Today’s developments in the post-12/25 terror attack are nothing short of chilling.  Obviously they are chilling in their police-state tactics.  But they also lead to a “chilling effect” — the possibility that these ‘visits from the FBI’ will stop the dissemination of important information to the public.

TSA Targets Bloggers, Not Terrorists – AP

As the government reviews how an alleged terrorist was able to bring a bomb onto a U.S.-bound plane and try to blow it up on Christmas Day, the Transportation Security Administration is going after bloggers who wrote about a directive to increase security after the incident.

TSA special agents served subpoenas to travel bloggers Steve Frischling and Chris Elliott, demanding that they reveal who leaked the security directive to them. The government says the directive was not supposed to be disclosed to the public.

Frischling said he met with two TSA special agents Tuesday night at his Connecticut home for about three hours and again on Wednesday morning when he was forced to hand over his lap top computer. Frischling said the agents threatened to interfere with his contract to write a blog for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines if he didn’t cooperate and provide the name of the person who leaked the memo.

That type of threat to a private citizen from the US Government is completely abhorrent and those TSA agents should be immediately terminated.

Dan Riehl has the same thought about this outrage that I did:

The most troubling part of this TSA going after bloggers deal is that it wouldn’t be happening had it been the New York Times that broke the story. They can write an entire series, bring down a classified, covert prison system with implications around the world and win a Pulitzer.

But if a blogger did that, Uncle Sam would be kicking down their door. This is going after the little guy because they can get away with it, or think they can.

But the bloggers aren’t the troubling side effect of the “systematic failure” of the Obama Administration.  Passengers on Flight 253 fear an FBI cover-up of a 2nd accomplice in the attempted attack.  This is information the Mainstream Media is NOT reporting..

“For the last five days I have been reporting my story of the so called “sharp dressed man.” For those of you who haven’t read my account, it involves a sharp dressed “Indian man” attempting to talk a ticket agent into letting a supposed “Sudanese refugee” (The terrorist) onto flight 253 without a passport.

What is important is that the terrorist avoided using normal passport checking procedures (apparently successfully) in order to avoid a closer look into his red flags. Who cares if he had a passport. The important thing is that he didn’t want to show it and somehow avoided a closer inspection and “normal passport checking procedures.”

The American public deserves its own chance to attempt to identify the “sharp dressed man”. I have no doubt that if the video indicated that my account was wrong, that the video would have already swept over the entire world wide web. Instead of the video, we get a statment that the video has been viewed and that the terrorist had a passport. Each of these statements made by the FBI is a self serving play on semantics and each misses the importance of my prior “sharp dressed man” account.

Mr. President — what the hell is going on with your Government?  Is THIS how “your system works”?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

PAMELA GELLER AT ATLAS SHRUGS!

Congrats to Pam and her supporters (it was a landslide).  And thanks as well to the other diva contestants.  They are all awesome and I voted for a few of them!

I hereby close this year’s contest and wish everyone a Happy New Year!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

UPDATE (from Dan): And once again neoneocon will join Pamela in her court as Conservative Blogress Diva Regent, also known as the Endora for that staunch Republican, Agnes Moorehead. Now that Pamela with her victory has won the coveted crown, known as the Ethel in honor of that great Republican Ethel Merman, with all rights honors and privileges pertaining thereto, neoneo will assist her in her duties, filling in whenever the Grande Diva is incapacitated or otherwise unable to fulfill the awesome responsibilities of this job.

Despite the vicious attacks on both women by the Obama cult last year… Palin & Clinton are most admired women in American this year.

According to a new survey just released by USA Today and the Gallup Poll, the 62-year-old Clinton barely beat out the 45-year-old Palin as the most admired female — 16% to 15% in a poll of 1,025 adult Americans.

However, because the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, it’s statistically a P-C draw. The survey was open-ended, meaning men and women respondents had to provide the names by themselves.

Not that public admiration necessarily translates to votes. But the results have to set off any political spectator’s eager imagination about a future presidential ballot match-up between the pair who, though politically polar opposites, are both outspoken, both often underestimated and both beloved by their respective bases.

Palin beat out Oprah and Michelle Obama.

Verrrry interesting…

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Since we named Dick Cheney the “Conservative of the Decade” partly for staying pure to his conservative principles about American security in a time of war — I’m not surprised that today the former Veep came out swinging against the incompetence and indifference of the Obama Administration concerning the Islamists’ War Against America.

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.”

Ouch… that had to have left a mark.  What gives Cheney such power in his argument is that he stands with a moral conviction to protect this nation.  What lacks in Obama is any passion whatsoever to comprehend this existential threat to our Republic in an age where nuclear weapons can go rogue.

Again, I think by 2012 — a majority of Americans will wish Cheney was back in government in some capacity.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

You can vote for one diva each day, with balloting closing at noon on December 31, 2009.

And recall we here at GayPatriot define a diva as “a strong, confident woman who commands the respect of men.” A conservative blogress diva need not be conservative. All she must do command the respect (or have otherwise earned the admiration) of gay conservatives.

And please note that while there are many conservative blogress divas, including a good number not on this ballot, only one woman can become the Grande Conservative Blogress Diva.

In his statement yesterday, President Obama confirmed what Senator Lieberman hinted at Sunday on FoxNews (via Instapundit) “that Yemen needs to be a focal point” of our response to the attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253:

President Obama, acting just minutes after a Yemeni group affiliated with Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the airplane bombing attempt over Detroit on Christmas, declared Monday that the United States would continue to press its accelerated offensive against terror cells in Yemen and elsewhere in the world. . . . 

“We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle, and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us–whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia, or anywhere where they are plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland.”

Indeed, the Administration has since increased the pressure on the nation on the Southwest corner of the Arabian peninsula with whom our government has worked to root out terrorist operations:

Since the attack, U.S. officials have repeatedly upped their pressure on the Yemen government to help them investigate Abdulmutallab’s ties to Al Qaeda, which he said had provided training and explosives.

Even before the Detroit incident, the United States in conjunction with the government of Yemen–had aggressively stepped up its counter-terrorism operations in the country, seeking to combat a rapidly expanding Al Qaeda network there.

Seems like steps in the right direction.  Still, in the war against Islamicist terrorists who seek to murder American civilians in their war on Western civilization, the incumbent president of the United States has not used the bully pulpit as effectively as his predecessor did nor has he used it as aggressively (or as readily) as he has used it himself on issues of lesser import.

His Administration, however, are taking action.   And that’s nothing to sneeze at.   But, right action is not always enough, we also need rhetoric with greater resolve.  Let’s hope the president’s team follows up on their initial steps, not letting up, continuing to pursue the terrorists (and their enablers) aggressively.

The President would serve himself (and the nation) well if he didn’t repeat a mistake his predecessor did in the wake of 9/11:  retaining his national security/intelligence team. Obama could start by asking for the resignation of his Homeland Security Secretary.

Let us hope he uses the power of the bully pulpit more readily and more effectively in the coming year than he has in recent days instead use it as he had used it in other endeavors in the past year.

Maybe if Ma’am Barbara Boxer had crafted less ambitious legislation to regulate greenhouse gases via her cap ‘n trade bill, she might have made more headway in securing its passage. Maybe if she were more adept at reaching across the political aisle, she could have rounded up some Republican support for her signature project this session, the Boxer-Kerry economy-wide cap ‘n trade legislation.

But, like most Barbara Boxer bills, this one is going nowhere fast.  Now completing her seventeenth year in the U.S. Senate, Ma’am has seen just three of her bills become law.

Politico reports:

Bruised by the health care debate and worried about what 2010 will bring, moderate Senate Democrats are urging the White House to give up now on any effort to pass a cap-and-trade bill next year.

And while these supposed “moderates”* urging the White House to drop Boxer-Kerry, “some in the Democratic leadership appear to be listening.”

Asked about cap and trade last week, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said: “At this point I’d like to see a complete bill, but we have to be realistic.”

Um, Dick, I thought your California colleague introduced a complete bill.  But, then, again, maybe the Number Two Senate Democrat doesn’t take very seriously the work of the junior Senator from California.  

Guess we should all be grateful that Barbara Boxer has been so ineffective in the Senate.  Had she been able to accomplish more, we would have seen even greater regulation these past 17 years, ever higher taxes with less freedom and fewer jobs (the necessary concomitants to the regulatory schemes the three-term Democrat loves).

* (more…)

According to Wing Nut World Net Daily, the controversy over GOProud’s participation at CPAC, sparked by social cons objecting to their presence, has brought a mixed response from conference organizers. While GOProud is being allowed to participate, including having a booth at the conference, it appears that they are not being allowed any kind of speaking role:

[American Conservative Union chief David] Keene admitted GOProud “has signed on as a CPAC co-sponsor, but will have no speakers and we told them that, in fact, since opposition to gay marriage, etc are consensus positions (if not unanimous) among conservatives, these topics are not open to debate.”

In the December 8th announcement of GOProud’s co-sponsorship of CPAC, Executive Director Jimmy La Salvia stated the following:

This gathering of the nation’s most influential conservatives gives us an incredible opportunity to deliver our message. GOProud looks forward to continuing to work with the conservative movement to promote policies that will improve the lives of all Americans – including gays and lesbians.

With the ACU appearing to cave-in partially at least to social con pressure, how exactly is GOProud planning on “delivering their message”? How is the participation of a muzzled GOProud at CPAC any different than that of the Log Cabin Republicans over the previous few years? A different name slapped on the booth? A better spot amongst the “cool kids”?

I trust that GOProud will respond to Mr. Keene’s announced muzzling of their group and explain what exactly they hope to accomplish that makes this worth it. Right now I must say that I remain skeptical that this is anything more than a dog-and-pony show: CPAC gets to trot out the conservative/libertarian gays when needed to allay any concerns of anti-gay bigotry the general public might have about the GOP, while slapping a muzzle on them when the social cons start getting queasy about queers forgetting their place. Certainly my skepticism is misplaced here, no? We shall see…

– John (Average Gay Joe)

[UPDATE from Bruce (GayPatriot): I see that Jimmy LaSalvia has added a comment to this posting and I've also been in communication with Chris Barron, Chairman of GOProud, today about this issue.  Chris tells me the following:  "We haven't been muzzled at all by CPAC. No one has told us that there are things we can't talk about and no decisions have been made about speakers."

I should note for the record that I am the Treasurer of GOProud.]

Via Gateway Pundit:

In a strong statement to the press on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the actions of Iran’s state security services “unacceptable.”

She called on them to “avoid any further escalation of the violence and to pursue political dialogue to peacefully settle internally disputed matters,” and also to respect their commitment to the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to peaceful protest.

What is our President doing while the world burns (again)?  Enjoying some rays and reading what looks to be a Harry Potter book on the beach.

In the meantime, Gestapo Janet says, “the system worked fine” as reports surface that a new wave of airline bombers may be coming.

It is too bad I missed this as a Christmas gift… I think they will sell out soon.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

That’s the buzz on Twitter.  You be the judge.

I watched the whole thing.  I’m not convinced one way or the other. But Sen. Baucus does seem to be doing, at the very least, a great impression of “drunk girl” from SNL:

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark.

Well at least President Obama is keeping one of campaign promises: uniting most Americans of all political stripes. Although, somehow I do not believe this is what he had in mind. If even his “progressive” base is starting to turn on him, 2010 will not be a very happy new year for the Obama Administration.

All this “hopeychangeyness” is giving me such a feeling of schadenfreude lately…

h/t – Instapundit

– John (Average Gay Joe)

Five years ago, there was much bellyaching in the media about how the callousness of the President of the United States for not making a public statement about the tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands, displaced an equal number (if not more) and causes untold damage to property and the landscape, even changing the coastline in some regions.  When then-president Bush did not speak out, it was deemed a sign of his indifference, evidence that the recently reelected president was out of touch.

Now, it’s conservatives gnashing their teeth about the silence of a different president in the wake of an attempted terrorist attack on a U.S. Jetliner and an uprising against a government which has made thumbing its nose at his overtures its favorite past time.

Wonder if those on the left and in the media who faulted George W. Bush for his “callous” reaction to the tsunami five years ago will level similar criticisms against his similarly silent successor.

*and brutal suppressions thereof.

**UPDATE:  er, sorry, meant “man-caused disasters.”

Via CNN’s iReport website:

Again, there are constant live updates from the people of Iran themselves on Twitter. Much violence and bloodshed. Today looks to be a turning point in the Green Revolution. Hopefully.

Meanwhile, Barry is golfing and taking the kids for ice cream in Hawaii.  Has the President EVER used the words “Freedom” or “Liberty”?  Just curious. 

UPDATED MUSING:  When did Barry and American Democrats stop caring about human rights?  Was that another casualty of the 2008 Election?

UPDATE: From “Iran1st” on Twitter: In over 1300 years no ruler or invader has ever shed blood on Ashura [Shia mourning holiday] - The Islamic Republic has.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

The Iranian People are rising up against their repressive regime again today.  Let’s hope this time that President Obama doesn’t ignore them again in favor of kissing the dictator’s ass.

Iranian security forces on Sunday killed at least four people, including a nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, during the fiercest clashes with anti-government protesters in months, opposition Web sites and witnesses said.

Amateur video footage purportedly from the center of Tehran showed an enraged crowd carrying away one of the casualties, chanting, “I’ll kill, I’ll kill the one who killed my brother.” In several locations in the center of the capital, demonstrators fought back furiously against security forces, hurling stones and setting their motorcycles, cars and vans ablaze, according to video footage and pro-reform Web sites.

Photos from Tehran fighting today (via dissidents on Twitter and Facebook):

It would be nice if these images would cause our President to get angry or something….

FOLLOW BREAKING DEVELOPMENTS FROM IRANIAN PEOPLE via TWITTER

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

After typing out my piece wondering whether any MSM outlet will list Tea Parties as one of the political phenomena of 2009, I considered what those big stories might be.  So, about an hour ago, I scribbled out a list of what I thought were the big issues of this year about to conclude.  In no particular order:

• Obama’s inauguration and his pushing of a great variety of big government initiatives and regulatory schemes at the legislative and administrative level.  Focus on health care in the second half of the year even as fewer Americans see health care reform as most pressing issue.
• His blaming Bush for the problems he “inherited” as deficit skyrockets and unemployment increases.
• Increased poltical polarization in Washington.
• Stabilization of financial markets.
• Obama’s “smart” diplomacy, apologizing abroad, but achieving few results.
• Continued decline of MSM.
• Climategate and increased skepticism about anthropogenic global warming.
• Iranian uprising and its brutal suppression.
• Revival of the conservative movement/energy of Tea Party protesters.

Did I miss any? What do you guys think were the big political stories of 2009?

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Execs Get Up to $6 Million in Pay

Hey, didn’t the federal government take over these out-of-control (and running out-of-money) Government Sponsored-Enterprises (GSEs) last fall?  And Freddie and Fannie have a history of handing out hefty bonuses to their executives, many of whom have had an extensive business background in Democratic politics.

Wonder what the unhappy Barney Frank, who regularly inveighs against corporate greed, even trying to limit executive compensation even at enterprises which are not on the federal dole, has to say about these salaries at the GSEs he so regularly defended in the 1990s and early 2000s.

There are some headlines which just cause you to wonder at the bias of the “reporter” covering that news item or the editor who wrote that title.  Today, the opening of a supposed “news’ article on the legislative process to overhaul our nation’s health care system reveals (yet again) the AP’s political inclinations:

Democrats are troubled by the inconsistency of Republican lawmakers who approved a major Medicare expansion six years ago that has added tens of billions of dollars to federal deficits, but oppose current health overhaul plans.

Oh, poor Democrats, they’re troubled by supposed Republican inconsistency.  I mean, what does this mean?  Why is this news?  We all know political parties disagree.  And accuse their rivals of inconsistency.  Looks more like the AP reporting Democratic talking points as news.

First, do they even realize there’s a limit to growing the federal government?  To some Republicans (and I’m not one of them) who supported the Medicare Part D (prescription drug benefit), maybe this was as far as (they believed) government should grow.  And they didn’t want to further expand it. What’s the inconsistency there?  

Couldn’t a family say go into debt to finance a house, but refuse to go into further debt to buy a mansion as well?

The opening of this article shows (once again) what we already know:  the AP attempting to carry water for the Democratic Party.  And despite their slanted coverage of the health care debate, Americans increasingly oppose the various plans the AP shills promoted for their guys on Capitol Hill.

Guess they just told hold the same sway over public opinion they once did–and would still like to have.

Despite the Obama Administration’s efforts to cover up the ongoing war against America by Islamists, the Muslim terrorists are obviously undeterred in their plans to carry out war against our homeland.

Airliner attack fails over Detroit; Northwest Ohioans on board witness incident - T0ledo Blade (h/t – Amanda Carpenter)

A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria who said he was acting on al-Qaeda’s instructions set off an explosive device Friday in a failed terrorist attack on the plane as it was preparing to land in Detroit, federal officials said.

 Flight 253 had 278 passengers aboard, including northwest Ohio residents who saw the incident.

The flight was 20 minutes from the airport when what sounded like a firecracker exploded, witnesses said.  One passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue the man. Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to a front-row seat with leg burns.  One U.S. intelligence official said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid that failed to fully detonate.

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism, and stricter security measures were imposed on airline travel. Those measures were not specified.  A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria who said he was acting on al-Qaeda’s instructions set off an explosive device Friday in a failed terrorist attack on the plane as it was preparing to land in Detroit, federal officials said.

 Flight 253 had 278 passengers aboard, including northwest Ohio residents who saw the incident.

 The flight was 20 minutes from the airport when what sounded like a firecracker exploded, witnesses said.

One passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue the man. Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to a front-row seat with leg burns.

One U.S. intelligence official said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid that failed to fully detonate.

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism, and stricter security measures were imposed on airline travel. Those measures were not specified.

First let me point out one simple fact:  While nearly all levels of the US government seem paralyzed to do anything lately, we have more evidence of the American public — specifically this one passenger — who will do what it takes to protect his nation. 

Moving forward I believe Congress should look into our Homeland Security practices immediately.  There are many questions that Gestapo Janet has to answer for.  Is she too consumed on cracking down on “right-wing extremists” that she dropped the ball on a worldwide war declared on this nation?  Did the Obama Adminstration take its eye off the ball in 2009 while trying to ram healthcare reform down our throats?  Has Obama spent too much time focusing on Afghanistan, and not enough time on Yemen — where there increasing reports of Iran-sponsored al-Qaeda groups gaining strength?

We all know that Senator Obama would have asked Congress to investigate the Bush Administration under reverse circumstances had this airline attack happened two years ago.  So I hope Barry’s 2008 so-far empty pledge of transparency will at least be honored when it comes to protecting American citizens.

We stayed safe on our homeland for seven years after the 9/11 attacks.  The American public demands to know why there has been one successful terror attack (Ft. Hood), and one that nearly happened yesterday under the watch of our new President.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Back when I used to read the news magazines more regularly, I would devour their end-of-the-year issues to read about the issues which and individuals who had shaped the past twelve months.  I would both read to test my own attentiveness to the year’s trends and stories–to see how many were familiar to me–and to review the year about to conclude.

I’ve neglected those retrospectives this years (as I have for some time), but suspect that many will refer only to one of the (if not the) most important political phenomenon of 2009, the rebirth of American conservatism, in passing.

And the movement cam back alive despite pundits proclaiming its death and despite uneven the performance of the GOP leadership in our nation’s capital.  Michael Steele impressed us more before he took the helm of the RNC.  John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have proven able managers of our party’s greatly reduced cauci in their respective houses of Congress, but both suffer from an absence of what President George H.W. Bush dismissed as the “vision thing.”

Leaders of a revolution, they ain’t.

What our leaders may like in vision, however, our grassroots has shown in energy.  At the outset of the year following the election of a charismatic, community organizer to the White House, a man who motivated millins, who’d have thunk that rallies for smaller government and more freedom would have drawn larger crowds than rallies for the causes which motivate a base with a penchant for protest?

How quickly things change.  While the power in Washington may be on the left, the energy at the grassroots in on the right.  Obama’s Democrats may be trying to undermine the accomplishments of Ronald Reagan, but Republicans and independents are turning to his ideas and example for inspiration.

So, I’m wondering, given that the Tea Parties were one of the big stories of 2009, perhaps the biggest political story outside our nation’s capital, did any mainstream news outlet list this as one of the singular phenomena of the year?  And, if they did, did they accord this movement the respect it was due, not dismissing it with sexual innuendo or condescension?  

The 2010 elections will show whether this movement has the potential to transform the political landscape in the United States.  If it does, will the mainstream media again be caught off guard (as some outlets were in 1994) by a grassroots phenomenon on the right?

Now who knew that The Almighty had such a great sense of humor.  He celebrates the Climategate hoax debacle on his Son’s birthday!

Two-Thirds Of USA Has White Christmas – via DRUDGE REPORT

He’s funny, ain’t He?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)