More interesting political news and opinion

Update

Saturday morning, Bonnie and I attended the Dane County Republican Party annual caucus. when it came time to elect an assembly District chair, we were the only two from our deep blue district. So I'm now the District Chair and a member of the Executive Committee. For this I rose at 5 am and left the house at 8 am with the temp at -4? I accepted a position as a member of the Lunenburg, MA Town Republican Committee when I was 22, just starting college. 46 years later, it's clear I'm a slow learner. ~Bob

Random Thoughts for March, 2015. By Robert A. Hall

http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2015/02/random-thoughts-for-march.html

Feel free to post or forward. (Definitely one of your best "Random Thoughts" musings. As a matter of fact, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. --Paul)

General News and Comment

Economic Measures in Right to Work States. From Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce

https://www.wmc.org/issues/righttowork/

Competitive Business Climate. Site selectors who advise businesses on where to expand or locate a new business say that 75% of their clients view Right to Work as an “important” or “very important” factor and typically half will not even consider investing in a forced-union state. More Job Creation. During the 10-year period from 2004-2013, Right to Work states added 3.6 million jobs – significantly more than the 1.5 million in forced-union states. Faster Job Growth. From 2004-2013, Right to Work states grew jobs by an average of 5.3%, which is more than twice the rate of forced union states (2.1%). Higher Wage Growth. Right to Work states grew wages by an average of 15.1% from 2003-2013, while wage growth lagged in forced-union states at 8.2% Higher Manufacturing Output. Manufacturing GDP grew by 26.1% in Right to Work states from 2003-2013, compared to 13.8% in forced-union states. More Disposable Income. When differences in cost-of-living variations between states are taken into account, employees in Right to Work states had per capita disposable income of $38,915 in 2013, nearly $2,000 per year more than the $36,959 in forced-union states. More Workers. Right to Work states grew population by 4.9 million people in the ten-year period from 2003-2012, while forced-union states lost 4.9 million people.

The day Obama killed the Internet

http://libertynewsnow.com/the-day-obama-killed-the-internet/article1007

Excerpt: In a 3-2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission decided to radically change the way they regulate the Internet, by declaring it to be a public utility akin to the phone system. The decision was strictly along party lines: the two Republican-appointed FCC commissioners voted no, while FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and two other commissioners, all appointed by Democrats, voted to move forward.

IRS Employee Looking for Lois Lerner Emails Was Blind, Literally! By J. Christian Adams
http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2015/02/27/irs-employee-looking-for-lois-lerner-emails-was-blind-literally/

Excerpt: An IRS employee tasked with trying to restore and obtain emails on Lois Lerner’s IRS computer’s hard drive was legally blind. Stephen Manning, the deputy chief information officer for strategy and modernization at the IRS, submitted an affidavit in the True the Vote vs. IRS litigation regarding the persons and procedures used to attempt to recover Lois Lerner’s hard drive containing emails pertaining to Tea Party targeting.

So she lied?: Hillary Clinton’s Top Aides Knew from First Minutes that Benghazi Was a Terrorist Attack, E-mails Disclose. By Andrew C. McCarthy
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/414500/hillary-clintons-top-aides-knew-first-minutes-benghazi-was-terrorist-attack-e-mails

Excerpt: From the very first moments of the terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her top aides were advised that the compound was under a terrorist attack. In fact, less than two hours into the attack, they were told that the al-Qaeda affiliate in Libya, Ansar al-Sharia, had claimed responsibility. These revelations and others are disclosed by a trove of e-mails and other documents pried from the State Department by Judicial Watch in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. (If they lie for political reasons--as they always do--what difference does it make if the media covers for them. Pried from the "most transparent administration in history" 16 months after it happened. ~Bob)

The White House’s draft of a consumer privacy bill is out — and even the FTC is worried. By Andrea Peterson

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/02/27/the-white-houses-draft-of-a-consumer-privacy-bill-is-out-and-even-the-ftc-is-worried/?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

Excerpt: The White House on Friday released what it called a discussion draft of a bill aimed at giving consumers more control over how data about them is collected. But privacy advocates, including Democratic members of Congress, raised concerns that the legislation might actually make things worse. Even the Federal Trade Commission, the agency at the heart of the proposal, appears to have reservations. (With Obama you don't have to read a bill to know it will make things worse. ~Bob)

Top Navy Officer FIRED by Obama For Exposing Massive Threat to US

http://conservativetribune.com/top-navy-officer-fired-by-obama/

Excerpt: President Barack Obama’s been on a roll when it comes to firing military officers — especially those who aren’t afraid to speak out against the administration and expose what’s really happening behind the scenes. That seems to be the case with Capt. James Fanell, a senior Navy intelligence leader who was relieved as the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s director of intelligence and information operations because he made public information about China that Obama didn’t want you to hear. His comments, now being labeled “provocative,” revealed that after a recent Chinese amphibious exercise, naval intelligence officials assessed that China’s strategy was to be able to launch a “short, sharp war,” with Japan.

Dying Marine gets one last wish

http://ktla.com/2015/02/28/homeless-oklahoma-veterans-dying-wish-to-be-granted/

Excerpt: After being diagnosed with terminal cancer and given only three weeks to live, a beloved Marine had one last wish: to be buried in uniform, along with a Marine Corps flag. Donnie Loneman had loved being a Marine, according to CNN affiliate KOCO in Oklahoma City. But the veteran, who was homeless for the past decade, did not own a dress uniform. He also could not afford to buy one.

Rand Paul wins CPAC straw poll, with Scott Walker a close second

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/02/28/rand-paul-wins-cpac-straw-poll-narrowly-topping-walker/?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

Excerpt: Hundreds of Paul fans had streamed in from across the country for the multi-day event in National Harbor, Md -- but his percentage of the vote actually dropped, to 25.7 percent, from 31 percent in 2014. ... Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.), who drew a significant level of grassroots excitement at the conference with a strong performance in his Friday address, drew 21.4 percent of the vote, dramatically and improving on his fifth place showing last year. (I wonder how many folks got there on Candidate A's bus, on tickets from Candidate B and voted for Candidate C? ~Bob)

Gun News

Police: Homeowner Shoots, Kills Attempted Burglary Suspect

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/02/27/police-homeowner-fatally-shoots-attempted-burglary-suspect/

Excerpt: An attempted burglary suspect is dead after deputies say he was shot and killed by a homeowner trying to protect his family.

Race Card News

Black Privilege: Students Get SAT Bonus Points for Being Black or Hispanic – Asians Are Penalized

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/02/black-privilege-students-get-sat-bonus-points-for-being-black-or-hispanic-asians-are-penalized/

Excerpt: A report in the LA Times revealed that blacks and Hispanics get bonus SAT points at elite universities based on their race. Asian students however are penalized 50 points due to their race. (While the black average on IQ tests is about ten points lower than whites, black kids raised in white families score at or above the national average. It's not race, it's culture. The left reinforced the bad culture that has destroyed the black family. ~Bob)

Religion of Peace News

Netanyahu’s address to Congress will be most important speech of his life. By William Booth 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/netanyahus-address-to-congress-will-be-most-important-speech-of-his-life/2015/02/28/679aa694-bd10-11e4-9dfb-03366e719af8_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

Excerpt: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address to a joint meeting of Congress will probably be the most important speech of his career — and one that has already jeopardized relations between Israel and the United States. On Tuesday morning, Netanyahu will confront an American president and insist that the future of the State of Israel, and the world, is imperiled by a pending “bad deal” with Iran on its nuclear program. (What jeopardized America's relationship with Israel was the election of a President whose criteria of the goodness of people depends on how dark their completions are., not the content of their characters. ~Bob)

Random, Mr. President? Islamist Shooter Asked Victim His Origin. When He Replied, ‘Jewish,’ the Terrorist Killed Him: Report

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/02/27/islamist-shooter-asked-victim-his-origin-when-he-replied-jewish-the-terrorist-killed-him-report/

Excerpt: The Islamist gunman who killed four Jews inside a kosher market in France last month apparently videotaped his rampage with a camera attached to his body — and dialogue showed that he asked at least one victim his origin and fatally shot him after he replied “Jewish,” BBC News reported.

Who will tell the President? Egypt Lays Down the Law: Hamas Is a ‘Terrorist Organization’

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/02/28/egypt-lays-down-the-law-hamas-is-a-terrorist-organization/

Excerpt: An Egyptian court declared Hamas a “terrorist organization” on Saturday, further isolating the rulers of the Gaza Strip who once found a warm welcome under the country’s past Islamist government.

Bound and blindfolded then thrown off a high building to die on rubble below: ISIS savages murder another 'gay' man in Syria... then mob swarm to pelt the corpse with rocks
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2972601/ISIS-savages-murder-gay-man-Syria-Man-thrown-roof-mob-swarm-pelt-corpse-rocks.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline

Excerpt: Following a trial in an Islamic State court, the man was taken to the roof of the building and thrown to his death in front a large crowd below. he horrific act was carried out in Tel Abiad in the Islamic State capital of Raqqa in Syria. (Is this Un-Islamic? Hw about Iran hanging gays--is that Islamic? ~Bob)

US Muslim gave Islamic State jihadis US military uniforms, combat boots, tactical gear, firearms accessories, and thousands in cash. By Robert Spencer, JihadWatch.org

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/02/us-muslim-gave-islamic-state-jihadis-us-military-uniforms-combat-boots-tactical-gear-firearms-accessories-and-thousands-in-cash?utm_source=Jihad+Watch+Daily+Digest&utm_campaign=7dea6fe4be-Daily_Digest&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ffcbf57bbb-7dea6fe4be-97564174

Excerpt: Nihad Rosic is "originally from Bosnia, and moved to the United States where he’s worked as a truck driver.” Oh dear, this is inconvenient for the mainstream analysts, who have been telling us for years that all (all!) the Muslims in Bosnia are America-loving Western-oriented moderates. What’s more, it appears that Nihad Rosic had…a job.

Played the Islamophobia Card: Husband who tried to claim racist gunmen killed his wife in front of their son while yelling 'terrorist' is guilty - after cops found his MISTRESS was the gunman
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2970701/Man-guilty-setting-wifes-death-walk-son.html

Excerpt: A New York City man was convicted Thursday of setting up the fatal shooting of his wife while the couple was on a walk with one of their young sons in New Jersey. ... Parvaiz first told police that his family had been attacked by a group of men who called them terrorists and suggested that it was a bias crime, prosecutors said. Noorani was originally from Karachi, Pakistan.

Hatred as an Article of Faith. By Mark Durie

http://www.meforum.org/5060/hatred-as-an-article-of-faith

Excerpt: The Islamic State sent me a letter this week, in the form of a short film produced by ISIS's Al-Hayat Media centre. This was not addressed to me personally, but to all Christians everywhere. Its title was A Message Signed with BLOOD to the Nation of the Cross.

This was a video of the ritual slaughter of the 21 Egyptian Christians. Their blood flowing in the ocean waves was the 'signature' at the end of the video.

Coexist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDNaSTlvUnc

The Gloves Come Off When King Abdullah Gives First Interview Since ISIS Slayed Jordan Pilot

http://www.ijreview.com/2015/02/260310-king-abdullahs-first-interview-since-brutal-slaying-jordanian-pilot/?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9&listID=%7BlistID%7D

Excerpt: Abdullah: “Well, I didn’t see the video…and many of us refused to see what I think is propaganda. Obviously I had a detailed briefing of what happened…my heart went out to the family…his wife–they’d only been married five months…I think all Jordanian soldiers, past and present, were angered by the brutality of what he was put through…and I think if ISIS, or Daesh, as we call them, try to intimidate Jordanians, it just had the reverse effect…we’ve always punched way above our weight…I think if anything, Daesh has got a tiger by the tail…it just sort of motivated Jordanians to rally around the flag, and the gloves have come off.”

Austrian Parliament Bans Foreign Funding For Islamic Organizations

http://www.investigativeproject.org/4793/austrian-parliament-bans-foreign-funding-for

Excerpt: The Austrian parliament passed legislation on Wednesday prohibiting foreign funding for Islamic organizations in an attempt at curbing the spread of Islamist radicalism, Newsweek reports. The law specifically bans foreign funding for imams and mosques from some Muslim nations including Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Under the new legislation, Austria's 450 Muslim organizations must exhibit a "positive approach toward society and the state" in order to continue receiving official authorization.

Bring Back the Bush Doctrine—with One Addition. By Andrew C. McCarthy
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/414588/bring-back-bush-doctrine-one-addition-andrew-c-mccarthy?target=author&tid=900151

Excerpt: What concessions about centrifuges and spent fuel should we demand to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power? We ask the question never linking the mullahs’ weapons ambitions with its sponsorship of the global jihad . . . the only reason we dread a nuclear Iran. What should be the national-defense strategy of the United States against radical Islam, the most immediate and thoroughgoing security and cultural threat we face today?

300-400 Syrian Christians Kidnapped by ISIS - USA Responds
http://lastresistance.com/10333/300-400-syrian-christians-kidnapped-isis-usa-responds/

Excerpt: The U.S.-led coalition has launched three air strikes on the Islamic State in northeastern Syria. An estimated 300-400 Syrian Christians were abducted by militants in the region, according to Kino Gabriel, a commander for the Syriac Military Council. The strikes succeeded in slowing the movement of Islamic State forces.

Muslim group after murder of Islamocritical writer: “Target Down here in Bangladesh.” By Robert Spencer, JihadWatch.com

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/02/muslim-group-after-murder-of-islamocritical-writer-target-down-here-in-bangladesh?utm_source=Jihad+Watch+Daily+Digest&utm_campaign=460c746a5b-Daily_Digest&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ffcbf57bbb-460c746a5b-97564174

Excerpt: Islamic jihadists apparently believe that they can move violently against critics of jihad terror with no fear of adverse consequences; the people who should be defending the freedom of speech are everywhere in retreat. The jihadis have nothing to fear.

Part of the Deal? Iran cleric vows to 'raise flag of Islam on White House' to avenge Israeli attack

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-cleric-vows-to-raise-flag-of-Islam-on-White-House-to-avenge-Israeli-attack-392445?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Excerpt: A senior Iranian cleric with close ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed on Friday that "we will raise the flag of Islam over the White House" in response to the killing of Hezbollah and Revolutionary Guards operatives on the Golan Heights last month. (Obama is so desperate for a deal to punt the Iran problem to the next President that they might get, say, one day a week for their flag. ~Bob)

US – Iran nuclear deal may be dead on arrival and should be. By Lawrence Sellin, Phd, Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely, US Army (Ret)
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/us-iran-nuclear-deal-may-be-dead-on-arrival-and-should-be?f=must_reads

Excerpt: The most recent talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif may have completed a major step toward a landmark nuclear accord that the Obama Administration believes will diminish Tehran's pathways to a nuclear weapon. The potential deal, as reported by the AP and The New York Times, would impose uranium stockpile and enrichment limitations on Iran, and Tehran would have to submit to a restrictive verification and inspection regime for a period of 10 to 15 years. In return, sanctions on Iran would be lifted, and its status as a uranium-enriching nation would be prescribed under international law. Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz stated, however, that if the emerging US - Iran nuclear agreement did not include measures preventing any nuclear cooperation with North Korea or other rogue states, it would be meaningless, referring to North Korea's previous clandestine and illegal nuclear projects in Syria - "We all know that Iran, Syria and North Korea are very close to each other," he said. ) Whenever you see General Vallely's name on an article, you know it is valid, and properly researched. Our Nation is entering a very dangerous period. This Administration surely has this information, which makes you wonder about their real agenda. During the last 6 years, foreign policy has been a disaster, but what is happening now could be devastating. --GBH)

I rate doubtful: Obama ‘Threatened to Fire on Israeli Jets Attacking Iran’

http://girlsjustwannahaveguns.com/breaking-report-kuwaiti-newspaper-claims-obama-threatened-to-fire-on-israeli-jets-attacking-iran/

Excerpt: The Bethlehem-based news agency Ma’an has cited a Kuwaiti newspaper report Saturday, that US President Barack Obama thwarted an Israeli military attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2014 by threatening to shoot down Israeli jets before they could reach their targets in Iran. Following Obama’s threat, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was reportedly forced to abort the planned Iran attack.

*****

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.