Sorry about the PGB outage. PSA: If you switch your web hosting to monthly billing, they tend to appreciate if you, you know, pay them monthly. Ahem.

As an aside, I need to give a plug for Dreamhost. For whatever reason, the web panel didn’t like me much when I was trying to log in to re-up my account, so I emailed for help. I received a reply in less than ten minutes, sent them the information they needed, and received a second reply within ten minutes. First email to problem solved: 18 minutes. Quite impressive.

The Girl Child and I are back in Idaho, swine-flu free (thus far anyway). Thanks for all your well-wishes. Regarding the masks-on-the-airplane thing: I was aware of the airborne nature of the flu, but figured I’d a) give myself a barrier between stray sneezes/coughs and b) protect myself from myself, because I’m HORRIBLE about touching my face all the time. It’s a moot point, though, because I forgot I had the stupid thing. I did wash my hands A LOT.

Anyway, Feliz Cinco de Quatro. I am so glad we have a president soooooooooo much smarter than GWB, aren’t you?

I get it now.

I was confused as all get-out why anyone who opposes Obama’s policies has been labeled a racist. To me, the racists are the people who keep hammering on the black president thing… and I can at least vouch for the folks I associate with in saying we’re not upset about his skin color.

Are there a lot of people pissy right now who weren’t pissy under GWB? Yep. Do I think those people are kinda hypocrites, because GWB was spending like a drunken sailor, too? Yep. Do I think they’re all racists? No. Partisans, yes, but racists, no.

Anyway, I was trolling around some left-wing blogs and finally figured out where the racist theme comes from.

Apparently, the real problem is with states’ rights. See, them’s Confederate words. So, since states’ rights were at the heart of the Civil War, to believe in them means you’re actually advocating a return to slavery.

I wish I were making this up, but I’m not.

Governor Perry’s speech on April 15th was, according to the folks I was reading, laced with racist code-words, and had shades of George Wallace. He shouldn’t have invoked Sam Houston, either, because Houston was deposed when Texas entered the Confederacy. And since Perry, based on his belief in states’ rights, is clearly a racist yearning for a return to the Confederacy, he couldn’t possibly appreciate Houston.

Again: Not making this up.

Another thing – does it seem like the Obama administration is a smidge more vitriolic toward conservatives than the Bush administration ever was toward liberals? I’m sure Bush and Cheney sat around in private and made fun of liberals whining about stolen elections, or those goofy Code Pink chicks. But I honestly don’t recall them ever being so unprofessional as to say things like the cigarette tax will affect you more if you need to pick up a couple extra packs for ‘a nicotine fix at your little tea parties’… which is a paraphrase of Press Secretary Gibbs’ words the other day.

Or that deal I posted about ‘one of the stupider things Fox News has covered lately.’ Or, back when he first won, when Obama ended a conversation with some dissenting legislators with something to the effect of ‘I won, you lost.’

This, of course, is on top of suggesting about half of the citizens of the country are terrorists-in-waiting – including returned veterans.

Seems to me like they’re deliberately agitating at this point. Are they trying to push somebody over the edge, so they can retaliate? Obama was supposed to be such a uniter – so what’s with the mockery and divisiveness? They’re acting like little shits on a teeball team, all nanny-nanny-boo-boo at the kids they beat.

I’m curious – did anybody around here actually vote for this guy? Do you feel like he’s living up to his promises? Do you really think he’s a uniter? Did you feel like the Bush administration personally insulted you, like these guys are insulting conservatives?

I voted for Bush in ‘04, and I admitted later it was probably a mistake. I doubt Kerry was any better, but I wish I’d voted third-party or not voted at all. So hey, you’re free to admit you’re wrong, here. You don’t even have to say you wish he wasn’t president, just acknowledge he isn’t what he claimed to be.

I’ll be waiting.

*crickets*

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance.
– SOURCE

I have absolutely no thoughtful commentary for that.

I mean… WTF? Were they playing “Hey, let’s try to dream up the most unpopular legislation ever!” or what?

(Hat-tip JP.)

Obama’s address just ended.

The Inconvenience promptly stuck a speaker out the window and is playing the Soviet National Anthem for the neighborhood.

I think he might cry. We’ll probably end up watching Red Dawn tonight.

(The neighbors across the street have Tibetan peace flags in their yard and an Obama bumper sticker on their car. He says this isn’t just for their benefit.)

…but this really creeps me out. I’m sorry, it does.

MySpace Celebrity and Katalyst present The Presidential Pledge

Especially that end bit – pledging first and foremost to be a “servant to our President” – WHUT?

Creepy.

Hat-tip to The Inconvenience, who is clearly trying to send his wife into postpartum depression.

Oh, and for the record, he pledges to go to the range at least twice a month. I don’t know that I’ll be able to make it that much, at least not until the Girl Child fits into some baby Peltors, but I pledge to keep our powder dry all the same.

Hey, good news! Obama recognizes the American public school system isn’t performing up to snuff, and believes in school choice.

I mean, as long as you can afford $20,000 – $30,000 in annual tuition, he does.

Man, I’m sure glad we didn’t get evil old John “Seven Houses” McCain as POTUS. Really dodged a bullet there. It’ll be great to have One Of Us Folks in the White House!

Now, I’m off to look under the couch cushions for some quarters… I have about $390,000 to come up with so I can send my kid through K-12.

It seems to me like your doublespeak on gun rights means one of three things:

1. You’re stupid.
2. You think I’m stupid.
3. You’re a liar.

I’m inclined to believe it’s a combination of the last two. See, here’s your agenda (the good one with the “battlefield” language, just for old times’ sake):

Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn’t have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

And here’s what you’re telling America via the press (story via Uncle):

“I believe in common sense gun safety law, and I believe in the second amendment,” Obama said at a press conference Sunday.

“And so, lawful gun owners have nothing to fear.

“I’ve said that throughout the campaign. I haven’t indicated anything different during the transition, and I think that people can take me at my word.”

Which words, Obama? The ones where you say you want to take away the manner in which I buy many of my guns (private sale, aka ‘the gun show loophole’), restrict the usability of those guns in my home (making them ‘childproof’), and flat-out ban guns I own (that part is a no-brainer)? Or the ones where you say that, as a lawful gun owner, I have “nothing to fear?”

Your words don’t mesh, in my world. It’s really a very simple concept. I own the guns you want to ban. I’m pretty confident you know that. Which, again, says to me: You think I’m stupid, and you’re a liar.

Keep talking, though – I’m sure Midway and Ammunition to Go and Stag really appreciate the business in the holiday season. Every time you open your fool mouth you just remind us how great of a stocking stuffer another lower receiver or 500 rounds of 5.56 can be!

I’m actually starting to feel semi-confident about the Obama administration. I mean… I was afraid he was actually going to make good on his promise of change, and that freaked me out because I don’t like the kind of change he talks about.

Now that he’s more or less assembling a cabinet consisting of a who’s-who of the Democratic establishment elite (also known as Everyone Who Ever Worked For Bill Clinton), I’m gaining confidence he might just be more of the same after all… which means a lot of posturing, chest-beating, blaming Republicans, and then getting nothing done other than making people realize everything Democrats do is either a) dangerous, b) worthless, or c) both.

Hey, how ’bout that Eric Holder pick for Attorney General?

About two weeks before the raid, Tim Russert asked Holder, “You wouldn’t send a SWAT team in the dark of night to kidnap the child, in effect?”  Holder answered, “No, we don’t expect anything like that to happen.”  Then the Department did precisely that. The day after the seizure, Holder appeared again with Russert, who asked, “Why such a dramatic change in position?” “I’m not sure I’d call it a dramatic change,” Holder answered.  “We waited ’til five in the morning, just before dawn.” [SOURCE]

Just to refresh your memory:

Yes. Somebody who thought that was a good idea is Obama’s pick for Attorney General.

Oh, and the guy Obama is picking for White House counsel – Gregory Craig – has a distinguished list of clients:

• John Hinckley, the guy who attempted to assasinate President Reagan. Hinckley’s insanity defense? Courtesy of Craig.
• Ted Kennedy and William Kennedy Smith, who he advised on the Palm Beach rape case.
• Bill Clinton, who he defended against impeachment.
• Elian Gonzalez’s father, who (along with the Castro regime) wanted Elian back in Cuba
• Bolivian Minister of Defense Jose Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, who fled to the USA under accusations of human rights violations and the murder of dozens of civilians protesting the Bolivian government.
• Pedro Miguel González Pinzón, under indictment for the ambush killing of a US Army Sergeant and wounding of another.

Wow. I don’t know what else to say, but wow. Think he’s gonna go for the gold and bring back Janet Reno while he’s at it?

Daniel Pouzzner, editor of the Architecture of Modern Political Power, has reassembled Obama’s Change.gov Agenda (in its entirety) from the Google page cache. 

You can view an identical mirror of the agenda as it was posted on November 7th at Mega.nu. 

Post, re-post, and post it again, friends! (I think if you link directly to http://www.mega.nu/ampp/obama_agenda/agenda.html it will help get it into the Google index faster.) 

To allow the Obama camp to pretend their words never existed is unacceptable.

I just got a notice from new_iconoclast on LJ that the page detailing Obama’s gun control agenda (as well as all his other policy plans) has been scrubbed. He said:

As of 1930 CST on Sat 08 Nov 08, that page is “not available right now” on change.gov. Thanks for the quote.

Sure enough, I headed back to change.gov, and the new agenda page reads – in full:

The Agenda

President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden have developed innovative approaches to challenge the status quo in Washington and to bring about the kind of change America needs.

The Obama Administration has a comprehensive and detailed agenda to carry out its policies. The principal priorities of the Obama Administration include: a plan to revive the economy, to fix our health care, education, and social security systems, to define a clear path to energy independence, to end the war in Iraq responsibly and finish our mission in Afghanistan, and to work with our allies to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, among many other domestic and foreign policy objectives.

Too late, Barry. We already know.