912 Patriots of Lower Bucks - Your Daily Updates ALL in ONE Place!
December 31, 2012
Quote:
"Sometimes when I'm faced with an atheist, I am tempted to invite him to the greatest gourmet dinner that one could ever serve, and when we have finished eating that magnificent dinner, to ask him if he believes there's a cook."
Hey Lefties! Here's An Example Of The Need For "Assault Rifles"
OK, I used the term "assault rifles" in the title to get your attention. Now let me explain that I do not believe they are assault rifles. They are merely rifles capable firing many rounds quickly. The Left gun control crowd has been saying that there is no need for these kinds of weapons, but my friends nothing could be further from the truth and I want to share with you just one instance that everyone should be able to understand just how needy these weapons are.
The year was 1992, twenty years ago, when following a jury trial, four Los Angeles Police Department officers were acquitted, in April, after being accused in the video recorded beating of a black American named Rodney King.
As a result, people throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area rioted over six days because of the verdict. They engaged in widespread looting, assault, arson, and even murder. The damage these criminals caused was well over $1 billion!
The rioting finally came to a halt after the California National Guard, along with U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton were called in to help stop them.
During the riots, more than 60 people were killed and over 4,000 were injured.
The Theater Shooting The Main Stream Media Didn't Focus On & Why
There has been lots of talk over the past few months about gun control by the main stream media and liberals in general. This was anticipated following the shooting in an Aurora, Colorado theater at the opening of The Dark Knight Rises. It escalated over the next couple of months until the shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Because so many young children were killed, the emotional response was increased, but I'll bet most people never heard of a shooting that took place at a theater just two days after the one in Newtown and for good reason; it didn't go with the liberal's agenda.
On Sunday, December 16, 2012 a man entered a movie theater in San Antonio, Texas for the sole purpose of killing his ex-girlfriend, because she had broke up with him. The gunman, 19 year old Jesus Manuel Garcia, apparently did not complete his task. He opened fire in the theater which caused mass panic. People were running for cover and rushing towards exits, according to police and witnesses.
At least two people were wounded in the shooting.
So why was there not widespread news footage covering this event? The shooter was stopped. The Santikos Mayan Palace 14 Movie Theater also houses a small restaurant. The shooting began in the restaurant and as people went for cover, Garcia began to fire outside at an unmarked police car. He then moved to the theater where off duty Bexar County Sheriff Officer, Sgt. Lisa Castellano, who was working the theater, chased Garcia to the back of the theater and cornered him in the men's room, shooting him several times and taking his gun.
Who could possibly benefit from the massacre of children? What possible motive is there for such a heinous act? Is there a model or operative pattern to the shootings?
To answer these questions, we first turn to an investigative report revealing details about the Tasmania massacre in Australia that was used by their politicians to confiscate and ban Australia's guns .
Wendy Scurr was working in the cafe on the afternoon that the Tasmania shooters executed those people. She unequivocally opposes the 'official' story, and has been demonized for telling the truth. This video is her eye witness account
of the Tasmania murders.
Next we can turn to The Dunblane School Massacre that the UK's paid politicians used to confiscate and ban all handguns. Here is a clear, quick, summary
Set aside the writer's bias as you read these accounts and focus on the MO.
Fast forward to Sandy Hook and the first news and online reports about the shootings again indicated there were two and possibly three shooters at the school-the dead "shooter", a man handcuffed and brought from the woods beside the school, and a man 'proned out' and handcuffed in the street outside the school.
If you want to understand what is happening to our beloved country please watch this important movie. Please share it with everyone.
(Rescheduled)
PleaseJoinUsforOur4thAnnual ChristmasTeaParty
Commemorating the 239th Anniversary of the First Philadelphia Tea Party,
The 225th Anniversary Year of the United States Constitution,
and
The 225th Anniversary of the Constitution's Ratification by
Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey.
January 5, 2013
12-1 PM
Independence Mall
5th and Market Streets
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Featuring:WPHT talk show hosts Dom Giordano as Dr. Benjamin Rush, leader of the December 27, 1773 Philadelphia Tea Party, reciting the original Boston and Philadelphia
Tea Party Resolutions; WPHT's Rich Zeoli;the Honorable Anna Little; Montgomery County Young Republican Tory McClintock; the Association's John Peteraf;the
Whitehall Guard Fife and Drum; Commemorative program booklet; hot cider and cookies.
Free and open to the public.
AFTERPARTY, Independence Visitors Center, 1-3 PM, featuring:
Panel Discussion on America's Future: Short and Long Term Predictions;
and
Announcement of our 2012 Federal and State (DE, NJ, PA) Legislators of the Year.
Cost: $20 for adults; $10 for college & high school students; $5 for children.
(No rain/snow date--event will be moved inside if necessary.)
Sponsored by: Independence Hall Tea Party Association
Yes, it's true: You can support ACT! for America-at no cost to you!An important message from Guy Rodgers, Executive Director
The next time you make an online purchase of almost anything, you could be helping ACT! for America-at no cost to you.
Sound too good to be true? It isn't.
All you have to do is sign up for "iGive"-a program that's been around since 1997.
The concept is as powerful as it is simple.
Every time an iGive member makes an online purchase at over 1,000 brand-name stores, a percentage of that purchase is donated to that person's charity of choice.
And with the holidays just around the corner, you could be helping ACT! for America with every gift you buy!
The concept isn't new. In the mid-1990s many supporters of non-profit organizations signed up with long distance telephone programs where a percentage of their bill was donated to their charity of choice.
But our investigation of iGive has convinced us that this program has an ease of use and sophistication that we find remarkable.
Imagine booking a hotel room on Orbitz-and having 1.6% of that purchase price donated to ACT! for America.
Or buying an Xbox at Best Buy-and having 1.2% of the purchase price donated to ACT! for America.
The same goes for buying merchandise at Amazon, Bath and Body Works, Advance Auto Parts, Game Stop, Kmart, Home Depot, Holiday Inn, Old Navy, NASCAR Superstore, Overstock.com, Mattel, J.C. Penney, Office Max, QVC, Radio Shack, Shoe Carnival, Pottery Barn-and on and on the list goes.
In other words, every time you make a purchase of merchandise you would buy anyway, you would be financially supporting ACT! for America!
All you have to do is log on below and follow the directions to create your account and download the iGive "button." (Note: downloading the "button" is key).
When I was first informed of iGive, I was skeptical. I've seen these ideas come and go. Often, they're too good to be true. Or there are all kinds of glitches and problems.
So I spent hours researching.
I looked at online customer reviews (which were very good). I read all of iGive's fine print, such as Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. I signed up and even emailed two tech support questions to see how good their tech support was.
And the more I dug, the more I liked what I saw. For instance, both of my tech support questions were responded to within 60 minutes. How often does THAT happen?
As you know from our Patriot Partner program, we're all about encouraging a lot of people to each do a little-to do something. When everyone does a little, together we accomplish a lot.
So consider what could happen.
If just 1% of ACT! for America members each purchased just $400 in merchandise in 2013, from all the available outlets, and the average percentage donated to ACT! was 1.5%, the total amount donated back to ACT! for America would be...
...$15,000. That's a lot of money, wouldn't you agree?
And if you were one of those ACT! for America members, it wouldn't cost you one thin dime to help ACT! for America receive $15,000.
If this idea really caught on, and eventually 5% of our members made purchases with iGive, that $15,000 could explode to $50,000, $75,000 or more!
What's more, that 1.5% figure might be low. Many of the merchants offer percentage donations that are much higher. One printer inkjet company I looked at offered 13%!
Every merchant website you visit tells you right at the top what percentage of your purchase price will be donated to ACT! for America.
Just think what we could accomplish with an extra $15,000, $50,000 or $75,000 in our fight against radical Islam!
One of the things I most wanted to know was their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Check it out for yourself. I confirmed the terms with a company representative. And I like what I learned. As security-conscious as I am, I have no hesitation using the service-and I'm already doing so.
I know there are many people out there who would love to support ACT! for America, or give more than they're giving, but in these tough economic times they simply can't.
Well, here's a way that everyone who believes in our mission can easily support what we're doing-at no cost to them.
It doesn't get any better than that.
There are already chapter leaders who have signed up for the program, and the feedback I have been getting from them has been all positive. They love the idea and many of them are already using it.
So please, join me and these ACT! for America chapter leaders who are already signed up and using the iGive service.
Yours for a safe and free America
Guy Rodgers
Memorial Lecture
Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013
7:30pm
The Annual Jay Michael Swartz Memorial Lecture: An Evening with Michael Medved
For Men and Women Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013 7:30pm *Pre-lecture dinner 6:15pm At the Glazier Jewish Center | 25 N. State St.
Fee: $36 *Pre-lecture dinner with Michael Medved (includes lecture): $100
AMERICAN JEWS AND CHRISTIAN EVANGELICALS: IRRECONCILABLE ENEMIES OR INEVITABLE ALLIES?
Michael Medved is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host and bestselling author. His daily show is heard by over 3.75 million people across the country. Born in Philadelphia, Michael won admission to Yale at age 16 as a National Merit Scholar. He majored in American History and graduated with honors, before attending Yale Law School, where his classmates included Bill and Hillary Clinton. Michael wrote his first bestseller at age 26 - "What Really Happened to the Class of '65?" - a skeptical reconsideration of the "counterculture" of the 1960's that became a weekly TV series on NBC.
Many American Jews distrust and even fear the rise of the evangelical Christianity. They see this religious movement as a threat to the survival of Judaism in the United States and to the continuance of a society that values pluralism and religious liberty. On the other hand increasing numbers of American Jews view evangelicals as natural allies, not just when it comes to support of Israel, but on a range of social issues here in the U.S. In this provocative presentation, Michael Medved will explain where Jews and Christians already agree, and where they can never agree, in their participation in the ongoing battles shaping American society.
Lubavitch of Bucks County * 25 N State Street * Newtown, PA 18940 * 215-497-9925
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,
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.
Individuals sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood's sinister agenda have infiltrated the Obama Administration.
Brainwashed by the Muslim Students Association and then propelled in to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the David Horowitz Freedom Center tracks the path of Huma Abedin and other Muslim sympathizers who have navigated their way into positions of great influence in the Obama Administration. Everything is revealed in the explosive new Freedom Center pamphlet, "The Muslim Brotherhood in the Obama Administration," written by Frank Gaffney, national security expert who served as Assistant Secretary of Defense under Ronald Reagan.
The David Horowitz Freedom Center is committed to educating the public on the Muslim Brotherhood's sinister Agenda. That is why we are giving away this pamphlet for FREE.
Monday 3-4pm "Bordering on Insanity" - Sue Payne and Frosty Wooldridge
Tuesday 3-4pm "American Freedom Watch" - Karen Schoen with contributors John Estabrooks and Dr. Ronald Myers
Wednesday 3-4pm "Patriots Watch" - Billy Baer and Dan Haggerty
Thursday 3-4pm "America's Black Shield" - Ted Hayes and Terrance Lang
Friday 10-11pm "Veterans' Weekly Forum" - Rich Davis and David Bellavia
No Higher Power: The Fundamental Myth of "Separation of Church State," III
America's culture and Constitution are in crisis - a fundamental reason being the fierce Humanistic/Reconstructionist effort to establish the basic idea that there is No Higher Power than the government to which we must pay attention and allegiance. This point is forcefully made in the new book of this title by Phyllis Schlafly and George Neumayr. In recent Court Watch briefings we have articulated and attacked the "Treacherous Trio of Myths" spawned by the basic "Separation" notion - relativism, diversity/pluralism, and tolerance. In this issue, we attack the "separation" myth itself.
Of all laws that are deemed to have their origin in nature, the Law of Self-Preservation is indeed the most fundamental. The use of a firearm has irrevocably changed the dynamic relationship between both predator and victim. ...»
Presidential candidate slobbering among the media notwithstanding, there is much work for conservatives to do between now and 2014. That's right -- it's time to concentrate on the midterms....»
So now the House of Representatives has adjourned for its Christmas recess until after the New Year. I guess that Boehner (and Obama) thought the Christmas adjournment was more important than the country. ...»
Putting aside the issue of whether our foreign creditors will get antsy and interest rates will climb, if the entirety of our debt were held by fellow Americans, it would still reduce the net wealth of future generations....»
The best thrillers are the ones based on facts. Finder seemed to have a crystal ball, predicting how the hardliner regime would eventually resume power at a time when many people thought the "bad-guys" were defeated....»
France: constitutional court rejects 75 per cent tax rate
CNBC Host Maria Bartiromo Blasts Democrat Senator Ben Cardin on Fiscal Cliff
2012: Chicago Is The Murder Capitol of USA With 500 Murders
I carried a gun in New York City for more than a decade -- back when there were thousands of murders a year and the Bronx led the nation in killings. On at least 4 occasions, that gun saved my life, and in a couple of instances, the lives of people who were with me. ...»
A dog whistle makes a sound or sends a command that only a canine can hear. A rhetorical dog whistle is a coded message for select listeners, usually the politically correct. ...»
This Christmas, Santa Claus delivered what is likely the biggest lump of foreign policy coal that any U.S. president has ever received in his stocking: Barack Obama's "reset" policy with Russia collapsed almost as spectacularly as did the USSR....»
The MSM's focus on the cliff gives Obama, their hero, economic cover, since the cliff story is the economic story and not the terrible economic results occurring weekly and monthly. ...»
As a conservative, I have been disappointed that so many within my ranks continue to advocate for a continuation of the status quo, rather than sensible alternatives....»
Jews across America are raising a hue and cry over Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense -- but they are ignoring the malign influence John Kerry will have at State....»
Unlike other forms of religious law, such as canon law and Jewish law, sharia is the only form of religious law extant that is also meant to apply to people of other faiths, i.e. non-Muslims....»
Boy Uses Dad's AR-15 to Shoot Invader - THIS is why we have the second amendment PT 1
But isn't it time you closed the book on the 2012 election? Good grief, it's been more than seven weeks now. Isn't it time you stopped replaying that first debate?
Without a deal, almost everyone in the country will get hit Tuesday with massive tax hikes, and deep federal spending cuts, mostly to the military, will go into effect. Conservative leaders have speculated that Obama is not averse to going off the fiscal cliff because he'd get the tax hikes he has championed for years.
I originally wrote this article in July, 2010. Sometimes it really does pay to revisit things. Islam, Sharia, jihad and terror. Daily, more things appear in the news about the truth of Islam from a multitude of venues. Why do people refuse to hear this truth?
The successful launch Dec. 12 by North Korea of a long-range missile has become a "never-ending story" of its own -- i.e., one of a failed U.S. foreign policy representative of a lack of imagination in dealing with Pyongyang in the real world.
A top lawmaker chastised the State Department following a report that a security chief said to have resigned in the wake of the Libya attack is still on the payroll, calling the response "pathetic."
I learned that individuals with no experience whatsoever were organizing tea party demonstrations in their towns...So I screwed up my courage and did it, fully realizing that I didn't know what the heck I was doing.
Yes, there is a Santa. Don't believe me? Then read his autobiography, as told to Jeff Guinn. Or the now iconic story "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" published in The Sun, over 100 years ago.
Imaginative, exciting and dynamic - Israelis were at the forefront of cutting-edge developments in hundreds of different fields this year, pushing the boundaries in art and culture, biotech, medicine, the environment, science and technology.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." ~ Ronald Reagan
Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog
It took some 22 hours for American help to arrive in Benghazi after all the t's had been crossed and the i's had been dotted, and the body of America's ambassador to Libya had been dragged through the streets by "rescuers" stopping along the way to pose for cell phone pictures with his corpse.
By way of comparison it takes about 16 hours for a boatload of Libyan illegal immigrants to row to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Support for the Americans under fire in Libya would have arrived sooner if a few former members of the Harvard Rowing Team had gotten in one the many rowboats beached on the shores of Lampedusa and pushed the oars all the way to Benghazi.
It says something about the current state of asymmetrical warfare that not only can Al Qaeda throw together a coordinated string of attacks on American embassies around the region without anyone being the wiser for it, but boatloads of migrants from Libya can reach Europe faster on muscle power than American forces can reach a mission under attack while equipped with jet power.
For that matter less time passed between the ubiquitous campaign fundraising emails that every American with internet access was barraged by no less than three times a day, than between the Benghazi's mission first call for help and the arrival of American support. But that night, Obama's priority was to get to a Vegas fundraiser, not to get American support to two former SEALS fighting and dying in a hellish mess created by his policies.
Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog
CASHING IN ON THE DEAD
The left's plan has always been very simple. Find a grievance or create a crisis, in whatever order, and then cash in on it. Whether it's the economy or the murder of children, the left's response to any tragedy is to find a way to shamelessly try and cash in.
Recently a woman was charged with falsely raising money by claiming to be setting up a fund for some of the dead children of Newtown. This is the sort of thing that's illegal if you're an ordinary person, but perfectly acceptable if you happen to run the American Red Cross which raised a ton of money on the backs of hurricane victims, another fund that raised money for the victims of the Batman shootings and then decided not to give it to them, and Bill Clinton who has claimed another success in Haiti.
In April 2010, Mr. Clinton was named co-president of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, referred to as the I.H.R.C. Two months later, at a luxury hotel in the hills above Port-au-Prince, the commission held its first meeting. It would hold only six more, though, before the Haitian Parliament declined to renew its mandate and it faded into history, its Web site decommissioned and its public records erased with it.
"As a tool for Bill Clinton, the commission was good; it helped him attract attention to Haiti," said Dr. Boulos, a commission member. "As a tool to effectively coordinate assistance and manage the reconstruction, it was a failure."
Bill Clinton, the United Nations special envoy for Haiti, invoked the "build back better" mantra he had imported from his similar role in South Asia after the tsunami. And Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton cautioned donors to stop working around the government and instead work with it, and to stop financing "a scattered array of well-meaning projects" rather than making "deeper, long-term investments."
"One area where the reconstruction money didn't go is into actual reconstruction," said Jessica Faieta, senior country director of the United Nations Development Program in Haiti from 2010 through this fall.
Moreover, while at least $7.5 billion in official aid and private contributions have indeed been disbursed - as calculated by Mr. Clinton's United Nations office and by The Times - disbursed does not necessarily meant spent. Sometimes, it simply means the money has been shifted from one bank account to another as projects have gotten bogged down.
That is the case for nearly half the money for housing.
Yasser Arafat's widow admits Palestinian terror campaign in 2000 was premeditated
Posted By Jamie Weinstein On 12/28/2012
Suha Arafat, the wife of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, admitted in a TV interview earlier this month that the Palestinian terror campaign against Israel launched in 2000 was a premeditated act orchestrated by her husband, not a spontaneous "intifada," or uprising, as many have claimed.
Suha Arafat: The 2000 Intifada Was Premeditated, Planned by Arafat
"Yasser Arafat had made a decision to launch the intifada," she told Dubai TV on Dec. 16, according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
"Immediately after the failure of the Camp David [negotiations], I met him in Paris upon his return. ... Camp David has failed, and he said to me: 'You should remain in Paris.' I asked him why, and he said: 'Because I am going to start an intifada. They want me to betray the Palestinian cause. They want me to give up on our principles, and I will not do so.'"
In a summit convened by President Bill Clinton at Camp David in July 2000, Arafat rejected an offer by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barack to create a Palestinian state in the equivalent of roughly 97 percent of the West Bank, including land swaps, and all of the Gaza Strip, according to an account by America's chief Middle East negotiator at the time, Dennis Ross. East Jerusalem was to be the Palestinian capital.
Though then-Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan reportedly told Arafat that if he rejected the generous offer he would be committing a "crime" against the Palestinian people, Arafat did just that by walking away from the deal. (RELATED: France begins murder investigation after Arafat's death)
In September, soon after the Camp David summit ended in failure, the so-called Palestinian intifada began. Many have blamed the start of the uprising on then-leading Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon's supposedly provocative visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which besides being a holy site to Jews, is also the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy site in Islam.
But Suha Arafat's interview backs up those who have argued that the terror campaign was not the result of some spontaneous uprising triggered by Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount, but a premeditated terror campaign orchestrated by Yasser Arafat himself.
"'I do not want Zahwa's friends in the future to say that Yasser Arafat abandoned the Palestinian cause and principles,'" Suha Arafat said her husband told her. Zahwa is the couple's only child.
"'I might be martyred, but I shall bequeath our historical heritage to Zahwa and to the children of Palestine,'" he supposedly added.
As a result of the four-year terror campaign, more than 1,000 Israelis were killed by Palestinian terror groups, while more than 3,000 Palestinians, including terrorists, died as result of Israel's efforts to stop the violence.
Christianity faces being wiped out of the "biblical heartlands" in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of worshippers, according to a new report.
By Edward Malnick 23 Dec 2012
The study warns that Christians suffer greater hostility across the world than any other religious group. And it claims politicians have been "blind" to the extent of violence faced by Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam, it says, claiming that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a fear that criticism will be seen as "racism". It warns that converts from Islam face being killed in Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Iran and risk severe legal penalties in other countries across the Middle East.
The report, by the think tank Civitas, says: "It is generally accepted that many faith-based groups face discrimination or persecution to some degree. "A far less widely grasped fact is that Christians are targeted more than any other body of believers."
It cites estimates that 200 million Christians, or 10 per cent of Christians worldwide, are "socially disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for their beliefs." "Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political priorities across large areas of the world. That this is not the case tells us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood," says the author, Rupert Shortt, a journalist and visiting fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.
He adds: "The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom is the canary in the mine for human rights generally."
A group of radical Muslims is planning to use St Paul's Cathedral to protest against the sins of British society and the fallacy of the Bible.
The protesters were due to gather putside the cathedral at 1pm, while a Christmas Eve Eucharist takes place inside.
Ahead of the protest, radical preacher Anjem Choudary claimed that Jesus belonged to Islam and that British society was riddled with "sin".
"We say Jesus is a Muslim prophet and not the Son of God," he said in a leaflet.
Choudary, a former solicitor, has previously been linked to raidical groups including Al Gruabba and Islam4Uk, which were banned by the government for inflammatory preaching and praising terroist attacks including 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings.
In a departure from the PA Coalition's tradition of presenting original commentary, we provide an important piece from Grove City College's "Center for Vision and Values" and author Dr. Sylvain Charat. If you are not currently receiving their emails, please consider doing so, as they are consistently well written and meaningful.
Editor's note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com.
"I am leaving because you consider that success, creation, talent, anything different, must be punished."
This quotation from French actor Gérard Depardieu comes from the letter he sent on December 16 to French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, explaining why he left France's welfareship and settled in Belgium.
The actor was heavily criticized. The prime minister called him a "pathetic" character; the minister of labor, Michel Sapin, accused Depardieu of "personal degeneration;" the minister of culture, Aurélie Filippetti, was "totally scandalized;" the minister of relations with parliament, Alain Vitalies, was "shocked;" and the head of the Socialist Party, Harlem Désir, was "saddened."
The words used by France's socialists were carefully chosen. They were aimed at discrediting the actor's fiscal choice.
In truth, however, it is the welfare government's choices that are on display. Indeed, Depardieu's case reveals the temptations of the welfare government to violate property rights, entrepreneurship, and freedom of movement. Consider each of these three temptations:
Bram Stoker's Dracula, gained power because no one believed in his existence. In like manner, evil advances in this world.
In 2010, nearly three months after the November elections. I wrote "Incredibly Mr. Obama is again attempting to replace our free market system of competitive ideas with a Red Chinese American-style, government-controlled economy. That would be fine if the US Communist party would have won the elections, but it did not. It is time to close the curtain on this side show carnie barker, and his cure-all elixir scam."
The Soviet Union was characterized by an economy that replaced competition and free exchange with confiscation and redistribution, which resulted in the destruction of wealth. Their underlining ideologies, achieving their goal of a fair and equitable society through the sacrifice of individual expression was fully exposed with their defeat in the cold war as the nations in the world moved towards greater transparency.
Likewise Obama's domestic initiative: social justice through a fair and equitable society completely exemplifies the Russians erroneous position and will yield the same fate. Obama contends that America's greed, aggressive foreign policy, and exploitation of the masses is responsible for all our economic woes, not freebees from institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that have driven our economy into the ground.
It is Obama who wants to take us off the fiscal cliff and into the abyss. In essence he is using Lincoln's strategy, but for nefarious reasons. Lincoln believed that America needed a fresh start and his solution was to burn down the South in order to erase iniquity slavery from the American psyche.
In a similar fashion, Obama's solution for America's economic failure is to completely destroy our capitalist system and replace it with a Marxist socialist system in which the government plays a central part in the equal distribution of wealth.
The reelection of Barack Obama will prove to be a painful reminder of having been lied to and fooled for many of his supporters. The young voters who sold their futures to vote for whatever they imagined Obama to be will learn hard lessons. The conservatives who stayed home to make some kind of statement of their discontent will be taught hard lessons about the consequences of elections. Those who consider themselves supporters of Israel, who willingly put aside their judgment of obvious facts, are learning how foolish they were.
They voted for a man they should have recognized as an enemy of Israel's very existence (not just her right to this or that benefit as an established country, but her very right to exist) will find their lessons about trusting the untrustworthy Barack Obama very bitter indeed.
One the hallmarks of the inside the beltway style cronyism government is the protection and promotion of incompetent political hacks within its own ranks. (2) In independent review board reported that the murders at Benghazi, on September 11, 2012, were the result of "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department. (3) But of course, "...the Board did not find that any individual U.S. Government employee engaged in misconduct or willfully ignored his or her responsibilities." (4) The fix was in before the State Department announced that the next day Secretary Clinton has accepted the resignation of Assistant Secretary of State Eric Boswell and relieved of their current duties."
New York Post
The Post's Josh Margolin reported this week that the four State Department officials were never removed from their positions but are still on the payroll and will resume their jobs in the near future. They were never held accountable ... Continue Reading:Protecting incompetency: a D.C. way of life
Liberals wanted to destroy this economy so much so that they purposely torpedoed this economy in order to gain more control of it. They sold you hope and change, and now they want to take that away too. Related posts: Obama Tax Hikes On The Rich Would Shrink The Economy, Kill Jobs President Obama's proposed [...]
Dec 29, 2012 01:34 pm Dear America, The man in the White House is assaulting our constitution. How much of OUR constitution has he desecrated? What can be done to stop him? America, you must get involved! This is just like WWI and WWII! The American media weakened our desire to win the Korean and Vietnamese "conflicts", but now is [...]
Video: Allen West: Obama 'Living In Some Type Of Fantasy World'
Dec 29, 2012 01:15 pm
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) criticized Obama Thursday for "living in some type of fantasy world." Related posts: Allen West To Hannity: "We're Operating In Fantasy Land" Congressman Allen West talks with Fox News' Sean Hannity on... Video: Allen West To Obama, Fire Holder Or You're Complicit! As always, Allen West is the man.... Continue to [...]
Dec 29, 2012 01:05 pm Dear Sirs: It is incomprehensible to me and thousands of others that your party or anyone in your party refuses to check out the eligibility of this President. I have heard people say that we have so much more important issues to contend with and that this one will never be dealt with. I [...]
Video: Obama Gun Ban Demand Triggers Record Sales!
Dec 29, 2012 12:51 pm
See for yourself: Related posts: Obama's Second Term Driving Firearms Sales To New Heights NRA's Cam Edwards talks to Emily Miller from The Washington Times......... Sales Of Guns In The Wake Of Obama's Re-Election NRA's Ginny Simone talks to Miles Hall from the H&H...
Dec 29, 2012 12:47 pm The ones who suffer from this affliction are indoctrinated students from the public education system and folks who just refuse to learn from history. They also make up part of the group I call suicide voters. Fiscal Amnesia symptoms include the denial of past policies that created economic growth, the belief that the policies that worked [...]
Video: Hannity: My Sources Say Obama Wants To Go Over Cliff
Dec 29, 2012 12:44 pm
Sean Hannity told viewers last night that he had a source who met with Barack Obama at the White House... Related posts: Hannity: Obama Exploiting CT Shooting To Get Fiscal Cliff Compromise Sean Hannity tore into President Obama last night for using... ARE YOU READY TO SEE PICS OF HANNITY FROM WAY BACK WHEN? Last [...]
Video: Sheriff Arpaio To Use An 'Armed Posse' To Protect AZ Schools
Dec 29, 2012 12:36 pm 'America's Toughest Sheriff' explains his plan. Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Related posts: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Cold Case Posse Conclusion Video On Obama Birth Certificate To see more videos and the entire conference, use the... Your Private Invitation To Sheriff Arpaio's Cold Case Posse Report News Conference March 1st at 3:00 PM (EST) 2:00 [...]
Dec 29, 2012 12:22 pm "Hey man, get with it; it's the 21st Century!" The cry of the hip crowd rings hollow when reading a 90-year-old writing by one of the "progressives" great heroines: Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger. She was a famous eugenist, whose goal was "racial and ethnic cleansing." She is greatly admired by Hillary Rodham Clinton, our [...]
Video: Reality Check: How And Why Speaker Boehner Might Be Ousted In A Week
Dec 29, 2012 12:20 pm Is there a secret plan underway to oust Speaker of the House John Boehner from his speakership? FOX19.com-Cincinnati News, Weather Related posts: Reality Check: Are Calls For Stricter Gun Laws Really About Guns? Ben Swann takes a look at this controversial issue... FOX19.com-Cincinnati... Speaker Boehner Uses Rove-like Strategy To Hold House Majority Speaker John Boehner [...]
Dec 29, 2012 12:17 pm Stealth socialism and crack shoved my neighborhood down a spiral that ended in its being a wasteland. This is the norm for inner-city America. Short of burning down crack houses (which a few heroes did nationally) or mobs chasing away Section 8 recipients, all we could do was resist this invasion within laws incapable of [...]
Video: CNN Anchor Challenges Jesse Jackson On Chicago Gun Ban
Dec 29, 2012 12:07 pm Rev. Jesse Jackson on CNN Friday morning was asked to defend Chicago's gun ban in face of the evidence that 500 homicides occurred in the city over the course of the year. Related posts: Jesse Jackson Threatens Gun Shops Jesse Jackson talks about wanting more jobs, yet has no... Jesse Jackson: Trayvon "Perfect Storm" For [...]
Dec 29, 2012 12:03 pm A hallmark of the inside-the-beltway, cronyism style of government is the protection and promotion of incompetent political hacks within its own ranks. An independent review board reported that the murders at Benghazi on September 11, 2012 were the result of "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department. But of course, "...the Board did [...]
Video: Senator: People In Congress Should Not Be Sent Any More Money
Dec 29, 2012 11:57 am
Senator Rand Paul was on with Greta Van Susteren last night to discuss the current fiscal crisis in Washington DC... Related posts: Trump Rips Greta: You Don't Know Anything About Obama's Birth Certificate Donald Trump did what he had to do last night... Newt Talks Gas Prices, Religious Liberty The former Speaker of the House [...]
Seeking Total Security Leads To An Orwellian Surveillance State
Dec 29, 2012 11:52 am The senseless and horrific killings earlier this month in Newtown, Connecticut reminded us that a determined individual or group of individuals can cause great harm no matter what laws are in place. Connecticut already has restrictive gun laws relative to other states, including restrictions on fully automatic, so-called "assault" rifles and gun-free zones. Predictably, the [...]
Video: Flashback: MSNBC's Ed Schultz Says "I Own A Lot Of Firearms"
Dec 29, 2012 11:45 am
Why the change of heart, Ed? Related posts: "If You Try To Take Our Firearms, We Will Kill You" by Doug Book Last December 14th Border Patrol Agent Brian... Obama's Second Term Driving Firearms Sales To New Heights NRA's Cam Edwards talks to Emily Miller from The Washington Times.........
Obama Orders Pay Raise For Biden, Members Of Congress, Federal Workers
Dec 29, 2012 11:41 am President Barack Obama issued an executive order to end the pay freeze on federal employees, in effect giving some federal workers a raise. One federal worker now to receive a pay increase is Vice President Joe Biden. According to disclosure forms, Biden made a cool $225,521 last year. After the pay increase, he'll now make $231,900 [...]
Video: Senator Will Be Introducing A New Gun Bill!
Dec 29, 2012 11:33 am
Michael Savage played a little audio clip of Feinstein talking about her CCW and stating that she intends to take them out before they can take her out. How come it's okay for her to have a CCW, yet it is next to impossible for an honest citizen in California to obtain a CCW? Related [...]
Publication Of Gun Owners' Names, Addresses Gives Conservatives Ammunition
Dec 28, 2012 01:54 pm One of the odd things about the rag Journal News' "interactive map" releasing the names and addresses of thousands of gun owners in New York is that the reporter who wrote the article is not listed on this "interactive map." In fine print on the article/map there is the following little blip: "Editor's note: Journal [...]
Video: Allen West Calls For Secret Ballot To Oust RINO John Boehner
Dec 28, 2012 01:30 pm Allen West calls for a secret ballot in vote against RINO John Boehner's dictatorship as Speaker of the House so that House members won't have to fear retribution. Related posts: Video: Allen West To Obama, Fire Holder Or You're Complicit! As always, Allen West is the man.... Continue to Post... Allen West Concedes Despite Massive [...]
Publication Of Gun Owners' Names, Addresses Gives Conservatives Ammunition
Dec 28, 2012 01:25 pm One of the odd things about the rag Journal News' "interactive map" releasing the names and addresses of thousands of gun owners in New York is that the reporter who wrote the article is not listed on this "interactive map." In fine print on the article/map there is the following little blip: "Editor's note: Journal [...]
Video: Blogger Goes After 'Bully' Newspaper That Published Gun Owners' Names, Addresses
Dec 28, 2012 01:20 pm CNN "interviews" (rather attacks) the blogger that fought back against the New York leftist mouthpiece Journal News by publishing his own "interactive map" showing the names and addresses of the newspaper's staff. Related posts: Outrage: Newspaper Publishes Names, Addresses Of Legal Gun Owners The Obama administration has schooled his compliant media well: Use... Liberal Blogger [...]
Video: Conservative Reaction To Gov. Cuomo's Call For Gun Confiscation
Dec 28, 2012 01:15 pm
Conservatives react to New York Governor's "option" of gun confiscation to address gun violence. Related posts: NY Governor: Gun "Confiscation Could Be An Option" New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently told Albany radio station... A Conservative's Call For Palin To Run As A Third Party Candidate After listening to a recent Rush Limbaugh segment where [...]
Piers Morgan, the "man without a country," as there is a petition to deport him back to the UK and a petition in the UK to keep him out of the UK, is at it again, attacking not only our Constitution but the Bible as well! Related posts: Christine O'Donnell Walks Off Piers Morgan Interview [...]
Dec 28, 2012 01:05 pm According to the All About Philosophy website, Situational Ethics crashed onto the scene in the early 1960's, about the time of the hippie movement, Woodstock, and the "make love, not war" movement. It was the brainchild of the late Joseph Fletcher. The website gives a little background on Fletcher, and may help to explain the [...]
Dec 28, 2012 01:05 pm According to the All About Philosophy website, Situational Ethics crashed onto the scene in the early 1960's, about the time of the hippie movement, Woodstock, and the "make love, not war" movement. It was the brainchild of the late Joseph Fletcher. The website gives a little background on Fletcher, and may help to explain the [...]
NatGeo Airs Impressive Vietnam War Documentary Tonight
Dec 28, 2012 12:55 pm Fifty years later, veterans still suffer rebound effects from inhabiting thick jungles during one of America's most brutal wars. "Inside the Vietnam War," airs tonight, December 28 at 8 p.m., in a special encore presentation on the National Geographic Channel. An outstanding memorial tribute by USA TODAY, it features individual interviews of veterans from all fifty [...]
NatGeo Airs Impressive Vietnam War Documentary Tonight
Dec 28, 2012 12:55 pm Fifty years later, veterans still suffer rebound effects from inhabiting thick jungles during one of America's most brutal wars. "Inside the Vietnam War," airs tonight, December 28 at 8 p.m., in a special encore presentation on the National Geographic Channel. An outstanding memorial tribute by USA TODAY, it features individual interviews of veterans from all fifty [...]
Black Judge Commutes Four Killers' Sentences Based On Race
Dec 28, 2012 12:50 pm An activist judge in North Carolina said prosecutorial racism was the reason he commuted the sentences of four convicted killers. Described as three of the state's most notorious death row killers, among the group's victims are three law enforcement officers, two women and a teenager. The judge was able to overrule the first sentence under [...]
Black Judge Commutes Four Killers' Sentences Based On Race
Dec 28, 2012 12:50 pm An activist judge in North Carolina said prosecutorial racism was the reason he commuted the sentences of four convicted killers. Described as three of the state's most notorious death row killers, among the group's victims are three law enforcement officers, two women and a teenager. The judge was able to overrule the first sentence under [...]
Dec 28, 2012 12:45 pm In a purported effort to reduce sexually transmitted disease, nearly two dozen Philadelphia high schools are featuring bowls of condoms - free to students, no questions asked - in their nurse's offices. The respective nurses heard of the new program through an email from school administrators, informing them the prophylactics will be placed "near the entrance to [...]
Dec 28, 2012 12:45 pm In a purported effort to reduce sexually transmitted disease, nearly two dozen Philadelphia high schools are featuring bowls of condoms - free to students, no questions asked - in their nurse's offices. The respective nurses heard of the new program through an email from school administrators, informing them the prophylactics will be placed "near the entrance to [...]
Acting EPA Chief Among Most Likely To Succeed Jackson
Dec 28, 2012 12:40 pm The looming departure of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson is yielding quick speculation about who will replace her, and might touch off a brutal Senate confirmation fight to lead a department that has faced constant GOP criticism. Jackson announced Thursday that she will step down early in 2013. The White House did not say [...]
Dec 28, 2012 12:35 pm Tuesday's Washington Post issued a dire warning to the American medical sector: The healthcare industry is now more vulnerable to hacking than nearly any other industry. Over the past few years, medical records and other vital medical information has been migrating online as hospitals and other providers look for ways to improve efficiency and cut [...]
Will Banning Guns Stop Homicides? Stats From England And Australia Show...
Dec 28, 2012 12:30 pm The debate on gun control is only gaining momentum. On Thursday, Senator Diane Feinstein outlined her plans to introduce sweeping legislation that includes fingerprinting and registration of all those who currently own so-called semi-automatic "assault" weapons. Those in favor of a total ban on firearms often point to countries like England and Australia where firearms [...]
Dec 28, 2012 12:25 pm In America today, there is an all-out attack on the values that this country was founded upon. Many of the people that are involved in these attacks actually claim to "love America" and yet they viciously attack the values and the principles that were foundational to what early Americans believed. In particular, there are two [...]
Dec 28, 2012 12:10 pm A Chinese prisoner's note, found in a box of Kmart Halloween decorations by an unsuspecting Oregonian, described the horrors of China's prison-factories. Despite that sort of thing not supposed to be happening, it is happening because China remains a communist tyranny. Read More at American Thinker . By A.M. Mora y Leon. Photo Credit: johntrathome (Creative Commons) [...]
Those who�ve listened to C-SPAN�s live call-in shows know that occasionally people call in with questions or comments that, from a certain perspective, might strain reasonability. Certainly that was the case this morning, when historian Brendan Doherty faced a question from a caller named Lawrence from the Bronx. Listen to the question and answerHERE.
The German hacker group Chaos Computer Club recently held a conference in Berlin where they proposed launching their own satellites into space as a way to ensure freedom of the Internet. The club also announced another outrageous goal. Find out what they are consideringHERE.
Even if Congress manages to come up with a solution to avert the �fiscal cliff,� a combination of year-end tax increases and spending cuts, it won�t be worth anything because it�ll probably only deal with tax rates and ignore the problem of runaway government spending, or so say Texas Congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul. See all of the outgoing Congressman's commentsHERE.
Ten years ago, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the U.S. national debt in 2012 would be approximately 7.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). See the difference between reality and what the CBO was projectingHERE.
In a stinging rebuke to one of France's new President Hollande�s flagship campaign promises, the constitutional council ruled Saturday that the way the highly contentious tax was designed was unconstitutional. Get the whole storyHERE.
For $1.99, you can't go wrong with a thriller by one of Glenn Beck's favorite authors, Brad Meltzer. The Inner Circle kicks off in a National Archives vault where young researcher Beecher White discovers the President is hiding a 200-year-old dictionary once owned by George Washington. However, what begins as innocent scholarship soon tangles into a web of deception, conspiracy, and murder. Your piece of the action starts HERE.
As 2012 (thankfully) comes to a close, we look back at the things that matter the most: the best songs, the top news stories, the best movies, and, of course, the best mug shots. And even if that last one isn�t a regular part of your year-end recap, don�t worry � The Smoking Gun has you covered! See some of the best/worstHERE. READ THIS
Longtime listeners of Glenn Beck know the radio host has a recurring bit he does when the mainstream media � seemingly out of nowhere � performs a tough interview or asks tough questions. He calls it �scattered showers of journalism.� Watch Rev. Jesse Jackson get caught in Friday's downpour on CNNHERE.
Will you be getting a raise this year? President Barack Obama�s newest executive order put an end to the pay freeze on federal employees, giving some federal workers a raise, including Vice President Joe Biden. See how much more Joe, the Senators and members of Congress will earn next yearHERE.
In a letter to customers who placed orders before the Sandy Hook school shooting, Dick�s Sporting Goods announced a week before Christmas that it was suspending sales of �modern sporting rifles� in all stores, �out of respect for the victims of the Connecticut massacre.� Many customers are not pleased, and the gun manufacturer is also mystified by the move. Get the whole storyHERE.
On Friday, the hosts of Fox News� �The Five� blasted liberal filmmaker and provocateur Michael Moore for suggesting that white gun owners are motivated by racial fears when buying firearms. Even the left-leaning Juan Williams found Moore�s comments �unnecessary.� However, co-host Eric Bolling really let loose. Watch the videoHERE.
Hobby Lobby and religious book-seller Mardel Inc., are owned by the same conservative Christian family. On Thursday, an attorney for Hobby Lobby Stores said that the arts and crafts chain plans to defy a federal mandate requiring it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill. See the staggering fines they faceHERE.
House Democrats will waste no time pushing gun control legislation and plan to introduce a bill to ban the production of high-capacity magazines on the first day of the next congressional session, according to the office of Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), who is co-sponsoring the bill. Does the legislation have a chance in the Republican-controlled House? Find outHERE.
A Clemson University student set out to determine how to help turtles cross the road. He ended up getting a glimpse into the dark souls of some humans. The young man put a realistic rubber turtle in the middle of a lane on a busy road near campus. Then he got out of the way and watched over the next hour as seven drivers swerved and deliberately ran over the animal. See all of the surprising resultsHERE.
You'll be shaking your head when you discover the real reason behind a young woman's claim that she needed an order of protection from her "overbearing" parents. See the detailsHERE.
New satellite photos reveal that flood damage has been repaired at North Korea�s nuclear test facility and the country could conduct a quick atomic explosion if it chose; however water streaming out of a test tunnel may cause problems. See the full story of this worrisome developmentHERE.
The overall crime rate for New York City has risen for the first time in 20 years, but what is driving up crime might be surprising. If you are planning a visit to the city, you should find out what's catching the eyes of the bad guysHERE.
The Transall C-160 (a very large, decommissioned military plane) was making its final landing at Ballenstedt in Germany and as it approached the ground � toward a pack of 1,000 onlookers � the pilot lost sight of the runway causing the aircraft to dip dramatically close to those watching it. See this very close call from several angles HERE.
During Thursday�s edition of �The Cycle,� co-host Tour� argued that he has every right to know the identity of every gun owner around him. The controversial Tour� was asked if gun owners should be treated the same way as sex offenders. Watch the clipHERE.
A good logo can be the difference between success and failure for a company. As it�s the most visible representation of a group and its product, it�s understandable why certain companies choose to put so much time and effort into perfecting their logo. That said, check out some of the these major logo changes made in the past 12 months HERE.
Justice Sotomayor Denies Hobby Lobby Request on HHS Mandate
This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published on December 27, 2012 on Breitbart.com.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has denied Hobby Lobby's emergency application to be exempted from the HHS Mandate on abortion services, but that should not be considered a sign that the HHS Mandate will survive its legal challenges in the end.
The war on religious liberty continues. Despite repeated promises from President Barack Obama and his allies that they would not use Obamacare to force people to violate their religious beliefs regarding abortion, Obama handpicked an abortion-hardliner as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kathleen Sebelius.
Is President Obama Really a Socialist? Let's Analyze Obamanomics
This column by ACRU General Counsel and Senior Fellow for the Carleson Center for Public Policy (CCPP) Peter Ferrara was published December 20, 2012 on Forbes.com.
President Obama says that income taxes must be raised on the rich because they don't pay their fair share. The indisputable facts from official government sources say otherwise.
The CBO reports based on official IRS data that in 2009 the top 1% of income earners paid 39% of all federal income taxes, three times their share of income at 13%. Yet, the middle 20% of income earners, the true middle class, paid just 2.7% of total federal income taxes on net that year, while earning 15% of income. That means the top 1% paid almost 15 times as much in federal income taxes as the entire middle 20%, even though the middle 20% earned more income.
This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published December 22, 2012 on The Washington Times website.
With the "fiscal cliff" looming, Washington is looking under every rock for new forms of "revenue."
Nothing appears sacred, not even mortgage and charitable deductions, which some are recasting as "loopholes." Ending the mortgage deduction when the housing market is finally showing signs of recovery would be like giving a cancer patient strychnine to make him feel better.
Even worse would be ending the charitable deduction, for the simple reason that this deduction encourages private-sector benevolence, which the federal government under President Obama treats as pesky competition.
The New York newspaper that drew criticism for publishing the names and addresses of hundreds of legal gun permit holders is doubling down by publishing the personal information of even more law-abiding gun owners.
To great criticism, the Journal News published an interactive map ...(more)
An attorney for Hobby Lobby Stores said Thursday that the arts and crafts chain plans to defy a federal mandate requiring it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the ...(more)
In January, Senator Feinstein will introduce a bill to stop the sale, transfer, importation and manufacturing of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. Stay informed ...(more)
Obama's decision to cut short his Hawaii vacation and fly back to Washington was all about political theater, not a legitimate desire to negotiate and compromise with Republicans in Congress, charged anti-tax activist Grover Norquist ...(more)
President Obama on Sunday said he would make gun control a priority in his new term, pledging to put his "full weight" behind passing new restrictions on firearms in 2013.
"I'm going to be putting forward a package and I'm going to be putting ...(more)
Very quietly, Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT, signed in October a comprehensive development agreement to construct a toll-road redevelopment of Interstate 35 north of downtown Fort Worth ...(more)
The War From Hearts And Minds Escalates
1st Billion-Dollar Movie Is Muhammed Epic World Net Daily
A Muslim-owned company in the Middle East is planning an epic movie project on Mohammad and his life - and is expecting to spend $1 billion getting it finished.
Obama's 'Fiscal Cliff' Bottomline: Spare Only 'Middle Class' from Tax Hike and Extend Unemployment Benefits Again By Terence P. Jeffrey CNSNews.com
President Barack Obama said on Friday evening that if he cannot make a bipartisan deal with congressional leaders before the Monday "fiscal cliff" deadline, he has asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring legislation up for a vote in the Senate that would extend the Bush tax rates for "middle class" Americans only and extend unemployment benefits for 2 million Americans whose government payments would otherwise expire.
Secret Note Found In Kmart Holiday Decorations Reveals Labor Camp Horrors News on the Net/CanadaFreePress.com
A US newspaper reports that a letter hand-written by a prisoner in one of China's most notorious labor camps was secretly stuffed into a holiday decoration product that was purchased at Kmart (story). Published on Christmas Day, the newspaper corroborates numerous testimonies from labor camp survivors taken over the last decade of how, under brutal conditions, Chinese prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, are forced to make products often sold in the West.
Piers Morgan Scolds Pastor: It's Time To Amend The Bible CNN/Posted On America's Conservative News
In an interview with evangelical pastor Rick Warren, Morgan asserted that the Bible, like the Constitution, is "basically inherently flawed" and that "it's time for an amendment to the Bible."
GOP 'Rock Star' Named 'Woman Of The Year' Honor Goes To God-Fearing, Gun-Loving Champion Of Constitution By Taylor Rose WorldNetDaily
For her extraordinary dedication to America's founding principles and steadfast defense of the Constitution, WND has named Rep. Michele Bachmann 2012 "Woman of the Year."
Iran's Ahmadinejad to Christians: 'Merry Christmas!' By Pete Winn CNSNews.com
Hopes dimming for a wide-ranging bargain, the White House and many congressional Republicans are setting their sights on a more modest deal that would extend current tax rates for most Americans, raise rates for top earners and leave other, vexing issues for the new year.
America's Sheriff Serious About Protecting School Children
Sheriff Arpaio To Send Armed Posse To Protect Schools By Stephen Feller NewsMax.com
In response to a nearby county's announcement that it will arm teachers and principals to prevent a Newtown, Conn.-style massacre at its schools, America's most famous sheriff said he will send members of his armed posse to schools around his county.
In Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, some whom the state saw as no longer worthy of life, escaped with their lives by getting their names on Oskar Schindler's list.
Fast forward to 2012 ...
Will an innocent man's life be saved by getting his name on this Schindler's list?
The "NAFTA Super Highway" is back? How did THAT happen?
Despite Texas Gov. Rick Perry's pledge in 2009 to end the Trans-Texas Corridor project with a Spanish-owned construction company, the bureaucrats at the Texas Department of Transportation figured out a way to keep it alive.
Very clever.
Soon, Americans will have to pay tolls to foreign companies to drive on roads in their own country ...
The massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School ... what followed could have been predicted ...
The stories of tragedy and heroism ... the identification of the shooter ... the anger ... the pontification about guns, mental health ... the funerals ... the proposed remedies ... and, last but not least, the lawyers.
The controversial activist lawyer who filed THIS suit hopes to turn the very miracle that saved so many into an injury and make himself very wealthy ...
Here's one for your everything-they-taught-me-in-school-is-wrong file.
When you fill up your gas tank, you're using gasoline ... a mixture of hydrocarbons derived from oil ... formed from the remains of ancient plant and animal life ... that died millions of years ago. Right?
Wrong, suggests this latest discovery ... unless you can explain how plant and animal life got HERE!
A Muslim doctor who fled to Pakistan after his Nebraska-based clinic left dozens of patients infected with hepatitis C from re-used hypodermic needles, including several who died, now wants to return to the United States and practice medicine.
Wait until you see what he blames for his earlier problems ...
While the tab for making one of Hollywood's bigger blockbusters comes in at a cool $250 million or so, this controversial groundbreaking epic - targeted at a world market - is budgeted to cost four times that amount.
When America's founders declared their independence from tyranny on July 4, 1776, they did so "with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence," pledging their "lives, fortunes, and sacred honor."
Fast forward 236 years.
Here's a Christian businessman who refuses to surrender his sacred honor and is challenging the Obama administration to make good on its $1.3 million-per-day threat.
Since President Obama wants us to have a "national conversation" about gun control, I hope it's not amiss to add some data to the chit-chat. The Sacramento Bee reports that "gun deaths and injuries have dropped sharply in California, even as the number of guns sold in the state has risen, according to new state data." To be specific:
Dealers sold 600,000 guns in California last year, up from 350,000 in 2002, according to records of sale tallied by the California Attorney General's office. During that same period, the number of California hospitalizations due to gun injuries declined from about 4,000 annually to 2,900, a roughly 25 percent drop, according to hospital records collected by the California Department of Public Health.
Firearm-related deaths fell from about 3,200 annually to about 2,800, an 11 percent drop, state health figures show. . . .
The number of California injuries and deaths attributed to accidental discharge of firearms also has fallen. The number of suicide deaths involving firearms has remained roughly constant.
The Bee says that "most of the drop in firearm-related injuries and deaths can be explained by a well-documented, nationwide drop in violent crime." As noted, though, the number of accidental deaths has also decreased and the number of suicides involving firearms hasn't risen.
It may be true that increased gun sales aren't driving the number of deaths and injuries from guns down. But the burden is on gun control advocates to show that increased possession of guns is driving the number of deaths and injuries up. I haven't seen such evidence.
The statistics cited by the Bee don't speak to the effect of increased firearm possession on types of crime such as robbery, burglary, and rape. Economist John Lott has long argued that wider gun ownership means less crime.
Lott's findings are hotly disputed by the left and it is not the purpose of this post to evaluate that debate. My point for now is that Lott's argument that gun ownership deters crime is plausible enough, at least in certain contexts, that it must be part of any legitimate "national conversation" on gun control.
Instead, the left throws a fit when Lott is called upon by media outlets to opine. It has no interest in a genunine national conversation. Neither, I suspect, does Obama.
In any event, to answer Obama's question, no, we're probably not going to be able to have what can pass as a true national conversation.
As Scott noted earlier today, "Chuck Hagel has earned the endorsement of Patrick Buchanan" (emphasis added). Scott's daughter Eliana Johnson, an invaluable recent addition to the blogosphere, reminds us that Buchanan's anti-Israel utterances in connection with the Gulf War caused William F. Buckley to write:
I find it impossible to defend Pat Buchanan against the charge that what he did and said during the period under examination amounted to anti-Semitism, whatever it was that drove him to say and do it: most probably, an iconoclastic temperament.
Some believe that Hagel's reference to a "Jewish lobby" similarly amounts to anti-Semitism, whatever drove him to utter it. I don't consider the case against Hagel as strong as the one against Buchanan, and therefore I'm not inclined to allege anti-Semitism on the part of the former Nebraska Senator.
But it is reasonable to ask, as Ron Radosh does, "why is a known anti-Semite like Buchanan endorsing Hagel?"
Watching David Gregory interview Barack Obama on Meet the Press this morning, I wondered if Obama might have offered to wash Gregory's feet after the show. Gregory appears to be a disciple of his Lord the President. Gregory seeks to disseminate the Obama gospel. "Is this your Lincoln moment?" Gregory actually asked him. And that may not have been the worst of it.
Gregory should have prefaced the broadcast of his taped interview with a warning: Watching this interview may cause motion sickness.
In an interview that was broadcast this morning, President Obama repeated his support for gun control measures:
The question is are we going to be able to have a national conversation...
There is that word again! We have been having a "national conversation" about gun control since before I was born. In fact, the conversation never seems to change.
...and move something through Congress.
Move what through Congress? It doesn't really matter. "Something" will do, since for liberals, legislation consists largely of symbolism and magical thinking.
I will put forward a very specific proposal based on the recommendations that Joe Biden's task force is putting together as we speak.
Joe "Don't Take Away My Beretta" Biden's task force can't possibly have done anything yet, but Obama seems to have a pretty good idea what the legislation will look like:
Obama reiterated his support for a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines that gun control advocates in Congress have said they will be pushing for.
Because the ban on "military-style assault weapons," also known as modern sporting rifles, worked so well last time! And the attack on magazines that hold more than ten bullets (most do, if you are talking about full-sized handguns, let alone modern sporting rifles) is perhaps the dumbest measure of all. It is analogous to Mayor Bloomberg's ban of large soft drinks. Bloomberg doesn't seem to understand that if people want more soda, they will just buy two. Likewise with magazines. California already bans high-capacity magazines (just as Connecticut already bans "assault rifles"), but that hasn't turned California into anything resembling the Garden of Eden.
But these observations are probably beside the point. For many liberals, legislation isn't about achieving any tangible result, but rather is intended to make a statement about yourself: I care! Obama is smart enough to know better, but cynical enough to play to this element of his base.
There are somewhat conflicting rumors about the status of "fiscal cliff" talks between Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. Byron York reported that a deal is close, one in which tax rates would rise only for those making $400,000 (or conceivably $500,000) a year and in which there would be a few other cliff-related fixes. But Politico says that there are no signs yet of a breakthrough.
It's not clear that one would see signs of an impending breakthrough before it occurred. And one can accept as plausible the notion that McConnell might well strike a deal with Reid. For one thing, he's dealmaker - a modern-day Henry Clay - at heart. In addition, Obama's plan to have Reid bring the Democrats' plan - which raises tax rates for those making more than $250,000 a year - to a vote puts McConnell in a box. Facing a reelection battle in 2014, McConnell doesn't want to filibuster such legislation, and that's the only way he can block it in the Senate.
To be sure, McConnell also doesn't want to strike a deal that can't garner more than de minimis support from House Republicans. Doing so would be viewed as a betrayal and might well subject McConnell to a serious primary challenge. I can imagine that McConnell might consult with his Kentucky colleague Rand Paul as he tries to play his difficult hand. And surely he is consulting with Speaker Boehner.
As I said last night, I'd prefer to see Republicans resist, at least for now, the temptation to strike a deal on taxes that doesn't also include spending cuts. Although, the deal being discussed wouldn't lift the spending cuts scheduled to go into place on January 1, those spending cuts are suboptimal. First, they focus excessively on the Defense Department. Second, they don't involve entitlements. So why not push for improved spending cuts rather than simply caving on taxes?
On the other hand, Republicans will retain leverage on spending cuts because Obama doesn't like the scheduled cuts and because of the impending debt-ceiling. So a deal on tax rates alone wouldn't preclude improved spending cuts later on.
The logical outcome of the "fiscal cliff" is that (1) Democrats will get the better of any compromise on taxes because the public favors its position on this issue and (2) Republicans will get the better of any compromise on spending, provided they are not overly daunted by defense cuts, because the public favors its position on spending.
A deal that sets the tax rate increase threshold at $400,000 would fulfill part (1) of this scenario. The White House would give back its ability to increase taxes for those making between $250,000 and $400,000, but would, on balance, be the winner in part because of the resulting divisions among Republicans.
Whether Republicans could fulfill part (2) of the scenario in early 2013 would remain to be seen. Given past history, there is plenty of room for doubt on this score.
Everyone supposes that supply-side economics was a purely American phenomenon, with its antecedents going back to Calvin Coolidge and his tax-cutting Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon and ending up with the Laffer Curve. And of course Ronald Reagan liked to quote John F. Kennedy on the wisdom of income tax rate cuts, much to the consternation of good liberals today.
But in fact Churchill was part of the early supply-side revolution, arguing for-and succeeding-in reducing Britain's high wartime income tax rates when he was chancellor of the exchequer in the 1920s. From one of his speeches in the House of Commons, from May 1925:
I believe most firmly that the rate of direct taxation upon income was producing a chill and a check upon the enterprise and upon the conceiving energy of the country to an extent certainly far higher than in any other country in the world, and far more heavy in its effect than in any other country in the world. Yet this country, where direct taxation has reached unprecedented and unparalleled dimensions, is also, we find, the country where, at the other end of the social scale, this extraordinary phenomenon of unemployment has manifested itself in the most distressing form. It is said by some that there is no connection between the two. The theory of the hon. Gentlemen opposite is that, the more taxes you pile upon wealth, the greater the benefit to the working classes. Our theory is exactly the opposite, and we are prepared to confront you, not only with continuous argument on that subject, but we hope, having three or four years of power and authority, to confront you with the proved results of the opposite theory.
The hon. Gentleman spoke about the relation of the rate of Income Tax to unemployment. He said, "How foolish it is to imagine that by reducing Income Tax you improve employment." The fact, however, is that the country with the highest rate of direct taxation is also the country with the highest unemployment. That is the fact. It may be a coincidence. But when the Income Tax was reduced by 1 shilling and then by 6d., there was a great improvement. When the Income Tax was 6 shillings in the Pound there were over 2-1/4 million persons unemployed. Now that the Income Tax has been reduced to 4 shillings 6d. in the Pound that figure has fallen to 1-1/4 million people unemployed. . .
I think, in the time at our disposal, we shall succeed in establishing the soundness of the grounds on which we have acted, and the results which will be effected in the general life of the country by three or four years of steady policy from one broad point of view will be sensibly appreciated by all classes in the State.
Still another reason why Obama doesn't want that Churchill bust around the Oval Office to remind him of what a real statesman is like.
Byron York passes on what he is hearing from Senate Republicans on the fiscal negotiations in DC. What he is hearing isn't good:
The word among some Senate Republicans is that a fiscal cliff deal is likely to be struck by Sunday, or Monday at the latest. ...
Those Senate Republicans hope the final deal will make permanent current tax levels - Bush tax cut levels - for everyone who makes below $500,000.
The $500,000 figure is not set in stone. It could be $400,000, as President Obama is reportedly willing to agree to, or it could be higher, as some Senate Democrats have suggested in the past. ... In addition, big spending cuts, the sequestration cuts scheduled to go into effect in the new year, would not be affected and would go forward as planned.
Some Republicans would be open to the change, but would only want to give up their position in return for serious spending concessions from the administration. And some Republicans would be open to giving in on top-earner tax rates in order to get a deal done now, and worry about spending later.
It appears that it is the last group, working with Democrats and the White House, that will prevail. Under the most likely scenario, Republicans will get nothing - nothing - in return for giving in on tax rates for the highest-income Americans. No spending cuts, at least no serious spending cuts beyond what are already included in sequestration, would be part of the deal done on Sunday or Monday, if that is indeed what happens. ...
As for spending cuts, particularly in entitlements, some Senate Republicans say they will press for those in January or February, during the coming battle over raising the nation's debt ceiling.
This is baffling. Why would Republicans agree to tax increases without getting spending cuts in return? Sure, on this scenario the sequestration cuts remain; but they are tilted heavily toward defense, as a result of the last lousy deal the Republicans negotiated. If Republicans want to restore a reasonable defense capability in a later negotiation, they will have to give something up-either more taxes or restoration of the non-defense sequestration, presumably.
Regardless of how this plays out-and I agree with Byron that the result is likely to be unhappy-it will vindicate what we have been saying for weeks, if not months: stop making secret, last-minute, back room deals! Stop moving from one manufactured crisis to the next with lousy fiscal policies that are jointly endorsed by the parties, and with respect to which there is no accountability! Stake out a conservative position-less spending, lower taxes-by passing legislation in the House, and challenge the Democrats to make their preferences clear to voters through legislation, not secret negotiations.
This approach only works, of course, as long as Republicans control at least one house of Congress. It remains to be seen how long that will continue to be the case.
UPDATE: Ramesh Ponnuru thinks my dismay is unreasonable:
John Hinderaker comments on York's article:
This is baffling. Why would Republicans agree to tax increases without getting spending cuts in return? . . . Regardless of how this plays out-and I agree with Byron that the result is likely to be unhappy-it will vindicate what we have been saying for weeks, if not months: stop making secret, last-minute, back room deals!
Hinderaker's post doesn't even acknowledge the fact that taxes are scheduled to go up-the unbaffling reason any agreement will be an unhappy one for conservatives. The reason we're not going to get spending cuts beyond those already scheduled in return for tax increases smaller than those already scheduled is that current law doesn't force larger spending cuts and does force larger tax increases.
Ramesh is correct, of course, that the Republicans' current poor bargaining position is the result of the deal they made in the summer of 2011, together with the scheduled expiration of the "temporary" Bush tax rates and other tax provisions. But the question remains whether the GOP could have negotiated something better than the agreement York suggests they are likely to get. As I have argued many times, I think they could have done better if, instead of pursuing back room negotiations, they had, months ago, passed appropriate tax and spending legislation in the House and put pressure on Harry Reid to do likewise in the Senate. That would have led (I think) to a more traditional conference committee negotiation which would have taken place in the light of day, with the parties accountable for their respective policy preferences, and with the legislation passed by the two chambers as the starting point, rather than the 2011 debt ceiling deal and other aspects of existing law. Would that approach have worked? We will never know for sure, but I think it would have produced a considerably better result than we are likely to see in the next few days.
Even in the context in which the parties have been bargaining, I think it is reasonable to believe that the GOP should do better than what Byron describes as the most likely result: tax increases for those earning more than (say) $500,000, combined with the scheduled spending cuts (sequestration). Why? Because with that deal, the Republicans will be giving Obama something better, for him, than current law, including what the Democrats negotiated for in 2011. As has been widely argued, Obama would probably be quite willing to accept tax increases on everybody. But his first choice is to increase taxes on upper income taxpayers only, making our tax code even more ridiculously progressive-something he could never achieve without Republican consent. That is what the GOP appears poised to give him. It will be, in Obama's eyes and those of the public, a victory for the Democrats. Republicans should have been able to get something for not making Obama and the Democrats take at least partial responsibility for raising taxes on all taxpayers, eliminating the payroll tax holiday, increasing the death tax, and so on. That "something" could have taken the form of deeper spending cuts or a reallocation of the scheduled cuts toward domestic rather than defense spending.
After all of the drama of the "fiscal cliff," its resolution, on whatever terms, will be trumpeted as a significant step toward solving the federal government's fiscal problems. In fact, the projected tax increase on upper-income taxpayers will do almost nothing to close the deficit, and the sequestration savings will amount to only around one-tenth of the $1 trillion-plus annual federal deficit. A great deal of energy and political capital will have been expended to accomplish very little. So, yes, I think the Republicans could have done better.
FURTHER UPDATE: I discussed this post with a Washington insider who is familiar with the thinking of Congressional Republican leaders. He noted two factors that are driving the Republicans:
1) As a matter of policy, the fewer taxes that are raised, the better. Republican leaders don't think they can save all taxpayers from higher rates, but a deal along the lines being rumored would save the vast majority.
My comment: Understood. But the political reality is that the Republicans aren't going to get credit for "saving" anyone. The perception will be that Obama and the Democrats kept most people's taxes the same, but socked it to the rich. That will be broadly popular.
2) Moreover, Republican leaders are concerned that their position will be worse in January than it is now, for a number of reasons. Once the "cliff" is past, Obama and the Democrats can put together whatever tax package they choose, and pose as tax cutters. It would be politically difficult if not impossible for Republicans to oppose a proposal which cuts most people's taxes, especially once a few months of higher tax rates have gone by and voters are clamoring for relief. So even though the GOP's bargaining position is currently weak, it is likely to get weaker, not stronger, if nothing happens between now and Monday.
My comment: This could well be true. But is that scenario really so attractive to the Democrats? Sure, the Democrats and their minions in the press would blame Republicans for the fact that everyone's taxes have gone up. But a president doesn't get off that easily. I think President Obama would take a significant hit if January 2 sees a raft of major tax increases. And the post-January scenario gives the Republicans a mulligan on their failure to make their case effectively to the public. They, too, would have a free hand to craft legislation. They could belatedly remind voters that they are the ones who want lower taxes for everyone, and less spending. Washington Republicans think everyone already knows that, but I don't believe that is the case. It has been quite a few years since the differences between the parties were starkly drawn, in voters' minds, on taxes and spending-strange as that may seem to Washington insiders who fight these battles every day. I continue to think, as I have said many times, that Republicans are better off fighting legislative battles in the light of day than crafting secret, ostensibly bipartisan deals.
All of that said, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and their colleagues are better able than pretty much anyone else to judge the complex tactics and politics of the current moment. I just hope they are giving adequate consideration to 1) the desirability of returning to an open, transparent budgeting process; and 2) the Republicans' need to re-establish themselves in the public mind as the party of smaller government and lower taxes.
Steve linked to Michael Ward's Create Your Own Thomas Friedman Column a while back. Ward's template tended to demonstrate the formulaic nature of Friedman's columns, but it required a little work on the part of the reader to select the variations on Friedman's themes. Ward's work inspired Brian Mayer to create the Thomas Friedman Op Ed Generator. If you want to reduce your effort to one click, check out the Generator. Ward and Mayer helpfully explain: "Because this is what his writing actually looks like."
"Obama's moment" is a timely column attributed to the Generator. It begins: "An interesting thought occurred to me today-what if small business owners sat down with ordinary people like you and me and ironed out some real solutions to our healthcare crisis?" Hey, it only hurts when I laugh.
JOHN adds: OMG! This is hilarious! I generated a column titled "Bangladesh Is Japan," which reads uncannily like a Friedman column. And it doesn't make any sense, either, so it's pure Friedman. Try it!
The "fiscal cliff" consists of two elements - tax increases and spending cuts. The tax side is essentially a win-win for President Obama. Either he extracts a large amount of money for the government through across-the-board tax hikes he can blame on Republicans or he extracts a smaller amount of money from well-off Americans, thereby satisfying his emotional desire to stick it to Republicans and the well-off.
The spending cuts, by contrast, represent pure loss for Obama. He has no desire to cut spending, and doing so will limit slightly his ability to govern as he sees fit.
Taxes appear to be Obama's main focus, and understandably so. They relate to politics and emotion, whereas spending cuts relate to mere governance.
But Obama doesn't want a decoupling of the two issues. If taxes fall off of the table, he is left with a pretty weak hand. Thus, it's better for him to resolve both issues at the same time
Why, then, hasn't Obama been more willing to compromise? Probably because he understands the emotional force of the tax issue for Republicans and wants to maximize the concessions he can leverage off of it. This might explain, for example, why Obama could believe that raising the tax rate spike point from $250,000 to $400,000 (or a slightly larger number) might buy him (1) relief from the impending big spending cuts, (2) the ability to make only minimal concessions on entitlements, and (3) no more debt-limit negotiations for two years.
If Obama believed this, it was a miscalculation. Not because Republicans don't give primacy to the tax issue, but because they are too resolute on taxes to be bought off at $400,000 (or even, perhaps, at $1 million).
Eventually, however, Republicans are going to have to take a hit on taxes in order to avoid a massive hit from the electorate. Taking that hit will not constitute their abandonment of core conservative principles. Avoiding a tax hike on all payers of federal income taxes is closer to a core conservative principle than avoiding a tax hike on high earners. And, like it or not, that's the choice Republicans will face.
Their other choice is whether to make concessions to Obama on spending cuts and entitlement reform in order to protect those who earn from $250,000 to (say) $400,000 from a tax increase. For me, the correct answer is that few if any concessions should be made for that purpose.
Ezra Klein is a self-styled "wonk blogger" for the Washington Post. His work does, indeed, have a wonkish quality. But if you strip that veneer away, he's just another liberal columnist who writes intellectually dishonest pieces intended to show that Republicans are intellectually dishonest. In other words, E.J. Dionne with a calculator or Dana Milbank with a smaller smirk.
Consider the recent column in which Klein argues that conservatives aren't interested in deficit reduction, but rather in shrinking the size of government. The conservatives I know are interested in both reducing the deficit and reducing government size. And nearly all of them are alarmed by the size of the debt - both current and projectd - which, of course, is different from the deficit in a given year.
In insisting otherwise, Klein makes two arguments. The first is the familiar non sequitur that if Republicans were interested in reducing deficits they would be open to tax increases. It's a bit like arguing that if someone were truly interested in losing weight he would cut off his legs. There are different ways to reduce the deficit. Rejecting methods one considers self-destructive or counterproductive isn't evidence of lack of concern about the problem.
Klein's second argument is, I suppose, a "wonkish" one. Klein notes that Republicans distrust agreements to cut spending over a period of time because Congress can ignore the promises of past Congresses to cut spending in the future. But, in Klein's view, this shouldn't be a concern because if the economy improves, promises of spending cuts ought to be ignored. As he puts it: "The point of austerity is to solve a deficit problem, not yoke the future to the imperfect forecasts of the past. Once the deficit problem goes away, so too does the reason for austerity." Unless, so his argument goes, the real goal is solely to shrink the government.
But at this stage in our history, the point of austerity is to solve our long-term debt crisis. The Congressional Budget Office has produced an "alternative fiscal scenario," which many conservatives believe is the most likely scenario. It forecasts that by 2022, debt held by the public will climb to 90 percent of GDP, higher than at any time since shortly after World War II. And, given increases in spending on the major health programs and Social Security, the alternative fiscal scenario projects that debt, as a share of GDP, will approach 200 percent in 2037.
Even if one rejects these particular projectionss, given the size of the debt and the additional strain that indisputably will occur due to the advancing age of baby-boomers, a strong economic upturn would not eliminate "the reason for austerity" - at least not as conservatives view the world. A short term decline in deficits would still leave us with a serious, if not frightening long-term debt problem. For most conservatives, an upturn would represent an additional opportunity to address that problem, not the occasion for a spending spree.
Klein notes that, as the economy boomed in the late 1990s, Congress ignored spending limitations that had been agreed to by an earlier Congress. But this doesn't demonstrate the wisdom of going on a spending spree during good economic times. And nearly all conservatives believe it was a mistake to have done so.
For conservatives the lesson of the late 1990s is that promises to cut future spending aren't worth much. The lesson is not that such promises should be broken when the economy is going strong.
Klein disagrees with this view. But he fails to show that, by wanting to rein in future spending even in good economic times, conservatives are betraying a lack of true concern about the debt.
A true wonk would be content to argue the merits without wondering off into a partisan-style attack on the sincerity of those who disagree with his policy preferences.
There are a handful of writers, Shakespeare being the best example, whose works best come to life heard aloud rather that read silently on the two-dimensional page. Sean Penn, the actor and, as the Puffington Host reminds us, "Ambassador-at-Large for Haiti," is another such bard for our time. He has a piece up right now at the PuffHo, enticingly titled "Breached Pinatas," that will surely take its place in the canon of great literature of the West. Or at least West Hollywood.
Now, if you are a glutton for punishment you can read the whole piece yourself at this link, or you can watch the dramatic reading of the key soliloquy below, produced by Power Line Studios. Apologies: Patrick Stewart wasn't unavailable to give the Penn prose a proper stage-worthy reading, so you'll have to put up with me. (Video just 1:40 long-too long actually. Watch and you'll see what I mean.)
It hurts. It's painful. It didn't have to be done, but I'm grateful that Barry Rubin has undertaken a close reading of one of Thomas Friedman's recent profusions of inanity. Rubin begins with an apt quotation from Bob Dylan and then says in his own words:
The entertainment director on the ship of fools that constitutes so much mainstream analysis of the Middle East-I refer, of course, to Thomas Friedman-has produced a wonderful paragraph that beautifully characterizes the problem, exquisitely expressing a Western mentality that not only makes it impossible to understand the Middle East but even to set up the question in a way people that could help people even begin to confront the truth. So perhaps it is worth disassembling. Sound like fun? Let's go!
Today Vladimir Putin signed the new Russian law that will prevent Americans from adopting Russian children. Taking effect January 1, it halts adoptions in process as well as adoptions whose completion is imminent.
The New York Daily News reports that Russia has 740,000 children not in parental custody with 18,000 Russians standing in line to adopt children. The law is aimed at Americans and suffused with anti-American animus as well as Russian nationalism:
The measure is retaliation for an American law that calls for sanctions against Russian officials deemed human rights violators. The U.S. State Department has said it regrets Parliament's decision to pass the bill, arguing it would prevent many children from growing up in families....
Putin has said that U.S. authorities routinely let Americans suspected of violence toward Russian adoptees go unpunished.
The passage of the bill followed weeks of a hysterical media campaign on Kremlin-controlled television that lambasts American adoptive parents and adoption agencies that allegedly bribe their way into getting Russian children.
A few lawmakers claimed that some Russian children were adopted by Americans only to be used for organ transplants and become sex toys or cannon fodder for the U.S. Army. A spokesman with Russia's dominant Orthodox Church said that the children adopted by foreigners and raised outside the church will not "enter God's kingdom."
Some joke about the Obama's vaunted "reset" of relations with Russia is obligatory, but none comes to mind. In mainstream media news reports, the Wall Street Journal article on the new law is the only one I have seen that considers the element of "reset" (although the long New York Times article on the new law isn't bad). The Journal reports:
Thursday's official reaction to Mr. Putin's comments came from a State Department spokesman, who expressed "deep concerns" about the adoption ban and said the U.S. is "deeply troubled by the provisions in the bill that would restrict the ability of Russian civil-society organizations to work with American partners."
Senior U.S. officials didn't respond to requests for further comment.
I'll just say that if things get any better we may find ourselves in a shooting war.
The Obama Culture Arrives By L. Brent Bozell III Let's line up the cultural winners of Obama's America, where the only impediments to progress are those who believe in religion, manners and "family values."
Why the War Party Fears Hagel By Patrick J. Buchanan In the fortnight since Chuck Hagel's name was floated for secretary of defense, we have witnessed Washington at its worst.
President Obama will sit down with congressional leaders this afternoon at the White House to try one last time to hammer out an agreement to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. But there is little hope for a major breakthrough.
According to various reports, both sides see some benefit to going over the cliff. Democrats will have a larger majority in the Senate and a few extra votes in the House of Representatives next year.
There is also the belief that each passing day will create more pressure to act, especially if the financial markets are in chaos. In such a situation, Democrats believe they have the upper hand and, for the moment, the polls suggest they do.
For Republicans, there is the reality that as of January 1st, taxes automatically go up on everyone. So virtually any deal next year is likely to be a vote to cut taxes, rather than a vote that allows some taxes to go up.
In addition, the GOP House has already passed legislation to avert the fiscal cliff. As Speaker Boehner has said repeatedly in recent days, it's up to Senate Democrats and the White House to act now.
However the fiscal cliff is resolved, Republicans can claim something of a moral victory. As the Washington Post has observed, Democrats are now claiming to support the vast majority of tax cuts they once vehemently opposed! If only we could get them to see the light on spending.
Goodbye, General Schwarzkopf
General Norman Schwarzkopf passed away yesterday at the age of 78. General Schwarzkopf commanded the U.S.-led coalition that defeated Saddam Hussein's forces and liberated Kuwait in the First Gulf War, known as Operation Desert Storm.
While much of the credit for winning that war often goes to then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Colin Powell, Schwarzkopf was the battlefield commander. So brilliant were his tactics and so decisive was the victory that the ground war lasted all of 100 hours.
Schwarzkopf was a genuine patriot with a distinguished military career. A graduate of West Point, he served two tours of duty in Vietnam and earned three Silver Stars for valor, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three Distinguished Service Medals. He was described by one reporter as having "a John Wayne swagger and a growl like a grizzly."
Former President George H. W. Bush released the following statement from the hospital where he is recovering from a stubborn fever:
"General Norm Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomized the 'duty, service, country' creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises. More than that, he was a good and decent man -- and a dear friend."
Please join Carol and me in praying for his wife, Brenda, and their three children.
With Glenn on vacation for the holidays, we're counting down the top Glenn moments of 2012. What were this year's highlights? Stay tuned to the Glenn Beck newsletter to find out!
I am a Man
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis stirred controversy after her department proposed controversial labor laws aimed at America's farms. The new regulations would severely restrict what work teenagers could do around the family farm - and as any farmer knows it's a family business. This regulation is typical of what the Obama administration has done so far, but for Glenn this particular one proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. He unleashed arguably his most passionate monologue of the year during which he declared "I am a man and I demand to be treated as a man. I make my own choices and I live with the consequences of those choices. I do not answer to the federal government. That's not how it works" he argued. Glenn called this just another attempt by the government to 'co-parent' that will only serve to rob youngsters of valuable life lessons. This monologue was classic Glenn Beck at his best - speaking truth from the heart.
Glenn calls out Chief Justice Roberts for upholding Obamacare
In a year full of shocking news stories, nothing took America closer to fundamental transformation more than the Supreme Court of the United States upholding Obamacare as constitutional. By referring to the individual mandate as a tax, the so-called "conservative" Chief Justice Roberts cemented the cornerstone of Obama's progressive first term agenda as law. Glenn was shocked - but rather than wallow in despair, Glenn rode out that night on a horse (seriously), brandishing a sword and warned the "Coward" Justice Roberts and the President that they had woken a sleeping giant in America. Just a few days later, Glenn took the extreme step of actually demonstrating, on a live pretend human being, what medicine will look like under Obamacare in the near future. The country may be heading for trouble next year as Obamacare begins to be implemented, but you can always count on Glenn to find a way to keep entertaining in the worse possible situations.
2012: A Look Back with TheBlaze
2012 was an eventful year. This New Year's Eve, your favorite personalities from TheBlaze reflect back on what they remember most and share some of their favorite stories of the year. Join us on New Year's Eve as we look back at 2012 and forward to 2013. It all starts at 5pm ET with encores at 9pm ET and midnight - Only on TheBlaze TV!
Stories from TheBlaze:
Should teachers get free gun classes?
Nearly 200 Utah teachers and school workers are attending a free concealed weapons class. DETAILS
Will banning guns stop homicides?
See what the stats from England and Australia show HERE.
The next time you complain about having to get together with your "crazy" family for the holidays, remember this story: 41 Christians and 2 Saudi Arabian and Egyptian Muslims were recently arrested in Saudi Arabia. Their crime? "Plotting to celebrate Christmas."
Should you be concerned about the latest satellite photos out of North Korea? See the photos and get the details HERE.
Missed yesterday's top Glenn moment of 2012? Look back at the concerning rise of Islamic Extremism AND how the media got it wrong all along the way HERE.
Spread the truth: Join TheBlaze on Facebook and Twitter to become part of the movement, unite with those who share your values, and share the stories that YOU think more people need to know about.
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Opinion
"I am leaving because you consider that success, creation, talent, anything different, must be punished."
I am a Man
