Friday, June 22, 2012

Political Digest for June 22, 2012

The Old Jarhead Blog: Bringing you news and information the MSM is too busy covering American Idol, celebrity affairs and sensational missing person cases to cover. Please forward to friends who need to be informed.

Book Recommendation: War Shots. Norm Hatch and the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Cameramen of World War II. By Charles Jones
http://www.warshotsbook.com/ (For autographed copy)
Okay, I had a bias. I couldn’t wait to get my copy, and then to read it. I came to this book expecting to love it and I did. In April, my wife Bonnie and I were invited to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s 2012 Awards Dinner, where I received an award for my book, Old Jarhead Poems. Sitting next to me was Chip Jones, the author, who also received a writing award War Shots. And sitting next to Bonnie was Norm Hatch! Maj. Hatch is in his 90s now, has some mobility challenges, but I wish my mental acuity was equal to his. Talking with him was a treat. This is a guy who rubbed shoulders with the pantheon of WWII Marine greats, and, from the stream of Generals stopping by our table to speak to him, is considered at least a minor deity himself by the leadership of today’s Corps. Hatch got an Academy Award for short documentary in 1944 for his Tarawa filming under fire.

Then, two weeks later, I was watching a story about Tarawa on the Military History Channel, and there was Hatch being interviewed. I only wish I had read this book before I met him.

I learned a great deal about the combat cameramen of WWI, as expected, but also new details about Tarawa and Iwo Jima, including the controversy over the flag raising photo, which Hatch helped to resolve, as one of his men shot the movie of it going up. He was also in Nagasaki right after the war, a very interesting chapter, and made a documentary that helped the effort to save the Marine Corps from extinction in that post-war political fight. Hatch was not only incredibly brave, but very resourceful and competent. This book will be appreciated by every Marine, by WWII buffs, and by those interested in military history, the movie industry or human courage. The term “Greatest Generation” has been over-used, and we have some pretty great people defending America today, but Norm Hatch is a great Marine, and this book made me very proud to have met him and worn the same uniform.

The political fight on health care is over. Republicans won. By Chris Cillizza
Excerpt: While official Washington waits with bated breath for the Supreme Court to announce its decision on the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care law, a new study from the Pew Research Center makes it abundantly clear that the political fight over health care is already over. And Republicans won.

Obama health care law favored by a third, poll says
Excerpt: Just a third of Americans back President Barack Obama's health care overhaul on which the Supreme Court is about to pass judgment, a new poll finds. But there is overwhelming support among both supporters and opponents for Congress and the president to begin work on a new bill if the high court strikes down the two-year-old law.

No easy way out for Assange holed up in embassy
Excerpt: Julian Assange risks being thrown into a cell the moment he leaves the Ecuadorean embassy in London after breaching bail to avoid extradition to Sweden. The Australian former computer hacker, who enraged Washington in 2010 when his WikiLeaks website published secret U.S. diplomatic cables, is wanted for questioning in Sweden over sex crime allegations. He says he fears he could be bundled to the United States where his life would be at risk. (It would be at risk if I got to make the call. ~Bob.)

Wait, Did This 15-Year-Old From Maryland Just Change Cancer Treatment?
Excerpt: If you’re feeling anxious about how U.S. kids lag the world in science and math, or just in a funk about politics or the mess in Europe, take in this story of a high school freshman from Crownsville, Md. who came up with a prize-winning breakthrough that could change how cancer and other fatal diseases are diagnosed and treated. His name is Jack Andraka, and he loves science and engineering with every inch of his 15-year-old soul. Just spend a minute or so watching this video.

Chicago's unreported race war: Tribune argues it's irrelevant in news. By Colin Flaherty
Excerpt: According to a statement in the Chicago Tribune, reporting on the race of individuals involved in news events, such as mobs attacking, robbing and vandalizing, is irrelevant. A news anchor at the ABC affiliate in Chicago goes even further: Anyone who reads or writes about the epidemic of racial violence in Chicago is an “idiot” who engages in “meaningless … race baiting,” says Ravi Baichwal. (So, was the Tribune “race baiting when they said, “Martin was returning from a convenience store in a gated residential community in Sanford where he was staying with his father when he was spotted by Zimmerman, a white Hispanic.” http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-12/news/sns-rt-us-usa-florida-shooting-fatherbre85b1hm-20120612_1_bad-law-law-enforcement-task-force)

A Leaderless World: Signs of disorder grow as American influence recedes.
Excerpt: Not so long ago much of the world griped about an America that was too assertive, a "hyperpower" that attempted to lead with too little deference to the desires of those attending the G-20 meeting today in Mexico. Well, congratulations. A world without U.S. leadership is arriving faster than even the French hoped. How do you like it? (With the exception of Congressional oversight and budgets, foreign policy is entirely the constitutional responsibility of the President. President Obama came into office under the principle of undoing what he called the cowboy foreign policy of President Bush. Has his outreach to dictatorships and Islamist movements been successful? I have been critical of his foreign policy record, especially as it relates to his affronts and endangerment of Israel. I have also concluded that in general, our allies no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us. That being the case, we invite trouble from those who fear no consequences and ensure that those who might support us will not. The torrent of leaks (a torrent is a flood, not a drip-drip) from the White House on national security indicates that at best, this president is careless about his responsibility to protect the United States. So, leaving aside my usual criticism of Obama's Israel policy, let me defer to the wise experts at the Wall Street Journal whose editorial enumerates the abject failures of this president's foreign policy. I hope those previously disposed to prefer Obama will seriously consider this assessment. If you conclude that a weak United States is bad for us and bad for the world, you might ask what is the best way to change this policy. If you think any of these assessments is wrong, I would be glad to hear from you. Cordially, Larry Greenberg)

Pakistan arrests European al Qaeda operative
Excerpt: Pakistan has arrested a European al Qaeda operative who has ties to the 9/11 attacks, according to reports from Islamabad, a development that could ease soured U.S.-Pakistan relations. Pakistani officials arrested French national Naamen Meziche during a raid near the Iran border, The Associated Press reported, but the officials did not say when the raid took place.

Making Sure Noncitizens Vote in November
Excerpt: After all, this complements his Justice Department’s actions in Florida, where Eric Holder has filed suit to prevent the state from removing noncitizens from the voter registration rolls. That followed his administration’s failure to provide Florida with citizenship verification information—again in complete defiance of federal immigration law that requires the administration to provide such information upon request.

Stay denied; Simmons execution set for tonight
Excerpt: Simmons was sentenced in 1997 for killing Jeffery Wolfe, then chopping up his body and dumping the pieces into a bayou. Simmons was also convicted of kidnapping and raping Wolfe's girlfriend.

One Free World International – Freedom Fighter
Excerpt: Last evening NHOP had the privilege of supporting Majed El Shafie, in the release of a recent documentary called “Freedom Fighter”. Majed El Shafie is a survivor of torture at the hands of the Egyptian government because of his conversion from Islam to Christianity. He has an amazing testimony of escaping to Israel via a stolen jet ski and eventually relocating to Canada.

Teacher who forbade ‘disrespecting’ Obama will keep her job. By Sally Nelson
Excerpt: The high school teacher who warned a student that disrespecting President Barack Obama could lead to his arrest will keep her job, reports the Salisbury Post. Tanya Dixon-Neely, a social studies teacher in North Carolina, argued with student Hunter Rodgers after he questioned Obama. She warned him that people were arrested for saying bad things about President George W. Bush during his administration. (It’s just flexibility folks. –Barb.)

Obama’s ‘They’-Did-It Campaign: Have his “the dog ate my homework” excuses finally worn too thin? By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: The next five months should be interesting — given that Barack Obama is now experiencing something entirely unique in his heretofore stellar career: widespread criticism of his performance and increasing weariness with his boilerplate and his teleprompted eloquence. Starting with his Occidental days, and going on through Columbia, Harvard, Chicago, the U.S. Senate, and the 2008 campaign, rarely has Mr. Obama faced much criticism, much less any accountability that would involve judging his rhetoric by actual achievement.

Worth Reading: Holder Will Lose Executive Privilege Fight. By Ken Klukowski,
Excerpt: President Obama’s assertion of executive privilege to prevent Attorney General Eric Holder from complying with congressional subpoenas on the Operation Fast and Furious fiasco will blow up in the White House’s face. But not for the reasons you’ve heard on the first day of this legal fight.

While Obama Stonewalled Congress, His Campaign Called for Transparency
Excerpt: President Obama invoked executive privilege to prevent further congressional oversight of the Justice Department’s Fast and Furious operation on the same day it bemoaned the supposed lack of transparency among some conservative non-profits.

Murdered Border Agent’s Family Says President Obama ‘Compounding This Tragedy’ with Executive Privilege Assertion
Excerpt: The family of slain U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, who was killed with guns tied to the Fast and Furious program, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon accusing President Obama of compounding their family tragedy by invoking executive privilege. (What's the difference between the Watergate Cover-up and the Fast and Furious Cover-up? 300+ dead including Brian Terry in the latter, no dead in Watergate. ~Bob.)

Obama’s need for “Executive Privilege”
Excerpt: Unless you’ve been trapped in a cave or your television has been stuck on MSNBC, chances are good that you are aware of a growing scandal known as Operation Fast & Furious. Chances are equally good that you don’t know all of the intricate details of Fast & Furious, as it has been the practice of this administration and many in leadership positions to confuse the public, convolute the facts, and downplay the murderous scandal that leads directly to the highest levels of this administration

The Video No One Is Paying Attention To
Excerpt: “The President has directed us to take action to fight these cartels and Attorney General Eric Holder and I are taking several new and aggressive steps as part of the administrations comprehensive plan.” Now we know why privilege applies.

University sponsors campaign to undermine 'white privilege'
Excerpt: The University of Minnesota - Duluth (UMD) is now sponsoring an ad-campaign designed to achieve "racial justice" by raising awareness of "white privilege." The project disseminates its message, that "society was setup for us [whites]" and as such is "unfair," through an aggressive campaign of online videos, billboards, and lectures. The ads feature a number of Caucasians confessing their guilt for the supposed "privilege" that comes along with their fair features.

Little Movement in Latest Radicalization Hearing
Excerpt: The fifth House Homeland Security Committee hearing on radicalization within the Muslim community ended Wednesday much as last year's inaugural hearing began: With committee Democrats criticizing the premise and diminishing the views of witnesses.

Holder contempt charge a game changer?
By now you probably know that Issa will go ahead with the contempt vote against Holder despite Obama's declaring executive privilege regarding the subpoenaed documents re. Fast and Furious. Story here:
But the big story is that this report is all over Hispanic TV today and has been featured prominently in the local newspapers here for months. If you have cable, you may take a look at CNÑ (not to be confused with CNN), the Spanish language version. Now what makes this special is: 1--Several months ago already, Mexican officials were griping that Holder's Fast and Furious guns had killed Mexicans. Now the issue is getting a LOT more attention in the Hispanic world. The Hispanic community doesn't like what they are hearing. 2--Although Hispanics have been in awe of Obama because of his golden brown color (even here in otherwise conservative Panama), they are starting to change their opinion of him a bit. And this at a time when the White House resident has just been rebuffed 2x abroad, once at Los Cabos by EU Commissioner Barroso, who basically told O to stop sermonizing about the euro crisis and reminded him that much of the crisis was made in the USA (partly true since German banks in particular had naively loaded up on US banks' toxic derivatives); and once by Putin, who has made it known he intends to ride rough shod over the West, despite Obama's whimpering, and support the Syrian regime, possibly with Russian materiel and personnel. This sets the stage for a major loss of popularity among Hispanics. 3--A recent poll shows that US Hispanics also oppose Holder's attempt to ban Florida's purge of the state's voter list. This sentiment may be fueled in part by the Fast and Furious scandal. These are just some of those famous unintentional consequences I keep talking about. They are part of God's MO. When all seems lost, the enemy shoots himself in the foot. That is exactly what Zero has done, and now the house of cards is tumbling. --Don Hank

Food Stamp Fiasco: The Senate refuses to cut $20 billion out of $770 billion.
Excerpt: The next time someone moans about Washington "austerity," tell them about the Senate's food stamp votes on Tuesday. Democrats and a few Republicans united to block even modest reform in a welfare program that has exploded in the last decade and is set to spend $770 billion in the next 10 years. Yes, $770 billion on a single program. And you wonder why the U.S. had its credit-rating downgraded? (While driving to an appointment the other day, I heard no fewer than four ads urging people to apply for SNAP, i.e., the new form of food stamps. This is a bit crazy, the feds pushing food stamps out like the money just comes from an endless torrent with no limit. Absolutely want really poor people with need to get the support, no question about it. But the abuses are ridiculous and nobody should have any trouble wanting to cut them. What is this stubbornness about we cannot touch any giveaway program no matter what abuses we find? --Del)

Excerpt: In Rio next week, we'll again be told the Earth is on the verge of collapse— but for new reasons. Part of the preamble to Agenda 21, the action plan that came out of the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, reads: "We are confronted with a perpetuation of disparities between and within nations, a worsening of poverty, hunger, ill health and illiteracy, and the continuing deterioration of the ecosystems on which we depend for our well-being." In the 20 years since, something embarrassing has happened: a sharp decrease in poverty, hunger, ill health and illiteracy and a marked reduction in these global disparities. (I remember quite well the Club of Rome and other 1970s panics about overpopulation, mass starvation, the uprising of the impoverished of the southern hemisphere, etc. I remember EF Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful," that called for cottage industries for the Third World. In fact none of these catastrophes transpired. To the contrary, there has been demonstrable wealth and health progress in Africa, India and South America--expressly in those places where the statist, redistributionist and low tech models were rejected (and not in places that retained or adopted those models, North Korea, Zimbabwe, etc.). Academics excel at making an industry of building models out of inadequate data to predict inevitable "end of world unless you heed me" futures. We buy their books and are harangued by the gullible media to accept their theories as proven beyond doubt. The Left then adopts these ideas, and defines programs and imposes policies where it can to avert these disasters. These policies of an ensconced elitist bureaucracy invariably undermine personal liberty, raise taxes and confiscate property, and increase the cost of living. They impose mounds of regulations that no one but lawyers can really understand. We even give out Nobel Prizes for ideas that are soon proved false. Cordially, Larry Greenberg)

Excerpt: As a humble toiler in the opinion mines, cursed to work the same tapped out seams day in and day out, I confess to a certain admiration for those imams who never run out of new things to rail against. Moulana Abdul Hamid Ishaq, who spoke in Toronto on Sunday, is “one of the most active and learned scholars in South Africa”, and he doesn’t care for the “evils” of “Happy Birthday To You“:

Obama Campaign Has $109M Cash On Hand, But Spent More Than It Raised
 Excerpt: President Obama’s re-election campaign ended the month of May with $109 million in its war chest down, from $115 million at the end of April. They raised $39 million but spent $44.5 million along the way. (No sweat, just borrow the rest from China. ~Bob.)

Excerpt: We’ve become accustomed to the grotesque and horrifying reports of acid attacks against women in Pakistan or Afghanistan, at the hands of their irate husbands or spurned suitors. Now the same technique for avenging wounded honor has migrated to Spain along with cultural enrichment.

Multi-Millions lost by Medicare on diabetes claims
Excerpt: Four Medicare contractors wrongly paid three of every four audited reimbursement claims for test strips and lancets commonly used by diabetes patients, at a cost to taxpayers in excess of paid more than $271 million, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector-General.

Top doctor's chilling claim: The NHS kills off 130,000 elderly patients every year
Excerpt: NHS doctors are prematurely ending the lives of thousands of elderly hospital patients because they are difficult to manage or to free up beds, a senior consultant claimed yesterday. Professor Patrick Pullicino said doctors had turned the use of a controversial ‘death pathway’ into the equivalent of euthanasia of the elderly. (Coming soon to a progressive healthcare system near you. ~Bob.)

Veterans’ Scams Show Need For Caution By Donors
Donors need to exercise caution when solicited by a charity for contributions. Two recent illustrations show why. The head of the United States Navy Veterans Association was arrested on charges of defrauding donors by operating a bogus charity. When questions were raised, he closed down his operation and fled, but not until he took in some millions of dollars. When arrested he had $1 million in cash in two suitcases. The Disabled Veterans National Foundation is reported to have raised over $56 million in five years, but dispersed almost none of it to veterans or veterans’ groups, but claims its revenues went for fundraising expenses. These two are only the tip of the iceberg. Way too many organizations purporting to raise money to assist veterans are mostly assisting the people who organize and run them. In a time of war or more accurately wars, appeals to help veterans receive more acceptance and less scrutiny than in ordinary times. More than ever it behooves those to whom such appeals are made to get more information from CharityWatch or other organizations about charities you may not be familiar with but carry names that seem reliable and trustworthy. –The Howe & Hutton Report.

Disability versus Work
Excerpt: The disability component of Social Security is growing faster than retirement benefits and requires substantive reforms. Over the past three years, an additional 1 million Americans started receiving disability benefits, bringing the total number to 10.8 million. What is behind this surge, asks Pamela Villarreal, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis. Disability is the fastest-growing component of U.S. Social Security: Between 2008 and 2011, disability expenditures increased 22 percent to $132 billion, compared to 19 percent for Social Security retirement benefits. By 2016, disability expenditures are expected to increase an additional 30 percent to $170 billion, and payroll taxes that fund disability under current law will cover only 79 percent of projected benefits. The Social Security Administration reports that less than one-half of 1 percent of disabled individuals return to work. However, a longitudinal study from the Center for Studying Disability Policy found that up to 2.8 percent of beneficiaries return to work within 10 years of receiving benefits. Either way, the likelihood of returning to work is small, even though the health status of many disability recipients improves over time. There are considerable disincentives for individuals on disability to return to work.

Worth Reading: The truth about Germany and the 'clean energy economy'
Excerpt: This episode reminded us of something else, of greater concern to U.S. voters: Obama's speechwriters appear to also be unaware that the German media is available online. In English. It is hard to explain otherwise how they continue sending Mr. Obama out to cite Germany's energy sector as a model for driving America's economic recovery. Look back to when the candidate and then the new President Obama gave eight speeches touting Spain as the model for his "clean energy economy."

Is President Obama baiting House Republicans? By Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake
Excerpt: It’s no secret that President Obama is doing everything he can to run against the unpopularity of the Republican Congress, trying at every turn to lump former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney — who has never served a day in office in Washington, D.C. — in with that lot. It’s also no secret that the economy is a tremendously complicated political issue for Obama and one without an obvious solution.

Critical concepts to be considered
I thought this PJTV Video: “Uncommon Knowledge: Dennis Prager on Why America Is Still the Best Hope " was a lot more than just interesting and hope you will listen to just the first 5 minutes of it. That brings up concepts that I've never heard expressed before, which are critically important in the world today. –Del

The people's verdict: Most Germans and French DON'T want to stay in Euro
Excerpt: The deal signed by the eurozone countries still faces huge hurdles, because of simmering tensions between the member states – and growing disenchantment within their own borders. A startling poll last night showed that only a third of French people believed that their country should stay in the euro indefinitely. The situation in Germany was scarcely better with support for staying in the single currency long-term standing at just 41 per cent.

Silvio Berlusconi: 'Leaving The Euro Is Not A Blasphemy'
Excerpt: Italy should consider leaving the euro unless Germany agrees to the European Central Bank acting as a guarantor for sovereign debt and printing money to reflate the economy, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday. "Leaving the euro is not a blasphemy," he wrote on his Facebook page.

DOJ Releases Muslim Terrorist; Stonewalls Inquiries. By William Bigelow
Excerpt: Barack Obama’s Department of Justice is up to its secret ways again. Last year, six Muslims in south Florida were arrested and charged with sending tens of thousands of dollars to fund the Taliban in Afghanistan. Now, as Judicial Watch reports, the DOJ has dropped charges against one of them -- but when questioned why, the DOJ has stonewalled and remained silent.

The Imperial President Strikes Again. By Ben Shapiro
Excerpt: President Obama’s improper exercise of executive privilege today to protect Attorney General Eric Holder on Fast and Furious is the latest frightening entry in a week-long pattern of presidential centralization of power. Remember when the left labeled George W. Bush an incipient dictator? Well, President Obama’s actions this week make Bush look like a piker by comparison.

Former Judiciary Chairman: Why Obama’s Executive Privilege is Illegal. By Bridget Johnson
Excerpt: There are essentially 4 grounds for asserting executive privilege: (1) the state secrets privilege, (2) the presidential communications privilege, (3) the attorney client or attorney work product privilege, and (4) the deliberative process privilege. It appears that the President is relying on the deliberative process privilege.

Blaming Citizens United For Obama’s Problems. By David Bossie
Excerpt: Congressman Schiff, with his hopeless amendment, seeks to overturn these two decisions, which would result in fundamentally rewriting the First Amendment and our right to freedom of speech. He would in effect grant the government control over political speech and allow it to choose the winners and losers; that is not what our Founding Fathers intended. (Well, Global warming is a stretch, so CU is handy. ~Bob.)

“Never Again” is now “Again and Again.” By Victor Sharpe
Excerpt: When, after the end of World War Two, the extent of Nazi Germany’s systematic extermination of the 6 million Jews of Europe became horribly apparent, including the slaughter of 1.5 million babies and children, there arose the cry: “Never Again.” It was assumed that a unique horror of such magnitude must never again occur in the world. The Holocaust resulted in one third of the world’s Jewish population being systematically murdered - perpetrated as it was by millions of Adolf Hitler’s obedient and willing executioners using all the tools of the central state and of perverted science. But the cataclysmic lesson of that genocide has been shamefully ignored.

Excerpt: On March 4, 2011, I asked of the murder of Jaime Zapata: Was this murder also the result of guns that the Obama administration deliberately allowed into Mexico? It was known at the time that a Project Gunrunner gun had been found at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Something to think about!
Excerpt: That same day two of my teachers took me aside and essentially told me the following: Nick, you're a smart guy. You don't have to join the military. You should go to college, instead. … What I will say is that when a 16 year-old kid is being told that attending West Point is going to be bad for his future then there is a dangerous disconnect in America, and entirely too many Americans have no idea what kind of burdens our military is bearing.

President Obama's Fast and Furious Scandal Grows
Excerpt: On the night of December 15, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was shot and killed by an untraceable assault weapon that was deliberately handed to Mexican drug lords by U.S. officials via Operation Fast and Furious. Ever since, the Terry family and Americans across the nation have asked how this could have happened. And ever since, Attorney General Eric Holder has stonewalled Congress in its attempts to find these answers.

Senator McConnell on the Perils of Campaign Finance ‘Reform.’ By Hans A. von Spakovsky
Excerpt: As McConnell said, “Justice Thomas pretty well sums up my own sentiments on tactics like this in the closing paragraph of his opinion in Citizens United: ‘I cannot endorse a view of the First Amendment, that subjects citizens of this nation to death threats, ruined careers, damaged or defaced property, or pre-emptive and threatening warning letters as the prices for engaging in core political speech, the primary object of First Amendment protection.’” …Even worse is the recently proposed “People’s Rights Amendment.” It “basically repeals the First Amendment,” McConnell said, adding that amending the First Amendment “would be the ultimate act of radicalism.”

Rubio’s Favorables Are Rising Among Independents
Excerpt: Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s name recognition is on the rise with increasing mention of him as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney. His favorables are up nationally, especially among independent voters. Forty-two percent (42%) of Likely U.S. Voters now share a favorable view of the first-term Republican senator, while 31% view him unfavorably.

C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition
Excerpt: The C.I.A. officers have been in southern Turkey for several weeks, in part to help keep weapons out of the hands of fighters allied with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, one senior American official said. (Good luck with that. ~Bob.)

China says Vietnam claim to islands "null and void"
Excerpt: China on Thursday "vehemently opposed" a Vietnamese law asserting sovereignty over islands in disputed waters, the latest escalation in tensions over the resource-rich South China Sea. (Dear God, it will be terrible if the Chinese Communists and the Vietnamese Communists start killing each other again, terrible, that is, if it’s not live on TV and I don’t have a stock of beer and popcorn to enjoy watching it. ~Bob.)

Explosives found at Sweden nuclear site in Ringhals
Excerpt: Security at Sweden's nuclear power stations has been tightened after explosive material was found on a truck near the largest plant in the country.

Uganda pro-gay groups face ban by ethics minister Lokodo
Excerpt: Uganda plans to ban 38 non-governmental organisations it accuses of promoting homosexuality, the Minister for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo has said.

Sect claims multiple attacks on NE Nigeria city
Didn’t get the “Islam is a Religion of Peace” memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: A radical Islamist sect claimed responsibility Thursday for attacks that left at least 40 people dead in a northeast Nigerian city this week, as the government struggles to corral rising sectarian violence.

She warned us. By Cal Thomas
Excerpt: One of many things left out of the film "The Iron Lady" was Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's warnings on the effects a single currency would have on the economies of European nations. Thatcher's premonitions place her among the great political prophets of all time. On the single currency, Peter Oborne, a columnist for the London Daily Telegraph, writes, "Mrs. Thatcher foresaw with painful clarity the devastation it was bound to cause.

Obama Orders Military 'Gay Pride' Celebrations
Excerpt: Just when you thought the Left's campaign of cultural degradation couldn't become any worse, Barack Hussein Obama, ostensibly the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces, sent down a decree that the Service Branches must celebrate "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month." The purpose of this mandate is to affirm the minuscule number of homosexuals (2-3 percent) serving in the military ranks -- mostly in rear echelon positions. (I, personally, have no problems with Gays, and if they lesbian couple down the street gets married, it won’t hurt me at all. But I wouldn’t support the military having a “Heterosexual Pride Month.” Or a Black Pride, White Pride, Asian Pride, or Hispanic Pride Month. ~Bob.)

Obama’s Blatant Disregard for the Constitution is Appalling. By Rep. Michele Bachmann
Excerpt: In order to become President, Barack Obama had to swear to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. But three years later, I am disgusted with the disregard that the President continues to show to our Constitution. Has he forgotten about the separation of executive, judicial and legislative branches found in our founding document? Our founders gave us a system of checks and balances so that one person could never seize more power than was provided in the Constitution. (OK, yes, Bachmann is GOP and therefore not Mr. Obama's friend. Does that change any of the facts or logic in her commentary? I don't think so. We have been seeing just about everyone in some political circles pretty much ignoring their oaths to support and defend the Constitution, and that's a very bad thing. When the President does it as a matter of constant practice, that's a terrible and scary thing. --Del)

‘Flash’ Mob Violence, Poverty, and Reclaiming the Streets: Is poverty the root cause of crime or is it the other way around? By Abraham H. Miller
Excerpt: Don’t expect Reverend Jesse Jackson or the Reverend Al Sharpton to be organizing a march against this brand of racism. After all, black-on-white violence isn’t really good for the kind of media exploitation that fills their coffers. Barack Obama will not find that any of the victims could have been his son, and Eric Holder is too busy looking into the racial motives of George Zimmerman to launch an investigation into black mob violence against whites. (What’s weird is that Obama and Holder could do themselves an immense amount of political good by taking a strong stand against this, without losing any black support at all. But they are blinded by race, so can’t see black racism. ~Bob.)

Why the 'Disrespect' for President Obama?
Excerpt: Never mind Munro asked a legitimate question -- one that probably wouldn't have even occurred to amnesty-supporting media: Will this harm the job prospects for struggling young American citizens? (Nor has anyone had the chance to ask Obama why, only a year ago, he told a Univision audience that he lacked the power to suspend student deportations via an executive order.)

Greece Alone And Broke—Again. By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: The recent indecisive Greek elections could be summed up by two general themes: Greeks want to stay in, and expect help from, the eurozone. But they still do not want to take the necessary medicine to stop borrowing billions of euros from northern Europeans, who want a radical Greek reform of the tax code, deregulation of labor laws, fiscal discipline, massive cuts in bureaucracy, and greater transparency -- all unlikely given Greek history and contemporary culture. So what lies in the future for Greece as it is slowly eased out of the euro zone and its civilization goes into reverse?

7-2 Decision Against California's SEIU is Major Blow to Unions
Excerpt: The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that unions must give nonmembers an immediate chance to object to unexpected fee increases or special assessments that all workers are required to pay in closed-shop situations.

Hollywood Fears Backlash to Obama Celeb Fundraiser Barrage
Excerpt: Some of the president's most ardent entertainment industry supporters quietly tell The Hollywood Reporter that while they realize he needs to deploy all of his weapons to compete with deep-pocketed Republican super PACs, they fear the increasing reliance on stars and celebrity contests could backfire with swing voters and mobilize the right. (The celebs might fear losing the audience. People who can afford movies and concerts may not think Obama’s policies are all that cool. ~Bob.)

Interesting: Why Iceland Should Be in the News, But Is Not. By Deena Stryker
Excerpt: Americans may remember that at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt. The reasons were mentioned only in passing, and since then, this little-known member of the European Union fell back into oblivion. As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example.

Press lets scandal hide in plain sight. By John Podhoretz
Excerpt: There’s a reason you don’t know much about the complicated and confusing mess known as “Fast and Furious.” The mainstream media have largely ignored this Obama administration scandal, which would have dominated mainstream front pages and homepages and programs for months had it all taken place under a Republican administration. Something changed yesterday.

Vulgarians On The Loose! By Ann Coulter
Excerpt: A Michigan legislator, Lisa Brown, gave a speech in the statehouse last week that would have made her right at home in a women's studies course at a local community college, but a wacko in a group of actual legislators. She commented on a pending abortion bill by first announcing that she was Jewish, kept kosher, described her various sets of plates, and then saying that Jewish law makes abortion mandatory to save the life of the mother. This had absolutely nothing to do with the bill being considered, but it may explain why there are no Jewish Tim Tebows.

Too short to excerpt, but good. ~Bob.

Mission triple shooting not being classified as attempted "honor killing" By Rafael Carranza
Excerpt: The suspect Talal Nimer is facing attempted murder charges after shooting his estranged wife, their daughter and their daughter’s boyfriend. Mission police the gunman's Muslim faith did not play a role in their investigation. But when quizzed on why he did it, the Lebanese man admitted that he didn't like that his daughter was dating someone who's not Muslim.

U.S.-Cuba health care fraud conspiracy uncovered by feds
Excerpt: A Cuban man living in Miami, FL, was charged Tuesday for his part in a money-laundering conspiracy that deposited millions of U.S. dollars, obtained in a health care scam, into banks located in Cuba, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The Imaginary World of Barack Obama. By Peter Kirsanow
Excerpt: So we learn that President Obama’s description of substantive aspects of his grandfather’s life are fictional, as are other details in his preferred narrative: an inspirational black girlfriend in college who turns out to be white; a close black friend in grade school who’s actually Japanese and Native American, and not all that close; a 20-year pastor and mentor who, it turns out, is “not the man I knew;” Bill Ayers is just “some guy in the neighborhood.” … And Andrea Mitchell would have voters believe that Mitt Romney’s the one who’s out of touch.

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