Tomorrow night at 8 p.m. EST we will be joined on Pundit Review Radio by our good friend Matt Margolis, proprietor of Blogs 4 Bush, and co-author of the new book “Caucus of Corruption”
We will discuss the endemic nature of corruption within the Democrat party. Among the many examples we will be covering, we will definately cover the latest one. If you have not seen it yet, check it out.
Erick at Red State and CongressDaily have it right; House Democrats are passing midnight earmarks that they’ve hidden in the Intelligence Appropriations bill. As if this weren’t bad enough, House Democrats have refused to disclose most of those earmarks to the public – they have even refused to disclose them to other Members of Congress.
This is the most abusive and potentially the most damaging trick the House Democrats have tried this Congress. For all those who oppose earmarks and want to restore fiscal discipline to the process, I simply cannot stress how damaging this will be if it goes unchecked.The House Democrats’ Earmark Sham is a disgrace – so much for the “most honest and open Congress in history.”
Here is a link to Red State’s post:
http://www.redstate.com/stories/congress/red_alert_on_the_house_floorAlso, while it is a very procedural clip, it is also meaningful. In this clip, Rep. Westmoreland forces the Dems (through clever procedural questions) to go on the record on how they are hiding these earmarks:
Note the evasiveness of the dem “speaker” when called to the carpet by Westmoreland!
Of course the acting speaker is a red diaper doper baby ACLU congressman from our own Commonwealth of Mass.
In addition to using a thirsty charter jet and SUV motorcade to ferry him to speeches ripping Detroit automakers for causing global warming by not building more fuel efficient vehicles, it turns out Barack Obama also chooses horsepower over fuel efficiency in his family car.
Mark Phelan reports in Friday’s Detroit Free Press that Obama drives a 340-HP V-8 Hemi Chrysler 300C – the most powerful engine option for that vehicle, and one of the most powerful family sedans on the market. The “C†gets a combined city/highway 21 mpg.
As Obama shows, fuel efficiency is not a top priority among American customers. Though engine technology generally gains in efficiency 1.5 percent a year, most of that gain goes to HP, reflecting buyer tastes.
What’s next for Green hypocrite Obama? A 10,000 square foot home in Tennessee?
I am sure if asked about this blatant hypocracy, the “articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking” B. Hussein Obama will claim that he has purchased the requisite ammont of carbon offsets. So not to worry. Nothing to worry about…
Not surprisingly, in the days following a conference on blogging folks return home and …blog about the conference. A couple of these stories are so amazing, they deserve to be shared.
Sally Aho has it 100% correct; Soldiers’ Angels gets it done – Donate today!
Let me give you an example. While at Walter Reed this past Sunday for the BBQ Soldiers’ Angels threw for our wounded soldiers there, one soldier refused to leave his room and join the party. Crying in his room, he refused to come down. Patti found out about this soldier and immediately called his room. Speaking in mono-syllables he wasn’t very chatty, despite Patti’s attempts to cheer him up and coax him down to the BBQ. Finally Patti asked him, “What can I do to put a smile on your face?” He replied that he missed his wife. Fast forward about 20 minutes and the soldier is down at the BBQ, laughing and smiling, having a great time, knowing that he and his wife will be spending 3 days together in a hotel shortly – tickets and hotel paid for already.
HT: Technicalities
Donate to Soldiers Angels here.
Blackfive has an update on MOAB, the Mother of All Baby Showers, for DJ, Leslie and baby Carlee Emery. He also let us know that DJ is now Sergeant DJ Emery Jr.
At the 2007 Military Blog Conference attendees brought baby shower gifts for Carlee. The table outside the conference hall was packed and it took Smash, Hook, myself, and RSM to pack Carrie’s truck with gifts.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that DJ was able to go outside on Monday for the first time! He can’t hold Carlee yet, but he’s progressing. There’s still plenty of challenges for him to face and many more surgeries (one might be this weekend). Infection is still a significant danger.
So keep the prayers and thoughts coming for DJ, Leslie, and Carlee!
Army Wife Toddler Mom on Amazing Grace
Rachelle from Army Wife Toddler Mom, Robert Stokely and Mary Ann from Soldiers Angels Germany
AWTM: “I am so sorry for the loss of your Son.”
And I stood in front of Mr. Stokley with tears in my eyes. And much to my amazement, he grabs my hand.
Robert Stokely: “I need to thank all of you bloggers for giving me my life back, I have to be strong for my family, I need to be the rock, and you folks have given me a place where I can talk about Mike, and I do not have to be that rock….”
And I stood there in tears in front of Mr. Stokely absolutely at a loss, and feeling ashamed of them.
AWTM: “I need to thank you, because Mike gave all, and your family has really sacrificed more than most of us will ever feel.”
Robert Stokely, then wrapped his arms around me and gave me a huge hug.
Mr. Stokely, you are a rock, and you are amazing.
Thank You from my family, to yours…..
Fellow liveblogger Mary Katherine Ham took video of Robert talking about his son Michael. This is absolutely one of the highlights of the conference.
The inimitable Don Feder has this brilliant piece on the “Forgotton American” in a speech he gvae at the Independent Third Force Conservative Leadership Summit, Washington, D.C., May 4, 2007
It is a must read if there ever was one.
Today, all too many Americans feel like aliens in our own country — strangers in a strange land.
· The Forgotten American of today is the worker taxed 40% of his income for schools that don’t educate, courts that don’t dispense justice and bureaucracies that destroy enterprise and annihilate freedom, as well as for benefits for hordes of uninvited guests who sup at our table.
· They’re the veterans who find anti-Americanism rampant (especially among the elites) and treason masquerading as dissent.
· They’re soldiers on the ground in Iraq, who are told by a majority in Congress that they’re behind them all the way — while they signal Al Qaeda to just hold on a bit longer and victory will be theirs.
· They’re parents who are told they have no say in their children’s educations — that the public schools have an absolute right to indoctrinate them in any foolish fad or social toxin.
· They’re Christians, whose people settled this land and founded this nation (on Judeo-Christian principles) who aren’t allowed to have public displays of the Ten Commandments or prayers in public settings. They’ve seen Christmas become the Incredible Shrinking Holiday — in a nation that’s 90% Christian. Meanwhile, one party tells Christians that Islam is the “religion of peace,” while the other says that, if they assert themselves too boldly, they are the moral equivalent of Islamic terrorists.
This past Sunday night one of our callers dredged up the specious claim that Saddam had no connection to terrorism and al-Qaeda. Here is a quick refresher.
“THE PRESIDENT CONVINCED THE COUNTRY with a mixture of documents that turned out to be forged and blatantly false assertions that Saddam was in league with al Qaeda,” claimed former Vice President Al Gore last Wednesday.
“There’s absolutely no evidence that Iraq was supporting al Qaeda, ever,” declared Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism official under George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, in an interview on March 21, 2004.
The editor of the Los Angeles Times labeled as “myth” the claim that links between Iraq and al Qaeda had been proved. A recent dispatch from Reuters simply asserted, “There is no link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.” 60 Minutes anchor Lesley Stahl was equally certain: “There was no connection.”
And on it goes. This conventional wisdom–that our two most determined enemies were not in league, now or ever–is comforting. It is also wrong.
In late February 2004, Christopher Carney made an astonishing discovery. Carney, a political science professor from Pennsylvania on leave to work at the Pentagon, was poring over a list of officers in Saddam Hussein’s much-feared security force, the Fedayeen Saddam. One name stood out: Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Hikmat Shakir. The name was not spelled exactly as Carney had seen it before, but such discrepancies are common. Having studied the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda for 18 months, he immediately recognized the potential significance of his find. According to a report
last week in the Wall Street Journal, Shakir appears on three different lists of Fedayeen officers.
entire article here
Bruce McQuain from QandO.net Joins Pundit Review Radio
I am very happy to announce that Bruce McQuain from QandO.net will be joining Pundit Review Radio as part of the Someone You Should Know series.
Bruce is a Vietnam Veteran, a former Ranger and a really terrific guy. Matt Burden, Blackfive, introduced us this weekend and we hit it off great. For several years Bruce has been doing something similar at QandO.net called Project Hero. Bruce started Project Hero to tell the stories of all the soldiers and Marines who have won Silver Stars. He felt, as we do, that these stories are not being told.
Can’t wait to get started.
Matt Burden, Blackfive on the conference and the future of Someone You Should Know
Nobody has made more appearances on Pundit Review Radio than Matt Burden from Blackfive.net. Each week we bring his series Someone You Should Know to the radio. This is a look at the inspirational true stories of the men and women fighting for us around the world.
Matt’s schedule is crazy and we have been talking about bringing in some other military bloggers to help carry this forward. Matt’s talks about who will be joining us in this endeavor and why he is the right man for the job.
A conversation on The Long War with Bill Roggio
Bill Roggio is one of the people I really was looking forward to meeting at the Milblog Conference. We’ve interviewed him from Iraq and Afghanistan and obviously have never met him. He was excellent on the first panel of the day which covered embedded reporting from the front lines and he stayed that way for our discussion on The Long War.
Jack Holt, chief of new media operations at the Pentagon
Photo: ThreatWatch’s Steve Schippert and Jack Holt
One thing about the milblog conference was how far the impact of milbloggers has reached. The conference opened with a videotaped message from President Bush to the bloggers, then Admiral Mark Fox joined live from Baghdad for a Q&A session.
I had the pleasure of spending considerable time with Jack Holt, chief of new media operations at the Pentagon was also at the conference for two days, meeting with and listening to what the milblogging community had to say about the new regulations, working with Public Affairs Officers and the future of the Information War. We also discussed going over the head of the MSM, which the Pentagon seems to be doing with its new You Tube site.
‘Armed Liberal’ Marc Danzinger on Victory PAC
A great thing about going to the milblog conference was meeting people with whom I have admired from a distance. One of them is Marc Danzinger, aka Armed Liberal from the great blog WindsofChange.net
We discussed his new initiative, a political action committee called Victory PAC that
supports candidates from wither party who are not in favor of withdrawal and retreat from Iraq. This is an idea I can support.
Bill Paisley, F-14 radar intercept officer, blogger Instapinch
Instapinch is a blog primarily focused on the Navy and is run by a self-described “transplanted southerner, former naval flight officer, current naval reservist, newly-married father of two, right-wing reactionary and all-around adequate guy!”
His name is Bill Paisley. Bill talked about why he started blogging, trying to, but not always, avoiding politics. He discussed the quality of the men and women in today’s service and a whole lot more.
John Pike, Director of GlobalSecurity.org
John Pike is a regular guest on all the networks for his analysis and commentary on defense, space and intelligence policy.
He provided great insight into the Al Qaeda victory narrative and noted how the U.S. does not have a coherent narrative itself. He also noted, as did Bill Roggio, that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror. Again, like Roggio, he talked about a Long War.
Patti Patton Bader, founder of Solider Angels
It was so great to finally meet Patti Patton Bader, founder of Solider Angels. She is such a tireless advocate for our soldiers.
When ‘Armed Liberal’ Marc Danzinger of Winds of Change returned from the Milblog Conference, he wrote a follow-up post that said,
But an amazing crew, and a few takeaways…
Soldiers Angels, Soldiers Angels, Soldiers Angels. Sign up, give money, do something. If you support the war or hate it, this incredible group of people is doing amazing work in supporting the troops in the most direct way possible.
He is 100% correct. They are such an amazing group. To be around them is to become a better human being. They are angles. Please consider supporting them if you can. Reach them at SoldiersAngles.org
Valout IT’s Lynette Frascella and her 15-year old son Anthony
It was a pleasure to meet Lynette Frascella and her 15-year old son Anthony at the Milblog Conference. Lynette is the director of the Wounded Team at Soldiers Angels and a key member of Valour-IT. Her son Anthony is actively involved as well. What a special family.
Time Magazine’s Ana Marie Cox
Time Magazine’s Ana Marie Cox was a surprising presence at the milblog conference. We discussed love of…..country, milblogs, partisanship and media bias.
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Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Hailed as “Groundbreaking†by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10 pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.