Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Today's Political News and Conservative Opinion

Update

C.Y.A. Protecting Yourself in the Modern Jungle
Now on Kindle for $2.99!
First published in 2010, this book has been reissued through CreateSpace/Amazon at a lower price, with all royalties going to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. A humor/self-help book, this is advice with an attitude.

Can we guess your level of education?
Said PhD for me. Wrong. Only an MEd. Well read folks clearly score higher. ~Bob

General News and Comment

Worth Reading: Finding the Great Republican Hope: The GOP can’t win in 2016 by thinking inside the box. By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: The usual criteria for political success — plenty of New York and Washington IOUs, youthful vigor, good looks, glibness, access to lots of money — aren’t sufficient any longer to galvanize the Republican party or get out the conservative vote. Instead, the next Republican nominee should meet four criteria that are rarely mentioned.

Clinton vs. Walker: It’s Very Close
Excerpt: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has surged to the front of the pack of Republican presidential hopefuls in recent weeks, and he now gives likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton a run for her money. Forty-six percent (46%) of Likely U.S. Voters say they would vote for Clinton in a matchup with Walker if the 2016 presidential contest were held today. But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that nearly as many (41%) would choose Walker instead. 


Rules are for Republicans: NYT Shock Report: Hillary Clinton Sent Every Official Email as Secretary of State from a Private Account
Excerpt: Hillary Rodham Clinton exclusively used a personal email account to conduct government business as secretary of state, State Department officials said, and may have violated federal requirements that officials’ correspondence be retained as part of the agency’s record.

Media Fail: Hillary's Secret Email Discovered By Benghazi Committee 
Excerpt: Sure, the New York Times first published Monday night’s bombshell report about the secret email account used by Hillary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State. Hurrah, the media published a scandal about a Democrat. The Times, though, did not uproot this scandal. Like four other major White House scandals, if Americans were foolish enough to depend solely on the American media to investigate this Obama White House, we would know nothing about these emails. Although Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State for four years and is almost certain to run for president next year; although reports indicate she used this secret account for years generating tens of thousands of pages of emails; although the media has the bandwidth to burn Ferguson with lies, hunt a White Hispanic with lies, investigate Republican Governor Scott Walker’s college years and legal jewelry purchases made by Jeb Bush’s wife two decades ago — it was not the media that found Hillary’s secret email account.

Hacked e-mails indicate that Hillary Clinton used a domain registered the day of her Senate hearings. By Philip Bump
Excerpt: Examining the registry information for "clintonemail.com" reveals that the domain was first created on Jan. 13, 2009 -- one week before President Obama was sworn into office, and the same day that Clinton's confirmation hearings began before the Senate.

Hillary Flashback: I'm 'Most Transparent Person In Public Life'
And Barack is the smartest...~Bob

Worth Reading: The Honesty Gap. By Thomas Sowell 
Excerpt: There may be some poetic justice in the recent revelation that Hillary Clinton, who has made big noises about a “pay gap” between women and men, paid the women on her Senate staff just 72 percent of what she paid the men. The Obama White House staff likewise has a pay gap between women and men, as of course does the economy as a whole. Does this mean that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both discriminate against women, that they are themselves part of the nefarious “war on women” that so many on the left loudly denounce? The poetic justice in the recent “pay gap” revelations is that the fundamental fraud in the statistics that are thrown around comes back to bite those who are promoting that fraud for political purposes. What makes such statistics fraudulent is that they are comparing apples and oranges.

Net Neutrality: 12-Year Old has Facebook Account Blocked after Criticizing Obama
Excerpt: Last week we brought you the wonderful story of young Mr. CJ Pearson, a brilliant young Georgia boy who gave an eloquent defense of Mayor Rudy Giuliani on YouTube. It was in the wake of Mayor Giuliani’s comments about whether or not President Obama loved our nation, and young Mr. Pearson added his voice to the conversation. The video, which he shared on his Facebook page, went viral in a matter of hours as Americans all over the country enjoyed his perspective on Mayor Giuliani’s thoughts.


Excerpt: While the precise quantum where an economy passes “the point of no return” is somewhat dependent upon economic assumptions; a very crude standard is the 100%-level. Once an economy accumulates a mountain of debt equal to its entire, national, economic output; that economy no longer has sufficient financial/economic mass to (responsibly) “service” this mountain of debt. In other words, once past that point-of-no-return, as a simple function of arithmetic it is inevitable that total debt (and thus total interest payments) must just continue to go higher and higher and higher, until…? Outright bankruptcy. The economic Holy Grail of a “balanced budget” is no longer even mathematically possible; maintaining the same fiscal course is nothing less than economic suicide. (Note that China and Russia are not in this "Bankruptcy Club." They both have surpluses! Yet the Satanists in Washington, DC, want them to obey the US elites who can't even manage their own finances! Hey, if you owe me $5000 and make no effort to repay me for years, do you have the right to lord it over me and condemn me? That is exactly what Washington does (don't call it America. America is We the People and we have nothing to do with this Ponzi scheme. We need a divorce from Washington as recommended here http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/Articles/tabid/109/ID/2291/Needed-The-Third-Continental-Congress.aspx). The word Satanist is not an exaggeration if you consider what I say here about American Keynesianism http://www.americandailyherald.com/pundits/donald-hank/item/the-reprobate-keynesian-mind --Don)

The Case for the Warthog: It can do what other aircraft can’t. By Mike Fredenburg
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/414635/case-warthog-mike-fredenburg
Excerpt: While in Iraq the U.S. Air Force is sending A-10 Warthogs on successful sortie after successful sortie against the Islamic State, back here at home, Air Force brass are renewing their efforts to scrap the legendary plane. In fact, the Air Force, thwarted in last year’s efforts to scrap the A-10, is deliberately underutilizing it in the campaign against the Islamic State. The military waited until three months into the bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria to deploy the A-10 and has deployed only a small percentage of the available planes. (The AF Brass need to wake up and smell the cordite. This aircraft, as "ancient" as it may be, still has a great role to play on the battlefield, and what's important is that we don't have anything to take its place. It's already here, comparatively cheap to run, and undeniably effective in so many ways. It keeps the guys on the ground alive and well, and there is no mission any more important than that. --Del)

Scary: The Terrifying Vulnerability of the U.S. Military. By Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry 
Excerpt: Whenever a military crisis breaks out, American hawks talk about sending in the troops, and doves sputter about imperialism. But the key role of the U.S. military is usually far away from these hot spots, and instead in Eastern Europe, the Taiwan straits, the Korean peninsula, and the world's shipping lanes. Like it or not, in a world where the U.S. spends more on its military than every other country put together, and where the only plausible contenders with the U.S. for global predominance are unsavory regimes like Putin's Russia and authoritarian China, the U.S. military is the unseen guarantor of most of the peace and prosperity on the planet. But all of that depends on the U.S. military being, you know, good.


Worth Hearing: Free speech on campus. by Pat Condell

Obamacare/Government Healthcare News

King v. Burwell Is Much Bigger Than Obamacare: The Supreme Court is about to decide whether we are a nation of laws or men. By David Catron 
 Excerpt: If the Court permits this usurpation of such crucial congressional prerogatives, the result would be a quantum leap forward in presidential power. This is precisely what the separation of powers was devised to prevent. Yet, as perilous as it would be to permit the executive branch to accumulate more power than it has already acquired since 2009, that is what SCOTUS is being pressured to do. (“Mr. Franklin, what sort of government have you given us? “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.” --TH)

Obamacare’s Vending Machine Power Grab. By Diana Furchtgott-Roth
Excerpt: It’s bad enough that the Affordable Care Act is raising premiums and deductibles—and perhaps lowering your tax refund. In addition, the ACA has given the Food and Drug Administration the power to go after your favorite vending machine. By the end of next year, according to a new FDA rule, most snack machines must have calorie counts prominently displayed, or risk removal. Any sort of vending machines, from mixed nut machines to gumball machines, are subject to this new rule, if the operator owns twenty or more machines. The calorie declarations must be clear, conspicuous, and placed prominently on a sign in, on, or adjacent to the vending machine.

Undocumented Democrat News

IRS defends paying refunds to illegals who never filed taxes
Excerpt: The IRS is defending its decision to let illegal immigrants claim up to three years’ refunds on income even if they never paid income taxes, telling Congress in a new letter last week that agency lawyers have concluded getting a Social Security number triggers the ability to go back and ask for previous refunds. President Obama’s new deportation amnesty could grant Social Security numbers to as many as 4 million illegal immigrants, making many of them eligible for tax refunds under the Earned Income Tax Credit even for years when they cheated on their taxes, by working off the books and not filing tax returns.

Grassley wants to block so-called ‘amnesty bonuses’ for immigrants. By Josh Hicks 
Except: A senior Republican is pushing for Congress to ban millions of immigrants from receiving tax credits for the working poor under President Obama’s recent immigration orders.

Excerpt: On February 7, members of Phi Gamma Delta threw an off-campus party that fraternity president Andrew Campbell said was supposed to be “western” themed. Some of the guests, however, had apparently heard it was a “border patrol” themed party, and showed up in “culturally insensitive” attire such as construction gear and sombreros, according to an article in the Daily Texan, the school’s official student newspaper. School administrators decided that although they would work to educate the frat members about cultural sensitivity, they could not punish anyone formally because the party was off-campus. After all, a university can hardly dictate to students what to wear everywhere they go. (Dumb students think they live in a country that allows freedom of expression. ~Bob. "Border patrol themed" - I take it that wherever the party was then, that the doors were wide open and absolutely anybody could waltz in and help themselves to what others paid for. --FunkyBarfly on Facebook.)

"You're Greener than Gore" News


Keystone XL is Better for Economy and Environment: Obama Vetoes Anyway
Excerpt: Approving the estimated $5.3 billion Keystone XL project would create approximately 9,000 construction jobs. When combined with the southern portion of the Keystone pipeline (the Gulf Coast Project), it is estimated the total $7 billion pipeline could: Create 13,000 construction and 7,000 manufacturing jobs. Add $20 billion to U.S. GDP. Add $5 billion in taxes revenue to local counties. Generate as much as $5.2 billion in property tax revenue for Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas collectively. Over 2.6 million miles of pipeline in the United States that deliver both liquid petroleum products and natural gas, while the Keystone XL portion of the Keystone pipeline is less than 1,200 miles long. The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association predicts that pipeline projects are worth $1.298 trillion dollars to the Canadian economy and $15.52 billion dollars in additional salaries to its citizens. The U.S. State Department reported an increase of 42,000 jobs during the construction process, and roughly 118,000 jobs to maintain the pipeline and the refineries. 70 percent of petroleum and crude oil is shipped by pipeline, which in recent years has proven to be safer.

Religion of Peace News


Worth Reading: A Lion, With And Before Pride, Speaks. By Andy Weddington
Excerpt: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of Israel, spoke before a joint session of the United States Congress, a pride of sorts, this morning.

Netanyahu Slams White House Deal With Iran: “Even If Israel Has to Stand Alone, Israel Will Stand” By Katie Pavlich
Excerpt: During his address, Netanyahu described the failure to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon as a “countdown to a nuclear nightmare,” and said he has a “profound obligation” to warn against the current deal the White House is working on with the Iranian regime. “This is a bad deal, it’s a very bad deal, we’re better off without it,” he said. “We’re told that the alternative to this deal is war. That’s just not true. The alternative to this bad deal is a much better deal.” 

Great News! Obama’s Drawing a New ‘Red Line’ with Iran! We Can Relax Now! By Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt
Excerpt: Fascinatingly, President Obama walks around completely unaware of how little credibility he has left -- with skeptics in both parties, with the American public, with our allies, or with our enemies. Here’s his latest assurance on his rapidly-forming deal with the Iranian regime: "Iran must commit to a verifiable freeze of at least 10 years on sensitive nuclear activity for a landmark atomic deal to be reached, but the odds are still against sealing a final agreement, U.S. President Barack Obama told Reuters on Monday." A ten-year freeze . . . and then what? There was once a time when Obama said Iran could “never“ have a nuclear weapon. Now we’re leaving the door opened a crack. Obama’s comment about the time frame for a freeze represents one of the U.S. government’s strongest signals yet of its red line for a successful deal.
Ah. It’s a “red line.” How reassuring.

Obama Administration says 2014 was Worst Year Ever for Global Terrorism but Obama Spokesman says World is Safer than Ever?

AIPAC Speech: Bibi Brings the House Down: Gives Fierce Speech on Israel’s Will to Face Down Iranian Terror Regime
Excerpt: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned today he has a “moral obligation to speak up in the face” of Iran getting a nuclear weapon. At a meeting of American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington, D.C., Netanyahu pointed to a map during his speech: It shows Iran training, arming, dispatching terrorists on five continents. Iran envelopes the world with its tentacles of terror. This is what Iran is doing now without nuclear weapons. Imagine what Iran will do with nuclear weapons. And this same Iran vows to annihilate Israel.

Obama's pals: Muslim Brotherhood Condemns Egypt Court Declaring Hamas A Terrorist Group, Calls for Destruction of Israel
Excerpt: The Muslim Brotherhood condemned an Egyptian court decision to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and called for the destruction of the Jewish state, according to an Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) translation of a Brotherhood statement released on its Arabic website. "The Zionist entity will continue to be its historic enemy until the complete liberation of the land. We will soon celebrate, if God wills, the collapse of this coup and the return of Egypt to its role in protecting the Arab national security," reads the Brotherhood statement.

The Sad Plight of Jihadi John. Shamefully, the decapitator of hostages is being made out to be a victim. By Rich Lowry
Excerpt: According to his own self-pitying e-mails prior to his star turn as a knife-wielding executioner, Emwazi was harried by British intelligence beyond human endurance. Some so-called civil libertarians have picked up on his plaint to argue that a good, promising young Muslim man was pushed into the arms of a medieval terror group by the Brits.

Figures From U.S.-Led Coalition Show Heavy 2014 Losses for Afghan Army
Excerpt: The Afghan Army lost more than 20,000 fighters and others last year largely because of desertions, discharges and deaths in combat, according to figures to be released Tuesday, casting further doubt on Afghanistan’s ability to maintain security without help from United States-led coalition forces. (Someone once called Afghanistan a "War of necessity, a war we have to win." ~Bob)

Bibi at the barricade. By Cal Thomas
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas030315.php3
Excerpt: If the administration truly had political concerns it would not have dispatched a team of Obama loyalists to Israel to help defeat Netanyahu. No, many believe the real reason the administration opposes Netanyahu's speech is because he will tell the truth about Iran's nuclear threat and the administration wants to cover up what could ultimately become a very bad deal. Iran wants nuclear weapons. And yet the U.S. is promoting the fiction that despite past behavior and the apocalyptic statements by its leaders, Iran will agree to stop its nuclear program. It will not.

*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic. http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5 For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s eleven books are listed here:
http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-book-published.html. His blog of political news and conservative comment is www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com.

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