GOP says 5,000 non-citizens voting in Colorado a 'wake-up call' for states

Republicans on the House Administration Committee want to shore up voter registration rules in the wake of a Colorado study that found as many as 5,000 non-citizens in the state took part in last year’s election.

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), the panel’s chairman, called the study “a disturbing wake-up call” that should cause every state to review its safeguards to prevent illegal voting.

“We simply cannot have an electoral system that allows thousands of non-citizens to violate the law and vote in our elections. We must do more to protect the integrity of our electoral processes,” Harper added.

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, a Republican, told the panel that his department’s study identified nearly 12,000 people who were not citizens but were still registered to vote in Colorado.

Of those non-citizen registered voters, nearly 5,000 took part in the 2010 general election in which Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet narrowly defeated Republican John Buck. Source: The HILL

Obama's secret 'Transparency Award'

President Obama quietly accepted his “transparency” award from the open government community this week in a closed, undisclosed meeting at the White House.

The secret presentation happened almost two weeks after the White House inexplicably postponed the ceremony, which was expected to be open to the press pool.

This time, Obama met quietly in the Oval Office with Gary Bass of OMB Watch, Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive, Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight, Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Patrice McDermott of OpenTheGovernment.org, without disclosing the meeting on his public schedule or letting photographers or print reporters into the room. Shh! Click HERE!

Federal Immigration Office Puts Hold on Rejections of Same-Sex Couple Applications

The Obama administration has put on hold immigration cases involving married gay couples following the decision to drop its defense of the federal law banning same-sex marriage. 

The move means a foreign national married to a U.S. citizen of the same sex would not automatically be denied immigration benefits. One immigration lawyer said the decision could also give those facing deportation a reprieve. 

"They would not be deportable and they would be eligible for work authorization," said Christopher Nugent, a longtime immigration attorney who also works on immigration matters with the American Bar Association. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services insists the move is only temporary and that nothing is changing. 

USCIS spokesman Chris Bentley told FoxNews.com the cases will be held "in abeyance" while the department seeks final guidance on a handful of "technical legal issues." The expectation, he said, is once that "imminent" guidance comes down, the administration will continue enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act as it always has -- meaning marriage-based immigration benefits would be denied for same-sex couples. More clarification on this than the war in Libya!

Editors’ note: “There is no such thing as homophobia. There is, however, a natural aversion to unnatural behavior. A phobia is an extreme fear of something. I am not afraid of homosexuals, I am grossed out. I find it astounding the amount of ground gained by homosexual activists in normalizing homosexuality."

Terrorists Among Us?

They could be the people on the bus seat across the aisle, or the neighbors: members of East African groups that a recently released government memorandum says are “ready to die for the cause.”

The FBI and Homeland Security Department don’t know where they all are. And it’s unclear if they know how many arrived.

But in a rare admission, a Justice Department memo and other documents obtained by the San Antonio Express-News say federal authorities know terror suspects are in this country and know who allegedly helped bring them here through Mexico and Texas: a Somali man in custody near San Antonio.

Last year, Houston-area news outlets reported that homeland security issued a vague bulletin to Texas law enforcement to be on the lookout for Mohamed Ali, a purported member of Somalia-based Al-Shabaab, which has aligned itself with al-Qaida and Osama Bin Laden. HERE'S the STORY!

ObamaCare and your tax dollars at work

Who is paying for this insanity? How can these hypocritical liberals use 'McDonald's' and 'Health' in the same sentence? They need to be defeated!

LA's illegal Chinese berthing centers shut down

From the outside, they looked like other recently built San Gabriel townhouses — two stories, Spanish style, with roofs of red tile.

Inside they were maternity centers for Chinese women willing to pay handsomely to travel here to give birth to American citizens.

Southern California has become a hub of so-called birthing tourism. Operators of such centers tend to try to blend in, attracting as little attention as possible.

But on quiet, residential Palm Avenue, neighbors had noticed an unusual number of pregnant women going in and out, and some complained about noise.

On March 8, code enforcement officials shut down three identical four-bedroom townhouses functioning as an unlicensed birthing center.

The homes, officials said, had been converted into maternity centers. Inside, they found about 10 mothers and seven newborns. --LA Times!

New college discipline: Resentment Studies

Editors’ note: “There is no such thing as homophobia. There is, however, a natural aversion to unnatural behavior. A phobia is an extreme fear of something. I am not afraid of homosexuals, I am grossed out. I find it astounding the amount of ground gained by homosexual activists in normalizing homosexuality. That being said, please read on…”

Mike Adams is a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor. The following is Professor Adams' proposal for Resentment Studies:

Here in the Tar Heel state, the Republicans have taken over the House and the liberals are freaking out. Thank goodness they don’t have guns. Otherwise, they’d be shooting up the campus and causing irreparable harm by injecting lead into the public water supply. One university chancellor was so freaked out she said this about the proposed Republican budgets cuts: “If the Republicans get their way we’re going to have to raise tuition by $2000. That will mean that most of the expense of higher education will have to be paid by the people who are using it - as opposed to the general public.”

That’s a frightening prospect for a liberal, now isn’t it? Just imagine a society where people have to pay for the goods and services they use instead of having “society” foot the bill. To live in such a world would make people accountable for their actions, which might actually motivate them to conserve scarce resources. And we can’t have people conserving because that sounds too much like "conservative."

(Author’s note: The word “conservative” is considered hate speech on most college campuses. I have a theory that most academic programs lack rigor because the word “rigor” sounds like another word that is banned by campus speech codes – unless, of course, you’re a black or hyphenated American).

But, of course, the chancellor was right this time – I guess a blind nut occasionally finds a squirrel. So there will be budget cuts and there will be resentment among Generation Entitlement (hereafter: Generation E) students. Therefore, I’ve come to the rescue with a plan that solves everyone’s problems. My plan helps us cut the state budget for higher education while helping to ease the resentment that will undoubtedly ensue among Generation E students.

My plan is very simple: Combine African American Studies, Gay & Lesbian Studies, and Women’s Studies into one academic program called “Resentment Studies.” I know that initially some will resent my proposal. But allow me a chance to explain my thinking with a few examples:

1.After my recent column “Rigor Please,” I received an angry email from an African American Studies major. He said he resented my assertion that his major was not rigorous. He also said he resented my use of the term “rigor” in the title of the column. There’s no sense in letting this young man just stew in his resentment. I propose letting him study his resentment so he can take full advantage of it upon graduation.

My brief interchange with that student gave me the idea for a Resentment Studies major. His African American Studies program had taught him to guilt people into silence (or into giving him entitlements) by hating his country and expressing resentment towards white people. So let’s just come right out with it and call it Resentment Studies rather than masking the true intention of African American Studies.

2.And, speaking of coming out, I got an email from an ex-student who happens to be gay. He said he was outraged to find out that I oppose gay marriage and have written numerous articles criticizing the gay rights movement. He said that (had he known my views) he would not have taken my class. He also said that (had he found out about my views while he was in my class) he would have withdrawn (from the course). He closed his email by inviting me to perform oral sex on him. I declined the offer because I’m a heterosexist pig.

Rather than charging the kid with sexual harassment I decided to offer him a government entitlement by allowing gays (not just black ones) to major in Resentment Studies. Since the guy made it through a whole semester in my class without knowing my views on homosexuality he had no reason to be resentful. But, since he was resentful anyway, he should hone those skills in a new Resentment Studies program. Heterosexism breeds resentment – and so do breeders! We must, therefore, make room in our diversity mission for an academic program promoting gay resentment. And administrators should stop Stonewalling, now!

3.Speaking of NOW, we can’t allow the feminists to miss out on the opportunity to major in Resentment Studies. In fact, I’ve already recruited the first potential feminist major for our program. This young criminology student wrote a policy paper proposing the death penalty for second degree rape. I criticized the student - reminding her that the Coker and Kennedy (no, not Teddy) Supreme Court decisions do not allow executions for rape. But the student got a different reaction from a feminist faculty member who simply said “Good. We need more angry feminists.”

Some people think we need more angry feminists like a fish needs a bicycle. But I think we need more angry feminists in Resentment Studies. Asking that criminology major to change to Women’s Studies would be so passé. Gender is such an antiquated concept. Thank goddess for Resentment Studies!

I appreciate having the opportunity to defend my proposal before the first generation of Resentment Studies graduates decides to repeal the First Amendment. This will be the downside of teaching people to resent the Framers because they owned slaves.

Of course, I know there are still people who are angered by my proposal – particularly black lesbians who can no longer triple major in African American Studies, Gay & Lesbian Studies, and Women’s Studies. They should be especially angry since they have to pay for one degree rather than having the “general public” supply them with three. On the other hand, I am confident that the really angry graduates will perform better during job interviews. Employers are dying to hire people full of resentment with the credentials to prove it.

***Reprinted without permission from Town Hall (dot) com***

Illinois State Lawmaker Wants Drug Tests For Welfare Recipients

A state lawmaker wants welfare recipients to submit to drug tests in order to receive aid, but he admits the proposal isn’t ready for a full debate – and probably won’t make it into law this year.

This isn’t the first time State Rep. Jim Sacia (R-Pecatonica) has introduced such a measure. He first introduced it three years ago when a constituent asked him why welfare applicants don’t submit to drug tests, but many job applicants do. --Source!

Why European Countries are REALLY Fighting in Libya

Multiculturalism is not working; "Please, no more immigrants"!


Thanks to CBN!

Pakistani actress defies mullah

It's amazing that liberal women will not take a stand on the abuse of their sisters in Arab nations. Quite possibly this actress will be beaten or killed if she returns home. Maybe NOW should conduct a burka tour of Pakistan.

Are Feds Fanning Racial Flames in an Affluent, White California County?

Marin County, the affluent Bay Area community outside of San Francisco, is too white, says the Feds. According to data culled from the recent census, Marin County contains seven of the 10 whitest cities in the Bay Area. And to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), that’s a problem.

The draft report, released Wednesday, came in response to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s determination that Marin had “failed to comply” with the 1964 Civil Rights Act and two other anti-discrimination statutes.

Marin’s Community Development Agency recommended amending zoning regulations to ease the construction of new apartments, passing new laws requiring new developments to offer housing at below-market rates, and stepping up programs to combat discrimination by landlords and realtors.

Chuck Hauptman, HUD’s Regional Director for Fair Housing, said officials were reviewing the plan “to see if it is acceptable as far as content goes.”

According to this video report from KPIX, Marin County officials are scrambling to make more of an effort to reach out to minorities: Source!

Likely 2012 GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain said:

"There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. This is what happened in Europe. And little by little, to try and be politically correct, they made this little change, they made this little change. And now they’ve got a social problem that they don’t know what to do with hardly.

The question that was asked that “raised some questions” and, as my grandfather said, “I does not care, I feel the way I feel.” I was asked, “what is the role of Islam in America?” I thought it was an odd question. I said the role of Islam in America is for those that believe in Islam to practice it and leave us alone. Just like Christianity. We have a First Amendment. And I get upset when the Muslims in this country, some of them, try to force their Sharia law onto the rest of us." --Source!

Iranian Video Says Mahdi is 'Near'

The VIDEO: Thanks to CBN News

Florida House votes to ban automatic payroll deductions of union dues

Union leaders representing government workers may need to start looking for new ways to collect payment from their members after the Florida House voted 73-40 on Friday, largely along party lines, to ban automatic payroll deductions of union dues for all government workers.

House Bill 1021 would also require written authorization by union members for their dues to be used for any political activities.

“This is a bill that appropriately confines government to a role that it should play, and it’s a bill that empowers membership of labor unions,” said Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, the bill’s sponsor.

But Democrats argued that the legislation is nothing more than a thinly veiled and un-American attempt at “union busting,” because unions generally support Democrats.

“This is a calculated step to diminish the power of the unions, and only takes critical brain power away from the issues of what we should be focused on today, jobs, jobs, jobs, economic recovery, education, budget balancing and health care,” said Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton. “We didn’t get elected to sit here to wage an ideological war. We were elected to work together for the state of Florida.” --Source!

Ed. Pobrecito

Stop Obama's EPA from Increasing American Energy Costs!

Even while gas prices continue to go up and recent turmoil in Libya and the Middle East further threaten America's energy independence, the Obama Administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) keeps pursuing a policy agenda that will only make matters worse.

Specifically, the EPA is trying to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases and essentially enact a backdoor cap and trade scheme.

Congress never intended the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases and doing so threatens to trigger new energy taxes, greatly slow America's still-recovering economy, and send more jobs overseas to China, India, and other countries.

Fortunately, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and Representative Fred Upton (R, MI-6) have introduced "The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011" (S. 482 in the Senate & H.R. 910 in the House) that would completely strip the EPA of its ability to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases, effectively stopping Obama's back door cap and trade strategy dead in its tracks. --Freedom Works!

Bill Ayers affirms he wrote "Dreams from my Father"

Last Thursday evening at Montclair State University Bill Ayers volunteered that yes indeed he had written the acclaimed Barack Obama memoir, "Dreams from My Father."

Unprompted, Ayers also noted that while Dreams deserves its praise, Obama's second opus, "Audacity of Hope," is "more of a political hack book."

Not surprisingly, Ayers retreated into irony as he ended the session. "Yeah, yeah," he said after confirming again that he wrote Dreams, "And if you help me prove it, I'll split the royalties with you. Thank you very much." --Full Story / VIDEO

ACORN International puts down roots in South Korea, Egypt

ACORN is defunct, but ACORN International, a separate organization, is thriving, according to a message to supporters from Wade Rathke, founder of ACORN and chief organizer for ACORN International.

In his message, Rathke noted that ACORN International just added a new affiliate in South Korea, known as Asian Bridge, and that activists in Prague had begun an organization called ACORN Comrades Club, with which he is communicating via Skype from his home in New Orleans.

"And, perhaps even more thrilling, I have now heard from a number of activists involved in organizing in Cairo in the last several weeks. They are talking about developing a 'Peoples' Plan' for development in a number of the poorer areas in the wake of the democracy debate and want to connect with our efforts in doing a similar plan after Katrina in New Orleans," Rathke wrote. MORE!

D O J , W E B S I T E C H A N G E

Little by little the subtle changes come until one day we will wake up and be the United Socialist States of America. 2012 is just around the corner so get and stay engaged as if our nation depended on it because it does!

U.S. Department of Justice ditches red, white, and blue stars and stripes website header

The U.S. Department of Justice has changed its web site. Gone are the colorful red, white, and blue U.S. Flag decorations on the page and replaced by stark black and white.

At the top of the page, is an interesting quote: "The common law is the will of mankind, issuing from the life of the people."

This quote is from C. Wilfred Jenks who in the 1930's was a leading proponent of the "international law" movement, which had as its goal to impose a global common law and which backed 'global workers' rights.'

Call it Marxism, call it Progressivism, call it Socialism under any of those names, it definitely makes the DOJ look corrupt in their new website with Marxist accessories to match.

See the new graphics HERE!

More proof that we're loosing our Republic.  This is an example of the slow, methodical misuse of power that our current government is doing as they lead us to socialism, and destroying our republic as we have known it.

Cops fired because of 'innocent' FaceBook postings

This list does not include police who have been threatened using their FaceBook profile information (working story, NBC Nightly News, 3/25):

Washington State Patrol

South Carolina

Georgia

Arkansas

Milwaukee Dispatcher

Not limited to cops ...and 12 MORE!

Caterpillar CEO talks of leaving Illinois?

Wasn't this Obama's BIG success example?

The chairman and CEO of Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. is raising the specter of moving the heavy equipment maker out of Illinois.

In a letter sent March 21 to Gov. Pat Quinn, Caterpillar chief executive officer Doug Oberhelman said officials in at least four other states have approached the company about relocating since Illinois raised its income tax in January.

"I want to stay here. But as the leader of this business, I have to do what's right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest," Oberhelman wrote in the letter obtained Friday by the Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau. "The direction that this state is headed in is not favorable to business and I'd like to work with you to change that." --SOURCE

Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ): "Pro-Life People Don’t Deserve Freedoms in Constitution”

New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg is coming under fire from pro-life advocates for comments he made at a recent rally Planned Parenthood staged to save taxpayer funding for its abortion business.

Lautenberg appeared with about 100 supporters who wore pink shirts and stood in front of a pink-colored bus Planned Parenthood has been driving around the country in order to build up support for receiving tens of millions in taxpayer dollars to support what is the biggest abortion business in the country.

“Planned Parenthood is under attack by Tea Party Republicans who have put their extremist ideology above women’s health,” Lautenberg said while pro-life advocates who counter-protested shouted, “Shame on you, Lautenberg.”

The pro-abortion New Jersey senator fired back:  “These people (referring to the pro-life advocates) don’t deserve the freedoms in the Constitution.”

Then, as an afterthought, he said, “but we’ll give it to them anyway.” --From LIFE NEWS!

Tea Party Movement Growing Weary of GOP Budget Plan

As U.S. lawmakers seek a compromise on how much federal spending to cut in order to avoid a government shutdown, Tea Party activists who helped propel Republicans back into power are growing impatient with the debate.

When Republicans captured the House in November, vowing to slash $100 billion in federal spending from the budget year ending in September, 76 percent of Tea Party activists supported their deficit-reduction plan, according to a new Pew Research poll released last week.

But after House Republicans approved a plan last month to cut federal spending by $61 billion, that Tea Party support fell to 52 percent. MORE! 
------------------
"The Republicans in Congress claim they’re concerned about the budget balance, but it’s a disguise! It’s not true! It’s a lie! That’s not what they want. They want other people not to be able to have their own opinions. They don’t deserve the freedoms that are in the Constitution! But we’ll give it to them anyway." --Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

Ten things you didn't know about ObamaCAIR

1. Did you know that . . . since Jan. 1 of this year (2011), you cannot use your flex account at work (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) to purchase over-the-counter medicines?

2. Did you know that . . . since July 1 of last year (2010), Americans have been paying a 10 percent excise tax on all indoor tanning services?

3. Did you know that . . . starting in 2018, if your health insurance is “too good” or considered a “Cadillac” plan, then you will incur a new 40 percent tax on your health plan?

4. Did you know that . . . Obamacare has 21 new or higher taxes in it, totaling over $500 billion in increased taxes going to the government over 10 years?

5. Did you know that . . . beginning in 2014, individuals and families that do not purchase “qualifying”  – as defined by federal bureaucrats — health insurance will be forced to pay a yearly tax penalty?

6. Did you know that . . . 7 tax hikes in Obamacare directly break President Obama’s “firm pledge” not to raise any form of taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 per year and families making less than $250,000 per year?

7. Did you know that . . . the capital gains tax rate under Obamacare will rise to 23.8 percent starting in 2012? That is a 59 percent increase from its current rate.

8. Did you know that . . . in 2013, those Americans facing the highest medical bills and the least ability to pay for them will find their ability to deduct medical expenses is further limited (medical expenses must be reduced by 10 percent of income under Obamacare, rather than current law’s 7.5 percent)

9. Did you know that . . . beginning in 2014, businesses with over 50 employees will be forced to offer health coverage for everyone, or pay a hefty tax for each employee?

10. Did you know that . . . in 2013, Obamacare caps the amount individuals and families can put in their flexible savings accounts at $2500? Currently there is no cap and these accounts are used for a myriad of health expenses including paying upwards of $14,000 in tuition to special needs schools for some parents? --SOURCE!

Democraps just can't control themselves...

VIDEO!

Illinois Rep. Schilling, Sen. Kirk and Rep. Manzullo Tour Thomson Prison

Congressman Bobby Schilling yesterday joined U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Congressman Don Manzullo (IL-16) on a tour of the Thomson Correctional Facility, Schilling’s first tour of the prison since taking office in January. The tour follows a letter sent by Illinois Republican lawmakers to President Barack Obama on March 10 in which they seek a firm commitment from the Administration to abandon all efforts to relocate detainees from Guantanamo Bay Detention Center to Thomson. Such a commitment would give Congress the confidence to approve funds that would purchase Thomson from the State of Illinois for use as a federal maximum-security prison.

Rise in Police Deaths Unacceptable

Police chiefs from around the country on Tuesday supported longer prison terms for gun-carrying felons as a way to combat a recent rise in police deaths in the line of duty.

In a meeting at the Justice Department, Attorney General Eric Holder said he couldn't imagine how his family would feel if his brother, now a retired law enforcement officer, had been killed while on the job.

A total of 162 officers died in the line of duty last year, up from 117 in 2009. So far this year, 49 have lost their lives, a 20 percent rise from the same time last year. --MORE!

Fond du Lac Officer Killed, Another Wounded

A Wisconsin man opened fire on police during a six-hour standoff at a house, killing one officer and critically wounding another, authorities said.

Police in Fond du Lac were called to the house around 6:30 a.m. Sunday to investigate a sexual assault. Shortly after they arrived, the suspect started shooting at the officers, a news release said. --MORE!

Ohio Man Charged in Police Officer's Fatal Shooting

A northern Ohio man has been charged with aggravated murder in the fatal shooting of a police officer. Erie County sheriff's Capt. Paul Sigsworth says 50-year-old Kevin Randleman of Sandusky was charged Sunday.

Police haven't said why Sandusky Officer Andrew Dunn tried to stop Randleman as he rode a bicycle early Saturday or what prompted the gun battle that followed. MORE!

Orange County Deputy Dies After Contracting Infection

After 11 years on the job, 40-year-old Deputy Sebastian Diana died last weekend in the line of duty.

But Diana did not lose his life the way most people might think. He was responding to a 911 call, trying to save a baby's life by performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The 3-month-old child didn't make it and the Orange County Sheriff's Office said Diana contracted a bacterial infection. He was sick off and on for the last few years until this past weekend when his heart stopped.

Doctors say bacterial infections can set up and harm the heart valves. --MORE!

Thanks to Law Officer Site!

Religion may become "extinct" in nine countries

Those countries include Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

According to a new study by the American Physical Society (APS) using census data, religion in nine countries is slowly dying — and, as the BBC puts it, may even become “extinct.”

The study was published earlier this year and recently unveiled at an APS meeting in Dallas. It uses a mathematical model to “account for the interplay between the number of religious respondents and the social motives behind being one,” the BBC reports. The result is scary: “religion will all but die out altogether in those countries.” --'Click 'n Pray' HERE!

Arizona Teacher's Letter Reignites Immigration Debate

Hispanic students hate America and just want to be gang members

Glendale, Arizona, school teacher Tony Hill's letter was read aloud Thursday as the state Senate considered one of five bills on illegal immigration. Hill wrote that a majority of eight-grade students who he taught recently at an unnamed Glendale school refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance and declared that "We are Mexicans and Americans stole our land."

Hill went on to write: "I have found that (in) substitute teaching in these areas most of the Hispanic students do not want to be educated but rather (want to) be gang members and gangsters. They hate America and are determined to reclaim this area for Mexico." Mas!

Senate to hold hearings on Muslims' rights

Just weeks after House Republicans held a hearing looking at the dangers of radical Muslims in the U.S., Senate Democrats are countering with a hearing of their own, scheduled after Congress returns from a 10-day vacation, to examine Muslims' civil rights.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Turban, Illinois Democrap, announced the subcommittee hearing Tuesday, saying there has been a spike in anti-Muslim bigotry in the last year that demands closer attention.

“Our Constitution protects the free exercise of religion for all Americans,” Mr. Turban said.  “During the course of our history, many religions have faced intolerance. It is important for our generation to renew our founding charter’s commitment to religious diversity and to protect the liberties guaranteed by our Bill of Rights.”

Ed. How can Dick talk about religion without bursting into flames? The REST of the STORY!

Knut's final minute

VIDEO!

The War Against the Jews Goes On

The latest Palestinian violence against Israelis, and the continuing abandonment of Israel by most of the international community, inevitably bring to mind the abandonment of the Jews during the Holocaust. Just this past week, a document emerged which raises disturbing new questions about President Franklin Roosevelt's response to the Nazi mass murder of Europe's Jews.

The document had to do with the Allies' occupation of North Africa, which they liberated from the Nazis in November 1942. At the time, President Roosevelt publicly pledged the Allies would do away with the anti-Jewish laws that had been in force in the region. But when FDR met in Casablanca with local government leaders in January 1943, he took a very different line.

The transcript of those discussions reveals what FDR said about the status of the 330,000 Jews living in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia: "The number of Jews engaged in the practice of the professions (law, medicine, etc) should be definitely limited to the percentage that the Jewish population in North Africa bears to the whole of the North African population. The President stated that his plan would further eliminate the specific and understandable complaints which the Germans bore toward the Jews in Germany, namely, that while they represented a small part of the population, over fifty percent of the lawyers, doctors, school teachers, college professors, etc., in Germany, were Jews."

Hard to believe a president would say such a thing? Maybe, but the source is unimpeachable: the transcript appears in Foreign Relations of the United States, a multivolume series of historical documents published by the U.S. government itself. The Casablanca volume was published in 1968, but did not attract much notice at the time. --Source

US Army 'kill team' in Afghanistan posed for photos of murdered civilians

Commanders brace for backlash of anti-US sentiment that could be more damaging than after the Abu Ghraib scandal

Commanders in Afghanistan are bracing themselves for possible riots and public fury triggered by the publication of "trophy" photographs of US soldiers posing with the dead bodies of defenceless Afghan civilians they killed.Senior officials at Nato's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul have compared the pictures published by the German news weekly Der Spiegel to the images of US soldiers abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib in Iraq which sparked waves of anti-US protests around the world.

They fear that the pictures could be even more damaging as they show the aftermath of the deliberate murders of Afghan civilians by a rogue US Stryker tank unit that operated in the southern province of Kandahar last year. Source!

SHOCK: Democrap Senator Claire McCaskill owes $280,000 in unpaid taxes

Senator Claire McCaskill’s (D-Mo) office said Wednesday she plans to sell her private plane and will pay $287,273 in four years of back taxes owed. According to Politico, McCaskill also spent $76,000 from her Senate budget on trips on the aircraft over the past four years, prompting the senator to repay more than $88,000 (the cost of the trips plus pilots) to the U.S. Treasury. More 'Above th' Law' HERE

SEIU members storm the ESSA headquarters

Striking Pocono Medical Center workers and SEIU members fill the lobby of ESSA Bank and Trust headquarters in Stroudsburg, Pa., on Wednesday, March 16, 2011. The union wanted to meet with CEO Gary Olson, who is chairman of the board of directors of PMC.

The union members storm the building, which happens to be private property, and begin chanting familiar phrases. When an ESSA representative  tells then that Mr. Olsen is unavailable they begin to argue with her. When she informs them that she has contacted the police to have them removed they begin chanting again. Once the police arrive they leave with any resistance. Story w/Video

Four men slashed teacher's face and left him with fractured skull 'for teaching other religions to Muslim girls'

Four Muslim men launched a horrific attack on a teacher in which they slashed his face and left him with a fractured skull because they did not approve of him teaching religion to Muslim girls. Mr Smith, who is head of religious education at Central Foundation Girls' School in east London, also suffered a fractured skull. The four now face a jail sentence.

Detectives made secret recordings of the gang's plot to attack Mr Smith prior to the brutal assault.

The covert audio probe captured the gang condemning Mr Smith for 'teaching other religions to our sisters', the court heard.

Prosecutors told the court: 'The evidence from what was said on the probe points overwhelmingly to a religious motive for this attack.'  Source

Schilling Statement on Situation in Libya

Illinois 17th District Congressman Bobby Schilling released the following statement in response to President Obama’s authorization of U.S. military action in Libya: "I believe it is the Commander in Chief’s responsibility to clearly articulate the mission in Libya with strong emphasis on how long and to what extent the United States military will be involved.  Are we there solely to protect civilians or are we there to remove Gaddafi from power?  There have been mixed messages coming from the White House and as a member of the House Armed Services Committee I firmly believe we must hear more from the President before further military commitments are made."

Libya Civil War: Saudi Oil Surplus Won't Stop $300 Oil Prices

Saudi Arabia's fabled "oil surplus" could run dry any day now, well before it can save the U.S. from a monumental energy crisis.

How bad is it in the Middle East?

In Libya civil war is breaking out. Protestors are dying in Yemen and Bahrain. The police are tear-gassing dissenters in Iran and Kuwait. And even stable, wealthy Saudi Arabia is witnessing almost daily demonstrations.

The peaceful protests that toppled President Mubarak's regime in Egypt will not repeat in other Middle East nations. Col. Moammar Kadafi has made that clear. The crisis in the Middle East could last for years. And the Libyan civil war could be only the first of many bloody conflicts in the region. Saudi

Arabia is already ramping up oil production to make up for the 1.8 million barrels per day lost in the Libyan civil war. But what happens if Tunisia's temporary government collapses into violence? That would mean 91,000 barrels of petroleum per day disappearing from the oil markets.

What if the foreign workers who make up 50% of Kuwait's population decide they've had enough? Another 2.5 billion barrels per day gone. Or worst of all, what if Iran's pseudo-democracy finally turns on its own citizens? The world would lose a whopping 4.2 billion barrels per day. Can Saudi Arabia make up for all of those shortfalls and supply the growing demand for petroleum in China, India and the rest of the emerging world?

The Middle East is erupting in violence. And even the mighty hand of OPEC can do nothing to stop it. Oil prices are already rising. Saudi's promise to replace lost petroleum production hasn't calmed the markets. And oil futures are continuing to go up. Could oil traders know something you don't?

In fact, one very important Arab nation is already losing the battle to appease its angry population. And if this country falls into chaos, 25% of the world's petroleum supply (more than 20 billion barrels per day) could disappear in less than three days.

That could immediately drive oil prices to $300 per barrel causing US gas prices to spike to $10 a gallon. The Saudi oil surplus wouldn't matter – because all of Saudi Arabia's extra oil would be held hostage by a country smaller than New Mexico.

SOURCE - "Money Morning"!

"To my Dear Obama, our son", says Gaddafi

Calling Barack Obama as "our son", Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi sent a message to the US President defending his decision to attack the rebels fighting to overthrow him.

Gaddafi(68) also wrote a letter to the French and British leaders, and the UN Secretary General, saying the Security Council resolution was "void" and violated the UN charter, warning them that they would "regret" any intervention.

"Libya is not for you, Libya is for the Libyans," he said.

Details of Gaddafi's letters were released by the Libyan government spokesman at a news conference in Tripoli.

Defending his decision to attack rebel cities, Gaddafi told Obama, "Al Qaeda is an armed organisation, passing through Algeria, Mauritania and Mali. What would you do if you found them controlling American cities with the power of weapons? What would you do, so I can follow your example."

Trying to strike a personal note, Gaddafi prefaced his letter saying, "To our son, his excellency, Mr Baracka Hussein Obama. I have said to you before, that even if Libya and the United States of America enter into a war, god forbid, you will always remain a son. Your picture will not be changed."

In his letter to Nikolas Sarkozy, David Cameron and Ban Ki Moon, Gaddafi said, "Libya is not yours, Libya is for the Libyans. The security council, their resolution is void because it is not according to the charter to interfere with the internal affairs of the country."

You have no right. You will regret if you get involved in this, our country. We can never shoot a single bullet on our people, it is Al Qaeda organisation."
The TIMES of INDIA!

Republicans Denounce Schwarzenegger's Clemency Decision

California Republican Party delegates on Sunday denounced the decision by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to commute the manslaughter sentence of the son of a political ally, saying the action undermined the party's message of being tough on crime while advocating for the rights of victims.

The resolution approved during the state party's spring convention in Sacramento condemns the former Republican governor's action, which reduced Esteban Nunez's prison sentence from 16 years to seven. Nunez, the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a Democrat, pleaded guilty for his role in the 2008 stabbing death of a college student in San Diego.

Schwarzenegger's action during his final night in office angered the San Diego County district attorney and enraged the victim's family. The governor's office did not notify either party before the decision. MORE!

69 Ethiopian churches burned

Evangelical churches and homes have been burnt down by mobs of Muslims in the southwestern Jimma region of Ethiopia. The attacks have left at least one person dead and 7,000 displaced. “This is a strategically planned attack by an extremist Islamic group.”

“It is a miracle that we are standing here talking,” says Wolde Giorgis, a primary school teacher and devout Christian, standing in front of the burnt remainders of what used to be the largest Pentecostal church of Asendabo, a town in the southwest of Ethiopia that is predominantly Muslim.

Wolde says to fear for his life. “I will leave this place as soon as possible, like so many Christians already did. I don’t know what will be next: first they burn our churches and houses. Are they going to kill us now?” Source - Unsalvageable News!

Another oil spill near BP Gulf explosion site?

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating what seems to be an oil spill just 20 miles north of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which is where the BP spill occurred. The leaky rig may be the Matterhorn SeaStar, owned by W&T Offshore, Inc. The slick is said to be 30 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The STORY

Syrian forces seal city after deadly clashes

Syrian police fires tear gas at mourners in Deraa

"Double Standards, Mr. president?"

(Middle East - Last Update: Sat Mar 19, 2011 03:54 pm) Syrian security forces fired teargas on Saturday at hundreds of mourners who took part in a funeral for two protesters as they tried to gather in the centre of the southern city of Deraa, a Reuters witness said.

Thousands of mourners called on Saturday for "revolution" at the funeral of protesters killed by Syrian security forces, the boldest challenge to Syria's rulers since uprisings began sweeping the Arab world.

At least ten thousand people demonstrated on Saturday in Deraa, a tribal region south of the capital, at the funeral of two protesters of at least four were killed on Friday.
"Revolution, revolution. Rise up Hauran," chanted the mourners in Deraa, administrative capital of the strategic Hauran plateau, as they marched behind simple wood coffins of Wissam Ayyash and Mahmoud al-Jawabra.

"God, Syria, Freedom. Whoever kills his own people is a traitor," they said.

The two were killed when security forces opened fire on Friday on civilians taking part in a peaceful protest demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption in Syria, which has been ruled under emergency laws by President Bashar al-Assad's Baath Party for nearly half a century.

A third man who was killed on Friday, Ayhem al-Hariri, was buried in a village near Deraa earlier on Saturday. A fourth protester, Adnan Akrad, died on Saturday from his wounds.

Secret police at the main funeral in Deraa arrested at least one mourner, activists said. Security was heavy in the city, especially around police stations. Source

DOJ to white male bullying victims: Tough luck

The viral video sensation showing a bullying incident at an Australian school has brought the issue of bullying back into the spotlight. Here in the United States, the Obama administration has made school bullying a federal issue. Last week, President Barack Obama addressed an anti-bullying conference with First Lady Michelle Obama at his side. The administration's anti-bullying campaign has been ongoing since the beginning of Mr. Obama's term.The Department of Justice announced in December 2010 its intention to hold liable school districts that fail to protect students that are bullied.

DOJ’s website states:

The Civil Rights Division and the entire Justice Department are committed to ending bullying and harassment in schools, and the video highlights the Department’s authority to enforce federal laws that protect students from discrimination and harassment at school because of their race, national origin, disability, religion, and sex, including harassment based on nonconformity with gender stereotypes.

The statement later says:

The enforcement of the Equal Protection Clause, Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in school districts is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information is available at the Civil Rights Division’s Educational Opportunities Section website at www.justice.gov/crt/edo/.
Here is the catch. DOJ will only investigate bullying cases if the victim is considered protected under the 1964 Civil Rights legislation. In essence, only discrimination against a victim’s race, sex, national origin, disability, or religion will be considered by DOJ. The overweight straight white male who is verbally and/or physically harassed because of his size can consider himself invisible to the Justice Department.

Apparently, the Justice Department is going by George Orwell’s famous Animal Farm ending: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Source!

Depressed Wisconsin teacher comments suicide; unions falsely blame Governor Scott

A middle-aged teacher with a history of depression committed suicide earlier this month, and the Wisconsin unionistas are blaming their boogeyman governor, Scott Walker, for her death: The SPIN

But in the official report, Officer Jeffrey Meloy wrote in his report: Ms. Jeri-Lynn Betts long history of depression began years before Scott Walker became Wisconsin's governor. Source!

"Who The Hell Do You Think Your Are?"

Farrakhan Blasts Obama For Calling For Qaddafi to Step Down

Louis Farrakhan with radio host Cliff Kelley on WVON-AM 1690 Chicago

FARRAKHAN: "I warn my brother do you let these wicked demons move you in a direction that will absolutely ruin your future with your people in Africa and throughout the world...Why don't you organize a group of respected Americans and ask for a meeting with Qaddafi, you can't order him to step down and get out, who the hell do you think you are?" VIDEO!

WORLD INCREDIBLE VIDEO: WARPLANE GOES DOWN IN FLAMES, EXPLODING ON THE GROUND IN LIBYA

War 3, VIDEO!

Bible Bashing on MSNBC

God Bless the United States of America; and hurry...please!

Obama understates deficits by $2.3 trillion

A new assessment of President Barack Obama's budget released Friday says the White House underestimates future budget deficits by more than $2 trillion over the upcoming decade. The estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that if Obama's February budget submission is enacted into law it would produce deficits totaling $9.5 trillion over 10 years -- an average of almost $1 trillion a year.

Obama's budget saw deficits totaling $7.2 trillion over the same period. Source

Energy rate hikes go to the DNC

When paying your electric bill, a portion may be funding the democraps. The STORY

Tsunami - Sea View

The wave from a ship's perspective: VIDEO

Teacher's Unions Explained

See this, and many more wonderful anti-liberal videos at Battlefield 315!

The tale of two tsunamis

While VP Biden pumps up union thugs...

...and Obama vacations in Rio on the taxpayer's dime, a well written think piece is published at Unsalvageable News.

Roger Kimball (Pajamas Media) compares the earthquake and resulting deadly tsunami that ravaged the Indian Ocean in 2004 and the quake and tsunami just experienced by the Japanese. Although the statistics are striking, the real difference is realized when Kimball compares presidential responses. This piece is another reminder that Americans did not trade up in 2009.

Lawmakers Find a Path Around an Earmarks Ban

Representative Timothy H. Bishop of eastern Long Island reached out to a top colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers a few weeks ago seeking help on something that might have slipped under the radar: dredging Lake Montauk.

Representative Gary L. Ackerman had his own parochial request when he wrote to the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs: a new veterans’ hospital that people in his district, in Queens and Nassau County, would use.

Other lawmakers have been making similar entreaties — to the transportation secretary, for example, to get financing to pay for high-speed rail in their state out of a pool of federal stimulus money.

Congress pledged to usher in a new way of doing business in recent months when it banned earmarks, the widely criticized provisions that lawmakers insert into huge federal budget bills to pay for pet projects back home without much, if any, public oversight. The ban was one of the promises made by a newly elected class of conservatives in the House.

But, as it turns out, lawmakers still have a way to get their favorite projects funded: appealing directly to federal agencies for money that is already available. And agency officials seem to be paying attention, though an executive order has directed agencies not to take on projects based on the recommendations of members of Congress. In some cases, that may be the result of the clout certain lawmakers have over how much money an agency receives. --New York Times / Unsalvageable News!

GOVERNMENT HOUSE APPROVES MEASURE TO DEFUND NPR

There is hope!

One week after conservative activist James O’Keefe hammered National Public Radio (NPR) in an undercover video “investigation," the U.S. House of Representatives voted 228-192 Thursday to strip the media organization of its federal funding.

NPR’s VP of Policy and Representation, Rob Hendin, condemned the move as a GOP attack meant to “disrupt” and “dismantle” public radio. The BLAZE

Ed. Damn right, Robbie; you liberal hack!

Can You Pay Mommies and Daddies to Be Better Parents?

OMG

A $10 million experiment in education and economics is going on in Chicago Heights.

The Griffin Early Childhood Center research project is in its first year of a two-year project, and the program is already receiving national attention. University of Chicago professor and world-renowned economist John List took a $10 million grant from billionaire Ken Griffin and created GECC, which Bloomberg News called "one of the largest field experiments ever conducted in economics."

The core of this experiment is to see if putting money toward parents rather than just the children and teachers will lead to more well-rounded students.

"Our bottom line is we firmly believe there is an important interaction effect between students and parents and teachers," List said in a phone interview. "You can't just incentivize one. We have to put our efforts towards all three." --MORE!

Eight Out of Ten Illegal Aliens Apprehended in 2010 Never Prosecuted

An illegal alien apprehended by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency during the last fiscal year had an estimated 84 percent chance of never being prosecuted, according to figures compiled by the office of Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas).

Culberson submitted the figures for the record during a hearing Wednesday of the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security.

Of 447,731 illegal aliens apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol during fiscal year 2010 (which ended last September), only 73,263 (16.4 percent) were prosecuted, according to the submitted data. That means that 374,468 illegal aliens that were taken into custody (83.6 percent) were never prosecuted. --Source!

Michigan Democraps Charged in Forging Fake 'TEA Party' Election Documents

Two Michigan Democrats were charged Wednesday with nine felonies for allegedly forging paperwork in their attempts to get fake Tea Party candidates on last November’s electoral ballot.

As reported last fall, Michigan was one of several states where “fake” tea party candidates were running for office, propped up by liberals attempting to divide the conservative vote. Two former leaders of the Oakland County Democratic Party are facing a total of nine felonies for allegedly forging election paperwork to get fake Tea Party candidates on November’s ballot. “It is not a partisan statement, and we need to make that very clear,” said Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper. The BLAZE

Former Chicago Officer Linked to Torture to Begin Prison Term

Jon Burge, the commander of the infamous "Midnight Crew", was sentenced to 4 1/2 years

A former Chicago police commander convicted of lying about the torture of homicide suspects is set to report to federal prison.

Jon Burge, the commander of the infamous "Midnight Crew" in the 1970s and 1980s, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in January after being convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Burge's attorney, Richard Beuke, says the 63-year-old Burge is scheduled to report to Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina on Wednesday. That's where Ponzi scheme king Bernard Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence.

Meanwhile, an Illinois state commission created to examine torture allegations has not yet begun investigating. The commission is to start with those men who remain behind bars after confessing to Burge or his detectives. Law Officer (dot) Com

Palin: "Thank Obama for Higher Gasoline Prices"

"The evidence of the President's anti-drilling mentality and his culpability in the high gas prices hurting Americans is there for all to see," Palin wrote on her Facebook page. She cites Obama's drilling moratorium, his proposed elimination of oil tax incentives in the 2012 budget and his regulatory policies as catalysts for higher gas prices.

"This was no accident. Through a process of what candidate Obama once called 'gradual adjustment,' American consumers have seen prices at the pump rise 67 percent since he took office," Palin writes. Source: NewsMax

Hillary Clinton QUITS!

Effective 2012. SOURCE!

The battle for Wisconsin is not over!

Ever since Gov. Scott Walker signed his reform bill into law on Friday, Obama’s bloated public unions have sought frantically to reverse it.

As already reported, Gov. Walker and his supporters are still under fierce attack.

The big unions and Obama allies are moving to recall more than a half dozen legislators who supported Scott Walker.

And, in their latest ploy, the liberal Secretary of State Doug La Follette is intentionally delaying implementation of the law.

We know Scott Walker's opponents had little use for the democratic process and fled the state to avoid a free and fair legislative vote.

Now, these same folks are playing another game. In Wisconsin, new laws don’t take effect until they’re published by the secretary of state with the Legislative Reference Bureau.

So La Follette, who’s backed by Obama’s bloated public unions, is stonewalling in the hope a judge will grant an injunction against Scott Walker’s law.

He’s also stalling so his public union cronies can rush through new union contracts under the old law, to loot taxpayers for even more lavish benefits and six-figure salaries. (From Newsmax)

Frankly, it's disgusting.

And, even worse, the big liberal media are letting this outrage against democracy to continue without exposing it to the public.

It's dangerous if we allow this to continue, and it is a key reason why the League of American Voters is in Wisconsin fighting for Scott Walker and for taxpayer sanity.

New Conservative Congressmen under Pressure

The House on Tuesday approved legislation to prevent a government shutdown for another three weeks, despite defections from 54 Republicans.

The 271-158 vote gives President Obama and GOP leaders a small window of time to reach an agreement on a measure to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. The short-term measure could be approved by the Senate as early as Wednesday.
GOP leaders whipped hard on the vote, convincing most of the freshmen members to back the legislation.

Still, the number of defections led Democrats in the House and Senate to argue the GOP is in a weakened negotiating position over a longer-term spending bill.

“They cannot agree with themselves,” said Hoyer. He called for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to distance himself from Tea Party conservatives and forge a compromise between centrist Republicans and Democrats. The Leftist Source

Ed. Do the RINO’s have any idea the wrath building out here?

The victim's revenge

What happens when the victim says, "Enough!"

Iran Christians Jailed, Bibles Burned

Five Iranian house church Christians were behind bars Wednesday after being sentenced to one year imprisonment on charges of "crimes against the Islamic order" and there were reports that Iranian authorities have been burning Bibles.

Pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi Furutan, Mohammad Beliad, Parviz Khalaj and Nazly Beliad, who are members of the Church of Iran house church movement, were found guilty by the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, according to trial observers. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), an advocacy group closely monitoring the case, said the have 20 days to appeal the sentence.

The five men were detained last June, but released in February after posting high bail payments. They had spent nearly eight months in prison in Shiraz on charges of apostasy, political meetings, blasphemy and crimes against the Islamic Order, accusations rights activists have linked to their Christian activities.

There has been concerns about the health of Pastor Sadegh-Khanjani, 33, who CSW said was held in solitary confinement and given access to his attorney only once. Unsalvageable News!

Japan's post tsunami photos

From Boston Dot Com!

"Three Reasons Obamacare is in Deep Doo Doo" by Keith Koffler

Democrats are working hard to portray the inevitability of Obamacare, characterizing GOP efforts to repeal it as political theater while President Obama himself fights a rearguard action by suggesting he’s open to revisions.

But the spin coming out of the Democratic camp and the offers of flexibility mask a reality the White House is well aware of: Obama’s signature achievement is in serious danger of getting reversed by its opponents.

There are three reasons for this

First (this undergirds the other two reasons by making them more likely): Obamacare is not popular. Recent polls show opposition running ahead of support by, on average, about a seven point margin. Obama and his Democratic allies jammed nation-changing legislation through Congress even though the measure was unpopular. They promised to make people like it, and they have so far failed. It’s hard to maintain a law people don’t like.

Second: It appears Republicans may only need 50 Senate votes (assuming a Republican is elected president) to sink the law. Many have assumed until now they would have to get 60 to break a Democratic filibuster.

But according to an analysis by former Bush National Economic Council Director Keith Hennessey, an analysis that was also described today in a Wall Street Journal column by Karl Rove, Republicans can destroy much of the law through the “reconciliation” process used to pass the budget. A reconciliation bill avoids the usual Senate rules and requires only 50 votes to pass. According to Hennessey:

"Reconciliation is a procedural tool primarily used to change spending and revenues, deficits and debt.  Repeal of the subsidies, the individual mandate, the insurance provisions, and the Medicaid expansions would, in each case, directly affect spending and revenues, so it would be a straight-up-the-middle use of reconciliation for deficit reduction."

Republicans need gain only three more Senate seats (hardly an improbability) to get to 50. They’ll also have to steal the White House, and that’s not an improbability, but it’s no easy task. The health care law itself, unpopular as it is, may make each of these outcomes more likely.

Third: The reason Obamacare is imperiled is what we’ve seen in the courts. Two federal judges have ruled against the insurance purchasing mandate, without which the law (as a practical matter and possibly as a legal matter) can’t stand. The Supreme Court will eventually decide, and many expect a 5-4 decision to go whichever way Justice Anthony Kennedy says it will go.

And don’t be mistaken, popular sentiment is a factor here too. It is often said that the Supreme Court is influenced by public opinion to a far greater degree than the Justices would acknowledge, even to themselves. --Keith Koffler's Blog

How proud are you Wisconsin taxpayers?

Paying teachers to teach your kids how to protest? "Molotov Cocktails - 101" next year???

The Awesome Power of Addiction

Survivors of Bronx bus crash head back to casino

Did you see the horrific PHOTOS of last weekend's deadly New York casino bus crash?

Two gamblers who miraculously survived this catastrophic brush with death aboard a Chinatown casino bus climbed back aboard the same company's bus only hours later for another trip to the gaming tables.

Bernardo Garcia, a 50-year-old cook from Brooklyn (whose buddy Miguel Aquino was one of 14 people killed in Saturday's horrific 5:30 a.m. World Wide Tours bus crackup on the Hutchinson River Parkway) told The New York Post he figured Lady Luck was on his side. SOURCE

Amazing Tsunami Video

If you have an doubt about the power of 'The Wave' (and what you get for driving SUV's), watch this video!

Iran using child soldiers to suppress Tehran protesters

Armed children as young as 14 are said to have been deployed alongside riot police

Iran's Islamic regime is using "child soldiers" to suppress anti-government demonstrations, a tactic that could breach international law forbidding the use of underage combatants, human rights activists have told the UK Guardian.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says troops aged between 14 and 16 have been armed with batons, clubs and air guns and ordered to attack demonstrators who have tried to gather in Tehran. The youths, apparently recruited from rural areas, are being deployed in regular riot police roles and comprise up to one-third of the total force, according to witnesses.

Ed. For more on this story, click HERE, but don't you find it amazing that liberal human rights activists still believe that by complaining, the barbarian Iranian rulers will hang their heads and send the children fighters home? "Opps, OK! You caught us!"

Obama resents his role

"It would be easier to be President of China!" And we believe a majority of Americans would chip in for a one-way ticket.

"If you’re president of China, people around the world who are fighting for freedom don’t really expect you to help. If you’re president of China, you don’t have to put up with annoying off-year congressional elections, and then negotiate your budget with a bunch of gun-and-religion-clinging congressmen and senators. If you’re president of China, you can fund your national public radio to your heart’s content. And if you’re president of China, when you host a conference on bullying in schools, people take you seriously.

Unfortunately for him and us, Barack Obama is president of the United States. That job brings with it certain special responsibilities. It’s a tough job—maybe tougher than being president of China. But Barack Obama ran for president of the United States. Maybe he should start behaving as one." --William Krystal

Obama resents his role as Leader of the Free World; it cuts into his golf game, distracts him during basketball, ruins his '60's dance step during Motown Week, gives him indigestion during those union boss lobster dinners and he's really disturbed when asked to act on Libya, Madison, Japan and racist Eric Holder.

During our combined 147 years of government watching, this office has never experienced a U.S. President's 'team' as disorganized, contradictory or verbiage-flailing as our current leader-lite.

TSA to retest airport body scanners for radiation

The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it would retest every full-body X-ray scanner that emits ionizing radiation (247 machines at 38 airports) after maintenance records on some of the devices showed radiation levels 10 times higher than expected.

The TSA says that the records reflect math mistakes and that all the machines are safe. Indeed, even the highest readings listed on some of the records (the numbers that the TSA says were mistakes) appear to be many times less than what the agency says a person absorbs through one day of natural background radiation.

Even so, the TSA has ordered the new tests out of "an abundance of caution to reassure the public," spokesman Nicholas Kimball says. The tests will be finished by the end of the month, and the results will be released "as they are completed," the agency said on its website. --SOURCE!

This should make you 'screaming' angry!

Politicians, WAKE UP: VIDEO!

Jewish couple, three children killed in West Bank

A Jewish couple and three of their children were stabbed to death in a West Bank settlement in what Israeli officials said was an attack by a Palestinian who broke into their home in the early hours of Saturday.

Israeli troops set up roadblocks and were searching the area around the settlement of Itamar, near the Palestinian city of Nablus, for the suspect.

A baby was among the five dead, officials said.

"This is the despicable murder of an entire, innocent family, parents and their young ones while they slept in their house," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"Israel will not ignore such a contemptible murder and will act aggressively to ensure the security of its civilians and to punish the murderers," he said in a statement. He called on the Palestinian Authority to assist in catching those responsible.

In a strongly worded statement, the office of U.S. President Barack Obama called on President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority to condemn the attack. --MORE!

Iowa House passes collective bargaining bill

The Iowa House has approved a bill that overhauls the state's collective bargaining law and reduces workers' negotiating rights.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where it is not expected to pass. Republicans who support the bill control the House, while Democrats have a majority in the Senate.

The measure would force state workers to pay at least $100 a month toward the cost of their health care and would not allow them to negotiate layoff procedures.

Backers say the measure is needed to cut costs, while critics say it's part of a national assault on public employee unions. Source!

Ohio Union Protesters Harass Conservative students

A group of conservative college students reportedly attended a union protest in Ohio on Tuesday. As one student (blue shirt) engaged in a heated discussion with a group of demonstrators, one union worker stepped forward to prevent another from filming the event with this cell phone. Video: Union Thugs Harass Conservative Kids and Try to Steal Their Phones

Ed. Where are these student's parents? Why aren't they raising hell and protecting their kids? IT'S A SCHOOL, YOU BULLIES!

Japan Earthquake Contact Info

In response to the recent earthquake in Japan and subsequent tsunami warning Rep. Bobby Schilling is relaying the below information from the U.S. Department of State on how to get in touch with family and friends abroad.
 
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
CONSULAR ASSISTANCE TO U.S. CITIZENS IN JAPAN
 
Online Information: Monitor www.travel.state.gov and www.tokyo.usembassy.gov websites for the latest updates.
 
Public Inquiries:
If you have concerns about a specific U.S. citizen in Japan, please send an e-mail to JapanEmergencyUSC@state.gov
If you have concerns about a specific U.S. citizen in the Tsunami zone outside of Japan, please send an e-mail to PacificTsunamiUSC@state.gov
E-mail inquiries are strongly preferred, but constituents may call the Department's emergency assistance center at 1-888-407-4747 (Calling from outside the U.S. + 1-202-501-4444) if they are unable to use e-mail.
 
 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PERSONNEL INQUIRIES
U.S. Forces Japan reports that all personnel have been accounted for, and there are no reports of injuries.
The Department of Defense instructs that family members of Department of Defense personnel should call 1-800-342-9647 to inquire about their loved ones or contact the individual unit command directly for more specific information.
 
 JAPANESE AND OTHER CITIZENS
If you are calling regarding a Japanese citizen, please contact the nearest Japanese Embassy (Washington - 202-238-6700) or Consulate.
If you are calling regarding a citizen of a third country, please contact that country’s Embassy or Consulate. Contact information for foreign Embassies and Consulates in the United States is available in the Country Specific Information links at www.travel.state.gov.

Michele Bachmann calls out ObamaCare

From Unsalvageable News Feed Daily Update!

Nato 'kills cousin of Afghan President Hamid Karzai'

A relative of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been mistakenly killed by Nato troops in southern Afghanistan, officials say.

Yar Muhammad Khan was at his home in Dand district near Kandahar city when he was shot dead in an overnight raid.

Nato says it is investigating the incident. Source!

Wisconsin Republicans / Children Threatened with DEATH

Published this date by Charlie Sykes on WTMJ News Radio Website

 Since the main stream media appears intent on downplaying the growing intimidation and escalating threats of violence around the union power issue, I am reprinting verbatim an email that was sent to Republican senators. The email was signed, but I have deleted the name pending what I hope will be a thorough police investigation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: XXXX
Sent: Wed 3/9/2011 9:18 PM
To: Sen.Kapanke; Sen.Darling; Sen.Cowles; Sen.Ellis; Sen.Fitzgerald; Sen.Galloway; Sen.Grothman; Sen.Harsdorf; Sen.Hopper; Sen.Kedzie; Sen.Lasee; Sen.Lazich; Sen.Leibham; Sen.Moulton; Sen.Olsen
Subject: Atten: Death threat!!!! Bomb!!!!

Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.

WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me have decided that we've had enough. We feel that you and the people that support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand for it any longer. So, this is how it's going to happen: I as well as many others know where you and your family live, it's a matter of public records.

We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn't leave it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the message to you since you are so "high" on Koch and have decided that you are now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a demorcratic process. So we have also built several bombs that we have placed in various locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent. This includes, your house, your car, the state capitol, and well I won't tell you all of them because that's just no fun. Since we know that you are not smart enough to figure out why this is happening to you we have decided to make it perfectly clear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it's necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families and themselves then We Will "get rid of" (in which I mean kill) you. Please
understand that this does not include the heroic Rep. Senator that risked everything to go aganist what you and your goonies wanted him to do. We feel that it's worth our lives to do this, because we would be saving the lives of 300,000 people. Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and say goodbye to your loved ones we will not wait any longer. YOU WILL DIE!!!!

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Wisconsin GOP bypasses Democraps, cuts collective bargaining

The Wisconsin Senate succeeded in voting Wednesday to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers, after Republicans outmaneuvered the chamber's missing Democrats and approved an explosive proposal that has rocked the state and unions nationwide.

"You are cowards!" spectators in the Senate gallery screamed as lawmakers voted. Within hours, a crowd of a few hundred protesters inside the Capitol had grown to several thousand, more than had been in the building at any point during weeks of protests.

"The whole world is watching!" they shouted as they pressed up against the heavily guarded entrance to the Senate chamber.

All 14 Senate Democrats fled to Illinois nearly three weeks ago, preventing the chamber from having enough members present to consider Gov. Scott Walker's "budget-repair bill" - a proposal introduced to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.

WIN! DUH! Celebrate, celebrate; dance to the music!

Bill would expose TSA screeners to laws prohibiting sexual assault

Ron Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas, introduced the American Traveler Dignity Act to the House on Wednesday in response to a growing controversy surrounding the use of body scanners and "enhanced" pat-downs being used by the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) at airports.

"I am not alone in believing that we Americans should never give up our rights in order to travel," Paul said.

The bill, HR 6416, would remove legal immunity from federal employees who subject an individual to any physical contact, x-rays, or aids in the creation of any part of a individual's body as a condition to travel in an aircraft.

"It means they are subject to the same laws as the rest of us," Paul explained. --MORE

Strange But True Provisions of Collective Bargaining

Governor Walker’s office released additional examples of how collective bargaining impacts government and how reforming collective bargaining can improve government.  The following are some of the items contained in collective bargaining provisions:

1. Employer must provide bulletin boards to post information about union social and recreational activities.  The size and location of the board is subject to collective bargaining.

2. When a local union meets the following conditions are subject to bargaining:

--1. lighting,

--2. vision care and examinations,

--3. noise,

--4. chairs,

--5. desks,

--6. footrests,

--7. adjustable terminals and keyboards,

--8. work environment design (wall cover, carpet, windows),

--9. room temperature,

Starting of vehicles during cold weather is subject to collective bargaining.
Paid time off to donate blood.

Earlier today, Governor Walker’s office released some specific examples and new details to show how collective bargaining fiscally impacts government and how reforming collective bargaining can improve government.

A Year’s Worth of Pay for 30 Days of Work

Under the Green Bay School District’s collectively bargained Emeritus Program, teaches can retire and receive a year’s worth of salary for working only 30 days over a three year period.  This is paid in addition to their already guaranteed pension and health care payouts.

At the average annual salary for a Green Bay teacher of $51,355, this amounts to a daily rate of pay of $1,711.83, or an hourly rate of $213.98.  Since most retiring teachers receive higher than average salary, these amounts are, in practice, much higher. (Source: WLUK-TV, 3/3/11)

Teachers Receiving Two Pensions

Due to a 1982 provision of their collective bargaining agreement, Milwaukee Public School teachers actually receive two pensions upon retirement instead of one.  The contribution to the second pension is equal to 4.2% of a teacher’s salary, with the school district making 100% of the contribution, just like they do for the first pension.  This extra benefit costs taxpayers more than $16 million per year. (Source: February 17, 2010 Press Release, Process of developing FY11 budget begins Milwaukee Public Schools)

Almost $10,000 Per Year for Doing Nothing

While the Green Bay Emeritus Program actually requires teachers to at least show up for work, the Madison Emeritus Program doesn’t even require that.  In addition to their pension payouts, retired Madison public school teachers receive annual payments of at least $9,884.18 per year for enrolling in the Emeritus Program, which requires ZERO days of work.

When this program began, 20 days of work per year were required.  Through collective bargaining, the union successfully negotiated this down to zero days. (Source: Madison Teachers Inc. Website)

Yesterday the Governor’s office released these examples of the fiscal impact of collective bargaining

1. No Volunteer Crossing Guards Allowed

2. A Wausau public employee union filed a grievance to prohibit a local volunteer from serving as a school crossing guard.  The 86-year-old lives just two blocks away and serves everyday free of charge.

Principal Steve Miller says, "He said, you know, this gives me a reason to get up in the morning to come and help these kids in the neighborhood."

But for a local union that represents crossing guards, it isn't that simple.  Representatives didn't want to go on camera but say if a crossing guard is needed, then one should be officially hired by the city. (Source: WAOW-TV, 1/27/10)

3. $6,000 Extra for Carrying a Pager

Some state employees, due to the nature of their positions, are required to carry pagers during off-duty hours in order to respond to emergency situations.  Due to the collective bargaining agreements, these employees are compensated an extra five hours of pay each week, whether they are paged or not.

For an employee earning an average salary of $50,000 per year, this requirement can cost more than $6,000 in additional compensation. (Source: 2008-09 Agreement between the State of Wisconsin and AFSCME Council 24)

4. Arbitrator Reinstates Porn-Watching Teacher

A Cedarburg school teacher was reinstated by an arbitrator after being fired for viewing pornography on a school computer.  The school district ultimately succeeded in terminating the teacher only after taking the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court at great cost to the taxpayers. (Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/23/08)

5. ‘Outstanding First Year Teacher’ Laid Off

Milwaukee Public Schools teacher Megan Sampson was laid off less than one week after being named Outstanding First Year Teacher by the Wisconsin Council of English Teachers.  She lost her job because the collective bargaining agreement requires layoffs to be made based on seniority rather than merit.

Informed that her union had rejected a lower-cost health care plan, that still would have required zero contribution from teachers, Sampson said, “Given the opportunity, of course I would switch to a different plan to save my job, or the jobs of 10 other teachers (Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/14/10)


6. Union Opposes Cost-Saving Lawn Mowing Program

As a cost cutting measure, Racine County began using county inmates to cut the grass in medians and right-of-ways at no cost to the taxpayers.  A county employee union filed a grievance indicating it was the right of government workers to cut the grass, even though it would cost the taxpayers dramatically more. (Source: Racine Journal Times, 5/12/10)

7. The $150,000 Bus Driver

In 2009, the City of Madison’s highest paid employee was a bus driver who earned $159,258, including $109,892 in overtime, guaranteed by a collective bargaining agreement.  In total, seven City of Madison bus drivers made more than $100,000 per year in 2009.

"That's the (drivers') contract," said Transit and Parking Commission Chairman Gary Poulson. (Source: Wisconsin State Journal, 2/7/10)

7. $150,000 Correctional Officers

Correctional Officer collective bargaining agreements allow officers a practice known as “sick leave stacking.”  Officers can call in sick for a shift, receiving 8 hours of sick pay, and then are allowed to work the very next shift, earning time-and-a-half for overtime.  This results in the officer receiving 2.5 times his or her rate of pay, while still only working 8 hours.

In part because of these practices, 13 correctional officers made more than $100,000 in 2009, despite earning base wages of less than $60,000 per year.  The officers received an average of $66,000 in overtime pay for an average annual salary of more than $123,000 with the highest paid receiving $151,181. (Source: Department of Corrections)

Previously the Governor’s office released these examples of the fiscal impact of collective bargaining

Paid-Time off for Union Activities
In Milwaukee County alone, because the union collectively bargained for paid time off, fourteen employees receive salary and benefits for doing union business. Of the fourteen, three are on full-time release for union business.  Milwaukee County spent over $170,000 in salary alone for these employees to only participate in union activities such as collective bargaining. 

3. Surrender of Management Rights

Because of collecting bargaining, unions have included provisions in employee contracts that have a direct fiscal impact such as not allowing management to schedule workers based on operational needs and requiring notice and approval by the union prior to scheduling changes.  As County Executive Walker attempted to reduce work hours based on budget pressures and workload requirements by instituting a 35 hour work week to avoid layoffs, which the union opposed.  Additionally, government cannot explore privatization of functions that could save taxpayers money. 

4. WEA Trust

Currently many school districts participate in WEA trust because WEAC collectively bargains to get as many school districts across the state to participate in this union run health insurance plan as possible.  Union leadership benefits from members participating in this plan.  If school districts enrolled in the state employee health plan, it would save school districts up to $68 million per year.  Beyond that if school districts had the flexibility to look for health insurance coverage outside of WEA trust or the state plan, additional savings would likely be realized.

5. Viagra for Teachers

The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association (MTEA) tried to use a policy established by collective bargaining to obtain health insurance coverage that specifically paid for Viagra.  Cost to taxpayers is $786,000 a year.

(Reference: ABC News

6. Unrealistic Overtime Provisions

On a state level, the Department of Corrections allows correctional workers who call in sick to collect overtime if they work a shift on the exact same day.  The specific provision that allows this to happen was collectively bargained for in their contract.  Cost to taxpayers $4.8 million. Memo from the Office of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker