As we gather ‘round the Thanksgiving table, bow our heads in prayer, and feast on the holiday bird, it is only fitting to take a moment to fete the unforgettable turkeys of 2009.
1. The stimulus. Back in February, I wrote that if the trillion-dollar stimulus plan were a Thanksgiving dinner entree, it would be a Turbaconducken — the heart attack-inducing dish of roasted chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey, all wrapped in endless slabs of bacon. And so it has come to pass. After the Democrat majority larded up the massive spending package with earmarks and bribes, President Obama declared it pork-free and has stubbornly touted its job creation benefits for out-of-work Americans.
Reality check? The Washington Examiner reports that more than ten percent of the jobs the Obama administration claimed were “created or saved” by the stimulus are doubtful or imaginary. ABC News uncovered countless examples of bogus congressional districts listed as stimulus beneficiaries by the Obama stimulus tracking website, Recovery.gov. The money has been lavished on shady beauty schools in New Hampshire, prison inmates in Texas, and wind companies in Spain and China. Just this week, a California audit found that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation overstated the number of jobs saved by federal stimulus dollars by upwards of 13,000.
While this Generational Theft Act continues to soak up our tax dollars and add to our children and grandchildren’s debt, the Democrat majority is in the government kitchen cooking up a second stimulus turkey to provide federal infrastructure money to public-sector unions. Gobble, gobble.
2. President O-bow-ma. The candidate who pledged to restore America’s standing in the world couldn’t figure out how to stay standing in front of world leaders. In April, he crouched before Saudi King Abdullah. This month, he provoked global derision when he broke protocol and performed a spineless blunder in front of the Japanese emperor.
The kowtower-in-chief’s body language reflected the administration’s broader foreign policy prostrations – including scrapping missile defense in the Czech Republic and Poland, canceling a meeting with the Dalai Lama to appease China, sitting on its hands this summer during the Iranian election protests, and unveiling the 9/11 show trials in New York City that will provide a circus platform to jihadis and international Bush-haters.
The Left complained that George W. Bush was too much of a cowboy on the global stage. It’s better than having a waterboy.
3. Green jobs czar Van Jones. This deep-fried turkey was recruited by Team Obama’s Chicago consigliere Valerie Jarrett, who boasted about recruiting the Marxist rabble-rouser from Oakland. He openly crusaded to free Philadelphia Death Row cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, bashed capitalism with radical revolutionary rhetoric, and signed a 9/11 conspiracy petition that he meekly disavowed in a botched attempt to save his job. Jones is now at the Center for American Progress, run by Obama transition official and Democrat operative John Podesta.
The other turkey in the story, Val Jarrett, escaped unscathed and went on to push the Obamas into their failed crony campaign for the Olympics 2016 bid in Copenhagen – a taxpayer-funded, hubris-infused debacle that ties with Van Jones for third biggest turkey of the year. Rio got the Games. America got a closer look at the pay-for-play patrons, power brokers, and developers in the Windy City that have put an indelible Chicago stamp on the Potomac.
4. The New York Times. Scooped by Fox News, conservative blogs, and talk radio on the exploding ACORN scandal, the paper whitewashed its own role in covering up the community organizing criminal racket’s financial shenanigans last fall when it cut off a reporter’s investigation a few weeks before Election Day. Jill Abramson, the Times’ managing editor for news, acknowledged that her staff was “slow off the mark” and blamed “insufficient tuned-in-ness to the issues that are dominating Fox News and talk radio.” They assigned a new “opinion media monitor” to track the competition, but refused to identify the watchdog for fear that he/she would get too many mean, intrusive e-mails and phone calls.
More recently, the paper’s website demonstrated that it’s real motto is “All the inconvenient news that’s fit to suppress.” The Times’ lead environmental blogger, Andrew Revkin, haughtily refused to reprint damning e-mails leaked by a hacker in the burgeoning “ClimateGate” scandal. The documents reveal a long trail of manipulated data, but Revkin balked at the ill-gotten trove. The blabbermouths at the Times had no problem exposing national security secrets to undermine George W. Bush. But shed light on scientific hoaxes that undermine Al Gore? Unethical!
5. Tea Party-bashers. Millions of ordinary, peaceful Americans joined the Tea Party movement to revolt against big government, backroom deals, and the Beltway culture of corruption. For their exercise of free speech and free assembly, they were smeared nationwide.
Hollywood has-been Janeane Garafolo called them “racist, backward motherf**kers.” SEIU labor thug Dennis Rivera accused them of “terrorist tactics.”
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper used a vulgar sexual epithet to describe them. Team Obama’s astroturfers declared all-out war on them.
For refusing to sit down and shut up in the face of such unhinged bigotry, and for exposing the foulness of the political fowl, I have two words for them: Thank you.
Turkeys of the year by Michelle Malkin Creators Syndicate Copyright 2009
The post-racial president has now done more to divide the races than any president before him. Only 39% of whites approve of the radical in the White House while 91% of blacks approve of his administration. Gallup reported:
In his first full week in office (Jan. 26-Feb. 1), an average of 66% of Americans approved of the job Obama was doing, including 61% of non-Hispanic whites and 80% of nonwhites. In the most recent week, spanning Nov. 16-22 interviewing, his approval rating averaged 49% overall, 39% among whites, and 73% among nonwhites. Thus, since the beginning of his presidency, his support has dropped 22 points among whites, compared with a 7-point loss among nonwhites.
Given the 17-point drop in his approval rating among all U.S. adults, it follows that Obama’s support has declined among all major demographic and attitudinal subgroups, with one notable exception — blacks.
Blacks’ support for Obama has averaged 93% during his time in office, and has been at or above 90% nearly every week during his presidency. Thus, part of the reason Obama’s support among nonwhites has not dropped as much as his support among other groups is because of his consistent support from blacks.
Barack Obama has now played 25 rounds of golf, a sport he picked up about a decade ago when he was an Illinois state senator. That’s more golf than former President George W. Bush played in two terms, according to CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller, who tracks presidential trivia.
It’s been over 3 months since the top general in Afghanistan requested more troops. Obama has still not made his decision on whether to support the US soldiers and marines in Afghanistan.
Late last night Obama and the White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag (?) sat down with other officials to debate the Afghanistan/Pakistan policiy going forward. The administration is suddenly concerned about the cost of the war. This is something new for a White House that just tripled the US national deficit last year and is planning on adding to that with a nationalized health care plan.
Thanks Barack. The 9-11 terrorists are ready to rock New York City- again.
The 9-11 terrorists are stoked to turn the New York City show trials into the most awesome terrorist spectacle since the 9-11 attacks. The AP reported, via FOX Nation:
The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.
Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but “would explain what happened and why they did it.”
The U.S. Justice Department announced earlier this month that Ali and four other men accused of murdering nearly 3,000 people in the nation’s deadliest terrorist attack will face a civilian federal trial just blocks from the World Trade Center site.
Ali, also known as Ammar al-Baluchi, is a nephew of professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Mohammed, Ali and the others will explain “their assessment of American foreign policy,” Fenstermaker said. “Their assessment is negative,” he said.
The terrorist’s lawyers already told reporters that Obama and Holder’s gaffes may affect the trial.
One of the Gitmo defendants’ lawyers confirms the obvious: The civilian trials for 9/11-linked enemy combatants are nothing more than a grand excuse to use our legal system to bash America and spread the jihadi virus on the world stage.
The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday. Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but “would explain what happened and why they did it.”
The U.S. Justice Department announced earlier this month that Ali and four other men accused of murdering nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. will face a civilian federal trial just blocks from the site of the destroyed World Trade Center. Ali, also known as Ammar al-Baluchi, is a nephew of professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Mohammed, Ali and the others will explain “their assessment of American foreign policy,” Fenstermaker said.
Hey, why not turn them into a Broadway play while you’re at it, White House?
***
Just a reminder of what Obama wrote about the 9/11 jihadists eight days after the attack left 3,000 innocent men, women, and children dead on American soil:
“We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.”
My response last year:
As for Obama’s continued delusion about the “climate of poverty and ignorance” that supposedly breeds Muslim terrorists, can American politicians ever rid themselves of this unreality-based trope? This belief is part and parcel of the same idiocy that lead the State Department to embrace “spa days” for Muslims to “build bridges” with the Arab world and President Bush to open up our aviation schools to more Saudi students to “improve understanding.” John McCain also alluded to education-as-cure for Islamic terrorism at the L.A. World Affairs Council in March, when he declared that “In this struggle, scholarships will be far more important than smart bombs.” Just what we need: more student visas for the jihadi-infested nation that sent us the bulk of the 9/11 hijackers.
Author and National Review Online blogger Mark Steyn’s sharp rejoinder to McCain then applies to Obama now: “There’s plenty of evidence out there that the most extreme ‘extremists’ are those who’ve been most exposed to the west – and western education: from Osama bin Laden (summer school at Oxford, punting on the Thames) and Mohammed Atta (Hamburg University urban planning student) to the London School of Economics graduate responsible for the beheading of Daniel Pearl. The idea that handing out college scholarships to young Saudi males and getting them hooked on Starbucks and car-chase movies will make this stuff go away is ridiculous – and unworthy of a serious presidential candidate.”
Ayman al-Zawahiri didn’t need more education or wealth to steer him away from Islamic imperialism and working toward a worldwide caliphate. He has a medical degree. So does former Hamas biggie Abdel Rantissi. Seven upper-middle-class jihadi doctors were implicated in the 2007 London/Glasgow bombings. Suspected al Qaeda scientist Affia Siddiqui, still wanted by the FBI for questioning, is a Pakistani who studied microbiology at MIT and did graduate work in neurology at Brandeis.
And as I’ve reported before and must reiterate again for the hard of hearing in Washington, lowering academic standards at American colleges helped al Qaeda mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed further the jihadi cause. In the early 1980s, he enrolled at tiny Chowan College in Murfreesburo, N.C., which had dropped its English requirements to attract–ahem–wealthy Middle Easterners. At Chowan, Mohammed bonded with other Arab Muslim foreign students known as “The Mullahs” for their religious zeal. Mohammed then transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he earned his degree in mechanical engineering along with 30 other Muslims. Mohammed applied his Western learning to oversee the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot (six Americans dead), the U.S.S. Cole attack (17 American soldiers dead), and the September 11 attacks (3,000 dead). He has also been linked to the 1998 African-embassy bombings (212 dead, including 12 Americans), the plot to kill the pope, the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, and the Bali nightclub bomb blast that killed nearly 200 tourists, including two more Americans.
Perhaps bleeding-heart Obama thinks a master’s degree in social work would have convinced poverty-stricken, helpless, ignorant, despairing Mohammed to change his mind?
Keith Hennessey calls this "unfair." The gentleman has a gift for understatement:
Under Leader Reid's amendment, in the year 2019 about 16 million U.S. citizens would be uninsured and be forced to pay a penalty tax of almost $800 per year. About eight million illegal aliens would be uninsured and would owe no penalty tax. Both groups would get their health care through a combination of out-of-pocket spending and use of uncompensated care in emergency rooms and free health clinics.
This seems unfair.
The entire premise of forcing people to buy insurance is that it will cut costs for all of us because those who do not have insurance are a drain on the system when they need health services.
But if 11 million illegal aliens can game the system and still not pay the fine, what does that do to costs? The doctors and hospitals will be in an awful position since they will be unable to pass on the cost of treating illegals to Uncle Sam. And if they pass them on to insurance companies, our premiums will go up even more relative to the government option.
How generous of our Democratic friends that they have such a big heart to pay for the medical care of illegals. If they had half that sympathy for the rest of us, they would recognize the inherent unfairness in this situation and force illegals to pay up.
One of the most hysterical and dare I say critical skits on Obama that I’ve ever seen from SNL: the Chinese prime minister asks where his money is and why Obama is “trying to do sex to me!”
When the Obama White House is not “saving or creating” fantasy jobs here at home they’re “saving or creating” manufacturing jobs in China.
The Obama Stimulus Plan will help pay for a $1.5 billion wind farm in Texas. The project will mean thousands of new jobs for wind turbine manufacturers… in China. The Dallas News reported:
Two weeks ago, U.S. Renewable Energy Group, led by Dallas investor Cappy McGarr, announced plans to build a $1.5 billion wind energy farm in West Texas. About a third of the money would come from federal stimulus funds. All of the wind turbines (and much of the remaining investment capital) would come from China.
“We believe that this project will greatly contribute to job creation, the goals of the Obama administration and our desire to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and increase our energy independence,” McGarr said in announcing the deal.
There would be perhaps 330 jobs created in Texas. Most would be temporary construction jobs. Meanwhile, thousands of Chinese workers in the northeastern industrial city Shenyang would build the labor-intensive turbines.
Most of the wind energy projects seeking money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act rely on foreign-made turbines. Even the industry we have here at home, led by GE, is looking abroad. GE’s technology will power the gearboxes of the turbines for the U.S. Renewable Energy Group. The gearboxes will be made in China.
U.S. companies emerging from the financial shocks of the last year haven’t started investing in American factory jobs. Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, told an Austin audience last week that the company CEOs he speaks with are more interested in investing abroad.
That doesn’t fit with the administration’s plans. To fix the big economic imbalances of the U.S. economy, administration economists say, Americans must save more, import less and sell more U.S. goods to the world. This is particularly important in the U.S. relationship with China, which is America’s biggest creditor.
Democrats, with union support, included a “Buy America” provision in the stimulus bill. This hasn’t proved to be an obstacle to moving ahead with wind projects that rely on foreign-made turbines.
When the wind is right, the U.S. Renewable project would generate more than 600 megawatts of electricity, or enough for 180,000 homes. Texas has long recognized such energy projects as a public good and provides incentives to support them.
Only 30 of the 330 jobs created in Texas will be fulltime jobs after the project is complete.
Give the mainstream news media some credit: They have diligently dug into President Obama's fanciful boasts of job creation. When Obama claimed earlier this month that his $787 billion economic stimulus package had "saved or created" 640,000 jobs, a dozen news organizations pounced. They soon highlighted some of the most egregious cases of sketchy job creation in about 20 states.
From their reports, The Examiner has created anonline interactive map for tracking exaggerated stimulus claims. So far, more than 75,000 jobs -- exceeding 10 percent of the total -- are either highly doubtful or clearly imaginary. In the coming weeks, we expect to add many thousands more to that total as other media organizations scrutinize stimulus grants in their areas.
Obama and his senior aides have sought to downplay the importance of exact numbers, but they invited close scrutiny earlier this year by setting dramatic expectations for the effect the stimulus program would have on employment. If his stimulus program was approved, Obama promised, unemployment would not go above 8 percent this year. The reality is that it passed 10.3 percent in October. So now the stimulus books are being cooked to mollify an anxious public worried that real-world jobs continue to disappear and angry that Obama has thrown almost $1 trillion down the stimulus rathole.
With his political advisers in a panic, Obama is now planning a State of the Union policy pivot intended to stave off a disastrous congressional election in 2010. After running up the nation's first-ever $1.4 trillion annual budget deficit for 2009, Obama will strike a new pose in January as the man who will stop government extravagance. Budget Director Peter Orszag says Obama will offer new suggestions for budget cuts and "revenue raisers," aka "tax hikes."
Obama's previous budget-cutting masquerade was laughable. In July, he called for a pathetic $265 million in cuts. But with a $3 trillion annual budget, Washington blows that much in about two blinks of an eye. Besides, most of the Obama "cuts" were proposed in full knowledge that Congress would never approve them. No doubt, Obama will present the same sort of faux budget cuts in 2010. But Obama's "concern" about excessive government spending likely will be no more credible to voters next November than the thousands of phantom stimulus jobs he claims to have created this year.
Even if this were some sort of mistake and the congressional district numbered incorrectly, this means that $617,848 was spent on only five jobs. A hefty $254,822 was spent on absolutely zero jobs being saved.
What on earth kind of fuzzy math is this? Where is this money going?
Compilation of Emperor Akihito shaking hands with other foreign (and domestic) leaders, juxtaposed to Obama shaking hands with Emperor Akihito. Does anyone notice the difference? (Hint: Look at the angle created between Obama's Legs and torso)
Related: Did Obama Just Bow 7 Times to Japanese Emperor?
OK. We’re all familiar with the big waiter’s bow he gave to the Japanese Emperor… But, did you notice the 6 other bows he made to the emperor and his wife? Here’s the video:
Very low bows like this are a sign of great respect and deference for a superior.
To some in the United States, however, an upright handshake might have looked better. Remember Michelle Obama casually patting Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on the back during their Buckingham Palace visit? America’s royalty tends to make movies and get bad reviews and lots of money as a sign of respect.
Obama could receive some frowns back home as he did for his not-quite-this-low-or-maybe-about-the-same-bow to the Saudi king not so long ago.
Here’s Obama’s other bows to the Queen of England and another waist bow to the Saudi King:
Power Line adds: Obama’s breach of protocol is of a piece with the substance of his foreign policy. He means to teach Americans to bow before monarchs and tyrants.
More Hope & Change– Team Obama was off on their October budget predictions by nearly $20 billion. The deficit for the first month of the 2010 fiscal year reached $176 billion. (It must be Bush’s fault, right?) The Wall Street Journal reported:
The federal government kicked off fiscal year 2010 by posting its widest-ever October budget deficit, the Treasury Department said Thursday.
The $176.36 billion gap is more than $20 billion wider than the shortfall recorded in October 2008, driven up by lower tax receipts, stimulus-related revenue reductions and consistently high government outlays.
…The October deficit figure is wider than the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate for a $175 billion deficit in the month and wider than the $165.9 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.
President George Bush never did this.
Obama tripled the national deficit his first year in office and he’s off to a record-setting start in fiscal year 2010.
Despite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina, the Clinton Recession he inherited, and the 9-11 attacks, President Bush brought down the national budget deficit from 412 billion dollars in 2004 to 162 billion dollars in 2007.
On July 11, 2006, the Bush Administration announced they were revising midyear budget estimates. They changed their projections after they discovered that greater than expected tax revenues would drop the deficit below 300 billion dollars. Budget Director Rob Portman drove home the message later that day telling reporters that this latest revision was proof that the administration’s tax cuts were working.
This wasn’t a one time event. During the Bush years, despite the 2000 Recession, the attacks on 9-11, the stock market scandals, Hurricane Katrina, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush Administration was able to reduce the budget deficit from 412 billion dollars in 2004 to 162 billion dollars in 2007, a sixty percent drop. In 2004 the federal budget deficit was 412 billion dollars. In 2005 it dropped to 318 billion dollars. In 2006 the deficit dipped to 248 billion dollars. And, in 2007 it fell below 200 billion to 162 billion dollars. During the Bush years the average unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, the economy saw the strongest productivity growth in four decades and there was robust GDP growth.
Then again Bush cut taxes while Obama has decided to spend his way out of this recession.
Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court, an Obama administration official said Friday.
The official said Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce the decision later in the morning.
The official is not authorized to discuss the decision before the announcement, so spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bringing such notorious suspects to U.S. soil to face trial is a key step in President Barack Obama’s plan to close the terror suspect detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obama initially planned to close the detention center by Jan. 22, but the administration is no longer expected to meet that deadline.
It is also a major legal and political test of Obama’s overall approach to terrorism. If the case suffers legal setbacks, the administration will face second-guessing from those who never wanted it in a civilian courtroom. And if lawmakers get upset about notorious terrorists being brought to their home regions, they may fight back against other parts of Obama’s agenda.
Here is the e-mail the DOD’s Director Victim Witness Program sent out to victims, survivors, and family members of jihadi attacks this morning (via Sgt. Tim Sumner, brother-in-law of FDNY Joseph G. Leavey, 45, Ladder 15, WTC):
You are receiving this email because you have been identified as a victim, survivor, or victim family member of an Al-Qaeda attributed attack and have requested to be kept informed of events involving detainees charged in military commissions or being held in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility in connection with those attacks.
We would like to inform you that the U.S. Departments of Defense and Justice will be making an important public announcement later this morning. At 10:30 am Eastern Standard Time, the Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism will post information for victims about the announcement on its password protected victims’ website. At 11:00 am the Defense and Justice Departments will issue a joint press release notifying the public of the information, and there will also be a press conference. In addition, the Defense Department will notify victims about the information by email.
Both the Defense Department (Karen Loftus) and the Justice Department (Heather Cartwright) are sending out this e-mail to ensure that as many victims as possible receive it. We apologize if you receive duplicates. If you know of other victims who may be interested in the information, please pass this on to them.
Here’s what Tim sent in response:
We have an announcement as well: we will fight with every remaining breath in our bodies both their bringing KSM and the rest of the 9/11 conspirators to federal courtrooms within walking distance of where they slaughtered our loved ones. And whomever finds Manhattan’s federal courthouse near Ground Zero a “sentimental favorite” for the 9/11 trials is a damn fool and they ALL ought to be fired. Pass that message on, far, wide, and up and down the chain-of-command.
If this White House thought Tea Party activists were an “angry mob,” wait until they see the backlash from 9/11 family members and their supporters nationwide. We’re not going to sit down and shut up about the reckless, security-undermining Obama 9/10 agenda and conflict-of-interest-ridden AG Eric Holder.
Call them out.
***
I’ve written extensively over the years on the perils of civilian trials for terrorists. See here and here and here for a refresher course in the Ally McBeal approach to terror.
Here’s a taste of what we have to look forward to:
The idea of prosecuting suspected terrorists like burglars or drug dealers seems to make sense in principle, but jury trials for War on Terror suspects are fraught with peril.
“In ordinary civilian trials, there is no significant cost to sharing everything the government knows,” notes Johns Hopkins international law professor Ruth Wedgwood. “But this does not hold against the background of Al Qaeda’s stated ambition of mounting new attacks.” Affording accused Al Qaeda operatives the Sixth Amendment right to a public trial threatens to compromise classified information necessary to prosecute future terrorist trials. Other rights guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment’s the right to subpoena witnesses and compel them to testify, the right to an attorney, can interfere with interrogations of captured suspected Al Qaeda agents. Moreover, in civilian courtrooms, prosecutors are severely restrained from closing off classified information under the existing federal Classified Information Procedure Act. Anonymous testimony and intelligence based on hearsay are often inadmissible in civilian courts. And while the lives of those immediately involved in say, a mob trial, might be endangered, the entire nation may be at risk when we allow suspected members of a terrorist network to partake in the discovery process.
The prosecution of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers in our civilian court system, though successful, demonstrated the pitfalls of prosecuting the War on Terror like an episode of the TV show “Ally McBeal” — a courtroom comedy. The trials gave the bin Laden network a multi-million-dollar, tax-subsidized defense team, free translation services, personal dry-cleaning services, and access to information that was allegedly used by Islamists to evade surveillance.
All of the convicted World Trade Center bombers received life sentences. Two had faced the death penalty, but were spared by a minority-dominated jury that swallowed the race-baiting of traitorous defense witness Ramsey Clark (the former U.S. attorney general under Lyndon Johnson). Clark testified that no member of a racial minority group — African-American, Arab or otherwise — could expect a fair trial in the U.S. He also blamed the Gulf War and U.S. sanctions on Iraq for creating the psychological “suffering” that led to the embassy attacks. On another front, convicted mastermind Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman may have exploited his right to counsel in order to establish a terrorist message center from behind bars. His lawyer, Lynne Stewart, was indicted in the fall of 2003 on charges of providing material support to terrorists and went to trial in May 2004; she is accused of aiding a plot to kidnap and kill people to help win the release of Rahman and making false statements regarding her efforts to pass messages between Rahman and third parties…
Stewart was convicted of aiding terrorists and lying to the government in 2005 — for which she received a slap on the wrist. She is still free pending appeal.
***
Andy McCarthy exposes the underlying Obama/Holder agenda. The 9/11 show trials are a payoff to the Bush-haters and transnational Left:
We are now going to have a trial that never had to happen for defendants who have no defense. And when defendants have no defense for their own actions, there is only one thing for their lawyers to do: put the government on trial in hopes of getting the jury (and the media) spun up over government errors, abuses and incompetence. That is what is going to happen in the trial of KSM et al. It will be a soapbox for al-Qaeda’s case against America. Since that will be their “defense,” the defendants will demand every bit of information they can get about interrogations, renditions, secret prisons, undercover operations targeting Muslims and mosques, etc., and — depending on what judge catches the case — they are likely to be given a lot of it. The administration will be able to claim that the judge, not the administration, is responsible for the exposure of our defense secrets. And the circus will be played out for all to see — in the middle of the war. It will provide endless fodder for the transnational Left to press its case that actions taken in America’s defense are violations of international law that must be addressed by foreign courts. And the intelligence bounty will make our enemies more efficient at killing us.
And read this timely excerpt from McCarthy’s invaluable Willful Blindness: “Bring my lawyer! — That’s what’s so beautiful about America.”
***
Update: Just heard that former Bush AG Michael Mukasey will be addressing the Federalist Society National Lawyer’s Convention today at the Mayflower in Washington, D.C. at 2:15pm today and will take on the White House decision to prosecute Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in his speech.
2. Bush was often considered to be in the grip of Big Oil. In contrast, Obama is a Harvard-educated lawyer. Which industry contributed more than five times as much as the other to politicians: the oil & gas industry, or lawyers/law firms?
3. Bush's Christian faith was at the core of his political identity, and he was considered to be in the grip of the "religious right," while Obama is considered more open-minded. In fact, Obama has said, "my faith is one that admits some doubt." Which one refers to Jesus more in public speeches?
4. Bush was criticized for excessive federal spending and running up huge deficits. Bush's deficit in 2008 was the largest in history. In fact, President Obama said,
It's a little hard for me to take criticism from folks about this recovery package after they've presided over a doubling of the national debt ... What I won't do is return to the failed theories of the last eight years that got us into this fix in the first place.
Whose deficit was more than triple the size of the other's: Bush's in 2008 or Obama's in 2009?
5. While Obama criticized Bush for "a doubling of the national debt," the federal debt held by the public went from 35.1% of GDP in 2000 to 40.8% of GDP in 2008 -- an increase of 16% as of fraction of GDP. What is it expected to be in 2016 under Obama's budget plan?
6. Obama criticized Bush for Guantanamo, military tribunals, wiretaps, troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and "signing statements." Which one of these Bush practices has Obama ended?
Answers:
1. Bush. Obama started reading a book in April and had not finished it by June, putting him on a pace of no more than ten books per year. Bush read forty to ninety-five books a year while President, not counting a new and complete reading of the Bible every year. Bush scored 1206 on his SAT, putting his IQ in the 125-130 range, smarter than 95% of the population and in the company of Lincoln, Rousseau, and Thackeray. He graduated from Yale and earned an MBA from Harvard. Obama earned a law degree from Harvard, but has not released any of his academic records. Despite what you might have heard, we know nothing of his IQ, test scores, or grades from any of the schools he attended.
2. Law firms. In the 2010 cycle so far, Lawyers/Law Firms have contributed $33,779,866 (81% to Democrats), and the Oil & Gas industry has contributed $6,293,631 (34% to Democrats). In the 2008 cycle, the numbers were $233,499,989 (76% to Dems) from lawyers and $35,564,322 (23% to Dems). In all, lawyers contributed about six times more to politicians than the Oil & Gas industry.
3. Obama. Per Eamon Javers at Politico, "As president, Barack Obama has mentioned Jesus Christ in a number of high-profile public speeches -- something his predecessor George W. Bush rarely did in such settings."
4. Obama's 2009 deficit, the largest in U.S. history. It was more than three times that of Bush's record 2008 deficit. Per the Congressional Budget Office, the 2008 deficit was $455 B, and the 2009 deficit was $1,417 B. As a fraction of GDP, it was the largest deficit since 1945.
5. The CBO expects the debt held by the public to be 77.1% of GDP in 2016 under Obama's plan, or an increase of 89% as a fraction of GDP, and the highest level since 1950.
6. None.
Guantanamo is still open and probably will be into 2010, maybe longer.
Obama is keeping military tribunals and clandestine wiretapping programs.
Obama plans to keep most troops in Iraq until the summer of 2010. Even then, he is talking of keeping about 50,000 troops there (compared to about 124,000 now). The number of US troops in Afghanistan increased from 37,000 in January 2009 to 62,000 by August 2009, and Obama is expected to send over 30,000 more. Total number of US troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan has increased under Obama so far (from about 184,000 in January to 186,000 in September).
Just as I and so many others have said. We weren’t making this up, folks, we READ the bill.
“There’s nothing wrong with a penalty.”
“If you have the ability to buy insurance and it’s affordable and you choose not do do so forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you …”
Wow, an answer to a problem the Obama administration created just for the sake of the answer. Um – why do we HAVE to subsidize ANYONE? Why does this administration want to force hard-working middle-class families to pay for more mouths than the ones they created?
Where does the line stop? People not getting insurance won’t be the only thing affecting what we all pay, diet, exercise, et al. all contribute. When will the fines start for not eating the government-approved diet? If we can be fined for not “choosing” the “right to free health care bills,” as our president just said because we will become a a burden to the system, then we can be fined for not eating a good diet because that’s a burden to the system, too.
And what will happen to the children of those families who refuse the forced, sub-par, government care? When will DFS bust in to those homes and remove the children on the grounds of neglect or abuse? People don’t realize that establishing a precedence isn’t the same as slippery slope.
The President said that he didn’t think the question over the appropriateness of possible jail time is the “biggest question” the House and Senate are facing right now.
Robert Gibbs whined today about the offensive images and discourse by the church-going, taxpaying, America-loving tea party protesters that descended on the US Capital this week.
“I will continue to say what I’ve said before. You hear in this debate, you hear analogies, you hear references to, you see pictures about and depictions of individuals that are truly stunning, and you hear it all the time. People — imagine five years ago somebody comparing health care reform to 9/11. Imagine just a few years ago had somebody walked around with images of Hitler.
Mary Katharine Ham at The Weekly Standard Blog corrected the White House press secretary. MKH pointed out the nonstop Bush-Hitler comparisons by the left for 8 years. Here is Gibbs whining about the conservative protesters:
Of course, Robert Gibbs also apparently forget that the left not only regularly compared Bush to Hitler and mass-marketed Bush-Hiter merchandise but they even made Bush-Hitler ads from the 2004 election:
Of course, if the state-run media outlets were not so corrupt they would have confronted Gibbs on this ridiculous statement.
Big Hollywood has already posted a couple disturbing videos of young school children singing/speaking praises to President Obama, but when eleven more dropped in our email box it came as quite a shock. What seemed like an aberration now appears to be a troubling pattern.
Maybe “epidemic” is a better word.
Each one of the videos below is creepier than the last because the further down you go, the younger the children — brace yourself for kindergartners – except for the last and most disturbing video, which you have to see to believe.
sayanythingblog.com
ELEMENTARY EPIDEMIC: 11 Uncovered Videos Show School Children Performing Praises to Obama
Young captive minds, easily influenced, eager for direction, enlisted into a cult of personality focused on an individual who, other than being the first black president, has yet to accomplish anything of significance.
But Obama’s skin color has nothing to do with this. Does anyone interested in retaining their merit badge for intellectual honesty really want to argue that Condi Rice or J.C. Watts would’ve spawned a dozen-and-counting tribute videos?
This is about brainwashing our children into Leftist identity politics. Sure, the schools can argue that they had some kind of parental permission — which, if true, is somehow even more disturbing — but who even considers doing something like this with young minds? That’s a rhetorical question.
There was some guesswork, but to the best of our ability the videos run from oldest to youngest, starting with high schoolers. We list the name of the school and the date the video was posted. From there, if it could be found (or a confident guess made), you’ll find the schools’ website, followed by the original title given to the video and any notes added by whoever uploaded to YouTube.
Each video has also been transcribed so you can follow the bouncing ball…
WEST HIGH SCHOOL — 12-6-08
This is the school’s probable website. What’s going on here is explained below in the video notes.
Video Title: “Multico’s Finale is Obama’s victory speech!“
Video Note: Each year, MULTICO, a company of West High School students chosen to reflect the diverse ethnic and racial population of Madisons schools, tours elementary and middle schools with an original thirty minute production focusing on the concerns and experiences of children and adolescents in a multicultural, multilingual urban environment. MULTICO, a two hour a day English class, writes and performs a series of short sketches that highlight race, gender, sexuality and conflict, providing another tool for classroom teachers to use as we all work towards a more empathetic world.
Transcript:
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, today is your answer.
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of red states and blue states; we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.
The true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America — that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
America, we have come so far. But there is so much more to do. This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time — to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and to restore the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.
*****
MORGAN PARK HIGH SCHOOL — 11-13-2008
This looks like the school’s website. Morgan Park HS is located in Chicago, these are high school students in the choir.
Video Title: “Change We Can Believe In-Song”
Video Note: This song was inspired by President-Elect Barack Obama’s campaign theme. Morgan Park High School Concert Choir of Chicago, IL are the singers on this video. The song was composed by Patricia Tyson (from Chicago), and its intent is to encourage and motivate the listeners and the performers to pursue a more excellent way!
This song has been submitted with the hopes that it will be sung at the Inauguration in Washington, DC!
Change we can believe in Change that makes a difference Together we can change the world Tell every man and woman, every boy and girl
Change can tear down every wall You and I can make the greatest change of all We’re united we all stand as one Divided we will fail and we will surely fall
Tell the children Take them by the hand Tell the generations that we can take a stand Tell the nation let them know that God can heal our land
Change is what we all must be Change is what we all must see This is our moment, This is our time Seize it, [unintelligible], we won’t be denied.
Say yes we can, yes we can, Yes we can
From the power you may go so very long Go so very long Let us live [unintelligible] Don’t matter what may come our way They can not [unintelligible]
Tell the children Take them by the hand Tell the generations that we can take a stand Tell the nation let them know that God can heal our land
We want change We need change We want change We must change
Change, Change, believe it Change, Change, a difference
[unintelligible] Our change is here.
*****
SCHOOL UNIDENTIFIED — 3-9-09
We were unable to locate this school’s name, but it says right on the video and in the notes that these are 7th graders.
Video Title: “Yes We Can – Barack Obama Music Video 7th Grade Version”
Video Note: The 7th grade students followed the 2008 presidential election in several of their classes this term. Concluding the election the students were asked to make video segments based on the popular Obama music video, Yes We Can, by musician Will.i.am. The segments were then compiled into one video. In this video the students discuss various goals as well as how they are able to make a difference in improving our world.
Transcript:
Kids Speak over (Yes We Can by Will.I.am) playing in the background:
This is for the young and old The rich and poor Democrats and Republicans Black, White, Hispanic, Native Americans Gay, Straight Disabled, Not Disabled
We can!
Yes, I can be my own person. Yes, I can be a policeman Yes, I can have a good future Yes, I can be the first person in my family to go to college Yes, I can do good in school Yes, I can become the first Mexican President
Yes we can.
I can save electricity I can do good in school I can help clean up the community I can volunteer I can save water I can give donations
Just as a Seventh Grader? Yes, we can.
[unintelligible] What you want to do say Yes we can Ay Yes we can Ay
Baseball, football, Yeah we can do it all Yes we can Ay Yes we can Ay
The constitution and make straight A’s Yes we can Ay Yes we can Ay
Lose or choose now what you want to do Yes we can Ay Yes we can Ay
Yes we can
Be at school on time What the… loser Don’t do drugs
Get good grades Give me your money – give me your money Leave him alone No bullying.
Recycle. Yes we can Si se puede
I want to join the Army Yes she can I want to be a football player Yes he can I want to join the Air Force Yes she can I want to pass the Seventh grade. Yes he can I want to be a doctor. Yes she can
Yes we can!
Yes we can…be a dentist Yes I can be an anesthesiologist Yes I can be a choreographer Yes I can be a lawyer Yes I can be a basketball player Yes I can be a teacher
Yes we can Yes we can Yes we can
*****
GIFFEN ELEMENTARY — 2-12-09
This is the probable website for the school. The opening titles state the song’s video was written by the students of Mr. Dobson and Mrs. Dudley, which means these are 5th and 6th graders.
Video Title: “Barack Obama Rap”
Video Note:This is the updated version of a song my students wrote back in 05 after Senator Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention. This year they updated it in celebration of President Obama’s victory.
Transcript:
Barack Obama – Recorded:
“I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave-owners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.” — Barack Obama, “A More Perfect Union,” March 18, 2008.
Verse 1:
We’re here to tell you about the man. His name is Barack Obama he’s the leader of this land. He was born in Hawaii then he lived in Illinois. His father moved to Africa when he was a little boy. He got into some trouble when he was 17 and he has come clean now he’s [unintelligible] people [unintelligible] He fights for civil rights and better health care. He wants to make sure that we all will have care. He’s [unintelligible] reform [unintelligible] he’s very educated and he’s got a lot of rhythm. First black President with a heart that’s only true, he wants to make the world better for me and you. At Chicago University he used to be a teacher, [unintelligible] At the Democratic National Convention, the name Barack Obama became [unintelligible].
Chorus:
Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can.
Verse 2:
He was born, in August of 1961. In 2008 for President, He won. We have a new President, Barack is the President. He’s a pioneer. You can check the evidence. He’s African-American. The first black President. Now he’s in the white house. The 44th President. His campaign slogan was “Yes We Can” He’s a Democrat. He’s the man with the plan. There is a special book that was written by Obama. It’s Dreams from My Father, not Dreams from your Momma. [unintelligible] [laughter] [unintelligible] He’s running our country. [unintelligible] great power. [unintelligible] He ran against McCain. Now he’s our President we’re ready to make a change.
Chorus:
Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can.
Verse 3:
He attended Columbia U in ’82. He married Michelle in 1992. He’s English, he’s Irish, [unintelligible], he’s a modern Martin Luther who was also a great man. [unintelligible] Obama’s going down as the first in history. [unintelligible] about war and that is really great. He’s known around the world – come on let’s celebrate.
Recording:
Celebrate good times, come on. Celebrate good times, come on. Celebrate good times, come on. Celebrate good times, come on.
Continuation of Verse 3:
He’s proved that education is a big part of the game. And in his spare time he enjoys basketball. When he’s at work he signs legible. Obama is his name, [unintelligible} man, man, women, women and girl. [unintelligible] He’s a true American. If you believe say, “Yes We Can”.
Chorus:
Say, Yes We Can [repeated]
Audience Member: Yes We Can.
***
GIFFEN ELEMENTARY — 3-29-2009
Here’s Giffen again. The video quality makes it impossible to tell if these are the same students, but according to the YouTube dates this performance occurred the month after the one above, this time in front of something called The Association of Teaching Artists.
Video Title: “Barack Obama Rap at the Albany Institute”
Video Note: This is a group of 5th and 6th grade students from Giffen Elementary School performing the Barack Obama song they wrote with their classmates. It is being performed at a function of the Association of Teaching Artists held at the Albany Institute of History and Art.
Transcript:
Barack Obama – Recorded:
“I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave-owners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.” — Barack Obama, “A More Perfect Union,” March 18, 2008.
Verse 1:
We’re here to tell you about the man. His name is Barack Obama he’s the leader of this land. He was born in Hawaii then he lived in Illinois. His father moved to Africa when he was a little boy. He got into some trouble when he was 17 and he has come clean now he’s [unintelligible] people [unintelligible] He fights for civil rights and better health care. He wants to make sure that we all will have care. He’s [unintelligible] reform [unintelligible] he’s very educated and he’s got a lot of rhythm. First black President with a heart that’s only true, he wants to make the world better for me and you. At Chicago University he used to be a teacher, [unintelligible] At the Democratic National Convention, the name Barack Obama became [unintelligible].
Chorus:
Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can.
Verse 2:
He was born, in August of 1961. In 2008 for President, He won. We have a new President, Barack is the President. He’s a pioneer. You can check the evidence. He’s African-American. The first black President. Now he’s in the white house. The 44th President. His campaign slogan was “Yes We Can” He’s a Democrat. He’s the man with the plan. There is a special book that was written by Obama. It’s Dreams from My Father, not Dreams from your Momma. [unintelligible] [laughter] [unintelligible] He’s running our country. [unintelligible] great power. [unintelligible] He ran against McCain. Now he’s our President we’re ready to make a change.
Chorus:
Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can.
Verse 3:
He attended Columbia U in ’82. He married Michelle in 1992. He’s English, he’s Irish, [unintelligible], he’s a modern Martin Luther who was also a great man. [unintelligible] Obama’s going down as the first in history. [unintelligible] about war and that is really great. He’s known around the world – come on let’s celebrate.
Recording:
Celebrate good times, come on…
Continuation of Verse 3:
He’s proved that education is a big part of the game. And in his spare time he enjoys basketball. When he’s at work he signs legible. Obama is his name, [unintelligible} man, man, women, women and girl. [unintelligible]He’s a true American. If you believe say “Yes We Can”.
Chorus:
Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, Say Yes We Can, We say – say Yes We Can, That guy say Yes We Can, That guy say Yes We Can, Everybody say Yes We Can!
Audience Member:
Yes We Can.
*****
GOTHAM AVENUE SCHOOL — 2-7-09
Here’s the likely website for the school. Per the video’s title, these are fifth graders.
Video Title: “Ending – Part II of the 5th Grade Performance”
Video Note: Special thanks to Mr. Lewis.
Transcript:
We believe in Barack Obama He loves you and he loves your mama We believe in Barack Obama, yeah With all the change he’s building Gonna bring hope to the children We believe in Barack Obama, yeah
Change That we can believe in Change That we can believe in Change That we can believe in
We believe in Barack Obama He loves you and he loves your mama We believe in Barack Obama, yeah With all the change he’s building Gonna bring hope to the children We believe in Barack Obama, yeah
Change That we can believe in Change That we can believe in Change That we can believe in
Yeah, haha, haha. Alright, come on now, here we go; You know we gotta get Barack and all of his crew In the White House so they can prove that In their hearts they know what to do And that includes Michelle and the kiddies too
[kids chanting] “There is not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.” We believe in Barack Obama He loves you and he loves your mama We believe in Barack Obama, yeah With all the change he’s building Gonna bring hope to the children We believe in Barack Obama, yeah
[Chant at end of song – unintelligible]
*****
POWELL ELEMENTARY – May 6, 2009
This is the likely website for the school. Though the age of the students in the video isn’t given, the website says the school’s age range is pre-kindergarten through the third grade.
Video Title: “Powell Elementary Present Kings of Rock”
Video Note:Ode to Obama, school kids in New Jersey celebrate Obamas win
Transcript:
Barack Obama there is none higher Other politicians should call me sire To burn my kingdom you must use fire I create change till I retire!
Democratic Party come correct Our cuts are on time our rhymes connect Got the right to vote and will elect Others can’t feel us but give us respect
Now I walked through crowds, shook many hands Spent my time saying YES WE CAN! I stood on many stages, held many mics Took airplane flights at great heights PA and Jersey, I won that fight
Chicago Illinois was so hype Moving so strong Biden joined the fight Now we are a team and we ignite!
Now I crash through walls, Cut through floors, Burst through ceilings Knock down doors.
He is George And I’m Turan We’re never far behind In class we shine For every living person With dreams and plans
Keep hope alive – Think “Yes We Can”
We’re the baddest of the bad The cool of the cool I’m Barack I rock and rule.
I’m Joe. I rock and rule. It’s not a trick or treat or April fools, It’s all brand new With a little old school.
We’ve got the music and the message For all my friends. Check us out on the internet, Load and send.
Music ain’t nothing but a peoples jam. It’s President Obama
Rockin’ with the band!
*****
HENNIGAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – July 16, 2009
This is the probable website for the school. Note the life-size cardboard cut-out of the President and the kid with Obama’s head on a stick.
Video Title: “obama”
Video Note: Music video for the Obama Song from the America SCORES New England winter program at the Hennigan Elementary School.
Transcript:
Barack Obama – Recorded:
“Because of what we did on this day, in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.”
Kids:
Obama is fresh. Obama is cool. He has two daughters that like to go to school. It’s hot outside, they jump in the pool. [unintelligible] to follow the rules. Obama is President and has a new residence. There’s people all around who questions all the evidence.
Michelle wants her daughters to think their own things. She doesn’t want their colors to do it instead. The 44th President of the USA because he beat Senator John McCain. Obama in charge of the oval office. He told Bush and his cabinet to get off this. A – a-a-a-aay. Obama is President of the USA-aaaay. Tomorrow’s a new day – ay – ay- ay- ay. And we’re living our life.
Barack Obama – Recorded:
“It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.”
Screen Text:
Great Job! Merilyn B.; Rachel C.; Radael D.; Edwin G.; Faith M.; Oscar M.; Rosemary M.; Elena R.; Janetlah V.
Special Thanks to the CityYear Corps at the Hennigan!
Barack Obama – Recorded:
“I know you didn’t do this to just win an election. I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.”
*****
HARMONY LELAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL — 2-14-09
This is the school’s probable website, and these are kindergartners.
Video Title: “Barack Obama is Our New President”
Video Note:Ms. Susan Marsico’s Kindergarten music class sings about President Barack Obama. Performed: Friday, February 13, 2009 Harmony Leland Elementary School, Mableton, GA
Transcript:
Barack Obama is our new President Barack Obama is the leader of our land
On November 4, 2008 All the Americans voted In each and every state
Barack Obama is our new President Barack Obama is the leader of our land
He moved into the white house With his wife, Michelle His daughters, Malia and Sasha And new dog as well
Barack Obama is our new President Barack Obama is the leader of our land
He’ll bring us all together And work hard every day To make our nation better And keep our people safe
Barack Obama is our new President Barack Obama is the leader of our land
In the oval office From sea to shining sea He’ll represent our country The land and the free
Barack Obama is our new President Barack Obama is the leader of our land
*****
MARYMOUNT SCHOOL — 3-18-2009
Kindergartners sing what is the catchiest of the eleven songs. The school is Marymount. Couldn’t find a website.
Video Title: “No One’s as Irish as Barack Obama”
Video Note: Miss Maeve’s Kindergarten class performs!
Transcript:
O’Leary, O’Reilly, O’Hare and O’Hara There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama
You don’t believe me, I hear you say But Barack’s as Irish, as was JFK His granddaddy’s daddy came from Moneygall A small Irish village, well known to you all
He’s in the white house, He took a chance Now let’s see Barack do Riverdance Toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a loo, toor a lama There’s no one as Irish As Barack O’Bama
He’s as Irish as bacon and cabbage and stew He’s Hawaiian he’s Kenyan American too He’s in the white house, He took his chance Now let’s see Barack do Riverdance
Toor a loo, toor a lay, toor a loo, toor a lama There’s no one as Irish As Barack O’Bama
From Kerry and cork to old Donegal Let’s hear it for Barack from old moneygall From the lakes if Killarney to old Connemara There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama
*****
BARACK OBAMA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL — 1-31-2009
If you think the Nobel committee jumped the gun… Days after the 2008 presidential election Ludlum Elementary in Long Island petitioned and won the right to have the name of their school changed to Barack Obama Elementary. Watch this and ask yourself if the Nobel committee’s rationale couldn’t be that much different than the students questioned in the news report.
The video below isn’t of students singing but of a woman named Janelle Kirton performing the school song. The song doesn’t mention Obama, it just relies heavily on his platitudes, but pay special attention to the school decorations inter-cut throughout the video.
If that doesn’t creep you out enough, check out this slide-show from the school’s website.
Video Title: “Barack Obama School Song, Do You Hear The Sound, Janelle Kirton, Barack Obama Song.”
Video Note:Barack Obama Elementary School Song, Written by Janelle Kirton, arranged by Alex Kirton…
Transcript of “Do You Hear The Sound?”:
There’s a sound of Change Blowing in the wind It’s a sound that started long ago
By those who dare to dream Fighting against the loss With a passion of hope of better days
They had a dream They had hope for a friend to bring this nation together as one
The journey begins to education Unlocking every door Shaping a better tomorrow
We are sons and daughters Of promise Of school like a city upon a hill
Lights inside our hearts And hope to [unintelligible] To rise and conquer [unintelligible]
To dream To make a difference Not just in our land But in the world
Yes we can Make a difference If we unite Together and take
I am the dream I am the hope I am the bridge that’ll bring this nation Together as one
The journey begins to education Unlocking every door To shaping a better Tomorrow
There’s [unintelligible] If I teach you believe My voice will count My voice will be heard
Do you hear the sound I am the dream Do you hear the sound I am the hope Do you hear the sound
Yes we can.
The Barack Obama Elementary School
*****
“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls upon them makes an impression.” — Dr. Haim Ginott (teacher, child psychologist)
As we gather ‘round the Thanksgiving table, bow our heads in prayer, and feast on the holiday bird, it is only fitting to take a moment to fete the unforgettable turkeys of 2009. 
While this Generational Theft Act continues to soak up our tax dollars and add to our children and grandchildren’s debt, the Democrat majority is in the government kitchen cooking up a second stimulus turkey to provide federal infrastructure money to public-sector unions. Gobble, gobble. 
The kowtower-in-chief’s body language reflected the administration’s broader foreign policy prostrations – including scrapping missile defense in the Czech Republic and Poland, canceling a meeting with the Dalai Lama to appease China, sitting on its hands this summer during the Iranian election protests, and unveiling the 9/11 show trials in New York City that will provide a circus platform to jihadis and international Bush-haters. 
The other turkey in the story, Val Jarrett, escaped unscathed and went on to push the Obamas into their failed crony campaign for the Olympics 2016 bid in Copenhagen – a taxpayer-funded, hubris-infused debacle that ties with Van Jones for third biggest turkey of the year. Rio got the Games.
America got a closer look at the pay-for-play patrons, power brokers, and developers in the Windy City that have put an indelible Chicago stamp on the Potomac. 
More recently, the paper’s website demonstrated that it’s real motto is “All the inconvenient news that’s fit to suppress.” The Times’ lead environmental blogger, Andrew Revkin, haughtily refused to reprint damning e-mails leaked by a hacker in the burgeoning “ClimateGate” scandal. The documents reveal a long trail of manipulated data, but Revkin balked at the ill-gotten trove. The blabbermouths at the Times had no problem exposing national security secrets to undermine George W. Bush. But shed light on scientific hoaxes that undermine Al Gore? Unethical! 
Hollywood has-been Janeane Garafolo called them “racist, backward motherf**kers.” SEIU labor thug Dennis Rivera accused them of “terrorist tactics.” 
