Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
WRIT OF MANDAMUS
http://alanpetersroundup.blogspot.com/2010/07/writ-of-mandamus.html
Judge Bolton has no jurisdiction to hear Arizona case and Eric Holder no right to file in the District Court
Judge Bolton has no jurisdiction to hear Arizona case and Eric Holder no right to file in the District Court
WHO SAYS STIMULUS DOES NOT WORK? FOR SOME IT DOES!
You? How dare you ............ ??!!!
Some have said that the stimulus hasn't saved any jobs, or cost over $500,000 per job saved, (would have been cheaper to send out checks to "we the people" and job increases have been in GOVERNMENT jobs not the private sector, but here is a SUPREME case where at least one job was saved.
Take for instance Oregon State University Athletic Director Bob DeCarolis.
Now Mr. DeCarolis was considering firing their Basketball Coach.......
after an 8 -11 start (2-5) in the Pac 10 conference).
When word reached Washington , Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter
was dispatched to Corvallis with $17 million in stimulus money (from you and me, the taxpayers) for the university.
Thankfully, Craig Robinson's job is safe for another year
Now comes the interesting part of our story....
For those of you unfamiliar with Coach Robinson,
he just so happens to be the brother-in-law of none other than our country's beloved President,
NOW YOU'RE CATCHING ON......
that's right he is the brother of Michelle Obama!
But, hey, can't we all come to the conclusion that Coach Robinson's job security was all just a coincidence?
I'm sure of it! Aren't You?
Thanks NOBama!!!
Don’t you love it???
Some have said that the stimulus hasn't saved any jobs, or cost over $500,000 per job saved, (would have been cheaper to send out checks to "we the people" and job increases have been in GOVERNMENT jobs not the private sector, but here is a SUPREME case where at least one job was saved.
Take for instance Oregon State University Athletic Director Bob DeCarolis.
Now Mr. DeCarolis was considering firing their Basketball Coach.......
Craig Robinson
after an 8 -11 start (2-5) in the Pac 10 conference).
When word reached Washington , Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter
was dispatched to Corvallis with $17 million in stimulus money (from you and me, the taxpayers) for the university.
Thankfully, Craig Robinson's job is safe for another year
Now comes the interesting part of our story....
For those of you unfamiliar with Coach Robinson,
he just so happens to be the brother-in-law of none other than our country's beloved President,
NOW YOU'RE CATCHING ON......
that's right he is the brother of Michelle Obama!
But, hey, can't we all come to the conclusion that Coach Robinson's job security was all just a coincidence?
I'm sure of it! Aren't You?
Thanks NOBama!!!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
NORTH AMERICAN ARMS - Mini Beauty
In urban situations a self-defense, gun emergency normally takes place at a 15 to 25 foot distance, at the most, and usually more likely to be a very near or close contact confrontation, so defensive measures can be met with this small but highly lethal weapon just as well as a larger, heavier one.
As you know, AntiMullah does not accept any paid advertising but from time to time, when we come across something worth sharing, we do it "pro bono" (at no charge, pay nor profit).
Single Action (re-cock hammer after each trigger pull) MINI revolver
As with every NAA Mini-Revolver, the hammer need not rest on an empty chamber. Using the original half-way notch cylinder, the hammer may rest safely and securely without chance of accidental discharge with all FIVE ROUNDS loaded.
• Caliber: .22 Magnum
• Capacity: 5
• Material: 17-4 pH stainless steel
• Barrel Length: 1 1/8"
• Overall Length: 4 3/4" (to get an idea of how small it really is, it nests/hides comfortably in the curled palm of even a fairly small hand with fore and middle finger extended).
• Overall Height: 2 7/8"
• Width: 7/8"
• Weight: 5.9 oz. unloaded
Alan note: The .22 magnum ammunition penetrates and then most likely travels around inside the body instead of exiting, doing lots of damage. Even if full metal jacket rather than hollow points are used.
Most handgun calibers travel from around 950 feet per second (fps) for a .45 to around 1400 fps or so for mid-size calibers.
The .22 magnum is a very high speed bullet and travels at around 2,000 fps.
Two useful bullet styles have hollow points, one with a silicone plug to retain speed and accuracy and the other (TNT) is sometimes called a “surgeon’s nightmare” as it shrapnels on entry and causes such widespread collateral damage where it impacts that it’s very hard to repair the damage medically.
The very compact grip shown above can be easily replaced by a folding one (optional purchase, shown below) which retains the small overall profile but expands (folds and locks out and button releases back) for larger hands and an overall steadier grasp.
The either side belt clip on it serves as a built in left or right side holster.
Though not generally needed for most likely short range use, the laser sight (optional) helps out in hard to see/aim or longer range situations.
Remember, when using the laser sight in defending yourself do NOT try to over-steady it on the target. You are trying to save your life not achieve a tight group in target practise, so once the red dot appears somewhere around the target area - anywhere - in the center of the chest, for example, FIRE!
With this single action revolver, "double tapping" (firing two shots rapidly one after the other) the usual instruction for lasers on double action or semi-automatic weapons, may not be easy but can be practised. So if you can, once the red dot is roughly centered on the general target FIRE, then FIRE again!
BUT remember this. The target (a person or animal) can also see your laser and thus knows where you are, so it's not a concealed shot - day or night and, if it's a person, they can shoot back at your laser source even if you are camouflaged or hiding.
If your life is in danger and you are perhaps struggling with your attacker, specially a woman facing a much bigger stronger assailant, the easiest, most lethal action is to stick the revolver into his armpit and pull the trigger.
Most probably you will never need a second shot.
The armpit is a major nerve nexus where even a well placed blow or kick can disable an opponent let alone what a tearing, twisting bullet would do .
Somewhat like disabling your opponent in a martial arts style by a full strength clenched fist blow to the BLADDER (more effective than the testicles). If you have ever been in a fight and slammed the stiffened upper edge of your hand into the testicles of your aggressor, you may have been surprised how long a worked up or high on drugs attacker can fight on before he feels the pain and stops. This can be several minutes, by which time you may have been fatally wounded/damaged.
Strong blows to the bladder area (of male or female) are almost instantly debilitating and more certain to stop a fight then and there.
As you know, AntiMullah does not accept any paid advertising but from time to time, when we come across something worth sharing, we do it "pro bono" (at no charge, pay nor profit).
Single Action (re-cock hammer after each trigger pull) MINI revolver
This .22 Magnum MINI-Revolver is the ultimate in up front, personal, close-in protection. It's small, easy to conceal and safe to carry.
Whether you carry it for hiking and camping, or for self-defense, this gun delivers when you need it most.
As with every NAA Mini-Revolver, the hammer need not rest on an empty chamber. Using the original half-way notch cylinder, the hammer may rest safely and securely without chance of accidental discharge with all FIVE ROUNDS loaded.
• Caliber: .22 Magnum
• Capacity: 5
• Material: 17-4 pH stainless steel
• Barrel Length: 1 1/8"
• Overall Length: 4 3/4" (to get an idea of how small it really is, it nests/hides comfortably in the curled palm of even a fairly small hand with fore and middle finger extended).
• Overall Height: 2 7/8"
• Width: 7/8"
• Weight: 5.9 oz. unloaded
This .22 Magnum can be used with all popular .22 Magnum ammunition, including .22 Magnum shot shells (called Snake Shot by some manufacturers as it can splatter the head of a reptile and needs less accurate aiming ).
Most handgun calibers travel from around 950 feet per second (fps) for a .45 to around 1400 fps or so for mid-size calibers.
The .22 magnum is a very high speed bullet and travels at around 2,000 fps.
Two useful bullet styles have hollow points, one with a silicone plug to retain speed and accuracy and the other (TNT) is sometimes called a “surgeon’s nightmare” as it shrapnels on entry and causes such widespread collateral damage where it impacts that it’s very hard to repair the damage medically.
The very compact grip shown above can be easily replaced by a folding one (optional purchase, shown below) which retains the small overall profile but expands (folds and locks out and button releases back) for larger hands and an overall steadier grasp.
The either side belt clip on it serves as a built in left or right side holster.
Though not generally needed for most likely short range use, the laser sight (optional) helps out in hard to see/aim or longer range situations.
Remember, when using the laser sight in defending yourself do NOT try to over-steady it on the target. You are trying to save your life not achieve a tight group in target practise, so once the red dot appears somewhere around the target area - anywhere - in the center of the chest, for example, FIRE!
With this single action revolver, "double tapping" (firing two shots rapidly one after the other) the usual instruction for lasers on double action or semi-automatic weapons, may not be easy but can be practised. So if you can, once the red dot is roughly centered on the general target FIRE, then FIRE again!
BUT remember this. The target (a person or animal) can also see your laser and thus knows where you are, so it's not a concealed shot - day or night and, if it's a person, they can shoot back at your laser source even if you are camouflaged or hiding.
If your life is in danger and you are perhaps struggling with your attacker, specially a woman facing a much bigger stronger assailant, the easiest, most lethal action is to stick the revolver into his armpit and pull the trigger.
Most probably you will never need a second shot.
The armpit is a major nerve nexus where even a well placed blow or kick can disable an opponent let alone what a tearing, twisting bullet would do .
Somewhat like disabling your opponent in a martial arts style by a full strength clenched fist blow to the BLADDER (more effective than the testicles). If you have ever been in a fight and slammed the stiffened upper edge of your hand into the testicles of your aggressor, you may have been surprised how long a worked up or high on drugs attacker can fight on before he feels the pain and stops. This can be several minutes, by which time you may have been fatally wounded/damaged.
Strong blows to the bladder area (of male or female) are almost instantly debilitating and more certain to stop a fight then and there.
Compact Laser Sight
BEWARE! DO NOT MESS WITH A KNIFE WIELDER
A skilled martial artist can cross some 18 feet separating you from him/her in UNDER ONE SECOND. Often faster than you can react to pull the trigger. A Hispanic street kid, knife user, can often also be very rapid and get to you before you can shoot.
The following pictures show real life results of a law enforcement officer under-estimating someone with a sharp blade (knife, box cutter or similar) because he had a gun.
"Bringing a gun to a knife fight" does not always work out well for the gun carrier.
BACK SLASHES
RIB CAGE
UPPER CHEST
This officer learned the hard way. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security because you have any kind of gun. The legal and moral decision to shoot an attacker, even pre-emptively and at what distance is YOURS and each situation is different so nobody can advise you and WE ARE NOT offering any advice, guidance or suggestions. We report YOU decide.
Also note: Bullet proof vests, unless body armor type, are usually NOT knife or ice pick proof and low calibers like a .22 magnum can sometimes penetrate some brands - but not in the area of a ceramic plate insert.
Be careful out there, be well, be happy, survive and thrive.
RETAIL PRICE AROUND $250
The new Southern California store below reputedly has Best Prices on Guns and Sporting Goods:
Contact:
FIELD TIME SPORTS and GUNS
Tel: (714) 891-3131 Fax (714) 891-8788
14542 Beach Blvd.
Westminster, California 92683 USA
FACTORY
North American Arms (Utah, USA): http://www.northamericanarms.com/ Tel: (800) 821-5783
Or check with your local gun store.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
HOUSE IN TEHRAN, ISLAMIC IRAN
A view into a rich neighborhood Tehran house - high ranking officials' wives relax while their husbands persecute the populace.
Most recently an order has been issued to ARREST any woman seen with a suntanned face! Hard not to get one in very hot sunny Tehran but in effect an effort to insist on women covering up their faces and trying to put them into burkhas!
Only eyes would be seen and thus they might avoid arrest as their faces could not be seen in accordance with the strictest of Islamic sharia laws.
Supreme Ruler Ali Khamenei has now issued a "fatwa" (edict) that he is the (self-declared) personification in our times of the Prophet on earth and also of the 12th Imam, so he speaks for Allah and his words MUST BE OBEYED blindly.
(Makes Oba-Hussein declaring himself the messiah of "hope and change" a bit lukewarm but follows the same concept of demanding obedience).
Most recently an order has been issued to ARREST any woman seen with a suntanned face! Hard not to get one in very hot sunny Tehran but in effect an effort to insist on women covering up their faces and trying to put them into burkhas!
Only eyes would be seen and thus they might avoid arrest as their faces could not be seen in accordance with the strictest of Islamic sharia laws.
Supreme Ruler Ali Khamenei has now issued a "fatwa" (edict) that he is the (self-declared) personification in our times of the Prophet on earth and also of the 12th Imam, so he speaks for Allah and his words MUST BE OBEYED blindly.
(Makes Oba-Hussein declaring himself the messiah of "hope and change" a bit lukewarm but follows the same concept of demanding obedience).
Ayatollah Khomeini (left) Oba-Hussein-Abdullah-Khomeini (right)
The SUNBATHING "ISLAMIC" House
OBAMA'S "TAGHIYEH" (permitted lying to protect/promote Islam) ON ISRAEL
The new, improved Obama-
Just when you thought he was shifting gears he pulls out a zinger.
By CAROLINE GLICK
You have to hand it to US President Barack Obama. He is relentless. Just when you thought he was shifting gears – easing up on Israel and turning his attention to Iran’s nuclear weapons program – he pulls out a zinger.
His recent courtship of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu led some Israelis and supporters of Israel in the US to believe the administration had seen the light. After 18 months, we were told Obama finally realized that contrary to what he had thought, Palestinian statehood is not the most urgent issue in the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear weapons program is.
In the past week alone, two prominent commentators – Aluf Benn from Haaretz and Ehud Ya’ari from Channel 2 both wrote articles claiming that Obama’s Middle East policy has undergone a transformation. As Benn put it, “President Barack Obama’s campaign of wooing Israel reflects a fundamental about-face in US policy in the Middle East.”
And in Ya’ari’s words in an article in the Australian, “The foreign policy team of US President Barack Obama is undertaking a reassessment of its policy all over the Middle East, including Israel.”
Both claimed the administration has resolved to cooperate with Israel as an ally rather than attack it as an obstacle to peace, and that Washington has recognized that Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The basic notion informing both of these nearly identical articles is that the Obama administration’s foreign policy is fundamentally pragmatic rather than ideologically motivated. Both Ya’ari and Benn, like many of their fellow commentators on the Left, argue that Obama’s decision to invite Netanyahu to Washington and treat him like an ally rather than an enemy is proof that when stripped to its essentials, his foreign policy is pragmatic.
After a year and half in office, Obama recognized that his previous view of the Middle East was wrong. And as a pragmatist, he has embarked on a new course.
Yet before the ink on their proclamations had a chance to dry, Obama demonstrated that their enthusiasm was misplaced. Late last week the administration decided – apropos of nothing – to upgrade the diplomatic status of the PLO mission in Washington.
From now on, the PLO will be allowed to fly its flag like a regular embassy.
Its representatives will enjoy diplomatic immunity just like diplomats from states.
Indeed the PLO delegate in Washington Maen Areikat claimed that the administration’s move equates the PLO’s diplomatic status in the US to that of Canada and states in Western Europe.
Some in the media have claimed that this is a symbolic act and essentially meaningless.
But this is not true. While this step does not constitute US recognition of a Palestinian state in the absence of a peace treaty between the Palestinians and Israel, it certainly sends a clear signal that this is the direction the US is heading. As such, it represents a dangerous step that will encourage continued Arab hostility.
TO PUT this move in perspective, it is worth comparing the PLO’s new status to that of the US’s firm ally and fellow democracy – Taiwan, the Republic of China. Whereas the PLO now has a “delegation general” in Washington, Taiwan has the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.”
When asked to comment on the move, White House spokesman Thomas Vietor said, “This decision reflects our confidence that through direct negotiations, we can help achieve a two-state solution with an independent and viable Palestine living side by side with Israel. We should begin preparing for that outcome now, as we continue to work with the Palestinian people on behalf of a better future.”
Like the decision itself, Vietor’s explanation signals that the Obama administration has not embraced pragmatism over ideology. Vietor could never have made his statement if it had.
Any pragmatic analysis of the situation leads to the clear conclusion that there is little chance of the Palestinians agreeing to a settlement anytime soon. Just this past week Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas escalated still further his already unacceptable preconditions for direct negotiations.
Now in addition to his absurd demand that Israel agree ahead of time to withdraw to the indefensible 1949 armistice lines, Abbas is demanding that it also agree to withdraw all of its forces to those lines and accept the deployment of foreign forces along its borders with the Palestinian state.
These are demands that no government in its right mind would accept in direct negotiations, let alone as a precondition for them.
And any pragmatic US administration upon hearing these demands would recognize that there is no chance that the Palestinians will agree to any reasonable offer of a peace treaty in the foreseeable future.
Indeed, for any pragmatic US administration, the message to send at this time is that statehood can be achieved only by getting serious about negotiations. That means clarifying that statehood is not inevitable but, rather a potential result of Abbas deciding to abandon his preconditions and get serious about talks.
In line with this, if the US intends to recognize a Palestinian state formed in the framework of a negotiated peace settlement, then it is utterly ridiculous, in the face of Abbas’ latest pronouncements, for it to upgrade the Palestinians’ diplomatic status. The move makes sense only if the US is secretly preparing to help the Palestinians avoid negotiations and obtain a state that is not established in the framework of a peace treaty.
But then, an administration that is willing to recognize a Palestinian state outside the framework of a peace agreement is an administration that is motivated by ideology and not by pragmatism. Moreover, it is motivated by an ideology that is fundamentally opposed to a strong democratic Israel.
This is the case because there is no Palestinian leader – not the US favorites Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad and not their competitors in Hamas – who accepts the legitimacy of the Jewish state. And so any state formed outside the framework of a peace treaty will be in a de facto state of war with Israel. Indeed, its legitimacy with the Palestinian people and other Arabs will be defined by its commitment to the eventual destruction of the Jewish state. And now, by upgrading the PLO’s mission, the Obama administration is actively encouraging just such an outcome.
OBAMA’S DECISION shows that he has not allowed reality to interfere with his perception of the absence of a Palestinian state as the most urgent problem he faces in the Middle East. He has adopted other measures that indicate that he remains fundamentally unconcerned about the threat that Iran poses to both US national security and to regional security in the Middle East.
That threat has been spelled out clearly in recent weeks by top US officials. Last week the outgoing US commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, told reporters that Iran fields three Shi’ite militias in Iraq whose forces are attempting to attack US troops as they withdraw from the country. Iran’s goal is to present the image that the US is withdrawing in defeat.
As for Afghanistan, last March the Sunday Times reported that Iran is training Taliban fighters at camps inside Iran. Last Wednesday the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps threatened that US commander Gen. David Petraeus will be overwhelmed by terror in Afghanistan.
Brig.-Gen. Massoud Jazayeri told the Iranian media, “The presence of Petraeus in Afghanistan will increase terrorism and seal the expansion of American failures.
The US government has no chance of success as the igniting flames which will engulf America in Afghanistan are already visible.”
Then there is Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
As CIA Director Leon Panetta said last month, sanctions on Iran will “probably not” deter the regime from moving forward.
This understanding would be sufficient to convince a pragmatic administration that force must be used to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. A pragmatic administration, after all, could be expected to understand what a nuclear armed Iran would mean for the US’s strategic interests in the region.
If Iran becomes a nuclear power it will be able to wreak havoc on oil shipments from the Persian Gulf. So too, it will make it all but impossible for the US to safely project is military force in the region. The current threat that Iranian proxies will force US troops to flee Iraq and Afghanistan will likely be realized.
Furthermore, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar can be expected to expel US forces from their territory as the regimes cut deals with the new regional nuclear power.
Obama recently ended his public support for appeasing Iran and seemed to adopt a more confrontational approach as he moved to pass a new round of sanctions at the UN Security Council and when he signed congressional sanctions. But rhetoric aside, as Michael Ledeen reported at Pajamas Media Web site last week, his appeasement policy remains in force.
Since 1979 the Swiss Embassy in Teheran has represented US interests. According to Ledeen, last week the Swiss ambassador submitted a request from US congressmen to meet with their Iranian counterparts. The Iranians rejected their request out of hand.
What this means is that the Obama administration – now working through congressional proxies – is still trying to cut a deal with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei.
All of this makes clear the sort of leader Obama is. He is a pragmatic politician and a radical ideologue all rolled into one. The pragmatic politician understands that going into the congressional elections in November, he has to convince the US public that he is a reliable ally for Israel and that he is credible on Iran. So he invited Netanyahu to Washington for a public hug and he made angry declarations about Iran’s nuclear program.
As an ideologue though, even in the midst of his charm offensive he couldn’t resist the urge to attack the Jewish state, so he signaled that he will recognize a Palestinian state that does not recognize it. And as an ideologue, he can’t stop begging the Iranians to love him.
The desire of commentators like Benn and Ya’ari to believe that the US government is behaving rationally is understandable.
But their wish is unsupported by facts. We can only hope that Netanyahu has not been similarly fooled.
Just when you thought he was shifting gears he pulls out a zinger.
By CAROLINE GLICK
You have to hand it to US President Barack Obama. He is relentless. Just when you thought he was shifting gears – easing up on Israel and turning his attention to Iran’s nuclear weapons program – he pulls out a zinger.
His recent courtship of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu led some Israelis and supporters of Israel in the US to believe the administration had seen the light. After 18 months, we were told Obama finally realized that contrary to what he had thought, Palestinian statehood is not the most urgent issue in the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear weapons program is.
In the past week alone, two prominent commentators – Aluf Benn from Haaretz and Ehud Ya’ari from Channel 2 both wrote articles claiming that Obama’s Middle East policy has undergone a transformation. As Benn put it, “President Barack Obama’s campaign of wooing Israel reflects a fundamental about-face in US policy in the Middle East.”
And in Ya’ari’s words in an article in the Australian, “The foreign policy team of US President Barack Obama is undertaking a reassessment of its policy all over the Middle East, including Israel.”
Both claimed the administration has resolved to cooperate with Israel as an ally rather than attack it as an obstacle to peace, and that Washington has recognized that Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The basic notion informing both of these nearly identical articles is that the Obama administration’s foreign policy is fundamentally pragmatic rather than ideologically motivated. Both Ya’ari and Benn, like many of their fellow commentators on the Left, argue that Obama’s decision to invite Netanyahu to Washington and treat him like an ally rather than an enemy is proof that when stripped to its essentials, his foreign policy is pragmatic.
After a year and half in office, Obama recognized that his previous view of the Middle East was wrong. And as a pragmatist, he has embarked on a new course.
Yet before the ink on their proclamations had a chance to dry, Obama demonstrated that their enthusiasm was misplaced. Late last week the administration decided – apropos of nothing – to upgrade the diplomatic status of the PLO mission in Washington.
From now on, the PLO will be allowed to fly its flag like a regular embassy.
Its representatives will enjoy diplomatic immunity just like diplomats from states.
Indeed the PLO delegate in Washington Maen Areikat claimed that the administration’s move equates the PLO’s diplomatic status in the US to that of Canada and states in Western Europe.
Some in the media have claimed that this is a symbolic act and essentially meaningless.
But this is not true. While this step does not constitute US recognition of a Palestinian state in the absence of a peace treaty between the Palestinians and Israel, it certainly sends a clear signal that this is the direction the US is heading. As such, it represents a dangerous step that will encourage continued Arab hostility.
TO PUT this move in perspective, it is worth comparing the PLO’s new status to that of the US’s firm ally and fellow democracy – Taiwan, the Republic of China. Whereas the PLO now has a “delegation general” in Washington, Taiwan has the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.”
When asked to comment on the move, White House spokesman Thomas Vietor said, “This decision reflects our confidence that through direct negotiations, we can help achieve a two-state solution with an independent and viable Palestine living side by side with Israel. We should begin preparing for that outcome now, as we continue to work with the Palestinian people on behalf of a better future.”
Like the decision itself, Vietor’s explanation signals that the Obama administration has not embraced pragmatism over ideology. Vietor could never have made his statement if it had.
Any pragmatic analysis of the situation leads to the clear conclusion that there is little chance of the Palestinians agreeing to a settlement anytime soon. Just this past week Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas escalated still further his already unacceptable preconditions for direct negotiations.
Now in addition to his absurd demand that Israel agree ahead of time to withdraw to the indefensible 1949 armistice lines, Abbas is demanding that it also agree to withdraw all of its forces to those lines and accept the deployment of foreign forces along its borders with the Palestinian state.
These are demands that no government in its right mind would accept in direct negotiations, let alone as a precondition for them.
And any pragmatic US administration upon hearing these demands would recognize that there is no chance that the Palestinians will agree to any reasonable offer of a peace treaty in the foreseeable future.
Indeed, for any pragmatic US administration, the message to send at this time is that statehood can be achieved only by getting serious about negotiations. That means clarifying that statehood is not inevitable but, rather a potential result of Abbas deciding to abandon his preconditions and get serious about talks.
In line with this, if the US intends to recognize a Palestinian state formed in the framework of a negotiated peace settlement, then it is utterly ridiculous, in the face of Abbas’ latest pronouncements, for it to upgrade the Palestinians’ diplomatic status. The move makes sense only if the US is secretly preparing to help the Palestinians avoid negotiations and obtain a state that is not established in the framework of a peace treaty.
But then, an administration that is willing to recognize a Palestinian state outside the framework of a peace agreement is an administration that is motivated by ideology and not by pragmatism. Moreover, it is motivated by an ideology that is fundamentally opposed to a strong democratic Israel.
This is the case because there is no Palestinian leader – not the US favorites Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad and not their competitors in Hamas – who accepts the legitimacy of the Jewish state. And so any state formed outside the framework of a peace treaty will be in a de facto state of war with Israel. Indeed, its legitimacy with the Palestinian people and other Arabs will be defined by its commitment to the eventual destruction of the Jewish state. And now, by upgrading the PLO’s mission, the Obama administration is actively encouraging just such an outcome.
OBAMA’S DECISION shows that he has not allowed reality to interfere with his perception of the absence of a Palestinian state as the most urgent problem he faces in the Middle East. He has adopted other measures that indicate that he remains fundamentally unconcerned about the threat that Iran poses to both US national security and to regional security in the Middle East.
That threat has been spelled out clearly in recent weeks by top US officials. Last week the outgoing US commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, told reporters that Iran fields three Shi’ite militias in Iraq whose forces are attempting to attack US troops as they withdraw from the country. Iran’s goal is to present the image that the US is withdrawing in defeat.
As for Afghanistan, last March the Sunday Times reported that Iran is training Taliban fighters at camps inside Iran. Last Wednesday the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps threatened that US commander Gen. David Petraeus will be overwhelmed by terror in Afghanistan.
Brig.-Gen. Massoud Jazayeri told the Iranian media, “The presence of Petraeus in Afghanistan will increase terrorism and seal the expansion of American failures.
The US government has no chance of success as the igniting flames which will engulf America in Afghanistan are already visible.”
Then there is Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
As CIA Director Leon Panetta said last month, sanctions on Iran will “probably not” deter the regime from moving forward.
This understanding would be sufficient to convince a pragmatic administration that force must be used to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. A pragmatic administration, after all, could be expected to understand what a nuclear armed Iran would mean for the US’s strategic interests in the region.
If Iran becomes a nuclear power it will be able to wreak havoc on oil shipments from the Persian Gulf. So too, it will make it all but impossible for the US to safely project is military force in the region. The current threat that Iranian proxies will force US troops to flee Iraq and Afghanistan will likely be realized.
Furthermore, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar can be expected to expel US forces from their territory as the regimes cut deals with the new regional nuclear power.
Obama recently ended his public support for appeasing Iran and seemed to adopt a more confrontational approach as he moved to pass a new round of sanctions at the UN Security Council and when he signed congressional sanctions. But rhetoric aside, as Michael Ledeen reported at Pajamas Media Web site last week, his appeasement policy remains in force.
Since 1979 the Swiss Embassy in Teheran has represented US interests. According to Ledeen, last week the Swiss ambassador submitted a request from US congressmen to meet with their Iranian counterparts. The Iranians rejected their request out of hand.
What this means is that the Obama administration – now working through congressional proxies – is still trying to cut a deal with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei.
All of this makes clear the sort of leader Obama is. He is a pragmatic politician and a radical ideologue all rolled into one. The pragmatic politician understands that going into the congressional elections in November, he has to convince the US public that he is a reliable ally for Israel and that he is credible on Iran. So he invited Netanyahu to Washington for a public hug and he made angry declarations about Iran’s nuclear program.
As an ideologue though, even in the midst of his charm offensive he couldn’t resist the urge to attack the Jewish state, so he signaled that he will recognize a Palestinian state that does not recognize it. And as an ideologue, he can’t stop begging the Iranians to love him.
The desire of commentators like Benn and Ya’ari to believe that the US government is behaving rationally is understandable.
But their wish is unsupported by facts. We can only hope that Netanyahu has not been similarly fooled.
DEPICTED STONING IN BRUSSELS
In a support protest of the temporarily "suspended" stoning execution of Sakineh by the Islamic regime in Iran implementing their medieval so-called Islamic "religion" (somewhat like an even more brutal implementation of Biblical Old Testament customs) this scene was set up to depict reality.
In trying to do this, they made a mistake. The rocks shown are far too large and potentially individually lethal!
The rules of stoning demand that rocks should be big enough to inflict pain but NOT to kill. Death comes eventually by repeated impacts on the victim's head weakening the skull and finally creating a set of mortal brain injuries.
WAKE UP AMERICA! This is part of the Islamic MEDIEVAL "religious" sharia law you are allowing into our country under the guise of tolerance of religion, while it is, as many experts (and a Tennessee candidate for office) are saying, "an ism" like fascism. communism and not a religion but a complete system of social life including a political and militant and even military aspect that makes it an "ism" rather than a worship of a deity.
Part of this "religion" is to defeat and subjugate all non-Moslems worldwide. And if takes killing MOSLEMS to achieve this, so be it.
They are infiltrating us using "taghiyeh" (permitted lying to protect or promote Islam) and our own emotional weakeness to confront what pretends to be a religion and not to offend it. Like trying NOT to use surgery to confront cancer.
There are a myriads Moslems, living in the West, who are NOT involved with the Moslem extreme fundementalist and live their lives in an integrated fashion, to the extent of not even practising their Moslem religion of birth. They are allowed to do so by an exemption in sharia which says that if they have to avoid open practise of Islam because of where they are located, they are free to do so.
Yet they are also constantly vulnerable to physical and emotional attack by fundementalists for not adhering to sharia laws.
There are 12 women on death row in Islamic Iran facing execution by stoning and Sakineh, who has a temporary reprieve because of the international outcry, now faces hanging to remove this thorn in their side.
So being hanged for ALLEGED adultery (religious courts in Iran are kangaroo court charades, specially with women defendants) is part of the Iranian regime Obama is so intent on supporting while they slaughter their populace.
Many wonder if he "ignorantly" misunderstands what he is doing to destroy the USA and much of the global economy or is gleefully and successfully doing it on purpose, in support of his Moslem beliefs and to repay those who put him in office like George Soros, Islamic Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Increasingly, opinions appear to think he is simply in for the ride in the White House, enjoying the feel of power, the perks of holding a series of parties with top tier entertainers and sports figures every week, a string of "family vacations" or date nights that cost taxpayers for his pleasure jaunts, where his DOG flies in a separate aircraft to join him and he plays golf instead of dealing with various crises!
His abuse of office by using Executive Orders to by-pass the Constitution and Congress may soon appear with his Executive Order to legalize some 12 million illegal immigrants inside the USA using a rule intended for special INDIVIDUAL hardships cases.
With 75% of Americans AGAINST an Amnesty program of any kind before we close our borders and an average 60% AGAINST his several policies like HealthCare and other Bills he forced down our throats through his ONE PARTY Congress and Senate majority, this could be a final straw that would bring such a reaction from the populace, that it would spill out and flow into our streets in mass protest.
In trying to do this, they made a mistake. The rocks shown are far too large and potentially individually lethal!
The rules of stoning demand that rocks should be big enough to inflict pain but NOT to kill. Death comes eventually by repeated impacts on the victim's head weakening the skull and finally creating a set of mortal brain injuries.
WAKE UP AMERICA! This is part of the Islamic MEDIEVAL "religious" sharia law you are allowing into our country under the guise of tolerance of religion, while it is, as many experts (and a Tennessee candidate for office) are saying, "an ism" like fascism. communism and not a religion but a complete system of social life including a political and militant and even military aspect that makes it an "ism" rather than a worship of a deity.
Part of this "religion" is to defeat and subjugate all non-Moslems worldwide. And if takes killing MOSLEMS to achieve this, so be it.
They are infiltrating us using "taghiyeh" (permitted lying to protect or promote Islam) and our own emotional weakeness to confront what pretends to be a religion and not to offend it. Like trying NOT to use surgery to confront cancer.
There are a myriads Moslems, living in the West, who are NOT involved with the Moslem extreme fundementalist and live their lives in an integrated fashion, to the extent of not even practising their Moslem religion of birth. They are allowed to do so by an exemption in sharia which says that if they have to avoid open practise of Islam because of where they are located, they are free to do so.
Yet they are also constantly vulnerable to physical and emotional attack by fundementalists for not adhering to sharia laws.
There are 12 women on death row in Islamic Iran facing execution by stoning and Sakineh, who has a temporary reprieve because of the international outcry, now faces hanging to remove this thorn in their side.
So being hanged for ALLEGED adultery (religious courts in Iran are kangaroo court charades, specially with women defendants) is part of the Iranian regime Obama is so intent on supporting while they slaughter their populace.
Many wonder if he "ignorantly" misunderstands what he is doing to destroy the USA and much of the global economy or is gleefully and successfully doing it on purpose, in support of his Moslem beliefs and to repay those who put him in office like George Soros, Islamic Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Increasingly, opinions appear to think he is simply in for the ride in the White House, enjoying the feel of power, the perks of holding a series of parties with top tier entertainers and sports figures every week, a string of "family vacations" or date nights that cost taxpayers for his pleasure jaunts, where his DOG flies in a separate aircraft to join him and he plays golf instead of dealing with various crises!
His abuse of office by using Executive Orders to by-pass the Constitution and Congress may soon appear with his Executive Order to legalize some 12 million illegal immigrants inside the USA using a rule intended for special INDIVIDUAL hardships cases.
With 75% of Americans AGAINST an Amnesty program of any kind before we close our borders and an average 60% AGAINST his several policies like HealthCare and other Bills he forced down our throats through his ONE PARTY Congress and Senate majority, this could be a final straw that would bring such a reaction from the populace, that it would spill out and flow into our streets in mass protest.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
FROM IRAN
REZA SHAH KABIR
(Grandfather)
Phone reports from Iran indicate the people are now in a deeper crisis mode than ever as shortages hit and fuel for vehicles becmes harder to find and food items are either no longer easily available or cost so much they are way beyond most family income or budgets.
Rumors abound that president Ahmadi-Nejad will be removed from office but in reality the most likely action will be that General Jaffari, commander of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, which is the core influence/power in Iran right now, will implement a coup and take over running the country.
Other reports indicate that INSIDE Iran there is a new surge of support for HIH Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (already called Reza Shah II by many of his supporters) though there is a huge ambivalence about restoring a monarchy in the Iranian populace.
There may be some support for him emerging from a formerly hostile but now confused Obama administration.
Reza Shah Kabir, a highly lntelligent military officer with incredible loyalty from his Cossack troops and founder of the Pahlavi Dynasty is credited, even by enemies, as the person who put Iran back together into a centrally governed country instead of a hodgepot tribal leader controlled patchwork with only lip service to the central Qajar government, where the 16-year old Shah lived mostly in France and the country was mostly influenced in the north by the Soviets and in the south by the British.
Word coming out of Iran is that foreign companies are being hit by the sanctions, causing them to lay off workers, adding to the unemployment numbers.
People are suffering more which is unifying the call for the end of the regime
REVIEW OF THE REVOLUTION
The Coming End Of Islamic Fascism In Iran
Reza Kahlili
Crucial signs that freedom is not only possible but imminent.
Alan Note: Reza KAhlili which appears to be an (intentional?) transposition of the "a' and "h" of a more common name of Khalili, to protect anyone else of that fairly common Persian name, was a high level Revolutionary Guard officer.
Failing to save a friend and her daughter from a firing squad and seeing them being led to execution after a night of being gang raped and wishing for death, he realized the revolution did not bring trhe promised changes.
(Neither have Oba-Hussein's similar promises of "hope and change" for America. Just like Khomeini, his actions destroy our country and our people - without the bloodshed - which could well take place if ever his push comes to shove).
The final straw that broke his back was when he unknowingly accompanied a colleague to what proved to be the stoning of a young woman. Having maintained his cover as a CIA agent, he could not restrain himself at this horrible sight and burst out in a stream of criticism.
His colleague, who was a fervent supporter of the Islamic regime. accused him of being a traitor and he realized his goose was cooked until a group of locals. also horrified by the brutality of the stoning fired shots at the Revolutionary Guard vehicle, missing him as he drove off but killling his colleague. so his secret remained safe for a while.
He has written an excellent whistle-blower book in English called "A Time To Betray".
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 began with Ayatollah Khomeini promising Iranians full freedom and a government by the people and for the people. In his speeches leading up to the Revolution, the Ayatollah proclaimed that, "A nation that doesn't have freedom does not have civilization.
A civilized nation is one that is free." He also said that, "There should be freedom of the press and people should have the right to their opinion" and "In our government, clergy will not govern but help you with your spirituality. In our government, women will be free, and officials can be publicly criticized."
People, joyful of his positive messages, turned their backs on the Shah--who had brought them peace, respect, and luxury--in the hope of the political freedom that was nonexistent during the Shah.
Sadly, this joy quickly turned to horror. Instead of the freedom he'd promised, Khomeini snatched back the liberties women had begun to gain under the Shah, reducing them to second-class citizens without the right to inheritance, child custody and divorce.
Khomeini and his cohorts forced women to wear the Islamic hijab--whipping them if they didn't--and reverted to stoning woman for adultery. The Islamic regime claimed that anyone speaking against them was mohareb, an enemy of God.
Because the regime purported to be representatives of God on Earth, they ordered the execution of all opposition. Teenage girls were raped before their deaths because the regime felt this would prevent them from going to heaven. Boys were rounded up and hanged from cranes.
(Alan note: the regime's Supreme Ruler Ali Khamenei has SELF declared himself as the living "12th Imam on earth" and "stand-in of the Prophet in our times"!
However, his request to several of the most senior Ayatollahs in Iran to declare his bloodthirsty and rapist middle son Mojtabah as an ayatollah was soundly rejected by the clerics, who do not even accept Khamenei's own fraudulently acquired title of Grand Ayatollah).
Still, this was not enough. The regime insisted on exporting their religion to the world, expanding their terror network by helping establish Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, killing Americans and Israelis, destabilizing the Middle East and effectively destroying any chance for a negotiated settlement between Palestine and Israel. They fought a war with Iraq where more than half a million Iranians lost their lives and tens of thousands more were maimed before Khomeini bitterly accepted peace.
Things got progressively worse. In the late 1980s Khomeini issued a fatwa to kill all opposition in jails around Iran. A Death Commission carried out mock trials behind closed doors, interrogating prisoners about their associations, affiliations, and allegiances with a series of questions designed to elicit an answer that assured the death sentence.
The fatwa led to the execution of thousands of innocent men and women of all ages in a very short period. Another fatwa by hard-line clerics in the 1990s led to the murder of dozens of dissident intellectuals, journalists, poets, writers and political activists.
Hundreds of students were killed and hundreds more tortured in response to their attempts at generating an uprising. The nightmare continues to this day.
The Islamic regime has taken hundreds of thousands of lives while making a mockery of terms like compassion, love, mercy and justice.
However the revolution that the overwhelming majority of Iranians once embraced now faces resentment and disgust. The people want to be free from the tyrannical rule of the mullahs.
As remarkable as it might seem, there are signs that such freedom is not only possible but imminent. Today the divide within the regime's establishment is sharper than it has ever been. There is dissent in the Revolutionary Guards.
The very force that has kept this regime in place is now in disarray. Mohammed Jaffari, the chief commander, has replaced many of those who served him. Some others have been arrested, while others, having lost their sense of loyalty to the regime, have defected.
Meanwhile, the hard-liners are at each other's throats.
The Parliament, Ahmadinejad's government, the Guardian Council, the Assembly of Experts and the Supreme Leader's office are all in a struggle to stop the dissension within their forces that started after last year's fraudulent presidential elections.
Ayatollah Khamenei has lost all credibility, and the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic which they claimed for so many years is now completely lost.
(Alan note: as with early days of Khomeini, where Palestinians brought in by Arafaart manned the firing squads, a task which Persian prison guards refused to do, today Khamenei is also using imported Palestinian felons to torture and kill Iranians and offering the same bonus as Khomeini did - their choice of female or male prisoners to satisfy their lusts.
This pimping by the Supreme Ruler to try to maintain a loyal Suppression Force even includes allowing false arrests (with total immunity) of cute girls or women in the streets by the Basijis, who then brutally use them a as sex objects without fear of recriminations.
Some are released later with life long traumas while others disappear forever.
Oba-Hussein-Abdullah, our American usurper, is and has been buddies with this ilk, protecting them against the victim populace which perhaps fits right in with his own Chicago gangland thuggish mentality).
A CATCH UP ON EVENTS
WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW VISITORS RECENTLY COMING TO ANTIMULLAH and thanks to all the thousands of loyal readers who continue to visit and browse - some for over three hours - as there is a ton of "educational" material in the various sections of the site for those who are curious about why matters are the way they are.
Because we receive assignments that help us pay our expenses (we are NOT subsidized by anyone and pay our own way) there are sometimes gaps of a few days in what we post, though we try to get something new in every day.
Here is a "catch up" Courtesy Munz's Place
• The Art of the Ann Arbor City Budget [Mackinac Center]
• As U.S. suspends deep-water oil drilling, other nations move ahead
• 8 suspects killed in clash with Mexican soldiers - Yahoo! News
• Jobless Claims Increase - WSJ.com
• Playing politics with records requests - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com
• Newark Budget Cuts
• Vindicated for Removing Saddam
FrontPage Magazine
• Nation of Cowards? » Publications » Family Security Matters
• No Mosque at Ground Zero
• How Hillary Clinton Screwed Up The New Korean Conflict
• Biden calls Republicans 'wildly out of step' during N.C. fundraiser
McClatchy
• China may link yuan trade to currency basket Emerging Markets Report - MarketWatch
• BBC News - North Korea vows 'physical response' to US exercise
• North Korea Warns of Nuclear Response to Naval Exercises - Bloomberg
• Neo-Nazi Group Patrolling U.S. Border - CBS News Video
• Retirement will be risky for many Americans, study says
• Raising the Stakes in the New Black Panther Case - Hans A. von Spakovsky - The Corner on National Review Online
• Obamacare’s Hidden Gun Control
Pro-Gun New Hampshire
• Obamaca: Reshaping society through government control
• Hispanic Democrats want health care fix - Carrie Budoff Brown - POLITICO.com
• The Volokh Conspiracy » Obama Campaign Adviser Participated on JournoList
• Congress Spent $604,000 on Bottled Water, $397,000 on Catering
• ObamaClypse Now: Some Insurers End New Coverage For Kids
• Townhall - Robert Morrison - President Obama: Stilling the Waters
• TANCREDO: The case for impeachment - Washington Times
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:48 AM PDT
The Art of the Ann Arbor City Budget [Mackinac Center]: "The debate in Ann Arbor, where firefighters are being laid off due to a multimillion dollar budget deficit, is over an $850,000 piece of art.
That's how much the city has agreed to pay German artist Herbert Dreiseitl for a three-piece water sculpture that would go in front of the new police and courts building right by the City Hall.
The city has the money to do it because in 2007, it agreed to set aside for public art 1 percent of money that went into capital improvement projects that were $100,000 or larger. Most capital projects involve streets, sewers and water.
Ann Arbor City Council member Stephen Kunselman, a Democrat, opposed the art deal.
'I think it is incredibly insensitive,' Kunselman said. 'It is insensitive to the staff and their morale. It is insensitive to the community. There are people out there struggling financially, and here we are spending a large amount of money on a piece of art.'
Kunselman said the city is also eliminating the solid waste coordinator from the budget, which oversees trash pickup, and hiring an art coordinator.
See original work for more
As U.S. suspends deep-water oil drilling, other nations move ahead
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:48 AM PDT
As U.S. suspends deep-water oil drilling, other nations move ahead: "NY-ALESUND, NORWAY -- Few, if any, nations have paid as much attention to the safety of offshore drilling as Norway, which is surrounded by oil-rich seas.
In 40 years of offshore energy exploration, it has suffered just four spills -- none of the magnitude of the one in the Gulf of Mexico and none reaching the country's pristine tundra shores. Its government has made efforts to avoid the kinds of conflicts that have bedeviled the U.S. regulatory process by splitting off safety and environmental oversight duties from the Ministry of Petroleum Energy. A separate Climate and Pollution Agency weighs in on every decision about whether to open new areas to offshore drilling, and its inspectors examine rigs once they're operating.
Do you really wonder why we are dependent on foreign oil now??? ~~
8 suspects killed in clash with Mexican soldiers - Yahoo! News
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:47 AM PDT
8 suspects killed in clash with Mexican soldiers - Yahoo! News: "MEXICO CITY – Eight suspected drug gang gunmen died in a battle with Mexican soldiers in the remote mountains of northern Chihuahua state, the federal Public Safety Department said Thursday.
The department cited an internal army report saying the clash occurred near the rural town of Madera, about 145 miles (230 kilometers) south of the U.S. border.
The gunmen apparently opened fire on an army patrol, but the Defense Department did not offer any information on the attack or the identity of the attackers. The area is frequently used by gangs to produce and traffic drugs.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department added two companies owned by daughters of drug lord Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada to the list of sanctioned companies under the Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
In a press statement, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said the two women, Maria Teresa Zambada Niebla and Midiam Patricia Zambada Niebla, served as 'front persons' for their father's illicit transactions. The companies named to the list are Arte y Diseno de Culiacan SA de CV and Autotransportes JYM SA de CV.
See original work for more
Jobless Claims Increase - WSJ.com
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:46 AM PDT
Jobless Claims Increase - WSJ.com: "Sales of existing homes slid in June for a second consecutive month as the effects of a government tax credit program continued to wane.
Existing home sales fell by 5.1% to an annual rate of 5.37 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Meanwhile, inventories rose and prices remained fairly stable.
Separately, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week by more than expected, reversing declines posted the prior week and signaling there is still little improvement in job market conditions.
See original work for more
Playing politics with records requests - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:44 AM PDT
Playing politics with records requests - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com: "WASHINGTON — For at least a year, the Homeland Security Department detoured requests for federal records to senior political advisers for highly unusual scrutiny, probing for information about the requesters and delaying disclosures deemed too politically sensitive, according to nearly 1,000 pages of internal e-mails obtained by The Associated Press.
The department abandoned the practice after AP investigated. Inspectors from the department's Office of Inspector General quietly conducted interviews last week to determine whether political advisers acted improperly.
The Freedom of Information Act, the main tool forcing the government to be more open, is designed to be insulated from political considerations. Anyone who seeks information through the law is supposed to get it unless disclosure would hurt national security, violate personal privacy or expose confidential decision-making in certain areas.
But in July 2009, Homeland Security introduced a directive requiring a wide range of information to be vetted by political appointees for 'awareness purposes,' no matter who requested it.
See original work for more
Newark Budget Cuts
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:43 AM PDT
Newark Budget Cuts: "MYFOXNY.COM - Things are getting so bad in Newark that the mayor has ordered the government to stop buying toilet paper.
It's part of Newark Mayor Cory Booker's belt-tightening plans that include reducing most city workers to a 4-day work week and shuttering city pools. Booker estimates that the pool closures alone would save $250,000. He also says that no gas will be purchased for municipal vehicles that are not deemed critically important.
Police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers would not be affected by the furlough plan. City workers were already bracing for furloughs starting in August. The number of unpaid days would increase from 11 to 19 with Booker's plan.
The city budget shortfall is $70 million and Booker plans to meet the revenue shortfall with budget cuts instead of property tax increases.
'Taxes can not be the answer,' Booker said.
Booker says property taxes in Newark have gone up 76 percent in last decade and 19 percent in the past five years.
See original work for more
Vindicated for Removing Saddam | FrontPage Magazine
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:42 AM PDT
Vindicated for Removing Saddam | FrontPage Magazine:
President Bush's top political advisor, Karl Rove, said on July 15 that his biggest mistake was not fighting back against Democrats trying to score cheap political points by accusing the President of lying to get the country to support an invasion of Iraq. Rove is right, but another mistake was made: not trying to vindicate the removal of Saddam Hussein using evidence, including Iraqi government documents, that was obtained after the regime's overthrow. Compelling evidence exists to show that Saddam's regime was sponsoring terrorists (e.g., Al-Qaeda), had the ability to quickly produce weapons of mass destruction, and the will to use both against its enemies.
The Iraq Survey Group, the task force put together to find out what happened to Iraq’s WMD stockpiles, is often seen as the group that debunked the Bush Administration’s case for war. In reality, its conclusions did not significantly contradict the nature of the threat described by both President Bush and President Clinton. In fact, it demonstrated that the feared nexus between terrorists and those involved in WMD was coming together.
The Duelfer Report, the final assessment of the Iraq Survey Group, states that a former Iraqi intelligence officer testified that the M16 Directorate “had a plan to produce and weaponize nitrogen mustard in rifle grenades and a plan to bottle sarin and sulfur mustard in perfume sprayer and medicine bottles which they would ship to the United States and Europe. The plot was not launched because of an inability to get the ingredients for the weapons. This substantiates intelligence received in 1998 that prompted the British government to put its airports and seaports on alert because Iraqis were planning to smuggle anthrax into several countries including the United Kingdom inside bottles used for cosmetics, cigarette lighters, perfume sprays, and other apparently harmless items.
See original work for more
Nation of Cowards?» Publications » Family Security Matters
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:41 AM PDT
One of the most unfortunate results of the race card being played is the fact that the players seldom have to live with the messes they make. For purely political reasons, blacks and whites have been intentionally polarized, starting way back when David Axelrod led Deval Patrick to the governorship of Massachusetts and now with the troubled presidency of Barack Obama. The administration has long since deployed the now well-known liberal tactic: opposition is racism.
Behind closed doors, this White House must be laughing their asses off at how easily the liberal media and activists can be manipulated to save their agenda.
Nation Of Cowards: White Suckers
Starting with the winning campaign of Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick through the victorious campaign of President Barack Obama (both helmed by David Axelrod), the strategy was clear: create an atmosphere where whites who don’t vote for these men will be called one of the most damaging names in America today: racist.
See original work for more
No Mosque at Ground Zero
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:39 AM PDT
See original work for more
How Hillary Clinton Screwed Up The New Korean Conflict
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:36 AM PDT
How Hillary Clinton Screwed Up The New Korean Conflict: "North Korea probably sank a foreign warship, killing everyone aboard, and now after four months of diplomacy faces no punishment. South Korea and its American ally came away with nothing from their political momentum. And China claimed diplomatic victory.
How did we screw this one up? Blame the state department for butting heads with the one country that matters: China.
Peter Lee at Asia Times has more on the bungled gamesmanship:
If, as is presumably the case, North Korea engineered the outrage, it cleverly and effectively exposed a faulty assumption behind America's Korean policy: that, when push came to shove, China would give decisive weight to its booming economic relationship with South Korea and side with Seoul against Pyongyang.
The exact opposite occurred.
Rather than ask China for help, America asked everyone but China:
Beijing viewed the entire orchestrated Cheonan exercise - which included an 'international investigation' that pointedly excluded China, the subsequent elevation of the issue to the UN Security Council, a featured role for Lee at the recent Shangri-La defense ministers conference in Singapore, and coordinated expressions of outrage from America's allies - as an effort to embarrass, isolate and diminish China over the issue of its support for North Korea.
See original work for more
Biden calls Republicans 'wildly out of step' during N.C. fundraiser | McClatchy
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:34 AM PDT
Biden calls Republicans 'wildly out of step' during N.C. fundraiser | McClatchy: "CHAPEL HILL — Vice President Joe Biden told those attending a Democratic fundraiser Thursday that his party's midterm election prospects would brighten when voters realize the stark differences between the two parties.
Appearing at a high-dollar reception at the historic Carolina Inn, Biden said Democrats had a story to tell voters, a story of how they helped bring a badly wounded economy they inherited back from the cliff, helped clean up the abuses of Wall Street and extended health care insurance.
'Now that the heavy lifting is over, we can go out and make our case,' Biden said in a 35-minute speech.
The vice president said Republicans 'are wildly out of step' with popular opinion on a broad range of issues from holding oil companies responsible for cleaning up the spill in the Gulf, to supporting basic regulations that would prevent another meltdown on Wall Street, to extending unemployment insurance to those who lose their jobs.
This administration is certifiable if they think Republicans are out of step. Have they seen any poll numbers? ~~ The Munz
See original work for more
China may link yuan trade to currency basket Emerging Markets Report - MarketWatch
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:27 AM PDT
China may link yuan trade to currency basket Emerging Markets Report - MarketWatch: "LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A top Chinese central bank official suggested switching away from the U.S. dollar as a benchmark for the yuan's foreign-exchange rate, switching instead to a basket of currencies, according to remarks published Thursday.
Is Thailand a good place for investment?
Stock Exchange of Thailand President Charamporn Jotikasthira shares his views on the difficulties of selling Thailand as a destination for equity investment after recent political violence.
In comments posted to the People's Bank of China Web site, the central bank's Deputy Gov. Hu Xiaolian said using a basket of currencies from the nation's top trading partners would allow the Chinese yuan to better reflect trading fundamentals.
'Compared with pegging to a single currency, the exchange-rate regime with reference to a basket of currencies will help adjust exports and imports, current account, and balance of payment in a more effective manner,' she said.
China's central bank currently sets a 'central parity rate' against the U.S. dollar each day, with that day's trading range confined to 0.5% above or below that level.
See original work for more
BBC News - North Korea vows 'physical response' to US exercise
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:26 AM PDT
BBC News - North Korea vows 'physical response' to US exercise: "North Korea has promised a 'physical response' to joint US-South Korean military exercises this weekend.
The comments came as Asian foreign ministers met in Vietnam for a regional security forum.
The forum has been dominated by the crisis resulting from North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
The US has accused Pyongyang of 'provocative' behaviour and on Wednesday announced new sanctions.
North Korea's delegation spokesman at the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi said the military exercises - which begin on Sunday - were an example of 19th century "gunboat diplomacy".
"It is a new century and Asian countries are in need of peace and development, and DPRK [North Korea] is also moving to that end," said Ri Tong-il.
He said the exercises went beyond defensive training and would involve "sophisticated weapon equipment".
"It is a threat to the Korean peninsula and the region of Asia as a whole. And the DPRK's position is clear: there will be a physical response to the threat imposed by the United States militarily."
See original work for more
North Korea Warns of Nuclear Response to Naval Exercises - Bloomberg
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:25 AM PDT
North Korea Warns of Nuclear Response to Naval Exercises - Bloomberg: "North Korea said it would counter U.S. and South Korean joint naval exercises with “nuclear deterrence†after the Obama administration said the government in Pyongyang shouldn’t take any provocative steps.
North Korea will “legitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises to be staged by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces,†the National Defense Commission said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
The maneuvers, which involve 20 vessels and 200 aircraft from the U.S. and South Korea, pose a threat to the country’s sovereignty and security, Ri Tong Il, an official with North Korea’s delegation to the Asean Security Forum, told reporters in Hanoi yesterday.
Ri’s comments came after North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun sat in the same room with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Hanoi for a security meeting of Asia’s largest powers. Clinton condemned North Korea for being “on a campaign of provocative, dangerous behavior,†urging Kim Jong Il’s regime to change.
See original work for more
Neo-Nazi Group Patrolling U.S. Border - CBS News Video
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:23 AM PDT
Neo-Nazi Group Patrolling U.S. Border - CBS News Video:
See original work for more
Retirement will be risky for many Americans, study says
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:19 AM PDT
Retirement will be risky for many Americans, study says: "More than 40 percent of Americans are at risk of having too little retirement income, a new study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute says.
What's more, the oldest workers are the least prepared to quit working. The EBRI says that 47% of early Baby Boomers are at risk of running out of money in retirement, compared with 44.5 percent of Generation Xers.
For some people, retirement savings won't last very long at all. Among the lowest-income quarter of the working population, 41 percent will be short of money after a mere 10 years in retirement.
The study doesn't say what should be done about this problem; it only suggests that officials take these results into account when designing retirement policy.
Charts in the EBRI study show the benefit of adding one popular fix, an auto-enrollment feature, to 401k plans. A 25-year-old in a plan with auto-enrollment and auto-escalation (where your contributions will increase each year unless you opt out) would accumulate more than twice as much savings as a typical 25-year-old in a plan without those features.
Other recent research, though, says that may not be true. Economists from the IMF and the Urban Institute says that employers with auto-enrollment plans tend to be less generous with their matching contributions. Mauricio Soto and Barbara Butrica write:
... we find that match rates are about 7 percentage points lower among firms with automatic enrollment than among those without automatic enrollment, even controlling for firm characteristics. So while autoenrollment increases the number of workers participating in private pensions, our findings suggest it might also reduce the level of pension contributions.
See original work for more
Raising the Stakes in the New Black Panther Case - Hans A. von Spakovsky - The Corner on National Review Online
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:16 AM PDT
Raising the Stakes in the New Black Panther Case - Hans A. von Spakovsky - The Corner on National Review Online: "As Commissioner Peter Kirsanow reported earlier, Rep. Lamar Smith sent a letter yesterday to President Obama asking him to appoint a special counsel to investigate not just the dismissal of the New Black Panther voter intimidation case but also “whether the Department has adopted a policy of enforcing voting rights laws in a racially discriminatory manner.†This puts the president in an interesting dilemma: Smith is the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, and if the Republicans take back the House in November, Smith will become the chairman. Attorney General Eric Holder has essentially ignored Smith’s demands for information on the NBPP case for the past year — that’s not exactly behavior calculated to endear you to the chairman of the most powerful committee with jurisdiction over your department.
Today, the ante was upped even more. I just learned from a congressional source that all seven GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee — Jeff Sessions, Orrin Hatch, Charles Grassley, Jon Kyl, Lindsey Graham, John Cornyn, and Tom Coburn — sent a letter to Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy demanding an oversight hearing of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ to investigate the dismissal of this case and the allegations of racialist enforcement of the civil-rights laws (PDF of the letter here). The senators cited sworn testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes instructed Division attorneys that they would not pursue cases against black defendants and that the DOJ has no interest in enforcing Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act.
As the senators correctly observe, if these allegations are true, the “Civil Rights Division is actively engaged in widespread politicization and possible corruption†and the Judiciary Committee has a duty to investigate allegations “that strike at the heart of the Department’s integrity.â€
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Obamacare’s Hidden Gun Control | Pro-Gun New Hampshire
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:14 AM PDT
Obamacare’s Hidden Gun Control | Pro-Gun New Hampshire: "General Counsel and Board Member, Pro-Gun New Hampshire, Inc.
[Posted Friday, July 23, 2010, at 8:25 p.m.] Effective January 1, 2012, the national healthcare legislation passed by Congress contains tax provisions that will require gun dealers to report to the IRS purchases and sales of guns and any other goods valued over $600. IRS 1099 forms will have to be filed, reporting the sale/purchase. This reporting will be required for purchases from either individuals or corporations. The new IRS provisions apply to all goods and services.
This has the effect of creating a system of gun registration, controlled by the IRS. It also creates mountains of more paperwork for dealers who are already burdened with filling out 4473's, A&D Bound Books, receipts, and all the other paperwork associated with gun business. Even purchases made at gun shows or at people's homes by gun dealers will have to be reported.
Modern sport/utility (AR-15 type) rifles sell for over $600 even at used wholesale prices. Your quality tactical or custom handguns easily sell for over $600, and finding shotguns worth over $600 is not hard at all. $600 in ammunition is not a lot at today's prices. Even if the dealer buys a pile of clunkers but pays out over $600 to any individual or corporation, the report to the IRS must be made. Ammunition, knives, parts, reloading equipment, accessories, or any other goods valued over $600 must be reported to the IRS. The bottom line is, sell your gun or other goods to a dealer for over $600 and it must be reported to the IRS.
Rep. Dan Lungren has introduced a bill (H.R. 5141) to repeal this section.
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Obamaca: Reshaping society through government control
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:02 AM PDT
Obamaca: Reshaping society through government control: "In 1997, under the direction of Andrew Niccol, people viewed on their cinema screens a sterilized world of growing government perfection. The movie, “Gattaca,†depicted a world where through genetic selection only children with their parents’ desired hereditary traits were given societal acceptance.
The children that were born naturally, void of the process called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, were labeled “in-valids†and were treated as societal junk and placed in menial labor jobs. To the elites of this futuristic world, this made for a more productive humanity. Like liberals today, the power wielders of this science fiction story wanted to make their version of a better, more productive and certainly healthier society, and to do that they needed the power of the government. Gattaca was a world of sterilized government control where the “haves†and the “have nots†of social class warfare could be identified with the technological speed of an eye scan, cheek swab or blood test.
​It would be easy to leave these Orwellian-style cinematic depictions of worlds with governments running amuck at the doors of the theatre if it weren’t for the disquieting reality that society seems to mirror these movies at an alarming rate. One has only to look to recent events to see that it is the modern liberal of today that works feverishly to build the Gattaca of tomorrow. Ed Morrissey of Hot Air reported on July 6, 2010 of New York Mayor David Paterson’s attempt to tax the fat out of people, with a high-profile levy on sugary drinks. The ultra-liberal, get-your-Gattaca-here Mayor Gavin Newsom achieved level one of calorie control in his sphere of influence by declaring Coke, Pepsi, and Fanta Orange as in-valid and thus rejecting them from city vending machines and exchanging them for soy and rice milk.
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Hispanic Democrats want health care fix - Carrie Budoff Brown - POLITICO.com
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:00 AM PDT
Hispanic Democrats want health care fix - Carrie Budoff Brown - POLITICO.com: "A group of Democratic lawmakers wants to use the immigration reform debate to fix one of the most hotly contested aspects of the health care law — provisions that bar immigrants from using new government programs to get coverage.
The move by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus would add a contentious new element to an already monumental task — passing a bill that puts 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
But the lawmakers say they’re merely following through on a pledge they made when the health care overhaul passed in March, and they expect the White House and Democratic leadership to do the same.
Some members of the caucus almost withheld their votes for health reform over what they saw as punitive, anti-immigrant measures in the bill, which bans illegal immigrants from using newly created exchanges to buy insurance, even with their own money, and maintains a five-year waiting period for legal residents to enroll in Medicaid.
They signed on only after receiving assurances that their concerns would be rectified as part of the immigration reform battle, according to lawmakers, advocates and Hill aides.
“The expectation was that everybody knew it was unfair and that a new immigration bill would correct that,†Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) told POLITICO.
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The Volokh Conspiracy » Obama Campaign Adviser Participated on JournoList
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:54 PM PDT
The Volokh Conspiracy » Obama Campaign Adviser Participated on JournoList:
Jared Bernstein, chief economist for Vice President Joseph Biden, served in 2008 as an economic adviser to the Obama campaign. At the same time, he was a member of JournoList, the controversial progressive email list.
Bernstein’s bio at Politico, which appears not to have been updated since 2008, states: “He is an economic adviser to the Obama campaign.â€
He was known to many for his regular appearances on the financial channel CNBC. His primary employer in 2008 was the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor progressive think tank, but according to his bio when appointed to the Obama-Biden Administration, he also was a member of the Panel of Economic Advisers of the Congressional Budget Office.
Reached today at the Office of the Vice President, Bernstein revealed that his position with the Obama campaign was as something called a “surrogate.†“I was not paid by the campaign,†he explained. “They would call me from time to time to represent their positions, that side of the debate.â€
Asked when he left JournoList, Bernstein replied, ‘‘I think I left the list around the time I came here.†Bernstein was announced as Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President-elect on December 8, 2008.
One question that has arisen in the last week is how closely JournoList members, not only discussed how to shape the news to advance the fortunes of Barack Obama, but coordinated with the Obama campaign. Jared Bernstein’s position as an unpaid adviser and surrogate shows that there was at least one direct link between JournoList and the Obama campaign.
Bernstein’s serving on the Economic Advisory Panel of the CBO is less worrisome, though it appears to violate Ezra Klein’s first rule for JournoList:
At the beginning, I set two rules for the membership. The first was the easy one: No one who worked for the government in any capacity could join.
It would appear that Bernstein’s presence on the list violated Klein’s first rule, since he met the test of working “for the government in any capacity.â€
Yet note Klein’s careful wording here. People who worked for the government in any capacity couldn’t join, but could they stay on the list if they took a government job after joining?
Were there other campaign advisers or part-time government officials who participated on JournoList?
UPDATE: Here is an example of Bernstein’s humorous political writing at the Huffington Post.
2D UPDATE: I have an anonymous source who has shown me an email thread that appears to be from JournoList. From his search of the JournoList archives, he believes that Bernstein’s last direct email to the list was on December 5, 2008, a charming farewell sent 3 days before he was introduced as Biden’s chief economist. Indeed, months later there were several emails to the list from members who wondered how to contact Bernstein.
Check with http://volokh.com/ for updates on this.
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Congress Spent $604,000 on Bottled Water, $397,000 on Catering
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:52 PM PDT
Congress Spent $604,000 on Bottled Water, $397,000 on Catering: "(July 21) -- Crave ribs? Bagels and coffee or doughnuts? Seafood, subs or Chinese? So does Congress!
House members spent part of their Members Representational Allowances on these items -- and more -- during the nine-month period between late 2009 and early 2010 covered by the Sunlight Foundation's House Expenditure Reports Database. The info is highly enlightening, revealing, for instance, the popularity of Chantilly Donut's sinkers; what it costs to feed hungry congressional pages; and how lucrative it can be to own a part of the cottage industry of keeping our duly elected representatives fed and well hydrated.
According to the documents, one company in particular raked in the taxpayer dough: CapitolHost. At least 61 legislators and 20 congressional offices used the catering service, to the tune of about $169,143. But that's only the tip of the iceberg salad, as you'll see below.
To read more of AOL News' audit of Congress' expense reports, please visit the first installment in this series.
Full Report
How Congress Spent Your $1 Billion
Food Tab: $604K on Bottled Water
Interns and Pages: $4.4 Million
News and Research: $1.2 Million
Travel: $1.4 Million a Month
Congress Is a PC: Just $22K on Apple
About This Series
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ObamaClypse Now: Some Insurers End New Coverage For Kids
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:47 PM PDT
ObamaClypse Now: Some Insurers End New Coverage For Kids: "In an “unintended,†but absolutely predictable consequence of ObamaCare, some insurers have stopped writing certain policies for children, state officials said Friday:
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said in his state, UnitedHealthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield have stopped issuing new policies that cover children individually. Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland said a couple of local insurers in her state have done likewise.
The administration slammed insurers for “taking this unwarranted and unnecessary step.â€
Starting later this year, ObamaCare will require insurers to accept children regardless of their medical condition. Not surprisingly, insurers fear that parents will wait until kids get sick before signing them up for coverage, imposing major costs.
“If the law says that insurers have to take you any time, any place, some people will see that as an opportunity to wait until their children get sick to buy coverage,†a Blue Cross lobbyist told AP.
Who would have thunk it??? Predictable to everyone except the socialists who think that they have all the answers. I predict more regulation because of this. More laws with more unintended consequences .. Obama never learns~~ The Munz
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Townhall - Robert Morrison - President Obama: Stilling the Waters
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:45 PM PDT
Townhall - Robert Morrison - President Obama: Stilling the Waters: "We all recall how Newsweek editor Evan Thomas last year gushed that President Obama hovered over the nations “like a sort of god.†That was then. The only thing gushing lately has been the BP oil spill, now mercifully capped.
My wife and I had an experience recently that suggests Mr. Obama can still the waters—of the Chesapeake Bay. We were invited by friends to take a boat ride from Annapolis to St. Michael’s, Maryland.
We headed out on a beautifully clear Sunday afternoon. Our friends Tom and Ann own a 37-foot motor boat. Tom is a successful entrepreneur.
Riding over smooth waters at 30 knots, Tom explained how the businesses he has started functioned. He’s in pharmaceuticals. His companies—he’s started up several innovative ones—are not giants, but they are all competitive. In order to develop and bring to market new drugs, entrepreneurs have to make many false starts. Like those prospecting for new sources of oil, there are many “dry holes.†But the successes more than make up for their failures. And Americans and people throughout the world are the beneficiaries.
Tom pointed to drugs that treat acid reflux. Decades ago, this condition called for surgery, which is especially hazardous for the elderly. The cost of the drugs has to be weighed against the lost time and productivity for recovering surgery patients, not to mention the lost lives.
~~Snip~~
When the boating industry hits a slump, it’s not just the rich who are hurt. Young people who work in the boatyards, wait tables in the seafood restaurants, and staff the Marinas—all these are affected, too. It’s fun, no doubt, to yell “Soak the Rich,†but it’s the rest of us who usually get all wet from the politics of envy. This is the real-world impact of Obama’s economic policies. As Winston Churchill once put it: “Capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; socialism is the equal sharing of misery.â€
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TANCREDO: The case for impeachment - Washington Times
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:42 PM PDT
TANCREDO: The case for impeachment - Washington Times: "Eleven years ago, like every citizen elected to serve in Congress or any person appointed to any federal position, I swore an oath to 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.'
I've always thought it significant that the Founders included domestic enemies in that oath of office. They thought liberty was as much at risk from threats within our borders as from outside, and French political thinker and historian Alexis de Tocqueville agreed with that warning.
In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the greatest threat to our nation was clear - and foreign. While Islamic terrorism still represents the greatest external threat to America and American lives, the avowed program of the Obama regime has changed the picture in a fundamental way.
For the first time in American history, we have a man in the White House who consciously and brazenly disregards his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution. That's why I say the greatest threat to our Constitution, our safety and our liberties, is internal. Our president is an enemy of our Constitution, and, as such, he is a danger to our safety, our security and our personal freedoms.
Barack Obama is one of the most powerful presidents this nation has seen in generations. He is powerful because he is supported by large majorities in Congress, but, more importantly, because he does not feel constrained by the rule of law.
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Because we receive assignments that help us pay our expenses (we are NOT subsidized by anyone and pay our own way) there are sometimes gaps of a few days in what we post, though we try to get something new in every day.
Here is a "catch up" Courtesy Munz's Place
• The Art of the Ann Arbor City Budget [Mackinac Center]
• As U.S. suspends deep-water oil drilling, other nations move ahead
• 8 suspects killed in clash with Mexican soldiers - Yahoo! News
• Jobless Claims Increase - WSJ.com
• Playing politics with records requests - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com
• Newark Budget Cuts
• Vindicated for Removing Saddam
FrontPage Magazine
• Nation of Cowards? » Publications » Family Security Matters
• No Mosque at Ground Zero
• How Hillary Clinton Screwed Up The New Korean Conflict
• Biden calls Republicans 'wildly out of step' during N.C. fundraiser
McClatchy
• China may link yuan trade to currency basket Emerging Markets Report - MarketWatch
• BBC News - North Korea vows 'physical response' to US exercise
• North Korea Warns of Nuclear Response to Naval Exercises - Bloomberg
• Neo-Nazi Group Patrolling U.S. Border - CBS News Video
• Retirement will be risky for many Americans, study says
• Raising the Stakes in the New Black Panther Case - Hans A. von Spakovsky - The Corner on National Review Online
• Obamacare’s Hidden Gun Control
Pro-Gun New Hampshire
• Obamaca: Reshaping society through government control
• Hispanic Democrats want health care fix - Carrie Budoff Brown - POLITICO.com
• The Volokh Conspiracy » Obama Campaign Adviser Participated on JournoList
• Congress Spent $604,000 on Bottled Water, $397,000 on Catering
• ObamaClypse Now: Some Insurers End New Coverage For Kids
• Townhall - Robert Morrison - President Obama: Stilling the Waters
• TANCREDO: The case for impeachment - Washington Times
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:48 AM PDT
The Art of the Ann Arbor City Budget [Mackinac Center]: "The debate in Ann Arbor, where firefighters are being laid off due to a multimillion dollar budget deficit, is over an $850,000 piece of art.
That's how much the city has agreed to pay German artist Herbert Dreiseitl for a three-piece water sculpture that would go in front of the new police and courts building right by the City Hall.
The city has the money to do it because in 2007, it agreed to set aside for public art 1 percent of money that went into capital improvement projects that were $100,000 or larger. Most capital projects involve streets, sewers and water.
Ann Arbor City Council member Stephen Kunselman, a Democrat, opposed the art deal.
'I think it is incredibly insensitive,' Kunselman said. 'It is insensitive to the staff and their morale. It is insensitive to the community. There are people out there struggling financially, and here we are spending a large amount of money on a piece of art.'
Kunselman said the city is also eliminating the solid waste coordinator from the budget, which oversees trash pickup, and hiring an art coordinator.
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As U.S. suspends deep-water oil drilling, other nations move ahead
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:48 AM PDT
As U.S. suspends deep-water oil drilling, other nations move ahead: "NY-ALESUND, NORWAY -- Few, if any, nations have paid as much attention to the safety of offshore drilling as Norway, which is surrounded by oil-rich seas.
In 40 years of offshore energy exploration, it has suffered just four spills -- none of the magnitude of the one in the Gulf of Mexico and none reaching the country's pristine tundra shores. Its government has made efforts to avoid the kinds of conflicts that have bedeviled the U.S. regulatory process by splitting off safety and environmental oversight duties from the Ministry of Petroleum Energy. A separate Climate and Pollution Agency weighs in on every decision about whether to open new areas to offshore drilling, and its inspectors examine rigs once they're operating.
Do you really wonder why we are dependent on foreign oil now??? ~~
8 suspects killed in clash with Mexican soldiers - Yahoo! News
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:47 AM PDT
8 suspects killed in clash with Mexican soldiers - Yahoo! News: "MEXICO CITY – Eight suspected drug gang gunmen died in a battle with Mexican soldiers in the remote mountains of northern Chihuahua state, the federal Public Safety Department said Thursday.
The department cited an internal army report saying the clash occurred near the rural town of Madera, about 145 miles (230 kilometers) south of the U.S. border.
The gunmen apparently opened fire on an army patrol, but the Defense Department did not offer any information on the attack or the identity of the attackers. The area is frequently used by gangs to produce and traffic drugs.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department added two companies owned by daughters of drug lord Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada to the list of sanctioned companies under the Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
In a press statement, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said the two women, Maria Teresa Zambada Niebla and Midiam Patricia Zambada Niebla, served as 'front persons' for their father's illicit transactions. The companies named to the list are Arte y Diseno de Culiacan SA de CV and Autotransportes JYM SA de CV.
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Jobless Claims Increase - WSJ.com
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:46 AM PDT
Jobless Claims Increase - WSJ.com: "Sales of existing homes slid in June for a second consecutive month as the effects of a government tax credit program continued to wane.
Existing home sales fell by 5.1% to an annual rate of 5.37 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Meanwhile, inventories rose and prices remained fairly stable.
Separately, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week by more than expected, reversing declines posted the prior week and signaling there is still little improvement in job market conditions.
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Playing politics with records requests - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:44 AM PDT
Playing politics with records requests - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com: "WASHINGTON — For at least a year, the Homeland Security Department detoured requests for federal records to senior political advisers for highly unusual scrutiny, probing for information about the requesters and delaying disclosures deemed too politically sensitive, according to nearly 1,000 pages of internal e-mails obtained by The Associated Press.
The department abandoned the practice after AP investigated. Inspectors from the department's Office of Inspector General quietly conducted interviews last week to determine whether political advisers acted improperly.
The Freedom of Information Act, the main tool forcing the government to be more open, is designed to be insulated from political considerations. Anyone who seeks information through the law is supposed to get it unless disclosure would hurt national security, violate personal privacy or expose confidential decision-making in certain areas.
But in July 2009, Homeland Security introduced a directive requiring a wide range of information to be vetted by political appointees for 'awareness purposes,' no matter who requested it.
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Newark Budget Cuts
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:43 AM PDT
Newark Budget Cuts: "MYFOXNY.COM - Things are getting so bad in Newark that the mayor has ordered the government to stop buying toilet paper.
It's part of Newark Mayor Cory Booker's belt-tightening plans that include reducing most city workers to a 4-day work week and shuttering city pools. Booker estimates that the pool closures alone would save $250,000. He also says that no gas will be purchased for municipal vehicles that are not deemed critically important.
Police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers would not be affected by the furlough plan. City workers were already bracing for furloughs starting in August. The number of unpaid days would increase from 11 to 19 with Booker's plan.
The city budget shortfall is $70 million and Booker plans to meet the revenue shortfall with budget cuts instead of property tax increases.
'Taxes can not be the answer,' Booker said.
Booker says property taxes in Newark have gone up 76 percent in last decade and 19 percent in the past five years.
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Vindicated for Removing Saddam | FrontPage Magazine
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:42 AM PDT
Vindicated for Removing Saddam | FrontPage Magazine:
President Bush's top political advisor, Karl Rove, said on July 15 that his biggest mistake was not fighting back against Democrats trying to score cheap political points by accusing the President of lying to get the country to support an invasion of Iraq. Rove is right, but another mistake was made: not trying to vindicate the removal of Saddam Hussein using evidence, including Iraqi government documents, that was obtained after the regime's overthrow. Compelling evidence exists to show that Saddam's regime was sponsoring terrorists (e.g., Al-Qaeda), had the ability to quickly produce weapons of mass destruction, and the will to use both against its enemies.
The Iraq Survey Group, the task force put together to find out what happened to Iraq’s WMD stockpiles, is often seen as the group that debunked the Bush Administration’s case for war. In reality, its conclusions did not significantly contradict the nature of the threat described by both President Bush and President Clinton. In fact, it demonstrated that the feared nexus between terrorists and those involved in WMD was coming together.
The Duelfer Report, the final assessment of the Iraq Survey Group, states that a former Iraqi intelligence officer testified that the M16 Directorate “had a plan to produce and weaponize nitrogen mustard in rifle grenades and a plan to bottle sarin and sulfur mustard in perfume sprayer and medicine bottles which they would ship to the United States and Europe. The plot was not launched because of an inability to get the ingredients for the weapons. This substantiates intelligence received in 1998 that prompted the British government to put its airports and seaports on alert because Iraqis were planning to smuggle anthrax into several countries including the United Kingdom inside bottles used for cosmetics, cigarette lighters, perfume sprays, and other apparently harmless items.
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Nation of Cowards?» Publications » Family Security Matters
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:41 AM PDT
One of the most unfortunate results of the race card being played is the fact that the players seldom have to live with the messes they make. For purely political reasons, blacks and whites have been intentionally polarized, starting way back when David Axelrod led Deval Patrick to the governorship of Massachusetts and now with the troubled presidency of Barack Obama. The administration has long since deployed the now well-known liberal tactic: opposition is racism.
Behind closed doors, this White House must be laughing their asses off at how easily the liberal media and activists can be manipulated to save their agenda.
Nation Of Cowards: White Suckers
Starting with the winning campaign of Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick through the victorious campaign of President Barack Obama (both helmed by David Axelrod), the strategy was clear: create an atmosphere where whites who don’t vote for these men will be called one of the most damaging names in America today: racist.
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No Mosque at Ground Zero
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:39 AM PDT
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How Hillary Clinton Screwed Up The New Korean Conflict
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:36 AM PDT
How Hillary Clinton Screwed Up The New Korean Conflict: "North Korea probably sank a foreign warship, killing everyone aboard, and now after four months of diplomacy faces no punishment. South Korea and its American ally came away with nothing from their political momentum. And China claimed diplomatic victory.
How did we screw this one up? Blame the state department for butting heads with the one country that matters: China.
Peter Lee at Asia Times has more on the bungled gamesmanship:
If, as is presumably the case, North Korea engineered the outrage, it cleverly and effectively exposed a faulty assumption behind America's Korean policy: that, when push came to shove, China would give decisive weight to its booming economic relationship with South Korea and side with Seoul against Pyongyang.
The exact opposite occurred.
Rather than ask China for help, America asked everyone but China:
Beijing viewed the entire orchestrated Cheonan exercise - which included an 'international investigation' that pointedly excluded China, the subsequent elevation of the issue to the UN Security Council, a featured role for Lee at the recent Shangri-La defense ministers conference in Singapore, and coordinated expressions of outrage from America's allies - as an effort to embarrass, isolate and diminish China over the issue of its support for North Korea.
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Biden calls Republicans 'wildly out of step' during N.C. fundraiser | McClatchy
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:34 AM PDT
Biden calls Republicans 'wildly out of step' during N.C. fundraiser | McClatchy: "CHAPEL HILL — Vice President Joe Biden told those attending a Democratic fundraiser Thursday that his party's midterm election prospects would brighten when voters realize the stark differences between the two parties.
Appearing at a high-dollar reception at the historic Carolina Inn, Biden said Democrats had a story to tell voters, a story of how they helped bring a badly wounded economy they inherited back from the cliff, helped clean up the abuses of Wall Street and extended health care insurance.
'Now that the heavy lifting is over, we can go out and make our case,' Biden said in a 35-minute speech.
The vice president said Republicans 'are wildly out of step' with popular opinion on a broad range of issues from holding oil companies responsible for cleaning up the spill in the Gulf, to supporting basic regulations that would prevent another meltdown on Wall Street, to extending unemployment insurance to those who lose their jobs.
This administration is certifiable if they think Republicans are out of step. Have they seen any poll numbers? ~~ The Munz
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China may link yuan trade to currency basket Emerging Markets Report - MarketWatch
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:27 AM PDT
China may link yuan trade to currency basket Emerging Markets Report - MarketWatch: "LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A top Chinese central bank official suggested switching away from the U.S. dollar as a benchmark for the yuan's foreign-exchange rate, switching instead to a basket of currencies, according to remarks published Thursday.
Is Thailand a good place for investment?
Stock Exchange of Thailand President Charamporn Jotikasthira shares his views on the difficulties of selling Thailand as a destination for equity investment after recent political violence.
In comments posted to the People's Bank of China Web site, the central bank's Deputy Gov. Hu Xiaolian said using a basket of currencies from the nation's top trading partners would allow the Chinese yuan to better reflect trading fundamentals.
'Compared with pegging to a single currency, the exchange-rate regime with reference to a basket of currencies will help adjust exports and imports, current account, and balance of payment in a more effective manner,' she said.
China's central bank currently sets a 'central parity rate' against the U.S. dollar each day, with that day's trading range confined to 0.5% above or below that level.
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BBC News - North Korea vows 'physical response' to US exercise
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:26 AM PDT
BBC News - North Korea vows 'physical response' to US exercise: "North Korea has promised a 'physical response' to joint US-South Korean military exercises this weekend.
The comments came as Asian foreign ministers met in Vietnam for a regional security forum.
The forum has been dominated by the crisis resulting from North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
The US has accused Pyongyang of 'provocative' behaviour and on Wednesday announced new sanctions.
North Korea's delegation spokesman at the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi said the military exercises - which begin on Sunday - were an example of 19th century "gunboat diplomacy".
"It is a new century and Asian countries are in need of peace and development, and DPRK [North Korea] is also moving to that end," said Ri Tong-il.
He said the exercises went beyond defensive training and would involve "sophisticated weapon equipment".
"It is a threat to the Korean peninsula and the region of Asia as a whole. And the DPRK's position is clear: there will be a physical response to the threat imposed by the United States militarily."
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North Korea Warns of Nuclear Response to Naval Exercises - Bloomberg
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:25 AM PDT
North Korea Warns of Nuclear Response to Naval Exercises - Bloomberg: "North Korea said it would counter U.S. and South Korean joint naval exercises with “nuclear deterrence†after the Obama administration said the government in Pyongyang shouldn’t take any provocative steps.
North Korea will “legitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises to be staged by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces,†the National Defense Commission said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
The maneuvers, which involve 20 vessels and 200 aircraft from the U.S. and South Korea, pose a threat to the country’s sovereignty and security, Ri Tong Il, an official with North Korea’s delegation to the Asean Security Forum, told reporters in Hanoi yesterday.
Ri’s comments came after North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun sat in the same room with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Hanoi for a security meeting of Asia’s largest powers. Clinton condemned North Korea for being “on a campaign of provocative, dangerous behavior,†urging Kim Jong Il’s regime to change.
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Neo-Nazi Group Patrolling U.S. Border - CBS News Video
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:23 AM PDT
Neo-Nazi Group Patrolling U.S. Border - CBS News Video:
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Retirement will be risky for many Americans, study says
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:19 AM PDT
Retirement will be risky for many Americans, study says: "More than 40 percent of Americans are at risk of having too little retirement income, a new study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute says.
What's more, the oldest workers are the least prepared to quit working. The EBRI says that 47% of early Baby Boomers are at risk of running out of money in retirement, compared with 44.5 percent of Generation Xers.
For some people, retirement savings won't last very long at all. Among the lowest-income quarter of the working population, 41 percent will be short of money after a mere 10 years in retirement.
The study doesn't say what should be done about this problem; it only suggests that officials take these results into account when designing retirement policy.
Charts in the EBRI study show the benefit of adding one popular fix, an auto-enrollment feature, to 401k plans. A 25-year-old in a plan with auto-enrollment and auto-escalation (where your contributions will increase each year unless you opt out) would accumulate more than twice as much savings as a typical 25-year-old in a plan without those features.
Other recent research, though, says that may not be true. Economists from the IMF and the Urban Institute says that employers with auto-enrollment plans tend to be less generous with their matching contributions. Mauricio Soto and Barbara Butrica write:
... we find that match rates are about 7 percentage points lower among firms with automatic enrollment than among those without automatic enrollment, even controlling for firm characteristics. So while autoenrollment increases the number of workers participating in private pensions, our findings suggest it might also reduce the level of pension contributions.
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Raising the Stakes in the New Black Panther Case - Hans A. von Spakovsky - The Corner on National Review Online
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:16 AM PDT
Raising the Stakes in the New Black Panther Case - Hans A. von Spakovsky - The Corner on National Review Online: "As Commissioner Peter Kirsanow reported earlier, Rep. Lamar Smith sent a letter yesterday to President Obama asking him to appoint a special counsel to investigate not just the dismissal of the New Black Panther voter intimidation case but also “whether the Department has adopted a policy of enforcing voting rights laws in a racially discriminatory manner.†This puts the president in an interesting dilemma: Smith is the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, and if the Republicans take back the House in November, Smith will become the chairman. Attorney General Eric Holder has essentially ignored Smith’s demands for information on the NBPP case for the past year — that’s not exactly behavior calculated to endear you to the chairman of the most powerful committee with jurisdiction over your department.
Today, the ante was upped even more. I just learned from a congressional source that all seven GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee — Jeff Sessions, Orrin Hatch, Charles Grassley, Jon Kyl, Lindsey Graham, John Cornyn, and Tom Coburn — sent a letter to Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy demanding an oversight hearing of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ to investigate the dismissal of this case and the allegations of racialist enforcement of the civil-rights laws (PDF of the letter here). The senators cited sworn testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes instructed Division attorneys that they would not pursue cases against black defendants and that the DOJ has no interest in enforcing Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act.
As the senators correctly observe, if these allegations are true, the “Civil Rights Division is actively engaged in widespread politicization and possible corruption†and the Judiciary Committee has a duty to investigate allegations “that strike at the heart of the Department’s integrity.â€
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Obamacare’s Hidden Gun Control | Pro-Gun New Hampshire
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:14 AM PDT
Obamacare’s Hidden Gun Control | Pro-Gun New Hampshire: "General Counsel and Board Member, Pro-Gun New Hampshire, Inc.
[Posted Friday, July 23, 2010, at 8:25 p.m.] Effective January 1, 2012, the national healthcare legislation passed by Congress contains tax provisions that will require gun dealers to report to the IRS purchases and sales of guns and any other goods valued over $600. IRS 1099 forms will have to be filed, reporting the sale/purchase. This reporting will be required for purchases from either individuals or corporations. The new IRS provisions apply to all goods and services.
This has the effect of creating a system of gun registration, controlled by the IRS. It also creates mountains of more paperwork for dealers who are already burdened with filling out 4473's, A&D Bound Books, receipts, and all the other paperwork associated with gun business. Even purchases made at gun shows or at people's homes by gun dealers will have to be reported.
Modern sport/utility (AR-15 type) rifles sell for over $600 even at used wholesale prices. Your quality tactical or custom handguns easily sell for over $600, and finding shotguns worth over $600 is not hard at all. $600 in ammunition is not a lot at today's prices. Even if the dealer buys a pile of clunkers but pays out over $600 to any individual or corporation, the report to the IRS must be made. Ammunition, knives, parts, reloading equipment, accessories, or any other goods valued over $600 must be reported to the IRS. The bottom line is, sell your gun or other goods to a dealer for over $600 and it must be reported to the IRS.
Rep. Dan Lungren has introduced a bill (H.R. 5141) to repeal this section.
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Obamaca: Reshaping society through government control
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:02 AM PDT
Obamaca: Reshaping society through government control: "In 1997, under the direction of Andrew Niccol, people viewed on their cinema screens a sterilized world of growing government perfection. The movie, “Gattaca,†depicted a world where through genetic selection only children with their parents’ desired hereditary traits were given societal acceptance.
The children that were born naturally, void of the process called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, were labeled “in-valids†and were treated as societal junk and placed in menial labor jobs. To the elites of this futuristic world, this made for a more productive humanity. Like liberals today, the power wielders of this science fiction story wanted to make their version of a better, more productive and certainly healthier society, and to do that they needed the power of the government. Gattaca was a world of sterilized government control where the “haves†and the “have nots†of social class warfare could be identified with the technological speed of an eye scan, cheek swab or blood test.
​It would be easy to leave these Orwellian-style cinematic depictions of worlds with governments running amuck at the doors of the theatre if it weren’t for the disquieting reality that society seems to mirror these movies at an alarming rate. One has only to look to recent events to see that it is the modern liberal of today that works feverishly to build the Gattaca of tomorrow. Ed Morrissey of Hot Air reported on July 6, 2010 of New York Mayor David Paterson’s attempt to tax the fat out of people, with a high-profile levy on sugary drinks. The ultra-liberal, get-your-Gattaca-here Mayor Gavin Newsom achieved level one of calorie control in his sphere of influence by declaring Coke, Pepsi, and Fanta Orange as in-valid and thus rejecting them from city vending machines and exchanging them for soy and rice milk.
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Hispanic Democrats want health care fix - Carrie Budoff Brown - POLITICO.com
Posted: 24 Jul 2010 12:00 AM PDT
Hispanic Democrats want health care fix - Carrie Budoff Brown - POLITICO.com: "A group of Democratic lawmakers wants to use the immigration reform debate to fix one of the most hotly contested aspects of the health care law — provisions that bar immigrants from using new government programs to get coverage.
The move by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus would add a contentious new element to an already monumental task — passing a bill that puts 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.
But the lawmakers say they’re merely following through on a pledge they made when the health care overhaul passed in March, and they expect the White House and Democratic leadership to do the same.
Some members of the caucus almost withheld their votes for health reform over what they saw as punitive, anti-immigrant measures in the bill, which bans illegal immigrants from using newly created exchanges to buy insurance, even with their own money, and maintains a five-year waiting period for legal residents to enroll in Medicaid.
They signed on only after receiving assurances that their concerns would be rectified as part of the immigration reform battle, according to lawmakers, advocates and Hill aides.
“The expectation was that everybody knew it was unfair and that a new immigration bill would correct that,†Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) told POLITICO.
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The Volokh Conspiracy » Obama Campaign Adviser Participated on JournoList
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:54 PM PDT
The Volokh Conspiracy » Obama Campaign Adviser Participated on JournoList:
Jared Bernstein, chief economist for Vice President Joseph Biden, served in 2008 as an economic adviser to the Obama campaign. At the same time, he was a member of JournoList, the controversial progressive email list.
Bernstein’s bio at Politico, which appears not to have been updated since 2008, states: “He is an economic adviser to the Obama campaign.â€
He was known to many for his regular appearances on the financial channel CNBC. His primary employer in 2008 was the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor progressive think tank, but according to his bio when appointed to the Obama-Biden Administration, he also was a member of the Panel of Economic Advisers of the Congressional Budget Office.
Reached today at the Office of the Vice President, Bernstein revealed that his position with the Obama campaign was as something called a “surrogate.†“I was not paid by the campaign,†he explained. “They would call me from time to time to represent their positions, that side of the debate.â€
Asked when he left JournoList, Bernstein replied, ‘‘I think I left the list around the time I came here.†Bernstein was announced as Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President-elect on December 8, 2008.
One question that has arisen in the last week is how closely JournoList members, not only discussed how to shape the news to advance the fortunes of Barack Obama, but coordinated with the Obama campaign. Jared Bernstein’s position as an unpaid adviser and surrogate shows that there was at least one direct link between JournoList and the Obama campaign.
Bernstein’s serving on the Economic Advisory Panel of the CBO is less worrisome, though it appears to violate Ezra Klein’s first rule for JournoList:
At the beginning, I set two rules for the membership. The first was the easy one: No one who worked for the government in any capacity could join.
It would appear that Bernstein’s presence on the list violated Klein’s first rule, since he met the test of working “for the government in any capacity.â€
Yet note Klein’s careful wording here. People who worked for the government in any capacity couldn’t join, but could they stay on the list if they took a government job after joining?
Were there other campaign advisers or part-time government officials who participated on JournoList?
UPDATE: Here is an example of Bernstein’s humorous political writing at the Huffington Post.
2D UPDATE: I have an anonymous source who has shown me an email thread that appears to be from JournoList. From his search of the JournoList archives, he believes that Bernstein’s last direct email to the list was on December 5, 2008, a charming farewell sent 3 days before he was introduced as Biden’s chief economist. Indeed, months later there were several emails to the list from members who wondered how to contact Bernstein.
Check with http://volokh.com/ for updates on this.
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Congress Spent $604,000 on Bottled Water, $397,000 on Catering
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:52 PM PDT
Congress Spent $604,000 on Bottled Water, $397,000 on Catering: "(July 21) -- Crave ribs? Bagels and coffee or doughnuts? Seafood, subs or Chinese? So does Congress!
House members spent part of their Members Representational Allowances on these items -- and more -- during the nine-month period between late 2009 and early 2010 covered by the Sunlight Foundation's House Expenditure Reports Database. The info is highly enlightening, revealing, for instance, the popularity of Chantilly Donut's sinkers; what it costs to feed hungry congressional pages; and how lucrative it can be to own a part of the cottage industry of keeping our duly elected representatives fed and well hydrated.
According to the documents, one company in particular raked in the taxpayer dough: CapitolHost. At least 61 legislators and 20 congressional offices used the catering service, to the tune of about $169,143. But that's only the tip of the iceberg salad, as you'll see below.
To read more of AOL News' audit of Congress' expense reports, please visit the first installment in this series.
Full Report
How Congress Spent Your $1 Billion
Food Tab: $604K on Bottled Water
Interns and Pages: $4.4 Million
News and Research: $1.2 Million
Travel: $1.4 Million a Month
Congress Is a PC: Just $22K on Apple
About This Series
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ObamaClypse Now: Some Insurers End New Coverage For Kids
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:47 PM PDT
ObamaClypse Now: Some Insurers End New Coverage For Kids: "In an “unintended,†but absolutely predictable consequence of ObamaCare, some insurers have stopped writing certain policies for children, state officials said Friday:
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said in his state, UnitedHealthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield have stopped issuing new policies that cover children individually. Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland said a couple of local insurers in her state have done likewise.
The administration slammed insurers for “taking this unwarranted and unnecessary step.â€
Starting later this year, ObamaCare will require insurers to accept children regardless of their medical condition. Not surprisingly, insurers fear that parents will wait until kids get sick before signing them up for coverage, imposing major costs.
“If the law says that insurers have to take you any time, any place, some people will see that as an opportunity to wait until their children get sick to buy coverage,†a Blue Cross lobbyist told AP.
Who would have thunk it??? Predictable to everyone except the socialists who think that they have all the answers. I predict more regulation because of this. More laws with more unintended consequences .. Obama never learns~~ The Munz
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Townhall - Robert Morrison - President Obama: Stilling the Waters
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:45 PM PDT
Townhall - Robert Morrison - President Obama: Stilling the Waters: "We all recall how Newsweek editor Evan Thomas last year gushed that President Obama hovered over the nations “like a sort of god.†That was then. The only thing gushing lately has been the BP oil spill, now mercifully capped.
My wife and I had an experience recently that suggests Mr. Obama can still the waters—of the Chesapeake Bay. We were invited by friends to take a boat ride from Annapolis to St. Michael’s, Maryland.
We headed out on a beautifully clear Sunday afternoon. Our friends Tom and Ann own a 37-foot motor boat. Tom is a successful entrepreneur.
Riding over smooth waters at 30 knots, Tom explained how the businesses he has started functioned. He’s in pharmaceuticals. His companies—he’s started up several innovative ones—are not giants, but they are all competitive. In order to develop and bring to market new drugs, entrepreneurs have to make many false starts. Like those prospecting for new sources of oil, there are many “dry holes.†But the successes more than make up for their failures. And Americans and people throughout the world are the beneficiaries.
Tom pointed to drugs that treat acid reflux. Decades ago, this condition called for surgery, which is especially hazardous for the elderly. The cost of the drugs has to be weighed against the lost time and productivity for recovering surgery patients, not to mention the lost lives.
~~Snip~~
When the boating industry hits a slump, it’s not just the rich who are hurt. Young people who work in the boatyards, wait tables in the seafood restaurants, and staff the Marinas—all these are affected, too. It’s fun, no doubt, to yell “Soak the Rich,†but it’s the rest of us who usually get all wet from the politics of envy. This is the real-world impact of Obama’s economic policies. As Winston Churchill once put it: “Capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; socialism is the equal sharing of misery.â€
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TANCREDO: The case for impeachment - Washington Times
Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:42 PM PDT
TANCREDO: The case for impeachment - Washington Times: "Eleven years ago, like every citizen elected to serve in Congress or any person appointed to any federal position, I swore an oath to 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.'
I've always thought it significant that the Founders included domestic enemies in that oath of office. They thought liberty was as much at risk from threats within our borders as from outside, and French political thinker and historian Alexis de Tocqueville agreed with that warning.
In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the greatest threat to our nation was clear - and foreign. While Islamic terrorism still represents the greatest external threat to America and American lives, the avowed program of the Obama regime has changed the picture in a fundamental way.
For the first time in American history, we have a man in the White House who consciously and brazenly disregards his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution. That's why I say the greatest threat to our Constitution, our safety and our liberties, is internal. Our president is an enemy of our Constitution, and, as such, he is a danger to our safety, our security and our personal freedoms.
Barack Obama is one of the most powerful presidents this nation has seen in generations. He is powerful because he is supported by large majorities in Congress, but, more importantly, because he does not feel constrained by the rule of law.
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