Obama – Page 6 – Dull Razor

Weekend update and link round-up

Sorry about the lack of posting the last couple of days – I’ve been busy and somewhat out of sorts. On the other hand, my birthday’s coming up this week so I’ll be at least having a little bit of fun for that. So because I’m feeling totally out of the posting loop, here are a few things to check out from around the web in lieu of my usual posting spree:

Bend over, here it comes again: Bush makes a deal with the Democrats for $15 billion in auto aid. Democrats say it should hold them over until Obama gets into office and they can pass something bigger. Commentary by Scott Jacobs.
Medicare might be finally useful? But good luck getting a prescription for this puppy. h/t: Daily Pundit.
Underfunded, a teacher turns to selling ads on tests to recoup costs. Good idea? Sure. Unfortunate solution to unfortunate scenario? Definetly. Ace has more.
Heroin is now a basic human right – at least according to the British, that is. I think I just figured out why Rachel is moving… h/t Ace.
Terrorists vs Pirates – but where are the ninjas? And who the heck am I supposed to root for?
More nerd rage from the gays over prop 8. Jonah Goldberg explains why they don’t get it, and Ace nails it home.
Turns out the rabbi and his wife killed in the Mumbai attacks were expecting their second child, and that the two year old who was spirited out of there by a heroic nanny was beaten while having to watch his parents get tortured and killed. How cheerful.
Woman swept out to sea during marriage proposal: This is why I’m a fan of being lame: excitement kills.
And finally, from Ace: After man pays $12k in child support and spends two years in prison for failing to pay it, state finally admits that the child isn’t his. The best part? When ruling on paternity, the judge refused to allow a paternity test.

Have a good weekend, all.

Obama’s cabinet selections made official, also, the war is cool now

Nothing surprising, but it’s official now:

President-elect Obama officially announced his national security team today, naming Hillary Clinton, a top rival for the Democratic nomination with whom he sparred on foreign policy, as his Secretary of State.

Obama also retained Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the Pentagon, named former Marine Commandant and NATO Supreme Allied Commander retired Gen. James L. Jones as his national security adviser, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano Secretary of Homeland Security and campaign foreign policy adviser and Africa expert Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations.

Additionally, Obama officially named Eric Holder attorney general.

I previously talked about the disaster Napolitano would be in this position, it looks like now we’ll get to see if I was right. The other really notable name on this list is Eric Holder – the same guy who was instrumental in the shady Clinton pardon of Mark Rich, the billionare tax evader who makes oil deals with terrorists. Holder also helped out with the strongly-opposed pardoning of 16 FALN terrorists who were responsible for at least 120 bombings on American soil which caused “6 deaths and the permanent maiming of dozens of others, including law enforcement officials,” according to Congress. The idea that such a man could be appointed to an office that requires him to enforce the laws he so blatantly disregards is so absurd it would take a Clinton to think of it. Yes, it appears we’re headed for Clinton’s third term – this time with even more Kool-aid and no economic wave to ride.

So instead they’re setting up to give Obama all the credit for the victory in Iraq. He hasn’t done anything yet, and we’ve already won, but somehow it will remain a hopeless quagmire until sometime around January 21st, at which point NBC will acknowledge what we already know by announcing a victory in Iraq. But they’ll redirect all the praise to the newly-appointed Messiah figure they’ve propped up for themselves and try to slather onto his cardboard image a bit of legitimacy. It will be desperate, and it won’t be pretty, but then again… what have they done lately that was?

h/t: Ace

More fun from Chris Matthews & Co

The man just doesn’t stop delivering the goods in this panel on how awesome Obama the Lightbringer is:

MATTHEWS: One reason for the rage from the east, and I’m no expert. All these years that have led to the terrorism, the undercurrent of rage against the west, us, is the sense that we have disrespected them, their culture, we have looked down on them. In fact, we have defeated them technologically in some cases. But there’s that sense that they feel they’re reacting to the hatred of the west. By electing somebody with this name, are we going to diffuse some of that? I think that would be very hopeful if we could.

KATTY KAY, BBC: Yeah, I think it really does undermine some of that knee-jerk criticism of America. It’s much harder if you’re in the Middle East now to stand up and reject an American president whose middle-name is Hussein. It just, it just is.

As noted in the link, it’s amazing how fast saying his middle name changed from being “racist” to being “inspiring” once they came up with a spin for it. And then there’s this gem from NBC executive Mark Whitaker on the same panel:

I think it’s a bigger phenomenon which is the leader of the biggest democracy in the world is now a person of color and that is going to give him what political scientists would call a legitimacy in the street around the world that I don’t think an American leader has had, ever perhaps.

So he’s going to be great because he’s black? Really?

Who’s the racist now?

h/t: Daily Pundit

More cabinet appointments

The latest from Iowahawk:

WASHINGTON DC – Ending weeks of speculation and rumors, President-Elect Barack Obama today named Bill Clinton to join his incoming administration as President of the United States, where he will head the federal government’s executive branch.

“I am pleased that Bill Clinton has agreed to come out of retirement to head up this crucial post in my administration,” said Obama. “He brings a lifetime of previous executive experience as Governor of Arkansas and President of the United States, and has worked closely with most of the members of my Cabinet.”

Once again, the master of satire brings us a real gem. And with this news, I’m so glad that things are going to change, and not be like 4 more years of a Bill Clinton adminstration after a night of raucous partying, heavy drinking, and doing lines of crack off a stripper’s chest.

Hope! Change! Aztlán!

Obama really loves my little state, it seems. It’s now reported that Raul Grijalva is a top choice for Secretary of the Interior.

Okay, while all my Arizona readers are hyperventilating, I’ll catch the rest of you up on why this is A Bad Thing. First off, Grijalva is one of the most liberal members of the House of Representatives – and the man’s got some stiff competition, so this is no small feat. He also was a member of MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán), a radical pro-reconquista student group who believes that the southwest (California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Nevada) should return to being Hispanic states, or the region of Aztlán – ideally back under Mexican control. As such, they oppose any “melting pot” theories in which they would adjust to the culture of the United States, but instead try to impose their culture on those around them, since they believe it to be inherently superior. It is certainly valid to label them a racist group as well – their unofficial slogan, “Por La Raza todo, Fuera de La Raza nada,” translates to “For the race, everything, outside the race, nothing.” The motto also bears close resemblance to the motto of the Cuban communist revolution. He is also, unsurprisingly, strongly against enforcement of illegal immigration laws.

So once y’all are breathing regularly again, think about the repercussions of having a guy like this occupy the seat of the Secretary of the Interior. Stick Napolitano in the seat next to him as Secretary of Homeland Security, and we could get some real interesting changes around these parts – I hope that it’s not as bad a change as I expect. Plus, we’ll have completed the trifecta of “Arizona politicians on the national scene that make me want to vomit” that John McCain started. I couldn’t be more proud.

h/t: Liberty’s Apothecary