ArtLindsey.com

Two uninvited guests inexplicably “crashed” President Barack Obama’s first state dinner on Wednesday night, and the incident has left many scratching their heads as to how this could have happened.

The couple, Michaela and Tareq Salahi, who are reportedly auditioning for a Washington D.C. based reality show were able to gain access to the party when protocol was not maintained at the Secret service checkpoint.

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At this point, it is easy to imagine the sheer volume of comedy this will produce for late night television hosts, and conservative pundits such as this one. The “we were a second away from Joe Biden being the leader of the free world” jokes are too numerous to even fathom. And yes, the First family’s penchant for partying is well documented. We can go on and on about the stream of protocol blunders ranging from DVD’s and iPods, to bowing indiscriminately and buzzing New York City in Air Force One. While those incidents are certainly perceived as bad by a good portion of the public, in most cases the most damage that is done is that the president and his country gets a bit of a red face, and somebody gets fired because of said incident’s possible impact on future electoral maps.

This, however, is much more serious than any of that.

No matter which side of the political ideological spectrum we fall on, the President of the United States is in fact the most powerful man in the world. Whomever holds that office, whether you had a stake in electing the person or not, and political policies notwithstanding, the president should be protected at all costs.

It goes without saying that the Salahi’s should be brought up on federal charges, and the Secret Service agents responsible for this “mishap” should be immediately investigated and fired.

These are serious times we live in. We are engaged in two wars which we must win, while we are also trying to somehow prevent a madman from wiping a tiny nation known as Israel from the face of the earth. These things are no laughing matter. Western civilization itself could hang in the balance.

Every day, there is at least one story in the news that will make any engaged American question their safety, yet our government and its supposedly unlimited resources fell flat on its face when it came to ensuring the safety of the one man who I many ways holds the keys to ours.

One couldn’t even classify this as unacceptable. This is downright frightening. It’s one thing to have to endure lapses in judgment that occasionally make the Obama administration look like its perpetually getting “pantsed” on the playground, but what if a future lapse in judgment, (by whichever department commits it) ends in something much more tragic and leaves a lasting scar on the American psyche?

Apparently, nobody’s thinking about that. Somebody should.

Popularity: 18% [?]

So, here we are on the verge of a national health care system. It’s the subject that has dominated the news cycle and been at the heart of nearly every political debate in America since Barack Obama decided to make it the centerpiece of his 2008 presidential campaign.

We’ve been preoccupied with the indications of rationing, not to mention the unsustainable budgetary numbers of it all. Honestly, with all this data being thrown about, one can be certain that it’s nearly impossible for everyday Americans to even begin to take the time to grasp it all.

However, that notwithstanding, from what Americans have been able to grasp just enough of what’s going on as congress attempts to slip this under our collective noses, and the consensus seems to be pretty clear:

Americans do not want socialized medicine.

Now, there is no point in going on and on at this point about congress not listening to us or some such thing. There is no lesson to be learned there, as it is fairly obvious at this point. Truth be told, we should be pointing the finger at ourselves.

Think back to the 2006 midterms, where the rallying cry across the conservative voting landscape was, “Throw the Republicans out! Teach them a lesson!”

Of course, considering how much of the GOP had softened on conservative principles, it is understandable how this sentiment could take hold. Every day, it seemed as though another conservative luminary just couldn’t wait to bash the GOP, deservedly or not, and say what a boon it would be for the party and the conservative movement if the Republicans lost in November of 2006.

As I just said, I can understand that line of thinking. I’m just as much for true conservatism in the Republican Party as anybody else, but in every conversation I ever had on the notion of the GOP losing its majority in ’06, I kept coming back to one simple mantra:

You can’t teach a “lesson” to career politicians. These people are like cats. They always land on their feet. If you boot them out, they’ll find a cushy analyst job on a cable network or go on a book or speaking tour, where they can make even more money than they already do.

So, knowing that we had a Democrat Party that is as close to socialist as America has, or is likely to ever see, it was clear to this conservative that while it sure sounded good to spend election day smacking around Republicans, we would be the ones who would pay a very steep price for the lesson that we intended to teach.

As we all know, voters got what they wished for, and the GOP lost by sizeable margins, and as I had feared, our economy, our healthcare system, and our defense efforts are now on death’s doorstep. Meanwhile, despite what we want, politicians from both parties continue to ignore us, and charge on with their own agendas.

The American electorate needs to learn that elections matter. It needs to turn off American Idol pay attention, and say informed. This is what happens when it doesn’t.

If anything, our last two elections should teach a lesson to the American people. Politicians will always be politicians. They’ll look out for themselves before they ever look out for any of us. The only defense we have is to do our best to educate ourselves, and hopefully pick the ones best suited for upholding our ideas and traditions. In order to do that, we must remain engaged at all costs.

Maybe it will be better in the long run for the conservative movement when this is all said and done. Many of us, me included, certainly hope that it is. But, with a government apparatus that is moving America away from its founding principles faster than any time in history, the burden American electorate unwittingly placed on itself may prove to be too much to bear, and the “lesson” that some thought they were so wisely teaching may be nothing more than a prime example of “Too little, too late”.

Let’s hope not.

Popularity: 13% [?]

He so pretty

On Thursday, President Barack Obama stated that he will not make a decision on Afghan troop levels until after the Thanksgiving holiday. This development came at the end of President Obama’s eight-day Asia tour, where he took time to stop at Osan Air Force Base in South Korea. While there, he remarked to 1,500 troops, “You guys make a pretty good photo op.”

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That says a lot, doesn’t it? Upon examination, photo-ops certainly seem to be President Obama’s main concern. If you will recall, just a few weeks ago, Obama visited Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as some of our fallen servicemen were brought home to rest. For reasons unbeknownst to many, the president thought it would be appropriate to allow cameras at the event. Most families were made uneasy by this, and in fact, only one family allowed cameras to follow their proceedings.

Because of that, his visit came off as self-serving, especially when contrasted with former President George W. Bush’s visit to Fort Hood, where he insisted that no press be permitted.

The underlying point of all this, is that President Obama only seems interested in our armed servicemen and women when he can use them as a prop to get his picture taken or to get himself on television.

It has been weeks since General Stanley McChrystal requested an additional 40,000 troops for the effort in Afghanistan, and in the process making it emphatically clear that this was indeed necessary, claiming that the effort was not sustainable with current resources. On top of that, General McChrystal was only able to secure a 25-minute meeting to make the request in the first place.

Something is desperately wrong here.

Does anybody remember the campaign, where Obama insisted that Afghanistan was a top priority? The war we should be most focused on, if you will? What happened to that?

The answer to that is simple. It was nothing more than a campaign promise. It has become quite clear that our Commander-in-Chief clearly has no interest in our effort there, and by extension, it shows exactly what he actually thinks of our troops, which is, not much.

You have to pay attention to what Obama is saying here, and the words that he uses. He is saying he will not make a decision until after Thanksgiving. He’s not saying he won’t commit more troops until after then. This is nothing short of him saying “Yeah, I’m going to continue to put this off until at least after turkey is served.”

Brave sons and daughters dying over there on a daily basis, and our president is content to dither and play games with American lives and American security. This is clearly a tactic he is using in an effort to placate his left wing base, military advisors and cost to America be damned.

This man has already made his decision, and deep down we all know what it is. He may finally be forced at some point to send additional resources at some point, but he clearly has no real interest in doing so.

The only future Barack Obama is interested in is his own.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) gave a speech on the senate floor yesterday to push for “Rosa’s Law”. Rosa’s law is a piece of legislation that mandate the phrase “mentally disabled” be used in place of “mentally retarded” when referring to such citizens on health and education paperwork.

“In changing the language, we believe it will be the start of new attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities.”

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This madness must end. America is in the middle of two strenuous wars, and we have an economy on the brink of total collapse, yet we have a senator who seems preoccupied with the use of a certain descriptor used in government documentation. Yet again, another bleeding heart Democrat who is more concerned with feeling good, rather than doing good for the nation as a whole.

Now, before I get chastised for being heartless by those who would accuse me of standing in the way of a little girl’s supposed happiness, I would like to disclose the following:

I am physically disabled. I have Cerebral Palsy, which prevents me from walking without the assistance of an orthopedic device or another person. I have been called many things, such as “disabled”, “differently-abled”, “handicapped”, “handi-capable”, “crippled”, and a few other words along the way that can’t be shared here.

Guess what?

In spite of all the labels that have been assigned to me and others like me, one thing has remained constant:

My condition has never changed. People need to learn that while words do have meaning, which is important, context is also a key component in this equation. For instance, “retard” means to slow or hinder. It does not mean “stupid”, and the modifiers “mental” or “mentally” refers to the type of impediment. It is not, in and of itself, an attempt at ridicule or character assassination. Referring to someone as “mentally retarded” in official paperwork is not the same as yelling it in anger toward the person who cut you off at the intersection. It just isn’t. The words have a benign meaning. It’s the context in which they are used that can change them.

Quite frankly, when one looks at this objectively, this proposed law is nothing more than a time wasting exercise by those in our legislature, which will change nothing, except maybe making a few self-loathers feel better about themselves.

For the Record, the namesake of this legislation, Rosa Marcellino, has Down’s syndrome. She is, for all intents and purposes, mentally retarded. She is also 7 years old. With that in mind, one could probably say with a high degree of certainty that Rosa has no interest in official health and education paperwork at this point in her life. So, it stands to reason that this crusade was most likely started by a family member looking for attention, and Rosa is to be used as a face for it.

Honestly, that is just sad.

More than that, has anyone thought of the road this could lead us down? This is one step away from thought policing. How long will it be before legislation is introduced which will prevent us from saying certain words? It may very well be just around the corner. Such measures may never pass, but the mere possibility of such things being proposed should frighten any freedom-loving American.

We should be more concerned with today’s truly pressing matters. There are circumstances today which threaten our very way of life, yet some of our legislative officials seemed more concerned with how you feel, and more importantly, how they feel about themselves. The future of America is too important. We shouldn’t be wasting time on this drivel.

Words are just words. The only powers they have to offend are the ones that we decide to give them.

Popularity: 14% [?]

President Obama recently bowed to Emperor Akihito in Japan. At this point, one might wonder exactly who is advising Barack Obama, if any one at all. If you will recall, this is the latest in what seems to be a string of inappropriate greetings in international settings by our Commander-in-Chief.

So far to date, Barack Obama has bowed to Saudi King Abdullah, given an exaggerated nod to Queen Elizabeth II, and there has been speculation as to whether or not he has offered a similar gesture to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

This is troublesome, and embarrassing. Common sense would indicate that it would more than likely be difficult for international leaders to take our president seriously if he is constantly subordinating himself to them. Perception goes a long way on the international stage, and at this juncture, an honest observer of the situation would be hard pressed to find an incident where Obama has projected himself as leader of the free world when he travels abroad, let alone an equal.

For those who would argue that President Obama is trying to “make amends” for some of America’s supposed arrogance of the past, it should be made known that bowing to other leaders is not a traditional form of greeting, particularly in the case of Emperor Akihito. The Emperor is most commonly greeted with a simple handshake.

So, with that in mind, it could be fair to say that what is going on here goes far beyond supposed protocol. This appears to be another whistle-stop in the “Obama Apologizes for America tour”. It doesn’t seem that he has given up on his concept of being a “citizen of the world”, and it looks like he intends to remain in a never ending campaign to be personally adored until the end of his term in office.

Americans thought they had elected a leader. It doesn’t look like that happened. Instead, they got a teenage girl who just transferred to a new school and is desperate to do anything to fit in with the cool kids. However, unlike high school, when President Obama ends up getting stuffed in a locker, America will be the one who feels the pain and humiliation.

Popularity: 12% [?]