Free Republic

© 2011 I got it! Last week, I finally realized how best to sum up the man who is president of the United States. In fact, the same can be applied to his wife, the first lady. Barack and Michelle Obama simply have no shame. They're imbued with ego, pride, chutzpah, arrogance and vain conceit that seemingly have no bounds. No matter what gaffe they commit, whatever they do that's wrong, ridiculous, crass, uncouth, rude, improper or even – dare I say, unconstitutional – they carry on as though nothing untoward had happened. If anyone criticizes, well, no fault lies...

When the Wisconsin General Assembly voted to pass Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, the Democratic legislators made themselves indistinguishable from the protesters surrounding the assembly floor. They wore the same pro-union orange T-shirts. They behaved in the same sophomoric way, breaking out in a noisy demonstration. They chanted the same ubiquitous word: "Shame!" They might as well have brought guitars onto the floor for a Woody Guthrie sing-along and touted "Walker = Hitler" signs. In Wisconsin, it's less that Democrats act to protect a special interest than that they belong to a special interest. A complete identification has long...

It's official: Cimex lectularius, better known as the lowly bedbug, has achieved the status of a national epidemic. And starting Tuesday, federal agencies will convene a major summit to address the itchy critter once thought of as little more than a scourge of third-rate motels. The 2011 National Bedbug Summit will be held this week in Washington, and according to a statement Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency, a half-dozen governmental agencies will send representatives in response to "consumer concern about the rising incidence of bed bugs in the United States." The meeting will be held at the (presumably bedbug-free)...

Yet another former ACORN employee was convicted of voter fraud last week. This brings the total number of convictions for former workers from the embattled group to at least 15 so far this year. Kevin L. Clancy of Milwaukee pleaded guilty last week to participating “in a scheme to submit fraudulent voter registration applications,” according to Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. Clancy admitted to filing multiple voter registration applications for the same individuals and registering himself and other voter registration canvassers to vote multiple times while working on an ACORN voter drive. Clancy received a 10-month prison term for...

Like pretty much every child who walks up Main Street U.S.A. at Disney World for the first time, Alix, 10, and her brother Evan, 11, can barely contain their anticipation. Evan wants to ride Space Mountain. Alix is so excited, she can't even say what she wants to do. She is jumping up and down. It's a typical Disney scene, except that Evan, Alix and their sister Jamie, a desultory 4-year-old shielded from the sun in a stroller, have come to the Magic Kingdom with their two moms. It is the 20th anniversary of Gay Days at Disney, and...

The Looking Spoon is a conservative humor/satire/art/commentary blog, visit www.thelookingspoon.com to see more posts and art

GOP gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino today went well beyond his opposition to same-sex marriage, telling a Brooklyn Hasidic congregation that children should not be "brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option. It isn’t." He told approximately 50 worshippers at the K’hal Adas Kashau synagogue in Williamsburg that children "would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family." A prepared text of the speech distributed by leaders of the congregation before it was delivered was much stronger, declaring God disapproves of homosexuality and gays should be ashamed of themselves. "There...

I was in Stuart Florida a few weeks ago and found the "Obama Wall Of Shame" in a tourist store called "Nautical But Nice". Blown away, LOL.

It is a remarkable fact that President Obama has nominated to the Supreme Court a woman who, as dean of Harvard Law School, discriminated against military recruiters in violation of federal law. Remarkable, but true. Yesterday, our friend Pete Hegseth testified in opposition to Kagan's confirmation at the invitation of Republican members of the Judiciary Committee. I find it interesting that his perspective--no doubt representative of most Americans--is one that the Democratic members did not think it necessary to consider as part of the confirmation hearing. Pete stated this part of the case against Elena Kagan eloquently:

The A & N Food Market on Main Street in Flushing, Queens, has an almost entirely Chinese clientele. The inventory includes live eels, turtles and frogs, frozen duck tongue and canned congee. These goods, like products sold in every neighborhood of the city, attract their share of shoplifters. But A & N Food Market has an unusual way of dealing with the problem. First, suspected shoplifters caught by the store’s security guards or staff members have their identification seized. Then, they are photographed holding up the items they are accused of trying to steal. Finally, workers at the store threaten...

Sarah Ferguson put on a brave face as she ran errands in New York today, ahead of her return to the UK to account to her ex-husband for her latest gaffe. She is expected to meet with Prince Andrew this week to explain how she was caught up in a sting by an undercover reporter, offering access to the prince for £500,000. After the news broke at the weekend she took a pre-arranged flight to Los Angeles to collect an award for her charity work.

No sooner had Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced plans to name the latest San Antonio Class LPD battleship in honor of the late Rep. John P. Murtha (D. Pa.) than the firefight began. The most vocal opposition to naming a warship in honor of the first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress came from some of Murtha’s own fellow U.S. Marines. “Outrage” is a mild word to describe the reaction to the possible naming by least two well-known, distinguished Marine Corps veterans who, like Murtha, served in Vietnam. “You are kidding!” retired Marine Col. Jack Brennan fired back to...

SACRAMENTO, A California mother said she had her 11-year-old son hold a sign on a street corner for three hours to apologize for being disrespectful to his teacher. Cassandra Rollins of Sacramento said she and Ahmad Rollins' father decided to have the boy apologize to his fifth-grade teacher by holding a sign detailing his offense and remorse on the busy corner of Truxel Road and West El Camino Avenue, KCRA-TV, Sacramento, reported Tuesday. Rollins said her son's worst offense was calling the teacher a "jackass." "It's important to respect authority, and I hope parents agree with me," she said. Ahmad...

Cincinnati Tea Party meets downtown Cincinnati, to hold candlelight vigil and send a massage to U.S.Rep.Steve Driehaus-DWest Price Hill,to vote no on the Obama Insurance Bill. My final headcount was nearly 400, counting teenagers and children too.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Russian Olympic officials to quit or be fired on Monday and demanded drastic changes to training procedures after a poor showing at the Winter Games dented national pride. Once mighty Russia limped in 11th in the medals table with just three golds, its worst ever tally. The result was especially embarrassing because Russia is due to host the next Winter Olympics in 2014 at the Black Sea resort of Sochi. "Those responsible should take the brave decision and sign a letter (of resignation)," Medvedev said in televised comments. "If they can't we will...

The jobs legislation would also extend highway and mass transit programs through the end of the year and pump $20 billion into them in time for the construction season. Economists say the tax breaks could create perhaps 250,000 jobs.

Holder's decision to Mirandize the Christmas bomber was bad enough. Telling the world he was talking again waseven worse Security: The administration says the Christmas bomber is now cooperating with authorities. We thought they got all the information he had in a 50-minute chat. So just why are we letting our enemies know he's talking? In any war, it's vitally important that you know what your enemy is planning and doing, just as it's important that your actions and plans remain secret. And when you know about your enemy's plans it's important they don't know that you know. We were...

DEAR PRECIOUS GRACEFUL, I think shame is an interesting thing. Have certainly wrestled with plenty of it in my life. Not sure it's all over, either. There was a church member or pastor . . . speaking, I forget which . . . recently . . . a sermon, I think . . . probably Pastor Christie . . . how Christ . . . Cast down shame on The Cross. Not just took it upon Himself but conquered it, and cast it down. Banished it from having any effect or influence on Him. I think there was some...

Ellen Goodman is morally troubled. The liberal columnist for The Boston Globe surveys the moral landscape and laments "there's no shame in the game." Goodman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, whose observations are predictably liberal and feminist, but also marked by a keen eye for cultural detail. I still remember a column she wrote almost thirty years ago about an abandoned church being transformed into a condominium. In "Whatever Happened to Shame?," published in the December 18 edition of the Boston paper, Goodman reports that The New York Post has hired Ashley Dupre, the prostitute at the center of the...

Eight years ago today, our homeland was attacked by fanatical Muslims inspired by Saudi Arabian bigotry. Three thousand American citizens and residents died. We resolved that we, the People, would never forget. Then we forgot. We've learned nothing. Instead of cracking down on Islamist extremism, we've excused it. Instead of killing terrorists, we free them. Instead of relentlessly hunting Islamist madmen, we seek to appease them. Instead of acknowledging that radical Islam is the problem, we elected a president who blames America, whose idea of freedom is the right for women to suffer in silence behind a veil -- and...