THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

While Sunday, January 9th, is my birthday, celebrating and watching the NFL Playoffs was not the order of business in Arizona. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is only one year older than me, and on Saturday she was shot. Thankfully she is alive. I have multiple tv sets in my living room, and they have been split between the football game and various news channels. I am keeping the Congresswoman in my prayers, along with the other victims and their families.

Also, Monday, January 10th, one day after me, my father celebrates his 70th birthday. I do not say it often enough, but I love you dad. I love you too mom.

Regarding the Arizona tragedy, here is what we heard on Saturday.

https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2011/01/murder-tragedy-in-arizona-congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot/

Sunday morning, one of my readers sent me a link to left-wing hate site Daily Kos. On January 6, 2011, 2 days before the shooting, a leftist issued an angry screed at Congresswoman Giffords for refusing to vote for the Pelosiraptor as speaker. Only after the shooting did the Kossacks take the post down. Again, the violence in this country is coming from the left. They can say it goes both ways. Not even close. Don’t expect MSNBC to discuss this leftist rant.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9Bx0L3n3uAo/TSjKLO_hVoI/AAAAAAAAInQ/ZAxX8bXV3fQ/s1600/kospost.jpg

Here is what we heard on Sunday.

10am: CBS: Ravens and Chiefs get prepared to kick off. CBS mentions nothing of the tragedy.

10:05am: The Pima County Sheriff has a press conference. Yesterday he blamed talk radio and tv personalities for the tragedy. The FBI Director was much more responsible, pointing out that we have no idea why the shooter did this.

10:33am: The Sheriff said one thing I agree with. We used to lock up mentally ill people. I can think of a few relatives and ex-girlfriends that could use a treatment facility rather than be out in open society harming people.

10:36am: MSNBC–Chris Jansing points out that the shooter went to a town hall a few months ago and asked a rambling incoherent question of the Congresswoman. He was unsatisfied with her answer.

10:42am: MSNBC: Sticking with the leftist talking points, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee blames Sarah Palin for the shooting.

10:43am: Fox News: Mike Tobin reports that Dr. Rhee, the head doctor, stated that Congresswoman Giffords cannot speak, but can hear. She is responding to questions by squeezing a ball in her hand.

10:53am: Fox News: Gretchen Carlson conducts a heartbreaking telephone interview with Roxnee Green, the mother of the 9 year old girl who died in the tragedy. The family is a very religious Christian family, and the mother is relying on her faith to get her through this. Her daughter was needed in Heaven. Her daughter was born on September 11th, 2001. The mother does not cast blame, but says that sick people are out there and we have to see the signs of trouble.

11:05am: Fox News: Giffords is in a medically induced coma. She is the only survivor in critical condition, but others are in serious condition. Serious is below critical.

11:06: MSNBC: David Gregory brings up Mein Kampf and the Congresswoman being Jewish. His interviewee points out that this angle is being explored, as are all angles.

11:08am: Fox News: Dorthy Morris age 76, and Phyllis Scheck, age 79, are 2 of the victims.

11:09am: Speaker John Boehner orders capitol hill flags lowered to half staff due to the death of a staffer of Congresswoman Giffords.

11:10am: Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, a New York liberal, attacks gun owners in general. “Guns kill. Those who glamorize gun play or worship gun ownership do no service to humanity.” Congresswoman Giffords owns a gun.

11:18am: While MSNBC is obsessing over the politically charged climate that is code for attacking conservatives, Fox News is interviewing Dr. Rhee. Dr. Rhee mentions that the quick actions by the EMS played a major role in saving the Congresswoman’s life. MSNBC keeps saying that we don’t know why this happened, but they will speculate and harm others anyway. Fox News seems more interested in hearing medical facts from the doctor. He mentions that 5 or 6 factors made the difference.

11:20am: The Jayson Blair Times (formerly the New York Times) concludes that the political climate absolutely played a factor. Evidence need not apply. In further news, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. is a wretched human being who owns a wretched paper.

11:25am: CBS: The Ravens lead the Chiefs 10-7 at halftime. Yet unlike NBC the day before, CBS felt that the shooting of a Congresswoman was worth mentioning. A couple minutes of information including FBI Director Robert Mueller preceded the football halftime show. CBS promised updates throughout.

11:46am: MSNBC: David Gregory interviews Harry Reid about healthcare. Gregory can barely contain his glee at the thought that the shooting may prevent Republicans from voting to overturn Obamacare. Not that the left would ever politicize this tragedy. Oh wait. They would and have from the first tragic shots fired.

11:48am: Fox News: President Obama is ordering a moment of silence for Monday at 11:am Monday morning. Also, he is postponing a scheduled trip to New York.

11:52am: Fox News is offering actual news, as police release the gutwrenching 911 tapes of the shooting. MSNBC still has David Gregory interviewing Harry Reid, who claims that the tea party influence in America is way overstated. So on the one hand they are a threat, and on the other hand they are insignificant. A few seconds later Reid says we should all tone it down.

Once again, “coming together” for a liberal means conservatives should just shut up and let liberals run things. There is no other way to explain this constant garbage about us all coming together while simultaneously blaming conservatives for the tragedy.

12:01pm: Fox News reports that the second man wanted for questioning has been cleared by police and is no longer a suspect or person of interest.

12:03pm: Fox News: The FBI reports that the shooter will be charged with murder and assault today. Trauma Surgeon Dr. Randall Friese Gives a detailed medical explanation of what had to be done to save the Congresswoman’s life and go forward. He explained exactly why he is convinced that Congresswoman Giffords understood his commands, as she “gave a very generous squeeze” of his hand when requested to do so.

12:07pm: MSNBC: Chris Jansing reports that 30 year old victim Gabriel Zimmerman died. He was engaged to be married. While much of MSNBC is leftist editorializing, Ms. Jansing seems to be very professional, reporting the facts as a journalist should. This could get her fired from MSNBC.

12:13pm: Fox News: Dr. Ed Kornell is a neurosurgeon, and he gave a detailed explanation of how the brain works, and the fact that the bullet did not ever cross the “center line” of the Congresswoman’s brain is why she is alive. Dr. Kornell has been doing neurosurgery since before John Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan.

12:26pm: Reuters reports charges being filed against the shooter, but those charges are sealed at this time. MSNBC reports that a plane crash in Iran killed 70 people and 9 inches of snow is about to belt the Southern United States. Does it ever stop? Actually, I am scared to ask that. I am thankful to be alive.

12:39pm: Fox News reports the charges have been released. 2 counts of murder, 2 counts of attempted murder, and one count of attempting to kill a member of Congress. No word on whether the feds will seek the death penalty. In a grisly conversation that could have waited, if Ms. Giffords dies or is incapacitated, Governor Brewer cannot appoint a successor. A special election must be held. I would not want to be a candidate running in that one on either side.

12:43pm: Fox News (and politically liberal, Fox News allows varying viewpoints) Legal Analyst Lis Wiehl explains that the Feds have jurisdiction for the 2 federal employees killed, the judge and the staffer. The other deceased victims are not federal employees so Arizona has jurisdiction. Ms. Wiehl rejects the insanity defense in this case based on the MySpace page of the shooter showing he knew right from wrong. Medical Analyst Dr. Keith Ablow offers a fascinating counterpoint of mens rea and culpability. If the shooter felt he was defending something such as martians, insanity could be valid.

1pm: Fox News and CNN stick with the story, while MSNBC decides to show a 2 hour unrelated program about a love triangle called “seduction.” Yes, this is MSNBC.

1:26pm: Fox News: Megyn Kelly interviews John Green, the father of the 9 year old shooting victim. The girl had just been elected to the student council and wanted to meet her local congresswoman. The man’s son was supposed to also go but he had karate practice, which the mom took him to. The woman who took the girl to the event is named Susie. Susie was shot 4 times but survived. The daughter, as previously mentioned, was the only girl on the boy’s softball team.

1:32pm The father and Megan hold back tears and he says something very poignant. “My daughter was born on 9/11. We had enough restrictions after 9/11 trying to fly. We don’t need any more restrictions on our society. There is always going to be random acts, but there are a lot of good people out there.”

Megan Kelly fought back anger as she said that regarding the shooter, “We need to find out why. There is always a desire to prescribe reason to what could be an irrational act.”

1:37pm: Megan Kelly interviews Pima County Sheriff Dupnik. “There are people who are very angry at the politics of Gabrielle (Giffords).” Again, no evidence exists that the political climate had anything to do with this. Megyn asks if the shooter was watching or listening to such programs. The sheriff ignores the question. She politely asks again. The sheriff says “I don’t have that information yet. My belief…no doubt in my mind…” Kelly points out that he is offering speculation. He replies “That is my opinion…period.” Kelly points out that maybe it is inappropriate to speculate at this time. “Difference of opinion is what makes the world go round.”

So at this point everybody else needs to tone it down, but liberals are allowed to inflame the public by attacking conservatives in the name of toning it down. Kelly correctly points out that the sheriff is a Democrat who ran as a Democrat. The sheriff says “We see one party trying to block the other party for trying to make this a better country.”

Can we finally admit that the Pima County Sheriff is a partisan hack exploiting the tragedy for political purposes?

1:42pm: Fox (regular, not Fox News): The Green Bay Packers are at the Philadelphia Eagles. The Ravens throttled the Chiefs 30-7. The discussion is only football, as the teams kick off.

2:53pm: Megyn Kelly interviews Daniel Hernandez Jr. He is the intern who saved Congresswoman Giffords. He had very limited medical knowledge from some courses in school, but it was enough. Thank God for this young man. Somehow the Congresswoman was able to respond and squeeze his hand after she was shot in the head. That says a lot about her. As for Mr. Hernandez, he initially used his own hand to stop the flow of blood.

2:56pm: CNN: The Rabbi at the Synagogue Congresswoman Gifford attends is holding a vigil.

3:13pm: The Packers lead the Eagles 14-3 at halftime and are starting the second half with no mention of the Arizona tragedy. For those keeping score, CBS did mention it while Fox and NBC said nothing.

3:17pm: Fox News: Brett Baier is interviewing Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina. Naturally he is blaming conservatives for the tragedy. Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation made it clear that the left is doing what it tried to do in 1995 after the Oklahoma City bombing, blaming conservatives when there was 0 connection.

3:24pm: Brett Baier interviews Rand Paul and Chris Coons. Despite being a liberal, Coons refuses to endorse more gun control when asked by Baier.

3:37pm: Fox News panel of pundits. Charles Krauthammer not on the panel, rendering it less relevant. Yet even without Sir Charles, some cogent points were made. Unlike MSNBC, divergent viewpoints were freely expressed amicably.

3:38pm: Give Liberal Mara Liasson credit. She stated that there is no proven link between political discourse and this tragedy. She could get fired from NPR for those remarks.

3:41pm: Juan Williams, as reasonable as ever. “You can’t just blame right-wing rhetoric for this attack.” He pointed out that in 1995, Democrats used Oklahoma City for political gain. Comments like that are why NPR fired him already.

3:56pm: Outside of CNN and Ted Turner, the worst thing about Atlanta is Delta. CNN announcing that Delta is canceling 2000 flights for a storm that has not even hit yet. More direct flights and not forcing everyone through Atlanta would help matters. I fly Monday afternoon from Los Angeles to Reno on Delta. Sheesh.

4:48pm: Fox: Packers over Eagles 21-16. No mention of the Arizona tragedy in the postgame show.

4:53pm: Fox News: FBI looking into ties between shooter and anti-government group. American Renaissance leader Jared Taylor says he has never heard of the shooter.

5:45pm: CNN: Anderson Cooper and Jessica Yellin continued to blame Sarah Palin. The head of the Tucson Tea Party went so far as to state that the left was practically praying for the shooter to be a tea party person, and are disappointed that the equivalent of ballistics did not match. David Gergen, the “Republican” on the panel, chimed in with the liberals about how we all need to cool down.

Monday, January 10th:

9:46am: It seems the 9 year old girl who tragically died is the granddaughter of former Philadelphia Phillies Manager Dallas Green.

9:52am: Fox News: Emanuel Cleaver, Chairman of the Congressional Black Liberal Caucus, reads from the Democratic talking points about us all “toning it down.” When he is asked about President Obama referring to Republicans as enemies, Cleaver demurs.

10:07am: Fox News: Megyn Kelly interviews Democrat Congressman Pat Brady. He wants to make it illegal to have a picture of a congressperson in the crosshairs as Sarah Palin did on her website. He does not want to infringe on anyone’s freedom of speech, unless that person is conservative.

10:13am: MSNBC: Liberal “Analyst” Andrea Mitchell interviews Democrat Martin Frost, who received death threats in 1991 when he voted in favor of the first Gulf War. What neither of them mention is that it was anti-war leftists making those threats. How convenient. Sarah Palin draws a picture and the left gets hysterical, but leftists make actual death threats and somehow Andrea Mitchell neglects to tell us this. Mitchell reports that Palin and Beck “are on the defensive.” Mitchell points out that Beck “has been accused” of saying bad things. Yes, it is the left accusing him. So the left makes accusations, and then cites those accusations as evidence. Circular logic from ideologues withe a liberal agenda.

Loughner had a grudge against Congresswoman dating back to 2007, a full year before Sarah Palin became a household liberal obsession for “targeting.” It was also 2 years before the tea party existed. Glenn Beck was on CNN at the time, not Fox News.

10:36am: Andrea Mitchell is interviewing Paul Hemke of the Brady Campaign. Those are the people using the tragic shooting of James Brady in 1981 to get guns banned under the guise of “reasonable restrictions.” Yes, using tragedies to exploit political issues did not begin this week. Did Mitchell have an NRA representative available for a different point of view? No, not on MSNBC.

10:39am: Congressman Bill Pascrell of New Jersey blames Fox News and their “culture of hate” for the shooting. I am sure he also thinks we should all tone it down.

10:45am: President Obama speaks. “We don’t have a stronger ally than Nicolas Sarkozy and the French people.” England may disagree. Mr. Obama loves kicking England in the teeth. Otherwise, his remarks were inconsequential but harmless.

11:07am: Fox News: Interview with Pima County Attorney Barbara Lawall. She promises to be deliberate but does not promise to seek the death penalty. She is a Democrat.

12:54pm: FBI agents arrive at the shooter’s home. Governor Brewer gives her State of State Address. “We will never be brought down.” “Our meetings on sunny days will continue.”

1:33pm: Fox News: Neil Cavuto reports that while the suspect has said virtually nothing, he answered in the affirmative that he understood the charges against him. He did not mention Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck in his responses, which Paul Krugman will cite as evidence that the shooter is indeed crazy. After all, any rational Jayson Blair Times columnist with a sinister looking beard knows they are at fault.

2pm: Fox News had Glenn Beck and MSNBC had Chris Matthews at the same time. Glenn Beck offered heartfelt sentiments for the families while Chris Matthews attacked Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle. Matthews began with a panel of liberals only, since MSNBC does not allow diversity of opinion. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Raul Grijalva have a history of hateful statement toward Republicans. Chellie Pingree of Maine was the third Democrat on the panel.

2:03pm Wasserman-Schultz brought up “shock jocks.”

2:05pm: Beck pointed out that he ordered his staff to remain quiet and not jump to conclusions before the facts came out, and that the left learned nothing from the Shirley Sherrod incident.

2:07pm: Matthews played a clip of Sharron Angle saying she wanted to take Harry Reid out. Now we know Matthews is a leftist ideologue, but perhaps she meant she wanted to date him romantically. Given how dour he is and how pleasant she is, she probably meant defeating him in the election. Matthews then says “I want to narrow the discussion.” In his case I did not know that was possible.

2:10pm: Beck points out that the shooter at a school board meeting in Florida was a leftist despite the left stating he was on the right. “Is there any such thing as an editor anymore?” He points out that when Congresswoman Giffords was shot, Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos immediately linked to Sarah Palin’s site before we knew the shooter. Beck also showed the horrendous post on their own site of a leftist threatening Gifford, and showed the West Virginia Joe Manchin Senate ad of him shooting a gun through cap and trade legislation.

2:12pm: Matthews claims that gun violence toward politicos is a uniquely American problem, and that Mexico does not have this problem. Is he kidding? Has he heard of the 1994 assassination of presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio? How about the drug fueled cartel assassinations of judges and police officers? Somebody have Matthews live in Mexico for awhile. He might appreciate the Second Amendment then.

2:25pm: Beck: Media Matters wants Beck and Palin off the air. Not that a liberal would ever advocate conservatives be censored and banned from speaking, but yes they do on a daily basis. Beck played a radio clip of him interviewing Giffords and saying nice things about her. “I stand with Sarah Palin. I would stand with Barack Obama and Van Jones if they would reject politicizing violence. There is a difference between hard fought political battles and violence.”

2:26pm: Matthews: Interviews David Corn of Mother Jones, who said he interviews a friend of the shooter. The shooter was a loner, not a guy into conservative talk radio. No sign he was a partisan. Matthews cut off Corn and went to the next guest. Matthews said we find deranged people in churches and train stations. Brian Levin of the Center for Hate and Extremism said that “Ideology is the gift wrap on the pathology.” He states that it is wrong to lay the shooting at the feet of right-wing ideology, at which point Matthews cuts him off, says we should not discount what he says, before discounting it. Focus on the pathology, not the ideology.

2:38pm: Beck: We can’t stop these attacks totally. Violence is a people problem. It is a human problem.” He points out that nobody but the shooter is to blame. “Violence from all sides in reprehensible.”

2:39pm: Matthews interviews Judson Philips of Tea Party Nation. Matthews says “No country in the world has had as many leaders assassinated as America.” Matthews is as Matthews does. He insulted Phillips’s intelligence and kept interrupting, bringing up Michele Bachmann. For a guy who abhors violence, Matthews sure does love screaming at people he disagrees with. For a guy who wants civility, he sure does love insulting political opponents.

2:46pm: Beck: “I denounce violence, regardless of ideological motivation.”

2:51pm: Matthews describes himself as a “moderate, and not a hater.” Howard Fineman of the Huffington Post chimed in that “Barack Obama has always presented himself as somebody who stands for civility and for reaching out, as somebody who doesn’t let hatred figure into any of his computations.” Of course he does. Barack Obama is the epitome of division. He presents himself another way, yes, but that is what being a phony is all about. The real Barack Obama absolutely loathes his political opponents, treating them as enemies. Everybody not employed by MSNBC understands this.

Matthews pointed out that there are people on the left who think people on the right are evil. Yes Chris, they are you and your coworkers. Fineman chimes in and says that Obama does not see his opponents as evil, just stupid.

2:56pm: Beck offers heartfelt comments about the 9 year old girl killed in the tragedy.

3:25pm: Liberal hate speech provider Ed Schultz, in defending his own abusive behavior, said “I get passionate, but not in a violent way.” So liberals get passionate while conservative speakers are dangerous. He said that although conservatism had nothing to do with the tragedy, it should still be talked about. No, it shouldn’t. Stick to the relevant. If liberals did, they would have to be silent since admitting they are the problem does not help their cause.

3:54pm: Charles Krauthammer, a trained psychiatrist who actually does know what he is talking about, pointed out that in the past in his official capacity he had to have people committed. The standards for committing people is lower (thank you liberals), making this harder to do.

Anyway, So while Beck was preaching love (as he consistently does), and Krauthammer was calmly offering logic, Matthews and Schultz were screaming like leftist lunatics (as they consistently do) while simultaneously wanting the right to cool down and exempting themselves.

At this point it is time to do the exact opposite of cool down. It is time for me to get red hot.

My heart goes out to the victims and their families, and I am saying many prayers. Yet I will not let attempts by the left to use this tragedy for political gain to go unchallenged.

We do not need less speech. We need more speech.

I keep comparing liberals to Palesimians and conservative Republicans to Jews.

Palesimians say “If only you would let us kill you and take steps to ensure your own deaths, we can all get along peacefully. If you try to defend yourselves we will wail about a neverending cycle of violence.”

Liberals say, “We should all tone it down, but we reserve the right once you are quiet to bash your skulls in. When you try to fight back, we will accuse you of being angry, lob more grenades at you, and then say that all of us…of course by us we mean you and not us…should tone it down.”

I’m sorry, but unilateral disarmament does not cut it.

Liberals are going to use this tragedy to silence conservatives.

It could come in renewed attempts at the fairness doctrine, or more net neutrality.

It could come in the form of demonizing Republicans for doing their jobs. “How dare you try to repeal Obamacare? Congresswoman Giffords supported Obamamcare. You obviously support the murder of the Arizona victims!”

It could come in the form of more attempts at gun control. Congresswoman Giffords did not share the passion for gun control that other Democrats do, but the left will ignore that.

Until a liberal can point to one thing that Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck has ever said to endorse violence, those leftists should tone it down.

Every day liberals are verbally terrorizing conservatives just for breathing. Whether it be Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Kathy Griffin, Joy Behar, Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Sheriff Dupnik, the Daily Kos, the Huffington Post, Moveon.org, Joan Walsh, Paul Krugman, or any other leftist bombthrowers, the hateful acts are one-directional.

Oh, and it was the Daily Kos that put a “bulls-eye” on Congresswoman Giffords in 2008 for supporting FISA Courts.

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Daily-Kos-Bullseyed-Giffords/2011/01/10/id/382350?s=al&promo_code=B6E5-1

http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/01/09/joan-walsh-helps-craft-obscene-defense-for-arizona-shooter-blame-palin-and-the-tea-party/

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/01/09/foxs_megyn_kelly_lambastes_sheriff_for_adding_political_spin_to_shooting.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703667904576071913818696964.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41087

http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/10/exploiting-a-tragedy/

http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/10/the-progressive-climate-of-hate-an-illustrated-primer-2000-2010/

The left will point to Sarah Palin, as if some metaphor about “targeting” members of congress for defeat should be taken seriously. I watched Wile E. Coyote and Bugs Bunny as a kid. I never tried to jump off a roof.

You blame the people who do the bad things, and stop trying to invent tenuous non-existent links.

It is about personal responsibility, something the left will never understand.

Lastly, the reason why the bile is one directional is because the left wants warfare and the right wants policy discussions. The right wins when the discussions are based on policy. We are a center-right nation. The right loses when it gets personal because we cannot ever win the public relations game.

The left loses when it is based on policy. They win when they follow Saul Alinsky. Polarize and personalize everything.

The right disagrees with the left. The left hates the right. It is called Ideological Bigotry.  I wrote 3 books on the subject. Buy them and commit them to memory.

In the coming days, any attempts to repeal Obamacare, stop gun control legislation, or cut taxes, will be met with cries of supporting the Arizona murderer.

You just watch. The left is prepared to use this tragedy to silence all conservatives. They don’t want civil discourse. They want to go back to a time when things were quieter when conservatives had no voice at all.

(It is not paranoia when they really are out to get you.)

When the leftists stop acting like verbal homicide bombers, the right will embrace peace in an instant.

As I said, today my dad turns 70. He survived the most unspeakable evil on Earth, the Holocaust.

Thank God he did not have to get on that boxcar.

He did not escape the Nazis so that he could live in a nation where others would use vile tragic murders to silence political opposition (including my dad, who is politically conservative).

So I will politely but forcefully say at the top of my lungs that until the left knocks it off, I am verbally armed to the teeth with oral bazookas and grenades.

There will be zero violence, but lacerating verbal parries and thrusts in self-defense.

It’s my America too, and even conservatives have First Amendment protection.

Sorry Kossacks and Olbermaniacs…I am not getting on that boxcar.

Hineni. Here I am. Conservative, Republican, Jewish, proud of it, and here to stay.

eric

A murderer in Tucson Arizona shot 19 people, and killed 5. One of the people shot in the head was U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. At the time of this writing she is alive.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/08/20110108arizona-giffords-brk.html

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/08/arizona.shooting/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/08/arizona-congresswoman-reportedly-shot-public-event/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40978517/ns/politics/

http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/08/horror-arizona-rep-gabrielle-giffords-6-others-murdered-at-tuscon-event/

U.S. Federal Judge John Roll was killed.

Like all of you, I am in a state of shock trying to make sense of the absolutely senseless.

The only thing we need to do right now is send as much love and many prayers to all of the families.

We don’t know why this occurred, and any theorizing without facts would be irresponsible and compound the tragedy.

For those who want to talk on the left about health care and tea parties, and for those on the right wanting to talk about illegal immigration, NOW IS NOT THE TIME.

This post will be updated as facts come in.

We live in a free society, and for all we know Congress could go on permanent lockdown.

The way we act and react could determine our society in the years to come.

Again, just love and pray for the families.

Call your loved ones and remind them again that you love them.

eric

12:50pm (All times PST): The Pima County Sheriff’s office is reporting that the shooter was a 22 year old male named Jared Laughner who had been in trouble with the law before one time for something “very minor.”

1:02pm: Hospital press conference says Congresswoman Giffords is expected to live. However, the one deceased in the tragedy was a small child, about 9 years old.

1:15pm: Fox News: Shepherd Smith confirms that the suspect is Caucasian. He may have written about his frustration with illegal immigrants.

1:17pm: MSNBC: Congresswoman Giffords won her most recent election by less than 1%. It was the last race to be called. She was one of 19 Democrat not to support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. She is a former Republican turned Democrat who was seen as pro-gun and pro-business.

1:18pm: Fox News: Brett Baier reports that Congresswoman Giffords defeated a tea party candidate by less than 4,000 votes.

1:27pm: NBC: NFL Playoffs about to start, and the football analysts are all talking football and smiling as the Seahawks face the Saints. Not a single word is being said about the Congresswoman. This is not a judgment, only an observation. Network executives have decisions to make, and the NBC decision is business as usual.

I personally would delay the start of the game a few minutes so the president can speak to everyone.

1:34pm: Fox News: Shepherd Smith: The shooter’s favorite readings are the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf. He also wants a return to the gold standard.

1:35pm: NFL kickoff…game starts, no mention of the tragedy.

1:46pm: President Obama speaks to the nation as the football game continues uninterrupted. Mr. Obama says “Gabby Gifford was a friend of mine.” She is still alive, and he meant to say “is.” He spoke for 3 minutes.

(This is not a criticism, just an observation about the pressure of speaking after tragedies such as this.)

1:59pm: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer spoke to the nation. She fought back tears and said, “I am heartbroken.” She ordered the Arizona flags to be flown at half-staff. Governor Brewer took questions. She also used the word “was” a couple times and then corrected herself saying “she was…and is…a great public servant.”

Governor Brewer confirmed that President Obama called her and was gracious, non-partisan, and tht he promised to offer the full cooperation of the Federal Government, and that the FBI will be leading the investigation.

2:20pm: A statement by John Boehner read that “an attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve.”

2:22pm: Haris Faulkner reports that Congresswoman Giffords did have her office smashed a few hours after the health care law was passed. Iwas John Boehner who said “This is not the American way.” No evidence has surfaced that health care has played any role in this tragedy, although other political issues seem to be at play.

2:26pm: The shooter may be an atheist. Again, no evidence suggests that theology or rejection of theology has played a role in the shooting.

2:32pm: It seems yesterday Bill Hemmer of Fox News interviewed Congresswoman Giffords. It was a friendly interview, as Giffords was proposing a 5% reduction in all congressional salaries.

2:40pm: MSNBC as expected poisons the tragedy and exploits it by blaming Sarah Palin. She put out a campaign ad “targeting” members of Congress for defeat including Giffords. I wonder why MSNBC will not admit what Fox News reported, that the shooter was reading the Communist Manifesto. MSNBC is still attributing this shooting to health care. If there really was right-wing hate in this country, MSNBC executives would not be alive to report anything.

(I am not advocating violence, just making a point at how phony and destructive MSNBC is to our society.)

2:44pm: Nancy Pelosi speaks to the nation. Fox News covers the remarks. MSNBC does not. She asks for a moment of silence, and asks a young girl’s chorus to sing. Ms. Pelosi’s remarks were non-partisan.

2:51pm: Congresswoman Giffords was against the Arizona immigration law SB 1070 but also against the White House lawsuit against Arizona. The Daily Kos attacked her for this.

2:52pm: Fox News has reported that Congresswoman Gifford is Jewish. She is the first Jewish Congresswoman in the history of Arizona. As reported earlier, the shooter was reading Mein Kampf. There could be a Jewish angle.

(My personal editorial as a Jewish guy: Just flipping great! Just what we need, another attack on a Jewish person. I hope there is no Jewish angle.)

Something odd on Wikipedia confirms that she is pro-gun, supporting the Supreme Court for striking down the DC gun ban. Yet the NRA rates her D+ and the GOA rates her D-. This seems incongruent.

Wikipedia confirms that she is Jewish, and that she spent time in Houston helping with Hurricane Katrina relief.

3:11pm: NBC: The Seahawks lead the Saints 24-20 at halftime and the network is not saying a single thing about the Arizona tragedy. I love football, but this is unsettling.

(I have 4 tvs in my living room, normally for NFL Sundays. Today one of them is on Fox News, one on MSNBC, and one on NBC for the game. CNN is getting shafted currently.)

3:13pm: NBC is giving a report on pee-wee football in the Tiny Football League. I kid you not.

3:14pm: NBC, Bob Costas interviews Peyton Manning.

3:23pm: NBC, second half kickoff. No mention of AZ tragedy.

3:32pm: Fox News: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement on the death of Judge Roll, stating the “importance of the rule of law” and “the sacrifices involved” with preserving the law. Judge Andrew Napolitano referred to Judge Roll as a “quiet conservative Republican…fairly non-controversial.” Judge Napolitano speculated that Judge Roll was most likely not the target, but that it was unusual for him to be there.

This matters because if Judge Roll was the target, Federal jurisdiction applies and the shooter could face the death penalty. All eyes would be on Eric Holder. If Judge Roll was an accidental victim and not the target, Arizona has jurisdiction.

I apologize for reporting cold clinical facts at this time, but whether the FBO or the Pima County Sheriff’s office is in charge has wide ramifications.

3:37pm–While Fox News has Cindy McCain sharing warm words about Congresswoman Giffords, MSNBC is focusing on the tea party in a clip from last March. Giffords mentions Palin in the clip.

3:42pm–MSNBC–Bob Schieffer continued to harp on Palin. For the record, Palin offered heartfelt condolences.

3:43pm: Fox News–Cindy McCain apologizes for accidentally using “was” instead of “is” regarding the Congresswoman. As previously stated, nerves are frayed and people are in shock. Not helping matters is that earlier reports incorrectly had the Congresswoman as deceased. She is alive.

4pm: MSNBC: Ed Schults interviewed Congressmen Raul Grijalva and Elliot Engel of Arizona and New York respectively. They all bemoaned the demonization of political opponents as enemies for merely disagreeing. They piously spoke of raising the tone and increasing civility. This was the same network that less than an hour earlier was blaming the tea party and Sarah Palin.  I don’t need to be told by MSNBC to be civil. They need to tell themselves.

4:39pm: MSNBC: For some reason Al Sharpton was interviewed. He said we should all look inward to see if we contribute to the climate of violence. Al Sharpton called Jews “diamond merchants,” and was directly responsible for stoking the climate of fear that led to blacks murdering Jews in Crown Heights. I don’t need to look inward. Al Sharpton does. This is who MSNBC gets to lecture us.

5pm: It was reported that John Boehner and Eric Cantor are suspending all legislative sessions for the coming week to deal with this tragedy. A suspicious package was found by Ms. Giffords’s office.

5:02pm: NBC: The Seahawks shocked the Saints 41-36. The Jets were at the Colts, and there was no mention of the tragedy.

5:14pm: The Pima County Sheriff said that “Arizona is becoming the Mecca for hatred, prejudice, and bigotry.” Radio and tv were blamed as well. For some reason Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto were still being overlooked.

It is perfectly reasonable to be horrified and empathetic for the victims while simultaneously angered at the phony calls for unity that run directly concurrent with blaming conservatives in thinly veiled and occasiona covert references.

5:20pm: A second suspect is actively being pursued. Judge Roll was just there to say hello. He was not the target. Congresswoman Giffords was.

5:32pm: The Pima County Sheriff again blamed the “vitriol” of certain Americans in radio and tv for the tragedy. I doubt he considered MSNBC the problem. I mean it’s not like they are exploiting the tragedy for political gain. Oh wait, yes they did.

5:46pm: Despite there being zero evidence that this was in any way connected to talk radio, Keith Olbermann and his guest continued suggesting that we all need to calm down. Olbermann then brought up Sarah Palin. He then disclosed that he donated money to Congresswoman Giffords in the most recent election. There was no discussion if any leftist publications such as the Communist Manifesto played a role.

5:54pm: Olbermann rapidly read the shooter’s reading list, skimming quickly before returning to Sarah Palin as a concern.

5:56pm: The “expert” guest pointed out that the shooter was reading Ayn Rand, which was the most serious clue. The Communist Manifesto was ignored. The “Radical Right” was mentioned. The left was not. This is MSNBC people.

5:59pm: The “expert,” Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, blamed the disturbed kid who flew a plane into a building in Italy several years ago as a product of the Radical Right, although there was zero link. Olbermann mentioned threats against Democrats in Congress but not Republicans such as Eric Cantor.

6:16pm: MSNBC: Olbermann mentions to Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post about the 1970s murders of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk. Olbermann mentioned that Milk was gay but left out that the murderer was a leftist. Robinson brought up Sarah Palin.

6:18pm: Robinson said that in today’s society that “incontrovertibly violence comes from the right.” No, it comes from the left, the same way it has always come. Robinson said that Bill Ayers was once relevant. He still is.

For those wondering why I am watching such garbage as MSNBC, it is because hate speech must be monitored. MSNBC is hate speech, and I watch so you don’t have to.

Keith Olbermann and Eugene Robinson talked about better angels. We should all look in the mirror. There were no mirrors around at MSNBC headquarters. We should all reflect, unless employed by MSNBC.

6:26pm: Robinson posits that maybe the Judge was the target. That was ruled out earlier by the Sheriff. People should not be allowed on tv until they have their facts together. That is how people erroneously get declared deceased. Olbermann said that MSNBC would continue to discuss the political factors even though no evidence existed that there were any. This is MSNBC.

6:46pm: Olbermann declared that “the violent rhetoric must end.” Let’s see how many minutes it takes for Olbermann to violate that pledge. Also, let’s see if a shred of evidence that the “rhetoric” had anything to do with the tragedy. The shooter isn’t talking. I understand Olbermann needs to fill up air time, but his accusations contribute to very poisonous climate he pretends to want to reduce.

6:49pm: “We need to put the guns down. We need to put the gun metaphors away.” No Mr. Olbermann. We need to protect the Second Amendment because without it, there is no First Amendment. I am even willing to defend your right to speak, even as you try to eliminate mine.

6:51pm: Olbermann kept fawning over the remarks by the Pima County Sheriff. They were powerful, but that does not make them meaningful or relevant. Olbermann criticized Palin and said she must be repudiated. For those keeping track, Olbermann needed 5 minutes to break his word. Olbermann then attacked Colonel Allen West, Sharron Angle, and tea party members. He then compared Glenn Beck to the shooter and blamed Bill O’Reilly as well. Olbermann could not think of a single person on the left.

He referred to leftist violence as “inadvertant” and “mild.” He apologized for a comment about Hillary Clinton, not for the years of hate speech against Republicans. He said that if “even somebody like him” could use violent rhetoric, then the “truly deranged” must be stopped. Olbermann is the truly deranged, as he began babbling about pro-slavery supporters.

Olbermann said the bad people should be shunned. I agree. May Olbermann’s ratings continue to plummet. He apologized for anything he “inadvertantly” said to promote violence, but let’s see how quickly he breaks that promise.

Anyway, Keith Olbermann being on tv tells me there is no more news to report at this time.

8:05pm: NBC: One last update: The Jets stunned the Colts 17-16 on the final play as NBC goes the whole day without mentioning the tragedy. Both football games were phenomenal. NBC’s coverage was still awful.

Anyway, tonight is my birthday party and tomorrow my actual birthday. I genuinely care about the victims, but have no interest in liberal sanctimony from hateful leftist commentators transferring their own viciousness onto those they hate.

May God bless the victims in heaven and their families on Earth.

eric

I have to the conclusion that politicians and elitists think that ordinary Americans are imbeciles. I cannot think of any other explanation as to why every aspect of American culture is being censored in a politically correct manner. This sanitizing of American culture is nothing more than a pack of lies.

A great movie about advertising executives was “Crazy People,” starring Dudley Moore and Paul Reiser.

Moore’s character has a mental breakdown, tired of lying for a living. He exclaims to Reiser “Let’s stop lying. Let’s level with America!”

Reiser’s character responds, “We can’t level with America you crazy b@stard, we’re in advertising!”

So Moore’s guy develops honest ads on various products. The results are riotous.

“Don’t kid yourself. If you look like this, you’re fat.”

“Metamucil. It helps you go to the toilet. Use it or you’ll get cancer and die.”

“This movie will not scare you. It will f*ck you up for life.”

The ad campaign is a success, and sparks a wave of honesty across America. Yes the movie is fiction, but it does not have to be. I am tired of sanitizing. Sanitizing is just a fancy way of spreading lies.

Liberals do it by refusing to recognize that their leaders are mere mortals and not demi-gods.

FDR was a smoker. This does not diminish his influence during World War II. If I had to worry about the fate of the free world, I would have possibly smoked as well. Lloyd Bridges in “Airplane” mused,  “I picked a bad week to stop sniffing glue.”

Yet now politically correct leftists want to show the famous photo of FDR brimming with conference in his fedora, but without his cigarette. This is ridiculous. We did not know back then the effects of smoking, and it was part of his character and style. A dashing man, which he was, always had a cigarette for the lady.

Contrary to liberal beliefs in 2008, Barack Obama is not a god. He is a mere mortal, no better than you or me. He is a smoker. Yet not a single picture of him with a cigarette has ever been taken.

Liberals will claim that this is because he does not want to set a bad example for children everywhere. This is nonsense. If he wanted to set a good example, he could quit. He would do it publicly in a prime time speech to get as much praise as possible, as his his style. Doing good things quietly without fanfare is beyond him. Yet either way, the reason the left ignores his smoking is because it reduces his godlike status. He is not allowed to have a flaw. If George W. Bush can quit drinking, yet Barack Obama cannot quit smoking, people could draw conclusions about discipline that would horrify the left.

I personally do not object to smoking, but if the left wants to harass smokers, President Obama should not get a free pass.

Republicans also do it. They made a big deal about reading the entire U.S. Constitution on the floor of the House yesterday. It was a noble gesture, and I agreed with it. Yet some parts of the Constitution that could be deemed offensive to some were left out.

Why? The Constitution does not have to be perfect. The Founding Fathers were brilliant, but they were mortals. They were flawed. Stoners today love to point out that the Founders were stoners. Times were different then.

The Constitution is our document. If something in their is bad, it can be repealed. Yet to not read aloud certain aspects of the document dealing with sensitive topics such as race relations and citizenship defeats the whole purpose of educating people.

This brings us to Huckleberry Finn.

(I have not read the book. I am intelligent, but not well-rounded. This is who I am, and I freely admit I should be more well-rounded. I know who I am, and am at peace with that. I do not read enough literature.)

Apparently new prints of the book are eliminating the n-word, the one that rhymes with “bigger.”

I hate the n-word. It is vile to me. I choose not to use it.

When Jamie Masada, owner of the Laugh Factory, banned use of the word in his club, I was fine with that. It is his private club.

(Full disclosure: I have performed at his club. While he is on the left, he created a night of conservative comedians in the interest of real diversity. It is smart business, and I applaud him for doing this.)

As a radio dj, I agonized over whether to play a song by a rock group called the Electric Angels. The song was called, “The color of hate.” It is an anti-bigotry song.

“Are you color blind? (N-word, redacted) ain’t a color, it’s a state of mind.”

Now I voluntarily decided to not use the word. That is my choice. Yet the station manager was fine with me playing the song because it clearly attacks racism. To bleep out the word would have confused people as to what was being bleeped out.

Perhaps the N-word is necessary in Huck Finn to teach people about how awful racism is. Yet to remove the word from the book is cheating the author who wrote it. That is erasing a part of history.

If something heaven forbid were to happen to me, I would not want to be sanitized. I would not want people at my funeral telling the world I was awful, but I am just a guy, flaws and all. I have done good things and bad things, and hopefully more good than bad.

People have to develop thicker skins and level with each other. This brings me back to politicians.

When Iraq was going badly in 2006, President George W. Bush had to do the toughest thing for any human to do. He had to admit that despite his noble intentions, his strategy was not working. He fired his Secretary of Defense and brought in a new general who got the job done. He leveled with himself and the American people.

(For those who want to rant and rave about lies and WMD, you’re liberal, you’re boring, and you’re still wrong. Let it go.)

Barack Obama will not level with the American people about his health care law. He hides behind the CBO, but they are just number crunchers. Mr. Obama is cooking the books and we all know it.

You cannot provide more things to more people at a lower cost. It is not doable.

He said you could keep your own doctor. Not true.

He said his plan would reduce costs. Not true. It explodes the debt.

He said he saved or created jobs. Not true. This cannot be measured.

He said that everything he said he would do in the campaign, he either did or tried to do.

Tried to do? When is attempting something worthy of praise? Either you succeed or fail. Either you get the job or don’t.

He should have told people that he wants to pass a health care plan that gets up closer to a European style social democracy. He believes that American capitalism is unethical, and that government can do a better job than the private sector of improving people’s lives.

That is honesty.

No more sanitizing lies. Our leaders need to treat the American public as adults. Our cultural institutions need to stop trying to erase the past.

Alex De Tocqueville never said that America is great because it is perfect. He said “America is great because America is good.”

We are not perfect, but we are very good. The true America needs to be passed on to generations, without whitewashing anything. The goal is not to present the best or worst history, but the right history.

FDR smoked. He also led us in World War II.

The Founding Fathers owned slaves. They also created a miracle document that is a beacon of light and hope to people all over the globe.

Future generations deserve the unvarnished truth.

Contrary to Colonel Nathan R. Jessup, we actually can handle the truth.

eric

For those wondering where to find a terrorist sleeper cell where Sharia Law is encouraged and the Caliphate is only one lecture away, visit the University of Crooked Lying Arabists (UCLA) Center for Near Eastern Studies.

Today’s warm fuzzy Islamist is an “academic” named El Fadl.

My experience with him can be found at Campus Watch and American Thinker, where he attacks Dr. Daniel Pipes and Robert Spencer.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/12/uclas_professor_of_fantasy.html

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/10523

Dr. Pipes has responded at his blog:

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2010/12/answering-khaled-abou-el-fadl

As has Robert Spencer:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/12/islamic-supremacist-pseudo-academic-khaled-abou-el-fadl-lies-about-sharia-freedom-fighters.html

America cannot win the War on Terror until we take back our campuses.

eric

Readers of my blog know that when Barack Obama came in to office, I was overwhelmingly gracious to him for an extended period. Go back and read every column and see for yourself. I was fair with him.

Does anybody in their right mind think he has returned that graciousness? Does any intellectually honest person think the leftists in Congress will give the 112th Congress a chance to succeed under Republican leadership? Not a chance. Liberal bile is already overflowing. Warning to Republicans: be prepared.

On January 5th, 2011, the gavel will be ripped from the clenched fist of the Pelosiraptor and given to John Boehner. The Republicans now control the House and have significantly more power in the Senate than before.

I should be celebrating.

I’m not.

Today is a warning to every Republican, from the incoming freshmen to the most senior members.

Be prepared for a bloody fight.

Do not think for one minute that the liberal Democrats want to work with you.

Look at these people carefully. Listen to what they say. Watch how their supporters behave.

The left in this country wants to take the conservatives and rip their ever loving throats out. They want to burn conservatives in effigy only because it is illegal to do it in actuality.

Does anybody think that the Pelosiraptor or Barney Frankenstein want compromise? They are monsters for a reason.

Every conservative has had to listen to a lifetime of accusations of being racist, sexist, bigoted homophobes just for being alive and breathing.

When they say come together, they mean we shut up while they bound and gag us until their are no breaths left. Then when everything fails, we get the blame.

Not this time.

Just this one time Republicans had better not act like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football.

Conservative Republicans are like Israel while Liberal Democrats are like Palesimians. They try to destroy us, and when we defeat them in battle, they then want a truce. The minute we agree they go back to shelling us again.

There is nothing conservatives can do to be seen as human beings by the left. Absolutely nothing. They wake up in the morning, and they hate us.

So Republicans, do your jobs, keep your promises, and show a spine for once in your lily livered cowered lives.

You promised to vote to repeal health care. Do it. Have a vote. When the left claims you are neglecting jobs in favor of health care, point out that it was Barack Obama who did that for two years. Point out that if the left was still in charge, they would be ramming cap and trade down American throats. They don’t care about jobs. They never have. They want redistribution.

Point out that Liberal Democrat Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo just publicly announced that he was letting certain taxes on the “wealthy” expire. He is right.

Cooperating does not mean compromise. If liberals want to cut taxes for everybody, work with them. If liberals want to raise taxes, fight them like animals trapped in a steel death cage. Going along to get along does not work on deeply held principles such as taxes. Just ask President George Herbert Walker Bush.

The left knows that we will cave. We always do.

In 1995 it was Bill Clinton who shut the government down. Yet Newt Gingrich got the blame. If the government is going to get shut down, conservatives had make d@mn sure they have public relations people ready to slash and burn and rebut criticism.

Darrell Issa, I have met you personally. I like you. You have been very kind to me personally. You are a good guy. Yet you had better be cleaner than Ivory Soap. God help Republicans if you are sleeping with interns, hanging out in strip clubs, or engaging in domestic violence. The left is itching to destroy you before you conduct a single investigation.

If any Republican has sex or criminal issues that could cause problems, resign now. Either practice what you preach, or disappear. Right now Barack Obama has investigators digging into all of your backgrounds. If he finds something, it is your fault. Larry Flynt is salivating at the thought of blackmailing more Republicans. So is the liberal media.

Also, when Mr. Issa begins his very legitimate investigations and the media starts calling him a racist, it is up to every other Republican to fall into line and immediately defend him. Anybody shoving him under the bus will feel my fury.

The left is planning slash and burn strategies that are designed to have Republicans abandoning everything they believe. Now you can fight, or you can surrender.

Act like winners for once in your miserable d@mn lives. If you get fired for acting on principles, then there is nothing you can do. Just don’t get fired for becoming the second coming of the disaster that was the GOP in 2006.

Don’t apologize for a d@mn thing. Do your jobs. Keep your promises. Fight fire with fire. Every time a liberal lobs a grenade, throw it back at them before the thing explodes.

Conducting investigations is called oversight. Liberals loved it when President George W. Bush was in charge.

Barack Obama is not God, despite the warm thrills up the leg by those miscreants at MSNBC. When he calls you hostage takers, call him out on his incivility. Being respectful of his office does not mean bending over, thanking him, and asking for more when he questions your patriotism and motives.

Don’t let the media get away with garbage.

When Katie Couric opens her mouth, be armed to the teeth with facts. Get your talking points to the bloggers so we can rip her liberal insides out the minute she tries to rig the 2012 election by attacking the humanity of this Congress.

Jon Stewart is a b@stard. If he hits, belt him back. He represents the worst of the worst.

Hollywood celebrities are not the heart and soul of America. They are the rectum after a bad case of bleeding.

Joy Behar is a bucket of human filth. If she attacks one of you, hit back twice as hard.

Nobody respects losers, so don’t act like losers.

You cannot win over people that see you as enemies. You can demoralize your own supporters, which is what the left wants.

Attempt to reverse every bad Obama policy. It does not matter if he vetoes the bills. Make every wavering Democrat with an election in 2012 go on the record.

Be civil and polite, but do not give an inch until the Pelosiraptor and her pathetic ilk show that they will move first.

Take a meat cleaver to the budget. Hack away until blood is spattered everywhere in the form of cuts that should have been made years ago. Everything is on the table. When the left says to start with the military, tell them that when everything they hold dear is slashed and burned and cut to reasonable sustainable levels, the military can be looked at. Start by repealing subsidies for the Chevy Volt. It is a small amount of money but a big symbol cutting to the heart of liberal failure.

We won. They lost. Elections have consequences.

Every time the left claims that the America people want compromise, remind them that they have no idea what Americans want because if they did they would not have been fired.

Every charge of bigotry must be answered with a swift and ferocious countercharge.

Stay the heck away from divisive social issues for now. The American people want jobs. Any issue not directly related to National Security and the War on Terror or reviving the American economy can wait until the presidential race.

Listen to the American people. They don’t read the Jayson Blair Times. They read their own bank statements.

So congratulations to Republicans for winning the 2010 elections.

Now get ready for liberal suicide bombers so ruthless that they will make Palesimian tactics seem reasonable.

This is your last chance. Either you beat back the leftist jackals wanting to devour you, or you will be eaten alive by people wanting to kill you for having differing beliefs.

That is their version of compromise and coming together. They thrive, you die.

I am on your side, but I am one man.

I did my part. Now do yours.

Pass a real conservative agenda, and force Mr. Obama to either sign it or be fired himself. He will sign everything.

You gave your word. Keep it…no matter what.

If you don’t, conservatives who elected you will not be around to speak up because the leftists will have finished us forever.

Good luck.

eric

Ok, back to politics.

(Gleefully rubbing hands together.)

A few months ago French workers threatened to go on strike. I turned to my dad and asked him a simple question.

If French workers were to go on strike…how could you tell?

This brings me to my love-hate relationship with New York. I am proud of my Brooklyn heritage, but would never live in New York. You can keep Manhattan. Animals live like that, packed on top of each other in sardine cans, with cars trapped under several feet of snow.

As Bill O’Reilly pointed out, Moscow gets more snow, and Moscow gets the streets cleaned.

(Although in all fairness, if I knew that the penalty for not getting my work done was being shot to death by Vladimir Putin, I would work faster as well. Michael Bloomberg can’t execute people for inefficiency. Heck, even Rudy Giuliani couldn’t get that into law.)

Snowstorms recently belted much of the East Coast, including New York. The response was slow, inefficient, bureaucratic, and failed. Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is more concerned with keeping the streets free of tobacco, failed to follow the Howard Stern and Al D’Amato method of governance. Fix the potholes and kill the criminals. At least fix the potholes.

Allegations have swirled that union thugs deliberately failed to do their jobs in a timely manner to inflict as much pain as possible on New Yorkers in order to get more concessions.

This allegation does make sense. After all, I still maintain that the real plan was to avoid plowing the New Meadowlands where the Giants and Jets play. Jimmy Hoffa is buried under the 5 yard line, and the only way to keep this secret is to avoid being obvious by refusing to plow the entire city of New York.

(For those claiming the Jets and Giants play in New Jersey and not New York, tell that to FDNY and NYPD and see how that conversation ends. You will need first responders such as EMTs, and they will also beat you up when they arrive.)

Yet as badly as I want to rip into the unions, I need to show some self-restraint and hold off. Don’t get me wrong. I hate unions. I despise them. Yet right now all we have are allegations. The allegations should be investigated, but until we have all the facts, we should proceed with caution.

Yet one train of thought has not been offered outside of this blog.

Maybe the union workers did not deliberately slow down at all. Maybe they are totally innocent of the accusations for one simple reason.

If union workers were to slow down their work…how could you tell?

“Union workers” is the biggest oxymoron since liberal compassion.

I normally don’t defend union workers, but once one reaches a certain level of uselessness and inertia, it is wrong to feign surprise when those same turtles refuse to become jackrabbits.

Let’s be honest. People do not join unions to become rich. Union bosses become union bosses to get rich, but average everyday union workers do not join a union to get rich.

They join a union so they can become useless.

They get to take breaks from breaktime while on break. Then they take a break. When productivity does not matter, and it costs billions of dollars to fire people who deserve to be fired, the result is sloth.

I lived every day knowing I could be fired for any reason at any time. Because of that, I worked hard.

For those who don’t believe me, try driving in New York City and look for the orange cones. Does it really take 20 years to pave a street?

Absolutely, if union labor can slow down the process. Concepts such as on time and under budget take a back seat to diversity, multiculturalism, and doughnut breaks.

So don’t blame unions for the mess in New York. Blame New York voters. They got the government they deserved.

California is the same. When the 1994 Northridge Earthquake rocked Los Angeles, Republican Governor Pete Wilson found a capable contractor with a great reputation for getting the job done. What complaints did the left scream about?

Horror of horrors, the guy was a white male. Governor Wilson was called a racist (This was before Proposition 187, for those who think illegal immigration had anything to do with this.), and he refused to back down. The contractor got the job done on time and under budget, without the regulatory constraints that should be relaxed during serious emergencies.

30 years from now people will not care if Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour may have cut corners. He got the job done during Katrina while Kathleen Blanco became a role model for bureaucratic screwups everywhere.

There are leaders, and there are bureaucrats. Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie are leaders. Michael Bloomberg is a talentless technocrat. He got elected by pretending to be a Rudy Giuliani Republican who could get things done. He turned into a leftist regulator able to take away cigarettes but not get streets plowed.

Not a single union head will roll over this failure because unions own the government of New York. When every business leaves, unions will find new hosts to leech off of somewhere else.

So no, do not blame the unions for this failure. Their performance was every bit as awful as every other day. On these recent days people just noticed.

Like French people, it is unfair to blame unions for striking. It is in their contracts and their DNA. That is why they are what they are.

New Yorkers never minded when other people were the victims of unions. They only started caring when their own lives were affected. What did they expect from the unions, production?

Children who kill their parents do not get to cry that they are orphans.

Voters who elect progressive leaders beholden to unaccountable unions do not get to cry that people who spend most of their lives doing nothing…shockingly enough…did nothing.

eric