912 Patriots of Lower Bucks - Your Daily Updates ALL in ONE Place!
January 15, 2013
Quote:
"Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence ... from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable ... the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."
George Washington First President of the United States
Obama: Some Gun Control Measures 'I Can Accomplish Through Executive Action'
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Obama Administration Legitimizing Philadelphia Islamists
State Dept. Promotes Philly Supremacist Groups as Model For Muslim World
The Investigative Project on Terrorismreports on a State Department-sponsored visit to America by a Bulgarian Muslim delegation, to "learn about the environment of religious tolerance in the U.S. and how religious groups function in a democratic society with a separation of church and state."
Perhaps equally disturbing are some of the lesser known groups with whom the delegation met on the Philadelphia leg of the tour.
Al Aqsa Islamic Society (AAIS).
The AAIS' self-described mission is to "maintain the Islamic Identity and to protect Muslim people, children and students from the adversities of the surrounding non-Islamic environments." Apparently, no one at the aptly named Foggy Bottom sees a problem with arranging a meeting with a group possessing such a hostile view of the surrounding American culture.
The Obama Administration brought a delegation of Bulgarian Muslims to the Al Aqsa Islamic Society in Philadelphia (left), holding AAIS' supremacist, intolerant version of Islam as a model for Muslims worldwide. At right, a taxpayer funded women-only class inside the AAIS.
The name of this mosque should have been State's first clue as to the "Islamic Identity" which the AAIS fosters. In a typical Islamic supremacist gesture, the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was built by conquering Muslims on top of the site of the Jewish Temple. Many American Muslims use the name for their houses of worship to indicate Muslim supremacy, as well as Palestinian solidarity.
You really cannot, in fairness, blame President Obama for naming"Chuck" Hagel, one of the most clearly anti-Israel, anti-Semitic members of the Senate (or ex-members in his case) to be Secretary of Defense. President Obama has not changed his views on Israel since his first speech at the Democrat convention in 2004, when he made it clear that his sympathies in the Middle East lay with the Palestinians. In a way, you have to admire his consistency. Of course, he has to pay lip service to Israel when he visits Miami Beach, but how he must laugh at the audiences that applaud him.
He is a charter member of the Chicago angry black man entity, and they - including former pals Jeremiah Wright and Minister Farrakhan - have little love for the Jews. So, again, his contempt for Israel and for Jews is not a surprise.
SINCE Wal-Mart is suspending ordering ammunition, I wanted Wal-Mart to know that I posted on my Facebook Page that I was suspending shopping at Wal-Mart until they rethink their decision and start ordering ammunition again. I want Wal-Mart to be aware that this message will be shared with thousands of my Facebook Friends and WILL continue to be shared by my Friends and their Friends!! Wal-Mart Corporate Number: 800-925-6278. Copy and share on your Facebook page, and call the number.
Linda
Major retailer suspends ammo orders
It's America's biggest retailer. They sell virtually everything.
But all of a sudden, it has suspended orders for ammunition.
Agenda: Full length video by Tenth Amendment Center "NULLIFICATION: THE RIGHTFUL REMEDY"
Followed by Open Discussion on States Rights & Nullification - what YOU can do about it
Update on the "Fiscal Cliff" bill: how did your Representatives vote?
Information on upcoming Rallies to support the Second Amendment & the March for Life
Note:
Starting this month the Bucks County libraries are charging for use of their rooms: our cost for this meeting $105 - please come prepared to help us cover this cost if you are able (although we are not allowed to officially collect contributions during the meeting)
Volunteer opportunities for those who want to stay active include Legislative Liaison committee, Issues research, Community outreach at community events or to targeted groups like youth, Letter-writing, Website/social media assistance and many more. Please sign up on our Volunteer Opportunities Sheet. We need YOU.
FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.....PLEASE INVITE YOUR FRIENDS
Meeting on tonight at 7 pm at Erwin's Country Kitchen on Brownsville Rd in Trevose - Patriots-Lower Bucks
Dear NR Friend,
It's time to lift ourselves off the mat, shake off the cobwebs, get reoriented, and start to fight back, to fight for our principles, to fight for our great nation.
It's time to honestly assess the conservative movement's priorities and to forge the way ahead.
That's why our friends at the National Review Institute are sponsoring an important, must-attend conference this January 25-27 in Washington, a critical summit where we can meet, talk, and forge The Future of Conservatism.
Your participation is vital. The National Review Institute's conservative summit will feature a tremendous line-up of leading conservatives and libertarians (and even a controversial figure or two) who will take part in developing a new and revitalized message for our movement. Confirmed speakers to date include
Gov. Scott Walker (WI), Gov. Bobby Jindal (LA), Gov. Bob McDonnell (VA), Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), Sen. Ted Cruz (TX), AG Ken Cuccinelli (VA), Mark Steyn, William Bennett, Charles Krauthammer, Jim DeMint, Larry Kudlow, Laura Ingraham, Hugh Hewitt, Jonah Goldberg, Michael Mukasey, Artur Davis, Rich Lowry, Mona Charen, Ralph Reed, Monica Crowley, Joe Scarborough, Mia Love, Robert Costa, Andrew McCarthy, John Allison, James Pethokoukis, Harold Hamm, Arthur Brooks, Maggie Gallagher, Kellyanne Conway, Kathryn Lopez, Reihan Salam, Mark Krikorian, Jay Nordlinger, John O'Sullivan, Heather Higgins, Peter Thiel, Darcy Olsen, Rob Long, Charles Kesler, Ed Whelan, John Podhoretz, John Fund, Ross Douthat, John Hood, Yuval Levin, Amity Shlaes, Tim Phillips, Travis Brown, and many more.
Be there as we listen to, engage, talk with, and derive inspiration from top conservative thinkers, writers, and politicians. The Future of Conservatism Summit will be a critical and memorable gathering, where wide-ranging discussion and debate will forge a successful vision for the movement and the cause of liberty.
The cost for the Summit, which includes participation in all events (receptions on Friday and Saturday nights, dinner on Saturday, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, lunch on Saturday and Sunday, plus panel sessions, debates, speeches, and "Night Owls") is only $250 a person (which doesn't even cover the per-person food bill!).
The agenda / itinerary is still being finalized as new speakers are being added, but here are some highlights:
Lunch speeches Governors Scott Walker and Bobby Jindal, Senator Ted Cruz, and former Congressman Artur Davis
Dinner speeches by Jim DeMint and Bill Bennett
Breakfast speeches by Congressman Paul Ryan and Gov. Bob McDonnell
Rich Lowry discusses the state of the movement with Charles Krauthammer
a Saturday "Night Owl" with Mark Steyn, Jonah Goldberg
a Friday "Night Owl" with Laura Ingraham, Kathryn Lopez, Monica Crowley, Mona Charen, and Mia Love
Larry Kudlow hosts a panel on "The Way Out of the Fiscal Mess"
Hugh Hewitt and Mark Krikorian debating immigration policy
Panels on "Selling Capitalism," the Constitution, what's being achieved in the states, demographics, energy, foreign policy, marriage,
and much more
If you've been to a previous NRI Summit, you know how invigorating they can be. They are -- and later this month will once again be -- an ideal opportunity to learn, to contribute, to network, to energize.
Please join us (NRI has made this especially affordable so you can attend). Get complete (developing) information www.nrinstitute.org/summit. You can also register there.
And you can get a special rate on a great hotel room at the Omni Shoreham Hotel -- do that here.
"FrackNation," a film by investigative journalist Phelim McAleer, will be broadcast on Jan. 22, 2012 at 9 p.m. ET according to The Hollywood Reporter. AXS TV is a cable network owned by Mark Cuban, Ryan Seacrest and entertainment companies AEG and CAA.
In a press release, McAleer said of the film, "FrackNation has been described as the first 'pro-fracking film.' I would describe it as pro-journalism and pro-truth. It asks hard questions of the environmental movement and its campaigns. And they seem to not like difficult questions."
In the film, McAleer travels across the U.S. and interviews people on both sides of the fracking issue, including farmers who have leased their property for natural gas drilling and say it is safe, as well as others who want to lease their lands, but cannot due to bans on the practice. He also scrutinizes claims made by Josh Fox, the anti-fracking filmmaker of Gasland.
The new documentary film was funded through Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website, and was co-directed by McAleer, his wife Ann McElhinney and their colleague Magdalena Segieda. "FrackNation's" debut will come just a couple weeks after the anti-fracking drama "Promised Land" starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski hits movie theaters nationwide.
The timing is intentional and meant to urge debate following "Promised Land's" release, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Cuban said "Of course the timing is relevant."
"Promised Land" will merely be the newest entertainment media attempt to demonize the practice of fracking, following episodes of TV programs like "Rizzoli & Isles." The U.S. news media, when they talk about fracking also often portray it negatively. The New York Times ran an entire series of misleading reports in 2011 about fracking and continued to attack the process, even after the paper's ombudsman criticized the Times' coverage.
McAleer has made two previous documentaries, Not Evil Just Wrong and Mine Your Own Business.
WHETHER YOU ARE A GUN OWNER OR NOT, YOU MUST READ THE FOLLOWING:
The recent tragedy in Newtown, CT has shocked our country and left us all with an emptiness in our hearts. The media and liberal politicians are using this act of evil to demonize the 2nd Amendment and all of those that support it. The politicians and media that are now calling for landmark gun control do so not out of genuine concern for safety, but rather to exploit a tragedy for their own self-serving agenda. It is yet another step in their ultimate goal of weakening the American citizenry and consolidating power into the federal government. Their actions are disingenuous in the process of developing meaningful solutions so that events such as Newtown, CT are never repeated.
It is reported that Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) will introduce a bill on January 22 that will affect up to 75% of all currently owned guns. This bill could require current gun owners to register their guns into a new national database and then force owners to pay an annual tax in order to keep their guns. In addition, the bill would ban the production and/or sale of many firearms and require that they be surrendered to the government upon the owner's death and not be able to be transferred to living relatives, etc. Gun registration has historically been a precursor to gun confiscation. We need not even consider past totalitarian regimes to confirm this; consider San Francisco, NYC, Australia and the UK where gun ownership is essentially banned. Basically overnight, millions of law-abiding, tax-paying, U.S. citizens would be forced to either obey an illegal law or be deemed a criminal.
Even if you are not a gun owner, you can see how such far reaching legislation is in violation of the Constitution and would give the government unprecedented power making us all subjects rather than citizens. Further, President Obama is threatening to circumvent Congress and use Executive Orders to pass legislation!!!
Please contact your representatives and tell them to vote "No" on Sen. Feinstein's Bill. Here is a list of officials and their phone numbers and corresponding websites that you can cut and paste in your browser:
In addition, here is some information that may prove helpful in your contact with them:
According to the FBI in areas where right to carry have been implemented gun crimes have been reduced and the converse is also a fact. A prime example of the decrease after the right to carry is Florida, Texas and Michigan; After the handgun ban Chicago saw an increase in handgun murders and DC saw an increase in murder rate after the handgun ban.
Dr. Gary Kleck, a criminologist at Florida State University, estimated that approximately 2.5 million people used their gun in self-defense or to prevent crime each year, often by merely displaying a weapon. The incidents that Kleck studied generally did not involve the firing of the gun and he estimates that as many as 1.9 million of those instances involved a handgun. The National Rifle Association regularly reprints locally-published stories of ordinary citizens whose lives were saved by their guns.
In the international scene, the homicide rate in England and Wales has averaged 52% higher since the outset of the 1968 gun control law and 15% higher since the outset of the 1997 handgun ban. In Australia, five years after the gun ban assault rose 49.2 percent, robbery rose 6.2 percent rape increased 29.9 percent and overall Australia's violent crime rose 42.2 percent. At the same time, U.S. violent crime decreased 31.8 percent: rape dropped 19.2 percent; robbery decreased 33.2 percent; aggravated assault dropped 32.2 percent.
Schools(like the Friend's school where President Obama's children attend, in addition to the Secret Service), celebrities, politicians and other wealthy are protected by armed guards and are not attacked. Essentially the one percenters are the ones who can afford this protection.
In Israel, teachers are armed and there are no school shootings.
Yours in Liberty, The Kitchen Table Patriots Team
St. Isidore Church, Quakertown
2545 West Pumping Station Road
Invites you to the 40th Annual March for Life
Where: Washington, DC
When: Friday, January 25, 2013
Price: $30/per person includes buffet dinner at Cactus Willies, Maryland
Departure: The bus leaves from St. Isidore Church at 8:00 AM
Snacks will be provided Contact Sandy 215-538-1390 for details
Bring your lunch
Entertainment on the bus
CCG Patriots,
There is no more fundamental Constitutionally guaranteed right than the RIGHT TO LIFE. Over 55 million babies have been robbed of their right to life since Roe v. Wade in the mass genocide of abortion. If you believe that abortion is a crime against the innocent and a plague which must be removed from our land, please DO something about it! Join us and tens of thousands of other believers in every American's right to life at the 40th annual MARCH FOR LIFE in Washington DC on January 25th.
You will make your voice heard on behalf of the innocent babies who are murdered every day and will be inspired and encouraged to fight on as courageous pro-life leaders in Congress share their passion for life. Following the rally, in the Congressional office building, you will have an opportunity to meet personally with Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick and other pro-life legislators to encourage them to support vital pro-life legislation. We must continue to push for the complete defunding of Planned Parenthood which, according to Sandy, in 2011-12 was subsidized with half a Billion dollars of our money which supported the killing of 333,964 babies.
One of the most enjoyable ways to participate in the March is to join Sandy Slater, president of the Bucks County Pro-Life Coalition and CCG Press Liaison, on the bus trip from St. Isidore's Church, that she organizes every year. Sandy will update you on pro-life legislation on the trip down so you can talk to your representative. Snacks, water, a comfortable ride with fellow pro-lifers, and dinner at a great buffet are all included for only $30. Contact Sandy to sign up today (see attached flyer and info below).
Please copy and post this flyer at your church (or organize your own church bus/van). We must engage others in ACTION to fight this holocaust. Hope to see you there, Jaime
From SANDY SLATER :
You may know that the wonderful founder of the DC March for Life, Nellie Gray died at the age of 86 this past August. She had led the March for Life for 40 years. She is being succeeded by a board member, Jeanne Monahan. This March also marks the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.
The purpose of the e-mail is to advise you that our Federal Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick again will meet with the participants in this event who are from Dtistrict 8. Because of the crowd and the number of congressmen who tried to accommodate us in DC last year, he would like to have a separate room for Bucks County District 8. This should enable better organization. I know some of the churches who are going to the March but probably not all. Therefore you may get another e-mail as well.
If you are planning to go to the March and would like to meet with Rep. Fitzpatrick, please respond to this e-mail to advise and possibly your number. He is making himself available between 2 & 5 PM on the day of the March 1/25/13. I do not know the place yet.
Another reason for the e-mail is if you have a particular concern or question, and these should be directed toward pro-life, you may want to formulate that beforehand to help him in helping you. There are many pro-life bills that have been introduced but they will have to be re-introduced
Sandy
January 2013 meeting announcement
Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots
Central Montgomery County
The Agenda 21 Seminar will be held at
Friendship Fire Hall - 610 South 2nd Avenue, Lebanon PA, 17042
January 26th from 9:00 to 12:00.
Registration will take place from 9:00 to 9:30 and then the Seminar will begin at 9:30 sharp. John Anthony's presentation is 90 minutes long and this will be followed by William O'Neal's presentation on the success of his efforts in dealing with Sustainable Development in Upper and Lower Makefield.
If you choose to pay the registration for this event in advance you can send payment to
Sue Rodkey (Treasurer)
814 Walnut Street
Lebanon PA, 17042
Cost is $20/person or $30/couple - Twp Supervisors get in free. Make checks payable to The Lebanon 9-12 Project. Please RSVP to us, central.montco.ptpp@gmail.com if you want to go so I can give them a headcount.
Sam Rohrer, President of the PA Pastors Network, will be speaking at the Coalition for Advancing Freedom's January meeting. January 22, 2013 at 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Hilton Garden Inn, 815 East Blatimore Pike (Rt 1), Kennett Square, Pa
Rep. Metcalfe will be holding a press conference on Tuesday, January 22, beginning at 11 a.m. in the Capitol Media Center, Representative Metcalfe will be joining with other legislators to announce the reintroduction of the "Pennsylvania Open Workforce Initiative."
This package of legislation would make Pennsylvania the 25th Right to Work State.
This would be a good day to visit legislators regarding our 2013 Legislative Agenda.
(1)List of House Bills that are planned for introduction
(2)Information about the press conference ---- please note that we are calling this "Pennsylvania Open Workforce Initiative" rather than "right to work"
Attached:
Attached is a draft resolution that I put together. I plan to use it with civic groups to help get them on board and supporting workers' rights in PA
The "Pennsylvania Open Workforce Initiative" is a compilation of five pieces of legislation that would end compulsory unionism in Pennsylvania. They are:
House Bill 50 : umbrella right to work bill (would pertain to both public and private sector unions)
House Bill 51 : eliminates fair share fees for school employees
House Bill 52 : eliminates fair share fees for state government employees
House Bill 53 : eliminates fair share fees for local government employees
House Bill 54 : right to work solely for the private sector (similar to what Indiana recently passed)
What about additional policy changes that would restore the freedom to Pennsylvania workers, including eliminating a public employer's responsibility to collect union dues (Rep. Cutler's HB 1418 from last session). Hopefully, that will come from the Senate.
Pennsylvania Open Workforce Initiative Resolution
Whereas Pennsylvania is in the bottom one-third of states for business attractiveness;
Whereas Pennsylvania law grants government unions unfair, unique, and special privilege to use government payroll and administrative systems to automatically deduct dues, "fair share" fees, and even Political Action Committee contributions from workers' paychecks-money they earn, but never see
Whereas automatic deduction-at taxpayers' expense-helps bankroll six-figure salaries for union bosses, political lobbying, and expensive conferences and junkets while employees have little or no say in how unions use their money;
Whereas Pennsylvania is a forced union state where workers in unionized workplaces must pay "fair share" fees to the union as a condition of their employment;
Whereas a single union usually has monopoly bargaining power with a government unit-such as a school district-which prevents employees from choosing a different union or from bargaining individually;
Whereas workers' freedom of association is being violated by current law when half of Pennsylvania's government employees are unionized-amounting to nearly 300,000 voluntary members and involuntary fee payers in the four largest government unions: the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the American Federation of State, Council and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU);
Whereas Pennsylvania's workers lack the protection to work without being forced against their will to pay dues or fees to a union or similar organization;
Whereas government unions often lobby for policies that work against the best interest of their members, taxpayers, students and service users; and
Whereas last year, the PSEA spent $4.2 million on lobbying and political activity, an increase of about 60% from the prior year;
It is resolved that, it is time to protect the rights of workers, taxpayers, students, and the public by passing "Pennsylvania Open Workforce Initiative" legislation that will
(1)Prohibit the use of taxpayer resources to collect union dues, fees, and Political Action Committee contributions;
(2)Require unions to receive permission from union members before using dues or fees for non-collective bargaining, political activity;
(3)Protect the workers' right to freedom of association by establishing and protecting a workers' freedom to work without being forced to join an union;
(4)Repeal laws that compel government workers to pay fees to a union as a condition of employment; and
(5)Relieve unions of having to represent any non-dues or non-fee paying employees.
President Obama is soon to begin his FORCED AMNESTY for 12-20 Million ( mainly Mexican ) ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS as reported on FOX NEWS TODAY.
Group owners, please bring this back to your members. Copy it, blog it. We must not let Obama dump 12-20 Million illegal immigrants plus their 30-45 Million relatives into the United States which would forever hurt Our Country and Our Citizens !
Obama continues to work with La Raza ( The RACE ) on ways to get AMNESTY for as MANY of the 12-20 MILLION ( Mainly Mexican ) Illegal Immigrants as possible SO THEY CAN THEN BRING IN 30 to 45 MILLION more of their Spanish speaking family members to make a future ENDLESS STREAM of new relatives mainly from Mexico, as possible. That's right, each one here that gets their Amnesty FILLED with ENDLESS WAIVERS to make it easy. Those "Amnesty people" get to bring ALL their relatives in the United States for American's to pay for with OUR taxes, Our Jobs and Our Lives.
The Illegals will be working over time on Blogs ( often pretending to be Americans ) , Phone calls to Politicians ( pretending to be Americans ) Donations for pro-Amnesty politicians, Amnesty parades and Obama will be using his left-wing media to spread bogus propaganda to pull at the heart strings of enough real Americans to get Amnesty. These illegals will say, do, pretend and act to get Amnesty. Amnesty is the Mexican Reconquista dream. The war on America is about to begin !! The Democrats think that Amnesty means more votes, and don't care how it actually hurts ALL Americans no matter what party they belong to. The illegals will work hard to take what you have. And WE MUST WORK HARDER !!!
So, your thinking. What can I do ? I urge all of you to do something every day ! Members feel free to post ideas. Here are things ANY AMERICAN HERE can do. Remember, Illegal Immigration hurts EVERYONE regardless what party you belong to. Illegals don't care what party you belong to when they steal your jobs, your ID's, your car, break into your house, selling drugs, hurting your children.
Ok, what can I do ?
(1) Blog Blog Blog....On the end of each YAHOO NEWS story it gives you the option to make a "comment"..... Post ALL the negative aspects of massive Amnesty for illegal Immigrants.
(2) Call ( Call OFTEN ! ) your local and national politicians. Be polite but firm and remind them YOU are the American voter. Illegals do it all the time pretending to be an American...
(3) Email your politicians OFTEN.
(4) Join NumbersUSA.com who provides FREE FAX messages for your Politicians.
(5) Donate to groups like NumbersUSA.com and FairUS.org
(6) Write Editorials in local news papers.
(7) Remind people by word of mouth that Amnesty for 12-20 Million ( Mainly Mexican) illegals means hey can BRING IN 30-45 MILLION of their relatives.
(8) Call talk radio stations including stations that support illegal immigration. Let EVERY AMERICAN UNDERSTAND that The Dream Act is a BACK DOOR TROJAN AMNESTY designed to let criminal illegal immigrants USE their children ( up to young adults ) to bring in 30-45 Million of their relatives who are here and in Mexico.
(9) Be the expert. Google Mexican Reconquista. Google Mexican Aztlan. Study illegal immigration and tell people, family, friends the true dangers of illegal immigration.
(10) Make leaflets to expose Illegal Immigration for what it is. Then go to kinkos, staples and copy them cheap... hen drop them off in doors, on cars, etc etc etc...
Talking Points:
*Every day Americans are KILLED by Illegal Immigrants across the USA.....
* We have 22 Million Americans OUT of work or needing better jobs and Obama wants to bring in TENS of MILLIONS more mainly Mexican illegals to compete and take away MORE American jobs.....
* The United States is BROKE and Obama wants to bring in TENS of MILLIONS of Family members through Amnesty and give Benefits to 12-20 Million mainly Mexican illegals who are here already for YOU to pay for with LOSS of YOUR benefits and HIGHER taxes.......
* Our Jails are FILLED with TENS of THOUSANDS of illegals a year who have been caught hurting American Citizens.....
* Most of our ILLEGAL drugs are brought in on he SAME routes and often carried on the backs of the million illegals that cross into the USA each year..............
* Mexicans are taught MEXICAN RECONQUISTA and MEXICAN AZTLAN in Mexico prior to entering the USA illegally.
* NO OTHER group in History has FORCED Americans to press #2 for English and print EVERYTHING in THEIR Language. Even teaching HEIR Children in Spanish, unlike ALL OTHER people who come to America.
* Illegal Immigrants cost the USA BILLIONS and BILLIONS of US dollars a year including FOOD STAMPS, Housing, Welfare and other programs to assist ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
* Each time an Illegal immigrant has a baby in the USA, Americans are FORCED to pay for tha baby for 18 YEARS and later the baby is used to bring in ALL their relatives into the United States.
* The Added Billions of dollars to Obama care for these 12-20 Million Amnesty Illegals plus their 30-45 Million parasite relatives will cause a URGE burden and surge in costs to the United States...
* Amnesty means they get YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY, YOUR retirement benefits, ALLLLLL the Benefits YOU paid into your whole lives !!
protectourbordernow@yahoogroups.com
Steve Hampton
DONT SURRENDER YOUR COUNRY !!! The Illegals will be working VERY hard to TAKE what YOU have !
AAA warns E15 gasoline could cause car damage
Gary Strauss, USA TODAY November 30, 2012
E15, a higher blend of ethanol and gasoline, has rolled out in a handful of states. But its use in older vehicles is generating warnings from AAA, which says E15 could be harmful to pre-2012 vehicles.
The AAA says the Environmental Protection Agency and gasoline retailers should halt the sale of E15, a new ethanol blend that could damage millions of vehicles and void car warranties.
AAA, which issued its warning Friday, says just 12 million of more than 240 million cars, trucks and SUVs now in use have manufacturers' approval for E15. Flex-fuel vehicles, 2012 and newer General Motors vehicles, 2013 Fords and 2001 and later model Porsches are the exceptions, according to AAA, the nation's largest motorist group, with 53.5 million members.
"It is clear that millions of Americans are unfamiliar with E15, which means there is a strong possibility that many may improperly fill up using this gasoline and damage their vehicle," AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet tells USA TODAY. "Bringing E15 to the market without adequate safeguards does not responsibly meet the needs of consumers."
On Monday, President Barack Obama nominated former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be his next Secretary of Defense in succession to Leon Panetta. Chuck Hagel's record is one of being a frightening and dangerous apologist for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hizballah, as well as for the Iranian terrorist regime, while being arguably one of the most vicious and hostile critics of Israel. The ZOA believes that appointing Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary would also serve to confirm the fears that many have that President Obama is no friend of Israel and is not serious about stopping Iran's nuclear program.
ACTION:
Please call your U.S. Senators to urge President Obama not to nominate Chuck Hagel and to vote against his appointment if Hagel's name goes forward for Secretary of Defense. You can reach all U.S. Senators through the Capitol Hill switchboard: 202-224-3121.
Call Sen. Casey 202-224-6324
Call Sen. Toomey 202-224-4254
New Jersey:
Call Sen. Lautenberg 202-224-3224
Call Sen. Menendez 202-224-4744
Delaware:
Call Sen. Carper 202-224-2441
Call Sen. Coons 202-224-5042
BACKGROUND:
In 2009, Hagel signed a letter urging President Obama to begin direct negotiations with Hamas, a U.S. designated terrorist group committed in its Charter to the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews, a position President Obama has not taken up.
In a 2006 interview with former Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller, Hagel said that "the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people" on Capitol Hill ('Hagel named to intelligence board,' Jewish Telegraphic Agency, October 29, 2009).
In July 2006, at the outbreak of the Lebanon war, Hagel argued against giving Israel the time to break Hizballah, urging instead an immediate ceasefire ('Key Republican breaks with Bush on Mideast,' CNN.com, July 31, 2006).
December 2005: Hagel was one of only 27 senators who refused to sign a letter to President Bush urging him to pressure the Palestinian Authority (PA) to ban terrorist groups from participating in Palestinian legislative elections.
June 2004, Hagel refused to sign a letter urging President Bush to highlight Iran's nuclear program at the G-8 summit and was one of only two senators in to vote against renewal of the Libya-Iran sanctions act.
November 2001: Hagel was one of only 11 senators who refused to sign a letter urging President Bush not to meet with the late Yasser Arafat until his forces ended the violence against Israel.
In July 2001, Hagel was one of only two senators to vote against extending the original Iranian sanctions bill.
October 2000: Hagel was one of only four senators who refused to sign a Senate letter in support of Israel.
If you want to understand what is happening to our beloved country please watch this important movie. Please share it with everyone.
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
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.
Visit our website, www.hillsdale.edu, for more information about Hillsdale College.
January 14, 2013
Knowing of your interest in funding for cancer research, I wanted to inform you of the good news that the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012 has passed the House of Representatives as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013 and was signed into law on January 2, 2013 by the President.
I was a co-sponsor of the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012, and was proud to vote for its passage as part of this year's NDAA. Each year in the United States, more than 43,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately for the many Americans facing this devastating disease, only 6% will survive for longer than 5 years. Something clearly needs to be done to address this issue.
The Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act will require the NCI to bring together working groups to develop scientific frameworks for pancreatic cancer and lung cancer that could then be expanded to other recalcitrant cancers. The frameworks will identify promising scientific advances, outline a plan to coordinate research, and include recommendations to move the research forward. As a cancer survivor myself, I understand how important this funding is to the individuals and families affected. This act is certainly a step in the right direction.
It is crucial for the United States to continue to be the vanguard in cutting edge medical innovation and research. You can count on me to continue to work with my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives to support the necessary medical research that saves the lives of Americans every day.
Please stay in contact with me on these issues as my work continues in the 113th Congress. There is still much more that needs to be done.
Sincerely,
Mike Fitzpatrick Member of Congress
Why Liberals Hate Guns GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary By Don Feder 01/14/2013
Why the left hates something - free enterprise, the "rich," religion, Israel, America - says more about liberals than it does about the thing itself.
So it is with the left's endless, and increasingly manic, drive for more of what it disarmingly calls gun control, which many acknowledge to be a series of way stations on the road to total confiscation. In a 1995 CBS "60 Minutes" interview, Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Haight-Ashbury) confessed, "If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them - Mr. and Mrs. America turn 'em all in - I would have done it." What's the difference between Hitler, Stalin and Feinstein - besides the facial hair?
After the Newtown tragedy, and with a president who treats the Constitution as an annoying inconvenience, gun-grabbers are like gerbils on speed. The latest proposed attacks on the Second Amendment include: banning so-called assault weapons, banning large-capacity magazines, requiring a license to buy ammunition, preventing anyone under 21 from carrying a gun, requiring background checks for all gun sales (private and gun shows) and more stringent licensing of gun owners.
In Connecticut, State Representative Stephen Dargan (D-New Haven) has introduced a bill to make public the names and addresses of all of the state's 170,000 licensed gun owners. Why stop there? They could just select at random a few dozen gun owners a day, take them out and beat them to death.
I am in favor of not raising the debt ceiling unless the President and Democrats come up with meaningful spending cuts and reforms.
Contrary to a lot of the Democrats' spin, the federal government will not default if the debt ceiling is not raised. Only if Little Timmy Geithner decides to not pay certain debts will the government default. It is his choice.
But I do think Republicans should be proactive in their approach to the debt ceiling. I think they should have a plan.
2. The Union Agenda Part One: So, you think your Right-To-Work state is safe from unions?
There is, and has been since 2010, a concerted effort by union bosses to get their union-bought cronies in the U.S. Senate to end the filibuster. Why?
The obvious answer is: So, unions can enact legislation that they want. However, let's break that down to more specifics, shall we?
Teamsters union boss James P. Hoffa is the most blunt in decrying the use of the filibuster being used by unions to effectively end secret-ballot elections.. . . please click here for the rest of the post →
3.Gun Control: WWJD?
As the gun control debate rages in America following the abominable events in Newtown, eventually, perhaps inevitably, the media will ask itself, "What would Jesus do?"
They've done it for years as it relates to wealth redistribution and Obamacare. Obama gave an entire speech about taxes in which he used Jesus for his justification. I'd wager that the tactic is designed to hit God fearing southerners where, in keeping with the caricature that the media has created of them, they are most likely to submit without question and accept the answer given to them by their betters.
Of course this vastly underestimates the target, but putting that aside, is there any truth to the idea that Jesus would deplore a concealed carry license or a mom defending her children from an intruder? After all, Jesus has some pretty radically pacifist quotes that need only be lifted from the Bible without context to sound convincing. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
4.Sandy Pork And The Lesson Of Katrina
Although Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Atlantic Coast more than 2 months ago, the debate over disaster relief is still raging. While more than $2 billion in aid has been spent by FEMA on the recovery from Sandy, the controversy began after the House failed to vote on a $60 billion Sandy aid bill in the last session of Congress.
The bill was denied passage due to billions included for projects that had nothing to do with Hurricane Sandy relief.For instance, $150 million was included for fisheries in the Gulf Coast, New England and Alaska that were affected by the Japan earthquake of March 2011.Also found among the billions in pork, was $2 million intended for Smithsonian museum roofs in Washington. Yet those unrelated projects pale in comparison to the $28 billion that was earmarked for future disaster-mitigation projects. According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, only three states (Arizona, Michigan and South Carolina) were excluded from receiving Sandy relief money despite the fact that most of the US was not affected. In response to the justified criticism, Congress quickly approved a $9.7 billion aid package in the first session of the 113th Congress that excluded the large amount of unnecessary spending.Now the House is set to vote on an additional $50.7 billion Sandy aid package that hopes to fund the pork projects that were removed. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
5.More Cigarette Taxes Equals More Cigarette Smuggling
A recent study from the Tax Foundation and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy looking at cigarette taxes and cigarette smuggling reminds us, yet again, of how big government always ends up legislating the Law of Unintended Consequences. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
Liberals: The Necessary Delusion Christopher Chantrill There are only five things wrong with liberal thought and politics: its cruelty, its corruption, its injustice, its waste, and its delusion. More
Lincoln Divided Jason Stevens Republicans may be "blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh" of Lincoln's party, but that alone does not provide "the electric cord" to the man. Party and place mean nothing compared to policy and principle. More
Genghis Khan, Secretary of State William A. Levinson Genghis John Kerry is therefore on record as saying that he knowingly and willfully committed actions that are contrary to the laws of warfare, including the Geneva Convention. More
How Many Bullets Are Enough? William Sullivan "The right to keep and bear arms" is not limited to the purpose of fighting government tyranny, but necessary for the broader preservation of liberty. More
Global Warming? Yeah, Right! W.A. Beatty It seems that the anthropogenic global warming (AGW) crowd do some picking and choosing of data in order to try to support their position(s). Why don't we set the record straight? More
And therein lies America's cosmic flaw. A country that could time and again embrace Hillary Clinton as its MAW has lost its mind or its memory or both.
One wonders if the tenet of national response to acts of war committed against us has become obsolete (or politically incorrect), at least for those who hold the reins of political power in the United States.
Kennedy fought alcoholism and an addiction to prescription drugs and is now taking on the marijuana lobby, while getting verbal abuse from the potheads in return.
Democrats and Obama are giving serious consideration to issuing a $1 trillion coin in the event that the debt ceiling becomes a major point of contention in the next several weeks with Republicans.
"I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion (that) unless we can do everything we're going to do nothing," Biden said. "It's critically important (that) we act."
"And I think a lot of people don't even realize this is happening," said Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank. "This kind of just slid by the wayside with all the talk of the fiscal cliff."
"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
Bang for your buck: that's what the Freedom Center provides. Ammunition for the culture war against the Left: that's what your contribution buys. So please act now and help us in the fight we are waging on many fronts for America's future. America is under assault from within and without. There is no time to lose.
Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog
After years of languishing under the duck boots of gun owners, gun control advocates are dusting off their iPads and heading into the fray. Their renewed excitement has as much to do with the dead kids of Newtown as it does with the prospect of four years of a lame duck leftist who asserts imperial executive authority and uses the Constitution to clean up coffee spills in the Oval Office.
Taking on the NRA with a gun ban, like taking on pro-Israel voters by nominating a Defense Secretary and CIA Director who prefer that Israel not exist, is part of a larger program of wiping out the political influence of the non-left. And the 2nd Amendment haters who were forced to sit at the back of the big government bus so that senators could get elected in the South are now feeling optimistic about their chances of killing another piece of the living Constitution.
The campaign is cheesily predictable. The designated victims are cutting commercials and making public appearances, led by Gabby Giffords, whose great achievement in life is being a famous woman who got shot in the head, making her the Chief of the Victims, for the moment. Sure a Republican judge was killed in that same shooting, but victimhood, like race, is an exclusive club. Just ask RGIII or all the mothers of dead soldiers who weren't interested in hugging Hugo Chavez.
Malala "Person of the Year" Runner-up! Your votes helped make the difference!
On December 4th we sent an email to all of our members, urging you to go online and vote for Malala Yousafzai for Time magazine's "Person of the Year."
We also urged a "no" vote for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
You may recall Malala is the Pakistani student activist who, while riding her school bus, was viciously shot last fall by the Taliban's radical Islamists.
In addition to our national email we pushed this on our Facebook page and on Twitter.
In the 24 hours that followed our actions, votes for Malala surged, as tens of thousands of people rushed to vote for her. At the same time, "no" votes for Morsi also surged. The timing of this surge could not have been mere coincidence. We know you, the ACT! for America grassroots, responded, by not only voting for her but passing the word along to your networks!
The cyberspace positive buzz for Malala, and the negative buzz for Morsi, was clearly evident in the days following our email and as we continued to push for support for Malala on Facebook and Twitter.
When Time announced its "Person of Year" lineup, Malala was selected as the Runner-Up. And Morsi ended up fourth.
While Time says its decisions for "Person of the Year" are not bound by online votes, we have no doubt that the buzz and vote surge we helped create influenced Time's editors to look closely at her as a candidate.
Malala's selection was not only a recognition of her courage, but also a stunning repudiation of strict sharia law's repression of women.
And you helped make that happen!
But there's more! We didn't limit our effort to Time's Person of the Year. We used an array of social media, in collaboration with our chapters in Britain, to target The Guardian newspaper's Person of the Year poll (The Guardian is a major British newspaper). These efforts helped cause a surge of support for Malala, and the newspaper also named Malala as its runner-up for Person of the Year.
Once again, we witness the power of an organized, grassroots citizen network in action. Whether it's generating 30,000 phone calls and emails to Kansas state legislators in support of ALAC ("American Laws for American Courts,"), or helping push a surge of support for Malala for Time's Person of the Year, we continue to demonstrate that grassroots people power does make a difference!
Yet another example of "When everyone does a little, together we accomplish a lot."
Monday, January 14
'Leading From Behind,' Part II: France Strikes in Mali After U.S. Strategy Collapses
France has expanded its assault on Islamists in northern Mali, pounding rebel positions with four days of air strikes and bringing additional troops into the country through the capital, Mali. France did not wait for UN approval, and it tired of what even the New York Times acknowledges was the reluctance of the United States and the international community to do anything about the seizure of half a country by Al Qaeda-linked forces.
"Half of all mass killings in the United States have occurred since the assault weapons ban expired in 2005, half of all of them in the history of the country."
- Former president Bill Clinton, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 9, 2013
A colleague spotted this eye-popping statistic by the former president and wondered if it was correct.
President Clinton signed the assault weapons ban into law in 1994, but it expired after 10 years and was not renewed. Even supporters have said it was riddled with loopholes, limiting its effectiveness. But the rash of mass shootings in recent years, including the Newtown tragedy, have provided new impetus for a renewed ban.
So let's dig into the data and see what we find.
The Pinocchio Test
In the highly charged debate over guns, it is important for politicians on both sides to get their facts straight. In this case, the available data show that Clinton was way off base in his assertion, making an exaggerated claim - which his office would not even defend.
Ordinarily, this might have been a Four Pinocchio claim. Given the fuzziness of the data and questions about definitions, we are going to cut Clinton a bit of slack in the final ruling.
But such uncertainty in the data means politicians need to be very careful in making claims about gun violence.
You weighed in on a bill in the last Congress, which was just re-introduced in this new Congress, the 113th Congress. We wanted to alert you so you can send a message to your Members of Congress -- and share this bill with your friends and networks.
Just Introduced: The Fair Tax Act (HR 25)
To promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.
You can also find a list of all the new bills as they're introduced at https://www.popvox.com/newbills/14 . And if you don't see a bill getting introduced, you can support reintroduction of bills from the 112th Congress. Thanks for using POPVOX!
Sincerely,
Rachna Choudhry Co-founder, POPVOX.com
P.S. You had weighed in on a related bill, so we hope you find this issue update useful. Please reply to this email if you'd like to opt-out of our issue updates. Sorry for the inconvenience. ____________________________________________________________________________
want a weekly update on congress? Based on POPVOX user feedback, we're now sending out a weekly update on what bills will be moving in Congress. Sign up! ____________________________________________________________________________
Monday, January 14, 2013
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Faith Under Fire
Last week, Pastor Louie Giglio of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, had to drop out of participating in Barack Obama's second inaugural festivities. Pastor Giglio had been asked to deliver the benediction because of his church's incredible work fighting human trafficking.
So what was the scandal that led him to withdraw? Embezzlement? Adultery? Not even close. His liberal "sin" was the fact that fifteen years ago he delivered a sermon on why same-sex "marriage" contradicts biblical teaching.
I couldn't help but note the irony. More than a decade ago Pastor Giglio opposed same-sex "marriage." A year ago Barack Obama did too! Should Obama be prohibited from speaking at his own inauguration? Of course I'm being sarcastic. The difference is that liberals knew all along that Obama was really with them.
Pastor Giglio is the latest victim of the religious intolerance that is growing in Obama's America. If you're a parent or grandparent, polling suggests that your children or grandchildren are being greatly influenced by the culture. Under the concept of "Christian love," they don't see why as Christians we should oppose two men who want to get married. They will often retort, "How does that affect me?" Pastor Giglio is an example of how it will affect all of us. Religious liberty is at stake!
Here's a pastor who gave a sermon in his church on the biblical message about human sexuality, and now he's been labeled an extremist by the media and dumped by the White House. Some Christian youth, taken in by the siren song of the popular culture, are inadvertently empowering a radical movement that will make biblical values unteachable. Pastors and youth leaders must confront the issue and lead the young believers in their care.
And speaking of making the Bible unteachable, I hope you are sitting down for the next item.
O'Donnell: Dump The Bible
In commenting on the Pastor Giglio scandal last week, MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell, an avowed socialist, went beyond suggesting that Obama dump the pastor. He suggested that Obama dump the Bible too! Here is an excerpt of O'Donnell's remarks Thursday night:
"It turns out there is no better way for a pastor to get kicked out of the inauguration ceremony than quoting the Bible. That is what Louie Giglio, of Passion City Church in Atlanta, did to get knocked out of this year's inauguration. ...
"We will ensure that whoever delivers the benediction rejects the same parts of the Bible that President Obama rejects and most Democrats reject... Still, the president, following one of our most absurdest traditions in the government that invented the separation of church and state, will put his hand on this book [the Bible] filled with things he does not believe ... and with his hand on this book he will recite the oath of office. ...
"Now, wouldn't it be better if the president's hand was on the shoulder of one of his daughters, suggesting that he was honoring the oath of office as much as he honors Sasha and Malia?"
O'Donnell had much more to say about the Bible. He wasn't even trying to contain his contempt. But why do I suspect O'Donnell has never uttered anything nearly as harsh about the Koran?
But don't miss the real point here. In O'Donnell's mind, Pastor Giglio's views were a distraction from the bigger danger -- that the president will put his hand on the Bible and that it should mean something to us. The political left is engaged in a campaign against faith, my friends. Given Obama's attacks on marriage and the sanctity of life, and Obamacare's assault on religious liberty, you have to be blind not to see it.
Public Satisfied With Gun Laws
Vice President Joe Biden will present his recommendations for new gun control legislation tomorrow. But according to a new poll by Gallup, there is relatively little public demand for additional restrictions to our Second Amendment rights.
The poll found that just 38% of adults are dissatisfied with current gun laws and want stricter legislation. Forty-three percent of the public is satisfied with current laws, while another 5% is dissatisfied and wants less strict laws. That's 48%-to-38% against new laws limiting Second Amendment freedoms.
Remember when Obama told us in 2008 that he wanted to "fundamentally transform" the country, and he complained about "bitter" Americans clinging to their guns and religion? Obama intends to use the horrible shootings at Newtown to take guns away from law-abiding citizens and his left-wing allies want to trash your Bibles too.
Vive la France!
Within months of taking office last year, Francois Hollande, France's socialist president, proposed sweeping legislative changes. One was a massive tax increase, which included a top tax rate of 75%. Another was redefining marriage so that men could "marry" other men.
Hollande's tax law was recently overturned by the courts. The French parliament will take up the redefinition of marriage later this month.
Yesterday 340,000 people turned out in the streets of Paris to protest the socialist government's embrace of homosexual marriage. Let's hope common sense prevails on this issue too!
For too long, scientists who promote the hypothesis that man's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are causing dangerous global warming have been given a free ride by politicians and the press. With the upcoming release of the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, 2013 can be the year governments and media grow up on climate change.
It's fascinating, in 2013, witnessing the ongoing collapse of our own culture -- and in particular, the complete collapse, decades ago, of what was once called "middlebrow culture" -- to watch a show titled "Civilisation" commissioned by the BBC -- that itself is from a civilization that effectively no longer exists. At the very least, the network that created the series no longer exists in the same form.
Some of the most eloquent and impassioned pro-Israeli essays in existence are to be found in "The Boxthorn Tree," David Solway's new collection. Solway -- who somehow also manages to write erudite essays on a wide variety of other topics, as well as poetry -- shows a masterful conversance with Israel's history and current dilemmas, along with a sweeping command of the issues facing the Jewish people in general in a world that retains much of its age-old inimicality toward them.
The longer I watch the show and get a feel for the eventualities the featured preppers are preparing for, the less faith I have in the show's experts. I'll take my chances with some of the less flashy, more frugal, and more inventive preppers than those who seem to suggest throwing money around will make them live longer.
Last week, TheBlaze invited you to participate in an online survey about guns, gun ownership, and the current debate about limiting or altering our Second Amendment rights. Our readers delivered almost 5 million responses to the 106 questions in the survey. See the resultsHERE.
It was revealed on Sunday that one of the homes identified by a New York newspaper as having guns was targeted by burglar.The crooks went stright for the homeowner's gun safe. Get the details HERE.
Sunday on NBC's 'Meet The Press,' former Secretary of State Colin Powell � who split with the Republican Party to endorse President Barack Obama two times � said there are some clearly racial elements within the GOP. Watch General Powell explain himself to David GregoryHERE.
A Houston man was robbed at gunpoint as he made his way to his car after leaving a bar on Thursday night. Thanks to a pair of quick-thinking good Samaritans, the robber ended up with bullet woulds and bite marks from a German Shepherd in retaliation for taking the victims wallet and phone. Watch the local TV coverageHERE.
Last night, after receiving the Cecil B. Demille award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes, actress Jodie Foster gave what some critics have described as a �rambling� speech � one in which she, once again, came out of the closet. Watch the wandering addressHERE
Nearly two years after surviving a horrifying gang rape in the middle of Cairo�s Tahrir Square, Lara Logan is still working as a foreign correspondent with CBS. This past weekend, Logan revealed how she tackled the trauma head-on after the attack, and how she now prepares herself before being sent on similarly dangerous assignments. See this powerful storyHERE.
It�s still early, but this live-action, shot-for-shot full-length recreation of �Toy Story� is the definite frontrunner for the coolest thing you will see all week. Get the whole story and watch it HERE.
Glenn Beck -- Beck breaks down the details of TheBlaze Gun Poll and makes a prediction about what action he believes the administration will take. The Glenn Beck Program at 5pm ET or on-demand on TheBlaze TV.
Real News from TheBlaze -- It has been called the best analysis of the day's news. Tune in to Real News tonight -- 6pm ET or on-demand on TheBlaze TV.
Dr. Oz called astaxanthin the �#1 supplement,� and suddenly, the Internet was flooded with ads for the �miracle� antioxidant that erases wrinkles. The science behind astaxanthin is stunning, but you�ve got to know what to look for to avoid getting scammed.
On Friday, TheBlaze was the first to bring you the story of the caveman�s �assault weapon� being sold on eBay. That �weapon� was a rock and when we published our story it was currently at $20.51. Shortly after, it shot up to $100. So we decided to give it the weekend and check in Monday morning to see the price. Wait until you see how high the bidding has goneHERE.
Video: BREAKING NEWS On The Obama Identity Theft Scandal
Jan 14, 2013 01:30 pm
Despite the mainstream media ignoring the Obama eligibility issue, Sheriff Arpaio's investigation is moving forward and a blockbuster revelation may be in the works. Related posts: Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Obama Birth Certificate Fraud Is 10 Times Worse Than Watergate Sheriff Joe Arpaio, in an interview with Mark Gillar of... Arpaio News Conference Video 1 On [...]
Protest Planned At Inauguration Over Obama's Stolen Identity
Jan 14, 2013 01:25 pm Those who support Attorney Orly Taitz's challenge to Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to serve as President are being urged to protest peacefully at inauguration proceedings on January 21, (the MLK, Jr. holiday,) and in front of the Supreme Court itself on February 15th when Justices will decide the merits of the challenge. Those making this unnecessary [...]
Video: Mark Levin: Background Check Needed For Barack Obama
Jan 14, 2013 01:20 pm
Mark Levin is calling for background checks for all politicians, including one Barack Hussein Obama. Related posts: Mark Levin: Why I Cannot Vote For Ron Paul Mark Levin explains why most conservatives prefer Newt Gingrich over... Mark Levin: Time To Politically Sabotage Obama Administration Mark Levin here is rather blunt...... Continue to Post...
Chicago Police Chief: We'll Shoot Licensed Gun Owners
Jan 14, 2013 01:15 pm Under Chicago's Police Chief Gary McCarthy and the hack that hired him, Chicago has quickly become Murder City USA. Last year by a substantial amount, more Americans died from gunfire in the Windy City than died in Afghanistan. The gunfire is coming from the violent street gangs that infect the streets of Chicago. Since they [...]
Jan 14, 2013 01:05 pm Charged by President Obama with forming a task force to examine possible solutions to senseless shootings as we saw at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut last month, Vice President Joe Biden mentioned one tool available to the president is the Executive Order (EO). It is a viable tool for a president to specify how established [...]
Video: Muslim Brotherhood, Obama Collude To Release The Blind Sheikh
Jan 14, 2013 01:00 pm The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi is "pressuring" Obama to release the Blind Sheikh. Of course the behind-the-scenes is that the corrupt, Marxists/Islamists Barack Hussein Obama would like nothing more than to release the Muslim Brotherhood's lord and savior Omar Abdel-Rahman, aka the Blind Sheikh. Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Related posts: Andy McCarthy - [...]
Judge Jeanine fights back against New York Journal News' publishing of legal gun owners names and addresses. Related posts: Judge Jeanine Rips Obama Administration On Benghazi-Gate Judge Jeanine eloquently states what all America has been thinking... Publication Of Gun Owners' Names, Addresses Gives Conservatives Ammunition One of the odd things about the rag Journal News'...
Video: An Obama Supporter Discovers Barry's Hidden Payroll Tax Increase
Jan 14, 2013 12:40 pm
A funny cartoon showing an Obama supporter discovering that Obama's idea of "fair share" doesn't just include the evil one percent, but everyday Americans. Related posts: "Hidden" Mortgage Fee Paying For Payroll Tax Cut (CBS News) Just before Christmas, American workers got a rare... Powerful Video From A Former Obama Supporter (EDITOR'S NOTE: After reviewing [...]
Jan 14, 2013 12:36 pm I'm a Tea Partier! I'm also a lifelong Republican as was my father, a Chicago Packard dealer Service Manager in the Capone Era. We even owned Machine Gun Mike McGurk's '29 Packard coupe for a while. Dad said he got to vote against that SOB Roosevelt four times! I went to Tea Party meetings on [...]
Opposition Grows As Jack Lew Proves He Doesn't Understand Budgets
Jan 14, 2013 12:30 pm Jack Lew, President Obama's choice to replace Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary, has been in Washington DC a long time. Anyone in public service that long will have quite a record of public statements that will paint an accurate picture for Senators who are considering his nomination. Last week, I wrote about some of the [...]
Jan 14, 2013 12:25 pm WASHINGTON (OfficialWire) - President Barack Obama will hold the last news conference of his first term at the White House Monday morning. Officials say Obama will take questions in the White House East Room at 11:15 a.m. EST. The event comes one week before the president's ceremonial swearing-in and inaugural address for a second term. [...]
Jan 14, 2013 12:15 pm MOSCOW (OfficialWire) - A blind Russian high-schooler's impassioned criticism of the ban on adoption by Americans has added a new and compelling voice to the chorus of condemnation of the law. Since her Jan. 6 blog entry complaining about the ban, written as an open letter to President Vladimir Putin, Natasha Pisarenko has attracted the [...]
Jan 14, 2013 12:10 pm The home of a gun owner, whose address was published by a New York newspaper, has been burglarized and a state lawmaker said it appears the burglars may have used the newspaper's map to target the residence. "Luckily the gun was locked up and no one was hurt," Sen. Greg Ball said. The residence in [...]
The Obama administration has a rather relaxed policy for qualifying for food stamps. Related posts: State Gets $5 Mil Bonus For Food Stamp Sign Up In its quest to promote taxpayer-funded entitlement programs, the Obama... CBO: Food Stamp Use Explodes; I Want My EBT In fiscal year 2011, federal expenditures for the Supplemental Nutrition...
Because They Understand Americans, They Can Destroy America
Jan 12, 2013 07:00 pm Because the Communists, Marxists, Socialists, Islamists, and Liberals understand Americans, they will be able to use American virtues against us. They have studied us for decades to learn our weaknesses and our strengths. They have been patient. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain by destroying America. They know that we are trusting, [...]
There are some disturbing trends coming from the White House. Americans beware. Related posts: In 2014, The Obama Dictatorship Will Be Complete Though few Americans are aware of it, the unconscionable ObamaCare... Proof We're Under A Communist Dictatorship In a shocking article that seems to completely toss the...
Jan 12, 2013 06:50 pm My Hood conservative experience includes real-life zombies and their victimizers, mutually addicted to the same chemical weapon deployed to further destroy the inner city. Liberal critics whine that I pick on urban crackheads and their victimizers, crack dealers. In the spirit of fellowship, I'll now address its political form: liberal crack. Liberalism is the most [...]
It looks like a movement to stop unconstitutional violations of gun rights by refusing to enforce unjust laws is slowly gaining momentum. Related posts: Gingrich Backpedals; Says: 'Life Begins At Conception;' Supports 14th Amendment Protection From Conception (CNSNews.com) - One day after he told Jake Tapper of... John Boehner's Lack Of Courage Might Actually Help [...]
PANDA (People Against The NDAA) Announces The Kickoff Of Operation Homeland Liberty
Jan 12, 2013 06:36 pm On January 3, 2013, PANDA launched Operation Homeland Liberty. The goal of this operation is to stop the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) in all 50 states across America by December 31st, 2013. We are launching this effort for two main reasons. Firstly, we now have the network and resources [...]
Texas Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee seems to be as dumb as a pile of bricks; yet she has been in Congress since 1995. Related posts: NEIL CAVUTO & LIBERAL CONGRESSWOMAN HAVE MUST-WATCH SMACK DOWN DEFICIT DEBATE On his Fox News show this afternoon, Neil Cavuto spoke-spiritedly-with... Congresswoman: Obama's 'Benghazi-Gate' Is 'Worse Than Watergate' Today [...]
Jan 12, 2013 06:23 pm Several weeks after the presidential election, many Americans are still attempting to assess the political ramifications of the GOP loss to Barack Obama. Aside from the many commentaries that resemble political and cultural obituaries of the Republican or conservative "brand" and its influence, there have been several thought-provoking perspectives on what the GOP needs to [...]
SOURCE: http://bobpowell.blogspot.com/ Wanting to kill some time over the weekend, a friend and I did what men do when they have an entire afternoon to themselves: wish-listing at gun stores. We went to over half a dozen stores, mostly mom-and-pop operations that my friend has been frequenting for many years. We were shocked at what [...]
Washington's Spending Addiction And Fiscal Deception
Jan 12, 2013 06:10 pm There has been plenty of confusion and misinformation about the national debt, the fiscal cliff, and new taxes on Americans thanks in part to the use of clever White House talking points and a complicit national media. Let's clear up some of the current issues with facts and truth by looking at the numbers. According [...]
Jan 12, 2013 05:57 pm New Yorkers sound off on this gross invasion of privacy... Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Related posts: Defiant County Official Refuses To Hand Over List Of Gun Owners To Newspaper Dennis Sant 'not backing down'; I say good for him!... Where Is The Hurricane Sandy Aid? NY Residents Speak Out! I have no sympathy [...]
Could 'Death Education' In Our Schools Also Be To Blame?
Jan 12, 2013 05:15 pm What exactly is Death Education? Back in 1990, ABC's 20/20 actually did an investigative report that, to quote Hugh Downs, was "overly morbid." PLEASE watch closely at about 11 minutes in where they talk about Death Ed at Columbine High School... It was quite shocking to see that one of the students they interviewed was [...]
Sen. Charles Schumer says retailers that sell assault weapons should stop offering them for purchase while Congress discusses gun regulation legislation ...(more)
Rock legend and gun-rights activist Ted Nugent took the Obama administration to task Sunday evening for pledging to make gun control a priority, telling Aaron Klein of New York WABC Radio's ...(more
Fears expressed about potential dangers of an anti-gun newspaper publishing detailed maps revealing who owns guns have evidently materialized, New York State Senator Greg Ball stated today in a press release.
Ball "announced that a burglary has been reported on Davis Ave. in White Plains, New York that evidently ties into The Journal News gun maps," ...(more)
Under Chicago's Police Chief Gary McCarthy and the hack that hired him, Chicago has quickly become Murder City USA. Last year by a substantial amount, more Americans died from gunfire in the Windy City than died in Afghanistan. The gunfire is coming from the violent street gangs that infect the streets of Chicago.
Since they have failed to solve the real problem of gunfire killing people in their streets, the current administration has invented a problem their media pals can fool the dupes that vote for them into thinking they are solving. Their invented problem is: what to do about "dangerous" people who are licensed gun owners?
Since their constituency of public housing dwellers doesn't count when they complain, honest licensed gun owners who can put a spotlight on their failure to make the streets safe, must be targeted and shut up. Last week McCarthy publicly warned licensed gun owners his officers ... Continue Reading:Chicago's licensed gun owner "problem" invented to fool the dupes who vote for Democrats
Those who support Attorney Orly Taitz's challenge to Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to serve as President are being urged to protest peacefully at inauguration proceedings on January 21, (the MLK, Jr. holiday,) and in front of the Supreme Court itself on February 15th when Justices will decide the merits of the challenge. Those making this unnecessary plea seem to forget that conservatives are always peaceful, even when confronted with the most inexcusable of antics by the other side.
"Well done, Doctor and good luck," says licensed private investigator Neil Sankey to Orly Taitz on her website. "I will WALK there if necessary and if you need me," he adds, offering his services during the upcoming Court conference. Along with Private Investigator Susan Daniels, Sankey generated a large public, social security data base in a lengthy research project titled "List of Properties associated with Barack Obama and his family." CiR posted the details of this ... Continue Reading:Taitz Supreme Court challenge a joke to some, but important to others
"PowerLineBlog" recently held a competition for $100,000 for whomever could most effectively and creatively dramatize the significance of the federal debt crisis. Several entries have gotten a lot of attention, but the one that has gone most viral so far is 'The Doorbell.' If you haven't yet seen it, you may watch it here. It's 59 seconds long: http://www.ntrc.info/doorbell.html
The steady, relentless collapse of the climate campaign proceeds apace, notwithstanding the sugar high climate campaigners enjoyed after Hurricane Sandy and Obama's re-election. Obama promises that a price on carbon is a main objective of his second term, but given that it is an Obama promise, climate campaigners should understand they've just been given the kiss of death.
The media is slowly starting to give up on the whole game. The New York Times has decided to break up its entire environmental unit and reassign reporters to other beats. A lot of climateers are striking their best Kevin Bacon "All-is-well" poses (from Animal House), but this looks to me just like what happened around the time of 9/11, when urban affairs reporters who couldn't stop churning our five-part features on how suburban sprawl was ruining St. Louis (or plug in your own local metropolis) were reassigned to other beats. I went from getting two or three calls a month from reporters working on sprawl to none almost overnight. Andy Revkin, one of the better Times reporters, is trying to be upbeat but is concerned.
Rumours that the entire environment team, headed by Andy Revkin, have volunteered to be recycled into compost and spread on the lawn of the new billion dollar home Al Gore bought with the proceeds of his sale of Current TV to Middle Eastern oil interests are as yet unconfirmed. What we do know is that it's very, very sad and that all over the Arctic baby polar bears are weeping bitter tears of regret.
A spokesman for the New York Times, quoted in the Guardian, has reaffirmed the paper's commitment to environmental issues.
"We devote a lot of resources to it, now more than ever. We have not lost any desire for environmental coverage. This is purely a structural matter."
Absolutely. It's what newspapers always do when they're committed to a particular field: close down the entire department responsible for covering it.
Not to be left behind, Reuters has decided that it may as well switch sides completely, with a feature today that "Climate Change Doesn't Have To Be All Bad." Reuters' Zacharay Karabell writes:
But what if climate change isn't the disaster we fear but instead one more obstacle that humans can meet, one that may spur innovation and creativity as well as demand ever more resilience? What if it ultimately improves life as we know it?
Keep writing like that and Reuters will be attacked for joining the "S" (skeptic) team. Expect more of these kind of "contrarian" news articles to appear as the media covers up the fact that it is saying, "Never mind."
And if the climate campaign wasn't already in denial about being abandoned by The One, their media allies, and new carbon riches baron Al Gorezeera, a new report coming out this week from Harvard's Theta Skocpol should really harsh their mellow. Skocpol, a prominent liberal political scientist, argues that environmentalists deserve most of the blame for the defeat of their agenda. (Hmmm, they could have saved themselves a lot of time and trouble by just reading Power Line.) Here's some of Skocpol's assessment:
Meanwhile, political consultants and public relations wordsmiths urged environmentalists to redouble euphemistic locutions already deployed during the cap and trade battle - to talk about "green jobs," "threats to public health," and the need to "reduce dependence on foreign oil to bolster national defense," anything but the threat of global warming and catastrophic climate upheavals. Such advice tailed off during the record heat-waves of the summer of 2012; and after Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast shortly before the November elections, the New York media openly connected global warming to the unusual late autumn mega- storm. Some environmentalists declared that politicians are now bound to take up the issue.
This almost certainly overstates the likelihood of sustained official attention.
It's that last sentence that really hurts. Just how many Green Weenie Awards can these guys win? I'm sure this won't be the last.
At his press conference today, President Obama reiterated that he will not engage in negotiations over raising the debt ceiling. He called on Republicans to raise the debt ceiling without conditions. Once the ceiling is raised, we can talk about reducing the debt, including through additional tax increases on upper income Americans in the form of changing the law on deductions, Obama said.
Obama introduced his discussion of the debt limit this way:
Now, the other congressionally imposed deadline coming up is the so-called debt ceiling, something most Americans hadn't even heard of before two years ago.
It's probably a good thing for Obama that most Americans didn't hear of the debt ceiling earlier, because earlier, as a Senator, Obama voted several times against raising the ceiling. At that time he said that raising the debt ceiling would constitute "leadership failure." Yet today, with the debt much larger than it was then, Obama argues that the ceiling should be raised as a pro forma matter.
No "leadership failure" here, Mr. President, right?
Obama continued:
The debt ceiling is not a question of authorizing more spending. Raising the debt ceiling does not authorize more spending. It simply allows the country to pay for spending that Congress has already committed to. These are bills that have already been racked up, and we need to pay them. So, while I'm willing to compromise and find common ground over how to reduce our deficits, America cannot afford another debate with this Congress about whether or not they should pay the bills they've already racked up.
Obama is right that raising the debt ceiling doesn't authorize more spending. But raising it without changes in our spending habits will, as a practical matter, mean that the reckless spending continues unabated.
Moreover, while we do need to pay our debts, we also need to limit future debt. Addressing two problems at one time is a common practice sometimes referred to as political horse trading. This task isn't beyond Obama's capacity, he's just not willing to do it here because he's unserious about debt reduction. If Republicans want him even to pretend to be serious, they will need to stick to their guns, either on the debt ceiling, the sequester, or both.
Obama then listed the horrible things that might happen if the debt ceiling isn't raised. Normally, this would be an argument in favor of negotiating to make sure the horribles don't occur, as Obama did in 2011. That he won't negotiate now shows that he believes he's in a stronger position at this juncture.
His position is, indeed, stronger now, thanks to his reelection. Republicans will point to a poll by the Winston Group showing that more than two-thirds of Americans agree that "any increase in the nation's debt limit must be accompanied by spending cuts and reforms of a greater amount." But Obama may well believe that if the debt ceiling isn't raised and a parade of horribles ensues, the public will forget about Obama's refusal to agree to spending cuts and blame Republicans for the damage.
He may well be right. But let's put off for another day the question of how Republicans should play this hand, and enjoy the exchange that took place when Major Garrett reminded Obama of his votes as Senator against raising the debt ceiling:
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. As you well know, sir, finding votes for the debt ceiling can sometimes be complicated. You yourself as a member of the Senate voted against a debt ceiling increase. And in previous aspects of American history, President Reagan in 1985, President George Herbert Walker Bush in 1990, President Clinton in 1997 all signed deficit reduction deals that were contingent upon or in the context of raising the debt ceiling. You yourself four times have done that; three times those were related to deficit reduction or budget maneuvers.
What Chuck and I and I think many people are curious about is this new adamant desire on your part not to negotiate when that seems to conflict with the entire history in the modern era of American presidents in the debt ceiling and your own history on the debt ceiling. And doesn't that suggest that we are going to go into a default situation, because no one is talking to each other about how to resolve this?
OBAMA: Well, no, Major. I think if you look at the history, getting votes for the debt ceiling is always difficult and budgets in this town are always difficult. I went through this just last year. But what's different is we never saw a situation as we saw last year in which certain groups in Congress took such an absolutist position that we came within a few days of defaulting.
And, you know, the fact of the matter is, is that we have never seen the debt ceiling used in this fashion, where the notion was, you know what, we might default unless we get 100 percent of what we want. That hasn't happened.
Now, as I indicated before, I'm happy to have a conversation about how we reduce our deficits further in a sensible way, although one thing I want to point out is that the American people are also concerned about how we grow our economy, how we put people back to work, how we make sure that we finance our workers getting properly trained and our schools are giving our kids the education we deserve. There's a whole growth agenda which will reduce our deficits that's important, as well.
But what you've never seen is the notion that has been presented so far at least by the Republicans that deficit reduction will only count spending cuts, that we will raise the deficit - or the debt ceiling dollar for dollar on spending cuts. There are a whole set of rules that have been established that are impossible to meet without doing severe damage to the economy. And so what we're not going to do is put ourselves in a position where in order to pay for spending that we've already incurred, that our two options are; we're either going to profoundly hurt the economy, and hurt middle- class families, and hurt seniors, and hurt kids who are trying to go to college, or alternatively we're going to blow up the economy. We're not going to do that.
Plainly, Obama cannot reconcile his votes as a Senator with his present position that the debt ceiling must be raised no matter what. Instead, he creates a straw man - the notion that the Republicans won't raise the debt ceiling unless they get "100 percent" of what they want.
To my knowledge, that is not the Republicans position. In any case, Obama has made an argument only for not giving Republicans 100 percent of what they want, not for refusing to negotiate.
The president's apparent confidence that he's holding a winning hand politically may be justified. But given the public's desire (abstract though it is) for debt reduction and given Obama's votes on this issue as Senator, it's also possible that he is over-confident.
It is time, don't you think, for another photo essay of recent visuals making their way around the Interweb/toobs thing, mostly from Facebook, etc, that shed light on The Human Condition in 2013.
Don't feel bad Detroit; California government is working hard to catch down with you.
Now THIS is the kind of clone war I can support.
Given the way philosophy is taught today, I'm not sure this is such a joke.
Heh.
I know it's bad form to pick on the mentally challenged. . .
And finally, one I can relate to:
His mistake was putting on the coat and tie. I don't make this mistake.
No one who has been paying attention will be surprised by this story from Politico describing the warn relationship between New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo:
Instead of jockeying for advantage, the two Northeastern governors - the Republican from blue-state New Jersey and the Democrat from bluer-state New York - have developed an unexpectedly warm working relationship over the past 18 months, marked by occasional dinners and more frequent cell phone contact, aides say. Not coincidentally, both also enjoy approval ratings at the 70-percent level, a novel, post-Hurricane Sandy occurrence for Christie and a nearly two-year constant for Cuomo.
Notice how the second sentence of this paragraph refutes the first. The development of the "warm relationship" looks, in part, like "jockeying for advantage," at least in Christie's case.
Actually, no one should be surprised by any of Christie's bipartisan moves and gestures, although I think it's reasonable for Republicans to be upset by his over-the-top embrace of President Obama on the eve of the presidential election. Throughout American political history, this sort of "pragmatism," (or bending with the wind, if you prefer) has been the rule rather than the exception. In the Nineteenth Century, American politicians with significant longevity were more likely than not to end up in a different ideological place from where they started.
For better or for worse, we see somewhat less of it these days because the force of the national parties, and their commitment to a single ideology, has increased. But the national Republican Party holds little force in New Jersey, so clever Republican politicians like Chris Christie can be expected to respond accordingly.
France, under its Socialist President Francois Hollande, has dispatched 400 troops backed by helicopter gunships and fighter aircraft to stop the advance of al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali. As Max Boot summarizes the situation: "While the United Nations passed toothless resolutions and the U.S. expressed concern but did nothing, France's President, Francois Hollande, acted."
As part of its campaign, France has bombarded Gao, a major city controlled by the rebels, targeting the airport, training camps, and depots used by the al-Qaida-linked group. According to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the military effort succeeded in blocking the advance that had prompted the intervention.
The U.S. is said to be providing "non-lethal assistance" to France. Apparently, the Obama administration would have been content to see al-Qaeda linked rebels prevail in Mali. Fortunately, Hollande provided leadership. Obama is following from so far behind as to be almost invisible.
Note that the AP story about France's intervention is attributed to "Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris; Ahmed Mohamed in Nouakchott, Mauritania; Robbie Corey-Boulet in Ivory Coast and Cassandra Vinograd and Raphael Satter in London." In other words, no one in Mali.
That's because the French government told the press not to come. Obviously, this represents a very different approach than the one the U.S. adopts.
In my view, there is much to be said for France's approach. If the mission flops or in the unlikely event that French troops commit atrocities, word will almost surely get out and the media will pounce. But I consider it a plus, on balance, that the French military can, in the first instance, go about its job without journalists in the way and commenting selectively on its actions.
UPDATE: According to Fox News, the al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels are advancing notwithstanding France's efforts against them. The U.S. reportedly is considering stepping up its level of support for France, but not supplying armed forces.
The Payroll Tax Rich Galen Payroll taxes are those you pay into the Social Security system and Medicare. Taken together, these are known as "FICA" taxes for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act that authorized them. Altogether, 15.3 percent of your income goes to the Feds. In addition to whatever income taxes you might be paying.
Pro-Amnesty Think Tank Peddles Fraudulent View of Immigration Enforcement Spending
Last week, the Migration Policy Institute peddled the results of its latest study, which fraudulently depicts a surge in immigration enforcement spending over the past decade.
Putting the New Judiciary Committees under the Microscope
Both President Obama and Congressional Leadership have promised comprehensive immigration reform in the 113th Congress... However, before any legislation can be brought to the Senate or House floor for a vote, it must first pass through...the Judiciary Committee.
Illinois Issues Driver's Licenses to Illegal Aliens
The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police urged the House to vote against SB 957 because it lacks "basic public safety and homeland security safeguards," thus jeopardizing the safety of all Illinois citizens.
Chamber of Commerce Announces Amnesty as Top Priority
During his annual State of American Business address last week, President Thomas J. Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced that getting comprehensive immigration reform passed is one of the organization's top priorities in 2013.
Education Dollars Going Down the Drain of Government Bureaucracy By Rachel Sheffield
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just released its latest batch of Head Start data, revealing, once again, that its students are receiving far less than a "head start."
The study, which was finally released the weekend before Christmas after more than a year's delay, examines the third-grade outcomes of two groups of Head Start students: those who began the program at age three and another who began at age four.
In 2010, HHS released a similar report looking at first-grade outcomes. Both studies show similar results: Not only does Head Start have no impact on children's academic outcomes, but it also has little to no impact on other measures of child well-being and, in some cases, even has some negative impacts.
$180 Billion Over 180 billion taxpayer dollars have been spent on the federal Head Start program since it began nearly five decades ago, but research time and again confirms the program's ineffectiveness.
In the latest Head Start study researchers found that the program had no impact on children's academic outcomes and very little impact on any other outcomes measured. See Head Start Impact Evaluation Report Finally Released
Quote of the Week
"I don't believe taxpayers pay taxes to subsidize a failing government school system. What they want is quality education provided to every child.... If we turn our backs on school choice, it won't be only some of our most deserving children who will be the losers. It will be our entire state."
Tax-Sponsored Common Core Meetings Closed to Public
"Though 46 states will spend an estimated $5 to $12 billion to implement a new set of national education standards called the Common Core, public officials are arranging these standards in hundreds of closed-door meetings," writes Joy Pullman of The Heartland Institute.
National School Choice Week is planning "the first-ever nationwide, whistle-stop train tour in support of school choice." Check it out here!
About The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute -- a think tank -- whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
One lesson I learned in marketing is that, for consumers and voters, perception is reality.
November's election results and exit polls suggest that a majority of Americans agree that government does too much yet still voted for more of it. The election taught conservatives that we can no longer entrust political parties to carry our message.
We must take our case to the people ourselves, and we must start where all good marketing starts: with research. Conservative policies have proved their worth time and time again. If we're not communicating in a way that makes that clear, we are doing a disservice to our fellow citizens. We need to test the market and our message to communicate more effectively.
That's why Heritage will start this year to help the conservative movement understand how Americans from all walks of life perceive public policy issues and how to communicate conservative ideas and solutions.
Economic freedom continues to recede in the United States, according to The Heritage Foundation's 2013 Index of Economic Freedom. This was the fifth straight year of decline for the 10th-ranked United States, reflecting increased government regulation and spending.
The Index, produced in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal, reports that Hong Kong is again the world's freest economy. And the United States, which ranks only as a "mostly free" economy, lags behind countries like Canada and Australia.
In a significant step forward for its naval program, Russia has made operational a new nuclear-powered missile submarine for the first time in over 20 years.
Naval reinvigoration has been a central theme of President Vladimir Putin's presidency. Russia has pledged tens of billions of dollars over the next few years to revamp its naval fleet.
Every year, Heritage publishes the Index of Dependence on Government to provide lawmakers with accurate information about the number of Americans who rely on government. Heritage Foundation economist Bill Beach explained on Fox Business that more than 70 percent of federal money goes to programs that create dependency on government.
The Obama administration said today it will miss a key deadline for submitting a budget for fiscal 2014. "Under the law, Obama must submit a budget by the first Monday in February, but he has met the deadline only once," The Hill reports.
What happens when a government program simply does not do what it is supposed to do?
Head Start, the federal preschool program, says it "promotes the school readiness of children ages birth to 5 from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social and emotional development." But the government's own evaluations have shown that it just does not do this.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its latest findings of a long study that followed Head Start kids all the way to third grade.
The findings: "by third grade, the $8 billion Head Start program had little to no impact on cognitive, social-emotional, health, or parenting practices of participants. On a few measures, access to Head Start had harmful effects on children."
Heritage's Lindsey Burke, the Will Skillman Fellow in Education, and research fellow David Muhlhausen note in their new assessment of the study that the government finished collecting the data in 2008-and then waited four years before releasing the study on the Friday before Christmas 2012. That tells you how much the people in charge wanted you to know about Head Start's effectiveness.
What is Head Start? It's much more than learning your ABCs. From the program's website:
Head Start programs provide comprehensive services to enrolled children and their families, which include health, nutrition, social services and other services determined to be necessary by family needs assessments, in addition to education and cognitive development services. Head Start services are designed to be responsive to each child and family's ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage.
The information states that "Programs may be based in: Centers or schools that children attend for part-day or full-day services; Family child care homes; or Children's own homes, where a staff person visits once a week to provide services to the child and families."
This broad description of services should have you seeing dollar signs. Since 1965 - when Head Start was founded as a small summer program - taxpayers have spent more than $180 billion on it. Fraud has also been uncovered in the program, yet it continued. Most recently, lawmakers added millions in Head Start funding to the Hurricane Sandy relief package.
So it is stunning to find that all this money has been spent for little to no benefit to the children and families it was supposed to help.
The third-grade study found that access to Head Start had no statistically measurable effects on all measures of cognitive ability, including numerous measures of reading, language, and math ability.
As Burke and Muhlhausen sum it up:
HHS has released definitive evidence that the federal government's 48-year experiment with Head Start has failed children and left taxpayers a tab of more than $180 billion. In the interest of children and taxpayers, it's time for this nearly half-century experiment to come to an end.
Last week, the British Socialist Commonwealth's Committee for Redistributive Algorithms appealed to the Directorate for Minorities Ranking of the Office of the Commissar for Equality Enforcement under the Dept of Social Egalitarianism and Redistribution for clarification and guidance on the matter of the proper social ranking and victimhood status of Transsexual Males-to-Females in light of Feminist concerns that their victim status was being jeopardized by improper categorization.
In short, BS Party members from the Feminist Caucus are questioning whether Transsexual Males-to-Females meet the proper classification of Female in order to qualify for Victimhood status...
Nerve: Obama says "We have to break the habit of negotiating through crisis over and over again"
President Obama held a presser today and actually had the nerve to scold his colleagues for constantly "negotiating through crisis" again and again. Funny, coming from a man who's all buddy-buddy with Rahm 'never let a crisis go to waste' Emanuel. But that's not all he said -- check out his description of the debt ceiling and more HERE.
Bloomberg: You'll have to suffer a little bit
The fact that Mayor Bloomberg is still the mayor of New York City really says something about New Yorkers -- mainly that they suck. Soda bans, trans fats bans, idling car bans, gun bans, smoking bans...what's next? Bloomberg answered that question with something even more ridiculous than you'd guess. Patients in pain will now suffer because nanny Bloomberg is cracking down on pain meds. Glenn reacts on radio today.
5pm ET - The Glenn Beck Program: Beck breaks down the details of TheBlaze Gun Poll and makes a prediction about what action he believes the administration will take.
6pm ET -Real News: The debt ceiling debate is heating up. Will GOP leadership stand together against the Democrats, or will there be another battle between the old and new guard?
7pm ET -Wilkow!: The President is trying to make what's illegal, legal and what's legal, illegal (guns). What you can do is take action by questioning your lawmakers about where they stand on 10th Amendment.
The B.S. of A. announces Glenn's next BIG idea...WATCH.
Epic rant by NY judge slams release of gun owner information
Glenn played the epic grilling of the sleazy publication that printed the names and addresses of gun owners living in NY. Jeanine Pirro absolutely devastates the slime balls who thought it made sense to equate legal gun owners to child murderers. Check out the full rant and Glenn's classic response HERE.
TheBlaze gun poll results are in...
Last week TheBlaze conducted what turned into a massive gun poll. Many of the answers you'd expect from TheBlaze audience, but others were completely surprising. How do Blaze readers views on guns stack up against the talking points of the MSM, the administration and others pushing gun legislation? Get answers and Glenn's reaction.
Telling: Stu saw Zero Dark Thirty, Glenn saw Les Mis
It was a movie kind of weekend for the radio crew. Stu saw Zero Dark Thirty. Glenn, notorious for watching (and actually liking) Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, went to see Les Mis. Glenn wouldn't be able to catch a football if it were handed to him - but he sure knows how to review a musical. Who soared and who flopped?
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Awesome viral video: Someone actually created a full-length, live-action version of Toy Story - watch it HERE.
TheBlaze Radio Network launches new morning show with Doc Thompson
With the latest addition to TheBlaze Radio, you can now start your mornings with Doc Thompson! Weekdays from 6:00-9:00am ET, tune into The Morning Blaze with Doc Thompson, followed by Glenn's radio program, Pat & Stu, Jay Severin, and more! Get the full lineup HERE.
Miss Iowa takes a stance on Marijuana...kind of
Pat & Stu try to decipher Miss Iowa's stance on marijuana usage - WATCH. Get more Pat and Stu weekdays from 12-2pm ET on TheBlaze TV.
Five Concerns About Armed Guards in Schools
An examination of the NRA's response to Sandy Hook. People want change and answers, but this suggestion is not that well thought out, here's why.
Glenn's e-book thriller series: Great news! The sixth episode in the WRATH & RIGHTEOUSNESS e-book series has been released! There are ten episodes in total (about 5-6 full books worth of content), and we're releasing them over the course of about one year. Download episodes 1-5 to catch up, then get the latest installment in the series HERE. Have a question or comment about the series? Visit our FAQ page.
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Last week, the British Socialist Commonwealth's Committee for Redistributive Algorithms appealed to the Directorate for Minorities Ranking of the Office of the Commissar for Equality Enforcement under the Dept of Social Egalitarianism and Redistribution for clarification and guidance on the matter of the proper social ranking and victimhood status of Transsexual Males-to-Females in light of Feminist concerns that their victim status was being jeopardized by improper categorization.
Nerve: Obama says "We have to break the habit of negotiating through crisis over and over again"
