Category: White House

Uh-Oh: Days of Rage protests reach Iraq

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Not to ripoff AllahPundit over at HotAir.com or anything…. But… gulp. 😮

Via Fox News:

BAGHDAD –  Thousands marched on government buildings and clashed with security forces in cities across Iraq on Friday, in the largest and most violent anti-government protests here since political unrest began spreading in the Arab world several weeks ago.

In two northern Iraqi cities, security forces trying to push back crowds opened fire, killing six demonstrators. In the capital of Baghdad, demonstrators knocked down blast walls, threw rocks and scuffled with club-wielding troops.

The protests, billed as a “Day of Rage, were fueled by anger over corruption, chronic unemployment and shoddy public services.

“We want a good life like human beings, not like animals,” said Khalil Ibrahim, 44, one of about 3,000 protesters in the capital Baghdad.

Like many Iraqis, he railed against a government that locks itself in the highly fortified Green Zone, home to the parliament and the U.S. Embassy, and is viewed by most of its citizens as more interested in personal gain than public service.

Oh, it gets worse too:

Demonstrators trying to get across a bridge going from the square to the Green Zone clashed with security forces. The demonstrators knocked down some of the concrete blast walls that were put up Thursday night and threw rocks at troops who beat them back with batons. Six riot police and 12 demonstrators were wounded in the melee, said police and hospital officials.

The protests stretched from the northern city of Mosul to the southern city of Basra, reflecting the widespread anger many Iraqis feel at the government’s seeming inability to improve their lives.

A crowd of angry marchers in the northern city of Hawija, 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Baghdad, tried to break into the city’s municipal building, said the head of the local city council, Ali Hussein Salih.

Security forces trying to block the crow opened fire, killing three demonstrators and wounding 15, local officials said. The Iraqi Army was eventually called in to restore order.

In Mosul, also in northern Iraq, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the provincial council building, demanding jobs and better services, when guards opened fire, according to a police official. A police and hospital official said three protesters were killed and 15 people wounded. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media.

Black smoke could later be seen billowing from the building.

In the south, about 4,000 people demonstrated in front of the office of Gov. Sheltagh Aboud al-Mayahi in the port city of Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad. They knocked over one of the concrete barriers and demanded his resignation, saying he’d done nothing to improve city services.

They appeared to get their wish when the commander of Basra military operations, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Jawad Hawaidi, told the crowd that the governor had resigned in response to the demonstrations. Iraqi state TV announced that the prime minister had asked the governor to step down but did not mention the protests.

Around 1,000 demonstrators also clashed with police in the western city of Fallujah 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad clashed with authorities, witnesses said. And in the southern city of Karbala, about 1,000 protesters rallied for better services.

The reason I say gulp is because, what happens if this goes totally out of control and we end up with another civil war in Iraq? Somehow, I do not see President Obama doing anything about it. if anything, he will just end up pulling our forces out of there; and by rights, he most likely should. We did our jobs, we did defeat Al-Qaeda and stopped the insurgency. So, why should we put more people into Iraq and risk more lives? It just would not make any sense.

Either way, it just does not look good for our guys on the ground there.

 

Why are Assassination threats only a huge ordeal for Obama, and not Conservative White Presidents?

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It must be because it is Friday and there is not much else to report.

Anyhow, some idiot did the following:

At Rep. Paul Broun’s town hall meeting on Tuesday, the Athens congressman asked who had driven the farthest to be there and let the winner ask the first question.

We couldn’t hear the question in the back of the packed Oglethorpe County Commission chamber, but whatever it was, it got a big laugh. According to an outraged commenter on the article, the question was, when is someone going to shoot Obama?

I’ve asked Team Broun whether that was indeed the question and haven’t gotten an answer. The commenter accurately described the questioner and the circumstances, and no one has disputed his account.

Update: Broun’s press secretary, Jessica Morris, confirmed that the question was indeed, who is going to shoot Obama? “Obviously, the question was inappropriate, so Congressman Broun moved on,” she said.

Here was Broun’s response:

The thing is, I know there’s a lot of frustration with this president. We’re going to have an election next year. Hopefully, we’ll elect somebody that’s going to be a conservative, limited-government president that will take a smaller, who will sign a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.

He then segued into Republicans’ budget proposal.

Dumb? Yes. Illegal? Possibly.

The left, predictably, is going, um, “Ape Shit” over it. Perfect example, Oliver Willis: (H/T The Right Sphere)

All Americans should condemn assassination speech, but especially if you’re a member of congress. What an epic shame. What a blight these people are on our government.

Um, Mr. Willis, Where were you, when these people were walking around with signs like this? (H/T NewsBusters)

Where were you Oliver, when these things was being paraded in the streets?

Oh, I know where you were Mr. Willis; you were out there helping CARRYING these signs and things around, weren’t you?

How is it, when a White Conservative Republican is in the White House and liberals threaten to kill him —- it is perfectly fine. But you let a socialist Negro in the damned White House and just because someone dares to verbalize what many in the silent majority are thinking; that is some sort of a fucking federal crime? Tell me that! By the way, I call him a socialist Negro, because that is what the hell he is, I do not believe in Political Correctness on this blog. I call it like I see it.

By the way, Mr. Willis and rest of idiot liberals; you can breath a little easier:

UPDATE, 11:50 a.m.: In a new statement Rep Paul Broun appears to admit he should have condemned his constituent:

Tuesday night at a town hall meeting in Oglethorpe County, Georgia an elderly man asked the abhorrent question, “Who’s going to shoot Obama?” I was stunned by the question and chose not to dignify it with a response; therefore, at that moment I moved on to the next person with a question. After the event, my office took action with the appropriate authorities.

I deeply regret that this incident happened at all. Furthermore, I condemn all statements — made in sincerity or jest — that threaten or suggest the use of violence against the President of the United States or any other public official. Such rhetoric cannot and will not be tolerated.

*****************************************************************

(****)

“In this case this was poor taste,” the source says. “The person realized that.”

Now there’s the small matter of whether Broun regrets not condemning the comment. My understanding is more will be forthcoming from his office on this soon, so stay tuned.

Happy now crybabies? 🙄

Anyhow, yeah, it was stupid; I will admit that, but where was all of that outrage, when the liberals were wanting Bush dead? Fucking hypocrites, the damned whole lot of them. 😡

Note: I just noticed the silly typo in the headline. Hug ordeal? Good Lord. 🙄 I fixed it.

 

Special Comment: Birthers, Birchers and Paleoconservatives are Americans too

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It appears to me that there seems to be a problem in the Conservative movement; and that is an attempt by the Republican and Conservative establishment, to silence those with whom they disagree or dislike.  Earlier this week, on my personal Blog, I posted two videos; one of RINO, Neo-Conservative princess Sarah Palin, saying that the “Birther” issue was a distraction to the Conservative and Tea Party movement and another of Karl Rove; who conversely was the brains behind Neo-Conservative George W. Bush’s Presidency.  A Presidency that included the invasion and occupation of the sovereign Nation of Iraq —-which we now know was based upon a lie.  Karl Rove in this video suggested that the Birther movement should be excommunicated from the Republican Party and from the Conservative movement entirely, like the John Birch Society was from the Republican Party and the Conservative movement was by that pied piper of the establishment; William F. Buckley.

I have read quite a bit about that so-called excommunication, and in all reality it was an unfair branding of the John Birch Society as being a racist and anti-Semitic organization.  This was performed by Neo-Conservatives, which were and still are, former Democrats who seem to be in love with idea of a big Government — as long as they are the people controlling it.  Furthermore, Neo-Conservatives claim, falsely of course; to be for the constitution — all the while declaring war against countries and other actions that fly in the face of the very principles that the document itself was founded upon.  They do this, all the while, defending a Country and people, who look upon the people of Christian America as nothing more than a group of idiots, of good use.  Yes, Neo-Conservatives, I am referring to your pet project —- Israel.  All of this, in the name of “Defending America” or as it should be called, “defending the empire.”

If any of this sounds even vaguely familiar — it is because Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany or for you history buffs — Rome — minus Israel, of course; did the same very things and eventually were destroyed or simply went broke and failed.

You see, I happen to believe that those who have doubts about President Barack Obama’s place of origin or birthplace; or “Birthers” as they are called by those who wish to degrade them, members of the John Birch Society, we Paleoconservatives and our cousins;  Libertarians — are Americans too. I believe that anyone who tries to silence any sort of political thought, belief, or conviction — of any sort — is doing what was done to those who dared to challenge the actions of Adolf Hitler and the Communist leadership in the former Soviet Union.  Yes, that does include those, of whom I disagree with.  It is called thought policing and it goes against the very tenets of our United States Constitution and the very ideals that surrounded our leaving of England to find a land, where we as a people could be free to worship God in the way that we pleased — without fear of persecution.  This is what caused Senator Joseph McCarthy to lose support from his fellow Republicans.

Whenever you seek to control those with whom you disagree, you run the danger of becoming like the liberal left in this Country.  This is why I have such an issue with the Neo-Conservative wing of the Republican Party.  It is because of the mentality of “We are always right in what we believe and if anyone disagrees with our way of thinking and Governing; then that person is not a real Conservative.” Furthermore, they will try to suppress those, of whom they disagree; that my friend is a tactic right out of the Saul Alinsky playbook.  This is to isolate, suppress and even mock and ridicule those who are in opposition to what these people believe.  Hence, the reason Neo-Conservatives are even called by that name, it is not a slanderous term that is related to a particular ethnic or Religious group, it is a name given to bunch of people, who bolted from the socialist party and joined the right — and brought their tactics with them.

Now, I feel that I should be clear; I do not have any problem believing that President Barack Obama is a citizen of the United States of America.  However, I believe that President Barack Obama, like every other President; should release his original long form birth certificate.  Now does that make me a crazy person?  I think not.  Furthermore, I believe that John Birch Society is a great American institution of liberty and I happen to agree with the majority of what they believe in, if not all of it — Now does that make me a crazy person or even a racist or anti-Semite —  of course not.  I also happen to believe that Pat Buchanan and Representative Ron Paul are both exemplary Americans, who happen to love their Country and do not wish to see it become another third world Nation lost to the wiles of Socialism and Globalism.  Now, does that make me some sort of a racist, Anti-Semite terrorist?  I think not.

Now, do I believe that Ron Paul can be elected President of the United States?  As much as I would like to believe that he could be elected; I cannot.  Neo-Conservatives control a good part of the Republican Party, and between them and the Neo-Liberal left in this Country; which control a good part of the media — except for Fox News that is Neo-Conservative and not Ron Paul friendly at all, I just do not believe that Ron Paul would be able to overcome such odds.  You do not believe that the Neo-Conservatives would give up that cottage industry that easily, do you.  Oh please, just look what they did to Pat Buchanan when he tried to break into that little clique in the Republican Party — much of the same thing as did happen to Ron Paul —- False accusations of racism and Anti-Semitism.

As long as there is empire to defend, Countries to be invaded for oil and pseudo-states to support the Neo-Conservatives will never surrender control of the Republican Party.  Furthermore, as long as there is a stranglehold on the mainstream media by the neo-liberal left in this Country someone like Ron Paul does not have a chance in Hades to be elected President of the United States of America.  As long as lying Neo-Conservatives like Karl Rove, Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich are around, the chances of Paleoconservatives like Pat Buchanan or libertarian Conservatives like Ron Paul do not stand a chance of ever being elected.

In closing, America is a great Country; it is just being held hostage, so to speak — by some very powerful and evil people, as is the Republican Party.

Also Published at USA Sentinel

Video: The Reality Report: Taking the Neo-Conservatives to the mat!

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In this space, before I post this video; I usually post a disclaimer, because usually, I do not agree with some of the content and ideas presented in this Video report.  However, this week, I am going to forgo the disclaimer. Because a good ninety percent of what is presented here, I absolutely agree with and besides, nothing gives me more joy, than to watch freedom-loving Americans making Neo-Conservative fascists look like the damn fools that they are. Yes, it warms the cackles of my stone cold heart to see those who wish to sell our freedoms out to the altar of “Security” made to look like buffoons.

Very well done gents, very, very, well done. 😀

Having said all that —- here is the synopsis and Video….

Synopsis: In this special CPAC expanded edition of the Reality Report, we go face to face with Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich and present the highlights (and lowlights)! ; Gary Franchi runs into former Saturday Night Live star, Victoria Jackson, and interviews CPAC Chair David Keene about the Defender of the Constitution Award. Gary also meets with Jesse Benton, Ron Paul’s Communications Director, to give you the inside scoop on the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign. Jeff Frazee from Young Americans for Liberty joins the show to tell us how he got turned on to Ron Paul’s message. We meet with Congresswoman Nan Hayworth from New York’s 19th district to ask her about her vote for the Patriot Act. We also ask Ron Paul supporters what it is about his message that inspires them. We also take you to the Jordan Page after party for the release of his new album titled “Liberty”. Angie returns to deliver the headlines with a special report on the Young Americans for Freedom and Truth Squad.TV’s confrontation. We’ll read your email, review last week’s poll results and brand a new enemy of the state.

The Video:

Join the discussion at our RTR Group: http://rtr.org/group/745

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Wow: The New York Times proves that Glenn Beck and Ron Paul are not crazy

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It is not everyday that the paper of record comes out and basically vindicates Ron Paul and Glenn Beck. But it has happened.

This a bit of a follow up to a previous blog posting that I wrote earlier; it turns out, that not only are clothes going up, but everything is going up. 😮

From the “Business Day” section of the New York Times:

A package of Oscar Mayer cold cuts. A pair of Nine West boots. A Whirlpool washing machine.

By the fall, people will most likely be paying more for each of them, as rising prices hit most consumer goods, say retailers, food companies and manufacturers of consumer products.

Cotton prices are near their highest level in more than a decade, after adjusting for inflation, and leather and polyester costs are jumping as well. Copper recently hit its highest level in about 40 years, and iron ore, used for steel, is fetching extremely high prices. Prices for corn, sugar, wheat, beef, pork and coffee are soaring. Labor overseas is becoming more expensive, meanwhile, and so are the utility bills to keep a factory running.

“There are cost pressures from virtually everywhere,” said Wesley R. Card, the chief executive of the Jones Group, whose brands include Nine West and Anne Klein. After trying to keep retail prices flat or even lower during the recession, Jones says prices for its brands will climb 15 to 20 percent by autumn.

When commodity prices started to rise last summer, many manufacturers and retailers absorbed the costs, worried that shoppers would not pay higher prices during the competitive holiday season or while the economy was still fragile.

Many big companies, including Kraft, Polo Ralph Lauren and Hanes, say they cannot hold off any longer and must raise prices to protect some profits.

Whether shoppers will pay is unclear. “Consumers are not exactly in the frame of mind or economic circumstances to say ‘Oh, pay whatever they ask,’ ” said Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR Inc. “There’s going to be pushback.”

As to why this is all happening? Buried, oh so very far down into the story, there’s this:

Economists say the increases may eventually show up as inflation, though they are not yet projecting rates that would set off alarms. Despite some fears, inflation has been extremely low, at a rate of just 1.4 percent annually in December. Data for January will be released Thursday, but economists expect inflation will run about 2.5 percent this year.

Some do see the creeping signs of higher inflation, and warn that the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates or at least stop pumping more money into the economy. Others argue that such moves would choke off economic growth sorely needed to get companies hiring again.

For consumers, higher prices in stores means there will be a little less extra cash to spend. For companies, profits may be squeezed, making them a little less likely to invest in equipment or to hire aggressively.

“Despite some fears?” Wow. That is about the biggest amount of liberal spin that I have ever seen, I am reminded of this cartoon; where the man is surrounded by a barbed wire fence and he’s say, “we must rise up against this tyranny” or something to that effect and a hand comes down and slaps a record player on his head and it’s repeating, “Everything is fine….Everything is fine…” over and over.

I suggest you go read that entire article and if you happen to watch Glenn Beck’s show; think of everything he has said in the past in regards to the Economy, the bailouts and inflation. Think also of what Ron Paul has said here for the last 30 years about what our Government has done to explode our economy. Turns out, maybe, just maybe; that Ron Paul is not not so crazy after all.

Clinton to announce new envoy for the “AfPak” Theater

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This looks like it could be a big mess.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has chosen a new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, after months of delay and disagreements between the White House and the State Department over the parameters of the job that became vacant with the December death of Richard C. Holbrooke, senior officials said.

Retired diplomat Marc Grossman is expected to take over as the administration is facing a crucial year for its war strategy in Afghanistan, where it plans to begin U.S. troop withdrawals this summer and to move toward a political settlement including negotiations with the Taliban before the end of 2011.

In Pakistan, a key partner in the strategy, the situation has become even more fraught with peril, as U.S.-Pakistani relations have plummeted to their lowest point in years over Pakistan’s rejection of U.S. demands to grant diplomatic immunity to a U.S. official accused of murder there.

The administration has suspended high-level official contacts with the Pakistanis, and senior members of Congress have warned Islamabad that it risks a cutoff of U.S. aid.

via Washington Post:  Clinton to announce new ‘AfPak’ envoy.

Wow, I was not aware of all these problems. Looks like Hillary Clinton has her work cut out for her. Two things that stand out here:

  1. Why do we keep sending over retired people to handle these situations? Cannot Hillary Clinton or President Obama find anyone who is not at retirement age to handle this problem? Just a thought there, not trying to criticize it; because I doubt John McCain would be able to handle this any better.
  2. This situation with the murder charge just looks bad all around and will most likely hamper our efforts to combat the war on terror and will hinder us from capturing or killing Osama Bin Ladin. Because you cannot capture the bad guys; if you cannot get along with the people where they are hiding.

Again, I have said this a million times here, and I will say it again. Bush handled this whole thing wrong after 9/11. Bush should have went after the Countries that financed the attacks on 9/11. Instead he went after their training grounds, with the assumption that it would be a cakewalk to catch them; and then he went into Iraq, on what we now now to be bad intelligence and also assumed that would be cake walk too — and Afghanistan was left to neglect.  As of a result that poor leadership, we now have this mess to contend with. I pity Hillary and even President Obama to a point, they inherited this awful mess and now, they have to make gold, out of a steaming bag of crap. What a mess! I would not want to be in their shoes at all. 🙁

But, that is what happens, when you elect Neo-Conservatives who are on a so-called “Mission from God.” Let this be a lesson to America and to the Republican Party and all who supported and voted for the man. Say what you want, but between the bailouts and his poorly planned war on terror — we find ourselves in a awful mess; both with debt and with foriegn diplomacy.

Hope and Change?: FBI doesn’t need court’s OK to get phone records, Obama’s Justice Department claims

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Well, isn’t this just a lovely story to pick up on a Sunday Morning?

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration’s Justice Department has asserted that the FBI can obtain telephone records of international calls made from the United States without any formal legal process or court oversight, according to a document obtained by McClatchy.

That assertion was revealed by the department – perhaps inadvertently – in its response to a McClatchy request for a copy of a secret Justice Department memo.

Critics say the legal position is flawed and creates a potential loophole that could lead to a repeat of FBI abuses that were supposed to have been stopped in 2006.

The controversy is a legacy of the Bush administration’s war on terror. Critics say the Obama administration appears to be continuing many of the most controversial tactics of that strategy, including the assertion of sweeping executive powers.

For years after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the FBI sought and obtained thousands of telephone records for international calls in an attempt to thwart potential terrorists. The bureau devised an informal system of requesting the records from three telecommunications firms to create what one agent called a “phone database on steroids” that included names, addresses, length of service and billing information.

Go read the rest here

Which proves to this old school, Paleoconservative, Fundamentalist Christian one thing and one thing alone. That the only difference between a Neo-Liberal; like President Obama and a Neoconservative like President Bush is this —- One loves big Government and the other loves big Government as long as they are the one’s controlling it.

I remember how doing the Bush era, people like Keith Olbermann,were wailing to the top of their lungs about how darned horrible of the Bush Administration to allow such stuff to happen; and now that the Obama Administration is in power, what do you hear?

(click to play)

That is right, absolutely nothing about it at all. That is because the socialist liberals do not give a damn about personal liberty, all they care about is winning elections. All of the attacks against the Bush administration about everything; Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, Iraq —- everything  —was just partisan politics. It never was about the people; because socialists do not give a darn about the people! All they care about is power – governmental power — everything else to them is just second nature.

Which pretty much sums up why I stopped voted for the Democratic Party.  I am pretty much on to their game anymore. They try to come off as the party of the people; but anymore, they are all about the party of the state.

Video: Don Rumsfield on 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, and More

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Some good video here:

The Story via ABC NEWS:

More than four years after leaving public life, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continues to believe the war in Iraq was worth the effort, and has no apologies for his decision-making in leading the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Rumsfeld concedes that “it’s possible” that decisions on how many troops to send into Iraq marked the biggest mistake of the war.

“In a war, many things cost lives,” Rumsfeld told Sawyer.

Pressed on the fact that President Bush has written that cutting troop levels in Iraq was “the most important failure in the execution of the war,” Rumsfeld called that “interesting.”

I do not much care for the man. He is, in my humble opinion, an ignoramus. But he does have his opinions and he is a human being.

Get the Book:

I also highly recommend George W. Bush’s book as well:

Video: The Reality Report: Bypassing the Obama Kill Switch

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Please Note: The posting of this video does not constitute an endorsement of views presented in this video. It is simply posted for information purposes only.

—-

In this issue of the reality report: The Egyptian Revolution triggered a government shutdown of the web. Could it happen here? Is the internet kill switch back on the congressional table? If the Feds shut down the web in the United States how could “We the People” get around the internet blackout? Gary Franchi reveals what tools you need to bypass a Government sponsored internet blockade. In this edition, Ron Paul explains the how the Federal Reserve works outside of congress’ constitutional framework. We also look at Senator Chuck Schumer failing miserably while explaining the three branches of government. Beautiful words are uttered from the lips of the Florida attorney general about Obamacare. President and founder of Freedom Law School, Peymon Montehedeh, gives us the details on this years’ Freedom Conference, and we announce a new action taking place in March. We’ll take a dip into the mailbag, deliver the results of last week’s poll, a viewer brands a new Enemy of the State… and Nina returns to deliver the Headlines from the new Reality Report News Room.

http://RTR.org | http://RealityReport.TV

Video: So, is this what passes for civil discourse among the liberals?

Posted on2 Comments

So, liberals — is this what you call civility?

Posted on liveleak, in case it disappears:

From the Comments section of the video:

RACISTS like this, are begging for war. Let’s give them one. It is 220,000,000 white people, against 37,000,000 blacks. You know what a genocide looks like? You don’t, because there is no one left, to remember it. Be? smart, though. Let them, make the first violent moves. Let the people, see their violence. Let them give us a reason. Be patient. Do not move, as an individual. Wait. Keep giving them rope, they need, to hang themselves. LOL!!!

A-Farking-Amen. 😡

(H/T Michelle Malkin)

Video: Andrew Breitbart blows the lid off the pigford lawsuit story!

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I am going to be totally honest with you all; I do not even like Andrew Breitbart —- But this video right here, is pretty darned interesting.

If everything in this video is true, the Obama Administration could be looking at some problems down the road.  To be fair to Mr. Breitbart, he also goes after Republicans for their cowardice in not checking this out. In short, it is fraud on a massive scale and hopefully when this story breaks, someone in the Republican Party — like in the House, will order investigations.  The really funny part is, Breitbart says he hired someone from Huffington Post — of all places — to debunk the story and he could not.

Having said all of that; here is the video which comes from Ed Morrissey, who is out in California:

Of course the cynical person in me thinks that nothing will become of this; because of race and other factors, none of the people involved in this scandal will see justice. It is just how our system works. Only those who ruffle the wrong feathers — so to speak — are the ones who are actually prosecuted.

However, as they say; I will wait and see.

Stay Tuned.

Video: The John Birch Society’s Rebuttal to the SOTU Address

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Via The Liberty News Network:

State of the Union Rebuttal from The John Birch Society on Vimeo.

Trading Advice: What Most People Don’t Realize About The Fed’s Superpowers

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Bob Prechter’s Conquer The Crash reveals whether the Fed really can rescue the US economy
January 27, 2011

By Elliott Wave International

Since its creation in 1913, the primary intended role of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank has been that of protector. In theory, the central bank was bestowed with the power to shape monetary policy in a way that would keep both booms and busts in check. The two main tools at its disposal — interest rates and money creation — would provide a “ceiling of normalcy” above expansions AND a “net of safety” below contractions.

To this day, the financial mainstream holds great faith in the Fed’s ability to fulfill its save-the-day duties — as these recent news items make plain:

  • “Why Raising Fed Funds Rate Is Positive For Equities.” (Seeking Alpha)
  • “Fed’s Moves Lift All Asset Classes.” (Associated Press)
  • “US Stocks Erasing Losses: The aggressive moves of the Fed have been an important driver for the stabilization of stock prices.” (Bloomberg)

But of all the variables the Fed creators took into account, there’s one glaring factor they neglected to consider: Namely, it cannot force consumers to spend, creditors to lend, or businesses to borrow. The events of 2007-2009 “credit crunch” and the subsequent “Great Recession” made that obvious. Remember how the government was upset at banks for sitting on the bailout funds instead of lending them out to consumers? And consumers weren’t exactly lining up on the street to get a loan, either.

The Fed’s inability to change social mood is the central theme in Chapter 13 of EWI President Bob Prechter’s NY Times business bestseller book Conquer the Crash. There, Bob describes the Fed’s strategy of lowering the federal funds rate to stimulate spending to be as effective as “pushing on a string.” Writes Bob:

“The primary basis for today’s belief in perpetual prosperity and inflation with an occasional recession is what I call the ‘Potent Directors Fallacy.’ It is nearly impossible to find a treatise on macroeconomics today that does not assert or assume that the Federal Reserve Board has learned to control both our money and our economy. Many believe that it also possesses the immense power to manipulate the stock market. The very idea that it can do these things is false.”

And so begins one of the most groundbreaking studies into the very real INABILITY of the Fed to fell the great bears of economic declines, or to feed the great bulls of economic vigor.

The best part is, you can read Chapter 13 of Conquer the Crash in its entirety FREE via a Club EWI resource “You Can Survive And Prosper In A Deflationary Depression.” The free report also includes SEVEN other chapters of Conquer the Crash that shed equal light on some of the most misleading notions of mainstream economic wisdom.

Don’t stay in the dark. Read all 8 chapters today by joining the rapidly expanding free Club EWI community today. Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • Chapter 10: Money, Credit and the Federal Reserve Banking System
  • Chapter 13: Can the Fed Stop Deflation?
  • Chapter 23: What To Do With Your Pension Plan
  • Chapter 28: How to Identify a Safe Haven
  • Chapter 29: Calling in Loans and Paying off Debt
  • Chapter 30: What You Should Do If You Run a Business
  • Chapter 32: Should You Rely on Government to Protect You?
  • Chapter 33: A Short List of Imperative “Do’s” and Crucial “Don’ts”

Keep reading this free report now — all you need to do is create a free Club EWI profile.

Video: Who’s up for some Chris Christie Porn?

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Our first flick comes from The coalition of the swilling: (H/T to HotAir.com’s resident Beta Male)

If that is not enough to wet your whistle, how an radio ad of Chris Christie trying to lure Illinois Businesses to….you guessed it, New Jersey: (Via Eyeblast)

I’ll tell you, this might just the guy for the Republican 2012 nomination. The office of the President of the United States is a heavy job. But, isn’t that right up Christie’s alley?

It is official: Mike Pence will not be running for President in 2012

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Well, we can count this guy out:

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence shut the door today on a run for the presidency, but left wide open the likelihood that he’ll seek a different office: Governor of Indiana.

“In the choice between seeking national office and serving Indiana in some capacity, we choose Indiana,” Pence, R-Columbus, said of himself and wife Karen in a letter being sent to supporters. “We will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.”

He said he would make a decision “later this year” about what his next political step is, but by not running for president it is considered a virtual certainty that he will run for the GOP nomination for governor. While he could, instead, run for a seventh term in Congress, that’s not considered likely given that Pence gave up the job that would have made him the fourth-highest ranking Republican in the House after the November elections, in order to focus on other political opportunities.

via Rep. Mike Pence closes door on White House run | The Indianapolis Star | IndyStar.com.

AllahPundit, as always, frets:

Needless to say, a big reason for the “Draft Pence” push in recent weeks was some social cons being uncomfortable with Palin or Huckabee as the nominee. Where do those people turn now?

To be quite honest, if all the social cons have to choose from is Huckabee and Palin; then that speaks to the sorry condition of the GOP in this day and age. I would say Mitt Romney, but the Evangelical Christians loathe him.  As a Fundamentalist Baptist, I can tell you that I am not too big on the idea of a Mormon being in the White House at all.  What I really believe personally is that the Republican Party needs to focus on fiscal issues and leave the social cons out of the mix in 2012.  Because honestly, that crowd is so darned fickle anyways, not to mention the rank hypocrisy that comes from those ranks.  I mean, just look at Palin, rode in on the white horse of social Conservatism and a few weeks later, her daughter comes up pregnant.

The simple solution is Tim Pawlenty. He is a fiscal Conservative, he is not a extremist and his family is not a reality show. I personally believe he would be a good choice for the G.O.P. in 2012. Here is hoping that Tim runs in 2012, because for once, I would like to vote for a Republican, that actually acts like one and not some made beltway boy or some right wing extremist or a talk show reality star. I want a real CEO type, that will make decisions to help small business and people like me find jobs again.

We need to put America back to work. We cannot do that with a shrieking harpy glamor model who’s got a reality show; that somehow believes that she is entitled to be President, because of her sex organs —- nor can we do that with a Democrat with a Bible who is prone to extremism.

Video: The Reality Report #78: The Homeland becomes the Fatherland

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Please note: The posting on this video does NOT constitute support for all of the views therein. It is posted for your education and information.

—–

Synopsis: In the 78th edition of the Reality Report, Gary Franchi draws the direct parallels America shares with Hitler’s Germany and provides the solution to avoiding their terrible fate. We take a look at Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk where he discusses what a new found interest in the Constitution could mean for America. CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, Peter Schiff tells us why the Chinese modeled their currency after the U.S. dollar. We also hear from the former U.S. military analyst who is responsible for leaking the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg. He explains the recent war on whistle-blowers. Chris Mathews latest hypocrisy is revealed and Angie breaks down the news. As always we take a dip into the mailbag, reveal the results from last weeks viewer poll and brand a new Enemy of the State.

The Video:

http://RTR.org | http://RealityReport.TV

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http://rtr.org/group/745

Facebook Page:
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Video: Ron Paul talks with John Stossel on the SOTU address

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This comes via The Daily Paul:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Comments are Welcome!

Video: Whatever happened to the Anti-War Movement?

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Reason.TV makes a very valid point:

Ed Morrissey also makes a valid assessment:

Most of us presumed that the protests were more about Bush than the wars when they took place, but even the skeptics have to be a little surprised just how uncool the anti-war movement has become since Barack Obama took place. The neo-Stalinist International ANSWER, one of the groups featured in this film, must have thought they were achieving some sort of mainstream penetration into politics when Democrats started flooding into their rallies. Now they’re back to street-corner protests and “Honk If You <3 Peace” rallies and wondering why it suddenly got so lonely.

To be fair, though, the driving force of the earlier anti-war rallies was the war in Iraq, not Afghanistan. While the Af-Pak fight has lost considerable public support, the first war had broader support, as it targeted the actual 9/11 villains and their cohorts. The protests against the wars got fueled mainly by our presence in Iraq, and peaked when Bush put the surge strategy into place. The success of that strategy and the Status of Forces Agreement that moved American troops out of the cities and into support roles has removed most of the objections to Iraq, and for good reason — why protest a war that’s all but over?  Obama promised to have troops out in 16 months during the presidential campaign, but as Reason TV notes, he stuck with the Bush SOFA policy — and after 24 months, we’re still there and likely will be for years to come.

A very valid assessment. However, there is more to that too. The left just straight up hated Bush with a passion. The Anti-War protests were also less about Anti-War, and more about Anti-Bush. The left never, ever forgave Bush for winning the 2000 election. To this very day, the left still believes that Bush and Co. somehow or another stole the election. The left screamed and yelled and protested; that is, until it was very clear that challenging Bush’s election in 2000 was a lost cause.

Then 9/11 came along, and the entire Country stood behind Bush. The left basically stood down, and supported the President. Of course, there were outliers, but the majority of them were supportive. So, America went to war in Afghanistan, then Bush in 2003 decided that invading Iraq was necessary; which we now know was based upon faulty intelligence. Of course, there are some, within Neo-Conservative circles, that still, to this day, believe that Iraq had WMD’s. However, in this day and age of post-Bush, those people are big minority. Anyhow, At first, the MSM went along with Bush’s plans and the persons saying that Bush was wrong were a small minority. Over time, as it became clear that Bush’s intelligence was flat out wrong; the voices of dissent became louder.

By 2004, these voices had risen to fever pitch and the left was in fully in “Get Bush out of Office!”, an effort that ultimately failed; because of the total lack of electability of John Kerry as President of the United States. By 2006, however, independents and even some more main stream Conservatives had left Bush and realized that the man was just simply wrong. Of course, the loyalists defended him to the end and still do. But now, they are quite the minority. Thus was the reason why the Democrats won so big in 2006 and 2008; not because Obama or the Democrats were something wonderful — it was because American independents wanted something different than Bush’s Neo-Conservative, interventionist foriegn policy blunders.

However, there is one thing that this video totally missed; the voices of the Anti-War movement were not all Liberal or even Libertarian. There were some Conservatives, there were Paleo-Conservative voices. Pat Buchanan and some others formed a Magazine called “The American Conservative.” Which was formed for the sole purpose of convincing the White House that they were wrong about Iraq and foriegn policy. An effort, which ultimately failed.  These same people, earned the scorn of people like David Frum. Which is pretty ironic, considering his position today on Bush and the Iraq war.

Of course, looking back; seeing all of the blunders of the Democrats and of the President — Bush does not seem that bad of a President. Bush was by no means perfect. However, the tone-deaf antics of the Democrats after the election of President Barack Obama, made Bush’s era seem a bit more sane. Prime example: Has the economy gotten better since President Obama was elected? No, it has not. In fact, it has gotten a bit worse. I have heard the following from committed Democrats: “President Obama got it exactly backward; he did healthcare first. That was stupid, he should have gotten the economy fixed FIRST and waited to see, if the fixes worked — THEN he should have tackled healthcare reform!” Which is right, Obama and the Democrats wanted to push it through, despite the consequences and for that they paid for it in the 2010 elections — and outside of a major change in the economy or something major in the terrorism world, like the capture of Osama Bin Laden and the totally destruction of Al-Qaeda; which will never happen, Obama and the Democrats will further more pay for this foolishness. Possibly by Obama being primaries out in 2012. Do not discount that theory, we do live in much different times and the America people have become more fickle in their loyalty. It could happen.

As a Bonus, I present a movie, the name of it is simply “Crawford” that basically proves what I said above. It is a little long. But it is well worth it:

They never let a crisis go to waste: Far leftist loon Carolyn McCarthy readies Gun Control Bill

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Not that anyone saw this coming…. 🙄

One of the fiercest gun-control advocates in Congress, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), pounced on the shooting massacre in Tucson Sunday, promising to introduce legislation as soon as Monday targeting the high-capacity ammunition the gunman used.

McCarthy ran for Congress after her husband was gunned down and her son seriously injured in a shooting in 1993 on a Long Island commuter train.

“My staff is working on looking at the different legislation fixes that we might be able to do and we might be able to introduce as early as tomorrow,” McCarthy told POLITICO in a Sunday afternoon phone interview.

Gun control activists cried it was time to reform weapons laws in the United States, almost immediately after a gunman killed six and injured 14 more, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Arizona on Saturday.

Many said that people with a history of mental instability, like the alleged shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, should not be able to buy a gun — and no one should be able to buy stockpiles of ammunition used by the 22-year-old assailant.

McCarthy said she plans to confer with House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to see “if we can work something through” in the coming week.

McCarthy’s spokesman confirmed the legislation will target the high-capacity ammunition clips the Arizona gunman allegedly used in the shooting, but neither he or the congresswoman offered any further details.

“Again, we need to look at how this is going to work, to protect people, certainly citizens, and we have to look at what I can pass,” McCarthy said. “I don’t want to give the NRA – excuse the pun – the ammunition to come at me either.”

via Carolyn McCarthy readies gun control bill – Shira Toeplitz – POLITICO.com.

I understand her husband getting killed and he kids hurt in a shooting. But is it really necessary to impose her idiotic will on the American people?

Of course, unless something major changes; this bill will never, ever make it to the President’s desk. The Democrats tried this whole thing back during the Clinton era and ended up paying for it dearly during the elections. They fought this battle —- and ultimately lost.  So, I expect that this bill will be treated as such.

What will be interesting to note is whether the Conservative in Congress will stick to their principles ….or will they go the Neo-Conservative route and sell out their principles to the liberals, who want to strip our freedoms in the name of safety? Remember the only difference between a big Government liberal and a Big Government Conservative Neo-Con is the type and names of their special interest groups; there are others, but I do not want this article to be too long. 😉

What really needs to happen, is some freedom loving American needs to challenge Rep. Carolyn McCarthy at the ballot box, come election time. Because we just cannot allow these far-leftist loons to use a sad situation like this, to rob peace loving, and law abiding citizens of the United States of American of the freedoms that they hold dear.

It is a often used phrase among second amendment advocates, that “Gun Control is less about guns and more about Control.” This attempt by this far leftist loon proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

America is watching congress, act wisely; we voted you in — we can and will, vote you out.

Remember this come 2012.

The late night mental health break: Van Halen

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Dream another dream Liberals……Because this one is over! 😛

From the New York Times:

The Senate on Saturday blocked a bill that would have created a path to citizenship for certain young illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children, completed two years of college or military service and met other requirements, including passing a criminal background check.

The vote by 55-41 in favor of the bill, which is known as the Dream Act, effectively kills it for this year, and its fate is uncertain. The measure needed the support of 60 senators to cut off a filibuster and bring it to the floor.

Supporters said they were heartened that the measure won the backing of a majority of the Senate. They said they would continue to press for it, either on its own or as part of a wide immigration overhaul that some Democrats hope to undertake next year and believe could be an area of cooperation with Republicans, who will control a majority in the House.

Most immediately, the measure would have helped grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant students and recent graduates whose lives are severely restricted, though many have lived in the United States for nearly their entire lives.

Young Hispanic men and women filled the spectator galleries of the Senate, many of them wearing graduation caps and tassels in a symbol of their support for the bill. They held hands in a prayerful gesture as the clerk called the roll and many looked stricken as its defeat was announced.

President Obama had personally lobbied lawmakers in support the bill. But Democrats were not able to hold ranks.

Five Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the bill. They were Senators Max Baucus of Montana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Jon Tester of Montana.

And three Republicans joined the balance of Democrats in favor of it: Robert Bennett of Utah, Richard Lugar of Indiana, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Mr. Obama, in a statement, called the outcome “incredibly disappointing” and said that he would continue fighting to win approval of the bill.

Which should prove that America is a center-right Country and that most Americans oppose any sort of disruption of what is commonly known as “RULE OF LAW.”

That is all…

Others: Don Surber, neo-neocon, Vox Popoli, Scared Monkeys, Left Coast Rebel, Wake up America, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com,

Personal Advice from ME: If you are small time stock investor, GET OUT NOW!

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…and here is why….

This comes via Gateway Pundit, who is one hell of a great blogger:

The story via the U.K. Telegraph:

US Treasuries last week suffered their biggest two-day sell-off since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The borrowing costs of the government of the world’s largest economy have now risen by a quarter over the past four weeks.

Such a sharp rise in US benchmark market interest rates matters a lot – and it matters way beyond America. The US government is now servicing $13.8 trillion (£8.7 trilion) in declared liabilities – making it, by a long way, the world’s largest debtor. Around $414bn of US taxpayers’ money went on sovereign interest payments last year – around 4.5 times the budget of America’s Department of Education.

Debt service costs have reached such astronomical levels even though, over the past year and more, yields have been kept historically and artificially low by “quantitative easing (QE)” – in other words, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s virtual printing press. Now borrowing costs are 28pc higher than a month ago, with the 10-year Treasury yield reaching 3.33pc last week, an already eye-watering debt service burden can only go up.

Few on this side of the Atlantic should feel smug. The eurozone’s ongoing sovereign debt debacle has pushed up Germany’s borrowing costs by 27pc over the last month – to 3.03pc. The market has judged that if Europe’s Teutonic powerhouse wants the single currency to survive, it will ultimately need to raise wads of cash to absorb the mess caused by other member states’ fiscal incontinence…

…Some say that growing signs of a US economic recovery are positive for stocks, which means money is being diverted out of Treasuries, so lowering their price, which pushes up yields. That’s wishful thinking. Sovereign borrowing costs have just surged in the US – and therefore elsewhere – because a politically-wounded President Obama caved-in and extended the Bush-era tax cuts, combining them with a $120bn payroll tax holiday…

…The market is increasingly alarmed at the rate of increase of the US government’s already massive liabilities. America’s government debt is set to expand by a jaw-dropping 42pc over the next few years, reaching $19.6 trillion by 2015 according to Treasury Department estimates presented (amid very little fanfare) to Congress back in June. Since then, government spending has risen even more. So US debt service costs, like those of many other Western nations, are expanding rapidly in terms of both the volumes of sovereign instruments outstanding, and the yields on each bond.

You know what that means? It means that if you are a small time investor; that you need to get out of the Market NOW! This could have a huge impact on the market, and you could lose very big. I do virtual trading and so far, I have done well on my trades. But I am not about to lose my shirt, so, I ordered a sell off of everything. Now the big time guys will be able to afford to ride this out, because they have the wealth to spare. But the small time people will get burned. The best thing I can tell you small times investors, is to dump your shares and put it all into Gold. That would either be into EFT‘s or real actual Gold.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a expert on the subject of stocks, trading or even Gold. However, it does stand to reason that when such news as this is report, that it will affect the U.S. markets and the United States financial system. I do however, promote a great investment advice service called Elliotwave. You might want to check it out.

Video: Representative Ron Paul on Wikileaks “Lying is not Patriotic”

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Guest Voice: Jack Hunter on The Conservative Case for WikiLeaks

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(Via The American Conservative)

Transcript:

Lovers necessarily keep or share secrets. Being in a healthy relationship means achieving a certain level of intimacy, where shared knowledge of each others’ weaknesses and insecurities is protected by a bond of mutual trust. Sometimes lovers might do devilish things that outsiders wouldn’t understand, or shouldn’t be privy to, and this is fine. But by and large, what they do is simply no one else’s business.

But imagine that the man in the relationship kept it a secret that he had other women on the side, kids, a criminal record, venereal disease, and basically betrayed his lover in every way imaginable, unbeknownst to her?

Now imagine a third party felt it was their moral duty to reveal it?

No one questions that governments must maintain a certain level of secrecy, including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who told Time that “Secrecy is important for many things … [but it] shouldn’t be used to cover up abuses.” The entire premise of Assange’s whistleblower organization is this: To what degree is government secrecy justified? And when particular secrets could be damaging to the other partner in the United States government’s relationship — the American people — should these secrets be revealed in the name of protecting the public?

How often does our government use “national security” simply as an excuse to cover up questionable dealings? Reports Time: “in the past few years, governments have designated so much information secret that you wonder whether they intend the time of day to be classified. The number of new secrets designated as such by the U.S. government has risen 75% … . At the same time, the number of documents and other communications created using those secrets has skyrocketed nearly 10 times…”

To say that government must keep secrets is not to say that all government secrets must be kept.

As admitted even by Pentagon officials and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, none of WikiLeaks’ revelations do anything to compromise national security or endanger American lives — but they have wreaked havoc on political life in Washington, D.C. Americans are not supposed to know, for example, that their government bullied and threatened individuals and other governments that might have undermined the Copenhagen climate change summit in 2009. The federal government attempting to squelch anyone who might undermine global-warming dogma? Do WikiLeaks’ conservative critics believe revealing this is a “national security” risk?

Americans are not supposed to know, apparently, that behind the scenes Saudi Arabia has been encouraging the U.S. to take military action against Iran. But if we end up going to war with Iran shouldn’t it be in America’s national interest, and not simply as a subcontractor for another country? Asks Fox News’ Judith Miller: “Why should Americans not know that Arab states, often at the top level, have been urging Washington to take military or other drastic action against Iran, while they publicly oppose such action?”

And when did conservatives become so protective of Hillary Clinton? What happened to the days of the “Stop Hillary Express,” when right-wing talk radio portrayed the former first lady as Satan and theorized about all the devious ways in which, if in power, she might conspire to bring down the country? When WikiLeaks revealed that Secretary of State Clinton tried to obtain DNA, fingerprints, credit-card numbers, and other private information belonging to United Nations officials, we learned that Clinton’s style was every bit as mafia-esque as her conservative critics once warned. Yet conservatives now attack WikiLeaks for revealing what they once feared. It should also be remembered that the same conservatives now calling for Assange’s head either ignored or were sympathetic to Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame allegedly at the Bush administration’s behest — a revelation arguably far riskier to our national security than anything ever released by WikiLeaks.

But the worst hypocrisy throughout this controversy has been in conservatives reflexively defending the government and attacking WikiLeaks. Since when have conservatives believed that Washington should be able to shroud any action it likes in secrecy and that revealing government’s nefarious deeds is tantamount to treason? Isn’t it government officials who might secretly work for corporate, ideological or transnational interests — and against the national interest — who are betraying their country?

Interestingly, Wikileaks’ founder espouses the traditionally conservative, Jeffersonian view that America’s constitutional structure limits and lessens government corruption. Reported Time: “Assange appears to believe that the U.S. has not become ‘a much-worse-behaved superpower’ because its federalism, ‘this strength of the states,’ has been a drag on the combination of the burgeoning power of the central government and a presidency that can expand its influence only by way of foreign affairs.”

Decentralizing government power, limiting it, and challenging it was the Founders’ intent and these have always been core conservative principles. Conservatives should prefer an explosion of whistleblower groups like WikiLeaks to a federal government powerful enough to take them down. Government officials who now attack WikLleaks don’t fear national endangerment, they fear personal embarrassment. And while scores of conservatives have long promised to undermine or challenge the current monstrosity in Washington, D.C., it is now an organization not recognizably conservative that best undermines the political establishment and challenges its very foundations.

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The “Southern Avenger” Jack Hunter is a conservative commentator on WTMA 1250 AM talk radio and columnist for the Charleston City Paper in South Carolina.

My thoughts on the Obama Presser

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I am, of course, referring to this:

Now to listen to the Democrats talk, now is a time of doom and gloom for them.

However, I have to make a startling confession; I was actually impressed with part of this presser. No, I am not talking about the part where he called the GOP hostage takers and so forth. :roll:I expected that stuff, heck, he is a Liberal Democrat. What else was he supposed to say?!?

I am referring to the part where President Obama basically told the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party folk in Congress, “Hey guys? If you had done your jobs before the primary election, we could not be in this position; so, put a sock in it and be glad that we got what we got from the other side!” That impressed me greatly. Any leader who is willing to stand up to his own party and tell them to “get bent” has my respect.

I tend to believe that this will be the end of the “nice” Barack Obama and might just be the beginning of the savvy stern leader President Barack Obama. One of the biggest complaints about him, is that he was too soft. The President might just be trying to reverse that image. It can’t hurt. I mean, maybe if he actually showed some leadership. It might just help his poll numbers.

I do not expect much praise from the Neo-Con side of the fence, as they’ve made a cottage industry out of being his biggest critics. However, I do offer it, as I am not nearly as into the smear machine as some.

Jeff Kuhner takes it to another level: Kill Julian Assange

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I figured someone in the Conservative media would say this sooner or later. I thought about it, but I really do not like the idea myself.

Jeff Kuhner at the Washington Times writes:

Julian Assange poses a clear and present danger to American national security. The WikiLeaks founder is more than a reckless provocateur. He is aiding and abetting terrorists in their war against America. The administration must take care of the problem – effectively and permanently.

The recent WikiLeaks document dump is the latest example of Mr. Assange’s dangerous behavior. His release of more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, many of them containing classified information, is a major blow to our foreign policy. The essence of diplomacy – especially that of a great power – is the ability to conduct negotiations and hold talks in secret. Foreign leaders will not be willing to engage in sensitive discussions with American emissaries if their words are going to be splashed across the front pages of the world’s newspapers. Officials in autocratic and Islamist states often risk their lives to cooperate with Washington, usually by providing vital information or advice. They now face a further disincentive to help us: The U.S. government can no longer guarantee the privacy and secrecy of their discussions.

American diplomacy has been crippled. So has our ability to conduct the war on terrorism. For example, the cables cache reveals that the United States is working closely with Yemen’s dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in launching drone strikes against local al Qaeda bases. Al Qaeda has spread to Yemen. Its insurgency is growing. Yemen risks becoming what Afghanistan was before Sept. 11, 2001: a vast sanctuary for jihadists. Mr. Saleh insists that Yemeni public opinion – insular, xenophobic and increasingly Islamic – will not support the U.S. military presence on domestic soil. Hence, he says the pretense must be maintained that Yemen is firing the missiles, not America. This pretense has been shattered – and with it, perhaps, a key ally in the struggle against al Qaeda. Mr. Assange is helping chase the American infidel out of Yemen’s desolate deserts.

[………]

The United States is paying a severe price for Mr. Obama’s negligence. This is the greatest diplomatic crisis since the late 1940s, when communist agents in the U.S. government provided atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. The world is witnessing the absurd, almost surreal spectacle of the American superpower standing helpless in the face of a lone hacker. Her diplomatic secrets are no longer safe; her allies and friends are being betrayed; and her cyber-enemies are free to roam with impunity. America is no longer feared or respected.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. vows that he is looking into possible criminal charges against Mr. Assange. It is too late for tough talk. At this point, we are beyond indictments and courts. The damage has been done; people have died – and will die because of the actions of this puerile, self-absorbed narcissist. News reports say the WikiLeaks founder is hiding out in England. If that’s true, we should treat Mr. Assange the same way as other high-value terrorist targets: Kill him

Okay, here is the question that I feel the need to ask. Are we going to kill someone every time some whistle blower decides to speak out and expose some corruption in Government? Because if that is where we are headed, that is a slippery slope we can never recover from. Like anyone else, I am for open Government, I am also for seeing elected officials held accountable. However, if the United States Government and more importantly the United States Military is being put at risk, then by all means, arrest this guy and put him away.

I have no idea what Julian Assange‘s motivation is; whether it is conspiracy theory, politics or if he is just a pompous ass.  But the idea of KILLING someone, just because decide to release some confidential information is not something, as a Conservative; who believes in rule of law and not Governmental treachery, that I can support. Because once you unleash that monster onto the American and World Wide Community, it cannot be stopped.

I would think that Jeff Kuhner would be a bit smarter than that. However, when you are working for a paper that basically was a cheerleader for the Bush Administration during the lead up to and during the Iraqi Invasion, one can expect only so much.

Others: Reporters Sans Frontières, Hullabaloo, Harry’s Place, Guardian, New York Times, News: News blog and The New Republic