912 Patriots of Lower Bucks - Your Daily Updates ALL in ONE Place!
April 4, 2013
Quote:
Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power, and jealousy will instantly inspire the inclination, to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive.
~ Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution (Philadelphia 1787).
15 year old girl leaves anti-gun politicians speechless
If you see a story that you believe would be useful and important to our readers, simply respond to this email with a link and a brief description of why it is important. (Even if it may be obvious)
If you wish to unsubscribe (and we hope you don't) please click the "safe unsubscribe" link.
Thirty years ago, on March 23, 1983, Ronald Reagan made a television address calling on the United States to build an anti-missile defense. His rationale was compelling: Isn't it better to save American lives than to kill millions of the enemy?
The drums of war are beating, but nearly everyone is being fooled by the direction of their echo. While the situation involving North Korea is indeed serious, information provided by my military and intelligence sources are telling me to advise others to look elsewhere to accurately pinpoint the location of the drums themselves.
While their location might surprise most, it should send a chill down the spines of us all. We have front-row center seats to the greatest magic show of our time, which consists of a series of acts in the run-up to World War III.
To understand what is taking place with North Korea, as always, we must look at the larger picture. In this case, one's understanding can be aided by putting the situation with North Korea in the context of a global magic show where North Korea serves as the magician's distraction, perhaps the pretty assistant engaged in a series moves to divert our attention away from the sleight of hand of the magician that makes the trick successful.
The headlining magician onstage in this act of global deception is China, aided by Russia as the close assistant. Well placed shills might be identified as Iran and other nation-state level terrorist groups. What we are witnessing, however, is much more nefarious than a lounge act as it is the culmination of an orchestrated asymmetrical war where life as we know it hangs in the balance. It is a complex, multi-part magic show that began long ago, although was more recently set into motion with the so-called "Arab Spring," albeit with the brief interruption known as Benghazi.
We are watching as the final series of acts are playing our before us. Some of us are seeing through the magician's fog, while others are merely content to watch the show unfold according to the program written by the global power brokers and distributed by the Obama regime and the dutiful corporate media.
Mexico drug cartels sending top agents to run crime rings deep inside U.S. territory, AP finds
Jack Riley, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Chicago, points out local Mexican drug cartel problem areas on a map in the new interagency Strike Force office in Chicago, Dec. 11, 2012. /AP
Mexican drug cartels whose operatives once rarely ventured beyond the U.S. border are dispatching some of their most trusted agents to live and work deep inside the United States - an emboldened presence that experts believe is meant to tighten their grip on the world's most lucrative narcotics market and maximize profits.
If left unchecked, authorities say, the cartels' move into the American interior could render the syndicates harder than ever to dislodge and pave the way for them to expand into other criminal enterprises such as prostitution, kidnapping-and-extortion rackets and money laundering.
Chief Kessler's Constitutional Security Force Meeting
Friendship Fire Co, 147 N. 7th St, Frackville PA 17931 Guest Speakers- 2nd Amendment Attorney Joshua Prince Criminal Defense Attorney Joseph Nahas Oath Keepers Representative Larry Liguori Pro-gun Schuylkill County DA Candidate Christine Holman Pro-gun Schuylkill County Sheriff Candidate Pat Reynolds Justin Caldwell & Joseph Smith from Fast-Tactics
CGOBC will be represented! We are calling out a challenge to get 50 people from CGOBC to the meeting. Please email Andy Rumbold for information on carpooling/caravaning. It is about 2 hours from central Bucks. Hope to get a good turnout from Bucks County!
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
Gun Owners of America
Gun Control can be Passed Only If Republicans Sell Out
Tell them Gun Owners oppose "universal" background checks
"Gun-control measures that seemed destined to become law after the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., are in jeopardy amid a fierce lobbying campaign by firearms advocates." - The Washington Post, April 1, 2013
We realize that you have been receiving several emails from Gun Owners of America in recent days. And while we apologize for filling your inbox so frequently, we hope you realize that we are in an all-out fight to stop Congress from infringing upon our liberties.
Your activism is making a difference, but we need to keep the pressure on!
As so, as we approach "gun control Armageddon" next week, we are faced, not surprisingly, with "sell-outs and rumors of sell-outs."
But we can conclude that all gun control will die UNLESS Republicans flinch. And this is why, now that anti-gun Senator Chuck Schumer is on the verge of a humiliating defeat, he's scrambling for some feckless Republican who will help him turn GOP victory into GOP defeat.
Anti-gun columnist Ruth Marcus spoke for Schumer last Wednesday morning when she suggested that, as a desperation measure, anti-gunners might have to drop recordkeeping from the universal registry bill.
But even if ALL recordkeeping were dropped, which is doubtful, background checks would mean that:
Americans would still have to get the government's permission to own a firearm from whatever source.
Americans in rural areas without access to the Internet could be barred from gun ownership.
The Brady Check system would break down on weekends even more often than it currently does.
Eight percent of all applicants would still be illegally denied the right to purchase firearms through "false negatives."
Schumer would still claim that he "broke the back of the gun lobby."
The universal registry bill would still be nothing but a vehicle for consideration of other gun control now - and a platform for gun control demands in the future.
The solution to all of this is easy, and it's for Senators to support the Paul-Cruz-Lee filibuster! Tell them not to let Congress sidle up to the gun control buffet and to defeat the motion to proceed to gun control.
ACTION: Click here to contact your Senators. Demand they support the Paul-Cruz-Lee filibuster and oppose the motion to proceed to any gun control vehicle.
The system will automatically select a pre-written editable response, depending upon whether your Senator is a Republican or Democrat.
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
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
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!
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.
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."
**Reminder: You must be logged-in to our website in order to record your Quiz score or post on the Discussion Board. Click here to log-in.**
Overview:
The sectional divide that led to the outbreak of the Civil War was rooted in fundamentally opposing interpretations of the principles of the Declaration of Independence in addition to diverging perceptions of the institution of slavery. Slaveholders and non-slaveholders alike at the time of the Founding generally agreed that slavery was unjust and an evil that ran counter to the ethos of the Founding, even while countenancing it in practice. By the 1850s, prominent men such as John C. Calhoun and Alexander Stevens argued that slavery was a positive good, and that liberty and equality, far from being natural rights belonging to every human being, were privileges to be earned.
Reminder: This lecture is pre-recorded and can be viewed at your convenience.
Enter your User ID and Password in the spaces provided
If you are already logged-in, please click "Courses" tab above the form.
Click "History 102 - American Heritage" from the "Courses" list
Click the appropriate lecture title in the schedule
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.
Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog
All politics are the politics of the future. The one cause that we all champion, regardless of our political orientation, is the cause of the future. All that we fight for is the ability to shape the future.
The fundamental political question is, "Do you believe things are getting better or worse?" Ruling parties tend to answer, "Better", opposition parties tend to answer, "Worse". The deeper answer to that question though lies in our perceptions of the past and the future.
The left tends to view the past negatively and future shock positively. It wants change to disrupt the old order of things in order to make way for a new order. It hews to a progressive understanding of history in which we have been getting better with the advance of time, the march of progress mimics evolution as a means of lifting humanity out of the muck and raising it up on ivory towers of reason through a ceaseless process of change.
The right often views the past positively, it sees change as a destroyer that undermines civilization's accomplishments and threatens to usher in anarchy. It fights to conserve that which is threatened by the entropic winds of change. The conservative worldview is progressive in its own way, but it is the progress of the established order. It sees progress emerging from the accretion of civilization, rather than from the disruption of revolution.
Where the left tends to be unrealistically optimistic about the future, acting like a child running to the edge and jumping off, without remembering all the bumps and bruises before, the right tends to be pessimistic about the future. It tends to be wary of change because it is all too aware of how dangerous change can be.
"It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood." --James Madison, Federalist No. 62
Editorial Exegesis
"Regardless of their respective positions on immigration reform, legislators on both the dovish and hawkish sides of the debate should agree on one fundamental principle: The Nancy Pelosi approach to lawmaking -- pass the bill to find out what's in it -- is no way to go about repairing our defective immigration system. Supporters of so-called comprehensive immigration reform are positioned to rush through legislation in the Senate ... and have been critical of Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions and others who have called for a more thorough (and necessarily more time-consuming) examination of the issues in question. ... 'But we've been debating these issues for decades,' the argument goes. True enough. But we have not been debating the specific legislation under consideration for decades, years, weeks, days, hours, minutes, or milliseconds: As of this writing, the text of the bill has not even been finalized, much less made public, and still less been subject to rigorous debate. The distinction is important. Senator Sessions and others are not calling for delay for the sake of delay. They are asking for time to examine thoroughly the specifics of the legislation. ... A right-here-right-now legislative process is an invitation for Republicans to set themselves up for getting rolled by the Obama administration and its congressional enablers. ... Further, there is no reason to conclude that every aspect of immigration reform must be lumped into a single bill: Border security, to take the most obvious example, is worth doing on its own, regardless of independent issues such as the ongoing status of illegal immigrants. The mania for legislative gigantism leads to bad law. ... Congressional Republicans, and Americans at large, should be highly skeptical of the Democrats' attempt to rush through this legislation -- legislation that remains, at the moment, literally a sight unseen." --National Review
Upright
"Last Friday, the so-called 'comprehensive immigration reform' effort received a boost when U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka reportedly came to an agreement regarding a guest-worker program. ... The deal creates a new 'W' visa category aimed at low-skill workers. It would allow immigrants to earn the same wages paid to Americans, or an industry's prevailing wages, whichever is higher. Since such wages can vary from city to city, the Labor Department would determine the prevailing wage. The proposal also includes the additional promises of border security, a crackdown on employers who hire illegals, and a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal aliens currently in the country. It's the oh-so-familiar promises that ought to infuriate Americans well aware that the exact same promises about border control and a crackdown on businesses were made when the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed into law." --columnist Arnold Ahlert
"On Tuesday, the Associated Press announced that it is banishing the phrase 'illegal immigrant' from its famous stylebook. ... AP explains that it wants to stop labeling people. Hah. This is the same organization that employs journalists who have repeatedly shown naked bias against tea party members, gun owners and pro-life activists. ... I propose that we banish the term 'journalist' when referring to members of mainstream news organizations who pose as neutral news-gathers while carrying out a blatantly ideological agenda." --columnist Michelle Malkin
1.Media Covers up Democrat-Backed Planned Parenthood's Support for Infanticide
For almost as long as there have been two parties, there have been accusations of mainstream media bias. Conservatives know it's real. Liberals insist it's imagined. Bias is evident not only in how events are covered but also in what is covered-and more importantly what is not covered.
Consider two events from last week. First, in North Dakota the governor signed into law bills that would ban abortions when a fetal heartbeat is present and when the procedure is sought solely because of the baby's genetics. The media, including most major outlets, went into a frenzy to stir up controversy, often casting pro-life conservatives in a negative light.
Then later in the week in Florida, lawmakers held a hearing about a bill to protect the lives of babies born during an attempted abortion procedure. The bill requires the abortionist to provide medical care to the newborn. It might seem obvious that a newborn should be cared for-but not to Planned Parenthood. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
Governor John Kasich has wagered he can pressure the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly into expanding Medicaid by telling legislators they cannot stop billions in federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) spending. With the complicity of Ohio's media, he may be right.
The governor, a Republican with a reputation for fiscal conservatism, insists Medicaid expansion would keep "Ohio's tax dollars" in the state instead of letting them be spent elsewhere. It's a simple argument - federal spending will be the same regardless, so only a fool would oppose keeping some of it in Ohio - that also happens to be completely false.
Seeking the source of this talking point, Media Trackers reached out to the governor's office and to numerous pro-expansion groups. The governor's office did not respond. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
3.Wisconsin Among Worst for Business Taxes, State Contemplates Circus Bailout
Wisconsin led the nation in collective bargaining reform for public employees in 2011, but the state's current tax and regulatory climate led the Tax Foundation to recently declare Wisconsin among the worst in the country for business taxes. But while lawmakers mull over how best to reduce taxes and streamline regulations, they are being asked by one state agency to spend $3.7 million on a circus museum.
The Coming Global Warming Voter Backlash Jonathon Moseley Now that the left has been exposed as spectacularly wrong on climate change, people will have to wonder: what else has the left been wrong about? More
Fun with Obamacare Gene Schwimmer They passed it, now we know what's in it, so let's have fun with it, and they can deal with it. More
Sanitizing Mel Weinberg and the Horrors of Abscam Ronald Kolb A thirty year-old scandal is suddenly new again, as a film is currently being produced in Hollywood about Abscam, with big money and big name talent behind it. The truth appears to be optional. More
Where is Starbucks Board of Directors? April 4, 2013 The company's CEO told a shareholder that if the shareholder believes in traditional marriage he should dump his Starbucks stock. More
Finally! School Choice can show its stuff April 3, 2013 The Great State of Indiana is about to test statewide school choice on a meaningful scale. This a major victory that has attracted little media attention More
Owen's Already Owin' April 3, 2013 My niece just had her second child, a beautiful bundle of smiles and soft blond hair, Owen. Yet I harbored a deep, unspoken concern that this country has already set substantial obstacles in front of this innocent boy. More
"Islam is a religion of tolerance, peace and acceptance, but that doesn't mean it should be stepped on," lawmaker Ali al-Deqbasi told the house before the vote.
Few academics and policy makers have been willing to risk looking at the stark reality of the Islamic suicide attack, which has been cloaked in the pseudo myth of martyrdom.
If the current administration's drone strikes are so effective in decapitating Al Qaeda's leadership why is there still an active al Qaeda core that is able to put out such a publication?
In the national defense context, Rashid also discussed dangerous leaks of intelligence to the media during World War II as well as the Obama Administration's refusal to release photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse.
I am concerned CAIR's hateful supremacist rhetoric could lead to possible bias incidents inciting "practicing Muslims" to act in a lawless manner against non-Muslims.
Did you know that if everyone who visited our FSM website this year donated just $1, we would easily exceed our annual budget?
Your gift will be an investment in freedom.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, The Family Security Foundation relies upon the thoughtfulness and (tax-deductible!) generosity of visitors like you.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." ~ Ronald Reagan
Bang for your buck: that's what the Freedom Center provides. Ammunition for the culture war against the Left: that's what your contribution buys. So please act now and help us in the fight we are waging on many fronts for America's future. America is under assault from within and without. There is no time to lose.
Hagel: Nothing off-limits as Pentagon budgets get cut By Jeremy Herb
In his first policy major address as Defense secretary, Chuck Hagel said nothing will be off-limits as the Pentagon aims to achieve significant savings grappling with budget cuts and structural changes.
Hagel made the case Wednesday for a new review of the military's strategy that he ordered quickly after taking over at the Pentagon. He said that the military must look at change "that involves not just tweaking or chipping away at existing structures and practices but, where necessary, fashioning entirely new ones that are better suited to 21st century realities and challenges."
Liberals Forced To Blame Obama Rather Than Admit Populace Feels Threatened
Obama is looking like a loser and he must hate it because, this time, it was not his fault; not mostly. But inevitably, as this state's domestic disarmament campaign is defeated, liberals cannot admit what a tiny minority they are, and how much the country is against them. So they have to pretend that their public loss was due to Obama's incompetence.
"Organizing for Action (OFA), the so-called 501(c)(4) grassroots organization founded by White House operatives and led by Jim Messina, was supposed to deliver masses of people, many of them young veterans of the Obama political campaign, to support administration initiatives such as gun control and immigration reform. But, so far, it has turned out to be just a fundraising mechanism to lure big money to White House coffers... White House staff have demonstrated an incredible lack of interest and/or incompetence in failing to call out nonprofit sector organizations as activists for tighter gun controls. Surprisingly, they have done no such thing. They haven't, as one might have expected, convened any conferences or workshops for nonprofits to enlist them as soldiers in the battle for gun control. Nor, as far as we know, have they reached out to individual groups to gain their support for such an initiative."
So if Obama had just worked harder and implemented a better strategy, it would all be better and we would have banned some or all weapons.
The sad thing is the left could care less about the rampant fraud and abuse in the welfare system.
In 2012, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said that food stamp fraud totals $750 million each year - a number that more than doubles the cost of trafficking reported in a 2006- 2008 USDA study.
Kevin Concannon, U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, told the Huffington Post last year that food stamp fraud totals around $750 million each year.
The $750 million number is more than double the amount in total dollars of fraud detected annually in a 2006-2008 study on trafficking - a type of fraud that involves selling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to food retailers for cents on the dollar.
Ted Cruz was on Sean Hannity's radio show yesterday and discussed both the possible filibuster for the 'gun control' legislation and his agreement and concerns on the bipartisan immigration effort.
With regard to immigration effort, Cruz said that he likes the fact that they are making improvements to legal immigration to hurry that along. And he feels along those lines there is much support across the board. But when it comes to a path to citizenship for illegals, whether it be via a green card or a more direct route, Cruz feels it is unfair to all those who have come in legally or plan to do so:
If we pass something that allows those here illegally to achieve citizenship, it means you're a chump for having stayed in your own country and followed the rules because you were not able to live here and raise your family and enjoy the tremendous blessings and liberty in the United States simply because you followed the rules.
Tom Tancredo Disavows Rand Paul, Calls Him 'Softer' Than Obama on Immigration
Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) regrets his previous endorsement of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), disavowing the former ally because he has "flip-flopped" on immigration.
"Rand Paul began his speech in Spanish and it went downhill from there," Tancredo wrote in an op-ed titled "Why I No Longer Stand with Rand Paul" in the Christian Post. "His speech was filled with virtually every single discredited pro-amnesty cliché you could imagine."
On Tuesday, Paul gave a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington calling for comprehensive immigration reform, including allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States, work legally, and eventually become citizens. Paul, however, never used the word "citizenship" or "pathway to citizenship" in his address.
Tancredo said he even regretted the contribution he gave to Paul's campaign. He actually praised Mitt Romney's "self-deport" stance, saying there are not just two options available: legalization or deporting all 12 million undocumented immigrants.
"The problem is that not one congressman or major commentator has called for deporting all 12 million illegal immigrants," Tancredo wrote. "Rather, we argue that strict enforcement of employer sanctions and allowing local police to cooperate in immigration enforcement will encourage most illegal to, in Mitt Romney's words, 'self-deport.'"
Most of us fell out of our chairs while watching the mega-hit TV miniseries The Bible when the character portrayed as Satan looked almost exactly like Barack Hussein Obama. Glenn Beck immediately tweeted out the resemblance, and Rush Limbaugh jumped on the bandwagon the next day. It was creepy to say the least; and it [...]
Apr 03, 2013 01:31 pm So far, 26 states have opted against building ObamaCare exchanges, making it clear to Kathleen Sebelius that her Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will have to do all of the work and pay the tab for the creation of any Affordable Care Act "sales center" within their borders. And as the Act provides [...]
Video: Pratt: "Angry Liberals Should Not Have Guns"
Apr 03, 2013 01:19 pm
Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America tells a Louisiana Tea Party group that "there are people that shouldn't have guns, angry liberals should not have guns!" Related posts: Gun Owners Of America's Larry Pratt: Obama Is A "Communist Dictator" Executive Director of Gun Owners of America Larry Pratt on... Obama Vs. House On Guns: [...]
Apr 03, 2013 01:11 pm Republicans are excited about the prospect of controlling the Senate majority after the 2014 elections. In order to seize control, Republicans need to pick up six seats. This would have a huge impact on Obama's ability to set the agenda and influence your life. Democrats have the edge, but they must defend 20 seats, including seven [...]
On the campaign trail, Obama's favorite applause line was attacking the very people he's now begging for campaign cash. Hypocrisy at its finest. Related posts: Don't Blink: Obamas Plan 26-Hour Gulf "Vacation" After well-deserved public condemnation for Michelle Obama's lavish Spanish vacation,... The Hypocrisy Of Obama Sadly, most of us have gotten used to politicians [...]
Apr 03, 2013 12:58 pm Democratic strategists have always said that elections can be won by espousing gun control, doubting the existence of God, and fighting for Gay rights. They put forward that platform in 2004 and again in 2008. The only difference is that in 2008, they also had George Bush to blame for all the ills the American [...]
Apr 03, 2013 12:40 pm A big news story came out of last Tuesday's March for Marriage demonstration in Washington, D.C. But it didn't make "news" in the major media. As one who covered the event, it was significant that there were so many members of minority groups. This was not a mostly white crowd. In addition to the presence [...]
Video: Democrat Arrested For Attempting To Rig Mayoral Election
Apr 03, 2013 12:35 pm
In New York City, a top state lawmaker was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in a pay-to-play situation regarding the mayor's seat. Related posts: CNN And MSNBC Pundit Arrested For Vandalizing Anti-Muslim Ad In N.Y. Subway System Egyptian-American columnist Mona Eltahawy has been arrested for defacing an... Tea Party Patriots Co-Founder Arrested On [...]
Video: UN Arms Treaty Approved - US Voted In Favor
Apr 03, 2013 12:23 pm
The assault on the Second Amendment continues... Related posts: UN Arms Treaty Vs. Our Second Amendment "All countries of the world are coming together in New... Congressman Stands Up To UN Arms Treaty Cam Edwards talks to Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA).... Continue to...
Apr 03, 2013 12:22 pm In its March 28 issue, The New Yorker published an article titled "Bitter Scalia Leaves U.S.," by Andy Borowitz in his Borowitz Report. The article presents Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's supposed decision to resign from the Court and leave the United States. It also quotes Scalia as saying that this past week of hearings concerning [...]
The Tea Teams are forming up now to go out and pick a fight with the liberal left for the restoration of American values! Related posts: Fight Back, America! Liberals have nearly destroyed this country socially. Disloyal corporations have... GOP House Members Form Caucus To Fight Media Bias By Ronald Kessler, Newsmax A dozen [...]
Apr 03, 2013 12:09 pm A young mother in Ohio is suing an abortion clinic because it failed to end her pregnancy. The Daily Mail reports that Ariel Knights, 22, is suing the Akron Women's Medical Group after having undergone what she thought was an abortion in March of 2012. A week after the procedure, however, another doctor told her [...]
Video: White House Closed To Students, Open For Celebs
Apr 03, 2013 11:56 am
Talk about a double standard, right Mr. Obama? Related posts: House Panel To Hold Closed Hearing On Libya Attack Congressman Jason Chaffetz hopes the administration will be more transparent... Our Open Letter To The House And Senate GOP Two weeks ago, you and I signed a letter urging...
Apr 03, 2013 11:45 am WASHINGTON- Schools across the nation should train selected staff members to carry weapons and should each have at least one armed security officer to make students safer and allow a quicker response to an attack, the director of a National Rifle Association-sponsored study said Tuesday. The task force that produced the report has developed a [...]
The flag of the United Farm Workers of America was inspired by a Nazi Design. It is no accident. There are a number of connection points between the Chicano National Socialist movement and the German Nazi movement. Related posts: Apartment Complex Bans Soldier's Small Flag Display Just months after returning from a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan,... [...]
Apr 03, 2013 11:19 am A frequent question that has beeen asked in recent months is why the record increases in America's crude oil production over the last several years haven't translated into lower prices at the pump for gasoline in the US. A recent BloombergBusinessweek article explains "Why Abundant Oil Hasn't Cut Gasoline Prices," here are some edited [...]
Patricia Krentcil, the now infamous "tanning mom" arrested last year for sun-burning her own daughter, gained a lot of media attention at the time. Now New Jersey officials are paying attention as well: NJ Governor Chris Christie has signed a bill that bans children under the age of 17 from using tanning beds without a [...]
Apr 03, 2013 11:07 am Four years of the "Obama Recovery" have brought poverty in the United States to the highest levels since the beginning of the "War on Poverty," the one war that nobody wants to develop an exit strategy for: The U.S. Census Bureau puts the number of Americans in poverty at levels not seen since the mid-1960s [...]
Apr 03, 2013 10:48 am CHICAGO - GOP Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois on Tuesday became the second sitting Republican senator to endorse gay marriage - a move that also could shift the political debate over legalizing gay marriage in Kirk's home state. Kirk, who has opposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, said in a post on his blog [...]
Apr 03, 2013 10:28 am CINCINNATI- A Jesus portrait that has hung in a southern Ohio school district since 1947 was taken down Wednesday, because of concerns about the potential costs of a federal lawsuit against its display. The superintendent of Jackson City Schools said the decision was made after the district's insurance company declined to cover litigation expenses. [...]
So far, 26 states have opted against building ObamaCare exchanges making it clear to Kathleen Sebelius that her Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will have to do all of the work and pay the tab for the creation of any Affordable Care Act "sales center" within their borders. And as the ObamaCare law provides no funds for the Department to build or staff an exchange, implementation of ObamaCare rules and regulations would seem impossible within those states.
Moreover, in addition to throwing the financial burden of the Affordable Care Act back in the lap of HHS, a number of state legislatures have passed laws making the Act's implementation and enforcement illegal.
But Barack has different ideas.
"The Obama administration has announced its intent to disregard state laws and state constitutional amendments prohibiting the enforcement of ObamaCare. Federal agents from the Department of Health and Human Services will assume ... Continue Reading:States may be FORCED to implement ObamaCare whether they like it or not!
"If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight!" ~ Patrick Henry
IMF Out Of Control, First Cyprus And Now ...
IMF Proposes $1.40 A Gallon Gas Tax On US Drivers America's Conservative News Raiding the savings of people in Cyprus apparently wasn't enough... now the IMF is proposing a $1.40 per gallon tax on the gasoline that fuels your vehicle...
Combat Global Warming: Be Gay for a Day By John Ransom TownHall.com If only everyone would be gay for a few days per year, it seems G. Roger is saying, we could be more ethical, unrestrained, under-populated, democratic and, most importantly, a lot colder. Or warmer if you live in one of those places that is unfortunate enough to be colder as a result of global warming.
Are 'White Men' To Blame For Mass Shootings? By Frank Miniter HumanEvents.com An op-ed in the Post on March 29 titled "White men have much to discuss about mass shootings" by Charlotte and Harriet Childress attempted to inject race into the debate on how to stop mass murderers by blaming "white men and boys."
North Korea: The Larger Picture By Doug Hagmann CanadaFreePress.com The drums of war are beating, but nearly everyone is being fooled by the direction of their echo.
Media bias is a fact of life for conservatives. The left-wing spin on the evening news is bad enough, but it is not the only impediment we face. The media spike inconvenient stories that contradict their liberal worldview.
For example, the shocking testimony in Florida by a Planned Parenthood representative in favor of post-birth abortions was largely ignored. And the ongoing trial of Kermit Gosnell, an abortionist who kept a "trophy collection" of feet from the babies he killed, has received scant coverage.
In addition to the selective reporting, the words the media use also matter. ABC News has refused for years to use the term "illegal immigrant" to describe someone who breaks our laws by entering the country.
Now the Associated Press, which publishes the extremely influential Stylebook, has decided that "illegal immigrant" is an unacceptable term. From now on, it will refer to such individuals as those who are "living in or entering a country illegally or without legal permission."
The fallout will be widespread. Every journalism school and media outlet will drop the term simply claiming to be following the Stylebook. Other outlets have been using "undocumented immigrant" as if the only problem is paperwork. But Jay Leno has perhaps identified the best description -- "undocumented Democrats."
Obamanomics = Rising Poverty
Here is a good example of media bias. Poverty in America has spiked to its highest levels since the 1960s. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 20% of American children live at or below the poverty level. But yesterday the Associated Press spun this news as if it were a result of sequestration budget cuts! The whole story lamented how anti-poverty programs are facing potential cuts at a time of rising poverty.
But the reality is the exact opposite. This spike in poverty is coming at a time of record transfers of wealth. The Social Security program ran a $48 billion deficit last year in part because of a record number of Americans collecting disability benefits. Food stamp usage is also at a record high.
We are now into the fifth year of the Obama Administration and this is the state of our union. Four years after the trillion-dollar stimulus bill, the economy is barely limping along. Obama is shrinking the military. He is shrinking the space program. But the only things that are growing are poverty, the national debt and our tax bills.
I have a suggestion for Democrats up for reelection next year: Spare yourself the disappointment and start planning your election night retirement party now.
Second Senate Republican For Redefining Marriage
Yesterday Illinois Senator Mark Kirk became the second Senate Republican to embrace the notion of men "marrying" other men. His announcement has added to the daily drumbeat of "inevitability." At least that is what the media would like us to believe.
For the moment, the problem is not elected Republicans. You could count on one hand the number of congressional Republicans who have publicly endorsed same-sex marriage.
The problem, in my opinion, has been the unwillingness of those in elected office who support normal marriage to make an intellectual case for why marriage should remain what it always has been -- the union of one man and one woman. Their silence signals to the public that they are embarrassed by their position and suggests that others who also cherish traditional marriage should be as well.
The second problem is the unelected GOP establishment -- pollsters, strategists and consultants -- who rarely venture outside the Washington, D.C., Beltway and can go months without interacting with average Americans who live and work on Main Street, U.S.A. Among the so-called "elites," the drift is clear.
My friends, this may be a good time to contact your representative and senators and ask them to clarify their positions. (Use our online Congressional Directory to find contact information for your members of Congress.) Let them know where you stand. Ask for their last public statement defending marriage as union of one man and one woman.
If they are hearing from only one side in this debate, many will make the mistake of thinking that pro-family conservatives have given up or no longer care. Our silence will only reinforce the arguments of misguided consultants and those of our opponents. Complacency is equivalent to surrender, and I refuse to give up!
Food-safety advocates are furious over a provision contained in a spending measure signed into law before recess that protects biotech corporations from litigation related to genetically engineered seeds.
Filmmaker Michele Midori Fillion joins Michelle Fields on Next Generation TV to discuss her documentary, "No Job for a Woman." Fillion's film reveals the journey of female war correspondents during World War II. Learn more about these trailblazing journalists as they reveal one of the lesser known stories from World War II.
No matter what you write - a personal blog or annual reports for Fortune 500 corporations - you can always improve your work by snipping away as many cliches as you can. Even if this is the only change you make to your writing style ever, you'll notice a big improvement in your copy, while giving your brain a workout.
Breitbart News can now report that although Gabby Giffords' husband Mark Kelly successfully purchased a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun from Diamondback Police Supply on March 5, the gun store had denied his attempts to buy a handgun approximately two weeks before that.
According to sources, when Kelly first came into Diamondback Police Supply in February he tried to use a Texas ID to buy a handgun and was denied. Then, thirteen days later--on March 5-- Kelly walked back into the gun store with an Arizona ID that he used to purchase a handgun. He posted a video of that purchase made with a hidden "pocket camera" recording the transaction to prove that "background checks are easy."
Tuesday night, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly got into an explosive argument with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham over gay marriage. Mr. O'Reilly is apparently standing by his recent comments that opponents often only "thump the Bible" to back up their position. Watch the interview described as "explosive"HERE.
Yesterday, Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border near Yuma, Ariz. where he discovered what the current security level is like at certain parts of the border. Chaffetz immediately started sending out photos of what he found via Twitter. Take a look at the surprising images that expose our serious border security flaws HERE.
Rutgers University officials had already seen the video showing coach Mike Rice's bad behavior at basketball practices before it was aired by ESPN on Tuesday. The school investigated the incident and punished Rice in December, suspending him for three games and fining him $50,000. And then the video went viral and demands were made for Rutgers to fire the coach. This morning, the university responded to public pressure, firing Coach Rich. See the video and get the rest of the storyHERE.
A former Weather Underground radical Kathy Boudin - who spent 22 years in prison for her involvement in an armored car robbery that left two cops and a Brinks guard dead - currently holds a prestigious adjunct professorship at Columbia University. Get the rest of the story that the New York Post headlined "Outrage 101"HERE.
On Monday, Dr. Ben Carson told conservative radio host Mark Levin that white liberals are "the most racist people there are." Carson's comment infuriated "The Five" co-host Bob Beckel, who slammed the doctor for not only making the comment, but also for thinking liberals care about what he thinks. Watch the clipHERE.
The Associated Press Stylebook has done away with the term "illegal immigrant" or "illegal" to describe people. It's a significant move from the largest news-gathering outlet in the world and its influential stylebook, which is followed by newsrooms around the globe. Learn about the story that triggered AP's shift in its stylebook HERE.
Condemned killer Steven Smith's argument for mercy isn't an easy one. Smith acknowledges he intended to rape his girlfriend's 6-month-old daughter but says he never intended to kill the baby. Smith's reasons for believing that he deserves to avoid the death penalty may infuriate you, but we have the entire story for you HERE.
What two radio hosts in Florida thought was a harmless April Fools joke got them temporarily suspended from their long-time post. The joke made by morning show hosts for Gator Country 101.9, Val St. John and Scott Fish, was about "dihydrogen monoxide," and it led some in the area to begin expressing concern over the local water quality. Watch the local news coverage of the prankHERE.
Oakley and pro golfer Bubba Watson want to change the classic golf cart. Enter the BW1, the awesome hovercraft golf cart. The incredible machine, designed by Oakley for Watson, can travel on water and would make bumpy golf cart paths optional. See the BW1 in actionHERE.
Stories about people who claim to have very literally died and gone to heaven have gained a fair bit of attention, particularly over the past year. On Tuesday, yet another person who claims to have seen hell appeared on "Fox & Friends" to describe the experience. Meet Crystal McVea, author of "Waking Up in Heaven,"HERE.
Gun control on steroids! Insurance, registry and taxes
While the U.N. jumps aboard the gun-control bandwagon with adoption of an "arms treaty," Democrat lawmakers across the U.S. are taking it upon on themselves to propose taxes on firearms and decide who can buy guns or ammunition.
Prospects look fairly bleak for sweeping gun-control legislation in Congress, but that might not stop Barack Obama from stamping out gun rights in America.
"The great enemy of clear language is insincerity," George Orwell reminds us in his classic essay "Politics and the English Language." (By the way, I typically assign students to read this essay in every course I teach, regardless of the subject. Not only is it a good aid to writing, but it also indirectly undermines a lot of political correctness.)
This is preface to noting Jay Leno's observation last night about the news that the Associated Press is going to discontinue using the term "illegal immigrants." Leno has the ideal substitute for AP:
Rather puts me in the frame of mind to recall an old George Carlin routine about how "shell shock" had slowly yielded to "post-traumatic stress disorder":
As far as I am concerned. Mark Sanford's win over Curtis Bostic in South Carolina's First Congressional District GOP runoff represents an unanswered prayer. Sanford continues to combine his mastery of therapeutic psychobabble with an ill-fitting Christian overlay that should be a dead giveaway, as Sanford himself all but acknowledged last night.
Sanford is, of course, on a journey of discovery - make that a very long journey, involving the false modesty of the royal we: "It's been a very long journey. And in that journey I am humbled to find ourselves where we find ourselves tonight," Sanford said after the returns were counted.
Perhaps the "we" included the Argentine firecracker who is now his fiancee as well as his companion on the journey. It's a journey that has taken him from Charleston to Buenos Aires and back at least a few times. You may recall that the journey was originally advertised as taking place on the Appalachian Trail, but that was long ago.
"I want to thank my God," Sanford said. Not completely unaware, Sanford added: "I used to cringe when somebody would say, 'I want to thank my God' because at that point I would think this is getting uncomfortable. But once you really receive God's grace and [have] seen it reflected in others you stop and acknowledge that grace and the difference He has made in my life and in so many lives across this state and across this nation."
Sanford used to cringe, but he has overcome. Thank you, Lord. Will wonders never cease?
As for me, I'm going through my own crisis of faith. Is Bill Clinton available for counseling?
JOHN adds: Garth Brooks once wrote that some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Brooks's theology was sound, but I am afraid Sanford's victory is not in that category.
My column last weekend dealt with the travesty of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's apology to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, under great pressure from President Obama, for Israel's self-defense against Turkey-based jihadists who attempted to break its lawful blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza. Netanyahu not only apologized but added to the humiliation by agreeing to Erdogan's demand that Israel compensate the "victims" of the 2010 confrontation. Nine jihadists were killed and several others injured when Israeli Defense Forces responded to the jihadists' savage, premeditated attack on them. Erdogan, taking yet another page out of the playbook written by his friends at the Muslim Brotherhood, has pocketed Netanyahu's apology while backtracking on any reciprocal commitment to normalize relations with Israel - and promptly announced that he'll be taking a victory lap later this month in Gaza, where he'll huddle with Hamas, the terrorist organization he supports politically and financially.
Now comes the latest indignity. According to the Turkish media, "activist" Mehmet Tunc, one of the "victims," has announced that he will donate the compensation he receives from Israel to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), another violent jihadist pledged to Israel's annihilation. [Thanks to Andrew Bostom for the heads up on this report from Hurriyet Daily News.]
Both Hamas and PIJ are formally designated foreign terrorist organizations under federal law. Supplying either of them with material support - the utterly predictable result of President Obama's intercession on Turkey's behalf - is a serious crime in the United States (or at least it is when the Justice Department chooses to prosecute it).
Marco Rubio hasn't been in Washington all that long, but one hopes he's been here long enough not to take advice from the Washington Post. Yet, the Post offers him some in its lead editorial of today.
The Post (print edition) advises Rubio that he can be a "tea party darling" or "the architect of a historic immigration bill," but he can't be both.
The Post so informs Rubio in response to his alleged "public wavering" on immigration reform legislation. To my knowledge, that "wavering" consists of his statement that legislation hasn't been agreed upon (or even written) yet, plus his statement that when legislation is written, public hearings should be held and all Senators should be heard. The first statement is indisputable; the second is what Rubio has said all along.
The Post's editorial thus reflects the left's eagerness to have Rubio do the Post's bidding, and Chuck Schumer's, by leading a critical mass of Republicans to back amnesty and a path to citizenship for millions of likely future Democratic constituents. It does not, unfortunately, reflect wavering by Rubio.
In any event, Rubio already understands that he can't be "a tea party darling" and the champion of comprehensive immigration. A more helpful editorial would advise him that he need not be either.
Rubio could support immigration reform that stops short of providing a path to citizenship for millions of illegal aliens. Such legislation wouldn't pass, and therefore wouldn't be "historic." But passing legislation for the sake of history need not be Rubio's mission. Obamacare is historic - a historic error.
But isn't the lesson of 2012 that Rubio (to the extent he aspires to become president) must fall into line on amnesty and a path to citizenship in order to avoid what the Post calls a "spanking" from Hispanic voters? Not really. By virtue of his ethnicity, his personality, and support of moderate immigration reform, Rubio can perform much better among Hispanics than Romney did. And even running very poorly among Hispanics, Romney ran a fairly close race, as challenges to incumbent presidents go.
Rubio also does not need to be a "tea party darling" in the sense the Post means - i.e., a hero to only the conservative-most faction of the Republican Party. And holding the line on immigration reform certainly would not relegate him to that status.
By refusing to do the bidding of Chuck Schumer and the Washington Post, Rubio will maintain the strong respect of a large cross-section of Republicans, not just one faction. That's because most Republicans oppose a path to citizenship for illegal aliens. Indeed, I'm not aware that the tea party faction - whose focus is on reduced federal spending, limited government, and individual freedom - is any more opposed to such "reform" than Republicans generally.
The risk for Rubio is losing the genuine respect of the large cross-section of Republicans who oppose Schumeresque immigration reform, not losing the feigned respect of the Washington Post.
The National Association of Scholars is out today with a lengthy (359 pages and 1,159 footnotes) report about the leftward decay-"decay" is perhaps a mild word-of liberal arts at Bowdoin College in Maine. There's a backstory here, involving the relentlessly mediocre political correctness of Bowdoin's president, Barry Mills, and how he caricatured a golf outing with Thomas Klingenstein (chairman of the Claremont Institute) in order to reinforce his comfortable stereotype that all conservatives are mindless racist-sexist-classists, etc.
The NAS report copiously documents a familiar story:
[A]fter 1969, Bowdoin abolished all general education requirements and turned from what it called "collegiate" education to what its president at the time called "liberating" education. Out went the old standards and in came a new focus on race, class, gender, and the environment. Out went the old style of scholarly generalists as teachers and in came the new style of research specialists as faculty members. The new Bowdoin dedicated itself to the achievement of social justice and to reshaping America in the image of progressive politics. Bowdoin today is the direct heir of these major shifts.
The report notes one major exception, however:
The government department is a significant enough exception, not just in its commitment to the West, to warrant comment. While this department has not escaped the Bowdoin zeitgeist, there is ample exposure to classical liberal ideas, ones that today we misguidedly call "conservative." More Bowdoin students enroll in government than in any other department and that, we suspect, is no accident. Government is popular likely because, more than elsewhere, students find the intellectual nourishment that satisfies the human longing for knowledge and understanding.
And it is not a coincidence, as the Marxists used to say, that the Bowdoin government department is where you find Bowdoin's conservative faculty members, in particular Power Line's good friend Jean Yarbrough, author of Theodore Roosevelt and the American Political Tradition, and several other fine books.
One way of understanding how Jean departs from the typical mode of soul-destroying political science as it is too often taught these days is to take on board just one article title that I especially like: "The Role of Military Virtues in Preserving our Republican Institutions," in Thomas Jefferson's Military Academy: Founding West Point (University of Virginia Press, 2004). Can it get any better than that?
Why yes, it can. Whenever I meet "gender studies" enthusiasts I often have fun with them by saying, "Actually, conservatives 'do' gender, too-we just don't call it that, or limit ourselves to the latest grievances. We use older words, and classic books." And then I delight in handing them the syllabus to Jean's course, "Eros and Politics." Here's the course summary:
Nietzsche argues that God is dead. Does that mean Eros, too? In our own day, where "hooking up" is what passes for sexual pleasure, it is well to begin by recognizing that, as the characters in Plato's Symposium argue, Eros is a god or at least that there is something divine in human longing. Something mad, too, as we learn in The Phaedrus. Eros is not "safe sex," or about remaining in control of our bodies, our selves. It is about taking risks, abandoning moderation and prudence for the sake of someone or something greater than ourselves. As Socrates argues in the Symposium, Eros is kind of pregnancy, a giving birth, that carries the lover and the beloved beyond themselves. In this course we shall consider how some of the greatest thinkers of Western civilization conceived of erotic longing. Is a longing for The Other, or for another self? Is Eros selfless or self-interested? Is it concerned primarily with bodily satisfaction, or does it ultimately point to something higher, and if so, what: Beauty, Nobility, the Good, God? How is Eros modified by the teaching of the Bible? What light can Shakespeare shed on the pagan and Christian understandings of Eros? What happens to Eros in modern political philosophy, and especially with the emergence of materialist, scientific, and commercial society? How, in particular, does Rousseau's romantic project attempt to overcome these defects? And finally, what is the fate of erotic longing in democratic and commercial America?
Which do you think would be the better intellectual experience-a tour of the classic perspectives on this issue, or recycling the transient puffery of Germaine Greer, Betty Friedan, and Gloria Steinem?
Typical is this comment from RateMyProfessors.com:
Professor Yarbrough is an incredible professor. She is brilliant and challenges students. The class I was in may be the most interesting class I've ever taken. She's definitely one of the best at Bowdoin. I'm a liberal and had no trouble with her conservatism. I can't say enough good things about her. Definitely take a class with her.
There's a broader point to be made here that transcends the issue of whether colleges and universities have a leftward tilt. A lot of undergraduates, especially at large public universities, tell me that they regard political science as immensely boring, and at many universities there are relatively few political science majors. Yet "government" (not, take note, "political science") at Bowdoin is the most popular major at the school. This occurs frequently at universities that have a critical mass of conservative faculty.
The biggest problem with colleges and universities that decide to jump on the "critical thinking" bandwagon and embrace the trendy "progressivism" of race, class, gender, and white guilt studies is not so much their leftism, but their mediocrity and sheer boredom. No wonder conservative professors tend to be more popular, even with liberal students. You'd think campus liberals would take a hint from this. Don't hold your breath. But this does raise an important question that the NAS report may not treat fully: would we really want classic approaches to western civilization taught by boring, mediocre liberals? Better that students flock to accounting and economics instead. At least half of what they'll learn there is true. The liberal arts are indeed dying out in higher education, but liberals are helpless to save them.
Anyway, here is a long lecture from Jean about Teddy Roosevelt delivered at Princeton; worth a look if you have a few minutes.:
If No One Can Win, Everyone Loses
This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published April 1, 2013 on The Washington Times website. The last time I was in Ipswich, Mass., I had one of the tastiest plates of fried clams imaginable. They were fresh, full-bellied and cooked perfectly. Try getting something like this outside the Bay State.
If it weren't for the bizarre political culture, which ranges from the Kennedys on the left to the Kennedys on the far left, Massachusetts would be a wonderful place to live, if only to enjoy the superlative seafood. I've thought about this a lot, and have concluded that it's unfair. Yes, it's not right that this little mom-and-pop place should have an advantage over restaurateurs who serve mediocre food. It's especially unfair to restaurateurs in landlocked places such as Iowa or Nebraska, where fish sticks pretty much rule the seafood scene. To even things up, the Ipswich eatery ought to dump its clams and start serving something you can get anywhere--say, a greasy burger. Then, everyone will feel better.
The Age of Unreason: Senate Democrat Budget Mythology
This column by ACRU General Counsel and Senior Fellow for the Carleson Center for Public Policy (CCPP) Peter Ferrara was published March 31, 2013 on Forbes.com.
Paul Ryan's House Republican budget, and Patty Murray's Senate Democrat budget, deserve continued scrutiny and debate, because they do definitively display the core beliefs of the two parties on a wide range of issues. That includes crucially taxes, and the foundations of economic growth and prosperity.
But the fallacies in the Senate Democrat budget include not even remotely understanding the House Republican budget. For example, the Senate budget states that the House Republican budget shows that, "They believe that we should make massive cuts to education, health care, and other investments that benefit the middle class, seniors, and the most vulnerable families."
This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published March 28, 2013 on CNN.com.
This week the Supreme Court heard two historic cases on marriage. Even though I was a lawyer in the litigation and in the courthouse both days, I can't predict which way the court will come down. But the outcomes range from nothing at all to fundamentally restructuring the foundational unit of western civilization.
Hollingsworth v. Perry is about whether state laws defining marriage as one man and one woman violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. United States v. Windsor asks whether Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage for federal law and programs as between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional. DOMA passed in 1996 with 78% of the U.S. House and 85% of the Senate and was signed by President Bill Clinton.
Mark Sanford Wants a Shot at Redemption; He Doesn't Want to End Up a Cartoon in a Cartoon Graveyard
Last night, former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford beat his rival, Curtis Bostic, in the runoff for the special House election in that state's first congressional district. He won 26,066 votes, or 56 percent of ballots cast. (In the March 19 Democratic primary, with a little-known primary rival, Elizabeth Colbert Busch won 15,082 votes.)
Whatever your joke about hiking the Appalachian Trail, Mark Sanford's probably heard it already. He's addressed it in interview after interview. In that ad in the Packet I linked to yesterday, he published his cell-phone number for anyone who had questions. He's attended just about every candidate gathering during the primary process and held plenty of public events; he did 13 public events in the final four days of the campaign, taking Easter Sunday off. Bostic missed enough events to sway one of the other GOP competitors, former Dorchester County Sheriff Ray Nash.
Love him or hate him, Sanford put himself before the voters again and let them decide whether his scandal made him unfit for office. He's paid the price for his actions in the end of his marriage and in censure by the state legislature. We know exactly what he did wrong, and it's been hashed out in the national stage, the cable shouting shows, and the late-night monologues. From what we can see, he's on good terms with his sons, he's on civil, if weird, terms with his ex-wife, Jenny Sanford, and he's engaged to María Belén Chapur.
Are he and the constituents he seeks to represent allowed to move on? Can the coming weeks be about the economy and the debt and the other big issues facing the nation and the state's first district? Or will the next four weeks be an endless cavalcade of four-year-old "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" jokes?
Sanford knows the tide he's swimming against here. Take a look at this blazing enthusiasm for Sanford: "At Knightsville Elementary School, Joy McCreight sighed and said she'd voted for Sanford, 'the little snake.'"
[Beat]
We all made the same joke in our heads just now, didn't we? See, then I don't need to write it out.
It's also a little worrisome that the Lake Research polling memo and Colbert Busch campaign press release single out the candidate's strong favorability rating (61 percent) in Charleston County. Why include only Colbert Busch's favorability number in Charleston County, the most Democratic of the district's larger counties? Why not also note her favorability numbers in Beaufort and Berkeley counties, two Republican counties that together have a larger population than Charleston?
I think we can all guess the answer to that question: The polling memo is little more than an attempt to generate momentum and dollars for Colbert Busch's campaign, rather than a vehicle for shedding light on where the race stands and where it might go. So the campaign and the campaign pollster release only those numbers consistent with the memo's purpose.
Dear national press: If you plan on covering this race, it might be nice to mention something about Elizabeth Colbert Busch beyond her famous brother.
Of course, Colbert Busch may be attempting to be the first person elected to Congress without ever taking a stance that anyone, anywhere, might disagree with.
You think I exaggerate? She opposes sequestration, but doesn't go into much detail about how she wants to replace it, beyond demanding "a long-term budget deal that gets the nation on track for economic growth." Swell.
She declares, "We need to drop the foolish idea of across-the-board cuts and use the regular Congressional process to enact measured, targeted cuts." But other than ending Medicare overpayments and targeting fraud, she doesn't mention any cuts.
Guess what her view on Obamacare is? "Everyone is either all for the Affordable Care Act or all against it. It's time to be practical and not political. I believe there are good and bad provisions in the new law and that more needs to be done. I will work with patients, providers, hospitals and businesses in the 1st District to implement what works and fix what doesn't." In short, her message is that she supports the popular parts, and opposes the unpopular parts.
She declares that Social Security "is safe for more than the next 20 years. We should use that time to consider modest changes that will extend its life for another generation of Americans. I would start by looking at changes that would not affect our seniors or those nearing retirement today, but in the long term would adjust Social Security contributions and benefits for the wealthiest Americans." No sense of what those "adjusted" contributions and benefits would be, of course.
On education, she writes, "I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride . . ." Okay, that one I just stuck in there to see if you were paying attention. Her real stance is . . . eh, not that different from the Whitney Houston lyrics: "I passionately believe that quality public education is the key to our future: It must be available to all of our children from pre-k to high school, technical school and beyond."
I've seen edgier stands in Hallmark cards.
So you know what's going to define this race? If the voters of South Carolina's first district get to know anything about what Colbert Busch wants to do in Washington beyond these Kumbaya clichés.
What If We Need Our Ambassador to Do Something Besides Photo-Ops?
Remember yesterday's Addenda item about the rumor that Caroline Kennedy was about to be named the next United States Ambassador to Japan? Over at Foreign Policy, Clyde Prestowitz points out that the administration's imminent feel-good story might have some real-world repercussions.
[Former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield] was followed by the likes of House Speaker Tom Foley, former Vice President Walter Mondale, and Under Secretary of State Mike Armacost. With the exception of Armacost who does speak Japanese, none of these were what you would call Japan experts, but all were policy heavyweights with important connections in Washington and around the world.
Barack Obama broke this pattern by appointing as Ambassador a successful Silicon Valley lawyer who had no previous knowledge of Japan, but who had been an extraordinarily successful fund raiser for the election campaign. This is not to say that Ambassador John Roos has been a bad Ambassador. Indeed, I would say he's been pretty average. But it is to say that he's no Reischauer or Mondale.
Now, we learn that Caroline Kennedy is likely to bethe new ambassador to Tokyo. I'm sure she's a lovely person and a good lawyer and author and, of course, she comes from a prominent American family and was wise enough to choose the right father. Even more wisely, she supported Barack Obama politically at a critical moment.
But she knows little of Japan, speaks no Japanese, and is not particularly experienced in world affairs and diplomacy. Here we are at a moment when China and Japan are at loggerheads over the Senkaku Islands. This could easily turn into a shooting conflict. North Korea is saying that it is in a state of war with South Korea and that it is turning on its nuclear generator. And the United States is trying to conclude a major international free trade agreement in which the United States and Japan will be the major players.
Like it or not, U.S embassies have become a key part of the Presidential Top-Donor Reward Program. Oftentimes, the inexperienced donors settle in okay, and manage to avoid creating any major international incidents while living in taxpayer-funded housing in some glamorous European city, nodding and smiling in meetings with foreign officials, and allowing the career foreign-service staffers to do the real work. But sometimes, you get a really bad one, as Toby Harnden laid out:
A top Obama campaign donor rewarded with the post of US ambassador to Luxembourg was "aggressive, bullying, hostile and intimidating" and left her embassy in a "state of dysfunction", according to an official report.
Cynthia Stroum, 60, who abruptly resigned her post a week ago, spent a year in Luxembourgthat was blighted by personality feuds and improper spending, including $3,400 (£2,100) that the embassy rushed to spend on wine and spirits at the end of the 2010 budget year.
A report by the State Department's inspector general found that there was an "absence of a sense of direction" at the embassy and that the ambassador was the source of the "bulk of the mission's internal problems".
Ms Stroum was a businesswoman and investor, credited with saving the Seattle Symohony from bankruptcy, who raised more than $500,000 (£310,000) for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. In recognition of this, she was given the plum posting of Luxembourg.
Presidents often give such jobs to friends and donors, thought Mr Obama had promised to end the practice. In the past 50 years, just three of the 21 ambassadors to Luxembourg have been career diplomats.
Obama will issue an executive order asking all new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution.
It also stated:
But in the Obama-Biden administration, every official will have to rise to the standard of proven excellence in the agency's mission.
Look, I hate to speak ill of a woman whom many Americans still envision as a mourning child, but can anyone point to anything in Caroline Kennedy's work experience that qualifies her to represent the United States to one of its most important allies, beyond her political alliance with the president? Can anyone argue she has risen to the standard of "proven excellence" in the U.S. State Department's mission in representing this country abroad?
Never mind Kennedy being the most qualified person to be our next ambassador to Japan; she's probably not even the most qualified Obama donor for the job.
The Astonishing Costs of Amtrak's Café Cars
You may have heard the anecdote that Amtrak manages to lose money selling food on its trains, even though a) they have a captive audience with no other options en route (you can bring your own food, of course) and b) their prices are pretty steep for candy bars, cans of soda, and so on.
JOHN MICA, the Republican chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee, has held many hearings on Amtrak, America's government-run passenger rail company, over the past few years. Few, though, have drawn as much attention as an August discussion of-what else!-hotdogs and beer, when Mr Mica noted that, over the past three decades, Amtrak has not once broken even on its food offerings.
Labour costs are part of Amtrak's problem, but they're not the heart of it. That honour goes to the company's unprofitable, unpopular, slow and generally indefensible long-haul routes. Like most of Amtrak's problems, the food-service losses-even the labour-cost portion of them-stem mostly from long-haul services. The food car on the Acela Express from New York to Washington, DC, is not the problem-it's the food service on trains like the Empire Builder and the Texas Eagle that really puts a strain on Amtrak's budget. According to testimony from Amtrak's inspector general (PDF), a full 87% of the railway's food-service losses are incurred on long-distance services. At $78m annually, the labour costs alone associated with providing food on Amtrak's long-haul routes exceed total revenue from food service ($57.9m) on those routes. That's not true of food service on north-east-corridor trains, where the company loses a comparatively tiny $9m annually after accounting for both food and labour costs.
The cross-country routes have been money pits for decades; they're kept around in part because if Amtrak kept only the heavily traveled routes, it would lose all of its political allies in all of those square states in the middle. Still, how do they lose money on the Northeast Corridor?
A commenter there lays out some other astonishing figures relating to the pay of Amtrak attendants:
Amtrak's dining-car waiters and coach and sleeper attendants are paid about $28/hour, while the employees in charge of the cafe and dining cars are paid about $31/hour. In comparison, waitresses in a local diner or cafe are usually paid about $2.50/hour plus tips. McDonald's and other fast-food places, where gratuities aren't accepted, usually pay minimum wage or a little bit more, about $7.50-$8/hour. And, yes, Amtrak's on-board employees appreciate gratuities; any time you buy something at the counter, you'll see a tip tray.
Amtrak's union-negotiated health benefits are very good, probably far better than most private-sector benefits, especially for employees performing similar work.
Employees on-board the trains don't work a straight 40-hour week. The requirements of travel preclude that. I believe that they're paid on an hours-per-month basis, something like a guarantee of 160 hours per month, with overtime paid after 180 or 190 hours per month. But to make the math simple, if the Amtrak cafe attendants work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, they're paid about $64,480/year.
APRIL 3, 2013 Senator Harry Reid's New Tax on Guns
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wants to tax your gun rights. His new legislation charges you a fee that is in essence a federal tax on selling or giving away your firearm, and he lets Attorney General Eric Holder decide how big that tax will be.
Senate Democrats Charles Schumer of New York, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, and Barbara Boxer of California have introduced a raft of gun control legislation (S. 374, S. 54, and S. 146, respectively). Senator Leahy, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, rammed the legislation through committee in record time-not even bothering to issue the customary committee reports to explain the bills-and Reid combined the bills into a single gun control bill (S. 649).
Firearms owners across the country and others who care about their right to keep and bear arms should keep a close eye on the Reid legislation. Your rights are under attack.
Gun rights have been important since before there was a U.S. Constitution. Advocates of the people's gun rights ultimately carried the day in the federal Congress, and the states ratified what is now known as the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
The Reid gun control bill purports to "fix gun checks." The proposed "fix" is to take away an individual's right to sell or give away a firearm to another individual unless, in most cases, the individual (1) uses a licensed importer, dealer, or manufacturer to make the transfer of the firearm and (2) pays a fee to that importer, dealer, or manufacturer to make the transfer.
The individual transferring the firearm is not actually receiving a service; the federal government is receiving the service. The service the government gets is a background check on the intended recipient of the firearm, because the law requires the importer, dealer, or manufacturer to run the recipient through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Forcing the individual to pay for the government-mandated service, which is in fact a service to the government, is in essence a federal tax on the individual. And the amount the individual pays as a fee is not limited by the legislation; it grants to Attorney General Eric Holder the power to set the maximum fee by regulation.
The Reid gun tax is but one of the dangers of the Senate Democrats' gun control legislation. Senator Reid has the gun control bill on the fast track through the Senate.
Those who care about their gun rights should remember Obamacare: The faster and harder Senators try to ram legislation through the Senate, the more you know the legislation is bad for America.
Shelton v. Fla. Secretary of Corrections: Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
Can Florida change the rules so that, instead of the government having to prove that a citizen intended to commit a crime, the citizen has to demonstrate that he had no idea that his acts violated the law? That's the key question in this criminal conviction case currently pending before the Supreme Court.
The Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is the nation's most broadly supported public policy organization. Heritage created the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies in 2001 to educate government officials, the media and the public about the Constitution, legal principles and how they affect public policy.
It's no secret that the White House, regardless of Administration, releases unpopular news on Friday afternoons. On the popular television drama West Wing, the fictional Bartlett Administration calls it "Take out the trash day."So we shouldn't be too surprised that the Obama Administration released Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that will increase the price at the pump on Good Friday.
There is a major misconception in the United States concerning the balance of trade and jobs. Many equate trade deficits and increases in imports as bad for employment. They could not be more wrong. In fact, higher imports are a signal of prosperity and plentiful jobs. When a country's economy is growing, more jobs are created, and people have more money to spend on goods-including imports.
As Cypriots come to grips with this week's agreement to bail out its banks, Russian policymakers need to think about why their citizens are involved in this crisis. Around 40 percent of Cyprus bank deposits belong to Russian individuals or businesses, and accounts with more than 100,000 euros now face write-downs of between 30 and 40 percent -- at least in the two largest banks. Why are a quarter of the deposits in Cyprus's banks from Russia?
About The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is the nation's most broadly supported public policy organization. Heritage created the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies in 2001 to educate government officials, the media and the public about the Constitution, legal principles and how they affect public policy.
Ben Carson White Liberals Are THE MOST RACIST PEOPLE, They Don't Want Me To Leave Plantation
This week in voter ID news...
ARKANSAS
AR Senate Overrides Voter ID Veto; House to Vote - The Arkansas Senate voted Wednesday to override Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of legislation that would require voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot.
AR House Finishes Veto Override on Voter ID Bill - The Arkansas House has completed an override of Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of a bill requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot.
WI Judicial Election Puts Voter ID Law at Stake - Two years after a contentious and bruising Supreme Court election, Wisconsin voters return to the polls Tuesday to cast their votes in another judicial election. Although not as hotly contested as in 2011, this election could alter the state's future on key issues for years to come.
The bill was heard by the House Judiciary Committee today. This bill would amend Alaska's voter ID requirement. Currently, an election official may waive the identification requirement if the election official knows the voter. This bill proposes to require at least two election officials to affirm the voter's identity and both would be required to sign their names beside the voter's name in the register.
The bill was vetoed by the governor, but the legislature voted to override the veto. This bill requires a voter to show current, valid, government-issued, photographic proof of identity in order to vote a regular ballot. A voter ID card may be issued, without a fee or charge, to anyone who is of legal voting age and who does not have a valid Arkansas driver's license. When voting by mail, voters must verify their name and address by submitting a copy of a photo ID, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document. People who reside in licensed residential care facilities are exempt from this requirement, but must show documentation to prove that they live in a facility. Certain voters would be exempt from these requirements.
The bill is scheduled to be heard on April 9 by the Assembly Public Safety Committee. This bill requires each county jail and state prison to provide each inmate with a voter registration form and most recent version of the secretary of state's voting rights guide for incarcerated persons.
The bill was reported out of committee. This Act is the second leg of a Constitutional Amendment which eliminates the existing five-year waiting period before eligible felons who have fully discharged their sentences may have their voting rights restored.
The bill is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Community Affairs Committee this week. This bill allows for the designation of more early voting sites or early voting centers; provides for early voting "at the discretion of the supervisor of elections" on the 15th, 14th, 13th, 12th, 11th, or second day before a federal election for at least eight hours per day.
The bill was signed by the governor. This bill allows counties that offer absentee voting; have access to the statewide voter registration system; and count ballots at a central location to also conduct early voting. Under this bill, early voting would begin on or before the third Monday before the election and end at 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election.
The bill passed out of committee, as amended. Among many other changes, this bill makes changes concerning standards for the selection of polling places, and the procedures for providing proof of identification and the processing of absentee ballot applications. Absentee voting begins 28 days (rather than 29 days) before the election and a county resolution to establish satellite offices expires on the January 1 following its adoption. This bill establishes penalties for certain election law violations, and amends the definition of "electioneering" within the polling place and chute.
The bill first appeared in the Interim Calendar. This bill allows a person who is on parole or probation or whose sentence of confinement has been suspended to register to vote.
The bill was provisionally referred to the Committee on House and Government Affairs. Among many provisions, this bill provides for the voluntary registration of entities that conduct voter registration drives; provides that eligibility of applicants who submit applications through voter registration agencies must be processed like voter registration cards delivered by mail, "which procedures include an initial verification mailing."
The bill was provisionally referred to the Committee on House and Government Affairs. This bill would repeal current law relating to suspension of registration and voting rights due to conviction of a felony.
The bill was filed. This bill authorizes the registrars of voters to make changes of address, changes of party affiliation or non-affiliation, and changes of name requests that are received after the close of registration.
The bill was filed and provisionally referred to the Committee on House and Government Affairs. This bill amends election law relating to voter registration cards submitted through public assistance and disability offices. Instead of being processed if the applicant met the requirements for registration (as provided by current law), this bill requires the registrar to first determine the eligibility of the applicant under R.S. 18:115(B).
The bill was filed. This bill adds state agencies, including agencies that provide services to persons with disabilities, to the list of agencies where voter registration services must be made available. It specifies which services must be made available at these agencies and prohibits certain actions by persons who provide these services that would improperly influence a person's registration decisions.
The bill was reported out of committee. This bill removes the option to register and vote on Election Day and closes voter registration on the Friday before Election Day. The bill establishes that voter registration forms must be attached to each driver's license application in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act.
The bill was reported out of committee. This bill was amended to define "third-party registrars" and restricts such individuals from mailing voter registration cards or absentee ballot applications in the same envelope as campaign literature. Third-party registrars may not mail or advise an applicant to mail a voter registration application or absentee ballot to any address other than the county elections office.
The bill was referred to Committee. This bill would eliminate the opportunity to register and vote on Election Day, closing voter registration on the Friday before the election.
The bill is scheduled to be heard this week by the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections. This bill authorizes citizens who are at least 16 years of age to pre-register to vote. The bill designates certain government agencies as voter registration agencies.
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Operation of the Senate. This bill would remove the opportunity to register and vote during the early voting period.
The bill was signed by the governor. This bill provides that the polling place entrances meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; provides "reasonable" polling places access to "journalists"; provides that disabled voters receive assistance in the marking of the ballot by two election officials of different political parties; proves that the ten-minute time limit to occupy a voting booth would not apply to disabled voters; provides that in-person absentee polling places remain open for voters who are still waiting in line at the time that the polling place closes.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on State Affairs. This bill requires voter registration applicants to submit proof of citizenship with their registration forms. If the applicant does not provide citizenship documents with the registration card, the application would be rejected and the applicant's name would be kept on file by the secretary of state.
The bill was signed by the governor. This bill requires photo ID at the polls by eliminating all forms of identification that do not contain a photograph of the voter from the list of forms of identification any one of which a voter must present in order to be allowed to vote. The bill also adds a valid United States passport to the list and requires that a student identification card issued by an institution of higher education in the Commonwealth contain a photograph in order to be used by a voter. The bill does not affect the right of a voter who does not present one of the required forms of identification to cast a provisional ballot. The bill also provides that the State Board shall provide voter registration cards that contain a voter's photograph and signature if the voter does not possess other satisfactory photo ID.
The bill was heard by the Senate Committee on Governmental Operations. This bill establishes the Young Voter Registration Equality Act. The bill allows eligible citizens who are at least sixteen years of age to preregister to vote.
The bill was filed. The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Secretary of State to promulgate a legislative rule relating to the Regulation of Late Registration.
* Bill list sourced from Project Vote or Thomas.gov.
These two companies deserve a pat on the back from you
Hobby Lobby and Walmart step up to bring "The Bible" to television.
April 2, 2013
Dear ##FirstName[AFA Supporter]##,
On occasion, national retailers step up and do something that inspires Christians to take notice. And it is in these times that Christians should let them know they are appreciated.
Hobby Lobby Hobby Lobby placed a full-page ad on Easter Sunday in hundreds of newspapers across the country. (Click the picture at right to view a larger version.) The company shared the good news of John 3:16 and encouraged millions of Americans to watch "The Bible" miniseries.
Action: Post a note of thanks on Hobby Lobby's Facebook page and let them know you appreciate their God-honoring decision to place the ad.
In addition, will you pray for Hobby Lobby founder David Green? Hobby Lobby is currently in a lawsuit, challenging Obamacare's mandate that the company provide abortion drugs to employees. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced last Friday it would grant the retailer's request for the entire court to hear its challenge. A hearing date has not been set.
Walmart Walmart was a major presenting sponsor of "The Bible" miniseries on The History Channel. The company said, "Walmart is proud to sponsor programming that is so appreciated by the families we serve. This series is being viewed by millions of people across the country, most of whom are Walmart shoppers. Family friendly programming is good for our customer, our business and our culture."
Action: Post a note of appreciation on Walmart's Facebook page, thanking them for helping present "The Bible" television series.
Please note: Facebook is a public forum. You should be aware that, sadly, there are those out there who will take an opportunity to negatively respond to your post. Should someone respond to your post in a hateful manner, I encourage you to pray for them privately, rather than replying to them publicly.
As Christians, let's let these companies know we appreciate their recent support of "The Bible."
Share this on your personal Facebook page, so others can thank Hobby Lobby and Walmart too!
It is very important that you forward this alert to your friends and family members.
Sincerely,
Tim Wildmon, President American Family Association
Just days after the Turner Broadcasting System CEO claimed that CNN "is a serious news network," it aired a childish report on "Anderson Cooper 360" about convicted murderer Amanda Knox, which appears to have been written by Amanda's parents. Next up: "The Charles Manson story, reported by Squeaky Fromme."
Amanda, you may recall, was charged, along with her Italian boyfriend and another of her acquaintances, of sexually assaulting and murdering her English roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. Amanda and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted, the convictions reversed and then the reversal reversed.
Stockton Was Murdered By Terence P. Jeffrey What happened to this place so favored by geology, geography and climate? On Monday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein allowed Stockton to move forward into Chapter 9 bankruptcy. For every family in Stockton where both the mom and dad work and a teenage child also toils at, say, the local fast-food place, there is one person working for the government or collecting food stamps.
Conservatives Shouldn't Own Newspapers? By L. Brent Bozell III The Los Angeles Times is for sale, and there are some super-wealthy conservative bidders. Get out the popcorn out and watch the liberals squeal. Liberal hypocrites claim to be defenders of freedom of speech, but they can't stand it when a conservative owns a media outlet because that's not freedom. That's somehow an abuse of capitalism and of democracy.
The Open-Borders Reporters Who Banned "Illegal Immigrant" By Michelle Malkin On Tuesday, the Associated Press announced that it is banishing the phrase "illegal immigrant" from its famous stylebook becasue it wants to stop labeling people. Hah. This is the same organization that employs journalists who have repeatedly shown naked bias against tea party members, gun owners and pro-life activists.
Work for What You Need By Rich Galen Perhaps it is time for 21st Century governments to require their citizens to work for what they need, rather than be given what they want.
It is essential that all children obey their teachers, as servants of the State, without question.
Therefore, children exhibiting the symptoms of mental illness, such as the need to move around during hour-long political lectures or the desire to talk while a commissar-instructor is presenting them with important political teachings, must be immediately medicated into a docile state of passivity. This way, all impediments to proper ideological formation can be abolished through corrective political pharmacology.
The more children are successfully diagnosed as disabled, the more of them can join their parents in the great joys of equality and collectivization through State disability benefits.
Former Weather Underground domestic terrorist Kathy Boudin, whose role in the murder of 2 police officers and a Brinks security guard landed her 22 years in prison, is now a prestigious professor at Columbia University. Nothing like honoring a despicable cop killer with a position to influence America's youth. Stay classy, Columbia. MORE
Can the GOP ever win back the African American vote?
Dana Loesch is filling in for Glenn while he is on vacation and this week she spoke with what the GOP hopes will be a growing crowd: African American conservatives. What is the GOP doing wrong? Can they repair the damage and widen the appeal? WATCH
Get the most important news of the day right in your newsfeed!'LIKE' TheBlaze on Facebook and 'FOLLOW' them on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the most important news of the day and the ability to easily share it with your friends!
What's really going on in North Korea? Doc translates propaganda video -- WATCH.
What's it like to live next door to an insane, missile-parade happy dictator?
Doc Thompson filled in for Glenn on radio today and added some unique perspective to the North Korea situation. Doc's wife and her family are from South Korea and know first hand what it's like to live next door to maniacal strong men dictators. Hear all about the structures built to stop invasions and more -- HERE.
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.
Shocking border discovery sums up why we have an illegal immigration problem
Rep. Jason Chaffetz took a trip to the U.S./Mexican border and was stunned at what he saw. In sections without a fence or a wall, access to America isn't just possible, it's practically welcomed. Walkways, steps, even hand rails make it appear as if these illegal immigration paths were approved by OSHA. MORE
Get the eighth episode of Glenn's e-book thriller series WRATH & RIGHTEOUSNESS
Great news! The eighth episode in the WRATH & RIGHTEOUSNESS e-book series has been released! 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? Download the previous episodes HERE and get eighth episode in the 10-part series HERE. Have a question or comment about the series? Visit our newly updated FAQ page.
~ If you come across an issue or story that you think would be of interest to the group, forward it to this email address so we can include it in the daily newsletter. Please include any links to the associated story with your email so that we can source it for the newsletter. J
You have received this mailing because you subscribed to our mailing list or signed up at a meeting. If you have any problems with this mailing, please reply to this posting. Thank you for your support.
Gun Control can be Passed Only
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.
+Just+Happened.jpg "What+the+(Bleep)+Just+Happened crowley")
The Right Scoop
It is essential that all children obey their teachers, as servants of the State, without question. 
Columbia hires cop killer as adjunct professor
