses in Wisconsin. Business owners are now receiving threatening letters telling them that, if they don't support government-sector unions, their businesses will be boycotted.
March 30, 2011
Boots on the Ground in Libya — The Erick Erickson Show
We'll be talking about boots on the ground in Libya tonight. You can listen live at http://wsbradio.com and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.
Consider this an open thread.
According to Dick Durbin, Presidents Should NOT Come To Congress Before Going to War
From the "say or do anything to defend your man" file, Dick Durbin just ingratiated himself to the American anti-war left with a doozie of a tale on the floor of the United States Senate.
According to Dick Durbin, a man who once called American soliders nazis, Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush broke precedent by going to Congress before initiating hostilities.
Yes, I got it right.
Rand Paul, on the floor of the Senate, said
I THINK THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH SORT OF SAYING IT'S OKAY TO DECLARE THAT THE PRESIDENT CAN GO TO WAR AFTER HE'S ALREADY DONE IT. . . . I THINK YOU SHOULD BE INSULTED THE SAME WAY I AM INSULTED THEY NEVER CAME TO CONGRESS.
The caps are from the Senate transcript service.
Durbin, responded thusly:
I WOULD SAY TO THE SENATOR FROM KENTUCKY, HE IS CORRECT IN HIS STATEMENT THAT NOT ONLY PRESIDENT GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH BUT ALSO GEORGE W. BUSH CAME TO CONGRESS AND REALLY KIND OF BROKE PRECEDENT.
Nice to see the Democrats finally admit George Bush went to Congress before going into Iraq.
The Wisconsin Fight
National Review has an editorial up on what is at stake in Wisconsin.
The Greater Wisconsin Committee is preparing to throw $3 million into the judicial election to defeat Prosser — not because it is feared that he will fail to administer the law impartially, but because it is feared that he will. To that end, Wisconsin Democrats are working to install one of their own on the court and, if the GWC ad is any indicator, they are prepared to do just about anything to win. Because of legal restrictions, Prosser cannot solicit contributions to aid his campaign under this onslaught. But you can help his campaign by helping the Wisconsin Club for Growth (donate here) or donating to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (donate online here; fax donation form here).
Will the Durbin Amendment Stay? If So, Consumers Are Screwed.
I've written about this before. The Senate may very well today or tomorrow consider fixing the problem. I hope.
After I wrote about Durbin's amendment to the financial reform package, the Wall Street Journal took him on as well. The Wall Street Journal noted, "Congress's 2009 effort to regulate credit cards shows what will happen. Do you like free checking? Enjoy it while you can, because unless you're a high roller you will soon be paying for check-writing privileges. The price controls have also caused banks to deny credit to marginal borrowers—i.e., those with low incomes. Many have been forced out of the formal banking system and into the arms of payday lenders (if they're lucky) and loan sharks (if they're not). Mr. Durbin should have called his amendment the Payday Lender Empowerment Act."
Dick Durbin promptly lost his business on the floor of the Senate in response to people shedding light on what he had done.
In a nutshell, the Durbin Amendment will allow the Federal Reserve to price fix charges from banks. As a result, banks are responding with eradicating debit cards, restricting purchases, ending free checking, and driving up fees.
It was a foreseeable action by banks and one Congress can't stop unless they get rid of the Durbin Amendment. The Senate will consider doing just that today. If the Senate fails to repeal it, say goodbye to free checking and unlimited debit card purchases.
Does Supporting Planned Parenthood Increase The Risk of Breast Cancer?
We've heard all the stories before. Planned Parenthood provides breast cancer screening services for poor women. By cutting off funds for Planned Parenthood, we increase the chance poor women will get breast cancer.
New undercover work shows that this is not only a lie, but a damn lie.
Cecile Richards, the current president of Planned Parenthood, has been all over TV talking about how Planned Parenthood provides mammograms for women and, therefore, we cannot cut off their funding. They are entitled!
But a new undercover report from Live Action shows just how much of a damn lie this is.
Live Action called around to Planned Parenthood offices all across the country asking if women could come in to get mammograms. All of the clinics they called, every single one, said they do not do mammograms. Not only that, they also didn't offer to cover the cost of the mammograms. In fact, as you can see on the video, Planned Parenthood would frequently offer to refer the caller to a different entity altogether that may or may not provide mammograms.
This was a widespread occurrence across the country.
In other words, Congress is funding Planned Parenthood purportedly to provide mammograms and Planned Parenthood isn't even doing that? What exactly is Planned Parenthood doing with the money other than lobbying for more money when not killing kids?
You can see the video for yourself right here.
In the tapes, a Live Action actor calls 30 Planned Parenthood clinics in 27 different states, inquiring about mammograms at Planned Parenthood. Every Planned Parenthood, without exception, tells her she will have to go elsewhere for a mammogram, and many clinics admit that no Planned Parenthood clinics provide this breast cancer screening procedure. "We don't provide those services whatsoever," admits a staffer at Planned Parenthood of Arizona. Planned Parenthood's Comprehensive Health Center clinic in Overland Park, KS explains to the caller, "We actually don't have a, um, mammogram machine, at our clinics."
House Republicans Leaders Want Democrats, Not Conservatives, To Vote For Their Budget
The Washington Post reports that the House Republicans, instead of picking a fight for real spending cuts, are set to woo House Democratic "moderates" to vote for the GOP budget instead of conservatives.
This is really amazing.
In other words, the House Republicans have decided to reject defunding Obamacare and reject defunding Planned Parenthood and reject defunding NPR. Instead, they will get House Democrats together and marginalize conservatives.
Why?
Because the House GOP is desperately afraid of a government shutdown.
With no spine, the GOP will fold and show no leadership. This is precisely what leadership by fear does. So fearful of a shutdown, the GOP will sell its soul, betray its base, and out negotiate itself all because it is scared of its own shadow.
Game over.
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