September 2009 Archives

Oh, joy. The City of Cleveland just won the competition to host the 2014 Gay Games. Here's the relevant audio from the first two hours of last night's Bob Frantz Show:

I don't see the point in creating a homosexualized version of the Olympics. If someone's an Olympic caliber athlete, they can compete in the Olympics. Their sexual tastes have nothing to do with it.

Who wants to crow about winning some event at a politicized athletic gathering that has no qualification standards whatsoever? For goodness' sake, the Gay Games are "not oriented to victory" ... whatever that means.

Every time I think Cleveland has sunk to a new low in punch-line-worthiness, the city breaks out a shovel and digs some more.

It's called Going Rogue: An American Life.

I reserved mine!

I say the following as a retired U.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer who swore and upheld a solemn oath to defend the Constitution.

Newsmax's John L. Perry is either nuts, a naïve fool, or a childish attention-seeker. His latest column speculating on the possibility of a U.S. military coup to unseat President Obama fails the most basic B.S. test. Perry hasn't the first clue about how our military's leadership understands its oath of office, nor does he demonstrate even the most rudimentary comprehension of our Constitution.

By publishing this bilge the editors at Newsmax have forever beclowned themselves.

More commentary:
Cassandra cracks open a can o' whupass

When it comes to American foreign policy, we should stick to twenty basic principles, implemented in four easy steps.

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell recently filed a tax lien against ACORN for $548,000:

The subpoenas from Caldwell, served last month, became widely known this week. They were served on the former chief of ACORN, Wade Rathke, who now runs the offshoot Acorn International, as well as Whitney Bank, where ACORN keeps its accounts.

The subpoenas seek a broad range of information since 1998 from ACORN and what the documents say are 361 related tax-exempt and non-tax-exempt organizations:

• All W-2 tax income reports and 1099 tax filings issued


• A list of every employee


• All state and federal tax returns


• Organizational charts for every affiliate


• All audited financial statements


• Documents related to the theft of nearly $1 million by Rathke's brother, Dale Rathke, who worked in the organization

Here's a brief write-up by The Pelican Institute for Public Policy:

Thank goodness someone created an easy flowchart!

Hat tip: Power Line

Thank you both for lancing the boil that is ACORN.

Not much:

Hat tip: American Thinker

Click on the images below to see them at full size.

Before Obama's site was scrubbed:

After Obama's site was scrubbed:

See the difference? Look at the second bullet point.

It's a start. The first one's a matter of semantics, but the third one's still a lie.

"Independent review", my skinny white butt.

Next!

ACORN shares office space and personnel with the Service Employees International Union. SEIU and other unions in the Big Labor alliance funnel millions of dollars to ACORN. ACORN and Big Labor lobby for the same legislation, endorse the same partisan political candidates, and work together in every other conceivable way. Members of ACORN and Big Labor pass in and out of the revolving door of the Democratic Party and the federal government. Sure, the fancy paperwork sitting on file in dusty government offices says that these organizations and people are officially separate entities, but that's like trying to hide a 500-lb nudist under a cocktail napkin.

Progressive politicians (*cough* *cough* Betty Sutton), Big Labor and ACORN are one and the same.

When you see the news reports about the disgusting things that ACORN does, remember that those same people work for gigantic labor unions, work on the staffs of liberal Congress members, and infest the Obama administration from top to bottom. Their reckless spending outstrips any in American history, and they intend to double down. Their tax hikes hurt small businesses, who employ the vast majority of Americans. Their ridiculous regulations and economically illiterate mandates caused the housing and credit crisis, which triggered last fall's economic crash. Their policies have driven unemployment to record highs, and will needlessly prolong the economic pain you're feeling.

When Barack Obama ran for President, he portrayed himself as a reasonable and moderate Democrat with help from the mainstream media. He is not what he claimed to be. He has always been joined at the hip to his former employer ACORN, Big Labor, and the most extreme elements of the radical left-wing fringe. He believes in their cause, wants what they want, and lies about it non-stop. He doesn't care about "the little guy", nor does he have your best interests at heart.

What he and his fellow smiling and soft-spoken radicals want is more power, and they'll take your property and your liberty to get it ... if you let them. The warnings were there before the election, and the warnings were right. There's still time to stop the slide toward utter ruin.

Don't just sit there hoping for change. Look at what that got us.

For your viewing disgust, courtesy of Big Government, here's part one:

Remember ... ACORN is using your tax dollars to conduct these activities. Are you tired of this scummy group yet?

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9:15 PM Update: The ACORN employee in the pink shirt is Tresa Kaelke (née Tresa Berhow, née Tresa Parten), who claims to speak regularly with politicians like California State Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. Babs denies it, of course.

Boy oh boy, I hope so. These crooks don't understand Americans who value individual liberty and limited government, but we understand them and their entire rotten playbook. Their houses are built on sand, and we're the onrushing tide. Stand by for a collapse.

Are the stated goals of ACORN substantially the same as yours ... and do you expect anyone to believe you if you deny it?

A teaser from last night:

Saul Alinsky's corpse must be spinning at high RPM right now. Set your DVR to record Glenn Beck's show on Fox News Channel this afternoon. It's gonna be a doozy.

Hat tip: Freedom's Lighthouse

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9:58 AM Update: Glenn just said on the radio that it concerns an admission of murder. This is gonna be quite a video, it seems.

Do you remember Project Vote's efforts on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential campaign? Do you remember the $832,598.29 "oopsie" of a payment from Obama's campaign to ACORN affiliate Citizens Services, Inc.? Did you know that although Barack Obama lies about having worked for ACORN, he admits that he used to run Project Vote? Did you know that Karyn Gillette was the Development Director of Project Vote during Obama's presidential campaign, and that she was involved in those shady deals that helped Obama win? Want more proof? Here's all the documentation you could ever want.

Keep all of this in mind as more ACORN scandals hit the news this week.

... according to the not-so-subtle excuse offered by NPR blogger Frank James in defense of ACORN:

Meanwhile, conservatives show no signs of letting up.

...

It's also important to keep in mind that ACORN's workers are coming from the same low-income neighborhoods the organization serves, with all that entails -- poor schools, high crime and the sorts of social problems that have been documented for decades.

So the flaws conservatives are pointing out about ACORN are not so much problems associated with that organization per se but more about the problems of being poor and minority in urban America.

Wow. The sheer chutzpah here is breathtaking. This isn't proof of a problem with ACORN per se? According to his logic, every organization serving poor urban minorities (and employing same) must also be riddled with criminals. I suspect quite a few non-profits based in heavily urbanized areas would vehemently protest Mr. James' blanket slur.

What alternate universe does he live in? In JamesWorld, we are expected to gaze in condescending pity upon community organizers advising would-be politicians how to get away with mortgage fraud, tax evasion, and child prostitution. After all, the community organizers are those people. You know what he means, right? Wink-wink, nudge-nudge ... the ones who have dark skin and no money and live in the 'hood. They don't know any better, the poor dears.

Good Lord, what racist bilge!

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9/15 Update: Maura Flynn gets it.

9/16 Update: Gregory of Yardale gets it too.

The vote was 83-7, with 9 not voting. Incredibly, überliberal Sherrod Brown (D-OH) voted with the majority. He's worried about his re-election prospects. He should be.

Now let's see which way former labor lawyer and perpetual union suck-up Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) decides to go.

Next, the Congress needs to pass a stimulus clawback of any and all funds that end up in ACORN's coffers.

Courtesy of Kim Nettles:

More at "Patriots on the Prairie".

Here's a not-so-subtle warning to any uppity American in Baltimore thinking of exposing the scummy and crooked organization that spawned President Obama: if you embarrass ACORN by revealing its true nature, you'll become a target for the State's Attorney, a slavering Obamabot prosecutor.

Patricia Jessamy is the Maryland State's Attorney responsible for Baltimore. When she heard that two conservatives went undercover with a hidden camera and busted ACORN for facilitating child prostitution, mortgage fraud, and several other scuzzy activities, she wrote them a commendation.

Just kidding. She's threatening to send them to jail for up to 5 years.

Here's the kicker: Ms. Jessamy contributed $1000 to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Funny how that works.

Since Andrew Breitbart and Glenn Beck have broken the news that ACORN, Barack Obama's favorite bunch of community organizers, have been caught on camera in a prostitution and mortgage fraud scheme, I figured the whole mess needed a catchy title to get noticed by the mainstream media.

Click for the full-size graphic:

Sure beats something lame like "Hookergate", doesn't it? For more on ACORN, click the banner below:

12:50 PM Update: The "hooker" speaks. Here's a bit of advice for any lefty/union thug intent on harming her ... don't be stupid.

2:00 PM Update: Buy a bumper sticker for $3.54:

As part of of The 2,996 Project, I'm remembering Jon C. Vandevander of Ridgewood, NJ, who was 44 on September 11th, 2001.

He was a Vice President at Carr Futures, and on that morning he was at work (along with Damian Meehan) on the 92nd floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center. At 8:46 AM, the recently-hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into floors 93-99 of the North Tower, wiping out the eight floors occupied by Marsh USA.

Although Jon's office was below the impact zone, the extensive damage caused by the airplane impact left him and over 60 other Carr employees trapped. A story from the UK Guardian describes a small part of what happened:

10:00 - North Tower, 92nd floor, Carr Futures, 28 minutes to collapse.

'MOM,' asked Jeffrey Nussbaum. 'What was that explosion?'

Twenty miles away in Oceanside, Arline Nussbaum could see on TV what her son could not from 50 yards away. She recalls their last words. 'The other tower just went down.' 'Oh my God,' her son said. 'I love you.'

Then the phone went dead.

That morning, the office of Carr Futures on the 92nd floor was unusually busy. A total of 68 men and women were on the floor. About two dozen brokers for Carr's parent company had been called to a special 8am meeting. When the building sprang back and forth like a car antenna, door frames twisted and jammed shut, trapping a number of them in a conference room. The remaining Carr employees, about 40, migrated to a large, unfinished space along the west side. Nussbaum called his mother and shared his mobile phone with Andy Friedman. In all, the Carr families have counted 31 calls from the people they lost.

Carr was two floors below the impact and everyone there had survived it; yet they could not get out. Between 10.05 and 10.25, videos show, fire spread westward across the 92nd floor's north face, bearing down on their western refuge.

At 10.18, Tom McGinnis, one of the traders summoned to the special meeting, reached his wife, Iliana. The words are stitched into her memory. 'This looks really, really bad,' he said. 'I know,' said Mrs McGinnis, who had been hoping that his meeting had broken up before the airplane hit.

'This is bad for the country; it looks like World War Three.' Something in his tone alarmed McGinnis. 'Are you OK, yes or no?' she demanded. 'We're on the 92nd floor in a room we can't get out of,' McGinnis said. 'Who's with you?" she asked. McGinnis mentioned three old friends - Joey Holland, Brendan Dolan and Elkin Yuen. 'I love you,' he said. 'Take care of Caitlin.'

McGinnis was not ready to hear a farewell. 'Don't lose your cool,' she urged. 'You guys are so tough, you're resourceful. You guys are going to get out of there.' 'You don't understand,' McGinnis said. 'There are people jumping from the floors above us.'

It was 10.25. The fire raged along the west side of the 92nd floor. People fell from windows. McGinnis again told her he loved her and their daughter, Caitlin. 'Don't hang up,' she pleaded. 'I got to get down on the floor,' McGinnis said. The phone connection faded out.

It was 10.26, two minutes before the tower crumbled. The World Trade Centre had fallen silent.

Jon was able to reach his wife on the phone after the crash, as recounted in "A Widow's Wish":

There is a peacefulness in Anne Vandevander's voice, the serenity of someone who has known happiness and accepted a fate that robbed her of some of it. Anne's husband, Jon, worked as a trader for Carr Futures Inc., on the 92d floor of 1 World Trade Center. She talked to him several times after the tower was hit, until about 10 minutes before the building collapsed.

"He said 'I love you and tell the kids I love them,' " she said. A week later, a police officer came to her door to say they had found his body. She buried him in a cemetery in Ridgewood, N.J., where they lived with their three children. "Most wives will never get that opportunity," she said of the others who are still searching for missing relatives. "I have him back in Ridgewood. My one wish that morning was to have his wedding band back, and now I'm wearing it."

Jon Vandevander, 44, loved his job and died with men he had worked with for 4 years at Carr, and for 10 years before that when their division was owned by Dean Witter.

He played soccer in college, and coached his children's soccer, baseball, softball and basketball teams. He loved taking his two oldest children golfing at the Ridgewood Country Club. "He was a great dad," she said. "I feel very fortunate."

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on October 9, 2001.

Carr Futures lost dozens of its employees on 9/11:

Carr Futures survives its darkest hour By Collins, Daniel Publication: Futures Date: Saturday, December 1 2001

When the airliners crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, the world changed for everyone, but especially Carr Futures, an FCM that had offices on the 92nd floor of the WTC's north tower. Of the 141 employees based in its New York office, 69 did not survive that day, says CEO Didier Varlet, who was in Spain when he received word of the events via cell phone. Some New York-based Carr employees were traveling, some were on the Nymex floor and some worked a later shift, but of the 69 people in the 92nd floor office that morning, nobody escaped.

Jon was a member of the Lycoming College Class of 1979. Two other Lycoming alumni, Angela Kyte and Justin Moulisani, died in the 9/11 attacks.

Leave a note to honor his memory on this memorial and this guestbook. Godspeed, Jon.

What would it take for President Barack Obama's administration to collapse?

• A dozen czars resigning in disgrace?
• A Cabinet member or two caught taking bribes?
• Another attack by islamic terrorists?
• Hyperinflation?
• A presidential sex scandal?

I'm just wondering, since the stench of radical leftism in Washington is getting so bad that I can smell it all the way out here in Cleveland.

As part of of The 2,996 Project, I'm remembering Damian Meehan, a Carr Futures employee (along with Jon Vandevander) who died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. He was 32. The following biography was written by his family.

Growing up in a large family in Manhattan's Irish Inwood in the 1970's, gave Damian all the necessary essentials for a very happy childhood. Six older brothers, an older sister and a baby sister set the tone for a perpetual smile and a unique laugh that became a very integral part of his personality. His big brothers, Shaun, Michael, Eugene, Kevin, Chris and Paul, while always creating obstacles and torment in his daily life, grew to love, protect and admire this most gentle of siblings. His sisters Kitty and Janine just adored him from day one.

Damian's loving nature made his life a very happy experience. He was such a happy kid and people loved being around him. His easygoing personality and perpetual smile endeared him to a wide circle of friends. He attended Good Shepherd grammar school in Inwood and made many close friends there that would stay with him through life. As a child he played in Inwood Hill Park and spent his summers at the Four Green Fields. Both Inwood and the Four Green Fields, played major roles in his early and developing years, that led to friendships that were to last a lifetime.

Damian was so trustworthy, that his parents allowed him to travel by subway to attend Power Memorial High School. Unfortunately, Power closed in 1984, just after Damian's freshman year, so he decided to finish at St. Raymond's in the Bronx, where a few of his brothers also attended. Upon graduation, Damian chose SUNY New Paltz for college. Two years later, his Dad convinced him that there was more to learn at home. Damian decided to join his sister Janine at Lehman College, where he was first introduced to Janine's friend, Joann McCarthy. It was definitely love at first sight - and the rest is history. While in college, Damian worked at the Columbia Tennis Center in Inwood, along with various bartending jobs throughout the city. In August of 1993, Damian decided to try Wall Street and it was his brother-in-law, Marty Boyle, that introduced him to the wild world of finance. He worked for Dean Witter, which later became Carr Futures, and he came under the guidance and counsel of Brendan Dolan and they became fast friends for the rest of their lives.

On June 6, 1998 , at the age 29, Damian married the love of his life, Joann McCarthy at Mount St. Ursula Church. They were just a perfect couple; so much love, devotion and respect that was obvious to all. They settled in Riverdale. The following year they bought a house in Glen Rock, NJ near their friends Brendan and Stacey Dolan, and Kathy and Joe Holland.

On January 23, 2000, Damian Peter, Jr. was born - the arrival of Damian, Jr. could not have been more perfect. It was a great time in Damian's life. He loved being a father and cherished every minute spent with his son. He was so proud of little Damian and always boasted about his accomplishments. They had their own rituals. Every night, little Damian would stand on the couch and watch out the window for his "gogga-gogga" to come home from work, and if Damian got home after little Damian's bedtime, his Dad would immediately go into his room and stand over his crib and talk to him while he slept. It was an unbelievable bond.

Damian was a gifted athlete. Gaelic football was a big part of his life from a very young age; he won every under-age medal with Good Shepherd as a full back and continued at Junior and Senior grades with additional success. When Good Shepherd could no longer field a full team, Damian went to play for Donegal, along with Dave Mc Sweeney, another former Good Shepherd player. Those were great years for Damian, as he took immense pride in the fact that he was playing for his parent's native county team. He trained really hard and thoroughly enjoyed playing at this top level at Gaelic Park and internationally as part of the New York panel.
Damian also enjoyed running, even more so in the last few years, when he began competing in races with his brothers and sister, Kitty. Damian was an excellent runner, his siblings watched in awe, as he ran the toughest hills effortlessly, and always managed to have the fastest time. Damian also enjoyed golfing and did so quite often with his brothers, extended family and childhood friends from Inwood, Chris Lee and Donn McNamee.

Most of all, Damian was a "family man", in every sense of the word. He loved going up to the Four Green Fields because it meant spending time with family and close friends and sharing many laughs. He loved playing Bingo and the card games that followed in the dance hall into the wee hours of the morning. He looked forward to participating in the basketball tournament every July 4th and Labor Day weekend. Last Labor Day weekend, Damian spent quality time with his family and friends at the Four Green Fields, and had a great weekend. Everything was perfect. Damian was always making plans for next month and for the next five years. Life was so good: health, happiness and a secure future. Little did we know that we were all enjoying the very best time of our lives. A week later, came the devastation of September 11th, leaving such so much pain, anguish, devastation and heartache that will never heal. Life will never be the same again.

In the early hours of October 2nd, Damian's brothers Michael, Eugene and Kevin brought us the tragic-yet joyful news that Damian had been recovered on Monday, October 1st with a bunch of firemen and civilians on West Street. The news was so final - we had lost our beloved Damian forever. Damian's wake at William's Funeral Home was an incredible scene, as thousands came to say goodbye to our Damian, and yet again at Good Shepherd Church on October 8th, as Father Kevin Devine led us all in a final farewell to one of the most beautiful human beings ever created. Damian now rests in peace at St. Anastasia Cemetery in Harriman, New York.

On January 13th 2002, Damian and Joann's little daughter, Madison Margaret was born and it was finally a day to rejoice. Damian Jr. is delighted with his baby sister.
We will never forget Damian and we will all make sure that his children know the type of man their father was. For all of us, our Damian was truly one of a kind.

Rest in peace, Damian. You are not forgotten.

Please visit The Damian Meehan Memorial Fund and consider making a donation to their scholarship program.

Sure, Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst against President Obama would once have been thought rude. Thirty years ago, shouting such an accusation at a president addressing a joint session would have been nearly inconceivable ... but this ain't 1979.

American popular culture is much coarser and cruder these days, and our politics mirror our culture. The blame lies almost exclusively at the feet of Americans who occupy the farthest reaches of the statist left wing. They've brought us the Sexual Revolution, rampant drug use, violent and sexually explicit entertainment, abortion on demand, disregard for our Judeo-Christian roots, militant atheism, and moral relativism. The left's utter disregard for anything standing between them and complete political power leads to the rise of political opportunists like our current president. He and his ilk will say and do anything to advance their agenda. Lying is just another tool in the toolbox, to be used whenever it will accomplish the left's goals.

The left bemoans the supposedly inappropriate and rude outburst by Joe Wilson for one reason only: they hope to advance their agenda by doing so. Period. Never mind that they've done far worse. Never mind that moral disapproval is supposedly evidence of the cardinal sin of "intolerance." The left will scream and wail as long as faux victimhood helps them extract money and power from American citizens.

Given that fact, I refuse to join in the Tut-Tut Chorus. We're close to enacting an irreversible government takeover of close to one fifth of the American economy, by people who have more in common with Stalin and Mussolini than with Madison and Jefferson. I'd much rather have inappropriate and rude outbursts in defense of the truth than polite silence in the face of blatant and dangerous lies.

The truth hurts the statist, so shout it if you must.

During tonight's joint session, Barack Obama faced a critic brave enough to call his dishonesty what it is:

For yelling "you lie!", I just sent Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina a $10 campaign contribution. If he hadn't apologized for his supposed rudeness in calling a lie a lie, I'd have sent him $50.

More coverage:
Hot Air
Gateway Pundit
Protein Wisdom
Conservative Culture
Ace of Spades

Mike Adams has found another radical feminist raw nerve on which to tap dance.

Another week, another address to a joint session of Congress. When in doubt, David Axelrod has just one prescription:

Obama's planned address to a joint session of Congress next week "will insert the president into the heated debate in a way he has avoided all summer." The Washington Post informed readers that the "White House is scrambling to take control of the health-care debate after watching from the sidelines." A "senior aide" to Obama says the president will be "much more prescriptive."

Why the White House press corps didn't just change the date on their old copy and run it again is beyond me. And I'll leave it to others to ponder the media's seemingly infinite capacity to give Obama as many do-overs as he might need.

Why the Obama administration is determined to do the time warp again is easier to decipher. Obama's advisers think the answer to every problem is more cowbell, if by "cowbell" you mean "Obama." It's like Obama guru David Axelrod is the Christopher Walken character from the Saturday Night Live skit about Blue Oyster Cult (if you don't know the reference, Google "cowbell").

Every time someone comes up with an alternative to throwing Obama on TV, Axelrod says, "No, no, no. Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription . . . is more Obama!"

Ecce:

Please keep going, Barry. The more America sees of you, the less they like what they see.

Why do we need The Maximum Leader to hector a captive audience of America's children to work hard for the country? His prepared remarks are full of barely-concealed creepy collectivist tripe.

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Update: The OmniPresident sings in the Key of Me!

Screw the unions. Honor these folks instead.

He will not be missed.

Now ... on to Valerie Jarrett.

How else do you explain stuff like this?

But if Hitler was out to conquer the world -- Britain, Africa, the Middle East, the United States, Canada, South America, India, Asia, Australia -- why did he spend three years building that hugely expensive Siegfried Line to protect Germany from France? Why did he start the war with no surface fleet, no troop transports and only 29 oceangoing submarines? How do you conquer the world with a navy that can't get out of the Baltic Sea?

If Hitler wanted the world, why did he not build strategic bombers, instead of two-engine Dorniers and Heinkels that could not even reach Britain from Germany?

Why did he let the British army go at Dunkirk?

Why did he offer the British peace, twice, after Poland fell, and again after France fell?

Why, when Paris fell, did Hitler not demand the French fleet, as the Allies demanded and got the Kaiser's fleet? Why did he not demand bases in French-controlled Syria to attack Suez? Why did he beg Benito Mussolini not to attack Greece?

Because Hitler wanted to end the war in 1940, almost two years before the trains began to roll to the camps.

Those pesky Poles and Joooos had it coming, huh, Pat?