Quote: 

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)

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Read more:

Saudi National resurfaces... at White House 4th of July

Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 at 2:14 PM EDT

Abdul Rahman Alharbi, once a person of interest in the Boston Marathon bombing, turned up at the White House for July 4th festivities. He was at one time placed on a watch list and was at one point labeled a threat to national security by the State Department. What in the world was he doing there?

As reported by TheBlaze, Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi appears to have been in attendance at the White House's 4th of July celebration for military leaders and their families. A Twitter account from a person claiming to be Alharbi's father posted photos of the Saudi national at the event, and a Arab newspaper claims he was invited to attend.

TheBlaze reported on the Saudi National's attendance:

So why would the Alharbi family have been at the White House for Independence Day?

According to some Arabic-language media, they were invited.

A recent post from the Twitter account in question links to a July 6 report from Al-Hayat - a widely-read pan-Arab daily newspaper - with the comment: "Today [Saturday] the Al-Hayat newspaper published a news item stating that Abd Al-Rahman and his family had been invited by the White House to participate in America's Independence Day celebrations." [Emphasis added]

A number of lingering questions remain on the issue, though the White House has not responded to TheBlaze's inquiries.

"He's at the White House celebration with the First Family, with the president and his wife. Why would you do that? Apparently they were invited," Pat said.

"In fact, he was considered one of our most dangerous categories of terrorists and now he was just at the White House celebration of Independence Day. Is that bizarre? Would you -- I mean, even if -- would you take a chance? What are you doing? I don't even begin to understand this. Really, really amazing."

See video here:

Join Us And Phyllis Schlafly On Thursday. 

        Phyllis Schlafly will be joining us on Thursday's conference call and she will be discussing the topic: "Amnesty - A Pathway To National Extinction."

       Also joining us will be Seaton Motley and he will discussing the topic: "Abolishing The IRS"

       We have two great speakers and two great topics. You will not want to miss this call...    

      The call is brought to you by the TEA Party Unity Project, an organization which works to facilitate networking and communications among TEA Party leaders and conservative organizations nationwide.

      We hope that you can join us on Thursday, July 11. Again, to join the strategy session, simply call 857-232-0300 at 10:00 AM (CT)/ 11:00 AM (ET) and dial the access code 1692271# when directed.

SPECIAL NOTICE: Tea Party leaders are encouraged to give one- to three-minute reports on their Tea Party's activities. Leaders who wish to give brief reports must request the opportunity in advance. Please email Misty Allmond at visionamerica1@yahoo.com or Don Feder at dfeder@rcn.com.

     While this is an invitation-only event, we trust you to forward this notice to those in your circle who you believe can benefit from this event. 

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

Hi Central Montco Tea Party Patriots,

• We have to cancel this week's July monthly meeting, originally scheduled for Thursday July 11. Nothing bad, just extremely busy and Thurs is Amanda's birthday.
• The August meeting will be not the second but the THIRD Thursday, August 15. It will be at Rock, as usual, 7pm.
• Meanwhile, I've pasted below the Tea Party Patriots toolkit regarding amnesty. Please participate as much as you can, no need to restrict your action to the days listed.

Thanks!
-Jim

#DCIntervention - The Unaffordable Train Wreck

Weekly Toolkit - Week of July 8th

The Senate and the House are both in session this week.  The Senate passed their amnesty bill on June 27th and the House is now moving and taking up the issue of immigration.  WE HAVE A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME TO STOP THIS TERRIBLE BILL!  This week's resources focus on educating Members in the House about the many flaws of the Senate's approach.

Here are some recommended activities and resources for this week

Monday:

Below are the resources for Monday.  If you are planning to do a street rally on Thursday, please remember to call your local radio show hosts today to tell them about the event you are planning.

Talking points
Positive messaging on real immigration reform
Sample letter to the editor

Tuesday:

Tuesday is "Tweet it Tuesday" and the focus is on spreading on our message on social media and in the blogs.  We have included here:

Sample social media messages

Wednesday:

We are asking everyone to write letters to several Members in the U.S. House of Representatives this week. In addition to writing and calling your own House Member, we are asking everyone to write to Members of House leadership.  We have included sample letters here to make your work easier.  Sample letter to House Member (Generic letter)
Sample letter to Speaker Boehner
Sample letter to Rep. Paul Ryan
Sample letter to Rep. Kevin McCarthy

Thursday:

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.

---

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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:

RedState Morning Briefing

For July 11, 2013

Friends, today is one of those days I'm putting in the entirety of my morning post because I think we all need it and know a portion of you will not otherwise click through to get it all.  So I apologize in advance for the length this morning.  But, as you all know, this is a rare thing and I only do it when I feel it is quite necessary.  We need a reality check.

Erick

1.  Reality Check

Two nights ago I posted my thoughts on being on radio. I followed it up on radio yesterday afternoon. In both, I made this observation:

No one likes people who talk politics all the time. I've spent an entire segment once on the fine art of browning onions in butter. And you know what? It's been a widely requested segment of my show for repeat airings. People care about more than politics and, on radio, they want to know the guy they're listening to on the way home does too.

First, it is absolutely true - I spent 20 minutes on the radio talking about browning onions in butter and how cookbooks lie that it only takes 10 minutes. It has been a highly sought after segment of my radio show. But second, people were downright offended that I'd suggest there is more to life than politics. I've gotten angry emails from a lot of people on the left and the right.

When I point out I find some things the President does, like talking about sci-fi, endearing and find Michelle Obama to be a very beautiful First Lady, my conservative friends go insane. While I was at CNN they were convinced I had sold out to the liberal media. Now, at Fox, it just perplexes them.

When I talk about my faith and my views on gay marriage or abortion, liberals are convinced I must be lying when I say I have gay friends and pro-abortion friends and we get along just fine and they are wonderful people. Surely I must think they are going to hell and how could those people be friends with me. Folks, I think we're all going to hell, but by the grace of God.

There are subjects I do not tackle with friends with whom I disagree because I value their friendship far more than I value my view on some subject that divides our ability to be friends. As a Christian, to me evangelism and sharing my faith is much more about being a good friend to someone, regardless of their faith or world view, than about being right in an argument or going to some beach in Mexico to work on my tan while I hammer a nail or two in a hut and speak Jesusese to a total stranger.

The worst thing about America is the politicization of everything.

Why the hell must I pick a side in the George Zimmerman trial?  A 17 year old boy is dead and a man who may or may not be guilty of murder is on trial but, even if not guilty, will never again be safe because so much outrage and so much politicization has been poured into the trial.  A 17 year old is dead.  Why am I forced, as a conservative, to cheer for the guy who took his life.  And you people who support Trayvon, how are you given a pass on seeing things from George Zimmerman's perspective?  Why should I decide on the guilt or innocence of George Zimmerman based on the outrage of people whose politics differ from mine? Why must a death and trial comport to a political world view?!

While I tend to think the left is worse about it than the right, I'm sure liberals think otherwise. But why must everything be so damn political? The President of the United States is a good father with a lovely wife and I disagree with both on pretty much everything. But I do not hate them.

A lot of people on the left and the right hate each other for a lot of stuff that in eternity really won't matter. And here is what I find most and what will offend many of you on the left and right - those of you whose lives are most connected to your online personality and bravado, your blog or your twitter account, regardless of which side of the aisle you are on are some of the least well adjusted and most malcontented people in the world. Consequently, you are at war at all times and dialed up to 12 on a ten point scale of outrage about everything from a photoshopped picture to a male politician who really does want to save the life of a child who could survive outside the womb.

I'm sorry, but I can't live my life constantly fixated on the political outrage of the day and I can't be outraged about every damn thing under the sun. I go out with friends and talk about stuff other than politics, I play with my kids, I love my wife, I cook gumbo and make fantastic ice cream, I watch a bit of TV, don't read as much as I should, I go to church, and I try to focus on the good in a world filled with sin and bad and evil some people do not even want to call evil because they might have to concede a political point.

I think the world is going to hell. But I believe in God the Father and in his son Jesus Christ and the second coming and a judgment and a final victory over death and sin and evil and a life everlasting where I will walk one day beside my very real Creator. The rest? It's rather small potatoes in the eternal scheme of things. God is permanent and politics and political coalitions are not.

I get why so many on the secular left, who don't believe in a Heaven or a Hell, get so upset about certain things and want to politicize everything. To them this life is all there is and every advantage, in politics and culture, is fair game to get to the grave in first place.

But I just cannot understand why so many self-described Christian conservatives are so angry so constantly that they get mad at the suggestion there is more to life than politics.

Truth is, there is more to life than politics. And while you and I can find things that outrage us and they may be different things, to hell with you for being outraged that I'm not outraged about something that outrages you.

While you're firing up your twitter account or blog to tell the world what a terrible person I am for disagreeing or not caring, in the actual real world that exists off the internet I'm going to go build a train with my 4 year old and fly it through the rings of Saturn before sitting down under the oak tree in my backyard to have a scoop of homemade ice cream with my 7 year old and play a game of catch.

You should try it. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

2.  George W. Bush Was Right

A day or so ago I was reading some comments here and noted someone who stated that Republicans are supposed to be the "Party of Morality".  Interesting observation, that.  I don't disagree with it necessarily, but I don't think we have a full appreciation of what it means.

I think George W. Bush did. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

3.  Amnesty, the New Obamacare

From Congresswoman Michele Bachmann:

America has long been a beacon of freedom in a tumultuous world, and people from all walks of life, faiths and cultures come together under one flag. We warmly welcome those across the globe who seek to come within our borders legally and respect the rule of law.

The pressure from the political establishment and special interests to grant amnesty to those people who crossed our border illegally is already in full throttle, as evidenced by the Senate's Gang of Eight bill that grants amnesty now, border security never.

The Senate's amnesty bill is symbolic of everything that's wrong with Washington. It's a thousand-plus page bill filled with special backroom deals to buy votes, and empty promises that won't be fulfilled. It's Obamacare all over again. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

4.  The Wave of 2014 Begins to Build

When you ask committed conservative activists if the current Republican Party is representing their views and speaking to their concerns, you will hear an emphatic NO.  You will also hear some sort of disclaimer "with the exception of a few fighters like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Jim Bridenstine."  Yet, when presented with the most direct opportunity to actually affect change through low-turnout congressional primaries, which are dominated by conservative voters, many of us apathetically rubber stamp 95% of the incumbents with another 2-year or 6-year term.  That has got to change, and it appears that it will change very soon. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

5.  Disrupt Mike Simpson, Support Bryan Smith for Congress

I'm told the Club got tons of submissions and recommendations for primary challengers, and today they are putting their money where their mouth is and endorsing Bryan Smith for Congress in Idaho's 2nd Congressional District against one of the worst and most liberal Republicans in Congress today, Mike Simpson.

Bryan Smith is a constitutional conservative who fought property tax increases in Idaho Falls and exposed fraud by the city attorney that cost the city thousands of dollars. A practicing lawyer, he's also written on how John Roberts got the ObamaCare decision flat wrong.

Mike Simpson, on the other hand, has an abysmal 58% on the Club for Growth scorecard and his record is atrocious. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →

6.  Behind the Microphone & Something President Clinton and I Agree On

I feel odd writing about being on radio. I am a novice to a degree, though doing well enough that I'm hosting evening drive time in Atlanta on the top talk station in the country.

That would be WSB, which has one of the best signals, and has a whole lot of listeners stuck in Atlanta traffic during the evening.[1] And they have me to listen to. So I get asked all the time about being on the radio, what it's like, etc.

Sincerely yours,

Erick Erickson
Editor-in-Chief, RedState

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Experts on the Day's Hottest News

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Items for Thursday, July 11, 2013

House GOP pushes on farm bill  Politico

Daren Bakst

Diane Katz

House Republicans won't vote on 'massive' Senate immigration bill, to pursue smaller measures  Fox News

Genevieve Wood

Derrick Morgan

Jessica Zuckerman

Obamacare: What Conservatives Should Do Next  The Forge Blog

Chris Jacobs

Bob Moffit

Nina Owcharenko

D.C. Council approves bill imposing 'living wage' requirement on Wal-Mart  The Washington Times

James Sherk

Marathon Bombing Suspect, in First Court Appearance, Pleads Not Guilty  The New York Times

Charles "Cully" Stimson

Paul Rosenzweig


 

Latest Heritage Research:

ISSUE BRIEF 
Afghanistan: Zero Troops Should Not Be an Option

COMMENTARY 
Why Marriage Matters Most

July 11, 2013   

Today's Articles:

Conservatives and Snowden

07-10-2013 02:04:21 AM

The danger now is that scandals that should, by any sane measure, be crippling to the Obama administration will instead take down the conservative movement...»

The U.S. Gets a 'Mulligan' in Egypt

07-10-2013 02:04:05 AM

The U.S. gets one more chance to get it right....»

Liberals to the Law: Get Lost!

07-10-2013 02:03:35 AM

After eight years of listening to liberals hyperventilating about the illegalities of President George W. Bush, it is really annoying for conservatives to watch the utter disregard for the law coming from the Obama administration....»

Zimmerman's Pointless Trial

07-10-2013 02:03:28 AM

A case that, in a racially healthy society, would never have come before the bench. ...»

A French Plan to Solve America's Economic Problems

07-10-2013 02:02:45 AM

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has solved all the United States' problems....»

The Criminal Profiling of Conservative White Males

07-10-2013 02:02:00 AM

What does it say that Leftists seem to react to virtually every highly visible criminal act with the hope that the "perp" is a white guy or, even better, a conservative white guy? ...»

Can't New York Do Better?

07-10-2013 02:01:25 AM

PJTV: No Jeb Bush and No Third Parties

United Stasi of America Lightart Protest Projection U.S. embassy in Berlin

Glenn Beck Is Suspicious About Teresa Heinz Kerry And Hillary Clinton Hospitalizations

Zimmerman Trial Indicates KKK Style Racist Injustice in Courts is Still with Us, Media is Culprit

Abortion Workers Speak Out - Hear Horrors They Witness

"One Little Dog"

TRIFECTA - Obama Breaks Law and Delays ObamaCare

Sheriff Warns of Second American Revolution over Gun Control

Devious: Look what GOP's hiding with amnesty by James Simpson   Published 2013-07-10
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State Department's Credibility Remains in Tatters   Published 2013-07-10
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Still Time to Stop Al Jazeera America   Published 2013-07-10
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Reform Math is Deformed Math   Published 2013-07-10
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Immigration Implications of the Demise of DOMA   Published 2013-07-10
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Morning Jolt  . . . with Jim Geraghty

July 10, 2013

A Sarah Palin for Senate Bid? Oh, Please! Oh, Please!

This could be big. On the other hand, we're all familiar with the phenomenon of eagerly anticipating a big-time, endlessly scrutinized, high-stakes campaign from Sarah Palin, only to find out she's decided against it.

Sarah Palin may not be done with politics after all.

The former Alaska governor, who was also 2008's GOP vice presidential nominee, said Tuesday she's contemplating a bid for U.S. Senate against Democrat Mark Begich. He's up for re-election in 2014.

"I've considered it because people have requested me [to] consider it," Palin told conservative radio host Sean Hannity on his show. "I'm still waiting to see what the lineup will be. And hoping there will be some new blood, new energy. Not just kind of picking from the same old politicians in the state that come from political families."

Remember, Obama's political-activism group, Organizing for Action, has loudly pledged they won't help Begich at all in 2014 because he voted against the background-check bill. (You're forgiven for wondering aloud just how many volunteers Organizing for Action has in Alaska, but presumably OFA would be able to steer a lot of donations Begich's way if they so chose.)

I'm all for a Palin for Senate bid; nothing like "Senator Palin of Alaska" and "Senator Liz Cheney of Wyoming" to convince the Left that their world is falling apart. Obviously, she would have enormous fundraising prowess, unparalleled name ID, and her opponent won by about one percentage point over incumbent Republican Ted Stevens, about one month after Stevens was convicted of seven felony counts of failing to report gifts. Sure, a February PPP survey had her trailing Begich considerably, but that's a theoretical. If nothing else, she would make the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have to spend oodles in Alaska to protect an incumbent.

But it's tough to get too excited about a Palin bid, considering the number of times she's made comments that suggested a particular course of action, only to reverse course:

• Back in September 2010, she sounded like she might run for president: "If nobody else wanted to step up, Greta, I would offer myself up in the name of service to the public."

• Then she announced she wouldn't run . . . but then she later said, "You know, it's not too late for folks to jump in and I don't know. Who knows what will happen in the future?"

• After leaving Fox News in January, she declared, "I encourage others to step out in faith, jump out of the comfort zone, and broaden our reach as believers in American exceptionalism. That means broadening our audience. I'm taking my own advice here as I free up opportunities to share more broadly the message of the beauty of freedom and the imperative of defending our republic and restoring this most exceptional nation. We can't just preach to the choir; the message of liberty and true hope must be understood by a larger audience." And then . . . in June, she signed up with Fox News Channel again.

• Just a few days ago, appearing on Mark Levin's program, she sounded like she was open to forming a third party.

So if this Senate bid never comes to fruition . . . will anyone be surprised?

How Generation X Shows Hope for Generation Y, and 'Reality Bites'

Flipping through the channels the other night, I came across Reality Bites, a modestly successful little 1994 romantic comedy that somehow came to be considered one of the iconic films of the 1990s, or at least one of the films that came to define the reputation of "Generation X" -- those born between the early 1960s and early 1980s.

 A little while back, the great Mary Katharine Ham brilliantly dissected how the film looks from the perspective of today: the characters' self-absorption and whining, the constant smoking, the grunge soundtrack, and the dated notion that Ethan Hawke's grungy bar-band slacker is the hero, and that Ben Stiller's kind-hearted but ambitious yuppie executive at an MTV-style network is the wrong guy for Winona Ryder. (Like MKH, I'm just going to use the actors' names.)

Some modern analyses of the film like this one (funny but NSFW language) note the irony that the film is about the frustrations of unemployed or under-employed 20-somethings, and their fears that their dreams will never be realized . . . in the early-to-mid 1990s. That early-90s economy looks like Nirvana compared to today (no pun intended, but I'm pretty proud of it now that I realize it) and we know that in a year or two, Silicon Valley and the dot-com boom are about to turbocharge the job market that the characters find so horrific.

Looking back, we in Generation X had it pretty good. Not only was the U.S. economy roaring at the time, but opportunities for young workers were pretty widespread in the dot-com era. As costly as higher education was then, it looks positively inexpensive compared to today. It was a time of relative peace, when U.S. military actions in Somalia, Haiti, and the Balkans could be largely ignored by most of the public, and few foresaw the horrors of 9/11 lurking around the corner.

"Back in my day, son, before the Internet, we hung out on strangely unsecured building roofs, drinking beers and playing guitar, brooding."

Despite the clunky landline phones, flannel, 1-900 psychic hotlines, and Lisa Loeb on the soundtrack, "Reality Bites" is less about a moment in our cultural life than a moment in the modern career trajectory. A large chunk of Generation X came out of high school or college with big dreams of success -- high expectations fueled, in part, by the boom of the 1980s and the surprise end of the Cold War. We left the shelter of academia and entered the real world . . . and, for many of us, at least initially, the real world just kicked our asses. Only professional athletes leave college to step into their dream job. Almost everyone else starts at the bottom, interning or one step above interning, and gasps when they realize the distance between themselves and that dream job. Try and fail enough times, and you begin to fear the dream job might be just a dream. And how much does a hidden fear of failure fuel those pronouncements of disdain for "selling out"?

Of course, as fun as it is to mock Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder's insufferable dismissal of any type of compromise on the road to success as "selling out," there is a genuine, legitimate anxiety that those characters and the film express.

A lot of us feel some sort of creative impulse, and desire to create something -- a book, a painting, a song, a sculpture, a film -- that stands out and is recognized for its excellence, its insight, its ability to stir emotions in others. And we fear going through the effort and struggle of the creative process only to lose our creation, or to have it co-opted by others who just want to use it to sell things. You fear that just as you're about to make a key point, and establish some sort of connection with the audience --

DON'T FORGET TO BOOK YOUR CABIN NOW FOR THE NATIONAL REVIEW NORWEGIAN FJORDS CRUISE! DON'T DELAY! ACT NOW! CABINS ARE RUNNING OUT!

Anyway, as I was saying, both this film and another one of my mid-90s favorites, Grosse Pointe Blank, deal with the fear of spending years pursuing a career only to wake up one day and realize you hate what you do. Several characters in Reality Bites describe the divorces and frustrated dreams of their parents, and seem determined to avoid those mistakes -- yet their preferred option is to not try.

Even then, the movie has to cheat to make the "selling out" option look so unappealing and bohemian rebelliousness look so appealing. A major plot point is that Clearly-MTV-But-Not-Called-MTV-for-Legal-Reasons executive Stiller takes a videotape of Ryder's documentary, and shows it to network executives in New York, who he says are thrilled. But at a screening party in Houston, she's shocked to find her earnest exploration of her housemates' life challenges -- awaiting the results of an AIDS test, the gay one coming out to his mother, etc. -- has been heavily edited into crass pabulum.

 Stiller says he didn't know it would be edited that way either. So we're to believe that nobody watched the program they were about to screen at the party? Huh? (I suppose Stiller could be lying.) Winona's reaction is to storm out of the party, hurt and betrayed . . . instead of trying to salvage some of her original vision. (Did she sign a contract? Is this the final cut? All of these questions are ignored, to serve the plot's requirement that Stiller is the "bad guy" or at least the wrong guy, because he's a corporate sellout.)

After watching enough movies where the characters spent almost no time at work and live in lavish apartments, it's refreshing to watch one where the protagonists worry about paying the phone bill. But even here, the movie cheats by suggesting that stealing from your parents will do in a pinch. Winona's character gets cash from motorists and pays for their gasoline on her father's gas-station credit card, running up $900 in charges. [MKH calculated that would be $1,400 today.] The closing lines of the movie play the dad's reaction as sort of a joke. He might as well say, "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"

Why am I writing at great length about a 19-year-old movie? Because the criticisms of Generation X back in the 1990s -- they're lazy, they're educated but lack ambition and drive,  they're over-privileged whiners -- aren't that different from what we hear about Generation Y today. (To the extent one can generalize about an entire generation based on survey data, Generation X is pretty hard-working.) A lot of conservatives talk about today's 20-somethings in fatalist terms, as if they're all Occupy-protesting, Obama-backing hipsters with six figures of college debt from their post-graduate degrees in Puppetry Studies who want to enjoy a perpetual adolescence and free birth control.

Generation X grew up and got to work; 65 percent work full-time, 10 percent work part-time. What's more, 82 percent are homeowners, 74 percent have children, 70 percent are married, 66 percent have a 401(k) or other retirement plans, and only 6 percent live with their parents. Perhaps most surprising, 29 percent reported making $100,000 or more annually. To be conservative, you usually have to have something you want to conserve.

Of course, Generation X's maturation process had some help -- that booming economy of the 1990s and about a decade and a half of policies under Clinton and Bush that fueled that steady growth. With the policies of this administration in place, who knows when we'll next see steady growth and serious job creation. In fact, those policies may actually be impeding the process that prompts young people to drift towards the right as they age:

The U.S. birth rate has generally fallen since the Great Recession began in 2007, and some of the sharpest drops have been among women in the 20s. The birth rate for women ages 20 to 24 hit a record low of 85.3 births per 1,000 women in 2011, according to the most recent detailed data available from the Centers for Disease Control. For women ages 25 to 29, the 2011 birth rate of 107.2 births per 1,000 women was the lowest since 1976.

The drop comes amid a longer term trend toward women having their children later in life. The average age for a woman having her first child was 25.6 years old in 2011, up from 21.4 years old in 1970, according to the CDC.

It also has coincided with an excruciatingly long period of high unemployment and weak economic growth.

No kidding.

Broward Sheriff's Office to Citizens: Hey, Please Don't Riot After the Verdict, Okay?

This is rather ominous:

The Broward Sheriff's Office, working closely with the Sanford Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies, has coordinated a response plan in anticipation of the verdict.

Freedom of expression is a constitutional right. While raising your voice is encouraged, using your hands is not. BSO has created a public service announcement with the help of kids from the Jason Taylor Foundation, H.A.N.D.Y. (Helping Abused, Neglected, Disadvantaged Youth) and basketball star James Jones of the championship Miami Heat team urging young people not to let their emotions get the best of them.

"We don't have information about a specific event that might take place at the conclusion of the trial, but we encourage everyone to keep any protests peaceful," Sheriff Scott Israel said.

Members of the BSO Strategic Investigation Division have been monitoring the pulse of the situation, maintaining open lines of communication with community leaders, civic activists, members of the clergy, as well as local, state and federal agencies.

So, Broward Sheriff's Office doesn't quite think this has been a slam-dunk conviction, huh?

Dear media: How much do you think your guilty-as-sin, obviously-racially-motivated-outrage narrative has exacerbated this situation? How about the decision to give this trial gavel-to-gavel, around-the-clock coverage?

ADDENDUM: Breaking financial news overnight: My older son lost his second tooth in two days. Shares of Tooth Fairy™ Inc. have been plummeting in overnight trading.

NRO Digest - July 10, 2013

Today on National Review Online . . .

What say you now Dr. Krauthammer? How about you George Will?

Jul 10, 2013 06:13 am | Coach Collins

By Kevin "Coach" Collins

Last week King Barack decided that his Obamacare scheme had done enough damage for now. If there is anything that Obama has become skilled at since the start of his reign, it's knowing when he has cut too deeply into the body of America's freedoms. With a snap of his fingers King Barack overruled his own legislation and stopped implementation of the Employer Mandate section of his cynically named Affordable Care Act.

Had he not done so (and if the Republicans in the House have any nerve left he might not be able to) employers with fifty or more workers would have to start making the decision to either pay for expensive healthcare benefits for their workers or lay them off.

Since the percentage of American adults who are working full-time is already at just 47% and falling this would cause an uptick in unemployment too great for the Democrats' media to talk ... Continue Reading:What say you now Dr. Krauthammer? How about you George Will?

comments | read more

An inspiring message of freedom and why we must keep fighting to keep our freedom

Jul 09, 2013 01:00 pm | Coach Collins

Listen and watch as the case against Barack Obama and those who want to destroy our American freedoms. Please pass this on to every patriot you know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=JVAhr4hZDJE&vq=medium#t=19*

comments | read more

Adventures in administrative law, cont'd

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 01:30 PM PDT

(Scott Johnson)

FNC's Wendell Goler asked Obama administration flack Jay Carney about the Obama administration's suspension of the Obamacare employer mandate for one year. The Obamacare statute expressly provides a commencement date of January 1, 2014. Whence the legal authority on the part of the president to postpone it? The video of Goler's exchange with Carney is below.

Goler asks a good question, one directly raised by Michael McConnell's Wall Street Journal column "Obama suspends the law." Former Judge McConnell is of the opinion that President Obama lacks the authority to suspend enforcement of the law. On this point, as it happens, Judge McConnell is in accord with retiring Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, whose negative opinion provides the premise of Goler's question.

The administration's announcement of the suspension by Assistant Treasury Secretary Mark Mazur was silent on this point. This is not a criminal proceeding. The administration does not have the right to remain silent on this point without our drawing negative inferences against it.

According to Carney, the answer, my friend, is blowing in the Federal Register, in which are to be found many examples of regulatory delay. What regulation authorized the suspension? Goler unfortunately does not ask for a citation and Carney does not offer one. Moreover, as a general proposition, the legal authority for a regulation must be drawn from a statute. What statute authorized the regulation?

Mazur refers to certain regulations in his announcement, but the regulations cited in his announcement are not even yet in existence. They are aborning. Thus the reason for the delay. Is that what Carney is talking about?

I'm pretty sure Carney does not in fact know what he's talking about. My guess is that he doesn't have a clue. He does, however, manage to keep his lips moving and to turn the question into a pretext for an attack on Republicans (for their bad attitude). This was sufficient unto the task for today's press conference, which Carney left unscathed, or barely scathed.

Via Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard.

The Zimmerman Case Is About Race? Why?

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 10:34 AM PDT

(John Hinderaker)

We don't generally spend a lot of time deconstructing patently silly op-eds, for two reasons: 1) they tend to be self-refuting, and 2) if you start down that path, it could rapidly become a full-time job. But sometimes an exception is in order, as in the case of this very dumb op-ed about the George Zimmerman case at CNN.com. As ill-informed as the piece is, I think that public dialogue about the case can't be understood without recognizing that the author speaks for a great many people. So, let's have at it.

The piece is titled "Zimmerman trial: It's about race." The author is Roxanne Jones, an African-American who came up through the world of sports, via ESPN, and is now CEO of the PUSH Marketing Group as well as a columnist for CNN. Her opinion that the Zimmerman trial is about race is one that evidently is commonly held, but the obvious question raised by CNN's headline is: Why? What is it about the Zimmerman trial that makes it about race? Is every criminal case that involves protagonists of different ethnic backgrounds about race? If not, what distinguishes this case from many thousands of others? Bizarrely, Ms. Jones never tries to answer that basic question.

She writes:

We have all been duped in the Trayvon Martin case. Bamboozled.

This case was never "open and shut" as Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump insisted in a news conference at the start of the trial. I doubted it was that easy from Day One.
...
I'm no cynic but I am a realist. A realist who's covered enough criminal trials to know for certain that the trial that plays out in the public over pep rally vigils and celebrity protests is never the trial that unfolds in the courtroom. I understand that race still matters deeply in our courtrooms, just as it does in our nation. And there's no getting away from that fact.

What a breathtaking inversion! Noting that what happens in the courtroom is very different from what happens at "pep rally vigils and celebrity protests," Jones concludes the reason is that "race still matters deeply in our courtrooms!" I would suggest that where race matters deeply is at pep rally vigils and celebrity protests, and what distinguishes the courtroom is that it is a place where the facts and the law, not the race of the participants, matter.

"This case is a perfect storm," says Xavier Donaldson, a defense attorney and former prosecutor in New York. "You have to look at the nature of the case and the racial, political and social economics of the defendant and accused. You have a young black kid, walking with a sweatshirt on and some guy, who wants to be a cop, assumes he's a criminal and shoots him dead." Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Evidently Mr. Donaldson has not been following the evidence at the trial. If the case were as he describes-Trayvon Martin walking along innocently and George Zimmerman, assuming he must be a criminal, shooting him dead for no apparent reason-then it would indeed be a mystery why pretty much everyone now expects Zimmerman to be acquitted. The scenario described by Donaldson does not remotely resemble the evidence that has been presented to the jury.

"Zimmerman had an image in his community as a good guy, who wanted to protect people. So he - and not Martin, the victim - has gotten the benefit of presumption of innocence. Normally, in murder cases that doesn't happen. People generally believe that if you've been arrested and charged that you must have done something wrong, but those lines are blurred here," says Donaldson.

Ms. Jones tells us that Donaldson is a lawyer, but that is hard to believe. The idea that there is something fishy about Zimmerman being accorded a presumption of innocence is profoundly ignorant. All criminal defendants-even white ones!-are entitled to that presumption. The presumption of innocence has nothing to do with victims of crimes. Further, it may be true that "People generally believe that if you've been arrested and charged that you must have done something wrong," but that is not how criminal juries are instructed. Juries are told to presume that the defendant is innocent, and that the prosecution is required to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Apparently Jones and Donaldson feel aggrieved that the Zimmerman trial has proceeded according to the usual norms, and that Zimmerman is not being railroaded into a conviction based on prejudice.

It seems Zimmerman, in part because he belonged to his neighborhood watch group, has been granted the status of a police officer.

I have no clue what that means. It is the prosecution, not the defense, that keeps talking about Zimmerman being a neighborhood watch guy and wanting to be a policeman. Police officers, like anyone else, are entitled to defend themselves.

He even has police officers testifying in his favor that Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin, told them that the voice screaming for help on the 911 call was "not his son" when he heard the tape for the first time. The father strongly denies he said those words to the police.

"Even!" So if Tracy Martin tells police officers one thing and then testifies the opposite in court, it is dirty pool to point out that he is contradicting himself? Or is Jones assuming that the police officers must by lying? And if so, why?

Normally, the prosecutor in a high-profile murder case puts forth evidence to prove the defendant's guilt and aggressively goes after any notion that suggests that the victim is at fault. The prosecution's goal is to do anything it can to convince a jury that the killer is a menace that needs to be taken off the street. That's how the battle is won in the courtroom.

Actually, of course, prosecutors are subject to all kinds of legal rules and standards. Subject to those norms, they do try hard to win their cases, like all other lawyers.

But in the trial of Zimmerman, the prosecution - Richard Mantei - appears to be lying low and taking too many punches. Could it be that Mantei himself buys into the theory that Zimmerman is some misunderstood a do-gooder in the community? It's just puzzling.

Maybe the solution to the puzzle is that the prosecutor has a lousy case that never should have been brought.

Words matter, as we have seen over the course of the trial. So when Mantei told the court before resting his case: "There are two people involved here. One of them is dead, and one of them is a liar," I was shocked.

This is a murder case. One person is dead, and the other person is a murderer. Those words more accurately describe the facts presented in the case. There is no question that Zimmerman killed Martin, so there's no reason to tiptoe around the words.

So this is the evidence that the prosecutor is pulling his punches: he called Zimmerman a liar! Jones thinks that it is more accurate to call Zimmerman a murderer, but it was not murder if he acted in self-defense, which is what the whole trial is about. Note that Jones never mentions that Zimmerman has claimed self-defense, let alone tries to show why that claim isn't true.

And that's exactly what is so troubling for myself and many others, especially in the black community. It has been all too easy an idea for people to entertain that Martin did something to cause his own murder. History tells us that in our nation's courtrooms and even outside of those walls, my son, your son, our sons still don't have the presumption of innocence, even when they are the victims of a murder.

Zimmerman says that Martin attacked him, knocked him to the ground, punched him in the face and banged his head into the pavement. Why is it "all too easy an idea for people to entertain" that what Zimmerman said could be true? It is consistent with the physical evidence and with the testimony of the only witness who saw any part of the altercation. And if Zimmerman isn't telling the truth, how did he get that bloody nose and those gashes on the back of his head? Jones attempts no explanation; nor, as far as I have seen, do any of the other commentators and activists who try to racialize the case.

No one knows yet how this trial will end. Donaldson feels it's too close to call until rebuttals are made and the case wraps up. "It could go either way," Donaldson says.

But I do know one thing: We should not have to wear a Trayvon T-shirt to an awards show or attend a pep rally to remind America that when an unarmed child is confronted and gunned down in the street by a grown man who's trained to kill, that's murder. End of story.

Well, it would be, but that obviously is not what happened in the George Zimmerman case. Martin, several inches taller than Zimmerman and a pot-smoking MMA aficionado, was no child. Zimmerman was a grown man, but that he was "trained to kill" is a fantasy. Most important, of course, Zimmerman didn't "gun down [Martin] in the street." The two men got into a fight. There is no clear evidence of how it started, apart from Zimmerman's statement that Martin jumped him. In any event, the "child" Martin clearly was getting the better of the fight; Zimmerman was beaten up, and Martin was unmarked. Zimmerman says that Martin was sitting on top of him and beating on him-which is what the only eyewitness describes, and what the physical evidence obviously suggests-and that he pulled his gun in self-defense because he was in fear of his life. If that scenario is correct, Zimmerman is innocent. How in the world can anyone write a column about the Zimmerman case without even trying to address any of the facts of the case?

Ms. Jones is aggrieved that the Zimmerman case is proceeding in the usual manner, with the defendant accorded the presumption of innocence to which he is constitutionally entitled, and the prosecution being required to prove its case. In Jones's view, this is all unfair because the case is "about race." But why? Suppose the races of the protagonists were reversed, so that an African-American shoots an unarmed "white Hispanic." In his defense, he claims that the "white Hispanic" jumped him, knocked him to the ground, pounded his face, and finally, in desperation, the African-American pulled a gun and shot the "white Hispanic" in self-defense. Would that case be about race? In that case, would the African-American defendant be entitled to a presumption of innocence, and would the government be required to prove his guilt? Or would the fact that the "white Hispanic" was unarmed mean that the African-American defendant should be railroaded? "End of story."

Efforts by activists and commentators like Ms. Jones to turn the Zimmerman case into a racial morality play are not just ignorant or misguided. They are deeply contemptible, and represent an attempt to undermine the legal process.

The Editors' Top Picks

  Nevada Man Sues Police for Commandeering His Home to Surveil Neighbor  A man and his family from suburban Las Vegas have sued local police for forcing them from their home in order to use it as a command center.
  Expanded Mental Health Recording Raises Privacy, Gun Control Issues  Expanding potential gun buyers' background checks to include those defined as "mentally defective" persons is raising privacy and gun control concerns.
  Obama Lobbies Reluctant Congress to Support Arming Syrian Rebels  Obama is lobbying a reluctant Congress to support arming the jihadist Syrian rebels, even after key committees rebuked his unpopular plan to send them aid.
  Latin American Nations Upset Over NSA Spying, U.S. Interference  Latin Americans are upset by a Brazilian newspaper report that the National Security Agency had collected military and security data on their nations.
  Japan Set to Join TPP as Secret Negotiations Continue in Malaysia  Negotiations will begin July 15 in Malaysia on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as Japan is set to join the 11 countries in the "free trade" area.
  Muslim Mobs Kill Egyptian Christians in Wake of Morsi Ouster  The killings of several Christians by Islamist mobs in Egypt have been tied to the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. 

This Year's Duke Lacrosse Case

Dear Fellow Conservative,

This week, instead of attacking a Hispanic senator, Marco Rubio, I will defend a Hispanic citizen, George Zimmerman, on trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman would make a better senator.)

It's becoming painfully obvious why no charges were brought against Zimmerman in this case -- until Al Sharpton got involved. All the eyewitness accounts, testimony, ballistics and forensics keep backing up Zimmerman. We should send a big, fat bill for the whole thing to Sharpton, courtesy of MSNBC.

Click Here to Read Full Article »

Sincerely,

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


Texas House Approves Abortion Regulation Bill

Congratulations to Texas conservatives for persevering in the face of demonstrations, death threats and left-wing media distortions. Last night the State House of Representatives passed a ban on late-term abortions.

Once again, the hatred of the left was on full display. Several sources reported that the protestors demanding a right to destroy a baby in the last weeks of pregnancy were chanting "f--- the church."

When State Senator Wendy Davis (D) launched her filibuster of this pro-life bill, several Planned Parenthood leaders and other liberals declared that the pro-choice "majority" was finally speaking up. They were desperately trying to reignite the "war on women." But they are delusional.

Americans overwhelmingly oppose late-term abortions. According to Gallup, just 27% support abortion in the second trimester and only 14% support abortion in the third trimester.

Normally Democrats are eager to impose regulations on businesses. But they vehemently oppose any effort to require facilities that destroy babies for profit, and occasionally kill women, to meet modern health standards.

I am grateful to Governor Rick Perry for not allowing an unruly mob to block this important legislation. And I want to give a shout-out to Texas State Senator Brian Birdwell (R).

Sen. Birdwell is a former member of my church in northern Virginia, and a brave survivor of grievous wounds from the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. CWF helped him win a special election to the Texas State Senate, and now he is helping to get this important pro-life legislation passed.


Hundreds Answer The Call

Every aborted baby is a tragedy. But it is a particular comment on our society that children with Down syndrome have become an "endangered species."

That reference may offend some, but how I wish children with Down syndrome had the same level of protection our government gives to endangered species! Sadly, the overwhelming majority of them are destroyed in the womb -- victims of a "search-and-destroy" mentality as George Will once put it.

Over the years, I have known many individuals who were born with Down syndrome, including a delightful young woman in my extended family. It has been my experience that, in spite of their various challenges, they are some of the happiest and most joyful people you will ever meet in your life. Those who raise them will face more difficulties, but they will also attest to great delights.

Some may ask, "How can you bring a child into the world who will suffer?" I would ask them to explain why suicide rates for individuals with Down syndrome are virtually zero.

Contrast that to the "beautiful people" in Hollywood. With all the money you could ever hope for, physical "perfection" and the adoration of our pop culture, so many of our "stars" routinely make headlines for their bad behavior, addictions and suicides.

Yes, there is a lot to lament about the state of our culture. But as Father Thomas Vander Woude discovered, there is also a vast reservoir of men and women of faith willing to step up and answer the call to help.

Father Vander Woude, of Gainesville, Virginia, recently encountered a young lady, five months into her pregnancy, whose child was diagnosed with Down syndrome. She was going to have an abortion.

He promised to help her find a family to adopt the baby if she would consider that option. But he had very little time to act as she lives in a state that bans abortions after six months of pregnancy.

He posted a message on his church's Facebook page asking interested families to immediately contact the church. The next day the church's phone rang "nearly nonstop." Calls even came in from Europe, and the church received more than 900 emails! Three families have been chosen and an adoption agency is now working with the young lady.


Kudos To Dr. Price

Several weeks ago, I suggested that House Republicans should propose legislation to keep the IRS out of our health care decisions. I'm pleased to report that Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), a doctor by profession, has introduced a bill -- just two pages long -- that will prevent the Treasury Department (which includes the IRS) from enforcing any provisions of Obamacare.


Hispanics Support Border Security

Once again proving that the Washington conventional wisdom is often wrong, there's new polling data finding that Hispanic voters overwhelmingly support strong border security legislation -- including tough triggers that were voted down by the Democrat Senate!


Stand With Israel

What is Obama thinking? Secretary of State John Kerry seemingly spends every waking hour trying to force Israel and the Palestinian Authority to the negotiating table. But even the New York Times is questioning the administration's priorities.

Thousands are dying in Syria. Egypt is in turmoil. Iran is marching toward an atomic bomb. And yet as the Times put it, Kerry is trying to bring peace to "tranquil Tel Aviv."

This is a good reminder that even the best plan to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians won't solve the myriad of problems bedeviling the Middle East. Israel is not the problem!

It's also a good reminder of why it is so important for supporters of Israel to make our voices heard. That's why I hope you will make every effort to join me later this month at the Christians United for Israel Washington Summit!

This year's Summit will include speeches from leading media personalities and public officials, as well as sessions on topics such as Islamic terrorism and the basics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I will be participating in a panel discussion about the central role Iran plays in the region's turmoil.

Summit attendees will also spend a day meeting with their elected officials on Capitol Hill making the case for our continued alliance with Israel.

I think it's so important for pro-Israel supporters to come to Washington now that I am making a special offer: I'll pay $100 towards the registration fee of the first 50 people who register. And I'll pay $50 towards the registration fee of the next 100 people who register!

Call 1-877-706-2834 or click here to register today! You must enter the promo code "Gary100" when you register online or reference this special offer over the phone.

I look forward to seeing you there!  

Florida counties brace for violence in Zimmerman case

WEDNESDAY CHRONICLE

A Cynical Government

The Foundation

"A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the objects of the government; secondly, a knowledge of the means, by which those objects can be best attained." --Joseph Story

Editorial Exegesis

"President Obama gave a speech Monday instructing Americans not to be so 'cynical' about government. This is not a setup for a punch line. He then explained that the major problem with government is that it does not run as efficiently as 'one of the most inclusive and most successful campaigns in American history.' His own. It was unclear if Mr. Obama was referring to his 2008 political operation or the 2012 reprise, but in any case he said he is developing a new 'management agenda' to deliver a 'smarter and more accountable' government, 'just like we did on that campaign.' Call us cynical, but is there an American outside of Washington nostalgic for the last election? ... Presidents always summon such initiatives that go nowhere when the polls show the public distrusts government, which is usually when it is largest and most activist, and no more so than the present moment. ... The President actually cited the Affordable Care Act as an example of his idea of more user-friendly government: People will be able to shop for insurance, he said, 'like you go online and compare the best deal on cars.' Yet the unfortunate government official charged with designing this online tool declared in March that his team had given up on creating 'a world-class user experience,' adding, 'Let's just make sure it's not a third-world experience.' ... Three years after passage, regulators still haven't written the Volcker Rule or other parts of Dodd-Frank financial re-regulation. The stimulus cost a lot but never did kickstart a real recovery. And where was 'smarter government' when Mr. Obama told his agencies to administer this year's 5% sequester cuts as painfully as possible so voters would force Congress to oppose any cuts? Americans might be less cynical about government if Mr. Obama's real preference wasn't for the government status quo, only much more of it." --The Wall Street Journal

Upright

"In the health insurance exchanges, the cheapest plans are going to have deductibles of $5,000 or more. And lots and lots of people are going to choose the cheapest plans. Avik Roy reports that employers are going for Health Savings Accounts ... in a big way. Bottom line: millions of patients are going to be buying care with their own money, rather than with a third-party payer's money. I'm sure this thought is causing heartburn for those on the left who view high deductible plans as 'under-insurance.' But this development is viewed as opportunity by health care entrepreneurs. One study is predicting that the number of walk-in clinics is going to double in the next few years. The Obama administration doesn't like them because they are not part of integrated care/coordinated care/medical homes/etc., etc., etc. Even so, they are doing what the ACOs are unlikely to do: lowering costs, increasing quality and improving access to care." --NCPA president John C. Goodman

"Democrats want 30 million new voters and they will say anything to get there: It's a crisis! Illegal immigrants are 'living in the shadows'! ... We're told, 'You don't know what it's like to live in the shadows!' Yes, you're right, and that proves it's not a crisis. Sorry to sound legalistic, illegal aliens, but you broke the law and ... you know you broke the law. You hid in the backs of trucks, traveled across remote desert locations, ran from U.S. agents and stole American IDs. It's supposed to be uncomfortable to break the law. We aren't required to grant amnesty to people just because they've put themselves in the awkward position of being here illegally. (Or because the Democrats need 30 million new voters.) If illegals were Republicans, Chuck Schumer would be a 'Minuteman,' patrolling the Mexican border 24-7." --columnist Ann Coulter

Read more:

Today's Headlines:  Wednesday, July 10, 2013

18 and Counting: Coveted Ambassador Posts Go to Obama Campaign Bundlers

Full Steam Ahead with Individual Mandate, As HHS Announces $150M to Enroll Uninsured Americans

Asked About Defunding Obamacare, House Republican Leader Stammers

Please support CNSNews.com to ensure you get THE TRUTH for a long time to come.

Conservative Coalition Calls for Legislation to Preserve Religious Freedom in Military

Video: Toy Gun Safety: 'School Place, Safe Place'

Democratic Officeholder Fraudulently Took $58K in Federal Disability Payments

Texas Aborts 21-Week or Older Unborn Babies at Rate of More Than One Per Day

U Penn 'Religious Studies' Prof: Having Abortion a 'Plus' for Female Politicians

Commerce Dept. Spent $2.7 Million to Fix Nonexistent Computer Virus

Now you can access all the latest breaking news from CNSNews.com on your smartphone. Check out our mobile website today!

Human Rights Abusers Eye Seats on U.N. Human Rights Council

UK's National Health Service Going Broke, British Docs Say It's Worse Than Communist China

Jimmy Carter Repeats: Catholic Ban on Female Priests Leads to Discrimination 
Del. Holmes Norton: When Texas Goes 'Full Blown' with Hispanics, GOP 'Not Long for This World'

COMMENTARY:

Obama's Violating Oath, Constitution in Implementing Obamacare
By Terence P. Jeffrey
Businesses do not have to comply with the Dec. 31 Obamacare deadline the president signed into law. You do.  Clearly, the Obama administration believes its bureaucratic dictates can overrule the law.

Reagan's Lieutenant Devine
By L. Brent Bozell III
Donald J. Devine was Ronald Reagan's pick to head the Office of Personnel Management and is today vice chair of the American Conservative Union. Reagan had a heckuva lieutenant in Don Devine. It is good to see him now mentoring the next generation of conservative leaders.

Let Them Starve: Gitmo Swindlers Strike Again
By Michelle Malkin
World Crisis Alert: Guantanamo Bay detainees don't want to eat. This latest round of hunger strikes isn't an international human rights tragedy. It's another manipulative act of Jihad Theater.

NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP:

House GOP considers vote to delay, not defund, individual mandate
House Republicans push to slash IRS budget by 24 percent, citing abuses
IRS chief Daniel Werfel pushes to kill employee bonuses
NY school district issues reading list riddled with errors, including 'Great Gypsy'
Abortionist Gosnell pleads guilty to federal 'pill mill' drug indictment
Sturm, Ruger & Co. picks North Carolina for new jobs
Ronald Reagan stars as children's book hero
It wasn't a heart attack, stroke or brain tumor for Teresa Heinz Kerry
Wal-Mart says it will scrap D.C. plans if city mandates 'living wage'
Boy Scouts alternative program will ask youths to be sexually pure
Canadian rail accident bolsters safety argument for Keystone oil pipeline
Second Denver Broncos exec arrested on DUI charges
Justice Department finds Miami Police used excessive force in shootings
Hundreds call to adopt Down syndrome baby, save it from abortion

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!

U.S. no longer #1 most obese country in world 

America has long prided itself on being the fattest nation on the planet. We love our fatty foods and our ability to pound down grotesque amounts of grub, but despite the best efforts of America's rotund (like Jeff Fisher) to keep us #1, we've been dethroned. So who's fatter? Find out HERE.

38% off American angus beef jerky sampler including red pepper, black pepper, Teriyaki and Original! Shop The Marketplace and save on a beef jerky sampler pack from Nebraska Star Beef.

Man in the Moon music

One of the most impressive aspects of Man in the Moon was the incredible soundtrack that accompanied the show. If this exact show was put on by any lefty in Hollywood, the soundtrack would undoubtedly be winning awards all over the place. Last night, the band from the pre-show stopped by the Glenn Beck Program. Check out a live performance HERE. 

Tyranny of Bureaucracy slowly destroying America

Buck Sexton guest hosted the Glenn Beck Program last night, and he presented a convincing case that shows just how America is destroying itself from within: tyranny of bureaucrats. Check out Buck's opening monologue, which includes a fascinating comparison between America today and the fall of the Roman Empire. WATCH

Calling all college students in the DFW area: Glenn wants YOU to be a part of his studio audience next week! Monday, July 15th and Tuesday, July 16th you can join guest host Dana Loesch for the Glenn Beck Program. If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and interested in attending, email tickets@theblaze.com for more details. See you next week!

Struggles continue for prosecution in George Zimmerman trial 

The defense in the George Zimmerman trial is expected to rest its case shortly, which leads to the question that has captured national attention for over a year now: Will Zimmerman walk? Should he walk? On radio this morning, Stu and Pat went through some of the facts in the case, and, unfortunately for the prosecution, it's not looking like there's much of a legal case. WATCH

Did you miss yesterday's newsletter? Catch up on what you missed HERE

Want up to the minute news & analysis from TheBlaze? Connect with us on social media. FOLLOW TheBlaze on Twitter and LIKE TheBlaze on Facebook to get the latest news updates directly in your newsfeed. 

Culture of Death: Left lionizes Wendy Davis  

The abortion debate continues to rage in Texas despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose late-term abortions. The left has really exposed itself as a 'culture of death' by celebrating State Senator Wendy Davis, whose major life accomplishment is the orchestration of an 11-hour filibuster condoning the murder of unborn babies. Get the latest from Texas HERE.

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: Guest host Erick Stakelbeck takes a deeper look into Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the emerging chaos.
• 6pm ET - Real News: Is there a difference between a whistleblower and a traitor? The panel discusses.
• 7pm ET - Wilkow!: The president of the Heritage Foundation, Jim DeMint, joins Andrew to discuss the economics of immigration reform.