From the Right Radio

Battle Lines Drawn: Patriot Volunteers Needed

Syndicate — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:34:41 +0000

Last night I watched the movie “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin and Heath Ledger as his son Gabriel. If you haven’t seen it, the movie is about a man at the beginning of the Revolutionary War who just wants to mind his own business and stay out of the fighting. He had [...]

Larwyn’s Linx: A Tale of Two Republican Parties

Syndicate — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:24:00 +0000

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

QOTD: "To argue and debate about how Romney will perform in the White House (or to opine on how fine a man he is, which is true - but so what?) is to completely miss the only point that matters in 2012, which is denying Obama four more years to administer the coup de grace to the US." --NRO Commenter LKS

Mitt Romney Needs to Flip-Flop

Syndicate — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:56:58 +0000

Many conservatives, including me, have been none too kind and understanding this primary season of Mitt Romney’s many “policy changes” over the years. The former Governor of Massachusetts has, for all intents and purposes, taken both sides on nearly every major political issue in the past two decades. He has been staunchly pro-choice, now firmly [...]

Our First Post-Post-Racial President

Syndicate — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:09:00 +0000

Oh, this just takes the cake.

I remember well the "Crackers for McCain" web page.

Someday soon, I hope, we will have a president that doesn't divide Americans by race, color, religion, income, or other arbitrary segments in order to pander to them.

A president who takes to heart the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

In other words, a president who believes in the unique value of each and every individual, in each and every American.

Hat tip: JTT.

The Three Most Important Action Items For The Next President

Syndicate — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:28:00 +0000

By Ken Blackwell, Contributing Author: The first thing the next President must do is return America to sustainable economic prosperity. This begins with four actions: two to balance revenue with spending and two to unleash America’s potential. He should initiate a national campaign for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, capping federal spending at 18% of GDP.

Second, he should call for fundamental tax reform via a flat tax with generous exemptions for adults and children in the home and only two to three deductions.

Third, on his first day, he should sign dozens of Executive Orders repealing unhelpful regulations imposed during the past four years, from carbon emissions to health care to finance.

And fourth, he should launch a policy for national energy independence, beginning on his first day by approving the Keystone pipeline and opening certain federal lands to responsible oil and gas development and proposing legislation for an “all of the above” approach, with clean coal, oil, gas, nuclear and renewable energy.

The second thing the President must do is tackle the greatest short-term threat to national security by addressing the Middle East. He must begin a comprehensive review of the multilayered, interrelated issues that make the Middle East a Gordian knot. The three essential elements of any strategy must be:

1) that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be allowed under any circumstances;

2) that America resolutely stands by and for a fully defensible Israel;

3) the development of a proactive and coherent policy regarding the Arab Spring.

The third thing the President must do is nominate the right people to the federal judiciary, especially the Supreme Court. On his first day, he must start vetting candidates for every current vacancy on the 13 federal appellate courts and immediately begin developing a short list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court. The President must make unmistakably clear that seeing these nominees confirmed is a nonnegotiable priority and that the growing obstructionism of the past quarter-century — and especially the past decade — must end.

The courts concern all areas of national policy, beyond being of paramount importance for the social issues of abortion, marriage, religious liberty and gun rights. The courts play an increasingly central role in economic and security issues. He must declare originalism to be the official approach to interpreting the Constitution in accordance with the original meaning of its text and nominate judges who will faithful apply originalism on the bench.
---------------
J. Ken Blackwell is a conservative family values advocate. Blackwell is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council. He is the co-author of the new bestseller: The Blueprint: Obama’s Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency. He is a National Federation of Republican Assemblies board member and a contributing author to the ARRA News Service. Blackwell's article was also published on Time Ideas

Tags: Ken Blackwell, important action items, next President, economic prosperity, fundamental tax reform, flat tax, repeal regulations, national energy policy, energy independence, treat to national security, federal judges, originalism, US Constitution, conservative, elections, politics To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama expands foreign worker visas despite Jennifer’s plea

Syndicate — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:24:00 +0000

Chris Chmielenski, NumbersUSA: There's been much talk about Jennifer Wedel's question to Pres. Obama during an online Town Hall event earlier this week. But unfortunately, most of the focus has been on Jennifer's particular situation rather than the President's call for more foreign workers while 22 million Americans can't find a full-time job.

Yes, the President offered to disseminate Jennifer's husband's resume (he's an unemployed engineer), but at the same time, he's turning his back on the rest of unemployed Americans by continuing to import 125,000 new foreign workers each month.

And to make matters worse, a day after the President's Town Hall, his Administration announced a plan to issue more work visas without Congressional approval.

In two weeks (Feb. 20-24), the House will break for a district work week. While Members are back in their home districts and states, all 535 Members of the House and Senate should be confronted the same way Jennifer Wedel confronted Pres. Obama. If you have a relative, friend, or neighbor who has lost a job during the jobs recession, please tell your story to your Members of Congress and ask them why the government continues to bring in foreign workers with high unemployment.

Tags: NumbersUSA, Jennifer,foreign workers, visa, Barack Obama, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Dear pro journalists: if the economy is improving…

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:43:00 +0000

...then perhaps you could explain:

If the economy is getting better, then why did new home sales in the United States hit a brand new all-time record low during 2011?

If the economy is getting better, then why are there 6 million less jobs in America today than there were before the recession started?

If the economy is getting better, then why is the average duration of unemployment in this country close to an all-time record high?

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of homeless female veterans more than doubled?

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of Americans on food stamps increased by 3 million since this time last year and by more than 14 million since Barack Obama entered the White House?

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of children living in poverty in America risen for four years in a row?

If the economy is getting better, then why is the percentage of Americans living in "extreme poverty" at an all-time high?

If the economy is getting better, then why is the Federal Housing Administration on the verge of a financial collapse?

If the economy is getting better, then why do only 23 percent of American companies plan to hire more employees in 2012?

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of self-employed Americans fallen by more than 2 million since 2006?

If the economy is getting better, then why did an all-time record low percentage of U.S. teens have a job last summer?

If the economy is getting better, then why does median household income keep declining? Overall, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% since December 2007 once you account for inflation.

If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of Americans living below the poverty line increased by 10 million since 2006?

If the economy is getting better, then why is the average age of a vehicle in America now sitting at an all-time high?

If the economy is getting better, then why are 18 percent of all homes in the state of Florida currently sitting vacant?

If the economy is getting better, then why are 19 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 living with their parents?

If the economy is getting better, then why does the number of "long-term unemployed workers" stay so high? When Barack Obama first took office, the number of "long-term unemployed workers" in the United States was approximately 2.6 million. Today, that number is sitting at 5.6 million.

But there is some good news.

When Barack Obama first took office, an ounce of gold was going for about $850. Today, the price of an ounce of gold is over $1700.

The era of great prosperity that America has enjoyed for so long is coming to an end.

In fact, our long-term economic decline is about to accelerate.

So enjoy this "bubble of hope" while you can, because it won't last long.

As I have written about previously, many are warning that Europe is on the verge of a nightmarish financial crisis that could potentially plunge us into a global recession even worse than 2008.

So let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst.

Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that the economy isn't recovering in any meaningful way. Which excludes drones and legacy media.

Hat tip: Wolf Howling.

Obama’s Abuse of FEMA Declarations

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:13:00 +0000

Rob Bluey: President Obama has used his executive power in many ways to expand the role of government. But there’s one area that stands out: Obama’s frequent and repeated use of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue emergency and disaster declarations.

Heritage’s Matt Mayer reports that Obama “eviscerated the record books by issuing 243 declarations in 2011,” continuing an alarming pattern that begin under President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. Mayer says FEMA has become a “political pork-barrel spending agency.”

The trend is illustrated in this week’s chart, which portrays the use of major disaster declarations, emergency declarations, and fire management assistance declarations. The data dates back to the Eisenhower administration in 1953.
Obama is averaging 153 declarations per year. Bush comes in second with an eight-year average of 129.6.

Mayer says it’s time to end the federalization of disasters. He wants Congress to clarify which disasters meet federal requirements, reduce the cost-sharing provision for all FEMA declarations, and overhaul existing FEMA processes and procedures.

Tags: Bill Clinton, Chart of the Week, disaster declarations, disasters, emergency declarations, executive power, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA Declarations, George W. Bush, President Obama To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Flashback: New York Giants alumni speak out against abortion

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:54:42 +0000

Categories: Politics

Long before Tebowing arrived on the NFL scene, there was ...

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Alaskan Fishing Lodge Sign o’ the Day

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Hat tip: Wanda.

Warmal Colding strikes Europe: record cold snap kills hundreds; thousands trapped by "heaviest snow… ever recorded"

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:26:00 +0000

Al Gore hardest hit.

Bosnian authorities on Sunday used helicopters to evacuate sick people and deliver food to thousands of people who have been cut off by the heaviest snow the country has ever recorded... Across Eastern Europe thousands of people were digging themselves out from heavy snow that followed a weeklong cold snap that has killed hundreds.

More than 100 remote Bosnian villages are cut off by snow over 6 1/2 feet high in the mountains. More than three feet has fallen in the capital Sarajevo, where a state of emergency has been declared...

London's Heathrow Airport—Europe's busiest—canceled a third of Sunday's flights and warned of delays amid heavy fog.

...Rome is struggling under its first heavy snowfall in 26 years, and snow has also fallen on Spain's Balearic islands in the Mediterranean... Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday said the snowfall was beautiful, but he is wishing spring will come soon.

Please take note of the reaction of the global warming cult to news stories like these. When record cold temperatures savage the planet -- which some scientists believe herald the onset of a new ice age -- they screech that "weather isn't climate".

But when temperatures hit 100° in Manhattan during the month of July, they're the first to shriek about "evidence" of warmal colding.

How stupid do they think we are? Stupid enough to think that they can continue to pull off the United Nations' latest multi-billion dollar scam, courtesy of corrupt scientists seeking grant money and the Marxist left, who desperately want to regulate the economies of the West through cap-and-trade.

Tonight on the Dark Side with Kira Davis

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:48:31 +0000

2/5/2012 Tonight on the Dark Side with Kira Davis – Breasts, wombs, choices and life…we’ll talk about this past week’s insanity involving Planned Parenthood, the Komen foundation and the Obama regime forcing Catholics to violate their religion. Also, the uplifting story of a teacher who molested his students and gets rewarded with a big fat [...]

Super Bowl XLVI: Patriots vs Giants Open Thread

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:01:16 +0000

Categories: Politics

It’s Super Bowl Sunday where the Giants face the Patriots ...

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Face the Nation: Rudy Giuliani on GOP race

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:30:24 +0000

Categories: Politics

I get the feeling throughout this interview that Giuliani is ...

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Newt Gingrich: How Romney won "should sober every Republican in the country"

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:11:00 +0000

PJMedia's Tatler characterized Newt Gingrich's concessionary press conference in Nevada last night as "odd". I just watched it and don't agree. In fact, I thought one particular interrogatory was especially insightful (hat tip to Biff Spackle for the transcript):

Question: Mr. Speaker, have you considered that voters just aren't buying what you're selling? You've been on the ballot now in five states and you've won one, but you've lost four. And you also talk about debates, but you've had 18 of them and generally you've been considered to have done well in them, but still that hasn't shown up in the polls?

Gingrich: I'm not going to defend the outcome in a state where I was outspent five to one. And I'd suggest you're sophisticated enough to understand that the idea that taking a state where the other guy spent five times as much money, and many of his ads were false as by both the Wall Street Journal and National Review, that maybe that's not a very accurate measure.

When it was an entirely positive campaign, up through mid-December, I was ahead by 12 points in Gallup. And this may happen again. I was actually ahead in Gallup a week ago. So I think in a few more weeks, I'll be ahead in Gallup again.

Question: But is that just ignoring the reality of the campaign? He has gone negative, it's working...

Gingrich: So the "reality of the campaign", to use your words, is that he has gone negative and it is working. And what I am asserting to you is that, over time, I don't believe the American people will approve of a campaign which actually suppresses turnout.

I think it's amazing that if you look in Florida, every county that I carried in Florida had an increased turnout; every county that Romney carried in Florida had a decreased turnout. Now that should sober every Republican in the country.

If the only way Romney wins is suppressing turnout, how's he going to do that in the fall?

If the only way he wins is outspending someone five-to-one, how's that going to apply to a campaign against Obama, who's going to outspend him?

Those are damned good questions.

The Battle of the Humorists: Bill Maher Vs. Andrew Klavan

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:08:44 +0000

The other day comedian Bill Maher showed his lack of class and originality yet again by attacking the religious worldview of presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In a skit on his show Real Time Maher mocked Romney’s Mormonism by “unbabtising” Romney’s dead father-in-law, an avowed atheist in life. A link to the video is included below. [...]

Romney takes Nevada by a landslide

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:25:57 +0000

With 71% of precincts reporting, the results of the Nevada Republican Caucus are in – Romney by a huge margin. The numbers show Mitt Romney very close to taking a majority – a sign that the right is solidifying around a single candidate in order to defeat President Obama in the 2012 general election. Romney [...]

Larwyn’s Linx: Romney tries to cut off Newt’s SuperPAC funding

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:28:00 +0000

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

GOP Primary

Romney tries to cut off Newt’s SuperPAC funding: LI
Gingrich challenging the Florida delegate allocation?: RWN
Rasmussen: Santorum Leads Obama by 1 Point: WS

Nevada caucuses: Romney scores easy win: Politico
Newt gets conservative argument on poverty: GayPat
Romney: Obama should apologize to America: Breitbart

Nation

The Real Vote-Buying Scandal: TigerHawk
Scott Walker supporters: write Walker's name in: Althouse
State GOP Establishments Attack Their Base: Blumer

What Does It Take for a Politician to be Excommunicated?: ConCom
Rubio Gives Greatest Pro-Life Speech in a Generation: Ricochet
TSA Agent Caught Stealing $5K from Passenger at JFK: NewAm

Ginsburg to Egypt: Don't use US Constitution as a Model: AmSpec
The Perversion of the Words of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Erickson
Bloomberg tries to ban churches from using schools off-hours: WK

Economy

Obama’s failed promises: Nevada edition: RS
It’s Not (Only) the Economy ... and We’re Not Stupid: Kristol
Occupy Oakland–Your Weekend Mugshotspalooza!: Tammy Bruce

Good news: Schools teaching communism superior to capitalism: AllAm
Is this the teacher who handed out Pro Communism Cartoons?: Blaze
Obama Hangs Out with the DC 1% Donors Behind Closed Doors: ScMon

What is Romney's vision and what does it mean?: Howling
Democrat Senate Ignoring 30 Separate Jobs Bills: Breitbart
Juncker Warns Of Greek Default As Europe's Patience Wears Thin: ZH

Scandal Central

Obama can stop Holder's Fast and Furious cover-up today: Exam
Boehner mum on Holder as ‘Fast and Furious’ investigation gathers momentum: DC
Attorney General Eric Holder Disgusted by Personal Attacks at Fast and Furious Hearing: ABC

Allen West: Obama's Jerking Us Around With Falsified Unemployment Numbers: Ace
Amid contempt threats, White House gives up more Solyndra docs: Hill
Issa: DOJ Only Passed Along 8% of 80,000 Pages of Documents to Oversight: NoisyRm

Climate & Energy

Canadian Punch In the Kisser: Mead
In support of Dr. Michael Mann and open debate: Watts
Beijing’s South China Sea Gamble: Diplomat

Media

Rasmussen: Obama job approval among uncommitted voters at 20%; Update: Obama 44, Santorum … 45?: Hot Air
Surprise: NYT Smears Gingrich: AmSpec
Peter Schweizer Reacts to the STOCK Act Passing in the Senate: C4P

Mark Steyn: the Liberal Enforcers: Ace
The Wrath of the Abortion Movement Unleashed on Komen: AT
Has-Been Leftist Barbra Streisand: 'Barack Obama Has Not Put Anyone on Food Stamps': NB

World

Massive Anti-Putin Rally in Moscow: VS
The Upcoming Papal Visit to Cuba: Babalu
Russia and China veto resolution on Syria at UN: BBC

As Norwegian as the King: Gates of Vienna
Iranian warships dock at Saudi port: Breitbart
Snuffed Out: JihadWatch

Another Pallywood hoax exposed, again: LI
Russian scientists eye mission to moon this decade: Fox
Protests grip Cairo as pressure mounts for early vote: Reuters

Sci-Tech

Facebook 'makes it harder for brands to advertise for free': Telegraph
Hide From Google: Wired
Second Screen Experience for the Super Bowl Commercials: Wired

Cornucopia

Controversial Artist Depicts Obama Trampling The Constitution: CBS Las Vegas
Super Bowl Video Find: Only Chevy Silverados Survive Apocalypse; Aliens Wowed by Volt Tech: Motor Trend
Ravens’ Matt Birk & Terrell Suggs Honored For Outstanding Achievement: CBS Baltimore

Image: American Digest
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "In that Obama has rendered no act of contrition or repentance, and is at the moment, at liberty in the land, we do, here and now, separate him from the precious body and blood of Christ, and from the society of all Christians. We exclude him from our Holy Mother Church and all her sacraments, in heaven, or on Earth. We declare him excommunicate and anathema. We cast him into the outer darkness. We judge him damned with the devil and his fallen angels and all the reprobate, to eternal fire and everlasting pain!" --Vanderleun

Three-Dollar-Bill Obama

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:10:54 +0000

Way back in the early days of America, there were a wide assortment of traveling salesmen roaming from town to town selling everything from pots and pans to “magic elixir” guaranteed to cure everything from warts to polio. These unscrupulous traveling elixir peddlers became known by several terms, the most popular of which referred to [...]

A naive and unarmed populace

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:39:33 +0000

This will be short, sweet and to the point.. most Americans don’t understand why citizens own guns, should own guns or even why the constitution protects the right to do so. Don’t yell at me – I have an armory and believe that every good American citizen should, but the excerpt I am about to [...]

Coulter: Tea Party are hypocrites if they vote for Newt

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:56:15 +0000

Categories: Politics

Ann Coulter, the columnist who just defended RomneyCare, told Bret ...

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Allen West: reports of huge drop in black unemployment last month kind of like reports that FLOTUS grows her own vegetables in White House garden

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:35:00 +0000

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week that black unemployment dropped last week by a stunning 2.2% and that Santa Claus is hiring more elves this year than last. So things are really looking up for the economy.

In response to news that the overall unemployment rate had dropped to 8.3 percent and the unemployment rate in the black community declined from 15.8 percent to 13.6 percent, [Allen] West floated the possibility that the numbers might have been cooked.

"Can someone tell me how employment in the black community has improved at a rate three times the national average in just a few months?? With numbers like today, urban communities should be well on their way to economic recovery then! There is something suspicious about the job numbers released today and it has me very concerned," West wondered Friday. "Is this dramatic supposed decrease in black unemployment a result of job creation or is someone playing around with the census numbers??"

Economists reached by The Hill for comment couldn't fully explain the unemployment rate change for the black community. William Darity, a professor of public policy at Duke University specializing in African-American studies and economics, wrote in an email to The Hill that the decline could have been due to a smaller labor force. He called the drop an "unbelievably dramatic drop" but didn't rule out the possibility of someone tampering with the numbers; he said there was no evidence one way or the other... "...a one month drop in the black unemployment rate from 15.8% to 13.6% strikes me as somewhat unprecedented."

President Obama hailed the January unemployment news as a sign that the economy is growing stronger.

No, seriously, he really said that, though he somehow neglected to mention that the Bureau of Labor Statistics had to disappear 1.2 million Americans from the labor force to 'reduce' the unemployment rate.

Hat tips: Ace o' Spades and BadBlue.

The “progressive” War on Christianity

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:20:14 +0000

This past week, Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced a decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood. Their decision was based on the fact that to a large measure, the business of Planned Parenthood is abortion. A determination substantiated by a statistical analysis of Planned Parenthood’s services. http://liveaction.org/blog/38-4-of-pp-health-center-income-is-from-abortions/ Planned Parenthood continues to insist that they [...]

Romney Wins Nevada Republican Caucus

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:15:00 +0000

Pix by Bill Smith: Romney Wins Nevada

This article has been updated as new results were reported and candidates took to the podium.:
Mitt Romney took the stage and directly focused on President Barack Obama and the needs for America in a positive way. He said, "Mr. president, America has had enough of your kind of help." Said, the President should be "apologizing to the American people." Winning the 2012 election is "more than defeating this president. It is about saving the soul of America. And restoring the founding principles that made America great."

Newt Gingrich said he "Will go to Tampa." For 22 minutes, Newt Gingrich was negative and even called Romney a liar. He focused on Romney not Obama. Gingrich in his early comments tried to again link Romney to George Soros based on comments by Soros about Romney and not based on any actual relationship. Gingrich then blamed the republican establishment for closing ranks and not supporting him. In answer to a question, Gingrich said that he doesn't believe he can win by being positive - he said he has to go negative because of Romney. He also said everything is based on the amount spent. He also said Romney also won because of the Mormon vote. Interesting since only 10% of the voters in Nevada are Mormon. What happened to Reagan's eleventh commandment?
-----------
Mitt Romney was declared the winner of the Nevada Republican caucuses. The victory was declared early by the press based on polling and early returns showing Romney with significant leads. As of 9:15 pm CST, Romney 42%, Gingrich 25% Raul 20% and Santorum 13%. Nevada will award its 28 delegates in proportion to the caucus vote totals. Any candidate with at least 3.57% of the total number of ballots cast would receive delegates. As of 9:15 am CST with 71% reporting: Romney 48%, Gingrich 23% Raul 19% and Santorum 11%.

What is next! Feb 7: Minnesota and Colorado and a non-binding primary in Missouri (Missouri later has a binding caucuses).
Feb 11: Maine caucuses end.
Feb 28: Michigan and Arizona primary.

Tags: Nevada, Republican candidates, caucuses, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Reprehensible! Libtalker Malloy: Komen VP would execute all Jews and Muslims

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:06:19 +0000

Categories: Politics

This has got to be one of the most horrible ...

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Observations from the Sheriff’s stoop

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:28:40 +0000

Categories: Politics

With the primary season in full swing I am sure ...

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MUST WATCH – Marco Rubio gives amazing pro-life address

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:09:37 +0000

Categories: Politics

There is no doubt that Marco Rubio is an exceptional ...

(Read more...)

Fewer Americans Working Today (Than A Decade Ago)

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:17:00 +0000

Fewer total Americans work today than they did in 2001 and in 2009:

America’s overall labor force rate continues to fall, down to 63.7 percent in January, 2012:

Explaining Obama’s Fake Job Numbers - Conservative Byte shared Rush Limbaugh explanation on the job numbers:

Don’t ask me about seasonal adjustment. I’ve been trying to figure this out all morning, and I can’t. But the raw numbers, 130 million jobs in December, 128 million jobs in January, give or take a couple hundred thousand either side. But when the seasonal adjustments take place, there is a gain of 200, whatever they’re reporting, 33,000 jobs. Now, what’s happening is the labor force is shrinking. There are fewer jobs. Even the Drive-Bys, so excited, they can’t wait to report the good news, but even they are reporting that the labor force participation rate, number of jobs out there, is continuing to dwindle, and most of the jobs being created are low wage.

But none of that’s gonna matter. None of it’s gonna matter. I don’t want to be an “I told you so,” but way back last year, even recently toward the end of last year, this being an election year, I predicted. But you knew. You knew what was gonna happen when this year started. You knew that the statistics are that no president has ever been reelected when the unemployment rate’s over 8%. So guess what it’s gonna be by the time we get to Election Day? It’s just that simple.

I’m trying to get to the bottom of this, this seasonal adjustment business. Stick with me on this, folks. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics: “What is seasonal adjustment? Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that attempts to measure and remove the influences of predictable seasonal patterns to reveal how employment and unemployment change from month to month. Over the course of a year, the size of the labor force, the levels of employment and unemployment, and other measures of labor market activity undergo fluctuations due to seasonal events including changes in weather, harvests, major holidays, and school schedules. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by seasonally adjusting the statistics from month to month.”

So seasonal adjustment includes adjustment for the size of the labor force. I didn’t know that. Seasonal adjustment is not just what the guess is about the number of jobs from month to month. It also includes adjustment for the size of the labor force. And that’s how they’re able to play games with the labor force participation rate. So that might account for a big chunk of the difference here. One-point-two million — and this is their number — from December to January, 1.2 million people left the workforce, just left it. That’s the labor force participation rate, and they left. That’s half the number, or half the difference right there. If you take the number 132.9 jobs in December, 130.4 million in January, that’s 2.5 million fewer jobs, 1.2 million, about half of that that they just threw out in a seasonal adjustment of people that left the workforce.

I don’t know how they get the 1.2 million. They say it’s statistical. But what they did is reduce the overall number of jobs possible by 1.2 million. So fewer jobs is gonna bring down the unemployment rate because… If the labor force were what it is, or what it was when Obama was inaugurated 2009, the unemployment rate would be close to 10%. It’s only 8.3 because they have used seasonal adjustment to just say that last month, 1.2 million people gone from the workforce. No jobs anymore.

So the Bureau of Labor Statistics looks at the loss of 2.5 million jobs, and they say, “Well, we think 1.2 million have just decided to give up looking for work so we won’t count half of them, just to make things more accurate.” And even with that major cheat, that still leaves more than a million-and-a-half lost jobs unaccounted for. Fewer people looking for jobs brings down the jobless rate. In this case, not more people finding jobs brings down the jobless rate. Fewer people looking for jobs is what’s bringing the unemployment rate down. There isn’t job creation going on. Not to the tune the regime wants you to believe it. It just isn’t happening.

Tags: American jobs, unemployment, job numbers, BLS, charts, opinion, Rush Limbaugh To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Sure, Why Not? Congress "Calls for Accelerated Use of Drones in U.S."

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:56:00 +0000

I don't see how anything could possibly go wrong with this.

A House-Senate conference report this week called on the Administration to accelerate the use of civilian unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or “drones,” in U.S. airspace.

The pending authorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration directs the Secretary of Transporation to develop within nine months “a comprehensive plan to safely accelerate the integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system.”

...[It also calls for tests] in cooperation with NASA and the Department of Defense, expanded use of UAS in the Arctic region, development of guidance for the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems, and new safety research to assess the risk of “catastrophic failure of the unmanned aircraft that would endanger other aircraft in the national airspace system.”

The Department of Defense is pursuing its own domestic UAS activities for training purposes and “domestic operations,” according to a 2007 DoD-FAA memorandum of agreement. (“Army Foresees Expanded Use of Drones in U.S. Airspace,” Secrecy News, January 19, 2012.)

Because drones are necessary to ensure citizens are driving the right electric cars, using the right light bulbs and bathing with legal shower heads.

The circle of liberty grows ever smaller around us, my friends.

2012: Nevada Caucus open thread

Syndicate — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:36:33 +0000

Categories: Politics

The Nevada caucuses should finish up around 10PM ET as ...

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2004: Romney signs off on permanent assault weapons ban

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:22:23 +0000

Categories: Politics

Andrew Kaczynski dug up this Romney press release today from ...

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Tim Tebow refuses to condemn his haters

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:58:50 +0000

Categories: Politics

On the lighter side of life this weekend, Tim Tebow ...

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Newt Gingrich to hold press conference tonight

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:50:51 +0000

Categories: Politics

National Journal reports that Newt will hold a press conference ...

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Taxes in Jesus Name

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:40:00 +0000

by A.F. "Tony" Branco:

Tags: Barack Obama, taxing Christians, Christian Church Catholics, Tony Branco, political cartoon To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Gallup: More States Move to GOP in 2011

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:14:00 +0000

by Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup Politcs: Democrats have lost their solid political party affiliation advantage in 18 states since 2008, while Republicans have gained a solid advantage in 6 states. A total of 17 states were either solidly Republican or leaning Republican in their residents' party affiliation in 2011, up from 10 in 2010 and 5 in 2008. Meanwhile, 19 states including the District of Columbia showed a solid or leaning Democratic orientation, down from 23 in 2010 and 36 in 2008. The remaining 15 states were relatively balanced politically, with neither party having a clear advantage. . . . [Read More]

Tags: Gallup, States, GOP, Leaning Republican, leaning democrat To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Galen Institute: Romney simply isn’t credible on repealing ObamaCare

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:00:57 +0000

Categories: Politics

Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute says that for ...

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Charlie White – Guilty

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:10:53 +0000

As most of us slept, Charlie White was in court where the jury delivered their verdict. At a little after 2:00 AM the Secretary of State was found guilty on six of the seven charges against him. The six charges in which he was found guilty, all of which are Class D felonies, were three counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury, and one count of theft. He was acquitted on a charge of fraud on a financial institution. White faces a sentence of six months to three years in prison per charge. White plans to ask the judge to reduce the convictions to misdemeanors at sentencing. By having the convictions reduced to misdemeanors he could possibly retain his position as Secretary of State. If the felonies are upheld, he will be out of office.

Governor Daniels made an interim appointment to replace White. Jerry Bonnet, White’s chief deputy, will now be the acting Secretary of State. Daniels did not make the appointment permanent in case White’s convictions are reduced, and he is allowed to retain office. If the felony convictions are upheld, then Daniels stated he will make a permanent appointment quickly.

The details of this case of been highlighted repeatedly for several months. To borrow a line from Facebook, to say “it’s complicated” would be an understatement with this case. The question at the core of this debate is, Where did Charlie White live and when? He stated he lived at his ex-wife’s house in Fishers when he voted in 2010, but the jury declared his actual address was a townhouse that he owned on the other side of town. This was the basis for the guilty verdict on six charges.

This whole ordeal has been a mess. While I can commend White for defending himself when he believed he was innocent, the facts are he violated the law. The right thing to do would have been for White to resign when the allegations first surfaced. Unfortunately, we can’t go back in time. White will now face sentencing where he could face jail time if the convictions are upheld as felonies. If they are lowered to misdemeanors he would likely escape jail time and possibly retain office.

Susan G. Komen, Planned Parenthood, The Stir, and The Mark Davis Show

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:54:48 +0000

Holy Cow. What a crazy busy couple of days it’s been. I’m in Vegas for the Nevada caucuses, and as per usual, this work trip is like vacation, since I only have to wear one hat. Which is why I’m just now writing up a post on how it went on The Mark Davis Show yesterday morning.

On Wednesday, I wrote an article for The Stir in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure pulling their funding from Planned Parenthood. I expected some nasty comments, but was unprepared for the level of hate I received over it.

I got called a whole host of nasty things, but the general theme was, “Jenny is a f*cking liar spreading hate speech with her disgusting anti-choice lies.”

Whoa. What did I say that could induce such vitriol?

Besides, Planned Parenthood doesn’t even offer mammograms, which are the surest way to detect early signs of cancer. How much money do they need to be able to tell a patient, “Yup, that feels like a lump — here’s the number for a place that can actually help you”?

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood pushes abortions, lies about fetal development, and gives advice to pimps on how to set up brothels full of underage sex slaves. Think abortion accounts for only 3 percent of their services provided? Think again.

All backed up with links. But of course, those links don’t count, because they take you to sights like LifeNews.com, or even my own blog, to a guest post from a friend about her personal experience with post-abortion syndrome.

So apparently that friend is lying about her personal experience and emotions. Um, ok.

These are people that probably think Media Matters for America is a credible news source. I could link them to a list of articles on Big Journalism detailing what a shady organization MMFA is, but since it’s Big Journalism, I’d probably just be spreading more vicious lies.

After the first 200 (there are currently 300+) comments, I started mentioning it on Twitter, and some of my friends jumped to my defense. Ben Howe went to town in the comments, politely and firmly defending me, the truth, and life. Jason Whitman wrote an article featuring the piece. Susan Cloud rallied the troops on Twitter, and booked me on The Mark Davis Show to talk about it.

So Mark and I chatted about it, and of course it was totally fun doing a radio hit, even if the subject matter wasn’t so pleasant. Click here to listen: Jenny on The Mark Davis Show 2/3/2012

While I was on the air, news broke that Komen reversed their decision, and would continue to fund Planned Parenthood. That made me so mad, I could spit nails. Did they bow to the nasty pressure exerted by the far liberal left, or was it their intention all along to get a boost in donations?

Later, Komen board member John Raffaelli told Greg Sargent from the Washington Post that nothing is set in stone:

“It would be highly unfair to ask us to commit to any organization that doesn’t go through a grant process that shows that the money we raise is used to carry out our mission,” Raffaelli said. “We’re a humanitarian organization. We have a mission. Tell me you can help carry out our mission and we will sit down at the table.”

So now maybe Komen won’t continue funding in the future? What side of the fence are you on, Komen? Stop yanking us around. You guys can spend your funds as you see fit, and we can choose whether or not to donate to you based on the organizations you support. You’re not making anyone happy trying to straddle both sides of the fence.

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West Virginia Sheriff, Clerk Snared in Vote Fraud Investigation

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:43:08 +0000

A Lincoln County, West Virginia Sheriff and Clerk are to plead guilty to charges of vote fraud in the 2010 Democrat primary after the pair were arrested during an election fraud investigation conducted by state and federal authorities.

Sheriff Jerry Bowman and Clerk Donald Whitten were caught in a scheme to file fraudulent absentee ballots in an effort to get Whitten elected Circuit Clerk. Whitten will also pled guilty to lying to an FBI agent hired by WV Secretary of State Natalie Tennant to investigate the false absentee ballots.

Sheriff Bowman, who is at the tail end of a second term and is term-limited from running again, conspired with Whitten and a thus far unidentified candidate for county commissioner to help Whitten win a close election with the fraudulent absentee ballot scheme.

“The Candidates further agreed that they would complete absentee ballot applications for voters,” the agreement documents said. “The Candidates also agreed that on those applications they would state certain reasons that voters were legally eligible to vote absentee, regardless of whether those reasons were true.”

In 2004 several Lincoln and Logan County officials were convicted of vote fraud in a federal vote-buying case. Convicted included Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Greg Stowers and county Assessor Jerry Weaver. Amazingly, Weaver is now running for county sheriff.

But, remember… left-wingers and Democrats say there is no vote fraud in the USA.

John Bolton on potential Israel attack on Iran

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:26:22 +0000

Categories: Politics

John Bolton says the likely consequences of an Israeli military ...

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Perfect: Obama pulls combat pay for U.S. troops

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:27:00 +0000

But he obviously holds the U.S. military in very high esteem.

President Obama’s latest policy outrage makes no attempt to hide his contempt for our military, as he is ordering that our troops serving overseas in war zones overseas are not to receive combat pay unless they are being shot at. A Marine who lives in Florida has just posted a note on Facebook which stated that he received a letter from his PayPal account that he would only be receiving his Hazard pay (Imminent Danger Pay) if he is actually in a hostile area and at risk of being shot at...

...According to Military.com, as of February 1, 2012, this new measure went into effect, and soldiers who are to received the additional $225/mo. combat pay ‘must’ must be in immediate risk of harm. The measure is very specific in its criteria for receiving the additonal pay.

This follows efforts by the president to make veterans pay for their own health insurance -- even those injured in combat -- and his calls last month for raises for millions of federal paper-pushers.

In other words, the president continues to siphon off more and more money from our defense infrastructure -- hitting our warriors first, last and hardest in the process -- to fund his green energy scams and public sector union cronies (which, coincidentally, also contribute heavily to his campaign).

Good news: Feds warn that using basic Internet privacy tools may be a sign that you’re a terrorist

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:09:00 +0000

Strange that we hear so little about that "evil, imperialistic Bush presidency" these days.

A flyer designed by the FBI and the Department of Justice to promote suspicious activity reporting in internet cafes lists basic tools used for online privacy as potential signs of terrorist activity. The document, part of a program called “Communities Against Terrorism”, lists the use of “anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address” as a sign that a person could be engaged in or supporting terrorist activity. The use of encryption is also listed as a suspicious activity along with steganography, the practice of using “software to hide encrypted data in digital photos” or other media. In fact, the flyer recommends that anyone “overly concerned about privacy” or attempting to “shield the screen from view of others” should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities.

...Logging into an account associated with a residential internet service provider (such as Comcast or AOL), an activity that could simply indicate that you are on a trip, is also considered a suspicious activity. Viewing any content related to “military tactics” including manuals or “revolutionary literature” is also considered a potential indicator of terrorist activity. This would mean that viewing a number of websites, including the one you are on right now, could be construed by a hapless employee as an highly suspicious activity potentially linking you to terrorism.

Well, all of these warnings seem justified. After all, the DHS was eerily prescient when it warned of imminent attacks by right-wing extremists in 2009.

Heinous Criminal Set Free On Technicality by Judge

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:02:42 +0000

News of a major crime has gripped the nation today. A heinous murder has been committed, but the murderer has been released in what has been described as a stunning miscarriage of justice. The prosecutors presented an airtight case with ample evidence to convict but the evidence was “deemed” to be irrelevant by a judge, [...]

Social Security Administration Misplaces Car Keys Plus One Trillion Dollars, But Mostly One Trillion Dollars

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:46:00 +0000

How disconnected from reality do you have to be to believe that an enormous federal bureaucracy -- that can't fire anybody, has no competition, and operates like the DMV -- can effectively run the entire health care system?

Answer: You have to be a Democrat.

The outlook for Social Security's trust fund has deteriorated to an astonishing degree over the past year, new Congressional Budget Office projections show... [The] CBO expects the trust fund to peak in 2018 and decline to $2.7 trillion in 2022 — a full $1 trillion less than Social Security's own actuaries predicted last year.

...Under current law, once the trust fund is gone, Social Security could only pay 78% of benefits. Since older retirees and the disabled would be protected, new retirees would face much deeper cuts to a benefit that is not especially generous to begin with... The average retired worker received a $1,200 monthly benefit last year before Medicare premiums were subtracted.

...Assuming a 22% automatic cut, average earners (about $43,000 in 2012) halfway into a 40-year career would have to set aside more than 5% of annual wages, or $2,150 a year, to replace [the] lost benefits.

Already, the next president will have to address a near-term crisis in Social Security's disability insurance program that CBO expects to hit in 2016 — resulting in immediate cuts for many of the neediest beneficiaries.

...Social Security already is cash-flow negative, taking less in revenue than it pays out in current benefits. CBO sees the program's $48 billion cash gap in 2011 rising above $100 billion by 2019... And depressed Treasury rates mean smaller interest payments on the trust fund's official balances.

Like night follows day, bankruptcy awaits each and every one of these Democrat-created programs, all operating outside the Constitution (not to mention the laws of arithmetic and common sense).

Police raid Occupy DC camp

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:45:24 +0000

U.S. Park Police officers, converging on one of the nation’s last remaining Occupy sites, arrived before dawn Saturday. The officers entered on horseback and in riot gear placing barricades around McPherson Square, a federal park near the White House. The officers said they were not there to evict anyone, but to ensure the protestors following [...]

Larwyn’s Linx: Obama Thinks Veterans Are Only Good For Menial Jobs

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:36:00 +0000

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Obama Thinks Veterans Are Only Good For Menial Jobs: RWN
Friday doc dump: Obamacare’s job-killing medical device tax: Malkin
Military silences chaplains: no speaking against Obamacare: Blaze

Jim Moran, Racist Pig: Malkin
GOP Rep. walks out on Obama's partisan "prayer" breakfast: GWP
Mass Voter Fraud Uncovered in FL: Breitbart

Economy

8.3% Unemployment? Completely Phony: Peth
Unemployment disaster: 1.2M driven out of the workforce: Hayward
Real unemployment rate hits 11.5%; propaganda gap rises: ZH

The Motor City Plunges Off the Greek-Style Debt Cliff: CDN
Government Unions Support California Tax Hike: Foundry
Providence, RI faces bankruptcy by June: Mish

Budget? Who Needs A Budget?: Power Line
Surprise! Harry Reid, Democrats, Refuse to Budget, Again: RWN
Improving black people’s lives is not racist: HoosierAccess

GOP Primary

Gingrich, Romney, Trump Monopolize Media; Santorum Keeps Campaigning: RSM
For Romney and Paul, a strategic alliance: WaPo
Santorum: Obama Most Anti-Religion President in History: Max

Scandal Central

Groundhog Day: Holder Repeats Fast And Furious Lies: IBD
Military Is Now Telling Catholic Chaplains What They Can And Can't Say About The Obama Administration: Insider
New BS BLS Report Shows Obama Costs US $20 Trillion: Ransom

Media

Pew: Democrats getting hammered by religious voters.: Moe Lane
Pelosi Praises Planned Parenthood’s Corruption of Girl Scouts: MB
Santelli: 1.2 Million Fall Out Of Labor Force As Participation Rate Hits 20-Year Low: RCP

The Incredible Shrinking New York Times: Insider
Not News: Significant Non-Citizen Voting Found in FL 2 Days After Tampa Paper Says It's 'Nonexistent': NB
Trends in Party Identification of Religious Groups: Jewish Support for GOP Rises: Pew

World

Israel Puts Global Facilities On High Alert Following Warning Of Rising Iran Strike Threat: ZH
Obama Poised to Betray America Through 4 UN Treaties: Nice Deb
Planting Trees Is Racist: IPT

Philadelphia City Council Welcomes Its New Sharia Overlords: Creeping
Greece About to Go Boom: Mish
Do You Like Online Privacy? You May Be a Terrorist: PubInt

Justice Ginsburg to Egyptian TV: You probably don’t want to use our Constitution as a model: STACLU
Army rules Manning will face court-martial: ArmyTimes
Panetta reassures European allies over defense cuts: Reuters

Sci-Tech

Twitter and Facebook, Why Twitter Might Be Worth More In The Long Run: P&F
US government and military to adopt custom Android phones, says CNN: Verge
Autonomous Quadrotors Fly Amazing Formations: Wired

Cornucopia

Here on Republican Isle: GayPat
Mooch To Promote “Healthy Eating” At Bottomless Pasta-Pit Olive Garden: WZ
Iran Says It May Ban Samsung Over Israeli Commercial Depicting Mossad Agents Blowing Up Nuke Plant: WZ

Image: Wired
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President

QOTD: "I was talking to a CEO last year — an Obama supporter no less — who told me he was amazed at how openly Administration officials threatened to use media demonization if he didn’t play ball. It’s like they’ve got the press in their pocket or something. But now some of those officials have to be thinking that the people they threaten will be around after Obama’s gone, and they’ll remember." --Glenn Reynolds

Improving black people’s lives is not racist

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:30:49 +0000

This is where we are in racial politics in America: Recognizing the problems faced by minorities and proposing the need to fix those problems is a “racist” argument that amounts to “scapegoating” minorities. This is why it is so difficult to address racial issues in America.

Enter Newt Gingrich, who has criticized Barack Obama as a “food stamp President” and argues we need to find a way to have blacks earning paychecks instead of getting government benefits. Gingrich was immediately attacked for being divisive and racist, and his rhetoric was compared to shouting “n****r, n****r, n****r.”

Because I live in Literalville, I am compelled to examine the statistics. TheGrio.com article even admits that 2010 Census data shows that 26 percent of food stamp recipients were black. That is more than double the percentage of blacks in the population. Clearly, this is a problem.

Government benefits, ideally, should be a stop-gap measure to help people though a difficult time and let them get on their feet. (Of course, in a perfect world all poor relief would be handled by churches and private charities.) For far too many people of all races, government benefits have become a way of life instead. This is not compassionate. It is oppressive. People are designed by God to want to provide for themselves, not to be provided for by others.

There are reasons why blacks tend to get some government benefits at a higher rate than whites, and some of those root causes (like out of wedlock births) will need to be addressed in a rational and adult manner. (It should be pointed out that illegitimacy is a problem across all races.) But the important thing here is solutions to improve the lives of as many blacks as possible. How could that possibly be racist?

Scott Tibbs blogs at ConservaTibbs.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Shock: People of All Religions Abandoning Democrat Party in Droves

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:29:00 +0000

But Pew Research didn't poll Militant Quakers, so maybe they're the exception:

As the 2012 presidential election approaches, the partisan affiliations of the electorate have shifted significantly since 2008. In surveys conducted in 2011..., 34% of registered voters described themselves as Democrats, down four points compared with 2008 (38%). Over the same period, the percentage of voters describing themselves as Republicans has held steady at 28%, while the total saying they are politically independent or have no partisan preference has risen four points (from 34% in 2008 to 38% in 2011).

...A new analysis shows that the share of voters identifying with or leaning toward the GOP has either grown or held steady in every major religious group. This includes both religious groups that are part of the GOP’s traditional constituency as well as some groups that have tended to be more aligned with the Democratic Party, including Jewish voters...

Among white evangelical Protestants (a traditionally Republican group), support for the GOP has grown from 65% in 2008 to 70% today. The GOP has also posted gains among Mormons, with 80% now saying they identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. Republican gains are also apparent among white mainline Protestants (who were evenly divided between the parties in 2008 but who now favor the GOP by a 12-point margin) and white non-Hispanic Catholics (among whom an eight-point Democratic advantage in 2008 has become a seven-point Republican advantage at the end of 2011). Even Jewish voters, who have traditionally been and remain one of the strongest Democratic constituencies, have moved noticeably in the Republican direction; Jewish voters favored the Democrats by a 52-point margin in 2008 but now prefer the Democratic Party by a significantly smaller 36-point margin. There has been less change in the partisanship of black Protestants and the religiously unaffiliated, two other strongly Democratic groups.

The analysis shows that across several religious groups, the move toward the GOP has been at least as large – if not more pronounced – among those under age 30 as among those 30 and older. White evangelicals under 30, for instance, are now more heavily Republican than those over 30 (82% vs. 69%); in 2008, by contrast, the partisan preferences of younger evangelicals closely matched those of evangelicals over age 30. And among white non-Hispanic Catholics under age 30, support for the GOP has increased from 41% in 2008 to 54% in 2011.

Jesse Jerkson and Al "No So" Sharpton hardest hit.

Bill Whittle: Why appealing to independents is not the way to win

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:56:27 +0000

Categories: Politics

There are times when you hear something so articulate and ...

(Read more...)

A Conservative Alternative to the Drudge Report?

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:36:00 +0000

Senator Fred Thompson says that "Romney has Drudge (top news source) in back pocket."

While that may or may not be true, there appears to be an alternative news aggregator that seems to be taking off. BadBlue.com monitors the social networks to determine which news stories are getting the most "buzz". It runs 24/7/365 monitoring hundreds of news sites and (most importantly!) blogs.

Here's how it looked when this post was created:

Unlike the Drudge Report, you can find the top stories that are trending now, over the last 24 hours, the last week, or even the last month.

You can even track the popularity of each story over time. Here's an example:

Need a list of stories from each news source? Here are the top stories from Ace of Spades:

Check it out and, if you like it, bookmark BadBlue and follow its updates on Twitter at @BadBlueNews.

Now conservatives have a choice.

Bill Whittle describes The Grand Jihad

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:18:01 +0000

Categories: Politics

A great video describing the real threat of Jihad from ...

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"Obama’s Enemies List"

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:04:00 +0000

When the full history of Barack Obama's administration is written, I feel confident that Richard Milhaus Nixon will look like an Eagle Scout in comparison. Former Solicitor General of the United States Ted Olson explains:

How would you feel if aides to the president of the United States singled you out by name for attack, and if you were featured prominently in the president's re-election campaign as an enemy of the people?

What would you do if the White House engaged in derogatory speculative innuendo about the integrity of your tax returns? Suppose also that the president's surrogates and allies in the media regularly attacked you, sullied your reputation and questioned your integrity. On top of all of that, what if a leading member of the president's party in Congress demanded your appearance before a congressional committee this week so that you could be interrogated about the Keystone XL oil pipeline project in which you have repeatedly—and accurately—stated that you have no involvement?

Consider that all this is happening because you have been selected as an attractive political punching bag by the president's re-election team. This is precisely what has happened to Charles and David Koch, even though they are private citizens, and neither is a candidate for the president's or anyone else's office.

...This is why it is exceedingly important for all Americans to respond with outrage to what the president and his allies are doing to demonize and stigmatize David and Charles Koch. They have been the targets of the multiyear, carefully orchestrated campaign of vituperation and assault described above—and much more. It has been choreographed from the very top. When the president personally takes leadership, his political surrogates and army of allies in the press and Congress quickly and surely follow the direction and tone he sets.

The misuse of government power to damage or demean one's political enemies is abhorrent and the very antithesis of a free society and a government of laws, not men. It is time for the public to ask those engaged in these practices, "Have you no sense of decency?"

Simple answer: no.

Barack Obama is, in word and deed, trying to turn this country into a banana republic, suitable more for Hugo Chavez than a normal American president. Every action is politicized and every instrumentality of government is used as a support for Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.

Sorry, Rick Moran, but this administration represents a group of hard-core, Marxist ideologues for whom the ends always justify the means. Which is why the Democrat Party must be flushed from office in November, at every level of government.

Levin: Obama is cooking the books with unemployment

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:02:26 +0000

Categories: Politics

Levin says this game the Obama administration is playing with ...

(Read more...)

Army Gives General the Boot

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:58:00 +0000

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council (FRC): Lieutenant General William Boykin has stared cowards in the face before, and he won't hesitate to do so now. Not even when the same Army he served is trying to take away the freedom he fought to protect. Boykin, an outspoken Christian and Delta Force hero, had been looking forward to speaking at the West Point Prayer Breakfast since the Academy invited him. In the days leading up to the event, the General Boykin settled on a topic: the importance of leaders seeking God. But it was a speech he never got to deliver. The Academy withdrew the invitation when a handful of atheist and Muslim cadets complained about Boykin's beliefs. The message to this elite, three-star warrior was obvious: you and your faith aren't welcome.

In an op-ed defending Boykin, FRC's Ken Blackwell and Ken Klukowski explain that "As a private citizen retired from the Army, General Boykin has cast America 's war against radical Islamic terrorists as fighting Satan... Evidently it's not politically correct to suggest that blowing up children is the devil's work." And while the Academy was desperate to distance itself from Boykin's faith, it hasn't budged from comments made by his Muslim detractors. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) not only called Boykin an "Islamaphobe" but compared his views to the KKK's. "It was an ecumenical presentation," Boykin said about his speech. "It had nothing to do with Islam." But even he sees the writing on the wall. "People of fa ith and conservative Americans are losing our voice to a very well-organized and very well-funded group of passionate people--those being the atheists and Muslims. They want to change the nature of our culture--and they're succeeding."

Unfortunately, this is part of the long shadow cast on religious freedom by the Obama administration. In three years, the White House has created an environment where hostility toward orthodox Christianity is not only tolerated, but encouraged. Franklin Graham was a target. So was I. We were all disinvited from military events for the same reason: because we live and embrace our faith. By censoring these leaders, the military is depriving young soldiers of the wisdom of a highly decorated veteran. General Boykin could have helped these cadets as they wrestle with how to integrate their beliefs with military service. Instead, the Academy is suggesting to these young soldiers that living out their faith proudly is a barrier to advancement.

Is that what our country wants--a nation of one-dimensional warriors with no moral compass? Of course not. That's why this march to obliterate faith is as dangerous as it is offensive. General Boykin survived being shot by a .50-caliber gun, and he will survive this. What concerns him, and what should concern all of us, is not whether Christianity will endure -- but whether our freedom to practice it will. Without it, what would these cadets be fighting for?
----------------
J. Ken Blackwell and Kenneth Klukowski are also contributing authors to the ARRA News Service. Recommend reading their complete Huffington Post Op-Ed: Delta Force Hero Can't Speak at West Point Because of His Christian Beliefs.

Tags: Lieutenant General William Boykin, West Point,cadets, prayer breakfast, U.S. Army, Christian, prayer, freedom of religion, Tony Perkins, Family Research Council, FRC, op-ed, Ken Blackwell, Ken Klukowski To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Lies, Damn Lies, and Obama’s Unemployment Numbers

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:56:00 +0000

Look up bogus in the dictionary and odds are you'll see a picture of President Obama standing in front of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Such is the reputation of the BLS as the nation's leading producer of economic propaganda.

You may have seen their headline number of 8.3% unemployment earlier today. What you didn't see is that the BLS had to "disappear" 1.2 million people out of the workforce over the last month alone to achieve that "drop".

It’s the headline that a President facing re-election with a dismal economic record didn’t want to see:

1.2 million people driven out of the workforce in a single month!

A frantic White House exploded into damage-control mode, as a deeply shaken President Obama retreated into his chambers. Nervous spokesmen fanned across the airwaves to stammer apologies, search for silver linings among the storm clouds, offer campaign boilerplate about “hope and change,” and desperately search for some way to blame George Bush for an absolute unemployment disaster that occurred over three years after he left office…

What’s that, you say? You didn’t see that headline? Well, of course not, silly. All you’re seeing in the headlines is good news, because the official, heavily-massaged U-3 unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. Fewer people in the workforce means the percentage of unemployed people in the workforce drops.

Tyler Durden uses an illustration to explain how the Democrat employment scam works:

Sick of the BLS propaganda? Then do the following calculation with us: using BLS data, the US civilian non-institutional population was 242,269 in January, an increase of 1.7 million month over month: apply the long-term average labor force participation rate of 65.8% to this number..., and you get 159.4 million: that is what the real labor force should be.

The BLS [instead] reported ... 154.4 million: a tiny 5 million difference. Then add these people who the BLS is purposefully ignoring yet who most certainly are in dire need of labor and/or a job to the 12.758 million reported unemployed by the BLS and you get 17.776 million in real unemployed workers.

What does this mean? That using just the BLS denominator in calculating the unemployed rate of 154.4 million, the real unemployment rate actually rose in January to 11.5%. Compare that with the BLS reported decline from 8.5% to 8.3%. It also means that the spread between the reported and implied unemployment rate just soared to a fresh 30-year high of 3.2%. And that is how with a calculator and just one minute of math, one strips away countless hours of BLS propaganda.

Oh, and just for reinforcement, the invaluable James Pethokoukis piles on:

...If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office... the U-3 unemployment rate would be 11.0 percent.

...Then there’s the broader, U-6 measure of unemployment which includes the discouraged plus part-timers who wish they had full time work. That unemployment rate is still a sky-high 15.1 percent.

Based on Peth's data, the BLS has "disappeared" a startling four million workers to get unemployment "down" to 8.3 percent.

This kind of egregious activity -- certain to go unreported upon by legacy media -- is why I like to call the BLS unemployment numbers "the Eric Holder of Economic Reports."

Taxes In Jesus Name

Syndicate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:36:15 +0000

Top 7 for the Week of February 3rd

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:15:35 +0000

This week, Ashley and eschewed our normal format to tackle the two hot topics of the day: Boobies and baseball.

Seriously we had so much to say about Susan G. Komen, Planned Parenthood, the Rangers, Josh Hamilton, and drinking as a recovering alcoholic or a pregnant lady… that we didn’t have time for anything else!

So forgive us this one time for doing Two Hot Topics from Two Hot Chicks instead of our regular Top 7.

We’ll see you guys next week with seven topics, live from CPAC in Washington, DC.

Happy listening!

Listen to internet radio with Top 7 on Blog Talk Radio

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ZoNation eviscerates Juan Williams over ‘code words’

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:12:55 +0000

Categories: Politics

This is Zo at his absolute best. He tears apart ...

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Arkansas Congressman Launches Online ‘Keystone XL Pipeline Jobs’ Survey

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:06:00 +0000

Asks how the President’s decision has impacted Arkansans

Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement asking Arkansans to share their views on President Obama’s decision to kill thousands of Keystone XL pipeline jobs:

"The President says he wants to get Americans back to work, but it’s hard to take him seriously when he recently killed thousands of new Keystone XL pipeline jobs. Little Rock’s own Welspun Tubular has already laid off 60 employees because of the President’s delays, but even more paychecks are in jeopardy That’s why I’ve launched a page on my website – http://Griffin.House.gov – where people can tell me how the President’s decision is impacting them."

Tags: Representative, Tim Griffin, XL Pipeline, survey To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Newt torches Romney: It isn’t good enough for the Republican party to nominate Obama-lite

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:05:02 +0000

Categories: Politics

This is a slam dunk for Newt. He goes after ...

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Obama Admin Approved Canadian Oil Pipeline In 2009; Sen. Landrieu (D-LA): "Why Aren’t They Approving This [Keystone]?"

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:45:00 +0000

This morning the House approved (248-168) H.R. 658,the Conference Report on the FAA Reauthorization bill. The House also passed (235-177) H.R. 3578, the Baseline Reform Act. This is one of the bills Republicans wish passed to fix the broken budget process. The bill would end the practice of setting budget baselines for discretionary spending that are equal to the prior year's budget plus inflation. The Hill already has comments and positions on this bill. Unfortunately, this bill like all previous Republican backed spending control bills will have a tough time being either voted on or considered by the US Senate controlled by big spending Democrats.

The Senate is not in session today and will reconvene at 2 PM on Monday to consider the conference report on the FAA Reauthorization bill, H.R. 658. Yesterday, the Senate voted 96-3 to pass S. 2083, the STOCK Act, which would prohibit Members of Congress from using nonpublic insider information for trading or personal gain.

Prior to passage, the Senate voted on several amendments to the bill. By a vote of 48-51, the Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) that would have prevented future Solyndra situations where executive branch appointees have positions giving them oversight, rule-making or loan-making abilities over industries where they have a financial interest. However, the Senate adopted an amendment from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) by a vote of 58-41 that extends stock disclosure requirements to the executive branch.

National Journal reports today, “Despite environmental opposition, the Obama administration has approved a controversial oil-sands pipeline. No, not the Keystone XL pipeline that Washington has been fighting over for months. More than two years ago, on Aug. 20, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton approved a 1,000-mile pipeline that has the capacity to send 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada’s oil sands to Wisconsin. That pipeline is owned by the Canadian company Enbridge and began operating in October 2010. Sound familiar? The Keystone XL pipeline, as proposed by another Canadian company, TransCanada, would send up to 700,000 barrels of oil a day 1,700 miles from Hardisty, Alberta — the same town where the Enbridge pipeline known as the Alberta Clipper originates — to U.S. refineries on the Gulf Coast.” Makes one wonder where the voice of the liberal environmentalist were hiding when the decision was made. Obviously, the administration had to placate its democrat's union base in Wisconsin. Change was already in the wind and Wisconsin still moved to the right in 2010.

After National Journal looked into the Clipper pipeline that was approved in 2009, they asked several senators about it. Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) said, “It speaks to the fact that the Keystone XL debate has been infused with presidential politics, partisan politics, and has not had enough to do with the discussion of how do we truly become energy self-reliant.” He added, “I think there is a legitimate argument that it’s in the national interest to build the pipeline.” Well, Mr. Democrat Senator, the partisan politics was really all on your political side of the table. Does Udall truly speaks for Colorado? Or, is he is just a liberal progressive mouth piece for Big Government like the ones depicted in the movie "Atlas Shrugged-Part One"? Not to ruin the movie, but the people of Colorado get "sc----" by the federal Government.

National Journal writes, “‘The same administration approved that one?’ said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who also didn’t know that the Obama administration had backed the Enbridge project. ‘Then why aren’t they approving this one? I don’t know.’” Looks like another Senate Democrat who is being easily ignored (run over) by her fellow democrats. Could the reason be that she now represents a State which has become Republican.

According to the NJ story, “Lobbyists and other experts following the Keystone debate argue, however, that most of the environmental opposition to Keystone is not really about Nebraska; in fact, numerous pipelines already cross all parts of the state, including environmentally sensitive areas. Environmentalists are primarily concerned about the effect that producing oil from the carbon-rich tar sands could have on climate change and how the pipeline project fits with America’s commitment to clean energy. . . . [P]roponents of Keystone say that politics has turned what is normally a routine approval process on its head. ‘A lot of folks in the industry have been amused by the fact that the Clipper project went through without much fanfare but that Keystone XL has generated an “all hands on deck from liberal Hollywood” moment,’ said Stephen Brown, a top lobbyist for the refiner Tesoro. ‘I think the disconnect just underscores how the Keystone pipeline has been hijacked by the politics of the time rather than decided on the merits of the project itself.’”

Interestingly, National Journal points out, “The State Department said at the time that the Clipper pipeline would increase ‘the diversity of available supplies among the United States’ worldwide crude-oil sources in a time of considerable political tension in other major oil-producing countries and regions.’ On the economic benefits, the State Department said that approval of the pipeline would send ‘a positive economic signal, in a difficult economic period, about the future reliability and availability of a portion of United States’ energy imports, and in the immediate term, this shovel-ready project will provide construction jobs for workers in the United States.’ These are the same arguments that proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline, led by congressional Republicans, cite as reason to approve that project without delay.”

The Keystone XL pipeline is supported by job creators, labor unions, Democrats, and editorial pages across the country, and yet President Obama rejected it. USA Today called it “is the most craven sort of election-year politics” and declared, “The biggest loser in this game of political football is the national interest.”

As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the day Obama rejected the pipeline, “His decision to block the development of the Keystone XL pipeline, thousands of jobs, and increased energy security is stunning. His decision shows a fundamental disconnect with job creation in this country, and sadly, that his focus is on appealing to his liberal environmental base rather than taking steps that can lead to thousands of jobs and energy security for our nation.”

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Kidnapped! American Tourists Captured by Bedouins in Egypt!

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:14:47 +0000

The peaceful serenity of the Egyptian desert was shattered this week by fear when Egyptian Bedouins in the Sinai captured American tourists, robbed them of cell phones, watches and other belongings and held them for ransom. The French news outlet AFP (Agency French Press) reports the nomadic people demanded that relatives being held in Egyptian [...]

Ginsburg to Egyptians: I would not look to the US Constitution if I were drafting a constitution

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:47:47 +0000

Categories: Politics

Current US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg proved her ...

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Chutzpah Alert: Obama warns Congress not to “muck up” the economic recovery

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:35:47 +0000

Categories: Politics

Obama sure is a real piece of work. His disastrous ...

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Roseanne Barr Running For President, AND Prime Minister Of Israel… Seriously!

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:11:05 +0000

g . Ladies and gentlemen, meet your newest 2012 Presidential candidate: Roseanne Barr! …Seriously. Barr announced her candidacy for the Green Party nomination Thursday via Twitter saying: I am running for Green Party nominee for POTUS. I am an official candidate. I am4 the Greening of America&the world. Green=peace/justice Barr launched a series of tweets [...]

Komen Backpedals – Funding Planned Parenthood Again

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:43:53 +0000

. Komen for the cure founder and CEO Nancy Brinker, along with the board of directors, released a statement today that announced their intent to continue funding Planned Parenthood. They have stated that political pressure does not warrant the decision that was previously made. The entire statement is below: DALLAS – February 3, 2012 [...]

Santorum: The race will move in our direction

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:28:41 +0000

Categories: Politics

This is a good interview with Santorum as he explains ...

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The Heart of a Rangers Fan

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:55:52 +0000

The kids on my street grew up playing baseball in our backyard. We had 3 trees that happened to be in the shape of a triangle (bases), a spot that after some use became void of grass (home plate), and we put a rock in the middle to serve as the pitching mound. There was a creek that ran along the back of the field that served as “the bleachers” to signify a homerun because once a ball went in there, it was a slim chance we were getting it back. It didn’t matter if it was summer vacation, Christmas break, or a random Thursday after school – if it wasn’t lightening, chances were you could find us playing baseball.

Those were the days of Nolan Ryan, Pudge Rodriguez, Julio Franco, Rafael Palmeiro, and Juan Gonzales. Those were the days of going to the ballpark for hot dogs, baseball, and fireworks on the Fourth of July. When the Ballpark in Arlington opened, I was in 4th grade and we took a field trip to tour the stadium and even got to walk on the field. Best field trip ever. (I may or may not have been the first one to turn in my permission slip for that one.) Those were the days that made me a Texas Rangers fan.

The last couple of seasons for the Rangers have been what long-suffering fans have been waiting for. We’ve got Nolan back and we have Ron Washington. We’ve got Ian Kinsler, David Murphy, Nelly Cruz, Michael Young, Mike Napoli, Andrews, Beltre, Moreland, and Josh Hamilton. As a fan, it’s hard to find a guy on the roster I don’t like! It’s a dream team and throw in the promise of Yu Darvish and you’ve got yourself a fan base that is counting down the 63 days until April 6 (opening day).

News of Josh Hamilton’s relapse, however, has cast a shadow over that excitement. Josh is only 30, but has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for a long time. I could go into the details, but what’s the point? You can google them if you really want to. In the 2010 season, the team threw out the champagne and brought in ginger ale for the locker room celebration so Josh could participate. It was at that moment that the Rangers stopped being about baseball and started being a family, one that we were all invited to be a part of. In the 2011 season, we had 162 regular season family reunions either in Arlington or on the television or radio. We had our playoff reunions, added a few more to the family, and ended the season in 2nd place – down, but not out.

Addiction is a battle that is fought every single day by men and women all over this country. Some days you win, some days you lose. Monday night Josh lost. Remember what I was saying about this being a family? I’m not worried about Josh’s disciplinary actions with the team and whether or not he’ll be suspended. I’m worried about Josh as a person, an individual, a member of my baseball family. He’s been dealing with the death of Shannon Stone, a firefighter who took his little boy to a game and fell to his death when he reached over the railing to snag a ball that was tossed to him by Josh Hamilton. I cannot imagine the guilt, sorrow, and pain Josh feels every day after having seen a man die in front of his little boy’s eyes and thinking “If I didn’t throw that stupid ball, Cooper would still have his daddy.”

To think that Josh Hamilton would ever read my blog is ridiculous, but if he did, what would I say? I’d show him the heart of a Rangers fan:

Josh, honey, we’re not leaving you to fight this on your own. We’re not mad and, while some may be disappointed, we’re mostly worried. We want you to succeed and continue to be a role model for our community. Kids are still going to pretend they’re you when they step up to backyard home plates and swing for the fences. Do you know what that means? You have a chance to make this right. You can start again, one day at a time trying to be the best man you can be. Please don’t give up – you’re too important. You have too much of an opportunity to mentor to those struggling, to show them the power of faith. We love you, Josh. Oh, and by the way, we love Ian, too. Good friends like him are hard to come by; it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to anyone, especially your friends. Keep him around. You can do it, Josh. One day at a time, with the love and support of your family, friends, fans, and Lord, you can do this.

Gov. Romney also made Catholics violate their conscience

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:22:22 +0000

Categories: Politics

***UPDATE2*** NOTE: Just to be fair, I want to point ...

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Alarming Number of Americans Unable to Find Jobs in Obama Economy

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:03:09 +0000

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the Department of Labor, released it’s employment situation summary this morning and the news is not as good as the first paragraph suggests. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job [...]

Newt talks Florida loss and how he is changing as a result

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:44:47 +0000

Categories: Politics

It looks like Newt learned some valuable lessons from his ...

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Bill Whittle on the hypocrisy and unearned moral superiority of American liberals

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:13:54 +0000

Categories: Politics

Leave it to Bill Whittle to get to the core ...

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Right-to-Work and the Super Bowl: A Better Case

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:20:46 +0000

by BRIAN SIKMA

As a political strategists in battle-wearing Wisconsin watching union protesters threaten to block the Super Bowl spotlight in my homestate of Indiana, I could not help but think there had to have been a better way to make the Right-to-Work argument.

A maxim of war is that you, not your opponent, defines the location of the battlefield, and the hype of a Super Bowl made a poor battlefield for the serious issue of labor law. Reform-minded political leaders in Indiana did themselves a disservice by allowing proponents of the status quo to define the debate and pick this particular field of ideas.

In general, conservatives and leaders advocating for free markets and limited government need to rethink their approach to political battle. The present approach cedes far too much ground to those who promote big government, big labor, big education and big media.

Since many politicians believe that their re-election is essential to good government, they will rarely cross a line that entails earning enough public ire to throw them out of office. Defining the political debate is crucial to earning enough public support for a policy proposal to become public policy.State and local elected officials seeking to enact conservative reforms need to boldly define the debate in terms that the public understands and already supports.

Not only that, they need to set the tone in such a way that the public understands that by supporting a conservative reform they are really putting their own values to action.In the debate over Right-to-Work, Republican leaders framed the issue around the numbers. Those numbers involved jobs projected to come to Indiana as a result of Right-to-Work, wage increases expected to occur after it became law, and even an increase in tax revenues projected from future economic activity.

Although helpful arguments, none made the strongest case of all: Right-to-Work is about freedom, the freedom of the worker to choose for whom he will work for and the freedom of the employer to choose who he will hire.Compared with arguable job numbers or mere partisan leverage, supporting a person’s freedom to own what is rightfully theirs makes a powerful political argument.

In the case of Right-to-Work, our ability to be productive — our labor — is one of the few assets that we truly own free from any government taxation or regulation. Unlike other property, which can be taxed, or financial capital, which can be taxed, or anything that can be purchased (which includes a sales tax), your labor belongs to you. Right-to-Work is about ensuring that government does not allow unions to deny anyone the freedom to use their labor as they see best.

Thus framing the debate in terms of liberty and first principles, i.e., the ideas found in the Declaration of Independence, denies proponents of big government critical advantage. It clarifies that what is at stake is nothing less than the soul of our system of self-government and a free-market economy. Allowing the debate to degenerate into a mishmash of one man’s statistic versus another man’s statistic missed the big picture of freedom versus tyranny.

If Indiana’s state and local leaders are serious about championing conservative reforms, they need to think big and define the debate in terms of freedom. The other details can make for a good supporting argument but don’t give in to the temptation to debate progressivism on the statistical ground of its choosing.

This experiment in liberty is premised on the idea that self-government is the only legitimate form of government. Don’t legitimize the arguments of statists by debating them on any other terms.

Brian Sikma is the communications director for Media Trackers, a conservative investigative watchdog organization in Wisconsin. Previously, he spent nearly six years in Indiana politics. He wrote this for The Indiana Policy Review.

The Minimum Wage Increase Myth

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:58:25 +0000

The Minimum Wage Yesterday (February 2, 2012) Rush Limbaugh announced that Republican presidential nomination hopeful Mitt Romney favored a minimum wage increase linked to inflation. Romney renewed his support for automatic increases in the federal minimum wage to keep pace with inflation. “I haven’t changed my thoughts on that,” said Romney about automatic minimum wage [...]

Larwyn’s Linx: The bombshell CBO report and why Obama should be worried

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:24:00 +0000

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

The bombshell CBO report and why Obama should be worried: Hot Air
Obamacare’s Latest Victim Is Religious Freedom: Foundry
Waivers: The Yellow Brick Road To Amnesty: Bruce

What does Obama do all day?: Kaus
Breaking: Heath Shuler (D, NC) cuts and runs.: RS
Shocker: More Wisconsin Recall Fraud: BigG

Economy

A Year Later, Obamanomics vs. Reaganomics: Cato
Obama Underestimated 2012 Deficit by... $500 Billion: WS
Planned layoffs surge in January: Challenger: Reuters

ObamaCare Advisers Predict Death of Health Insurers: NewAm
Disgusting: Occupy Charlotte Used Water Supply as Toilet: VS
Thank a Union: Alleged Perv Teacher on Full Pension: VS

Krazy Kat-ifornia: JPA
A Former Union Thug’s Take On Right-to-Work: RS
Social Security Trust Fund Outlook Takes $1 Tril Dive: IBD

GOP Primary

Newt Beats Mitt on Energy Policy: NRO
It's Insane For Conservatives To Back Romney In The General: Riehl
The Fractious Rich Lowry and Jennifer Rubin: Lord

Scandal Central

Holder to Issa: I’ll hold people accountable … for whistleblowing: Hot Air
Holder DOJ lets bribery-compromised officials free indicted financial-crime suspects: DC
Holder to Issa: I wasn’t aware of your subpoena: Scoop

DOJ: First “Fast and Furious,” then bribery, and now kiddie porn?: PubSecrets
Holder to Puerto Rican Rep: 'Wherever you're from': Exam
Groundhog Day: Holder Repeats Fast And Furious Lies: IBD

Climate & Energy

Warmie Angst & The AGW Theory Hanging By A Single Untested Hypothesis: Wolf Howling
Now Why Would Coal Mines Be Laying People Off?: AllAm
Read All About it: Al Gore's 'melting' Antarctic claims refuted by reality: Depot

Insurers Required to Report on Global Warming Predictions: MenRec
Concrete Evidence Man is Causing Glacier Retreat: Malkin

Media

Obama Hides From the Press: Surber
Allen West Questions Florida Legislators’ Motives: Shark Tank
Salon v McKeon: When is an investigative reporter not an investigative reporter: Q&O

How dare a private group spend its money as it wants? Liberals Slam Susan G. Komen: Bookworm
Chris Christie stands up for his bizarre NJ Supreme Court nominees: WyBlog
Ann Coulter's Laughably Weak Attempt To Defend RomneyCare: Riehl

Give Me Your Money In the Name of Jesus: RS
Gospels Contradict Obama's Idea Of A Socialist Jesus: IBD
Okay, I’ve been sitting on these quotes long enough.: Troglopundit

World

Israeli: Iran creating missile to hit U.S.; East Coast in reach: LAT
Is Israel preparing to attack Iran?: WaPo
#OWS May Day Agitprop: UrbInf

Breaking: Democrats Preyed On Immigrants In Ballot Fraud Scandal: MenRec
Israel says Iran has material for four A-bombs: Reuters
Meet the Air Force’s Newest X-Plane: DefTech

Sci-Tech

Mark Zuckerberg’s Letter to Investors: ‘The Hacker Way’: Wired
Microsoft Vows to Fix ‘Broken’ Code In Open Source Cloud Project: Wired
LEAKED: Here's Everything Coming In The Next Windows Phone: Insider

Cornucopia

Separated At Birth?: Moonbattery
I Guess Endorsements Do Matter: AllAm
McDonald's Finally Realizes Pink Slime Is Not An Appetizing Burger Ingredient: Consumerist

Two Hogs, Two Shadows: MOTUS
Terrell Owens out of work, going broke and 'in hell': LAT
'Fear Factor' contestants told by NBC to shut up about canceled episode they starred in: Fox

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Rick Santorum for President: Yes, He Can Win

QOTD: "Thus, the administration that took military action in Libya without any authorization from force from Congress, that appointed czars with policymaking authority without Congressional confirmation, and that made ‘recess’ appointments while Congress was not in recess is invoking executive privilege to cover how the Department of Justice reacted when Congress began asking about a gun-trafficking operation that got U.S. law enforcement officers murdered by Mexican drug cartels.

All from a president who railed against a runaway imperial presidency when George W. Bush sat in the office he currently occupies." --Jim Geraghty

The Motor City Plunges Off the Greek-Style Debt Cliff

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:08:14 +0000

Detroit, Michigan has long been known as the motor city due to it’s being the home of the big-three auto-makers ever since the first mass-produced automobiles rolled off the assembly line of Ford Motor Company. As the population of America increased and the demand for more automobiles skyrocketed, along with it came massive doses of wealth and prosperity for the [...]

Snark Factor Morning Update 2-3

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:24:06 +0000

We chat about wasteful government spending after hearing President Obama’s speech at the National Prayer... Read more

Snark Factor 154 With GOP Strategist Jen Jacobs

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:19:17 +0000

Republican strategist Jen Jacobs joined us to discuss the upcoming Nevada Caucus and other news of the day. Paul Croteau stopped by for “This Day in History.”

Sarah Rumpf and Thomas LaDuke are The Snark Factor Players.

Back by Popular Request: Elsewhere On the Internet…

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:25:27 +0000

I stopped doing weekly round-up posts a couple of months ago because I was sporadic at best, and honestly, I didn’t think the interest was there. But I’ve gotten tons of requests for them recently, so I decided to resurrect them. The majority of my weekly articles are usually published by Thursday, so I’m marking Thursday on my Google calendar as Elsewhere On the Internet Day.

Let’s dive right in, shall we?

This Week at The Stir:

I wrote about author Charles Murray and his ‘elitist bubble’ concept published in his new book, Coming Apart, The State of White America, 1960-2012. I scored a 37. I think that number, like my age and my weight, is just a number.

Apparently food stamps are going to fix the economy. They’re going to fix it so well that the government is giving out $75,000 grants to groups that devise ways to sign more people up for food stamps.

This one on Susan G. Komen defunding Planned Parenthood got such a hateful reaction that Mark Davis’s producer Susan contacted me to be on the show tomorrow morning to talk about it. Some people are just mean. If you’d like to listen in, I’ll be on at 7:04 Pacific, which means I’ll be locked in the garage or something while poor Leif wrangles the kids to get ready for school. I love you, Honey!

The Latest on Moms Matter:

This State of the Union Analysis is technically from last week, but seeing as CafeMom hasn’t posted this week’s article yet, I thought I’d include it anyway. Hey, it’s my site, I can post what I want to! (Even emoticons!)

What Happened on Glee:

Glee was new this week, which means I shut everyone out of my bedroom at 8pm on Tuesday to watch high school musical drama, write about it, and call it ‘work.’ My job kinda rocks. I ended up talking more about my marriage than the show though.

Happy reading!

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Republicans Ensuring Obama’s Re-election

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:01:20 +0000

As we go further into the primary season I find the Republican Party doing more each day to ensure that Barack Obama gets re-elected in November. The establishment Republican elitists drove Herman Cain out of the running with a smear campaign of innuendo and accusation without one shred of evidence that any of these women [...]

Newt: Brutal ad comparing Romney to Obama

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:30:01 +0000

Categories: Politics

This is obviously meant as a web ad as it ...

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National Prayer Breakfast: Obama’s worst presentation ever

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:17:05 +0000

Categories: Politics

I have never seen Obama give a speech so poorly ...

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From the Man Who Brought You Cash For Clunkers

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:50:00 +0000

... We Now Have Clunkers For Cash

A.F. Branco:

Tags: A.F. Branco, political cartoon, cash for clunkers, clunkers for Cash, Barack Obama, Volt To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Krauthammer: It’s astonishing that Panetta would reveal specifics about Israel

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:41:30 +0000

Categories: Politics

Krauthammer says he’s not sure what exactly to make of ...

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Three Must-Read Quotes from Eric Holder’s Fast and Furious Testimony Today. Plus: Brian Terry’s Mother Rips Holder.

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:36:00 +0000

Eric Holder was back in front of the House Oversight Committee today to testify on Operation Fast and Furious. For those unfamiliar with the crimes, consider it like Watergate, only with 300 dead -- including Brian Terry, a U.S. Border Patrol agent killed by murder weapons supplied to drug cartels by Eric Holder.

During testimony, three particular quotes struck me as especially memorable:

• GOP Rep. Anne Marie Buerkle to Eric Holder:

"What more could have possibly gone wrong before you'd have been held accountable [for Operation Fast and Furious]? I would suggest that the President has been eerily quiet about coming to your defense. So let me ask it this way: How many more Border Patrol agents would have had to die as part of Operation Fast and Furious for you to take responsibility?"

• Eric Holder threatens Darrell Issa, asserting that Congress can not view sealed wiretap records even if a whistleblower reveals them:

"That direction that you just said, about the media and Congress and court orders, is really incorrect and you act at your peril if you think that's the truth."

• GOP Rep. Patrick Henry to Eric Holder on the delays in the DOJ's "investigation", which has now taken longer than the Warren Commission Report on the assassination of JFK:

"Thirteen months later, we have a possibility of somebody actually being punished for an agent getting killed. This is absolutely absurd."

Brian Terry's mother also watched Holder's outrageous performance today and had the following to say on Facebook.

“THIS IS FOR YOU SON,” Mrs. Terry posted on Facebook at about 3:30 p.m. “Mr. Holder. How come you can never say my sons name. You never have. All i ever hear you say is ‘i didnt find out or I cant say’ Im actually tired of hearing your double talk in answering questions. What a joke you are. You know my son was a real AMERICAN, a WARRIOR, and a HERO, who was also protecting COWARD POLITICANS like you.”

“Hope you remember that,” Mrs. Terry added in her message to Holder before signing it: “PROUD MOM OF BRIAN A. TERRY.”

Brian Terry was murdered with a weapon his own government allowed to be sold to Mexican drug cartels via Operation Fast and Furious. Like Terry, about 300 Mexican citizens were also murdered with the guns Holder’s Justice Department gave to the drug cartels.

Nobody has been held accountable inside the Justice Department, and more than 100 congressmen, three U.S. senators, two sitting governors and all major Republican presidential candidates have demanded that Holder step down in the wake of the scandal. Holder has time and again refused to hold anybody accountable and has refused to step down himself.

Holder never even apologized to the Terry family until publicly shamed into it during November's Congressional testimony. And, even then, he released the apology publicly to Politico before the family ever saw it.

Holder needs to be held in Contempt of Congress right now and prosecuted for obstruction of justice.

Cartoon: IBD - Ramirez

Clunkers

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:13:25 +0000

Four charts: how Obama destroyed the energy economy in the Gulf of Mexico

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:55:00 +0000

A report issued Tuesday by the Greater New Orleans Economic Alliance reveals the true economic devastation wrought by President Obama's draconian and illegal oil drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico

Thanks to the people at the New Orleans Regional Economic Alliance, one can cut through all the claims about how oil drilling in the United States is back to normal since the Gulf oil spill.

The [accompanying] figures ... show the trends in both shallow- and deep-water drilling permit approvals in the gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As can be seen, the Obama administration did not let that crisis go to waste, it used it to implement another plank in its anti-fossil fuel agenda...

Regardless of the Obama administration’s claims that they aren’t hindering oil exploration and development in the Gulf, a few minutes of looking at their own data tells the real story: they’re both cutting it down, and stretching it out.

So the next time legacy media allows President Obama to claim that oil drilling is back to normal in the Gulf, remember these charts.

Hat tips: HyScience and BadBlue.

‘Progressives’ Believe Strongly in the Separation of Church and State. Except, Of Course, When It Comes to Abortion.

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:04:00 +0000

If the ramifications weren't so diabolical, the hypocrisy exhibited by Democrats would be laughable.

It has not even been two years since Obamacare was enacted, and already the President’s health care law has taken another victim — the religious freedoms Americans hold dear, as reflected by the First Amendment.

The Obama Administration recently reaffirmed a rule under Obamacare that requires many religious employers to provide health care coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and related education and counseling. On the grounds that certain FDA-approved contraceptive methods can sometimes “cause the demise of embryos both after and before uterine implantation,” many groups also believe that the rule forces them to cover abortion.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is calling the contraception mandate an “unprecedented” attack on religious freedom. And in statement after statement issued in diocese after diocese, many bishops are publicly declaring that they “cannot” and “will not” comply with “this unjust law.” As Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon explained, “Unless this rule is overturned, Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences or to drop health care coverage for our employees.”

It’s not just Catholics affected by the rule, however. Leaders from other faith traditions have expressed their concern, and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has already filed a lawsuit on behalf of an interdenominational Christian college that objects to providing abortion and related education and counseling in its health care insurance. “The mandate is un-American, unprecedented, and flagrantly unconstitutional,” says an attorney for the college.

As shocking as the Obama Administration’s action is, it should not come as a surprise. Heritage experts explained years ago that freedom of conscience in health care is closely linked to greater personal freedom over health care decisions. Health care expert James Capretta says that “it was inevitable — only a matter of time,” now that the government is calling the shots and making health care choices for the American people. “Just the sight of Catholic leaders’ being forced to go begging before federal officials ought to be enough to convince most Americans that handing over so much power over such sensitive matters to the federal government was a terrible, terrible mistake,” he writes.

Pathetic Democrat dupes like Bart Stupak and Steve Driehaus hardest hit.

The leaders of the Catholic Church could begin their fight by excommunicating Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, and any other Catholic members of the Democrat Party who support this outrage.

Mark Levin goes nuclear over Romney’s inability to explain conservatism

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:00:59 +0000

Categories: Politics

Mark Levin spent part of his first hour playing Milton ...

(Read more...)

Genius: Starting in 2014, Obamacare begins taxing… itself.

Syndicate — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Gee, it's so surprising that we keep uncovering time-bombs buried inside a 2,200-page bill that no one read.

Under the health care overhaul, the federal government will begin taxing itself and the states beginning in 2014... And that’s giving state Medicaid directors heartburn.

The law calls for a new tax on health insurers’ premium revenue — intended to help pay for expansion of coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans. But the tax will be paid by all insurers, including those that contract with states to provide coverage to recipients of Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor. Under federal law, that fee must be paid by the Medicaid program, meaning that state and federal governments must pick up the tab.

A report released today by the actuarial firm Milliman Inc. said the tax will cost the Medicaid program between $36.5 billion and $41.9 billion over 10 years. At least $13 billion will be borne by states, and at least $23.5 billion by the federal government, based on the state-federal Medicaid matching formula, according to the report paid for by the Medicaid Health Plans of America, which represents private health plans that cover people on Medicaid. According to the America’s Health Insurance plans, the tax overall would generate at least $73 billion from 2014-2019.

“This is not an issue on most people’s radar screens, but this is going to be a big problem,” said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “This policy never really made sense … I get the point of an insurance tax, but when you are just passing on those costs to Medicaid, that makes no sense.”

With delightful surprises like this built into the Democrats' destructive health care bill, it's no wonder that Obama's advisers are predicting the death of America's health insurance companies. Which should do wonders for unemployment.

Clueless Al Sharpton wonders: Where are all the programs for the poor?

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:56:53 +0000

Categories: Politics

Seriously – this is Al Sharpton’s response to Mitt Romney’s ...

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Planned Parenthood’s temper tantrum over Komen funding

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:30:56 +0000

From CBS News:

According to Planned Parenthood, it received roughly $680,000 worth of Komen grants in 2011 and $580,000 in 2010.)

This is from an organization that has over one billion dollars in annual revenue and they are screeching like psychotic banshees on crack over less than one tenth of one percent of their revenue? This shows how extreme Planned Parenthood and their supporters are.

Eastwood To Make GOP Choice In Coming Months

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:51:42 +0000

Legendary actor Clint Eastwood is not quite ready to make his pick for who he will endorse in the 2012 GOP Presidential race. The basis for his decision will come soon, he said “I’ll answer those other questions later. Give me another month or two of just listening to all that crap on television.” The 81-year [...]

Jesse Jackson: The right demonizing Obama could lead to his assassination

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:39:55 +0000

Categories: Politics

Here we go again with the Left trying to say ...

(Read more...)

CA Teacher Molests Students, Still Receiving Benefits..and He Always Will

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:36:44 +0000

Imagine you’re watching the news one evening and you see a report about a middle-aged man who bound and gagged small children (telling them it was just a fun game), fed them his own semen and took pictures of it all. Now imagine when his picture was shown on the screen that you realize this [...]

Homeland Security Seizes Millions In Counterfeits Ahead Of Super Bowl

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:14:59 +0000

. According to a report by Russ McQuaid of Indianapolis Fox Affiliate WXIN, Federal Agents and NFL Investigators have worked to eliminate counterfeit merchandise ahead of this weekend’s Super Bowl XLVI, which will be played in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. “We seized 42,692 counterfeit NFL items worth a record $4.86 million,” said John Morton, U.S. Immigration and [...]

Gingrich: Romney’s minimum wage proposal potentially a catastrophe

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:08:13 +0000

Categories: Politics

Newt says that with the way the Fed is printing ...

(Read more...)

Hybrid MPG Myths

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:01:28 +0000

I recently received an e-mail from Rich Mitchell encouraging CDN contributors to write about subjects other than politics, to “expand our horizons.” So I decided to research and write about a subject in which I have knowledge and about which I know nothing: automobiles. I grew up when muscle cars were king, and I worked [...]

U.S. Senate To Votes on STOCK Act – Will the Executive Branch Be Held To Same Standards As Congress?

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:18:00 +0000

Update 5:05 pm: US Senate passed the STOCK Act (97-3).
------------
Today in Washington, D.C. - Feb. 2, 2012:
Yesterday, The House passed the following bills:

H.R. 1173 (267-159): Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011, a bill to repeal the CLASS Act, Obamacare’s long-term care entitlement. The passage was bipartisan with 28 Democrats joining the Republicans in passing the bill. The bill was sent to the Senate where it is expected that the Democratic Senate leadership will delay or seek to kill the bill.
H.R. 3835(309-117): To extend the pay limitation for Members of Congress and Federal employees with 72 Democrats joining all of the Republicans in support of this bill.
By voice vote H.RES.147: Limits cost of living adjustments for legislative branch employees.
HR 3567 (395-27): Welfare Integrity Now for Children and Families Act of 2011 which prohibit welfare funds to be used in strip clubs, casinos, and liquor stores.

The Senate resumed consideration of S. 2083, the STOCK Act, which would prohibit Members of Congress from using nonpublic insider information for trading or personal gain. Votes on as many as 20 amendments to the bill are scheduled this afternoon.

Earlier this week, Roll Call reported, “Republican leaders pushed to expand a proposed insider trading ban for Members of Congress to top executive branch officials . . . . ‘The president is calling on Congress to live up to a standard that he isn’t requiring of his own employees,’ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor. At a news conference, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor also pushed the Senate to add the executive branch to the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. ‘The bill does not adequately cover those connected with the federal government in the executive branch that are in positions with access and are privy to information that could be used to personally benefit those individuals,’ the Virginia Republican said.”

Leader McConnell continued his push today, saying in a floor speech, “I mean, I think a lot of people out there want to know why a venture capitalist who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the President only to end up overseeing the administration’s green energy loan program shouldn’t be held to the same high standard as others? Shouldn’t the President’s chief of staff be held to the same standard as a legislative director to a freshman Senator? Let’s be honest: people are equally, if not more concerned, about the kind of cronyism they keep reading about over at the White House and within the executive branch agencies, like DOE, that it controls. There’s no question Congress should be held to a high standard. But if we’re going to pass new standards here, the same standards should apply to the White House and to the executive agencies that spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars at the President’s direction.”

To that end, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has introduced amendments to apply these standards to the administration. He spoke with Sean Hannity yesterday about them, saying, “The Solyndra deal, where they gave $500 million to one of the richest men in our country - Mr. [George] Kaiser is the 20th richest man in our country - and he got a taxpayer funded loan. You’ve got to wonder why millionaires and billionaires should be getting taxpayer funded loans. But it’s worse than that, the guy that approved the loan, his wife works for a law firm that represents Solyndra.” He added, “[T]he interesting thing is, is many career people in the Department of Energy – who are probably career, good civil servants trying to protect the taxpayer’s money – were arguing against this loan. But low and behold the key guy arguing in favor, his wife works for the law firm that represents Solyndra. Boy if that’s not insider trading, I don’t know what is.”

As Leader McConnell said, “[T]hat leads to a larger point, which is this: as long as the White House and the agencies it controls continue to play favorites, this economy will never fully recover and the playing field won’t ever be level. As long as Washington has this much say over the direction of the economy, people won’t ever feel like they’re getting a fair shake. So yes, let’s hold Congress to a high standard. But the White House must be held to the same one.”

Tags: Washington, D.C., House, Senate, STOCK Act, CLASS Act, Obama care, pay limitation, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Delivery Presents – Robert Davi on Music and Why the Good Stuff is Important

Syndicate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:41:26 +0000

If you want to know why I love social media, look no farther than Episode 132. Without Twitter, it could not have happened and here’s why. A couple of months ago, I had a brief exchange with actor, director, and musician Robert Davi about his new album Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance. He thanked me for spreading the word about it and while I was impressed that someone as busy (and, let’s face it, ridiculously successful) would actually stop and thank someone he didn’t know for something as relatively small as a tweet, I didn’t think any more about it. Then, last week, I thought I’d invite Davi on the show, again using Twitter, and don’t you know he accepted! He spent an entire segment on this week’s show talking about his album, his musical history (which goes back quite a long way) and what he’s planning for the future. Davi is a smart and witty guy and his segment is easily one of the best conversations I’ve had on The Delivery. Do check it out and pick up his album. You won’t regret the purchase. Also, look into the movie he made a few years ago called The Dukes, which has quite a bit of good music in it as well.

I returned to the subject of the Occupy Whatever movement in the first half of the show. It’s curious to me that our President and his administration have no apparent interest in upholding the law as concerns the Occupy DC movement yet hold the Tea Parties in open contempt. I’m not happy about that, and I can’t imagine why any of you would be either. Right now, there is a clear divide between those to whom the laws of our nation applies and those to whom they don’t, and the administration has very clearly put its political foes in the latter bucket. Equal protection under the law is a bedrock principle that should never be shoved aside for cheap political gains.

The Delivery - Episode 132