"Scurrilous"

That is the word Dr. Charles Krauthammer used to describe the attempt by the left to blame Sarah Palin and the Tea Party for the horrible tragedy in Tucson, an action carried out by a mad man. It seems rather an appropriate term, not just for their unfounded claims, but for some of the claims that have followed by those in the media.

Here is the All Star Panel discussing this very issue, and how the media is continuing to ratchet up antagonism against the right under the guise of moderating our rhetoric:



As Baier highlighted, I have seen a number of reports in which people are doing exactly as he suggested, "There is no evidence of this lunatic being influenced by Palin, the Tea Party, or Republicans at all, BUT let's blame them anyway, and try to squelch free speech while we are at it."

I wrote recently about my ignorant representative, Jim Clyburn, blaming the Tea Party/Palin/Republicans, AND wanting to cut back on Freedom of Speech. And all of this is under the guise of wanting to decreasing violence in speech.

Tuesday, Arianna Huffington, she of HuffPo creation, wrote a post, "Arizona Shootings: Our Moment of Silence Needs To Be Followed By More Than Just Lowered Voices." I suppose I should have warned you in case you were drinking something at the time - my apologies. Anyway, in Ms. Huffington's post, she writes this:

[snip] And while we don't know all the facts yet and the story is still unfolding, we know enough to know that we need more than a little soul searching.

The fact that the gunman is clearly mentally unbalanced does not absolve us of the responsibility to consider the atmosphere in which the shootings occurred. "Shootings of political figures are by definition 'political,'" writes James Fallows. "That's how the target came to public notice; it is why we say 'assassination' rather than plain murder."

And the atmosphere in which this horrible tragedy was born, nurtured, and carried to its wretched fruition is toxic. Of course, there are always going to be unbalanced people, just as there are always going to be viruses in our environment -- but what most determines whether those viruses make us sick is the strength of our immune system. When it is stressed and compromised, infections can easily take hold.

And there is no doubt that our collective immune system is worn down, making us more susceptible to the kind of infection that turned that Arizona parking lot into a killing field. While there has never been a golden age in our democracy's history, there have been many times in which our national immune system was much stronger. [snip] (Click here if you want to read the rest.)

This is not just scurrilous, it is the height of hypocrisy. Many of us remember all too well how our "immune systems" got weakened by vitriolic speech. A lot of it happened right there at Huffington Post to those of us who had the audacity to support Hillary Clinton over The One. We were bullied, berated, attacked, and essentially banished from the site for our refusal to capitulate on the best choice for president. Sure, there have been a few posts here and there in support of Hillary Clinton since Obama took office (do I really need to explain that one?), but the fact remains, this blog has been at the forefront of vitriolic rhetoric.

Just last month, in December, Huffington Post allowed the once-great Aaron Sorkin to post an almost unintelligible screed against Sarah Palin, laced with profanity, and twisted facts throughout. His attack on her was completely unprovoked. He just couldn't help himself in his desire to attack, attack, attack, and demean this woman. And Huffington Post allowed him to do so. One month later, Huffington has the nerve to talk about "toxic" rhetoric? Spare me the sanctimony.

MoveOn.org has joined the chorus as well, asking its members to sign a petition to our Congress with this as the petition text: "I call for an end to all overt and implied appeals to violence in American politics. We must debate, not hate." Are they for real?? The same organization who referred to General Petraeus as "General Betrayus" is now acting as if they are some honest broker in restoring civility to speech? Again, I remember just how they conducted themselves during the 2008, 2010 elections. They have no leg on which to stand in tryin gto claim this moral high ground.

Neither does Obama Sycophant, Jonathan Alter, who, in the spirit of Rahm Emanuel, wants Obama to make sure he makes political hay out of this horrible tragedy. His headline says it all, "Can Obama Turn Tragedy Into Triumph?" Alter writes:

[snip] But silence will not be enough. This horrific event offers the president a chance to show leadership qualities that he’s inexplicably hidden away in some blind trust. The shootings and the resulting debate over the climate of incivility play to his strengths as a calm and rational leader. Just as Bill Clinton’s response to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings helped him recover from his defeat in the 1994 midterms, so this episode may help Obama change—at least in the short term--the trajectory of American politics. [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)

Perhaps Alter was just mistaken that Obama ever embodied the leadership he is "inexplicably hidden away." That was Alter's mistake for making that leap based on little data, just like others have done with this tragedy. But even more disingenuous is this rampant implication by those on the left that they engaged in NONE of this vitriolic rhetoric. It is, again, scurrilous, for someone like Alter, who regularly appeared on Olbermann, trashing Clinton AND Palin, to now act like he and his cohorts were just meek little lambs in their political discourse. The hypocrisy is just staggering.

I cannot possibly go through all of the instances of the Left's treatment of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Primary in their blind desire to elect Obama. The unsubstantiated attacks, the theft of votes, the fraud perpetrated in the caucuses by the Obama camp, all with tacit approval by the DNC, along with the most misogynistic shirts, slogans, sayings, and ads put out by the Obama camp. And now they are trying to act like they were harmless in their rhetoric? It would be pathetic if not so infuriating.

And then there was what they did to Palin. This Primer by Michelle Malkin gives you just a quick glimpse into the "moderate" language of the left about this governor.

And now, these same people, who attacked these candidates, and their followers, relentlessly, are now blaming inflammatory rhetoric on the RIGHT as the primary reason this maniac tried to assassinate Rep. Giffords. Moreover, they would seek to limit our speech as a result of this attack.

We cannot, CANNOT, censor ourselves with an eye to not upsetting some deranged lunatic. That essentially allows the crazy people to determine our discourse, which is, in and of itself, crazy. It is over-functioning to a pathological degree to try and tiptoe around our nation in fear that someone somewhere may just lose it. That kind of walking on eggshells is a horrible way to live, and does, by its very nature, make us prisoners of our own making. We cannot stop talking, or writing, or protesting, or arguing, just because it might set some psycho off on a rampage. We cannot know what will be the next trigger, and we cannot live our lives in constant fear of "upsetting" someone so much they will go off the rails. It is a destructive path down which some would have us go.

And it will strip us of our very freedoms. I, for one, am not willing to give up my freedom to appease some nut-job. How about you?

My Stupid, Moronic, Idiotic, Lying, Grandstanding...

Back stabbing, Race baiting, representative, Jim Clyburn, is jumping on the Democratic-fueled baseless claim that political rhetoric was to blame in the recent tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona. Bear in mind, there is ZERO evidence to support the instantaneous claim that Sarah Palin and the Tea Party were to blame for this attack against the well respected and well regarded Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords.

Why all of the name calling? Because if my "esteemed" (cough, choke) Congressman has his way, we will lose our right to free speech, so I figure I better get it all out now. Ahem. Yessiree, he thinks we need to have some "parameters" set forth, as this Post and Courier article makes clear:

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in Congress, said Sunday the deadly shooting in Arizona should get the country thinking about what's acceptable to say publicly and when people should keep their mouths shut.

Clyburn said he thinks vitriol in public discourse led to a 22-year-old suspect opening fire Saturday at an event Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords held for her constituents in Tucson, Ariz. Six people were killed and 14 others were injured, including Giffords.

The shooting is cause for the country to rethink parameters on free speech, Clyburn said from his office, just blocks from the South Carolina Statehouse. He wants standards put in place to guarantee balanced media coverage with a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, in addition to calling on elected officials and media pundits to use 'better judgment.'

'Free speech is as free speech does,' he said. 'You cannot yell ‘fire' in a crowded theater and call it free speech and some of what I hear, and is being called free speech, is worse than that.'

Clyburn used as an example a comment made by Sharron Angle, an unsuccessful U.S. senatorial candidate in Nevada, who said the frustrated public may consider turning to 'Second Amendment remedies' for political disputes unless Congress changed course.

Clyburn said the man accused of shooting Giffords did just that.

'He saw a Second Amendment remedy and that's what occurred here and there is no way not to make that connection,' Clyburn said. [snip] (Click HERE to read the rest, and some of the comments are pretty good, especially the one from "Superrog" who suggests to Clyburn, "Bite me.".)

From where did this claim originate? Well, according to Politico, from a Democratic operative:

[snip]One veteran Democratic operative, who blames overheated rhetoric for the shooting, said President Barack Obama should carefully but forcefully do what his predecessor did.

“They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers,” said the Democrat. “Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people.”

Another Democratic strategist said the similarity is that Tucson and Oklahoma City both “take place in a climate of bitter and virulent rhetoric against the government and Democrats.” [snip] (Click HERE to read the rest.)

With absolutely zero evidence, the Democrats endeavored, and have been fully assisted by the media, in propagating a complete fallacy about the actions of this madman in Tucson. They are, in essence, engaging in the very "virulent rhetoric" of which they are accusing Republicans and Tea Partiers. They don't seem to see the irony - make that hypocrisy - of their actions. Or if they do, they just don't care. And Clyburn with his race-baiting of the Clintons is particularly guilty of political rhetoric, oh hell - let's call it what it was - a LIE, that had major consequences.

Indeed, these claims were made essentially from the outset, as Sheriff Paul Babeu makes clear in the following clip:



And why? Why would a sheriff make such an absurd claim about the motive? Why did the left seize on this tragic horrible situation in which six American citizens were gunned down, and fourteen others, including a US Congresswoman, were seriously injured? What in the world could be the logic here? Just to gain a political edge? Could they really be that callous, that repugnant, to use the deaths and grave injuries of others just to punish their political enemies?

It sure seems that way, especially considering the restraint many on the Left called for after Major Hasan opened fire on a number of his fellow soldiers, as Ed Morrissey wrote about this weekend. We were told not to assume it was because he was Muslim, that we didn't know what was going on, all of the facts were not in, etc., etc. Well, turns out it WAS because he is Muslim, but yes, restraint until the facts are known is solid advice. It is a shame they were so quick to (incorrectly) judge this time around. But, wow, were they ever, including Paul Krugman of the New York Times:



Wow. Krugman has no idea who Loughner is, but that doesn't stop him from making these wild accusations. The entire media has been a willing partner in putting forth this propaganda as to rationale for the shooting. How else can you classify it as anything other than propaganda? The print media, bloggers, and television networks have been all too willing to CREATE this rumor, and put it forth as fact, though everything that is coming out NOW clearly demonstrates how false their meme is.

That the Democrats, including my assholic representative, Jim Clyburn, and their willing accomplices, the media, are choosing to use this tragedy for political gain is simply obscene. It is callous, it is the absolute worst kind of grandstanding, and it is reprehensible. They should be ashamed of themselves, though I doubt that emotion can even filter through the sanctimony and political opportunism they are demonstrating repeatedly over this tragedy.

The focus should be on how this clearly deranged man passed his FBI background check, why his repeated death threats were not taken more seriously, and how the system failed, not trying to blame a group who had absolutely nothing to do with this heinous crime.

Moreover, we should concern ourselves with those fighting for their lives, and for the families of those fallen as a result of Loughner's actions. That would be the appropriate response, not trying to curb our speech, or make up blame to heap on others, thus fueling the very vitriol that is being decried.

The Democrats, and the media, are way out of line on this one, and they need to rectify this situation immediately. They can begin with an apology to Sarah Palin, and maybe, just maybe instead of spouting off with nothing more than lies, rumor, and innuendo, they can just shut the hell up already. Talking to you, Rep. Clyburn.

How Palin Is Responsible For Rep. Giffords' Being Shot

Or, as I like to call it, "Palin Derangement Syndrome On Steroids."

No doubt, you have already heard or read that many in the media made the leap that Gov. Sarah Palin is responsible for this assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, one of the truly good politicians. Yes, because Gov. Palin had a map with crosshairs for those districts to target in 2010, it is all her fault.

Never mind that the DLC had one similar, and its was up before Gov. Palin's. Oh, no - pay no attention to that. It might momentarily impede the self-righteous, sanctimonious meme that it is all Palin's fault. Can't have that.

And never mind that Jared Lee Loughner is one seriously deranged dude, who had already been visited by police several times for making death threats. Or that, according to people who know him, he is actually a leftist-leaning liberal. We all know how much THOSE people, those Lefty communist-types do whatever Palin wants them to do, right? Right. Snort.

All of this was recently captured in a Facebook exchange I had with my Obot follower sister. It all started with me writing this "incendiary" comment. Okay, ready? It's really provocative, so hold onto your seats:

What a senseless, horrendous, cowardly act, this shooting of Rep. Giffords, members of her staff, a Federal District judge, and innocent bystanders. My thoughts and prayers go out to those families who lost loved ones this day, including the parents of the 9 yr old girl, and Judge John Roll. I pray for the speedy and... complete recovery of Rep. Giffords, her staff, and others fighting for their lives after this attack.

I included a link to The Hill, "Politicians React To Shooting Of Rep. Giffords." Perhaps that is where it started. Who knows? What I got was this exchange:

Sister, I've read some of the comments on the news sites about this, including "how dare you associate Sarah Palin with this shooting!" Um... maybe because on her website, she has Gabrielle Giffords depicted in a rifle's crosshairs? Public figures, while not personally responsible for pulling the trigger[s], need to remember to communicate responsibly.

How many more shootings do we need to have happen before this country WAKES UP and says NO MORE?!

Me,And the DCCC had the same kind of map before Palin did, so it surely is not Palin's fault, nor is it a Tea Party thing, as some have tried to claim. This was a deranged 22 yr old who opened fire on a crowd for whatever his own screwed up reasons were. The BIG question is how someone so completely unbalanced was able to purchase a gun. THAT is the issue, as opposed to trying to blame Palin for this despicable act.

Me, As I continue looking at reports on Giffords, I don't understand why Palin is being blamed for this when Loughner was a far leftist, who claimed the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf as his two favorite books. I doubt those are two of Palin's faves. Wasn't it Obama who instructed his followers, "if they bring a knife, we bring a gun"? Or a DailyKos blogger who wrote, just two days ago, that Rep. Giffords was "dead to" him? So, are they to blame? No. The one to blame is Loughner himself, not anyone else but him.
Sister, I'm on the DCCC mailing list, and I sure don't recall seeing anything with gunsights on it, or talk about reloading.

And yes, how someone that unstable was able to buy a gun is a very good question!

Me, I'll send it to you. It most definitely was. The DLC had one, too. Heck, DailyKos targeted Rep. Giffords in 2008. Again, to blame this on Palin is ridiculous - the kid was a far lefty, not exactly a Palin follower, I'd wager.

Seems like a reasonable wager, does it not? I mean, really - from all reports, this young man was not exactly the kind to dvr "Sarah Palin's Alaska," or anything. Well, evidently, I am wrong:

Sister,Hitler was as far right as they come. And it doesn't matter what Palin's fave books are, it's the words coming out of her mouth and the graphics on her website. (Those were just taken down today, a little late, if you ask me.)

...Palin is not the ONLY person spewing hatred, but in this particular case,
she did spew hatred directly at this particular Representative.

As did Markos at DailyKos. He targeted her back in 2008. And he's pretty left-leaning. But I digress. I guess I should be amazed she conceded that Palin isn't the ONLY one hate-spewing, though that continues to assert that Palin IS engaged in hateful rhetoric.

But wait, it gets better, albeit a bit repetitive (I know, I know, I should stop banging my head against the wall):

Me By all accounts, this young man was a far Leftist. That DailyKos targeted Giffords, even claiming she was dead to him two days before the shooting, that doesn't figure in at all? Or Obama telling his followers, "if someone brings a knife, you should bring a gun"? Honestly, I don't think it should - but you sure shouldn't try and pin this one on Palin. (The DCCC had their bulls-eye one up for a long time, too - but I guess that's different.)

Me, As for Hitler being "far right," he advocated a centralized government, a National Socialism (hence, "Nazism).

And that, dear friends, got me this response from a childhood friend:

With all respect, somehow Hitler doesn't come to mind as someone to defend. I think a take home from all of this should be a recognition that words have power. There is far too much violence and hatred in political speech these days. It serves no good and only weakens this country.

Defending Hitler? By defining what Nazism is?? That kind of "logical" leap defies, well, logic:

Me, Good grief...I am not defending Hitler. Don't know how you made that leap. My sister said he was far right, which is incorrect, in her attempt to connect Sarah Palin to this murderer who listed Hitler's book as one of his faves, as well as the Communist Manifesto. From all reports, Loughner is a liberal, so the attempted connection to Palin defies logic. That was ALL I was saying - I was not defending Hitler in any way, shape, or form...

So you see, ladies and gentlemen, if you try to point out that the person responsible for this heinous act is the one responsible, not Sarah Palin for some map she did MONTHS ago, you are a Hitler apologist.

Wow.

Thankfully, my friend just wrote back and said this:

My apologies. It read that way. My view, whether the shooter was far left or far right in the center of apolitical, the tone of political speech here has become increasingly bellicose, hateful and intolerant. Words have power. It creates... an atmosphere in which violence can occur. So no matter which "side" uses it, it creates and contributes to conditions for violent actions. Whether it influenced this guy, I hope this serves as a wake up call for the country to step back and change the way we talk to and about each other.

True that. Though, still, the machinations people go through to resist in any way not blaming Palin for this, which ends up with someone reading a simple definition as an apology for Hitler, is staggering. Good grief. That should tell them something, shouldn't it? I know, stop banging my head against the wall.

It seems that people have completely lost sight of what is most important in all of this: a US Representative had an assassination attempt against her, one she has miraculously, so far, survived. In the meantime, though, a member of her staff was murdered, along with a Federal District Judge, John Roll, and several others. I just learned this morning, the 9 year old girl, Christina Greene who died, was born on 9/11:

[snip] A neighbor was going to the Giffords event and invited Christina along because she thought she would enjoy it, said her uncle, Greg Segalini.

Christina had just been elected to the student council at her school. The event, held outside a Safeway supermarket north of Tucson, was an opportunity for constituents to meet Giffords and talk about any concerns they had related to the federal government.

"The next thing you know this happened. How do you prepare for something like this. My little niece got killed-took one on the chest and she is dead," Segalini said outside the girl's house.

Christina was involved in many activities, from ballet to baseball, Segalini said.

"She was real special and real sweet," Segalini said. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

So sad. It is a tragic, horrible, disturbing situation, resulting in a home-grown terrorist attack on one of the People's representatives, and innocent bystanders. That there has become this extreme level of vitriol directed at Palin, or anyone else, is a failure to look at how we treat each other, the height of the vitriol we are willing to tolerate, the amount of hatred we are willing to spew at each other from the safety of our keyboards.

Rep. Giffords is the best type of politician. She listens to her constituents, and thinks for herself. I hope and pray for a full and speedy recovery for her, and all those who were shot during this rampage.

And for those whose lives were lost, my deepest sympathies and condolences to their families. This should never have happened, and we cannot allow it to happen again...

We have become so disconnected from one another, it is heartbreaking. I brought back the conversation that this should not be about Palin, but about Rep. Giffords and the others in this attack. Another friend, a retired military chaplain, wrote the following:

In the end I think we will learn that this was simply the deranged act of a very disturbed young man. It reminds me to "love GOD (higher power) with all my heart and soul, & to love my neighbor as I love myself. On these 2 commandments hang... all the law and the prophets."
in many ways I think I (we) have lost love for neighbor because I (we) have wandered away from the ability to genuinely properly love myself (ourselves). Just a thought... In many ways I think fear and "terrorists of all kinds" are winning. I pray I am wrong!!!!

...One day at a time...NAMASTE

Amen to that.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

By now, I imagine you have heard of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-AZ, from the Tucson area (she was born and reared there). It is a tragic, tragic tale of a deranged 22 year old man (Jared Loughner) opening fire on a public meet and greet the Representative was doing to be present for her constituents. Miraculously, Rep. Giffords has come through the surgery she had following the shooting, and her doctors expect her to recover.

Rep. Giffords is someone for whom I have a great deal of respect not only for some of her positions, but for the way she works to truly be a representative of the people. She is one of those rare politicians for whom the letter after her name is not the primary signifier. Recently, she was speaking about a bill she has put forth in the House recommending that the members take a 5% pay cut, and - get this - "lead by example." Wow. What a concept. Here she is discussing her plan:



Rep. Giffords was also instrumental in pushing Obama to provide more troops for the Arizona border, a much needed move (though more needs to be done). She is embraced by those on both sides of the aisle for the way she conducts herself, and the way she conducts the work of the people whom she serves.

Giffords is an amazing woman. That some psycho felt compelled to attempt to silence her voice is reprehensible, to put it mildly. I hope, and pray, for her speedy recovery. I pray for strength for her husband, NASA Astronaut, Mark Kelly, as he provides support and comfort to his wife during this difficult time.

To those families who lost loved ones this day, my heart goes out to them all. It is just a shock beyond imagining that such an event, going to meet their representative in a grocery store parking lot, could end in such tragedy. To the family of Federal District Judge John Roll, my deepest sympathy for this senseless loss.

All of their names are not yet known, but to the family of the 9 year old girl, my heart goes out to you, as well as to the others whose lives were lost this day.

My prayers go out to all of those who were wounded, and who are fighting for their lives. This tragedy should never have happened, not in this country, the impact of which is captured in this statement:

[snip] "An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve," said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a statement. "Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society....This is a sad day for our country." [snip] (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Amen to that.

Again, my thoughts and prayers are with Rep. Giffords as she fights to survive this senseless shooting, and to all those, including three members of her staff, who were shot.

And to those who lost their loved ones, I cannot imagine how impossible this must be for you now. Please know that we are with you, we stand by you, we pray for you, and our thoughts are with you all...

Up, Up, And Away...

That would be the price of gasoline these days. I don't know about where you live, but I do know I went away for a week, and came back with the gas prices higher than when I left. We are closing in on $3 a gallon here.

The Washington Examiner had an editorial on this very issue, "Obama's $5 A Gallon Gas Just Ahead." The editorial reminded readers of one of Obama's statements ignored by his supporters, though not by those of us who had our eyes wide open, and our ears, too. And that was this:

Most politicians play word games to cast themselves in the most favorable light, so perhaps it's understandable that few people took it seriously when President Obama unaccountably said during his 2008 presidential campaign that energy prices would "necessarily skyrocket" under his program.

With gas steadily approaching $4 per gallon and projected by federal Energy Information Administration experts to hit $5 in 2012, it's time to accept Obama at his word. The costs of heating and cooling our homes and offices, keeping gas in the cars and trucks that get us to work and the grocery store, and generating the electricity that keeps our laptops humming are heading skyward because Obama thinks that's what is best for us. It's a classic illustration of liberals using government to do to us what we would never do to ourselves. [snip]

Remember that pithy little statement by Obama? It should have cost him a few states, including Pennsylvania, but for reasons beyond me, it didn't. Anyway, this is what Obama said about "Cap And Trade" back in the day:



Again, don't know about where you live, but I can tell you, our electric costs have been on the rise since Obama took office, and I fear it will only get worse.

When prices escalate for products like gas, it necessarily changes how people live, what they can do, and where they drive. We are comfortable financially, but when prices were high not that long ago, it did change where we drove, how often I went to see my horse, Jordan (which is one of the highlights of my week), or up into Charleston, or any number of places. I just spent $38 filling up my tank on Thursday, and I still had between 1/4 - 1/2 of a tank left (I drive a Sienna, which gets decent gas mileage). When gas goes up like this, it means, for some people, the difference between being able to drive to work or not.

So what has Obama done to affect gas prices? This:

[snip] Here are just some of the ways Obama has constricted U.S. energy exploration and development, thereby forcing prices upward and making America more dependent on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other costly, unreliable foreign oil sources who bear this country ill will:

»?Reimposed bans on oil and natural gas drilling in America's outer continental shelf that were previously reversed by a Democratic-led Congress and a Republican president. Experts estimate there are at least 130 billion barrels of oil and trillions of feet of natural gas to be harvested from these areas, but Obama won't allow it.

»?Even before the cause of the Deepwater Horizon disaster was known, Obama imposed a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico that cost thousands of jobs and effectively ended drilling in both deep and shallow waters there. Although officially lifted, slow-walking federal bureaucrats have yet to approve new permits and are busily issuing costly new requirements that are certain to stifle most, if not all, drilling in the Gulf for years to come. A third of America's oil production comes from wells in the Gulf.

»?Reversed a Bush administration decision that opened millions of acres of public lands in the western parts of the nation to careful oil and natural gas exploration and development, then invented an entirely new classification that puts those and millions more acres not previously covered off limits.

»?Appointed an energy secretary -- Steven Chu -- who said in December 2008 that Americans should pay the same prices as Europeans for gas. Gas in Europe then averaged around $8 per gallon.

Maybe now people will believe that Obama meant exactly what he said in 2008 about making us pay much more for energy. If they don't, they surely will in coming months. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Maybe. One can only hope, though the blinders and earplugs seem to be in plenty for too many.

So, what are things like where you are? Are gas or other energy prices affecting your daily lives? Feel free to talk about this, or anything else going on (reading the Constitution in the House? Repealing Obamacare? Pelosi claiming that NOW House Democrats will focus on jobs though they did blessed little to address that issue while controlling all three houses? Obama calling the Eagles owner to thank him for giving Michael Vick, the dog torturer, a second chance?).

And TGIF...