So Obama spoke last night...

I maced myself as I crossed the picket line.  Screw me, I want to talk about this.

So Obama gave a 7-page, single-spaced speech last night about Libya.

And what do we know now that we didn't know last night?

Who are we fighting to protect?  Are the rebels a pack of AQ throw-offs who've been exporting trained terrorists throughout Europe and the Middle East, or are they a plucky band of Benghazi U humanities majors and their spirited public employee union allies acting out a "Red Dune" scenario.

Dunno.  Obama didn't tell us.

Told us it was not in our national interest for Libya to have a civil war.  Why?

Dunno.  Obama didn't tell us.

Told us NATO was" taking command of the enforcement of the arms embargo and the no-fly zone. Last night, NATO decided to take on the additional responsibility of protecting Libyan civilians."

Um, except this morning they're not, not yet, anyway.

Said the United States " has done what we said we would do."

Except we haven't.  Ghaddafi is still in power and we have said regime change is not our objective.  SO WHO THE FUCK ARE WE BLOWING UP?!

Dunno.  Obama didn't tell us.

"Moreover, America has an important strategic interest in preventing Qaddafi from overrunning those who oppose him. A massacre would have driven thousands of additional refugees across Libya’s borders, putting enormous strains on the peaceful –- yet fragile -– transitions in Egypt and Tunisia."

Except that the refugees are swamping Italy instead, realizing there are no government dole checks in Egypt and Tunisia.

"There will be times, though, when our safety is not directly threatened, but our interests and our values are."  Liiiike....?  Apparently like those American values that are defended by flying airstrikes in support of Al Qaeda.  Those values.

"The United States will not be able to dictate the pace and scope of this change."

Our commander in chief appears unclear about how bombers and aircraft carriers work.  One airstrike on Ghaddafi's palace on day one of the insurrection and the tempo would have changed a LOT.

"But let us also remember that for generations, we have done the hard work of protecting our own people, as well as millions around the globe. We have done so because we know that our own future is safer, our own future is brighter, if more of mankind can live with the bright light of freedom and dignity."

President Bush, is that you?

To sum up: we weren't told why we went in or how long we're going to be there.  We WERE told we don't intend to enforce "regime change" on the monster who supposedly made it imperative we go in.  We are defending American values by flying air cover for terrorists and we are defending our national interests by putting our troops in harms' way under the orders of foreign powers who can't even permit themselves to admit they are in charge of the mission they called for.  We are flying 95% of the combat missions in this "joint action" and we are going to stay there as long as Sarkozy wants us to.

Did I miss anything?

A few slight corrections, Mr. President...

Barack Obama's History of Muslim Achievement... edited for reality...

Gold Medal?

Tallest Building?

Peace?

Tolerance?

Love?

Civilization?

The Word on the Street...

Go for the gutter! That's where the fun is!

But seriously, street protests are not and should not be the exclusive province of the left. Nor do they require masses of people to be effective. One rally I know of started with a Marine's wife and her two kids standing on a curb to show support for her deployed husband. Another was started by a mother supporting her deployed son.

You need to understand what your aims are. Media attention? Hell, you know you won't get that. We've had news crews plop their tripods down in the middle of our rally to shoot the opposition across the street and leave without ever speaking a word to us. At the Santa Monica Tea Party, the ABC News crew pulled four Code Pinkers aside from the crowd of hundreds of tax and spend protesters and gave them their own private interview.

Change minds? Unlikely to impossible. Everything that has taken place in the politics of the left in the last eight years has resulted in a total polarization among their believers. I'm an ex-Democrat. I still get their mailings. While Steele and Cornyn are blithering about working with the Democrats, the mainstream of the Democratic leadership is talking about ending GOP influence in politics once and for all. I march with people who do try to engage the lefties, but since there is NO branch of leftist politics that does not approve of lying to waste your opponent's time and energy, I don't see the point myself. Just smile as they curse and wait for the light to change.

So why do it?

Because there are people out there like you who do not know they are NOT ALONE. They can't speak up at work or school, they don't hear their beliefs from the network news or talk shows or approving celebrities. They need to see you.

And you WILL have an effect. We don't go a week without someone coming up and thanking us for being there, a veteran, a servicemember's parent or loved one, even just plain people off the street. Who knows, you might even inspire some of them to start their own rallies.

This week's picket signs:

And of course the punchline on the flip side of each...

Obama's Speechificatin' Skills Explained...

Rare video of Obama's real father found!