----- Original Message -----
From: Margie Padilla and
From: marjory egger
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 9:44 AM
Subject: FW: Angry & sending it to Everyone
Subject: Fw: Angry & sending it to Everyone
SHALL WE HIRE A MONUMENT ENGRAVER TO GO TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY AND ADD THE MISSING WORDS?
A MESSAGE FROM AN APPALLED OBSERVER:
Today I went to visit the new World War II Memorial in Washington , DC . I got an unexpected history lesson. Because I'm a baby boomer, I was one of the youngest in the crowd. Most were the age of my parents, Veterans of 'TheG reatest War,' with their families.
It was a beautiful day and people were smiling and happy to be there. Hundreds of us milled around the memorial , reading the inspiring words of Eisenhower and Truman that are engraved there. On the Pacific side of the memorial, a group of us gathered to read the words President Roosevelt used to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor:
"Yesterday, December 7, 1941-- a date which will live in infamy--the UnitedStates of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked." One elderly woman read the words aloud: "With confidence in our armed forces, with the abounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph."
But as she read, she was suddenly turned angry. "Wait a minute," she said,"they left out the end of the quote. They left out the most important part. Roosevelt ended the message with ' so help us God .' " Her husband said, "You are probably right. We're not supposed to say things like that now."
"I know I'm right," she insisted. "I remember the speech." The two looked dismayed, shook their heads sadly and walked away. Listening to their conversation, I thought to myself, 'Well, it has been over 50 years. She's probably forgotten.' But she had not forgotten. She was right...
I went home and pulled out the book my book club is reading --- " Flags of Our Fathers " by James Bradley . It's all about the battle at Iwo Jima .I haven't gotten too far in the book. It's tough to read because it's agraphic description of the WWII battles in the Pacific . But right there it was on page 58. Roosevelt 's speech to the nation ends in
' So help us God .'
The people who edited out that part of the speech when they engraved it on the memorial could have fooled me. I was born after the war! But they couldn't fool the people who were there. Roosevelt's words are engraved on their hearts. Now I ask: "WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORDS OF HISTORY?????????"
Send this around to your friends. People need to know before everyone forgets. People today are trying to change the history of America by leaving God out of it but the truth is God has been a part of this nation since the beginning! He still wants to be and He always will be!!! If you agree, pass this on and God Bless YOU!!! If not, May God Forgive You!!!!!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Democrats by the Numbers
Subject: Democrats by the Numbers
And Rome continues to burn, vigorously.
The Obama Democrats: By The Numbers
$34,000: the amount of federal taxes that Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (D) failed to pay during his employment at the International Monetary Fund despite receiving extra compensation and explanatory brochures that described his tax liabilities.
$75,000: the amount of money that the head of the powerful tax-writing committee, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), was forced to report on his taxes after the discovery that he had not reported income from a Costa Rican rental property. His excuses for the failure started with blaming his wife, then his accountant and finally the fact that he didn't speak Spanish.
$93,000: the amount of petty cash each Congressional representative voted to give themselves in January 2009 during the height of an economic meltdown.
$133,900: the amount Fannie Mae "invested" in Chris Dodd (D-CT), head of the powerful Senate Ban king Committee, presumably to repel oversight of the GSE prior to its meltdown. Said meltdown helped touch off the current economic crisis. In only a few years time, Fannie also "invested" over $105,000 in then-Senator Barack Obama.
$140,000: the amount of back taxes and interest that Cabinet nominee Tom Daschle (D) was forced to cough up after the vetting process revealed significant, unexplained tax liabilities.
$356,000: the approximate amount of income and deductions that Daschle (D) was forced to report on his amended 2005 and 2007 tax returns after being caught cheating on his taxes. This includes $255,256 for the use of a car service, $83,333 in unreported income, and $14,963 in charitable contributions.
$800,000: the amount of "sweetheart" mortgages Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) received from Countrywide Financial, the details for which he has refused to release despite months of promises to do so. Countrywide was once the nation's largest mortgage lender and linked to Govern ment-Sponsored Entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their meltdown precipitated the current financial crisis. Just days ago in Pennsylvania , Countrywide was forced to pay $150,000,000 in mortgage assistance following "a state investigation that concluded that Countrywide relaxed its underwriting standards to sell risky loans to consumers who did not understand them and could not afford them."
$1,000,000: the estimated amount of donations by Denise Rich, wife of fugitive Marc Rich, to Democrat interests and the William J. Clinton Foundation in an apparent quid pro quo deal that resulted in a pardon for Mr. Rich. The pardon was reviewed and blessed by Obama Attorney General and then Deputy AG Eric Holder, despite numerous requests by government officials to turn it down.
$12,000,000: the amount of TARP money provided to community bank “OneUnited” despite the fact that it did not qualify for funds, and was "under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses." It turns out that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a key contributor to the Fannie Mae meltdown, just happens to be married to one of the bank's ex-directors.
$23,500,000: The upper range of net worth Rep. Allan Mollohan (D-WV) accumulated in four years time according to The Washington Post through earmarks of "tens of millions of dollars to groups associated with his own business partners."
$2,000,000,000: ($2 billion) the approximate amount of money that House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) is earmarking related to his son's lobbying efforts. Craig Obey is "a top lobbyist for the nonprofit group" that would receive a roughly $2 billion component of the "Stimulus" package.
$3,700,000,000: ($3.7 billion) not to be outdone, this is the estimated value of various defense contracts awarded to a company controlled by the husband of Rep. Diane Feinstein (D-CA). Despite an obvious conflict-of-interest as "a member of the Military C onstruction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband's firms ."
$4,190,000,000: ($4.19 billion) the amount of money in the so-called "Stimulus" package devoted to fraudulent voter registration ACORN group under the auspices of "Community Stabilization Activities". ACORN is currently the subject of a RICO suit in Ohio.
$1,646,000,000,000 ($1.646 trillion): the approximate amount of annual United States exports endangered by the "Stimulus" package, which provides a "Buy American" stricture. According to international trade experts, a "US-EU=2 0trade war looms", which could result in a worldwide economic depression reminiscent of that touched off by the protectionist Smoot-Hawley Act.
It's not just a culture of corruption. It's a culture of corruption and stupidity. And, unlike Republicans, Democrats appear to be above the law. All of the aforementioned clowns are still in office, ruling like the royalty they've become.
********
AND, IT’S ONLY BEEN SIX WEEKS, FOLKS
And Rome continues to burn, vigorously.
The Obama Democrats: By The Numbers
$34,000: the amount of federal taxes that Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (D) failed to pay during his employment at the International Monetary Fund despite receiving extra compensation and explanatory brochures that described his tax liabilities.
$75,000: the amount of money that the head of the powerful tax-writing committee, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), was forced to report on his taxes after the discovery that he had not reported income from a Costa Rican rental property. His excuses for the failure started with blaming his wife, then his accountant and finally the fact that he didn't speak Spanish.
$93,000: the amount of petty cash each Congressional representative voted to give themselves in January 2009 during the height of an economic meltdown.
$133,900: the amount Fannie Mae "invested" in Chris Dodd (D-CT), head of the powerful Senate Ban king Committee, presumably to repel oversight of the GSE prior to its meltdown. Said meltdown helped touch off the current economic crisis. In only a few years time, Fannie also "invested" over $105,000 in then-Senator Barack Obama.
$140,000: the amount of back taxes and interest that Cabinet nominee Tom Daschle (D) was forced to cough up after the vetting process revealed significant, unexplained tax liabilities.
$356,000: the approximate amount of income and deductions that Daschle (D) was forced to report on his amended 2005 and 2007 tax returns after being caught cheating on his taxes. This includes $255,256 for the use of a car service, $83,333 in unreported income, and $14,963 in charitable contributions.
$800,000: the amount of "sweetheart" mortgages Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) received from Countrywide Financial, the details for which he has refused to release despite months of promises to do so. Countrywide was once the nation's largest mortgage lender and linked to Govern ment-Sponsored Entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their meltdown precipitated the current financial crisis. Just days ago in Pennsylvania , Countrywide was forced to pay $150,000,000 in mortgage assistance following "a state investigation that concluded that Countrywide relaxed its underwriting standards to sell risky loans to consumers who did not understand them and could not afford them."
$1,000,000: the estimated amount of donations by Denise Rich, wife of fugitive Marc Rich, to Democrat interests and the William J. Clinton Foundation in an apparent quid pro quo deal that resulted in a pardon for Mr. Rich. The pardon was reviewed and blessed by Obama Attorney General and then Deputy AG Eric Holder, despite numerous requests by government officials to turn it down.
$12,000,000: the amount of TARP money provided to community bank “OneUnited” despite the fact that it did not qualify for funds, and was "under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses." It turns out that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a key contributor to the Fannie Mae meltdown, just happens to be married to one of the bank's ex-directors.
$23,500,000: The upper range of net worth Rep. Allan Mollohan (D-WV) accumulated in four years time according to The Washington Post through earmarks of "tens of millions of dollars to groups associated with his own business partners."
$2,000,000,000: ($2 billion) the approximate amount of money that House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) is earmarking related to his son's lobbying efforts. Craig Obey is "a top lobbyist for the nonprofit group" that would receive a roughly $2 billion component of the "Stimulus" package.
$3,700,000,000: ($3.7 billion) not to be outdone, this is the estimated value of various defense contracts awarded to a company controlled by the husband of Rep. Diane Feinstein (D-CA). Despite an obvious conflict-of-interest as "a member of the Military C onstruction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband's firms ."
$4,190,000,000: ($4.19 billion) the amount of money in the so-called "Stimulus" package devoted to fraudulent voter registration ACORN group under the auspices of "Community Stabilization Activities". ACORN is currently the subject of a RICO suit in Ohio.
$1,646,000,000,000 ($1.646 trillion): the approximate amount of annual United States exports endangered by the "Stimulus" package, which provides a "Buy American" stricture. According to international trade experts, a "US-EU=2 0trade war looms", which could result in a worldwide economic depression reminiscent of that touched off by the protectionist Smoot-Hawley Act.
It's not just a culture of corruption. It's a culture of corruption and stupidity. And, unlike Republicans, Democrats appear to be above the law. All of the aforementioned clowns are still in office, ruling like the royalty they've become.
********
AND, IT’S ONLY BEEN SIX WEEKS, FOLKS
Fethullah Gulen: Infiltrating the U.S.
The question keeps coming up "Who is watching the farm" The media
which is supposed to keep us aware of everything that effects our
lives only says something that is politically correct. Nothing
adverse or currently controversial.
Fethullah Gulen: Infiltrating the U.S.
.
Through Our Charter Schools?
An ACT! for America Exclusive
by Guy Rodgers
www.actforamerica.org
For some time we have been researching a Turkish-based Islamist movement that has a significant network here in the United States. Given Turkey’s history of secular, democratic government, and some of the remarks made by President Obama in his recent speech there, many of our members and other readers will likely be surprised by what we have found.
I suspect that even many who are well-read on the issue of Islamism are unfamiliar with the Fethullah Gulen Community (FGC), a movement a February 2009 article in the respected Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst labeled “Turkey’s third power.” Indeed, the article noted in its Key Points: “Turkey’s Islamist Gulen movement, while a powerful political force, is largely an unfamiliar entity to the West.”
The FGC is named after Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam who now lives in the United States. He fled Turkey in 1998 to avoid prosecution on charges that he was attempting to undermine Turkey’s secular government with the objective of establish an Islamic government. Since Gulen’s arrival here the Department of Homeland Security tried to deport him, but he successfully fought the effort in federal court because it was ruled he was an individual with “extraordinary ability in the field of education” – although he has no formal education training.
The FGC emerged in Turkey in the 1970’s. According to the Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst piece, Gulen stated that “in order to reach the ideal Muslim society 'every method and path is acceptable, [including] lying to people.’” This public acknowledgement of taqiyya (employing deception to advance Islam) is highly pertinent to Gulen’s activities here in the United States.
A recent article in the Middle East Quarterly by Rachel Sharon-Kreskin titled “Fethullah Gulen’s Grand Ambition” sheds light on Gulen’s background:
Gülen was a student and follower of Sheikh Sa'id-i Kurdi (1878-1960), also known as Sa'id-i Nursi, the founder of the Islamist Nur (light) movement. After Turkey's war of independence, Kurdi demanded, in an address to the new parliament, that the new republic be based on Islamic principles. He turned against Atatürk and his reforms and against the new modern, secular, Western republic.
Sharon-Kreskin documents how the FGC, in league with Turkey’s ruling party, Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP), has been successful in gradually moving Turkey away from its secular democratic governance, towards an Islamist state governed by Shariah law, and reorienting itself toward Iran. What’s more, other evidence suggests that Gulen’s ultimate goal may well be the resurrection of the Ottoman Empire so as to reinstate the Islamic Caliph. Clearly this has immensely serious ramifications for geo-political affairs in the Middle East as well as for the continued rise of radical Islam throughout the world.
What makes Gulen particularly dangerous is his strategic and tactical means to achieving this goal. He oversees a worldwide network of businesses, schools, foundations and media outlets, with an estimated budget of 25 billion dollars. Here’s what Gulen had to say in a sermon in 1999 aired on Turkish television:
You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers … until the conditions are ripe, they [the followers] must continue like this. If they do something prematurely, the world will crush our heads, and Muslims will suffer everywhere, like in the tragedies in Algeria, like in 1982 [in] Syria … like in the yearly disasters and tragedies in Egypt. The time is not yet right. You must wait for the time when you are complete and conditions are ripe, until we can shoulder the entire world and carry it … You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey … Until that time, any step taken would be too early—like breaking an egg without waiting the full forty days for it to hatch. It would be like killing the chick inside. The work to be done is [in] confronting the world. Now, I have expressed my feelings and thoughts to you all—in confidence … trusting your loyalty and secrecy. I know that when you leave here—[just] as you discard your empty juice boxes, you must discard the thoughts and the feelings that I expressed here.
Simply put, he is brilliantly and patiently employing taqiyya on a global scale, because this strategic approach is not confined to Turkey.
Here in the U.S. the FGC runs over 90 charter public schools in at least 20 states. This was brought to our attention by ACT! for America members who actually have relatives who teach in one of these schools, an illustration of the growing reach of ACT! for America’s “eyes and ears” across our country. For obvious reasons we cannot reveal the identity of our sources.
Our readers may be familiar with the numerous emails we have released regarding the operation of the Tarek ibn Zayed Academy (TiZA), a publicly funded charter school in Minnesota that is so blatantly Islamic in nature that the Minnesota Department of Education issued two citations against it and the ACLU is suing it. FGC schools appear to be very different, and reflect the Gulen’s exhortation to “move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers…”
Indeed, the fact that so little has been written about the FGC schools here in the U.S., as well as the accolades that have been accorded the FGC as a model of “moderation” by some in our government, would appear to confirm that the FGC and its schools are doing an excellent job of heeding Gulen’s exhortation and masking their true intent.
During several discussions and emails with our sources inside FGC schools, I asked specifically if the schools promote Islam in the way that the TiZA school in Minnesota does. I was told that this was not the case in the schools these sources were familiar with. However, one particular school (and likely numerous others) appears to be in violation of state law because the school’s affidavit for its charter does not acknowledge that it is connected with a religious institution or group. In other words, those who chartered this school practiced taqiyya by hiding this fact. (Enterprising readers may want to research this with respect to FGC schools around the country. For a list of the FGC network in America and its schools, click here).
What’s more, the schools appear to be a source of recruitment for outside school activities sponsored by the FGC, such as summer camps, which would be in keeping with the pattern of recruitment of members and followers that FGC employs worldwide, according to both the Jane’s and Middle East Quarterly articles.
As a further example of the use of taqiyya, the Jane’s article gives examples of how FGC’s Turkish language media outlet Zaman runs stories with information and headlines that are missing from the English language media outlet Today’s Zaman. This practice of two different messages, one to the indigenous Islamic population and one to the West, is common in the Islamic world, and has led many in the West, including political leaders and academics, to be misled as to the true intentions of Islamists.
In building a sophisticated and well-funded worldwide network, including a substantial presence here in the U.S., Fethullah Gulen is following in the footsteps and exhortations of Mohammed, who counseled patience and deception as a means of overcoming the infidel when the power of the infidel was greater than the power of the umma, the Muslim community. In a very real sense this is as or more sinister than the frontal assault strategy of Islamist organizations such as al Qaeda and Hamas, because, like the proverbial “frog in the kettle,” we are incrementally “boiled alive” without realizing it.
For years American Congress for Truth, and now its “sister” organization ACT! for America, have been ringing the alarm bells about what is variously known as “cultural jihad,” “creeping jihad,” “stealth jihad,” and “creeping shariah.” Much of Europe and Great Britain has been Islamized through this process, a process that invariably does not lead to peaceful coexistence between Muslims and non-Muslims, but leads to Islamic self-segregation, increased Islamist militancy and aggression, and the eventual forced imposition of Islamic shariah law within the society.
The FGC charter schools in America may outwardly appear innocuous, but they are serving a greater and long-range objective of Fethullah Gulen. We in the West need to be less gullible and more discerning when it comes to the elements of “stealth jihad” within our midst.
Guy Rodgers is Executive Director of ACT! for America.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org
ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.
which is supposed to keep us aware of everything that effects our
lives only says something that is politically correct. Nothing
adverse or currently controversial.
Fethullah Gulen: Infiltrating the U.S.
.
Through Our Charter Schools?
An ACT! for America Exclusive
by Guy Rodgers
www.actforamerica.org
For some time we have been researching a Turkish-based Islamist movement that has a significant network here in the United States. Given Turkey’s history of secular, democratic government, and some of the remarks made by President Obama in his recent speech there, many of our members and other readers will likely be surprised by what we have found.
I suspect that even many who are well-read on the issue of Islamism are unfamiliar with the Fethullah Gulen Community (FGC), a movement a February 2009 article in the respected Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst labeled “Turkey’s third power.” Indeed, the article noted in its Key Points: “Turkey’s Islamist Gulen movement, while a powerful political force, is largely an unfamiliar entity to the West.”
The FGC is named after Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam who now lives in the United States. He fled Turkey in 1998 to avoid prosecution on charges that he was attempting to undermine Turkey’s secular government with the objective of establish an Islamic government. Since Gulen’s arrival here the Department of Homeland Security tried to deport him, but he successfully fought the effort in federal court because it was ruled he was an individual with “extraordinary ability in the field of education” – although he has no formal education training.
The FGC emerged in Turkey in the 1970’s. According to the Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst piece, Gulen stated that “in order to reach the ideal Muslim society 'every method and path is acceptable, [including] lying to people.’” This public acknowledgement of taqiyya (employing deception to advance Islam) is highly pertinent to Gulen’s activities here in the United States.
A recent article in the Middle East Quarterly by Rachel Sharon-Kreskin titled “Fethullah Gulen’s Grand Ambition” sheds light on Gulen’s background:
Gülen was a student and follower of Sheikh Sa'id-i Kurdi (1878-1960), also known as Sa'id-i Nursi, the founder of the Islamist Nur (light) movement. After Turkey's war of independence, Kurdi demanded, in an address to the new parliament, that the new republic be based on Islamic principles. He turned against Atatürk and his reforms and against the new modern, secular, Western republic.
Sharon-Kreskin documents how the FGC, in league with Turkey’s ruling party, Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP), has been successful in gradually moving Turkey away from its secular democratic governance, towards an Islamist state governed by Shariah law, and reorienting itself toward Iran. What’s more, other evidence suggests that Gulen’s ultimate goal may well be the resurrection of the Ottoman Empire so as to reinstate the Islamic Caliph. Clearly this has immensely serious ramifications for geo-political affairs in the Middle East as well as for the continued rise of radical Islam throughout the world.
What makes Gulen particularly dangerous is his strategic and tactical means to achieving this goal. He oversees a worldwide network of businesses, schools, foundations and media outlets, with an estimated budget of 25 billion dollars. Here’s what Gulen had to say in a sermon in 1999 aired on Turkish television:
You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers … until the conditions are ripe, they [the followers] must continue like this. If they do something prematurely, the world will crush our heads, and Muslims will suffer everywhere, like in the tragedies in Algeria, like in 1982 [in] Syria … like in the yearly disasters and tragedies in Egypt. The time is not yet right. You must wait for the time when you are complete and conditions are ripe, until we can shoulder the entire world and carry it … You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey … Until that time, any step taken would be too early—like breaking an egg without waiting the full forty days for it to hatch. It would be like killing the chick inside. The work to be done is [in] confronting the world. Now, I have expressed my feelings and thoughts to you all—in confidence … trusting your loyalty and secrecy. I know that when you leave here—[just] as you discard your empty juice boxes, you must discard the thoughts and the feelings that I expressed here.
Simply put, he is brilliantly and patiently employing taqiyya on a global scale, because this strategic approach is not confined to Turkey.
Here in the U.S. the FGC runs over 90 charter public schools in at least 20 states. This was brought to our attention by ACT! for America members who actually have relatives who teach in one of these schools, an illustration of the growing reach of ACT! for America’s “eyes and ears” across our country. For obvious reasons we cannot reveal the identity of our sources.
Our readers may be familiar with the numerous emails we have released regarding the operation of the Tarek ibn Zayed Academy (TiZA), a publicly funded charter school in Minnesota that is so blatantly Islamic in nature that the Minnesota Department of Education issued two citations against it and the ACLU is suing it. FGC schools appear to be very different, and reflect the Gulen’s exhortation to “move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers…”
Indeed, the fact that so little has been written about the FGC schools here in the U.S., as well as the accolades that have been accorded the FGC as a model of “moderation” by some in our government, would appear to confirm that the FGC and its schools are doing an excellent job of heeding Gulen’s exhortation and masking their true intent.
During several discussions and emails with our sources inside FGC schools, I asked specifically if the schools promote Islam in the way that the TiZA school in Minnesota does. I was told that this was not the case in the schools these sources were familiar with. However, one particular school (and likely numerous others) appears to be in violation of state law because the school’s affidavit for its charter does not acknowledge that it is connected with a religious institution or group. In other words, those who chartered this school practiced taqiyya by hiding this fact. (Enterprising readers may want to research this with respect to FGC schools around the country. For a list of the FGC network in America and its schools, click here).
What’s more, the schools appear to be a source of recruitment for outside school activities sponsored by the FGC, such as summer camps, which would be in keeping with the pattern of recruitment of members and followers that FGC employs worldwide, according to both the Jane’s and Middle East Quarterly articles.
As a further example of the use of taqiyya, the Jane’s article gives examples of how FGC’s Turkish language media outlet Zaman runs stories with information and headlines that are missing from the English language media outlet Today’s Zaman. This practice of two different messages, one to the indigenous Islamic population and one to the West, is common in the Islamic world, and has led many in the West, including political leaders and academics, to be misled as to the true intentions of Islamists.
In building a sophisticated and well-funded worldwide network, including a substantial presence here in the U.S., Fethullah Gulen is following in the footsteps and exhortations of Mohammed, who counseled patience and deception as a means of overcoming the infidel when the power of the infidel was greater than the power of the umma, the Muslim community. In a very real sense this is as or more sinister than the frontal assault strategy of Islamist organizations such as al Qaeda and Hamas, because, like the proverbial “frog in the kettle,” we are incrementally “boiled alive” without realizing it.
For years American Congress for Truth, and now its “sister” organization ACT! for America, have been ringing the alarm bells about what is variously known as “cultural jihad,” “creeping jihad,” “stealth jihad,” and “creeping shariah.” Much of Europe and Great Britain has been Islamized through this process, a process that invariably does not lead to peaceful coexistence between Muslims and non-Muslims, but leads to Islamic self-segregation, increased Islamist militancy and aggression, and the eventual forced imposition of Islamic shariah law within the society.
The FGC charter schools in America may outwardly appear innocuous, but they are serving a greater and long-range objective of Fethullah Gulen. We in the West need to be less gullible and more discerning when it comes to the elements of “stealth jihad” within our midst.
Guy Rodgers is Executive Director of ACT! for America.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org
ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.
Bachmann: 'Cap-and-Trade' Huge Tax for Americans
At lest there is one person om the hill that is paying attention and still
has a feeling for the working folks in America, we must support
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for her stand against the Obama
"Cap and Trade" policy.
Bachmann: 'Cap-and-Trade' Huge Tax for Americans
Sunday, April 5, 2009 6:20 PM
By: Jim Meyers
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann tells Newsmax that the Obama administration’s “cap-and-trade” plan should be called the “China and India Stimulus Plan” because it would result in American jobs being shipped overseas.
Rep. Bachmann also said the plan — which seeks to reduce pollution by setting limits on carbon emissions and requiring businesses to pay to surpass them — would constitute an “energy tax” and be devastating to all Americans.
Newsmax TV’s Ashley Martella noted that Rep. Bachmann has criticized President Obama’s $3.5 trillion budget, and asked what most concerns her about the spending plan.
[Editor's Note: Watch Rep. Michele Bachmann discuss Obama’s huge cap-and-trade tax - Go Here Now]
“The number one thing I’m worried about is the debt load for our generation as well as for the subsequent generation,” said Bachmann, a member of the House Financial Services Committee.
“Within five years, President Obama’s budget will double the national debt,” she said. “Within 10 years it will triple the national debt. These are astounding figures — so astounding that President Obama’s budget director, Peter Orszag, himself has said this is not a sustainable budget.
“And we all know President Obama’s former commerce secretary [nominee], Senator Judd Gregg, also said this budget will bankrupt our country. That’s very concerning.”
Martella noted that by some estimates cap-and-trade will add more than $3,000 a year to every American’s bill for gasoline and energy.
“At a minimum it will add that much, Bachmann responded.
“In Minnesota, for instance, we’re probably looking at a doubling of our monthly energy bill, whether it’s natural gas or electricity. In Minnesota that’s a huge deal, as it is in most states, because in October we don’t have a choice — you have to turn your furnace on and that furnace will stay on usually through the month of April. If people see a doubling in their monthly energy bill, this will be devastating.
“It’s not just that — it’s also reducing the American standard of living,” she said. “I was in a meeting that talked about the potential for job loss in our country. Businessmen are savvy and they’re preemptive and they’re looking at what President Obama wants to do with this new tax on energy. Because that’s what this is, a tax on the right to use and consume energy — as if energy didn’t cost enough already.
“And what we’re very concerned about is that businesses are already looking at plans to locate new business expansion overseas. This will cause tremendous what they call leakage. It’s essentially jobs fleeing the United States for other countries.
“As a matter of fact, you might as well call this the ‘China and India Stimulus Plan’ because China and India have said, we’re not going to have any part of a cap-and-trade system. We’re not going to do it. So that means American jobs will leave and go overseas.”
Martella asked if the cap-and-trade plan can be stopped.
“Sure it can be stopped, if the American people rise up and say not me, no how,” Bachmann declared.
“Senator Harry Reid has said he believes by the end of August we’ll see the cap-and-trade bill go through. That gives the American people a little time…
“We want to make sure they understand what’s at stake for them, because there are very real implications — not just for businessmen, not just for a few Americans, but for 100 percent of Americans.
“All Americans will be impacted by this new tax on energy, and we need to be prepared.”
has a feeling for the working folks in America, we must support
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for her stand against the Obama
"Cap and Trade" policy.
Bachmann: 'Cap-and-Trade' Huge Tax for Americans
Sunday, April 5, 2009 6:20 PM
By: Jim Meyers
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann tells Newsmax that the Obama administration’s “cap-and-trade” plan should be called the “China and India Stimulus Plan” because it would result in American jobs being shipped overseas.
Rep. Bachmann also said the plan — which seeks to reduce pollution by setting limits on carbon emissions and requiring businesses to pay to surpass them — would constitute an “energy tax” and be devastating to all Americans.
Newsmax TV’s Ashley Martella noted that Rep. Bachmann has criticized President Obama’s $3.5 trillion budget, and asked what most concerns her about the spending plan.
[Editor's Note: Watch Rep. Michele Bachmann discuss Obama’s huge cap-and-trade tax - Go Here Now]
“The number one thing I’m worried about is the debt load for our generation as well as for the subsequent generation,” said Bachmann, a member of the House Financial Services Committee.
“Within five years, President Obama’s budget will double the national debt,” she said. “Within 10 years it will triple the national debt. These are astounding figures — so astounding that President Obama’s budget director, Peter Orszag, himself has said this is not a sustainable budget.
“And we all know President Obama’s former commerce secretary [nominee], Senator Judd Gregg, also said this budget will bankrupt our country. That’s very concerning.”
Martella noted that by some estimates cap-and-trade will add more than $3,000 a year to every American’s bill for gasoline and energy.
“At a minimum it will add that much, Bachmann responded.
“In Minnesota, for instance, we’re probably looking at a doubling of our monthly energy bill, whether it’s natural gas or electricity. In Minnesota that’s a huge deal, as it is in most states, because in October we don’t have a choice — you have to turn your furnace on and that furnace will stay on usually through the month of April. If people see a doubling in their monthly energy bill, this will be devastating.
“It’s not just that — it’s also reducing the American standard of living,” she said. “I was in a meeting that talked about the potential for job loss in our country. Businessmen are savvy and they’re preemptive and they’re looking at what President Obama wants to do with this new tax on energy. Because that’s what this is, a tax on the right to use and consume energy — as if energy didn’t cost enough already.
“And what we’re very concerned about is that businesses are already looking at plans to locate new business expansion overseas. This will cause tremendous what they call leakage. It’s essentially jobs fleeing the United States for other countries.
“As a matter of fact, you might as well call this the ‘China and India Stimulus Plan’ because China and India have said, we’re not going to have any part of a cap-and-trade system. We’re not going to do it. So that means American jobs will leave and go overseas.”
Martella asked if the cap-and-trade plan can be stopped.
“Sure it can be stopped, if the American people rise up and say not me, no how,” Bachmann declared.
“Senator Harry Reid has said he believes by the end of August we’ll see the cap-and-trade bill go through. That gives the American people a little time…
“We want to make sure they understand what’s at stake for them, because there are very real implications — not just for businessmen, not just for a few Americans, but for 100 percent of Americans.
“All Americans will be impacted by this new tax on energy, and we need to be prepared.”
Israel Steps It Up
*****
Iareal to it's credit stands firm in its obligations to its citizens, this comver
the gamet of obligations from security of its borders, and the safety of the
citizens, You can bet that unlike the president of the United States when the
Iranian Factor of push comes to shove that Isreal will NOT back off but rather
move forward. Meekness begets being pushed around, strength garners praise and respect, what we have lost since Obama became president.
Israel Steps It Up
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, April 08, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Defense: On the same day a plot to supply Iran with nuclear materials is revealed, Israel conducts a missile defense test. Nothing concentrates the mind quite so wonderfully as the threat of imminent extinction.
On Tuesday, word came that the Manhattan district attorney's office had smashed a plot to smuggle nuclear weapons materials to Iran through unwitting New York banks. A 118-count indictment accuses Chinese financier Lei Feng Wei of setting up fake companies to hide that he was selling millions of dollars in potential nuclear materials to Tehran.
As the New York Daily News reports, among the materials involved were 33,000 pounds of a specialized aluminum alloy used almost exclusively in long-range missile production, 66,000 pounds of tungsten copper plate used in missile guidance systems, and 53,900 pounds of maraging steel rods, a super-hard metal used in uranium enrichment and to make the casings for nuclear bombs.
We have commented on Iran's cooperation with North Korea on missile technology. The pledge by Iran's mad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the map remains in full force.
Unlike the U.S., Israel is moving full speed ahead on missile defense, and even if Iran's missile threat went away tomorrow, Israel's determination to defend itself would not.
The Israelis aren't waiting for missile defense to be proven "cost-effective." They know the cost of defending themselves against nuclear missile attack pales in comparison to the cost of losing a nation.
As Lei's indictment was announced, the Israeli air force conducted its 17th test, a successful one, of its newly upgraded Arrow 2 missile defense system. It hit a Blue Sparrow missile, modified to mimic an incoming Iranian Shahab-3 missile, fired from an F-15.
The test was conducted jointly by the IAF and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. It was the first Arrow test in conjunction with a high-powered American X-band radar deployed in Israel's Negev desert. X-band was a parting gift to Israel from President Bush.
The Jerusalem Post reports that an Arrow interceptor was launched from the Palmahim air base after the target missile was detected. The target missile carried a multiple warhead with radar-evading capabilities that Iran does not possess.
Iran is working hard to improve its missile capabilities. In November, it successfully test-fired the Sajjil, a solid-fueled high-speed missile with a range of 1,250 miles. It recently showed its global reach with the launching of its Omid satellite.
In January 2007, Germany's Bild magazine reported that Iran had bought 18 BM-25 land-mobile missiles from North Korea. The BM-25 is a variation of the Russian SS-N-6 submarine-launched ballistic missile, with a range of 1,800 miles.
According to Uzi Rubin, former head of the Arrow anti-missile program, the BM-25 "is a nuclear missile. . . . There is no other warhead for this other than a nuclear warhead."
The Arrow project is being jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Chicago-based Boeing, which recently saw its airborne laser missile-defense system put on hold. Several operational Arrow missile batteries have already been deployed.
"This was the most advanced version of the Arrow weapons system in terms of the ability to perform the type of intercept that would be necessary to destroy a ballistic missile target," said Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
Israel has now "deployed a layered defense," he added. This is something the U.S. needs but which recent budget cuts prevent.
Israel is also developing a defense against short-range Katyusha and Qassam rockets called Iron Dome, which uses an early-warning system known as Red Dawn.
While the U.S. dawdles on its own missile defense, Israel isn't waiting until its enemies' missiles are proven and cost-effective.
Email To Friend |
Iareal to it's credit stands firm in its obligations to its citizens, this comver
the gamet of obligations from security of its borders, and the safety of the
citizens, You can bet that unlike the president of the United States when the
Iranian Factor of push comes to shove that Isreal will NOT back off but rather
move forward. Meekness begets being pushed around, strength garners praise and respect, what we have lost since Obama became president.
Israel Steps It Up
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, April 08, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Defense: On the same day a plot to supply Iran with nuclear materials is revealed, Israel conducts a missile defense test. Nothing concentrates the mind quite so wonderfully as the threat of imminent extinction.
On Tuesday, word came that the Manhattan district attorney's office had smashed a plot to smuggle nuclear weapons materials to Iran through unwitting New York banks. A 118-count indictment accuses Chinese financier Lei Feng Wei of setting up fake companies to hide that he was selling millions of dollars in potential nuclear materials to Tehran.
As the New York Daily News reports, among the materials involved were 33,000 pounds of a specialized aluminum alloy used almost exclusively in long-range missile production, 66,000 pounds of tungsten copper plate used in missile guidance systems, and 53,900 pounds of maraging steel rods, a super-hard metal used in uranium enrichment and to make the casings for nuclear bombs.
We have commented on Iran's cooperation with North Korea on missile technology. The pledge by Iran's mad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the map remains in full force.
Unlike the U.S., Israel is moving full speed ahead on missile defense, and even if Iran's missile threat went away tomorrow, Israel's determination to defend itself would not.
The Israelis aren't waiting for missile defense to be proven "cost-effective." They know the cost of defending themselves against nuclear missile attack pales in comparison to the cost of losing a nation.
As Lei's indictment was announced, the Israeli air force conducted its 17th test, a successful one, of its newly upgraded Arrow 2 missile defense system. It hit a Blue Sparrow missile, modified to mimic an incoming Iranian Shahab-3 missile, fired from an F-15.
The test was conducted jointly by the IAF and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. It was the first Arrow test in conjunction with a high-powered American X-band radar deployed in Israel's Negev desert. X-band was a parting gift to Israel from President Bush.
The Jerusalem Post reports that an Arrow interceptor was launched from the Palmahim air base after the target missile was detected. The target missile carried a multiple warhead with radar-evading capabilities that Iran does not possess.
Iran is working hard to improve its missile capabilities. In November, it successfully test-fired the Sajjil, a solid-fueled high-speed missile with a range of 1,250 miles. It recently showed its global reach with the launching of its Omid satellite.
In January 2007, Germany's Bild magazine reported that Iran had bought 18 BM-25 land-mobile missiles from North Korea. The BM-25 is a variation of the Russian SS-N-6 submarine-launched ballistic missile, with a range of 1,800 miles.
According to Uzi Rubin, former head of the Arrow anti-missile program, the BM-25 "is a nuclear missile. . . . There is no other warhead for this other than a nuclear warhead."
The Arrow project is being jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Chicago-based Boeing, which recently saw its airborne laser missile-defense system put on hold. Several operational Arrow missile batteries have already been deployed.
"This was the most advanced version of the Arrow weapons system in terms of the ability to perform the type of intercept that would be necessary to destroy a ballistic missile target," said Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
Israel has now "deployed a layered defense," he added. This is something the U.S. needs but which recent budget cuts prevent.
Israel is also developing a defense against short-range Katyusha and Qassam rockets called Iron Dome, which uses an early-warning system known as Red Dawn.
While the U.S. dawdles on its own missile defense, Israel isn't waiting until its enemies' missiles are proven and cost-effective.
Email To Friend |
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
North Korea, Islamism,
North Korea, Islamism, and the
Axis of Nuclear Proliferation
by Brigitte Gabriel
www.actforamerica.org
While President Obama recently made a commendable effort to “connect” with the Islamic world, especially during his visit to Turkey, he went perilously too far by saying things that simply are not accurate and thus should not have been said.
For example: Obama said: "We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better..."
I can understand why Obama would not want to say, “1,400 years of Islam has resulted in 270 million deaths and countless millions enslaved.” But such a history hardly qualifies as “shaping the world for the better,” and he would have been advised to simply not make such a historically unsupportable statement.
Obama also said that he wants to “strengthen Ataturk's vision of democratic Turkey.” What Mr. Obama needs to thus say to the Muslim world is remind them what Ataturk’s vision was – a vision which ended the Islamic Empire in 1924, rebelled against Islam and its Sharia law, and gave women rights to vote, to get an education, to work, etc. It was Ataturk's vision that put the last nail in the coffin of the Islamic empire, ending centuries of murder and terrorism. It was because of Ataturk's action that the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt five years later, to reclaim and revive the Islamic Empire and setting the course for present-day Islamism. The Muslim Brotherhood is now the oldest and largest terrorist organization in the world, boasting 70 offshoots including Al-Qaida.
While Obama eloquently stated that America is not at war with Islam, which was necessary to speak with such clarity, it was important to continue by saying: "However, we are all challenged today by Islamist radicalism that has declared war, not only on America but also on moderate, peace-loving Muslims. Islamism, or the ideology of political Islam, threatens the entire world, including the millions of Muslims who don’t adhere to it, and it is growing in strength with every passing day.” Attempting to disconnect terror and radicalism from the political ideology that underlies it is precisely what Western Europe and Great Britain have tried, without success.
Obama missed a great opportunity to challenge the moderate Muslim world to stand up with us against the Islamists who wish to destroy not only our way of life but change the political landscape in their own countries through overthrow of their leadership and their governments.
Such an outreach by Obama would have created solidarity between moderate Muslims and America, because moderate Muslims are more likely to hear and respect what Obama says due to his Islamic heritage. This was Obama’s opportunity to make a statement that could have set the stage for real and historic change, but sadly, he missed it.
Meanwhile, North Korea conducts another missile launch, which has enormous ramifications for the world’s ability to defeat Islamism. North Korea is doing more than manufacture nuclear weapons for itself. North Korea's business is selling arms technology to the cash-rich Arab nations who provide it with the cash it so desperately needs.
A few years ago North Korea supplied Syria with the nuclear reactor that Israel bombed in September 2007. North Korean engineers were killed and many injured at the Syrian facility during the Israeli bombing.
On another Islamist front Iran is clearly set on attacking Israel and America. Iran is very interested in buying the North Korean missile technology which they can then deliver an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack against America. So while North Korea may not attack us directly, its technology is what our die-hard enemies are going to use to destroy us.
The United Nations has proven to be virtually impotent in dealing with such serious issues. Saddam Hussein ignored UN sanctions, North Korea ignores the UN, and Iran marches on, ignoring UN sanctions. The United States needs to take a bold step to disrupt the “nuclear proliferation axis” that exists between North Korea and the militant nations of the Islamic world.
We can and should go directly to China and ask them how would they feel if we made nuclear and missile technology available to Japan and Taiwan? We can exert great pressure on China in this area because those two nations are a major threat to China if we make our technology available to them.
This will give China a vested interest in pressuring North Korea to stop their missile program. What we are concerned about right now is the political victory that North Korea has achieved with this launch. Even though this was not a military victory because the launch was not successful to the point they expected, it achieved a political victory against America.
This message is not being wasted on Iran and other nations, like Syria and Libya for example, who are trying to stand up to the United States. America is establishing a clear track record of “no-response.” In 2006 Kaddafi, who signed an agreement in 2003 to get rid of his 30 tons of mustard gas, reneged on the contract and changed his mind after watching America's lack of decisive action against Iran.
North Korea is so dangerous because its missiles could carry a nuclear warhead to America or it could continue to provide the technology to other nations wanting to harm America. In other words, the nuclear threat to America and the West will continue to escalate beyond North Korea to Islamist regimes unless we bring it to a screeching halt.
The clock is ticking ever closer to midnight.
Brigitte Gabriel is the New York Times Best Selling author of “They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It.” She is also the founder and president of ACT for America.org
Axis of Nuclear Proliferation
by Brigitte Gabriel
www.actforamerica.org
While President Obama recently made a commendable effort to “connect” with the Islamic world, especially during his visit to Turkey, he went perilously too far by saying things that simply are not accurate and thus should not have been said.
For example: Obama said: "We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better..."
I can understand why Obama would not want to say, “1,400 years of Islam has resulted in 270 million deaths and countless millions enslaved.” But such a history hardly qualifies as “shaping the world for the better,” and he would have been advised to simply not make such a historically unsupportable statement.
Obama also said that he wants to “strengthen Ataturk's vision of democratic Turkey.” What Mr. Obama needs to thus say to the Muslim world is remind them what Ataturk’s vision was – a vision which ended the Islamic Empire in 1924, rebelled against Islam and its Sharia law, and gave women rights to vote, to get an education, to work, etc. It was Ataturk's vision that put the last nail in the coffin of the Islamic empire, ending centuries of murder and terrorism. It was because of Ataturk's action that the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt five years later, to reclaim and revive the Islamic Empire and setting the course for present-day Islamism. The Muslim Brotherhood is now the oldest and largest terrorist organization in the world, boasting 70 offshoots including Al-Qaida.
While Obama eloquently stated that America is not at war with Islam, which was necessary to speak with such clarity, it was important to continue by saying: "However, we are all challenged today by Islamist radicalism that has declared war, not only on America but also on moderate, peace-loving Muslims. Islamism, or the ideology of political Islam, threatens the entire world, including the millions of Muslims who don’t adhere to it, and it is growing in strength with every passing day.” Attempting to disconnect terror and radicalism from the political ideology that underlies it is precisely what Western Europe and Great Britain have tried, without success.
Obama missed a great opportunity to challenge the moderate Muslim world to stand up with us against the Islamists who wish to destroy not only our way of life but change the political landscape in their own countries through overthrow of their leadership and their governments.
Such an outreach by Obama would have created solidarity between moderate Muslims and America, because moderate Muslims are more likely to hear and respect what Obama says due to his Islamic heritage. This was Obama’s opportunity to make a statement that could have set the stage for real and historic change, but sadly, he missed it.
Meanwhile, North Korea conducts another missile launch, which has enormous ramifications for the world’s ability to defeat Islamism. North Korea is doing more than manufacture nuclear weapons for itself. North Korea's business is selling arms technology to the cash-rich Arab nations who provide it with the cash it so desperately needs.
A few years ago North Korea supplied Syria with the nuclear reactor that Israel bombed in September 2007. North Korean engineers were killed and many injured at the Syrian facility during the Israeli bombing.
On another Islamist front Iran is clearly set on attacking Israel and America. Iran is very interested in buying the North Korean missile technology which they can then deliver an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack against America. So while North Korea may not attack us directly, its technology is what our die-hard enemies are going to use to destroy us.
The United Nations has proven to be virtually impotent in dealing with such serious issues. Saddam Hussein ignored UN sanctions, North Korea ignores the UN, and Iran marches on, ignoring UN sanctions. The United States needs to take a bold step to disrupt the “nuclear proliferation axis” that exists between North Korea and the militant nations of the Islamic world.
We can and should go directly to China and ask them how would they feel if we made nuclear and missile technology available to Japan and Taiwan? We can exert great pressure on China in this area because those two nations are a major threat to China if we make our technology available to them.
This will give China a vested interest in pressuring North Korea to stop their missile program. What we are concerned about right now is the political victory that North Korea has achieved with this launch. Even though this was not a military victory because the launch was not successful to the point they expected, it achieved a political victory against America.
This message is not being wasted on Iran and other nations, like Syria and Libya for example, who are trying to stand up to the United States. America is establishing a clear track record of “no-response.” In 2006 Kaddafi, who signed an agreement in 2003 to get rid of his 30 tons of mustard gas, reneged on the contract and changed his mind after watching America's lack of decisive action against Iran.
North Korea is so dangerous because its missiles could carry a nuclear warhead to America or it could continue to provide the technology to other nations wanting to harm America. In other words, the nuclear threat to America and the West will continue to escalate beyond North Korea to Islamist regimes unless we bring it to a screeching halt.
The clock is ticking ever closer to midnight.
Brigitte Gabriel is the New York Times Best Selling author of “They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It.” She is also the founder and president of ACT for America.org
Obama’s Christian Appointee
******Obama’s Christian Appointee
True to his inner hate for the feelings of the majority of Americans
Mr. Obama has again decided to throw these feelings in the face of
the nation. By appointing Harry Knox, a professed gay. as a member
of his Advisory council of Faith Based Partnerships, he is clearing
the way for legislation allowing the format teaching of the before
banned introduction of homosexuality. Thus President is the PITS>
Dave Anderson oad@alaska.net
Obama’s Christian Appointee to Faith-Based Program Says New Testament Teaching on Homosexuality Is ‘Not True’
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
President Barack Obama (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) – President Obama has named to his faith-based advisory council a self-professed Christian who holds that the New Testament's teaching that homosexual behavior is unnatural and wrong--which is found in St. Paul's letter to the Romans--“is not true."
The appointee, Harry Knox, has also said that Obama's decision to invite the Rev. Rick Warren to say a prayer at the Inauguration "tainted" the ceremony and that Pope Benedict XVI is a "discredited leader."
Harry Knox, a professed gay Christian who is director of the religion and faith program at the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual rights group, was named to President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships on Monday. The advisory council gives federal grants to faith-based organizations.
The appointment came after Knox criticized Obama prior to the Inauguration for selecting Warren, a California megachurch pastor and best-selling author, to deliver the invocation. Writing in The Huffington Post blog, Knox said to Obama, “We don’t feel hopeful anticipation of a new day in our country, and we don’t feel optimism. We feel betrayed.”
Knox said in the December article that Warren’s invocation would make the Jan. 20 Inauguration a “tainted” event because Warren supported the ballot initiative in California to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
On the PBS News Hour in December, Knox said that Warren “has in fact leveraged homophobia to get ahead in his career. … This is the worst possible choice the president could have made. This is a divisive choice. … We said to the president-elect today in very strong language, the strongest we can think of and be respectful of the office, you have really slapped us. And we want you to think about that and think very hard what your actions will be going forward because this very symbolic, early decision has sent the exact wrong message.”
Knox could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Knox is one of 25 members of the advisory board of the White House Office Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Obama announced the formation of the office in early February, a continuation of a similar office started by President George W. Bush to issue federal grants to faith-based, non-profit charitable organizations.
Other members include Bishop Charles Blake of the Church of God in Christ in Chicago; the Rev. Peg Chemberlin, president-elect of the National Council of Churches USA; Dr. Frank Page, president emeritus of the Southern Baptist Convention; the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of the liberal Christian group Sojourners; and the Rev. Joel C. Hunter of Northland Church in Longwood, Fla.
Knox has been a long-time gay activist focusing on the faith community. He previously worked for the New York-based Freedom to Marry group, for Georgia Equality and Equality Florida. He has won awards from liberal religious organizations.
In a debate with the Rev. Gino Jennings recorded Nov. 28, 2004 at the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Philadelphia, the two men sparred over various biblical verses references homosexual behavior.
This included the Book of Romans, in which St. Paul wrote, “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”
After reading the scripture, Jennings asked, “Do you believe that? That if a man lie with a man or a woman with a woman it is against nature?”
“I do not believe it,” answered Knox, who at the time was the program director for the group Freedom to Marry.
Jennings responded, “So this is a lie?”
Knox affirmed, “That is not true.”
“Paul did not have any idea of the kind of love that I feel for a partner when I am partnered. He didn’t know what that was about,” Knox said. “The straight man, the heterosexual man who got the privilege of writing the book, the educated, rich, heterosexual man, Paul, who got to write the book, didn’t think it was natural because for him it must not have been.”
Jennings later responded that Paul was not the sole author of the writings. “So you are saying Paul was just closed-minded. I totally disagree because the book says this, the book tells us that all scripture, all of the scripture, not some of it, but all scripture are given by the inspiration of God,” said Jennings.
Before starting at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in 2005, Knox also worked as development director of Equality Florida and was the executive director of Georgia Equality. While in Georgia, his groups successfully lobbied corporations such as Coca-Cola, Bell South, Delta, and Cingular to extend same-sex benefits to employees.
At the HRC, Knox established a weekly preaching resource that provides scriptural commentary to pastors interested in homosexual perspectives on the Bible. He also helped create a network of 22 “progressive state clergy coalitions” around the country, according to the HRC Web site.
Knox has the potential to be a polarizing figure, said the Rev. Louis Sheldon, chairman of the conservative Traditional Values Coalition.
“Everything he says will be front-page news,” Sheldon told CNSNews.com. “He will be a political liability to the president. All the good that the faith-based office does will get buried by a loose cannon that fires over the bow. But that’s what Obama wants.”
Last month, Knox was quoted in a gay newspaper criticizing the pope and the Catholic group Knights of Columbus, mainly because the Knights supported the traditional marriage amendment to the California constitution.
Knox told the San Francisco-based gay newspaper the Bay Area Reporter, “The Knights of Columbus do a great deal of good in the name of Jesus Christ, but in this particular case, they were foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression.” In the newspaper, he included among the “discredited leaders” Catholic bishops and Pope Benedict XVI, as “A pope who literally today said condoms don't help in control of AIDS."
In a brief interview Monday with CNSNews.com, Knox stood by his comments on the pope.
“The pope needs to start telling the truth about condom use,” Knox told CNSNews.com. “We are eager to help him do that. Until he is willing to do that and able, he’s doing a great deal more harm than good--not just in Africa but around the world. It is endangering people’s lives.”
The pope’s comments were mischaracterized by Knox, said Catholic League President Bill Donohue.
“When Pope Benedict XVI recently said that condoms are not the answer to HIV/AIDS, he was simply voicing common sense: the promiscuous distribution of condoms has coincided with a precipitous increase in HIV/AIDS,” Donohue said in a statement Tuesday. “But to gay activists like Knox, the pope is a liar. Indeed, he instructed the pope to ‘start telling the truth about condom use,’ holding the Holy Father accountable for ‘endangering people’s lives.’ He never explained how calls for abstinence could possibly jeopardize anyone’s life.”
In 2000, Knox won the Cordle Award for Promoting God’s Diversity, and the Lancaster Theological Seminary’s 2005 Robert V. Moss Medal for Excellence in Ministry.
True to his inner hate for the feelings of the majority of Americans
Mr. Obama has again decided to throw these feelings in the face of
the nation. By appointing Harry Knox, a professed gay. as a member
of his Advisory council of Faith Based Partnerships, he is clearing
the way for legislation allowing the format teaching of the before
banned introduction of homosexuality. Thus President is the PITS>
Dave Anderson oad@alaska.net
Obama’s Christian Appointee to Faith-Based Program Says New Testament Teaching on Homosexuality Is ‘Not True’
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
President Barack Obama (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) – President Obama has named to his faith-based advisory council a self-professed Christian who holds that the New Testament's teaching that homosexual behavior is unnatural and wrong--which is found in St. Paul's letter to the Romans--“is not true."
The appointee, Harry Knox, has also said that Obama's decision to invite the Rev. Rick Warren to say a prayer at the Inauguration "tainted" the ceremony and that Pope Benedict XVI is a "discredited leader."
Harry Knox, a professed gay Christian who is director of the religion and faith program at the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual rights group, was named to President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships on Monday. The advisory council gives federal grants to faith-based organizations.
The appointment came after Knox criticized Obama prior to the Inauguration for selecting Warren, a California megachurch pastor and best-selling author, to deliver the invocation. Writing in The Huffington Post blog, Knox said to Obama, “We don’t feel hopeful anticipation of a new day in our country, and we don’t feel optimism. We feel betrayed.”
Knox said in the December article that Warren’s invocation would make the Jan. 20 Inauguration a “tainted” event because Warren supported the ballot initiative in California to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
On the PBS News Hour in December, Knox said that Warren “has in fact leveraged homophobia to get ahead in his career. … This is the worst possible choice the president could have made. This is a divisive choice. … We said to the president-elect today in very strong language, the strongest we can think of and be respectful of the office, you have really slapped us. And we want you to think about that and think very hard what your actions will be going forward because this very symbolic, early decision has sent the exact wrong message.”
Knox could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Knox is one of 25 members of the advisory board of the White House Office Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Obama announced the formation of the office in early February, a continuation of a similar office started by President George W. Bush to issue federal grants to faith-based, non-profit charitable organizations.
Other members include Bishop Charles Blake of the Church of God in Christ in Chicago; the Rev. Peg Chemberlin, president-elect of the National Council of Churches USA; Dr. Frank Page, president emeritus of the Southern Baptist Convention; the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of the liberal Christian group Sojourners; and the Rev. Joel C. Hunter of Northland Church in Longwood, Fla.
Knox has been a long-time gay activist focusing on the faith community. He previously worked for the New York-based Freedom to Marry group, for Georgia Equality and Equality Florida. He has won awards from liberal religious organizations.
In a debate with the Rev. Gino Jennings recorded Nov. 28, 2004 at the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Philadelphia, the two men sparred over various biblical verses references homosexual behavior.
This included the Book of Romans, in which St. Paul wrote, “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”
After reading the scripture, Jennings asked, “Do you believe that? That if a man lie with a man or a woman with a woman it is against nature?”
“I do not believe it,” answered Knox, who at the time was the program director for the group Freedom to Marry.
Jennings responded, “So this is a lie?”
Knox affirmed, “That is not true.”
“Paul did not have any idea of the kind of love that I feel for a partner when I am partnered. He didn’t know what that was about,” Knox said. “The straight man, the heterosexual man who got the privilege of writing the book, the educated, rich, heterosexual man, Paul, who got to write the book, didn’t think it was natural because for him it must not have been.”
Jennings later responded that Paul was not the sole author of the writings. “So you are saying Paul was just closed-minded. I totally disagree because the book says this, the book tells us that all scripture, all of the scripture, not some of it, but all scripture are given by the inspiration of God,” said Jennings.
Before starting at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in 2005, Knox also worked as development director of Equality Florida and was the executive director of Georgia Equality. While in Georgia, his groups successfully lobbied corporations such as Coca-Cola, Bell South, Delta, and Cingular to extend same-sex benefits to employees.
At the HRC, Knox established a weekly preaching resource that provides scriptural commentary to pastors interested in homosexual perspectives on the Bible. He also helped create a network of 22 “progressive state clergy coalitions” around the country, according to the HRC Web site.
Knox has the potential to be a polarizing figure, said the Rev. Louis Sheldon, chairman of the conservative Traditional Values Coalition.
“Everything he says will be front-page news,” Sheldon told CNSNews.com. “He will be a political liability to the president. All the good that the faith-based office does will get buried by a loose cannon that fires over the bow. But that’s what Obama wants.”
Last month, Knox was quoted in a gay newspaper criticizing the pope and the Catholic group Knights of Columbus, mainly because the Knights supported the traditional marriage amendment to the California constitution.
Knox told the San Francisco-based gay newspaper the Bay Area Reporter, “The Knights of Columbus do a great deal of good in the name of Jesus Christ, but in this particular case, they were foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression.” In the newspaper, he included among the “discredited leaders” Catholic bishops and Pope Benedict XVI, as “A pope who literally today said condoms don't help in control of AIDS."
In a brief interview Monday with CNSNews.com, Knox stood by his comments on the pope.
“The pope needs to start telling the truth about condom use,” Knox told CNSNews.com. “We are eager to help him do that. Until he is willing to do that and able, he’s doing a great deal more harm than good--not just in Africa but around the world. It is endangering people’s lives.”
The pope’s comments were mischaracterized by Knox, said Catholic League President Bill Donohue.
“When Pope Benedict XVI recently said that condoms are not the answer to HIV/AIDS, he was simply voicing common sense: the promiscuous distribution of condoms has coincided with a precipitous increase in HIV/AIDS,” Donohue said in a statement Tuesday. “But to gay activists like Knox, the pope is a liar. Indeed, he instructed the pope to ‘start telling the truth about condom use,’ holding the Holy Father accountable for ‘endangering people’s lives.’ He never explained how calls for abstinence could possibly jeopardize anyone’s life.”
In 2000, Knox won the Cordle Award for Promoting God’s Diversity, and the Lancaster Theological Seminary’s 2005 Robert V. Moss Medal for Excellence in Ministry.
European Socialism to Run Our Financial System
******
We must now prepare ourselves for the final thros of anguish for
our wonderful country< With the advent if fiscal capitulation on
the part of our Communist Socialist president the dollar will
become second or third or what ever to some Euro, Pound or Franc.
Which means that the Dollar won't buy what it used to, and will
have less value than maybe even the yen. And yet the misguided
portion that elected this P O S hold him in adoration. Lord
help us Please.
******
European Socialism to Run Our Financial System
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 8:50 AM
By: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann Article Font Size
On April 2, 2009, the work of July 4, 1776 was nullified at the meeting of the G-20 in London.
The joint communiqué essentially announces a global economic union with uniform regulations and bylaws for all nations, including the United States. Henceforth, our SEC, Commodities Trading Commission, Federal Reserve Board and other regulators will have to march to the beat of drums pounded by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a body of central bankers from each of the G-20 states and the European Union.
The mandate conferred on the FSB is remarkable for its scope and open-endedness. It is to set a "framework of internationally agreed high standards that a global financial system requires."
These standards are to include the extension of "regulation and oversight to all systemically important financial institutions, instruments, and markets [including] systemically important hedge funds."
Note the key word "all." If the FSB, in its international wisdom, considers an institution or company "systemically important," it may regulate and over see it. This provision extends and internationalizes the proposals of the Obama administration to regulate all firms, in whatever sector of the economy that it deems to be "too big to fail."
The FSB is also charged with "implementing . . . tough new principles on pay and compensation and to support sustainable compensation schemes and the corporate social responsibility of all firms."
That means that the FSB will regulate how much executives are to be paid and will enforce its idea of corporate social responsibility at "all firms."
The head of the Financial Stability Forum, the precursor to the new FSB, is Mario Draghi, Italy's central bank president. In a speech on Feb. 21, 2009, he gave us clues to his thinking. He noted that "the progress we have made in revising the global regulatory framework . . . would have been unthinkable just months ago."
He said that "every financial institution capable of creating systemic risk will be subject to supervision." He adds that "it is envisaged that, at international level, the governance of financial institutions, executive compensation, and the special duties of intermediaries to protect retail investors will be subject to explicit supervision."
In remarks right before the London conference, Draghi said that while "I don't see the FSF [now the FSB] as a global regulator at the present time . . . it should be a standard setter that coordinates national agencies."
This "coordination of national agencies" and the "setting" of "standards" is an explicit statement of the mandate the FSB will have over our national regulatory agencies.
Obama, perhaps feeling guilty for the U.S. role in triggering the international crisis, has, indeed, given away the store.
Now we may no longer look to presidential appointees, confirmed by the Senate, to make policy for our economy. These decisions will be made internationally.
And Europe will dominate them. The FSF and, presumably, the FSB, is now composed of the central bankers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States plus representatives of the World Bank, the European Union, the IMF, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Europe, in other words, has six of the 12 national members. The G-20 will enlarge the FSB to include all its member nations, but the pro-European bias will be clear. The United States, with a GDP three times that of the next largest G-20 member (Japan), will have one vote. So will Italy.
The Europeans have been trying to get their hands on our financial system for decades. It is essential to them that they rein in American free enterprise so that their socialist heaven will not be polluted by vices such as the profit motive.
Now, with President Obama's approval, they have done it.
© 2009 Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
Print Page |
We must now prepare ourselves for the final thros of anguish for
our wonderful country< With the advent if fiscal capitulation on
the part of our Communist Socialist president the dollar will
become second or third or what ever to some Euro, Pound or Franc.
Which means that the Dollar won't buy what it used to, and will
have less value than maybe even the yen. And yet the misguided
portion that elected this P O S hold him in adoration. Lord
help us Please.
******
European Socialism to Run Our Financial System
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 8:50 AM
By: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann Article Font Size
On April 2, 2009, the work of July 4, 1776 was nullified at the meeting of the G-20 in London.
The joint communiqué essentially announces a global economic union with uniform regulations and bylaws for all nations, including the United States. Henceforth, our SEC, Commodities Trading Commission, Federal Reserve Board and other regulators will have to march to the beat of drums pounded by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a body of central bankers from each of the G-20 states and the European Union.
The mandate conferred on the FSB is remarkable for its scope and open-endedness. It is to set a "framework of internationally agreed high standards that a global financial system requires."
These standards are to include the extension of "regulation and oversight to all systemically important financial institutions, instruments, and markets [including] systemically important hedge funds."
Note the key word "all." If the FSB, in its international wisdom, considers an institution or company "systemically important," it may regulate and over see it. This provision extends and internationalizes the proposals of the Obama administration to regulate all firms, in whatever sector of the economy that it deems to be "too big to fail."
The FSB is also charged with "implementing . . . tough new principles on pay and compensation and to support sustainable compensation schemes and the corporate social responsibility of all firms."
That means that the FSB will regulate how much executives are to be paid and will enforce its idea of corporate social responsibility at "all firms."
The head of the Financial Stability Forum, the precursor to the new FSB, is Mario Draghi, Italy's central bank president. In a speech on Feb. 21, 2009, he gave us clues to his thinking. He noted that "the progress we have made in revising the global regulatory framework . . . would have been unthinkable just months ago."
He said that "every financial institution capable of creating systemic risk will be subject to supervision." He adds that "it is envisaged that, at international level, the governance of financial institutions, executive compensation, and the special duties of intermediaries to protect retail investors will be subject to explicit supervision."
In remarks right before the London conference, Draghi said that while "I don't see the FSF [now the FSB] as a global regulator at the present time . . . it should be a standard setter that coordinates national agencies."
This "coordination of national agencies" and the "setting" of "standards" is an explicit statement of the mandate the FSB will have over our national regulatory agencies.
Obama, perhaps feeling guilty for the U.S. role in triggering the international crisis, has, indeed, given away the store.
Now we may no longer look to presidential appointees, confirmed by the Senate, to make policy for our economy. These decisions will be made internationally.
And Europe will dominate them. The FSF and, presumably, the FSB, is now composed of the central bankers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States plus representatives of the World Bank, the European Union, the IMF, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Europe, in other words, has six of the 12 national members. The G-20 will enlarge the FSB to include all its member nations, but the pro-European bias will be clear. The United States, with a GDP three times that of the next largest G-20 member (Japan), will have one vote. So will Italy.
The Europeans have been trying to get their hands on our financial system for decades. It is essential to them that they rein in American free enterprise so that their socialist heaven will not be polluted by vices such as the profit motive.
Now, with President Obama's approval, they have done it.
© 2009 Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
Print Page |
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Shooting Down Missile Defense
When you choose as a leader whose propensity to lie, to self satisfy his position by doing something that was abolished at the creation of the United States, the bowing or cur sty to a foreign royalty (King Queen or Potentate) was to NEVER happen to the citizens of our country. Other than God we pay homage to no one.
Yet yesterday this pompas arrogant pretender to the Presidency of the US bowed and nearly kissed the hand of the King of Saudi Arabia. This is the Muslim that is now in the process of depleting our military to the likes of what the other inept president (Carter) did before we shit canned him.
This Muslim Communist Socialist is next for the can if we still have a country in
four years.
My thoughts and I am DAVE ANDERSON reach me at oad@alaska.net.
Shooting Down Missile Defense
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Tuesday, April 07, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Defense: Overlooked in the defense budget cuts is the decimation of missile defense systems. As North Korea tested an ICBM, our defense secretary was scrapping a system that could have destroyed it with a single shot.
We will miss the F-22 Raptor, perhaps the only plane that could evade the sophisticated S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system Russia is selling to Iran.
Russia's S-300 system is "one of the most lethal, if not the most lethal, all-altitude area defense" systems, according to the International Strategy and Assessment Service, a Virginia-based think tank.
But the aircraft we and the nation will miss the most is the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, killed in Gates' general slashing of missile defense, cuts which will reduce the budget of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) by $1.4 billion in 2010, or about 15%. Gates proposes turning the ABL into a research program.
Whoopee.
The YAL-1A, a modified Boeing 747-400F equipped with a megawatt-class, high-energy Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) is designed to destroy ballistic missiles in their very vulnerable boost phase, missiles such as Iran's Shahab series and North Korea's Taepodong series.
According to the MDA, the ABL provides a unique capability "to detect, track, and destroy ballistic missiles shortly after launch during the boost phase. Its revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique among the United States' airborne weapons systems, with a potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light with a range of several hundred kilometers."
Gen. B.B. Bell, the former commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, wrote in 2007 that "from a war fighter's perspective, the ABL will be an important ingredient in our much needed and required layered missile defense capability for the Korean Peninsula."
It would also be part of a layered defense for the U.S. But not any more.
A layered defense against ballistic missiles was what President Ronald Reagan had in mind when he launched the Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983. It would include space-based, sea- and land-based defenses as well as mobile theatre systems such as THAAD (Theatre High Altitude Area Defense), Patriot missiles and the airborne laser.
Such a layered system could deal with all threats from all sources.
Unlike its fixed-site cousins, the ground-based interceptors deployed in California and Alaska and (hopefully) Europe, ABL aircraft can be deployed where needed and are reusable.
Imagine them patrolling the Persian Gulf or the Taiwan Strait, or off the Korean Peninsula.
Not only can they patrol off unfriendly nations, they could patrol our shores, too.
We have pointed out the dangers of an Iranian freighter launching a Shahab that would detonate its warhead high over the U.S., unleashing an electromagnetic pulse that would send our high-tech economy back to the days of covered wagons.
ABL aircraft would patrol in pairs at 40,000 feet, flying in orbits over friendly airspace or international waters, scanning the horizon for plumes of rising missiles. The ABL would acquire and track the missile with a tracking laser, while computers calculate the distance to and trajectory of the target.
Gates has also put on hold additional ground-based interceptors based at Ft. Greeley in Alaska.
Also targeted for elimination by Gates is the Multiple Kill Vehicle.
A single interceptor equipped with this payload of multiple kinetic missile killers, will not only destroy the re-entry vehicle, but all credible threat objects including countermeasures the enemy deploys to try and spoof our defenses.
Six Senators, Republicans Murkowski, Sessions, Inhofe, and Kyl as well as Democrats Lieberman and Begich, have written a letter to President Obama calling on him to restore Gates' cuts, noting that "our adversaries continue to invest large sums in the development" of offensive missiles of all types.
While Gates does provide additional support for theatre defenses such as Aegis and THAAD, it is a minimalist approach in a world in which our enemies are turning out missiles like sausages, and only a single warhead can end life in the United States as we know it.
Email To Friend |
Yet yesterday this pompas arrogant pretender to the Presidency of the US bowed and nearly kissed the hand of the King of Saudi Arabia. This is the Muslim that is now in the process of depleting our military to the likes of what the other inept president (Carter) did before we shit canned him.
This Muslim Communist Socialist is next for the can if we still have a country in
four years.
My thoughts and I am DAVE ANDERSON reach me at oad@alaska.net.
Shooting Down Missile Defense
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Tuesday, April 07, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Defense: Overlooked in the defense budget cuts is the decimation of missile defense systems. As North Korea tested an ICBM, our defense secretary was scrapping a system that could have destroyed it with a single shot.
We will miss the F-22 Raptor, perhaps the only plane that could evade the sophisticated S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system Russia is selling to Iran.
Russia's S-300 system is "one of the most lethal, if not the most lethal, all-altitude area defense" systems, according to the International Strategy and Assessment Service, a Virginia-based think tank.
But the aircraft we and the nation will miss the most is the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, killed in Gates' general slashing of missile defense, cuts which will reduce the budget of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) by $1.4 billion in 2010, or about 15%. Gates proposes turning the ABL into a research program.
Whoopee.
The YAL-1A, a modified Boeing 747-400F equipped with a megawatt-class, high-energy Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) is designed to destroy ballistic missiles in their very vulnerable boost phase, missiles such as Iran's Shahab series and North Korea's Taepodong series.
According to the MDA, the ABL provides a unique capability "to detect, track, and destroy ballistic missiles shortly after launch during the boost phase. Its revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique among the United States' airborne weapons systems, with a potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light with a range of several hundred kilometers."
Gen. B.B. Bell, the former commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, wrote in 2007 that "from a war fighter's perspective, the ABL will be an important ingredient in our much needed and required layered missile defense capability for the Korean Peninsula."
It would also be part of a layered defense for the U.S. But not any more.
A layered defense against ballistic missiles was what President Ronald Reagan had in mind when he launched the Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983. It would include space-based, sea- and land-based defenses as well as mobile theatre systems such as THAAD (Theatre High Altitude Area Defense), Patriot missiles and the airborne laser.
Such a layered system could deal with all threats from all sources.
Unlike its fixed-site cousins, the ground-based interceptors deployed in California and Alaska and (hopefully) Europe, ABL aircraft can be deployed where needed and are reusable.
Imagine them patrolling the Persian Gulf or the Taiwan Strait, or off the Korean Peninsula.
Not only can they patrol off unfriendly nations, they could patrol our shores, too.
We have pointed out the dangers of an Iranian freighter launching a Shahab that would detonate its warhead high over the U.S., unleashing an electromagnetic pulse that would send our high-tech economy back to the days of covered wagons.
ABL aircraft would patrol in pairs at 40,000 feet, flying in orbits over friendly airspace or international waters, scanning the horizon for plumes of rising missiles. The ABL would acquire and track the missile with a tracking laser, while computers calculate the distance to and trajectory of the target.
Gates has also put on hold additional ground-based interceptors based at Ft. Greeley in Alaska.
Also targeted for elimination by Gates is the Multiple Kill Vehicle.
A single interceptor equipped with this payload of multiple kinetic missile killers, will not only destroy the re-entry vehicle, but all credible threat objects including countermeasures the enemy deploys to try and spoof our defenses.
Six Senators, Republicans Murkowski, Sessions, Inhofe, and Kyl as well as Democrats Lieberman and Begich, have written a letter to President Obama calling on him to restore Gates' cuts, noting that "our adversaries continue to invest large sums in the development" of offensive missiles of all types.
While Gates does provide additional support for theatre defenses such as Aegis and THAAD, it is a minimalist approach in a world in which our enemies are turning out missiles like sausages, and only a single warhead can end life in the United States as we know it.
Email To Friend |
Return N. Korea to Terror-Sponsor List
Return N. Korea to Terror-Sponsor List
Invest in Missile Defense, Lawmakers Say
Monday, April 06, 2009
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor
In a successful test of U.S. missile defense capabilities, a ground-based interceptor missile lifts off from Vandenberg AFB in California on December 5, 2008, en route to intercept with and destroy a target missile launched in Alaska several minutes earlier. (Photo: Missile Defense Agency)(CNSNews.com) – With slim chance of a firm U.N. Security Council response to North Korea’s defiant long-range missile launch, U.S. lawmakers are pressing for a determined unilateral U.S. response, including returning Pyongyang to a list of terror-sponsoring states and stepping up investment in missile defense.
As anticipated, veto-wielding permanent council members China and Russia urged “restraint” Sunday as the decision-making body held urgent talks following the launch.
After the closed-door meeting ended without agreement, Chinese envoy Zhang Yesui said council reaction must be “cautious and proportionate.”
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said “actions that could make the situation even more tense” must be avoided, while Russia’s foreign ministry called for “restraint in judgments and actions.”
The council meeting was requested by Japan after North Korea on Sunday morning fired a multi-stage rocket which it claimed had placed a communications satellite into orbit.
The U.S. military said the rocket, which it identified as a Taepodong-2 long-range missile, had not succeeded in putting an object into orbit. The missile’s first stage landed into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, and the payload, along with the remaining stages, had landed in the Pacific Ocean, U.S. Northern Command reported.
While generally characterized as a failure, the launch did accomplish some progress for the North Korean program, experts suggested.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, head of the Pentagon’s missile defense agency until the beginning of this year, called the fact that the rocket had successfully surpassed its first stage “a significant step forward for any missile program.”
“The bottom line is they are continuing to advance in their ranges and I think it’s why it’s important that we have the ability to defend against these types of threats,” he told CNN.
Riki Ellison, chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, also pointed to the successful first staging, and said it appeared from early indications that the missile had traveled at least 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
North Korea’s first Taepogong-2 test, in 2006, ended in failure just 42 seconds later.
By contrast, the missile launched at around 11:30 AM local time Sunday reportedly flew for about 18 minutes. Japanese officials said the country’s defense system tracked it until 11:48 AM, by which time it had reached a point about 2,100 kilometers (1,260 miles) east of Japan.
The Japanese military had been placed on high alert but made no attempt to shoot down the projectile as it passed over the archipelago, saying the falling debris posed no threat.
The missile launch drew widespread condemnation from around the world – significantly more than the reaction that met Iran’s successful satellite launch last February, which experts said essentially tested similar ballistic missile technology.
In a successful test of U.S. missile defense capabilities, a ground-based interceptor missile lifts off from Vandenberg AFB in California on December 5, 2008, en route to intercept with and destroy a target missile launched in Alaska several minutes earlier. (Photo: Missile Defense Agency)Pyongyang’s missile advances are regarded as a particular threat because of its confirmed nuclear weapons capability, although Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month he did not believe North Korea had yet mastered the technology to mount a nuclear warhead onto a missile.
Diplomatic attempts to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs through the “six-party” talks have been stalled since December, and the missile test is widely viewed as the latest bid by Kim Jong-il to pressure the U.S. and its allies to make more concessions.
In an earlier attempt to break a deadlock, the Bush administration last October met North Korea’s longstanding demand to be removed from Washington’s list of terror-sponsoring states, but progress in the talks was short-lived.
Sunday’s missile test prompted fresh calls for the U.S. government to reverse the delisting.
“Rather than only seeking more U.N. sanctions that failed to stop this launch in the first place, the administration instead should return North Korea to the terrorism list, tighten financial sanctions, and commit publicly and forcefully to addressing the abysmal state of North Korean human rights,” said Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas.
“The six-party talks were based on the principle of action for action, and now is the time to respond with real action.”
Missile defense funding focus
Brownback also urged the administration to push ahead with missile defense development, and not to cut funding for the programs.
Similar calls from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the state which along with Hawaii would potentially be first to be targeted by a North Korean long-range ballistic missile.
Murkowski said in a statement she was “disappointed to hear continued rumors of budget cuts to our missile defense programs. The firing of this missile illustrates the critical role these systems play in our nation’s defense. In light of the actions taken by North Korea, now is not the time to make cuts to these essential programs.”
On Monday, Gates is due to brief congressional leaders and then publicly announce the restructuring of several defense programs, and speculation is rife that missile defense will be among the targets for budget cuts.
Apart from sea-based assets, the U.S. deploys ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California and as part of a vision for multilayered missile defense has for several years been planning another shield in Central Europe, designed to counter the threat from Iran.
The Obama administration applied the brakes on the European proposals, questioning its cost and effectiveness.
But President Obama, speaking in the Czech Republic on Sunday, said he intended to continue with the plans “as long as the threat from Iran persists,” repeating the conditions that the system be “cost-effective and proven.”
Anticipating that the North Korean launch would be used by missile defense advocates to call for more spending, critics are arguing against the move.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said ahead of the launch that missile defense was not the answer, citing studies concluding that decoys built into missile designs could defeat anti-missile shields.
“If U.S. policymakers believe a missile attack is a significant security threat, it is irresponsible for them to advocate missile defense as a realistic response,” said David Wright, UCS global security program co-director.
“Doing so could create a false sense of security, divert defense dollars from more important uses, and reduce any incentive to develop more effective measures to reduce a missile threat.”
The USC argues that a sensible missile defense policy would give long-range anti-missile systems a much lower priority, while favoring stepped-up efforts to reduce the number of missiles and missile programs through international diplomacy.
‘Don’t end diplomatic isolation’
In the House of Representatives, meanwhile, the ranking Republican in the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, said she would introduce legislation requiring economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation to remain in place until North Korea changes its behavior.
“North Korea must abandon its illegal and destabilizing weapons programs and uphold human rights before it can reap the benefits and recognition afforded to responsible nations,” she said Sunday. “Pyongyang cannot have it both ways.”
Ros-Lehtinen also highlighted concerns about longstanding missile collaboration between North Korea and Iran.
“Our response to today’s belligerent demonstration by North Korea must not just send a message to Pyongyang about U.S. commitment to nonproliferation and protecting our critical security interests, but to Iran and other countries of proliferation concern.”
For Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the launch called for a multilateral reaction.
He said “a stern, unified response” was required from those involved in the six-party talks – the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.
\
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moriarity at 04:22 AM - April 07, 2009
Hey ambassador Rice and Secty. Clinton! Where is all your "power diplomacy" now? You and all your "touchy feely" cohorts are simply foolish children engaged in adult scenarios. Maybe you should consider drafting Jimmy Carter for support if he isn't too busy defending the Palestinians trying to wipe Israel out of existence.
Granny in Georgia at 09:51 PM - April 06, 2009
We can only pray that Obama wakes up before before it's too late. He has surrounded himself with "yes men", just as he accused GWB of doing, so no one is going to tell him how he has messed up! God help us.
Invest in Missile Defense, Lawmakers Say
Monday, April 06, 2009
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor
In a successful test of U.S. missile defense capabilities, a ground-based interceptor missile lifts off from Vandenberg AFB in California on December 5, 2008, en route to intercept with and destroy a target missile launched in Alaska several minutes earlier. (Photo: Missile Defense Agency)(CNSNews.com) – With slim chance of a firm U.N. Security Council response to North Korea’s defiant long-range missile launch, U.S. lawmakers are pressing for a determined unilateral U.S. response, including returning Pyongyang to a list of terror-sponsoring states and stepping up investment in missile defense.
As anticipated, veto-wielding permanent council members China and Russia urged “restraint” Sunday as the decision-making body held urgent talks following the launch.
After the closed-door meeting ended without agreement, Chinese envoy Zhang Yesui said council reaction must be “cautious and proportionate.”
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said “actions that could make the situation even more tense” must be avoided, while Russia’s foreign ministry called for “restraint in judgments and actions.”
The council meeting was requested by Japan after North Korea on Sunday morning fired a multi-stage rocket which it claimed had placed a communications satellite into orbit.
The U.S. military said the rocket, which it identified as a Taepodong-2 long-range missile, had not succeeded in putting an object into orbit. The missile’s first stage landed into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, and the payload, along with the remaining stages, had landed in the Pacific Ocean, U.S. Northern Command reported.
While generally characterized as a failure, the launch did accomplish some progress for the North Korean program, experts suggested.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, head of the Pentagon’s missile defense agency until the beginning of this year, called the fact that the rocket had successfully surpassed its first stage “a significant step forward for any missile program.”
“The bottom line is they are continuing to advance in their ranges and I think it’s why it’s important that we have the ability to defend against these types of threats,” he told CNN.
Riki Ellison, chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, also pointed to the successful first staging, and said it appeared from early indications that the missile had traveled at least 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).
North Korea’s first Taepogong-2 test, in 2006, ended in failure just 42 seconds later.
By contrast, the missile launched at around 11:30 AM local time Sunday reportedly flew for about 18 minutes. Japanese officials said the country’s defense system tracked it until 11:48 AM, by which time it had reached a point about 2,100 kilometers (1,260 miles) east of Japan.
The Japanese military had been placed on high alert but made no attempt to shoot down the projectile as it passed over the archipelago, saying the falling debris posed no threat.
The missile launch drew widespread condemnation from around the world – significantly more than the reaction that met Iran’s successful satellite launch last February, which experts said essentially tested similar ballistic missile technology.
In a successful test of U.S. missile defense capabilities, a ground-based interceptor missile lifts off from Vandenberg AFB in California on December 5, 2008, en route to intercept with and destroy a target missile launched in Alaska several minutes earlier. (Photo: Missile Defense Agency)Pyongyang’s missile advances are regarded as a particular threat because of its confirmed nuclear weapons capability, although Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month he did not believe North Korea had yet mastered the technology to mount a nuclear warhead onto a missile.
Diplomatic attempts to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs through the “six-party” talks have been stalled since December, and the missile test is widely viewed as the latest bid by Kim Jong-il to pressure the U.S. and its allies to make more concessions.
In an earlier attempt to break a deadlock, the Bush administration last October met North Korea’s longstanding demand to be removed from Washington’s list of terror-sponsoring states, but progress in the talks was short-lived.
Sunday’s missile test prompted fresh calls for the U.S. government to reverse the delisting.
“Rather than only seeking more U.N. sanctions that failed to stop this launch in the first place, the administration instead should return North Korea to the terrorism list, tighten financial sanctions, and commit publicly and forcefully to addressing the abysmal state of North Korean human rights,” said Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas.
“The six-party talks were based on the principle of action for action, and now is the time to respond with real action.”
Missile defense funding focus
Brownback also urged the administration to push ahead with missile defense development, and not to cut funding for the programs.
Similar calls from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the state which along with Hawaii would potentially be first to be targeted by a North Korean long-range ballistic missile.
Murkowski said in a statement she was “disappointed to hear continued rumors of budget cuts to our missile defense programs. The firing of this missile illustrates the critical role these systems play in our nation’s defense. In light of the actions taken by North Korea, now is not the time to make cuts to these essential programs.”
On Monday, Gates is due to brief congressional leaders and then publicly announce the restructuring of several defense programs, and speculation is rife that missile defense will be among the targets for budget cuts.
Apart from sea-based assets, the U.S. deploys ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California and as part of a vision for multilayered missile defense has for several years been planning another shield in Central Europe, designed to counter the threat from Iran.
The Obama administration applied the brakes on the European proposals, questioning its cost and effectiveness.
But President Obama, speaking in the Czech Republic on Sunday, said he intended to continue with the plans “as long as the threat from Iran persists,” repeating the conditions that the system be “cost-effective and proven.”
Anticipating that the North Korean launch would be used by missile defense advocates to call for more spending, critics are arguing against the move.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said ahead of the launch that missile defense was not the answer, citing studies concluding that decoys built into missile designs could defeat anti-missile shields.
“If U.S. policymakers believe a missile attack is a significant security threat, it is irresponsible for them to advocate missile defense as a realistic response,” said David Wright, UCS global security program co-director.
“Doing so could create a false sense of security, divert defense dollars from more important uses, and reduce any incentive to develop more effective measures to reduce a missile threat.”
The USC argues that a sensible missile defense policy would give long-range anti-missile systems a much lower priority, while favoring stepped-up efforts to reduce the number of missiles and missile programs through international diplomacy.
‘Don’t end diplomatic isolation’
In the House of Representatives, meanwhile, the ranking Republican in the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, said she would introduce legislation requiring economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation to remain in place until North Korea changes its behavior.
“North Korea must abandon its illegal and destabilizing weapons programs and uphold human rights before it can reap the benefits and recognition afforded to responsible nations,” she said Sunday. “Pyongyang cannot have it both ways.”
Ros-Lehtinen also highlighted concerns about longstanding missile collaboration between North Korea and Iran.
“Our response to today’s belligerent demonstration by North Korea must not just send a message to Pyongyang about U.S. commitment to nonproliferation and protecting our critical security interests, but to Iran and other countries of proliferation concern.”
For Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the launch called for a multilateral reaction.
He said “a stern, unified response” was required from those involved in the six-party talks – the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.
\
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moriarity at 04:22 AM - April 07, 2009
Hey ambassador Rice and Secty. Clinton! Where is all your "power diplomacy" now? You and all your "touchy feely" cohorts are simply foolish children engaged in adult scenarios. Maybe you should consider drafting Jimmy Carter for support if he isn't too busy defending the Palestinians trying to wipe Israel out of existence.
Granny in Georgia at 09:51 PM - April 06, 2009
We can only pray that Obama wakes up before before it's too late. He has surrounded himself with "yes men", just as he accused GWB of doing, so no one is going to tell him how he has messed up! God help us.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Federal Takeover
Federal Takeover
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Monday, April 06, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Bailouts: Didn't Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner say that it was not the administration's intent to control private companies? Then why is it reportedly reluctant to accept TARP repayments from some banks?
If it has indeed declined to accept $340 million in payments from banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California, the administration is tacitly admitting that it wants to control those banks as well as others that will try to pay back the taxpayers' money they took in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
By refusing repayment, the government can keep the leverage it bought with the bailouts. Banks that still "owe" would not be in position to reject the administration as a "partner."
This reminds us of mobsters making a small "investment" in a family-owned shop, which is not always wanted by the owners, and then using it to justify taking over the business.
Joseph DePaolo, president and CEO of Signature Bank in New York, one of the four banks making TARP repayments last week, said his company wanted to return $120 million it received because, in part, it wasn't comfortable with legislation passed that would limit compensation for salespeople. Those limits, he explained, would make it hard to recruit top professionals.
And then there's the fact that the bank didn't actually need the money. But, as we have learned, need is not relevant in the era of the bailout.
Andrew Napolitano reported last week on Fox News that he had spoken to the head of a $250-billion bank the night before who said Washington forced him to take TARP funds last September.
Napolitano said this bank "has no subprime loans, it has no bad debts, wasn't involved in credit default swaps. It didn't need any money. It didn't ask for the money and didn't want it. . . . officials from both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Treasury said if you don't take this money, we will conduct a multi-year public audit of you."
The Fox News analyst said the bank's "board was forced to issue a class of stock just for the federal government. The federal government owns 2% of this huge bank."
That was done under the Bush administration. Enter the Obama White House. Last month, Napolitano said, Treasury told the bank "we own 2%, we're going to tell you how to run the place."
"As a result of that minority ownership, they now want to control salaries. They want to see his books, and they want to tell him who he can do business with," Napolitano reported.
Before his trip to Europe, President Obama, according to Politico, told a group of financial institution CEOs who were unhappy with the federal war on executive salaries and bonuses, "My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks." At the time, that sounded like nothing more than exaggeration.
An incident at the same meeting in which Geithner declined to take a fake $25 billion TARP repayment check from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also seemed to be meaningful.
Later, says Politico, "Dimon also insisted that he'd like to give the government's TARP money back as soon as practical . . . But Obama didn't like that idea — arguing that the system still needs government capital."
Looking back, these are small signs that reveal the administration's desire to seize command of the nation's financial system. The bigger, unmistakable sign is the reluctance — or is it outright refusal? — to take $340 million from four banks trying to be responsible and operate on their own.
This shouldn't be happening in this country. The private sector and the state are not to be mixed. The American financial system is best directed by markets, not politics. Prosperity and liberty suffer when the latter excludes the former.
Email To Friend |
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Monday, April 06, 2009 4:20 PM PT
Bailouts: Didn't Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner say that it was not the administration's intent to control private companies? Then why is it reportedly reluctant to accept TARP repayments from some banks?
If it has indeed declined to accept $340 million in payments from banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California, the administration is tacitly admitting that it wants to control those banks as well as others that will try to pay back the taxpayers' money they took in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
By refusing repayment, the government can keep the leverage it bought with the bailouts. Banks that still "owe" would not be in position to reject the administration as a "partner."
This reminds us of mobsters making a small "investment" in a family-owned shop, which is not always wanted by the owners, and then using it to justify taking over the business.
Joseph DePaolo, president and CEO of Signature Bank in New York, one of the four banks making TARP repayments last week, said his company wanted to return $120 million it received because, in part, it wasn't comfortable with legislation passed that would limit compensation for salespeople. Those limits, he explained, would make it hard to recruit top professionals.
And then there's the fact that the bank didn't actually need the money. But, as we have learned, need is not relevant in the era of the bailout.
Andrew Napolitano reported last week on Fox News that he had spoken to the head of a $250-billion bank the night before who said Washington forced him to take TARP funds last September.
Napolitano said this bank "has no subprime loans, it has no bad debts, wasn't involved in credit default swaps. It didn't need any money. It didn't ask for the money and didn't want it. . . . officials from both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Treasury said if you don't take this money, we will conduct a multi-year public audit of you."
The Fox News analyst said the bank's "board was forced to issue a class of stock just for the federal government. The federal government owns 2% of this huge bank."
That was done under the Bush administration. Enter the Obama White House. Last month, Napolitano said, Treasury told the bank "we own 2%, we're going to tell you how to run the place."
"As a result of that minority ownership, they now want to control salaries. They want to see his books, and they want to tell him who he can do business with," Napolitano reported.
Before his trip to Europe, President Obama, according to Politico, told a group of financial institution CEOs who were unhappy with the federal war on executive salaries and bonuses, "My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks." At the time, that sounded like nothing more than exaggeration.
An incident at the same meeting in which Geithner declined to take a fake $25 billion TARP repayment check from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also seemed to be meaningful.
Later, says Politico, "Dimon also insisted that he'd like to give the government's TARP money back as soon as practical . . . But Obama didn't like that idea — arguing that the system still needs government capital."
Looking back, these are small signs that reveal the administration's desire to seize command of the nation's financial system. The bigger, unmistakable sign is the reluctance — or is it outright refusal? — to take $340 million from four banks trying to be responsible and operate on their own.
This shouldn't be happening in this country. The private sector and the state are not to be mixed. The American financial system is best directed by markets, not politics. Prosperity and liberty suffer when the latter excludes the former.
Email To Friend |
Sunday, April 5, 2009
$18 Million to Force Passage of Amnesty
$18 Million to Force Passage of Amnesty
Rich Immigrants Are Behind $18 Million to Force Passage of Amnesty for Illegal Aliens This Year
By Roy Beck, Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 12:34 AM
Born in 1930 and 1934 (in Hungary and Iran) and moving to the United States in 1956 and 1958, two immigrants are at the heart of a massive flow of money into groups intent on forcing a vote this autumn to grant amnesty to 12 million or more illegal aliens.
Is there something just a little unseemly about immigrants using their good fortune to try to radically change the country that adopted them?
The Soros Foundations Network and Carnegie Corporation are two of the key money sources backing all the groups that are insisting on a giant amnesty for illegal aliens this year.
Both are led by immigrants who apparently like America so much that they will spare no expense in changing it as rapidly as possible through immigration.
I get a call from at least one news reporter a day asking what we are going to do to stop what looks to the journalists to be an invevitable vote this autumn on a giant amnesty.
To each one, I say that it makes no political sense at all to vote to give 7 million illegal-alien foreign workers permanent access to U.S. jobs while 12 million Americans are trying to find a job and can't find one (and 8 million more have had to settle for part-time jobs).
But the reporters respond back that the pro-amnesty groups have so much money that they believe they can force the vote.
How much money?
Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times interviewed a large number of the pro-amnesty leaders and wrote this:
To bolster their cause, advocates are planning an $18-million media and grass-roots campaign for the fall. The funding is coming primarily from liberal foundations, including one founded by billionaire activist George Soros.
Soros was born in Hungary in 1930. He moved to New York City in 1956.
Amassing billions as an international financier, he spends profusely on projects to open the United States to residency for the rest of the world.
Another foundation committing millions to the pro-amnesty effort is the Carnegie Corporation which has made rewards for illegal immigration one of its top projects. Carnegie openly touts its decision to be a central organizing leader to pull foundations together in a consortium to ensure amnesty and increased future immigration.
The open-borders leadership was begun at Carnegie under its new president, Vartan Gregorian.
Gregorian was born in Iran of Armenian parents in 1934 and received his secondary education in Lebanon.
He moved to the United States in 1958 (two years after Soros) to study at Stanford and apparently never left.
Now, they exercise control over incredible fortunes, and they are using that control to promote their agendas of massive U.S. population growth and a globalized U.S. labor market.
Not all immigrants treat their adopting country like Gregorian and Soros do.
NumbersUSA is proud of all of our members who are themselves immigrants (or children, spouses and parents of immigrants) and who join us in insisting that immigration policies be run in the national interest in ways that do not harm the people already living in the United States.
The question is whether enough of the people of America (native-born and foreign-born) love their country enough to stand up and fight for it as hard as Gregorian and Soros intend to fight to overwhelm it with out-of-control immigration.
ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA
Rich Immigrants Are Behind $18 Million to Force Passage of Amnesty for Illegal Aliens This Year
By Roy Beck, Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 12:34 AM
Born in 1930 and 1934 (in Hungary and Iran) and moving to the United States in 1956 and 1958, two immigrants are at the heart of a massive flow of money into groups intent on forcing a vote this autumn to grant amnesty to 12 million or more illegal aliens.
Is there something just a little unseemly about immigrants using their good fortune to try to radically change the country that adopted them?
The Soros Foundations Network and Carnegie Corporation are two of the key money sources backing all the groups that are insisting on a giant amnesty for illegal aliens this year.
Both are led by immigrants who apparently like America so much that they will spare no expense in changing it as rapidly as possible through immigration.
I get a call from at least one news reporter a day asking what we are going to do to stop what looks to the journalists to be an invevitable vote this autumn on a giant amnesty.
To each one, I say that it makes no political sense at all to vote to give 7 million illegal-alien foreign workers permanent access to U.S. jobs while 12 million Americans are trying to find a job and can't find one (and 8 million more have had to settle for part-time jobs).
But the reporters respond back that the pro-amnesty groups have so much money that they believe they can force the vote.
How much money?
Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times interviewed a large number of the pro-amnesty leaders and wrote this:
To bolster their cause, advocates are planning an $18-million media and grass-roots campaign for the fall. The funding is coming primarily from liberal foundations, including one founded by billionaire activist George Soros.
Soros was born in Hungary in 1930. He moved to New York City in 1956.
Amassing billions as an international financier, he spends profusely on projects to open the United States to residency for the rest of the world.
Another foundation committing millions to the pro-amnesty effort is the Carnegie Corporation which has made rewards for illegal immigration one of its top projects. Carnegie openly touts its decision to be a central organizing leader to pull foundations together in a consortium to ensure amnesty and increased future immigration.
The open-borders leadership was begun at Carnegie under its new president, Vartan Gregorian.
Gregorian was born in Iran of Armenian parents in 1934 and received his secondary education in Lebanon.
He moved to the United States in 1958 (two years after Soros) to study at Stanford and apparently never left.
Now, they exercise control over incredible fortunes, and they are using that control to promote their agendas of massive U.S. population growth and a globalized U.S. labor market.
Not all immigrants treat their adopting country like Gregorian and Soros do.
NumbersUSA is proud of all of our members who are themselves immigrants (or children, spouses and parents of immigrants) and who join us in insisting that immigration policies be run in the national interest in ways that do not harm the people already living in the United States.
The question is whether enough of the people of America (native-born and foreign-born) love their country enough to stand up and fight for it as hard as Gregorian and Soros intend to fight to overwhelm it with out-of-control immigration.
ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA
WHY THIS FAX??
WHY THIS FAX??
During a recent trip to Costa Rica, Vice President Joe Biden said, "It's difficult to tell a constituency while unemployment is rising, they're losing their jobs and their homes, that what we should do is in fact legalize (illegal immigrants) and stop all deportation." It's good to see that someone in the Obama administration realizes that a recession is the wrong time to amnesty 12-18 million illegal aliens (including 7.7 million illegal workers).
Please send your Democratic Member(s) of Congress a fax and urge him/her to follow VP Biden's advice below,
633,000 U.S. Jobs Lost in March -- 138,000 More Foreign Workers Given Work Permits -- White House & Media Noticing?
By Roy Beck, Friday, April 3, 2009
The March unemployment news is shocking -- just like it has been every month for the last year. The official unemployment rate jumped from 8.1% to 8.5%! There are now 13.2 million Americans looking for a job who can't find even a part-time job. Yet, many of the nation's richest foundations, most prestigious newspapers and top elected officials continue to call for an increase in foreign workers.
Claim that H-1B Workers Create American Jobs is Statistically Flawed
By Norm Matloff, Thursday, April 2, 2009
There was a column in the Wall Street Journal today by "Numbers Guy," Carl Bialik, concerning the claim by NFAP/Stuart Anderson that each H-1B worker creates five new jobs, oft-repeated by the industry lobbyists. It's amazing that an assertion as obviously flawed as this one, with textbook statistical errors, has gotten so much attention. But then that's why the lobbyists are paid the big bucks.
During a recent trip to Costa Rica, Vice President Joe Biden said, "It's difficult to tell a constituency while unemployment is rising, they're losing their jobs and their homes, that what we should do is in fact legalize (illegal immigrants) and stop all deportation." It's good to see that someone in the Obama administration realizes that a recession is the wrong time to amnesty 12-18 million illegal aliens (including 7.7 million illegal workers).
Please send your Democratic Member(s) of Congress a fax and urge him/her to follow VP Biden's advice below,
633,000 U.S. Jobs Lost in March -- 138,000 More Foreign Workers Given Work Permits -- White House & Media Noticing?
By Roy Beck, Friday, April 3, 2009
The March unemployment news is shocking -- just like it has been every month for the last year. The official unemployment rate jumped from 8.1% to 8.5%! There are now 13.2 million Americans looking for a job who can't find even a part-time job. Yet, many of the nation's richest foundations, most prestigious newspapers and top elected officials continue to call for an increase in foreign workers.
Claim that H-1B Workers Create American Jobs is Statistically Flawed
By Norm Matloff, Thursday, April 2, 2009
There was a column in the Wall Street Journal today by "Numbers Guy," Carl Bialik, concerning the claim by NFAP/Stuart Anderson that each H-1B worker creates five new jobs, oft-repeated by the industry lobbyists. It's amazing that an assertion as obviously flawed as this one, with textbook statistical errors, has gotten so much attention. But then that's why the lobbyists are paid the big bucks.
Amnesty for Illegal Aliens This Year
Rich Immigrants Are Behind $18 Million to Force Passage of Amnesty for Illegal Aliens This Year
By Roy Beck, Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 12:34 AM
Born in 1930 and 1934 (in Hungary and Iran) and moving to the United States in 1956 and 1958, two immigrants are at the heart of a massive flow of money into groups intent on forcing a vote this autumn to grant amnesty to 12 million or more illegal aliens.
Is there something just a little unseemly about immigrants using their good fortune to try to radically change the country that adopted them?
The Soros Foundations Network and Carnegie Corporation are two of the key money sources backing all the groups that are insisting on a giant amnesty for illegal aliens this year.
Both are led by immigrants who apparently like America so much that they will spare no expense in changing it as rapidly as possible through immigration.
I get a call from at least one news reporter a day asking what we are going to do to stop what looks to the journalists to be an invevitable vote this autumn on a giant amnesty.
To each one, I say that it makes no political sense at all to vote to give 7 million illegal-alien foreign workers permanent access to U.S. jobs while 12 million Americans are trying to find a job and can't find one (and 8 million more have had to settle for part-time jobs).
But the reporters respond back that the pro-amnesty groups have so much money that they believe they can force the vote.
How much money?
Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times interviewed a large number of the pro-amnesty leaders and wrote this:
To bolster their cause, advocates are planning an $18-million media and grass-roots campaign for the fall. The funding is coming primarily from liberal foundations, including one founded by billionaire activist George Soros.
Soros was born in Hungary in 1930. He moved to New York City in 1956.
Amassing billions as an international financier, he spends profusely on projects to open the United States to residency for the rest of the world.
Another foundation committing millions to the pro-amnesty effort is the Carnegie Corporation which has made rewards for illegal immigration one of its top projects. Carnegie openly touts its decision to be a central organizing leader to pull foundations together in a consortium to ensure amnesty and increased future immigration.
The open-borders leadership was begun at Carnegie under its new president, Vartan Gregorian.
Gregorian was born in Iran of Armenian parents in 1934 and received his secondary education in Lebanon.
He moved to the United States in 1958 (two years after Soros) to study at Stanford and apparently never left.
Now, they exercise control over incredible fortunes, and they are using that control to promote their agendas of massive U.S. population growth and a globalized U.S. labor market.
Not all immigrants treat their adopting country like Gregorian and Soros do.
NumbersUSA is proud of all of our members who are themselves immigrants (or children, spouses and parents of immigrants) and who join us in insisting that immigration policies be run in the national interest in ways that do not harm the people already living in the United States.
The question is whether enough of the people of America (native-born and foreign-born) love their country enough to stand up and fight for it as hard as Gregorian and Soros intend to fight to overwhelm it with out-of-control immigration.
ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA
Views and opinions expressed in blogs on this website are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect official policies of NumbersUSA. Subscribe to our Blog Feed
By Roy Beck, Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 12:34 AM
Born in 1930 and 1934 (in Hungary and Iran) and moving to the United States in 1956 and 1958, two immigrants are at the heart of a massive flow of money into groups intent on forcing a vote this autumn to grant amnesty to 12 million or more illegal aliens.
Is there something just a little unseemly about immigrants using their good fortune to try to radically change the country that adopted them?
The Soros Foundations Network and Carnegie Corporation are two of the key money sources backing all the groups that are insisting on a giant amnesty for illegal aliens this year.
Both are led by immigrants who apparently like America so much that they will spare no expense in changing it as rapidly as possible through immigration.
I get a call from at least one news reporter a day asking what we are going to do to stop what looks to the journalists to be an invevitable vote this autumn on a giant amnesty.
To each one, I say that it makes no political sense at all to vote to give 7 million illegal-alien foreign workers permanent access to U.S. jobs while 12 million Americans are trying to find a job and can't find one (and 8 million more have had to settle for part-time jobs).
But the reporters respond back that the pro-amnesty groups have so much money that they believe they can force the vote.
How much money?
Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times interviewed a large number of the pro-amnesty leaders and wrote this:
To bolster their cause, advocates are planning an $18-million media and grass-roots campaign for the fall. The funding is coming primarily from liberal foundations, including one founded by billionaire activist George Soros.
Soros was born in Hungary in 1930. He moved to New York City in 1956.
Amassing billions as an international financier, he spends profusely on projects to open the United States to residency for the rest of the world.
Another foundation committing millions to the pro-amnesty effort is the Carnegie Corporation which has made rewards for illegal immigration one of its top projects. Carnegie openly touts its decision to be a central organizing leader to pull foundations together in a consortium to ensure amnesty and increased future immigration.
The open-borders leadership was begun at Carnegie under its new president, Vartan Gregorian.
Gregorian was born in Iran of Armenian parents in 1934 and received his secondary education in Lebanon.
He moved to the United States in 1958 (two years after Soros) to study at Stanford and apparently never left.
Now, they exercise control over incredible fortunes, and they are using that control to promote their agendas of massive U.S. population growth and a globalized U.S. labor market.
Not all immigrants treat their adopting country like Gregorian and Soros do.
NumbersUSA is proud of all of our members who are themselves immigrants (or children, spouses and parents of immigrants) and who join us in insisting that immigration policies be run in the national interest in ways that do not harm the people already living in the United States.
The question is whether enough of the people of America (native-born and foreign-born) love their country enough to stand up and fight for it as hard as Gregorian and Soros intend to fight to overwhelm it with out-of-control immigration.
ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA
Views and opinions expressed in blogs on this website are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect official policies of NumbersUSA. Subscribe to our Blog Feed
> > YES, I'M A BAD AMERICAN
> > YES, I'M A BAD AMERICAN
Subject: Fw: This Guy Had The Guts To Put This On The Internet
> >
>
> >
> >
> > Gotta love this guy!
> >
> >
> >
> > ?
> > YES, I'M A BAD AMERICAN
> > I Am the Liberal-Progressives Worst Nightmare.
> > I am an American.
> > I am a Master Mason and believe in God.
> > I ride Harley Davidson Motorcycles and believe in American products.
> > I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some Liberal
> > governmental functionary be it Democratic or Republican!
> > I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!
> > I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer, it makes you a smart American.
> > I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not
> > entitle you to anything. Get over it!
> > I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.
> > I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and
> > where they want to. Amen.?
> > My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and Willie G. Davidson
> > that makes the awesome Harley Davidson Motorcycles.
> > I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.
> > I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time watching or arguing about it.
> > I've never owned a slave, or was a slave, I haven't burned any witches
> > or been persecuted by the Turks and neither hav you!
> > So, shut up already.
> > I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where
> > you came from and change your own country!
> > This is AMERICA .We like it the way it is!
> > If you were born here and don't like it you
> > are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you.
> > I want to know which church is it exactly where the Reverend
> > Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why
> > he is always part of the problem and not the solution.
> > Can I get an AMEN on that one?
> > I also think the cops have the right to pull you over if you're
> > breaking the law, regardless of what color you are.
> > And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my drivers license.
> > I think it's good.... And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money.
> > I think if you are too stupid to know how a
> > ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most
> > powerful nation in the world for the next four years.
> > I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell
> > me stuff or trying to guilt me into making 'donations' to their cause.
> > Get a Job and do your part!
> > I believe that it doesn't take a village tO raise a child, it takes two parents.
> > I believe 'illegal' is illegal no matter what the lawyers think.
> > I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA !
> > If this makes me a BAD American, then yes,
> > I'm a BAD American.
> > We want our country back!
> > We NEED GOD BACK IN OUR COUNTRY!
> > WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY
> > BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!
> >
> >
> >
Subject: Fw: This Guy Had The Guts To Put This On The Internet
> >
>
> >
> >
> > Gotta love this guy!
> >
> >
> >
> > ?
> > YES, I'M A BAD AMERICAN
> > I Am the Liberal-Progressives Worst Nightmare.
> > I am an American.
> > I am a Master Mason and believe in God.
> > I ride Harley Davidson Motorcycles and believe in American products.
> > I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some Liberal
> > governmental functionary be it Democratic or Republican!
> > I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!
> > I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer, it makes you a smart American.
> > I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not
> > entitle you to anything. Get over it!
> > I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.
> > I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and
> > where they want to. Amen.?
> > My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and Willie G. Davidson
> > that makes the awesome Harley Davidson Motorcycles.
> > I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.
> > I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time watching or arguing about it.
> > I've never owned a slave, or was a slave, I haven't burned any witches
> > or been persecuted by the Turks and neither hav you!
> > So, shut up already.
> > I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where
> > you came from and change your own country!
> > This is AMERICA .We like it the way it is!
> > If you were born here and don't like it you
> > are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you.
> > I want to know which church is it exactly where the Reverend
> > Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why
> > he is always part of the problem and not the solution.
> > Can I get an AMEN on that one?
> > I also think the cops have the right to pull you over if you're
> > breaking the law, regardless of what color you are.
> > And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my drivers license.
> > I think it's good.... And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money.
> > I think if you are too stupid to know how a
> > ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most
> > powerful nation in the world for the next four years.
> > I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell
> > me stuff or trying to guilt me into making 'donations' to their cause.
> > Get a Job and do your part!
> > I believe that it doesn't take a village tO raise a child, it takes two parents.
> > I believe 'illegal' is illegal no matter what the lawyers think.
> > I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA !
> > If this makes me a BAD American, then yes,
> > I'm a BAD American.
> > We want our country back!
> > We NEED GOD BACK IN OUR COUNTRY!
> > WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY
> > BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!
> >
> >
> >
Congress Approves Budget
THE DEMOCRATS WERE SUCCESSSFUL IN KEEPING THE REPUBLIICANS FROM OFFERING ANY
AMENDMENT IN OPPOSITION TO THE LAID OUT PLAN OF THE COMMUNIST IN CHIEF BARAK
H, OBAMA. WE ARE ABOUT TO FACE ANARCHY AMONG OTHER THINGS. DAVE ANDERSON
Congress Approves Budget
$3.5 Trillion Spending Plan Paves Way for Obama Goals
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 3, 2009; Page A01
Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly
embraced President Obama's ambitious and expensive agenda for the nation yesterday, endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching priorities.
Voting along party lines, the House and Senate approved budget blueprints that would trim Obama's spending proposals for the fiscal year that begins in October and curtail his plans to cut taxes. The blueprints, however, would permit work to begin on the central goals of Obama's presidency: an expansion of health-care coverage for the uninsured, more money for college loans and a cap-and-trade system to reduce gases that contribute to global warming.
The measures now move to a conference committee where negotiators must resolve differences between the two chambers, a prelude to the more difficult choices that will be required to implement Obama's initiatives. While Democrats back the president's vision for transforming huge sectors of the economy, they remain fiercely divided over the details.
There is no agreement, for example, on how to pay for an overhaul of the health-care system expected to add more than $1 trillion to the budget over the next decade, nor is there consensus on how to spend the hundreds of billions of dollars the government stands to collect by setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions and forcing industry to buy permits to pollute. Those issues will be decided in committees where lawmakers have begun the torturous work on the specifics of Obama's broad plans.
"Democrats in the House and, I think, the Senate are shoulder to shoulder with the president in trying to make the big decisions we need to make in this country," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). But, he said, "Hammering out the details will require everyone to roll up their sleeves."
Republicans blasted the Democratic budget as a reckless manifesto that would greatly expand the size of government and double the national debt within five years. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he feared the consequences of a budget that "calls for a dramatic and potentially irreversible shift of our nation to the left in the areas of health care, education and private enterprise."
Democrats rallied behind the president, however, arguing that their budget would rebuild an economy ruined by eight years of Republican leadership. In the House, fiscal conservatives generally fell in line behind the plan, even though it would generate a deficit of more than $1.2 trillion next year and produce large annual deficits well into the future. The progressive caucus offered an alternative budget plan primarily to voice opposition to the war in Iraq, though many of its members also voted for the revised Obama budget plan.
The House voted 233 to 196 to support the Democratic budget proposal, with just 20 Democrats voting with Republicans in opposition. The Senate approved its blueprint 55 to 43, with all but two Democrats voting yes.
The biggest dispute between the two chambers is whether to use a powerful procedural shortcut that could allow Obama's health, education and energy initiatives to pass the Senate with 51 votes rather than the usual 60, eliminating the need to win over any Republicans.
The House yesterday voted to include the procedure, known as reconciliation, in its budget plan to speed health care and education legislation. But Senate Republicans -- and some Senate Democrats -- argue that the maneuver would make bipartisan cooperation all but impossible on some of the most significant measures to come before the Senate in years.
The Senate, meanwhile, has roundly rejected reconciliation for Obama's cap-and-trade proposal, adopting an amendment to ban the maneuver by a vote of 67 to 31. The House budget does not include cap-and-trade in its reconciliation provisions. But neither fact has deterred cap-and-trade advocates, and administration officials support leaving the door open in the budget blueprint when it emerges from conference committee for a final vote this month.
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) called cap-and-trade "the most significant revenue-generating proposal of our time," and said it would be difficult to pass without reconciliation because Democrats would be forced to accommodate a handful of Republicans as they did in the debate over the president's stimulus package. Although winning use of the maneuver is unlikely, Cardin said, "a lot of us don't want to give up without a fight."
Other differences between the two chambers are comparatively minor. Both the House and Senate budget plans would authorize about $3.5 trillion in spending next year, about $100 billion less than Obama requested. Much of that reduction would come from lawmakers' decision not to budget another $250 billion for the Treasury's $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial system. That move would not prevent Obama from requesting the funds, however.
Both chambers also trimmed Obama's request for government agencies with the Senate cutting $15 billion and the House cutting about $7 billion. But both budget plans would fully fund Obama's request for defense spending and authorize the administration to spend $130 billion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan next year.
Both chambers have adopted Obama's plans to extend tax cuts for the middle class beyond their 2010 expiration date and to allow cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year to expire. But both chambers scaled back Obama's plan to protect millions of families from the alternative minimum tax and dropped his proposal to make permanent his signature $800 tax credit for working families.
AMENDMENT IN OPPOSITION TO THE LAID OUT PLAN OF THE COMMUNIST IN CHIEF BARAK
H, OBAMA. WE ARE ABOUT TO FACE ANARCHY AMONG OTHER THINGS. DAVE ANDERSON
Congress Approves Budget
$3.5 Trillion Spending Plan Paves Way for Obama Goals
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 3, 2009; Page A01
Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly
embraced President Obama's ambitious and expensive agenda for the nation yesterday, endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching priorities.
Voting along party lines, the House and Senate approved budget blueprints that would trim Obama's spending proposals for the fiscal year that begins in October and curtail his plans to cut taxes. The blueprints, however, would permit work to begin on the central goals of Obama's presidency: an expansion of health-care coverage for the uninsured, more money for college loans and a cap-and-trade system to reduce gases that contribute to global warming.
The measures now move to a conference committee where negotiators must resolve differences between the two chambers, a prelude to the more difficult choices that will be required to implement Obama's initiatives. While Democrats back the president's vision for transforming huge sectors of the economy, they remain fiercely divided over the details.
There is no agreement, for example, on how to pay for an overhaul of the health-care system expected to add more than $1 trillion to the budget over the next decade, nor is there consensus on how to spend the hundreds of billions of dollars the government stands to collect by setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions and forcing industry to buy permits to pollute. Those issues will be decided in committees where lawmakers have begun the torturous work on the specifics of Obama's broad plans.
"Democrats in the House and, I think, the Senate are shoulder to shoulder with the president in trying to make the big decisions we need to make in this country," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). But, he said, "Hammering out the details will require everyone to roll up their sleeves."
Republicans blasted the Democratic budget as a reckless manifesto that would greatly expand the size of government and double the national debt within five years. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he feared the consequences of a budget that "calls for a dramatic and potentially irreversible shift of our nation to the left in the areas of health care, education and private enterprise."
Democrats rallied behind the president, however, arguing that their budget would rebuild an economy ruined by eight years of Republican leadership. In the House, fiscal conservatives generally fell in line behind the plan, even though it would generate a deficit of more than $1.2 trillion next year and produce large annual deficits well into the future. The progressive caucus offered an alternative budget plan primarily to voice opposition to the war in Iraq, though many of its members also voted for the revised Obama budget plan.
The House voted 233 to 196 to support the Democratic budget proposal, with just 20 Democrats voting with Republicans in opposition. The Senate approved its blueprint 55 to 43, with all but two Democrats voting yes.
The biggest dispute between the two chambers is whether to use a powerful procedural shortcut that could allow Obama's health, education and energy initiatives to pass the Senate with 51 votes rather than the usual 60, eliminating the need to win over any Republicans.
The House yesterday voted to include the procedure, known as reconciliation, in its budget plan to speed health care and education legislation. But Senate Republicans -- and some Senate Democrats -- argue that the maneuver would make bipartisan cooperation all but impossible on some of the most significant measures to come before the Senate in years.
The Senate, meanwhile, has roundly rejected reconciliation for Obama's cap-and-trade proposal, adopting an amendment to ban the maneuver by a vote of 67 to 31. The House budget does not include cap-and-trade in its reconciliation provisions. But neither fact has deterred cap-and-trade advocates, and administration officials support leaving the door open in the budget blueprint when it emerges from conference committee for a final vote this month.
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) called cap-and-trade "the most significant revenue-generating proposal of our time," and said it would be difficult to pass without reconciliation because Democrats would be forced to accommodate a handful of Republicans as they did in the debate over the president's stimulus package. Although winning use of the maneuver is unlikely, Cardin said, "a lot of us don't want to give up without a fight."
Other differences between the two chambers are comparatively minor. Both the House and Senate budget plans would authorize about $3.5 trillion in spending next year, about $100 billion less than Obama requested. Much of that reduction would come from lawmakers' decision not to budget another $250 billion for the Treasury's $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial system. That move would not prevent Obama from requesting the funds, however.
Both chambers also trimmed Obama's request for government agencies with the Senate cutting $15 billion and the House cutting about $7 billion. But both budget plans would fully fund Obama's request for defense spending and authorize the administration to spend $130 billion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan next year.
Both chambers have adopted Obama's plans to extend tax cuts for the middle class beyond their 2010 expiration date and to allow cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year to expire. But both chambers scaled back Obama's plan to protect millions of families from the alternative minimum tax and dropped his proposal to make permanent his signature $800 tax credit for working families.
Congressman Reprimands Father of Teen Killed
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Congressman Reprimands Father of Teen Killed
AS LONG AS YOU HAVE DUAL THINKING CITIZENS YOU WILL HAVE THIS KIND OF DIVIDE. WHEN CONGRESSMAN LUIS GUTIERREZ (D-Ill) COMES TO REALIZE THAT CALLING A MEXICAN
ILLEGAL A "BANDIDO" IS THE SAME AS CALLING A SPADE A SPADE OR A CLUB A CLUB,
WHILE HE OBJECTS TO THE JOINING OF BANDIDO TO ILLEGAL IT SHOWS TO ME AT LEAST THAT HIS LOYALTY BELONGS ELSEWHERE, HE SHOULD EITHER BE A REAL LIVE "AMERICAN" 0R GO WHERE HIS FEELINGS LAY,
Congressman Reprimands Father of Teen Killed
by Drunk-Driving Illegal Alien for
Calling Criminal Aliens 'Banditos'
Friday, April 03, 2009
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer
Ray Tranchant, a professor who lives in Virginia Beach, Va., testified on Capitol Hill on Thursday about his daughter's death after the car she was riding in was hit by an illegal alien who was driving drunk. (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com)(CNSNews.com) – In emotional testimony before a House joint panel this week, a Virginia man recalled the death of his teenage daughter in 2007 – a death caused by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk and who had been arrested twice before the crime, but was not deported.
“Two years ago this week, my 16-year-old daughter, Tessa, and her best friend Allison were killed as they were sitting at in intersection waiting for a red light to change,” Ray Tranchant said, as friends placed a photograph of Tessa Tranchant on an easel behind him.
Since his daughter’s death, Tranchant, a professor from VIrginia Beach, has become an advocate for the enforcement of immigration law.
On Thursday, as Tranchant applauded local law enforcement in Virginia for its increased efforts to work with federal immigration authorities since his daughter’s death, he referred to individuals listed on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s database of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds as “banditos.”
That comment drew a rebuff from Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.).
"Mr. Tranchant, can I share with you as the father of two daughters, I thank you for bringing your testimony here, but I suggest to you that if we refer to people as banditos, as you referred to them in your testimony, it does not help to solve the problem,” Gutierrez said.
Witnesses on the first panel were called to testify about ICE’s ACCESS program, the 287(g) law passed by Congress in 1996 that allows state and local law enforcement agencies to voluntarily sign up for training to enforce federal immigration law in their jurisdictions.
Some on the subcommittee charged that the law has led to widespread racial profiling and other abuses.
Antonio Ramirez is a community acitivist in Maryland who held up a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that he says he carries with him. He became a U.S. citizen and said he and many others are discriminated against because of the enforcement of immigration laws. (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com) In other testimony before a joint hearing of subcommittees on immigration, border security, the Constitution, and civil rights, Julio Cesar Mora, a 19-year-old American citizen who lives in Maricopa County, Arizona, told the committee that he and his father, who is a legal resident, were detained and harassed by sheriff officers while driving to his father’s workplace.
Antonia Ramirez, a community activist from Frederick, Maryland, said that even though he and many of his fellow Hispanics are citizens, they are often the victims of discrimination. He said illegal aliens often refuse to report crimes and even suffer abuse because they fear their families will be separated by deportation.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said he was surprised by the contrast of the witnesses’ testimony.
“I think I’m seeing the embodiment of a great big problem we have in this country and the result of it is the loss of lives, the loss of innocent human lives,” King said. “And I listen to professor Tranchant’s testimony. You have to know that he’s here to tell you today that if we had enforced local immigration law, his daughter would still be alive. Tessa and Ali would still be alive. And that’s true for hundreds, perhaps thousands of Americans who go about their lives every day, seeking to make the world a better place.”
Rep. King said the testimony by Ramirez and Mora seemed designed to persuade lawmakers that enforcing immigration laws is not a good policy.
“The message I get from you is that we shouldn’t enforce local immigration law because there are some examples of discrimination,” King said. “I don’t argue that it never happens. But I ask you, can you look at this on balance? Can you see the difference between the plea that you have made to this committee and the plea that Mr. Tranchant has made to this committee? Can you look him in the eye and say we should pass everybody over?”
“The comparison to what looks like an inconvenience to either one of you compared to the very sacred life of this man’s daughter,” King said.
Tranchant, whose mother immigrated to the United States from Ireland, told the committee he was shocked to learn the facts about the man who killed his daughter when the man was tried for vehicular manslaughter.
“I heard at the trial that Alfredo Ramos should have been and could have been deported long before he killed my daughter,” Tranchant said. “In fact, this wasn’t the first time he’d been involved in this kind of an incident. It wasn’t even the second time. Ramos had been arrested twice before.”
“Instead of being deported to his home country, he stayed on the streets of Virginia Beach to drink, drive, and kill these two beautiful girls in a way that showed wanton disrespect for the laws of our land,” he said.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said he believed that if federal immigration laws were enforced Tranchant's daughter's life would have been spared. (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com) Ramos, whose blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit, was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
But Rep. Gutierrez said he thought the committee was “missing the point.”
“I think we’re missing the point of the testimony here this morning and just so we have it very clear, no one ever has debated, promoted law that does not deport drunks, that does not deport rapists and murderers,” Gutierrez said. “Part of the problem is, it’s been said here by some of my colleagues on the other side -- enforce the law.”
“This Congress and the government of the United States has not shown the political will nor committed the requisite resources to enforce the immigration law,” he said. “The only way to really do that is to have comprehensive immigration reform. You either sweep millions and millions of people off the streets of the United States of America, which no one is going to propose. So it’s always a little disingenuous to me when people say only enforce the law.”
“What I have seen, unfortunately, is the will to target and to victimize and to scapegoat a community of people,” Gutierrez said. “I have seen that readily here. It makes for great political points but it doesn’t solve the problem and would not have saved your daughter’s life."
Gutierrez said anti-immigrant sentiment is not new in this country.
“The Irish [were] the dirty, filthy element that was coming here to undermine America. Well, it gave us a President Kennedy,” he said.
Rep. Gutierrez recently embarked on a five-week tour, visiting 16 American cities, to “document the harm” caused by the lack of “comprehensive immigration reform.” As part of his Family Unity Immigration Outreach Tour, Gutierrez held community meetings for U.S. citizens whose families are at risk of “being torn apart by a broken immigration system.”
Gutierrez’ critics, including the Federation for American Immigration Reform, say he is “promoting amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and the dismantling of immigration law enforcement programs.”
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moriarity at 04:06 AM - April 04, 2009
Let's not forget Gutierrez' political cabal......Chicago, Illinois, does that strike a familiar political ideology? B.O. is part of this criminal cabal and he's proud of it! The nerve of this gutless jerk chastising the father who lost his daughter to a repeat offender who's an illegal alien. If I were that father I could not have controlled myself being chastised by these congressional Marxists! It's always the same with these twisted morons, embrace the perpetrator and demonize the victim.
rainfrog at 02:52 AM - April 04, 2009
We need to ammend the congressional oath of office to read as follows: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the CITIZENS, LANDS and Constitution of the United States against all enemies OR PERILS, foreign or domestic..." As is, the oath allows too much wiggle room for disloyal ethnists to pursue agendas for various ethnic groups. Push for this simple change, and we can start to hold some of these disloyal representatives accountable. Congress should loyally represent all ordinary citizens, not a diversity of non-citizens. Unless we push for moderate reforms such as these, a second civil w_a_r may be soon to follow.... --Frogface, bleeding Kansas
pg at 01:39 AM - April 04, 2009
Once again the people of America and the Law are under attack by a pandering congressman. Mr. Gutierrez should be ashamed of the way he spoke to the grief stricken Mr. Tranchant. I am sure Mr. Gutierrez would have been controlled and measured if it happened to a daughter of his. Mr Gutierrez is lucky Mr Tranchant didn't come across the desk and beat him to an inch of his life. As for the legal immigrant and the naturalized citizen who testified, at least they did it the right way. For that I commend them and welcome them to the US. However, their premise that because we enforce immigration laws we make their lives unpleasant. This is so upside down. Instead, their lives would be less complicated if the illegals were not here and the Latino communities would not continue hiding them and making excuses as to why they are here. Mr. Tranchant's description of bandito is perfectly correct. Illegals are felons for breaking into the US. It is no different than breaking and entering
honor at 01:26 AM - April 04, 2009
gutierrez representive of the people of illegal behavior in congress of united states! back ground check type person! naturalized citizen representative in congress of united states? naturalized how many are in our united states goverment? GUTIERREZ said, comperhensive immigration reform answer? either you sweep millions and millions off the streets of united states of america WHICH NO ONE IS GOING TO PROPOSE? oh really!!!! illegal mexican general gutierrez also said ANTI- IMMIGRATION sentiment is not new in this country? yes but the difference today it's a invasion of unkown ILLEGAL invaders we are concern about here gutierrez??? millions and millions and million cross our borders each and every year! cost suffering victims are U.S. gutierrez? our mothers! daughters! fathers! our childrens lives are being lost. QUESTION is for what propose? CHEAP LABOR ARGUMENT!! thats nice to the families of the victims! enforce! deport! millions and save billions!! sounds good to U.S. PERIOD. AMEN.
Linda Mae at 01:20 AM - April 04, 2009
My American citizenship class had definite ideas about ILLEGALS coming to America. They would not even use the word immigrant because they didn't consider illegals as immigrants. They were lawbreakers as far as they were concerned. There are rules and regulations for becoming a naturalized citizen - available on line - and it is not complicated. Come here with the right visa, live and work for 5 years, fill out the application and then pass the oral exam. It has become PC to conjoin the words illegals and immigrants to be one group. Not right. My class also thought the 14th Amendment should be changed so that anyone born here would have the citizenship of his/her parents. One student used the analogy that a cat is a cat - whether it is born in the house or in the barn. You can't become a citizen of many, many countries. My class kept reminding me that America is still a great place to be - that many in the world want to come her for its freedoms - and laws.
oldtimer76 at 01:08 AM - April 04, 2009
nodak at 02:47 PM - April 03, 2009 There is no way to deport the millions of illegals **************************************************** If you check our history you will find that millions of illegals have been rounded up and deported before. So it is not an impossibility as some would have you believe.
Chantal at 12:28 AM - April 04, 2009
Gutierrez is an embarrassment to every person with an IQ above 10. He should be reminded he took a sworn oath to protect and defend our Constitution and the people of this country and not just those who share his heritage, and certainly not those here illegally who kill U.S. citizens. This man is paid by our tax dollars yet he spends the majority of his time traveling around the country inciting civil unrest and defending those who violate the very laws he has sworn to uphold. Gutierrez should be brought up on charges of treason and dereliction of duty. It is a travesty to allow this man to sit in judgment of any law-abiding citizen. He is: a disgrace to his office; an embarrassment to law-abiding Latinos; and a lead agitator for groups, such as LaRaza, that are relentless in their attempts to turn this country into a mirror image of the third world countries the illegal aliens left behind.
cyndiobannon at 12:10 AM - April 04, 2009
I live in the Dallas area, and recently it seems like there has been an increase in deaths from drunk driving, and in virtually every case it turned out that the culprit was a Hispanic man in the country illegally. In several cases, the drunk entered the exit ramp of a freeway and hit the victim's car headon. It is outrageous!
nvcat at 12:04 AM - April 04, 2009
This is one congressman that should leave office. If you aren't smart enough to get the point of " a death " and an "illegal alien" you don't belong in office. Not all illegals are mexicans, and yes he could have been more tactful. The point is still ILLEGAL, DRUNK and a horrible death. I lost my best friend to a drunk driver 40 years ago. It never goes away the lady was also my mother.
silversword63 at 10:44 PM - April 03, 2009
Most of us here in the USA came from people who immigrated legally here from other countries. The key word here is LEGALLY. Our ancestors came to make a better world, a better place for their families. ILLEGAL immigrants are those who choose to break the laws of the country they are immigrating to. These people have no regard for our laws, our customs, our country. Many of them are gang members, drug runners, Islamic terrorists and Mexican mafia. As such they are here to destroy our country, to pillage and rape and kill. Deport them when they are found. It doesn't matter what they are doing, they are illegally. Which means by their very presence they break our laws. What part of ILLEGAL do our politicians not understand
Congressman Reprimands Father of Teen Killed
AS LONG AS YOU HAVE DUAL THINKING CITIZENS YOU WILL HAVE THIS KIND OF DIVIDE. WHEN CONGRESSMAN LUIS GUTIERREZ (D-Ill) COMES TO REALIZE THAT CALLING A MEXICAN
ILLEGAL A "BANDIDO" IS THE SAME AS CALLING A SPADE A SPADE OR A CLUB A CLUB,
WHILE HE OBJECTS TO THE JOINING OF BANDIDO TO ILLEGAL IT SHOWS TO ME AT LEAST THAT HIS LOYALTY BELONGS ELSEWHERE, HE SHOULD EITHER BE A REAL LIVE "AMERICAN" 0R GO WHERE HIS FEELINGS LAY,
Congressman Reprimands Father of Teen Killed
by Drunk-Driving Illegal Alien for
Calling Criminal Aliens 'Banditos'
Friday, April 03, 2009
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer
Ray Tranchant, a professor who lives in Virginia Beach, Va., testified on Capitol Hill on Thursday about his daughter's death after the car she was riding in was hit by an illegal alien who was driving drunk. (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com)(CNSNews.com) – In emotional testimony before a House joint panel this week, a Virginia man recalled the death of his teenage daughter in 2007 – a death caused by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk and who had been arrested twice before the crime, but was not deported.
“Two years ago this week, my 16-year-old daughter, Tessa, and her best friend Allison were killed as they were sitting at in intersection waiting for a red light to change,” Ray Tranchant said, as friends placed a photograph of Tessa Tranchant on an easel behind him.
Since his daughter’s death, Tranchant, a professor from VIrginia Beach, has become an advocate for the enforcement of immigration law.
On Thursday, as Tranchant applauded local law enforcement in Virginia for its increased efforts to work with federal immigration authorities since his daughter’s death, he referred to individuals listed on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s database of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds as “banditos.”
That comment drew a rebuff from Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.).
"Mr. Tranchant, can I share with you as the father of two daughters, I thank you for bringing your testimony here, but I suggest to you that if we refer to people as banditos, as you referred to them in your testimony, it does not help to solve the problem,” Gutierrez said.
Witnesses on the first panel were called to testify about ICE’s ACCESS program, the 287(g) law passed by Congress in 1996 that allows state and local law enforcement agencies to voluntarily sign up for training to enforce federal immigration law in their jurisdictions.
Some on the subcommittee charged that the law has led to widespread racial profiling and other abuses.
Antonio Ramirez is a community acitivist in Maryland who held up a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that he says he carries with him. He became a U.S. citizen and said he and many others are discriminated against because of the enforcement of immigration laws. (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com) In other testimony before a joint hearing of subcommittees on immigration, border security, the Constitution, and civil rights, Julio Cesar Mora, a 19-year-old American citizen who lives in Maricopa County, Arizona, told the committee that he and his father, who is a legal resident, were detained and harassed by sheriff officers while driving to his father’s workplace.
Antonia Ramirez, a community activist from Frederick, Maryland, said that even though he and many of his fellow Hispanics are citizens, they are often the victims of discrimination. He said illegal aliens often refuse to report crimes and even suffer abuse because they fear their families will be separated by deportation.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said he was surprised by the contrast of the witnesses’ testimony.
“I think I’m seeing the embodiment of a great big problem we have in this country and the result of it is the loss of lives, the loss of innocent human lives,” King said. “And I listen to professor Tranchant’s testimony. You have to know that he’s here to tell you today that if we had enforced local immigration law, his daughter would still be alive. Tessa and Ali would still be alive. And that’s true for hundreds, perhaps thousands of Americans who go about their lives every day, seeking to make the world a better place.”
Rep. King said the testimony by Ramirez and Mora seemed designed to persuade lawmakers that enforcing immigration laws is not a good policy.
“The message I get from you is that we shouldn’t enforce local immigration law because there are some examples of discrimination,” King said. “I don’t argue that it never happens. But I ask you, can you look at this on balance? Can you see the difference between the plea that you have made to this committee and the plea that Mr. Tranchant has made to this committee? Can you look him in the eye and say we should pass everybody over?”
“The comparison to what looks like an inconvenience to either one of you compared to the very sacred life of this man’s daughter,” King said.
Tranchant, whose mother immigrated to the United States from Ireland, told the committee he was shocked to learn the facts about the man who killed his daughter when the man was tried for vehicular manslaughter.
“I heard at the trial that Alfredo Ramos should have been and could have been deported long before he killed my daughter,” Tranchant said. “In fact, this wasn’t the first time he’d been involved in this kind of an incident. It wasn’t even the second time. Ramos had been arrested twice before.”
“Instead of being deported to his home country, he stayed on the streets of Virginia Beach to drink, drive, and kill these two beautiful girls in a way that showed wanton disrespect for the laws of our land,” he said.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said he believed that if federal immigration laws were enforced Tranchant's daughter's life would have been spared. (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com) Ramos, whose blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit, was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
But Rep. Gutierrez said he thought the committee was “missing the point.”
“I think we’re missing the point of the testimony here this morning and just so we have it very clear, no one ever has debated, promoted law that does not deport drunks, that does not deport rapists and murderers,” Gutierrez said. “Part of the problem is, it’s been said here by some of my colleagues on the other side -- enforce the law.”
“This Congress and the government of the United States has not shown the political will nor committed the requisite resources to enforce the immigration law,” he said. “The only way to really do that is to have comprehensive immigration reform. You either sweep millions and millions of people off the streets of the United States of America, which no one is going to propose. So it’s always a little disingenuous to me when people say only enforce the law.”
“What I have seen, unfortunately, is the will to target and to victimize and to scapegoat a community of people,” Gutierrez said. “I have seen that readily here. It makes for great political points but it doesn’t solve the problem and would not have saved your daughter’s life."
Gutierrez said anti-immigrant sentiment is not new in this country.
“The Irish [were] the dirty, filthy element that was coming here to undermine America. Well, it gave us a President Kennedy,” he said.
Rep. Gutierrez recently embarked on a five-week tour, visiting 16 American cities, to “document the harm” caused by the lack of “comprehensive immigration reform.” As part of his Family Unity Immigration Outreach Tour, Gutierrez held community meetings for U.S. citizens whose families are at risk of “being torn apart by a broken immigration system.”
Gutierrez’ critics, including the Federation for American Immigration Reform, say he is “promoting amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and the dismantling of immigration law enforcement programs.”
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moriarity at 04:06 AM - April 04, 2009
Let's not forget Gutierrez' political cabal......Chicago, Illinois, does that strike a familiar political ideology? B.O. is part of this criminal cabal and he's proud of it! The nerve of this gutless jerk chastising the father who lost his daughter to a repeat offender who's an illegal alien. If I were that father I could not have controlled myself being chastised by these congressional Marxists! It's always the same with these twisted morons, embrace the perpetrator and demonize the victim.
rainfrog at 02:52 AM - April 04, 2009
We need to ammend the congressional oath of office to read as follows: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the CITIZENS, LANDS and Constitution of the United States against all enemies OR PERILS, foreign or domestic..." As is, the oath allows too much wiggle room for disloyal ethnists to pursue agendas for various ethnic groups. Push for this simple change, and we can start to hold some of these disloyal representatives accountable. Congress should loyally represent all ordinary citizens, not a diversity of non-citizens. Unless we push for moderate reforms such as these, a second civil w_a_r may be soon to follow.... --Frogface, bleeding Kansas
pg at 01:39 AM - April 04, 2009
Once again the people of America and the Law are under attack by a pandering congressman. Mr. Gutierrez should be ashamed of the way he spoke to the grief stricken Mr. Tranchant. I am sure Mr. Gutierrez would have been controlled and measured if it happened to a daughter of his. Mr Gutierrez is lucky Mr Tranchant didn't come across the desk and beat him to an inch of his life. As for the legal immigrant and the naturalized citizen who testified, at least they did it the right way. For that I commend them and welcome them to the US. However, their premise that because we enforce immigration laws we make their lives unpleasant. This is so upside down. Instead, their lives would be less complicated if the illegals were not here and the Latino communities would not continue hiding them and making excuses as to why they are here. Mr. Tranchant's description of bandito is perfectly correct. Illegals are felons for breaking into the US. It is no different than breaking and entering
honor at 01:26 AM - April 04, 2009
gutierrez representive of the people of illegal behavior in congress of united states! back ground check type person! naturalized citizen representative in congress of united states? naturalized how many are in our united states goverment? GUTIERREZ said, comperhensive immigration reform answer? either you sweep millions and millions off the streets of united states of america WHICH NO ONE IS GOING TO PROPOSE? oh really!!!! illegal mexican general gutierrez also said ANTI- IMMIGRATION sentiment is not new in this country? yes but the difference today it's a invasion of unkown ILLEGAL invaders we are concern about here gutierrez??? millions and millions and million cross our borders each and every year! cost suffering victims are U.S. gutierrez? our mothers! daughters! fathers! our childrens lives are being lost. QUESTION is for what propose? CHEAP LABOR ARGUMENT!! thats nice to the families of the victims! enforce! deport! millions and save billions!! sounds good to U.S. PERIOD. AMEN.
Linda Mae at 01:20 AM - April 04, 2009
My American citizenship class had definite ideas about ILLEGALS coming to America. They would not even use the word immigrant because they didn't consider illegals as immigrants. They were lawbreakers as far as they were concerned. There are rules and regulations for becoming a naturalized citizen - available on line - and it is not complicated. Come here with the right visa, live and work for 5 years, fill out the application and then pass the oral exam. It has become PC to conjoin the words illegals and immigrants to be one group. Not right. My class also thought the 14th Amendment should be changed so that anyone born here would have the citizenship of his/her parents. One student used the analogy that a cat is a cat - whether it is born in the house or in the barn. You can't become a citizen of many, many countries. My class kept reminding me that America is still a great place to be - that many in the world want to come her for its freedoms - and laws.
oldtimer76 at 01:08 AM - April 04, 2009
nodak at 02:47 PM - April 03, 2009 There is no way to deport the millions of illegals **************************************************** If you check our history you will find that millions of illegals have been rounded up and deported before. So it is not an impossibility as some would have you believe.
Chantal at 12:28 AM - April 04, 2009
Gutierrez is an embarrassment to every person with an IQ above 10. He should be reminded he took a sworn oath to protect and defend our Constitution and the people of this country and not just those who share his heritage, and certainly not those here illegally who kill U.S. citizens. This man is paid by our tax dollars yet he spends the majority of his time traveling around the country inciting civil unrest and defending those who violate the very laws he has sworn to uphold. Gutierrez should be brought up on charges of treason and dereliction of duty. It is a travesty to allow this man to sit in judgment of any law-abiding citizen. He is: a disgrace to his office; an embarrassment to law-abiding Latinos; and a lead agitator for groups, such as LaRaza, that are relentless in their attempts to turn this country into a mirror image of the third world countries the illegal aliens left behind.
cyndiobannon at 12:10 AM - April 04, 2009
I live in the Dallas area, and recently it seems like there has been an increase in deaths from drunk driving, and in virtually every case it turned out that the culprit was a Hispanic man in the country illegally. In several cases, the drunk entered the exit ramp of a freeway and hit the victim's car headon. It is outrageous!
nvcat at 12:04 AM - April 04, 2009
This is one congressman that should leave office. If you aren't smart enough to get the point of " a death " and an "illegal alien" you don't belong in office. Not all illegals are mexicans, and yes he could have been more tactful. The point is still ILLEGAL, DRUNK and a horrible death. I lost my best friend to a drunk driver 40 years ago. It never goes away the lady was also my mother.
silversword63 at 10:44 PM - April 03, 2009
Most of us here in the USA came from people who immigrated legally here from other countries. The key word here is LEGALLY. Our ancestors came to make a better world, a better place for their families. ILLEGAL immigrants are those who choose to break the laws of the country they are immigrating to. These people have no regard for our laws, our customs, our country. Many of them are gang members, drug runners, Islamic terrorists and Mexican mafia. As such they are here to destroy our country, to pillage and rape and kill. Deport them when they are found. It doesn't matter what they are doing, they are illegally. Which means by their very presence they break our laws. What part of ILLEGAL do our politicians not understand
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