2012 GOP CONVENTION: HURRICANE ISAAC DAMPENS OCCUPY PROTESTS, REMINDING US OF HURRICANE KATRINA 7 YEARS AGO, WHICH REMINDS US OF WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qha78PXe6tLDeohw0QhmzD_Hd_ng_X-n8ZJ-El9HLrA/edit?pli=1#
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/live-blog-hurricane-isaac-batters-orleans-gulf-coast-123555293.html
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
#RepublicanParty + #TeaParty + #Occutards = one hell of a #HurricaneParty rof fl come hell or high water @Reince 4:30 PM - 25 Aug 12 · Details
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Lord let #HurricaneIsaac bring rain but not like #HurricaneKatrina please.... it looks so huge
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Please Lord, I asked for rain-You brought #HurricaneIsaac during #GOPConvention it's scaring #NewOrleans may the rainbow mean Your assurance
28 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Lord may the sign of your rainbow be a sign of hope to #NewOrleans that you have forgiven them from the retribution of 2005 for idolatry.
10:58 AM - 28 Aug 12 · Details
Jindal Says Obama’s Storm Relief Falls Short Of State Needs
By Bradley Olson and Margaret Newkirk - Aug 28, 2012 2:35 PM ET
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Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who has criticized Barack Obama for excessive federal spending, said the president isn’t providing enough funding to cover the costs of Hurricane Isaac.
Jindal, a 41-year-old Republican, said in a Baton Rouge news briefing today that he sent a letter of complaint to the Democratic president.
2:11
Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama speaks at a news conference in Washington about Tropical Storm Isaac, which is nearing the Louisiana coast and hovering at the edge of hurricane strength. (Source: Bloomberg)
0:11
Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Choppy waves spill over the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana as Tropical Storm Isaac approaches the region. Parts of the rain-swept Lakeshore Drive bordering the waters have been blocked off by police. Isaac, which is hovering near hurricane strength, is set to strike the Louisiana coast as early as tonight. (Source: Bloomberg)
“You can’t wait, you have to push the federal bureaucracy,” he said.
Jindal wrote yesterday evening that Isaac requires “extraordinary emergency protective measures” and “full federal assistance for the state.” The president’s emergency declaration doesn’t provide for reimbursement of state expenses, only for “direct federal assistance,” Jindal wrote.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the goal of the initial declaration was to get federal aid out immediately. “We’ll continue to work with state officials to provide any unmet needs,” he told reporters today. “There will be time to explore if additional declarations are necessary.”
Readiness Costs
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate also addressed Jindal’s complaint during a conference call with reporters. He said the money Jindal was asking for would come through “a reimbursement program which will come after the fact. We felt it was more important to get the first part out, the direct federal assistance.”
Louisiana has spent about $8 million, issued evacuation orders for nine areas and declared emergencies in 34 parishes. School has been canceled and the state has activated more than 4,000 members of the Louisiana National Guard, prepared 300 buses and 5,000 shelters, Jindal said.
The governor has criticized federal spending under Obama. He gave the Republican response to Obama’s first State of the Union speech in February 2009, attacking stimulus measures he said were larded with waste. He was endorsed as a vice- presidential pick for Romney in May by Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, which opposes taxes and federal government spending.
Splitting Costs
“When reality catches up with rhetoric, those extreme right-wing anti-government positions not only don’t work, but advocates of those positions will flip-flop,” Craig Varoga, a Democratic political consultant in Washington and former New Orleans resident, said in a telephone interview today.
The president’s order authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate all relief efforts and provide assistance in 15 parishes. The federal government will pay for 75 percent of the cost of the emergency measures, according to the order, which Obama signed yesterday.
When Hurricane Gustav struck in 2008, Republican President George Bush also authorized the same level of aid as Obama did for Louisiana.
“We make no apologies for fighting for the people of Louisiana, regardless of who is president,” Kyle Plotkin, a Jindal spokesman, said in an e-mail today. “We’ve learned from past experience that you have to push the federal bureaucracy.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Bradley Olson in Baton Rouge at bradleyolson@bloomberg.net; Margaret Newkirk in Atlanta at mnewkirk@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at smerelman@bloomberg.net
WINDS ENDED UP HALF THE SPEED OF THE KATRINA 150 MPH WINDS.... MOST HEEDED WARNINGS AND 5 DAY ALERT TRACKING, BUT OTHERS WHO DID NOT LEAVE SAW 3,000 IN SHELTERS WHO WERE NOT FINANCIALLY ABLE TO LEAVE, 60-70 RESCUES, AND $2.9 MILLION EACH DAY TO DEPLOY GUARD, LEVEES, SERVICES, AND SUPPLIES.
GETTING THE CONVENTION STARTED.............................
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@FoxNewsLive #Obama slandered @MittRomney because Obama's gay lovers are dead-Obama is the murderer-Obama is a felon for 2008 election fraud
27 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SquawkCNBC Try 30 million unemployed, #HurricaneIsaac like #Katrina, and we have been working #JOBS since May https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L2ZmGM-izViR2QkN_RRhV9lG82z-n7VZcUpetHQi2F0/edit
27 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@kesgardner Polls being manipulated by Obama lobbyists, ask yourself: I have not voted in any polls since the Primary, so they're padding.
27 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@kesgardner Note #Obama followers dropped him last year 40,000 fell like flies over his birth certificate subpoena-they've stopped tweeting.
27 Aug sarah @mamaswati
Nothing like a Paul Ryan speech to really get the juices flowing.
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
27 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
these protesters sound like winded zombies
27 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@postpolitics hey @MittRomney doesn't have a 'rich guy' problem: all his assets are in his wife's name, and Obama has an #EatTheRich Problem
27 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@cspan to caller #Ryan I agree with you-this is the first time this has met my ears on #cspan to change the subject-we have 3,000 kids in GA
11:46 AM - 27 Aug 12 · Details
DESPITE MEDIA ATTEMPTS TO DISTRACT VOTERS WITH ABORTION HYPE WITH FEIGNED CONCERN AND HYPOCRISY ABOUT RAPE, WOMEN AND VOTERS IN GENERAL STILL FEEL THE ECONOMY IS THEIR MAIN CONCERN AFTER A DEAD RETAIL SUMMER, LACK OF EXTRA INCOME, AND MORE STUDENTS ADDED TO THE JOB MARKET FOR JOBS THAT JUST AREN’T THERE:
If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.
Rasmussen Consumer Index
64% Say U.S. Currently In A Recession
in Business
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures consumer confidence on a daily basis, dipped half a point on Thursday to 79.5. Consumer confidence is down four points from a week ago, seven points from a month ago and 10 points from three months ago.
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MOST VOTERS AGREE THAT PAUL RYAN IS AN EXCELLENT CHOICE TO ADDRESS THE DEBT AND DEFICIT AND HOW IT IS CHOKING THE LAST BIT OF AIR OUT OF OUR ECONOMY BECAUSE OF INFLATION:
RomneyResponse @RomneyResponse.@ArturDavis gave a great speech last night, watch it here: http://bit.ly/NCvaox #RomneyResponse2012 #tcot
11h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
YEP @RomneyResponse @ArturDavis #LessonLearned #2012 #MistakeCorrected @BarackObama with @MittRomney @PaulRyanVP
1:28 PM - 29 Aug 12 · Details
Romney shifts back to focus on the economy
- 40Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event at LeClaire Manufacturing in Bettendorf, Iowa. (Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images / August 22, 2012)
*Related photos »
Photos: 'Legitimate rape' and other career-limiting candidate quotes
By Michael FinneganAugust 22, 2012, 1:06 p.m.BETTENDORF, Iowa -- Mitt Romney took a break Wednesday from his frenetic national fundraising tour for a campaign rally in Iowa. Just as telling as what he talked about were the topics he avoided.The Republican presidential hopeful was silent on welfare and Medicare -- the subjects of his recent attack ads against President Obama -- and said nothing on abortion for rape victims, the topics that have dominated the nation’s political news for days.Instead, Romney hewed tightly to a message that small-government-is-good in remarks to about 1,000 supporters inside an aluminum casting manufacturing warehouse in this town on the Mississippi River.Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaPartyHey folks religion is not a joke @JoeBiden nor is it for political show http://www.lifenews.com/2008/08/25/nat-4200/ …26 Aug Steven Ertelt @StevenErteltAugust 2008: Pro-abortion VP Joe Biden's Bishop Suggested He Should Skip Communion http://bit.ly/RdkkG8Retweeted by Tea Party Chief26 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaPartyCatholic Bishop: Pro-Abortion VP Candidate Joe Biden Should Skip Communionby Steven Ertelt | WASHINGTON, DC | LIFENEWS.COM | 8/25/08 9:00 AMPrint EmailNational 840 ShareCatholic Bishop: Pro-Abortion VP Candidate Joe Biden Should Skip Communionby Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorAugust 25, 2008Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) – A leading Catholic bishop delivered the opening statement of the quadrennial debate over whether or not pro-abortion Catholic politicians should receive communion. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver says Barack Obama’s running mate Joe Biden should refrain from the sacrament.Biden is a pro-abortion Catholic and has a long voting record of supporting abortion and opposing any sensible limits on it.In an email sent Sunday to the Associated Press, Archbishop Chaput said Biden should following the teachings of the Church by opposing abortion or voluntarily refrain from receiving communion.Not doing so would be "seriously wrong," he said."I certainly presume his good will and integrity and I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for Communion if he supports a false ‘right’ to abortion," the Catholic leader added.Chaput told AP he would likely try to speak privately with Biden to encourage him to reform his abortion views or not receive the sacrament.According to a Washington Times report, Biden took communion on Sunday at his home parish in Delaware, St. Joseph on the Brandywine in Greenville.This is the second time the abortion-communion debate has cropped up in the context of a presidential election — with the first coming over concerns about John Kerry, the pro-abortion presidential nominee in 2004.Then, more than a dozen Catholic officials told Kerry not to present himself for communion at churches under their purview.Earlier this month, a top Vatican official, former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke — now the prefect of the Apostolic Signature — said all Catholics, including politicians, should not receive communion if they are pro-abortion.Archbishop Burke also issued a challenge to ministers to make sure they are not providing the sacrament to pro-abortion lawmakers who have not repented from their position, which is at odds with the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church.Communion should be denied to pro-abortion politicians “until they have reformed their lives," he said.Chaput has spoken out quite a bit about abortion in recent days — with him rebuking the Democratic Party for using flowery language in the platform to direct attention away from its pro-abortion stance.Earlier, the party refused to invite Chaput to the convention for a benediction.SAVE THE BABIES AND SPARE THE FETUSES! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151107192683670&set=a.10150313128353670.356636.773523669&type=1&theater …12:28 PM - 26 Aug 12 · Details
“We’ve now had four years in a row with a president that’s built trillion-dollar deficits,” Romney told the crowd, with industrial fans buzzing in the background. “It’s bad economics, it’s the wrong course for America, and I believe it’s immoral for us to pass on our burdens to the next generation.”Romney was speaking at family-owned LeClaire Manufacturing. Behind him onstage was a group of non-union LeClaire workers wearing blue T-shirts that said, “Government didn’t build my business, I did” – a swipe at a recent Obama remark on public infrastructure underpinning successful businesses.Romney’s quick afternoon stop in Iowa came the day after he made a fundraising trip to Texas that yielded between $6 million and $7 million in donations, mainly from the energy industry, according to his campaign. From Iowa, Romney was headed Wednesday afternoon to Little Rock, Ark., for more fundraising.Romney’s avoidance of welfare and Medicare comes as a number of Republican strategists have faulted his campaign for losing its focus on jobs and the economy.Further distracting his campaign this week has been the uproar over remarks by Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), who said in an interview that women are biologically equipped to prevent pregnancy after “legitimate rape.” Akin later apologized but has rejected calls from top Republicans, including Romney, to step down as the GOP nominee in the race for a U.S. Senate seat.I THINK EVERYONE NEEDS TO STOP BOWING TO THE OBAMA MEDIA WHIM OF THE DAY, BECAUSE THIS CAN BE ANY REPUBLICAN BEING DISSECTED FOR POLITICAL WARFARE.On Wednesday, Romney kept the focus on the economy, once again pointing to Europe’s troubled system as preview of where the United States is headed under Obama.“We don’t have to guess what the future looks like if we stay with the current president. We can see what’s happening in Europe,” he said. “Over there is that people have spent more than they have taken in year after year after year, borrowed more and more money, made promises they couldn’t fulfill.”In response, the Obama campaign said Romney’s economic proposals would weaken the country.“Romney would increase healthcare costs for all Americans by repealing the savings in Medicare and turning Medicare into a voucher system, he would raise taxes on the average middle class family with kids by $2,000 a year to pay for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, and even independent economists have said his policies wouldn’t create a single job and could actually push us back into recession,” the president’s campaign said in a statement.EYE ROLL.... BUSH TAX CUTS ARE NOT REFORMS, REFORMS SHOULD NOT INCREASE TAXESMichael.finnegan@latimes.comTwitter: @finneganlatimesCopyright © 2012, Los Angeles TimesAS IF THIS WASN’T THE MOST DUMBEST OBAMA-INDUCED MEDIA ATTACK,
THE MEDIA IGNORES HOW SALACIOUS THIS IS....
MICHELLE OBAMA NOW KNOWN AS
“THE FIRST HARLOT OF THE UNITED STATES”
NOT FIRST BLACK LADY...
FLOTUS DEMEANS OFFICE: GUEST EDITS SITE FEATURING SEX ADVICE FROM HOOKERS
Email ArticlePrint ArticleSend a TipThis surprises many of my conservative friends, but I like Michelle Obama. Though I disagree with her nanny-state attacks on the same food her husband always seems to eat whenever he's away from her, I think she's a lovely and classy First Lady -- which is why I'm on record defending her honor from our shallow and childish media.
What I can't do, however, is defend the First Lady from herself, which is why this is so troubling:
As the guest editor of iVillage, Michelle Obama has been sharing fitness and lifestyle tips over the past week.
But First Lady fans who are new to the site may be shocked to notice some of the other, more sexually explicit content, running alongside her commentary on family life and workout routines.
Among the articles currently on the iVillage site are a series of sex tips from prostitutes and a list of 'naughty' smartphone apps that are 'digital turn-ons',CNSNews.com points out.
Though none of the sex-related articles are by Mrs. Obama herself, the title of Guest Editor implies that she would have control over the site's editorial content.
Articles such as 'How To Have A One-Night-Stand', and '8 Subtle Ways To Give Him the Hint to Head "South"' are unlikely to have been on her agenda though.
This is the First Lady of the United States of America and she's editing a site that not only offers sleazy sex advice, but sleazy sex advice from hookers.
I'm not sure which surprises me most: The fact that it happened in the first place or that the media is letting her get away with it.
Well, that's silly. Of course the media's letting her get away with it.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
LifeNews and the American Life League recently reported...
*97.6 percent of pregnant women going to Planned Parenthood are sold abortions while less than 2.4 percent of pregnant women received non-abortion services including adoption counseling or prenatal care.
*Planned Parenthood has increased its number of abortions for 15 straight years.
* Planned Parenthood's public records show 5,320,095 surgical and chemical abortions done at Planned Parenthood Centers through the end of 2009 alone.
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Speaker John Boehner will address the Republican National Convention tonight at approximately 7 PM ET http://teamboehner.com/blog/boehner-previews-tonights-remarks-to-gop2012?utm_source=Team+Boehner&utm_campaign=505877bc24-8_28_Speech_Preview_Email8_28_2012&utm_medium=email …
28 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@obama_countdown IMPEACH HIS SORRY ASS -- NO STAY OF EVICTION LET'S SUE FOR EVERY DAY AFTER HE WAS SERVED 1/1/12
28 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SquawkCNBC Despite his wealth, @MittRomney #Patriot while @BarackObama is non-citizen hostile internal threat to Christians/our way of life
28 Aug Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SquawkCNBC The media has promoted a false image of @MittRomney and not reported the truth on @BarackObama who has an image problem #BigTime
9:47 AM - 28 Aug 12 · Details
MORE CONVENTION REACTION:
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
OFF THE GILLS!
1h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@mattklewis Huckabee and @PaulRyanVP echoed the concerns all people of faith have against @BarackObama regardless of practicing religion.
1h Chris Moody @Chris_Moody
Ryan on Romney's faith: "Mitt and I also go to different churches. But in any church, the best kind of preaching is done by example."
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
1h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
FYI @Frankie_Val #MA voted to create state-subsidized program for uninsured @MittRomney @PaulRyanVP not total federal buyout of health care!
1h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Most rousing speech of the GOP Convention, prior to Paul Ryan. (@YouTube http://youtu.be/pRsk0UeckBw?a )
2h Paul Ryan @PaulRyanVP
After four years of getting the run-around, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is @MittRomney. #WeCanChangeIt
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
1h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@jaketapper @PattyMurray HEY IN WISCONSIN, THEY WORK AND THEY TEACH THEIR STUDENTS HOW TO WORK, CREATE JOBS AND BUSINESSES!
1h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@jaketapper This new debt commission?! A laughingstock in front of the whole country because @PattyMurray state has terrible unemployment!!
1h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@hipEchik @rogerlsimon Yes very charismatic without the character defects.
2h Amy Kremer @AmyKremer
@PaulRyanVP is knocking it out of the park! He gets it and speaks about it so clearly. #RNC2012 #GOP2012
1h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@AmyKremer @PaulRyanVP You brought the house down when you said #Medicare that is one argument we'd love to have WE'LL WIN THAT DEBATE !
10:49 PM - 29 Aug 12 · Details
Gov. Perry receives entrepreneur award at Tampa event
Houston Business Journal by Olivia Pulsinelli, Web producer
Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 12:13pm CDT
Photo By Kent Hoover
Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and Women Impacting Public Policy at a luncheon in Tampa.
Olivia Pulsinelli
Web producer- Houston Business Journal
Email | Twitter
Although Texas Gov. Rick Perry won’t be speaking at the Republican National Convention this week, he did accept the Hero of the American Entrepreneur Award at a different event in Tampa.
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and Women Impacting Public Policy jointly presented the award on Aug. 28 in honor of Texas’ success in job creation and friendly business environment, American City Business Journals reports.
ACBJ Washington Bureau Chief Kent Hoover described Perry’s acceptance speech as folksy, funny and humble.
"The credit for this goes to those 400,000 small business owners in the state of Texas," Perry said.
He also spoke out against government intervention, noting that Texas’ secret to economic success is creating an environment to allow businesses to thrive, Hoover reports.
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz, Republican candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat in Texas, spoke at the convention on Aug. 28.
Cruz, who would be Texas’ first Hispanic senator if he were to win in November, targeted Hispanic voters in his speech.
Olivia Pulsinelli is the web producer for the Houston Business Journal's award-winning website.
Related links: Politics, Policy, Awards
OBAMACARE DEBUNKED:
Can markets work in medicine?
Christopher J. Conover | Forbes
August 20, 2012CDC/ Amanda MillsArticle Highlights
- One of the sharpest dividing lines between conservatives and liberals is whether or not markets can work in medicine.
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- To the average consumer is health care anymore mystifying than computers, cars or cell phones?
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- Health spending is highly concentrated, the top 1% of spenders account for more than 25% of all spending.
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- Giving #healthcare consumers more freedom of choice is not only smart, it’s the right thing to do.
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One of the sharpest dividing lines between conservatives and liberals is whether or not markets can work in medicine. Progressives admit to being "deeply suspicious of the claim that a health care system dominated by powerful vested interests and mystifying in its complexity can be tamed by consumers who are strapped for time, often poor, sometimes uneducated, confused and afraid." But just how valid are these concerns?First, it is not at all clear that "powerful vested interests" are any larger in health care than in other sectors of the economy, such as restaurants and retail, where we are perfectly content to let market forces discipline the power of large corporations to set prices. Of the 22 U.S. firms with more than $100 billion in revenues in 2012, for example, only three are predominantly healthcare firms.[1]"To the average consumer, is health care anymore mystifying in its complexity than, say, computers, cars, or cell-phones?"-Christopher J. ConoverTo the average consumer, is health care anymore mystifying in its complexity than, say, computers, cars, or cell-phones? Purchase decisions in these markets may strike some as mind-numbing in their complexity. Yet, we nevertheless rely on consumers to figure out what is best for them, and the magic of the market generally results in steadily lower prices and steadily rising quality over time. Part of the reason for that is that markets do not require every consumer to be well-informed. And indeed, many are not. But all benefit from the diligence of the minority who comparison shops with great vigor. We also get a leg up from the efforts of market facilitators-such as Consumer Reports-which greatly reduce the amount of time and effort needed by consumers to get sufficiently informed to make reasonable purchasing decisions. And these benefits hold true in markets ranging from high-tech to hot dogs.Health spending (unlike that of gadgets and snack) happens to be highly concentrated, with the top 1 percent of spenders each year accounting for more than one quarter of all spending. Still, the concentration of these expenditures doesn't impede the market's efficacy. How do we know this? Decades ago, the RAND Corporation-nonprofit think tank-conducted a very careful scientific experiment on the very subject.[2]In 1974, RAND researchers randomly assigned over 7,000 individuals into various types of health insurance policies: ones with completely free care (no cost sharing), ones with a modest deductible (e.g., $200) and 25 percent cost-sharing, and ones with the equivalent of high deductible policies. All the cost-sharing policies had a maximum upper limit on out-of-pocket spending-meaning once a family spent 10 percent of income on health care, the policy paid 100 percent of remaining medical bills for the balance of that year.The randomized design helped ensure that observed differences in medical care use, spending and health status could properly be attributed to differences in insurance plans rather than an outside factor (e.g., sicker people self-selecting into the plan offering free care).The observed differences between these different groups were remarkable. Average health spending for individuals receiving free medical care was 32 percent higher than for those who had to pay a quarter of the bill out of pocket. Some of this extra care admittedly was valuable, but fully 93 percent of that spending difference came in the form of "waste" rather than added value to the patient. The kicker was that for the average patient, there was no measurable difference in health status between the two groups.[3]Remember that these were randomized groups, so they were equally likely to have "heavy hitters" who accounted for the lion's share of spending. Yet, allowing patients to face the discipline of market forces rather than shielding them entirely (as is done in Canada, where cost sharing for health services guaranteed under federal law is prohibited) has the potential to reduce spending by nearly a third.More remarkable still is that the RAND study was a "demand side" experiment that only enrolled a few thousand families across the country. Thus, there was no incentive for the supply side to change in response to the relatively small number of patients incentivized to shop more wisely in the medical market. In a world where many more patients were fully responsible for front-end health spending and used health insurance only for catastrophic back-end expenses, we would expect to see the kind of fierce competition (and even price advertising!) we see in markets for Lasik surgery, for example. This makes the potential for savings from a market-oriented system relative to a single-payer "free care" system such as Canada's even higher than those discovered by RAND.[4]In short, we have substantial solid scientific evidence that markets can work in medicine. Instead of supplanting the judgment of consumers by requiring them to buy the medical equivalent of Hondas instead of Yugos, we should empower patients and harness the extraordinary ability of Americans to find good value for their money. The prescription for our health care reform ills is economic freedom.Too many reformers seem unwilling to accept that consumers have heterogeneous taste when it comes to health. Given the other ways in which I can spend my money, I might get much more value from spending $500 on food, clothing, or shelter than on government-mandated preventive health services, for example. Thus, giving health care consumers more freedom of choice-which, after all, is exactly what markets are all about-is not only smart, it's the right thing to do.Footnotes[1] These include #18 CVS Caremark, #21 Cardinal Health, and #22 UnitedHealth Group. #6 General Electronic admittedly makes medical equipment, but is not predominantly a healthcare firm.[2] The experimental nature of the RAND study is one of the elements which sets it apart from others in this field. The vast majority of evidence in health policy is observational in nature. That is, researchers compare people in different groups (e.g., for-profit & non-profit hospitals, people with private health insurance & those with no coverage, etc.) and make observations about them. Such observations yield a wealth of correlations, but it is much harder to pin down causation. For example, researchers have observed that people without health insurance tend to have a higher risk of death than those with private coverage. Yet, it is difficult to be certain that this is because they lack coverage or whether some other factor is at work. Those willing to gamble on being without coverage might also be willing to take more risks in other areas of life such as driving without seatbelts, smoking, or other risky behaviors. So it could be that their greater propensity to take risks rather than lack of coverage per se explains their higher death rates. But the RAND study sidestepped these problems by using the gold standard of scientific evidence-a randomized controlled trial, just like those that the FDA relies on to provide definitive scientific evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of pharmaceuticals.[3] In contrast, low income patients with free care had somewhat better health status than those in cost-sharing plans: they had better control over their blood pressure and better corrected vision. These modest improvements in health status were not large enough to justify the huge spending difference between the two groups-that is, the health status of the two groups hypothetically could have been equalized by much less expensive interventions targeting hypertension and poor vision. But the study at least signaled that caution was in order when trying to use cost-sharing as a strategy for averting wasted health spending among poor people. This is why cost-sharing under Medicaid is so extremely modest (e.g., $1 for a doctor's visit for which most insured patients might have to pay a $20 or more copay) and why most states instead rely on managed care to hold down use and spending among this population.[4] Admittedly, a single payer system offers administrative savings, but a) the size of these savings is grossly exaggerated by single payer enthusiasts and b) could never possibly exceed 32 percent.Drug Wrongly Used to Do Abortions Worldwide Should be Removed WHO List
by Lisa Correnti | New York, NY | LifeNews.com | 8/23/12 12:00 PM
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“Current evidence to support the use of misoprostol in home or community settings in low- and middle-income countries for the prevention of postpartum haemorrhage is, at best, inconclusive,” said Professor Pollock.
Although misoprostol’s label use is to treat gastric ulcers it was added to the WHO essential medicine list (EML) in 2011 to be used in developing countries to prevent women from hemorrhaging after childbirth due to its low cost and easy storage capability.Unfortunately misoprostol was also identified by global abortion groups and is widely promoted as a method for women in less developed countries to obtain a medical abortion where abortion is not accessible or legal. Placing misoprostol on the EML core list allows it to be stockpiled in pharmacies and produced in dosages that can be more effectively used as an abortifacient.
Last fall the Friday Fax identified an international network of organizations and individuals that was formed to promote global access to medical abortions. Within the International Consortium on Medical Abortion (ICMA) is a highly strategic effort to promote worldwide access to chemical abortion pills through education, regional training and advocacy campaigns – with an emphasis on misoprostol for first trimester abortions.
Misoprostol works by inducing labor causing uterine contractions and the thinning of the cervix, so as the website explains, the “products of pregnancy are expelled.” Severe side effects include uterine rupture and death.
In countries where abortion is illegal, ICMA recommends women take misoprostol to start the abortion process and then go to a health clinic for further treatment, since post abortion care (PAC) is available in most countries where abortion is illegal.
In the recent research bulletin of the Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change (AIRVSC), Dr. Donna Harrison reviews clinical data on the complications of medical abortifacients in global developing countries and she writes “Unfortunately, there is a tendency to disregard such problems by enthusiastic abortion advocates, eager to expand abortion use in these countries.”
Professor Pollock’s report also notes the misuse of misoprostol for abortions in countries where it is illegal.
“In countries where abortion is illegal or strongly controlled, there is widespread self-medicated use of misoprostol by women to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Misoprostol is also dangerous if used inappropriately for labour induction.”
CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!
Brady Cremeens @brady_cremeens
When Democrats scream "War on women!" they mean exactly one thing: war on killing babies. That's a war I'm glad to fight.
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RETWEET
1:26 PM - 29 Aug 12 · Details
“Countries should be concentrating on improving their primary care facilities, rather than thinking there is a pill to prevent every ill,” said Professor Pollock. “Misoprostol is being used inappropriately at present, and the money being spent on purchasing the drug would be better spent elsewhere, for instance, in ensuring there are skilled attendants during delivery and adequate antenatal services that can detect and help to prevent complications.”
Abortion advocates have been successful in using maternal mortality figures to push for access to abortion. Even with data suggesting medical abortifacients may be contributing to increased maternal mortality in developing countries these groups are not about to have misoprostol removed from the EML exposing a very narrow agenda: access to abortion first and health of the woman second.
LifeNews.com Note: Lisa Correnti writes for the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. This article originally appeared in the pro-life group’s Turtle Bay and Beyond blog and is used with permission.Obama’s Mother’s Passport Conveniently Destroyed
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 16:49
Photo from Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro’s 1972 passport records
State Department claims records gone for Stanley Ann Dunham prior to 1968
Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, the State Department has released passport records of Stanley Ann Dunham, President Obama’s mother – but records for the years surrounding Obama’s 1961 birth are missing.
The State Department claims a 1980s General Services Administration directive resulted in the destruction of many passport applications and other “non-vital” passport records, including Dunham’s 1965 passport application and any other passports she may have applied for or held prior to 1965.
Destroyed, then, would also be any records shedding light on whether Dunham did or did not travel out of the country around the time of Barack Obama’s birth.
The claim made in the Freedom of Information response letter that many passport records were destroyed during the 1980s comes despite a statement on the State Department website that Passport Services maintains U.S. passport records for passports issued from 1925 to the present.
The records released, however, contain interesting tidbits of new information about Obama’s mother, including the odd listing of two different dates and locations for her marriage to Obama’s Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro.
Read more here: http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/oops-obama-mama-passport-destroyed/
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Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
In my armpit RT @OrangeCoSurf @AccuracyInMedia -Where Should Ahmadinejad Bunk Down in NYC? http://bit.ly/POZ6jd #Iran #Israel #USA #tcot
28 Aug Accuracy In Media @AccuracyInMedia
Guest Column: Where Should Ahmadinejad Bunk Down in NYC? http://bit.ly/POZ6jd #Iran #Israel #USA #tcot #rsrh #media #nuclear
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Where Should Ahmadinejad Bunk Down in New York?
Claudia Rosett — August 28, 2012
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Plaudits to the watchdog group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which is again tackling the mission of persuading New York City hotels to spurn Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his entourage when they come to Manhattan for the late-September opening of the United Nations General Assembly. This will be Ahmadinejad’s eighth consecutive year of attending the UN’s annual opening, and in years past UANI has led campaigns to drive him out of the Intercontinental and the Hilton Manhattan East, and is now calling on the Warwick Hotel — which hosted him last year — to give him the cold shoulder. In a Thursday press release, UANI congratulates an array of other hotels for refusing to provide rooms to the smirking face of Iran’s terror-based regime.
All of which is gratifying, but presents an intriguing question — since it looks quite likely that even if Manhattan hoteliers take a principled stand for U.S. interests, the UN and the U.S. State Department will do no such thing. They will almost certainly insist that regardless of Tehran’s baggage of terror plots, genocidal threats, domestic repression, illicit nuclear activities, and U.S. and UN sanctions, Ahmadinejad will yet again be accorded the full array of privileges and immunities that the UN is pleased to bestow on all its member tyrants. Ahmadinejad and his retinue will be permitted entry to the U.S., ushered into Manhattan, and provided with top-notch security, courtesy of the same U.S. taxpayers whose country and way of life he would like to destroy.
But the question. If New York hotels won’t host Ahmadinejad, then where should he stay?
Maybe he can pitch a tent in Central Park? Fuggedaboutit. The late Moammar Gaddafi made a bid for that when he came to the UN’s annual opening in 2009, the year Libya’s man presided over the UN General Assembly. New York City said no. So did New Jersey.
There are plenty of other possibilities, of course. Perhaps Ahmadinejad could offer to deliver another lecture at Columbia University, in exchange for access to visiting faculty housing. Or, on a more pedestrian note, he could simply bunk down in the quarters of Iran’s ambassador to the UN, and cram his retinue into the broom closets. One can come up with all sorts of ideas.
But I have my own preferred solution. It’s obvious. By now, it would be entirely fitting for Ahmadinejad to bunk down in New York as the house guest of none other than Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the UN.
For Ban to refuse Ahmadinejad such a favor would be nothing short of churlish. After all, Ban is about to avail himself of the Iranian regime’s hospitality later this very month, when he travels Tehran to to attend the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. For reasons having no discernible connection to experience, reality, or even sanity, the UN secretary-general has apparently decided that if he can just spend a few days rubbing elbows with Iran’s terror-masters, he can talk them into good behavior.
Ban is wrong — even more wrong than when he went to Libya in 2010 to attend an Arab League summit hosted by the late Gaddafi, with whom Ban was photographed whooping it up at a banquet. But if Ban really believes his own bunkum about needing some quality time with the ayatollahs, then let’s see him follow through, and offer Ahmadinejad some down-home hospitality in New York. That should leave plenty of time for edifying chat at the end of a long day’s propagandizing in Manhattan.
Courtesy of the good old United States, Ban certainly has the digs to accommodate Ahmadinejad’s yen for plush rooms in Manhattan. Ban lives in the multi-million dollar Sutton Place Georgian town house that has served for decades as the official residence of the UN secretary-general. This 14,000 square-foot luxury dwelling is just up the road from the UN’s midtown Manhattan headquarters. It’s a lovely stroll on crisp autumn days, or at least a convenient strip for motorcades to race back and forth, protected by barricades and security officers from the gridlock that plagues the lesser folk of Manhattan during UN high-level events.
Surely Ban would be generous enough to share with Ahmadinejad for a few days the fruits of the relatively recent $4.9 million renovation of this spacious UN residence – the largest share of that tab paid, as usual, by U.S. taxpayers. Improvements, as reported at the time in the Washington Post, included “a new $2.1 million central heating and air-conditioning system, and a $200,000 kitchen upgrade” (at least those were the preliminary estimates; let us not be shocked should it turn out the real cost ran higher). Should Ahmadinejad wish to straighten his lounge suit before heading out into the streets of the Great Satan, Ban’s residence reportedly boasts two small bathrooms in the entryway alone. We know that because it reportedly cost $100,000 to renovate them.
Yes, I know. Morally, this proposal is disgusting. Politically, it is outrageous. And surely the vision of Ahmadinejad during his next New York trip availing himself of the lavish comforts of Ban Ki-moon’s UN residence, while dignified with special access to the secretary-general himself, is hardly in keeping with the UN’s founding promises to promote peace, prosperity, and human dignity.
But as shorthand for the current relationship between Iran and the UN secretary-general, Sutton Place seems just the ticket. So, my vote is for Ban Ki-moon to return Iran’s gracious hospitality, and open up his spare bedrooms, armchairs, and $200,000-upgraded kitchen to the UN’s guests from Tehran. Would it really be all that different from what’s going on anyway?Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or its staff.Share This
Giles @GilesMcKIran doesn't want a nuke for defense purposes. The ONLY reason anyone is talking about attacking them is cuz they're trying to get a nuke.
10h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@GilesMcK #Iran has been fully nuclear since March. They have not attacked anyone going on 6 mos. now, they need defense from #AlQaeda too.
1:39 PM - 29 Aug 12 · Details
Giles @GilesMcK
.@wolfsaviorzx Difference: we do it DURING warfare to STOP warfare. Iran govt would use a nuke to START a war.
10h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@GilesMcK @wolfsaviorzx Iran could've already started a war: they are energy independent, they talk a lot of shit, but they want $ over war.
1:46 PM - 29 Aug 12 · Details
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
#GCC #Assad not delivered #AlQaeda @UN @MittRomney @PaulRyanVP @SpeakerBoehner @netanyahu @President_Iran @SayyidKhamenei gets drone in anus
10h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
#GCC #Assad gets no more time to kill his own @UN @MittRomney @PaulRyanVP @SpeakerBoehner @netanyahu @President_Iran @SayyidKhamenei
11h The Daily Beast @thedailybeast
Assad to appear in TV interview, says military "needs more time" to win against rebels http://thebea.st/Ox49H5 #Syria
10h Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@thedailybeast NO #Assad insisted he has had terrorist threat in his country, but has killed countless civilians and not delivered #AlQaeda
2:01 PM - 29 Aug 12 · Details
PETITION FOR CONSIDERATION OF A FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST SYRIA: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QTE3HZmw3mwWV-Q6gvWZEry5YEQnknE7Jc5ho9kRlyI/edit
Recent expenses for humanitarian aid by the United States designated up to $100 billion, futile negotiation on behalf of the UN and resignation of Envoy Annan, have not resolved but marked increasing hostilities that threaten the security of Israel and peace in the world since December of 2011, lead me this day to write this regarding the country of Syria.
Since the inception of the Arab Spring, an Arab revolt that has been criticized and mired with controversy, with the toppling of Gaddafi by proxy war and the destruction of the radicalized intelligence storehouse coupled with the eradication of Osama Bin Laden propaganda center in Pakistan by secret operation, have been met with due skepticism over policy and legitimate authority over Executive Order. I find it my duty, as Tea Party Chief, to speak on behalf of those who do not have a voice in our government, for their imitation of our movement and desire for freedom in their own country.
While it is true that Obama has been reluctant to make a decision on Syria because his authority has been successfully challenged and found to be illegitimate, Obama has managed not only to arouse the anger of Ahmadinejad, but he has also managed to make Israel feel as if they are standing alone against terrorism directed at their country. Obama not only lacks the authority to carry through a decision on Syria, politically he is the wrong person because of his Muslim associations which would make it appear that he is making a decision based on favoritism and not on the necessity of the security of the United States. Secretary Clinton, who has called for an airstrike against Assad, is also in a position of compromise over her aide Abedin. Yet when I gave permission of appropriation, based on need and consideration of budget constraints, I did not intend for that $100 billion to be consumed by humanitarian aid only, without it being used for an air strike. It has since been nearly six months, and no decision has been made to act in any way other than to provide humanitarian aid. Which is why our budget consideration was so important, and so it will be also for the proposed continuing resolution.
With that in mind, Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in 7-11-12 over Obama’s lack of provable citizenship, he was designated 7-23-12 for the delegation of act of war with Senator John Kerry and Senator John McCain:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lG1SCohq6nIr7xQgUsTofCTWW4VL0S_kuKqGPKs1FAs/edit
8-14-12 the formal declaration of Vice President Joe Biden was made by the Military Sequester Prevention Act https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o8EOm65YL7ilLLf5cpXbgq_4BWQVCtlcbvIP3sCSVps/edit
My objections to Assad remaining in power have nothing to do with Obama’s goals for the Muslim World:
Assad has murdered his own people, under the guise that Al Qaeda is actively operating against him, and he has failed to produce this evidence to justify his people being killed in the crossfire.
Assad has engaged in acts of Civil War against his own people, that are intolerable: use of tanks and planes, and he still can not maintain control.
Assad dropped pamphlets from the sky on Saturday, his conduct and actions something only demonstrated from the likes of Hitler, and with this action, we feel that use of biochemical warfare is evidently an option despite his statements contrary.
Assad has not only created a haven for Al Qaeda who was pushed out from Iraq over the Summer, but he will be guilty of quartering them and has been given a 60 day notice that he must identify and expel them from his country, or he will be met with swift response.
Assad has abused the power of the UN to promote more violence and intimidation against his people, and he has not progressed to demonstrate that he can rule effectively without endangering the safety of his people, the countries around him, or those disaffected by his sectarian-fueled blood feud.
Assad is meeting the threshold of despotism likened only in recent memory to Saddam Hussein.
In other words, Assad has compelled us to a state of war with Syria by default. While we acknowledge this war is not against the people of Syria or the Syrian rebels, Assad has given comfort to our enemies and failed to govern his own people justly. While it has not been the choice of the United States to act as it has in recent past, the threat of Assad’s use of biochemical weaponry and recent threats by Hezbollah against Israel to incite and provoke war, make this conflict a horse of a different color.
Now it is not just about Syria anymore, but the destabilization of Syria for the benefit of our enemy, whose aspirations are to draw us into conflict or to incite war with Iran and Israel, so that they do not have to use their funds or money.
Rather than seeing this as ‘just another war truncating the War on Terror’, this is our opportunity to conclude these conflicts and draw a formal end with this climax in Syria.
Rather than spending the upkeep for other military bases, we intend to exile terrorists and those convicted of violent crime to Johnston Atoll. Syria is of supreme advantage to us, and short-term occupation would only be necessary, not quite like Iraq or the training of the Afghan government to handle their own issues of security. Syria is different.
Assad has been given the following deadline, until September 30th, which is 40 days from now our time, and he has been warned repeatedly that an order could be issued at any time of choosing, depending upon our intelligence or that of Israel’s and necessity to act against Al Qaeda, or threat of nuclear or biochemical warfare in the region.
I want to make the distinction here that if it happens that the Syrian rebels are able to work with the UN to draft a new Constitution and appointment of leadership, Palestinians may have found a new home and country of their own. I say this because I see no political concession by Israel permitting Palestinian representation, though by majority of population Palestinians represent the West Bank, and I see no compromise to the 1967 survey that makes either side happy nor is right in the eyes of both groups.
Damascus or Aleppo may be used as a US military base, to prevent conflict and stabilize this emerging new government that is cooperative to the US and the UN vision.
If this is not an option, I support the use of drones or whatever is necessary to pre-empt an even greater loss of life and to prevent conflict of biochemical and nuclear warfare.
I pray this be considered by Congress, not to supplant the need for the passage of the 2013 Defense Bill as written (though it is needed and required without sequester applied), but that our need is even greater to resolve these threats expediently and close these wars and conflict by 2014.
“We don’t need to be under surveillance, the GOVERNMENT does”
Posted on August 23, 2012 by admin • Comments
I posted the image above an hour or so ago on my Facebook page.
While this statement is so true, what has been hitting at my heart these last few minutes is how did we get to this point in our country’s history? Where did WE THE PEOPLE go so wrong we are saying such things? Where did we go so wrong WE THE PEOPLE allowed our government to get so big and powerful, this happened?
What we see today in Washington is not something that happened overnight. While our wonderful country is over 200 years old now. The dismantling of America and our Constitution started back with Woodrow Wilson. At least the biggest push started then and has continued to today with the Obama Regime.
Of course then we had FDR and his New Deal and the start of so many social programs. It was after this when we started to see the focus of her citizens shift from the belief that WE should take care of each other to letting and relying on the government to take care of those who need help. Before this, who took care of those in need? WE DID! We did not hand this DUTY to the government.
As time went by from the FDR years, sure we saw breaks in the build up to what we are getting today. But, we saw in the 60′s and with Johnson another huge push “forward” to what we have today. Johnson’s biggest accomplishment in office was our current welfare state. Under Johnson and the Progressives since, it has been the goal of these people to get as many of our citizens relying on the government as they can. And they have done a damn good job of it too. Recent figures have been provided showing that 100 million Americans are getting some form of government assistance. That is approximately 1/3 of our population. Let me repeat that so it sinks in. 1/3 of our population is on some form of government assistance.
Worse, we have been basically sitting by and allowing this to happen.
The simple fact is, there is a certain population that has made it a lifestyle and a way of life to be on government assistance. And I am not talking race but a mindset. This problem is generational. In my own small rural Kansas town, I see first hand 3, sometimes 4 generations of the same family living this way. Being on welfare is their career of choice. They sit on their asses taking advantage of those of us who work and have our hard earned money taken from us. We didn’t volunteer to help these people out. The government, with its strong arm powers, takes our money and hands it out to those who are able to work, but not willing.
Now, before you jump down my throat and call me a heartless son-of-a-bitch, let me stop you. I am not saying those who truly need our help should not get some form of support and help from our tax dollars. We have allowed the entitlement programs to come into existence. With that, those who are truly not able to work or take care of themselves do need taken care of. What we need to do as citizens is to push for and support programs that make sure those in need are truly in need. And they are the ones who get support. We need to support programs which make sure the unqualified do not get such support.
The problem is we have a government under the Progressives who want to ignore this and give our money to basically anyone who says they need it. The more they can get on government assistance the better for the Progressives. This population is their base and the more they get, the more power the Progressives have and can grab.
The other problem is we have also ignored what is going on and allowed it to fester into the boil we have today. Can we honestly look ourselves in the mirror and say we have kept a watchful eye on this runaway government we now have? While some of us may have. The majority of our population has not. Too many simply go about their days, worrying only about what is happening right in front of them. Too many have been so caught up in keeping up with their friends and neighbors they have truly missed what the government has been doing to them little by little.
So what has awaken this sleeping giant?
Never before in the last 100 years have we seen a president and a Regime move so fast to “fundamentally change America” into what they want Her to be. Never before have we seen someone like the Obama Regime with the nerve to so openly do what they have been doing the last almost 4 years. When in our history have we seen a president bypass the legislative process and make laws to fit his agenda? We haven’t.If we have any hope of bringing our country back from the jaws of death, we have to get this tyrannical Obama Regime out of the White House. We have to get the vote out. And we have to convince those who refuse to vote for Romney either by writing in someone else or not voting to vote. If they don’t, they are handing Obama a lifetime dictatorship. I truly fear if Obama wins, we will see our Constitution trashed and Obama will with the stroke of a pin, make himself King.
This election people is without a doubt the most important election since Lincoln. The future of our country and future generations rest in what happens this year. Whether we live under a tyrannical Regime who follows what that image above says or not is at risk.
I hope what we saw a few weeks ago with Chick-Fil-A is truly an indication of what we are going to see on November 6th. I pray this sleeping giant has woke up realizing it is up to WE THE PEOPLE to save our nation. That WE THE PEOPLE finally realize we have to get off our asses, get out the vote and do what is our duty, VOTE.
If you don’t for yourself, think about your children, your grandchildren and even your great grandchildren. Their future is in our hands people.
Posted Under: Commentary
Labor Department [WASTED] spent $500G in stimulus on green-job ad blitz on Olbermann, Maddow
By Judson Berger
Published August 22, 2012
FoxNews.com
The Obama administration paid a PR firm nearly $500,000 in stimulus funds to run a barrage of ads on White House-friendly cable programs promoting its green job training program.
According to government records, the Labor Department paid the money in late 2009 to a company that negotiated a media buy on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" and "The Rachel Maddow Show." The ad was set to run more than 100 times -- 14 times a week for two months.
It's unclear how many people might have gotten involved in the green job training program because of the ads. But in terms of direct economic impact, the official online entry on the contract listed zero jobs created as a result of the payment.
"On the surface, this doesn't pass the basic sniff test," Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told FoxNews.com.
Chaffetz, who said he's writing a letter to the Labor Department seeking more information about the contract, complained that the federal government already spends "way too much" on advertising as it is.
He said the targeting of these ads also raises questions about "political motivations."
The $495,000 contract was awarded to McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations.
The Labor Department defended the expense, suggesting in a brief statement Wednesday afternoon that the decisions on placement were largely made by the contractor.
"Job Corps has used media buys over the decades to inform potential participants and referral sources as well as employers about the Job Corps program. In this case, the Department of Labor relied on an outside contractor and media buying expert to perform research, conduct cost comparisons of media outlets, determine the most cost-effective way to reach the target audience, and create and place the ads," the department said.
Two department spokesmen also told The Washington Times that Larry King's former CNN show was considered for carrying the ad but was dropped because MSNBC was thought to be able to reach more viewers.
But Rick Manning, a spokesman with Americans for Limited Government who used to be chief of staff in the Labor Department's public affairs office in the George W. Bush administration, took issue with the department's explanation of the purchase. "The fact that they claim that they delegated this spending authority to a consultant without oversight is outrageous," he said.
The Maddow and Olbermann shows -- the latter of which is no longer on MSNBC -- have been two of the friendliest programs toward the administration on cable TV. Maddow herself cut an MSNBC ad last year touting government investment in infrastructure -- an Obama priority -- as she stood in front of the Hoover Dam and called on the country to "figure out whether or not we are still a country that can think this big."
The official "award summary" on the Labor Department contract explained that the ads were meant for "raising awareness among employers and influencers" about the green job training program and to move a "target audience" to contact the Job Corps Call Center to ask about enrolling.
The summary cited "existing and new training initiatives in high-growth and environmentally friendly career areas."
According to the Labor Department, the Job Corps committed more than $9 million in stimulus funds toward growing its training program and brought in more than 60,000 students to participate in the process.
The department reported that it was adding training programs "for an emerging green economy" -- by developing concentrations for such careers as weatherization technician, smart meter technician and other fields.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/22/labor-department-spent-500g-in-stimulus-funds-on-ads-during-olbermann-maddow/?cmpid=prn_aol&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D195989#ixzz24NsXJN2N
2,527 DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY EMPLOYEES CONVICTED OF CRIMES
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs a security check. Since 2004, there have been a staggering 2,527 employees and co-conspirators convicted of corruption and other criminal misconduct. And there will be more; as of July 15, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was dealing with 1,591 open criminal cases. The majority of those cases were opened in the last three years.
Roughly 65% of the convictions come from Federal Emergency Management Agency-related investigations: 14% from those linked to the Customs and Border Protection agency, 7% from Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related investigations, 5% from the Transportation Security Administration. Another 9% are miscellaneous.Those employees who can be prosecuted are any who committed the crime while they were appointed, contracted, or officially engaged under authority of law in the performance of a Federal function on behalf of DHS. These include contractor employees, interns, Coast Guard military personnel, Coast Guard Auxiliaries, and employees sent by other Federal agencies to work at DHS.
Opinion: Editorials
Examiner Editorial: Fast and Furious figure double-dips at JP Morgan
August 22, 2012 | 6:00 pmComments
Examiner Editorial
NEW YORK - JULY 19: The JPMorgan Chase & Co. building at 270 Park Avenue July 19, 2006 in the Manhattan borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Brown/Getty Images)
Americans have a strong sense of fairness. They are repelled by the idea of punishing the innocent while rewarding the guilty. Unfortunately, a federal law enforcement agency may be doing just that to people involved in the Fast and Furious scandal.
Through the neglect and malfeasance of public officials, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives encouraged Arizona gun dealers to sell weapons to suspicious characters. They then allowed about 2,000 of these guns to be smuggled into Mexico to a drug cartel that has been waging an all-out war against its rivals and the Mexican government, which knew nothing of the operation. The scandal first saw daylight after a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed in a shootout involving one of the guns in question.
On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers demanded to know why Bill McMahon -- who as a top ATF official adopted a policy of willful neglect toward the misguided operation -- has received extended paid leave from his federal government job. This means he can draw a six-figure taxpayer-funded salary, keep building his taxpayer-funded pension, and simultaneously work for the private sector. He is currently employed by JP Morgan.
"Rather than imposing consequences for his admitted failures, the ATF appears to be rewarding McMahon," wrote Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., in a letter to ATF on Wednesday. "Through this unusual arrangement, ATF has essentially facilitated McMahon's early retirement and ability to double dip for nearly half a year by receiving two full-time paychecks -- one from the taxpayer and one from the private sector."
According to a congressional report on Fast and Furious, McMahon "received a wealth of information about Fast and Furious, but did not view it as his role as supervisor to ask questions about events in the field." Instead, he "admittedly rubber stamped critical documents that came across his desk without reading them." The lawmakers also state that McMahon gave false testimony to Congress about signing wiretap applications in Fast and Furious.
To his credit, McMahon owned up to some of these failures. That doesn't justify this sweetheart deal, Issa and Grassley assert, for "it appears ATF management was under no obligation to approve this sort of arrangement."
Issa and Grassley also compared ATF's beneficence toward McMahon to its treatment of the whistleblowers who brought Fast and Furious to light. They now find themselves under a black cloud within the agency. Eyewitnesses report that Scot Thomasson, head of ATF's Office of Public Affairs, expressed his feelings about the whistleblowers early on, saying, "We need to get whatever dirt we can on these guys (the whistleblowers) and take them down."
Even as McMahon lives large on two paychecks, Fast and Furious whistleblower John Dodson is still fighting to clear his name. He was transferred to another state and placed on leave after his superiors filed a complaint accusing him of making it all up. Issa and Grassley note that Dodson "is told he must wait until the Inspector General's report [on the scandal] is complete before the agency will even consider his simple request for a statement retracting the false statements made about him by agency leadership."
The inspector general's report will be released in roughly a month's time. We hope that justice will be done, and that a few of the many, many things that have gone wrong at ATF will be set right at last.
METRO ATLANTA / STATE NEWS 7:50 a.m. Thursday, August 23, 2012
Report: Feds raid pain clinic, pharmacy linked to suspected 'pill mills'
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Federal agents raided several metro Atlanta locations Wednesday night that are linked to suspected "pill mills," Channel 2 Action News reported.
More Atlanta area news »
The agents raided clinics in southeast Atlanta and in Tyrone, along with a pharmacy and two homes, according to Channel 2.
Dr. William Richardson, who was working at the Amarc Medical Clinic when agents came in, told the station, "my part here was purely treating the pain."The clinic on Lakewood Avenue and a pharmacy a block away on Jonesboro Road were among the locations raided, Channel 2 reported.
Agents loaded up boxes of files and other evidence, but officials with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration have not yet commented on the raids.
Feds bust drug ring run from Indiana prisons
By Ron Recinto | The Lookout – 35 mins ago
Federal authorities have charged 40 people -- including two inmates and a corrections officer -- for running a drug ring through three Indiana prisons.
According to the Associated Press, the indictment unsealed Wednesday in Indianapolis notes the scheme involved methamphetamine, heroin and other drugs and also alleges prison guards smuggled cellphones and drugs into prisons.
The indictment says that two inmates Oscar Perez and Justin Addler, who are in different prisons made repeated calls to drug dealers in California to arrange for illegal deliveries of drugs to a network of distributors in Indiana, the Indianapolis Star reported. The deliveries were made in person or through the U.S. Postal Service or UPS, the newspaper notes.
Perez is serving time in prison after being convicted murderer; Addler is a convicted drug dealer, according to the AP.
Correctional officer John Dobbins is accused of delivering a package containing drugs and a cellphone to an inmate at a third prison in July, according to a federal indictment. While only one corrections officer is charged, the indictment says multiple guards were involved, the AP reported.
Spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Indianapolis Tim Horty in declined to comment on the case.
In a prepared statement, Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Bruce Lemmon said, "The actions of the small number of any IDOC correctional employees who may have facilitated these illegal activities brings dishonor to them and tarnishes the good name and professionalism of the vast majority of IDOC employees who are dedicated to making our prisons safe and upholding the rule of law."
The FBI are still looking for two people involved in drug ring, said Wendy Osborne, spokeswoman for the bureau in Indianapolis.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kennard Foster set trials for those involved in the case for Oct. 1. Some of the charges carry a life in prison.
Trial of Gaddafi son due to start next month
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- TRIPOLI | Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:02am EDT
"The trial of Saif al-Islam is to start next month, probably the second week of the month," the source said.
In April, Justice Minister Ali Ashour told Reuters Saif would be put on trial for financial corruption, murder and rape.
(Reporting By Taha Zargoun and Souhail Karam; Writing by Souhail Karam; Editing by Alison Williams)
Developments in Iran and Sinai Deepen Israel’s Worries About Egypt
Mohammed Abed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Egyptian soldiers destroying tunnels at the Egypt-Gaza border that may have been possibly used in a recent attack.By JODI RUDOREN
Published: August 22, 2012 JERUSALEM — With Egypt’s new Islamist president headed to Iran next week and its military deploying tanks in the Sinai Peninsula — possibly outside the parameters of his nation’s 33-year-old treaty with Israel — officials here are increasingly worried about what has long been their most critical regional relationship.
Related
Israel Asks Egypt to Remove Tanks From Sinai (August 22, 2012)
Egypt’s President Plans to Visit Iran (August 19, 2012)
Egypt Requests $4.8 Billion From I.M.F. (August 23, 2012)
Times Topics: Israel | Egypt News — Revolution and Aftermath
Connect With Us on Twitter
Follow@nytimesworldfor international breaking news and headlines.Twitter List: Reporters and Editors
Israel’s Defense Ministry and military have each sent several messages of concern to Cairo in recent days about Sinai, and received no response, a senior government official said Wednesday. That breakdown in communication, two weeks after a deadly terrorist attack along the border between the nations, comes alongside President Mohamed Morsi’s announcement that he will defy the West and break with Egyptian precedent to attend a summit meeting of nonaligned nations in Tehran, complicating Israeli and American efforts to define Iran as a pariah state because of its nuclear program.
When Egypt’s longtime leader, Hosni Mubarak, was toppled last year, Israel worried about the loss of a dependable strongman who had helped preserve a reliable if chilly peace. Concern grew with this spring’s election of a president from the Muslim Brotherhood and deteriorating security in the Sinai Peninsula, which bridges the two nations. The concerns have grown as Egyptians from across the political spectrum have in recent weeks demanded a review of the treaty, and in particular, its restrictions on Egypt’s military presence in Sinai.
While Mr. Morsi announced Wednesday that he would visit Washington next month, the gesture to the Obama administration was somewhat clouded by his decision to go first to Iran, even as Israel has implored others to boycott the meeting in solidarity with its concerns over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. And while the tanks in the desert are little threat to Israel, the lack of coordination around their deployment is seen as potentially undermining a peace treaty that has been a cornerstone of Israel’s security for decades.
“We must be very severe with abiding by the spirit and the letter of the peace treaty — otherwise we will be on a slippery slope, and no one knows where this might lead,” the senior official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to anger Egyptian officials at a tense time.
“If we’re in the realm of the informal, of the gentlemen’s agreement, when does the gentleman stop being a gentleman and start being a rogue?” the official continued. “We’re not going to sound any alarm, and we’re not going to question the whole treaty, but we are opening our eyes with a certain concern to certain aspects that are taking place.”
Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Mr. Morsi, said Wednesday in an interview that “Egypt respects its treaties” and “complies with everything related to these commitments,” adding that any effort to adjust the details “would be done through the legal and legitimate means.”
While the revolution that led to Mr. Mubarak’s ouster was driven largely by domestic concerns, the protesters also demanded far more independence in Egypt’s foreign policy, as they sharply criticized alliances with the United States and Israel. Egypt’s new president, eager to consolidate his power and enhance his legitimacy, is under pressure to satisfy those demands.
The trip to Iran sends a clear signal of Egypt’s charting a new course by connecting with one of the region’s most influential players, though it has given no indication it plans to restore full diplomatic relations. Regardless of intent, the move inevitably antagonizes Israel, which sees Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat and is under pressure from Washington and Europe to refrain from military action until economic sanctions have had a chance to work.
Many Egyptians have also called on Mr. Morsi to demand total sovereignty in Sinai, which was demilitarized under terms of the 1979 peace treaty. Some in Israel have questioned whether the new government is using the Aug. 5 attack — in which masked gunmen killed 16 Egyptian soldiers, then burst into Israel in an armored car loaded with explosives — as a pretext to modify the treaty without going through the proper channels.
Mr. Ali said in the interview that “until now we haven’t received any note of official protest to the military movements in Sinai,” raising questions about whether Israel is having trouble mastering the channels of communication in the new government. The senior Israeli official acknowledged that the lack of response could be attributed to the recent overhaul of the Egyptian security services, or even to the Id al-Fitr holiday ending Ramadan.
(Page 2 of 2)
Even as some officials worried aloud about deteriorating coordination on the border, a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that “there are ongoing, uninterrupted contacts, communications between the national security structures of both sides.”
Related
Israel Asks Egypt to Remove Tanks From Sinai (August 22, 2012)
Egypt’s President Plans to Visit Iran (August 19, 2012)
Egypt Requests $4.8 Billion From I.M.F. (August 23, 2012)
Times Topics: Israel | Egypt News — Revolution and Aftermath
Connect With Us on Twitter
Follow@nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines.Twitter List: Reporters and Editors
But several analysts close to the prime minister and defense establishment said there were deep and growing concerns.
“To the extent that the Egyptian government challenges the clauses of the treaty of peace with Israel, it undermines the regional peace process as a whole — it’s a big deal,” said Dore Gold, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. “If you don’t state clearly what your concerns are as the Egyptians increase their forces in Sinai, you could end up with a fait accompli that undermines your most vital security interest.”
As Egypt and Israel struggle over Sinai, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has been trying to insert itself, offering to form a joint security committee with Egypt. But Hamas leaders said Wednesday that they had yet to receive any response to that proposal from Cairo. “The relation between Gaza government and Egypt has not developed to what we look for,” said Yousef Rizka, political adviser to Hamas’s prime minister.
Nabil Fahmy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the United States, said this week in an interview that Israel’s complaints about the tanks, coming after earlier complaints about Egypt’s not doing enough to secure the peninsula, were “comical.”
Given the severity of the Aug. 5 attack, he said that the military response was “quite normal” and that he believed the parts of the peace treaty governing troop deployment needed to be rewritten.
“One has to take into account that the agreement, while it applies, is actually meant to deal with a static situation, much more than one that is volatile,” Mr. Fahmy said. “It should happen with a calm, clear and considered mind-set on both sides.”
Amos Gilad, director of policy and political-military affairs at Israel’s Defense Ministry, insisted Wednesday in a contentious interview on Israel Radio that “the peace agreement can’t be changed without the consent of both sides.”
Romney plan hands drilling powers to states
By Ben Geman - 08/23/12 06:01 AM ET
Mitt Romney hopes to seize the political offensive on energy with a new policy blueprint that hands greater powers to states and calls for North American energy independence by 2020.
Campaign advisers unveiled the plan — which is packed with attacks against the White House — on Wednesday ahead of Romney’s energy-themed speech in New Mexico on Thursday.
A top adviser said Romney plans to highlight the topic going forward. “The governor will be emphasizing this between now and the election. We think it is a very high-priority issue for the American voters,” said Ed Gillespie, a senior campaign adviser, on a call with reporters Wednesday evening.
The new "white paper" promotes the economic and employment potential of wider energy production, and adds some detail to the former Massachusetts governor's previously released positions.
Campaign advisers sought to fit the plan into a wider assault on the White House economic record. “As a result of the president’s policies, energy prices are higher, there are fewer jobs, our industries are less competitive and family budgets are further strained,” Gillespie said.
But the plan — and Romney’s broadsides against White House energy policies — drew immediate pushback from President Obama’s campaign, which noted its arrival follows Romney’s Texas fundraising swing with energy executives Tuesday.
“Only two days after a fundraiser hosted by the CEO of major oil companies, Romney is expected to defend billions in oil subsidies while opposing efforts to use oil more efficiently and develop homegrown alternative energy. We will never reach energy independence by turning our backs on homegrown renewable energy and better auto mileage,” said Federico Pena, who was secretary of Energy in the Clinton administration, ahead of Romney’s speech Thursday.
Overall, Romney's plan sets a goal of making North America energy-independent by 2020, an idea Romney previously has floated on the stump.
Canada is already the biggest supplier of oil to the United States, and Mexico is a major source too, but the United States also receives large supplies from Saudi Arabia (it’s the second-largest source of U.S. imports, after Canada) and other OPEC nations.
The blueprint lays out several policies to help meet the 2020 goal. It would upend current oversight by handing states broad new powers to control development of various forms of energy on millions of acres of federal lands within their borders.
This would greatly diminish the power of federal regulators that Republicans accuse of stymieing production and tying up projects in red tape.
“States will be empowered to establish processes to oversee the development and production of all forms of energy on federal lands within their borders, excluding only lands specially designated off-limits,” the plan states. “State regulatory processes and permitting programs for all forms of energy development will be deemed to satisfy all requirements of federal law.”
Federal agencies would retain power to certify that state processes are adequate under Romney's proposal, but the plan notes that the criteria would be “broad” and that states would have “maximum flexibility.”
While overall U.S. oil and natural-gas production has been rising for years, Republicans have seized on a recent dip in production from federally controlled areas to allege the Obama administration has been stifling development.
But administration officials have strongly rebutted the charge, noting that oil production from federal lands and waters rose earlier in the Obama years and that they support expanded drilling.
“President Obama has championed an all-of-the-above approach to energy that responsibly develops America’s great natural resources. And under President Obama, we are producing the most natural gas ever, the most oil in 14 years, and are on track to double the amount of electricity we get from renewable sources like wind and solar,” Pena said.
And changes in gas-production patterns stem from a market-led migration of development away from federal areas to gas-rich shale plays in states such as Pennsylvania, where the resources generally underlie state and private lands, a top Interior Department official noted recently. More on that here.
Elsewhere, Romney’s plan calls for expanding energy ties with Canada and Mexico through a “North American Energy Partnership.”
The Obama administration has taken steps to boost collaboration with Canada and Mexico through various partnerships.
But the plan nonetheless alleges that Obama has “chosen to turn his back on America’s neighbors,” citing the failure (thus far) to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring oil from Canada’s oil sands projects to Gulf Coast refineries.
It calls for a regional agreement to spur cross-border investment, infrastructure and sales, and other steps to boost collaboration, including “fast track” approvals for cross-border pipelines and other infrastructure.
The plan includes previously issued calls for expanded offshore oil-and-gas leasing, including regions off the Atlantic Coast that White House policies keep off-limits. Romney’s offshore leasing proposal would include minimum production targets for each five-year plan and "streamlining" of drilling permits, among other steps.
Other policies include new deadlines for environmental reviews of energy projects, better coordination between federal agencies and “allowing state reviews to satisfy federal requirements,” among other goals.
The policies would benefit coal development, the plan states, while Gillsepie took aim at EPA regulations that critics say will badly wound the coal industry.
The plan says expanded oil-and-gas leasing and other policies in the plan to bolster development can help bring in “trillions” of dollars in government revenue through lease payments, royalties and taxes.
However, a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that a massive oil-and-gas leasing expansion would bring quite limited new revenues in the next decade.
On nuclear, Romney would seek to enable the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to “approve new designs and to license approved reactor designs on approved sites within two years.”
For alternative energy, the plan and Romney’s advisers are emphasizing the presumptive GOP nominee's support for federally backed basic research, and opposition to policies like loan guarantees and subsidies for green energy projects that Romney casts as undue and wasteful federal intrusion into the market.
It also claims that “streamlining” regulations and permitting will “benefit the development of both traditional and alternative energy sources.”
Romney opposes extension of soon-to-expire tax credits that help finance new wind energy projects, a position that has angered a number of top Republicans in Iowa, a swing state where the wind sector has been expanding. But Gillespie on Wednesday predicted a Romney win there.
EXCLUSIVE: Bin Laden raid tell-all author revealed, questions raised whether ex-Navy SEALs have freedom of speech
By Justin Fishel
Published August 23, 2012
FoxNews.com
The author of a recently announced insider account of the raid that killed Usama bin Laden has been identified to Fox News as a 36-year-old former Navy SEAL Team 6 member from Alaska who also played a role in the high-profile rescue of an American captain kidnapped by Somali pirates.
The book, "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden," is set to hit shelves on Sept 11. It is penned under the pseudonym "Mark Owen," according to the publisher, but multiple sources told Fox News his name is in fact Matt Bissonnette, 36, of Wrangell, Alaska. Bissonnette could be exposing himself to legal trouble, as the Pentagon has not vetted the account.
The tell-all book also has apparently upset a large population of former and current SEAL members who worry about releasing information that could compromise future missions. One Navy SEAL told Fox News, "How do we tell our guys to stay quiet when this guy won't?" Other SEALs are expressing anger, with some going so far as to call him a "traitor."
According to a press release from his publisher, Penguin Group, "Owen (Bissonnette) was one of the first men through the door on the third floor of the terrorist leader's hideout and was present at his death."
In the book, Bissonnette writes "it is time to set the record straight about one of the most important missions in U.S. military history."
An experienced member of the elite Navy SEAL special operators, Bissonnette also participated in the highly publicized rescue of Captain Richard Phillips in the Indian Ocean in 2009. That mission involved a daring rescue that ended when SEAL snipers shot and killed three Somali pirates with direct shots to the head.
Bissonnette received the rank of chief before he retired.
The book is co-authored with Kevin Maurer, author of four books, many of which were based on Special Operations.
Along with using the pseudonym "Mark Owen," Bissonette protected his fellow SEAL Team 6 members by changing their names in the book.
Both the Pentagon and CIA said Wednesday that the book was not in any way vetted by either department to prevent unwanted classified information from being released. When asked about the book, officials in both departments said they were unaware of the SEAL's true identity, but described co-author Kevin Maurer as a well-respected journalist.
Lt. Cmdr. Chris Servello, a Navy spokesman, said it's possible Bissonnette or any former service member could be punished for revealing national security secrets. "Any service member who discloses classified or sensitive information could be subject to prosecution -- this doesn't end when you leave the service," Servello said. "There is nothing unique to the special warfare community in this regard."
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said that because the author is a retired service member, any potential criminal prosecution would be handled by the Department of Justice.
A spokesman at Dutton, a division of Penguin Group, said proceeds from the book will be donated to charitable causes that benefit the families of fallen Navy SEALs.
Much attention has been given to the issue of security leaks in the ongoing presidential race. Supporters of Mitt Romney accuse President Obama of intentionally leaking operational details surrounding the bin Laden raid for political gain.
OPSEC, a group of retired military and intelligence officers, came under fire this week from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, who told Fox News on Tuesday he was "disappointed" by the group's political use of the military uniform in a recent anti-Obama advertisement. Dempsey said he feels those who serve ought to remain "apolitical."
OPSEC fired back, arguing that Dempsey's criticisms can be applied equally to the Obama campaign's "One Chance" ad, which featured images of Blackhawk helicopters in flight and military pilots. The video suggests Romney would not have made the same decision to call for the raid that killed Usama bin Laden.
Film producer Kathryn Bigelow received help from the White House when she produced "Zero Dark Thirty," a highly anticipated film detailing the bin Laden raid that was originally set to be released before the November election but was pushed to a later date after Republicans cried foul.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/23/author-bin-laden-raid-insider-account-idd-could-face-legal-trouble/?cmpid=mty_twitter_fn#ixzz24OARxWJ
Everyone Should Look At The NY Times Roster Of The Dead
Robert Johnson | Aug. 23, 2012, 8:28 AM | 4,814 | 63- inShare18
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DoD
Sarina Butcher, was 19 years old in 2011 when she was killed in Iraq
The New York Times ran a four page spread Wednesday of every American service member killed in Afghanistan. I saw it at the gym on TV in the morning, and with the demands of the day promptly forgot about it.
But there it was laid out at the corner bodega on my way home from dinner, and the shop owner just let me take it.
Titled The Roster of the Dead, the four page section contains the faces, ages, and hometowns of more than 2,000 dead American troops.
It's horrific, and while I took pictures of the four sheets of newsprint and posted them below, it's impossible to convey what they mean.
I spent two years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) before The Washington Post finally had to report on what was happening there via Dana Priest in 2007.
Walter Reed was where soldiers got sent to die or go home, and for someone like me, with a trivial but serious injury, it was a spectacular glimpse into what The New York Times missed with their Roster.
I'd written the Post in 2005 — along with several other media outlets. It was hard not to with what I saw every day, and how we were treated. Priest's piece was great, but it only scratched the surface and came too late to stop the commanding general from deleting my medical records for trying to get the word out.
The Times Roster too just touches the surface: The thing is, not everyone dies.
The Walter Reed 'ortho' ward was worse than dying. It's where everyone got sent when their bones need attention. When they got blown up.*
NYT via Robert Johnson
When I got there in 2003 Jessica Lynch's room was cordoned off at the far end of the hall. The 20-year-old quartermaster had been grabbed by the Iraqis and rescued by US Special Forces just days before.
If her name sounds familiar it should, because she was the first in a long line of female recruits to come through Ward 57. But she was the only one to make the front page.
There were so many it seems shameful to mention any one in particular — but the dirty blonde haired 19-year-old girl in the wheelchair sticks out; with her room on the way into the corridor so you had to pass her and her family to get into the courtyard and away from the Ward.
Her legs had been blown off in an IED attack on her convoy as she tried to deliver supplies to troops up some fucking road to somewhere. She had pins in her neck and that dramatic metal collar around her skull, darting her eyes at the kids she'd never have, while her sisters and her mom willed her to survive.
That was bad, but it wasn't the worst.
I'm still torn about whether it was the groin or facial wounds. The groins were bad, no doubt. Under 20, guys mostly, with no legs, no balls, no penis. Guys that had not only woken up to that after the blast, but awoke to the realization that the pact they'd made with their buddies, to let them die in case the worst actually happened, meant nothing. Meant everything. Meant they had to go on.
But the facial wounds may have been the worst. This one guy, burned so badly his face slid down his skull like a wax figure in the sun — his mom walked with him everywhere he went. She carried extra cotton diapers so he could dab the gap between his bottom lip to keep the saliva from pouring out his mouth as he strolled the path to formation.
Yeah, the facial wound guys were the worst. They had this look of embarrassment, and could never look you in the eye. Try that scene every day for two years. Two years. The time it took for a medical discharge back then.
The system is infinitely more efficient now. The processing of the wounded is streamlined and organized, but for the troops that roll through the new 'Ward 57' one thing is the same: They know you don't care.
They know you're too busy to understand what they're going through. Too ashamed to admit you have no time for their agony and sacrifice; no concern that a lack of jobs propelled them into the only career that would have them.
They know. And it's OK. They accepted it a long time ago, and so have their families and friends as they walk past the newspaper boxes by the hospital and watch your demand for distraction online.
It's OK, none of them blame you.
Really, at their weakest moments all they imagine is that it will stop; that you'll see past your day and into what it means to have precious few options and try for a better life in a country far from home. To look for security in a place where people want them dead, but more often than not just fuck them up real bad.
So let's take a second, if not for them, then for The New York Times that sacrificed their bottom line to illustrate what really matters.
Look into that picture at the top of this post. Look into Sarina's eyes and imagine telling her infant daughter it's all worth it. Then maybe you should subscribe to The New York Times.*
NYT vis Robert Johnson
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/it-doesnt-matter-how-busy-you-are--stop-and-think-about-the-ny-times-roster-of-the-dead-2012-8#ixzz24OAgD0RZ*
Seeking "The Wisdom of the District" - Tax Code QuestionsAccording to research done by the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation, U.S. Olympic athletes are liable to pay income tax on medals earned and prizes received at the London games. Under U.S. tax law, total tax burden on a gold medal winner would be up to $8,986. A silver medal winner's total tax burden would be up to $5,385, while a bronze medal winner's total tax burden would be up to $3,502. Do you believe Congress should pass legislation to give Olympic athletes an exemption from these taxes?( ) Yes. The athletes have proudly represented our country on a worldwide stage and should not be penalized once they return home for their success.( ) No. Special exemptions make the tax code unnecessarily complex which is why our tax code is so complicated. We need comprehensive tax reform, not special treatment to certain individuals.( ) I have another answer.
FAITH‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’?: ATHEISTS TARGET HIGH SCHOOL COACH FOR ALLOWING CHURCHES TO FEED FOOTBALL PLAYERS
- Posted on August 23, 2012 at 10:46am by
Billy Hallowell
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Ridgeland High School Panthers Football Logo (Photo Credit: Facebook)The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an atheist activist group based in Madison, Wisconsin,is taking a football coach to task, claiming that he violated the First Amendment by allowing local churches to prepare meals for team members. The organization sent a letter to Walker County Schools in LaFayette, Georgia, demanding that officials immediately investigate Mark Mariakis, the Ridgeland High School coach.
While the atheists want an examination into alleged pre-game foods that churches purportedly prepared for the players, the FFRF also addressed claims that Coach Mariakis prayed with the football players, used Bible verses in motivational speeches and on team shirts and took part on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a faith-based organization.
According to the FFRF, a local individual complained about the food that the teens are given on game days. The group also said that a minister typically delivers remarks to the players that focus upon Christianity as well — another violation that has the activists fired up.
“Taking public school football teams to church, even for a meal, is unconstitutional,” FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel wrote in a letter to the district. “This program is an egregious violation of the Establishment Clause and must cease immediately.”Team members praying (Photo Credit: Facebook)Walker County school officials released a statement claiming that they received the letter and are reviewing its claims. Richie White, youth director at Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church, one of the houses of worship that provides meals to the team, voiced his surprise over the FFRF’s complaint.
“It would be interesting to see what part of the Constitution we violated by simply offering a meal to fellow Americans. These are kis from our area that we do love and we do care about,” White explained.
“We as Christians don’t force our religion on anyone,” he added.
As is typically the case with FFRF scenarios, the individual complaining about the practice is currently remaining anonymous. While it may be a parent, it could very well be a student who finds him or herself uncomfortable with church involvement with the team.
The team’s official Facebook page doesn’t mention the FFRF directly (although an article about the controversy was shared with the teams fans), but on Wednesday, an image of the team praying and a separate post reading, “Yes we pray. Who doesn’t? We aren’t afraid to show that we love God!,” was published.
(H/T: FOX News Radio)
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RELATED:- Atheistic FFRF Pledges Legal Battle as NY Public School Refuses to Remove ‘God’ & ‘Lord’ Songs
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Savannah Dietrich Case: Judge Rules Court Records Should Be Opened, Defense Appeals
Posted: 08/29/2012 5:00 pm
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FOLLOW: Video, Savannah Dietrich Photos, Thomas Clay, Savannah Dietrich, Savannah Dietrich Attackers, Savannah Dietrich Sexual Assault, Savannah-Dietrich-Kentucky, Slideexpand, Crime News
Savannah Dietrich is happy with a judges decision to release the court documents in her case.
Savannah Dietrich won the right to talk about the two teens who sexually assaulted her Tuesday, but defense lawyers have mounted an appeal to stop it.
"They are attempting to seal the record and we are opposing that," Dietrich's attorney, Thomas Clay, told The Huffington Post.
Dietrich, 17, was threatened with contempt of court after she revealed her attackers' names on social media networks, a move provoked by the plea deal offered to the defendants, which Dietrich thought was too lenient. Her attackers were mandated to perform 50 hours of volunteer work after admitting to felony sexual abuse and misdemeanor voyeurism against Dietrich.
Chief District Court Judge Angela McCormick Bisig ruled that files pertaining to the case can be made public. They were initially kept confidential since the parties involved are juveniles.
"It seems that the antiseptic of the truth and openness would benefit all of the parties to this matter," Bisig wrote in her decision.
Bisig named the teenage boys in court documents about her decision and ruled Dietrich can speak openly about the case.
"It's a relief, said Dietrich at a press conference. "It just feels like I've had to keep this in so long."
The boys' attorneys requested and were granted a 24 hour stay to appeal the decision. The stay was extended Wednesday, giving the defendants' attorneys an additional 24 hours. A judge has not yet been assigned to hear the appeal.
Attorney David Mejia filed a contempt motion against Dietrich in July, after she posted about the case on Twitter and Facebook.
Mejia represents one of two teenage boys who assaulted Dietrich in August 2011 after she passed out while drinking at a gathering.
"I'm not protecting anyone that made my life a living Hell," the then-16-year-old tweeted.
The contempt motion was dropped after a large outcry from the public.
Despite the dismissal of the contempt motion, Dietrich was limited in what details she could share about the case. She would say only that when she woke up after passing out she had discovered her clothes were disheveled and her underwear had been removed.
Last week, Mejia defended his client and described the boy's actions to HuffPost as "touching."
Mejia's characterization brought a sharp rebuttal from Dietrich, who called it "insulting."
"It was much more severe than touching," she told HuffPost.
Bisig clarified in her ruling what happened during Dietrich's assault. Bisig wrote that the boys "penetrated her vagina with their fingers" when Dietrich passed out from drinking and "took pictures with their cellphones."
Earlier this month, the Courier-Journal, a media outlet based in Louisville, filed a motion to have the court files opened to the public. Last week, the newspaper filed a supplemental memorandum to that motion, after Mejia's comments made to HuffPost were published.
READ THE RULING: (Story Continues Below)
Court Ruling
According to the motion, Mejia appeared in court on Aug. 21 and "vehemently argued against the Courier-Journal's motion by repeatedly stating that he and his client have deliberately avoided making public statements about the facts of this case."
The attorney for the Courier-Journal, Jon Fleischaker, said Mejia's interview with HuffPost was in opposition to what he had said earlier in court.
"It seems to be a contradictory position," Fleischaker said. "His position [was] about trying to keep everything closed and he then goes public and talks about it."
Fleischaker also said the purpose of the motion was to allow Dietrich and anyone else involved in the case to discuss specific details that are typically kept confidential by juvenile court rules.
Clay was working on his own motion to open the court record last week. At the time, Dietrich said she wanted to "expose how [she] was treated by the court system -- how the court system handled this case and all the wrongdoings [she] felt were bestowed upon [her]."
Those wrongdoings, she said, include the plea deal made with the defendants -- a plea deal Dietrich and her attorney said they were not consulted about.
In Monday's court order, Bisig provided details on the plea bargain the boys were offered by the prosecution. Bisig said the boys were offered a deal that required them to do 50 hours of volunteer work. The state Department of Juvenile Justice would determine what level of supervision and treatment was needed. If the boys completed a diversion program, their convictions would ultimately be erased from their records.
As a result of the plea deal, Clay has filed a motion to remove the Jefferson County Attorney's Office from the case. Clay said he feels the boys were given preferential treatment by the District Attorney's office.
Bisig referenced Dietrich's lack of knowledge about the plea bargain in her court order.
"The very idea that a young victim of sexual assault would find the courage to tell her story and come to court, only to have no one listen to her, explain to her what is happening and then have the parties reach some type of deal without her input is abhorrent," Bisig wrote.
A hearing on the matter surrounding the Jefferson County Attorney's Office has been scheduled for Friday and the boys will be formally sentenced on Sept. 14.
Dietrich is happy with the judge's ruling and is glad she will finally be able to talk, "without the
fear of being held in contempt," Clay said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/savannah-dietrich-court-records_n_1840557.html?utm_source=Alert-blogger&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email%2BNotifications
SURPRISEAvril Lavigne Engagement Photos: Singer Shows Off Huge Ring In Hello! Canada Magazine Spread
The Huffington Post Canada | Posted: 08/22/2012 10:58 am Updated: 08/22/2012 10:58 am
FOLLOW:If you're still reeling from the news that Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger are engaged, do we have some must-see images for you.
Courtesy of Hello! Canada, we have some of the exclusive shots the magazine was able to snag with the couple immediately after their engagement (including an image of the 'Complicated' singer's massive ring).
"Avril and Chad became fast friends while collaborating on her fifth studio album... by the time recording was over, they had fallen in love. Chad proposed to Avril with a 14.01-carat diamond from XIV Karats Beverly Hills on one of their last days in the studio together," writes the magazine.
Of her ring, Lavigne says, "It is so beautiful. I love it."
News of the newly-minted music power couple was made public on Tuesday night, and lit up Twitter -- with many making snarky comments about the pair's fast engagement.
DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR COMMUNITY?
THE GOVERNMENT? MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE WORLD? DON’T JUST SIT BACK AND SAY NOTHING, GET POLITICALLY INVOLVED BY USING YOUR RIGHT TO FREE
SPEECH AND PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY!!
BECOME A LOBBYIST!
UN-REGISTERED LOBBYIST IN THE STATE OF GA REQUIRES SPENDING $250 MAXIMUM YEARLY, FOR EXPENSES RELATED TO YOUR CAUSE OR PARTY.
REGISTERED LOBBYIST = $300 BADGE FEE FOR YOUR BUSINESS OR CAUSE, THEN IT ALSO MEANS A MONTHLY CLUB DUE TO YOUR PARTY OR CANDIDATE OF $20 MONTHLY, MAXIMUM $2,500 FOR ELECTION CYCLE.
SEE http://ethics.ga.gov/ to register AND FOR REPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND RULES, IF YOU REPORT ON TIME YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FEES:
http://ethics.ga.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/LobbyistRenewalINSTRUCTIONS12-13-11.pdf
Lobbyist hours will be 9:00AM to 3:30PM
For additional questions on the lobbyist registration/renewal process
please e-mail your questions to
GAETHICS@ETHICS.GA.GOVDISCLOSURE STATEMENT: CREATIVE INNOVATIONS
http://www.facebook.com/TeaPartyConsortium
Small Business · McDonough, Georgia
Information
Description ORIGINAL ART, REPRODUCTIONS, COMMISSIONS
*also making handmade purses and Tea Party hats!!
Address
5916 EAST LAKE PKWY. SUITE 107,
McDonough, GA 30253 · Get Directions
Phone 1 972.628.0080
Website http://www.myspace.com/creativeinnovatio...
http://artid.com/PHOENIX_ART
http://www.google.com/profiles/creativei...
http://www.myyearbook.com/oijvblackribbon
http://twitter.com/GAteapartychief
http://www.facebook.com/teapartychief
Status Open until 3:00 pm.
Hours
Mon - Thu: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
**************
Founded established 2004, went online in 2007
About expressing creativity and sharing it with others
Mission 2012 Mission Work:
*1/1/12 Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church $2 tithe/Prayer List
*1/7/12 $70 worth of scarves to Project Overcoat for United Way
*1/16/12 $10 Rick Perry
*1/31/12 $10 Rick Santorum
*2/1/12 1 scarf and 1 purse, valued at $25 for January birthday gift
*2/7/12 $5 Prison ministry
*2/10/12 2 scarves for Valentine’s Day one $15, the other $10
*2/20/12 $190 pledge to Rick Santorum's campaign for scarves and buttons to raise money for Rick Santorum's campaign, $15 donation to his campaign equals a free scarf and button
*3/17/12 $10 donation to Wounded Warrior Project on behalf of Ashton Williamson, who was given a scarf to wear
*4/3/12 $25 donation to Rick Santorum’s campaign for advertising
*4/5/12 $25 Prison Ministry for Easter
*4/11/12 $5 to Rick Santorum's campaign
*4/11/12 $5 to Newt Gingrich to carry Rick's banner of repeal http://t.co/VcLjBgo
*4/13/12 $10 to Rick Santorum's campaign
*4/20/12 $18 to Rick Santorum for Trisomy 18 Awareness for Bella
*5/20/12 $932.47 to Governor Nathan Deal, Governor Perry, and Mitch McConnell for Disaster Relief certificates
*6/1/12 2-John Cena scarves, one for Ryan one for Tyler, valued at $10
*6/2/12 1 white Betty Boop Purse, 1 tea pot, basket, tea bags, and political unity scarf, for Courtney's graduation, valued at $50
*6/30/12 $10 for Repeal and Replace to Mitt Romney
*7/31/12 $10 for books for belated bday gift
*8/11/12 1 purse, valued at $30 to Janine Norman for Back2School/product representation at high *8/26/12 1 turquoise teapot, valued at $15 - 4 bags of naturally harvested tea, valued at $20 to family friend for chemo recovery/cancer treatment
*8/28/12 2 UGA scarves to father and son for favorite team
schools
EVERY ITEM CREATED OR PURCHASED IS USED TO BLESS OTHERS!
WE SUPPORT BILLY GRAHAM MINISTRIES, REPEMU INTERNATIONAL http://repemuint.org/ministries/, AND LOCAL CHURCHES
Using my business to facilitate God's will: tithing, supporting churches, charitable donations, and others in need.
2011 CONTRIBUTIONS/my treasures in Heaven:
*4/14/11 Prison ministry $10
*4/30/11 Billy Graham Japanese disaster relief $3.30
*5/3/11 Red Cross disaster relief for the South $1.59
*5/9/11 Red Cross disaster relief for the South $.42
*5/10/11 GA GOP Chairmanship Tricia Pridemore Grassroots and GA GOP $5
*5/16/11 Prison ministry $10
*6/23/11 tithe and prayer list $2
*7/16/11 Prison ministry $10
*8/16/11 Prison ministry $10
*9/11/11 DeKalb Memorial 9/11 $9.12
*9/16/11 Prison ministry $10
*10/5/11 2 pink breast cancer awareness scarves, valued at $10
*10/22/11 1 pink breast cancer awareness scarf and pink purse, valued at $15
*11/6/11 Prison ministry $10
*11/24/11 1 camo scarf valued at $15
*12/6/11 1 pink and black diva scarf valued at $15
*12/8/11 4 red and black Mt. Zion school colors - scarves valued at $40
*12/21/11 Prison ministry $5/$5
*12/21/11 Rick Santorum $10
*12/24/11 1 ocean colored scarf, valued at $15
2011 statement: I produced over $700 worth of goods, I gave $200 of it to charity, I had a few orders this year that paid for the cost of my post office box rental yearly of $120.
Price Range $$$$ (50+)
Awards 2012 STATEMENT OF COMPANY WORTH - $13,321
Haggai 1:9
Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
Churlish souls stint their contributions to the ministry and missionary operations, and call such saving good economy; little do they dream that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses. Our God has a method in providence by which He can succeed our endeavours beyond our expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of His hand He can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the liberal and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to poverty. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to wealth of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord; He gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed the Lord makes the little much by the contentment which the sanctified heart feels in a portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to the Lord. Selfishness looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, yet in the long run selfishness is loss, and godliness is great gain. It needs faith to act towards our God with an open hand, but surely He deserves it of us; and all that we can do is a very poor acknowledgment of our amazing indebtedness to His goodness.
The Tea Party Lobby 1.972.628.0080/teapartychief@gmail.com took email, twitter, and Facebook feedback and proposed CUTS to local programs http://lnk.ms/RCtmn AND fed pgms http://lnk.ms/RCtmq. More than 5,000 participated on Facebook http://lnk.ms/Q3lmB - like the pagehttp://lnk.ms/RCtms --- VOTE YES on the Balanced Budget Amendment and CUTS or hit the automatic recall button yourself: we replaced 59 seats in the House, and we intend to rid Congress of Obamanomics and impeach Obama for high crimes, treason with China, and wasting $9 trillion.
Products: art, Tea Party hats, Tea Party purses - handmade, originals and replicas
Email teapartychief@gmail.com
PARTICIPATE: RESHARE, MEET ONCE A DAY OR ONCE A WEEK, AND EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH AND THOUGHT.
WORD IS: PREPARE FOR A DIFFICULT FALL AND HARD WINTER. IF YOU DON’T LAND A JOB BY SEPTEMBER, YOU MAY NOT GET ONE UNTIL JANUARY. PLAN AHEAD TO STORE FOOD AND A PLACE TO LAY YOUR HEAD. YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLING HAS INCREASED OUR BUDGET COSTS, ESPECIALLY WITH GAS GOING UP, GIVING US LESS TIME OFF TO FARM OR WORK A SUMMER JOB: IN HAVING TO KEEP THE KIDS FOR A DURATION OF TIME THAT PREVENTS GETTING HIRED OR FINDING A RELIABLE NANNY, AND IT HASDECREASED THE SUMMER TOURISM BOOM, TRAVELING, AND RESTAURANT INDUSTRIES, WHO ENJOYED 3 SEASONS: SPRING, SUMMER, AND FALL... WHO ARE NOW FOLDING BECAUSE OF OBAMACARE UNCERTAINTY AND THE BUDGET IMPOSITIONS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, ONLY GETTING SEASONAL BOOSTS INSTEAD OF THE SEASONAL INCOME OF TIMES PAST.
WITH THE HOUSE PASSING A BUDGET AND THE TEA PARTY AGREEING TO WORK OUT CUTS AND DIFFERENCES IN COMMITTEE, DEMOCRATS WILL TRY EVERY TRICK IN THE BOOK TO NOT WRITE A BUDGET AND DEFRAUD THEIR DONORS.
TEA PARTY BALANCED BUDGET $3.5 TRILLION ANNUAL REVENUE http://lnk.ms/cj8nx
CONTINUE TO PLAN AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR BY BUILDING UP FOOD SUPPLIES AND RESTORE YOUR CREDIT AND SAVE YOUR MONEY:RickLeventhalFoxNews @RickLeventhal
Wanna see what $600,000 in pure silver bullion looks like? #usminthttp://yfrog.com/h2
pijzjjRetweeted by Tea Party Chief
PAY OFF AND SETTLE YOUR DEBTS WHILE THE DOLLAR IS ONLY WORTH $.33 AND SETTLE WITH YOUR CREDITORS FOR NO MORE THAN THE ORIGINAL LIMIT OF YOUR CREDIT CARDS.CIRCULATION: 2,000 by direct email, 125,000+ through Facebook groups, and a blog viewership of 1,000 views to one blog, and 2,500 to the other blog :D
UPDATED 3/14/2012 SUBSCRIBERS THROUGH FACEBOOK GROUPS AND CONTRIBUTORS:
FACEBOOK GROUP NAMES: MEMBERSHIP ROLL:
ACCROP WATCH 1,071
IT’S AJA 110
UAF 154
GOVERNMENT BYTES 115
CONSTITUTION PARTY GREEN BAY WISCONSIN 329
SUPPORTERS OF THE BONNIE AND BLUE FLAG 153
PATRIOTIC DEFENDERS OF THE CONSTITUTION 1,122
PATRIOTIC REVOLUTIONISTS 1,216
PATRIOTIC CONCERNS 1,693
GEORGIANS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 1,228
2012 ANTI-DEFICIT PURPLE AGENDA 244
THE GEORGIA GANG 1,376
CLAYTON COUNTY TEA PARTY 15
FAYETTE COUNTY TEA PARTY 6
HENRY COUNTY TEA PARTY 30
JONES COUNTY TEA PARTY 3
SPALDING COUNTY TEA PARTY 16
PATRIOT ACTION NETWORK 4,186
SYNTHESIS LEGISLATIVE WORK GROUP 296
WOMEN’S ONLINE TEA PARTY 99
ANTI-SECRET SOCIETY 658
CITIZEN DEFENSE COALITION 2,996
CONSERVATIVE VOTER COALITION 5,167
CHIMPY’S REAL AMERICAN 2,236
JAMES GROUP OF ACTIVISTS 116
POLITICAL FRIENDS 61
REFOUNDING AMERICA 2384
SYNTHESIS ARCHIVES 299
TEA PARTY CONSORTIUM 60
US GOVT. AGENCIES-THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH 66
UNIFIED 20
WE WANT A PUBLIC INVESTIGATION INTO CLIMATE 344
WIKILEAKS 55
UNIFIED MILITIA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK 1,670
USMC 10,647
CONSERVATIVE WOMEN, CONSERVATIVE VALUES 264
THE DOCTORS 57,141
SUPPORT CHRIS DROTLEFF 3,698
PROTEST THE ANTI-AMERICAN 1 MILLION MUSLIMS MARCH 153
E-BUSINESS POLAND 458
FALCONIST PARTY 9,443
AFRICAN/LATIN/ASIAN/NATIVE/WHITE,ETC. AGAINST OBAMA 56
RRA INC. 241
REPEMU INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT GROUP 148
LET’S GET HEALTHY 1,462
STAND UP AND SPEAK OUT 291
CONSERVATIVE VOTER COALITION 5,167
WE THE CONSERVATIVE VOTERS OF AMERICA 2,895
SUPPLEMENTAL READING:Top 60 Conservative Websites News & Information Links
“THE SYNTHESIS” IS A FREE PRESS: NO ONE PAYS ME TO COMPILE THESE ARTICLES OR PAYS ME TO COMMENT ON THEM.
IN LIKENESS AND SPIRIT OF THE “CHEROKEE PHOENIX”, THESE
ARTICLES ARE IN ENGLISH FOR THE CONGLOMERATION OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING MODERN DAY CHEROKEES, THOSE OF MIXED HERITAGE, AND FOR TEA PARTY GROUP DISCUSSION IN USING PICTURES TO CONVEY THE MEANING.
THESE MAY BE REPRINTED FOR YOUR GROUPS OR DISTRIBUTED AS TEA PARTY LITERATURE, BUT THEY ARE OF THE DIGEST RANGE, 25-75 PGS. IN LENGTH.Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Free access to "The Synthesis" archives: 2009-2012 Tea Party newsletters, literature, discussions, and articles
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GgLnVZUzWqmuFjfRGwgTLoD1BBqn2vH7f4coH7a60dg/edit
6:49 AM - 15 Aug 12 via web · Details - Posted on August 23, 2012 at 10:46am by
