Cri de Coeur

I imagine you're probably wondering why I haven't posted in so long (it's not the migraines-- see earlier post).

The answer: too depressing.

Democrats have been in total (legislative and executive) power for two and a half months. And I figured it would be bad, I did. Truly, I wasn't one of those conservatives or moderates who thought that Obama was lying during his campaign, when he wanted to "spread the wealth", or when he took slam after slam at the rich (of which he is one), or when he ran from "victim" to "victim", reassuring them all that he was going to save their homes/paycheck/entitlements/self-respect. Oh, no. I believed him. I did. Which is why I voted for McCain, in spite of my misgivings (which I had. Palin reinvigorated me for a time, as she did many conservatives, but the effect turned out to be only palliative, not curative). Even John Derbyshire, in spite of vowing not to, voted for McCain, knowing how bad the alternative could be. Conservatives knew that an Obama administration could be damaging to the country.

But I don't think any of us knew how across-the-board horrifying it would be. Certainly I didn't. I'll take it in sections.

FOREIGN POLICY:
Obama promised "smart diplomacy". He promised to "rebuild our relationships" with other countries. He promised engagement and strength at the same time.

Instead, we have kissed Iran's butt, and then had it handed back to us on a platter for a second round, and a third with the March Video to the Mullahs. Meanwhile, while all this engaging was happening, an Iranian blogger died in prison. He was 29. His crimes were insulting religious leaders and producing anti-Iranian propaganda.

We've also been sucking up to China. Our vaunted SecState, Hillary Clinton recently told the Chinese that not only was the economy (and, by extension, all of our debt that the Chinese hold) more important than Chinese human rights, but that the "environment crisis" was too. "Sorry Tibet! Your yaks produce methane, you know. Sorry, members of Falun Gong whose organs are harvested before you're dead! Your philosophy doesn't produce anything "sustainable" or "green", so no support for you. Sorry, Taiwan! You're a stable democracy staring into the maw of hell (and producing goods that Americans routinely buy), but the Chinese premier holds some of our IOU's, you know. So sorry, all! I've got to board my helicopter now. Pilot, shake off those people clinging to the runners." Oh, and as a bonus rubbing in of salt, she said it from the comfort of Seoul, South Korea.

In between these disasters, we have also managed to screw over the most loyal supporters we had in Europe (the Czechs, Poles, Romanians, Ukrainians, Georgians... you know, all those people who have only just escaped the Iron Curtain) by blithely abandoning promises we made in exchange for Russia's support in our Iranian policy. The Russians said thanks, but no thanks, but guess what? We haven't apologized to our friends, we haven't redressed the damage we did, and we're still not putting missiles there for defense. We're just rolling over, playing poodle to Russia's wolf.

We have insulted Britain three times at last count: we sent Winston Churchill away without even a passing glance, we failed to treat Gordon Brown and his family with any measure of respect, let alone pomp and circumstance, and the treasury department can't even return its calls from a fellow member of the G7.

Oh, and we're sending 900 million American taxpayer dollars to Gaza. At the same time that we agreed to attend preparations for Durban II, the UN anti-Israel hate fest (which we later backed out of, but only after rejecting Israeli and Canadian requests to not attend). The American taxpayer is now not only funding AIG, GM, and trillions of dollars worth of other companies, but now we're funding Palestinians, who voted in a terrorist organization which is sure to get its hands on any money we send.

DOMESTIC POLICY:

Where do I even start? With the "stimulus"? TARP II? The omnibus? Obama's mortgage plan, enacted almost entirely by executive order with no legislative vote or debate whatsoever? GM? The fact that I am now on the hook for GM buyers' warranties? Or that Obama fired GM's CEO? Perhaps I should start with the cabinet full of tax cheats? Or the fact that the administration names critics (private citizens) and singles them out for attack? Or the rumors that the administration is considering wage controls for ALL banks, ALL insurance companies, and perhaps all PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES?

Or I could start with the administration floating the idea of making Iraq and Afghanistan veterans pay for treatment of wounds they received in the course of duty. Or that Obama seems unable to bring himself to cut spending in any major area (except defense, of course). Or that he routinely apologizes for the U.S. in every statement he makes to foreigners.

Business

Regular blogging will now recommence.

No, I haven't had my second son yet. I've discovered that a can of Mountain Dew (or the generic equivalent) in the morning usually keeps the migraines at bay, so I should be able to post most of the time. There are still a couple nasty days every few weeks, but I can deal with that.

On with the show!