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Crime - Mauro Zuñiga Arauz - Panama - Terrorism - War On Drugs

PANAMA: Another Narcotics-Dictatorship Massacre

February 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Mauro Zuñiga Arauz

On February 5 in the early morning hours the narcotics-dictatorship that oppresses the Panamanians, led by the fascist Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, began a repression against indigenous Gnoble-Bugle groups, who keep the Interamerican road closed to protest against the approval of the law that allows mining and the construction of dams in the indigenous territory. These same groups were victims in July 2010 of another slaughter for the same reasons and by the same government. At the time of writing this article, two natives were known dead and hundreds were injured. The information is incomplete because the tyranny cut all communications with the provinces, such that we are only receiving fragmented news in the capital city. There are indigenous leaders who speak of eleven dead.

For several months I’ve been reporting the Martinelli administration’s dictatorial nature. Panama is a country of 3.5 million people. According to recent figures, foreign debt increased by three billion dollars, so that the much vaunted economic growth is nothing more than a mortgage on future generations as I have pointed out on another occasion. The cost of basic food items rises every day and with it, poverty rates. Crime and public insecurity are at the highest levels in our history. Insecurity is promoted by the government itself to justify hiring more soldiers with the corresponding expenses.
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PANAMA: Another Narcotics-Dictatorship Massacre”

Congress - Constitution - Daniel Clark - Democrats/Leftists - Liberals

That’s Why We Have a Bill of Rights, Dr. Paul

February 7, 2012 by

-By Daniel Clark

Do state governments have the right to legalize murder? According to Ron Paul, they do.

During a January 19th debate in Charleston, South Carolina, former senator Rick Santorum charged that Congressman Paul, in spite of his fervent advocacy of the anti-abortion cause, has only about a 50 percent pro-life voting record in Congress. Incredibly, Paul’s response was that the slaughter of innocent human beings — as he unambiguously recognizes abortion to be — is none of the federal government’s business. “All other violence is handled by the states,” he said. “That’s a state issue.”

While it’s true that murder and other violent acts are prosecuted at the state level, it does not follow that the states have the authority to legalize them. The Fifth Amendment says, “No person shall … be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.” By taking the position that the systematic killing of millions of innocent people is a state issue, Paul must suppose that the Bill of Rights is a mere suggestion, from which the states may opt out.

If Paul insists on constantly warbling on about the Constitution, he really ought to go back and re-read it. He often cites the Tenth Amendment to support his libertarian philosophy of devolving power to the states, but that is not what it prescribes in all cases. What it says is, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” (emphasis added)
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That’s Why We Have a Bill of Rights, Dr. Paul”

Alan Caruba - Anti-Americanism - Book Reviews - Budget - Business - Congress - Conservatives - Democracy - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Ethics - Free Trade - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - President - Republicans - Socialism - Taxes - WWII

The New American Elite

February 6, 2012 by

-By Alan Caruba

The only constant in the life of individuals and nations is change. Since the beginning of the last century, the process or rate of change has accelerated with the invention and availability of a myriad of machines, technologies that have altered the lifestyle of Americans as well as of millions around the world.

Let me put it in personal terms. When I was born in the late 1930s, my Mother washed the family laundry by hand and hung it out to dry on sunny days or in the basement of our home if it was raining. We were not poor. We were middle class. My Father was a Certified Public Accountant and we lived in a spacious suburban home in an upscale New Jersey community. Mass produced washers and dryers would arrive after the end of World War Two.

The differences between lower economic classes, the middle class, and upper classes were well defined back then. All, however, generally held the same values regarding societal institutions such as marriage, religion, national pride. Those values have eroded since the 1960s and Charles Murray, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, whose new book, “Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010” ($27.00, Crown Forum) tells you how and why.
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The New American Elite”

Dr. Don Boys - Washington D.C.

Getting Rid of Rats in Washington!

February 5, 2012 by

-By Don Boys, Ph.D.

I have long thought that the world is nuts, especially the world of Washington, D.C. Now I am sure. It seems Washington, D.C. has a rat problem. No, not that kind, the four-legged kind. Some of the rats are big as cats, so big that some homeowners are fearful of permitting their cats to confront the rats after dark.

Traditionally, rats have always been fearful of cats, but not these super rats!

Rats have infested some half-million-dollar homes and have been seen robbing bird feeders in daylight. Other homeowners have had rats come up in the commode from the sewer system. One family had that experience three times! That could mean a new experience when one goes to the potty, especially at night. While you dribble, dribble, dribble the rats can nibble, nibble, nibble.
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Getting Rid of Rats in Washington!”

Alan Caruba - Barack Obama - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - President

Does Obama Want to Lose? Yes!

February 4, 2012 by

-By Alan Caruba

It seems like a bizarre notion, but does Barack Obama want to lose the election in November?

I think he does!

One is struck by the way Obama has visibly aged in the job. He may well have grown weary being POTUS.

By any rational standard, one would say he wants a second term, but Obama has always operated in a fantasy world where mere words are supposed to translate into reality. And he has repeatedly talked about being a one-term president.

He is, after all, his own invention; the author of two memoirs of a life that had little achievement to point to other than getting elected first to the Illinois legislature and then to the Senate where he lingered a bare two years before running for president.

I raise the question because Obama seems to be deliberately irritating the very people who are supposed to be his “base”; the hard core liberals, the Hollywood crowd, youth, and unions, among others. His partisanship has put Congress into total gridlock.
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Does Obama Want to Lose? Yes!”

Christianity - Entertainment - Michael Bresciani‏ - Movies - Religion

Movie Review: COURAGEOUS – ‘Honor Begins at Home’

February 3, 2012 by

-By Rev Michael Bresciani

Courageous is triumphantly American and unashamedly Christian. The film wreaks havoc on the generally accepted idea that everything that goes wrong with adults can be traced back to bad childhood experiences which then become excuses for the worst behaviors we can produce.
It is the idea of standing up to take responsibility for our actions that compel the principal and lead actor in the movie, Alex Kendrick (Adam Mitchell) to draw others into his decision to put his commitments down on paper and sign them after which they are made public to Church, friends and family.

Kendrick is obviously the anchor in this film, but he catches you off guard because just when you thought he was just some stodgy middle aged cop who lived for the job and a good football game he takes flight. He soars into places a lot of men will never go, and don’t even want to think about. He carries the plot from loss, to courage, and then one step further to honor. It is bravery in the long run that Kendrick is after, rather than one single act of heroism followed by a life of ease and past glories.

Three other men are drawn into Adam’s plan, they are all Sheriff’s deputies like Adam and while they needed a bit of coaxing they decide to sign the act of responsibility along with their co-worker.

The deputies work in the mid-sized city of Albany, Georgia where most of the picture was actually shot. The town is listed as one of the poorest in the United States but has been beautified in the last few years and is home to the Albany Civil Rights Institute. The town has a mixed population of about 77,000 in Dougherty County which has a total population of 96,000, but it has its fair share of gangs, drugs and criminals.
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Movie Review: COURAGEOUS – ‘Honor Begins at Home’”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Government - Jeff Lukens - Liberals - President

America After Obama

February 2, 2012 by

-By Jeff Lukens

Barack Obama has gone from the “one we’ve been waiting for” to the one we can’t wait to kick out. No one ever thought one man could bring the nation to its knees, but here he is living in the White House. And on our knees we have been praying for the day that he leaves.

The audacity of a president hell-bent on destroying our great nation has truly been a stunning spectacle to observe. No lie is too ridiculous to tell about anyone who opposes him. With a compliant media behind him, the smears this Demagogue-in-Chief promises to unleash on his opponent this fall could divide the county so badly that it becomes ungovernable.

The societal tensions Obama promised to ease have worsened by his politics of envy. The racial healing he promised has been made worse. Despite overwhelming opposition, he forced a health plan on the people that few want. He has trampled on the Constitution, and infringed on powers granted to Congress. He has bailed out auto companies, investment bankers and insurance companies. He has given Constitutional rights to terrorists.
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America After Obama”

Budget - California - Children - Democrats/Leftists - Larry Sand - Liberals - Los Angeles - Taxes - Teachers Unions

Jerry Brown and CTA: Testphobic Twins

February 1, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

Children in the Golden State will get a better education when teacher quality becomes a priority

In perhaps the most in-depth study on the subject to date, three Ivy League economists studied how much the quality of individual teachers matters to their students over the long term. The paper, by Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia, tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years, and using a value added approach, found that teachers who help students raise their standardized test scores have a lasting positive effect on those students’ lives beyond academics, including lower teenage-pregnancy rates, greater college matriculation and higher adult earnings. (The authors of the study define “value added” as the average test-score gain for a teacher’s students “…adjusted for differences across classrooms in student characteristics such as prior scores.”)

The only caveat from the authors is that using test scores in teachers’ evaluations could lead to “teaching to the test or cheating.” Nothing new here. Some people, when involved in any kind of competition, will try to gain unfair advantage or cheat outright. Typically, it’s a small part of the population and those who do should lose their jobs and face criminal charges.

The lesson is clear: test scores can give us a great deal of information about who the really good teachers are. But California Governor Jerry Brown, unfazed by the blockbuster study, actually called for less testing in his recent State of the State address.
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Jerry Brown and CTA: Testphobic Twins”

Elections - Frank Salvato - GOP - Government - President - Republicans

There’s a Difference Between Vetting and Smearing

January 31, 2012 by

-By Frank Salvato

Call it wishful thinking. Call it expecting the campaigns to honor what the American people have been demanding for several election cycles. Call it what you will, but I admit, I am one of the life-long Conservatives and Republicans who finds the attack ad blitz being perpetrated by our GOP presidential candidates against one another over-the top and, quite frankly, embarrassing. It is one thing to illuminate an opponent’s past record, even his past behavior where it applies to his ability to execute elected office, but it is quite another to engage in the slash-and-burn, win-at-all-cost political tactics of the Progressive Left. We, as Conservatives and as Republicans are better than that…we have to be.

The recent exchanges between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich about lobbying, taxes, who is more Conservative than who, etc., serve as a perfect example of destruction (read: negative) politics. Truth be told, aside from the fact that we now know Newt Gingrich had a rider in his consulting contract with Freddie Mac that prohibited him – or any of his team – from lobbying, and aside from the fact that we now know venture capitalist Mitt Romney is wealthy and pays the least amount of taxes legally possible, what did we learn from any point brought up by either candidate that weighed heavily on the negative?

For the record, being a venture capitalist is not only legal, when done in a responsible manner, i.e. when done successfully so that investors glean profits from companies that are set on the path to prosperity, they create employment opportunities and products that help the Capitalist economic cycle. The last time I checked the United States employed a Capitalist economic system, much to the chagrin of the Progressive Left.

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There’s a Difference Between Vetting and Smearing”

Abortion - Christianity - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Liberals - Michael Bresciani‏ - Religion - Roe v. Wade

Embattled American Children – 39 Years of Roe v. Wade

January 30, 2012 by

-By Rev Michael Bresciani

Thirty nine years of the product of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision to allow abortion has taken a gruesome toll on human life. America composes only one twentieth of the world’s population, but has accounted for one third of all of the abortions performed in the entire world. Over 54 million lives have been cut short to protect a women’s right to protect her own body against a child’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

More children die in a day and a half to the scourge of abortion than all the casualties of the Iraq war. People protest, pray and petition their congressional representatives more than ever before, but no one dares challenge the law that has opened the gates to wholesale slaughter of the innocents in this nation. Being in a mother’s womb is still the most dangerous place to be anywhere in the world. The battle zones and famine ravaged areas of our world are safer by far.

It is beyond comprehension that the American scientific community is forced to admit that within weeks, a human embryo has a heartbeat, brain waves, fingerprints and a discernible behavioral personality and yet they claim they do not know when human life really begins. If this is the best science can do; we may all want to skip science and grow up dumb. At least we could grow up!
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Embattled American Children – 39 Years of Roe v. Wade”

Christianity - Christmas - Frederick Meekins - Religion

Christmas Irritants Pervasive

January 29, 2012 by

-By Frederick Meekins

Use to be during the Christmas season in modern America, if the individual wanted a little buzz during the holidays, they would slip a bit of something into their eggnog. Now, all you have to do to feel that surge of agitated surliness is to turn on the news or read about those turning themselves into the hind quarters of the species the Holy Family rode into Bethlehem in order to pay the assessed tax (an existential financial matter it seems fewer and fewer could possibly relate to).

If you think it is only secularists making an overall nuisance of themselves, you are in for a bigger disappointment than finding a lump of coal in your stocking Christmas morning.

For better or worse, the Internet is widespread enough that most are aware that there is nothing in the Bible compelling believers to participate in the celebration of the birth of Christ even though His miraculous arrival is documented in the pages of Scripture and that many of the trappings such as decorations and related customs now imbedded with meanings symbolizing the spiritually profound account have (to invoke a word of sectarian irony) less than kosher origins.

However, for the most part, Christians on either side of the divide have established a kind of amicable truce where for the most part about the worst that they do to their counterparts is to look down their noses at one another and snicker how peculiar or inconsistent the ones on the side of the debate opposite their own happen to be.
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Christmas Irritants Pervasive”

Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - President - Republicans - Selwyn Duke - Senate - Taxes

In Praise of a Do-nothing Congress

January 28, 2012 by

-By Selwyn Duke

Here’s a question: how can we expect to have small government if we condemn Congress for not growing it?

It’s always a disturbing experience when you’re accosted with a picture of Harry Reid, as I was upon logging on to Drudge last Monday afternoon. But at least his image bore a fitting caption: “MOST FUTILE EVER.” I then clicked the link and found myself at The Washington Times – normally a quite sane organ of the media – and learned the meaning of the caption: the Times was lamenting a do-nothing Congress and presented Reid as its poster boy. Writes the paper, “It’s official: Congress ended its least-productive year in modern history after passing 80 bills – fewer than during any other session since year-end records began being kept in 1947.”

Writes Duke, “It’s official: conservatives are completely confused about what begets big government.”

The paper then expanded on its theme, pointing out that Congress set a record for “legislative futility” according to something called the “futility index.”

I’ll tell you what’s futile: complaining about a loss of freedom while chastising legislators for not spawning enough bills.
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In Praise of a Do-nothing Congress”

Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Jobs - Larry Sand - Liberals - Los Angeles - Public Employees Unions - School Choice - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

Exposing a 40-Year Education Crime: Why California Needs School Choice

January 28, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

Busting LAUSD and every other school district in the state for negligence should help kids, but it’s anyone’s guess as to when. In the meantime, giving families more educational options would be a great help, but don’t hold your breath, California.

With National School Choice Week underway, we see many positive things happening across the country. In states like New Jersey and Louisiana, governors are taking the lead in proposing ways to break the devastating monopoly that government run schools – their educrat leaders, corrupt and/or inept school boards and the powerful teachers unions — have held for far too long.

As an example of Big Education gone bad, I write in City Journal about a crime that has been perpetrated on the children of California for 40 years and the lawsuit that addresses it:
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Exposing a 40-Year Education Crime: Why California Needs School Choice”

Alan Caruba - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Energy - Ethics - Government - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - Money - Oil - President - Senate - Taxes

Destroying America by Denying Access to Energy

January 27, 2012 by

-By Alan Caruba

It is the crime of the century that America, home to some of the world’s greatest reserves of coal, natural gas and oil, is being deliberately destroyed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior as they do everything in their power to restrict access and drive energy producers out of business.

It is common sense that a nation that cannot produce sufficient electricity to turn on its lights and power its manufacturing sector will be destroyed if current Obama administration regulations and actions continue. Our vital transportation sector and all others that utilize petroleum-based products will suffer, too.

While President Obama babbles about millionaires and billionaires, everyone will be impoverished by the loss of jobs and revenue our energy sector produces now and can produce in the future.

This isn’t an “energy policy.” It’s a “no-energy policy” and it is a guarantee of economic disaster.
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Destroying America by Denying Access to Energy”

Christianity - Dr. Don Boys - Elections - GOP - Mitt Romney - Mormons - President - Religion - Republicans

Questions No Reporter Will Ask Romney!

January 26, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Don Boys, Ph.D.

We are told that a politician’s religion is private and is of no concern to anyone. In fact, it is supposed to be bigoted to inquire what a candidate believes; however, that is dangerous non-thinking. Since religion is an extremely personal thing making up the character and principles of a person, it is insane not to consider a candidate’s religion.

Harry Truman was a Baptist, but not a very good one; however, what he learned from church and the Bible sure affected millions of people on earth, especially Israel. When Israel declared itself a nation on May 14, 1948, Truman recognized the new state without going through his advisors. He did it knowing most of his close advisors and both the State and War Departments were against the recognition.

The politicians were fearful that Muslim states would cut off our access to oil and the possibility of a Soviet/Arab alliance. May 15, the Arab states issued their statements of opposition and immediately invaded the new nation–and got their tails whipped. (Muslims are slow learners and got their tails whipped repeatedly over the following years.) That first Israeli/Arab war is known as the War of Independence.
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Questions No Reporter Will Ask Romney!”

Christianity - Conservatives - Elections - Michael Bresciani‏ - President - Religion

Conservative President? Yes, But Not by Opinion

January 25, 2012 by

-By Rev Michael Bresciani

That, I am not alone in the struggle to bring conscience, faith and the Bible itself back into the national psyche offers little consolation because, God seems to have required this at a time when it is anything but vogue. But of all the absurd attempts to remove any mention of God from the public, perhaps the latest effort tops anything that has happened to date.

District Judge, Ronald Lagueux ruled that Cranston High School in Rhode Island must remove a placard that has been in the school for decades because it ends with the word “Amen.” The authoritarian ‘out with it’ was supposedly dignified by the judge in a forty page opinion stating all his learned and wise reasons to oust the placard.

Student, Jessica Ahlquist thought the banner should go, so she sued her school to remove the placard which has been in place since 1963. Up until April of 2011 students may have looked at, and pondered the message of the placard, while others passed by and gave it no thought. Now that one student, and one judge, who is an atheist, has formed an opinion, the history of the placard is finished. Ahlquist can now be found on You Tube explaining the launch of her new career as an anti-religion activist. Just when you begin to adjust to this kind of absurdity, along comes another high flying judge in the state where ‘the wind comes sweepin down the plain.’
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Conservative President? Yes, But Not by Opinion”

Alan Caruba - Anti-Americanism - Anti-War - Barack Obama - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - GOP - Government - Liberals - Military - President - Senate - Taxes

Obama Weakens the Military

January 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Alan Caruba

“Si vis pacem, para bellum.” If you want peace, plan for war. The adage is attributed to the 4th or 5th century Latin author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus’s tract De Re Militari book 3. This fundamental wisdom is being ignored by President Obama, one of two recent Commanders-in-Chief who never spent a day in uniform, let alone under fire.

In a recent American Thinker commentary by Jim Yardley, he said, “It is apparent that the president, in developing his strategy, used the same extensive knowledge, his superior intellect, and worldly wealth of experience that he brought to his strategy for his $800-billion stimulus, his strategy for providing cost-free health care to millions of Americans, and his strategy for using ‘smart diplomacy’ to defuse not spots around the world.”

Perhaps receiving the Nobel Peace Prize barely months into his first year as President has convinced Obama that he is the man to get all our enemies to join hands and sing Kumbaya. Obama accepted the prize that has gone to other seekers of peace like Yassir Arafat, founder of the Palestinian Liberation Organization or co-winners, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore. The IPCC and Gore have led the greatest hoax of the modern era, global warming, and Arafat rejected every effort at peace offered by Israel by going back on his word and using terrorism to achieve his goals.

There is no question that the announced cuts to the U.S. military budget are, in part, the result of the domestic run up of debt and borrowing the followed the financial crisis of 2008; itself the result of bad government policies regarding the wholesale granting of mortgages to people who could not afford homes, then bundling those bad mortgages and selling them as assets to the banks.
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Obama Weakens the Military”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - Jobs - President - Republicans - Selwyn Duke - Taxes

If Republicans Want to Win, They Must Rebrand ‘Capitalism’

January 23, 2012 by

-By Selwyn Duke

One of the simplest rhetorical truths is that the side that defines the vocabulary of a debate wins the debate. Yet, amazingly, we still see experienced conservative politicians with access to advanced polling operations and an array of advisors use the Lexicon of the Left. And this election cycle is no exception.

I could almost cringe when I hear – as I did repeatedly during Monday’s South Carolina GOP debate – Republicans talk about “capitalism.” “I believe in capitalism….” “Barack Obama doesn’t believe in capitalism…..” Capitalism this and capitalism that – look at me with my plump wallet, walking stick and tony top hat. Oh, it’s not that I don’t believe in free enterprise; it’s that we shouldn’t use words that conjure up sentiments akin to the preceding rhyme.

And polls inform that this is precisely what “capitalism” does. For example, Pew Research Center reports, “Slightly more than half (52%) react positively to the word ‘capitalism,’ compared with 37% who say they have a negative reaction.” According with this is a 2009 Rasmussen poll showing that, shockingly, “only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.” And the picture looks even worse with certain demographic groups. Writes Pew, “Fewer than half of young people, women, people with lower incomes and those with less education react positively to ‘capitalism.’”
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If Republicans Want to Win, They Must Rebrand ‘Capitalism’”

Alan Caruba - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Cold War - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Free Trade - Government - Liberals - President - Socialism - Taxes

The U.S. is on a Suicide Watch

January 22, 2012 by

-By Alan Caruba

In 1991, the Soviet Union, arguably the greatest experiment in Communism, collapsed. After Mao Zedong died in 1976, his successors moved to shift its Communist economy to one that embraced Capitalism while retaining centralized government control.

Following World War Two, the recovering nations of Europe were rescued from Communism by the Marshall Plan, but adopted Communism-Light in the form of Socialism. The U.S. was already headed in that direction, creating programs that we now call “entitlements.” For most of the nation’s history, such “entitlements” did not exist.

What binds together the financial problems of the West is the common thread of infantile behavior and thought. One might call it wishful thinking. Instead of encouraging people to provide for old age and possible illness, politicians decided to turn government into Big Daddy, the eternal source of money for everything.

Need to go to college, start a business, or plan for retirement? Government would be there to help. All this ignored the need to actually pay for these programs. In the case of Social Security Congress began to dip into its funding to pay for other programs! This is what children do.
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The U.S. is on a Suicide Watch”

Bill Clinton - Daniel Clark - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Liberals

Bubba Takes The Cake: At last, the Clinton Legacy

January 21, 2012 by

-By Daniel Clark

Former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier likes Bill Clinton, so there’s no reason he would have made up the story he told at the Katzen Center for the Arts, as cited by an article in Washingtonian magazine’s Capital Comment Blog. Not that there would be any reason to doubt him, since his anecdote is so quintessentially Clintonian as to practically corroborate itself.

Describing the 42nd president’s appetite as “scary,” Mesnier told the story of how Clinton gobbled up half a strawberry cake in one evening, and then awoke the next morning expecting more. “No one could find the cake,” the story goes, perhaps because someone had gotten the crazy idea that it had been intended for more than one person. “Clinton was pounding on the table and shouting, ‘I want my goddamned cake!'”

What an epitaph for the most spoiled, overindulgent, quick-tempered, self-absorbed glutton ever to serve in the Oval Office. If almost anyone else had, for whatever reason, devoured that much in one sitting, that person wouldn’t want to look at another piece of cake for weeks. In Clinton’s case, having consumed half a strawberry cake only served to remind him of half a strawberry cake. Therefore, he did what to him was only natural, and angrily demanded half a strawberry cake.
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Bubba Takes The Cake: At last, the Clinton Legacy”

Conservatives - Elections - Ethics - Frank Salvato - GOP - Government - President - Republicans

An ‘Axelrod-esque’ Moment for Gingrich

January 20, 2012 by

-By Frank Salvato

Almost on the eve of the South Carolina GOP Primary, ABC News is set to televise an interview with Newt Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne, where she claims the presidential contender asked her for an “open marriage” so that he could see the woman that would become his third wife, Callista. Truth be told, this is a re-hashed interview, the original having run in Esquire Magazine in 2010. Which leaves us this to consider: the execution and airing of this interview is either an attempt by a woman scorned to even the score, a politically motivated hit-piece, or both. Whichever it turns out to be, the one thing it won’t be is a game changer.

That Newt Gingrich has had marital issues in his past is common knowledge. Anyone shocked by this news should not consider themselves well-informed. Anyone offended by the marital transgressions of his past should heed the words from a follow-up Esquire Magazine article:

“…Love makes fools of us all, etc., and liberals who believe in parole and rehabilitation really should think at least once before they snicker at the religious folks who have decided to believe in Newt’s remorse for his past behavior.”

In a recent article titled, Political Baggage: Establishment & Media Manipulation, in which I wrote about Mr. Gingrich’s infidelity issues, juxtaposing them to the sexual peccadilloes of myriad Democrat and Progressive politicians, I argued:
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An ‘Axelrod-esque’ Moment for Gingrich”

Budget - Business - Congress - Crony Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Frank Salvato - GOP - Government - Liberals - President - Taxes

Raiding of the Treasury to Bribe the Irresponsible

January 19, 2012 by

-By Frank Salvato

A little publicized political story, if played out to the satisfaction of California Democrats (read: Progressives), would not only set the stage for a politically motivated raid on the US Treasury, it would afford President Obama, his administration and political operatives plausible deniability in any “coincidental” benefit to Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign. And if you don’t think that has David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and David Plouffe salivating, you haven’t been paying attention for the past three years.

According to a report by TheHill.com:

“A long list of California Democrats is urging President Obama to name a new housing regulator using a controversial recess appointment.

“In a letter to the president, more than two dozen House members said the temporary head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Edward DeMarco, simply hasn’t done enough to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. The lawmakers are pushing the president to name a permanent director ‘immediately.’

“‘FHFA has consistently and erroneously interpreted its mandate far too narrowly and as such has failed to take adequate action to help homeowners,’ the lawmakers wrote. ‘Installing a permanent director of the FHFA will allow the FHFA to move forward to make key decisions that will help keep families in their homes and improve our economy.’”

Okay, let’s first examine the FHFA. According to their website:
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Raiding of the Treasury to Bribe the Irresponsible”

Christianity - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Michael Bresciani‏ - Religion - Republicans

Independent and Undecided Voters are now Cleared for Landing

January 18, 2012 by

-By Rev Michael Bresciani

Estimates run around 40 percent for independent voters in this election cycle. Many answers are offered for why this phenomenon is so prevalent right now in the nation, but few are viewing it as a possibility of a growing sense of confusion and uncertainty.

Barack Obama has been castigated in the media for proclaiming that Americans may have gotten “lazy” in the last few years, so, where would someone come in who calls us wishy washy and confused? Unlike Barack Obama, I am sure that I love America, I will salute the flag and I don’t think we were ever a Muslim nation, nor do we want to be. I’ll take my chances with the people of this nation.

The Iowa caucuses may be the quintessential example of what happens when voters are uncertain. That may be completely understandable, unless for some reason, there is cause to believe, that it is more than uncertainty, but confusion itself, which may have caused the voters to flip from one front runner to the next in a matter of days in some cases.
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Independent and Undecided Voters are now Cleared for Landing”

Conservatives - Elections - GOP - Republicans - Selwyn Duke

The Myth of Bad Republican Candidates

January 17, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

Repeat a big Democrat talking point often enough, and it becomes the truth. There is a certain liberal narrative that has recently filtered down to many independents and even some conservatives: the idea that the current crop of Republican candidates is weak, wanting and worrisome. The lament is, “Hell’s bells, the guy in the White House is out of his depth, but what alternatives does the GOP offer?” The idea, I suppose, is that we might as well just re-elect Barack Obama. At least he has four years of golfing, government-growing and greenback-gobbling experience.

This characterization of the Republican field much reminds me of the gratuitous criticism of the U.S. by the hate-America-first crowd. Okay, you say America is a bad country. Compared to what? Some imaginary Utopia that will never exist? Because in the real world, the U.S. has been besting her competition for a long time.

Many repeat the statist talking point about the GOP contenders’ alleged ineptitude simply because of media spin and the branding iron of repetition. Yet others do, in fact, have unrealistic expectations. They have in mind an ideal, a utopia of a politician; a person who agrees with them on every major issue, possesses eloquence and decent looks, and has never strayed from ideological purity. And when this imaginary figure doesn’t appear, they ask, “Is this the best our political class has to offer?!”
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The Myth of Bad Republican Candidates”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Larry Sand - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

More Pension Truths and Why You Should be Very Angry

January 16, 2012 by

-By Larry Sand

How much is that sweet retired teacher who lives down the street draining from your bank account? As the public employee pension mess worsens in California, little Rhode Island shows a way out.

In last week’s post, I focused on “air time,” a little known scheme in California and 20 other states that allows teachers and other public employees to pad their pensions at taxpayers’ expense. Also, not very well known is just how many of Joe and Jill Taxpayer’s tax dollars are going into the pockets of retired teachers.

In California, teachers contribute 8 percent of their pay to their retirement system. Where do the rest of the contributions come from? The current rates include 8.25 percent from the teacher’s employer and 2 percent from the state. But wait a minute. Who is the teacher’s employer? It’s the school district. In Los Angeles, for example, most school district money comes from the state, some from the federal government and the rest is local revenue. Hence, the employer’s contribution is all really the taxpayer’s burden, as the state, city and feds generate no money on their own. So it would be much more honest to say that 10.25 percent comes from the taxpayer.

Let’s look at the taxpayer’s responsibility another way. Sandy, a teacher I know, worked for 24 years in CA and retired at age 61. The amount of money she contributed into the system at retirement (including interest accrued along the way) was about $150,000. Sandy started collecting a pension of about $40,000 year (plus a yearly 2 percent COLA increase) for life. Whatever interest this money accrues over the next few years, Sandy’s contribution will have evaporated in about four years. So, at age 65 she will start living off other people’s money – whatever the “employer” (i.e. taxpayers) kicked in, whatever the “government” (i.e. taxpayers) kicked in and whatever is left, the taxpayers will have to fork over.
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More Pension Truths and Why You Should be Very Angry”

Christianity - Dr. Don Boys - Martin Luther King, Jr. - Race

Some Facts and Opinions about Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

-By Don Boys, Ph.D.

Well, it is that time of year when I write my annual column about MLK and his national holiday. As usual, most of the media refuse to read or hear anything negative about him. They are self-appointed guardians of the holy grail. However, they were sure thrilled to write about another Black man–Herman Cain! King’s statement that a person should be judged by his character not the color of his skin is obvious to everyone except the dedicated haters. However, most media, entertainment, and academic people do not practice that philosophy even though nodding in agreement. The media considers facts about King not to be discussible.

Without any reservation I agree with King’s observation that we must judge people by their character and nothing else and will do just that as I take a look at King without any prejudice. I wonder if radical leftists, King worshipers, white liberals, black non-thinkers, media moguls, Joe Six-Pac, and others will do the same? Look at the King facts as you try to control your emotions.

The following facts about King are irrefutable whereas my opinions can be discussed, debated, and disbelieved by anyone. The documentation can be found in my 22-page report “Martin Luther King, Jr.: Judged by His Character, Not His Color.” (cstnews.com)

King was a confessed adulterer having many prostitutes and mistresses as all informed people know; however, we are not supposed to mention that sin in his life. We are told that he was not perfect and was, indeed, a flawed person. That is supposed to negate any criticism; however, while King, his best friend, and his very friendly biographer admit the unsavory fact, we won’t dwell on it. But the media sure dwelt on Cain’s alleged sexual problems. And the charges against Cain were as fishy as a ten-day-dead Grouper.
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Some Facts and Opinions about Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Anti-Americanism - Christmas - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Frederick Meekins - Government - Holiday - Liberals - PCism - Society/Culture - Western Civilization

Christmas Billboards Point In The Culture War’s Direction

January 14, 2012 by

-By Frederick Meekins

Christmas is the time of year when the thoughts of most Americans grow to be at their most devout. It is increasingly the time of year that the avowed despisers of the Almighty are at their most disrespectful.

Before now, the most culturally embarrassing thing to come out of the wastelands of the Garden State was likely Snooki and her Jersey Shore compatriots. However, it now seems even their debauched escapades have been surpassed in terms of deliberately thumbing one’s nose at God.

For decades, one municipality there has draped across a main street a banner reading that horrible bit of wordplay “Keep Christ In Christmas”. As has become customary, leftist subversives have stepped forward insisting that the banner be taken down to placate one or two discombobulated by the message.
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Christmas Billboards Point In The Culture War’s Direction”

Alan Caruba - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Government - Liberals - Money - President - Taxes

Barack Machiavelli

January 13, 2012 by

-By Alan Caruba

The Founding Fathers, authors of the Constitution, were obsessed with any form of government that could become too powerful, too willing to use force to oppress citizens. They had cause. They had fought a long war against the greatest power of their age, ruled by a king with nearly absolute power. They fashioned an instrument designed to ensure that the President could not rule by edict and defused power among three branches of government.

We have a President currently running for reelection against Congress, Wall Street, Republicans, and the right of citizens to be free of an overly intrusive government.

Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution says: All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in the Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

All appointments of the President must be approved by the Senate while it is in session and the Senate, even over the Christmas and New Year’s vacation has remained in session, if only in a pro forma, technical manner. Every three days it has been convened to assert its powers.

Even so, President Obama has announced several “recess” appointments, all clearly a challenge to the Senate and all clearly a tyrannical power grab. He appointed Richard Cordray as the first director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new function that puts government between the lender and the citizen. In theory, all loans in the future will be subject to government approval. This is Communism, not Capitalism.

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Barack Machiavelli”

Congress - Conservatives - Elections - GOP - Immigration/Immigrants - Republicans - Selwyn Duke

What Conservatives and the GOP Dare Not Say about Immigration

January 12, 2012 by 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

In a recent election piece, pundit Ann Coulter identified illegal migration as one of the two most important issues of our time. She writes that if we fail at halting it, “the country will be changed permanently.” She continues:

Taxes can be raised and lowered. Regulations can be removed (though they rarely are). Attorneys general and Cabinet members can be fired. Laws can be repealed. Even Supreme Court justices eventually die.

But capitulate on illegal immigration, and the entire country will have the electorate of California. There will be no turning back.

She expands on this later in the piece:
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What Conservatives and the GOP Dare Not Say about Immigration”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Constitution - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - DOJ - Economy/Finances - Elections - Ethics - Frank Salvato - Government - Jobs - Liberals - President - Socialism - Taxes

Promises, Promises: The Reality of Campaign Speak

January 11, 2012 by

-By Frank Salvato

As the campaign cycle progresses we are going to hear a lot about what one candidate or another is going to do about this or that. We will, to the point of weariness, be inundated with campaign promise after campaign promise, albeit, between gratuitous attacks, both political and personal. This is politicking and the American electorate – for better or for worse – has come to accept a certain amount of it from the people in the political class. But expecting grandiose pledges and believing in the unattainable, well, those are two different things. It is the truly foolish who believe half of what a political candidate says he can deliver, and the blame for that foolishness must fall on the shoulders of the individual voter.

While Presidents sign legislation into law, it is Congress – the House and the Senate; the Legislative Branch – that actually crafts and passes legislation. Therefore, any promise made on the campaign trail by a presidential candidate, be it by the incumbent or the challenger (or the field of candidates vying to be the challenger), is subject to the debate and acquiescence of those in the Legislative Branch; in Congress. It is because of this that any promise made by a presidential candidate must be received by the voting public as more of an intention, rather than a promise. To accept a campaign promise as an impending reality is to set oneself up for almost certain disappointment. And to blame a successful candidate for not living up to those campaign promises requires a level of certainty that the promise was actually ignored, not thwarted.

A good example of campaign promises thwarted comes in the form of the Republican TEA Party supported congressional freshman class who, during the 2010 Mid-Term Elections, promised to “repeal or defund Obamacare” and to “bring fiscal responsibility to Washington.” Each of those elected sincerely believed that they would be able to succeed in doing what they promised. In fact, HR2 of the 112th Congress did, in fact, attempt to repeal Obamacare and many of the TEA Party supported members of the House took it straight on the chin during the debt, deficit and budget debates. But for all of their good intentions and actions, the freshmen Republicans of the 112th Congress learned that unless you have a veto-proof majority in the House, a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and a friendly inhabitant in the White House, absolutes in campaign promises do not exist.

The same must be said about the Executive Branch and the President of the United States, although he has some additional quivers in his pouch where getting his way is concerned: the bully pulpit (self-explanatory) and the Executive Order.

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Promises, Promises: The Reality of Campaign Speak”