912 Patriots of Lower Bucks - Your Daily Updates ALL in ONE Place!
September 8, 2011
Pretty compelling video about commies trying to take over America.
The Agenda - Grinding America Down
Quote:
"What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of liberty & learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual & surest support?"
- James Madison (1751 - 1836), fourth president of the United States (1809 - 1817), in a letter from August 4, 1822.
The story behind the quote
This is the inscription that is engraved on the right side of the entrance to the James Madison Memorial Hall (completed in 1976) one of the three buildings which comprise the Library of Congress in the United States Capitol Complex.
The quote had been chosen by the Library of Congress to emphasize the importance of learning to a free society. James Madison had written these words on August 4, 1822, in a letter to W. T. Barry, in which he praised the measures taken by the Kentucky legislature to create a comprehensive system of education.
The letter begins:
"The liberal appropriations made by the Legislature of Kentucky for a general system of Education cannot be too much applauded. A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."
The section in which the quote appears is here:
"Throughout the Civilized World, nations are courting the praise of fostering Science and the useful Arts, and are opening their eyes to the principles and the blessings of Representative Government. The American people owe it to themselves, and to the cause of free Government, to prove by their establishments for the advancement and diffusion of Knowledge, that their political Institutions, which are attracting observation from every quarter, and are respected as Models, by the new-born States in our own Hemisphere, are as favorable to the intellectual and moral improvement of Man as they are conformable to his individual & social Rights. What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty & Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual & surest support?"
The significance of this inscription on the James Madison Memorial Building derives from a suggestion made by Madison in 1783, when he was a member of the Continental Congress. He suggested a list of books that would be of use to legislators. This notion would later give rise to the initial Library of Congress, established in 1800. The Anglo-American war of 1812-1815 (concerning Britain's battle for what is now Canada) had destroyed much of Washington, and the first Library of Congress had suffered. James Madison was president in 1815, when his friend Thomas Jefferson sold his collection of 6,487 books to re-establish the Library of Congress.
The Editor, FamilySecurityMatters.org
'Bay of Rage' - Protesters Planning to Swarm BART Station
The Blaze | by Mike Opelka Posted on September 8, 2011 at 8:39am
"We have places to go: jobs to get to, lines to wait in at the food stamp office, parole officers to see, charges to beat..."
Thanks to my NYC buddies for this information. The radical, Jew/America/Freedom hating groups listed below will be marching for tyranny on September 15th, in NYC for Palestinian rights. If you check out the list, you'll note the inclusion of three that stand out:
CODEPINK,
INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST ORGANIZATION AND PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS OF AMERICA.
You are aware that CODE PINK's founder and leader, Jodie Evans, is a close friend and financial supporter of President Obama and a well known White House visitor and insider. Her partner, Medea Benjamin is also linked to the White House.
THE PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS OF AMERICA, another anti-Israel marching group, according to their website, contains such members in good standing as House members: Donna Edwards, Raul Grijalva, Maxine Waters, Lynn Woolsey, Jim McGovern, Dennis Kucinich, John Conyers and Barbara Lee. All of whom are Democrat House members. Do you think Cong. Debbie Schultz will walk with them in support of Palestine?
THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST ORGANIZATION also has links on its site to such groups as:Planned Parenthood, Greepeace, AFL/CIO, Center for Constitutional Rights, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), NOW, NARAL and MichaelMoore.com. What a conglomeration of groups!!
So, the marchers for Palestinian rights and the destruction of Israel get the support of the above named individuals and the listed groups. If you research the other organizations involved, you'll dig up more slime among them. Do not forget who they are!
Palestinians Tell the World: Sovereignty Means Securing
ALL Our Rights!
Palestinians and their supporters everywhere are mobilizing to remind the world of their right to self-determination. In New York we are marching to the United Nations because the world's attention is focused on the vote on Palestine scheduled to take place there.
For over six decades, the U.N. has approved numerous resolutions promising Palestinians their basic rights, none of which has been implemented. We come to the U.N. to demand:
Sovereignty, Equality, and the Right of Return for Palestinians NOW!
Judical Watch is Demanding Answers Earlier this month, Judicial Watch, a government/judicial watchdog group based out of Washington, DC, hosted a Voter Fraud panel discussion featuring John Fund, Christian Adams, and King Street/True the Vote leader Catherine Engelbrecht. Here's video from a portion of the event:
"The Voter Fraud Threat to Free and Fair Elections" - Part 2
But wait, there's more! The really exciting thing Judicial Watch is doing happened just last week when they filed a FOIA lawsuit against the DOJ to obtain records of communications between the Department of Justice and Project Vote Official/former ACORN attorney Estelle Rogers. You can read more about it here. Bottom line..."Judicial Watch is convinced that Project Vote's activities remain a threat to the integrity of our elections. The fact that Project Vote is bullying states to attack election security reforms in order to register Obama's 'Food Stamp Army' comes as no surprise. But it appears that the Obama Justice Department is using the same playbook as Project Vote - to the detriment of clean elections. The American people deserve to know if the nation's highest law enforcement agency has become nothing more than a political tool to help this scandalous ACORN-front group re-elect Barack Obama. Again, this Justice Department can't seem to be bothered to comply with basic open records FOIA law," stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
Be assured, we will be closely watching for any new developments in this case....but in the meantime, if you haven't already volunteered to help uphold free and fair elections by working at the polls WE NEED YOU! There is a critical shortage of polling place workers. We wonder why Project Vote and ACORN get away with their flagrant abuses of our system...it's because we as citizens are allowing it to happen. WE MUST ENGAGE IN THE PROCESS OF OUR ELECTIONS. One way you can engage is by volunteering to work as a poll watcher on Election Day. Please, it is going to take all of us to uphold the integrity of our elections in the days ahead. Get involved now.
We need TTV volunteers for poll watching - Free and fair elections do not happen without citizen involvement. Want to stand up and take action? True the Vote will provide training and support - you just need to take the first step. For more information email info@truethevote.org or go HERE to sign up now!
Join in the Celebration of Our Constitution!
Join Americans for Prosperity's Jennifer Stefano on Saturday, September 17th at 1:00 p.m., and again on October 8 at 9:00 p.m. to kick off Constitution week in grand fashion! Don't miss these two fun-filled events celebrating our nation's freedom!
Click here to RSVP! Hear a review of the Founding Principles and how they were embodied in the Constitution. Likewise, learn why the Constitution is as relevant today as it was in 1787. Listen to the history of how political leaders have circumvented the Constitution and continue to do so today. Also, listen to leaders' perspectives on what action needs to be taken today to set us on the path to renewed freedom and prosperity. WE READ THE CONSTITUTION What: We read the Constitution, Sponsored by the Jefferson Club & The Loyal OppositionWhen: September 17, 1:00 p.m. Where: Washington Crossing State Park, 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA 18977 Cost: Free
KNOW YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
What: Know your Constitutional Rights, Sponsored by The Loyal OppositionWhen: October 8, 9:00 p.m. Where: Old Country Buffet, 650 Commerce Blvd. Fairless Hills, PA 18977
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! It was on September 17, 1787 that American patriots signed the United States Constitution and changed the course of history. This event will celebrate the achievements of our Founding Fathers, centering on individual liberty.
But freedom is not free. That's why it is critical that each and every citizen is active and engaged in maintaining our freedom. So don't miss this chance to celebrate our Constitution and the principles on which this country was founded: freedom, free enterprise, and limited government.
I encourage each and every one of you to join the Jefferson Club and The Loyal Opposition on September 17, 2011, and October 8, 2011. I look forward to celebrating freedom with you!
In Liberty,
Vonne Andring Director of Strategy and Public Relations Americans for Prosperity, Pennsylvania
We have a little less than one month and counting to get the word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America . If you forward this email to least 11 people and each of those people do the same ... you get the idea.
THE PROGRAM:
On Sunday, September 11th, 2011, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States . Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this tenth anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds
So, here's what we need you to do .
(1) Forward this email. (Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.
(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.
Thank you for your participation. God Bless You and God Bless America !
In God We Trust
DAY OF RAGE PLANNED FOR D.C., STATE CAPITOLS and WALL STREET SEPT 17, 2011
This information came out of Idaho, but this is being staged across the entire 50 states! We need to be aware and let others know, especially those that live in the capitals, or have businesses there. If you've seen the riots taking place in Greece, or those in the Middle East, you see a sample of what it looks like they are planning. Let's hope that either few show up, that they stay peaceful, or that the law enforcement agencies are able to thwart it before it occurs....
Day of rage
Bill Turner
Boise Conservative Examiner
July 31, 2011
September 17th, 2011 is set to be a Day of Rage. The leftists call this a non-violent event, yet their website, Craigslist ads and Facebook postings include information on how to resist arrest, protest in jail and fight the legal system. The anarchists, Marxists and communists have put together a plan, from start to finish, to takeover America. There will be trouble. The only real question, at this point, is what are the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the NSA and others going to do to stop this? So far, no one in the media is talking about this insurrection, aside from Glenn Beck who told of it months ago. What will you and your family do to do be safe and save our way of life? It is obvious that the commander in chief has no intention of stopping this coming event, these are, after all, his political base.
If you see a story that you believe would be useful and important to our readers, simply respond to this email with a link and a brief description of why it is important. (Even if it may be obvious)
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9 11 Ten Years On: Family Security Matters
THESE PHOTOS JUST BECAME DECLASSIFIED - FROM 9/11
The anniversary of 9/11 is coming up. We must never forget what happened and who was responsible. The threat is still with us of more destruction to come. Those radical islamist tell us so all the time. We all seem to dismiss it. We must press our Congress to look into all those who may be amongst us now training and getting ready to launch another attack. We must never allow a mosque to built any where near that sacred ground. Please be at the rally on 9/11 as the Mayor has given approval for the mosque to be built.
TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF GROUND ZERO ON SUNDAY 9/11//2011 AT WEST BROADWAY AND PARK PLACE IN NEW YORK FROM 03:00 TO 05:30 PM
Thousands of New Yorkers are going to take part in the 9/11 Freedom Rally organized by American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) led by Pamela Geller, and Stop Islamization of America (ISOA) led by Robert Spencer, in New York at West Broadway and Park Place from 03:00 to 5:30 pm - one block from the Ground Zero.
Clergy will speak first. Along with other dignitaries and priests, Professor M.G. Prasad who is well versed in Hindu scriptures and Bhupinder Singh Bhurji ji, Chairman and CEO of Namdhari Sikh Foundation will represent Hindu and Sikh community at the Rally.
Terrorism is the greatest threat to human civilization. Hindus have suffered the most at the hands of Islamic Jihad in the last 14 hundred years. It is incumbent on us to raise our voice against the menace of terrorism and enlighten and educate other Americans about it.
Significant presence of strong American Hindu and Sikh contigent at the Freedom Rally will raise our stock in the eyes of non-Indian Americans.
For your information, we would like to inform you that since 9/11, the Islamic terrorists have carried out more than 17690 deadly attacks. Since the advent of Islam, they have killed about 270 millions non-Hindus: Africans 120 millions, Hindus 80 millions, Christians 60 millions and Buddhists 10 million. (http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
Wahhabi Islam (the extreme form of Islam) which extols the virtue of violence and hatred is spreading its tentacles very fast in America. More than 75% of mosques are funded and controlled by Radical Islamists. The future of our next generation and humanity is at stake.
Hence it is incumbent on all of us to wholeheartedly participate and support this Rally along with your friends.
Your participation will be tremendously appreciated by the community in particular and New Yorkers in general.
Our banners are ready and some of them are enclosed.
Remember those murdered by radical Islamists on September 11, 2001. Take part in the 9/11: Never Forget Project.
TUSIF is proudly taking part in the 9/11: Never Forget Project. We sought the help of a group of student organizations, and we are 10 student organizations strong. We are seeking the support of the President of the University to sponsor a flag memorial. On its own, TUSIF, for Wednesday, September 7th, has arranged for a great singer Elizabeth Salvatico and her impressive band to play a range of songs including both Salsa and of course patriotic songs to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. At the same event, TUSIF is hosting Mr. Bivona to speak; he was a first-responder on September 11.
9/11: Never Forget Project
Valley Forge Patriots
Sept.9th Meeting 6pm
The Valley Forge Patriots invite you to join us for our September 9th meeting at the Phoenixville Country Club. This will be an exceptionally informative meeting since (in addition to our usual activities) our speaker will be Robert Moffit, Ph.D, a Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He will be speaking on U.S. healthcare, especially Obamacare and Medicare. Dr. Moffit directed the think tank's Center for Health Policy Studies from 2003 until June 2010. As always there will be time for you to address questions to Dr. Moffit.
Food and beverage service will be available.
We look forward to you joining us on September 9th.
Saturday 5:30-6:30pm "We Say, No Se Puede!" ("No You Cannot!") - Rita Bonilla and Alice Novoa
Talk-Radio's Dom Giordano To Receive ZOA's Ben Hecht Award
Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,
Tickets are now available for Philadelphia ZOA's First Tribute Gala on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, at the Hilton Philadelphia on City Avenue, as we honor talk-radio giant Dom Giordano and beloved Rabbi Fred Kazan.
Do not miss what will be a memorable event locally for the pro-Israel community in our area.
Jewish community pillar Gary Erlbaum will be master of ceremonies as we honor Dom with the Ben Hecht Award for Outstanding Journalism for his honest and forthright support of Israel, and Rabbi Kazan for his lifelong devotion to the Jewish State of Israel with our Guardian of Israel Award. Jonathan Tobin of Commentary and former executive editor of the Jewish Exponent will be guest speaker, and there will be remarks from our own great ZOA National President Morton Klein.
Of course, there will also be delicious glatt-kosher food, a festive and warm evening and the opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate Israel.
Philadelphia ZOA has set up a special ticket hotline so that you can be a part of this evening. Call 215-333-1729 to order tickets, or contact us by email at a special email address: zoadom@yahoo.com . Or if you would like, a copy of the invitation and response card is attached to this email. Simply print it out and return it to: ZOA-GPD, P.O. Box 45604, Phila., PA 19149.
There is no one else in local media who matches Dom when it comes to standing up for Israel, patriotism and integrity. Dom has taken on guests and callers on 1210 AM WPHT Radio who distort the facts about Israel, and he goes out of his way to speak truthfully about the Arab war against the Jews because it is the right thing to do.
Rabbi Kazan has been a fervent champion of Israel and has inspired generations of local Jews to have a place in their heart for the Jewish State. Whether it be currently at Historic Congregation Kesher Israel where he is religious leader, or Temple Adath Israel where he is Rabbi Emeritus, or at Beth Sholom where he served, or during his tours of Jewish Philadelphia he leads, he has been a proponent for Israel.
It is the duty of all who care about Israel to thank and show appreciation for stalwarts of Israel as we lest not take such support for granted. In our area, we must come out to publicly thank Dom Giordano and Rabbi Kazan.
We look forward to seeing you the evening of Sept. 8.
Please come to our Constitution Day event entitled "Everything you wanted to know about ObamaCare, but didn't know who to ask."
They said we had to pass it to know what's in it, but over a year later, people STILL don't fully understand how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) - aka "ObamaCare" - will affect them and their health.
That's why a coalition of citizens and health care professionals will present "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About ObamaCare But Didn't Know Who to Ask"on the campus of DeSales University in Center Valley, PAfrom 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 17, 2011 - which, ironically, happens to be Constitution Day. DeSalesUniversity is located in the Lehigh Valley of PA, within easy driving distance of the major population centers of central, northeast, and southeast PA.
Policy professionals, physicians, business and legislative leaders, and representatives from groups most affected by the PPACA will share their insights and expertise through presentations, breakout sessions, exhibits, and panel discussions.
They'll explain how ObamaCare affects personal liberty and the Constitution, families and seniors, taxpayers, Medicare and the deficit, insurance premiums and the uninsured, businesses, employees and the economy, doctors, patients, and access to care, American innovation in medicine, and more.
Also included will be detailed updates on state and national efforts to defund, repeal, replace, and nullify ObamaCare from some of the legislative leaders spearheading those efforts.
Participants will leave the three hour event far more informed about what's in the PPACA than most of the legislators who voted for it, and will be energized to get involved in the fight to save America's health care. Participants, both live and online, will be empowered by their new understanding of how the PPACA will not accomplish any of the things its name implies, and will be able to effectively communicate that new understanding to others, providing important education about why this ill-conceived piece of legislation needs to be defeated by any means possible.
Already, according to Rasmussen's most recent poll, 54% of Americans want to see ObamaCare repealed, while only 39% oppose repeal - but the people who passed it clearly have not heard the voices of the American people yet. The more Americans know about the PPACA, the more they dislike it, and this conference will help to provide the tools citizen advocates and health care professionals need to effectively participate in the process to defund, repeal, and replace ObamaCare.
The event will be free to the public on site in a venue which will seat 500, and a live streaming video, and a professionally produced program will promote information about our coalition's sponsoring groups, as well as providing important information about the PPACA.
Please consider joining with the Lehigh Valley Coalition for Health Care Reform to help educate the public about ObamaCare through your sponsorship of this important event. If you'd like to be involved, please contact me ASAP and I'll reserve your space in our program and on the promotional materials. We are currently working on creating a web page and Facebook page for the event.
For additional information about this event and opportunities to get involved, please contact Donna Baver Rovito at ROVSPA@aol.com.
Awareness of Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development is racing across the nation as citizens in community after community are learning what their city planners are actually up to. As awareness grows, I am receiving more and more calls for tools to help activists fight back. Many complain that elected officials just won't read detailed reports or watch long videos. "Can you give us something that is quick, and easy to read that we can hand out," I'm asked.
So here it is. A one page, quick description of Agenda 21 that fits on one page. I've also included for the back side of your hand out a list of quotes for the perpetrators of Agenda 21 that should back up my brief descriptions.
A word of caution, use this as a starter kit, but do not allow it to be your only knowledge of this very complex subject. To kill it you have to know the facts. Research, know your details; discover the NGO players in your community; identify who is victimized by the policies and recruit them to your fight; and then kill Agenda 21. That's how it must be done. The information below is only your first step. Happy hunting.
There will be weekly meetings every Wednesday at P J Ryan's, 231 Bridge Street, Phoenixville - 6pm - downstairs
We will be discussing UN Agenda 21 & Sustainable Development, as well as other topics relevant with today's problems like the NWO, Congress, debt, how to be prepared for the future disasters, etc.... At this weeks meeting will start with sending some people over to sit in on the meeting below. We need to know what our opposition is doing . . . If you have any questions please feel free to email me back or contact Maggie at www.theunsolicitedopinion.com or Maggie@theunsolicitedopinion.com
If you would like to join the Green Team or volunteer for a sub-committee, please email us
Please join Americans for Prosperity Foundation and thousands of grassroots activists for the 5th annual Defending the American Dream Summiton Friday and Saturday, November 4-5 at the Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington, DC.
Last year, more than 2,600 of our best activists descended on Washington for the Summit to demonstrate to elected officials, government bureaucrats, and the national media that the grassroots movement is alive and well. We focused on reining in out-of-control spending and taxation, advancing sound free market public policy, and in a very real way, defending the American Dream.
Special bus packages are running from PA and for only this week you can register for an additional $70 off those all-inclusive bus packages. Sign up now to take advantage of this great opportunity! Use the code "Bus70" when registering.
Bus packages from PA include round trip transportation and hotel accommodations on top of all the other benefits of the Defending the American Dream Summit.
Earlier this year we announced a major event for this fall, "The Doctrine of Abrogation: Open the Koran Day."
We have scheduled this event for the weekend of October 28 - 30, 2011, which is close to the two year anniversary of the Ft. Hood jihadist massacre perpetrated by Major Nidal Hasan (pictured at right).
If you would like to learn more about this national event, or would like to host a local venue, please click here.
Please read the description of the event and the sign-up instructions carefully, and then access the sign-up form at the bottom of the page.
Also, if you would like to study the Koran, we have a resource to recommend. The Qur'an Dilemma is an accurate, readable English translation that contains commentaries and analysis, including commentaries on the doctrine of abrogation, the history of the codification of the Koran, chronological sequence of the Koran, and the status of women in the Koran. To find out more visit here.
All Tea Parties and Patriots:
You are invited to participate in an important event--
please share this opportunity with friends and neighbors who believe we need a "road map" to a better future...
Required tickets can be purchased online
Or
Under the information below is a form that can be printed,
to accompany your check and mailed according to instruction.
2012 Presidential Candidate Selector or Obama, His Allies & Critics Matching Quiz
Politicians have already indicated their 2012 presidential aspirations. This matching quiz includes President Obama, top members of his administration, Obama's most vocal critics (Boehner, Cantor, etc.) and likely White House prospects (Palin, Pawlenty, Jindal, etc.). You may select a position for every issue, or just select issues important to you. The political figures' positions are based upon their voting records, special interest group ratings and their statements in the public record. In cases where there is no known public record or statement, these politicos are not given a score on that issue. We add candidates, revise their views and include new issues as they become known or change. Check back often for updates.
THE GREAT DEBATE: Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. I gave MSNBC ratings. But in doing so I can say this is a two man race - Perry vs. Romney. It is also clear in this first debate that Perry is the front runner now. I would still prefer to have a few more debates on this before declaring it, but below I'll explain why it is clear he is whether I want to think so or not.
The most shocking bit of the whole debate was at the very end. I felt a great disturbance in the Force as if millions of Republicans cried out in terror and suddenly realized they were watching MSNBC.
First, I don't think Perry had as strong a performance tonight as he could have. He stumbled several times. Romney had a stronger performance - the strongest of anyone on stage in fact. But then, Romney has been in this dog and pony show since 2007. Perry is just stepping up to this level. He made no major mistakes, but could have been stronger on the HPV issue and a few other issues.
Second, it is clear Perry is the front runner given the pile on from the other candidates. It was not just pushed by MBNBC and the Politico. The other candidates took willful potshots against Rick Perry. Perry, despite some stumbles and the pile on by the moderators and other participants, held his own and will only get stronger the more of these he does. And if he doesn't? Goodbye frontrunner status. (READ MORE)
NOT YOUR DADDY'S (OR YOUR) CONSERVATISM: I realize we're all supposed to be in the tank for Mitt Romney, but when the heck did we suddenly love social security? It's nuts.
We've got Karl Rove out denying it is a ponzi scheme solely because he hates Rick Perry. It's all politics, not principle.
Mitt Romney says that millions of Americans being dependent on government for their retirement is the definition of a successful program.
And we've got a solid segment of the conservative movement falling in line behind them. It's all so confusing.
Are we all so damn scared of Rick Perry that suddenly we're going to abandon the fight for real reform of social security and try to make Perry look like a fringe candidate when, in fact, his position has been the mainstream of the GOP for decades?
Social Security is, for all intents and purposes, a ponzi scheme. Don't believe me? Try out the Securities and Exchange Commission definition:
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers often solicit new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities claimed to generate high returns with little or no risk.
Or how about from wikipedia?
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors, not from any actual profit earned by the organization, but from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors. The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. The perpetuation of the returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises and pays requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors to keep the scheme going.
It's one thing to want to defend Mitt Romney. It's perfectly reasonable to say we're scared to death to ever touch the supposed third rail of politics again. It's even reasonable to say that Rick Perry cannot win by holding to this position. In fact, Perry needed to spend more time focusing on the fact that he does not want to abolish social security as the Democrats and Mitt Romney both claim.
But to suddenly proclaim the conservative position as "social security is a-okay and we just need to make it even better" is complete and total bull crap, not to mention seriously chicken and intellectually dishonest for a bunch of people who've more or less held Perry's position for years to suddenly pretend it's nuts just because they support another candidate or think the political winds have shifted.
TAKE 2,224,188 FOR OBAMA ON JOBS: How is President Obama going to say anything in his big jobs speech tonight that will make a difference?
Apparently he is not. Obama's new jobs plan looks remarkably like his $830 billion 2009 economic stimulus package. (READ MORE)
By the way, as we all await President Obama's new plan, which will be the same as the old plan, in tonight's speech to a joint session of Congress, it would behoove us to take a few minutes to watch the video below from the Cato Institute. (READ MORE)
THE ONLINE LEFT, LIKE THE OFFLINE LEFT, DOES NOT UNDERSTAND BUDGETING: Very quickly, and to get this out of the way: the Online Left is babbling about supposedly-cut Texas firefighting budgets, mostly because they lack the research skills - or possibly, the native intelligence - to tell the difference between a $109 million Forest Service/Wildfire Fighting budget in 2010/2011, and a $196 million Forest Service/Wildfire Fighting budget for 2012/2013 (the 2012 fiscal year started at the beginning of this month). Fortunately, Battleswarm Blog can both think and do research - as seen here and here - which means that I don't have to do any of the heavy lifting this time. Bottom line: never, ever stop just because you got the answer that you wanted. (READ MORE)
LET'S GIVE DEAD BUREAUCRATS FLAGS, JUST LIKE THE MILITARY: Congress will soon take up the "Civilian Service Recognition Act of 2011?, an act to make military service to our country no more significant than stamping a passport. Conservatives should oppose it.
Under the Civilian Service Recognition Act of 2011, it will no longer just be the bereaved families of soldiers killed in action who get the flag properly folded in grateful recognition for their service to the country. No, now it will also be the post office worker who refuses to deliver your mail because you once wrote a letter to the editor in favor of post office privatization (I know people who've had this happen).
This well meaning legislation, sponsored by Joe Lieberman and Daniel Akaka, takes a notable act of the military and devalues it across the civil service letting a massive amount of civil service employees also qualify to get a folded flag if they have a heart attack on the job, get in a wreck in their postal jeep, etc. (READ MORE)
SUDDENLY THE LEFT LOVES THEM SOME KARL ROVE: Karl Rove is joining the left-wing/Romney camp alliance against Rick Perry's candid statements about Social Security in his book, Fed Up. Even Baghdad Jim McDermott is praising Karl Rove's broadside on Perry. Yesterday, on Good Morning America, Rove had this to say about Perry's condemnation of Social Security as a Ponzi scheme in his book. (READ MORE)
SARAH PALIN: It may sound self-serving, but I think a good rule of thumb is that if you are a conservative and you've lost the front page of RedState, you're doing something terribly wrong.
Consider that of all the candidates, Sarah Palin has the least excuse for her dithering. Unlike Perry, Bachmann, and Paul, Palin hasn't had a job with official duties for the last two-plus years. All the other quasi-retired or term-limited candidates have long ago declared. Even Jon Huntsman was serving as ambassador to China as recently as April; and by the way, Huntsman has a larger family than Palin does. I get that deciding whether to run for President is a difficult decision; however, the Presidency is a job of difficult decisions, and if it has legitimately taken Sarah Palin over two years to decide whether to even start the process of becoming President, then she is unfit for the job. (READ MORE)
ARE WE READY FOR WAR?: Take some time to watch the video. It isn't very often you'll see one commissioned by the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. This one will make you cry with frustration.
It is no big secret in the military. The force is worn down to nubs by a decade of war, the last two of which have been waged under the management of an administration fundamentally hostile to the Armed Services.
The fact is Obama is only comfortable cutting one sector of the budget: Defense. This is not to say that Defense is without waste, fraud, and abuse but it isn't destroying jobs and the economy like Health and Human Services, EPA, and Labor. Right now cuts in defense are projected to total a half trillion dollars. Under Secretary Gates $178 billion, earmarked to support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was given up to support budget reductions. (READ MORE)
Heritage Hotsheet
Experts on the Day's Hottest News
Items for September 15, 2011
Rail against the iniquities of government-to-government "foreign aid."
Quote the definition of economist Peter Bauer. It is a transfer "from the poor in rich countries to the rich in poor countries."
Anyone who cared to dig through the graveyards of Sudan already knew that Muslims mattered more than Africans to us. The sky full of jets that we dispatched to bomb Yugoslavia on behalf of Muslim terrorists never clouded the skies of Khartoum. But they did show up to bomb Tripoli so that Islamist thugs could begin torturing and murdering Africans.
In the left's pyramid of races, some matter more than others, and Arabs are higher than Africans. So much higher that Sudan is piled with corpses, but the mere thought of Islamist rebels losing in Libya was enough to send in the air forces of bankrupt Western countries already tied up in too many places.
The primacy of the Arab Muslim over the African Christian is a recent thing in the liberal landscape born in part of realpolitik and the red enthusiasm for revolutionary violence. It is a thing which almost no one discusses because it has gone unnoticed. The racial vocabulary of it is one that few are even able to read.
Most still process Obama as an African-American, but while his father was from Africa and he spent part of his life in America-- he is not African-American, because he is not the conjunction of the two. His heritage was Muslim, and so was his Indonesian upbringing at the hands of one of the participants in the genocide of East Timor Christians.
Political correctness now permeating universities, liberal governments, and, of course, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, focuses on protecting Islam from criticism...
An experiment has shown that cosmic rays have a direct effect upon weather and climate, showing that the sun's magnetism is more important to warming than human activity.
By David Meir-Levi Results to date: no democracy, no elections, no stability and, instead, the strengthening of the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda and Iran. Read more »
In what has been described as an "act of international terrorism," news agencies report that a suicide car bomb struck the United Nations building in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, on Friday. Though details are sketchy and there is no immediate claim of responsibility, if the attack is, indeed, an act of terrorism, it reaffirms what we already know: The world continues to face an ongoing threat-and America must be prepared for the next wave of terrorist attacks.
Since September 11, 2001, at least 40 Islamist-inspired terror plots aimed at the United States have been thwarted. And though all categories of successful terrorist attacks against U.S. targets (both at home and overseas) have been on a downward trend since 2005, the number of disrupted plots has risen considerably since 2007. In a new paper by The Heritage Foundation Counterterrorism Task Force, "A Counterterrorism Strategy for the 'Next Wave,'" Heritage lays out steps that America should take to ensure a successful end to the long war against terrorism.
Wonder who's to blame for today's stagnant economy? Look no further than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to see where the buck ought to stop. Though President Barack Obama constantly points fingers at others for America's economic woes, his policies are to blame for preventing the U.S. economy from getting back on track. Before you watch President Obama present his latest jobs plan in his speech on Thursday, be sure you know the four major measures he has taken to prevent job growth in America:
1) Obama's Overregulation
During President Obama's first 26 months in office, his Administration imposed 75 new major regulations, with reported costs to the private sector exceeding $40 billion, as The Heritage Foundation's James Gattuso and Diane Katz document in "Red Tape Rising: A 2011 Mid-Year Report." That's more than any comparable period on record. The annual cost of regulation-$1.75 trillion by one frequently cited estimate-represents twice the amount of individual income taxes collected last year. Katz and Gattuso write that there are even more regulations in the pipeline, as well.
It seems like Ikea stores are everywhere. They are the Starbucks of furniture. They offer us not only low priced cabinets chairs and other household goods, but an opportunity to impress our friends with our ability to construct these pieces using the directions supplied by Ikea. Getting through an afternoon's Ikea project in one continuous motion is kind of like being able to do the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen - an achievement to be sure. That's the warm and fuzzy side of the furniture giant. That's the part they want us to see. "Think Ikea and think The Swedish Women's Olympic Bikini Team" or so it goes.
September 07, 2011 JAKE TAPPER PRESSES THE WH ON HOFFAABC Newsman Jake Tapper is not pleased with the President's silence on Jimmy Hoffa's incendiary comments made at the Labor Day event in Detroit. Watch Jake go toe-to-toe with Press Secretary Carney HERE. MSM IGNORES KILLER'S SOCIALIST leaningsIs there a double-standard when it comes to the media's coverage of violent crimes? What else could explain the near total lack of any mention of the fact that the West Virginia shooter who killed five people was a self-proclaimed Socialist? Read the details HERE.
A SNEAK PEEK AT OBAMA'S JOBS PLANThe President will address a joint session of Congress tomorrow night, but details of his speech are starting to leak out. Read the details of what we have discovered so far, HERE.
WHY ARE THERE NO EVANGELICALS SCHEDULED FOR THE DC 9/11 EVENT?Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim religious leaders have been invited to a 9/11 tribute event being held at the National Cathedral. Oddly enough, Evangelical Christians are currently not represented. Read about their petition to be part of the memorial HERE.
HERO Stories from 9-11-2001 - 'the MAN in the red bandanA' Welles Crowther worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower in the World Trade Center. He was also a volunteer fireman who instinctively rushed to help the people in his office after the planes hit. Crowther did not make it out of the tower, but his efforts have been credited with saving at least 18 lives. Read the powerful story of the Man In The Red Bandana HERE.
Chronicle · September 7, 2011
The Foundation
"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." --Patrick Henry
Editorial Exegesis
GOP debate
"Republican presidential candidates kick off the critical fall campaign season Wednesday night when they take the stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. This would be a good occasion to abandon platitudes and begin hashing out concrete ideas for addressing the nation's most pressing long-term issue -- unsustainable spending on entitlement programs. Any serious plan to get our nation's fiscal house in order -- something that all GOP contenders have promised to do -- would have to involve fundamental yet politically controversial reforms of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Over the next decade, those three programs alone will cost taxpayers $21.4 trillion under the Congressional Budget Office's rosiest scenario. ... Within 10 years, the big three entitlements are projected to account for more than half of federal spending, at which point they will already be squeezing the government's ability to deliver other needed services. ... Thus far, the candidates have adopted the prevailing wisdom of the political class, which is that GOP emphasis on specific entitlement reforms will give President Obama a bludgeon with which to hammer Republicans. Yet a failure to confront the nation's long-term fiscal situation is hurting the economy now by creating a cloud of uncertainty for businesses. Even if Obama won't take the risk of tackling entitlements, the Republicans must for the greater good." --The Washington Examiner
"However, with charity as with everything else, it cannot simply be assumed that more is always better. A 'safety net' can easily become a hammock. 'Social justice' can easily become class warfare that polarizes a nation, while leading those at the bottom into the blind alley of resentments, no matter how many broad avenues of achievement may be available to them." --Thomas Sowell
Upright
"In everyday life, when you don't have something to say, you avoid the stage. In our nation's capital, by contrast, the world operates like the one Alice found behind the Looking Glass. That's a world where you have to run as hard as you can just to stay still. Which helps explain why President Obama will this week be addressing a joint session of Congress that doesn't really want to hear from him about a jobs plan that he doesn't really have." --columnist William McGurn
"[T]he campaign strategy Obama appears to have decided on -- portray Republican leaders as prisoners of the racist, Right-wing nutters from the Tea Party. They're to blame, the argument goes, for the gridlock in Washington because of their intransigence in the face of nice, reasonable Obama. The problem is that every smear and insult possible was thrown at the Tea Party in last year's mid-term elections but the grassroots movement still drove an historic Republican victory. It is also an obvious attempt to change the subject, moving discussion away from the economy by fixating on alleged racism or religious fundamentalism on the Right." --columnist Tony Harnden
"[T]o hurl the charge of racism without any evidence is slanderous. The GOP's opposition to Obama is rooted in profound political and philosophical disagreements; Republicans believe he is championing policies injurious to our nation. They may be wrong, but that does not make them malevolent. And to accuse people of racism in such a casual, promiscuous and reckless manner ultimately has the effect of draining the charge of its potency. Genuine racism is a terrible thing, which is why it should be reserved for the real deal rather than used as a clumsy and transparently ideological club." --Peter Wehner, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center
"Even President Obama recognizes that his administration's environmental agenda, with all its new rules and regulations, is a massive job killer that is destroying the economy. What is shameful about the President's decision to delay the new ozone rule is that it's all about improving his chances of being re-elected and has nothing to do with the economic damage that the rule would do. The fact that the President still wants to go ahead after he gets re-elected with a regulation that has been estimated to cost $1 trillion a year shows that he could care less about the U. S. economy and the millions of people who have lost their jobs." --Myron Ebell, Director of CEI's Center for Energy and Environment
"In addressing our economic challenges, Obama wants more government because he and people like him believe (often against the raw evidence) that more government works; that experts know better than consumers, merchants and the like the ways that they should behave. Obama progressives -- liberals as they called themselves before the term apparently became an embarrassment -- are offended by suggestions that economic decision making can be turned over to a loose herd of consumers who don't know a demand curve from a snowy egret's nest. Taxation is the great tool the progressives wield to make sure consumers know their place in the economic order." --columnist William Murchison
Insight
"Count it the greatest sin to prefer life to honor, and for the sake of living to lose what makes life worth having." --ancient Roman poet Juvenal
"English experience indicates that when two political parties agree about something, it is generally wrong." --English writer G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
The Demo-gogues
Undeserved self-congratulation: "In the last several years, we have pulled our country back from the brink, through a series of tough economic decisions. While we have come far, great challenges still face us." --Barack Obama
Spread the wealth: "Now, the fact is our economy is stronger when workers are getting paid good wages and good benefits. Our economy is stronger when we have broad base growth and broad-based prosperity. That's what unions have always been about, shared prosperity." --Barack Obama
Freudian slip: "I think putting money back in the pockets of working families is the best way to get demand rising because that then means business is hiring. That means the government -- that means that the economy is growing." --Barack Obama
"Republicans who think the Recovery Act [stimulus] didn't work are simply wrong." --DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Just keep spending: "The president must be bold. I agree that he must have a jobs program, he must create jobs. I'm talking about a jobs program of a trillion dollars or more. We've got to put Americans to work. That's the only way to revitalize this economy." --Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Tea Party = barbarians? "You are the only folks keeping the barbarians from the gates. ... The other side has declared war on labor's house and it's about time we stand up!" --Joe Biden at the AFL-CIO Labor Day rally
Tea Party = racists? "Some of these folks in Congress right now would love to see us as second-class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now of this Tea Party movement would love to see you and me ... hanging on a tree." --Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN)
Whatever happened to civility? "We gotta keep an eye on the battle that we face: A war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We're gonna win that war. ... President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of a b-----s out and give America back to an America where we belong." --Teamster president Jimmy Hoffa Jr. (Barack Obama followed up these comments by saying he was "proud" of Hoffa and other union leaders.)
No apologies: "I would [say it again] because I believe it. They've declared war on us. We didn't declare war on them, they declared war on us. We're fighting back. The question is, who started the war?" --Jimmy Hoffa, who stood by his remarks on three occasions
Declaring war: "This is a civil war struggle." --Jesse Jackson
"Tea Party activists have denied accusations that their movement is racist, and there is nothing intrinsically racist about opposing 'big government' or clean-energy legislation or health care reform. But it is clear that the movement is more appealing to people who are unsympathetic to blacks and who prefer a harder line on illegal immigration than it is to other Americans." --University of California San Diego professor Gary C. Jacobson
Excuses: "[Obama] wants to speak before Congress because he recognizes that while there are things he can do without Congress, and he will do them, there are actions that need to be taken with Congress that require legislation to grow the economy and create jobs. And he wants to go to Congress, speak directly to members of Congress, and layout his proposals." --White House Press Secretary Jay Carney
Dezinformatsia
That's racist! "[W]hat is it about this president that has stripped away the veneer of respect that normally accompanies the office of the president? Why do Republicans think this president is unpresidential and should dare to request this kind of thing? It strikes me that it could be the economic times, it could be that he won so big in 2008 or it could be, let's face it, the color of his skin." --MSNBC's Richard Wolffe on Obama being asked to move his jobs speech to a night other than tonight's scheduled GOP presidential debate
Bemoaning Obama's weakness: "Do you think that's true that [Obama] hasn't shown flexibility since he's, he's sort of come completely to the Republican tenor of the debate?" --ABC's Christiane Amanpour
Non compos mentis, Part I: "[T]he experience of the past two years has overwhelmingly confirmed what some of us tried to argue from the beginning: The deficits we're running right now -- deficits we should be running, because deficit spending helps support a depressed economy -- are no threat at all. ... [W]e should have a lot of job-creating spending on the part of the federal government... But what will Republicans agree to? That's easy: nothing. They will oppose anything Mr. Obama proposes, even if it would clearly help the economy -- or maybe I should say, especially if it would help the economy, since high unemployment helps them politically." --New York Times columnist Paul Krugman
Newspulper Headlines:
We Blame Global Warming: "Black Leaders Turn Up the Heat on President Obama" --Politico.com
Questions Nobody Is Asking: "Are Members of Congress Paid Enough?" --Yahoo! News
Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: "Swedes Warned Over Looming Butter Shortage" --TheLocal.se
Breaking News From Genesis 3:8-13: "Police Search for Missing Apple Prototype" --The Wall Street Journal
Out on a Limb: "Obama Plan May Not Be Enough to Fix Jobs Market" --MSNBC.com
Bottom Story of the Day: "Yet Another (Failed) Obama 'Jobs Plan'" --Forbes.com
"Adolescence, like retirement, is an invention of the modern age. If the extension of retirement into a multi-decade government-funded vacation is largely a function of increased life expectancy, the prolongation of adolescence seems to derive from the bleak fact that, without an efficient societal conveyor belt to move you on, it appears to be the default setting of huge swathes of humanity. It was striking, during the Hurricane Irene frenzy, to hear the Federal Emergency Management Agency refer to itself repeatedly as 'the federal family.' If Big Government is a 'family,' with the bureaucracy as its parents, why be surprised that the citizens are content to live as eternal adolescents?" --columnist Mark Steyn
"New statistics show the U.S. economy added zero jobs in August. The White House cautioned Americans not to read too much into those numbers. What numbers?" --comedian Jay Leno
"President Obama's uncle Omar vowed to call the White House after he was arrested for drunken driving last Sunday near Boston. You have to feel for the poor guy. He's sitting in jail and the only guy he can call for bail money is fourteen trillion dollars in debt." --comedian Argus Hamilton
"Maybe Obama was not even the person he was waiting for." --New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis! Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
2012 Update
For the second week in a row, Rasmussen's generic 2012 poll finds likely voters favoring the Republican presidential candidate over Barack Obama by eight points. What makes this week's poll encouraging is that the GOP candidate receives 49% - ever closer to the all-important 50% mark.
The Rasmussen poll clearly indicates that voters have lost hope in Obama and want a change. But how do the real candidates perform against Obama? In Rasmussen's polling, Obama leads Michele Bachmann, 46%-to-38%, and Mitt Romney, 43%-to-39%. But Obama trails Rick Perry, 41%-to-44%.
Speaking of polling... While he was explaining President Obama's record low approval rating in NBC's latest poll, Chuck Todd conceded that NBC's pollsters were "concerned" about Obama's falling numbers. If NBC's pollsters are as liberal as NBC's reporters, I'll bet they are "concerned"!
Whether it was just an innocent slip of the tongue or inadvertent admission of media bias, I have no doubt that many in the "mainstream" media are very worried that Obama may end up being a one-term president.
Putting Politics First
Amid fresh evidence that Obama is losing support among his left-wing base, there is a disturbing report that the White House has overruled the Pentagon and is dramatically speeding up America's withdrawal from Iraq.
There are 45,000 American troops in Iraq. According to Fox News, "The generals on the ground had requested that the number of troops remaining in Iraq at the end of the year reach about 27,000." But there was "major push back" over the "political optics" of leaving a large force in Iraq. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly insisted that at least 10,000 troops remain, but the Obama White House appears to have settled on just 3,000 troops.
Military officials are worried about their ability to preserve order and protect the troops who would remain behind. One source said, "We can't secure everybody with only 3,000 on the ground, nor can we do what we need to with the Iraqis."
President Obama is constantly asking whether Republicans love their party more than their country. But I have observed that when Obama accuses conservatives of something it is usually because he is engaged in the very same behavior.
Obama is losing his liberal base and as the campaign season heats up, he desperately wants to show them that he got us out of "Bush's war," even if the generals on the ground are warning that his plans for retreat will put our troops at risk.
Obama's Priorities
As I reported yesterday, the left's rhetoric is getting worse, but there is also a lot of outright political violence by the left. Remember the mobs that stormed the capitol building in Wisconsin? Left-wing community organizing groups routinely show up at the homes of corporate executives, harassing their spouses, children and neighbors over policy differences.
A small business owner in Ohio was recently shot by union thugs. Jewish students are facing increasing harassment on college campuses. Flash mobs of urban youth are terrorizing communities all over the country.
Faced with increasingly hostile rhetoric and growing violence from the left, what is the Obama Justice Department focusing on? Stopping people from peacefully protesting at abortion clinics. National Public Radio reports that the Obama Administration is taking "a more aggressive approach" to pro-life sidewalk counselors and has been "meeting with abortion-rights groups ... all over the country" to work out a strategy to silence pro-life protests.
This shouldn't surprise anyone. As a candidate for president, Obama bragged about his pro-abortion record, saying, "Throughout my career, I've been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive justice, and have consistently had a 100% pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America." Once in office, he proudly issued official proclamations in support of abortion.
Elections have consequences. Whether it's 9% unemployment, record debt and deficits, the massive expansion of government, the redefinition of marriage or the assault on the right to life, the Obama presidency has been a nightmare. The consequences of this president getting another four years would be dire indeed.
Tune In Tonight
Tonight the Republican presidential candidates will gather in Simi Valley, California, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for a debate hosted by NBC News and Politico. This will be the fourth GOP debate, but it will be the first featuring Texas Governor Rick Perry and the first debate where Mitt Romney is not the front-runner. Those dynamics could have a major impact on the tenor of the debate.
Will Romney go on the attack to regain his lead? Will Michele Bachmann confront Perry, who has taken a lot of her support? Will Perry's performance meet expectations? What will the second-tier candidates -- Cain, Gingrich, Huntsman, Paul and Santorum -- do to distinguish themselves?
Tune in tonight at 8:00 PM ET.
When Ron Paul Rejected Ronald Reagan
All of the candidates at the Reagan Library tonight will try to claim the Reagan mantle. But one in particular may have some difficulty in staking his claim.
As you probably know, I'm not a card-carrying member of the Ron Paul Fan Club. While I admire his devotion to the idea of limited government, his views on many issues are out-of-step with the Republican Party. So much so that Paul once left the GOP and ran for president on the Libertarian Party ticket.
Yet his supporters routinely claim that he is the only true Reagan conservative in the race. In fact, Paul even has a new ad out touting his support for Ronald Reagan. Thanks to the Perry campaign, we have been reminded of how Ron Paul really felt about Ronald Reagan.
In 1987, as he was preparing his third party presidential bid, Paul formally resigned from the Republican Party and blamed, of all people, Ronald Reagan for his leaving. Here is an excerpt of Paul's letter:
"I want to totally disassociate myself from the policies that have given us unprecedented deficits, massive monetary inflation, indiscriminate military spending, an irrational and unconstitutional foreign policy, zooming foreign aid, the exaltation of international banking, and the attack on our personal liberties and privacy. ...
"There is no credibility left for the Republican Party as a force to reduce the size of government. That is the message of the Reagan years. I conclude that one must look to other avenues if a successful effort is ever to be achieved in reversing America's direction. I therefore resign my membership in the Republican Party and enclose my membership card."
As Ronald Reagan stared down the Soviet Union, rebuilt our military and fought a hostile Congress (I know because I was there!), Ron Paul ran for the exits.
What exactly was Paul referring to when he wrote about Reagan's "irrational and unconstitutional foreign policy"? Did he mean rescuing American medical students held by Cuban commandos in Grenada? Did Paul oppose Reagan's military strikes on Libya after Qadhafi was implicated in the deaths of U.S. soldiers? When it came to the Soviet Union, Reagan's strategy was simple: "We win, they lose." Was Paul, like Ted Kennedy, an advocate for co-existence with the Soviets? These aren't rhetorical questions.
One trait folks seemingly admire about Paul is his consistency. Well, I'll give him that. In condemning Ronald Reagan's "indiscriminate military spending," we can see now that his teaming up with radical leftist and conservative-hater Barney Frank to slash the Defense budget is nothing new. Paul has been trying to slash our defense spending for years!
I haven't gone back to check the votes, but I assume that Ron Paul supported Jimmy Carter's efforts to gut our military. Favoring small government is one thing. But providing for the defense of its citizens is the primary obligation of government at every level. It's not clear to me that Paul understands that or the world we live in.
Monumental Hubris By Daniel J. Flynn HumanEvents.com
Will work for national honor.
We don't know if the Chinese stonemasons who built the new Martin Luther King memorial got the job by shoving a sign bearing that message into the faces of its overseers. We know only that unpaid, nonunion, foreign nationals built the massive shrine on the Mall. They toiled for "national honor" and "to bring glory to the Chinese people," one of them explained to an investigator hired by the DC-area stonemasons promised the job.
Remembering Muslim Colonialism on September 11 By Daniel Greenfield CanadaFreePress.com
Anyone who cared to dig through the graveyards of Sudan already knew that Muslims mattered more than Africans to us. The sky full of jets that we dispatched to bomb Yugoslavia on behalf of Muslim terrorists never clouded the skies of Khartoum. But they did show up to bomb Tripoli so that Islamist thugs could begin torturing and murdering Africans.
In the left's pyramid of races, some matter more than others, and Arabs are higher than Africans. So much higher that Sudan is piled with corpses, but the mere thought of Islamist rebels losing in Libya was enough to send in the air forces of bankrupt Western countries already tied up in too many places.
Pentagon Chief Says Threat of Another 9/11 Is Real By Robert Burns AP/Breitbart
After a decade of war with al-Qaida the potential for another devastating terrorist assault "remains very real," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday following a somber visit to ground zero of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The Pentagon chief walked through the National September 11 Memorial park and museum with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and afterward told reporters that Americans must remain vigilant against the threat of another successful al-Qaida attack.
Romney Pledges to 'Clamp Down' on Unfair Trade by China By Fred Lucas CNSNews.comRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney warned China that if he is in the White House, there will be consequences for unfair trade, as he would "clamp down on the cheaters and China is the worst example."
Romney affirmed his commitment to expanding free trade, but asserted that China was involved in currency manipulation to keep the cost of their products low. In fact, he said that the United States has not been keeping up with Europe and China in forging ahead with trade deals, which he said would help American exports. He called his expanded free trade plan, the "Reagan economic zone of prosperity."Read the Full Story
Obama Stars In The Recession Man GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary By Don Feder 09/07/2011
What character in a musical most closely resembles Barack Obama? You might be tempted to say Mr. Applegate, the sardonic Prince of Darkness in "Damn Yankees" (Shame on you!), Billy Flynn - the toe-tapping shyster in "Chicago" - or the title character in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." (The president has taken a straight-razor to the neck of the U.S. economy.)
None of the above.
Friends - now listen, my friends, I say listen - Obama is the personification of Professor Harold Hill, the smooth-talking con man immortalized by Robert Preston in the 1962 screen version of "The Music Man."
Looking for a town "where the people are as green as the money," Preston gets off a train in River City, I-oh-way, population 2,212. All smiles and ingratiating charm, in his plaid suit, waving a straw boater, the "Professor" bamboozles the locals.
Using the arrival of a pool table as a harbinger of doom ("We've surely got trouble. Right here in River City. Right here! Gotta figure out a way to keep the young ones moral after school"), Preston sells the yokels on a boys' band.
He also sells them instruments, uniforms and instruction books - after selling himself as a graduate of the Gary, Indiana Conservatory of Music, "gold medal class of ought-5." Every time the members of the school committee come around to ask for his credentials, he gets them to harmonize while he quietly slips away.
He mesmerizes the town's adolescents, successfully woos its spinster librarian, and even has the mayor's busybody wife simpering.
But the maestro, who can't read a note of music, has no intention of organizing a boys' band. He's there to relieve the citizenry of their hard-earned cash and high-tail it out of town before they're any the wiser. As he explains to his confederate, Marcellus Washburn, "Oh, this is a refined operation, son, and I've got it timed down to the last wave of the brakeman's hand on the last train outta town."
In the meantime, he announces that he has perfected the "think method" of learning to play music. He tells the boys to meditate on 76 trombones leading the big parade until they become one with the music.
In 2007, Barack Obama arrived on the national stage all toothy smiles and empty, soothing slogans - "Change we can believe in" (which quickly became "If you were dumb enough to believe in me, the change in your pocket is all you'll have left.") and "Yes we can." Who we? What is it we can do, and should we do it, even if we could? Irrelevant. They were slogans meant to make us feel good about a future with him in it, not to provoke anything vaguely resembling a serious thought.
Like his musical counterpart, Obama has nothing but contempt for small town America, "where the people are as green as the money." In an unguarded moment at a San Francisco fundraiser in 2008, the president-to-be explained that the residents of Main Street are mostly gun nuts, Bible-bangers, bigots and economic illiterates.
Like Professor Hill, The Recession Man's background was vague. Was he born in the U.S. or Kenya? Did he go to school in Indonesia or Hawaii? He's a graduate of several Ivy League colleges, but no one can recall going to school with him. He was a law review editor who never authored an article. Why, he could be a graduate of the Gary Conservatory of Music, gold medal class of ought-5.
Obama warned the hayseeds: "We've got trouble. Right here in River City. With a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'B' and that stands for Bush."
Professor Obama was going to stem the rising red tide. He actually ran against deficit spending and the national debt - then increased the debt by 35% in two years.
He'd make government efficient (not to mention responsive and caring), tame the Wall Street beast, save the environment, stop foreclosures, reform the banks, shore up failing industries, earn the respect of the international community, establish racial harmony, assure equity, get America working again and usher in the millennium. And all before the morning coffee break.
Here's where the analogy breaks down. At least Preston's character was inventive. He wasn't selling a cure-all miracle elixir or some get-rich-quick scheme, no sir! At least his boys' band was a creative scam. Whereas The Recession Man keeps coming back with the same haggard song-and-dance routine - Dancing With Dumb Ideas.
On Thursday, in an address to a joint session of Congress, His Excellency will unveil his latest plan to tackle chronically high unemployment and jump-start an economy with a dead battery.
Another Obama jobs speech is almost as unprecedented as the latest Barbra Streisand farewell tour, or news that Lindsay Lohan is entering rehab, once again. Actually, it would be more interesting if Lohan herself read Obama's speech while, in the background, Streisand (a veteran Democratic hag) sang "The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow" and Nancy Pelosi pirouetted in a tutu.
In August, 2010, at the conclusion of his seventh or eighth vacation that year (presiding over the apocalypse is fatiguing), the president announced: "I've got things right now before Congress (in which his party then had lopsided majorities in both Houses), that we should move immediately."
Last week, following his latest lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous getaway, Obama assured us: "Next week, I will be laying out a series of steps that Congress can take immediately to put more money in the pockets of working families, to make it easier for small businesses to hire people, to put construction crews to work (now who could be against construction crews working?) rebuilding our nation's roads, bridges and highways, and all other measures that can help us grow this economy." The closest thing to eternal life on this earth is Obama's recycled clichés.
Pundits speculate that the latest stimulate-us proposal will include a refundable tax credit (in the $3,000-$5,000 range) for every new employee a business hires. That's a tax credit to hire more workers to manufacture products consumers aren't buying and employ more salespeople to handle customers during a retail slump.
There's also going to be more stimulus spending to create more make-work jobs which will last as long as the federal largesse continues. Bridges will be built to nowhere. Streets will be paved that were re-surfaced six months before and unions loyal to the Obama machine will be rewarded lavishly. And we'll add a few hundred billion more to the national debt. Obama has perfected the "spend method" of job creation.
The president knows this won't pass. Even Democrats in Congress think his tax-credit idea is a loser. (For once, they're right.) It's all a warm-up for 2012, when Obama will run against a do-nothing Congress. With concrete, realistic plans to turn the economy around (and get construction crews doing the minuet with working families, as small businesses applaud from the sidelines) he was thwarted at every turn. Four more years! Four more years!
Since Obama arrived in River City, we've lost 2.5 million jobs - resulting in a 25% increase in unemployment. Back in 2009, The Recession Man promised that if we passed his stimulus package ($787 billion), by July 2011 the unemployment rate would be below 8%.(It was 7.8% when Obama stepped off the train.) It's now 9.1%.
To keep pace with population growth, the economy needs to create 150,000 new jobs a month. In August, there was a net gain of zero. The last time that happened was 1945.
Officially, there are 14 million unemployed - of those, 43% have been out of work for more than six months. The official figure doesn't include those who've given up looking for work (3 million), the under-employed (the programmer who's working at a convenience store) and other casualties of Obmanomics.
The White House is now saying that the unemployment rate won't dip below 6% until 2017. During the Bad Bush years (when working families and homeless construction crews starved in the streets) the unemployment rate averaged 5.9%.
None of this should be surprising. Our president is a hard-core ideologue. When reality doesn't conform to his worldview, the former gets the heave-ho.
Professor Harold Hill couldn't read music. Professor Obama has never held a real job (community organizer?), created a job, or been involved with a company that manufactured, sold or exported products. His entire adult life has been spent in graduate school, political advocacy and public office (Illinois State Senate, U.S. Senate and the presidency).
He can be forgiven (well, not exactly forgiven) then, if he thinks businesses can be bribed into creating jobs with a one-time tax credit, if he thinks stimulus spending has the same economic impact as spending by individuals and businesses (based on real-world calculations instead of political considerations), if he doesn't see the connection between a burgeoning national debt and economic stagnation, if he thinks taxes and regulations are a spur to job growth, and if he believes there's no connection between strangling domestic energy production and rising costs that drive businesses into bankruptcy.
Ultimately, the damage Professor Harold Hill could do was limited by the disposable income and gullibility of the sheep he came to shear. He couldn't spend on the credit of the residents of River City, accumulating debt that would burden generations as yet unborn. He couldn't inflate their currency.
He couldn't kill the town's mercantile establishments with mindless regulations. He couldn't make the town's poorer citizens dependent on him for their sustenance, weaning them away from work. And he couldn't forcibly extract their earnings; they had to surrender their money voluntarily.
In anticipation of more glorious giveaways from The Recession Man - to get the economy moving and put construction crews in the pockets of working families (making it easier for small businesses to hire them) - on Thursday evening we'll be singing, "O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin down the street, I wish, I wish I knew what it could be."
The Myth of Conservative Purity
Adam Smith, the Founding Fathers, Ronald Reagan-all practiced the art of wise compromise.
By PETER BERKOWITZ
With the opening of the fall political season and tonight's Republican candidate debate, expect influential conservative voices to clamor for fellow conservatives to set aside half-measures, eschew conciliation, and adhere to conservative principle in its pristine purity. But what does fidelity to conservatism's core convictions mean?
Superstar radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh has, with characteristic bravado, championed a take-no-prisoners approach. In late July, as the debt-ceiling debate built to its climax, he understandably exhorted House Speaker John Boehner to stand strong and rightly praised the tea party for "putting country before party." But then Mr. Limbaugh went further. "Winners do not compromise," he declared on air. "Winners do not compromise with themselves. The winners who do compromise are winners who still don't believe in themselves as winners, who still think of themselves as losers."
Post-'60s liberals, with the president as their standard bearer, seek to make a virtue of decline.
By SHELBY STEELE
If I've heard it once, I've heard it a hundred times: President Obama is destroying the country. Some say this destructiveness is intended; most say it is inadvertent, an outgrowth of inexperience, ideological wrong-headedness and an oddly undefined character. Indeed, on the matter of Mr. Obama's character, today's left now sounds like the right of three years ago. They have begun to see through the man and are surprised at how little is there.
Yet there is something more than inexperience or lack of character that defines this presidency: Mr. Obama came of age in a bubble of post-'60s liberalism that conditioned him to be an adversary of American exceptionalism. In this liberalism America's exceptional status in the world follows from a bargain with the devil-an indulgence in militarism, racism, sexism, corporate greed, and environmental disregard as the means to a broad economic, military, and even cultural supremacy in the world. And therefore America's greatness is as much the fruit of evil as of a devotion to freedom.
Mr. Obama did not explicitly run on an anti-exceptionalism platform. Yet once he was elected it became clear that his idea of how and where to apply presidential power was shaped precisely by this brand of liberalism. There was his devotion to big government, his passion for redistribution, and his scolding and scapegoating of Wall Street-as if his mandate was somehow to overcome, or at least subdue, American capitalism itself.
New RNC Ad Compares Past Obama Speeches On Jobs: "Sound Familiar?"
Three Paths for Obama's Jobs Speech
By J.D. Foster, Ph.D. September 6, 2011
President Obama will soon make yet another "major jobs speech." Small wonder-the Department of Labor announced last Friday that the economy created a net of zero new jobs in August following two months of near-zero growth. Two years after the President signed his first major jobs bill into law, the unemployment rate continues to hover at 9.1 percent.
Unfortunately, the President cannot orate the nation into recovery, and predictions, forecasts, theory, and speculation aside, nearly 14 million unemployed Americans attest that his heavy regulation, debt-based economic stimulus failed.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 Preserve the Constitution: Now More than Ever
by Edwin Meese III Former Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan
The Constitution of the United States of America has endured over two centuries. It remains the object of reverence for nearly all Americans and an object of admiration by peoples around the world.
Unfortunately, the assault by 20th century liberal theorists and activist judges have seriously undermined respect for America's core principles, denigrating some constitutional rights they disagree with and making up others.
Clearly, the future of liberty depends on America reclaiming its constitutional first principles.
This week, The Heritage Foundation kicks off our Preserve the Constitution Series, featuring the nation's most respected judges, legal scholars, and policy analysts on how to combat these attacks on the rule of law and the Constitution.
All events will be held at The Heritage Foundation and we encourage you to join us. If you cannot join us in person, all events in the series will be webcast live-including Q&A from online viewers. You can also watch each of these important talks online within 24 hours of event completion.
Continuing this weekend's remembrance of 9/11, on Tuesday Heritage will host legal scholars John Yoo and Nadine Strossen. These two experts contributed to a new book on the legal response to the 9/11 terror attacks, Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security.
This column by ACRU General Counsel and Senior Fellow for the Carleson Center for Public Policy (CCPP) Peter Ferrara was published September 7, 2011 on The American Spectator website.
The theory that human activity is causing potentially catastrophic global warming is not science. It is politics, driven by special interests with ideological, political and economic stakes in the theory.
For environmentalists, global warming corresponds with the authoritarian goal at the core of their movement: repeal of the industrial revolution (which President Obama's EPA has begun to implement). For governments, it presents an opportunity to vastly expand their power and control through taxes, regulation and bureaucracy.
The theory also presents an opportunity for the United Nations to vastly expand its power and control. As an organization of world governments who would also gain enormously from acceptance of the theory, the UN is doubly corrupted as an honest broker on the issue. Yet, perversely, governments across the globe have delegated authoritative inquiry on the issue to the UN through its Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This column by ACRU Policy Board Member and Professor of Economics Dr. Walter E. Williams was published September 7, 2011 on Townhall.com. At one of last month's Congressional Black Caucus-sponsored "job fairs," Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., told the audience: "This is the effort that we're seeing of Jim Crow. Some of these folks in Congress right now would love to see us as second-class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now with this tea party movement would love to see you and me -- I'm sorry, Tamron -- hanging on a tree." Carson's reference to Tamron was acknowledgment of the presence of MSNBC's black reporter Tamron Hall, who didn't deem it fit to report the congressman's statement. Another black attacker of the tea party movement is Rep. Maxine Waters, who told her constituents: "This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the tea party can go straight to hell." "Let us all remember who the real enemy is. And the real enemy is the tea party," reminded Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla. The Rev. Jesse Jackson said the tea party should be called the "Fort Sumter tea party that sought to maintain states' rights and slavery." Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., in telling a job fair audience to register to vote, said, "Turn the tea party upside down!"
What about Hastings' call for blacks to register to vote? What has it meant? For several decades, blacks have held significant political power, in the form of being mayors and dominant forces on city councils in our major cities, including Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington, Memphis, Atlanta, Baltimore, New Orleans, Oakland, Newark, Cincinnati and many others. In most of these cities, blacks have served as school superintendents, school principals and chiefs of police. Plus, there's precedent setting black political power at the national level, with 39 black congressmen and a black president.
This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published September 5, 2011 in The Washington Times.
The modern-day faith in science makes the most fanatical fundamentalist look indifferent by comparison. Ever since Charles Darwin proposed his theory of macroevolution, which even he admitted had scant evidence to support it, the intelligentsia have pushed science as the Final Decider of All Things. If you think this is harmless, see how Alfred C. Kinsey's cooked surveys on sex in the 1940s helped launch and justify the still-disastrous sexual revolution. And look at how junk science is littering Supreme Court opinions.
The thing is, science does not stay still. Theories come and go as evidence pours in to support alternative views.
Not so with evolution. Even when the late, prominent evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould admitted that the fossil record argues against gradual, Darwinian evolution, he came up with "punctuated equilibrium." That is, he speculated that intermediate species don't show up in fossils because of sudden, unexplained leaps into completely new species. As scientists unlock the secrets of the cell, it's clearer every day that those leaps would involve millions of changes all at once, for no apparent reason.
But I'm not here to poke holes in evolutionary theory. I have a larger ambition, which is to expose the misuse of science as a false religion.
This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Ken Blackwell and ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published September 6, 2011 on Townhall.com.
President Barack Obama's National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is on a job-killing rampage. It's claiming unprecedented powers far beyond what federal law allows. Taken with Obama's other agencies, these executive actions paint a picture of what has become an imperial presidency.
A federal appeal is certain once NLRB's shocking attack on Boeing Co. goes through the administrative process. In a free-market society, government bureaucrats cannot dictate to a private company where they can and cannot open factories or create jobs. Boeing--whose general counsel was formerly one of the most brilliant federal judges in America, Michael Luttig--should win this court battle.
NLRB's power grab is not limited to Boeing. It's also claiming jurisdiction over St. Xavier University, saying that the school doesn't qualify for the religious exemption to NLRB's authority because St. Xavier is not Catholic enough. NLRB cites to a 1979 Supreme Court case as giving it this authority, when that case instead makes clear that this government agency would be running afoul of the First Amendment by presuming to rate the religiosity of bona fide church organizations.
Obama Administration Declares Administrative Amnesty for Illegal Aliens
Cases Against Non-Criminal Aliens to be Dropped Unilaterally | In a policy statement posted on the White House website and in letters to leading members of Congress, the Obama administration declared what amounts to an administrative amnesty for nearly all illegal aliens without criminal records.
FAIR Leads the Response to Administration's Amnesty Plan | As FAIR has often done when big immigration stories break, we provided the immediate response in the media to the administration's policy announcement, and began to rally public opposition to this blatant attempt to enact a de facto amnesty.
Obama Administration Sues Alabama | In a prelude to the August 18 announcement that virtually all illegal aliens who have not committed other crimes in the U.S. would receive administrative amnesty, the Obama administration filed suit against Alabama in an effort to prevent that state's immigration enforcement policy from going into effect. Read the Article
Rep. West condemns Black Caucus 'race baiting'
By Alicia M. Cohn - 09/02/11 03:57 PM ET
The only Republican member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) further distanced himself from the group following Friday's jobs report.
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) tweeted: "Unemployment remained at 9.1%, but in the black community, it increased [from] 15.9% to 16.7%. It's clear why CBC avoids facts & is race baiting"
West sent a letter Wednesday to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), chairman of the CBC, asking him to condemn the "hate-filled comments" that some members of the caucus made toward the Tea Party movement during August.
"Otherwise, I will have to seriously reconsider my membership within the organization," West wrote.
West particularly condemned comments made by Rep. Andrè Carson (D-Ind.), the caucus whip, who said many Tea Party-affiliated members of Congress see African Americans as "second-class citizens" and would be happy to see blacks "hanging from a tree."
West said Thursday that he will wait until he speaks to Cleaver once Congress returns to session before making a decision about his CBC membership.
RJC Announces Advocacy Campaign in NY-9:
Your vote sends a message to Pres. Obama on Israel
Washington, D.C. (September 7, 2011) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) today announced the launch of an advocacy campaign, with mail pieces going out in the coming days to every Jewish household in New York's 9th congressional district. The campaign will call on voters to use the special House election on September 13th as an opportunity to send a clear message to President Obama: Enough is enough on Israel.
Citing the Democratic former mayor of New York, Ed Koch, and a Holocaust survivor who is a lifelong Jewish Democrat, the two mailers highlight American Jews' outrage and concern over President Obama's treatment of our strongest ally, Israel. (See the mailers here and here.)
Mayor Ed Koch said:
If Jewish New Yorkers and others who support Israel were to turn away from the Democratic Party and elect the Republican candidate to Congress in 2011, it might very well cause President Obama to change his hostile position on the State of Israel and to re-establish the special relationship presidents before him had supported. (New York Post, July 12, 2011)
Golda Koppelman, a Holocaust survivor who has lived her American life in the district, is quoted:
"I have never voted for a Republican in my life" she says. But in this election, "I don't even care who the Democrat is; I am voting Republican to show Obama I am upset with his policy on Israel. (Jerusalem Post, August 30, 2011)
The RJC mailer urges district residents to consider:
The only way we can send Obama a message is to vote no to David Weprin - Obama's candidate for Congress.
RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said: "This special election gives voters in the 9th district the chance to tell President Obama and the Democrats exactly how they feel about the administration's handling of our alliance with Israel and other vital issues. The Republican candidate, Bob Turner, is ahead in recent polls precisely because of these issues. Turner's solid pro-Israel positions and his background as a job-creating businessman are resonating strongly in what has traditionally been a heavily-Democratic district with a large Jewish community. This race is shaping up as an important indicator for the 2012 elections."
Media Overlook Violent Talk on the Left By L. Brent Bozell III If the networks had any interest in fairness or balance, they'd be asking the DNC chair to denounce Jimmy Hoffa's harsh language.
How Obama Protects the Teamsters By Michelle Malkin Those calling on President Obama to condemn Jimmy Hoffa's uncivil tone are deluding themselves. He can no more disown the Teamsters Union's leader than he can his own id.
A Very Important Week By Rich Galen This is a big week in American politics, with a Republican debate at the Reagan Presidential Library and the president's speech about job-creation to a joint session of Congress.
"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."
-Ronald Reagan
Republicans cry foul over Democrats accepting corporate cash for convention, despite Obama pledge
Dems using "host committee" to raise cash
Although President Barack Obama has promised he won't be taking any corporate money to support his re-election bid, the organizers of the 2012 Democratic National Convention have already shown that they will.
Through a back door financing method - the DNC "host committee" - the party can take in millions of dollars in corporate contributions and other in-kind donations, like telecommunications equipment or vehicles, The Charlotte Observer reports.
It doesn't sound like President Obama or the White House will be apologizing for Monday comments by Teamsters Union President James Hoffa, describing Tea Party members as SOBs.
"Those weren't comments by the president," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. "The president ... wasn't on stage. He didn't speak for another 20 minutes. He didn't hear it."
Group protest session over proposed repeal of NM driver's licenses for illegal immigrants
Claim they had a "right" to drive
Chanting "Jesus was an immigrant," advocates greeted state lawmakers Tuesday as they returned for a special session that could consider a proposed repeal of a law that lets those illegally in the country get New Mexico driver's licenses.
About 60 protesters and advocates, bused in from southern New Mexico by the group Border Network for Human Rights, lobbied lawmakers and presented a petition signed by 5,000 residents to Gov. Susana Martinez.
Maybe they have have though about this a few years ago
President Obama's new effort to revive the ailing economy may be too little, too late, according to Democrats and liberal policy experts.
They contend that Obama missed his chance to turn the economy around by November 2012, but still want him to call on Congress to move an aggressive new jobs plan - even if it has little chance of passing.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats have dropped the word "stimulus" from their vocabulary.
Though the House minority leader and her caucus are still pushing an economic stimulus agenda to save the economy, they've radically changed their rhetoric with the hope of winning over voters who saw "stimulus" as close to a dirty word.
Doctors, drugmakers, hospitals and health insurers have spent millions over the years wooing lawmakers who now are on the powerful congressional panel charged with finding a formula to control deficits and debt, a new analysis finds.
Those very same industries would get hit hard if the supercommittee succeeds.
The industry campaign contributions, compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, reinforce doubts that the 12-member panel will issue a sweeping plan to curb federal spending, an equation that can't be solved without major Medicare and Medicaid cuts.
Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday signed into law a stricter, four-year lifetime limit on cash welfare benefits, prompting advocates for the poor to warn that tens of thousands of residents will find themselves without cash assistance on Oct. 1.
Michigan's first-year Republican chief executive said the state will offer exemptions to the limit for those with a disability who can't work, those who care for a disabled spouse or child and those who are 65 or older and don't qualify for Social Security benefits or receive very low benefits.
Since 1964, our nation's senior citizens have relied on Medicare to ensure access to healthcare. Now the program is going broke -- and it is going broke fast.
It began spending its reserves in 2008 when payouts exceeded dollars collected for the program. [cite]
Predictions for exhaustion of the reserve vary, with 2024 identified by the Social Security Administration in the Trustees 2011 report. [cite]
The Democrat response is to reduce the amount Medicare reimburses physicians for their services. [cite]
This will result in fewer participating physicians and the physicians continuing in the program seeing fewer Medicare patients.
Patients will wait longer and have fewer choices in seeing a doctor.
If this makes access to care sufficiently untenable, or if Medicare does not get on viable financial footing, it will be administered through ObamaCare[cite].
This would include cost controls by a 15-member board of bureaucrats deciding wich treatments, drugs, and surgeries patients can receive.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget, has a plan which saves Medicare with no disruption to today's seniors and reasonable changes for future retirees.
The Ryan Plan is widely misunderstood and misrepresented. The future of our seniors' healthcare is too important to be decided on misinformation. Here are the facts about Medicare and the Ryan Plan.
The Ryan Plan in a Nutshell
Those currently retired and those close to retirement (55 and over) will see no change from the existing Medicare system. Existing physician reimbursement flaws will be corrected to encourage physicians to continue participating in the system.[cite]
On retirement, those currently under 55 will be provided vouchers from the government to help pay for health insurance. Voucher amounts will be based in part on income, with wealthier individuals receiving less assistance. Risk pools [cite] will be created to ensure that insurance companies will provide coverage to seniors, despite their generally higher use of medical care.
The result is retirees will have a system that gives them options, similar to that which members of Congress use and which will include options similar to Medicare Advantage, the popular plan eliminated by Obamacare. [cite]
The Ryan Plan Incorporates These Important Points
It is important that we
Plan now for changes, to avoid chaos later
The medicare system is running out of money. Change is coming, one way or another.
Pretending we can continue as we are is not an option, it is a recipe for disaster. The longer we wait to make changes, the greater the disruption to current and future retires, the more abruptly the changes will have to be implemented, and the fewer options we will have.
By implementing the Ryan Plan now, we will
maintain the existing system for current retirees and for individuals 55 and over
provide a sustainable, quality system for future retirees.
It is important that we...
Preserve the existing system, unchanged, for current retirees and workers 55 and older
This bears repeating:
Under the Ryan Plan, if you are retired, your Medicare coverage will not change.
If you are over 55, Medicare as it exists today will be there for you when you retire.
And the Ryan Plan provides for quality health insurance coverage upon retirement for those currently under 55.
It is important that we...
Maintain availability of insurance coverage for future retirees
Since individuals generally require more medical care as they age, it tends to be difficult for older individuals to find private health insurance that will cover them. That is one reason our existing Medicare system is considered so important for many. The Ryan Plan creates risk pools which encourage multiple insurance companies to offer health coverage to those of retirement age.
It is important that we...
Maintain affordability
Individuals have paid into the Medicare system with the promise that coverage will be there for them when they retire. Unfortunately, we are facing an economic crisis in this country and Medicare is a significant part of the problem. To save the system for everyone and to avert broader economic calamity, in the future wealthier Americans will have to bear a greater portion of their healthcare burden.
It is important that we...
Make it feasible for doctors to participate in Medicare
Currently in many areas of the country physicans are reimbursed for Medicare patients at a rate that does not cover their expenses. Recent changes put forth by the Democrats further reduce reimbursement. [cite] This is not sustainable for any business and as a result increasing numbers of physicians are discontinuing their participation in the Medcare program. Patients are finding that their physician is no longer a Medicare provider and when they look for another physician it is increasingly difficult for them to find a Medicare provider who is accepting new patients and can see them in a reasonable time. [cite]. The Ryan plan fixes the reimbursement problem, making it feasible for physicians to continue participating in Medicare.
It is important that we...
Keep medical decisions between patients and doctors, not remote government panels
The Ryan plan harnesses the free market and puts choice in the hands of the patient. Retirees will be able to pick the insurance plan that best meets their needs, applying government vouchers toward premium costs. Medical decisions would be made in consultation with their personal physician, based on the individual's situation and preferences.
References
September 07, 2011
On Wednesday's Program
Media wrong again: Europe is about to collapse
Glenn has been relentlessly mocked by the left and others for predicting Europe would not stand -- here's the report from The Blaze: "The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) has just released a report titled "Euro Break Up - The Consequences" wherein they predict the death of the euro and the long-term consequences should that occur. The report starts out cheerily enough: "Under the current structure and with the current membership, the Euro does not work. Either the current structure will have to change, or the current membership will have to change." Once again the media was wrong, Glenn was right - get the full story HERE.
Sneak peek @ Glenn's new GBTV studios!
GBTV correspondent Raj Nair gives viewers a sneak peek at Glenn's amazing new GBTV studios. This is the set that Glenn has always wanted to build but for one reason or another was never able to. Glenn saw it completed for the first time yesterday and for the first time in his career he saw a completed project by the staff and didn't change anything. Raj gets the guided tour from Glenn -- check out the new GBTV studios HERE. Want to be part of the New York City live studio audience of the Glenn Beck Program, please email us at tickets@gbtv.com!
Want to watch GBTV on your TV?
You can now stream Glenn's new show and all the GBTV programming with a Roku box. Roku is easy to use and connects from the internet to your TV. GBTV's Brian Sack offer some help setting it up with a tutorial video - WATCH HERE. Glenn's new 2 hour show premieres Monday, September 12 available only on GBTV. Sign up today!
The only reporter worth his salt: Jake Tapper
At the White House press conference most reporters completely avoided the obvious news story of Mr. 'New Tone' Obama being introduced by Jimmy Hoffa Jr. who said it's time to 'take these sons of bitches out' when talking about the GOP/Tea Party. Tapper was the only one who had the courage to press the White House on the obvious hypocrisy coming from the administration, who (as Tapper pointed out) demanded apologies from McCain when their camp dared to use Obama's middle name. Glenn plays audio of the testy exchange and reacts on radio today.
Jon Stewart's ridiculous Tea Party attack
Jon Stewart did another one of his segments that useful idiots automatically called an 'epic takedown' or whatever those crazy, wacky youth are saying today. Stewart's 'takedown' was pretty pathetic - he tried to show Tea Party hypocrisy, but his evidence was non-existent and his argument was severely flawed. Glenn has the clip and reaction on radio today. WATCH
Tea Party Zombies must die video game: shoot & kill Glenn Beck, other conservatives
One would think the left (who believe that using analogies such as 'it's time to fight back' will cause people to automatically start beating people up) would be a little more sensitive to violent rhetoric. They've set this stupid rhetoric standard to where CNN was apologizing for saying the word 'crosshairs' as if its audience would spontaneously burst out in gunfire. But there doesn't seem to be much of an outcry when violent rhetoric from the left happens - like this new video game in which the object is to shoot and kill Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and others - WATCH.
The Statement: Glenn's answer to all future ridiculous smears
You know about the annoying double standards out there - so Glenn has decided to use all of the acceptable leftist excuses that the press seems to be ok with and make a default 'statement' of his own. In theory, this should work any time they become upset about something Glenn says because it's all the excuses they use. Check out the footnoted statement HERE and Glenn puts it to use after a controversial comment on radio today. Did it work? Find out HERE.
Bob Beckel: Che was a 'freedom fighter': An interesting segment over at Fox News the other day as one of its hosts actually went to bat for and praised leftist mass murderer Che Guevara while vilifying America. Glenn reacts to the segment HERE.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has no idea Texas is creating jobs (audio)
A pretty telling audio clip coming from America's labor secretary who was asked to explain why it is that Texas seems to be the only state creating lots of jobs. At first, Solis says she had no idea because she hasn't looked into Texas all that much - which explains a lot about our current job situation. They aren't modeling states with successful job models - no, they are just pursuing a fatally flawed ideology. Solis went on to talk about all the 'problems' Texas has. Wait, thought you hadn't looked into it Hilda? Get the stunning audio HERE.
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Linda Rosen 9/12 Patriots of Lower Buck County 215-274-5415
"We have places to go: jobs to get to, lines to wait in at the food stamp office, parole officers to see, charges to beat..."
