A bit of history. Jake Tapper, NBC reporter, discusses his date with Monica Lewinsky. It gives some insight into the Washington theater and the social atmosphere of the press corps and "politicos."
I write, clearly, because I want a piece of this story just like everybody else. That imperative distinguishes me not at all from every other journalist in Washington. But perhaps even more, I also want to point out that behind this particular bimbo eruption sits a young woman who is not a bimbo, who is a fairly sensible sort from what I saw, who was never going to be the one holding a press conference alongside a posterboard blowup of the Star with a back pocket full of the cash she got from selling out. She may be guilty of poor judgment, but she never asked for this.
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Friday, August 02, 2013
RUSSIA'S ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL POLICY
Russia has taken a strong stand against homosexuality. Buzzfeed discusses the factors which include a demographic disaster unless Russians start having babies. I wonder how Obama is going to deal with Putin on this issue since Obama has been pushing same-sex marriage laws in Africa on his recent trip.
“Analyzing all the circumstances, and the particularity of territorial Russia and her survival…I came to the conclusion that if today we want to resolve the demographic crisis, we need to, excuse me, tighten the belt on certain moral values and information, so that giving birth and raising children become fully valued,” lawmaker Yelena Mizulina told Vladimir Posner, Russia’s Charlie Rose.
“Analyzing all the circumstances, and the particularity of territorial Russia and her survival…I came to the conclusion that if today we want to resolve the demographic crisis, we need to, excuse me, tighten the belt on certain moral values and information, so that giving birth and raising children become fully valued,” lawmaker Yelena Mizulina told Vladimir Posner, Russia’s Charlie Rose.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
TEXT FOUND IN JERUSALEM
A 3,000 year old shard of pottery with text on it was found in Jerusalem. It will be interesting to see how the debate on this shard evolves. If it is Hebrew writing that is quite significant.
LYNCHINGS IN THE US
An interesting historical fact: Oprah Winfrey in a recent interview said there were millions of lynchings in the United States from 1882 to 1968. The Tuskegee Institute says that there were only 4,743 and one in four lynched was a white person.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
OBAMA AND IRS AUDITS
Obama joked about auditing "enemies" in 2009 but now it doesn't seem like a joke. Was it a Freudian slip?
At his Arizona State University commencement speech last Wednesday, Mr. Obama noted that ASU had refused to grant him an honorary degree, citing his lack of experience, and the controversy this had caused. He then demonstrated ASU's point by remarking, "I really thought this was much ado about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA brackets. . . . President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS."
Just a joke about the power of the presidency. Made by Jay Leno it might have been funny. But as told by Mr. Obama, the actual president of the United States, it's hard to see the humor. Surely he's aware that other presidents, most notably Richard Nixon, have abused the power of the Internal Revenue Service to harass their political opponents. But that abuse generated a powerful backlash and with good reason. Should the IRS come to be seen as just a bunch of enforcers for whoever is in political power, the result would be an enormous loss of legitimacy for the tax system.
At his Arizona State University commencement speech last Wednesday, Mr. Obama noted that ASU had refused to grant him an honorary degree, citing his lack of experience, and the controversy this had caused. He then demonstrated ASU's point by remarking, "I really thought this was much ado about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA brackets. . . . President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS."
Just a joke about the power of the presidency. Made by Jay Leno it might have been funny. But as told by Mr. Obama, the actual president of the United States, it's hard to see the humor. Surely he's aware that other presidents, most notably Richard Nixon, have abused the power of the Internal Revenue Service to harass their political opponents. But that abuse generated a powerful backlash and with good reason. Should the IRS come to be seen as just a bunch of enforcers for whoever is in political power, the result would be an enormous loss of legitimacy for the tax system.
Monday, July 29, 2013
THE MILITARY IN EGYPT
Foreign Affairs argues that Al-Sisi, the Egyptian general leading the anti-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood movement, is really an Islamist.
Given the details of Sisi’s biography and the content of his only published work, a thesis he wrote in 2006 while studying at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, it seems possible that he might have something altogether different in mind: a hybrid regime that would combine Islamism with militarism. To judge from the ideas about governance that he put forward in his thesis, Sisi might see himself less as a custodian of Egypt’s democratic future than as an Egyptian version of Muhammed Zia ul-Haq, the Pakistani general who seized power in 1977 and set about to “Islamicize” state and society in Pakistan.
This is something to watch for.
Given the details of Sisi’s biography and the content of his only published work, a thesis he wrote in 2006 while studying at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, it seems possible that he might have something altogether different in mind: a hybrid regime that would combine Islamism with militarism. To judge from the ideas about governance that he put forward in his thesis, Sisi might see himself less as a custodian of Egypt’s democratic future than as an Egyptian version of Muhammed Zia ul-Haq, the Pakistani general who seized power in 1977 and set about to “Islamicize” state and society in Pakistan.
This is something to watch for.
AP WORLD HISTORY TEXTBOOK
A world history textbook used by the Advanced Placement Program contains one chapter on Islam and barely mentions Christianity and Judaism. And I presume it does not deal with Hinduism or Buddhism to the extent they deserve either.
“If you don’t see it from the eyes of a parent, kids are going to take this book as gospel and believe that Christians and Jews were murderous barbarians and thank God the Muslims came along and the world is great,” he said.
For example, Workman said a reference to Mohammed and his armies taking over Medina states, “people happily accepted Islam as their way of life.”
“If you don’t see it from the eyes of a parent, kids are going to take this book as gospel and believe that Christians and Jews were murderous barbarians and thank God the Muslims came along and the world is great,” he said.
For example, Workman said a reference to Mohammed and his armies taking over Medina states, “people happily accepted Islam as their way of life.”
Friday, July 26, 2013
IRS EMPLOYEES UNION REJECTS OBAMACARE
Crazy. The IRS is supposed to enforce Obamacare, yet the employees don't want to be under it.
National Treasury Employees Union officials are urging members to write their congressional representatives in opposition to receiving coverage through President Obama’s health care law.
National Treasury Employees Union officials are urging members to write their congressional representatives in opposition to receiving coverage through President Obama’s health care law.
Monday, July 22, 2013
TERRORISM IN THE UK & THE USA
World Affairs compares the data on British and US terrorists. There are some similarities, but also many differences on who is committing terrorist acts. For example, in America more converts to Islam commit terrorism than in the UK.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
THE OLD TESTAMENT AND US MILITIA LAW
A blog post on how America's founding fathers incorporated Old Testament laws into how militia were to organize.
The American Founders were assiduous students of history. While the well-educated among them read Roman and Greek history in the original languages, some history was well-known by almost everyone, namely the Bible. New Englanders intensely self-identified with ancient Israel—from the first days of settlement in early 17th century (Israel in the wilderness) to the days of the American Revolution, when New England’s “black regiment” of clergymen incited the Revolution as a religious duty, and described the thirteen American colonies as the modern version of the twelve confederate tribes of Israel.[1] Thus, ancient Hebrew militia law is part of the intellectual background of the American militia system, and of the Second Amendment.
The American Founders were assiduous students of history. While the well-educated among them read Roman and Greek history in the original languages, some history was well-known by almost everyone, namely the Bible. New Englanders intensely self-identified with ancient Israel—from the first days of settlement in early 17th century (Israel in the wilderness) to the days of the American Revolution, when New England’s “black regiment” of clergymen incited the Revolution as a religious duty, and described the thirteen American colonies as the modern version of the twelve confederate tribes of Israel.[1] Thus, ancient Hebrew militia law is part of the intellectual background of the American militia system, and of the Second Amendment.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
ASSESSING THE ZIMMERMAN TRIAL 7/20/2013
From Walter Olson at CNN:
People upset at George Zimmerman's acquittal are calling for awarding various new powers to prosecutors at the expense of protections for criminal defendants.
People upset at George Zimmerman's acquittal are calling for awarding various new powers to prosecutors at the expense of protections for criminal defendants.
Maybe this would make it easier to hang a rap on some future Zimmerman. But it also would have an effect that its backers probably don't intend: increasing the number of persons convicted and sent to prison. As part of that effect, more young black men -- as well as more members of other groups -- will end up behind bars
From TalkLeft: Criticism of Obama's reaction.
From National Review:
Honesty about disproportionate rates of black crime requires acknowledging another truth as well: Trayvon Martin’s race could well have been a factor in Zimmerman’s initial suspicion of him. But that is because the known suspects in the recent pattern of burglaries in his neighborhood were black. Had Asians been breaking into homes, consistently with an elevated rate of Asian crime, an unknown Asian teen wandering the neighborhood could also have drawn the attention of a neighborhood-watch volunteer
The Hill on Florida: Florida voted for Obama in 2012 but now it is "cesspool" of racism.
Reason on Florida's "stand your ground" law: It seems to help both blacks and whites equally.
From the Faculty Lounge blog.
I have been struck by the frequency with which many commenting on this case, including the public on social media — but also journalists, scholars, and lawyers, all of whom should prize fidelity to facts — have made bald, confident assertions, often without citing any evidence, and sometimes in direct contradiction to the available evidence. This is all the more startling in light of the egregious editing of Zimmerman’s call to police the night of the shooting made early on in the reporting of the case by NBC, which is the subject of a defamation lawsuit by Zimmerman.
From the Faculty Lounge blog.
I have been struck by the frequency with which many commenting on this case, including the public on social media — but also journalists, scholars, and lawyers, all of whom should prize fidelity to facts — have made bald, confident assertions, often without citing any evidence, and sometimes in direct contradiction to the available evidence. This is all the more startling in light of the egregious editing of Zimmerman’s call to police the night of the shooting made early on in the reporting of the case by NBC, which is the subject of a defamation lawsuit by Zimmerman.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
IRS LEAKED TEA PARTY CANDIDATE'S TAX RETURN
I always wondered what happened in this Delaware race in 2010. Christine O'Donnell was doing very well against her Democrat opponent when suddenly an issue of a tax lien arose and she was forced to drop out. Democrats win another one. . .interesting.
“Ms. O'Donnell, this is Dennis Martel, special agent with the U.S. Department of Treasury in Baltimore, Md. … We received information that your personal federal tax info may have been compromised and may have been misused by an individual,” he said in the January message left on her cellphone.
For Ms. O'Donnell, the message immediately raised red flags.
On March 9, 2010, the day she revealed her plan to run for the Senate in a press release, a tax lien was placed on a house purported to be hers and publicized. The problem was she no longer owned the house. The IRS eventually blamed the lien on a computer glitch and withdrew it.
“Ms. O'Donnell, this is Dennis Martel, special agent with the U.S. Department of Treasury in Baltimore, Md. … We received information that your personal federal tax info may have been compromised and may have been misused by an individual,” he said in the January message left on her cellphone.
For Ms. O'Donnell, the message immediately raised red flags.
On March 9, 2010, the day she revealed her plan to run for the Senate in a press release, a tax lien was placed on a house purported to be hers and publicized. The problem was she no longer owned the house. The IRS eventually blamed the lien on a computer glitch and withdrew it.
DEMOCRACY DEAD IN AMERICA?
Different individuals have raised the issue of whether democracy is dead in America. This is a quite serious charge especially coming from such respected persons.
Justices Souter and O'Connor.
President Jimmy Carter in Der Spiegel. America has no functioning democracy.
Justices Souter and O'Connor.
President Jimmy Carter in Der Spiegel. America has no functioning democracy.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
ZIMMERMAN TRIAL IN REVERSE
A black man with a pistol permit in Rochester, New York shoots and kills a white teenager who threatened him when he caught them stealing from neighbors' cars. . .the jury finds that he shot the white youth in self-defense. I don't think I will see this on the evening news.
ZIMMERMAN JURY
This trial is getting stranger and stranger. A black male juror was evidently eliminated from the jury pool because he watched FOX news!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
ZIMMERMAN'S RACE
An interesting picture allegedly showing Zimmerman's great-grandfather--he was black-skinned.
More on race at Gateway Pundit.
William Saletan: Trayon Martin--His death wasn’t about race, guns, or your pet issue. It was about misjudgment and overreaction—exactly what we’re doing now to the verdict.
More on race at Gateway Pundit.
William Saletan: Trayon Martin--His death wasn’t about race, guns, or your pet issue. It was about misjudgment and overreaction—exactly what we’re doing now to the verdict.
Monday, July 15, 2013
ANGEL GABRIEL APPEARS TO PRO-MORSI GATHERING
From al-Arabiya. A number of visions are being seen.
Protesters in Cairo’s Rabia al-Adawiya Square believe they have seen the light.
In a show of support for Egypt’s ousted president Mohammed Mursi, a preacher giving a sermon at the Square this week told the crowds of a miracle.
In the speech, broadcast on Egyptian satellite channels, the preacher said the Angel Gabriel had been spotted among the crowds at the pro-Mursi Square.
Protesters in Cairo’s Rabia al-Adawiya Square believe they have seen the light.
In a show of support for Egypt’s ousted president Mohammed Mursi, a preacher giving a sermon at the Square this week told the crowds of a miracle.
In the speech, broadcast on Egyptian satellite channels, the preacher said the Angel Gabriel had been spotted among the crowds at the pro-Mursi Square.
TRAYON MARTIN PROSECUTOR
Alan Dershowitz, liberal Harvard law professor, criticizes the prosecutor in the case in very strong language.
She submitted an affidavit that was, if not perjurious, completely misleading. She violated all kinds of rules of the profession, and her conduct bordered on criminal conduct. She, by the way, has a horrible reputation in Florida. She's known for overcharging, she's known for being highly political. And in this case, of course she overcharged. Halfway through the trial she realized she wasn't going to get a second degree murder verdict, so she asked for a compromised verdict, for manslaughter. And then, she went even further and said that she was going to charge him with child abuse and felony murder. That was such a stretch that it goes beyond anything professionally responsible. She was among the most irresponsible prosecutors I've seen in 50 years of litigating cases, and believe me, I've seen good prosecutors, bad prosecutors, but rarely have I seen one as bad as this prosecutor, [Angela] Cory.
She submitted an affidavit that was, if not perjurious, completely misleading. She violated all kinds of rules of the profession, and her conduct bordered on criminal conduct. She, by the way, has a horrible reputation in Florida. She's known for overcharging, she's known for being highly political. And in this case, of course she overcharged. Halfway through the trial she realized she wasn't going to get a second degree murder verdict, so she asked for a compromised verdict, for manslaughter. And then, she went even further and said that she was going to charge him with child abuse and felony murder. That was such a stretch that it goes beyond anything professionally responsible. She was among the most irresponsible prosecutors I've seen in 50 years of litigating cases, and believe me, I've seen good prosecutors, bad prosecutors, but rarely have I seen one as bad as this prosecutor, [Angela] Cory.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
THE END OF HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS?
Daniel Johnson writes in Standpoint about the decline in historical consciousness and the impact it has on society and culture.
What has become problematic is the assumption that general historical knowledge, an informed consciousness of our past, is the essential framework for Western civilisation. It is the decline of history in this sense that lies behind the heated debates about the teaching of history at school and university. The loss of such a temporal dimension has brought about a profound change in the outlook of the West: a loss of organic connection, not only with those who came before us, but with our place in the world. Clive James memorably described this phenomenon as "cultural amnesia", and Eric Voegelin adopted the theological concept of "anamnesis" to describe our attempts to preserve transcendent memories.
What has become problematic is the assumption that general historical knowledge, an informed consciousness of our past, is the essential framework for Western civilisation. It is the decline of history in this sense that lies behind the heated debates about the teaching of history at school and university. The loss of such a temporal dimension has brought about a profound change in the outlook of the West: a loss of organic connection, not only with those who came before us, but with our place in the world. Clive James memorably described this phenomenon as "cultural amnesia", and Eric Voegelin adopted the theological concept of "anamnesis" to describe our attempts to preserve transcendent memories.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
OBAMA FOREIGN POLICY IN TROUBLE
David Francis, Fiscal Times. Obama's problems: Poor crisis management, lack of preparedness, reactive and not-proactive and the list could go on.
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to needle Washington over Snowden
European allies have taken the lead in Syria and Libya
Afghan President Hamid Karzai humiliated the White House by pulling out of
peace talks unexpectedly
Even Obama’s Africa trip was eclipsed by the health of Nelson Mandela and the return of George W. Bush to
the public eye
Quinnipiac Poll: People think Obama is trustworthy, honest, etc., but on foreign policy his numbers drop.
American voters give President Barack Obama a negative 40 - 52 percent approval for the way he is handling foreign policy, his worst grade ever on that score. The president's overall job approval is a negative 44 - 48 percent, little changed from a 45 - 49 percent rating May 30.
Quinnipiac Poll: People think Obama is trustworthy, honest, etc., but on foreign policy his numbers drop.
American voters give President Barack Obama a negative 40 - 52 percent approval for the way he is handling foreign policy, his worst grade ever on that score. The president's overall job approval is a negative 44 - 48 percent, little changed from a 45 - 49 percent rating May 30.
THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN EGYPT
An excellent essay from Michael Totten recognizing the academics, journalists, and he, himself, got things wrong in Egypt regarding the Muslim Brotherhood. Unfortunately Washington got it wrong as well and is now facing serious policy ramifications.
I think it’s safe to say everyone, regardless of their political orientation and what they got right and wrong a year ago, was surprised by how quickly Egypt rejected the Brotherhood. The United States government has sound reasons for not describing what happened as a military coup, but that’s what it was. The rest of us shouldn’t kid ourselves. Yet it’s clear that the coup was a popular one. Morsi ended up more hated than Hosni Mubarak, and he achieved that dubious honor in one year instead of in thirty.
That ought to make American liberals rethink the notion that the Brotherhood is democratic and moderate. And it ought to show American conservatives that Muslims are perfectly capable of rejecting political Islam whether or not they’re secular Jeffersonian democrats. The Muslim Brotherhood might recover somewhat if the next government fails as badly as Morsi’s, but then again it might not.
I think it’s safe to say everyone, regardless of their political orientation and what they got right and wrong a year ago, was surprised by how quickly Egypt rejected the Brotherhood. The United States government has sound reasons for not describing what happened as a military coup, but that’s what it was. The rest of us shouldn’t kid ourselves. Yet it’s clear that the coup was a popular one. Morsi ended up more hated than Hosni Mubarak, and he achieved that dubious honor in one year instead of in thirty.
That ought to make American liberals rethink the notion that the Brotherhood is democratic and moderate. And it ought to show American conservatives that Muslims are perfectly capable of rejecting political Islam whether or not they’re secular Jeffersonian democrats. The Muslim Brotherhood might recover somewhat if the next government fails as badly as Morsi’s, but then again it might not.
IRS: USE OF INTIMIDATION
Patterico reports on an interesting quote from Lois Lerner--the IRS administrator taking a lot of heat for going after the Tea Party. The quote indicates how the IRS was going to intimidate universities .
Lois Lerner, the IRS’s director of tax-exempt organizations who is overseeing the investigation, says many schools are rethinking how and what they report to the government. Receiving a thick questionnaire from the IRS, she says, is a “behavior changer.”
Lois Lerner, the IRS’s director of tax-exempt organizations who is overseeing the investigation, says many schools are rethinking how and what they report to the government. Receiving a thick questionnaire from the IRS, she says, is a “behavior changer.”
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
NSA SPYING
While many countries condemned the NSA spying, many were cooperating with it to gather information on people.
Snowden’s recently quoted remarks on the NSA—“They are in bed with the Germans just like with most other Western states,” he told Der Spiegel—has brutally undermined Chancellor Merkel’s posturing. But far more devastating, I think, is this from Snowden: If the NSA is ordered to target an individual, it sucks up every bit of his data, he said, “So the target’s computer no longer belongs to him. It more or less belongs to the US government.”
Snowden’s recently quoted remarks on the NSA—“They are in bed with the Germans just like with most other Western states,” he told Der Spiegel—has brutally undermined Chancellor Merkel’s posturing. But far more devastating, I think, is this from Snowden: If the NSA is ordered to target an individual, it sucks up every bit of his data, he said, “So the target’s computer no longer belongs to him. It more or less belongs to the US government.”
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
OBAMACARE PROBLEMS
One just needs to look at the flowchart to wonder how in the world Obamacare is going to work. For other looming problems in its administration, read the summary at Hotair. I don't recall any piece of legislation ever having these kinds of looming issues--of course it was passed with congressmen reading it. And in 3 years they still have not figured out how to deal with smokers. Hotair asks: If the Obama administration is this incompetent at running its highest priority, just how badly are they bungling everything else?
OBAMA'S LEADERSHIP
From the Hill: Both Democrats and Republicans are not impressed with Obama's presidential leadership.
Monday, July 08, 2013
WATERGATE?
From Foreign Policy:
The offices of a Dallas law firm representing a high-profile State Department whistleblower were broken into last weekend. Burglars stole three computers and broke into the firm's file cabinets. But silver bars, video equipment and other valuables were left untouched, according to local Fox affiliate KDFW, which aired security camera footage of the suspected burglars entering and leaving the offices around the time of the incident.
With everything happening with Benghazi, the NSA, and other intrigues in Washington, this does look very suspicious.
Last month, her lawyers told The Cable that the department tried to intimidate her into silence. "They had law enforcement officers camp out in front of her house, harass her children and attempt to incriminate herself," claimed Schulman.
The offices of a Dallas law firm representing a high-profile State Department whistleblower were broken into last weekend. Burglars stole three computers and broke into the firm's file cabinets. But silver bars, video equipment and other valuables were left untouched, according to local Fox affiliate KDFW, which aired security camera footage of the suspected burglars entering and leaving the offices around the time of the incident.
With everything happening with Benghazi, the NSA, and other intrigues in Washington, this does look very suspicious.
Last month, her lawyers told The Cable that the department tried to intimidate her into silence. "They had law enforcement officers camp out in front of her house, harass her children and attempt to incriminate herself," claimed Schulman.
FEMALE INMATES STERILIZED WITHOUT APPROVAL
From the Sacramento Bee:
Doctors under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sterilized nearly 150 female inmates from 2006 to 2010 without required state approvals, the Center for Investigative Reporting has found.
At least 148 women received tubal ligations in violation of prison rules during those five years – and there are perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s, according to state documents and interviews.
This happened in "liberal" California which supposedly stands for all things progressive. The South had a history of this in the last 100 years and was heavily criticized (and rightly so). I wonder if California will be held up to the same criticism as southern states were?
Doctors under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sterilized nearly 150 female inmates from 2006 to 2010 without required state approvals, the Center for Investigative Reporting has found.
At least 148 women received tubal ligations in violation of prison rules during those five years – and there are perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s, according to state documents and interviews.
This happened in "liberal" California which supposedly stands for all things progressive. The South had a history of this in the last 100 years and was heavily criticized (and rightly so). I wonder if California will be held up to the same criticism as southern states were?
Saturday, July 06, 2013
SNOWDEN A WHISTLEBLOWER, NOT A SPY
From the Guardian.
When asked directly if there was any evidence that Snowden had cooperated with any intelligence service or American adversary, the administration and Congress declined to provide any. The office of the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, declined to comment for this story. The Justice Department and the House intelligence committee didn't even respond to inquiries.
By all means, consider Snowden a hero, a traitor or a complex individual with a mixture of motives and interests. Lots of opinions about Snowden are valid. He is a necessarily polarizing figure. The information he revealed speaks to some of the most basic questions about the boundaries between the citizen and the state, as well as persistent and real anxieties about terrorism.
When asked directly if there was any evidence that Snowden had cooperated with any intelligence service or American adversary, the administration and Congress declined to provide any. The office of the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, declined to comment for this story. The Justice Department and the House intelligence committee didn't even respond to inquiries.
By all means, consider Snowden a hero, a traitor or a complex individual with a mixture of motives and interests. Lots of opinions about Snowden are valid. He is a necessarily polarizing figure. The information he revealed speaks to some of the most basic questions about the boundaries between the citizen and the state, as well as persistent and real anxieties about terrorism.
ABORTION LAWS
A chart from the BBC detailing European abortion laws. Many of them look stricter than those in the United States. The Texas legislature is currently battling over an abortion bill, but the law supported by pro-life activists in Texas does not seem any more restrictive than those in Europe.
Here is a clip of pro-abortion activists chanting "Hail Satan" as they try to drown out "Amazing Grace" being sung by pro-life activists in Texas.
Here is a clip of pro-abortion activists chanting "Hail Satan" as they try to drown out "Amazing Grace" being sung by pro-life activists in Texas.
Friday, July 05, 2013
IGNORING THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS OF RULE BY LAW
Obama has been deciding what laws he wants to enforce and what ones he chooses not to enforce. This may give him a lot of influence over policy now, but what happens in the future when future presidents decide to do this? America will no longer be ruled by law (and certainly Congress) but by a "dictatorial" president. And would Democrats want a Republican president doing this?
Mickey Kaus who lost in a Democrat Senate Primary in California a few years ago writes that Obama may just as easily ignore the "E-verify" clause in the new immigration bill the Senate is considering.
And Mario Loyola at the National Review writes about Obama's disregard for enforcing laws he does not like from a more theoretical perspective.
During the presidency of Barack Obama, we’ve learned something about our Constitution that we did not know: The president can simply refuse to enforce whatever laws he doesn’t like. Not as a matter of prosecutorial discretion, mind you, but in general, as to whole categories of people.
First it was DOMA, in a sop to the gay lobby. Then it was the immigration laws, which the president has decided not to enforce against young illegal immigrants. Now it’s the crucial employer-insurance mandate in Obamacare, which is “suspended” for a year, because the president feels like it. I say “crucial” because, absent the employer mandate, the official estimate of how much Obamacare is going to cost, and how it’s going to affect the number of uninsured, is no longer valid
Mickey Kaus who lost in a Democrat Senate Primary in California a few years ago writes that Obama may just as easily ignore the "E-verify" clause in the new immigration bill the Senate is considering.
Obama has unilaterally decided to suspend Obamacare’s mandate for employers after receiving business complaints;Don’t you think he’ll also decide to suspend the Senate Gang of 8′s mandate that employers use “E-Verify” (to screen new employees for legal status) when he receives similar business complaints?
And Mario Loyola at the National Review writes about Obama's disregard for enforcing laws he does not like from a more theoretical perspective.
During the presidency of Barack Obama, we’ve learned something about our Constitution that we did not know: The president can simply refuse to enforce whatever laws he doesn’t like. Not as a matter of prosecutorial discretion, mind you, but in general, as to whole categories of people.
First it was DOMA, in a sop to the gay lobby. Then it was the immigration laws, which the president has decided not to enforce against young illegal immigrants. Now it’s the crucial employer-insurance mandate in Obamacare, which is “suspended” for a year, because the president feels like it. I say “crucial” because, absent the employer mandate, the official estimate of how much Obamacare is going to cost, and how it’s going to affect the number of uninsured, is no longer valid
TOP TEN OBAMACARE FUMBLES
From The Hill -- a non-partisan newspaper on Capitol Hill. If a non-partisan newspaper finds this many problems, it is legislation that was very poorly thought out. Unfortunately it will probably be the "little guy" who pays the price.
WHAT WENT WRONG IN EGYPT?
From Foreign Policy. A discussion of the problems Egypt faces and will face and also a critique of the failures of Obama's foreign policy in Egypt. The critique can also apply to other situations and even other administrations. U.S. foreign policy is in serious trouble in the Middle East.
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
WHERE IS THE SECRETARY OF STATE?
July 3, 2013 and there is revolution in Egypt. Where is Secretary of State John Kerry? . . .on his yacht! I am presuming he is on is telephone of skyping to stay up with events.
Update 7/5/2013: The State Department reverses its early denial--Kerry only on boat for a brief period of time.
Update 7/5/2013: The State Department reverses its early denial--Kerry only on boat for a brief period of time.
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION BACKED MORSI TO THE END
From Debkafile:
Middle East sources report that the army chiefs led by Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi rejected the American proposal.
Obama promised to back steps taken by President Morsi to show he is “responsive to the opposition’s concerns,” while Gen. Dempsey asked Egyptian generals to moderate their stand against the Muslim Brotherhood. The underlying message was that if they failed to do so, Washington might reconsider its $1.3 billion annual military assistance package which is the main source of income for the armed forces.
Heartened by the US president’s vote of support, Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamic allies, rejected the army’s ultimatum for resolving the country’s deadly crisis, saying it would sow confusion and ran contrary to the Egyptian constitution.
From Foreign Policy:
The tip of the spear for U.S.-Egypt diplomacy, Patterson's June 18 speech discouraging street protests has come to symbolize the administration's inability to recognize the potency of Egypt's liberal opposition. "Some say that street action will produce better results than elections," Patterson said. "To be honest, my government and I are deeply skeptical."
It is hard to understand why the administration supported the Muslim Brotherhood's rule in Egypt (it certainly doesn't support Christian rule in America) when so many Egyptians of all stripes were opposed to it. And if one googles Egyptian protest signs, there were a number of anti-Obama signs appearing in the streets of Cairo. But I am afraid the worse is to come.
It is interesting that Wednesday's coverage on CNN ignored the situation until noon and Al-Jazeera ignored events until 1 PM. This was a significant international crisis. Fox was on it.
Middle East sources report that the army chiefs led by Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi rejected the American proposal.
Obama promised to back steps taken by President Morsi to show he is “responsive to the opposition’s concerns,” while Gen. Dempsey asked Egyptian generals to moderate their stand against the Muslim Brotherhood. The underlying message was that if they failed to do so, Washington might reconsider its $1.3 billion annual military assistance package which is the main source of income for the armed forces.
Heartened by the US president’s vote of support, Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamic allies, rejected the army’s ultimatum for resolving the country’s deadly crisis, saying it would sow confusion and ran contrary to the Egyptian constitution.
From Foreign Policy:
The tip of the spear for U.S.-Egypt diplomacy, Patterson's June 18 speech discouraging street protests has come to symbolize the administration's inability to recognize the potency of Egypt's liberal opposition. "Some say that street action will produce better results than elections," Patterson said. "To be honest, my government and I are deeply skeptical."
It is hard to understand why the administration supported the Muslim Brotherhood's rule in Egypt (it certainly doesn't support Christian rule in America) when so many Egyptians of all stripes were opposed to it. And if one googles Egyptian protest signs, there were a number of anti-Obama signs appearing in the streets of Cairo. But I am afraid the worse is to come.
It is interesting that Wednesday's coverage on CNN ignored the situation until noon and Al-Jazeera ignored events until 1 PM. This was a significant international crisis. Fox was on it.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT CAN LEARN FROM PHONE CALLS
This is an interesting study of a German politician who sued T-Mobile for 6 months of the metadata that was stored on his phone. You can follow the politician's movements around the country. It raises a lot of issues of what the NSA is able to find from all of the phone data that it has collected on people and politicians. And as the article points out it doesn't include the internet data which the NSA was also collecting.
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN
This is not the best way to build a stable country. A "vicious patronage" system exists. It is not a pretty picture.
Just about any American who’s spent much time in Afghanistan will tell you that the biggest challenge we faced there wasn’t the insurgency, but the culture, specifically the “old boy” patronage networks and expectations of bribery that have wasted untold millions of American taxpayers’ money.
Afghanistan often looks like a vicious circle: we haven’t succeeded in establishing a reasonably stable democracy because of corruption and patronage networks, which are fed by American contracts, which are necessary to set up the institutions for a democracy.
Just about any American who’s spent much time in Afghanistan will tell you that the biggest challenge we faced there wasn’t the insurgency, but the culture, specifically the “old boy” patronage networks and expectations of bribery that have wasted untold millions of American taxpayers’ money.
Afghanistan often looks like a vicious circle: we haven’t succeeded in establishing a reasonably stable democracy because of corruption and patronage networks, which are fed by American contracts, which are necessary to set up the institutions for a democracy.
Monday, July 01, 2013
BUSH, OBAMA & AFRICA
Powerline: They miss Bush in Africa. Bush spent more fighting HIV/AIDS than Obama has. I am not sure the media will bring this out.
HOLLYWOOD HELPED ADOLF HITLER
An historian argues that Hollywood helped Adolf Hitler with his propaganda efforts. This is a subject that I will be watching to see how Urwand's book is reviewed. The New York Times quotes some critics, but it also indicates there are documents supporting Urwand. Harvard Press did publish it and it is not noted for publishing "conspiracy" literature.
But now a young historian says that in the years before the war, Tinseltown was marching to a very different tune. Ben Urwand, 35 has written a book, The Collaboration: Hollywood's Pact With Hitler, in which he cites documents that prove, he says, US studios acquiesced to Nazi censorship of their films actively cooperated with the regime's world propaganda effort.
But now a young historian says that in the years before the war, Tinseltown was marching to a very different tune. Ben Urwand, 35 has written a book, The Collaboration: Hollywood's Pact With Hitler, in which he cites documents that prove, he says, US studios acquiesced to Nazi censorship of their films actively cooperated with the regime's world propaganda effort.
PAULA DEEN vs. ALEC BALDWIN
I have not followed this controversy in detail, but Paula Deen was skewered by Matt Lauer on the Today Show (NBC) for her racial comments and corporations like Walmart and the Food Network began dropping her products from store shelves. But the media does not seem to be as upset with Alec Baldwin's presumably homophobic rant. I was wondering if Matt Lauer would skewer Baldwin just as he had Deen? I can think of a number of reasons the Lauer and the media might be treating them differently: 1) Deen is a "Southern" woman and presumably is part of "redneck" culture or 2) Baldwin is part of the Hollywood elite and one of "them."
Will CapitolOne drop Alec Baldwin as other corporations have dropped Deene? Baldwin has apologized, but so did Deen with Matt Lauer on the Today Show. ABC raises the issue of is it fair that Baldwin dodges the backlash that in my opinion Deene faced.
Update 7/2/2013. Article from the Daily Beast.
On a surface level, an old white woman from Georgia who looks like someone who could be racist admitted to saying something racist, and a hot-tempered, middle-aged man who looks like someone's homophobic father said some incredibly homophobic things about a man. Dig a little deeper, however, and things aren’t that cut-and-dry. Or, as Benjamin Franklin famously put it, “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain—and most fools do.”
Will CapitolOne drop Alec Baldwin as other corporations have dropped Deene? Baldwin has apologized, but so did Deen with Matt Lauer on the Today Show. ABC raises the issue of is it fair that Baldwin dodges the backlash that in my opinion Deene faced.
Update 7/2/2013. Article from the Daily Beast.
On a surface level, an old white woman from Georgia who looks like someone who could be racist admitted to saying something racist, and a hot-tempered, middle-aged man who looks like someone's homophobic father said some incredibly homophobic things about a man. Dig a little deeper, however, and things aren’t that cut-and-dry. Or, as Benjamin Franklin famously put it, “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain—and most fools do.”
IMPEACH OBAMA?
This is a bit of a shock. The leftist Nation wants to impeach Obama because of all of the NSA and other government agencies looking into the lives of private citizens. But the conservative Daily Caller is not ready to call for impeachment. One would have thought it would be just the opposite.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
CAN OBAMACARE KEEP ITS RECORDS SECRET?
Given what has happened at the NSA and IRS, Investor's Business Daily is questioning whether all of the personal data Obamacare collects will remain secret.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
BUSH & OBAMA
From Buzzfeed: "7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked Out about if Bush Had Done Them."
Monday, June 24, 2013
IRS AND THE TEA PARTY
Research indicates that IRS harassment of Tea Party activists may have swayed past elections. The IRS prevented the Tea Party from organizing voter turn out.
In a new research paper, Andreas Madestam (from Stockholm University), Daniel Shoag and David Yanagizawa-Drott (both from the Harvard Kennedy School), and I set out to find out how much impact the Tea Party had on voter turnout in the 2010 election. We compared areas with high levels of Tea Party activity to otherwise similar areas with low levels of Tea Party activity, using data from the Census Bureau, the FEC, news reports, and a variety of other sources. We found that the effect was huge: the movement brought the Republican Party some 3 million-6 million additional votes in House races. That is an astonishing boost, given that all Republican House candidates combined received fewer than 45 million votes. It demonstrates conclusively how important the party's newly energized base was to its landslide victory in those elections, and how worried Democratic strategists must have been about the conservative movement's momentum.
Update 6/27/2013: "IRS Auditor Reaffirms that Conservatives, Not Liberals, Were Targeted."
IRS targeted 292 Tea Party groups and only 6 progressive groups.
In a new research paper, Andreas Madestam (from Stockholm University), Daniel Shoag and David Yanagizawa-Drott (both from the Harvard Kennedy School), and I set out to find out how much impact the Tea Party had on voter turnout in the 2010 election. We compared areas with high levels of Tea Party activity to otherwise similar areas with low levels of Tea Party activity, using data from the Census Bureau, the FEC, news reports, and a variety of other sources. We found that the effect was huge: the movement brought the Republican Party some 3 million-6 million additional votes in House races. That is an astonishing boost, given that all Republican House candidates combined received fewer than 45 million votes. It demonstrates conclusively how important the party's newly energized base was to its landslide victory in those elections, and how worried Democratic strategists must have been about the conservative movement's momentum.
Update 6/27/2013: "IRS Auditor Reaffirms that Conservatives, Not Liberals, Were Targeted."
IRS targeted 292 Tea Party groups and only 6 progressive groups.
"A NATION GOVERNED BY FEAR. . ."
From the ACLU to Obama! We are tired of living in a nation governed by fear.
SITUATION IN TURKEY
Fouad Ajami always seems to have insight into the Middle East. In this article he discusses the struggle in Turkey between Ataturk's secular vision and Erdogan's drive to return to a more Islamic state.
In every way, Ataturk was the nemesis of what Erdogan stands for. Where Erdogan is severe on drinking and alcohol, Kemal was addicted to raki, the country’s anise-flavored liquor. In fact, Ataturk had died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 57. He was a military officer and a conqueror, and he took drinking as a manly prerogative. Erdogan had all but called Ataturk a drunkard, and that kind of blasphemy had not been well received by a population raised to a tradition of reverence for the founder.
Ataturk, it should be recalled, had sought nothing less than the extirpation of the old cultural order: He had abolished the old Ottoman order and declared a republic; he had abolished the caliphate; he had outlawed the fez and the turban; he had shifted the calendar from the Muslim to the Christian era; he had changed the alphabet from Arabic script to Latin letters; and he had declared null and void the provision that Islam was the religion of the state. No Westernization program was more ambitious. He saw himself as a man of the Enlightenment, and Turkey was to partake of Western culture. He was no Democrat. He lived by an authoritarian creed: “For the people, despite the people.”
In every way, Ataturk was the nemesis of what Erdogan stands for. Where Erdogan is severe on drinking and alcohol, Kemal was addicted to raki, the country’s anise-flavored liquor. In fact, Ataturk had died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 57. He was a military officer and a conqueror, and he took drinking as a manly prerogative. Erdogan had all but called Ataturk a drunkard, and that kind of blasphemy had not been well received by a population raised to a tradition of reverence for the founder.
Ataturk, it should be recalled, had sought nothing less than the extirpation of the old cultural order: He had abolished the old Ottoman order and declared a republic; he had abolished the caliphate; he had outlawed the fez and the turban; he had shifted the calendar from the Muslim to the Christian era; he had changed the alphabet from Arabic script to Latin letters; and he had declared null and void the provision that Islam was the religion of the state. No Westernization program was more ambitious. He saw himself as a man of the Enlightenment, and Turkey was to partake of Western culture. He was no Democrat. He lived by an authoritarian creed: “For the people, despite the people.”
Sunday, June 23, 2013
SECURITY SCANDAL
You have to love this tweet: In the new world of the NSA, the only secret left is Barack Obama's college grades.
MEDIA KILLED STORIES IN 2008 ELECTION
From the Daily Caller: Stories about Jeremiah Wright were not published.
According to records obtained by The Daily Caller, at several points during the 2008 presidential campaign a group of liberal journalists took radical steps to protect their favored candidate. Employees of news organizations including Time, Politico, the Huffington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Guardian, Salon and the New Republic participated in outpourings of anger over how Obama had been treated in the media, and in some cases plotted to fix the damage.
In one instance, Spencer Ackerman of the Washington Independent urged his colleagues to deflect attention from Obama’s relationship with Wright by changing the subject. Pick one of Obama’s conservative critics, Ackerman wrote, “Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares — and call them racists.”
According to records obtained by The Daily Caller, at several points during the 2008 presidential campaign a group of liberal journalists took radical steps to protect their favored candidate. Employees of news organizations including Time, Politico, the Huffington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Guardian, Salon and the New Republic participated in outpourings of anger over how Obama had been treated in the media, and in some cases plotted to fix the damage.
In one instance, Spencer Ackerman of the Washington Independent urged his colleagues to deflect attention from Obama’s relationship with Wright by changing the subject. Pick one of Obama’s conservative critics, Ackerman wrote, “Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares — and call them racists.”
Friday, June 21, 2013
SECURITY CLEARANCES
The question has been raised about how could Edward Snowden received a security clearance. This article discusses the broken security clearance system. The Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee details the problems, but in brief here is the summary:
But the hearing did prove what McCaskill said in her opening statement: OPM is a “government agency where there is rampant fraud, limited accountability, and no respect for taxpayer dollars.” It also revealed how easy it was for Snowden to get access to the nation’s most sacred secrets.
MORE ON OBAMA GAFFES
They seem to be more common. And even his friends are trying to defend his misstatements. Here is one justification.
Note also that Obama doesn't actually seem to know anything about Northern Ireland. Viewed in context, his comments are actually a homily about civil rights in America. His criticism of Catholic and Protestant "schools and buildings" is just a poorly thought out analogy: It doesn't seem to have occurred to him that while there's no good reason to segregate schools by race, there are differences in content between the education offered by Protestant, Catholic and secular schools.
Note also that Obama doesn't actually seem to know anything about Northern Ireland. Viewed in context, his comments are actually a homily about civil rights in America. His criticism of Catholic and Protestant "schools and buildings" is just a poorly thought out analogy: It doesn't seem to have occurred to him that while there's no good reason to segregate schools by race, there are differences in content between the education offered by Protestant, Catholic and secular schools.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SPYING ON AMERICANS
Michael Hastings on why Democrats are big on spying on Americans. Are they really just civil liberty opportunists who say one thing and then practice another? In the Bush administration Democrats were speaking quite differently than they are today.
CHUCK HAGEL, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Chuck Hagel never impressed me when Obama appointed him as Secretary of Defense. Now he is discovered asking an Indian professor if he is a member of the Taliban.
IRS MISSTATEMENTS
The number of misstatements (lies) by the IRS is beginning to stretch the imagination. Now we find out the IRS had a "political" test to determine the approval of various groups applying for tax exemption status.
The Internal Revenue Service used a numerical test for deciding whether nonprofit groups were too political to qualify for a tax exemption, said an agency employee, contradicting a former IRS executive’s statement.
Groups that devoted no more than 49 percent of their activities to politics were deemed acceptable, IRS employee Elizabeth Hofacre told congressional investigators, according to a transcript reviewed by Bloomberg News. Those decisions are at the center of the controversy about the agency’s extra scrutiny of anti-tax Tea Party groups’ applications.
OBAMA FAUX PAS
At the recent G8 Summit Obama kept confusing the British Chancellor George Osborne with the popular singer Jeffrey Osborne. Not the greatest diplomacy.
According to the Sun and the Financial Times, Mr Obama apologised to the chancellor for calling him Jeffrey three times during the meeting - saying: "I'm sorry, man. I must have confused you with my favourite R&B singer".
According to the Sun and the Financial Times, Mr Obama apologised to the chancellor for calling him Jeffrey three times during the meeting - saying: "I'm sorry, man. I must have confused you with my favourite R&B singer".
ARCHAEOLOGY IN BIBLICAL TIMES
A "new" archaeology find indicating proof for King David is finally getting into the news. But the article also shows the "politics" of trying to substantiate historical truth in modern Israel and the Middle East.
Pictures on archaeology in biblical times.
Pictures on archaeology in biblical times.
Friday, June 14, 2013
REPORTER'S COMPUTER COMPROMISED
A CBS news reporter's computer was breached. It may not be known who did it but it looks like a very sophisticated job which points to someone at the NSA or Department of Justice. Of course, denials of such activity are being made.
Monday, June 10, 2013
COLLEGE DEGREES vs. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Students in China and India are finding the jobs are not in fields with requiring university degrees, but in positions that would be considered more vocational. And college degrees don't always qualify a person for work.
Saturday, June 01, 2013
JFK SECRETLY ADMIRED HITLER
From the Telegraph. An article summarizes comments JFK made about Germany, Hitler, and fascism on his trips through pre-war Germany. His father, Joe Kennedy, was noted for his pro-German feelings so I assume the young son would have been grown up with those influences. But diaries are only one source in considering a person's beliefs.
MORE IRS LEAKS
The list of conservative groups who had their IRS returns leaked to opponents keeps growing. Now a group who opposes gay marriage comes forward with its story of how opponents got its tax returns.
The wife of the former IRS commissioner, Max Shulman, worked for a liberal group which opposed conservatives. There sure seem to be a large number of potential conflicts of interest.
The wife of the former IRS commissioner, Max Shulman, worked for a liberal group which opposed conservatives. There sure seem to be a large number of potential conflicts of interest.
Friday, May 31, 2013
COST OF OBAMACARE
Supporters say it will cost less; critics say it will cost more. Forbes seems to have done a good job showing that insurance is actually going up under Obamacare. There is an issue of supporters "spinning" the rates to make them look lower.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
SHRINE OF ABRAHAM DESTROYED
Radical Wahabis destroyed a shrine commemorating Abraham's stay in the Ebla area of Syria. Muslims consider Abraham a prophet but the Wahabis are opposed to many mosques and sites other Muslims consider special. Wahabis have destroyed other sites as well.
OBAMA'S CHICAGO WAY
From John Fund at the National Review.
That media failure continued throughout Obama’s first term. Perhaps now, as Obama’s “Chicago Way” is coming into focus, the media will want to redeem itself. With Obama, it’s become all too clear: You can take the politician away from the machine, but you can’t take the machine out of the politician.
Can you ever take the Chicago machine out of the politician?
That media failure continued throughout Obama’s first term. Perhaps now, as Obama’s “Chicago Way” is coming into focus, the media will want to redeem itself. With Obama, it’s become all too clear: You can take the politician away from the machine, but you can’t take the machine out of the politician.
Can you ever take the Chicago machine out of the politician?
WHITE HOUSE VISITORS
This is an interesting graph. The government official visiting the White House the most was the IRS Commissioner, Douglas Shulman. . .and he isn't even a cabinet member! Why would the president want to visit more with a non-cabinet official than his cabinet appointees? The IRS is supposed to be non-political.
The IRS Commissioner only visited the White House once in the Bush years.
The IRS Commissioner only visited the White House once in the Bush years.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
NORTH AMERICAN OIL & THE FUTURE OF SAUDI ARABIA
As sources of oil in North America increase, it will put pressure on Saudi Arabia's oil dependent economy. If new discoveries of oil in North American indeed reach production levels predicted, the price of oil would go down creating severe budget problems for Saudi Arabia's bureaucratic-oriented economy. And this raises more issues for the Middle East.
Current trends in the global energy market don't look good for Saudi Arabia. First, the International Energy Agency projected in November 2012 that the United States will surpass the Gulf petrogiant as the world's top energy producer by 2020. Then, last week, it revealed that North America, buoyed by the rapid development of its unconventional oil industry, is set to dominate global oil production over the next five years. These unforeseen developments not only represent a blow to Saudi Arabia's prestige but also a potential threat to the country's long term economic well-being -- particularly in the post-Arab Spring era of elevated per-capita government spending.
According to the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, the breakeven price is currently $94 per barrel, less than the current spot price for Brent crude. (Iran needs oil to be at $125 per barrel to break even, which explains the feud between Iran and Saudi Arabia within OPEC.) But absent deep political reforms that create new sources of income, the breakeven price will surely grow. According to Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment, one of the world's most important knowledge bases on Saudi Arabia's economy, by 2020 the breakeven price will reach $118 per barrel. At this point, the Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency's cash reserves will begin to drain rapidly and the breakeven price will soar to $175 a barrel by 2025 and to over $300 by 2030. And this cuts to the heart of the dilemma: In order to balance its budget in the future, Saudi Arabia will need to either drill more barrels and sell them for lower prices or drill fewer barrels -- actively reducing global supply -- and sell each at a higher price.
Current trends in the global energy market don't look good for Saudi Arabia. First, the International Energy Agency projected in November 2012 that the United States will surpass the Gulf petrogiant as the world's top energy producer by 2020. Then, last week, it revealed that North America, buoyed by the rapid development of its unconventional oil industry, is set to dominate global oil production over the next five years. These unforeseen developments not only represent a blow to Saudi Arabia's prestige but also a potential threat to the country's long term economic well-being -- particularly in the post-Arab Spring era of elevated per-capita government spending.
According to the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, the breakeven price is currently $94 per barrel, less than the current spot price for Brent crude. (Iran needs oil to be at $125 per barrel to break even, which explains the feud between Iran and Saudi Arabia within OPEC.) But absent deep political reforms that create new sources of income, the breakeven price will surely grow. According to Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment, one of the world's most important knowledge bases on Saudi Arabia's economy, by 2020 the breakeven price will reach $118 per barrel. At this point, the Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency's cash reserves will begin to drain rapidly and the breakeven price will soar to $175 a barrel by 2025 and to over $300 by 2030. And this cuts to the heart of the dilemma: In order to balance its budget in the future, Saudi Arabia will need to either drill more barrels and sell them for lower prices or drill fewer barrels -- actively reducing global supply -- and sell each at a higher price.
THE PRESS & OBAMA
From the liberal Daily Beast--pretty critical of the press as it deals with the administration's scandals.
. . .and yet there is an entire class of journalist so invested in a certain moral and ethical image of the president its members are unable to entertain facts that might tarnish that image. They are the pro-Obama equivalent of Birthers, never letting emerging facts cloud the conclusion they’ve already committed to hold.
It’s disheartening to see the Obama administration attack the press in unprecedented ways and the reaction from the press is to accept that blame and then go forth to explain to the world that the president isn’t really like this. Most of the time he is a good guy. He loves us, honestly. He just has these moods.
. . .and yet there is an entire class of journalist so invested in a certain moral and ethical image of the president its members are unable to entertain facts that might tarnish that image. They are the pro-Obama equivalent of Birthers, never letting emerging facts cloud the conclusion they’ve already committed to hold.
It’s disheartening to see the Obama administration attack the press in unprecedented ways and the reaction from the press is to accept that blame and then go forth to explain to the world that the president isn’t really like this. Most of the time he is a good guy. He loves us, honestly. He just has these moods.
DEATH OF THE DOLLAR?
From CNBC. The average person does not focus on this issue but if the dollar loses its preeminence as a world reserve currency, it will require extensive belt-tightening by Washington in order to pay off the massive debt the US has accumulated.
The U.S dollar is shrinking as a percentage of the world's currency supply, raising concerns that the greenback is about to see its long run as the world's premier denomination come to an end.
"The No. 1 security issue we have as a nation is the preservation of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency," said Michael Pento, president of Pento Portfolio Strategies. "It's a thousand times more important than a nuclear bomb being tested by North Korea. It's a thousand times more important that we keep the dollar as the world's reserve currency, and yet we are doing everything to abuse that status."
The U.S dollar is shrinking as a percentage of the world's currency supply, raising concerns that the greenback is about to see its long run as the world's premier denomination come to an end.
"The No. 1 security issue we have as a nation is the preservation of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency," said Michael Pento, president of Pento Portfolio Strategies. "It's a thousand times more important than a nuclear bomb being tested by North Korea. It's a thousand times more important that we keep the dollar as the world's reserve currency, and yet we are doing everything to abuse that status."
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
DANGEROUS TRENDS IN THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
Both Bush and Obama have extended presidential powers beyond what is appropriate. Ron Fournier raises the issue of how these powers could be misused by a future president. Both liberal Democrats and Republicans have been short-sighted when it comes to protecting the American people from presidential overreach.
Think about it, liberals. What if there is a president in your lifetime who is more conservative than Bush? What if that commander in chief is empowered, as were Bush and Obama, by a national tragedy and a compliant Congress? Your guy Obama has armed a president-turned-zealot with dangerous powers and precedents.
Think about it, conservatives. It may be maddening to listen to Obama tie himself into knots over the balance between liberty and freedom, but what if the next Democratic president sees no limit on a commander in chief's powers? What if he or she doesn't give a whit about offending the mainstream media?
Think about it, liberals. What if there is a president in your lifetime who is more conservative than Bush? What if that commander in chief is empowered, as were Bush and Obama, by a national tragedy and a compliant Congress? Your guy Obama has armed a president-turned-zealot with dangerous powers and precedents.
Think about it, conservatives. It may be maddening to listen to Obama tie himself into knots over the balance between liberty and freedom, but what if the next Democratic president sees no limit on a commander in chief's powers? What if he or she doesn't give a whit about offending the mainstream media?
Monday, May 27, 2013
THE REPORTER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HATES
From Politico. A CBS reporter, Sharyl Atkinson, is doggedly trying to find the truth in some of the actions of the Obama administration and is finding herself dismissed because of a supposed "political agenda." There are very few mainstream media reporters asking the tough questions, but she certainly is one.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
BRITISH WELFARE STATE SUPPORTS JIHADISTS
Advocates of jihad in Great Britain receive $38,000 a year in welfare payments. British soldiers only earn $24,000 a year! It looks like a system ready to destruct and destroy itself.
OBAMA: NOT NIXON BUT HARDING
John Dean has a column at Bloomberg arguing that comparisons of Obama scandals to the Nixon era are wrong, but that he could be compared to the presidency of Warren G. Harding. While normally one would not want to be compared to Harding, I think the case can be made that Obama is not personally involved in some of these scandals. But certainly his advisors have done him a disservice.
Friday, May 24, 2013
PRITZKER: NEW COMMERCE SECRETARY
From TaxProf blog. Commerce Nominee Sails Through Confirmation Hearing Despite Not Reporting $80 Million Income, Offshore Tax Shelters. I thought Romney was criticized for tax shelters and possible off-shore investments? Oh well, Pritzker is a Democrat.
IRS RAID
In 2011 the IRS raided Gibson Guitar for allegedly using illegally imported wood. The execs at Gibson had contributed to Republicans. Its competition, C.F. Martin & Co., also used the wood, but its execs contributed to Democrats--it was not raided. Now it is clear why Gibson was raided--it supported the wrong political party. Chicago politics.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
OBAMA AND MEDIA
From The Week: I haven't been keeping track but the Obama administration has changed its story about the IRS 5 times. It looks like a White House with advisors who don't know how to handle a controversy.
For instance, the White House has changed its story at least five times on who knew what and when on the IRS' targeting of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status, and suddenly reporters are keeping score. Politico's Reid Epstein offered readers a timeline of Carney stories to prevent confusion. National Journal's Ron Fournier wrote that he "desperately want to believe [White House strategist Dan] Pfeiffer" when he issued denial after denial on Sunday talk shows on all of the scandals facing the Obama administration, but "the White House can't be trusted." At the Huffington Post, NBC analyst Howard Fineman scoffed at the idea that the White House knew nothing about the IRS' activities. Given the talent in the West Wing, "it's hard to imagine that the Obama inner circle was oblivious to the issue of what the IRS was doing in Cincinnati," Fineman concluded.
For instance, the White House has changed its story at least five times on who knew what and when on the IRS' targeting of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status, and suddenly reporters are keeping score. Politico's Reid Epstein offered readers a timeline of Carney stories to prevent confusion. National Journal's Ron Fournier wrote that he "desperately want to believe [White House strategist Dan] Pfeiffer" when he issued denial after denial on Sunday talk shows on all of the scandals facing the Obama administration, but "the White House can't be trusted." At the Huffington Post, NBC analyst Howard Fineman scoffed at the idea that the White House knew nothing about the IRS' activities. Given the talent in the West Wing, "it's hard to imagine that the Obama inner circle was oblivious to the issue of what the IRS was doing in Cincinnati," Fineman concluded.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
OBAMA AND NIXON: PRESS FREEDOM
James C. Goodale in the New York Times:
The search warrant filed to investigate the Fox News reporter James Rosen proved as many had suspected: President Obama wants to make it a crime for a reporter to talk to a leaker. It is a further example of how President Obama will surely pass President Richard Nixon as the worst president ever on issues of national security and press freedom.
The government's subpoena of The Associated Press's phone records was bad enough. But the disclosure of the search warrant in the Rosen case shows President Obama has delved into territory never before reached by previous presidents.
Obama, worse then Nixon! And this is from a liberal.
The search warrant filed to investigate the Fox News reporter James Rosen proved as many had suspected: President Obama wants to make it a crime for a reporter to talk to a leaker. It is a further example of how President Obama will surely pass President Richard Nixon as the worst president ever on issues of national security and press freedom.
The government's subpoena of The Associated Press's phone records was bad enough. But the disclosure of the search warrant in the Rosen case shows President Obama has delved into territory never before reached by previous presidents.
Obama, worse then Nixon! And this is from a liberal.
Monday, May 20, 2013
IRS: A PERSONAL STORY
From National Review. What happened when Democrats and then the IRS, OSHA, the FBI, and ATF dealt with a business woman who started a Tea Party group. Government bureaucracy used for political ends.
GLOBAL WARMING: NOT HAPPENING?
From the BBC. Global warming has been "at a standstill" since 1998. Yet we have Al Gore and others preaching this as a fact. A number of research articles are quoted.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
IRS SCANDAL
From TaxProf blog: A summary of the developments in the IRS scandal involving holding conservative, religious, pro-life, and Tea Party groups to different standards than liberal, Democrat groups seeking tax exemption status. Liberal politics in the IRS.
And Obama first heard about the scandal (SNL version--"The same sources as his aunt.") on TV. What kind of advisors does he have?
Liberal Democrat Senator McCaskill (MO) calls for all IRS officials involved in scandal to be fired.
Obama officials knew of IRS scandal during 2012 election but hid the details because of the election. The Treasury Department also knew in 2012.
And Obama first heard about the scandal (SNL version--"The same sources as his aunt.") on TV. What kind of advisors does he have?
Liberal Democrat Senator McCaskill (MO) calls for all IRS officials involved in scandal to be fired.
Obama officials knew of IRS scandal during 2012 election but hid the details because of the election. The Treasury Department also knew in 2012.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
IRS TREATED LIBERAL GROUPS DIFFERENTLY
From USA Today. While the IRS was asking for much more information about "Tea Party" groups, it was approving liberal groups without asking for the same information.
Tim Carney. IRS employees overwhelming donate more to liberal Democrats. . .and some employees are activist Democrats.
In the past three election cycles, the Center for Responsive Politics' database shows about $474,000 in political donations by individuals listing "IRS" or "Internal Revenue Service" as their employer.
This money heavily favors Democrats: $247,000 to $145,000, with the rest going to political action committees. (Oddly, half of those GOP donations come from only two IRS employees, one in Houston and one in Annandale, Va.).
Did Harry Reid get Romney's tax returns from the IRS? In the 2012 election Reid was talking like he knew what was on Romney's returns--supposedly he hadn't paid taxes for 10 years.
Investor's Daily.
Obama joked about auditing enemies in 2009.
Christian, conservative, and pro-Israel groups refused tax exemptions but not Muslim groups.
Tim Carney. IRS employees overwhelming donate more to liberal Democrats. . .and some employees are activist Democrats.
In the past three election cycles, the Center for Responsive Politics' database shows about $474,000 in political donations by individuals listing "IRS" or "Internal Revenue Service" as their employer.
This money heavily favors Democrats: $247,000 to $145,000, with the rest going to political action committees. (Oddly, half of those GOP donations come from only two IRS employees, one in Houston and one in Annandale, Va.).
Did Harry Reid get Romney's tax returns from the IRS? In the 2012 election Reid was talking like he knew what was on Romney's returns--supposedly he hadn't paid taxes for 10 years.
Investor's Daily.
Obama joked about auditing enemies in 2009.
Christian, conservative, and pro-Israel groups refused tax exemptions but not Muslim groups.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE
From the Daily Beast. A discussion of student debt and how it has a bigger impact at third and fourth tier institutions. Online will not be the savior of weakening institutions.
The colleges with the most to conceal tend to be expensive 2nd- and 3rd-tier private institutions. For instance, 85 percent of students from Ohio Northern graduated with debt averaging almost $49,000, while the median starting salary for graduates is just $44,800. Compare these figures with the statistics for Princeton, where the average debt is $5,225 for the 23 percent of graduates with any debt, while the median starting salary is $56,900.
Adjuncts anxious about job security have realized that giving higher grades improves their student evaluations, which often determine whether they remain employed. The “resortification” of colleges also encourages students to view themselves as customers, and instructors as retail workers employed to serve them. The A is now the most common grade on college campuses nationwide; it accounts for roughly 43 percents of all grades given. Meanwhile, results of the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a test used by more than 500 colleges to measure academic progress, reveal that 36 percent of students make absolutely no improvement in writing, complex reasoning, or critical thinking during four years of college.
The colleges with the most to conceal tend to be expensive 2nd- and 3rd-tier private institutions. For instance, 85 percent of students from Ohio Northern graduated with debt averaging almost $49,000, while the median starting salary for graduates is just $44,800. Compare these figures with the statistics for Princeton, where the average debt is $5,225 for the 23 percent of graduates with any debt, while the median starting salary is $56,900.
Adjuncts anxious about job security have realized that giving higher grades improves their student evaluations, which often determine whether they remain employed. The “resortification” of colleges also encourages students to view themselves as customers, and instructors as retail workers employed to serve them. The A is now the most common grade on college campuses nationwide; it accounts for roughly 43 percents of all grades given. Meanwhile, results of the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a test used by more than 500 colleges to measure academic progress, reveal that 36 percent of students make absolutely no improvement in writing, complex reasoning, or critical thinking during four years of college.
Monday, May 13, 2013
EVANGELIZING CHRISTIANITY IN SAUDI ARABIA
A Lebanese man who encoruaged a Saudi women to convert to Christianity received 60 lashes.
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
OBAMA ON RADICALIZATION OF ISLAM
According to Alan Johnson Obama is right on some things and has underestimated other issues that lead to radicalization. Johnson also proposes that it is not just government that radicalizes, but that family and community also matter.
The battle of ideas against radical political Islamism of the kind that influenced the Tsarnaev brothers is tough for three reasons. First, we are talking about a systemof ideas, an ideology, which is notoriously difficult for the neophyte to contest. Second, these are sacralized systems of ideas, ideologies upon which lingers the whiff of incense, and these are near-impossible for a non-expert to critique. Third, there are some points of support in the wider intellectual culture—not for terrorism, but for an inchoate negativism in the form of anti-Americanism, anti-Westernism, and conspiratorialism. The Islamist recruiters know how to surf that wave, believe me.
The battle of ideas against radical political Islamism of the kind that influenced the Tsarnaev brothers is tough for three reasons. First, we are talking about a systemof ideas, an ideology, which is notoriously difficult for the neophyte to contest. Second, these are sacralized systems of ideas, ideologies upon which lingers the whiff of incense, and these are near-impossible for a non-expert to critique. Third, there are some points of support in the wider intellectual culture—not for terrorism, but for an inchoate negativism in the form of anti-Americanism, anti-Westernism, and conspiratorialism. The Islamist recruiters know how to surf that wave, believe me.
Friday, May 03, 2013
CNN: ROMNEY RELIGIOUS FANATIC
An interesting video of the Piers Morgan show on CNN: it shows the difference in cultural values between Romney, a Mormon who quotes the Bible, and a panel composed of secularists.
SATIRE ON SOVIET COMMUNISM
Rap music put to the history of Soviet Russia. The language is a bit crude, but really quite good historical interpretation.
CHINESE CREATE SUPER VIRUS
Why in the world do Chinese scientists need to create a super bird-flu virus? Researchers can't even cure some of the current strains. It is like biological warfare has begun. Washington is worried about guns when maybe it should be focused on chemical and biological weapons of the future.
Senior scientists have criticised the “appalling irresponsibility” of researchers in China who have deliberately created new strains of influenza virus in a veterinary laboratory.
They warned there is a danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.
Senior scientists have criticised the “appalling irresponsibility” of researchers in China who have deliberately created new strains of influenza virus in a veterinary laboratory.
They warned there is a danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
ARE CHRISTIANS LIKE JESUS OR THE PHARISEES?
From Barna.
One of the common critiques leveled at present-day Christianity is that it’s a religion full of hypocritical people. A new Barna Group study examines the degree to which this perception may be accurate. The study explores how well Christians seem to emulate the actions and attitudes of Jesus in their interactions with others.
51% of Christians are in the Pharisaical category!
One of the common critiques leveled at present-day Christianity is that it’s a religion full of hypocritical people. A new Barna Group study examines the degree to which this perception may be accurate. The study explores how well Christians seem to emulate the actions and attitudes of Jesus in their interactions with others.
51% of Christians are in the Pharisaical category!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
MUSLIMS WANT SHARIA LAW
From Reuters. Extensive polling on a number of issues from the Pew polls.
Large majorities in the Muslim world want the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia as the official law in their countries, but they disagree on what it includes and who should be subject to it, an extensive new survey says.
Suicide bombing was mostly rejected In the study by the Washington-based Pew Forum, but it won 40 percent support in the Palestinian territories, 39 percent in Afghanistan, 29 percent in Eygpt and 26 percent in Bangladesh.
Large majorities in the Muslim world want the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia as the official law in their countries, but they disagree on what it includes and who should be subject to it, an extensive new survey says.
Suicide bombing was mostly rejected In the study by the Washington-based Pew Forum, but it won 40 percent support in the Palestinian territories, 39 percent in Afghanistan, 29 percent in Eygpt and 26 percent in Bangladesh.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
UN OFFICIAL BLAMES US FOR BOSTON BOMBING
I have seen Falk's comments at other news accounts, but this one gives a bit more detail. What was interesting is that this fellow still gets the UN appointment and has a career after describing the Ayatollah Khomeini as a moderate back in 1979. . .and 9/11 was a US government conspiracy.
The United Nations official who angered critics by blaming the Boston Marathon bombing on “American global domination” will keep his post, because not enough other countries took offense at his comments.
The United Nations official who angered critics by blaming the Boston Marathon bombing on “American global domination” will keep his post, because not enough other countries took offense at his comments.
Friday, April 26, 2013
OBAMACARE
Democrat leaders in Congress were seeking a way to get around Obamacare while sticking the rest of the country with it.
HYPOCRISY IN BOSTON TERRORIST RESPONSE
From Howie Carr at the Boston Herald. Suppose the marathon bombings had been committed by born-again Christian Tea Party members on the dole. Do
you really think that Gov. Deval Patrick would be hanging on to those
terrorists’ welfare files even tighter than he clutches Lt. Gov. Tim
Murray’s state cellphone logs from the morning of Nov. 3, 2011?
INSIDE THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
A tell-all book is coming out! It is not going to make the administration look as noble as the media presents it. A lot of hypocrisy.
A column on the "hubris" of Obama. Even as the nation’s workers wilted under a struggling economy and high unemployment, Obama decided to take two round excursions to Hawaii at taxpayer expense over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Just six weeks later, he jetted down to Florida for a luxury four-day golf vacation where he played with Tiger Woods. Meanwhile Michelle Obama also took another vacation, skiing in Colorado.
A column on the "hubris" of Obama. Even as the nation’s workers wilted under a struggling economy and high unemployment, Obama decided to take two round excursions to Hawaii at taxpayer expense over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Just six weeks later, he jetted down to Florida for a luxury four-day golf vacation where he played with Tiger Woods. Meanwhile Michelle Obama also took another vacation, skiing in Colorado.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
CHICAGO POLITICIANS SEEKING GANG SUPPORT
Chicago politicians are seeking help from gangs. Chicago is going to look like Colombia or worse. Gangs will end up controlling the city council. Money is also flowing from gangs to politicians.
The gang representatives were interested in electing aldermen sympathetic to their interests and those of their impoverished wards. As for the politicians, says Baskin, their interests essentially boiled down to getting elected or reelected. “All of [the political hopefuls] were aware of who they were meeting with,” he says. “They didn’t care. All they wanted to do was get the support.”
While they typically deny it, many public officials—mostly, but not limited to, aldermen, state legislators, and elected judges—routinely seek political support from influential street gangs. Meetings like the ones Baskin organized, for instance, are hardly an anomaly. Gangs can provide a decisive advantage at election time by performing the kinds of chores patronage armies once did.
The gang representatives were interested in electing aldermen sympathetic to their interests and those of their impoverished wards. As for the politicians, says Baskin, their interests essentially boiled down to getting elected or reelected. “All of [the political hopefuls] were aware of who they were meeting with,” he says. “They didn’t care. All they wanted to do was get the support.”
While they typically deny it, many public officials—mostly, but not limited to, aldermen, state legislators, and elected judges—routinely seek political support from influential street gangs. Meetings like the ones Baskin organized, for instance, are hardly an anomaly. Gangs can provide a decisive advantage at election time by performing the kinds of chores patronage armies once did.
QUESTIONS ABOUT US ANTI-TERRORISM EFFORTS
We are in the best of hands. I will be adding to this thread as I see articles on the possible failures of Washington to deal with terrorism.
WAPO: "Is the FBI Focused Enough on the Real Bad Guys?"
WAPO: "CIA Pushed to Add Boston Bomber to Terrorist Watch List." It did this more than a year ago. The FBI appears to have ignored it.
Austin Statesman: "Report: Federal Agency Charged with Oversight of Fertilizer Plant Security in Disarray."
Wall Street Journal: "Boston Suspect Was Put on Two Watch Lists." Are these watch lists really meaningful?
Volokh: "Why Wasn't Tsarnaev Searched at the Border?"
Mother of suspects was on terrorist watch list. "If they were seeking asylum, why did they keep flying back and forth to their native country?"
WAPO: "Is the FBI Focused Enough on the Real Bad Guys?"
WAPO: "CIA Pushed to Add Boston Bomber to Terrorist Watch List." It did this more than a year ago. The FBI appears to have ignored it.
Austin Statesman: "Report: Federal Agency Charged with Oversight of Fertilizer Plant Security in Disarray."
Wall Street Journal: "Boston Suspect Was Put on Two Watch Lists." Are these watch lists really meaningful?
Volokh: "Why Wasn't Tsarnaev Searched at the Border?"
Mother of suspects was on terrorist watch list. "If they were seeking asylum, why did they keep flying back and forth to their native country?"
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
BOSTON MOSQUE: RADICAL TIES
USA Today.
The mosque attended by the two brothers accused in the Boston Marathon double bombing has been associated with other terrorism suspects, has invited radical speakers to a sister mosque in Boston and is affiliated with a Muslim group that critics say nurses grievances that can lead to extremism.
Several people who attended the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge, Mass., have been investigated for Islamic terrorism, including a conviction of the mosque's first president, Abdulrahman Alamoudi, in connection with an assassination plot against a Saudi prince.
The mosque attended by the two brothers accused in the Boston Marathon double bombing has been associated with other terrorism suspects, has invited radical speakers to a sister mosque in Boston and is affiliated with a Muslim group that critics say nurses grievances that can lead to extremism.
Several people who attended the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge, Mass., have been investigated for Islamic terrorism, including a conviction of the mosque's first president, Abdulrahman Alamoudi, in connection with an assassination plot against a Saudi prince.
OBAMA & GREEN ENERGY
FBI & HOMELAND SECURITY BLEW IT ON BOSTON TERRORISTS
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
OBAMA BUDGET GOES AFTER THE MIDDLE CLASS
He promised taxes would not rise on the middle class.
But his annual budget is doing more to target middle-class taxpayers than any of his previous proposals, calling for caps on deductions, changes in the way some tax benefits are calculated and a big hike in cigarette taxes — all proposals that would make middle-class Americans pay more.
“The president keeps breaking his campaign pledge to not tax the middle class — first with his health care law and now with these tax hikes in his budget,” Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top GOP member on the Finance Committee, told POLITICO. “As I’ve said before, when it comes to this White House and its penchant for wanting to raise taxes, everyone — including those middle-class families the president says he wants to help — needs to watch their wallets.”
But his annual budget is doing more to target middle-class taxpayers than any of his previous proposals, calling for caps on deductions, changes in the way some tax benefits are calculated and a big hike in cigarette taxes — all proposals that would make middle-class Americans pay more.
“The president keeps breaking his campaign pledge to not tax the middle class — first with his health care law and now with these tax hikes in his budget,” Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top GOP member on the Finance Committee, told POLITICO. “As I’ve said before, when it comes to this White House and its penchant for wanting to raise taxes, everyone — including those middle-class families the president says he wants to help — needs to watch their wallets.”
JEW HATRED
You don't see this covered in the mainstream media. A Jew was attacked by a Muslim on a New York City subway.
A harrowing scene occurred recently on the New York City subway when a group of teens approached and harassed a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke. The ringleader, a self-identified Muslim teen, threatened to kill the man and added, “They should have killed all of you.” When police confronted the belligerent 17-year-old at a stop in Brooklyn, a mob formed. As the crowd filmed the scene and yelled at the policemen, one young woman began beating a cop before being arrested.
A harrowing scene occurred recently on the New York City subway when a group of teens approached and harassed a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke. The ringleader, a self-identified Muslim teen, threatened to kill the man and added, “They should have killed all of you.” When police confronted the belligerent 17-year-old at a stop in Brooklyn, a mob formed. As the crowd filmed the scene and yelled at the policemen, one young woman began beating a cop before being arrested.
Monday, April 22, 2013
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