Station Fire in Los Angeles Claims 2 Firefighters, 74 Structures

The video's from KABC-TV Los Angeles, "Station Fire Grows to 105,000+ Acres."



But see also the Los Angeles Times, "L.A. County Fire Has Destroyed 74 Structures, Remains Out of Control":



The number of structures burned by the Station fire has surged to 74 as the out-of-control wildfire pushed west and north, officials say.



Fifty-three homes, mountain cabins and other buildings were destroyed when the fire swept through the hamlet of Stonyvale in Tujunga Canyon. Earlier officials had said 21 homes were lost, mostly in remote areas in Tujunga Canyon and south of Acton.



The fire showed little sign of slowing down this afternoon as it threatened 12,000 homes in suburban tracts and desert communities, along with a historic observatory and major array of television and radio transmission towers.



“The fire is headed just about anywhere it wants to,” L.A. County Fire Deputy Chief Mike Dietrich said. “This is a very angry fire. Until we get a change in the weather conditions, I am not overly optimistic.”

With afternoon winds picking up, the Station fire, the largest of eight burning in the state, was plowing through dense hillside vegetation and steep terrain toward residential areas of Sunland and Santa Clarita on the west.



As billows of white and black smoke danced ominously close, Chuck Horn ushered his family and his two prized collectors' automobiles out of his home in the Sunland-Tujunga area.



"We took pictures, tax returns, insurance forms, the dog, the chicken, and that's it," Horn, 61, a retired L.A. County public works employee, said as he prepared to drive away in his baby blue 1931 Plymouth three-window coupe. Horn was next planning on moving his black 1911 Buick Model 33 away from the blaze.



To the east, firefighters were hoping that a concerted effort to cut fire breaks and lay down fire retardant would save the Mt. Wilson Observatory and a key complex of communications towers.



Because of the intensity and unpredictability of the blaze, which continued shifting directions, fire crews had to pull out of the mountaintop area today and wait for the firestorm to pass.

More at the Link.



Plus, click on this: "Los Angeles Fire Map: Tracking the Spread of the Flames [Updated]."



And, "Fallen Firefighters Remembered for Their Courage."

Tedmund "Ted" Hall and Arnaldo Quinones

Organizing for America Slurs Concerned Citizens as 'Heirs to Bin Laden'

From Obama's Organizing for America thugs:

All 50 States are coordinating in this – as we fight back against our own Right-Wing Domestic Terrorists who are subverting the American Democratic Process, whipped to a frenzy by their Fox Propaganda Network ceaselessly re-seizing power for their treacherous leaders ....

DEFEAT ANTI-DEMOCRATIC FORCES OF HATE WHO CONSPIRE TO REMAIN HEALTHY + WEALTHY WHILE THE PUBLIC LANGUISHES UNDER THE BURDEN OF OUR PRESENT HEALTH CARE SYSTEM ....

---* RECLAIM OUR LAND FROM THE HEIRS OF, YES: BIN LADEN *---* YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE *---

Click here for full size.

Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit, "Obama Website: Critics of Obamacare Are Heirs of Bin Laden."

ObamaCare Thought Police at St. Louis Town Hall!

Great photos and video at Sharp Elbows, "Thought Police at the ObamaCare Rally":

I love this line, "Those Who Claim To Be The Most Tolerant Are Always The Most Intolerant."

So true!

Hat Tip: Dana Loesch, "Astroturfers Unite at IBEW Protest."

Also, Gateway Pundit posted the same picture from Sharp Elbows, "Harry Reid: Teddy's Death Will Help Us Pass Obamacare."

Darcy Burner, Netroots' Epic Fail, Now Helping Leftist House Members ... Fail

I couldn't resist the schadenfreude of leftist Darcy Burner's defeat in last November's election.

Some of my thought are here, "Bachmann and Burner: Epic Electoral Fail for Netroots, and here, "Update on Darcy Burner's Epic Fail for Netroots."

The left poured all their resources into electing Burner, and she lost her congressional bid for the second time in a row - and this was in Washington State's 8th District, with its Democratic voter advantage and 15-point margin for Democratic nominee Barack Obama in 2008.

Burner, who is about as hardline radical as they come, is now executive director of the American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation. This leftist cell's mission is to "is to bring together the collective wisdom of progressives inside and outside of Congress to promote peace and global security, energy independence, environmental sustainability, human rights, civil liberties and the health and economic well-being of us all."

It turns out that Representative Barbara Lee, and Nation editor and publisher Katrina Vanden Heuvel, are on the Board of Directors of Burner's organization. As I wrote regarding Representative Lee at my Pajamas essay, "A ‘National Day of Service’? Or a Political Hijacking of 9/11?", she's "the only member of Congress to vote against the Bush administration’s authorization of force following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001." She also chairs the Hip Hop Caucus Advisory Board, the organization of the "Reverend" Lennox Yearwood, who leads the White House group seeking to hijack September 11 for a National Day of Service and "eradicate the significance of the day as one of remembrance."

As for Katrina Vanden Heuvel, here's how FrontPage Magazine describes The Nation:

As the flagship publication of the political Left, The Nation consistently champions leftists’ lost causes, supporting totalitarian and Communist regimes while simultaneously rejecting any suggestion the United States is justified in military, or even philosophical, opposition to these rogue states.

It's clear that Darcy Burner is "burning it up" with some hardcore capitalist-bashing cadres.

Now it turns out that Burner's lobbying congressional "liberals" to "hang together" in support of the ObamaCare public option. Roll Call reports, "Burner Helping House Liberals Hold Firm on Public Insurance Option":

An organizer for liberal House Democrats says the bloc “isn’t bluffing” as it prepares to take a reputation-defining stand to protect a public insurance option in the health care overhaul.

Darcy Burner, executive director of the American Progressive Caucus Policy Foundation, said the health care debate has rallied traditionally disparate Congressional liberals to hang together, while galvanizing support for their position from an array of left-leaning outside groups. The result, she said, is that Democratic leaders will not be able to clear a package through the House if it does not include the public plan.

“We have never had the Progressive Caucus organized the way it is right now,” Burner said during a Friday roundtable with Roll Call. “This is not the normal scenario. And Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] knows it.”

Whoo hoo!

A "reputation-defining stand"! That's awesome. A two-time congresssional loser now spearheading the left's plan to resurrect the DOA public-socialist option!

Hey, sounds like a winner!

More at Memeorandum. And Daily Kos too!

Sarah Palin in Demand!

TrogloPundit comes up with the post title of the day, "I Wonder How That Compare to the Number of Guys Who Asked Her to the Prom?"

Troglo's talking about today's piece at the Politico, "Sarah Palin Gets 1,070+ Invitations":

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin this week will begin accepting and rejecting the more than 1,070 invitations she has received for paid speeches and political appearances since she resigned from office, aides said.

Twenty speakers’ bureaus made offers to represent her. She has signed with Washington Speakers Bureau, which represents everyone from George and Laura Bush to Bob Woodward and Katie Couric to Alan Greenspan, Colin Powell and Rudy Giuliani.

More than 950 requests for speeches have poured in for Palin, and over 120 candidates for office have asked her to appear, including folks running for Senate, House and state Legislature, aides said.

Palin will be doing both paid speeches, which are expected to go for six figures apiece, and unpaid speeches for political and charitable causes, including Christian organizations, groups that support families with special-needs children and military families.

Palin has made no commitments so far, and Washington Speakers Bureau will start responding to the invitations this week.

She’s about 85 percent finished with her book, due out this spring from HarperCollins. Then she’ll begin looking through the inch-and-a-half thick file her lawyer, Robert Barnett, has built of offers for network and cable pundit gigs, documentaries and business opportunities.

Check the Troglo post for a leggy photo of Mrs. Palin.

Also, Memeorandum (where Jezebel snarks that "The quitter's life looks pretty sweet for Sarah Palin ...").

Rep. Joe Barton: ObamaCare a 'Massive Socialization of Health Care' ... 'We'll Repeal It'

From The Hill, "Key Republican: GOP Would Repeal Health Bill If They win in 2010":

Barton says, "in the next Congress, I'll be chairman Joe Barton of the Energy and Commerce committee, and we'll repeal it."

Nice Deb adds, "Repeal the stimulus bill, too, while you’re at it. I believe a majority of Americans would favor it."

More at Memeorandum.

Carrie Prejean Sues Miss California USA - Perez Hilton Stays Classy

The image is from Perez Hilton's post on Carrie Prejean's lawsuit, "Carrie Prejean IS Suing The Miss California Organization!":

Yeah, that's real classy.

Big Hollywood has the story, "EXCLUSIVE: Carrie Prejean Takes Legal Action Against Miss California USA Officials." (Via Memeorandum.)

Ms. Prejean's attorneys have issued a statement:

“Over the past two months we have worked hard to provide overwhelming evidence that Carrie Prejean did not violate her contract with Miss California USA and did not deserve to have her title revoked by Keith Lewis. We will make the case that her title was taken from her solely because of her support of traditional marriage. Keith Lewis has refused to clear her good name or even to admit any wrongdoing. Therefore, Carrie Prejean is left with no alternative but to take her case to court where she expects to be fully vindicated.”

I wrote a Pajamas essay on Ms. Prejean back in June: "Miss California Carrie Prejean’s Odyssey: Not Very Pretty." There's clear evidence that pageant officials had a de facto "gay loyalty oath" for contestants. Interestingly, Perez Hilton was demonstrably shocked when Ms. Prejean stated her firmly-held view that "marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised." Indeed, recall the video showed Perez Hilton both embarrassed and perturbed at the then-Miss California's response.

What was always inexplicable to me was why a prick like Perez (Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr.) Hilton would be selected as judge for the event in the first place. If the sole credentials are being a scumbucket gossip sleazebag, then Miss USA sure got their man.

More at Memeorandum.

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UPDATE: Gateway Pundit links, "Good. Carrie Prejean Sues Miss California For Religious Discrimination ...Update: Perez Hilton's Disgusting Response."

Bush/Cheney Kept America Safe - Leftists Can't Stand It

I tweeted a New York Times' piece on Dick Cheney's Fox interview last night, and this was the @AmPower response that was returned:

And frankly, that's pretty much how the left views the Bush administration, from the hardline netroots right up to Attorney General Eric Holder (see, "Will the Hard Left Set Our House on Fire?").

Here's the response at Digby's to Chris Wallace's interview:

Wallace's hourlong fellatio session probably satisfied Cheney immensely, and predictably, the other networks saw fit to publicize Little Dick and his concubine, because what a former Vice President says is automatically news! News! News! ....

You see what Cheney is doing here. He wants to politicize the Bush terror policies - the investigations being sought by the Attorney General are "clearly a political move," he says - so that any attempt to question them becomes a partisan food fight instead of simply the application of law. This is his metier and he does it very well, judging from all the attention he receives every time he emerges from the bunker. Conservatives, ever on the lookout for victimization, cry that the Justice Department is being all political by investigating torture and murder, and the media cover the ping-pong match.

Also, Cheney won't cooperate with any "improper" investigation. A Justice Department-directed investigation. You know, "fuck you" and all that.

Also, Duncan Black takes issue with Cheney's reiteration that the administration "kept us safe":

One of the more annoying conservative talking points, one which the Villagers have swallowed whole and regularly spit out, is that "since 9/11 Bush and Dick kept us safe." The obvious flaw in this type of statement is that there's a big mulligan in there. But aside from that, they, you know, didn't. As Steve says:

Cheney thinks it was a sterling success when it came to national security and counter-terrorism. Perhaps there's something to this. After all, except for the catastrophic events of 9/11, and the anthrax attacks against Americans, and terrorist attacks against U.S. allies, and the terrorist attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Bush's inability to capture those responsible for 9/11, and waging an unnecessary war that inspired more terrorists, and the success terrorists had in exploiting Bush's international unpopularity, the Bush/Cheney record on counter-terrorism was awesome.

Well, see Fred Barnes, who lists "Bush's Achievements":

Second, enhanced interrogation of terrorists. Along with use of secret prisons and wireless eavesdropping, this saved American lives. How many thousands of lives? We'll never know. But, as Charles Krauthammer said recently, "Those are precisely the elements which kept us safe and which have prevented a second attack."

See also, PoliGazette, "Cheney on Fox News Sunday."

Plus, more at Memeorandum.

More Troops to Afghanistan

Anthony Cordesman reports, "How to Lose in Afghanistan":

'Call sign 'Pedro': One of the great untold stories of this war.'

**********

The United States cannot win the war in Afghanistan in the next three months -- any form of even limited victory will take years of further effort. It can, however, easily lose the war. I did not see any simple paths to victory while serving on the assessment group that advised the new U.S. commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, on strategy, but I did see all too clearly why the war is being lost.

The most critical reason has been resources. Between 2002 and 2008 the United States never provided the forces, money or leadership necessary to win, effectively wasting more than half a decade. Our country left a power vacuum in most of Afghanistan that the Taliban and other jihadist insurgents could exploit and occupy, and Washington did not respond when the U.S. Embassy team in Kabul requested more resources ....

We have a reasonable chance of victory if we properly outfit and empower our new team in Afghanistan; we face certain defeat if we do not.

Plus, reporting from the ground in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Michael Yon:

The 129th ERQS (Emergency Rescue Squadron), flying a pair of HH-60G Pavehawks, launched from Camp Bastion to retrieve the suspected Taliban who was deemed a “Cat A” casualty. Category A means the patient requires immediate evacuation. Total flight distance (given the route) from Bastion to Inkerman back to Bastion would be about 100 miles.

Among the British combat soldiers in Afghanistan, Pedro is the only thing more popular than mail. When friendly forces are in need, Pedro will come anywhere, anytime, during any weather, and their helicopters have gotten the bulletholes to prove it. The United States Air Force runs the only rescue service that will always be there, no matter what, no matter that there is no moon for flying, or the dust is too heavy for everyone else, or you are in a firefight. American Army helicopters in Afghanistan fly with the red cross on the side. Flying with that symbol makes it illegal for our people to carry weapons. The decision seems ridiculous; the enemy will only use the red cross for an aim point. While the Army flies armed with a red cross, Pedro flies with miniguns. and they bring some of the most highly qualified medics in the entire U.S. military – which is saying a lot. They bring miniguns, and powersaws to cut soldiers out of MRAPs or other twisted hulks, and scuba gear when that becomes important when troops and gear are lost to the water. If our people can manage to get there, Pedro can manage to get them out. Pedro rescues people every single day.

Yon's report on the ground comes a few days before last Thursday's election. Read the whole thing here.

Hat Tip: Thunder Run.

Great News! 'Experts See Double-Digit Dem Losses' in 2010

The evidence is coming in that President Obama and the Dems are looking to a historic midterm rout in 2010:

After an August recess marked by raucous town halls, troubling polling data and widespread anecdotal evidence of a volatile electorate, the small universe of political analysts who closely follow House races is predicting moderate to heavy Democratic losses in 2010.

Some of the most prominent and respected handicappers can now envision an election in which Democrats suffer double-digit losses in the House — not enough to provide the 40 seats necessary to return the GOP to power but enough to put them within striking distance.

Top political analyst Charlie Cook, in a special August 20 update to subscribers, wrote that “the situation this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and congressional Democrats.”

"Many veteran congressional election watchers, including Democratic ones, report an eerie sense of déjà vu, with a consensus forming that the chances of Democratic losses going higher than 20 seats is just as good as the chances of Democratic losses going lower than 20 seats,” he wrote.

At the mid-August Netroots Nation convention, Nate Silver, a Democratic analyst whose uncannily accurate, stat-driven predictions have made his website FiveThirtyEight.com a must read among political junkies, predicted that Republicans will win between 20 and 50 seats next year. He further alarmed an audience of progressive activists by arguing that the GOP has between a 25 and 33 percent chance of winning back control of the House.

“A lot of Democratic freshmen and sophomores will be running in a much tougher environment than in 2006 and 2008 and some will adapt to it, but a lot of others will inevitably freak out and end up losing,” Silver told POLITICO. “Complacency is another factor: We have volunteers who worked really hard in 2006 and in 2008 for Obama but it’s less compelling [for them] to preserve the majority.”

That's got to drive the netroots freaks absolutley nuts. Routinely when during the campaign last year leftists would cite Silver to rebut polling trends favorable to the GOP. And here we have the guy predicting as much as a 50-seat pickup for the Repubs?

That's sweet!

Bill Clinton lost 52 seats in 1994, the year of the GOP takeover of Congress. And 8 in the Senate.

See, "Seats in Congress Gained/Lost by the President's Party in Mid-Term Elections F. Roosevelt - G.W. Bush."

Tucson Town Hall: ObamaThug Smashes Elbow Into Concerned Citizen's Face!

Gateway Pundit has the report, "Pro-Obamacare Tea Party Crasher SMASHES ATTENDEE In the Face With His Elbow & Disrupts Meeting (Video):

The Tucson area Tea Party Coalition held a meeting at Rincon High School in Tucson this weekend. Over 1,000 people showed up at the event ... including one violent counter-protester.

The pro-Obama thug disrupted the meeting screaming-- marched to the front of the room holding a sign ------ And, then SLAMMED AN ATTENDEE IN THE FACE with his elbow!

Also, check out Norma Wilbur's letter to the editor at the Tacoma News Tribune:

The News Tribune’s reporting of Rep. Adam Smith’s town hall meeting (8-27) was disturbing. A man carried a sign of President Obama with a Hitler-type mustache. The News Tribune reported that “bystanders ultimately brought the man to the ground, crumpled his sign and discarded it.”

I assume that organized leftists assaulted the man, while the “violent” conservatives stood by quietly objecting to the leftist violence.

Where is the media’s outrage at the leftists’ violence? The people who assaulted the sign-carrying man should be arrested. Certainly, the leftist mob demonstrated Hitler-like tactics.

The newspaper pictured a huge man shouting and pointing aggressively at a smaller man surrounded by elderly people. The aggressor was pro-health care. Was he planted by the left (as the Nazis did) to ?

I am an elderly lady who plans to attend Norm Dicks’ town hall meeting. Should I be afraid that I will be thrown to the ground as the sign carrier was by what appear to be hired thugs?

No wonder folks bring their guns!

See Dana Loesch, "To Put It Bluntly: People Didn't Bring Guns to Town Halls Until Thugs Started Beating People Up."

Corner Protest with Janet - O'Fallon, Missouri

From Reboot Congress, "Saturday's Corner Protest with Janet":

Check the post for lots of links.

Hat Tip: Glenn Reynolds.

Tea Party Express Stops in Ely, Nevada

From Southern Belle Politics, "Tea Party Express Sleeps in Ely, Nevada":

Also, from CNN, "Tea Party Express Cruises Through Nevada":

Hundreds of people turned out for a series of weekend events as the Tea Party Express cruised across northern Nevada.

The caravan of tour buses, RVs, cargo trucks and SUVs kicked off a cross-country tour Friday in Sacramento, California, and plans on holding events in 33 cities en route to Washington, D.C. for what organizers hope will be a big rally on September 12.

The tour is being funded by Our Country Deserves Better, a conservative political action committee.

The tea party movement gained momentum this year; several parties were held across the country this summer to protest President Barack Obama and the Democrats' economic stimulus plans, among other things.

On July 4, nearly 2,000 advocates, toting signs and chanting slogans, rallied outside Congress. Activists said the TEA Party Day — an acronym for "Taxed Enough Already" — was in response to runaway government spending. But now, the focus is on health care reform, an issue that has brought about demand for bigger, more encompassing debate throughout the country and in Congress.

At an event Saturday in Winnemucca, Nevada, Carolyn Rowe came to the tea party in a T-shirt depicting Obama as the joker from "Batman." In place of the familiar "Hope" logo of Obama's campaign was the word "Joke."

She says she is concerned about the number of so-called "czars" in the Obama administration and she fears losing her choice of doctor if health care reform passes.

"I believe he's trouncing the Constitution and taking control of our country in a direction we don't want," says Rowe, from beneath a wide brimmed straw hat. "I think he has a hidden agenda, and I think he doesn't tell the truth and that in itself bothers me."

Also, NPR, " 'Tea Party Express' Takes Protests Cross-Country" (via Memeorandum).

Glenn Reynolds has rolling coverage to events as well.

But keep checking back at Southern Belle's for more from the tour.

Carol Shea-Porter Boots Retired Cop From New Hampshire Town Hall

From The Blog Prof, "Video: Rep. Shea-Porter (D-kookville), former anti-war protester, gets townhall protester asking a simple question arrested, then taunts him!":

Also, from Moe Lane, "Meet New Boss Rep Shea-Porter (D, NH).

And Ed Morrissey says:

I’ve watched this video a couple of times, and I still can’t figure out why the police took this man out of the room. He was actually less disruptive than the woman behind him. He challenged Shea-Porter on the appearance of SEIU protesters in the room, one of whom got up and disrupted his question. When the first man then challenged the residency of the SEIU rep, police swooped in and removed him.

That's SEIU for you. And SEIU punk at the viddy is definitely a goon!

Kennedy Juxtaposition: Arlington National Cemetery Commemorative Edition

From Grandpa John's, "Juxtaposition: Extra! Extra! Assembly targets drunken drivers! Read all about it!":

Also, yesterday Mike at Cold Fury wasn't in the mood to commemorate Teddy's burial at Arlington:

The thought of this noisome ruin befouling Arlington National Cemetery, slowly rotting next to real American heroes — blighting everything he touches, in death as in life — is absolutely nauseating. But no more nauseating than the spectacle of debased liberals tripping over themselves to make excuses for this dastardly murderer, for no better reason than that he was on their side politically. It’s beyond appalling; mere words are inadequate to express my revulsion and contempt for such deluded, simple fools.

Related (unfortunately): CNN, "Kennedy 'expected more of us' on health care, Dodd says" (via Memeorandum).

'Teabagger Watcher' Puts Out Conservative 'Enemies List'

The Rhetorican has a post up that piqued my interest, "Leftie Site Celebrates Democratic Party History."

It turns out that "Teabagger Watcher," an anarcho-communist blog, has put out an "enemies list" on leading conservative bloggers and tea-party organizations. The list puts Michelle Malkin and Red State in the crosshairs:

Enemies List:

teabaggers' march on washington
dick armey's 'freedomworks'
tea party patriots
nationwide tea party coalition
join patients first
smart girl politics
americans for limited government
americans for prosperity
american liberty alliance
american liberty tour
net right nation
redstate.com
michelle malkin, that insane chick
sam adams alliance (not beer-related)

The website is probably the creation of artist Mike Flugennock. The artwork at the blog's masthead, and the titles are the same: "The Teabaggers Are Coming!" Flugennock's work includes this disgusting rendering of hooded KKK nightriders lynching President Obama:

Flugennock is listed here and here as a D.C.-based anarcho-communist poster artist and agitator. See also, "Anarchism in the Arts."

The website also boasts communist Alexander Cockburn's Counterpunch among its favorite sources. Counterpunch is a well-know anti-Semitic portal. FrontPage Magazine wrote earlier that:

Almost every self-hating Jew on the planet capable of banging on a keyboard is today either a columnist for the anti-American web magazine Counterpunch, run by Alexander Cockburn, or is an object of Counterpunch’s celebration.

Plus, currently running at Counterpunch, "Why Aren't Progressives Disrupting ObamaCare Town Halls?"

The Washington Post ran a feature on Flugennock in September 2002, "The Poster Boy of Protest."

Here are samples of Flugennock's anarcho-communist artwork, "A new series of posters to support dissident mobilizations at President Monkey Boy's Second Coronation!":

****************************************

Dick Cheney Fox News Sunday Interview (VIDEO)

Yid With Lid has the full interview, "Full Transcript of Dick Cheney Fox News Sunday Interview." See also, "RAW DATA: Transcript of Cheney on 'FOX News Sunday'." And the Swamp, "Cheney: Torture probe 'Offends Hell Out of Me'" (Via Memeorandum).

Andrew Sullivan, hysterical as always, isn't happy with Chris Wallace's mode of interviewing:

Now look: there are softball interviews; and then there are interviews like this. It cannot be described as journalism in any fashion. Even as propaganda, which is its point, it doesn't work - because it's far too cloying and supportive of Cheney to be convincing to anyone outside the true-believers. When it comes to Cheney, one of the most incompetent vice-presidents in the country's history, with a record of two grotesquely botched wars, war crimes and a crippling debt, Chris Wallace sounds like a teenage girl interviewing the Jonas Brothers.

Lots more commentary at Memeorandum and RealClearPoltics (video).

Van Jones: Revolutionary Communist in the Obama White House

Matthew Vadum has a new piece up at the American Spectator, "Van Jones and His STORMtroopers Denounced America the Night After 9/11":

Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), the revolutionary group formed by self-described "communist" and "rowdy black nationalist" Van Jones, held a vigil in Oakland, California, "mourning the victims of U.S. imperialism around the world" on the night after Sept. 11, 2001.

The reason this is important is because Van Jones is now President Obama's green jobs czar. He does not appear to have distanced himself from his past communist activities and is now part of the Obama administration's push to turn Sept. 11 into a National Day of Service focused on the promotion of the radical environmentalist agenda.

Vadum cites passages from Jones' revolutionary pamphlet, Reclaiming Revolution. For example, Jones' group "blamed the U.S. for 9/11":

That night, STORM and the other movement leaders expressed sadness and anger at the deaths of innocent working class people. We were angry, first and foremost, with the U.S. government, whose worldwide aggression had engendered such hate across the globe that working class people were not safe at home. We honored those who had lost their lives in the attack -- and those who would surely lose their lives in subsequent U.S. attacks overseas.

Check out the Glenn Beck video above. Michelle Malkin indicates the significance of Van Jones' background as a Leninist revolutionary, and Beck reads key passages from the pamphlet.

But to be clear: Van Jones is President Barack Obama's "Green Jobs Czar." Kathy Shaidle wrote about him earlier, "Van Jones, 'Green Jobs Czar', a Self-Described 'Communist' Arrested During Rodney King Riots."

Note as well that Jones is the founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.

Here's this from Cliff Kincaid's investigation on Jones' organization:

I visited one of his organizations in Oakland, California, the Ella Baker Center, and discovered a photograph of Communist Angela Davis on the first floor. Ella Baker worked with Communists such as Anne Braden. This fact is noted on the official Baker bio distributed by the organization named in her honor. They are proud of this fact, although they claim that "she had mixed feelings about communism" and only embraced socialism "as a more humane alternative to capitalism."

Jones shows up on a list of "veteran activists" attending a conference in the summer of 1998 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the same place where Bill Ayers is now a professor. The purpose was to plot the "Black Liberation Agenda for the 21st Century" under the auspices of the Black Radical Congress. Angela Davis participated and the Communist Party USA helped organize the event.

One of Jones' sons is named Cabral, in honor of Amilcar Cabral, the African Marxist who spoke to Castro's Tricontinental Congress in 1966 and concluded with these words: "Our wish is that every national liberation movement represented here may be able to repeat in its own country, arms in hand, in unison with its people, the already legendary cry of Cuba: Patria O Muerte, Venceremos! Death to the Forces of Imperialism! Free, Prosperous and Happy Country for Each of our Peoples! Venceremos!"

Kincaid notes that Jones has undertaken "an extreme makeover" to mask his credentials as a hardline revolutionary agitator.

To that effect, check out this article from 2005, "The New Face of Environmentalism: Van Jones Renounced His Rowdy Black Nationalism On the Way Toward Becoming An Influential Leader of the New Progressive Politics":

He still considers himself a revolutionary, just a more effective one, who has realized that the progressive left's insistence on remaining a counterculture destroys its potential as a political movement ...

So, what to do? Join the far-left Obama administration as an environmental minister.

As Ron Radosh points out:

Barack Obama has seen fit to actually appoint a Communist to a position of importance in the White House ....

The man in question is named Van Jones, and President Obama appointed him as a czar in charge of developing “green energy policy.” His exact title is Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. His responsibility is to coordinate the stimulus spending to assure that a hefty portion of it goes to projects that promote green energy. What in Jones’ recent background should raise questions about his worthiness for the appointment? What was the expertise that made him qualified for the position? He was founder of in September 2007 of “Green For All,” a non-governmental organization “dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty … advocating for local, state and federal commitment to job creation, job training, and entrepreneurial opportunities in the emerging green economy – especially for people from disadvantaged communities.” He also attended Yale Law School, thus following a career path similar to that of President Obama. And like the President, he recently said he considers himself a “community organizer.”

As David Horowitz has pointed out, from 1992 until 2002, Jones was a member of a radical communist group that was dedicated to “organizing a revolutionary movement in America.” Arrested during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, and briefly sent to jail, Jones met, he said “communists and anarchists,” and decided “ ‘This is what I need to be part of.’” He said that he spent “the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary.”

The group he joined was Storm, a Bay Area Marxist-Maoist collective staffed by members of radical nonprofit groups, who worked with another body Jones had founded, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, that sought to provide alternative to prison for African-Americans convicted of crimes. Storm made its position clear in its published manifesto, Reclaiming Revolution:Standing Together to Form a Revolutionary Movement. The group defined itself as a “revolutionary cadre organization,” that understood that “revolutionary Marxist politics would be central to the development of a successful liberation movement in this country.” Its commitment was to “Marxist-Leninist politics,” which posed a problem- since its shrewd leaders knew that “most young activists…were hostile to revolutionary Marxism.”

That meant subterfuge: acknowledging that they could not appear as “an explicitly Marxist organization.” The answer was two tiers of members-a leadership of Marxists and a membership that had to support its unity program that was not “explicitly Marxist.” The group had ties to the South African Communist Party, the breakoff group from the American CP, the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, and it honored leaders like Amilcar Cabral, the late Marxist revolutionary of Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands, who lauded Lenin “as the greatest champion of the national liberation of the peoples.” In 2006, Van Jones named his newborn son “Cabral” in the Marxist leader’s honor.

This isn't surprising to conservatives who have long argued against Barack Obama's hardline radical background and associations.

See also, Astute Bloggers, "WHAT IF OBAMA HIRED A MAN LIKE BILL AYERS OR JEREMIAH WRIGHT AND BROUGHT HIM INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE? HE HAS!"

More at Memeorandum.

Obama Thuggery! Astroturfed Perlmutter Town Hall - Denver, Colorado

El Marco's got a great new report on the Ed Perlmutter town hall event yesterday at Denver's North High School:

I arrived early at North High School for Friday’s, Organizing for America rally in Denver. OFA community organizers were hard at work:

Here, hand-manufactured signs on sticks are mixed with a ream or two of signs without sticks. Approximately 50 signs. In boxes are printed signs with UPS One Day Air receipts on them. From D.C.? Maybe:

I went to the adjacent street, West 32nd Street, and here is what I saw.

Some media showed up after a while and zeroed in on the guy with the Ted Kennedy sign. The reporterette at center showed no interest in interviewing the man on the right or others.

I checked back at this same area about 20 minutes later to find that the Astroturf Brigades had arrived in force and were beginning to be a nuisance.

This proud DenverCrat was eager to pose for my camera ... Much to my chagrin, he began to berate anyone who made eye contact with him. He spoke, er, bellowed eloquently enough. He sounded like Ted Kennedy on the campaign trail. He marshaled many of the main democrat talking points quite admirably:

These green shirts [below] blocked the north entrance to the high school parking lot. All who wanted to enter to hear Representative Perlmutter had to go approximately 1/4 of a mile to the west entrance. They said everyone had to sign in for security reasons. Following is an email from a severely disabled Denver Prager Listener Group member:

“I was at that rally and was parked inside the fence because I had arrived very early. I walked outside the west side of the fence to meet friends and then re-entered when they called and said they were on the other side of the parking lot. The “green shirts” came toward me with their clip boards and wanted to know where I was going. I told them I was going to my car and they reluctantly let me pass. When I got to the other end of the lot, several “green shirts” approached me and asked where I was going. I told them and they also reluctantly let me go past. When I met my friends I told them what had happened and that I was really afraid of those people because they came across so aggressively. One of my friends found a couple of police officers and he told them I was afraid these people wouldn’t let me back in to get my car. The officers talked to the “green shirts” and they were quite irate that I felt the least bit intimidated by them!! Well, a couple of hours later the Obama Bus arrived and a little while after that I needed to leave. One of my friends offered to walk me to my car. When we got to the gate the “green shirts” had tied yellow “CAUTION” tape (it looks like police tape!!) across the entire gate opening and it took a couple of minutes for my friend to convince them that I was just going to my car and he was walking with me.

It is so deplorably dishonest for these “astroturf” bullies with their professionally printed signs and buttons to forcibly extract signatures from people and then for Perlmutter (my Congressman also!!) to knowingly use those signatures ~ I believe that in any other arena this would be fraud!!!”

The woman who wrote this lives in constant extreme pain and is not a threat to anyone.

I headed over to the west entrance to see what was going on. I passed a group of grassroots supporters of Obama on the way. Others in the group had signs which were foul and offensive. Disgusting, really. So I have spared you the necessary after-viewing shower by not showing their photos.

A young mind is a terrible thing to waste.

A commotion in the parking lot caught my eye. A green shirt aggressively berates two dissenters in the parking lot:

They are ejected by two male organizers in red shirts. While still on school property, the two ladies decided to hold their ground, resisting excessive trampling of their rights as law abiding Americans. This is a standoff. Who would have thought a scene like this could occur in America?

The red shirts stay to monitor the situation(above background left). At no time did I see these ladies argue or fuss. They appeared only calm and insistent on their rights:

Meanwhile, the Astroturfers who were sent to confront the legitimate dissenters on W 32nd St, are now among the crowd waiting to cheer Perlmutter:

And here’s the bus ...

Perlmutter ranted about fighting and fighting and human rights and the Constitution:

Organizers positioned this banner to block the view from the two camera stands. Should have sent a taller green shirt. Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men ...

See also, Live Free Colorado, "Ed Perlmutter Says Our Health Care System is Unconstitutional":

Representative Ed Perlmutter (D – CO District 7) actually had the gall to stand on stage at pro-Obama care and public option rally and make the charge that our current health care system is unconstitutional. Huh? That perked up my ears, did I hear him say what I thought I heard?

He continued on, asking the audience, with their ocean of pre-printed Health Care Now signs, if they’d heard of the 14th Amendment. Hmmm, I wasn’t sure where he was going with this but surely he wasn’t going to go THERE.

Yep, according to Ed Perlmutter, the 14th Amendment gives equal protection and people denied care and coverage don’t have equal access to health care so the existing system must be unconstitutional. I’m not sure if he was also going to expand that to include housing, food, and clothing.

On that note, this guy down the street got a bigger loan for a BMW so I should also get one since the Constitution guarantees equal protection.

I'd be shocked if it wasn't so typical.

'TeddyCare For All' - Dems Exploit Kennedy Death at New York Health Rally

The report is from WGN-TV Chicago, "After Kennedy Funeral, As Many As 1,000 Rally in NYC for Health Care Reform Bill":

About a thousand people rallied in Manhattan on Saturday in support of federal health care reform legislation.

The event near Times Square began shortly after the funeral for U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, and took-on the feel of a tribute to the liberal leader.

One person carried a sign that said, "TeddyCare for all."

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney told the crowd the bill will lower health care costs for almost everyone. The New York Democrat also invoked Kennedy, saying the senator understood the need for change.

Opponents say the legislation will cost too much and diminish the quality of care.

And check out the video above from WABC-TV New York. It's unbelievable sometimes how totally Astroturfed these events are. Almost no one attending the rally has made their own signs. That's the Dems for you: Shameless exploitation and staged rallies to generate media support. No wonder they're calling it "TeddyCare."

One Year Ago Today: America Meets Sarah Palin!

From Red State, "One Year Ago Today, Sarah Palin Burst Onto the Scene":

Not a single politically aware person does not remember John McCain’s surprise announcement of Sarah Palin as his running mate on August 29, 2008. The Democrat National Convention was wrapping up, Obama had made his grand speech, but all the political world was abuzz over the impending selection of Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty as McCain’s running mate. The surprise and expertly choreographed announcement of Sarah Palin was one of a few grand McCain campaign moments.

The conservative world, conditioned by a generation of horribly biased media now enchanted by the charismatic Obama, was braced for the media onslaught that would immediately descend on McCain’s choice, no matter who it was.

And still, we were utterly unprepared.

John Ziegler takes us through the experience, and what a year has taught us about Sarah Palin, the media, and the political landscape we now find ourselves in.

Click the link for the rest of the post, and John Ziegler's commentary ...

Sacramento: First Stop on Tea Party Express

Nice Deb has a report, "Sacramento Tea Party August 28."

Also, from the Fresno Bee, "'Tea Party Patriots' stage rally: Sacramento protest targets government":

There was no doubting who the enemy was at Friday's "Tea Party Patriots" rally at the Capitol.

"Government is the problem!" the crowd chanted. "No more government!"

The event, the second "tea party" held at the Capitol this year, was billed as a "first-time coalition of thousands to protest government over-regulation."

Valley farmers -- some brought their tractors -- repeated their long-running call against delta pumping restrictions that they say are robbing them of water.

Diesel truck drivers, revving their engines, circled the Capitol, protesting new clean-air regulations that owners say will cost them millions of dollars to replace older trucks. And a Valley congressman went on the attack against the environmentalists he said were to blame for it all.

Plus, Southern Belle is excited:

I am on the Tea Party Express now headed to Reno ... Today is the first day of a historic journey of taking our message to Washington.

I have lots to share and will update in more detail after our next stop in Reno. I have taken lots of pictures and videos to share with you all. We have just crossed the Nevada state line and don't have very good internet service, so I will upload pics later this evening. Be sure to check back!

Right now, all I can say is I am blessed to be part of such a historic event. Thank you for all of your support and well wishes! Wow! Wow! Wow!

Also, Kimberly Dvorak, "Tea Party Patriots sound off in Sacramento."

Plus, always lots of good stuff at Nice Deb.

Radical Left to Astroturf Orange County Health March: Dedicated to Ted Kennedy!

There's more confirmation from my home county that the Democratic Party is in formal alliance with socialist political action groups and hardline revolutionary agitation cells. The Orange County Register has the report, "Health-Care Reform Advocates to Rally Monday."

But check out the OC Weekly:

​Anyone else notice that ever since President Obama began pushing health care reform and waffling back and forth between advocating for a public option and saying that a public option was really just optional, ya know, just an idea, his popularity numbers have been plummeting? Conservatives already hate the guy and millions of morons think he's some kind of Manchurian candidate trying to turn the good old USA into a socialist bloc nation. But what about his supporters, all those tweeting, Facebook-friendly progressive souls who back in November believed he was a savior who would solve all our woes?

Where the fuck are these people? Why aren't they marching in the streets demanding that our insurance-industry-corrupted politicians (including Obama) get their shit together and improve our nation's suck-ass health care system?

Morons? Think again there, buddy.

It turns out that Organzing for America goons, SEIU thugs, Teamster heavies will hold a big ObamaCare rally at my Congressman's office in Newport Beach on Monday. The webpage notes, "Dedicating the March to the memory of Senator Ted Kennedy." And the press release is a riot: "Orange County Grassroots 'Townhall March' Favoring Public Option is Scheduled For August 31." Yeah, "grassroots." Right. The organizers have requested that marchers "bring along American flags and placards bearing photos of loved ones who have been denied coverage by the insurance industry." And of course, there'll be plenty of pre-print manufactured signs, just like at every other "grassroots" demonstration the ObamaThugs have held this year.

Here's the list of "supporting organizations":

Free Enterprise Advocates
Organizing for America
Yes We Can!
Insure the Uninsured
SEIU, Local 721
Laguna Beach Democratic Club
Canyon Democratic Club
Newport Beach Women's Democratic Club
Laguna Woods Democratic Club
Progressive Democrats of America
Health Care Access Network (HCAN)
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Orange County Federation of Labor
The Liberal OC
Women For: Orange County
Orange County Equality Coalition (OCEC)
Teamsters, Local 952
IUCC Advocates for Peace and Justice

The socialist Progressive Democrats have the event listed at their calendar. The Teamsters Teamsters Local 952 as well. The IUCC Advocates for Peace and Justice is an allied group to the neo-Stalinist International ANSWER; the organization is a signatory to the AfterDowningStreet manifesto, "COALITION LETTER TO PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS: REGARDING THE 2009 SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS."

ObamaCare is socialist medicine. It's no surprise we're seeing all of the hardline America-hating interests out in force to push for it.

See also, "Astroturf at Adam Schiff Town Hall: ACORN, AARP, Organizing for America, SEIU, and Stalinist Apparatchiks for ObamaCare!"

Rush Limbaugh on Glenn Beck's: 'Most Dangerous Time for Freedom and Liberty'

Check Newsbusters for the full transcript, "Rush Tells Beck: 'It Is the Most Dangerous Time in My Life for Freedom and Liberty' ":

This whole administration is as radical and far left as any that the country has ever had. What they're trying to do here to communications is simply stifle dissenting voices. They're trying to wipe out any opposition...And the things that he is talking about doing -- and I watched your show for the first half hour today -- and the things he is talking about doing to shut down radio are simply un-American ... It is a dangerous time. It is the most dangerous time in my life for freedom and liberty in this country.

Charlie Rangel's Corruption

From the New York Post, "Charlie's Mortgage Bares Home Untruth":

"Rangel again refused to answer any questions yesterday."

Photo Credit: New York Post.

Hat Tip: Memeorandum. And from Jammie Wearing Fool:

Obviously we need the Obama Justice Department to investigate this fraud, but they're too busy investigating the people who keep us safe.

Coloradans For Peace: Troop Welcome Parade 'Fosters Harmful Jingoist Message'

Michelle Malkin attended the welcome parade for returning veterans in Colorado Springs this morning. See, "Colorado Springs Welcomes Homes the Troops."

The Colorado Springs Gazette has the story as well. Forty-five thousand people took part, but notice this passage:

Along with the military supporters, the route was dotted with a handful of protesters packing signs that said "War No More." Coloradoans For Peace issued a press release saying the event is inappropriate because it glorifies war.

The military boosters who vastly outnumbered parade opponents didn't seem to mind the protest.

"It's America, they have the right," said retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Kent Crow, a Vietnam veteran who came to cheer the troops. "It's so minor here, it doesn't make an impact."

Amazing that our military personnel fight for freedoms such as this, from Coloradans For Peace, "CFP Condemns Colorado Springs Pro-War Parade":

Coloradans For Peace strongly condemns private and government plans to hold a military parade along the main public thoroughfare of Colorado Springs on August 29. Billed as an event to show appreciation for local soldiers, in reality the parade fosters a harmful jingoist message.

In a month which has seen the highest US-Afghanistan casualties since the war began, now is not the time to celebrate the redeployment of US troops. Although President Obama has increased the number of soldiers committed to the conflict, he was elected under the auspices of ending America’s ongoing wars. If the U.S. use of force has been judged misguided, is this the time to glamorize militarism?

The parade is organized as a RED, WHITE AND BRAVE WELCOME HOME, but its chief function is to shore up local support for war and enhance the recruitment of new teens. Isn’t that too high a price to pay for attempting to show active-duty soldiers our appreciation?

Military families want to show support for their troops, without showing support for the warmongering which has put them in harms way. It is CFP’s view that this Saturday’s parade does not permit its audience to project that distinction.

CFP recognizes there is a place for Veterans Day parades, as well as homecoming celebrations held on military grounds. There is no place however for a stridently pro-war march up the length of our downtown, to promote and glorify war.

Note that Coloradans for Peace is a member of the neo-Stalinist ANSWER coaltion. See, "End the Siege of Gaza! March on Washington, D.C. Saturday, June 6 Gaza Solidarity Day on the 42nd Anniversary of Israel's seizure of Gaza."

Check Michelle's page for more pictures from the event.