Tag: Barack Obama

Obama Crackdown on Jewish Dissent

Sultan Knish reports about intimidation and attempts at suppression of free speech by Obama supporters.

“Call it Scenes from the Obama Revolution Part 2. It’s happening quietly and under the radar but there is a pattern to it is a bit similar for it to be completely random. Editors and staff working for local Jewish papers that have run articles critical of Obama have been receiving hostile phone calls.

While critical phone calls are not unusual when you’re working on a newspaper, these phone calls are not from random readers, they are coming from lawyers and sometimes doctors who wield influence in the community and may often be advertisers. Typical talking points for these phone calls typically warn against running any further critical articles of Obama “now that he is President”, emphasize that most Jews voted for Obama and emphasize that “we must unite behind him” or there may be “consequences to our community.”

The phone calls are conducted with a brashness and rudeness that smack of Rahm Emanuel. A not atypical closing section from a phone call received by the editor of a Jewish newspaper not too far away from Obama’s home base ran like this.”

Caller: Who the hell does he think is writing things like this about Obama?

Editor: He is a respected journalist who is a Holocaust survivor and has been appearing with us for many years.

Caller: As far as I’m concerned he’s garbage! You can’t run any articles by him again, not until he moderates his position.

Editor: This is a free country, you can have your opinion and he can have his opinion.

Caller: No he can’t!

Read more.

I am wondering when my phone call is going to come?

 

A NEW DAY IN AMERICA

A NEW DAY IN AMERICA

 

First of all, I think it proper to say congratulations to President-Elect Obama who will be the 44th President of the United States of America.

Americans may have elected not only one of the least experienced candidates in our national history, but one who may be guided by some principles different from what we’re used to and on which the nation was founded.

Since Mr. Obama had no legislative history to look at, people were able to ascribe qualities to him that they hoped he possessed. I have a feeling that many of them will be greatly disappointed over the next four years. They are hoping for a quick fix to the economy. That will not happen. They are hoping for a quick exit from Iraq. That will not happen. They are hoping for prosperity and peace, but, alas, that doesn’t look likely in the next few years. They are hoping Obama will bring peace to the middle east and protect Israel from its enemies. That is also very unlikely. They are hoping that the US will not be challenged by threats to our national security. That, unfortunately, will also not happen. They are hoping the world will love us, and that will not happen. They are hoping that he will create special entitlements to benefit special interests. With the current economy, that isn’t likely either. There will be much disappointment among the supporters of President-Elect Obama.

The American people have handed him a sweeping victory without really knowing who he is. Four years ago he was a first-term State Senator in Illinois. His associations in the Chicago political world are questionable.

He was able to achieve that political victory for a few reasons, not the least of which is that a total of approximately $800 Million was spent on his campaign, considerably more than on any previous presidential campaign in our history. The previous high mark was the approximately $275 million for the Kerry campaign in 2004. Having that kind of war chest enabled him to run a superior campaign ground game and to be able to open several offices in many cities throughout the country – 60 offices in the State of Michigan, for example – manned by paid staff, not volunteers, and managed by salaried campaign organizers.

But the principal reasons Obama won had to do with a) the collapse of the economy and b) the overwhelming desire on the part of the American people for change.

Collapse of the Economy

After the Republican convention, for the following two weeks, John McCain was surging ahead of Barack Obama in the polls. I think it likely that if the economic collapse had not happened when it did, McCain could have won the election. The seeds of this economic collapse were planted before George Bush ever took office, but the fact that it happened during a Republican administration meant that the Republicans took the blame for it, even though they were not primarily responsible for it. In fact, several times over the past eight years, Republicans tried to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and were blocked by House Democrats. All of the heads of the organizations that were responsible for the economic disaster were Democrats who contributed heavily to Democratic causes and campaigns, yet Republicans still took the blame.

Change for the sake of Change

We Republicans have been let down by our leadership in many ways. Ethical breaches and crimes committed by Republican leaders tainted the Republican brand. Those who thought of themselves, before their country, or their party, brought shame on Republicans everywhere. We have a leader in the White House who has been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in the country and who wasn’t responsible for most of it.

Right after 9-11 President Bush had a 90% approval rating. His approval rating is now 30%. In my view, George Bush’s biggest flaw has been his inability to communicate clearly and articulately to the American people.

After a badly managed battle in Iraq, a resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Katrina, the housing crash and finally the economic collapse, the American people were, rightly or wrongly, tired of Republicans and wanted a change. Apparently the question, “Change to what?” is answered by, “It doesn’t matter.”

What do we do now?

So that brings us to the question, “Where do we go from here?”

One of the reasons that we lost in 2006 and again in 2008 is because nobody knows what Republicans stand for. We say that we stand for limited government, yet over the past eight years we have had the greatest growth of government in the history of our country.

We say that we stand for reducing the costs of government. The opposite happened. The costs of government have been skyrocketing. We say that we stand for personal liberty and less government intrusion. The opposite has been the fact. We have less personal liberty and more government intrusion. We say that we believe in free trade, yet our Congress, including Republicans, has been passing legislation that inhibits free trade.

We say we stand for integrity and ethical behavior, yet more and more Republicans are indicted and convicted of criminal behavior. We say that we want to empower people and give them a stake in their future by enabling them to have private investment accounts in place of social security accounts, but we don’t fight to make that happen. We say that we want to have lower medical insurance costs for people who can’t afford current rates, but we don’t take a stand for making that happen. We say that we want to become independent of foreign oil, but we do nothing to develop alternative energy sources.

One might be able to say that Republicans “talk the talk”, but they don’t “walk the walk.” We say what we stand for, but we don’t do what we stand for. Americans basically dislike hypocrisy.

It is time for us to show that we are who we say we are.

Do we try to appeal to the center?

People say to me that we need to appeal more to the center. In other words, we need to be more like Democrats.

No! If the American people wanted someone who was like Democrats, they would pick the real thing – Democrats, as you saw last night.

There is nothing more persuasive than being passionately genuine. Republican conservative values mean something. They are what distinguish us. They are what make us different. They are what most of the country believes in. Tony Blankley, says it well: “Conservatism always has been and always will be a force to reckon with because it most closely approximates the reality of the human condition, based as it is, on the cumulative judgment and experience of a people. It is the heir, not the apostate, to the accumulated wisdom, morality and faith of the people.”

The fact is, we have had no conservative leader – no champion of the conservative cause, this election season.

We were not prepared to lead. We will only be ready to lead when we have leaders who will take a principled stand for conservative values – individual liberty and responsibility; smaller government; lower taxes; federalism; free trade; the fact that everyone, whatever his station in life, has an equal opportunity to achieve greatness; a strong national defense; protecting our national sovereignty; the American free enterprise economy; the rule of law and order; and most importantly, the understanding that the rights we enjoy are natural rights that do not come from government, but from our Creator. When we have someone who can lead the Party and who is capable of articulating what we stand for clearly to the American people, we will be ready to lead again.

Rebuilding the Party.

Whatever you say about Obama’s campaign, it was masterful. The use of new media, social networking, graphics, communication and the internet were outstanding. It was truly a 21st Century political campaign. McCain’s campaign, on the other hand was a 20th Century political campaign, and, in my view, poorly managed, as well. We need to look closely at the Obama campaign and use it as a model going forward.

We need to spend the next two years rebuilding the Republican Party. We need to find young dynamic spokesmen for the conservative cause. We need, on a national basis, to have leaders like Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin, John Sununu, Haley Barbour, Jim Inhofe and other conservative lights step forward and assume leadership of a damaged Party.

The San Fernando Valley Republican Club

Change in the Republican Party will come, not from the top down, but from the grass-roots up. Since we are a Republican grass-roots organization we will be moving forward in the coming months with a program of renewal for the Republican Party in the San Fernando Valley. We will determine how best to communicate our message, and to recruit candidates who are a stand for conservative principles.

To that end, the speakers for our membership meetings for the next few months will be people who have concrete ideas on how to revitalize the Republican Party over the next couple of years. We need to be prepared to recapture seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2010. We need to be unified as a party as to what we stand for. We need another Contract for America, just as we had in 1994 after two years of a Democrat administration. I think Newt Gingrich will be helpful in articulating a strategy.

We also need to be prepared to get more Republican candidates elected to statewide offices, especially Governor, which, so far, Steve Poizner has announced he will be a candidate for.

Our speaker for the November meeting will be Ben Shapiro who will give us his thoughts on revitalizing the Republican Party. Ben is a native of the San Fernando Valley and is the author of Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth, Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism is Corrupting our Future, and Project President: Bad Hair and Botox on the Road to the White House. He also wrote “The Jewish Case Against Barack Obama” for Townhall.com

Join the San Fernando Valley Republican Club in its mission to re-energize the Republican Party in the valley.

Congratulations to 2008 Candidates for a great job.

I also want to congratulate the candidates for State Assembly, State Senate and Congress who went out and fought the brave fight all over the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles County. They ran strong campaigns and, unfortunately, because of the heavily Democrat districts, most of them were not elected. They deserve our profound congratulations for a great effort, and for standing up for Republican principles despite the odds.

Congratulations to Victory 2008 Volunteers

We can’t forget all of those grass-roots volunteers who came out to the headquarters, walked precincts, made phone calls and were there at all hours and for months on end. Without our grass-roots volunteers we would have no ground campaign. They deserve more than we can give them. It is those who gave of themselves that will be a part of building the future of the Party.

The next meeting of the San Fernando Valley Republican Club is on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at Galpin Ford at 7:00pm. More details to follow.

We are at a new beginning for the Republican Party. Let’s re-emerge as a strong clear party that articulates and lives our conservative heritage.

Sincerely,

Gary Aminoff
President
San Fernando Valley Republican Club

The foregoing was a letter sent to the members of the San Fernando Valley Republican Club on November 5, 2008.

Understanding Obama – Is He a Pathological Narcissist?

Understanding Obama – Is He a Pathological Narcissist?

Something to think about – does Barack Obama have a narcissistic personality disorder? I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist, so I don’t know. Watch this video and let me know what you think.

The author, Ali Sina (pseudonym), has written an article that one should consider. You can read it here.

Excerpt:

Who is Obama?

Obama is not an ordinary man. He is not a genius. In fact he is quite ignorant on most important subjects. Barack Obama is a narcissist. Dr. Sam Vaknin, the author of the Malignant Self Love, also believes, “Barack Obama appears to be a narcissist.”

Vaknin is a world authority on narcissism. He understands narcissism and describes the inner mind of a narcissist like no other person. When he talks about narcissism everyone listens. Vaknin says that Obama’s language, posture and demeanor, and the testimonies of his closest, dearest and nearest suggest that the Senator is either a narcissist or he may have narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).

Vaknin explains: “Narcissistic leaders are nefarious and their effects pernicious. They are subtle, refined, socially-adept, manipulative, possessed of thespian skills, and convincing. Both types [cerebral and somatic] equally lack empathy and are ruthless and relentless or driven.” These were the very traits that distinguished Hitler and Khomeini. Many of these traits can be seen in Obama. As for his ruthlessness, perhaps his support of legislation to let babies die if they survive abortion, gives a glimpse into his soul, that he may lacks empathy, does not value life, and if in the position of power can be ruthless. Narcissists need power to show their ruthlessness. Considering the fact that Obama neglected his own half brother, George Hussein Obama, who lives on one dollar per month in Kenya, we can’t vouch for Obama’s empathy or say he is a caring person.

It is a lengthy article, but has a lot of information that seems to me describes who Obama is.

I would like some professionals to weigh in on whether the author has raised issues of merit. Is Barack Obama pathologically narcissistic, as the article claims. The author defines pathological narcissism as follows:

Pathological narcissism, is not akin to typical narcissism—someone with a hedonistic or self-centered sense of self —but rather someone with a very weak sense of self. Obama’s narcissism is pathological.

Narcissists seek power. That is the whole purpose of their existence. Power for them is the elixir of life. Those who know about NPD can’t help but notice it in Obama’s posture, the tone of his voice, his demeanor and particularly his grandiose claims and unscripted adlibs.

Narcissim has degrees. When it is extreme it shows in the posture and the way the narcissist walks and talks. Obama’s posture, exudes haughtiness. He is all puffery. Compare his posture to those of Hitler, Stalin and Saddam.

According to Vaknin, Obama displays the following behaviors, which are among the hallmarks of pathological narcissism:

– Subtly misrepresents facts and expediently and opportunistically shifts positions, views, opinions, and “ideals” (e.g., about campaign finance, re-districting). These flip-flops do not cause him overt distress and are ego-syntonic (he feels justified in acting this way). Alternatively, refuses to commit to a standpoint and, in the process, evidences a lack of empathy.

– Ignores data that conflict with his fantasy world, or with his inflated and grandiose self-image. This has to do with magical thinking. Obama already sees himself as president because he is firmly convinced that his dreams, thoughts, and wishes affect reality. Additionally, he denies the gap between his fantasies and his modest or limited real-life achievements (for instance, in 12 years of academic career, he didn’t publish a single scholarly paper or book).

– Feels that he is above the law.

– Talks about himself in the 3rd person singular or uses the regal “we” and craves to be the exclusive center of attention, even adulation

– Has a messianic-cosmic vision of himself and his life and his “mission”.

– Sets ever more complex rules in a convoluted world of grandiose fantasies with its own language (jargon)

He lists several other reasons that he feels means that Obama is pathologically narcissistic.

The author thinks all Presidential candidates should take psychological evaluation examinations before running for office.

I present this here for evaluation by others. I have no idea if the author is accurate or not, but he seems to know what he is talking about.

 

Pinch Yourself

Melanie Phillips writes

You have to pinch yourself – a Marxisant radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshipped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported by a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew-haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists and Chicago mobsters, is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. And apparently it’s considered impolite to say so.

It is just surreal. Read the whole article.


Who Said John McCain Isn’t Funny?

Who Said John McCain Isn’t Funny?

John McCain raised the roof at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner in New York City tonight. Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama addressed the crowd at the Waldorf Astoria. It was an amazing speech- witty, classy, respectful, self-deprecating and FUNNY!

Here is McCain at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner:

 

Morris: American Jews Misguided

Morris: American Jews Misguided

Dick Morris in an interview with Fox News about Jesse Jackson’s comments:
Former Clinton advisor Dick Morris was responding to the comments made yesterday by Jesse Jackson that American Jews would lose their influence under a Barack Obama Administration:

“It is very clear that anyone who is concerned about the future of Israel and ranks that as a priority in their thinking needs to be voting for McCain. Obama will not sanction aggressive work against Iran. Obama will not permit Israel to overfly American territory to strike Iran. McCain will. And, whether Iran develops a bomb or not in large part may be determined by this year’s presidential race.”

Many of Barack Obama’s radical associates are also Jew haters. (H/T to Gateway Pundit)
Here are a few:

(Top left clockwise) Barack and Michelle Obama and radical Leftist anti-Israel Professor Edward Said at a May 1998 Arab community event in Chicago at which Edward Said gave the keynote speech. (Bill Baar’s West Side), Former PLO operative and close friend of the Obama’s Rashid Khalidi, Barack Obama and his racist minister Jeremiah Wright, and close terrorist friend William Ayers.

 

Four Mysteries About Obama

Four Mysteries About Obama

Vik Rubenfeld has some possible answers to four mysteries about Obama:

There are some strange mysteries about Obama, which he is stonewalling everybody on. Let’s look into them.

Mystery #1: Why, as editor of Harvard Law Review, did he never publish one single article, even though publishing articles in the Harvard Law Review can be key to success for a legal career?

Mystery #2: Why, fresh out of college, did he give up his $50k a year job in NY to move suddenly to Chicago, where he didn’t know anybody?

Mystery #3: How can it be that in Chicago, with no experience other than community organizing, Obama was appointed Chairman of the Board of a commission that gave away $50 million?

Mystery #4: How can it be that Obama does not have one life-long friend who can step forward and vouch for his character during this Presidential campaign?

Read the article where Vik gives his answers to the mysteries.

 

Jackson Confirms Jewish Community Concerns About Obama

Jackson Confirms Jewish Community Concerns About Obama

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Suzanne Kurtz
Phone: 202-638-6688
E-mail: skurtz@rjchq.org

 

Jackson Confirms Jewish Community’s Concerns About Obama
Says Obama will end clout of “Zionist controlled foreign policy”

Washington, D.C. (October 14, 2008) — Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Executive Director Matt Brooks issued the following statement today on remarks made by Rev. Jesse Jackson:

“Jesse Jackson confirmed the Jewish communities long-standing concerns with Barack Obama’s policies on Israel and the Middle East,” said Brooks.

As reported by the New York Post, Jackson said at the World Policy Conference last week, that Obama would bring “fundamental changes” to US foreign policy in the Middle East. The Post also reported that Jackson said, “‘decades of putting Israel’s interests first would end. Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades would lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House.”

Obama national campaign co-chairman Gen. Tony McPeak echoed Jackson’s sentiments in a 2003 interview with The Oregonian. McPeak said progress had not been made in the Middle East peace process because of the Jewish community in New York City and Miami. “We have a large vote — vote, here in favor of Israel. And no politician wants to run against it,” said McPeak.

“That those with such virulent anti-Semitic and anti-Israel views support an Obama presidency continues to be deeply troubling to the Jewish community. It highlights why Obama continues to have problems in the Jewish community,” said Brooks.

###

 

The Jewish Case Against Barack Obama

The Jewish Case Against Barack Obama

Update:
Ben Shapiro who produced the videos referred to in the YouTube trailer above has written a guest post at HughHewitt.com.

My name is Ben Shapiro, and I’m a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate, as well as a Harvard Law-educated lawyer in Los Angeles. I’m also a huge fan of Hugh’s show and his website, so it was truly an honor and a pleasure when Hugh offered to have me put up a guest post on the site.

I’m an Orthodox Jew — my wife hails from Israel, where we were just married in July. So the issue of Israel is very near and dear to me, as it is to most other Jews. With Israel in mind, this is an enormous election season for American Jewry. It pits a consistently strong defender of Israel in John McCain against a man who is at best an enigma on the issue of Israel. At worst, Barack Obama is far more dangerous. His advisors are largely anti-Israel. His friends are consistently anti-Israel. His running mate, Joe Biden, says all of the right things but has a questionable record on the Jewish State. And the candidate himself is ambivalent on his defense of Israel — he reversed himself on a united Jerusalem over the course of 24 hours, and states that he will meet with Hitler-lite Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without preconditions.

And yet most American Jews are convinced that Obama is a less threatening version of Bill Clinton. They believe that Obama loves the State of Israel, will stand up for Israel’s interests, and only wants to see the Israelis come to a quick and just agreement with Palestinian Arabs that protects Israel’s long-term safety and security.

There is no evidence to that effect. In fact, all the evidence points in the opposite direction.

To the end of educating American Jews on Israel — as well as Israel’s non-Jewish American supporters — I’ve produced a three-part YouTube video entitled “The Jewish Case Against Barack Obama. The trailer for the video (1 minute, 40 seconds) can be found here. Part I, which introduces the subject and discusses Obama’s advisors, who have ranged from the virulently pro-Palestinian Samantha Power to the Carter-style anti-Israel advocate Zbigniew Brzezinski, can be found here. Part II discusses two of Obama’s friends: Reverend Wright, who associates with Louis Farrakhan and believes that America’s Israeli policy is responsible for 9/11; and Rashid Khalidi, a former spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization. Part II can be found here. Part III examines Joe Biden and Obama himself, and concludes that the Democratic nominee for president cannot be trusted with the future of Israel. Part III can be found here.

For fifty years, Jews have been gratefully voting for Harry Truman. Truman, unfortunately, is gone, and his party has largely become a respository of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiment. Jews cannot live in the past when it comes to 2008. They must make a choice between McCain and Obama. When it comes to Israel, the choice is clear.

 

ACORN Planted the Seeds of this Economic Disaster

ACORN Planted the Seeds of this Economic Disaster

In an article in The National Review, Stanley Kurtz explains how ACORN was, in large part, responsible for planting the seeds that led to the current economic disaster, and that Barack Obama played a roll in that.

‘You’ve got only a couple thousand bucks in the bank. Your job pays you dog-food wages. Your credit history has been bent, stapled, and mutilated. You declared bankruptcy in 1989. Don’t despair: You can still buy a house.” So began an April 1995 article in the Chicago Sun-Times that went on to direct prospective home-buyers fitting this profile to a group of far-left “community organizers” called ACORN, for assistance. In retrospect, of course, encouraging customers like this to buy homes seems little short of madness.

Militant ACORN
At the time, however, that 1995 Chicago newspaper article represented something of a triumph for Barack Obama. That same year, as a director at Chicago’s Woods Fund, Obama was successfully pushing for a major expansion of assistance to ACORN, and sending still more money ACORN’s way from his post as board chair of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Through both funding and personal-leadership training, Obama supported ACORN. And ACORN, far more than we’ve recognized up to now, had a major role in precipitating the subprime crisis.

A few more excerpts:

Far more than we’ve recognized, ACORN’s local, CRA-enabled pressure tactics served to entangle the financial system as a whole in the subprime mess. ACORN was no side-show. On the contrary, using CRA and ties to sympathetic congressional Democrats, ACORN succeeded in drawing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the very policies that led to the current disaster.

and

ACORN protesters will break into private offices, show up at a banker’s home to intimidate his family, or pour protesters into bank lobbies to scare away customers, all in an effort to force a lowering of credit standards for poor and minority customers. According to Swarts, long-term ACORN organizers “tend to see the organization as a solitary vanguard of principled leftists…the only truly radical community organization.”

The tactics of ACORN and its radical supporters are just now coming to the light of day, but this is a radical leftist organization that operates, if not outside the law, outside the norms of respectable behavior.

It is about time the activities of ACORN were fully investigated, along with its lobbyists and supporters in Washington. Barack Obama consistently says that he is not influenced by “special interests” and lobbyists, yet his campaign has given over $800,000 this year to ACORN and when he was in Chicago he represented this questionable organization.

Read the entire article.

Update: Read Stanley Kurtz’ article of last May, “Inside Obama’s Acorn” Much more information about ACORN and Obama.