Is Dick Cheney the new Chuck Norris?

By Turtle MacBride

Posts are popping up on the web concerning former Vice President Dick Cheney, characterizing him as a no-nonsense, blunt, in-your-face kind of conservative, with a good dollop of cursing, guns and virility thrown in for context.

Here’s an example, someone posted top ten Cheney quotes:

10. “You think that was torture? Come over here and I’ll show you torture.”

9. "The Secret Service's new job? Protecting other world leaders from me."

8. "I'll crush all enemies foreign and domestic. Then I'll figure out a goal for Week Two."

7. "I shot a guy in the face and he apologized to me."

6. "Democrats will need Universal Health Care after I'm through with them."

5. "Want to see world leaders bowing? Oh, they'll bow alright."

4. "Do what I say or I'll have my daughter kick your $*%."

3. "On my World Apology Tour, I won't be the one apologizing."

2. "I never had a heart attack. I just stopped it a few times to show it who was boss."

1. "Vote for me. Or not. Like I give a *!#& what you do."

Other posts seem to blur the distinction between Cheney and the Zeus of the internet Chuck Norris:

“You’d rather me on your side than against you.”

“Experience, leadership, normal-sized ears.”

“I shoot my friends in the face with a shotgun. What do you think I’ll do to America’s enemies?”

“I’m what the Mayans predicted.”

“Heart attacks don’t even slow me down.”

“The only time I’ll bow before a foreign leader is in preparation for an uppercut.”

“I already control everything; let’s just make it official.”

“Probably not going to win a Nobel Peace Prize.”

“KSM will get to plead his case to my shotgun.”

“You want a change? How about a president who doesn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone thinks about him.”

“You don’t inaugurate me; you unleash me.”

“I will say, ‘Mr. Ahmadinejad, tear off your own face.’ And he will do as I tell him.”

“It’s not a smirk. You’re just not worth the attention of my whole face.”

Then there are posts that appear to simply substitute Cheney for Norris, such as:

Dick Cheney is so tough, he sleeps with a pillow under his gun.

Dick Cheney went on vacation to the Virgin islands. After he got back, they were just called “the Islands.”

Other posts propose the dream team of Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin for 2012. I mean, could you imagine President Sarah Palin courtesying to the Emporer of Japan? Why do I suppose Palin would be the Presidential candidate? Vice President is not subject to term-limits.

After 65 years, United States finally bows down to Japan

by James Fryar, Australia

And they wonder why some question whether Obama is really an American?

It seems that Emperor Akihito has achieved his fathers ambition.

I really wish I could get those US channels so that I could watch Chris Mathews speculating on how many American lives could have been saved if FDR had just …….


But that was a different sort of President.

Note - James is Editor of Real World Libertarian blog.

The Rise of the Right Worldwide: Conservative Parties gain in Europe and North America

In Nov. 2009 the Republican Party USA follows the lead of British Tories, German Free Democrats, and Canadian Conservatives to Election Victories

From Eric Dondero:

Bruce Walker over at the American Thinker gives an excellent summary of recent elections which show Right and Center Right parties throughout Europe and North America winning big. But he warns these Parties will have to enact Rightwing policies or risk facing voter scorn in future elections.

From American Thinker, Nov. 15:

The Republican landslide in Virginia and stunning upset in New Jersey were not the only bad news for the left in the last few months. The Social Democrats in the September German elections for the Bundestag did worse than in any election since the Second World War. Merkel's Christian Democrats lost some support as well, but the market oriented Free Democrats made major gains and a center-right coalition now governs Germany with a majority of seats in the Bundestag. Polling data one month after the German general election indicates that Germans continue to oppose a left of center government.

The Labour Party in Britain has suffered two seasons of dramatic thumping in local council and municipal elections. In May, the Labour Party not only came in twenty points behind the Conservative Party, but Labour ran third in popular vote - an emphatic repudiation of the ruling Labour Party and its leader, Gordon Brown.

Polling data for over two years has shown that in the next general election, which must be held within the next seven months, David Cameron and the Conservative Party will win a huge landslide victory, ending almost two decades of leftist rule in Britain. When that happens, each of the four major nations in Western Europe will have governments of the right, not of the left.
On November 9th, the Conservative Party in Canada won three of four special elections to Parliament which added two more seats to the Conservative Party caucus and made it much less likely that the Liberal Party, the largest opposition party in Canada, would be able to convince the other two oppositional parties to force a general election.

These victories for the Conservative Party were unexpected, but the victories were in line with public opinion polling over the last few months which showed the Conservative Party winning the next general election. Some polls showed the Conservative Party winning an absolute majority in Parliament while others simply showed Conservatives holding a very strong plurality in the Parliament. The most recent polls show the Conservative Party with a fourteen-point lead over the Liberal Party.

The pattern over the last several years has been clear in the old major democracies of Europe and North America: the left simply ceases to appeal to voters anymore. The right - whatever that is supposed to be these days? - resembles the Republican Party in America. It has yet to clearly carve out what it is for, and it instead represents an anti-left vote.

Walker ends the piece with a warning that conservatives must act:

The collapse of the left does not mean the rise of the right. The end of Gordon Brown does not mean the triumph of David Cameron. The unpopularity of the Liberal Party in Canada does not necessarily mean the victory of the Conservative Party policies up north. The same is true in America. The repudiation of Jon Corzine in New Jersey will mean something only if Governor Christie means lower taxes, less regulation and clean government. Halting Obamacare in the Senate will mean something only if Republicans come back with a clear, united plan for improving through market options the delivery of health care in America. The declining popularity of Obama will translate into change we can believe in only when Republican leaders begin, again, to believe in the touchstone principles of limited government, Judeo-Christian moral principles, and market economies. It is time to stand for something.

It should be noted that four countries have bucked the trend, recently returning Liberals and Socialists to power: Spain, Greece, Ireland and Japan.

A Libertarian Yankees Fan looks at the World Series

By Clifford F. Thies

N1Y1 went viral on Wednesday, October 30, 2009, when Jay-Z and Alicia Keys rocked the stage at the new Yankee Stadium in New York City, before the second game of this year’s World Series. With Yankee flags flapping in the wind, the instrumentalists wearing Yankee jackets, and New York landmarks being displayed on the giant screen in the outfield, N1Y1 immediately overwhelmed the players in both dugouts. From there, it spread to the fans in the stadium and to the vast worldwide television audience.

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do

After failing to make the playoffs last year, losing in the first round of the playoffs each of the prior three years, losing to the Boston Red Sox after being up three games to none the year before that, and Mariano Rivera blowing a save in a seventh game World Series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks the year before that, the luster on the Yankees seemed a bit tarnished.

Things seemed to go from mediocre to worse early this year, when Alex Rodriguez went under the knife, Chin Ming Wong failed to return to the starting rotation, CC Sabbathia looked like a .500 pitcher, and Mark Texaria performed like a defensive specialist. Then, when A-Rod re-joined the team, everything just seemed to come together. The starting pitchers, the bullpen, the bats and the gloves all did well, and the combination looked unstoppable.

Now you’re in New York,
These streets will make you feel brand new

In the first round of the playoffs, a three-game sweep against the pesky Minnesota Twins, it was just too easy. In game two, when the Twins were ahead late in the game, A-Rod slammed a two-run home-run to tie the game. The Twinkees then ran themselves out of a win, with a base-running snafu at 3rd base. In the top of the eleventh inning, a second-tier relief pitcher for the Yanks kept the Twins from scoring after they had loaded the bases. Then, Texaria blasted a wall-scrapper that ended the game in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the inning.

In the second round, against the Los Angeles Angels, whom the Yankees had never before defeated in a playoff series, things didn’t look so easy. With a strong outing by CC Sabbathia, the Yanks took the first game. Game 2 tuned out to be a classic that the Yankees only won, in extra innings, because of several uncharacteristic base-running and fielding errors by the Yankee nemesis. This would be the last game in which the pie-in-the-face antics of A.J. Burnett seemed appropriate. In Game 3, the Angels bounced back to win in extra innings, and things suddenly turned serious. CC Sabbathia took the mound again in Game 4, on short rest, and again had a strong game. But, the Angels again bounced back in Game 5. By Game 6, the Angels’ bull-pen was in shreds and the Yankees’ seemed to not be able to rely on any of their relief pitchers except Rivera. In the sixth game and subsequently in the World Series, Joe Girardi, the Yankee manager, shortened his bull-pen. In the game, Andy Pettite registered 6.1 solid innings, was relieved by Joba Chamberlain, who got two outs, and then Rivera was called upon for the final six outs.

The lights will inspire you,
Lets hear it for New York, New York, New York

After the ceremonial “opening pitch,” by Iraqi veteran Tony Odierno accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama, Second Lady Jill Biden, and Yankee legend (and WWII veteran) Yogi Berra, the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies began the series with Cliff Lee. Lee completely shut down the Yankee batters. Suddenly, it was the Yankees who had to bounce back, which they did behind Burnett in Game 2, evening-up the series at one game apiece. In a hard-fought Game 3, the Yanks pieced together a win from a so-so start by Pettite, one inning or less from each of several relief pitchers, and from some clutch hitting that included a pinch hit home run by Hideki Matsui. Godzilla, who hit an amazing 0.615 for the series, was named the series MVP, the first Asian recipient. After a win in Game 4 fueled by another solid start by Sabbathia, the Yankee starter in game 5 came up empty, as did the Phillies starter in game 6. The series ended, fittingly, in New York, with the commander of the newly-christianed U.S.S. New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, hizzoner Rudy Guiliani, Mary J. Blige, Kate Hudson, Spike Lee and many other great Yankee fans in attendance. For the 27th time, the Yankees are the World Champions.

# # #

Clifford F. Thies, the Eldon R. Lindsay Chair of Free Enterprise and a Professor of Economics and Finance in the Byrd School of Business, is originally from Brooklyn, New York.

Bush says in India: Osama bin Laden still Alive, but Vanquished

George Bush spoke to a Leadership Summit in New Deli, India on Friday. He gave his thoughts on a wide range of topics, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and America and India's continued War against Radical Islam.

But it was his precise and succinct comment about Osama bin Laden that may attract the most attention from international news observers.

Reporter:

Is he dead or is he alive Osama bin Laden?

Bush:

I would guess he's alive. But you know what? We will bring him to justice. I'll tell you one thing. He's not leading any victory parades.

American Libertarians align with Pat Condell against IslamoFascism

The latest from the UK's liberty-lover and Sharia Law hater Pat Condell.

Netanyahu's Free Market Reforms lead to Economic Miracle; Israel now a "Hong Kong of the Desert"

by Eric Dondero

An amazing Economic Miracle is occuring in the Middle East, but being almost entirely ignored by the Western Media. Israel's economic is booming. Israel's GDP is now, according to the very latest figures, projected to grow by 2.4% in 2010, after contracting by 1% in the last year.

While its neighbors continue to suffer under unsteady oil prices, massive youth unemployment, and crumbling infrastructure, Israel is leading a literal technological revolution. And much of the credit can be given to the new Conservative Coalition Government.

Aaron Korman of Israel Newsletter writes:

Netanyahu announces economic plan... tax cuts and privatization taking a leading role... As the rest of the world is marching towards socialism, Israel appears to be headed in the other direction, embracing free market principals

Globes provides some specifics:

Netanyahu’s tax plan calls for reducing the company tax rate to 18% by 2016 and reducing the maximum income tax rate for individuals to 39%.

Netanyahu added, “The individual tax rate will fall in 2010.

Just 8 months into his term, yet Netanyahu's economic policies already a success

And as predicted by experts earlier in the year, the seeds of reform are starting to bear some fruit.

From the UK Daily Mail:

The former commando is credited with playing a key role in opening up Israel's economy to the free market, boosting a period of strong economic growth.

But the most stunning example of economic success is the mass of immigrants attempting to get into Israel, both legally and illegally to take advantage of the booming economy.

The Jerusalem Post reported on Oct. 15 that:

IDF units responsible for guarding Israel's expansive western border with Egypt said Thursday that there are one million would-be infiltrators from Africa waiting to cross the mostly barrier-less border and enter Israel illegally.

Gene Schwimmer of American Thinker comments:

They come not to suicide bomb, nor to kidnap. They simply want to work. They come seeking not vengeance, but jobs.

Voting with their feet, these poor, jobless people have eschewed their Third World brethren in their Third World states, with their Third World economies, in favor of just one state, and the only Jewish one: Israel.

Israel: Hong Kong of the Desert

George Gilder at City Journal wrote in July:

In under 25 years—starting from those first modest tax reforms of the mid-1980s—Israel has accomplished the most overwhelming transformation in the history of economics, from a nondescript laggard in the industrial world to a luminous first. Today, on a per-capita basis, Israel far leads the world in research and technological creativity.

The force driving the Israelis decisively out of their socialist slough into the modern world of finance was once again the ingenuity of Netanyahu. As finance minister, Netanyahu used the financial crisis of 2003 and 2004, precipitated by the latest campaign of Palestinian terror, as a lever to transform Israel’s economy from a largely socialized domain dependent on foreign finance into one of the world’s most open and flourishing financial systems.

Netanyahu’s vision is an Israel that, as a global financial center, could transform the economics of the Middle East. Israel could become a Hong Kong of the desert.

If only the rest of the world would catch on, not only acknowledging their stunning success, but also following their lead.

Note - Photo is of Tel Aviv skyline.

Big Victory for Geert

America's favorite Euro-libertarian has just won a huge victory in British Courts.

From the UK Telegraph (via Memeo):

Dutch right-winger Geert Wilders wins challenge against British ban
Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right politician, has won his appeal against the Government's refusal to let him enter Britain.

Wilders challenged the decision by then home secretary Jacqui Smith which led to him being turned back at Heathrow Airport.

The ruling by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal means the head of the Freedom Party, who is accused of Islamophobia, could now be allowed into the country.

Muslim culture invading US; a form of Colonization

UK & US "Anti-Imperialist" Left silent on Muslim cultural invasion

Mary Jackson is editor of The New English Review, an Anglo-American online magazine of politics and culture, dedicated to celebrating the good in Western civilization. From her latest column, re-published at Pajamas Media, Oct. 11:

Islam is indeed a territorial religion, and clothes — like mosques, halal food in schools, and footbaths at airports — are a form of colonization. What it cannot seize by force of arms, Islam conquers by exploiting the foolhardy tolerance of its enemies. If enough women in Muslim quarters of Rotterdam or Amsterdam wear the hijab, non-Muslim women will not go there, and the territory will have been claimed for Islam.

Note - a number of "No Westerners Allowed" enclaves have already emerged in the Netherlands, Beliguim and the banlieues north of Paris. There are reports out of France that even local Police and Ambulance drivers, avoid entering these heavily Muslim areas.

Muslim Youth rioting against Police in Berlin

German Republic survived Hitler, but now under attack from a new form of Naziism.

A slip of the tongue? Deeds vs. McDonnell in Virginia

By Clifford F. Thies

When Saturday Night Live repeatedly poked fun of President Bush’s stuttering, this was funny. President Bush himself went along with the joke and often deliberately mispronounciated his words. Republicans, after all, have a sense of humor. But, when a co-founder of Black Entertainment Television poked fun of state Senator Creigh Deeds’ speechification, it’s “a new low” in politics. Why, it’s terribly offensive.

How desperate is this guy for an issue?

Many people stutter or have other speech impediments. A famous example from the Bible is Moses. Another, possibly, is Paul. Some of the most brilliant people in history have suffered from stuttering or similar speech disorders, at least as a child, including Leonardo de Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking. Others have achieved success in sports, business, performance and poltiics. One of the latter is our own U.S. Congressman, Frank Wolf.

In my youth, I myself stuttered (and maybe I still do on occasion). When I joined the debate team at St. John’s University of New York, my coach and the captain of the team saw that this was a problem. The captain rehearsed me over and over and over again, making me pronounce my words clearly while speaking quickly and forcefully. She was like a drill sergeant. I thought she must have really liked me to be so strict. But, maybe, she just wanted to win.

When I was at Heritage Foundation, before taking my position at Shenandoah University, I had an occasion to have lunch with the great economist Thomas Sowell. I found out, among other things, that Sowell had a “slow talking” son. This concerned him as it would any father, and he researched the subject and became one of the leading authorities on it. As with many slow-talking children, his son simply began speaking at a later age than most with no long-lasting effects.

My fortuitous meeting with Sowell paid dividends a few years later when my son Daniel, now a debater at George Mason University, exhibited something of a speech impediment when he was attending Quarles Elementary School. Was this because Daniel had a big tongue? (This was my first idea.) Here’s one thing that I know: With the aid of a therapist at Quarles, he became able to speak well enough. So, I doubt that it was because of a big tongue.

Here’s another thing that I subsequently found out: with many creatively-gifted children, possibly with Daniel, the two halves of the brain inter-act a bit unusually. Normally, one side of the brain controls motion and the other reason. Speaking involves a certain amount of coordination of these two things and that coordination does not always come naturally. Daniel and I, apparently, have to work at it.

Having gone from being a stutterer to being captain of my college debate team during my senior year, and then an Assistant Coach during my two years as a grad student at St. John’s, I was interested in how President Bush handled his problems with speaking. Early during the presidential campaign of 2000, I saw that he was not a very effective public speaker. In addition to his stuttering problem, he also had a tendency to smirk. Then, I noticed that he improved to the point of being effective. Yes, there continued to be occasional slip ups, but these were not so bad. And, he used the smirk sparingly and with some effect.

Not everybody who has a speech impediment is able to overcome it. Some people like the country singer Mel Tillis stutter very badly (and, yet, you would never know this when he sang). To notice that a successful person has a slight to moderate problem with speaking or has some other quirky mannerism about him is not to denigrate anybody. It is actually a recognition of a person’s accomplishment in spite of being flawed; which, God knows, we all are.