The Specter's Gaze

By TLCoston

It was a night like this many years ago.
The full moon bright and the wind shuddering my abode.
I was a boy of ten, lying awake in bed, listening to the gust and scratch, scratch, scratching of the old oak’s branches on my window.

It was a small room that my brother and I shared.
He asleep and I most certainly aware.
Our two beds lay just an arm length apart. How I envied him.
He who easily slept, while I lay awake fearing the shadows.

On the far wall, a moonlit macabre play advanced,
as the wind howled and skeletal branches danced.
I tried to ease my mind by praying for sleep;
but was denied by whispers and moans and the scratch, scratch, scratching on my window.

I remember that night for it is always there.
The night of the specter who had taken me unaware. I was startled … no, I was scared.
This stranger who stood at the foot of my bed looked more alive than shadow;
he who was looking out my window.

His mien was not kind. His attire out of date.
This much I could make.
I tried to deny. I tried to reason.
But this specter … this ghost was beyond all that I could know.

My body became rigid and limbs ached.
Sweat beaded and rolled down my legs.
My breath I tried to measure and control; hoping to become very small.
And all the while I prayed that this ghost not avert his gaze from outside my window.

Surely, I thought this was my imagination.
That this specter … this ghost would go as it had come.
I darted my eyes away to the wall. But only skeletal branches did shone.
I glanced back onto him again, this specter… this ghost who was looking out my window.

As I dared to look away, the specter averted his gaze.
And it was upon me he smiled, a most mischievous smile.
My eyes widened and heart pumped in terror, for this specter … this ghost was most certainly aware that I existed. And all pretence was blown.

I closed my eyes hoping he would go away,
only to find out that he refused and stayed.
And this little game we did play for some time,
me and this specter … this ghost who no longer stared out my window.

The final time, I opened my eyes he was gone.
It was not relief, but dread I felt for I knew he had knelt beside me.
My heart thumped - thumped as, I slowly turned and there inches from my face a
malevolent gaze shown.

I cried and leapt onto my brother’s bed
And pulled the ceiling light string.
And all was quiet except for me and my sibling’s slumbering breath
and the scratch, scratch, scratching on the window.

Charlotte Occupiers Eat Their Own

The Charlotte Occupiers are eating their own. One of the founding organizers was democratically kicked out of the pack for having the audacity to take a leadership role on a rudderless ship. The 47 year old Thomas Shope was handed a Grecian formula that only the historically literate can appreciate:

CHARLOTTE (CBS Charlotte) — “Occupy Charlotte” protesters have carried out an official coup within the group.

Thomas Shope, 47, credited with helping to organize “Occupy Charlotte,” was exiled from the group for claiming leadership.

A YouTube video broadcasts the group’s reasoning with an automated voice speaking over classical piano.

“Some of your actions have compromised the reputation, motivation and unity of the protesters of the ‘Occupy Charlotte’ movement,” it starts.

It went on to accuse him of posing as a person of power who positioned the local movement to invite ridicule.

“Occupy Charlotte,” like its counterparts in cities around the world, governs itself with a lateral democracy and voted him out.

So Shope shut down the Twitter profile and website’s domain for “Occupy Charlotte.” The movement now has several Twitter accounts and Facebook pages that broadcast muddled and conflicting messages.

“They’re a rogue group of kids,” Shope told CBS Charlotte. “They did anything a child can come up with to get people from the group on their side.”

Save a porta-potty problem, “Occupy Charlotte” has been lauded so far as being peaceful, respectful of city laws and cooperative with police.

Since these Marxist didn’t have the foresight to rent portable toilets, I wonder what they’re doing to keep warm on these cold autumn nights, besides fornicating on a public bench. Maybe they dried their dung and are burning it. That would kill two birds with one stone. But wouldn’t that violate city laws? Oh well, it’s time for a movie and a hot cocoa.

Good luck hope and changers. May your nights be as blissful as mine.

Source: http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2011/10/21/occupy-charlotte-kicks-out-leader-credited-with-creating-group/

Department of Energy Grants a Finnish Car Manufacturer a Taxpayer Funded Guarantee Loan

The Department of Energy has been busy screwing the taxpayers over these past few years. Now, it has been revealed that this rogue agency gave a $529 million guaranteed loan to a Finnish electric car manufacturer.

Fisker was supposed to build its Karma cars here in the United States, but ran into a little problem:

"Fisker is using this funding to bring a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware back to life and employing more than 2,500 workers. Fisker was attracted to this site in part by the opportunity to rehire some of the trained, dedicated workers who lost their jobs when that plant closed," Leistikow said. The department later clarified that 120 workers have been hired at the site to date, with the rest set to be hired by early 2013.

For the Karma line, founder Henrik Fisker reportedly claimed the company could not find a manufacturer in the U.S. for the job. So the production went to Finnish company Valmet Automotive, along with 500 manufacturing jobs.

A company spokesman told FoxNews.com that Fisker had "explored the possibility of producing the Karma in the U.S."

"However, there are no contract manufacturers like Valmet in the U.S., and none of the established domestic automakers were willing to partner with Fisker to provide an manufacturing option in the U.S. that would work for the Karma program," the spokesman said.

Delaware you say? Why Delaware? I wonder…

And behind every green energy boondoggle there is a Democratic Party operative reaping in a taxpayer paid windfall. Who could it be this time?

The ABC News report noted the political connections enjoyed by Fisker and another company, Tesla Motors, which together received about $1 billion in loans. Fisker reportedly is backed by a firm that counts ex-Vice President Al Gore among its partners. The article said just 40 of Fisker's Karma cars have been produced so far, and that Tesla is consistently losing money.

The World Economic Forum ranked Finland the fourth most competitive country in the world, just above the United States who came in at fifth. Let’s give the Obama administration a hand. It’s not every day that a president sees the fruition of his policies. Maybe the Anointed One can become president of Finland. I just hope that Finland vets there candidates eligibility better than we did.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/21/energy-department-defends-loan-to-company-building-electric-cars-in-finland/#ixzz1bTFQy098

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44423519/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/t/us-falls-th-global-competitiveness-survey-shows/?GT1=43001#.TmfUvJXfLjh

Charlotte Screws Taxpayers with Electric Car Boondoggle

Obama’s big energy, stimulus boondoggle has made its way to the Queen City. Charlotte, North Carolina received millions in federal grant money for a handful of electric cars, and a couple of charging stations, so the public servants can tout green technology:

The total amount of Charlotte's energy efficiency stimulus grant is $6.78 million. Some of that money will pay for the seven Leaf vehicles, which will be used by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities (one car); engineering (two cars); transportation (two cars); airport (one car); Neighborhood & Business Services (one car).

Rob Phocas, the city's engineering and sustainability manager, said the goal is to have staff members driving them around the city to showcase the technology.

Don’t ever say crony capitalism isn’t alive and well in the Piedmont. Siemens is contracted to build the charging stations that will cater to the very few and proud who own an electric car:

Installation of the charging stations will be paid for by the $215,000 federal grant. Siemens, which has a large turbine factory on Westinghouse Boulevard, will work with the city to install them.

The charging stations should be in place by January.

Never mind that private businesses have built stations on their own. Even the writer of this article acknowledges that Bank of America, Duke Energy, and the Ritz-Carlton have already installed stations; Wells Fargo also plans on building one. But Charlotte just couldn’t resist taking millions of “free money” from the federal government.

Even a RINO was ecstatic over the great, green hoax:

Republican Council member Andy Dulin said he's excited about the technology. He said he wanted the ability to test drive the Leafs to see if they are viable.

"I'm excited about the idea of an electric car," Dulin said.

"I go eight miles to one place, and eight miles back. I'd like the opportunity to drive it and give it a test. I can tell the community about it."

I hope Mr. Andy Dulin tells the taxpayers of the community the price tag of this caper. I doubt they’ll be as excited as their councilman.


Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/16/2696229/city-buys-7-electric-cars.html#ixzz1bHO2YOlx

Muslims Have the Numbers to Turn Belgium into an Islamic Caliphate?

According to this Islamic leader, they have the numbers to turn Belgium into an Islamic caliphate. Europe must have a death wish if they keep allowing these vipers to immigrate into their countries.

Obama Administration and IPCC Conspire to Subvert Freedom of Information Act

Another White House scandal is about to hit the airwaves. It looks like the most transparent administration in the history of the United States is in cahoots with the U.N.’s IPCC in a scheme to try and bypass the Freedom of Information Act through non-governmental accounts. The Competitive Enterprise Institute has reported the following:

Washington, D.C., October 17, 2011 - The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request today with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), run by controversial White House Science Adviser (and former Mitt Romney climate adviser) John Holdren. The FOIA request seeks records involving an apparently co-ordinated effort between OSTP and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to subvert and circumvent U.S. law.

Specifically, CEI's FOIA request seeks details of the Obama Administration's involvement in a UN IPCC plan to hide official online correspondence in non-governmental accounts. The express purpose of creating a non-government web-site "cloud" communications system was to avoid national transparency laws, such as the U. S. FOIA. However, with OSTP having taken over the lead U.S. role in the IPCC in 2009, this also implicates the Presidential Records Act of 1978 (PRA).

The new IPCC system sought to shield U. S. government employees working on the Fifth Assessment Report from FOIA requests by hiding their correspondence, even though they are being tasked and paid by the federal government to work on the report. The scandal-plagued IPCC is funded with millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars. CEI demonstrates in its FOIA request that the IPCC's motivation to avoid future FOIA requests was past embarrassment over releases of earlier communications between IPCC officials and participating bureaucrats, appointees and scientists working on the assessment reports.

CEI's FOIA request notes that this practice was described by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), during oversight of Bush Administration dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, as "creat[ing] non-governmental accounts for official business" and as "using the nongovernmental accounts specifically to avoid creating a record of the communications." The methods employed by OSTP and the IPCC are similar to those involving Abramoff, if with vastly greater potential impact on the United States and its economy.

"The effort to circumvent the Freedom of Information Act has apparently been conducted with direct assistance by the Obama White House," said Christopher Horner, CEI Senior Fellow. "Shortly after taking office, the Obama administration moved the lead role on IPCC work from the Department of Commerce to OSTP, run by Dr. John Holdren. The plan to create a FOIA-free zone was then implemented.

"This scheme sought to free UN, European Union, and U.S. bureaucrats and political appointees from oversight and the threat of prying taxpayers which accompanies the use of official e-mail channels, for official work of high public interest, performed on official time and using government computers and facilities," Horner continued. "Running it out of the White House also triggers questions about subverting the Presidential Records Act."

The similar practice, serving as the forerunner obstruction to transparency for IPCC-related work, was refusing to produce records that are held in federal government computers on the grounds that the information belongs to the IPCC and is therefore not subject to FOIA. This practice and that it is not lawful was affirmed in a report by the Department of Commerce's Office of Inspector General earlier this year.

Source: http://cei.org/news-releases/obama-science-czar-led-un-effort-hide-proceedings-subvert-foia-records-indicate

Charlotte Observer and Associated Press Try to Pin Fast and Furious on Bush Administration

Does the Charlotte Observer do any fact checking whatsoever? The Disturber published an Associated Press article, basically deflecting the Fast and Furious scandal onto the Bush administration:

AP Exclusive: Second Bush-era gun-smuggling probe

By PETE YOSTAssociated Press

By PETE YOST

Posted: Friday, Oct. 14, 2011

Modified: Friday, Oct. 14, 2011

WASHINGTON A second Bush administration gun-trafficking investigation has surfaced using the same controversial tactic for which congressional Republicans have been criticizing the Obama administration.

The tactic, called "gun walking," is already under investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general and by congressional Republicans, who have criticized the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama for letting it happen in an operation called "Fast and Furious".

Emails obtained by The Associated Press show how in a 2007 investigation in Phoenix, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - depending on Mexican authorities to follow up - let guns "walk" across the border in an effort to identify higher-ups in gun networks. Justice Department policy has long required that illicit arms shipments be intercepted whenever possible.

The 2007 probe operated out of the same ATF office that more recently ran the flawed Operation Fast and Furious. Both probes resulted in weapons disappearing across the border into Mexico, according to the emails. The 2007 probe was relatively small - involving over 200 weapons, just a dozen of which ended up in Mexico as a result of gun-walking. Fast and Furious involved over 2,000 weapons, some 1,400 of which have not been recovered and an unknown number of which wound up in Mexico.

Earlier this month, it was disclosed that the gun-walking tactic didn't begin under Obama, but was also used in 2006 under his predecessor, George W. Bush. The probe, Operation Wide Receiver, was carried out by ATF's Tucson, Ariz., office and resulted in hundreds of guns being transferred to suspected arms traffickers.

So the Associated Press and the Charlotte Observer is actually trying to blame Bush for this malfeasance? Well, before all you wussie liberals start to wet your pants, may I slap you across the face with a dose of reality? Katy Pavlick of Townhall.com is someone who did her homework:

The problem is, the "same tactic" under heavy criticism by the House Oversight Committee was not used under President Bush. Operation Fast and Furious started in Fall 2009 and was an offshoot of the Project Gunrunner program implemented under the Bush Administration. Project Gunrunner started as a pilot program in Laredo, Texas and went national in 2006. Project Gunrunner involved the surveillance of straw purchasers buying weapons, but those purchasers were immediately apprehended before crossing back into Mexico or tranferring arms to dangerous criminals. Shortly after Obama took office, Operation Fast and Furious allowed straw purchasers working for Mexican drug cartels to purchase mass amount of weapons in the United States and then take them back to Mexico in addition to allowing them to be lost at stash houses and tranferred to dangerous cartel members. ATF agents who have testified before Congress about the program said the idea was to "trace" those weapons, but the tracing ended up being a total failure as GPS batteries ran out and thousands of guns were lost in Mexico and only found at final violent crime scenes. Did both operations allow for straw purchasers to buy guns under ATF/DOJ surveillance? Yes, however, the key difference between Operation Fast and Furious under Obama and Project Gunrunner under Bush is that under Obama guns were allowed to go back into Mexico without interdiction or arrests. According to Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, straw purchaser arrests and prosecutions have been way down under this administration, so much so it's almost as if the Obama Justice Department has no interest in prosecuting illegal straw purchasers at all. (A straw purchaser is someone who buys guns illegally for those who cannot buy them. In this case, cartels members can't buy guns, so they hired "straw purchasers" to buy weapons for them)

Malfeasance doesn’t just exist in the Obama administration; the mainstream media is rife with it as well.

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/14/2692194/a-second-bush-era-gun-smuggling.html#ixzz1b5yvJf2q

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2011/10/04/ap_story_leaves_out_key_point_on_fast_and_furious

Charlotte Observer Sheds Tear Over Plight of Illegal Aliens

I’m beginning to wonder what the tear-to-ink ratio is in the Charlotte Observer. It seems as though every time I read this leftist rag, I’m subjected to a pity piece by the editors or a columnist. You can practically see the tear stains smudging the page. This past Sunday was no different.


Peter St. Onge, a weekly columnist, is weeping over the plight of illegal aliens. Alabama passed a law that would protect its citizens from a third world invading horde. But that doesn’t sit right with Mr. Onge:

Georgia and Arizona lawmakers have passed similar laws, and North Carolina is prepping the soil by forming a new legislative committee on immigration issues. Its goal: make North Carolina “unwelcome for any illegal alien,” said Republican Rep. Frank Iler, a co-chair, to a Wilmington reporter last week.

Now we have a preview of what comes next. In Alabama, the new law has jarred cities and rattled communities where Latinos long ago put down roots while tending crops and working in poultry plants. Church pews are emptying. Businesses are scrambling to replace workers. Police are fretting about when and when not to check papers. Superintendents are pleading with Latino parents, assuring them they won’t be grabbed for deportation when they pick up their child. It’s not working – parents have pulled the kids, many of them U.S. citizens, and kept them home.

Above all, immigrants are leaving – some to other states that might be more welcoming, some back to their homeland.

To which many of you out there would say: Great


You’re damn skippy!


But Mr. Onge only sees disaster:


Except: In Alabama and Georgia, farmers say the law is killing them. The farmers, most of whom live in rural, conservative counties, say the U.S. Guest Worker program is woefully inadequate in supplying workers to tend their fields. What about all those locals needing jobs? “You’re out there in the sun and the rain,” an Alabama farmers representative told the Washington Post. “It’s just not attractive to Americans.”

So crops are going unharvested, with more than half rotting in some places. Farms are floundering, and prices surely will rise. Another casualty: Businesses that serve immigrant communities are suffering and closing their doors. That’s money that helps rev our economies – and jobs going away when we need them most.


Well, Mr. Onge this is how I see it. When I was younger we didn’t have illegal aliens working on farms. We kids were the ones hoeing the fields, picking the crops, bailing hay, shoveling shit, feeding the animals, mending fences and doing whatever chores had to be done. It was hard work, but it built character and an appreciation for a dollar.


Right now, we have a bunch of kids who are in desperate need of a job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics published the following youth unemployment rates:

The youth unemployment rate edged up over the year to 19.1 percent in July—the highest July rate on record for the series, which also began in 1948.

Among major demographic groups, the unemployment rates for young men (20.5 percent), blacks (33.4 percent), and Asians (21.6 percent) continued to trend up from a year earlier; the jobless rates for young women (17.5 percent), whites (16.2 percent), and Hispanics (22.1 percent) were virtually unchanged.

But thanks to decades of liberal/progressive policies, today’s trophy participant generation would rather suck on a teat than get their hands dirty, as demonstrated by the Wall Street Occupiers. These kids don’t want a job. They want a handout and a hanky. And I’m sure Mr. Onge and the editors of the Charlotte Observer have plenty of those to pass around.

Source: http://obsprimary.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-happens-after-we-send-illegal.html#ixzz1b5XoCm8G


http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2010/ted_20100903.htm

Should States Request Foreign Aid to Subsidize Illegal Aliens

The Obama administration along with activist for illegal aliens won a small victory in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court. The highly effective Alabama law known as HB 56 had portions put on hold due to constitutional questions.

The Justice Department submitted an argument that state and local governments had no right to protect their citizens from an invading third world horde. They believe illegal immigrants fall under the purview of federal foreign policy:

CNN) -- A federal appeals court has blocked enforcement of parts of a controversial immigration enforcement law in Alabama.

The injunction issued Friday from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta came after the U.S. Justice Department -- supported by a coalition of immigrant rights groups -- requested the legislation, known as HB 56, be put on hold until the larger constitutional questions can be addressed, a process that could take some months at least.

The 16-page order gives both sides partial victories, allowing some parts of the law to go into effect while others are temporarily blocked.

The Obama administration says the Constitution does not permit states to deter illegal immigration, saying an issue with foreign policy implications is the exclusive mandate of the federal government.

Well, if that is the case, then shouldn’t local and state governments petition the State Department for redress? Should they not reimburse the citizens for the burden of educating, housing, and providing health care to these foreigners?

Does the state of Alabama qualify for foreign aid?

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/14/us/alabama-immigration-law/

Obama the Chicken-Hawk Swoops Down into Uganda

What is that I hear squawking? Is that a chicken? Is that a hawk? Is that a chicken-hawk? Oh my God it’s Barack Obama swooping from the skies dropping troops all over Africa:

President Obama will send about 100 U.S. troops to Uganda and nearby countries to combat the Lord’s Resistance Army and kill or capture its leader, Joseph Kony, who has been charged with war crimes for a decades-long campaign against civilians in Central Africa.

In a letter to Congress on Friday, Obama outlined a strictly advisory role for U.S. forces, whom he said would engage in combat only in self-defense. The initial military contingent numbering about a dozen troops arrived in Uganda on Wednesday, and will grow to full strength in the coming weeks.

Do we have a national interest in central Africa? I can’t think of any. Maybe these rebels are a threat to the homeland:

I didn't say which homeland!

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/small-us-force-to-deploy-to-uganda-aid-fight-against-lords-resistance-army/2011/10/14/gIQAyDOvkL_story.html

N.C. Big Media Laments Dropout Rate at Big Education

Bring out the Kleenex. Pass the hanky. It’s time for another sob story from the editors at the Charlotte Observer, News & Observer, and what other observers that infest North Carolina. This time the victims of the big bad republican state legislators are college students. Apparently, the cuts in grants have caused some students to dropout:

This is a sad situation indeed, because the state's public university system long has been regarded as a jewel in the crown, its very existence a sacred promise that if you are a suitably qualified young person in North Carolina and you want to go to college, you can go.

The problem is, economic reality and a Republican-run legislature inexperienced in governing and apparently uninterested in the consequences of slashing budgets willy-nilly have combined to put, in this case, college students or potential students in a choking bind. Some will simply not be able to further their education.

Republicans passed up the continuation of a temporary sales tax that would have brought in more than $1 billion annually, money that could have helped college students and educators in the public schools and lots of other North Carolinians who are doing important things that benefit the state.

Our universities are the crown jewel of North Carolina? Maybe for out of work democratic politicians; and if you like your kids to be self-loathing Americans, then I can definitely say the university system is a top notch.

But as usual Big Media doesn’t question Big Education. The writer of this dribble never thought to ask why the cost of a college education is so expensive. No, this idiot rambles about a 1% sales tax, instead of tackling the real reasons why tuition has exceeded the rate of inflation:

According to figures obtained from the U.S. Department of Education, the Census Bureau and the College Board, tuition increased from the 2005-06 school year to the 2010-11 school year by 24 percent for a four-year public college, 17 percent for four-year private college and 11 percent for a two-year public college.

The rise in the cost of a college education significantly has outpaced inflation.

One of the reasons for the sharp rise of tuition is that universities have become labor intensive. The best example I found was from the Mises Institute. It’s a bit dated, written in 1998, but highly instructive:

Universities are labor-intensive places, and they have become more so. The number of faculty members has risen slightly faster than enrollments, and there has been an explosion in nonteaching staff. In the fall of 1976, universities nationwide had 31.5 administrators for every 1,000 students. By 1993 that number had grown to 51.4. By the mid-1990s, only about 35% of university employees actually taught students.

Assuming the quality of education and research has remained constant over time, there has been a significant decline in labor productivity in higher education--more people now do the same amount of work. Actually, they may do less work. At a typical state university, faculty members teach 250 hours or so a year; their counterparts in 1960 spent far more time in the classroom. Most of us today teach the same way Socrates did more than 2,300 years ago, albeit not as well. What other profession has had absolutely no productivity advance in 2,300 years?

A typical teacher at a medium-quality state university may spend 650 hours a year directly on the teaching function (including preparation, grading papers and advising), for perhaps $65,000 in salary and benefits, or about $100 an hour. Universities can afford such expensive labor in large part because of government subsidies. Students who are sensitive to price get scholarships, really a form of price discrimination. Meanwhile, costs soar for those paying full price.

While other industries have found ways to become more productive, the university system has become fat and lazy, which is easy to do when a huge portion of monies received comes from federal and state governments.

Source: https://www.mises.org/daily/31/
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=336974
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/14/2689550/cuts-and-consequences.html

A Capitalist Ode to the Wall Street Occupiers

That evil institution called capitalism has been put to song. Maybe some Wall Street Occupiers who have a degree in music appreciation can convey the profound meaning of this work to their fellow commies.

Maybe they can forward this video via iPods and iPhones and iPads and Blackberries etc…etc…etc…

Jesse Jackson Jr. Wants Obama to Declare State of Rebellion

Democrats are in a state of desperation. You can practically smell it. It exudes from every authoritarian pore of their bodies. And that makes them dangerous. So far, we’ve heard calls for suspension of elections. We’ve heard cries for the administration to implement the 14th Amendment in order to raise the debt ceiling. Now, a congressman from Illinois is advocating a dictatorship. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. wants Obama to declare Congress in a state of rebellion and to use extra-constitutional means through an administrative state to rule over all of us:

“I hope the president continues to exercise extraordinary constitutional means, based on the history of Congresses that have been in rebellion in the past,” Jackson said. “He’s looking administratively for ways to advance the causes of the American people, because this Congress is completely dysfunctional.”


“President Obama tends to idealize — and rightfully so — Abraham Lincoln, who looked at states in rebellion and he made a judgment that the government of the United States, while the states are in rebellion, still had an obligation to function,” Jackson told TheDC at his Capitol Hill office on Wednesday.

“On several occasions now, we’ve seen … the Congress is in rebellion, determined, as Abraham Lincoln said, to wreck or ruin at all costs. I believe … in the direct hiring of 15 million unemployed Americans at $40,000 a head, some more than $40,000, some less than $40,000 — that’s a $600 billion stimulus. It could be a five-year program. For another $104 billion, we bailout all of the states … for another $100 billion, we bailout all of the cities,” he said

Jackson added that his $804 billion stimulus plan is the only way to solve the unemployment crisis. “I support the jobs plan. I support the president’s re-election. I support Barack Obama,” he said. “But at this hour, we need a plan that meets the size and scope of the problem to put the American people to work.”

“We’ve got to go further. I support what [Obama] does. Clearly, Republicans are not going to be for it but if the administration can handle administratively what can be done, we should pursue it. And if there are extra-constitutional opportunities that allow the president administratively to put the people to work, he should pursue every single one of them,” Jackson suggested.


Even if that means Obama declaring himself king for life.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/10/12/jackson-obama-should-declare-a-national-emergency-add-jobs-with-extra-constitutional-action/#ixzz1aiYp9hcU

Obama Should Apologize to Detroit for Wanton Destruction of City

Wikileaks released a secret cable from the U.S. Ambassador to Japan advising President Obama to not visit Hiroshima and apologize for the atomic bombings of their cities during World War II. ABC reported the following:

In September 2009, US Ambassador to Japan John Roos reported to the Obama administration that the Japanese government did not think it was a good idea for President Obama to visit Hiroshima to apologize for the US having dropped an atomic bomb on that city, a secret cable published by Wikileaks revealed.

Roos wrote the cable after his August meeting with Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka, reporting to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the Japanese government felt “the idea of President Obama visiting Hiroshima to apologize for the atomic bombing during World War II is a ‘non-starter.’ While a simple visit to Hiroshima without fanfare is sufficiently symbolic to convey the right message, it is premature to include such program in the November visit.”

A White House spokesman denied any plans by this administration to apologize. But considering Obama’s penchant for bowing and scraping to foreign dignitaries, and castigating the United States for perceived empirical policies that supposedly raped the third world of their resources; any reasonable person can come to the conclusion that this president would have used Hiroshima to aggrandize himself at the expense of a relationship that has been nurtured since the war.

If Obama wants to apologize for the wanton destruction of a city, may I suggest he go to Detroit and beg forgiveness for fifty plus years of progressive policies that have brought the once great Motor City to its knees. Glenn Beck produced a show comparing Hiroshima to Detroit. And here are a few pictures to demonstrate what centralized government policies has wrought an industrial city:

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/japanese-government-nixed-idea-of-obama-visiting-apologizing-for-hiroshima/

Green Energy Monster Burns Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

A state capitol in the United States just got burned by the green energy hoax. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania will file for bankruptcy. The reason for this drastic action ostensibly is the implementation of a trash-to-energy incinerator that went bust:

Pennsylvania's capital city voted to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as it faced a state takeover, according to media reports.

The City Council voted 4-3 to seek bankruptcy protection for Harrisburg, which has a debt burden five times its general-fund budget "because of an overhaul and expansion of a trash-to-energy incinerator that doesn’t generate enough revenue," Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

The bankruptcy means the city will lose state aid, but that is better than the proposed recovery plans, Councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson said, according to Bloomberg. But State Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, a Republican from Dauphin County, where Harrisburg is located, said the council's vote is against the law.

“I have been on the record as saying that bankruptcy is simply not an option. It’s illegal under Pennsylvania law, which prohibits third class cities from filing for bankruptcy,” Piccola said, according to PennLive.com.

Patty Kim, who voted against bankruptcy protection, said the city cannot afford the high cost of litigation that will likely ensue.

“The problem still exists that we still don’t have money, and we still haven’t moved one foot forward,” Kim said.

Pennsylvania's capital city voted to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as it faced a state takeover, according to media reports.

The City Council voted 4-3 to seek bankruptcy protection for Harrisburg, which has a debt burden five times its general-fund budget "because of an overhaul and expansion of a trash-to-energy incinerator that doesn’t generate enough revenue," Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

The bankruptcy means the city will lose state aid, but that is better than the proposed recovery plans, Councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson said, according to Bloomberg.

Patty Kim, who voted against bankruptcy protection, said the city cannot afford the high cost of litigation that will likely ensue.

“The problem still exists that we still don’t have money, and we still haven’t moved one foot forward,” Kim said.

The green-eyed energy monster strikes. I wonder how many other cities will fall prey to this hoax.

Source: http://nationaljournal.com/economy/harrisburg-pa-votes-to-file-for-bankruptcy-20111012

Wall Street Occupier Squawks for Free Tuition

This guy sums up what the Wall Street Occupiers are all about. This movement consists of students and socialist. Both are nothing but a bunch of freeloaders who haven’t, or refuse to work an honest day in their lives.

I wish I could be there when this kid cuts a check to the Internal Revenue Service. Then we’ll see how he feels about giving “free stuff” to the masses.

SunPower Takes the Money and Runs

Another green energy company was granted a guaranteed loan by the Department of Energy. SunPower could be a bigger scandal than Solyndra. This time the green energy grifters took the money and ran south of the border:

American module and system manufacturer SunPower has announced that it will open a new plant in Mexico. It will produce the SunPower E18, E19 and E20 modules and the SunPower T5 Solar Roof Tile system.

The plant will be located in Mexicali, close to the U.S. border and inland from the border city of Tijuana. An existing 320,000 square foot building will be leased by SunPower for the facility.

"Establishing our own manufacturing facility in Mexicali means we will be positioned to quickly deliver our high-efficiency, high-reliability solar products to a growing North American solar market," SunPower's CEO Marty Neese said when announcing the new plant.

A pattern has developed among these green energy companies: if you are politically connected you can get taxpayer cash. SunPower is no exception:

The company is also politically connected. Rep. George Miller's son is SunPower's top lobbyist. The elder Miller, a powerful California Democrat, toured the plant last October with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and reportedly said, "We've worked hard to make renewable energy a priority because it represents America's future economic growth. Today, businesses like SunPower are moving forward, hiring 200 people for good clean energy jobs in the Easy Bay."

It’s not clear what role, if any, either of them played in securing the loan. Miller’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

An Energy Department official denied crony capitalism was a factor in the loan guarantee.

“The notion that political connections played any role in this application is simply false,” the official said. “This application was approved based on the exhaustive due diligence of the career professionals in the loan program, and nothing else.”

And it was the same career bureaucrats that have been giving away taxpayer largess to companies like Solyndra

. Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/12/solar-firm-that-received-12-billion-federal-loan-plagued-by-financial-problems-702546811/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+%28Internal+-+Politics+-+Text%29#ixzz1acgohyrw

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/sunpower-to-open-mexican-plant_100003821/

Secretary Salazar Wants to Settle Score for Latinos

The Obama administration wants to honor the Latino community with a politically correct designation of historical sites and national parks:

With the nation’s Latino population booming and now the country’s largest minority group, the Obama administration’s top Hispanic official is concerned that the federal government is not giving enough attention to Hispanic history and culture.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in the past year has pushed the National Park Service to identify more sites or properties related to the histories of women and minorities that could be added to the National Register of Historic Places or be preserved as national parks or historic landmarks

“Less than 3 percent of all the national landmarks that we have — the highest designation you can receive as a historic landmark — are designated for women, Latinos, African Americans or other members of minority groups,” Salazar said in a meeting with reporters last week. “That tells you that the score is not even.”

The score is not even? Is this what we’ve come too? Have we become a nation of subset races, and not citizens? Secretary Salazar’s score settling is disconcerting. I have an idea on how to honor the Hispanic community. We can designate 80 square miles of Arizona just south of Phoenix as a Latino National Park. That would be a good excuse to replace the following sign:

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ken-salazar-urges-more-latino-themed-national-parks-sites/2011/10/11/gIQAVvWgdL_story.html?hpid=z9

EPA Regulations Force Duke Energy to Raise Rates

Charlotte area residents attended a hearing by the North Carolina Utilities Commission. The capacity crowd was in an uproar over a 15% Duke Energy rate increase. The hearing lasted four hours with over 40 speakers venting their ire.

The Charlotte Observer reported the following:

It would be Duke's biggest rate hike in at least 20 years, if the N.C. Utilities Commission grants the request. Three-fourths of the increase would help pay for $4.8 billion in Duke construction since 2009, for new power plants and for pollution-control equipment.

Tim Gause, Duke's director of government and community affairs, said Duke faces a "perfect storm" in the need to retire old power plants and build new ones while the economy suffers.

"We're doing all we can to control costs, but we have to protect our customers as well," he said. "We can't stop planning and investing in a power system that is so vital to our community."

Several speakers, including the commission's own consumer advocates, challenged the 11.5 percent return on equity, or profit cap, that Duke is seeking as part of the increase. Most U.S. utilities have been allowed returns of 10 to 10.5 percent in the past five years, the Edison Electric Institute reports.

A handful of speakers spoke up for Duke, crediting the company's work in economic development and creating new energy jobs. Catawba Valley Community College official Garrett Hinshaw said Duke helped retrain laid-off industrial workers in his hard-hit region.

What the Disturber didn’t report is the reasons why Duke had to build new power plants and pollution-control equipment. The Environmental Protection Agency has implemented new guidelines to control CO2 emissions. Duke Energy published the following on their website:

Duke Energy Carolinas is asking the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) for an approximately 15 percent average increase to electric rates. If approved, new rates would likely go into effect February 2012.

Approximately three-fourths of the rate increase would allow Duke Energy Carolinas to begin recovering $4.8 billion in investments made since 2009 to modernize our electric system and comply with state and federal emissions regulations. The remaining fourth covers the impacts of lower than expected electric sales due to the recession, additional financing and other general costs.

Seeking this increase in electric rates better aligns the rates our customers pay with the cost to provide affordable, reliable and clean electricity today, and for decades to come.

The EPA’s regulations are so burdensome that energy companies are looking for ways to maintain a profit while adhering to guidelines:


Increased Regulatory Costs Explain the Urge to Merge

Bottom line: complying with new environmental regulations is becoming so burdensome that only the largest utilities with the lowest cost of capital can earn a decent return on investment in such an environment. On November 16, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will issue final rules limiting mercury, soot, and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants. These new rules will hit both Duke and Progress hard because they both rely on coal for a large percentage of their power generation:

In the conference call discussing the merger, Progress CEO Bill Johnson revealed that a big reason for the merger was reducing costs and improving his company’s credit rating so that it could meet the burdensome new environmental regulations coming down the pike:

In Duke Energy, we gain a partner with an exceptional balance sheet and a diverse regulated footprint, resulting in a lower overall business risk profile. Given the magnitude of our capital investment opportunities in the decade ahead, this reduced risk profile is very important.

We believe the new company will be well positioned to meet the new EPA MACT [Maximum Available Control Technology] regulations expected later this year and to 2012. We still have much work to do to comply with these new rules, which could require significant additional capital investment and additional announced plant closures

I wonder how many citizens complained of the EPA’s regulatory overreach at this hearing. I’m sure the Charlotte Observer would’ve reported on that. Surely, they would’ve?

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/12/2684474/crowd-jams-hearing-on-duke-rate.html#ixzz1ac78OmQW

http://www.duke-energy.com/north-carolina/nc-rate-change-req-facts.asp

http://www.investingdaily.com/id/18192/duke-energy-progress-energy-merger-creates-largest-electric-utility.html

Obama Plans to Bypass Congress on Jobs Bill

President Obama has vowed to bypass Congress if they don’t pass his jobs bill. The administrator-in-thief will do whatever it takes to implement his programs even if it’s unconstitutional:

“We’re not going to wait for Congress. So my instruction to… all the advisers who are sitting around the table is, scour this report, identify all those areas in which we can act administratively without additional congressional authorization, and just get it done,” the president said at a meeting of his Jobs and Competitiveness Council in Pittsburgh.

If Congress does not pass the bill in full, the president reiterated his plan to adopt a piecemeal approach to pass the American Jobs Act. ”If they don’t pass the whole package, we’re going to break it up into different parts,” he said.

The president’s council, made up of 27 top U.S executives, has put forward five “targeted proposals that can meaningfully accelerate job creation while beginning to rebuild America’s competitiveness.”

“These days, things don’t move as quickly through Congress as we would like. But there are certain ideas that are contained in this jobs council report that historically have received bipartisan support. And the election is 14 months away, or 13 months away. We can’t wait until another election before we start acting on some of those ideas,” Obama said.

The Anointed One has 14 “high impact” infrastructure projects he would like to push through the bureaucratic machine. It’s too bad he didn’t do that in the original Stimulus Bill. Instead, that money was wasted. I wonder how he plans to fund these new boondoggles without congressional approval. Does he have a secret stash after all?

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-wont-wait-for-congress-to-act-on-jobs/

Wall Street Occupiers Party Like It's 1789

Anyone who has watched the videos of the Wall Street Occupiers has to ask themselves why they didn’t employ a decent sound system. Instead, the leaders shout from a platform and the sheep bleat thrice. I don’t know if this is some sort of psychological tactic to endear the mob. I guess the “leaders” want the protestors to believe they’re participants in the democratic process.

But what can’t be mistaken is their message of class warfare and sense of entitlement. Earlier today, they marched on millionaires’ row demanding more money through taxation:

Occupy Wall Street protesters are heading uptown Tuesday to get in the face of some of New York's richest tycoons.

A "Millionaires March" will visit the homes - or, more realistically, the gleaming marble lobbies - of five of the city's wealthiest residents, including News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and conservative billionaire David Koch.

Marchers want to present the moguls with oversize checks to dramatize how much less they will pay when New York State's 2% tax on millionaires expires in December.

"Ninety-nine percent of the residents of New York are going to suffer from this tax giveaway so the 1% who already live in absolute luxury can put more money in their pockets," said Doug Forand, one of the march organizers.

"This is fiscally, economically and morally wrong."

The Wall Street Occupiers remind me a lot of the mobs during the French Revolution, and not just because of their rabid hatred of the bourgeoisie, but because of their style of governance, which is by general assembly or committee. History has shown us that this veneer of democracy can quickly degenerate into a horror.

It was the Committee of Public Safety that brought about the Reign of Terror, ending with the beheadings of their leaders: Danton and Robespierre. France was drenched in blood and it didn’t stop until the mobs lust for vengeance was satiated.

Here is an excerpt from Citizens a Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama. You decide if the Occupiers have the same mentality as their French counterparts of 1788 & 1789:

Many of those whose violence in 1788 and 1789 had made Paris ungovernable, and thus allowed the Revolution to succeed, had never been much enamored of economic liberalism or individualism. Much of their anger had been a reaction against the unpredictable and impersonal operation of the market. They had clung to the traditional mind-set which saw in price rises and shortages the operation of a “famine plot” and, so far from wanting the state to dismantle all customary protection, wanted more interventionist policy.

And as for personal property rights:

Robespierre’s speech the previous autumn, suggesting that property rights were not absolute but limited by a responsibility not to hurt the subsistence of others, opened the way for a serious change of heart among a section of the Jacobins themselves. Attacks on “riches egoistes” and “bloodsuckers,” and proposals for progressive taxes and forced levies on the rich to subsidize public-relief works and the price ceilings became commonplace.

I’m just waiting for an Occupier to display someone’s head on pike. Oh wait a second:



Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/10/10/2011-10-10_occupy_wall_street_protesters_can_stay_in_zuccotti_park_indefinitely_says_mayor_.html

Hugo Chavez Concerned over Welfare of Wall Street Occupiers

America’s enemies are siding with the Wall Street Occupiers. Venezuelan thug Hugo Chavez is cheering on the anti-capitalistic malcontents. The Expropriator from Caracas is salivating over the prospect of an American Spring. So, much so that he expressed concerns over the imprisonment of activist:

"This movement of popular outrage is expanding to 10 cities and the repression is horrible, I don't know how many are in prison now," Chavez said in comments at a political meeting in his Caracas presidential palace shown on state TV.

I wonder how many protestors are languishing in a Venezuelan prison for just looking askance at a Chavez mural. And we know how dictators love their murals. But what is really laughable is the audacity of his finger pointing:
‘
"Poverty's growing, the misery is getting worse," he said, referring to the causes of the U.S. protests. "But that empire is still there, still a threat ... (President Barack) Obama is on his way down, for lots of reasons. He was a big fraud."

Here is the result of a Chavez run government:

With inflation rates of food and healthcare around 65%, Chávez has crippled the economy, squandering the proceeds of the largest oil boom since the 1970s. And oil production itself has been steadily declining since 2004, when Chávez consolidated his control over PDVSA, an oil company owned by the state (not the elites) since 1976. According to Opec statistics, Venezuela's shrunken production capacity means that it produces only three-quarters of its quota of 3.3 million barrels a day.

I don’t believe anyone in the United States can claim there is a food shortage. Not yet anyway:

Chávez's economic mismanagement and price-fixing have also resulted in severe food shortages of staples such as milk, eggs, beans and rice, and Soviet-style queues when they are in stock.

Hey Hugo, give Obama a chance. The Environmental Protection Agency is working as fast as they can. It's expropriated!


Source: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/chavez-slams-horrible-repression-u-protests-214847992.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/04/hugo-chavez-venezuela

Communist Plan to Grind Down America

Here is the Communist plan to grind down America. I believe you'll be surprised at how much they've accomplished. And considering what we have in the White House they've come along way after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Communist Goals (1963)

Documention below Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35January 10, 1963 Current Communist GoalsEXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDAIN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, January 10, 1963Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent andarticulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier,which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism inAmerica. At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, thefollowing "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "TheNaked Communist," by Cleon Skousen:[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]

CURRENT COMMUNIST GOALS


1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation andregardless of whether or not items could be used for war.


5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces.(Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths


14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenityin books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a"religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."


29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwidebasis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.


35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI



36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gainingcoercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.



41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents.Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.


42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of theAmerican tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.


45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction]over nations and individuals alike

Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/33760964/Communist-Goals-1963

http://www.deweyfromdetroit.com/

Occupiers Try to Storm D.C. Museum

When we tea partiers went to D.C., many of us visited the museums. We all knew that placards weren’t allowed, and put them aside, so as to enter. No one was arrested or peppered sprayed.

When I tried to enter the Capitol building, a security guard informed me that I couldn’t enter with my thermos, and wasn’t allowed to leave it beside the building. I had to put it in the trash can. Now, I was a little pissed off about that, but I complied anyway. And believe me it was a little embarrassing, when I had to dumpster dive for my property after the tour. But I guess we tea partiers have a different mentality that the Occupiers:

Protesters clashed with security staff when they tried to enter a museum in Washington on Saturday, prompting one guard to use pepper spray and leading to at least one arrest, a spokeswoman said.

The incident occurred at The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum around 3:15 pm (1915 GMT), after hundreds of activists had marched from Freedom Plaza, near the White House, along the National Mall towards the US Capitol.

Some of those in the demonstration were affiliated with the Occupy DC protest group that sprung up earlier this week as a spin-off of the larger Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, angered at "corporate greed."

Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas said a group of the protesters were confronted when they tried to push through the doors and enter the Air and Space Museum.

"When they were told they couldn't bring the banners they were carrying inside one security officer used pepper spray," she said.

"There were a couple of hundred protesters in the area at the time and Washington police were called. There was one arrest that I know of," she added, noting that the museum closed its doors two hours early because of the clash.

Occupy DC, a young group of several dozen protesters, is camping out at McPherson Square on Washington's K Street, where many political lobbyists have their offices.

The mantra in the above video is the whole world is watching. Yeah, watching you punks make an ass of yourselves.


Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-protesters-clash-guards-washington-museum-225350979.html

Occupiers Infest Charlotte, North Carolina

The anarchist/hippie/communist/freeloader movement known as the Occupiers has descended upon Charlotte, North Carolina. What they want nobody really knows, but according to them they are the 99% who are fed up with the 1%. Isn’t that catchy? This coming from a generation that is easily beguiled by flashy slogans; just look at our president.

The “uptown” crowd, who is obsessed with the Queen City’s world class status, should be pleased that these protestors have targeted the banking capitol of the country. And it looks as though they mean to stay for a long time:

Occupy Wall Street and the groups it has spawned say they are fighting to change a financial and political system that favors the wealthy and powerful.

But today's rally, likely to include picketing, a march to Bank of America headquarters at The Square and organizational efforts, is only the occupation's first act.

A smaller group of protesters plans to occupy the roughly 300-foot-long Trade Street lawn for up to a year.

Exactly how many protesters will remain there is unclear, though organizers said that at least 70 have pledged to do so.

"We're going to make our base right there," said Shope, who helped organize last Saturday's 150-person rally at Marshall Park.

I hope Charlotte’s elite enjoy the smells and sight of shit, piss and refuse all over “uptown”. Maybe someone on the Occupiers committee will have the foresight to rent portable toilets. But I doubt that will happen, they probably think that’s a right too:

According to the group's website, other protest points include "the rights to life, food, and shelter; a government that is fully visible to its people and held accountable for its actions, a free unbiased media that doesn't 'spin' or 'blackout' important stories, an end to the violence and overspending that America has become known for in the Middle East and all over the world."

They want a free unbiased media too? Hey Occupiers, the Charlotte Observer is a few blocks away. Why don’t you go and squat on their front lawn, while you’re at it.

Source: Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/08/2673675/locals-ready-to-occupy-queen-city.html#ixzz1aDC6xPfh

Obama Wants Senate to Stop Playing Politics With Jobs Bill

Barack Obama used his weekly address to warn the Senate not to play politics with his jobs bill. Somebody should tell the president that it’s his own party that won’t let Stimulus 2.0 reach the floor:

On Thursday night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) triggered the so-called nuclear option — unilaterally changing Senate rules by a simple majority vote to stop the minority from forcing votes on uncomfortable amendments. It’s the same tactic the majority would use to undercut the minority’s ability to filibuster. And that’s why it’s called “nuclear” — it dramatically alters the balance of power between the majority and minority. It is not a step to be taken lightly.

What great matter drove Reid to push the nuclear button? Apparently Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) was threatening to force a vote on the original version of President Obama’s jobs bill, to show how few Democrats were willing to support it. In other words, Reid invoked the nuclear option to avoid a political embarrassment for his party.

Obama asserts that reputable economist back his plan. Do these economists have amnesia? Because Son of Stimulus is a bastard just likes its father. And this bill will be nothing more than another boondoggle.

What’s really galling is how clueless Obama is. Not all construction workers are road and bridge builders. He acts as though none of these trades are specialized; that anyone can come off the street and throw up a bridge. That maybe so in the community organizing business, but not in construction.

I hope when 2012 comes around the American people elect a president who is worthy of the office, and not a back-bench agitator with catchy slogans.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/harry-reids-nuclear-blunder/2011/10/07/gIQAeqtwTL_story.html

Palestinians Are Self-Afflicted Cry Babies

Here is the bare naked truth about the Palestinians and Islam in general. They have nothing but hatred in their hearts and there will never be peace.

The Export/Import Bank of the United States is the Godfather of New Deal Crony Capitalism

The Department of Energy has become the poster child of crony capitalism. But there is another agency operating under the radar, that’s been around since the New Deal era with a track record just as bad. And like its cousin Fannie Mae is quasi-governmental.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt started the Export/Import Bank via executive order in 1933; in 1945 Congress made it an independent agency. And like Fannie Mae, is a government sponsored entity that provides loan guarantees, direct loans, and insurance to those who couldn’t obtain one in the private sector. The purported goal is to assist foreign buyers and countries in the purchase and export of American goods.

The charter for the Export/Import Bank of the United States is subject to periodic renewal by Congress and is purportedly self-sustaining, but the House Appropriations Committee says differently:

Export and Investment Programs – The bill provides $266 million for export assistance programs, a reduction of $84 million from the request. The bill also includes $1.5 million over fiscal year 2011 for the Export-Import Bank Inspector General to provide robust oversight over the agency. The Trade and Development Agency – which promotes U.S. trade interests abroad – is level funded at $50 million, the same as last year

For a better perspective on the banks operations, I refer to Timothy P. Carney of the Washington Examiner:

Ex-Im is a posterboy for corporate welfare. Its mission is to transfer money from U.S. taxpayers, through foreign buyers, and ultimately into the pockets of American companies. While the agency touts its support for small business, a vast majority of its money goes to subsidize sales by the largest corporations in America.

The money from Ex-Im loans and loan guarantees — the agency’s biggest transactions, and the only kinds that are itemized in Ex-Im’s annual report — goes overwhelmingly to a handful of large corporations, including Halliburton, Bechtel, General Electric, Caterpillar and Westinghouse. But there’s a reason Ex-Im is known as "Boeing’s Bank."
In fiscal years 1998 through 2005, Ex-Im has issued $63.5 billion in loans and long-term guarantees. In those years, $33 billion of Ex-Im subsidies went to Boeing. That means that a majority — 52 percent — of Ex-Im’s money went to help just one company.

But that was under previous administrations. The Obama administration is now using the bank to invest in the development of natural resources in foreign countries like Brazil:

The U.S. is going to lend billions of dollars to Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras, to finance exploration of the huge offshore discovery in Brazil's Tupi oil field in the Santos Basin near Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's planning minister confirmed that White House National Security Adviser James Jones met this month with Brazilian officials to talk about the loan.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank tells us it has issued a "preliminary commitment" letter to Petrobras in the amount of $2 billion and has discussed with Brazil the possibility of increasing that amount. Ex-Im Bank says it has not decided whether the money will come in the form of a direct loan or loan guarantees. Either way, this corporate foreign aid may strike some readers as odd, given that the U.S. Treasury seems desperate for cash and Petrobras is one of the largest corporations in the Americas.

It looks like the Obama administration has changed the mission statement of the Export/Import Bank of the United States. And with their track record on loan guarantees, the American people will end up eating this Brazilian “investment” too.


Source: http://washingtonexaminer.com/node/378361#ixzz1a3TwXJin

http://appropriations.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=253692

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41829.pdf

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203863204574346610120524166.html