Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sam Rohrer For Senate?
Sam Rohrer, the Tea Party candidate who made a surprisingly strong showing in last year's (Pa)Republican gubernatorial primary, is being touted for U.S. Senate. A Facebook page has even been set up to push him into a candidacy.
The Mind of a Jihadist
Islamic Jihad: A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism, and Slavery. M.A. Khan. New York:iUniverse, Inc, 2009. 357 pp. Since the Islamic terror attacks perpetrated on the United States on 9/11/2001, Americans and people in the West have wondered what drove nineteen Muslim fanatics to commit such an atrocity. In M.A. Khan's seminal and scholarly work, Islamic Jihad: A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism, and Slavery, the reader is given a good background on why these attacks and many other Islamic attacks have taken place throughout the centuries. One word describes it: Jihad. The term Jihad in Arabic means "struggle", but...
India Missile interceptor successfully tested
It pulverises ‘enemy' ballistic missile at an altitude of 16 km . In yet another confirmation of its ballistic missile defence capability, India on Sunday fired an interceptor missile, which intercepted an incoming ‘enemy' ballistic missile at an altitude of 16 km and pulverised it in “a direct kill.” While the ‘hostile' missile took off at 9.32 a.m. from a launch complex at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Orissa, the interceptor blasted off at 9.37 a.m. from the Wheeler Island, off the Orissa coast. The interceptor had a specially designed directional warhead, “which will go towards the target, look...
Dept.of Education Wants Your Kid’s Blood Type?
Among other creepy things. Duncan's DoE appears to be doling out federal funds intending to push aside state and local school boards, establish federal curricula, and gather all sorts of personal data. (Birth marks? Really?) Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Department of Education — already ensnared by allegations of insider trading — appear to be maneuvering for greater federal influence over state education boards. The vehicle: a supposedly state-led effort titled “Common Core Curriculum.� Says Gretchen Logue, co-editor of missourieducationwatchdog.com: Arne Duncan ran the Race to the Top competition, but only a few states got money from that....
This may be the best video produced on the illegal alien problems
If you haven't seen this video watch it, this Professor is amazing.
Privatize Education
The obnoxious and disruptive conduct of public employee unions shows how bad labor unions in general have been for America. Republicans, if they are wise governors of states and brave political warriors, will defang organized labor by passing right-to-work laws in all six of the states in which Republicans now have the muscle to do so -- Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Maine. Unions are a huge drag on our economy and a major cause for the flight of good jobs out of our nation. More repulsive is the fact that the teacher-goons in Wisconsin who spew hate in...
Risk of Nuclear Catastrophe Escalates in Japan – ‘Worse than Chernobyl’
The Institute for Public Accuracy issued the following statement by nuclear expert, Kevin Kamp, about the risk of nuclear disaster in post-Earthquake Japan: “The electrical grid is down. The emergency diesel generators have been damaged. The multi-reactor Fukushima atomic power plant is now relying on battery power, which will only last around eight hours. The danger is, the very thermally hot reactor cores at the plant must be continuously cooled for 24 to 48 hours. Without any electricity, the pumps won’t be able to pump water through the hot reactor cores to cool them. Once electricity is lost, the irradiated...
Mahoning County Ohio fires Columbus law firm, saying it backs collective bargaining bill
Mahoning county has fired a law firm over controversial collective bargaining legislation, a move that underscores the political rancor involved in the debate over a bill to limit union rights of public employees, people on both sides of the issue said today. "It's setting Ohioans against each other and pitting Democrats against Republicans and it's getting messy," said state Sen. Joseph Schiavoni, a Youngstown-area Democrat and opponent of the collective bargaining bill. "I just don't believe this bill is in the bests [sic] interests of anybody right now." Schiavoni attended the meeting yesterday in Youngstown at which Mahoning County commissioners...
You-Tube SING-ALONG: Where Have all the Cowboy Poets Gone?
I agree with Harry Reid. How can we possibly go on with our lives if the taxpayers don't fund the cowboy poetry festival? Enjoy the sing-along. YOUTUBE = WHERE HAVE ALL THE COWBOY POETS GONE?
Taking Liberties: Taxing Church Attendance?
In August, the small town just north of Kansas City passed the so-called “driveway tax,” a controversial charge, in addition to property taxes, for residents and businesses based on the number of times their driveway is used. A big box store like Target can pay over $60,000 annually, while residents pay a flat rate of $72 dollars a year The purpose of the “Transportation Utility Fee” is to raise money for public works projects in Mission like street construction and road repair It’s unpopular among residents, some of whom have put up protest signs on their yards. But it’s particularly...
Is Russia Helping Taiwan Build Submarines?
Is Russia Helping Taiwan Build Submarines? Publication: China Brief Volume: 11 Issue: 4March 10, 2011 On January 27, a Taiwanese weekly, Next Magazine, reported that the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy had plans to introduce Russian Kilo-class submarine technology. According to the report, a task force was organized by TaiwanÂ’s National Security Council (NSC) and the Taiwan Navy, which contacted Russian government authorities back in October 2010 and reached a consensus on technical cooperation to construct pressure hulls for submarines. Russia reportedly will send a technical team to Taiwan for evaluation before signing a memorandum of cooperation (Next Magazine [Taiwan],...
Darkness Falls
Barack Obama’s policy toward the Libyan struggle for freedom is no longer a muddle. It is now a disgrace. Here is what his administration and its allies have told the world, and the Libyan dictator, and the Libyan rebels, in recent days. The director of national intelligence declared before the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a chilling example of self-fulfilling prophecy, that “over the longer term Qaddafi will prevail.” The secretary of defense continued to insist that the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya is too much for America to do, and to frighten the public with the warning...
Muslims Obtaining Foothold in US Government Agencies
Islamic Society of N. America: Encouraging Muslims to Obtain a Foothold in Governmental Agencies I have said over and over that Muslims do not have to be anywhere near the majority of America, to have a major impact on our country. The reason being, is that they know exactly where to target. Tonight we see how the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), is opening the door for Muslims to obtain a foothold within our government. (Related Content on the Islamist Infiltration of all American institutions) Careers in Interfaith/Government Target #1. Internships at the State Department STUDENT PROGRAMS Experience the...
Where Is The Outcry Against Arab Apartheid?
Mohammed Nabil Taha, an 11-year-old Palestinian boy, died this week at the entrance to a Lebanese hospital after doctors refused to help him because his family could not afford to pay for medical treatment. The tragic case of Taha highlights the plight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who live in impoverished refugee camps in Lebanon and who are the victims of an Apartheid system that denies them access to work, education and medical care. Ironically, the boy's death at the entrance to the hospital coincided with Israel Apartheid Week, a festival of hatred and incitement organized by anti-Israel activists...
GOP Senators Introduce National 'Right-to-Work' Bill to Restrict Unions
A group of conservative U.S. senators has introduced a bill to restrict unions from forcing workers to join and pay dues as a condition of employment. The move on Capitol Hill comes as several states consider what's known as "right-to-work" legislation -- proposals that have met stiff resistance. Indiana Republicans recently shelved their right-to-work bill after it sparked protests at the capital and after Democrats fled the state to block it, mimicking the tactic used by Wisconsin lawmakers holding up Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union proposal. But GOP senators in Washington said national legislation is needed to stop the "strong-arm political...
Lawmaker from central Louisiana becomes latest Democratic defection to the GOP (Rep. Billy Chandler)
BATON ROUGE, La. — A state lawmaker from central Louisiana has become the latest member of the Louisiana House to leave the Democratic Party for the GOP. Rep. Billy Chandler, of Dry Prong, announced his party switch Friday, adding another Republican to the House, which recently became a majority GOP chamber. Chandler says he's joined the Republican Party because the philosophy more closely matches his views and those of his constituents. He was elected in 2006 to the district representing parts of Grant, LaSalle, Rapides, and Winn parishes. The House has 53 Republicans, 46 Democrats, four independents and two vacancies....
Terror Attack in Canada: A Question of When, Not If
If there were to be a strike, wouldn't it make sense that it happen when the targets least expect? That would seem logical. Also logical would be to assume that al Qaeda has continued to evolve and use 'outside the box' thinking. They know that while all of the changes in security policies and procedures implemented since 9/11 haven't been perfect (TSA), it has become increasingly difficult to execute a large-scale attack. With the price of oil certain to rise and the global economic situation as volatile as ever, one could expect our energy infrastructure to be a prime target....
Oil Price Shocks and the Recession of 2011? Ten of the last 11 recessions were preceded by oil...
Ten of the last 11 recessions were preceded by oil price hikes. Oil prices surged to near $107 per barrel yesterday and regular gasoline is going for $3.51 per gallon. Last March oil sold for around $80 per barrel and gas cost about $2.79 per gallon. The uprisings throughout the Middle East are in part responsible for the recent uptick in prices. For example, the fighting in Libya has reduced global oil production by about one million barrels per day. On the other hand, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are boosting their output by a similar...
Oil Industry Says Obama Didn’t Tell the Truth
Oil Industry Says Obama Didn’t Tell the Truth Fox News (blog) - Jim Hoft - 45 minutes ago Last week, at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told Congress that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico “remained at an all-time high.” Salazar claimed: “In 2009 there were 116 rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, in 2010 in February, 120, in February 2011, 126.” He was lying. Energy Tomorrow blog reported Salazar’s numbers distort the true number of working rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Baker Hughes: * Four days before the Deepwater Horizon...
Wesley J. Smith: Futile Care: Teenager Forced Off Life Support Survives to Tell the Tale
This would have been a bigger story in the USA where patients still have the right to fight these things. In New Zealand, doctors forced a badly injured teenager–Kimberly McNeill, center in the photo at left–off of life support. But contrary to their certainty, she didn’t die. From the story: A teenage girl whose life support was switched off by a New Zealand hospital against her family’s wishes defied the odds to recover and returned home this week — walking and talking. Doctors forecasted that Kimberly McNeill, 18, would never recover from her severe injuries and 15 days after...
U.S. Backing for World Currency Stuns Markets
US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner shocked global markets by revealing that Washington is “quite open” to Chinese proposals for the gradual development of a global reserve currency run by the International Monetary Fund. The dollar plunged instantly against the euro, yen, and sterling as the comments flashed across trading screens. David Bloom, currency chief at HSBC, said the apparent policy shift amounts to an earthquake in geo-finance. “The mere fact that the US Treasury Secretary is even entertaining thoughts that the dollar may cease being the anchor of the global monetary system has caused consternation,” he said. Mr Geithner later...
Rep. Tim Huelskamp Stands Tall in Budget Showdown
Yesterday, Heritage Action for America (my employer), Club for Growth, and Family Research Council released a joint statement announcing their opposition to the three-week continuing resolution on floor of the House of Representatives next week, and their decision to “key vote” the extension on their respective scorecards. In doing so, they joined Mark Levin, Erick Erickson, and others, who are calling for conservatives to step up and lead by blocking this legislation.
David Horowitz Takes on Muslim Students at Brooklyn College
Taking aim at the ubiquitous political zeitgeist that views the Palestinians as a nation of oppressed refugees, Mr. Horowitz intoned, "No people have shown themselves as so morally sick as the Palestinians", adding that, "In the history of all mankind, there was never a people who strapped bombs on their bodies and killed innocent people. No other people have sunk so low as the Palestinians and everyone is afraid to say it." Describing Islam as a religion possessed by "hate, violence and racism", he said that a resolution to the protracted Israeli-Palestinian imbroglio could is not beyond reach. "If...
Michelle Bachmann & Steve King call for Defunding of Obamacare NOW!
Michelle Bachmann and Steve King are asking the GOP leadership to include language in the CR vote next Tuesday to strip the $105 billion that was passed in Obamacare. Bachmann said "We will have socialized medicine in this county if we don't fight now." Call your Representative and demand they support this!
An Earthquake and a Tsunami
An Earthquake and a Tsunami by Ari Bussel Children, not realizing the dangers, are more excited to ski, go to high ground due to a possible flooding or experience an earthquake. I was a student at Stanford when I experienced my first earthquake. For some odd reason, it seems to me they always happen in early morning. After a few shakers, though, the sense of “excitement” was replaced with apprehension. I used to say, “When Mother Earth’s clock rings, you wake up without delay.” I remember my first earthquake in Japan and the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake. My father...
When Ronald Reagan was Dumb, Obama was Abroad (The non-birther, birther argument)
When Ronald Reagan was Dumb, Obama was abroad Written by Jim Funkhouser Uncategorized Mar 12, 2011 I don’t remember when I first learned that America was composed of 50 seperate States, but it must have been early because I can’t remember ever picturing my Country as anything but the nifty fifty. And, if you have travelled abroad you know that Europeans still refer to us as “The States.” I’m sure we have been called that for centuries there. To the world we will always be seen as republic in theory, even though we have nearly lost that unique feature in...
Libya Is What A World Without U.S. Leadership Looks Like
The Obama Doctrine Libya Is What A World Without U.S. Leadership Looks Like. 'This is the Obama conception of the U.S. role in the world—to work through multilateral organizations and bilateral relationships to make sure that the steps we are taking are amplified." —White House National Security Council spokesman Ben Rhodes, March 10, 2011, as quoted in the Washington Post "They bombed us with tanks, airplanes, missiles coming from every direction. . . . We need international support, at least a no-fly zone. Why is the world not supporting us?" —Libyan rebel Mahmoud Abdel Hamid, March 10, 2011, as quoted...
Meltdown Caused Nuke Plant Explosion: Safety Body
Sunday, March 13, 2011 Meltdown Caused Nuke Plant Explosion: Safety Body TOKYO (Nikkei)--The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said Saturday afternoon the explosion at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant could only have been caused by a meltdown of the reactor core. The same day, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501), which runs the plant, began to flood the damaged reactor with seawater to cool it down, resorting to measures that could rust the reactor and force the utility to scrap it. Cesium and iodine, by-products of nuclear fission, were detected around the plant, which would make the explosion the...
How Israel could revolutionize the global energy sector
A new assessment was released late last year by Dr. Yuval Bartov, chief geologist for Israel Energy Initiatives, at the yearly symposium of the prestigious Colorado School of Mines. He presented data that our oil shale reserves are actually the equivalent of 250 billion barrels (that compares with 260 billion barrels in the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia). Independent oil industry analysts have been carefully looking at the shale, and have not refuted these findings. As a consequence of these new estimates, we may emerge as the third largest deposit of oil shale, after the US and China. OIL SHALE...
Sending Suicide Squads into Schools
PROTESTER VOICES-- The 1974 Textbook Tea Party is the book includes the personal accounts of Alice Moore (who plowed the ground for leaders like Sarah Palin), five key preachers (Graley, Hill, Horan, Thaxton, and Quigley), and several other actual protesters. See many photographs of the protesters in action-- —including peaceful protesters waving flags and praising God as they are arrested and mothers who are roughed up for refusing to leave the Board of Education office until the superintendent met with them. (So much for “public” schools!) No edited media interviews. No slanted research papers. No censorship. THE BOOK LIBERALS WANT...
SOROS-FUNDED GROUP PRESSURES CHRISTIAN STATIONS TO ‘GIVE UP GLENN BECK FOR LENT’
According to the group’s website, their mission is two-fold: “restore community and uphold the common good in America and across the globe.” In service to these commitments, the group says it works to: * end poverty and promote economic security for all * promote peace and restore America’s commitment to human rights and diplomacy * prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change * counter hate speech and misinformation in the media pertaining to people of faith * work for welcoming communities where immigrants and people of all faiths are welcome
‘CONFEDERATE AGENDA’: Jesse Jackson WI a Civil Rights Issue Because Black Middle Class is Gov-Driven
‘CONFEDERATE AGENDA’: Jesse Jackson Says Wisconsin a Civil Rights Issue Because Black Middle Class is Government-Driven http://www.theblaze.com/stories/confederate-agenda-jesse-jackson-says-wisconsin-a-civil-rights-issue-because-black-middle-class-is-government-driven/
Japan reports emergency at second nuclear reactor (unit 3 at the same plant)
TOKYO – Japan's nuclear safety agency is reporting an emergency at a second reactor in the same complex where an explosion had occurred earlier. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said early Sunday that the cooling system malfunctioned at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The agency said it was informed of the emergency by Tokyo Electric, the utility which runs the plant. No further details of the troubles at Unit 3 were immediately available. An explosion occurred at another reactor in the complex on Saturday, destroying the building housing the reactor and handing authorities an urgent complication...
Three Year Old Stabbed in the Heart, Baby's Throat Slashed
The initial findings of the investigation into the terrorist massacre in the Israeli town of Itamar in Samaria Friday night show that the Fatah ‘Freedom Fighters’ stabbed the Fogel family's sleeping three year old in the heart and slashed the throat of his three-month-old sister.
The IDF and police forces are conducting widespread searches in the vicinity of the community since the barbaric terrorist murder of five members of the Fogel family in their home on Friday night.
It is not yet clear how many terrorists took part in the massacre. About 20 Arabs have been arrested up to now.
One area in which the IDF is concentrating its investigations is whether there were any intelligence warnings of terrorist plans before the attack that might have alerted residents.
The community of Itamar has had no terrorist attacks since 2002, when an advanced protection and security system called the Special Security Area was installed. The electronic system, which includes varied methods of observation and a wired fence, is kept in repair by the regional authority rather than the IDF.
In addition to an electronic fence surrounding the community, there is an inner, coiled wire fence. The community is allotted six non-army security personnel from a recognized security firm who are on patrol all the time. All signals go automatically to a central operations room in the town staffed by two of these guards, and in addition there is a company of soldiers on the adjoining hill.
The IDF investigation of the attack has discovered that at 20:59, terrorists entered the community. They jumped over the fence and an alert sounded. The guard on duty went to the spot from which the warning was heard, but saw no evidence of infiltration and therefore, made the erroneous decision that an animal had activated the electronic fence’s warning signal.
A security person who was in the vicinity said that since the fence was not cut, the guard thought there was no infiltration and did not inform the IDF unit that was less than a kilometer away.
The terrorists first entered one home, which was empty. They found a weapon there, which they do not seem to have used. A group of youngsters was having a Sabbath evening party at the Fogel house nearby, and at 22:20 they left, along with the Fogel’s 12-year-old daughter, for an activity at the local Bnei Akiva youth group.
Between 22:20 and 22:30 the terrorists entered the house through the living room picture window, did not notice the 6-year-old boy sleeping on the couch and continued on to the bedroom where they slashed the throats of the father and newborn baby who were sleeping there. The mother came out of the bathroom and was stabbed on its threshold. The evidence shows that she tried to fight the terrorists.
They then slashed the throat of the 11-year old-son who was reading in bed. They did not notice the 2-year old asleep in his bed, but murdered the 3-year old with two stabs to his heart. After that, they locked the door, exited through the window and escaped.
Exactly two hours after the infiltration, there was another warning signal from the same spot on the fence, as the terrorists left the way they had come. Once again, the patrol did not identify the source of the signal as infiltration.
The 12-year-old daughter returned home at 00:30 and found the door locked. She asked a neighbor, Rabbi Yaakov Cohen, of the Itamar Yeshiva, to help her. He brought a weapon with him once he noticed tracks and mud near the house. The two woke up the 6-year old sleeping in the living room by calling through the window and when he opened the door, the Rabbi returned to his home.
When she entered the bedrooms, the young daughter saw the horrific bloodsoaked scene and ran out of the house screaming. The neighbor ran back and fired several shots in the air to alert security personnel. Within a short time, large police and IDF forces arrived and began intensive searches to see if the terrorists were still in the community. At 03:30 a.m., military trackers discovered footprints leading to the Arab village of Avrata.
“Sky Riders” Israeli UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles), continued the search Saturday morning.
The IDF Chief of Staff, General Benny Gantz, arrived at the family’s home during the morning hours and said: “We will not rest until the murderers are in our hands. This is a bestial act perpetrated by barbarians. It is impossible to grasp the horrendous scene before us. We are working non-stop on the intelligence and operational fronts.”
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a situation meeting in IDF Tel Aviv headquarters. Attending were the Chief of Staff, ISA head Yuval Diskin and other high ranking IDF intelligence and security personnel. Barak instructed those present to use every means at their disposal to find the murderers as quickly as possible. He called on the leaders of the Palestinian Authority to condemn the murders and on the Judea and Samaria Regional Authority Heads to exercise restraint.
The IDF and police forces are conducting widespread searches in the vicinity of the community since the barbaric terrorist murder of five members of the Fogel family in their home on Friday night.
It is not yet clear how many terrorists took part in the massacre. About 20 Arabs have been arrested up to now.
One area in which the IDF is concentrating its investigations is whether there were any intelligence warnings of terrorist plans before the attack that might have alerted residents.
The community of Itamar has had no terrorist attacks since 2002, when an advanced protection and security system called the Special Security Area was installed. The electronic system, which includes varied methods of observation and a wired fence, is kept in repair by the regional authority rather than the IDF.
In addition to an electronic fence surrounding the community, there is an inner, coiled wire fence. The community is allotted six non-army security personnel from a recognized security firm who are on patrol all the time. All signals go automatically to a central operations room in the town staffed by two of these guards, and in addition there is a company of soldiers on the adjoining hill.
The IDF investigation of the attack has discovered that at 20:59, terrorists entered the community. They jumped over the fence and an alert sounded. The guard on duty went to the spot from which the warning was heard, but saw no evidence of infiltration and therefore, made the erroneous decision that an animal had activated the electronic fence’s warning signal.
A security person who was in the vicinity said that since the fence was not cut, the guard thought there was no infiltration and did not inform the IDF unit that was less than a kilometer away.
The terrorists first entered one home, which was empty. They found a weapon there, which they do not seem to have used. A group of youngsters was having a Sabbath evening party at the Fogel house nearby, and at 22:20 they left, along with the Fogel’s 12-year-old daughter, for an activity at the local Bnei Akiva youth group.
Between 22:20 and 22:30 the terrorists entered the house through the living room picture window, did not notice the 6-year-old boy sleeping on the couch and continued on to the bedroom where they slashed the throats of the father and newborn baby who were sleeping there. The mother came out of the bathroom and was stabbed on its threshold. The evidence shows that she tried to fight the terrorists.
They then slashed the throat of the 11-year old-son who was reading in bed. They did not notice the 2-year old asleep in his bed, but murdered the 3-year old with two stabs to his heart. After that, they locked the door, exited through the window and escaped.
Exactly two hours after the infiltration, there was another warning signal from the same spot on the fence, as the terrorists left the way they had come. Once again, the patrol did not identify the source of the signal as infiltration.
The 12-year-old daughter returned home at 00:30 and found the door locked. She asked a neighbor, Rabbi Yaakov Cohen, of the Itamar Yeshiva, to help her. He brought a weapon with him once he noticed tracks and mud near the house. The two woke up the 6-year old sleeping in the living room by calling through the window and when he opened the door, the Rabbi returned to his home.
When she entered the bedrooms, the young daughter saw the horrific bloodsoaked scene and ran out of the house screaming. The neighbor ran back and fired several shots in the air to alert security personnel. Within a short time, large police and IDF forces arrived and began intensive searches to see if the terrorists were still in the community. At 03:30 a.m., military trackers discovered footprints leading to the Arab village of Avrata.
“Sky Riders” Israeli UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles), continued the search Saturday morning.
The IDF Chief of Staff, General Benny Gantz, arrived at the family’s home during the morning hours and said: “We will not rest until the murderers are in our hands. This is a bestial act perpetrated by barbarians. It is impossible to grasp the horrendous scene before us. We are working non-stop on the intelligence and operational fronts.”
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a situation meeting in IDF Tel Aviv headquarters. Attending were the Chief of Staff, ISA head Yuval Diskin and other high ranking IDF intelligence and security personnel. Barak instructed those present to use every means at their disposal to find the murderers as quickly as possible. He called on the leaders of the Palestinian Authority to condemn the murders and on the Judea and Samaria Regional Authority Heads to exercise restraint.
Three Year Old Stabbed in the Heart, Baby's Throat Slashed
There's the lead story. Headline says enough. Here's the home page with a lot of video and follow-up: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/
Israeli Family Slaughtered By Palestinian Terrorists
Israeli Family Slaughtered By Palestinian Terrorists
At least one Palestinian terrorist is responsible for killing a family in Israel, including children. From Live Shots:
Five members of an Israeli family were killed Friday night when a suspected terrorist broke into their home in the West Bank settlement of Itamar and stabbed them all to death. The 12-year-old daughter who returned home from a friend’s house discovered the bodies. According to police, the suspect broke into the house armed with a knife and stabbed the mother, father and three children, aged 11, three and a three-month-old baby. Two infants, aged 2 and 4, survived the attack while escaping to their neighbors.
One of the paramedics who arrived at the scene described the horrific sights “We could not help the first four stab victims. Following an inspection of the scene I spotted an infant of about three who still had a pulse. We engaged in lengthy resuscitation efforts but had to pronounce him dead,” he said. “The murder scene was shocking. Kids’ toys right next to pools of blood.”
Security sources suspect that the attacker who carried out the massacre cut the fence surrounding Itamar and entered the home of the victims through the window, authorities could not immediately discount the possibility that more than one attacker was involved in the murder. The military blocked the entrance to the northern West Bank settlement of Itamar, as soldiers poured inside and a pair of ambulances departed.
Prime Minister Netanyahu was updated on the killings overnight and ordered the IDF and security services to widen the scope of their activities in order to capture the killers. Netanyahu expressed deep outrage over the horrific crime. “This despicable murder of an entire family of innocents, parents, children and infants, while they were sleeping in their home on Shabbat,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying. Netanyahu demanded that the Palestinian Authority and its president to help find the murderers.
“Israel will not return to normalcy after a despicable murder such as this. Israel will act assertively to preserve the security of the lives of Israeli citizens, and punish the murderers,” Netanyahu emphasized.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed Saturday that Israel would use every means possible to track down those behind the fatal stabbing of a family of five in the West Bank settlement of Itamar on Friday night.
“The IDF and security services will act quickly and with all the tools at their disposal in order to capture those responsible for the despicable murder, ” Barak said.
Itamar, a religious Jewish settlement in the hills of the northern West Bank, close to the Palestinian city of Nablus, is home to some of the West Bank’s most fervent settlers, and it is frequently in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The overnight attack is the first attack against settlers in months and the first of its kind and scope in years. It marks a rare outburst of violence during a relatively calm period.
A monstrous act of evil.
At least one Palestinian terrorist is responsible for killing a family in Israel, including children. From Live Shots:
Five members of an Israeli family were killed Friday night when a suspected terrorist broke into their home in the West Bank settlement of Itamar and stabbed them all to death. The 12-year-old daughter who returned home from a friend’s house discovered the bodies. According to police, the suspect broke into the house armed with a knife and stabbed the mother, father and three children, aged 11, three and a three-month-old baby. Two infants, aged 2 and 4, survived the attack while escaping to their neighbors.
One of the paramedics who arrived at the scene described the horrific sights “We could not help the first four stab victims. Following an inspection of the scene I spotted an infant of about three who still had a pulse. We engaged in lengthy resuscitation efforts but had to pronounce him dead,” he said. “The murder scene was shocking. Kids’ toys right next to pools of blood.”
Security sources suspect that the attacker who carried out the massacre cut the fence surrounding Itamar and entered the home of the victims through the window, authorities could not immediately discount the possibility that more than one attacker was involved in the murder. The military blocked the entrance to the northern West Bank settlement of Itamar, as soldiers poured inside and a pair of ambulances departed.
Prime Minister Netanyahu was updated on the killings overnight and ordered the IDF and security services to widen the scope of their activities in order to capture the killers. Netanyahu expressed deep outrage over the horrific crime. “This despicable murder of an entire family of innocents, parents, children and infants, while they were sleeping in their home on Shabbat,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying. Netanyahu demanded that the Palestinian Authority and its president to help find the murderers.
“Israel will not return to normalcy after a despicable murder such as this. Israel will act assertively to preserve the security of the lives of Israeli citizens, and punish the murderers,” Netanyahu emphasized.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed Saturday that Israel would use every means possible to track down those behind the fatal stabbing of a family of five in the West Bank settlement of Itamar on Friday night.
“The IDF and security services will act quickly and with all the tools at their disposal in order to capture those responsible for the despicable murder, ” Barak said.
Itamar, a religious Jewish settlement in the hills of the northern West Bank, close to the Palestinian city of Nablus, is home to some of the West Bank’s most fervent settlers, and it is frequently in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The overnight attack is the first attack against settlers in months and the first of its kind and scope in years. It marks a rare outburst of violence during a relatively calm period.
A monstrous act of evil.
Obama to party with Washington reporters
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will speak at the 126th annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington on Saturday evening.
The white-tie event is an opportunity for journalists to poke fun at public figures and political themes of the day. .
This will be the first time Obama has appeared at the event. Last year, former President Bill Clinton stood in for the president who was preparing for a probable House vote on health care reform. Obama, however, did speak to the dinner via videotape. Vice President Joe Biden represented Obama in 2009.
The white-tie event is an opportunity for journalists to poke fun at public figures and political themes of the day. .
This will be the first time Obama has appeared at the event. Last year, former President Bill Clinton stood in for the president who was preparing for a probable House vote on health care reform. Obama, however, did speak to the dinner via videotape. Vice President Joe Biden represented Obama in 2009.
Only some revolutions will be televised
A GOOD PIECE
By Jody McIntyre
The Independent
"Another ‘million person march’ happened in an Arab state earlier this week. Headline news, you might think. At least on Al Jazeera? Whilst the media continue to focus exclusively on events in Libya, the huge march in the south of Yemen was ignored.
The Qatari-based news channel has played an intriguing role throughout the recent wave of revolutions across northern Africa and western Asia. By “choosing” one uprising at a time to focus on, it has led the gaze of the public, begging the question, would a revolution on the Egyptian model have ever succeeded without the media attention Al Jazeera provides?
On the other side of the coin, these new media sources, and the Internet in particular, have allowed us to follow these uprisings in a way that would never have been possible in the past. The BBC no longer can no longer monopolise our opinions; the corporate media no longer have complete control over which information we do and do not recieve. By viewing Twitter feeds which are updated on a minute-by-minute basis, we are seeing events as they happen, not as they are reported.....
What will be most interesting is how events develop from here. It clear that Western governments have begun to appreciate the ferocity and speed of the domino effect Tunisia initiated, with the French government attempting to cover up its long-time support of Ben Ali by recognising the opposition in Benghazi, the US government asking it’s human-rights-loving Saudi allies to arm the Libyan opposition, and David Cameron travelling to Cairo accompanied by BAE Systems representatives, desperately looking for another puppet leader to sell weapons to. The co-opting process is in full-swing.
Saleh’s speeches whilst his people are up in arms serve a similar purpose. They are an attempt to divide the opposition, and to weaken the revolution. A million people in the streets of Yemen suggests the plan is failing."
By Jody McIntyre
The Independent
"Another ‘million person march’ happened in an Arab state earlier this week. Headline news, you might think. At least on Al Jazeera? Whilst the media continue to focus exclusively on events in Libya, the huge march in the south of Yemen was ignored.
The Qatari-based news channel has played an intriguing role throughout the recent wave of revolutions across northern Africa and western Asia. By “choosing” one uprising at a time to focus on, it has led the gaze of the public, begging the question, would a revolution on the Egyptian model have ever succeeded without the media attention Al Jazeera provides?
On the other side of the coin, these new media sources, and the Internet in particular, have allowed us to follow these uprisings in a way that would never have been possible in the past. The BBC no longer can no longer monopolise our opinions; the corporate media no longer have complete control over which information we do and do not recieve. By viewing Twitter feeds which are updated on a minute-by-minute basis, we are seeing events as they happen, not as they are reported.....
What will be most interesting is how events develop from here. It clear that Western governments have begun to appreciate the ferocity and speed of the domino effect Tunisia initiated, with the French government attempting to cover up its long-time support of Ben Ali by recognising the opposition in Benghazi, the US government asking it’s human-rights-loving Saudi allies to arm the Libyan opposition, and David Cameron travelling to Cairo accompanied by BAE Systems representatives, desperately looking for another puppet leader to sell weapons to. The co-opting process is in full-swing.
Saleh’s speeches whilst his people are up in arms serve a similar purpose. They are an attempt to divide the opposition, and to weaken the revolution. A million people in the streets of Yemen suggests the plan is failing."
Imperial Islam – Prepping for a Worldwide Caliphate
By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
I strongly support freedom of religion in America. Even if I don’t agree with that religion, as long as it does not impinge on or harm others, a person has the right to worship when, where and how they see fit. Thus sayeth the 1st Amendment of the Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Having said that, it is no secret that I have long held the belief that there is a bloodless coup taking place in the US through Islamic extremists and their enablers/partners who are progressives/communists/Marxists. I also believe there are good Muslims. But most kept silent after 9-11. Muslims share in the shame of 3,000 deaths on that dark and mournful day by not condemning Jihadic terrorism.
And now, our President is readying himself for an Islamic Middle East – not a democratic one:
“The Obama administration is preparing for the prospect that Islamist governments will take hold in North Africa and the Middle East, acknowledging that the popular revolutions there will bring a more religious cast to the region’s politics.”
Before we go further, we need to define a couple of terms:
Caliphate / Ummah – Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalifah. Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. It means “successor,” that is, successor to the prophet Muhammad.
Should a new Caliphate arise, and I for one believe it eventually will, it’s head will rule all of Islam around the world. All sects, all flavors… He would possess clear political, military and legal standing as the global leader of Muslims. And I now believe, Obama is prepping for this event:
“The administration is already taking steps to distinguish between various movements in the region that promote Islamic law in government. An internal assessment, ordered by the White House last month, identified large ideological differences between such movements as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and al-Qaeda that will guide the U.S. approach to the region.”
The distinction in the preceding paragraph between al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood speaks volumes. Al Qaeda bad, Muslim Brotherhood good – fire bad, tree pretty, get it? Al Qaeda is bad because they attacked us. The Muslim Brotherhood is good because, wait for it, they only want to seize state power, transform Egypt into an Islamist state, rule almost 90 million people with an iron fist, back Hamas in trying to crush Israel, overthrow the Palestinian Authority, help Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood overthrow the monarchy and sponsor terrorism against Americans in the Middle East. But wait, there’s more… You shouldn’t fear the spread of Islam according to the White House:
“`We shouldn’t be afraid of Islam in the politics of these countries,’” said a senior administration official….`It’s the behavior of political parties and governments that we will judge them on, not their relationship with Islam.’”
You are right sir to an extent – it is the rapid spread of Islamofascism in these governments we should fear and that is what is happening. Radical Islamism is racing like wildfire to engulf these governments and will result in a brutal and violent theocracy the likes of which we haven’t witnessed since the dark ages. And our American government is helping them.
It is my belief that our government and progressives helped plan and foment the unrest, riots and ensuing revolts in the Middle East. They wanted a catalyst for chaos so they can bring about a one-world government based on Marxist principles. The progressives believe their style of rule will win in the end – you know, the old ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ credo. But they have seriously underestimated the Islamofascists.
You see, in the end, Russia and China will let the Islamists do their dirty work for them. Slaughtering millions and generating bloody mayhem across the globe. And when pesky entities such as the US and Israel are gone, why Russia and China will stomp on the Middle East and assimilate them. They have plenty of weapons and are more than willing to use them. They have no qualms over killing. Ruling is everything.
Back to the Middle East. Obama would love to see Turkey invade Libya to quell revolt. Turkey is a member of NATO so that should work out great right? Not so much. Turkey would love to lead a movement to install a worldwide caliphate. They only give the appearance of being moderate – they aren’t. Turkey’s government is a dictatorial regime and a hardline Islmist one at that.
Unlike other writers, I believe that the US government knows exactly what they are doing. They are deliberately cuddling up to Islamic leaders. It’s just that this particular enemy of their enemy (the Western way of life) is not their friend and will in the end kill them if they are not careful. Evidently progressives have learned nothing from history. They have always thought that Mao, Stalin, Castro and other murderous despots were wonders and should be emulated.
One more paragraph to learn from:
“`If our policy can’t distinguish between al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, we won’t be able to adapt to this change,’” the senior administration official said. “`We’re also not going to allow ourselves to be driven by fear.”‘
While it is true that we need to distinguish between al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, neither is good – both are evil and ruthless. I actually believe our leaders mean it when they say they will not allow themselves to be driven by fear. They don’t believe the Jihadists will ever come after them. That is a very foolish presumption. If you are an infidel, and they get the chance, they will kill you. That is the way of radical Islam. Jihadists don’t care that they may die – they have euphoric visions of a virgin-lined paradise fueling their fanaticism. You cannot reason with deep religious beliefs. We love Pepsi, they love death. That’s what it comes down to. When it comes to battle and death, Islam has lots of experience and they are itching for a fight. Imperial Islam will have its day and they want a ‘bring it on baby’ moment where if they win, they rule the world. If they die, they win paradise.
Our government is prepping for a worldwide Caliphate. At every turn it is obvious they are supporting Islam inside and outside of the US. It is tough to defend yourself and best your enemies when your own leaders are fighting against you. Gird yourselves for a Middle East that will brandish the sword of radicalism – one that we must defeat with or without our government.
I strongly support freedom of religion in America. Even if I don’t agree with that religion, as long as it does not impinge on or harm others, a person has the right to worship when, where and how they see fit. Thus sayeth the 1st Amendment of the Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Having said that, it is no secret that I have long held the belief that there is a bloodless coup taking place in the US through Islamic extremists and their enablers/partners who are progressives/communists/Marxists. I also believe there are good Muslims. But most kept silent after 9-11. Muslims share in the shame of 3,000 deaths on that dark and mournful day by not condemning Jihadic terrorism.
And now, our President is readying himself for an Islamic Middle East – not a democratic one:
“The Obama administration is preparing for the prospect that Islamist governments will take hold in North Africa and the Middle East, acknowledging that the popular revolutions there will bring a more religious cast to the region’s politics.”
Before we go further, we need to define a couple of terms:
Caliphate / Ummah – Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalifah. Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. It means “successor,” that is, successor to the prophet Muhammad.
Should a new Caliphate arise, and I for one believe it eventually will, it’s head will rule all of Islam around the world. All sects, all flavors… He would possess clear political, military and legal standing as the global leader of Muslims. And I now believe, Obama is prepping for this event:
“The administration is already taking steps to distinguish between various movements in the region that promote Islamic law in government. An internal assessment, ordered by the White House last month, identified large ideological differences between such movements as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and al-Qaeda that will guide the U.S. approach to the region.”
The distinction in the preceding paragraph between al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood speaks volumes. Al Qaeda bad, Muslim Brotherhood good – fire bad, tree pretty, get it? Al Qaeda is bad because they attacked us. The Muslim Brotherhood is good because, wait for it, they only want to seize state power, transform Egypt into an Islamist state, rule almost 90 million people with an iron fist, back Hamas in trying to crush Israel, overthrow the Palestinian Authority, help Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood overthrow the monarchy and sponsor terrorism against Americans in the Middle East. But wait, there’s more… You shouldn’t fear the spread of Islam according to the White House:
“`We shouldn’t be afraid of Islam in the politics of these countries,’” said a senior administration official….`It’s the behavior of political parties and governments that we will judge them on, not their relationship with Islam.’”
You are right sir to an extent – it is the rapid spread of Islamofascism in these governments we should fear and that is what is happening. Radical Islamism is racing like wildfire to engulf these governments and will result in a brutal and violent theocracy the likes of which we haven’t witnessed since the dark ages. And our American government is helping them.
It is my belief that our government and progressives helped plan and foment the unrest, riots and ensuing revolts in the Middle East. They wanted a catalyst for chaos so they can bring about a one-world government based on Marxist principles. The progressives believe their style of rule will win in the end – you know, the old ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ credo. But they have seriously underestimated the Islamofascists.
You see, in the end, Russia and China will let the Islamists do their dirty work for them. Slaughtering millions and generating bloody mayhem across the globe. And when pesky entities such as the US and Israel are gone, why Russia and China will stomp on the Middle East and assimilate them. They have plenty of weapons and are more than willing to use them. They have no qualms over killing. Ruling is everything.
Back to the Middle East. Obama would love to see Turkey invade Libya to quell revolt. Turkey is a member of NATO so that should work out great right? Not so much. Turkey would love to lead a movement to install a worldwide caliphate. They only give the appearance of being moderate – they aren’t. Turkey’s government is a dictatorial regime and a hardline Islmist one at that.
Unlike other writers, I believe that the US government knows exactly what they are doing. They are deliberately cuddling up to Islamic leaders. It’s just that this particular enemy of their enemy (the Western way of life) is not their friend and will in the end kill them if they are not careful. Evidently progressives have learned nothing from history. They have always thought that Mao, Stalin, Castro and other murderous despots were wonders and should be emulated.
One more paragraph to learn from:
“`If our policy can’t distinguish between al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, we won’t be able to adapt to this change,’” the senior administration official said. “`We’re also not going to allow ourselves to be driven by fear.”‘
While it is true that we need to distinguish between al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, neither is good – both are evil and ruthless. I actually believe our leaders mean it when they say they will not allow themselves to be driven by fear. They don’t believe the Jihadists will ever come after them. That is a very foolish presumption. If you are an infidel, and they get the chance, they will kill you. That is the way of radical Islam. Jihadists don’t care that they may die – they have euphoric visions of a virgin-lined paradise fueling their fanaticism. You cannot reason with deep religious beliefs. We love Pepsi, they love death. That’s what it comes down to. When it comes to battle and death, Islam has lots of experience and they are itching for a fight. Imperial Islam will have its day and they want a ‘bring it on baby’ moment where if they win, they rule the world. If they die, they win paradise.
Our government is prepping for a worldwide Caliphate. At every turn it is obvious they are supporting Islam inside and outside of the US. It is tough to defend yourself and best your enemies when your own leaders are fighting against you. Gird yourselves for a Middle East that will brandish the sword of radicalism – one that we must defeat with or without our government.
Abominable murder in Itamar
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Abominable murder in Itamar
5 family members were murdered in Itamar, Israel, stabbed to death by a terrorist who managed to get through an electrified fence. Do I need to continue with that part? What I can say is that, as the article tells, Fatah's al-Aqsa Brigade has claimed responsibility.
The prime minister has condemned the attack:
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday blamed Palestinian incitement for Friday's terror attack in Itamar in which 5 Israelis from the same family were stabbed to death.
And indeed that's what caused this.
The US has called on Fatah to condemn this savagery. Not enough. Fatah must not even be recognized as legitimate.
Abominable murder in Itamar
5 family members were murdered in Itamar, Israel, stabbed to death by a terrorist who managed to get through an electrified fence. Do I need to continue with that part? What I can say is that, as the article tells, Fatah's al-Aqsa Brigade has claimed responsibility.
The prime minister has condemned the attack:
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday blamed Palestinian incitement for Friday's terror attack in Itamar in which 5 Israelis from the same family were stabbed to death.
And indeed that's what caused this.
The US has called on Fatah to condemn this savagery. Not enough. Fatah must not even be recognized as legitimate.
The Two Faces of Citizen Action and Progressive Reform
It was another day and another sad tale of a politician taken down by scandal. New York State Sen. Carl Kruger was found hanging his head in shame and trudging off to turn himself in to the authorities amid long swirling stories that he had been playing fast and loose with campaign donor money and improper application of his political power to benefit his friends. Progressive watchdog group Citizen Action was quick like a bunny on the story. It included a portion of a statement released by the groups Executive Director of the New York Chapter, Karen Scharff.
If the news of Senator Kruger’s alleged corruption doesn’t make our elected officials in Albany race to pass voter owned elections with public financing, then their inaction makes them as guilty as Senator Kruger and his corrupt pals are accused of being.
There’s an interesting game of “Guess the Party” going on here already, which is unusual given Scharff’s willingness to quickly label Republicans by party affiliation for any perceived offense, including turning the Empire State into an oligarchy. But perhaps that had nothing to do with the fact that Kruger is a Democrat. Who knows? I’m probably just suspicious by nature.
But I mention that the previously linked quote was only part of her statement because the entire thing was mailed to me by friend on the CA mailing list. Here’s a bit more of it.
Late Wednesday night, I learned that Senator Carl Kruger would be arrested the next day on federal corruption charges.
Was I disappointed? Of course. Was I shocked? Nope. Why? Because just like you, I know New York’s electoral system is broken.
I see. So when a Republican does something, you’re incensed or outraged, but if it’s a Democrat, you’re disappointed. And rather than it being the fault of the individual for flaunting existing campaign finance laws, it’s clearly just a symptom of a larger problem.
The current mission of Citizen Action in New York is to push for public financing of elections. They were enraged by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United and don’t want a bunch of well financed people, “stealing your democracy.”
It’s a noble sentiment, I suppose. I mean, I certainly don’t want anyone stealing my democracy. And this aversion to outside money is also something of a refreshing change in posture for Ms. Scharff’s group. Why is it a change? Because it really wasn’t so long, long ago nor in a galaxy far, far away when Citizen Action seemed to have a bit of a different attitude towards cash and certain groups which still exert a rather heavy influence on campaign finances. In fact, I believe it was in the heady days of progressive ascendancy during the Clinton administration.
SCANDAL UNRAVELS LIBERAL CONSUMER GROUP
Fallout from the campaign money-laundering scheme that has so disrupted the Teamsters union has spread to include a seemingly unlikely group of liberal consumer activists.
Last month, Citizen Action closed its national office in Washington and dismissed 20 employees after financial supporters reacted negatively to reports that the group was involved in a scheme to help fund the 1996 reelection campaign of Teamsters president Ron Carey. Carey has resigned, three of his aides have pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges, and a federal investigation into the scandal continues even as some former affiliates of Citizen Action attempt to come to grips with what went wrong with the grassroots group and why.
But at least Citizen Action is out there today, fighting the good fight to make sure nobody steals your democracy. Of course, there seems to be a limit on their concerns over what may or may not be stolen from you. When two consecutive governors tried to place a cap on the amount of taxes New Yorkers could have picked from their pockets, (did I mention these were both Democratic governors?) Citizen Action was right there leading the charge… to stop them.
Actually, the prospect of a tax cap being passed, at least this year, is pretty much non-existent with neither the Republican Senate or Democratic Assembly showing no indication that they plan to take up the idea.
But nonetheless, said NYSUT spokesman Carl Korn, the press conference was a way to get the messsage out to lawmakers about how deep the opposition to a property tax cap is in the education community.
Among those joining the coalition against the tax cap are New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, the New York State PTA; Working Families Party; Fiscal Policy Institute; New York State Council of School Superintendents; New York State United Teachers; Citizens Action of NY; TREND; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Campaign for Fiscal Equity; Alliance for Quality Education; and the Civil Service Employees Association.
I’m not here to claim that Kruger is anything unusual or that New York Republicans haven’t had their fair share of scandals and corruption. This is the Empire State, after all, and I’ve lived here for a long time. But stories like this and the hand wringing over campaign financing by certain groups has to leave you shaking your head.
This post was promoted from GreenRoom to HotAir.com.
To see the comments on the original post, look here.
If the news of Senator Kruger’s alleged corruption doesn’t make our elected officials in Albany race to pass voter owned elections with public financing, then their inaction makes them as guilty as Senator Kruger and his corrupt pals are accused of being.
There’s an interesting game of “Guess the Party” going on here already, which is unusual given Scharff’s willingness to quickly label Republicans by party affiliation for any perceived offense, including turning the Empire State into an oligarchy. But perhaps that had nothing to do with the fact that Kruger is a Democrat. Who knows? I’m probably just suspicious by nature.
But I mention that the previously linked quote was only part of her statement because the entire thing was mailed to me by friend on the CA mailing list. Here’s a bit more of it.
Late Wednesday night, I learned that Senator Carl Kruger would be arrested the next day on federal corruption charges.
Was I disappointed? Of course. Was I shocked? Nope. Why? Because just like you, I know New York’s electoral system is broken.
I see. So when a Republican does something, you’re incensed or outraged, but if it’s a Democrat, you’re disappointed. And rather than it being the fault of the individual for flaunting existing campaign finance laws, it’s clearly just a symptom of a larger problem.
The current mission of Citizen Action in New York is to push for public financing of elections. They were enraged by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United and don’t want a bunch of well financed people, “stealing your democracy.”
It’s a noble sentiment, I suppose. I mean, I certainly don’t want anyone stealing my democracy. And this aversion to outside money is also something of a refreshing change in posture for Ms. Scharff’s group. Why is it a change? Because it really wasn’t so long, long ago nor in a galaxy far, far away when Citizen Action seemed to have a bit of a different attitude towards cash and certain groups which still exert a rather heavy influence on campaign finances. In fact, I believe it was in the heady days of progressive ascendancy during the Clinton administration.
SCANDAL UNRAVELS LIBERAL CONSUMER GROUP
Fallout from the campaign money-laundering scheme that has so disrupted the Teamsters union has spread to include a seemingly unlikely group of liberal consumer activists.
Last month, Citizen Action closed its national office in Washington and dismissed 20 employees after financial supporters reacted negatively to reports that the group was involved in a scheme to help fund the 1996 reelection campaign of Teamsters president Ron Carey. Carey has resigned, three of his aides have pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges, and a federal investigation into the scandal continues even as some former affiliates of Citizen Action attempt to come to grips with what went wrong with the grassroots group and why.
But at least Citizen Action is out there today, fighting the good fight to make sure nobody steals your democracy. Of course, there seems to be a limit on their concerns over what may or may not be stolen from you. When two consecutive governors tried to place a cap on the amount of taxes New Yorkers could have picked from their pockets, (did I mention these were both Democratic governors?) Citizen Action was right there leading the charge… to stop them.
Actually, the prospect of a tax cap being passed, at least this year, is pretty much non-existent with neither the Republican Senate or Democratic Assembly showing no indication that they plan to take up the idea.
But nonetheless, said NYSUT spokesman Carl Korn, the press conference was a way to get the messsage out to lawmakers about how deep the opposition to a property tax cap is in the education community.
Among those joining the coalition against the tax cap are New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, the New York State PTA; Working Families Party; Fiscal Policy Institute; New York State Council of School Superintendents; New York State United Teachers; Citizens Action of NY; TREND; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Campaign for Fiscal Equity; Alliance for Quality Education; and the Civil Service Employees Association.
I’m not here to claim that Kruger is anything unusual or that New York Republicans haven’t had their fair share of scandals and corruption. This is the Empire State, after all, and I’ve lived here for a long time. But stories like this and the hand wringing over campaign financing by certain groups has to leave you shaking your head.
This post was promoted from GreenRoom to HotAir.com.
To see the comments on the original post, look here.
New Jersey Style Corruption: Hudson County pays $120,000 a month in rent for space it stopped using nearly two years ago in building owned by former county Democratic chairman's mother
The County of Hudson is continuing to pay $120,000 per month to rent a Journal Square building that the county vacated nearly two years ago - a property owned by the mother of the former chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.
The 10-year lease on 100 Newkirk St., where the county housed its welfare agencies and other departments before they moved to County Plaza in May 2009, will expire on June 30.
By that time, the county will have paid a whopping $2.9 million to rent eight stories of unused offices.
High taxes pay for this sort of corruption.
The 10-year lease on 100 Newkirk St., where the county housed its welfare agencies and other departments before they moved to County Plaza in May 2009, will expire on June 30.
By that time, the county will have paid a whopping $2.9 million to rent eight stories of unused offices.
High taxes pay for this sort of corruption.
Benghazi Rally Wants No-Fly Zone, But No Foreign Troops
Jihan Hafiz reports on mass rally in Benghazi, Libya
Sheriff Suspended for Exposing Illegal Aliens Employed at Local Plants
VIDEO: From Stand With Arizona, a travesty of justice:
A Sheriff with 32 years on the force was suspended without pay for merely answering questions put to him at a Senate hearing - with answers that local big business clearly did not want revealed: that they hire a ton of illegal aliens and also allegedly provide false documents for illegals without them. This testimony came from Huron, S.D. Sheriff Doug Schmitt during a hearing considering AZ-style enforcement legislation for the state. Schmitt indicated his information came from "informants inside the facilities", and that his numerous calls to ICE regarding these illegal practices were ignored. this is an OUTRAGE. There needs to be an immediate investogation of the Huron council and these businesses, and Sheriff Schmitt must be immediately reinstated.
The video report:
A Sheriff with 32 years on the force was suspended without pay for merely answering questions put to him at a Senate hearing - with answers that local big business clearly did not want revealed: that they hire a ton of illegal aliens and also allegedly provide false documents for illegals without them. This testimony came from Huron, S.D. Sheriff Doug Schmitt during a hearing considering AZ-style enforcement legislation for the state. Schmitt indicated his information came from "informants inside the facilities", and that his numerous calls to ICE regarding these illegal practices were ignored. this is an OUTRAGE. There needs to be an immediate investogation of the Huron council and these businesses, and Sheriff Schmitt must be immediately reinstated.
The video report:
Shocker: US Intelligence Dir James Clapper Lacks Intelligence, Believes Russia, Not Terrorism, Poses 'Mortal Threat' To US
This guy is turning out to be a moron. Prior posts on Clapper:
U.S. Director of National Intelligence: The Muslim Brotherhood is … “largely secular”
Video: Janet Napolitano Defends Intel Director’s Ignorance: ‘Those Of Us Who Needed to Know, Knew’
Video: Obama's U.S. Director of National Intelligence 'deer in headlights' moment: clueless and speechless on London terror arrests
And now for current news: Intelligence Dir. James Clapper's Remarks on Qaddafi and U.S. Threats Cause a Stir VIDEO:
U.S. Director of National Intelligence: The Muslim Brotherhood is … “largely secular”
Video: Janet Napolitano Defends Intel Director’s Ignorance: ‘Those Of Us Who Needed to Know, Knew’
Video: Obama's U.S. Director of National Intelligence 'deer in headlights' moment: clueless and speechless on London terror arrests
And now for current news: Intelligence Dir. James Clapper's Remarks on Qaddafi and U.S. Threats Cause a Stir VIDEO:
Obama Thinks it Would be Easier to be a ...Dictator?
In a recent New York Times Article titled:
"Obama Seeks a Course of Pragmatism in the Middle East"
President Obama is quoted as saying it would be easier to be President of China:
"Mr. Obama has told people that it would be so much easier to be the president of China. As one official put it, “No one is scrutinizing Hu Jintao’s words in Tahrir Square.”
So President Obama, the Leader of the FREE World, wishes he could have the power, like the Communist Leader of China, to do this to those that criticize Him?:
"Obama Seeks a Course of Pragmatism in the Middle East"
President Obama is quoted as saying it would be easier to be President of China:
"Mr. Obama has told people that it would be so much easier to be the president of China. As one official put it, “No one is scrutinizing Hu Jintao’s words in Tahrir Square.”
So President Obama, the Leader of the FREE World, wishes he could have the power, like the Communist Leader of China, to do this to those that criticize Him?:
Why High Gas Prices? Obama Says It's Because Oil Companies Aren't Drilling
So it's Not President Obama's Fault for high Gas Prices (Like his ban that was overturned on Offshore Drilling). He says it's the Oil Companies fault for Not Drilling.
According to an Article on Investors.com, this argument is a bit nuts:
"In his Friday press conference to discuss gas prices, President Obama was rather defensive, straining to counter the notion that his administration has been unfriendly to oil drilling, something most people would like to see a lot more of these days.
Where do people get that notion? Perhaps his Interior Department appealing a judge’s ruling that it act on several pending deepwater permits had something to with it.
Obama claimed repeatedly that he is not against drilling, then made the following comments:
There is more we can do, however. For example, right now, the (oil) industry holds leases on tens of millions of acres — both offshore and on land — where they aren’t producing a thing. So I’ve directed the Interior Department to determine just how many of these leases are going undeveloped and report back to me within two weeks so that we can encourage companies to develop the leases they hold and produce American energy. People deserve to know that the energy they depend on is being developed in a timely manner.
In other words, Obama is arguing that the oil companies themselves may be to blame for the fact that there isn’t more drilling. For some reason they’re ignoring making a profit. It’s a bizarro-world inversion of the usual complaint against oil companies — that they are reckless and all-too eager to despoil pristine lands in search of black gold."
So not only does Obama want to be the President of China because it's easier, but he wants to Blame the Oil Companies for the High Gas Prices because they are not drilling for oil?
Bizarro doesn't even begin to describe the President's behavior...
More like... Nuts.
According to an Article on Investors.com, this argument is a bit nuts:
"In his Friday press conference to discuss gas prices, President Obama was rather defensive, straining to counter the notion that his administration has been unfriendly to oil drilling, something most people would like to see a lot more of these days.
Where do people get that notion? Perhaps his Interior Department appealing a judge’s ruling that it act on several pending deepwater permits had something to with it.
Obama claimed repeatedly that he is not against drilling, then made the following comments:
There is more we can do, however. For example, right now, the (oil) industry holds leases on tens of millions of acres — both offshore and on land — where they aren’t producing a thing. So I’ve directed the Interior Department to determine just how many of these leases are going undeveloped and report back to me within two weeks so that we can encourage companies to develop the leases they hold and produce American energy. People deserve to know that the energy they depend on is being developed in a timely manner.
In other words, Obama is arguing that the oil companies themselves may be to blame for the fact that there isn’t more drilling. For some reason they’re ignoring making a profit. It’s a bizarro-world inversion of the usual complaint against oil companies — that they are reckless and all-too eager to despoil pristine lands in search of black gold."
So not only does Obama want to be the President of China because it's easier, but he wants to Blame the Oil Companies for the High Gas Prices because they are not drilling for oil?
Bizarro doesn't even begin to describe the President's behavior...
More like... Nuts.
Obama opposes cutting funding for Democrat's propaganda arm
This Friday, President Obama defended funding for NPR and PBS. Obama said,
“And that means not just going after Head Start or Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That’s not where the money is...”
Although NPR gets only 2% of it's budget directly from the Federal Government, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting gets about $400 million a year from the government. About $90 million of that money goes to radio stations. NPR gets their government money second hand by charging the public radio stations for programing. NPR has recently been stung in a video where they disparage conservatives and global warming skeptics. Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have introduced a bill to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That would save $400 million and cut off Democrats free propaganda arm. President Obama doesn't think that is a significant amount of money?
(Briefing Room) — President Obama defended public broadcasting from cuts on Friday, emphasizing that defunding networks like NPR and PBS would do little to rein in spending.
As Republicans in Congress hope to defund government assistance to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which in turn supports NPR and PBS stations, Obama said the cuts make little sense.
“I think it’s going to be important for us to have a conversation after we get the short-term budget done, about how do we really tackle the problem in a comprehensive way,” Obama said at a press conference on Friday.
“And that means not just going after Head Start or Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That’s not where the money is...”
Although NPR gets only 2% of it's budget directly from the Federal Government, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting gets about $400 million a year from the government. About $90 million of that money goes to radio stations. NPR gets their government money second hand by charging the public radio stations for programing. NPR has recently been stung in a video where they disparage conservatives and global warming skeptics. Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have introduced a bill to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That would save $400 million and cut off Democrats free propaganda arm. President Obama doesn't think that is a significant amount of money?
(Briefing Room) — President Obama defended public broadcasting from cuts on Friday, emphasizing that defunding networks like NPR and PBS would do little to rein in spending.
As Republicans in Congress hope to defund government assistance to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which in turn supports NPR and PBS stations, Obama said the cuts make little sense.
“I think it’s going to be important for us to have a conversation after we get the short-term budget done, about how do we really tackle the problem in a comprehensive way,” Obama said at a press conference on Friday.
Shameful: Union Thugs Harass WI Tea Party Rally (video)
The Tea Partiers were collecting signatures to recall Democratic State Senator Holperin. They were overrun by Holperin supporters who used bullhorns, wrote profanity and tore up a petition.
The Public Choice Lesson of Margarine. "I Can't Believe It Wasn't Legal to Sell Yellow Margarine"
The Wikipedia entry below on Margarine provides an excellent public choice lesson on rent-seeking by a special interest group that uses (hijacks?) the political process to enact legislation to protect that group (in this case the dairy industry) from the competition of more efficient or lower-cost rivals (in this case the margarine industry). In this example, both of the groups are domestic producers (dairy and margarine), but the lesson would be exactly the same if it was the U.S. steel or tire industry seeking legislation (e.g. tariffs or quotas) to be protected from the competition of more efficient foreign rivals. Here's the Margarine Lesson:
"Margarine can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes. Margarine naturally appears white, or almost white, and by forbidding the addition of artificial coloring agents, legislators in some jurisdictions found that they could protect their dairy industries by discouraging the consumption of margarine. Bans on adding color became commonplace in the U.S., Australasia and Canada and, in some cases, those bans endured for almost 100 years. It did not become legal to sell colored margarine in Australia, for example, until the 1960s.
Canada. Margarine was banned from 1886 until 1948 though this ban was temporarily lifted from 1917 until 1923 due to dairy shortages. Nevertheless, bootleg margarine was produced in the neighboring British colony of Newfoundland from whale, seal and fish oil by the Newfoundland Butter Company (which, in fact, produced only margarine) and was smuggled to Canada where it was widely sold for half the price of butter. The Supreme Court of Canada lifted the margarine ban in 1948 in the Margarine Reference.
In 1950, as a result of a court ruling giving provinces the right to regulate the product, rules were implemented in much of Canada regarding margarine's color, requiring it to be bright yellow or orange in some provinces or colorless in others. By the 1980s, most provinces had lifted the restriction, however, in Ontario it was not legal to sell butter-colored margarine until 1995. Quebec, the last Canadian province to regulate margarine coloring, repealed its law requiring margarine to be colorless in July 2008.
United States. As early as 1877, the first states had passed laws to restrict the sale and labeling of margarine. By the mid-1880s, the U.S. federal government had introduced a tax of two cents per pound, and manufacturers needed an expensive license to make or sell the product. Individual states began to require the clear labeling of margarine. The color bans, drafted by the butter lobby, began in the dairy states of New York and New Jersey. In several states, legislatures enacted laws to require margarine manufacturers to add pink colorings to make the product look unpalatable, but the Supreme Court struck down New Hampshire's law and overruled these measures in Collins v. New Hampshire, 171 U.S. 30 (1898).
By the start of the 20th century, eight out of ten Americans could not buy yellow margarine, and those that could had to pay a hefty tax on it. Bootleg colored margarine became common, and manufacturers began to supply food-coloring capsules so that the consumer could knead the yellow color into margarine before serving it. Nevertheless, the regulations and taxes had a significant effect: the 1902 restrictions on margarine color, for example, cut annual U.S. consumption from 120 million to 48 million pounds (60,000 to 24,000 tons). However, by the end of the 1910s, it had become more popular than ever.
The long-running rent-seeking battle between the margarine and dairy lobbies continued: In the U.S., the Great Depression brought a renewed wave of pro-dairy legislation; the Second World War, a swing back to margarine. Post-war, the margarine lobby gained power and, little by little, the main margarine restrictions were lifted, the most recent states to do so being Minnesota in 1963 and Wisconsin in 1967. Some unenforced laws remain on the books."
MP: It took almost 100 years for common sense and economic logic to prevail in the battle between the dairy industry and margarine producers, and that was a fight between two well-organized, well-funded, politically powerful domestic producers. It will probably take a lot longer, if ever, for common sense and economic logic to prevail in the case of protectionist trade policy for foreign imports. Reason? The two main groups who are adversely affected by protectionism: a) domestic consumers and b) foreign producers, are generally not well-organized or well-funded (domestic consumers) and not politically connected (foreign producers).
"Margarine can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes. Margarine naturally appears white, or almost white, and by forbidding the addition of artificial coloring agents, legislators in some jurisdictions found that they could protect their dairy industries by discouraging the consumption of margarine. Bans on adding color became commonplace in the U.S., Australasia and Canada and, in some cases, those bans endured for almost 100 years. It did not become legal to sell colored margarine in Australia, for example, until the 1960s.
Canada. Margarine was banned from 1886 until 1948 though this ban was temporarily lifted from 1917 until 1923 due to dairy shortages. Nevertheless, bootleg margarine was produced in the neighboring British colony of Newfoundland from whale, seal and fish oil by the Newfoundland Butter Company (which, in fact, produced only margarine) and was smuggled to Canada where it was widely sold for half the price of butter. The Supreme Court of Canada lifted the margarine ban in 1948 in the Margarine Reference.
In 1950, as a result of a court ruling giving provinces the right to regulate the product, rules were implemented in much of Canada regarding margarine's color, requiring it to be bright yellow or orange in some provinces or colorless in others. By the 1980s, most provinces had lifted the restriction, however, in Ontario it was not legal to sell butter-colored margarine until 1995. Quebec, the last Canadian province to regulate margarine coloring, repealed its law requiring margarine to be colorless in July 2008.
United States. As early as 1877, the first states had passed laws to restrict the sale and labeling of margarine. By the mid-1880s, the U.S. federal government had introduced a tax of two cents per pound, and manufacturers needed an expensive license to make or sell the product. Individual states began to require the clear labeling of margarine. The color bans, drafted by the butter lobby, began in the dairy states of New York and New Jersey. In several states, legislatures enacted laws to require margarine manufacturers to add pink colorings to make the product look unpalatable, but the Supreme Court struck down New Hampshire's law and overruled these measures in Collins v. New Hampshire, 171 U.S. 30 (1898).
By the start of the 20th century, eight out of ten Americans could not buy yellow margarine, and those that could had to pay a hefty tax on it. Bootleg colored margarine became common, and manufacturers began to supply food-coloring capsules so that the consumer could knead the yellow color into margarine before serving it. Nevertheless, the regulations and taxes had a significant effect: the 1902 restrictions on margarine color, for example, cut annual U.S. consumption from 120 million to 48 million pounds (60,000 to 24,000 tons). However, by the end of the 1910s, it had become more popular than ever.
The long-running rent-seeking battle between the margarine and dairy lobbies continued: In the U.S., the Great Depression brought a renewed wave of pro-dairy legislation; the Second World War, a swing back to margarine. Post-war, the margarine lobby gained power and, little by little, the main margarine restrictions were lifted, the most recent states to do so being Minnesota in 1963 and Wisconsin in 1967. Some unenforced laws remain on the books."
MP: It took almost 100 years for common sense and economic logic to prevail in the battle between the dairy industry and margarine producers, and that was a fight between two well-organized, well-funded, politically powerful domestic producers. It will probably take a lot longer, if ever, for common sense and economic logic to prevail in the case of protectionist trade policy for foreign imports. Reason? The two main groups who are adversely affected by protectionism: a) domestic consumers and b) foreign producers, are generally not well-organized or well-funded (domestic consumers) and not politically connected (foreign producers).
Group ready to fight against Westboro threats
"They're allowed to be within 500 feet so we'll be at 499".
That's the message from Jodi Hillman-Taylor of Mechanicsburg. She's organizing a blockade of love to stand united against the Westboro Baptist Church. The church says it plans to protest the funeral of 7 Perry County children who perished in Tuesday night's fire.
"They're going to protest saying God did this to parents the parents they deserve this," says Hillman-Taylor. "It astonishes me that people thinks this way."
The foul words fueled Hillman-Taylor to create a facebook group called Circle of Love.
The event is inviting people to wear white and meet at the Clouse children's funeral Tuesday to counter the cruel noise of the would-be protesters.
"We are creating angel wings for some of us and wear," add Hillman-Taylor. "Those wings will serve as sound barriers and everybody join arms, band together and stand guard."
Hillman-Taylor says she has received an army of support since she created the Circle of Love.
"I've had non stop responses," says Hillman-Taylor. "Responses from people I've never met just asking how do I do this?"
Like Hillman-Taylor, many of the facebook group members aren't directly affected by the fire, but their hearts have been torn a part by the threat of a Westboro protests.
Choose this link to reach the facebook page.
That's the message from Jodi Hillman-Taylor of Mechanicsburg. She's organizing a blockade of love to stand united against the Westboro Baptist Church. The church says it plans to protest the funeral of 7 Perry County children who perished in Tuesday night's fire.
"They're going to protest saying God did this to parents the parents they deserve this," says Hillman-Taylor. "It astonishes me that people thinks this way."
The foul words fueled Hillman-Taylor to create a facebook group called Circle of Love.
The event is inviting people to wear white and meet at the Clouse children's funeral Tuesday to counter the cruel noise of the would-be protesters.
"We are creating angel wings for some of us and wear," add Hillman-Taylor. "Those wings will serve as sound barriers and everybody join arms, band together and stand guard."
Hillman-Taylor says she has received an army of support since she created the Circle of Love.
"I've had non stop responses," says Hillman-Taylor. "Responses from people I've never met just asking how do I do this?"
Like Hillman-Taylor, many of the facebook group members aren't directly affected by the fire, but their hearts have been torn a part by the threat of a Westboro protests.
Choose this link to reach the facebook page.
SICK! Westboro Inbred Scum Plan Protest At Funeral Of Seven Children Killed In House Fire
This is beyond disgusting (Fox 43, h/t Katy Abram via Facebook)
Showing no discernible limit to their insensitivity, and seemingly eager to puff out their chests in the wake of their recent Supreme Court victory, the Westboro Baptist Church issued a press release stating they plan to protest at the funeral of the seven Clouse children killed in a tragic fire in Perry County this week. The release is full of bluster over their Supreme Court victory and claims the fire was a result of God's wrath for Pennsylvania. After all, isn't that where the man who sued them for protesting his son's funeral and inititiated a landmark free speech case resides? The release is replete with misinformation about the circumstances of the fire, claiming Mr.Clouse was asleep in his truck during the fire.
Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot has notified the State Police of Westboro's announcement and says there will be a police presence at the funerals. He also says he cannot fathom why the Westboro Baptists would want to protest. "This is a family that's Christian in their beliefs and certainly shouldn't conflict with the beliefs of the Westboro Baptist Church," said Chenot.
Because these people AREN'T Christians. I've often wondered that (since the elder Phelps) was friends with Algore, they're Leftists who pose as a church to make real evangelical Christians look bad. Ask yourself, who funds these cretins?
Get ready Fred Phelps and your inbred family. When it comes time to make your trip to the infernal regions, you'll have one big funeral with a keg party, followed by a line of folks waiting to exercises their First Amendment rights by relieving themselves on your graves!
Showing no discernible limit to their insensitivity, and seemingly eager to puff out their chests in the wake of their recent Supreme Court victory, the Westboro Baptist Church issued a press release stating they plan to protest at the funeral of the seven Clouse children killed in a tragic fire in Perry County this week. The release is full of bluster over their Supreme Court victory and claims the fire was a result of God's wrath for Pennsylvania. After all, isn't that where the man who sued them for protesting his son's funeral and inititiated a landmark free speech case resides? The release is replete with misinformation about the circumstances of the fire, claiming Mr.Clouse was asleep in his truck during the fire.
Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot has notified the State Police of Westboro's announcement and says there will be a police presence at the funerals. He also says he cannot fathom why the Westboro Baptists would want to protest. "This is a family that's Christian in their beliefs and certainly shouldn't conflict with the beliefs of the Westboro Baptist Church," said Chenot.
Because these people AREN'T Christians. I've often wondered that (since the elder Phelps) was friends with Algore, they're Leftists who pose as a church to make real evangelical Christians look bad. Ask yourself, who funds these cretins?
Get ready Fred Phelps and your inbred family. When it comes time to make your trip to the infernal regions, you'll have one big funeral with a keg party, followed by a line of folks waiting to exercises their First Amendment rights by relieving themselves on your graves!
Muslim Immigration into the UK: Part Two
Below is the second installment of a four-part dossier about Muslim immigration written by El Inglés. This series was originally published as a single dossier in pdf format under the pseudonym “Pike Bishop”.
Part One is available here.
Part One is available here.
PUBLIC-sector Union Fallacy
Where Solidarity Ends
~ By: Larry Walker, Jr. ~
Thank God for Governor Walker and the Wisconsin legislature. Clearly there is a line of demarcation between the rights of public-sector and private-sector workers. Patrick J. Wright, a director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, breaks it down in his latest post, "Public-Sector Bargaining Privileges Are Not Inalienable Rights".
Mr. Wright concludes with, "the power of government employee unions in collective bargaining necessarily amounts to power over the people themselves, therefore the people’s representatives must periodically scrutinize that power and curb excess". Why that's pure natural law, and if you stop to think about it, just plain old common sense. But perhaps public-sector union donors and their supporting dunderheads need a less sophisticated explanation. What follows is an uncomplicated lesson in fiscal logic, just for you:
Point #1 – If you work for a state, local or federal government agency, and your employer’s treasury is tapped, you are most likely a part of the problem. Job security eludes you.
Point #2 – If you’re going around spouting off that a certain governmental entity isn’t broke, and you’re not one of its top executives, then you might not know what in the hell you’re talking about. You’re beliefs are based on conspiracy, not facts.
Point #3 – If you have a government job paying 40% more than the private sector, with Cadillac benefits, then you’re not likely one who’s losing their home and going through financial hell. You’ve been brainwashed.
Point #4 – If you’re having $1,000 per year in union dues deducted automatically from your paycheck and sent to your government masters (politicians), and now complain about having to pay more toward pension and health costs, you might be better off dumping that worthless union. Perhaps union dues are a luxury you can ill afford.
Point #5 – If you think that private citizens exercising their right to trim some of the liberties that government workers take with their money is a form of class warfare, then which class are you - government or the people? You’re confused.
Point #6 – If you think that the way to effectively engage in political debate is by marching in mobs and shouting in unison, “shame, shame, shame…,” you might be mentally ill. You need a check up from the neck up.
To summarize, if you are still offended by the law that was just passed in Wisconsin, then :
Job security eludes you,
You’re beliefs are based on conspiracy rather than facts,
You’ve been brainwashed,
Union dues are a luxury you can ill afford,
You are confused, and
You need a mental health check up.
Well, if that's the case, then you better check yourself before you wreck yourself. If the glove fits, you must admit. My recommendation: Quit that cushy government gig and get a real job. And as far as private-sector unions supporting public-sector unions in so-called solidarity; can you say, "brainwashed". Sorry but I can’t ride with you on that bucket of bolts. Sometimes you just have to surrender and face reality. Public-sector unions are the enemy of both private-sector unions, and of we the people.
Public sector - The area of the nation's affairs under governmental rather than private control.
Private sector - The area of the nation's economy under private rather than governmental control.
References:
http://supreme.justia.com/us/431/209/case.html
http://www.mackinac.org/14734
http://www.mackinac.org/13741
Related:
Vaporizing PUBLIC Employee Unions
Public Union Membership in Numbers
Union Label Owned by China
Posted by Larry Walker Jr at 8:23 PM Email This
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~ By: Larry Walker, Jr. ~
Thank God for Governor Walker and the Wisconsin legislature. Clearly there is a line of demarcation between the rights of public-sector and private-sector workers. Patrick J. Wright, a director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, breaks it down in his latest post, "Public-Sector Bargaining Privileges Are Not Inalienable Rights".
Mr. Wright concludes with, "the power of government employee unions in collective bargaining necessarily amounts to power over the people themselves, therefore the people’s representatives must periodically scrutinize that power and curb excess". Why that's pure natural law, and if you stop to think about it, just plain old common sense. But perhaps public-sector union donors and their supporting dunderheads need a less sophisticated explanation. What follows is an uncomplicated lesson in fiscal logic, just for you:
Point #1 – If you work for a state, local or federal government agency, and your employer’s treasury is tapped, you are most likely a part of the problem. Job security eludes you.
Point #2 – If you’re going around spouting off that a certain governmental entity isn’t broke, and you’re not one of its top executives, then you might not know what in the hell you’re talking about. You’re beliefs are based on conspiracy, not facts.
Point #3 – If you have a government job paying 40% more than the private sector, with Cadillac benefits, then you’re not likely one who’s losing their home and going through financial hell. You’ve been brainwashed.
Point #4 – If you’re having $1,000 per year in union dues deducted automatically from your paycheck and sent to your government masters (politicians), and now complain about having to pay more toward pension and health costs, you might be better off dumping that worthless union. Perhaps union dues are a luxury you can ill afford.
Point #5 – If you think that private citizens exercising their right to trim some of the liberties that government workers take with their money is a form of class warfare, then which class are you - government or the people? You’re confused.
Point #6 – If you think that the way to effectively engage in political debate is by marching in mobs and shouting in unison, “shame, shame, shame…,” you might be mentally ill. You need a check up from the neck up.
To summarize, if you are still offended by the law that was just passed in Wisconsin, then :
Job security eludes you,
You’re beliefs are based on conspiracy rather than facts,
You’ve been brainwashed,
Union dues are a luxury you can ill afford,
You are confused, and
You need a mental health check up.
Well, if that's the case, then you better check yourself before you wreck yourself. If the glove fits, you must admit. My recommendation: Quit that cushy government gig and get a real job. And as far as private-sector unions supporting public-sector unions in so-called solidarity; can you say, "brainwashed". Sorry but I can’t ride with you on that bucket of bolts. Sometimes you just have to surrender and face reality. Public-sector unions are the enemy of both private-sector unions, and of we the people.
Public sector - The area of the nation's affairs under governmental rather than private control.
Private sector - The area of the nation's economy under private rather than governmental control.
References:
http://supreme.justia.com/us/431/209/case.html
http://www.mackinac.org/14734
http://www.mackinac.org/13741
Related:
Vaporizing PUBLIC Employee Unions
Public Union Membership in Numbers
Union Label Owned by China
Posted by Larry Walker Jr at 8:23 PM Email This
BlogThis!
Share to Twitter
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Rep. Clyburn Defends Appearance with Farrakhan
A spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., has confirmed to The Blaze that the Democratic leader will be attending Friday evening’s forum on “The Disappearing Black Community and How We Can Get It Back” in Pittsburgh as we reported earlier this week. The event drew widespread criticism over the inclusion of Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan.
“No one should interfere with minister Louis Farrakhan’s right to speak, but his appearance in Pittsburgh this evening at a forum on “The Disappearing Black Community” bestows on him unwarranted credibility,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in California wrote Friday in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed. “Rev. Farrakhan does not deserve the respectability of having Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina sit along side him.”
After Farrakhan’s keynote was announced, fellow forum participant Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, withdrew her RSVP. However, Rep. Clyburn defended his decision to participate in the event, hosted by radio host Bev Smith who blamed Jewish and white Christian organizations for Campbell’s decision.
In a statement from spokeswoman Kristie Greco, Clyburn insisted that appearing in a forum with someone who doesn’t represent his own point of view is “nothing new.”
“He served side-by-side in Congress with arch segregationist and fellow-South Carolinian Strom Thurmond, as well as many other Members whose views and beliefs are starkly different from his own,” Greco said. “He will participate on this panel to add to the meaningful discussion about the future of the black community, nothing more and nothing less.”
Clyburn has received positive and negative feedback over his planned appearance from people inside and outside his district, Greco added.
“One of the beauties of America is that free speech is protected,” Clyburn said earlier this week. “Although I had no idea who all the participants in this program were until yesterday, I look forward to an open and civil discussion at the forum. I will be representing my views and will not hesitate to express and defend my convictions, which are grounded in the Judeo-Christian doctrines I practice.”
“No one should interfere with minister Louis Farrakhan’s right to speak, but his appearance in Pittsburgh this evening at a forum on “The Disappearing Black Community” bestows on him unwarranted credibility,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in California wrote Friday in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed. “Rev. Farrakhan does not deserve the respectability of having Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina sit along side him.”
After Farrakhan’s keynote was announced, fellow forum participant Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, withdrew her RSVP. However, Rep. Clyburn defended his decision to participate in the event, hosted by radio host Bev Smith who blamed Jewish and white Christian organizations for Campbell’s decision.
In a statement from spokeswoman Kristie Greco, Clyburn insisted that appearing in a forum with someone who doesn’t represent his own point of view is “nothing new.”
“He served side-by-side in Congress with arch segregationist and fellow-South Carolinian Strom Thurmond, as well as many other Members whose views and beliefs are starkly different from his own,” Greco said. “He will participate on this panel to add to the meaningful discussion about the future of the black community, nothing more and nothing less.”
Clyburn has received positive and negative feedback over his planned appearance from people inside and outside his district, Greco added.
“One of the beauties of America is that free speech is protected,” Clyburn said earlier this week. “Although I had no idea who all the participants in this program were until yesterday, I look forward to an open and civil discussion at the forum. I will be representing my views and will not hesitate to express and defend my convictions, which are grounded in the Judeo-Christian doctrines I practice.”
How 'Mainstream' Economics Miseducates About Money and the Fed | Thomas DiLorenzo
Professor Thomas DiLorenzo
Caroline Schwitzky stripped from Miss Florida pagent after revelation she won porn title
There seems to be an epidemic of beauty queens being sacked for one reason or another.
I guess beauty contestants need to be plunked from a convent or something. Is there something wrong with this picture?
Pretty girl though.
Daily Mail reports a beauty queen has been disqualified from taking part in the Miss Florida pageant after officials discovered that she had previously won a competition at a porn convention.
Caroline Schwitzky, who was crowned Miss Weston USA in February, was successful in 2008 at winning a pageant at 'Miss Exxxotica' when she was 18.
The 21-year-old said that she posed for the revealing photos three years ago, but claimed that the pictures were for a different contest, where the prize was $2,000, and she has no idea why they ended up on the adult website, according to WSVN-TV.
Miss Schwitzky was forced to step down when the pictures on the Internet were made aware to Tel-Air productions, the broadcasters in charge of organising the Miss Weston pageant, which she won on February 20.
The producers asked her to relinquish her title on grounds of immorality, which she did, albeit with reluctance
WSVN quoted Miss Schwitzky - who insists that she has already turned down the advances of adult magazine Playboy have who have asked her to pose nude for them - as saying: 'I am not this [a porn star]. I am not perfect.
'I am standing up for everyone that has been bullied, judged, girls whose dreams have been taken away because of past mistakes.
'I think we all deserve a second chance.'
More details here
I guess beauty contestants need to be plunked from a convent or something. Is there something wrong with this picture?
Pretty girl though.
Daily Mail reports a beauty queen has been disqualified from taking part in the Miss Florida pageant after officials discovered that she had previously won a competition at a porn convention.
Caroline Schwitzky, who was crowned Miss Weston USA in February, was successful in 2008 at winning a pageant at 'Miss Exxxotica' when she was 18.
The 21-year-old said that she posed for the revealing photos three years ago, but claimed that the pictures were for a different contest, where the prize was $2,000, and she has no idea why they ended up on the adult website, according to WSVN-TV.
Miss Schwitzky was forced to step down when the pictures on the Internet were made aware to Tel-Air productions, the broadcasters in charge of organising the Miss Weston pageant, which she won on February 20.
The producers asked her to relinquish her title on grounds of immorality, which she did, albeit with reluctance
WSVN quoted Miss Schwitzky - who insists that she has already turned down the advances of adult magazine Playboy have who have asked her to pose nude for them - as saying: 'I am not this [a porn star]. I am not perfect.
'I am standing up for everyone that has been bullied, judged, girls whose dreams have been taken away because of past mistakes.
'I think we all deserve a second chance.'
More details here
OBA-HUSSEIN PREPARING HIS ORGANIZATION FOR MARTIAL LAW
A combined operation under his single command of the Military and Homeland Security and National Guard forces for dealing with internal problems or terror activities will provide Obama with an ability to declare martial law and rule by decree.
National Guard forces , which function under State Governors can suddenly all be "Federalized" in an instant. That is if the select Governors Committee Obama formed very early on - TO REPRESENT ALL GOVERNORS - fails to usurp enough power from their colleagues to pass on to him without that executive order.
National Guard forces , which function under State Governors can suddenly all be "Federalized" in an instant. That is if the select Governors Committee Obama formed very early on - TO REPRESENT ALL GOVERNORS - fails to usurp enough power from their colleagues to pass on to him without that executive order.
This Man Is Out Of His Fucking Mind
VIDEO: 1,000 dead, thousands more missing, Billions on billions in damage, two reactors maybe going China Syndrome and Tingles thinks it would be a good time for Uncle Barry to remind folks he was born in Hawaii. . .
You.Cannot.Make.This.Shit.Up.
Can't we recall this dumb sonofabitch or something? Send him to the Madison crowds with a "Proud Anti-Union Republican and What The Fuck You Gonna Do About It" sign taped to his back?
You.Cannot.Make.This.Shit.Up.
Can't we recall this dumb sonofabitch or something? Send him to the Madison crowds with a "Proud Anti-Union Republican and What The Fuck You Gonna Do About It" sign taped to his back?
"Green Peasants of the Pacific"
"Green Peasants of the Pacific"
The Carbon Sense Coalition today claimed that Australia and New Zealand were in danger of becoming the green peasants of the Pacific.
The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, said that the only way the two countries could achieve their unrealistic emissions targets was by exporting their industries, reducing their population or creating chronic recession.
In a detailed submission to the New Zealand Government, the Carbon Sense Coalition concludes that their emissions targets are not feasible, not sustainable and not justified.
The submission, entitled "Clean, Green and Barefoot in the Snow" can be found at:
http://carbon-sense.com/2011/02/28/barefoot-in-the-snow/
"The submission analyses the maths of the proposal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 50% of 1990 levels by 2050.
"In the period from the base year of 1990 to 2010, New Zealand emissions have grown by 22%. This 22% growth will need to be eliminated before the Kiwis get to start the process of achieving 50% cuts from 1990 levels.
"However, New Zealand's population has also grown since 1990, and is expected to rise from 3.5 million in 1990 to 6.2 million by 2050.
"The maths shows that the 50% cut to 1990 levels by 2050 will require Kiwis to reduce emissions per capita by 73% from 1990 levels. Will their grandkids learn to happily live on just 27% of the resources that they use now?
"Even in the Great Depression, production of carbon dioxide only fell by 25% from booming 1929 to the dreary bottom in 1932, when many people minimised their emissions by queuing quietly outside soup kitchens.
"These targets thus promise to be three times worse than the great depression.
See: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/hertzberg.pdf (page 13).
"There are four major sources of man's production of carbon dioxide in Australia and New Zealand - transport, electricity generation, agriculture and basic industries such as cement, steel and aluminium.
"Politicians need to explain to us how they plan to massively cut our use of carbon fuels in all of these essentials of modern life.
"The only options feasible today are greatly increased use of hydro, nuclear or geothermal energy to produce electricity and some use of electric powered cars and buses in cities.
"It seems politically improbably that large new hydro or nuclear plants will be built in a hurry in either country, and geothermal will never fill the gap in time. And the green subsidysuckers like wind, solar and biofuels are already causing the de-industrialisation of Europe.
"Our politicians are gambling massive community assets on some wobbly computer forecasts of global warming. But nature may surprise us with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, tornados, fires or even global cooling.
"Climate is always changing. Mankind must do what successful humans have always done – be prepared for any disaster that may hit. Then be equipped to recover and rebuild afterwards. And take all forecasts with a grain of salt.
"Both Australia and New Zealand would be better off today if all the money wasted on the climate change industry had been spent building more robust infrastructure and establishing shelters and emergency resources. Money spent on preparation for provision of water, electricity, communications, medical services and shelter after a disaster will be far more appreciated by victims than knowing we have played a leading role in the Climate Change Circus.
"New Zealand aims to be the Leader of the Lemmings in our region. The Green/Gillard government in Australia is longing to follow.
"But who else in our region will renew their Kyoto vows of poverty?
"Not India or China; not Japan or Taiwan; not Canada, USA or South America - no one will follow us in the race to become the Green Peasants of the Pacific."
"Some consensus!"
posted by Trevor Loudon at 3/12/2011 10:22:00 PM
The Carbon Sense Coalition today claimed that Australia and New Zealand were in danger of becoming the green peasants of the Pacific.
The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, said that the only way the two countries could achieve their unrealistic emissions targets was by exporting their industries, reducing their population or creating chronic recession.
In a detailed submission to the New Zealand Government, the Carbon Sense Coalition concludes that their emissions targets are not feasible, not sustainable and not justified.
The submission, entitled "Clean, Green and Barefoot in the Snow" can be found at:
http://carbon-sense.com/2011/02/28/barefoot-in-the-snow/
"The submission analyses the maths of the proposal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 50% of 1990 levels by 2050.
"In the period from the base year of 1990 to 2010, New Zealand emissions have grown by 22%. This 22% growth will need to be eliminated before the Kiwis get to start the process of achieving 50% cuts from 1990 levels.
"However, New Zealand's population has also grown since 1990, and is expected to rise from 3.5 million in 1990 to 6.2 million by 2050.
"The maths shows that the 50% cut to 1990 levels by 2050 will require Kiwis to reduce emissions per capita by 73% from 1990 levels. Will their grandkids learn to happily live on just 27% of the resources that they use now?
"Even in the Great Depression, production of carbon dioxide only fell by 25% from booming 1929 to the dreary bottom in 1932, when many people minimised their emissions by queuing quietly outside soup kitchens.
"These targets thus promise to be three times worse than the great depression.
See: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/hertzberg.pdf (page 13).
"There are four major sources of man's production of carbon dioxide in Australia and New Zealand - transport, electricity generation, agriculture and basic industries such as cement, steel and aluminium.
"Politicians need to explain to us how they plan to massively cut our use of carbon fuels in all of these essentials of modern life.
"The only options feasible today are greatly increased use of hydro, nuclear or geothermal energy to produce electricity and some use of electric powered cars and buses in cities.
"It seems politically improbably that large new hydro or nuclear plants will be built in a hurry in either country, and geothermal will never fill the gap in time. And the green subsidysuckers like wind, solar and biofuels are already causing the de-industrialisation of Europe.
"Our politicians are gambling massive community assets on some wobbly computer forecasts of global warming. But nature may surprise us with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, tornados, fires or even global cooling.
"Climate is always changing. Mankind must do what successful humans have always done – be prepared for any disaster that may hit. Then be equipped to recover and rebuild afterwards. And take all forecasts with a grain of salt.
"Both Australia and New Zealand would be better off today if all the money wasted on the climate change industry had been spent building more robust infrastructure and establishing shelters and emergency resources. Money spent on preparation for provision of water, electricity, communications, medical services and shelter after a disaster will be far more appreciated by victims than knowing we have played a leading role in the Climate Change Circus.
"New Zealand aims to be the Leader of the Lemmings in our region. The Green/Gillard government in Australia is longing to follow.
"But who else in our region will renew their Kyoto vows of poverty?
"Not India or China; not Japan or Taiwan; not Canada, USA or South America - no one will follow us in the race to become the Green Peasants of the Pacific."
"Some consensus!"
posted by Trevor Loudon at 3/12/2011 10:22:00 PM
Explosion at Japanese Nuclear Plant, Meltdown Could be Imminent
Breaking- An explosion has erupted in one of Japan's nuclear plants. The building is now smoking, raising fears that a catastrophic meltdown could come in only seconds:
According to sources, the explosion was so strong that it knocked over the walls of the plant.
The plant was damaged in the disastrous 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan yesterday. With the death toll over 1,000 and hundreds missing, a meltdown could be the worst thing yet to happen in the aftermath of the quake.
According to sources, the explosion was so strong that it knocked over the walls of the plant.
The plant was damaged in the disastrous 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan yesterday. With the death toll over 1,000 and hundreds missing, a meltdown could be the worst thing yet to happen in the aftermath of the quake.
Atlas Shrugged Coming Soon! (Video)
John Stossel and Sean Hannity discuss the soon to be released movie "Atlas Shrugged, Part1"
April 15 is the big day - and the leading man is a Kiwi!
April 15 is the big day - and the leading man is a Kiwi!
Gipper's Greatest Hits: Reagan Crushes the Air Traffic Controllers' Union Like an Insect
VIDEO: "We cannot compare labor-management relations
in the private sector with government..."
In August 1981, President Ronald Reagan faced down an audacious countrywide air traffic controllers strike that threatened to paralyze the nation's transportation system.
But the walkout violated a regulation prohibiting government unions from striking, so declaring the situation a federal emergency -per 1947 Taft Hartley Act- the President held a press conference in the White House Rose Garden to issue an ultimatum...
Reagan warned that if the air traffic controllers
"do not report for work within 48 hours,
they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated."
Many thought he was bluffing at the time, but despite fear of a political backlash emanating from some of his cabinet on August 5 1981 Ronald Reagan made plain he was not bluffing by firing every last one of the 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work.
The PATCO union was busted...
in the private sector with government..."
In August 1981, President Ronald Reagan faced down an audacious countrywide air traffic controllers strike that threatened to paralyze the nation's transportation system.
But the walkout violated a regulation prohibiting government unions from striking, so declaring the situation a federal emergency -per 1947 Taft Hartley Act- the President held a press conference in the White House Rose Garden to issue an ultimatum...
Reagan warned that if the air traffic controllers
"do not report for work within 48 hours,
they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated."
Many thought he was bluffing at the time, but despite fear of a political backlash emanating from some of his cabinet on August 5 1981 Ronald Reagan made plain he was not bluffing by firing every last one of the 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work.
The PATCO union was busted...
Quote of the Day - Truth in Humor Edition
Gun laws in the US are confusing. You can be totally legal, drive over an invisible line and be a criminal. It is a legal system designed by Escher and built by W. Heath Robinson.
Cracked.com: Gun Owners
It's what we've been bitching about for decades.
h/t to SayUncle for the pointer.
Cracked.com: Gun Owners
It's what we've been bitching about for decades.
h/t to SayUncle for the pointer.
Senate GOP moderates feel heat from the tea party
WASHINGTON — Minutes after the Senate rejected a huge, controversial Republican budget-cutting plan this week, Democrats pounced hard, blasting moderate GOP senators who supported the package.
"It is now official — Dick Lugar supports the extremists in his party over the people of Indiana," said a statement from Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Eric Schultz about the veteran Indiana Republican. "He will be explaining today's vote for the next 19 months."
Democrats aimed similar artillery at Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Scott Brown, R-Mass. All three are up for re-election next year, and they're running scared. Because Democrats aren't the only ones firing away at moderate Republicans these days. The pressure's on from both sides.
The Tea Party Express, part of the grass-roots conservative movement that helped topple several prominent GOP candidates last year, already is opposing Snowe and Lugar. In response, they appear to be building voting records that are more doctrinaire conservative than their pasts.
But if senators such as Snowe, Brown and Lugar lean too far to the right to appease the tea party pressure, they risk losing moderate voters, who are crucial to general election victories in their diverse states.
The Senate took two major budget votes Wednesday. All three senators joined most of their GOP colleagues in backing the Republican plan to ax $61 billion from current-year spending. All three opposed a Democratic alternative to cut only $6.5 billion instead.
After the vote, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sent out detailed statements listing potential trouble for Indiana, Massachusetts and Maine if the GOP plan is enacted: thousands of lost jobs, and less funding for early childhood programs, job training and so on.
Republicans countered that their approach was a small first step toward fiscal discipline, a strategy that they said would boost the economy eventually.
"Our senators can make the case they're voting on principle," said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
But this week's vote didn't erase what tea party backers see as these moderates' troubling pasts. The Tea Party Express, based in Sacramento, Calif., contends that Snowe and Lugar simply aren't conservative enough.
"Senator Olympia Snowe is popular among her Democrat friends in the U.S. Senate, and gets along great with other big-government liberals," the group said in a recent e-mail to supporters. It said that tea party loyalists had "no respect for career politicians like Snowe who claim to represent us, but stab us in the back every chance they get."
It cited her support for Obama Supreme Court nominees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Similarly, the group charged that "Dick Lugar has become the epitome of what is wrong in Washington, D.C." It berated Lugar for backing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the 2008 federal bailout for ailing financial institutions; for leading the successful Senate ratification of the New START nuclear arms treaty last year; and for getting an F rating from the Gun Owners of America.
Levi Russell, Tea Party Express spokesman, said the group would devote "significant resources" to defeating Lugar and Snowe, including volunteers, phone banks and ads. Challengers to Lugar and Snowe for their party's nomination to run again are emerging in both states, but it's unclear at this early stage whom tea party backers would support.
Tea party challenges remain stark in the minds of GOP moderates because they saw two of their colleagues — Utah's Robert Bennett and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski — defeated for re-nomination last year by little-known tea party-backed candidates. Murkowski then mounted a write-in campaign and won the general election.
"Bennett was the wake-up call for Senator Snowe," said Mark Brewer, an associate professor of political science at the University of Maine.
Brown, 51, was a tea party favorite when he ran last year to complete the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's term through 2012, and he isn't a Tea Party Express target at this point.
Still, Democrats branded him Wednesday a "tool of Republican establishment in Washington."
He's up for re-election in one of the nation's most Democratic states. His January 2010 victory was the first time since 1972 that a GOP candidate had won a Massachusetts Senate seat.
Brown, who recently said that he didn't consider himself a tea party member, said he wasn't worried about the impact of this week's votes. "I'm working hard on every issue affecting the budget," he said. "I, for one, am going to be a problem solver."
Snowe, 64, a three-term veteran, and Lugar, 78, a six-term senator, said that the political heat didn't bother them.
They're used to it. Snowe voted against GOP-majority positions on key votes 27.2 percent of the time last year, according to Congressional Quarterly, the independent news-research service. That was the third-highest Republican Senate opposition score. Brown was fourth, at 22 percent, and Lugar sixth, at 15.9 percent.
Asked whether he felt political pressure because of his budget votes, Lugar said, "None particularly." He said voters would understand: "People in Indiana have assumed I would vote for the Republican position."
"I don't feel any pressure," Snowe said. "Every vote I make is subject to all kinds of speculation. If I worried about that all the time I may as well give up."
"It is now official — Dick Lugar supports the extremists in his party over the people of Indiana," said a statement from Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Eric Schultz about the veteran Indiana Republican. "He will be explaining today's vote for the next 19 months."
Democrats aimed similar artillery at Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Scott Brown, R-Mass. All three are up for re-election next year, and they're running scared. Because Democrats aren't the only ones firing away at moderate Republicans these days. The pressure's on from both sides.
The Tea Party Express, part of the grass-roots conservative movement that helped topple several prominent GOP candidates last year, already is opposing Snowe and Lugar. In response, they appear to be building voting records that are more doctrinaire conservative than their pasts.
But if senators such as Snowe, Brown and Lugar lean too far to the right to appease the tea party pressure, they risk losing moderate voters, who are crucial to general election victories in their diverse states.
The Senate took two major budget votes Wednesday. All three senators joined most of their GOP colleagues in backing the Republican plan to ax $61 billion from current-year spending. All three opposed a Democratic alternative to cut only $6.5 billion instead.
After the vote, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sent out detailed statements listing potential trouble for Indiana, Massachusetts and Maine if the GOP plan is enacted: thousands of lost jobs, and less funding for early childhood programs, job training and so on.
Republicans countered that their approach was a small first step toward fiscal discipline, a strategy that they said would boost the economy eventually.
"Our senators can make the case they're voting on principle," said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
But this week's vote didn't erase what tea party backers see as these moderates' troubling pasts. The Tea Party Express, based in Sacramento, Calif., contends that Snowe and Lugar simply aren't conservative enough.
"Senator Olympia Snowe is popular among her Democrat friends in the U.S. Senate, and gets along great with other big-government liberals," the group said in a recent e-mail to supporters. It said that tea party loyalists had "no respect for career politicians like Snowe who claim to represent us, but stab us in the back every chance they get."
It cited her support for Obama Supreme Court nominees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Similarly, the group charged that "Dick Lugar has become the epitome of what is wrong in Washington, D.C." It berated Lugar for backing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the 2008 federal bailout for ailing financial institutions; for leading the successful Senate ratification of the New START nuclear arms treaty last year; and for getting an F rating from the Gun Owners of America.
Levi Russell, Tea Party Express spokesman, said the group would devote "significant resources" to defeating Lugar and Snowe, including volunteers, phone banks and ads. Challengers to Lugar and Snowe for their party's nomination to run again are emerging in both states, but it's unclear at this early stage whom tea party backers would support.
Tea party challenges remain stark in the minds of GOP moderates because they saw two of their colleagues — Utah's Robert Bennett and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski — defeated for re-nomination last year by little-known tea party-backed candidates. Murkowski then mounted a write-in campaign and won the general election.
"Bennett was the wake-up call for Senator Snowe," said Mark Brewer, an associate professor of political science at the University of Maine.
Brown, 51, was a tea party favorite when he ran last year to complete the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's term through 2012, and he isn't a Tea Party Express target at this point.
Still, Democrats branded him Wednesday a "tool of Republican establishment in Washington."
He's up for re-election in one of the nation's most Democratic states. His January 2010 victory was the first time since 1972 that a GOP candidate had won a Massachusetts Senate seat.
Brown, who recently said that he didn't consider himself a tea party member, said he wasn't worried about the impact of this week's votes. "I'm working hard on every issue affecting the budget," he said. "I, for one, am going to be a problem solver."
Snowe, 64, a three-term veteran, and Lugar, 78, a six-term senator, said that the political heat didn't bother them.
They're used to it. Snowe voted against GOP-majority positions on key votes 27.2 percent of the time last year, according to Congressional Quarterly, the independent news-research service. That was the third-highest Republican Senate opposition score. Brown was fourth, at 22 percent, and Lugar sixth, at 15.9 percent.
Asked whether he felt political pressure because of his budget votes, Lugar said, "None particularly." He said voters would understand: "People in Indiana have assumed I would vote for the Republican position."
"I don't feel any pressure," Snowe said. "Every vote I make is subject to all kinds of speculation. If I worried about that all the time I may as well give up."
VIDEO: Bill Maher Challenges Muslim Congressman With Hard-Hitting Questions About Koran
“Am I getting the wrong translation? ‘Cause that’s what every Muslim always tells me.”
The China Syndrome in Japan? Japan fears nuclear plant meltdown
VIDEO: Blast reported at nuclear plant amid worries that quake-hit reactor can no longer cool radioactive substances.
Al-Jazeera
"Radiation has leaked from an Japanese nuclear reactor and authorities say there is a possibility of a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant about 250km north of Tokyo.
The cooling system of the plant was damaged in the massive earthquake that struck northeastern Japan and triggered a tsunami, killing hundreds of people.
An explosion at the nuclear facility tore down the walls of one building on Saturday as smoke poured out. It was not clear if the damaged building housed the No. 1 reactor which officials fear could melt down.
"We are now trying to analyse what is behind the explosion," Yukio Edano, a government spokesman, said. "We ask everyone to take action to secure safety."
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), the operator of the plant, said four workers were injured....."
Al-Jazeera
"Radiation has leaked from an Japanese nuclear reactor and authorities say there is a possibility of a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant about 250km north of Tokyo.
The cooling system of the plant was damaged in the massive earthquake that struck northeastern Japan and triggered a tsunami, killing hundreds of people.
An explosion at the nuclear facility tore down the walls of one building on Saturday as smoke poured out. It was not clear if the damaged building housed the No. 1 reactor which officials fear could melt down.
"We are now trying to analyse what is behind the explosion," Yukio Edano, a government spokesman, said. "We ask everyone to take action to secure safety."
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), the operator of the plant, said four workers were injured....."
Chris Matthews: Tragedy in Japan Was an “Opportunity for Obama to Remind People He Was Born in Hawaii”
Is he serious? This may be the strangest spin on a disaster ever. (VIDEO)
Ex-Fannie Mae Chief May Face S.E.C. Charges
Daniel H. Mudd, the former chief executive of Fannie Mae, may soon face civil charges stemming from his tenure at the mortgage finance giant, according to a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sent Mr. Mudd a so-called Wells notice, this person confirmed, an indication the agency is considering an enforcement action against him
Where's Eric Holder on this issue? The size of this kind of money means felonies.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sent Mr. Mudd a so-called Wells notice, this person confirmed, an indication the agency is considering an enforcement action against him
Where's Eric Holder on this issue? The size of this kind of money means felonies.
ENTITLEMENT REFORM: Obama criticizes lawmakers for not doing what he didn’t do either.
President Obama has not exactly been a profile in courage with respect to entitlement reform. If he has any plans or any will to do anything about it, he has yet to show them. But that doesn't stop him from criticizing people who try to cut other parts of the budget:
And that’s why I think it’s going to be important for us to have a conversation after we get the short-term budget done about how do we really tackle the problem in a comprehensive way. And that means not just going after Head Start or Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- that’s not where the money is.
Even if CPB (which really doesn't need public money at all) and Head Start (a completely ineffective program) aren't where the money is, Obama completely avoided all of the areas "where the money is" when he presented his ten-year budget this year, so who is he to criticize?
Some of his defenders may point to Obamacare, which cuts Medicare funding, as an example of his taking leadership on this issue, but that's very misleading. Much of the savings from Medicare was obviously imaginary and meant only to pad the bottom line for the Obamacare bill. As for the rest of the savings, they're used to pay for the bill's new entitlement programs, so they do nothing to shore up Medicare.
So Obama can criticize small budget cuts all he likes, but they are far more serious than anything he's proposed.
And that’s why I think it’s going to be important for us to have a conversation after we get the short-term budget done about how do we really tackle the problem in a comprehensive way. And that means not just going after Head Start or Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- that’s not where the money is.
Even if CPB (which really doesn't need public money at all) and Head Start (a completely ineffective program) aren't where the money is, Obama completely avoided all of the areas "where the money is" when he presented his ten-year budget this year, so who is he to criticize?
Some of his defenders may point to Obamacare, which cuts Medicare funding, as an example of his taking leadership on this issue, but that's very misleading. Much of the savings from Medicare was obviously imaginary and meant only to pad the bottom line for the Obamacare bill. As for the rest of the savings, they're used to pay for the bill's new entitlement programs, so they do nothing to shore up Medicare.
So Obama can criticize small budget cuts all he likes, but they are far more serious than anything he's proposed.
N.J. property taxes up 4.1 percent in 2010; average property tax in 2010 was $7,576.
If you didn't know it already, it's now official: Your property taxes are way up.
The overall property tax in the state rose 4.1 percent in 2010, when compared with 2009, according to the official local tax rate list released Friday by the state Department of Community Affairs. It is the largest increase since 2007, when taxes spiked 7.3 percent.
The average property tax in 2010 was $7,576. That is up $295 from the 2009 average of $7,281.
The overall property tax in the state rose 4.1 percent in 2010, when compared with 2009, according to the official local tax rate list released Friday by the state Department of Community Affairs. It is the largest increase since 2007, when taxes spiked 7.3 percent.
The average property tax in 2010 was $7,576. That is up $295 from the 2009 average of $7,281.
STRONG SUPPORT For WI Governor Scott Walker in Latest Poll
The New York AFL-CIO unions bussed in reinforcements to Madison for their battle against Scott Walker.
But, in the end Walker won.
But, in the end Walker won.
Video: Fukushima, Japan Nuclear Reactor Explodes On Live TV
Video: Fukushima, Japan Nuclear Reactor Explodes On Live TV
Via BreitbartTV, this incident could be as bad as the tsunami itself:
Via BreitbartTV, this incident could be as bad as the tsunami itself:
Illinois Pension Contributions: Taxpayers $6.2 Billion, Employees $1.5 Billion
Pension Contributions: Taxpayers $6.2 Billion, Employees $1.5 Billion
Posted: March 10, 2011
Why isn't it 50-50 rather than 80-20?
By Bill Zettler
Illinois Auditor General William Holland just released his latest cost analysis for pensions and came up with $6.2 billion state cost for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2011. Actuarial reports for the state pension funds (teachers, university and state employees) show employees will be required to contribute $1.5 billion for the same period or 24% as much as taxpayers.
Despite this overwhelming one-sided effort to fund the pensions by financially exhausted taxpayers the whining from entrenched liberal groups (unions, politicians, media) continues unabated.
The word "state" is a euphemism for "taxpayers"
You will note that the above-mentioned groups never use the word "taxpayer"; it is always the "state" that is at fault for the pension problems. If the "state" hadn't missed pension payments or the "state" hadn't shorted required contributions or the "state" hadn't dodged them then, by golly, there would not be a pension problem.
As every sentient being knows when it comes to paying bills there is no "state" there are only "taxpayers". So every time you read or hear a professional pension-whiner say the "state" is not doing its share substitute the word "taxpayer." That should get your blood boiling.
If the Teachers Retirement System loses $12 billion why do taxpayers have to pay for it?
The other dirty little secret that pension-whiners never talk about is how the taxpayer is responsible for every salary increase, every early retirement, every benefit increase and every dollar of investment loss. Which is exactly why we taxpayers (not the "state") are contributing 400% more than employees this year.
Eight members of the 13 Member TRS Board of Trustees are current or former employees of the public school system. So "teachers" are making the investment decisions for the TRS but the "taxpayer" (formerly known as the "state") is required to make up all loses via higher contributions i.e. higher taxes. Taxpayers are also required to pay 100% of the interest on all Pension Obligation Bonds, an amount now approaching $1 billion/year. Since they are in charge why aren't teachers paying instead of taxpayers?
For more than a decade taxpayers have paid more than any reasonable system should require - at least 256% more than employees. Please note every single year taxpayers paid more than employees.
Why don't we ask public employees to pay half of their pension costs just like the rest of us?
In the private sector employees pay 6.2% to Social Security matched exactly by their employers. Then add in the average matching 4.8% 401K contribution and you get 11% or 22% of salary contributed 50-50 between employee and employer. Simple, fair, affordable and easy to understand. What's not to like?
So if we apply the 50-50 rule to IL pensions as of July 1, 2011 what do we come up with for employee contributions?
Teachers - 24% instead of 9.4%
University - 20% instead of 8%
State employees 10% instead of 4%
Legislators - 32% instead of 12.5%
Why are state pensions so expensive - the "Four Rules of Too"
1. Retirement is "Too Early":
State Police can retire at 50, teachers 54 and others at 55. Compare this with Social Security full retirement at 66. A person retiring at 50 will, on average, spend more time retired that he did working. That is very expensive proposition.
2. Pensions are "Too High":
From 75% of salary for teachers to 80% for State Police and University employees to 85% for legislators plus 3%/year COLA pensions are very expensive to finance. When combined with early retirement, costs are off the charts.
3. Salaries are "Too High":
Since pensions are percentages of salaries and are without any upper limit, high salaries lead to high pensions. State police earning $175,000, Phys Ed teachers $191,000 and school superintendents $368,000 have led to 4,200 state pensions in excess of $100,000/year growing at 25%/year. This projects to 25,000 pensions over $100K by 2020.
4. Contributions are "Too low":
As you can see from the above rates about 99% of state employees pay less into their retirement system than we do into SS and 401K. But they can retire up to 16 years earlier on much higher pensions so therefore they should be contributing much more than the private sector not less. Because they are not paying their fair share the extra cost must be picked up by the taxpayers of IL.
See "Four Rules of Too" here.
Illinois pension and retiree health care costs are creating an economic dead-end.
The Census Bureau just reported that Chicago now has its lowest population in the last 100 years. Mayor Daley says the new pension requirements for Chicago pensions will raise property taxes by 60%. Do you think raising property taxes by 60% will lead to more people moving to Chicago or leaving from Chicago? Leaving, of course.
Use the same logic for the state. Will potential new employers look at Illinois and see $1 trillion in pension and health care benefits owed to retired public employees over the next 35 years as a reason to relocate here or as a reason to relocate to Indiana, Wisconsin or Ohio? Anybody with common sense would choose someplace other than Illinois to relocate.
Do you think these numbers oriented businessmen will notice that this year's $6.8 billion tax increase exactly matches this years pension cost ($6.2 billion) and retiree health care cost ($600 million)? Yes, I think they will notice.
Will the pension supporters' whining that pensions are "owed" or "promised" have any effect on these decisions? Yes, it will have a negative effect.
If Illinois wants to avoid becoming a Michigan and Chicago a Detroit then comprehensive, meaningful pension reform needs to be completed soon. Decisions to come to Illinois or leave Illinois are being made every day.
Every day we avoid making tough pension cost decisions more taxpayers leave Illinois. Who is going to pay the pensions when all the taxpayers have left?
Bill Zettler is a free-lance writer and consultant specializing in public sector compensation. He can be contacted at this mail address. Click here to read more by Mr. Zettler.
Posted: March 10, 2011
Why isn't it 50-50 rather than 80-20?
By Bill Zettler
Illinois Auditor General William Holland just released his latest cost analysis for pensions and came up with $6.2 billion state cost for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2011. Actuarial reports for the state pension funds (teachers, university and state employees) show employees will be required to contribute $1.5 billion for the same period or 24% as much as taxpayers.
Despite this overwhelming one-sided effort to fund the pensions by financially exhausted taxpayers the whining from entrenched liberal groups (unions, politicians, media) continues unabated.
The word "state" is a euphemism for "taxpayers"
You will note that the above-mentioned groups never use the word "taxpayer"; it is always the "state" that is at fault for the pension problems. If the "state" hadn't missed pension payments or the "state" hadn't shorted required contributions or the "state" hadn't dodged them then, by golly, there would not be a pension problem.
As every sentient being knows when it comes to paying bills there is no "state" there are only "taxpayers". So every time you read or hear a professional pension-whiner say the "state" is not doing its share substitute the word "taxpayer." That should get your blood boiling.
If the Teachers Retirement System loses $12 billion why do taxpayers have to pay for it?
The other dirty little secret that pension-whiners never talk about is how the taxpayer is responsible for every salary increase, every early retirement, every benefit increase and every dollar of investment loss. Which is exactly why we taxpayers (not the "state") are contributing 400% more than employees this year.
Eight members of the 13 Member TRS Board of Trustees are current or former employees of the public school system. So "teachers" are making the investment decisions for the TRS but the "taxpayer" (formerly known as the "state") is required to make up all loses via higher contributions i.e. higher taxes. Taxpayers are also required to pay 100% of the interest on all Pension Obligation Bonds, an amount now approaching $1 billion/year. Since they are in charge why aren't teachers paying instead of taxpayers?
For more than a decade taxpayers have paid more than any reasonable system should require - at least 256% more than employees. Please note every single year taxpayers paid more than employees.
Why don't we ask public employees to pay half of their pension costs just like the rest of us?
In the private sector employees pay 6.2% to Social Security matched exactly by their employers. Then add in the average matching 4.8% 401K contribution and you get 11% or 22% of salary contributed 50-50 between employee and employer. Simple, fair, affordable and easy to understand. What's not to like?
So if we apply the 50-50 rule to IL pensions as of July 1, 2011 what do we come up with for employee contributions?
Teachers - 24% instead of 9.4%
University - 20% instead of 8%
State employees 10% instead of 4%
Legislators - 32% instead of 12.5%
Why are state pensions so expensive - the "Four Rules of Too"
1. Retirement is "Too Early":
State Police can retire at 50, teachers 54 and others at 55. Compare this with Social Security full retirement at 66. A person retiring at 50 will, on average, spend more time retired that he did working. That is very expensive proposition.
2. Pensions are "Too High":
From 75% of salary for teachers to 80% for State Police and University employees to 85% for legislators plus 3%/year COLA pensions are very expensive to finance. When combined with early retirement, costs are off the charts.
3. Salaries are "Too High":
Since pensions are percentages of salaries and are without any upper limit, high salaries lead to high pensions. State police earning $175,000, Phys Ed teachers $191,000 and school superintendents $368,000 have led to 4,200 state pensions in excess of $100,000/year growing at 25%/year. This projects to 25,000 pensions over $100K by 2020.
4. Contributions are "Too low":
As you can see from the above rates about 99% of state employees pay less into their retirement system than we do into SS and 401K. But they can retire up to 16 years earlier on much higher pensions so therefore they should be contributing much more than the private sector not less. Because they are not paying their fair share the extra cost must be picked up by the taxpayers of IL.
See "Four Rules of Too" here.
Illinois pension and retiree health care costs are creating an economic dead-end.
The Census Bureau just reported that Chicago now has its lowest population in the last 100 years. Mayor Daley says the new pension requirements for Chicago pensions will raise property taxes by 60%. Do you think raising property taxes by 60% will lead to more people moving to Chicago or leaving from Chicago? Leaving, of course.
Use the same logic for the state. Will potential new employers look at Illinois and see $1 trillion in pension and health care benefits owed to retired public employees over the next 35 years as a reason to relocate here or as a reason to relocate to Indiana, Wisconsin or Ohio? Anybody with common sense would choose someplace other than Illinois to relocate.
Do you think these numbers oriented businessmen will notice that this year's $6.8 billion tax increase exactly matches this years pension cost ($6.2 billion) and retiree health care cost ($600 million)? Yes, I think they will notice.
Will the pension supporters' whining that pensions are "owed" or "promised" have any effect on these decisions? Yes, it will have a negative effect.
If Illinois wants to avoid becoming a Michigan and Chicago a Detroit then comprehensive, meaningful pension reform needs to be completed soon. Decisions to come to Illinois or leave Illinois are being made every day.
Every day we avoid making tough pension cost decisions more taxpayers leave Illinois. Who is going to pay the pensions when all the taxpayers have left?
Bill Zettler is a free-lance writer and consultant specializing in public sector compensation. He can be contacted at this mail address. Click here to read more by Mr. Zettler.
Obama's Weekly Address Zeroes in on World Crises
Obama's Weekly Address Zeroes in on World Crises
You figure with chaos around the globe the leader of the free world would take the opportunity to discuss the myriad crises during his weekly address, right? Uh, no, he's in campaign mode. Don't distract him with these mundane events in Japan or Libya.
Two days after Senate Democrats demanded that President Obama take a more public stance in the budget fight, Obama devoted his weekly address to honoring Women’s History Month.
While Democrats want the president to plunge into the tense standoff with Republicans over spending cuts, Obama is sticking to his own timeline.
In a pre-taped address delivered Saturday morning, Obama extolled Eleanor Roosevelt’s pursuit of equality between the sexes and the recent progress women have made in education and the professions.
Obviously his internal polling shows women are likely abandoning this failed president, so it's time to begin shoring up his base.
Obama touted his enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which expanded plaintiffs right to sue employers for discriminatory compensation practices.
“I signed a law so that women who’ve been discriminated against in their salaries could have their day in court to make it right,” Obama said.
Forget about the suffering people in Japan and Libya. Let's remind the ladies how great he is.
What an insufferable bore this man is.
You figure with chaos around the globe the leader of the free world would take the opportunity to discuss the myriad crises during his weekly address, right? Uh, no, he's in campaign mode. Don't distract him with these mundane events in Japan or Libya.
Two days after Senate Democrats demanded that President Obama take a more public stance in the budget fight, Obama devoted his weekly address to honoring Women’s History Month.
While Democrats want the president to plunge into the tense standoff with Republicans over spending cuts, Obama is sticking to his own timeline.
In a pre-taped address delivered Saturday morning, Obama extolled Eleanor Roosevelt’s pursuit of equality between the sexes and the recent progress women have made in education and the professions.
Obviously his internal polling shows women are likely abandoning this failed president, so it's time to begin shoring up his base.
Obama touted his enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which expanded plaintiffs right to sue employers for discriminatory compensation practices.
“I signed a law so that women who’ve been discriminated against in their salaries could have their day in court to make it right,” Obama said.
Forget about the suffering people in Japan and Libya. Let's remind the ladies how great he is.
What an insufferable bore this man is.
Texas: New Black Panther Leader Justifies Gang Rape of 11-Year-Old Hispanic Girl…
Quanell X Stages Rally in Cleveland: MyFoxHOUSTON.com
Lehman Probe Stalls; Chance of No Charges
By JEAN EAGLESHAM And LIZ RAPPAPORT
The U.S. government's investigation into the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has hit daunting hurdles that could result in no civil or criminal charges ever being filed against the company's former executives, people familiar with the situation said.
Richard Fuld Jr.
In recent months, Securities and Exchange Commission officials have grown increasingly doubtful they can prove that Lehman violated U.S. laws by using an accounting maneuver to move as much as $50 billion in assets off its balance sheet, which made it appear that the securities firm had reduced its debt levels.
SEC officials also aren't confident they could win any lawsuit accusing former Lehman employees, including former Lehman Chief Executive Richard Fuld Jr., of failing to adequately mark down the value of the large real-estate portfolio acquired in Lehman's takeover of apartment developer Archstone-Smith Trust or to disclose the resulting losses to investors, according to people familiar with the matter.
People close to the investigation cautioned that no decision has been reached on whether to bring civil charges, adding that new evidence still could emerge. Investigators are reviewing thousands of documents turned over to the SEC since it began its probe shortly after Lehman tumbled into bankruptcy in September 2008 and was sold off in pieces. Officials also have questioned a number of former Lehman executives, some of them multiple times, the people said.
But after zeroing in last summer on the battered real-estate portfolio and an accounting move known as Repo 105, SEC officials have grown more worried they could lose a court battle if they bring civil charges that allege Lehman investors were duped by company executives. The key stumbling block: The accounting move, while controversial, isn't necessarily illegal.
In a possible sign that the probe has slowed, the SEC hasn't issued a Wells notice to Lehman's longtime auditor, Ernst & Young, according to people familiar with the situation. The firm had concluded that the accounting in the Repo 105 transactions was acceptable. Wells notices are a formal signal that the SEC's enforcement staff has decided it might file civil charges against the recipient.
An SEC spokesman declined to comment. In a statement, Ernst & Young said the firm stands "behind our work on the Lehman audit and our opinion that Lehman's financial statements were fairly stated in accordance with the U.S. accounting standards that existed at the time."
The snags are the latest sign of trouble for the SEC and other U.S. regulators trying to punish companies and executives at the center of the financial crisis. So far, no high-profile executives have been successfully prosecuted. Last month, a federal criminal investigation of former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo was closed without charges.
The U.S. government lost the only crisis-related case to go to trial when former Bear Stearns Cos. hedge-fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin were acquitted in November 2009 of criminal charges related to the $1.6 billion collapse of their hedge funds.
If SEC officials decide not to take enforcement action against former Lehman executives, they likely would escape criminal prosecution, too. The Justice Department "tends to follow the SEC's lead in these complex financial cases, so reluctance to pursue civil charges generally means the federal agencies won't take a criminal case," said Elizabeth Nowicki, a former SEC lawyer who is an associate professor at Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment on Lehman. In a statement, she said the agency "will continue to root out financial fraud wherever it exists. When we find credible evidence of criminal conduct—by Wall Street financiers, lawyers, accountants or others—we will aggressively pursue justice. However, we can and will only bring charges when the facts and the law convince us that we can prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt."
A year ago, it looked as if the SEC and federal prosecutors had a road map to use against Lehman's former top executives. Last March, the Repo 105 transactions were condemned by court-appointed examiner Anton R. Valukas, who said in a report that they enabled Lehman to "paint a misleading picture of its financial condition."
In the transactions, Lehman swapped fixed-income assets for cash shortly before the securities firm reported quarterly results, promising to buy back the securities later. The cash was used to pay down the company's debts. Emails sent by executives at the company referred to Repo 105 as a "drug" and "basically window dressing."
Mr. Valukas concluded there were "colorable," or credible, legal claims against Ernst & Young, Mr. Fuld and former finance chiefs Ian Lowitt, Erin Callan and Christopher O'Meara.
All four former Lehman executives have been scrutinized by the SEC, according to people familiar with the matter. Their lawyers didn't respond to calls seeking comment. They previously have denied any wrongdoing related to Repo 105.
A December lawsuit against Ernst & Young by soon-to-depart New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo drew heavily on Mr. Valukas's findings. Mr. Cuomo, who became New York's governor in January, criticized the Repo 105 transactions as a "house-of-cards business model, designed to hide billions in liabilities in the years before Lehman collapsed."
Mr. Cuomo's successor, Eric Schneiderman, is "fully committed" to pursuing the case, a spokesman said. Ernst & Young has vowed to vigorously defend itself against accusations that the maneuver violated generally accepted accounting procedures.
In contrast, SEC officials generally have concluded that the transactions were consistent with accounting standards, according to people familiar with the situation.
And agency officials aren't convinced that Lehman shareholders suffered material harm, since executives were trading one type of highly liquid asset for another, these people said. They said the SEC would face a far lower bar if Lehman had converted illiquid or damaged assets, such as Archstone's real-estate holdings, into cash using Repo 105.
Mr. Fuld and other former executives could face charges of making misleading statements about the company's health before it sank. That likely would be an uphill battle for the government, according to people familiar with the matter, partly because the executives relied on legal and accounting opinions.
British law firm Linklaters LLP signed off on the Repo 105 transactions, all done through the securities firm's European arm. Linklaters declined to comment.
SEC investigators also have looked for evidence that Lehman overvalued positions held by Archstone, which it acquired in 2007. SEC officials aren't convinced, though, that they can build a strong enforcement action around such claims. In his report, Mr. Valukas wrote that he didn't find "sufficient evidence to support a colorable claim for breach of fiduciary duty in connection with any of Lehman's valuations."
It isn't clear what the Lehman executives have said to SEC officials during the probe. Last year, Mr. Fuld told lawmakers he had "absolutely no recollection whatsoever of hearing anything" about Repo 105 at the time of the transactions. Lehman's demise was caused by "uncontrollable market forces" and the U.S. government's unwillingness to rescue the firm, he said.
The U.S. government's investigation into the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has hit daunting hurdles that could result in no civil or criminal charges ever being filed against the company's former executives, people familiar with the situation said.
Richard Fuld Jr.
In recent months, Securities and Exchange Commission officials have grown increasingly doubtful they can prove that Lehman violated U.S. laws by using an accounting maneuver to move as much as $50 billion in assets off its balance sheet, which made it appear that the securities firm had reduced its debt levels.
SEC officials also aren't confident they could win any lawsuit accusing former Lehman employees, including former Lehman Chief Executive Richard Fuld Jr., of failing to adequately mark down the value of the large real-estate portfolio acquired in Lehman's takeover of apartment developer Archstone-Smith Trust or to disclose the resulting losses to investors, according to people familiar with the matter.
People close to the investigation cautioned that no decision has been reached on whether to bring civil charges, adding that new evidence still could emerge. Investigators are reviewing thousands of documents turned over to the SEC since it began its probe shortly after Lehman tumbled into bankruptcy in September 2008 and was sold off in pieces. Officials also have questioned a number of former Lehman executives, some of them multiple times, the people said.
But after zeroing in last summer on the battered real-estate portfolio and an accounting move known as Repo 105, SEC officials have grown more worried they could lose a court battle if they bring civil charges that allege Lehman investors were duped by company executives. The key stumbling block: The accounting move, while controversial, isn't necessarily illegal.
In a possible sign that the probe has slowed, the SEC hasn't issued a Wells notice to Lehman's longtime auditor, Ernst & Young, according to people familiar with the situation. The firm had concluded that the accounting in the Repo 105 transactions was acceptable. Wells notices are a formal signal that the SEC's enforcement staff has decided it might file civil charges against the recipient.
An SEC spokesman declined to comment. In a statement, Ernst & Young said the firm stands "behind our work on the Lehman audit and our opinion that Lehman's financial statements were fairly stated in accordance with the U.S. accounting standards that existed at the time."
The snags are the latest sign of trouble for the SEC and other U.S. regulators trying to punish companies and executives at the center of the financial crisis. So far, no high-profile executives have been successfully prosecuted. Last month, a federal criminal investigation of former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo was closed without charges.
The U.S. government lost the only crisis-related case to go to trial when former Bear Stearns Cos. hedge-fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin were acquitted in November 2009 of criminal charges related to the $1.6 billion collapse of their hedge funds.
If SEC officials decide not to take enforcement action against former Lehman executives, they likely would escape criminal prosecution, too. The Justice Department "tends to follow the SEC's lead in these complex financial cases, so reluctance to pursue civil charges generally means the federal agencies won't take a criminal case," said Elizabeth Nowicki, a former SEC lawyer who is an associate professor at Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment on Lehman. In a statement, she said the agency "will continue to root out financial fraud wherever it exists. When we find credible evidence of criminal conduct—by Wall Street financiers, lawyers, accountants or others—we will aggressively pursue justice. However, we can and will only bring charges when the facts and the law convince us that we can prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt."
A year ago, it looked as if the SEC and federal prosecutors had a road map to use against Lehman's former top executives. Last March, the Repo 105 transactions were condemned by court-appointed examiner Anton R. Valukas, who said in a report that they enabled Lehman to "paint a misleading picture of its financial condition."
In the transactions, Lehman swapped fixed-income assets for cash shortly before the securities firm reported quarterly results, promising to buy back the securities later. The cash was used to pay down the company's debts. Emails sent by executives at the company referred to Repo 105 as a "drug" and "basically window dressing."
Mr. Valukas concluded there were "colorable," or credible, legal claims against Ernst & Young, Mr. Fuld and former finance chiefs Ian Lowitt, Erin Callan and Christopher O'Meara.
All four former Lehman executives have been scrutinized by the SEC, according to people familiar with the matter. Their lawyers didn't respond to calls seeking comment. They previously have denied any wrongdoing related to Repo 105.
A December lawsuit against Ernst & Young by soon-to-depart New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo drew heavily on Mr. Valukas's findings. Mr. Cuomo, who became New York's governor in January, criticized the Repo 105 transactions as a "house-of-cards business model, designed to hide billions in liabilities in the years before Lehman collapsed."
Mr. Cuomo's successor, Eric Schneiderman, is "fully committed" to pursuing the case, a spokesman said. Ernst & Young has vowed to vigorously defend itself against accusations that the maneuver violated generally accepted accounting procedures.
In contrast, SEC officials generally have concluded that the transactions were consistent with accounting standards, according to people familiar with the situation.
And agency officials aren't convinced that Lehman shareholders suffered material harm, since executives were trading one type of highly liquid asset for another, these people said. They said the SEC would face a far lower bar if Lehman had converted illiquid or damaged assets, such as Archstone's real-estate holdings, into cash using Repo 105.
Mr. Fuld and other former executives could face charges of making misleading statements about the company's health before it sank. That likely would be an uphill battle for the government, according to people familiar with the matter, partly because the executives relied on legal and accounting opinions.
British law firm Linklaters LLP signed off on the Repo 105 transactions, all done through the securities firm's European arm. Linklaters declined to comment.
SEC investigators also have looked for evidence that Lehman overvalued positions held by Archstone, which it acquired in 2007. SEC officials aren't convinced, though, that they can build a strong enforcement action around such claims. In his report, Mr. Valukas wrote that he didn't find "sufficient evidence to support a colorable claim for breach of fiduciary duty in connection with any of Lehman's valuations."
It isn't clear what the Lehman executives have said to SEC officials during the probe. Last year, Mr. Fuld told lawmakers he had "absolutely no recollection whatsoever of hearing anything" about Repo 105 at the time of the transactions. Lehman's demise was caused by "uncontrollable market forces" and the U.S. government's unwillingness to rescue the firm, he said.
What Will You Do When the Lights Go Out?
When the power goes off leaving you with no TV, Internet, or email you have a lot of time on your hands. Thankfully there are batteries, so my trusty computer will still work for a few hours, and I can follow my fingers into my thoughts. Looking out my window I can’t see any lights in the neighborhood so at least I know it isn’t just our house that’s in the dark. In addition, there are cars running up and down the street, so I know at least it wasn’t the dreaded EMP blast. The wind was making a strange noise but stopped, so we have come out from under the table since there’s no indication of a tornado on the way. All these kinds of thoughts run through your mind when the lights go off. In other words, when you’re in the dark there’s little light.
This lack of power also brings to mind the recent spike in oil prices and the resulting sticker shock at the pump. Our government assures us there is no inflation. Anyone who goes to the supermarket or the gas station can gauge the validity of those claims for themselves. When the power goes off in the middle of the night it’s impossible to know why, but when America runs out of energy we should all know why.
Beginning in 1974 when the former anti-establishment protesters became the establishment and the Watergate Congress grasped the reins of power the United States has been systematically hamstrung in its production of energy. They founded the department of Energy in 1977, and through its enlightened management of our energy production and power needs the percentage of our energy needs coming from domestic sources has steadily fallen as our dependence on imported oil has soared.
America has some of the greatest proven reserves of oil in the world, but due to unproven and sometimes disproven environmental concerns we aren’t allowed to explore, drill, or pump at anywhere near full capacity. We have one of the world’s largest supply of coal, but for the same tenuous reasons its use is maligned and restricted. We are the preeminent designer and builder of nuclear power plants, but due to unsupported safety concerns we haven’t licensed or built a new plant for decades. We have the technology and the space to build refineries that don’t pollute; however, the all powerful environmental lobby has blocked the construction of a new one for over thirty years. So when the price hits $4 a gallon and the lights go out don’t sit in the dark and wonder why.
Right now the Obama Administration is fighting the federal courts that have said the moratorium on oil exploration in the Gulf, which was imposed by decree, is illegal. In a knee jerk reaction our President declared the gulf off limits for drilling, economically devastating the deep water oil business and the many industries and people it supported. The government argues it’s too dangerous to drill in deep water after the BP leak. No one contends it isn’t difficult but since the same government makes it almost impossible to drill on land where it is the safest or in shallow water where it is much less dangerous what alternative is there? Only the one each successive administration for decades seems to favor: buying oil from the Mideast. Our elected leaders are trading our energy independence and our treasure in exchange for letting someone else drill somewhere else.
Instead of oil and coal and nuclear we are told that America’s future energy needs will be met by ethanol, solar, and wind. Our massive use of ethanol, which is a very inefficient energy source, has driven up the price of corn worldwide causing food prices to escalate. This in turn has contributed to the current unrest which is driving up oil prices. The same environmentalists who campaign against oil, coal, and nuclear also work to block the construction of solar power plants in the vast deserts of the Southwest. The same politicians who work for the demise of our traditional forms of energy fight the construction of wind farms if they happen to be anywhere near them. All three of these boondoggles have received billions in federal dollars, tax breaks and incentives for decades and the answer to our energy needs are still blowing in the wind.
The only growth industry left by the government is the government. It is powered by its own inertia. America’s energy policy seems to be to manufacture an energy crisis. Typing away on my battery operated computer by the flickering light of an oil lamp, the vision of America’s energy future seems almost as dark as the scene outside my window in a blackout. We’ve allowed demagogues preaching a false gospel of man-made global warming chanting songs of pollution hysteria while serving sacraments of social guilt to give our enemies a chokehold on our energy artery. The next time you pull into a gas station as you pump your fuel look at the price. Remind yourself we have a Secretary of Energy who thinks the price should be at European levels and a President who has said energy prices will skyrocket under his programs. Now ask yourself, “If that’s their plan, what’s mine?”
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion for Southside Virginia Community College. He is the author of the History of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com View the trailer for Dr. Owens’ latest book @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ypkoS0gGn8 © 2011 Robert R. Owens dr.owens@comcast.net Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook.
This lack of power also brings to mind the recent spike in oil prices and the resulting sticker shock at the pump. Our government assures us there is no inflation. Anyone who goes to the supermarket or the gas station can gauge the validity of those claims for themselves. When the power goes off in the middle of the night it’s impossible to know why, but when America runs out of energy we should all know why.
Beginning in 1974 when the former anti-establishment protesters became the establishment and the Watergate Congress grasped the reins of power the United States has been systematically hamstrung in its production of energy. They founded the department of Energy in 1977, and through its enlightened management of our energy production and power needs the percentage of our energy needs coming from domestic sources has steadily fallen as our dependence on imported oil has soared.
America has some of the greatest proven reserves of oil in the world, but due to unproven and sometimes disproven environmental concerns we aren’t allowed to explore, drill, or pump at anywhere near full capacity. We have one of the world’s largest supply of coal, but for the same tenuous reasons its use is maligned and restricted. We are the preeminent designer and builder of nuclear power plants, but due to unsupported safety concerns we haven’t licensed or built a new plant for decades. We have the technology and the space to build refineries that don’t pollute; however, the all powerful environmental lobby has blocked the construction of a new one for over thirty years. So when the price hits $4 a gallon and the lights go out don’t sit in the dark and wonder why.
Right now the Obama Administration is fighting the federal courts that have said the moratorium on oil exploration in the Gulf, which was imposed by decree, is illegal. In a knee jerk reaction our President declared the gulf off limits for drilling, economically devastating the deep water oil business and the many industries and people it supported. The government argues it’s too dangerous to drill in deep water after the BP leak. No one contends it isn’t difficult but since the same government makes it almost impossible to drill on land where it is the safest or in shallow water where it is much less dangerous what alternative is there? Only the one each successive administration for decades seems to favor: buying oil from the Mideast. Our elected leaders are trading our energy independence and our treasure in exchange for letting someone else drill somewhere else.
Instead of oil and coal and nuclear we are told that America’s future energy needs will be met by ethanol, solar, and wind. Our massive use of ethanol, which is a very inefficient energy source, has driven up the price of corn worldwide causing food prices to escalate. This in turn has contributed to the current unrest which is driving up oil prices. The same environmentalists who campaign against oil, coal, and nuclear also work to block the construction of solar power plants in the vast deserts of the Southwest. The same politicians who work for the demise of our traditional forms of energy fight the construction of wind farms if they happen to be anywhere near them. All three of these boondoggles have received billions in federal dollars, tax breaks and incentives for decades and the answer to our energy needs are still blowing in the wind.
The only growth industry left by the government is the government. It is powered by its own inertia. America’s energy policy seems to be to manufacture an energy crisis. Typing away on my battery operated computer by the flickering light of an oil lamp, the vision of America’s energy future seems almost as dark as the scene outside my window in a blackout. We’ve allowed demagogues preaching a false gospel of man-made global warming chanting songs of pollution hysteria while serving sacraments of social guilt to give our enemies a chokehold on our energy artery. The next time you pull into a gas station as you pump your fuel look at the price. Remind yourself we have a Secretary of Energy who thinks the price should be at European levels and a President who has said energy prices will skyrocket under his programs. Now ask yourself, “If that’s their plan, what’s mine?”
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion for Southside Virginia Community College. He is the author of the History of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com View the trailer for Dr. Owens’ latest book @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ypkoS0gGn8 © 2011 Robert R. Owens dr.owens@comcast.net Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook.
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