Obama's UN Human Rights Report - Out Of Touch With America?

The Examiner points to a number of items Obama and Hillary have highlighted as possible human rights violations that the majority of the American people would disagree with. We have a President that is so enamored with his status on the world scene that he has little regard for the concerns of the American people and the Constitution.

Excerpt: President Obama's administration recently submitted a report to the United Nations on human rights in America. The 29-page report shows the nation badly flawed but fortunate to have a Nobel Prize winner as its leader. The report is billed as "a partial snapshot of the current human rights situation in the United States, including some of the areas where problems persist in our society."

Among the nation's shortcomings listed in the report:

» Arizona has dared to try to enforce immigration laws that the federal government will not. But don't worry, Obama is suing them.

» We incarcerate dangerous terrorists at a military prison in Guantanamo Bay. But don't worry -- Obama has signed three executive orders to protect them from the last administration's rough handling and he "remains committed to closure of the Guantanamo detention facility."

» It's too hard to form a union, the document says -- either that or unions have just become less relevant. But don't worry, "there are several bills in our Congress that seek to strengthen workers' rights" -- bills like "card check," which will help institutionalize union intimidation and coercion by taking away a worker's right to a secret ballot. Read the Examiner's article "Obama tells the U.N. how great he is" here.

Read full US report here.

Krauthammer on Targeted Tax Cuts

The difference between Democrat targeted tax cuts and Republican cuts across the board is that the Democrats want to dictate how and who uses others money and the Republicans want everyone to determine how they use their own money. Both can be called a tax cut, but the Democrat way is, in reality, redistribution of income.

CLIMATE CHANGE LIES ARE EXPOSED

Things have quieted down somewhat on the climate controversy, but this report should be the nail in the coffin for those claiming the CO2 we breathe out, the CO2 used by plants to survive, is causing global warming. The report does not even support the theory that there is anything other than cyclical warming and cooling.

Hopefully our Congress can read and will stop Cap & Tax in its tracks. Let's see if they vote in the people's interest or for control of the people.

Excerpt: THE world’s leading climate change body has been accused of losing credibility after a damning report into its research practices.

A high-level inquiry into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found there was “little evidence” for its claims about global warming.

It also said the panel had emphasised the negative impacts of climate change and made “substantive findings” based on little proof.

The review by the InterAcademy Council (IAC) was launched after the IPCC’s hugely embarrassing 2007 benchmark climate change report, which contained exaggerated and false claims that Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035.

The panel was forced to admit its key claim in support of global warming was lifted from a 1999 magazine article. The report was based on an interview with a little-known Indian scientist who has since said his views were “speculation” and not backed by research. CLIMATE CHANGE LIES ARE EXPOSED

Italy Has Denied Religious Status To Islam

Muslim immigrants recognition of Sharia law and other reasons were given for the rejection. Read the short article: ITALY: ISLAM NOT RECOGNIZED AS A RELIGION -- DENIED RELIGIOUS TAX STATUS

Excerpt: Italy has denied religious status to Islam. Politicians cited extremist (fundamentalist) imams, polygamy and failure to uphold women's rights by Muslim immigrants as obstacles to recognizing Islam as an official religion in Italy.

Three Things About Islam

I posted this back in July but feel it is important enough to repost and keep it current.

Democrat Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson's Rules Violation - Was It A Theft Of Funds?

It took until paragraph 3 for the news to acknowledge she is a Democrat. She "unknowingly" violated the rules. Yeah, she didn't know giving her grandkids and her staff assistants kids money donated for the underprivileged. Just an honest mistake. If it was anyone other than a member of Congress, it would be embezzlement.

Excerpt: Longtime Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide's two children since 2005, using foundation funds set aside for black lawmakers' causes.

The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which provided the money. And all of the awards violated a foundation requirement that scholarship winners live or study in a caucus member's district.

Johnson, a Democrat, denied any favoritism when asked about the scholarships last week. Two days later, she acknowledged in a statement released by her office that she had violated the rules but said she had done so "unknowingly" and would work with the foundation to "rectify the financial situation." Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson violated rules, steered scholarships to relatives

Internet Kill Switch: Will Senate Sneak It Past Us?

Obama, with his Chicago political mentality, would not hesitate to use the "kill switch" to quiet his opposition in the name of the "greater good".

As you can see, I am way beyond giving our President the benefit of the doubt. With his outright campaign lies, his "apology tour", his unconscionable czar appointments, his failure to support Arizona's immigration laws, his withdrawal of missile protection from Europe, his Chavez style takeover of the auto industry, his ObamaCare debacle, his planned destruction of our domestic energy capabilities, and his giveaways of taxpayer funds to unions and political cronies, he has destroyed any trust that I may have had in his intension to fulfill his duty to defend the United States of America and its Constitution.

Excerpt: Sensing Senators don’t have the stomach to try and pass a stand-alone bill in broad daylight that would give the President the power to shut down the Internet in a national emergency, the Senate is considering attaching the Internet Kill Switch bill as a rider to other legislation that would have bi-partisan support.

“It’s hard to get a measure like cybersecurity legislation passed on its own,” Senator Thomas Carper (D-Del.) told GovInfoSecurity.com. Carper is chairman of the Senate subcommittee with cybersecurity oversight.

Under instructions from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) are working to combine their separate bills into one that can be attached to another piece of legislation, such as the Defense Authorization Act. Sneaky Senate Trying To Slip Internet Kill Switch Past Us

A German's View on Islam

Received this in an email today:

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.

'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen.

Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'

We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history; it is the fanatics who march... it is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers..

The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China 's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across Southeast Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:

Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.

Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Gov. Pataki on Hardball Defends Anti-Mosque Position

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why are so many Americans hostile to Islam?

I commented on the article:"I didn't see in this article a discussion of whether Islam is a true religion or a form of government. In many Islamic countries sharia law is mandated. If Islam were just a religion, with respect for others beliefs, then I would have no problem. However, in most Islamic countries there is no tolerance of other religions. In addition, European countries are being overrun by Muslims and are having major problems with their enclaves and their disregard for the countries laws in favor of sharia, which is an affront to women with extremely brutal punishments.

Your article, which appears to bash Republicans, is disingenuous in that it does not address this major element of Islam, which is a major factor in our feelings toward that religion/government system."

Excerpt: Nearly a decade after 9/11, less than a third of the country feels favorably toward Islam. Most Americans reflexively oppose an Islamic cultural center near ground zero, and the lower the Christian president's approval ratings, the higher the percentage of people who think he's Muslim.

Why?

Beyond the simplistic debate — are we patriots or bigots? — pollsters, historians and other experts say that the nation's collective instincts toward Islam have been shaped over decades by a patchwork of factors. These include demographic trends, psychology, terrorism events, U.S. foreign policy, domestic politics, media coverage and the Internet.

Why are so many Americans hostile to Islam?

The China Military Report - Are Our Cutbacks Prudent?

The Democrats and Obama, in particular, are hell bent on reducing the US military capability to show the world that we are not a threat. How naive can they be? It is obvious, from this report that China is increasing their capabilities, Russia is in a resurgence, N. Korea and Iran are a threat. Why would we spend $800+ billions on worthless pork projects, all the while cutting back on defense?

Excerpt: It would seem, in light of the Chinese challenge, that the U.S. needs to maintain the ability to project power, especially by sea, given the maritime nature of the Pacific. Yet Secretary of Defense Robert Gates seems to be consistently cold-shouldering the Navy.[2]

Even as the Chinese are pursuing asymmetric strategies (as detailed in the 2010 report), is Gates content with pursuing a more symmetric response—one that involves drawing down areas of U.S. advantage, as Gates has hinted?

If the PRC truly poses a potential threat to U.S. naval preeminence—and its commitment to Taiwan’s security—then the U.S. cannot risk fielding an insufficient force. It may be that emerging technologies offer alternatives, such as naval unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). But unless and until there are mature programs, the realities of shipbuilding (i.e., several years to build a combatant) dictate maintaining the current force structure.

Support Future Development. A military that stands still, that is static, is a military that is no more than second best, especially in the face of dynamic changes engendered by technological and economic developments. The ability of the U.S. to maintain freedom of the seas and access to the East Asian littoral—and hedge against future uncertainty—therefore requires not only maintenance of current capabilities but a robust research and development effort that will be capable of exploiting new advances. The China Military Report and What’s Left Unsaid

Restoring Honor - A Conservatives Day in Washington D.C.

I watched most of the rally and did not see one thing that people could get upset about, unless, of course, they don't think that our founders believed in God. The rally was peaceful, and huge.

You can read the coverage in the articles below. Amazingly, I think the Politico coverage, although laced with some derision, is the better. The Washington Post seems to have gone out of its way to distort the real meaning of the rally, which raised over $5 million for expenses and veterans charities.

Excerpt: "We must not fundamentally transform America, as some would want," Palin said. "We must restore America and restore her honor."

Politico article "Glenn Beck calls for national revival"

Washington Post article "Beck, Palin tell thousands to 'restore America'"

GOP plans wave of White House probes

I agree with what Issa is saying privately: "Privately, Issa’s staff is afraid of taking it too far. The backlash against Republican investigations in the Newt Gingrich era is fresh in his mind." I think the worst tact to be taken would be to give the MSM daily fodder to criticize the "ultra right wing extremists". Go after the big things in a systematic and professional way with no nit-picking.

This article may be a bit premature, since it all depends on the Republicans gaining control of the House and maybe the Senate. As they say in Chicago, in November, vote well and vote often. lol

Excerpt: If President Barack Obama needed any more incentive to go all out for Democrats this fall, here it is: Republicans are planning a wave of committee investigations targeting the White House and Democratic allies if they win back the majority.

Everything from the microscopic — the New Black Panther party — to the massive –- think bailouts — is on the GOP to-do list, according to a half-dozen Republican aides interviewed by POLITICO.

Republican staffers say there won’t be any self-destructive witch hunts, but they clearly are relishing the prospect of extracting information from an administration that touts transparency.

And a handful of aggressive would-be committee chairmen — led by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Lamar Smith (R-Texas) — are quietly gearing up for a possible season of subpoenas not seen since the Clinton wars of the late 1990s. GOP plans wave of White House probes

The Destruction of the US Dollar

The spend, spend, spend policies of the Obama administration are taking its intended toll on the stability of the US Dollar and advancing Obama's march toward a global economy where the US is an equal player with the rest of the world. The weakness of the EURO and US Dollar has created an opportunity for China to promote their currency on the world market.

If Obama gets his way, we will no longer be able to boast of our robust economy, no longer help other countries after natural disasters, and no longer protect the world, or ourselves, from terrorists and despots. No, we will be unexceptional.

Rather than building us up, Obama's policies are reducing us to mediocrity, both on the domestic as well as the world scene.

Excerpt: A number of the world’s biggest banks have launched international roadshows promoting the use of the renminbi to corporate customers instead of the dollar for trade deals with China.

HSBC, which recently moved its chief executive from London to Hong Kong, and Standard Chartered, are offering discounted transaction fees and other financial incentives to companies that choose to settle trade in the Chinese currency. Banks back switch to renminbi for trade

The Most Fiscally Irresponsible Government in U.S. History

Bean Counter Mort

I'm an accountant, and even I don't believe in the zero sum economic view that Mort seems to espouse here. Yes, we as individuals work with mostly fixed incomes, but the US economy is, in good times, a robust and ever expanding source of income for the Federal government. Heavier taxation depresses this expansion, whereas tax cuts promote growth as evidenced by the Kennedy and Reagan tax cuts (which resulted in the Clinton expansion).

What we need is to remove the regulatory and tax burdens from the people an get them working again. The resulting expansion, coupled with fiscal restraint will solve the problem, not overnight, but in short order.

Excerpt: There is an instinctive conclusion among the American public that President Obama's stimulus package has failed to create a sustained recovery. Unemployment has increased, not declined; consumers have retrenched; housing starts have crashed along with mortgage applications; and there is a fear that a double-dip recession may very well be in the pipeline. The public perception, reflected in Pew Research/National Journal polls, is that the measures to combat the Great Recession have mostly helped large banks and financial institutions, and that's a view common to Republicans (75 percent) and Democrats (73 percent). Only one third of either political leaning thinks government policies have done a great deal or a fair amount for the poor.


There is another instinctive conclusion among the American people. It is that the national deficit, and the debts we have accumulated, are of critical political importance. On the national debt, the money the government has spent without the tax revenues to pay for it has produced mind-numbing numbers so large as to be disconnected from reality. Zeros from here to infinity. The sums are hard to describe; it is hard to describe an elephant, but you know one when you see one. The public knows that, shuffle the numbers as you may, the level of debt is unsustainable.

Read US News article written by Mort Zuckerman, "The Most Fiscally Irresponsible Government in U.S. History" here.

Texas Resisting Obama Power Grab - Back-door Cap & Tax

Obama and the people in his administration do not understand the restrictions placed on the Executive Branch by the Constitution, and are attempting an end run around Congress to enact Cap & Tax. Texas is rebelling as will many other states. 35 states are challenging ObamaCare. This is the beginning of the process for the people to rein in the usurpation of powers by the Federal Government.

The progressives at the Federal level have been whittling away at our freedoms since Woodrow Wilson's time, and the "elite ruling class" will not roll over easily, so the recovery will not happen overnight. Texas and Arizona are at the forefront of the peoples' rebellion.

Excerpt: Sensing the political failure of the Left’s environmental whacko agenda of raising energy costs to cap emissions of a gas we all exhale and that plants need to thrive — carbon dioxide — President Barack Obama has instructed his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rewrite its Clean Air Act and give itself authority it doesn’t have.

Thankfully, one state is resisting: Texas.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Chairman Bryan W. Shaw call the EPA’s actions an illegal power grab and in a letter to the EPA they wrote:

"In order to deter challenges to your plan for centralized control of industrial development through the issuance of permits for greenhouse gases, you have called upon each state to declare its allegiance to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently enacted greenhouse gas regulations — regulations that are plainly contrary to U.S. laws… To encourage acquiescence with your unsupported findings you threaten to usurp state enforcement authority and to federalize the permitting program of any state that fails to pledge their fealty to the Environmental Protection Agency. On behalf of the State of Texas, we write to inform you that Texas has neither the authority nor the intention of interpreting, ignoring or amending its laws in order to compel the permitting of greenhouse gas emissions."


Texas Resisting Obama Power Grab

Thomas Sowell: Bean-Counters and Baloney

Sowell is to the point and gives examples where the full story is not being told, where whites are "discriminated against" by Asians, and in basketball by Afro-Americans. He is also right on in saying that it is time to stop this polarization and send those like Sharpton (Mr. never miss a chance to cry racism) to the trash heap.

Excerpt: The bean-counters have struck again-- this time in the sports pages. Two New York Times sport writers have discovered that baseball coaches from minority groups are found more often coaching at first base than at third base. Moreover, third-base coaches become managers more often than first-base coaches.

This may seem to be just another passing piece of silliness. But it is part of a more general bean-counting mentality that turns statistical differences into grievances. The time is long overdue to throw this race card out of the deck and start seeing it for the gross fallacy that it is.

At the heart of such statistics is the implicit assumption that different races, sexes and other subdivisions of the human species would be proportionately represented in institutions, occupations and income brackets if there was not something strange or sinister going on.

Although this notion has been repeated by all sorts of people, from local loudmouths on the street to the august chambers of the Supreme Court of the United States, there is not one speck of evidence behind it and a mountain of evidence against it.

The bean-counters are everywhere, pushing the idea that differences show injustices committed by society. As long as we keep buying it, they will keep selling it-- and the polarization they create will sell this country down the river. Read Thomas Sowell article "Bean-Counters and Baloney" here.

Voters Now Trust Republicans More On All 10 Key Issue - Rasmussen

I guess the ethics violations of Waters and Rangel have been brought to the attention of the independents. It is obvious that both parties have bad apples serving, but what is worse is the thievery going on with our taxes. An email that is going around suggests this answer by Congress when asked for a subsidy, "what makes you think we should steal from your neighbor to bail you out?" What Congress is doing is nothing short of theft, and our legal system and courts should bring these crooks to justice.

Excerpt: Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on all 10 of the important issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports.

The GOP has consistently been trusted on most issues for months now, but in July they held the lead on only nine of the key issues.

Republicans lead Democrats 47% to 39% on the economy, which remains the most important issue to voters. Those numbers are nearly identical to those found in June. Republicans have held the advantage on the economy since May of last year.

But for the first time in months, Republicans now hold a slight edge on the issues of government ethics and corruption, 40% to 38%. Voters have been mostly undecided for the past several months on which party to trust more on this issue, but Democrats have held small leads since February. Still, more than one-in-five voters (22%) are still not sure which party to trust more on ethics issues. Trust on Issues

Palin - GOP's No. 1 Kingmaker?

Whatever you think of Sarah Palin, you cannot deny that she can get out the vote for her selected candidates. Whether this is enough to catapult her into the lead for the GOP nomination in 2012 is still to be determined.

I, myself, still have questions about her need for more seasoning, but she has time and she is one of the few who speaks her mind and you have no reason to disbelieve what she says, unlike "The One". (Who, incidentally, had less experience.)

Excerpt: Incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski's stunning setback in Alaska sends a powerful message to political insiders in both parties: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is now the GOP's clear No. 1 kingmaker.

Upstart candidate Joe Miller, who made a lightning-fast rise in the polls following Palin's endorsement and robo calls, credited Palin for his primary shocker.

"I'm absolutely certain that was pivotal," he told The Anchorage Daily News.

With an estimated 98 percent of the vote tallied — and with thousands of absentee ballots yet to be counted — Miller leads Murkowski by 1,960 votes.

Political pundits suggest the outcome elevates Palin to unique status within the Republican Party.

"Clearly Sarah Palin is the most influential Republican in America," Democratic pollster and Fox News commentator Douglas Schoen tells Newsmax. "That much is clear as the primary season winds down. And Palin clearly is the candidate who will generate the most enthusiasm if she runs in 2012." Read "Murkowski Loss Would Make Palin GOP's No. 1 Kingmaker" here.

Full Body Scans to a Street Near You?

Technology is advancing at an enormous pace and government certainly will want to utilize these advancements to fulfill their obligation to protect the citizenry. However, because of the intrusive nature of many of these devices, there is a fine line between our security and the governments infringement upon our Constitutional rights and our freedom. This roving scanner alone does not bother me; it is the cumulative effect of all the government is doing that is setting off the alarm bells within me.

Excerpt: American Science & Engineering, a company based in Billerica, Massachusetts, has sold U.S. and foreign government agencies more than 500 backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that can be driven past neighboring vehicles to see their contents, Joe Reiss, a vice president of marketing at the company told me in an interview. While the biggest buyer of AS&E’s machines over the last seven years has been the Department of Defense operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Reiss says law enforcement agencies have also deployed the vans to search for vehicle-based bombs in the U.S.

“This product is now the largest selling cargo and vehicle inspection system ever,” says Reiss. Full-Body Scan Technology Deployed In Street-Roving Vans

Also read The 4th Amendment: May It Rest In Peace

Dr. David Jeremiah - Turning Point

At 9:30 on Sunday mornings here in S.C., I look forward to tuning in to Turning Point, Dr. Jeremiah's weekly sermon from Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego. One of the things I like about his sermons is that he, unlike many other ministers, is a true biblical scholar who dissects portions of the Bible and interprets it in a way that I can understand. Because of his in depth approach to each subject, the topics are explored in 1/2 hour segments over a number of weeks, but each one is riveting.

I am currently reading one of his books entitled "What in the world is going on?" It is based on the book of Revelations and discusses 10 Prophetic Clues You Cannot Afford to Ignore. It is a great read and you can order it at this site. Dr Jeremiah's website

The Government's New Right to Track Your Every Move With GPS - 1984 is Almost Here?

The Ninth Circuit court is notorious for its liberal decisions; it is the same court that overruled the California vote against gay marriage. As a citizen, your Constitutional right to privacy must be protected by the courts and if not, the judges should be removed for violation of their oath of office. It is time to remove so called progressives from the courts of the land. The 1984 saga may be late, but if the Democrats have their way, it is not too far in the distance.

Excerpt: Government agents can sneak onto your property in the middle of the night, put a GPS device on the bottom of your car and keep track of everywhere you go. This doesn't violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway - and no reasonable expectation that the government isn't tracking your movements.

That is the bizarre - and scary - rule that now applies in California and eight other Western states. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers this vast jurisdiction, recently decided the government can monitor you in this way virtually anytime it wants - with no need for a search warrant.

It is a dangerous decision - one that, as the dissenting judges warned, could turn America into the sort of totalitarian state imagined by George Orwell. It is particularly offensive because the judges added insult to injury with some shocking class bias: the little personal privacy that still exists, the court suggested, should belong mainly to the rich. The Government's New Right to Track Your Every Move With GPS

An Inspiration - Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Deficits With and Without Iraq War - Guess When Democrats Took Control of Congress - 2007?

What year were the destructive Bush tax cuts?  That would be 2003.   Chart seems to say they reduced the deficit, contrary to what the Democrats and MSM are saying.

I guess the only thing we can blame on Bush is that he failed to stop the Democrats failed sub-prime mortgage policies and curtail their spending.

Rubio Back On Top

Excerpt: Democrats will get their stronger candidate if Kendrick Meek wins the Florida Senate primary tonight as expected- but the biggest winner coming out of the primary may be Marco Rubio. PPP finds he would begin the general election in the lead at 40%, followed by Charlie Crist at 32%, and Meek at 17%. If Jeff Greene were somehow able to pull off the upset tonight it would be much closer with Rubio at 37%, Crist at 36%, and Greene at only 13%. Rubio back on top

We The People Video

Continuous Chest Compression CPR

Something Wonderful: Right Network is Launching September 8, 2010

The Ruling Class and the courts

Our Republic is in deep trouble if the balance of the Supreme Court shifts from moderate conservative to progressive liberal. The Courts ruling on the Commerce Clause, back in FDR's time, opened the flood gates for the Federal usurpation of our unalienable rights. If Obama is able to replace just one conservative Supreme Court Justice, the die would be cast and the Constitution will be history.

This article from RenewAmerica is to the point.

Excerpt: Dr. Codevilla's approach

In his interview with this column, Angelo Codevilla says, "Once upon a time, you could suppose that a president could appoint judges who would interpret the law. This was a technical skill — these people might be friends of the president, etc.... But it was understood that their commitment was to the Constitution."

No longer. Today, the professor laments, there is "a whole school of thought that says, you know, words mean what we want them to mean. Well, since we've conceded the legitimacy of that, we might as well have these people who are aspiring to the court be asked by the electorate what do you mean? And have those answers satisfactory to at least a majority of the electorate."

Pros and cons

Dr. Codevilla's proposal to submit powerful non-cabinet government agency decision-makers to the will of the voters is one thing.

Applying the same formula to judges presents additional problems. It would surely require a constitutional amendment — which means two-thirds of the Congress plus three-fourths of the states.

The upside: Whatever the outcome, it would involve a long-overdue national debate/focus on judicial over-reach.

The downside: Nagging doubts about sacrificing "judicial independence," even if it has been badly abused. Would we trade one set of problems for another? Either way, it's about politicians in black robes. The Ruling Class and the courts

DeMint: Over 90% of Bills Passed Secretly With No Debate, No Vote

Islamist Infiltration

Questions asked in this Townhall article gives a person a reason to pause and consider who we have in the White House. "Given the escalating Islamic threat, it seems appropriate to ask: Why is this diminution of American power happening? Are there Islamic jihadists influencing our government? Who are the jihadists influencing? What have they accomplished? And what is their end game?"

The article names and discusses clerical and government infiltrators, government leaders who are compromised and gives a short history of Muhammad and his Islamic crusade. Those who believe that Islam is a peaceful religion and not a threat to our way of life should definitely read this article.

Excerpt: THE BROTHERHOOD COMES TO AMERICA

In the mid-20th century, the Brotherhood began its campaign to infiltrate and impact the direction of the United States.

During the 1960s, the Brotherhood began sending vast numbers of students to American universities.

In 1973, with massive Saudi funding, they formed the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), an investment vehicle that enabled them to acquire 300 mosques and schools in the United States.

In 1987, Hamas, the Palestinian wing of the Brothers with the stated goal of destroying Israel, was founded and largely funded by American Muslims.

In 1990, the Brotherhood formed the American Muslim Council (AMC) with Abdurahman Alamoudi as its boss and the new capo di tutti of the entire syndicate.

Then in 1994, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was founded.

In 1980, there were 481 officially recognized Mosques in the United States. Today, there are 1,209, with an estimated 80 percent of those funded and controlled by Saudi Arabia, where the official religion is virulently anti-Western Wahhabi Islam.

Sperry and Gaubatz’s "Muslim Mafia" exposes the Muslim Brotherhood’s activities in America using declassified FBI documents, FBI agent interviews, transcripts of telephone wire taps and thousands of internal documents smuggled out of CAIR headquarters by Gaubatz’s son, Chris Gaubatz, who posed as an American convert to Islam and was hired by CAIR. They demonstrate that the Brotherhood is now a worldwide central clearinghouse for virtually all Sunni terrorist groups, is operating inside U.S. mosques across the country and is in complete control of CAIR and its myriad subsidiaries.

And while the House of Saud attempts to portray itself as a loyal U.S. trading partner, the authors prove that it is actually financing and partnering with the Brotherhood, that it is actively undermining our national security, and that it controls CAIR and at least 46 other supposedly moderate Muslim front groups in the United States, along with countless other subsidiary shell companies. And for the first time, they expose the Brotherhood’s five-phase plan for dominating America:

• Phase I: Establish an elite Muslim Leadership and raise Islamicist consciousness in the community;

• Phase II: Create Islamic institutions that the leadership can control and form autonomous Muslim enclaves;

• Phase III: Infiltrate America’s political and social institutions forming a shadow state; escalate conversions; manipulate mass media to remove language offensive to Islam;

• Phase IV: Open hostile public confrontation over U.S. policies, riot, make militant demands for special rights and accommodations;

• Phase V: Wage final conflict and overthrow (jihad).

According to Sperry and Gaubatz, the consensus among counterterrorism officials is that the North American Brotherhood is already in Phase III.

Islamist Infiltration

Arizona Illegal Immigration: A Border Manifesto

After reading this you will not believe the crap coming out of our liberal/progressive/regressive Democrat government in Washington.

Excerpt: Several months ago, not long after Rob Krentz’s death, Fox news (channel 10 in Phoenix AZ) contacted me and expressed interest in coming down and doing a news story about me and the problems myself and other ranchers in this area have had in recent months with illegal outlaws. To prepare for my interview with Fox, I asked for assistance from six other neighboring ranchers and businessmen. All of these men are prominent men in the community, tax payers, business owners and individuals who have the best of reputations. Together we made a map of the area which covered from the southeastern corner of AZ going west about 20 miles to the silver creek area, and going north about 30 miles to the area around the towns of Portal, AZ and Rodeo, N.M. On this map we made marks recording violations to United States law committed by illegal aliens. We did not use government statistics (we wouldn’t know how to get them) but recorded incidents that we knew had happened first hand, many of which we had witnessed. We tried to record only the incidents that have happened in the last several years.

The sum total of what we recorded is this:

The arrest or capture of 40 illegal in one bunch – 40
(we didn’t bother with the countless smaller groups)

Loads of Marijuana found and captured – 213

Dangerous encounters with illegal aliens – 132
(assault, burglaries, forced entries, etc.)

Dead illegal aliens found by civilians – 16

High speed vehicle chases between dope haulers and law enforcement – 14

Illegal aliens spotted with firearms – 12

Fires started by illegal aliens – 9
Over 100,000 acres burned with the cost to taxpayers of $ 40,000,000. One fire near Portal AZ in June of 2010 cost $10,000,000. to fight (forest Service estimate)

Outlandish incidents – 4
Example: One bachelor in the Portal area was burglarized around 100 times. He finally took all his valuables and put them in a steel vault and welded the door shut. He then moved out of his house into a shed hoping the illegal aliens would leave him alone. They did not and he finally abandoned his property. Another outlandish event was when outlaws stole a brand new Caterpillar motor grader on the Geronimo Trail east of Douglas, AZ and drove south through the border fence never to be seen again. The grader belonged to Cochise County Hwy Dept.
Financial losses to private sector - $100,000,000.00
(losses in real estate value, personal property, etc., losses in wildlife habitat – immeasurable)

Last but certainly not least, the murder of Rob Krentz, which is right in the center of our map.
Ashurst: A Border Manifesto

Jerry Brown Supporter - Code Pink Tells Gold Star Mom: Your Son Deserved to Die

Freedom of speech is one thing, but giving $600,000 aid to the enemy is another. Where is Holder when actual threats to our nation go unpunished. And as for Jerry Brown, I hope the people of California wake up to the reality that he is in league with Code Pink and will not turn down their funding for his campaign. Support our troops, not Jerry Brown.

Excerpt: Numerous times over the past four years I have confronted the antics of Jodie Evans and her anti-war Code Pink cronies. We’ve all seen the nightly news with them being arrested time and time again throwing their leftist temper tantrums with their pink boa feathers wrapped around their necks as they kick and scream like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum to get attention. They have sent over $600,000.00 to the terrorists in Fallujah, or as they called them, “freedom fighting” heroes. You would think treasonous acts like this would have them locked in jail. Over and over they have attacked our military recruiting offices causing thousands of dollars of damage to the offices and threatening the recruiters.

In 2008 they barricaded the recruiting office in Berkeley with the blessing of the Berkeley City Council. We at Move America Forward had all we could stomach when we heard them tell the Marines they were unwelcome, unwanted intruders, not in Iraq or Afghanistan but on American soil in Berkeley, California. Americans from across the nation joined us in Berkeley to counter-protest these anti-war hippies. Numerous times they told me they support the troops but not the war, yet over and over when I asked if they had sent care packages, phone cards, written letters, or helped the families left behind in anyway, they conveniently couldn’t remember anything they had done. Yet they had a successful fundraiser to send $600,000.00 to our enemies in Iraq? Yet Jodie Evans and her Code Pink degenerates taunted me and made light of my son’s sacrifice telling me, “Your son deserved to die in Iraq if he was stupid enough to go over there.” It took every ounce of reserve in my body to not level these idiots to the ground. These same people who call terrorists “freedom fighters” says that my son, who gave up his life for their freedoms, deserved death. Code Pink Tells Gold Star Mom: Your Son Deserved to Die

Read more about the Code Pink and Jerry Brown connection here.

Klavan on Media Bias

Obamacare’s stealth ambush of senior citizens

I guess, we who paid into the system for many years have to take a backseat to those "less fortunate" ones that the Democrats salivate over at election time. What happens when there is no wealth to redistribute? Then, I guess, we working people, will get even and redistribute our poverty. Then Obama's dream of equality for all will be fulfilled.

Excerpt: Even Obamacare’s biggest cheerleaders won’t be able to ignore Medicare chief actuary Richard Foster forever. Based on current law, Foster says, seniors who rely on Medicare will replace Medicaid recipients at the bottom of the health care ladder as early as 2019, five years after the individual mandate kicks in. That’s when the fees Medicare pays to providers will be slashed below Medicaid rates, which are already well below market prices.

“And if you’re in a plan that pays the lowest rates, you’re in trouble,” John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, told The Examiner.

That’s because the $575 billion cut to Medicare over the next decade — which is needed to pay insurance subsidies for 32 million new people — will force one in seven hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies and hospices out of business, according to the formal Medicare trustees report released on April 22. By 2050, 40 percent of existing health care facilities will forced to close their doors.

The wait for care will be much, much longer. Obamacare will provide 100 million Americans with much more generous insurance than they have today, Goodman points out, with no co-pays and no deductibles. This will give people new incentives to access medical care even though there won’t be enough doctors to handle the increased demand. A looming shortages of nurses won’t help, either.

Many physicians already refuse to accept new Medicare patients. More will refuse when payments from the government fall below cost.

“It will be a game of medical musical chairs,” Goodman predicts. And when the music ends, it will be 15 million vulnerable senior citizens who wind up without a seat. Read the Washington Examiner article "Obamacare’s stealth ambush of senior citizens" here.

Mexican Drug War Fueled by US Demand: CATO Institute

The subject of drug decriminalization is a topic that has to be addressed in the near future. As this CATO podcast indicates, it is our demand that is the problem and this demand has to be addressed. You can read my August 18th post about decriminalization here.

Oil Spill Plume Is Not Breaking Down Fast, Study Says

A few weeks ago the government reported that the oil was breaking down faster than anticipated and it appeared that the major threat to our shores had been averted. Todays report indicates that the plumes of oil beneath the surface are still there and are degrading slowly. There is still significant concern over the effect on the food supply to support the fishing industry in the Gulf. Here's hoping that mother nature continues to do her thing and save us from any additional damage to our ecological system.

Excerpt: Dr. Camilli’s paper tends to support the view that considerable oil may be lingering below the surface of the gulf. He said he was not especially surprised by the slow rate of breakdown, considering that the waters of the gulf are about 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the vicinity of the plume.

“In colder environments, microbes operate more slowly,” Dr. Camilli said. “That’s why we have refrigerators.”

NOAA, while initially skeptical, ultimately confirmed the existence of such plumes. The new paper appears to dispel any lingering doubt, providing detailed evidence that one major plume and at least one minor plume existed and contained large quantities of hydrocarbons, albeit dispersed into tiny droplets.

Dr. Camilli’s team measured the main plume at roughly 3,600 feet below the surface; it extended for more than 20 miles southwest of the well. It was more than a mile wide in places and 600 feet thick, traveling at about four miles a day.

At the time his team studied it in June, the plume appeared to have narrowed from measurements reported early in the spill by a team that included Dr. Joye and Vernon Asper, a marine scientist from the University of Southern Mississippi, but Dr. Camilli’s results otherwise matched their report.

The slow breakdown of the plume, if verified by additional research, suggests that scientists may find themselves tracking the toxic compounds from BP’s well and trying to discern their impact on sea life for a long time.

NYT: Oil Plume Is Not Breaking Down Fast, Study Says

Is Obama a Muslim? - Jimmy Kimmel

President George Bush Greeting Troops at DFW 8/11/ 2010

August 11, 2010
For those of you who've forgotten what it's like to have a President who loves America and loves the troops - enjoy.

Today former President George W Bush and Laura Bush and a group from Slant 45 were on hand at DFW Airport in Dallas Texas greeting Troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for their 14 day R&R. This was a big surprise to all and a big boast for our Troops. This Video, Photos and production are from the www.welcomehomeahero.com Volunteer Team.

Casey to Put Taxpayers on Hook for Teamsters’ Pension Shenanigans

Leave it to the Democrats to find another way to rob Peter (you) to pay Paul (unions). If this bill goes through, you, the taxpayer, will be on the hook for trillions of dollars in unfunded union and government pensions. It is most likely that your pension is no where close to the lucrative benefits that the unions have. Get mad. Read the article and keep it in mind as you vote in November.

Excerpt: Sen. Robert Casey (D., Pa.) and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.) are pushing legislation that would commit taxpayers’ dollars to bailing out the Teamsters’ retirement pension fund. The financial crisis and the Great Recession may have upset your retirement plans, but that’s not reason that politically connected union thugs have to share the pain.

Here’s the deal, as former Department of Labor official Vincent Vernuccio, now an analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, tells Exchequer: Under the Democrats’ plan, the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which is basically a pension-insurance fund run by the federal government, would be able to receive tax dollars to bail out so-called orphan pensions — pensions for which employers have ceased making contributions, usually for reasons of insolvency. Under normal circumstances, PBGC does not use taxpayer money to bail out pensions; it charges an insurance premium to the funds it covers and uses that money to make good on pension obligations if a particular pension fund goes bankrupt. It’s like an FDIC for pension funds: If a fund is sufficiently mismanaged, PBGC can step in, take it over, and take care of its obligations.

The Casey bill would change all that, creating a “fifth fund” within PBGC that would receive taxpayer support. Currently, federal law carefully specifies that PBGC obligations are not obligations of the U.S. government. Casey-Pomeroy would reverse that, mandating that “obligations of the corporation that are financed by the [fifth fund] shall be obligations of the United States.” In other words: You, sucker, are paying the bill.

Casey to Put Taxpayers on Hook for Teamsters’ Shenanigans

Next time Democrats call you extreme, show them this video. Extreme

WTC - We Remember

Thomas Sowell Dismantling America

Make no mistake, our Constitution is in peril of becoming just another discarded obstacle to the steady march of socialism in the United States. Thomas Sowell and many writers before him have pinpointed the elites, the so-called intellectuals as the biggest threat to our freedom. Read the article and weep, and then get out and vote these progressive/liberal/regressives out of office so we can restore our Constitution to what it was meant to be.

Excerpt: It is no coincidence that those who imagine themselves so much wiser and nobler than the rest of us should be in the forefront of those who seek to erode Constitutional restrictions on the arbitrary powers of government. How can our betters impose their superior wisdom and virtue on us, when the Constitution gets in the way at every turn, with all its provisions to safeguard a system based on a self-governing people?

To get their way, the elites must erode or dismantle the Constitution, bit by bit, in one way or another. What that means is that they must dismantle America. This has been going on piecemeal over the years but now we have an administration in Washington that circumvents the Constitution wholesale, with its laws passed so fast that the public cannot know what is in them, its appointment of "czars" wielding greater power than Cabinet members, without having to be exposed to pubic scrutiny by going through the confirmation process prescribed by the Constitution for Cabinet members.

Thomas Sowell - Dismantling America

House Republicans - Working For You

Air Force Security Forces Sniper

The real Miss America .

This 19 year old ex-cheerleader now an Air Force Security Forces Sniper,was watching a road that led to a NATO military base when she observed a man digging by the road.

She engaged the target (she shot him). It turned out he was a bomb maker for the Taliban,  and he was burying an IED that was to be detonated when a US patrol walked by 30 minutes later. It would have certainly killed and wounded several soldiers.

The interesting fact of this story is the shot was measured at 725 yards.
She shot him as he was bent over burying the bomb. The shot went through his butt and into the bomb which detonated; he was blown to pieces. The Air Force made a motivational poster of her..
 

Corruption in Congress: Which Legislators in Congress are Corrupt?

Government corruption, specifically corruption in congress, is a major contributor to America's economic problems.

Listed at this site are the current Senators and Representatives investigated thus far for corruption. Over 65% exhibit "ethically challenged" behaviors.

Check on your Congressman before you vote in November, but be sure you are not voting for somebody worse. The primaries are where you should vet the candidates on their ethics and honesty. That way you have a choice and don't have to vote for an "honest" liberal in the fall elections.

Excerpt: Citizens go to jail for eliciting and taking bribes, for lying under oath, and for failure to pay taxes.

Shouldn't representatives in government should be held to an equal or higher standard of ethics?

Unfortunately, many politicians in Washington are corrupt and self-serving and exempt themselves from "common people" laws.

Since corruption in congress affects voting records, honest and trustworthy behavior in elected officials is imperative to America's success.

Corruption in Congress: Which Legislators in Congress are Corrupt?

Barney Frank: Nix Fannie and Freddie

I had to reread this the second time to make sure it was not a joke. Barney Frank, the staunchest supporter, along with Chris Dodd, of Fannie and Freddie in Congress and also one of the biggest proponents of low cost mortgages, admitting it is not advisable to promote homeownership to those who cannot afford it. Don't you believe it. If you read the whole article, he only says the hybrid, private/government Fannie/Freddie model is not the solution. He wants the Government to directly subsidize the mortgage industry, or do away with the private mortgage industry altogether.

Barney is the one who stopped regulation of Fannie/Freddie back when Bush warned of the impending collapse. He said there was no problem. Duh!

Excerpt: Together, Fannie and Freddie and the Federal Housing Administration now back 90 percent of new U.S. home mortgages.

Fannie and Freddie have received $150 billion in taxpayer bailout money.

In the Fox Business interview, Frank also was critical of public policy that promoted homeownership at any cost. He also said the federal government should not be a "backstop" in guaranteeing mortgages.

"There were people in this society who for economic and, frankly, social reasons can't and shouldn't be homeowners," Frank said. "I think we should, particularly, stop this assumption that you put everybody into homeownership."

"Public policy has been too much to try to push people into homeownership." Barney Frank: Nix Fannie and Freddie

Barack, You Ain't Abe Lincoln

So I said to him, "Barack, I know Abe Lincoln, and you ain't Abe Lincoln." 

You've Lost America, Mr. President

Sometimes, after reading a "rant", you have to just sit back, relax, and admire. Arnold Ahlert is disgusted with our President, as many of us are, and points to his inability to praise America for its exceptionalism, as a fatal flaw in a President. Read it and enjoy.

Excerpt: Last Friday, the mask slipped once again. It would have been the easiest thing in the world to point a comment directly towards the Cordoba House builders explaining that, while freedom of religion is a sacred American value, their refusal to accept an alternative site on state land offered by the governor is very troubling. He could have called their bluff and said he stands with the overwhelming majority of Americans who find such a refusal appalling. He could have said that "cultural sensitivity" is a two-way street, and that it is about time self-professed "moderate Muslims" demonstrated their moderation.

But he didn't. And he didn't because, for this "citizen of the world," the idea of "putting America first" requires considerable effort. Quite frankly, this is astounding. There is no other position in government where the idea of being "reflexively American" is more important. There is no other man in the country with the unfettered power to put American men and women in harm's way. That fact alone requires unstinting loyalty to our nation, and an unbridled sense of patriotism.

Is that what Americans see when they look at Barack Obama? Or do they see a narcissistic, serial apologizer, a split-the-difference-with-our-enemies appeaser who golfs and parties--while America burns?

This president, along with his lap-dog media supporters, will continue to tell Americans that their anger and disgust has little or nothing to do with the shortcomings of Barack Obama. Everything wrong with the country is "someone else's fault," be it "racist" tea partiers, "fat cat" bankers, "greedy" doctors, "irresponsible" corporations, Republicans, or their favorite whipping boy, George W. Bush.

Sorry, Mr. Obama, no sale. Read Arnold Ahlert's article "You've Lost America, Mr. President" here.

Drug Decriminalization - Has It's Time For Discussion Arrived?

Two articles, one from AOL News and the other by the conservative think tank, the CATO Institute, have studied Portugal's approach to decriminalize all drugs and found that it is working.

When you look at the approach we have taken here in the US, it is obvious that it is not working. Our jails are bursting at the seams with drug related offenders, our borders and cities are being overrun by the drug cartels, drug gangs roam the streets terrorizing our citizens, crime stopping measures are straining the budgets of local governments, and still we have one of the highest rates of addiction in the world.

Thousands of Mexican citizens are being slaughtered in the war on drugs to our south and the poppy trade in Afghanistan is funding the Taliban fight against our sons and daughters fighting there. Much of the market for these drugs is right here in the good ole USA.

Maybe Albert Einstein's definition of "insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" is appropriate here and maybe it is time to change direction.

Read the following two articles and see if you agree.

Is Portugal's Liberal Drug Policy a Model for US?

Drug Decriminalization in Portugal:
Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies

In Washington, It's the Money That Talks by Star Parker

Another point being made in the article is that the best way to rescue the poor is to educate them. And who stands in the way of most educational advancements; the teachers' union.

Excerpt: Washington’s latest bailout of bleeding state governments, $26 billion worth, has gotten attention because, among other things, almost half the bailout is financed by cutting $12 billion from food stamps.

But isn’t food stamps a signature program for the liberal Democrats who passed this spending bill? Isn’t government money for the poor what Democrats are supposed to be about?

How, in these tough times, do Democrats who control congress decide who’ll get funded and who not?

This is the latest example, particularly illustrative, showing that Washington is less and less about ideas and values, and more and more about interests, power, and money.

In this case, we’re talking about unions. Of the $26 billion the bill appropriates, $16 billion goes to state Medicaid programs and the other $10 billion to unionized state and local government employees.

Of the top twenty PACs in the country, eleven are union PACs. Number eight on the list is the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Workers ($1.8 million dollars in campaign contributions in the current election cycle). Number seventeen on the list is the American Federation of Teachers ($1.5 million in contributions).

Needless to say, 100% of these union political contributions go to Democrats.

Union membership today is mostly a government phenomenon.

Whereas 7% of private sector employees are unionized, 35% of government employees are.

So with each incremental growth in government, unionized workers gain disproportionate power and influence over all our lives. Unions understand that big government is their bread and butter, so unions, that represent 15% of all American workers, account for more than 50% of the nation’s largest Political Action Committees. Read Townhall article here.

Black Panthers at the Polls?

Holder would probably prosecute these "black panthers".

Majorgyres, learning, and memory

I ran across this article on the site "The Theory" today and do not have a clue, except for the title, of what it is all about. WikiPedia says a gyre is a vortex and the word is usually used in oceanography. Usually I can work through an article and get the gist of what it is about, but this one baffles me. If any of my readers can give me an inkling of the meaning or purpose of the article, please comment. My curiosity is getting to me. Majorgyres, learning, and memory

Ground Zero Mosque controversy swirls around Obama

As everyone seems to agree, the Muslims have the Constitutional and legal right to build the mosque where they want in NYC. But do they have the moral right? Relatives of the thousands who died in the 9/11 attack are vehemently opposed to this sight being used as a monument to the memory of the terrorists who died in the attack. This is how they see it, whether true or not.

While, as many liberals have said, the site is not on ground zero, it is the site where the landing gear, of one of the planes, fell to the ground. That is close enough for me.

A truly God loving religious leader would take these feelings into account and move the location of the mosque out of the area. This article seems to give Obama credit for his courage in the face of all the anticipated criticism. However,it may be that as a Muslim himself, he had the responsibility to defend the Muslim position. After all, when has he really cared what the American people think.

Excerpt: The White House on Saturday struggled to tamp down the controversy over President Barack Obama’s statements about a mosque near Ground Zero — insisting Obama wasn’t backing off remarks Friday night where he offered support for a project that has infuriated some families whose loved ones died in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Obama’s comments placed him in the middle of the controversy over a Muslim group’s plans for a mosque near the site of the 2001 attack — and in turn, transformed an emotion-laden local dispute in New York into a nationwide debate overnight.

Republicans pounced, amid early signs that the issue would seep into some state and congressional contests. “It is divisive and disrespectful to build a mosque next to the site where 3,000 innocent people were murdered at the hands of Islamic extremism,” said Florida GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio. His opponent, Charlie Crist, a Republican turned independent, came out in support of Obama’s comments.

And Democrats — at least some who were willing to comment — could barely contain their frustration over Obama’s remarks, saying he had potentially placed every one of their candidates into the middle of the debate by giving GOP candidates a chance to ask them point-blank: Do you agree with Obama on the mosque, or not?

That could be particularly damaging to moderate Democrats in conservative-leaning districts, already 2010’s most vulnerable contenders. Read the POLITICO article "Mosque controversy swirls around Obama" here.

The Star Spangled Banner Sung by a Very Talented Young Lady

I Do Not Like This Uncle Sam

Received this in an email today. Thought I'd pass it on.

*Dr. Seuss revisited. I wish I knew whom to credit for the following parody, which has been making the rounds on the Internet. Heck, I wish I were clever enough to have written it myself. But I'm not and I can't find out who did. If you know, please tell me. In the meantime, enjoy a hilarious rewrite of one my favorite Dr. Seuss' poems. Chip Wood


I do not like this Uncle Sam,
I do not like his health care scam.
I do not like these dirty crooks,
or how they lie and cook the books.

I do not like when Congress steals,
I do not like their secret deals.
I do not like this speaker, Nan,
I do not like this "Yes, we can!"

I do not like this spending spree,
I'm smart, I know that nothing's free.
I do not like your smug replies,
when I complain about your lies.
I do not like this kind of hope.
I do not like it, nope, nope, nope!

Is Life Sentence Too Harsh For Man Convicted of Ninth DWI?

I have to laugh at the term "life sentence". If the judge has just sentenced this guy to 5 years, people would be up in arms that the sentence was too light. This guy is a menace to society, and maybe, in prison he can break his alcohol addiction, that is, of course, if Texas is one of those states that doesn't supply alcohol and drugs to inmates. You can't be too sure these "liberal" days. My guess is that the judge has done Stovall a big favor and saved his life.

Excerpt: Bobby Stovall, 54, was driving his truck in Round Rock, Texas, in early July when he weaved through several lanes of traffic and hit another vehicle, injuring the driver. It was later determined that Stovall had a blood alcohol concentration of .32, four times the legal limit in Texas.

And while that DWI was certainly enough to get Stovall in trouble with the law, when the judge found out the defendant had eight prior DWI convictions across several different counties in Texas, he ordered up a life sentence for Stovall. Is Life Sentence Too Harsh For Man Convicted of Ninth DWI?

Obama's Islamic America - Islam's Contributions to US Development?

This Washington Times Opinion piece tries to make sense of some of Obama's statements regarding peaceful Islam. I love sarcastic humor.

Excerpt: Most puzzling is the president's claim that "Islam has always been part of America." Islam had no influence on the origins and development of the United States. It contributed nothing to early American political culture, art, literature, music or any other aspect of the early nation.

Throughout most of American history, the Muslim world was perceived as remote, alien and belligerent. Perhaps the president was thinking about the Barbary Pirates and their role in the founding of the U.S. Navy, or Andrew Jackson's dispatch of frigates against Muslim pirates in Sumatra in the 1830s. Maybe he was recalling Rutherford B. Hayes' 1880 statement regarding Morocco on "the necessity, in accordance with the humane and enlightened spirit of the age, of putting an end to the persecutions, which have been so prevalent in that country, of persons of a faith other than the Moslem, and especially of the Hebrew residents of Morocco." Or Grover Cleveland's 1896 comment on the continuing massacre of Armenian Christians: "We have been afflicted by continued and not infrequent reports of the wanton destruction of homes and the bloody butchery of men, women and children, made martyrs to their profession of Christian faith. ... It so mars the humane and enlightened civilization that belongs to the close of the nineteenth century that it seems hardly possible that the earnest demand of good people throughout the Christian world for its corrective treatment will remain unanswered." Obama's Islamic America

Why I'm Not Hiring - WSJ Article

This is a great article by a NJ small business owner that breaks down in detail the tax burden on both the employer and the employee, and also discloses the immediate upward health insurance cost spiral caused by ObamaCare.

Excerpt: A life in business is filled with uncertainties, but I can be quite sure that every time I hire someone my obligations to the government go up. From where I sit, the government's message is unmistakable: Creating a new job carries a punishing price Why I'm Not Hiring

Unemployment Compensation - An Incentive to Stay Unemployed?

Was listening to Cavuto On Business today and they were talking about the "99 week" protesters who want an additional extension of unemployment benefits. The take was that they were lobbying, not for jobs, but for additional government dole.

A WSJ article was quoted as saying the government is in direct competition with business in that the $600 per week of unemployment exceeds the entry level pay in the private sector. Therefore many jobs are going unfilled. It was estimated that a full 1% to 1 1/2% of the 9 1/2% unemployment in our country could be eliminated if people took these jobs.

Since the employee and the employer pay into an unemployment fund, this "insurance" is a good thing to help, those unfortunate workers who lose their job, to provide for their families. However there has to be an end of benefits or you will perpetuate another form of welfare.

My idea, instead of extending the payments in perpetuity, is to have a phase out plan. Give full benefits for a period of X number of weeks, 75% for another X weeks, 50% etc., and stabilize it at a bare uncomfortable level. Somewhere in this downward progression, these lower level jobs will be more appealing and will be filled.

Another idea would be to give the basic benefits for a fixed number of weeks and then, for a year, give only enough to subsidize a base level wage to make it equal to the basic benefits.

Either one of these ideas would incentivize the true worker to actively seek employment, contrary to the current policy.

We must change the political climate in Washington, the liberal idea that government should be the "plantation owner" for its citizenry is no longer viable. Blanket extensions do not work and are unaffordable.

Second General backs Lakin, says President should produce birth certificate

As this goes on and Obama fights the release of his records, I remain in the uncertain 60%.

Excerpt: Army Major General (Ret) Jerry Curry a decorated combat veteran has issued statement saying he agrees with Lakin that the President should provide proof of eligibility. Curry served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Carter Administration, as Press Secretary to the Secretary of Defense for the Reagan Administration, and has worked in international relations, public affairs, management, aviation, and research and development.

General Curry lamented that members of the military were having to raise the issue “It shouldn’t be the Lieutenant Colonels, Sergeants and Generals in the Army it should be the Congressman and Senators on both sides of the issue asking this man to step up to the plate” and provide the proof to the American people. Curry expressed concern for Lakin telling the Gazette “the administration will do its best to destroy him personally.”

As the Gazette previously reported, Major General Paul Vallely has also publically supported Lt. Col. Lakin saying in a radio interview “I think many in the military – and many out of the military – question the natural-birth status of Barack Obama. … I'm not convinced that he's a natural-born citizen.”

Vallely said he was concerned over the Certification of Live Birth that was released online instead of the long form certificate showing the doctor’s name and hospital “His unwillingness to do it also concerns me. I think Lt. Col. Lakin has a valid point it's a concern and I'm not sure it has been addressed properly. … He refuses to produce a birth certificate that states the witnessing of the birth, the date and who is the doctor. We don't know why he won't come out with that.”

A recent CNN poll revealed that 6 in 10 Americans are uncertain if the President was born in the United States. The poll taken July 16-21 asked the following question “Do you think Barack Obama was definitely born in the United States, probably born in the United States, probably born in another country, or definitely born in another country?”

Only 42 percent of the respondents said they believed the President was definitely born in the United States while probably in the United States received 29 percent meaning 6 in 10 Americans are uncertain about Obama’s birth.

Curry said people need to understand the purpose of pushing for the information is for the good of the country, not for personal reasons saying he does not want “to hurt Obama, we want the truth out so we don’t hurt the country.” Second General backs Lakin, says President should produce birth certificate

America: A new way forward - Kansas: a Model for the Future?

For years the American economy has moved more and more toward the service and home building industries. Now with the housing bubble a thing of the past, and, because of over supply, no relief in the long term future, we must chart a different course. Neither the service industry, nor growth in the public sector, as many Democrats promote, will create a marketable product that can correct our balance of payments on the world stage.

The models referenced below are the wave of the future, but the transformation will require entrepreneurial vision and an educated workforce, without the intrusion of governmental regulations, punishing taxes, and union involvement. Current administration policies, if continued, will be a "death knell" to this promising transformation.

Excerpt: Thanks to a cluster of aircraft manufacturers such as Learjet, Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft, the economic focus of Wichita – population 366,000 – is very different from the emphasis on services and consumer demand typical of 21st-century America. According to a study published late last month by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think-tank, nearly 28 per cent of the city’s gross metropolitan product is sold abroad. That makes it the most export-oriented in the country, just ahead of Portland, Oregon – noted for its computer and electronics companies – and San Jose in California’s Silicon Valley.

According to Bruce Katz, the study’s author, these areas could be at the vanguard of a fundamental transformation in the US economy – away from consumers and housing towards investment and exports. “I personally think [Wichita] will be the norm in the next 10 to 15 years,” Mr Katz says.

Many economists believe this is desirable. Don Kohn, outgoing vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve, has said it would put America on a “stronger, more resilient, and ... more sustainable growth path” than before the recession, and would make households “less vulnerable and better able to withstand shocks in the future”. It could also help moderate the global imbalances that have afflicted the US economy in the past decade.

Read the Financial Times article "America: A new way forward" here.

U.S. warned of threat worse than Katrina, plague, WWII - EMP

Rather than dealing with the real problems, such as this, that our Federal government should be protecting us from, the Congress has chosen to deal with clean energy, a suspect crisis, in a way that increases control over our live. I would prefer that they protect my life from proven imminent danger, but then again, how would that give those in power more control?

Excerpt: The issue of EMP dangers to the Earth, either from a CME, a coronal mass ejection, which basically is an eruption of power from the sun, or from a nuclear-triggered EMP wave that truly is intended to destroy a society, have been the subject of multiple reports in recent months.

"This is clearly not something you ever want to experience firsthand, it could lead to millions of casualties,"' he said.

WND reported just days ago that the U.S. House had authorized plans to defend America's power grid against such dangers, but the members of the Senate left citizens to fend for themselves, eliminating the contingency plans.

He noted that an electric storm that was recorded in 1859 had little effect because of the agrarian nature of the nation, where people were only a matter of steps from milk, eggs, butter, meat and even grain.

Further, the social unrest from diminishing and unstable food and water supplies also could be catastrophic, he noted.

"The fallout from that would be in a category … we have difficulty thinking about," he said.

Kappenman said in the interview the events recorded in 1859, and again in 1921, are not only probable to repeat, but inevitable.

"There is nothing that has changed in the physics of the sun … that will preclude a large storm from occurring again in the future. These are a certainty to occur in the future," he said.

In March 1989, he noted, there was a storm that produced a blackout all across Quebec. It developed from the first indicator of trouble to complete blackout in 92 seconds and "we came very close in the U.S. to a blackout that could have extended from New England … all the way across to the Pacific Northwest."

At that time, the storm was ranked as among the most powerful ever, with maximum levels of 500 nanoteslas per minute, a ranking of energy surge.

But Kappenman said he's documented in history storms that reached 5,000, 10 times larger.

Failing to prepare, he said, is like Russian roulette.

"We may have pulled the trigger on an empty barrel this time but sooner or later that luck will not always hold out for us," he said.

According to Bartlett, the National Academies of Sciences predicted in a 2008 report that a solar geomagnetic storm as severe as the Carrington event that occurred in 1859 could inflict $1 trillion to $2 trillion damage.

Bartlett said the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee decided to dump the House plan, H.R. 5026, which directed "the Secretary to establish a program to develop technical expertise in the protection of systems for the generation, transmission and distribution of electric energy against either geomagnetic storms or malicious acts using electronic communications or electromagnetic pulse."

Instead, adopted was a Senate plan, S. 1462, which instead promotes "clean energy."

Read WorldNetDaily article "U.S. warned of threat worse than Katrina, plague, WWII" here.

Tom Coburn's Hat in the Ring for 2012? American Thinker

I like to post articles that introduce potential candidates for President in 2012. Tom Coburn was in the forefront of the fight against ObamaCare and made a name for himself with his insightful arguments against the bill. This article makes a good case for his potential candidacy.

Looking at the current list of potential Republican candidates, I am having a hard time finding the "standout", the one with the private sector experience, the conservative small government views, the communication skills, and the moral principles necessary to shine.

Perhaps Tom Coburn will be the one that "stands out"

Excerpt: Out of all the Republicans on any list of future candidates who meet these criteria, Tom Coburn should be at the top. Like many possible nominees, Coburn has an almost perfect rating from the American Conservative Union: His lifetime voting record in the Senate is the third-most conservative and his voting record in the current Congress is perfect. Still, Coburn is widely viewed as a maverick (in the best sense of the word) and someone who makes up his own mind.

Coburn's concern about the corrupting influence of Washington -- a concern that is truly the heart of the Tea Party movement and the highly energized conservative base today -- was expressed in a book that Coburn wrote seven years ago, while Republicans still controlled the White House and both Houses of Congress. The title of the book says it all: Breach of Trust -- How Washington Turns Outsiders into Insiders. Isn't that, really, our principal concern? Well, Coburn took up our banner for that cause while Republicans still held all the power in Washington. Coburn, when he was elected in 1994 to the House, took the three-term pledge and honored it, even though his Third Congressional District was called "Little Dixie" and had been gerrymandered to elect Democrats. Coburn was willing to risk his party losing a House seat to keep his word.

Tom Coburn is a doctor whose life before Congress was devoted to healing people and, particularly, towards bringing healthy babies into the world. No one in Congress (and few people in America) is as well-equipped by training and experience to explain the pro-Life position to America. No one in Congress is better-equipped by training and experience to explain the health care system in America.


Tom Coburn is not a career politician, and he can prove it by his actions. He is not the puppet of party leaders. He is well-equipped to engage our enemies on policy issues, and he can effectively compel them to fight on only the issues. So why would he not be a candidate who would unify the conservative base and win a landslide? Read American Thinker article "President Coburn?" here.

US Constitution - Klaven: A Young Persons Guide

Hispanics Fire Back at Harry Reid