h/t Kestrel

Making a list, and, checking it twice. Gonna find out if he was naughty or nice. Ha!  Santa Claus is coming to town.  Ho Ho Ho!

Open Thread

John Tyner, of the “you touch my junk and I’ll have you arrested” fame, found out that once you fall into the government web, you don’t have the opportunity to opt out.  After making his statement, now heard round the world, he was met with more TSA agents, and a police officer, faster than they have ever been on picking up illegals at a construction site.  He said to a pair of TSA agents “I don’t understand how a sexual assault can be made a condition of my flying.” Thank you Mr. Tyner, for standing up to big sis’s surrogates, and speaking for so many that feel the the weight of government boots on our necks.

The police officer escorted Mr. Tyner to the American Airlines ticket counter, where he was given a full refund for his non-refundable ticket.  That may be the last bit of good luck for Mr. Tyner.  He was then told by a TSA agent that if he left the airport that he would be subjected to a civil suit, and a $10,000 fine.  He left anyway.  Good for him.  He is now being investigated by the TSA, and, the fine has now gone up to $11,000.  I’m sure Mr. Tyner will get alot of help with that fine, if it in fact is levied against him.

Mr. Tyner opted out of a free fell job by a TSA agent, and, he opted out of flying completely.  Nope, once you are in the government web, you can’t get out without being investigated, and fined.  What is the fine for anyway?  Is it because he opted out? Is it because he made the Obama administration look like the complete incompetent buffoons they are?

Googling around for information on airport security in other countries, I found info that African airports are very lax on airport security, because they can’t afford any kind of security.  The Christmas Day bomber’s trip originated at an airport in Nigeria, and his panty load was not detected.  He stopped in Amsterdam, and, once again, his fruit-of-the-boom stayed safely on his person.  Flights coming into the United States are far more potentially deadly than grandma flying to her son’s home for Thanksgiving dinner.

While Obama and Napolitano have instituted one of the most invasive, pornographic programs on every flying American citizen, that truly treats every one of us as though we are all potential criminals,  they have given a pass on any enhanced airport security measures, on the very countries  with the largest populations of  Islamic radicals.  As someone here said, it may be that 99% of muslims are peaceful, but, 99% of terrorists have been radical muslims. There is something extremely wrong with this picture.

In an article at the World Tribune, in April of this year, Obama ordered the removal of Iran, Syria, Saudia Arabia, Sudan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Yemen from the list of countries who were previously required to have intensified security measures.  If that isn’t bad enough, Napolitano authorized these countries to “target individuals that match the description of any unnamed insurgency threat, whether by age or nationality.”  In other words, racial profiling. This, while the state of Arizona is being sued by the DOJ for potential racial profiling.

I’m speechless, but, even more so, more determined to make Obama a one term president.  He truly hates America and all of her citizens.

I just watched Wallace’s Sunday morning show. He announced at the very beginning that O’Donnell was supposed to be a guest, but, her campaign canceled on Friday night saying she was exhausted, and was returning home to DE. He said she called him the next morning, and told him she already had prior commitments in her own state that she chose to attend.

He announced that his guests were to be Rove, Murkowski and Miller. While talking to Rove, he said that Murkowski was up next. Murkowski never showed. He never made the first mention as to why Murkowski was a no show, yet mentioned O’Donnell’s cancellation yet again.

There is no question at all, whatsoever, in my mind, that there is very definitely a concerted effort to oust O’Donnell, as any kind of credible candidate, and it is not only coming from the Juan Williams types.

It does seem that O’Donnell does need some better people running her campaign. To cancel an interview because of exhaustion, is not a good strategy.   O’Donnell’s reason, that she wanted to honor her prior commitments to the people in DE, was more than plausible. Obviously there is a lack of coordination within the O’Donnell campaign. If Palin wants to help O’Donnell, she would help out with replacing, or adding to O’Donnell’s advisors and spokespeople.

Seems that the new mantra now has become, those that helped her win the primary, need to go to DE to drag her over the finish line. Funny that Palin wasn’t required to get to Kentucky to help pull Rand Paul across the finish line, or she wasn’t required to spend her time in NV in order to pull Angle across the finish line. I may be mistaken, but, I believe it was Rove that started that crap line, and, he did repeat it again this morning. Palin can help O’Donnell in many ways that don’t involve her camping out in DE until election day.  Rove made a point of saying that Paul and Angle went up in the polls after they won their primaries, yet O’Donnell’s polling numbers show her down by 11 points against the Democrat.  Is he relying on polls that were done  “the day after” the previous primaries?  He never acknowledges that O’Donnell was actually ahead of the Democrat, before the Castle machine, and he, started in on her personal failings.

At this point, if I were Palin, Levin and Malkin, I would make some appearances in DE.  Palin could do one speech there, and advertise it ahead of time. Palin still draws huge crowds, no mater where she goes. One visit is all that is needed. I think she will do it, and soon, and, she will put her money where her mouth is.  She needs to go all in for O’Donnell, more than any of the others she endorsed. This is absolutely a fight for the establishment Republicans vs. the voters that are running away from them, and are electing people who are not seen as operatives trying to trick the voters into keeping them in power. It is a fight for the heart and soul of what the Republicans once stood for, long before anyone named Rove came on the scene. I don’t know where Rove stands on Palin, but, I would bet he wouldn’t go there now, with the amount of support she has gotten.  She is bigger than him.  She is so today, and, he is so yesterday.  I do know Krauthammer has been against Palin from day one.

It seems to me that  most candidates, are advised by many, to stay on message.  Make your points about what policies and issues you support.  McCain failed to do that, and he paid the price for it. If he had any kind of message, other than, no one has to fear an Obama presidency, it was all over the board. Your position on the issues are what voters want to know.  What will you support when you go to DC, that is something I agree with.  Hasn’t the advice always been, stay on message?  O’Donnell has not been allowed to stay on message, it has been drowned out by calls for her to explain what she really meant by something that she did or said when she was “young and dumb.”  How many of us here didn’t say or do some really dumb stuff when we also were “young and dumb”?  As Liz Cheney pointed out on Wallace’s panel, Scott Brown posed nude for a magazine when he was younger, yet, no one made any big deal of that.  It’s an important distinction.  Rove believes that the voters in DE will not listen to her message on the issues, until she fully explains herself on her personal issues.  Funny that Rove never made any big deal of other elected Republican’s personal issues, in the past.  All he cared about was that they were electable.  He has done everything he can to make O’Donnell unelectable, and has unfortunately been given the microphone in order to spread  his message, and, sadly that message has been spread mainly on FOX.  She already has proven that she is electable, and, rather than speaking out against the Democrat in the race, Rove has gone all in against someone who is much more on the side of the voters than Rove.  It is obvious to me now, that Rove is functioning from some kind of personal vendetta.  This is all coming from the third most hated Republican back around 2006, as Vassar has pointed out.

Please do all of us Republicans and Conservatives a favor Karl Rogue, get out of the way so that we can support the primary candidate winners, elected by the voters, so that we can finally get some sanity back in Washington, which you helped to destroy, with your deceitful “Compassionate Conservatism.”

It is rare that any union speaks out against the “politicking” or “policies” or “agenda”, of Barack Obama, and/or, any of his appointees.  The National Council 118 – Immigration and Customs Enforcement did do just that, with a vote of 259-0, in a Vote of No Confidence, and they were not shy, or even politically correct, with their criticisms.

In a letter, dated June 25, 2010, they expressed their desire to distance themselves from the actions of ICE Director, John Morton, and, Assistant Director, Phyllis Coven, by stating-

“It is the desire of our union within ICE and our employees to publicly separate ourselves from the actions of Director Morton and Assistant Director Coven and publicly state that ICE officers and employees do not support Morton or Coven, or their misguided and reckless initiatives, which could ultimately put many in America at risk.”

Some of the policies and actions they are not in agreement with are

• Senior ICE Leadership dedicates more time to campaigning for immigration reforms aimed at large scale amnesty legislation.
• Senior ICE officials, knowing the problems of the massive amount of Criminal Aliens, who are being released back into society, because of the lack of funds to prosecute and house the Aliens, the senior officials refuse to alert the Congress as to the severity of the problem, and refuse to request funds to support the much needed help of the local agencies.
• ICE is misleading the American public with regard to the effectiveness of criminal enforcement  programs like the ICE “Secure Communities Program” using it as a selling point to move forward with amnesty legislation.  As officers in the field, we know this program will not improve enforcement or provide for public safety because ICE refuses, for political reasons, to request the additional manpower and resources needed to adequately operate the program.
• The majority of ICE ERO Officers are prohibited from making street arrests or enforcing United States Immigration laws outside of the institutional (jail) setting.  This has effectively created “Amnesty through Policy” for anyone illegally in the United States who has not been arrested by another agency for a criminal violation.
• Senior ICE leadership excluded the trained officers from developing reforms, but, solicited the ideas of special interest groups.  As a result, the ICE facilities have become resorts which provide bingo nights, dance lessons and hanging plants for the criminals.  For those considered “low risk” pat downs have been eliminated, making it unsafe for the agents working at these facilities.
• ICE has virtually no consistent national policies.
• Senior leadership ignores reports from the agents, and, retaliates against those they consider whistleblowers.

“It is our sincere belief that the integrity of the Agency as well as public safety will be better provided for in the absence of Director Morton and Assistant Director Coven.

Days after Director Morton received this document, he was questioned as to his sentiments, and, his response was in other words a “you’ll have that” type of attitude.  He said complaints come with the territory.

The 287(g) program

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the 287(g) program.  For others, in short, it was a section added to the 1996 Immigration Bill passed by Congress.  It provided for the training of local law enforcement officers, to act in conjunction with ICE officers in upholding our Immigration laws.  It cost about $3,000 per officer for the 6 week training period, at a facility in North Carolina.  There were other methods of getting officers trained as well, but the cost was higher. The purpose was to act as a “force multiplier” in the apprehension of those in the US illegally.  If you click on the link above, there is a wealth of information as to the success of the program.

Spending for the 287(g) program has been:

• 2006- $5 million
• 2007- $15.5 million
• 2008- $39.7 million
• 2009- $54.1 million
• 2010- $5.4 million

In 2010, the House of Representatives provided an increase to $68 million, but, the Senate approved only $5.4 million, which was all the Obama administration requested.  Refer back to the Vote of No Confidence document  above, where the agents have claimed that the ICE leadership has refused to even request funds for  the very successful program.

In FY2008, ICE spent $219 million to remove 34,000 fugitive aliens, who were mostly criminals.  That was outside of the 287(g) program.  In contrast, the 287(g) program, which was awarded only $40 million produced more than 45,000 arrests of aliens who were involved in state and local crimes.  287(g) is cost effective, as stated by many police departments, because it is again a “force multiplier”.  The local agencies cover the cost  of the personnel who screen and arrest the illegals.  That was how it was before John Morton, who was appointed by Barack Obama, and, was confirmed “unanimously” by the Senate in 2009.

The Secure Communities program

As I said above, in 2008, ICE set up a pilot program which was tested in North Carolina, I believe.  The Strategic Goals, of Secure Communities, as stated on the ICE website are as follows: (Bolding mine)

• Identify aliens in law enforcement custody, through modernized technology, continual data analysis, and timely information sharing.

• Prioritize enforcement action to apprehend and remove criminal aliens who pose the greatest threat to public safety.

• Transform criminal alien immigration enforcement to efficiently identify, process and remove criminal aliens from the US.

You can clearly see, by the Strategic Goals of Secure Communities, they are only concerned with the “criminal” aliens in our midst.  If an illegal has not already been arrested for a criminal act, by another agency, they are good to go.  Killing the funding for the 287(g) program all but insures that the illegals, who have not committed crimes, or who have not been caught, are safe, and can stay to vote for the Democrats.

In January of 2010, the Obama administration aka John Morton, there was a request for $146.9 million in funding for the Secure Communities program.  I have not been able to find any information if they in fact did receive those funds.  The main function of the Secure Communities program, is in setting up databases to hold fingerprint information, from those who have already been arrested for other crimes.  Again, this administration is only concerned with those that have committed crimes, not everyone who is here illegally.  Now it has gotten to the point where the ICE leaders, Morton et al, have determined the levels of crimes.  Low level crimes are DUI’s (even multiple DUI’s), and robbery etc.  They are picked up, and immediately released right back into society.  Yet, legal Americans serve their full sentences as determined by the law.

Hanging plants, potted flowers, bingo night, movie night, cooking lessons and, no pat downs-

There was a memo, from someone in the ICE administration, on 5/27/2010-

Subject- Immediate Attention, New ICE Requirements

Importance- High

Here are some of those “requirements”-

• Allow visitors to come for as long as they like during a 12 hours period each day, and on weekends
• Play the “Know your Rights” legal orientation video in each housing unit every day (not in lieu of personal legal programs, but in addition to them).
• Allow free movement within the institution for detainees of appropriate classification level (low risk).
• Allow (low level) detainees to wear their own clothing, and provide non-penal clothing for detainees to wear.
• Eliminate lock downs and lights out for (low level) detainees.
• Reduce the frequency of and, as reasonable, wholly eliminate pat down searches.
• Provide more normalized common areas.
• Soften the look of the facility with hanging baskets, flower baskets, new paint colors, different bedding and furniture, wall graphics and framed pictures on the walls, and enhance the aesthetics of living areas.
• Expand programming for detainees to include movie nights, bingo, arts and crafts, dance, walk and exercise classes, health and welfare classes, basic cooking classes, tutoring and self paced computer training on portable computer stations.
• Provide celebrations of special occasions and allowing detainees to receive outside packaged food for celebrations and while visiting family and friends.
• Design new menus with greater varieties and reduce repetition of food.
• Offer continental breakfasts that are completely self serve on holidays and weekends.
• Provide fresh carrot sticks and celery or other vegetables in a bar like setting.
• Provide self serve beverage bars.

You get the picture.  There are other requirements listed.

A Republican California Congressman has sent a letter to Director Morton, asking how these requirements will not cost the taxpayers, as was stated in the memo.  He asked for an answer by July 10, 2010.  To date, no response from Morton.

A night or so ago, Neil Cavuto had John Morton on as his guest.  At the end, Cavuto pointedly asked Morton if he and the Obama administration support amnesty.  In typical Democrat style, Morton replied with something like- “We are deporting the criminals from the United States.” Cavuto broke in, and said, that’s not what I asked you, are you supporting amnesty.  Morton said NO. Morton was put in a corner, and as all good Obama Czars do, he lied.

If this isn’t “Amnesty by Policy” or, as the Center for Immigration Studies put it “Amnesty by Stealth”, I don’t know what else you can call it.

Erick Erickson posted a diary back on June 30, “Eric Cantor and John Boehner Don’t really want to Repeal Obamacare.“  Erick had claimed in that diary that “Our leadership is behaving badly.”  They were clearly playing politics with the Discharge Petition, prepared by Republican Steve King,  that was circulating in the House, in order to bring a Repeal of Obamacare to the floor for a vote. Did it have a snowball’s chance in the hot place downstairs, no, surely not.  What it would have accomplished was a voice of unity among the House Republicans in supporting the majority of Americans that want Obamacare repealed.  It would have been a loud and clear statement that the Republicans were committed.  As EE wrote, the Discharge Petition written by another Republican would have included a proposal for very weak replacement legislation,  that virtually no one had read.

Recently, Eric Cantor was interviewed for a ABC/WashPO Top Line segment, where Cantor said he was not yet ready to repeal the recently passed, and now signed, Financial Reform legislation.  John Boehner and Mike Pence immediately came out in favor of repealing the bill.

Some of Cantor’s comments in that interview include:

• So much of it is going to be left up to the regulators, and how it goes into effect will be borne out in the agencies of the executive branch.
• It is just another part of an agenda that has, quite frankly, been detrimental to the economy.
• We’ve not seen the kind of job growth that Americans want to see.  In fact, the job growth results have not been at all what this administration has promised, and that’s why you see the anger out there across the country.  This Financial Services regulatory reform bill is just another step in the direction of trying to proscribe from Washington the outcomes across the economy.
• The end result of this bill will be to lessen the amount of credit available to small businesses, to families; to increase the cost of everything, because Washington’s overreaction in terms of some of the regulations in this bill.
• Did we have some excesses that brought on the collapse of the financial markets? You better believe it.  But, that doesn’t mean that you swing the pendulum back so far in the other direction to basically impede the kind of job growth that we need right now.

Kind of OK so far, however, I would have driven home the point that it was the Progressives, with their push for mortgages that people couldn’t afford, that was a major part of the meltdown.  I would have driven home the fact that the very authors/sponsors of the Reform bill, Frank and Dodd, were assuring the country that the programs were financially healthy, and, not that long before the meltdown. Should the Republicans have screamed about the unsustainability long before the crash, absolutely.  Sorry Cantor felt the need to put the Republicans square in the same dysfunctional/deceptive camp as the Progressives, and in essence put an equal amount of blame on the Republicans.

This is where Cantor speaks out of the other side of his mouth in the interview-

“When the Republicans reclaim the majority in November, it will be incumbent upon us to insist that the regulations reflect the kind of free-enterprise job growth environment that we want to see, not towards the direction that this administration continues to drive.”

In other words, Mr. Cantor seems to want to pick and choose between the 535 regulations, and wants a seat at the table to “help” monitor the implementation of the regulations, that he just admitted were a part of the Progressive agenda, that is detrimental to the economy.  Remember, Mr. Cantor also has not come out in favor of repealing Obamacare.  He just wants a seat at the table to “help make it better.”

It is becoming more and more apparent that Mr. Cantor does not have an  understanding that the majority of conservatives, and even the more moderate Republicans,  want smaller and less government intrusion, in all areas of our lives.  We do not want Big Government, but with a Republican twist to it.  We are happy that the Republicans have not had a “seat at the table” because, the table has been set with the Progressive “my way or the highway” plates.  Mr. Cantor, I want to go to the restaurant that gives me choices, like a greasy Cheesburgers, rather than being forced the argula. Mr. Cantor, you can’t put lipstick on a pig.

As a part of the same interview, Cantor also stated that the current House Republicans will be rolling out a set of plans and proposals this September. I’m sure that Paul Ryan’s Roadmap will be a part of it.  I can only hope that it is not the same Roadmap that didn’t gain any traction, even amongst the House Republicans.  It is a great start, but, again, as EE has pointed out, there are sections of it that are not readily acceptable to even many Republicans.  I wonder why Cantor is willing to foolishly risk a backlash, shortly before the Mid-Terms, in rolling out “plans” that may easily shun voters, in a time of “just stop the Obama takeover of the country, and stop the infringment on our freedoms.  The anger across the country isn’t only about the job situation, it also includes tremendous anger at the overreach of the Federal Government against her citizens. Save your plans for when you can actually implement them, if they are a better direction for the country, and away from Big Government with a Republican twist.  Give us hints, but, keep your detailed cards close to your chest.  Many elections have been lost because of too many details, and promises.

Mr. Cantor, please do not proceed with the old habits of Republicans snatching defeat from victory. It’s a bad habit we need to break.

I am posting this as a diary, because I don’t want my concern to fall by the wayside in a comment.

I use Mozilla Firefox.  I just connected to the internet via my provider, and, got a message that I needed to update my “advertising” opt out, which I did through Firefox.  For the first time, I got a message that I needed to opt into Taco 3.0 in order to block these 4 sites, I guess that is what you would call them.  It listed-

Sphere

Google Analytics

SiteMeter

Clicky

I closed out, and did not opt in.  Another page came up when I clicked on Redstate that said-

There are privacy concerns at Redstate.  Redstate has 4 tracking sites in use, the ones I listed above.

Then there was a message-

No logins or passwords yet:what personal information they store is unknown.  You IP address is ———, and they know you’re close to Lewisbury, PA using Firefox on WinXP.  Then there is a box to click for “Block 3rd party tracking of Cookies.  There was alot more further down from that,  but I was not able to page down from there.  What the heck is going on?  Am I the only one to get that message.  I use Avast for Virus prevention, and it has been very problamatic lately.

I know I am probably paranoid lately with the moves from the FCC, but is there some reason that Mozilla Firefox is putting that message out?

Sometime this week, Rush Limbaugh made a comment, and I am parapharsing, “in order to beat back the Obama march to socialize the United States, it is going to take  involvement, at the state level.”  I couldn’t agree more. There are 20 states that have joined together with a lawsuit against Obamacare.   Virginia has filed  a lawsuit separately.  In addition, there have been numerous lawsuits filed against the EPA Endangerment Finding which you can find referenced here and here. Sorry for linking to anything from the NYT, it is just for the company lawsuit information.

Even if the Republicans win majorities in the House, and gain a number of seats in the Senate, Obama has already taken steps for that eventuality.  He currently has 39 Czars,  will still have his administrative and cabinet level people, has put in place numerous regulatory agencies (and counting) and has all tried to render the necessity for the Congress moot.  He has no fear of the Supreme Court, and took the classless opportunity to ridicule the Justices attending his State of the Union address.  The Progressives are attempting to once again change the Campaign Finance laws, out of apparent anger over the Citizen’s United Case ruling.

In 2010 there are 36 Governors up for election/re-election.  Currently there are 26 Democrat Governors, and 24 Republican Governors.

Here are where the race’s stand,  as to the information I found today, from Rassmussen.  If you have updated information, please provide it.  In most cases, I only list those that are leading in their races.  We need as many Republican Governors as possible, just as we need as many Republican Representatives and Senators.  We can take a majority of States.

Alabama-

R- Byrne-50%

D-Davis-33%

Alaska-

R-Parnell

D-Ask Achance

No polling numbers available

Likely Republican

Arizona-

R-Martin-47%

D-Goddard-34%

Arkansas-

R-Keet

D-Beebe

No polling numbers

Likely Democrat

California-

D-Brown-44%

R-Whitman-38%

Colorado-

R-McInnis-48%

D-Hickenlooper-42%

Connecticut-

R-Foley-44%

D-Lamont-37%

Florida-

R-McCollum-45%

D-Sink-38%

Georgia-

R-Deal-43%

D-Barnes-40%

Hawaii-

D-Abercrombie-54%

R-Aiona-31%

Idaho-

R-Otter-60%

D-Allred-28%

Illinois-

R-Brady-45%

D-Quinn-38%

Iowa-

R-Branstad-52%

D-Culver-36%

Kansas-

R-Brownback-

D-West-

No polling numbers

Leans Republican

Maine-

R-7 candidates

D-7 candidates

I-6 candidates

No polling numbers

Leans Democrat

As Neil would say- Whoosh

Maryland-

D-O’Malley-47%

R-Ehrlich-44%

Massachusetts-

D-Patrick-35%

R-Baker-27%

Michigan-

R-Bouchard

Cox

Hoekstra

D-Bernero

Dillion

Ilitch

Smith

No polling numbers

I have no idea which way it leans

Minnesota-

R-Coleman-52%

D-Dayton-34%

Nebraska-

R-Heinman-61%

D-Lakers-23%

Nevada-

R-Sandoval-55%

D-Reid-34%

New Hampshire-

D-Lynch-47%

R-Kimball-35%

New Mexico-

Denish-52%

R-Domenici-35%

New York-

D-Cuomo-52%

R-Lazio-29%

Ohio-

R-Kasich-46%

D-Strickland-45%

Oklahoma-

R-Fallin-51%

D-Edmonson-39%

Oregon-

R-Lim

Dudley

D-Kitzhaber

Bradbury

No polling numbers

Leans Democrat

Pennsylvania-

R-Corbett-45%

D-Onorato-36%

Rhode Island-

I-Chafee-39%

D-Caprio-28%

R-Robitaille-22%

South Dakota-

R-Dougaard-49%

D-Heidepriem-32%

Tennessee-

R-Haslam-45%

D-McWherter-27%

Texas-

R-Perry-48%

D-White-44%

Utah-

R-Herbert-57%

D-Corroon-29%

Vermont-

R-Dubie-46%

D-Markowitz-39%

Wisconsin-

R-Neumann-46%

D-Barrett-46%

R-Walker-46%

D-Barrett-44%

Wyoming-

R-Micheli-45%

D-Massie-23%

Schedule of Today’s Votes [Daniel Foster]

If all goes according to the Democrats’ plan, here is a timeline for today’s votes:

2 p.m.: The House will debate for one hour the rules of debate for the reconciliation bill and the Senate bill.

3 p.m.: The House will vote to end debate and vote on the rules of the debate.

3:15 p.m.: The House will debate the reconciliation package for two hours.

5:15 p.m.: The House will vote on the reconciliation package.

5:30 p.m.: The House will debate for 15 minutes on a Republican substitute and then vote on the substitute.

6 p.m.: The House will vote on the final reconciliation package.

6:15 p.m.: If the reconciliation bill passes, the House will immediately vote on the Senate bill, without debate.

During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Michelle Obama said “This is the first time, in my adult life, that I am proud of my country.”  Obviously, Mrs. Obama never believed that American has been truly exceptional, and that America has been the most free country in the world.  She didn’t believe Ronald Reagan when he said that America is the “Shining City on the Hill.”

That brings a question to mind- Does anyone remember Ron Paul ever praising the United States of America?  Has he ever made the first statement about America being a force for good over evil, or, that America has been a beacon of freedom that so many have died for, while trying to come to our shores?  As a commentor had said, “how many pictures of boatloads of Americans have you seen sitting on another countries shores”?

Mbecker908 has a terrific diary up today entitled “Ron Paul.” I couldn’t agree with him more that Ron Paul is a loony conspiracy theorist.  I’ll go farther and say, Ron Paul, and his self-funded fan club, The Campaign for Liberty, are downright dangerous for America.  Becker, over time, has laid out detailed information about Paul’s zero accomplishments. Becker stated that Paul’s understanding of the Constitution is marginal at best.

At one time Paul made a statement on the separation of Church and State.  Here is a detailed analysis of the statement, and how wrong his understanding of the issue is.  The picture is worth the look alone.

Reading comments on the C4L site, many Paul supporters believe that Ron Paul lost the 2008 presidential election only because “his campaign was disorganized.”  Have no fear, they are now much more organized, and are ready to convince him that he must run again in 2012.  After Paul’s straw poll win at the 2010 CPAC convention, he told an interviewer on TV that “he was a little surprised” at the win, and, that it “excites him.”  He is currently undecided if he will run for the Presidency again in 2012.

There is a website, Campaign for Liberty Leadership Summit.  Their goal is to take over the GOP.  They state-

“Like it or not, this is America and it’s a two party system.  One of the parties is closer to our beliefs, and one is easier to take over.  It so happens that both are the GOP.  Let’s bring the GOP back to it’s roots”. (Empahsis mine)

The C4L mission is to promote and defend individual liberty.  This will include-

.  Sound Money

.  Free Markets

.  Non-interventionist Foreign Policy

They advise their folk to “take over every local GOP organization.  It isn’t hard because the Republicans don’t want to get their hands dirty.”

When they have gotten C4L people installed at every level, they believe they then can take over the Republican party, and change it into what they want it to be.  When they say they want to bring the GOP back to it’s roots, I am unaware of a time when the GOP was “non-interventionist” and, did not support a strong national defense policy.  Actually, I’m not sure if they are even talking about the same roots that were always a part of the GOP.

They also have another website which lists all of the state chapters, it gives the number of members in each state, and, the names of the State Chapter Leadership.  If you click on the “Education” tab, at least in the few states I looked at, they give book lists for their members to read.  That is in lieu of stating specific political policies and beliefs.  For just a few of the topics, the book lists include-

Under the Civil Liberties tag-

“Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America”- Radley Balko

“The Bush Torture Memos.”-James Bovard

“How the US Government created the ‘Drug Problem’ in the USA”- Michael Kreca

Under the Foreign Policy tag-

“Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire”- Chalmers Johnson

“Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror”- Michael Scheuer

“The Betrayal of the American Right”- Murray Rothbard

“The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism”- Andrew Bacevich

Obviously, with every organization, especially newer ones, there are spats and disagreements between it’s members.  The C4L actively recruits candidates to run for all sorts of elective offices, and, those candidates must complete a “survey” which determines the candidates compatibility with the C4L goals (talk about purity tests).

They have actively supported a candidate in Colorado, Ken Buck.  The problem with Mr. Buck, he supports the Wars in the Middle East.  Of all the horrors.  Read here, “Did The Campaign for Liberty give $350,000 to a Neocon”?  “The C4L spent $350,000 on a media buy for a Colorado candidate named Ken Buck, who is endorsed by Michelle Malkin and supports the Wars in the Middle East.  We’re all over there going WTF?”

From the comments section at the above link, someone points out-

“The C4L is not supposed to be supporting candidates as it is a 501(c)4 lobbying organization which neither supports nor endorses candidates for public office.”

Are they not also supporting and endorsing Debra Medina in Texas?  Are they breaking the law?  I would be interested in our members that are attorneys weighing in on that.

Our own Coldwarrior has been doing fantastic and incredible work with his Precinct Committeeman Project.  There is also a national website for the Precinct Committeeman Project, hoping to fill the seats in each of the precincts across the nation.  I hope that there is some way of determining if those hoping to hold those spots are not being sought by a major influx of C4L’s, who really have no intention of upholding traditional Reagan Conservativism.

Ron Paul said- “The tide is changing, and, the youth are becoming much more interested in his fiscal and foreign policy positions.”  God please save us if that is true.

I am interested in what Governor Palin accomplished/did not accomplish while serving as Governor of Alaska.  I want to decide if she was a tax cutter, or if she cleaned up a culture of corruption within the state Legislature, no matter what party the corruption was taking place in, and, I want to know if she made decisions in a manner that is consistent with conservatism.  I am currently looking at the issue of the controversial ACES bill, the PPT,  and Corruption.

What is ACES? (Alaska Clear and Equitable Share)

From an article posted on the Alaska Government website Palin said-

“Getting fair value for our own resource is the only way we can be self-sustaining and less reliant upon the Federal Government.  It also fulfills the mandates in our state constitution.  But inherently in that responsibility is also the need to explore for more.”

Alaska’s Federal portion of General Revenues- This is what Palin referred to above.

2001-    31%

2003-     41.7%

2005-     34.1%

2008-     14%  (Palin said she wanted to be “less reliant” on the Federal Government, and it appears she has accomplished that)

You have to read the bill to see that this was not just a tax slapped on the oil companies.  There are incentives for investments, a protection for smaller oil producers, that extract under a certain number of barrels, tax credits, cost credits and etc.  It is very involved.

Referred to in the above link, ACES replaces the PPT (Petroleum Profits Tax) which was passed in a cloud of corruption.

Corruption Timeline-

The Players-

State

Alaska State Senate President- Ben Stevens (R) (Ted Stevens son)

Rep. Pete Kott (R)

Rep. Vic Kohring (R)

Rep. Tom Anderson (R)

Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch (R)

Senator John Cowdery

Federal

Senator Ted Stevens (R)

Rep. Don Young (R)

VECO-  The oil company involved

Bill Allen, CEO

Rick Smith, VP

Municipal Lobbyist-

Bill Bobrick

Of special interest, please see entry for Sept. 2006-

“The FBI conducted a search for clothing that mockingly was labeled “Corrupt Bastards Club.”

Every one of the State Reps. and the State Senator was found guilty of various charges, and most spent time in jail for their hand in the corruption.  Federal Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty, but, now I understand he isn’t guilty, you decide. Corruption doesn’t live only in the Democrat party.  It is unfortunate that every politician listed is Republican.  The Legislature at the time had Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate.  Aren’t these the exact kind of people we all are bee-itching about in Washington today?  Aren’t these the same kinds of people that drove many Republicans away from the party?

Despite Tax Increase, Oil Profits Rise- July 2008

The main fear with the tax increase was that the oil companies would not invest in future projects in the state, and would possibly move to other states/countries.  That was not the case, as you will read that Conoco Phillips and BP profits increased after ACES.

Article in Bloomberg.com- 9/6/08

Palin Boosted Oil Company Taxes while Alaska had a Budget Surplus

(This article appeared one week after Palin was chosen as the VP candidate, and, was a pre-cursor of what was to come.)  Some comments from the article-

“(ACES) will raise oil revenue to $11 billion this year–almost twice what what the state needs to fund it’s government.”

“Alaska has also gotten more money from the federal government than it’s residents pay in taxes–$1.75 per tax dollar in 2006, the most recent year available, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington research group.”  (If I am not mistaken, that tax amount would have come from the previous Governors numbers.)

“There’s never a good reason to raise taxes said Grovor Norquist, President Americans for Tax Reform, Washington group that encourages politicians to sign a no-new tax pledge.” (The ACES taxes were not Alaska citizen taxes, they were on oil company profits.) Alaska has no state income, property, or sales tax.

“Chris Edwards, economist and state budget expert at Cato Institute said- “Palin’s oil tax is similar to the windfall profits tax proposed by Democrat Presidential nominee Barack Obama.” (For an economist, this statement was misguided, misleading and dishonest.)

“McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin called Palin’s tax “progressive”, not a windfall profits tax.  It doesn’t divide profits into windfall and other profits.”

“Oil companies weren’t happy with the plan when it passed.” (Of course they weren’t)

“The massive increase will weaken investment in Alaska’s oilfields at the very time that more investment is needed, Doug Suttles, President BP Exploration Alaska said.” (This was proven not to be true.)

The article includes some complaints about some spending cuts Palin made-

Cut a local hockey association funds to buy a blade sharpener for it’s Zambonie machine.

Cut $300,000. for a Catholic Community service family counseling and adoption program.

Cut $6,200 to repair a sidewalk in front of an Anchorage elementary school.

Cut $6 million to replace an aging Anchorage fire station.

From an Alaskan website- FinebergResearch.com

Palin Mistakes on Energy Issues In Going Rogue Raise Questions About Her Capacity to Govern

Richard A. Fineberg

Notice Mr. Feinberg in the picture with George Soros as they discuss Alaska’s Petroleum.

In summary-

Alaska’s major source of Revenue is Petroleum.  The PPT corruption debacle caused Palin to look for other ways to tax the oil companies for the resource they were drilling for and selling.  The tax is a “progressive tax” as the rate increases with the number of barrels extracted, and also depends on the price of oil on the stock market.  It is not a windfall profits tax, as the tax is on all profits.  The amount of revenue for the state, as well as the profitability of the oil companies are determined by the price per barrel averaged.  Of course the Oil companies will fight any increase in taxes, or any other expenses that will go against their bottom lines.The big “fear” was that the oil companies would not invest in future projects in Alaska because of the new tax structure, however, the oil companies still recorded increased profits even after the tax increase.  They have also increased their investments in future projects.

I welcome any other information that anyone may have Pro or Con about the issues I have researched above.  I just ask, please provide links.  The only way to determine if Palin is conservative enough, or if she has governed well enough, is to look at her record.

As read by little Delaney Ferguson on our local radio show this morning, December 23, 2009.  You can hear her reading it here.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone, in a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone. I had come down the chimney with presents to give, and to see just who is this home did live.

I looked all about, a strange sight I did see, no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stocking by mantle, just boots filled with sand, on the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.

With medals and badges, awards of all kinds, a sober thought came through my mind.

For this house was different, it was dark and dreary; I found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone, curled up on the floor in this one bedroom home.

The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder, not how I pictured a United States soldier.

Was this the hero of whom I’d just read? Curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?

I realized the families that I saw this night, owed their lives to these soldiers who were willing to fight.

Soon round the world, the children would play, and grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas Day.

They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year, because of the soldiers, like the one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone, on a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.

The very thought brought a tear to my eye, I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice, “Santa don’t cry, this life is my choice;

I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more, my life is my God, my Country, my Corps.”

The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep, I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.

I kept watch for hours, so silent and still and we both shivered from the cold night’s chill.

I didn’t want to leave on that cold, dark night, this guardian of honor so willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure, whispered, “Carry on Santa, It’s Christmas Day, all is secure.”

One look at my watch, and I knew he was right. “Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night!”

We’ve had federal funding for healthcare for the poor prior to 1996, however, I will start with legislation that was passed in 1996 entitled “Health Centers Consolidation Act of 1996.”   In 1996, President Clinton was in his second term, and, the Republicans took the majority in the House and the Senate.  Many of the Democrat and Republican Senators today were a part of the 104th Congress when this bill passed.  It is interesting that when Senator Conrad, and Senator Baucus proposed the idea of Co-ops, it didn’t gain any traction, as the these “co-ops” were already in place, and funded by the federal government.  I believe the opponents were against the idea because they would be federally funded, and therefore no better than the public option.

Language included in this now Public Law 104-299 includes-

“Health centers means an entity that serves a population that is medically underserved, or a special medically underserved population comprised of migratory and seasonal agricultural workers, the homeless, and the residents of public housing, by providing, either through the staff and supportive resources of the center or through contracts or cooperative arrangements.”

On page 15 of the above linked pdf file, section (I) Authorization of Appropriations-

(1) In general- For the purpose of carrying out this section, in addition to the amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (d), there are authorized to be appropriated $802,124,000. for the fiscal year 1997, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1998 through 2001.”

This program was obviously carried forward into the Bush presidency, according to testimony given by Elizabeth Handley, a representative of the HRSA, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.  On May 4, 2006, Ms. Handley testified before the Committee on Energy and the Subcommittee on Health.

Ms. Handley thanked the committee for their continued efforts and support, and, stated that she last testified before the same committee in 2001.  It’s apparent that her testimony was an effort to continue the funding, and, to in fact ask for an increase in funding.

The testimony is very detailed as to what the HRSA had accomplished to date, and included information, such as, the Health Centers served 14 million people since 2005, at 3,740 delivery sites, located in all 50 states.  She was hoping to increase funding for an additional 182 new Health Centers.

That gets me to the funding, in the Stimulus bill passed earlier this year.  We have heard that only a small portion of the stimulus funds have been spent/disbursed.  I do not know the total amount appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services, however, you can look here to see a graph showing amounts allocated to the following areas-

Improving and Preserving Health Care- $90.4 billion

Health IT (where all of our healthcare records will be stored and shared)-$48.8 billion

Child and Community Services (ACORN?)- $12.4 billion

Scientific Research and Facilities- $10.0 billion

Community Health (I think this is where new centers are being funded)- $2.8 billion

Comparative Effectivness (Death Panels)- $1.1 billion

Please see “Comparative Effectivness Panel Members Named by HHS.” That was back in March of this year.

Prevention and Wellness (less Mammograms and Prostate cancer screening)- $1.0 billion

Accountability and IT security (so all of the medical records can be viewed by the HHS)- $0.1 billion

TOTAL- $166.6 billion

Page down a little further on the same page.  You can find information pertaining to what each state was awarded.  You can check your state, but I believe the largest amounts were appropriated for State and Territory Medicaid funding programs.  Virginia was awarded $747,515,121. Also click on the link for New Access Points Community Services Block Grants.  That is funding for new Healthcare Cluster Centers, as they are now referred to.

If you haven’t already looked into what stimulus monies were given to your state please check out the stimulus watch website.  Looking through the monies that came into Virginia, I came across a grant awarded to Caroline Family Practice, in which a former grocery store was renovated into a health center to serve the poor.  The funding, in the amount of $1,300,000. will also pay for equipment, staff, and no doubt the Health IT system necessary to track all patient records.  If you look at this link, you will see the reference to ”The Recovery Act Health Center Clusters Program.”  It also refers to the establishment of “New Access Points” health centers, funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

I don’t have the time, nor the inclination to research how many of these centers are being set up in each state.  I am satisfied that the infrastructure is being expanded in order to begin accepting those covered under the Public Option, whether it is called that or not. 

There are also other bills that are currently sitting in committee, that would make the current Obamacare bill being debated in the Senate totally unnecessary, and, a waste of time.  The Big Government website has an article today that will not only curl your hair, it will make it jump out of your head.  PLease at least peruse the linked bills for both the House and Senate.

 Didn’t the EPA just declare Co2 a hazardous gas.  They completely bypassed  Congress, and, they can also do the same with healthcare if we don’t keep our eyes roving in all directions.

Not one more drop of ink needs to be wasted on the NY 23rd District Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, the RNC and NRCC choosen one, and the horrendous chaos they created in backing a Liberal Republican.  Any rational being, or organization, normally learns the “rule of holes” when they have gotten their teeth knocked out.  Alas, they seem to have just gone out and bought shovels with longer handles.

According to a recent article in the Charlottesville Daily Progress, Andy Sere, NRCC spokesman, is quoted as saying  that Virginia State Senator Robert Hurt “is a solid conservative who has a pro-business record of supporting lower taxes.  It’s clear that throughout Senator Hurt’s near decade of public service, he’s compiled a strong conservative record.  That’s the kind of record a candidate needs to beat Perriello.”  Tom Perriello (D) is the Virginia 5th district Representative, who in 2008 beat Republican incumbent Virgil Goode by 727 votes.  The articles author, Brian McNeill, also states that “The National Republican Party has gotten behind the primary candidacy of State Senator Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, pointing out that he has a proven ability to win elections that cover a large portion of the district’s southern half.” (I cannot provide a link to the Daily Progress article as I will not buy a subscription to their webpaper.  I read it in the printed rag)

State Senator Hurt not only voted in favor of (HB3202) which was the largest tax increase in Virginia’s history, but, he also took 16 wayward Republicans with him to vote in favor of the legislation.  The bill passed in 2005, at a time when Virginia had a $1 billion budget surplus.  The $1.4 billion tax was more than then Governor Mark Warner had even requested.  When Warner left office in 2006, there was a budget surplus of approximately $1 billion dollars.  That was viewed by Democrats as a resounding success, and ushered in our next Democrat Governor Tim Kaine.  At the time, it was widely speculated that Warner may seek the 2008 presidency.  Warner also used this record  to win a US Senate Seat in 2006. The Hill, a congressional news site, recently had an article The Top 10 Conservative Conundrums of 2010, where they list Senator Hurt’s tax hike vote as number 7 on the list.

Mr. Hurt’s anything but conservative tax increase vote will make it very very difficult for him to campaign against Tom Perriello’s big tax and spend policies.  Periello voted in favor of the House Cap and Trade legislation, and, most recently he voted in favor of Nancy Pelosi’s Healthcare bill.  On every list I have ever seen, Perriello has been listed as one of the top 5 Democrat Representatives that are vulnerable in 2010.  He should be easily beatable by a strongly conservative candidate running against him.  In addition to Hurt there are 5 other Republican candidates that have come out to challenge Periello.  Unfortunately, the first to declare his Republican candidacy, many months ago, Bradley Rees, has decided to run on the Virginia Conservative Party ticket.

Bradley Rees of Danville, who is an assembly line worker, and had the fair tax as a part of his pitch, said in a statement on 10/29/09:  “he made his decision to switch to the Conservative Party because of dissapointment with the likely frontrunners in the GOP race.  It may only amount to enough votes from the Republican candidate to insure Tom Perriello a second term.  If so, so be it.  Maybe then the party will understand that we are trying to save the GOP from its worst enemy: not the Democrats, but themselves.”I had to bold those words, because that is exactly how I see them.  I agree with Mr. Rees that catapulting Hurt to the front of the line, by the national parties, is a tremendous mistake, but, Mr. Rees seems to forget that there are 5 other Republican contenders, and, one of them is a solid bona fide conservative, Laurence Verga.  The obvious whinning and spitefulness of Mr. Rees comes because he couldn’t get his campaign out of reverse gear, and, is now going to take it out on the citizens of the 5th district.

As to Senator Hurt’s “proven ability to win elections” according to the RNC, he never had any opposition in any election he ever ran in.  2/3 of Hurt’s senate district is heavily Republican.  It is no testimony of electability when you run as a Republican in a majority Republican area, and, with no opposition. In an article by Kimberly Strassel, 11/5/09, she points out that in the southern portion of the 5th district, it is mainly a farming and manufacturing area , and, it now has the highest rates of unemployment in the state.  This is Senator Hurt’s senate district also.  Obviously his decade in the State Senate, and State House before that, he never accomplished anything for his home turf.

There is a strong sense of local disgust at the apparent interferrance of the RNC and the NRCC in once again trying to hand pick the candidate they want, for their own reasons.  A Charlottesville Tea Party organizer, Bill Hay warns the national Republican committees of the local backlash they face if they pull another NY 23rd trick on the 5th district.  The voters simply will not vote for Hurt if he becomes the candidate.  I believe the candidate is choosen at the June Virginia Republican Convention. 

Mr. Hay has endorsed the candidacy of Laurence Verga, a wealthy Charlottesville real estate investor.  I have also been in touch with Mr. Verga, and will be volunteering for his campaign.  Please check out his websiteand see if you agree.  If you look at his events page, you will see that he campaigned with our new Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.  He also had fundraisers at his home for Cuccinelli.  He sure doesn’t lack “fire in the belly.”

On July 9, 2009, Ronald Kessler (Washington Insider) published an artile entitled “CPAC Chairman: Palin Not Ready for Presidential Run.”

http://newsmax.com/kessler/sarah_palin_cpac/2009/07/09/233604.html

When I read the artile, my first thought was, Here is Keene, President of the ACU, which hosts the CPAC convention each year, calling Palin a “whinner”, and then he goes on to whine alot more than Palin when he said:

“She confirmed that she will be speaking to CPAC in person, then her office said she was going to be there, they were just working out the logistics. Thn all of a sudden, she couldn’t be there. At the last minute she was going to do a video tape. We don’t usually do that, but we said OK. Then it turned out they couldn’t get the video tape done, they couldn’t figure how to do it or something. And so she just didn’t come. Now that was our instance, and it also happened to a number of other groups.”

Mr. Keene- Here is a list of the ethics complaints filed against Palin, along with the dates they were filed-

http://www.adn.com/palin/story/838912.html

Complaints 13 and 14 were filed on Jan. 26, 2009, just a month before the2009 CPAC Convention opening day on February 26, 2009. I understand that both complaints aledge that 2 of Palin’s top aides worked on state time to benefit Palin’s interests. Mr. Keene, would they be the same people that “couldn’t get the video tape done, because they didn’t know how to do it or something”?

On 3/18/09, just 18 days after the CPAC Convention ended, complaint number 15 was filed. That complaint contended Palin used staff, property, time and equipment for partisan political gain. Mr. Keene, would the staff, property, time and equipment mentioned in this complaint have had anything to do with the “video tape she and her office just didn’t know how to do, or something”? And to boot, attending the CPAC Convention in Virginia for 3 days would have had Andree McLeod (filed 3 of the complaints against Palin) running whooping in the streets, because she now had found some jello that was ready to stick to the wall. Mr. Keene, have you forgotten, or have you not paid close enough attention to the fact that Palin’s detractors, as well as other fleas, had Palin strapped to the electric chair, and were just waiting for someone like you to hit the “juice on” button? She couldn’t leave Alaska sir, she was already strapped down.

It didn’t take much effort to find that Dave Keene, President of the American Conservative Union, apparently has ulterior motives. He supported Romney in the 2008 primaries. It also didn’t take much effort to find that Ronald Kessler also supported Romney in the 2008 Primaries.

Here is a link to an article in Free Republic writing about Keene’s “endorsement” of Romney, and, his lame reasons for that support-

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1933007/posts

Here is a link to a Ronald Kessler article, published in Dec. 2007, entitled “Romney is the Real Deal.” I kid you not, take a look at what Romney spin looks like, cause you are gonna see alot more of it in the near future-

http://www.newsmax.com/kessler/romney/2007/12/26/59790.html

I have no idea what will happen with Palin, now that she has resigned from her post as Alaska Governor. I will patiently wait to see where she goes, and what she does from here on out. If I like what she says and does, and who she supports, if anyone, I will judge her on that basis. To think that the Romney campaign machinery is not already in full play for 2012 is foolish. Timing is everything, and, if Palin has her sights on 2012, she is already behind the one Kessler and Keene believe is “The Real Deal.”