Quote:

"If we resort for a criterion to the different principles on which different forms of government are established, we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure for a limited period, or during good behavior."

Check out the video 'Fountains of Bellagio "Proud To Be an American"'

Just take 3 minutes and 15 seconds to enjoy this inspirational patriotic video. You won't regret it! 

Video link:

Fountains of Bellagio "Proud To Be an American"

Heritage Hotsheet

Experts on the Day's Hottest News

Items for March 21, 2011 

Pump prices may put Obama in peril
The Washington Times

Democrats Split on Social Security
The Wall Street Journal

With no debate and no objective, Obama enters a war
 The Washington Examiner

Barack Obama: Latin America trade means U.S. jobs
Politico

Crises in Japan Ripple Across Global Economy
The New York Times

Latest Heritage Research:

WebMemo
www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/03/US-Role-in-Libya-Answers-to-the-Tough-Questions

U.S. Role in Libya: Answers to the Tough Questions

Center for Data Analysis Report
Are California Public Employees Overpaid?

WebMemo
How to Field the Right Military Force to Protect America

Backgrounder
Obamacare: The One-Year Checkup

WebMemo
President Obama's Visit to Latin America: Democracy, Trade, and Security First

RedState Morning Briefing

For March 21, 2011

1. Be Sure What You Believe

I get asked all the time what tea party activists need to do to become more effective in the fight for freedom.

Without hesitation, I say tea party activists need to be sure what they believe.

What I mean is simple - it is one thing to have read the constitution and quite another to understand why the founding fathers did what they did and how.

So I'm very pleased to be asked to help out with a free opportunity for you to be sure what you believe.

On April 16, 2011, you can participate, from the comfort of your own home, in an online town hall with Congressman Mike Pence and Drs. Larry Arnn and Paul Moreno of Hillsdale College.

The town hall starts on April 16, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. It is online and free for you. You'll learn how our economic liberty has diminished and how we can get it back under the U.S. Constitution.

You can watch all or part of it. But most importantly, you can make sure what you believe. You really have no excuse given how easy Hillsdale College is making it.

For more information and to register for the event, go here.

2. Srebrenica Resurrected

Friday, after some weeks of shillyshallying, President Obama made the momentous decision to sort of do something halfway in response to the revolt against and attempted ouster of Muammar Qaddafi.

3. What is America's *Goal* in Libya?

As you may have heard, the U.S. is now at war in Libya, leading a coalition of a dozen or so countries (including some nebulous group of "Arab nations" of which only Qatar will allow itself to be publicly named) in offshore SEAD strikes and anti-aircraft patrols against a country whose sole resources are oil and terrorism. In this case, of course, there have been no presidential addresses to the nation explaining exactly what our rationale is for this action, and laying out our specific goals (contrast this to, to pick one example from the Iraq War run-up, President Bush's statement to the nation explaining exactly why he was preparing to go to war there, and giving Saddam Hussein and his sons 72 hours to leave Iraq as a means of averting that war). In fact, the president isn't even on this continent right now; he's in Rio, and he's canceled any opportunities the press may have had to ask him questions about anything, including Libya.

4. This week is the first anniversary of Obamacare.

And the Democrats are going to - very entertainingly - try to put the best face on that particular electoral disaster that they possibly can: they have a week's worth of events planned, apparently in the hope that the only thing wrong with their party's messaging thus far was that they did not speak loudly enough, or slowly enough, or use small enough words, or any combination thereof. They also plan to "shine a spotlight on Republicans who have opposed the law at every turn" - which, the last time that I checked, included not only every Republican sitting in Congress now, but the net +6 Senators and +63 Representatives who were not in their current Congressional seats in March 2010. Put another way, Republicans do not so much worry that their opposition to Obamacare be highlighted as they demand that it be.

5. AT&T to Buy T-Mobile, Union Targets $15 Million/yr in Dues Through Card Check

Sunday's breaking business story is the announcement that unionized AT&T will be buying union-free T-Mobile for $39 billion. With 42,000 mostly union-free employees, German-owned T-Mobile has long been a target of the red-shirted Communications Workers of America. Now, as the mostly unionized AT&T Mobility has agreed to allow the CWA to unionize its employees without secret-ballot elections (via neutrality and card-check), the red-shirted union bosses are seeing the green that will likely come from T-Mobile's employees.

6. Arianna Huffington's Hilarious Hypocrisy: Union-Busting Like...a Capitalist Pig?!?

We probably won't hear AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka comparing Arianna Huffington to Hitler; nor will we likely see Joey "BFD" Biden weigh in on the merits of collective bargaining in this case either. However, ever since Arianna Huffington convinced AOL to give her gobs of money ($315 million), a cushy new job, and some prestige for her rise to the top of the blogoshpere, she's had a bit of a PR problem. You see, on top of getting her millions on the backs of the 900 AOL staffers losing their jobs, Huffington appears to be turning into one of those evil, greedy, capitalist pigs she so often hypocritically excoriates on her website.

Now, an affiliate of the "Marxist Maulers" (the red-shirted union otherwise known as CWA) is calling on all of HuffPo's bloggers to honor an "e-strike" until HuffPo bloggers get their fair share.

Full disclosure from Erick: when Eagle Publishing, Inc. purchased RedState, the four owners (including me) set aside ten percent of the gross sales price to divvy up between the volunteer staff. Arianna? Not so much.

7. Sodexo Slaps SEIU Cockroaches With RICO Suit

Imagine being at a dinner event and having your plate served with (plastic) cockroaches scattered over the food. Envision going to a hospital with a loved one only to be confronted with the hint that the hospital food is infested with bugs, flies, mold, and rat droppings. Pretty disgusting, right? Well, imagine how disgusting it is that these tacticss are due to a union's efforts to unionize the "offending" company's employees. At least, that's the allegations being made by the French-owned company Sodexo.

 Most Read Stories From the Stein Report blog:

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

 Check Out FAIR's Latest Video
Who is FAIR? 

FAIR's Border Security Update

Tunnels under U.S. borders are an escalating threat to homeland security with 75 tunnels having been unearthed in the last four years in the western regions of the Southern border. Read more

FAIR Media's Immigration Update

Utah Governor Signs Unconstitutional State "Amnesty" Bill -- Last week we reported that the Utah legislature approved a series of bills that even the pro-illegal alien American Immigration Lawyers Association said were clearly unconstitutional. Read more.

New Mexico State Senate Allows Illegal Aliens to Keep Driver's Licenses -- The New Mexico State Senate has scuttled a bill that would have barred illegal aliens from obtaining state driver's licenses. Read more.

 The organization sponsoring Nonie Darwish's appearance is the student organization, Temple University Purpose.

The Kitchen Table Patriots Presents an Educational Event: Steve Goreham Author of  "Climatism" and Speaker will Present:

Climate Change and Renewable Energy:

The Rest of The Story

 Thursday, April 28 from 7-9 pm at the Doylestown Moose.

Read the Event Flyer HERE

 
The News Media bombards us daily with warnings about the dire consequences of climate change. Rising seas, hurricanes, droughts and floods are projected results of man-made global warming.

Political leaders, academics, scientists, and the United Nations have placed mankind on a course to try to stop global warming.   But is all this really correct? Contrary to popular Consensus, Steve Goreham, Executive Director of the Climate Science Coalition of America and author of Climatism! Science, Common Sense, and the 21st
Century's Hottest Topic, will argue that global warming is due to natural cycles of the Earth and not greenhouse gas emissions. Our Federal and State governments are pursuing policies that won't affect the climate but will have a major negative impact on each American Citizen.

This Discussion is not to be missed!

Please join us and you will learn what you can do to influence the debate with your elected officials!

The Kitchen Table Patriots
PO Box 3, Doylestown, PA 18901
www.TheKitchenTablePatriots.org
215-534-1851

ENERGY AFFECTS EVERYTHING YOU DO. BE INFORMED

Global warming/climate change is a fraud science backed by the mercenary alarmists in the scientific community and the U.N.  Why then does our country continue to plunge recklessly headlong into an EPA-driven death march for our economy?  Come find out the facts as The Kitchen Table Patriots sponsors an educational presentation and book signing on Thursday, April 28 from 7-9 pm.  Our host will be author, speaker and member of the Climate Science Coalition, Steve Goreham. 

Middle East Center Events 3/18-4/1, 2011

 1. Persian Nowruz Bash -- Mar 20
2. Film Screening: "Budrus" - Mar 21
3. Perspectives on the Upheaval in Egypt -- Mar 22
4. Utility vs. Authenticity in the Legal Canon: - Mar 22

5. The Rapidly Changing Face of the Middle East - Mar 24
6. Israel's Separation Barrier in the West Bank - Joel Beinin - Mar 24
7. The Tarbiyat Girls' School of Tehran -- Jasamin Rostam Kolayi  -- Mar 28

______________________________________________________________________

 Sunday, March 20, 6:00pm
 Persian Nowruz Bash
 Location: Hall of Flags, Houston Hall

 The Penn Persian Society is Celebrating the Persian New Year! There will be free Persian food, performances, and dancing, featuring DJ Beshkan. Free and open to the public. For more information, visit the facebook events page at www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193024370729089.

 Sponsored by the Middle East Center and the Penn Persian Society.

______________________________________________________________________

 Monday, March 21, 7:30pm
 Film Screening: "Budrus"

Location: International House 3701 Chestnut St.

 Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film produced by Just Vision about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save hisvillage of Budrus from destruction by Israel's Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women's contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat.  The movie is directed by award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha (co-writer and editor ofControl Room and co-director Encounter Point), and produced by Bacha, Palestinian journalist Rula Salameh, and filmmaker and human rights advocate Ronit Avni (formerly of WITNESS, Director of Encounter Point). 

     For more information about "Budrus," and to watch the trailer, visit the Just Vision website at http://www.justvision.org/en/budrus.

     The film will be followed by a Q&A session with a member of the Just Vision Team. Just Vision seeks to inform local and international audiences about under-documented Palestinian and Israeli civilian efforts to resolve the conflict nonviolently, through media, education, and discussion.

 Sponsored by The Graduate School of Education, The GSE Student Government, The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, GAPSA, the Penn Arab Student Society, the Documentaries, the Law Program at Penn, and theMiddle East Center.

______________________________________________________________________

 Tuesday, March 22, 4:00pm
 Perspectives on the Upheaval in Egypt
 Location: The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (7^th and Arch Streets), The Pennsylvania Room

 The Global Independence Center is holding a conference at the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Back. The program will focus on both economic and socio-political issues related to the recent event in Egypt. For more information and registration, visit: www.interdependence.org/Event-03-22-11.php. For inquiries, please contact Jillian Fornito at GIC at jfornito@interdependence.org or 215-898-9453. Fees: $40 for GIC members, $60 for non-members.

Speakers: "The Future of Egypt and Its Leadership in the Region": Dr. Ian Lustick, Bess W. Heyman Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, "Economics of a Revolution: Transitioning to Democracy and Open Markets": Eugenio Aleman, Director, Senior Economist, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC; Karanta Kalley, Managing Director, Middle East and Northern Africa, IHS Global Insight, "Israeli Perspective on Egypt": Daniel Kutner, Consul General of Israel, "Realities of an Emergency Evacuation": Suzanne Garber, Chief Operating Officer, International SOS; Ken Walton, Regional Security Manager, Travel Security Services.

Sponsored by the Global Interdependence Center, the Temple Center for International Business Education and Research, and the Middle East Center.

______________________________________________________________________

 Tuesday, March 22, 5:00pm
 Utility vs. Authenticity in the Legal Canon: The Peculiar Case of the Sunan of Ibn Majah
 Participants: Jonathan Brown, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Understanding, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Location: McNeil Building, Room 286-7, Locust Walk bet. 37th and 38th

 Jonathan AC Brown received his BA in History from Georgetown University in 2000 and his doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 2006. Dr. Brown has studied and conducted research in Egypt,Syria, Turkey, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia and Iran, and he is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His book publications include The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon (Brill, 2007), Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World (Oneworld, 2009) and Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, forthcoming). He has published articles in the fields of Hadith, Islamic law, Sufism, Arabic lexical theory and Pre-Islamic poetry and is the editor in chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islamic Law. Dr. Brown's current research interests include the history of forgery and historical criticism in Islamic civilization, comparison with the Western tradition; and modern conflicts between Late Sunni Traditionalism and Salafism in Islamic thought.

 Sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, the Religious Studies Department, and TheMiddle East Center.

______________________________________________________________________

 Thursday, March 24, 11:15am - 7:45pm
 The Rapidly Changing Face of the Middle East 
 Participants: The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia
Location: The Union League of Philadelphia, 140 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA.

 Join the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia for a conference featuring a host of experts, including:

·         Bob Simon, CBS' 60 Minutes Correspondent

·         The Hon. Stephen J. Hadley, National Security Advisor (2005-2009); Senior Advisor, US Institute for Peace

·         H.E. Samir Sumaida'ie, Ambassador of Iraq to the US

·         Deborah Amos, Middle East Correspondent, NPR

·         Haleh Esfandiari, Director, Middle East Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Imprisoned in Iran(2007)

·         Bernard Lewis, Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University

·         Dan Arbell, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Israel

This esteemed group of Middle East scholars and experts will discuss the wide ranging implications of the recent unrest growing within Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, and Libya and its potential impact on the surrounding region. Topics of discussion include: Reporting from the Front Line with Bob Simon; Implications of Unrest and Reform in the Middle East, a panel discussion among moderated by Bob Simon; The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East, a discussion moderated by Worldview Columnist Trudy Rubin; An Update on Iraq - Deborah Amos in conversation with the Ambassador of Iraq; We Live in Interesting Times, an intimate discussion with Bernard Lewis, and Democratic Reform and Security with The Hon. Stephen J. Hadley.

     Business attire is required.

     For more information, and to register, visit http://www.wacphila.org/programs/center_city.html#conference.

 Sponsored by the Middle East Center, the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, the Middle East Forum, Penn Humanities Forum, International House, and the Philadelphia Arab-American Community Development Corporation.

______________________________________________________________________

 Thursday, March 24, 6:00pm
 Israel's Separation Barrier in the West Bank: Popular Resistance, the New Internationalism, and High-Risk Activism
 Presenter: Joel Beinin, Stanford University

Location: College Hall 200

 Join the Middle East Center, the Penn Arab Student Society, Penn for Palestine, the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and your fellow students for a lecture and discussion with Professor Joel Beinin of Stanford University. The topic of discussion is the controversial barrier that divides Israel and the West Bank, and its implications for Israelis, Palestinians, and the International Community.

    Joel Beinin is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University, and previously served as Director of Middle East Studies and Professor of History at the American University in Cairo. His research and writing focuses on workers, peasants, and minorities in the modern Middle East and on Israel, Palestine, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

     See also the Facebook event.

 Sponsored by the Penn Arab Student Society, Penn for Palestine, the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and the Middle East Center.

______________________________________________________________________

 Tuesday, March 28, 12:00pm
 The Tarbiyat Girls' School of Tehran: Baha'i, American, or Nationalist Iranian Education?
 Presenter: Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi, Dept. of History at Cal-State Fullerton

Location: Fisher-Bennett Hall, Room 244

 Tarbiyat, one of Iran's most influential and pioneering girls' schools of the early twentieth century, was a joint venture of Iranian and North American Baha'is. Opened in 1910 and shut down by the state in 1934, it showcased a secular and modern-style curriculum, and educated a Baha'i and non-Baha'i student body in Tehran. Scholarly references to Tarbiyat tend to credit American Baha'i administrators and teachers for the school's exceptional performance and success. However, primary sources indicate that Tarbiyat's achievements were due more to the school's conscious attention to an indigenous, Iranian nationalist outlook than to Western modernist (American) ideas and models. Moreover, a reexamination of this school's institutional history and intellectual contribution sheds new light on US-Iranian relations, as well as on the role of Iranian religious minorities in modern nation building.

Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi completed her Ph.D. in Near East History at UCLA in 2000. Before coming to Cal State Fullerton, she taught history at Cal State Long Beach (2000-03) and Cal State San Marcos (2003-06). Dr. Rostam-Kolayi was a Keddie-Balzan Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor at UCLA in 2006-07. Her teaching and research interests focus on the Modern Middle East and include women's history and film in Iran and the world.

 Sponsored by the Middle East Center.

-- James RyanProgram AssistantMiddle East Center University of Pennsylvania3340 Walnut StFBH 228Philadelphia, PA 19104215.898.6335 University of Pennsylvania AM 2011

University of Chicago AB 2008

How Israel could revolutionize the global energy sector

By DORE GOLD | 03/11/2011

New data suggests Israel may not only have much larger gas resources than believed, but also the 3rd largest deposit of oil shale in the world.

Libyan oil accounts for less than 2 percent of world oil production, yet the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi has managed to shoot up the price of oil to more than $100 per barrel in the last month.

No one knows how long the internal instability in the Middle East will last, but according to the US Department of Energy, its share of the world's total oil supply is expected to actually increase in the years ahead.
    Read More . . . 

U.S. charter-school network with Turkish link draws federal attention

Philly.com | By Martha Woodall and Claudio Gatti | March 20, 2011 

Fethullah Gulen is a major Islamic political figure in Turkey, but he lives in self-imposed exile in a Poconos enclave and gained his green card by convincing a federal judge in Philadelphia that he was an influential educational figure in the United States.

As evidence, his lawyer pointed to the charter schools, now more than 120 in 25 states, that his followers - Turkish scientists, engineers, and businessmen - have opened, including Truebright Science Academy in North Philadelphia and another charter in State College, Pa.

   Read More . . . 

My fellow Pennsylvanians,

I'm excited to update you about a great rally AFP had in Allentown this week and to highlight two recent votes in Congress. First, however, I want to remind you to sign up for our RightOnline Training Seminar on April 9th in Harrisburg. The event is free and seats are filling up and I don't want you to miss out!
 
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP NOW.

(Keep reading through to the end of the email where I've laid out exactly what you'll be learning and how the RightOnline Training Seminar can help you).

 Thank you Congressmen Joe Pitts and Tim Murphy

While it's important to hold our elected Representatives accountable when they do wrong, it is also crucial we express our gratitude when they do right. That's why AFP is giving a big THANKS to two members of Pennsylvania's Congressional Delegation: Reps. Joseph Pitts and Tim Murphy.  Both men sit on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and, on Tuesday, both cast two key votes for freedom and prosperity.

First, Congressman Tim Murphy and Joe Pitts voted for the EPA Prevention Bill. This bill puts the Environmental Protection Agency in its rightful place and will legislate that the EPA has no authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases to address climate change.

Second, Mr. Pitts and Mr. Murphy voted to stop the FCC's internet takeover. The Obama Administration has been trying to regulate the internet, even though most Americans and both chambers of Congress have said no to this type of regulation extremism.  The President thought he could get around the will of the people by giving that regulation authority to the FCC.  Congressmen Pitts and Murphy voted to put an end to this Presidential power grab.

Both of the Congressmen's votes struck a blow for individual freedom, against government overreach and for economic prosperity. We're asking all freedom loving Americans to say THANK YOU to our Congressmen.

Please click here to say THANK YOU to Congressman Murphy for his votes.

Please click here to say THANK YOU to Congressman Pitts for his votes.

But not everyone from PA was out fighting for our rights. Congressman Mike Doyle voted AGAINST keeping the FCC from taking over the internet.

Please click here to email Congressman Doyle and tell him his vote was unacceptable. Tell the Congressman the people of Pennsylvania want the internet left alone and free from government intrusion.  Let the Congressman know elections do have consequences and he must start to listen to the people who put him in power.

I'm Spent! The Rally in Allentown to ask Congressman Charlie Dent to Stand Strong against the Democrats Reckless Budget

The weather was a little chilly in Allentown on Tuesday, but that didn't stop over 100 activists from coming out to sign AFP's "I'm Spent" petition.  It asks Congressman Charlie Dent to stand strong against President Obama's reckless tax and spend budget. Click below to see photos of our rally.

We are grateful to all who came out to send a message to the Congressman. 

We had almost 1000 signatures that we will be delivering to Rep. Dent's office.  We thank everyone who showed up on Tuesday and signed up online.

You can still be a part of I'm Spent:  please click here to sign the petition!

Tell Congressman Dent You're Spent!

*Think the Left dominates the media?
Have something important to say but feel you can't get your voice heard?
*Frustrated by how to blog, tweet and facebook so that your group grows and your message gets in front of the right people?

Then click here to join Americans for Prosperity at our FREE RightOnline Conference in Harrisburg (right after the PA Leadership Conference). 

RightOnline Training Includes:
· Social Networking and Mobilization
· Investigative Research and Reporting
· Blogging and Online Video
· And many other online media tools and strategies

Click here to join us for a FREE training
seminar at the PA Leadership Conference!

WHEN:  Saturday, April 9, 2011, 1:30pm - 5pm.

WHERE:  The Governor's Ballroom, Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center, 1150 Camp Hill Bypass US RT 11, Camp Hill PA 17011

For Prosperity,

Sam Rohrer, PA State Director
Jennifer Stefano, Director of Communication
Katy Abram, Director of Policy

Log on to learn more!

AFP Pennsylvania Website

House Hearing Reveals the Truth About the Obamacare Waivers

Posted March 17th, 2011 

To date, over 1,000 companies, covering nearly 2.4 million employees, have been granted waivers to escape the burdensome requirements of Obamacare. The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care, the District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives held a hearing this week to further examine the transparency and fairness of the waiver process.

   Read More . . . 

Drilling Delays Inspire New Proposal to Reform Permitting Process

Posted March 17th, 2011 

Two Republican lawmakers have developed a plan they hope will put pressure on the Obama administration to speed up the permitting process for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Reps. Bill Flores (R-TX) and Jeff Landry (R-LA) introduced legislation to codify timeliness of permitting process by establishing stringent deadlines and clear requirements on drilling applications. Leaseholders would even be able to request a refund on their bonus bid if the Department of Interior rejects and application.

   Read More . . . 

Heritage in Focus Roundtable: Herman Cain, Gas Prices and Budget

Herman Cain

Posted March 17th, 2011 

In this week's Heritage in Focus Roundtable, Heritage panelists discuss this week's Blogger's Briefing with special guest Herman Cain, gas prices and the budget.

Just under one year since passage, Obamacare has already taken its toll on businesses, which is why the recent address by Herman Cain (former CEO of Godfather's Pizza and current talk radio host) is especially important.

   Read More . . . 

Alexander's Essay - March 17, 2011

Reality Check
 

BIG Meltdowns Imperiling the U.S. (and not at power plants)

"If men of wisdom and knowledge, of moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance, of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth; if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation." --Samuel Adams

The surfeit of images documenting human suffering and destruction in Japan after the 11 March Tohoku Earthquake and resulting tsunami is dreadful. Though the estimated 10,000 dead in Japan pales in comparison to the more than 200,000 dead in the Haitian earthquake of January 2010, the implications of the unfolding crisis, and its consequences for the 1.5 million Japanese men, women and children now homeless is staggering. Compounding the misery, almost one-third of Japan's energy production capability was disabled when the tsunami which followed the earthquake damaged four nuclear reactor units at Fukushima, which is to say that providing basic resources and services for all of Japan is increasingly difficult.

   Read More . . . 

Poll: Wisconsin governor rising in Republican eyes

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who signed sweeping curbs on public unions into law this month, may be emerging as a potential 2012 Republican presidential contender, according to a poll issued on Thursday.

The phone survey by Public Policy Polling of 642 registered voters across the country on March 10-13 found that Walker's favorability among Republican voters was 55 percent positive and 11 percent negative, a spread of 44 points.

    Read More . . .

Michigan Dems charged in fake tea party scandal

By Rachel Rose Hartman 

Two Michigan Democrats were arraigned Wednesday on election corruption charges for allegedly propping up of fake tea party candidates in 2010, the Detroit News reports 

   Read More . . . 

Worried Californians Purchase Gas Masks, Chemical Suits 

BREWER, Maine (AP) - The owner of a military supply company in Maine says he's been inundated with orders from people in California buying gas masks and chemical suits.

   Read More . . . 

Illegal immigrant accused of voting in 9 elections 

An alleged illegal Philippines immigrant was charged Thursday with fraudulently voting in Lake County elections since 2003.

Maria Azada, 53, of Grayslake, faces 17 felony counts of perjury, mutilation of election materials and tampering with voting machines in connection with illegal voting by a non-U.S. citizen, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Azada is accused of voting nine times in primary, general and consolidated elections between 2003 and 2009, officials said.

Sun-Times Media

Iranian Flying Saucer: back to the fifties

By Coach Collins, on March 19th, 2011

By Jim Emerson, staff writer

Despite the setbacks with its ambitious nuclear weapon program, Iran unveiled an unmanned flying saucer at a strategic technologies exhibition. The story was first reported by the Fars News Agency. The Zohal (Saturn) was publicly introduced at the exhibition that was attended by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As reported in the Daily Mail the capability of the Flying Saucer that "It is equipped with autopilot, image stabilizer and GPS and has a separate system for aerial recording with full HD quality." Fars reported that 'The device belonging to the new generation of vertical flyers is designed for aerial photography."

The saucer is capable of operating outdoors and indoors.

   Read More . . . 

The ATF: Where Perversion Means Promotion

Mar 18, 2011 06:13 am | Coach Collins

By Doug Book, staff writer

In December of 2009, Russell Vanderwerf, Director of Industry Operations for the Houston office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was arrested in New Orleans after staffers at the Residence Inn at which he was staying were sent to investigate a malfunctioning hotel fire alarm. It seems Mr. Vanderwerf had disconnected the smoke detectors in his suite and removed the alarm horn, leaving it hanging out of the wall. But far more interesting to hotel employees, Vanderwerf had also removed the door between his bedroom and the outer suite and replaced it with a four by five foot piece of plywood, mounting it to the door jam with hinges and screws.

Near the center of this makeshift door was a hole, rimmed with duck tape. "A front desk staffer told authorities that she'd received a complaint from  a hotel guest who said the door to that room had been propped open...and that she ... Continue Reading:The ATF: Where Perversion Means Promotion

   Read More . . . 

DICK'S VIDEO: REPUBLICANS - SHUT DOWN OR SHUT UP

Dick Morris

Dear Friend, 

In this video commentary, I explain my take on the potential for a government shutdown showdown in Congress. 

To access the video - Go here!

Please forward this email to any friends or family who may be interested in viewing my video commentary!

Thanks for watching,

Dick

OBAMA: FROM LIBERAL TO INVISIBLE (AND STILL TOO LIBERAL)

DickMorris.com | By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN | March 18, 2011 

Where is Barack Obama? Is he still in office? As he jets off with his family for a taxpayer-paid vacation in Rio, does he realize the world is falling apart around him?

Does he realize that the radical unrest and disturbances in the Middle East are driving oil and gasoline prices so high that a double dip recession - this time with inflation - is increasingly likely?

Does he get it that the catastrophe in Japan may wipe out 12% of the world's economy for the time being, creating huge economic problems for the U.S.?

   Read More . . . 

Check out the discussion 'CBO Report Confirms: Obama's Budget Laden with Debt..... What? Seriously? No Way!'

Check this out!! DD

Discussion posted by Darla Dawald, National Director:

The CBO Analysis and Obama's Budget are included below the article. DD From Heritage Foundation CBO Report Confirms: Obama's Budget Laden w...

Discussion link:

CBO Report Confirms: Obama's Budget Laden with Debt..... What? Seriously? No Way!

Check out the video 'The Welfare Reform Act of 2011'

Check out the video 'A New Dawn Rises'

Great Reminder! Keep the faith and Don't Give Up!!
DD

Check out the discussion 'Obama orders review of nuclear plants in US, but calls them 'safe''

Discussion posted by Darla Dawald, National Director:

Obama orders review of nuclear plants in US, but calls them 'safe' By Ben Geman and Sam Youngman - 03/17/11 08:48 PM ET President Obama...

Discussion link:

Obama orders review of nuclear plants in US, but calls them 'safe'

Check out the discussion '20 Days of Left-Wing Thuggery in Wisconsin: When Will Obama, Democrats, and MSM Call for Civility?'

Very interesting..Check it out and then answer our questions listed at the bottom if you will. Thanks! DD

Discussion posted by Darla Dawald, National Director:

From Big Government:   20 Days of Left-Wing Thuggery in Wisconsin: When Will Obama, Democrats, and MSM Call for Civility?   by John Nolte B...

Discussion link:

20 Days of Left-Wing Thuggery in Wisconsin: When Will Obama, Democrats, and MSM Call for Civility?

 March 18, 2011

Florida Judge orders Muslims to follow sharia law!


 The eyes and ears of ACT! for America are everywhere. Make sure you're sitting down when you read what we became aware of this week!

In Tampa, Florida, a dispute arose over who controls the funds a mosque received in 2008 from an eminent domain proceeding.

Former trustees of the mosque are claiming in court they have the right to the funds. Current mosque leaders are disputing that claim.

The current mosque leaders want the case decided according to secular, Florida civil law, and their attorney has been vigorously arguing the case accordingly.

The former trustees of the mosque want the case decided according to sharia law.

Here's the kicker.

The judge recently ruled "This case will proceed under Ecclesiastical Islamic law," (sharia law), "pursuant to the Qur'an."

You can read the judge's ruling here.

Now it's not unusual for a dispute to arise within a religious institution and for a court to order a mediation or arbitration, in order to resolve this without the court having to render its own judgment.

But what makes this case unusual, and highly troubling, is that a group of Muslim leaders-the CURRENT mosque leaders-who do NOT want to be subject to sharia law, are being compelled to do so by an American judge!

This is reminiscent of the 2009 New Jersey case, where a Muslim woman sought a restraining order, in civil court, against her Muslim husband, who was raping her several times a day. The judge denied the restraining order because, in his opinion, the husband did not commit a crime because he was following his Islamic beliefs.

In the New Jersey case, and now in this recent case in Tampa, Muslims found themselves being subjected to sharia law against their will.

Last October, ACT! for America aired a radio ad across Oklahoma in support of the referendum preventing Oklahoma judges from using sharia law in their decisions. The referendum won with 70% support.

The point we made then, which now bears repeating, is that such legislation protects non-Muslims AND Muslims alike from being subjected to sharia law.

When someone claims that opposition to sharia law in America is "anti-Muslim," make sure you tell them about the New Jersey woman and the mosque leaders in Tampa. 

All across the country, state budgets are dripping in red ink from years of public sector union extortion.

And in many states, bold conservative lawmakers are breaking this stranglehold by pushing legislation to curb collective bargaining powers for public employees.

The Big Labor backlash has been swift and severe. But FreedomWorks, with your help, is rolling out a massive program -- including hard-hitting TV ads -- to fight back!

Please click the image below to watch the ad we've prepared to air in Ohio.  

We've also created several similar ads for other states, but we need your generosity -- of $25, $50, $100 or more -- to get them on the air.


In all, our target budget for this campaign is $5.6 million. Some generous donors have gotten the ball rolling, but to meet our goals -- and to get this ad and others like it on TV -- we desperately need your support, too.

The unions have no shortage of forced-dues dollars to flood the airwaves with their anti-freedom message. We're counting on you for $25, $50, $100 or more to help balance the scales.

Please, watch our Ohio ad and help keep it on the air with as generous a contribution as you can afford.

For freedom,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO, FreedomWorks 

US backing for world currency stuns markets

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner shocked global markets by revealing that Washington is "quite open" to Chinese proposals for the gradual development of a global reserve currency run by the International Monetary Fund.

Make the Bush Tax Cuts Permanent

This column by Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara was published March 16 in The Wall Street Journal.

By the end of last year, President Obama was faced with the utter failure of his economic policies. The unemployment rate in mid-December was 9.8%, marking the 16th straight month it was at 9.5% or above-the longest run since the Great Depression.

Particularly hard hit are African-Americans, among whom the unemployment rate has persisted at 15% or above. Among Hispanics the rate has persisted at double digits too. Teen unemployment during the period was around 25%.

Read the Entire Column

Continuing Stubborn Ignorance

This column by ACRU Policy Board Member and Professor of Economics Dr. Walter E. Williams was published March 16 on Townhall.com. 

Within the past decade, I've written three columns titled "Deception 101," "Stubborn Ignorance," and "Exploiting Public Ignorance," all explaining which branch of the federal government has taxing and spending authority. How can academics, politicians, news media people and ordinary citizens get away with statements such as "Reagan's budget deficits," "Clinton's budget surplus," "Bush's budget deficits and tax cuts" or "Obama's tax increases"? Which branch of government has taxing and spending authority is not a matter of rocket science, but people continue to make these statements. The only explanation that I come up with is incurable ignorance, willful deception or just plain stupidity; if there's another answer, I would like to hear it.

Read the Entire Column

Slouching Towards Argentina   

This column by ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara was published March 16 on The American Spectator website.

Argentina enjoyed the world's fourth highest per capita GDP in 1929, on par with America at the time. But then the nation lost its way with a union dominated government taking control of the economy, and imposing wildly irresponsible taxes, spending, deficits and debt. After World War II, the hugely popular Juan Peron came to power in alliance with the unions, which effectively became part of the government. It has been all downhill for Argentina ever since.

The nation's currency lost 70% of its value in 2 years, and inflation roared to 50% in 1951, amidst out of control spending, deficits and debt, which the nation's monetary authorities accommodated through the "quantitative easing" of the time. The economy has never really recovered, as union dominated government only expanded and solidified control of the economy.

Read the Entire Column 

State Department Is AWOL on Religious Liberties

This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Ken Blackwell was published March 15 on The American Spectator website.

Last May 31 in Afghanistan, a world away from American backyard barbeques and military parades, Sayeed Mussa vanished into thin air. Mr. Mussa was spirited away to an unknown location to be executed for his faith in Jesus Christ. No, his captors were not the Taliban insurgents but Afghanistan government officials, bankrolled by U.S. taxpayers and defended by American troops.

As President Obama proclaimed January 16th to be "Religious Freedom Day," he declared that "the United States stands with those who advocate for free religious expression and works to protect the rights of all people to follow their conscience, free from persecution and discrimination." If the Obama Administration is working to promote religious freedom across the globe at all, it's not working very hard.

Read the Entire Column

Why Isn't Awlaki on the Most Wanted List?    

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Jan LaRue was published March 15 on the American Thinker website.

You might think that a top terrorist targeted for assassination by the Obama administration would be on the FBI's list of "Most Wanted Terrorists." You might think he would be under indictment by the Department of Justice, which has a penchant for prosecuting war criminals in civil court. But in the case of Anwar al-Awlaki, leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), you'd be wrong.

United States counterterrorism officials agree that Awlaki, a dual U.S.-Yemeni citizen, is one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. Attorney General Eric Holder says Awlaki is right up there with Osama bin Laden.

Read the Entire Column

March 16, 2011

The problem with primaries

MICHAEL BARONE - The weakest part of our political system is the presidential-nomination process. And it's not coincidental that it's the part of the federal system that finds least guidance in the Constitution. There is no provision in the Constitution that says that Iowa and New Hampshire vote first... (more)

March 16, 2011

House Republicans to hold 'emergency' meeting on NPR funding

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS - House Republicans are escalating their war against National Public Radio, calling for an "emergency" meeting Wednesday to consider a bill that would strip the organization of federal funds... (more)

March 16, 2011

Justifying Japanese judgment day

WASHINGTON TIMES - The devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan couldn't have been caused by purported man-made global warming. This reality hasn't stopped environmental alarmists from trying to exploit the tragedy to bolster their sagging cause. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake was the worst to hit Japan since detailed records have been kept... (more)

March 16, 2011

Bachmann: Public wants Obamacare gone

NEWSMAX - Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who along with 53 of her GOP colleagues voted against the three-week stopgap spending measure the House passed Tuesday, says the extent of no votes shows the Republican Party is listening to the American people. Bachmann Tuesday also said that most Americans want Congress to give "the boot to Obamacare"... (more)

March 16, 2011

Palin: Thank Obama for higher gasoline prices

NEWSMAX - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is one of many Republicans who blame President Barack Obama for higher gasoline prices, saying that's exactly what his energy policy was meant to achieve, Politico reports.... (more)

March 16, 2011

Bozell: NPR's ridiculous denials

L. BRENT BOZELL III - In the public policy conversation today, there is nothing funnier than hearing the leadership of National Public Radio deny there's a liberal bias at play over there. Even when the Daily Caller posted sting video of their top fundraiser Ron Schiller describing America as remarkably under-educated and the Republicans as ruined by racist, gun-toting, phony Christians, NPR's reaction was repeating Sentence One: Who, us, biased?... (more)

March 16, 2011

Obamacare marches on

MICHAEL TANNER - For the second time this month, Congress has passed a short-term continuing resolution and avoid a government shutdown. And for the second time, this was accomplished at the cost of dropping a provision that would have prevented the use of government funds to implement Obamacare... (more)

March 16, 2011

The 'untouchable' $23.6 billion Obamacare fallacy

ERNEST ISTOOK - It's untouchable. That's the treatment Congress is giving to the $23.6 billion being spent right now to implement ObamaCare. This $23.6 billion is the current portion of the $105.5 billion appropriated by the last Congress to fund ObamaCare... (more)

March 15, 2011

Internet usage transforms news industry

LONDON DAILY MAIL - The rapid growth of smartphones and electronic tablets is making the internet favourite for people seeking news, a report released today said. News consumption online increased 17 per cent last year from the year before, the project said in its eighth annual State of the News Media survey... (more)

March 15, 2011

NRA rejects Obama offer to meet on gun policy

REUTERS - Calls by President Barack Obama's administration to meet with all sides to discuss making gun laws more effective are politically motivated, the National Rifle Association's top executive said Tuesday. The White House said Monday that the Justice Department is reaching out to "stakeholders on all sides of the issue... (more)

March 15, 2011

Breakthrough for a taboo-buster

FRANK GAFFNEY - It is not every day that Congress breaks a major taboo and, in so doing, performs a real service to the nation. Last Thursday, however, was one such day when Rep. Peter King, New York Republican, demonstrated impressive leadership in conducting a four-hour hearing on "extremism" in the American Muslim community... (more)

March 15, 2011

Guns for us, not for you

WASHINGTON TIMES - Some of the most far-out anti-gun laws are found on the left coast, but that could change - for privileged politicians. A California state Senate committee will consider a bill next week that grants legislators permission to carry concealed firearms... (more)

March 15, 2011

Rep. Joe Barton: Drilling would cut price of gas in half

NEWSMAX - Longtime Rep. Joe Barton tells Newsmax that the United States could cut the price of gasoline in half in the long term if the federal government permitted more domestic oil drilling... (more)

March 15, 2011

Big government in your browser

WASHINGTON TIMES - Administration officials are determined to grab hold of the Internet - for your protection. The latest scheme will be the subject of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday on "The State of Online Consumer Privacy"... (more)

March 15, 2011

Herman Cain: 'It's not Planned Parenthood -- no, it's planned genocide'

CNSNEWS.COM - Likely Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain supports ending all federal funding to Planned Parenthood, an abortion business that he said was founded to target African Americans and is continuing that mission... (more)

March 15, 2011

Defund United Nations failures now

HUMAN EVENTS - An agency spent $517 million to promote industrial development in impoverished areas, but an official review "could not find any evidence" it had "a significant impact" on poverty, so the government will cut its funding... (more)

March 14, 2011

King: Obamacare designed to defy defeat

REP. STEVE KING - Agreement is almost universal that the new healthcare law is overcomplicated. And it was made that way on purpose to prevent lawmakers from changing it, says Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa... (more)

March 14, 2011

Administration refused more than a third of FOIA requests last year

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Two years into its pledge to improve government transparency, the Obama administration handled fewer requests for federal records from citizens, journalists, companies and others last year even as significantly more people asked for information... (more)

March 14, 2011

The Obama administration is corrupt and evil

MARIE JON, RA ANALYST - President Barack Obama exhibits very little to none of the biblical teachings of the Judeo-Christian faith. To this day, he has not become a member of any of the Christian churches in Washington, D.C.... (more)

March 14, 2011

Chairman Peter King vs. the silliness brigade

WES VERNON, RA ANALYST - There were some dramatic and silly moments at the congressional hearings on Radical Islam's war against America this past week. Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King (R-N.Y.) deserves our thanks for getting the much anticipated probe off the ground; especially given that his life has been threatened as he now has police protection - not at his request... (more)

Eight Out of Ten Illegal Aliens Apprehended in 2010 Never Prosecuted, Says Border Congressman Washington (CNSNews.com) - An illegal alien apprehended by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency during the year ending last September had an estimated 84 percent chance of never being prosecuted, according to figures compiled by the office of Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas). Culberson said that the 84 percent of illegal aliens who were not prosecuted in fiscal 2010 "had a chance of being home in time for dinner" after spending just a few hours in U.S. custody.

U.S. Debt Jumped $72 Billion Same Day U.S. House Voted to Cut Spending $6 Billion (CNSNews.com) - The national debt jumped by $72 billion on Tuesday even as the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to fund the government for just three weeks that will cut $6 billion from government spending. If Congress were to cut $6 billion every three weeks for the next 36 weeks, it would manage to save between now and late November as much money as the Treasury added to the nation's net debt during just the business hours of Tuesday, March 15.

Elena Kagan Needs to Recuse Herself from Health-Care Case, Says Author of Virginia Law
(CNSNews.com) - Virginia Del. Bob Marshall, the state legislator who sponsored the law that forbids any government from forcing individuals in Virginia to buy health insurance, says Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan should recuse herself from judging Virginia's suit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare because she was President Obama's solicitor general when the suit was filed and when the Obama administration first took steps to oppose it.

House GOP Aide: Republicans to Fight on Debt Ceiling Bill
Washington (CNSNews.com) - House Republican leaders are reassuring their own party that supporting short-term continuing resolutions to keep the government running does not mean they are giving up the fight on broader spending cuts and reforms. Republican leaders say they will take a stand over the upcoming debt ceiling increase.

Environment Trumps Health As FDA Ends Sales of Only OTC Asthma Inhaler in U.S.
(CNSNews.com) - The only over-the-counter asthma inhaler sold in the United States soon will be banned from store shelves because of environmental concerns, and replacement medications may cost more, the U.S. Food and Drug administration acknowledged. The FDA is advising Primatene Mist users - including those who have never had their asthma officially diagnosed -- to see a doctor soon to get another medication.

Waivers for Obamacare Not Based on Political Considerations, Obama Administration Official Says
Washington (CNSNews.com) - Political considerations did not play a role in determining which companies, unions, and non-profit groups received waivers from the new health care law, a top Obama administration official said on Tuesday. So far, the Department of Health and Human Services has issued 1,040 waivers from Obamacare. "Unions have actually fared worse than the other applicants," Steve Larson, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight in the HHS, told CNSNews.com after testifying before Congress.

State Department's Delay on Canada-U.S. Oil Pipeline Costing Thousands of Jobs, Billions in Tax Revenue, Pipeline Advocates Say
(CNSNews.com) - Plans to build an oil pipeline stretching from Canada to U.S. refineries in the Gulf of Mexico have been put on hold again as the State Department considers the pipeline's environmental impact on U.S. lands - a step that is delaying job and economic growth and revenue growth through taxes on the project, say pipeline advocates. The latest delay of the 1,700-mile XL Keystone pipeline - under consideration by Canada and the United States since 2008 - follows the Environmental Protection Agency's demand that the State Department produce a second environmental impact statement after deeming the first one "inadequate."

TSA Skips Oversight Hearing on TSA Full-Body Scanners, Then Shows Up Late
Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Transportation Security Administration, objecting to the seating of witnesses, on Wednesday backed out of a congressional oversight hearing examining its policy of using full-body scanners on the traveling public. TSA officials later reversed themselves and showed up for an unplanned third round of questioning.

Bloomberg: U.S. Needs Immigration and Tort Reform To Get Health Care Costs 'Under Control'
(CNSNews.com) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says Congress must pass immigration and tort reform to get health care costs under control. Last month, Bloomberg predicted that the Republicans would cut off funds for the implementation of the health care law.

Clinton Denies Obama Administration Is Dragging Its Feet While Gaddafi Crushes Rebels
(CNSNews.com) - As Muammar Gaddafi's son boasted Wednesday that government forces are about to defeat rebels in their Benghazi base, the head of a U.S.-based group promoting democracy in Libya criticized the Obama administration, which he said had given "not a whimper of support" to the anti-Gaddafi rebels. "There is a sense of urgency because Colonel Gaddafi and his forces are moving east, and so we want to see the Security Council act as soon as possible," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Egypt's Nile TV.

U.S. Military Personnel Play Key Role in Response to Japan Crisis
(CNSNews.com) - Amid the continuing uncertainty about the safety of Japan's nuclear plants and radiation health risks, more than 17,000 American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are helping Japan deal with the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Among the tasks carried out Operation Tomodachi ("Friend") are search and rescue, the movement of relief supplies and people - including Japanese troops - the delivery of large quantities of foods and water, and massive cleanup operations.

OTHER HEADLINES:

Consumer Prices Rise 0.5 Percent, Most Since June '09

Feds Deploy More Radiation Monitors in Western U.S.

Kimberly-Clark to Raise Some Prices in N. America

Media Fights for Free Press in New Nation of South Sudan

Supporters Call for U.N. Vote on Libya No-Fly Zone As Time Runs Out

Iran Recalls Its Ambassador From Bahrain

Iraq Shiites Rally Against Saudi Troops in Bahrain

Bahrain Detains Opposition Leaders in Crackdown on Dissent

'Panic High' in Japan, AP Reports

Japanese Helicopters Dump Water on Stricken Reactor

U.S. Authorizes American Evacuations From Japan

White House Focuses on St. Patrick's Day

Senate to Send Three-Week Funding Bill to Obama

House to Vote on Quick U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan

House to Vote Thursday on Cutting Off Funds for NPR

Malaysia Gags Lady Gaga, Garbles Gay Lyrics

American Actor Escorting Former Haitian President Aristide Back to Haiti

Obama Has 'Deep Concerns' Over Aristide Return to Haiti

U.S. Missiles Kill 25 Militants in NW Pakistan

Prince William Visits New Zealand Quake Zone

Kate Middleton's See-Through Dress to Be Sold

GOP Lawmaker Protests 'Whistle-Blower' Demotion of Homeland Security Employee

NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP:

Lawmaker wants to stop federal aid to foreign countries that 'don't like us'

GOP senators threaten no vote on raising debt ceiling

In face of government shutdown, it's still party time for lawmakers

St. Louis area gets grant of $550,000 for trails

Boston liquor stores, bars asked to cut hours for St. Patrick's Day

Washington Post suspends reporter for plagiarizing stories on Tucson shooting

Education secretary: Low graduation rate should mean no NCAA tourney invite

Christie calls for end to early-release program for N.J. prisoners

U.S. government relents, will review fishing fines

Sharron Angle will run for Congress, not Senate

Rep. Salazar gave $100K in staff bonuses before leaving U.S. House

EPA proposes 'first ever' emissions standards for power plants

Foreign nationals fraudulently voted in New Mexico elections, state official says

North Dakota economy booms, population soars

Democratic congresswoman compares Gen. Petraeus to Charlie Sheen

Movie theaters fight to exempt popcorn from food-labeling rule

Michelle Obama writing a book about her White House garden

Obama administration standing on sidelines as .xxx porn domain nears approval

Royal Caribbean rolls out 'all-you-can-drink' packages 

COMMENTARY:

The Deep, Virulent Evil of the United Nations
By Ben Shapiro

Five members of a Jewish settler family were slaughtered in their home last week because they dared to live on historic Jewish land. And the Arab Palestinian populace celebrated the slaughter. Then last Monday, the United Nations held a very special event -- a premiere screening of "Miral," a virulently anti-Israel movie casting the state of Israel in the worst possible light. This is what the United Nations does when faced by implacable evil: it reverses the roles. Israel is always the bully, and those who slit children's throats and soak their toys in blood are the victims.

Dealing with 'Real Enemies'
By Ed Feulner

The fact is, more than three dozen terrorist plots against the U.S. have been foiled since 9/11. It proves that we must take a serious approach to this threat.

663 Illegal Aliens From Countries With Ties to Terrorism Arrested Along Southwest Border in 2010, Senator Says
Washington (CNSNews.com) - Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) says 663 individuals arrested along the southwest border in 2010 were from countries designated as "special interest" or from countries known to have  ties with terrorism. Cornyn said he asked the Director of National Intelligence whether the apprehension of the 663 individuals was national security vulnerability. "He said yes it was, so we need to do more," Cornyn said.

Despite Crises in Japan and Libya, Obama Heads to Latin America to 'Grow' the U.S. Economy
(CNSNews.com) - Neither the ongoing nuclear emergency in Japan nor the conflict in Libya and looming outside military intervention there will prevent President Obama from embarking on his first trip to Latin America since becoming president. Administration officials have stressed the importance of the trip for the U.S. economy and American jobs.

Unemployment Actually 10.2 Percent, 1 in 5 Workers Can't Find Full-Time Job, Says Gallup
(CNSNews.com) - One out of five American workers who wants a full-time job cannot find one, according to a Gallup survey released today. This news comes 25 months after President Barack Obama signed a stimulus law designed to keep the U.S. unemployment rate under 8 percent.

Obama Energy Administrator Says Gas Prices Will Remain High For Rest of Year
Washington (CNSNews.com) - "EIA expects continued tightening of world oil markets over the next two years, particularly in light of recent events in North Africa and the Middle East the world's largest oil producing region," Richard Newell, the administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, told the House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday.

More Drilling in U.S. is 'A Problem, Not A Solution' to Creating Jobs, Says Democrat Member of House Labor Subcommittee
(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) said that increasing oil drilling "off the coast" is "a problem, not a solution" to creating jobs in the United States.  Andrews recommended that House Republicans bring legislation to the floor if they think more drilling will create jobs.

Security Council Authorizes Military Intervention in Libya
(CNSNews.com) - As fears mount that it may already be too late to rescue the faltering anti-Gaddafi rebellion, the U.N. Security Council on Thursday evening narrowly passed a resolution authorizing countries to take "all necessary measures" short of foreign occupation to protect civilians under threat of attack by the Libyan regime. The text was introduced by France, Britain and Lebanon, and the U.S. on Thursday added its sponsorship. Five nations abstained, including China, Russia, Germany, India and Brazil.

Utah Immigration Laws Go Too Far, FAIR Says
(CNSNews.com) - An immigration reform group says the Obama administration should take legal action to block four  immigration bills that Utah's Republican governor signed into law this week. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) -- a group that seeks to improve border security and stop illegal immigration -- says Utah is usurping the role of the federal government.

Rep. Bonner Won't Say If He'll Vote for Long-Term Budget That Permits Funding of Obamacare, Planned Parenthood
(CNSNews.com) - Although Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) voted on Tuesday for the continuing resolution to keep the government funded for three more weeks, he did not say whether he would vote for a long-term budget for the remainder of 2011 if it permits funding of Obamacare and Planned Parenthood, as the current CR does.

OTHER HEADLINES:

Libyan Rebels Dismiss Regime's Cease-Fire Declaration

Nations Draw Up Plans for No-Fly Zone Over Libya 
Libyan Forces Attack Last Rebel-Held Western City; Too Late for No-Fly Zone? 
Oil Heads to $103 As U.N. Authorizes Libya Strikes 
Bahrain Crackdown Enrages Shiites Across Region

Former Haitian President Returns From 7-Year Exile 
Yemeni President Declares State of Emergency

Mexico's Top Diplomat Defends U.S. Drone Flights

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Review Safety of All U.S. Nuclear Plants

Japan Asks for U.S. Help in Nuclear Crisis

Israeli PM Criticizes Palestinian Unity Effort

Radiation Risk From Japan Remains Localized, Says World Health Organization

Crises in Japan and Gulf of Mexico Thwart Obama's Haphazard Energy Policy

Bucking Trend, Some States Consider Cutting Cigarette Taxes

Arizona Senate Rejects Illegal Immigration Bills

Dairy Farmers, Squeezed by Higher Corn Prices, Says Higher Milk Prices Don't Help Much

NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP:

Diversity panel wants military to look like U.S.; Women in combat units

D.C. elementary students sickened by cocaine

GOP tax chairman wants to reduce top rate to 25 percent

Bill would allow federal government to overrule states on teen driving rules

N.J. union workers offer to pay more than 20 percent of health benefits

Baltimore County to pay school administrator $214,000 amid teacher cuts

Donald Trump to President Obama: Go to Japan!

Kathleen Sebelius's health care pledge: More 'flexibility'

Oil and gas industry trade group launching offshore safety institute

Phoenix Police Department, ATF agents team up to fight drug crime spree

FEMA still in 'state of flux,' needs to improve coordination efforts, watchdog says

Bill would limit Miranda rights for foreigners arrested as terror suspects

Phoenix, Scottsdale getting $1,000 stimulus checks from Reader's Digest

Pentagon defends foreign aid as essential to national security

Democrats hope Sen. Claire McCaskill can survive ethics flap

Reid: No deal on Planned Parenthood; Pence says, time to pick a fight

Rep. Issa to investigate corruption in new DC mayor's office

SEIU leader blasts administration on immigration enforcement

Technical glitches slowing program to ID worst of jailed illegal immigrants

New York Times to charge for online content as of March 28

Hopi successful in dropping 'ruins' from park name

Estate executors seek a mysterious 'Mark' for inheritance

COMMENTARY:

The Rising Irrelevance of Barack Obama
By Patrick J. Buchanan
When President George W. Bush spoke, the world sat up and listened. Consider the change. Among the few things that may be said with certainty about the Arab revolution of 2011 is that it has revealed the rising irrelevance of President Obama in that part of the world.

Japan: Just Not Funny
By L. Brent Bozell III
For everyone in public life, the reaction to the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan should be one of horror and sorrow. But it's not. Shrill-voiced comedian Gilbert Gottfried was fired Monday as the quacking voice of the Aflac duck after tweeting Japan jokes such as "They don't go to the beach. The beach comes to them." Surely, Gottfried wasn't expecting the negative repercussions. After all, why wouldn't he be free to misbehave on Twitter the same way he does on television?

Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey: Capitol Hill's Lindsay Lohan
By Michelle Malkin
A grown woman in public office who acts like Lindsay Lohan has no business comparing one of America's finest generals to Charlie Sheen. But anti-war Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey has never shown any restraint when it comes to trashing America's military leaders before the world. That's because being a Code Pink liberal -- like being a Hollywood brat -- means never having to apologize for your reckless words and deeds.

The Bob
dr. bob and Guzzardi

I must respectfully disagree with my principled, grassroots colleagues at Thomas Jefferson Club about Mike Fitzpatrick.

Mike Fitzpatrick is to be commended for his vote. It is both pragmatic and principled.

Let us not focus on what Mike Fitzpatrick hasn't done, let us look at what he  has.

  Mike Fitzpatrick: He did what he said the was going to do!

UNPRECEDENTED, like Gov. Corbett, US Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick has done, exactly, what he  promised; Mike Fitzpatrick has voted for less spending, in this vote $ 6 Billion.

The Two Week CR and  Sequential Selective Shutdown, a politically sophisticated and rational approach to budget cutting.

Many hard core fiscal conservatives voted with Mike,  like Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and others.

Senator Pat Toomey also voted for the two week continuing resolution.

We are aware that our friends at principled  Heritage Action, Club for Growth, Family Research Council and others have pressed for "no" vote. We have to respectfully disagree

Note the can is kicked down the road for three weeks. As US Tom Price, from Georgia, one of the most hard line fiscal conservatives, explained to The Bob at the Pat Toomey election celebration, the tactic is known as "SEQUENTIAL, SELECTIVE SHUTDOWN", this is, programs are rationally analyzed and the most useless and marginal are cut. This is, also, a very practical and sophisticated political strategy to cut spending without the blowback of shutting down government. The tactic allows some Democrats in more conservative areas, like Allyson Schwartz, to vote for this bill.

Respectfully,

The Bob

dr. bob and Guzzardi

[two minds, one voice]

-independent of any candidate, campaign or organization-

promoting Truth, Justice and the American Way.

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-8) has voted FOR the continuing resolution (joining Alyson Schwartz D-13 adn Charles Dent (R-15) that keeps the government running for an additional three weeks while cutting spending by $6 billion.

(Three Area US Reps Vote for $6Bln in Spending Cuts)

Fifty-four Republican House leaders voted against the CR. These patriots have decided enough is enough, and it's time to do more than pass short-term fixes.

In addition, some hoped to use a vote for the CR  as leverage to defund of Obamacare (in case you missed it, those wily Dems stuck $105 billion into the health care bill to fund it--which is not the way things are supposed to work, but when has that ever stopped them?)  A vote for this CR was a missed chance to defund Obamacare.

One wonders why the House leadership (Boehner, Cantor, and McCarthy) supported the CR. Are they that fearful of a government shutdown?

A few who voted against the CR: Representatives Michele Bachmann, Steve King, Mike Pence, Alan West. Take note of these names, as they are who we need to look to for leadership.

There was debate before the election as to whether Mike Fitzpatrick was pandering to the Tea Party to get their votes, or whether he'd actually become more conservative.

This vote makes his intentions a little clearer. Sadly, they aren't what we'd hoped.

Here's the complete list of votes.

NdP

Since when does the UN authorize the US to go to war?

Andrew C. McCarthy says Go to Congress firstbefore waring against Libya.

On Thursday evening, the U.N. Security Council voted 10-0 (with five abstentions, including China, Russia, and Germany) to authorize the use of military force (i.e., "all necessary measures") against Libya. Ostensibly, the resolution is designed to protect the Libyan people. But not to mince words, it is a license for war against the regime of Moammar Qaddafi. It would kick hostilities off with a no-fly zone over Libya. As a practical matter, American armed forces must do the heavy lifting if the strategy is to have a prayer, and indications are that President Obama intends to oblige.
There is a catch: The Security Council is powerless to "authorize" the U.S. military to do a damned thing. The validity of American combat operations is a matter of American law, and that means Congress must authorize them.

Our Constitution vests Congress with the power to declare war. That authority...

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The real apartheid is in Araby

Reaction: Apartheid Week Goes On
 
by Victor Sharpe, AMAERICAN THINKER

The real apartheid is in Araby and the barbarian murderers are its product.

The despicable murders in Itamar occurred as a natural offshoot of the round of Israel-bashing called by the organizers of month-long "Israel Apartheid 'Week'."

Those doing the bashing are busy turning logic on its head. For them, up is down, day is night, and right is wrong. The collected hatemongers of the radical Left allied with the terminally hate-filled Muslim world, their ranks filled with empty-headed and gullible drones, are combining to shriek misplaced support for an Arab people calling themselves Palestinians, who, they allege, are suffering from apartheid. They make this false charge by slandering the Jewish state, equating it with what was once the South African Apartheid regime.

According to the upside-down world of the "hate Israel" crowd, Arabs are separated from Jews within Israel just as the...

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Netanyahu impresses in 1978

American Thinker

In a remarkable video from 1978, 28 year old MIT grad Benjamin Netanyahu debates whether there should be a Palestinian state created on the West Bank and Gaza. Netanyahu argues that such a state would have but one goal: to destroy the Jewish state of Israel. He reviews the history from 1948 to 1967, when Gaza was controlled by Egypt and the West Bank by Jordan and there were no calls to end the occupation, or for national sovereignty for the Palestinians.

But one thing was similar in that period and today: terror attacks against Israeli Jews. Netanyahu went by the name of Benjamin Nitay at the time. His brother, Yonatan was an Israeli commando who led the Entebbe raid on July 4, 1976 during which he died. Netanyahu chose to use the name Nitay at MIT, where he was one year behind me, in large part for security reasons due to his brother's notoriety and the spate of Palestinian terror attacks aimed at Israelis all over the world.

One of Netanyahu's...

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There's 192 Countries That Exist In The World & We Give Foreign Aid To Over 150 Of Them!" 

Let's send this to everyone who pays taxes- regardless of party affiliation

   See The Video Here . . . 

For a long time I wondered why I kept thinking "What me worry?" when I see this guy's behavior as large portions of the Western world spins into the ground.
 
I wonder no more ...

President Obama lands in Brazil while conservatives blast trip during chaos in Japan, Libya

DAILY NEWS | BY Aliyah Shahid - STAFF WRITER | Saturday, March 19th 2011

The president landed in Brazil Saturday morning for the start of a three-nation Latin American tour, while a right-wing chorus back home assailed him for traveling while emergencies and chaos reign in Libya and Japan.

   Read More . . . 

Tell a joke:

Q: What's the difference between a liberal and a puppy?

A: A puppy stops whining after it grows up. 

March 18, 2011 

On Friday's Program 

MSNBC: Bible a 'work of fiction'

Just when you thought MSNBC couldn't get any more hostile towards conservatives they refer to God as Hitler. Lawrence O'Donnell went on a bizarre tirade against Glenn, and in the process declared the Bible (specifically the book of Revelation) to be a 'work of fiction' that portrays God as a 'mass murderer beyond Hitler's wildest dreams.' O'Donnell is not satisfied to be merely a non believer, and can't resist letting the hate flow. Watch the bigoted hate rant via The Blaze, and get Glenn's reaction to the story HERE.

Parallel universe? France leading the way on Libya

If Glenn were to have said a year ago that France would be leading the military charge on Libya and not the United States - there's no way you would have believed it. France surrendering to Libya? Plausible. But leading the charge? Not a chance. The thought of America no longer being the leader of the 'free world' has been a foreign one -- until now. Glenn has more on radio today. 

Amidst world chaos, Obama embarks on trip to beautiful Rio de Janeiro!

The President apparently doesn't care how bad all the golfing, NCAA prediction, vacations to exotic locations look to the American people because he's off to tropical Brazil. But, he'll probably get some work done while he's there. For example, he'll be able to personally congratulate the company who got the go ahead on the first ever deep water floating production storage facility in the Gulf of Mexico. Was it BP? Exxon? Shell? Nope. Glenn has the answer on radio today (HINT: Think spooky dude). 

Shock Video: Subway brawl caught on tape. It all starts when a woman asks what type of 'animals' eat on a train. It goes downhill from there. WATCH
 
Judge halts new Wisconsin Labor Law - get all the details at The Blaze.