NASA'S PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: MAKE MUSLIMS FEEL GOOD

This is really beyond shocking and ranks right up there with the idea of awarding U.S. soldiers a medal for 'courageous restraint' in terms of incredulity. Keep in mind what the acronym NASA stands for - National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is a government body whose name implies something that its current head, Charles Bolden doesn't seem to comprehend. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Bolden told the interviewer that the 'foremost' goal of NASA is to help Muslims feel better about their contributions to "science, math, and engineering."

To sum up, those who achieve should re-focus their efforts on appeasing those who don't; in effect, NASA is to exacerbate feelings of inferiority through counseling. Expanding the Church of Victimology to all four corners of the globe. Here's the good news. You don't even need a shuttle to do it!

This has Barack Hussein Obama written all over it.

h/t to Power Line

MEET CHICAGO'S ALEXI GIANNOULIAS AND HIS PERFECT STORM

If ever there was a politician in danger of being at the center of a perfect storm he created for himself, it might just be Illinois Senate candidate and current Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D). In April, Giannoulias lost millions of dollars when his family's bank closed; his state is facing a $12 Billion deficit and failing to pay day to day bills; he's been subpoenaed as a witness in the Blagojevich trial; and he's made multiple conflicting statements about his dealings with Blagojevich over Obama's Senate seat.

MONEY WOES

h/t to Red State. Check out Giannoulias' website. Take note of what's right up front and center:

Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias serves as the state’s banker. His primary responsibility is to protect and wisely invest taxpayers’ money.

State lawmakers budget almost all of the tax dollars collected each year, but that money is not spent all at once. At any given time, the State Treasurer manages about $17 billion in state and local funds.

Let that sink in for a minute. As Treasurer, Giannoulias is responsible for managing $17 billion, right? So why is his state failing to pay its daily bills while operating under a $12 billion budget deficit? A better question would be how someone who is failing at his job as miserably as Giannoulias is, coming anywhere close to sniffing a run at a U.S. Senate seat? There's nothing quite like promoting incompetence. In the private sector, such a move would be on par with promoting a Regional Manager who has run his business into the ground, to an executive position. When making money is a priority, that doesn't happen. However, in politics, spending money - other people's money - is the priority and it happens quite a bit.

VIa the New York Times, Alexi has a bit of a problem with his state's finances:

CHICAGO - Even by the standards of this deficit-ridden state, Illinois's comptroller, Daniel W. Hynes, faces an ugly balance sheet. Precisely how ugly becomes clear when he beckons you into his office to examine his daily briefing memo.

He picks the papers off his desk and points to a figure in red: $5.01 billion.

"This is what the state owes right now to schools, rehabilitation centers, child care, the state university - and it's getting worse every single day," he says in his downtown office.

Mr. Hynes shakes his head. "This is not some esoteric budget issue; we are not paying bills for absolutely essential services," he says. "That is obscene."

For more on the bank closure that lost Giannoulias millions, click HERE.

THE BLAGOJEVICH TRIAL

Like Giannoulias, Hynes had aspirations for Barack Obama's Senate seat in 2008 - the one Blagojevich gave to Roland Burris. In fact, on one of the tapes presented at trial, Blagojevich makes reference to four candidates Obama viewed as acceptable. Hynes was on that list along with Tammy Duckworth, Jan Schakowsky, perhaps best known for this rant, and Jesse Jackson Jr.

Speaking of the Blagojevich trial, Giannoulias has made statements publicly that indicate he was being sought out by Blagojevich regarding the Senate seat vacancy that was to be left by Obama in 2008. However, quite curiously, a recorded phone conversation between Blagojevich and his then Chief of Staff John Harris on November 7th, 2008 - three days after the election - reveal that Blagojevich didn't even want Harris to talk to Giannoulias. What's more is that in testimony on June 30th, SEIU official Tom Balanoff testified that Giannoulias expressed interest in the Senate seat when it became apparent Jarret would not be a candidate. Now, here we are in 2010 and Giannoulias is running for that same seat. There is a long line of inconsistencies when it comes to Giannoulias. A partial list can be found at Blago Files.

In listening to the many released tapes of Blagojevich, it became obvious that Chicago politics were eating him up and he wanted out. In light of the recent developments there relative to that $12 billion budget deficit, it would seem Giannoulias has similar motives.

h/t to Red State and Blago Files

REPORT: U.S. CONGRESSMAN WANTS INVESTIGATION INTO POLISH PLANE CRASH

The macabre coincidences surrounding the horrific plane crash of a Polish plane carrying that country's president and nearly 100 top officials were so numerous, the odds of this crash being an accident struck many - including myself - as being far longer than the odds of foul play. That is not to say it didn't happen that way; there was reportedly a dense fog and very low visibility. However, as I wrote back on April 10th, the ironic circumstances surrounding these deaths were simply too many to default to a position the crash was accidental.

Now a Polish website is reporting that U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has drafted a resolution calling for an investigation into the crash:

It recalls the facts then existing, including that:

- Polish experts on security and aviation representatives of the Ministry denied access to the crash site.

- Polish investigators submitted only a copy of the record of registrars.

- Polish investigators not being provided the same black boxes .

- More than 50,000 Poles have signed the appeal for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry.

The proposal of Congressman Peter T. King was transferred for consideration by the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

As I wrote on the day of the crash, there are plenty of reasons to approach this accident with healthy skepticism. The one thing that would go a long way in assuaging that skepticism would be a word we've become very familiar with over the last two years - transparency. If the aforementioned report is correct, it would appear that transparency in Smolensk, Russia is not all that popular.

It would seem to me that the main objectives of an investigation are to establish the cause. If the cause was accidental, there would be no reason to be anything less than transparent. Once an investigation demonstrates foul play, it would again seem to me that suspects and motives are then explored. If it is true that the investigation is being hampered, an entirely new set of questions need to be raised. If accidental, there would be no need to hamper an investigation.

h/t to Free Republic