Quote: 

"Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men."

'Our Values Are Being Destroyed': Beck Blasts New Fed Farm Rule Plan 

The federal government is proposing some sweeping new regulations that will affect how family farms operate in America. The Blaze has reported on these regulations over the last year. This week we covered the testimony by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis before the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, and Pensions.

The regulations and what Solis had to say did not sit well with Glenn Beck. He spent significant portion of his Thursday GBTV broadcast explaining his deep concerns. GlennBeck.com describes this as "one of his most passionate monologues since he began to broadcast on television."

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)

Monumental

In Search of America's National Treasure 

On Tuesday, March 27, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. (local) in more than 450 major movie theaters, audiences will come together for a live, one-night only theatrical event called MONUMENTAL: IN SEARCH OF AMERICA¹S NATIONAL TREASURE, hosted by Kirk Cameron.

The two-hour show will include special guests, live music, and a showing of Kirk's new documentary film MONUMENTAL.

Audiences will be inspired as they come together at the same time in cities across the country to rediscover the people and the principles that made America the strongest, most free and prosperous nation on earth.

Kirk Cameron will take audiences on a journey through live conversations with special guests, live music from top artists, and his new documentary MONUMENTAL. Trace the heroic and harrowing travels of the early Pilgrims. Encounter the unlikely men and women who risked everything for liberty. Experience the stories of faith that guided education, government, and civic life. Hear from inspiring leaders on simple and practical ways to keep America's ideals alive, beginning at home. A high-energy patriotic event, MONUMENTAL will unite audiences in a celebration of America's unique story of faith and freedom.

OFFICIAL SITE - http://www.monumentalmovie.com  

Monumental Trailer

Dear Fellow Patriot,

We have a choice in this years Pennsylvania Senatorial election that will have far reaching consequences for Pennsylvania. 

Roger Howard is challenging Dominic Pileggi in the 9th district. Dominic has never been challenged and with the lack of any reformative legislation coming from Harrisburg along with the redistricting fiasco, he is very vulnerable. Can you imagine replacing the third most powerful Republican in Harrisburg? 

Right now what stands in our way is the ability to get the message out. We are ordering yard signs and if we had an extra $1000.00 we could double what we are ordering. 

Can you make a small donation of $10, $25 or $50. It would make a big difference. Please go to the web site now

www.roger4pa.com

Important Conference in PA

 PA Leadership Conference (PLC) - On Friday and Saturday, March 23rd and 24th, the Commonwealth's largest gathering of conservative leaders and activists occurs in Harrisburg. The Friday Keynote Speaker is Fox News' Senior Political Analyst Britt Hume. Other notable speakers include Senator Pat Toomey, Herman Cain and Grover Nordquist.

The PA Coalition is once again well represented with several members on the speaking docket including our Director of Health Care Reform, Dr. Nick Pandelidis who will speak concerning aspects of the proposed PA Health Care Exchange and PA Coalition President Greg Wrightstone will be moderating the Energy Panel titled "Marcellus - How Shale we Proceed?"    Please stop by the PA Coalition's table at PLC to receive a free piece of Marcellus Shale and pick up literature on the PA Health Care Exchange. We are proud to be able to sponsor noted film-maker Ann McElhinney whose newest film "FrackNation" is to be release in June. This film will confront and expose the anti-Marcellus zealots and neo-Luddites who oppose responsible development Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale. Go to PLC to register or learn more.

Additionally, in a recent email, we regretfully omitted listing a free market candidate who is running against Union Lackey Mark Mustio: 

Sue Means

The Committee to Elect Sue Means

3485 South Park Road

Bethel Park, PA 15102

www.ElectSueMeans.com

Constitution 101:
The Meaning and History of the Constitution

Available to you, your family, your friends,
and all Americans.

Weeks One & Two Now Available - Sign Up TODAY!

Dr. Larry P. Arnn

Over the years, many friends of Hillsdale, those who never attended college here, have said to me: "Dr. Arnn, I wish I could take Hillsdale's Constitution course!"

In response to these requests, this past year, for the first time ever, Hillsdale College offered the "Introduction to the Constitution" lecture series at no charge. Frankly, I wasn't sure what sort of a response a course like this would have.

That's why I was excited to see that YOU and almost 200,000 other people from all over the United States registered for "Introduction to the Constitution."

Thank you very much for registering and participating. I hope you learned a lot from the series.

I was thrilled, not only by the response, but at what it indicates: Americans are willing and eager learn about the Constitution and to defend the principles of liberty that made America so prosperous!

And this re-awakening of national interest in the Constitution comes not a minute too soon.

Now, for the first time ever, Hillsdale College is offering a no-cost 10-week online Constitution course based on the class Hillsdale College students must complete for graduation:

"Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution"

This course on the U.S. Constitution is available online at no charge to anyone who wants to understand and defend the timeless principles of liberty upon which our nation was founded!

I am proud to be teaching part of our NEW "Constitution 101" course and hope YOU will be one of my students again!

"Constitution 101" begins on February 20, 2012, and concludes the week of April 30. It will cover such topics as the Declaration of Independence and its connection to the Constitution, how the Constitution is structured to protect individual liberty and ensure good government, the crisis of constitutional government faced by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and modern challenges to the Constitution during the "Progressive" era.

It is my honor to teach the first class, "The American Mind," and the final class, "The Recovery of the Constitution." All of the classes will be taught by Hillsdale College professors - the top teachers in their field and the same ones who instruct our students here on Hillsdale's campus.

Classes listed in Blue have been posted on YouTube and can be viewed by clicking on the link for each class below. 

The U.S. Constitution

A Reader 

Editorial Note: Just received a couple of copies of the reader.   Not just a short course pamphlet this; with the heft of 'Atlas Shrugged', it is well worth getting whether or not you choose to take the course. 

Hillsdale College is a private, coeducational, residential, liberal arts college with approximately 1,400 students. Founded in 1844, the College remains, in the words of its Articles of Association, "grateful to God for the inestimable blessings resulting from the presence of civil and religious liberty and intelligent piety" in our nation, and dedicated to "the diffusion of sound learning" that is "essential to the perpetuity of these blessings."

Hillsdale College is distinguished by its rigorous core curriculum, by its principled rejection of federal and state taxpayer funding, and by the pledge of its Board of Trustees to resists any attempts by the government to regulate its internal affairs.

Hillsdale College promotes the principles of liberty nationwide through its national speech digest, Imprimis, which has a monthly circulation of over 2 million, and through several outreach programs. In 2008, Hillsdale launched its Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. The College will also launch the Hillsdale Graduate School of Statesmanship in fall 2012.

---

---

 March 23rd, 2012, marks an important and unfortunate anniversary. It will have been exactly two years since President Obama forced his unpopular health care takeover onto the American people. Americans for Prosperity has educated the public about the dangers of government interference in the health care market for the past several years, and now the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments and make a ruling on that very issue. As you are most likely aware, the U.S. Supreme Court will be considering the constitutionality of several elements of the President's health care bill. This may be our best chance to overturn this offense against our health care freedoms. That's why Americans for Prosperity will be hosting a Hands Off My Health Care rally for free-market grassroots activists from across the country at the Supreme Court on March 27th. Details can be found below.

Dear Group:

Please join us and Americans for Prosperity - Pennsylvania as we ride to DC to tell the Supreme Court to STOP THE OBAMA HEALTHCARE TAKEOVER!

Join us on the bus March 27th!  We have buses leaving from ALL OVER PA!  Click here to find your stop and sign up!

 Will you join me, Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania and your fellow Patriots to make sure our side is heard too?  Click here to sign up for the bus!

Please sign up here for our March 27th Rally to DC.   Here are a list of locations we are leaving from:

CENTRAL

BERKS

LEBANON

LANCASTER

YORK

HARRISBURG

CAMP HILL 

GETTYSBURG

ALLENTOWN

WEST

BUTLER

ALLEGHENY

MONROEVILLE

FAYETTE

SOMERSET

EAST

SCRANTON

LEHIGHTON

MEDIA

KING OF PRUSSIA

QUAKERTOWN

DOYLESTOWN

LANGHORNE

Don't forget to click here and sign up today (seating is limited)!

SIgned....group leader.

In Liberty,

Jennifer Stefano
Pennsylvania State Director
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and
Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF)
P.O. Box 843
Washington Crossing, PA 18977

Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,

UPCOMING EVENTS:

On March 19 is a special evening with activist extraordinaire Pamela Geller. Plus, we have special discount tickets of Aish's annual Israel Event. Contact our Office at 215-338-9188 for ticket information.

The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom is being held Friday, March 23 atnoon, local time, outside federal buildings, Congressional offices and historic sites across the country. The theme for the Rally is "Stand Up for Religious Freedom-Stop the HHS Mandate!"

Thousands of Americans of all faiths will be participating in these peaceful rallies, organized by the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society to oppose the new mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that requires all employers provide free contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, even in violation of their consciences.

Religious leaders and other public figures will speak out against the HHS Mandate at each Rally site. Holding signs reading "Stand Up for Religious Freedom" and "Stop the HHS Mandate," participants will offer hymns and prayers for our nation and pass out literature to the public about why the HHS Mandate is unconstitutional and Un-American.

The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom will be a peaceful, family-friendly, non-partisan, ecumenical event. For more information, please see the Rally Guidelines and Protocols, below.

Reading

Madison Building

400 Washington Street (Map)

E-mail the Rally Captain

Dear Patriots,

I would encourage you to go and meet Sam. Please listen very closely to what and why he thinks like he does. I know he is a moral man.

Nullify Now! Philadelphia

{ For Ticket Information } 

From July 16 through July 18, 2012, Christians United for Israel will be holding its 7th Annual Washington Summit. We're going back to stand with Israel in our nation's capital. This year - more than ever - we need you to join us!

In the coming months, critical decisions are going to be made about Iran, Israel and the world. Finally, Washington is beginning to focus on the issue of a nuclear Iran. Many of our leaders want to confront this looming threat. But others want to keep kicking the can down the road. The debate is far from over.

• We know that when thousands of CUFI activists arrive in DC and on Capitol Hill, we can change the conversation.
• We can remind our leaders that a nuclear Iran is not only a threat to Israel, but to the US as well. And we can demonstrate to our elected officials that their constituents care enough about this issue to show up at their DC offices.
• We know that we can create a sense of immediacy that's otherwise lacking.
• We know that the more of us who show up and speak out -- the louder our voice and the greater our impact.

We stand at a critical juncture in history. Don't be silent! Don't miss your chance to make a difference! Don't pass up your opportunity to defend America and bless Israel!

Our leaders need to remember that we are watching them and we need to remember that God is watching us.

2012 Primary Debate Schedule

LISTEN LIVE TO REPATRIOT RADIO

"BETTER THAN EVER"

(all times are eastern)

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

Wednesday 3-4pm "Patriots Watch" - Billy Baer and Dan Haggerty

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

Friday 10-11pm "Veterans' Weekly Forum" - Rich Davis and David Bellavia   

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

March 14, 2012

I am sending this out as a separate message due to the importance of the subject.

You have seen that an E-verify bill is being considered by our politicians. At first glance, it looks good.  BUT  BUT  BUT read on! Jim 

Many groups, to include Numbers USA, are urging passage of this bill and they have sent many e-mails out requesting we send e-mails and phone calls to have this bill passed. 

House Speaker Boehner is not bringing the bill up to the House at this time and is being criticized.   If passed, this bill would give the Government  complete authority on E-verify and  eliminateany states rights regarding E-verify.  Yes, our Government would run it. You know what happens when our Government runs anything! 

Some intelligent politicians rightfully offered an amendment to correct the existing bill to permit and give states rights regarding e-verify.  Unfortunately the amendment was killed.  

RedState Morning Briefing
For March 16, 2012  

The 2012 RedState Gathering will be held August 2-5 at the Omni Jacksonville Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida. With two full days of speakers and activities this year, the schedule will not disappoint.

It has already been announced that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will be a keynote speaker. I am thrilled to have him at the RedState podium this year.

I can now share with you that Florida Governor Rick Scott and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson will also be speaking at the Gathering. As we continue to solidify our schedule and speakers, I will disclose them to you as soon as I am able.

Click here to learn more and register.

We hope to see you in August!

Thanks,
Erick

1. Against Partial Repeal

There are a number of conservatives clamoring to begin partially repealing Obamacare. Some are misguided, thinking we need to have a series of partial repeal votes to go on and get rid of the bad everyone can agree to get rid of and also keep the issue alive with the voters.

Others are useful idiots. They claim to want to get rid of parts of the bill about which there is bipartisan contempt. In reality, they actually know that each time a part of the bill is repealed or "improved" the harder it becomes to actually get rid of the whole.

Both those who naively think we should keep nibbling away and those who think we should improve it as a back door way to keeping some semblance of "reform" are misguided at best and deluded at worst.

Full repeal is the only tactic the GOP should take for very legitimate reasons.

2. After a Decade of Operations, Is It Time to Pull the Plug on Afghanistan?

As we hit the 10 1/2 year mark in Afghanistan, the state of trust and confidence between the coalition and the Afghan people is at perhaps its lowest ebb, and support for the war effort is wavering across the political spectrum. Given this, it appears time to reconsider the current status of our effort there - what have we accomplished, and what do we still hope and reasonably expect to accomplish? - as well as what the future may and should hold. Below the fold are some questions that need to be considered about our objectives, accomplishments, and expectations in Afghanistan. This list is not exhaustive by any means, and I certainly don't claim to have all of the answers; in fact, I may not have any of them. However, they do need to be carefully thought about, and answered, at some point in the immediate future.

3. Libtalker Randy Rhodes spews anti-Indian racism like so many teeth.

You know, I have a problem with the way that somebody ambushed Randi Rhodes and got her to make racist and prejudiced comments about the governors of Louisiana and South Carolina. It's just... cruel to do that to an alcoholic on a bender; when you have somebody with an existing history of being found face down in the gutter with the recent contents of her stomach spread out around her in a semi-particulate spray, taking advantage of that by shoving a microphone in her face and asking her to spout off some good, old-fashioned racism is simply not very civi... wait, hold on. She talked this trash on the air?

"Bobby Jindal even converted from Hinduism - Nikki Haley, too - in order to be acceptable to the conservative South in Louisiana and uh - [about a five second pause] Georgia! I mean, that is crazy that in order to be acceptable to the party you have to, you know, pretend that you've given up your religion!"

While sober?

Heritage Hotsheet

Experts on the Day's Hottest News

Items for March 16, 2012

How the Prez bought labor favor   

New York Post

North Korea plans to launch long-range rocket   

Associated Press   

EPA regs could hamper oil, natural gas production report says    

The Washington Times 

Afghanistan's Karzai calls for NATO to leave all villages   

Reuters     

Latest Heritage Research:

 Tell a joke:

Q: What's the difference between a liberal and a puppy?

A: A puppy stops whining after it grows up.  

2012 Political Season Will Be a Street Fight

by Lawrence Sellin, PhD

The United States is ruled by a Democrat and Republican oligarchy, where power is consolidated, not with the American people, but with a relatively small group of politicians and financiers. Should we stand for this?  

Calls for Heredia of the Arizona Democratic Party to Retract Slanderous Statements   - Mar 15, 2012 10:30 am

A Practical Guide to Situational Awareness   - Mar 15, 2012 10:21 am

Under Oath, Alamoudi Ties MAS To Brotherhood   - Mar 15, 2012 10:11 am

Does the Market Really Want 'Smart Meter Version 2.0'?  - Mar 15, 2012 10:04 am

The Consensus Wants You   Mar 15, 2012 09:55 am

Saudi Grand Mufti Calls for "Destruction of All Churches in Region"   - Mar 14, 2012 09:16 pm

BENADOR: High Treason for Obama, his Administration & the People's Representatives   - Mar 14, 2012 10:30 am

How I Became a Hate Group   - Mar 14, 2012 09:45 am

Keystone Cronies: State Agency Colludes with CAIR-PA

Posted By Hillel Zaremba On March 11, 2012

March 15, 2012
  AMJA's goal: replacing our Constitution with sharia law  

The enablers of radical Islam in government, academia and the media regularly dismiss warnings like ours. They have either never heard of, don't want to know about, or don't want you to know about, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA).

When you read the eye-popping column below (highlights added), posted by our friend Andrew Bostom, you'll be reminded why the willful blindness of the enablers of radical Islam is so dangerous.

We take little comfort in the ruling of an AMJA jurist (quoted below), who writes (referring to the Muslim community in America): "The Islamic community does not possess the strength to engage in offensive jihad at this time."

  Mainstream American Muslim Jurists' Blueprint for Undermining America's Legal System
  Posted By Andrew Bostom On March 14, 2012     

Barack Obama to Khalid Muhammad: Two Degrees of Separation 

John Podhoretz and Patterico highlight a close connection between Barack Obama and Khalid Muhammad. Obama, as we know, was a disciple of Derrick Bell; in the video that Breitbart.com released a few days ago, he urged his listeners to open their hearts and minds to Bell's teachings. So, what were Bell's teachings?

Bell was a fervent admirer of Louis Farrakhan and Khalid Muhammad of the Nation of Islam. Podhoretz quotes a 1994 interview in which Bell said, "We should really appreciate the Louis Farrakhans and the Khalid Muhammads while we've got them." Our readers are well aware of the repellent Farrakhan, but who was Khalid Muhammad? Patterico gives us Muhammad's "Kill the Cracker" speech, in which Muhammad, whom Derrick Bell so admired, advocated genocide:

Thursday, March 15, 2012

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 236 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS


NAACP Takes Voter ID To U.N.

A debate over voter ID laws has erupted in Geneva, Switzerland. It's not because of anything the Swiss have done. Unbelievably, the NAACP is taking its crusade against voter IDs to the United Nation's Human Rights Council. This is a bizarre move given that the Obama Justice Department is already blocking voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas.

Fox News reports that eight states have passed voter ID laws in the past year, and legislation is pending in 32 other states. Yesterday, Pennsylvania became the latest state to enact a voter ID law. The American people overwhelmingly support voter ID laws, and the Supreme Court has upheld them. So why would the NAACP go halfway across the globe to bash the United States at the U.N. Human Rights Council?

The left doesn't like America very much. They want to "fundamentally transform" it into something more like a European-style socialist welfare state. Increasingly, whenever the left loses a debate in this country, it turns to the "international community" for support. Left-wing judges see no problem with using foreign law to support their radical rulings.

And what about the U.N. Human Rights Council? There are 47 nations that sit on the council, including some of the worst violators of human rights. The NAACP is taking its case against our voter ID laws before the likes of Burkina Faso, Cuba, China and Saudi Arabia, which does not even allow women to vote!

The Bush Administration refused to deal with the U.N. Human Rights Council due to its blatant anti-Israel bias. But Obama reversed that. And, for the first time ever, Obama's State Department submitted a report to the council in 2010 that was critical of America's human rights record. Acting on Obama's precedent, the NAACP feels justified taking its case against voter ID laws to the U.N.


Here We Go Again

Reuters reports that following discussions yesterday between British Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama, both nations are shortly expected to "to join forces in a release of oil from government-controlled reserves." This action is being taken, again quoting Reuters, because "Rising world oil prices have pushed U.S. gasoline prices up sharply this year and threaten to choke economic recovery ahead of Obama's bid for re-election in November." Here we go again.

Let me make a couple of points. Obama released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves last June. It didn't do much then, and I suspect it won't do much now.

My car, just like everyone else's, runs on gasoline. Just like you, I am happy when the price goes down. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was not meant for price manipulation but for emergencies.

I realize Barack Obama's falling approval rating might qualify as an emergency at the Democrat National Committee, but "political emergencies" don't count. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created to address emergencies in supply disruption like the Arab oil embargo or a major natural disaster.

Oil prices are high in part because oil is a commodity and the market looks forward, not backwards. Major industries that rely on oil, looking at what the Obama Administration has done, are betting that prices are going to remain high in the future because there will be less supply on the market.

For example, the number of operational rigs in the Gulf of Mexico was cut in half after the 2010 BP spill. Why? Because of the Obama drilling ban that held up scores of permits.

We don't have to guess about this. Obama's green agenda relies on making traditional energy more expensive. The first thing Obama's Interior Secretary did when he took office was to cancel scores of drilling leases. His Energy Secretary once advocated $8.00-a-gallon gasoline. A Harvard study estimated that Obama's cap and trade scheme could have resulted in $7.00-a-gallon gasoline. Obama blocked the Keystone XL pipeline. And Obama himself promised to bankrupt the coal industry.

Here's something else to consider. Do you recall how dismissive the Democrats are whenever we talk about drilling in Alaska? They say we can't drill our way out of this problem; that more oil on the market isn't the solution. So why then is Obama once again releasing oil onto the global market?

When Barack Obama took office, the national average for a gallon of gasoline was $1.84. Oil and gas prices have been going up ever since. But now that he is in full campaign mode and his poll numbers are falling, the oil is flowing so long as it suits his interests.


FBI Issues Homeland Warning

ABC News is reporting that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued an "awareness bulletin" to local law enforcement agencies warning them to be prepared for possible attacks from HVEs -- homegrown violent extremists. The FBI is concerned that the HVEs may launch reprisal attacks against Americans and U.S. military personnel in response to the killings of Afghan civilians last weekend by an American soldier. Here's an excerpt:

"The FBI and DHS [Department of Homeland Security] are concerned that this event could contribute to the radicalization or mobilization of homegrown violent extremists [HVEs] in the homeland, particularly against U.S.-based military targets... [the killings] will likely be incorporated into violent extremist propaganda and could contribute to an individual's radicalization to violence."

The FBI was wise to issue the warning. But it once again underscores the reality of the enemy we are confronting. The FBI is not worried about radicalized Lutherans or Mormon extremists. It is worried about radical Muslims.

Yet when Rep. Peter King (R-NY) holds hearings about the dangers of radicalization within the Muslim community, the left goes nuts. When the New York Police Department conducts surveillance of mosques, the ACLU threatens to sue. But it is impossible to fight and win a war if you refuse to acknowledge who the enemy is.
 

OBAMA: COMMUNIST-RECOGNIZED CONGRESSMAN 'SHARES OUR VALUES'

Read more: 

Awesome 1: 20 Million Extra People Will Lose Their Private Health Care Under ObamaCare
Awesome 2: And This Is Going to Cost Double What We Said It Would

-Ace

If you like your doctor, you can have this other doctor over here. 

As many as 20 million Americans could lose their employer-provided coverage because of President Obama's healthcare reform law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new report Thursday.

The figure represents the worst-case scenario, CBO says, and the law could just as well increase the number of people with employer-based coverage by 3 million in 2019.

The best estimate, subject to a "tremendous amount of uncertainty," is that about 3 million to 5 million fewer people will obtain coverage through their employer each year from 2019 through 2022.

Given the CBO's flacking for ObamaCare, and the reliability of government "estimates" (I won't get you pregnant if I just put in the tip), I'm thinking the "worst case" scenario is really the most likely scenario.

But the good news is -- this will cost double what the CBO claimed it would. 

The Congressional Budget Office has extended its cost estimates for President Obama's health care law out to 2022, taking in more years of full implementation, and showing that the bill is substantially more expensive -- twice as much as the original $900 billion price tag.

In a largely overlooked segment of the CBO's update to the budget outlook released Tuesday, the independent arm of Congress found that the bill will cost $1.76 trillion between now and 2022.

That only counts the cost of coverage, not implementation costs and other changes.

"The bill spends more than the president promised, it covers fewer people -- probably 2 million fewer people -- and it taxes more than was expected," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee.

Sessions notes that while we're dismantling our Navy to save $2.1 trillion, ObamaCare itself costs $2.6 trillion (when you take into account all costs).

Seems like we don't have that money, and people don't like this program.

Breitbart.com notes that while this double-the-costs story broke yesterday, the networks all failed to mention it.

Instead, Dianne Sawyer chose to lush about the economy "heating up."

Should Al Sharpton Be Tossed off Air? Watch His "You a Punk Faggot!" and "Colin Powell Is House Negro" Videos

Mar 13, 2012 09:59 pm | Jeff Dunetz

This post was originally published in December 2010. But since Politico published the video below  as an exclusive today, I thought I would republish from the days it was my "exclusive".  With a bonus video of Sharpton calling Colin Powell Bush's House Negro.  Since the liberals are unsuccessfully trying to get Rush Limbaugh off the air, I wonder if they will do the same with Rev. Al.

Back in the day a local independent TV Station in the New York City ran a original talk show called the Morton Downey Jr show. The program featured screaming matches among Downey, his guests, and audience members. Using a large silver bowl for an ashtray, he would chainsmoke during the show and blow smoke in his guests' faces. Downey's fans became known as "Loudmouths", patterned after the studio lecterns decorated with gaping cartoon mouths, from which Downey's guests would go head-to-head against each other on their respective Springer's trailer-trash in heat show is classy compared to the regular Downy fare.

Thanks to Downy phrases such as "pablum puking liberal" and "zip it!" were written on t shirts all across America contemporary vernacular. Part of his shtick was fighting with the guests and enticing guests to fight with each other. 

An upcoming documentary about the late Morton Downey, Jr., the acerbic, chain-smoking talk show host, promises a meditation on the progenitor of trash TV, whose eponymous 1980s program was filmed in Secaucus, New Jersey and whose audience was filled with current and future probationers.

For us, though, the highlight of the the trailer for "Évocateur" is the brief time capsule look at Al Sharpton, then a rotund Brooklyn reverend with a prodigious konk. As seen above, during a commercial break--but while cameras continued rolling--the civil rights leader is seen yelling at an audience member who likely had commented negatively on Sharpton's weight, race, bow tie, or affiliation with Tawana Brawley. Perhaps all four.

Saying that he was "tired of them acting big," Sharpton told the unseen audience member, "You ain't nothing! You a punk faggot!" Gesturing for the Downey fan to come up to the stage and rumble, Sharpton added, "Now come on and do something." Since becoming a respected leader, Rev. Al has dropped the term "punk faggot" from his fiery verbal repertoire, records show.

Here's another lovely video, this an earlier post-showing a speech from February 2007 Obama's buddy Al Sharpton calling Powell Bush's House Negro-Do you think President Obama will call General Powell to apologize?

Now the left says Bill Maher's hate is different than Rush Limbaugh because Maher is a comedian. The only thing funny about Al Sharpton is that people give the professional bigot respect.  Wait I take that back, its not funny--its sad.

Please email me at yidwithlid@aol.com to be put onto my mailing list. Feel free to reproduce any article but please link back to http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com

read more

NewsBusted Exclusive: New Video of Obama Espousing Marxist Views

Mar 13, 2012 05:35 pm | Jeff Dunetz

Newsbusted anchor  Jodi Miller is not satisfied with the Breitbart sites getting all of the attention so she dug up a video of her own. In a Newsbusted exclusive, Miller unveils the new video where Barack Obama is pushing Marxist views and programs.  In this case no one will be able to claim that it should be ignored because it is from Obama's college days. In fact this video was made after Obama took office.  Its called the 2012 State of the Union Address.

Along with that story other news items covered in the latest installment of Newsbusted the twice-weekly faux news feature from Newsbusters.org, include MSNBC facing criticism for allowing Al Sharpton to hold a Democratic Party rally on the air, the real reason Warren Buffet is pushing for higher taxes on the rich, the bible verse that convinced Pat Robertson to call for the legalization of marihuana, and much, more.

This episode of Newsbusted is the the funniest two and a half minutes ever seen on the internet, since Media Matters accused me of being an anti-Semite

This episode of Newsbusted is extremely important.  In fact if you don't watch it Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich will show up at your house insisting its too early to leave.

Oh, and if you cannot see video below click here 

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MJ Rosenberg Renounces "Israel Firster Slander"-Doubles Down on Jew-Hate and Says Yidwithlid is a Mean Guy

Mar 13, 2012 01:04 pm | Jeff Dunetz

Well, there you go again! Ronald Reagan To Jimmy Carter Presidential Debate, October 28 1980

There is good news and bad news. First the good news; on his Media Matters blog MJ Rosenberg has promised he will no longer use the term "Israel firster" The bad news is he defended his use of the term and launched into his usual hateful prose directed toward Israel and the Jewish Americans.

But I will do so without using the term "Israel Firster." The term was coined in 1960 by the late Abram Leon Sachar, founding President of Brandeis University, and a renowned Jewish historian (his son Howard Morley Sachar remains the greatest historian of contemporary Jewry) and was first used by the elder Sachar in a speech he delivered that year to a Zionist organization.

This is a typical MJ Rosenberg half-truth. He is correct when he says Sachar used the term Israel-firster, but he didn't use it the same way MJ and his MMFA buddies throw around the term. For Sacher the term represented the tension between the American Jewish Community and Israeli Jewish Community in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Sacher's Israel-firsters were Jews who felt the Jewish people could never have a fulfilling religious life outside of Israel It was never used by Sacher to impugn Jewish Americans as being some how less than loyal to America.

It [Israel-firster] has proven to be a distraction, allowing the pro-war lobby to focus on my choice of words rather than the substance of my arguments. I will not be using it again, for many reasons including the fact that some good people were genuinely offended by it. That was not my intention. My intention is to focus like the proverbial laser on the threat posed by war with Iran and the 45 year occupation.

Rosenberg ignores his other anti-Semitic smears, American Jews control the media, American Jews control foreign policy (and caused the rebellion in Egypt) as he claimed in this post a year ago.

I am often accused of harping on the lobby's baleful influence. I plead guilty. But it's my obligation because (1) I know from personal experience - 15 years on Capitol Hill and four at AIPAC - how it operates, (2) I know how little it really cares about Israel, and (3) I am free to tell the truth about it. If I worked in the mainstream media or in the U.S. government, I wouldn't be.

Rosenberg doesn't renounce calling Binyamin Netanyahu is a terrorist (modern day blood libel), or his claim that AIPAC is disloyal to America.

This first tweet was made during Netanyahu's 2011 speech to AIPAC:

It was followed up with:

Another Rosenberg slander is; those war-mongering Jews pushed the United States into the Iraq war at the behest of Ariel Sharon (even though Sharon warned Bush not to invade Iraq). A recent Huffington Post article talking about Israeli plans to attack Iran was titled: After Iraq Success, Neocons Push Iran War. Just like Pat Buchanan, Rosenberg uses the term neocon as a polite way to say Jews.

The Media Matters Senior Fellow doubled-down on the Iraq war lie in today's post:

But then there is Iran. Watching the AIPAC conference, I was horrified to see an ostensibly pro-Israel organization promoting a war that presents an existential threat to Israel's survival. I vehemently oppose the very idea of war with Iran and am appalled by the right-wing Israeli government but, even more, by its supporters here at home who are trying to push the president to either bomb or support the bombing of Iran.

.... Many of the same people who pushed us into Iraq are doing the same thing with Iran. They are pressuring Congress to prevent the president of the United States from negotiating with the Iranian government. They are banning diplomatic contacts. They are (as they have for a decade) hyping the Iranian threat, in part because they want a war and, in part, because they want to use President Obama's reluctance to jeopardize lives as a tool to defeat him In November. And they are demanding that should Iran develop a nuclear bomb, we must not contain the threat (as we did with the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Pakistan, etc.) but should immediately go to war.

Rosenberg claims that he didn't mean Jews in the above, he even points out that a non Jewish Newt Gingrich spoke at AIPAC. But look at the way he sets it up, blaming an ostensibly pro-Israel organization promoting a war that presents an existential threat to Israel's survival, and following up with Many of the same people who pushed us into Iraq are doing the same thing with Iran. If Rosenberg wasn't talking about AIPAC he is an awful writer, since that is the impression he leaves the reader.

Rosenberg also uses this blog post to reinforce some of his other common lies:

One monumental thing has changed in 43 years. In 1969, neither any Arab country nor the Palestinians accepted Israel's right to exist. Since then, Israel, Jordan and Egypt have signed bilateral peace agreements, and remain committed to their terms. The PLO recognizes Israel's right to exist securely within the '67 lines. The entire Arab League (every single Arab state) is offering Israel peace, normalization and security in exchange for ending the occupation. As Shimon Peres says, Israel now has "partners for peace."

As far as the PLO both Fatah, the party of Prime Minister Abbas and Hamas the terrorist thugs running Gaza have refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish State (that is what the UN created in 1947 via resolution 181). The reason for their refusal they intend to flood Israel with the great grandchildren, cousins etc., of the original refugees so Israel become just another Muslim country.

MJ neglects to mention three Israeli Prime Ministers, Barak, Olmert and most recently Netanyahu offered deals which give the Palestinians 98% of what they supposedly want, all three offers were refused.

As for the Arab League, it's hard to understand where he gets that claim. The Palestinians aren't a partner for peace, neither is the new al Qaeda-controlled Libya, Hezbollah controls Lebanon, the Muslim Brotherhood-controlled Egypt is threatening to void the peace agreement, and Syria's present government has no intention of making peace. Even the supposedly moderate Saudi Arabia refused to be in the same room as Israeli negotiators during the Annapolis discussions at the end of the Bush presidency.

Despite his renunciation of the term Israel firster its the same old Jew-hating MJ Rosenberg, reinterpreting history, portraying both Israel and American Jews as war-mongers, and still believing Jews control the media and government. He simply stopped using one term; it is obvious he has not changed his ways.

Update: A different version of this post appeared on Big Journalism and apparently "Little Mikey's" feelings were hurt. As he tweeted:

"Some Guy?" MJ has been reading my posts and tweets ever since I started exposing his hatred six years ago. He has even commented on my posts before.  Always with something snarky, never trying to refute the facts--because he know them true. I must have really hurt him this time because he tweeted about me four times yesterday.

What he is talking about is the term "Yid" is used by non-Jews as a pejorative term. Which is one of the reasons I chose "Yid With Lid" as my nickname. Its my way of saying call me what you will, but my Lid is smarter than those of Jew-Haters such as MJ Rosenberg.

And notice he doesn't dispute the facts, just says I was mean. Poor little Mikey, his "wittle" feelings were hurt.  Makes me so sad I may cry..NAH!

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What a War with Iran Really Means: Proceed With Great Caution

Mar 13, 2012 08:18 am | Jeff Dunetz

Personally I have come around to the point of view that all the bluster at last week's AIPAC meeting was simply that....bluster directed toward Iran. Despite what the press is reporting, Israel has not decided to attack Iran before or after the election. The truth is they need to be totally sure that they can do enough damage to the nuclear program before they bomb it, and they are not sure.  Also they need to be willing to have a protracted war with Iran, this would not be like Iraq or Syria where the IAF bombs the plant, the world complains and everyone goes home happy.  Just read the analysis below by my friend and teacher Barry Rubin.

By Barry Rubin

It is quite right to be worried and hesitant about entering a war with Iran. War, as recent events in Iraq and Afghanistan show, is a dangerous, bloody, often dirty mess in which things go wrong, civilians are killed inadvertently, your own side loses people, and goals are not necessarily achieved.

Sometimes war is necessary. That was clearly true in Afghanistan in 2001 but less clear regarding Iraq in 2003. What are the goals? How are they to be gained? In what way can a war be brought to an end? How is victory defined? These are all serious issues.

Regarding a war with Iran, all of the above is especially true. Iran is a large country with almost 80 million people. A sizeable portion of that population-the ones with the guns--is ideologically fanatical. The idea that a few planes will drop bombs, return home, and victory can then be declared is naïve.

Once begun, such a conflict will go on for many years and take unexpected turns. Iran's regime would become desperate, vengeful, and concluding it had nothing to lose would be all the more determined to obtain nuclear weapons and far more likely to use them. Understanding that factor might not deter an attack completely but it should be very much taken into consideration in assessing what to do.

At any rate, while war with Iran might be eventually inevitable and necessary that's not true at this moment, when Iran is far from being able to build nuclear weapons, much less deliver them on missiles. And such an operation genuinely does pose serious problems for Israel and also, even if it does not participate directly in any way, for the United States.

On the positive side, not a single Arab state would lift a finger to help Iran.  The moderates would be happy that Israel bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, hope it succeeded, and demand that the United States keep them out of any fighting. The radical Sunni Islamists would worry about the precedent and make some propaganda but view the Iranian regime as a rival, not a brother. The Turkish regime would foam at the mouth but do nothing while the Syrian regime, allied with Iran, is too preoccupied by a civil war and fears confrontation with Israel.

Hamas is happy to take Iran's money but is now pretty much a client of Egypt. It might want to start its own war with Israel but doesn't want to risk everything to defend Iran.  But the Palestinian Resistance Committees and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will fire rockets on Israel while trying to attack in other ways. Up to a point, Hamas will stand aside and let them do so.

The most serious organized force on which Iran could depend would be Hizballah in Lebanon.

It is likely that Hizballah would fire rockets against Israel and mount some cross-border raids. The question is whether Hizballah would mount an all-out campaign as in 2006 or merely stick to a symbolic demonstration of loyalty to Iran.   There are also Iranian forces in Lebanon that would be more energetic.

The large UNIFIL force supposed to block Hizballah from staging a military build-up in the south and attacking Israel will be useless. Yet Israeli defensive operations could end up accidentally killing UNFIL soldiers.

Finally, Iranian assets would stage terrorist attacks on Israelis and Jews all over the world. The number of attacks might be limited. The question is whether one or some would succeed in inflicting lots of casualties.

Still, Hizballah plus terror attacks is not a price too high for Israel to pay for ending-if that indeed can be accomplished-an Iranian nuclear threat. Yet the picture on the U.S. side is much more complex and worrisome.

 In two ways, the U.S. situation would resemble that of Israel. No country other than Iran would hit at America or Americans; terrorism would be a problem.  The rest of the story would depend on decisions made by Iran's government and also by its local commanders.

Ostensibly, the attack on Iran would come from Israel. But even if the United States does nothing overt, Obama's AIPAC speech is enough to associate America with the operation. Iran has some choice. It could decide to try to avoid confrontation with the United States.

Still, while Tehran's decision could go either way, the worldview of that country's rulers is unlikely to make a calm, cool assessment along those lines. For them, America is the Great Satan, the Islamist revolution's nemesis and Israel's patron. Would Iran's leaders really say: Yes, let's be "smart" and keep the battle confined to Israel, using American reluctance to fight as a way to keep that superpower out of the war?

Again, that might be how Western armchair strategists expect Iran to act but it's hard to believe that's what would happen.  Moreover, local commanders of either military and naval units or terrorist cells, irrationally confident of an Allah-granted victory, would not easily give up a chance to wage the ultimate Jihad.  Then, too, Iran's inability to hit Israel would set off frustration leading to attacks on Americans.

U.S. forces and facilities are more accessible than those of Israel. This could include terrorist attacks in Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the smaller Gulf Arab states against any available American civilians, institutions, or soldiers. And the biggest front of all might be the Persian Gulf itself. Would small Iranian boats stage suicide operations to hit tankers or try to block traffic?   

As happened in the latter phase of the Iran-Iraq war in the late 1980s, the Gulf Arab states would likely ask the United States, European countries, and NATO to convoy their tankers. A shooting war could lead to the dragging of the United States into a military conflict with Iran. Whatever happened on the ground (and water) the price of oil would skyrocket. 

These factors also affect Israeli interests since that country would be blamed for resulting carnage and disruptions. Antisemitism would increase and a lot of people would claim that Israel dragged America into an unnecessary war.  Promises of quick, easy victory, the disappearance of any Iranian nuclear capability or threat, and even the fall of the Iranian regime would prove false, stirring bitter controversy.

There are, then, major dangers and real strategic problems in any campaign to attack Iranian nuclear installations that require serious thought and a rejection of recklessness.  A war with Iran, if conducted at all, should only happen when it seems otherwise unavoidable. And that is far from true this year.

But that day will come and people better be psychologically ready for it.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His book, Israel: An Introduction, has just been published by Yale University Press. Other recent books include The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center  and of his blog, Rubin Reports. His original articles are published at PJMedia.

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Finally the truth comes out: CBO proves Obama and Democrats lied about the cost of Obamacare

Mar 15, 2012 06:13 am | Coach Collins

By Kevin "Coach" Collins

What was abundantly clear about Obamacare's real costs, to those of us who formed the TEA party movement to fight it, has now been certified by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The lies and smug grins from the Democrats who forced Obamacare down our throats would be wiped away if we had an honest media - which of course we do not.

The CBO is saying the cost of Obamacare will be nearly double the fairytale lying Democrats told us it would be two years ago.

Coming on the heels of its recent report contradicting Obama's lies about the unemployment numbers (when Obama was lying that unemployment was 8.3% CBO reported it is 15%,) this new burst of honesty from any government agency under Obama is indeed refreshing.

The CBO now projects the Democrats' Frankenstein monster will cost $1.76 TRILLION of our tax dollars over the next ten years (and do you ... Continue Reading:Finally the truth comes out: CBO proves Obama and Democrats lied about the cost of Obamacare

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American Minute March 14

Mar 14, 2012 06:13 pm | Coach Collins

By Bill Federer, staff writer

Born in Germany MARCH 14, 1879, he began teaching himself calculus at age 14.With a doctorate from the University of Zurich, he wrote papers on electromagnetic energy, relativity, and statistical mechanics.
He predicted a ray of light from a distant star would appear to bend as it passed near the Sun.
When an eclipse confirmed this, the London Times headline ran November 7, 1919, "Revolution in science-New theory of the Universe-Newtonian ideas overthrown."
This was Nobel Prize winner Albert Einstein.
Einstein's first visit to the U.S. was to raise funds for Jerusalem's Hebrew University.
On his 3rd visit, 1932, he took a post at Princeton.
When Nazis took over Germany, Albert Einstein stayed in the U.S., becoming a citizen in 1940.
Einstein's theory of relativity is the basis for applying atomic energy.
Einstein's warning that Nazis could create an atom bomb led FDR to set up ... Continue Reading:American Minute March 14

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"You can take an idiot out of Chicago, but you can't take the Chicago out of an idiot!"

Mar 14, 2012 12:13 pm | Coach Collins

 By Suzanne Eovaldi, staff writer

When I read  about a fight in the elite seating section at the Chicago Symphony, I scrolled down to the comments and began laughing hysterically. 

To get an insight into how Chicago rolls, read the whole thing, and maybe you'll understand a little bit of what one commenter meant when he said, "You can take an idiot out of Chicago, but you can't take the Chicago out of an idiot!"

   It seems a 30 something male punched out a 67 year old male while Maestro Riccardo Muti had nearly finished the second movement of the Brahms Symphony.  When the esteemed conductor gave the two men a "sharp irritated look" but continued on with the third movement, one commenter wryly said, "The performers are used to looking over their left shoulder, continuing on and saying, hmmmmm yeah-We are in Chicago-happens all the time."

This reminded me of what I did once ... Continue Reading:"You can take an idiot out of Chicago, but you can't take the Chicago out of an idiot!"

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News from The Hill:

CBO: Health law could cause as many as 20 million to lose employer coverage
By Julian Pecquet

As many as 20 million Americans could lose their employer-provided coverage because of President Obama's healthcare reform law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new report Thursday.

The figure represents the worst-case scenario, CBO says, and the law could just as well increase employer coverage by 3 million people in 2019.

The best estimate, subject to a "tremendous amount of uncertainty," is that about 3 million to 5 million fewer people will obtain coverage through their employer each year from 2019 through 2022.

The new report adds more detail to this week's update of the law's coverage provisions, which CBO released Tuesday. Compared to a year ago, the law is now anticipated to cover two million fewer people but cost $50 billion less over 10 years, after factoring penalties paid by individuals and businesses that don't get or provide healthcare coverage.

Republicans immediately pounced after the new numbers came out because they appear to violate Obama's pledge that people who like their health plans will be able to keep them. Last year, CBO's best estimate was that only one million people would lose employer-sponsored coverage.

Read the story here.

Alexander's Essay - March 15, 2012

Republicans Join Democrats Supporting Colossal Tax Increase

Lamar Alexander and Dick Durbin, the Tax Tag Team

"Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute." --Thomas Paine (Rights of Man, 1791)

"Fairness"?

Under cover of the Republican Presidential Primary debates about how to defeat Barack Hussein Obama's socialist agenda and his plan to fund the final chapter of that agenda with enormous tax increases, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN, no relation!) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) have teamed up to promote one of the largest tax increases in U.S. history -- a heavy levy on all Internet sales.

The so-called "Marketplace Fairness Act" S. 1832 was first proposed in November 2011 by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY), and now awaits action in the Committee on Finance. (And you thought all that "fairness" rhetoric was limited to leftists promoting Democratic Socialism.)

Some otherwise erudite conservative senators, such as my friend Bob Corker, have joined Alexander in this errant folly. They are backing the Republican version of the legislation because it is allegedly better than the Democrat version. For the record, I do not consider that to be a legitimate selling point.

Before explaining this enormous tax increase, allow me to provide some insights demonstrating how detached Lamar is from marketplace reality and how he became so disoriented.

I once admired Lamar, an affable and intelligent fellow whose successful 1979 gubernatorial campaign trademark was his folksy grassroots plaid shirt. After a couple of terms as governor, he accepted an appointment as Secretary of Education from George H.W. Bush in 1991. In that role, he unfortunately supervised the expansion of that department rather than its contraction as proposed by Bush's former boss, Ronald Reagan.

Predictably, after Lamar's move to Washington, he progressively lost touch with his grassroots base and began a slide into the mediocrity of Republican moderation -- which often renders its adherents ideologically indistinguishable from their Democrat opponents. I diagnose this condition as Chronic Potomac Fever, which infects too many well-meaning Republicans after they take up residence inside the Washington Beltway.

Post Your Opinion: What is the best way to eradicate the epidemic of Potomac Fever?

By 2002, Lamar had become a card carrying "establishment Republican." After his well-funded but narrow primary defeat of a strong conservative, Rep. Ed Bryant, Lamar went on to win the Senate seat vacated by Fred Thompson. To the detriment of conservatives and our Constitution, Lamar was elevated to Conference Chairman of the Republican Party from 2007 until 2012. However, given the influx of conservatives into the House and Senate ranks in 2010, Lamar announced his resignation, noting he was "stepping down from leadership to regain my independence."

The day after Lamar announced his support for the Internet tax, he sent me this explanation -- which aptly demonstrates just how disconnected he has become.

"This bill is about states' rights; closing tax loopholes that basically subsidize out-of-state businesses at the expense of Tennessee businesses... Today, if you buy boots from a store in Nashville, by law the store collects the sales tax you owe and sends it to the state to pay for our roads, schools and other services we ask the state to provide. But if you buy the same boots online from a company outside Tennessee, that company doesn't collect the sales tax you owe the state. ... That's not right. If businesses are going to fail or succeed, it should be based on the services they provide and the price of their products -- not on whether a company can successfully avoid collecting sales taxes that their Tennessee competitors can't get around collecting."

Memo to Lamar, et al.

I replied to his contorted and disconnected marketplace reasoning with a reality check, noting first that under our present Constitution, if I purchase a product from another state, it is NOT subject to state taxes in my state of residence unless that vendor has a retail presence in my state. That has been the standard for interstate commerce for generations, whether placing orders by mail, by phone or by Internet (Quill v. North Dakota regarding the latter).

Thus, suggesting that I "owe the state" sales tax when I purchase a product from another state is patently false. (Of course, some states endeavor to circumvent the sales tax exclusion by implementing "use taxes" -- without much success due to the ludicrous complexity requiring that citizens track and report every purchase when filing state tax returns.)

Further, it is absurd to suggest that the "boot purchase" example -- avoiding sales tax -- is the force that drives online sales. In some cases, people will go into a retail outlet, find a product they like, and then search online for a better price. I believe that is morally wrong. (And in regard to Sen. Alexander's laudable desire to support local businesses, those boots were probably made in China or India.)

The vast majority of Internet sales are driven by product, price comparison and convenience -- old-fashioned free enterprise competition -- not by short-circuiting a local vendor's sale to avoid sales tax. In fact, many items purchased on the Internet may not be available in a local market.

Post Your Opinion: What is the real motivation behind the so-called "Marketplace Fairness Act"?

As for Alexander's assertion, "If businesses are going to fail or succeed, it should ... not be on whether a company can successfully avoid collecting sales taxes that their Tennessee competitors can't get around collecting," again, this is a false premise. The shipping cost on a pair of boots purchased on the Internet is likely to be as much or more than the sales tax on the same pair of boots, if purchased locally.

Moreover, given the high price of fuel and the fact that a critical percentage of the fuel we use is imported from the Middle East, not only do Internet orders conserve fuel and preserve our environment, they promote national security.

For example, if 1,000 people in a single ZIP code place 1,000 Internet orders, the majority of those orders will be delivered by a common carrier in that ZIP code. In other words, a couple of FedEx or UPS trucks making multiple deliveries in one ZIP code is far more energy efficient than 1,000 consumers driving to multiple locations endeavoring to make those purchases.

The fact is, the Marketplace Fairness Act is really about generating billions of dollars in windfall taxes for state governments, many of which are as bloated and inefficient as the federal government and therefore just as bankrupt. If Lamar wants to implement an enormous tax increase and stifle free enterprise, then he should call it what it is, rather than obfuscate his motivation by claiming lofty rationales such as "states' rights."

The bottom line is, conservatives should opposed any tax increase, opting instead to cut federal and state government spending, most of which is not supported by the constitutions of either. Moreover, any tax increase that is not revenue neutral should be flatly rejected by even the most dullard of establishment Republicans.

In other words, if Sen. Alexander is going to support an Internet sales tax on Tennesseans in order to "level the playing field," he should also support an equal reduction in the overall rate of sales taxation to offset his tax increase.

PS: If you are curious as to why online behemoth Amazon.com supports the Internet sales tax measure, it is because Amazon already has locations in many states, meaning Amazon sales in those states are already subject to sales tax. But Amazon's support is more sinister. Determining, collecting and delivering state and local sales taxes on every purchase massively increases transactional overhead for small businesses that compete with Amazon. But Amazon is positioning itself to "rescue" those poor little businesses by processing all their transactions -- in return for substantial surcharges on the taxes collected, of course. Caveat emptor!

Deus et Constitutione - Libertas aut Mortis!
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!

Mark Alexander
Publisher, The Patriot Post

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March 15, 2012

Tonight on GBTV: Do you recognize your country? Glenn shreds Obama's farming regulation & dares media to print his comments on the Afghanistan War. Find out his take and see if the press takes Glenn up on the challenge. Don't miss it tonight at 5pm (or on demand) only on GBTV!

WSJ: Glenn Beck Rallies Troops For Revolution Against TV

In just 6 short months GBTV has made some incredible progress and is already competing with established networks. The Wall Street Journal took note of this unprecedented initial success in a great feature today.

Real News from The Blaze: The focus is on media spin...but not the typical right wing, left wing spin. The Real News team will discuss the spin being put on Syria and the crackdowns there that have left nearly 8,000 Syrian civilians dead and hundreds of thousands wounded. Why isn't the international community intervening? Find out tonight - 7pm ET (or on demand) - Only on GBTV.

Romney: Guess what Megyn, I made a lot of money 

If Mitt Romney does indeed end up taking home the GOP nomination, he will be attacked for being a man of wealth. There are two ways he can handle this -- he can either try to hide/downplay his wealth, OR he can celebrate it. Which does Mitt choose? He told Megyn Kelly in this clip. Check it out & get Glenn's reaction HERE.

Beck: I don't recognize my country anymore

Glenn about lost his mind when he heard the regulations Hilda Solis and the Department of Labor have imposed on American farms. Apparently the government thinks they know how to run American farms better than experienced farmers do... AND they have deemed it's time to step in and "help" the farmers out. Eh, thanks but no thanks. Get Glenn's fired up response.

Are you prepared? 

Last night on GBTV Glenn welcomed a panel of experts to discuss the actions you must take to be prepared for any situation. Plus the season finale of Independence USA - GBTV's reality show where the Belcastro family really show you HOW to prepare. How do you harvest your own fruits and vegetables? Can Frank make his own ammunition for when the store-bought ammo runs out? All episodes are available on demand.

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