November 17, 2011

Quote of the Day - November 17, 2011

'Follow Those Kids!': Wall St. Occupiers Heckle Small Children as They Walk Gauntlet to Get to School 

Small schoolchildren were forced to walk the gauntlet of frenzied Wall Street Occupiers just to get to school on Thursday. What's worse, protesters reportedly screamed "follow those kids!" as worried parents tried to lead their children through the police barriers along Wall Street. CBS reports that the NYPD was thankfully there to help the kids and ease their fears - clearly a factor given that one protester did in fact follow a father and his daughter down the entire block.

Read More . . .  

If you see a story that you believe would be useful and important to our readers, simply respond to this email with a link and a brief description of why it is important.  (Even if it may be obvious)

What Caused Herman Cain to Get Choked Up During an Interview? 

Herman Cain has endured a political firestorm lately. Not only is he fighting sexual assault allegations, but his poll numbers are falling. Still, neither of those things caused the charismatic former CEO to break down during a recent interview with WMUR-TV. What did? When Cain imagined the roll his wife would play in his inauguration - holding the Bible: More . . .  

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. 

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

Nullify Now! Philadelphia

LISTEN LIVE TO REPATRIOT RADIO

"BETTER THAN EVER"

(all times are eastern)

Friday 10-11pm "Veterans' Weekly Forum" - Ed Rosen and Bob Rosebrock 

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

'Rainbow in the Night': First-Ever Music Video About the Holocaust Hopes to Go Viral 

More than seven decades after the Nazis invaded Poland and World War II began, filming is reportedly underway for the first-ever short film and music video about the Holocaust.

With a cast of dozens and a production company based in New York, "Rainbow in the Night" is set in Krakow and the Majdanek concentration camp.

RedState Morning Briefing

For November 18, 2011

1. Republicans Throw Their 'Pledge To America' Under the OmniBus

This afternoon, the House passed Harry Reid's first minibus appropriations bill (Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Transportation-HUD), which contains record levels of spending for Food Stamps, WIC, and international food aid. It also contains $2.3 billion for disaster spending, which is excluded from the budget caps. Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers promised today on the House floor that spending will not exceed the $1.043 trillion spending cap. Well, the extra $2.3 billion in disaster spending allowed him to do just that. Moreover, if they continue to adopt the higher spending levels of the Democrats, the only way to stay below the cap will be to cut defense appropriations. Worse, this bill has a provision, which was inserted into the conference report, to expand the role of Fannie Mae and Freddi Mac.

Last year, as part of their 'Pledge To America,' Republicans promised to downsize Freddie/Fannie. They also promised to end the practice of minibus bills. Today, they violated both pledges. Yes, we know that mantra; it's a minibus bill; not an omnibus. But the reality is that House Republicans never had an opportunity to vote and amend two-thirds of the bill.

2. The $15 Trillion Super Circus

The day has arrived. Our total debt has surpassed $15 trillion. At the close of business on Wednesday, the debt stood at $15.033 trillion, and is on the cusp of overtaking our GDP. Overall, the federal debt has risen $4.41 trillion (41.5%) since Obama took office and $6.36 trillion (73%) since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007. Our GDP has grown by only $1.3 trillion during Obama's presidency. Pick your adjective of choice to describe this calamity: unparalleled, unprecedented, uncharted. No word can begin to describe the destruction that Obama has wrought on our republic.

Over the next few days, you will read many factoids and statistics about the federal debt, but here is one acerbic point you may miss. Ninety-one percent of Obama's $4.41 trillion legacy of debt comes from the debt held by the public.

3. EPA should consider American drivers, not special interests

Decisions about our fuel standards are not inconsequential. They move forward an agenda that rewards some energy sectors while punishing others, and at the same time, moves taxpayer dollars right along with those rules and subsidies.

Under the current requirements of the Clean Air Act, the EPA can certify a new fuel for the marketplace as long as it does not increase emissions. As a result, when the ethanol lobby requested the EPA allow a higher concentration of ethanol in gasoline, based on a narrow test by the Department of Energy, the agency determined E15 could be used in vehicles made after 2001.

4. Is Jen Rubin using Andrew Ferguson to sneak an anti-Perry sneer in?

Settle down your liberal friends for a festive game that will provide hours of fun.

 Give each of them a copy of the Obama administration's 86-page report (produced by Clinton-era appointees Togo West and Admiral Vernon Clark) on the Fort Hood massacre committed by an Islamist terrorist and see who can be the first to find a reference to Islam.

Here's the "funny" part: there isn't one.

Dear Friends,

If you have not heard, TN Rep, Rick Womick,  recently explained why he thinks that Muslims should not be allowed to serve in the US Military, when the US is fighting al-Queda and the Taliban.  ( See the 3-minute video of his statement at http://www.dnj.com/videonetwork/1275155936001?odyssey=mod|tvideo2|article )  For this statement, he has been attacked by local and national Muslim organizations, and by the believers in political correctness. 

If you agree with his statement, it may be good to email him at his address below, to let him know, and to offset the attacks he is enduring.

CD

---------------------------------

rep.rick.womick@capitol.tn.gov

 On top of the good news of Rep. Rick Womick statement that Muslims should be removed from the U.S. military comes an even better sign: He wasn't instantly denounced by the political establishment surrounding him.  The tide is rapidly changing, even though there's still some shyness about saying the truth about Islam.  We already have 4 major Presidential candidates who have been quite clear about Islam representing a threat, and if one of them wins office, expect the tide to become a flood.

MURFREESBORO - Local and national Muslims called for state officials Saturday to rebuke state Rep. Rick Womick for remarks he made that all Muslims be removed from the U.S. military.

At least one local Muslim, Saleh Sbenaty of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, went further, stating: " ... he needs to be impeached immediately."

Womick, though, stood by his comments and offered no apology when contacted by The DNJ.

"Who are we at war with?" Womick said. "We are at war with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, who are Muslims. It's a Catch-22. They are not allowed to kill their fellow Muslims, we're at war with Muslims. The only solution I see is that they not be allowed in the military."

Womick, R-Rockvale, set off a cascade of criticism for remarks that he made during an interview with Eli Clifton of thinkprogress.org Friday at an anti-Shariah conference in Nashville.

"Personally, I don't trust one Muslim in our military," Womick said in the interview. "If they truly are a devout Muslim and follow the Quran and the Sunnah, then I feel threatened because they're commanded to kill me."

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on the Tennessee General Assembly to formally rebuke Womick for calling for removal of all Muslims from the military.

CAIR also called on state and national Republican Party leaders to repudiate Womick's bigoted "un-American" comments.

Womick said Saturday he has no opinion on what CAIR had so say.

"They are a radical Islamic group," said Womick, who fought as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot in the first Gulf War to force Iraq's military out of Kuwait in 1990-91. "Whatever they have to say, I choose to ignore."

Womick's comments particularly bother Islamic Center of Murfreesboro member Saleh Sbenaty.

"It's really sad to see Mr. Womick's comments coming on Veterans Day," said Sbenaty, a 19-year MTSU professor in the Department of Engineering Technology. "He needs to be reminded that there are thousands of Muslims who serve and are serving (in the U.S. military), and there are many of them who gave up their lives to preserve the freedom of this country and the freedom that he is enjoying."

A Friday story on the website Muslims for a Safe America estimates that between 5,000 to 20,000 Muslims out of 6 million who live in the United States serve in a U.S. Military that has a force of 1.4 million.                    (really,.. 6 million?)

"Hundreds of American Muslim soldiers have been involved in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11," the website states.

A New York Times story published Nov. 8, 2009, reports that 3,557 military personnel identify themselves as Muslim among 1.4 million people in the active-duty population, according to U.S. figures.

Sbenaty, however, suggested that Womick is just as extreme as al-Qaeda is.

"Al-Qaeda doesn't believe in freedom of religion," Sbenaty said. "They want to rule the world according to their views. And Mr. Womick wants to rule the United States according to his narrow vision."

Sbenaty worries that rhetoric such as Womick's can lead to more attacks against his congregation. In August 2010, arsonists set earth-moving equipment on fire at the congregation's future mosque location on Veals Road off Bradyville Pike. The congregation also faced a bomb threat just before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.

"We had to cancel a kids' play and the weekend school because of the bomb threat," said Sbenaty, who feels Womick should be held accountable for his remarks.

"I believe he needs to be impeached immediately," said Sbenaty, who became a U.S. citizen after moving to Tennessee from Damascus, Syria, in 1982. "Or he needs to retract his remarks immediately and apologize to every Muslim in the United States and abroad. The largest bases of the military are now in Muslim countries.  (all 1,500,000,000 of them?)

"I hope the people would realize that he's harming the community and Murfreesboro, in particular, and the interests of the United States, in general, and that the people will show their disapproval in the next election."

The Republican state lawmaker said he stands by his position even though the reporter who interviewed him didn't portray the full context of his remarks.

Womick recalled three cases in which Muslim soldiers have attacked their fellow U.S. service members:

•   Sgt. Hasan Akbar, who in 2002 threw a grenade under a tent of the 101st Airborne, killing two soldiers and wounding 14 others in Kuwait.
•   Maj. Nidal Hasan, who in November 2009, killed 13 soldiers and wounded 30 at Fort Hood, Texas.
•   and Pfc. Naser Abdo, who in July 2011 was absent without leave from Fort Campbell near Clarksville before authorities caught him and he told investigators he was planning to set off bombs in a restaurant that is frequented by U.S. service members near Fort Hood, Womick said.

"He (Abdo) bought the weapons from the same store where Hasan bought his," said Womick, who works as a pilot for a passenger airline company. "All three of these men gave the same reason. They were commanded (to their actions) by Allah and the Quran to kill the non-believers, and that's what they did because they are not allowed to kill their fellow Muslims."

Womick was one of the speakers at Cornerstone Church in the Madison community in northeast Nashville. Participants gave him a standing ovation when he said, "We cannot have Muslims in our military because we cannot trust them."

Event organizer Lou Ann Zelenik of Murfreesboro backs the Republican lawmaker.

"Rep. Womick is a patriot," said Zelenik, who in 2010 was runner-up in a close Republican primary against U.S. Rep. Diane Black of Gallatin. "He's a veteran, and I trust his judgment."

Womick said he is worried about Muslims adhering to Shariah law.

"Under Shariah Law, women our second class citizens," he said. "They are allowed to be beaten and put in separate rooms. We have Muslim women showing up in our emergency rooms with broken bones and lacerations, and the hospitals are being threatened with lawsuits if they report these abuses to law enforcement."

Womick said he'll make no exceptions that people here must adhere to the U.S. Constitution, Tennessee Constitution and our laws.

"We're being asked by some Muslim leaders for them to be exempt from U.S. Constitutional law and fall under Shariah Law," Womick said. "My answer to that is, 'No way.' If that's what you want, then go back to the country you came from and live under Shariah Law.

"We welcome all immigrants no matter what your race religion, beliefs, creed, sexuality, everything," Womick said. "No discrimination, so long as you are willing to come to our country and integrate into American society and obey our U.S. Constitution, our state Constitution and our laws."

Murfreesboro attorney and freedom of religion advocate John Green was also offended by Womick's remarks.

"The irony here is that he made those remarks on Veterans Day," Green said Saturday. "There are presently well over 5,000 Muslims in the armed forces in the United States. Muslims have been serving this country since the Revolutionary War. Arlington (National) Cemetery has graves of Muslims who have died in the service of this country, who have died for Rep. Womick.

"What if he said Catholic or Jewish or Mormon? Would we be tolerant of that? Of course we wouldn't. He claims that Islam is not a religion. That's a theological absurdity," Green said. "Chancellor Robert Corlew (in a local lawsuit to stop the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro from building its new mosque) ruled that Islam is a religion, as if we needed to be told that. The United State Supreme Court has ruled that. It's one of the three largest religions in the world."

Green noted that the U.S. Constitution and Tennessee Constitution both offer strong protections for freedom of religion.

"I frankly think that if Tennessee had a private right of action to impeach an elected official, Rep. Womick would be a defendant in an impeachment action," Green said. "As it is, Tennessee law only allows the House of Representatives to bring articles of impeachment. It's clear they are not going to impeach one of their own, despite the horrible nature of his remarks."

State Reps. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, and Pat Marsh, R-Shelbyville, said Saturday they didn't want to comment about the specifics of Womick's remarks and the response by Muslims.

"The reason I'm declining to comment is I have not had the chance to speak with Rep. Womick with regard to the context in which the comment was made," said Carr, a Republican who lives on in Rutherford County's Lascassas community to the northeast of Murfreesboro.

"I know Rep. Womick has had some run-ins with them (Muslims) on his pilot's job," said Marsh, a Republican whose district includes portions of Rutherford County's Rockvale and Blackman communities and Eagleville. "I think he's OK to say whatever he likes. It's free speech."

Messages were left with state Sens. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, and state Rep. Mike Sparks, R-Smyrna. None of them were available for comment.

-----------

Mark Hass

Director@EducateUSA.com 

www.EducateUSA.org 

View current list of Signatories to the Briefing document 

American Islamists and Iranian Propaganda
Nov 17, 2011 11:26 am

U.S. Marshals Service Report Update November 17 , 2011
Nov 17, 2011 11:19 am

Mayor's Affirmative Action Denies Richmond Tea Party Equal Justice
Nov 17, 2011 05:00 am

Plan 9 from Washington Space
Nov 16, 2011 09:33 pm

Egypt Falls into Darkness
Nov 16, 2011 09:18 pm

What Is Naked Capitalism?
Nov 16, 2011 08:46 pm

Israel's Gas Discoveries : American Strategic Assets
Nov 16, 2011 07:02 pm

60 Minutes Catches Nancy Pelosi with Her Dress Down
Nov 16, 2011 06:53 pm

The Returning Veteran Dilemma - Is It Fact or Fiction?
Nov 16, 2011 02:35 pm

Don't Underestimate Iran's Instability

Israeli leaders and generals certainly don't mind smiling knowingly every time a top Iranian commander meets an untimely accident, which has been happening surprisingly often these past few years, but the explanation is likely to be more complicated than Mossad secrets agents operating behind the scenes. The logistics of infiltrating people on the ground to carry out assassinations isn't easy, anyone viewing the chronology of the Dubai hit for one man in a hotel room, can only begin to imagine what it would take to pull off more complicated operations in Iran, which sees far less foreign travelers and has much tighter security.

 

There's no doubt that Israel has its hand in it, but it's also unwise to underestimate the meltdown of the Iranian revolution which began with Ahmadinejad's fraudulent reelection and has turned into a complex power struggle between the Ayatollahs, Ahmadinejad and a populist movement that draws on student protests and brings together reformist Mullahs, Communists and masses of young people who want to live their lives without the religious police looking over their shoulders.

Iran's religious leaders have never trusted its military, and instead relied on the Revolutionary Guards to suppress dissent. Like most military forces turned Praetorian deciders, the Revolutionary Guards has been split by its own factions and violent internal disputes. The volume of deaths among top Guards commanders suggests less of a vast Israeli assassination network and more knives in the dark or sabotaged helicopters.

With Iran's power pyramid now in the hands of Revolutionary Guards commanders, eliminating some commanders who support rivals, or eliminating commanders who block a supporters' path to the top is politics in action within a system where even the pretense of popular elections has been dispensed with.
 

  VIDEOS * TODAY'S HOT PICKS 

1. VIDEO: Maxine Waters on Deaths and Crimes at Occupy Protests: 'That's Life and It Happens'
2. VIDEO: DISGRACE! 'Forced Unionization': SEIU Collects Union Dues From Disabled Kids' Medicaid Checks  3. SHOCK VIDEO: NBC 'Today' Panel Agrees: 'Shame on People' Who Object to Porn Star Reading to Young Children -Their Logic: "Anytime someone is volunteering their time to go into a school and help a child - we need to let them." (would that include convicted child molesters too?)  4. VIDEO: OWS protesters Vow Domestic Terrorism in NYC  5. VIDEO: Harvard Prof. Predicts EU Crisis Will Consume America...and Why You Should Care
6. Iran's Thugocracy Attacks Again
7. VIDEO: Filmmakers Take on Radical Islam
8. 'I would do it again 100 times': Muslim father 'murdered his THREE daughters in honour killing for dating wrong boys'  9. VIDEO: Teacher Caught on Tape Bullying Special Needs Students, Keeps Job
10. VIDEO: MSNBC Hosts Baffled by U.S. Support for Handguns
11. VIDEO: Alabama Governor Fires Back Over Immigration Law 

Most Members of Congress Enjoy Robust Financial Status, Despite Nation's Sluggish Economic Recovery- Find out how much your member of Congress is worth

"Occupy" Movement: Welcome to Liberal Utopia

Christopher Adamo 

Tunisian Pledges a New Caliphate

Steve Emerson 

Palestinian Media Heroine - She Helped Kill 15 Israelis

Itamar Marcus, Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Today's Hot Topics

We choose, you peruse.

Only A Totalitarian New World Order Can Save Us Now Says Naomi Klein

James Delingpole 

U.S. Officials Meet with Brotherhood - U.S. Islamists Cozy up to Iran

The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report 

Security Clearance Pulled Due to Wife's Islamist Links

David J. Rusin

The European Project is Now Sustained by Coup

Daniel Hannan 

Hezbollah Chief Warns of Regional War if Iran, Syria Attacked

Jim Kouri, CPP 

15 November 2011

Read more: 

November 17, 2011  

OWS PLOTS HUGE DAY OF ACTION IN NYC
Today marks the two month anniversary of the occupation of Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, and the OWS protesters have a full day of "celebrating" planned for New York City. Some accounts anticipate hundreds of thousands to arrive in the city to protest. See what's planned for the Big Apple HERE.

violence & death at OWS - 'that's life'
Congresswoman Maxine Waters thinks the rapes, deaths, and violence at the Occupy Wall Street locations are just a 'distraction' and 'part of life.' See the latest curious comments from Ms. Waters HERE.

SEIU'S FORCED UNIONIZATION HURTS KIDS
Michigan has unionized the state's home healthcare workers and now SEIU automatically collects dues from all people receiving state funds for homecare... even parents taking care of their disabled children. Get the full story HERE.

DID THE WHITE HOUSE SHOOTER THINK HE WAS 'ON A MISSION FROM GOD?'
A day after the arrest of the WH shooting suspect Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, we hear from authorities that the man believed that he was on a personal mission from God. Read the details HERE.



SLIDESHOW: BLAZE WRITERS PHOTOGRAPH TODAY'S ATTEMPTED NYSE OCCUPATION
Early this morning, Blaze writers Buck Sexton and Mike Opelka joined the OWS crowd on the streets of lower Manhattan. Their photographs from the unsuccessful effort to prevent the New York Stock Exchange from opening can be seen HERE.

VIRAL VIDEO - WATCH OWS 'DAY OF DIRECT ACTION' LIVE ON A STREAMING VIDEO FEED
This video feed will remain active all through the day as events switch from lower Manhattan to Los Angeles and to various protest activities happening around the globe. Connect HERE.  

'YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE' - SALVATION ARMY RED KETTLES NOW ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS
Something new is coming to the iconic red kettles of the Salvation Army. Credit card swipe machines are starting to appear on the kettles, making it easier for people to donate. Get the details HERE.  

Guilty: Obama Admin Illegally Used U.S. Funds to Promote Abortion in Kenya

Politico: Yes, Obama Hates America

Video: Allen West to Media, "Stop Being Afraid of this President" who is "Destroying this Country"

Obama's Energy Plan: The Chevy Volt

New Hampshire to Hold Hearings on Obama's Social Security Number

Obama Bans Gun Owners from Public Lands

Cartoon of the Day: Congress Will Now Break for Insider Trading

Tank Man: Genuine Courage v Juvenile Cowardice

By Mark Alexander · Thursday, November 17, 2011

"A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable." --Thomas Jefferson (1817)

Occupy "Tank Man" Poster FAIL!

My Wednesday communiqué from the Communist Party USA (which is directed to my "know thy enemy" inbox) was full of indignation about the forced suppression of the Occupy movement's New York-based rabble's rights.

The CPUSA has been enthusiastically promoting Barack Hussein Obama's Red October Uprising, which stars an unsavory cast of his Useful Idiots. Adding insult to injury, this truculent troupe's stage debut was in New York City's Zuccotti Park, right around the corner from the solemn 9/11 Memorial.

The protagonists of the Occupy movement are adherents of the populist socialist agenda, which is now the centerpiece of Obama's Democrat Party Platform and its classist politics of disparity. Most of their followers are the product of the Left's Directorate of Indoctrination (a.k.a. "urban government schools"), which is to say they have little objective cognitive ability -- as they have aptly demonstrated.

Since its inception some two months ago, the Zuccotti Park encampment has spawned similar protests across the nation. These copycat protests have, at best, been a nuisance to their host cities. At worst, they've become violent and their rhetoric more anarchist. As yet, they have not resorted to detonating bombs, as was the practice of Obama's Marxist political benefactor, William Ayers. Notably, when asked about the brutal assaults committed by Occupiers across the nation, Leftists Rep. Maxine Waters summed up their Black Caucus support: "That's life and it happens. I'm not deterred in my support for them because of these negative kinds of things. That's a distraction from the goals of the protesters."

In New York, the confrontations between protesters and police had become increasingly combative and had cost area small businesses and vendors in the area more than $500,000 in damages and lost business. Consequently, earlier this week Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent in police to eradicate the Occupiers and sanitation workers to disinfect the park and restore it for public use -- and not a New York second too soon.

Predictably, The New York Times lamented, "[The protesters] made '99 percent' into popular language for the have-nots. They spawned protests against further enriching the already rich 1 percent, like those in Chicago, Boston, Oakland, New Haven, and even London. But Mr. Bloomberg hasn't done as good a job [ending the protests] and we worry that his decision to clear the park of tents could end up quashing the entire protest."

Of course, the protesters were less than pleased, and in response, they have called for a massive demonstration (today -- 17 November) to disrupt of city services and commerce.

"Thursday is going to be a day of action around the city," Occupy organizer Bill Dobbs declared. "I'm looking forward to going after Wall Street and also galvanizing public support and awareness of what we're about. We are the 99 percent. Like other people in power, [Bloomberg] thinks if they get rid of the protesters, they will also get rid of the cause."

One of Dobbs' deputies was a bit more descriptive: "No more talking. They've got guns, we've got bottles. They've got bricks, we've got rocks ... you're going to see what a Molotov cocktail can do. On the 17th, we're going to burn New York City to the ground."

Whether or not the dispirited malcontents can rally enough support for the insurrection (it is cold in New York), Bloomberg and the NYPD are taking the threat seriously. "We are certainly anticipating tens of thousands of people protesting, aimed at significant disruptions of the lives of the people of this city," Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said.

The Genuine Tank Man

I was dumbstruck earlier this week when I received a copy of the "day of action" promo poster, which Occupiers were plastering across Manhattan. However unwittingly, it fittingly reveals the abject ignorance of the organizers and their wholly uniformed perception of history.

The poster is a clear reference to "Tank Man." He was the brave lone protester who, in 1989, stood in front of a column of Red Chinese Type 59 tanks and brought them to a standstill on the morning after the Communist Party cleared Beijing's Tiananmen Square of its protesters. The "People's Army" slaughtered hundreds of students in the process.

The Occupy poster is drenched with irony because, at Tiananmen, those courageous young people were protesting AGAINST the socialist state and in support of Liberty and free enterprise. Conversely, the Occupy protesters want to implement a socialist state and suppress Liberty and free enterprise.

For the record, Tank Man "disappeared" that same afternoon, never to be seen again. A ranking Communist Party member reported, "We can't find him. We got his name from journalists. We have checked through computers but can't find him among the dead or among those in prison."

Two decades after Tiananmen, I stood on Chang'an Avenue at the location where Tank Man had made his courageous stand in defiance of tyranny. I was hosted by a group of Chinese entrepreneurs who were present as students at the protests. As a result of modest economic reforms in the years after Tiananmen, some of those erstwhile protesters are now among China's most affluent, those who within one generation have risen on the wings of their own initiative, innovation and perseverance from statist slums.

As I contemplate the contrast between the Occupy movement poster and the authentic photograph of Tank Man, I'm reminded of three observations about socialism and history. The first is from 18th-century philosopher Edmund Burke, who observed, "The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion." Next is a quote from a 19th-century classical liberal, Frederic Bastiat, who wrote, "The state is the great fiction by which everybody seeks to live at the expense of everybody else." And finally, as 20th-century philosopher George Santayana concluded in The Life of Reason: "Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Obama claims, "People are frustrated and the [Occupy] protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works." The system he bemoans is free enterprise, and the socialist economy he wants in its place poses great risk to the future of Liberty. It is a mistake to underestimate the unshakeable popular support for the socialist agenda espoused by Obama and his Occupy cadres. That support now stands at about 35 percent, primarily those who have already been "economically disenfranchised" by statist policies.

A final word of advice to Occupiers on their rights: You have a right to remain silent. Exercise it!

Publisher's Note: Have a little fun with the Occupy folks. Visit The Patriot Post's Occupy Obamaville Facebook page to see the album we launched to chronicle some of the more notable Occupy moments. Send us your own images/captions for this page, to OccupyThis@PatriotPost.US.

11/17/2011 

The Debate Over China 

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Online Chat on the Foreign Policy Debate 

Exclusive Interview: Sen. Cornyn Says Obama Has 'Given Up on Governing' 

Do Regulations Kill Jobs? Not at All, Says Reid 

Kennedy Jr. Gets Taxpayer Cash for "Green" Company 

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The student organization Temple University Students for Intellectual Freedom (TUSIF) recently hosted Ann McElhinney at Temple, as she spoke on energy policy and presented her argument against Environmental Radicalism, particularly the case against Marcellus Shale, which is a big, hot issue here in PA. 

During the Q&A session, a disgruntled radical Leftist Feminist picked an 8-minute long argument with Ann.  With a whole heart and mind we believe that this 8-minute clip needs to be seen by as many people as possible.  If possible, with your help, we would like to request that you help us with promoting the heck out of this 8-minute clip because the exchange between Ann McElhinney and the Radical-Socialist-Feminist needs to go viral.

It is an incredible opportunity not to be wasted to show others the indoctrination that is happening at Temple University.  The exchange is so pure and honest here - so PIERCING, actually.

Knowledge, Reason, and Logic are put on display and on trial in the confrontation with the uber Liberal indoctrination of American college campuses, via the foul-mouthed student.

Below, I've included the 8-minute clip, the event in its entirety, as well as our YouTube Channel.  Thank you very much for taking the time to read my email.  If there is anyway in which you might help us with this, we would be extremely grateful - it's for America, ultimately.     

Ann McElhinney Energetically Drills Radical Socialist Feminist at Temple University 11.07.11

Entire Event
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmsMFKSDGNo&feature=related

Our YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/TUSIFreedom


Thank you for taking the time.
--
Alvaro E. Watson

President
Temple University Students for Intellectual Freedom (TUSIF)
http://tiny.cc/TUSIF
TUSIFreedom@gmail.com

215.510.7374    "Temple University Students for Intellectual Freedom (TUSIF) defends the right to seek and follow an argument, without being subjected to official sanctions for non-compliance to political correctness. It is by this conviction that TUSIF protects intellectual inquiry against political, religious and social ideologues who wish to disallow it, silence it, or chastise it, as the unfettered pursuit of truth is fundamental for human progress. TUSIF vigorously enters the debate on the side of intellectual freedom, to foster an open intellectual environment to counter the academic atmosphere contaminated by intellectual intolerance."

Environmental Injustice at the EPA, Part II 

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 01:14 PM PST

(John Hinderaker)

I wrote yesterday about the Obama administration's push for "environmental justice." The Environmental Protection Agency under Lisa Jackson has made the movement a priority, even though the agency has no statutory authority to enforce standards of environmental justice, assuming that such standards could even be defined. The danger, of course, is that the EPA will exercise powers it doesn't legally possess by threatening companies that are subject to its regulations with reprisals if they don't go along with the agency's extra-legal agenda.

How might that happen? Let's look to Corpus Christi, Texas, for an example. Corpus Christi is a port city where large quantities of petroleum products are imported and exported. The city is home to three refineries, owned by Valero, Flint Hills and Citgo. Those refineries are heavily regulated by the EPA and their emissions are tightly controlled. The EPA has a right and a duty to enforce those regulations; but the more flexible yardstick of "environmental justice" evidently demands something more.

CBO: Democrats' "Stimulus" Plan Hurts Long-Term GDP Growth 

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 09:07 AM PST

(John Hinderaker)

If we were to choose three of Barack Obama's words to sum up his failed presidency, it would be "spending equals stimulus." Obama naively believes that any government spending-it scarcely matters on what-has a positive impact on our economy. He completely fails to understand (or, at any rate, to acknowledge) that wasteful spending destroys wealth and, in the long run, kills jobs. Thus, even though the Democrats' $800 billion-plus stimulus bill was an abject failure, they have nothing to offer Americans but more of the same.

On Tuesday, Doug Elmendorf, head of the Congressional Budget Office, testified before the Senate Budget Committee. Ranking Republican Jeff Sessions recalled the CBO's projection, made around the time the stimulus bill was enacted, that the measure would have a negative long-term impact on economic growth. Elmendorf confirmed that this is still the view of the CBO:

If anything, our experience with the stimulus bill, which failed to achieve its stated objective in reducing unemployment, can only have confirmed the CBO's negative projection.

Somewhere in Asia 

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 06:28 AM PST

(Scott Johnson)

The White House press corps actually asked President Obama two good questions at his APEC press conference in Hawaii ("here in Asia," according to el presidente) earlier this week. Obama's answers to the questions are worth a look.

AP reporter Ben Feller led off the press conference with this question:

Q I'd like to ask you about Iran. Did you get any specific commitments from Russia or China on tightening sanctions? Did you move them at all? And do you fear the world is running out of options short of military intervention to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons?

Here is Obama's answer:

Another Obama Scandal In the Making 

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 07:34 PM PST

(John Hinderaker)

Peter Schweizer disclosed this "green" boondoggle in his new book, Throw Them All Out. Big Government has the story.

It has to do with a "green energy" company called BrightSource Energy Inc., which develops solar energy products (or intends to someday, anyway). In 2010, BrightSource was in deep trouble. It was $1.8 billion in debt and was losing money hand over fist-a $71.6 million loss on a mere $13.5 million in revenue. A company destined to go down the drain, one would think. But no! The Obama administration bailed out BrightSource to the tune of a cool $1.4 billion in loan guarantees.

How could that possibly have happened? Well, start with the fact that the principal investor in BrightSource is VantagePoint Partners. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a Venture Partner in VantagePoint. But BrightSource had an even more valuable contact than that:

Sanjay Wagle...was one of the principals in Kennedy's firm who raised money for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. When Obama won the White House, Wagle was installed at the Department of Energy (DOE), advising on energy grants.

Well, that was convenient! So BrightSource got its $1.4 billion. BrightSource isn't out of business yet, but how promising was the Obama administration's investment? Check out the registration statement for the company's IPO. This is from the discussion of risk factors:

Environmental Injustice at the EPA 

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 06:36 PM PST

(John Hinderaker)

In 1994, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12898, which directed each federal agency to "make achieving environmental justice part of its mission...." Not too much damage was done during the Clinton administration, and the initiative happily languished under President Bush. But under Lisa Jackson's leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency, environmental justice is back with a vengeance.

The EPA has promulgated Plan EJ 2014 as its implementation of Executive Order 12898. There is a basic problem, of course, from the agency's perspective: it doesn't actually have statutory authority to enforce standards of "environmental justice." The EPA acknowledges this in its description of Plan EJ 2014:

Plan EJ 2014 is not a rule or regulation. It is a strategy to help integrate environmental justice into EPA's day to day activities.

From the public's perspective, the hazard of what is an essentially extra-legal set of ideologically-driven policies is that the EPA may abuse its permitting powers by making demands on the companies it regulates that are not justified by any statute or regulation, but that are backed by the implicit threat that if the company fails to do the EPA's bidding, it won't get the permits it needs to operate.

The EPA hints at such a strategy in its plan document:

Thursday, November 17, 2011

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 355 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS


Race For the GOP Nomination

Yesterday's Fox News poll featured a new front-runner for the GOP nomination. At 23% Newt Gingrich was one point ahead of Mitt Romney (22%) and eight points ahead of Herman Cain (15%). Gingrich and Romney are essentially tied. But that is the second poll this week with Newt in first place.

And the latest Rasmussen poll of likely Iowa caucus goers finds a huge swing. Last month, it was Cain (28%), Romney (21%), Paul (10%) and Gingrich (9%). Today, Gingrich leads with 32%, followed by Romney (19%), Cain (13%) and Paul (10%).

The trend is clear -- Newt is rising; Cain is falling; Romney is flat-lining. According to the RealClearPolitics.com average, Romney leads with 21.2% -- exactly where he was one year ago. Gingrich is at 20.2% -- up from 9.3% on the first of this month. Cain is at 19.3% -- down from 25% on November 1st.

The big question is whether Gingrich can sustain the momentum. Or will he become another victim of the Obama/media attack machine. It's no secret that his candidacy comes with a considerable history that Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod could exploit.

As the liberal media and his opponents comb through Gingrich's long record, it remains to be seen if his support can sustain the coming scrutiny. The one advantage Gingrich has going for him is that his personal issues are relatively well-known and may not come as a surprise to many voters.


OWS On The March

The Occupiers left Zuccotti Park today and began marching on Wall Street with hopes of shutting down the New York Stock Exchange. OWS organizers had hoped that 10,000 people would turn out for today's protests, but reports indicate that perhaps 1,000 showed up.

According to Fox News, the New York Police Department had to establish a "checkpoint" for stock exchange employees. Hundreds of OWS demonstrators "heckled the arriving workers with chants of, 'Shame! Shame! Shame!' and 'Shut it down!'" Is that what these people want -- do they really want to shut down wealth creation in America? Sadly, most of them probably do, and yet they have no clue what to do next or how to create a functioning economy.

Wall Street hasn't had many heroes lately, but two men in suits walked through the protestors today with signs reading "Get A Job" and "Occupy A Desk." Good for them! Speaking on the Bloomberg financial network yesterday, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) ripped into the Occupy movement. Here's an excerpt of his remarks:

"First of all, you try to listen to them and they make almost no sense. These are people who were living in dirt, these were people who are involved in drugs, there was violence, there was rape... I think the media has made a terrible mistake in somehow romanticizing [the movement] and giving these people credibility. I mean, what is their position? They're mad because people are making money, or are they mad that there's no jobs in this country? All of us believe that, we're trying to find a way to [fix] it. You don't do it by living in dirt, you don't do it by carrying out rapes, you don't do it by yelling out anti-American slogans. ...

"They say they're frustrated -- life is full of frustrations, you know. They should go see a psychiatrist if they're that frustrated. Let's talk about concrete proposals. ... They're angry people who are losers who are on the outside and screaming. If they want to get involved, go into the system, get involved with concrete proposals. How do they achieve anything by living in dirt for two months? ...They were proud do to that. What does that mean? What message is that sending?"

One of the people Rep. King was likely referring to is Nkrumah Tinsley. Police arrested Tinsely last night after he was videotaped saying, "In a few days they're going to see what a Molotov cocktail can do to Macy's."

In contrast to Peter King, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is standing by the radicals. When confronted about the prevalence of violence and crime within the OWS movement, Waters shrugged and said, "That's life and it happens, whether it's with protesters or other efforts that go on in this country. So I'm not deterred in my support for them because of these negative kinds of things."

Really, Ms. Waters? How many rapes occurred at the Tea Party rallies? How many drug overdoses, murders and thefts were there?

Meanwhile, here in Washington, the Occupy DC gang is on the march today and planning to link up with a group from northern Virginia when both groups converge on the Key Bridge. Why is the bridge relevant? Aside from making the evening rush hour an even more horrifying experience for folks who actually work for a living, the occupation of the bridge is part of a scheme by the AFL-CIO to draw attention to Obama's so-called "jobs bill" by highlighting infrastructure needs. (This is happening in cities all over the country today.) So now the movement is being co-opted by Big Labor and used to parrot Democrat talking points.

I know most of you reading these reports "get it." You understand what is at stake. But many of your friends and family members may not. Please share these reports with them. Point out the violence that is so prevalent in OWS and absent in the Tea Party. Tell them about the Democrat pollster who warned that one-third of the Occupiers would support violence to achieve their political agenda. America is at a tipping point. This is a time for choosing.


Obama's Record Debt

If you need one more reason to get politically active over the next year, consider Obama's record debt. That will give you 15 trillion reasons to redouble your efforts!

The Treasury Department reported this week that for the first time ever, the federal debt exceeds $15 trillion dollars. According to CNSNews the precise figure as of close of business Tuesday was $15,033,607,255,920.32. That's more than $160,000 per private sector worker and nearly $200,000 per family.

Let me repeat: America cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama. We must stop Obama's socialism!
 

AFP BLOG 

40 House Republicans Ask Super Committee for Higher Taxes

Late last week, a group of 100 U.S. Representatives sent a letter to the so-called Super Committee urging the handpicked group of twelve legislators to consider "all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues" in order to reach the committee's goal of $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years. In Washington speak, this is code for raising taxes.

Among this list is 40 Republicans whose capitulation encouraging the committee to raise taxes is troubling. We shouldn't be surprised to see 60 Democrats seizing on the opportunity to drive a wedge between conservatives intent on restoring economic growth by keeping taxes low and Republican lawmakers who are starting to throw in the towel on keeping pressure on Democrats to cut spending.

We all know that the real driver of long-term deficits is runaway spending on entitlements and big government pet projects. In the past, lawmakers have cut deals that supposedly included both tax hikes and spending cuts. But when you get a few years down the road the spending cuts never materialize and the higher tax rates take a bite out of economic activity. We're still climbing out of the recession and we cannot afford higher taxes slowing us down.

Click here if your representative is on the list to urge them to oppose tax hikes from the Super Committee.

See below a list of the 40 Republicans:

* - Organized the Letter

Today's Headlines: Thursday, November 17, 2011

$15T Federal Debt Equals $160,545 for Each Full-Time Private-Sector American Worker 

Republican Tax-Hike Plan Takes Shape: Limit Itemized Deductions 

Fed Now Largest Owner of U.S. Gov't Debt-Surpassing China 

CNSNews.com has been awarded a $100,000 challenge grant! Please make a tax deductible gift today and your support will be doubled!

HUD Looking for Evidence That LGBT Housing Discrimination Is Real 

Occupy and Disrupt: Protesters Plan to Make Life Difficult for Working People Thursday 

Maxine Waters on Deaths and Crimes at Occupy Protests: 'That's Life and It Happens' 

Occupy DC Protestors Heckle, Harass Wheelchair-Bound Woman 

Computer With Personal Info on 4 Million Patients Stolen in Calif. 

Despite U.S. Opposition, SE Asian Nations to Reward Burma for Limited Reforms

Obama Calls Crocodile-Attack Insurance 'Most Unique Gift I've Ever Received As President' 

Indonesia Responds Warily to Obama Sending U.S. Troops to Australia

COMMENTARY:

Penn State: Collaborating With Evil
By Ben Shapiro
The truly sickening part of the Penn State story isn't Jerry Sandusky. We expect truly evil people to be truly evil. The sickening part is the involvement of so many otherwise decent people.
 

NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP:

 Obama Unleashes New Attacks on Alabama's

Immigration Law - Other States Targeted, Too 

Over the course of the past year and half, the Obama Administration has secretly assembled a bureaucratic army of red tape to wage a war against our nation's immigration laws. After any hope of forcing Congress to grant amnesty was quashed in the mid-term elections, it became clear to the president that to get his way, he would have to ultimately undermine the rule of law.  

Since Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has abandoned its role in immigration enforcement, individual states have picked up the job. Obama has now brought out the big guns and has charged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to sue the states that are courageous enough to stand up to this administration.

The DOJ first filed suit against Arizona in the summer of 2010, and while some provisions have been resolved (in AZ's favor), the various lawsuits have been jumping from one court of appeals to another using federal and state tax dollars! Alabama is likewise tied up in litigation for working to protect their citizens from the societal and economic burdens of illegal immigration and the DOJ, just last month, filed suit against South Carolina. Groups allied with the Obama Administration - groups like the ACLU and SPLC - are hoping to gain millions of our tax dollars in attorney fees to bring their own suits.

By passing immigration enforcement measures, Arizona and Alabama have already seen decreased numbers of illegal immigrants in their states - instead, illegal aliens opt to reside in other states that hand out benefits. The DOJ, as a tool in creating de-facto amnesty, hopes that the threat of costly litigation against these states will deter others from passing immigration enforcement provisions of their own.

Obamacare Threatens Life and Liberty; Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality in 2012

The Supreme Court's announcement on Monday that it will consider the constitutionality of some of Obamacare's provisions, including the individual mandate, has reignited discussion of the health care law's many problematic provisions. In addition to increasing insurance premiums and hampering job growth, Obamacare poses significant threats to the religious liberty of institutions and individuals... and could have a serious negative impact on families.

For Belmont Abbey, a private Catholic college located in North Carolina, the most serious impact is Obamacare's threats to religious freedom and conscience rights. Late last week, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty announced it will represent Belmont Abbey in a suit the school is bringing against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on behalf of Belmont Abbey over a new mandate that would force the college to provide insurance plans for students and employees that cover procedures and prescriptions the college finds morally objectionable.

Fulfilling a provision of Obamacare that requires coverage of "preventative services," HHS adopted a rule in August that mandates nearly all insurance companies cover contraception and sterilization-without cost to the insured. The rule includes mandatory coverage of ethically controversial drugs like Ella, which can act as an abortifacient. Employers with moral and ethical objections to covering such services, like Belmont Abbey, can find little recourse in the narrowly drawn religious exemption to the rule. Without a robust religious exemption from the rule and not wishing to subsidize contraception, sterilization, or abortion, Belmont Abbey decided to sue HHS to secure the right to provide insurance coverage in accordance with the school's religious beliefs.

Violations of institutional and individual conscience rights aren't the only troublesome aspects of Obamacare. The law is replete with provisions that can be used to fund abortions and negatively impact families.

As Heritage research has pointed out since Obamacare first passed, the law includes multiple problematic provisions with respect to the federal role in funding elective abortion. Additionally, the limited and loose conscience protections outlined in the law are inadequate to protect pro-life medical professionals' freedom to practice their profession in accord with their personal beliefs.

In addition to loopholes allowing federal funding of abortion, to which the vast majority of American families object, new funding streams for contraception education in schools and marriage penalties in Obamacare make the healthcare law very family-unfriendly. Heritage research demonstrates how the law restricts parents' ability to participate in the medical decisions of their minor children, establishes disincentives for people to marry, and weakens the religious freedom of individuals and institutions.

From conscience rights to parental rights, Obamacare poses many serious challenges to American liberty.

What do you think of Obamacare? Share your opinion on our blog >>