912 Patriots of Lower Bucks - Your Daily Updates ALL in ONE Place!
April 1, 2013
Quote:
"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
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by Suzanne Eovaldi, staff writer | Mar 31, 2013 06:13 am | Coach Collins
Are America's treasured National Parks being co-opted by the New World Order under the guise of designating them World Heritage Sites, thus allowing foreign troops and United Nations agencies to take over our country in a soft coup d'etat? A blogger has photographed heavily equipped armored vehicles carrying the "Special Response Team" logo in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Heritage site in Gatlinburg, TN. (1) "It is a deadly serious piece of equipment never before used inside the US until now," says the blogger "Sherrie" who then adds, "The vehicles don't come more heavily armored."
Sherrie has put up several pictures of these in-country tanks which she said she saw on and near Interstate 75 when she was traveling back roads near Winchester, Richmond, KY, and lists Rt. # 627 as an area of interest. "This spot is (around) the US Army Chemical Depot" which covers 14,000 acres in ... Continue Reading:Are World Heritage Sites being used to train Russian troops in the US?
NY's Common Core-Aligned Lessons Use Scientology Videos to Teach Students They Have Right to Food, Housing, Clothing, Medicine, Even a Job
Mar. 30, 2013
Update: Two small adjustments to this story were made to clarify the relationship between Common Core and school districts.
A parent in upstate New York is claiming there is some disturbing information being taught to his child as a result of a Common Core-aligned lesson on government and human rights. (Common Core is the controversial standardized curriculum program being advocated for by the federal government.)
The latest example, he says, is that his daughter and her classmates are being taught a section on the 30 "universal human rights" declared by the United Nations in 1945. Those rights include:
* The right to a nationality, and to change that nationality whenever you want to.
* The right to a job for everyone who wants one.
* The right to "social security" (to be taken care of by the government when you cannot do it yourself).
* The right to food, clothing, housing and medicine.
* The right to work and join a union. (One of the rights also states that you cannot be compelled to join an association.)
This is the way the Protestant Episcopal Church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus??
Pastor at Obama's Easter Church Service: 'Captains of the Religious Right' Want Blacks 'in the Back of the Bus,' Women 'Back in the Kitchen'
The Blaze | Madeleine Morgenstern | Mar. 31, 2013 1:26pm
The pastor at the Washington, D.C. church where the Obama family celebrated Easter on Sunday said members of the religious right want blacks "in the back of the bus," women "back in the kitchen" and immigrants "back on their side of the border."
"It drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are always calling us back...for blacks to be back in the back of the bus...for women to be back in the kitchen...for immigrants to be back on their side of the border," Rev. Dr. Luis Leon said in his sermon, according to the White House press pool report.
Reuters reporter Jeff Mason tweeted that Leon also said the religious right wants gays in the closet.
Pastor at church Obama is attending says captains of the religious right want blacks at back of bus, women in the kitchen, gays in closet
Citing the words of Jesus, Leon said, "You cannot go back."
The president, first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia all attended the service at St. John's Episcopal Church, located across the street from the White House. Known as "The Church of the Presidents," St. John's boasts having hosted every president for services since 1816 and has a dedicated pew for the commander in chief.
Obama faced controversy during the 2008 presidential campaign over the fiery words of his longtime pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Commissioner Marseglia is trying to exclude any County retirement funds that invest in firearm manufacturing, but also in firearm sales. This is outrageous and stinks of a total firearms ban and a an attack of free enterprise. Stores like Cabelas and Dick's fall into that category.Challenge her at the next Commissioner meeting and ask her if this means that she advocates a total gun ban for hunters and sportsmen as well as protection. What does this have to do as she expounds"control unsafe gun use" See the below Intel story.
Commissioner's Meeting
April 3, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. Bucks County Courthouse Community Room 55 E. Court St., 1st Floor, Doylestown
Announcing - Women On Target, Getting Comfortable With Firearms
Place: Wicen's Shooting Range, 3179 Mozart Road, Furlong, PA 18925
Date: April 26-27.
This is a 2-day class, 4 hours total. You may attend Day 1 classroom only, or you may attend both Day 1 classroom & Day 2 shooting event. You may NOT attend Day 2 shooting event without attending the Day 1 classroom portion. (Some students may choose not to attend the shooting portion, but we will encourage them to do so.)
Day 1 Classroom (40 people maximum): Friday, April 26, 2013 from 7-9pm
Day 2 Range: Saturday, April 27, 2013
Two sessions (20 people each maximum): First come first serve
9 am -11 am
1 pm - 3 pm
Cost: Each Day is $25.00. Total cost if you attend both Day 1 and Day 2 will be $50.00 per student. You must make payment in the form of check or cash.
On Day 1 students will take an after-hours range tour, learn firearm safety, reasons to own a firearm, and have the opportunity to handle and ask questions about various pistols, rifles and shotguns.
On Day 2 students will split into 3 small groups, and have the opportunity to shoot pistols, rifles and shotguns, with an NRA Certified Instructor coaching them through each safety step.
All firearms and ammunition will be supplied. Up to 50 rounds per student will be allocated.
This will be performed by Lori Wicen of Wicen's Range (not CGOBC):
Email will be checked each evening and respond accordingly. Please note how many ladies will be attending this course in your email.
(Lori will answer and allocate spots according to the time stamp on the email from you.)
Lori will keep a chart of interest, and then highlight when their check is received.
Lori will let us know (via the the Facebook post) when she has 15 in either Saturday session so we know when one class is almost full.
Check must be at least $25.00 (per person) .. you may pay the entire $50 (per person) if you want to lock in both days. If you only pay $25 (per person) then your Saturday class will not be locked in and you risk not getting the time slot you desire.
Please make check payable to: Wicen's Shooting Range
Mailed to:
Wicen's Shooting Range
3179 Mozart Road
Furlong, PA 18925
note in comment area or enclose a note: WOT April 26, and specify morning or afternoon Saturday session, put their telephone number on the check
***You must submit payment (cash or check only) no later than close of business Saturday April 13th or your spot will be released.
contact info: loriwicen@yahoo.com Telephone at the range: 215-598-3534 leave a message!
************************************************ There will be a raffle on day one where four lucky women will receive their $25 "DAY 1" payment refunded and on day two there will be a raffle where four lucky women (two in each session) will receive their "DAY 2" payment refunded. ************************************************ As an added bonus through the generosity of Tanner's Sport Center, Ray Tanner is offering 5% off a gun purchase to attendees of the course after completion of the full course.
***Please refer all questions pertaining to this course to Lori Wicen. loriwicen@yahoo.com 215-598-3534
Terri's Day 2013!
Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network announces the, "International Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Terri Schindler Schiavo, and All of Our Vulnerable Brothers and Sisters," (Terri's Day!), which is typically observed each year on March 31, the anniversary of Terri's death.Because Easter falls on March 31, this year Terri's Day Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, April 5, 2013. (Read below)
National Memorial Mass for Terri's Day!
This year's Terri's Day Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, April 5, 2013 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul located at 18th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
The mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Charles Chaput, Archbishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia, beginning at 5:00 p.m. All are invited to attend.
Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network's Award Gala with Governor Sarah Palin
Following the Memorial Mass, there will be the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network's Award Gala, currently scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception. This dinner gala will be held at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, located at 1201 Market Street in Philadelphia. The first "Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Award" will be presented.
*As you may know, Philadelphia parking is very limited in the city, particularly around the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul. The Marriott, however; has plenty of parking available. Please plan ahead.
Introduction to Terri's Day!
We invite individual believers to spend time on that day learning about Terri, and praying for all whose lives are threatened in the same way that Terri's was.
We invite Churches to hold memorial services and to educate their people on the dignity of every human life, despite any disability or disease with which that life may be afflicted.
We invite educational institutions to help dispel the myths and inaccuracies about Terri's life and death, and to contribute to our society's debate regarding the rights of the disabled by providing accurate, factual information and mature reflection on the ethical demands of caring for the weak and vulnerable.
We invite all people to use the resources on this website and to help us continue to draw good out of the sad and tragic way in which Terri was treated.
in support of ACTION of PA Cumberland County Chapter
Thursday, April 4, 2013
8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
The Bongiorno Conference Center 430 Union Hall Rd. Carlisle, PA
This presentation will provide Biblical worldview answers for such key questions as:
Is there hope for America?
What is God's role for pastors in our time?
How do we rebuild the walls?
Speakers and Program for the Morning Include:
8:30-9:00 a.m. - Welcome
9:00-9:35 a.m. - Hon. Sam Rohrer, President, PA Pastors' Network - presents the need for pastors to "Stand in the Gap"
9:35-9:55 a.m. - Pastor Gary Dull, Faith Baptist Church of Altoona and PPN Leadership Council Member presents the content for pastors to "Preach the Word"
10:00-10:40 - Pastor Jim Arcieri, Community Bible Fellowship Church and PPN Leadership Council Member presents the "Tools" for pastors to "Rebuilding the Walls"
It will be a vital addition to your ministry when you attend this very important luncheon. ABSOLUTELY FREE! Olive Tree Ministries and our event hosts invite you to join us for a Middle East Briefing with Pastor Victor Styrsky on April 4th and 5th. Victor a speaker your will love! His straight forward and passionate heart drew enthusiastic response last Fall when his powerful message about Israel reached audiences throughout Delaware and Pennsylvania region. Victor has just returned from Israel where he hosted over 50 pastors on life - changing tours and briefings. As the First State, Delaware need to be on God's radar in support fo Israel, the apple of His eye! Won't you become part of our initiative here in this area to bring together Pastors, Rabbis and congregational Leaders for Israel? NOW is the time! We will look forward to having you join us. Staff of Olive Tree Ministries.
Click above to register for either or both events Bring spouses and guests. You will be linking directly to the CUFI registration pages. Your guests are welcome but each individual person must register as indicated on the registration pages.
VALLEY FORGE PATRIOTS APRIL MEETING
FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 6pm AT PJ RYANS
BRIDGE ST. PHOENIXVILLE
We will have an organizational meeting with members. The VFP wants to talk with our members to review how the organization is structured, what kind of help we need to be successful and to discuss our plans for 2013. We also need to discuss meeting location(s) and what amenities you want.
There will be no formal speakers, however, Paula Stiles will fill us in on the latest with Smart Meters and state legislation dealing with them.
We really need your thoughts and ideas about how you want your organization to function and what you think we should focus on. We have learned that we can't do everything because there is so much going on at all levels.We must focus on a few most important issues.
Should we work on projects at the local level, the state level, and/or the federal level? Or, should we pick several focal points that could be worked on at all levels? Voter ID would be one of these issues. Should the VFP continue its legislator visit program. This would be another program that would involve all levels of government. How about UN Agenda 21? School Board?
The VFP Steering Committee wants your ideas, your help, and your involvement in continuing to make our programs successful.
PLEASE COME OUT AND JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION!
P.S. Since we are having the meeting at a commercial establishment, and since the room is free, we are expected to buy our food and drink at PJ Ryans. No outside food or drink please.
SAVE THE DATE: APRIL 16th CITIZENS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 6:30-8:30 pm
Quakertown Library, 401 W. Mill Street, Quakertown
hosts PEG LUKSIK on Indoctrination in Education
Founder & Chairman Pennsylvania Parents Commission and National Parents Commission - to give parents a voice in education and public policy: State-wide leader in successful effort to stop implementation of Outcome Based Education
Founder, CEO, Chair Board of Trustees of Mom's House - service network assisting single parents and children in completing education to become employable
State Chairman, Constitutional Party of Pennsylvania 1995
T.V. host "The Learning Curve"
Co-author "Outcome Based Education: The States Assault on our Children's Values"
WHO CONTROLS THE CHILDREN??For a preview of this fantastic speaker, watch this dynamite YouTube video
Peg Luksik "Who Controls Our Children" How Public Schools Dumb Down Kids
Updated PA Leadership Conference Agenda Released
The conference which will be held April 19-20, 2013 at the Radisson Penn Harris Convention Center in Camp Hill (Harrisburg), PA.
Registration includes admission to all conference functions EXCEPT the pre-dinner reception. Registration DOES include the Friday evening dinner with speaker Steve Hayes of Fox News/The Weekly Standard (do not register separately for the dinner); the Saturday breakfast with John Gizzi and Saturday lunch with pollster/commentator Scott Rasmussen. It also includes all panels, workshops and speakers. The only function NOT included in the registration fee is the pre-dinner reception with Steve Hayes, which is priced separately.
Depart: Doylestown Library When: 8 AM Rally at the Capitol followed by lobbying visits 12noon Returning to Doylestown 8:30
Cost is Free To reserve your spot
Please Call Anastasia at 215-534-1851
April 23rd-Bus Trip-2nd Amendment Rally
Depart: Doylestown Library When: 7:30 a.m. Arrive: Harrisburg, PA Depart: 2:30 p.m. Cost: $50.00 due ASAP to reserve bus(es) Includes: Shirt, Drink
Please mail your check payable to CGOBC as follows:
CGOBC PO Box 745 Doylestown, PA 18901
Come join the Concerned Gun Owners of Bucks County (COGBC) on their bus trip to Harrisburg to promote H.B. 357. Plan on entering the capital to meet with your legislators and to support your 2nd Amendment Right!
FrackNation is a documentary on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and the natural gas boom in the US and abroad. FrackNation shows how unfounded opposition to fracking is damaging the lives of some of the poorest and hardest working people in America. FrackNation dispels myths and tells the story of the people directly affected by fracking bans.
FrackNation premiered January 22, 2013 on Mark Cuban's AXS TV. The New York Times called the film "meticulously researched...provocative." And Variety said it was a "briskly paced...mischievous pic."
The film was created and directed by the husband and wife team of Phelim McAleer and the always outrageous Ann McElhinney. Ann will be speaking on April 20th at the upcoming PA Leadership Conference. DVDs of the film will be available for purchase at the PA Coalition booth at PLC
Phelim will be touring Pennsylvania for a series of screenings across the Commonwealth. Listed below are venues and dates for screenings in April. Additional screenings are planned for May including one in the Pittsburgh area. If your grass roots group would like to schedule a screening, please contact Magdalena Segieda at magda@fracknation.com
We are so blessed that over the last four years thousands of churches in over 60 countries have stood in solidarity with Israel through CUFI Sunday. From the largest cities to the smallest towns, from mega churches in the American heartland to underground churches in China, Christians have come together to express their love and support for Israel.
We pray that your church will participate in the fifth annual CUFI Sunday on May 5, 2013. CUFI will provide you with all the materials you need to implement a successful CUFI Sunday, including videos, literature and Pastor John Hagee's personal sermon notes for your use.
Please click hereto participate in CUFI Sunday. As you'll see, you don't have to be a pastor to ensure that your church stands with Israel on CUFI Sunday.
The date we've chosen for CUFI Sunday -- May 5th -- is close to Israeli Independence Day. As the Jewish State celebrates her 65th birthday, there is no better present we can send than the news of thousands of churches standing in solidarity with her!
We look forward to uniting in action and prayer on behalf of Israel with you and your congregation on May 5, 2013.
May God Bless You and Those that You Love,
Pastor John Hagee National Chairman
David Brog Executive Director
Announcing the 2013 National Conference
& Legislative Briefing!
June 19 - 21 we will convene at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC for our fourth annual National Conference & Legislative Briefing.
And here's some really great news: This year's registration fee is only $229! Register by April 15th and you'll receive our "Early Bird" rate of just $189!
We also offer again this year special benefits for Patriot Eagle and Patriot sponsors.
We have some exciting new wrinkles planned for this year's event, and our list of confirmed speakers already includes:
Steven Emerson - Journalist, author, and the Executive Editor of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. A. M. Rosenthal, late-managing editor of The New York Times, described Emerson as "one of the nation's best national security correspondents."
John Guandolo - Former FBI agent and one of America's leading authorities on the Muslim Brotherhood and its inner workings in America. Guandolo spoke at our conference in 2011 and received rave reviews from conference attendees!
Ezra Levant - Canadian lawyer, author, newspaper columnist with Sun Media, and former publisher of the Western Standard. Hauled before a Canadian "human rights commission" because he published the Danish cartoons that satirized Muhammad, Levant's personal account of a politically correct government inquisition is something you won't want to miss!
The National Conference & Legislative Briefing will begin on Wed. evening, June 19th, and conclude on Friday, June 21st at noon, with additional optional training sessions Friday afternoon.
It will again feature our very popular Capitol Hill Awards Luncheon and our signature gala banquet-and of course, our Legislative Briefing, where Members of Congress will brief you on various issues and answer your questions.
So make your plans now to join us in our nation's capital for what promises to be our best National Conference & Legislative Briefing ever!
More details to come!
Brigitte Gabriel to Speak
in Baltimore, MD!
Brigitte Gabriel
Leading Global Islamic Terrorism Expert
CLICK HERE to view Brigitte's special video invitation!
It is my privilege to invite you to a special event featuring Brigitte Gabriel, Founder and President of ACT! for America. This event is free and open to the public and will be held at the following:
Central Christian
7411 Rossville Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21237
Monday, May 6th at 7 pm
Ms. Gabriel will speak on the rise of Islamic radicalism in your community and in our nation. Her story of survival as a persecuted Christian living in a bomb shelter for 7 years will have you captivated and inspired! She will share how the events of 9/11 compelled her to start ACT! for America, the largest national security grassroots organization in the U.S.
The recent assaults at our embassies have been a sobering wake-up call to America. The lesson is that we should be displaying strength to our enemies, not appeasement which only demonstrates our weakness. Without question, the threats of radical Islam to America have increased.
These are just some of the threats Brigitte will discuss:
Suppression of criticism of Islam
Homegrown jihad
Terrorists infiltrating our borders
The Muslim Brotherhood and creeping sharia law in America
Misrepresentation of history in our public education
You will hear first-hand how ACT! for America is successfully rolling back the tide of radical Islam...how we are winning legislative victories...how we don't have to live in fear or resign ourselves to the inevitability of the threats arrayed against us...and how we will prevail.
I encourage you to forward this email to everyone you know. For those who are not familiar with ACT! for America, please share this short video with them.
I know those of you who have heard Brigitte will agree, not only do you not want to miss this, but you will want to bring your relatives and friends with you. It will be an event people will be talking about for a long time to come!
Invite your friends and come join us in Baltimore, MD! We look forward to seeing you on May 6th
Guy Rodgers Executive Director
As Israelis celebrate their 65th Independence Day this year, we should all take time out to reflect on the miracle of Israel's independence. We must also ask ourselves the question, "What can I do to ensure that this miracle of Israel survives and thrives?"
We announced earlier this week that we'll be headed to New Orleans the first weekend in August for this year's RedState Gathering. As a member of our RedState family, we'd like to extend exclusive Early Bird registration and pricing to you (just use the promo code EARLYBIRD on the registration page).
The 2013 RedState Gathering will be held August 2-3 at the Westin Canal Place in New Orleans, LA. We'll have two full days of speakers and activities and you can expect a good mix of elected officials and potential candidates for the 2014 cycle (we'll keep you informed as additions are made).
The Gathering has always been a unique event, in that all speakers, even the most in-demand and influential, pay their own way and make their own travel arrangements. This helps keep our costs low, a savings we are happy to pass along to our conference attendees. Additionally, we strive to get you up close to the speakers, ask them to take your questions, and we take care of nearly all your meals during the conference. Bottom line: fewer frills, more thrills and access.
We are thrilled to once again be joined by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who will be hosting a reception for all attendees and appear at the Gathering podium as a keynote speaker. A huge hit in 2012, we're looking forward to Gov. Jindal playing an even larger role this year as he welcomes us to his home state.
Now, more than ever, true conservative activists must come together to exchange ideas and strategize for the future. That's what this year's Gathering is all about. We hope you'll join us.
P.S. Don't delay! You'll receive 20% off if you register today - just use the promo code EARLYBIRD. Click here.
Glenn: Help us get in millions of home
Why should you support the "Get TheBlaze" movement to get TheBlaze in millions of homes across the country? For starters, how about a network that will cancel out the damage Al-Jazeera will be doing in America as it replaces Current in your lineup? Check out Glenn's "why" in this exclusive letter HERE.
Ready to take action? Click here to contact your TV provider and urge them to add TheBlaze.
ATTENTION: Are you a Verizon FiOS Subscriber? They've created a new form for you to fill out to request TheBlaze! You can complete the form HERE. And don't forget to make your request public by posting on their Facebook page. Thank you for supporting us!
Sirius XM adds TheBlaze Radio News to Patriot channel
Sirius XM Radio announced today that TheBlaze, Glenn Beck's multi-platform news, information, and opinion network, will produce 24/7 hourly radio newscasts on SiriusXM Patriot, SiriusXM's conservative talk channel. DETAILS
If you're like most of TheBlaze TV community, you watched the first episode of For the Record when it premiered and immediately wanted to share the truth about how the NSA has turned America into a surveillance state. Now, due to popular demand, we have made this must-see episode available on DVD.
The restoration of journalism has begun. For The Record is an investigative news magazine with no political agenda and nothing to lose. Probing, fair, but unforgiving. Journalism the way it used to be.
Don't miss your chance to own the premiere episode of For The Record. Watch as For the Record investigates how the NSA turned America into a surveillance state. Hear from former NSA employees who left the agency after discovering the government was spying on her people. Plus, join us as we investigate a facility being built in Utah slated to become the largest information-gathering center in the country.
This chilling, one-hour episode, reminds us all that with every call, every email...the government is watching.
We can't rely on "honest" journalists to get this information to the public, so we are counting on YOU. Order your copy now.
TheBlaze | 1133 Avenue of the Americas | New York, NY 10036 | TheBlaze LLC | All Rights Reserved 2013
Hi All - I just spoke w/ Lisa Lnancollas@aol.com (717 437 1327) who lives in Lewistown, Pa and is majorly involved in fighting the smart meters............and it's more than just electric, it's water, furnaces/ac's and wells too
We need to share this information. I asked her if she'd speak to groups in our area and she said yes, but would like to include Mike Reese who's written several bills that we want to get out of committee and approved:
2.signs in our yards saying NO SMART METERS......put them around like election signs
3.Let our State Reps know how you feel ie Warren Kampf....tell him you're in favor of the bills against smart meters
4.Do neighbor alerts........call your neighbors if you see trucks coming into the area
5.Write letters to the editors....remember if they get several letters, they're more likely to put at least one in.....educate the public
6.Prepare handouts
7.Send certified letter to electric company and get return receipt of name of person who signed for it
Be aware:
Water Smart Meters.........(IF YOU LET THEM IN, you're giving permission.) YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LET THEM IN
Well Smart Meters......are coming and will limit the amount of water you use.
If you get someone knocking on your door asking if you want to save money on your heat/ac, do not say yes or they'll put a clip on your unit that will limit your usage of air conditioning. The fan will work, but your usage will be CONTROLLED.
IF you get a new wall mount (thermostat & it may be required w/ a new ac unit because of the wiring) for your AC DO NOT GET ONE WITH A GPS in it........there is a cheaper model that has no GPS........ask questions BEFORE you start or consider any changes!!!!!!!!
Important Announcement from SFL
Across America, state and local officials are writing bills and resolutions to protect citizen's from Agenda 21's policies. Because many people do not recognize Agenda 21 in action, property owners still remain at risk.
To help officials recognize Agenda 21's footprint, SFL created a document in a Q&A format that answers:
How do I know Agenda 21 exists in the U.S.?
What does Agenda 21 have to do with sustainable development?
What is wrong with the Brundtland Commission's definition of sustainable development?
How do I know the UN's sustainable development is the same one in our community?
I thought sustainable development is good, what makes you think it is so bad?
How can something like this happen in America?
How will I recognize Agenda 21?
The document has a lot more information for community members and officials, including a brief history of Agenda 21 and actions to take to have safe planning without top-down intervention.
Grants issued in conjunction with government 'sustainability initiatives' contain stipulations or implementation practices that are the primary doorway for Agenda 21/sustainable development to enter your community. These stipulations often require no growth boundaries, income integration through low-income housing demands, reduced vehicle usage, healthy cities, livability principles and other forms of social engineering.
Other grants issued by non-profit groups such as the Packard, Pew or Carnegie Foundations, frequently promote Agenda 21. Often this happens when HUD or some other federal agency funds the foundation with the money they in turn offer as a sustainability-related grant.
Non-governmental organizations:
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including ICLEI, the Nature Conservancy, American Farmland Trust and the American Planning Association have close ties to HUD-EPA-DOT sustainability initiatives and promote Agenda 21 through their regional and community work, conservation easements and funding.
Federal agencies:
Federal agency Acts including the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act have so expanded, that individual's rights are losing way to unfounded and often exaggerated endangerment findings. The solutions to their findings invariably require fines, taxes, property rights' infringements or the outright transfer of private lands to the government.
Preservation programs, National Parks, Historic Places and Byways, Heritage Sites and Legacy Forest programs have exceeded prudent land and species' protection and are now confiscating massive quantities of the U.S. land mass in alignment with Agenda 21 principles.
The planning process:
Planners' surveys - contain unfair questions that do not express all of resident's options
Consensus meetings - are conducted in ways that elicit responses that support the planner's goals rather than genuine community desires
Visioning sessions- may be over-conducted to the point that the vision belongs to the facilitator and only appears to be that of the community.
Stakeholder meetings - can produce misleading results when the stakeholders do not represent the average community member. Frequently the "stakeholders" have a financial or ideological interest in implementing the plan.
Zoning regulations - originating with the American Planning Association (and others,) contains language that establishes the legal framework to implement Agenda 21 in communities. HUD, other federal agencies and firms such as Siemens funded the development of the APA's Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook, 2nd ed. These supporters all have a stake in Agenda 21's implementation.
Conservation easements - often contain undiscussed clauses that severely restrict property owners' rights, reduce property values and favor the land trust for future contract changes.
Regionalism:
Regional councils replace much of the local officials' authority with unelected boardmembers.
As the regional council matures, local rule diminishes, leaving citizens with more distant and reduced representation.
Once a region is formed, the ability to oppose sustainable development is limited.
Generally, when the regional council accepts grant monies, all tethered communities are bound by the grant stipulations.
Regional planning often includes tax base sharing which promotes wealth transfer by forcing community members to pay for services in other locations.
Regional planning often includes "no growth boundaries" that force housing into urban and inner ring suburban areas. This reduces homebuyers' choices and artificially inflates the value of some properties, while reducing it for others.
Awareness about Agenda 21 is finally spreading throughout the country, due in no small part to your efforts. But knowing it is there isn't enough. Now we need to educate ourselves on how to combat it. That's where you come in.
American Policy Center has recently released a booklet that explains everything you need to know to start fighting back against sustainable programs both locally and nationally. The booklet is called Special Report: Agenda 21 and How to Stop It and is available in the APC store for only $5.95.
I wrote this 35 page booklet in order to give activists a succinct resource they can refer to if they suspect Agenda 21 or Sustainable Development is being implemented in their area. It includes my own research coupled with incredibly helpful graphics created by Carroll County, Maryland Commissioner Richard Rothschild.
In the booklet you will find answers to several roadblocks that grassroots anti-Agenda 21 activists often face, including a definition of property rights and "Resolution to Protect Citizens' Property Rights," which many concerned citizens are already using to tie the hands of power hungry politicians.
This booklet is a great resource for anyone interested in preserving their property rights. It includes all the information to put up a first line of defense and step by step instructions for how to proceed from there. If you face Agenda 21 or Sustainable development in your area or are simply concerned with the national fight this booklet is a must read.
P.S. - The American Policy Center store has recently updated our inventory to include everything you need to fight back against Agenda 21. The revamped catalogue includes the "Stop Agenda 21 Action Kit", which provides users with everything they need to know about Agenda 21 in their own living room, as well as ways to share it with other concerned activists and critical knowledge on how to fight back. The store also offers DVDs of past successful conferences and symposiums, books and articles that deal with the issues of sustainability and Agenda 21 and individually packaged manuals and workbooks to aid you in your activism. You don't need to look any farther than the American Policy Center Store for everything you need to combat Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development in your area.
Sledgehammer Alert! The Con Con Call is Growing Stronger
More and more states are introducing calls for a Constitutional Convention, specifically to demand a balance budget Amendment to the Constitution. Kansas, Ohio, Georgia and Indiana are the latest to issue legislation to call for a Con Con. Kansas State Rep. Brett Hildebrand says he plans a national campaign to get other states to join them. Armed with assurances from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach that a Con Con can be controlled, Hildebrand says he now believes that Constitutional safeguards will prevent bad things happening to the Constitution in such a convention.
As I have reported many times, this is a very dangerous thing to do. But proponents simply reject our arguments that a Con Con cannot be controlled. There are powerful forces with lots of money who are telling these officials that it can be controlled simply by passing a resolution saying so. And they argue that even if bad things come out of a Con Con, they still have to be ratified by a majority of states and so that is the safe guard. They are wrong on all counts.
A few weeks ago I issued an alert to refute these arguments. I offer it again here, along with an article I wrote on the subject. , plus a special report by Constitutional Expert Chuck Michaelis. Together Chuck and I have stopped Con Con calls in Ohio twice, but now face yet another one. Also, I am including a link to a letter written by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger several years ago in which he confirms that a Con Con cannot be controlled, no matter what language is used in the bills: http://www.eagleforum.org/topics/concon/pdf/WarrenBurger-letter.pdf
And finally, I am including a link to language being used by the biggest proponent of Con Cons- the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Compare their language to my arguments and to those of Chief Justice Burger and make your own conclusions. If you agree with me, then get this information out as far and wide as you can. The Con Con Movement can only resulting the final destruction of our Constitution and must be stopped.
Action To take Urgent that you call the following state legislators in Kansas and Ohio to voice your opposition to Con Con resolutions. They must know that a majority of Americans (especially Conservative Americans) oppose their actions.
1. In Kansas:
Call Secretary of State Kris W. Kobach Kansas Secretary of State Memorial Hall, 1st Floor 120 SW 10th Avenue Topeka, KS 66612-1594 (785) 296-4564 kris.kobach@sos.ks.gov
House Leadership Ray Merrick Room: 370-W 785-296-2302 FREE 785-296-2302 785-296-2302 Fax Email:ray.merrick@house.ks.gov
House Federal State Chair Rep. Arlen Siegfreid Room: 185-N Seat: 81 Phone: 785 368-7166 Email:arlen.siegfreid@house.ks.gov
The bill to be concerned about is House Joint Resolution 3. The primary sponsor is Ron Maag, Republican from Warren County. Below are the co-sponsors of the resolution, along with their contact info: Rep. Ron Maag, R, district62@ohiohouse.gov, 614-644-6023 Rep. John Becker, R, district65@ohiohouse.gov, 614-466-8134 (He has publicly stated he put his name on the bill in error; does not support it) Rep. Andrew Brenner, R, district67@ohiohouse.gov, 614-644-6711 Rep. Jim Buchy, R, district84@ohiohouse.gov, 614-466-6344 Rep. Margaret Conditt, R, district52@ohiohouse.gov, 614-466-8550 Rep. Wes Retherford, R, district51@ohiohouse.gov, 614-644-6721 Rep. Kristina Roegner, R, district37@ohiohouse.gov, 614-466-1177 Rep. Andy Thompson, R, district95@ohiohouse.gov, 614-644-8728 Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, R, district81@ohiohouse.gov, 614-466-3760 The committee it is assigned to is the House State and Local Government Committee (Sponsor Rep. Maag is on the committee). The key personnel are listed: Rep. Terry Blair, R, chairman, district42@ohiohouse.gov, 614-466-6504 Rep. Marlene Anielski, R, vice chair, district06@ohiohouse.gov, 614-644-6041 Rep. Cheryl Grossman, R, majority whip, district23@ohiohouse.gov, 614- 466-9690
Call any or all of these officials and tell them you oppose a Constitutional Convention, and that you want them to stop this effort to put our precious Constitution in jeopardy.
NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR A CON CON!
Southern Poverty Law Center Features Tom DeWeese in New Attack
A concerned parent tipped off TheBlaze to the disturbing fact that NY public schools are teaching the U.N.'s Socialist-leaning Universal Human Rights. We also discovered that the schools are delivering this indoctrination using videos made by the Church of Scientology. Learn what our investigation revealedHERE.
TheBlaze has been at the forefront in uncovering the disturbing details of the nationalized curriculum standard known as Common Core. One of the most troubling aspects of this federal program is that government bureaucrats are currently mining sensitive and highly personal information on children through Common Core's tracking system. Watch the powerful segments from The Glenn Beck Program HERE.
It's time to opt out of the creepy federal data-mining racket.
By Michelle Malkin
Last week, I reported on the federal government's massive new student-tracking database, which was created as part of the nationalized Common Core standards scheme.
The bad news: GOP "leadership" continues to ignore or, worse, enable this Nanny State racket. (Hello, Jeb Bush.)
The good news: A grassroots revolt outside the Beltway bubble is swelling. Families are taking their children's academic and privacy matters out of the snoopercrats' grip and into their own hands. You can now download a Common Core opt-out form to submit to your school district, courtesy of the group Truth in American Education.
Parents caught off guard by the stealthy tracking racket are now mobilizing across the country. According to the
New York Daily News
, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, echoing parents across New York City, blasted the tracking database in a letter to government officials: "I don't want my kids' privacy bought and sold like this." This Wednesday, prompted by parental objections, Oklahoma state representatives unanimously passed House Bill 1989 - the Student Data Accessibility, Transparency and Accountability Act - to prohibit the release of confidential student data without the written consent of the student's parent or guardian.As I noted in last week's column, the national Common Core student database was funded with Obama stimulus money. Grants also came from the liberal Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (which largely underwrote and promoted the top-down Common Core curricular scheme). A division of the conservative Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. built the database infrastructure. A nonprofit startup, "inBloom, Inc.," evolved out of this strange-bedfellows partnership to operate the invasive database, which is compiling everything from health-care histories, income information, and religious affiliations to voting status, blood types, and homework completion.
And it gets worse. Research fellow Joy Pullmann at the Heartland Institute points to a February Department of Education report on its data-mining plans that contemplates the use of creepy student-monitoring techniques such as "functional magnetic resonance imaging" and "using cameras to judge facial expressions, an electronic seat that judges posture, a pressure-sensitive computer mouse and a biometric wrap on kids' wrists."
The DOE report exposes the big lie that Common Core is about raising academic standards. The report instead reveals Common Core's progressive designs to measure and track children's "competencies" in "recognizing bias in sources," "flexibility," "cultural awareness and competence," "appreciation for diversity," "empathy," "perspective taking, trust, [and] service orientation."
That's right. School districts and state governments are pimping out highly personal data on children's feelings, beliefs, "biases," and "flexibility" instead of doing their own jobs of imparting knowledge - and minding their own business. And yes, Republicans such as former Florida governor Jeb Bush continue to falsely defend the centralized Common Core regime as locally driven and non-coercive, while ignoring the database system's circumvention of federal student-privacy laws.
Why? Edu-tech nosybodies are using the Common Core assessment boondoggle as a Trojan horse to collect and crunch massive amounts of personal student data for their own social-justice or moneymaking ends. Reminder: Nine states have entered into contracts with inBloom: Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina. Countless other vendors are salivating at the business possibilities in exploiting public-school students.
Marxism in Education - The Infiltration of Our School Systems by the Common Core Standards
Details
Written by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
Right Side News has been reporting on progressive education reformers and the Common Core Standards being implemented in our public schools across the nation. Here is an excellent article with videos detailing how the Obama Administration is requiring the public schools in your county through grants (bribes) to adopt Common Core Standards.
Bottom line: the Obama Administration is using your tax money to indoctrinate your children to a Marxist mindset. You can make a difference, as explained below the videos by downloading an OPT-OUT form and submitting that to your local school district.
Terresa Monroe-Hamilton, Noisy Room Blog
I caught Glenn Beck on The Blaze and his excellent showcasing of Obama's Common Core Standards that are now in 45 states, including my state of Idaho. Common Core is Marxism for children. It is state run propaganda and is meant to dumb down and control our little ones. It is evil and it has been a long time coming. Obama pushed it through slyly and quickly after coming into office, but I can tell you, this has been brewing since at least the 1990s.
A little background... When my children were in school in the 1990s, my husband and I requested to see the school curriculum for their school in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were refused and basically told we were too dumb to understand what the teachers were instructing our son and daughter in. The last straw came when they wanted to put my daughter in the second grade on Ritalin instead of disciplining her. I was pulled in front of four teachers and accused of not raising my daughter correctly, as well as basically being an abusive and stupid parent.
I promptly told these teachers that they could pound sand and pulled our children (our son was in third grade at the time) out of school that very same day. I left the Fortune 500 and home schooled both of them till high school and in retrospect, should have kept them out even then. My children could not do the simplest of math or read when we pulled them out. I tested them and started them all over again with the ABEKA home schooling system, which at the time, cost a great deal of money.
Forty-five states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity have adopted the Common Core State Standards.
What information is being collected on your kids through Common Core?
TheBlaze TV subscribers can watch past episodes covering Common Core and CSCOPE. The March 14th episode focused on Common Core and the March 7th episode focused on CSCOPE. Not a subscriber? Sign up HERE.
Glenn has spent a lot of time over the past few weeks exposing some of the education initiatives in states across the country that are indoctrinating kids into the radical progressive agenda. Today, Glenn discussed an issue tied into Common Core that many people aren't aware of: data mining.
"We cover many important stories and topics on this program, but I don't think any could be more important than what we are covering tonight: the progressive takeover of America's schools,"
OK....when they look at you like you have a tin foil hat on your head......take some of this information with you. It is 126 pages. I have not read through the entire document (YET) but what I have read is enough to blow off the top of your head. I have highlighted some stuff. KIPP (Charter Schools) has a CHARACTER REPORT CARD on Page 39. So for now start on page 39 and work your way through to page 45. Remember FERPA laws were changed last year and I am sure not one parent is aware that permission to share information about our children no longer requires parental consent. Obama just slipped all these new changes in and I don't believe any parents were ever asked their opinions about these changes. And where was our Republican Congress when this happened???
AGENDA 21 is: The complete control and inventory of every human activity. After your friends read some of this information ask them if they still believe A21 is not real. Chapter 36 of A21 document is devoted to education.
Our government forgets there are still people alive that can think and see through their garbage.
Print this document and get a highlighter...........then start visiting your neighbors, school boards, elected officials and start screaming. GET COMMON CORE AND THE GOVERNMENT out of our class rooms. I think it is time to start a MASS movement for Home Schooling. I know Home Schooling will not be spared. This should be a movement to bring education back to the local level and DESTROY the Federal Department of Education. If our kids are not in school it will create an uprising at all levels. We should not settle for shutting down Common Core because they will masquerade it....they are already doing this in VA. VA supposedly never signed on to Common Core but GUESS WHAT........they ARE implementing Common Core and disguising it from the citizens in VA....of course they aren't doing a good job of hiding it and people in VA are catching on. Our schools have been in the process of a government take over (in earnest) for more than 20 years. If we don't shut down the Department of Education it will never stop. We have to cause a citizen uprising!!
Here is the U.S. Department of Education - Office of Educational Technology document:
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests"- Patrick Henry
To fix "THE SYSYEM" We must become "THE SYSTEM" - k. bracken "The change we seek has always required great struggle and great sacrifice." - Barack Hussein Obama "The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master." - Ayn Rand
Has Communist Ideology Overtaken America? Education is crucial. Today I want to share two very interesting lists with you, and rather than adding an extensive amount of my commentary, I want to give you the chance to examine the facts for yourself. It is my opinion that many communist goals have already been accomplished. I also believe that advancement has been made in other areas. But, you owe it to yourself to do your own research. I believe not only in the freedom of speech, but also in the responsibility of free thought. So please don't take my word for it. Examine the facts for yourself.
Again, I want to share two lists with you. The first is a list that was entered into 1963 Congressional Record. The second is the 10 planks of The Communist Manifesto.
If you can't see this happening in America, and a ton of progress being made, then I offer two potential explanations:
You are one of the "useful idiots" of communist teaching.
I am one of the "village idiots" that your Mama probably warned you about.
Some of these points will be open for debate and some will not. In some cases it is blatantly obvious that they have achieved their goals. It is even rumored that our own President has deep communist ties. You might want to check that out as well but I will withhold my opinion at this point. Let's just lay it out and you can interpret it.
This list was originally printed in "The Naked Communist" by Cleon Skousen. It was entered into Congressional Record in 1963 as the 45 goals of "The Communist Takeover of America."
If I Were the Devil - (BEST VERSION) by PAUL HARVEY audio restored
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
America needs a history lesson
Sign up now for Hillsdale's newest online courses - available FREE to every American!
Did you know that over 500,000 other students have already registered for one of our free online courses?
As Ronald Reagan once said during a speech delivered on our campus in 1978, "Hillsdale deserves the appreciation of all who labor for freedom...Your creative outreach on national issues enables little Hillsdale to cast a long shadow."
As a school of only 1,400 students, we reach over 350 TIMES that number with our online courses on the Constitution and America's founding principles.
Now is your chance to join with your fellow citizens!
Register now for this free "American Heritage" online course so you can better understand - and defend - the principles of liberty. This is the type of education America's Founders thought necessary to preserve our republic. Lectures in this not-for-credit online course are delivered by members of Hillsdale's history department faculty, and readings are drawn from the American Heritage Reader used in the American Heritage core course taught on Hillsdale's campus.
Course Schedule
Approximately 40 minutes in length, lectures will be released each Monday according to the schedule below. Once available, each week's materials can be viewed at your convenience.
Here's a surprise for you; some Governors have absolutely zero understanding of the Constitution. None, whatsoever. Montana Governor Steve Bullock seems to fit that description quite nicely.
Yesterday, he vetoed Montana House Bill 302. The bill would require the state to refuse to enforce or assist the enforcement of any federal bans on semiautomatic weapons or large capacity magazines.
Learn what he said in his veto of HB302, and take action to override it.
Suggestions for Defense Department sequestration cuts
Reasons why women-in-combat diversity will degrade Tough Training Standards
Glossary of Terms of the Debate
Obama Eligibility Appeal in Roy Moore's Court
March 31, 2013
Interesting. I thought this was a dead issue. And to be honest it won't matter at all really since they will never remove him. We had our chance last November. But this will be fun to see what happens.
Check it out:
Many cases challenging Barack Obama's presidential eligibility have come and gone, but now an appeal has been filed with a state Supreme Court led by a newly elected chief justice who has expressed doubt about Obama's qualification for office.
Roy Moore was elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court last November, a decade after he defied a federal order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state Supreme Court building.
Now, 2012 Constitution Party presidential nominee Virgil Goode and Alabama Republican Party leader Hugh McInnish are asking the state's highest court to force Secretary of State Beth Chapman to verify that all candidates on the state's 2012 ballot were eligible to serve.
Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog
Others have already pointed out the absurdity that gay marriage is becoming a right in places where plastic bags and large sodas are becoming against the law. This sort of next wave civil rights step is only an expansion of freedom if you aren't paying attention.
All the arguments over the differences between civil unions and marriage are largely meaningless. Once gay marriage is recognized, then marriage becomes nothing more than a civil union. The real casualty is the destruction of the word "marriage", but the left is adept as destroying language and replacing meaningful words with meaningless words.
There was no word in Newspeak for freedom. We can look forward to an English language in which there is no word for marriage. And what does freedom mean anyway in a country where most things are banned, but we are constantly throwing holidays to celebrate how free we are?
But if marriage is no longer refers to a natural social institution, but now means a civil union recognized by the state, then why stop at two? Gay rights advocates insist that there is some magic difference between polygamy and gay marriage. There isn't any difference except the number. And if we're not going to be bound by any antiquated notion that marriage is an organic institution between man and woman, then why should we be bound by mere number?
Surely in our enlightened age and time, it can be possible for large groups of consenting adults to tie their confusing knots together in any number from 2 to 2,000.
True marriage equality would completely open up the concept. But it's not actually equality that we're talking about. It's someone's idea of the social good. And the social good is served by gay marriage, but not by polygamy.
The question is whose social good is it?
Equality and justice are words that the left uses to cloud the question of who advocates the causes and who benefits from them. Who decides that the cause of justice and equality is served by limiting marriage to two gay men, rather than four gay men, three bisexual men, two women and a giraffe?
Last week at RedState, we spent a lot of time focusing on politics from a faith perspective because it was Holy Week. Throughout the week, many people who support gay marriage lambasted me and others that Christians were just trying to use government to legislate marriage or morality.
But I agree that we should keep the government out of marriage.
Last I checked, George and Martha Washington did not get remarried after 1776 when the United States declared independence from Great Britain. Nor did they do so after 1789, when the constitution was enacted.
In fact, not one of the founding fathers married prior to 1776 remarried the same person after the United States was formed.
Government did not create marriage. The only laws on the books related to marriage are state laws and federal laws that recognize the marriage structure that previously existed before the government established them.
To be sure, over time those marriages evolved. The age of consent and the ability to contract have changed and impacted marriage, but the structure and operation of marriage were still the same.
The most significant changes in the law regarding marriage have been on how to end a marriage, not how to begin a marriage or what constitutes a marriage.
But marriage pre-existed the state and has evolved institutionally over a few thousand years.
What's happening now is that gay marriage advocates are attempting to use the state to change marriage. When they say Christians are trying to use the state to legislate their version of marriage, they are full of crap. All Christians are doing is defending an institution that already exists from being changed to something is has never been.
It is the gay marriage advocates who want to force, by the power of the state, a pre-existing institution to change. If the state has the power to change the definition of an institution that it did not create, the state can force everyone to do so. It is already happening in this country at the state level. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
2.The Slipperiest of Slopes: Immigration 'Compromise,' A Really Bad Deal In Any Economy
Although details are still somewhat sketchy at this point, based on press reports, it appears that AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Thomas Donahue reached a deal Friday night on immigration reform.
If, by what is being reported, the deal reached on low-wage immigrants is true, the impact on the private sector-and, thus, the economy-may be profoundly and negatively impacted for years to come as the deal reportedly establishes premium wage prices for those employers who traditionally employ low-wage immigrants. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
3.St. Louis Anti-Gun Rally Becomes Rally To Cede US Sovereignty
On Saturday a bunch of well-heeled progressive women from the nice, safe part of Missouri rolled into crime-ridden St. Louis city to condescend to city residents and hold signs proclaiming "Moms Demand Action! For Gun Sense In America!" Because what mom doesn't demand action for things, gun sense especially? These moms aren't like those pro-Second Amendment moms, who apparently do not demand gun sense, whatever that's supposed to mean.
St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay stood onstage behind speaker Dr. Robert Flood, who remarked how the United States should cede sovereignty to the United Nations because they can deal better with gun crime. You know, the United Nations that has has as members of its security council top-rated countries like Rwanda and Pakistan who are famous for citizens' safety.. . . please click here for the rest of the post →
4.You Will Be Made to Care
Look at Louie Giglio, who could not honor the President at his inauguration because of his orthodox Christian beliefs on this subject.
In short, you may choose not to care and in so doing sit on the sidelines or give aid and comfort to the open minded and tolerant who want gay marriage so everyone can have equal rights.
But the world will one day make you care. Your church, should it open its doors to all, but refuse to perform a same sex wedding, will be accused of discrimination. In some places, the church will be forced to stop performing weddings. Many churches will lose their tax exempt status. The costs of sharing the gospel will go up.
Already Christians are being harassed by fellow American citizens for not wanting to participate in a gay marriage.
The Class Action Racket Lawrence W. Schonbrun The class action vehicle is broken in a way that the people who run it -- lawyers -- and the people who are in a position to fix it -- judges and legislators -- are benefitting from the status quo. More
Gay Marriage and the Dysfunctions of Modernity Bruce Thornton The redefinition of marriage currently before the Supreme Court reflects modern disdain for tradition and modernity's arrogance about our superior "scientific" knowledge. More
Global Warming? Oops! Never Mind! Jonathon Moseley The only way you can get global warming hysteria is if you ask ridiculous questions and then try to answer them. More
BET Is Part of the Problem April 1, 2013 BET founder Bob Johnson is angry about black unemployment, but doesn't realize how his network contributes to it. More
A Tragic, Vicious Irony April 1, 2013 If Mark Kelly can't control the family dog, how can he speak authoritatively about gun control? More
Kim Jong Un is rattling his sword in a vain attempt to gain legitimacy as a leader. The third generation dictator is desperately seeking respect both at home and on the world stage. He believes that the well-publicized bluster of a "courageous" stand against aggressive invaders from the South and the West will cause him to be seen as an emerging, world class leader and somehow allow him to fill the void left by Hugo Chavez. He apparently wants the respect his daddy never got. (1)
China
What the spoiled brat of North Korea is counting on is China. Kim is acting like a little punk who will whine for his big brother to fight his battles if confronted. He was hoping that the support of world famous diplomat Dennis Rodman would give him cred with Mr. Obama. It didn't. When South Korea and the United States conduct a joint exercise the ... Continue Reading:North Korea staging a show of force against a foe it prays will NEVER respond
Take a minute and try to imagine what would happen in this country if the following scenario had taken place.
A report describing how in broad daylight two White teenaged boys tried to rob a Black Brunswick Georgia woman at gunpoint as she was peacefully pushing her 13 month old son in his stroller. When she resisted pleading, "I don't have any money" they callously shot and killed the baby.
The gun did not "go off by accident." The White thug meant to shoot the Black woman and did just that hitting her twice THEN turned the gun on the baby. A White thug calmly walked over to the stroller and shot the innocent Black baby in the face.
Pope extends hand of friendship to "Muslim brothers and sisters" during Good Friday rite
Published March 29, 2013
Associated Press
ROME - Pope Francis reached out in friendship to "so many Muslim brothers and sisters" during a Good Friday procession dedicated to the suffering of Christians from terrorism, war and religious fanaticism in the Middle East.
The new pontiff, who has rankled traditionalists by rejecting many trappings of his office, mostly stuck to the traditional script during the nighttime Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum, one of the most dramatic rituals of Holy Week.
With torches lighting the way, the faithful carried a cross to different stations, where meditations and prayers were read out recalling the final hours of Jesus' life and his crucifixion.
This year, the prayers were composed by young Lebanese, and many recalled the plight of minority Christians in the region, where wars have forced thousands to flee their homelands. The meditations called for an end to "violent fundamentalism," terrorism and the "wars and violence which in our days devastate various countries in the Middle East."
Francis, who became pope just over two weeks ago, chose, however, to stress Christians' positive relations with Muslims in the region in his brief comments at the end of the ceremony.
Defense Department says giving Purple Heart to Fort Hood survivors would hurt Hasan trial
By Pamela Browne, Catherine Herridge
Published March 30, 2013
| FoxNews.com
Legislation that would award the injured from the 2009 Fort Hood shooting the Purple Heart would adversely affect the trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan by labeling the attack terrorism, according to a Defense Department document obtained by Fox News.
The document comes following calls from survivors and their families for the military honor, because they say Fort Hood was turned into a battlefield when Hasan opened fire during the November 2009 attack. Fox News is told that the DOD "position paper" is being circulated specifically in response to the proposed legislation.
The document reads in part:
"Passage of this legislation could directly and indirectly influence potential court-martial panel members, witnesses, or the chain of command, all of whom exercise a critical role under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Defense counsel will argue that Major Hasan cannot receive a fair trial because a branch of government has indirectly declared that Major Hasan is a terrorist -- that he is criminally culpable."
A source with knowledge of the position paper told Fox News that DOD is putting on a full-court press by sending senior officials, including generals, to meet with lawmakers in an effort to block support.
Natural gas from Israel's recently discovered, sizable fields begins flowing
Published March 30, 2013
JERUSALEM - Natural gas has started flowing from one of Israel's sizable gas fields.
Israel's Energy Ministry says gas from the offshore Tamar field began flowing for the first time Saturday and would reach a processing facility on Israel's coast by Sunday afternoon.
Tamar was discovered in 2009 and holds an estimated 8.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. Another field, known as Leviathan, is estimated to hold some 16 trillion cubic feet and is expected to go online in 2016.
Israel has long relied on imports to meet most of its energy needs. The new gas finds are expected to supply Israel's domestic needs for decades and could transform the country into an energy exporter.
UN-Supported Schools Preach "Armed Struggle" against Israel
by: Contributing Writer
Sat Mar 30, 2013 at 21:03:29 PM EDT
- by Dave Bedein
Inside the UNRWA classroom, produced on location in the UNRWA refugee camps, represents the first time that the Center for Near East Policy Research crews gained direct access to teachers, principals and pupils in the UNRWA classrooms in Nablus, Jerusalem and Gaza.
In this film, UNRWA teachers and students speak openly about what they are taught in UNRWA schools - to devote their lives to the "Right of Return" to villages lost in 1948 (within the Green Line - not in the West Bank and Gaza) through the "armed struggle."
Teaching "The Right of Return" in UNRWA Schools by Dr. Arnon Groiss, comprehensive study of incitement in Middle East textbooks, commissioned by the Council for Religious Institutions in the Holy Land, an interfaith association of Jewish Christian and Muslim leaders.
The addition of Saudi Arabia to the trusted traveler program has received increased attention in recent days following a report from the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
The significance of the film lies in the willingness of the six retired Shin Bet heads to engage in reflection and offer this conclusion - that force alone cannot not resolve conflict.
Colonel Mullikin - pres. of Mullikin Law firm, deputy commander of the S.C. State Guard, a professional adventurer, university professor, and widely considered an expert in global climate change- is the proverbial man on a mission; figuratively, literally, and always.
Having been supported by both Syria and Iran for many years, Hizballah determined that it must stand by the Syrian regime even though it appears to be fighting a losing battle.
But what about the guy who spends a couple of years in the military and then gets on with his life? Bear in mind that most veterans did nothing heroic.
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U.S. Says it Takes North Korea Threats Seriously
Saturday, March 30, 2013 08:34 AM
WASHINGTON -- The White House said on Saturday that it takes North Korea's latest saber-rattling threats seriously while cautioning that Pyongyang has a long history of bellicose rhetoric.
North Korea's latest bout of angry rhetoric included a vow that it is entering a "state of war" with South Korea a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on an order putting its missile units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in the South.
"We've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from North Korea. We take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our South Korean allies," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.
"But, we would also note that North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats and today's announcement follows that familiar pattern," she said.
Rhetoric or not, North Korea has taken a series of steps that have escalated tensions with its southern neighor and the United States.
There's a heated debate going on in this country about marriage-and at times, it's less than civil.
Heritage's William E. Simon Fellow, Ryan Anderson, faced a verbal firing squad on Piers Morgan Live this week, as Morgan and guest host Suze Orman told him that he was one of the few people "still" holding a traditional view of marriage between a man and a woman.
Obviously, that's not true. Citizens of 41 states continue to affirm marriage as it has been through history, and thousands joined the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C., this week to attest to the fact.
But emotionally charged discussions can be uncomfortable-even if you're not on national television. To foster reasoned debate, The Heritage Foundation and other allies have produced a booklet that explains why maintaining the definition of marriage matters for children and for limited government.
We should welcome debates like these, and that's why the Supreme Court should not cut it off. It should uphold the marriage laws before it right now and allow the American people to continue to make marriage policy. Judicial restraint respects the democratic process.
That democratic process is possible because all Americans also enjoy liberty of conscience. This is exactly why we have religious freedom-so that we can live out and voice our beliefs without the fear that the government is going to restrict us. It's so basic to our way of life that we take it for granted.
"We have so much religious freedom here that we're like a fish who doesn't know what water is," says author Eric Metaxas. Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer and Amazing Grace, spoke on the centrality of religious freedom at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this month.
Just as a fish doesn't notice water until it is taken away, we often assume our religious liberty until it is threatened. In the past few years, Americans have stood up against government intrusions that threaten to erode our First Amendment freedoms, speaking out against Obamacare's Health and Human Services mandate. And while tolerance is supposed to be one of the liberal virtues, it has often been lacking in the public conversation.
But we are having the conversations. Where religious liberty is threatened in our society, people are calling attention to it. In many countries, people of faith are imprisoned, tortured, and killed for speaking out. Our Constitution protects us from such horrors.
This week marks holy observances for Christians and Jews. It is a fitting time to consider the fact that we have the freedom to celebrate holy days, live alongside people of all faiths, and openly debate the issues that are most important to us.
Friday, March 29, 2013
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Good Friday
I don't know how your week went, but this has been a tough week in Washington. I never thought I would see the day when marriage between a man and a woman would be put on trial before the United States Supreme Court!
I know the battle goes on, but I'm glad this week is over. And I am even more thankful for the time of spiritual reflection and celebration in the days ahead.
As we approach the Easter holiday, this is a good time to reflect on the truth of scripture and exactly what it is that we as Christians are celebrating. (Hint: It's not chocolate bunnies or marshmallow chicks.)
Christmas is the "big event" of the year, when friends and family gather to exchange gifts. It's easy to get wrapped up in the whole holiday season. But, ultimately, it is not a birthday that we celebrate - it is the resurrection. Far more than Christmas, it is Easter that makes us Christians!
If Christ had not risen from the grave, He would have been forgotten as a common "rebel rouser" whose birthday would have no significance.
Today, on Good Friday, we think about the Cross and the sacrifice paid for our sins; the amazing love that took our place; and the grace we have been given. Thank God for the cross and the empty tomb!
With Christ's resurrection, we have confidence. We have confidence in a caring Creator, rather than the chaos of the cosmos. We have confidence in a glorious future, rather than the finality of the grave. It is this confidence that sustains us in times of trial and tribulation - in times like these.
Why do we have such confidence? Because "It is finished." Christ's atoning work on the Cross is done, and we are saved.
On Easter morning, we do not gather to remember a martyr. We come together to worship the risen Son of God!
With so much case study available, you would think advocates could show us more convincing evidence. Before we go down the road to requiring all private sales of firearms to go through a background check - either imposed nationally or at the state level - I would like to see some persuasive evidence that such laws actually reduce murder rates.
Gay-marriage advocates have been laying it on thick these last few days, building what appears to be an unstoppable momentum that will contribute to the inevitable: legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. It's only unstoppable in their imagination, and if they don't start taking a longer view of things, they are apt to be royally disappointed.
Modern Democrats have adopted as an article of faith the bedtime story that, thanks to Tricky Dick Nixon's "southern strategy," the racists who had been the backbone of their party for the better part of a century suddenly switched to the GOP en masse some time around 1968, with the happy result that now all the racists are on the right. Presto - instant virtuousness and a clean slate!
What I observed this week in the debate about gay marriage
ByDenny Burkon March 29, 2013
This week has been a watershed moment for the fortunes of marriage in our culture. I've been following the discussion with great interest, including listening to oral arguments that were made before the Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday (here and here).
Without question, the most significant thing that I have noticed in debates both inside and outside the Court has been the utter lack of moral argument. This was brought home in spades on Wednesday when Justice Elena Kagan highlighted a statement made by the House Judiciary Committee in 1996 when the Defense of Marriage Act was passed. Here are the critical lines:
Civil laws that permit only heterosexual marriage reflect and honor a collective moral judgment about human sexuality. This judgment entails both moral disapproval of homosexuality, moral conviction that heterosexuality better comports with traditional (especially Judeo-Christian) morality.
As you can see, the statement is unambiguously moral. In fact, it renders a moral judgment on homosexuality that would be almost unheard of in contemporary political discourse.
As the Federal Reserve pumpity-pump-pump-pumps so the rich can get richer in the very same stock market Democrats and the media ensured you and I wouldn't be allowed to invest our Social Security in, according to a study by Sentier Research, out here in the real world, wages took a major dive of 1.1% in just a single month.
According to the New York Times (who hid the bad news in a headline that reads, "Median Household Income Down 7.3% Since Start of Recession"), this is the first time in over a year a one-month drop in median annual income was statistically significant. Moreover, since the beginning of Obama's "recovery," median income has dropped a full six-percent.
WH: None Of Obama's Gun Laws Will 'Affect 2nd Amendment Rights' More
Video: Cheney: Opposition To Obama Patriotism
Mar 29, 2013 07:03 pm
Liz Cheney was on Fox News to discuss her editorial in the Wall Street Journal where she called Barack Obama the most radical president in history. Related posts: Cheney Calls US Drone Strikes 'a Good Policy' WASHINGTON - Former Vice President Dick Cheney says the Obama... Liz Cheney: Libya Is Worst Cover-Up In The History [...]
Obamacare: Hatched By Mostly 'Tea Party Activists'
Mar 29, 2013 07:01 pm Once again, the Tea Party has become the favorite "whipping boy" of the left - this time with the ridiculously laughable and delusional assertion by Douglas Zeigler in the Roofers and Waterproofers Local 81 newsletter from Oakland, California, that Obamacare was "hatched in congress by mostly 'Tea Party activists' along with their insurance company lobbyists." Just when you thought you'd heard it all. [...]
It certainly appears that way! There are many parallels that clearly show that DHS has grown its own militia... Related posts: Is The "Youth Vote" Turning Away From Obama? The numbers surrounding the "youth vote" - where it is... Obama Dodging Questions On Drone Program A bipartisan group of senators urge President Obama to give...
Gay Marriage And The Media: A Match Made In America
Mar 29, 2013 06:44 pm While unelected U.S. Supreme Court Justices debated the issue of same-sex marriage in America on Tuesday, NBC's Today featured a panel promoting gay marriage. Co-host Matt Lauer parroted a controversial ABC/Washington Post poll that supposedly shows a majority of Americans now support same-sex marriage. Carson Daly (The Voice) chimed in, saying "There is a new [...]
Mar 29, 2013 06:39 pm Adam Kokesh poses this question to one of Obama's supporters... Related posts: It's A Protection Rifle, Not An Assault Weapon! Why do the constitutional, true Americans of the Right allow... Obama Supporters Say The Darndest Things... Adam Kokesh confronts Obama's top supporters (contains brief strong language).........
Mar 29, 2013 06:34 pm Here's a surprise for you; some Governors have absolutely zero understanding of the Constitution. None, whatsoever. Montana Governor Steve Bullock seems to fit that description quite nicely. Yesterday, he vetoed Montana House Bill 302 (HB302). The bill would require the state to refuse to enforce or assist the enforcement of any federal bans on semiautomatic [...]
Pregnant Lesbians And Other Topics Grand Ma Wouldn't Understand
Mar 29, 2013 06:33 pm My maternal grandmother was a retired social studies teacher and traditional American. Each epic downturn away from once unquestioned precepts prompted in-depth discussion and shared concern for America's future that strengthen me to this day. On Wednesday, March 28th, 2013, Jenna Wolfe, a weekend host of NBC's "Today Show," made two announcements that would have [...]
Mar 29, 2013 06:33 pm "Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet." - Robert Winthrop, Speaker of the House Public schools in America are becoming testing [...]
Video: Dr. Carson: We Need To Tone Down The Rhetoric
Mar 29, 2013 06:28 pm
I give Dr. Carson credit for appearing on MSNBC... Related posts: Dr. Carson's Words Tower Over Obama's SOU Speech Rarely does a person come along who truly inspires. But... Dr. Ben Carson Slams State Of The Union Yesterday, Dr. Carson appeared on Fox and Friends to give...
Mar 29, 2013 06:24 pm Most songs have a message of some sort, though too often I hear the shallow musings of today's pop stars and wonder if there's even a market for artists of substance and intelligence. Artists from Charlie Daniels to Kid Rock have released patriotic songs in recent years, but it can be tough for a musician [...]
Mar 29, 2013 06:18 pm SEOUL, South Korea - Across North Korea, soldiers are gearing up for battle and shrouding their jeeps and vans with camouflage netting. Newly painted signboards and posters call for "death to the U.S. imperialists" and urge the people to fight with "arms, not words." But even as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is [...]
Mar 29, 2013 01:29 pm Consider the evidence and the growing alarm expressed from many quarters: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." -Barack Obama, Colorado campaign speech, July [...]
Video: The Hypocrisy Of "Marriage Equality" Advocates...
Mar 29, 2013 01:18 pm
Do the advocates of marriage equality truly support equal rights for all, or do they discriminate against relationships that do not align with their political agenda? Related posts: 'Marriage Equality' Spells 'Marriage Extinction' This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments... NAACP Backs Same-Sex Marriage As A Civil Right MIAMI (AP) - The [...]
Mar 29, 2013 01:07 pm The latest waste of taxpayer money, following close on the heels of the over-hyped sequester, has been Obama's so-called Charm Tour. It just hasn't gotten through his thick skull and massive, disorder-driven ego that the American people are not buying his lies like they used to. They're starting to connect the man to his mindless [...]
Video: Obama The First President "Who Does Not Love America"
Mar 29, 2013 01:05 pm
Christian radio host Mat Staver says that, for the first time in history, we have a president who hates American and the values upon which it was founded. Related posts: Obama 'Is Rubbing The Aborted Babies In The Face Of Every Single American' Christian radio host Mat Staver: "What we see happening from... America: Love [...]
Mar 29, 2013 01:03 pm Each December, the push against all things Christmas becomes increasingly stronger. Unfortunately, it is not the only religiously and culturally celebrated holiday under attack by today's leftists. Originally, the principal of Heritage Elementary School in Alabama banned Easter eggs after "a parent" confronted her "to question us about some of the things we do here at [...]
Obama basically admits his proposals won't work!! Related posts: Obama Sheds Fake Tears For Sandy Hook Victims Some of you may remember the Susan Smith double murder,... Video: Gay "Conservative" Group Tears Conservatism Apart The American Conservative Union (ACU) and the granddaddy of all...
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Mar 29, 2013 12:39 pm Take a minute and try to imagine what would happen in this country if the following scenario had taken place: A report describes how in broad daylight two white teenage boys tried to rob a black Brunswick, Georgia woman at gunpoint as she was peacefully pushing her 13 month old son in his stroller. When [...]
Video: Group Donating Shotguns To High-Crime Areas!
Mar 29, 2013 12:33 pm
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Mar 29, 2013 12:31 pm North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed bills Tuesday making the state's abortion laws the nation's most restrictive and setting the stage for what he called a U.S. Supreme Court challenge of "the boundaries of Roe v. Wade." The bills bar abortions if a fetal heartbeat is heard, which can be six weeks into a pregnancy; [...]
Video: Robertson: Government Preparing For Battle 'Against Us'
Mar 29, 2013 12:06 pm
At least Pat Robertson is spreading the word to viewers of his show, waking up many Christians! Related posts: Pat Robertson: EPA May End Up Killing 'A Couple Billion People' Pat Robertson warns that environmentalist policies may cause billions of... Obama's Top Dog: Pat Robertson Is Like Osama Bin Laden President Obama's faith adviser, Eboo [...]
Mar 29, 2013 12:02 pm Liberals will use the Bible when they believe it defends a position that supports their agenda. You'll even find liberals using the Bible to support homosexual marriage by quoting familiar passages like Matthew 7:1-2 and Mark 12:31 but ignoring Matthew 19:1-12 and other anti-homosexual passages (Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 6;9-11; 1 Tim. 1:8-10). They take [...]
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Mar 29, 2013 11:44 am Marco Rubio pledged Thursday to join a group of Republicans led by Sens. Rand Paul (KY), Mike Lee (UT), and Ted Cruz (TX), also Tea Party stalwarts, threatening to filibuster gun control legislation that comes to the floor of the Senate. Rubio posted the following statement on his website: We, the undersigned, intend to oppose [...]
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Mar 29, 2013 11:31 am WASHINGTON - Chief Justice John Roberts has been a victim of credit-card fraud. A Supreme Court spokeswoman said someone got hold of one of Roberts's credit card account numbers. The court did not provide any other details. Read More at OfficialWire . Related posts: Chief Justice Roberts's Lesbian Cousin To Attend Gay Marriage Hearing The lesbian [...]
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Mar 29, 2013 11:26 am WASHINGTON - For lawmakers from moderate or conservative states, embracing gay marriage has long been considered a risky move. That reality is being called into question as lawmakers rush to avoid being among the last to join the cause. Seven senators have announced their support for gay marriage in less than two weeks, just as [...]
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This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published March 29, 2013 on The Washington Times website.
During spring renewal, when flowers blossom, grasses begin to green and a billion Christians celebrate a peerless Resurrection that occurred nearly 2,000 years ago, it's a good time to reflect on one of Christendom's most significant contributions to civilization: establishing hospitals.
Caring for the sick is a natural outgrowth of Jesus' admonition to look after widows, orphans and the weak, and to be kind; that is, "hospitable." This innovation ended pagan practices that were not especially compassionate, despite the introduction during the fourth century B.C. of the Hippocratic Oath for physicians to "above all, do no harm." The oath said: "I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly, I will not give a woman a pessary [device] to cause an abortion."
SCOTUS May Throw Out DOMA Cases Due to DOJ Refusal to Defend
This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published March 27, 2013 on Breitbart.com.
The Supreme Court's justices spent a full hour in today's DOMA case, U.S. v. Windsor, debating whether the case should be in court at all.
In each DOMA lawsuit--including Windsor--the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) has a responsibility to defend DOMA against a constitutional challenge. But President Obama declared that he believes DOMA is unconstitutional and ordered DOJ not to defend it.
SCOTUS Considers Same-Sex Marriage, Part II: U.S. v. Windsor
This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published March 26, 2013 on
Breitbart.com. The Supreme Court will hear two historic cases this week on marriage: Hollingsworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor. And they could fundamentally transform American society.
This would be an easy case with clear adherence to two constitutional principles. Prop 8 and DOMA would both be upheld. Now we'll find out how those two principles fare before the nine justices currently on the Supreme Court. Part I is about Hollingsworth, and Part II is about Windsor.
This column by ACRU Policy Board Member and Professor of Economics Dr. Walter E. Williams was published March 27, 2013 on Townhall.com.
Are women equal to men? Are Jews equal to gentiles? Are blacks equal to Italians, Irish, Polish and other white people? The answer is probably a big fat no, and the pretense or assumption that we are equal -- or should be equal -- is foolhardy and creates mischief. Let's look at it.
Male geniuses outnumber female geniuses 7-to-1. Female intelligence is packed much closer to the middle of the bell curve, whereas men's intelligence has far greater variability. That means that though there are many more male geniuses, there are also many more male idiots. The latter might partially explain why more men are in jail than women.
This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published March 26, 2013 on Breitbart.com.
In Tuesday's oral arguments for the Supreme Court case Hollingsworth v. Perry, Justice Anthony Kennedy cautioned anti-Proposition 8 lawyer Ted Olson, "The problem with the case is that you're really asking, particularly because of the sociological evidence you cite, for us to go into uncharted waters, and you can play with that metaphor, there's a wonderful destination, [or] it is a cliff."
With that, it looks likely that the Supreme Court will hold the U.S. Constitution does not include a right to same-sex marriage that trumps the will of the voters expressed through the democratic process. But it's still anyone's guess.
Syndicated columnist and political commentator Charles Krauthammer said this week that the gay marriage case before the Supreme Court could be the first step to an �assault on religion.� Mr. Krauthammer led viewers through his thinking process in a segment that was seen on "Inside Washington" and is also available for your review HERE.
A Texas prosecutor and his wife were found killed in their house two months after an assistant D.A. was gunned down near their office. On Saturday, investigators found the bodies of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia. Read the rest of this unfolding tragedyHERE.
A Utah homeowner chased a burglar from his house and held him at gunpoint until police arrived � all without wearing a shred of clothing. It was shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday morning when Eric Martin awoke to someone in his St. George home where he, his girlfriend and an 8-year-old son were sleeping. Watch the full report from the local TV stationHERE.
Could Barack Obama's entire presidency be ruined by a single upcoming event? One of the most widely read journalists in America thinks so.
And you can see his fascinating take on the subject � including when it's likely to occur and what it would mean for U.S. citizens� The full story is posted, free of charge, here.
These shocking accounts of Christians who've been murdered, kidnapped and brutalized because of their faith add a human element to reports of the global assault on followers of Christ, the world's most persecuted religious group. Cross into the danger zoneHERE.
Former Burger King CEO Jeff Campbell, Tax Resolution Services President Brian Compton, and Harrington Capital Management Founder Kyle Harring joined �Wilkow!� on Friday to discuss the government�s influence on the growth or downfall of businesses in America, the debt threat and the budget. Watch the clipHERE.
Christians around the world gathered Friday to celebrate the Passion of Jesus Christ as part of their Holy Week. Pilgrims in Israel streamed through Jerusalem�s Old City, walking a traditional Good Friday procession that retraces Jesus� steps along the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the �Way of Suffering.� Witness 23 pictures of Christians reenacting or bearing their own crosses to symbolize Christ�s deathHERE.
Some have called the latest G.I. Joe flick "pretty bad" but "not completely horrible" � yet still �terrible� � for its plotline and script. However, at least one liberal blog has an idea of people who might like it � conservatives or, more specifically as they put it, the �paranoid wingnut.� Read what else Asawin Suebsaeng of the very liberal-leaning "Mother Jones" website wrote about "G.I. Joe Retalliation"HERE.
Verizon has created a new form for its subscribers to fill out and request TheBlaze! You can complete the form HERE. And don't forget to make your request public by posting it on Verizon's Facebook page. Thank you for supporting us!
On Friday, Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson said he is �absolutely� prepared to step down as commencement speaker for the university�s medical school. Why would he even consider such a move? A controversy is brewing over remarks Dr. Carson made earlier in the week about gay marriage. Get the whole storyHERE.
It is well-known how easily drones can patrol the skies. But surveillance in the sea seems to be more limited. However, Virginia Tech Engineering researchers are changing that with the reveal of a 5-foot 7-inch robotic jellyfish that has spy capabilities. See itHERE.
If you are one of the tens of millions of people with an Easter basket filled with Cadbury�s chocolate creme-filled eggs and marshmallow Peeps that you really don't want to eat, we may have a solution for you. Courtesy of the YouTube, "ratedrr", we present a video showing what happens when a massive collection of Peeps and Cadbury eggs meets up with a .50 rifle. See the video (including slow-motion clips)HERE.
A concerned parent tipped off TheBlaze to the disturbing fact that NY public schools are teaching the U.N.'s Socialist-leaning Universal Human Rights. We also discovered that the schools are delivering this indoctrination using videos made by the Church of Scientology. Learn what our investigation revealedHERE.
Earlier this week, a committee in the Florida House of Representatives heard positions on its �Infants Born Alive� bill, which addresses situations where a child is born after a failed abortion. Alisa LaPolt Snow with Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates said in the hearing that even if a child were born alive, she believes it is still the mother�s right to decide its fate. See the videoHERE.
ABC TV�s �Wife Swap" has a simple premise: Take two very, very different families, swap out the mothers (sometimes husbands), and watch what happens when cultures clash. So while the show is good for a few chuckles, some think Thursday�s episode went out of its way to attack the Tea Party. Did the network try to make the Christian family of Tea Party activists look bad? Meet both families, see what happened and decide who ended up looking bad and who looked normal HERE.
Ali A. Akbar is a partner in the digital marketing firm, Vice and Victory that caters to center-right organizations. Mr. Akbar has a new post on TheBlaze Contributors section: Sarah Palin is looking to take on Washington�s GOP consultant class in the 2014 mid-term cycle, launching an emotionally powerful video and note from her PAC�s Treasurer. Activist-Journalist John Avlon who bills himself as a centrist, while consistently attacking Republicans, went after SarahPAC on Friday, and did so erroneously. Read the rest of Akbar's guest post on TheBlazeHERE
News stories regarding the Obama daughters� purported vacation destinations appear to be disappearing from the Internet at the request of the White House, a repeat of a similar occurrence that happened when Malia Obama took a trip to Mexico last year. But, is it really unusual that these stories disappeared? Get the whole reportHERE.
Phil Mickelson is widely regarded as one of the best golfers in the business. And there are some videos going viral this week of him proving it. In case you think that�s an overstatement, here�s a video released Tuesday of him hitting what�s called a �flop shot� over the head of a man standing just 35 inches in front of him. Watch the shots that will make your jaw drop HERE.
Actor Jim Carrey lashed out at Fox News on Friday, claiming the network slandered him because of his anti-gun views after he released a parody video mocking firearms owners. We don't feel comfortable printing everything Mr. Carrey said about Fox News, but you can watch all he had to say HERE.
Jim Carrey responded to Fox News� criticism of his anti-gun views, calling the network �a giant culture fart.� And you better believe Fox�s �The Five� fired back. In fact, the entire panel of the 5pm show weighed in on Carrey�s remarks. Each member taking their turn laughing at the actor�s press release and wondering what, exactly, has happened to the 90s funnyman. Watch the segmentHERE.
When Rev. Aamon R. Miller (of �Who�s Your Daddy� fame) saw a �senior citizen� practicing with his nunchucks in the parking lot of a Richmond, Va., Food Lion grocery store, he did what anyone in his position would do: he filmed and narrated the action. And it�s easily the funniest thing we have seen in days. Watch the clipHERE.
On March 29, 1973, the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam, a full two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, bringing a close to one of America�s most divisive and heartbreaking chapters. As we pause to remember all the good men, women and children who were touched by this terrible conflict, and as we prepare for this Easter weekend, we thought we�d share with you these 25 stunning photos from the conflict in VietnamHERE.
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has just published a 223-page report that �scores all 50 states on their overall respect for individual freedom, and also on their respect for three dimensions of freedom considered separately: fiscal policy, regulatory policy, and personal freedom.� See if you are living in one of the most or one of the least freedom friendly states HERE.
Things got tense Thursday night on CNN when Piers Morgan went head-to-head with conservative radio host Dana Loesch on the issue of gun control. Also on the show were former White House czar Van Jones and Grover Norquist � quite a diverse panel. Watch as Morgan and Jones get into a bit of a heated exchange with Ms. LoeschHERE.
Flower borders, bird baths and garden gnomes might be many a person�s yard decoration of choice, but it�s certainly not how everyone would choose to adorn the outside of their home. Larriatt McHale and her boyfriend Brad Kennedy are self-professed Halloween fans. They choose to decorate the yard outside of their South Carolina home with dolls. Dolls that are hung, stabbed, impaled and otherwise abused. There�s even a fire pit full of dolls. Watch the local TV report on this unusual displayHERE.
One of America's most widely read financial journalists says a huge new scandal is working its way through the Obama administration.
He says this scandal could ruin Obama's entire presidency, and will bring about the most dramatic changes to American life in more than 50 years. See the full analysis, free of charge, here...
The digital currency Bitcoin, which began as an idea in 1998, but truly took on a working form in 2009, has hit a major milestone. It reached the $1 billion benchmark. The Atlantic Wire reported that the exchange rate for Bitcon on Thursday exceeded $95 per Bitcoin � that�s a 152 percent increase for the month. Or, as the Wire put it, if you purchased $500 worth of Bitcoins a year ago, the currency would be worth close to $10,000 now. Get the rest of this fascinating storyHERE.
On his Thursday evening broadcast, Glenn Beck looked at what might happen to global alliances now that America, which was once the world�s creditor, is now in massive debt. With countries like Russia being controlled by Vladimir Putin and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East, the ideals of freedom, according to Beck, are waning. So what�s to become of America following massive upheaval? Watch Beck�s dire predictionsHERE.
13-yr-old Morgan LaPlaume, a student at Wamsutta Middle School, told Boston�s WXFT-TV that she brought the knife to cut her pear during lunch, which she can�t eat whole because of her braces. When the principal spotted the dull knife her ordered the young girl into his office and delivered a one-day suspension. Learn what Morgan's mom thinks about the zero-tolerance suspensionHERE.
While watching a recent episode of �Glee,� an eagle-eyed person here at TheBlaze couldn�t help but notice a �Duck Dynasty� reference tucked into the show. Considering the Robertson clan has one of cable TV�s top shows, it�s not surprising that they�re starting to make their way into pop culture. Catch the clever way that the bearded brothers were worked into the show HERE.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has been the victim of credit-card fraud. On Tuesday, the day of oral arguments over California�s same-sex marriage ban, Roberts was forced to pay for his morning Starbucks coffee in cash. (We wonder if he has LifeLock?) Get the whole story HERE.
Liberty Treehouse -- Visit 'America's Library,' meet a teen with a dream to teach Americans to read, and a 'Drive-Thru' history that helped define the country -- Liberty Treehouse - 3pm ET or on-demand on TheBlaze TV.
YouTube prankster Stuart Edge came up with an amazing magic trick that also �required� college girls to kiss him. Edge�s latest trick, the �Magic Kissing Card Trick.� Check out the magical goodness of Stuart's trickHERE.
Gia Coluccio is a recent college garduate from George Washington University where she studied International Affairs. In her post on TheBlaze Contributors section, Gia describes what was like to be one of the youngest people to have been invited to speak at last Tuesday's March For Marriage. Read her pieceHERE.
While critics of the new pope were quick to make allegations of what he did or did not do during the years Argentina was ruled by the military junta, the smears did not stick.
But as head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis may be making a bargain with another heavily militarized, oppressive state. And if he does, an entire nation of free people will be betrayed.
It probably comes with the territory ... fight the culture war against the left ... bloody their noses ... and sooner or later their media will try to destroy you ... even hint at accusations you sexually molested your own kids.
Well, with this guy, the left has bitten off more than it can chew ...
No, say top university labor economists. Pity the poor American worker whose wages and protections have been eroded by illegal immigration.
So why are THESE Senate Republicans, charged with crafting "comprehensive immigration reform," pushing amnesty without protections for American workers' paychecks?
Watch Planned Parenthood -- the largest abortion provider in the U.S. -- give its official position on what should happen to babies that survive the attempt to kill them.
Let the federalization of local law enforcement begin ...
A bill headed to the desk of a pro-Obama, pro-gun-control governor will grant the Secret Service broad arrest powers in THIS state.
Made to order for the administration ... a framework to enforce gun laws implemented by executive orders and a way to circumvent the authority of uncooperative sheriffs.
New research on Christian relic removes 'shroud' of doubt
A professor of mechanical and thermal measurement has concluded the image of a man, apparently crucified, appearing on the surface of the Shroud of Turin, was caused by a blast of "exceptional radiation."
Here's why more and more scholars are seeing this sacred Christian relic as something that can be placed in the same time period Jesus of Nazareth ministered in first-century Judea ...
Why does this state want its gold back from the feds?
This major state is putting no trust in Uncle Sam (and with good reason), so it now wants the federal government to return $1 billion in gold bars stored at the Federal Reserve.
Find out why they're suddenly panning for their own precious metal.
While They Would Take Our Guns, Hollywood's Love Affair With Armed Leftist Thugs Continues
The Bloody Company Hollywood Keeps By Michelle Malkin HumanEvents.com
Redford and Company's rose-colored hagiography of bloodstained killers defiles the memory of all those victimized by leftwing militants on American soil.
'Sexual Jihad' Fatwa Urges 'Temporary Marriages' for Syrian Rebels By Patrick Goodenough CNSNews.com
Reports in Tunisia say at least 13 young girls have gone to Syria, in response to a fatwa urging them to wage "sexual jihad" in support of rebel fighters there.
The Mental Gymnastics It Takes To Escape Using A Christian-Affiliated Adjective on a Pagan-Affilited Icon
Hey, Isn't That the Spring Bunny? By Bill O'Reilly TownHall.com
Because this is the holiest week of the year on the Judeo-Christian calendar, it might be useful to look at how theology is faring in the age of secularism.
A U.S. Marine who served in Iraq is being ordered to remove the American flag that flies outside of his Hypoluxo, Florida home after city officials were tipped off by an anon. neighbor...
Wiki-Leak Documents Indicate Obama Conspired With Muslim Brotherhood Western Journalism
It appears Obama and the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Erdogan (who is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood), conspired to topple the governments of Libya, Egypt, and Syria...
Rand Paul Squashes Tea Party Challenge To RINO Mitch McConnell Daily Caller
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is endorsing Sen. Mitch McConnell for re-election in 2014, ending speculation that Paul would back a tea party challenge to the Senate minority leader.
"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right." ~ Confucius
More Obama Identity Fraud?
[Video] Orly Taitz: Obama Used Social Security Number Belonging To A Dead Person? America's Conservative News
Before Democrats "Evolved" On Gay Marriage By Guy Benson Townhall.com
[I]t's impactful to watch one prominent Democrat after another expressing their abiding and fundamental support for traditional marriage just a few years ago.
Majority Of Blacks Think Perversion Is Not A Civil Right
Poll: 55% Of Blacks Say Gay Rights Not The Same As Civil Rights By Melanie Hunter CNSNews.com
A new poll commissioned by Black Entertainment Television (BET) founder Bob Johnson and conducted by Zogby showed that 55 percent of African-American adults do not agree with the LGBT community's claim that gay rights are the same as civil rights for blacks.
- As I suggested at the end of my WND column on Friday, Americans may have come to the time when disorder and dissolution put an end to the last vestiges of their country's constitutional, democratic Republic. As part of their contribution to the elitist faction's campaign to bring about that result, the elitist faction leaders of the GOP want us to believe that this is coming to pass on account of the nasty, bad old leftists in the Obama faction... (more)
- In an earlier essay, I called for a national conversation on illegal aliens. Thankfully, we are finally having that conversation and debate in the Congress, the press, and other public forums. One question that is being asked is whether heavy illegal immigration from Mexico and Latin America is good for America. This is a complex question and it is being considered from the aspect of politics, economics, security, and compassion. Oddly, the effect of illegal aliens on American culture has been somewhat neglected... (more)
- American politicians in both parties are stampeding all over themselves to pander to Mexico and adopt mass illegal alien amnesty schemes. But while the Mexican government lobbies for more "humane" treatment of illegal border crossers from their country into ours, Mexico remains notoriously restrictionist toward "undesirable" foreigners who break their laws or threaten their security... (more)
- When a Yakima, Wash., church began classes on firearms, a local newspaper labeled the idea "incongruous." What's incongruous is that more U.S. churches are not doing it. In fact, what is even more incongruous is that so few U.S. churches are teaching anything... (more)
- According to new data released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 19.7 million new venereal infections in the United States in 2008, bringing the total number of existing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the U.S. at that time to 110,197,000... (more)
- Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday the expected upcoming Senate votes on gun control are only the beginning of the White House's fight. The fate of gun control legislation is unclear. A vote on a Senate bill, including expanded background checks and harsher penalties for gun trafficking, is expected next month... (more)
- Did former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commit perjury when she claimed in a Senate hearing that she did not know whether the U.S. mission in Libya was procuring or transferring weapons to Turkey and other Arab countries?... (more)
- A watershed moment in the ongoing disaster of ObamaCare, as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius finally admits that health insurance premiums are rising because of the President's health insurance takeover, per the Wall Street Journal... (more)
- Over the past few weeks, the "war on marriage" has turned into a blitzkrieg. It's all designed to sway the Supreme Court, which will be hearing arguments this week on California's voter-approved constitutional marriage amendment and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)... (more)
- During oral arguments today at the Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia and attorney Ted Olson had a pointed exchange over whether same-sex marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution... (more)
- Anthony Kenney has been on the Supreme Court for a long time. For conservatives who revere the constitutional separation of powers, it's an understatement to say this Ronald Reagan appointee has been a disappointment. Considered a "swing vote" on the court, he often swings the wrong way. He's something of a switch-hitter -- sometimes swinging right and sometimes swinging left depending on who's pitching... (more)
- Former Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina said on Tuesday that a Supreme Court ruling upholding gay marriage is "power grab that attacks civil society." "Those of us who support marriage as it has been since the dawn of time respect the liberty of others to live their lives as they choose," DeMint, the president-elect of the Heritage Foundation, said in an opinion piece in USA Today... (more)
- North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed bills Tuesday making the state's abortion laws the nation's most restrictive and setting the stage for what he called a U.S. Supreme Court challenge of "the boundaries of Roe v. Wade"... (more)
- For more than six months since the September 11, 2012 attacks on America's diplomatic outposts in Benghazi, the Obama administration has been unwilling to turn over the names or whereabouts of any survivors. They may be hiding plain sight... (more)
- Has the White House been misleading the public by repeatedly denying it was coordinating arms shipments to the rebels in Syria, insurgents known to consist in large part of al-Qaida and other jihadist groups?... (more)
- Many leading economists are predicting the collapse of the dollar, as major nations and entities move away from the dollar as the standard world currency. They say there is no way out of total economic collapse. Yet, they keep printing trillions...it made no sense...why would they create a hopeless situation. They must know there is some way to effect some recovery...then I realized... (more)
- Many ideas presented as "new" are just rehashes of old ideas that have been tried before -- and have failed before. So it is no surprise that the recent "Growth and Opportunity Project" report to the Republican National Committee is a classic example of what previous generations called "me too" Republicanism... (more)
- A Florida Atlantic University student who filed a complaint against his professor after he was ordered to stomp on the name of Jesus has been brought up on academic charges by the school and may no longer attend class, according to documents obtained by Fox News... (more)
- On the eve of Tuesday's "March for Marriage" in Washington, to coincide with Supreme Court consideration of court cases on homosexual rights, more explosive evidence of the media bias driving the campaign to change America's culture and Judeo-Christian foundations has emerged... (more)
- The headline said, "Meese promotes Returning America to Founding Principles": "Former Attorney General Edwin Meese told CPAC 2013 attendees that the best approach for the country's future is one that emphasizes returning to the original principles that built America, as opposed to the more powerful centralized government favored by President Barack Obama... (more)
Once upon a time a rock star craving attention would simply bite the head off a live bat. Generating that kind of buzz today can only come by announcing one's opposition to gay marriage.
I would like to think that the internal contradictions of Islamism will bring down regimes such as that of Egypt's Mohammed Morsi. Today the New York Times reports on Egypt's shortages of food and fuel, a story that David Goldman has cornered for quite a while. If only we were to impose appropriate conditions in return for the financial aid that we provide - and if only we sought to achieve pursue the goal - the Islamists might join the Soviet Communists on the ash heap of history, at least in Egypt.
Tbe evil nature of the Islamist regime is on display for all with eyes to see. In a story running inside the Times, Kareen Fahim and Mayy el Sheikh report on the trials of an Egyptian satirist (photo above) at the hands of Egypt's public prosecutor:
Egypt's public prosecutor on Saturday ordered the arrest of a popular television satirist on charges that included insulting President Mohamed Morsi and denigrating Islam, the state news agency reported, a move that amplified criticisms that the Islamist government is moving aggressively to stifle freedom of expression.
The satirist, Bassem Youssef, who hosts a widely watched show modeled on "The Daily Show," has been the subject of numerous legal complaints filed by Islamist lawyers and citizens who took umbrage at Mr. Youssef's skewering of Egypt's political class, including Mr. Morsi, his loyalists and the opposition.
But the arrest warrant seemed to represent a sharp escalation of the campaign against Mr. Youssef, with the public prosecutor appointed by Mr. Morsi lending official credence to the complaints. In the nine months since Mr. Morsi took office, his government and the Muslim Brotherhood have endured withering and frequently strident criticism from Egypt's private news media outlets. Mr. Morsi has been accused of responding with measures that recall the previous authoritarian leaders, including prosecuting critics, confiscating newspapers and placing sympathetic journalists in state news media organs.
Last week, the public prosecutor, Talaat Ibrahim, ordered the arrest of five anti-Islamist activists on charges that they had used social media to incite violence against the Muslim Brotherhood.
Shortly after the warrant was announced Saturday, Mr. Youssef confirmed on Twitter that he had been summoned and said he intended to visit the prosecutor's office on Sunday. "Unless they were so kind as to send a police wagon to pick me up today, and save me the transportation," he added.
It was not immediately clear which episodes of Mr. Youssef's program, which is watched by millions of people on television or on the Internet, had prompted the warrant. Al Ahram, the state newspaper, said Saturday that prosecutors had considered the testimony of 28 complainants and had examined four episodes.
One complainant accused Mr. Youssef of denigrating Islam and disturbing security, and demanded that the state take "deterrent measures against him so that others with weak resolve wouldn't dare to insult Islam." The unnamed critic also accused the television host of insulting the president, including by "diminishing his stature domestically and abroad."
At last word, according to the Times, Yousef has posted bail.
Since we're on the subject of climate change here in recent days, herewith Churchill's musings about climate and technology from his essay "Fifty Years Hence," published in the late 1920s and available now in Thoughts and Adventures. Part of this passage is a tolerably good anticipation of "geoengineering," or "solar radiation management."
The discovery and control of such sources of power [such as nuclear] would cause changes in human affairs incomparably greater than those produced by the steam-engine four generations ago. Schemes of cosmic magnitude would become feasible. Geography and climate would obey our orders. . . The amount of rain falling yearly upon the Epsom racecourse would be enough to thaw all of the ice at the Arctic and Antarctic poles. The changing of one element into another by means of temperatures and pressures would be far beyond our present reach, would transform beyond all description our standards and values. Materials thirty times stronger than the best steel would create engines fit to bridle the new forms of power. Communications and transport by land, water, and air would take unimaginable forms, if, as is in principle possible, we could make an engine of 600 horsepower, weighing 20 lbs and carrying fuel for a thousand hours in a tank the size of a fountain pen. Wireless telephones and television, following naturally upon their present path of development, would enable their owner to connect up with any rom similarly installed, and hear or take part in the conversation as well as if he put his head in through the window.
As of late last week, an impasse between business and labor over work visas appeared to be all that stood in the way of a Senate bill on comprehensive immigration. And, as we noted, since this dispute pertained only to dollars and cents, not principles, resolution seemed likely.
Now, it has occurred. "Labor and business reach deal on immigration issue" reads the headline of this article in the New York Times. According to the Times, "the accord between the influential business and labor groups all but assured that the bipartisan group of senators would introduce their broad immigration legislation in the next few weeks."
With their legislative work done, Thomas Donohue, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, are ready to celebrate, along with their go-between Sen. Chuck Schumer:
Shortly before the conference call on Friday night between Mr. Schumer, Mr. Donohue and Mr. Trumka ended, one of the men suggested that the three of them get together soon for dinner; it had been, they all agreed, a long few weeks.
It's nice that, through arduous efforts, big business and big labor have come together to do the nation's business for us. It would have been nicer if all other relevant interests had been included.
One such interest is that of the officers who enforce our immigration laws on the front line. It happens that this interest is represented by a union - ICE. Unfortunately, as Jeff Sessions has pointed out, ICE has asked repeatedly to be given a chance to participate in White House discussions and to speak with the Gang of Eight, but has been unable to get a meeting.
I guess this union falls into the "little labor" category.
It will also be nice if Congress holds open public hearings on every aspect of the Gang of 8 deal. Marco Rubio, the pivotal member of Chuck Schumer's Gang, promised such public hearings, and other forms of careful deliberation, to Rush Limbaugh and his audience:
The next step in this process is to craft a starting point of legislation, and then after that it's gonna have to go through committees and people are gonna have their input. There's gonna be public hearings. I don't want to be part of a process that comes up with some bill in secret and brings it to the floor and gives people a take it or leave it. I want this place to work the way it's supposed to work, with every senator having input and the public having input.
The Times reports that Rubio sent a letter to Sen. Leahy of the Senate Judiciary Committee urging against "excessive haste" in considering the soon-to-be-introduced legislation. Rubio said that the support of voters will be crucial for passing any immigration law, and "that support can only be earned through full and careful consideration of legislative language and an open process of amendments."
I fear that this letter may be more about providing Rubio with political cover than about promoting real deliberation. Rubio casts himself as a supplicant to Leahy rather than what he really is - the key to any deal. As such, he need not beg. The process he described to Limbaugh should be a done deal at this point.
The letter is also disingenuous on its face. Support of voters isn't crucial to passing immigration reform. The legislation can be imposed from the top down, just as Obamacare was. This time it requires only unified Democrats (a given) and a relatively small number of squishy Republicans (not a given in the House, but far from a long-shot).
This is always what Sens. Schumer, McCain, and Graham had in mind. Either Rubio also had it in mind or he is hopelessly naive.
What Rubio really means, I suppose, is that the support of Republican voters - or at least their non-disgust - is crucial to Rubio's political future. Public hearings may not be sufficient for this purpose, but their absence (one hopes) would severely limit that future.
In any case, big business, big labor, and Chuck Schumer are happy and Marco Rubio seems squishy. At the end of the day, that may be all that matters.
STEVE adds: Even if you're for immigration reform, this is a totally crappy deal. The idea of a guest-worker program is one of the only things about immigration reform that makes any sense. But the details of this deal as reported in the Times smack of central planning and protectionism for labor unions and big business. The restrictions on the kind of occupations and size of companies that may use guest-worker visas (limiting one-third to companies with 25 employees or less-that is, non-union businesses for the most part-is yet another disincentive, like Obamacare, not to grow), along with "prevailing wage" regulation of the jobs that guest workers may fill, assure the program will not be responsive to actual labor market needs. To the contrary, this "compromise" seems designed to make sure that there will be lots of future illegal immigration and underground employment if the economy ever starts growing again.
Another detail unclear from the story is how many of these visas will be available to high skill jobs in high tech sectors. The Times story seems to suggest the Chamber-big labor deal concentrates more on low- and semi-skilled jobs in the construction and hospitality industry. If a large number of guest worker visas aren't available for high tech, the whole effort is a total farce.
John Podhoretz argues in the editor's note of the new issue of Commentary that it's time for conservatives to get serious about Obama, or begin taking him seriously on his own terms. John takes Obama to be a conventional liberal and chides conservatives for painting him as an extremist, an exaggeration which proves to be to Obama's advantage.
If Obama is a conventional liberal, however, liberalism has moved to the left in the direction of "fundamental transformation" of the United States. It seems to me it would be worth giving some thought to the nature of the transformation to which Obama himself has professed to aspire, as Charles Kesler has set out to do in I Am the Change and elsewhere.
I thought in 2008 that Obama was the leftwardmost viable candidate in a crowded Democratic field, and that this was in part his attraction to the Democratic faithful. It seems to me that the Heritage Foundation video below is clarifying on this and related issues. If conservatives and Republicans can't successfully fight this, it is indeed past time to get serious.
Last year the New York Times Magazine featured a cover story by Tom Robbins (not that Tom Robbins) on one of the fanatic leftists who participated in the infamous Brink's robbery in New York. As George Russell recounts in "The other Rosenberg case," the October 1981 robbery, which ended in a careening series of car chases and a bloody shootout, left two policemen and an unarmed Brink's employee dead and others injured. Commentary has kept Russell's great essay accessible online and I urge interested readers to study it.
Lest we forget, Bill Clinton pardoned Susan Rosenberg. Clinton should be remembered as a cretin for many more reasons than the Lewinksy affair. Kathy Boudin has been paroled. How about a little love for Judith Clark, the subject of the Times Magazine cover story? My vote is to send Rosenberg and Boudin back to the can. David Horowitz remembered:
The New York Times, which played a key role in getting convicted and unrepentant murderer Kathy Boudin a parole, has now published a similar massive plea posing as a news story for her accomplice, Judy Clark. The piece is maliciously titled "The Radical Transformation of Judy Clark" as though Clark, understanding the heinous nature of her crime which left 9 children fatherless, is prepared to renounce the life that led to it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of course Clark is in her sixties now and regrets her separation from the infant she abandoned to commit the crime (her last crime not her only crime). Her daughter is now 31 and she would obviously like to be able to share the kind of life with her that her victims cannot share with their dead fathers. And, of course, being old and gray, she no longer thinks Amerikkka is on the brink of a violent revolution and liberation. Unlike Boudin, moreover, she does seem to have given some thought to the enormity of what she did to those nine fatherless children. But that said, there is no indication that her parole plea is anything but self-serving, or that she has turned her back on the progressive terrorists - Boudin, Bill Ayers and Berna[r]dine Dohrn among them - who were her comrades-in-arms through the twelve years of armed warfare she conducted against her country and its citizens, which left more than a handful of people dead.
To begin with, Clark and her mouthpiece at the Times, present the culprit as an absent-minded accomplice to the one crime for which she was convicted, the Brink's robbery in Nyack NY in 1981. According to Clark, her participation was an "obligation" - the fulfillment of a promise she had made to participate as a getaway driver in a robbery she thought would never take place. This is baloney. Clark was part of a group that called itself "The Family," which was a working alliance between the Black Liberation Army and the May 19th Communist Movement (so-named in part to commemorate the day the BLA murdered a black and white police team in New York for no reason other than that they were a black and white officer working together).
The May 19 gang was mainly women (among them Boudin, Clark and Susan Rosenberg) who served as the getaway team for the BLA in a string of bank robberies in which people were killed. One attempted assassination of a New York judge was unsuccessful. All these crimes were committed in the name of the revolution, which in the perverse eyes of progressives like Judy Clark, justified them. The Family had also sprung a cold-blooded killer - Assata Shakur - from federal prison. Clark's role in the May 19th organization was not the beginning of her criminal career but its fulfillment. Previously she had spent 7 years as one of the most fanatical members of the Weather Underground, helping to conduct many bombings and kill at least three people, and probably also two police officers whose deaths are still under investigation.
A guilty person who understands their guilt and has genuine remorse begins by accepting responsibility for what they did and for all they did - and not pretending (as Clark does in this article) that they became a violent radical only after they were arrested as a result of guilt for not having been revolutionary enough. Or that their participation in the one crime they were apprehended for was actually the result of inattention or some other excusable offense.
Far more important, a truly remorseful terrorist will feel obligated to turn his back on his fellow terrorists and their supporters and do the innocent a service by revealing what they know, and who their networks are, and what they actually did - not just what they got caught doing. This kind of truth-telling is an authentic form of atonement and would protect others - and particularly young radicals just starting out who may become involved in criminal ventures just as Clark did when she was young and the tragedies she caused were still in front of her.
Robbins styles himself an investigative journalist, but he placed strict limits on the extent of his curiosity, and there was of course a political point to his credulity.
Now comes Robert Redford to glorify the lives and works of the Weather Underground in his new movie, The Company You Keep, to be released here this week. Michelle Malkin administers justice to Redford in her syndicated column "The bloody company Hollywood keeps," posted on her own site. RCP has included Michelle's column in its honor roll and posted it on its own site here, where I found it this morning. In the form she has it posted on her own site, Michelle has (as usual) filled the column full of supporting links.
The extent to which the left - the Democrats, the Times, the mainstream media, Hollywood, the universities - looks after its own is truly amazing. Amazing, and disgusting.
The 2012 election, in which nearly every traditional rule about presidential politics was broken, showed that we have entered a new era. One feature of this new era is the permanent campaign. Until now, there has always been some respite-growing shorter over the years, admittedly-between the end of one campaign and the beginning of the next. The Democrats have now obliterated that gap; the 2014 Congressional campaign began on the day after the 2012 election, and President Obama's re-election campaign was seamlessly transformed into a vehicle to support Democratic Congressional candidates.
While Republicans are still scratching their heads over what happened last November, the Democrats' 2014 campaign is already in high gear. The party's faithful are being barraged with pleas to contribute to the Democrats' war chest. Over the last ten days, I have received a series of emails that shed light on the Democrats' tactics. The occasion is the end of the first quarter of 2013, which is tomorrow-the first post-November deadline for reporting fundraising totals to the FEC. The Democrats began this particular effort a little over a week ago, on March 20, in an email titled "Downright sickening."
John -
This is downright sickening.
Today, House Republicans will vote for Paul Ryan's Medicare-destroying budget. And guess what Ryan's doing right after?
Here's what: Hosting a lavish fundraiser in the shadow of the Capitol, hobnobbing with those who will benefit the most from his budget - deep-pocketed millionaires and billionaires. You can bet they'll use all that cash to tear down everything President Obama proposes.
We can catch them - but only if we hit 200,000 members before the quarterly fundraising deadline. John, we need you to be a part of this, but we just noticed that your membership is still pending.
Please do your part to close the gap - make a donation of $3 or more right now.
The ultra-wealthy and their shady special interests are the Republican Party's biggest supporters. But we've got you. And that means a lot.
So when the big-money backers come out of the woodwork tonight, will your grassroots power be there to match them?
The next day, the Democratic faithful got the bad news, along with a call to arms:
John - This is our worst case scenario:
Paul Ryan raised a record-breaking $14.4 million over glasses of champagne last night - and his radical budget just passed on the House floor.
John, I won't mince words: If Ryan can bury us under a wave of corporate special interest cash, then his Medicare-destroying budget really has a chance to become law and seniors are in real trouble.
We need you right now.
We absolutely have to hit 200,000 members before the FEC deadline. If everyone who's been waiting to give pitches in $3 or more today, we can start closing the fundraising gap today. [Ed.: There is no fundraising gap, the DCCC out-raised the NRCC in both January and February.]
This outrageous amount of money came right in time for Ryan. With $14.4 million worth of momentum, the Republicans will try to steamroll over President Obama and all the Democrats standing in the way of Ryan's radical budget.
That's why this upcoming fundraising deadline is so important. It's our chance to show that together we can take on the Republicans and their billionaire-backers. Can we count on you to step up?
This was followed up the next day with another alarming email, this one headed "we could lose this."
John -
In the last 48 hours, things have gone from bad to worse:
* Paul Ryan raised a record-breaking $14.4 million in one night * The Republican House passed the Medicare-destroying Paul Ryan budget * Boehner's Super PAC allies launched ads attacking Democrats for rejecting the Ryan budget
If we don't fight back quick, Paul Ryan and the billionaire backers of the Republican Party will dismantle Medicare and collect the spoils for themselves. We need to hit 200,000 dedicated members right now - before the FEC fundraising deadline.
Matching the Republican fundraising blitz with your grassroots strength is the only way to fight back against these vicious and powerful attacks. If we fall short, we could lose the fight against Boehner and Ryan's corporate cash.
In the Democrats' world, Republicans are cartoon villains; you can picture them with top hats, capes and waxed mustaches. The Democrats' claims vary between ludicrous and insane, like the suggestion that Republicans "will dismantle Medicare and collect the spoils for themselves."
The hysterical drumbeat continued. This one was sent out on March 28 and headed "John, we're in real trouble."
John -
I'm going to be very honest with you:
If we fall short right now, our chances of winning a Democratic House for President Obama are slim to none.
Here's the deal: Our first quarterly fundraising deadline is in just 72 hours. John Boehner is already bragging about the $14.4 million that Republicans have raised to attack President Obama and protect their Tea Party buddies. If we want to take back the House, we can't let them pummel us like this right out of the gate.
We've run the numbers and we can close the gap - but it's going to take another 35,000 supporters stepping up before Sunday's FEC fundraising deadline. We need you to be a part of this.
If you're as committed as I am to gaining a Democratic majority in 2014 - and hitting Republicans hard until then - donate whatever you can today.
Kelly Ward DCCC Executive Director
This one came out on March 28, too:
John - We are conducting a membership audit before the first FEC deadline of President Obama's second term. Your membership is pending.
If you support President Obama's agenda, it is CRITICAL that you renew your membership in the next 72 hours.
John Boehner and Paul Ryan have already stockpiled millions of dollars for the sole purpose of blocking President Obama's second term agenda. If we don't catch up soon, we are in real trouble.
According to our audit, we need 35,000 renewals by Sunday's fundraising deadline to keep pace. That means we need you. This is urgent.
Boehner and Ryan depend on the Koch Brothers and Big Oil; we rely on your grassroots support.
From here, the bombardment accelerated. And a remarkable inducement was added: the Democrats will triple-match any donations to their 2014 campaign. They sent this one on the morning of March 29. The subject? "Boehner is already bragging."
John -
There are only 48 hours left - so I'll be blunt:
If we get blown out on this first quarterly fundraising deadline, President Obama's agenda is toast.
Boehner is already bragging about the Republicans' $14.4 million haul this month. With that kind of cash, they can rip apart everything President Obama proposes for the next two years.
The only chance we've got is to call out their lies, fight back with the facts, and expose Republicans' extreme Tea Party agenda.
As of 9am, we are $737,000 short of what we need to close the fundraising gap and fight Republican attacks before Sunday's fundraising deadline.
You and I worked too hard in 2012 to let the Republicans derail President Obama's agenda. Let's use the first big fundraising report of the year to show that we're not done fighting for change.
Donate $3 or more right now - when your donation will make the biggest difference.
All donations are triple-matched: http://dccc.org/48-Hours-Left
The Democrats never say who will triple-match contributions. Presumably it is someone other than "the ultra-wealthy and their shady special interests;" Democratic donors' interests are never special and never shady. Still, it would be interesting to know who is putting up the millions of dollars needed to triple-match this week's contributions.
This one came out just a few hours later, headed "The bad news first."
John -
First, the bad news.
A few hours ago, we alerted you about Boehner's plans to tear down President Obama's progressive agenda after their $14.4 million fundraising blitz last week.
BUT here's the good news: over 173,000 supporters have stepped up this year, chipped in, and put a real dent in the fundraising gap.
John, according to our records, you're not one of them.
There are only 48 hours until the FIRST quarterly fundraising deadline of the year - let's show John Boehner and Paul Ryan that there's a whole movement ready to fight their attacks and back up President Obama.
Renew your membership for only $3: http://dccc.org/Renew
By the end of the day, there was a glimmer of hope. The next email was headed "as of 5 pm: (good news!)"
John -
Paul Ryan's not going to like this:
In the last three hours - yeah, THREE hours - over 4,200 of you have stepped up and chipped in to support President Obama's agenda. We can hardly believe it!
If we can hit 200,000 donations before Sunday's FEC deadline, it would be a historic milestone for our grassroots support, and a HUGE blow to Paul Ryan and House Republicans trying to block President Obama's agenda.
Donate $3 right now and we'll triple-match your gift!
Let's go!
So a little bit of sunlight is beginning to peek through the clouds. Still, it wasn't due to my contributions, so I got this email-"bad news"-too:
John -
Last year, you were one of our biggest supporters.
Pause on that. Actually, last year I gave them $3, as part of a test of the Obama campaign's readiness to accept apparently illegal campaign contributions. No matter-I am one of their "biggest supporters."
This email included text from an earlier email to me (not quoted above) that said:
John - There's no time left to wait.
A few hours ago, we alerted you about Boehner's record-breaking fundraising dinner last week. Now we've gotten word that they're pouring that cash into attacking President Obama's progressive agenda.
If we want to fight these Republican attacks, we have got to close this $737,000 fundraising gap before Sunday's fundraising deadline.
For the next 48 hours only, all donations will be triple-matched.
Your $3 will equal $9 >>
Your $10 will equal $30 >>
Your $20 will equal $60 >>
We can't let the Republicans get away with tearing down President Obama's agenda because we didn't have the resources to call out their lies. We need you on this.
While March 29 saw the first glimmer of hope that the Democrats might actually match those evil Republicans, the pressure didn't let up. I got this one a couple of hours ago, titled "Haven't been able to reach you..."
John -
We haven't heard from you.
If you're planning to support President Obama's progressive agenda, we need you to renew your membership in the next 24 hours.
John Boehner and Paul Ryan have already begun filling their war chests with shady corporate money. They're expected to file an FEC report of over $14.4 million, all raised from their big dinner last week.
We need no less than 18,000 renewed members before tomorrow's fundraising deadline to have any chance of keeping pace. ...
Lots of great supporters have already stepped up, but so far, we don't see any contribution from you. Click the link below to make a gift - all gifts today will be triple-matched:
Your $3 will equal $9 >>
Your $10 will equal $30 >>
Your $20 will equal $60 >>
If supporters like you - that have been strong and steadfast in the past - step up immediately, we have a chance to make President Obama's agenda a reality. Otherwise, we could be crushed by shady special interest money.
We need you to back us up on this.
John, click on this personalized link to renew your membership AND triple your impact at the same time!
Thanks,
Democrats 2014
How will it all end? For sure, the emails aren't finished. They will continue to pour in until midnight tomorrow. I have a sneaking suspicion that when the dust settles, the Democrats will have blown away the Republicans during the first quarter, and the triumphant news will be broadcast Monday morning.
What do we make of this? First, the Democrats are in full campaign mode. The Republicans aren't doing anything like this, and probably don't have the infrastructure to do it, even if they wanted to.
Second, the low-class tone of the Democrats' communications is intentional and carefully calculated. I received dozens (maybe hundreds) of similar emails from the Democrats and the Obama campaign during 2012, but I misinterpreted them. I thought that no campaign would humiliate itself by using such a hysterical tone and over the top hyperbole unless it was desperate. I concluded that the Obama campaign's polls must be showing their candidate behind. I was entirely wrong: rather, the Democrats have figured out that this tone, simultaneously informal and vicious, with absurd claims and cartoonish caricatures, is what appeals to Democrat-leaning low-information voters. Through hundreds or thousands of these communications, the Democrats have not only created a narrative that by this point is unshakable, they have imbued millions of people with the sense that they are valuable members of a team that is engaged in a touch and go, life or death struggle with an evil foe. And, along the way, they have raised money in amounts undreamed of until now.
Should the Republicans adopt a similarly lowbrow strategy? I don't think it would work. It is a truism of social science that conservatives tend to be happy people, while liberals tend to be bitter, unhappy and angry. I don't think you could rally conservatives behind a message that is essentially one of hate, even if you wanted to, which the Republican Party doesn't. So where does that leave us? Time will tell, but I am afraid that there is, indeed, a Snidely Whiplash in this melodrama; only it is the Republicans, not the Democrats, who are being tied to the railroad track, and the train bearing down on them has a big D on it.
Time for our weekly-or increasingly semi-weekly (I hesitate to use the phrase "bi-weekly" right now, because I don't like to use the prefix "bi-" for anything just now, and not because I can't decide whether "bi-weekly" means twice a week or every other week)-look at the memes, themes, cartoons, and revealing pictoids of the moment. Meanwhile, I'm keeping watch out for North Korea's Kim Jong Un to turn up in a Easter Bunny suit some time this weekend.
What would Mayor Bloomberg or national nutritionist Michelle Obama say?
In an excellent Wall Street Journal column James Taranto holds out hope that the Supreme Court is on the verge of ending the regime of racial discrimination that it has licensed in higher education. I hope Taranto is right, but I think pessimism is warranted. I'm taking the liberty of reiterating my own observations on the subject below.
The principle of equal treatment without regard to race is one that is close to my heart. Accordingly, one of my favorite books on a legal subject is Andrew Kull's The Color-Blind Constitution. (I learned of the book at the time of its publication through Judge Alex Kosinski's 1993 New Republic review/essay.) It is a book that is by turns inspiring and maddening. I recommend it without reservation to readers interested in the subject.
The book is full of surprises. For example, Kull devotes two chapters to the separate but equal doctrine approved by the Supreme Court in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson. The case represents the bygone era of Jim Crow, yet at the outset of his discussion of the case Professor Kull makes this astounding observation: "The majority opinion in Plessy makes a comfortable target, and it is routinely vilified. But in its broad holding, as opposed to its particular application, Plessy has never been overruled, even by implication. On the contrary, it announced what has remained ever since the stated view of a majority of the Supreme Court as to the constitutionality of laws that classify by race."
The principle of equal treatment was adopted as the law of the land in the great civil rights legislation of 1964 and 1965, or so we foolishly thought at the time. It may even have been the law for a minute or two. Then the federal government began building the whole edifice of affirmative action and racial preferences that we live with today and that has been addressed by the Supreme Court in a number of important cases. Certainly insofar as higher education is concerned, the affirmative action regime and the treatment of students based on the color of their skin are entrenched more deeply than ever under the shibboleth of "diversity."
One of the lessons of Kull's great book is that the Court wants to retain for the judiciary the discretion and authority to approve varieties of racial discrimination. The ideal of the color-blind Constitution remains perennially on the horizon, like a mirage. To paraphrase George Wallace, affirmative action today, affirmative action tomorrow, affirmative action forever.
If you are a regular reader, you probably have noticed that I have been gone for a while. I was on vacation with my wife and the ever-dwindling cohort of children who are still at home and still get a spring break, which is to say, my youngest daughter. We left a week ago tonight and just returned home. Our vacation included two days with my brother in Charlotte, three days at a fabulous resort in South Carolina, and two days in Charleston. We had, as always, a wonderful time. I made this short video of a boat excursion we took on the May River, which is really a salt-water Atlantic Ocean inlet. The tree house was a highlight, and the dolphins are near the end:
And-speaking of saddles-my daughter and I went horseback riding; here we have just arrived back at the stable. Which, by the way, is cleaner than most of the apartments I lived in when I was single:
Since it was a vacation, I paid no attention to the news for a solid week. It was blissful. Since returning home, I have been reviewing the thousands of email messages that piled up while I was gone, and I can see already that the world has been going rapidly downhill. By tomorrow I should be ready to resume posting; but in the meantime, if you haven't recently gone for a week without newspapers, internet or television, I highly recommend it.
The aging and fading comedian Jim Carrey apparently wants to act out in real life his role in "Dumb and Dumber," with recent tweets attacking gun ownership. Says a person who has armed bodyguards. You'd think these Hollywood-Washington liberals wouldn't be completely tone-deaf to hypocrisy.
But this only compounds Carrey's perfidy. His public opposition to childhood vaccination, along with other worthless celebrities like Robert F. Kennedy Jr (would anyone care what this lightweight said if his name was Robert F. Smith?), is probably responsible for the unnecessary death and maiming of more children than guns. Why isn't Carrey referred to as a "vaccination denier"?
Anyway, our pal Remy has released a video response to Carrey that nails it:
In my Weekly Standardcover story about the fallout from the "Climategate" email scandal three years ago, I offered the following question by way of prediction:
Eventually the climate modeling community is going to have to reconsider the central question: Have the models the IPCC uses for its predictions of catastrophic warming overestimated the climate's sensitivity to greenhouse gases?
The article then went on to survey emerging research (U.S. government funded!) casting doubt on high estimates of climate sensitivity, along with alternative explanations on some climate factors, such as "black carbon." The question in my mind the time was how long this would take to begin to break out into the "mainstream" scientific and media world.
Figure 1
That day appears to have arrived. The new issue of The Economist has a long feature on the declining confidence in the high estimates of climate sensitivity. That this appears in The Economist is significant, because this august British news organ has been fully on board with climate alarmism for years now. A Washington-based Economist correspondent admitted to me privately several years ago that the senior editors in London had mandated consistent and regular alarmist climate coverage in its pages.
The problem for the climateers is increasingly dire. As The Economist shows in its first chart (Figure 1 here), the recent temperature record is now falling distinctly to the very low end of its predicted range and may soon fall out of it, which means the models are wrong, or, at the very least, that there's something going on that supposedly "settled" science hasn't been able to settle. Equally problematic for the theory, one place where the warmth might be hiding-the oceans-is not cooperating with the story line. Recent data show that ocean warming has noticeably slowed, too, as shown in Figure 2 here.
Figure 2
So The Economist story, though hedged with every reservation to Keep Hope Alive, is nonetheless a clear sign that it's about over for the climate campaign.
While climateers continue to beat the drum that each year is among the hottest since Satan opened his first furnace at Hades Hostel for Hapless Heathens, there has been an embarrassed silence, if not outright denial (heh), that temperatures have flattened out over the last 15 years. Now even the leading climateers can't maintain a straight face over this any more, as The Economist notes in its lede:
OVER the past 15 years air temperatures at the Earth's surface have been flat while greenhouse-gas emissions have continued to soar. The world added roughly 100 billion tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere between 2000 and 2010. That is about a quarter of all the CO2 put there by humanity since 1750. And yet, as James Hansen, the head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, observes, "the five-year mean global temperature has been flat for a decade." . . .
The mismatch between rising greenhouse-gas emissions and not-rising temperatures is among the biggest puzzles in climate science just now. . . The IPCC's estimates of climate sensitivity are based partly on GCMs [Global Circulation Models]. Because these reflect scientists' understanding of how the climate works, and that understanding has not changed much, the models have not changed either and do not reflect the recent hiatus in rising temperatures. (Emphasis added.)
And the story adds this zinger: "If climate scientists were credit-rating agencies, climate sensitivity would be on negative watch."
The Economist goes on to provide a brief tour of new research that argues for a lower climate sensitivity, with upper bounds that would still present difficulties, but short of the blood-and-Gore catastrophe that as been the staple of the climate campaign from the beginning. As usual, we see an environmental phenomenon that the environmental Politburo overestimates, and which always demands that we surrender more political power into their hands as the solution.
Even The Economist's accompanying "leader" on the issue sends out a subtle surrender signal:
Bad climate policies, such as backing renewable energy with no thought for the cost, or insisting on biofuels despite the damage they do, are bad whatever the climate's sensitivity to greenhouse gases. Good policies-strategies for adapting to higher sea levels and changing weather patterns, investment in agricultural resilience, research into fossil-fuel-free ways of generating and storing energy-are wise precautions even in a world where sensitivity is low. So is putting a price on carbon and ensuring that, slowly but surely, it gets ratcheted up for decades to come.
Except for the "carbon price" bit at the end, this represents a huge retreat from the Kyoto-cheerleading of The Economist in years gone by.
Elliott Abrams wonders where the hard core jihadists currently fighting in Syria - an estimated 5,000 of them - will go when/if the fighting ends there. Israeli officials naturally are asking the same question. According to Abrams, the Israelis identify the following possibilities:
They may go west to Lebanon, to fight the Shiite group Hezbollah.
They may go south to try to cross into the Golan, and fight the Israeli army.
Or they go east into Iraq, to fight as Sunnis against the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Maliki (considered the most likely option).
But Abrams points to another possibility for the hundreds of jihadists who hail from Europe - they may take the fight home. As Britain's foreign minister William Hague recently said:
Syria is now the number one destination for jihadists anywhere in the world today. This includes a number of individuals connected with the United Kingdom and other European countries. They may not pose a threat to us when they first go to Syria, but if they survive some may return ideologically hardened and with experience of weapons and explosives.
A Danish newpaper recently made the same point:
According to the Danish Secret Services . . . several members of the most violent gangs of immigrants in Copenhagen are currently in Syria where they have gone in order to participate in jihad. This may turn hardened criminals into hardline fundamentalists. "This is a new trend. These people are already potentially dangerous and when they return home, they have access to arms and explosives. It is very worrisome to see these types of ties forming between Islam and criminals," says the head of the Danish Secret Services.
Abrams notes that there were very few foreign fighters in Syria when the rebellion began two years ago. The influx of such fighters, and the danger they probably will pose in the future, is another consequence of President Obama's decision not to intervene at the outset against the Assad regime. At a minimum, it seems clear that if Obama is ever going to intervene, he should have done so long ago.
The Washington Post reports that the bipartisan Senate deal on immigration reform is now at risk. At a minimum, the Senate bill may not be unveiled in April, as had been expected.
What's the problem? Have Republicans come to understand that it is wrong to provide a pathway to citizenship for those who, for years, have flouted American law? Has the irrationality of creating 10 million or so underclass voters, few of whom can be expected to vote for a conservative party, finally dawned on conservative Republicans? Or have the two Parties reached on impasse on the issue of border security?
The answer is: none of the above. The hang-up is over work visas. Big business, represented by the Republicans, wants to give temporary work visas to 400,000 workers a year at low wages. Labor, represented by the Democrats, wants fewer visas and lower wages.
No one should be surprised that this economic dispute appears to be the major obstacle to bipartisan agreement. The same issue is widely considered the deal-breaker during the last run at immigration reform in 2007. That year, in the words of the Post, Sen. Obama "eyeing union support for a White House bid," supported an amendment eliminating the guest worker provision, the adoption of which helped sink the legislation.
I'm on the Republicans side of the dispute over work visas. But the real lesson here, as in 2007, is that Republican politicians care, above all, about protecting the interests of business. They offer lip service to respect for the law, border security, and preserving conservatism as a strong force in our politics. But when put to the test, their real business is providing service to business.
By the way, and for it's worth, I suspect that the dispute over work visas will be resolved. Disputes over dollars and cents usually are. Disputes over principles often aren't. But the Republican establishment isn't worried about principles or about the long-term future of conservatism.
Over at NRO's Corner, my daughter Eliana has an interesting preview of coming attractions in the Senate:
Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee - the Senate's rabble-rousing GOP triumvirate - seek nothing less than to fundamentally transform the debate over gun control.
As has been reported, they will likely filibuster when Harry Reid brings his gun-control legislation up for a vote. In doing so, according to sources, they hope to effect a dramatic shift in public opinion, akin to one that followed Paul's 13-hour filibuster earlier this month over President Obama's drone policy.
Their approach is carefully orchestrated, and they are operating on the premise that taking a principled constitutional stand with a little dramatic flair will rally people to their cause. Properly executed, they hope the upcoming filibuster will refocus the gun-control debate, which has been mired in technical details, on the meaning of the Second Amendment....
The whole thing is not only worth reading, it is an incitement to stay tuned.
We get occasional email messages complaining about our comments setup and its occasional glitches. I find it hard to respond to all these messages, mostly because I don't know what's going on or don't care for the indignation that sometimes accompanies the complaints. Here is what I would like you to know, courtesy of Power Line publisher Joe Malchow:
Power Line uses Facebook for our commenting system. This means that anyone with a Facebook account (about a billion people) can comment, and it also frees us from the burden of moderating comments, which is what, in the past, always kept Power Line from having comments at all. The downside of using Facebook, of course, is that our comment technology is outsourced. That means that when readers write us with problems commenting, there is virtually nothing we can do to help them.
Our trust, however, is in the forces of the market. Facebook Comments is an infrastructure much larger than Power Line could ever hope to build itself. Websites like The Los Angeles Times, for example, use Facebook Comments. The result? If something is systemically wrong with Facebook Comments, readers can be quite sure that they are not alone, and that every effort is being taken to remedy the situation.
Power Line continually reviews the technology landscape for improvements to our site and our community. Right now, we think Facebook offers the best balance of civility and ease of access. This is a delicate balance. If and when we discover a comment technology which better supports this temperance, we will adopt it with enthusiasm.
Thank you for your readership and your consideration.
"Conservative" Senator Mike Lee Advocates Trashing The Constitution and Bill of Rights As Long As The Senate Has 60 Votes
"What we're insisting on, Greta, is a sixty vote margin. We think that any time Congress wants to take away the constitutionally protected rights of American citizens, it ought not do so for light or transient reasons; and it ought not do so with one party, the party in control of that party."
I was stunned when I heard him utter those words On the Record. Senator Lee somehow believes that having procured a "Super Majority" that the proper threshold has been crossed to begin trashing the Constitution and trashing the God-given, constitutionally protected rights of "We the People!"
I hate to be the one to break this news to Senator Lee but I don't care if every long eared j****** and every horned RINO in the Senate, even if it is rises to 100% unanimity, votes to steal the rights of "We the People," it is still an act of sedition, and in the case of gun control, I believe an act of treason inasmuch as we are mandated to be the Militias of the several states and to "infringe" on the right of the people to keep and bear arms would leave us defenseless.
There are two key phrases in Article 2 of the Bill of Rights. The first is: "The right of the people." Senator Lee, that phrase is also found in the 1st Amendment. It is a carefully crafted phrase letting Congress know that these are the unalienable "Rights of the People" and they are not to be touched.
The second is the word infringed. Infringed means that even the dirtiest part of the garment which hangs on the ground and collects mud and filth cannot be touched. That means no matter how undesirable you believe it is for me to be armed, you cannot tough my right to be armed.
Senator Lee, you have apparently misread the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They do not bind down "We the People". They are there to place chains on the government ... to keep them from the insanity of which you spoke so highly during your misguided appearance with Greta Van Susteren.
First, Senator Lee, let me begin by defining the American government.
As you may know, NR's offices are closed today. Still, there is much that's new, original, and worthwhile on NRO. I recommend all, but in particular these:
McConnell: A Hatch Not A Lugar Kentucky's Mitch McConnell is up for reelection, and is taking a lesson from how Orrin Hatch (and not Dick Lugar) fended off a Tea Party primary challenge. It's an important inside-the-GOP story, and our Katrina Trinko tells it well. You'll enjoy reading it (we'll enjoy you're sharing it!).
Inside GOP's Filibuster Plot Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Rand Paul have something up their sleeves to protect the Second Amendment. Get a sense of their Obstruct-Harry Reid strategy with Eliana Johnson's report in The Corner.
Public Goods Go Better With Coca-Cola Big corporations are greedy and heartless, right? Kevin Williamson's typically thoughtful essay shows how the soft-drink giant is making a big difference, gratis, in the health and lives of many Africans. If you enjoy seeing a convenient liberal myth busted, read and share this piece.
The Worst Economics Writer About Kevin -- it's perfectly okay if you can't get enough of his writing. Now, if you think there isn't a worse writer on matters fiscal than Paul Krugman, Williamson is here to tell you that "he is nowhere near as destructive a force in our public discourse as is Martin Crutsinger," the Associated Press's principle economics writer. Kevin puts a face on liberal media bias, and it ain't pretty.
And then there's this
Dodgeball Banned A New Hampshire school official finds dodgeball to be a "human target" game. So it is now banned. Our Andrew Johnson has the story, and a video.
And finally, the new edition of the "Beltway Buzz" with Bob Costa and Andrew Stiles will be up later today. Check out the NRO podcast zone here.
Thanks for your support of National Review. And if you celebrate Easter, may it be blessed for you and your family.
Best,
Jack Fowler Publisher
Funding Bill Cuts Illegal Alien Lobbyist
Before embarking on their two-week Easter recess, Congress passed a bill that would continue to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. Full Story
The Myth of a Low Skill Worker Shortage
It's all based upon a false premise perpetuated by the business community: that the country has an ongoing need for large numbers of low-skilled imported workers Full Story
Senate Democrats Vote to Give Free Health Care to Illegal Immigrants
U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) offered an amendment to the 2014 budget that would have prevented illegal immigrants from receiving free health care. Full Story
Facebook CEO May Spend $$ on Amnesty Push
Mark Zuckerberg appears to have found his next venture: politics. The 28-year-old Facebook CEO and billionaire . . . is joining with other executives to form an issues advocacy organization. Full Story
Obama Administration Admits It Scuttled Border Security Metric to Protect Amnesty
Officials in the Obama Administration admitted to The New York Times they resisted producing a border security metric because President Obama did not want any hurdles placed between illegal aliens and a pathway to citizenship. Full Story
Gay and Godless on the Public-School Stage By L. Brent Bozell III Hypocritical liberals don't want religious (or atheist) minorities to face religious indoctrination in a public school. But anti-religious indoctrination mocking the Judeo-Christian majority is a glorious festival of free speech.
Is America Still a Good Country? By Patrick J. Buchanan A common faith and moral code once held this country together. But if we no longer stand on the same moral ground, after we have made a conscious decision to become the most racially, ethnically, culturally diverse people on earth, what in the world holds us together?
The Bloody Company Hollywood Keeps By Michelle Malkin Bleeding-heart liberal Robert Redford's much-hyped new film glamorizing the lives of Weather Underground domestic terrorists, "The Company You Keep," will be released in the U.S. next week. But peace-loving moviegoers should save their money and take a stand.
Our Black-Robed Rulers By Ben Shapiro Ant-Constitutional members of the Supreme Court may be prepared to declare that the federal government cannot define marriage for the purpose of federal benefits under the Defense of Marriage Act. This is the same Supreme Court that declared last year that the federal government can force individuals to buy health insurance. To simplify, then: The federal government can't define how federal cash gets spent, but it can define how your cash gets spent.
Politics Ain't Beanbag By Rich Galen I know that people with no previous political experience have been successful. Barack Obama's 2008 run for President comes to mind, but more often people like Ashley Judd think they can win because the people they hang around with tell them they can win.
Why is Obama suddenly ramping up against North Korea?
President Obama came into office claiming he would be Mr. Diplomat, talking everyone and anyone into submission in order to avoid war. He said he'd talk even with the worst of the worst leaders- like in Iran and North Korea. So why all of a sudden is the United States running war drills with B-52 bombers near North Korea? Glenn reacts on radio today.
Piers Morgan & Van Jones humiliated in gun debate It's a miracle Piers Morgan has a job. He gets little to no ratings and routinely makes a fool out of himself on national TV. Last night was one of those moments when Dana Loesch absolutely humiliated both Piers and Van Jones in a gun control debate. Watch HERE and enjoy!
Get TheBlaze: Are they listening?
For weeks, thousands of you have taken the time to reach out to your cable and satellite providers to request that TheBlaze, a network that represents your values, be added to your channel lineup. Don't stop there! Remind your provider that you have a choice - they should value your opinion. Call 1.800.996.2529 or go to GetTheBlaze.com and ask your provider if they're listening to your requests to get TheBlaze on TV.
Cyprus now wants to take 80%
When they first toyed with the idea that they would confiscate funds from private accounts, the EU and Cyprus said they'd only take 6 to 9.9% of the funds. Then it was only accounts that had over 100,000 euros in it. Then when it was passed the percentage suddenly went up to 20%-30% and now 80% is being floated out there as an idea. Why is no one rioting in the streets over this? Glenn reacts on radio today.
Glenn to Stu: Backstabbing Brutus Earlier this week GlennBeck.com had a story about what it's like to be in a meeting with Glenn. Stu & Pat talked about it on their program this week and Glenn happened to catch the segment. What did Stu say during the segment to warrant Glenn calling him out on radio today as a 'backstabbing Brutus'? Find out HERE.
Tonight's Primetime Lineup on TheBlaze TV
5pm ET -The Glenn Beck Program:Glenn's unpredictable and passionate analysis is on full display in his engaging and empowering daily show.
6pm ET -Real News: In tonight's "Real History" segment, we take a look at the space race. Is America falling behind?
7pm ET - Wilkow!: CEO's of American businesses join Andrew to answer the question: What would the government look like if it was run like a business?
For years, Glenn has looked at the news of the day and tried to predict what could be on the horizon. Many of these predictions have come to pass, such as his theory that the Muslim Brotherhood would rise to power in Egypt as a result of the Arab Spring. Last night on TheBlaze TV, he laid out his theory of what the new world order could look like if there was tremendous global upheaval. WATCH
Did you know that Buck Sexton from Real News has his own show TheBlaze Radio Network? And you can listen to all of his shows FREE whenever & wherever you want! The Buck Sexton Show is available on iTunes, Stitcher, and SoundCloud - and of course, you can listen to Buck LIVE on TheBlaze Radio Network every Saturday, 12pm to 3pm ET.
NOW AVAILABLE: Get the eighth episode of Wrath & Righteousness!
Glenn's e-book thriller series Wrath & Righteousness examines the eternal battle between Light and Darkness while asking one of the fundamental questions of our existence: what is mankind's relationship to the spiritual world? The eighth episode in the 10-part series is available HERE. Download the previous 7 episodes HERE to catch up. Have a question or comment about the series? Visit our FAQ page.
Reason Magazine's epic response to Jim Carrey's stupid music video
You may have seen Jim Carrey's idiotic anti-gun video posted on the 'Funny or Die' website. The clearly 'or die' video was so bad and it dragged on for nearly 6 excruciating minutes. Reason Magazine always produces great content - but who knew they could do an epic response music videos? Check it out HERE.
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The pastor at the Washington, D.C. church where the Obama family celebrated Easter on Sunday said members of the religious right want blacks "in the back of the bus," women "back in the kitchen" and immigrants "back on their side of the border."
Following the Memorial Mass, there will be the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network's Award Gala, currently scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception. This dinner gala will be held at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, located at 1201 Market Street in Philadelphia. The first "Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Award" will be presented.
Glenn: Help us get in millions of home
American Policy Center has recently released a booklet that explains everything you need to know to start fighting back against sustainable programs both locally and nationally. The booklet is called Special Report: Agenda 21 and How to Stop It and is available in the APC store for only $5.95.
OK....when they look at you like you have a tin foil hat on your head......take some of this information with you. It is 126 pages. I have not read through the entire document (YET) but what I have read is enough to blow off the top of your head. I have highlighted some stuff. KIPP (Charter Schools) has a CHARACTER REPORT CARD on Page 39. So for now start on page 39 and work your way through to page 45. Remember 
Has Communist Ideology Overtaken America? Education is crucial. Today I want to share two very interesting lists with you, and rather than adding an extensive amount of my commentary, I want to give you the chance to examine the facts for yourself. It is my opinion that many communist goals have already been accomplished. I also believe that advancement has been made in other areas. But, you owe it to yourself to do your own research. I believe not only in the freedom of speech, but also in the responsibility of free thought. So please don't take my word for it. Examine the facts for yourself.
Interesting. I thought this was a dead issue. And to be honest it won't matter at all really since they will never remove him. We had our chance last November. But this will be fun to see what happens.
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This week has been a watershed moment for the fortunes of marriage in our culture. I've been following the discussion with great interest, including listening to oral arguments that were made before the Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday (
Why is Obama suddenly ramping up against North Korea?
