“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” ~ Luke 2:11,14
Alleluia! Unto us a Child is born. O come, let us adore him. Alleluia!
Now is the time to pause and reflect on why we really celebrate this holiday (fyi, from Old English haligdæg meaning "holy day"). As Christians, we are the ones who know the true meaning of Christmas and why it is a time of celebration, as well as what that celebration means to all who believe. For if there were no Jesus Christ, there would be no Christmas, or season to go along with it, in the first place!
Christmas is a time that has been set aside to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. However, the true meaning of Christmas is often lost in the holiday shuffle. People get caught up in 'what I want,' along with the many gift purchases and best lights or party competitions, and they forget to give of themselves. God’s love for us prompted Him to give (and later give up) His Son, the greatest gift ever given, that we may enjoy an abundant, God-centered life. As believers, we must shift our focus from the distractions, and instead place it on the season’s true meaning by sharing the gift of Jesus with others.
As you see the many slogans being pandered around you, take the time to ponder the real meaning of what is being said: "Peace on earth, good will to men"... "Joy to the world"... "Hark, the herald Angels sing"... "'round yon virgin, mother and Child." Then once you've thought about what these mean to you as a believer, share them with others, especially with others who don't know Jesus or understand his eternal, unconditional love for everyone of us. As you focus on the One who is the Reason for the Season, make sure that you apprehend who exactly He is: Christ the Lord, one in the same with the Father. Just as He identified Himself as "I AM" to Moses in Exodus 3:14, so too does He identified Himself to the Jews in John 8:58. Why is it important to grasp this? Jesus said, "For if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." (John 8:24b). He gave each and everyone of us the free will not to allow that to happen and the reason to choose Him over the world.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." ~ John 14:6
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Related links: Matthew 1:18-25
Matthew 2:1-12
Luke 2:1-20
Politics on Christmas? Yes…and for a VERY Good Reason
Ok...it's time to put all the socio-political muck aside for a bit and get into the Christmas spirit, folks. Let's start with the AMAZING light shows across America!
Check out this awesome Yucaipa, CA neighborhood!
What's become a classic, Trans-Siberian Orchestra's 'Wizards of Winter'...
As well as another standard, Mariah Carey's 'All I want for Christmas'...
Now you know Idina Menzel's 'Let It Go' has made the cut on just about every light show out there this year! But one of the nicest ones I've seen is this one at the Western Mall in Sioux Falls, SD...
This Christmas light display started out in 2006 at a residential home in Crooks, SD. While growing in popularity at the residential site, it would generate lines of cars up to 1/2 mile deep with 2 hour waits to see the display. After the owners decided to move to a new home in the country, the show was relocated to the Western Mall in Sioux Falls SD, where it lights up the night and peoples hearts by raising around $25,000 per year for the Make-A-Wish foundation of SD. It grants about 5 children's wishes each and every year.
Now here's an interesting one to say the least...a different kind of Christmas display out of San Antonio, TX. The Johnson Family's Dubstep Christmas Light Show!
Started in 2013, our show is not your traditional light show! There are no inflatables, characters, blow molds, or other "traditional" elements. Even the music is not traditional Christmas music; it is a custom sound track composed of Dubstep, EDM, hip hop, movie clips and even our children! The result is an exciting show that feels like a dance party! Even the lights are not traditional, we use Pixels which are similar to what you would see in a stadium Jumbotron. Each pixel can be controlled individually and set to any color and intensity. This means many more effects than what can be done with Christmas lights! The show embodies the spirit of DIY and cutting edge technology with all custom built elements, kit based controllers, and both custom and open source software. We hope you like our show, thanks for visiting!
And finally, what light show is complete without a John Williams score...and what better score to geek out on than a Star Wars montage in Christmas lights!
Here's my tribute to my favorite songs on Star Wars! The neighbors are very supportive especially since I use the display to raise money for the poor and homeless through my church. A lot of people have been asking about how to donate to my church's free dining program online - if that's on your heart, please use this link and God bless! https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
I find it funny that people say things like, “what does this have to do with Christmas?” In all reality, what do any of our traditions have to really do with Christmas? There were no lights or even a tree to decorate when Jesus was born. I do this because it brings families together to enjoy something for free while raising thousands of dollars for those who are need. Jesus said, “if you love me, obey my commands.” He told us to help those in need - and that’s why I do it and that’s what I think Christmas is really about.
Since 99% of the lights are LEDs, the electricity to run the show for the entire month is about $100. I sequenced the show using LOR, mixed the music/sound effects with Digital Performer, and filmed it using a 35' lift :) This is now my second year decorating. I built all the props using wood, metal, acrylic and corrugated plastic. I am a music/teacher director for a living (COVA Conservatory in Oakland and Centerville Presbyterian Church in Fremont), hence the massive instruments! If you look closely (especially during the Cantina song) the instruments are playing the real notes! The beams can be seen for miles but I went out of my way to avoid shining the beams on houses and flight paths. The guitar is 17', the piano is 19' and the drums are standard. About 12,500 channels running around 100,000 lights. Also, Come by and see it in person on the corner of Lafayette and Ruschin in Newark most nights from 6-10pm. Because of the light beams on the roof, I turn off the display in heavy rain. Fair use for educational purposes. Merry Christmas everyone!
With this much creativity, devotion and good will out there, America, there's still hope. God Bless!
Related links: Virginia family wins USA TODAY holiday lights competition
Holiday lights bring a Guinness record back to Dutchess
This was a GREAT segment from Monday's program that I thought was not only worth sharing, but goes a long way in thinking about what's become of the Republican Party. It explains so much about the GOP leadership's fecklessness and seemingly rudderless direction, when in fact, where they're heading harkens back to a not-so-distant past. This is not necessarily new thought on the topic, but it does appear to support the suspicion of essentially doubling down on the last centuries' wrong turn into progressivism.
RUSH: I've been thinking about how this has happened. The fact that the Republican leadership is throwing in with the Democrat leadership on amnesty and Obamacare and take your pick of issues. And, you know, you and I, folks, have discussed and theorized for a long time, and it has become obvious -- and we've talked about this -- that the GOP agrees with Obama on amnesty because they, too, see a pool of potential new voters.
And they also think that they've got a supporter for the Hispanic vote. You know the drill. But it turns out that they also do not oppose Obamacare when it gets down to talking about repealing it. They really don't want to repeal any of Obamacare. So we have to assume they either don't want to do it, don't want the fight, or actually don't have a problem with it.
We had a chance here to take control of government spending with the omnibus versus continuing resolution for a couple of weeks. They chose to go big and just have all kinds of wacko, crazy spending, and there's no difference between them and the Democrats on that. But I've always thought that it goes deeper than the Republicans agreeing with the Democrats on a few issues. I think that what's happened -- and it goes right back to the article we made famous here on this program by Angelo Codevilla in the American Spectator called The Ruling Class.
It is apparent now that there is, overall, a Washington establishment, not just a Democrat establishment, not just a Republican establishment, there is a Washington establishment. Call it the ruling class if you want, and it's made up of people of both parties, and it is devoted to big government. It's devoted to big government because they all want the power of running it and controlling it. Republicans and Democrats alike. Not everyone. I'm talking about leadership now.
So there's an aphrodisiac about the power of spending all that money and what that can mean to you and the power of doling that money out and running the government. And therefore, anything that comes along that threatens big government, they are united in opposition to, such as the Tea Party, or just average, ordinary American citizens who want to streamline government, reduce its size, limit it, get it out of people's lives. They become the enemy of this Washington establishment.
John O'Sullivan, as I quoted last week, said any organization that is not actively conservative will, over time, become liberal. Liberalism is easy. Liberalism is gutless. But conservatism is a daily adherence. It's a daily application. And so what we have now, the Republican majority is actually a very happy Bob Michel type minority. They are the majority in the House and Senate with a minority frame of mind brought about by the media and the Washington culture.
But I think there's something else. A friend of mine gave me his analogy, and it makes some sense if you compare the Republican, the Beltway GOP with the State Department. Now, the State Department, there are plenty of good people there; but they're not there, they're in the field offices and various places. Your average State Department person is not as bad as, say, the average anti-American UN or euro socialist bureaucrat. But the people that run the UN and some of the people at the State Department, it's not that they are committed anti-Americans. A better way to describe them would be post-American.
They think that they have evolved beyond these trite notions of patriotism and American exceptionalism. That's quaint, and that's old-fashioned, that's really schoolboy, schoolgirl stuff. You know, patriotism, that's beneath these people. And American exceptionalism, that's 200 years ago. That's not today. We are much more progressive than that, these people say to themselves, and we are citizens of the world. And they think that the Constitution is a relic of a time that was unsophisticated, not very advanced, and they don't think they've got anything in common with the people who founded America, wrote the Constitution, or any of the founding documents.
Instead, they are transgressive, if you will, transnational progressives. They deal on a daily basis with these small-minded Americans who have these quaint old-fashioned notions of exceptionalism and patriotism. And they're embarrassed about it. This guy sees the Republican establishment the same way. They're post-conservative; they are embarrassed by conservatives; they are much more invested in Washington than they are in representative government, and they have much more common ground with progressive Democrats than they do with us, because we are hicks and hayseeds, and we're quaint pro-lifers and American exceptionalists.
It's almost a class thing where they're just so superior to us. We're kooks, you know, and we rally around all these old-fashioned, quaint notions, and they're no longer realistic and so forth. And they suffer us sometimes not gladly. I have to take a break, but I thought it was an interesting characterization to go along with the things that we also think are true about it.
Now there's multiple routes to take towards correcting some of this, and one of the first is a position that shouldn't be difficult, but will predictably be a damn near impossibility: a new Speaker and a new Senate Majority Leader come January! All that's required is to first take a look at ConservativeReview's scorecards to see who should really be leading the Senate (Mike Lee of Utah) and the House (Matt Salmon of Arizona). There are two viable statesmen there with 100% liberty scores, as opposed to the current D & F students! Phone, fax, email, tweet your Representatives and Senators today and let them know that reform starts here. Otherwise, we continue to repeat history, down the path of Republican progressivism...and have we not had enough of that failure?
Related links: Where and when did this conservative vs establishment battle begin?
The Ideological War Within The West
America Entering Dangerous New Age: The Post-Constitutional Era
How is it that we can allow Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Sharpton and Jackson, Mayor DeBlasio, racebaiters extraordinaire, not to calm, but to rile up factions of Americans against our uniformed men and women who patrol and protect our streets to this degree?
Yet, everything's kosher with sitcoms Black-ish & Fresh Off The Boat, while Obama's apparently the smartest on race so declareth the media (you know, the same media DeBlasio's blaming now)? And then at the end of all of this, Sharpton's the victim?
They're playing you HARD, America. These bastards have started a War on Police, but they want to wash their hands of the bloodshed created by the theatrics.
Related links: Mark Levin: Did Holder's 'reckless broadsides' against police lead to NYC cop killing?
MONSTERS: People Take To Twitter To Celebrate NYPD Murders
Obama Golfs After Receiving Word of NYPD Shooting
Florida suspect shot police officer then ran him over
Race-baiting Al Sharpton Claims He's Getting Death Threats While Cops Are Getting Murdered!
Fan asks Mike Rowe what he thinks of anti-police protests, his response is EPIC
The Race Card’s Steep Cost
The President, Al Sharpton, and the Corruption of Modern Liberalism
Rush jewels from Monday: The Left Nurtures Hate
Obama and Holder Should Explain and Defend the US Justice System
Reverend Sharpton's "Ugly Spirit"
...and one from Tuesday: A Series of Lies Undermines Our Civilization
We've got all kinds of opinions about Sony's hack attack, from George Clooney calling out Hollywood cowardice to Mark Levin discussing the failure of American national security under the Obama administration. And they're both correct in many respects. But beyond the hacking part of it, Clooney asked a question that stuck with me: "What happens if a newsroom decides to go with a story, and a country or an individual or corporation decides they don’t like it?" He went on to make the point that by kowtowing to threats, we've succumbed to terrorism. However, I don't think you have to look outside the States to witness how we've already surrendered liberties to internal forces. For instance, What about the continued censorship of The Path to 911? A mini-series that still hasn't seen the light of day on DVD/Blu-ray release due to the Clintons' legacy, particularly Hillary's presidential bid, past, present or future...and primarily over this scene they didn't want you to see:
This was a broadcaster who went with a story, and a powerful political family decided they didn't like it. Wouldn't holding hostage ABC's release of this docu-drama to this very day be the prolonged results of such a form of political terrorism? But we're not supposed to talk about that. Only when our defenses fail and outside forces pervade, then it's a problem for Hollywood, the Media and the Left (but I repeat myself thrice!). I suspect the offense has something to do with having a Democratic presidency as well...
"We cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States. Because if somebody is able to intimidate folks out of releasing a satirical movie, imagine what they start doing when they see a documentary that they don't like, or news reports that they don't like."
Pot calling the kettle black, much? See: IRS targeting of conservative groups, DoJ wiretapping AP, or James Rosen probe for starters. They all trace back to this president's authoritarian agenda. But, no, look at this hand shaking the North Korean stick.
Related links: ‘Actually Obama, you can STILL call movie theaters!’ – Jonah Goldberg on Obama’s disingenuous criticism
‘We congratulate you success!’ – SONY hackers MOCK ‘excellent’ FBI investigation, threaten more attacks
Great question from Sen. Cruz that NO union boss wants to answer...
The GOP could attempt to listen and answer as well.
Related link: GOP majority can jump-start economy with tech agenda
Perhaps the Chamber of Crony Commerce, as well as Rand or even Shemp, might find this concerning...
Breitbart: Just one day before President Obama announced sweeping changes that would allow potential American investment in Cuba, the Cuban government apparently had begun preparing itself by announcing new measures that would allow Cubans who work for foreign companies to keep only 8% of their salaries.
In an official announcement in state newspaper Granma, government officials announced a system in which employees who work for corporations with foreign capital will be paid two Cuban Pesos for every Convertible Cuban Peso (CUC) the corporation actually pays them. The Convertible Peso (CUP) is almost exclusively for the use of tourists and is of significantly greater value; one CUC is the equivalent of an American dollar and the equivalent of 26.5 CUPs. The other 24 CUPs Cuban workers will not receive amount to 92% of their salaries.
...even if a foreign company has the means to pay more than a Cuban company, the worker will receive the same salary as if he were working for a Cuban company, and the government will pocket the rest. ...
The new measures, though enacted hours before the release of USAID worker Alan Gross and President Obama’s announcement of new trade measures, should inspire caution in American companies that would like to do work on the island. American companies would be keeping very little of the money they invest and earn in business on the island, while lining the pockets of the communist government. As Raúl Castro noted in his speech, the Cuban government made no concessions in this recent negotiation with the United States, save the freedom of Gross and one other American agent whom President Obama did not name, which leaves it open to sanctioning American companies who dare attempt to do business on the island as they see fit.
Redistribution of wealth to make Obama slobber over.
ADDENDUM: A powerful new ad by Ted Cruz explains why opening up trade with Cuba was a terrible mistake for the U.S.
Why does he keep agreeing with this imperial president before the mainstream media? Is this the part of libertarianism I just don't get? I guess if he keeps his voting record straight, then ok, but I can't help questioning his 95% liberty score at ConservativeReview when pulling these stunts...
IdahoStatesman: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Thursday that starting to trade with Cuba “is probably a good idea” and that the lengthy economic embargo against the communist island “just hasn’t worked.”
Paul became the first potential Republican presidential candidate to offer some support for President Barack Obama’s decision to try to normalize U.S. relations with Cuba...
Sigh...following in the footsteps of dad. Add this to his 2014 con list:
Yes, there have also been some 2014 pros:
And I'd still go with him over Jeb or Marco any day...but there's still a better choice for consistent constitutional conservatism, folks...
Related links: Ted Cruz Will Bank on the Base
Cruz: Obama's Cuba Decision Will Be Remembered as a Tragic Mistake
Ted Cruz Wins the Ringside Political Championship for 2014
Rand Paul Rand-splains Cuba to Marco Rubio
Castro daughter: US 'dreaming' if they think Cuba will return to capitalism
Erick Erickson just made the point of how the GOP has emboldened this imperial president, and of course, he keeps on trucking along with it...
RedState: The United States Congress just declared Barack Obama’s actions on amnesty unconstitutional, then promptly funded them.
I said just a few weeks ago that if the congress did that, it would embolden Barack Obama on a host of other foreign and economic policy matters.
Here we are.
Indeed. It's something every day with this guy. Constantly rebel-rousing between factions of Americans, dividing between demographics of color and creed with his grievance politics (Michelle knows those well), and as of late, along with his AG, turning the liberal masses (including his media sychophants) against the very authority figures who protect and serve the civil society. Need I mention his support of FrankenFeinstein's attack on the CIA? Then on Wednesday, as Congress wraps up for a recess entering the holiday season, Obama feels inspired to act on more executive fiat and endorses the restoration of diplomatic relations with the Castro regime. Hates our police, but loves police-states! Little bit of a tortured conundrum, no? Levin exposes Obama's undeniable hypocrisy on Cuba...
TRS: Mark Levin gave a brilliant monologue today on Obama seeking to normalize relations with Cuba, exposing the blatant hypocrisy in how Obama deals with evil dictatorships versus how he deals with America.
Listen below:
I'll end where I begin and let Erickson take this one out...
RedState: Few could have predicted that communist regimes would win the day on December 17, 2014. Communism was so twentieth century. But Barack Obama, promising to fundamentally transform America, has done so. His mentor, communist activist Frank Marshall Davis, would be proud of him.
To reiterate my conclusion on Barack Obama’s world view and policy objectives: to make the world safer, the United States must be less safe. To make the world more stable, the United States must be less stable. To make the world more prosperous, the United States must be less prosperous.
Assisting Barack Obama in this are the Washington technocrats, bureaucrats, and numerous party apparatchiks of both parties who have decided America is in decline and the decline should be managed instead of overcome.
So as the ruble craters and Venezuela crumbles, both having subsidized the communist regime in Cuba, Barack Obama will step in to prop up the regime. It is worth noting that, despite all the claims that the Cuban embargo was not successful, its requirements that Cuba purchase American products in cash instead of on credit has kept the Cuban regime from accumulating wealth to the degree of other communist despots. Read the liberal Washington Post Editorial Board on this.
Now, Barack Obama will ensure the Castro brothers and their heirs accumulate great wealth and all the Cubans have to do is promise to give greater internet access to their citizens. That’s it.
Related links: Ted Cruz: Obama being played by Cuba’s brutal dictator
Cuban dictator to Obama: You should use executive action to lift this embargo by yourself
Stupid of the Day: Shep Smith worried that Cuba will be ‘RUINED’ by Taco Bell and Lowes
Mark Levin slams Shephard Smith for his comments on Cuba being ruined by Taco Bells opening
ADDENDUM I: BTW, if you're wondering how this was set up...
DailySignal: Cuba’s release of American hostage Alan Gross is to be welcome. Gross has vegetated in a Cuban jail for five years for the crime of bringing computers to Jews on the island.
But exchanging three hardened Cuban spies for him establishes a wrong moral and legal equivalency. Worse, extending recognition to Cuba’s dictatorial regime harms U.S. national interests and fails to advance freedom in Cuba.
The White House “Fact Sheet” on Cuba makes clear that the Obama administration received nothing in exchange for its many and substantial concessions to Havana’s Communist regime. In essence, after five years of “negotiations,” the White House ended up where Raul Castro started: Gross would be exchanged for three Cuban spies whose activities led to the death of an American in the 1990s.
The administration’s announcement that “the president has instructed the secretary of state to immediately initiate discussions with Cuba on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba,” also gives in to a longstanding Castro demand. Cubans will not gain freedom of expression, of association, of thought or of anything else as a result.
Never mind that Obama doesn't have the damn authority to lift the Cuban Embargo!
ADDENDUM II: Rush interjected more insight, saying Obama is propping up another dictatorship in our hemisphere: "...the Cuban government is gonna remain a communist government under the tight-fisted control of the Castro brothers..."
TruthRevolt: Rush Limbaugh tore into the president’s announcement of the full restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba Wednesday, saying the move made it official, “we're gonna use taxpayer dollars to prop up another communist dictatorship in our hemisphere.”
Limbaugh started the segment by explaining that the practical implications of the move is that Americans will now be able to get Cuban cigars, but the real intent of the administration of course is to “prop up another dictatorship,” this one just “90 miles away.” Echoing Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Limbaugh underscored that the deal would cement the Castro regime's tyrannical control over the island:
"I mean, there are reasonable arguments on both sides of this in normalizing relations with Cuba. But one of the things that's inescapable that's gonna happen here is that the Cuban government is gonna remain a communist government under the tight-fisted control of the Castro brothers and whoever is in power in that regime, and we're gonna be propping it up. We are going to be essentially providing financial aid."
Limbaugh also mocked the “sophistry” involved in the arguments from the left which simultaneously deny U.S. exceptionalism while blaming Cuba’s economic woes on America’s embargo:
"Cuba can and does trade with every nation on earth, except the United States, and since there's nothing exceptional about us, it shouldn't be any big deal. I mean, we're no different than any other nation, according to the American left, so big whoop.
Okay, so we don't trade with 'em. They still trade with the UK. They trade with the Europeans.They trade with the Saudis. They trade with the United Arab Emirates. They trade with Canada. They trade with the ChiComs. I mean, they're in bed with everybody but us and yet the Cuban people are still living on the equivalent of, what, two bucks a day. So how can that be? There is no such thing as American exceptionalism. There's no such thing as an exceptional America.
The left cannot admit that opening up trade between America and Cuba would save Cuba because that would mean there's something special about us since they can trade with every other nation on earth."
Sen. Rubio, meanwhile, has vowed to "make every effort" to block Obama's plan. Rubio will be the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Western Hemisphere subcommittee in the new Congress beginning in January.
Yeah, Rubio's got a LOT of making up to do (if that's even possible, doubtful).
On Tuesday we discover that Obama's been issuing executive orders by another name for some time now...
USAToday: By issuing his directives as "memoranda" rather than executive orders, Obama has downplayed the extent of his executive actions.
President Obama has issued a form of executive action known as the presidential memorandum more often than any other president in history — using it to take unilateral action even as he has signed fewer executive orders.
When these two forms of directives are taken together, Obama is on track to take more high-level executive actions than any president since Harry Truman battled the "Do Nothing Congress" almost seven decades ago, according to a USA TODAY review of presidential documents.
Obama has issued executive orders to give federal employees the day after Christmas off, to impose economic sanctions and to determine how national secrets are classified. He's used presidential memoranda to make policy on gun control, immigration and labor regulations. Tuesday, he used a memorandum to declare Bristol Bay, Alaska, off-limits to oil and gas exploration.
Like executive orders, presidential memoranda don't require action by Congress. They have the same force of law as executive orders and often have consequences just as far-reaching. And some of the most significant actions of the Obama presidency have come not by executive order but by presidential memoranda.
So, it's legislative fiat from the executive branch, and we're just supposed to be hunky-dory with this?
ADDENDUM: Guy Benson further exposes the White House's dumb 'executive action' numbers game...
Townhall: Whenever the White House is pressed on President Obama's promiscuous and impactful use of executive action to achieve his policy objectives, they fall back on a specious talking point: Contrary to Republican claims, they say, Obama has issued significantly fewer executive orders than his predecessors from both parties over the last century. The goal is to paint critics as hypocritical, foolish, and blinded by irrational opposition. Many journalists seem to have swallowed Team Obama's story whole. But not USA Today reporter Gregory Korte, or Fox News' Ed Henry, who challenged White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on the president's math, exposing the cynical and contradictory "rules" by which the administration has been playing in order to sustain their misleading claim:
"Thank you, Ed. I've had enough of your questions on this subject." That is some weak sauce spin from Earnest, parsing terms and harping on semantics to obscure the larger truth. But as I said on Fox earlier, the numerical quantity and technical categories of executive action are far less relevant than the legality, propriety and consequences of the action being taken:
Even if a president almost never issued any executive orders or memoranda, if he then turned around and exceeded his authority with one giant violation of the separation of powers, those raw numbers don't matter. They're a distraction. And while this president's comprehensive hypocrisy on issues from campaign finance, to transparency, to executive power is well established at this point, I couldn't help but quote him as a presidential candidate in the 2008 cycle:
Notice that he wasn't troubled by President Bush's excessive issuance of executive memos vs. executive orders, or whatever. He was (or at least claimed to be) worried about what he saw as Bush's improper arrogation of power, vis-a-vis Congress. That Barack Obama is long gone. Because Barack Obama's guiding principle is employing whatever argument or behavior Barack Obama needs in the moment. His own standards and previous statements don't matter when the 'greater good' is at stake.
Straight from the progressive Republican horse's mouth oozes the not-so-shocking announcement that has had the establishment gushing all day:
This showboating jackass in disguise (eh, not so much...in disguise, that is) has been exploring this for sometime now. Guess he figured he had to beat Hillary to the punch of making it 'official' two years out.
But as Levin reminded us today:
A Bush has run for the GOP presidential nomination or for president in 1980, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, and now 2016. What has the Republican Party become?
MUSH!
TRS: That about sums it up, eh? All Bush all the time. They’d have no doubt run Jeb in 2008 and 2012 if his brother wasn’t so politically toxic. I’m sure Levin will have more to say about this tonight.
As I’ve pointed out in the comments of a previous thread, I’m optimistic that if we run a candidate like Ted Cruz, who can handle himself quite well, then we may have a solid chance to defeat the establishment candidate which will almost certainly be Jeb at this point.
Honestly, I think America is tired of the Bushes and they well should be. It’s time for some fresh blood and I can’t think of anyone more exciting than Ted Cruz.
Precisely! And he did have more to say:
On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show: Jeb Bush announced his Presidential exploratory committee early Tuesday. If he does end up running for 2016, one family will attempt to hold the highest office with three different members. Why does the GOP keep turning to the same family? What is it about one family that thinks they have so much insight and judgment, that it should seek to control the office of the Presidency? The Republican establishment has an interest in candidates like Jeb and Mitt Romney who won't shake up Washington. We already have a ruling class in Washington, what we need is a rotation of representatives in and out of national office.
Ted Cruz also had something to say concerning an unnamed moderate (BUSH!) becoming the Republican nominee...something I've been saying for quite sometime now if Bush, Christie or Romney becomes the GOP's pick: Hillary Clinton wins in 2016.
Politico: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz insists he’s a “big fan” of Jeb Bush. But when asked Tuesday about the former Florida governor’s move toward a presidential run, Cruz suggested the Republican party would lose if they nominate another relative moderate. ...
“If we nominate another candidate in the mold of a Bob Dole or a John McCain or a Mitt Romney — and let me be clear, all three of those men, they’re good men, they’re honorable men, they’re decent men, they’re men of character, they’re war heroes — but what they did didn’t work,” Cruz said in an interview in his Senate office. “It did not succeed. And if we nominate another candidate in that same mold, the same voters who stayed home in 2008 and 2012 will stay home in 2016, and Hillary Clinton is the next president.”
Asked whether Jeb Bush is in that “mold,” Cruz replied, “that’s going to be a decision for the primary voters to make.” ...
“We will have a robust debate about the right direction for this country, and critically, how do we win?” he said. “There is this cabal of consultants in Washington who keep running national campaigns and losing. And they keep going back to the same supporters over and over again, saying, ‘Write us another check to go make the same mistakes yet another time.’ What we’re doing right now isn’t working, and Einstein famously observed that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Yep! It really does come down to that simple, singular statement:
"...if we nominate another candidate in that same mold, the same voters who stayed home in 2008 and 2012 will stay home in 2016, and Hillary Clinton is the next president."
Truer words have never been spoken. And unlike the midterm primaries, where so many GOP incumbents escaped debate, there'll be no such luck in a presidential race, and the voters will be the ultimate deciders. No amount of special interest donors, K-Street or Karl Rove SuperPACs will protect Bush, Christie or Romney against a debate with Ted Cruz. Cruz lands on the principled side of the issues and articulates them in such a way that none of these three could even begin to (but don't think the media won't push them along...enough to secure Hillary's election, that is).
Republicans MUST nominate a solid conservative like Cruz, or they can kiss 2016 goodbye, if they don't destroy the party first, which they're doing a bang up job thus far.
H/t: TRS
Related links: Sen. Ted Cruz: “I’m Not Trying to Play the Washington Rules, I’m Trying to Change the Rules”
BOOM! Ted Cruz: They want to come after me? Knock yourself out. My concern is honoring oath of office
Levin to GOP: 'I am one inch away from leaving you!'
Mark Levin: Is the presidential ambition of one family good for our republic?
AFTERTHOUGHT: And another thing... Conservatives MUST coalesce behind ONE! We cannot have multiples fighting each other again. Let the RINOs of Bush, Romney & Christie do that! We, conservatives, cannot win if we're divided. And I'm talking about the PRIMARY process! Folks have GOT to realize THAT is where it all counts! Once the primary's done, and all that's standing is mush, we're done for. We MUST have a WINNER, and that's only gonna happen with a CONSERVATIVE! What further PROOF do we need than the past two presidential election cycles?!
Related link: The Perfect Ticket: Clinton-Bush
Something tells me if he finally would, many might just follow...
Levin RIPPED into the Republican 'children' on last night's program, emphasizes how Boehner and McConnell have guided Republicans in rubber stamping funding for Obamacare and Obama's illegal amnesty in the CRomnibus bill passed over the weekend. These fools have ceded their congressional power to this president, and it doesn't appear to bother them one damn bit.
"I am one inch away from leaving you. And I bet I speak for hundreds of thousands of people. One inch. You think this is a joke? You think you can lie to the American people? Do you think you can lie to Republicans and lie to conservatives about how you're going to defund Obamacare? Run millions of dollars of ads on that to get reelected? On how you're going to fight unconstitutional amnesty, tooth and nail? You think you can lie to us with impunity and repeatedly?
I don't care how many millionaires and billionaires you have in your damn back pocket! I don't care about your damn vacations on Saturday! Orrin Hatch, Ayotte, Corker...Flake, and you other losers. You had an opportunity to stand up on Saturday and to be counted for the Constitution! I don't care about your damn procedures, and neither does anybody else!
You go on tv, you go on radio, national, local, regional, on and on about an imperial president, on and on about how he's undermining the Constitution, and you can't even vote on a point of order challenging him, because you're a bunch of children!
We read what you have to say about Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, and of all places, Politico, that liberal rag. You sound like a bunch of munchkins, back-benchers, immature, stupid, childish comments: 'I don't know what this is gonna add up to,' 'I don't know why we're here,' 'I've seen this movie before.'
And you're so ineffective, and you're so impotent. We've seen this movie before, and you still can't get off your ass and do something about it! 'Well we might shut down the government.' I worked for a president who shut down the damn government over half a dozen times! It's not the end of the world, and it wasn't the end of the world last year.
Our Constitution is in tatters, and YOU just voted, many of you, to rubber stamp what Obama did, and that's how he saw it! And he's smiling all over today, and he's going on his Hawaii trip for 17 days, while you pathetic politicians can't even muster the seriousness to vote the right way!"
The republic is in decline. We live in a post-constitutional period. You're so worried about Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, you damn fools don't even understand you've surrendered your power to the President of the United States. He seized it, and you just voted to confirm it! You just certified it!
Much, MUCH MORE here:
Related links: Boehner’s Spending Deals Have Increased Debt $3.8T in 3.8 Years
The 3 Times House Speaker John Boehner Lied and Promised to Post Bills 72 Hours Before Holding a Vote On Them
Mitch McConnell: I'll Rein in Obama Spending After Midterms
GOP Senators Upset They Have To Work On The Weekend
Mitch McConnell slammed for $110 million in earmarks
On Monday's Mark Levin Show: The Republicans had an opportunity Saturday night to stand up and vote against this Cromnibus bill, which funds Obamacare, amnesty and President Obama's radical agenda, and they didn't. Mark says he is one inch away from leaving the Republican Party if this keeps up and there are thousands of people who feel the same. The Constitution is in tatters and the Republican Party doesn’t even realize they've ceded their power to Obama. Congress goes on about an imperial president yet do nothing about it. John Boehner and Mitch McConnell should resign but their egos won't let them. Instead, they're cutting deals with the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid behind closed doors, pushing their agenda to the Republican establishment in Congress, and anyone that speaks out against it like Mike Lee and Ted Cruz are attacked for not going along with the party. We are sick of voting for corrupt crony Republicans who won't do what we voted for and continue to violate their oath of office and trample the constitution. Senators Mark Lee and Ted Cruz call in and speak with Mark to talk about the gridlock in Washington. They have to fight tooth and nail to vote on anything, while bills are negotiated behind closed doors rather than on the Senate floor.
Related links: Fighting Obama’s Amnesty: Et Tu, Brute?
BOOM! Ted Cruz: They want to come after me? Knock yourself out. My concern is honoring oath of office
Mark Levin to the GOP: I AM ONE INCH AWAY FROM LEAVING YOU!
Even through all of his New Deal efforts to reinterpret and undermine these foundational ideals, FDR nonetheless recognized the integral role of the Bill of Rights. It's no stretch to say that our elected officials in D.C. could use a refresher course!
RJ: Today is Bill of Rights Day. The observation, first ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, commemorates Dec. 15, 1791, when the first 10 amendments to our Constitution — known as the Bill of Rights — took effect. President Roosevelt ordered the recognition because he saw the Bill of Rights as “the great American charter of personal liberty.” And it’s not difficult to see why.
Although the Constitution was a monumental achievement that put power in the hands of the people, it was incomplete. It needed to be amended not only to strengthen our form of government and, in turn, our nation, but primarily to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms. And for 223 years, that’s what the Bill of Rights has done.
As a result, the Bill of Rights has served as the focal point in the centuries-long debate about what it truly means to be an American. Over the years, as some in our nation have placed other, lesser ideas about government above the framework the Founding Fathers established, the public’s regard for the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights, both individually and collectively, has eroded. And our government, the very institution whose job it is to uphold the rights that protect our freedoms, has shown time and time again that it’s too happy to infringe on those rights — especially if its operatives believe we really don’t care about protecting them.
The Second Amendment, which gives Americans the right to keep and bear arms, is under constant attack, regardless of how often guns save lives through self-defense. Gun critics, like so many who believe the state can be trusted with ever more power, are more than willing to sacrifice your freedoms in exchange for the illusion of safety.
The quadrupling of warrantless wiretaps under the Obama administration, as well as the National Counterterrorism Center’s ability to create a database of information about U.S. citizens — even if they’re not suspected of a crime — constitutes an assault on the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unlawful search and seizure.
The First Amendment, the most important provision of the Bill of Rights, is despised by many circles across the political spectrum who can’t stand to hear ideas they disagree with. As more and more groups want more and more kinds of speech criminalized, or at least subject to intense screening and regulation, it is vital for our leaders to reiterate the importance of our press and citizenry freely discussing ideas — no matter how unappealing or uncomfortable they may be to others — without fear of prosecution. Instead, we see the Justice Department seizing cellphone records of reporters and editors at The Associated Press, and university leaders cracking down on speech that offends the delicate sensibilities of intolerant faculty and students.
The Internal Revenue Service’s inappropriate scrutiny of tax-exemption requests by conservative groups compromised those groups’ rights to peaceably assemble, engage in political expression and petition the government for a redress of grievances.
We do not, nor will we ever, live in a perfect nation. But the Bill of Rights ensures that we can all work together to a create “a more perfect” one. This Bill of Rights Day should serve as a reminder to value the freedoms we have — freedoms that so many across the globe do not — and to inspire us to exercise them and fight to keep them.
An Article V Convention of the States might certainly help them along in remembering our rights and their oaths.
Related link: Celebrate Bill of Rights Day on December 15!
Unshockingly, the newly elected GOP Establishment immediately ignores the mandate that was just granted to them...
First, Boehner gave up the ghost in the House Thursday night...
Twitchy: The House passed the $1.1 trillion “cromnibus” spending bill Thursday night by a close vote of 219-206. Lawmakers and the public were kept in suspense as leaders lobbied hard for votes up until the last minute.
Congress eventually found the time to vote, ending “fears” of another government shutdown.
“Boehner and White House win” — even saying it out loud sounds strange, and wrong.
TPNN: Conservative radio talk show host and author Laura Ingraham issued sharp criticism to Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner on Thursday, saying that the Continuing Resolution Omnibus, or what has simply become know as “cromnibus,” is a 1,600 page joke.”
The bill, which barely passed the House of Representatives, barely passed Thursday night, the deadline for avoiding a partial government shutdown, by an ultra slim margin of 210 – 206, with 67 conservative Republicans voting against the $1.1 trillion stop-gap measure.
There were 57 Democrats that voted with their big government Republican brethren for the increase in overall spending that fully funds Obama’s illegal amnesty as well as the hated Obamacare disaster.
Ingraham delivered a stinging blow to Boehner, comparing him despised communist Democrat Nancy Pelosi, playing her infamous words, “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it,” as the 1,600 page behemoth was presented and voted upon before any members could have possibly had time to read it.
Ingraham highlighted Boehner’s hypocrisy, pointing out that he was highly critical of the 1,100 page Obama Stimulus bill in 2009, which “not one member of this body has read.”
Upon being launched into his speakership in 2010, largely because of the pro-liberty, pro-Constitution Tea Party movement, the formerly conservative Boehner promised a 72-hour window for members to read bills, a pledge he has broken.
...then came McConnell and his Senate cowards Saturday evening. America continues to hemorrhage, no thanks to go-along Republicans...
RedState: The next time anyone tells you the GOP Senate leadership opposes either Obamacare or Obama’s egregious power grab you can laugh in their face. The CRomnibus bill passed because the majority of the GOP went along with it. Indeed, most of the GOP leadership was more interested in making utterly bull**** allegations against Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and keeping the pork moving than in doing their duty and opposing unconstitutional actions and executive overreach.
More hard times ahead for America and her citizenry as the administrative state expands under a coalesced incumbency among the D.C. Establishment.
Remember the names, and attempt to choose wisely over the next several years. Your children and your country will depend on it.
ADDENDUM: The exquisite hypocrisy of 20 Republican Senators...
ConservativeHQ: One of the reasons our friend Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) gets under the skin of his Republican colleagues is that, unlike them, he actually votes the way he talks. If he’s against some policy of President Obama’s, like say an unconstitutional attempt to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, he votes NO and does all he can to stop it.
This annoys his hypocritical Senate Republican colleagues who prefer to campaign like conservatives at home while voting with President Obama when they are in Washington.
After 20 Republicans opposed Cruz’s point of order declaring the “CRomnibus” to be unconstitutional our principled conservative compatriots at Heritage Action compiled a list of “what they said then” on amnesty versus how they voted...
You can review their exquisite examples of Washington insider hypocrisy HERE.
