Long distance love

Best moment from the Superbowl… other than the interception, & the Saints winning the Lombardi trophy definitely goes to Google.  It encapsulated the beauty of love. Of the long distance variety.

La douleur exquise…

—Media Lizzy

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President Obama strikes a conciliatory note on Healthcare?

Via Politico:

President Barack Obama told Katie Couric during a Super Bowl pregame interview that he plans to hold a health-reform summit with congressional leaders later this month. “I want to come back [after the Presidents’ Day congressional recess] and have a large meeting — Republicans and Democrats — to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there, and move it forward,” Obama said.

Apparently he doesn’t want to be tone deaf anymore.   Too little, too late in my estimation – but lucky for him, GOP Whip Eric Cantor cares enough about the nation to take Obama’s call.

—Media Lizzy

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By the numbers

On January 20, 2001 George W. Bush was sworn-in as President of the United States.  The total federal debt ceiling (per NPR & CRS) stood at $5.6 Trillion.  Then came the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.  The war in Iraq. Afghanistan.  Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast.  Hurricanes Rita and Ike drove the dagger home.  An F-5 tornado destroyed Greenburg, Kansas.

Combined with then-Speaker Hastert, Majority Leader DeLay and a ridiculously self-absorbed Congress… the total federal debt ceiling stood at $9.1 Trillion when Barack Obama was elected in November 2008.  Not to be outdone by her predecessor, whose shoes she filled in January 2007 – two years before Obama would be sworn in – Speaker Pelosi and her fellow Democrats gorged themselves at the public trough by raising the debt ceiling almost another Trillion before Obama could put his hand on the Bible and take the wheel.  Hadn’t even taken his tie off in the Oval Office yet.

Today, they voted to raise it again.  To $14.3 Trillion.  Seriously.

To make it plain, that’s an increase of $5.2 Trillion in fourteen months – with Democrats in a supermajority. Obama supported all of this.  As a Senator.  As a candidate.  As Democratic nominee for President. And as President.  He has paid lip service to deficit-reduction, but the truth is this: He & Speaker Pelosi have spent raised the debt ceiling $1.7 Trillion more in fourteen months than it was spent raised during the totality of George W. Bush’s term.   Or the previous 235 years.

Since 2007, Democrats have held a super-majority in the US Congress.  They controlled and continue to control the purse.  Americans have seen our total federal debt explode, taxes are increasing, we have had a near-economic collapse, and eight million Americans have lost their jobs.

By the numbers, both parties can and should improve their performance.  But since President Obama was elected in November 2008 – the US Congress has committed you and every other American to pay of $5.2 trillion in NEW DEBT – and that’s before we pay one dime of interest.

Forget campaign pledges.  President Obama told the American people, from the well of the US House of Representatives, during a Joint Session of Congress that he would not add “one dime” to the deficit.

That is one broken promise we shall not forget.

—Media Lizzy

ps: many thanks to Republican Whip Eric Cantor for his leadership, and to his office for the photo above.  Also, I recommend reading his plan for creating more JOBS!

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Respect

This is a  quick note to Democrats, Liberals, anti-war folks and others with whom I generally disagree on policy.  While I have friends who sit on the Left side of the aisle, for whatever reason – they never participated in the hatemongering or violent protests that were a staple of the Bush-Cheney years.  Perhaps that is because they’re journalists or grownups capable of civil discourse, so to my friends – you are excluded from the tirade about to erupt.

For eight years, protesters and operatives vehemently disapproved of then-President George W. Bush.  They opposed the war in Iraq.  There was name calling.  There were “BusHitler” signs at the protest rallies.    There were the incidents at the GOP Convention in Minneapolis where bleach was poured upon attendees. Elderly women were taunted and physically assaulted.  There were calls for the death of Dick Cheney.  There were many, many disgusting behaviors.

Unsubstantiated charges of racism and insane accusations – too numerous to list.  I get it, you hate the Grand Ol’ Party.  That’s cool.  But let us not pretend that being an antiwar or anti-Bush protester makes you more dignified, or a better person than anyone who registers Republican.

In November 2008, Americans elected Barack Obama as President.  In a landslide.  Unfortunately, many of his supporters could not find it in their hearts to be gracious winners.  To respect the millions of Americans who were persuaded by Obama’s ‘Hope and Change’ – post-Partisan, post-racial appeal.  Independents and centrist Republicans voted for him.

One year after his inauguration, President Obama’s support continues to erode and yet… his adminstration, his political supporters, and many journalists wonder why.

It’s simple.  Respect.

Republicans, independents and Democrats want some dignity in the Oval Office.  We expect “Presidential timbre.”  We expect something more than military bearing from the president – though that would be an excellent place to start.

Much as US Senator Scott Brown closed the deal with Massachusetts voters by declaring the seat vacated by the recent death of Ted Kennedy as the “People’s Seat,” President Obama would be wise to recall the White House is the “People’s House.”  And that desk, that is the Resolute Desk.  That is ours too.

You want to heal the divisions between the parties, Mr. President?  Good.  Start by putting your tie on, take your feet off our desk and act like a President instead of the cool law professor who doesn’t give a damn about authority, propriety or the People who pay your salary.

Then we’ll talk policy.

—Media Lizzy

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Haiti

Before the 12 January earthquake, this country and its beautiful people were the poorest, most neglected in the Western Hemisphere.  What more than love can we give?

Please consider a donation to For His Glory Adoption Outreach, a group highlighted by Jonathan Hunt in this heartbreaking 18 January Fox News report.  Granted, there has been much good news of late – as many of the children from the FHGAO-run orphanage Maison des Enfants de Dieu who awaited transport to the United States have now been reunited with their American families.  But because of the extreme situation in Haiti, many more children are now orphaned as a result of the catastrophic earthquake which took more than 200,000 lives.  Getting food, water, medicine, diapers and other basic supplies are desperately needed.

If you prefer, please text HAITI to 90999 – to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross‘ fund to help in Haiti.

—Media Lizzy

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Facts are Facts: Terror Trials Straw Men

The terror trials for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other 9/11 co-conspirators looms on the horizon, Hambali may be tried at the Prettyman building in Washington, DC – and the political debate still rages.  President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder decided to try them as common criminals with the full protection afforded to every American citizen.  Most Republicans believe these terrorists do not deserve the full protections afforded to an average American – instead favoring the military commissions as the proper venue to try foreign nationals that are terrorists, plain and simple.

President Obama rode into office with promises of closing Guantanamo and restoring America’s standing in the world – through his image, his face, his brand.  Not via the more traditional concept of American Exceptionalism.

The President and his band of merry men believe we are just one nation in a family of nations, and therefore must conform.  It is akin to a high school student harassing mom for a pair of the hottest basketball shoes, just to be seen as “cool.”  Being on eof the “cool” kids is not a strategy for success.  It wasn’t a sustainable social model in high school, so there should be no doubt that it will fail in the real world.  Yes, Obama and his administration persist.

Oh goodie.

What the Obama Administration does not understand – but the American people do – is simple.  We are capable of recognizing facts, distinguishing them from fiction and are prepared to stake our freedom, again and again.  Because we are not one of many nations.  We are a nation of people, of citizens.  We live and die by the words in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution.  It is our sons and daughters who go to war.

In Politico’s Arena, I came across a recent post by former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino. An absolute, spot on analysis of the facts at hand, not the politics.  Just the facts:

Trying terrorists: some facts (co-authored with Bill Burck)

When it comes to trying terrorists on American soil since 9/11, let’s all work from the same set of facts. This morning we’ve heard three people in the Sunday shows talking about the “hundreds” of terrorists that we have tried in US courts and hold in US prisons – as if KSM was just some regular Joe terrorist. Some facts:

First, the only civilian trial of a 9/11 terrorist was Moussaoui who was arrested before 9/11 had even happened and before the President had authorized detaining terrorists as enemy combatants.

Second, Moussaoui had his trial while the entire military commission system was under sustained legal attack by left-wing lawyers, which put all military commission trials on hold. So he couldn’t have been tried by military commission back then any way.

Third, the trial was a circus largely because the defendant was uncontrollable and used the attention to spout hate against the US; the prosecutors were unfairly accused of misconduct, though the judge gave some credence to the accusations; and they couldn’t even get the death penalty even though he eventually admitted he was supposed to be the 20th hijacker. The Moussaoui trial is hardly viewed as a model of success.

Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, never had a trial, as he pleaded guilty. And his arrest was just one month after President Bush authorized detentions of enemy combatants – the system was still being set up. He also could not have been tried by military commission because of the left-wing legal assault on the system.

As for the “hundreds of terrorists” -that figure encompasses every type of terrorism charge DOJ brought in 8 years and have nothing to do with 9/11, nor were any of those people foreign terrorists captured overseas as part of the war on terror. Those terrorists were held at Guantanamo Bay as enemy combatants with the intention of eventually trying them in military commissions.

Perino & Burck offered extensive analysis at NRO, read in its entirety HERE.

My perspective is very simple.  I am not an attorney, so I would not dream of speaking to the legal complexities. As a political communications person with a background in military affairs, I am pretty comfortable common sense has its place in this debate.  Yes, I know these terrorists and detainees were not afforded a perfect life before, during or after their capture.

Were errors made?  Of course.

Were there abuses?  Potentially.

Should we separate CIA interrogators from military interrogators? Yes.

Should we separate clandestine operators from everyone else? Yes.

Should Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his 9/11 co-conspirators be treated differently than average grade terrorists? The barn door is open, the horses are gone.  Let us be realistic about how and where to try KSM.  Let us take into account the circumstances.

Is there an argument for locking him up and throwing away the key? Yes, but – we have to follow a real process.  Either we believe in the justice system or we don’t.  Of course, the Supermax facilities can keep us safe.  Of course, attorneys and justices working at this level are competent.  No, I do not believe AG Holder was correct to state we would have trials, then guarantee a verdict.  It’s antithetical to our justice system.  We must do better.

The American people simply must become more engaged and do the hard work of becoming good citizens.  This is our country.  We owe our founders, our ancestors and our children the best.

Foreign nationals who plot the mass murder of Americans should not be afforded the same rights and privileges we provide to our fellow Americans.  KSM and his ilk are evil personified.  They are not the same as a kid who commits armed robbery, or the average meth head.  KSM embodies a specific and insidious type of evil.  He did not plot the murder of 3,000+ Americans because he is a poor kid from the projects.  (Don’t insult those kids)

KSM is not a poor kid with a drug addicted mom, who feels pressured to join a gang.

KSM is not a guy who got a little drunk and pushed his wife around.

KSM is evil.  Not a man.

Neither KSM, nor his co-conspirators, are deserving of the second and third chances we afford our fellow Americans when they make personally catastrophic decisions.

There is no rehabilitation for KSM.  He is not an American. He deserves nothing from us.

The argument in favor of affording him the same rights we give to our fellow Americans is tenuous and based on a preacher philosophy. “Gosh, if only we treat him nice and just like everyone else – he’ll understand we are all the same.  We are all equal.  America is good because America treats everyone the same.  America is so nice because America doesn’t see any difference between KSM and a kid with an ounce of weed.  It’s all the same, man. All we have to do is tell them how nice we are and show them how nice we are to men whose sole focus is genocide – then they’ll give us an exemption. Don’t you see?”

This mindset reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of evil, f our enemies – but more importantly, of what the American identity is.  America is a great country because we expect individuals to live up to the ideals in our Declaration, in our Constitution.

I believe in real equality.  Moral relativists seem to think their equivocations are the same as belief in Equality.  They are not.   Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is not my equal.  KSM is not the equal of Nancy Pelosi.  KSM is not the equal of Dick Cheney.

KSM has no equal but evil.  Therefore, his trial must be held in a court where the debate about good & evil occurs every day.  Where men and women of good conscience live and die by this struggle.  Military commissions serve this purpose.  I know, I know… my liberal friends will be angered.  The moral relativists will become enraged at the mere suggestion.  But know this: the men and women on the front lines, they see evil every day.  They see the goodness inherent in the hman spirit every day.  God may or may not be in every foxhole – but the heroes who face these dangers are better equipped to judge KSM than a guy who experienced evil via television – or at a funeral – or by inhaling the chemical and burnt flesh smell emanating from Ground Zero.

Could you sit as a jurist at KSM’s trial and honestly separate yourself from the horror our nation experienced?  Could you?  If you were a fan of Daniel Pearl, would you be able to be dispassionate?  Would you overcompensate – and acquit KSM because you feared retribution from Liberal commentators and anti-war protesters?  Would you simply decide he was guilty on Day One?

Of course, most of us answer these questions the right way.  That does not make it real.

Men and women in the military have to .  Every day.  That is how battles are won, how wars are won.  How strategies are made.  They do the job, they choose right – every day.  This is why they are our heroes.

Because they are heroes.  I trust them.  Do you?

—Media Lizzy

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Full Text of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s SOTU Response

Remarks as prepared for delivery:

Good evening.  I’m Bob McDonnell. Eleven days ago I was honored to be sworn in as the 71st governor of Virginia.

I’m standing in the historic House Chamber of Virginia’s Capitol, a building designed by Virginia’s second governor, Thomas Jefferson.

It’s not easy to follow the President of the United States. And my twin 18-year old boys have added to the pressure, by giving me exactly ten minutes to finish before they leave to go watch SportsCenter.

I’m joined by fellow Virginians to share a Republican perspective on how to best address the challenges facing our nation today.

We were encouraged to hear President Obama speak this evening about the need to create jobs.

All Americans should have the opportunity to find and keep meaningful work, and the dignity that comes with it.

Many of us here, and many of you watching, have family or friends who have lost their jobs.

1 in 10 American workers is unemployed. That is unacceptable.

Here in Virginia we have faced our highest unemployment rate in more than 25 years, and bringing new jobs and more opportunities to our citizens is the top priority of my administration.

Good government policy should spur economic growth, and strengthen the private sector’s ability to create new jobs.

We must enact policies that promote entrepreneurship and innovation, so America can better compete with the world.

What government should not do is pile on more taxation, regulation, and litigation that kill jobs and hurt the middle class.

It was Thomas Jefferson who called for “A wise and frugal Government which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry ….and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned…” He was right.

Today, the federal government is simply trying to do too much.

Last year, we were told that massive new federal spending would create more jobs ‘immediately’ and hold unemployment below 8%.

In the past year, over three million Americans have lost their jobs, yet the Democratic Congress continues deficit spending, adding to the bureaucracy, and increasing the national debt on our children and grandchildren.

The amount of this debt is on pace to double in five years, and triple in ten.  The federal debt is already over $100,000 per household.

This is simply unsustainable.  The President’s partial freeze on discretionary spending is a laudable step, but a small one.

The circumstances of our time demand that we reconsider and restore the proper, limited role of government at every level.

Without reform, the excessive growth of government threatens our very liberty and prosperity.

In recent months, the American people have made clear that they want government leaders to listen and act on the issues most important to them.

We want results, not rhetoric. We want cooperation, not partisanship.

There is much common ground.

All Americans agree, we need a health care system that is affordable, accessible, and high quality.

But most Americans do not want to turn over the best medical care system in the world to the federal government.

Republicans in Congress have offered legislation to reform healthcare, without shifting Medicaid costs to the states, without cutting Medicare, and without raising your taxes.

We will do that by implementing common sense reforms, like letting families and businesses buy health insurance policies across state lines, and ending frivolous lawsuits against doctors and hospitals that drive up the cost of your healthcare.

And our solutions aren’t thousand-page bills that no one has fully read, after being crafted behind closed doors with special interests.

In fact, many of our proposals are available online at solutions.gop.gov, and we welcome your ideas on Facebook and Twitter.

All Americans agree, this nation must become more energy independent and secure.

We are blessed here in America with vast natural resources, and we must use them all.

Advances in technology can unleash more natural gas, nuclear, wind, coal, and alternative energy to lower your utility bills.

Here in Virginia, we have the opportunity to be the first state on the East Coast to explore for and produce oil and natural gas offshore.

But this Administration’s policies are delaying offshore production, hindering nuclear energy expansion, and seeking to impose job-killing cap and trade energy taxes.

Now is the time to adopt innovative energy policies that create jobs and lower energy prices.

All Americans agree, that a young person needs a world-class education to compete in the global economy. As a kid my dad told me, “Son, to get a good job, you need a good education.” That’s even more true today.

The President and I agree on expanding the number of high-quality charter schools, and rewarding teachers for excellent performance. More school choices for parents and students mean more accountability and greater achievement.

A child’s educational opportunity should be determined by her intellect and work ethic, not by her zip code.

All Americans agree, we must maintain a strong national defense.  The courage and success of our Armed Forces is allowing us to draw down troop levels in Iraq as that government is increasingly able to step up. My oldest daughter, Jeanine, was an Army platoon leader in Iraq, so I’m personally grateful for the service and the sacrifice of all of our men and women in uniform, and a grateful nation thanks them.

We applaud President Obama’s decision to deploy 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. We agree that victory there is a national security imperative.  But we have serious concerns over recent steps the Administration has taken regarding suspected terrorists.

Americans were shocked on Christmas Day to learn of the attempted bombing of a flight to Detroit.  This foreign terror suspect was given the same legal rights as a U.S. citizen, and immediately stopped providing critical intelligence.

As Senator-elect Scott Brown says, we should be spending taxpayer dollars to defeat terrorists, not to protect them.

Here at home government must help foster a society in which all our people can use their God-given talents in liberty to pursue the American Dream. Republicans know that government cannot guarantee individual outcomes, but we strongly believe that it must guarantee equality of opportunity for all.

That opportunity exists best in a democracy which promotes free enterprise, economic growth, strong families, and individual achievement.

Many Americans are concerned about this Administration’s efforts to exert greater control over car companies, banks, energy and health care.

Over-regulating employers won’t create more employment; overtaxing investors won’t foster more investment.

Top-down one-size fits all decision making should not replace the personal choices of free people in a free market, nor undermine the proper role of state and local governments in our system of federalism. As our Founders clearly stated, and we Governors understand, government closest to the people governs best.

And no government program can replace the actions of caring Americans freely choosing to help one another. The Scriptures say “To whom much is given, much will be required.” As the most generous and prosperous nation on Earth, it is heartwarming to see Americans giving much time and money to the people of Haiti. Thank you for your ongoing compassion.

Some people are afraid that America is no longer the great land of promise that she has always been. They should not be.

America will always blaze the trail of opportunity and prosperity.

America must always be a land where liberty and property are valued and respected, and innocent human life is protected.

Government should have this clear goal: Where opportunity is absent, we must create it. Where opportunity is limited, we must expand it. Where opportunity is unequal, we must make it open to everyone.

Our Founders pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to create this nation.

Now, we should pledge as Democrats, Republicans and Independents–Americans all—to work together to leave this nation a better place than we found it.

God Bless you, and God Bless our great nation.

—Governor Bob McDonnell

Of Ptolemy, Kings and Heroes

As I finish up the five columns in the ‘almost’ stage, one in particular is a joy to write.  Last Summer, I wrote a great deal about women, leadership and the role of beauty in our culture.  I will be again soon… Much of my life has been spent with books.  I love the smell of old library books and fresh newspapers.  Knowledge, and the pursuit of knowledge, is my sanctuary.

Our lives and our culture become ever more digitized.  The quiet serenity we enjoy curling up by the fire is a luxury, rather than the norm.  Integration of our digital life with the more important, and everyday life of jobs and marriage and raising our kids, becomes more and more critical.   The softness of a touch, the sweetness in the voices of our children… the whispers of lovers past, of grandparents and ancestors must not compete for time with the digital – but enhance it intead.

Earlier today, Patrick Ruffini tweeted:

“We are about midway through the 30 year transition to an all-digital media”

and, to illustrate he predicts this:

“By 2025 the New York Times will no longer print and TV stations will be radically reconfigured”

For hundreds of years, scholars have grieved the loss of the Library at Alexandria.  While we will never recover those precious scrolls, artifacts, papyrus and other messages etched in stone… life has continued.  Our wondrous human race persevered  We found a way.  The digitization of life today is not a modern-day burning  of the Library at Alexandria.  We hold in our hands a capacity for knowledge our ancestors never could have imagined, opportunities for every woman and man to achieve great things.  Heroes live among us.  They protect us.

When heroes fight and die for us, for freedom, for love… we are awash in gratitude.  Let us all be leaders, let us all be scribes.  Let us tell the stories of today’s heroes, of every good mother and father, of great loves, and do so often.

There is a palpable ache among my fellow Americans for great leadership, for a truly iconic leader.  A Caesar.  A Churchill.  Our own Alexander the Great.  To find him, or her, we must cultivate the minds of our youth – and ourselves. Seek greatness, and ye shall find.

“It was a delight merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another.”

—Plutarch, regarding Cleopatra, as translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert

—Media Lizzy

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Best and Worst of 2009

Ladies and Gents, I will now return to regularly scheduled programming. Or writing.   I am thrilled for the dawn of 2010.  As Forrest Gump would say, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates.”  This year brought wonderful surprises, reunions, friendship, and a deeper faith in the essential goodness of the folks I am lucky enough to share my life with.   And love?  Well, that’s the whole point.  Our house is brimming over with it.  I hope yours is too.  2009 is almost in the history books – and I am willing to go all-in that President Obama is happier than anyone else that it is!

This year was a long one politically speaking.  Bushies said goodbye to power.  Americans said goodbye to the Bushies.  We welcomed a new president brimming with hope for change – and for the demise of dire warnings, terror alerts, casualty reports, continued unrest in Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorists with ambiguous origins demanding the rights of American citizens, the collapse of the auto industry, a tanking economy, an increasingly acerbic political atmosphere and exploding federal debts.

Gee, when I put it that way… who could save America from the travails of post-9/11 life in the Good Ol’ USA?

Reminder:  Democratic Senators John Kerry, John Edwards and the late Ted Kennedy to Speaker of the US House Nancy Pelosi – all with considerable encouragement from Code Pink and Michael Moore – assured us that a Savior would arrive.  The legacy of Kerry’s Democratic National Convention in Boston circa 2004 wasn’t the “Reporting for Duty” idiocy, nor the launch of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth’s artful ads unveiling his moral hypocrisy with regard to Duty, Honor, Country.  Nope.  it was the speech of a little known State Senator who spoke not of Red states or Blue states, but the United States.  [my heart beats faster just thinking about his apparent ability to correctly identify the country we live in!!!!!]

Who was this wonder from Illinois?  Barack Obama.  His oratorical gifts were at times fiery and inspired “the” buzz. You know, the “he could be President of the United States” buzz.  The Aaron Sorkin found his muse buzz.  The ‘next JFK’ buzz.  Bonus: He was pliable.  New.  Eloquent. (there’s that word again)  A committed liberal.  A sure thing for NARAL and Emily’s list endorsements.  He sounded almost moderate.  He was beautiful and persuasive.   It was almost too good to be true.

Fast forward to December 2009.  Turns out, he was too good to be true.  Reality bites.

The Best and Worst of 2009 award goes, without a doubt to President Obama.  Hey, it’s not another Nobel Peace Prize for Awesomeness or anything.  But he did get his wish granted.  He’s THE dominant newsmaker of the year.

He embarked on apologizing-to-the-world-America-sucks adventures.  He broke campaign promises.  But, since he has no intention of keeping his ‘no pork’ and ‘line-by-line’ review of federal spending — his fellow Democrats are free to rape the Treasury at a pace that would make Tom DeLay squirm with equal amounts of horror and pride.   We were promised No Drama Obama.  We got him.  He seems entirely unmoved by any crisis, any problems, anything except the unrelenting critiques of him and his policies.

Frankly, I am fascinated.  His arrogance reminds me of his stop in Egypt earlier this year.  Obama’s self-love was on display quietly, unless you are familiar with Egyptian history.  As recounted by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Obama remarked how he knows he looks like King Tutankamen aka the “Living Image of Amun.”  As in, the Risen Sun. You know… the sign rises and sets for him.  Divine.  Wow… I guess he’s not worried about the return of ads mocking the cult-like support he enjoys.  To be clear, this paragraph says a lot more about some Obama supporters than it doe about him, with one exception: He indulges their fantasy.

Ick.

The dissection of his policies will have to wait until after the new year.  But in the media best & worst, the man is more overexposed than Tiger Woods, the Octomom, or the worst parents of the year: Jon & Kate whatever-their-last-name-is.  Unfortunately, we are in the era of a TMZ presidency.  We need a strong dose of Grown-up.  We need to feel safe.  After the Christmas Day bomb attempts by a Nigerian man were thwarted by a Flying Dutchman [har har] all President Obama could do was offer tepid response.

The American public are good with Hope.  We’re good with Change.  But that means the President has to inspire absolute confidence.  Obama failed there.  Fortunately, Obama’s antagonist – former Vice President Dick Cheney is not a Bushie.  He’s his own man.  Always was.

Via a statement to Politico early this morning, he reminded Americans why the Bush-Cheney team was elected to serve out two-full terms.  An achievement Obama can only dream about tonight.

“As I’ve watched the events of the last few days it is clear once again that President Obama is trying to pretend we are not at war. He seems to think if he has a low-key response to an attempt to blow up an airliner and kill hundreds of people, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if we bring the mastermind of Sept. 11 to New York, give him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we won’t be at war.

“He seems to think if he closes Guantanamo and releases the hard-core Al Qaeda-trained terrorists still there, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if he gets rid of the words, ‘war on terror,’ we won’t be at war. But we are at war and when President Obama pretends we aren’t, it makes us less safe. Why doesn’t he want to admit we’re at war? It doesn’t fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn’t fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency — social transformation — the restructuring of American society. President Obama’s first object and his highest responsibility must be to defend us against an enemy that knows we are at war.”

Thank you, Dick.  That wins the Best O’ the Right 2009 award, proving late entry can be a beautiful thing.

And as a little red meat for my Liberal readers Worst of the Right 2009 is a tie.  Governor Mark “Hiking the Appalachian Trail” Sanford is an obvious choice – moral hypocrisy always ensures a finalist!  Along with two guys who pretend to be “conservative” and “GOP-friendly” but really use those folks for endless fundraising ploys, overseas junkets and vapid pledges that make them more important (in their own minds) than the Oath of Office signers make.  The American Conservative Union’s David Keene and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform fame.  Why, you ask?

Their endorsement of holding terror trials in New York City, just blocks from Ground Zero are more than enough reason to vote them Worst of the Right.

Via the UK Guardian, text of their joint letter – with former GOP Congressman Bob Barr endorsing the Obama plan for 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators:

We are confident that the government can preserve national security without resorting to sweeping and radical departures from an American constitutional tradition that has served us effectively for over two centuries.

Civilian federal courts are the proper forum for terrorism cases. Civilian prisons are the safe, cost-effective and appropriate venue to hold persons convicted in federal courts. Over the last two decades, federal courts constituted under Article III of the U.S. Constitution have proven capable of trying a wide array of terrorism cases, without sacrificing either national security or fair trial standards.

Likewise the federal prison system has proven itself fully capable of safely holding literally hundreds of convicted terrorists with no threat or danger to the surrounding community.

The scaremongering about these issues should stop.

I know lots of my GOP & conservative friends are not going to like it – but, you know, I’m not a consultant anymore.  I don’t have to play the game.  I don’t need VIP passes to CPAC to help network for a client.  I think it’s as unconscionable for Keene & Norquist to hold politicians and consultants hostage as it is for John Podesta’s Center for American Progress to do the same.  Or Emily’s List.  Or Planned Parenthood. Or the SEIU.  Or the AFL-CIO.  Or AFSCME.  Or NARAL.  Or MoveOn.  Or Code Pink.  Or any group that strips the power away from average Americans – when our Government is beholden to special interests and not the people, it’s not good.

My views haven’t changed.  I do not pretend to speak for conservatives, as I am not a part of their movement.  I am a Republican.  My favorite of all the American Presidents is John Quincy Adams, not Ronald Reagan.  But I am a National Security hawk.  And as one of many voices within the Republican Party, I have never and will never give a dime to any organization whose leaders support Khalid Sheikh Mohammed having the rights of an American citizen.  Ever.  So yeah, Norquist & Keene’s move did not go unnoticed.  And I believe they are the worst of 2009.

Good news?  2010 is right around the corner.  And my muse, politics, awaits!!!!!

—Media Lizzy

Happy Christmas, Happy Chanukah, & love to all!

I love the holidays… this weekend will be the major cook-fest.  I will mix up my own dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate recipes then hand-dip chocolate covered cherries and strawberries, coconut bonbons, coconut & cherry bonbons, peanut butter crunch bonbons… without a doubt, my much beloved grandmother will look down from her perch in the hereafter, happy that my daughter will know a bit of the magic that came before her.  The fillings are all her recipes, I take liberties with the chocolate. There may be time for making divinity, and spritz cookies too.

I love Christmas. Chanukah. Everything about this time of year is filled with promise.  And gratitude for faith, at least in my home.  This year brings so many more blessings than I could have imagined.  If the weather maps are to be believed, it will be a snowy holiday.  Lovely.

The Polar Express and Love Actually will no doubt be played on a loop, the exquisite aroma of love-infused treats and meals will keep us all warm and I will be thanking my lucky stars for so many blessings.  To all of my faithful readers, and those who drop by on occasion, know that I bid you all glad tidings for the season, and a very happy new year.

—Media Lizzy