April 23, 2009
During an interview with FOXNews.com, [Miss USA Kristen] Dalton said: "In short, I would say everyone should be able to enter into a civil union, where they're legally recognized as a couple and earn the same rights as a married couple."
Asked if she supports gay marriage, Miss USA replied, "I'm not going to say whether or not I think it should be defined as marriage because that's up to our politicians and our elected officials."
And precisely where, Kristen, do you think the power of those politicians and elected officials is derived. It is derived from the people – you and I. For you to say “that's up to our politicians and our elected officials” is to reject your birthright as an American and relegate yourself to the status of subject rather than citizen.
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MSNBC show host Rachel Maddow has suffered some steep audience erosion in recent months, down more than 40 percent in viewership from her peak last fall during the election.According to the Los Angeles Times, Maddow's audience has gone from a high of 1.9 million viewers in the fall to just over 1.1 million in March. That's a big drop.”
Is it any wonder, then, that the stockholders of MSNBCÂ’s parent company are angry about the product being put out, and its harm to their stock values?
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It was not necessary to release details of the enhanced interrogation techniques, because members of Congress from both parties have been fully aware of them since the program began in 2002. We believed it was something that had to be done in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to keep our nation safe. After many long and contentious debates, Congress repeatedly approved and funded this program on a bipartisan basis in both Republican and Democratic Congresses.
* * * Any investigation must include this information as part of a review of those in Congress and the Bush administration who reviewed and supported this program. To get a complete picture of the enhanced interrogation program, a fair investigation will also require that the Obama administration release the memos requested by former Vice President Dick Cheney on the successes of this program.
More to the point, is it really appropriate for Senators and Representatives who knew about these programs and supported them to turn around and investigate them? After all, there were some 30 meetings that included the leadership and other members of both parties. ShouldnÂ’t they be subjects of the investigations rather than the investigators? After all, if these techniques really violate American values, and if they really did authorize them, donÂ’t they share at least as much responsibility for them as the Executive Branch officials who the Left now wants to pillory?
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The Indiana House of Representatives has passed a bill to require doctors who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges.The House voted 73-20 for the bill April 15. The legislation also would mandate that a doctor inform a woman that her unborn child may feel pain during an abortion, according to The Indianapolis Star.
The measure will return to the Senate, which previously passed it on a 44-6 vote but will need to act on the new version containing House-approved amendments, according to LifeNews.com.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana said only one of the seven doctors in the state who perform abortions has admitting privileges, The Star reported.
Supporters of the bill said it was needed in order to protect women who have problems after abortions.
"This bill is about patient safety," said Rep. Matthew Bell, R.-Avila. "I think it's the right statement to make when we care about the quality of care received by the patients."
Sadly, IÂ’ve seen ambulances leave abortion facilities with a woman inside of them. DoesnÂ’t it benefit them for the doctor who was doing that procedure to be able to admit them and oversee their care? And isnÂ’t it disturbing that so few can?
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That said, there are others who disagree – but still believe that waterboarding might be appropriate. One, Deb Saunders, makes this important observation.
Some maintain that the CIA might have learned what it needed to know without waterboarding. But as one memo reported, before the questioning got tough, "KSM resisted giving any answers to questions about future attacks, simply noting, 'Soon you will know.'"
The questioning got tougher. As the memo noted, the CIA believes that "the intelligence acquired from these interrogations has been a key reason why al Qaeda has failed to launch a spectacular attack in the West since 11 September 2001."
And: Once "enhanced techniques" were used on KSM, interrogations "led to the discovery of a KSM plot, the 'Second Wave,' Â… to use East Asian operatives to crash a hijacked airliner' into a building in Los Angeles."
Do I like waterboarding? No, but it is not life threatening; in extreme cases, I can live with it. And I'll take waterboarding over a 9/11 in Los Angeles any day.
So, my friends, ask yourself this – which city are you willing to see destroyed in order to protect the purported rights of terrorists? How many of your fellow Americans are you willing to sacrifice in order to avoid troubling your conscience? And do you truly believe that those whose decisions differed from what yours would have been on this matter merit criminal punishment? Indeed, let me ask it more explicitly – when confronted with a choice between American patriots and America’s enemies, why do you side with the latter?
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The father of Sarah Palin's grandchild said Wednesday night that he might pursue legal action against the Alaska governor's family, who he says has cut off communication with him and are no longer letting him see their son Tripp.
Levi Johnston said during an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live" that he has hired an attorney in hopes of compelling former fiancé Bristol Palin to honor his visitation rights.
Johnston last saw his four-month-old son "a couple weeks ago," he said, adding that going over to the Palin household to see Tripp is "an uncomfortable thing."
Despite his threat of legal action, Johnston insists that he does not "want to stir anything up."
Dude, you stirred things up when you went on Tyra and all the other shows. You stirred them up more with the Larry King interview. In what strange alternative universe do you live that you believe that giving those interviews (in which you did trash-talk the Palin family) did you believe that the relationship would be improved?
Now do I think that there needs to be some custody and visitation agreement made? Yeah, I do – as well as child support arrangements, too. After all, have you been supporting the son you so want to visit?
NOTE TO LARRY KING: Asking where the baby was conceived is a new low for your show, which is already among the trashiest on television. Have you no sense of decency, sir?
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April 22, 2009
Justice Breyer elaborated on what children put in their underwear. “In my experience when I was 8 or 10 or 12 years old, you know, we did take our clothes off once a day,” he said. “We changed for gym, O.K.? And in my experience, too, people did sometimes stick things in my underwear.”
Stephen, get help. Please.
And protect the right of students to not be strip searched by school officials on the basis of nothing more than the word of another student.
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A federal judge tentatively ordered the Department of Homeland Security to reopen the cases of 22 people who were denied green cards because their American spouses died during the application process.
U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled the so-called widow penalty doesnÂ’t necessarily require that immigrantsÂ’ permanent residency applications be denied when their American spouses die. Citing a 2006 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Snyder ruled this week that applicants donÂ’t lose their status as spouses of U.S. citizens if the death occurs before the government rules on their applications.
The decision, if made final, would be a victory for more than 200 people across the country who have been affected by the widow penalty, said attorney Brent Renison, who filed the class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles.
“This case is very significant because it’s the first that follows the circuit court decision and gives guidance to the agency on what it can and cannot do in these situations,” Renison told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has argued the law requires that residency applications be rejected for immigrants whose American spouses die within two years of being married.
Now I realize that there could be fraudulent marriages with sick old folks that might qualify under these standards, but those should be easy to screen for. What is more common is for folks to die unexpectedly – perhaps in an accident – with the result that their immigrant spouse (who may have American citizen children) would no longer be eligible to stay in this country. The result is an injustice that compounds the tragedy of a family being rent apart by death. This decision goes a long way towards correcting that injustice.
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Jordan's powerful Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday demanded Pope Benedict XVI apologize ahead of his Mideast tour for his previous remarks about the Prophet Muhammad that many Muslims interpreted as insulting their faith.The controversy centers on a speech the pope made in September 2006 about Islam and violence in which he quoted a Medieval text that characterized some of the teachings of Muhammad as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."
"The pope insulted Islam and deeply hurt our feelings back in 2006 and he must apologize now to clear the air with Muslims worldwide," said Brotherhood spokesman Jamil Abu-Bakr. "We expect a written or verbal apology now or right before he visits Jordan."
Excuse me, but given the fact that the Quran is full of blasphemous statements about Jesus Christ. It claims that Jesus was not the Son of God, was not crucified, and did not rise from the dead. It further claims that Jesus was a Muslim. None of this is true, and in the eyes of any true Christian constitutes blasphemy. Add to that multiple other insulting and blasphemous teachings (from a Christian perspective) that are part and parcel of Islam, and the allegedly insulting comment of the Pope ranks as nothing.
Apologize? Never! Call Muslims to repentance and conversion to Christianity? ThatÂ’s the ticket.
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An Ohio union organizer has been fired after he was caught forging documents to deduct money from public employees' wages to pay for political activity, the Service Employees International Union said yesterday.Becky Williams, president of the SEIU District 1199, said she thinks this is an isolated incident, but the union is continuing to investigate.
"There's not another organizer or group of members that were affected," she said.
The organizer, whom Williams declined to identify, had forged about 40 "PAC cards," which are documents that allow the union to deduct about $14 per month from employee wages to pay for the union's political activity.
Now in this case it was merely stealing a few bucks from employees – but imagine if a few unscrupulous folks simply forge the signatures of enough workers to get the union declared the official bargaining unit at a particular workplace. Will workers even know that they have been signed up for a union without their knowledge – or will a simple declaration that “we’ve got a majority” from the union be sufficient to entrench the union as the representative – with any attempt by the employer to help the workers undo the fraud labeled as an “unfair labor practice”?
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“Clean coal is a dirty lie,” says environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who calls President Barack Obama and other politicians who commit taxpayer money to develop it “indentured servants” of the coal industry.
Come on, Junior, you pathetic shadow of a great father. Just come on out and use the term you really wanted to direct at Obama. Call him “boy”, “Stepin Fetchit”, “darkie”, “coon”, or the one you were probably looking for -- you know, the one that starts with "N".
RFK Jr. is, like the rest of his generation of Kennedys, but a pale shadow of the three great young men of the last generation who died for this country. They are, instead, disgraces to the family name, just like their Uncle Teddy.
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April 21, 2009
The FBI announced Tuesday the addition of Daniel Andreas San Diego to the list, hoping a burst of international publicity associated with the move will help investigators find him after six years on the run.San Diego, 31, may appear to be out of place on a terrorist list with familiar names like al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Adam Yahiye Gadahn. The "strict vegan," according to the FBI, is charged with bombing two corporate offices in California in 2003. The blasts caused extensive property damage but no deaths.
Vegans eat no meat or any other food containing animal products.
Authorities allege San Diego bombed facilities in Emeryville and Pleasanton, California, because he believed the Chiron and Shaklee Corporations had ties to animal-testing labs.
Unlike the alleged right-wing threat that DHS issued a report about recently, we do have actual violence being committed, with actual individuals and groups engaging in terrorism. Seems to me that this is where DHS really needs to be focused, educating law enforcement about the real threats rather than making ambiguous statements that could legitimately be seen as tarring over half the nation.
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On the day the new Congress convened this year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to route $25 billion in taxpayer money to a government agency that had just awarded her husband's real estate firm a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms.Mrs. Feinstein's intervention on behalf of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was unusual: the California Democrat isn't a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with jurisdiction over FDIC; and the agency is supposed to operate from money it raises from bank-paid insurance payments - not direct federal dollars.
Documents reviewed by The Washington Times show Mrs. Feinstein first offered Oct. 30 to help the FDIC secure money for its effort to stem the rise of home foreclosures. Her letter was sent just days before the agency determined that CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE) - the commercial real estate firm that her husband Richard Blum heads as board chairman - had won the competitive bidding for a contract to sell foreclosed properties that FDIC had inherited from failed banks.
About the same time of the contract award, Mr. Blum's private investment firm reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it and related affiliates had purchased more than 10 million new shares in CBRE. The shares were purchased for the going price of $3.77; CBRE's stock closed Monday at $5.14.
If this were a Republican, weÂ’d be hearing all about the conflict of interest represented by this legislation. But since Feinstein is a Democrat, it is simply one more case of business as usual by one of Nancy PelosiÂ’s Democrats.
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8 USC Sec. 1325(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts
Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
Imprisonment doesn’t happen in civil cases – only in criminal cases. So would you care to come up with another explanation of why the border-jumping immigration criminals are NOT criminals, when federal law says differently.
H/T Hot Air, Stein Report
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We therefore conclude that the right to keep and bear arms is “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.” Colonial revolutionaries, the Founders, and a host of commentators and lawmakers living during the first one hundred years of the Republic all insisted on the fundamental nature of the right. It has long been regarded as the “true palladium of liberty.” Colonists relied on it to assert and to win their independence, and the victorious Union sought to prevent a recalcitrant South from abridging it less than a century later. The crucial role this deeply rooted right has played in our birth and history compels us to recognize that it is indeed fundamental, that it is necessary to the Anglo-American conception of ordered liberty that we have inherited. We are therefore persuaded that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment and applies it against the states and local governments.
It is really quite simple – if the use of the phrase “the people” in the First Amendment is indicative of an individual right, the same must be true when that phrase is used in the Second Amendment, since it was composed at the same time by the same authors. And if the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates individual rights against the states in regard to the rights protected by the First Amendment, the same must be true of the right guaranteed by the Second Amendment. It is about time that our Second Amendment jurisprudence catches up with our First Amendment jurisprudence.
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"One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that showed the success of the effort," Cheney said.Cheney said he's asked that the documents be declassified because he has remained silent on the confidential information, but he knows how successful the interrogation process was and wants the rest of the country to understand.
"I haven't talked about it, but I know specifically of reports that I read, that I saw, that lay out what we learned through the interrogation process and what the consequences were for the country," Cheney said. "I've now formally asked the CIA to take steps to declassify those memos so we can lay them out there and the American people have a chance to see what we obtained and what we learned and how good the intelligence was."
Now bBarack Obama has already said that the intelligence received from these techniques is no good, so there can be no harm to the national security of the US if it is released – unless, of course, Barack Obama is a bald-faced liar who is intentionally seeking to deceive the American public. After all, there is credible evidence that waterboarding and other techniques did provide good intelligence for the crusade against Islamofascism. So come on, Mr. President – declassify the information and let us judge for ourselves whether you speak the truth.
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The pirate suspect arrested in the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama was all smiles on arriving in New York City late Monday, escorted by a phalanx of law enforcement officers.None of the officers would confirm his identity, but his arrival for trial in the United States had been widely expected.
The suspect arrived at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Office Building in Manhattan, which is linked to a federal detention facility where he was expected to be held pending an appearance in federal court. The timing of that appearance was not immediately available. He was walked through the rain, surrounded by media, as well as officers from federal and New York City law enforcement agencies.
This is, once again, a failure by the US government. Just as we have too often treated terrorism like a criminal justice issue rather than a military issue, we are now doing the same with piracy. Thomas Jefferson knew pirates for what they are – the enemies of all humanity – and treated them accordingly by dispatching Stephen Decatur and the US Marines to Tripoli to deal with them. He didn’t bring them back to the US for trial. We should not be setting this precedent now.
And what we also should not do is follow the line of nonsense put forth by Tony Karon in Time.
A New York trial for Muse is unlikely even to prompt others to refrain from acts of piracy. There is no fear of America among young Somali gunmen, who demonstrated that attitude in the most grisly fashion in the streets of Mogadishu in 1993, during the infamous "Black Hawk down" incident. That event has achieved mythic status in the Somali imagination. Instead, the trial is more likely to prompt Muse's peers to seek symbolic retribution — possibly even prompting them to make his release the condition for freeing some future group of hostages they capture on the high seas. Until now, the Somali pirates have scrupulously avoided harming their captives; their capture has been simply a business transaction. That may soon change. An escalation in the confrontation between the pirates and the ships of richer nations will present a golden opportunity to the Shebab to exploit popular nationalist sentiment and turn the business of piracy into a coastal jihad.A more likely way to turn local sentiment against piracy would be, for example, to put those responsible for holding a shipment of food aid destined to feed the starving in a famine-plagued region on trial in an African court. Somali piracy needs a Somali solution — beginning with the creation of a political order capable of enforcing law and order and protecting Somalia's sovereignty, and offering young Somali men alternative livelihoods. Putting captive pirates on trial may be part of the solution to the piracy problem, but it will only be effective if the courts and laws are seen as legitimate by the communities from which the pirates hail. Putting them on trial in New York may satisfy the desire by many in the U.S. to send a harsh message to those that dare mess with Americans. But it only raises the likelihood of more, and more dangerous, pirate attacks.
Yeah. Right. Sure. That ranks right up there with suggesting that terrorists be tried in Islamic courts under sharia rules as a means of getting the Muslim world to accept the legitimacy of actions taken against them. What such lunacy instead points out is the need to treat these pirate attacks as the military problem they are – and the importance of bombing the bases and sinking the vessels used by pirates in addition to following the rules in the old “Rocks & Shoals” code to be vigorously enforced.
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April 20, 2009
Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton was crowned Miss USA on Sunday, but the big story to come out of the normally politics-free telecast was Miss California's comments regarding gay marriage.When asked by judge Perez Hilton, an openly gay gossip blogger, whether she believed in gay marriage, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, said "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."
Keith Lewis, who runs the Miss California competition, tells FOXNews.com that he was "saddened" by Prejean's statement.
"As co-director of the Miss California USA, I am personally saddened and hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman," said Lewis in a statement. "I believe all religions should be able to ordain what unions they see fit. I do not believe our government should be able to discriminate against anyone and religious beliefs have no politics in the Miss California family."
Co-director Shanna Moakler told FOXNews.com that she fully supported Lewis' statement.
In other words, it is unacceptable for competitors to hold and express the views supported by a majority of Californians last fall.
Oh, yeah – and how does the ever-so-tolerant Perez Hilton deal with the matter? With a typically classless comment about Carrie Prejean.
Hilton, the self proclaimed “Queen of all media” who has campaigned for gay equal rights, called the answer “the worst answer in pageant history”.On a video blog on his website Hilton said, “She lost not because she doesn’t believe in gay marriage, she lost because she’s a dumb bitch!”
Of course, what Hilton does not say is that the reason she is a “dumb bitch” is because she had the integrity to state that she believes what the vast majority of Americans believe, not what an intolerant degenerate media whore like Perez Hilton and his left-wing companions in the pageant movement wanted her to say.
H/T Malkin
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ThatÂ’s the hard part, thinking more about the students than about the content. It is probably the biggest challenge for many career switchers. One doesnÂ’t have to be their buddy, but one has to build relationships of trust. Through that trust students become willing to try when they are struggling, or to go further even when at first it seems easy.The most important thing I do, and the hardest, is getting to know the students, and building on those relationships. The pedagogical process of matching oneÂ’s instruction to the students is easy.
Building that relationship of trust is vital. If you canÂ’t do it then why should your students learn what you want to teach them? And if you can, become a teacher.
What does building a relationship accomplish? Usually, one hopes, higher grades. But it can be other things – like helping a kid redirect his or her life. And at times one gains the trust of students so that they will come to you with real problems – ill family members, for example, or unplanned pregnancies. Indeed, each year I tell my students that I want them to learn the subject matter I am teaching, but it is more important to me that they leave my class a better person than they entered it. After all, we teach the whole person, not just the brain.
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Obama is not the first president to discover that facile changes in U.S. policy don't crack long-standing problems. Some of his new strategies may produce results with time. Yet the real test of an administration is what it does once it realizes that the quick fixes aren't working -- that, say, North Korea and Iran have no intention of giving up their nuclear programs, with or without dialogue, while Russia remains determined to restore its dominion over Georgia. In other words, what happens when it's no longer George W. Bush's fault? That's what the next 100 days will tell us.
With perhaps one exception (the Maersk Alabama), IÂ’ve been unimpressed with ObamaÂ’s foreign policy efforts. HeÂ’s offended allies, degraded the nation, and shown weakness in the face of enemies like Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela. Will he finally see that strength, not weakness, is the path to success?
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April 18, 2009
Perry again showed his lack of regard for the not-so-subtle nuances of history when he expressed his anger at the federal government by chopping the air with his fist and chanting: “I’m talking about states’ rights, states’ rights, states’ rights!”
He said the constitutional protection of states’ rights unfortunately “have melted away over time.”
The crowd loved it, but there is a large segment of Texas citizens who know bitterly that the term “states’ rights” was long militantly employed to fight the melting away of such “rights” as state sanctioning of slavery, enforcement of school segregation and, in Texas, the definition of political parties as private associations permitted to exclude non-whites primaries.
There are certain rights of states that deserve to be protected, but a politician who wants to be leader of all the people doesnÂ’t use terms so tightly bound to such an ugly history.
Now columnist Rick Casey certainly was within his rights to criticize Perry’s statement. He even had some good points among his earlier analysis. But in the end, he decided to play the race card. Casey, not Perry, decided to take statements that had not one word about race in them and transform them into a call for a return to slavery, segregation, and the denial of voting rights. That is fundamentally dishonest on his part – as is his attempt to take the evils imposed upon Texas by the Democrat Party for over a century and use them as a basis to undermine the essential nature of the federal system created in our nation’s Constitution.
Mr. Casey, statesÂ’ rights are an essential part of our constitutional order. While that term has been abused in the past by some in an attempt to justify the unjustifiable, that does not mean that all mention of or appeal to that concept is illegitimate. What is illegitimate, though, is an attempt to turn the discussion of tax policy, the extent of federal power, and the nature of our federal union into some sort of covert appeal to racism.
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[T]he limbic brain inside a right-winger or Republican or conservative or your average white power activist, the limbic brain is much larger in their head space than in a reasonable person, and it's pushing against the frontal lobe. So their synapses are misfiring.
Got that – if you are “a right-winger or Republican or conservative or your average white power activist” (and there is no distinction in her book), you are suffering from a mental illness or neurological disorder. Clearly you need to be hospitalized and/or medicated for your own good and that of society. And Nurse Janeane will be glad to help you get checked in for treatment at the Lavrentiy Beria Psikhushka for the Treatment of Anti-Social Personalities.
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Civil liberties officials at the Homeland Security Department did not agree with some of the language in a controversial report on right-wing extremists, but the agency issued the report anyway.
The intelligence assessment issued to law enforcement last week said some military veterans could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or commit lone acts of violence. That prompted angry reactions from some lawmakers and veterans' groups.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said the report was issued before officials resolved problems raised by the agency's civil rights division. Kudwa would not specify what language raised the concerns.
Remember – this report defined as right-wing extremism “groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.” No telling what sort of supervision that those of us who believe in gun rights, oppose abortion, and want control of our borders – in other words, Republicans.
Fortunately, some Senate Republicans are holding Janet NapolitanoÂ’s feet to the fire.
Dear Secretary Napolitano,
We write today regarding the release of the Department of homeland Security (DHS) report entitled “Rightwing Extremism Current Economic and Policial Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” and prepared by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch of the Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division.
While we agree that extremists of all varieties represent a potential threat to the United States, we are troubled by some of the statements included as fact in the report titled above.
First, your report states that “rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat.” Using the DHS rationale, do you also believe that weapons familiarity and tactical training means local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel, and members of the National Guard, are also being recruited? To suggest that a soldier returning from a combat tour is more prone to join an extremist group is unconscionable and insulting to our brave men and women who risk their lives protecting our freedom.
Second, the report states that the millions of Americans who believe in the Second Amendment are a potential threat to our national security. Why? Do you have statistics to prove that the law-abiding Americans who purchase a legal product are being recruited by so-called hate groups? If so, please present us with DHSÂ’s independent data.
Third, the report identifies those individuals who believe in such issues as pro-life legislation, limited government, legal versus illegal immigration and limited federal government as potential terrorist threats. We can assure you that these beliefs are held by citizens of all races, party affiliations and sex, and should not be listed as a factor in determining potential terror threats. A better way to describe them is as citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.
Also, you listed those who bemoan the decline of U.S. stature and the loss of U.S. manufacturing capability to China and India as being potential rightwing extremists. We would suggest that the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in the manufacturing industry to foreign countries are no potential terror threats, but rather, honest Americans worried about feeding their families and earning a paycheck. Once again, to classify Americans who have lost their jobs as potential terror threats does a disservice to millions of Americans.
In closing, we support the mission of the DHS in protecting our country from terror attacks and are proud of the many DHS employees who make it possible, in conjunction with our state and local law enforcement. We ask that DHS not use this report as a basis to unfairly target millions of Americans because of their beliefs and the rights afforded to them in the Constitution, and that you provide us with the data that supports the claims listed in the report titled above.
Sincerely,
David Vitter (R, Louis.)
Sam Brownback (R, Kansas)
Jim Demint (R, So Car.)
Tom Cobrun (R, Oklahoma)
Richard Burr (R, No. Car.)
Lisa Murkowski (R, Alaska)
James Inhofe (R, Oklahoma)
HereÂ’s hoping that we see some more speak out about this unprovoked attack on American conservatives by the Obama Regime.
And for those who want to connect this report to the FBI’s Operation Vigilant Eagle, there is a clear difference. That program was targeted at specific, identified individuals with known associations with white supremacists and extremist groups. The DHS report goes much further, identifying as suspicious those who hold mainstream political views – and openly admitting that there are no actual threats or activities identified that by intelligence sources that justify this concern.
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The Navy will commission the newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Stockdale, during an 11:00 a.m. PST ceremony on Saturday, April 18, 2009, in Port Hueneme, Calif.
Designated DDG 106, the new destroyer honors Medal of Honor recipient Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale (1923-2005), the legendary leader of American prisoners of war (POWs) during the Vietnam War.
Stockdale was the highest-ranking naval officer ever held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. His plane was shot down Sept. 9, 1965, while flying combat missions over North Vietnam. Stockdale spent more than seven years in captivity at prisons in North Vietnam, including time at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” Four of those years were spent in solitary confinement. While imprisoned, Stockdale is credited with organizing a set of rules to govern the behavior of fellow prisoners of war and for helping to develop a code for prisoners to communicate with each other that included tapping on cell walls. In recognition of his leadership and sacrifice he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1976.
Stockdale received 26 combat medals and awards, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Distinguished Service Medals, two Purple Hearts and four Silver Stars. He was also named to the Aircraft Carrier Hall of Fame, National Aviation Hall of Fame, and was an honorary member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
Admiral Stockdale was one of those men I was brought up to admire for the courage he showed during his years as a POW. He served this nation well, in both war and peace, in both military and civilian life. May the officers and crew of USS Stockdale be worthy of the superior naval officer for whom their ship is named.
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The biggest problem most people have is with their credit cards. A few late or missed payments can cause havoc with your credit rating, as well as your interest rates. And letÂ’s not consider the problems that can arise when you exceed your credit card limits. That not only is not an opening for the company increasing credit limits on your cards, but it could result in your losing the card completely. And then there is the problem of erroneous entries on your credit report.
ThatÂ’s where a service like Credit Nexus can help you out. They ill help you find the mistakes so that you can fix them and have your credit score as high as you deserve so that you get the credit you need.
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April 17, 2009
Steven Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration's auto task force, was one of the executives involved with payments under scrutiny in a probe of an alleged kickback scheme at New York state's pension fund, according to a person familiar with the matter.
A Securities and Exchange Commission complaint says a "senior executive" of Mr. Rattner's investment firm met in 2004 with a politically connected consultant about a finder's fee. Later, the complaint says, the firm received an investment from the state pension fund and paid $1.1 million in fees.
The "senior executive," not named in the complaint, is Mr. Rattner, according to the person familiar with the matter. He is co-founder of the investment firm, Quadrangle Group, which he left to join the Treasury Department to oversee the auto task force earlier this year.
I believe that is called “pay to play” – and if this situation does not involve criminal activity it certainly skirts the line. After all, SEC probes don’t just happen – there has to be some substantive evidence to get them started. The “consultant” in this case has been credibly accused of selling access – and Rattner was meeting him and paying him, which seems to have led to a hefty profit for Rattner and his firm. Shades of Obama-buddy Tony Rezko!
In this case the mere appearance of an impropriety seems to qualify as an impropriety in and of itself.
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Rep. Mark Kirk suggest shooting Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn because of higher taxes.
And here’s the “offending” quote.
“I think that the decision to raise taxes by 50 percent in Illinois is political suicide,” Kirk said of Quinn’s proposal to raise the tax rate to 4.5 percent from 3 percent, coupled with an increase in the personal deduction. “I think the people of Illinois are ready to shoot anyone who is going to raise taxes by that degree.”
Do you notice what’s missing? You know, an actual suggestion that anyone actually kill Pat Quinn (who, I would like to note, I know and respect from my younger days in Illinois politics). With reports like that one, I can only assume that the folks at ThinkProgress are preparing to trademark the phrase “Inacurate and Unbalanced” as their new motto.
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U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd appears to have looked everywhere but his home state to fuel what pundits anticipate will be one of the most hotly contested races in the nation in 2010.
The five-term incumbent reported raising just $4,250 from five Connecticut residents during the first three months of the year while raking in $604,745 from nearly 400 individuals living outside the state.
While incumbents often turn to special interests for early campaign fundraising, Dodd's out-of-state total seems unusually high and comes at a time when he has been plagued by poor approval ratings among state voters.
During his last run for Senate, Dodd got 30% of his donations from Connecticut residents. Now it is well-below 1%. Numbers that low don’t seem to bode well for his reelection – maybe that special insider loan arrangement that broke some months back is going to make him really vulnerable.
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. . . whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
In other words, there is absolutely nothing sacrosanct about the current design of government. Indeed, JeffersonÂ’s words certainly imply the legitimacy of secession. Indeed, the Declaration of Independence clearly notes that at times
. . . it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them. . . .
So as you can see, there is nothing particularly un-American or subversive about secession – unless, of course, one argues that the Declaration of Independence itself is un-American and subversive. And Mr. Lincoln’s war notwithstanding, nowhere does the Constitution state or imply that the people of the several states surrender their right to alter or abolish their form of government or sever the political ties that bind them to the rest (the decision of the Supreme Court in Texas v. White notwithstanding).
Not, mind you, that I believe that secession is a proper goal for any state at this time, much less that it is a desirable one. But in light of certain statements from my stateÂ’s governor yesterday, I feel it important to not that connection to the principles that underlay our nationÂ’s struggle for independence.
So let's see exactly what did Rick Perry say?
Later, answering news reporters' questions, Perry suggested Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union, though he said he sees no reason why Texas should do that.
"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."
Now first off, he isnÂ’t suggesting secession according to what I read. It seems to me that he is offering a theoretical, hypothetical argument similar to what I have stated above. Secondly, it is perfectly in keeping with his recent support for a resolution asserting TexasÂ’ rights under the Tenth Amendment, and I believe that is what he was probably asked about to begin with. But note, please, that he begins his answer with a clear caveat that there is absolutely no reason to dissolve the ties that bind Texans to the rest of the American people. So for those who have gotten your knickers in a knot, might I suggest that you simply dial down your outrage a notch and calmly consider what he has actually said?
Besides, as pointed out elsewhere, he also noted that there were multiple scenarios under which some separation might happen. IÂ’d argue that one of those might be the equivalent of an amicable divorce, with both Congress and the Texas legislature jointly agreeing to the split. Or maybe even a constitutional amendment explicitly overruling the precedent in the wrongly decided Texas v. White.
Oh, and for the record – while I defend Rick Perry here on this one point, it in no way signals a shift in my previously stated intention to support Kay Bailey Hutchison when she challenges Perry for the nomination for governor next year.
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Cleopatra and Mark Antony were immortalised as two of historyÂ’s greatest lovers, but their final resting place has always been a mystery. Now archaeologists in Egypt are about to start excavating a site that they believe could conceal their tombs.
Zahi Hawass, director of EgyptÂ’s Superior Council for Antiquities, said yesterday that there was evidence to suggest that Cleopatra and Mark Antony were buried together in the complex tunnel system underlying the Tabusiris Magna temple, 17 miles from the city of Alexandria.
The dig, which begins next week, could reveal answers to the many myths surrounding the pair — including speculation about the Queen’s reputed beauty and the couple’s suicide. Teams from Egypt and the Dominican Republic will begin excavating three sites along the tunnels in the hope that one of the deep shafts will lead to a burial chamber. The sites were identified by a radar scan.
Now let’s acknowledge something here – Hawass is certainly a sensationalist who is great at promoting wild flights of fancy along with legitimate Egyptology. But the reality is that such announcements have accompanied many significant discoveries. Let’s wait and see if the coming weeks and months bring another announcement – this one telling us that the tomb of two of the world’s most famous lovers has been found.
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Well, in Canada there is a great service at canadianwebhosting.com. They offer a variety of plans for you to meet the needs that you have on the internet. It all depends on your budget, the amount of bandwidth you need, and whether you need a dedicated server. You even have a choice of cpanel or asp hosting options – which ever best suits your needs.
Now here is the great thing about the company -- Canadian Web Hosting has been in the web hosting business since 1998. That tells you that they are not likely to be going away like some hosting services do every year. They are reliable, and can keep you in touch with all the changes in the internet and the underlying technology. So if you are a Canadian interested in a Canadian owned and operated hosting service, these folks are ideal for you!
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April 16, 2009
But I am particularly fond of this retort to that argument from k_romulus, one of those who took the time to comment on that absurd argument.
And I love how the Ed Board complains that guns should be banned in "urban areas" like DC because of "too much" crime, and also banned in remote outposts like National Parks because of "too little" crime. Sounds like Goldilocks to me, but without the "just right." LOL!
4/16/2009 10:04:49 AM
So you see, banning guns is the all-purpose answer for the Post. Too much crime? Ban guns because they are the cause of it. Too little crime? Ban guns because they aren’t needed. I wonder – is there anyplace where the Washington Post feels there is just the right amount of crime to let the American people fully exercise their Second Amendment rights?
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Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS”--symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday and the White House had asked Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the “IHS” monogram that had previously adorned the stage at Georgetown’s Gaston Hall was still covered up--when the pediment where it had appeared was photographed by CNSNews.com.
Sorry, but if you come on a Catholic campus, you are going to have to see crosses and the name of Jesus. If you don’t want that, then don’t come. Ditto appearances at any other Christian institution. After all, Barry, you are merely the President of the United States, and sic transit gloria mundi. But the glory of the risen Christ will never pass away – and God should never be hidden to curry favor with Caesar, especially not when Caesar is speaking in God’s forum.
I’m curious – will the Obama Regime make similar demands to cover up religious imagery when visits Muslim institutions as a part of his giant suck-up to Islam?
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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano apologized to veterans after a report issued by her department said troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were at risk for being recruited by right-wing extremists."To the extent veterans read it as an accusation ... an apology is owed," she said during an on-air interview on FOX News Thursday, a day after veterans' groups and members of Congress blasted her for the report, which they said libeled members of the armed forces.
"This was an assessment, not an accusation," Napolitano continued. "It was limited to extremists those who seek to commit violence within the United States. And all this was meant to do was to give law enforcement what we call 'situational awareness.'"
"The last thing I want to do is offend or castigate all veterans. To the contrary, let's meet and clear the air," she said.
"I'm not running away from it, but I will say it was an assessment. It was not an accusation, and quite frankly, these are products that are produced and shared with law enforcement on a routine basis."
Unfortunately, this report contains no specific information to back up its claims of a right-wing threat of terrorist activity. What’s more, the report tars holders of mainstream political positions – indeed, anyone who believes in the GOP platform adopted last summer – as extremists and potential terrorists. That stands in sharp contrast to previous reports that had a specific focus on actual groups threatening or engaging in violent or criminal activity. And for that reason, Napolitano’s apology does not go far enough. Indeed, her willingness to stand by this report is a sign of her unfitness for the position she holds (or any other position of public trust).
So tell me, where is the apology to the rest of us? And what action will be taken to prevent such shoddy, poorly documented political hit pieces from being issued by DHS in the future? Who is going to lose their job or be demoted over this outrage? Does the buck stop anywhere?
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After the game, Madden went directly to the hospital. It was Madden's first instinct to go to Stingley.
* * * But even at the hospital something was dissonant, out of sync. Expecting to find himself among concerned New England officials, Madden found himself alone. No one from the Patriots was there. Not the owner. Not the coach. No one.
Grabbing a phone, Madden called the Oakland airport. Immediately, he was patched through to the New England charter, taxiing out to take off. A more-than-animated discussion followed. The plane returned to the gate. The business manager was put off.In the hospital, Stingley was conscious, as doctors worked to fit the halo. Having donned surgeon's garb, Madden appeared beside him, leaning close. "Everything's going to be all right," he whispered. If only it had been true.
* * * In the days and weeks that followed, Madden visited Stingley, if not daily, then as often as he could. During one visit, Madden discovered a malfunction in Stingley's ventilator. In summoning a nurse to fix the problem, Madden might have saved Stingley's life.
Madden and Stingley remained friends until the latter’s death – a friendship forged from Madden’s compassion for his fellow man.
After giving up the role of coach, Madden became a beloved broadcaster. And today he has announced the end of an era.
John Madden, the most recognized analyst in television sports, is calling it quits.In a statement issued Thursday morning, Madden, who was NBC's No. 1 NFL analyst on the Peacock's Sunday night package, said: "It's time. I'm 73 years old...It's been such a great ride...the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has been my passion - it still is. I appreciate all of the people who are and were such an important part of the most enjoyable, most fun anyone could have...It's still fun and that's what makes it hard and that's why it took me a few months to make a decision."
This is a loss for the NFL, and for broadcasting. I donÂ’t know of anyone who could replace Madden in terms of expertise, not to mention his frenetic style. Sundays just wonÂ’t be the same this fall.
Farewell, John – good health and long life to you. And thank you for so many memories, and for the show of real manhood that so struck me when I was a kid that it has remained the first thing to come to my mind whenever I hear your name.
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Obama earned $139,204 as a Democratic senator from Illinois last year before leaving his seat after winning the November election. Michelle Obama received a salary of $62,709 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she was an executive.
One minor detail – Michelle Obama did no work for the University of Chicago Hospitals last year. She was busy on the campaign trail for Barack. What exactly was she being paid for?
Is it just me, or might there be a need for a special prosecutor to investigate this matter – especially given Barack Obama’s history of getting money earmarked for his wife’s employer?
H/T Gateway Pundit
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April 15, 2009
UNC-CH police released pepper spray and threatened to use a Taser on student protesters Tuesday evening when a crowd disrupted a speech by former Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo opposing in-state tuition benefits to unauthorized immigrants.Hundreds of protesters converged on Bingham Hall, shouting profanities and accusations of racism while Tancredo and the student who introduced him tried to speak. Minutes into the speech, a protester pounded a window of the classroom until the glass shattered, prompting Tancredo to flee and campus police to shut down the event.
Tancredo was brought to campus by a UNC chapter of Youth for Western Civilization, a national organization of students who oppose mass immigration, multiculturalism and affirmative action.
Before the event, campus security removed two women who delayed Tancredo's speech by stretching a 12-foot banner across the front of the classroom. It read, "No dialogue with hate."
I agree. There can be no dialogue with the sort of Leftist hate displayed at UNC. And if police cannot keep order, it may be time for the average citizen to act to defend the exercise of First Amendment rights through the prudent exercise of Second Amendment rights. After all, how many of these violent thugs would attempt to shut down speakers if they knew that their force would be met with force?
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10:35 AM
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There will be no tea-dumping in the Potomac River -- that's illegal -- but organizers of today's national tea party tax protest found out this morning that so is their plan to dump a million tea bags in Lafayette Square to demonstrate displeasure at government spending and tax policies.Protesters, using a rented truck to haul the million tea bags, began unloading their cargo at the park this morning but were told by officials that they didn't have proper permits and must move the tea. They complied with the order but are still considering what to do with the load.
SO what we have here is a case of government denying permits for speech that challenges the government. I guess this is a part of the hope and change we can believe in – and can’t help but note that if this same thing had happened with left-wing protests during the Bush years there would have been massive rioting and complaints of the quashing of political dissent.
And I wonder, too – what would Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty have done?
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10:34 AM
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I don't know why it has stuck with me so long and so intensely.
Sunday, I went to church like always. But this time I found myself seated near someone I usually don't sit near, a NASA doctor and his family. They are really great people, and I have always liked them enough.
So, why am I noting this, days later.
It is what happened when it came time for the reading of scripture and the sermon.
Our pastor announced the Gospel reading, and they all immediately whipped out -- their iPhones!
I was shocked. Could they really be getting ready to text during the sermon?
And then I caught a glimpse of the screen of one of the phones as they scrolled down. It was, much to my surprise, the Easter story from the Gospel of John!
I guess technology is changing everything. Now you don't even need your Bible at church -- just your phone.
Any reactions?
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10:32 AM
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