Quote: 

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government."

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)

If your looking for a succinct look at what the Tea Party stands for and where they are today watch this interview with Elizabeth Price Foley.  She wrote a book called The Tea Party: Three Principles. She is a constitutional professor at Florida International University, College of Law.

Activate: How to turn the 2012 election from a close call to a mandate

• I want to make sure I'm registered to vote and adopt a schlub friend. CLICK HERE
• I commit to registering FOUR schlub friends CLICK HERE
• I commit to be a part of the global Tea Party movement the week of Restoring Love: FreePac &Constitutional Conference
• I want to join a team - 9/12 Project, FreedomWorks, or a local Tea Party

Last night, Glenn focused on the importance of commitment. He was the first to admit, a lot of last night's show was something you had heard before - but it's important to start at the beginning and to make sure you know what you believe before you get put into action. And tonight, Glenn revealed ways for you to really get moving! 

Tonight, the focus of the show was "Activate" - and it was all about the election and how you can make sure that one way or another - 2012 is a year for a mandate for or against the progressives. And if you think it doesn't matter just take a look at what is happening right now in Wisconsin. Progressives and unions are doing everything they can to make sure that Walker loses. It's a microcosm to what is happening around the country, and Glenn thought it was so important that he recapped it on tonight's show (in under three minutes!):

Obama Caught Lying Again: He Was Member of 'New Party,' Says Kurtz

by Joel B. Pollak

LIVE SMART - NEWS TALK

Robertson, along with co-host David Toy, Jim Seigfreid, Allen and Peggy as we confront the issues of the day with Constitutional solutions to the problems we were warned about by the Founders of this, the greatest nation to ever shine a light on the world. Our guests include some of the best and the brightest commentators and Patriots around. 

www.blogtalkradio.com/teapartyorg   

Philadelphia ZOA Quarterly Meeting  

Join Us on Fridays and Take a Stand for Israel:    

By allowing our attention to be focused exclusively on the danger and prevention of terrorism, we ignore the many other ways we are being attacked. Specifically, we are missing what our Islamist enemies call their 'civilization jihad' - a form of warfare that employs manipulative financial techniques, lawfare, infiltration of our civil institutions and government and insidious information dominance. Together, these have the effect of exploiting our liberties and governing structures against us, so that our leaders wind up imposing the very anti-American values that our enemies promote.

Welcome to The Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Enemy Within - a 10-part, web-based video briefing that is designed to explain why and how this is happening.

It addresses a threat most Americans are unaware even exists within our country, let alone the degree of peril it represents.
The threat is the totalitarian, supremacist Islamic doctrine its adherents call "shariah" and the organized, disciplined and increasingly successful efforts by such adherents-- most especially the Muslim Brotherhood-- to bring it here.

We are making this course available in the hope of encouraging, informing and broadening support for national efforts to defeat the insinuation into this country of shariah's anti-constitutional and seditious program.  

Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Overview

An extremely important movie is coming this summer - Dinesh D'Souza - Obama & 2016

Dinesh D'Souza is author of many New York Times best sellers.  The movie is from Gerald R. Molen, producer of Academy Award Winning Schindler's List.

It explains in plain language who Barack Obama really is, what he stands for, and the dangers of him being reelected for another four years.

Watch this short informative video preview of this movie and share it with others.  It has already been seen by over 1,250,000 people.  Within a very short time it will have been seen by millions!  After you see the preview, listen to what Dinesh has to say about Obama.  Please take the time to hear this and pass it on.

Dinesh D'Souza - Obama & 2016

Because of the generosity of patriots like you, we've reached our fundraising goal to retake the Senate and FIRE Harry Reid!

And as a special way of saying thanks, we're extending an exclusive opportunity for you to pre-register for FreePAC, a national grassroots gathering of Americans interested in restoring freedom from the bottom up: in their neighborhood, in their state, and in their country. The event takes place from 6-9pm on July 26th in American Airlines Arena in Dallas, TX.

Click here to accept this exclusive opportunity to pre-register now!

The theme of FreePAC is "Restoring Freedom" and it will be held in conjunction with Glenn Beck's "Restoring Love" event on July 28th. FreePAC will not only feature Glenn, FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey, and me, but speeches from many of the biggest names in the freedom movement! FreePAC also provides attendees with exclusive grassroots materials, a unique grassroots training experience, and the latest in online mobilization strategy. Can you make it?

In about two weeks, these tickets will go on sale to the general public, so I wanted to make sure I invited you first.

I hope you can make it. More information can be found on FreePAC by clicking here.

In Liberty,

The U.S. Constitution

A Reader 

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.

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.

FREE Training Conference Saturday, August 18, 2012 Washington Dulles Airport Marriott 45020 Aviation Drive * Dulles, Virginia * (703) 471-9500

If you are concerned about the growing threat of radical Islam and Sharia Law to our great land and you haven't seen a plan of action to meet this evil head on, here's your opportunity to join with us for real, measurable results.

Results that make a difference, not just a statement.

Our host team is working hard to deliver a day you won't forget. Plan on being there! Meet me and our growing team of professionals at the Dulles Airport Marriott on Saturday, August 18, 2012. Registration will start at 7:30 AM with the event starting at 8:30 AM and running through 5:00 PM.

Here are a few comments we have received from previous training seminars around the nation:

    You can find out more and register online by clicking here.

Call the number above to reserve your room at the Marriott if you need to spend the night.

Your early registration really helps us plan accurately for materials and supplies needed! Thank you for doing it today!

I look forward to meeting you and looking into your eyes and thanking you for taking this stand with me. We will protect this nation!

Sincerely,


Brigitte Gabriel

LISTEN LIVE TO REPATRIOT RADIO

"BETTER THAN EVER"

(all times are eastern)

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

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

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

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

Lou Flanagan

The General Wayne Tea Party

Obama gets grief for saying private sector 'fine'

Published June 08, 2012

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama made Mitt Romney's day by declaring "the private sector is doing fine" and opening himself to the accusation that he - not the rich Republican - is the one who is out of touch with reality. Obama quickly clarified his remark Friday but Republicans already had their teeth in it and weren't letting go.

"Is he really that out of touch?" GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney asked as Obama's initial comments ricocheted through the presidential campaign.

Seeking to head off any damage, Obama backpedaled and declared it is "absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine." While there had been some "good momentum" in the private sector, Obama said, public sector growth lagged behind, making it imperative that Congress act on his proposals to hire more teachers and first-responders.

Obama's original six-word sentence, even if taken out of context, amounted to an unforced political error. The economy is the single biggest issue on voters' minds and a weak spot for him, given the nation's stubbornly high 8.2 percent unemployment rate.

Nearly every day, Obama finds himself having to defend his stewardship of an economy that has struggled to recover from the 2008 economic downturn and pleading with voters to stick with him because, he says, Romney would pursue policies that led to the recession.

Victory Center" on Facebook

-Gabriel Malor

Last week I had the opportunity to get a sneak-peek at the RNC's new Facebook application. Designed, in the words of one RNC staffer to "take our message where the people are," the Social Victory Center app will, among other things, hook users up with campaign news targeted based on their location and preferences (which Facebook already knows, of course), let users join volunteer efforts, distribute voter registration forms, and provide an online phone bank, all without leaving the Facebook website. It will also, if users wish, put those activities on the user's Facebook wall, letting their friends see what they're up to and, hopefully, encouraging them to join in.

It's an attempt to leverage Facebook's popularity in a new way and, at the moment, the Democrats have nothing like it. The Social Victory Center was unveiled to the public yesterday, so if you're on Facebook, check it out. As the general election ramps up, check back for volunteer activities as they're added. Also, like I did in 2008, I'll be pushing online phone banking in the final weeks of the election, only this time the RNC will have done the heavy-lifting that the McCain team wasn't too keen on.

LINK: http://ace.mu.nu/

RedState Morning Briefing

For June 11, 2012

1. Vote No On The McGurk Nomination

On Wednesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a confirmation hearing for Brett McGurk to be US Ambassador to Iraq.

There is no reason for any sane person to support this nomination.

In terms of qualifications, Mr. McGurk brings very modest accomplishments to the table. While he has risen rapidly in rank there is little evidence of real substance in his record. He doesn't speak Arabic, something one would think we would want in our ambassador in this critical country. He appears to have the same "legend in his own mind" that eventually consumed Richard Holbrooke.

2. Doing Fine?

No, you heard him right. At a press conference this morning, the President of the United States actually said, "The private sector is doing fine."

Mr. President, are you paying attention? Take off the rose-colored glasses. (Although, thanks to your fashion industry fundraising friends, I'm sure they're very stylish rose-colored glasses.)

The private sector is small businesses. It's middle class families that run them. It's entrepreneurs and start ups and job creators. And it's not "doing fine." Incomes are dropping, prices are rising, and the future is becoming more uncertain.

Twenty-three million Americans are struggling to find work. Forty-six million are living in poverty. Families can barely figure out how to make ends meet. The unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for 40 months-the longest period of such chronically high unemployment since World War II.

We knew President Obama was hostile to the private sector. We knew he did not understand free enterprise. We just did not realize he was this astoundingly out of touch.

3. Obama really does believe 'the private sector is doing fine'

President Obama is trying to fight back against the hue and cry raised over his saying the private sector is doing fine.

Saying the private sector is doing fine may have been a blunder, but it wasn't a gaffe. It may have been a revelation to some, to others it was a confirmation.

4. Darcy Burner: Bringing The Crazy to the WA-01 Election!

Heritage Hotsheet

Experts on the Day's Hottest News

Items for June 11, 2012

Obama adviser denies administration leaks   

Washington Times 

Iraq PM's rivals lack votes to oust him: president   

AFP 

In Spain's bailout request, Greece's crisis played key role   

Washington Post  

Boehner, Cantor say Obama's playing 'blame game' on economy   

ABC News   

The Hot Dog Mayor of New York City   

The Foundry

Latest Heritage Research:

ISSUE BRIEF  Arms Trade Treaty Could Jeopardize U.S. Ability to Provide for Taiwan's Defense

 June 11, 2012 

The Clintons' Covert War on Obama
Thomas Lifson
Panic is setting in among the people who ran the Democratic Party prior to the miraculous arrival on the scene of Barack Hussein Obama and the perfect storm of events that propelled him into the White House. More

Fiscal Cliff, No Leader
Jeffrey Folks
The U.S. economy is slouching toward the most heavily predicted economic crisis in history. Every reputable economic forecaster has issued a warning of the approaching storm. The only person who seems unconcerned is the leader of the free world. More

What Color Is Obama's Parachute?
Arnold Cusmariu
Scott Walker's win means that Barack Obama's White House tenure may well be coming to an end. What will the ex-president do once he can no longer blow smoke in the federal facility at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? More

The Most Pathogenic Media in History
James Lewis
The media are the nervous system of our society. They are the means of communication and control, including control of your mind and those of your children. And just as the brain can get sick, so the media can, too. More

What Did Savannah Guthrie Really See?
Nick Chase
Now that it's been established that Barack Obama's long-form "birth certificate" originated as a digitally created forgery, we are left to ponder: how was the paper certificate of which NBC News reporter Savannah Guthrie took pictures created? More

'Cap and Trade' For CO₂ Needs a Stake through the Heart
S. Fred Singer
Global Carbon Market trading (practically all EU) climbed to $176 billion in 2011, which makes it makes it about the same value as total global wheat production -- which supplies about 20% of the calories consumed by the 7 billion people on planet Earth. More

'Academic' Scientists Forced to Reveal Private E-Mails in BP Trial
Bruce Thompson
Taxpayer-funded scientists protest purported violation of academic freedom. BP prevails in court. More

Ask:  

If socialism is so great, how come the suicide rate is so much higher in countries with socialized medicine, including Sweden, Switzerland, France, and Cuba?  

In a teary voice, tell the story of how it was General Douglas MacArthur who turned the Japanese on to whale meat.  

The Japs never used to touch the stuff until the American Occupation after the war when food was scarce and MacArthur decreed that all Japanese children should eat whale meat as a cheap source of protein. Pause for effect, dab your eyes with a handkerchief, then say: "Damn! Doesn't it just make you SO proud to be American? It's thanks to our noble example that the seven seas are now nearly 100 percent free of the Deadly Whale Menace."  

Richmond Woman Fighting to Stop Mosque & Islamic Indoctrination Center   Jun 10, 2012 10:46 am

Just days after ground was broken on a new mosque in Richmond, Sylvia Hoehns-Wright, who lives near the Islamic Center of Richmond, claims the small building currently there does not have enough parking for worshipers as it is. Imagine what will happen to the neighborhood when a 31,000 square-foot mosque is built on the same property.

What Bill Clinton Knows   Jun 10, 2012 10:36 am

Bill Clinton was many things, but stupid was never one of them. Even his supporters were eventually forced to admit that most of those things were true. Sloppy, corrupt, impulsive, amoral, vindictive, petty and loving every minute of it. Sure. But not stupid.

State Department, FBI and CIA Sued for Records on Drone Attack Anwar al-Awlaki   Jun 09, 2012 04:17 pm

Judicial Watch Sues Obama State Department, FBI and CIA for Records Regarding Anwar al-Awlaki, American Citizen Killed by CIA-Led Drone Attack in September 2011, plus other news of the week, including DOJ's involvement in Pennsylvania's Voter ID Law, Obama Administration in attempting to hault Florida's purge of non-citizens from the state's voting rolls, and a probe into Michelle Obama's Family Ski Vacation to Aspen, Colorado.

Rubio can Lock the Election for Obama   Jun 09, 2012 02:50 pm

Let me begin by saying that I really have nothing against Marco Rubio. Many of our nation's immigrants make our best citizens, having experienced some form of socialism or communism in their home country and thrilled to live in the so-called land of the free and home of the brave.

Mosque Building USA: Henrico, Virginia   Jun 09, 2012 02:25 am

Last summer, the rezoning for a mosque was approved by the Henrico Board of Supervisors in Virginia over the objections of local residents on Impala Drive in Lakeside. This mosque was presented as a needed service to the growing Muslim community in the greater Richmond area, especially those living north of the James River. During the deliberations on the approval of the mosque on Impala last year, the BOS stated that they were "compelled" to yield to the demands of the US Department of Justice to approve the mosque.

A Lawsuit Only Jihadists Could Love   Jun 08, 2012 09:31 am

Recently the mainstream media made much of revelations that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had been conducting surveillance of Muslims in New York and New Jersey, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Muslim Students Association. After an investigation cleared the NYPD of any wrongdoing and established the complete legality of the program, an Islamic supremacist group in New Jersey is trying a different tactic to shut this surveillance down: they've brought suit trying to ban surveillance based on religion - a lawsuit that only Islamic jihadists could love.

Did '96 Bill Force People to Work?   Jun 08, 2012 01:00 am

As The New York Times would put it, when in 1996 "President Bill Clinton delivered on his pledge to 'end welfare as we know it'...he signed into law a bill forcing recipients to work and imposing a five-year limit on cash assistance." Back then this supposedly cruel deed was one "Hillary Rodham Clinton supported." The Times says that "some accused the Clintons of throwing vulnerable families to the winds in pursuit of centrist votes as Mr. Clinton headed into the final stages of his re-election campaign."

Pot Possession and the Police   Jun 07, 2012 04:48 pm

City Journal
Reforming marijuana laws is one thing; demonizing the NYPD is another.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has introduced a bill into the state legislature that drastically reduces the penalty for the public possession of small amounts of marijuana. The law represents Cuomo's entry into an escalating controversy over the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk practices: anti-cop advocates charge that racially biased stop-and-frisks are producing racially biased marijuana arrests. Neither charge is true, and Cuomo's failure to say so has done the city a disservice.

Trend #8: Insufficient Rainy Day Funds   Jun 07, 2012 04:06 pm

Most states have created budget stabilization, or "rainy day," funds to draw upon when economic conditions create a severe or sudden drop in tax revenues.^[1] However, these cash reserves were for the most part inadequate in coping with the recent economic downturn. For all intents and purposes, only Alaska and Texas have sizable rainy day fund amounts remaining, although many states have begun to rebuild their balances.^[2]

A Better Relationship with the World?   Jun 07, 2012 10:00 am

As then first-term US Senator Barack Obama campaigned for the presidency, one of the pledges he made to the American public - and the world - was that an Obama presidency would repair the reputation of the United States with the nations of the world. Mr. Obama vowed to "reject the counsel that says the American people would rather have someone who is strong and wrong than someone who is weak and right," as he outlined a list of actions he would take to mend what he perceived to be America's deprecated stature in the international community. Today, as we approach the end of President Obama's term, it can be argued, that not only has America's credibility with those who quest for freedom been tarnished but our stature in the world has been diminished.

The Eye-Popping Wisconsin Story You Didn't Read   Jun 07, 2012 09:49 am

The recall election of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was a critical bellwether. A Walker loss would have guaranteed more ruinous, out-of-control government spending, where unions and their vested interests dictate terms through violence, thuggery and deceit. But the Wisconsin electorate rejected that path, handing Walker a resounding victory. This will embolden leaders in other states to tackle similar problems head on.

Hizb ut-Tahrir America had scheduled their annual Khilafah (Caliphate) Conference for Sunday, June 17, 2012 at The Meadows Club convention center. 

According to Jihadwatch.org "Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamic organization that openly calls for restoration of the caliphate -- that is, the political union of Muslims worldwide in a single Sharia state ruled by the caliph. This means that the group is dedicated to subverting and destroying all governments not ruled by Islamic law, and as such it is banned in many countries. But not in the U.S., which has never shown any awareness on an official level of non-violent efforts to impose Sharia."

THANKFULLY, The Meadows Club convention center cancelled Hizb ut-Tahrir America after receiving emails and phone calls protesting this radical group's event.  

Hizb ut-Tahrir America web site states "ALERT: We regret to inform you that the venue that had agreed to host our event previously is no longer willing to accommodate our Khilafah Conference. We are currently in the process of finding a new location for the event. The new venue will be announced as soon as possible. We will also provide more details on the circumstances leading to the change in venue."  That portion of the web page is posted below.

Florida Family Association had prepared an email alert scheduled for release on Monday, June 11, 2012 if The Meadows Club did not cancel the event.  We are closely watching the Hizb ut-Tahrir America web site for their new venue.  A new call to action email alert will be issued if and when Hizb ut-Tahrir America communicates a new location for the Khilafah Conference.

It is very important at this time to THANK The Meadows Club convention center for having the patriotic courage and moral fortitude to cancel this radical event.  It is also highly likely that this radical group is bringing pressure on The Meadows Club to allow the event to move forward as previously planned.

Florida Family Association has prepared an email for you to send thanking The Meadows Club convention center for cancelling this radical event.  

To send your email, please click the following link, enter your name and email address then click the "Send Your Message" button. Because opponents try to use our email system to send opposing messages we NO longer allow for changes in the wording of the subject line or message of the email prepared for you to send.

Click here to send your email thanking The Meadows Club convention center for cancelling this radical event. 

 
PLEASE share this important issue with friends.  Please consider posting this issue on your Facebook page.  Click here for the article then click the Flike key at the top of that article page to share with friends.
  If you have difficulty loading the above email send link simply go to Floridafamily.org, locate this issue at the top of the home page and click links to send your email.

To support Florida Family Association's efforts with a tax deductible, confidential gift please click here or mail you gift to:  Florida Family Association (FFA), PO Box 46547, Tampa, FL 33646-0105.  You may make a contribution online with your checking account, VISA or Mastercard.

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  Florida Family Association, Inc.  P.O. Box 46547, Tampa, FL 33646-0105  Telephone 813-264-5888

Administration admits to 'hundreds' of meetings with jihad-linked group

 

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President Barack Obama's deputies are holding "hundreds" of closed-door meetings with a jihad-linked lobbying group that is widely derided by critics as a U.S. arm of the theocratic Muslim Brotherhood.

 

The admission of meetings with the Council on American-Islamic Relations came from George Selim, the White House's new director for community partnerships, which was formed in January to ensure cooperation by law enforcement and social service agencies with Muslim identity groups in the United States.

 

"There is hundreds of examples of departments and agencies that meet with CAIR on a range of issues," he told The Daily Caller, after being asked if his office refuses to meet with any Muslim groups.

 

CAIR is "the group with the worst record of deception and the deepest ties to terrorists," said Steven Emerson, the director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, which tracks the public activities of Islamist lobbying groups.

"The White House is so clueless and/or compromised" when dealing with the brotherhood, said Robert Spencer, the author of several books about Islam and jihad. CAIR, he said, is "the political front of a radically repressive, Jew-hating, woman-hating organization."

 

The House of Representatives last month prodded the Department of Justice to end all contacts with CAIR.

The source of Obama's "killer rabbit of a killer quote" 

Posted: 09 Jun 2012 12:50 PM PDT

(Paul Mirengoff)

To Scott's fine explication of President Obama's clueless quote about the private sector, I would only add a note on what I take to be its source. In my view, Obama was driven to his unfortunate remark by frustration with the private sector for "sitting on its money." Since the president always thinks it's about him, I imagine that he takes it personally that businesses are hoarding their money, rather than expanding rapidly, as he wishes he could direct them to do. Since he naturally takes an adversarial view of the private sector, he must feel it is out to get him.

The private sector's conduct is "about Obama" in a sense. Businesses are not out to get Obama, though, they are merely reacting rationally to an extremely uncertain economic environment. Obama has contributed substantially to the uncertainty (though there are other important factors at work, as well). But his social democrat ideology and lack of economic knowledge prevent him from realizing this.

What a sorry combination of self-pity and ignorance. And how ironic, coming from "no drama Obama," our "smartest president."

The spectacle would be amusing, were it not so harmful to so many.

China: Don't Look Now, But . . . 

Posted: 09 Jun 2012 08:52 AM PDT

(Steven Hayward)

While everyone has their gaze fixed firmly on Europe, with a Spanish bank crisis reaching a climax perhaps today, I wonder if we aren't neglecting the risk from an economic crisis in China. What would happen if China's economy hits the wall the way Japan's did at the end of the 1980s? Barron's gloomy Gus "Up and Down Wall Street" columnist Alan Abelson wonders the same thing this morning after looking at the breakdown of the Shanghai Composite stock index:

Lacking even the most rudimentary knowledge of Mandarin, we've nonetheless found the Shanghai Composite a pretty reliable prophet of the true state of China's economy and a harbinger of sorts of its future course. Ben Bernanke may think otherwise, rating as he did last week Europe as a bigger worry than China, but our own conviction is that the latter, despite its abundance of monetary reserves, is headed for a hard landing as its extraordinary boom metamorphosis into bust.

If we're right (there's a first time for everything), the impact is destined to put a huge dent in the global economy, which is plenty banged up already. And as much as anything, we suspect, the noteworthy weakness in a number of key commodities, particularly oil, affirms this decidedly glum outlook.

It's always possible, of course, that our own less than robust economy and easily spooked stock market somehow prove immune to what happens in China. It's always possible, too, we suppose, that the Chicago Cubs will win the pennant this year.

Here's the chart that has Abelson worried . . . 

A killer rabbit of a killer quote 

Posted: 09 Jun 2012 06:06 AM PDT

(Scott Johnson)

With his hastily called press conference yesterday, President Obama sought to change the subject from the left's horrible, no good, very bad week. Instead he added to it with this killer rabbit of a killer quote:

The private sector is doing fine. Where we're seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government. Oftentimes cuts initiated by, you know, Governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don't have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in.

And so, you know, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry?

"The private sector is doing fine" is an utter classic of cluelessness.

The Weekly Winston: How Did He Know? 

Posted: 09 Jun 2012 05:44 AM PDT

(Steven Hayward)

I lectured on Churchill to a student group last night, and one student asked me how it was that Churchill came to such early clarity about the menace of Hitler-Churchill gave his first warning about the Nazi peril just days after Hitler took power in 1933-when everyone else around him either failed to be alarmed or took the path of least resistance, leading to the appalling appeasement policy of the Baldwin-Chamberlain years.

There's a lot to be said on this important point, but suffice it here simply to observe that Churchill understood the character of tyrants-and the dynamics of tyrannical regimes-better than most people around him.  These are lessons that might be heeded today in understanding, for example, why Iran is highly unlikely to reach a reasonable accommodation with the rest of the world over its drive for nuclear weapons.

In 1937 Churchill wrote an article for Colliers magazine here in the U.S. in which he explained why the logic of the Nazi regime would lead it inevitably to aggression.  Here's one key excerpt:

How to praise your predecessor with class 

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:54 PM PDT

(Paul Mirengoff)

I wrote here about President Obama's remarks during the ceremony in which portraits of George W. and Laura Bush were unveiled at the White House. Unfortunately, Obama found it difficult to offer any praise of Bush that did not refer, usually self-servingly, to himself. And, I wrote, to the very limited extent that Obama managed to offer such praise, "there wasn't much warmth or charity in it - it fell well short of what Bush was able to say in praise of Bill Clinton under similar circumstances."

At Ricochet, former Bush speechwriter Bill McGurn has performed the service of holding Obama's remarks about Bush next to Bush's remarks about Clinton (which McGurn did not write). The contrast is even more striking than I had supposed.

Here is what Obama said about his immediate predecessor:

The months before I took the oath of office were a chaotic time. We knew our economy was in trouble, our fellow Americans were in pain, but we wouldn't know until later just how breathtaking the financial crisis had been. And still, over those two and a half months - in the midst of that crisis - President Bush, his Cabinet, his staff, many of you who are here today, went out of your ways - George, you went out of your way - to make sure that the transition to a new administration was as seamless as possible.

 

President Bush understood that rescuing our economy was not just a Democratic or a Republican issue; it was a American priority. I'll always be grateful for that.

 

The same is true for our national security. None of us will ever forget where we were on that terrible September day when our country was attacked. All of us will always remember the image of President Bush standing on that pile of rubble, bullhorn in hand, conveying extraordinary strength and resolve to the American people but also representing the strength and resolve of the American people.

 

And last year, when we delivered justice to Osama bin Laden, I made it clear that our success was due to many people in many organizations working together over many years - across two administrations. That's why my first call once American forces were safely out of harm's way was to President Bush. Because protecting our country is neither the work of one person, nor the task of one period of time, it's an ongoing obligation that we all share.

 

Finally, on a personal note, Michelle and I are grateful to the entire Bush family for their guidance and their example during our own transition.

In five paragraphs, Bush serves as a prop for Obama in four. And in the first paragraph, Obama says, in effect, that Bush left the country in terrible shape.

Now let's look at what Bush said about Clinton:

As a candidate for any office, whether it be the state attorney general or the President, Bill Clinton showed incredible energy and great personal appeal. As chief executive, he showed a deep and far-ranging knowledge of public policy, a great compassion for people in need, and the forward-looking spirit the Americans like in a President. Bill Clinton could always see a better day ahead - and Americans knew he was working hard to bring that day closer.

 

Over eight years, it was clear that Bill Clinton loved the job of the presidency. He filled this house with energy and joy. He's a man of enthusiasm and warmth, who could make a compelling case and effectively advance the causes that drew him to public service.

 

People saw those gifts very early in Bill Clinton. He is remembered in Hope, Arkansas, and other places along the way, as an eager, good-hearted boy who seemed destined for big things. I was particularly struck by the story of a nun at St. John's School in Hot Springs who decided that Billy Clinton should get a C in deportment. That was a rare grade for the future Rhodes Scholar and President. So Bill's mother gave the nun a call to see what was wrong. The sister replied, "Oh, nothing much. But let me tell you, this boy knows the answer to every question and he just leaps to his feet before anyone else can." She went on, you know, "I know he'll not tolerate this C, but it'll be good for him. And I promise you, if he wants to be, he will be President someday."

 

People in Bill Clinton's life have always expected him to succeed - and, more than that, they wanted him to succeed. And meeting those expectations took more than charm and intellect - it took hard work and drive and determination and optimism. And after all, you've got to be optimistic to give six months of your life running the McGovern campaign in Texas.

 

He won his first statewide office at age 30, sworn in as governor at 32. He was a five-time governor of Arkansas, the first man from that state to become the President. He's also the first man in his party since Franklin Roosevelt to win a second term in the White House. And I could tell you more of the story, but it's coming out in fine bookstores all over America.

 

At every stage in the extraordinary rise of Bill Clinton, from the little ranch house on Scully Street to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he and Roger had a wonderful, loving mother. And I am certain that Virginia Kelley would be filled with incredible pride this morning.

Never once does Bush crash this party; there's nary a self-reference. Moreover, Bush's praise for Clinton is full of warmth. And, though Bush doesn't praise any of Clinton's specific policies, he emphasizes that, as a general matter, Clinton worked diligently to bring about a better day for America.

Obama's biggest asset these days is that people like him as a person. Even I did, at first. But Obama isn't really very likeable, and as his exposure increases in the context of a difficult campaign, I believe that his personal popularity will decline.

Alexander's Essay - June 7, 2012

The Speech You Never Heard

"I think also, that general virtue is more probably to be expected and obtained from the education of youth, than from exhortations of adult persons; bad habits and vices of the mind being, like diseases of the body, more easily prevented than cured. I think moreover, that talents for the education of youth are the gift of God; and that he on whom they are bestowed, whenever a way is opened for use of them, is as strongly called as if he heard a voice from heaven..." --Benjamin Franklin

Patriots, I am in New Orleans today at the World War II Museum with my favorite War II Vet, my father. The guest column this week is from my colleague, Neal Boortz, a lawyer and nationally syndicated radio host. Given all of the commencement speeches delivered in recent weeks, I invite you to read the commencement speech Boortz has never been invited to deliver, as excerpted from his book by the same title.

Pro Deo et Constitutione - Libertas aut Mors
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis

Mark Alexander
Publisher, The Patriot Post

The Commencement Speech You Need To Hear

I am honored by the invitation to address you on this august occasion. It's about time. Be warned, however, that I am not here to impress you; you'll have enough smoke blown your way today. And you can bet your tassels I'm not here to impress the faculty and administration.

You may not like much of what I have to say, and that's fine. This isn't the first time you're not going to like what someone has to say ... your bosses, for instance. Things change today. There will be a lot less pandering to your every whim, and a lot more demands for performance. You will remember what I had to say though. Especially after about 10 years out there in the real world. This, of course, does not apply to those of you who will seek your careers and your fortunes as government employees ... or as college professors.

You've heard the old saying that those who can - do. Those who can't - teach. That sounds deliciously insensitive. But there is often raw truth in insensitivity, just as you often find feel-good falsehoods and lies in compassion. Say good-bye to your faculty because now you are getting ready to go out there and do. These folks behind me are going to stay right here and teach.

By the way, just because you are leaving this place with a diploma doesn't mean the learning is over. When an FAA flight examiner handed me my private pilot's license many years ago, he said, 'Here, this is your ticket to learn.' The same can be said for your diploma. Believe me, the learning has just begun.

OK .. it's time for you to hear something -- to learn something -- that may, but should not, come as a complete surprise.

You are the victims of a terrible fraud. You have just completed your travels through an educational system that had no real intention of educating you ... at least not too much.

You're pretty hot at research right now, aren't you? While those skills are still with you, perhaps you would like to put them to work studying the start of compulsory government education in the early part of the last century. Do you really think that the goal of our compulsory government education system has been to actually educate you?

Did you study H. L. Mencken? In 1924 he wrote an article for the American Mercury where he defined the true aim of our then-fledgling system of education. Listen carefully:

The aim of public education is not to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. ... Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim ... is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is the aim in the United States and that is its aim everywhere else.

Think about this. Who owns the schools? The government. Who mandates attendance? The government. Who staffs the schools? The government ... with government workers. Who directs the work of the schools? The government. Can you see where it is in the best interests of government to suppress dissent and originality? Can you understand why government would want a standardized citizenry? Those who dissent; those who produce originality of thought; those who exceed the standards are a threat to what? The status quo, that's what ... and government likes the calming influence of the status quo.

There's an amazing book that you need to put at the top of your reading list ... now that you don't have to focus on college texts any more. The book is by John Taylor Gatto, and it's called "The Underground History of American Education." Gatto was the teacher of the year in New York City. He wrote an extraordinary letter to the Wall Street Journal in 2001. Let me share the first part of that letter with you:

I've taught public school for 26 years but I just can't do it anymore. For years I asked the local school board and superintendent to let me teach a curriculum that doesn't hurt kids, but they had other fish to fry. So I'm going to quit, I think.

I've come slowly to understand what it is I really teach: A curriculum of confusion, class position, arbitrary justice, vulgarity, rudeness, disrespect for privacy, indifference to quality, and utter dependency. I teach how to fit into a world I don't want to live in.

I just can't do it anymore. I can't train children to wait to be told what to do; I can't train people to drop what they are doing when a bell sounds; I can't persuade children to feel some justice in their class placement when there isn't any, and I can't persuade children to believe teachers have valuable secrets they can acquire by becoming our disciples. That isn't true.

Just google "I quit, I think" and you can read the rest of Gatto's letter to the Wall Street Journal. You've been had ... big time. Read the letter. You'll see how -- and how bad.

Can you see why government would want to keep you dumbed down and placated? Gatto's book explains it all. He talks about the effort to bring the Prussian style of education to the United States in the early 1900s. He describes his shock that Americans were to eager to adopt what he calls "one of the very worst aspects of Prussian culture ... an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to hamstring the inner life, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and to ensure docile and incomplete citizens in order to render the populace "manageable."

So ... do you think you know enough to be a threat to the ruling class?

How many of you can name your two US Senators? How about the Vice President? Who is your congressman? How often is he elected? Can you give me the gist of the 10th Amendment?

Am I trying to insult you here? No, I'm trying to illustrate something.

What are the three branches of government? Who officially represents the government of this state -- not the people, the government -- in Washington?

How strong is your economic knowledge? Do you believe that the rich should pay their fair share? If so, can you tell me what percentage of total income the hated top 1% earns and what percentage of income taxes they pay? If you can't, don't worry too much. I've interviewed presidential candidates who can't tell you.

Here's a toughie ... What is the difference between a profit and a profit margin? Do corporations pay taxes? If so, where do they get the money?

A person who cannot answer virtually all of these questions is a person who is going to present absolutely no threat at all to current political thought. This is a person who will repeat government feel-good slogans and political mantras ... and then turn to a discussion of the last episode of "Lost."

Feeling pretty good about your education now, aren't you?

Now, I realize that most of you consider yourselves Liberals. In fact, you are probably very proud of your liberal views. You care so much. You feel so much. You want to help so much. After all, you're a compassionate and caring person, aren't you now? Well, isn't that just so extraordinarily special. Now, at this age, is as good a time as any to be a Liberal; as good a time as any to know absolutely everything. You have plenty of time, starting tomorrow, for the truth to set in. Over the next few years, as you begin to feel the cold breath of reality down your neck, things are going to start changing pretty fast .. including your own assessment of just how much you really know.

So here are the first assignments for your initial class in post-graduate reality: Pay attention to the news, read newspapers -- as long as we have newspapers -- and listen to the words and phrases that proud Liberals use to promote their causes. Then compare the words of the left to the words and phrases you hear from those evil, heartless, greedy conservatives. From the Left you will hear "I feel." From the Right you will hear "I think." From the Liberals you will hear references to groups --The Blacks, The Poor, The Rich, The Disadvantaged, The Less Fortunate. From the Right you will hear references to individuals. On the Left you hear talk of group rights; on the Right, individual rights.

That about sums it up, really: Liberals feel. Liberals care. They are pack animals whose identity is tied up in group dynamics and the principal of looting. Conservatives and Libertarians think -- and, setting aside the theocracy crowd, their identity is centered on the individual -- individual worth and achievement.

Liberals feel that their favored groups, have enforceable rights to the property and services of productive individuals. Conservatives (and Libertarians, myself among them I might add) think that individuals have the right to protect their lives and their property from the plunder of the masses.

In college you developed a group mentality, but if you look closely at your diplomas you will see that they have your individual names on them. Not the name of your school mascot, or of your fraternity or sorority, but your name. This group identity nonsense needs to go away ... now. Your recognition and appreciation of your individual identity should begin immediately.

There's a chance that, over the next eight to ten years, the lessons of life will not have brought you to the rational thinking processes of a libertarian or a conservative. If you find that to be your reality when you reach the age of 30 ... 35 tops ... then you need to rush right back here as quickly as you can and apply for a faculty position. These people will welcome you with open arms. They will welcome you, that is, so long as you haven't developed an individual identity. Once again you will have to be willing to sign on to the group mentality you embraced during the past four years.

Something is going to happen soon that is going to really open your eyes. You're going to actually get a full time job! You're also going to find that you have a partner. This partner isn't going to help you do your job. This partner is just going to sit back and wait for payday. This partner doesn't want to share in your effort -- just your earnings.

Your new lifelong partner is actually an agent; an agent representing a strange and diverse group of people. An agent for every single mother raising an illegitimate child. An agent for a research scientist who wanted to make some cash answering the age-old question of why monkeys grind their teeth. An agent for some poor aging hippie who considers herself to be a meaningful and talented artist ... but who just can't manage to sell any of her artwork on the open market.

Your new partner is an agent for every person with limited, if any, job skills; for every person who ignored all proffered educational opportunities, for every loser dreaming of nothing more than a job at City Hall. Your partner will be an agent for tin-horn dictators in fancy military uniforms grasping for American foreign aid. An agent for multi-million-dollar companies who want someone else to pay for their overseas advertising. An agent for everybody who wants to use the unimaginable power of this agent's for their personal enrichment and benefit.

That agent is our wonderful, caring, compassionate, oppressive Imperial Federal Government. Believe me, you will be awed by the unimaginable power this agent has. Power that you do not have. A power that no individual has, will have or should have. This agent has the legal power to use force -- deadly force -- to accomplish its goals.

You have no choice here. Your new friend is just going to walk up to you, introduce itself rather gruffly, hand you a few forms to fill out, and move right on in. Say hello to your own personal one ton gorilla with a gun. It will sleep anywhere it wants to.

Now, let me tell you, this agent is not cheap. As you become successful it will seize about 40% of everything you earn. And no, I'm sorry, there just isn't any way you can fire this agent of plunder, this looter, and you can't decrease it's share of your income. That power rests with him, not you.

Does it bother you that I'm not particularly fond of our government? Well, be clear on this: It is not wrong to distrust government. It is not wrong to fear government. In certain cases it is not even wrong to despise government for government is inherently evil. Oh yes, I know it's a necessary evil, but it is dangerous nonetheless ... somewhat like a drug. Just as a drug that in the proper dosage can save your life, an overdose of government can be fatal.

Now -- let's address a few things that have been crammed into your minds at this university. There are some ideas you need to expunge as soon as possible. These ideas may work well in academic environment, but they fail miserably out there in the real world.

First -- that favorite buzz word of the media, government and academia: Diversity!

You have been taught that the real value of any group of people -- be it a social group, an employee group, a management group, whatever -- is based on diversity. This is a favored liberal ideal because diversity is based not on an individual's abilities or character, but on a person's identity and status as a member of a group. Yes -- it's that liberal group identity thing again.

Within the great diversity movement group identification -- be it racial, gender based, one of the fourteen different classifications of sexual proclivities, or some other minority status -- means more than the individual's integrity, character or other qualifications.

Brace yourself. You are about to move from this academic atmosphere where diversity rules, to a workplace and a culture where individual achievement and excellence actually count. No matter what your professors have taught you over the last four years, you are about to learn that diversity is absolutely no replacement for excellence, ability, and individual hard work. Unless, of course, you are working for the government or academia.

From this day on every single time you hear the word "diversity" you can rest assured that there is someone close by who is determined to rob you of every vestige of individuality you possess.

We also need to address this thing you seem to have about "rights." We have witnessed an obscene explosion of so-called "rights" in the last few decades, usually emanating from college campuses.

You know the mantra: You have the right to a job. The right to a place to live. The right to a living wage. The right to health care. The right to an education. You probably even have your own pet right -- the right to a Beemer, for instance, or the right to have someone else provide for that child you plan on downloading in a year or so.

Forget it. Forget those rights! I'll tell you what your rights are! You have a right to live free, and you have a right to whatever wealth you are able to produce with your labor. You'll be disappointed to learn that you have no right to any portion of the life or labor of another.

You may think, for instance, that you have a right to health care. After all, the president said so, didn't he? But you cannot receive health care unless some doctor or health practitioner surrenders some of his time -- his life -- to you. He may be willing to do this for compensation, but that's his choice. You have no "right" to his time or property. You have no right to any portion of his or any other person's life.

You may also think you have some "right" to a job; a job with a living wage, whatever that is. Do you mean to tell me that you have a right to force your services on another person, and then the right to demand that this person compensate you with their money? What if he doesn't need your services? I can't wait for you to point that one out for me in our Constitution. I sure would like to be a fly on the wall when some urban outdoorsmen (that would be "homeless person" for those of you who don't want to give these less fortunate people a romantic and adventurous title) came to you and demanded his job and your money.

And while I'm on the subject of jobs ... let's straighten out a bit of a misconception you may have. Jobs belong to the employer, not to the employee. You will go "look" for a job. Well, if the job belonged to you wouldn't have to look very far would you? Businessmen create those jobs. The jobs belong to them, not you. They will, with conditions, offer you that job if they believe them to be capable. And guess what? They're not going to pay you what you're worth. They're going to pay you less. Know why? Because if every employer out there paid every employee exactly what that employee was worth, where is the profit for the employer? You are there to make money for the person who gave you the job. To do that you have to produce wealth. You get a good portion of it ... but some must go to the employer. There is simply no other reason to hire you. And another thing ... there is no "shipping OUR jobs overseas." They are the employer's jobs, not yours. They can do with them what they wish. Get used to it.

The people who have been telling you about all the rights you have are simply exercising one of theirs -- the right to be imbeciles. Their being imbeciles didn't cost anyone else either property or time. It's their right, and they exercise it brilliantly.

By the way, did you catch my use of the phrase "less fortunate" a bit ago when I was talking about the urban outdoorsmen and the poor, poor, pitiful, pathetic poor? That phrase is a favorite of the Left. Think about it, and you'll understand why.

To imply that one person is homeless, destitute, dirty, drunk, spaced out on drugs, unemployable, and generally miserable because he is "less fortunate" is to imply that a successful person -- one with a job, a home and a future -- is in that position because he or she was "fortunate." The dictionary says that fortunate means "having derived good from an unexpected place." There is nothing unexpected about deriving good from hard work. There is also nothing unexpected about deriving misery from choosing drugs, alcohol, and the street instead of education and personal responsibility.

If the Left can create the common perception that success and failure are simple matters of "fortune" or "luck," then it is easy to promote and justify their various income seizure and redistribution schemes. After all, you didn't work for the money, did you? You were just lucky, and here we are just evening out the odds a little bit, aren't we?

This "success equals luck" idea the liberals like to push is seen everywhere. One time Democrat presidential candidate Richard Gephardt liked to refer to high-achievers as "people who have won life's lottery." He wanted you to believe they are making the big bucks because they are lucky; all they did was buy the right lottery ticket. What an insult this is to the man or woman who works that 60 hour week to provide for a family.

It's not luck, my friends. It's choice. One of the greatest lessons I ever learned was in a book by Og Mandino, entitled "The Greatest Secret in the World." The lesson? Very simple: "Use wisely your power of choice."

That bum sitting on a heating grate, smelling like a wharf rat? He's there by choice. He is there because of the sum total of the choices he has made in his life. This truism is absolutely the hardest thing for some people to accept, especially those who consider themselves to be victims of something or other - victims of discrimination, bad luck, the system, capitalism, whatever. After all, nobody really wants to accept the blame for his or her position in life. Not when it is so much easier to point and say, "Look! He did this to me!" than it is to look into a mirror and say, "You S.O.B.! You did this to me!"

The key to accepting responsibility for your life is to accept the fact that your choices, every one of them, are leading you inexorably to either success or failure, however you define those terms.

Some of the choices are obvious: Whether or not to stay in school. Whether or not to get pregnant. Whether or not to hit the bottle. Whether or not to keep this job you hate until you get another better-paying job. Whether or not to save some of your money, or saddle yourself with huge payments for that new car.

Some of the choices are seemingly insignificant: Whom to go to the movies with. Whose car to ride home in. Whether to watch the tube tonight, or read a book on investing. But, and you can be sure of this, each choice counts. Each choice is a building block - some large, some small. But each one is a part of the structure of your life. If you make the right choices, or if you make more right choices than wrong ones, something absolutely terrible may happen to you. Something unthinkable. You, my friend, could become one of the hated, the evil, the ugly, the feared, the filthy, the successful, the rich.

Quite a few people have followed that tragic path.

The rich basically serve two purposes in this country. First, they provide the investments, the investment capital, and the brains for the formation of new businesses. Businesses that hire people. Businesses that send millions of paychecks home each week to the un-rich.

Second, the rich are a wonderful object of ridicule, distrust, and hatred. Few things are more valuable to a politician than the envy most Americans feel for the evil rich.

Envy is a powerful emotion. Politicians use envy to get votes and power. And they keep that power by promising the envious that the envied will be punished: "The rich will pay their fair share of taxes if I have anything to do with it."

The truth is that the top 10% of income earners in this country pays almost 50% of all income taxes collected. I shudder to think what these job producers would be paying if our tax system were any more "fair."

You have heard, no doubt, that in America the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Interestingly enough, our government's own numbers show that many of the poor actually get richer, and that quite a few of the rich actually get poorer. But for the rich who do actually get richer, and the poor who remain poor ... there's an explanation -- a reason. The rich, you see, keep doing the things that make them rich; while the poor keep doing the things that make them poor.

Speaking of the poor, during your adult life you are going to hear an endless string of politicians bemoaning the plight of the poor in America. So, you need to know that under our government's definition of "poor" you can have a $5 million net worth, a $900,000 paid-for home and a new $160,000 Bentley, all completely paid for. You can also have a maid, cook, and valet, and $10 million in a checking account, and you can still be officially defined by our government as "living in poverty." Now there's something you haven't seen on the evening news.

How does the government pull this one off? Very simple, really. To determine whether or not some poor soul is "living in poverty," the government measures one thing -- just one thing. Income. It doesn't matter one bit how much you have, how much you own, how many cars you drive or how big they are, whether or not your pool is heated, whether you winter in Aspen and spend the summers in the Bahamas, or how much is in your savings account. It only matters how much income you claim in that particular year. This means that if you take a one-year leave of absence from your high-paying job and decide to live off the money in your savings and checking accounts while you write the next great American novel, the government says you are 'living in poverty."

This isn't exactly what you had in mind when you heard these gloomy statistics, is it?

Do you need more convincing? Try this. The government's own statistics show that people who are said to be "living in poverty" spend more than $1.50 for each dollar of income they claim. Something is a bit fishy here. just remember all this the next time Katie Couric puffs up and tells you about some hideous new poverty statistics.

And please remember this: The average person in this country described as "poor" has a higher standard of living than the average European. Not the average "poor" European, the average European.

Why has the government concocted this phony poverty scam? Because the government needs an excuse to grow and to expand its social welfare programs, which translates into an expansion of its power. If the government can convince you, in all your compassion, that the number of "poor" is increasing, it will have all the excuse it needs to sway an electorate suffering from the advanced stages of Obsessive-Compulsive Compassion Disorder.

Well, it looks like I'm about to be given the hook. The faculty looks a little angry. Come to think of it ... some of you look a little ticked off too. Are you starting to get it? The fun times are fading ... it's time to get down to business, and the people you will be working for have a much tighter grip on reality than these people who have been teaching you for the past years have. Why don't you try occupying the boss's office the next time something doesn't go your way. Let us all know how that works out for you.

Well ... I'm guessing that they've already changed their minds about that honorary degree I was going to get. That's OK, though. I still have my Ph.D. in Insensitivity from the Neal Boortz Institute for Insensitivity Training. You're about to start studying for yours. I learned that, in short, sensitivity sucks. It's a trap. Think about it -- the truth knows no sensitivity. Life can be insensitive. Wallow too much in sensitivity and you'll be unable to deal with life, or the truth. So, get over it.

Now, before the dean has me shackled and hauled off, I have a few random thoughts. You need to register to vote, unless you're part of the moocher class. If you are living off the efforts of others, please do us the favor of sitting down and shutting up until you are on your own again. While we're paying the bills you can keep your gripes to yourself. As long as we're taking care of you we would appreciate it if you would just sit down, shut up and get a skill. Or have the decency to just stay out of our way so we can get the job done.

When you do vote, your votes for the House and the Senate are more important than your vote for president. The House controls the purse strings, so concentrate your awareness there. Try to put as much importance on learning your congressman's name as you do remembering the name of your aerobics or yoga instructor.

Don't bow to the temptation to use the government as an instrument of plunder. If it is wrong for you to take money from someone else who earned it -- to take their money by force for your own needs -- then it is certainly just as wrong for you to demand that the government step forward and do this dirty work for you.

Don't look in other people's pockets. You have no business there. What they earn is theirs. What you manage to earn is yours. Keep it that way. Nobody owes you anything, except to respect your privacy and your rights, and leave you the hell alone.

Speaking of earning, the revered 40-hour workweek is for losers. Forty hours should be considered the minimum, not the maximum. You don't see highly successful people clocking out of the office every afternoon at five. The losers are the ones caught up in that afternoon rush hour. The winners drive home in the dark.

Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech. Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.

Finally (and aren't you glad to hear that word), as Og Mandino wrote,

1. Proclaim your rarity. Each of you is a rare and unique human being.
2. Use wisely your power of choice.
3. Go the extra mile ... drive home in the dark.
Care as much about America's future as you do about American Idol.

Oh, and put off buying that flat screen as long as you can.

Now, if you have any idea at all what's good for you, you will get the hell out of here and never come back.

Who's Your Daddy? Was Communist Frank Marshal Davis or Malcolm X Obama's father?

Jun 10, 2012 06:13 am | Coach Collins

By George Splevin, staff writer

  As if President Barack Hussein Obama's nativity story could not get any stranger, suddenly it does as a new film by producer director Joel Gilbert is making a big case that real biological fatherhood really belongs to CPUSA member Frank Marshal Davis!  "Dreams From My Real Father," as reviewed by senior WND reporter Jerome Corsi (1) quotes the film maker as rejecting the official story that the Kenyan born goat herder was the president's father.

 Instead, Gilbert argues, Davis, the radical poet journalist and card-carrying member of the Communist Party of the United States is the real, biological and ideological father of America's sitting President. This film, set to hit the screens in July, is virtually being ignored except by WND, the premier site for investigating theObama nativity story and for presenting Sheriff Joe's  investigations into solving the mystery of who Obama really is.

   If in fact Obama really is the son of Davis, then ... Continue Reading:Who's Your Daddy? Was Communist Frank Marshal Davis or Malcolm X Obama's father?

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American Minute June 9

Jun 09, 2012 06:13 pm | Coach Collins

  Withholding taxes from people's paychecks began JUNE 9, 1943.
Congress passed it as an emergency measure to get money to fight Hitler.
The idea came from Beardsley Ruml, treasurer of Macy's and chairman of New York's Federal Reserve Bank.
Called the "pay-as-you-go" tax, so much money came in with so few complaints that it continued after the war.
John F. Kennedy told Congress, April 20, 1961:
"Introduced during the war when the income tax was extended to millions of new taxpayers, the wage-withholding system has been one of the most important and successful advances in our tax system in recent times.
Initial difficulties were quickly overcome, and the new system helped the taxpayer no less than the tax collector."
But Americans weren't always so taxed. In his 2nd Annual Message, 1802, Thomas Jefferson wrote:
"To proceed as we have begun in substituting economy for taxation."
President Andrew Jackson stated in ... Continue Reading:American Minute June 9

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Candidate Obama's 57 States "Gaffe" a message?

Jun 09, 2012 01:13 pm | Coach Collins

 By Jerry Todd, staff writer

  During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Barack Obama made a briefly reported "gaffe" where he said he'd been in "all 57 states and had one to go, the 58th. It got a laugh from most Republicans and was buried by the mainstream media. Was our President sending a signal to folks who might interpret as intended? Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it took me 4 years for it to click. (REF: Media Research Council - NY Times Watch, 11/15/2011 or Google it) Jump ahead to the 2012 Republican primaries when Rick Perry had a momentary lapse and couldn't remember that the Energy Department was one of three agencies he wanted eliminated. The press had a field day - though not as bad as Dan Quayle's using an alternate spelling of tomato (tomatoe) - both gaffes sufficient to destroy their political reputations by the pens of mockers and the wagging tongues of pundits. Now ... Continue Reading:Candidate Obama's 57 States "Gaffe" a message?

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Got a secret? Obama does and he can't keep them

Jun 09, 2012 06:13 am | Coach Collins

 By Jim Emerson, staff writer

 To show the world that Barack Obama is a powerful effective leader this White House may have been leaking classified information to the New York Times. Such political gamesmanship during an election year endangers people and future intelligence operations against America's adversaries. There is no evidence that these leaks were from a whistle-blower for illicit acts or corruption. (1)

  Kill List

 The New York Times (2) published an article showing Obama as a mastermind who selects and prioritizes which terrorists to kill. As former CIA chief Jose Rodriguez pointed out to 60 Minutes dimwit Lesley Stahl "We don't capture anyone  Lesley...the default option of this administration has been to kill all prisoners. Take no prisoners, the drones. How could it be more ethical to kill people rather than capture them?" (3) Obama campaigned against the war on terrorism but the Chicago thug learned well it's better to kill ... Continue Reading:Got a secret? Obama does and he can't keep them

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American Minute June 8

Jun 08, 2012 06:13 pm | Coach Collins

   On JUNE 8, 1845, "Old Hickory" died. Wounded by a sword during the Revolutionary War, he later fought the Seminole Indians and, in the War of 1812, defeated the British in New Orleans.
He was governor of the Florida Territory, and is credited with proposing the name "Tennessee" at that State's first convention.
His name was Andrew Jackson.
His wife Rachel dying just three months before he took office as the 7th U.S. President, Andrew Jackson stated in his 2nd Inaugural:
"It is my fervent prayer to that Almighty Being before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in His hands from the infancy of our Republic to the present day...that He will...inspire the hearts of my fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from danger."
On December 30, 1836, Andrew Jackson wrote to A.J. Donelson, upon the death of his wife, Emily:
"We cannot recall her, we are commanded by our ... Continue Reading:American Minute June 8

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What does it take to produce a can of peaches? Do they even have a clue?

Jun 08, 2012 01:13 pm | Coach Collins

 By Jerry Todd, staff writer

 What does it take to produce a can of peaches? Most of us don't know the answer to this question, but there really isn't any problem in this. The problem for all of us is that the government bureaucrats that tell us where when and how to sell things like a can of peaches don't know the first thing about what goes in to one.

 Has anyone ever plotted how many jobs are in a can of peaches? The problem with bureaucracy and currency manipulators is they never understand the infinite range of human skills, talents, equipment, experience, energy and infrastructure it takes to produce a simple can of peaches, much less the myriad far more complicated products we take for granted every day. You want jobs? Here's diversity of skills and employment! What's in a can of peaches? : Peaches, can, lid and label; plus the carton to put them in so ... Continue Reading:What does it take to produce a can of peaches? Do they even have a clue?

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Leaked Fast and Furious wiretap applications provide devastating evidence against Eric Holder

Jun 08, 2012 06:13 am | Coach Collins

by Doug Book,  staff writer

Wiretap applications obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform prove Attorney General Eric Holder and Assistant AG Lanny Breuer lied to Committee members when they claimed DOJ personnel knew nothing of the tactics used by the ATF during Operation Fast And Furious.

Wiretap applications are forms which must be filled out and submitted to a judge, asking permission to perform a wiretap. As these requests may only be made if all other information gathering techniques have been tried and found wanting, the applications are completed in extraordinary detail, listing all prior methods employed by law enforcement to gather existing evidence. In short, the entire history of the efforts put forth by law enforcement during a particular case or investigation are presented in writing to the court.

According to Committee chair Darrell Issa, six wiretap applications are now in Committee possession, all presented to the court between March ... Continue Reading:Leaked Fast and Furious wiretap applications provide devastating evidence against Eric Holder

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American Minute June 7

Jun 07, 2012 06:13 pm | Coach Collins

 The island of Jamaica was captured from the Spanish in 1655 by British Admiral William Penn, father of Pennsylvania's founder, but it was too far from England to defend, so the city turned to privateers, pirates and buccaneers for protection.
The likes of Blackbeard, Calico Jack and Captain Henry Morgan, namesake of the rum, attacked Spanish ships and returned with their booty.
Soon Port Royal, Jamaica, surpassed Boston as England's most prosperous settlement.
Called "the Sodom of the New World" for its "pirates, cutthroats, whores," drinking, gambling and slave trading, it was "the richest and wickedest city in the world" until JUNE 7, 1692, when an earthquake and tsunami sank it under the sea.
Over 2,000 drowned, graves opened and bodies washed about.
Eye-witness Rev. Emmanuel Heath, wrote:
"Port Royal was terribly destroyed by an earthquake and breaking in of the sea upon it.
The destruction was sudden...in four minutes multitudes ... Continue Reading:American Minute June 7

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No wonder unions hate Scott Walker, he cost them a fortune

Jun 07, 2012 01:00 pm | Coach Collins

by Doug Book,  staff writer

Recalled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker won the special election against Tom Barrett on Tuesday, his 7 point win an improvement over the 6 point, 2010 margin of victory.  And as for the $21 million FOX News reported organized labor to have poured into the recall sweepstakes? Call it a crap shoot designed in the hope of recouping some portion of the stunning losses unions have suffered over the past 24 months.

Two Walker-sponsored laws have decimated both the power and bank accounts of government sector unions, the first making Wisconsin a right-to-work state and the next doing away with the dues check-off so prized by organized labor. The check-off privilege means "...government seizes union dues straight from workers' paychecks. The union hierarchy spends that cash on politicking to elect favored candidates. And then the politicians do the union bosses' bidding." (1)

 Adding insult to injury, along with the check-off generated, ... Continue Reading:No wonder unions hate Scott Walker, he cost them a fortune

Digest · June 8, 2012

The Foundation

"No government, any more than an individual, will long be respected without being truly respectable; nor be truly respectable, without possessing a certain portion of order and stability." --James Madison, Federalist No. 62

Government & Politics

Slow Economic Recovery Ahead

The economy is obviously the biggest issue in this election, just as it was in 2008. That speaks volumes about Barack Obama's record -- nearly four years and trillions in "stimulus" deficit spending later, and the economy is still stuck in neutral. That's why he held a press conference this morning to once again make sure it was clear he doesn't think any of the fault is his. Europe, Congress, headwinds -- anybody and anything but him.

Why isn't the economy growing? "Folks out there are still anxious, they're still scared about the future," said Obama on the campaign trail this week. "And so what the other side is counting on is fear and frustration -- that that in and of itself is going to be enough because they sure aren't offering any new ideas. All they're offering is the same old ideas that didn't work then, and won't work now." No, Mr. President, the same old ideas have resulted in massive government debt with nothing to show for it.

Since Obama took office in January 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey indicates that the U.S. economy has added just 100,000 net jobs. Headline unemployment was 7.8 percent on Jan. 20, 2009, and is 8.2 percent today, down from a high of 10.2 percent but up again in May. Job numbers for previous months continue to be revised downward. Yet Obama claims to have added four million jobs. How? By ignoring the first 13 months of his presidency -- blaming all those job losses on George W. Bush -- and counting only nonfarm private payrolls. Even better, they all seem to be "green jobs."

Supposedly to boost job growth, Democrats in Congress are pushing for another increase in the minimum wage -- this time to $10 an hour, up from the current $7.25, and then tied to the Consumer Price Index. Soon after taking over Congress in 2007, Democrats passed a minimum wage increase. A few months later, the country was in recession. Now, with already stagnant economic growth, they want to raise it again by 37 percent, claiming it will help the economy. Left unexplained, however, is how higher costs for employers will lead to more employment.

Obama also claims that government spending has grown more slowly on his watch than any of his predecessors since World War II. As with employment numbers, he does this by blaming his predecessor for his own spending. And he's doing it because he knows his same old ideas have put the nation on an unsustainable fiscal path, and it could cost him re-election.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its annual long-term budget outlook Tuesday, and the future looks grim. Federal debt held by the public will reach 70 percent of GDP this year. It was just 40 percent in 2008 with the 40-year average at 38 percent. CBO normally forecasts national debt as a percentage of GDP for decades but in this report it stops at 2043. From then through 2087, there is a repeating footnote that reads, "CBO does not report debt of more than 250 percent of GDP or projections based on debt above that level, such as interest outlays" [emphasis added]. Granted, predicting even a decade into the future is probably not going to be accurate, but one thing CBO does convey is that the current course will cause the economy to virtually shut down.

As CBO concludes, "The explosive path of federal debt ... underscores the need for large and timely policy changes to put the federal government on a sustainable fiscal course." That course should not include the biggest tax increase in history, which awaits us in 2013, despite CBO's implication that the Bush tax cuts are part of the problem. "Folks out there are still anxious" because, without action, everyone's taxes will go up, and in a big way.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the tax increase could not only "pose a significant threat to the recovery" but "it would be very likely that the economy would begin to contract or possibly go even into recession." Even Bill Clinton called for an extension of the Bush tax rates, though with some later caveats, excuses and apologies.

The only true way forward is to cut both spending and taxes. Our citizens need it and our economy needs it -- but it's the one thing Obama will never do.

What should be done to get the economy moving again?

Walker Trounces Big Labor, Sets Tone for November

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) made history this week by becoming the first governor to survive a recall. He beat Milwaukee's Democrat Mayor Tom Barrett by roughly seven points, 53-46, in the high-turnout election -- a margin slightly larger than Walker's winning spread against the same opponent in the Republican wave election year of 2010. Walker faced the recall after taking away collective bargaining rights for public employee unions, along with making other reforms. Union benefits are sacrosanct, after all, and the unions tried to stop Walker every step of the way -- protesters laid siege to the capitol, Democrat state senators fled to nearby Illinois to prevent a legislative quorum, and, of course, opponents tried and (mostly) failed to recall Republican state senators and a sitting judge, finally gathering enough signatures to challenge Walker himself to a recall. In his victory, however, Walker won 38 percent of voters who live in union households.

The unions failed in three of four state senate recalls, too. Their one victory was a successful recall of Republican state senator Van Wanggard, which gives Democrats a 17-16 majority in the state senate. Of course, that's little more than a symbolic victory, because the senate won't meet again before the November election, and Republicans are likely to regain control then.

Walker's courage in the face of the national public sector union machine is inspiring to Americans looking to bring government back under control. These unions, which years ago gained collective bargaining power despite the warnings of none other than leftist godfather Franklin Roosevelt, are a major factor behind the bloated wasteful government we have today. Walker took them on and won a significant victory. Along the way he and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who also survived her recall, received death threats, and there were reports of Walker supporters being physically attacked and intimidated by rogue union thugs who now claim that "democracy is dead" because they didn't get their way.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who had crowed for weeks about how a victory in Wisconsin would be a roadmap for the November elections, was unrepentant afterward, tweeting, "Despite the disappointing outcome, #WIrecall effort sent Scott Walker a message that his brand of divisive politics is offensive & wrong." Wisconsin's voters, of course, would beg to disagree.

Wasserman Schultz began playing down expectations last week when Barrett's impending defeat became more apparent, claiming that the race had no implications outside the state. This typical spin was also trotted out by the Obama campaign, with director Jim Messina pointing out that in exit polls, Obama beat Romney statewide by 51 to 45 percent -- but those were the same flawed exit polls that told us Tuesday's recall election was a "dead heat." In any case, this isn't worth bragging about: In 2008, Obama won the state by 13 points, and since Walker's arrival Wisconsin has drifted from the solid Democrat column to a true battleground state. Furthermore, Walker's victory against the unions demonstrates to other states that it's possible to tame government and make it more accountable.

Share your thoughts on Walker's win.

From the 'Non Compos Mentis' File

"I think the sad story of the night was the money because this is the beginning of the undermining of American democracy, and this is what you see tonight when you see a guy outspend somebody seven to one with money that nobody knows where it came from." --former DNC chairman Howard "I Have a Scream" Dean on the Wisconsin recall, conveniently ignoring the massive spending by unions and outside Democrat organizations, and utterly misrepresenting the money gap

New & Notable Legislation

The House passed a repeal of a medical device tax Thursday by a vote of 270-146, including 37 Democrats voting for repeal. The 2.3 percent tax (on sales, not profits) is part of the so-called "Affordable Care Act," a.k.a. ObamaCare, and it takes effect on Jan. 1, 2013, and will hit everything from heart stents to ultrasounds, making health care considerably less affordable. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says the Senate won't take up the legislation, and the White House issued a veto threat.

One thing the Senate is doing is debating the latest farm bill, as is the House. As it now stands, the 10-year, $969 billion bill makes some changes to current policy, including replacing direct farm subsidies with crop insurance, and placing new restrictions on food stamps, though food stamps are up more than 100 percent -- $39 billion to $82 billion -- during Obama's first three years. Congress is promising overall "savings" of $23.6 billion over 10 years, but, somehow, spending a trillion dollars to save $23 billion leaves a bad taste.

Campaign Trail: Romney Still Has Some Work to Do

Mitt Romney appointed former Utah Governor Michael Leavitt to his campaign team this week to lead his potential presidential transition, but Leavitt's addition isn't a good sign for anyone looking for Romney to repeal ObamaCare if elected. Leavitt is one of the few Republicans who support the insurance exchange element of ObamaCare, believing the exchanges to be capable of providing affordable insurance. Romney says he intends to repeal ObamaCare, but, of course, as governor of Massachusetts he implemented a state-level version of the same law, so Americans looking to see ObamaCare go away are already wary of Romney's intentions. Pending the Supreme Court's ruling on the law, having Leavitt on board signals that Romney just may keep some elements of ObamaCare in place. Perhaps the Republican candidate is hedging his political bets here, but that's not going to earn him any support among people looking for a new president in November.

Romney remains more popular than congressional Republicans, however, which partly explains why Barack Obama shifted his focus from attacking his election opponent to campaigning against Republicans in general, particularly after May's dismal jobs report. He's losing the debate on the economy, so he's blaming Congress for not pushing his agenda. And by Congress he means the Republican House, which in reality has restrained this spendthrift administration while passing numerous small business tax cuts and jobs bills. The real fault for lack of action on Capitol Hill lies in the Democrat-controlled Senate, which under Harry Reid has had the most ineffective and unproductive legislative record in recent memory. Yet congressional Republicans are allegedly less popular than Democrats among voters. Obama may be hoping that he can taint the GOP brand in the eyes of voters, and Romney by association. Such are the actions of a desperate president without a record to run on.

From the Left: Fair Pay for Women

Barack Obama announced his firm support for further regulations on businesses with regard to women's wages, compelling salary parity and giving women more litigation opportunities against their employers. Women reportedly receive 77 cents for every dollar men make in the workplace. These numbers, however, don't reflect a number of mitigating factors that make women's pay different from that of men. Fields of study and professions vary widely between the sexes, and the work/home balance also plays a factor in the difference in pay scales. The new Paycheck Fairness Act would add even tighter business restrictions than those placed under the Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009. This bill follows the Democrats' so-called "War on Women" motif.

Ironically, neither the White House nor House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are leading by example in their pursuit of equal pay. Female employees on the White House staff are paid about 18 percent less than their male counterparts. The gap on Pelosi's staff is even worse -- women working for her earn about 27 percent less than men. It looks like the Democrats may win their war on women after all.

DOJ Goes After Florida's Voter Laws

The Obama administration is well known for its willingness to turn the attack dogs loose on states it perceives as a threat -- just ask Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Now it's trying to deny Florida's attempt to purge its voter rolls of illegible individuals: felons, deceased and -- Heaven forbid -- illegal immigrants.

The Department of Justice demands that Florida desist, claiming the Sunshine State is in violation of both the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The state, however, has refused the directive. Florida also points out that discrimination is not possible, for it's simply sending names to the respective counties for verification. The names are collected by cross-referencing lists of registered voters with driver's licenses that have information on citizenship. Those deemed "suspicious" are given a chance to prove their citizenship status, and are removed from the rolls only if they fail to do so. Those who are alive, American, and felony-free will have no problem voting.

Of course, Attorney General Eric Holder and Company dismissed the facts, claiming instead that the Republicans are trying to disenfranchise minorities and the poor. Clearly, the administration's main concern is the 2012 election, in which Florida will be a key battleground. Given Wisconsin's ringing endorsement of Republican Governor Scott Walker this week (and, arguably, a referendum on Obama's pro-union policies), it comes as no surprise that the administration is trying to protect its base, even if that includes the deceased or illegal.

The BIG Lie: Holder Tells a Whopper

House Republicans grilled Attorney General Eric Holder for four hours Thursday regarding the Justice Department's "Fast and Furious" gun-running operation. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) read excerpts of internal emails that use the phrase "Fast and Furious," but in one of the more bizarre turns in the saga Holder denied that the phrase "Fast and Furious" referred to the gun-running operation of the same name. "The email that you just read, now this is important, that email referred to 'Wide Receiver,'" he claimed. "It did not refer to 'Fast and Furious.' That has to be noted for the record." When Chaffetz replied incredulously, "I've got it in black and white," Holder retorted, "I've got superior knowledge."

Holder's claim is ironic considering that his main defense so far has been his lack of knowledge about the program, and that when he found out, he put a stop to it. The Justice Department has been stonewalling the House's investigation all along, and may face a contempt citation. We guess Holder's "superior knowledge" is that he's toast if the truth is exposed.

Economy

Income Redistribution: Biden Buddy Snags Energy Loan

BrightSource Energy secured the largest federal loan of any solar energy company at $1.6 billion, and it's largely due to -- surprise -- its connections with the White House. As the Energy Department considered BrightSource's application for a loan for its Ivanpah solar farm in the Mojave Desert, the company hired Bernie Toon to lobby for it. Toon is the former chief of staff for then-Senator Joe Biden. His $40,000 payday (for one month of work) was just part of the half-million dollars BrightSource spent on lobbying for its loan.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the Department of Energy made the loan-approval decision, not Mr. Biden nor other White House officials. A Department of Energy spokeswoman said it chose BrightSource, whose solar power plant in California continues to move ahead, based on the project's merits." Nothing to see here; move along.

The Obama administration promised to be transparent in its operations. They also said that lobbyists would not determine policy, yet here they are succumbing to lobbying by cronies and doling out billions of dollars for alternative energy as a way Forward™.

Regulatory Commissars: EPA Ready for 'Painful' Coal Regulations

To put it charitably, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power aren't ready for prime time yet, and whether Barack Obama likes it or not, America depends on coal for a significant portion of its electricity. Whether it's running a laptop or a Chevy Volt, coal is still king, and thousands rely upon it directly for their livelihoods.

This reality doesn't stop the EPA from trying to regulate coal companies out of existence. As part of a push to repeal overzealous EPA regulations on mercury and other toxins -- rules that mandate a 90 percent emissions cut, thus making older power plants all but obsolete -- Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) released a video of an unnamed EPA spokesperson saying the new regulations "will be painful every step of the way." Publicizing the EPA's indifference to the suffering it will cause is part of Inhofe's effort to rescind the regulations via Congress.

Without a relaxation of the new rules, the pain will be felt most in states that depend on coal mining to support the local economy. Moreover, electric ratepayers will see their costs skyrocket as coal-burning plants are upgraded or -- more likely -- shuttered. And while research into "clean coal" continues, the EPA disregards it because it has one goal: that of jumpstarting a market in renewable energy via government intervention, regardless of the cost to taxpayers or coal-dependent citizens. It seems the EPA's goal is to keep its regulators' jobs safe, unlike the jobs of those who work in the coal industry.

Just how painful are EPA regulations?

Around the Nation: Regulations for Thee, but Not for Me

California Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown has discovered one way to cut into the projected $100 billion price tag of his cherished high-speed railroad through the Central Valley: forgoing the very same environmental regulations he enforced as the state's attorney general. In order to get the project underway early next year, Brown is calling on California's legislature to limit the legal challenges environmentalists can throw at the project, which would simply replace carbon-belching automobiles and aircraft traveling up and down the state with trains powered by electricity created in fossil fuel-burning power plants. Key among these revisions to normal environmental review is allowing the state to make changes without going through the entire review process again.

Predictably, environmental groups gave Brown's proposal a chilly reception. "Environmental review is not going to slow this project," claimed Sierra Club California director Kathryn Phillips. She also chided the "ineptitude" of the California High-Speed Rail Authority over the last four years.

One is led to wonder, though, why more projects and development can't qualify for expedited treatment and waivers in a state crying for jobs. Brown used a similar environmental approach on a proposed football stadium in Los Angeles, saying the shortcuts were necessary to "get people working." Taxpayer-funded boondoggles aren't the only needed infrastructure in the Golden State, and those Central Valley farmers who can't get water because of the sanctity of a nondescript two-inch fish probably wonder how they ended up on the wrong side of the tracks.

Security

Warfront With Jihadistan: Al-Qa'ida's No. 2 Killed

"Abu Yahya Al-Libi, a top Al Qaeda operative, was killed in a U.S. drone strike Monday," Fox News reports. "Al-Libi, known as a rock star in the jihadist world with his videos and lectures going viral on the Web, was the intended target of the strike, U.S. officials said." It's the biggest takedown for the U.S. military since Osama bin Laden in May 2011. Al-Libi took over the Number Two spot in al-Qa'ida shortly after bin Laden's death moved Ayman al-Zawahri into the top spot. Al-Libi was thought dead from a drone strike in 2009, though U.S. officials discovered they had the wrong man.

Al-Libi was also, like bin Laden, hiding out in Pakistan, further underscoring how little our supposed ally is helping our effort to take out jihadis. U.S. officials said that eight other jihadis were killed along with Al-Libi, but as we noted last week, the president simply counts all military-age males killed in a drone strike as enemy combatants, so who knows.

The Newest Oil Exporter? Iraq

We heard the "no blood for oil" refrain from the Left the entire time we were in Iraq, but the fact is that oil is a national security issue. Iraq has rebuilt its oil infrastructure to a degree that they are now exporting 2.5 million barrels per day, which is driving the price down world wide. This rebound comes in handy as neighboring Iran deals with Western sanctions beginning in July.

The Iraqi government has ambitious plans to export 10 million barrels a day within the next five years. While outside experts think that's a bit of a stretch, six million barrels a day is realistic -- and that's more than double Iraq's current output. It would give the war-torn nation an opportunity for prosperity after decades of unrest under Saddam Hussein's regime, as oil is practically the only source of revenue for Iraq. Even though there's potential for the United States to increase its oil output to a point that Middle Eastern oil would be nearly unnecessary for importation, Western companies, including Exxon Mobil, aren't hesitating to invest in Iraq, and its output, as mentioned before, plays a significant role in prices.

Culture

Judicial Benchmarks: Two Wins for the Homosexual Movement

Nearly four years after California voters passed Proposition 8 -- the state constitutional amendment recognizing marriage as only the union of one man and one woman -- it's now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the ultra-leftist Ninth Circus Court of Appeals refused to reconsider its previous ruling by a three-judge panel that the amendment is unconstitutional. California is one of dozens of states in which voters upheld traditional marriage, though as Justice Diarmuid O'Scannlain noted in his dissent, the appeals court "overruled the will of seven million California Proposition 8 voters." Talk about unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, in New Mexico, a Christian photographer who declined to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony (New Mexico recognizes nether same-sex marriage nor civil unions) was found guilty by the NM Human Rights Commission of "sexual orientation" discrimination. Now, the state Court of Appeals has sided with the Commission, ruling that the photographer must pay almost $7,000 in fines and it's ludicrously claiming that forcing the photographing of the wedding in violation of the photographer's conscience counts among "reasonable regulations and restrictions."

Given the pervasive homosexual agenda, one would think the homosexual population must be quite large. Indeed, a 2011 Gallup poll showed that more than one-third of respondents thought that more than 25 percent of Americans are homosexual. The truth, however, is that fewer than 5 percent of Americans identify themselves as such. This, however, is a reality that neither the homosexual lobby nor the Leftmedia want America to acknowledge.

Michelle Obama Approves Sugar Bans

Last week, we noted that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a ban of all sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. Bloomberg rejects criticism of the ban, and patronizes critics by telling them that if they don't like it, they can just buy two drinks instead of one. "Is purchasing two 16 oz sodas too much of an inconvenience to help reverse a national health catastrophe?" he asked. To prove that buying two is a healthier choice, he put out a bogus chart showing that, somehow, there's more than twice as much sugar in a 32-ounce drink as in a 16-ounce one. Math is hard, we suppose.

Bloomberg also got a boost from the White House this week as Michelle Obama said she "applauds anyone who's stepping up to think about what changes work in their communities." She stopped short of endorsing Bloomberg's ban, though, and swears that her own "Let's Move!" initiative "is not about having government tell people what to do." Former Sen. Fred Thompson quipped, "Asked about Bloomberg's soda-ban proposal during an Associated Press interview, Mrs. Obama said there's no 'one-size-fits-all' solution for the country's health challenges. Her husband, of course, would beg to differ."

The first lady also hailed the latest move by the Walt Disney Company to ban advertisements for sugary foods on its various Disney network channels. Disney says any food advertised on its channels will have to meet federally approved nutrition standards. Technically, the government isn't telling people what to do, but this sure does look like a slippery slope.

What role does personal responsibility play here?

Village Academic Curriculum: Race-Based Admissions Cause Problems

Affirmative action in higher education is a zero-sum game -- for every seat awarded to a candidate through affirmative action, a seat is denied to a more qualified candidate. The case in point is Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, now pending before the Supreme Court, where UT rejected a highly qualified white woman. The issue is whether prior SCOTUS decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permit UT to use race in undergraduate admissions decisions.

An amicus brief filed by several Asian-American groups opposes the UT affirmative action program as well, arguing that race-neutral policies are the only way for Asian-American applicants to get a fair shake: "Admission to the nation's top universities and colleges is a zero-sum proposition. As aspiring applicants capable of graduating from these institutions outnumber available seats, the utilization of race as a 'plus factor' for some inexorably applies race as a 'minus factor' against those on the other side of the equation. Particularly hard-hit are Asian-American students, who demonstrate academic excellence at disproportionately high rates but often find the value of their work discounted on account of either their race, or nebulous criteria alluding to it."

Commenting on the amicus brief, Ilya Somin, associate professor of law at George Mason University, said, "The glaring inconsistencies in Texas' affirmative action policy and others like it suggest that many universities are either operating an ethnic spoils system, trying to run a compensatory justice program under the guise of promoting diversity (while ignoring Chinese and Japanese-Americans' powerful claims for compensation) in order to avoid running afoul of Supreme Court precedent, or some of both."

And Last...

The Obama campaign had yet another rough week. The president and his peeps watched attack after attack against Mitt Romney backfire, and they saw Wisconsin suddenly come into play for his Republican challenger. The only good news for them was that Obama and the Democratic National Committee jointly raised $60 million in May, besting his April totals by over $14 million. Well, scratch that good news. Romney and the Republican National Committee raised nearly $77 million in May, the first full month of operation for Romney as the GOP nominee. Romney and Republicans now have $107 million in the bank.

We can't fault Obama for lack of effort, though. He's been burning the midnight oil hitting fundraisers at every opportunity. In fact, he's setting records in that regard, with 153 fundraisers since announcing his re-election bid last year. But look on the bright side: If the choice is between enacting his radical agenda or fundraising, we'll take fundraising any and every day.

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

(To submit reader comments click here.)

(Please pray for our Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families -- especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)

MTV tried to convince mainstream advertisers that the content of Degrassi presented important teen issues in a responsible manner.  However, the super majority of mainstream companies stopped advertising on this show after Florida Family Association repeatedly informed them about the extreme content involving bizarre sexual role playing and drug abuse and overdose on the program.

The interactions of three Degrassi characters demonstrate one faction of the irresponsible content of this show.  The transgender female to male character Adam is intimately interested in a bi-sexual female Fiona.  However, Fiona is confused as to whether she is lesbian or bi-sexual while she interacts with Riley.  Riley is an open homosexual and starting quarterback for the high school football team.  The odds of this mix of sordid sexual deviations occurring in any high school at this high social clique level are a million to one.  Yet, MTV targets our children and teens on their Teen Nick channel with this garbage numerous times a week and tries to sell it as programming that treats serious teen matters responsibly.    Florida Family Association has issued several email alerts regarding Degrassi over the past two years which have resulted in a large number of companies pulling off the program.  The last email campaign identified Nationwide, Hewlett Packard, Verizon and Colgate as new advertisers and encouraged them to stop supporting Degrassi with their advertising dollars.  All four companies, Nationwide, Hewlett Packard, Verizon and Colgate, have not advertised in the recent months. 

Kellogg's responded to one of many emails the Florida Family Association office sends out to companies each week that advertise during numerous shows.

----- Original Message -----

From: consumersupport@kellogg.com

To: davidcaton@floridafamily.org

Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 2:00 PM

Subject: Kellogg Consumer Affairs 025832279A

Dear Mr. Caton,

We appreciate you bringing this recent advertising placement concern to our attention. We have a long standing advertising placement policy which helps ensure that we place our advertising in environments that reflect the positive image of our brands. When applying this standard, we find that many programs, including Degrassi, do not meet our criteria.

After investigating with our advertising agency and Nickelodeon, it appears that Degrassi ran in a different time slot than usual on May 11 and Teen Nick inadvertently placed our advertising on this one episode. We are working with Nickelodeon to tighten their internal processes to avoid mis-placement in the future.

Sincerely,
Joanna K. Grennes
Sr. Director Consumer Communications
Consumer Affairs Department
USKJKG04/cl
025832279A

There are only about a dozen companies left which continue to advertise on Degrassi. Most of the companies that continue to advertise are skin care companies like Proactiv and Clearasil that have been unresponsive to email campaigns in the past.  Florida Family Association's efforts have clearly been effective in making shows like this less profitable.  Monitoring of this and other programs which target children with inappropriate sexual situations and drugs will continue.

To support Florida Family Association's efforts with a tax deductible, confidential gift please click here or mail you gift to:  Florida Family Association (FFA), PO Box 46547, Tampa, FL 33646-0105.  You may make a contribution online with your checking account, VISA or Mastercard.

Thank you.

Floridafamily.org

To Unsubscribe:  Click Here to UNSUBSCRIBE

      Email: ffa@floridafamily.org    Florida Family Association, Inc.  P.O. Box 46547, Tampa, FL 33646-0105  Telephone 813-264-5888

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To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


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