Quote: 

"The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible."

Rafael Cruz at Free the People

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)

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Sunday, July 07, 2013

SAVE THE DATE:  Tuesday, July 9, 6:30-8:30pm

CITIZENS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT hosts

Financial Analyst RICH SHUKER of Eyes on Pennsylvania (www.eyesonpa.com)

PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION BILL WORKS!!  No more government threat to our right to property through unaffordable property taxation!  

** Did you know that almost 10% of Bucks County homes are right now either in foreclosure, under income tax liens, or up for Sheriff's sale?

** Did you know that Bucks County with an average annual property tax of $4090 is the second highest in the state?

** IF CITIZENS CAN LOSE THE PROPERTY FOR WHICH THEY WORKED AND SACRIFICED TO GOVERNMENT TAXES, ARE WE SECURE IN OUR RIGHT TO OWN PROPERTY??

NEW SUMMER LOCATION:  Latvian Baptist Church of Bucks County, 1142 Apple Rd., Applebachsville (Quakertown mailing address), PA    Go to our website www.CCG-PA.org for Mapquest link.

Valley Forge Patriots July 12 Meeting

Valley Forge Patriots - Tea Party Conservatives

Friday, July 12, 2013
7:00 PM

Phoenixville Senior Center
153 Church Street
Phoenixville, PA 19460

Learn more

From a trusted friend:

As some of you may know, I am associated with Coventry Christian Schools as a parent of a graduate (2010) and as member of the Board of Trustees.   Last October we spent a wonderful evening honoring Mark Niehls at our revitalized Founder's Dinner and celebrated our shared heritage in the remarkable community that is Coventry Christian Schools. Our vision for future Founder's Dinners is to inspire and inform not only our alumni and current CCS families but to inspire and inform the Tri-County Area and even our region by hosting speakers and artists who can uniquely assist us in celebrating the heritage, core values, and mission of CCS while also lifting our vision for an even greater future built upon the foundation of our past. The caliber of our speakers and guest artists should provide us with wonderful opportunities to share our CCS story with new partners in Christian education. Proceeds from the dinner will be applied to our annual Coventry Kids Fund for CCS scholarships.

This year we are proud to announce that our distinguished guest and speaker is Dr. Benjamin Carson, and our dinner's theme is "Faith of Our Fathers: The Role of Faith in American Schools." Please join us as we welcome Dr. Carson to the Tri-County Area and celebrate the great things God is doing at CCS!  

Dr. Carson is a highly regarded neurosurgeon and motivational speaker who has addressed various audiences across the country. He is one of the most honored and recognized physicians in the world and holds more than 60 honorary doctorate degrees along with hundreds of awards and citations. He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. He is the author of five books and is the founder of the Carson Scholars Fund. The 2009 award-winning movie entitled Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Carson, premiered on TNT and is based on his memoir. Dr. Carson is an authentic disciple of Christ, has been married to his wife Candy for more than 37 years, and is the father of three sons.

The 2013 Founder's Dinner, which will once again be a part of our Homecoming festivities, will be held at the historic Sunnybrook Ballroom in Pottstown on Sunday, October 13th, 2013. Doors will open at 4:30pm, followed by dinner at 5:15. Dress will be business/professional.    Tickets will be priced at $100 until May 15th, then will be $125, so reserve your tickets for the reduced price.

^th

All of us at Coventry Christian Schools, look forward to sharing this very special evening with you and acquainting you with the school and its mission!

Blessings,

Sponsorships are available as well and are as follows:

Gold Sponsor                    $3,000

•        Two tickets at Speaker's Table
•        Two tickets at Headmaster's Table
•        Listed as sponsor on school website through 12 months post event
•        Listed as sponsor on pre-event print marketing
•        Mentioned by name at event
•        Full Page ad in Dinner Program

Silver Sponsor                  $1,500

•        Two tickets at Speaker's Table
•        Listed as sponsor on school website through 12 months post event
•        Half page ad in Dinner Program

Bronze Sponsor                $500

•        Two tickets at Headmaster's Chairman's or Founder's Table
•        Listed as sponsor on school website through 12 months post event

WHAT IS COMMON CORE?

Common Core, or the Common Core State Standards Initative (CCSSI), as it is known at the State and Federal level, is a set of national education standards that will fulfill the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, through a waiver system. (The NCLB Act was put into place by Congress in 2001 and signed into law by President George W. Bush). Many states were failing to meet the NCLB Act requirements and, therefore, wanted something to replace NCLB.Common Core is part of the UN's plan for complete federal control over our education systems and the "Dumbing-down" of America.

 

Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) are not state standards in the first place, and are nothing more then further federalization of our state education systems.

 

COMMON CORE IS A TROJAN HORSE AND TIED TO THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

If you cannot see that Common Core is tied to the United Nations you have not done your homework! The major funder of the Common Core Movement is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has pledged $60 million dollars to this effort. Bill and Melinda Gates are tied to UN through-and-through and have spent money in America and overseas for UN programs in Africa and all over the world for decades.

From the Conservative Teachers of American organization, they wrote an article entitled: "Common Core Standards and the Federalization of Education." In this article we read: "Many are concerned that the Common Core Standards, once successfully implemented, will provide unfettered access of our educational system by the United Nations. Some textbooks and curricula for our public schools have already been written by the [United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization] UNESCO and the International Baccalaureate program, that is currently in many school districts, across the United States. Grabbing additional access is a natural next step. Once they write the curricula, they must have authority to develop all testing tools."

 

The UN involvement in the American educational system has already been facilitated by treaties signed by American presidents from both parties. Those documents include but are not limited to: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Treaty on the Rights of the Child, Civic Education: Classroom Connections, and Agenda 21.

 

The  US Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development (since 2003), is the nexus of the UNA-USA and Global Leadership Coalition at the Department of Education, which altogether leverages the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.  UNESCO, the lead agency of the Decade, defines Education for Sustainable Development as "education for everyone everywhere" for the "lifelong learning" of "present and future generations".  

 

The UNA-USA sponsors Model UN across America and tailors its Global Classrooms curricula to whichever setting the kids happen to be participating.  Children are unknowingly trained to respond with prescribed consensus to the situations, simulations and stimulation's of the particular activity (Delphi Technique).  Global Kids is the CFR arm of Connect All Schools Consortium, a new Department of Education network, led by Independent Sector and The White House via United Planet Partners.  Global Kids is preparing children for Agenda 21.  

 

The White House, NSA and CIA now have website divisions aimed at kids.  The Public Education Network is a national association funded by Independent Sector donors: plus Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Department of Education

 

"Funders" of the Rockefeller Foundation-backed International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), "Members" of the the Sustainability Consortium, backed by the EPA and BSR (Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, State Department) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-backed International City/County Management Association (ICMA): Center for Sustainable Communities (an ICLEI "Partner") are "partnered" with local schools and governments.  

 

From the Partnership for 21st Century Skills aligning the Common Core State Standards with "professional development" content for teachers and principals and Lego Robotics curricula for students (Carnegie Mellon/Lego Education); to software curricula through websites like: cyberschoolbus.un.org, icivics.org, atomiclearning.com, renlearn.org, brainpop.com and ttl4.sunburst.com; to the weekly deliveries of Time for Kids magazine and textbook curricula into classrooms; kids are programmed with UN-defined values.  State Governors administer Federal funds to "Community-Oriented Policing" systems like Crime Stoppers (The UN, FBI and other law enforcement and corporate partners administer Crime Stoppers International), the local student-equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security's' "See Something, Say Something" campaign; whereby children see hand-drawn posters of child characters on school walls displaying "Eyes Looking", "Ears Listening", "Mouth Reporting" with a hotline to call.  Presidents Bush and Obama have personally followed the George H. W. Bush/Clinton trail of the Agenda 21/ Sustainable America megabanks-maze in "bipartisan" fashion. 

 

UNESCO PLEDGES SUPPORT OF COMMON CORE

From UNESCO's document "The Vision of Education Reform in the United States" it states: "My department has been pleased to partner with the US Agency for International Development to help ensure that our best domestic practices are shared world-wide. The United States provides over a billion dollars annually to partner countries working on educational reform. Our goal for the coming year will be to work closely with global partners, including UNESCO, to promote qualitative improvements and system strengthening....Ultimately, education is the great equalizer. It is the one force that can consistently overcome differences in background, culture, and privilege."

 

THE UN'S AGENDA 21- COMMON CORE IMPLEMENTER!

In the United Nations Agenda 21 (Guide for the 21st Century), Chapters #25 and #36 specifically talk about education of our children:

 

Principle #25- "Children and Youth in Sustainable Development." In the "Activites 25.9.d" it states: "Ensure access for all youth to all types of education, wherever appropriate, providing alternative learning structures, ensure that education reflects the economic and social needs of youth and incorporates the concepts of environmental training, implementing innovative methods aimed at increasing practical skills, such as environmental scouting."

 

Principle #36- "Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training." In the Activities Section of this document in "36.5.g" we read: "Within two years the United Nations system should undertake a comprehensive review of its educational programmes, encompassing training and public awareness, to reassess priorites and reallocae resources. The UNESCO/UNEP International Environmental Education Programme should, in cooperation with the appropriate bodies of the United Nations system, Governments, non-governmental organizations and others, establish a porgramme within two years to integrate the decisions of the Conference into the existing United Nations framework adapted to the need of the educators at different levels and circumstances. Regional organizations and national authorities should be encouraged to elaborate similar parallel programmes and opportunies by conducting an analysis of how to mobilize different sectors of the population in order to assess and address their environmental and development education needs."

 

In the Activities Section of this document in "36.5 h" we read: "There is a need to strengthen, within five years, information exchange by enhancing technologies and capacities necessary to promote environment and development education and public awareness. Countries should cooperate with each other and with the various social sectors and population groups to prepare educational tools that include regional environment and development issues and initiatives, using learning materials and resources suited to their own requirements." Sounds just like PARCC and SLDS. ASU's Institute for Global Sustainability and their "Sustainable Cities Network" is doing a fine job "brain-washing" our students in our high schools on sustainability, global warming (aka climate change), etc. Go here to meet the ASU sustainability schools!

 

 

COMMON CORE SCIENCE STANDARDS TEACH GLOBAL WARMING!

The new Common Core Science Standards that are up for review teach Global Warming (aka Climate Change)! Here is Research and Commentary on the Common Core Science Standards" from The Heartland Institute.

Please spread the word to all AMERICAN PATRIOTS!

Reality Check.....COMMON CORE EDUCATION = COMMUNISM IN AMERICA!

Common Core Education is the INDOCTRINATION of our CHILDREN. 

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT RHETORIC FROM MIKE HUCKABEE!!! 

The Development of Common Core, Explained by Michael Chapman

The video says this is a clip from the 1989 National Governors'Assoc conference on Education:

Sr. Director of Mid-Continental Regional Education Laboratory, Dr. Shirley McCune

 She says about education:

#1) Total transformation of our society

#2) Teaching of facts and information (knowledge) is no longer the primary purpose of education

#3) Close connection between economic (sustainable) development and human capitol (human resource labor for a planned economy)

A group that allowed this kind of rhetoric to be said at their meeting? I don't think I want them developingeducational standards!  Please read to the bottom for transcripts from the 1987 NGA meetings chaired by Bill Clinton.  These transcripts are eye-opening.  They are clearly more concerned with workers for the manufacturing.  They seem to have concerns that we have students who can't read well enough (non-English speaking especially) to function in the manufacturing plants, and then on the other end of the spectrum... too many with higher ed degrees who don't WANT to work in the manufacturing.  So... what to do about all this?  Hummm.... standards!  Make sure they read well enough to function as the industrial workers, but not so well that they don't want to!!!   This is the John D. Rockefeller goal of the early 20th century when he started pushing for compulsory government schooling and funding the building of government schools. 

NOW.... review the transcripts below of the conferences chaired by Bill Clinton: 
National Governor's Association website  (find all annual meetings here with transcriptsm- )
1986-87 NGA Chair Gov. Bill Clinton's Initiative

Making America Work: Productive People, Productive Policies

March 25, 1986

1987 Winter Meeting with Bill Clinton as chair, you will find on page 12 that the governors unanimously adopted a policy to adopt an INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY.    http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/1987NGAWinterMeeting.pdf

1987 Annual meeting.   See page 34of this document to see how those governors seem to be concerned that we aren't training our students for the "workforce." They are concerned that the professors of higher ed are telling students to strive for more than the job of working in the manufacturing plants.  On page 40 they start talking about standards needed in education.  " See page 42 with this statement by Governor Sinner (great name!) to Lee Iacoccoa: "But you also made a point about the terrific cost to industry of the disparity between states in these regulations and I wondered, with all the fuss and the furor that we make over states' rights...."  http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/1987NGAAnnualMeeting.pdf 

June 11, 2013: Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in a markup of the Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013, an education initiative to replace No Child Left Behind.  http://www.c-spanvideo.org/event/220036

At the June 10 Common Core forum in Fayette County, Superintendent Barge stated over and over again that if Georgia wants to change these standards at any time, we have the ability to do so.   The testimony below contradicts this belief by Superintendent Barge and confirms that states who adopted the Common Core standards DO NOT have the ability to change the standards in any way on their own.

2:23:00 - Rep. Tim Scott discusses his amendment to Harkin's bill.  Instead of states being forced to adopt blanket standards like Common Core as a prerequisite for funding, let's put decision-making back in the hands of parents and teachers in our communities."

2:31:00 - It is admitted that states who want to change the CC standards,the Secretary of Education would have to approve it.  States DO NOT have the ultimate decision making abilities!

2:39:00 - Alexander reads page 89 of the bill stating that any changes to standards MUST go through the Secretary of Education for approval.

As are most of the amendments offered by Republicans to this education bill, the Scott Amendment is defeated 12-10.

DATA COLLECTING: Senator Burr at the 1:00:00 mark reveals information about ADDITIONAL data points that this legislation will add to the data mining.  He says that his count is now 500 data points.  

TEACHER EVALUATIONS: Senator Alexander at 2:00:00 mark discusses his amendment to end federally mandated school and teacher evaluations.  He says states had a "gun to their head" to adopt the teacher evaluations because they were desperate for NCLB waivers.   He makes the charge that the Harkin bill creates a "NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARD."  The Gates Foundation involvement is mentioned frequently.  

Harkin says over and over "this is voluntary."  If states don't want to implement the programs in the bill we just don't accept the money!"    More strong evidence that our states need to "just say no" to all federal education dollars.   As is pointed out in this debate: Any private business that entered into a partnership where the partner who contributed 10% funding got 80-90% of the control (as is the case with education funding under NCLB and Common Core) the partnership is DOOMED TO FAIL!

Angela Bean
Fayetteville, GA
StopCommonCore.com 

We all know how tough it is to maintain your morals in today's media world. Here are two gifts from the AFA to you, each meant to help you navigate your way through media today:

1. Free Article: How to Watch TV Without Compromising Your Values  2. Free Guide: 300 Family Friendly Movies

The article discusses how far TV has fallen in recent years and outlines some practical steps you can take to protect your family.

And the free movie guide is a great way to find movies for family night that the whole family can enjoy.

I hope these tools are a blessing to you!

At the Boston Marathon we all witnessed what happens when people become radicalized by an extreme Islamic ideology.

IT IS TIME THAT EVERYONE GET EDUCATED ON THIS ISSUE.

Watching The Third Jihad is the ultimate way to share this knowledge with other Americans.

Share the film, the third jihad with 5 friends,
and we will send you a FREE DVD of our award-winning film Obsession - Radical Islam's War Against the West - a must-see for every American.

---

---

AGENDA 21 RESOURCE PAGEs

APC Newswire

Produced by American Policy Center
Email: admin@americanpolicy.org  Website: americanpolicy.org
Tom DeWeese, President
Kathleen Marquardt, Editor

Mandatory Biometric Enrollment
Lawsuit - UPDATE
(fingerprinting, facial recognition, iris scan, DNA, etc.)
By Mark Lerner:  Co-Founder Constitutional Alliance

If you value liberty and understand how dangerous government mandated biometric ID is to our freedom, you need to read and understand every word of what I am writing about today. Something very important is happening so stay with me.
 
Over the years, the Constitutional Alliance has consistently fought against mandatory biometric ID and for the right of all citizens to be free of it.  Government mandated biometric ID is the lynchpin of the modern surveillance society.  The amount of control this system gives government over individuals is an anathema to a free society and we oppose it being imposed on anyone - period.  You cannot reconcile a free society with a surveillance society.
 
The founders of this country called religious freedom "the first freedom" because it is a precondition for other important rights..  Try to imagine the value of freedom of speech, or freedom of association without religious freedom and you will quickly see why religious freedom, also referred to as 'freedom of conscience' is so important.
 
Here is the Big News
 
This past week, 19 June 2013, a Motion for Summary Judgment was filed in Kaye Beach's lawsuit in the state of Oklahoma (You can read it here).  This is a pre-trial motion that presents the undisputed facts of her case and makes the strongest assertion based on those facts, that her rights are being violated.  The Motion for Summary Judgment asks the Judge, based on these undisputed facts, to rule in her favor.  Kaye fully expects a favorable ruling on this Motion but in the event that this doesn't happen, her lawsuit will continue on. You need only to read the first 30 pages of the Motion to understand the arguments Kaye and her attorneys have made.  If you choose to read further you can read about the answers the Department of Public Safety (the department that oversees the issuance of driver's licenses) gave to Kaye's "Discovery Motion". 
 
Kaye Beach's lawsuit, is the only substantial challenge to government mandated biometric ID, to my knowledge, that exists anywhere in our country.
 
Here is a brief recap of the issue and basis for Kaye's legal challenge;
 
Kaye is opposed to mandatory biometric identification which is required of her if she wishes to have a state issued driver's license or ID card.  As we know, the ability to drive a vehicle and also banking, many financial transactions, as well as a host of other necessary daily activities are dependent upon having a government issued photo ID most commonly presented in the form of state driver's license or ID card. Try to go without one and you will soon find (like Kaye has!) that not having a valid ID is no small matter.
 
In September, 2011 Kaye filed a lawsuit against the state of Oklahoma for the unwarranted collection of her biometrics and for violating her religious freedom, both of which are protected under Oklahoma law.  Kaye is a born again Christian.
 
Here is why this case is important for everyone 

Read more:

We must stop the call for a  Constitutional Convention! 

Article V of the Constitution:

1. Gives NO guidelines for how to conduct a Con Con. 
2. NO rules on how delegates will be eligible or selected
3. States have NO Guarantees they will even be represented
4. Con Con could result in a COMPLETE CHANGE of our way of government
5. There simply are NO controls over the delegates once selected.             

Read more:

ImmigrationCounters.com provides the key numbers and events related to illegal immigration in the United States. Using the latest government and private sources, research and analysis trending data is factored at their individual rates of increase. For information about the research behind the individual counters clickhere Data Sources.  ImmigrationCounters.com supports legal immigration and respect for all humanity yet highlights the significant impact of illegal immigration in America. 

ImmigrationCounters.com informs the public of the realities of illegal immigration while challenging the myths and misinformation surrounding it. After decades of passively watching this problem grow, most Americans are now more aware of the severity of this issue. Our government has demonstrated a complete lack of urgency to control illegal immigration both on the borders and within the interior. Because of this large failure that which traditionally had been the American way of welcoming immigration is now dividing the country because of one word, illegal. Opposing illegal immigration and wanting the laws enforced is not un-American. It is time to set the record straight on what is un-American, illegal is un-American.

The issue of illegal immigration doesn't need more laws, studies or debates, it needs leadership and enforcement. America doesn't need immigration reform, it needs leadership reform. Because our government has failed to enforce the existing immigration laws, why should anyone be confident they will do so with expanded immigration reform? Because of these failures, legislators have been addressing the problems at their local levels with bills to manage it incrementally, piece-by-piece, rather than trying to fix the national problem at once--an impossible task. What most Americans expect is to have our borders secure, enforcement of the existing laws within the interior, meaningful punishment of employers who hire illegally and removal of incentives such as birthright citizenships and public school enrollments without status verifications. We must also address the fact that we're soft on criminals caught in crimes and aren't deported. No other country would allow this to continue. 40% of them entered the country legally and overstayed their visas. Yet there's still no reliable method to verify if Visa overstays have left the country. Another incentive that must be addressed is the birthright citizenship program that has resulted in millions of children and parents receiving instant rights and benefits. Some have called them "GPS babies" and this certainly cannot be what the authors of the 14th Amendment intended to occur. Public housing and other benefits are provided for the illegal parents through their 'anchor children' while citizens are turned away because of limited resources. This antiquated program must end. Government agencies and officials at all levels must address the costs associated with this kind of abuse. Past mistakes have been made in attempts to fix illegal immigration and our communities can no longer afford these kinds of mistakes.

Read more:

Dear Activist -- 

After months of arduous effort on your part, you just won big!

You have successfully beaten back Obamacare Medicaid expansion in Pennsylvania.

Thanks to your efforts and your belief that Obamacare Medicaid expansion would help no one, not even the individuals it set out to help, we have defeated efforts to expand this failing and bloated federal program.

Remember when we stood outside in the freezing cold to launch our efforts?! Remember the countless phone calls and office visits made to state legislators' offices?! Remember when we rallied at the State Capitol in June to make the final push against Obamacare Medicaid expansion?! It all paid off!

Thank you!

In addition, we must thank the 33 politically courageous State Representatives who signed a public letter stating they would vote NO on the budget if it included Medicaid expansion.

Please take a moment and contact them today.

Rep. Aument- (717) 705-7161

Rep. Bloom- (717) 772-2280

Rep. Christiana- (717) 260-6144

Rep. Cox- (717) 772-2435

Rep. Cutler-(717) 783-6424

Rep. Denlinger-(717) 787-3531

Rep. Dunbar-(717) 260-6132

Rep. Evankovich-(717) 260-6132

Rep. Fee-(717) 772-5290

Rep. Gabler-(717) 260-6142

Rep. Greiner-(717) 783-6422

Rep. Grove-(717) 783-2655

Rep. Heffley-(717) 260-6139

Rep. Hickernell-(717) 783-2076

Rep. Kauffman-(717) 705-2004

Rep. Knowles-(717) 787-9029

Rep. Krieger-(717) 260-6146

Rep. Lawrence-(717) 260-6117

Rep. Mackenzie-(717) 787-1000

Rep. McGinnis-(717) 787-6419

Rep. Mentzer-(717) 787-1776

Rep. Metcalfe-(717) 783-1707

Rep. Metzgar-(717) 783-8756

Rep. Moul-(717) 783-5217

Rep. Mustio-(717) 787-6651

Rep. Rapp-(717) 787-1367

Rep. Reese-(717) 783-9311

Rep. Roae-(717) 787-2353

Rep. Sankey-(717) 787-7099

Rep. Simmons-(717) 783-1673

Rep. Swanger-(717) 787-2686

Rep. Tallman-(717) 783-8875

Rep. Truitt-(717) 260-6164

Thank you again for all you do to support economic freedom and liberty in Pennsylvania.

In Liberty and Solidarity,

Jennifer Stefano

State Director

Americans for Prosperity-PA

PA Dept of Education to meet this week

RedState Morning Briefing

For July 9, 2013

1.  Drawing the Battle Lines

Washington Republicans have deluded themselves into thinking Democrats in charge of government is the problem and not government itself. The party elite more and more advocate a technocratic paternalism with business like efficiency instead of putting trust in the people.

The Republicans in charge of the party at the national level show too much love of their super rich donors, too much contempt for their base, and too little investment in changing the way Washington works since so many of their spouses, children, and friends profit from the city like Harry Reid's family.

To paraphrase Mr. Lincoln to Gen. McClellan, if the GOP doesn't intend to use the party, the base would like to borrow it for a time. The party elite, we should remember, often holds its base in the same high regard Gen. McClellan held President Lincoln.

The base must draw battle lines again like we did in 2010. We must find disruptive conservative candidates who will fight for smaller government and individual liberty. We must find candidates who do not aim to make government more efficient, but aim to curb its powers and reduce its role.

For this reason, at this year's RedState Gathering, I am inviting candidates from across the nation who are prepared to challenge incumbent Republicans and establishment favorites in open seats. The candidates are running for either the Senate or the House in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, and more. They probably will not all win. The establishment will be lined up heavily against most. Their friends in the media, the lobbyist community, and even among some of the professional tea party set will try to stop them.

Even though some will lose, some are going to win. Think of the Senate without Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz. Now imagine we can add three more or five more or six more to their ranks - disruptive candidates not willing to play by old rules designed to protect entrenched, bipartisan corrupt interests. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

2.  Trust in government dies with the rule of law

As far as I know, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) became the first elected official to say what a lot of conservative bloggers and editorial writers have thinking, ever since Barack Obama claimed the new trans-Constitutional power to rewrite legislation on the fly... something our unitary executive ironically chose to do on the very eve of our great national Independence Day holiday.

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press last Sunday, Labrador said "immigration reform is necessary," but those already tenuous guarantees of border security just got even more ephemeral . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

3.  The Obama regime's terrible Egyptian optics

On the Face The Nation, Reuters' David Rohde nailed it when describing the incompetent manner in which the Obama administration has handled the Egyptian coup. Rohde noted that the administration could have a much clearer public position about its goals in the region - there's more options than simply we intervene militarily, we dictate events on the ground, we control everything and doing absolutely nothing.  He went on to mention  the  terrible optics of the President golfing and Secretary Kerry out on his yacht. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

4.  Lamar Alexander: The Consummate Statist

Who needs Democrats when we have Republicans like Lamar Alexander?

As I comb through his voting record, it is striking to discover his history of supporting big government.  He voted for massive energy mandates and subsidies, tax increases, against blocking eminent domain, for expanded federal healthcare, against blocking Obama's EPA mandates, against worker's choice, and for every spending bill under the sun.  And of course, for mass amnesty.

It is particularly jarring that he is the Ranking Member on the Appropriations subcommittee on energy.  It's no wonder he is being praised by a new liberal environmental group, "Citizens for Responsible energy Solutions," for his work on anti-free-market energy policy. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

Sincerely yours,

Erick Erickson
Editor-in-Chief, RedState

July 9, 2013   

Today's Articles:

Did Bobby Kennedy Kill Marilyn Monroe?

07-08-2013 02:04:53 AM

She's the subject of 1,000 books and an omnipresent icon who outstrips any living star. So why did the media ignore the stunning new evidence tying Bobby Kennedy to her death?...»

Before James Rosen, There Was James O'Keefe

07-08-2013 02:04:05 AM

With young men like this, there may be hope for the future....»

Why Call it Intelligence?

07-08-2013 02:04:03 AM

The Stuxnet and Prism disclosures are just symptoms of decay, signs that American Intelligence has lost its original moorings. ...»

The Fall of the Humanities

07-08-2013 02:03:41 AM

A testament to the abandonment of the lessons they were designed to teach. What's left is not worth the effort to preserve...»

Same-sex Marriage meets German Politics

07-08-2013 02:03:31 AM

A German attempt to meld same-sex marriage and conservative principles simply raises more questions....»

Must the Beat Go On?

07-08-2013 02:03:30 AM

Are we actually getting the government that we deserve? ...»

Obamacare: And Then a Miracle Happens

07-08-2013 02:02:55 AM

Americans Don't Know WHY We Celebrate the 4th of July or WHAT COUNTRY We Declared Independence From!

The Girls On Fox News Song

Benghazi: The Truth Behind the Smokescreen.

Bad Governance Responsible For Boko Haram- Obama

LibertyNEWS TV - "More ObamaCare Lawlessness Could Kill Immigration Reform...How?"

Obama Supporters Sign Petition to Repeal the BILL OF RIGHTS to Support the President

Pew's poll saying Egyptians love Sharia: Propaganda fake or were they lied to?

Jul 08, 2013 06:13 am | Coach Collins

By Derrick Hollenbeck, staff writer

Something doesn't make sense. The information coming out of Egypt about how the average person feels toward living under Sharia law doesn't support what is happening on the streets of that ancient country. Just last April the Pew Polling Company released the results of a worldwide survey of over 38,000 Muslims who were asked face to face about their views toward many of the characteristics of Muslim life. The segment of the report dealing with Egyptian sentiments reveals an almost three to one support for life under Sharia, the strict Islamist legal system.

Nevertheless, here we are just a few weeks later watching blood flow in the streets of Cairo as Egyptians fight for their freedom in their second revolution in as many years. The Egyptian people have once again revolted against a tyrannical government. During the heady days of the first Egyptian revolt, cynically dubbed the "Arab Spring" by western sycophants, radical ... Continue Reading:Pew's poll saying Egyptians love Sharia: Propaganda fake or were they lied to?

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"Deviously Brilliant" political manipulation as Obama drops the employer mandate

Jul 07, 2013 01:00 pm | Coach Collins

by Doug Book, editor

Just because Barack Obama's signature healthcare plan is raising costs and destroying the nation's job market, don't presume to call it a failure. The White House ensconced left certainly doesn't. For this weeks decision by the Affordable Care Act's principle PR specialist to delay enforcement of the employer mandate will accomplish what the NFL, NBA and even the nation's librarians could or would not-it will force people to sign up for an overpriced, government mandated product at otherwise under-used ObamaCare exchanges wherever they are actually up and running. In short, Barack has figured out a way to have the country's employers create God knows how many customers for his "enslave the nation" scheme without having to spend one dime on TV ads by high-priced sports talent.

The employer mandate required businesses with over 50 full time employees to provide government approved healthcare to workers or face heavy fines. The mandate was to commence on ... Continue Reading:"Deviously Brilliant" political manipulation as Obama drops the employer mandate

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The Political Conveyor Belt by Reagan George   Published 2013-07-08
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James Jaeger on His Documentaries, on the Reality of Snowden and the Danger of Hollywood Blockbusters   Published 2013-07-08
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'Hail Satan' and the New 'Pro-Choice' Mantra by Matt Barber   Published 2013-07-08
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The US Border: A Constitution-Free Zone Where Officials Can Grab Your Computer And Copy Your Hard Drive   Published 2013-07-08
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Niavaran Street To The Presidents Office: Hassan Rowhani's Economic Teamman Identified   Published 2013-07-08
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Monday, July 08, 2013

Good News from Egyptland

Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog 6 Comments

Egypt is never going to get any better. And that's the good news. If your job involves waiting for some outbreak of Arab Spring to fix the country or the region, you can give up now.

Or you can do what most government employees already do and phone it in. Master Sudoku. Learn to knit. Figure out how they get those ships into those bottles. And in between those things write up encouraging and hopeful things about the latest revolution.

Sure Egypt does have a lot of people willing to risk their lives by protesting for a form change that's more open than burkas. Some of those people are even okay. They're also the minority.

Democracy in Egypt and Turkey rewarded the lowest common denominator voter. The type of voter who gets all his ideas from his Islamist cable television channel that he watches in between working some menial job in Cairo or Istanbul while being grateful to be living in a grungy stretch of a city, instead of trying to scrounge a living in what passes for rural areas.

Egypt's revolution involved two sets of Western educated elites tugging at a poor post-feudal population that wants cheap bread and some kind of stability, but is filled with simmering anger over a multitude of things.

The first set of Western educated elites are the liberal protesters who take in stunning amounts of American and European pop culture, work for Western tech companies and banks and come from the upper classes. They look and sound a lot like Americans, except that the ability to look and sound like Americans outside the United States is an upper class signifier.

The American twenty-something who checks his Facebook status on his iPhone and has some variably useful degree is likely to be an accident of the middle class. His Third World counterpart usually has wealthy or influential parents. What looks ordinary to Americans is actually upper class in a part of the world where most people are poor.

The second set of Western educated elites are the Islamists, who lack the same pop culture grounding, though even Morsi was able to reference Planet of the Apes in a Time Magazine interview (It's unknown if he's holed up somewhere now screaming, "You maniacs, you blew it up) from his days studying in the United States. 

Daily Email - July 8, 2013
    Top Story  "Politico" Touts Russian Agent as Progressive Hero
By Cliff Kincaid  |  July 7, 2013
The publication that calls itself Politico has a strange habit of ignoring the foreign backing and ownership of channels like Russia Today and Al Jazeera, preferring to treat them as legitimate news organizations. Its media reporter, Dylan Byers, is a virtual public relations agent for Al Jazeera America, which just hired Soledad O'Brien from CNN.
    From the AIM Blogs
CNN Bans Nancy Grace from "Good Morning America"
By Don Irvine  |  July 5, 2013
  Guest Column  Secretary Kerry's Initiative and Middle East Reality
By Yoram Ettinger  |  July 5, 2013
The chaotic Arab Street is raging violently, uncontrollably, unpredictably and incessantly, from northwestern Africa through Egypt, Syria and Jordan to Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Arab countries are imploding; Iran is galloping towards nuclear capability that haunts Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States; Islamic terrorism is threatening the US mainland via the proliferation of sleeper [...]
    AIM Newswire
Unpopular Illinois Governor nixes parts of Concealed Carry bill

Layoffs Rise but Reuters says Economy is Improving

Peru facing Clean Energy Bubble Burst 

OBAMA'S DANGEROUS NOMINATION OF SAMANTHA POWER

Obama's United Nations Nominee, Samantha Powers, a terrible, destructive choice to represent the US

By Morton A. Klein

Recently, President Barack Obama nominated Samantha Power for the post of US ambassador to the United Nations, a Cabinet-rank post requiring Senate confirmation. Why should we be concerned?

Because Power has a documented record of describing both the U.S and Israel as committing war crimes and being human rights-abusers; urging the US to distance itself from Israel and take the Palestinian side; complaining that US support for Israel harms US interests; comparing terrorist Yasser Arafat to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; and showing antipathy to those who support Israel. Moreover, in 2008, Power belittled concern at Iran's nuclear program as having been "refuted" by (the now-discredited) 2007 National Intelligence Estimate. Shockingly, she has also argued that the US should apologize for many of its foreign policy actions, just as Germany apologized for Nazi actions.

Notoriously, in April 2002, Power, advocated in an interview investing billions of dollars in a Palestinian State and providing a "mammoth" military force to shield it from Israel, whom she called guilty of "major human rights-abuses." She also claimed that doing so would involve "alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import" - nastily implying that US support for Israel stems from illicit Jewish influence rather than from long-standing and broad support from an American public that sees it as in the US interest.

Though Power subsequently disowned that interview as incoherent and bizarre, she clearly believes the bit about Israel being a human rights abuser. We know this because, in her 2003 book, Ethnic Violence and Justice, she criticized The New York Times for headlining a report with the admission by the anti-Israel NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) that there had been no massacre of Palestinians by Israel during the April 2002 armed clash in Jenin. Power's complaint? The Times should have referred in its headline to HRW's claim that it had seen "signs" of Israeli war crimes.

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MONDAY BRIEF

Part-Time Nation

The Foundation

"[I]t is of the greatest consequence that the debt should ... be remoulded into such a shape as will bring the expenditure of the nation to a level with its income. Till this shall be accomplished, the finances of the United States will never wear proper countenance." --Alexander Hamilton

For the Record

Part-time nation

"The economy lost 240,000 full-time workers last month, according to the more volatile household survey, while gaining 360,000 part-time workers. In other words, the entire increase in the household measure of employment was accounted for by persons working part-time for economic reasons. The underemployment rate surged to 14.3% from 13.8%. ... There are 28 million part-time workers in US vs. 25 million before the Great Recession. There are 116 million full-time workers in US vs. 122 million before the Great Recession. In other words, 19% of the (smaller) US workforce is part time vs. 17% before the Great Recession. Some context: Even at 195,000 jobs a month, the US would not, according to Brookings, return to pre-Great Recession employment levels until 2021. ... Oh, there are some positives. Private-sector jobs were up 202,000. Since the sequester took effect, total nonfarm jobs are up an average of 183,000 per month versus 132,000 for same four months a year ago. ... The labor force participation rate, while still low, has risen two months in a row. ... Fine. While the labor market may be improving enough for the Fed, for American workers the Long Recession continues." --columnist James Pethokoukis

Political Futures

"The bombshell that just dropped is not 4th of July fireworks -- it was the White House announcing that it was delaying enforcement of the employer-mandate in ObamaCare until 2015. ... It will simply be much too busy to penalize those violating the mandate, an executive power grab that is familiar from their playbook on education, climate change, and elsewhere. The policy implications are fairly straightforward. Essentially for calendar 2014 the act of dropping coverage and dumping employees into the exchanges is on sale. Drop and dump, but no penalty. Accelerating the rush of employers to the exits is bad news for taxpayers. At a minimum, the federal revenue from fines is gone. More realistically, the costs of already-bloated insurance subsidies will escalate and the red ink will rise. ... Why do it? Politics. Democrats no longer face the immediate specter of running against the fallout from a heavy regulatory imposition on employers across the land. Explaining away the mandate was going to be a big political lift; having the White House airbrush it from the landscape is way better." --American Action Forum's Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Government

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Despite Left's Carping, Americans Love Their Country. It's Their Government They Can't Stand
July 8, 2013
By Don Feder

       Good news from the Gallup poll released last week: The overwhelming majority of Americans are proud of their country, despite the defamation of the left, through the cultural engines it controls.

       And a somewhat smaller majority thinks the signers of the Declaration of Independence would be "disappointed by the way the United States has turned out."

       There is cause for hope.

       The poll released on July 4 (taken in early June), showed that 85% of us are either "extremely proud" or "very proud" to be an American. According to Gallup, this has varied only slightly over the years. In 2001, the figure was 87% - in 2007, 81%.

       There also appears to be little variation by age, region or party affiliation. Among 18-to-29 year-olds, 85% have hearts that swell with patriotic pride, as do 82% of those 30-to-49 and 88% of seniors. Of Republicans, 93% are proud of their national identity. But Democrats (at 85%) aren't that far behind.

       Apparently, the indoctrination isn't working. Huge majorities express patriotic fervor despite the hate-America agitation of Hollywood, public education and colleges and universities.
 

Read more:

Monday, July 8, 2013

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


A New Watergate?

Last month State Department whistleblower Aurelia Fedenisn came forward with serious allegations of misconduct by top officials. If the charges are true, they could be a huge embarrassment for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama.

But the most damning information wasn't necessarily the misconduct, but rather the political manipulation and intervention that was going on inside the State Department to quash reports by investigators and to hide the truth from members of Congress.

The story has taken a bizarre turn. The law firm representing Aurelia Fedenisn was broken into last weekend. All kinds of valuables, including silver bars and coins, were ignored. But locked filing cabinets were busted open and three computers were stolen. The law firm was the only suite of offices burglarized in the entire office building.

Cary Schulman, Aurelia Fedenisn's attorney, told The Cable, "It's a crazy, strange and suspicious situation. It's clear to me that it was somebody looking for information and not money." Schulman added, "My most high-profile case right now is the Aurelia Fedenisn case, and I can't think of any other case where someone would go to these great lengths to get our information."  Stay tuned!


Bush's Blunder: Immigration Reform

Many of us have taken some comfort in the fact that George W. Bush's approval ratings have recovered significantly. In fact, they are as high as Obama's. After four and a half years on the job, it is more difficult for Obama to blame Bush for every problem.

But in all honesty, even though I believe the former president is a good and decent man, I think he does deserve some blame for muddling the perception of what conservatism is. He did it again last week during an interview with ABC's Jonathan Karl.

First, Bush was asked about immigration reform. You'll recall that as president, Bush made comprehensive immigration reform a major issue during his second term. Due to overwhelming grassroots opposition, he failed to get an amnesty bill through Congress. But in leading that effort, Bush alienated many conservative voters who do not believe that individuals who came into the country illegally should be granted any form of amnesty.

When asked during the ABC interview about the current effort to pass another so-called "immigration reform" bill, Bush said:

"Sometimes, it takes time for some of these complex issues to evolve. And it looks like immigration, you know, has a chance to pass. The reason to pass immigration reform is not to bolster a Republican Party -- it's to fix a system that's broken."

If this bill becomes law, it will be enforced by the Obama Administration for the next three years and then maybe by Hillary Clinton after that. By legalizing millions of new liberal voters, there is no way it will bolster the Republican Party.

And as Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) warns, if the GOP fails to get iron-clad agreements on border security, "politically it's going to be the death of the Republican Party."

By the way, the big border security agreement that broke the logjam in the Senate, and got more than a dozen GOP votes for this quasi-amnesty bill, isn't such a big deal after all. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Corker-Hoeven "border surge" amendment would likely reduce illegal immigration somewhere "between one-third and one-half."

That is a step in the right direction, but still a far cry from what most Americans would consider real border security.


Bush's Blunder: Redefining Marriage

President Bush was also asked by an African reporter whether same-sex marriage conflicts with Judeo-Christian values. The most President Bush could muster was to paraphrase the Bible by saying, "I shouldn't be taking a speck out of someone else's eye when I have a log in my own."

This is deeply disappointing coming from a president who is an avowed Christian. In its own way, it is emblematic of the surrender of many Christians when it comes to pushing back against the cultural tsunami that is battering Judeo-Christian civilization.

Here's how I wish he had answered the question:

"Yes, I believe same-sex marriage is inconsistent with Judeo-Christian traditions. I believe the Old and the New Testaments make it clear that marriage is an institution created by God to bring men and women together in the greatest happiness to raise the children created from their unions.

"I bear no animus toward any citizen. But it is outrageous to see not only marriage being attacked, but also the attempt to label as bigotry the heartfelt beliefs of millions of Americans."

Would it really have been so hard for the president to say something like that?

Do good men like former President Bush, Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio and others not realize what they are doing when they go out of their way to use rhetoric that effectively embraces the narrative of the left? It not only emboldens the secular left, but it also demoralizes millions of values voters -- Americans without whom the GOP is headed to oblivion.

The experience of the Bush years and his recent rhetorical blunders serve as stark reminders that as the Obama nightmare draws to an end, and while we are doing everything we can to prevent another Clinton nightmare, winning an election isn't the end of the fight. And we won't "win" with just anybody.

As my friend Bill Kristol suggested, the next Republican president must be as energetic and committed to defending conservative values as Obama has been to "fundamentally transforming" America.


Chaos In Cairo

Scores of people in Cairo, Egypt, are reportedly dead after radical Islamists seeking to return Mohammed Morsi to power attempted to assault the headquarters of Egypt's military leadership. More than four hundred people have been wounded since fighting erupted last week.

While the Obama Administration is refusing to take sides, and many journalists seem confused over what has transpired in recent days, it is instructive to note the comments of Mohamed Tawfik, Egypt's current ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Tawfik, who was appointed by Morsi, told ABC News yesterday:

"Egypt has not undergone a military coup, and it was certainly not run by the military. Today, there is an interim president in place... President Morsi, he could have said, 'Listen, my people, I listen, I hear you.' But instead of that, he whipped up religious fervor among his supporters. And there was violence in the air.

"After more than 20 people had been killed, leaders from Egyptian parties, from Egyptian religious establishments, from the military, they came together, they said, 'We have to stop this, otherwise violence will spiral out of control.'"

Nabil Fahmy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the U.S., agreed. On "Meet The Press," yesterday, Fahmy said:

The Editors' Top Picks

  South Dakota to Allow Armed Teachers  South Dakota implemented the "School Sentinel" law, allowing teachers and other school personnel to carry sidearms.
  Suspicions Growing Over Death of Journalist Probing NSA and CIA Abuses  Suspicions remain about the mysterious car crash several weeks ago that killed investigative journalist Michael Hastings, who was probing NSA and CIA abuses.
  GOP Questions Legality of ObamaCare Provision Delay  The announcement by the Obama administration that it would delay a key component of ObamaCare has led House Republicans to question the legality of such an action.
  Tech Companies Hiding Depth of Cooperation with NSA Surveillance  The country's largest tech companies have been hiding the true scope of their cooperation with the NSA's surveillance programs.
  Missouri Governor Vetoes Bill Nullifying Federal Gun Grab  On July 5, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon vetoed a state bill that would have protected the right to keep and bear arms from federal infringement.
  Wisconsin Latest State to Implement Pro-Life Law  Wisconsin has become the latest state to pass legislation designed to protect unborn children and their mothers. 

Morning Jolt  . . . with Jim Geraghty

July 8, 2013

Sure, Spitzer, Everybody's Been Yearning to See You on the Ballot Again

Maybe the Mark Sanford comeback wasn't such a good idea after all.

Eliot Spitzer, who resigned as governor of New York five years ago amid a prostitution scandal, is re-entering political life, with a run for the citywide office of comptroller and a wager that voters are ready to look past his previous misconduct.

In a telephone interview on Sunday night, Mr. Spitzer, 54, sounding restless after an unwelcome hiatus from government, said he had re-envisioned the often-overlooked office and yearned to resurrect the kind of aggressive role he played as New York State's attorney general. He said that after consulting with his family and taking the temperature of the city's electorate, he believed New Yorkers would be open to his candidacy. "I'm hopeful there will be forgiveness, I am asking for it," he said.

It all started when Chris Noth's character made a comeback bid on The Good Wife, didn't it?

I never had a chance to be on Spitzer's television show, but I'd told colleagues at NR that if I ever did appear, I would call the host "John" in every answer until he lost his temper.

Just What Is the President Focused on These Days?

In light of Teresa Heinz Kerry's sudden, apparently serious illness, I'm going to take it easy on John Kerry today. Believe me, I had a good, long, mockery-laden rant stored up about Kerry's excursion on his yacht July 3, as the government of Egypt suddenly convulsed and changed before the eyes of the world (except Americans watching cable news, who were stuck watching live coverage of the George Zimmerman trial). But as Malcolm Reynolds said, "mercy is the mark of a great man."

So instead, we're going upstairs to his boss, left churning out bland, canned, we-stand-proudly-and-strongly-for-our-values on autopilot, utterly contrary to the actual decisions he and his team have made. The Washington Post slaughtered some more trees to hand out even more Pinocchios:

Policy toward the Morsi government may have been a difficult balancing act, but the Obama administration has clearly failed to live up to the criteria outlined by the president, except in a limited, possibly foot-dragging, manner.

Congress handed the administration tools to signal its displeasure about lack of progress on democracy through cuts in aid. But whenever a choice needed to be made, the administration decided to set human rights considerations to the side.

So here's the fun question: when Obama gave that utterly inaccurate statement about his Egypt policy, did he lie - er, did his statement reach an expiration date - or was he really not that up to speed on the details of his own administration's policy towards Morsi?

As I noted in my July 4 op-ed in the New York Daily News, there was almost no statement from the president or his team on the upheaval in Turkey. They mostly sat and watched quietly on Egypt. Brazil just had a giant protest against its own left-wing government for spending oodles on Olympics and World Cup stadiums while other basic services deteriorate - another foreign crisis almost entirely ignored by Washington. They keep telling us that Edward Snowden's globetrotting isn't an issue that the president has to deal with. The negotiations with the Taliban fell apart before they began - remember when all those foreign-policy experts told us Mitt Romney was a fool for pooh-poohing those?

So what's Obama spending all of his time on? Because we know it's not the Obamacare implementation. We know Kerry's spent the past months obsessing about an Israeli-Palestinian peace process that's gone nowhere. (Jab! "Well, maybe I'm just a good man.") Obama's big speech in Berlin was all about global warming, a potential long-term issue, while Syria burns, Russia and China jab us in the eye with Snowden, the EU fumes about the NSA spying, and current real crises stack up.

Ed Rogers argues we're watching a White House adrift:

The White House can't regain momentum unless it can admit there is a problem. But it remains to be seen if this White House is detached and self-aware enough to see itself clearly or if it is so insular and fanatically devoted to President Obama that no one can see that the presidency and the country are drifting.

The main topics this weekend will be Egypt, Edward Snowden and the White House decision to delay the employer mandate in Obamacare. And, to the White Houses' relief, there may be some discussion about the comparatively encouraging jobs report.  No one should expect any White House staffers to publicly say the ship is sinking, but it will be interesting to see if anyone says anything that suggests he knows they need to change course.

Maybe in the Sunday papers and on the Sunday shows we'll find out what school of thought has the upper hand in the White House: The group that convinced the president that the implementation of Obamacare was collapsing and that he needed to buy some time to live to fight another day, or the camp that believes in the laughable talking points memo about Valerie Jarrett that was revealed this week in Mark Leibovich's new book, "This Town."

Come on.

A Cheney for Senate Bid Turns the New York Times Green with Enzi

I'm sorry, Senator Mike Enzi, but the thought of Democrats' heads exploding upon hearing the words "Senator Cheney" is spectacularly appealing.

Naturally, the New York Times angle on this - written by Jonathan Martin, formerly of Politico and briefly with NR - is that a Liz Cheney senatorial bid means doom for Republicans:

A young Dick Cheney began his first campaign for the House in this tiny village - population 1,600 - after the state's sole Congressional seat finally opened up. But nowadays, his daughter Liz does not seem inclined to wait patiently for such an opening.

Ms. Cheney, 46, is showing up everywhere in the state, from chicken dinners to cattle growers' meetings, sometimes with her parents in tow. She has made it clear that she wants to run for the Senate seat now held by Michael B. Enzi, a soft-spoken Republican and onetime fly-fishing partner of her father.

But for the state GOP, that means doom! Dooooooooom!

Ms. Cheney's move threatens to start a civil war within the state's Republican establishment, despite the reverence many hold for her family.

Mr. Enzi, 69, says he is not ready to retire, and many Republicans say he has done nothing to deserve being turned out.

It would bring about "the destruction of the Republican Party of Wyoming if she decides to run and he runs, too," Alan K. Simpson, a former Republican senator from the state, said in an interview last week. "It's a disaster - a divisive, ugly situation - and all it does is open the door for the Democrats for 20 years."

Above: The New York Times Graphics Department's depiction of downtown Jackson Hole after the Republican Ragnarok of an Enzi-Cheney primary.

You may be less than stunned to learn that most conservative bloggers believe that the state and national GOP, the nation, conservatism, and the laws of time and space can indeed survive a Cheney senatorial bid. Why, they almost seem to welcome it.

William Jacobson:

I have nothing against Enzi; I know little about him. But I don't like the sense of entitlement being shown by Alan Simpson and others.

If Enzi deserves to be reelected, he should earn it. No free rides from now on.

Maybe the Wyoming Republican Party needs a little shaking up.

Run, Liz, Run.

Doug Brady over at Conservatives4Palin:

First, I'd take anything Alan Simpson says with a large grain of salt, and his warning that a Cheney challenge to Enzi would result in the destruction of the Wyoming Republican Party and open the door to a Democrat Senator from the state is ludicrous. Whoever wins the GOP primary - Cheney or Enzi - would be the overwhelming favorite to win the general election. Simpson, who's most famous for the disastrous Simpson-Mazzoli amnesty bill in 1986, has always been an establishment guy and has always been more interested in getting on the Sunday talk shows than advancing conservatism.

Second, I think Enzi overestimates his conservative support. As you'll recall, he teamed up with Dick Durban to co-sponsor a Senate bill which would impose a massive new internet sales tax just four months ago.  Such a cumbersome bureaucratic mess like that would be harmful even in a good economy but, as Stacy noted at the time, it would be particularly disastrous in the Obama economy.  There's no way I can square a vote for what amounts to a national sales tax increase with a "reliably conservative record".

Kurt Schlichter: "Liz Cheney has the potential to take the GOP in a new direction. Toward success."

But not quite everyone is on board. At PowerLine, John Hinderaker contends the challenge would be a waste of conservative energy and activism:

I admire Liz Cheney as much as anyone, but I can't claim to be pleased to learn that she has moved from Washington to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and has told Senator Mike Enzi that she may run against him in next year's GOP primary. In my view, Republicans (and conservatives) spend much too much time and energy attacking each other, rather than going after the Democrats. That doesn't mean, of course, that Republicans should never mount primary challenges.

But when do such challenges make sense? If an incumbent Republican is not a conservative (Susan Collins, say) and a more conservative challenger has a good chance of winning the general election, then a primary challenge is in order. But that isn't the case here: Enzi is a solid conservative with a 93% lifetime American Conservative Union rating (92% in 2012). He recently voted against the Gang of Eight's immigration bill. Cheney may well be a little more conservative than Enzi, but going after a 90+% conservative is fratricide.

We have primaries for a reason, don't we? If Cheney's bid is so ill-considered, Wyoming Republicans (also known as most Wyoming voters) will let her know. Hinderaker concludes, "Cheney is neither significantly more conservative than Enzi nor significantly more electable; her real advantage as a primary candidate is that she is significantly more glamorous. That isn't enough."

Yeah, but there's something to be said for glamor.

Flying the Unfriendly Skies

Elsewhere in the New York Times, author James Atlas describes his painful time flying coach and concludes it is a metaphor for national decline and unacceptable inequality in America:

Statusization - to coin a useful term - is ubiquitous, no matter what your altitude. While you're in your hospital bed spooning up red Jell-O, a patient in a private suite is enjoying strawberries and cream. On your way to a Chase A.T.M., you notice a silver plaque declaring the existence within of Private Client Services. This man has a box seat at a Yankees game; that man has a skybox. And the skybox isn't the limit: high overhead, the 1 percent fly first class; the .1 percent fly Netjets; the .01 fly their own planes. Why should it be any different up above from down below?

The hardships of economy don't seem to deter us from air travel. There were close to a billion domestic passenger trips last year.

But moving up feels harder than it used to - or it does from where I sit (27F). We're all going everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In his new book, "The Great Degeneration," the historian Niall Ferguson confirms my intuition. His argument is that we've seen a precipitous decline in social mobility over the last 30 years: "Once the United States was famed as a land of opportunity, where a family could leap from 'rags to riches' in a generation." Now it can't even leap from economy to business. You can make some progress in small ways: the gold club members get to board before the silver club members. The passenger who earns a certain number of miles is rewarded with a complimentary drink. But those in the back of the plane can fight all they want over their status. They're still not getting any more legroom.

The comments section underneath the article raises the fairly glaring point that Atlas's rose-colored memories of flying before these harsh Darwinist times (probably to be blamed on Republicans) ignore the fact that once you adjust for inflation, air travel is a lot more accessible to a lot more people today. In the "golden age" of attractive stewardesses that he romanticizes, flying was too expensive for most of middle-class America.

Come on. Look at the prices (adjusted for inflation) of air travel back in the 60s that you so glorify. In 1972 it cost me about $350 round-trip to fly from Atlanta to Chicago to go to college (so usually I took Greyhound). According to online inflation calculators, that's the equivalent of $1950 today. If we want the same level of service we got in the 60s and 70s, we'd need to pay equivalent prices. Airline travel in "economy" today is pretty much analogous to what bus travel was in the 70s; cheap enough that many people can afford it but dirty, uncomfortable, crowded, and miserable. Comfortable travel is available now, as it was then, to the more well-to-do -- if you can afford to pay for first class, then your flight is far more tolerable than if you're in economy. In 1972, the one time I flew, it was a lot more enjoyable than taking the bus. But then, as now, one got what one paid for. We expect airfares to be rock-bottom low and accessible to all--but we can't then expect service levels to match what they would be if the airlines still charged the prices they used to charge.

I would note that higher-end air travel is one of those rare products where a large portion of the consumer base isn't spending their own money. (How many business class or first-class passengers bought those tickets with personal funds, as opposed to having their employer pay for it?) When it's somebody else's money, hey, anything goes, or at least as much as you can get away with. (Of course, that's at other employers. For the transatlantic flights for the Norway cruise, Jack Fowler has booked me a space in an overhead luggage rack.)

If everyone paid out of his own pocket, those passengers willing to pay $659 to $2,337 for a one-way first-class ticket from D.C. to Los Angeles nonstop would largely disappear. But those folks willing to pay those exorbitant costs - really, those companies willing to pay those costs for their employees - are what make the (relatively) cheap price of $234 for the same flight in coach possible. (I got those figures from plugging in a flight from D.C. to LA with one week's notice into Expedia.)

Also . . . did no editor at the Times think it was bad timing to run a column complaining about insufficient legroom and stale ham sandwiches right after the crash at San Francisco airport?

ADDENDUM: This is the first Morning Jolt I've written entirely on an Apple system; I'm growing Mac-limated. 

NRO Digest - July 8, 2013

Today on National Review Online . . .

The IRS Mistakenly Exposed Thousands of Social Security Numbers

By Brian Fung

Updated: July 8, 2013

Tea-party supporters gather for a rally outside IRS headquarter in Washington, May 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Today's Headlines:  Monday, July 08, 2013

101M Americans Get Food Aid from Federal Gov't; More Than the Number of Private Sector Workers

Muslim Brotherhood Claims Early-Morning 'Massacre'

Trust, Don't Verify: Obamacare Exchanges Do Not Have to Check Income Claims

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Rep. Gutierrez Lambasts 'Xenophobic Republicans' in Spanish, But Won't Say 'X' Word in English

Dempsey Worries That Returning Troops May Be Viewed As 'Victims'

Bloomberg Delivers 'Frank' Remarks -- At Hot Dog Eating Contest

New Duties for Holder and Kerry: Combat Wildlife Trafficking in Africa

Catholic Bishop: Supreme Court 'Giving Legal Protection to an Intrinsic Evil'

Allen West: Obama's UN Nominee Has 'No Diplomatic Qualifications'

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Duncan Criticizes Charter Schools for Suspending, Expelling Students

Muslims Divided Over Egypt As Ramadan Nears

Rep. Pitts: 'First Amendment Does Not Restrict Religion to Places of Worship'

54 Months: Record Stretch of 7.5%+ Unemployment Continues

Number of 'Involuntary' Part-Time Workers Jumps 332K in June

COMMENTARY:

Politics Is Easy, Governing Is Hard
By Rich Galen
It is very rare to find someone who is good at both politics and governing.

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Too late? Jim Carrey apologizes to assault rifle owners 

Weeks after going on a Twitter blitz absolutely trashing assault rifle owners, calling them 'heartless mother****ers', actor Jim Carrey has apologized. Over the weekend, Carrey tweeted that he doesn't 'fear' gun owners - actually he claims to 'love' them - even though he still disagrees with their beliefs. But if he doesn't fear them, why does he disagree? Glenn reacts on radio today.

Egyptian coup gets bloodier 

More violence broke out in Egypt this week as at least 50 people died in a bloody clash between the Egyptian military and supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood regime. Both sides claim the other initiated the violence, but, either way, there is massive violence on the streets and it's only getting worse. Glenn has more on what's happening in Egypt on radio today.

Be the first to read the third of installment of the bestselling Michael Vey series!

LIKE the Michael Vey Official Fan Page on Facebook and be the first to read exclusive excerpts from Michael Vey 3: The Battle of the Ampere! The more 'likes' the page receives, the faster the exclusive content will be released, so make sure to SHARE the page with your friends too! 

John Kerry was not on his yacht before he was on it 

Flip-flopping is nothing new for Secretary of State John Kerry, who famously said, "I was for it before I was against it" in explaining his Iraq war vote. After getting busted relaxing on his yacht in Nantucket during the peak of the coup in Egypt, the State Department first said Kerry wasn't on his boat. But when the pictures of Kerry surfaced, the State Department suddenly changed its tune. MORE

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SHOCK IMAGES of San Francisco plane crash: More images and videos keep coming in showing the horrific crash and aftermath of the plane crash at San Francisco airport. Disturbing reports are also coming in saying some passengers went for baggage before helping children. Check out the latest on the crash from the TheBlaze.

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Jeffy gives the worst introduction of all time

Glenn, Pat, and Stu asked Jeffy to complete one simple task -- big mistake. All the occasionally lovable Jeff Fisher had to do was introduce the comedians who were performing at the Independence Week Comedy Night in Salt Lake City. That's it. What happened? Only the worst introduction in the history of introductions. WATCH

The sequel to The Overton Window has finally arrived!

Glenn's blockbuster novel from 2010 now continues with The Eye of Moloch - a thriller that's seemingly been ripped right from today's headlines. Follow Molly and her group of 'Founders Keepers' as they work to expose the secrets of a government that wants them dead. If you're looking for a summer beach read or just something to help you get even less sleep at night, The Eye of Moloch is a perfect choice. Buy a copy now and get an invite to an exclusive online event with Glenn. Get all the details HERE.

Tonight's primetime lineup on TheBlaze TV:

• 5pm ET - The Glenn Beck Program: Glenn is live in SLC to recap Man in the Moon, while Buck Sexton hosts live from Dallas and reports the latest news out of Egypt. 
• 6pm ET - Real News: When it comes to Obamacare, what will prevail: emotion or common sense? The panel discusses. 
• 7pm ET - Wilkow!: More socialism leads to less civility. Andrew explains.