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I voted.

Obama’s Youth Movement

Obama’s Youth Choir

Dear Leader’s Youth Choir

The Obama group is really excited about having this “grassroots” effort come together on just a Sunday afternoon.  They call this the children’s music, but note in the video description that it was the music teacher that wrote the songs for the choir, not the students.

And as is to be expected with a political children’s choir, there is an incredible lack of substance in the songs.  But what can you expect from indoctrinated kids?

[via HotAir]

Who Caused the Financial Crisis? [updated 10/1/08]

The Democrats keep trying to call this the “Bush-McCain economy.”  Clearly, this isn’t.

The soundtrack is pretty darn cheesy, and I take issue with the out of place question mark, but the facts I’ve checked have turned out to be right on.  I just hope that McCain can do a better job of exposing this cause of crisis for what it is:  not deregulation from the Bush administration, but the wrong types of regulation from the Carter and Clinton administrations.

Clearly, there is blame to be shared by all.  But trying to pin this on McCain is insane.

Bill Clinton Defends McCain

I’ve been impressed these past few weeks at how fair Bill Clinton has been.  He hasn’t pulled this political bout face and suddenly demonized McCain the way other Democrats have.

To those who have claimed that McCain was trying to postpone the debate because “he was afraid” or trying to score political points for his “country first” move, it must be remembered that McCain wanted more debates.  Clinton reminds us of this:

“Number two, create jobs.”

When asked how to deal with the economic troubles recently, Biden answered that he would create jobs.

Thankfully, the interviewer didn’t let him get away with it.  This reminds me earlier when an Obama ad said that he would “fast-track” new technology for alternative fuels.  You can’t fast-track science.  You increase spending in a particular field, but there’s no guarantee that usable technology will come from that science.

They criticize McCain for supporting drilling, but drilling is the only proven source of energy here.  It may be 5-10 years away, but we have no clue at all how far away usable alternative fuels are.  I’d rather pursue the “all of the above” strategy that will at least give us a back-up plan with having more of our own oil.

That’s all I’ve heard so far out of Obama-Biden is vague goals of what they want to accomplish, but not how they are going to accomplish them.

This is especially true with their economic policies.  They are shooting for policies that sound good now—taxing oil companies and big corporations and giving money back to people.  However, that idea is extremely shortsighted.  What I want is a candidate not just with ideas, but with plans.  There’s a huge difference.

When looking at examples of these tax and spend policies, we look no further to the "laboratories of democracies” the states themselves.  California and New York have adopted the approach that Obama has advocated with dire consequences.  The Wall Street Journal recently noted:

Anyone who thinks the path to "fiscal discipline" is through higher taxes ought to look at the current budget spectacles in New York and California. The two liberal states have among the highest tax burdens in the country, yet both now find themselves with huge budget deficits and are debating still higher taxes to close the gap.

Ideas make for great rhetoric, but plans make for great results.

Whoopi should not fear a return to slavery

We don't get The View in Korea, but this is hitting the blogosphere. McCain was on The View and Whoopi had this to say during a discussion on abortion:

Really Whoopi? A return to slavery? Its amazing how a discussion on abortion somehow turns into a quasi-civil rights issue.

McCain is calling for a strict interpretation of how the constitution is written. The 13th Amendment bans slavery outright. Unless the Constitution is changed, there will be no return to slavery. This is a made up concern. Really.

What Roe v. Wade did was create a sweeping change of public policy, based on principles not clearly written into the Constitution. A strict constructionist judge would never find a right to abortion in the constitution. Nor would a strict constructionist allow a return to slavery.

Come on.

Palin did not attempt to tie 9/11 to Sadam

The Washington Post has a piece in today's edition, September 12, 2008 that is blatantly misleading. The piece by Anne E. Kornblut begins:

Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans."

The way Kornblut frame's Palins remarks isn't bad in and of itself. However, Kornblut continues:

The idea that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda plan the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a view once promoted by Bush administration officials, has since been rejected even by the president himself. But it is widely agreed that militants allied with al-Qaeda have taken root in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion.

The Bush administration attempted to make the link between al-Qaeda and Sadam early on making the case for war. It was only one part of an entire case war. Of course Palin isn't trying to resurrect this discounted theory.

Kornblut provides herself some wriggle room by stating that indeed, "But it is widely agreed that militants allied with al-Qaeda have taken root in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion." Of course this is what Palin meant.

Kornblut bringing up what Palin most likely couldn't have meant when it was obvious what she did mean is bad journalism. It would be akin to the following senario:

Headline: Sen. Obama alludes to Middle Eastern scripture

Sen. Obama alluded to words from a sacred text in his acceptance speech saying, "At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise — that American promise — and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess."

Rumors that Obama attended an extremist Muslim school as a child and was at one time, or still is, a practicing Muslim, have been denied by his campagin. It is widely agreed that the allusion was most likelyin reference to the Bible--used by Christians as a sacred text.

The above example is how one could take words that Obama did say, and frame them in such away with such a headline to be misleading. Everything above is factual, as was in the Washington Post piece.

Of course Obama wouldn't be referring to he Koran in his acceptance speech, neither would Palin be espousing a long discredited story in recent speeches.