People Will Say That We’re At War

OBAMA

Why do they write up stories of war misusing their free speech?

CARNEY

Why do the people all disagree, outside our reach?

OBAMA

Listen right here, we can make it clear what we will do
Here is the gist, a practical list of quotes for you…
Don’t tell it to them straight
FOX News is gonna hate
Find something the press can relate
People will say we’re at war!
Don’t say we’re sending arms
Just peaceful guided bombs
Find something in their bitter psalms
People will say we’re at war!
It’s a kinetic thing
Just loud sounds those concerts bring
Don’t disagree with your King!
People will say we’re at war!

Jews in Space (Coming in 2012)

Forbes — If all goes according to plan, by December 2012 a team of three young Israeli scientists will have landed a tiny spacecraft on the moon, explored the lunar surface, and transmitted live video back to earth, thereby scooping up a $20 million prize (the Google Lunar X Prize), revolutionizing space exploration, and making the Jewish State the third nation (after the U.S. and Russia) to land a probe on the moon. And they’re doing it in their spare time. The three engineers – Yariv Bash (electronics and computers), Kfir Damari (communication systems), and Yonatan Winetraub (satellite systems) all have high-level day jobs in the Israeli science and technology world, and also both teach and study. They all had heard of the Google Lunar X Prize independently, before being introduced by mutual friends who, as Yonatan puts it “thought we were all crazy enough to do it, so we should meet each other.” By the end of November 2010 they had sketched together a novel plan to win the prize and submitted it to organizers. Only on December 21 (10 days before the December 31 deadline) did they set about raising the $50,000 entry fee. “Like good Israelis we left it to the last minute,” Yonatan laughs. … As to why they got involved? “Three reasons,” say Yonatan, “Creating national pride, really putting Israel on the map as a start-up nation by doing something only the superpowers have done, and reigniting Israeli interest in science.” …

“So Much for NASA’s Muslim Outreach,” commented WeaselZippers, linking to this article. (I have my own comments about NASA’s muslim outreach.) I don’t see any muslim team names in the contenders to probe the Moon God; but then, there’s already widespread “knowledge” in the Muslim world that Neil Armstrong heard the Muslim call to prayer on the (airless and soundless) Moon (in Mohammed’s own voice, according to some) and converted to Islam on the spot. So, I suppose they can still claim to have been there first…

I Guess They Wear Sneakers

President Obama has secretly sent the CIA into Libya. Apparently, they aren’t covered by his promise not to have any “boots on the ground” in the non-enemy-country we face in the not-war.

The Daily Mail — The President has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The revelation comes as Obama and allies talked openly of arming the rebels who, despite the UN-backed no-fly zone, are on the verge of being overrun by Gaddafi’s superior military force. It is not clear what covert operations the CIA will carry out in Libya. The White House and the agency have refused to confirm it will take a role in the revolution, and Obama has insisted the U.S. will not attempt regime change in the country, but will merely support the rebels in their battle. … Obama signed the order within the last two or three weeks, four U.S. government sources told Reuters. (H/T: GatewayPundit)

The last two or three weeks? That could be before he even authorized the no-fly zone and the bombings. Well, we already know that Obama had absolutely no legal or Constitutional authority to send in the military – but what about the CIA?

Foreign Policy — Responding to reports President Barack Obama secretly authorized covert action to support the Libyan rebels, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said that actually arming the Libyan rebels would require his approval and he hasn’t given it. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) said in a late Wednesday interview that the Obama administration’s top national security officials were deeply split on whether arming the rebels was a good idea. … Rogers wouldn’t confirm or deny the report that Obama issued what’s known as a “presidential finding” authorizing the intelligence community to begin broadly supporting the Libyan rebels, because such findings are sensitive and classified. But he said that if Obama wanted to arm the rebels, the president would need Rogers’ support, which he doesn’t yet have. “Any covert action that happens would have to get the sign off of the intelligence chairmen, by statute. You won’t get a sign off from me,” Rogers said referring to National Security Act 47. “I still think arming the rebels is a horrible idea. We don’t know who they are, we only know who they are against but we don’t really who they are for. We don’t have a good picture of who’s really in charge.” … (H/T: AllahPundit)

“While You Were Out…”

ABC News — In Official Notification Two Days Later, President Obama Alerts Congress the US Joined a War (H/T: C2)

Well, that was awfully nice of him. Some of them may not have noticed.

…President Obama Monday officially notified congressional leaders that at “approximately 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, on March 19, 2011, at my direction, U.S. military forces commenced operations to assist an international effort authorized by the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council and undertaken with the support of European allies and Arab partners, to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and address the threat posed to international peace and security by the crisis in Libya.” (emphasis added)

Because we all know that the Constitution delegates the power to declare war to the United Nations and the Arab League.

The notification was part of the president’s “efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution” … (emphasis added)

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 (50 U.S.C. 1541–1548) only allows the President to send US armed forces into action abroad if the United States is already under attack or facing a serious threat of attack. Failing those conditions (which clearly do not exist), only the Congress can declare war. In this case, they weren’t even consulted.

Highway to Hell

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” One has to wonder why people so willfully refuse to see where their intentions are leading… thus making it impossible for them to turn, slow down, or stop.

(Video from PJTV, cartoon from Edible Dirt.)

Plan Nine from the Hidden Imam

I got this Weasel Zippers story brought to my attention by Realwest…

TEHRAN (FNA) — Iran unveiled a home-made unmanned flying saucer as well as a light sports aircraft in an exhibition of strategic technologies. The unmanned flying saucer, named “Zohal”, was unveiled in a ceremony attended by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

Flying saucers. Wow. I guess they had to try something different since they still haven’t managed to get that flying carpet tech off the ground. (“Just think, Abdul, once we get these carpets airborne, then we can be the ones carpet-bombing the infidels!”) However, the image that they used was apparently stolen from this site (thanks for the frequency, Kenneth). How dumb are you when you can’t even fake up your own flying saucer picture? Don’t they have frisbees or pie pans in Iran? Anyway, before they go any further with their space program, somebody needs to explain to the Iranians about the hazards they will face in outer space…

It’s All Fun And Games Until Gojira Arrives

From Japan, in their own inimitable style, comes the video “Nuclear Boy” by media artist Kazuhiko Hachiya providing commentary on the status of the Fukushima nuclear reactor.

British columnist James Delingpole provides some numbers for comparison. (H/T: I Hate the Media)

Nuclear fatalities in the last ten years: 7
Wind farm fatalities in the last ten years: 44.

In those ten years nuclear provided thirty times the energy of wind. This means in the last decade, nuclear has been around 200 times safer than wind on an energy produced/accidents basis.

Soylent Green reminds us that Japan’s biggest worries right now are cholera, plague, and dysentery; not neutrons.

Election [Crimes] Have Consequences

Michigan: “Two former leaders of the Oakland County Democratic Party are facing a total of nine felonies for allegedly forging election paperwork to get fake Tea Party candidates on November’s ballot.” (H/T: Weasel Zippers) The two great things about this new item, and the one that follows, is that their attempt failed, and that legal action is actually being brought against the alleged attempted perpetrators of Grand Theft: Democracy. (Also, that these are state charges, not federal; or else the DOJ would have already killed these investigations.)

Nevada: Rory Reid, the son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) – who, like Hillary Clinton during her run for the Senate, was afraid to use his last name during the campaign – is under investigation for “creating 90 different PACs to circumvent campaign contribution limits” (H/T: Weasel Zippers). It didn’t help Rory, who still lost the Nevada gubernatorial race; but it shows that he takes after his father in both honesty and intelligence given that “The red flag for [Nevada Secretary of State Ross] Miller was the fact [Rory] Reid set up 90 political action committees all registered at the same Las Vegas address.“

Wisconsin: The Democrat fleebaggers’ attempt to ignore the 2010 elections failed (Whatever happened to “we won” and “elections have consequences”? As always, these things only apply to Republicans), so now the Democrats are attempting to overturn the 2010 election results by recalling as many Republicans as possible. To be fair, there are also recall movements against some Democrats as well; but, again to be fair, the Democrats in question were guilty of contempt of the Senate and dereliction of duty when they ran and hid in a neighboring state. In any event, both sides are collecting signatures for recall petitions, but only one side (the side without the union thugs) is playing by the rules.

Oh No He Didn’t

In between getting his more pressing duties taken care of:

(Hope n’ Change) — …Barack Obama went golfing and delivered a comedy monologue for the Gridiron Press Club. Later, he used the entirety of his weekly radio address to talk about possible government actions to address the serious, urgent crisis in… pay inequality for women. But today, all of that is changing. Because today the president will appear on national television… to give his NCAA College Basketball picks (having actually taped this crucially important announcement yesterday). …

Obama has managed to say a few words about the disaster in Japan:

(White House) — Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan, particularly those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis. The United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial. The friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakeable… (H/T: Weasel Zippers)

In the words of Todd Hockney, Usual Suspect, “Did you put that together yourself, Einstein? What, do you got a team of monkeys working around the clock on this?”

How Can We Bring The US To Sharia?

This is a song I wrote today to the tune of “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria,” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music… My second parody this week.

Then What *IS* an iPad Good For?

Wall Street Journal — The Federal Reserve has been on a media campaign to sell its monetary policy to average Americans, but this hasn’t always gone smoothly. Witness last week’s visit to Queens, New York, by New York Fed President William Dudley, who got a street-corner education in the cost of living. The former Goldman Sachs chief economist gave a speech explaining the economy’s progress and the Fed’s successes, but come question time the main thing the crowd wanted to know was why they’re paying so much more for food and gas. Keep in mind the Fed doesn’t think food and gas prices matter to its policy calculations because they aren’t part of “core” inflation. So Mr. Dudley tried to explain that other prices are falling. “Today you can buy an iPad 2 that costs the same as an iPad 1 that is twice as powerful,” he said. “You have to look at the prices of all things.” Reuters reports that this “prompted guffaws and widespread murmuring from the audience,” with someone quipping, “I can’t eat an iPad.” Another attendee asked, “When was the last time, sir, that you went grocery shopping?” … (H/T: Little Miss Attila)

Radioactive

Given all the panic and hyperbole in the media about the nuclear plants in Japan (I’m expecting CNN to report, with a straight face, the increased likelihood of Godzilla attacks caused by the radiation), here’s an explanation from someone who knows whereof he speaks:

I have been reading every news release on the incident since the earthquake. There has not been one single (!) report that was accurate and free of errors (and part of that problem is also a weakness in the Japanese crisis communication). By “not free of errors” I do not refer to tendentious anti-nuclear journalism – that is quite normal these days. By “not free of errors” I mean blatant errors regarding physics and natural law, as well as gross misinterpretation of facts, due to an obvious lack of fundamental and basic understanding of the way nuclear reactors are build and operated. I have read a 3 page report on CNN where every single paragraph contained an error. …
— Josef Oehmen PhD., MIT

(H/T: Soylent Green, which also has another piece entitled “Because the Greens Will Further Demonize Nuclear Power” about different types of reactors, and why we should be using thorium for nuclear fuel.)

Update: Some Democrats want the USA to “put the brakes” on nuclear power. (H/T: C2)