The PJ Tatler
Owen Brennan
Rep. Allen West: About that Nobel Peace Prize…
PJTV’s Alexis Garcia talks to Rep. Allen West (R-FL) on Capitol Hill about Osama bin Laden. West wants to know what Pakistan knew and how long they knew it. And after having bin Laden killed, West has a question for the Nobel Prize Committee about President Obama.
Watch the full interview here.
How a Burial at Sea Baptized the New Face of Islam
Scott Ott makes this observation in the latest episode of Trifecta on PJTV:
“Either Usama bin Laden is NOT a Muslim leader, and does not represent the vast majority of decent, faithful people who cling to the teachings of Mohammed — or he IS a Muslim who followed Mohammed’s teachings to carry out brutal jihad — smearing office walls with blood, filling the air with the acrid stench of burning human flesh.
“Mr. President, you can’t have it both ways. By ordering U.S. military personnel to administer Islamic burial rites — gently washing the body, swaddling it in cloth and intoning prayers over it — you have baptized this heinous heathen into the religion with which you claim we are not at war. It’s hard to imagine a more vicious insult. By official order of the president of the United States, what is soon be the most viewed photograph in history, will be, for all intents and purposes, the face of Islam.”
Watch the complete episode of Trifecta here.
MSNBC & CNN Perpetuate the Meme that Obama is Powerless to Lower Gas Prices
I just watched CNN do a full block where the guests and the host declared Obama impotent and unable to impact the price of gas. CNN contributor Roland Martin looked straight in the camera and blamed Americans for the price of gas (after an amusing line about the possibility of tapping into Trump’s hot air as an alternative energy source).
We hear this argument every day now. I tweeted about Chris Matthews and MSNBC buying into it yesterday. And it’s wrong.
This is a repost of an interview where PJTV’s Alexis Garcia interviews the Heritage Foundation’s Rory Cooper about what can be done by President Obama, right now, to lower gas prices.
If you hear somebody regurgitate the liberal meme that the President is powerless to lower gas prices, please send them this video.
Gun Rights in America: Glenn Reynolds at the 2011 NRA Annual Meeting
Glenn Reynolds and the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre talk about what’s made the 2nd Amendment stronger than ever, and how PJTV plays an important role in defending gun rights in America. .
But LaPierre warns, “I look at this 2012 election. It could break the back of the 2nd Amendment in this country. When you look at the Supreme Count, it hangs by only one vote. President Obama, despite paying lip service to the 2 amend put Sotomayoer and Elana Kegan on th eCounrt, who will spend the next 25 year to gut this freedom.”
Watch the complete interview from the NRA’s Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA.
Bill Whittle, Glenn Reynolds and How an Army of Davids Transformed Journalism
Hope in the Wayback Machine with Glenn Reynolds and Bill Whittle to witness the birth of Instapundit and the entire Blogosphere.
Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek, Round Two
The economy’s not a car,
there’s no engine to stall.
No expert can fix it,
there’s no ‘it’ at all.
The economy’s us,
we don’t need a mechanic.
Put away the wrenches,
the economy’s organic.
Farid Ghadry: “Freedom, Freedom … We Want to Topple the Assad Regime”
Farid Ghadry gave PJ readers an inside look at the horror being perpetrated in Syria by Bashar al-Assad’s government. In an exlusive interview, Ghadry tells PJTV, “Assad extended his terror to the point where it has become massacring people, rather than just having snipers kill a few here and there.”
Ghadry details James Poulos the latest events on the ground in Syria and how explains how the video is being brought out of the country.
“This is our Tiananmen Square,” Ghadry days, describing an iconic image shot during a sniper attack of a bloodied Syrian man standing defiantly in the middle of the street with his arms wide open. “This revolution is not going to die,” he adds, “Our people are very courageous.”
Watch the full interview on PJTV.
They Carried Obama in 2008, But Can’t Carry a Tune in San Francisco
ALT HED
Dude, Where’s My Base?
Here’s the video of the Drudge-headlining protesters at President Obama’s fundraising breakfast this morning. Tickets started at $5,000 per person and local news reports the group paid $76,000 just to sing about the accused Wikileaks traitor, Private Bradlee Manning.
Even though the protesters are worried about the condition and treatment of Pvt. Manning, it remains unclear why they would submit our President — and so many innocent bystanders — to this level of torture.
Andrew Klavan: How to Behave During an Islamic Massacre
Since the Mainstream Media and our government both appear to have their heads in the sand about the threat of radical Islam, Andrew Klavan has put together this handy primer on what to do in the event of an Islamic massacre.
James Wolcott Found Slumming On the Internet
O yes, how the unmighty have fallen, indeed.
Vanity Fair‘s James Wolcott, described a decade ago as one of the highest paid journalists in America, and the author of books that literally dozens of people on the Upper West Side of Manhattan have exchanged as gifts, blogs about the Daily Caller‘s Mickey Kaus and PJTV’s newest contributor, Amy Holmes.
“Amy Holmes, so attractive, so telegenic (the two are not mutually inclusive), so vibrant, so fetching in her unfanatical way.”
Wolcott blogging … that kind of untoward behavior could get somebody banned from Elaine’s. Oh the humanity.
Huck Fine?
Mike Huckabee is quietly amassing the numbers to mount a legit run for the White House. While most Americans can’t name a single 2012 GOP candidate, the Daily Beast’s John Avlon examines the growing popularity of the former Arkansas governor.
Right now Huckabee looks like the guy to beat in Iowa and South Carolina, while giving Mitt Romney a run for his (boatloads of) money in Florida. The national media may not have noticed this yet, but it looks like the establishment in Iowa has.
The Des Moines Register’s political columnist Kathie Obradovich fills out the dynamic behind Huck’s buoyancy. “Huckabee is charming, famous, and a proven caucus winner,” she says. “That probably has as much to do with his poll numbers at this stage than any of his positions on issues or viability as a candidate. He’s a religious conservative but he’s more amiable and less intimidating than Sarah Palin, for example.”
The fundamental question remains, will Huckabee actually run? The full article is here.
Trump on Kelo: I happen to agree with it 100 percent
Credit Mark Levin with bursting the Trump bubble. Just last week he was the first voice on the right to thoroughly dissect Trump’s history of political activity (donations to Hillary, Weiner, Rahm, Schumer and others).
He was also the first to ask a number of important questions about Trump’s world view, including, “What does he think about Kelo?” The Club for Growth is out today with the answer … directly from Trump himself from 2005 on Fox News.
“I happen to agree with it 100 percent, not that I would want to use it. [note below, he would actually want to use it]
But the fact is, if you have a person living in an area that’s not even necessarily a good area, and government, whether it’s local or whatever, government wants to build a tremendous economic development, where a lot of people are going to be put to work and make area that’s not good into a good area, and move the person that’s living there into a better place — now, I know it might not be their choice — but move the person to a better place and yet create thousands upon thousands of jobs and beautification and lots of other things, I think it happens to be good.”
But the reality is, Trump did try to use the power of eminent domain to seize private property. He did this in Altlantic City, and it wasn’t to build an elementy school or even a “tremendous economic development.” He wanted to knock down an old lady’s home so he could build a parking lot for limousines near his casino.
Full disclosure: I used to work for the Institute for Justice, which successfully defended Vera Coking against Trump’s land grab in Atlantic City. More details about that case can be found here.
The Right’s love fest with Donald Trump is coming to an end. But will the media’s love affair with him ever end? The MSM isn’t known for vetting their own, so they’re likely to only give Trump the harry eyeball if he wins the nomination. Don’t forget, John McCain was the MSM’s second favorite candidate out of the entire 2008 field. And we know how well that ended.
What Are Taxes For?
More than two years ago, the Tea Party launched a national conversation about the proper role of government. And if you’re going to talk about the proper role of government, you’re going to have to figure out what taxes are for.
So, do we pay taxes so we can build a gilded city built upon a swamp between Virginia and Maryland. Or, as Dan Henninger points out in the Wall Street Journal, should the goal of taxation be to “achieve the highest possible level of growth in the private economy with a competent, efficient state in a supporting role?”
PJTV’s Alexis Garcia went to Capitol Hill to find out what some of our elected leaders think taxes are for. Rep. Michele Bachmann wants to abolish the tax code. Will that fix the problem?
Pyromaniacs & Strawmen: The State of the Budget Debate in DC
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to the Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes:
“[Obama] was basically a pyromaniac in a field of straw men. I mean, to set up all these straw men arguments and then to tear them down, it’s almost as if he wanted to paint his political adversaries, supposedly us, in a cartoonish kind of a way, in a caricature as if we want to hurt people’s grandparents, we’re against families who have children with autism and disabilities and we don’t want kids to go to college. I mean, that’s basically what I got out of the President’s speech …”
Watch the complete interview on PJTV.
And a special thanks to our friends at e21 for making this event happen.
Atlas Shrugged, Part 1: A First Look With PJTV
Amy Holmes, Katie Pavlich and Kristen Soltis talk about an America that’s ready for Dagny Taggart, Hank Rearden and John Galt. of The Wall Street Journal‘s John Fund & Stephen Moore provide their analysis as well.
Tough Talk on Capitol Hill?
Rep. Thaddeus McCaotter (R-MI) has this analysis of President Obama’s Fiscal Responsibility speech, “He’s blaming Americans who work for a living and he wants to get in their pockets. It’s wrong for the economy. It’s wrong for job creation. It’s wrong for the future fiscal direction of the economy. Other than that, it was a fine speech.”
Bachmann, Price, Jordan and other members of Congress have equally harsh analysis of the President’s speech and budget gimmickry.
Alexis Garcia has the full report on PJTV.
Pawlenty Campaign’s Top Issue in 2012: Health Care?
Tim Pawlenty’s new campaign manager, Nick Ayers, hasn’t even cleaned out his desk inside the Beltway to make the move to Minnesota. But he’s already telling people outside the Beltway what the most important issue will be in in 2012. In an interview with Politico, Ayers says it’s health care. Really.
It’s more accurate to say health care is the most important issue to pummel Mitt Romney with, as American adults rank the issue with single digits and just one point above “unsure.” A recent CBS poll posted at PollingReport.com reveals what American adults identify as, “the most important problem facing this country today.”
CBS News Poll. March 18-21, 2011. N=1,022 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 3. “What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?” Open-ended % Economy/Jobs 51 Budget deficit/National debt 7 Health care 5 Education 3 War/Iraq/Afghanistan 3 Other 27 Unsure 4
It should be no surprise to well-compensated political operatives that jobs and the economy are the most important issues to Americans. Now if only there was a credible candidate who could run on the message, “America, you’re hired.”
Trade In Our SUVs? Can We Trade In Our President Instead?
The economy must be doing pretty well in President Obama’s imagination. He thinks you should trade in your SUVs and buy hybrid minivans.
Amy Holmes, Kristen Soltis and Katie Pavlich analyze Obama’s “Let them eat cake” moment.
Glenn Beck’s New Deal With Fox News: No Glenn Beck Show
TVNewser reports Glenn Beck will transition away from his daily program in a new deal with Fox News Channel. According to TVNewser, “Beck and FNC ’will work together to develop and produce a variety of television projects for air on the FOX News Channel (FNC) as well as content for other platforms including FOX News’ digital properties.’”
If Only Obama Would Run On His Record …
… so many folks on the right would be more than happy to help him with his ads.
Just the first of many:
Rep. Michele Bachmann: The Tea Party Wants a Fight. And We Will Fight to Cut Government Spending
Tea Party protesters descended upon Capitol Hill today to remind Republicans why they were sent to Washington. Rep. Michelle Bachmann told the crowd, “We’ve never said we want to see government shut down. What we want is a true fight. We truly want to fight to cut government spending.”
Watch the complete speech on PJTV.
PJTV LIVE: Watch Live Coverage & Analysis of the President’s Address
Tony Katz, Alexis Garcia, Joe Hicks, Stephen Green, Bryan Preston and more analysis you won’t find in the Mainstream Media.
Herman Cain: Obama & Boehner Can Do Better for America
PJTV caught up with Herman Cain at the Conservative Principles Conference in Des Moines, Iowa this weekend. Not surprisingly, he’s critical of the Obama administration’s handling of Libya, saying the President’s failure to articulate the mission has negative consequences on our troops.
Cain, a favorite among Tea Party activists, has some surprisingly frank analysis of the budget debate in he DC. He thinks Speaker Boehner and House Republicans need to do a better job of being honest with Americans about cutting the federal budget.
Watch the full interview here.
DeMint: We Need a President Who Won’t Run Our Lives
“The President has been AWOL on the budget discussion. He has not led at all on what needs to be cut or where we cut. He’s just sat on the sidelines and criticized Republicans.”
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
PJTV is interviewing former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Rep. Steven King, Rep Thaddeus McCotter and more at the Conservative Principles Conference in Des Moines, Iowa this weekend. Stay tuned for more.
Watch the complete interview with Senator DeMint here:
Kruiser Missiles?
“George W. Bush gets 20-plus countries to agree to go into Iraq with him and he’s cowboy … Barack Obama gets the Brits to sign on, and then the French to launch one attack, and then go back to a cafe to have a croissant, and journal about it … and he has a multi-lateralist approach.”
That’s pretty much how Stephen Kruiser sums up the Obama Doctrine. What else will you find in this week’s Kruiser Control? Well, Olbermann is back. Though apparently he’s a man who’s alone with his thoughts.
What’s A Guy Gotta Do to Get a Raise in This Town?
If the town is DC, the short answer is, “Just about anything.”
Our friends at Investor’s Business Daily caught this bit of analysis about life in the ruling class. Not only do federal government workers likely have better job protection and better benefits than you … they also have a better chance at getting a raise. Out of 1.2 million federal employees, they find:
Just 737 federal employees were denied a pay increase in 2009 due to poor job performance, according to information obtained by the Federal Times, a D.C. newspaper for government employees. That’s about one out of every 1,698 workers, or a denial rate of 0.06%.
Believe it or not, that’s actually an increase over the 2004-2008 numbers regarding people who were denied pay raises for poor performance.
NRO (Heart) Romney? But What About RomneyCare?
I’ve never understood the National Review’s love affair with former governor Mitt Romney (R-MA). He’s got a Clintonian drive to do whatever it takes to get elected. Perhaps some folks on the right just want a body in the White House. But perhaps those people should see how that’s currently working out for Democrats (when the President is not on vacation or on the golf course).
This brings us to NRO giving Willard a free post where he gets to say this without challenge:
If I were president, on Day One I would issue an executive order paving the way for Obamacare waivers to all 50 states … [yada yada yada] … Under our federalist system, the states are “laboratories of democracy.” They should be free to experiment.
We don’t have to bring up the inconvenient truth about the failed experiment of RomneyCare. That’s because Willard is perfectly able to rewrite history himself. Deliciously enough, the National Review’s Deroy Murdock recently caught this item about the strident difference between Romney’s own hardback and paperback editions of his book, No Apology:
Hardback Romney offered cautious comparisons between the president’s health-care reform plan and RomneyCare, the former Massachusetts governor’s own big-government legislation that the Wall Street Journal called “the dress rehearsal for ObamaCare.”
… Paperback Romney is far more fiery and partisan, now that the February 6, 2012, Iowa Caucuses are less than a year away. “ObamaCare will not work and should be repealed,” Paperback Romney roars. “ObamaCare is an unconstitutional federal incursion into the rights of states.”
So,should states be allowed to experiment? Or should aspiring presidential candidates be the arbiters of what is constitutional and what is not? And is the ‘Mitt Flop’ something political observers should pay more attention to? Stay tuned.
Vice President Classy
The Hill reports Vice President Joe Biden was at a fundraiser last night where he said this:
“There was this attitude in our society of blaming the victim … When a woman got raped, blame her because she was wearing a skirt too short, she looked the wrong way or she wasn’t home in time to make the dinner … We’ve gotten by that. But it’s amazing how these Republicans, the right wing of this party – whose philosophy threw us into this God-awful hole we’re in, gave us the tremendous deficit we’ve inherited – that they’re now using, now attempting to use, the very economic condition they have created to blame the victim – whether it’s organized labor or ordinary middle-class working men and women. It’s bizarre. It’s bizarre.”
How much money can you raise while playing the rape card? About $400,000.
The Real March Madness: Golf Beats Leadership
President Obama picks Kansas to go all the way. That’s right before he goes all the way to Brazil for several days. Meanwhile Japan, Libya and the economy are in ruins and chaos is erupting in the Middle East … again. Enjoy the Madness.
School’s Out Forever at BHO Elementary
What do you get when you spend $36,000 per pupil at an elementary school in Asbury Park, NJ? Low test scores. And your school gets shut down.
Not even the name on the building could save it.
The Tatler Told You First: The Media is Melting Down
Charlie Martin said it here first: “The frustrating part about writing on this stuff is that people don’t seem to have any middle setting between ‘everything is fine’ and ‘run in circles scream and shout’. So saying ‘no, it’s not Chernobyl’ is interpreted as ‘it’s nothing.’ So let’s go ahead and make this clear: no, it’s still not Chernobyl. But no, it’s not nothing.”
Bill Whittle, Scott Ott and Stephen Green reveal the “dangerous” levels of radiation that people are exposed to every single day. They also discuss the “harmful” levels of media hysteria.
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