It sometimes seems as if it's "amateur hour" at the White House.  Too many times.  WAY too many times!  Hot Air has a whole series of what they call "Obamateurisms."

Here we go again:

US: Inverted Philippine flag was `honest mistake'
MANILA, Philippines – The U.S. government said Sunday it made an "honest mistake" when it displayed an inverted Philippine flag — which wrongfully signified that the Southeast Asian nation was in a state of war — in a meeting hosted by President Barack Obama.

The Philippine flag was displayed upside down behind President Benigno Aquino III when leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met Obama in New York on Friday.

Then, there are the boobs in Congress, too...

On Wednesday, upon hearing news that TV stunt comedian Stephen Colbert was to testify before a House panel on immigration, I wrote a blog post called “Scenes from a Political Meltdown” in which I predicted it would not happen, because someone would intervene to prevent the Democratic majority in Congress from making a suicidal error in turning over discussion of an important issue to a master mocker.
Well, I was wrong. It happened this morning. Colbert, playing his blowhard-conservative-pseudo-O’Reilly character, was screamingly funny (you can watch him here). Among other things, he attempted to introduce the results of his colonoscopy into the Congressional Record. The members of Congress were screamingly funny too, only unintentionally. There were expressions of surprise, motions to get Colbert off the stage, pained stabs at making jokes alongside a professional, and so on.

I'm not just picking on the Democrats here...EVERY one of the Republicans should have refused to participate in that farce. Maybe walk out, maybe not. But at least refuse to acknowledge it. They should not have dignified him with questions. Our (Texas's) Lamar Smith played along!

Colbert's sarcasm continued when he was questioned by lawmakers. Asked by the panel's ranking Republican, Lamar Smith of Texas, how many workers joined him during his day on the New York farm, Colbert replied, "I didn't take a count. I'm not good at math." When Smith asked how many of them were illegal, Colbert replied, "I didn't ask them for their papers, although I had a strong urge to."

Smith asked Colbert if that one day on the farm made him an expert. Colbert replied, "I believe one day of me studying anything makes me an expert."
And asked if he endorsed GOP policies, Colbert said, "I endorse all Republican policies without question," prompting Smith to thank Colbert for his endorsement of the Republicans' just-unveiled Pledge to America.

Smith asked if working in the apple orchard was hard work. "It is harder work than this," Colbert shot back, referring to his appearance before Congress.

Are Thre ANY Adults in Washington?
(I say this sadly -- I don't think so.)

Yes, a Kennedy--as in the son of RFK.  Remember Robert F. Kennedy, brother of the assasinated President?  Who was running for the presidency when he was murdered by an Islamic Militant?  Remember him?  I'm old enough; I do.

RFK's son, Chris, manned-up and stopped a horrrible thing.  Good for him!

Bill Ayers denied emeritus status at UIC

When retiring University of Illinois at Chicago professor Bill Ayers co-wrote a book in 1973, it was dedicated in part to Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert F. Kennedy.

That came back to haunt Ayers when the U. of I. board, now chaired by Kennedy’s son, considered his request for emeritus status Thursday. It was denied in a unanimous vote.

Before the vote, an emotional Chris Kennedy spoke out against granting the status to Ayers.

“I intend to vote against conferring the honorific title of our university to a man whose body of work includes a book dedicated in part to the man who murdered my father, Robert F. Kennedy,” he said.

“There is nothing more antithetical to the hopes for a university that is lively and yet civil, or to the hopes of our founding fathers for their great experiment of a self-governing people, than to permanently seal off debate with one’s opponents by killing them.”

After all the murderous, mad-bomber has done, this is certainly a small punishment.  But at least it's something.  And credit where it's due:  a Kennedy did it for us!

Jon Kaplan bears glad tidings:

I wanted to let you know that the debate is on for this Monday, 9/27 from 7-8PM at the Scottish Rite Temple at 308 Avenue E. This is not a Tea Party event. VFW is the sponsor. Tickets are free. They can be obtained from the VFW and the Trotter and Gonzalez campaign offices. As well, there may be a few Will Call tickets at the door. We hope for maximum attendance.
<emphasis added>

Most very cool!  If you live in the 20th Congressional District:  Be there!  Don't know?  Check you Voter Registration card or put in your zip code at the top left of this page.

Hat Tip to the mighty Van Helsing at Moonbattery for the general idea (and then did something even BETTER!)

Please help Clayton Trotter kick out one of the most egregious congressional dynasties.  Charlie Gonzalez now sits in "his father's seat" in the US House of Representatives.  His district is a majority Hispanic, so he boldly represents a bunch of pro-life Catholics by voting for abortion.  He's TERRIBLE!

You can help kick him out.  Jon Kaplan, whom I greatly admire, tells how:

I wonder if I might ask your assistance.  I am the coordinator of calling for Clayton Trotter and need a ton of volunteers to call 100,000 voters.  I have attached our procedure for your review.  Would you post the request for volunteers on your site and ask them to get in touch with me?  . . .   I really appreciate it.

On other subjects, the debate between Trotter and Gonzalez is solidifying for Monday, the 27th.  I hope to have it pinned down tomorrow and will ask you to post that as well.

 You can contact Jon at jonkaplanrealty@yahoo.com.  Please pitch in, if not for Clayton, then for your own choice.  To take America back, we first need to take back the House.

(Updated as per Jon's request to correct spelling and other errors.)

Well, the primaries are done and the cast is pretty much set.  What to do now to ensure WE GET OUR COUNTRY BACK?

The Election Day Tea Party folks (a project of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition) have a great list of 50 candidates from across the nation. They also list what you need to do:

10 Things You Can Do to Help Your Candidate Win

1. Click on the website of 1 (or more) of the 50 candidates and contribute online

2. "Adopt" 1 (or more) of the 50 candidates. Make voter canvassing phone calls from your house for your adopted candidate.

3. Drive to your adopted candidate's offices and physically participate in voter canvas neighborhood walking

4. Drive to your adopted candidate's campaign offices and make phone calls from their centralized phone banks

5. Make Election Day get-out-the-vote phone calls from your house

6. Drive to your adopted or local candidate's campaign offices and make Election Day get out the vote in person visits

7. Drive to your adopted candidate's campaign offices and make Election Day get out the vote calls from their centralized phone bank

8. Drive your large car or van to the candidate's campaign offices and be an Election Day poll driver in your vehicle

9. Check your adopted campaigns' Press Releases on their website. Forward recent press releases in your own words or with links or cutting and pasting via FB, Twitter, e-mail.

10. Become a catalyst! Email this website link to 10 friends, and ask them to volunteer for or donate to one or all of these 50 candidates

Get off your butts! Do something! Get your friends off their butts and do something together! If you don't want to do it for one of their fifty, then do it for YOUR local candidate.  Now is the time, folks.

I can see November from my house. How's the view from yours?

A picture says a thousand words?  Here's a few thousand:






Which company "Gets It?"

Yesterday was a sad day:  The Dustin Family was buring their mother.  Mama Dustin had been good to all of us over the years.  Met her son Dan in 7th grade, when we started choir together, and she was a fixture in our lives through high school.

Eventually, both of us ended up in San Antonio.  She was 80.

Had a doctor appointment with my ortho, Dr. Dennis Gutzman (http://www.gutzmanmd.com/about/), just before the funeral.  As I was sitting there discussing my knee, I suddenly felt woozy.  It came fast & strong. 

"Do I have a fever?" I asked him.  "I suddenly feel nauseated.  May have to use that sink.  And my vision...."

Then I woke up from a dream.  I was lying on my side and the doctor was asking if I knew who I was.  I was sweaty and hot.

He and his staff took good care of me while we waited for Cathy to come pick me up.  Cold compresses and a glass of water.  "Here, put your feet up."  But it waas clear I was not going to make the funeral.

Called our medical clinic, Gonzaba Medical Group, and they wanted me at the main clinic.   All the way south of downtown.  They have full facilities there. 

After a few hours, I had a diagnosis:  Potassium crash.  One of my blood pressure meds was a diuretic.  That forces your kidneys to flush salts, then your body reacts by lowering the fluids in you blood and your pressure goes down.  Great stuff, unless you flush too much potassium.

In goes the IV.  Drip, drip, drip, and a bag of fluid magically disappears into my arm.  Get a new blood pressure prescription.  Get  a prescription for potassium pills for the next few days (horse chokers!  They're HUGE!)  Get a few new doctor appointments.  Doctor also says "No driving!  Go home and rest!"

 So, I missed the funeral.  She was such a nice lady.

When we were 19, back in 1975 or so, my folks were out of town and we had an all-night poker-game and party.  Dan Dustin, Bob Storeygard,Steve Francisco and I all got royally (and legally) smashed.  Mamma Dustin had promised to make us all a big lasagna dinner the next day. 

For four hungry boys?  Wow, did she deliver!  Two huge trays of thick, steaming lasagna!  It was awesome!  It was also more than we could bear after all that booze.  Dan, Steve and I managed one serving each, but it was hard.  Bob couldn't manage that.

Poor Mama Dustin bore it well.  She didn't kill us,  Didn't even complain.  A wonderful woman.

Looking back and counting the years, she was then about ten years younger then than we are now.  Amazing.

Good Bless Mama Dustin!

Live in Texas?  As you went about your life, your betters and superiors decided that your hard-earned tax money should help subsidize a movie or two.  Those betters included Governor Perry, who signed the bill and stood up with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez back in April 2009.

Here's the thanks we get:  Rodriguez made Machete, which takes racism to heights unseen since the Kucky-Klutzy-Klan's The Birth of a Nation.  Of course, in this case, it's the white people who are all evil, murderous scum.

We were warned, back in May by Infowars (with whom I have sometimes have problems, but they got this one right!)  Boy did they get it right!  Read ‘Machete’ producers lied about racist bloodbath and weep for your lost money. 

SUCKER!

Texas is investigating Google?  Is Google about to get whacked for manipulating search results?  GOOD!

God knows they do it!  As widely reported (many quoting this Geographic Travels Blog posting) for a few days before the big Glen Beck rally, Google Maps sent folks looking for the Lincoln Memorial to the FDR Memorial.  Cute dig at Beck there, since he doesn't exactly worship FDR.  Politically Exacerbated notes some other examples.

Then there's the other non-sense Goggle has pulled, making me switch to Bing that I blogged about here.

Yeah.  I hope Google gets whacked, but good!

Ah, the gentle Islam of our good friends, the Iranians!  Let us bask in the warm glow of their god, Allah.

In bouncing about the net (probably through Instapundit) I ran into this gem:

Ahmadinejad's Imam: Islam Allows Raping, Torturing Prisoners

A highly influential Shi'a religious leader, with whom Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regularly consults, apparently told followers last month that coercion by means of rape, torture and drugs is acceptable against all opponents of the Islamic regime.

. . .
According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC), an independent Israeli intelligence analysis organization, Mesbah-Yazdi is considered Ahmadinejad's personal spiritual guide. A radical totalitarian even in Iranian terms, he holds messianic views, supports increasing Islamization, calls for violent suppression of domestic political opponents, and, according to the ITIC, "declared that obeying a president supported by the Supreme Leader was tantamount to obeying God."
. . .
Mesbah-Yazdi answered: "The necessary precaution is for the interrogator to perform a ritual washing first and say prayers while raping the prisoner. If the prisoner is female, it is permissible to rape through the vagina or anus. It is better not to have a witness present. If it is a male prisoner, then it's acceptable for someone else to watch while the rape is committed."

This reply, and reports of the rape of teen male prisoners in Iranian jails, may have prompted the following question: "Is the rape of men and young boys considered sodomy?"
Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi: "No, because it is not consensual. Of course, if the prisoner is aroused and enjoys the rape, then caution must be taken not to repeat the rape."

A related issue, in the eyes of the questioners, was the rape of virgin female prisoners. In this instance, Mesbah-Yazdi went beyond the permissibility issue and described the Allah-sanctioned rewards accorded the rapist-in-the-name-of-Islam:

"If the judgment for the [female] prisoner is execution, then rape before execution brings the interrogator a spiritual reward equivalent to making the mandated Haj pilgrimage [to Mecca], but if there is no execution decreed, then the reward would be equivalent to making a pilgrimage to [the Shi'ite holy city of] Karbala."

One aspect of these permitted rapes troubled certain questioners: "What if the female prisoner gets pregnant? Is the child considered illegitimate?"

Mesbah-Yazdi answered: "The child borne to any weakling [a denigrating term for women - ed.] who is against the Supreme Leader is considered illegitimate, be it a result of rape by her interrogator or through intercourse with her husband, according to the written word in the Koran. However, if the child is raised by the jailer, then the child is considered a legitimate Shi'a Muslim."

Yeah, Islam is a religion of peace all right.  Unless you disagree with the Mullah.  Then he gets "a piece"

"Hey, that's not Islam!" you might scream.  Oh, yeah?

Only Moslems can do the Haj to Mecca.  Will they let these turkeys in?  Hell yeah!

If an US infidel soldier kills a moslem, it's considered an attack on Islam as part of a "Christian Crusade."  If we kill this SOB, will it offend moslems, because we killed a fellow muslim?  Hell yeah!

As long as they consider him a brother in Allah, then their Islam includes the brutal rape of men, women, boys, and girls.  When they rise up and say that these monsters are not moslems, that they should not be allowed to make the Haj, then I'll entertain the idea that they might be decent people.  Any that consider these turkeys to be fellow moslems are also monsters in their heart of hearts.