912 Patriots of Lower Bucks - Your Daily Updates ALL in ONE Place!
August 3, 2012
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The Community Reinvestment Act is back, as if 2008 never happened.
Do you remember that thing about how the banks wouldn't lend to blacks and Hispanics because they were racists? And do you remember how they passed the Community Reinvestment Act so that banks were forced to reduce down payments practically to zero and lend to a lot of people they knew were bad credit risks? And do you remember how Wall Street bundled all these risky subprime mortgages and sold them to investors around the world so that when it became clear that those people weren't going to be able to pay their mortgages banks everywhere were left holding the bag and all five of the Wall Street investment houses either went under or had to be bailed out by the federal government?
And do you remember how, when it was all over, liberals said it was actually the banks' fault for "deceiving" all those people into thinking they could afford to buy homes and that the banks should be punished for it and some of those people be allowed to keep their homes anyway? And do you remember how all this cost the government close to a trillion dollars and put the whole economy in a hole that we really haven't begun to dig ourselves out of yet?
Well, get ready because the whole thing is about to happen again.
Yes, believe it or not, the federal government is now startinganother initiative to force banks to lend to low-credit-rated blacks and Hispanics -- not just anybody but specifically blacks and Hispanics -- and is threatening -- and already imposing -- huge punitive fines if they don't.
The Great Betrayal: Obama's Wars and the War in Iraq
Jul 18th, 2012
Daniel Greenfield's new Freedom Center pamphlet,The Great Betrayal: Obama's Wars and the War in Iraq, is an effort to understand the politics of the "war on terror" which has now reached a final punctuation point with the U.S. decision to speed its withdrawal from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan (where success was once deemed so crucial to national security), and to practice an incoherent form of regime change in Libya while ignoring more serious threats in Syria and Iran.
The war on terror began, Greenfield shows, as an admirable bipartisan commitment soon after the tragedy of 9/11-an effort to transcend party lines not only to punish those who attacked our country but also to interrupt planning for further attacks and try to stop the international spread of the Islamic jihad behind the attacks. But the Democratic Party, with the honorable exception of a few individuals like Richard Gephardt and Joe Lieberman, turned its back on a war soon after authorizing it, and did so at a time when American troops were facing hostile enemy fire.
Although Senate Democrats on the intelligence oversight committee had been granted access to every piece of data available to the White House, they now accused President Bush of tricking them to secure their approval. In fact, their own about-face was entirely dictated by political considerations when a Sixties antiwar activist, Howard Dean, surged ahead in the Democratic primary polls and it appeared for a moment that Americans were on the side of retreat and capitulation.
Although regime change in Iraq had been official U.S. policy since Bill Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, Democratic senators such as John Kerry who only months earlier had supported the war effort now launched demoralizing attacks on the American commander-in-chief and his troops in the field, stigmatizing it as "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." If the truth was the first casualty of their war against the Bush administration, the second casualty was the principle of bi-partisanship that had guided foreign policy debates throughout the Cold War, the principle that "politics stops at the water's edge." Now partisan politics trumped security.
The unrestrained attacks on the Iraq War as illegal and unjustified went largely unanswered by Republicans who failed to call the Democratic saboteurs of the nation's war effort to account or to decry the risk their cynical attacks posed to American servicemen and women on the battlefield. As Greenfield demonstrates, the Democrats' partisanship had consequences not only in Iraq but elsewhere in the region: the paralysis that resulted from their "anti-war" campaign led straight to the destruction of Lebanon and the installation of a terrorist army, Hezbollah, there as a regime within a regime. And it emboldened an overtly Islamofascist regime in Iran not only to supply the IEDs responsible for most of our troop fatalities in Iraq but also to proceed with a nuclear program aimed directly at Israel and the West.
The Great Betrayal shows that Barack Obama's abandonment of Iraq is a betrayal of all the Americans and Iraqis who gave their lives to establish freedom in that country. And the result of his policies in Afghanistan has been as disastrous. While the President presented his rationale for pursuing war there as the pursuit of al-Qaeda, after abandoning his "surge" (which resulted in two thirds of all America's Afghan casualties there and the resurgence of the Taliban allies of al-Qaeda), he blithely prepared for withdrawal as if national objectives had been met.
Order your copy of The Great Betrayal today by clicking here.
Chick-fil-a Flash Mob
August 2, 2012 6 PM
Dear Members and Friends,
We did it! Yesterday's buycott was a phenomenal success.
(See press release below with links to NBC 10 video and story regarding the Association's role in buycott).
It does appear, however, that the left is not taking this lying down. Reportedly, they will
be protesting at Chick-fil A restaurants tomorrow (Friday).
That's precisely why our call for a month-long buycott is so important. We hope you'll pay
Chick-fil A a second visit tomorrow. Another next week, and so on--for as long as you're satisfied with their products and services.
Hope to see you!
On behalf of the Association Board,
Teri Adams
For Immediate Release
Association Shares in Success of Chick-fil A BuyCott;
Says BuyCott a Victory for Free Speech and Free Enterprise;
Will Continue with Month-Long BuyCott Effort
Philadelphia (August 2, 2012) -- The Independence Hall Tea Party Association, the largest independent Tea Party group in the tri-state region,
is declaring success for its role in yesterday's Chick-fil A Buycott--calling the buycott a victory for free speech and free enterprise.
The buycott, held in conjunction with a nationwide call by Governor Mike Huckabee to hold a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day on August 1st, achieved its objective--to visibly and financially demonstrate support for a company that has come under siege by Democratic elected officials simply because its president, Dan Cathy, defended 'traditional marriage' in a public forum.
"Cars and people lined-up at Chick-fil A restaurants throughout the Delaware Valley. The demand was so heavy that, in many locations, folks
had to drive or walk away," said Association President, Teri Adams.
"That's why our Association has called for a month long buycott of Chick-fil A. We knew the restaurants would be overwhelmed--which was definitely a good thing. We are happy to patronize a company that employs thousands of Americans in these difficult economic times.
"Further, we predict that if you were to exclude Wednesday's record breaking sales from the August 2012 total, Chick-fil A's sales for the rest month would far exceed Its entire August 2011 figure."
"We see, in this controversy, the hypocrisy of so many Democrat politicians. Leftists like Philadelphia Councilman Jim Kenney and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel support all types of diversity except when it comes to a diversity of opinion," said Ms. Adams.
"To threaten government action against a law abiding company solely because its president voices an opinion that Kenney and Emanual disagree with is completely irrational and discriminatory.
"To seek retribution by proposing a city council resolution condemning Chick-fil-A, or by advocating a zoning prohibition against Chick-fil-A, is a simultaneous attack by government on basic freedoms--the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, property rights and free enterprise," said Ms. Adams.
"Both the mayors of Chicago and Boston emphatically stated that Chick-fil-A does not belong in their respective cities. They are claiming this--not because Chick-fil A has violated any health or tax codes--but simply because these mayors are 'intolerant' of the rights of others.
"We are so proud of those who heeded our call and the call of others--such as Mike Huckabee and local WPHT talk show hosts Dom Giordano and Chris Stigall."
# # #
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
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!):
We have 98 days left to stop the American Nation from becoming the Obama Nation.
If we give this president four more years, he will finish the job of remolding America into a hard-core keynesian state resembling some of the most economically dependent
nations in Europe--in particular--Greece and Spain.
We do not have to travel down this road. We can change the course. You can help steer America in the right direction.
If you want an America where free enterprise is respected and ObamaCare is repealed,
and not the other way, stay in the area this summer & fall . Volunteer at Republican Victory Centers.
Attend local events promoting our region's Republican Congressional candidates--including our tri-state Republican US Senate candidates--Tom Smith (PA), Joe Kyrillas (NJ), and Kevin Wade (DE).
This Saturday has been designated Super Saturday by Team Romney.
Republican Victory Centers are calling on you to volunteer anytime from 9 AM-9 PM.
You don't have to live in PA.Since PA is a swing state, we hope our Delaware and
New Jersey friends will consider crossing state lines. Let them know the Independence Hall Tea Party sent you.
Also, Eagle Forum is hosting an area fundraiser with an incredicle line-up--all to benefit our regional Congressional candidates (please check details below).
Here are the GOP Regional Victory Offices:
Berks County Victory Center, 529 Reading Ave., Suite D, West Reading, PA 19611
US Congressmen: Scott Perry (PA-4), Glenn Thompson (PA-5), Jim Gerlach (PA-6),
Pat Meehan (PA-7), Tom Marino (PA-10), Lou Barletta (PA-11), Charlie Dent (PA-15), Joe Pitts (PA-16). Invited but not confirmed, Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-8).
US Congressional Candidates: John Featherman (PA-1), Robert Mansfield (PA-2),
Joe Rooney (PA-13), Laureen Cummings (PA-17)
Master of Ceremonies: Mr. Colin A. Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring, Inc
Remarks: US Congressional Candidates
Keynote Address: Winning Back America - Phyllis Schlafly, Founder, Eagle Forum
Special Guest: Radio Host Chris Stigall
Single Ticket Dinner: $200; Single Ticket Dinner & VIP Reception: $500
Make Checks payable to: Eagle Forum PAC, FEC#C00103937
Mail to: Let Freedom Ring, 603 Fairway Drive, West Chester, PA 19382
For More Information, call: Ann Longon, 215.650.7782
*All proceeds will benefit the Congressional Candidates.
Hope to see you!
On behalf of the PAC Board of Delegates,
Don Adams
Congratulations from The Patriots of Lower Bucks - a well deserved honor!
Dear Patriots!
We have been selected as one of the two new State Coordinators for the Tea Party Patriots. As this is a great honor for us, it would not have been made possible without the support from all the members of the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots-Lower Bucks. We will continue to serve as the Coordinators for the PTTP-LB. Join us as we celebrate our new roles!!
Rob Boysen Lil Boysen
State Coordinators of the Tea Party Patriots
Coordinators of the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots-Lower Bucks
Last Thursday, July 26, over 16,000 grassroots patriots came together in Dallas, Texas - like Patriots of the past who rallied against the British Crown - for an historic reawakening of the conservative movement. The event was FreePAC; the grassroots answer to establishment political action conferences and the launching pad of the Hostile Takeover.
FreePAC was held as a convention-style gathering to ignite a grassroots uprising to Take America Back in 2012 and beyond. Featuring a veritable "who's who" of conservative superstars - including Glenn Beck, Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Jim DeMint, Dana Loesch, Deneen Borelli, CL Bryant and others - FreePAC galvanized individuals who truly believe in limited government and laid the groundwork for the Hostile Takeover of America's entrenched political interests in Washington.
For those patriots who could not attend FreePAC and those who wish to share their experience with their friends and families, FreedomWorks is making available a limited run of commemorative DVDs. You don't want to miss what Senator Rand Paul had to say about the role of government!
Celebrate the inaugural FreePAC by donating $20 today and we will send you a commemorative DVD. For $25, you can receive the official FreePAC T-shirt. Make a $40 donation, and we will send you both the DVD and the T-shirt. Click here to get your FreePAC gear right now!
FreePAC Live DVD T-Shirt DVD + T-Shirt
$ 20 Donation $ 25 Donation $ 40 Donation
Over 15,000 additional patriots attended FreePAC on our Livestream channel, bringing the total number of attendees to over 30,000 people. Numbers this large demonstrate the power of the grassroots and their dedication to restoring freedom.
Our seventh annual Washington Summit was our best to date. Never before have we been so warmly received by our nation's leaders in Washington. And never before have we had such an immediate impact. In fact, legislation we support to enhance U.S.-Israel security cooperation was passed even before our Summit was over!
Let's face it -- there's nothing like having thousands of pro-Israel Christians from every state in the Union in town to focus Congress on the need to stand with Israel!
As our delegates discovered, the very fact that they cared enough about Israel to travel all the way to Washington gave them immediate credibility, influence and favor with their members of Congress. Increasingly, Members of Congress and their staff are getting to know our members by name and are staying in touch with them after they return home.
Our DC summit is not a one-time event. It's an annual opportunity for you to become an influential spokesman for Israel in your community. We give you the training. We schedule your appointments. All you need to do is show up and stand up for Israel.
Whether or not you were able to join us this year, we pray that you'll plan on joining us next year. Our 2013 Washington Summit will be held on July 22- 24. While the trip is not inexpensive, making your decision to join us now will give you almost a full year to save up for this powerful experience.
Following President Obama's recent comments regarding how he believes successful businesses are created and maintained, the Romney campaign seized on the President's statement when he said "if you've got a business, you didn't build that," and has turned it into an ad campaign. The President, as expected, was compelled to respond.
As you may know, we've had the 2012 Presidential debate schedule available for a few months but just yesterday, the Commission on Presidential Debates released further details including the topics and question format of the three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate.
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.
Just in: Contempt of Congress AG Eric Holder has ordered the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate
Pennsylvania's newly enactedVoter ID law--adding an additional hurdle for the law to overcome if it's to be implemented on election day, Tuesday, November 6.
The timing of the investigation is quite suspect since a Commonwealth Court hearing challenging the law is set to begin in Harrisburg this Wednesday, July 25.
The hearing, expected to last 5-7 days, is open to the public. (We encourage you to attend if possible--details below.)
And what usual suspects do we find standing behind the lawsuit? Why the
American Civil Liberties Union and their allies, of course.
The Voter ID law, which enhances voter integrity by making voter fraud more difficult to conduct, was signed by Gov. Tom Corbett earlier this year. Its passage has obviously frightened the Obama administration and its cohorts.
In other matters: Association member Barb Campbell has forwarded a general request by Gov. Mike Huckabee to make Wednesday, August 1, 'Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day.'
In line with our Black Friday BuyCott (2011) and Whole Foods BuyCott (2009), we'll call this our 'Chick Fil-A BuyCott, 2012.'
In Gov. Huckabee's own words:
"....The goal is simple: Let's affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1....
"This effort is not being launched by the Chick Fil-A company....
Simply affirm [your] appreciation for a company run by Christian principles by showing up on Wednesday, August 1 or by participating online--tweeting your support or sending a message on Facebook."
Commonwealth Court Hearing on Voter ID
When: Wednesday, July 25, 10 AM.
(Hearing to last several more days--beginning at 9 AM.)
Where: Courtroom 3002, Pennsylvania Judicial Center, 601
Commonwealth Ave., Harrisburg, PA.
Who: Hearing before Judge Robert Simpson and open to the public.
We'll try to arrange car pools for those who are interested in
attending. Please let us know if you are driving and would like
company or are in need of a ride by calling 215.663.1983.
Many thanks!
Chick Fil-A BuyCott
When: Wednesday, August 1, during restaurant hours.
Where: Your neighborhood Chick Fil-A.
Hope to see you!
On behalf of the Association Board,
Teri Adams
Tom Smith For Senate Phone Banking
The FreedomWorks PA team is ready to train all of our activists on our phone bank system for GOP Senate candidate Tom Smith!!! If you are interested in having a webinar set up for your group, please contact Ana Puig,
If you can't wait for a webinar and would like to give this a try without any help, please find below the phone bank tutorial FreedomWorks has developed:
Ana and Anastasia will do a "live" phone bank training so that we can all start making calls from home for Tom Smith.
In addition, one of our favorite, most engaged activists and social media expert, Laura Freed, will be conducting an intensive Twitter training for us to be up to speed and ready to go this Fall! Twitter is the most effective form of social media today and there are 1.2 billion Tweets sent out per week! The face to face world is dying and Twitter extends what you can do as one person with people you will never meet!
So, if you have a laptop, this is the time to dust it off and take it out of the house. If you don't have one, join us anyway, we will provide notepads!
The Kitchen Table Patriots would like to send you to upcoming Fundraisers
Here are some fundraisers we would like you to consider attending on your own or as our guest. Send us an email at TheKitchenTablePatriots@GMail.com if you are interested in attending:
The Eagle Forum South Eastern PA Annual Event
The Eagle Forum is led by Phyllis Schlafly and they have been champions of conservative values since the 1970's When: Saturday, August 4, 2012 6PM Cocktail Reception, 7PM Dinner Where: Aronimink Golf Club 3600 St. Davids Road, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073 Cost: $200/per person; food and drinks included
The PAOLI VICTORY CENTER is the location of our August 10th VF Patriots Mtg.
This is a phone bank location with 15 phones in Ste. 300 of the DEPOT SHOPPES 21 Plank Avenue, Paoli, PA , behind the Burger King on Lancaster Ave.
Salome Gasabile is the Victory Field Director here and she'd welcome you ANY time.
Already 10 people have volunteered to work the phones that night, but MORE are
needed to cover EVERY phone from 6:00 - 9:00 P.M. and relieve each other for dinner breaks, etc.
Peg Layden
Phone Bank Chairman
610 644-6161
STOP the Smartmeter NOW
Dear Patriots,
Just to make you aware, Smartmeters are here. After thorough investigation and talking with PECO, they are currently installing Smartmeters in PA. Several people have contacted PECO and told them that we did not want the Smartmeter. Their response is they run the risk of having their electricity turned off.
Just a background on Smartmeters: In 2008, Act 129 was passed and signed into law by Governor Rendell to make Smartmeters mandatory in PA. How will this affect you? You will be required to install a smart meter in your home which will be monitored by your electric company on a minute to minute basis. The video below explains how the smartmeter was started and where they plan to go with this which will be monitored constantly (new utilities will have smart meter chips in them.
Do you want PECO or the Government monitoring your electricity usage? If this is such a great thing, why is it being forced upon us and if not taken, you take the risk of having your power turned off. Once on the grid, the government through PECO will be able to monitor each and control all of your electric utilities. Do you want the department of energy monitoring your usage of electric via PECO and possibly turning off your electric and certain peak hours (as explained in this video).
What you can do: Representative Reese from Westmoreland County has introduced two bills whichare in the Consumer Affairs Committee. ONE BILL WOULD ALLOW FOR OPTING OUT OF GETTING A SMART METER THE OTHER BILL WOULD REQUIRE CONSUMER CONSENT BEFORE INFORMATION FROM THE METER COULD BE SHARED WITH A GOVERNMENT AGENCY. Please contact the people listed in the link and let them know that we want these bills brought to the floor for the vote. This is our local electric company being used for the UN Agenda 21 (Sustainable Development). We need everyone's involvement so pass on to everyone you know. Let's make an effort to get this out of committee.
I have contacted PECO and told them not to install a smartmeter on my house. I would suggest doing the same with your electric company. They need a loud outcry from the american people. I will also be putting this sticker on my meter. I will be editing the wording down below, but here it is.
, begins today Friday July 27. Times are 12:50pm, 3:30pm, 6:40pm, and 9:25pm only in Warrington (and Philly, not shown). Tickets are $11.50 (or $8.50 for seniors), available
Our sister group out of King of Prussia, the General Wayne Tea Party, has a wonderful rally every Saturday. They're having great responses by the passing motorists by the mall. Let's get down there and help! Time and location: 1:00 to 4:00 P.M. at the intersection of
at the King of Prussia Mall. Park in the lot ADJACENT TO the Wells Fargo lot; do not park in the WF lot. Bring an intelligent, tasteful sign, or use one of theirs. Stay for as long as you want.
, with your availability asap. We are free to bring our literature. It will be a Tea Party type table, not a gun table.
4) Philip movie night before PTPP meetings
Group member Philip has revamped his movie night, which is now at 6pm every 2nd Thursday at Rock (857 Main Street Harleysville). This is one hour before our monthly meetings at the same location. This may be more convenient. He will show the Wallbuilders'
can send us out with walking lists, and they have a call center for you to make calls. They are concentrating on Collegeville and Lansdale that day. I would like as many of us as possible to help with this. Please sign up at our (PTPP Central MontCo's) Google Docs
, however, the 2012 elections will determine who the representative will be for the new districts. Mike is being challenged by a liberal democrat. He's having a fundraiser/meet and greet on Wed August 8 in Telford. Here are the
Thursday August 9 from 7-9pm at the Rock (857 Main Street Harleysville). This meeting will be action item-focused, with training (probably from Anastasia of Freedom Works/ Kitchen Table Patriots of Doylestown), materials, and information for you to use in Get Out The Vote efforts.
Your Assignments 1. Check that every member of your family is registered to vote correctly by checking here. (except those that are Obama fans). If they're not right, help them fix it. 2. Check for empty billboards, remember the company (Lamar, Clear Channel, etc) and location, and email us or call the company to check it's availability and cost yourself, and let us know. 3. Submit your ideas for a billboard and for bullet points on a pamphlet. Must be short and powerful. 4. Check out FreedomWorks' "Freedom Connector", a networking site that allows real-time communication between other patriots around the country. 5. Call our senators for this bill: Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2011 (Rand Paul) - click on link for details and talking points. The House version (H.B. 459) passed the House recently. 6. Register to get Atlas Shrugged Part 2 showing in our area. Register here. 7. Write a letter to the editor. I'll ask at next meeting for a show of hands of those who did, I want to see many hands; I want to impress our speaker (and I want our group to be a force!) The Reporter: letters@thereporteronline.com The Intelligencer: feedback@phillyburbs.com The Philadelphia Inquirer: Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com 8. Approach your nearby retirement community and confirm the residents are informed about Voter ID. See the resource link below for information to give them (a quick info card and FAQs). Also offer some voter registration and absentee ballots (we have some registrations and will get some absentees). Some Resources
Whether there is such a thing as a world plan for socialist domination must be answered by individuals pondering recent, sometimes strange confluences of world events. But if there were such a plan, would it appear in any clearer form that the United Nations Agenda 21 program?
Agenda 21 is a plank of UN policy encouraging the globe to embrace Sustainable Development, which conservatives understand as a code word for global Marxism:
Sustainable development sounds like a nice idea, right? It sounds nice, until you scratch the surface and find that Agenda 21 and sustainable development are really cloaked plans to impose the tenets of social justice/socialism on the world. At risk from Agenda 21; Private property ownership; Single-family homes; Private car ownership and individual travel choices; and Privately owned farms.
Chester County Commissioner Farrell elected chairman of DVRPC
Matt Zaun, WC Does | 07/30/2012
Terence Farrell, Chair of the Chester County Board of Commissioners, has been elected Chairman of the prestigious Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).
"The DVRPC is an outstanding regional organization that plays a vital role in the future of Chester County and our neighboring counties throughout the Delaware Valley region," said Terence Farrell.
The DVRPC is all about Agenda 21 and special HUD housing, roads/rails, and sustainable development. Remember the First Suburbs Project? Look at Chester County and all the other counties in Pennsylvania and now look at Texas. Special community with sustainable living and smart meters.
2012 Chevrolet Volt Becomes Centerpiece of Smart Community
By Rene Wisely, Correspondent | Published Jul 25, 2012
Just the Facts:
OnStar, General Motors and the 2012 Chevrolet Volt have become official partners of Pecan Street Inc., where residents in a Texas community have agreed to be part of a clean-energy smart grid test for sustainable living.
GM calls it the greatest concentration of Chevrolet Volts in the world.
"This partnership provides us with a unique opportunity to observe charging details with many real customers in a concentrated setting," said Nick Pudar, an OnStar vice president, in a statement.
AUSTIN, Texas - Maybe it should be renamed "Chevrolet Volt-ville." The largest concentration of Chevrolet Volts in the country will play a key role in helping Texas residents in a 700-acre planned community as they test the impact of "smart homes" and other green technology, like electronic vehicles.
GM calls it the greatest concentration of Chevrolet Volts in the world.
"This partnership provides us with a unique opportunity to observe charging details with many real customers in a concentrated setting," said Nick Pudar, an OnStar vice president, in a statement.
OnStar and General Motors have become official partners of Pecan Street Inc., the country's first nonprofit research and development consortia, where residents agreed to be part of a clean-energy smart grid test for sustainable living. The Mueller community, 3 miles outside Austin, provides a real-life lab for the automaker to observe charging patterns and how consumers and clean-energy technologies interact and support electric-vehicle charging. The project runs for five years.
While Chevrolet made 100 Volts available, only 55 of the community residents took advantage of the various tax credits, including a $7,500 federal tax credit and a $7,500 rebate from Pecan Street on their Volt purchases. Those leasing a Volt for three or more years received a $3,000 rebate.
"We're gathering information from families' vehicles throughout this community to find out the direct impact the Volt has on the grid and how to get drivers the lowest possible charging rates," said Pudar. "This project will also help us develop future capabilities of the Volt and other plug-in electric vehicles."
Pecan Street is funded by a $10.4 million grant from the Energy Department and more than $14 million in matching funds from project partners. Although Pecan Street oversees the consortia, it also includes researchers from the University of Texas, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Environmental Defense Fund. It's housed in the University of Texas at Austin.
Besides the Volt, residents will use smart appliances in conjunction with home-management systems and smart electric meters, energy storage that optimizes the use of solar power, clean energy distribution and green building construction.
"We hope Pecan Street's research will speed up the innovation cycle around smart grid and consumer electronic technology," said Pecan Street Inc. Executive Director Brewster McCracken, in a statement. "Electric vehicles represent a significant addition to a home's energy profile, and understanding that impact and how consumers use and charge their vehicles is critically important."
Inside Line says: The Chevrolet Volt found a new home in a ground-breaking test lab.
Dear Fellow Conservative,
Registration for CPAC 2013 is now open! The American Conservative Union's legendary annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is scheduled for March 14-16, 2013 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
Register Now for CPAC 2013 Don't miss your chance to help take our country back to the right. To register now and reserve your space, visit conservative.org.
Join the Celebration In honor of CPAC's 40th Anniversary, we look forward to joining conservatives from across the nation for CPAC 2013, celebrating the accomplishments of the movement while also energizing the next generation of conservatives.
New Location CPAC 2013 boasts a new location at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Complimentary CPAC shuttle busses to and from the Gaylord Center will be available at convenient locations across the National Capitol Region. Details will be released in the coming weeks; please visit conservative.org for updates.
CPAC Past & Present The ACU has hosted CPAC in the Nation's Capital since 1973, and it now stands as the largest annual gathering of conservatives in the country. Additionally, the ACU this year hosted two regional CPACs designed to energize and mobilize Midwest and Mountain West conservatives, giving them the tools needed to defeat the liberal agenda in 2012 while also highlighting rising conservative stars and issues in the region. Stay tuned for details on 2013 regional CPAC locations!
Interested in Sponsoring CPAC 2013? National and local partners are critical to achieving a successful event. CPAC 2013 provides an excellent platform to promote your message and network with the leaders and activists who are on the frontlines of the conservative movement. We invite you to review the special opportunities available to join the action at CPAC 2013 by visiting conservative.org.
This email was sent by: American Conservative Union 1331 H. St., NW Washington, DC, 20005,
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 WinningSchindler'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 2,100,000 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
"Losing our Sons": Documentary looks at domestic Islamic radicalization and jihadization
Charles Jacobs at Americans for Peace and Tolerance announced today the release of a trailer for their upcoming documentary, "Losing Our Sons", featuring Melvin Bledsoe - father of domestic terrorist Carlos Bledsoe aka Abdulhakim Mohamed who gunned down US Army recruiter Pvt. William Long at an Army-Navy recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas in June 2009. Melvin Bledsoe testified at the House Homeland Security Committee hearing earlier this month.
The upcoming documentary discusses how Bledsoe was radicalized by the Muslim Student Association in Tennessee and sent to terrorist training in Yemen with the written recommendation of the imam of a Nashville mosque. It also discusses how the agents of radicalization in the Nashville Muslim community have been aided by collaborators in the establishment media, politics and the so-called "interfaith" community.
Featuring 113 primary source documents, The U.S. Constitution: A Reader was developed for teaching the core course on the U.S. Constitution at Hillsdale College.
Divided into eleven sections with introductions by members of Hillsdale's Politics Department faculty, readings cover the principles of the American founding, the framing and structure of the Constitution, the secession crisis and the Civil War, the Progressive rejection of the Constitution, and the building of the administrative state based on Progressive principles.
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.
As a trusted reader of New Common Sense, the weekly e-mail from The Heritage Foundation, we wanted you to be the first to know about our new website ConstitutionOnline.com.
From the preamble to the 27
th
Amendment -- The Heritage Guide to the Constitution Online is a completely searchable reference tool with leading expert analysis of the Constitution. The site features clause by clause analysis of our timeless reference book, links to essays, as well as a teaching companion.
ConstitutionOnline.com provides clear, concise analysis for users who are trying to further their understanding of the Constitution.
No document is more central to securing "the Blessing of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" than the United States Constitution, and no website is more thorough than ConstitutionOnline.com.
FREE Training Conference
Saturday, August 18, 2012 Washington Dulles Airport Marriott 45020 Aviation Drive * Dulles, Virginia * (703) 471-9500
Brigitte Gabriel and our National Staff want to personally invest our time with you and have worked hard to provide a FREE training for our members in the region around D.C.!
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:
"...After 8 hours in that chair ............. I was ready for another 8 hours - it seemed to end too soon..."
"I was literally stunned. Wow! Brigitte Gabriel has assembled an incredible team to support her message of action and hope!"
"...As much as the issue depresses me, and I could cry every time I think about what is happening to the West, I left yesterday's conference energized and inspired. The day reminded me that I am *not* alone, after all, in trying to resist the dangerous absurdity of radical Islam that is being forced on us. I'm in desperate need of such reminders, as I'm sure most of us are. Whenever I'm close to despair, I remind myself of Brigitte's message. Thank you so much for this incredible training day!"
"...What an amazing seminar!"
"...I have never spent a better $45, 104 miles and 12 hours!" (Previous pricing for a similar event. We're wanting to involve as many as possible from this region, so for this event only, it's free!)
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)
Friday 10-11pm "Veterans' Weekly Forum" - Rich Davis and David Bellavia
The Case Against Obamacare: Health Care Policy Series for the 112th Congress
A Health Care Policy Series for the 112th Congress
Building on decades of Heritage research, The Case Against Obamacare: A Health Care Policy Series for the 112th Congress examines 15 key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Each report:
Cites specific sections of the 2,700-page health care law
Provides detailed analysis of specific Obamacare provisions
Identifies key principles for a better way to reform health care
The unmistakable conclusion of this series is that Obamacare must be fully repealed. Congress cannot build sound market-based health care reform on the flawed foundation of this health care law. Until it can be repealed, Congress must employ its full powers authorized by the Constitution to:
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
By revealing the Nazi and Marxist origins of groups such as the Muslim Students Association and Students for Justice in Palestine and the connections between these organizations and terrorist activities around the globe, Muslim Hate Groups on Campus sheds light on the dark undercurrent of anti-Semitism which flows unobstructed through our most prestigious institutions of higher education.
The Daily Caller Interviews Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn
Dr. Arnn discusses several topics, including the current battle between supporters of constitutional government and the forces of bureaucratic despotism. He also addresses the purposes of Hillsdale's online Constitution courses.
This interview, part of the weekly "Leaders with Ginni Thomas" series, was taped at Hillsdale's Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C.
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 appwill, 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.
Last night we all hung out with Ted Cruz. It was a great night. In a few hours he'll formally address the Gathering. Tonight we're taking a cruise on the river with Governor Rick Scott. A good time will be had by all.
If you missed this year, next year we will be back in Atlanta for our fifth anniversary. At our first RedState Gathering we had Nikki Haley, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ken Cuccinelli, and Pat Toomey. I'm going to do my best to put the band back together, so to speak, for next year. Hope to see you then.
Colorado Common Cause, a political non-profit which aims to serve "the public interest, rather than the special interests," is a political powerhouse with revenues of more than $6 million in 2011 alone. It first registered to operate in Colorado on October 4, 2002, and spent the next ten years raising money and directing it to liberal causes and candidates. Despite operating in the state as a clearly political entity since its inception, records show that Colorado Common Cause has failed to consistently file required disclosure reports with the state since 2003.
But Common Cause is not alone when it comes to refusing to file required disclosure reports. Liberal organizations in Colorado have been exploiting gray areas surrounding a 2005 amendment to a key financial disclosure law, intentionally refusing to file required periodic reports on time. Before the law was amended, any organization that failed to file its financial disclosure reports on time could be administratively dissolved.
A looming tax increase or the threat of higher unemployment usually receives a lot of attention in Washington, D.C. Many politicians can't wait to lead a charge to avoid any hardship on the American families. But there is eerie silence on another front that is fast approaching our country: a tidal wave of costly federal regulations.
For those who haven't been watching, there's another scandal brewing in the Catholic Church - this time with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the promotion of some very un-Catholic things.
The good folks over at Life Site News just uncovered a rather unsettling relationship between CRS and an organization called the CORE Group, but there seems to be more to the story than a simple working relationship.
Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, has a major obsession. Markey's Great White Whale is called the Deepwater Royalty Relief Act of 1995.
My Black Dad and Chick-fil-A Lloyd Marcus I jump on every opportunity to respectfully challenge my 84-year-old black dad's loyalty to Obama. And I think Chick-fil-A helped me make some progress! More
Why Muslims Must Hate Jews Nonie Darwish Islam has a major existential problem. Without Jew-hatred, Islam would self-destruct. More
Mitt Meets Mainstream Media Mindset Steve McCann With one voice, the Mainstream Media proclaim Mitt Romney's overseas tour a disaster, hoping to damage his standing. But does it matter anymore? More
Conservatives Have a Secret Daren Jonescu Can conservatives be revolutionaries? Given the level of crisis into which civilization has fallen, is "conservatism" up to the task of radical change? More
The Capital Strike James Lewis Our economic troubles, and the ones in Europe, are not some Act of God that nobody could have prevented. Years and years of economic misrule and exploitation by leftists are taking their toll. More
Here Comes the 'Hispanic Obama' Tom Tancredo The Democrats plan the same sort of debut used to launch Barack Obama's presidential prospects for San Antonio's Mayor Julian Castro. Don't buy the hype. More
Pretend not to understand the phrase, "It's all about oil."
Say, "What possible better motive for military action could there be than to guarantee secure American access to the most vital commodity in the world?"
Please pass this to everyone!
$3,065 TAX INCREASE PER TAX RETURN
FOR PENNSYLVANIA TAXPAYERS
by January 1, 2013
Click the picture below!
UNITEPA | Freedom & Liberty | Lancaster | PA | 17602
President Obama is laboring to shift the United States away from the post-9/11 conception of counterterrorism. Our government is steadily adopting the Islamist conception that has gained so much traction on the European Left.
Prof. Anna Geifman's 2010 book "Death Orders" examines mass political terrorism in pre-revolutionary Russia as a precedent for today's Islamist terrorism. Geifman's study of the Russian communist terror that prepared the 1917 revolution has enormous value for students of contemporary Islamist organizations.
Today's women are caught between the "legitimate" discussion of relationships in contemporary literary fiction and essay -- which tends to reject, or give up hope for, the idea of lasting monogamy -- and the unrealistic "Twilight" version. If you want to believe in lasting and happy monogamy, where else are you going to turn?
One of our chapter leaders submitted a request to the Republican Party platform committee that a plank be added to the platform supporting ALAC (American Laws for American Courts) legislation.
As you know, we've gotten ALAC passed in Tennessee, Arizona and Kansas. Getting a resolution of support for ALAC in the GOP platform would be a big shot in the arm!
You can help make this happen. Visit here and look for the idea that says "American Law for American Courts." When you find it, click on the option to "second" the idea. You can "second" the proposal by following the prompts to do so either through Facebook or by logging in.
Let's get their attention and log hundreds, if not thousands, of "seconds" in support of a resolution backing ALAC!
Unfortunately, we have been unable to locate a similar online process for citizen input for the Democratic Party platform. If you are aware of something the Democratic Party is doing that is similar to the Republican Party, please let us know and we'll put that out in a national email as well.
President Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said.
As reported over the weekend, the new Obama budget document lowers growth estimates for the current year to a (still) high 2.6 percent and estimates this years' deficit at $1.2 trillion. That will bring our national debt to $16.2 trillion by the end of the fiscal year.
The Louisiana Association of Educators is sending demand letters to private schools in the state voucher plan, insisting that those schools pull out of the program. Which state will be next to fight this thuggery?
There are three irreducible elements to becoming American. And where do these elements have their roots? In Anglo-Saxon civilization, no matter how "offended" the Obama camp is by this true statement.
Today we are beaten down by the growing power of the state. We live in a country moving far left, run by ruling elites. Communism, Nazism, Fascism, Islamism are all the same. That's why it's imperative we study the heroic life and legacy of Raoul Wallenberg.
During the Reagan years, federal income tax rates were cut by two-thirds. And though liberals decried this policy, the unprecedented economic boom that followed generated almost twice the revenues to the federal treasury.
Of importance to free societies today is restricting discussions of Islam to please Muslims so as to forestall disruptions to public peace - a kind of heckler's veto - even as Christians endure unparalleled abuse.
Last week the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing with Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Matthew G. Olsen. Napolitano covered a wide range of topics during her testimony, from preventing homegrown terrorism to improving global supply-chain security
Criticizing Religion (Read: Islam) May Become a U.S. Criminal Offense
While testifying to Congress, the U.S. Assistant Attorney General refused to say that the U.S. would never advance a proposal that criminalizes the right to free speech in regards to criticizing religion. MORE...
Muslim Polygamists to Be Paid More Benefits by Britain
Muslim men in Britain can take additional wives from anywhere in the world, father any number of children with them, and British taxpayers will now have to pay this family's welfare payments. MORE...
Islamist Ties of Top Aide to U.S. Sec. of State
In addition to Huma Abedin's father, mother and brother having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists, Huma herself was an assistant editor of an Islamist journal from Saudi Arabia as recently as 2008.
If you read the newspaper, watch the telly or turn the radio dial to something besides talk or the greatest hits of the 70's, 80's and today, then you know that Romney's international trip was a disaster. How do you know that? Well you know it the same way that Soviet citizens knew that their economy was booming and it would only be a matter of time before the oppressed slaves of capitalism threw off their shackles and bowed their arrogant heads to the hammer and sickle. They read it in the paper.
We read things in the paper too. Not very good or interesting things because the media is currently too lazy and cheap to do good or interesting things.
Modern journalism is indistinguishable from public relations. PR people do not investigate or report, they come up with a narrative, break it down into talking points and then sell it down by the docks. Their narrative is "Our company is great and the other company is bad". When their company does something wrong, then it's, "Our company really isn't responsible for this" and "The other company is much worse than we are."
When it comes to politics all you really hear from the media anymore is the same lazy spin you can find on corporate press releases. Read the press releases from a squabble between two companies, switch out the names of the companies to, "Obama" and "Romney" and imagine that Obama Inc. owns the media. Now you know everything you need to know about politics.
Journalism is out. The modern media is too lazy and cheap to actually work on investigative reporting and when they do take the time, it leads to some ridiculous personal eyewitness account of nothing in particular. Coming up with an actual scandal takes work, but why bother when you can just spin the actual news in the worst possible way and manufacture a gaffe narrative.
Manufacturing gaffes is a lot easier than manufacturing jobs which is why the media has switched from fake optimism about the economy to fake pessimism about Romney's competence. While it takes a lot of work to open a factory that manufactures shoes or microprocessors, manufacturing a gaffe factory is very easy.
Step 1. Call something that a candidate has done a gaffe.
Step 2. Report on the gaffe claim that your media outlet just made. Do not call it a claim, treat it as a verified fact that everyone has already acknowledged.
Step 3. Turn the gaffe reporting into the major issue by talking about it all the time. Interview experts who are willing to back up your gaffe claim.
Step 4. Fire constant questions at the candidate to force him to acknowledge the gaffe. If he discusses the issue in any way, describe him as apologizing or walking back his previous statements. Print essays that accuse him of being an incompetent flip-flopping wimp. If he refuses to discuss it, accuse him of stonewalling and print essays that accuse him of living in denial because he refuses to admit what "everyone" already knows. Either way you've proven that he's a bad person.
Step 5. Repeat step 1 several times. Then begin reporting on a "Pattern of Gaffes", a "Pattern of Stonewalling" and a "Pattern of Flip-Flopping".
We got a preview of the media's gaffe manufacturing process during Romney's international trip. There are currently more media stories on Romney's gaffe then there are on the latest bad news for the economy. The narrative is being set through constant repetition.
"Romney's foreign trip gaffes" the Washington Post blares, "Romney's Gaffe Track Ends" ABC News laments, "Mitt Romney in Jerusalem: Another city, another gaffe (or two)?" the Christian Science Monitor speculates. Every outlet repeats the same talking points with a slight twist. The "story" is that Romney makes gaffes.
Once the basic narrative has been set, the media begins its secondary "reporting" in which it treats its manufactured story as a real story and begins embedding it into the real world. This takes the form of analysis pieces on the consequences of the fake story.
"Romney suffers gaffes, but will it hurt his campaign?" asks AFP. "Mideast gaffe could cost Mitt Romney" suggests the New York Daily News."Romney aide's gaffe exposes rift" offers Politico.
Any response from the candidate is treated as a denial. The reporting puts the gaffe narrative front and center to keep it alive for as long as possible. The rejection of the gaffe narrative is treated as a shameless and irresponsible lie. "Foreign gaffes won't matter, Romney strategist says", offers the Los Angeles Times. "Mitt Romney Blames Press for Foreign Tour Gaffes," broadcasts ABC News.
Finally if the Romney campaign is not paying enough attention to the media's manufactured gaffe narrative, there's an answer for that. "Romney tries to move beyond Britain gaffes" says Reuters, still keeping the manufactured narrative in the context.
With all the gaffes flying around, you would think that there would be a lot of material to cover. But all the "gaffe" stories go to great lengths to avoid discussing the actual gaffes. Instead what they do is discuss the media coverage of their own narrative in other media outlets. They discuss what their own experts think about the story that they manufactured. They pull reactions off the street. And when they do mention the "gaffes", they avoid quoting Romney as much as possible. Mostly what they do is summarize events in their own words leaning heavily on the reaction to it, rather than the actual event-- always a trademark of a manufactured story.
If you have to read to paragraph six of a news story to find out what actually happened, then the odds are good that you are either reading a sloppily written news story or a news story that doesn't want you to know what actually happened.
We now have 500 news stories that describe Romney's trip as "gaffe-filled". What makes a trip "gaffe-filled"? The definition of "gaffe-filled", even by the media's standards, are three gaffes.
In the UK, Romney commented on the stories in the media about the trouble with the Olympics. The media then screamed that he had committed a gaffe by saying that the stories that he was seeing in the media were "disconcerting".
In behavioral terms, this is known as acting as a contrary conversationalist. In media terms it's known as, "Everything that you say is wrong even though you're saying exactly what I just said... but it's wrong because you said it."
So Romney's first "gaffe", in the trip that the media called "gaffe-filled", was repeating what the media was saying. And while arguably repeating things that the media says may be legitimately considered a gaffe for the reasons this article lays out, I doubt that the media really wants to make the argument that repeating anything they say counts as a gaffe because the media are a bunch of worthless liars.
Then over in Jerusalem, Romney committed his second terrible gaffe by suggesting that maybe Israel was doing better than its neighbors because it had a different culture. Sure it was pretty similar to what Obama had said about the Muslim world's economic problems, minus the praise for Israel, but it was declared a gaffe. Why? Because the Palestinian Authority objected to it and the media has outsourced its idea of what presidential candidates are allowed to say to a bunch of kleptomaniac terrorists living off foreign aid.
The only interesting thing about either gaffe is that even the most venomous gaffe articles really did not take issue with the accuracy of Romney's statements. They couldn't because there was nothing to take issue with. Romney's London statement couldn't be denied without also denying weeks of the media's own coverage. Romney's Jerusalem statement could be dismissed, but it couldn't be denied either. Not when the Palestinian Authority was so notoriously corrupt and the GPD differences were just as bad on the Jordanian and Syrian side of the border.
All that the media could do was accuse Romney of being undiplomatic for offending Prime Minister Cameron and the Palestinian Authority. But if offending the British and a Middle Eastern government counts as a gaffe, then Obama had committed it on multiple occasions as an acting head of state.
While Barack Obama and the Democrats like to give lip service to our men and women in uniform, it's what they do they betrays their rhetoric. He likes to get his picture with troops even though behind closed doors they are giving him the finger and sleeping during his speeches. This all makes things quite interesting when both the Obama campaign and the Democrat party are suing to restrict the military's ability to vote in the upcoming election.
On July 17th, the Obama for America Campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the Ohio Democratic Party filed suit in OH to strike down part of that state's law governing voting by members of the military. Their suit said that part of the law is "arbitrary" with "no discernible rational basis."
Obama Authorizes Secret US Support for Syrian Rebels
Thursday, 02 Aug 2012
President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said.
Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.
This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad's armed opponents - a shift that intensified following last month's failure of the U.N. Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against the Damascus government.
The White House is for now apparently stopping short of giving the rebels lethal weapons, even as some U.S. allies do just that.
It's an age old tradition. Politicians will always choose looking ignorant or stupid over revealing a cold hard truth they don't want to deal with. In politics, being perceived as foolish is preferable to being perceived as cowardly. That's where Senator John McCain and Speaker John Boehner come in. Frankly, it's simply not possible for them to be as ignorant about why Reps. Michele Bachmann, Trent Franks, Louie Gohmert, Tom Rooney, and Lynn Westmoreland have raised questions about Deputy Chief of Staff to Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin and others.
And if they are as ignorant as they'd like you to believe, they're grossly unqualified to be in the jobs they're in.
John Guandolo over at Breitbart, gives them the benefit of the doubt, concluding that they're just ignorant when it comes to their defense of Huma Abedin in response to a request by those five Congressmen, for an investigation:
Bang for your buck: that's what the Freedom Center provides. Ammunition for the culture war against the Left: that's what your contribution buys. So please act now and help us in the fight we are waging on many fronts for America's future. America is under assault from within and without. There is no time to lose.
According to a new piece out today from the New York Times, the Obama campaign is becoming more insistent and frequent in requests for cash from supporters. This marks a stark change from 2008 when the Obama campaign had more cash than it knew what to do with.
Rep. Gowdy excoriates Democrats' election year hypocrisy over tax code extension
Lamestream Media is hard at work
Watch what happens when Guns are banned in Australia
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." ~Thomas Jefferson
August 02, 2012
Obama's signature move: unsealing private records by Ann Coulter
Mitt Romney presents one enormous problem for Barack Obama's campaign: No divorce records. That's why the media are so hot to get their hands on Romney's tax records for the past 25 years. They need something to "pick through, distort and lie about" -- as the Republican candidate says.
Obama's usual campaign method, used in 100 percent of his races, has been to pry into the private records of his opponents.
Democrats aren't going to find any personal dirt on the clean-cut Mormon, so they need complicated tax filings going back decades in order to create the illusion of scandal out of boring financial records.
Romney has already released his 2010 tax return and is about to release his 2011 return. After all the huffing and puffing by the media demanding those returns, the follow-up story vanished remarkably quickly when the only thing the return showed was that Romney pays millions of dollars in taxes and gives a lot of money to charity.
Let's take a romp down memory lane and review the typical Obama campaign strategy. Obama became a U.S. senator only by virtue of David Axelrod's former employer, the Chicago Tribune, ripping open the sealed divorce records of Obama's two principal opponents.
COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY: 96 DAYS TO THE 2012 ELECTIONS
What A Turnout!
Congratulations to all of you who took part in yesterday's Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. Put simply, it was a humongous success! Most of the thousands of Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country were overflowing with customers. Most people were there to support Chick-fil-A's Bible-based values system, including CEO Dan Cathy's stand for normal marriage; others were there to support free speech rights; still others were there simply for the delicious food!
I received an avalanche of responses from End-of-Day readers and others about their experiences at their local Chick-fil-As. Many of you took my suggestion to donate a meal to a member of our Armed Forces. Thank you! One supporter told me he tried to donate but was turned down because the employee at the location he called was just too busy serving customers to be able to take down the information.
Some of you found local media covering the story live. Many of you told stories of waiting in line for an hour or more, of overflowing parking lots and even of some restaurants running out of food. I heard stories of customers who bought Chick-fil-A gift certificates for their loves ones or for their local homeless shelter. Others found the lines too long and are planning to return on another day this week or weekend.
Rick Warren tweeted yesterday that he talked to Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy, who told him Chick-fil-A easily broke its one-day world-wide food sales record.
Why do I suspect this is a foreshadowing of the turnout we'll see on Election Day?
By the way: to my friends in the Republican establishment-the pollsters, consultants, strategists and pundits-for years you've tried to move the party of Lincoln and Reagan away from values issues. And, sadly, more than one Republican presidential nominee has followed your siren song.
I encourage any Republican running for office-from Governor Romney on down-to tap into the emotion that was on display across the country yesterday. Obama's poor stewardship of the economy will rightly be the number one issue on voters' minds on Election Day. But the battle over family, faith and our most basic freedoms will again be prominent.
Iran Calls For Death Of Israel-Again
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad again called for the annihilation of Israel this week. In a Ramadan speech to ambassadors from Islamic countries, he said a "horrible Zionist current" has been managing world affairs for 400 years. Reciting a long list of anti-Semitic slurs, Ahmadinejad accused "Zionists" of controlling the world's media and financial systems.
The speech was delivered ahead of "Qods Day" ("Jerusalem Day"), an annual Iranian, anti-Zionist, anti-Israel event started in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini, which this year falls on August 17th. "Qods Day is not merely a strategic solution for the Palestinian problem, as it is to be viewed as a key for solving the world problem," Ahmadinejad said. "Anyone who loves freedom and justice must strive for the annihilation of the Zionist regime in order to pave the way for world justice and freedom."
Ahmadinejad was merely repeating the anti-Israel, Jew-hating rhetoric for which he has become infamous. But his remarks are a helpful reminder of what a nuclear-armed Iran's first priority would be.
Harlem pastor Rev. James David Manning delivered a stem-winder sermon to his flock with such passion he was overcome with so much emotion he had trouble catching his breath! He called out his Black flock to regain honor. "Fifteen people killed while Obama was in town (Chicago)" he screamed out recently from his video pulpit. "Only a N (word) would do that. . .no other word describes such lack of honor!"
In the stellar tradition of Jonathan Edwards, America's "most important and original philosophical theologian," Manning exemplifies the man of the cloth who so loves his people that he exhorts them in the strongest terms possible to change their ways. "The debauchery, killing each other in Chicago, Detroit, New York . . and no outcry, the only word that describes this social behavior is the N word (he actually says it)," says Manning. The Harlem preacher who has been ... Continue Reading:Black pastor: "Obama has no honor!"
"There she blows!" cried the lookout, sighting Moby Dick. Captain Ahab and his chief mate Starbuck sailed the seas to capture this great white whale. But as fate would have it, when the harpoon struck, the rope flew out entangling Ahab, pulling him under. This classic was written by Herman Melville, born AUGUST 1, 1819. Grandson of a Boston Tea Party Indian, Melville's father died when he was 12. Raised by a mother who inspired his imagination with biblical stories, Herman Melville shipped out as a cabin boy on a whaling ship and later sailed the South Seas with the Navy. He fell among Typee cannibals in the Marquesas Islands. Rescued, he wrote in an account: "These disclosures will...lead to...ultimate benefit to the cause of Christianity in the Sandwich Islands." In his classic novel, Moby Dick, Herman Melville wrote: "With this sin of disobedience...Jonah ... Continue Reading:American Minute August 1
The most reliable theory of man's progression from caves to modern society is Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of needs." Maslow postulated that as man moves up the ladder of sophistication he reaches levels that provide him with security first in physiological needs - food sleep and so on, then feelings of esteem and "self- actualization."
It has become clear a new level of "progress" in satisfying needs must be added to Maslow's list: entertainment provided by society. Today we are seeing large bands of young mostly minority criminals raiding businesses and stealing what they want to satisfy their demands for "entertainment" from an ever cowering society.
We give these people everything free from before they are even born. Free pre-natal care is available to all women. Once born, totally free of cost, many of these people go home to public housing which provides free water heat electricity and color TV of course. In many cases ... Continue Reading:Flash mob looters: "You've given me everything free all my life now I want an entertainment"
Did he or didn't he? Fox News Channel's Shepard Smith has raised some eyebrows with a statement made during yesterday's newscast. Did Smith tie Chick-fil-A to intolerance? Watch the segment HERE.
Scandal has hit the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. Dr. Jack Schaap has been fired after admitting to an affair with a teenaged parishioner. See the full report HERE.
Last night on the Glenn Beck Program, Glenn spoke with representatives from the 9/12 Project, the Tea Party Express and one very liberal democrat who are all working to remove the UN's Agenda 21 from American towns and counties. Watch the full segment HERE.
Mysterious crop circles have appeared in an eastern Washington wheat field -- not far from the nation's largest hydropower producer. But area farmers preparing for the summer's harvest find the distraction more amusing than alarming. Take a lookHERE.
Egyptian President Morsi has appointed ultraconservative Islamists to key positions in his administration and that is making Christians in Egypt very nervous. The Real News panel discusses what's in store for Christians in Egypt tonight on Real News from The Blaze on GBTV.com at 6pm ET or on-demand.
16-yr-old Gabby Douglas has been called "the flying squirrel" for her skills on the uneven bars. And she's a gold medal winner who is competing for another gold today. Gabby was also the recipient of some financial support from a group called Our Military Kids. The organization doles out financial awards to help families with a parent deployed overseas. Learn more about the group and how it helped Gabby earn gold HERE. READ THIS |
Thursday, August 2
USA! USA! USA! - Gabby Douglas Wins Gold in Gymnastics All-Around
by Associated Press
Gabby Douglas' smile widened after each routine, her confidence growing as she moved closer and closer to the gold meda.
When she finished her floor routine, she flashed her pearly whites in what's certainly now a million-dollar smile.
Pee-losi: 'Immoral' GOP 'Trickling Down' Something 'Unpleasant' On Middle Class More
Free Speech Stands!
What Boycott? Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day Draws Crowds Nationwide By Dana Loesch Breitbart.com
Today Americans across the country showed their support for free speech by patronizing Chick-Fil-A restaurants. They stood in line, some for up to two hours at a time to place an order. By all accounts, customers were friendly, the staff was smiling, grateful for such sales in a tough economy, and managers beamed.
Never Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste: Bureaucracy Going to Vegas On Your Dime!
Newsmax: 'Multi-Billion Dollar Waste' at GSA By Paul Scicchitano and Kathleen Walter NewsMax.com
Insisting that the General Services Administration's bureaucrats-gone-wild party in Las Vegas may be the "tip of the iceberg," Rep. John Mica tells Newsmax.TV that wasteful practices by the agency could top billions when all is said and done.
Interesting Development Among Atheist China's Religious
Chinese Communist Party 'Members' Increasingly Attend Church By Patrick Burke CNSNews.com
More Communist Party members in the Peoples Republic of China are attending church, according to the U.S. State Department's latest report on International Religious Freedom.
Balance Of Power Being Slowly Upset-- And Democratic Senate Complicit!
Congress Relinquishes Its Power To Approve Some Presidential Appointments By Audrey Hudson HumanEvents.com
The House Tuesday passed a measure 261-114 to remove 200 presidential appointments from the Senate's purview for confirmation hearings and votes. Read the Full Story
Video: Watch What Happens When A Nation Bans Guns
Aug 02, 2012 02:41 pm
"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."~Thomas [...]
Harlem pastor Rev. James David Manning delivered a stem-winder sermon to his flock with such passion he was overcome with so much emotion he had trouble catching his breath! He called out for his black flock to regain honor. "Fifteen people killed while Obama was in town (Chicago)" he screamed out recently from his video pulpit. [...]
Video: Video Mocks Liberals' Anti-Chick-Fil-A Propaganda
Aug 02, 2012 01:55 pm
This is a Chick-Fil-A trip they never expected. Related posts: Allen West Mocks Chicago Dems: I Came Here To Open A Chick-Fil-A Yesterday, Congressman Allen West appeared on CNBC, from Chicago. I... Hey Liberals: Boycotting Chick-fil-A Solves Nothing I ate at Chick-fil-A six times last week to do...
Greta Van Sustern and Rick Klein discuss the Obama Administration's usage of Caribou to avoid White House visitor logs. Related posts: Depp, Burton Not In W.H. Visitor Logs The White House is under fire for reportedly trying to... Big Donors To Democratic Super PACs Visited White House Though President Barack Obama called super PACs a [...]
Chick-fil-A has come under a lot of fire for CEO Dan Cathy's stand in support of traditional marriage. It's a good thing they have powerful friends: the American people. On August 1st, crowds poured into Chick-fil-A franchises around the country. Supporters stood in line for hours for a bit of fast food that they normally [...]
I have never eaten at a Chick-fil-A, mainly because, until recently, the restaurant chain did not have a location in my area. Now that they do, I intend to try it very soon. I would have done so yesterday, Aug. 1- dubbed "Chick-fil-A appreciation day" by former Gov. Mike Huckabee on his Fox TV show [...]
Video: Senator Schools MSNBC On Constitutional Powers
Aug 02, 2012 01:35 pm
It's nice to see people like Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma stand up for the Constitution. Related posts: Executive War Powers Have Strict Constitutional Limits United States Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta caused quite a... Senator Inhofe Discusses The Global Warming Fraud The senator from Oklahoma was recently on the Scott Hennen...
Video: Senator Hammers Liberal Alarmist At Global Warming Hearing
Aug 02, 2012 01:18 pm
Senator Jeff Sessions from Alabama criticizes Senator Barbara Boxer rightfully. She, like most Democratic senators, are pathetic when it comes to their alarmist views on "climate change." Related posts: Newsweek's Clift On Global Warming, 'No Known Proof There's God Either' If you're curious to see how the mainstream Washington, D.C.... Senator Inhofe Discusses The Global [...]
How Obama Is Destroying The American Coal Industry
Aug 02, 2012 01:05 pm
The iconic Patriot Coal Corporation just recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Seeing the headline on a popular financial website was surreal and felt like something from the pages of Atlas Shrugged. Liberal cronies force "Patriot" corporation out of business for the sake of the common good? This isn't fiction. This is the daily paper. It's [...]
The contrast is clear: Barack Obama doesn't recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Mitt Romney does. Related posts: Romney Jabs Obama On US Policy Toward Israel Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama's latest... New Romney Ad Slams Obama's Arrogant Comments Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. But President...
Sacramento International Airport Evicts TSA Screeners
Aug 02, 2012 12:54 pm
Sacramento International Airport is dropping the TSA and replacing all security screeners with private contractors after it was given approval to opt out of the TSA program. The Airport will become the third largest in the country to ditch the TSA and hire private security. Only a few other airports have done so after Congress [...]
The truth is that rationing exists in any market. No entity, be it an individual or a business or the government, can provide an infinite supply of something on a finite budget. At some point, there will be rationing, because at some point somebody has to pay for what you're getting. So the question, in [...]
Federal Judge In Colorado Issues First Injunction Against HHS Mandate; Expect More To Come
Aug 02, 2012 12:34 pm
By John Vinci - A controversial Obamacare regulation has been temporarily shelved by a federal district court in Colorado in a blow to one of Obama's primary regulatory pushes through his Health and Human Services Department. The preliminary injunction granted on July 27th is no small matter as federal courts only grant injunctions under extraordinary [...]
In the wake of the Dark Knight massacre in Aurora, Colorado, major media outlets and public figures have been making statements about guns and violence that do more to misinform than educate. Below are some of the most significant and common of these misleading assertions. Fallacy # 1: Violence is a growing challenge The Los [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Thousands of Medicaid health care service providers still got paid by the government even though they owed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal taxes, congressional investigators say. A legal technicality is making it harder for the IRS to collect. In a report being released Thursday, the Government Accountability Office says Medicaid [...]
Senate May Go On Recess Without Passing Cyber Bill
Aug 02, 2012 11:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate could leave town this week for a monthlong break without passing legislation to protect the U.S. electrical grid, water supplies and other critical industries from cyberattack and electronic espionage. Congressional sponsors of the bill scrambled Wednesday to overcome Republican resistance to the measure, but they appeared short of the votes [...]
Perhaps no one knows the despair caused by the government's destruction of the black family better than the black pastors who try to hold their communities together.
Many of them fought for civil rights and equality under the law. They've worked to improve their communities and lobbied for assistance to deal with deep social problems.
But you'll search far and wide before you find many black pastors who say the solution to their communities' problems will be met by legalizing "gay" marriage.
And now some of them -- who voted for Barack Obama -- will be giving their churches different advice ...
How would you survive if a nuclear device was launched by a rocket over the U.S. and the country's infrastructure "destabilized within hours" by the resulting electromagnetic pulse signal?
Does the Bible prohibit blacks and whites from getting married? Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly today suggested that and more during an interview on the cable-news network.
MyBuyersRemorse.com is the central online platform for the RJC's unprecedented $6.5 million outreach effort to the Jewish community this year.
The web site will showcase a series of ads in which real people tell real stories of why they voted for Barack Obama in 2008, how they became disillusioned with him, and why they won't vote for him in 2012.
In addition, a key feature of the site will be the ability for visitors to upload their own video testimonials and tell their personal stories of Obama buyer's remorse.
The Democratic Party Fascists Take Over By Ben Shapiro Neither Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel nor Boston Mayor Thomas Menino can legally bar Chick-fil-A from their cities. But their attitude - that businesses are worthy of government bans simply for failing to tow the liberal line - now infuses the Democratic Party.
Of Free Speech and Chick-Fil-A By Ed Feulner What could be more discriminatory than using the power of the state to punish private viewpoints under the guise of standing up against "discrimination"?
Efforts to protect the environment in America have ignored the most powerful force for improving the environment: free people. The results of these misguided policies have been higher energy prices, lower incomes, less access to resources, and technological stagnation-often failing to produce tangible environmental benefits.
It doesn't have to be this way.
The Heritage Foundation, in collaboration with fellow experts on the environment, has published a new benchmark for progress: the American Conservation Ethic.
The Ethic reflects every American's aspiration to make the environment cleaner, healthier, and safer for future generations. It is based on eight basic principles that were first published in 1996 and provides a roadmap to environmentally sound prosperity.
Much of the policy that has come to guide American actions on the environment is not based on scientific integrity. Heritage's Dr. David Kreutzer and Dr. Roy Spencer, a climatologist formerly with NASA who is a research scientist at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, examine this in a chapter on carbon dioxide:
Any discussion of carbon dioxide regulation must begin by noting two facts: CO2 is a greenhouse gas, and anthropogenic (man-made) CO2 emissions have likely contributed to the observed warming of the past 50 years. The calls for CO2 regulation, however, are not based on these facts; rather, the current regulatory hysteria is the result of misinformation regarding the projected future levels of warming, as well as exaggerations over how much any future warming could be attributed to anthropogenic CO2. In addition, extreme weather events are increasingly attributed to anthropogenic CO2 emissions, despite a lack of evidence for any long-term change in these events.
Each chapter analyzes the effectiveness of the policies the U.S. has been pursuing and makes recommendations for moving forward with smart solutions that fix the problems of years past, protect and bolster individual property rights, and provide real benefits. The American Conservation Ethic addresses these major issues:
Expansion of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The current EPA is on an unprecedented regulatory spree that jeopardizes electric reliability, jobs, U.S. competitiveness, and state economies. How can we reform it?
Regulating carbon dioxide. Though it is colorless, odorless, non-toxic, and critical to photosynthesis, carbon dioxide (CO2) has been rebranded as a pollutant harmful to human health. This transformation-based on exaggeration and misinformation-is now fueling misguided calls for CO2 regulation.
Property ownership and land management. The federal government owns nearly one-third of the United States, and it continues to take more through regulatory takings of private property. There is no way the government can manage that amount of land with good stewardship. Recent Supreme Court decisions have undermined individual property rights, pointing to a need for Congress to act to protect what the Framers of the Constitution called "the guardian of every other right."
Effectiveness of environmental legislation. The Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Endangered Species Act have been governing much of environmental policy for the last few decades. This has given experts time to assess the consequences-both intended and unintended-of these laws. The authors address ways that these laws are now out of sync with the environmental, political, social, and economic realities of today, and what should be done about it.
Thinking globally, acting locally. How does the United Nations affect environmental policy here in America? The authors address the need for local and regional management of environmental issues so that those closest to the resources are responsible for managing them.
What is the point of environmental policy? The Ethic states that:
Environmental policies should inspire people to be good stewards. Through human creativity, we develop new sources of needed materials, more efficient means of collecting them, or substitutes for them-as well as the technology necessary to do so.
Economic growth is positively correlated with life expectancy, which is one of the most critical measurements of environmental policies-are people better off? There is a direct and positive relationship between free-market economies and a clean, healthy, and safe environment. Ownership inspires stewardship. To put this to work for our Earth and our people, we must work to decouple conservation policies from government regulation.
Reuters is reporting that "President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels" in Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that sanctions and diplomacy are not deterring Iran's nuclear program.
Half of America's counties are now considered disaster areas due to drought, AP reports.
Lines at Chick-fil-A restaurants reached around blocks and down streets yesterday as supporters of free speech and traditional marriage alike stopped in for "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day."
"A new Government Accountability Office report reveals that in more than 40 states a growing number of households are able to collect food-stamp benefits simply by receiving a government-issued brochure or accessing a toll-free number," reports Heritage's Michael Sandoval.
August 2, 2012 Chick-fil-A Latest Example of How Same-Sex Marriage Threatens Religious Freedom by Thomas Messner, Visiting Fellow at the DeVos Center of Heritage
Same-sex marriage combined with non-discrimination policies will result in significant discrimination against individuals and institutions that hold to the belief that marriage is-and should be defined in law as-the union of one man and one woman.
In the latest illustration of how this will happen, a Chicago alderman recently explained that he plans to block the chicken restaurant Chick-fil-A from building a new restaurant in his ward because he is offended by the belief of the company's owners that marriage is between one man and one woman.
"There are consequences for one's actions, statements and beliefs," the official stated. "Because of this man's ignorance, I will deny Chick-fil-A a permit to open a restaurant in my ward."
Under pressure, this official might attempt to alter his rationale for targeting Chick-fil-A-or even back down altogether like the mayor of Boston did when he was criticized for targeting Chick-fil-A in his city.
However it turns out, though, the Chick-fil-A situation certainly adds to the growing list of cases illustrating how individuals and institutions that continue to support marriage as one man and one woman will likely face a variety of significant burdens:
A Christian photographer in New Mexico who refused to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony was hauled before a human rights tribunal and forced to pay nearly $6,700 in attorneys' fees to the complainant;
Christian charities have beenforcedto stop providing foster care and adoption services because they cannot in good conscience comply with laws that would require them to violate beliefs about marriage and family;
Boy Scouts of America has lost equal access to public facilities and programs because of its position on open homosexuality;
A graduate student claims that she was expelled from a public university counseling program after she conscientiously objected to counseling a potential client seeking assistance regarding a homosexual relationship; and
A Christian organization at a public university was denied official recognition because it required officers and voting members to adhere to traditional Christian teachings, including a prohibition on extramarital sex.
This is not "live and let live." This is the state-and sometimes private citizens and the culture at large-punishing people who refuse to recant their belief that marriage is the union of a husband and wife.
This kind of thing happens because proponents of same-sex marriage declare support for marriage as one man and one woman to be a form of irrational prejudice and bigotry similar to racism. In this view, support for marriage as one man and one woman is the kind of belief that should be purged from public life through legal, cultural, and economic pressure.
This is precisely what is happening right now to Chick-fil-A.
Defending marriage takes courage. The Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, a group that stands up for people who stand up for marriage, highlights other stories of people who have demonstrated courage in standing for marriage as one man and one woman.
The percentage of unmarried couples living together has increased ten-fold, from slightly more than one percent of all couples in 1960 to nearly 12 percent in 2011. Learn why cohabitation is not the same as marriage when it comes to outcomes and how an intact, married family increases adult and child well-being at FamilyFacts.org.
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DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is the nation's most broadly supported public policy organization. Heritage established the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society in 2004 to educate government officials, the media and the public about the role religion, family, and civil society play in sustaining freedom and the common good.
Ten Ways Obamacare Limits Patient Choice
In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare, Americans should remember that higher taxes are not the only negative consequence of the law. Obamacare limits patient choice through expansive federal regulation of the insurance market, government interference in the decisions patients make with their doctors, and increased dependence on government health programs.
Obamacare limits patient choice either directly or indirectly in a variety of ways. Here are just a few Obamacare provisions to be aware of.
1. "Free" Preventive Services
Obamacare requires health plans to cover all preventive services ranked A or B (recommended) by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and does not allow them to share these costs with policyholders. This means that all patients will be forced to pay for this coverage through higher premiums. This additional expense will mean that some patients miss out on the coverage they actually need. As health policy expert Scott Gottlieb explains, "Many services that get 'Cs' or 'Ds'-such as screening for ovarian or testicular cancer-could get nixed from coverage entirely."
2. "Free" Women's Preventive Services
Obamacare creates additional preventive care coverage requirements for women, which, like other benefit mandates, means that women are prevented from choosing health plans that suit their needs and reflect their values. These provisions require Americans to pay for products such as the full range of contraceptives, including abortifacient drugs, even if they object as a matter of conscience.
3. Essential Health Benefits Package
Obamacare requires health plans to cover whatever benefits are deemed essential by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. As Heritage expert Ed Haislmaier explains, "The new federal benefit requirements represent a blatant assertion that Congress and federal bureaucrats know best how to design health insurance policies. The effects will be one-size-fits-all coverage-so that patients are not 'confused' by having choices-and elimination of employers' freedom to design their own self-insured plans." The more expansive the "essential" benefits package becomes, the more it will cost. The coverage "floor" will become the ceiling, and Americans will have fewer options.
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute - a think tank - whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
BLOG:How Many Ways Can You Spell "Fraud"?
The Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2013, introduced in the Senate last month, would make it a felony to make false statements on affidavits in order to receive federal funding. Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?
Now there will finally be a law on the books that will enable federal prosecutors to go after liars who cost the public money. Oh wait-that law is already on the books.
Just What We Need: A Bureaucracy for Professional Boxing
The Professional Boxing Amendments Act of 2012, introduced in the Senate on June 18 and in the House the next day, would establish a United States Boxing Commission to regulate professional boxing.
Other than requiring all professional boxing matches to be approved by the Boxing Commission and defining a "knockout," the bill would require organizations that sanction boxing matches to provide to a boxer whose ranking was changed a thorough written explanation for such a change. The penalty is imposed under the law governing perjury.
The Definitive Book on Why and How to Reform Criminal Law Available Now
ABOUT OVERCRIMINALIZATION
The Heritage Foundation and a coalition of public interest legal groups are committed to reversing the troubling trend of overcriminalization, which is defined by three attributes:
1. Federalizing crime that properly belongs under state and local jurisdiction;
2. Imposing criminal penalties upon persons who acted without criminal intent (mens rea);
3. Applying criminal sanctions to conduct that historically has not been considered wrongful.
This Legislative Update includes bills our researchers have identified that add or expand federal criminal offenses or penalties, but it generally does NOT include bills involving drugs, firearms, or crimes of violence.
The Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage FoundationFounded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is the nation's most broadly supported public policy organization. Heritage created the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies in 2001 to educate government officials, the media and the public about the Constitution, legal principles and how they affect public policy.
Some critics of Mitt Romney complain that he has no plan to turn around our faltering economy. Others, like President Obama, claim that Romney's economic policies have been tried and found wanting. Neither contention withstands scrutiny.
Glenn Hubbard, the Romney campaign's economic adviser, explained the basic contours of Romney's economic plan in today's Wall Street Journal. The program, which will not come as a surprise to those who have been paying attention, has four main components:
* Stop runaway federal spending and debt. The governor's plan would reduce federal spending as a share of GDP to 20%-its pre-crisis average-by 2016. This would dramatically reduce policy uncertainty over the need for future tax increases, thus increasing business and consumer confidence.
* Reform the nation's tax code to increase growth and job creation. The Romney plan would reduce individual marginal income tax rates across the board by 20%, while keeping current low tax rates on dividends and capital gains. The governor would also reduce the corporate income tax rate-the highest in the world-to 25%. In addition, he would broaden the tax base to ensure that tax reform is revenue-neutral.
* Reform entitlement programs to ensure their viability. The Romney plan would gradually reduce growth in Social Security and Medicare benefits for more affluent seniors and give more choice in Medicare programs and benefits to improve value in health-care spending. It would also block grant the Medicaid program to states to enable experimentation that might better serve recipients.
* Make growth and cost-benefit analysis important features of regulation. The governor's plan would remove regulatory impediments to energy production and innovation that raise costs to consumers and limit new job creation. He would also work with Congress toward repealing and replacing the costly and burdensome Dodd-Frank legislation and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Romney alternatives will emphasize better financial regulation and market-oriented, patient-centered health-care reform.
Contrary to Obama's assertion, this program has not been tried and found wanting. President Bush did not reduce federal spending as a portion of GDP. On the tax side, he did not reform the tax code to broaden the tax base. He did lower rates, and this stimulated the economy, just as occurred when Presidents Kennedy and Reagan did the same thing.
Bush wanted to reform social security, but was unable to do so. On the Medicare side, he attempted no reform.
Finally, until Obama, there was no Dodd-Frank or Obamacare legislation to repeal. Nor, to my knowledge, did previous presidents remove the regulatory impediments to energy production and innovation that Romney has mind.
Hubbard concludes:
In contrast to the sclerosis and joblessness of the past three years, the Romney plan offers an economic U-turn in ideas and choices. When bolstered by sound trade, education, energy and monetary policy, the Romney reform program is expected by the governor's economic advisers to increase GDP growth by between 0.5% and 1% per year over the next decade. It should also speed up the current recovery, enabling the private sector to create 200,000 to 300,000 jobs per month, or about 12 million new jobs in a Romney first term, and millions more after that due to the plan's long-run growth effects.
But these gains aren't just about numbers, as important as those numbers are. The Romney approach will restore confidence in America's economic future and make America once again a place to invest and grow.
In my view, presidential elections are usually pretty easy to predict. You just look at how the economy is doing. When we're at war or in a major foreign policy crisis, you factor that in. But an incumbent president has to be judged very harshly over his handling of the war or foreign crisis before he will lose in a good economy.
It turns out that there's a predictive model that formulizes these intuitions. It's called the Bread and Peace Model. Douglas Hibbs, a retired economics and politics professor, developed it. According to Hibbs, the model nicely explains nearly every post-World War II presidential elections. Only 1996 (when Clinton overperformed) and 2000 (when Gore underperformed) are problematic.
For the Peace side, Hibbs basically counts American fatalities, subject to a proviso discussed below. For the Bread side, he relies on growth of per capita real disposable personal income.
Under Hibbs' model, President Obama will likely receive only 47.2 to 47.8 of the popular vote. In other words, Romney's margin will approach the margin that Obama won by four years ago.
In my view, the "Peace" component of Hibbs' model is working against Obama more strongly than it should. Hibbs stiplulates that he does not count deaths caused in a president's first term by a war initiated in a previous administration. Thus, Hibbs doesn't count American fatalities in Iraq against Obama. He does, however, count those in Afghanistan, since Obama implemented a new stepped-up campaign there.
I doubt, though, that Americans will hold Afghanistan fatalities against Obama. For one thing, he's pulling out. For another, Mitt Romeny is slightly more hawkish on Afghanistan than the president.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Bread side of Hibbs' formula standing alone, correctly predicts this year's race. If so, the election will be closer than Hibbs' model predicts, but with Romney still winning the popular vote.
Bill Clinton agrees that culture is an important factor in the economic problems experienced by the West Bank. Seth Mandel at Commentary recalls that Clinton took this very view in a speech to the American Jewish World Service in 2007:
Clinton expressed his frustration that the Palestinians in Gaza possess some of the most beautiful beaches he's ever seen, beaches that could be tourism cash cows, if only they could get their act together. He also noted that the Palestinians chose to destroy much of the infrastructure Israel left behind after the 2005 disengagement, rather than use it and build on it as free capital.
Their obsession with violence and warfare, he noted-not just against Israel but against each other as well-was destroying their development. Then he said this: "Those of us who are in a position to know better, and have the circumstantial freedom to do better, have a very real obligation to act on what we know."
That's a bit condescending towards the Palestinians, no? Yet, the speech drew no criticism, nor should it have.
Clinton and Romney have the right line on what is holding the Palestinians back. President Obama and his shills in the mainstream media have the wrong line.
According to one account, Chick-fil-A's corporate headquarters told its outlets to expect a 15 to 20 percent increase in business yesterday, while the actual increase may be closer to something like 200 percent. I suspect that Chick-fil-A's business is going to enjoy a permanent step-up in business as a result of the Left's attack. This makes all the more hilarious Michael Hiltzik's Los Angeles Times column the other day (I'm linking it here since nobody reads the LA Times any more, and no wonder) saying that Chick-fil-A's owner Dan Cathy made a business mistake by speaking his mind on traditional marriage:
Despite decades if not centuries of bitter experience, business leaders apparently haven't absorbed the lesson that it's best to let your products speak for themselves and keep your big mouth shut. The latest executive to learn this the hard way is Dan Cathy, president of the family-owned fast-food chain Chick-fil-A.
Heh. Is there a better study in liberal cluelessness out today? (That was a rhetorical question: I am sure Power Line readers can find a dozen worthy examples in this target-rich environment.) What's really behind Hiltzik's column is old-fashioned liberal intimidation of business-trying to keep business people from speaking out for their own principles and interests.
Funny how sticking up for traditional values turns out to be a good business move. Sort of like how G-rated, family-friendly Hollywood movies do good box office, while most "edgy" R-rated movies typically bomb. Just curious: has Hiltzik or any other liberal ever made the same point about Ben & Jerry's ice cream-the only dairy products company I know of that has its own foreign policy? Jonah Goldberg had great fun with this notion on his Twitter feed yesterday:
At this rate, how quickly before Burger King starts making "controversial" statements?
Breaking: After failed effort to mimic Chic-fil-A's profits from political controversy, KFC abandons support for Kellogg-Briand Treaty.
Breaking: CEO of Ruby Tuesday's says he was glad Firefly was cancelled and that Joss Whedon ruined Avengers.
CEO of Cracker Barrel: Tim Burton Batman "much" better than Nolan version. But Adam West was the best one of them all.
In bold move, president of Popeye's Chicken announces he always hated Princess Di, puppies.
The extraordinary turnout at Chick-fil-A yesterday is all the more remarkable for having occurred more or less spontaneously, without any national organization behind it, a notable public figure (like Jesse Jackson) or the legacy media publicizing it. It was all word of mouth, crowd-sourced through that media-monopoly-smasher, the Internet. But I also wonder how much the ongoing public revulsion over Obama's "you didn't build that" remark played into yesterday's turnout?
Increasingly Obama's "you didn't build that" remark is looking like the equivalent of Jimmy Carter's infamous "malaise" speech of 1979 (actually "crisis of confidence" was his phrase-he never actually said "malaise"); although that speech wasn't itself a main issue of the 1980 campaign, it provided a key subtext to the conflict between Carter and Reagan. Carter made clear that he was a declinist, and Reagan made clear his categorical rejection of Carter's declinism. So too Obama has drawn the clear line of the stakes of this election: more government or less. Let's vote.
I think the Cruz election shows not just that the Tea Party remains a potent force, but that a critical mass of conservative voters want not just a decent conservative, but a ferocious one. (I see that Tommy Thompson, a decent conservative governor of Wisconsin, is in trouble in the Senate race there for the same reason Dewhurst flopped in Texas.)
Put this altogether and it adds up to a storm in November-a "derecho" aimed at the Beltway. The media will be the last to know, of course. I still cherish a Washington Post editorial published two days after Reagan's 1980 landslide called "Tidal Wave":
Something of gigantic proportions happened-must have been happening for a long while-and the capital and the political wise men were taken by surprise. . . an 'anti-Washington,' 'anti-establishment' political storm warning was missed by Washington and the establishment.
Duh. I think there's a good chance the Post may get to rerun this editorial about 100 days from now. Meanwhile, Romney should order up a lot of Chick-fil-A for the GOP convention.
It is hard to know which old model is failing fastest: the blue state model of governance, or the legacy media, which might be called the "blue state model of journalism." We already noted the last few days the declining fortunes of CNN, as well as the news that Newsweek is going to cease print publication in the near future. But a little squib in the Wall Street Journal a couple of days back suggests it's even worse than we know: the Washington Post has received a $500,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to shore up its shrinking newsroom. The Los Angeles Times already got a $1 million grant from Ford for the same purpose:
The Ford Foundation awarded a $500,000 grant to the Washington Post to expand its government-accountability coverage, the foundation's second major grant to a for-profit newspaper this year.
The foundation made its first for-profit newspaper grant to the Los Angeles Times this spring-an award of $1 million to enlarge coverage of local immigration and ethnic communities.
The grants come as newspapers continue to struggle with print revenues declining much faster than digital revenues are growing, forcing closures and job cuts throughout the industry. The Washington Post's newsroom, for instance, has shrunk to around 600 people today from about 1,000 at its peak in 2000.
The one-year grant to the Post, which is owned by Washington Post Co., will fund four reporters to work on "special projects related to money, politics and government," under the paper's investigative unit, according to a memo from Post editors.
"The Foundation's support enables us to build on one of our central missions, and the terms of the grant give us complete independence," the editors said.
Think this over for a minute: for-profit media companies are becoming charity cases for their core mission. Really? (It is well known that without this highly profitable Kaplan test prep division, the Washington Post company would be losing buckets of money.) That's not a business model with a future.
Meanwhile, it will be fun to watch Ford and other liberal foundations pour their money down media ratholes. Brings to mind a boozy Washington dinner I was at some years ago, where I was somehow seated next to young lady from the National Center for Responsive Philanthropy-the liberal group that had produced a handwringing report deploring the effectiveness of the relatively tiny conservative foundations, chiefly Bradley, Scaife, and Olin-whose total assets didn't add up to one month's worth of Ford Foundation grants. The Left perpetually wonders what secret conspiracy accounts for the superior effectiveness of conservative grantmakers.
I decided to make some mischief. I offered that we conservatives were actually quite delighted with Ted Turner's $1 billion pledge to the United Nations (since reneged, but never mind). This produced a raised eyebrow of surprise.
Me: "Sure. Because $1 billion spent truly well could do a lot of damage, but giving $1 billion to the U.N. is a pure waste. Might as well just find the nearest rathole for your money."
Then I added: "Oh, and the Ford Foundation? How many employees do they have on staff? Something like 250? They'd make more effective grants if they fired half the staff. Wouldn't matter which half."
So today I'll add that I'm delighted that the Ford Foundation is stepping in to shore up the nearly bankrupt legacy news media. (I think Dan Rather may be available cheap, by the way.) How long until they start shoring up failing public employee union pension plans? I doubt even Ford and Rockefeller together have enough assets to try that. But I invite them to try.
August 02, 2012
On Today's Program
Media misses all important moments in Romney overseas trip
If someone gave you a pop quiz on Mitt Romney's recent trip overseas, how would you describe it? Based on the information given by the MSM most people would describe it as full of gaffes. But was it? Or did the media miss the important parts of Romney's trip? Glenn has more on radio today.
Loving left? Man bullies Chick-fil-A employee
A man trying to be clever and thinking he was calling out the hatred of Chick-fil-A made a complete fool of himself after he posted his video on the internet. His video, which features him berating a cheerful & kind young female employee, instantly began receiving 'dislikes' at an alarming rate. The count was about 1,000 dislikes to 15 likes when he finally took it down. Check out the despicable video HERE.
"Leave an awesome tip" - Man's dying wish goes viral
Seth Collins wasn't expecting to find a will - after all, his brother Aaron was only 30 years old when he passed away unexpectedly. So he was surprised to find one on his computer - and even more surprised at one of his requests. "Leave an awesome tip" ... "and I don't mean 25% - I mean $500 on a pizza." Seth is making good on that request: full story via TheBlaze.
Why are thousands flooding Chick-fil-A?
Glenn kept 'Chick-fil-A day' going an extra day on radio today, most likely so he could have another excuse to shovel some more waffle fries down the hatch. Glenn went on to explain why thousands and thousands of people were showing up in droves at Chick-fil-A ... and it has nothing to do with gay rights. See Glenn explain on radio today.
Here's your opportunity to support Chick-fil-A AND a small business! The Marketplace by Markdown.com is offering a Chik-fil-A bobblehead from the small business Royal Bobbles! Get yours today!
More trucks heading to the Navajo Nation
Glenn talked on radio this morning about the desperate plight of the Navajo Nation and revealed he was sending another entire truck load of food to them. He said he 'didn't know' how bad it really was there but at the same time 'loves their attitude' about everything. Details HERE.
TOMORROW: Glenn turns his attention to the Muslim Brotherhood
Terrorists have infiltrated our borders through Mexico. They have also infiltrated our government - but there were no borders to cross, they were invited. No one else will share this information with you, but as we learned on 9-11, we can no longer afford to ignore the desire to destroy America. Don't miss tomorrow's episode of The Glenn Beck Program.
The Oval: Freedom movement is only getting stronger Glenn continues to stand by his belief that freedom loving Americans all across the country will deliver a huge win in November, something the mainstream media has refused to even consider a possibility. Why will they be shocked in November? Glenn has more in this episode of The Oval.
Countdown to Michael Vey 2...12 DAYS: Pre-order your hard copy or e-book now from Amazon, BN.com or Apple.
Obama has recently been flaunting the new "independent" study saying how terrible Mitt Romney's tax plan is. Just how "independent" is the study? Stu and Pat debunk Obama's claim today on The 4th Hour.
Glenn's new e-book thriller series: Great news! The third episode in the WRATH & RIGHTEOUSNESS e-book series has just been released! If you haven't started reading the series yet, now is the perfect time. There are ten episodes in total (about 5-6 full books worth of content), and we're releasing them over the course of about one year. You'll find easy download links to all episodes HERE. Have a question or comment about the series? Visit our newly updated FAQ page.
Rebroadcast of Restoring Love on TBN: If you missed Restoring Love you can catch a rebroadcast this Saturday August 4th @ 8PM Pacific Time on Trinity Broadcast Network.
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Daniel Greenfield's new Freedom Center pamphlet, The Great Betrayal: Obama's Wars and the War in Iraq, is an effort to understand the politics of the "war on terror" which has now reached a final punctuation point with the U.S. decision to speed its withdrawal from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan (where success was once deemed so crucial to national security), and to practice an incoherent form of regime change in Libya while ignoring more serious threats in Syria and Iran.
Whether there is such a thing as a world plan for socialist domination must be answered by individuals pondering recent, sometimes strange confluences of world events. But if there were such a plan, would it appear in any clearer form that the United Nations Agenda 21 program?
Charles Jacobs at Americans for Peace and Tolerance 
Media misses all important moments in Romney overseas trip
