Quote: 

Fellow patriots,

It appears that the Obama Administration's fondness for Chairman Mao

(see http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xavr4q_second-obama-administration-officia_news ) and

Che Guevara (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jun/22/hillary-clinton-adviser-alec-ross ) wasn't just talk.  It looks like our mainstream media has been transformed into a tool of the administration.

How do I know?  The state of Georgia has just declared that Barack Obama does not have the qualifications required to be President, which should be blockbuster news in itself, further amplified by the fact that this is an election year.  And yet, not a single mainstream news source is reporting this shock to the nation, not even Fox News, which seems to be losing its "fair and balanced" bearings in the wake of the NewsCorp eavesdropping scandals.  To see what I mean, check out the political news sections of our top news providers (below) and then read the article reporting Georgia's decision, at bottom.

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032553/ns/politics/ 
• http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/ 
• http://abcnews.go.com/politics 
• http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/politics/main250.shtml?tag=hdr;cnav 
• http://www.foxnews.com/politics/index.html 

Et tu, Fox News? 

Here's the real story of the day, and possibly the century (below): Obama guilty of Contempt of Court, offers no defense to incriminating evidence, found unqualified to hold office of President by Georgia Judge Michael Malihi.  No matter what side of the political spectrum you're on, this is huge news, a showdown unlike anything we've seen in decades.  If we can't trust the news media to report on stories that affect our lives this profoundly, how can we trust them to help us form accurate impressions on the threat of Islamism and Obama's performance as defender of the Free World?

Dave

**  URGENT ACTION ITEM  **

Dear Friends,

Please see the message below my signature from State Representative Jim Cox concerning a new on-line petition to support school property tax elimination efforts.

Representative Cox's school property tax elimination legislation that is fully supported by the PTCC and PCTA will be introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the very near future and will be introduced shortly thereafter in the Senate by Senator David Argall.

It is extremely important that you visit Representative Cox's website and submit the petition as soon as possible.  Since each member of your family can separately sign the petition, please have them do so, too.  Your effort will be a huge help in moving the school property tax elimination effort forward during the coming months.  PLEASE do it immediately!

Because of the extreme importance of this Action Item I've kept it short and to the point.  There is much more news and information about the Property Tax Independence Act that I'll be sending in later Updates.  For more details, please visit the PTCC website at www.ptcc.us.

Please act now to help the cause by signing the petition and forwarding this email to everyone on your Pennsylvania email address list.

As always, thank you for your help and support.

David Baldinger

PTCC Administrator

On January 17th a group of six teenagers brutally attacked 64 Uear-Old Vietnam Veteran Edward Schaefer on the streets of Philadelphia. This Fundraiser will help defray the medical costs of Mr. Schaefer.  Mr. Schaefer sacrificed for us 40 years ago and it's time to welcome him home and thank him for his service. Please come out that night and help us say "thank you ".  

FUNDRAISER

For

Vietnam Veteran

EDWARD SCHAEFER

Wednesday February 1, 2012

6pm to 8 pm

$30 Donation

CASH BAR - COMPLEMENTARY FOOD

PRIZES AND OTHER GOODIES

LIBERTIES BAR

705 N. 2^nd Street

DOM GIORDANO

This event will help defray the medical costs of Mr. Schaefer who was assaulted recently.

Mr. Schaefer sacrificed for us 40 years ago and it's time to welcome him home and thank him for his service.

Please come out that night and help us say "thank you ".

For those who wish to write a check, please make it out to Edward Schaefer and mail the check to:

Edward Schaefer

C/O Joe Eastman

918 Winter Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

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)

Video: Watch the full CNN Florida Republican debate 

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 10:01 PM PST

The four remaining GOP candidates battled for the last time before the Florida primary in a debate sponsored by CNN, the Republican Party of Florida and the Hispanic Leadership Network. This debate took place at the University of North Florida located in Jacksonville.

Here is the entire debate video via YouTube:

Dear Patriot,

Next TJC meeting, Sunday, February 12^th, 7pm at the Temperance House, 5 South State Street, Newtown, PA.  We are having this meeting on Sunday due to our speaker's travel schedule.  We are very pleased to present Belgian and European Member of Parliament Filip Dewiner.  Mr. Dewinter is the leader of the Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) Party in Belgium.  A champion of freedom, sovereignty and national self-determination, Mr. Dewinter will present on the "Defense of the West" and what this means for both Europe and the United States. 

All the best,

Jeff McGeary

Hey All,

Please spread the word on this panel discussion and consider attending.  As per earlier emails, implementing an exchange in PA is de-facto acceptance of ObamaCare. Other states have refused to implement the exchanges in keeping with the spirit of total resistance.  Nick Pandelides is leading the fight for our side and is on the panel.

There will be more coming out shortly on next steps that individuals and groups can do lobby Harrisburg and exert public pressure to have Pennsylvania's collaboration with ObamaCare ended.  You can follow developments on the following facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/stopobamacarepa

The Lehigh Valley COALITION for Health Care Reform presents:

Everything You Wanted to Know About: 

Creating a Health Insurance Exchange in PA

(but didn't know who to ask) 

WHAT:  Debate on the Creation of a Health Care Exchange in PA,                

as mandated by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)   

WHEN:  6:30 - 8 p.m., Wednesday, February 1, 2012  

WHERE:  Ground Floor Meeting Room, Bethlehem Area Public Library

                11 W. Church St., Bethlehem, PA 18018  

WHO:  Panelists include:  

Nick Pandelides, M.D., Vice President, PA Chapter, Docs 4 Patient Care            

Ralph Schmeltz, M.D., Immediate Past President, Pennsylvania Medical Society             

(Additional panelists may participate.)  

ADMISSION:  Free, but space is limited, so please RSVP.  

RSVP:  register at:   www.Meetup.com/Lehigh-Valley-Coalition-for-Health-Care-Reform  

LIVE STREAMING VIDEO: www.ustream.tv/channel/coalition-for-health-care-reform   

THE ISSUE:  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates that small businesses and individuals must purchase health insurance and obtain government insurance subsidies through state-based federally regulated health insurance exchanges beginning in 2014.  States which do not design and administer federally compliant exchanges will default to a federal system.  A recent PA Insurance Department announcement that a state-based exchange will be created in PA has generated controversy.  Supporters say an exchange designed and administered in PA will serve Pennsylvanians better than one controlled by the federal government.   Opponents say it is inconsistent for the Commonwealth to institute provisions of the PPACA while engaged in the constitutional challenge against the law.  Our experts will present both sides and answer questions to help YOU decide.

The Lehigh Valley COALITION for Health Care Reform is a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots coalition of concerned citizens and health care professionals committed to educating the public about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and other measures and policies impacting America's health.

http://www.meetup.com/Lehigh-Valley-Coalition-for-Health-Care-Reform

Weekly News From Philadelphia ZOA

Shabbat Shalom!

Philadelphia ZOA Quarterly Meeting

Wednesday, Feb. 29, 7:30 p.m., at Temple Beth Hillel/Beth El, 1001 Remington Rd., Wynnewood.

Our guest speaker will be State Representative Curt Schroder, who recently returned from a trip to Israel along with other lawmakers from the commonwealth on a trip sponsored and organized by the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition. Schroder, a Republican, represents the 155th District, in Chester County. He is serving his ninth term.

The meeting is free and open to the public. Please

encourage those you know to also attend.

*             *             *

We are thrilled to be able to bring to Philadelphia Pamela Geller, a modern-day Jewish superheroine who via her Web site, "Atlas Shrugs" (http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/); speeches; articles; and books alerts us about the dangers of militant Islam and its accomplices who threaten the U.S., Israel and Western Civilization - and she fights back. Come hear her no-nonsense observations and advice. Her topic: "The March of Muslim Extremists:  Implications for America, Israel and the West and How To Stop It In Its Tracks." Geller's talk will take place on Monday, March 19, at 6:45 p.m., at the Jewish Community Services Building, 2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia. Tickets are $10, free for students. Call us at 215-338-9188 or email us at zoa@netreach.net for tickets.

We want to let you know Philadelphia ZOA's activities concerning the University of Pennsylvania boycott, divestment and sanctions conference (Penn BDS) taking place next weekend  -- as well as a couple good responses.

The Greater Philadelphia District of the Zionist Organization of America has not only been actively engaged in confronting this evil conference but we have been intimately involved in the organized Jewish Community's response and have taken the lead role, through our own ongoing "Buy Israel" campaign, in countering the effort to hurt Israel economically. The organized Jewish community has taken this conference seriously and most of the elements of our community have coalesced to form a unified stance. ZOA has attended and contributed to meetings and conference calls where responses, planning and strategies have been formulated and while there have been points of disagreement, we feel it is important in this instance to speak with one voice. We had input in the official community statement condemning the conference, have been kept apprised of details including the major event with Alan Dershowitz next week and have made suggestions concerning security and other initiatives.

Additionally we have met and spoken with students and partnered with a particularly active student to visit businesses both on campus and around the perimeter  -- with samples in hand -- to encourage them to carry items from Israel in their stores and restaurants. ZOA is making sure and providing -- thanks to the good people of Osem USA -- that there will be items from Israel served at special Shabbat dinners at Penn to coincide with the Penn BDS event. We had a letter encouraging people to "Buy Israel" published last week in the Jewish Exponent.

This conference will be in our area for just a weekend, but the foes of Israel are working all the time to harm Israel and the Jewish people. Therefore we who support Israel must be active beyond the period of this conference. I am attaching a copy of our "Buy Israel" flyer with this email. Please use it, circulate it and print it out and take it with you when you do your shopping.

Click to see the flyer HERE . . .

Today, our college graduates face the highest unemployment rates in history.

American 15-year-olds rank 35th out of 57 industrialized countries in math and literacy.

Americans shouldn't rank 35th in anything!

Join Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Dick Morris and other special speakers Saturday, January 28 for a free town hall to "Restore American Exceptionalism" at 2:00 p.m. at the The Hershey Lodge (325 University Drive) in Hershey. Reserve your free tickets here (http://schoolchoicehershey.eventbrite.com/)!

Let's work together to support the future workforce of America.

Don't miss the chance to ask Dick Morris and our other speakers your questions, Saturday, January 28.

GENERAL ADMISSION IS FREE -- BUT you must reserve your free tickets here (http://schoolchoicehershey.eventbrite.com/)!

Restoring American Exceptionalism is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. It's an American issue -- our future depends on it! I hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Stefano

Pennsylvania State Director

Americans for Prosperity Foundation

www.putkidsfirst.org (http://www.putkidsfirst.org/)        

Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) is a nationwide organization of citizen-leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFPF believes reducing the size and intrusiveness of government is the best way to promote individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFPF educates and engages citizens to support restraining state and federal government growth and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFPF is more than 1.8 million activists strong, with activists in all 50 states. AFPF has 34 state chapters and affiliates. More than 90,000 Americans in all 50 states have made a financial contribution to AFP or AFP Foundation.

For more information, visit http://www.americansforprosperityfoundation.com 

DEAR PATRIOTS,

THERE WILL BE NO JANUARY Valley Forge Patriots Tea Party MEETING !!!

The 2012 election is one of the most important in the history of the USA. Two contests which are very important are the Presidential race and the election of a Senator from PA. In order to allow our membership to learn more about those competing to replace Senator Bob Casey.

The Valley Forge Patriots are hosting a

US Senate Candidate Forum on Feb.3^rd 2012

The participants will be Sam Rohrer, Marc Scaringi, Tom Smith and Steve Welch

The forum will be held at the Franklin Commons on 400 Franklin Ave.in Phoenixville from 6:00PM to 8:00 PM. There is plenty of free parking. Food (pizza, chili, etc) and soft drinks will be available. Food service will start at 5:30PM. Attendance is free (donations welcome).

Please RSVP to www.meetup.com/VFP-TeaParty09/ 

For more information www.vfpatriots.com/ 

Nullify Now! Philadelphia

LISTEN LIVE TO REPATRIOT RADIO

"BETTER THAN EVER"

(all times are eastern)

Monday 3-4pm "Bordering on Insanity" - Sue Payne and Frosty Wooldridge

The Case Against Obamacare: Health Care Policy Series for the 112th Congress

For Tea Parties, this can be used as basic ammunition for letters to the editor, columns for your local news outlet, handouts at public events, emailing the pdf to our elected reps as well as to members, friends and neighbors.

This appears to be an excellent resource; let's make use of it.

Lou Flanagan

The General Wayne Tea Party

The first contests in the race for the Republican nomination are just around the corner. To better inform you, we looked beyond the rhetoric to the candidates' actual records on the issues important to families.

This voter guide outlines candidate stances on issues that are important to the family. We researched the candidates' statements and votes on the ten issues that best give voters an understanding on if the candidates match your values. Please use this resource as you think about who you would like to see be the nominee to challenge President Barack Obama.

Download the free guide and be sure to share this resource with your friends and family before the 2012 primary season begins next month.

A values voter is an informed voter.

Sincerely,

Tony Perkins
President

Read more: 

RedState Morning Briefing

For January 30, 2012

1. Nothing's Shocking

2. $16.4 Trillion in Debt By End of Year

So this is what the "age of budget austerity" looks like?

Yesterday, the Senate voted against a measure to disapprove of Obama's request for an additional $1.2 trillion of debt. Every Democrat (except for Ben Nelson and Joe Manchin) voted against the resolution. Consequently, pursuant to the Budget Control Act (the "debt ceiling deal"), Obama will automatically get his new credit card. Our debt will increase by another $1.2 trillion, topping $16.4 trillion by the end of the year.

Here are the relevant numbers that should define Obama's presidency, yet they will not be disseminated in the major media. When Obama took office, the total federal debt stood at $10.6 trillion. By the end of his first term, the debt will be at least $16.4 trillion, an increase of $5.8 trillion. To put that in perspective, it took us until late 2001 (from our nation's founding) to accrue $5.8 trillion in debt. Even President Bush, who was a big-spending Republican, racked up "only" $4.9 trillion over 8 years.

3. Why Mitt Romney's Electability is Not Inevitable

After many months of getting a pass, it seems that the other candidates are willing to finally start hitting Governor Mitt Romney on his major weakness: The Massachusetts Health Care Insurance Reform Law. The bill, known by most as Romneycare, is (as we all have been saying for many moons) the basis for the much maligned Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise affectionately known as Obamacare.

I've been in endless debates and discussions with Romney supporters and surrogates for some time now as they paint a beautiful picture of the ultimate State's Rights battle. They claim that Romneycare vs Obamacare isn't about socialized medicine vs the free market. They say it's actually the core of the Federalist struggle and that Romney will channel Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and march onto the capital steps, fulfilling the dreams and desires of tea partiers nationwide by finally standing up and saying, "Enough is enough! Let the state's make their decisions Obama! Your days of tyranny are at an end!" And they all rejoiced.

Yet, continually when Romney is approached on this subject in the debates with fellow Republicans, he seems incapable of defending any other point and seems befuddled at the idea that there might be more than one part about Obamacare that American's had wholly objected to. For him, it's all about the mandate.

But it's important to keep in mind, Mitt Romney does not object to the concept of mandates. Far from it actually.

4. Why is the GOP Florida Legislature Trying to Screw Allen West?

As an outspoken black conservative with a high national profile, Allen West already had a huge national target painted on his back going in to 2012. As part of reapportionment as a result of the 2010 census, Florida gained 2 Congressional seats. Despite that, it appears that the Republican-controlled Florida legislature seems to have somehow managed to make Allen West's seat much more difficult to defend.

5. What's Wrong with Peak Oil Theory? Consider 'Peak Gas'.

In 1956, M. King Hubbert predicted that crude oil production in the U.S. (ex-Alaska) would peak in rate around 1970, to be followed by a long, irreversible decline. Hubbert nailed the timing of the peak, and in doing so, cemented his status as a technological visionary among neo-Malthusians and opponents of the "fossil fuels". But Hubbert's paper also contained a similar forecast for gas.

In 1956, Hubbert's estimate of the amount of natural gas that would ultimately be consumed in the U.S. was 850 trillion cubic feet (TCF).

In the 1978 update, Hubbert increased his estimate to 1,103 TCF, but considered that value to be on the high side.

By the end of 2010, we had produced and marketed 1,131 TCF from the Lower 48, more gas than Hubbert thought would ever be possible. We find ourselves in the midst of a natural gas boom, with gas production now exceeding the peaks of 1973: rates are over three times higher than the 7 TCF per year Hubbert foresaw for 2010. The Lower 48 resource base is some 3,100 TCF, three to four times Hubbert's earlier estimates.

Heritage Hotsheet

Experts on the Day's Hottest News

Items for January 30, 2012

Afghanistan, Taliban to Talk in Saudi Arabia   

The Wall Street Journal

Iran to halt oil sales to 'some countries'   

CNN.com

Republican hopefuls target Castro in Florida   

The Washington Times

Here's why union membership keeps falling   

The Washington Examiner

Retiring later a tough sell in cutting deficit   

The Washington Times

The Sordid Business of Redistricting by Race   

National Review Online

Latest Heritage Research:

BACKGROUNDER
Time to Modernize and Revitalize the Nuclear Triad

WEBMEMO
Unions' Declining Appeal Shows Need for Alternatives

Give them another reason why
Obama has GOT to go.  

NO. 2

Diss Avatar (method 1).  

Liberals love Avatar. It's the film with everything: oppressed native peoples; a disabled hero; mixed-race (actually mixed species, even better) romance; dumb, probably Republican-voting baddies coming unstuck; Mother Gaia in the form of a pretty, shiny tree; an environmentalist theme. Therefore, never refer to the film as Avatar; instead, use the title of South Park's horribly accurate parody: Dances with Smurfs.  

* VIDEOS * TODAY'S HOT PICKS *  

1. VIDEO: NASCAR Team Throws Support Behind Israel
2. VIDEO: National Park Service Under Fire for Helping 'Occupy' - Megyn Kelly assesses the legality of Occupy protesters camping out on federal land   3. VIDEO: Liberal Hate: High School Teacher Refuses to Accept MLK Award from Paul Ryan
4. VIDEO: British Muslim Annoyed at Terror Bust, Intends to Continue to Change England
5. VIDEO: Who Is Rachel Maddow?  6. VIDEO: Debate over Justice Kagan's Health Care Law Involvement - Will she recuse herself from Obamacare suit?
7. VIDEO: Palestinians Use Nazi 'Sieg Heil' Salute During Fatah Celebration in Lebanon
8. Ex-CIA spy: Iran's Miscalculation Over War
9. VIDEO: NewsBusters Satire: Who says Conservatives have no Sense of Humor? ... Gas expected to hit $5/gallon in summer  10. VIDEO: Jerusalem Dateline: Iran the Ticking Time Bomb 

Aafia Siddiqui Versus Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Sharia Versus Freedom
Jan 28, 2012 06:49 pm

Keystone a Key Ingredient Missing from Obama's Economic Recovery Recipe
Jan 28, 2012 01:46 pm

The Muslim Brotherhood's "General Strategic Goal" For North America
Jan 28, 2012 01:12 pm

The Myth of GOP Stinginess - Obama is Driving Off The Cliff
Jan 28, 2012 12:49 pm

Dredging the Bottom
Jan 28, 2012 11:33 am

Romney's Disconnect on Romneycare and Obamacare
Jan 28, 2012 10:52 am

Jihadists Advocate Establishment of Islamic Caliphate in Pakistan
Jan 28, 2012 10:31 am

The Zionist Imperative
Jan 28, 2012 09:49 am

FBI Alert to Time Share Owners: Scammers on the Prowl
Jan 28, 2012 09:17 am

The Zionist Imperative
Jan 28, 2012 09:49 am

FBI Alert to Time Share Owners: Scammers on the Prowl
Jan 28, 2012 09:17 am

The Islamic Paradise of the Needle and Powder
Jan 27, 2012 05:38 pm

The New York Times Collaborates with Hamas Front Group to Suppress the Truth
Jan 27, 2012 11:44 am

Megaupload's Planned Music Locker - Example of Private Justice?
Jan 27, 2012 11:40 am

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory
Jan 27, 2012 11:37 am

The Drudge Distort
Jan 27, 2012 02:28 am

Iran: The Syrian Highway in the Fight Against Israel Is Still Open
Jan 27, 2012 01:56 am

State of Disunion
Jan 26, 2012 11:34 am

Breaking Up the Western World
Jan 26, 2012 09:39 am

Friday Afternoon Roundup - Dredging the Bottom

 

Republican primaries are like visiting embarrassing relatives, no matter how bad you think it's going to be, it always turns out to be even worse. After months of this we're going to have a convention where we will be asked to believe in one of these men.

The latest attack is that Gingrich was actually anti-Reagan or at least had strong differences with Ronald Reagan. That is a serious attack or would be, if the conclusion to be drawn from even the heavily censored and selected quotes are that Gingrich thought Reagan was being too liberal.

So far the revelations are that Gingrich wanted budget spending frozen, Reagan refused because it would undermine defense. Gingrich said of Reagan's meeting with Gorbachev that it was, "the most dangerous summit for the West since Adolf Hitler met with Neville Chamberlain in 1938 in Munich." And overall that the United States lacked a comprehensive dedicated strategy for defeating the USSR.

The takeaway is that Gingrich was attacking Reagan from the right. Which is not all that damning unless you assume that any deviation from Reagan's positions in any direction is treason. It seems to help Gingrich's conservative credentials more than it hurts him.

If you actually look at the context of some of the remarks, then the tone changes a great deal.

"The fact is that George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Irving Kristol, and Jeane Kirkpatrick are right in pointing out the enormous gap between President Reagan's strong rhetoric, which is adequate, and his administration's weak policies, which are inadequate and will ultimately fail."

Was Gingrich wrong? His views on sitting down with Gorbachev were not all that unusual for many conservatives at the time. Freezing spending might not have been that bad of an idea, whether it was workable is another question. And the United States did not have much of a strategy for defeating the USSR, which spared us the trouble by defeating itself.

When Romney distanced himself from Reagan he appeared to be doing it from the left, the Gingrich attacks appear to have come from the right. The only way they work is if we detach Reagan from conservative principles and place him above them.

As a bonus. Misleadingly edited videos always help make the case. More at The Hayride

Jeffrey Lord at the American Spectator has a piece putting some of the quotes in context, but he doesn't provide the complete floor statement either. It would be good if he did, to avoid all these snippets and see what Gingrich actually said in full so we can decide for ourselves.

 Read more:

Panetta: Pakistan doctor gave US key bin Laden intel

Defense secretary says he is 'very concerned' about Shakil Afridi, who has been charged with treason

msnbc.com staff and news service reports  January 28, 2012  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46173360/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is acknowledging publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the U.S. in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden's compound last May.

Panetta told CBS's "60 Minutes," in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, that Shakil Afridi helped provide intelligence for the raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA and verify bin Laden's presence in the compound.

He has since been charged by Pakistan with treason .

Panetta said he is "very concerned" for the doctor.

'What the hell's going on'?  Panetta also told "60 Minutes" that he remains convinced that someone in the Pakistani government must have had an idea that a person of interest was in the compound.

"I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what ... what was happening at this compound. Don't forget, this compound had 18-foot walls ... It was the largest compound in the area. So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, 'What the hell's going on there?'" Panetta told the show.

He added that he has no proof that Pakistan knew it was bin Laden.

The Pakistani government had hoped to resolve the Afridi matter quietly, once media attention died down, perhaps releasing him to U.S. custody, according to two Pakistani officials.

They requested anonymity because the investigation into charges the doctor behaved treasonously was ongoing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Can Iran close the Strait of Hormuz?

by Dore Gold, ISRAEL HAYOM 
The 45 kilometer-wide Strait of Hormuz is the most important waterway for the movement of oil to Western markets and the Far East: Roughly 17 million barrels per day are moved through the Strait of Hormuz, or 20 percent of the oil traded worldwide. Yet on Dec. 28, 2011, the commander of the Iranian Navy, Admiral Habibolah Sayyari, declared that closing the Strait of Hormuz would be easier "than drinking a glass of water." Iran wanted to intimidate the West, showing that it had options to respond to new sanctions against the Iranian oil industry that were being considered by the EU, and that had been signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama.

Just the rumor that Iran was considering such a move could shoot up the price of oil, which in fact rose by 4% within days of Sayyari's threat. Given the weakness of the European economies at present, Tehran was hoping that it had real leverage that it could employ against the West.
...

Read the whole entry »

Hamas in deep trouble

Guy Bechor, YNET 

Nothing stopped Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in Gaza, from making Ahmadinejad-style declarations that Israel's days are numbered and calling for the establishment of an Arab Jihad army for Palestine's liberation. Yet behind the pretentious slogans lies a grim reality for Hamas that can no longer be hidden.

First, Hamas' alliance with Iran has come to an end. This pact was unnatural to begin with, given that we saw a Sunni organization endorsing a non-Arab Shiite state. Yet when Hamas refused Iran's orders to support the fading Bashar Assad, Tehran shut its door to the group. What's worse, the flow of money used by Hamas to pay some 50,000 officials and troops in Gaza has ended.

So where will Hamas get money? This is why the organization is engaged in bitter disputes with the Palestinian Authority and Arab League over funds supposedly owed to the group.

Hamas was also forced to leave the capital of its external leadership in Damascus. Where...

Read the whole entry »

A Settlements Freeze is an Obstacle to Peace!

Settlements Freeze - an Obstacle to Peace!
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought"
"Israel Hayom" Newsletter,

Abu Mazen's September 23, 2011 UN speech and the Palestinian Authority's education system reaffirm the fact that Jewish settlements within pre-1967 Israel - and not in Judea and Samaria (J&S) - are the root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In his UN speech, Abu Mazen highlighted the "63 years old occupation" since 1948; this message is reinforced throughout his K-12 education system. He heralded the PLO - which was established three years before the 1967 War and before the establishment of contemporary Jewish settlement in J&S - as his supreme authority. Abu Mazen denies the existence of Jewish roots between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Thus, the root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not the J&S settlements, but the existence of the Jewish State.

...

Read the whole entry »

Romney: Palestinians don't want two-state solution, they want to eliminate Israel

WHEN A LEADING PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER SAYS THINGS LIKE THIS , WE KNOW OUR MESSAGE IS GETTING OUT THERE. TED BELMAN

HAARETZ 

The Republican candidate was prompted by a question posed by a Palestinian-American at a Florida debate; opponent Gingrich said in same debate he would move U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as president.
By Natasha Mozgovaya Tags: Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich US elections Barack Obama

Governor Mitt Romney said on Thursday that the Palestinians are not interested in a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, rather that they are interested in the elimination of the State of Israel.

The leading candidate in the race to become the Republican candidate for presidency was prompted by a question posed by a Palestinian-American Republican at a CNN-sponsored debate in Jacksonville, Florida on Thursday night.

Republican presidential candidates former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (L) and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney share a smile in CNN debate,...

Read the whole entry »

Hey Obama, how's Egypt working out for ya?

As Tensions Rise, Egypt Bars Exit of Six Americans
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, NYT

WASHINGTON - Building tensions between the United States and Egypt flashed into the open Thursday when Cairo confirmed that it had barred at least a half-dozen Americans from leaving the country and the Obama administration threatened explicitly to withhold its annual aid to the Egyptian military.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is required to certify that Egypt is taking steps toward democracy before aid can be released.

The travel ban came to light on Thursday after the International Republican Institute, an American-backed democracy-building group, disclosed that the Egyptian authorities had stopped its Egypt director, Sam LaHood, at the Cairo airport on Saturday before he could board a flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Mr. LaHood is the son of Ray LaHood, the secretary of transportation and a former Republican congressman from Illinois. He is one of six Americans...

Read the whole entry »

KAHLILI: Iran already has nuclear weapons

Western intelligence has known it for years 

By Reza Kahlili, The Washington Times, October 27, 2011

The pressure the United States and the West is bringing to bear on Iran to keep it from acquiring nuclear weapons is all for naught. Not only does the Islamic Republic already have nuclear weapons from the old Soviet Union, but it has enough enriched uranium for more. What's worse, it has a delivery system.

The West for nearly a decade has worried about Iran's uranium enhancement, believing Iran is working on a nuclear bomb, though the government maintains its uranium is only for peaceful purposes.

When Iran began its nuclear program in the mid-1980s, I was working as a spy for the CIA within the Revolutionary Guards. The Guards' intelligence at that time had learned of Saddam Hussein's attempt to buy a nuclear bomb for Iraq. Guard commanders concluded that they needed a nuclear bomb because if Saddam were to get his own, he would use it against Iran. At that time, the two...

Read the whole entry »

'Peace Now' Faults Israel For Palestinians' Genocidal Urges

By David Hornik, FRONT PAGE MAG 

Last week Palestinian Media Watch revealed that the Mufti Muhammad Hussein, top cleric of the Palestinian Authority, had approvingly quoted a hadith calling for the genocide of Jews. Hussein, who was appointed to his post by PA president Mahmoud Abbas, did so at a ceremony marking the 47^th anniversary of the Fatah movement. The moderator at the ceremony chimed in that "Our war with the descendan ts of the apes and pigs [i.e., Jews] is a war of religion and faith." As for Mufti Hussein, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered Israel's attorney-general to investigate him for incitement.

Palestinian Media Watch now reports that the mufti's words have drawn international condemnation. This, actually, doesn't amount to much-far less than, for instance, the typical round of condemnations when Israel announces plans to build homes in parts of Jerusalem that the enlightened world thinks should be Judenrein.

Alistair Burt, the UK minister...

Read the whole entry »

Spengler: Obama and the Islamists

Republicans Should Denounce Obama for Funding Egyptian Terrorists 

January 26th, 2012

It is a disgrace that the US government has held direct talks with the Muslim Brotherhood, and an outrage that that America is accelerating aid payments to Egypt to support a government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and other pro-terrorist, anti-American extremists. The Brotherhood won 47% of seats in Egypt's parliament, and along with other extreme Islamist parties controls about three-quarters of the total. Reuters reports:

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama plans to accelerate the pace of American aid to Egypt, a top State Department official said on Wednesday, as the most populous Arab nation reaches a critical stage in its uncertain transition away from autocratic rule.

Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats, part of a U.S. delegation that held unprecedented talks last week with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, said Washington wanted to provide...

Read the whole entry »

Video: Allen West, Obama "Get the Hell Out of the USA"!

Jan 29, 2012 03:26 pm

Watch the Video and Comment: Video: Allen West, Obama "Get the Hell Out of the USA"!


 

Video: Obama Wants to Give Your Phone Number to Union Organizers

Jan 29, 2012 03:25 pm

The Republican Establishment's Last Desperate Push: Mitch Daniels Again

Jan 28, 2012 03:02 am

The Republican Establishment sees the 2012 presidential nomination process breaking wide open and it's panicked. In one last, desperate attempt to reassert control of the party from the Tea Party, the Establishment is floating another presidential candidate: Mitch Daniels. The party leadership tapped Daniels to give the GOP response to the State of the Union [...]

Read More and Comment: The Republican Establishment's Last Desperate Push: Mitch Daniels Again
     

Conservative Powerhouse: If Obama Raises Taxes, GOP Will Impeach Him

Jan 28, 2012 02:59 am

The move to impeach Barack Obama is moving forward - either in this term or, Heaven forfend, in the next. This week, one of the most influential conservative heavyweights raised the prospect of ignobly kicking the president out of office between elections. Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform is the author of the Taxpayer [...]

Read More and Comment: Conservative Powerhouse: If Obama Raises Taxes, GOP Will Impeach Him
     

Video: Biden, I Told Obama to Hold Off on Killing Bin Laden

Jan 28, 2012 02:58 am

Vice President Joe Biden has been missing in action for some time. Now we know why. Biden has run for president twice, in 1988 and 2008, and has not ruled out running a third time in 2016. But the Democrats' Harold Stassen just made a peculiar campaign move: He told a public audience that, when [...]

Watch the Video and Comment: Video: Biden, I Told Obama to Hold Off on Killing Bin Laden
     

Video: Gov. Brewer Sounds Off About Confrontation with Obama

Jan 28, 2012 02:54 am

Watch the Video and Comment: Video: Gov. Brewer Sounds Off About Confrontation with Obama
     

Beyond the Constitution's Tipping Point

Jan 28, 2012 02:54 am

We have reached a tipping point in this country The fraud in the White House threw all pretense of adherence to the Constitution to the wind and made several blatantly illegal "recess" appointments of extreme leftists to positions of power within the government. Clearly, this was a move to avoid letting the Senate exercise its [...]

Read More and Comment: Beyond the Constitution's Tipping Point
     

Six Coal-Fired Plants to Close Due to EPA Regulations

Jan 28, 2012 02:53 am

"Closed" signs are a symbol of Lisa Jackson's success in destroying the fossil fuel industry. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson must be as pleased as punch. Her monster agency and its irrational rules are having their intended impact on the fossil fuel industry. Jackson and Obama have made it clear they want to destroy the coal [...]

Read More and Comment: Six Coal-Fired Plants to Close Due to EPA Regulations
     

Video: Obama's Campaign Ad is a Tissue of Lies

Jan 28, 2012 02:46 am

Watch the Video and Comment: Video: Obama's Campaign Ad is a Tissue of Lies
     

Opposing Obama is Not Racist

Jan 28, 2012 02:44 am

The Democrats are settling on one major election strategy: Portray opposition to President Obama as a form of racism. In a nutshell, the liberal argument is that conservative dissent from Mr. Obama's social democratic agenda - Obamacare, the nearly $1 trillion stimulus and Dodd-Frank - is driven not by the color of the president's politics, [...]

Read More and Comment: Opposing Obama is Not Racist
     

Justice Dept. Backs Down Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Jan 28, 2012 02:42 am

The Marco Rubio Speech on Immigration That Everyone's Talking About

• Posted on January 28, 2012  

Get a Load of All These Programs the Feds Are Unofficially Funding This Year 

January 27, 2012

Read more: 

January 27, 2012
      WHAT WAS IN THE LETTER HANDED TO OBAMA?
The details about AZ Governor Jan Brewer's testy encounter with the President are starting to come out. After being told that the handwritten note Brewer gave to the president would not be released, The Blaze secured a copy and you can see for yourself exactly what she was telling Obama HERE.

  UTAH TEENS PLANNED TO BLOW UP SCHOOL
Police in Utah pulled two students out of their high school classes and arrested them for planning to blow up their school and escape in a plane. See the young men who wanted to take "revenge on the world" and also told police that they were smarter than the Columbine killers HERE.

  TARP SHOCKER: BILLIONS WRITTEN OFF BY FED
Congress approved over $700 billion dollars in loans for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). To date, the American taxpayers are owed over $130 billion dollars from TARP recipients. However, the Feds know that many billions in loans will never be repaid. Get all the details on this massive financial mess HERE.

  PART PLANE, PART BOAT, PART HOVERCRAFT - SEE A HUGE SOVIET-ERA SUPER-PLANE
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union built some very unusual military equipment and this plane fits that description. The nuclear-missile-capable Ekranopln is 240 feet long, can travel over 300 mph, but it can't ever fly higher than 16 feet above the ocean. Find out the reason why HERE.

DID A 1970 TRAIN WRECK SICKEN KIDS TODAY?
12 female students at a central New York high school are all reporting the same strange symptoms including, ticks, tremors, and verbal outbursts. Could this be traced back to a train wreck and chemical spill from 1970? Activist Erin Brockovitch is looking into the story and we have the details HERE.  

VIRAL VID - A BACKFLIP A DAY, FOR A YEAR

This viral clip is the result of a father betting his college-age son $100 that he could not do one backflip a day for an entire year. Sam Morrison's dad had to pay off the bet and we get to enjoy the backflips, gainers and wallflips HERE.

The Foundation

"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it." --Thomas Jefferson

Government & Politics

Class Warfare Dominates Tax Debate

As the week wore on, we couldn't help noticing a common theme: Mitt Romney's taxes, Warren Buffett's taxes, Warren Buffett's secretary's taxes. In fact, Barack Obama built his entire State of the Union address around envy, virtually declaring it the long-lost, ultimate American value and pointing to the aforementioned supposed tax disparity as proof. The tax code is indeed a glaringly obvious problem. It pits every constituency against the rest, and Leftists are especially adept at exploiting that to wage class warfare.

Obama's tired refrain is that the rich don't pay their "fair share" -- not even as much as their secretaries. The president trotted out the secretary of billionaire Warren Buffett to "prove" his point. He claimed that she pays a rate higher than her boss, despite the obvious income disparity (Buffett says she earns about $60,000 a year). Facts, as usual, are the first casualties. For starters, he compared apples and oranges by contrasting her total tax burden with Buffett's rate on federal income taxes.

Furthermore, the top 1 percent pays their "fair share" of 36 percent of income taxes while the bottom 50 percent pays next to nothing. That disparity only increased with the Bush tax cuts, contrary to Democrat rhetoric. Obama used his ruse to demand that those earning more than $1 million per year pay at least 30 percent in taxes. "You can call this class warfare all you want," he challenged. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense." According to the Congressional Budget Office, however, the top 1 percent already pays 29.5 percent when all federal taxes are accounted for, while the middle class pays 15.1 percent. If Obama were referring to the capital gains rate, 30 percent would be the highest since 1978.

Leftists also found a bludgeon in Mitt Romney's taxes. By any measure Romney is wealthy, with income of more than $20 million in each of the last two years (the only years for which he released returns). Yet because his income is almost entirely capital gains and the like, his tax rate was around 15 percent. Unnoticed, however, is that most of that money was taxed already at the corporate rate of 35 percent before it was ever paid to him. Democrats decried Romney's unfairly low burden, although when John Kerry paid only 13 percent in 2004, their silence on the issue was deafening.

Back to the SOTU, the president also called for "reforming" the tax code -- by making it more complicated. He wants to remove tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas. The only problem is that no such breaks currently exist -- unless he means that other nations have tax rates roughly half that of the U.S. thus causing companies to leave for other shores. Obama also wants to offer special breaks to alternative energy companies and manufacturing (read: unions), while sticking it to "Big Oil."

Real reform would lower the corporate rate to, say, 15 percent for all industries and simplify deductions. It would also lower rates for individuals, rather than raising them as if the natural order of things is a top rate of 43 percent. Furthermore, it would keep capital gains rates low. History proves that lower rates increase economic activity, and with last quarter's underwhelming 2.8 percent growth, most of which was inventory expansion, we need it. Besides, even if Obama confiscated all the wealth of the "rich," he couldn't fully pay for his agenda.

Charitable giving sheds some light on the rationale behind the Left's demands. Mitt Romney gave more than 19 percent of his income to various charities, including the Mormon Church, in 2011 -- that's more charitable giving than taxes paid. The Obamas, on the other hand, gave just 1 percent of their income to charity between 2000 and 2004, increasing that to 5 percent by 2007. Joe Biden gave $369 -- three hundred sixty-nine dollars -- the year before becoming VP, and just $5,350 in 2010. A reasonable conclusion is that because "liberals" are so miserly with their money, they think the only way to "spread the wealth" around is through forced taxation.

Not only are these hypocrites stingy, but they don't even pay what they owe. The IRS reports that 36 of Obama's executive office staff owe some $833,970 in back taxes, and thousands of federal employees owe back taxes totaling $3.4 billion. Obama declared in his speech, "We need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes." Good thing his staff doesn't have to worry about that.

What should tax reform look like?

Quote of the Week

"I make a mistake, you know, every hour, every day." --Barack Obama

The BIG Lie

"We don't begrudge financial success; we admire it." --Obama, class warrior

News From the Swamp: The Senate Budget Abdication

Tuesday, Jan. 24, was not only the day of Barack Obama's State of the Union address, but it also marked the 1,000th day that the Democrat-controlled Senate has not passed a budget. Whenever the president or the media rails against the unproductive and unpopular Congress, they always take pains to place blame on the Republicans. In fact, Obama is making this the cornerstone of his re-election bid. The truth, however, isn't nearly so convenient. This gross dereliction of duty falls squarely on Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and it goes to the heart of Washington's fiscal problems.

Reid actually has called passing a budget "foolish," relying instead on continuing resolutions to address one spending problem at a time, and not very well at that. Democrats can have it both ways -- federal spending has skyrocketed while they are saddled with an overarching budget to set long-term goals and priorities. Since April 29, 2009, the last date the Senate passed a budget, the federal government spent more than $9 trillion, nearly half of which was deficit spending. The current debt total is more than $15 trillion, with interest payments on that bill running $200 billion per year. The long-term damage created by this continued intransigence will be nothing short of catastrophic. By 2050, entitlement spending will more than triple, and the debt will hit 344 percent of GDP. These are all important points to keep in mind when going to the polls this November.

New & Notable Legislation

We recently reported on the growing opposition to legislation that would give the federal government virtually unchecked power to regulate the Internet in the name of combating online piracy. The House and Senate bills, SOPA and PIPA, respectively, have been shelved -- but not killed -- after a major backlash by the public and protests from several major Internet sites. Now, with the arrest and indictment of the people behind the website Megaupload, the big question is whether SOPA and PIPA were ever needed in the first place.

Megaupload possessed vast quantities of music and video files that were in many cases pirated from the legitimate owners. Last week, the FBI led a coordinated effort with law enforcement agencies in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Germany, the UK, Canada and the Philippines to arrest Megaupload's senior staff and seize their servers and assets. The company had been a thorn in the side of copyright holders for years, but after building a case, the government was able to act decisively by applying laws already on the books. The successful takedown of Megaupload, using the proper tools that law enforcement already has at its disposal, exposes SOPA and PIPA for what they are: overkill and another unwarranted power grab by the federal government.

Giffords Steps Down

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) announced this week that she is stepping down from Congress to focus on her recovery. Giffords was among 19 people shot on Jan. 8, 2011 at a constituent rally in Tucson when a deranged gunman opened fire. Giffords was hit in the head, and six of the 19 were killed, including Judge John Roll and Giffords' chief of staff Gabriel Zimmerman. Miraculously, Giffords survived and spent the past year learning again to walk and talk. Considering the extent of her injuries, her progress is remarkable. Her district is expected to be competitive this year, and although she expressed interest in returning to public service, doing so in the midst of a tough election campaign was not considered to be in her best interests. The shooter, Jared Loughner, remains in custody awaiting trial.

This Week's 'Alpha Jackass' Award

"[I]t would be a disservice to [Rep. Gabrielle Gifford's] life and that of the others directly affected by [the Tucson tragedy], and tragedies like it, to ignore the factors that precipitated the violence: the easy access to guns; the availability of accessories such as extended clips [sic] that make deadly weapons all the more lethal; and a porous and shoddy regulatory system that too often fails to keep these weapons out of the hands of dangerous or dangerously unstable individuals." --Washington Post editorial

Second Amendment: Feds Go Silent While States Take Lead

The federal government is certainly taking its time getting to the bottom of what went wrong during Operation Fast and Furious. Part of the problem stems from people in the know at the federal level clamming up about their role in the operation. Patrick Cunningham, who heads up the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's office in Arizona, isn't talking before Congress about his role. According to his attorney, Cunningham will invoke his Fifth Amendment rights rather then testify, because he's worried about a future indictment. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the head of the House Oversight Committee, rightly worried "that the Justice Department's motivation for refusing to hand over subpoenaed materials is a desire to shield responsible officials from criminal charges."

Meanwhile, Arizona, a target of the White House for its stance on immigration law, is opening its own investigation to ascertain the facts of Operation Fast and Furious and determine whether federal agents violated any state laws in conducting the botched sting operation.

Other states are also making their own way and daring the federal government to stop them. In Kansas, two legislators are trying to make that state the latest to pass a Firearms Freedom Act, which would make it a criminal offense for federal authorities to enforce federal regulations on covered weapons and ammunition, defined as items manufactured and used within the state. Similar laws are already in effect in eight other states, mostly in the West, but also in our native Tennessee.

Judicial Benchmarks: Court Rules GPS Tracking Must Have Warrant

It's unanimous. The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that police violated the Constitution when they attached a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracker to a suspect's vehicle without a valid search warrant. How the Supremes got there is a different story. They split 5-4 over the scope of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, said that as conceived in the 18th century, the Fourth Amendment's protection of "persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures" would extend to private property such as an automobile. Scalia was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor.

The concurring minority opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito, a former prosecutor usually known for his law-and-order views, who would have gone further than his conservative brethren. He argued that limiting Fourth Amendment protections to forbidding trespassing property as understood in 1791 "is unwise" and "highly artificial" and that the search violated an individual's "reasonable expectation of privacy." To Alito, with rapidly advancing technology such as GPS, the majority's approach left open "particularly vexing problems." Joining Alito were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan -- a rather strange split.

The Scalia side looks at the issue as a question of invasion of property, while the Alito camp considers it one of privacy. No matter what the rationale, the result is the same -- the police acted unconstitutionally. Do they still teach law enforcement trainees about their oath to support and defend the Constitution?

Economy

Regulatory Commissars: Oil Production and 'Reasonable Profits'

Despite fervent attempts by the Obama administration to stall, stunt and stop domestic oil exploration, U.S. oil production is actually on the increase. While the U.S. Energy Information Administration says that projected daily oil production will top six million barrels by 2020, according to research firm IHS-CERA, total U.S. production for oil and related liquids could hit 10.2 million barrels a day by 2020, far above the low point of just 7.6 million barrels daily in 2008. Lest this increase be construed as a giant step toward energy independence, however, consider that even the forecasted supply falls far short of demand, which is projected to be more than 19 million barrels daily by 2020. One big way to help would be to build the Keystone XL pipeline -- but Obama just rejected that.

He did announce the sale of drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico this week, and his campaign arm, the Associated Press, says that was "a response to critics who say his policies have stifled domestic energy production." Only later in the story do we discover that the sale merely fulfills part of an offshore drilling plan put in place by President George W. Bush. Don't expect Obama to share any credit, though. In reality, Obama's dishonest "response to critics" is finally getting around to selling leases he should have sold long ago.

Meanwhile, Democrats continue to confirm that for them the phrase "energy independence" really means independence from oil production. Just last week, six House Democrats actually proposed legislation to establish a "Reasonable Profits Board" that would hit oil and gas companies with a windfall tax of up to 100 percent of all surplus earnings that exceed "a reasonable profit." Even more outrageous (if that's possible), the bill leaves the standard for what constitutes such a profit to the arbitrary will of three presidentially nominated board members. It's "Atlas Shrugged" come to life. Who is John Galt?

Explain a "reasonable profit" -- if you can.

This Week's 'Braying Jenny' Award

"Twenty thousand jobs [created by the Keystone XL pipeline] is really not that many jobs and investing in green technologies will produce that and more." --Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

Income Redistribution: No Bailouts ... Except This One

Another retread idea Barack Obama offered in his State of the Union address was more help for refinancing mortgages. He claims that a federal program to help people do so would save them an average of $3,000 a year. The problem is that it will take major tax dollars to make it happen because home values are down 32 percent from 2006. Interestingly, in spite of historic low rates -- averaging below 4 percent -- and low prices to boot, new home sales in 2011 were lower than at any time since 1963. We don't think a costly federal subsidy is going to suddenly turn around the market.

It's ironic too that Obama railed against bailouts in his speech -- "no more bailouts, no more handouts," and "it's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom" -- only to proceed to offer program after program of bailouts and handouts. Did anyone proofread the speech?

Speaking of handouts, yet another federally subsidized alternative energy company, Ener1, announced that it is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Its subsidiary, EnerDel, received a $118 million grant from the Department of Energy in 2010 to make lithium-ion batteries for electric cars. Vice President Joe Biden even singled out Ener1 as a stimulus success. Such companies were, he said, "not just creating jobs, but sparking whole new industries that will ensure our competitiveness for decades to come." Obama likewise touted his "investment" in alternative energy in the SOTU. Uh, oops.

Security

EU Sanctions on Iran

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Iran's lunatic President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Iran is ready to resume nuclear talks with the UN. But Iran is simply employing a tried and true stall tactic, one it has used successfully since 2004: pretend to want to talk; agree only that further talks are needed; agree on a framework for still more talks; and eventually walk away having given up nothing, while running another 12 or 15 months off the clock. The reason for Iran's latest use of the stall? The European Union, which includes UN Security Council permanent members France and the UK, passed sanctions against Iran's oil industry on Monday although they will not go into effect for six months. With nations around the world talking seriously about alternate sources of oil, Iran's leaders undoubtedly want to dissuade the UN from passing similar sanctions.

Iran is also employing over-the-top rhetoric intended to remind the world of the economic importance of the Strait of Hormuz. A senior member of the Iranian Majles (the rough equivalent of Congress) warned that Iran "would definitely close the Strait if an EU embargo disrupts Iran's oil exports." Not mentioned in news coverage of this statement is the March 2 general election for Majles seats and the need for hard-liners to prove their bona fides with such statements. To wit, Iran plans to conduct a large, showy naval exercise meant to demonstrate its military ability to close the Strait. Look for Iran's Guard Corps Navy to do so in the coming days, using real and staged footage of ships, boats and weapons and an all-out media campaign to maximize the propaganda value of the exercise. We also expect China and Russia to drag their feet at every opportunity and generally to protect Iran from additional UN sanctions.

Sen. Paul Meets the TSA

The Transportation Security Administration's theater of the absurd continues. On Monday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), son of presidential candidate Ron Paul, set off a scanner at the Nashville airport, supposedly because of an anomaly around his knee. Paul offered to go back through the scanner or show agents his knee, but being the good brown shirts they are, the TSA agents told the senator that he would now have to go through the TSA's full-body pat down. Paul refused, whereupon the TSA detained him long enough to cause him to miss his flight. He was allowed to board another flight eventually, and the second time through the scanner was clean. Paul believes that the first scanner never detected an "anomaly" at all but was set to go off and pick random passengers for that extra-personal government inspection. The next senatorial TSA budget hearings should be fun.

The incident raises several issues, not least of which is the seeming utter lack of common sense among TSA agents. "It's in the manual" is the standard defense. No, senators should not be treated differently from normal citizens, but for crying out load, just let him walk through the scanner again. And of all senators, it's ironic that it was the libertarian. Additionally, as a sitting senator on his way to Washington, Paul is exempt under the U.S. Constitution from law enforcement detention and arrest, but again, when has the Constitution stopped this outlaw government?

Naturally, the Obama regime came to the defense of their TSA, with regime propaganda minister Jay Carney refusing to even call Paul by his name, instead referring to him only as that nameless automaton, "the passenger." That's a perfect reflection of this regime's philosophy -- that we nameless citizens can all be treated badly as long as we're all treated equally.

Share your favorite TSA experience.

Warfront With Jihadistan: Haditha Saga Comes to a Close

Accused of having "killed in cold blood" by the late Rep. John Murtha and convicted in the court of public opinion, the last of the eight Marines originally implicated in the 2005 deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, reached a plea agreement to finalize his case. While they were tried and convicted in the media, the final count for the Marines in the legal venues that mattered: six had charges dismissed, one was acquitted, and SSgt. Frank Wuterich pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count last week.

For this single count of negligent dereliction of duty, Wuterich was sentenced to 90 days confinement and demotion to private, the Marine Corps' lowest rank. The news of the plea deal outraged Haditha residents who expected the squad leader to be convicted of the nine counts of manslaughter he faced. He took the deal, however, because not only did witnesses for the prosecution contradict the accounts given to investigators, but also because, in the words of his lawyer, he "believed this was the right and honorable thing to do." A contrite Wuterich also apologized in court to the citizens of Haditha for his squad's actions, saying that "even with the best intentions, sometimes combat actions can cause tragic results."

Culture

Hope 'n' Change: ObamaCare's Assault on Religious Liberty

The Obama administration's disregard for religious freedom is well documented, so it should come as no surprise that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is, via ObamaCare, ramming abortion down the throats of religious people. Last August, Sebelius offered for public comment an "interim final rule" that would require private health care companies to provide certain "preventive services" without a deductible or co-pay. These services include sterilization and contraceptive drugs, such as Plan B and Ella. This may not seem a big deal to some companies, but to religious entities, it is a major affront.

Proponents of the rule claim that these entities would be exempt. However, while this may be technically true, the term defines "religious institution" so narrowly that it would not apply to most faith-based schools, hospitals or charities. These institutions now face the prospect of forced provision for services that contradict their beliefs. To add insult to injury, those that do fit into the religious institution exemption must refer their insureds to other places (e.g., Planned Parenthood) for contraceptive and sterilization services.

Although several religious leaders are bringing suit, Sebelius has refused to broaden the definition. Instead, she gave them an extra year -- until August 2013 -- to "adapt." This is a slap in the face, but again, it's nothing new. All we can do is hope that by that time we will have a new administration, one that seeks to rebuild and maintain this country's institutions instead of tearing them down.

Faith and Family: March for Life Draws Little Media Coverage

This past Sunday was Sanctity of Life Day, and pro-life advocates, as is their custom, took to the streets of Washington, DC, and other cities to affirm life and protest the slaughter of more than one million innocents each year. The march drew at least 100,000, but the Leftmedia once again ignored it. Newsbusters reports, "For the fifth year in a row, there was no story in the [New York] Times print edition on the annual March for Life. ... The Times is far more eager to publicize protests in support of liberal causes, no matter how puny. When four protesters marched in support of the doomed Dream Act to grant amnesty to illegal immigrant students, the Times marked the occasion with a 780-word story."

As Hot Air's Tina Korbe points out, "Believe it or not, it gets worse. The NYT has a special standing feature on its blog, The Caucus, to document 'Happenings in Washington' and not even that included a reference to the March." We have news for the news media: Ignoring life issues won't make advocates go away.

Village Academic Curriculum: Eat Your Veggies

The official federal nanny, Michelle Obama, is once again giving instruction to hoi polloi. This time, it's school meal nutrition standards. The new regulations, required by a 2010 bill increasing funding for school meals and now finalized by the Department of Agriculture, were announced by the First Lady this week. Schools now must provide fruits and vegetables every day, increase offerings of whole grains, limit milk choices to only fat-free or low-fat, restrict calories based on the child's age and reduce saturated fat, trans fats and sodium in food. The Agriculture Department wanted more but Congress weakened the proposed regulations in last month's spending bills. The standards bear a price tag of $3.2 billion over five years.

Obviously, healthy eating is key to healthy living, and we don't object at all to having children eat better food. What we do object to is the constant go-to play of this administration -- top-down federal interference in the daily lives of citizens. As the government takes over more of our health care, this sort of thing will spread beyond schools.

Boston Tea Partier Skips Date With Obama

It's become an American sports tradition: The team that wins a major sports championship also gets a date with the president after the season. A week after the St. Louis Cardinals enjoyed the privilege for having won the World Series, the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins got an insider's look at the White House. But one key player, who was one of just two Americans on the Cup-winning team, took a pass.

Tim Thomas, the team's goaltender and MVP of the Stanley Cup series, said in a statement that he was "exercis(ing) his right as a Free Citizen" in not visiting the White House. Thomas also noted, "I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the people. ... This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country."

Needless to say, Thomas's absence drew the ire of sportswriters and others who believed he was selfish by putting his political leanings over a team event, overshadowing the experience. Yet the goalie, who played for Team USA in the 2010 Olympics, stands firmly by his political beliefs -- a Tea Party supporter, his goalie mask features a Gadsden flag logo. It's rather appropriate that he plays in Boston. Mr. Obama: Don't tread on Tim Thomas.

And Last...

From the "Endorsements You Don't Want" files comes a rather inconvenient statement from erstwhile presidential also-ran Bob Dole. A former Senate majority leader, Dole secured the GOP nomination for president in 1996 only to lose badly to Bill Clinton. Yesterday, Dole announced, "[Bob Dole has] not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late. If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state and federal offices. Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him and that fact speaks for itself. He was a one-man-band who rarely took advice. It was his way or the highway."

There are two rather humorous aspects of this that can't be missed. First, the Romney campaign released the statement as part of an endorsement from Dole. Maybe we're missing something, but a perceived establishment guy who touts the endorsement of another establishment guy isn't likely to broaden his base of support. Second, the statement might actually help Gingrich. If a onetime presidential also-ran gives Newt the shaft, perhaps today's Republican voters won't be so hard on him. Indeed, they might ultimately rise up on Newt's behalf. In any case, Dole might want to stick to doing those, uh, Pepsi endorsements.

Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team

What witnesses testified to at Obama's Georgia citizenship hearing

Jan 29, 2012 05:13 am | Coach Collins

By Suzanne Eovaldi, staff writer    "I've never seen anything like this," Private Investigator Susan Daniels told Judge Michael Malihi under oath, as she reviewed her research into Barack Obama's social security numbers investigation! Her analysis centered on a Connecticut resident "born in 1890s" whose official registration somehow
is mixed in with the Obama social security investigation.  Testimony at the court  hearing of Barack Obama's eligibility to be placed on the Georgia ballot for reelection in 2012 revealed stunning sworn facts that clearly places into question the sitting president's authenticity.  In an interview after the administrative hearing, Daniels said, "I discovered immediately. . .( that social security number) was fraudulent. . .was..  no way it was accurate."  The live internet video stream suddenly went black when she said, "He's using a . . . "  While I was able to glean some startling testimony, other witness responses to Attorney Orly Taitz's questioning seemed garbled and had certain interruptions at ... Continue Reading:What witnesses testified to at Obama's Georgia citizenship hearing

comments | read more

American Minute January 28

Jan 28, 2012 05:13 pm | Coach Collins

By Bill Federer, staff writer

Seventy-three seconds after lift-off, on JANUARY 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing its entire seven member crew, which included a high school teacher-the first private citizen to fly aboard the craft. In his address to the nation, President Ronald Reagan stated: "Today is a day for mourning...a national loss...The members of the Challenger crew were pioneers...The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future." President Reagan continued: "There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, 'He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.' Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete." Reagan concluded: "The crew of the ... Continue Reading:American Minute January 28

comments | read more

Republican Wisconsin and Indiana straightening out while Democrat Illinois is still sinking

Jan 28, 2012 01:13 pm | Coach Collins

By Kevin "Coach" Collins

 The news from the Midwest is good. In Wisconsin the Democrats' union masters seem not to be able to find a candidate who can beat Governor Scott Walker in the recall election they have forced with the help of Mickey Mouse and Adolph Hitler who signed the necessary petition.  Walker is ahead of Democrat Tom Barrett by about the same margin he beat him by in 2010.  He is anywhere between 7 to 10 points up on all of the rest of the possible candidates the unions may run in their attempt to reestablish the protection schemes  they use to extort money from workers they force to be unionized.

Wisconsin's tax payers have seen a total reversal of the grave financial condition their state was in (going from a $3 billion deficit to a $300 million surplus in one year) and they like what Walker is doing.     

 In Indiana outnumbered Assembly ... Continue Reading:Republican Wisconsin and Indiana straightening out while Democrat Illinois is still sinking

comments | read more

By Kevin "Coach" Collins

Last Thursday Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the Islamic Republic was ready to renew nuclear talks with members of the UN Security council; United States, Russia, China, France and Britain, and Germany. Most likely the action was the result of the oil Embargo placed on the Islamic Nation and pressure placed on the Iranian leadership by the Russians.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Iranian press "Russia wants a quick renewal of talks between the international community and Iran on the country's nuclear program and supports holding the meetings in Turkey [without preconditions]."

Embargo

President Ahmadinejad publicly admitted the economic sanctions placed on the country's central bank and oil production has created hardship for the Iranian people. Oil sales account for 80% of export revenue. Since the embargo Iranians have be dumping rials (their own currency) for gold or foreign currency, fearing that their money would become worthless. This currency crisis contradicts the ... Continue Reading:Iran Blinked

comments | read more

American Minute January 27

Jan 27, 2012 05:13 pm | Coach Collins

By Bill Federer, staff writer

    Ferdinand and Isabella sent Columbus on his voyage in 1492 after they liberated Spain from occupying Muslim forces. Spain's policies then forced Jews to flee, first to Portugal, then to Amsterdam, where some sailed with Dutch merchants to South America. When Spain attacked there, they fled again and 23 refugees, on the French ship Sainte Catherine, became the first Jews to arrive in New Amsterdam in 1654. Governor Stuyvesant tried to evict them, not letting them worship outside their homes. In 1664, New Amsterdam became New York, where the first synagogue was built in 1730. Jewish population in colonial America grew to 2,000 in 7 synagogues from New York to Savannah. Beginning in 1830, Ellis Island had 250,000 Jews immigrate from persecution in Bavaria. Starting in 1881, over 2 million Jews fled Russia's pogroms to America. By 2006, Jews comprised 2 percent of U.S. population. President Woodrow Wilson wrote: "Whereas in countries engaged ... Continue Reading:American Minute January 27

comments | read more

Judge Malihi about to lower the boom on Barack?

Jan 27, 2012 12:25 pm | Coach Collins

by Doug Book,  staff writer

 At the beginning of yesterday's hearing to determine the legal and Constitutional eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama for placement on the State of Georgia ballot in November, Judge Michael Malihi was said to have read "the last paragraph of [Obama] Attorney Michael Jablonski's letter" to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.  And in the barely 2 hour proceedings which reviewed 3 lawsuits demanding Obama not appear on that ballot, this might have been the most significant "statement" made by the otherwise reserved Malihi.  (1)

Like Obama, Jablonski was a no-show in the Georgia courtroom, leaving Obama represented by no counsel at the proceeding.

And although the judge adjourned the hearing with no decision, no ruling, in fact nothing more than a "thank you" to the participants, the last paragraph of Jablonski's letter states "We await your taking the requested action and as we do, we will, of course, suspend further participation ... Continue Reading:Judge Malihi about to lower the boom on Barack?

comments | read more

'Patria o muerte, venceremos' and other great thoughts from Willard Romney

Jan 27, 2012 05:13 am | Coach Collins

By Kevin "Coach" Collins

In sports the most frustrating mistakes are unforced errors. Newt Gingrich is not the only candidate who makes unforced errors, although you would never know it from the media and the Republican establishment. Here's a look at a few of Willard Romney's unforced errors.

While trying to win favor with anti-Castro South Florida Cuban Americans Romney thought he would get the job done by saying, "'Patria o muerte, venceremos." It means "Fatherland or death, we shall overcome." Here's what Fidel Castro had to say about the phrase, "Hugo Chavez has tried to steal an inspiring phrase - 'Patria o muerte, venceremos.' It does not belong to him. It belongs to a free Cuba."

Gaffe? Maybe but Romney speaks Spanish. Was he just babbling or was this another flash of the progressive Romney hiding under his carefully crafted facade?

We've heard that Gingrich has said good things about Franklin Roosevelt. The video shows ... Continue Reading:'Patria o muerte, venceremos' and other great thoughts from Willard Romney

comments | read more

American Minute January 26

Jan 26, 2012 05:13 pm | Coach Collins

By Bill Federer, staff writer

  Douglas MacArthur was born JANUARY 26, 1880. He commanded in World War I, was superintendent of West Point, and the youngest Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. A four-star general, he retired in 1939, but returned in 1941 to defend the Philippines. When Japan invaded, President Roosevelt ordered him to Australia, but not before he promised "I shall return." In 1944, he returned with an American army and freed the Philippines. Promoted to Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific, he received Japan's surrender on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor. Promoted to five-star general, he was Supreme U.N. Commander during the Korean War until he became at odds with President Truman over wanting to confront the Communists. Truman made the unpopular decision to remove him. Douglas MacArthur told West Point cadets, May 1962: "The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious ... Continue Reading:American Minute January 26

comments | read more

Armed citizens fight back in murder capital of Detroit

Jan 26, 2012 01:13 pm | Coach Collins

by Doug Book,  staff writer

For 3 years, American gun owners have been told that the best thing to happen for the profitability of firearm manufacturers was the election of Barack Hussein Obama. And in spite of the sentiments of liberals like Detroit News columnist Bill Johnson, the best thing to happen in the City of Detroit might be the awakening of its law abiding residents to the fact that they are for all intents and purposes on their own in the battle against crime in the murder capital of the United States.

For nearly 40 years, Detroit has led the nation in murder rate. And 2011 was no exception as the murder rate increased by some 12%-to 344-from the preceding, record breaking year.

But one thing has changed for the better in the shrinking, bankrupt city-justifiable homicides increased by 80% over their 2010 rate. Thirty four criminals were sent to their just rewards last year ... Continue Reading:Armed citizens fight back in murder capital of Detroit

comments | read more

The Feds Had Better Stop Alabama...Before Everyone There Has a Job!
Unemployment falls after enforcement begins.
Full Story

Intra-Hispanic Rivalries Surface Over GOP Immigration Debate
Mexican-American says Cuban-Americans wrong on immigration.
Full Story

DHS Must Explain Why it Released Convicted Felon
Florida killing spree by illegal immigrant.
Full Story

Romney Says He Favors "Self-Deportation"
Attrition through enforcement as well.
Full Story

Winning the Race to the Bottom
Obama talks jobs in State of the Union.
Full Story

Friday, January 27, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 284 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS


Santorum Nails It

Last night Senator Rick Santorum turned in one of his best debate performances so far. Several commentators said that on rhetorical points Santorum effectively won the debate. During one of the evening's highlights, Sen. Santorum castigated Romney and Gingrich for their endless bickering and tried to refocus the debate on the issues. Here is what he said:

"The bigger issue here is, these two gentlemen, who are out distracting from the most important issues we have by playing petty personal politics, can we set aside that Newt was a member of Congress and used the skills that he developed as a member of Congress to go out and advise companies -- and that's not the worst thing in the world -- and that Mitt Romney is a wealthy guy because worked hard and he's going out and working hard? And you guys should leave that alone and focus on the issues!"

The audience roared its approval. You can watch it here. At that moment, Senator Santorum was speaking for millions of conservatives around the country who have watched in horror as various candidates have aimed more vitriol and fire at one another than the guy in the White House who is each day dismantling America.

Here is why this matters: A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll was released this week. Again polls are just snapshots in time and only tell what people are thinking today. That said, Obama's approval rating is up and the poll finds that he would beat every one of the GOP contenders.

Why should Obama's numbers be up? Has he done so well in defying Congress with unconstitutional appointments or rejecting the Keystone pipeline that voters now believe he deserves reelection? Not really. It's more likely that the public has witnessed week after week of the GOP candidates tearing one another down that they are turning voters off and allowing them to forget what is so bad about Obama!


Going Forward

My friends, I'm going to be frank. I share the concerns expressed yesterday by Rush Limbaugh about whether the eventual nominee and the GOP establishment will be able to fire up the conservative base and prevail in November after they have spent months savaging other conservatives. This week Bob Dole was trotted out to tell us how awful Newt Gingrich is. I could be wrong, but I don't recall Dole saying anything newsworthy in the past three years about how damaging Obama has been to America.

And what about Newt? He has done many good things over the years. But did I really hear him make the ludicrous argument last night that just because Mitt Romney owns certain bank stocks he is somehow making money off home foreclosures? Banks don't make money on foreclosures!

To our friend Mitt Romney: Why don't you just admit that RomneyCare has many of the same components as ObamaCare? The Tea Party movement and the historic GOP victories in 2010 were largely attributed to voter disgust over ObamaCare. Rick Santorum is right -- we cannot afford to surrender this issue.

But by defending RomneyCare, it appears as though you are defending big government mandates. And the Democrats agree! During last night's debate, David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, tweeted, "In explaining MA plan, Mitt just offered an eloquent explanation of [ObamaCare] he says he would repeal."


Obama's Losing Bets

Another Obama-backed "green energy" company went bankrupt this week, and House Republicans are demanding answers.

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said, "One bankruptcy may be a fluke, two could be coincidence, but three is a trend. Our investigation continues, and we are working to ensure taxpayers are never again stuck paying hundreds of millions of dollars because of the administration's risky bets."

Barack Obama condemns speculation on Wall Street, but he is speculating all the time with your tax dollars! Worse, he said in his State of the Union address that he intends to "double-down" on these risky "clean energy" bets.


Media Bias

Last night I witnessed one of the worst examples of media bias I have seen a while. CBS News led off its nightly broadcast with the tarmac exchange between Barack Obama and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. That was followed by veteran reporter Bob Schieffer condemning America's "vulgar politics" and overheated campaign rhetoric. According to Schieffer, Brewer's finger in Obama's face was the worst example of "public rudeness" toward any president that he could recall.

I guess Bob Schieffer doesn't recall the MoveOn.org ads comparing George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler. He obviously doesn't recall Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid calling President Bush a "loser" and a "liar."

While we're on the subject of "vulgar politics," what about stealing the identity of an office holder in order to implicate him in illegal or unethical behavior? What about the smears against Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork? Perhaps, like Chris Matthews, Bob Schieffer feels it is his job to help Obama succeed!

This is just a taste of what we can expect as the campaign heats up in the weeks and months ahead. Please help us expose the liberal media's bias. Continue to share these reports with your friends and family members. Working together we can end the Obama nightmare and put America back on the right track!