Thursday, March 28, 2013

Video: Slight Problem with the Cypriot Banking System Explained


The Australian humorists Clarke & Dawe offer a brief summary of the "slight" problem in the Cypriot banking system. The European Union's response has not yet fixed the problem, though it has resulted in a massive exodus of deposits held by foreigners. (Note to kleptocrats everywhere: if you put an entire nation's banking system on a bank holiday, it's best to make sure that bank holiday applies to the nation's foreign bank branches, too!) As of today, Cypriots are allowed to withdraw up to €300 a day of their own money.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Video: Allen West at CPAC


From the YouTube description of Allen West's 2013 CPAC speech:
March 14, 2013 - Former Congressman Allen West on Thursday addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in what TheBlaze's Mike Opelka described as a "fiery" speech that had "everyone on their feet." "I'll give it to you straight," West began. "Last November we did take one on the jaw, but this movement and this fight is not determined by the punches that we take. We're defined by how quickly we pull ourselves off the mat and our perseverance."

"There're no shortage of people telling us what conservatism cannot accomplish, what we can't do, how we cannot connect, how we must change our values to fit the times."

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell you: That that truly is a bunch of malarkey," he added, seemingly channeling the spirit of VP debate Joe Biden.

"Last time I checked," he continued, "a bended knee is not, nor shall it ever be a conservative tradition."

He went on to argue that people like him (i.e. a black conservative) absolutely terrify liberals.

"I'm speaking from experience when I tell you that there is nothing on this green earth that a liberal progressive fears more than a black American who wants a better life and a smaller government," West said.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Race and Republicans at CPAC

K Carl Smith
K. Carl Smith at the Rally for Common Sense
The Blaze reports on a stunningly outrageous comment made at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference during a presentation by K. Carl Smith:
A session at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) focused on the GOP reaching out to minorities descended into chaos Friday afternoon after a male audience member asked what Frederick Douglass’s former slave master had to be sorry for: “For giving him food and shelter?”
“It seems to be that you’re reaching out to voters, in the method and program that you’re offering us, at the expense of young white Southern males like myself — my demographic,” 30-year-old Scott Terry of North Carolina said during a question and answer session during a discussion called, “Trump The Race Card: Are You Sick And Tired Of Being Called A Racist When You Know You’re Not One?”
The broad brushes are out on the left in an effort to paint all conservatives and especially Republicans as holding the same racist opinions as Terry. We don't. The Blaze notes that [emphasis added]:
Terry was accompanied by Matthew Heimbach, founder of the White Student Union at Towson University. TheBlaze spoke to Heimbach Friday to verify the statements were in accurate and in context. Terry is also a member of the White Students Union at Towson.
This past Wednesday, the White Student Union's website included this announcement [emphasis added]*:
As close to two dozen of us prepare to head to the Conservative Political Action Conference labeled as independent, Towson College Republicans, Campaign for Liberty supporters, and other conservative organizations we will do our best to engage the issue of preservation of the European-American population and a strong stance against immigration.
That word--"labeled"--is an admission that they had to obfuscate their identity to gain entry. And they had to hide their political party preference because Matthew Heimbach is not only the founder of the White Student Union, but also a supporter of the radical American Third Position Party (now called the American Freedom Party).

Simply put, Scott Terry, Matthew Heimbach, and the other gate-crashers they brought with them are neither conservative nor Republican.

Perhaps some good can come of this. Last year, I shot video of K. Carl Smith--he was the presenter at CPAC who's presentation was disrupted by Terry. Smith had one of the best speeches at the Rally for Common Sense. Here's what I wrote about it at the time:
When it comes to pragmatic political outreach to the black community, K. Carl Smith's framing of the discussion around Fredrick Douglass's life and philosophy was tremendous. Make sure you watch that and then go get his book: Frederick Douglass Republicans: The Movement to Re-Ignite America's Passion for Liberty.

* The St. Louis Tea Party has a policy of not linking to white supremacist blogs, so, sorry, no link.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

It's Time to Defund Obamacare

Earlier this week, thirty Republican Representatives signed a letter to their leadership in the House of Representatives seeking to defund Obamacare. None of the Republican Reps from either Missouri or Illinois joined their conservative counterparts in signing that letter. They chose instead to support the continuing resolution that spends money we do not have on programs we can not afford.

Senate conservative Ted Cruz (R-TX) has breathed new life into the defund Obamacare movement. As the Washinton Post reports:
Outspoken freshman Sen. Ted Cruz intends to offer an amendment to the stopgap spending plan under debate in Congress this week that would defund President Obama’s health care law until the nation’s economy grows at a rate in line with historical averages.
Roy BluntThat effort has picked up support from both FreedomWorks and The Heritage Foundation--both have key voted the Senate vote on that amendment. That means that Sen. Roy Blunt's (R-MO) vote on that amendment will be reflect in the score he earns from those organizations. Heritage makes the case for defunding it as soon as possible:
The most severe and damaging economic impacts of Obamacare have yet to occur, as they will come with the law’s full implementation and the implementation of its funding mechanisms in 2014. After that point, this law will be more entrenched and its damaging effects will be much more difficult to amend.
The Democrats control the Senate so even if the Conservatives unite behind Ted Cruz, it's unlikely that they will succeed.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

In the Fight: Episode 72


Episode 72 of In The Fight produced by the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System. Here's their description of this half-hour show:
On this episode, the Afghan military takes control of the Coalition Forces' oldest base, we see how there are some things that technology just cannot replace, an Air National Guard unit quietly passes a significant milestone, we look at the sacrifices that have been make in Afghanistan, and we see what it's like to be the wife of a deployed service member.