Saturday, December 31, 2011

Charlotte Occupiers Arrested for Burning Flag Without Fire Pit




A group of Charlotte Occupy punks were arrested yesterday for burning an American flag without using a fire pit.

Police also charged Jason Bargert, 28, of Charlotte; Michael Behrle, 23, of Matthews; and Stephen Morris, 20, of Matthews. Bargert has been identified as a spokesman for Occupy Charlotte.

Tyler told Occupy Charlotte members Friday that he'd met the three other men about 12:30 a.m. Friday.

"I've seen this group lose its activism and become lazy," said Tyler, adding that the other men told him, "We're going to give Occupy Charlotte a wake-up call."

According to a police report, officers spotted a fire being set about 12:30 a.m. on East Trade Street near the movement's site.

Do these people have a permit for this perpetual protest? And if so, who’s paying for it? The tea party people had to obtain one, and that was good for only a couple of hours.

I’ll give a little credit to these misguided idiots; at least they’re not defecating on police cars, or raping and killing people within their encampment. As for drug use, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised about that.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/12/31/2886318/4-men-charged-with-arson-after.html#storylink=cpy

Emperor Obama Declares Congress and Constitution Irrevelant



Barack Obama has declared the U.S. Constitution and our elected representatives irrelevant. His imperial majesty openly declared he will use the bureaucratic machine to circumvent the legislative process by the use of presidential directives and executive orders.

"Now that he's sort of free from having to put out these fires, the president will have a larger playing field. If that includes Congress, all the better," said Josh Earnest, White House deputy press secretary. But, he added, "that's no longer a requirement."

Aides say the president will not turn his back on
Congress completely in the new year. He is expected to once again push lawmakers to pass elements of his jobs bill that were blocked by Republicans last fall.

If those efforts fail, the
White House says, Obama's re-election year will focus almost exclusively on executive action.

Earnest said Obama will come out with at least two or three directives per week, continuing the "We Can't Wait" campaign the administration began this fall, and try to define Republicans in
Congress as gridlocked and dysfunctional.

Its official, we no longer have a constitutional republican. We are now mere subjects, to be pushed around by a wannabe despot and his bureaucratic apparatchiks. The Democrats are committing a bloodless coup, and the Republicans are too stupid to see it.

Source: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9RVHE981&show_article=1

Thursday, December 29, 2011

N.C. Health Choice Ensnares More Dependents Through Federal Grants




The state of North Carolina has found another federal government “gift” to add to its coffers. This time the graft is designed to ensnare as many citizens as possible into a specious health insurance scheme. And how did the Tar Heel state come into this taxpayer largess?

The state has earned a $21 million bonus from the federal government for enrolling more children in a public-private health insurance program and making it easier for them to stay in it.

North Carolina was one of 23 states sharing $296 million in bonuses awarded for cutting application paperwork and exceeding enrollment targets.

N.C. Health Choice, the state version of the national Children's Health Insurance Program, enrolls about 150,000 children, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. That's up from about 134,000 in 2010.


The program offers free or reduced-price insurance to children whose parents cannot afford private insurance. It was approved in 1997 and was reauthorized in 2009.



This shouldn’t be something to brag about. Especially, since our national debt will soon exceed $16 trillion. And what are the qualifications for this subsidy?



The state does not require in-person interviews, which federal officials said are difficult for working parents to schedule.

North Carolina, like most other states, does not consider a family's assets, other than income, when determining children's eligibility.

"We know the only way children can succeed in education is if they show up to school healthy and ready to learn," said Mark Johnson, a spokesman for Gov. Bev Perdue.

"The Governor has made expanding health care coverage for eligible children a high priority in her administration, and today's announcement shows that work has paid off."


This is a system ripe for fraud and corruption. Instead of trying to provide an environment of opportunity and self-reliance, we have a bunch of politicians who’re thumping their chest over adding more dependents on the government dole. That’s nothing to be proud of.

Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/12/29/1739723/insuring-kids-brings-reward.html#storylink=cpy

Charlotte Observer Deceives Readers on Voter ID



The editors at the Charlotte Observer have sunk to a new low. In today’s op-ed, they accused the Republican Party of trying to suppress the minority vote by requiring an ID at the polls. In order to make their case, they disingenuously used a story about two elderly black women. Here is an excerpt:

Dorothy Cooper is 96 years old, and she's voted in every election but one since she was eligible to cast a ballot. When her home state of Tennessee passed a voter identification bill this year, she wanted to make sure she could vote again in 2012, so she went to a voter service center with a rent receipt, birth certificate and voter registration card. But because Cooper's maiden name was on her birth certificate, she was told she needed a marriage certificate, too, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She didn't have one. She was denied a voter ID.

Thelma Mitchell, 93 years old, cleaned the Tennessee state capitol for 30 years. She also wanted to ensure she'd be able to vote next year, but she was incorrectly told that her old state ID was inadequate, according to a Chattanooga TV report. When Mitchell went to get an ID at a state drivers license center, she was told she needed her birth certificate. She has never had one. She was turned away.


A reasonable person would say this is horrible and we shouldn’t allow this to happen. But anyone who knows the dishonesty of the editors at the Disturber would have done some fact checking on their own, and would have found the following omissions:

Thelma Mitchell told WSMV-TV that she went to a state drivers' license center last week after being told that her old state ID from her cleaning job would not meet new regulations for voter identification.

But a spokesman for the House Republican Caucus said Mitchell was given bad information. Brent Leatherwood said even an expired state ID will allow her to vote.

Asked about why Mitchell might have been confused or received incorrect information about the new voter ID law, Leatherwood said only that the provision that allows for the use of state employee IDs is "pretty straight-forward."

He said staff would be contacting Mitchell to get to the bottom of the miscommunication.


And as for Cooper:

After Cooper was denied a photo ID Monday, Kilpatrick contacted Hamilton County's Administrator of Elections Charlotte Mullis-Morgan, who recommended that Cooper vote with an absentee ballot rather than having to stand in line with her walker again at the state center.

Absentee ballots don't require photo ID, and the new state law was crafted to allow that exception. A U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a similar Indiana statute cited the absentee ballot exception as one of the reasons the Indiana law didn't infringe on constitutional voting rights.

There is no doubt in my mind the Charlotte Observer used the Democratic Party’s propaganda machine, Think Progress as a source. I find that disturbing. The Disturber has long been running on fumes when it comes to integrity; now, they have none.

And to put the final nail in the coffin, the Disturber made this assertion:

This is what happens when you try to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. That problem would be voter fraud, which is the reason Republicans frequently cite when they introduce and champion restrictive voting laws. Problem is, no one has shown that such an epidemic is real, and the sprinkling of fraud cases that do exist make up a tiny fraction of the voters who will be disenfranchised by laws such as South Carolina's.

This is laughable! Anyone with access to the internet can easily refute this nonsense. As a matter of fact here are some examples:

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/153079-gop-says-5000-non-citizens-voting-in-colorado-a-wake-up-call-for-states

http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/24/12-charged-with-voter-fraud-in-georgia-election/

Here’s a story about an NAACP leader sentenced for voter fraud:

http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/29/mississippi-naacp-leader-sent-to-prison-for-10-counts-of-voter-fraud/

Here’s a story from North Carolina. You would think the editors at the Observer would know about this one.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8301269

And let’s not forget all of the ACORN scum who have been convicted of voter fraud. Hell, the state of Ohio officially banned them from doing business.

Its mind boggling that the editors at the Charlotte Observer believe they can make asinine statements like this, and get away with it.


Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/12/29/2882340/thwarting-those-who-try-to-block.html#storylink=cpy

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/12/26/395287/93-year-old-tennessee-woman-who-cleaned-state-capitol-for-30-years-denied-voter-id/

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/4617f01f0a94472bb8e613bbc23102d2/TN--Voter-ID/

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/05/marriage-certificate-required-bureaucrat-tells/

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Federal Government to Add Another $1.2 Trillion to National Debt




Here we are again. It was last August when Congress raised the debt ceiling. Now, the federal government is in need of another $1.2 trillion to pays its bills. This time the scoundrels are out of town and no one is left to contest this outrage.

The approval is expected to go through without a challenge, given that Congress is in recess until later in January and the request is in line with an agreement to keep the U.S. government funded into 2013.

The debt is projected to fall within $100 billion of the current cap by December 30, when the United States has $82 billion in interest on its debt and payments such as Social Security coming due. President Barack Obama is expected to ask for authority to increase the borrowing limit by $1.2 trillion, part of the spending authority that was negotiated between Congress and the White House this summer.

Under the agreement struck in August during the showdown over the government's debt limit, the cap is automatically raised unless Congress votes to block the debt-ceiling extension. Lawmakers have 15 days within receiving the request to vote, which is largely symbolic because the president can veto it and Congress would be unlikely to muster the two-thirds majority to override it. Moreover, the U.S. House of Representatives also is in recess until January 17.

Well, what do you know? The fix is in. What a bunch of shameless bastards.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-ask-debt-limit-hike-treasury-official-152416457.html

Wannabe Robber Runs into Fist; Forced to Clean Up Own Blood



This is going to go down as a classic. Not only did this would be robber get knocked out, he was forced to clean up his own blood. Definitely a holiday feel-good story; it just pulls at the heart strings.

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. -- A clerk at a business in Western North Carolina punched a would-be robber and knocked him out cold just minutes after the man barged in with a gun and demanded money.


It happened about 15 minutes before closing time Friday night at We Buy Gold store in Hendersonville.


“When he came through the door he told me had a gun and he even flashed it," said Derek Mothershead. “I stood up and threw my hands up and said, 'Take the money.'”


Mothershead said the man came behind the counter with a bag.

“I got the money and he had the bag out and instead of putting it in the bag I stuck it out and said, 'Just take it.' So, when he reached out, I took a step in, I cocked back and preloaded and I hit him hard,” Mothershead told News 4's Mike McCormick
.

For the sake of this perp, I hope his future cellmates haven’t seen this video.

Source: http://www.wyff4.com/news/30076862/detail.html#ixzz1ht4B3jgu

H/T: Gates of Vienna

No Beggar's Day in Wake County, North Carolina



Did you know that you needed a permit to beg in Wake County, North Carolina? No? Well, neither did eight panhandlers in Raleigh.

RALEIGH -- Police arrested eight people Tuesday for begging without a permit, pushing the number of panhandling citations city police have issued this year to more than 400.Laura Hourigan, a Raleigh police spokeswoman, said police were not targeting panhandlers during the holiday period but merely enforcing an ordinance that's on the books. Still, Tuesday's arrests reflected the city's growing intolerance of panhandling in the downtown district and outlying areas. The number of panhandling arrests this year is at a five-year high. Police this week said public safety concerns, including beggars blocking rights of way, are a chief reason for enforcing the ordinance.


The permits are free and only last a week. I wonder if Wake County is willing to have a permit free “Beggars Day.”






NC Forum Declares Wind Farms Costly and Inefficient




Carolina Journal reported on a renewable energy forum sponsored by the John Locke Foundation. Economist and scientist discussed the cost, efficacy, and environmental value of wind power. Their conclusions are in stark contrast to the assertions of clean energy proponents. John Droz, a fellow of the American Tradition Institute, stated the following:

“Because of the wide fluctuations of wind, it typically produces less than 30 percent of its nameplate capacity,” Droz said. “This problem is made worse by the fact that there is no practical or economical way to store the electricity produced.”

It’s not reliable or predictable and cannot be counted on to provide power on demand, he said.
Wind power plants aren’t compact either, he added. They cover more than 1,000 times the surface area of a conventional facility.


Most importantly to Droz, wind power is not economical. The cost of running a wind power plant is higher than any other type of plant.


“The more wind power an energy company uses, the higher the consumer’s electric bill,” he said.“Denmark, which uses more wind power than any country in the world, has the highest cost of electricity of any country in the world. Their residential electricity rate is more than three times as much as ours.”

Finally, wind does not make a consequential reduction in carbon emissions, said Droz. “No scientific study has ever proven that wind power saves a meaningful amount of CO2. A National Academy of Sciences study says U.S. CO2 savings by 2020 will be at about 1.8 percent."

North Carolinians had an opportunity to voluntarily add renewable energy sources to the grid; it was roundly rejected. But that didn’t stop Governor Beverly Perdue and the democratically controlled General Assembly. In 2007, they passed a law called Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards, which mandated power companies employ 7.5% renewable energy sources. This arrogant piece of legislation will cost consumers millions of dollars.

Governor Beverly Perdue and her fellow democrats profess that they’re looking out for the middle-class, when in fact they’re outright hostile. And in this economic environment, no one can afford higher utility bills.

Source: http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=8597

Monday, December 26, 2011

Sen. Chuck E. Schumer: Super Genius has Brother-in-Law appointed to Federal Bench

Senator Chuck E. Schumer: Super Genius made another political move that smacks of cronyism. He had Barack Obama appoint his brother-in-law to a U.S. District Court judgeship. The two senators from New Jersey deny there were any shenanigans. The New York Post reported the following:

What no one mentioned is that McNulty, 57, was the last-minute choice of Lautenberg, who had been leaning toward other candidates until surprisingly submitting McNulty’s name to the White House.


Lautenberg and his aides have given no public explanation for the decision to go with McNulty even though the latter had never been publicly touted as a contender for the job, which carries life tenure and a $174,000-a-year salary.


“No one knows why he did it,” said one person involved in the nomination process. “Everyone thinks it’s all about 2014 and Frank making sure he has Chuck in his corner.”
The White House declined to comment, as did McNulty.


Lautenberg’s reps denied any political motives and stressed that McNulty, who lives in upscale Short Hills, won the nod on the merits. He is a senior partner at Gibbons PC in Newark.


Aides also insisted that Lautenberg was clueless about McNulty’s relationship to Schumer when he first looked at him in 2009.


“It is complete fiction to suggest that there was any deal or that Kevin McNulty was brought into the process at the last minute,” said Lautenberg spokesman Caley Gray.
People involved in the judicial-nomination process in New Jersey told The Post they believe the surprise nomination was a naked political maneuver by the 87-year-old Lautenberg to stay in Schumer’s good graces. Lautenberg is worried that party elders will try to push him out of his beloved
Senate seat because of his advanced age — something that Schumer, one of the party’s top opinion makers and fund-raisers, would be able to stop.


And no one, including Senator Chuck E. Schumer, would deny that the Democratic Party would flounder without his “genius.” Why, just ask him; he’ll tell you.





Is Magna International a Modern Day Robber-Baron?

Tea Party politicians are feeling the heat from all sides. A mayor from Troy, Michigan turned down a federal grant for a transit center, because she believed it wasn’t appropriate to add to the $15 trillion debt. However, business interest sees things differently.

Troy— Troy faced quick fallout Tuesday after scrapping plans for a federally funded transit center, as an official with a local auto supplier said he would urge the company to look elsewhere for future investment.

Frank W. Ervin III, manager of government affairs for Magna International Inc., made the comment in an email Tuesday to the president of the Troy Chamber of Commerce, Michele Hodges. In the private message to Hodges, Ervin called the city's leaders "narrow-minded when it comes to the future of Troy and the future of Southeastern Michigan" for rejecting $8.4 million in federal aid.

In the email, Ervin thanked the chamber president for her efforts to win approval for the transit center and said he plans to draft a memo to all Magna group presidents and corporate executives "strongly recommending" that the automotive supplier "no longer consider the City of Troy for future site considerations, expansions or new job creation."

To be fair to Magna International, their official stance is they have no opinion on the matter. But if you dig deep enough, you’ll see this company is corporate welfare whore, that salivates over taxpayer largess. Here are a few examples:

The government of Ontario recently announced an investment of C$432 million (US$441 million) to advance the development of electric vehicle technologies. Some C$48.4 million of the total investment will come from the provincial government.


The money is earmarked for Magna International, an Aurora, Ontario-based company. Currently the largest automotive supplier in North America, Magna will use the funding to further develop its electric car systems and continue its exploration of next generation clean vehicle technologies.


"Ontario has always been the province that leads by determining where we need to be and working to make that happen,” says Sandra Pupatello, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade. “Our government's investment in Magna International and Magna E-Car is one way we are making the future happen now."



And of course, here is a subsidiary screwing over the U.S. taxpayer with this green energy fraud:

Magna International Inc., North America's largest automotive supplier, is opening a plant in south Phoenix to make parts for solar panels, joining Arizona's growing cluster of renewable-energy businesses.

The company, based in Ontario, Canada, announced Tuesday that its Cosma International unit is opening a 166,000- square-foot building this month to make metal structures, components and systems for the photovoltaic, or solar-panel, market.

And where are they getting their funds?


When the Cosma Power Systems plant at 4570 W. Lower Buckeye Road opens this month, it will create 50 to 60 full-time jobs and represent an investment of about $6 million, according to the company and the Arizona Commerce Authority.

Cosma expects to create about 150 jobs with an average annual wage of $45,312 in three years, said Kristen Hellmer, spokeswoman for the Arizona Commerce Authority.

Don Cardon, president and CEO of the authority, said the company will use the state's renewable-energy tax-incentive program to help create jobs. Legislators approved those incentives in 2009.





Who better exemplifies a robber-baron: Cornelius Vanderbilt or Magna International? Here is an appropriate and stark example of corporate citizenship involving a transit center . Cornelius Vanderbilt built Grand Central Terminal and the rail lines without aid from government entities, whereas Magna International thrives off of taxpayer largess.

Later, the state of New York demanded modernization of Grand Central Terminal and its rail lines and without any cost to the taxpayers. The PBS show American Experience described how this was done:

Narrator: The initial estimates of Wilgus' plan were staggering. At a time when the total yearly revenue for the New York Central was $80 million, Wilgus projected a cost to complete of 40 million. Within a year that estimate jumped to 60, then 70 million. And even though the city and the state had mandated the project by banning steam in Manhattan, not a single dollar of public money went into Grand Central's reconstruction.



But William Wilgus was undaunted. Rather than scale back, and design a lesser Grand Central, he devised a revolutionary way for the railroad to self-finance the entire project.



Frank Prial, Architect: Now Wilgus recognizes his audience. He realizes he's dealing with businessmen. He suggests that the railroad take advantage of one of its primary assets: real estate. Because it can convert what is essentially a lost expanse of open scar on the city's topography -- this vast field of train tracks and equipment -- and turn that into one of the greatest single real estate residential developments in American history.

I ask again, who are the real robber-barons?

























































Charlotte Observer has no Mistletoe for Republicans



‘Tis the season, and what would Christmas be without an annual invective by liberal newspapers. Put away the mistletoe republicans, because you’ll get no love from likes of the Charlotte Observer. No, you’ll get the usual Scrooge and Grinch depictions, or some other lowbrow characterizations. Doubt me? Well, take a look at the above cartoon. This is what Newt Gingrich gets for suggesting we instill a decent work ethic in today’s youth.

The editors at the Disturber have marketed itself as the pinnacle of altruism. They’re just full of advice, especially when it comes to the homeless:

People begging in the Charlotte region clearly need assistance. But in many cases, they save up loose change to buy that next drink, pack of cigarettes or hit of a drug. Even if they use the money to buy food, or even if the donation is food, that is at best a Band-Aid that does nothing to get them off the street.

This may sound cold-hearted. But we care about the homeless and destitute and want them to improve their situation. So do the people and agencies that have dedicated their lives to helping the homeless: The Urban Ministry Center, the Men's Shelter of Charlotte and the dozens of agencies that are members of the Homeless Services Network. Those groups have joined with Charlotte Center City Partners and others to create a task force to discourage panhandling and move street populations toward better solutions.


That advice sounds reasonable; doesn’t it? Could the Charlotte Observer have an ulterior motive? Is there something happening in “uptown” next year, that could put a damper on their liberal leanings? And why does Denver, Colorado come to mind?

The effort is in line with the community's 10-year plan to end homelessness, a comprehensive plan on which leaders have made only stop-and-go progress over the past several years.

The group will try to discourage restaurants from feeding the homeless leftovers at their backdoors. That's well-intentioned, Urban Ministry Center Executive Director Dale Mullennix says, but it's more effective to give the food to community groups that give it to the homeless along with other vital services they need to start turning their lives around.

It's a delicate effort for Center City Partners. The uptown group needs not to appear as if it is trying to shoo these people away in time for the Democratic National Convention. The involvement of advocates for the homeless helps offset that danger and give the effort credibility. The task force should also avoid encouraging a severe police crackdown on panhandlers. Being hungry is no crime.

But making the Democratic Party and their “uptown” toadies look bad is. Nice try Disturber.



Thursday, December 22, 2011

Britains Warn Americans About Government Confiscation of Handguns




This is what happens when you confer complete trust in a government. They will trounce all over your God given rights. Hopefully, we Americans will uphold a tradition of casting a suspect eye on centralized power.


H/T: NC Renegade

Good Grief! It's a Jihad Christmas, Charlie Brown





And a Merry LALALLALALLALLALALALL!!!! To you and yours.


H/T: Bare Naked Islam

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Obama Implores Devotees to Spread His Gospel During Christmas Dinner


It’s bad enough that Obama, the egomaniac, has an ornament of him strategically placed on the National Mall Christmas tree. Now, he wants his minions to ruin Christmas with their idiotic proselytizing.




Notice, that all of the “actors” in this video are a bunch of kids. That’s just what we want: a bunch of teat suckers sitting around the table, eating our food, while lecturing us about their Messiah. What’s a Christmas without having a politician with a god-like complex imposing his will upon us?

If Obama loses in the next general election, we can expect this type of reaction from his devotees:


Newt Gingrich Should Propose Repeal of 14th Amendment, Instead of Trying Judges

Earlier this week, Newt Gingrich stated that he would ignore Supreme Court decisions that conflicted with constitutional prerogatives of the executive office. This is nothing new. Past presidents and states have openly defied rulings by rogue courts. During the “Biddle’s Bank” controversy, SCOTUS ruled in favor of the Bank of United States, citing the “supremacy clause” in the landmark case: McColluch v. Maryland.

The states ignored the ruling. Ohio imposed a $50,000-per-year-tax on each of the two branches in the state. The BUS refused to pay. Ohio sent its tax auditor to collect the money. The bank’s management wouldn’t comply, so the auditor leaped over the counter and helped himself. Needless to say, the BUS filed a federal lawsuit. The Ohio state legislature flipped the finger at the federal government with the following declaration:


We are aware of the doctrine, that the Federal courts are exclusively vested with jurisdiction to declare, in the last resort, the true interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. To this doctrine…we can never give our assent.


President Andrew Jackson also offered his opinion on the Supreme Court’s decision on BUS:


To this conclusion I cannon assent…Congress and the President as well as the Court must each for itself be guided by its own opinion of the Constitution. It is as much of the duty of the House of the Representatives, of the Senate, and the President to decide upon the constitutionality of any bill or resolution which may be presented…The opinion of the [Supreme Court] justices has no authority over Congress than the opinion of Congress has over judges, and on that point the President is independent of both. The authority of the Supreme Court must not, therefore, be permitted to control the Congress or the Executive…but to have only such influence as the force of their reasoning may deserve.

We have a long history of casting a suspect eye on centralized power. During the ratification process of the U.S. Constitution, the anti-federalist was suspicious of the unchecked powers of the Supreme Court. The pseudonymous author Brutus summed it up best:

They will give the sense of every article of the constitution, that may from time to time come before them. And in their decisions they will not confine themselves to any fixed or established rules, but will determine, according to what appears to them, the reason and spirit of the constitution. The opinions of the supreme court, whatever they may be, will have the force of law; because there is no power provided in the constitution, that can correct their errors, or controul their adjudications. From this court there is no appeal. And I conceive the legislature themselves, cannot set aside a judgment of this court, because they are authorised by the constitution to decide in the last resort. The legislature must be controuled by the constitution, and not the constitution by them. They have therefore no more right to set aside any judgment pronounced upon the construction of the constitution, than they have to take from the president, the chief command of the army and navy, and commit it to some other person. The reason is plain; the judicial and executive derive their authority from the same source, that the legislature do theirs; and therefore in all cases, where the constitution does not make the one responsible to, or controulable by the other, they are altogether independent of each other.

The judicial power will operate to effect, in the most certain, but yet silent and imperceptible manner, what is evidently the tendency of the constitution: — I mean, an entire subversion of the legislative, executive and judicial powers of the individual states. Every adjudication of the supreme court, on any question that may arise upon the nature and extent of the general government, will affect the limits of the state jurisdiction. In proportion as the former enlarge the exercise of their powers, will that of the latter be restricted.

That the judicial power of the United States, will lean strongly in favour of the general government, and will give such an explanation to the constitution, as will favour an extension of its jurisdiction, is very evident from a variety of considerations.

How prescient is that? Anytime I hear someone quote Hamilton’s federalist #78, I counter with Brutus’s anti-federalist #11.

Our Constitution was almost not ratified, because of concerns that an all-powerful federal government would subvert the self-governance of the states. That’s why our founding fathers ratified the Bill of Rights. And in the landmark case Barron v. Baltimore, the Supreme Court reconfirmed that the first eight amendments applied only to the federal government and not the states.

The Supreme Court, in a decision written by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled that Barron had no claim against the state under the Bill of Rights because the Bill of Rights does not apply to the states. The Court asserted that the Constitution was created "by the people of the United States" to apply only to the government that the Constitution had created -- the federal government -- and "not for the government of the individual states." The separate states had drafted constitutions only to apply to themselves, limiting the actions of only state governments. Thus, "the Fifth Amendment must be understood as restricting the power of the general government, not as applicable to the states." The Court argued that the validity of this conclusion is bolstered by the fact that the Constitution nowhere states that the Bill of Rights also limits the actions of state governments, Thus, the state of Maryland, through the actions of the city of Baltimore, did not infringe on the Constitution. With no federal claim, the Supreme Court thus lacked jurisdiction (or power) to hear Barron's case and dismissed it.

That all changed after the progressives bastardized the 14th Amendment. The amendment was designed to ensure that ex-slaves and their progeny were afforded equal protection and due process under individual STATE LAWS, not an all-encompassing federal government. This bastardization has resulted in a federal government tyranny; and its being perpetuated by a judicial oligarchy.

And I remind everyone, that the 10th Amendment has never been repealed.

I disagree with Newt Gingrich on summoning justices to Congress to answer for their decisions. If you want to take power away from federal judges and the general government, then we need to repeal the 14th Amendment.

Source: http://www.constitution.org/afp/brutus11.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-gingrich-judges-20111217,0,1295899.story

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark_barron.html

http://www.amazon.com/Hamiltons-Curse-Jeffersons-Revolution---Americans/dp/0307382850/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324523222&sr=1-1

Monday, December 19, 2011

The EPA's "Sustainability" Power Grab




The Environmental Protection Agency is in the midst of a coup. They have designs on our liberties and economic prosperity. I say that, because this agency commissioned and published a study entitled, “Sustainability and the U.S. EPA.” at a cost of $700,000 paid for by the taxpayers. This so-called study is nothing more than a power grab. Fox News reports:

According to the Academies, the sustainability study “both incorporates and goes beyond an approach based on assessing and managing the risks posed by pollutants that has largely shaped environmental policy since the 1980s.”

It is already known in EPA circles as the “Green Book,” and is frequently compared by insiders to the “Red Book,” a study on using risk management techniques to guide evaluation of carcinogenic chemicals that the agency touts as the basis of its overall approach to environmental issues for the past 30 years.

At the time that the “Green Book” study was commissioned, in August, 2010, EPA Administrator
Lisa Jackson termed it “the next phase of environmental protection,” and asserted that it will be “fundamental to the future of the EPA.”

Jackson compared the new approach, it would articulate to “the difference between treating disease and pursuing wellness.” It was, she said, “a new opportunity to show how environmentally protective and sustainable we can be,” and would affect “every aspect” of EPA’s work.

According to the study itself, the adoption of the new “sustainability framework” will make the EPA more “anticipatory” in its approach to environmental issues, broaden its focus to include both social and economic as well as environmental “pillars,” and “strengthen EPA as an organization and a leader in the nation’s progress toward a sustainable future.”


You ask how the Obama apparatchiks plan on implementing these policies. Earlier this year, administrator Lisa P. Jackson requested a whopping 230,000 new EPA bureaucrats to rule over us all. Americans for Prosperity reported:

In a court filing last week, EPA quantified the vast new army of federal bureaucrats it will need to process millions of new permits under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V permitting process. A shocking 230,000 new EPA bureaucrats at a cost of $21 billion -- more than tripling the EPA's total budget. In the filing EPA says it will reach these levels by April 30, 2016.

Based on the historical relationship between the number of federal regulators and private sector employment recently
quantified by the Phoenix Center the addition of 230,000 federal bureaucrats would destroy 22.5 million private sector jobs.

The EPA is in league with the United Nations. The sustainability development project is the central topic in their next global summit meeting being held in Rio de Janeiro next June. Let’s hope that’s as far as their Marxist ambitions go.

Source: http://www.americansforprosperity.org/092311-epa-wants-add-230000-more-bureaucrats#ixzz1h2ul2Njj

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Climategate Scientist Says Department of Energy Complicit in Cover-Up

Fox News.com has revealed another Climategate outrage. The U.S. Department of Energy might be complicit in hiding research data from global warming skeptics. More e-mails have been made public, casting more sunshine on the antics of global warming proselytizers.

Making that case in 2009, the then-head of the Research Unit, Dr. Phil Jones, told colleagues repeatedly that the U.S. Department of Energy was funding his data collection -- and that officials there agreed that he should not have to release the data.

“Work on the land station data has been funded by the U.S. Dept of Energy, and I have their agreement that the data needn’t be passed on. I got this [agreement] in 2007,” Jones wrote in a
May 13, 2009, email to British officials, before listing reasons he did not want them to release data.

Two months later,
Jones reiterated that sentiment to colleagues, saying that the data "has to be well hidden. I’ve discussed this with the main funder (U.S. Dept of Energy) in the past and they are happy about not releasing the original station data.”

A third email from Jones written in 2007 echoes the idea: "They are happy with me not passing on the station data," he wrote.

The emails have outraged climate-change skeptics who say they can't trust climate studies unless they see the raw data -- and how it has been adjusted.

"In every endeavor of science, making your work replicable by others is a basic tenet of proof,” Anthony Watts, a meteorologist and climate change
blogger, told FoxNews.com. “If other scientists cannot replicate your work, it brings your work into question.”

Is the Department of Energy to blame? The Climategate emails reveal correspondence only between Jones and his colleagues -- not between him and the DoE.

"What’s missing," Watts said, "is a ... directive from DoE that they should withhold station data gathered under their grant. The email may be there, but ... still under lock and key
.

If the allegations against the Department of Energy are true, then it’s time to abolish this rogue agency. There are only so many scandals one government bureaucracy should be allowed to commit.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/16/complicit-in-climategate-doe-under-fire/#ixzz1gv3yBtKV

Governor Beverly Perdue Strong-Arms N.C. Energy Companies

Governor Beverly Perdue is about as shameless as her counterpart in the Oval Office. She has been caught bullying North Carolina’s three major energy companies into signing long-term contracts with a wind farm company. The three are resisting this pressure due to the fact that these farms are inefficient, and cost more than conventional sources of energy. That cost would be passed onto the consumer. But that is unimportant to the Governor, what is at stake is a $200 million federal government grant; and Bev just loves that “free money”.

Documents obtained by the Civitas Institute suggest Gov. Bev Perdue is attempting to strong-arm North Carolina’s three major utility companies into supplying more expensive energy to their customers in the northeastern part of the state. In a political power-play to reward big business reminiscent of the handling of the Solyndra debacle that embarrassed the Obama administration, Perdue is urging for special treatment that would secure a $200 million federal government subsidy for a multi-billion dollar Spanish company.

Perdue recently sent a letter to the heads of Duke, Dominion, and Progress Energy stressing the importance of the proposed Desert Wind Power Project in Elizabeth City to be built by
Iberdrola Renewables (to see copies of the letters, click the links below). The Project involves the development of a 300 megawatt wind energy farm. In her letter, Perdue stated: “I urge you to give serious consideration to partnering with Iberdrola Renewables to make the Project a reality.” Perdue also added that it is urgent that a major utility provider agree to purchase power from the wind farm in order for it to be a “long-term success.”

Small problem: North Carolina’s major utility companies already said no to purchasing electricity from the wind power project because the rates Iberdrola were demanding are so much more expensive than the conventional energy currently being used by the utilities. As quoted in a recent
Raleigh News & Observer article, Duke spokeswoman Betsy Alley Conway said, “What we are looking for is wind energy at a price that is cost-effective for the company and our customers. If we receive a proposal from developers that is a good value for our customers and our company, we would execute the contract.”

USA Today reported the following household energy cost:

Households paid a record $1,419 on average for electricity in 2010, the fifth consecutive yearly increase above the inflation rate, a USA TODAY analysis of government data found. The jump has added about $300 a year to what households pay for electricity. That's the largest sustained increase since a run-up in electricity prices during the 1970s.

Electricty is consuming a greater share of Americans' after-tax income than at any time since 1996 — about $1.50 of every $100 in income at a time when income growth has stagnated, a USA TODAY analysis of
Bureau of Economic Analysis data found.

Even though Obama wasn’t able to pass cap and trade, his bureaucratic machine has found ways to punish us all. And it sure as hell doesn’t help, when our state politicians pile on with unnecessary, inefficient sources of energy that isn’t cost effective.







Obama Says His Presidency more Successful than George Washington's




Humility isn't part of Obama's lexicon.

H/T: Newsbusters

Bob Hope's Christmas with the Troops




I always enjoy watching this video.

Democratic Party: The True Fascist




This video sums up the true nature of the Democratic Party

North Carolina Awarded "Run to the Top" Federal Government Bribe




North Carolina was awarded a $70 million federal government grant from the Department of Education’s “Run to the Top” program. The following reasons were given:

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said North Carolina had the top-ranked application among the 35 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, which competed for $500 million in federal grant money. The competition is designed to reward states that are willing to push education reform.

"It was literally the best application we received from any state in the country," Duncan said.

Duncan said he called N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue Friday morning to congratulate her on "the remarkable achievement."

In awarding the money, the education department cited the state's Early Childhood Advisory Council, local Smart Start infrastructure, as well as plans to target rural, distressed counties with high needs.

This pre-kindergarten program is big farce and waste of taxpayer monies. Let’s face it: this program is nothing more than a glorified daycare center. Is it any wonder that we’re $15 trillion in debt with waste like this? What’s worse, the states have turned into a band of beggars, while the bureaucrats pick and choose the winners. Shouldn’t the taxpayers have a say as to how that money should be spent?

With the general election around the corner, one must consider the possibility of politics coloring the landscape. Here are the following states that also received taxpayer funded grant money: Massachusetts, Ohio, California, Washington, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Delaware, and Maryland.

Notice that not one red state received a grant. And out of the nine, four can be considered battleground states. We already know that Obama considers Ohio and North Carolina important for his re-election. Massachusetts will be in play if Mitt Romney wins the GOP nomination, and Minnesota republicans believe their state is fair game.

California received a grant for the following reasons:

California: This was the biggest loser among the winners. It wanted nearly $100 million (the cap the U.S. Department of Education set), but with only $500 million available and a 9th place finish, only $52 million was left for them. That's not a lot of money for a state with more than 6 million students. It's interesting that the Education Department chose not to shave a little off the other states' winnings to give California a bit more. But it's also interesting that the department gave them anything, and didn't use their $52 million to give everyone else a little more. Perhaps Education Secretary Arne Duncan wanted to send a little love California's way, especially after snatching back a data systems grant and ruling their effort to apply for a Race to the Top consolation prize inadequate. What's more, by giving California a Race to the Top grant, Duncan was able to make the claim—as he did during the White House announcement Friday—that Race to the Top money now reaches 60 percent of the nation's students and two-thirds of low-income students. Those figures would have been far less impressive had California not won.

As for the legitimacy of the other states, Delaware is Joe Biden territory, and the others who knows? But what is known, is Obama’s Chicago-style of politics, and that stench makes any government program suspect.

Source: http://www.charlotteobservert.com/2011/12/17/2855983/nc-awarded-70-million-in-federal.html#ixzz1guEbkgHH

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2011/12/race_to_top_early_learning_tal.html

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2011/09/rnc_chair_says.shtml

Friday, December 16, 2011

Obama Administration Undermines Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Ability to Enforce Immigration Laws



Barack Obama and his cadre of confederates have once again undermined the will of the American people. This time he has rescinded Arizona's ability to check on the legal status of those of have violated the law. Sheriff Joe Arpaio testified to the latest outrage.

Anyone who doubts this administration is undermining the value of their citizenship, should take time to consider all of the lawsuits that the Justice Department has filed against individual states for trying to control the invading horde from third-world countries. It would give pause to any reasonable person.

H/T: Gates of Vienna

S.E.C. Sues Ex-CEO's of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Finally, after all these years the Securities and Exchange Commission is taking action against a handful of ex- CEO’s who have fostered a culture of corruption at the G.S.E.’s known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Unfortunately, there are some very conspicuous names amiss; most notably, the architect of this disaster, James Johnson and his crown prince, Franklin Raines.

There should also be investigations on all of the Democratic operatives who have profited off of this culture of corruption, particularly those who served on the board of directors: Jamie Gorelick and Rahm Emanuel come to mind. And let’s not forget the leeches like Valerie Jarrett, who profited handsomely from insider information.

But instead, it’s the minnows who are being sued:

Daniel Mudd, the former chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, and Richard Syron, ex-CEO of Freddie Mac, were sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for understating by hundreds of billions of dollars the subprime loans held by the firms.

The lawsuits filed today in Manhattan federal court were followed by an SEC statement that it had entered into “non-prosecution agreements” with each company. Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise which issues almost half of all mortgage-backed securities, and Freddie Mac, the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage-finance company, had “agreed to accept responsibility” for their conduct, the SEC said.

The agency said in the lawsuits that Syron, Mudd and other executives understated exposure to subprime
mortgage loans. From 2007 to 2008, Freddie Mac executives said the company’s exposure was from $2 billion to $6 billion when it was actually as high as $244 billion, according to one SEC complaint.

Talk about understated, what about the Democrats in Congress? Shouldn’t we prosecute Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Maxine Waters and all the others who assured us that Fannie and Freddie were stable? Are they not culpable for creating one of the worst financial disasters in American history?

It will take generations to overcome the mess these greedy bastards created. And sadly, only a handful will be held to account.











32 Congressional Nincompoops Pander to Muslims by Sending Letter to Lowes




Lowe’s decision to pull advertising from a TLC Muslim propaganda show has drawn attention from the statist in Washington D.C. The PC crowd has charged the home improvement retailer with compromising our national security. Who would’ve thought a business decision could become a life and death situation? I’ll tell you who: our so-called congressional representatives. Here is a letter signed by 32 nincompoops.

Dear Mr. Niblock:

“We are writing with great concern over your recent decision to cancel your advertising on TLC’s All-American Muslim, a television show which follows the daily lives of five Lebanese American Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan. This reality show takes place in one of the largest Muslim communities in the United States. This action flies in the face of your company’s charitable work and positive presence in communities nationwide.

“We are dismayed that your decision was influenced by an online petition from the Florida Family Association, a group that has advocated discrimination and bigotry in the past. This group alleges that All-American Muslim “is propaganda that hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.” This dangerously false view of American Muslims has no place in our society, and by pulling your advertising, you are tacitly agreeing that this absurd notion deserves credence. It does not.

“In your statement explaining why you decided to pull your advertising you claimed that this was a “hotly contested debate.” Quite frankly, there is absolutely no contested debate about the contribution of Muslim-Americans to American society. Yes, we face threats from radical Islamic extremists, but the millions of patriotic, peace-loving Muslims living and working in America are our best defense against them, and only strengthen the fabric of our nation. Instead, today they face the same bigoted notions that previously have been directed against African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Catholic-Americans and others.

“Further, your actions give credibility to the view that we accept discrimination towards Muslims as a nation, which harms our national security by feeding recruitment efforts by extremist Islamic organizations. In fact, Denis McDonough, President Obama’s Deputy National Security Adviser, recently noted that Al Qaida's core recruiting argument is that the West is at war with Islam. A chief goal of our national security policy is to undermine this contention. We fear that public actions like the one taken by your company this week, if not quickly corrected, may buttress this false argument. “We implore you to reconsider your decision and live up to your corporate ideals of diversity and inclusion and the values of tolerance and acceptance that create the foundation of our nation.”



With all that is going on in the world, you’d think our elected representatives would have a better understanding of Islam; it is a political ideology in the guise of a religion. Unfortunately for us, there are a lot of people who haven’t been able to make that distinction. Their ignorance IS a national security threat.


Source: http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2011/12/15/news/doc4eea5c8217ff0172693206.txt?viewmode=2

Democrats Crying Over Goebbels Comparison

The Democrats can dish it out, but they sure as hell can’t take it. And that became all too obvious after Rep. Allen West (R-FL) compared their propaganda machine to Joseph Goebbels. You would’ve thought the congressman had thrown a grenade down a Capitol building hallway, while screaming Allah Akbar!

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) sent West a note expressing his disappointment in the remark. “I beg of you to help raise the level of congressional discourse in vigorous debate without resort to personal attacks,” Conyers wrote in a handwritten note first obtained by Politico.

West’s remarks came even as Democrats and Republicans scrambled to reach a bipartisan agreement on a spending bill necessary to continue funding the government into the new year.
“Shame on him,”
tweeted Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.). “Rep. West needs to apologize now for insulting the memories of the millions who lost their lives during the Holocaust.”

Feigned outrage, that’s all this is. How many times have we heard Nancy Pelosi and her coterie of goons call the tea partiers Nazis. Does anyone remember Bill Clinton accusing republicans of wanting to starve children and kill old people? Hell, they’re still doing it!

The Democrats want an apology and civil discourse? As far as I’m concerned they deserve neither. What they should get is a foot up their collective asses.

Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/199905-democrats-call-on-rep-west-to-apologize-for-propaganda-remark

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Dream Act Ghouls Feed Off of Illegal Alien Suicide



An illegal alien named Joaquin Luna committed suicide, because he supposedly despaired over his lack of opportunities in the United States. It didn’t take long for the amnesty ghouls to feed off the corpse of this poor unfortunate.

An illegal alien amnesty group published an open letter to Speaker John Boehner for the purpose of exploiting this suicide to implement the Dream Act. Do these people have any shame?


The Honorable John Boehner

US Congressman for the 8th District of Ohio

1011 Longworth H.O.B.

Washington, DC 20515


December 6, 2011

Re: Emergency Joaquin Luna DREAM Act

Dear Majority Leader Rep. Boehner:

As the Majority Leader to the House of Representatives we ask that you please introduce an emergency DREAM Act in memory of Joaquin Luna before taking your Christmas or Holiday break.

Time is of the essence and we would like to prevent future suicides in light of the despair our DREAM Act youth are experiencing. DREAM Act activists have risked themselves via hunger strikes, deportation, jail and now death as a last resort. The youth have pledged allegiance to our flag and the American way of life is all that they know.

Before you say no to introducing an emergency Joaquin Luna DREAM Act on the floor, we urge you to contact Joaquin Luna’s family to read Joaquin’s final suicide note of desperation. It is disheartening and a crushing blow to any human being with a heart. It is our understanding that the Joaquin Luna family will make Joaquin’s note public at a time within their own discretion. We hope you will take our word that the final suicide note is extremely discouraging and heartbreaking. You can clearly see and sense the fear that Joaquin had before he decided to take his own life when he wrote his final prayer in that note. We urge you to contact Diyer Mendoza at (956)599-0163 or Marie Ana Mendoza at (956)862-2407 to read and see that final suicide note for yourself.

The DREAM Act passed the House of Representatives in December 2010 and we hope to see that same kind of success this year in hopes of it reaching the Senate this year.

We pray that you have compassion towards the children and our youth. We hope you will do everything within your power to put the emergency Joaquin Luna DREAM Act on the floor before taking your Holiday or Christmas break this year.

Sincerely,

DeeDee Garcia Blase
Founder, Co-President of the National Tequila Party Movement




U.S. Justice Department in League With U.K. on Hunt for Climategate Leaker




Obama’s Justice Department is in league with the United Kingdom’s police agencies in the hunt for the e-mail leaker who exposed the climate change hoax. These agencies would rather waste money persecuting an individual, who did the whole world a service, instead of investigating the grafters who perpetuated this global warming fraud.

The hunt involving U.S. and UK law enforcement agencies is now escalating. On Wednesday night UK time, six detectives with the UK police (Norfolk Police Department) raided the home of at least one blogger, removing his equipment to look for clues to the identity of leaker “FOIA 2011.”

On December 9, DOJ sent a preservation letter under 18 U.S.C 2703(f) to the publication platform (website host) Wordpress. This authority authorizes the government to request an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to preserve all records of a specific account for 90 days while the feds work on a warrant.

Norfolk PD affirmed to the subject of at least one of their raids that this international law enforcement hunt is for the leaker, meaning not for those whose acts the leaker exposed by making public emails containing admissions in their own words.

The action of both governments confirms how far this global warming corruption goes.

Source: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2011/12/obamas-justice-department-joins-britains-climategate-leaker-manhunt/2006206#ixzz1gf9oDg5F

Los Angeles Mayor Designates Illegal Aliens a Privileged Class




No matter how much we try to curb the incentives that attract illegal aliens, unscrupulous politicians will find ways to circumvent the laws which are designed to deter them. The mayor of Los Angeles is a perfect example of a shameless panderer. He has directed the LAPD to ignore a law that would keep illegal aliens off the road.

A few weeks ago the mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa​, directed the Los Angeles Police Department​ (LAPD) to stop impounding the vehicles of unlicensed drivers for 30 days as per state law. The measure is intended to keep potentially reckless drivers off the road and therefore protect the public. It applies to unlicensed drivers as well as those who have had their license revoked or suspended.

Under the law illegal immigrants make up the majority of the drivers who have their cars impounded because they can’t get licenses in California or most states. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told the local newspaper that this presents an
“unfair burden” and “disproportionate blow” for illegal aliens, who he refers to as a “valuable asset to our community.”

So the chief has ordered his officers to give unlicensed drivers a chance to avoid having their vehicles impounded by calling someone with a license who would then be allowed to drive the car. The chief says it’s a “fairness issue” because there is a “vast difference between someone driving without a license because they cannot legally be issued one and someone driving after having their license revoked.”


And what about American citizens who didn’t bother to “legally” obtain a driver’s license? Will they be afforded the same considerations as an illegal alien? Are illegal aliens becoming a privileged class in the United States?

Source: http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2011/12/l-a-police-wont-enforce-safety-law-to-help-illegal-aliens-2/

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Connecticut Mayor to Petition State for Illegal Alien Vote




The day is almost here. The end result of what many of us feared: voting rights for illegal aliens. And if Connecticut’s New Haven mayor gets his way, non-citizens will be standing in line right next to you, waiting to pull the lever for a pandering politician like John DeStefano.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano plans to ask the state Legislature to allow illegal immigrants who live in the city to be able vote in municipal elections.

DeStefano said on Tuesday that the proposal would build a more engaged community and follows the lead of other cities,
the New Haven Independent reports.

The Independent reports that New Haven has about 10,000 non-citizen immigrants.

Immigrants who are in the U.S. legally or illegally and cannot vote now would still be unable to vote in state or federal elections.

DeStefano, a Democrat, said illegal immigrants pay taxes indirectly through rent and send their kids to New Haven schools and should be able to vote.

DeStefano must be a communist. Why else would he devalue citizenship in this manner?

Source: http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/New-Haven-Asks-State-to-Allow-Non-Citizens-to-Vote--135569598.html

Charlotte Observer Equates High Risk-Taking to Criminal Activity



Individuals who start a business, or invest money know there is risk involved; there are no guarantees in life. But what’s expected is that laws will be followed so as to provide all participants an equal playing field. This certainty breeds confidence and stability in the market place.

But according to the editors at the Charlotte Observer high risk-taking is the equivalent to criminal activity. And these statist are using MF Global as a vehicle to encourage more government regulations.

The episode is highlighting a discomfiting truth about the fallout from the U.S. financial crisis in 2008: Wall Street firms are still engaged in many of the disastrous practices that were majorly responsible for the near collapse and helped push this country into one of its worst recessions. Financial experts say studies have shown that the perverse incentives that Wall Street firms employed to encourage risky trading have gone up since 2008.

The Corzine case is a good example. Reportedly, Corzine - who once ran Goldman Sachs - actually changed the compensation set up at MF Global to one that highly rewarded risk-taking, using discretionary bonuses and salary. And because he actively and avidly traded big himself, Corzine established an MF Global culture that encouraged that activity. Such high-stakes inappropriate risk-taking was once again aided by a lack of company controls and failures of regulators and ratings watchdogs like S&P and Moody's, who flagged problems only days before the company went under.



Forbes.com summed it up best:


MF Global may have committed a crime by taking $200 million from segregated customer accounts “and used it to pay for bank overdrafts, shortfalls in other customer accounts and MF Global’s own commodities activity,” according to Vincent Schmeltz III, of Barnes & Thornburg, the lawyer for MF Global’s customers, who are trying to get back their missing funds.

Another $1.0 billion of segregated customer accounts is still missing and unaccounted for according to the MF Global Trustee in bankruptcy. Many individual traders in precious metals and agricultural products were damaged by the bankruptcy. Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural business owners are missing funds they use to hedge the risks of volatile pricing.

Undoubtedly, Jon Corzine, the former CEO of MF Global, will be asked probing questions about the use of customer funds when he testifies before a Congressional committee later this week.

Schmeltz who represents James Koutoulas, the CEO of Typhon Capital
Management, told me today that “customer segregated funds were commingled with securities accounts– like a massive Ponzi scheme in which money for one customer is used to pay returns to other customers.”

Established rules and regulations should have been enough to deter MF Global from breaking the law. But they had a CEO who was politically connected and had a front row seat to some of the most corrupt scum in Washington D.C. Is it any wonder that he thought he could get away with it?



Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/12/14/2848449/tougher-deterrents-needed-on-wall.html#ixzz1gZA4B5wd

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2011/12/05/mf-global-used-200-million-for-itself-and-other-customers/

Monday, December 12, 2011

Sen. Harry Reid Spreads Unicorn Manure



How delusional are democrats? Well, let’s take a gander at Sen. Harry Reid. According to the Senate majority leader, the rich don’t provide jobs. Why, that kind of thinking is about as real as mythical creatures like the unicorn and the Easter Bunny.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested on Monday that millionaires who create jobs are a mere figment of Republicans' imaginations.

"Millionaire job creators are like unicorns,” said Reid from the Senate floor. “They are impossible to find and don't exist."

Reid's frustration has grown in past weeks as Republicans have repeatedly and overwhelmingly blocked almost every fragment of President Obama's jobs package brought to the floor because Democrats have attempted to pay for them by raising taxes on millionaires. Republicans say they oppose that tax because it would hamper job creation.

But Reid said Monday morning that there was no evidence of a correlation between taxes on the wealthy and jobs.

"Republicans say the richest of the rich in our country … shouldn't contribute more to put our economy back on track," said Reid. "They call our plan time after time a 'tax on job creators,' and I say so-called job creators because … every shred of evidence contradicts this red herring.”

The majority leader concluded that most of Republicans' "fictitious millionaire job creators" are "hedge fund managers or wealthy lawyers that don't do much hiring."



I’ll tell you who the fictitious job creators are: government bureaucrats. Americans will starve to death if they believe Senator Harry Reid and his army of leprechauns can produce an era of prosperity with the fairy dust they're spreading.