That Obama surprise trip to Iraq and his meeting with the troops sure was a humdinger now, wadn’t it? All those cheerin’ and camera flashin’ troops that according to the Chosen One on the campaign trail were preoccupied with “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians” — what to make of it all? Well, in this Hot Air post from Jim Treacher, those were hand-picked troops that had all voted for his Oneness. Gee, that’s some real, heart felt emotion — Oh ya betcha!

How do you make sure a crowd likes you? Screen out anybody who didn’t vote for you. Even if they’re serving their country under your watch.

He quotes Macsmind on the Iraq visit:

. . . Nevertheless, about that “surprise visit”.

It wasn’t. The visit was communicated a full 24 hours in advance and a small contingent of soldiers – not screaming hoards – were rustled into a meeting place at Camp Victory.

Got this email from a sergeant that was there.

“We were pre-screened, asked by officials “Who voted for Obama?”, and then those who raised their hands were shuffled to the front of the receiving line. They even handed out digital cameras and asked them to hold them up.”

Take a look at the picture at AP and notice all the cameras are the same models? Coincidence? I think not.

Over at Red State they put it like this:

Isn’t it just a pain in the neck when there’s an alternative media that prevents strict message control by a staged-photo-op of an administration and its willing mouthpieces in the MSM?

President Obama stands awkwardly in front of hand-selected US troopsIt’s painless for us, of course; rather, that pain is being felt in the necks of those who want to insist that a bow to a Saudi king isn’t a bow, that an omnibus spending bill with 9,000 earmarks is the beginning of earmark and fiscal reform, that indecisively waiting four days while an American ship’s Captain is held hostage on a rubber raft by four Somali pirates (before being bailed out by swift action by the hostage and a SEAL team) is bold, new leadership — and that a staged event with Obama voters only and a bunch of cameras handed out as props is a real sign of soldiers’ devotion to the new, inexperienced, non-military-friendly Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces.

And at Flopping Aces they contrast the press’ reaction to previous Bush visits and this one by Prez B.H.O.

It dominated the headlines and the television news-analysis for days, and the fabricated scandal was utterly dishonest. The so-called “staging” involved no manipulation whatsoever. A group of soldiers who were scheduled for a televised chat with President Bush were “caught on tape” discussing ahead of time who would answer questions on what subjects. There was NO discussion of WHAT should be said.

Now there is evidence that Obama perpetrated an actual fraud right under the watching eyes of the press, handpicking Obama voters to represent on television the views of our soldiers, and the press reports nothing but the fraudulent story.

The MSM has been carrying Obama’s water since the beginning, looks like nothing’s gonna change on that front. Fake. But. Accurate — no wonder the newspapers are going down in flames!

An unclassified DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis report titled: Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment surfaced yesterday and Michelle Malkin spent the day tracking down whether this barely disguised attack on conservatives by the Obama administration was real — YUP! Or better make that, YIKES!

. . . the piece of crap report issued on April 7 is a sweeping indictment of conservatives. And the intent is clear. As the two spokespeople I talked with on the phone today made clear: They both pinpointed the recent “economic downturn” and the “general state of the economy” for stoking “rightwing extremism.” . . .

In Obama land, there are no coincidences. It is no coincidence that this report echoes Tea Party-bashing left-wing blogs (check this one out comparing the Tea Party movement to the Weather Underground!) and demonizes the very Americans who will be protesting in the thousands on Wednesday for the nationwide Tax Day Tea Party.

I haven’t covered the Tea Parties much so far as the one in Santa Monica will be on July 4th, [Update: Guess we are having on at the pier tomorrow -- Code Pink is planning to have some of their nutters there as an anti-tea effort] and since we are eyeballs deep in tax preparation here [Darn it - No Tea For ME!!!]– the wife’s a tax accountant with her own agency — it’s all tax, all the time. However, as a state’s rights advocate and very much an anti-almost-everything the Obama administration stands for and is doing to US, the ol’ Okie is probably lined up in the All-About-The-O cross hairs. As Michelle points out from page 8 of the DHS report:

(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A will be working with its state and local partners over the next several months to ascertain with greater regional specificity the rise in rightwing extremist activity in the United States, with a particular emphasis on the political, economic, and social factors that drive rightwing extremist radicalization.

Oh yeah baby — if you don’t agree with the Chosen One and his minions lock, stock and barrel — you be a rightwing extremist!

[Update] The American Legion responds to the attacks on it in the DNS report.

[More update] President Obama’s 10 Most Wanted Rightwing Extremists

Heh!

[Even more update]

Laer at Cheat Seeking Missiles has read the report and is answering the criticism of its detractors.

Beyond that, my biggest gripe with the report is one I haven’t heard others make: In at least two places, it cites a “prominent civil rights organization” as a source of information on “rightwing extremists,” and another cite names “nongovernmental organizations.” The report doesn’t name the organizations or supply any confirming documentation of their claims by HSA or the FBI. Could you imagine what would have happened if the Bush admin had issued a report warning of leftwing activism citing unnamed gun rights groups? Wailing! These cites could well be the fingerprints of the author – a left-wing hate-spewer formerly employed by this prominent civil rights organization now appointed to HSA by Obama.

The report is dangerous because it takes behavior typical of conservatives and recasts it as radical and rightwing extremism.

{…}

So, let’s see if I have this right. Because Obama is black, if we oppose his policies, we are doing so because it was an “historic” election? It would seem so, since the examples that follow can also be painted as racist. We are not concerned about our borders because we want the laws of the land to be enforced, it is just more of the same racism that has us upset about Obama’s election. We don’t want government freebies extented to illegals because (1) the economy is in the tank and (2) it’s, you know, illegal, but again, the report says such motivations are racial, not political, in nature. And how the Second Amendment gets thrown in as a race issue is utterly beyond comprehension.

{…}

So, it’s obvious that the lack of the word “conservative” in this report was nothing more than evidence of artful editing. It makes such vast assumptions and paints so many people and beliefs with the “radical, extremist rightwing” brush that it is unavoidable to feel oneself painted when reading it.

Way to go, Laer!

Technorati Tags: DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis report, Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment, DHS, rightwing extremist

From the UK Telegraph comes an article straight from the horse’s First Puppy’s mouth:

And what’s with this name “Bo”? It’s been put about that I’ve been named after a cat owned by Malia and Sasha’s cousin. That would be bad enough but I’m reliably informed that my new owner is Barack Obama – “the One”. Check out those initials – B.O. Geddit? Bo. It’s always about him.

Could have been worse, I suppose. These past few days I’ve been hanging out with three other Porties, names of Sunny, Splash and Cappy, owned by a big fat Irishman called Senator Ted Kennedy. I mean – Splash? I may be a dog but I know my history. Poor canine can’t go for a walk without hearing a joke about Chappaquiddick.

Ya gotta read it all — Heh!

A blessed Easter to you and yours . . .

An uplifting Easter gift from Gerard Van Der Leun. [H/t: The Anchoress]

It’s the day before Easter Sunday and out here in the Land o’ Okie we’re eyeballs’ deep in tax preparation for the wife’s clients and will have to have the office open tomorrow. “Why can’t Easter come after the 15th?” is the lament. Meanwhile, others in the Blogosphere are beavering away. From The Anchoress are some thoughts on Holy Saturday:

A quiet day of sorrow; Christ has left us and descended into the netherworld. We remember this, and go about our preparations for tomorrow with hollow hearts.

Pirates take another vessel: I am trying to eschew politics, but as we pray today, let us offer – along with prayers for others, prayers for our nation, and for our president who seems to be channeling Jimmy Carter’s years. Last seen bowing to the Saudi King and flying a personal pizza chef into Washington to cook for him, is flailing and seems out of his depth and clueless while Somali pirates laugh at our country and basically kidnap with impunity. Hostages everywhere…Can’t Obama just finish his pizza, Pirates? He can only do one thing at a time!

{…}

Pray. Our president needs help. So do the hostages. And so does our nation.

Does he ever!

On another Obama note, Laer Pierce lights up the Big Red Flag over the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, a little ditty that if proposed by BushCo would have had the Lefties spinning on their heads like turbo-charged dreidels! (That last line was for my Passover friends — Wishing for you a meaningful Passover.)

Imagine, for just a moment, that the Bush/Rove Constitution Shredding Brigade had proposed to give the president the right to monitor without warrant all private communications, emails, bank records and medical records on the internet … and even to shut it down, if he deemed it to be a threat to America’s security.

Do you suppose the Left might have become just a bit unhinged? A teeny, tiny bit?

So, are we hearing a ‘Great Outcry’ over usurping of rights and potential abuse by the Obama administration from the Left? “Chirp — chirp — chirp”

Laer also has a great post on the Global Consciousness Project.

Yeah, OK, it’s the institute for aging New Agers, but how do those random number generators all go about spiking at the same time? And how do you explain that the 9/11 spike started gathering steam five hours before the planes hit the buildings … wouldn’t that be about the time the terrorists were in their morning prayers and preparations?

There — that outta get ya to go and read it.

Now, take a few deep breaths — let you mind relax — get quiet and prayerful and ready for tomorrow . . .

From The Daily Galaxy:

Australian astronomers have been studying an intergalactic assassin poised to wipe out life on Earth. Maybe. Observations indicate that cosmological curiosity WR104 may be a killer – and we might be the victim.

{…}

The combination of science and philosophy is a challenging field that many don’t bother with, but this is a strong motivation to start. If you could die tomorrow, how would you like to live today?

Gulp!

On the other hand . . . any one of us could die tomorrow, or for that matter, even today. So the real question is:

How WILL you live today?

Technorati Tags: WR104