h/t JO


http://www.freedomdies.com/2013/03/all-hail-hillary/

All Hail Hillary!

BY 

BEN CRYSTAL

 – 03/21/2013POSTED IN: LIBERTY DIGEST

According to The New York Times, it’s official: Former Secretary of State and presumptive 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has flip-flopped on support for same-sex marriage. In the annals of staged campaign events disguising a lack of principle, Clinton’s policy reversal is no President Barack Obama debt ceiling turnaround (it’s “unpatriotic”); but it’s certainly a hall-of-fame pandering effort. To be honest, I had no idea Clinton was ever against same-sex marriage. She clearly had no issues with a no-sex marriage. (Not that I can blame her for that; her husband was having enough for both of them.)

Let’s be honest with each other, kiddies. Clinton’s announcing she is now for something that most Americans already assumed she supported is about as Earth-shattering as Michelle Obama coming out publicly in favor of junk food and the taxpayers’ American Express card. Clinton’s statement didn’t — couldn’t — deliver her any wavering support. And it’s difficult to imagine all that many conservatives saying: “I was pretty mad about that whole Benghazi nightmare. And I remember what a Lady MacBeth she played as a first lady. But if she thinks Steve and Frank can tie the knot, I guess I’m good.”

There is no doubt that same-sex marriage is one of the more bitterly contested issues in the country. While it doesn’t rise to the level of the debate over the government-subsidized genocide of abortion, it’s difficult to imagine many issues on which Americans disagree more sharply. My own attitude is based on my own experience: I’ve been divorced. I’m as useful in marital politics as I would be in outer space. Nonetheless, if Hillary feels a need to goose her base three years before the green flag, she’s welcome to it.

But, in watching her weirdly fireside-style address, I couldn’t keep the following thoughts at bay:

• This is a campaign speech. Of all the issues pressing down on us as a Nation and a world, you’re yammering about same-sex marriage. Your former boss has shoveled so many IOU’s onto the national debt that it’s the size of a Martian volcano. Any thoughts, Madame Secretary?
• Your tenure as the Nation’s chief diplomat has coincided with everything from a nuclear-ambitious Iran to a nuclear-accomplished North Korea. The Mideast is tearing at the seams. How will you steer the ship of state off the foreign rocks upon which Barack Obama has foundered it?
• How about the resurgence of al-Qaida and the islamofascist terrorists who think Obama is about as scary as Winnie the Pooh?
• Europe’s economy is plunging faster than Ashley Judd’s neckline. Our own is staggering like a punch-drunk prizefighter. Will your Presidency be as filled with monetary hijinks?
• With apologies to Senator Howard Baker, what did you know about the events of Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya; and when did you know it? Your former boss’s Administration concocted no fewer than four different versions of the story, each radically different from the others. While the corporate media has covered up the cover-up and the liberal rank and file have swallowed each tale whole without complaint; you’re now running for President. How can we trust you, since we clearly can’t trust Obama?

There are other questions Clinton will need to answer — unless she plans tocontinue the Obama policy of obfuscation and outright dishonesty. As I mentioned in the wake of her staged policy reversal on same-sex marriage:

Whatever your opinion on the issue in question, have no doubt: Hillary Clinton’s… every move is dictated by raw ambition. For those who oppose it: This is just another example of the soullessness which has defined her career. For those who support it: She is no ally of yours. As always, she will reverse course again the moment she thinks it’s politically expedient to do so.

Reminds me of, well, pretty much every Democrat out there — although none of them can match Clinton’s look in a pantsuit.

–Ben Crystal

God Forbid

November 1, 2012 by Ben Crystal 

PHOTOS.COM

Mormonism doesn’t work for me. I just wanted to get that straight, right off the bat. I have serious doubts about the timeline of events proffered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I just can’t swallow the idea that the Son of Man rolled away the rock and then ascended into heaven, only to make a pit stop on the other side of the planet. It’s not that I doubt that Jesus could have dropped in on the loincloth-and-human-sacrifice set; but if He did, His lessons clearly didn’t take — until Hernán Cortés and his Spanish legions reinforced it at the end of a musket. I likewise find the details of golden plates and seer stones pretty dubious.

But here’s the really cool part: I don’t spend time thinking about LDS doctrine, nor do I have to. Mormons are welcome to believe whatever the heck they want; the last time I checked, that’s the American (not to mention Constitutional) way. And I would have guessed that the Democrats would move to the front of line to join me in dismissing attempts to criticize any candidate based on his religious beliefs. After all, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) shares the Mormon faith espoused by Governor Mitt Romney; and I have heard no howls of derision pouring forth from the left regarding Reid donning any “magic underwear,” promoting polygamy or otherwise planning to impose his faith on those of us who prefer the booze to contain actual alcohol.

To be completely honest, with Congressmen like Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a Muslim, keeping company with Islamofascist-linked hate groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations while the Democrats accuse his detractors of religious bigotry and intolerance, it ought to follow that the LDS church, which has no ties to suicide bombers or their financiers, is free of the fickle finger of fatuousness.

It ought to follow, but it doesn’t. As I perused media and social networking sites, I caught a recurring theme of liberals launching venom at Romney and his faith. From Daily Beast Brit and Obama cheerleader Andrew Sullivan’s statement that “Mitt Romney belonged to a white supremacist church for 31 years of his life” to “Doonesbury” (yes Virginia, it does still exist) cartoonist Garry Trudeau’s crude attacks in a series of comic strips, there was nary a shred of religious acceptance to be found.

That sort of mouth-breathing, ignorant hate represents the worst kind of mindless political assault. And it is hardly isolated. The same Democrats who find Ellison’s pals such fun at a party have no room in their hearts for a guy who thinks of Utah as the Promised Land. The same liberals who cheered the idea of a mosque within AK-47 range of Ground Zero can’t abide the idea of a teetotaler in the Oval Office. The same Obama backers who slander anyone who opposes Obama with the rhetorical brush of racism just can’t imagine a Mormonin the White House.

If the Democrats really do want Americans to look past those matters of faith that separate us, then perhaps Romney’s religion ought not be a sticking point in 2012. There is no shortage of reasons to object to Romney, and he’s eminently preferable to the abominable Obama. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints causes me no great consternation. It’s not as if the Mormon clergy espouse a doctrine of hatred, racism and “God damn America.” Now thatwould be wrong, wouldn’t it?

–Ben Crystal

http://personalliberty.com/2012/11/01/god-forbid/

What They Aren’t Telling You

September 20, 2012 by Ben Crystal 

UPI

Protesters burn tires during a protest march to the United States embassy in Sanaa in Yemen on Sept. 13.

As I have often said, if it were my job as a liberal flack to lay in traffic for President Barack Obama, I’d be feeling a bit run down at this point. After all, Obama’s series of epic failures on virtually every front is spreading his apologists thinner than their own excuses.

Witness the aftermath of the murder of Americans by Islamofascists in Libya and the rising tide of violence across the Muslim world. Following the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens and a number of Americans, the corporate media raced to the presses to inform us all that Mitt Romney had spoken out about the attacks — and Obama’s mishandling thereof — inappropriately. As soon as that tactic failed, the same liberals attempted to steer the ship of discourse toward the idea that the perpetrators of such nefarious overseas deeds were driven mad by a movie that makes “Ishtar” look like “Lawrence of Arabia.”

The violence abroad — in concert with rapidly declining American prestige — belies the Democrat/media narrative that Obama has ever demonstrated any more skill in the foreign arena than he clearly lacks on the domestic front.

Yet the desperate distractions continue. Even as the corporate media stagger from deserved criticism for their deliberate attempts to recast the Libyan atrocities (aided, as they were, by Obama policies that left Stevens and his fellow victims virtually defenseless), they have spun back for their masters in the Obama Administration.

As the week began, a recording of Romney surfaced through the leftward slums of the media village. Leaked by the grandson of the previous worst President and eternal national embarrassment Jimmy Carter, the tape supposedly reveals Romney writing off campaigning for the votes of 47 percent of the populace — a group he refers to as “dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”

Although Romney’s remarks are entirely accurate, the Democrats and their media flacks — who saw nothing worth criticizing in Obama infamous God and guns smear — have deployed denigration of Romney’s statement as yet another deflection from the chaos that has consumed the Mideast.

Romney thinks too many Americans have sold their souls to the empty promises of unquantifiable “hope and change.” Romney knows that striving for the votes of people who are still backing Obama amid the veritable misery he has inflicted on not only our Nation but members of his own Administration is a waste of resources.

Even now, Obama and Romney are racing neck and neck for the White House. Neither seems to be able to claw his way past the 50 percent mark. It would appear that somewhere between 5 and 10 percent of the actual electorate remains undecided. Romney can either devote resources targeting the 47 percent who are sticking with Obama through record unemployment, record national debt, Operation Fast and Furious, “quantitative easing” and the train wreck of a foreign policy Obama has conducted; or he can acknowledge the 47-percenters exist, target instead those who are receptive to his campaigning and play to win.

Meanwhile, as the corporate media dutifully focus on Romney’s accurate assessment of the core of Obama’s support, they’re revealing their true partisan bias. In a recent Obama presser, not one reporter asked about Stevens and his fellow martyrs. No one queried about Obama’s decision to leave them exposed. No one even asked about the rising anti-American violence in the Mideast. One reporter did ask whether Obama was privy to updates from Afghanistan (which is taking a similar turn for the worse); and another asked about the President’s golf game. No one even approached the as yet barely reported story that Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius brazenly violated the Hatch Act. That would normally result in termination, but apparently earns the violator applause in an Administration so bereft of respect for the law that the Attorney General has been found in both criminal and civil contempt of Congress — another disgrace that should have earned the violator a stretch in the pokey. The corporate media even got caught coordinating their questions for Romney.

However, while the Democrats try to keep us focused on what Romney’s saying, I can’t help but notice what Obama and his media minions aren’t saying.

–Ben Crystal

http://personalliberty.com/2012/09/20/what-they-arent-telling-you/

The Scorpions Of Stupidity

September 13, 2012 by Ben Crystal 

PHOTOS.COM

Most of us have encountered a version of the fable “The Scorpion and the Frog”somewhere along the winding path. The moral of the tale is patently obvious: another version of “a leopard can’t change its spots.” I’m not sure if the saga of the frog and the scorpion — or even the law of the leopard — still makes the curriculum in our union-controlled government schools. They may not have room in between the happy tales of Heather’s gender-nonspecific parentage or proper condom application techniques for 9-year-olds. But there’s no excuse for the oh-so-majestically educated Democratic Party leadership to have missed the cautionary tale.

Perhaps it was replaced in liberal school by the collected works of Saul Alinsky or one of those hysterical Howard Zinn tomes that weighs more than it’s worth. Nevertheless, President Barack Obama and his accomplices (including Rahm Emanuel, his former Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Ostensibly Undead and current Mayor of Chicago) are desperately treading water following another lash from the dreaded arachnid of American politics: Big Labor.

Earlier this week, the government schoolteachers of Obama’s hometown of Chicago walked off the job in a salary dispute less than a month into the new school year. As the dust cleared from a disastrous Democratic National Convention, the Democrats’ big bullying buddies in the City of Broad Shoulders arrived at the conclusion that commanding the highest salary in the Nation ($76,000 per year before benefits) didn’t earn a passing grade. And they followed up by rejecting an offer that would have added 16-percent raises as a part of a package that would have given the Chicago Teachers’ Union members $4 million in compensation.

The Obama Administration gave General Motors to the union thugs (a racket that has cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars so far), including the expensive deathtrap Chevy Volts. The Obama Administration attacked Boeing over an attempt to bring jobs to a factory in the non-union-thug State of South Carolina. The Obama Adminstration’s ties to Big Labor villains like AFL-CIO threat-maker Richard Trumka are as deeply rooted as its ties to ultra-leftist figures like terrorist Bill Ayers and racist Al Sharpton. The Service Employees International Union thugs have served as violent muscle for Obama against opponents of Obamacare and supporters of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Yet, while the cries of a supposed “Republican war on women” fade into the rather prodigious shadows of Bill Clinton speeches and Ted Kennedy memorials, the aforementioned Big Labor thugs have chosen this moment — scant months from what’s shaping up to be a down-to-the-wire election — to declare a liberal war on children. The Chicago teachers’ union strike has turned nearly half a million children out into the Windy City’s meanest streets. At a time when Obama’s adopted hometown is sinking into a crime-ridden cesspool, the kids who can least afford another setback have been deliberately set back by the same liberal storm troopers who claim to have their best interests at heart.

Granted, the teachers’ union effect on government schools is demonstrably bad; witness the abysmal performance by teachers’ union victims when measured against kids from virtually anywhere else on the planet. Perhaps the Chicago strike is not about the greed, graft and grease that usually motivate union thugs. Perhaps the teachers finally recognized that theyare the biggest obstacle to teaching American kids even rudimentary academic skills and did the only thing they could to alleviate the problem. Perhaps this disgrace will even motivate educrats to stop their incessant and incessantly stupid attacks on school choice, charter schools and home schooling. And perhaps someone will follow President Ronald Reagan’s flawless example by firing the whole sorry lot of them. And perhaps the teachers’ unions will abandon their war on children and return to educating the tykes instead.

Then again, consider the average Democrat/union thug. They boo God. They threaten — and often enact — violence against anyone who disagrees with their leaders. They even watch MSNBC on purpose. Perhaps this is as good as it gets. Sorry, children of Chicago. It looks like you get the stinger while we carry the scorpion.

–Ben Crystal

http://personalliberty.com/2012/09/13/the-scorpions-of-stupidity/

Bubba’s Revenge

September 11, 2012 by Ben Crystal 

UPI

Former President Bill Clinton gave the keynote address on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

First, the Republicans put on their show. As much as many of us might wish that the GOP convention delivered the sort of thrills normally reserved for Chris Matthews’ lower extremities, it was a fairly standard affair. Indeed, the lone truly exciting moment was Clint Eastwood’s delivery of a speech directed partially at an empty chair that was far more interesting than the man in whose stead it stood.

Then last week, the Democrats hit the stage in Charlotte, N.C., with a much smaller, weirder and somewhat less predictable party. My favorite part of their freak show has to be former Michigan Governor and current media minor league commentator Jennifer Granholm shrieking at an audience about one-fourth of its expected size about — well — something. I must admit, beyond pretending Barack Obama’s fiscally disastrous handover of General Motors Co. to the union thugs isn’t an 11-figure (and counting) disaster, I’m not sure what put wrinkles in Granholm’s pantsuit. But give her credit: She sports some pair of lungs.

Later on, Obama closed the program with a number that should have been a showstopper but fell flatter than a high-school production of a Broadway musical. Following former President and eternal national disgrace Bill Clinton’s predictable-but-personable attack on the Republicans, Obama gave what might have been the most boring recitation of left-wing talking points since the invention of the teleprompter. I almost felt bad for Obama. He’s never been the most electrifying orator, but following Bubba was miles beyond his meager talent. And the blogosphere — from Facebook to Twitter and all points in between — responded with liberal lamentations over the fact that Clinton can’t run for President again.

As I pondered the Democrats’ miscalculation in allowing Clinton to take center stage in the midst of a convention that spiraled out of control before it even began, it suddenly hit me: Former President Clinton wasn’t warming up the crowd for Obama; he was warming up the crowd for future President Clinton. Most of the Democrats have yet to realize it, but Clinton’s lone bright spot during a gathering marred by rhetoric, hate and outright lies (which might as well have been recorded earlier in front of a live Moveon.org audience) was no warm-up for the re-coronation of Obama. It was the opening salvo for Hillary 2016.

Think about it. The other noteworthy moments at DNC 2012 included: bad speeches, poor attendance, a monotonous focus on liberal hatred of Republicans in general and even a charming moment in which the majority of the national leadership of the Democratic Partyactually booed the Almighty. And in the middle of it all, the Secretary of State stayed 10,000 miles away from the maelstrom while her husband reminded everyone that, stripped of his unearned personality cult, Obama is almost as inspiring as 1988 Presidential loser Michael Dukakis. Dukakis gets the edge because he looks better in a helmet.

Following the Democratic convention, Obama picked up in the polls somewhere between an abysmal 1 and meager 4 points on challenger Mitt Romney. And that includes the polls that are currently being targeted by David Axelrod and Attorney General Eric Holder’s storm troopers for daring to suggest Obama is headed “Forward.” off a cliff. What’s worse, Obama’s post-convention bump — likely his best moment until November — didn’t make it back to the magic 50 percent mark. And his personal approval is headed south toward the dreaded 40^thpercentile. Meanwhile, he’s saddled with a running mate who makes Al Gore look like John Adams. And Bill Clinton — whose personal approval ratings among the Democrat faithful hover somewhere between love and outright idolatry — stole his thunder and handed it to the Lady Macbeth of Little Rock, Ark.-Chicago-Chappaqua, N.Y.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich noted Bubba’s speech to the faithful was “eerily anti-Obama.” He elaborated: “You have a real president and then you have this guy who’s a pretender.” While I might take issue with Gingrich’s implicit endorsement of Clinton, I can’t argue with his characterization of Obama. The problem is: neither can the Democrats.

–Ben Crystal

Ben Crystal is a 1993 graduate of Davidson College and has burned the better part of the last two decades getting over the damage done by modern-day higher education. He now lives in Savannah, Ga., where he has hosted an award-winning radio talk show and been featured as a political analyst for television. Currently a principal at Saltymoss Productions—a media company specializing in concept television and campaign production, speechwriting and media strategy—Ben has written numerous articles on the subjects of municipal authoritarianism, the economic fallacy of sin taxes and analyses of congressional abuses of power.

http://personalliberty.com/2012/09/11/bubbas-revenge/?eiid=

The Freaks Come Out In Charlotte

September 6, 2012 by Ben Crystal 

UPI

A delegate applauds during the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

For a few moments, I thought I was watching a casting call for a Federico Fellini film. After all, who in his right mind could possibly think that putting hundreds of mentally unbalanced people in a room with hundreds of violent, racist and just plain stupid people would ever be a good idea? Indeed, the soft-underbelly types who are normally relegated to episodes of “The Maury Povich Show” are like members of the classics department at Cambridge University in comparison to the tinfoil-hat brigadiers marching across the screen.

Alas, what I was seeing was far more disturbing than any reality TV show episode could ever hope to be. And yet, it was far more real. The quadrennial Democratic National Convention is in full swing in Charlotte, N.C. Even the so-called “Occupy” vermin have escaped their parents’ basements, packed up their bongs and their brass knuckles, and headed for the heart of the Tar Heel State.

As I’m writing this, they’ve put their opening night in the books; but the carnival has only just started. Here’s a bright spot: Eva Longoria, who was previously important as a cast member on “Desperate Housewives,” is serving as one of Barack Obama’s campaign co-chairs. She isn’t particularly bright, but she’s cute enough to wipe that image of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz out of your mind. Unfortunately, she’s the only eye candy among the usual collection of crooks, criminals and liars who make up the rest of the Democratic elite who will pound the rostrum in Charlotte.

Among them (presented in no particular order, because they all pretty much share a brain anyway):

Richard Trumka, Mary Kay Henry and Bob King: The top thugs at the violent Democratic “labor unions” — respectively, the AFL-CIO; the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); and International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). They will presumably offer tips on beating the crap out of non-liberals without leaving noticeable marks. King will present fire safety tips for those poor rental car companies who are stuck with Chevy Volts.

Former President Jimmy Carter: The Bumpkin from Plains will appear via video address. I assume there will be too many Jews in the room for the famously anti-Semitic Carter. It’s also possible that he was barred from physical attendance for fear that older voters might focus on the remarkable similarities between Carter and Barry, his successor as “Worst President Ever.”

A goodly portion of the Congressional Black Caucus: Congressman John Lewis of Georgia will represent the Peach State. I trust there won’t be any “phantom spittle” incidents.

Massachusetts Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren: That’s right, “Faux-cahontas” herself. I don’t give a damn about this eggheaded cretin. I just like how “Faux-cahontas” looks when I type it. I also like “Lie-awatha,” but it’s not getting as much traction. But, hey, check out her rockin’ cheekbones!

Former Republican Governor of Florida Charlie Crist: He’s actually listed that way on the speakers list. Because nothing says “Beat the Republicans!” like a scrub who got cut from the GOP roster.

The heads of national abortion-pushers NARAL and Planned Parenthood: The bad news is they’ll be pushing the Democratic plan to force taxpayers to fund abortions. The good news is, if they’re in North Carolina, then babies elsewhere are a little safer.

Fake Congressional witness and all-around party girl Sandra Fluke: She will once again beg for governmental assistance in covering her condom and abortion costs. If you think about who she is, then paying her not to have kids isn’t really a terrible idea.

Apparently, a couple of first siblings have been tracked down and booked for appearances. One of them is not Obama’s half-brother. I guess a free trip to Charlotte isn’t worth leaving the relative safety of a hut in a Third World hellhole.

Of course, Obama himself will speak. He is the “reason for the season.” His speech will no doubt be the usual rehashing of the tired finger-pointing, excuse-making and general dishonesty that have pretty much defined his term. There’s always the possibility that the teleprompter will malfunction — in which case, hilarity will ensue almost immediately. It would be a welcome respite from the sort of creepy fascism they’re peddling to the minions. One promotional YouTube video even notes “the government is the only thing we all belong to.”

It’s worth noting that all attendees are required to show photo IDs to get in — a terrible crime against those poor illegal aliens who otherwise might have caught a glimpse of their heroic enabler. I’m sure the Democrats will make it up to them with free van rides to the polls in November.

–Ben Crystal

http://personalliberty.com/2012/09/06/the-freaks-come-out-in-charlotte/?eiid=

The Mayor Of Token-Town - Antonio Villaraigosa

August 30, 2012 by Ben Crystal 

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa isn’t a particularly noteworthy fellow in his own right. Despite serving as the mayor of the Nation’s second-largest city, Villaraigosa is a virtual unknown outside Democratic Party flacks and pro-illegal alien hate groups. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Democrats deployed him to take an ugly race-baiting poke at the Republicans during the latter party’s convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday.

“You can’t just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate,” Villaraigosa said.

Actually, Villaraigosa’s words are entirely accurate. Unfortunately, his intent is less so. While it ought to be true that race isn’t a factor in politics, the Democrats have turned it into the single most defining issue of the American political climate. Of course, if I had their track record on jobs, immigration or basic economics, I’d be talking about anything else, as well. If I had to run on the Democrats’ recent performance, I’d campaign on forcing the NCAA to further revamp the BCS.

The real irony — which is typically lost on the left — lies with Villaraigosa himself. Liberals love to accuse conservatives of racism. Indeed, since President Barack Obama began his occupation of the Oval Office, they’ve swatted at their enemies with that rhetorical rapier in response to any criticism of their beloved Barry. So why fly a mid-level party functionary all the way across the country just to repeat the same old slander? Why not simply let their corporate media sycophants handle it? Surely, David Gregory or Anderson Cooper could fill the bill, and even Cooper’s Q rating is higher than Villaraigosa’s. To borrow Villaraigosa’s own logic, you can’t just trot out a brown face or Spanish surname and expect people are going to take you seriously. Yet that’s precisely the reason the event was staged. In suggesting Hispanic Republicans are merely hood ornaments, the liberals brought a Hispanic Democrat 3,000 miles and used him like a hood ornament.

During the course of the same press conference, Villaraigosa expanded on his party’s point: “People are going to vote just like Anglos do, just like African-Americans do, and virtually every demographic group.”

Republican speakers at the Republican National Convention include: Mayor Mia Love of Saratoga Springs, Utah, who is black; Senatorial candidate Ted Cruz of Texas, who is part Cuban; and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, who is of Mexican descent. As much as it pains the Democrats, Artur Davis (a black former Democratic Congressman who recently became a Republican) is on the roster, as well. But they’re part of a much larger group of speakers who will address the convention; and they’ll be treated with the same deference as the rest. Indeed, it’s likely that the light pink-hued Representative Ron Paul of Texas will be the most controversial guy in the room. Much like the upcoming Democratic National Convention, most of the speakers, most of the attendees and most of the politicians will be white.

In specifically pointing out the racial backgrounds of certain Republicans, Villaraigosa was specifically refuting his party’s entire strategy. He also painted his own party as very specifically presuming that members of minority groups will vote only as a racial bloc, meaning he made two contradictory arguments in the same breath — both concluding with Villaraigosa and the Democrats being bigots.

There’s no reason to think the Democrats will ease up on their “Republicans are racist” rhetoric. Their rank and file are well-trained and lack the introspection necessary to recognize the essential hypocrisy at the center of their leaders’ behavior. To be honest, I almost feel pity for Villaraigosa. He has allowed himself to be deployed as a shiny ethnic decoration for a party consumed by hatred. In an effort to downplay conservative minority voting, the Democrats turned a liberal minority voter into a hood ornament, a token, a “a brown face or a Spanish surname.”

–Ben Crystal

http://personalliberty.com/2012/08/30/the-mayor-of-token-town/?eiid=

The Sad Story of Senator Slander

August 7, 2012 by Ben Crystal 

UPI FILE

Last Tuesday, Reid took an unsubstantiated shot at Mitt Romney.

There are moments—albeit fleeting—during which I find myself feeling almost badly for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. After all, Reid has risen near the pinnacle of Democratic Party politics.

He is, given President Barack Obama’s disastrous reign and House Minority Leader Pelosi’s 2010 implosion, likely the most powerful Democrat in Washington. And yet, we only hear from or about him when he does something uncommonly stupid. Most Americans probably think he’s that crabby old guy who carries Nancy Pelosi’s purse around. It’s no stretch to imagine him sitting in a rocking chair on the steps of the Capitol shouting at passersby to get off his lawn.

However, my sympathies for the Sage of the Silver State are short lived. I don’t despise Reid because of his supercilious simpering. Nor do I abhor him because he whines incessantly about the supposed evils of his political enemies—all the while maintaining a privileged existence based on corruption appalling even by the depressingly low standards of Washington, D.C.

Reid has been linked to disgraced fundraiser Jack Abramoff, participated in nepotism-related scandals which are frowned upon everywhere west of the Kennedy compound, and even pushed for a taxpayer-funded “green” high-speed rail system which would directly financially benefit his cronies and him while providing a “vital” rail link between Las Vegas and that heart of West Coast travel and tourism: Victorville, Calif.

I expect nothing better from Reid. I expect nothing better from virtually every one of the jacklegs and circus barkers who infest the halls of national power. But I would rather appreciate it if Reid stuck to the liberal trifecta: greed, graft and hypocrisy. Instead, Reid has once again stuck his glowering mug into the main event; attacking the tone of the national discourse like a cinematic axe-murderer at a camp for wayward teenagers in small clothing.

Last Tuesday, Reid—no stranger to scandals himself—took an unsubstantiated shot at presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney: “He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years!”Clearly, this represents a continuation of the Obama campaign strategy of demanding a gander at Romney’s tax returns. However, Reid failed to pull the proverbial handbrake in time; stepping past peeking at tax returns and rolling right into falsely accusing Romney of a felony.

Despite touching off a firestorm of deserved criticism from parties as disparate as John Stewart and yours truly, Reid doubled down on his errant tack, repeating the baseless charges on the Senate floor; thereby taking somewhat more run-of-the-mill slander and reading it into the Congressional Record. Reid has defended his defamation by claiming that“The burden should be on (Romney). He’s the one I’ve alleged has not paid any taxes.” As the new gag which will likely define Reid’s career goes: the burden should be on Harry Reid. He’s the one I’ve alleged rode shotgun for the Manson Family.

I have no idea what Mitt Romney’s tax returns look like. I feel confident that they look nothing like mine. He’s an enormously wealthy man with an established record of wise business decisions. Given Reid’s own extraordinary wealth, I suspect his own tax returns also feature some rather impressive arithmetic. And we know that Obama’s tax returns have grown in size in the last few years—he’s now worth an estimated $12 million; despite never holding down a private sector job.

An impressively self-important, hyper-liberal white guy slandered an impressively self-important, somewhat-liberal white guy on behalf of an impressively self-important, hyper-liberal somewhat-white guy. Two of the three are living examples of how shallow the political pool has become of late. The third is a moderate Republican; which makes him just another mealy-mouthed, fence-sitting electoral opportunist. Unfortunately, in the current environment, that also makes him a veritable Winston Churchill when compared to the former pair.

It’s indeed a sad saga which concludes with Americans considering which candidate is the least stomach-churningly awful. I suppose Reid deserves some credit for making the choice easier for a great many people; albeit not in the direction he probably hoped. I’m still not sold on Romney. But I am certain that I want nothing to do with Harry Reid, Barack Obama and the rest of the twisted cabal which has turned the Democratic Party into a rogue’s gallery right out of a b-grade mafia film. Actually, I heard Harry Reid really was in the mafia. The burden is on him to disprove it.

–Ben Crystal

http://personalliberty.com/2012/08/07/the-sad-story-of-senator-slander/?eiid=

Whycome this guy say naughty words to El Presidente?

Small Business, Big Words

August 2, 2012 by Ben Crystal 

SPECIAL

Gaster Lumber and Hardware has often thrived and always survived in Savannah, Ga., through the efforts of its owner, Ray Gaster.

The sign hanging below the roadside marquee in front of Gaster Lumber and Hardware reads: “I built this business without gov’t help. Obama can kiss my ass.”

Gaster Lumber and Hardware has often thrived and always survived in Savannah, Ga., through the efforts of its owner, Ray Gaster. Gaster is a bit of a political player in the area, and his influence is considerable. But his success as a small-business owner is due entirely to a combination of dogged determination and excellent service. Lest you think I have turned this space into an advertisement for Gaster’s business, let me assure you that I’ve never been to the place. I don’t even know Gaster, although I do know his son well enough to say hello in passing. And on the rare occasions I find myself in need of some hardware-related item, I have to admit I tend to drive to Home Depot. But such a strongly worded message deserves examination, if not celebration.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised to read his rather — ahem — blunt response to President Barack Obama’s now-infamous Roanoke, Va., revelation. After all, I hardly expected to see a well-respected and long-established member of the local power structure of the fairly sleepy Southern city of Savannah step out to such a loud drum. To paraphrase Miss Manners: That sort of thing just isn’t done.

But stress can do funny things to a man’s thought processes. And stress unnecessarily created by a profligate, self-important elitist who declares your decades of tough labor and love in building a successful small business an exercise in futility can do doubly so.

I suppose I can’t really blame Gaster for his own declaration of business independence. While I suppose his wording lacks a certain poetry, it’s hardly fair to expect him to pen a sonnet under the circumstances. Gaster sells construction supplies to contractors. His clientele primarily consists of people who spend their days working jobs that guarantee that by the time they get home, they’re dirty, sweaty and tired. These are people who work hard, day in and day out. They aren’t looking for Shakespeare, and Gaster doesn’t offer it. My guess is the overwhelming majority of the people who spend money in Gaster’s store nodded their assent to his sentiment — probably with a fair smattering of adjectives which actually made his sign seem like a love note by comparison.

Democrats tend to go into hysterics when they see remarks like Gaster’s — especially when the remarks are so public. It’s no Olympian leap of logic to think that Gaster risked losing their business with his sign. It’s absolutely worth noting that he was so outraged by Obama’s slap in the face that he was willing to risk their business in order to take a stand. Some of the more prominent local liberals took offense at Gaster’s pronouncement. One, a local Democratic Party official, even complained about what he called the “vulgarity” to which Gaster had unwittingly exposed the Democrat’s daughter. I suspect his moral indignation gets lost in the laundry when far more prominent Democrats make far more vulgar remarks about far less deserving subjects. I wonder if he purchased one of those charmingly G-rated “BFD” T-shirtsthe Obama campaign offers (for a nominal fee, of course). One local union thug and “organizer” for Al Sharpton’s racist hate group has predictably demanded a boycott of Gaster’s business; here’s hoping the boycott doesn’t involve Sharpton smearing feces on a teenage girl — again.

This, then, is the real Obama economic legacy: Real unemployment in the double digits; Brobdingnagian bailouts for favored Obama cronies in the billions of dollars; a national debt that looms nearby like the villain from a slasher movie — just out of sight, but ominously close; a Nation as divided by the liberal politics of class envy and finger-pointing as it has been in nearly a century and a half; and a successful small-business owner reacting to an shockingly elitist statement by the President and taking a very public stand, despite the rhetorical storm his stand virtually guarantees.

I might have phrased it differently, but I can’t argue with Gaster’s sentiment. Mr. President, you can kiss my butt as well.

–Ben Crystal

http://personalliberty.com/2012/08/02/small-business-big-words/?eiid=