I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article. Help your friends and relatives stay informed by passing the digest on. In some cases I post things sent to me by readers I might not have posted on my own, to get ideas circulating.
Worth Reading: Cook County's Saul Chavez moment: Politics trump justice as board immigration policy frees alleged DUI killer by John Kass
Excerpt: Two days after the fatal accident, on June 10, the federal Department of Homeland Security filed what is called an immigration detainer for Chavez. The agency believed he was an illegal immigrant from Mexico Cook County Chicago
Obama Way . ~Bob.)
Obama Way . ~Bob.)
Worth Reading : Eight lessons the Iowa
Excerpt: Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s 8-vote victory over former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum in the 2012 Iowa caucuses is only a few hours old — and already is one of the legendary results in the history of presidential politics.
Bombs targeting Shiites killed at least 72 in Iraq
Turns out Iraq was like Vietnam
Santorum’s Fight for Welfare Reform: Despite his public image, Santorum is a quiet, smart negotiator. By Brian Bolduc
Excerpt: As the junior senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum shepherded welfare reform through the U.S. Senate in 1996. Given his limited tenure — he’d been elected to the Senate only two years before — the fact that Majority Leader Bob Dole selected Santorum to lead the effort is nothing short of remarkable, Santorum’s former colleagues say. It also is a testament to an overlooked virtue of the ex-senator’s: his pragmatism.
Excerpt: In 1980, Ronald Reagan made the case that he was the only true conservative in the race. George H.W. Bush countered that he was the only one suitable to independents and thus the only one electable, given the high negatives that Reagan had garnered. Reagan, remember, had been out of office for almost six years, after failing in presidential bids in 1968 and 1976. Romney, at least implicitly, is now making the same sort of argument Bush did, that only he can win the coveted middle, while Santorum, by sheer force of personality and political conviction, will have to make the case that he can make those otherwise uncomfortable with some of his positions comfortable enough to go along with him.
Excerpt: They are all compromise candidates. All of them. They always are, of course. But this time around they’re a bigger compromise than usual.
Excerpt: By now, we’ve all figured out the difference between general elections and primaries. General elections are a simple math problem. You hammer away at your opponent, hoping his voters either vote for you or don’t show up, or you talk yourself up, hoping your loyalists show up in droves. Primary elections are a much more complicated algorithm. In a crowded field, attacking an opponent doesn’t necessarily mean voters will come to you. ... Final New Hampshire
How Rick Santorum can win the nomination by Matt K. Lewis
Excerpt: Despite an impressive finish in Iowa
Gingrich rounds on Romney in N. Hampshire
Excerpt: Former House speaker Newt Gingrich hammered Mitt Romney Wednesday, saying only a "Reagan conservative" like himself can unite Republicans to beat President Barack Obama in November. One day after a lackluster performance in the Iowa caucuses, won narrowly by Romney, Gingrich placed a full-page ad in New Hampshire's Union-Leader newspaper, comparing his and Romney's positions on taxes, abortion and guns.
GM deal moves electric car development to
Excerpt: General Motors agreed in Shanghai China U.S. market in China China
Worth Reading : Christmas in Apache, Arizona
http://www.americanpatrol.com/MISCNEWS/2006-UP/AZ/ApacheXmas111229AZ_.html Excerpt: One bachelor in the Portal area was burglarized around 100 times. He finally took all his valuables and put them in a steel vault and welded the door shut. He then moved out of his house into a shed hoping the illegal aliens would leave him alone. They did not and he finally abandoned his property. Another outlandish event was when outlaws stole a brand new Caterpillar motor grader on the Geronimo Trail east of Douglas, AZ and drove south through the border fence never to be seen again. The grader belonged to Cochise County Hwy Dept. Financial losses to private sector - $100,000,000.00
Excerpt: Since Barack Obama became president on Jan. 20, 2009, the federal government has not had a budget. It did not have one for the first two years of his presidency, when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, and it did not have one for 2011, when the Democrats controlled the Senate and the Republicans controlled the House. The Senate -- continuously under Democratic control during the entire Obama presidency -- has not voted out and sent on to the House any annual budget since George W. Bush was president.
I often see the e-mail claiming that members of congress get their full salaries for life after one term. This is not true. However, their pensions are lots better than ours. Here are the facts. ~Bob. Excerpt: Under the current system, senators and representatives can collect an annual pension worth 1.7 percent of their present salary for every year they serve in Congress up to 20 years, plus an additional 1 percent for each year beyond that. With congressional pay now at $174,000, a member of Congress who retires after just six years can thus look forward to receiving more than $17,700 a year for life beginning at age 62. (That doesn't include the generous cost-of-living adjustments -- another benefit unavailable to most private-sector retirees.) A 20-year congressional veteran would collect more than $59,000 a year -- and the payments begin at age 50. For members elected before 1984, there is an even more generous setup. And how much of their salary do incumbent senators and representatives contribute to this sumptuous pension plan? A puny 1.3 percent. (They also participate in Social Security, and are eligible for a 401(k)-style plan, neither of which would be affected by Coffman's bill.)
Worth Reading
Excerpt: Since May of 2008, when First Solar reached its all-time high of $311, the company has lost 90 percent of its value, falling to $31-$33. The company has been selling assets tied to government loans, insiders have been cashing out the stock and the number of short-sellers- those investors who are betting the stock will go down- now amounts to about 43 percent of the shares in public hands as of December 15, 2011. In the meantime CEO Robert Gillette exited stage right, with $30 million thank you from the company in October of 2011. But he didn’t leave before First Solar received federal loan guarantees and other consideration to the tune of $3.5 billion
More Indoctrination From the 'Occupy' Songwriters at Kid Pan Alley
Excerpt: Earlier this week, a Virginia-based organization came under fire for leading 3rd grade students at Woodbrook Elementary in Charlottesville
Excerpt: Let me just say up front that Mitt Romney is far from my first choice among the current field. I think both Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman would be far better general election candidates and Presidents than Mitt Romney and I don’t really “get” the joke the state of Iowa
Mohammed - The Pioneer of the Holocaust
Excerpt: “The Holocaust”. The word still echoes in my ears from the first time I heard about it back in school, but unfortunately there was no internet those days and our teachers gave us a much edited version, putting the entire blame on the Jews. Even then I used to argue with them about why kill someone just because he or she does not follow your religion. I was literally forced to shut up then. Flash forward to 1999; it was then that I actually read about the true uncensored version of the Holocaust.
Excerpt: How bizarre is it that you have to show an ID to buy drain cleaner, cigarettes and cold medicine, but you can elect a President with your signature? (Alert the DOJ--this discriminates against minorities with clogged drains! ~Bob.)
President Obama starts new year with sweet pitch to his liberal base
Excerpt: After a difficult year in which he absorbed criticism from the left suggesting that he was spineless, President Obama has launched 2012 with a bold bid to re-secure liberal support critical to his hopes for reelection. The president’s surprise move Wednesday to buck Republicans and fill openings in his administration while Congress remains on holiday break brought catcalls from the right but cheers from the left, which had called for Obama to take on the GOP.
The Hidden Dangers of the "Living Wage" How government power chokes off private urban development. by Richard A. Epstein
Excerpt: With 2012 upon us, the next labor market battle, both in the United States and in Europe , will be over the “living wage.” Long backed by both unions and progressive groups, the living wage law looks like a good-old fashioned minimum wage law, with this critical twist: The minimum wage law, which is presently at $7.25 (up from $5.15 in 2006) applies to a wide range of workers in the public and private sector. In contrast, the living wage law is targeted only to those individuals who work in projects that receive some sort of government subsidy. … When the minimum wage law was equal to $5.15, about 6.6 million individuals earned less than the $7.25 wage level. By 2010, after the wage level was increased, unemployment rates did move sharply upward. Some of today’s workers will be lucky enough to ride the living-wage tide upward, but others are likely to be cast aside.
The EPA's Compliance Order Regime Creates a Hobson's Choice
And the Green Shirt erosion of freedom continues. ~Bob. Excerpt: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "compliance orders" force property owners to face down one of the federal government's most notorious agencies at the risk of ruinous fines, says Timothy Sandefur, principal attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation. The following is a step-by-step account of one of the most notable challenges to the EPA's dominance: Michael and Chantelle Sackett purchased a plot of land in Idaho
Mitt Romney, the Value-Added Tax, and America
Can't say we haven't been warned. –Steve. Excerpt: My Iowa caucus predictions from yesterday were hopelessly wrong, probably because I was picking with my heart rather than my head. As I noted a couple of weeks ago, Mitt Romney’s openness to a value-added tax makes him a dangerously flawed candidate, and I hoped Iowa America
Obama's Tyrannical Abuse of Power
Excerpt: Standing behind a podium on a stage just outside Cleveland, President Barack Obama delivered a speech yesterday that will reverberate throughout history. No, its lasting impact will not come because of its soaring rhetoric. Instead, it will make its mark because it was at that moment on a Wednesday afternoon in Ohio
Excerpt: Israel US ’s Third Air Force based in Germany , visited Israel to finalize plans for the upcoming drill, expected to see the deployment of several thousand American soldiers in Israel
Defying Republicans, Obama to Name Cordray as Consumer Agency Chief
Excerpt: The recess appointment represents a sharp departure from a long-standing precedent that has limited the president to recess appointments only when the Senate is in a recess of 10 days or longer. Breaking from this precedent lands this appointee in uncertain legal territory, threatens the confirmation process and fundamentally endangers the Congress’s role in providing a check on the excesses of the executive branch. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, called the recess appointment a “no-brainer,” and said that Mr. Obama would not be waiting around for Congress to act this year. (Our constitutional-scholar-in-chief may have made a severe tactical error with this action. Even if the courts agree he can make a “recess appointment” when the Senate isn’t in recess, the bill authorizing the agency Cordray is to head REQUIRES Senate confirmation before any of its regulations are enforceable. So, even if the administration “wins” the right to appoint him during a non-recess, it will still be unable to enforce whatever decrees he and his agency make without more court battles. If allowed to stand, this could keep the courts busy for years. Someone Obama listens to—if there is such a person—needs to tell him “President” isn’t quite the same as “King.” Ron P.)
Perry tweets, “Here we come South Carolina
Excerpt: Perry has the best resume in the race for conservatives, with a solid record of accomplishment in Texas South Carolina
Excerpt: With intense competition to be the anti-Romney, everyone forgot to hit Romney. How likely is it that this dynamic will change in subsequent states? Undoubtedly, Jon Huntsman will go after Romney in New Hampshire. Santorum is quick to insist he’s not going to concede New Hampshire, and so he’ll be eager to swing at the frontrunner there. But among Gingrich, Perry, and Bachmann, the desire to knock out the others – or to try to dislodge Santorum as the preeminent social conservative in the race – will be intense. Will they have the self-control to stop hitting the other Not Romneys and focus on Romney?
Interesting: Bachmann Says Good-bye; Mitt Romney Will Miss Her by Major Garrett
Excerpt: Bachmann inspires at a distance and infuriates up close. Her management style can be charitably described as mercurial. Throughout her campaign, Bachmann suffered debilitating staff defections. Top-level adviser Ed Rollins quit after Bachmann’s straw-poll victory and within a month dismissed her candidacy as “out of money and ideas.” Her five-person paid staff in New Hampshire quit en masse (something Bachmann foolishly tried to deny), and she then lost her Iowa director days before the caucuses.
Excerpt: As I suspected last night, Michele Bachmann has stepped aside and suspended her presidential campaign after garnering only 5% of the vote in last night's Iowa Caucus. Bachmann certainly had her moments in this campaign but they were fleeting. For all her talk of being a consistent conservative she rarely got beyond platitudes and simply didn't inspire confidence. I think she did a lot of damage to herself when she claimed she had been told that the Gardasil vaccine caused mental retardation.
Interesting: Yard Signs Tell the Tale in New Hampshire
Excerpt: Drive through New Hampshire in the next week, and you will see a staggering number of Republican yard signs. (…) It seems like every third house has a sign up. They’re on front yards and in the windows of businesses. They’re in every neighborhood representing every demographic. They’re in front of homes along rural roadways, in front of suburban homes in the big southern towns, and in the conservative blue-collar neighborhoods of Manchester. And there are even Republican yard signs all over the capital city of Concord — a largely Democratic-leaning town in this swing state. Barack Obama is in big trouble next November. (Yard signs and bumper stickers are encouraging. Unfortunately, I know from repeated personal experience that yard signs and bumper stickers do NOT translate into a reliable way to predict votes. If they had, Bush would’ve carried Massachusetts in ’04, McCain would’ve carried it in ’08, Patrick would’ve retired from the statehouse and Marty Lamb would’ve replaced McGovern in Congress in ’10, none of which happened. Unfortunately, the willingness to put up signs reflects only the opinion of that particular landowner, but not necessarily the opinions of his tenants (land doesn’t vote, tenants do). Yes, I think Obama will have trouble getting re-elected, but not because of yard signs or bumper stickers. Ron P. I didn’t use yard signs. Too much trouble. I preferred car signs which were mobile. In 1974, people were worried by the number of signs my opponent had in my town of Lunenburg, but I wasn’t and carried the town heavily. He had many signs, but I won by 10,000 votes, carrying every city and town in a 3-1 Democrat district. ~Bob.)
Obama Embraces Signing Statements After Knocking Bush for Using Them
Excerpt: Candidate Barack Obama criticized President Bush for using ‘signing statements’ to ignore the will of Congress. But Obama’s done the same thing 20 times since taking office, and his latest effort is rankling lawmakers.
51% See Occupy Wall Street Protesters As Public Nuisance
Excerpt: Enough is enough as far as most voters are concerned when it comes to the Occupy Wall Street protesters. In fact, 51% of Likely U.S. Voters now view the protesters as a public nuisance. Only 39% see them as a valid protest movement representing the frustrations of most Americans. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey also finds that just 24% think the Occupy Wall Street protesters who first began their protests in early October have gotten their message across to the American people. Fifty-three percent (53%) say they have not gotten their message across, and another 24% are not sure.
Muslim Brotherhood Realities New and Old
Excerpt: The votes still aren't fully counted in Egypt, but the Obama administration has seen enough to reverse long-standing and well-rooted policies to shun the theocratic, global Caliphate-minded Muslim Brotherhood, whose philosophy spawned terrorist movements from Hamas to al-Qaida. High level meetings between American and Brotherhood officials reflect a "new political reality here [in Egypt], and indeed around the region," the New York Times reported in a front-page article Wednesday, "as Islamist groups come to power."
Now “Anybody But Romney” Has a Name
Excerpt: But now they’re all gone, or soon will be, leaving Rick Santorum as the great “real conservative” hope. They may give a whole bunch of reasons for liking Santorum, but make no mistake – he’s their guy first and foremost because he’s not Mitt Romney. But here’s where my “real conservative” friends lose me. They seem to think Santorum can actually beat Barack Obama, even though he couldn’t even hang on to his Senate seat in Pennsylvania last time around, losing by 700,000 votes and winning just 41 percent of the vote against his Democratic opponent’s nearly 59 percent.
Rick Santorum Iowa Speech
He did a great job in this speech. It's the most impressive he has been so far. –Steve.
Off-duty (NJ) cop wearing Rangers jersey beaten by Flyers fans in Philadelphia
Excerpt: An off-duty New Jersey cop and Iraq veteran wearing a New York Ranger jersey was savagely beaten by a pack of thuggish Philadelphia Flyer fans in the City of Brotherly Love Monday, his father said last night. … Video of the attack on YouTube shows several men in Flyer jerseys bending over to punch Auricchio as he lies motionless. Neal Jr., a former US Marine who served two tours and earned a Purple Heart, was hospitalized with a concussion. (I’ve never understood people getting enraged over wealthy, interchangeable professional athletes. And, being from South Jersey, I can say Philly fans are the worst. ~Bob.)
Obama's Deficit-Reduction Plan Takes Aim at Military Retirement System
Excerpt: Just weeks after the Pentagon proposed scrapping the military's traditional pension program, Obama released a plan Monday that calls for reexamining the retirement system that "provides generous benefits to the relatively few members who stay at least 20 years and no benefits for the roughly 80 percent of servicemembers who stay less than 20 years." The document says the system "was designed for a different era of work, and is now out of line with most other government or private retirement plans." (Most other government or private jobs don’t require you to kill folks as part of the job, or to risk being killed. ~Bob.)
Worth reading: Iran’s growing state of desperation By Fareed Zakaria
Excerpt: In fact, the real story is that Iran is weak and getting weaker. Sanctions have pushed its economy into a nose-dive. The political system is fractured and fragmenting. Abroad, its closest ally and the regime of which it is almost the sole supporter — Syria — is itself crumbling. The Persian Gulf monarchies have banded together against Iran and shored up their relations with Washington. Last week, Saudi Arabia closed its largest-ever purchase of U.S. weaponry. Meanwhile, Europe is close to approving even more intense sanctions against Tehran.
Yes, Rick’s for real
Excerpt: Forget Mitt Romney’s whisper-close eight-vote margin of victory over Rick Santorum in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses. The real tally stands at Romney, 25 percent, not-Romney, 75 percent. That’s not good news for Mitt — or for President Obama. With Michele Bachmann dropping out of the race yesterday — and with other candidates likely to follow after next week’s New Hampshire primary — the chances of a credible alternative to Romney the “inevitable” suddenly look very good indeed.
Nowhere to Go, Patients Linger in Hospitals, at a High Cost
Excerpt: Hundreds of patients have been languishing for months or even years in New York City hospitals, despite being well enough to be sent home or to nursing centers for less-expensive care, because they are illegal immigrants or lack sufficient insurance or appropriate housing. As a result, hospitals are absorbing the bill for millions of dollars in unreimbursed expenses annually while the patients, trapped in bureaucratic limbo, are sometimes deprived of services that could be provided elsewhere at a small fraction of the cost. … New York Downtown serves a largely immigrant population, and many patients have no insurance or proof that they are in the United States legally, which is necessary for discharge purposes and eventual reimbursements, said Chui Man Lai, assistant vice president of patient services at the hospital. (When you get a chance, put EMTALA in GOOGLE. This was a "gift" from Teddy Kennedy and the other Senator from Massachusetts. It says: IF you have a hospital that offers Emergency Treatment-- YOU MUST accept all comers, and treat them. YOU CAN'T extract payment from them OR transfer them to another hospital (ALTHOUGH--This was what Michelle Obama's specialty was before Barry became president, see link below.) --Dave
How to fight liberals: Imitate them
Excerpt: Impressed by the effectiveness of the liberal Center for American Progress, a group of conservative journalists and operatives are preparing to engage in their own sincerest form of flattery — launching an advocacy group with a similar name and mission but very different target. Part assault on CAP and part homage, the Center for American Freedom’s goal is to wage a well-funded assault on the Obama White House and the liberal domination of partisan online media.
Americans make up half of the world's richest 1%
Excerpt: It only takes $34,000 a year, after taxes, to be among the richest 1% in the world. That's for each person living under the same roof, including children. (So a family of four, for example, needs to make $136,000.) … In the grand scheme of things, even the poorest 5% of Americans are better off financially than two thirds of the entire world.
Doctors going broke
Excerpt: Doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke. This quiet reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties, including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists. … Although Congress has blocked those cuts from happening 13 times over the past decade, most recently on Dec. 23 with a two-month temporary "patch," this dilemma continues to haunt doctors every year.
Why Did the ‘Deadliest’ SEAL Sniper Punch Jesse Ventura in The Face?
Excerpt: Imagine what would happen if a man in a bar told a group of Navy SEALs that he: Disagrees with the war. Believes they (the military) are murderers, killing innocent people… men, women and children. Thought they probably deserve to lose a few of their own. You are probably wondering if the guy making the offensive comments is still alive. He is alive, and he also happens to be Jesse Ventura, a SEAL alum/reservist and the former governor of Minnesota. ...the SEALs were in the bar to mourn the loss of team member. They had gathered with the family of Medal of Honor recipient Mike Mansoor when Ventura made it known to many that he did not agree with the war. (Well, even as a politician, Jesse Ventura occasionally resorted to his WWE mentality. Serves him right, because in an earlier time he would probably have done the same thing to someone who was trashing the military, and most certainly anyone who was trashing the SEALS. MasterGuns)
NC boy, 14, shoots intruder and saves sister
Excerpt: The boy's sister, who was hiding in a closet, called 911 first. Then, the boy also called 911, after he fired two shots. Deputies found 19-year old Michael Henderson dead on the front lawn. (Good guys 2, bad guys 0. Another useless POS eliminated from the shallow end of the gene pool. A shotgun is a great equalizer. Unfortunately, there will be idiots lamenting the fact that this young boy had access to a deadly weapon. Screw them. The boy and his sister are alive because he had the access, and most importantly, knew how to use it. MasterGuns. Important detail is that they found no weapon on the intruder. Look for a wrongful death lawsuit, even if they don't prosecute the kid. It will hinge on forced entry, and whether he was shot inside the house or outside. North Carolina law is pretty strict on this point. Also, North Carolina has a rather draconian access law for loaded weapons. It will be interesting to see if anything develops on that, as they hold parents responsible in those cases. --Steve)
Obama announces sweeping new military strategy for Pentagon
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/202505-new-pentagon-strategy-ends-plan-to-fight-two-wars-at-once
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/202505-new-pentagon-strategy-ends-plan-to-fight-two-wars-at-once
Excerpt: The Pentagon on Thursday unveiled a sweeping new military strategy that jettisons plans for fighting two major wars at once while cutting the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal. The strategy describes a new approach to fighting al Qaeda and puts China and Iran on notice, while readying the military for reduced funding and more austere budgets. It will mean a smaller U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal as the Pentagon enacts $400 billion in cuts, as well as troop reductions, though these are not spelled out. (Same strategy we followed in the 1930s, and that worked out okay, except for WWII. ~Bob.)
Olbermann Feud With New Bosses At Current TV Grows: ‘Everybody Is Replaceable
Excerpt: Rumblings of a rift have been surfacing for the last week, but Olbermann’s refusal to anchor the network’s Iowa caucus coverage Tuesday night was the latest and clearest sign that all is not well between the opinionated host and Current TV brass. (There, but for the Grace of God, goes God. (as Churchill said of another pompous leftist) ~Bob.)
The Heck with the Senate: Obama Skips 'Advise and Consent' in Naming 3 Members to NLRB
Excerpt: As part of his "We Can't Wait" campaign -- intended to make Congress look weak and ineffective -- President Barack Obama is making a power grab of questionable legality, critics say. Not only did the president recess-appoint a consumer protection "czar" on Wednesday, he also recess-appointed three new members of his controversial National Labor Relations Board. (Unbelievable! Are a majority of the Democratic Senators so blind as to believe this will never come back to bite them? If it works, do they really think it will never be used by the other side? If struck down, do they think this will make them look strong or smart? Or merely that they’ll look like the power-mad tyrants they wish to be? The House should move for impeachment TODAY. Ron P.)
Santorum gets big poll bounce in New Hampshire
Excerpt: Fresh off his near-win in Iowa, Rick Santorum has leaped to double-digits in The Washington Times/JZ Analytics Poll, taken Wednesday, more than tripling his support from last week. … Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, still holds a commanding lead over the field in Iowa with 38 percent support, followed by Rep. Ron Paul at 24 percent and Mr. Santorum at 11 percent — much better than the 3 percent he polled last week.
Obama Team Calls Iowa Vote a Victory for “Extremists”
Excerpt: In what was clearly a by-the-script regardless of the outcome response, Barack Obama’s re-election manager Jim Messina declares the Iowa Caucus vote a victory for “Tea Party extremists”. Odd thing is – the candidate with the least support among Tea Party voters was the one who won. Ah - another lie by the Obama spin machine… (Love the cartoon. ~Bob.)
Obama’s Tyrannical Abuse of Power
Excerpt: "Standing behind a podium on a stage just outside Cleveland, President Barack Obama delivered a speech yesterday that will reverberate throughout history. No, its lasting impact will not come because of its soaring rhetoric. Instead, it will make its mark because it was at that moment on a Wednesday afternoon in Ohio that the President announced his plans to act in total and utter disregard of the U.S. Constitution with his illegal appointment of Richard Cordray to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)."
The Curious Candidacy of Elizabeth Warren
Excerpt: I am a man of modest (but comfortable) means. Like millions of others, I don’t define myself as middle-class or by any economic status. We are American citizens. Period. However tough the times — and this downturn has touched many of us adversely — none of us feel like serfs, permanently locked in servile status. Any upward mobility we achieve will result from our own determination, thus we do not see castigating the rich as our key to economic empowerment.
Obama to Share Missile Defense Secrets With Russia? Posted by Joel B. Pollak
Excerpt: Bill Gertz of the Washington Times reports that President Barack Obama has indicated he is prepared to convey information about secret American missile defense technology to Russia: In the president’s signing statement issued Saturday in passing into law the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill, Mr. Obama said restrictions aimed at protecting top-secret technical data on U.S. Standard Missile-3 velocity burnout parameters might impinge on his constitutional foreign policy authority.
Rick Santorum: Sharia 'is evil'
Excerpt: “Jihadism is evil and we need to say what it is,” he said at the Strafford County Lincoln-Reagan dinner, remarks that show how the former Pennsylvania senator continues to establish himself as the candidate most-aligned with the Republican Party’s conservative base. (Shari’a is evil? Well, he’s finished—he’ll never make it in our multicultural society. Imagine thinking that a woman should inherit as much as her brother or that her testimony in court is equal to a man’s, when Shari’a says they are half. Imagine opposing executing gays, or stoning rape victims for adultery, or forbidding men to follow the Prophet’s example (PBUH) and marry nine-year-old girls, all allowed by Shari’a. And I suppose he is not for cutting off the hands and feet of thieves—Shari’a is tough on crime, but not Rick! Will he oppose the Shari’a-approved death penalty for any Muslim who leaves the faith, or allow female Muslims to marry non-Muslims as Shari’a lets male Muslim’s do? Would men be restricted to only one wife, not four, or not be able to divorce a wife at a word, though she can’t divorce him? Shameful. Should women be allowed to go to school, work outside the home or go out unescorted, prohibited in some interpretations of Shari’a? Next he’ll come out against the harmless cultural practice of slicing off the clitorises of 5-year-old girls, defended by many Imams as allowed by Shari’a. And of course, who wouldn’t agree that you can kill a daughter who has dishonored the family with impunity? Probably he has a problem with our allies the Saudis beheading two women for witchcraft recently—can’t let that get out of hand. Yup, being against these harmless cultural practices proves that Santorum is an extremist. I bet he even opposes letting men beat their wives or have sex with slave girls (that which your right hand possesses) all allowed by Shari’a and the Holy Qur’an. He’s probably a racist, too, though I have trouble figuring out how joining a religion by making a declaration of faith makes you part of a “race.” ~Bob.)
Healthcare Bubble: Protecting Yourself From the Bust
Excerpt: I have a friend, Marv, who is a savvy entrepreneur. He started his career in the computer field, then real estate, and now health care. Anybody who has not been in stasis for the last 2 decades knows what happened to the Internet and the Housing markets. The two main bubbles that burst in recent memory are the Dot-com bubble and the Realestate/banking bubble. I strongly believe we are in the middle of another huge bubble: Healthcare. Let me start by examining what is meant by a ”bubble”. It is basically a set of conditions where prices become inflated beyond where they should, to an unsustainable pace or level.
Students Laugh When Obama Tells Them "You Inspire Me"
Conservatives: Time to rally around a not-Romney
Excerpt: Prominent conservative leaders want their rank and file to quickly get behind a single presidential candidate, fearful that persistent splits will help Mitt Romney win the Republican nomination. The former Massachusetts governor narrowly won the Iowa caucuses when conservative voters divided their support among several challengers, and the worry is that the same thing will happen in South Carolina, Florida and beyond if Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry all stay in the race.
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Taking a page out of Hugo Chavez's playbook, President Obama has ushered in the year of the imperial Presidency. No need to wait for Congress to act. If he thinks it is good for the American people, he will act and act decisively, and the Constitution be damned. This has to border on an impeachable offense. The only problem is that the far left Democrats and the MSM are applauding his actions, though Unconstitutional they may be. Any talk of impeachment by the Republicans will be blocked by the Democrats and the MSM will give them the proverbial "black eye". I hear that the ACLU is getting involved and rightly so. Hope their hearts are in this and it is resolved by the Supremes quickly. Damage is already being done.
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