Barack Obama's Priorities

Today is Memorial Day, "a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service."  It is a day that, traditionally, the President of the United States attends a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.  Today, Barack Obama sent Vice President Joe Biden in his place because he is on vacation in Chicago.  (Link here.)

While attendance at the ceremony in Arlington is "traditional," it is not mandatory for presidents to attend.  Some do, some do sometimes, and some don't.  But the real galling thing is not that Obama skipped the event.  In fact, I give him credit for attending a ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, but America is at war in Iraq and in Afghanistan.  And there is a major ecological disaster continuing in the Gulf of Mexico yet Barack Obama is on vacation . . . again.  This is Obama's second vacation since the BP Oil rig exploded on April 20.

Two vacations in just over a month.  Now, don't get me wrong, I think the country would be better off if Obama took a lot of LONG vacations over the remainder of his term but the question must be asked . . . just what are Obama's priorities?

Now to the true priority of the day . . . to the men and women who died in service of this great country . . . may you rest in peace.  And to those of us who live in freedom because of their sacrifice . . . may we never forget.

In case you're wondering . . .

this blog is still alive.  And so am I - just very busy these days, baseball games, meetings, kids, and, occasionally, even work at my paying job.  So I haven't been keeping up with the daily blogging duties.  And now summer is just around the corner.  I don't expect to find more time.  So, to all my loyal readers out there, sorry for the days to come.  I won't be posting every night - or even every Sunday through Thursday night - as was my typical practice.  But I won't go far.  Posts will appear from time to time, maybe even often (who knows?), whenever I find the time or the impulse to write.

Please, no tears.  (And Robin Carnahan shouldn't jump for joy either.)  By the time election season heats up, I'll be back in the regular swing of things.

Justice Kagan?

It appears that Elena Kagan will be the next justice of the United States Supreme Court.  She clerked for Thurgood Marshall, worked for Bill Clinton, and currently serves as Barack Obama's Solicitor General.  And, she's only 50 years old.

Chances that this could be a good thing for conservative principles?  Or the country?

Why the left-leaning media hasn't said much about polls in Missouri's U.S. Senate race recently . . .

The above table from Real Clear Politics shows a pretty clear trend in Missouri voters from Democrat Robin Carnahan to Republican Roy Blunt.  Shouldn't that be newsworthy?  Where are the media reports?

Well, I suppose that goes without saying.

A message from Arizona to President Barack Obama and the federal government:

What happens when Christians turn the other cheek?

Link here to see.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I think that turning the other cheek is noble and the right thing to do.  It does seem rather unfair and backward, though, like life itself.

Who are the 39%?

In a poll released today by the National Journal, 39% of American voters reported being completely uninformed, biased to the gills, bribed with government handouts, or just plain stupid.  That 39% "said they would vote to re-elect Pres. Obama if the election were held today."

The truth . . . from Barack Obama's own budget director

Barack Obama's Fiscal Commission met last week.  Peter Orszag, the President's Budget Director spoke.  Surprisingly, he told the truth.  Not so surprisingly, we haven't seen much reporting of what he said.  Here are a couple of excerpts . . .

"Sustained, growing long-term deficits will increase our reliance on creditors from abroad, reduce investment in our labs, factories and businesses, and weaken confidence in the federal government's creditworthiness."

Translation:  The federal government is spending borrowed money like a bunch of drunken sailors, steadily destroying the country's economic engine, and increasing our indebtedness to the Chinese.

"Under current policies, our projected deficits amount to about 5 percent of GDP in the second half of this decade, much higher than would be prudent or sustainable."


Translation:  Unless the federal government stops spending borrowed money like a bunch of drunken sailors - soon - the country will be in deep sh#@!

Unfortunately, there is no sentiment at the White House to listen to Mr. Orzag.  It is too difficult, you see, to buy the votes the Democrats need to retain power on a fiscally responsible government.

"Simply put," Orszag said, "it may be easier to ignore long-term problems, but we will pay a severe price if we do so . . ."  (Emphasis added.  Link here.)

"Government is us."

Here's an interesting quotation from Barack Obama's commencement speech at the University of Michigan yesterday (pulled from this AP story):

"But what troubles me is when I hear people say that all of government is inherently bad.  . . . When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us."


That says a lot.  Where to begin . . .

First of all, Obama is so handily losing every argument against existent, rational human beings these days that he's chosen to instead argue against phantom nonexistent or irrelevant straw men.  He says that he's troubled by people saying that "all of government is inherently bad."  Who's saying that?  Nobody I know.  Nobody rational anyway.  And certainly no nationally known leader of the Republican Party.

Second, but for those folks who claim that Barack Obama is not American, I don't think anybody is calling the U.S. government a "foreign entity."  The government can be and, under Obama, seems to be gaining or solidifying the ability to menace or threaten its citizenry.  I think that America's founding fathers would be proud of those of us who remain wary of Washington's power.

Finally, Obama wants to placate fears of government power by reminding us that "government is us."  You know what, since the government is "you" right now, Mr. Obama, my fears are actually heightened at the moment.

Sometimes laws have intended effects

Here's the headline from this Associate Press story:  "Illegal immigrants plan to leave over Ariz. law."

Huh.  Well, wasn't that the point of the law in the first place.

If we were to pass similar laws in Missouri . . . Illinois . . . nationwide . . .

A fight for life . . . and a sad, lonely, horrible death

So sad but, unfortunately, so true . . .

On Saturday, doctors attempted to abort a baby boy, 22 weeks into his life after conception, in Rossano, Italy.  When the doctors failed in their attempts to legally kill the baby, they simply left him to die, wrapped in a sheet, presumably alone, and struggling to survive.  When a hospital chaplain went to pray beside the boy's body on Sunday, he found him alive, moving and breathing.  The boy was immediately taken to the neo-natal unit at another hospital.  Unfortunately, he died on Monday.  The police are investigating the case as a homicide.  (Link to story here.)

Here's the reality of human law - in Italy, as in America today - killing a viable human being, capable of survival outside of his or her mother's womb is legal.  But, remove that same human being from the womb, and suddenly, miraculously, that human's human rights kick in and it is no longer legal to kill him or her.

Inside - no rights at all, not even to live.  Outside - human rights, including the right to live.

Is this not a completely artificial boundary?  Human beings, growing, moving, living, as human beings are entitled to human rights.  Those rights must be protected.  Human law must change.  Abortion must end.  Life must be protected.

Allow this sad story to have a positive impact.  Tell it to everyone you know.  Use it to show the sham and selfishness and horror of abortion.  Allow the life of this Italian baby to have some greater meaning.

DeMint: The President's Way

Republican Senator Jim DeMint (South Carolina) on the impasse on financial services reform legislation:

"What it [Barack Obama and the Democrats' proposal] is is a takeover of the financial and credit system.  This seems to be the president's way is it's not about fixing the problem, just like with healthcare, it's about getting more federal control over something.


. . . 


The president is the one who put the kibosh on working together, and now he's just trying to use the mainstream media to confuse the American people.  The fact is I think he thinks Americans are stupid, and he's going to play this out until he gets a headline in every paper that Republicans are obstructionist.  The fact is, he's the one who's obstructing real bipartisanship." 


Stand firm Republicans.  There is more than enough federal control over more aspects of American life than necessary or desirable.  Stop Obama's agenda whenever it conflicts with the best interests of the country.  The people won't call it obstructionist.  We'll call it representative democracy.

If you don't let me play, I'll take my ball and go home!

In a scene right off the playground, Florida's Republican governor, Charlie Crist is losing his state's G.O.P. primary election for the U.S. Senate.  Rather than acknowledge that he's not the people's candidate, he is, apparently, going to leave the party and run for Senate anyway . . . as an "independent."  (Link to story here.)

How selfish can a politician be?  The U.S. Senate is the most important battleground of the 2010 election cycle.  Chopping the number of Democrats down from sixty and regaining Republican control of the Congress (or at least regaining a significant voice in it) should be the top priority of every American citizen.  It is the only way to put the brakes on the Obama/Pelosi/Reid fast-track to Socialism.  But what happens when the presumed victor in the Florida Republican primary, Marco Rubio, and Crist are both in the race against the Democrats' nominee . . . Rubio and Crist split the Republican vote and the Democrat wins - and wins a six-year term.

So Crist has decided that if he can't be Florida's next U.S. Senator, he would rather a Democrat win than his Republican opponent.  Politics over principle.  Self over country.

Show some class Governor Crist.  And show that you care what happens to the United States of America and its people.  There's still time to change your mind.  If you lose the primary, lose with honor and fade away.  Don't take the GOP down with you.

How's that "hope" and "change" working out for Macon, Missouri?

Barack Obama will be in Macon, Missouri, tomorrow.  It will be a photo-op where the president pretends to be listening to real people from the rural community in the northeastern part of the state.  Pretend, of course, is the key to that sentence.  Roy Blunt is actually listening to real people from Macon.  Here are a few of them:



It seems pretty clear that Obama's "hope" and "change" isn't helping Main Street as promised.  In fact, it is hurting.  Now isn't the time to send the liberals another vote in the U.S. Senate.

Get your cameras ready

24th State has the scoop . . . Robin Carnahan has postponed a fundraising dinner to appear with Barack Obama when he visits Missouri on Wednesday.

So, to anybody who plans to be in Macon for that appearance - get your cameras ready.  Carnahan is usually pretty shy when Obama's in the area.  Your snapshots could be rare and valuable.  They will certainly be valuable to Roy Blunt's campaign for the U.S. Senate.

If anybody gets any good ones showing Carnahan and Obama together, e-mail them to me at stlouisconservative@gmail.com.  I'll be happy to publicize them on this site.

A ban on red light cameras in Missouri . . . it is closer than you might think.

The Missouri Senate, by a 23-8 vote, passed an amendment to a transportation bill today banning red light traffic cameras anywhere in the state.  (Link to story here.)  The bill isn't final yet, though, and still faces legislative hurdles.  But, if the bill becomes law, it would be a victory for freedom, privacy, and the Constitution.

Kudos to Senator Jim Lembke (R-St. Louis) for sponsoring the amendment.  Keep up the fight!

From the "Gosh, couldn't see that one coming" Department

From CNNMoney.com:  "The recovery is picking up steam as employers boost payrolls, but economists think the government's stimulus package and jobs bill had little to do with the rebound, according to a survey released Monday."  

What a waste of $800 billion of our children and grandchildren's money.  Nobody in their right mind thought the so-called stimulus bill would bring back the economy but with that much money spent, you'd think that Barack Obama and the Democrats could have bought some popularity.

Sorry - no time for blogging . . .

but enjoy this chart showing Robin Carnahan's rubber-stamp of Barack Obama's version of change.

On which side of a dais should the American flag be placed? (Hint - Don't ask Robin Carnahan)

The correct answer is . . . to the right of the speaker in the "position of honor."  (Link to relevant U.S. Code section here.)

It seems that U.S. Senate candidate Robin Carnahan, shown above in a shot taken from a video that her campaign posted on the web, is unaware of this protocol.

Here's a small bit of advise, not given to help your candidacy, but to ensure proper respect for the flag . . . please make yourself aware of the rules for proper display of the flag.

Obama has no "litmus test" on abortion for Supreme Court nominations . . . yeah, right.

According to Barack Obama, he has no "litmus test" on the issue of abortion when it comes to choosing his nominee to replace John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.  (Link to story here.)

That would be great, if only it was true.  Obama's claim is simply another example of him saying what he thinks his audience wants to hear.  Instead of simply telling the truth - he won't nominate anyone who he believes would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade - Obama, instead, speaks in code saying that he will "choose a nominee who pays heed to women's rights [except, of course, unborn women] and privacy when interpreting the Constitution."  That code, of course, means the same thing.

Don't be fooled.  And don't think that Barack Obama has an open mind on abortion and the Supreme Court.