Quote: 

"Congress can raise taxes because it can persuade a sizable fraction of the populace that somebody else will pay." 

WEB EXTRA | January 31, 2012 

ABORTION | Planned Parenthood reacts to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to cut its funding   

Marvin Olasky

Have you seen crime dramas where the police start to close in on a killer? In the 1930s, the gangster would say, "You dirty rats, you'll never take me alive." In 2012, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which has taken so many unborn lives, issues a press release expressing "deep disappointment in response to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation's decision to stop funding breast cancer prevention, screenings, and education at Planned Parenthood health centers."

Here's today's news: The Komen foundation is notifying Planned Parenthood affiliates that it will not give them more money for breast cancer programs. Clearly, this does not reflect any change in Komen's attitude toward breast cancer. It does reflect a realization that contributions are fungible, so that cash sent to one program is an aid to Planned Parenthood's moneymaker, abortion-and abortion is losing its mainstream support.

 

Read more: 

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

Beck on the Global Caliphate a Year Later: 'If I'm Wrong, We Bought Extra Food...If They're Wrong, We Die' 

He was called "paranoid" and "conspiratorial" when he spent the last six months of his Fox News-hosted broadcast warning the nation about the ramifications of a pending global Islamic caliphate. He was incessantly mocked for informing Americans about the importance of emergency preparedness. Still, Glenn Beck felt it imperative to lay bare the dangers that lie ahead and said he'd "rather be called a kook and be alive" than bury his head in the sand "and be dead."

During Thursday's episode of The Glenn Beck Program, Glenn reviewed the past year and explained why he predicted the rise of a global caliphate accelerated by the onset of the Arab Spring - a prediction, Glenn reminds, that was "ruthlessly mocked."

Will the 'Coming of the New Ice Age' Mark the End of the Global Warming Era? 

Last week, the Blaze reported about an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal signed by 16 scientists and engineers with the general thesis that "drastic action" to curb global warming is unnecessary and not economically beneficial. Today, climate scientists who support taking action to mitigate the effects of man-made global warming have written a rebuttal - with 39 authors - in WSJ.  

Read More . . . 

Come see for yourself, get information firsthand, MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION, Don't let someone else make it for you.  

Do YOU believe in the Constitution ?

Sam Does

SAM ROHRER

For

U.S. Senate

Join Sam for Coffee

10 - 11:30 A.M.

Friday     February 3, 2012

Saxbys Coffee

22 North Main St.

Disillusioned and discouraged with politicians??  If you have never heard former State Representative and candidate for U.S. Senate SAM ROHRER speak,  PLEASE make the time to do so.  Politicians of proven integrity, the courage to put what's right for the People above Party loyalty, the vision to think outside the political comfort zone, and the unwavering commitment to constitutional principles are rare indeed.  To Hear Sam is To Hope again, To Believe that this country could be turned around with more legislators like him in office.  Don't let others make your decision for you in this Senate race - - - Make the time to hear Sam for yourself and bring a friend  

Upper Montgomery County

SAM ROHRER for U.S. Senate TOWN HALL

Thursday, February 2, 8-9:30pm

Schultheis Carriage House Restaurant, 745 Gravel Pike (Rt. 29), East Greenville 

Sponsored by Upper Montgomery County Republican Club & Citizens for the Constitution

Central Bucks County

Coffee with SAM ROHRER, Candidate for U.S. SENATE

Friday, February 3, 10 - 11:30 a.m.

Saxbys Coffee, 22 N. Main St., Doylestown

Note:  parking is on the street and metered so bring quarters

The Kitchen Table Patriots will be at
First Friday in Doylestown in front of
The Bagel Barrel
60 West State Street
Doylestown, PA 18901

We'll be introducing ourselves to the people wandering the streets. The weather should be spectacular (for January) with clear skies and temps in the 40's.

Come down with a friend to meet with us and find out more about the conservative grassroots movement in Bucks & Montgomery counties.

We'll have petitions for those who want to run for a committee seat in the Bucks GOP as well as asking people to sign petitions for KTP members running for Republican National Convention Delegates.
 

Dear Patriot,

Carried by Richard Nixon in all five presidential elections and by Ronald Regan all four times he ran, California, where European-Americans are now a shrinking minority, is a state where the Republican Party faces extinction.  John McCain's 2008 general election vote was a mere 36% in California, handing Barack Obama 55 votes of the Electoral College and eclipsing the GOP's capture of the entire mid-West with just one state. 

Demographics are destiny.  Many have read Patrick Buchanan's latest best-seller, "Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025."  It is a telling forecast of the decline of the West and what the future may hold.

Here at the Thomas Jefferson Club, we strive to present speakers and issues that you will find nowhere else.  We are a non-partisan, issues-oriented organization and believe in presenting on a variety of challenging topics, including the issues of national identity, immigration and America's historic lineage of Western Culture.

On Sunday, February 12^th at 7pm we will present Filip Dewinter, member of the Belgian and European Parliament.  Mr. Dewinter is the leader of Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest), the main opposition party in Belgium.  He will discuss from the front lines the challenges for Western Civilization in Europe and its parallels to the United States.  This event will be held at The Temperance House, 5 South State Street, Newtown, PA.   

For a brief overview of Mr. Dewinter and the freedom movement in Europe, please view this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjoLqlJDgGI.    

Another great event of note is this evening (Monday, January 30^th) called "Inaugural KTP Tea" with the Kitchen Table Patriots.  The objective of KTP's first "Tea" is to mingle in a less formal setting and bring you up to date on some activities in Harrisburg and Washington.  Also to solicit ideas about what KTP should be doing to champion conservatism right here at home.  The event is free of charge and will be held from 5-7pm at Bobby Simone's Restaurant Loft, 52 East State Street, Doylestown, PA. 

All the best,

Jeff McGeary

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 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 . . .

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

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

RedState Morning Briefing

For February 2, 2012

I'll be filling in for Neal Boortz today. You can listen live from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Neal's (and my) flagship radio station, News Talk WSB out of Atlanta by going to http://wsbradio.com. You can call in during that time by dialing 1-877-310-2100.

By the way, today is a very, very important anniversary.  Three years ago today, Barack Obama said he'd be a one termer if he hadn't fixed the economy.

1. The National Review's Candidate Won't Stop Digging

It is days like today that make me thankful I think they all suck. At least I'm thankful I'm in the firmly not Romney camp.

Having told us only Romney was viable (with half-nods to Huntsman and Santorum) and having trotted out Elliot Abrams to smear Newt Gingrich with out of context quotes, even National Review is having trouble defending their candidate today.

Yesterday morning Mitt Romney went on CNN with Soledad O'Brien and said he wasn't concerned about the poor. The poor, after all, have food stamps and Medicaid. But don't worry. If the safety net is broken, Patrician Mitt Romney will fix it so the poor can stay comfortably poor. After all, just look what he did in Massachusetts. The poor can now wait 44 days to get in to see a doctor. 

After making sure we all understood the poor were for the Democrats to be worried about, Romney decided to keep digging his hole even bigger. By the end of the day, Jim DeMint had to rebuke him.

Romney, digging his hole deeper, said his remark needed more context. The context, according to Romney, is that we have government programs to keep the poor . . . well . . . poor but comfortable.

2. Sixty-Five to One: It's Not That Complicated

Political analysts have a need to sound expertly and important when it comes to elections. They have to go in depth and explain artfully and deeply why someone won and someone lost.

It was the debates. It was the ground game. It was the strategies. It was the likability versus dislikability of the candidates. On and on they go.

What gets danced around is the money. Money is usually why candidates win or lose. Candidates with the highest favorable name ID usually win. To do that takes lots of money and lots of ads.

For all the hoopla about Mitt Romney's victory in Florida, it really is not that hard to understand. All you need to understand is the ratio 65 to 1.

3. The Government is Playing Hide and Seek With Airfare Taxes

When purchasing a product or service, we all like to see the itemized list of charges - one that separates the cost of the purchase from the share going to Uncle Sam through the form of taxes and fees. Needless to say, government bureaucrats don't like that. They desire that we remain blissfully ignorant of government's burden on our everyday lives. This is one reason why they concocted the withholdings scheme for income tax collection. Now, they are expanding their tentacles into commercial taxes so they can obfuscate the magnitude of taxes and fees on airfare purchases.

Without much fanfare, the Department of Transportation (DOT) enacted a rule which requires airlines to ensconce all government taxes and fees in a single total advertised price with the fare. For example, if you purchase a $350 plane ticket with $50 of taxes and fees, the DOT is demanding that the airline advertise the price as $400. Airline passengers pay over a dozen taxes and fees on any given airplane ticket, but the government doesn't want us to know that. The rule was finalized last April, but only took effect last week.

4. The Earmarxists are Back

It's another week in the Senate, and there's another battle over earmarks. Senators Toomey and McCaskill are proposing an amendment to the STOCK Act ("insider trading bill"S. 2038) to permanently ban earmarks in the Senate. Not surprisingly, there is pushback from Harry Reid...and a number of Republicans as well.

It appears the American people are living the same day over and over again... High unemployment, increased government spending, the push for higher taxes, and the list goes on.

We are tired of dealing with the same failed policies and ideas over and over again...day in and day out.

Groundhog Day

 When Black History Month (formerly known as February) begins,

always refer to it as Fake History Month. Then explain that you refuse to support a racist event which essentially demeans African Americans by subtly implying that they are too bigoted and dumb to relate to any historical event which doesn't involve people with the right skin tone.  

Iranian threats cause fallout

By Shani McManus, Staff Writer
January 25, 2012
Threats by Iran to close the Strait of Humuz if the West imposes more sanctions, has the major Middle East players scurrying for new solutions to halt Iranian aggression.
Following Iran's latest threat, planned war games between Israel and the United States were suddenly canceled, with some blaming President Obama for the cancellation, while others said it was Netanyahu who shut down the biggest ever joint U.S.-Israeli military exercise scheduled for April.
"It's in Israel's interest to hold joint military exercises with the U.S. in preparation for the Iran nuclear threat," Joseph M. Sabag, executive director of Florida Region Zionist Organization of America said. "It makes no sense that Israel would cancel these exercises.
"It is fair to assume that President Obama must have pressured Israel to agree to cancel the joint exercises because of fear that Iran might respond by closing the Straits of Hormuz in order to spike oil prices," he said.
In a recent conference call with international Journalists, including the Jewish Journal, Illan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, D.C. said both Iran's developing nuclear program and its threat to close the strait, has Europe uneasy.
"Iran has the power to shut off access to the Strait of Hormuz. The threats have had an effect - making Europe nervous," he said. "Europe has bee talking about a ban of Iranian oil.
"The Iranians want to demonstrate to the international community that it has the power to affect the price of oil," Berman said. "They threaten on one hand and offer concessions on the other - hoping to stall for time to develop its nuclear program."
Berman believes sanctions against Iran are working.
"It is clear that sanctions are having an effect in Iran," he said. "China is beginning to re-examine its dealings with Iran. I think sanctions should be pursued."
Meantime, others are calling for stronger sanctions against Iran for failing to halt its nuclear development program.
"Now is the time to clamp down on the regime through sanctions that close every loophole and deny Tehran any breathing room," Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in a recent statement.
"The clock is running out to stop Iran from achieving a breakout nuclear capability," she said. "Sanctions are having an impact. The [Obama] Administration needs to step up the pressure by imposing all the sanctions in U.S. law without further delay if we hope to stop Iran's nuclear pursuits from moving forward."
The Anti-Defamation League recently urged the Florida Senate's Budget Subcommittee to enact Senate Bill 792, that would help ensure that Florida banking institutions "conduct the due diligence necessary to prevent any indirect support of Iran's nuclear weapons program."
However, there are those who think sanctions have become more talk than action.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated that, so far, U.S. sanctions on Iran have been 'ineffective,'" Sabag noted. "Deputy Prime Minister Yaalon has also said that Israel is 'disappointed' that the U.S. has not seriously implemented the sanctions that were recently passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate."

Copyright © 2012, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

* VIDEOS * TODAY'S HOT PICKS *  

1. VIDEO: Atheists Lose Battle Over WW II Veterans' Jesus Statue Atop Montana Mountain  2. VIDEO: Anarchists, Commies & "Tent Monster!"- Fitting Last Day of Occupy DC
3. Before We Thank Iran's Tanker Fleet...
4. VIDEO: College admits to inflating SAT scores for rankings
5. VIDEO: Radio Host Discusses Islam in the Americas
6. VIDEO: Acura Super Bowl ad brings back Seinfeld, Soup Nazi  7. VIDEO: White House Disregards Catholic Church's Objection to Contraception Mandate... decision is to require that Catholic orgs provide insurance that covers contraceptions...When pressed by FOX what did the WH press secretary say?  8. VIDEO: Flying People in New York City ?
9. VIDEO: Study Says Women Better at Parking Autos Than Men 

*** PENNSYLVANIA ACTION ALERT! ***
  SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR
STATE REPRESENTATIVE ROSEMARIE SWANGER'S
AMERICAN LAWS FOR AMERICAN COURTS BILL
  by Lisa Piraneo, Director of Government Relations
and Kelly Cook, National Field Director

As many of you know, we have been working to pass a Pennsylvania bill to prohibit foreign law, including sharia law, from consideration in any and all cases brought before our state courts. Our constitutional rights and founding principles of freedom should not be abridged by any offshore entity.

That bill is HB 2029, "American Laws for American Courts."

We are sending out another Alert on this critical issue, and again asking you to contact your Pennsylvania state representatives immediately, to declare your personal support for the bill, and urge them to add their names to the growing list of cosponsors.

Brigitte Gabriel and our national staff have made the passage of this bill a top priority for the 2012 legislative session. This is a vital step in the overall protection of the nation. This erosion of Constitutional authority must be stopped.

We were excited at how many of you responded immediately to our prior requests on Pennsylvania's ALAC legislation. We know that many of you responded, because we heard from the office of the bill sponsor, Hon. RoseMarie Swanger, that a lot of legislators signed on as cosponsors right after our email went out.

Thank you so much!

And now we need your help again.

** ACTION ITEMS **

Make contact with your state representative:

Please either visit or call your representative and ask him/her to call Rep. Swanger's secretary, Lily Horst, at 717-787-2686 or email her at lhorst@pahousegop.com to be added as a cosponsor.

Click Here to find your representative.

Please move swiftly on this, as having many cosponsors on a bill helps it build momentum very quickly.

Follow-up action step to take if your representative is, or becomes, a cosponsor:

Follow-up action steps to take if your representative is undecided or opposed:

As always, thank you for all of your efforts. You ARE making a difference and we are making huge progress in Pennsylvania!

REMEMBER, YOUR VOICE COUNTS!
IF EACH OF US DOES JUST A LITTLE, TOGETHER WE CAN
ACCOMPLISH A LOT!

On PA TV: Glorification of Fogel Family Murderers
Feb 01, 2012 12:45 pm

Independent Thought on Jihad and Islam at the Daily Kos
Feb 01, 2012 11:57 am

Congressional Cyber Initiative Shows Promise
Feb 01, 2012 11:42 am

Triple-Digit Oil Investing and a Natural Gas Price Rebound: Bill Powers
Feb 01, 2012 11:34 am

Rubio: Bill to Repeal Coverage for Contraceptives Introduced
Feb 01, 2012 10:55 am

Israel Edges Closer to Iran Attack
Feb 01, 2012 01:53 am

Education: Common Core Standards Aren't Cheap
Feb 01, 2012 01:40 am

Terrorism Against Christians Update, January 31, 2012
Feb 01, 2012 01:15 am

BENADOR: America: Save the Constitution Say No To Obama
Jan 31, 2012 12:00 pm

Cyprus: The Last Round
Jan 31, 2012 11:13 am

Groundhog Day Indeed 

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 10:06 AM PST

(Steven Hayward)

Just in time for Groundhog Day tomorrow, fresh reminders of the stuck-in-the-rut status of the global warming-no, make that climate change controversy.  So it's going to be nearly 70 degrees here in Washington today, and close to it in New York.  A winter heat wave!  (Though not a record, it turns out; January 1950 was apparently warmer.)  The groundhog will think he missed his appointment, and woke up in May.  Last night NBC News ran a segment saying-wait for it!!-that the warm winter is a sign of climate change global warming after all, while we should all remember that last winter's very cold temperatures and snowstorms were evidence of global warming climate change.  (By the way, don't tell Eastern Europeans we're suffering from global warming right now.)

Meanwhile, the latest annual Pew Research Center annual survey on issue priorities is out, and once again, climate change ranked dead last out of the 20 priorities Pew asks respondents to rank.  Not only dead last, but with a 13 percent drop from five years ago.  (See the chart at the left; notice also that Environment in general has slipped by a similar amount.)

So what is the climate campaign doing?  Same old, same old.  The New York Times' Andy Revkin has a long and balanced post on his DotEarth blog that surveys the ruckus caused by the letter in the Wall Street Journal the other day decrying the climate crisis, which drew a rebuttal from the climateers in today's WSJ, stamping their feet and saying it is too so!  (Revkin shoots about as straight as anyone in the mainstream media on this issue.  A careful reading of his long post suggests he's not much impressed with the rebuttal, even though his sympathies are closer to their point of view.)

In related news, over the years it has been notable that there is one cohort of scientifically qualified people who doubt the Standard Climate Narrative in large numbers: meteorologists.  So whattyaknow:  the climate campaign is launching a pressure campaign to try to force meteorologists to conform to the party line.  Specifically, they want to American Meteorological Society (AMS), the main professional organization in the field, to crack down on the climate dissidents in their ranks.  It's the same old playbook of the left: enforce orthodoxy by capturing institutions.  It often works, but I doubt it will this time.

Michael Hayden succumbs to temptation 

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 09:57 AM PST

(Scott Johnson)

CNN has posted a fantastic column by Michael Hayden, the retired Air Force General who served as Director of the National Security Agency from 1999-2005 and Director of Central Intelligence from 2006-February 2009. CNN's editor's note adds that General Hayden is now serving as an adviser to the Romney campaign. General Hayden's column places the Fast & Furious operation into - how shall we put it? - a larger context:

So I've been trying to resist temptation these past months as I watch Attorney General Eric Holder deal with public and congressional reaction to the "Fast and Furious" scheme, the failed attempt by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to seed and then track U.S. firearms to Mexican drug cartels.

Fast and Furious was a secretive, high-risk operation seemingly intended to deal with an intractable problem abroad. On those grounds, some may be tempted to equate it to a CIA covert action.

But even if some attributes are similar - tough problem, edgy solution, inherent complexity, great secrecy, high operational and political risk - it was definitely not a covert action since those are clearly defined in an executive order as the province of the Central Intelligence Agency

Beyond that, if it had been a true covert action, the attorney general would have had to give his opinion as to its lawfulness beforehand; the implementing agency would have been required to exhaustively articulate risk; the National Security Council would have had to judge it favorably; President Barack Obama would have had to authorize it; and the Congress would have had to have been briefed before its implementation.

And all concerned would have had the opportunity to reject a bad idea, whatever its rationale.

These routine safeguards not only protect agencies, their leaders and their officers from legal and political jeopardy, they also protect the government from serious missteps.

Now Holder, without such safeguards in place, must defend himself against some very tough accusations, including one by some skeptics that the operation was intended principally to discredit, and thereby justify further regulation of, firearms dealers.

This is where the schadenfreude comes in....

Please read the whole thing.

Via Lucianne.

The Episcopal Church Welcomes You-Not! 

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 05:41 AM PST

(Steven Hayward)

The Episcopal Church was known for decades as "the Republican Party at prayer," but as the late Paul Seabury, a descendant of Bishop Seabury, the first Episcopal bishop in the U.S. after the Revolution, memorably put it in his famous 1978 Harper's magazine article, "Trendier than Thou," it would be better known today as the Marxist party at prayer-if there were any clerical Marxists left. Instead today we get the relentless tide of multicultural political correctness from the Episcopal Church, exemplified by this poster making the rounds:

I could go on, but why bother. Retired Episcopal priest J. Michael Povey provides the necessary fisking if you're curious. For years I used to say that the Episcopal Church would have to kick me out, but the relentlessness of its mediocre political correctness (at least left-wing Catholics are able to offer some rigorous arguments) made it impossible to remain. And the church's leadership seems oblivious to asking themselves why their membership continues to plummet while those icky "fundamentalist" churches are growing steadily.

If there were truth in advertising for religious banners, the Episcopal Church's commonplace signs would be required to say: "The Episcopal Church welcomes you-unless you're a fundamentalist or other unsophisticated mope."

The Church against Obamacare, cont'd 

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 05:06 AM PST

(Scott Johnson)

Michelle Malkin devotes her column to the Obamacare regulations requiring Catholic institutions to provide health insurance to employees including coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortifacients. (I'm linking to the version of Michelle's column posted at her site because it is full of links providing relevant background.) Michelle traces the new regulations back to December 2010:

How did we get here? The first salvo came in December 2010, when the American Civil Liberties Union pushed HHS and its Planned Parenthood-championing secretary, Kathleen "The Shredder" Sebelius, to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions in violation of their core moral commitment to protecting the lives of the unborn.

The ACLU called for a litigious fishing expedition against Catholic hospitals nationwide that refuse to provide "emergency" contraception and abortions to women. In their sights: Devout Phoenix Catholic Bishop Thomas Olmsted, who revoked the Catholic status of a rogue hospital that performed several direct abortions, provided birth control pills and presided over sterilizations against the church's ethical and religious directives for health care.

The ACLU and the feminists have joined with Obama to threaten and sabotage the First Amendment rights of religious-based health care entities. The agenda is not increased "access" to health care services. The ultimate goal is to shut down health care providers - Catholic health care institutions employ about 540,000 full-time workers and 240,000 part-time workers - whose religious views cannot be tolerated by secular zealots and radical social engineers.

Obamacare is an assault on the rights of all Americans. It represents one form of the "soft despotism" that Paul Rahe explores in his book on the subject. What is needed is not just an exemption for Catholic institutions, but rather repeal of the law. The whole damn thing has to go. The assault on Catholic institutions reveals the rot at the core.

Long Time Gone 

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 04:19 AM PST

(Scott Johnson)

Don Everly - the oldest of the Everly Brothers - turns 75 today; younger brother Phil Everly turned 73 last month. In the Cosmic American Music the Everly Brothers have a constellation all to themselves. They brought the close harmony singing of traditional country music into the mainstream of American popular music. More than a few great musicians learned harmony singing by listening to their records. A couple of weeks ago at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, Peter Asher recalled how he and Gordon Waller taught themselves harmony singing by imitating the Everly Brothers. Paul McCartney acknowledged his debt to the Everlys in "Let 'Em In" and wrote "On the Wings of a Nightingale" for their first post-reunion recording in 1984.

After tearing through a succession of memorable pop songs written for them by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant at the end of the 1950's, they struck out on their own with Warner Brothers in 1960. Some of their most brilliant work followed, including their 1960 Warner Brothers hit "Cathy's Clown." Even as their audience in the United States deserted them in the wake of the British Invasion, they continued deepening and updating their work on albums such as The Everly Brothers Sing and Roots.

Their British fans never really left them. After performing together with their faces a few inches apart from each other for about 20 years, the brothers broke up in public onstage at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, in 1973. When they reunited ten years later, they repaid their debt to their British fans by debuting the reunion in a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. (Rhino Records has now released a two-disc recording of that concert.)

The video above captures Don and Phil in a beautiful performance of "Take a Message To Mary/Maybe Tomorrow" at the Christmas 1983 BBC concert following their reunion concert that fall. It's a medley that goes back to their Cadence recordings of the 1950's and brings their career full circle. "Take a Message to Mary" was written by the Bryants, "Maybe Tomorrow" by the Everlys.

We saw the Everly Brothers at the University of Minnesota when their reunion tour took them through Minneapolis in June 1984, and again in the fall of 2003 when Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel - two of their most diligent students - brought them to St. Paul as part of their own version of a reunion tour. Seeing them all together gave me the occasion to meditate on the emotional pull of the brothers' close harmony singing in "The deep meaning of Simon and Garfunkel."

Who Else Will Challenge Obama's Eligibility, If Not Us?

Feb 01, 2012 01:49 pm

Tweet Stand up and fight or we can lose this fight. A grassroots internet effort is happening this week to blast fax each state's Secretary of State with thousands of requests to take Barack Obama's name off of their state's presidential election ballot because he is not Constitutionally eligible to serve as our president. Coming [...]

Read More and Comment: Who Else Will Challenge Obama's Eligibility, If Not Us?


 

"Green Light" To See Obama's Hawaii Files

Feb 01, 2012 01:44 pm

Tweet An attorney who presented evidence to a Georgia judge last week on Barack Obama's eligibility for the state's 2012 presidential ballot believes she now has a right to demand to see his original Hawaii documents. Obama last April released what he said was a copy of his original Hawaii birth documentation, but a number [...]

Read More and Comment: "Green Light" To See Obama's Hawaii Files


 

Why Did Obama Throw Holder Under The Bus?

Feb 01, 2012 01:43 pm

Tweet It's easy to tell when Attorney General Eric Holder is about to take part in another bout of prevarication before a congressional committee. Just look for a Friday night, White House sponsored, Department of Justice document dump. This time the White House oversaw the release of some 500 redacted emails and other assorted tid-bits, [...]

Read More and Comment: Why Did Obama Throw Holder Under The Bus?


 

Did Obama And Sebelius Tell Catholics To Go To Hell?

Feb 01, 2012 01:41 pm

Tweet America's Catholic bishops are princes of diplomacy, highly educated, erudite, men of tact, propriety. They're asked to shepherd the flock with a long historical timeframe-like, say, eternity. They tend not to have knee-jerk reactions to issues of the moment. And so, it's not often when a paragon of decorum, namely, Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik, [...]

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Romney 'I'm not concerned with the very poor'

Feb 01, 2012 01:33 pm

The media is all a twitter about this video clip of Romney from a CNN interview saying he is not concerned about the very poor. This is the problem with Romney, he has a way of stepping on his tongue. While this may not be fatal against Gingrich, it will be fatal when he is [...]

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Occupy Seattle Protestor Marries Abandoned Warehouse

Feb 01, 2012 01:13 pm

Tweet An Occupy Seattle protestor married an abandoned warehouse on Saturday, but it's not really what you might be thinking. Baylonia Aivaz didn't "marry" the vacant building due to some strange fetish, sexual hang-up or far-fetched daddy issues somehow involving derelict architecture. She did it in order to protest gentrification. "I'm doing this to show the building [...]

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Thousands To Attend Anti-Capitalist Forum In Brazil

Feb 01, 2012 01:05 pm

Tweet BRASILIA (AFP) - Tens of thousands of anti-capitalist militants, including members of Spain's "Indignant" movement and the US Occupy Wall Street, are due to attend the World Social Forum, which opens Tuesday in Brazil. The forum is an alliance of social movements opposed to the World Economic Forum, the annual gathering of the world's [...]

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Romney Wins Florida, Newt Wins Conservatives

Feb 01, 2012 12:51 pm

Tweet Mitt Romney heads into the next phase of the Republican presidential nominating contest carrying a big win under his belt, after reasserting his frontrunner status with a crushing victory over Newt Gingrich in Florida. However, Romney and the rest of the Republican candidates will have to fine-tune their approach as they enter the bevy [...]

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House GOP Seeks To Bar The Use Of Welfare Funds At Strip Clubs

Feb 01, 2012 12:45 pm

Tweet House Republicans don't want Uncle Sam paying for any more lap dances. A bill that GOP leaders are bringing to the House floor Wednesday would require states to prevent welfare recipients from accessing or spending their benefits at strip clubs, casinos and liquor stores. Republicans included the proposal in the payroll tax bill the [...]

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Farah Lays Down The Eligibility Question About Rubio On Hannity

Feb 01, 2012 12:39 pm

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 279 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS


Romney Wins Florida

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney clearly scored an impressive win in Florida last night. He needed to. He had a clear advantage in advertising dollars, outspending Newt Gingrich 5-to-1. But he also had another advantage. The exit polls showed that Florida voters were looking for one thing: They want Obama out; they were looking for a winner.

According to CNN's exit polling, 45% of voters said the most important quality in a candidate was the ability to defeat Barack Obama, and 58% of those voters backed Romney. Fifty-three percent of voters also said Romney was the candidate most likely to be able to defeat Obama.

But I want to offer the same caution I have made in previous messages about electability. The GOP has a history of nominating individuals who were supposedly the most electable but who came up short each time. The conventional wisdom about electability has often been wrong.

In hindsight, everyone loved and supported Ronald Reagan. But there has been a lot of revisionist history in the past 30 years. In 1980 conservatives nominated Ronald Reagan over the full-throated opposition of the GOP establishment. His victory was greeted gleefully by Democrats and the liberal media. Of all the possible nominees, Reagan was the one they were certain they could defeat. The electability argument was dead wrong. It was Jimmy Carter who got trounced on Election Day.

I can appreciate why the Romney camp is celebrating today. But here is what would worry me in the days and weeks ahead: 41% of Republican primary voters felt that Mitt Romney's positions on the issues were "not conservative enough."

While winning the statewide vote, Romney won only 38% of the vote in the Panhandle and in north Florida -- the state's most conservative areas. Combined, Gingrich and Santorum took 54% of the vote there. These voters are more representative of the conservative base of the GOP throughout the South and Midwest.

In the general election, Governor Romney will not be able to outspend Barack Obama 5-to-1. He will need a massive turnout from conservative voters if he is going to have any chance of winning. George W. Bush was reelected in 2004 because of tremendous turnout by conservative, evangelical voters in rural Ohio, who turned out to support the marriage amendment on the ballot that same year.

The Obama strategy will be to discourage conservatives from voting or to peel some of them off with appeals to class warfare. The Romney campaign needs to be thinking now about how it will get the conservative base energized in November.

Lastly, for all those who still cling to the misguided notion that Ron Paul is the only true conservative in the race, once again Paul did nearly twice as well among those who identified as moderate or liberal as those who identified as somewhat or very conservative.


What's Next?

Mitt Romney certainly has a new burst of momentum and is the clear GOP front-runner. But this race is far from over. For all the hype about the early contests in January, only four states voted and there are more delegates at stake this month (187) than last month (115). Seven states will vote in February and there could be some surprises ahead.

For example, as my good friend Bill Kristol writes this morning, perhaps more voters will take a second look at former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. The Florida contest was portrayed as largely a two-man race, a clash between Newt and Mitt. Coming off his victory in South Carolina, Newt was unable to "make the sale" with enough voters, despite significant spending on his part.

In contrast, Senator Santorum ran no negative ads, spent very little money and still managed to attract 13% of the vote last night. Moreover, while he suffers from perceptions about electability, he continues to enjoy high personal favorability ratings. A surprise showing might provide greater exposure and additional resources that could reshape the contest yet again. Stay tuned!


Warnings About Iran

Yesterday Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before Congress about the national security threats confronting America. There was some good news about a diminished threat from Al Qaeda in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, but Clapper had disturbing warnings about Iran.

While the world is focused on Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, Clapper warned members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that there is growing concern that Iran is prepared to launch terrorist attacks inside the United States. Clapper said last year's Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, D.C., "shows that some Iranian officials -- probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime."

This is a very dangerous time for America and the world. As Iran continues its feverish pursuit of nuclear weapons, it may also attempt to strike our homeland. The timing of Obama's planned defense cuts increases the danger that Iran will miscalculate its own strength based on our perceived weakness.


CBO Bashes Obama

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a stunning report this week that should have the Obama campaign reaching for the Maalox. It paints a bleak fiscal future of more deficits, higher taxes and more unemployment. Here are excerpts of an analysis of the CBO report from today's Wall Street Journal:

"CBO reports that annual spending over the Obama era has climbed to a projected $3.6 trillion this fiscal year from $2.98 trillion in fiscal 2008, or more than 20%. The government spending burden has averaged 24% of GDP, up from an average of about 20%. This doesn't include the $2 trillion tab for ObamaCare. All of this has increased the federal debt by about $5 trillion in a mere four years. ...In other words, the four years of Obama's Presidency will mark the four highest years in spending and deficits as a share of the economy since Harry Truman sat in the Oval Office.

"...On President Obama's watch, CBO says public debt will climb this year to 72.5% of the economy from 40.3% in 2008. This isn't as high as Italy or Greece, but it's rising fast toward the 90% level that begins to debilitate an economy.

"...Even the Keynesians who run CBO concede that the 2013 tax hike -- on capital gains, dividends, estates and small business -- would knock economic growth down to 1% next year and raise unemployment to 9.1% (from 8.5%). That means about 750,000 more jobless Americans. ...To sum it all up, CBO's facts plainly show that Mr. Obama has the worst fiscal record of any President in modern times. No one else is even close."

Not the media the Democrats or the Republicans will challenge Obama's eligibility so we have to

Feb 01, 2012 05:13 am | Coach Collins

By Suzanne Eovaldi, staff writer

Stand up and fight or we can lose this fight.

A grassroots internet effort is happening this week to blast fax each state's Secretary of State with thousands of requests to take Barack Obama's name off of their state's presidential election ballot because he is not Constitutionally eligible to serve as our president.

 Coming on the heels of the explosive eligibility hearing in the courtroom of Judge Michael Malihi, this citizens' effort is being led by RightMarch.com.

RightMarch recognizes we have to take up our own cause to see that only eligible candidates get on our 2012 election ballots because clearly, an omerta or code of silence is preventing our Congress state legislators or our Supreme Court from looking into this matter.

 Long ago we realized we could no longer depend on our country's media to provide us with the information we need in this matter.  Even a blackout of news ... Continue Reading:Not the media the Democrats or the Republicans will challenge Obama's eligibility so we have to

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American Minute January 31

Jan 31, 2012 05:13 pm | Coach Collins

By Bill Federer, staff writer

Jacob Duche' was born JANUARY 31, 1738. An Anglican minister, the Continental Congress had requested he open their first session with prayer. Conscious of impending British attack, Rev. Jacob Duche' read Psalm 35: "Plead my cause, Oh, Lord, with them that strive with me, fight against them that fight against me...Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me." John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail: "Rev. Duche' appeared with his clerk and in his pontificals, and read several prayers in the established form, and read...the 35th Psalm...I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seemed as if heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning." John Adams continued: "After this, Mr. Duche', unexpectedly to every body, struck out into an extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess, I never heard a better prayer, or one so well pronounced...with ... Continue Reading:American Minute January 31

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Why was Eric Holder thrown under Obama bus in White House document dump?

Jan 31, 2012 01:13 pm | Coach Collins

by Doug Book,  staff writer

It's easy to tell when Attorney General Eric Holder is about to take part in another bout of prevarication before a congressional committee. Just look for a Friday night, White House sponsored, Department of Justice document dump.

This time the White House oversaw the release of some 500 redacted emails and other assorted tid-bits, designed as usual to lead House and Senate investigators precisely where the Obama Regime wants them to go in their investigation of the "gunwalking" Operation Fast and Furious.

And one of those emails makes it clear that Eric Holder's DOJ aide, Monty Wilkinson received news of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder almost immediately after the December 2010 killing had taken place. (1)

"Tragic," Winkinson responded to December 15th emails from then Phoenix US Attorney Dennis Burke. "I've alerted the AG, the Acting DAG, Lisa, etc." (1)

And after asking Burke for any additional updates he ... Continue Reading:Why was Eric Holder thrown under Obama bus in White House document dump?

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February 01, 2012
      LIB RADIO HOST HUMILIATES BLACK GOP-ER
Thaddeus Matthews' Memphis-based radio show is in the spotlight today after he got into a heated argument with a guest on his show. The guest was Congressional candidate Charlotte Bergmann, a black female who also happens to be a member of the Republican party.  Watch the videos HERE.

  DO YOU LIVE NEAR A TERROR HOT SPOT?

For the past 40 years, University researchers have studied events in America considered to be terrorism or terror-related. That data has produced a map with places considered to be "hot spots" for potential terror attacks. Is your town on the map? See it HERE.

  SEN. REVEALS SECRET MEETING W/ MOSSAD
California's Diane Feinstein is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and yesterday she revealed in a televised Senate gathering that a classified meeting with the head of Israel's Mossad had just happened. Is this a serious breach of protocol or just a slip of the lip? Get the details HERE.

  DID the OCCUPIERS DUMP CONDOMS ON CATHOLIC SCHOOL GIRLS AT PRO-LIFE RALLY?
Reports from a rally held this past weekend at the Rhode Island State House claim that members of the Occupy Wall Street movement disrupted a Pro-Life rally with chanting, shouting and the dumping of condoms on a group of Catholic School girls. See video from the event HERE.

ON REAL NEWS FROM THE BLAZE - TONIGHT

What has happened to the Tea Party? South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint joins the Real News panel tonight and gives an uncensored look at the political party. Get a preview and find out how you can watch GBTV free for two weeks HERE.     VIRAL VID - PREVIEW SUPER BOWL SPOTS

For the non-football fans, the Super Bowl is all about the commercials. We've assembled a few of the new spots slated to run during the big game on Sunday. See them before the rest of the world does HERE. 

Chronicle · February 1, 2012

The Foundation

"In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution." --Alexander Hamilton

Upright

Romney wins big in Florida

"Last week Mitt Romney got skunked in South Carolina by Newt Gingrich. Over the course of five days and two debates Gingrich returned a punt, a fumble, and an interception, scored on a safety and pinned Obama deep in his own territory -- everything an opposing candidate could have done within the football metaphors of Superbowl week. Then came Florida. Big. Diverse. Expensive. Romney and his campaign righted the ship and put the big hurt on Gingrich. ... The problem Gingrich faces now is there is not much on the horizon for the next three weeks that can change the story line ... from his big loss last night. ... If the Obama campaign learned anything this week it was this: Mitt Romney didn't get to be Mitt Romney by rolling over and whimpering in the face of adversity." --political analyst Rich Galen

"To counteract Romney's money and organization, Gingrich needed electrifying debate performances but didn't deliver them, a blow to his chances in Florida and to his electability argument, which is heavily dependent on the notion that he would effortlessly flatten President Obama on the debate stage. ... Romney is now the dominant frontrunner again without having yet made a compellingly positive case for himself, although his victory speech promising 'a new era of prosperity' was a start. ... Conventional wisdom holds that the stiff challenge from Gingrich has made Romney a better candidate. If that's true, he's going to get the chance to get better still." --columnist Rich Lowry

"These endless debates have allowed front-runners to stumble and dark horses to catch up -- up to a point. Now as the primaries begin to come thick and fast, and debates wane, organization and money matter more and more, and that favors Romney. ... [T]hat said, the race is not over -- or rather, in terms of primaries and delegate counts, it has hardly begun, especially in the age of disastrous gaffe or embarrassing disclosure. ... Meanwhile, the candidates have to cut the suicidal 'you're a liar!' back and forth, and demand from Obama an explanation for the continued massive borrowing amid the latest dismal news." --historian Victor Davis Hanson

"To me, the real split among conservative voters is about whether it's actually important that a politician 'loves' us or is 'one of' us. Count me with the conservatives who could not care less. Notice this is different from saying character doesn't matter. Indeed, I look past the basic condescension common to most politicians to other, more important virtues of personal and professional conduct. The point is that, if politicians look at voters instrumentally, then we should return the favor. I don't care about wanting to have a beer with you, I care about whether you can be compelled or cajoled into enacting conservative policies." --columnist Daniel Foster

Share your thoughts on the Florida primary.

Editorial Exegesis

"A new congressional report shows that joblessness is underestimated, while debt skyrockets. Thirty-six pages into the Congressional Budget Office's 'Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022,' released Tuesday, is the news that 'the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2011 would have been about 1 1/4 percentage points higher than the actual rate of 8.7%' once the 'unusually large decline over so short a time' in labor force participation is factored out. This means that, contrary to the claims of a media rooting for Obama re-election, the real jobless rate is nearly 10% -- belying the notion of an Obama-led 'recovery.' ... Worse, as CNS News' Terry Jeffrey notes, the CBO forecasts a 30% jump in tax revenues between 2012 and 2014. ... In short, if current policies continue, 'hope' and 'change' -- at least in the form of a prosperous economy -- won't be coming any time soon. If that weren't bad enough, the CBO forecast another $1 trillion deficit this year and $4.7 trillion over the next four years, as the government speeds toward a fiscal abyss on a trip financed by the taxpayers' credit card. ... But as private-sector workers get stiffed, are their government counterparts feeling their pain? In a separate but not unrelated report, the CBO noted that federal employees' lavish pay and benefits put them far ahead of their private sector counterparts. Noncollege educated federal workers averaged '36% higher total compensation than similar private-sector employees,' the CBO said. Those with a bachelor's degree, meanwhile, averaged 15% higher. Overall, 'the federal government paid 16% more in total compensation' than the private sector. The dominant media may tell you a new day is dawning in Obama's America. In fact, our overfed government is partying, while those of us in the private sector pick up the tab for its excesses." --Investor's Business Daily

The Demo-gogues

Distortions: "Now I hear folks running around calling this class warfare. This is not class warfare, let me tell you something. Asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as a secretary, that's just common sense." --Barack Obama

He's right about one thing: "What I can say is this: That whoever [the Republican] nominee is, they represent ideas that I think are wrong for America. On a whole range of issues I think that whether it's Mr. Romney or Mr. Gingrich or Mr. Santorum or whoever else they might decide to select, they represent a fundamentally different vision of America. And it's not the bold generous forward looking optimistic America that I think built this country." --Barack Obama

The Party of Civility: "[Republicans] want to use legislation as a way to act like terrorists. They hold things as hostage. ... That is so stupid already for them to be pushing the Keystone pipeline issue in this [payroll tax cut extension] bill, in this conference. Republicans have been so mean-spirited, and I think that's coming across to the American people." --Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)

Delusional: "It's hard to believe how far the Tea Party has taken us away from making the kind of progress our country so greatly deserves. Republicans have launched an all-out assault on women, the middle class and our seniors in the name of protecting billionaires and Big Oil. ... With your support, Democrats can win in 2012 and once again produce the progressive change our country needs." --House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in a fundraising email

Dezinformatsia

The BIG Lie, Part I: "I think the unemployment rate ... is lower now than it was when [Obama] inherited it from President George W. Bush." --MSNBC's Chris Matthews

The BIG Lie, Part II: "Five trillion [dollars in debt] is what Bush did. Obama's 1.5. These are the facts. These are the facts." --HBO's Bill Maher ("According to the Treasury Department ... the total federal debt was $10.6 trillion when Obama was inaugurated. It is now $15.2 trillion, a $4.6 trillion increase. This is not up for debate. To quote Maher, these are the facts." --Newsbuster's Noel Sheppard)

The BIG Lie, Part III: "There was a tax, a small tax raise that [Bill Clinton] put forward that not one Republican voted for. The economy turned around. Turned out that that tax raise really did a lot of good things for the economy." --HBO's Bill Maher

Blame the Tea Party: "[H]as the Tea Party made compromise a dirty word, and is that why Congress can't seem to get anything done?" --CBS's Bob Schieffer to Rep. Michelle Bachmann

Race bait: "The language of GOP racial politics is heavy on euphemisms that allow the speaker to deny any responsibility for the racial content of his message. The code words in this game are 'entitlement society' -- as used by Mitt Romney -- and 'poor work ethic' and 'food stamp president' -- as used by Newt Gingrich. References to a lack of respect for the 'Founding Fathers' and the 'Constitution' also make certain ears perk up by demonizing anyone supposedly threatening core 'old-fashioned American values.'" --Fox News' Juan Williams

Newspulper Headlines:

In Other Words, We Are Hopelessly Lost: "Obama Declares 'We've Come Too Far to Turn Back Now'" --MSNBC.com

Longest Books Ever Written: "The State of the Union: What Obama Doesn't Get About America" --TheAtlantic.com

Shortest Books Ever Written: "Obama's Common Sense" --Huffington Post

We Blame Global Warming: "Woman Claims Neighbor's Energy Efficient Windows Are Melting Her Toyota Prius" --CBS Los Angeles website

Is There a Case for It?: "The Case Against Stretching Earlobes" --Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Bottom Story of the Day: "GOP Candidates Criticize Obama, Each Other" --CNN.com

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

Village Idiots

Completely backwards: "The thing that's dragging down the economy is the government is shrinking so rapidly that it's pulling the overall growth rate to 2.8 percent." --White House adviser Austan Goolsbee

"Mistakes"? "Obviously I think if the question is referring to things like Fast and Furious, I think everyone has acknowledged that mistakes, serious mistakes, were made there. The key question [is] to make sure that those mistakes, from my standpoint, are never again repeated."   

--Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on the biggest scandal in years

"The Obama administration has undertaken the most serious and sustained actions to secure our borders in our nation's history. And it is clear from every measure we currently have that this approach is working." --Janet Napolitano

Faulty memory: "[I] don't remember anything coming from the Democratic Party about George W. Bush being equated to a terrorist or George W. Bush being equated to somebody who's been accused of manslaughter. I don't remember anybody questioning, you know, some of the things about George W. Bush that have been questioned about the president. I don't remember an opposing governor wagging his or her finger in president George W. Bush's face. I mean, the truth is, is that the Republican Party starts from a core of extreme positions and it seems that that leads to extreme rhetoric when things don't seem to be work out for them with the voters." --DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse

Left-theology: "There is also a negative underside to that history with respect to slavery, manifest destiny, to war, you know, to empires, so I, frankly, am glad American civil religion is dying. But it does raise the practical question, what does bind us together in some way as a country? We need some substitute for that and I don't think we've found it yet." --Obama's former "faith adviser" Shaun Casey

Short Cuts

"President Obama halted the Keystone pipeline, citing its potential harm to underground aquifers in Nebraska. He said he's a committed environmentalist. Barack Obama is so committed to recycling that he's promising hope and change in his next term." --comedian Argus Hamilton

"The worst thing about the political debates isn't the format or the content, but that it magnifies debating skills to such an extent. I keep hearing that Gingrich would demolish Obama in a debate. I disagree. Republicans would watch such a debate and decide that Newt had mopped the floor with Barack; Democrats would see it the other way around. And the next day, the liberal media would announce that Obama won by a knockout in the first round. As we all know, a president no more needs to be a great debater than he needs to know how to juggle plates, play the accordion or yodel." --columnist Burt Prelutsky

"Had I been asked to deliver the State of the Union address, it would not have delayed your dinner plans: 'The State of our Union is broke, heading for bankrupt, and total collapse shortly thereafter. Thank you and goodnight! You've been a terrific crowd!'" --columnist Mark Steyn

"During an interview with ABC, President Obama said, 'I make a mistake every hour, every day.' I wouldn't mind that so much if he didn't keep signing them into law." --Fred Thompson

Read more: 

Today's Headlines:  Wednesday, February 01, 2012

WH:'No Constitutional Rights Issue' in Forcing Catholics to Act Against Their Faith

CBO: Obama's Policies to Increase National Debt 47 Percent to $21.7 Trillion by 2022

State Dep't Official Discusses Promotion of 'Human Rights for LGBT People' Around the World

Please make a much-appreciated donation to the Media Research Center. We pledge to make every dollar count.

Sen. Johanns to Cordray: 'I Can't Imagine How Anyone Can Maintain Your Service Is Valid'

Pro-Life Groups Hail 'A Major Victory for Life'

CBO: Taxes Will 'Shoot Up by More Than 30 Percent' Over Next 2 Years

Romney's Aggression, Money, Organization Helped Him Bury Gingrich in Fla.

Clinton Accuses Assad of Setting Syrian Minorities Against Each Other

CBO: Unemployment to Be 'Largely Unchanged' in 2012, 2013

Corzine on List of Top Obama 2012 Campaign Bundlers

Bipartisan Call for Senate to Move Quickly on Insider-Trading Bill

Forest Service Says WWII Statue of Jesus Can Stay; Atheists Plan to File Suit

COMMENTARY:

Jan Brewer Vs. Shoe-Tossing Journalist
By L. Brent Bozell III
Liberal journalists can insult a governor for challenging Obama, even after they enthusiastically channeled praise for shoe throwing at Bush's head.

And It's Only the End of January
By Rich Galen
There is a theory in politics that the proper time to judge a campaign isn't when everything is going well. The way to judge a campaign is how it recovers from a stumble.

First, They Came for the Catholics
By Michelle Malkin
As always, tolerance is a one-way street in the Age of Obama. "Choice" is in the eye (and iron fist) of the First Amendment usurper.


NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP:

Tomorrow's regular Thursday Webcast will examine
two extraordinary 'ONE MILLION' events

• One Millionth E-Verify Worksite (and brand new employer E-Verify data on our website)

MSNBC finds racism in everything: But can they find racism in a standard stump line about Obama's singing? Yup. Get the clip and Glenn's reaction.

How does George Soros collapse companies? Richard Poe, author of The Shadow Party, explained it all on GBTV last night. What did he have to say? WATCH

Independence USA - all new episode! The Belcastro's are well on their way towards self sufficiency but Frank worries that people may try to take what they have if an emergency were to strike.  With Adam's help, he attempts to make a cannon for protection. When it comes time to test the cannon with their homemade lead shot not everyone is excited to try it. Don't miss an all new episode of Independence USA - live at 8pm ET tonight. In case you missed last week's show it's available on demand!

Is Glenn coming to your city? Glenn is hitting the road beginning in March on his new comedy tour Unelectable 2. Find out if he will be stopping in your city.