I forgot who to credit.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Don't tell that Ron Paul-hating radio pitchman; but the right-wingers are loose in Jersey
As I've noted, the odds are against Ron Paul actually winning the Republican presidential nomination. But he has performed a great service by exposing Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the rest of that crowd as the frauds they are.
Nothing amuses me more than when one of those radio pitchmen inadvertently posing as a conservative reveals his true place on the political spectrum.
We saw such an event a couple of years ago when the mattress salesman I like to call Marxist Levin pulled out of the Conservative Political Action Conference because the John Birch Society was a sponsor.There is only one sort of person who freaks out at the mention of the Birch Society: A leftist.
That was the common pattern back when I went to college in the 1960s, but until the Levin incident I had never heard of a purported conservative coming out against the John Birch Society.
As I noted here, all of these "neo" conservatives are really non-conservatives. Neoconservatism is an internationalist movement begun by Trotkyites and is the exact opposite of the traditional conservatism espoused by traditional conservatives like me, Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan.
When you actually read about that the Birchers espouse today you find it's nothing more than traditional, small government conservatism.
NC FIRE: Illegal alien February crime report 160 pages!
We have posted the latest monthly issue of the North Carolina Crime Report by Suspected Illegal Aliens on our website; www.NCFIRE.info. This report covers crimes by suspected illegal aliens in NC for the month of February. It is 160 pages long! It can be viewed online as a pdf file here: http://ncfire.info/february2012.pdf.
The amount of monthly crimes by suspected illegal aliens in NC is staggering. These crimes are not compiled in any statewide database and that tends to make the problem look smaller than it really is. By issuing these reports, our goal is to draw attention to the size and scope of the problem in NC. This is not ALL of the crimes by suspected illegal aliens in NC and we do not report every crime, in every county, each month. There is simply not enough time to enter it all! That is the magnitude of the problem we are facing.
You can view the past 3 years worth of monthly NC crime reports on our "Crime Report Archives" page here: http://ncfire.info/crimearchives.htm
The amount of monthly crimes by suspected illegal aliens in NC is staggering. These crimes are not compiled in any statewide database and that tends to make the problem look smaller than it really is. By issuing these reports, our goal is to draw attention to the size and scope of the problem in NC. This is not ALL of the crimes by suspected illegal aliens in NC and we do not report every crime, in every county, each month. There is simply not enough time to enter it all! That is the magnitude of the problem we are facing.
You can view the past 3 years worth of monthly NC crime reports on our "Crime Report Archives" page here: http://ncfire.info/crimearchives.htm
James Johnson
President-NCFIRE
North Carolinians For Immigration Reform and Enforcement
www.NCFIRE.info
www.Facebook.com/NCFIRE
NCFIRE@ncfire.info
1-888-885-0879
‘Journal of Medical Ethics’ Stands by Publication of ‘After-Birth Abortions’ Article
Not my world.
Yesterday, The Blaze reported the logic of two ethicists who suggested that termination of a newborn — a practice they called “after-birth abortion” — should be allowable on the basis of newborns having the same status of that of fetuses. The article by Alberto Giubilini with Monash University in Melbourne and Francesca Minerva at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne was published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
The Journal of Medical Ethics (JME) has since written a post on its blog stating that it has received several emails questioning its decision to publish such an article in a respected journal on ethics. JME stands by its decision. Here‘s what the journal’s editor Julian Savulescu writes:
McDonnell signs repeal of Virginia’s one-gun-a-month law
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Tuesday signed a measure to repeal the state’s nearly 20-year-old ban on purchasing more than one handgun per month, delivering a major victory to gun rights advocates in the state.
Mr. McDonnell, a Republican who as a Virginia Beach delegate supported the law, has said the requirement it is no longer necessary, given the changes in technology and new requirements for background checks. Proponents of the measure also argue that the numerous exemptions in the law make it unnecessary.
Media finally paying attention to eligibility?
Via NC Renegade
Poll after poll in recent months has indicated that Americans have a high level of concern over Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president, with one poll showing fully half of the nation wants Congress to investigate the question.
Poll after poll in recent months has indicated that Americans have a high level of concern over Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president, with one poll showing fully half of the nation wants Congress to investigate the question.
But reporters for the traditional media – networks, major newspapers, major news corporations and conglomerates – mostly have giggled when talk turns to the serious question of just what the U.S. Constitution requires of presidents.
Nevertheless, media organizations from all political persuasions are seeking admittance to a news conference to be held by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz.
The event is tomorrow at 1 p.m. Mountain Standard Time in Phoenix, 3 p.m. Eastern, and will be live-streamed by WND.
The topic of discussion will be an investigation by Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse into concerns about Obama’s eligibility. It’s the first time an official law enforcement report has addressed many of the allegations about the presumptive 2012 Democratic nominee for president.
The issues include Obama’s eligibility under the U.S. Constitution’s requirements, questions about his use of a Connecticut Social Security number and the image of his purported birth certificate from Hawaii.
In addition to the live-streaming, WND will make available to the public, the same day by email, the official report distributed to media by Arpaio’s investigators. Those interested in receiving the report can sign up for the free service.
Southern Women
Via Jason
A new generation of women who are redefining the Southern Belle
It is not posturing, or hyperbole, or marketing. (See: all those song lyrics about California girls and their undeniable cuteness.) Southern women, unlike women from Boston or Des Moines or Albuquerque, are leashed to history. For better or worse, we are forever entangled in and infused by a miasma of mercy and cruelty, order and chaos, cornpone and cornball, a potent mix that leaves us wise, morbid, good-humored, God-fearing, outspoken and immutable. Like the Irish, with better teeth.
To be born a Southern woman is to be made aware of your distinctiveness. And with it, the rules. The expectations. These vary some, but all follow the same basic template, which is, fundamentally, no matter what the circumstance, Southern women make the effort. Which is why even the girls in the trailer parks paint their nails. And why overstressed working moms still bake three dozen homemade cookies for the school fund-raiser. And why you will never see Reese Witherspoon wearing sweatpants. Or Oprah take a nap.
For my mother, being Southern means handwritten thank-you notes, using a rhino horn’s worth of salt in every recipe, and spending a minimum of twenty minutes a day in front of her makeup mirror so she can examine her beauty in “office,” “outdoor,” and “evening” illumination. It also means never leaving the house with wet hair. Not even in the case of fire. Because wet hair is low-rent. It shows you don’t care, and not caring is not something Southern women do, at least when it comes to our hair.
This is less about vanity than self-respect, a crucial distinction often lost on non-Southerners. When a Southern woman fusses over her appearance, it does not reflect insecurity, narcissism, or some arrested form of antifeminism that holds back the sisterhood. Southern women are postfeminism. The whole issue is a nonstarter, seeing as Southern women are smart enough to recognize what works—Spanx, Aqua Net—and wise to the allocation of effort. Why pretend the world is something it isn’t? Better to focus on what you can control (drying your hair) and make the best of what you have. Side note: Southern women do not capitalize on their looks to snag men, though that often results. The reason we Southern women take care of ourselves is because, simply, Southern women are caretakers.
An example: I have lived in the North off and on for fifteen years. In all that time, only once did another woman prepare me a home-cooked meal (and she was from Florida). I recently visited Tennessee for one week and was fed by no fewer than three women, one of whom baked homemade cupcakes in two different flavors because she remembered I loved them.
Southern women are willing to give, be it time, hugs, or advice about that layabout down the road. Southern women listen and we talk and we laugh without apology. We are seldom shocked. Not really. Sex in the City may have been revolutionary for the rest of America, but not for Southern women. Of course we bond and adore each other, and talk about all topics savory and otherwise. That’s what being a woman means.
In Terms of Endearment, a dying Debra Winger visits a friend in New York and is immediately bewildered by the alternately indifferent and aggressive way the women relate to each other.
“Why do they act like that?” Winger asks a friend, genuinely confused. Why indeed.
Southern women see no point in the hard way. Life is hard enough. So we add a little sugar to the sour. Which is not to suggest Southern women are disingenuous cream puffs. Quite the opposite. When you are born into a history as loaded as the South’s, when you carry in your bones the incontrovertible knowledge of man’s violence and limitations, daring to stay sweet is about the most radical thing you can do.
Southern women are also a proud lot. In any setting, at home or abroad, Southern women declare themselves. Leading with geography is not something that other ladies do. You do not hear “That’s just how we roll in Napa.” Or “Well, you know what they say about us Wyoming girls…” You may hear “I’m from Jersey,” but that’s more of a threat than a howdy.
There are other defining attributes, some more quantifiable than others. Southern women know how to bake a funeral casserole and why you should. Southern women know how to make other women feel pretty. Southern women like men and allow them to stay men. Southern women are not afraid to dance. Southern women know you can’t outrun your past, that manners count, and that your mother deserves a phone call every Sunday. Southern women can say more with a cut of their eyes than a whole debate club’s worth of speeches. Southern women know the value of a stiff drink, among other things.
Which brings us to what can only be called: the Baby Thing.
Southern women love babies. We love them so much we grab their chubby thighs and pretend to eat them alive. This is not the case in the North or the West or the middle bit.
I grew up, like all Southern girls, babysitting as soon as I was old enough to tie my own shoes. I was raised to understand that taking care of children was as natural and inevitable as sneezing, that when we were infants, somebody looked after us, and thus we should clutch hands and complete the circle without any fuss. I was also taught that your children are not supposed to be your best friends. Southern women do not spend a lick of time worrying about whether or not their kids are mad at them. They are too busy telling them “No” and “Because I said so,” which might explain why there are rarely any Southern kids acting a fool and running wild around the Cracker Barrel.
I have two daughters, Dixie and Matilda, and when we go down South, they are surrounded with love from the moment we cross the Mason-Dixon. Elderly men tip their hats. Cashiers tell them they are beautiful. To be a girl these days is more fraught than ever. But growing up among Southern women sure makes it easier.
Which is why we are moving back home. I want my children to know they belong to something bigger than themselves. That they are unique, but they are not alone. That there is continuity where they come from. Comfort too. That there are rules worth following and expectations worth trying to meet, even if you fail. If nothing else, I want them to know how to make biscuits. And to not feel bad about eating a whole heaping plate of them.
Because before I know it, my girls will be grown. And they will be Southern women too. And that, I believe, will have made all the difference.
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