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912 Patriots of Lower Bucks - Your Daily Updates ALL in ONE Place!
November 11, 2011
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Quote of the Day - November 10, 2011
"For the purpose of promoting a reign of law in the world there is a special obligation resting upon all public officials. In our own country, and in most others, the government is one of limited powers. The purpose, as has been so well expressed, is to provide a government of law and not of men. The great majority of offices are those created by statute. Those who fill such places should be alert to ascertain the powers with which they have been invested and scrupulous to observe the law under which they have been appointed. But in addition to these there is a considerable body, executive, legislative, and judicial in its functions, which derive their authority directly from constitutional sources. None of these are all-powerful, but are held within strict limits. They have all come into existence because the people have decreed by their constitutions that they should be clothed with certain limited authority. The chief temptations to go beyond the bounds which the people have set arise in legislatures. In their desire to take some action which they conceive to be in the public interest, they oftentimes manifest a disposition to exceed their constitutional authority. Such action is a larceny of power. Responsibility for it cannot be evaded by the weak plea to let the law be passed and the courts can decide its constitutionality. Legislators are required to qualify upon their solemn oath. That oath is not that they will leave the Courts to defend and support the Constitution, but that they themselves will defend and support it. When additional authority is required, they should apply to the people to amend the Constitution, and not attempt to evade it or strain it by subterfuge and misconception." - Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933), 30th president of the United States from 1923 - 1929. He made this observation in a speech that he delivered on May 30, 1928 (Decoration Day) at the site of the Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania. The entire speech can be read here.
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Tuberculosis Breaks Out At Occupy Atlanta's Base
November 10, 2011
The homeless shelter that Occupy Atlanta protesters have been camping out in has been confirmed for housing two cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis. (credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) - The home base for Occupy Atlanta has tested positive for tuberculosis.
The Fulton County Health Department confirmed Wednesday that residents at the homeless shelter where protesters have been occupying have contracted the drug-resistant disease. WGCL reports that a health department spokeswoman said there is a possibility that both Occupy Atlanta protesters and the homeless people in the shelter may still be at risk since tuberculosis is contracted through air contact.
Read More . . .
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364 Days until the 2012 General Election
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U.N. Agency That Just Voted-In Palestine Reprimands Israel for Newspaper Cartoon
The Blaze | by Jonathon M. Seidl | Posted on November 11, 2011 at 7:35am
JERUSALEM (The Blaze/AP) - UNESCO has reprimanded Israel over a newspaper cartoon showing the Israeli prime minister telling pilots to bomb the U. N. agency's office after bombing Iran, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The U.N.'s Paris-based cultural arm called in Israel's ambassador, Nimrod Barkan, on Wednesday and handed him a protest note saying the cartoon "endangers the lives of unarmed diplomats," according to the Israeli spokesman, Yigal Palmor.
Read More . . .
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Chinese 'Ruling Elite' Believe they are 'Approaching an Inevitable Breaking Point'
The Blaze | by Becket Adams | Posted on November 10, 2011 at 11:27pm
Recently, the news media has been overloaded with stories about "income inequality," "corporate greed," and the ongoing struggle between the "99%" and the "1%."
Granted, these are probably issues that should be addressed, but one feels compelled to say that there is no need to riot over these things especially when one compares the situation in the U.S. to other countries.
China is a good example. Some of the issues facing the workers in the communist country make the complaints of the average OWS protester pale in comparison.
For instance, Since 2003, house prices in China have tripled.
Not bad enough?
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Does This Atlanta Private Investigator's Lie Detector Prove Cain Is Telling the Truth?
The Blaze | by Liz Klimas | Posted on November 10, 2011 at 8:09am
Herman Cain has already said he would take a polygraph test to prove he is being truthful in his denial of recent accusations of sexual assault that four women made against him.
The polygraph test has not been taken yet, but one man says he already has proof that Cain is telling the truth.
Read More . . .
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 Fed Judge: Calif. School Was Right to Forbid Students' American Flag T-Shirts on Cinco de Mayo
The Blaze | by Billy Hallowell | Posted on November 11, 2011 at 7:57am
Should public school officials have the right to prevent students from wearing pro-American garb on Cinco de Mayo?
 This question has been at the heart of a California court battle between the Morgan Hill Unified School District and students who were told by a principal and assistant principal that they could not wear American flag t-shirts on the Mexican holiday back in 2010.
Read More . . .
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Calls Needed
to
Oppose the U.S. Senate's Big-Government Education Bill
William A. Estrada, Esq.
HSLDA Federal Relations
Melanie P. Palazzo
Congressional Action Program Director
November 1, 2011
Introduction
The U.S. Senate Education Committee has decided to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). This massive federal education bill was last reauthorized in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
HSLDA's federal relations staff have read this 868-page bill, and we believe that while it does not directly impact homeschool freedom, the bill will 1) increase the federal role in education at the expense of state, local, and parental control, and 2) will greatly increase the pressure on states to align their curriculum and standards, resulting in de facto national education standards.
Urgent Calls Needed to Senate Education Committee
The Senate Education Committee has already voted this ESEA bill out of committee, but at the urging of Senator Rand Paul (KY) the committee will hold a hearing on the bill Tuesday, November 8. If either of your senators are on the Education Committee, HSLDA urges you to call with the following message:
"I am concerned that the ESEA reauthorization bill scheduled for a committee hearing next Tuesday will greatly increase the federal government's control over education. As a homeschooler, I understand that parents-not federal education officials-are best suited to make educational choices for their children. Please oppose attempts to increase national control over education."
Senate Education Committee Members
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Tom Harkin (IA) 202-224-3254
Barbara Mikulski (MD) 202-224-4654
Jeff Bingaman (NM) 202-224-5521
Patty Murray (WA) 202-224-2621
Bernard Sanders (VT) 202-224-5141
Robert Casey (PA) 202-224-6324
Kay Hagan (NC) 202-224-6342
Jeff Merkley (OR) 202-224-3753
Al Franken (MN) 202-224-5641
Michael Bennet (CO) 202-224-5852
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) 202-224-2921
Richard Blumenthal (CT) 202-224-2823
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Michael Enzi (WY) 202-224-3424
Lamar Alexander (TN) 202-224-4944
Richard Burr (NC) 202-224-3154
Johnny Isakson (GA) 202-224-3643
Rand Paul (KY) 202-224-4343
Orrin Hatch (Utah) 202-224-5251
John McCain (AZ) 202-224-2235
Pat Roberts (KS) 202-224-4774
Lisa Murkowski (AK) 202-224-6665
Mark Kirk (IL) 202-224-2854
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You may identify and contact your two U.S. senators using HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox.
Senators Paul, Richard Burr (NC), and Orrin Hatch (UT) share our concerns about this bill and should be thanked.
Background
In 2001, Congress passed NCLB. While HSLDA was neutral on this bill because it included strongly written protections for homeschoolers, and prohibitions on federal funding for national teacher certification, national standards, national testing, and national databases, NCLB also greatly increased the federal government's role in education.
A decade later, nearly all education policy makers agree that NCLB is too inflexible. HSLDA believes this illustrates that the federal government should not be in the business of establishing education policy for the nation's schoolchildren.
This past month, the U.S. Senate has been working on reauthorizing NCLB. HSLDA is concerned the Senate's bill continues the failed "Washington-knows-best, one-size-fits-all" approach that was widely criticized in NCLB. In addition, one provision in the Senate's bill mandates that any state taking federal funds must put in place "College and Career Ready Aligned Standards." Mandating that each state have aligned standards with aligned coursework will guarantee the creation of national academic standards, national curriculum, and national testing. We believe this will result in the eventual requirement that homeschoolers use these national standards, curriculum, and testing.
For more about HSLDA's concerns read "The Danger of National Standards" and "Nationalized Education Standards-an Update for Home Educators."
You may also read HSLDA's legislative summary.
It is still unclear at this point whether homeschool protections will stay in the Senate's education bill, but even if they do, the trend of national standards could lead to homeschoolers losing the freedom to choose the curriculum for their children. For these reasons, HSLDA is urging opposition to the Senate's ESEA reauthorization legislation.
Morning Bell: The Backdoor Attempt to Rewrite No Child Left Behind
With Waivers, National Standards Anything but Voluntary
State-Based Reform, Not National Standards, Key to Better Education
Senate No Child Left Behind Proposal: More Big Government for Schools
Splitting Hairs on the Cadaver
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Pennsylvania/S. New Jersey Region of the RJC presents
"Myths & Missiles: Media Madness & Israel"
with
Aryeh Green
Thursday, November 17, 2011
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The RJC of
Pennsylvania/Southern New Jersey
is hosting
Aryeh Green, director of MediaCentral,
speaking on
"Myths & Missiles:
Media Madness & Israel"
Jerusalem-based Aryeh Green offers his insider's view on the "Arab Spring;" developments in Israel & the Middle East; how Israel's "case" is reported by the international press; & MediaCentral's unique mission of promoting truth, perspective & balanced reporting.
Thursday, November 17, 2011 Program begins at 6:00 PM
Light refreshments will be served.
The event will be held at:
Fox Rothschild LLP
2000 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
The event is FREE for current members
and $20 for eTeam and nonmembers.
Please invite a prospective member to attend
as your guest (complimentary)!
Please RSVP
by emailing PASNJ@RJCHQ.org
or by calling 610-667-1263.
www.RJCHQ.org
Leadership opportunities begin at $1000
Pennsylvania/S. New Jersey individual memberships are $100
Pennsylvania/S. New Jersey couple memberships are $150
Student membership $18
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The Philadelphia Freedom Center
welcomes
Caroline Glick
2011 - 2012 Speaker Series
presented by:
Jessica & Eric Berger
Cecilie & Eugene Block
Joan Carter & John Aglialoro
Amy & Steven Erlbaum
Vicki & Gary Erlbaum
Gerry & Dick Fox
Penny & Robert Fox
Alan Miller
Mindy & Bryan Rishforth
Adele & Harold Schaeffer
Gerald B. Shreiber
Beth & Craig Snider
Ed Snider
Laurie Wagman & Irv Borowsky
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November 16, 2011
Buffet Dinner
5:30-7:00pm
Location:
Offices of Duane Morris LLP
30 South 17th St.
12th Floor
Philadelphia, Pa 19103
Registration: $35.00
Click to Register
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Join us as our friend, Dr. Rich Brake, presents:
An Original or Living Constitution? Learning and Preserving America's Founding Principles
When:
11/19/2011 from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Where:
Freeman Auditorium (Valley Forge Military Academy) : 1001 Eagle Road Wayne, PA 19087
Attendees are encouraged to come to this morning-long seminar to learn more about the Roots of American Constitutionalism; the Fight over Ratification; the still-relevant Hamilton-Jefferson Debate; and the Progressive Critique of the U.S. Constitution. There will also be plenty of time for a vigorous question and answer session, as well as opportunity for networking with other citizens who care about the future of America's Constitutional Republic.
This seminar is free and open to the public, and will be conducted on the beautiful and historical grounds of the Valley Forge Military Academy. Light refreshments will be served. What a perfect setting for considering the vital institutions and principles that American Patriots have struggled and died to preserve for over two hundred years of American history.
Dr. Richard Brake is the Director of Education at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), a non-profit educational foundation with a mission to "Educate for Liberty"-by inspiring college students to discover and embrace the principles that make America prosperous, moral, and free. As part of his duties, Dr. Brake directs the Institute's Civic Literacy Program, which has documented the failure of America's top universities to teach their students the founding history, texts, and institutions of our constitutional republic. Dr. Brake earned a B.A. in History from Georgetown University; an M.A. in Government from the University of Virginia; and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Temple University. Prior to joining ISI, Dr. Brake taught American Politics and Constitutional Law at Temple University in Pennsylvania and the Richard Stockton College in New Jersey. Earlier in his career, Dr. Brake worked as a legislative assistant in both the Pennsylvania and U.S. Houses of Representatives, and in 2006 he retired at the rank of Captain after serving ten years as an Ordnance Officer in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
For more information, go to this link:
https://www.advancefreedom.org/Events.aspx?id=107
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I urge you to stand with me and co-sponsor my new legislation, "American and Pennsylvania Laws for Pennsylvania Courts." This legislation protects the individual constitutional rights of the people of Pennsylvania from the incursion of foreign laws, in cases in which the application of a foreign law or foreign legal doctrine would violate someone's constitutional rights. Go here to see the full document . . .: Our constitutional rights and founding principles of freedom should not be abridged by any offshore entity, including and especially those who would promote Sharia law. Once before on June 19, we asked that you contact your elected representatives and urge them to co-sponsor a bill to prohibit foreign law from consideration in any and all cases in our state courts. You were very responsive and there are now 21 co-sponsors on the bill! Listed below are the co-sponsors to date. if your rep is not on the list, kindly contact him/her even if it's the second time, by taking the 3 action steps below. The more co-sponsors the bill has the more likely it is that the legislators will vote affirmatively to pass it into law. It is significant what Rep. Swanger's office said when sending us the list of co-sponsors : "I feel a lot of them co-sponsored because of the message that was sent out by you to contact the Reps about this legislation. A lot of district offices & Harrisburg offices called or e-mailed right after that was sent out." Here's the list: Kerry Benninghoff Scott Boyd Dom Costa Tom Creighton George Dunbar Frank Farry Neal Goodman Seth Grove Kate Harper Dick Hess Scott Hutchinson Rob Kauffman Daryl Metcalfe (asked to be listed as a 2nd) Carl Metzgar Scott Perry (asked to be listed 3rd) Rick Saccone Stan Saylor Curt Schroder Jerry Stern Dick Stevenson Will Tallman Here are the action steps:
1. read the attached letter from Rep. Swanger, which went out in early June to all PA House members
2. visit, or call, your representative and ask him/her to call Rep. Swanger's secretary, Lily Horst, 717-787-2686, or email her at lhorst@pahousegop.com to be added to the list of the bill's cosponsors
3. timing: please move quickly, as they may be getting to the next step (obtaining a bill number). Make contact, and gain their commitment, by August 1. Having many co-sponsors on a bill, as you know, will help build momentum in the right direction quickly.
Thank you for your efforts.
Signed, your Legislative Focus Group
American and Pennsylvania Laws for Pennsylvania Courts
Sincerely, Sarah Hart
Chapter Leader, ACT! Pittsburgh
ACT! for America Chapter
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 Thursday, December 1st at 7:30PM: Paul Finkelman, "America's Covenant With Death: Slavery and the Founding." Paul Finkelman is the President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy, and Senior Fellow in the Government Law Center at Albany Law School. His lecture will explore the relationship of slavery to the American founding, and will examine how slavery was written into the original Constitution, and protected by it.
Thursday, December 8th at 7:30PM: George W. Boudreau, "'A Republic, If You Can Keep It': Benjamin Franklin and the Crafting of the Constitution." The series closes with a talk by an audience favorite, George W. Boudreau, Associate Professor of Humanities and History at the University of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Professor Boudreau is Project Director of the "Teaching Franklin" website (http://harrisburg.psu.edu/teachingfranklin/). His lecture will explore Franklin's role in the creation of the Constitution. David Library lectures are free and open to the public, but reservations are necessary. Please call (215)493-6776 ext. 100 or email rsvp@dlar.org to make a reservation. Lectures are held in Stone Hall in the Feinstone Conference Center adjacent to the Library, 1201 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA 18977. Books by the lecturers will be available for purchase at post-lecture receptions.
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Speaker William Taylor Reil on Nullification and our 10th Amendment rights Saturday, November 12th 6pm Where: P J Ryan's, 231 Bridge Street, Phoenixville - downstairs private dining area. For additional info contact Maggie at Maggie@theunsolicitedopinion.com or Diane at uncanny2@verizon.net
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Join the VFP on Nov.11 at the Phoenixville C.C
Learn how to use Electronic and Social media to defeat Obama in 2012
------Jeff Morgan will present a live demonstration of the Valley Forge Patriots website and the tremendous information and resources it provides.
------ Michelle Libor will show us all about "Facebook" and how we can use this "social media" to get our message out, and help defeat Obama in 2012. It would be helpful to have a Facebook account in advance.
----- Folks from the Commonwealth Foundation (Dawn Meling and jay Ostrich) will demonstrate their website "Cap--Wiz" and how it can make it easy for each of us to send powerful "letters to the editor" and letters and e-mails to our legislators. "Cap-Wiz" has templated letters on a number of issues.
Food and Drink service is available. Parking is free.
Patriots,
Attached is a suggested list of items for the troops. We will also need Money for shipping & boxes - we have some boxes & I think flat rate is the way to go. A form must be filled out w/ details about what is in each box & approx. value.
PLEASE bring items to our next VFP meeting Nov. 11th at the Phoenixville Country Club. Lets show our troops we care !!!
Here's a list of preferred items to donate.
CANDY
Candy (hard candy/heat resistant)
Gum
Throat Drops
Twizzlers
CORRESPONDENCE
Journals
Padded Envelopes
Pens/Pencils
Writing Paper and Envelopes
DRINK
Coffee (instant)
Coffee Creamer
Gatorade
Hot Cocoa
Kool-Aid bursts- to freeze
Powdered Drink Mixes
Tea Mixes (sweet)
ELECTRONIC
CD Fanny Packs
CDs (music, books on CD)
DVDs (comedy, American travel)
Hand held electronic games
MP3 Players
Tapes
FOOD (including dry goods, snacks)
Beef Jerky
Canned Food (cheese, meats, etc)
Canned Fruit (pop top cans)
Cereal (in small boxes)
Chips
Cookies (including Girl Scout)
Crackers
Energy Bars (Cliff or Balance)
Granola Bars
Oatmeal (instant)
Pistachios and other nuts
Pop-Tarts
Popcorn
Ramen Noodles/Cup of Soup
Ravioli (pop top cans)
Salsa & Bean Dip
Snack Mix & Fruit Roll ups
Sugar packets
Sunflower & Pumpkin seeds
Tuna Kits
GAMES
Board Games
Checkers (travel size)
Chess (travel size)
Crossword Puzzles
Drawing pads/art pencils
Playing Cards
Sudoku books
PRINTED MATERIALS
Books (novels, short stories, history)
Comic Strips/Joke Books
Magazines
Newspapers (local)
Post Cards from Home
SPORTING EQUIPMENT
Baseballs/Gloves/Bats
Dart Board
Footballs
Golf Balls
Hacky Sacks
Soccer Balls
TOILETRIES/HYGIENE
Baby/Wet Wipes
Callous Removers
Dental Floss
Deodorant (gel or solid)
Eye Drops
Eyeglass Wipes
Facial Scrub
Femine Hygiene Products (for female soldiers)
Foot Powder
Hairbrushes
Hand Sanitizers (waterless)
Lip Balm with SPF 15+
Lotion (hand/body/face)
Mouthwash
Nail Clippers
Nose spray
Powder (Gold Bond)
Q-Tips
Razors (disposable)
Shampoo/Conditioner
Shower Shoes
Sunscreen
Tissues (heavy duty - i.e. Puffs)
Toilet Paper (name brand)
Toothpaste/Toothbrushes
Travel size body wash
Tweezers
Tylenol/Motrin (individual packets)
OTHER
American Flags (small)
Baggies (with zip lock)
Batteries (AAA, AA, C, D, 9V)
BBQ cooking supplies/tools
Boot laces (brown/tan)
Bowls (large for Ramen noodles/popcorn)
Bug Spray (must be packaged in zip-lock bag)
Cameras (digital, disposable, Polaroid)
Camping Items/Equipment
Chair (folding camping chair)
Duct Tape (olive green)
Dust pan (for sand)
Fans (battery powered - small - with extra batteries)
Flashlights (mini/mag lite, extra bulbs, lots of batteries)
Fly Strips & Swatters
Fly/Ant/Mouse Traps
Foot Massager
Gloves (Nomex Aviator's)
Hand and Foot Warmers
Hometown stuff
Instant Ice-Packs
Letters from veterans & citizens
Neck Scarf/Gator
Patch Kit
Phone Cards (pre-paid, AAFES)
Photo Albums
Pinch Lights
Plastic spoons
Shoe Insole Cushions
Socks (cushioned white calf high)
Socks (moisture-wicking boot socks)
Spray Bottle (for water)
Thank you for your support!
A member received this from his cousin who is serving over there. If any groups are collecting and sending Christmas presents for our troops, this is worth a look.
Lou
"snacks; I.e. Slim jims, granola bars, you name it. Especially for units that go on patrol that have to eat MRE's all the time. Portable or carry size Snacks or small food items are invaluable to a soldier out on a 4 week mission. Bigger items might include small coolers or anything that might keep drinks cold. I also found something as simple as a coffee thermos was incredibly invaluable. Off mission speaking, footballs, soccer balls, DVD movies, magazines and newspapers from home are great. Also Non-elastic bed sheets can provide comfort and privacy if hung up for soldiers crammed in living areas. Hope this helps!"
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Nullify Now! Philadelphia
 January 14, 2012. 10a-6p
-SPONSOR THIS EVENT - CLICK HERE
-Click here to like this event on Facebook
Crowne Plaza, Liberty Ballroom
Philadelphia Downtown
CLICK HERE for tickets*******
-Speakers
-Event Overview
-Event Agenda
-Venue Information, Parking, etc
Thomas Jefferson: "Whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers....a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy."
But what IS nullification? How does it happen and work? Since September 2010, the Tenth Amendment Center has been hosting a national tour to educate and activate people on this topic. People are learning the constitutional basis, when it's been used in history, and how it is happening around the country and how YOU can stop DC right in your own state.
Go here for more information:
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LISTEN LIVE TO REPATRIOT RADIO
"BETTER THAN EVER"
(all times are eastern)
Friday 10-11pm "Veterans' Weekly Forum" - Ed Rosen and Bob Rosebrock
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We have finally arrived at the point where Germany was in 1930. For general enlightenment; remember, this was signed into law last year!
Take the time to read this break down of Health Care Plan owned and operated by just a few, who are exempt. It is so very important that this gets repealed. Since government health care will be MANDATORY - watching this should be, too. Please watch the entire video.... This is a MUST! Then send it to everyone you know - ASAP!
 | | Know the TRUTH about the Government Health Care Bill H.R.3200 - Key Points |
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RedState Morning Briefing
For November 11, 2011
To those of you who served, we thank you and wish you a blessed and enjoyable Veterans Day.
1. With A Mistake Like That, Is He Qualified To Be President?
![57 States]( "57 States")
3. Soros-funded Gigi Sohn falsely accuses me of being AT&T funded
Gigi Sohn talked to Personal Democracy Forum about the work she does at her organization, Public Knowledge. She took time to call out RedState and Less Government. Here's my hastily-created transcript of the key passage around the 28:00 mark:
"[On AT&T/T-Mobile] We often get attacked by the right-wing press, folks like, you know, RedState and Less Government, so I'm constantly dealing with attacks fully funded by AT&T - it's like not even a secret - calling us, you know, Soros-supported Marxists and Google shills and all these kind... So, I mean I don't want to respond to those things, but they shape the debate. They're out in the air."
She says RedState, but at RedState I'm the one who posts on these issues, and mostly in my Tech at Night series. In that series I do highlight repeatedly that Public Knowledge takes money from George Soros's Open Society Institute. This is a documented fact on their own webpage.
However I don't get paid a dime by AT&T. I don't make a penny off of my tech policy writing. I don't work for AT&T and never have. I don't accept money from them and never have, not directly or indirectly. I'm one guy who devotes a few nights a week to studying and writing about these issues, and the fully-funded, paid professional Gigi Sohn feels the need to single me out.
I actually am looking for work in the DC or Austin areas to fund my escape from California. So if AT&T did want to hire me, well, serious offers would be listened to. Heck, if Sprint Nextel wanted to hire me, I'd listen. But the fact of the matter is, I'm a lone amateur. I'm not corporate funded and I'm not foundation funded. RedState doesn't even pay its writers, let alone AT&T.
And that's the whole story.
4. Union-Bought Democrat Calls For End Of Congressional Probe Into Obama's NLRB
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D) is from Maryland. He doesn't like the fact that Lindsay Graham (R) from South Carolina is fighting the union appointees at the National Labor Relations Board and their attempt to shut down Boeing's new 787 assembly line in Graham's own state.
5. Rick Perry on Foreign Policy & Why He Got Into Politics
I may be a bit quirky in that I care much more about how our candidates view foreign policy in relation to Central and South America than the Middle East, but I really think it is very important. Socialism is creeping up from South America, China is making incursions into the continent, and Mexico is in a civil war.
I asked Rick Perry about it.
Then I threw a wild card at him - why did Rick Perry get into politics. His answer may surprise you. It certainly puts a more personal, human face on Rick Perry. This is the fourth and final part of my interview with Governor Rick Perry.
6. The Horserace
There is a difference between being dead and being on life support. Rick Perry is not dead. He has $15 million. He is the Governor of Texas. Donors cannot just ignore him.
But he is on life support after last night. It is entirely recoverable. He's still got something like 2.72 million more debates to suffer through. But wow. How he responds and recovers will tell us more about the man and his potential than his debate performances.
The Jon Huntsman boomlet is over before it starts. His performance last night at the CNBC debate suggests he has no interest in reaching out to conservatives. Herman Cain did not act like and was not treated as the front runner.
Mitt Romney ran as the nominee, which he will probably be. But there is a potential new frontrunner for the anti-Romney faction and one that could give Romney a run for his money in the debating game, if not the actual money game. His name? "Mr. Speaker."
We'll get into it all in the Horserace.
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Patiently explain to a liberal why their hero Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story depends on an entirely false premise-that capitalism is the same as corporatism.
Most of Moore's targets in the movie are the unwieldy, corrupt corporations that his hero Obama has spent so much taxpayer money bribing and bailing out. They've got about as much to do with the free markets that conservatives favor as Michael Moore has with charm, wit, or healthy salads. And if he really has such a problem with capitalism, what was he doing allowing movie theaters to charge audiences eight bucks a ticket? Shouldn't he have used some of the vast fortune he has earned from books and movies railing against capitalism so that his vital public service announcement could be put out for free?
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Roger Aronoff After Presidents Obama and Sarkozy were heard made disparaging comments about the Israeli premier, reported widely around the world, why is U.S. media so reluctant to report on this?
Tom McLaughlin Daylight Saving Time is one of many things that government, in its supposed wisdom, seems to think is a good idea but really should have left alone.
Clare M. Lopez A jihadist group in Africa has already struck at the UN and has bombed targets outside its own country. A group once considered marginal is growing in scale and ambition.
Diana West NATO gives the Afghan army high-tech weapons, but the senior Afghan general in charge of training admits his troops cannot understand how to use them.
Immigration News Update South Carolina's immigration law - where cops on traffic stops must call federal authorities if they think a person is here illegally - is seen as leading to "racial profiling."
Ryan Mauro With Shimon Peres warning that the time to attack Iran's nuclear sites is getting closer, is it possible that Iran wants Israel to strike, provoking conflict while it continues to build nukes?
by Caroline Glick Israeli hawks and doves are united in their view that Israel's preferred option is for the U.S. rather than the IDF to launch a military strike to destroy Iran's nuclear installations.
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Islam, the Religion of Slavery
The slow collapse of Dubai, a desert mirage built on oil money, human misery and the greed of Western businesses, reminds us once again of the fate of all slave economies in the end. But for all the skyscrapers in Dubai, the glittering avenues built by slave labor and the abundance of luxury American and European automobiles-- the story of Dubai and Saudi Arabia is very much an old story in a Muslim Middle East, of fat prosperous sheiks clutching their ill gotten gains to themselves and ruling over harems and companies of slaves, until the end comes.  Like Muslim Brotherhood derived terrorists using the latest Web 2.0 social media as part of a quest to drive humanity back into the dark ages, the Gulf States are a very old story with the external gilt and glitz of modernity. While the Muslim world may employ the tools and utilities of the 21st century, even mimic its terminology, it has never left its own dark ages... and its dominant religious and social movements are all geared toward making sure that it never does. And while above the skyscrapers gleam in Dubai's night sky, below are the armies of foreign workers, some prosperous Western Dhimmis driving luxury cars who come to do all the higher labor that the native Emiratis lack the ability or will to do, and outnumbering them are the labor gangs of Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern workers who erect the edifices designed by Western architects to fool Western investors into believing that the backward totalitarian sheikdom is actually a modern free republic. As with any fairy tale, behind the glamour lies an ugly truth. A truth that goes back to the dates back to Mohammed. That stretches from slave caravans to slave ships. From England to America and through Turkey to Russia, the roots of slavery can be found in the Muslim slave trade. The African continent was bled of its human resources via all possible routes. Across the Sahara, through the Red Sea, from the Indian Ocean ports and across the Atlantic. At least ten centuries of slavery for the benefit of the Muslim countries (from the ninth to the nineteenth)... Four million slaves exported via the Red Sea, another four million through the Swahili ports of the Indian Ocean, perhaps as many as nine million along the trans-Saharan caravan route, and eleven to twenty million (depending on the author) across the Atlantic Ocean.
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By Ryan Mauro
A gaffe that may not be recoverable.
Read more »
By Daniel Greenfield
Mutilating thieves, Islamic banking and polygamy are only the beginning.
Read more »
By Kenneth R. Timmerman
Why the U.S. should fire top intelligence analysts.
Read more »
By Arnold Ahlert
What's really behind the racist witch-hunt.
Read more »
By Steven Plaut
There's only one strategy Israel has yet to try.
Read more »
By Mark Tapson
The unrepentant master terrorist comes to trial in France - again
Read more »
By Joseph Klein
A "legal activist" sues on behalf of Muslim students who are being oppressed by "offensive" Christian imagery.
Read more »
By Frontpagemag.com
A telling slide-show.
Read more »
By David Meir-Levi
The chilling tale of the released Palestine terrorist, Wafa al-Biss.
Read more »
By Raymond Ibrahim
Far from reflecting one's "grievances," prayers reflect the teachings of one's faith.
Read more »
By Cinnamon Stillwell and Rima Greene
"Don't expect me to take a pro-Israel view. I'm an Arab."
Read more »
By Bruce Bawer
A Calcutta-born Canadian explores the fundamental contradiction between multiculturalism and Western freedom.
Read more »
By Tait Trussell
How the President has forestalled positive entrepreneurial action.
Read more »
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More to read:
White Racists
Listen to Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer on the Jamie Glazov Show
Case Closed: Iran Trying to Make Nuclear Missile
Obama, Sarkozy's Contempt for Netanyahu Exposed
Italy on the Brink
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Bang for your buck: that's what the Freedom Center provides. Ammunition for the culture war against the Left: that's what your contribution buys. So please act now and help us in the fight we are waging on many fronts for America's future. America is under assault from within and without. There is no time to lose.
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November 10, 2011
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Once again, Rep. Allen West hits the nail on the head
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Rep. West was the keynote speaker at this year's sold-out ACT! for America National Conference and Legislative Briefing. Next year's conference will be held June 13 - 15 (three nights, two full days) in Washington, DC. Save the date and make your discounted hotel reservation today by calling 800 - THE - OMNI (800-843-6664) or going online here
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With Veterans Day tomorrow, we considered it most appropriate to bring you a recent column by the highly decorated retired Army Lt. Colonel, and now U.S. Rep. Allen West. In his op-ed that appeared in Roll Call (highlights added), U.S. Rep. West explains, cogently and concisely, what we must do to win today's battle against what he terms "Islamic totalitarianism."
West: U.S. Must Understand 21st-Century Combat By Rep. Allen West Today's paradigm of battle and combat operations is completely different from what I experienced in 1982 when I was commissioned as a young lieutenant in the U.S. Army. At that time, the battlefield was much simpler.
In broad strokes, there was the Soviet Union on one side and the United States on the other. We were familiar with their tactics and equipment, and they with ours. Both sides wore uniforms, and every now and then we would stage war games on border control missions.
That paradigm has completely disappeared, leaving in its place an asymmetrical battlefield with non-uniformed, non-state belligerents using unconventional weapons and tactics. If the United States is going to be successful in protecting its citizens and interests, it must quickly understand and adapt to this new battlefield and be prepared for success and victory.
While America may lack an appropriate strategic level perspective, we will never lose at the tactical level on the ground because the United States has the best soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen the world has ever known. But without the correct strategic and operational goals and objectives, we will find ourselves on the proverbial hamster wheel. No matter how much effort we exert on the wheel, we will not make forward progress. Read more:
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SHOCKER! GOP candidate says, "Islam is not a religion but an anti-American, totalitarian ideology littered with human rights violations."
Posted: November 2, 2011
 Gotta love this guy, a courageous, honest politician. Scott Barrish of Florida, a Republican candidate for Hillsborough Clerk of Circuit Court, has stirred up a major firestorm with an email to a Muslim Brotherhood front group (CAIR), saying "Islam is not a religion." (If only the GOP candidates for President would be this candid)
TAMPA BAY Barrish sent his email to Hassan Shibly, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or TERRORIST FRONT GROUP CAIR. He was responding to a Tampa Tribune opinion piece by Shibly that criticized the Hernando County Republican Party for hosting U.S. Rep. Allen West and Senate candidate Adam Hasner, who have voiced anti-Islamic opinions.
Read more:
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Congress Must Get Serious About Immigration Enforcement in Pennsylvania
Congressional leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have been influenced by outside consultants into looking down upon mandatory workplace verification. Their reasoning behind doing this is to keep Congress focused on "restoring jobs." Yet mandating use of a mandatory workplace verification system would open up nearly 7 million jobs nationally, and could put tens of thousands of unemployed Pennsylvania residents back to work!
Polls have consistently shown that Americans favor replacing illegal workers with U.S. workers and passing legislation that would mandate use of a workplace verification system is the best way to make this happen. Congress needs to hear from Pennsylvania residents of all creeds, races, sexes, religions, and political affiliations that Pennsylvania businesses shouldn't be able to hire illegal aliens.
Send this critical message to your Pennsylvania U.S. House Representative today, urging him/her to do more to protect vulnerable Pennsylvania workers from cheap illegal labor. This is a completely free service. There is no cost to you.
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Dear (Your U.S. Representative Will Appear Here),
Please help to put millions of Americans back to work by supporting any legislation that would mandate use of a workplace verification system.
7 million illegal aliens have jobs while 22 million Americans cannot find a full-time job. How is this just or fair? How does having so many Americans on welfare and on the unemployment rolls help our nation reduce its spending? Clearly it does not.
Congress needs to mandate use of a workplace verification system. Doing so would prevent illegal aliens from taking U.S. jobs and put millions of Americans back to work. Isn't this what we all want? Please do the right thing and support American workers.
Sincerely,
(Your Name Will Appear Here)
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NumbersUSA, America's largest-member immigration-reduction
organization. We are non-profit and non-partisan.
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Thursday, November 10, 2011
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 362 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS
53 Seconds
Did Rick Perry's campaign end last night? Every talking head right and left seems to think so. It was painful to watch Governor Perry struggle and eventually fail to come up with the name of the third government bureaucracy he would eliminate if elected president.
I feel no need to pile on the governor who regularly recites the correct agencies -- Commerce, Education and Energy -- many times every day in his stump speech. Instead, I want to remind you that as bad as those 53 seconds of Perry's "brain freeze" were to watch, virtually any 53 seconds in an Obama, Biden or Pelosi speech are worse!
They are, unfortunately, never at a loss for words. It is the words they find that are the problem -- words that stir class warfare, words that promote socialism, words of apology for America's imaginary sins, words promoting higher taxes, words advocating more debt, words insisting that innocent unborn children be destroyed in the name of choice, words undermining normal marriage, words demonizing Americans who believe in faith, family and freedom. Give me Perry any day!
Winners And Losers
Perry made his task harder, obviously. Cain did well in view of the turmoil of the last nine days. Romney looked presidential. Santorum and Bachmann did fine. Ron Paul was okay, particularly since the subject was the one area where he isn't a kook -- economics and debt. Huntsman scored no breakthrough.
In my humble view, the clear winner was Newt Gingrich. A Gingrich/Obama debate would be a sight to behold!
Democrat Obstruction Prevents Deal
My friends, I again want to address the offer that Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) made to Democrats on the deficit reduction super committee. Barack Obama is basing his reelection strategy on running against a "do-nothing" Congress, and blaming Republicans for blocking his agenda in order to hurt the economy.
As usual, Obama has it exactly backwards -- blocking his agenda right now is helping the economy by preventing further harm. That is precisely why voters sent more conservatives to Congress in the 2010 elections!
But the media are dutifully parroting the liberal line, desperately trying to convince voters that Republicans in Congress are responsible for the gridlock and inaction that has stalled job growth. In reality, it is Democrat obstructionism that is causing the gridlock.
Remember the debt limit fiasco? Speaker Boehner did all he could to reach a deal, only to have Obama make unreasonable counteroffers. Eventually Boehner walked away, complaining that dealing with Obama was like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. Obama never wanted a deal.
As I have recently reported, House Republicans have passed numerous pieces of pro-growth jobs bills, but Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid refuses to allow a vote on any of them. Why? Because he fears they might pass, and that would undermine Obama's strategy and the media's narrative.
As the deadline approaches for the super committee to reach a deal, Democrats are again refusing to negotiate in good faith. Even when Republicans compromise by agreeing to put revenues on the table, Democrats still say no.
Consider this excerpt from today's Wall Street Journal:
"Despite the modest spending cuts, the deal Mr. Toomey describes would be a big political win for all concerned. It would give the economy a major lift by taking the tax increase now scheduled for 2013 off the table... the offer is far better for Democrats than the $3 to $1 ratio that President Obama's own Simpson-Bowles deficit commission recommended. Mr. Toomey says Democrats nonetheless rejected this offer on Tuesday night... Democrats are insisting on at least $1 trillion in new revenues while refusing to allow any reduction in tax rates or to stop the tax increase that will hit in 2013."
Remember this the next time you hear someone complain about Republican obstructionism. Republicans have offered Democrats a better deal than Obama's own debt reduction commission, and they rejected it. They want $1 trillion in higher taxes now AND they want even more later by letting the Bush tax cuts expire in 2013! As the Journal rhetorically asks, "So who are the real 'ideologues' here?"
The Divided States Of America
In my most recent Human Events column I wrote about how the breakdown of values has led to a nation of bystanders who do little when confronted with heinous crimes and behaviors. Sadly, we saw it again this week in the Penn State scandal and the humiliating end of a coaching legend's career.
When informed about pedophilia in his locker room, Joe Paterno failed to make the right call and instead stood silently on the sidelines. Last night nearly a thousand college students went on a rampage at Penn State. Unbelievably, their outrage was not a response to the disgusting abuse of children and subsequent cover up, but JoePa's well-deserved dismissal! This whole episode speaks volumes about our virtue deficit.
America is increasingly divided, but it's not just the 99% versus the 1%. Of course jobs are important, but values matter too. Our culture wars represent a growing "God-gap" in America between those who regularly attend religious services and respect traditional values and those who do not; between those who believe in absolute values of right and wrong and those whose ultimate values are "tolerance" and moral relativism.
Barack Obama burst onto the national scene when he delivered a speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in which he said, "We worship an awesome God in the blue states." Yes, God's love knows no state boundaries. But increasingly the national Democrat Party is becoming the home of secularists who worship big government while people of faith drift to the GOP.
A recent Gallup survey found that those who attend religious services regularly are more likely to be Republicans. Conversely, those who never or infrequently attend religious services are more likely to identify as Democrats.
According to the survey, 61% of Republicans regularly attend worship services, where as 52% of Democrats rarely or never attend. But among adults nationally, 53% attend religious services regularly, while 46% rarely or never attend.
What is the lesson here? It shows just how narrowly divided the country is today and the struggle we face to defend our values in an increasingly secular society. It also reinforces the urgent need for men and women of faith to get off the sidelines and get involved in the fight for faith, family and freedom!
We have one year before the 2012 elections, one year to take our country back so we can stop Obama's socialism. In the coming days, I'll write about our plans and ask for your help so we can once again make America a "shining city upon a hill."
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Senate passes veterans jobs bill
By Rosalind S. Helderman, Thursday, November 10, 2011
On the eve of Veterans Day, the Senate approved new measures to help unemployed former service members, advancing a modest piece of President Obama's $447 billion jobs package with rare bipartisan support.
The bill, approved Thursday by a vote of 95 to 0, would extend tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed veterans. It would also provide new dollars for retraining older unemployed veterans for high-demand fields and includes programs designed to make it easier to get civilian certifications for military training.
The vote came after weeks of partisan sniping over the president's jobs plan. The Senate held doomed votes on the package as a whole and then on pieces of the proposal that had drawn strong Republican opposition, while Obama barnstormed the country slamming the GOP for its obstinacy.
But lawmakers in both parties said the veterans vote showed that Washington is still able to rally around the troops and reach some bipartisan agreement.
Read more:
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 | | 11/11/11 A DECLARATION TO RESTORE THE CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLI |
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Obama Grants Administrative Amnesty, Again
By Ben Johnson, The White House Watch
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The president's stealth amnesty campaign moves forward, unchecked by the law, prevailing sentiment, or common sense. Barack Obama, unable to pass the DREAM Act through an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress, has proceeded to act as though it were the settled law of the land and ignore his constitutional duty to protect our porous (and violent) southern border. Instead, he handcuffs states, localities, and federal agencies that may wish to deport the nation's illegal underclass -- or, as he refers to them, future Democratic voters. Most recently, yet another federal agency charged with apprehending and deporting illegal immigrants has granted de facto amnesty to all illegals not (yet) guilty of a second serious crime.
The latest front in Obama's bureaucratic revolt against the masses came in the form of a new memo issued by the....
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Stopping Obama Before 2012
By WND.com
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With the economic crisis worsening and Barack Obama resorting to rule by executive order and the presidential election still a year away, Americans from both sides of the political aisle are wondering if there are ways to "stop the bleeding" before January 20, 2013, and a change of administration.
Could Obama be removed for violations of the Constitution?
Could he be removed for still-unresolved issues of constitutional eligibility?
What about a Democratic Party challenge to his nomination?
And is there even a way to ensure he doesn't win re-election through voter fraud or third-party gimmickry?....
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Obama the Destroyer
By Kevin "Coach" Collins, FloydReports.com
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United States Census data and other publicly available records tell us we may be in worse shape now than most people would believe. Consider these shocking statistics.
The Census Bureau reports that in 84 percent of our largest metropolitan areas, the percentage of "very poor" people increased during 2010.
The number of people who fell into poverty in 2010, 2.6 million people, was the largest recorded increase since records were first kept in 1959.
The number of "poor" has risen from....
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A GOP Field in Flux
By Michael Reagan, FloydReports.com
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My dad would be beaming with pride over the behavior of Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain in Saturday's debate, where there were polite discussions over the issues that concern us all. Moreover, the candidates offered their genuine solutions to the nation's problems without the personal attacks that would have violated Dad's 11th Commandment. The winner in the Gingrich-Cain debate was this nation and its people.
In the campaign itself, Herman Cain's recently soaring campaign is threatened by....
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News from The Hill:
Obama administration likely to delay decision on Keystone pipeline
By Andrew Restuccia
The Obama administration will announce Thursday that it is reevaluating the route of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a move that will likely delay a final decision on the project, sources briefed by the administration said.
TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline would carry oil sands crude from Alberta to refineries in Texas. The pipeline has set off a firestorm in Washington, with critics raising environmental concerns and proponents arguing the project will boost the economy.
Read the complete story here.
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Peer-Reviewed Study Shows Lifestyle Change Is Possible!
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Study Proves Gays Aren't "Born that Way"
By Bryan Fischer
RightSideNews.com
How many examples does it take to prove that change in sexual orientation is possible?
One.
We know that it's possible to bat .400 over the course of a major league season, because one man, Ted Williams, did it in 1941. We know that it's possible to hit 73 home runs in a single season, because one man, Barry Bonds, did it in 2001. We know that it's possible to score 100 points in an NBA game, because one man, Wilt Chamberlain, did it in 1962.
Read the Full Story
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Had It Only Been Broadcasting A Story about Lindsay, Snooki, or One of the Kardashians ...
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Emergency Alert System Fails
by John Hayward
HumanEvents.com
Today was the first test of the new Emergency Alert System, which is a centrally controlled version of the Emergency Broadcast System whose tests have been annoying the hell out of people for the better part of fifty years. The idea is to give the President a way to alert the entire populace to a national emergency instantly, by seizing control of all TV and radio communications.
Read the Full Story
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ICE's Hands Are Tied
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Union President Gives Congress Emails Backing Testimony: ICE Ordered Agents Not to Arrest Illegals
By Edwin Mora
CNSNews.com
Chris Crane, president of the union that represents the nation's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, has provided the House Judiciary Committee and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) with what Crane says are internal ICE emails that back up testimony he gave in July and October that ICE headquarters had verbally ordered officers in the field not to arrest illegal aliens who did not have prior criminal convictions--even if they were fugitives evading deportation orders or were individuals who had illegally re-entered the United States after being deported and were thus committing a felony.
Read the Full Story
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Drug Cartels or Obama Fanatics?
Sheriff Joe Not Sure Who Is Worse
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Sheriff Joe Threatened for Probing Eligibility
By Jerome R. Corsi
WorldNetDaily.com
Amid death threats, Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio is scratching his head over the major media's virtual silence about his decision to investigate Barack Obama's eligibility to run for re-election.
Read the Full Story
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Three Pillars of Reform for the Super Committee
By Alison Acosta Fraser , Patrick Louis Knudsen and Mackenzie Eaglen
November 3, 2011
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Obamacare Increases Premiums and Kills Jobs
Even without Obamacare, the United States faces rising health care costs and an economy struggling to recover from the recent downturn. Despite its supporters' promises, the health care law does not solve these problems. A study released this week by the National Federation of Independent Business highlights the impact of Obamacare's new health insurance tax alone on Americans' health care costs and the health of the economy.
Obamacare institutes a premium tax on health insurers that offer full coverage beginning in 2014. Before it became law, Heritage expert Edmund Haislmaier wrote that such a tax would increase health care costs, increase taxes, create new inequities, be disingenuous, create perverse incentives, distort the market, and expand federal power.
In a recent study by the consulting firm Oliver Wyman showed that this tax will increase insurance premiums by, on average, 1.9 to 2.3 percent in 2014. The impact will grow with time, reaching 2.8 to 3.7 percent by 2023. Like the nominal premium increases occurring due to already-enacted parts of Obamacare, these may sound insignificant on their own. But the cumulative impact-in conjunction with cost increases that would have occurred anyhow-will be much higher premiums for families and individuals: "For small group coverage, this will on average increase the cost to cover an individual by about $2,800, and a family by about $6,800 over a ten-year period, beginning in 2014."
The NFIB study released this week shows the effect that premium hikes will have on employment and job creation. As NFIB researcher Michael Chow explains, "For a small business owner who does not self-insure, this increase in premiums will be borne by both the employer and the employee, each of whom contributes toward financing the insurance." The report shows that the new tax will reduce private sector employment in 2021 by anywhere between 125,000 and 249,000 jobs.
Of the jobs losses, 59 percent will come from small firms with fewer than 500 employees, and 25 percent will come from the smallest firms with fewer than 20 employees. The tax will also reduce real gross domestic product by $18-26 billion in 2021.
The main purpose of the health insurance premium tax is to raise federal revenue to pay for the costly parts of Obamacare, including its expansion of Medicaid and creation of new federal subsidies. The tax is projected to collect $90 billion in new revenue through 2020. But, as Haislmaier warns, "This insurance premium tax would create a new, permanent federal tax that could, and likely would, be increased by Congress in future years as the growth in new government spending in the legislation outstrips the growth of revenues to fund that spending."
Read more on The Foundry >>
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$4 Trillion COST OF HEALTH
SPENDING BY 2020Obamacare is "bending
the cost curve" up, not
down. Learn More >>
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November 10, 2011
To Fight Poverty, Let's Start by Measuring It Better
by Robert Rector, Senior Research Fellow
The Census Bureau's new poverty measure, released on Monday, is another tool in President Obama's endless quest to "spread the wealth." Although the media portray it as a more accurate measurement of poverty, in reality it deliberately severs all connection between "poverty" and actual deprivation.
The new measure places income thresholds for poverty on a built-in escalator that rises automatically in direct proportion to any improvement in the living standards of the average American. So even if the real income of every single American were to double, the new measure would show no drop in poverty because the income thresholds also would double.
The result is that, over the long term, poverty can be reduced only if the incomes of the "poor" are rising faster than the incomes of everyone else. The old measure told us how much one household could purchase; the new measure tells us how much one person can buy relative to others.
The new system measures income "inequality," not "poverty." But the Left refuses to call this an "inequality index" and insists on using the emotionally charged term "poverty" instead. That's because the typical American voter isn't willing to increase welfare spending, taxes and deficits to reach the liberals' goal of equalizing incomes.
Learn more about the Obama Administration's new poverty measure at National Review Online then be sure to visit our blog to provide your comments >>
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Grassroots Americans who have refused to let the Solyndra scandal be swept away and have been calling for a full and honest investigation into the failed solar company and the $528 million federal guaranteed loan, may be getting some answers ...
In addition to the Department of Energy interviews with Solyndra executives and key federal officials, USA Today reports, "newly uncovered e-mails contradict" what the White House has said regarding Lefty fundraiser and Solyndra investor George Kaiser.
The Obama administration has steadfastly denied that political favors were behind the Solyndra loan, or that Kaiser ever discussed Solyndra during his many visits to the White House.
Not so, says Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), chairman of the Energy and Commerce committee. In a letter to the White House he wrote, "Documents recently obtained by the committee directly contradict those statements."
Edward, the only reason this scandal is being peeled back is because citizens like you are demanding the truth.
+ + FAX Key Members of the House Today
Having already signed our petition, we are asking key members of our team to increase grassroots pressure by faxing key members of the House demanding a full and thorough investigation.
Click here now, and Grassfire Nation will send personalized faxes to your two Senators, Representative and other key members of the House:
http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=56204&CID=172&RID=33312810
Edward, no one really knows where the Solyndra rabbit trail will lead and end, but one thing is certain, Americans must stay actively engaged in this issue!
Said one Grassfire team member, "If I don't take a stand on this issue and demand full-disclosure and accountability, than shame on me."
That's precisely why we are asking those members of our team who have signed our petition to schedule faxes by clicking here:
http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=56205&CID=172&RID=33312810
+ + Continue Alerting Your Friends
Another terrific way to build substantial pressure is by alerting friends and family members. Forward this message to your friends and urge them to sign our petition by clicking here:
http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=56206&CID=172&RID=33312810
As we said above, we do anticipate additional petition deliveries and need to be ready to move at a moment's notice.
Edward, the American worker has grown weary of Obama's shady dealings, his lack of transparency and his relentless assault on virtually all aspects of their lives....
We believe this issue compels Americans to take action.
Schedule your faxes today for immediate delivery. Don't let Obama and his liberal cronies stonewall this investigation!
Click here to send your faxes:
http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=56207&CID=172&RID=33312810
Thank you in advance for your outstanding efforts.
Grassfire Nation
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The Senate Fails to Stop Excessive Regulation
Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has the power to "disapprove" of federal regulations under special fast track procedures, an important tool to rein in overzealous federal regulators. On Thursday the Senate failed to stop two job-killing regulations using CRA procedures, a big disappointment for free-market advocates. Americans for Prosperity had key voted in support (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=leJNIRNoFaJKJ0K&s=gmI1JgMWLiIRIfP0IsF&m=itIUK6PTLjJRIhL) of both measures.
S.J.Res. 6, introduced by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) to disapprove of the FCC's so-called "net neutrality" regulations, failed by a vote of 46-52 (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=ohKTI0OALdIRKaJ&s=gmI1JgMWLiIRIfP0IsF&m=itIUK6PTLjJRIhL) with all Republicans present in the chamber voting in support. As AFP's Vice President for Policy Phil Kerpen explained in a statement, this is "the first government regulation of broadband internet access in a decade[,]...undermining investment and job creation and setting the stage for more pervasive Internet regulation in the future." The FCC's final rule is currently being challenged, and may be overturned, in federal court. The new rules take effect on November 20.
S.J.Res. 27, introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) to disapprove of the EPA's cross-state air pollution (CSAPR) rules, failed by a vote of 41-56 (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=rkIZJ9PMKgLYIkI&s=gmI1JgMWLiIRIfP0IsF&m=itIUK6PTLjJRIhL), with six Republicans joining all but one Democrat voting in opposition. The rule requires 27 states to reduce power plant emissions that can cross state lines. Some have estimated that as many as 18 coal-fired power plants will have to close as a result of the stringent new standards, taking off the grid enough electricity to power over a million homes. The rule was originally scheduled to take effect on October 7, but is currently undergoing revisions at the EPA.
The Congressional Review Act is an important tool to find out which Senators want to be legislators and which just want to let Obama's agencies write whatever rules they please. We need to fundamentally change the relationship between regulators and Congress. The REINS Act will do just that; click to show your support (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=kdJLKONkE9KLK0L&s=gmI1JgMWLiIRIfP0IsF&m=itIUK6PTLjJRIhL).
Sincerely,
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity(R) (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 1,800,000 members, including members in all 50 states, and 34 state chapters and affiliates. More than 90,000 Americans in all 50 states have made a financial investment in AFP or AFP Foundation. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org.
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Alexander's Essay - November 10, 2011
The Most Noble of American Patriots
Veterans Day 2011: A Tale of Two Marches
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." --John Stuart Mill
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis
Across our nation, there is a sharp division between two groups of Americans marching to very different drummers.
I am not referring to the current politics of disparity promoting class warfare between the 35 percent of statists (dependents who label themselves "99 Percenters"), and the other 65 percent who are hard-working and self-reliant American citizens. The former are busy fomenting socialist protests in urban centers across our nation while the latter are busy working and caring for their families and communities.
Rather, the division I note is made plain by the vivid contrast in character between two groups -- those on the frontlines in defense of Liberty versus those who seek to subvert it.
On the right side of Liberty, we have American Patriots in uniform who, since the dawn of our great nation, have put their lives, fortunes and sacred honor on the line "to Support and Defend" the Liberty enshrined in our Constitution.
On the wrong side of history, we have Leftist cadres loyal to Barack Hussein Obama, who seek to supplant republican Liberty and its principle expression of free enterprise with socialist democracy. Although the so-called "99 Percenters" are marching to Obama's beat, their protests are trivial compared to the endemic threat to Liberty posed by the rest of the Leftist hegemony in control of our central government.
Could the contrast be any starker?
The threat of Obama's minions notwithstanding, I am greatly encouraged, especially on Veterans Day, by the fact that American Liberty is defended, first and foremost, by the current generation of Patriots within our Armed Services, and the plurality of citizens who support them. It is fitting that we would reverently honor those whom, for generations, have sought to defend Liberty.
Is Obama a fitting "Commander in Chief"?
Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, when on 11 November 1921, the remains of an unknown World War I American soldier were buried in Arlington National Cemetery, in recognition of WWI veterans and the official cessation of WWI hostilities "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918. President Warren Harding requested that "All ... citizens ... indulge in a period of silent thanks to God for these ... valorous lives, and of supplication for His Divine mercy ... on our beloved country." Inscribed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are the words, "Here lies in honored glory an American soldier known but to God."
In 1954, Congress was determined to additionally recognize the sacrifice of veterans before and since WWI, and those of future generations, and thereby proposed to recognize 11 November as Veterans Day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in WWII, signed legislation establishing Veterans Day.
Insight into the sacrifice of our veterans and their families can be gained by noting that, since the American Revolution, tens of millions of Americans have served our nation with honor, and almost 1.2 million have died in defense of it. Another 1.4 million have been wounded, many gravely. The numbers, of course, offer no reckoning of the inestimable value of these Patriots' lives or the anguish borne by their families, but we do know that their sacrifices defended a most precious gift -- the gift of Liberty that we cherish to this day.
On previous Veterans Days, I have had the privilege of writing about great American Patriots who have profoundly influenced my life, including Roger Helle (USMC) and Roger Ingvalson (USAF). I have also profiled outstanding members of the current generation of uniformed Patriots such as Lee Miller (USA).
I am a humble descendant of generations of Patriots. My father, and his father before him, were Naval Aviators in WWII and WWI respectively. Our family lineage records veterans back to the American Revolution.
These men have heeded the call to serve others before self, and have sacrificed accordingly. And now, my eldest son has received his acceptance letter from the United States Naval Academy and is awaiting Air Force notification.
This personal backdrop, which has stewarded my full appreciation for veterans and the day we set aside to honor them, is a driving force behind The Patriot Post's mission of service to our nation and the military personnel who defend her.
Post a comment in honor of a Veteran
Our mission is the antithesis of that pursued by the current commander in chief, as Obama demonstrated this week when his administration announced his rejection of a request to place a small prayer-adorned plaque adjacent to the World War II Memorial in Washington. This was not just any prayer, I might add, but President Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day call to prayer on 6 June 1944, as 57,000 American and 75,000 British and Canadian troops made their way into bloody battle to establish five beachheads on the coast of Normandy.
Roosevelt proclaimed, "Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. ... Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace -- a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen." (We invite you to read or listen to the full text of FDR's prayer.)
The Department of Interior ruled that posting Roosevelt's prayer would undermine the purpose of the memorial. According to DoI's Bureau of Land Management Director, Robert Abbey, "Altering the memorial in this way ... will necessarily dilute this elegant memorial's central message and its ability to clearly convey that message to move, educate, and inspire its many visitors." Abbey said the plaque would "intrude" on the memorial.
Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), who sponsored legislation to approve the plaque, said, "It is unconscionable that the Obama administration would stand in the way of honoring our nation's distinguished World War II veterans. President Roosevelt's prayer gave solace, comfort and strength to our nation and our brave warriors as we fought against tyranny and oppression."
Would FDR's prayer "dilute" the WWII Memorial?
Unfortunately, Obama and his administration have a sordid history of intentional omission when it comes to the notion that Liberty is "endowed by our Creator," and not some potentate or government. This is the fundamental basis for our Constitution's Rule of Law as opposed to the rule of men.
This revelation came in the same week that Obama chastised Congress for reaffirming the 1956 Act of Congress that made "In God We Trust" our national motto, while he was busy issuing an official statement "to Muslims worldwide" celebrating Hajj and Eid al-Adha. (Perhaps Obama should consult a veteran member of Congress, one willing to speak the truth about Islamo-fascism.)
Of course, you must recall that Obama was inculcated with the teachings of Jeremiah Wright, the disciple of hate who officiated at Obama's wedding and baptized his children. "'God Bless America'? No, no, no, g-d d--- America!" Wright raged in one of his frequent anti-American rants. "G-d d--- America for treating our citizens as less than human! G-d d--- America!"
At no time in generations has the contrast between those who support Liberty, and those who want to tear it down, been so striking.
Despite this contrast, America stands proud and free because our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen have stood bravely in harm's way -- now and for generations. For their steadfast devotion to duty, honor and country, we, the American People, offer our humble gratitude and heartfelt thanks.
On this Veterans Day, and every day of the year, may God bless our men and women in uniform, those who have served before them, and their families. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:12-14)
As a final note, I received an email this morning similar to many we receive daily during our support campaigns. This message was from an aging and disabled Veteran: "Mr. Alexander, Just a note of thanks for all that your Patriot team does to promote Liberty. It does my heart good to know that there are those among the generations that follow mine, who are steadfast in their devotion to Liberty, and to sustaining it for the generations to come. Though I do what I can to promote The Patriot Post, please forgive my small donation. I would like to do more, but I am an old beat up Marine GySgt, and can barely make ends meet now. Semper Fi!" (Gunny, on this date, anniversary of the establishment of the Continental Marines in 1775, a special word of thanks to you, all our Naval Infantry brethren -- Semper Fi indeed!)
Patriots, please, if you are active duty or reserve military, a student, or a citizen with limited income, allow us to provide The Patriot Post as a service to you.
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Libertas aut Mortis!
Mark Alexander
Publisher, The Patriot Post
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Obama Justice Department sought cover up of Operation Wide Receiver to protect reputation of ATF
Nov 10, 2011 05:13 am | Coach Collins
by Doug Book, staff writer
Documents released last week by the Department of Justice provide evidence that, in April of 2010, key Department officials discussed COVERING UP details of the 2007 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Operation Wide Receiver in order to prevent further erosion of confidence in the ATF.
Emails exchanged between Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer make it clear that, at the time, both DOJ officials were more concerned with preserving the reputation of the ATF than smearing that of the Bush Administration.
This finding puts in obvious question Breuer's November 1st testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in which he stated he wished he had "...alerted the deputy or the attorney general at the time..." about Wide Receiver's loss of some 350 weapons across the Mexican border.
Over the past month, the Obama Administration has used the embarrassment of Wide Receiver to link the very notion ... Continue Reading:Obama Justice Department sought cover up of Operation Wide Receiver to protect reputation of ATF
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American Minute for November 9th Nov 09, 2011 04:13 pm | Coach Collins Coachisright.com is pleased to announce American history scholar; nationally known speaker and best selling author William J Federer's daily American Minute column will be part of CiR's afternoon update. Bill Federer is a tireless and meticulous researcher whose daily history lessons reflect the relationship between God and our nation. Bill is a regular guest on radio and television shows when getting American history right is essential. We're sure you will enjoy Bill's daily columns and want to share them with your friends and families. Bill Federer is an American patriot whose message needs to be heard by all. By Bill Federer, staff writer On NOVEMBER 9, 1954, President Eisenhower addressed the National Conference on the Spiritual Foundation of American Democracy at the Sheraton-Carlton Hotel, Washington D.C.:
"Now Dr. Lowry said something about my having certain convictions as to a God in Heaven and an Almighty power.
Well, I don't think anyone needs a great ... Continue Reading:American Minute for November 9th comments | read more
How much damage has Barack Obama done? Far more than the media is telling us; that's for sure Nov 09, 2011 01:13 pm | Coach Collins By Kevin "Coach" Collins United States Census and other publically available records tell us we may be in worse shape now than most people would believe. Consider these shocking statistics. The Census Bureau reports that in 84% of our largest metropolitan areas the percentage of "very poor" people increased during 2010. The Census Bureau, reported the percentage of "very poor" rose 84% of America's 360 largest metropolitan areas during 2010. The 2.6 million people who fell into poverty in 2010 was the largest recorded increase since records were first kept in 1959. Even the number of "poor" has risen from 11.3% in 2000 to 15.1% During 2010 the poverty rate for children hit 22%. In at least 314 American counties at least 30% of children live with daily food insecurity. School lunch programs are an indispensible part of the daily food intake for more than 20 million ... Continue Reading:How much damage has Barack Obama done? Far more than the media is telling us; that's for sure comments | read more
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November 10, 2011
53 SECONDS RICK PERRY WANTS TO FORGET Last night's GOP debate on CNBC produced a short clip that ignited the social media universe and will be fodder for the late night comedy shows. See the moment that will be replaying in Rick Perry's head over and over HERE.
TECHNOLOGY: CAIN'S NOT LYING, ACCUSER IS An Atlanta private investigator is claiming that his high tech software can analyze the stress and tension in a person's voice and determine if they are telling the truth. See what happened when he tested the machine using statements from both Herman Cain and his accuser Sharon Bialek HERE.
OWS AD RUNS IN O'REILLY'S FOX SHOW Bill O'Reilly ratings dwarf those of his competitors in the prime time cable news world. It's a good bet that O'Reilly Factor fans were more than surprised when the Occupy Wall Street crew paid to run an ad during Bill's show. See the commercial HERE.
A MAN CLAIMS HE WAS CUT OVER 300 TIMES IN A BIZARRE SATANIC SEX RITUAL An 18-yr-old man traveled by bus from Arizona to Wisconsin in order to connect with a woman he met on the Internet. The encounter turned into a violent and potentially Satanic encounter. See the details HERE.
STUDENTS RIOT, ATTACK TV REPORTER AFTER PENN STATE FIRES JOE PATERNO Penn State's iconic football coach, Joe Paterno was fired as the horrible story of an assistant's alleged predatory sexual habits became public. The student body reacted violently to the news of Paterno's dismissal, overturning a news van and threatening a reporter. See video from the rioting HERE.
VIRAL VIDEO - HANK WILLIAMS DROPS BY THE COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS Last night's CMAs opened with Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley poking a little fun at Hank Williams Jr.-- and then Hank joined the party. Watch the show's clever opening HERE.
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New Poll: Pennsylvanians Want School Choice-for Everyone
Philadelphia schools aren't the only problem. Harrisburg pols must dump low-income vouchers
By Chris Freind 11/10/2011
There is an age-old adage: If you're going to do something, do it right-or don't do it at all. Based on poll results exclusively obtained first by Freindly Fire, nowhere is that more applicable than in the fight for school vouchers in Pennsylvania.
According to the Pulse Opinion Research poll conducted on behalf of UNITE PA, which surveyed 500 likely voters across the state, the majority of Pennsylvanians prefer that any school choice program be open to all students (or at least most of the middle class), as opposed to just low-income, predominantly inner-city students. This result is not surprising on any level, and, undeniably, leads to five rock-solid conclusions:
Read more:
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Occupier Devolution
Posted: 10 Nov 2011 03:30 PM PST
(John Hinderaker)
If you have ever wondered what would happen in a society consisting entirely of liberals, the Occupier movement is providing the answer: devolution. It is almost impossible to keep up with the downward spiral, but here are some of the highlights of the last 24 hours:
* In Portland, an Occupier was arrested for throwing a Molotov cocktail down the stairwell of a building.
* In London, employees of St. Paul's Cathedral have had to clean up human waste left by Occupiers inside the cathedral. (What is it with the Occupiers and toilet issues?)
* In Portland, another drug overdose.
* In Vermont, a man was shot to death at the Occupy Burlington encampment.
* At Occupy San Diego, a citizen journalist was violently assaulted.
* In Atlanta, tuberculosis has broken out among the Occupiers.
* In Salt Lake City, four were arrested after a melee broke out in the Occupy encampment.
* In San Francisco, police expressed concern about escalating violence among the Occupiers, following incidents including gun possession, assault on a city worker and trespassing on the new holiday ice rink.
And this is just a smattering of today's headlines! The Occupiers are conducting a sort of experiment in the viability of left-wing ideas, and the results aren't pretty.
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Some Things You Can't Make Up
Posted: 10 Nov 2011 03:21 PM PST
(Steven Hayward)
Like a real book entitled Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story. This has to be a hoax, right? Right?
If not, then You. Must. Be. Ef--. Kidding.
Some of the reader comments are priceless, like the first one:
100% false advertising by Mr. Sandusky. Not a single page in this book "touches" on how to appropriately gain the trust of young, at-risk boys, and then use that trust to perpetrate horrifying sexual assaults on the very children who turned to you for guidance and support. Almost as disappointing as the first time I watched "Touched by an Angel." Don't even get me started on that bullcrap. I still can't watch anything with Della Reese in it.
More seriously, I started reading the grand jury report on Sandusky, but had to stop by the fourth page it was so sickening. If half of what's in the grand jury report is true, I hope Sandusky is treated to the very worst of what American prisons have to offer.
A close friend of mine with long experience investigating and litigating the child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts wrote me to say he expects the whole story is much worse than we yet know. Right now there are nine identified victims. Rule of thumb: with serious serial predators like this, the actual number is usually ten times higher. Yes, sometimes these things have turned out to be hoaxes (like the notorious McMartin case in California in the 1980s). But this time there are adult witnesses, so I doubt it.
I'm with Ondrasik on this (in the SI piece in our Picks section earlier): Penn State's football program ought to get the NCAA "death penalty" for this.
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A Counterintuitive Feast of Omnibus Blogging
Posted: 10 Nov 2011 10:31 AM PST
(Steven Hayward)
I've finally finished a huge project that has been weighing me down for the last couple of months (an overdue book manuscript), so I'm going to pick up the pace of my blogging here on Power Line. Starting now.
In the "things-aren't-always-what-they-seem" department, the last few days have seen a veritable train wreck of inexplicable events that leave you scratching your head about whether some or all of these could possibly indicate the opposite of what they seem to mean.
First, Obama and Sarkozy somehow supposedly forgot the old adage that any microphone set in front of you is a live microphone, and indiscreetly trash Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Sounds perfectly plausible: we know both leaders dislike Israel and its leadership. You'd hardly think they'd need to make the point to each other. A deliberately mistake-or disinformation, to cover for the fact that we're getting ready to collaborate with an Israeli strike against Iran? Stranger things have happened.
Second, Herman Cain. The Hermanator. This is tougher to sort out. If you're sitting in Democrat Central Command, the person in the GOP field you'd most like to run against is probably Cain. (I like the guys tons, but don't think he's ready for prime time presidential politics. I know a lot of Power Line readers think otherwise, and that's fine.) So why collaborate in the character assassination campaign against him? Two theories. First, as with Clarence Thomas 20 years ago, one of the main imperatives of liberalism is to keep all blacks on the liberal plantation, and the Democratic Party simply cannot tolerate a minority who departs from the liberal line, and cannot take the risk of a conservative black man breaking out of the pack and potentially leading a chunk of the black vote away from its monolithic support of the Democratic Party.
The second theory is more conspiratorially devious: the liberal attack machine has targeted Cain precisely to help Cain win the GOP nomination! There's no better way to get conservatives to rally around one of their own than to have an attack spearheaded by Gloria Allred. Hmmm. I'll need to think about that one for a bit.
Third, the Wall Street Journal yesterday took editorial note of the surprising opinion out of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Obamacare by a 2 - 1 vote. The Journal was surprised that the opinion came from Judge Larry Silberman, one of the legendary conservative jurists of our time, appointed to the bench back in the 1980s by Ronaldus Magnus. If anyone on the appellate bench could be relied upon to rack up Obamacare, you'd think it would be Silberman. Maybe my favorite opinion of his was his ruling striking down the independent counsel law in the appeal of Morrison v. Olson back around 1986 or 87, on strict separation of powers grounds. (The Supreme Court disagreed, overruling him 7 - 1; Scalia was the lone dissenter.)
But maybe Silberman is up to something here. He rested his "sparing" opinion on the precedent of the infamous 1941 Wickard v. Filburn case, one of the most preposterous decisions ever rendered by our robed masters. That's the one where the Court ruled that Ohio farmer Roscoe Filburn couldn't grow wheat above his government-mandated quota even if it was for his own use and not for sale in interstate commerce. It blew out the walls of the commerce clause. The Court's reasoning was a fancy footwork version of "What if everybody did this? Think of the effect this would have on the economy?"
Try this thought experiment: Imagine what liberals would say if Congress decided to regulate abortion on the grounds that while no single abortion has a discernable effect on commerce, an abortion-taken together with hundreds of thousands of other abortions-would have a depressing effect on the commerce of baby formula, bassinets, teddy bears, children's clothing (not to mention the Social Security and Medicare actuarial balances), so therefore we must invoke the commerce clause to restrict abortion. I suspect liberals would suddenly find the reasoning of Wickard somewhat less convincing.
So is perhaps the good judge Silberman attempting to force the issue of the Court's reconsidering Wickard, which it otherwise might try to evade? Liberal intervenors worked very very hard to keep the Wickard question on the sidelines of the Gonzalez v. Raich case (about medical marijuana) a few years back. But the Obamacare individual mandate makes it ripe again.
I'm just trying to get everyone's counter-intuitive thinking machines going in high gear. I blame Mickey Kaus for this perverse way of seeing the world.
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Newt Notes
Posted: 10 Nov 2011 04:36 AM PST
(Steven Hayward)
My note about Newt yesterday excited a fair amount of comment, and watching the GOP debate last night on CNBC it seems to me that everything I said was vindicated: Newt has hit his stride, and was consistently the most impressive and forceful person on the stage-and forceful without saying a negative word about any of the other candidates. (Oh yeah, and Perry flubbed his lines badly. Again.) My favorite moment was when Newt responded to a typically tendentious question from Maria Bartiromo, CNBC's chief anchor-skank, who asked Newt with a palpable sarcastic tone what aspect of the economy he thought the media was misreporting. Newt grinned and got off the best line of the night: "Ah, a moment of humor disguised as a question."
A few people wrote in yesterday about a point on which I was conspicuously silent (on purpose): Newt may be a great idea man, and a great debater, but would he make a good chief executive? Legislative skill does not necessarily translate to executive skill, as Lyndon Johnson found out. Newt is always at his best as an insurgent, and it is not clear how good a Speaker of the House he was.
Let's make a digression here. Over much of the last generation or two-more or less since Republicans started dominating the presidency starting with Richard Nixon's election in 1968-conservatives have tended to be president-centric. This was especially true when Reagan was President, and there was a legitimate reason to resist the many ways in which Congress had aggrandized its power in the aftermath of Watergate.
But once upon a time, 50 years ago or so, many leading conservatives championed Congress as the pre-eminent branch of our government, as the Founders did. After All, there's a reason the first article of the Constitution is about Congress, not the President. Partly this was a reasonable reaction to the liberals who championed the presidency as the institution for transforming America, following the teachings of Woodrow Wilson, the example of Franklin Roosevelt, and the orgasmic promise of John F. Kennedy. (You think I exaggerate? In 1961, Herman Finer, a leading political scientist of the time, wrote: "The presidency is the incarnation of the American people, in a sacrament resembling that in which the wafer and the wine are seen to be the body and blood of Christ." I would think the ACLU would have a conniption fit over language like this today.)
In 1959, James Burnham, one of the great writers of that first generation of post-war conservatives (his best known book was Suicide of the West), published Congress and the American Tradition, which set out the argument that conservatives should champion a reinvigoration of Congress as a counterweight to the post-Wilson transformative "visionary" presidents. In making the case for legislative supremacy, Burnham was merely reprising one side of a debate that stretches back to the arguments over the legislative-executive balance of power from the time of the Founding. Among other things, Burnham argued, there is a difference between a strong president, and a strong presidency. He was in favor of the former, but skeptical of the latter, in part because he perceived the paradox that attempts to have a strong presidency will actually result in weakening the office. Cue Barack Obama, the frustrated miracle worker. (Burnham's book also has a dead-on analysis of the problem of bureaucratic government-still in its relative infancy in 1959-and how it would grow worse in the current balance of executive and legislative branch power.)
This is relevant for two reasons. First, I've just finished writing a book (more on this in due course, closer to pub date) that argues that the best thing a prospective president could do these days was lower expectations for the office, which means, by implication, lowering expectations for the scope of things that politics can fix in modern life. (For starters, a genuinely transformative president might talk less. Maybe that's an argument for Rick Perry, since it seems he can barely talk at all.) Such a president might also want to challenge Congress to step up and take more responsibility as a truly deliberative body, as the Founders intended, rather than being the ugly, degenerate stew of quasi-administrative, park-barrel management that it is today. Does that sound like a role for Newt?
On the surface, probably not. But second, I note that a new edition of Congress and the American Tradition was published in 1999, with a new introduction by . . . Newt Gingrich. He gives a remarkably able précis of the whole book in just two and a half pages, culminating with this:
Burnham arms us with the philosophical background for the conservative transformation-which, of course, is nothing more than a return to our first principles. Burnham longed for those halcyon days in the nineteenth century when the great issues were settled not in the courts or by executive fiat, but "in the halls of Congress."
So do we all.
Hmmm. The prospect of a President Gingrich is looking more and more interesting.
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Bad Company
Posted: 09 Nov 2011 05:37 PM PST
(John Hinderaker)
Michael Ramirez puts Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama in context:
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November 10, 2011
GOP candidates: Fix U.S. economy or fail like Europe
ASSOCIATED PRESS - United in agreement for once, Republican presidential rivals warned forcefully Wednesday night the United States could be doomed to the same sort of financial crisis that is afflicting Europe unless federal deficits are drastically cut and the economy somehow revived... (more)
November 9, 2011
Romney's Medicare reform is neither bold nor specific
PHILIP KLEIN - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Medicare reform proposal has been widely praised in the conservative media and it has even won the approval of House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the GOP's leading policy wonk... (more)
November 9, 2011
Good Mitt vs. Bad Mitt
MICHAEL TANNER - The budget and spending proposals released last week by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney offer a stark illustration of both the promise and peril associated with a Romney candidacy. It's almost as though there are two Romneys: Good Mitt, the smart, serious policy wonk, who -- in contrast to some of his opponents -- has obviously thought through the details of his positions... (more)
November 9, 2011
The Bible and eligibility issue
JOSEPH FARAH - Over the last three years I have written many columns explaining the importance of the Constitution's requirements for presidential eligibility. When we forsake the simple restrictions the Constitution places on what the federal government can and can't do, the consequences for the future of our country are grave indeed... (more)
November 9, 2011
The Great Stonewall of Obama
MICHELLE MALKIN - The White House laments that America hasn't built enough massive government infrastructure projects. Nonsense. At the rate it's growing, the Great Stonewall of Obama may soon be the second largest manmade object visible from outer space... (more)
November 9, 2011
Taxpayers shouldn't pay government unions to lobby Congress
WASHINGTON EXAMINER - Only in the Fantasyland-on-the-Potomac would work by federal civil service employees on behalf of their unions be classified by government as "voluntary" activity... (more)
November 9, 2011
The left exploits the race issue for its own ends
DAVID LIMBAUGH - It's almost 2012, and we have a black president, yet the white ghost of racial tensions still haunts our national politics. Will it ever end? Far too many liberals continue to paint conservatives as racists based on their ideological leanings and party affiliation. Some believe it; others know better but milk it for their political gain... (more)
November 9, 2011
Appeals court upholds Obama's health care law
WASHINGTON TIMES - In a frank ruling upholding President Obama's new health care law, a federal appeals court said Tuesday the individual mandate requiring all Americans to buy health insurance encroaches on individual liberty, but is still constitutional because it allows the government to solve a national problem... (more)
November 9, 2011
Mississippi voters reject 'personhood' amendment
WASHINGTON TIMES - A Mississippi initiative stating that life begins at conception, known as the "personhood" amendment, was handed an unexpected defeat in Tuesday's off-year election balloting. The outcome of Mississippi's Proposition 26 was among the most anticipated of the 2011 elections... (more)
November 8, 2011
Battleground forms for internet sales tax
NEWSMAX - Congress is considering implementing a tax on Internet sales to consumers, pitting Web retailers against their brick-and-mortar brethren in a high-stakes lobbying battle, Politico reports... (more)
November 8, 2011
Correcting the 'fairy tale': A SEAL's account of how Osama bin Laden really died
DAILY CALLER - Forget whatever you think you know about the night Osama bin Laden was killed. According to a former Navy SEAL who claims to have the inside track, the mangled tales told of that historic night have only now been corrected... (more)
November 8, 2011
Obama audits me. Who will audit him?
JOSEPH FARAH - As I predicted would be the case early on in Barack Obama's administration, I got my audit notice from the Internal Revenue Service last week. That's just the way it works in recent Democratic Party administrations -- the IRS is used as a political attack dog against its "enemies"... (more)
November 8, 2011
Occupy America
WASHINGTON TIMES - This isn't your father's America. As promised, President Obama is "fundamentally transforming" the nation with a plan to flood the United States with individuals whose hearts belong to other lands. The message to illegal immigrants is if you can get in and keep out of further trouble, you're welcome to stay. The Land of the Free has become the land of the home-free... (more)
November 8, 2011
A majority of Democrats seldom or never go to church, says Gallup
CNSNEWS.COM - A majority of Democrats--52 percent--say they seldom or never go to church, according to Gallup data published Monday. That result is based on Gallup's daily tracking polls conducted between June 1 and Aug. 31 of this year... (more)
Gallup poll: conservatives 42%, liberals 21%
November 8, 2011
Laurie Roth running for president as independent
RENEWAMERICA - Dr. Laurie Roth, a national radio talk-show host, has joined the race for president on the American Independent Party ticket. The self-described patriot and conservative is already on the ballot in California, and intends to get her name listed in the other 49 states... (more)
November 8, 2011
We're still not cutting
SEN. JIM DEMINT - Despite bipartisan promises to cut spending after the 2010 elections, Washington politicians are still voting to make the government even bigger and more expensive than ever. Don't believe me? Even though the federal government is nearly $15 trillion in debt, it's spending at record-high levels. Federal spending has gone up 5 percent in the first nine months of this year alone... (more)
November 7, 2011
Moral relativism and a nation of bystanders to evil
GARY BAUER - Politically, Americans are more engaged than at any time in at least a generation. Voter turnout rates have been climbing for 15 years. The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements attest to Americans' increasing unwillingness to sit on the political sidelines... (more)
November 7, 2011
Sharia's encroachment into American courts
JANET LEVY - Currently an estimated 2.6 million observant Muslims reside in the United States. Many live their lives according to sharia law, the moral and religious code of the Islamic faith... (more)
November 7, 2011
How to fight inflation: stay home and starve
WES VERNON, RA ANALYST - For years, the government has been lying to us by low-balling inflation. Oh, but don't worry, you'll be OK. Just don't eat anything or drive anywhere -- or fly anywhere. Just stay home and starve... (more)
November 7, 2011
Obama slaps intimidation lawsuit on South Carolina over illegals
JAMES R. EDWARDS, JR. - The Obama Justice Department has launched yet another outrageous lawsuit against a state acting within its broad police powers, this time drawing a bead on South Carolina over its immigration law... (more)
November 7, 2011
Dumbing down Constitution for Obama's sake?
JOSEPH FARAH - "He's clearly a citizen of the United States." "We've seen his birth certificate." "Without question, Barack Obama was born in the U.S." "Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, and that settles it." "It's nuttiness and counterproductive to question the president's eligibility for office"... (more)
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Did Obama really turn down IBM's offer to help reduce costs?
Don Quixote on Jul 29 2011
I know this has been making the rounds for some time because this is the second time my Dad has sent it to me and the first was some time ago. The link to Fox News, at least, is legitimate. Does anyone know anything about the underlying story?
IBM offered to help reduce Medicare fraud for free!! The offer is true. Zukerman, US News and World Report, owner, a Democrat, was interviewed on Fox and confirmed it. IBM has confirmed it. You won't believe it!
IBM offered to help reduce Medicare fraud for free!
What if I told you that the Chairman and CEO of IBM, Samuel J. Palmisano, approached President Obama and members of his administration before the healthcare bill debates with a plan that would reduce healthcare expenditures by $900 billion? Given the Obama Administration's adamancy that the United States of America simply had to make healthcare (read: health insurance) affordable for even the most dedicated welfare recipient, one would think he would have leaned forward in his chair, cupped his ear and said, "Tell me more!"
Read more:
 | | IBM Offers to help Obama eliminate waste and gets turned down |
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Susan's Paul Ryan Medicare Pamphlet - please print this and give it to your contacts
SAVING MEDICARE
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
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November 10, 2011 | |
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 On Today's Program
Tonight on GBTV: Scott Baker, SE Cupp, Will Cain & more break down the latest GOP debate as well as the Penn State rape scandal. Don't miss it, 5pm on GBTV!
TOMORROW on GBTV: 2 Special Premieres
- First at 4pm ET it's "The Hiding Place" the true story of the ten Boom family who sheltered persecuted Jews during the Holocaust. It's an amazing story that Glenn recommends you watch with the entire family.
- Then at 7pm ET the much anticipated debut of "The B.S. of A" - the all new weekly comedy show hosted by Brian Sack. Available for GBTV Plus subscribers.
GBTV at the CMAs: Watch Glenn's interview with Hank Williams Jr.
HANK FIGHTS BACK: Singer makes surprise cameo @CMAs & receives huge standing ovation....all aired on ABC. (Both ABC and EPSN, who fired Williams, are owned by the same parent company Disney)
53 seconds Rick Perry would love to have back
The gaffe heard round the world happened at the GOP debate last night when Rick Perry declared he would shut down 3 bloated government agencies. He named the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education... and then it happened. He totally spaced the last one. Even after thinking about it for what seemed like an eternity he couldn't come up with the answer. He's joking it off today, but has the damage already been done? Glenn has the clip & reaction HERE.
Bizarre: Penn State students riot over Paterno firing
A massive debate was sparked in the second hour of radio today regarding the bizarre and sad series of events unfolding at Penn State. Allegations of repeated sexual abuse and then an unconscionable cover up after the fact. Paterno first said he'd retire at the end of the year for his role in the scandal, but the University had other ideas and fired him yesterday. Get the debate at GlennBeck.com.
Confirmed: Ashton Kutcher is a moron
He's apologizing today after a reactionary tweet in response to the Paterno firing that stated, "How do you fire Jo Pa? #insult #noclass as a hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste." He now claims he didn't know the story, proving just how stupid Hollywood types are. He's willing to harshly criticize a school for a firing without having the first clue as to why? DETAILS. |
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Be careful who you meet online
Last week an 18-year-old man hopped a bus from Arizona to Milwaukee in hopes of hooking up with some women he met online. He ended up getting a whole lot more than he bargained for -- the women not only engaged in sexual activity with the man, they severely lashed him over 300 times in what authorities are calling a satanic ritual. Glenn's reaction on radio HERE.
We Are Brothers: Do you believe that America and Israel are far more than just allies? Watch this flip-book featuring a few of the over 30,000 amazing photos we took last summer. Together they tell a story of choosing courage over fear and light over darkness; a story Glenn has captured in WE ARE BROTHERS - an oversized coffee table book unlike anything you've ever seen. This holiday, give the gift of Israel to someone you love.
Occupy's latest attempt to vilify cops
Van Jones has been working overtime on Twitter recently to trash America's police, accusing them of specifically targeting people based on race and ideology. Glenn goes over the reports today coming from the members of Occupy Berkeley, who are claiming police brutality. But who is really at fault? Glenn, Pat & Stu take the Occupiers argument apart on radio today. WATCH
Stay healthy this holiday season! Markdown has another great deal from a small American business owner. Stay healthy and defend yourself against the flu this season with hand and air sanitizer. Get all the details at Markdown.com! | |
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