Why do I say this??

Because he did not have the cojones to admit to Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday (on 6/19/11) that most of the mainstream media is liberal. He was quick to assert (with certitude—there’s that Weiner-word again) that FOX News was absolutely biased.

How is FOX News biased??

He did not say how it was biased—my guess is that it’s those wascally Wepublicans and those kooky konservatives. He did brazenly proclaim that its viewers are the most misinformed.

Where’s your proof of this, Mr. Stewart??

What a funny guy—again, he did not say. He did seem a bit agitated that Chris Wallace would question his wisdom in claiming this baseless assertion. In fact, he wasn't in much of a jovial mood throughout Wallace's questioning--he seemed ticked off that his opinions (sorry) facts were being questioned at all!!

Say it ain’t so, Jon!!

Stewart wants us to believe that he is simply a comedian who comments on the “sensationalism and laziness” in politics—as does the The New York Times, Washington Post, ABC, CBS, and GE/NBC. Jon wants to know what’s so liberal about lazy politicians doing stupid human tricks?!

Question (Chris Wallace): “Are you disappointed in Obama?”

Answer (Stewart): “Yes, I think I am.”

He “thinks” he is? Jon, you really have to think about that one?

And what about the economy??

He believes the guys before us are to blame for this mess. Ah, yes, the dreaded “Bush-bashing” and “blame it on Bush” mantra common to all liberals. Mr. Stewart was quick to point out how FOX News is prone to reciting the GOP talking points in its reporting—including the typos in the memos!! How quaint!!

Now, where have I heard this “blame it on Bush” mantra before...??

The United States lags behind at least twenty other industrialized nations when it comes to math prowess. I cannot cite a specific study or test result, but I have seen enough of these press reports in recent years to know it is a problem that vexes our national psyche. Bottom line: We don’t do numbers well.

Want proof?

200: At least this many “bundlers” reportedly received jobs and assorted perks (mostly ambassadorships) from the Obama administration during his first two years in office. Funny, but Obama promised to “change” Washington’s good-old-boy network, yet he succeeded in outdoing Bush in two years what took G.W. eight years to accomplish. Seems as though the only “shovel-ready” job that did come to fruition was what was being shoveled to the press!!

2,100,000: Obama’s minions are out in force with this handy talking point—“The One” has created this many jobs in his first two years in office. Again, another “shovel-ready” job, especially when you consider he only had 200 ambassador positions to fill (must have been those temporary McDonald’s positions).

9.1%: Most news organizations use this quaint number to report on joblessness in America instead of this one...

14,000,000: Unemployed Americans. Ouch. And it’s not a laughing matter, Mr. President.

781: Days (and counting) since the Senate proposed a budget. So much for leadership from “Dirty” Harry Reid and friends...

Zero: Budget plans from President Obama or any Democrat in Washington. Sure, Obama presented a “budget outline” in April backtracking from his State of the Union laser-like focus on jobs, but it was simply a partisan bashing of Rep. Paul Ryan’s ambitious budget plan.

$521,000,000,000: The amount of federal money spent on Medicare this year alone. It rises to almost one trillion dollars in ten years—now you know why Paul Ryan targeted this monstrosity with a plan to privatize it before it bankrupts our nation.

7: GOP presidential candidates at last week’s New Hampshire debate with a few more set to enter the fray (including Jon Huntsman and, most likely, Gov. Rick Perry). I believe all of these individuals, with one exception, could lead this country out of the abyss that our current teleprompter-reader-in-chief has allowed us to wander into with relative ease. The one exception is Rep. Ron Paul, whose wholesale libertarian fire sale would set us back two centuries in foreign policy. Besides, when Ronnie didn’t get the nomination last time, he promptly threw his support behind the pugnacious Cynthia McKinney!!

Beam me up, Scotty!!

The National Education Association (NEA) recommends Saul Alinsky to its activist members--not surprising for the largest union in the Democratic fold. Their summary of Alinsky in the "Recommended Reading" section of their website provides a useful primer for anyone not familiar with the godfather of "Hope and Change" (keeping in mind that one uses faith as a means to an end, like Obama used Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church to develop his street cred in Chicago and while Wright used his pulpit to project his racist views of America). Check it out:


Recommended Reading: Saul Alinsky, The American Organizer

A Resource for Every Organizer & Anyone Contemplating Action in Their Community

NEA recommends the following Saul Alinsky books to those members of our Association who are involved in grassroots organizing, especially Association Representatives (ARs) — also known as building reps or shop stewards — and leaders at local affiliates.

Saul Alinsky is widely recognized as the father of, and pre-imminent expert in, grassroots organizing, which is why we recommend that ARs and local leaders become familiar with his theories & materials.

Alinsky’s writings have been called the “mother’s milk of the left,” however in an ironic homage, the conservative right has borrowed a page or two from the Alinsky playbook. Tea Party leader and self-described “conservative radical” Michael Patrick Leahy, for example, has authored a book based on Alinsky’s teachings: “Rules for Conservative Radicals.”

We hope that ARs and local leaders of all political stripes will discern from Alinsky’s books grassroots organizing strategies that will best help us bring our members together around the common goal of improving public education.

Saul Alinsky wrote the book on American radicalism -- two books, in fact: a 1945 best-seller, Reveille for Radicals and Rules for Radicals in 1971. The Reveille title page quotes Thomas Paine... "Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a wh*re of my soul."

Saul Alinsky, who was a labor and civil-rights activist from the 1910's until he died in 1972, has written here a guidebook for those who are out to change things. He sets down what the goal is: a society where people are free to live, and also aren't starving in the streets. A society where there is legal and economic justice. Then he sets out to say how to get there.

Alinsky spends a lot of time critiquing the idea that "The end does not justify the means." What end? What means? He feels that there are circumstances where one can and should use means that in other circumstances would be unethical. I am not sure I agree, but Alinsky certainly speaks with the voice of experience.

Alinsky's goal seems to be to encourage positive social change by equipping activists with a realistic view of the world, a kind of preemptive disillusionment. If a person already knows what evil the world is capable of, then perhaps the surprise factor can be eliminated, making the person a more effective activist. Alinsky further seems to be encouraging the budding activist not to worry to much about getting his or her hands dirty. It's all a part of the job, he seems to say.

Alinsky, the master political agitator, tactical planner and social organizer didn't mince words...

"Liberals in their meetings utter bold works; they strut, grimace belligerently, and then issue a weasel-worded statement 'which has tremendous implications, if read between the lines.' They sit calmly, dispassionately, studying the issue; judging both sides; they sit and still sit."

"The Radical does not sit frozen by cold objectivity. He sees injustice and strikes at it with hot passion. He is a man of decision and action. There is a saying that the Liberal is one who walks out of the room when the argument turns into a fight."

"Society has good reason to fear the Radical. Every shaking advance of mankind toward equality and justice has come from the Radical. He hits, he hurts, he is dangerous. Conservative interests know that while Liberals are most adept at breaking their own necks with their tongues, Radicals are most adept at breaking the necks of Conservatives."

"Radicals precipitate the social crisis by action -- by using power. Liberals may then timidly follow along or else, as in most cases, be swept forward along the course set by Radicals, but all because of forces unloosed by Radical action. They are forced to positive action only in spite of their desires...

• "The American Radical will fight privilege and power whether it be inherited or acquired by any small group, whether it be political or financial or organized creed."
• "He curses a caste system which he recognizes despite all patriotic denials."
• "He will fight conservatives whether they are business or labor leaders."
• "He will fight any concentration of power hostile to a broad, popular democracy, whether he finds it in financial circles or in politics."
• "The Radical recognizes that constant dissension and conflict is and has been the fire under the boiler of democracy. He firmly believes in that brave saying of a brave people, 'Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!'"
• "The Radical may resort to the sword but when he does he is not filled with hatred against those individuals whom he attacks. He hates these individuals not as persons but as symbols representing ideas or interests which he believes to be inimical to the welfare of the people."
• "That is the reason why Radicals, although frequently embarking upon revolutions, have rarely resorted to personal terrorism."

Alinsky practiced what he preached. He said, "Tactics means doing what you can with what you have ... tactics is the art of how to take and how to give."

He uses eyes, ears and nose for examples...

Eyes
"If you have a vast organization, parade it before the enemy, openly show your power."

Ears
"If your organization is small, do what Gideon did: conceal the members in the dark but raise a clamor that will make the listener believe that your organization numbers many more that it does."

Nose
"If your organization is too tiny even for noise, stink up the place."

Alinsky devised and proved thirteen tactical rules for use against opponents vastly superior in power and wealth.

Source:  http://www.nea.org/tools/17231.htm

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By THOMAS SOWELL

28 May 2010

Every year about this time, big-government liberals stand up in front of college commencement crowds across the country and urge the graduates to do the noblest thing possible — become big-government liberals.

That isn't how they phrase it, of course. Commencement speakers express great reverence for "public service," as distinguished from narrow private "greed." There is usually not the slightest sign of embarrassment at this self-serving celebration of the kinds of careers they have chosen — over and above the careers of others who merely provide us with the food we eat, the homes we live in, the clothes we wear and the medical care that saves our health and our lives.

What I would like to see is someone with the guts to tell those students: Do you want to be of some use and service to your fellow human beings? Then let your fellow human beings tell you what they want — not with words, but by putting their money where their mouth is.

You want to see more people have better housing? Build it! Become a builder or developer — if you can stand the sneers and disdain of your classmates and professors who regard the very words as repulsive.

Would you like to see more things become more affordable to more people? Then figure out more efficient ways of producing things or more efficient ways of getting those things from the producers to the consumers at a lower cost.

That's what a man named Sam Walton did when he created Wal-Mart, a boon to people with modest incomes and a bane to the elite intelligentsia. In the process, Sam Walton became rich.

Was that the "greed" that you have heard your classmates and professors denounce so smugly? If so, it has been such "greed" that has repeatedly brought prices down and thereby brought the American standard of living up.

Back at the beginning of the 20th century, only 15% of American families had a flush toilet. Not quite one-fourth had running water. Only 3% had electricity and one percent had central heating. Only one American family in a hundred owned an automobile.

By 1970, the vast majority of those American families who were living in poverty had flush toilets, running water and electricity. By the end of the 20th century, more Americans were connected to the Internet than were connected to a water pipe or a sewage line at the beginning of the century.

More families have air-conditioning today than had electricity then. Today, more than half of all families with incomes below the official poverty line own a car or truck and have a microwave.

This didn't come about because of the politicians, bureaucrats, activists or others in "public service" that you are supposed to admire. No nation ever protested its way from poverty to prosperity or got there through rhetoric or bureaucracies.

It was Thomas Edison who brought us electricity, not the Sierra Club. It was the Wright brothers who got us off the ground, not the Federal Aviation Administration. It was Henry Ford who ended the isolation of millions of Americans by making the automobile affordable, not Ralph Nader.

Those who have helped the poor the most have not been those who have gone around loudly expressing "compassion" for the poor, but those who found ways to make industry more productive and distribution more efficient, so that the poor of today can afford things that the affluent of yesterday could only dream about.

The wonderful places where you are supposed to go to do "public service" are as sheltered from the brutal test of reality as you have been on this campus for the last four — or is it six? — years. In these little cocoons, all that matters is how well you talk the talk. People who go into the marketplace have to walk the walk.

• From "color inside the lines" terror alerts to "connect the dots" terror cryptics--a refreshing change from elementary school fire drills where we all lined up to follow our leader's directions on how to exit the building to graduate school coffee klatches where we gather as adults to discuss the nuances of how systems work.
  
  
• From the "Cowboy President" who proclaimed our friends were with us and our enemies were against us, dead or alive, to the "Cosmopolitan President" who claims peace prizes in the blink of an eye and denounces man-made disasters without a tie.
  
  
• From a "Mission Accomplished" banner emblazoned prematurely aboard an aircraft carrier meant to punctuate the message of an old-school Leader of Substance to a "Weatherproof" billboard displayed nonchalantly above city streets meant to inculcate the masses with accepting a transformative Leader in Style.
  

 

List of President Obama's Czars 

(Courtesy of The Glenn Beck Program. See Obama's Czars for additional background information on each individual listed.)

NOTE: Positions that also existed under previous administrations are indicated with an *.

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1. Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke

Title: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State

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2. AIDS Czar * - Jeffrey Crowley

Title: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
Salary: $102,000
Reports to: President Obama (as part of the Executive Office of the President’s Domestic Policy Council)
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services

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3. Auto Recovery Czar - Ed Montgomery

Title: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Labor

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4. Border Czar * - Alan Bersin

Title: Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Appointed: April 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

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5. California Water Czar - David J. Hayes

Title: Deputy Interior Secretary
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Appointed: June 2009
Confirmed by Senate (as Deputy Interior Security): May 20, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Interior

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6. Car Czar - Ron Bloom

NOTE: on July 13, 2009, Bloom took over as head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, replacing Steven Rattner

Title: Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council head Larry Summers
Appointed: July 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury

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7. Central Region Czar - Dennis Ross

Title: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (encompasses the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia)
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State

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8. Climate Czar - Todd Stern

Title: Special Envoy for Climate Change
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; State

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9. Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal

Title: White House adviser on Violence Against Women
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama and Vice President Biden
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services

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10. Drug Czar * - Gil Kerlikowske

Title: Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 7, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice

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11. Economic Czar * - Paul Volcker

Title: Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Salary: Volcker reportedly isn't paid for his advice.
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury

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12. Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner

Title: Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: EPA

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13. Faith-Based Czar * - Joshua DuBois

Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Salary: $98,000
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services

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14. Government Performance Czar - Jeffrey Zients

Title: Chief Performance Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by the Senate (as deputy director for management for the OMB): June 19, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB

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15. Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis

Title: Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Appointed: June 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency

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16. Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones

Title: Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Head of Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley
Appointed: March 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; Labor

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17. Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried

Title: Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice; State

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18. Health Czar * - Nancy-Ann DeParle

Title: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services (HHS)

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19. Information Czar - Vivek Kundra

Title: Federal Chief Information Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag
Appointed: March 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: other federal agency CIOs

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20. Intelligence Czar * - Dennis Blair

Title: Director of National Intelligence
Salary: $197,700
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Confirmed by Senate: January 28, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: CIA

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21. Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell

Title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State

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22. Pay Czar - Kenneth R. Feinberg

Title: Special Master on executive pay
Salary: reportedly receiving no compensation for his work.
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury

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23. Regulatory Czar * - Cass R. Sunstein

Title: Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget head Peter Orszag
Appointed: January 2009
Nomination was sent to Senate on April 20, 2009 - no action yet taken
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB

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24. Science Czar - John Holdren

Title: Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: December 2008
Confirmed by Senate: March 19, 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Energy

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25. Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney

Title: Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Vice President Biden
Appointed: February 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB

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26. Sudan Czar - J. Scott Gration

Title: Special Envoy to Sudan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State

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27. TARP Czar - Herb Allison

Title: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury

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28. Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra

Title: Chief Technology Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: May 21, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Commerce

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29. Terrorism Czar - John Brennan

Title: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: National Security Adviser James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Homeland Security

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30. Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr.

Title: White House Director of Urban Affairs
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Housing and Urban Development

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31. Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter

Title: Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Appointed: April 2009
Confirmed by Senate: April 23, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Defense

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32. WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore

Title: White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department or agency that might have handled similar issues: NSC; Defense; State