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It's not often you have the opportunity to meet with your reps face to face and tell them GFY how much you despise adore what they do to keep America bankrupt safe and on the road to the poorhouse prosperity.

Now is your chance; join with our sister-brother group, The Valley Forge Patriots Tea Party, for an evening with U.S. Representative Joe Gerlach. Try to prepare your questions in advance - this promises to be a very popular evening, and so BE SURE TO RSVP as shown on the invitation below.

                        Lou Flanagan

                   The General Wayne Tea Party

The Valley Forge Patriots invite you to a

Town Hall Meeting

With

U.S. Congressman Jim Gerlach

Dec, 2  2011

At the Phoenixville CC 6:00 to 8:00 PM

The Congressman will give a legislative update and then address questions from the audience. We are expecting a large turnout and seating is limited.  As always, parking is free and snacks and drinks are available.

Reservations Only at http://www.meetup.com/VFP-TeaParty09/

Nullify Now! Philadelphia

LISTEN LIVE TO REPATRIOT RADIO

"BETTER THAN EVER"

(all times are eastern)

Thursday 3-4pm "America's Black Shield" - Ted Hayes and Terrance Lang

Remember January 3rd, 2007 The Day The Democrats Took Over!

RedState Morning Briefing

For December 1, 2011

1. Make the Payroll Tax Cuts Permanent

I never thought I would see the day, but Democrats are outmaneuvering Republicans on a tax cut - the payroll tax cut. They want an extension again. Let's understand that the Democrats don't serious want to help the working-class. They are admitting the working-class is no longer part of their coalition.

But they do want to score points against the GOP and, like clock work, the GOP is throwing the ball into the Democrats' basket for them.

Republicans are arguing that another extension will (A) further undermine the solvency of social security and (B) not actually be pro-growth because it leaves uncertainty in the system over whether or not it will happen again.

Right now the Democrats are out flanking the Republicans on the payroll tax cut. It's like the FEMA disaster stuff. Right as images are on every television in America showing houses destroyed by hurricanes, the GOP decides it needs to offset FEMA spending with cuts or else.

I have never understood the GOP's willingness to stand on principle only during suicide missions.

The Republican Party is the party of tax cuts. The Republican party believes that temporary tax cuts subject to congressional renewal schemes are not pro-growth because of the uncertainty they leave.

So instead of going along with the Democrats' efforts to temporarily extend the payroll tax cuts, the GOP should make them permanent. In fact, the House of Representatives should pass a very clean piece of legislation doing nothing but making the payroll tax cut permanent.

Just do it. The Democrats want to nibble away at the GOP on the tax cut issue. Force feed them a permanent cut.

2. Is Mitt Romney as Whiny as Barack Obama? Or Just Not Really Vetted?

If you haven't seen the Bret Baier interview with Mitt Romney it is now abundantly apparent why Mitt Romney will not sit in the middle chair and take tough questions from the roundtable - his skin is as thin as Barack Obama's. (To Bret's credit, he had the roundtable panel submit questions and Steve Hayes asked an awesome one. You'll have to watch the interview to see it)

Bret Baier asked Romney, "About your book, you talk about Massachusetts healthcare. We've heard you many times, in the debates and interviews, talk about how it is different in your mind than the president's healthcare law, Obamacare. The question is, do you still support the idea of a mandate? Do you believe that that was the right thing for Massachusetts? Do you think a mandate, mandating people to buy insurance is the right tool?"

Romney's response? "Bret, I don't know how many hundred times I've said this, too. This is an unusual interview."

But after the interview it became more troubling. Mitt Romney actually complained that some of the questions were "uncalled for." Yes folks, the former Governor of Massachusetts actually complained that Bret Baier - Bret Baier of Fox New's Special Report, the guy I hate because my six year old has a massive crush on him and he could kick my ass on the golf course - that Bret Baier asked questions that were "uncalled for".

3. The College of Hypocritical Big Government Cardinals

There is an old adage in Washington that describes the political system as consisting of three political parties; Democrats, Republicans, and Appropriators. The Appropriations Subcommittee chairmen, often referred to as the "College of Cardinals," usually agree to concoct legislation that fuses the worst elements of the evil and stupid parties, resulting in something worse than a pure Democrat proposal.

Heritage Hotsheet

Experts on the Day's Hottest News

Items for December 1, 2011

Hardline Islamists Surge in Egypt Polls

AFP

Machinists union reaches tentative deal with Boeing to settle gov't-labor dispute

The Washington Post

Public Sector strike rallies held across UK

BBC News

G.O.P. and Democrats Differ on How to Prevent Social Security Payroll Tax Increase

The New York Times

Eric Cantor floats year-end trigger bargain

Politico

Senate ready for showdown with Obama over bill with detainee language

The Hill

Latest Heritage Research:

BackGrounder

Government Price Controls for Health Care: A Deficit-Reduction Strategy to Avoid

Muslim Anti-Semitism and the Arab Spring

Western columnists eager to bestow their blessing on the democratic impulses of the Arab Spring are troubled by its darker side, the bigotry, the sexual violence and religious fanaticism. Rather than admit that they may have gotten the Arab Spring wrong, they look at its dark side as an external factor, rather than an internal one.

 

Case in point, Jeffrey Goldberg's recitation of Anti-Semitism in the Arab Spring leads to the same baffled attempts to understand. "On the surface this makes no sense: Arabs are rising up against Arabs, so what does this have to do with the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion"?" he asks.

The question isn't all that baffling if you look back at the historical context of the Protocols which emerged from the poison pens of two secret police agents of two different countries seeking ways to stifle reform by associating their opponents with a vast Jewish conspiracy. It took place in a century where the left and the right spent a good deal of time accusing each other of working for the Jews. That century gave way to the next one where they stopped writing essays and began running death camps.

The Muslim world is still backward enough to be besotted with the worst lunacy of the period, the Masonic conspiracy is an article of faith for most Islamists, right up there with the Koran, Mein Kampf is a bestseller and Fascism and Communism are admired in a way that horrifies the Eurocrats who visit from time to time. Grand conspiracy theories explain everything and everyone is assumed to have a complex secret agenda. 

VIDEOS * TODAY'S HOT PICKS 

♦♦♦ CHECK OUT FSM'S NEW HOT PICKS' FEATURE: "WHAT DOES PAM THINK? "♦♦♦ 

Who's Blowing Up Iran?

Dr. Michael Ledeen 

The Administration's Fog of Transparency

Michelle Malkin 

Meals, Toilets, and Marx for UC Davis Protesters

Cliff Kincaid 

How Socialism Took Root in American Education

Diane Kepus

Today's Hot Topics

We choose, you peruse.

Arab Elections: An Islamist Wave?

Amir Taheri 

Muslim Brotherhood Behind Serbian Islamic Conflict

The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report 

The Search for Better Nuclear Deterrence

Peter Huessy 

Who will take over in Syria?

By Ted Belman

The best outcome for conflict in Syria is for the Sunnis and the Kurds to be victorious in Syria. But they must do so aligned with Saudi Arabia and Israel. My recent article The Kurds and the Sunnis must be united to stop Iran from taking over in Iraq and al Qaeda in Syria spells it out and my argument was buttressed here.

Herb London reported a few days ago, U.S. Betrays Syria's Opposition 

In an effort to understand and placate Syrian opposition groups, Secretary Clinton invited them to a meeting in Washington. Most of those invited, however, have links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Missing from the invitations are Kurdish leaders, Sunni liberals, Assyrians and Christian spokesmen. According to various reports the State Department made a deal with Turkey and Muslim Brotherhood representatives either to share power with Assad to stabilize the government, or replace him if this effort fails.One organization, the Syrian Democracy Council (SDC), an opposition group...

Read the whole entry »

Obama is a redistributionist of money and power

He is redistributing power in the ME from the strong to the weak

Remember that the LAT refuses to release a tape it had of a dinner in support of "Palestine" that Obama attended. I wonder what could have been so toxic that the LAT, ostensibly a believer in the right to know and freedom of the press, would decline to release the tape. Readers are asked to speculate on what the tape might have contained. Actually, you don't have to speculate. I am reliably informed that the Audio tape clearly picks up the toast "death to Israel".

In the fall of '08 Palin said 

"It must be nice for a candidate to have major news organizations looking after his best interests like that," "In this case, we have a newspaper willing to throw aside even the public's right to know in order to protect a candidate that its own editorial board has endorsed. And if there's a Pulitzer Prize category for excelling in kow-towing, then the L.A. Times,...

Read the whole entry »

Eye witnesses claim 'unusual' movement of Israeli missiles

Aaron Klein is a careful journalist. If these reports are true, one must ask, why would Israel place missiles near Jerusalem? Is it because of the elevation or because Jerusalem is the most eastern part of Israel proper? Ted Belman

By Aaron Klein 

JERUSALEM - Multiple eyewitnesses reported seeing Israeli military trucks in recent days transport and station large missiles at the periphery of Jerusalem and in locations inside the West Bank.

The descriptions of the projectiles are consistent with the Jewish state's mid-to-long range Jericho ballistic missiles.

The missile movement, if confirmed, would be considered unusual.

One of the eyewitnesses was a member of the Palestinian Authority security services. He claimed to me that a large missile was stationed five days ago near Neve Yaacov, a Jewish neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem. That neighborhood is adjacent to several Palestinian-inhabited towns.

Four other eyewitnesses, Israeli and Palestinian, reported seeing similar...

Multinational Businesses and the Matrix of Human Rights Governance Networks
Nov 30, 2011 11:00 am

Will Israel Win the Energy Prize in the Levant Basin?
Nov 30, 2011 10:00 am

Newt Gingrich: A Too-High-Risk GOP Nominee?
Nov 30, 2011 06:00 am

Muslim Anti-Semitism and the Arab Spring
Nov 30, 2011 05:23 am

Egypt's Defining Period Begins
Nov 30, 2011 05:11 am

Everything Wall Street Does Is Illegal?
Nov 30, 2011 04:58 am

At Least 45 Christians Killed in Plateau State, Nigeria
Nov 29, 2011 11:53 am

Richmond TEA Party Spite Tax Auditor Cynthia Carr Has Lost Her Privacy - Thanks, Mayor Gollum!
Nov 29, 2011 11:43 am

John Williams: Hyperinflation Warning, Preserve Value with Gold
Nov 29, 2011 11:26 am

Google Reins in Spending on Renewable Energy Technology
Nov 29, 2011 11:20 am

Crude Oil Analysis for the Week of November 28, 2011
Nov 29, 2011 11:16 am

ATTENTION PREPPERS - Having More Than 7 Days Of Food Makes You A Suspected Terrorist

I have not seen this story covered on The Blaze.  Maybe I just missed it.  Didn't see it on Fox News either.  Mark 

John McCain Defends U.S. Military State In A Clash With Rand Paul

Posted on November 29, 2011
Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and John McCain (Ariz.) battled on the Senate floor Tuesday over a proposed amendment to the pending defense authorization bill that could allow American citizens who are suspected of terrorism to be denied a civilian trial. 

Paul argued the amendment, which is cosponsored by McCain, "puts every single American citizen at risk" and suggested that if the amendment passes, "the terrorists have won."

"Should we err today and remove some of the most important checks on state power in the name of fighting terrorism, well then the terrorists have won," Paul argued, "[D]etaining American citizens without a court trial is not American."

McCain, however, who has spent hours of floor time in the last weeks promoting his amendment, hurried to the floor to defend it against Paul's onslaught.

"Facts are stubborn things," McCain repeated from the floor several times. "If the senator from Kentucky wants to have a situation prevail where people who are released go back in to the fight to kill Americans, he is entitled to his opinion."

The amendment, offered by McCain, who is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, would technically allow the executive branch discretion on whether a terrorism suspect ought to be tried in civilian courts or the military tribunal system.

Paul fired back that his opposition to the amendment did not meant that he believed prisoners of war sitting in Guantánamo Bay ought to be released.

"I don't think it necessarily follows I am arguing of the release of prisoners," Paul said.  "I am simply arguing that particularly American citizens should not be sent to a foreign prison without due process."

But McCain ended the conversation by suggesting the junior senator from Kentucky did not understand the gravity of the danger the U.S. faces from terrorism.

"An individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue that threat," said McCain. " We need to take every stop necessary to prevent that from happening, that's for the safety and security of the men and women who are out there risking their lives ... in our armed services."

http://thenewworldreporter.com/2011/11/29/john-mccain-defends-u-s-police-state-in-a-clash-with-rand-paul/

Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. John McCain Spar Over Giving the Government the Power to Indefinitely Detain Americans

Posted on 29 November 2011 by Ben Peterson

The battle continues over a new amendment in this years National Defense Authorization Bill. The addition to the bill opens up the possibility for anyone in the US, including Americans, to be detained by the military indefinitely and without trail if it is determined that they are terrorists. Sen. Mark Udall has already voiced his opposition and Sen. Rand Paul has added his voice into the debate today. He and a cosponsor of the bill Sen. John McCain debated the new powers in the bill on the floor of the Senate today.

Via The Hill:

Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and John McCain (Ariz.) battled on the Senate floor Tuesday over a proposed amendment to the pending defense authorization bill that could allow American citizens who are suspected of terrorism to be denied a civilian trial.

Paul argued the amendment, which is cosponsored by McCain, "puts every single American citizen at risk" and suggested that if the amendment passes, "the terrorists have won."

"Should we err today and remove some of the most important checks on state power in the name of fighting terrorism, well then the terrorists have won," Paul argued, "[D]etaining American citizens without a court trial is not American.

McCain defended the new powers he would grant the military saying that "If the senator from Kentucky wants to have a situation prevail where people who are released go back in to the fight to kill Americans, he is entitled to his opinion". Thats a great way to demonize an opposing opinion without even addressing the issue. This issue being the flagrant violations of the Constitution that could and most likely would happen under a law like this.

McCain continued his evasive attack on Rand Paul by claiming that by Rand Paul's logic he would release all the detainees at Guantánamo Bay. Rand Paul reiterated his point that it was the detention of Americans that he was concerned about saying "I don't think it necessarily follows I am arguing of the release of prisoners... I am simply arguing that particularly American citizens should not be sent to a foreign prison without due process".

McCain finished his defense by saying:

"An individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue that threat... We need to take every stop necessary to prevent that from happening, that's for the safety and security of the men and women who are out there risking their lives ... in our armed services."

We all should be throughly disappointed in Sen. McCain. He would strip the greatest protection we have against the government on our freedom. The right to due process is not a suggestion. It is not a perk. It is a guarantee meant to stand the test of time. It is meant to stop the government from violating our freedoms as they pursue those that have broken the law. What's the use of all our rights if we are willing to suspend them when we are scared. McCain is scared and that has made him weak. He no longer has the courage to protect the very document and rights that he swore to protect both as Naval Officer and a Congressman. McCain is calling for martial law.

The bill, Sec. 1032, does say that "the requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States", but I am not convinced that that wording would prevent a US citizen from being held by the military. It only states that it is not required and not that it is not allowed.

When Sen. Rand Paul asked Sen. McCain point blank if US citizens could be detained by the military McCain did not say no:

go to link for videos  http://www.lonerepublic.com/sen-rand-paul-and-sen-john-mccain-spare-over-giving-the-government-the-power-to-indefinitely-detaining-americans/

I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE PHOTOS OF SOME OF THE MIDDLE EAST EVENTS OF THE PAST FEW DAYS.......BUT SOMETHING TRULY DISTURBING IS EVIDENT IN THE MEDIA'S PHOTO COVERAGE OF THE ELECTIONS IN EGYPT AND THE RANSACKING OF THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN TEHRAN...EVEN IN SUCH PUBLICATIONS AS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL......CERTAINLY IN THE OTHER LOCAL NEWSPAPERS AS WELL....ABOUT 75% OF THE PHOTOS OF THE ELECTIONS IN EGYPT SHOW ONLY WOMEN ON LINE TO VOTE....ANYONE WONDER WHY ????   

WELL, THE REASON I BELIEVE IS IN THE EYES OF THOSE WHO WISH TO SUPPORT THIS WONDROUS MOVEMENT, IT PORTRAYS "TRUE DEMOCRACY"...NO MATTER THAT THE EXTREME ISLAMIC SALAFISTS MAY BE GATHERING 10 PERCENT OF THE VOTE, AND THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD PROBABLY ANOTHER 35 PERCENT OR SO....SO WHAT IF THESE WOMEN WILL NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN IN A FEW YEARS IN EGYPT, SINCE THEIR GARB WILL NOT ONLY COVER THEIR HEADS BUT THEIR ENTIRE FACES....AND ,IF OTHER ISLAMIST STATES ARE ANY EXAMPLE, WOMEN WILL NOT BE PERMITTED IN SCHOOLS OF HIGHER LEARNING, THEIR CIRCUMCISION RATES WILL PROBABLY INCREASE TO 90 PERCENT (FROM 75 % NOW ), HONOR KILLINGS WILL BE THE RULE, WOMEN WILL NEVER BE LET OUT IN PUBLIC ALONE,  AND MANY OTHER REGULATIONS, BOTH WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN, WILL BE IN EFFECT ALMOST ENSLAVING THE FEMALE GENDER....HOW DO OUR WOMEN'S RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ARAB DEMOCRACY MOVEMENTS ???? CAN SOMEONE HELP ME OUT HERE ? ....AND THE MEDIA REPORTING ????? WHY DO THEY CONTINUE THIS 'FICTION' OF THE GREAT APPARENT WOMENS' REVOLUTION AS PORTRAYED  IN THESE PHOTOS , WHEN THE EDITORS AND REPORTERS CLEARLY KNOW WHAT THE END RESULT WILL EVENTUALLY BE FOR THESE WOMEN WHO ARE PRESENTLY ON VOTING LINES  ?????????    IT DISMAYS ME THAT THE READERS OF OUR NEWS DON'T EVEN REALIZE WHAT TRULY IS HAPPENING IN ONE ARAB COUNTRY AFTER ANOTHER........AND THERE WILL BE LITTLE OR NO FOLLOW-UP BY OUR MEDIA ON LONG TERM RESULTS AND THE DRAMATIC CHANGES WHICH WILL OCCUR IN THESE COUNTRIES OVER A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME...WE WILL ONLY SEE IT IN THE ARAB ATTITUDES TOWARDS "PEACE" WITH ISRAEL, OR OTHER LESS PUBLICIZED POLICIES TOWARDS WESTERN VALUES AND CULTURE........IF OUR TROOPS WERE NOT IN AFGHANISTAN, HOW MANY AMERICANS WOULD KNOW OF THE PAKISTANI COLLABORATION WITH TERRORISTS AND THE TALIBAN ??... BUT THEY ARE OUR "FRIENDS" ACCORDING TO PRIOR STATEMENTS FROM OUR ESTEEMED  LEADERS AND GOVT........AND NOW, HOW ABOUT THE ACTIONS OF THE "STUDENTS" WHO RANSACKED THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN IRAN ?...SO GOES THE "STORY" IN OUR MEDIA, AS THEY PARROT THE IRANIAN REPORTS OF A SPONTANEOUS STUDENT DEMONSTRATION OF UNHAPPINESS WITH BRITISH SANCTIONS....IT'S WORTH CHECKING THE PHOTOS TODAY  IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, OR ITS WEBSITE, SOME SHOWING MEN IN THEIR 40'S AND PERHAPS 50'S...STUDENTS FOR SURE !!!!!!....MORE LIKE THE "BASIJ MILITIA".... THE IRANIAN REGIME'S GOONS WHO HELPED QUELL THE MINI-REBELLION AWHILE AGO IN THE STREETS OF TEHRAN.......AND YET YOU WILL READ OF THE "STUDENTS" WHO RAIDED THE EMBASSY......THIS IS SO MUCH LIKE ALL THE LIES THAT ARE TAKEN AS " COMPLETE TRUTH " REGARDING THE REPORTING OF ANY INCIDENTS ON ISRAEL'S BORDER WITH GAZA, OR THE ACTS OF TERROR PERPETRATED FROM THE ARAB AREAS IN JUDEA AND SAMARIA, OR THE ISRAELI CONSTRUCTION IN NORTHERN, WESTERN, AND SOUTHERN JERUSALEM DESCRIBED AS "OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM", AND THE READERS AND VIEWERS OF OUR NEWS REPORTS JUST ACCEPT IT ALL AS HONEST REPORTING......WE MUST ALL BE VIGILANT AND WAKE UP, ......BECAUSE OUR VITAL INTERESTS AND OUR FUTURE WELL BEING ARE AT STAKE ....WE MUST CONTINUALLY BE AWARE OF THE LACK OF REACTION AND IGNORANCE BY MOST AMERICANS TO (WHAT SEEMS LIKE) "MINOR" NEWS REPORTING ISSUES......HOWARD

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa opening on November 28, called COP-17, is one of a series of UN meetings working toward a specific goal. Advertising for this meeting features a long list of invited celebrities including Angelina Jolie, U2's Bono, Ted Turner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Gore, and Michael Bloomberg.

The UN goal is to move the United States into global government by environmental regulations and a vast network of taxes. These newly-imposed taxes will give the UN a tremendous stream of money in addition to U.S. dues and congressional appropriations.

The plan for taxes was launched at the 1992 UN meeting in Rio de Janeiro, known as the Earth Summit, where Conference Secretary General Maurice Strong produced a 300-page document with 40 proposals called Agenda 21. The tax-seeking route then proceeded through UN meetings in Cancun in 2010, in Durban this November, and will be finalized next year at what is called Rio+20 (i.e., Rio de Janeiro after 20 years).

November 30, 2011
 
  DRIZZLE FIZZLES ANTI-RUSH PROTEST IN NYC  Last night, talk radio superstar Rush Limbaugh made a rare public appearance in NYC at a Times Square theater. Several Left-wing groups announced plans to protest against and hopefully disrupt Limbaugh's speech. Blaze video cameras were on hand to cover the protest. Witness the protester's anemic efforts HERE.

woman's racist rant gets her arrested   A YouTube video of a British woman's hateful and vulgar rant on a train in England has resulted in her arrest. See the video -- which includes footage of the woman holding a small child on her lap as she spews her hate -- HERE.

WHAT DID ANN COULTER REALLY SAY?   Ann Coulter's comments about former GOP Presidential nominee John McCain were cut from MSNBC on Tuesday and created much speculation regarding the alleged offensive term used. Ms. Coulter cleared it all up for us. Find out what she really said HERE.

MICHELE BACHMANN TELLS BECK WE'RE FACING 'A NEW AXIS OF EVIL'   On Tuesday, Congresswoman and Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann stopped by the GBTV studios and talked with Glenn about the new and potentially larger "Axis of Evil" that is currently developing. Find out which countries Bachmann believes could unite and present a significant threat to freedom HERE.

Bye Bye, Barney

By Discover The Networks

After three decades in Congress, Rep. Barney Frank, the very embodiment of modern leftism, has announced that he will retire after completing his current term.

Read more: 

Featured Posts 

'OCCUPIED' Constitutional Amendment Would Eliminate Due Process for Corporations 

Does Obama Know the Difference between Great Britain and England? 

Critics Applaud Heritage-AEI-CNN Presidential Debate 

Iran Orchestrates Attacks on British Embassy Compounds in Tehran 

The National Popular Vote Scheme Isn't So Popular 

QUICK HITS

Despite declaring a moratorium on earmarks, some Members of the House and Senate have tried to insert hundreds of spending provisions into at least 10 bills in the summer and fall.

More than 200 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested in Los Angeles early this morning after an unlawful assembly was declared and the protesters refused to leave. Few protesters now remain in the camp.

Some two million workers in the United Kingdom went on strike today in protest over proposed pension reforms. Workers in schools, hospitals, police stations, and airports are among those off the job.

Britain is withdrawing its diplomatic staff from Iran following the storming of its embassy in Tehran on Tuesday. British Foreign Secretary William Hague is expected to make a statement to Parliament on how the nation will retaliate.

The Grumpy Troll Restaurant and Brewpub is one of over 22,000 companies that received $16,000 cash grants from the federal government to install solar panels on their roofs. Read more at Foundry.org.

Today's Headlines:  Wednesday, November 30, 2011

WH: Obama Undecided on Whether to Impose Regulation Forcing Catholics to Act Against Their Faith

Gallup: Obama's Approval 'Well Shy of Where ... It Likely Needs Be' for 2012 Win
  Cal Thomas says: "I don't know what I'd do without the Media Research Center...It's a tremendous resource for me." Please make a tax-deductible gift to MRC today!

Top Democrat Criticizes GOP for Supporting Tax Cuts But Won't Commit to New Spending Cuts in Fight Over Payroll Tax

Former Senate Majority Leader: Obesity 'Threatens Our Security as a Nation'

Gingrich Blasts Obama Administration Over Immigration Litigation

Hat Tip to Obama Campaign: 'Grab a Bite With Mitt' Promo Seeks $5 Donations

OPM Director: Working for the Federal Government Is 'Cool'

'Sophisticated' Drug-Smuggling Tunnel Found at U.S.-Mexico Border

Palestinians Try to Resurrect a U.N. Resolution They Violently Rejected 62 Years Ago

COMMENTARY:

Romney Voted for Population-Control Fanatic Presidential Candidate
By Terence P. Jeffrey
When he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992, Paul Tsongas said he believed that "controlling world population is the No. 1 environmental issue." He loathed President George H.W. Bush's flip-flopping on abortion. And Mitt Romney voted for him in the primary.

Let's Kill Cain's Campaign
By L. Brent Bozell III
The media can't deny they continue to display a lousy double standard. For Republican candidates, scandalous news is instant. For Democrats, it's eventual, if at all!

Obama's Cloud-Based Transparency
By Michelle Malkin
The Obama White House has rolled out countless executive orders and initiatives touting open government. But behind the scenes, Obama's lawyers systematically have stymied public information requests, carved out disclosure loopholes, fought subpoenas, and made routine the holiday document dump.

NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP:

Despite earmark ban, lawmakers try to give money to hundreds of pet projects
Sens. Toomey, McCaskill stir pot with proposal for permanent earmarks ban
Iran's 'family protection bill' enshrines men's right to multiple marriages
Georgetown students shed light on China's tunnel system for nuclear weapons
Senate Republicans will offer a new proposal to extend payroll tax holiday
Obama takes tax pitch to 'must-win' state of Pennsylvania
Push for balanced budget amendment sparks debate
RI governor draws outrage for insisting on 'holiday tree'
Some college profs adding video games to their courses to 'stimulate learning'
Ron Paul's family publishes 2012 cookbook
Eric Holder to Daily Caller: Quit pressing me to quit
Perry gets U.S. voting age wrong in New Hampshire speech
Holiday Poll: 1 in 4 dreads seeing family; 15% hates being nice

Chronicle · November 30, 2011

The Foundation

"The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men." --Alexander Hamilton

Editorial Exegesis

Barney Frank is headed for the exit

"It is a newspaper truism that what is good for journalism is bad for the country, and vice versa. Let's just say that regarding the pending retirement of Congressman Barney Frank, we're delighted to make the professional sacrifice. Few House Members have made a bigger legislative mark, and arguably no one so expensively. Mr. Frank deserves to be forever remembered -- and we'll help everyone remember him -- as the nation's leading protector of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before their fall. For years Barney helped block meaningful reform of the mortgage giants while pushing an 'affordable housing' agenda that helped to enlarge the subprime mortgage industry. 'I do think I do not want the same kind of focus on safety and soundness that we have in OCC [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] and OTS [Office of Thrift Supervision],' Mr. Frank said on September 25, 2003, in one of his many legendary rhetorical hits. 'I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing.' The dice came up snake-eyes for the housing market and U.S. economy. Democracy can be unfair, and for his sins Mr. Frank was rewarded with the chairmanship of the Financial Services Committee in 2009 and an opening to remake the U.S. financial industry. It was like asking Charlie Sheen to teach an anger management class. The result was Dodd-Frank, which didn't solve the 'too big to fail' problem but did make banks even more subject to the wishes of Washington. The crony capitalism exemplified by Fannie and Freddie became more broadly embedded in U.S. financial markets. ... Liberals who regret Mr. Frank's departure needn't worry too much. The next Democrat in line to run Financial Services is California's Maxine Waters, whose main contribution to Dodd-Frank was requiring racial-preference officers at each of the regional Federal Reserve banks. Journalists may not miss Mr. Frank after all." --The Wall Street Journal

How will you remember Barney Frank's legacy in the House?

Upright

"If you thought Rep. Barney Frank was bad, his likely replacement is worse. Rep. Maxine Waters is Congress' most anti-bank member -- unless she owns stock in one, that is. ... When in 2003, the publicly created mortgage giants [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] became dangerously overleveraged with weak mortgages, Waters pushed them to underwrite even 'more products where you have no down payments.' She accused critics of the quotas of discriminating against minorities and the poor. ... She lobbied to exclude them and their government-mandated affordable housing charter from the 'sweeping financial reforms.' And she got her wish. She also got another wish: a provision exempting minority-owned banks from the new oversight. Quite interesting. Because at the same time she got that little gem added to the bill, she was under investigation for steering federal bailout money to a troubled minority-owned bank in which she and her husband held a large financial stake." --Investor's Business Daily

"Under a new 893-page proposal unveiled last week, automakers must hit a fleet-wide fuel economy average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 -- double today's 27.3 standard. The government says it would cost automakers $8.5 billion per year to comply, which means a spike in sticker prices of at least $2,000 to $2,800, according to official projections. ... The Obama Administration is pointing to the supposed benefits of the new standards -- including a fuel savings of $1.7 trillion -- but as [Heritage Foundation's Diane] Katz writes, that number is 'pure speculation given that actual savings would depend on the price of gasoline,' which can't be predicted 14 years into the future, much less next summer. ... The EPA should not be in the business of picking and choosing what kind of cars and trucks Americans can drive, and neither should President Obama." --Heritage Foundation's Mike Brownfield

"Last week, 5,000 files of private email correspondence among several of the world's top climate scientists were anonymously leaked onto the Internet. Like the first 'climategate' leak of 2009, the latest release shows top scientists in the field fudging data, conspiring to bully and silence opponents, and displaying far less certainty about the reliability of anthropogenic global warming theory in private than they ever admit in public. The scientists include men like Michael Mann of Penn State University and Phil Jones of the University of East Anglia, both of whose reports inform what President Obama has called 'the gold standard' of international climate science, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)." --columnist James Delingpole

The Demo-gogues

Sometimes they get it right: "This country has never had a congressman like Barney Frank, and the House of Representatives will not be the same without him." --Barack Obama

Blather: "Barney is a fighter for fairness in financial services and civil rights for all, including minorities and LGBT Americans. Because of his leadership, the Financial Services Committee has been one of the most productive committees in Congress. ... I hope to use my experience to continue and expand his work in the committee. I will continue to champion practical regulations, while making sure they work for consumers and the financial sector, a sector which has the right to be profitable but the obligation to be fair, two concepts which are not mutually exclusive." --Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Excuses: "If I were to run again, I would be engaged full-fledged in a campaign, which is entirely appropriate. Nobody ought to expect to get elected without a contest. But the fact that [the district] is so new makes it harder in terms of learning about new areas, introducing myself to new people. And I have other obligations; one is to continue to serve the people I currently serve." --Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who is avoiding mentioning the writing on the wall for Democrats in 2012

High-minded socialist: "Over the last decade, we became a country that relied too much on what we bought and consumed." --Barack Obama

Irony: "[N]o matter how tough things are right now, we still give thanks for that most American of blessings, the chance to determine our own destiny. The problems we face didn't develop overnight, and we won't solve them overnight." --Barack Obama, the man who wants to take away the chance for each American to determine his own destiny

Insight

"Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent." --Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790)

"Leadership is a gift. It's given by those who follow. You have to be worthy of it." --Gen. Mark Welsh, Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe

Dezinformatsia

Speaking truth to power: "[I]'m not going to get caught up in ... what a hypocrite [Barack Obama] is. It doesn't matter. ... Because that will all come out in the wash. So, what's great is that the Republicans clearly don't want to win and that's good for Obama." --MSNBC's Mike Brzezinski on Newt Gingrich's ascendency

Projection: "The Republicans have a problem. They are consumed by hate, so consumed they can't think positively of whom they may want to lead them." --MSNBC's Chris Matthews

And that's a bad thing? "If you take all the taxes paid in the United States and you compared them against other countries, the U.S. overall taxes are the lowest as a percentage of the economy among developing countries. About one out of every four dollars in the whole economy is paid in taxes. That's lower than any other country in the developed world. In Denmark it's as high as about 50 percent." --CQ Roll Call's David Hawkings

The BIG Lie: "But the notion that tax cuts or tax increases somehow impact economic growth, we know historically that's simply not the case. ... Isn't that one of the falsehoods that's peddled in Washington?" --NBC's David Gregory

More taxes: "Why should 1990s taxes be considered the outer limit of revenue collection? Think about it: The long-run budget outlook has darkened, which means that some hard choices must be made. Why should those choices only involve spending cuts? Why not also push some taxes above their levels in the 1990s?" --New York Times columnist Paul Krugman

Newspulper Headlines:

Are Any of Them Fruits?: "Rep. Frank: Some Members of Congress Are 'Vegetables'" --TheHill.com

That's Mr. Barney Frank: "The Real Reason to Miss Barney Frank" --TheAtlantic.com

No, but That Budget Does Make You Look Fat: "Democrats on the Latest GOP Debt Offer: 'Do We Look Stupid?'" --TheHill.com

We Blame George W. Bush: "Today's Polarized Politics ... Blame FDR and the Political Scientists" --David Shribman syndicated column

Client No. 99%: "Eliot Spitzer and Occupy Wall Street Find Each Other" --Politico.com

Questions Nobody Is Asking: "Are We Getting Nicer?" --The New York Times

Bottom Story of the Day: "Obama Raffles Off Another Dinner With Donors" --USA Today website

(Thanks to The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto)

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Village Idiots

Paying people to not work = jobs: "[U]nemployment insurance has been recognized by outside economists and by members of both parties as vital assistance to an economy to help it grow and create jobs. It is a direct injection, if you will, into the bloodstream of the economy. And so we very much support extension of unemployment insurance. If we do not do that, approximately six million Americans will lose their benefits over the course of next year. And that will obviously have very negative impact on their lives, but a negative impact on the economy." --White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

Class warfare from a rich guy: "Occupy Wall Street people understand that not only are more difficult times possibly around the corner, they know that the current government will likely do as it has historically done, which is to protect the rich and powerful at the expense of the long term interests of the middle class. Some of the most financially successful people in America continually remind us all that capitalism is a contest. There are winners and losers. And the winners want to enjoy their success and they want the losers to keep it down." --wealthy actor Alec Baldwin

Peaceful protests? "Poor children need more than just a $1,000 for their family, they need a war against poverty to make it a major priority in the way which we have a priority for Afghanistan, and a priority to bail out banks, and a priority to defend corporate interests when it comes to environmental issues. ... [The push for more entitlements] is going to be fought in the streets. ... That's why the Occupy movement is so important because some of this is going to be fought in the streets." --Princeton professor Cornel West

Who asked him? "Compromise is how this country was founded, and unless two people in disagreement with each other don't find a way to reach out to one another and make compromises, you don't get a consensus that allows you to move forward. But the Tea Party point of view of no compromise whatsoever is not a point of view that will eventually produce a presidential candidate who will win." --former Defense Secretary Colin Powell

Short Cuts

"It's the Democrats whose position is that the only problem in Washington, D.C., is the peasants aren't sending enough cash in for the king to spend." --Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform

"If Democrats could balance the budget tomorrow and quadruple government spending, they'd refuse the deal unless they could also make Republicans break their tax pledge. That is their single-minded goal. But the media are trying to turn it around and say that it's Republicans who are crazy for refusing to consider raising taxes no matter how much they get in spending cuts." --columnist Ann Coulter

"The Occupy movement, as many Democratic strategists view it, possibly out of desperation, with no other issue available to them, signals mainstream America's disgust with big money and its desire for a cut of same. That would contradict the basic American understanding -- leave aside tantalizingly worded poll questions -- that taking other people's money solves nothing in the long run. ... 'Equality' -- find it if you can. There's no such beast." --columnist William Murchison

"Congressman Barney Frank accused some members of Congress of being vegetables. Is this wise? If Barney Frank accuses some members of Congress of being vegetables he opens himself up to the deduction that some members of Congress are fruits." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"Over the weekend, President Obama took his daughters to a bookstore. Barack bought Malia 'The Phantom Tollbooth,' while Malia bought Barack 'Economics for Dummies.'" --comedian Jimmy Fallon

Village Idiots

Paying people to not work = jobs: "[U]nemployment insurance has been recognized by outside economists and by members of both parties as vital assistance to an economy to help it grow and create jobs. It is a direct injection, if you will, into the bloodstream of the economy. And so we very much support extension of unemployment insurance. If we do not do that, approximately six million Americans will lose their benefits over the course of next year. And that will obviously have very negative impact on their lives, but a negative impact on the economy." --White House Press Secretary Jay Carney

Class warfare from a rich guy: "Occupy Wall Street people understand that not only are more difficult times possibly around the corner, they know that the current government will likely do as it has historically done, which is to protect the rich and powerful at the expense of the long term interests of the middle class. Some of the most financially successful people in America continually remind us all that capitalism is a contest. There are winners and losers. And the winners want to enjoy their success and they want the losers to keep it down." --wealthy actor Alec Baldwin

Peaceful protests? "Poor children need more than just a $1,000 for their family, they need a war against poverty to make it a major priority in the way which we have a priority for Afghanistan, and a priority to bail out banks, and a priority to defend corporate interests when it comes to environmental issues. ... [The push for more entitlements] is going to be fought in the streets. ... That's why the Occupy movement is so important because some of this is going to be fought in the streets." --Princeton professor Cornel West

Who asked him? "Compromise is how this country was founded, and unless two people in disagreement with each other don't find a way to reach out to one another and make compromises, you don't get a consensus that allows you to move forward. But the Tea Party point of view of no compromise whatsoever is not a point of view that will eventually produce a presidential candidate who will win." --former Defense Secretary Colin Powell

Short Cuts

"It's the Democrats whose position is that the only problem in Washington, D.C., is the peasants aren't sending enough cash in for the king to spend." --Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform

"If Democrats could balance the budget tomorrow and quadruple government spending, they'd refuse the deal unless they could also make Republicans break their tax pledge. That is their single-minded goal. But the media are trying to turn it around and say that it's Republicans who are crazy for refusing to consider raising taxes no matter how much they get in spending cuts." --columnist Ann Coulter

"The Occupy movement, as many Democratic strategists view it, possibly out of desperation, with no other issue available to them, signals mainstream America's disgust with big money and its desire for a cut of same. That would contradict the basic American understanding -- leave aside tantalizingly worded poll questions -- that taking other people's money solves nothing in the long run. ... 'Equality' -- find it if you can. There's no such beast." --columnist William Murchison

"Congressman Barney Frank accused some members of Congress of being vegetables. Is this wise? If Barney Frank accuses some members of Congress of being vegetables he opens himself up to the deduction that some members of Congress are fruits." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"Over the weekend, President Obama took his daughters to a bookstore. Barack bought Malia 'The Phantom Tollbooth,' while Malia bought Barack 'Economics for Dummies.'" --comedian Jimmy Fallon

Pennsylvania becomes major battleground for Obama in 2012

By Anne E. Kornblut and David Nakamura, Published: November 29

The Obama campaign says it is working on an expanded electoral map in 2012, preparing for battle in so many places that it can afford to lose some of the big, traditional states he won four years ago. Pennsylvania is not one of those states.

As is clear from President Obama's Wednesday visit to Scranton, some battlegrounds are more equal than others.

Every Democratic nominee in the past two decades has won Pennsylvania - and Obama did so by a comfortable margin in 2008 - but the state has grown less hospitable to Obama in the past three years. Republicans swept the 2010 midterms, winning the governor's seat, a Senate seat and five congressional districts, including the 11th District, where Obama will appear on Wednesday.

Yet unlike other similarly challenging states - Ohio and Florida - where Democrats think they can lose and still win overall, Pennsylvania's 20 electoral college votes are still key to almost any path to 270 electoral college votes. "It's hard to figure out a scenario for a Democrat to win the presidency without carrying Pennsylvania," former Democratic governor Ed Rendell, a prominent Obama supporter, said. "It's not impossible, but it's very, very hard."

Obama aides believe the president maintains a strong advantage in Pennsylvania because of the Democrats' lead in registered voters - 4.14 million Democrats compared with 3.03 million Republicans, according to the state election office, although that advantage did nothing to blunt Republican gains in 2010.

The delusional Democrats plot Obama's "Path to 270": saying it doesn't make it so

Nov 30, 2011 05:13 am | Coach Collins

  By Kevin "Coach" Collins   Seeing the curtain slowly but steadily descend on their socialist reign has apparently scared a few well known Democrat analysts into publishing a "plan" to reelect Barack Obama.  Reading it, one can almost hear the socialist anthem  The Internationale.   The "Path to 270" (Pt270) plan denies the realities of the very demographics it uses and the only honest feature of its make up is an acknowledgement that White people are not going to vote for Democrats any time soon.   Pt270 believes Obama can magically cut Democrat loses among college grads to 15% instead of the 30% beating they got in 2010 when unemployment among college graduates was 4.2%.    A Gallup poll of college graduates finds 11% unemployed or under-employed which is 2% above the national average. It would be an amazing and quite unlikely feat to keep Democrats loses down to "only" last year's ... Continue Reading:The delusional Democrats plot Obama's "Path to 270": saying it doesn't make it so

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American Minute for November 29th

Nov 29, 2011 04:13 pm | Coach Collins

 Coachisright.com is pleased have American history scholar; nationally known speaker and best selling author William J Federer's  American Minute column as a part of CiR's team.

 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

His death went unnoticed, as he died the same day John F. Kennedy was shot, but his works are some of the most widely read in English literature.

Originally an agnostic, he served in World War I and became a professor at Oxford and Cambridge.

He credits his Catholic friend and fellow writer, J.R.R. Tolkien, author ... Continue Reading:American Minute for November 29th

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I need research help: do the Democrats have a candidate in your Congressional District?

Nov 29, 2011 01:13 pm | Coach Collins

 By Kevin "Coach" Collins

 With the departure of Barney Frank, there are now 17 Congressional Democrats that will not be running for re-election. This brings a question to mind: Do the Democrats even have enough first tier candidates to cover all of the districts in America?

 As a former political consultant I know that winning campaigns are NOT launched in December of the year before Election Day. Anyone who actually has a chance of winning, especially as a challenger, MUST get rolling by April of the year before.

 In my own district the 13th New York, we have a freshman who won with less than 4% and we are in New York City. Nevertheless, we have NO Democrat challenger and no real prospects for one.   The Democrats can't find a challenger to a Republican freshmen who won by less than 4% in NEW YORK CITY! The Democrat we kicked out has no stomach for a re-run.

 Now, we are ... Continue Reading:I need research help: do the Democrats have a candidate in your Congressional District?

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 342 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS


Obama Ratchets Up The Rhetoric

Barack Obama was in Scranton, Pennsylvania, today selling his Social Security payroll tax cut. Not surprisingly, he ratcheted up his class warfare rhetoric in his sales pitch to this largely blue-collar area.

I think tax cuts are great. And I think it is telling that even Obama's economic advisors are strongly recommending that this tax cut be not only renewed, but also expanded because of its economic benefits. But Obama and his liberal congressional allies are proposing to pay for this "middle class" tax cut by raising taxes on small business owners and entrepreneurs. They are, once again, dividing us -- pitting one group of Americans against another.

As one commentator noted, Pennsylvania "has voted Democratic in the last five presidential elections." That Obama felt the need to deliver this speech in Scranton suggests the Democrats are afraid of losing the Keystone State, and with good reason. I think the good people of Pennsylvania should remind themselves of two things, and hopefully the state GOP will help them remember.

Just a few years ago, Obama went to San Francisco and mocked the very people he spoke to today. As the 2008 Pennsylvania primary approached, Obama was asked at a fundraiser filled with left-coast liberals why he was having a hard time connecting with folks in small towns in states like Pennsylvania. Obama responded that economic difficulties lead those middle Americans to become "bitter, and that they cling to guns or religion ... as a way to explain their frustrations."

Unfortunately for Pennsylvanians, economic conditions haven't gotten any better during Obama's time in office. In fact, they have gotten worse. When Obama took office, the unemployment rate in Pennsylvania was 6.8%. Today it is above 8%. If voters in Pennsylvania are bitter, Obama is a big part of the problem. And that leads to the second thing I hope folks there remember.

Scranton is sitting on top of massive wealth -- huge natural gas deposits locked in the Marcellus Shale formation. Yet the Obama Administration and its radical environmentalist allies are hostile to the oil and gas industry. Rather than supporting successful industries and utilizing proven resources, Obama has wasted billions of hard-earned tax dollars chasing after windmills and other so-called alternative energy projects, while doing everything he possibly can to stifle domestic production of traditional energy sources.


In Defense Of Capitalism

Like Georgia small businessman Bill Looman, Leon Cooperman, CEO of Omega Advisors, has had enough of Obama. Monday Cooperman sent a blistering letter to President Obama, taking him to task for his "desperate demagoguery."

The entire letter is worth reading, and we will post a link on our home page at cwfpac.com. But Cooperman also defends capitalism, and I want to share that portion of his letter.

"Capitalism is not the source of our problems, as an economy or as a society, and capitalists are not the scourge that they are too often made out to be. As a group, we employ many millions of taxpaying people, pay their salaries, provide them with healthcare coverage, start new companies, found new industries, create new products, fill store shelves at Christmas, and keep the wheels of commerce and progress (and indeed of government, by generating the income whose taxation funds it) moving.

"To frame the debate as one of rich-and-entitled versus poor-and-dispossessed is to both miss the point and further inflame an already incendiary environment. It is also a naked, political pander to some of the basest human emotions - a strategy, as history teaches, that never ends well for anyone but totalitarians and anarchists."

Cooperman is right. Capitalism may not be perfect, but socialism does not work. Just look at Greece. Please share this message with friends and family members who may be tempted by the siren's song of the Occupy Wall Street movement or on the fence about supporting Obama next year.


Has The War With Iran Already Started?

There are a lot of reasons to think that a war with Iran is looming. But a series of recent events might lead one to suspect it has already begun.

Two weeks ago, an explosion near Bid Kaneh virtually destroyed an entire military industrial complex devoted to Iran's ballistic missile program, killing a major general and more than a dozen others. Earlier this week, another explosion occurred in Isfahan, seriously damaging a key nuclear facility.

Intelligence experts doubt both explosions were accidents. Gen. Giora Eiland, a former director of Israel's National Security Council, said, "There aren't many coincidences, and when there are so many events there is probably some sort of guiding hand, though perhaps it's the hand of God."

Tuesday, in a scene awfully reminiscent of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran. The British government evacuated its embassy staff, and Britain has expelled Iranian diplomats in London in retaliation. France has recalled its ambassador from Tehran, and the Norwegians closed their embassy as tensions rise.


The Christmas Wars Begin

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee is taking heat today for announcing that the official lighting of the state's "holiday tree" will take place on December 6th at the capitol building. State lawmakers and religious leaders are not happy.

In protest, State Rep. Doreen Costa (R) will put a Christmas tree in her office. Costa said, "Anybody that wants to go see a holiday tree can do so, but I will be decorating a Christmas tree. It may only be a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but at least it will be a Christmas tree." Bishop Thomas Tobin called Chafee's rhetoric "most disheartening and divisive," adding that it was "an affront to the faith of many citizens."

Meanwhile, homosexual rights groups have once again launched an effort to boycott the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign because of its opposition to homosexuality. You'll probably run across one of the Salvation Army's bell ringers in the days ahead, and I encourage you to support their efforts. You can learn about other ways to donate to the Salvation Army here.

Also, our friends at Liberty Council have put together a "Naughty & Nice" list identifying retailers that are Christmas-friendly and those that are not. It is good to see many major retailers on the "Nice" list such as Walmart, which has told employees and greeters they are free to say "Merry Christmas." You can thank Walmart here.    

Once You Go Conservative Black, You Better Watch Your Back