As the twin pillars of international monetary system threaten to come tumbling down in unison, gold has reclaimed its ancient status as the anchor of stability. The spot price surged to an all-time high of $1,594 an ounce in London, lifting silver to $39 in its train.
On one side of the Atlantic, the eurozone debt crisis has spread to the countries that may be too big to save – Spain and Italy – though RBS thinks a €3.5 trillion rescue fund would ensure survival of Europe’s currency union.
On the other side, the recovery has sputtered out and the printing presses are being oiled again. Brinkmanship between the Congress and the White House over the US debt ceiling has compelled Moody’s to warn of a “very small but rising risk” that the world’s paramount power may default within two weeks. “The unthinkable is now thinkable,” said Ross Norman, director of thebulliondesk.com.
Fed chair Ben Bernanke confessed to Congress that growth has failed to gain traction. “Deflationary risks might re-emerge, implying a need for additional policy support,” he said.
The bar to QE3 – yet more bond purchases – is even lower than markets had thought. The new intake of hard-money men on the voting committee has not shifted Fed thinking, despite global anger at dollar debasement under QE2.
•snip•
“One of the big US banks texted me today to say that if QE3 actually happens, we could see gold at $5,000 and silver at $1,000. I feel terribly sorry for anybody on fixed incomes tied to a fiat currency because they are not going to be able to buy things with that paper money.”
•snip•
Step by step, the world is edging towards a revived Gold Standard as it becomes clearer that Japan and the West have reached debt saturation. World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said it was time to “consider employing gold as an international reference point.” The Swiss parliament is to hold hearings on a parallel “Gold Franc”. Utah has recognised gold as legal tender for tax payments.
A new Gold Standard would probably be based on a variant of the ‘Bancor’ proposed by Keynes in the late 1940s. This was a basket of 30 commodities intended to be less deflationary than pure gold, which had compounded in the Great Depression. The idea was revived by China’s central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan two years ago as a way of curbing the “credit-based” excess.
Mr Bernanke himself was grilled by Congress this week on the role of gold. Why do people by gold? “As protection against of what we call tail risks: really, really bad outcomes,” he replied.
Indeed.
My friends, if this is not the time to buy gold; I really do not know what is.
Just a follow up to yesterday’s posting; it would seem that this would be a good time to invest in gold, even if you cannot afford the expensive stuff, a small investment in the cheaper stuff would be smart.
As you know I am an affiliate for GoldSilver.com and they offer some great coins and bullion for those who wish to invest in that sort of the thing.
The New Zealand dollar was a stand out performer, soaring to 30-year highs after data showed the economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter.
The kiwi flew to $0.8491, a rise of 3.7 percent in just two sessions, as the upbeat news revived the chance of a rate hike before year-end.
That stood in stark contrast to the United States, where Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had canvassed the idea of further quantitative easing should the economy stall
“Three months ago all the focus was on the exit from unconventional policy; now Bernanke mentions the conditional possibility of QE3,” said Paul Meggyesi at JPMorgan. “This is unambiguously bad for the dollar and good for risk.”
Investors seemed to agree, sending commodities and gold higher and lifting growth-leveraged currencies like the Australian dollar.
The U.S. dollar slid to a fresh record low against the Swiss franc around 0.8089 francs, while the euro leaped to $1.4253 having been as low as $1.3984. The dollar also deflated to 78.83 yen with only talk of semi-official bids preventing a break of major support around 78.40/50.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was down at 74.773 .DXY, having tumbled for a high of 76.053.
In a double whammy for the U.S. currency, Moody’s warned the country could lose its top-notch credit rating if lawmakers fail to increase the country’s debt ceiling.
In a statement, Moody’s said it sees a “rising possibility that the statutory debt limit will not be raised on a timely basis, leading to a default on U.S. Treasury debt obligations.”
President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt-limit meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, a dramatic setback to the already shaky negotiations.
“He shoved back and said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ and walked out,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters in the Capitol after the meeting.
On a day when the Moody’s rating agency warned that American debt could be downgraded, the White House talks blew up amid a new round of sniping between Obama and Cantor, who are fast becoming bitter enemies.
When Cantor said the two sides were too far apart to get a deal that could pass the House by the Treasury Department’s Aug. 2 deadline — and that he would consider moving a short-term debt-limit increase alongside smaller spending cuts — Obama began to lecture him.
“Eric, don’t call my bluff,” the president said, warning Cantor that he would take his case “to the American people.” He told Cantor that no other president — not Ronald Reagan, the president said — would sit through such negotiations.
Democratic sources dispute Cantor’s version of Obama’s walk out, but all sides agree that the two had a blow up. The sources described Obama as “impassioned” but said he didn’t exactly storm out of the room.
“Cantor’s account of tonight’s meeting is completely overblown. For someone who knows how to walk out of a meeting, you’d think he’d know it when he saw it,” a Democratic aide said. “Cantor rudely interrupted the president three times to advocate for short-term debt ceiling increases while the president was wrapping the meeting. This is just more juvenile behavior from him and Boehner needs to rein him in, and let the grown-ups get to work.”
On exiting the room, Obama said that “this confirms the totality of what the American people already believe” about Washington, according to a Democratic official familiar with the negotiations, and that officials are “too focused on positioning and political posturing” to make difficult choices.
Cantor insists he never interrupted the president, and was “deferential,” seeking permission to speak.
The latest and sharpest in a series of harsh exchanges between the two leaders heightened concern that markets could crash at any time amid fear of a reduction in the rating on once-ironclad U.S. debt.
Cantor, for his part, delivered the blow-by-blue of his interaction with Obama to a gaggle of Capitol Hill reporters in the Speaker’s Lobby, where lawmakers typically mingle with reporters during votes. It wasn’t through aides — it was Cantor taking on the president, directly.
Cantor accused the president and congressional Democrats of progressively low-balling, over the last several days, the savings that could be achieved from proposals discussed by Vice President Joe Biden’s working group on deficit reduction. Cantor warned that the group has not identified enough cuts to win House passage of a $2.5 trillion debt-limit increase — the size the president says is needed to get through the 2012 election, sources told POLITICO.
Obama told Cantor that he would either have to agree to tax increases or give up on his demand that the debt hike be matched dollar-to-dollar to the cuts — that is, $2.5 trillion in deficit-reduction over 10 years in exchange for a $2.5 trillion hike in the debt ceiling.
He said that the negotiators should return to the White House Thursday to discuss savings from health care programs, budget caps and options for raising revenue.
“Then he said we also ought to get in the mode here, because we’re going to have to decide by Friday which way we’re going,” Cantor said. “He said really we ought to all start to think about things we can do rather than things we can’t.”
That’s when Cantor said he would be willing to abandon his own insistence on having just one vote on the debt ceiling if they could agree to a smaller package of cuts in exchange for a shorter-term hike that would require another increase before the 2012 election.
But Obama said he wouldn’t do the debt-limit increase incrementally and that he would veto a short-term bill.
“That’s when he got very agitated,” Cantor told reporters.
“Obama lit him up. Cantor sat in stunned silence,” said an official in the meeting. “It was incredible. If the public saw Obama he would win in a landslide.
Yessir, America; that is your President, whining like a damned two-year-old, when he does not get his way. Meanwhile the Country and the World is going into the toilet. This is what Democrats do, they screw up things, and when the time comes to act like adults, this is what happens.
I mean, I hate having to repeat myself; but the Democrats, on top of the spending of Bush, spent more, like drunken Sailors and to what end? Nothing! I mean, we have all this debt and where are the damned jobs? There are none! Now that it is time to work to keep the US from defaulting on loans from places like China; what does the President do? Walks out on the Republicans! What an idiot!
Three separate explosions tore through a business district in India’s Mumbai Wednesday, leaving at least eight people dead and 54 injured, authorities said. Less than an hour after the series of blasts, its Home Ministry confirmed a terrorist attack and placed the entire city on high alert.
Although no group claimed responsibility, the explosions hit locations where a terror siege nearly three years ago killed 166 people. Wednesday also coincided with the birthday of the lone surviving gunman of the 2008 attack.
Indian officials say they suspect the responsibility of Wednesday’s attack rests with the Indian Mujahideen, a group that works closely with Lashkar-e-Taiba, is the group accused of being behind the 2008 attack.
The blasts hit the crowded Dadar neighborhood at rush hour, the famed jewelry market Jhaveri Bazaar and the busy business district of Opera House, an official at the city’s Police Control Room said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of office policy.
The explosions happened around 7 p.m., when all the neighborhoods would have been packed with office workers and commuters.
But yet, we are the aggressors; we Zionist Americans are the killers, at least according those like AntiWar.com and the rest of the Arab community. What rubbish, if you honestly believe that sort of nonsense; you deserve whatever befalls you.
Now watch the Obama Administration actually try to blame America for these attacks.
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., will also drop out of the debt talks, a source within his office confirms today. The Arizona Republican’s office will issue a formal statement shortly.
After House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) dropped out of the talks this morning, Senator Kyl was the lone Republican in the group left. And with his withdrawal late this morning, the group does not have a Republican negotiator left in the room.
The group was set to meet for the 11th time this afternoon with Vice President Biden, their third meeting of the week.
The group started as six – but is now down to four members from Congress. The remaining members are: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Assistant House Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and House Budget Committee ranking member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
This is nothing more, than the Republicans finally growing a pair and telling the Democrats, “you made this bed; now lay in it!!”
What I find amusing is this idiot spin by the Democrats:
UPDATE 12:00 p.m. – A Senior Democratic aide says, “Cantor and Kyl just threw Boehner and McConnell under the bus. This move is an admission that there will be a need for revenues and Cantor and Kyl don’t want to be the ones to make that deal.”
More liberal spin and bullcrap. The Republicans; unlike liberals, know that raising taxes on the Nation’s top earners is NOT a smart way to create jobs and generate revenue for the Country. The way to do this properly is to lower taxes for the top earners and remove regulation for the aspiring entrepreneur, who wants to follow the American dream and be his own boss.
But, no, the Democrats want to TAX the crap out of EVERYONE; not just the top earners, but everyone, to pay for their ill-conceived and hair-brained plans like so-called “economic stimulus” that did not work at all. This is why the Republicans walked out on these talks.
Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders was acquitted of inciting hatred of Muslims in a court ruling on Thursday that may strengthen his political influence and exacerbate tensions over immigration policy.
The Victorious One - Geert Wilders
The case was seen by some as a test of free speech in a country which has a long tradition of tolerance and blunt talk, but where opposition to immigration, particularly from Muslim or predominantly Muslim countries, is on the rise.
Instantly recognizable by his mane of dyed blond hair, Wilders, 47, is one of the most outspoken critics of Islam and immigration in the Netherlands.
His Freedom Party is now the third-largest in parliament, a measure of support for its anti-immigrant stance, and is the minority government’s chief ally. But many of Wilders’ comments — such as likening Islam to Nazism — are socially divisive.
The presiding judge said Wilders’s remarks were sometimes “hurtful,” “shocking” or “offensive,” but that they were made in the context of a public debate about Muslim integration and multi-culturalism, and therefore not a criminal act.
“I am extremely pleased and happy,” Wilders told reporters after the ruling. “This is not so much a win for myself, but a victory for freedom of speech. Fortunately you can criticize Islam and not be gagged in public debate.”
This is a solid and decisive victory, not only for Freedom of Speech, but for western values and culture. This is a solid message to the Islamic community, around the World, that your religion is not above criticism.
To review, this Movie was at the heart of this controversy:
Again, this is a day of celebration. 😀
Of course, there is always one DUMB ASS in the group! What a farking idiot! 🙄
Less than a month after she appeared poised to shake up the Republican presidential campaign, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has once again receded from the 2012 limelight.
When Palin launched her “One Nation” bus tour on Memorial Day amid a swirl of media attention and excitement from her fervent fan base, many political observers who had once dismissed her were reminded of the jolt that her candidacy could provide to what has thus far been a relatively sleepy GOP nominating fight.
As Palin toured historical sites along the East Coast, she was clearly reveling in the tangible excitement she’d ginned up: She even eagerly answered questions — from the denizens of the “lamestream” media — ranging from matters of political process to an array of issues facing the nation.
In an apparent repudiation to those who dismissed her trip as a mere publicity stunt, Palin’s openness with reporters about her intentions to visit Iowa and South Carolina — in addition to her highly scrutinized stop in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire — lent credence to her repeated assertions that she was indeed seriously considering a White House bid.
Though Palin and her staff never announced a timeline for the remaining legs of her trip, aides had drafted preliminary itineraries that would have taken her through the Midwest and Southeast at some point this month. But those travel blueprints are now in limbo, RCP has learned, as Palin and her family have reverted to the friendly confines of summertime Alaska, where the skies are currently alight for over 19 hours a day and the Bristol Bay salmon fishing season is nearing its peak.
As Palin enjoys her sojourn to the 49th state, she has not reconnected with key early-state figures like Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and she may have jeopardized whatever political momentum she gained from her recent reemergence in the 2012 discussion. Her political action committee’s website still greets visitors with a stale banner, announcing the nationwide bus tour beginning “[t]his Sunday, May 29th.”
More than a few of Palin’s core supporters have grown impatient and confused about her strategy, venting their frustration on Internet fan sites.
Of course, there is a reason for this, it is because Sarah Palin’s tour was about nothing more, than Sarah Palin herself. It was a way to gain attention for herself. When the media lost interest, so did she. This was nothing more than a way to generate revenue for her “Conservatism for Kindergarteners” — style of written books of hers. Which are kind of like Ann Coulter’s books. (and before you ask; yes, I have read previews for both author’s books on my iPod, both author’s writings did nothing for me.)
Which leads me to my final comment; if you honestly believe that this woman is truly interested in the future of this Country or even gives a remote damn about the people that live in it —- you are crazy. The only person that Sarah Palin gives a remote damn about; is herself. Everything she does, every move she makes, is all about her political future and her limelight image. She reminds me of another rabid feminist; Hillary Clinton. The similarities are striking and she does the very same things. The only striking difference is, that Hillary Clinton has actually worked for her political image and has some credibility to her resume and Sarah Palin does not.
This is a sick and very sad situation; and as much as I am tempted to point the finger directly at Petkov — I cannot.
The Story:
Rebecca Rose, the grandmother of a terminally ill child who gained attention after a neighbor harassed her on Facebook last year, told Trenton police on Thursday that she’s still being targeted.
“I’m done. This is my life … this is my dead daughter, my handicapped daughter who can’t even sit outside without (being called) a retard…this is my life,” Rebecca Rose told Trenton Patch on Friday.
Rose, a grandmother of a terminally ill 7-year-old girl, spoke out Friday about what she told police is constant harassment aimed at her and her granddaughter that has been going on for years.
The harassment, she said, is coming from Facebook posts, attributed to a handle that appears to be associated with her former neighbor Jennifer Petkov, 33. Jennifer Petkov made national news last year after she taunted the dying girl on Facebook.
Rose said the most recent incident was Thursday, also via Facebook, and just one day before the anniversary of the girl’s mother’s death.
Both the girl, Kathleen Edward, and her late mother, Laura Edward, were diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. Laura died from the disease on June 17, 2009.
Rose filed the latest complaint with Trenton police Thursday, after she said she received several messages on her Facebook page from a Facebook user claiming to be the Petkovs at about 9:30 p.m.
Rose was “crying and extremely upset,” according to the report, and told police that the constant harassment had been going on for years.
Facebook documents Rose gave to Trenton police showed comments allegedly attributed to the neighbors stating:
“Detroit St. Party, When that kid dies, cause boys and girls it’s to happen.”
“Dead and gone, only a few more hours till party time, I’m going to visit a grave and take a piss.”
Rose told police, who then confirmed, that she has served Personal Protection Orders against Scott and Jennifer Petkov. The Personal Protection Orders stated that there is to be no communication to Rose, according to police.
Police said they tried to obtain a written witness statement from Rose, but while she was writing she stated, “I can’t take it anymore” and ran out of the Trenton Police Department crying.
Police tagged the six Facebook documents they received from Rose as evidence.
Rose told Trenton Patch she wants the harassment to stop for the sake of her dying grandchild. She said she wants her remaining days to be peaceful.
“Doctors say Kathleen might not live another year,” Rose said. “She has seizures and is in a wheelchair.”
She also wants the harassment to stop because she said she is tired of her life consisting of harassing comments and hateful language toward her and her daughter.
When I originally covered this story originally in October of 2010, I was very sickened and disgusted by what I read and I am very glad that this woman got justice for what she did do. That was then and this, is now.
As much as I would want to point the finger directly to Jennifer Petkov; I cannot. Allow me to explain why. This could very well be a third party that is doing this to attempt and sir up more trouble, either for the Rose family or for Petkov herself. On Facebook, it is extremely easy to create a bogus account and go on doing what this person or persons are doing to Mrs. Rose. My heart does break for this woman; and for her granddaughter who is dying of a dreadful disease. However, someone; namely the Trenton police, if that is where Jennifer Petkov is actually still living, need to get to this woman and ask her, if she is the person actually doing this and possibly even pull a warrant to search her computer and see if it is actually her.
If it is found that Jennifer Petkov is actually not involved at all with this incident; then the Trenton Police and the FBI need to get together and work with Facebook to find out just who is behind this sort of demented stupidity.
One thing that really struck me as very unfair is this here:
Jennifer Petkov no longer lives at the house on Detroit Street, but Rose said she has seen her several times since the judge ordered her away from the house.
You see this right here, is a classic case of shoddy journalism. Where has Rose seen the woman? In Trenton? Driving by her house? or what? Because the accusation is here, that Petkov is still coming around her house; and I have yet to see proof of that at all. Just Rose’s word, who is say that Rose is not just lying about this whole thing for attention? Why were not the actual messages released to the media?
Anyhow, Again, this is a very sad situation and I hope that the Trenton police can finally get to the bottom of it quickly and if it is proven to be true, the people involved can be stopped, so this family finally get some peace.
(CNSNews.com) – At a congressional hearing on Muslim radicalization in U.S. prisons, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said that investigators needed to analyze Christian militants in America because they too might try to “bring down the country.”
In an exchange with witness Patrick Dunleavy, the former deputy inspector of the criminal intelligence unit, New York Department of Correctional Services, Rep. Jackson Lee mentioned the case of a man who blew up an abortion clinic and proposed that this perhaps was an attempt to undermine U.S. law that allows a woman to procure an abortion.
Rep. Lee then said, “As we look to be informational, we should include an analysis of how Christian militants or others might bring down the country. We have to look broadly, do we not?”
Dunleavy answered: “I don’t know that Christian militants have foreign country backing or foreign country financing.”
Lee then said, “I don’t think that’s the issue. The issue is whether or not their intent is to undermine the laws of this nation. And I think it is clear that that is the case. So it’s not — your distinction is not answering the question.
This proves it right here; that liberals equate small time lone wolf criminals to foreign funded Muslim terrorists. I see the point she is making; and it is a stupid one, there is no comparison.
While we’re on the subject, why don’t we investigate terrorist Negros that would like to see our so-called “White Controlled Government overthrown, like these people here:
or maybe as to the funding of this man here:
This is what we ought to be investigating in this Country, is how things like this were funded by Liberals in this Country.
We as Americans are supposed to be sane, rational people. We are told that not all blacks feel this way. We, as Conservatives, who reject the idea of “group thought” or collectivism, are not supposed to believe that all blacks feel this way. However, when you have a liberal senator comparing the actions of a few extremists to the actions of a globally funded group of Muslim terrorists; one must ask, where do her loyalties lie? One must ask, does she agree with the militant Negros like the ones in the video above? Who, by the way, agree with Al-Qaeda terrorists, — that America should be destroyed.
It is questions like this, which I ask on this blog. There is a battle for the soul of America; these are two of the groups, which wish to overthrow the power structure in this Country. This is why I blog, this is why I write, to fight against this liberal, idiotic mentality; because I do not wish to see my Country overran by those who wish to destroy her from within.
It is a fight that I will continue to battle till my dying days.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka amplified his call for a politically independent labor movement Tuesday and said unions too often are holding “a canceled check” after Election Day.
Trumka rallied hundreds of nurses at a conference hosted by the National Nurses United. The nurses are in Washington this week to lobby lawmakers for a financial transactions tax that could help pay for social services.
Trumka said unions want “an independent labor movement” that doesn’t support just one political party or candidate. Labor has often been unhappy with its traditional allies in the Democratic Party, and Trumka said friends of unions in Congress have often paid little heed to workers’ needs.
“For too long, we have been left after Election Day holding a canceled check waving it about — ‘Remember us? Remember us? Remember us?’ — asking someone to pay a little attention to us. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a snootful of that s–t,” Trumka said to cheers.
Now, there are some on my far right, that would say, ” See? This proves that labor controls the Democratic Party!” Well, there is much more to this than that.
You see, I happen to remember the 1990’s and the era of the Clinton Administration. I also remember the signing of the NAFTA bill. I also remember the labor movement; especially the UAW and related unions never forgave Bill Clinton for signing that bill.
Because you see, to the labor movement, Clinton’s signing of that bill was the ultimate abdication of the progressive principles that the Democratic Party. To them, Clinton sold the unions and the members who work in the auto plants here in Detroit up the river.
So, what you are seeing here is simply “blowback” from those actions. Also too, it has been reported that the attitude of the Obama Administration is; or at least was, “f—- the big three!” That sort of attitude, does not bode very well amongst the union members or with the labor movement at all.
Now, for the realist “right of center” view of this; any attempt by the labor movement to create a new political party will be an abject flop and could be a disaster for the labor movement. My reasons for thinking this are:
1. The Democratic Party is very highly financed. Not to mention Party bosses carry a good deal weight and are known to use questionable tactics to get what they want. I predict a “Battle of the overpass” style of attack, if this plan of the AFL-CIO goes through with such a plan.
2. The second most important reason that this approach will flop is this; the labor movement simply does not have the numbers anymore
Way back in the 1940’s; before, during, and after World War 2, union membership was at its zenith and on into the 1950 and 1960’s union membership blossomed. However, those days of union growth and strength are over. They simply do not have the clout anymore in the progressive movement anymore.
Because if this; I personally believe that this idea would be a foolish move. While I greatly admire those who strongly believe in their convictions; I believe this would do more to hurt the labor movement, than it would ever help.
This Blog entry was crafted on my Apple iPod using WordPress Mobile Admin (Too Cool!)
Sometimes there is a line that is crossed between what appropriate for comedy and what’s likely off limits. But did comic Christopher Titus cross that line?
In an appearance on Monday’s “The Adam Carolla Show” podcast, Titus may have waded into that territory. In responding to a question about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” in which Palin defended her interpretation of what happened during Paul Revere’s pre-Revolutionary War famous ride, Titus launched into a description of what he would do if Palin were elected.
“You know what man?” Titus said. “I am going to literally — if she gets elected president, I am going to hang out on the grassy knoll all the time, just loaded and ready — because you know what? It’s for my country. It’s for my country. If I got to sacrifice myself, it’s for my country.”
To my liberal Democratic Party friends: Is jokes about assinating a conservative female acceptable? Is joking about assinating ANY sort of political figure, even remotely funny?
If not, then why are not more liberals speaking out about it?
In the name of decency; we need to stop this; before something awful happens again.
This Posting was crafted on my Apple iPod using WordPress Mobile Admin (Too Cool!)
Sarah Palin wants to show to the Republican right that she is the true keeper of the Ronald Reagan flame by meeting the late president’s closest ally on the world stage.
A meeting with Margaret Thatcher in the centenary year of Reagan’s birth would be the perfect way of launching her bid for the Republican nomination for the 2012 US presidential election.
This is what Palin told Christina Lamb in the Sunday Times:
I am going to Sudan in July and hope to stop in England on the way. I am just hoping Mrs Thatcher is well enough to see me as I so admire her.
It appears that the former prime minister has no intention of meeting the darling of the Tea Party movement. Andy McSmith reported in the Independent this morning that Palin is likely to be “thwarted” on the grounds that Thatcher, 86, rarely makes public appearances.
It would appear that the reasons go deeper than Thatcher’s frail health. Her allies believe that Palin is a frivolous figure who is unworthy of an audience with the Iron Lady. This is what one ally tells me:
Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts.
I do not believe for one second, that Margaret Thatcher referred to Sarah Palin as “Nuts”, ever. I believe this little article to be a classic textbook example of british liberal snobbery.
I do not believe it is any sort of conspiracy; just your a-typical British elitism; for which the British are known. Also too, I believe that these writers might just be injecting their own political bias into the story as well.
Just my opinion… 🙂
Here is my politically incorrect statement of the day: maybe we should have allowed Hitler to destroy those people. After all they did try and force us back under the crown; at one time.
We did all that work and spent all that money to rebuild that Nation and this is the thanks we get? This should be proof that Nation-Building is damed pointless, because those you do it for, do not respect you nor appreciate what you do for them.
This Posting was crafted on my Apple iPod using WordPress Mobile Admin (Too Cool!)
Congressman Anthony Weiner instructed one of his Internet women how to lie about their relationship … and even offered PR help from his team, which could create major legal issues for him … TMZ has learned. Weiner and former porn star Ginger Lee exchanged scores of sexual emails over a long period of time. When the underwear scandal broke on May 28, Lee began receiving calls from the media, and Weiner was more than happy to help her control the situation … by lying. On June 2, Weiner emailed Lee, “Do you need to talk to a professional PR type person to give u advice? I can have someone on my team call. [Yeah, my team is doing great. Ugh].” It’s unclear if Weiner’s PR team is from his Congressional staff. If so, Weiner could run afoul of House Ethics Rules as well as the law.
Looks like Weiner might be gone by the end of the week. This stuff is building and sooner or later, he is going to have to go. Much to her credit Nancy Pelosi is ordering an investigation into whether Weiner broke any ethics laws or not. Time will tell or not whether he faces any charges or not.
Either way, this is a huge blow to the Deomcrats on the hill and in New York.
This Posting was crafted on my Apple iPod using WordPress Mobile Admin (Too Cool!)
This is one of my most hardcore rants yet. Consider this your official CONTENT WARNING!
Update: Because I am an honest person, I will correct myself. It was not Jesus who called the people “a brute of vipers” it was John The Baptist. Oops. 😳
The US has killed Ilyas Kashmiri, one of al Qaeda’s most dangerous military commanders and strategists, in a Predator airstrike yesterday in South Waziristan.
Kashmiri is said to be one of nine members of the al Qaeda-linked Harkat-ul Jihad Islami, or HUJI, who were killed in yesterday’s Predator airstrike that leveled a compound in the Wana area of South Waziristan.
A Harkat-ul Jihad Islami spokesman named Abu Hanzla Kashir told Dawn that Kashmiri was killed in the attack. Kashir also threatened to attack the US to avenge Kashmiri’s death.
“We confirm that our Amir (leader) and commander in chief, Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, along with other companions, was martyred in an American drone strike on June 3, 2011, at 11:15 pm,” Kashir told the Pakistani news channel, according to The Telegraph.
If you have come looking for any and all postings related to this idiotic so-called scandal by Anthony Weiner. Let me stop you here, there are none on here anymore —well, except for this posting here. Why you ask?
Because I pulled the posting —- really, it was nothing anyhow, just a casual mention of it. I also mentioned it one of my “Daily Rant!” videos. I stated on there, that I thought he was guilty as sin. I officially retract that statement.
Why the change all of a sudden towards this story?
Simple.
I do not wish to be one of the hoards of people in on the persecution of this man.
Folks, I have mentioned here in the past, it has been a while; but I do need to mention it again. I am not, nor have I ever been a hyper-partisan or a partisan blogger at all —- period, end of story. Corruption exists on both sides of the aisle. There are corrupt Republicans and there are corrupt Democrats. I do not buy into that whole idea that somehow or another that Democrats are more corrupt than Republicans are. That is partisan nonsense and I simply do not play that game, at all.
It is obvious to the writer of this article; that this persecution of this man is of a partisan base. Anything that Andrew Breitbart is involved in is purely of a partisan nature. I will never give Breitbart, that vulgar piece of human excrement, any more attention or bandwidth than this man really honestly deserves.
The second reason why I am not allowing myself to become involved in such idiocy is the following:
I am a former “Left of center” person and blogger, who now finds himself in a happy place between the camps of Classic Liberal/ Paleo-Conservative/ libertarian. Because I have an opinion on the Zionist Movement, and on Neo-Conservatism and its foreign policy idiocy, I have been branded by some as an Anti-Semite and by liberals as being a racist bigot and by some as a white nationalist.
Because of this, I have decided that this “scandal” is not worth my time or trouble. The way I feel about it, is this; If Anthony Weiner is even remotely as guilty as some are making him out to be, this whole thing will, as they put it, “Come out in the wash.” What I do not support is the pathetic continual hounding of the man. It is ridiculous!
Right now, our Nation is facing some serious issues. Unemployment is at an ultimate high; our Nation’s debt is also at an ultimate high. We have a President and a federal reserve bank that is literally ruining our money supply by pumping more currency into the money supply, thereby creating hyperinflation. We also have a President that is more interested in importing oil from Brazil than he is drilling here and now; which sending gas prices over four dollars a gallon. We are in the midst of all this and the best thing my fellow Conservative bloggers can do is fret and worry whether some idiot Democrat in congress tweeted a picture of his penis in a pair of men’s briefs? Are you people damned Serious?!
Do you mental giants realize that this whole thing could blow up in our faces and that Conservatives, Republican Party, Tea Party (Pick a damn name!) could be perceived by those who are just mildly paying attention as Anti-Semites who are on the hunt for a Jewish politico to mess up, so that we can go after them? Do you really what to know what the fallout from this all blowing up in your faces could be? How about four more years of Barack Obama, you damned ninnies! — Forget Sarah Palin, Forget even being taken seriously again; forget the damned Tea Party —- none of it will even matter, if this blows up and you all are proven to be wrong.
Because I will issue a hallow warning to the Republican Party and to every damned blogger who dared to cover this silly story. If you think that, the Democrats will not use this little situation against the Republican Party in the 2012 election cycle, think again. The Democrats will, they have no honor and in election cycles, perception is 90% of the rule and the socialist liberals will use their unlimited resources to drill this moron story in the sub-conscience of the Country; believe me when I tell you this.
If you want to return to the Bush-era of being perceived as downright evil, fine, do so. However, do so at your own peril and possibly not being able to take the White House until 2016 —- or later.
Please note: While I have always respected our Military and always will; and I do believe in the Reagan mantra of “Peace through Strength.” I have always and will always questioned the legality the so-called Patriot Act. -Pat
If Americans needed another reminder of why the Democratic Party is absolutely worthless, they got it during last week’s Patriot Act extension debate when Senate Majority leader Harry Reid again behaved exactly like the Bush-era Republicans he once vigorously opposed. In 2005, Reid bragged to fellow Democrats, “We killed the Patriot Act.” Today, Reid says that anyone who opposes the Patriot Act might be responsible for the killing of Americans. Dick Cheney now hears an echo and Americans deserve congressional hearings—as to whether Harry Reid is a sociopath, mere liar, or both.
But while Democrats stand pat for Bush Republicanism, the GOP now debates the extent to which it will remain the party of Dubya. Tea Party favorites like Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee and Congressmen Ron Paul, Justin Amash, Allen West and others, all voted against the Patriot Act. To varying degrees, each of these GOP representatives questioned the act’s effectiveness and legality. But unfortunately, most Republicans still won’t ask any questions.
The “War on Terror” that defined and preoccupied Republicans during the Bush era brought with it not only massive government growth and debt, but an unprecedented expansion of extra-constitutional state power, symbolized most famously by the Patriot Act. In the name of national security, government officials could begin wiretapping phones, hacking into email accounts, prying into business records and spying on citizens—all without a warrant and at government officials’ own discretion. Defenders say the Patriot Act did what needed to be done after 9/11. Critics say it did away with the 4th amendment.
Let us say both have a point, and that for arguments sake, both Harry Reid and Dick Cheney are correct in arguing that it is sometimes necessary to surrender our liberties for increased security. Is this still true a decade after 9/11? Will it be true two decades after 9/11? How about three? Have the actions of Osama Bin Laden and his fellow terrorists forever altered our Bill of Rights?
Allegedly, the default position for conservatives is to distrust the government and defer to the Constitution. Concerning the Patriot Act, too many conservatives blindly trust the government at the expense of the Constitution. This type of thinking mirrors the logic of the Left, in which the constitutionality of a big government program like Obamacare is considered irrelevant due to the severity of the problem at hand. The liberal healthcare ends justify the unconstitutional means. This characteristic mentality of the Left is exactly how most of the Right approaches the Patriot Act—though it is an outright rejection of what most conservatives of any generation have held most dear.
Think about it. Conservatives get upset about many things on a regular basis—ACORN corruption, NPR funding, demanding that French fries be renamed “Freedom Fries.” At any given time there is always some new and outrageous rightwing distaste of the week.
But most of these controversies are a speck on a gnat’s ass compared to the damage done to the Constitution by the Patriot Act. For genuine constitutional conservatives, something like NPR funding is undoubtedly wrong but ultimately trivial and peripheral—while the protection of the Bill of Rights is crucial and integral. If George Washington or Thomas Jefferson were alive today, are we to believe that they would be more outraged that: A. The federal government helps fund public radio. B. The federal government snoops on citizens without restraint. Those who answered A. truly don’t understand the mindset of the men who founded this country.
A Republican critic of mine once asked me during a radio broadcast “Jack, can you show me where any American has been harmed due to the Patriot Act?” I replied, “Can you show me where any American has been harmed by Wikileaks?” The caller said he couldn’t, but stated that he believed private individuals shouldn’t haven’t access to private government documents. The gentleman was basically saying that whether or not Wikileaks has hurt anyone to date is irrelevant—the whistleblower outfit shouldn’t be trusted with such power to begin with. I argue the same is true of the federal government. So did the Founding Fathers. That’s why they wrote the 4th amendment.
The entire reason we have a written charter like the Constitution is to specify the enumerated powers that define the hard parameters of our federal government. Among those powers is national defense and security. But much of what we call “defense” is anything but. Similarly, a total police state could undoubtedly provide much better security, though few Americans would desire a country so void of liberty. After all, most Americans can barely tolerate the way the federal government handles air travel these days.
When Ronald Reagan said there was nothing closer to eternal life on this earth than a government program he could have easily been describing the Patriot Act. When Barry Goldwater said that “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice” he could have easily been describing the minority of Republicans who now at least question the Patriot Act. When James Madison wrote, “Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other,” he could have easily been describing our current state of perpetual war that now gives seemingly permanent life to the Patriot Act.
If the “War on Terror” is a perpetual war—as so many politicians readily contend—have we now permanently given up our liberties? If terrorists really do “hate us for our freedoms” is the best method of defeating them to permanently surrender our historic freedoms? And if so, who is really winning the War on Terror? Us or the terrorists?
By the very nature of their philosophy, conservatives are supposed to question their government. And given the very nature of our Constitution, this is precisely how the Founders would expect any true patriot to act.
—- Jack Hunter began his punditry career in the late 1990’s when a friend and popular alternative rock disc jockey agreed to let Jack air his political views during the afternoon drive on 96 Wave (96.1 WAVF) in Charleston, South Carolina.
Creating the moniker the “Southern Avenger,” which was borrowed from popular 90’s conservative talk radio host Ken “The Black Avenger” Hamblin, Jack assumed an anonymous super hero/ pro-wrestler persona, and entertained FM rock audiences with his antics and conservative political views until his departure from 96 Wave in 2007.
In 2007, Jack began working for WTMA 1250 AM talk radio in Charleston and began writing a column for the Charleston City Paper, that city’s premiere alternative weekly. Jack also began producing his popular video podcasts around this time, and today his You Tube Channel has received over two million views. Today, you can find Jack’s videos and columns as part of “TAC TV” at The American Conservative magazine (www.amconmag.com).
Jack is a frequent guest host for The Mike Church Show on Sirius/XM’s Patriot channel and is a frequent guest on “The Savage Nation” with nationally syndicated talk radio host Michael Savage. His writing has appeared at The American Spectator, Lewrockwell.com, CampaignforLiberty.com and in Young American Revolution, the official magazine of the youth activist organization Young Americans for Liberty, to which he is also a contributing editor. Jack also assisted Sen. Rand Paul with his book The Tea Party Goes to Washington, released by Center Street in February, 2011.
This weekend, America celebrates a holiday that ought to be the greatest of them all. Our military is the greatest of them all. I personally respect ANYONE who chooses to serve. This posting is dedicated to them.
In this thread here yesterday, some idiot did a drive by and claimed that Al-Qaeda did not exist. I deleted it, because it sounded so stupid. I wish now that I kept it. Anyhow, here we go:
(CNN) — Yemeni security forces abandoned a key coastal city to Islamic militants, residents of the city told CNN Sunday, while a powerful rebel tribe kept up pressure on the government in the capital.
“The militants are everywhere and we cannot leave our homes,” said a resident of the city of Zinjibar, east of Aden.
“They suddenly arrived and in large numbers. There were no clashes when they arrived on Friday night. We tried to complain to security forces but could not find them,” said the resident, who asked not to be named for security reasons.
By Saturday, “hundreds” of masked militants controlled the main streets of the city, locals said.
Abyan province, where Zinjibar is located, is a hotbed of Islamic militancy in Yemen, a country which has become a key battleground against al Qaeda.
I crack up at the libertarians that say, “Al-Qaeda does not exist, it is invention of the U.S. Government!” All the while smoking their dope and waving their silly Ron Paul signs. I got one thing to say about that; tell that to the people living in this city in Yemen okay? Because right now, a whole bunch of people there are scared shitless and are worrying about whether these Islamic fascists will kill them or not.
I will concede one point; President George W. Bush royally screwed up, when trying to fight this war. Bush should have directed ALL of our forces into the Afghan region and fought these bastards until the very last one dropped dead. But, he didn’t. Instead the President, then, listened to his intelligence people; who supposedly had information that Saddam had WMD’s and was giving comfort to the enemy, namely Al-Qaeda. That intelligence came from Germany and one guy named “Curveball,” and the United States and yes, Bush ate it up and off we went. As as result of that, Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and that war in general were left to fester and grow.
Now, as much as I would like to harp on the above and really lay into Bush for that mistake, I cannot. That part of history is over. We cannot continue to lay blame at a man’s feet, who is no longer in office. We cannot go back and change history, what is done, is done. I can however, point out that if Bush had fought this war properly to start with, we would most likely not be in this position now.
Now, we are at the place, that we are; Obama ordered the taking out of Osama Bin Laden; most likely with the assumption that Al-Qaeda would die off. The problem with that is this; OBL was simply a figure-head anymore. The day-to-day stuff was being carried out by others and he was widely disconnected from the “Front Lines” of the operation. With the exception of the information carried by the carriers, OBL was just a figure-head.
I said all that above to get to this point here; anyone that believes that Al-Qaeda is not still a threat to this great Republic of ours; is a damned fool and is living in some sort of fantasy land. As someone who was almost frozen with fear on 9/11, especially when it was announced that there was plane en route to the White House. I remember that fear, and even though I am not a big fan of Nation Building and occupation; I do realize that the War on terror is a very real thing and we must not allow these bastards to gain any ground at all. As someone who watched those images on 9/11 and proceeding days and was almost driven to suicide over it. I must object to the notion that this war on terror is not winnable. Those bastards inflicted more than just physical destruction on the United States, they inflicted emotional distress on the United States as well; and for that, those fucking bastards must pay and pay dearly. Al-Qaeda and its affiliates MUST BE DESTROYED AT ALL COSTS!
Those who died on 9/11 deserve that justice and those of us, who survived the madness and the images that followed it; DEMAND IT!
If anyone reading this, thinks that because I feel this way, that I am some sort of Jewish Neo-Conservative; then by golly, when it comes to this subject and any subject related to the defense of the Republic of United States of America, I AM A DAMNED NEO-CONSERVATIVE AND ANYONE WHO LOVES THIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE TOO!
I want to share this video, but first a few thoughts of my own…
Over the course of my blogger career here, I have writtenrepeatedly about the Internationalist Democrats, who have sold the American Worker up the river on more than one occasion. President Bill Clinton did it, with the signing of the NAFTA and TAFTA agreements and now President Barack Obama is doing it with exporting oil from Brazil. The problem is, Obama wants to fight against the American oil companies and their monopoly on the prices of gas. In the process of this, he is tossing under the bus, the most important part of his own base —- The American Worker.
Honestly, If President Obama wants to do something to lower gas prices, then maybe he should put pressure on the OPEC cartel and start demanding that they lower prices of oil, further more; President Obama should start going after the oil speculators, who drive up the cost of oil. Again, it is another example of how Internationalist Democrats fight battles, exactly backwards of how they should be fought. This video proves that.
To my Democratic Party friends — this is whom you elected in 2008.
I bet every drive-train mechanic in the world went “Ouch!” and shuttered when that happened. That “CLANK!” was the drive shaft clanking after getting nailed. Either that or it was armor plating that you heard.
Either way, it was not a good day in Dublin; especially for the President.
