Americans United For Change, Except When They Are Against It

The old legacy media is hard at work trotting out various trial balloons in their support of the Democrat campaign efforts for 2012. There is the obvious of their promoting Donald Trump, while having to go in to deep denial that he is playing them like a fiddle. One thing Mr Trump has learned from his Apprentice days is that controversy equals ratings and attention. When was the last time you saw a commercial for a reality show, any reality show, that showed the contestants getting along like one big happy family? By having the media seize upon his latest attention grabbing headline whether it is the birth certificate or Obama's grades, he has managed to take attention away from others and promote himself. This is also further proof of the liberal media mindset which dictates they only going to promote the person they think their liberal guy can beat like they did with McCain.

In what has been a continuing narrative now is the shift from identifying Republicans as Republicans. Instead they are labeling them as Tea Party backed. There is a reason for this. They have invested much time and effort in painting the Tea Party folks as just a bunch of crotchety old racist white folks living on the fringe of the political spectrum.

This article caught my attention for a couple of reason. First of course is the headline. Tea Party Lawmaker Frank Guinta Draws Ire Over Medicare Vote. Rep Guinta is a Republican from New Hampshire. The next thing that got my attention was the photo accompanying the article. Anytime you see pre printed mass produced signs it is a good sign that the folks holding them are part of a larger organization such as a union or a liberal front group. That is the case here. If you look at the bottom of the signs you will see the group these folks represent is Americans United For Change dot org.


My blogging experience has taught me that if a group ends with dot org designation there is a very high probably that it is a liberal/progressive group.

I surely can't be the only one who is struck by the irony of a group with change in their title that is against change. The simple fact is the current Social Security system and Medicare program just are no longer viable. They were fine for the WWII crowd, but folks we are 70 years down the road and the realities in American in the 21st century simply don't reflect the conditions that existed in the 1940's.

I have never forgave AARP for being instrumental in killing former President Bush's attempt at overhauling Social Security. I will never be a member of their organization for that reason but then they compounded the problem by participating in the Obamacare legislation to such a degree that they managed to kill all the successful Medicare Advantage programs EXCEPT for the one they offer that is underwritten by United Healthcare. It is just another example of this administration rewarding their supporters and picking winners and losers in the private sector, and at the same time punishing the American people.

Then there is this exchange during the meeting.

"Why Congressman Guinta, why in the world, did you ever vote for the Paul Ryan Medicare plan," asked, Gary Patton, who posed the first question at an often raucous town hall meeting the congressman hosted at a local high school here.

Patton, 73, told Guinta that he was concerned that the plan introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the chairman of the House Budget Committee, would "end Medicare as we know it."

"The proposal that was in the House last week, again, does not affect anyone who is 55 or older," Guinta assured. "I want to try to allay some fears about the proposal, I want to make sure that people have the proper information. If you don't like the plan, let me know that."

It is the same thing that was going on with the Social Security reform efforts. The liberal/progressives have managed to scare senior citizens once again. Just like the Social Security reform this Ryan budget proposal will make no changes to those receiving Medicare currently.

What I am getting tired of is senior citizens getting worked up into a tizzy, and since so many of our legislators fear this crowd and are closer in age to them then they are me, wind up continuing to punish me.

Hey Geritol crowd here's a news flash. It is my benefits they are trying to change, not yours.

Anyway my advice to everyone is 1) When looking for political candidates look for the ones not getting attention by the media to find a conservative probably more in line with your way of thinking and 2) Realize the Tea Party is not a political party. We still have a predominately two party system in this country, Republicans and Democrats.

When was the last time you saw a Democrat labeled as a Move On backed lawmaker?

Oh yeah and as far as that 'ire' directed at the representative goes, he might actually take it serious if the folks acting like children weren't you know, actually children.

Joe Platte, a middle school student from nearby Stratham, N.H., who took a back-row seat at the meeting, interjected: "What about me? I'm 14, what am I going to do."

And These Guys Are In Charge

This is probably the worst economic news to come out in a long time, but it is not surprising to any rational person.

Yet on every question the left did much worse. On the monopoly question, the portion of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly (31%) was more than twice that of conservatives (13%) and more than four times that of libertarians (7%). On the question about living standards, the portion of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly (61%) was more than four times that of conservatives (13%) and almost three times that of libertarians (21%).

The survey also asked about party affiliation. Those responding Democratic averaged 4.59 incorrect answers. Republicans averaged 1.61 incorrect, and Libertarians 1.26 incorrect.

That is the results of a recent Zogby poll on economic policies. What it found is that liberals, that's Democrats for those in doubt, know absolutely diddly squat about economics.

They know good buzz words and catch phrases and catchy slogans that can fit on a bumper sticker, but basically couldn't tell a monopoly from market share. These are the people dictating our current economic policy in this country. Just when you think things couldn't get much worse. They have laid the groundwork for crippling our economy for years after they are evicted from office. A lot of the legislation they will leave behind is going to be more devastating then an IED in an outside market. And will have the same effect.

With the pending collapse of the health insurance industry in this country, which will add millions more to the unemployed roles, to the unsustainable debt that is continuing to be racked by the government in their continued efforts to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac afloat along with their becoming the sole provider of student loans, you couldn't get a Las Vegas bookie to give you odds on how long before the economy completely collapses.

If you see a light at the end of the tunnel be assured that just like a Roadrunner cartoon, it is only a freight train headed your way.

Pining Away For Paradise Lost

Proposal to abolish Czech totalitarian regimes institute at court

Brno- The Czech Constitutional Court (US) has received a proposal to abrogate the law on the basis of which the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes has been established, CTK has learnt.

The proposal to abolish the state-established facility that is to research into Nazism and communism in Czech history was signed by 57 opposition deputies from the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM).

They say the institute could politically influence the interpretation of history.

By all means, let us not forget about the influences that stem from the political interpretation of history.

They also object to labelling the whole period of communist rule as totalitarian, it ensues from the proposal.It is difficult to say when the Constitutional Court will rule on the proposal.

The left-wing deputies fear that people will consider the results of the research conducted by a state-established institution as the "official" and sole possible interpretation of history.

"This will factually restrict the constitution-guaranteed freedom of scientific research," the proposal says.

This is beginning to smell of George Soros.

The deputies also object to what they call ideological terminology.

"The law authoritatively describes the section of Czechoslovak history between February 25, 1948 [when Communists seized power in then Czechoslovakia] and December 29, 1989 [end of communist regime in Czechoslovakia] as a period of communist totalitarian power. It does not consider the fact that the period was changeable from the point of view of ways of exercise of state power and was not compact in this respect," the deputies write.

They write that the 1950s saw a real totalitarian regime while in the 1960s the regime was gradually democratised, and they say that it did not fully return to the repressive practices from the times of the cult of personality in the 1950s even after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops in 1968.

That's why so many Czech ex-pats returned home; overwhelming the borders, just to see the 5000-7000 Soviet tanks that were now in the Czech Lands to guarantee their freedom.

"This state also carried out a number of measures that were generally positive for society, particularly in the social sphere," the deputies write.

They use as "a partial example the deepening of the practical equalisation of women in political, economic and family life, as well the abandoning of the practice of making differences between children according to their origin."

The left-wing deputies recommend to the Constitutional Court to abrogate the law as a whole, or to at least delete the words "totalitarian" from a number of passages of the law.

Nácek a komunista svině would work.

The right justified the establishment of the institute by an effort to concentrate and process the written documents of all security forces of the communist regime.

It said the processing of data and making them available should contribute to the comprehension of the communist regime and at the same time to the prevention of a biased interpretation of history.

The institute's activities will be supervised by a council that has elected historian Pavel Zacek as the institute's first head. He will formally assume his post on January 1.

David Irving was unavailable for comment.

Via ČTK

There's Research; Then There's Research

SF radio personality indicted on child porn charges
Bernie Ward, a popular liberal San Francisco radio talk show host and former Catholic priest, has been indicted on federal child pornography charges, authorities said today.

Ward, 56, surrendered to federal authorities earlier today but the specifics of the allegations against him are under seal, officials said.

Ward hosts a nightly news talk program on KGO 810 AM as well as GodTalk on Sundays. He had been a priest with the Society of the Precious Blood order.

The radio station's Web site said that he was indicted on two counts of child pornography using the Internet.

Ward's attorney said today that the charges are based on incidents that occurred more than four years ago and were part of research for a book.

"As everybody knows, Bernie, for over 20 years, has been a progressive, opposed to insensitive authority - he has been a champion of charities, nonprofits for the homeless," said Doron Weinberg, who appeared in federal court today as Ward's lawyer.

Well, he sure can't complain about insensitive authority on this one.

"More than three years ago, Bernie was doing research for a book he was doing on hypocrisy in America," Weinberg said.

As part of the research, Ward downloaded "a few images" of child pornography, and, Weinberg said, "it came to the attention of the government in late 2004."

"They investigated and they never found any involvement in child pornography other than this period that he accessed these images," Weinberg said. "The government knows that Bernie was doing this for an investigation he was doing for a book. But the government believes he violated the letter of the law and they have gone ahead and prosecuted him."

The schmuck lieyer must be confused. Shouldn't it be that his client is being persecuted? Or, does that cat come out of the bag a bit further down the road?

Weinberg stressed that "the fact that these events happened three years ago and they are just being prosecuted shows the fact that nobody believes that he is a child predator."

"He is just being prosecuted for a mistake he made (more than) three years ago," the lawyer said.

Federal authorities seized Ward's computer in early 2005 and there was no evidence of child pornography or any other impropriety, Weinberg added.

"We have been trying to convince the government that his is not something they should proceed with. They said, 'He violated the law, sorry.' "

A statement from KGO's operations director said, "Ward has been a valued, long-time employee of KGO Radio. We were just recently made aware of these serious charges and are surprised and concerned by their nature.

"As the matter is currently pending in federal court, we will have no additional comment at this time."

Via SF Gate.com

Also at The Radio Equalizer & IMAO


Interview with Ward's criminal defense attorney by KGO news staff

UPDATE I: Ward's agent blames Bush

UPDATE II: They're all over it at PuffHo

UPDATE III: Attorney says Ward downloaded photos and exchanged them “with adults who do the same thing.”

Putin's Russia

As the sky above the Soviet Union Russia continues to turn gray as a result of the dictatorship institutions of progressive democracy put forth by Vladimir Paranoid, we present something you'll never read -- much less see discussed -- in the parallel universe known as the Leftisphere, home of the Kooky Kult of Koslam.

Inside The Corporation: Russia's Power Elite
In his mission to restore Russia's pride and prestige, President Vladimir Putin has repackaged the Soviet national anthem, reinvented patriotic pro-Kremlin youth groups, and revived the cult of the suave KGB officer.

The 're-packaged' Soviet national anthem is done in the same way another infamous anthem was 'repackaged' - ignore a stanza or two but, by all means, retain the goddam melody (audio file contains the infamous first stanza).

But despite bringing back these old archetypes, Putin isn't interested in a Soviet restoration. This time around, Russia's path to greatness lies in a modern authoritarian corporate state. Some Kremlin-watchers have even dubbed the country's Putin-era ruling elite "Korporatsiya," or "The Corporation."

"I like using the term 'Kremlin, Inc.,'" says Russia analyst Nikolas Gvosdev, a senior fellow at the Nixon Center. "I think there are a number of boardroom strategies that apply to how policy in Russia is developed."

Since coming to power nearly eight years ago, Putin has carefully crafted an image of himself as the undisputed master of Russia's political universe: a strong, stern, and solitary leader calling all the shots. His most recent moves -- unexpectedly naming the heretofore unknown Viktor Zubkov as prime minister and announcing that he will lead the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia candidate list in December's parliamentary elections -- have only served to solidify this impression.

But in reality, Russia is run by a collective leadership -- the Kremlin Corporation's board of directors, so to speak. Putin is the front man and public face for an elite group of seasoned bureaucrats, most of whom are veterans of the KGB and hail from the president's native St. Petersburg. Together, they run Russia and control the crown jewels of the country's economy.

All key political decisions in Russia, including Putin’s most recent bombshells, are the result of deliberation and consensus among members of a tight-knit inner sanctum many analysts have dubbed "the collective Putin.”

"These are people who have been with Putin from the very beginning," says Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Center for Elite Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Sociology. "Together they thought up this model of the state and government that is in place now."

The Inner Sanctum

Most Kremlin-watchers place four people with Putin at the epicenter of power: two deputy Kremlin chiefs of staff, Igor Sechin and Viktor Ivanov; First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov; and FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev.

All are KGB veterans, all are in their mid-50s, and all are St. Petersburg natives. Moreover, Kryshtanovskaya says, this group is ideologically "completely homogenous" and its members view strategy for Russia's development "in exactly the same way."

At the heart of that strategy is the establishment of an enduring political system -- a centralized, authoritarian, vertically integrated and unitary executive that can manage a thorough and comprehensive modernization of Russia.

"They want an authoritarian modernization. They want a strong authoritarian state of the Soviet type without the Soviet idiocy," says Kryshtanovskaya. "The idiotic Soviet economy and the idiotic Soviet ideology were minuses. All the rest they want to bring back and preserve: a state system without a separation of powers."

If they succeed, the West and the world will be dealing with an even more undemocratic, assertive, and aggressive Russia for a long time to come.

Such a Russia would probably cease to even pretend to adhere to democratic norms at home, and would most likely abandon any facade of being a reliable partner of the West in international affairs. It would become more brazen about bullying neighbors, using their dependence on Russia's energy resources as leverage. The Kremlin would continue to try to undermine democratic reform in places where it has taken hold on Russia's borders, like Georgia and Ukraine, and strenuously oppose such liberalization elsewhere in the former Soviet space.

The Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, the Slovak Republic and Latvia come to mind.

But to establish their vision of modern superpower greatness, the "collective Putin” first must make sure they remain in power after the March 2008 presidential elections. And this means keeping the group cohesive, managing personal, political, and commercial conflicts among its members, and preventing any one faction in the ruling elite from becoming too powerful. For Putin, this means a delicate balancing act -- and one that he seems singularly equipped to perform.

The Indispensable Putin

As his presidency winds down, Putin isn't acting like somebody who is preparing to go quietly into retirement.

Speaking to a group of Western academics in September, Putin said he planned to remain influential in Russian politics after his presidency ends next year. And in a speech to the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party on October 1, he gave the clearest indication yet about how he plans to do so.

Putin told cheering delegates that he would head the party's list of candidates for December's elections to the State Duma and that he would consider becoming prime minister in the future. The move sparked a wave of speculation that a new, powerful, super-prime minister's office would soon displace the presidency as Russia's key power center.

Whether or not this is indeed the plan, analysts agree that Putin is the indispensable man in Russia's political system.

Just like a previous indispensable figure: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.

If Putin wants the system he created to remain in place and develop according to his wishes, he has little choice but to stay in the game -- if for no other reason than to prevent open clan warfare from breaking out in the ruling elite.

"It is clear that some of the prerogatives Putin enjoys are because of who he is as a person, not because of the presidential chair," says Gvosdev. "The worry is that there will be someone else sitting in that presidential chair who doesn't have the same level of trust, isn't able to mediate," he adds.

And there is quite a bit to mediate.

Corporate Power, Political Clashes

In addition to wielding near-absolute political power, Putin’s inner circle, or board of directors, also controls the commanding heights of the Russian economy.

Sechin, for example, is chairman of Rosneft, Russia's massive state-run oil company. Sergei Ivanov heads the newly formed aircraft-industry monopoly United Aircraft Company. Viktor Ivanov chairs the board of directors of both Almaz-Antei, a state missile-production monopoly, and Aeroflot, the national airline. Patrushev's son Andrei is an adviser to Rosneft's board of directors, and his other son, Dmitry, is vice president of the state-run bank Vneshtorgbank.

Just below the top tier of the Putin elite is a group of leading officials who, while not enjoying the same influence and access as the president's inner sanctum, are nevertheless considered key players in the system whose interests must be taken into account.

Among them are Vladimir Yakunin, the chairman of Russian Railways; Viktor Cherkesov, the head of the Federal Antinarcotics Agency; Sergei Chemezov, general director of the arms export monopoly Rosoboroneksport; and First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is also chairman of Gazprom’s board of directors.

And let's not forget Putie's dutiful German stooge, der Gerhard.

Other key figures include Yury Kovalchyuk, chairman of the board of directors of Bank Rossiya; Aleksandr Grigoryev, director of Gosrezerv, the state reserve agency; Dmitry Kozak, the regional development minister (and former presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District, which includes Chechnya and the remaining North Caucasus republics); and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Naryshkin, who is chairman of the board of the Channel One television station and deputy chairman of Rosneft.

Such a concentration of commercial and political might has led to conflicts, despite the group's ideological homogeneity. This has been most visible recently in Cherkesov's long-standing and bitter feud with Patrushev and Sechin, which went public in early October. Cherkesov has long coveted Patrushev's post as FSB chief. Patrushev and Sechin are wary of Cherkesov's rising clout and Sechin and Sergei Ivanov are also fierce rivals for Putin’s ear and influence in the Kremlin.

Sechin's interests as Rosneft chairman have also clashed with those of Medvedev's at Gazprom. A proposed merger between the two state-controlled behemoths was abandoned in 2005 due to rivalries between the two men's power bases in the Kremlin. The two sides also clashed over the division of the bankrupted Yukos oil company's production assets -- the majority of which were eventually acquired by Rosneft.

Sechin's interests also clash with Yakunin's at Russian Railways -- mainly over whether oil will be transported by pipeline or rail.

"They have problems among themselves," says Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Moscow-based Panorama think tank. "They are afraid of each other. They are seeking somebody they can trust with the throne. Everybody trusts Putin. They don't know what will happen with his successor," Pribylovsky adds.

Top-Down Governance

Putin’s Moscow-based team sits atop what Russians call the power vertical, a sprawling pyramid of political and economic might that stretches deep into the country's far-flung regions and republics.

Provincial governors are appointed by the president, and confirmed by elected local legislatures -- which in turn are dominated by Unified Russia. Presidential representatives with sweeping authority keep governors and local officials loyal to the Kremlin line.

Those who cross "The Corporation" can expect to feel the full weight of Russia's heavily politicized law-enforcement bodies. For those who are ready to play ball with the Kremlin, however, there are spoils.

Through the governors and presidential prefects, the Kremlin controls a vast network of patronage that Kryshtanovskaya calls "a hierarchy that resembles the Soviet state nomenklatura," in which the Communist Party would dole out coveted posts, privileges, and favors to loyal members.

Putin’s emerging nomenklatura has a distinctive KGB flavor. According to Kryshtanovskaya's research, 26 percent of Russia's senior bureaucrats and business leaders are siloviki -- veterans of the security services or military structures. If the 1990s were dominated by robber-baron oligarchs, then the reigning figure of this decade, according to political scientist Daniel Treisman, a Russia expert at UCLA, is the "silovarch."

Putin’s authority, his inner circle's preeminence, and their common plan to remake Russia all rests on the savvy management of the corporate, political, and personal conflicts inherent in this vast power pyramid, and on Kremlin Inc.'s board of directors remaining cohesive.

If any of the current schisms escalates into open conflict, the system could descend into crisis.

Putin "has created a situation that functions poorly without him. And he needs to continue with this system because are no alternatives," says Moscow-based political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin. "In the framework of this Putin consensus, he now needs to make sure nobody becomes too strong, so that nobody gathers sufficient resources to seize control of the vertical."

Andropov's Children

Shortly after becoming president in 2000, Putin saw to it that a plaque honoring Yury Andropov was restored to the Moscow house where the late Soviet leader and KGB chief once lived.

And in June 2004, to mark the 90th anniversary of Andropov's birth, Putin arranged to have a 10-foot statue of him erected in Petrozavodsk, north of St. Petersburg.

That Putin should take such care to honor the last KGB man to become Kremlin leader is not surprising. In many ways, Putin and his inner circle are Andropov's children.

Putin, Patrushev, Cherkesov, Sergei Ivanov, and Viktor Ivanov all entered the KGB in the mid-1970s when Andropov was at the spy agency's helm. They were strongly influenced by his ideas.

"They thought he was simply a genius, that he was a very strong person who, if he had lived, would have made the correct reforms," Kryshtanovskaya says.

Andropov, who led the KGB from 1967 until 1982 when he became Soviet leader, sought to modernize the Soviet economy to make it more competitive with the West, while at the same time preserving an authoritarian political system in which the KGB would have a leading role. The authoritarian modernization he envisioned, Kryshtanovskaya says, resemble the one that carried out by China's Communist leaders.

"Andropov thought that the Communist Party had to keep power in its hands and to conduct an economic liberalization. This was the path China followed," Kryshtanovskaya says. "For people in the security services, China is the ideal model. They see this as the correct course. They think that Yeltsin went along the wrong path, as did Gorbachev."

Andropov died in 1984, less than 15 months after becoming Soviet leader, and was never able to implement his modernization plan. But two decades after his death, the group of fresh-faced KGB rookies he once inspired are poised to implement it for him.

Operation Successor And Beyond

Speculation is rampant over how Putin’s power will manifest itself next. Will he step straight from the presidency into a new, more powerful prime ministerial post? Or will he temporarily hand over power to a weak and loyal president before reclaiming the post at a later date? No matter the formula, analysts agree that the current elite will remain in power beyond 2008 -- and the current elite along with him.

Putin, says Andrei Ryabov of the Moscow Carnegie Center, "is the undisputed leader of this team, and since there are no serious independent candidates to compete for that role, this means that he will be the main director and architect of the new composition" of political power.

Beyond 2008, analysts say Putin and his team are considering major changes in Russia's political system to minimize the risk of succession crises in the future.

"The dilemma of the succession of power is one of the main problems facing the authorities since it always causes a crisis," says Kryshtanovskaya. "They find troublesome direct elections in which all the people vote. They need either indirect elections through some kind of electors or assembly, or a change in the character of the power structures."

This, of course, would require a major constitutional overhaul. But Dmitry Oreshkin notes that, given the dominant position Putin’s board of directors enjoys, that would not be much of an obstacle.

"Right now this group of people can do anything," he says. "In this situation, who has the resources to oppose them or to disrupt their plans?"

And so goes democracy in a progressive state.

And the Leftisphere speaks volumes with their . . . silence.

Koslings where art thou?

Via RFE/RFL.

Famously 'Tolerant' People No Longer Very Tolerant

Of course, they're only tolerant to a certain degree. If you're a Republican or a member of the military, they hate you with ever fiber of their being, so my sympathy meter just isn't registering on this one.

Of course, in reality, they're the most intolerant kind of people--leftwingers.

After years of using the homeless as mascots and pretending it was Ronald Reagan's fault rather than assorted pathologies that caused people to live out in the street, San Franciscans have grown tired of the homeless.

Wonder what took so long?

Last time I visited in 1998, certain parts of the city were virtual no-go zones, infested and overrun by every type of human debris imaginable.

Residents of a famously liberal city appear to be changing views

San Francisco - the liberal, left-coast city conservatives love to mock - could be undergoing a transformation when it comes to homeless people. Although the city would still be a poor choice for a pep rally for the war in Iraq, indications are that residents have had it with aggressive panhandlers, street squatters and drug users.

"Maybe there has been an epiphany," says David Latterman, president of Fall Line Analytics, a local market research firm. "People have realized they can hate George Bush but still not want people crapping in their doorway."

Nice attitude. The difference between you and George W. Bush is he'd like to help these people. You idiots would prefer using them as political pawns.

Such compassion.

Consider the case of David Kiely, who has lived in the South of Market area for 18 years. He bought a home when prices were low and now lives there with his wife, Jenny, and their three boys, ages 7, 4 and 1. Kiely insists "we're not some white, yuppie parents saying we can't take this." In fact, he says, they donate to programs for homeless people at Glide Memorial Methodist Church and the food bank at St. Anthony Dining Room. But he's finally saying "enough is enough."

"I don't expect it to be Cow Hollow or Pacific Heights," he says. "But the other day Jenny is bringing the kids back from the park, and some guy is standing on the corner throwing up on himself."

Hey man, that's just diversity in action? Who are you to judge. If a guy wants to puke on himself, who are you to say it's not his right?

Trent Rhorer, executive director of San Francisco's Human Services Agency, is at ground zero for homelessness concerns. He's heard it from local residents at meetings, he's read the polls, and he noted the huge response to Chronicle columns about the homeless people and intravenous drug users in Golden Gate park. Like others, he thinks there's been a change in the way San Franciscans think the homelessness problem should be approached.

"I don't think this is a conservative or liberal thing," he says. "This is quality of life for everyone. What research has shown and what we have seen from visits to cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Portland and New York is that you need to combine good social outreach with law enforcement."

Tell that to the ACLU. I recall when former New York Mayor Ed Koch tried to help the degenerate Billie Boggs out and get her to stop sleeping on subway grates, before you knew it, the clowns from the ACLU had her delivering speeches at Harvard.

So, as usual, the liberals are about 25 years late in coming around to where sane people stand on the issues.

That means something more than an offer of help, which often is declined anyhow. (One city official estimated that nine out of 10 say they are not interested in a shelter or housing when approached.)

"Maybe," Rhorer says, "you just need a guy with a badge standing over them and saying, you can't stay there any more."

That's tough talk for a city that's been known as a friendly place for those down on their luck. And in previous years it would have been a political non-starter. When Mayor Frank Jordan tried to push homeless people off the street with his "Matrix" program, the crackdown got much of the blame for his failure to win a second term.

But this has the feel of a new day in San Francisco.

"Homelessness, and quality of life issues, are dividing the liberals and the progressives in this city," says David Binder, a statistical analyst and founder of David Binder Research. "The liberals will say we've got to get tough on the homeless and the progressives are more old-line liberal."

Have at it folks. You've brought this mess on yourselves.

Read the rest.My solution for the problem is every self-professed compassionate progressive out there volunteers to each take in a homeless person, fedd them, clothe them and help get them back on their feet.

C'mon folks, man up and show how much you really care. Otherwise, you'll prove what we've known all along.

You don't care about these people at all.

Via Hot Air. More from Jules Crittenden, Five Feet of Fury, Moonbattery.

Current Events

Why Do They Call It Koslamistan?

Progressives. Feh.

Unable to Compete in Talk Radio, Left Seeks to Shut It Down

It's utterly laughable these clowns would waste time coming up with a report stating the obvious. I'm breathlessly awaiting their analysis noting how 99% of network news and print media is "progressive", but won't hold my breath.

So talk radio is dominated by conservatives? Why? Because that's where the talent is.

Here's a suggestion. Find some talent on the left that would actually get ratings, you idiots.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin completely demolishes the buffoons with an updated Fairness Doctrine Watch.

Just Another Inconvenient Truth

We've all heard about how Bush is Hitler, America is Eeeevil and how Republicans want to starve the children and kill off all the old people, blah, blah, blah. Then there's the hysterical screeching over 'global warming' and that Dubya is intent on poisoning the planet and other such nonsense.

In spite of the shrillness emanating from the Leftisphere's echo chamber, David Blair, diplomatic correspondent for the UK's Telegraph newspaper, puts things in perspective.

At present, coal-fired power stations account for more than half the electricity generated in the US. As coal is the dirtiest way of producing electricity, many of these power stations would have to close.

Cleaner, gas-fired plants would be their obvious replacements. But with only three per cent of the world's gas reserves, building more would probably render the US dependent on imported supplies, which would go against the central aim of Mr Bush's energy policy of making his country self-sufficient.

Russia is better endowed with gas than any other country, while the Middle East holds 34 per cent of the world's total reserves. These are the last places that Mr Bush wants to depend on for future energy needs. Moreover, comparisons of the relative performances when it comes to combating climate change are often misleading.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said yesterday that the EU's carbon emissions had fallen by 4.8 per cent since 1999 - while the US's had risen by 15.8 per cent. But Mr Barroso failed to point out that the US has a rapidly rising population and a high level of economic growth - neither of which is true of the EU.

Oops.

Since 2000, the US's population has risen by 9.5 million, or by the equivalent of Sweden. So it comes as no surprise that it faces a much harder task in reducing carbon emissions than Europe.

Who is this guy to place facts and reason in the way of progressive problem solving hysterics?

More Violence In Rostock

The Moronic Convergence in Germany continues.

A protest in Rostock on Monday once again turned violent with black-clad left-wingers flinging bottles at police. More from the so-called Black Bloc have descended on the town just in time for a demonstration on Monday evening.

Watch the video

Now That Mama Moonbat's A Back-bencher

The Kooky Kult of Koslam has a new Hero of the Revolution.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, a door was opened. For a moment in history, we had the chance to do something truly extraordinary. But instead of looking at this as a chance to lay down a heavy burden, too many saw it as an opportunity to pick up a crown. Rather than having no "superpowers" in the word, we decided there would be only one. We saw it as an opportunity to break old treaties and push past old limits. With that decision, the "end of history" became the opening pages on a new, but equally frightening chapter.

America Amerikkka is eeeevil. Check.

Putin said Thursday that tests of new Russian missiles were a response to the planned deployment of US missile defense installations and other forces in Europe. Russia has not bought the argument that the US system is aimed elsewhere.

In a clear reference to the United States, Putin harshly criticized "imperialism" in global affairs and warned that Russia will strengthen its military potential to maintain a global strategic balance.

Putie says it's so, thereby establishing an infallible truth. Check.

At the end of World War II, diplomats from the victorious Allies knew better than to repeat the errors that had ended World War I, but simultaneously ensured the sequel. Unfortunately, another forty years was enough to erase most of that wisdom. History may not repeat itself, but sometimes the echoes of the past are chilling.

So chilling that the echoes of the past being heard by the people of Central and Eastern Europe are the voices of their progressive liberators.

The time remaining before that door is completely shut may be sooner than we want to think, and we're not likely to soon see another opportunity.

The reality-based community embracing a delusional paranoid.

Priceless.

Where are the 'Progressives'?

Pelousi? Shrillary? Harriet Reid? Schmuck Schumer? NOW?

Prague journalist Parnaz Azima is under virtual house arrest with no end in sight.

In late January, Azima traveled to Iran to visit her gravely ill mother. Upon arrival, her passport was seized. As the months fall away, the best efforts of U.S. diplomats, human rights lobbyists and the family’s lawyers to get that crucial document back have thus far come up empty.

“She’s being, in effect, held inside the country against her will,” says Jeffrey Gedmin, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). He calls her situation “a kind of house arrest.”

The radio station, based in downtown Prague, pairs with Voice of America to produce Radio Farda.

Gedmin calls the tactics of the Iranian authorities “psychological warfare.”

Parnaz Azima is a valued employee of Radio Farda/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Voice of America. In 'progressive' group-think, that means she works for the Bushchimphitler/Jooooish Conspiracy. Therefore, she is eeeeevil.

Last seen, Barbara Boxer and Harriet Reid were busy preparing to solicit bribes host a fundraiser.

Organizers expect hundreds of people - each paying at least $100 - at the fund raiser for Boxer, a Rancho Mirage Democrat who is not up for re-election until 2010. Guests who want a photo with the two senators must kick in $500.

That's all, 100 to 500 bucks for a meet 'n' greet with Boxer & Reid??? This is in the area where Bill Gates, Lee Iacocca, Merv Griffin and others have homes. Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra called Rancho Mirage their home. 100 to 500 bucks???

The night ends with a more intimate cocktail party in Palm Springs in honor of Reid, a Nevada Democrat.

A cocktail party for Harry Reid. The irony of it all.

Tickets to that fund raiser, hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, are going for $2,500 each.

Sounds like a target-rich environment for DUI checks.