Friday - May 11, 2012
Seems Familiar
Funny how some things in the world remind you of other things.
France just elected this guy Hollande. A Socialist. He ran with a campaign slogan of “Change”. It turns out that what got him elected was a nearly monolithic block of votes from one minority group in the population. 93% of the Muslim voters in France pulled the lever in his favor.
Scary how history seems to repeat itself. Makes me wonder if Abdullah Ackbar is going to be their new Ministre l’Justice? Or if the guy will surround himself with an unvetted, self-appointed cabinet of césars?
According to a survey of 10,000 voters conducted by Opinionway for Le Figaro (not online), 93 percent of French Muslims voted for Francois Hollande in the second round of the French election, La Vie reports.
...
“It is the mark of a true rejection of Nicolas Sarkozy” said Julien Goarant, research director at Opinionway. Sarkozy’s attempts to woo Far-right voters and question the role of Islam (especially Halal meat) in France also did not go unnoticed.On the flip side, a poll for La Vie showed that 79 percent of practicing Catholics voted for Sarkozy, with Hollande cornering only 21 percent of their vote. But 70 percent of those considering themselves “without religion” went with Hollande, according to Le Figaro.
So the godless and the satanic put Hollande over the top. Hmm ... wonder what’s next for France? Doug Ross got a letter from le Resistance:
Hello to my American friends,
As you know, the Socialist François Hollande won the presidential elections in France, last Sunday.
It is a catastrophe for France.
Hollande was elected by the Muslims: a survey (of 10,000 Muslims) shows that 93% of the Muslims voted for him. As 2 million Muslims participated in this election, Hollande got 1,720,000 Muslim votes more than Sarkozy did: (0.93-0.07) x 2,000,000 = 1,720,000.
But at the end, in the whole population, he got only 1,139,316 votes more than Sarkozy.
So, without the Muslims’ votes, Sarkozy would have been re-elected. ... Criminality is already on the rise (1,700 cars were burnt in France for the first night). Muslims are screaming anti-French and anti-Jews watchwords in our streets. Veiled women, wearing the illegal burqa, are strolling in our streets.
And, as if this wasn’t enough, Hollande wants to give to all the foreigners the right to vote in our elections! France will face a very hard situation. We are heading for civil war in a few years.
That’s the last news from occupied France.
Maxime
And at the same time, some other folks aren’t going to stick around to see how bad it gets. Aliyah is the right of any Jewish person to emigrate to Israel.
Some 5,000 French Jews participated in an aliyah fair in Paris.
The fair, organized and run by the Jewish Agency, took place May 6, the same day as the French presidential elections where incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, the candidate favored by the country’s Jews, was defeated.
“I cannot recall having seen such a massive number of people interested in aliyah since the days when lines of people stretched out of the Israeli Embassy in Moscow,” said Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, who attended the fair. The annual event usually attracts about 2,000 visitors, according to the Jewish Agency.
The French Jewish community is the largest in Europe, with some 500,000 members, according to the Jewish Agency.
The fair comes on the heels of a March attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse in which four were killed: a rabbi and his two young sons and the daughter of the head of the school.
Where does that [Hollande’s victory] leave France? And, French Jews might add, where does that leave us, and where does that leave Israel? It is likely that a majority of the Jewish vote went to Sarkozy. Like most Israelis, most French Jews perceived him as a friendly figure with deep sympathies for Israel. Those who voted for him may now fear both the rise of Marine Le Pen - who intends to play a leading role in the opposition - on the far right, and the access to power of the Greens, who are nominally allied to Hollande and have radical anti-Israel views.
On the night of Hollande’s victory, TV broadcasts showed Arab-French youths displaying Palestinian, Algerian and Moroccan flags on Place de la Bastille, where his supporters had gathered to celebrate.
History may be repeating itself a bit. 2012 may not be another 2008. Pray that it is not another 1939.
Posted by Drew458
on 05/11/2012 at 06:58 AM
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Permalink • Monday - May 07, 2012
we were shackling ourselves to a corpse.
Something tells me the news is going to be a bit more interesting in the coming months.
Here’s Daniel Hannan’s take on things and I believe he is correct.
We thought we were joining a growing and prosperous market all those years ago when we signed up to Europe. In fact, we were shackling ourselves to a corpse.
I’m never certain how much interest there is among our readers in the happenings on this side of the world. But as Drew pointed out recently, it’s a global world economy and so yeah, France counts.
Britain is shackled to the corpse of Europe
By Daniel Hannan
Europe’s economic problems are about to get a whole lot worse. For the past three years, governments have tried, however ineffectually, to tackle the debt crisis. Now, though, in country after country, voters are demanding precisely the high-tax and high-spend policies which caused the recession in the first place.
Yesterday’s elections in France and Greece were the first of what will surely be many advances by the populist Left. In both places, candidates were elbowing each other aside during the campaign to demand more intervention and an end to cuts.
The new French President is an unapologetic Socialist of the kind we haven’t known in this country since Michael Foot. François Hollande wants wealth taxes, stimulus spending and a massive expansion of the state payroll.
He understands that this might lead to dismay in the international markets, but he has an answer to that: he will create a French credit ratings agency which, unlike the American ones, will tell him what he wants to hear.
Hollande summarises his programme as ‘growth, not austerity’. Gosh. Who knew it was so easy? Why has no one thought of that before?
The truth, of course, is that France has already pushed tax-and-spend to its limits. The government accounts for an extraordinary 56 per cent of the economy, and the French budget was last in balance in 1974. If state expenditure really had a stimulus effect, France would be the wealthiest country in Europe.
Yet every one of the ten presidential candidates there demanded even greater state intervention. Nicolas Sarkozy promised to make France ‘stronger than the markets’. Three of the other contenders were Trotskyists and one was a Green.
The National Front’s Marine Le Pen, while retaining her father’s anti-immigration platform, offered an economic programme well to the Left of Sarko’s and Hollande’s.
Not a single candidate argued for smaller government, freer competition or greater international trade. All ten offered more of the medicine that had sickened the patient.
We thought we were joining a growing and prosperous market all those years ago when we signed up to Europe. In fact, we were shackling ourselves to a corpse.
Posted by peiper
on 05/07/2012 at 09:07 AM
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Permalink • Wednesday - May 02, 2012
we always attack the americans
Red Ken Livingstone is trying to get his old job as London’s mayor back.
The red reference is not the color of his hair. For those surfing by and reading and who don’t know, he is very left and very cozy with the muzzies cos he wants their votes in tomorrow’s election. I won’t go into a song and dance about him here, this is just a bit of background so you’ll know his agenda and where he is politically. Which brings me to this column written by a former crony of his.
It’s late, I’ve been busy and never got to the second of our two papers today. Which is why I have to H/T my own wife who did read the Telegraph cover to cover and had me stop what I was doing while she read a section of the column to me. This may read funny to some and I suppose it is in its own way.
As Americans we’re pretty well used to this stuff. But this really does take a prize of some kind when it’s made so out in the open by a fellow who was there.
Take a look.
WE ALWAYS ATTACK THE AMERICANS.
Why this former crony can’t vote for Ken Livingstone
Working as part of Ken Livingstone’s mayoral machine taught me that he’s unfit to rule.
By Dan Hodges
The Labour Party has indulged Ken Livingstone for too long. Think of the tax hypocrisy, and the crocodile tears over his election video. Or his deeply unpleasant comments about the Jewish community, which would – had they been made by any other party member, or against any other minority – have resulted in immediate suspension and expulsion.
“Oh, it’s just Ken being Ken,” plead his acolytes. Well, I know exactly what Ken’s like when he’s “being Ken”, because I used to work for him. Technically, it was for Transport for London, as its director of communications. And the term “worked” is also a bit misleading, conjuring images of a fruitful and extended period of employment. I actually lasted eight months, before departing in somewhat unfortunate circumstances. But this is what I learnt, in the meantime, about how Ken Livingstone and his people operate.One of the charges levelled at his administration was cronyism. This was spot on: I was one of the cronies. I knew his staff after working for Labour, and received a call asking if I’d consider taking the TFL job.
As someone with virtually no experience of managing staff, handling major budgets or working in a high-profile, customer-facing public sector environment, I viewed myself as ideal for this kind of role. The same can’t be said for the bemused recruitment consultant who phoned me.
“I’ve been told by the mayor’s office to call you.” “Hello.” “You know the deadline’s closed?” “Yes.” “Have you actually applied?” “No.” “And you think you’ll get an interview?”
Just before being appointed, I was taken to see Ken. I was ushered into his mayoral office, with its wonderful view of Tower Bridge, where he told me a bizarre story about the Congolese independence ceremony, in which a member of the Belgian king’s staff had slapped one of the dignitaries. “In the Met, the senior officers get on well with me, but lower down they hate me,” he added. “It’s a bit like that in TFL.” And that was that. I had the job.A couple of weeks later, I was wondering why. We’d received yet another call about a foreign embassy not paying its parking fines. This time it was Russia. We were working up our usual nonsense about what a disgrace it was when a senior Ken aide rang to ask:
“What are you saying about the Russians?” I duly explained. “No. Attack the Americans.” “What?” “Attack the Americans.” “But we’re not being asked about the Americans.” “I don’t care. We always attack the Americans. They owe loads as well. Attack them. Nothing about the Russians.”
Posted by peiper
on 05/02/2012 at 10:21 AM
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Permalink • Tuesday - May 01, 2012
a socialist conservative party?
This Conservative Party is more socialist than any government I have seen in my lifetime
By Peter Mullen, PoliticsThe Rev Dr Peter Mullen is a priest of the Church of England and former Rector of St Michael, Cornhill and St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in the City of London. He has written for many publications including the Wall Street Journal.
The Tories will not recover from the catastrophic election defeat which faces them this week. They don’t deserve to – because they have spent the last two years alienating their core supporters. These supporters, of whom I used to be one, are very largely old-fashioned, traditional middle class voters. I suppose we can be described as “respectable” – before, as GK Chesterton said, that word became very unrespectable.
What we old Tories stand for is the defence of the realm against foreign enemies and the maintenance of law and order at home. In these matters the Tory party under Cameron has betrayed us. The armed forces have been run down, even to the extremity of a proposal that we might have to share an aircraft carrier with the French – thus prompting the question of what we do with our half of it when their half surrenders.
One person posting under comments took serious issue with the remark, very funny tho it was, about the French and surrender.
conchobar said:
I get very irritated when I see the French get slagged off
once again about their defeat and surrender in 1940. The author shows serious
ignorance regarding the strategic realities facing both Britain and France in
1940 – they faced an unequal battle from the moment that Germany and the Soviet
Union signed their non-aggression pact permitting Germany to throw its entire
military weight against the West as Stalin clearly intended (hoping for a long
war in the West which would enervate all his enemies simultaneously!). The
rapid collapse of the Allied armies spared Britain and France the terrible losses suffered in the First World War.
The subsequent horrendous losses suffered by the Soviet Union were largely
caused by Stalin’s own savagery, incompetence and meddling. In 1940 France did not
have the luxury of a 25 mile wide anti-tank ditch behind which it could wait until
the strategic balance of forces became more favourable. I acknowledge that the Vichy regime was far too
enthusiastic to cooperate with its victorious enemy but that is a separate
matter.
The Rev. Mullen continues:
The riots of last summer are all the evidence we need to prove that the government cannot maintain law and order.
Boris Johnson says the government should go in for “more tax cuts.” More in addition to what? There have been no significant tax cuts. In fact every week there are proposals for ever more inventive methods of extorting money from the hardworking and the thrifty. I actually find myself paying tax on my meagre pension. Tories used to believe in supporting industry, both private and corporate, and rewarding thrift. Not any longer. We are taxed to the hilt, and industry is hamstrung by more and more regulation. Does Dave really think that the way to electoral success is by the systematic impoverishment of the middle class?
So what does Cameron’s Tory party stand for? It stands for massive state spending on failed institutions such as the NHS and what is laughably called state education. It funds, out of the taxes of the hardworking and the thrifty, a profligate public sector and a bloated welfarist culture. While turning its back on traditional Tory values, the modern – Oh yes, how very modern! – Conservative party is obsessed with the promotion of outlandish minority and sectarian causes.
In other words, Dave’s Tory party is more socialist than any socialist government I have seen in my lifetime. Why should I, or any other conservative-minded person vote for it?
Of course the obvious answer and the one he’s looking for is, no one should.
And I can easily understand his feeling. BUT … as we all know and I am not defending Mr. Cameron, nor is it my place to do so, and as someone else has pointed out in reply to his column, this is a coalition govt. The cons couldn’t gather together enough votes to form a conservative govt. However, be that as it may, the PM nevertheless strikes me as not being totally committed and really is consv. lite in his heart of hearts. Or that’s how he impresses me anyway.
Here’s someone else’s take on it.
jacko2012 said:
I think he fails to realise that the government in place is not the Conservative party, its a compromise government made up of LibDem and Conservative.
The LibDems would be failing as any credible party if they were not able to hold the Conservatives to their compromise that they agreed when they formed the joint government shortly after the last election.
But I do accept that the conservatives are nothing like the party of past years. Everything these days in the UK has to be ‘middle of the road’ politics that never seems to get us anywhere. So all the policies are based around VERY CENTER left & right views.
The problem is that the mainstream media is backed up with powerful lobby groups, be that unions, investors etc. that always stop politics in the form of public opinion at least from straying away from centre and towards the left or right.
It is a shame, but I would say the vast majority of the UK public follow the opinions of the likes of BBC news, Sky news, tabloids etc. etc. and as these media groups look for ‘stories’ they give an un-balanced amount of voice to the minorities......and this is what is keeping the UK from making any real progress on politics. As everything has to be centred in order to keep everyone happy,......even though the media portray the unbalanced voice of the minority views.
So its no wonder that Cameron is now very centred in politics...the party has indeed moved a significant way to the left from what it was, but how can we get anything different these days? Vote for another centered party? Because the media don’t like the others.
Posted by peiper
on 05/01/2012 at 09:09 AM
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Permalink • Saturday - April 28, 2012
More Jus Than OJ
Oh Lord, here we go again. It seems that some folks think that Florida’s Senator Marco Rubio might be on the short list for Mitt Romney’s choice of Vice Presidental candidate. So naturally the LLL (Lunatic Loser Left) is trying to disqualify the guy, crowing that he isn’t eligible because he isn’t a Natural Born Citizen. Golly, didn’t we go through this crap TWICE with John McCain? And hasn’t the LLL and the MSM spent more than 3 years now lambasting those sicko Birthers on the Right for trying to make the same case against Obama, even when their claim may be far more valid? That’s why I dug up the “LLL” term, one that we used to use way back in the day when McAmnesty was running the first time around.
Ok, I live under a rock apparently. I was completely unaware that such a movement to discredit Marc Rubio existed. But GOP author, historian, and public speaker Michael Zak wasn’t, and he emailed me a link to his latest essay over at Human Events where he says Rubio is Natural Born, and urges the Republican party to get past such allegations and get behind this probable VP candidate. Unfortunately he uses the “Chester A. Arthur was president, so it’s Ok for Rubio too” approach, which any child can immediately see as the standard Mom pitch of “If all your friends jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge ...”. I’m not sure the debate over Arthur’s Natural Born-ness is over yet, and he was president over 125 years ago.
I have to disagree in part with Mr. Zak. We’ve exchanged several emails on the subject. Nice and cordial, as is our wont. No reason to be act like deranged Democrats. And reading his responses has caused me to look a bunch of things up, and to reform my opinion. That’s what healthy debate should be, right?
Marco Rubio’s parents came from Cuba. They did not become American Citizens until a few years after he was born. Marco was born in Miami. So, is he thus a Natural Born citizen, or even a citizen at all? That question does relate to the whole Birther thing, but more importantly it relates to the bigger Anchor Baby thing.
Zak feels that the language of the 14th Amendment grants instant citizenship to Marco on his birth. This is what lawyers call the Jus Soli viewpoint; being On The Soil is all that is necessary. [ as opposed to jus sanguinis, citizenship from the parents ] Being rather a Strict Constructionist myself, I countered that the 14th clearly does not say that at all, what with the “subject to jurisdiction” clause. I backed up that view with excerpts from the Congressional Record, which contain the explanation of the Senator who wrote the citizenship clause to the 14th Amendment when it was first being debated (lower half of center column) wherein he specifically says that this does not apply to foreigners who just happen to be here.
I could have linked to several Ann Coulter essays where she says pretty much the same thing:
The very author of the citizenship clause, Sen. Jacob Howard of Michigan, expressly said: “This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers.”
Zak’s response was that it didn’t matter so much what the Senator meant, the opinions of everyone else mattered more. This left me a bit non-plussed, sitting there with my head tilted to one side the way your dog looks at you when he can’t figure out what on earth you’re doing, making sounds like Scooby-Doo. This is the scene from Rodney Dangerfield’s movie Back to School where the professor flunks him for his paper on Kurt Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House, which he had hired Kurt Vonnegut to write, and tells him “whoever wrote this paper doesn’t know the first thing about Vonnegut.” Harrooo?
So I took a different approach. Rubio’s parents came from Cuba, and he was born here in 1971. I had heard his parents only became citizens 4 years after he was born. Cuba, 1971: it was natural to assume his folks were refugees.
Back in 1885 the Supreme Court reached a decision in the United States v. Wong Kim Ark case, which effectively (and rather retroactively) granted citizenship at birth to that person based on the 14th Amendment AND his parent’s status of Permanent Resident, their current employment, and their having a permanent place to live (domicile). Ah ha.
The Cuban Refugee Act of 1966 gave permanent resident status to all Cuban exiles. [ except later for Elián González ] So if his folks had escaped the Bearded One, then Wong Kim Ark ought to apply, right? Well yes, but then again, no. Rubio’s parents were not exiles in the normal sense. Even though Marco has spoken about the plight of the Cubanos in Florida, and shown solidarity with their movement, it turns out that - to his own surprise! - he isn’t really one of them. His parents came over here in 1956, before Castro came to power. So while he grew up with them, he wasn’t legally part of that group, even though he thought he was. But his parents were legal residents, permanent ones. Heck, his grandfather, an emigre, used to go back and forth between Cuba and Florida all the time, and only got in trouble for it once. Things were a bit different in those days! So the refugee angle doesn’t work.
But the permanent resident angle does. I’m pretty sure. Someone with better knowledge of the world of the Green Card please correct me, but I’m fairly sure that the child of permanent legal residents becomes an American citizen at birth. By pure jus soli and by only a small stretching of jus sanguinis, because of the domicile aspect of Wong Kim Ark. And that makes Marc Rubio a properly Natural Born citizen. And Michael Zak has arrived at the right conclusion by almost the right path. Good enough for me, and I hope he accepts my Wong refinement as right. [ ooh, I just missed that oh so tempting little landmine!! 
]
On the other hand, if I am wrong about the children born here of legal residents, then Marco Rubio should be passed by for the VP slot. Find someone else. We had enough of this mess with the fallacy of the John McCain situation, twice. And - justified or not, and I lean to the justified side - the Birther situation with Obama has been 100 times as divisive. I’d really like to get past that with our next crop of leaders. What would really help would be a clear statement from the Supremes on just who is and who ain’t Natural Born. The 14th Amendment has already suffered more than any other Amendment, being nearly gutted by Slaughter House Cases amongst others. While I would dearly love to see it revert - at least in this citizenship clause aspect - to it’s original intent, I’d be happy with a clear interpretation of any kind at this point from them there black robes. And failing that, I’d want to see the people running for the nation’s highest offices to be 3rd, 4th, or greater generation Americans, just so we don’t have to fall down in this puddle every 4 years. I think we can all agree on that one. Wet shoes are such a bother. [ ooh, I sidestepped another one!! ]
Posted by Drew458
on 04/28/2012 at 12:03 PM
Filed Under: • Illegal-Aliens and Immigration • Politics • Republicans •
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Permalink • Monday - April 23, 2012
the very model of a modern politician
Couldn’t resist the this story of two days cause it’s so good.
Borrowed from the Scottish Sun.
Enjoy.
Police are dummy twits as they nick mannequin in vote fraud probe
ARRESTED: the agent who put a dummy up for council election
“The dummy is innocent in all this. The person who put her up to it is to blame.”
Outrage erupted in Aberdeen yesterday as it emerged the self-styled “voice of the silent majority” had become a “political prisoner”.
Helena — famously banned from standing in the local elections — was seized by cops probing claims of electoral fraud by her agent Renee Slater.
Last night, as the mannequin spent her first night in custody, The Scottish Sun backed a campaign to free her.
And defiant shopkeeper Renee, 63, vowed Helena will not give in, adding: “All the police have done is transform her into a martyr.
“The support has been stunning. People are furious at how they’re treating someone as humble as Helena. She never says a word out of place.”
Cops took Helena and campaign agent Renee, both of Aberdeen, in for questioning on Thursday.
Renee was grilled for six hours after having pictures, fingerprints and DNA samples taken.
Her plastic pal has been detained INDEFINITELY at Grampian Police HQ. But onlookers said the dummy showed no signs of emotion as she was bundled into the back of a cop car — thankfully without handcuffs.
It now appears she’ll be held behind bars until the council elections are over to avoid her having any influence over the vote.
Last night North-east Tory MSP Alex Johnstone said: “The police have got this seriously wrong.
Aberdeen councillor Willie Young — who is standing in the election — said: “I think politicians can sometimes take themselves too seriously.
“This was a bit of fun and some people have reacted more strongly than they should have.
“If we can’t see the humour in someone putting a dummy up for election then it says more about us than it does about anyone else.”
Police turned up out of the blue at Renee’s home on Thursday morning to haul her in for questioning, before she was charged under the Representation of the People Act 1983. But her worst fears were realised after she got home — when another cop car turned up to seize Helena.
Renee said: “I have no idea how she’s going to cope in a jail cell. It’s going to be difficult for her.
“I just hope the police treat her with the dignity she deserves. They were a bit rough with her when they put her into the car.”
Helena was put forward as a candidate in the elections by Renee.
But she spent just 24 hours on the ballot for the Ashley, Hazlehead and Queens Cross ward before unamused officials discovered she was a mannequin.
The dummy was wiped off the list and a police probe was launched into claims of electoral fraud. Renee insisted she had no word from the authorities until she was arrested.
She’s been told she will appear in court in mid-May — and has demanded Helena be in the dock next to her. It’s unlikely the mannquin will be freed before the hearing — meaning she won’t be around for the elections on May 3.
Distraught Renee said: “Helena doesn’t deserve this. She’s done nothing wrong.
Posted by peiper
on 04/23/2012 at 07:40 AM
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Permalink • Only In France
We Americans always complain that our two party system seems too limiting. In France they have political parties by the bushel; so many in fact that they have to run a two step election. The winners of the first round face off against each other in the second round to see who wins. As I understand it, there were 10 candidates running for president in this first round of elections. 5 of them didn’t pull down enough votes to even merit mention in the press, but the vote split among the top 5 candidates has lead to a seeming contradiction.
The top players and their vote percentages, politically left to right:
practically a bomb throwing commie: Jean-Luc Melenchon, 11 %
the Socialist, even by French standards: Francois Hollande, 28 %
in the middle of the middle: Francois Bayrou, 9 %
in the middle, slightly right: current President Nicolas Sarkozy, 26.9 %
the “far right extremist”: Marine Le Pen, 19 %
The surprise result was that Ms. Le Pen got as many votes as she did, which really took votes away from Sarkozy. The result is that for the first time in ages - if ever - a sitting president in France has not triumphed in the first round sweeps. The race is now between Hollande, who is campaigning on the (does this sound familiar?) Hope and Change slogan le changement c’est maintenant (now is the time for change ... the change is now), and Sarkozy, who has been in charge while France has suffered a major economic downturn. And people think he’s kind of a snob. Imagine that, the fwench think this guy’s a snob. Mon dieu!
France is the 5th largest economy in the world, so yeah, it matters.
It was the first time a sitting president seeking re-election had been beaten into second place in the first round. But Sarkozy backers at his campaign headquarters chanted “We are going to win”, interpreting Le Pen’s score as more significant than Hollande’s narrow lead over the incumbent.
Before voting, opinion polls had suggested a comfortable win for the Socialist in the second round.
Le Pen, who took over the anti-immigration National Front in 2011, wants jobs reserved for French nationals at a time when jobless claims are at a 12-year high. She also wants France to abandon the euro currency and restore monetary policy to Paris.
“This first round is the start of a vast gathering of right-wing patriots,” she told cheering supporters at her campaign headquarters, without endorsing either of the finalists.
“Nothing will ever be the same again.”
Le Pen’s unexpectedly high score reflected a surge in anti-establishment populist parties in many euro zone countries from the Netherlands to Greece as austerity and the debt crisis bite.
Voter surveys show about half of Le Pen’s supporters would back Sarkozy in a second round and perhaps one fifth would vote for Hollande, making her a potential kingmaker in the runoff.
...
Sarkozy, 57, has painted himself as the safest pair of hands to lead France and the euro zone in turbulent times, but Sunday’s vote appeared to be a strong rejection of his flashy style as well as his economic record.If Hollande wins on May 6, joining a small minority of left-wing governments in Europe, he has promised to lead a push for a bigger focus on growth in the euro zone, mainly by adding pro-growth clauses to a European budget discipline treaty.
The prospect of a renegotiation of the pact is causing some concern in financial markets, as is Hollande’s focus on tax rises over austerity at a time when sluggish growth is threatening France’s ability to meet deficit-cutting goals.
...
France’s sickly growth, along with its stubbornly high unemployment, are major factors hampering Sarkozy’s battle to win a second term, despite an energetic campaign against the blander but more popular Hollande.Melenchon, whose clench-fisted call for an anti-capitalist revolution made him the most colorful figure on the campaign trail, called on left-wing voters to fight back and make sure Sarkozy is ousted next month.
“I call on you to come out on May 6 and beat Sarkozy without asking for anything in exchange. I urge you: don’t drag your heels, mobilize as though it were me you were sending to victory in the presidential election,” he said.
Firebrand leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon vowed to break up the Franco-German “Merkozy” leadership duo with conservative German Chancellor Angela Merkel which he said had imposed austerity on the people of Europe.
He also said France should emulate Latin America’s left-wing revolutions and nationalize oil company Total, as Argentina said this week it would do with its main energy firm.
”The revolutions in Latin America are a source of inspiration for us,” he told foreign media at his headquarters in a disused shoe factory on the eastern edge of Paris.
Melenchon said his party’s priority was to get Sarkozy out of power and then pull an Hollande government to the left.
“I appeal to you, left-wing comrades who are listening and hesitating, come and help us not just overtake the extreme-right but raise the demands of the left,” he told a campaign rally on Thursday. Clenching his fists, he joined hands with Communist leaders to sing the socialist anthem the Internationale.
Oh brother. Despite everything that the US did for France from WWII through the Cold War, despite all the revelations that have come out of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union about just how much it sucked, the Communists have always found a lot of sympathetic ears in France. I guess they took that “fraternité” aspect of their national motto a little too seriously?
So now what? The deep red commies will join up with the pale red socialists and push for the leftist Hollande, and probably get a third to half of the wobbly centrists. Sarkozy is left with no other choice than to try to hang onto the centrists while amping us his Conservative rhetoric. He has to shift his message more to the right, more against pisslam, more against unchecked open immigration, more towards fiscal restraint, more towards pumping up the economy and pushing french products for the world to buy.
President Nicolas Sarkozy hammered home pledges to get tough on immigration and security on Monday as he sought to win over record numbers of far-right voters and whittle down Socialist Francois Hollande’s narrow first-round election lead.
...
After five years of leading the world’s fifth economy, a nuclear power and activist U.N. Security Council member, Sarkozy could go the way of 10 other euro zone leaders swept from office since the start of the crisis in late 2009.
...
“Today, I return to the campaign trail,” Sarkozy said in a statement. “I will continue to uphold our values and commitments: respect for our borders, the fight against factories moving abroad, controlling immigration, the security of our families.”
... and from stage left ...
Opinion polls on Sunday said 57-year-old Hollande, who has vowed to change the direction of Europe if elected by tempering austerity measures with greater social justice, would likely win the decider with between 53 and 56 percent of the vote.
What will happen? Who knows? It’s France, so anything is possible. Meanwhile, the far-right is making a Tea Party move, trying to gain seats in Parliament.
In setting a record score for the far right in Sunday’s French presidential election, Marine Le Pen has set the stage for her National Front to try and break into parliament at a legislative election in June.
...
Doing better than her father’s 2002 score now gives Le Pen a solid base to move forward on her core targets - June’s parliamentary election and, in the longer-term, the 2017 presidential race.Describing herself as the candidate of “popular revolt”, she has said her focus this year is to destroy Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party, the latest political heir of the postwar Gaullist tradition, and create a new, broad movement of the right.
There are already signs of in-fighting in the decade-old UMP, which like predecessors in France’s ever-shifting party system, could fall apart if he loses the presidency. A rightist faction might break the Gaullist taboo on electoral alliances with Le Pen if UMP lawmakers feel their seats are threatened.
“What we can see tonight is the great cacophony between the left and right. At the legislative elections, the French will have a definitive choice of a new right,” said Louis Aliot, National Front vice-president and Le Pen’s partner.
The party believes it can win seats in parliament seats for the first time since 1986, when a brief experiment with proportional representation gave it 35 seats. Since the return of a two-round system of constituency voting, the National Front has so far failed to secure a majority in any district.
Posted by Drew458
on 04/23/2012 at 06:46 AM
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Permalink • Thursday - April 19, 2012
I Guess It’s Race Day After All
Two good reads if you can spare 20 minutes or so.
Bruce Walker at American Thinker looks at the history of Race, Republicans, and Democrats, but stops his history about when Nixon left the building.
What caused the change in the attitude of blacks towards the two political parties was not any real perception of Goldwater as a bigot, which he emphatically was not, but rather upon the perceived benefit to blacks of socialism and of statist intervention in the private affairs of Americans.
Socialism promises those who are at the bottom of society greater affluence by the redistribution of wealth. Historically, that noxious doctrine has had very little appeal in America because groups have entered America destitute and, through dint of hard work, have risen to the heights of society within a generation or two.
GOP historian, speaker, and author Michael Zak points out a big handful of detail errors in the comments there at AT ... and the comments there are worth reading ... and then goes on to pen his own essay today at Human Events, concerning the very first Civil Rights Act:
Ominously, the assassination of the Great Emancipator [Lincoln] had left the presidency to his Democrat vice president, Andrew Johnson. Senator Lyman Trumbull (R-IL), co-author of the 13th Amendment banning slavery, also wrote the 1866 Civil Rights Act. Republican support was nearly unanimous, while Democrats were unanimously opposed. This would be the first time Congress overrode a presidential veto of a significant bill.
The law conferred U.S. citizenship on all African-Americans, according them “full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens.” Despite Democrat objections, Republicans made sure African-Americans had the right to own property, engage in business, sign contracts and file lawsuits.
Andrew Johnson refused to enforce this law in the southern states, so it had little effect there. However, many racially discriminatory laws in the North were repealed or struck down as a result.
Yet in a big picture way, Walker’s essay, Zak’s writings, and Coulter’s paragraphs are all tied together. They all do a Breitbart and fight the meme, the oldest one, that the GOP is against black people. Which is a huge crock, and always has been. Since 1854.
Posted by Drew458
on 04/19/2012 at 02:32 PM
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Permalink • Tuesday - April 10, 2012
Anybody But Obama
Meh, you knew this was going to happen sooner or later. And it happened just a few minutes ago. The really rich guy the media has been pushing on us for months will be Republican candidate. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul don’t stand a snowball’s chance.
Better find some things to like about Mittens. He’s all we’ve got.
GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Tuesday he is suspending his campaign.
He made the announcement at the Gettysburg Hotel in Gettysburg, Pa., talking about his young daughter’s illness and reflecting on the campaign.
His 3-year-old daughter Bella was taken to a Virginia hospital Friday with pneumonia. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, left the campaign trail until this afternoon. The child has a life-threatening genetic disorder known as Trisomy 18.
“She’s a fighter,” said Santorum, standing beside his wife and children. “She’s doing exceptionally well.”
Santorum also faces an uphill battle against front-runner Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Five states, including Santorum’s home state of Pennsylvania, hold primaries April 24.
Romney is spending $2.9 million in TV ads in Pennsylvania. Romney is far ahead of Santorum in the race for delegates to the Republican National Convention and is the party’s likely nominee.
Romney said after Santorum concluded his speech at about 2:45 p.m: “Senator Santorum is an able and worthy competitor, and I congratulate him on the campaign he ran. He has proven himself to be an important voice in our party and in the nation. We both recognize that what is most important is putting the failures of the last three years behind us and setting America back on the path to prosperity.”
Posted by Drew458
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Permalink • Sunday - March 25, 2012
The Thunder From Down Under
hey hey hey, goodbye
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh resigns after losing at least 10 of her cabinet members. NLP’s Campbell Newman sweeps to victory.
The Liberal National Party’s Campbell Newman has won the key Brisbane seat of Ashgrove and will lead a government with a massive majority in the new Queensland Parliament.
Late on Saturday night, as counting continued, it appeared that the LNP will have 74 or 75 members in the 89-seat parliament, with Labor winning 11 seats or fewer.
A string of Bligh Government ministers have lost their seats in the electoral bloodbath, including Deputy Premier Andrew Fraser who had been regarded as a possible Labor leadership successor.
At 8.46pm, claiming victory, an emotional Mr Newman thanked “all Queenslanders” for “voting for change”. Then he acknowledged the people of Ashgrove.
“We will keep our promises and we will not let you down. You have spoken decisively and emphatically and delivered a strong government so we can deliver for you and get this great state back on track,” Mr Newman said, flanked by his family.
...
“We don’t underestimate the task ahead. It will be hard, it will be long, but we will get on with the job. The job starts tomorrow morning.”
...
Labor appeared to be reduced to a netball team of seven, a far cry from the cricket team most political commentators had predicted.The LNP looked like inflicting a staggering 16 per cent swing against Labor. Ms Bligh had been in the fight of her political life in her own South Brisbane seat, with little-known LNP candidate Clem Grehan leading for most of the night. But Ms Bligh snuck ahead with about a quarter of the count remaining.
A smiling, surprisingly upbeat Ms Bligh said Queensland voters had made their choice clear.
“It’s absolutely clear tonight that Queenslanders have spoken with the strongest possible voice and they have voted for a change of government,” she said. “I congratulate the Liberal National Party on what has been a historic victory.”
15 hours of liveblogging coverage here:
QUEENSLANDERS have gone to the polls and driven the Labor Party from government in an historic and brutal Election Day. See how it unfolded right here.
10PM: AND THAT’S A WRAP: March 24, 2012, will be remembered as the day the electorate delivered a decisive, devastating blow to an incumbent Labor government. We hope you have enjoyed our minute-by-minute coverage.
Queensland is Australia’s second largest and third most populous state, with about 4.6 million people, roughly 20% of the total population. This was a unicameral election, which means the whole darn government was up for grabs. The resultant sweep was only the 6th time since 1915 that Australians gave a sitting government the old heave-ho.
The Liberal National Party (LNP) is a political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed on 26 July 2008 by the merger of the Queensland divisions of the centre-right Liberal and National parties.
The party is considered to be on the centre-right of Queensland politics. In Australia, the term Liberalism refers to centre-right economic liberalism, rather than centre-left social liberalism as in other English-speaking countries. Party ideology has therefore been referred to as liberalism, distinct from its meaning in other English-speaking countries, but also as conservatism, which features strongly in party ideology.
The party won government for the first time at the 2012 state election, winning 78 out of 89 seats for a substantial majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.
As Queensland goes, so goes Australia? Perhaps so, we’ll have to wait and see. I can’t say that I even begin to slightly understand Australian politics, but this seems like a win for freedom and a big smack in the head for the nanny-staters. And I’m proud of the Aussies for keeping close to the classic definition of liberalism, versus the corrupted version here and in Europe where it is just another term for communism.
Labor’s Queensland election thrashing was so bad that if the state’s voters took similar aim in a federal poll, all the party’s Queensland MPs, including Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan, would lose their seats.
Labor heavyweights and federal MPs from the sunshine state say action is needed to ensure the weekend’s bloodbath is not mimicked at a federal election due next year.
Former premier Peter Beattie said the party was in crisis.
...
Ms Bligh said there was a message for Labor, generally.“We simply can’t walk away from the fact that we’ve seen results similar to this in other states of Australia - it’s tough times for Labor,” she said.
There are fears for Mr Swan’s prospects at the federal election, with state electorates in his seat recording huge swings against Labor.
Statewide, there was a swing of about 16 per cent against Labor. If a move of that size occurred at a federal election, every Labor MP in Queensland would be ousted, including Mr Swan and former prime minister Kevin Rudd.
UPDATE: Labor Party may lose official status. Seriously, they are that far gone. I gather that in Australia, if you can’t make a good enough showing, you don’t even get office space and have to work from home.
For non-Australians, ... in 2007 all the States and the Federal Government were Labor. Currently Liberal (meaning conservative) governments have won NSW, WA, and Vic and now look like taking a landslide in Queensland. These are the four largest states. [out of 6]
… This would mean Labor falling short of official party status and relying on the incoming LNP government to grant it party offices, staff and resources. The Queensland Greens failed to win a seat and suffered a fall in support.
Greens given the boot, socialists on the verge of extinction ... guess that Carbon Tax thing wasn’t too popular after all.
Posted by Drew458
on 03/25/2012 at 08:49 AM
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Permalink • Wednesday - March 07, 2012
the Loonie and the Long Shot
It’s not just Ricky vs. Mittens in the primaries ...
Dennis Kucinich loses primary bid. Bye bye whacko!
Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio lost his bid for re-election in the state’s Democratic primary Tuesday night to fellow longtime House Democrat Marcy Kaptur, CNN projects.
The two veteran lawmakers were drawn into the same district this cycle after a heated redistricting battle that followed the loss of two Congressional seats in the state.
Kaptur, now in her 15th term, is the longest serving woman in the House of Representatives. Kucinich’s 10th congressional district was eliminated and merged with Kaptur’s 9th district.
...
Kucinich, an eight-term congressman, had considered running in a different district - even one outside of Ohio state lines - but decided in September to stay put in the northern edge of the state.
You have to wonder how many Ohioans would have voted for him if he’d run in a district outside his own state. Nutcase.
‘Joe The Plumber’ wins Ohio primary
Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber,” won Tuesday’s Republican primary in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, according to unofficial vote results from the Ohio Secretary of State.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Wurzelbacher bested opponent Steven Kraus to become the GOP nominee and will face Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest serving woman in the House of Representatives, in the fall.
Wurzelbacher gained fame when discussing marginal tax rates and wealth redistribution with then-candidate Barack Obama in his neighbor’s driveway in 2008. And he has parlayed that encounter into a high media profile — a blue-collar everyman with Tea Party cred.
...
Wurzelbacher speaks more like a third way centrist than a Tea Party tribune. His agenda: tax reform, cutting regulation. “I believe we’re completely out of balance. There’s got to be a center here.” He’s opposed to green initiatives. He thinks the auto bailouts were an example of government overreach. “Most of my neighbors work at Jeep and GM, but most of them disagreed with the bailout,” he says. Neither party has been significantly aggressive on simplifying the tax code. He’d like to audit the Federal Reserve and go through the budget line by line. “They want to scare people and talk about cutting Social Security and Medicare,” he says. “Nobody talks about going through the budget line by line.”
...
Toledo has traditionally been Democratic turf. The area has long been represented by Marcy Kaptur, a labor-friendly Democrat known for bringing projects home to the region.
Really? Sounds very Tea Party to me.
This should be an interesting race to watch. The union-happy Princess of Pork vs. a regular guy with years of experience cleaning out the crap. Keep an eye-o on Ohio.
Posted by Drew458
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Permalink • Sunday - February 05, 2012
Pimping for Paul – Nevada brothels back the libertarian contender
Snow last night and almost gone this morning. Cold but no freeze so far. Lucky in this part of the country.
I found this in a paper yesterday and thought it was funny. In a way. Just not certain what way but hey, it is interesting. When was the last time a candidate had the backing of this potentially large group. lol. Sorry guys but it is amusing. I just haven’t figured out exactly why that’s so. One does find if one looks, some interesting things in liberal papers. Not always the maddening stuff. Anyway, I forgive myself for this on the grounds that at least it isn’t The Guardian. Which for Americans reading here I should explain. Guardian .... Karl Marx .... Trotsky ..... the same family by blood ties.
Pimping for Paul – Nevada brothels back the libertarian contenderIn a state built on rugged individualism, Ron Paul is a major Republican player
Forget Newt Gingrich’s “Winning our Future” or Mitt Romney’s “Believe in America”. The snappiest campaign slogan so far this Republican election season greets visitors who step across the threshold of an establishment called the Moonlite Bunny Ranch a few miles outside Carson City, Nevada.
There, in a dimly-lit world of red satin and inexpensive perfume, a cigar-chomping entrepreneur with a bald head and a smile as wide as the desert sky politely informs visitors that he and his employees intend to spend the coming months: “Pimpin’ for Paul”.
The entrepreneur is Dennis Hof, a reality TV star who achieved fame in Cathouse, an HBO fly-on-the-wall series which for the past decade has followed proceedings at the Bunny Ranch, one of five legal brothels that he owns in Nevada. The Paul he is pimping for is of course Ron Paul, the ultra-libertarian Congressman from Texas currently seeking the Republican nomination.
In Nevada, which holds caucuses this morning, Mr Paul is a major player. And Mr Hof is one of his best-known donors and most prolific advocates. Sitting at his desk, with a noisy Pomeranian called Gucci at his feet and a blonde who calls him “Daddy” rubbing moisturising lotion into his head, Mr Hof noted that he’d recently endorsed the Congressman on all three of America’s major news networks: MSNBC, Fox News and CNN.
“Ron Paul fits perfectly with the ethos of the Bunny Ranch,” he said. “He doesn’t want to tell you how to live, who to sleep with, and what to do. He might not approve of prostitution, but he believes individual states have the right to choose whether to accept it. That makes him my kind of guy.”
Mr Hof argues, with some justification, that legalisation prevents abuse and disease within the sex industry. He also says it provides valuable revenue to communities. All 500 of the prostitutes at the Bunny Ranch declare their earnings to the taxman. The licence fee provides $500,000 a year to the local authority. “It’s legal. It’s sex for sale, and it works,” he says. “It eliminates the problems with prostitution. And we put millions and millions of dollars back into society.”
Inside the Bunny Ranch’s front door, in the reception area is a glass Perspex box, stuffed with banknotes destined for Mr Paul’s coffers. Next to it is a pile of “Ron Paul 2012” leaflets. In the car park sit limousines which will provide free lifts to the caucus this morning.
Members of Mr Hof’s harem work as independent contractors, setting their own fees and paying the house a 50 per cent commission. Several are currently putting all of the tips they receive from clients into the Perspex kitty.
“He is the only candidate who supports our right to do what we want with our bodies in our own lives,” said Cami Parker, a Hustler magazine centrefold. She also likes Mr Paul’s non-interventionist foreign policy platform. “We should bring our troops home. I’m about making love, not war.”
Other colleagues offered eloquent endorsements of Mr Paul’s policy. The venue’s general manager, who gave her name as “Madam Suzette,” waxed lyrical about his support for the rights of states over the federal government: “because that’s what keeps us in business”.
Jayla Conrad, 21, said she was backing Paul as “an animal lover”. He is the only Republican candidate to oppose a recent federal law legalising the slaughter of horses for human consumption.
Beyond the pink brothel walls, the existence of “Pimpin’ for Paul” highlights an important factor playing into today’s caucus: Ron Paul’s libertarian platform speaks directly to the ethos of Nevada, a quirky desert state which from the days of the Gold Rush was built on rugged individualism. Nevada has no income tax, no state income tax, and no laws to prevent you losing your shirt at the casino, while smoking. It’s the only state in the US where brothels are legal. Ron Paul came second here in 2008, picking up 14 per cent of the vote to Mitt Romney’s 51 per cent, and has been doggedly courting local voters ever since. He launched his economic policy in Nevada several months ago, and was in Las Vegas this week speaking to the large Latino community.
Supporters, who note that Mr Paul tends to over-perform in caucuses admit they face an uphill struggle to achieve an upset victory: Mr Romney enjoys huge support from Nevada’s Mormon community, who are expected to make up around 30 per cent of voters and last time backed him by a majority of more than nine to one.
But after a string of disappointing performances, including a hammering in Florida this week, Nevada provides Ron Paul with a valuable chance to reinsert himself into the conversation.
Posted by peiper
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Permalink • Wednesday - February 01, 2012
myths about republicans and can we actually win come november.
I happen to catch Janet Daley on the radio last night for the first time. Hope it won’t the last cos she can wipe the floor with any lib. they put against her.
Oh how I wish she could take the time to answer each of her critics on this article. Of course, there may an honest point or two made by those who oppose her comments here. I’m not posting the comments cos while interesting, they are also anger inducing. So you read them if you want to, at the link.
Three myths about the Republican primary contestExplaining the more arcane procedures of the American presidential primary system to my British friends is difficult enough. The distinction between a caucus and a primary ballot, and the various forms of the latter – those that are open to everyone in the state, as opposed to those that are restricted to registered voters of a particular party; those that are winner-takes-all as opposed to those in which the delegates are distributed in proportion to the votes won, etc - can take up half a lunch time by itself. But once these technical matters have been mastered, there are more serious political misconceptions that must be dispelled. So in the interests of international understanding, let me take on three prevailing confusions about the current Republican primary season.
Myth 1:
There is so much acrimony and bile being expended between the candidates that irrevocable harm is likely to be done to all of them in the eyes of the electorate. The mudslinging – all the negative ads and personal malice – will leave a permanently unsavoury impression of the party, whoever wins in the end.
Refutation: no, it won’t. Primary contests are always bloody and bitter. In 2008, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton gouged lumps out of one another for months. She accused him of being hopelessly callow and inexperienced – and worse, her husband unforgivably dismissed Obama’s campaign as being similar to Jesse Jackson’s ie just another futile attempt from an over-ambitious black politician to leapfrog over the legitimate candidate. Obama in turn, implied that Mrs Clinton had no legitimate political credentials at all: that she seemed to think that having lived in the White House as a First Lady was sufficient qualification to be president. All of this nastiness was forgotten once Obama got the nomination whereupon the entire Democratic machine got behind him and propelled him to victory. What the melodramatic vitriol had served to do was make the Democrats seem like the centre of the political universe, providing a setting in which its rising star could establish a national reputation.Myth 2:
The longer this ugly race goes on, the worse it will be for the Republicans who will end up looking like vindictive children, and damage each other so much that they will be crippled when it comes to the actual election. It would be better if everybody except the obvious front-runner pulled out now.
Refutation: The longer the race goes on, the more the mettle and personal courage of the candidates will be tested. There is always something of the OK Corral shoot-out in American elections: behaving like a gentleman is fine for a president once he is in office but a candidate needs to be able to remain standing in a long and bruising fight to prove his fitness. And, as I noted above, the longer the national drama is centred on the Republicans, the longer voters will pay attention to them. As soon as the nomination is seen to be a done deal, the public gaze will move away.
Myth 3:
Gingrich is now a dead duck. Defeat in Florida has finished him.
Refutation: This is likely to be true but not necessarily so. In 2008, Hillary’s campaign came back from the dead repeatedly. She was written off – only to recover again – so frequently that it became the received wisdom that Obama had failed “to seal the deal” until virtually the last moment. The outcome which seems in retrospect to have been inevitable was very much touch-and-go during the primaries – and the dramatic suspense of that uncertainty almost certainly helped the Democrats in the presidential election.
Moral of the story? American politics is very, very different from our own. US voters are not so repulsed by “unpleasantness” as the British, and they really, really do not like being second-guessed by the media.
Hope I don’t P.O. my friends here but .........
I am not feeling very confident about the election. People who voted for Obama and are now unhappy, are not necessarily Republican friendly. But they might vote for him again if only because of ill feelings about our side. And to be frank, while I like Gingrich, and I think he’s far and away smarter then any of his opponents, I don’t think he can win. And that leaves who as a choice?
When I was in Ca. a few months ago, I watched one of the debates and was thoroughly put off by the bad behavior of Santorum. If some didn’t spot it, and I was surprised hardly anything was made of it, then some just weren’t listening and watching as closely as they might have.
I’m not crazy about Mitt either and I heard him singing on the radio last night. Good grief how embarrassing. I thought he appeared desperate. Some may not see it that way. I don’t feel too good about this. The prospect of another term for Obama is genuinely a very scary thought. So I suppose I’ll either have to pass on voting, which is not an option, or vote for whoever wins the Republican nomination, which is the only option open to me that I can see. And it’s far too late to run for office myself and anyway, even I wouldn’t vote for me. Depressing thought here. We may not have anyone on our side who will be able to defeat Obama.
I am not feeling very well at that thought. In fact, I am increasingly sick over it.
Posted by peiper
on 02/01/2012 at 11:08 AM
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Permalink • Monday - January 23, 2012
Time For A Purge
Gird your loins for 2012, conservatives. A voter fraud case in upstate New York should serve as a reminder of what crooked politicians are willing to try during an election year.
The election fraud in Troy grows ever larger…
Via the Times Union:
A grand jury investigating ballot fraud in a 2009 primary indicted City Councilman Gary Galuski. He is the eighth person to face charges in connection with the probe.
Galuski was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Rensselaer County Court by Greene County Court Judge George J. Pulver. Galuski pleaded not guilty.
Galuski was charged with four counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
The case centers around fraudulent attempts to get Democrat candidates on the ballot for the Working Families Party. The problem with the WFP? Roger Stone reports:
The WFP has been proven to be nothing more than a front for ACORN and its left-ward agenda.
WFP is used by ACORN as a sledge hammer to force Democrats to toe the Union line. WFP was founded by key members of ACORN, and shares many of its political strategies. The WFP has listed ACORN as an affiliate program directly on their Web site.
For those thinking ACORN has disbanded in New York, think again. They simply had a name change to New York Communities for Change.
As the city of Troy, NY, awaits jury selection in the first trial involving two Democrats and their alleged roles in a “massive” voter fraud scheme, new details have emerged from the investigation. Details involving two other veteran political operatives that have already pleaded guilty.
According to a recent Fox News report, Anthony Renna, a Democrat guilty of second-degree forgery, and Anthony DeFiglio, a Democrat guilty of first-degree falsifying business records, are trying to drag all local politicians, regardless of party affiliation, down with the ship. Thus far, eight people have been charged in connection with the ballot fraud investigation, four of which have pleaded guilty.
Reports emerging from the investigation indicate that the Democrats are trying to implicate Republicans of the same conduct they have been charged with. According to the state police, Renna and DeFiglio both claimed that, ”voter fraud is an accepted way of winning elections, and faking absentee ballots was commonplace.”
Renna explained that the process of handing in forged ballots and fake votes ensures that “ballots are voted correctly.” He adds, “‘Voted correctly’ is a term used for a forged application or ballot.”
DeFiglio added that such fraud is actually “an ongoing scheme and it occurs on both sides of the aisle. What appears as a huge conspiracy to nonpolitical persons is really a normal political tactic.”
Local Republicans, presumably the party being referred to on the other side of the aisle, are vehemently denying that ballot fraud was,or is, a normal political tactic.
James Gordon, Chairman of the Troy Republican Committee said, having been a part of the election process for a number of years that he has, “never heard or seen anything resembling these actions.”
...
With eight Democrats facing charges in the investigation, Gordon sums up the situation by saying, ”Democrats wanted to win and it appears at any cost.”“This was greed, ignorance, lack of ethics, and laziness. Bad people doing bad things.”
Every voter roll in the country needs to be purged and brought up to date, cross referenced to the graves registration folks, Social Security, the Post Office, et cetera. No motor voters, no absentee ballots without a certifying witness. Photographic voter IDs when you vote. And significant fines laid on those who try to vote more than once, who try to vote in someone else’s name, and so on. If you want an honest government the very first step is to make sure they are elected honestly. Not a single citizen should tolerate any of this crap, ever. Not even once. And for the officials involved in collecting and counting the votes? Jail time if they rig it or mess it up. They’ve been given a sacred public trust, and sullying that ought to be a stoning offense.
We The People are the law, and the law is there for us. We are not there for the law. Never forget.
“It shakes the confidence of the voters when they see something like this happened,” said former Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian, who recently left office and is now a Republican member of the county legislature. “We want to encourage people to get out and vote and express their democracy. But if they see their right to vote being taken away by others, they are going to be hesitant and think that their vote isn’t worth anything,”
Special Prosecutor Trey Smith obtained indictments against a slew of public officials, including former City Council President Clem Campana, City Clerk William McInerney, and two city councilmen besides LoPorto, John Brown and Gary Galuski. Campana and Galuski have pleaded not guilty.
Brown, who pleaded guilty to possession of a forged instrument, could go to jail for six months. LoPorto, who ran for re-election last November as the Working Families Party candidate, was defeated.
Posted by Drew458
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On: 03/20/21 07:00
meaningless marching orders for a thousand travellers ... strife ahead ..
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Tracked at Casual Blog
[...] RTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPL [...]
On: 07/17/17 04:28
a small explanation
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Tracked at yerba mate gourd
Find here top quality how to prepare yerba mate without a gourd that's available in addition at the best price. Get it now!
On: 07/09/17 03:07
DISCLAIMER
THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.
Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:
It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.
- Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
- Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
- Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
- Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere
THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.
Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner
Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
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