Secretary Chu Feels Our Pain While Gas Prices Soar

How is it that republican candidates like Mitt Romney are considered out of touch with the common folk, when we have people like Barack Obama and his apparatchik Secretary Chu of the Department of Energy wanting to raise the price of gasoline to $8.00 a gallon? I ask who in the hell is the elitist? Here is an exchange between Chu and Congressman Alan Nunnelee:

But Americans need relief now, Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) said — not high gasoline prices that could eventually push them to alternatives.

“I can’t look at motivations. I have to look at results. And under this administration the price of gasoline has doubled,” Nunnelee told Chu.

“The people of north Mississippi can’t be here, so I have to be here and be their voice for them,” Nunnelee added. “I have to tell you that $8 a gallon gasoline makes them afraid. It’s a cruel tax on the people of north Mississippi as they try to go back and forth to work. It’s a cloud hanging over economic development and job creation.”

Chu expressed sympathy but said his department is working to lower energy prices in the long term.

“We agree there is great suffering when the price of gasoline increases in the United States, and so we are very concerned about this,” said Chu, speaking to the House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee. “As I have repeatedly said, in the Department of Energy, what we’re trying to do is diversify our energy supply for transportation so that we have cost-effective means.”

It makes all the difference in the world when Democrats feel our pain, while inflicting it. The inquisitor's smile and assurances are more comforting while they turn the crank, and your limbs pop and crack under pressure of the rack.

Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73408.html#ixzz1npvrx3ah

Democrats Place Jackboot on Tea Parties Throat

Let’s disabuse ourselves of the notion that the Democratic Party represents the common man; that they are the advocates of the disenfranchised and middle class, when it is they – the Democrats - who are putting their jackbooted heels on the gasping throats of a people desperately trying to have their voices heard.

Seven senators have affixed their signatures to a missive that demands the Internal Revenue Service use their power and might to squelch the tea party. They are: Michael Bennett, Chuck Schumer, Al Franken, Jeff Merkley, Jeanne Shaheen, Tom Udall, and Sheldon Whitehouse. These totalitarians are using the might of the federal government to intimidate and instill fear amongst citizens, who have the audacity to stand up to their statist ambitions.

Here are their mugshots:

These power drunk politicians will stop at nothing to enslave all of us in their patrician web.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/28/numerous-tea-party-chapters-claim-irs-attempting-to-sabotage-non-profit-status/?test=latestnews#ixzz1nl8KdbJM

http://www.ohiolibertycouncil.org/?p=3839

http://www.independentsector.org/uploads/Policy_PDFs/LettertoIRS501c4s_021612.pdf

Secretary Timothy Geithner's Citizenship Privilege Tax

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stated in an interview that the rich need to pay more taxes for the privilege of being an American; yet, over half of American citizens don’t pay federal income taxes, whatsoever. Politifacts confirms this assertion:

Conservatives have a point that richer Americans pay the lion’s share of federal taxes. In 2007, according to the Urban-Brookings Center, the richest 20 percent paid 68.9 percent of federal taxes, and the top 1 percent paid 28.1 percent. (One would expect the rich to pay more, since they earn more, but these percentages are even higher than their share of the nation's total income. According to one frequently cited academic study, the top 20 percent earned 61.4 percent of income in 2006 and the top 1 percent earned 21.3 percent of income that same year.)

In addition, the richest 10 percent, 5 percent and 1 percent of taxpayers each paid significantly higher effective tax rates than Americans lower on the income spectrum.

So, what price does a teat squawker pay for the price of being an American citizen? Why just as much as an illegal alien of course.

Thirteen years after Congress overhauled the American welfare system, 57 percent of immigrants with children &#151 those in the country legally or not &#151 use at least one government, welfare program according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Immigration Studies.

In comparison, 39 percent of native-born Americans with children are signed up for welfare, the report found.

In Texas, 54 percent of legal immigrants and 70 percent of illegal immigrants receive welfare assistance, with illegal immigrants generally receiving benefits on behalf of their U.S.-born children, according to the study, written by a think tank that favors reducing immigration into the U.S.

Overall, Texas tied with California and New York for the second highest immigrant welfare rates behind Arizona.

We should note that the study takes an expansive view of what constitutes a government welfare program, so programs such as reduced-price school lunches for low-income students are classified as welfare, according to CIS’ methodology.

Texas showed 61 percent of households headed by an immigrant utilizing at least one program compared to the 42 percent of Texas natives on welfare.

It looks like the privileges of being an illegal alien outweigh that of a productive American citizen; a disparity that even Turbo Tax couldn’t remedy.

Source:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jul/08/john-cornyn/john-cornyn-says-51-percent-american-households-pa/

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2011/04/study-70-of-texas-illegal-immigrant-families-receive-welfare/

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8702329-majority-of-us-immigrant-households-with-children-on-welfare

Democratic Governors Declare Fidelty with Wannabe Dictator, Barack Obama

Democratic governors held a cabal with the fascist-in-chief: Barack Hussein Obama. After their one hour meeting with the Anointed One, the goose steppers openly declared their fidelity with the usurper.

Gov. Jack Markell, the Democratic governor of Delaware and the vice chairman of the National Governors Association, told The Hill that the meeting was “very good” and said many of the governors were responsive to ideas about bypassing Congress.
“There was a sense that none of us should wait, we can’t wait for things to happen in Congress,” Markell said of the meeting. “We’re going to do what we can do [now].”

Obama has positioned himself against Congress as he runs for reelection, arguing lawmakers are failing to solve the country’s problems. “Where Congress won’t act, I will,” he said in October when rolling out a series of executive orders aimed at creating jobs.

Of course, it’s all about jobs. Who cares about that pesky thing called a constitution. I mean this whole check and balance thing is overrated. And as far as elections go, why should the elites stoop to the level of these plebeian voters who have no idea how to manage an economy. Haven’t they learned their place? Hadn’t the Progressives in the 20th century established their supremacy over the great unwashed? As a matter of fact, elections should be suspended indefinitely. Governor Beverly Perdue of North Carolina knows how to knock a fastball out of the park.



The sooner the American people know their place, the better their lives will be, because the progressives know what’s good for all of us.

Source:

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/212517-democratic-governors-discuss-bypassing-congress-with-obama?utm_campaign=briefingroom&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitterfeed

Pennsylvania Judge Imposes Sharia Law on American Citizen

When I first read this story, I didn’t believe it. A Pennsylvanian atheist participated in a Halloween parade dressed as a zombie Muhammad. A Muslim watching the spectacle attacked, and beat the reveler. The crime was caught on tape. The perpetrator (Muslim) admitted his guilt but stated that he was an immigrant and was ignorant of the law. He further stated that his religion obligates him to beat anyone who defames their prophet Muhammad. The judge adjudicating the case – also a Muslim – sided with the defendant. Here is what the magistrate said to the atheist, as reported by Opposing Views:

“Having had the benefit of having spent over 2 and a half years in predominantly Muslim countries I think I know a little bit about the faith of Islam. In fact I have a copy of the Koran here and I challenge you sir to show me where it says in the Koran that Mohammad arose and walked among the dead. I think you misinterpreted things. Before you start mocking someone else’s religion you may want to find out a little bit more about it it makes you look like a dufus and Mr. (Defendant) is correct. In many Arabic speaking countries something like this is definitely against the law there. In their society in fact it can be punishable by death and it frequently is in their society.

Judge Martin then offered a lesson in Islam, stating,

“Islam is not just a religion, it’s their culture, their culture. It’s their very essence their very being. They pray five times a day towards Mecca to be a good Muslim, before you die you have to make a pilgrimage to Mecca unless you are otherwise told you can not because you are too ill too elderly, whatever but you must make the attempt. Their greetings wa-laikum as-Salâm (is answered by voice) may god be with you. Whenever, it’s very common when speaking to each other it’s very common for them to say uh this will happen it’s it they are so immersed in it.

Judge Martin furmisunderstanding it ther complicates the issue by not only abrogating the First Amendment, but completely when he said,

“Then what you have done is you have completely trashed their essence, their being. They find it very very very offensive. I’m a Muslim, I find it offensive. But you have that right, but you’re way outside your boundaries or first amendment rights. This is what, and I said I spent about 7 and a half years living in other countries. when we go to other countries it’s not uncommon for people to refer to us as ugly Americans this is why we are referred to as ugly Americans, because we are so concerned about our own rights we don’t care about other people’s rights as long as we get our say but we don’t care about the other people’s say”

But wait, it gets worse. The Judge refused to allow the video into evidence, and then said,

“All that aside I’ve got here basically.. I don’t want to say he said she said but I’ve got two sides of the story that are in conflict with each other.”

And,

“The preponderance of, excuse me, the burden of proof… “

And,

“…he has not proven to me beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is guilty of harassment, therefore I am going to dismiss the charge”


Holy **** this judge just imposed Sharia Law on an American citizen. We’ve seen this kind of nonsense happen all over Europe, Great Britain, and Canada. Now, it has come to the United States. We cannot allow Judge Martin to abrogate our laws in deference to Sharia. This magistrate has crossed the line and needs to be removed from office.

Source:

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/crime/muslim-admits-attacking-atheist-muslim-judge-dismisses-case

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/muslim-admits-to-attacking-atheist-over-zombie-muhammed-costume-muslim-judge-dismisses-case-lectures-atheist-on-joys-of-islam/

Mainstream Media Runs Blocker for Obama Presidency

It’s fascinating to watch the mainstream media gather their forces to deflect the failed policies of their demigod: Barack Obama. These scoundrels conspired to put a man in office that no one – even to this day – has any idea who he is. Obama’s past is a nebulous screen of obscurity. This man has obtained the presidency without a wince of curiosity from the established media. Now, they’re screening this man’s failed policies with red herrings.

George Stephanopoulos personified the media’s collusion with the White House in a republican debate, when he brought up the question of contraceptives. Everyone who watched the debate was taken aback by this ridiculous inquiry. Who is talking about contraceptives? It was a purposeful deflection. And within a matter of days, Obama’s hounds targeted religious institutions with birth control mandates. Can the media be any more shameless? Why of course they can!

Rev. Franklin Graham went into the Devil’s den ostensibly to talk about Christians getting slaughtered in Muslim countries; instead, the MSNBC hell hounds did a bait and switch. These savage dogs accused Reverend Graham of questioning Obama’s faith. And it didn’t stop there. Local papers also picked up the cudgel. The Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, North Carolina ran three editorials denouncing the reverend, before they finally banished him to the netherworld of liberal ostracism.

Of course, Graham is part of a larger problem in our political discourse today. Demonization of those with differing political views, and casting them as un-American, has become de rigueur.

GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum started this most recent round of vilification of Obama with comments he made a few days ago in Ohio. He said Obama's political agenda is based on "some phony theology, not a theology based on the Bible." Santorum hastened to add that he wasn't criticizing the president's Christianity. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, also vying for the Republican presidential nomination, chimed in on Tuesday, calling Obama's energy policy "outrageously anti-American."

These are not too subtle xenophobic appeals. They are what should be dubbed un-American.

This country is dealing with significant problems. We need politicians - and religious leaders - committed to bringing us together to tackle them, not pushing us apart with irresponsible and false rhetoric.

News media are culpable too. We too often provide a platform for such nonsense when we don't have to, and elevate these inanities when our time is better spent in helping the public focus on more serious matters. We have a responsibility to the public and must do our jobs better.

As for Franklin Graham, the less the better - words he should try to live by.


The Charlotte Observer is correct: the media does need to focus on serious matters. But that won’t happen as long as they run blocker for the Democratic Party and their failed policies.




Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/21/3033915/graham-not-sure-if-obama-is-christian.html

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/22/3033740/franklin-graham-less-said-the.html

http://obsdailyviews.blogspot.com/2012/02/graham-obama-cares-more-about-muslims.html

A Liberal Filmmaker Gets Ostracized for Telling the Truth About Islam

If you tell the truth about Islam, you will pay a price. A liberal filmmaker can testify to that. Eric Allen Bell went to Tennessee to make a documentary about a mosque that was being built in the middle of the Bible belt. His initial perception was that these snake dancing, Jesus freaks had besieged a Muslim community and were threatening them with an all-American crusade. But something didn’t seem right – something was amiss.

Click on the link below to read Mr. Bell’s journey of introspection and eventual ostracism from the progressive community.

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/02/10/the-high-price-of-telling-the-truth-about-islam-1/2/

The ACLU Continues N.C. Anti-Christian Jihad

The ACLU is continuing their jihad on North Carolina Christians. Rowan County Commissioners were handed a notice telling them to shut their Jesus praying pie holes or else they’ll have to pay the jizya.

SALISBURY, NC- The Rowan County Commissioners open every meeting with a prayer. Vice-Chairman Carl Ford says it's been that way since he can remember.

“I'm going to pray before the meetings and I'm going to pray in the name of Jesus because that's my right,” said Ford.

In a letter to commissioners this week, the ACLU legal director writes, “These legislative prayers are explicitly sectarian and favor only one religion, Christianity." It goes on to read, "…We have received more complaints about sectarian legislative prayer by the rowan county board of commissioners than any other local government in North Carolina..."

Received complaints? Then let those malcontent citizens address the commissioners, instead of a bunch of communist interlopers who spit on the First Amendment rights of Christians every chance they get.

Source: http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/local/Take-Jesus-Out-Of-Prayers-Says-ACLU-139557468.html?vid=a

Obama Administration Flourishes Under Woodrow Wilson's Alien Government

The arrogance of the Obama administration and his apparatchiks has many scratching their heads wondering how in the hell did America – the land of the free – become a nation governed by bureaucratic despots. In today’s America you can’t build a house, start a business, manufacture a product, or even pack a lunch for your kid without approval from a government thug. Is this what our founding fathers envisioned? I believe they would’ve rebelled against such tyranny. As a matter of fact, they did! So how did we get here?

The Progressives – both republican and democratic – have rendered our federalist system impotent by structurally altering the Constitution. The 14th, 16th, and 17th Amendments have become instrumental tools by which the central government uses to gather power unto themselves at the expense of the states and individual liberties of its citizens. They have rendered the Constitution a mere speed bump on the road to serfdom.

Where did this paternalistic attitude of an administrative state come from? Ronald J. Pestritto summed it up best in his book, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism:

If bureaucracy, as it administers progress, is to act on behalf of the general interest, what is the role for public opinion? Wilson, after all, seems a consistent advocate of connecting politics much more directly with popular opinion. Yet, his writings on the separation of politics and administration show that public opinion is not to be brought more directly into the realm of administrative decision making. “The problem,” Wilson explained, “is to make public opinion efficient without suffering it to be meddlesome.” Public opinion is a “clumsy nuisance” when it comes to the “oversight of the daily details and in the choice of the daily means of government.” So while public opinion ought to be introduced more directly into politics, politics must confine itself to general superintendence – to the role of setting only the broad goals of the nation. “Let administrative study find the best means for giving public criticism this control and for shutting it out from all other interference,” Wilson wrote.

And isn’t that the attitude of the Obama administration and his progressive tyrants? Is this an American ideal? Even Woodrow Wilson confessed this form of governance is alien and un-American:

But where has this science grown up? Surely not on this side of the sea….American writers have hitherto taken no very important part in the advancement of this science. It has found its doctors in Europe. It is not of our making; it is a foreign science, speaking very little of the language of English or American principles….It has been developed by French and German professors.

But the progressives have made this European animal ours. Congress, through a series of legislative acts, has brought about a Wilsonian administrative state. One of the first being the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946 (thanks Dewey from Detroit blog). This law grants federal agencies the ability to create and enforce regulations without going through the legislative process. This law let the veritable genie out of the bottle. But Congress wasn’t through. They believed the federal government – through the use of an administrative state – is responsible for guaranteeing full employment.

Excerpt from the Employment Act of 1946

The Congress hereby declares that it is the continuing policy and responsibility of the Federal Government to use all practicable means consistent with its needs and obligations and other essential considerations of national policy, with the assistance and cooperation of industry, agriculture, labor, and State and local governments, ... for the purpose of creating and maintaining, in a manner calculated to foster and promote free competitive enterprise and the general welfare, conditions under which there will be afforded useful employment opportunities, including self-employment, for those able, willing, and seeking to work, and to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power.

The Congress of 1946 was a bunch of busy, socialist beavers. But, it didn’t stop there. A later Congress reaffirmed the federal government’s right to meddle in the economy by passing the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978.

The Congress declares that it is the continuing policy and responsibility of the Federal Government to use all practicable means, consistent with its needs and obligations and other essential national policies, and with the assistance and cooperation of both small and larger businesses, agriculture, labor, and State and local governments, to coordinate and utilize all its plans, functions, and resources for the purpose of creating and maintaining, in a manner calculated to foster and promote free competitive enterprise and the general welfare, conditions which promote useful employment opportunities, including self-employment, for those able, willing, and seeking to work, and promote full employment and production, increased real income, balanced growth, a balanced Federal budget, adequate productivity growth, proper attention to national priorities, achievement of an improved trade balance through increased exports and improvement in the international competitiveness of agriculture, business, and industry, and reasonable price stability as provided in section 1022b(b) of this title.

Are these policies consistent with our founding principles of natural law and limited government, or are they a foreign monstrosity imposed upon us by ambitious statists who have no regards for federalism and individual liberties? I believe Woodrow Wilson answered that for us.

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Woodrow-Liberalism-American-Intellectual-Culture/dp/0742515176

http://www.deweyfromdetroit.com/2012/02/through-portal-darkly.html

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/bills/blapa.htm

http://home.uchicago.edu/~whowell/papers/Agencies.pdf

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Employment_Act_of_1946.aspx

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1021

Rep. Gerry Connolly's Shameless Birth Control Tantrum

How low can a Democratic congressman go? A panel of pastors and a rabbi found that out the other day.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., told religious leaders testifying in Congress today that they were engaged in "shameful" acts of "political demagoguery" unworthy of their religious offices.

"I believe that today's hearing is a sham," Connolly told a panel of one priest, three pastors, and a Jewish rabbi during a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing today. "Here you are being asked to testify about your rights being trampled on -- an overstatement if there ever was one -- while you're on a panel, and your participation on the panel makes you complicit in of course the trampling of freedom, because we were denied, on this side of the aisle, any witness who might have a differing point of view. And I think that's shameful."

Rep. Gerry Connolly believes the First Amendment is a suggestion and not a right. How dare religious leaders stand up for their liberties and right of conscience? After all, this is a women’s health issue and that takes precedent over your Jesus juice. Don’t believe me? It’s outlined in the right of privacy clause. Where is the right of privacy clause? Why, it’s right there with Senator Harry Reid’s unicorn. Duh? Are you stupid?

It’s an outrage that women have to pay $9.00 a month for birth control. That kind of cost is outrageous. Who can afford that? Where would women be without advocates like Rep. Gerry Connolly? Probably in the streets turning tricks for birth control. Oh, the humanity!

Source: http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/democrat-religious-leaders-shame/379456

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/alpha-consumer/2010/08/27/how-much-does-birth-control-cost

Government Motors Smells the Roses of Profitability

Everything is coming up roses at General (Government) Motors. Last year, GM made $9 billion. As a consequence, the UAW members were awarded $7,000 in profit sharing bonuses. Their government appointed executives received millions in stock options; and their wealthy, green snob customers got a $7,500 tax credit for purchasing a Chevy Volt.

And to make matters worse, Government Motors didn’t pay a dime in taxes; nor did they make an attempt to pay back the $50 billion they borrowed from the taxpayers in order to bail their miserable asses out. As a matter of fact, they received an additional $110 million in additional “benefits.” Welcome to crony capitalist at its most obnoxious.

But not everyone associated with the Detroit behemoth is faring well. White collar workers are feeling the blunt end of worker-class envy cudgel. Their pensions are frozen and numbers are reported to be downsized.

Welcome to Obama’s world, America.

Source: http://nlpc.org/stories/2012/02/16/gm-pays-less-tax-buffet%E2%80%99s-secretary-uaw-profits

Obama and Congress Puts Another Nail in Social Security Coffin

The road to serfdom is paved with good intentions and Congress swiftly laid down the Grecian asphalt this afternoon. Today they extended the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. This legislation would add $85 billion to the budget deficit, and deplete the Social Security “trust fund” of $93 billion through 2022.

WASHINGTON Congress swiftly approved legislation Friday renewing a payroll tax cut for 160 million American workers and jobless benefits for millions more, backing the main items on President Barack Obama's jobs agenda in a rare burst of Washington bipartisanship.

The Senate approved the $143 billion measure on a 60-36 vote minutes after the House approved it by a sweeping 293-132 vote. Obama is expected to sign it shortly after returning from a West Coast fundraising swing.

On Friday in an appearance at a Boeing factory in Everett, Wash., Obama gave lawmakers a verbal fist bump.

"It is amazing what happens when Congress focuses on doing the right thing instead of just playing politics," Obama said. "This was a good example, and Congress should take pride in it."

Only 41 democrats and 91 republicans voted against this bill in the House of Representatives; the Senate 5 democrats and 31 republicans. These defectors should be commended for not raiding the treasury for what is obviously a give away to buy votes. Of course, there are some whose intentions were not so honorable.

Social Security is projected to run at a deficit. The Great Recession has taken its toll on revenues. Business Insider explains our dire situation:

Looking at the data on this basis, you'll see the actual deterioration that took place in 2011.

2012 will be worse than 2011. Benefits are going to jump by $50B+ next year. 10,000 new people are signing up for checks every day of the week. Add the fact that every one of the 55mm beneficiaries will be getting 3.6% more in their checks (COLA adjustment). The revenue side is a wild card. What will GDP be? If it's around the 2% that is currently anticipated, revenues at SSA will fall well below plan. A flat economy (+2%) would translate into a $100B 2012 primary deficit (payroll receipts minus benefits). A number like that is not on anyone’s radar today.

It definitely isn’t on the D.C. Swamp Monster’s radar. They just depleted Social Security even more by extending the tax cut. But when the crisis comes to ahead in a few short years, even raising “revenues” will be impossible to cover the obligations promised by pandering politicians. Business Insider continues:

The 2011 numbers for SSA indicate that we are at least five years ahead of existing thinking on the SSA deficits. When this realization sinks in, it will break the hearts of the SS defenders. If we are, as I contend, five to six years ahead of “schedule” with cash deficits at SSA, there is no alternative besides cutting scheduled benefits. Raising taxes to fill a hole this big is not an option. Nor is it an option to maintain the status quo and allow for a very rapid rundown of the SS Trust Fund.

If we are going to experience what I believe we will, then the cumulative SS cash shortfall over the next decade will add ANOTHER $1.5 trillion onto Public Sector Borrowing ("PSB"). (A shift from the Intergovernmental account into the PSB account; AKA the Chinese). This increase in PSB more than offsets the $1.2 T of cuts that the congressional super committee failure has just mandated.

The consequences of SS (and similarly the other government retirement funds) on PSB over the coming years is not now being considered by those looking at America’s debt profile. It will be soon enough. The current thinking is that SS is a problem that can be worried about in another ten years or so. That's simply not true.

And this payroll tax cut upped the ante.

Source: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-06/home/30481042_1_adjustments-ssa-payroll-tax-revenue#ixzz1mh24skO4


http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/16/3018891/house-speaker-says-payroll-tax.html#storylink=cpy


http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/17/10435191-congress-passes-payroll-tax-cut-extension

Iron Maiden Opens 2012 North American Tour in Charlotte, NC

One of my favorite bands is opening their 2012 tour in Charlotte, North Carolina. Can you say: We Are Iron Maiden!

Following the massively successful Final Frontier World Tour 2010-11, IRON MAIDEN are back on the road this summer with a series of Arena, Amphitheatre and Festival shows in the U.S.A. and Canada, opening in Charlotte, NC, U.S.A. on June 21, and finishing in Houston, TX, on Aug 18 (dates listed below), to be followed by further dates around the World in 2013. The MAIDEN ENGLAND WORLD TOUR will closely mirror, in terms of production and content, the original 1988 concert video of the same name, shot on the “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour”. This opening section of the World Tour is the band’s most extensive visit to North America for many years and includes a number of cities the band have not played in a very long time, such as Charlotte, Atlanta, Buffalo, Indianapolis and Salt Lake City.

And I’m sure there are many Maiden fans waiting in anticipation. I can only hope they’ll play Phantom of the Opera:

Source: http://www.ironmaiden.com/maiden-on-the-charge.html

Gallup Poll: 85% of Small Businesses Will Not Hire This Year

Barack Obama declared from the mountaintop that ‘the economy is growing stronger and the recovery is speeding up.’ But according to a recent Gallup Poll, 85% of small businesses surveyed, stated they will not hire this year:

PRINCETON, NJ -- U.S. small-business owners who aren't hiring -- 85% of those surveyed -- are most likely to say the reasons they are not doing so include not needing additional employees; worries about weak business conditions, including revenues; cash flow; and the overall U.S. economy. Additionally, nearly half of small-business owners point to potential healthcare costs (48%) and government regulations (46%) as reasons. One in four are not hiring because they worry they may not be in business in 12 months.

Small businesses are the engine of the economy. They are the true measure of an economic recovery; not a wannabe dictator.


http://www.gallup.com/poll/152654/Health-Costs-Gov-Regulations-Curb-Small-Business-Hiring.aspx

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/obama_says_economy_is_growing_recovery_tLDpMWb1ugKReNeb6qK6qI

Obama Administration Gives "Strong Endorsement" for Charlotte Light-Rail Boondoggle

Here we are staring at a Grecian-esque economy and the pigs are still squealing at the trough. The morally and figuratively bankrupt stooges in Charlotte, North Carolina are high-fiving the Obama administration’s “strong endorsement” of building a light-rail line extension.

The Obama administration gave a strong endorsement for Charlotte's $1 billion light-rail extension Tuesday, by budgeting $70 million for construction and engineering for the upcoming year and predicting that it will give the project its full approval in the fall.

"We don't expect anything to derail it," said Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff Tuesday. "We are very supportive of this project. We don't see any show-stoppers."

Rogoff said he expects the final paperwork - known as a Full Funding Grant Agreement - to be signed later this year. That would commit the federal government to roughly $530 million in construction money, about half of the line's $1.07 billion cost

Don’t see any show-stoppers? How about $15 trillion federal debt? Shouldn’t that be a show-stopper? Or how about the fact that Mecklenburg County is already under budget restraints, and must by law produce a balanced budget. Where are they going to get the rest of the money to build this line? According to the Charlotte Observer, CATS and the N.C. Department of Transportation will chip in another 25%. That still leaves a big ass hole. And these people are not even taking in consideration budget overruns.


And let’s not forget operational and maintenance cost.

But the Lynx appears to be facing some of the financial challenges that have affected other rail systems nationwide: How to pay for ongoing maintenance.

Last year, Peter Rogoff of the Federal Transit Administration said that rail systems nationwide had billions in deferred maintenance. He questioned whether the federal government should help cities financially to build new rail lines when those cities are struggling to maintain the rail lines they already have.

CATS plans to extend the current light-rail line from uptown to UNC Charlotte. CATS has decided against building the line to Interstate 485 to save money, but the transit system has said it will still be a challenge to finish the $900 million project.

Steve Polzin of the University of South Florida's Center for Urban Transportation Research said the operating cost increases are large and could make it difficult for CATS to expand.

"Can that number jeopardize future plans?" he said.

CATS has struggled to correctly project how much transit projects will cost. There have been cost overruns on the construction side, and the transit system has underestimated the cost of operating its system.

In 2006, CATS projected the Lynx Blue Line would cost $11.4 million to operate in fiscal year 2012, which begins in July. The most recent estimate is that light-rail will cost $14.6 million


You would think that our sage politicians and bureaucrats would’ve learned from their mistakes, but that would take a small measure of commonsense. And that is one budget item these people will never have a surplus in.


Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/10/2125754/blue-lynx-costs-expected-to-rise.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/14/3012572/feds-back-70-million-for-charlotte.html#storylink=omni_popular#storylink=cpy

http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/CountyManagersOffice/OMB/Budget/Pages/default.aspx

Obama Ushers in a New Era of Debt and Irresponsibility

In 2009, Barack Hussein Obama addressed the need for a responsible approach to the federal government and its expenditures.

“Government has failed to fully confront the deep, systemic problems that year after year have only become a larger and larger drag on our economy,” Obama said in his first budget message in February 2009. “From the rising costs of health care to the state of our schools, from the need to revolutionize how we power our economy to our crumbling infrastructure, policymakers in Washington have chosen temporary fixes over lasting solutions.

“The time has come to usher in a new era—a new era of responsibility in which we act not only to save and create new jobs, but also to lay a new foundation of growth upon which we can renew the promise of America,” said Obama.

The Anointed One has indeed ushered in a new era – a new era of insurmountable debt and budgets that are so irresponsible that the Senate voted 97 – 0 against it in 2011. This year’s budget proposal is so laughable, that Sen. Harry Reid (D) won’t even allow it to come to the floor for a simple majority vote. The projections are so astronomical, that it is determined by the year 2021 we will have a national debt of $25 trillion with a debt to GDP ratio of 110%. That is outrageous!

And to make matters worse, the Senate hasn’t passed a budget in three years. Senator Jeff Sessions (R) is up in arms over this flagrant violation of federal law:

It’s been more than 1,000 days since Senate Democrats have offered a budget plan to the American people. Now, once again, the Senate’s ineffectual Democrat majority balks at the task of leadership. Majority Leader Reid is denying the American people the opportunity to become engaged in the debate about the nation’s fiscal future and the difficult choices we face. He obviously continues in his belief that it would be politically foolish for his members to go on record in support of any long-term vision. But by refusing to lay out a budget plan for public examination—a fact no one can deny—the Democrat Senate has forfeited the high privilege to lead this chamber. If Sen. Reid and his members stand by this announcement, it means that the American people will go through yet another year of crisis without Senate Democrats unveiling and standing behind a financial plan for our future.

Budget Control Act spending caps, crafted behind closed doors and rushed to passage at the 11th hour under threat of panic, do not even approach the definition of the budget process that the law requires. They are not in any way or any sense a Senate Democrat budget plan. There is no argument that can be made that these caps are a long-term vision for this country—not on taxes, not on entitlements, not on spending, not on debt. Presumably, this obvious fact is why Chairman Conrad has said he will mark up a budget in our Committee. However, this process will be eviscerated if Sen. Reid refuses to allow a budget resolution to come to the floor.

I will continue to insist that the public process be carried out and that Senate Democrats bring an actual budget resolution to the Senate floor.

Senator, you can insist all you want, but these people believe they are above the law. The only way we can restore the integrity of the Senate is get rid of the Democratic majority. And that will be a tall order come November.


Source: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/debt-has-climbed-447t-obama-released-first-budget-calling-new-era-responsibility

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/02/obama-budget-to-miss-deficit-goal/1

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/163347-senate-votes-unanimously-against-obama-budget

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/02/budget-who-needs-a-budget.php

http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/obamas-budget-would-have-the-national-debt-break#HTWF2

Will Washington Politicians Learn from Europe's Mistakes?

Will the politicians in Washington learn from the mistakes of the Europeans? It looks like they won't. If Obama's budget is any indication, we are heading down the Grecian road of bankruptcy, chaos, and anarchy.

The election of 2012 is crucial. If the Anointed One wins a second term, I'm afraid there is no turning back.

Daniel Hannan Reminds Americans of Our Exceptionalism

It’s sad that a British subject and parliamentarian has more respect for the American Constitution than some of our Supreme Court justices, politicians, and current president. Daniel Hannan warns the United States to not follow the European model. He also reminds us of how unique we are, and that the world is better because of our American values.

Mr. Hannan emphasizes American exceptionalism. A quality some of our so-called leaders refuse to recognize.

Source: http://www.amazon.com/New-Road-Serfdom-Warning-America/dp/0061956945#_

Obama Leaves North Carolina's Unemployed in the Ditch

If you listen to the Obama administration, you would think that the “Great Recession” was over, and this country’s economic woes are in our rearview mirror, as we fishtail out of the ditch. But that simply isn’t so in North Carolina.

Raleigh, N.C. — The recession in 2008 and 2009 hurt employment levels in North Carolina, but the state’s current unemployment rate near double digits reflects more than a decade of stagnant job creation. North Carolina has fewer jobs now than in 1999, according to a new report from consulting firm South By North Strategies.

Even though North Carolina’s population has soared over the past 12 years, the state has 11,700 fewer jobs, the firm says.

“While the image of North Carolina as a state growing rapidly in population and jobs was very much an accurate one in the 1990s, it no longer holds,” the report notes. “In fact, North Carolina has not recorded any net job growth over the past 12 years, despite adding residents.”
In 2011, North Carolina added 19,600 jobs. The private sector created 29,400 positions, but the public sector cut 9,800 jobs, the report says.

And if you thought that was depressing, the unemployment rate is projected to hold at 9 to 10 percent. But hey, don’t listen to the experts. The Messiah says we are doing just fine. And isn’t that what counts?






Source: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10724413/

http://www.sbnstrategies.com/archives/9798

Egyptian Presidential Candidate Says There is No Freedom in Islam

How many times do we have to be told that Islam is contrary to the philosophical tenets of Western Civilization? Here is an adherent to the religion of peace expounding on the virtues of Islam:

Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail, Egypt's presidential candidate and a vocal supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, has said that there is no room for personal freedom in Islam.

In a recent television interview translated and reported by Jihad Watch, Ismail said that being a Muslim is like being a member of the military, where one has to go by a dictatorial code of conduct.

"If you claim that Allah considers it your personal freedom, show me your reference? Nobody has ever said that - except for people have no understanding of Sharia," Ismail said.

"If you join (military), then you are obliged to wear their uniform, to attend their classes, to attend the training with them and to obey their leader," Ismail said, comparing military rules to Islamic Sharia.

And Islam is a military obligation. Their perpetual war of jihad is a threat to all kaffirs.




Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/296949/20120211/egypt-presidential-candidate-freedom-islam-sharia.htm

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-personal-freedom-in-islam.html#more

Planned Parenthood Accused of Medicaid Fraud

Medicaid and Medicare fraud is rampant. Last week a man was sentenced to three years in prison for shipping unwanted penis pumps to diabetes patients. This man bilked Medicare in the tune of $2.2 million over a four year period, before he was finally caught.

IBM came up with a software program that would help fight entitlement fraud. The Obama administration turned them down. What is ostensibly disturbing is that IBM’s CEO was willing to give away this product for free. And given the amount of money the taxpayers are being scammed, we could’ve used this technology.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that Medicare and Medicaid lost more than $70 billion to improper payments alone in fiscal 2010 — equivalent to an estimated $900 billion over 10 years — and some experts peg the losses even higher at $100 billion annually. No other government program is as rife with such erroneous, if not criminal, behavior. Harvard professor and author of License to Steal Malcolm Sparrow suggested in Senate testimony that fraud and abuse across our healthcare system could be a quarter of total spending.

One has to wonder why the Obama administration turned this offer down. Can anyone say Planned Parenthood? That’s right. Planned Parenthood is under investigation for defrauding the taxpayers. The Alliance Defense Fund filed the following report outlining the shenanigans of Planned Parenthood:


* Federal and state audits of family planning funding have found a minimum of $95,742,982.15 in waste, abuse, and potential fraud from 1995 to 2009;

* Of this waste, abuse, and potential fraud, at least $7,867,547.15 has been identified in separate state audits to have occurred in a total of seven audited Planned Parenthood affiliates in New York state, California, Washington state, and Texas due to a variety of abuses, including extensive overbilling and illegal billing for abortion-related procedures that are ineligible for government reimbursement under federal laws, including the Hyde Amendment.

* These audited amounts include both state and federal funds under the various matching formulas for these programs;

* In addition, federal audits of family planning programs from 1995 to 2009 have identified a total of nearly $88 million in overbilling, with the sum rising as high as $99 million according to the Inspector General’s Office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;

* Of the 38 federal family planning audits covering federal funding streams and 19 states, two audits, in New Jersey and New York, specifically identified Planned Parenthood, and only Planned Parenthood, as a source of overbilling in the family planning programs. The combined waste in these two audits alone was $1,516,312.

* All told, extensive waste, abuse, and potential fraud have been identified to date in 9 percent of Planned Parenthood’s 79 U.S. affiliates. Two others, one in Texas and one in California, are the subject of federal whistleblower lawsuits by former Planned Parenthood employees alleging fraud;

ADF concludes: “The extent of possible waste, abuse, and potential fraud at the nation’s remaining percent of Planned Parenthood affiliates is unknown and merits congressional review by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This investigation is especially pertinent given Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s extensive management, operational, and fiscal authority over the policies and conduct of its affiliates, as well as its ongoing requirement that each of its affiliates avoid deficits in its expendable net assets.”

Let’s see the Democrats defend the indefensible.

Source: http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/188359-start-with-fraud-

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ERECTILE_PUMPS_MEDICARE_FRAUD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-10-21-11-09

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/beltway-confidential/2011/02/ibm-exec-offers-save-900-billion-health-care-costs-obama

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/02/07/report-planned-parenthood-groups-engage-in-medicaid-fraud/

Ann Coulter Serves Red Meat at CPAC

Ann Coulter never disappoints. Her wit is incomparable.

Occupy Brats Cry for Attention at CPAC

When the grownups gather, the children invariably have to interrupt the party. We’ve all witnessed the scenario:

“Mommy watch me!”

“Daddy see this!”

The little ones always want attention from the adults. And the Occupiers are no different than little kids. Every time conservatives gather, the brats demonstrate and try to infiltrate our conferences. CPAC is having their annual gathering and the punks are devising ways to disrupt it. The Heritage Foundation reports:

During a Thursday meeting at McPherson Square, until Saturday the epicenter of the protests, Occupiers brainstormed tactics for shutting down or disrupting the conference, according to a source who was present at the meeting.

The protesters suggested pulling fire alarms in the hotel where the conference will take place, screaming “fire” during conference activities, “glitter-bombing” participants, cutting electrical power, and barricading entrances to the hotel, according to the source, who requested anonymity.

“Speakers will be physically assaulted, not just verbally confronted,” the source told Scribe in an email. Two Occupiers, who the source also identified as members of the New Black Panther Party, “said they would be disappointed if they didn’t get arrested and planned to ‘make it count.’”

The source quoted another protester as saying, “Mitt [Romney] has Secret Service now, but [Newt] Gingrich and [Andrew] Breitbart don’t,” seemingly suggesting that the latter two would not be as heavily guarded
.
Protesters planned to conduct most of these activities on Saturday, the last day of the conference, so as not to overlap with the recently announced protests by labor groups on Thursday and Friday.

In North Carolina, the Civitas Institute is sponsoring a conservative leadership conference, and of course the Democrats are encouraging the children to infiltrate and disrupt that meeting. Here is a clarion call from NC Blue:

This is a call for progressives everywhere to Occupy Americans for Prosperity and their so-called Conservative "Leadership" Conference on March 2nd and 3rd. It's an early skirmish in the battle for the heart and soul of North Carolina - a time to show our strength.

Via email from AFP:


We strongly encourage you to attend the Civitas Institute’s 2012 Conservative Leadership Conference: Battleground North Carolina on March 2-3 at the Marriott Crabtree Valley in Raleigh. Get educated, activated and motivated at Civitas' Battleground North Carolina conference and be prepared to defeat the liberal policy agenda in 2012!

Speakers include: Charles Krauthammer, columnist and political commentator; Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute; Jason Lewis, nationally syndicated radio host; and Brian Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State

Are you in?
Will you commit to joining this action?
Will you put the resources of your organization behind this effort?
How many people can you deliver to the Marriott on March 2nd and 3rd?
What should be our goal? A hundred progressive people? A thousand?

AFP represents the black heart of the Tea Party extremists in North Carolina, and they are bringing in a bunch of pundits who want America to revert to the middle ages, where poor people are nothing but interchangeable stones in the castle walls around rich people, and planning for shared future is nothing but conspiracy theory.

Liberals can’t defeat conservatives in the arena of ideas, so they have to poop on their meetings. How childish can these people be?

Source: http://www.bluenc.com/call-action-occupy-americans-prosperity#ixzz1m5cI6Dcx

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/07/exclusive-occupy-dc-plans-mayhem-for-major-conservative-conference/

Why Conservatives Suck

Here is a commentary on why conservatives suck. We suck because someone has to be the grownups. We suck because we have a realistic take on life. We suck because we realize someone has to pay the bills and nothing is free.

Ah…I remember the days of being a toddler stumbling around in my cloth diapers, snot running down my nose, and squealing for a snack. Everything was so simple. Ask, and you shall receive. Poop your drawers and someone is right there to clean up the mess. Some of us grew out of that stage and others are still squawking for a teat.

The Occupy crowd reminds me of toddlers. They believe everything is free and others will clean up their mess. And so far a compliant government is doing their best to accommodate them.

Dad Goes "Ballistic" on Teen's Computer

Facebook: bringing family and friends together.

Heavy Metal Carp Fishing

Could this be the next event at the summer Olympics? It has potential.

H/T: Ace of Spades

Muslims Usher in a New Spanish Age of Enlightenment

Spain hasn't been the same since the Moors were expelled. The Muslims ushered in an age of enlightment by rescuing the drooling natives from their squalor and ignorance.

Seven hundred years of peace and tranquilty were dashed away, all because of the piggish Christians and their reconquista. Now, the Muslims are back and with it their Gandhi-esque tolerance, and unequaled erudition.

It's a new age for Spain. It's a Islamo-Spanish Renaissance!

Source: Gates of Vienna

Obama Proclaims Contraceptives are Free!

Barack Hussein Obama has once again demonstrated that he is an economic retard. The Anointed One stood on the mountain top and proclaimed that insurance companies will provide contraceptives for free. FREE! Is it any wonder we have a $15 trillion debt with this imbecile running the show?

I’ve got news for his Grace: nothing is free. Somebody has to pay for this product and service. And guess who will ultimately bare the cost? It will be the policy holders through higher premiums. Does this guy actually believe the insurance companies are going to hand this stuff out for free?

We are told daily that Obama is the smartest man alive. I have no idea what these people base that opinion on. Either he’s a fool, or he believes we are.

Source: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/white-house-religious-employers-wont-have-to-cover-birth-control-but-insura

The ACLU Demon Dances on the Catholic Churchs Obamacare Mandate

The American Civil Liberties Union has been unmasked. This organization heralds themselves as protectors of the Constitution. But where are they when the Obama administration tramples on the First Amendment rights of Catholics? They side with the oppressors.

"Anti-choice forces around the country are yelling from the rooftops about religious freedom," wrote Laura Murphy, the ACLU's director of the Washington Legislative office, in an email urging supporters to tell their congressional representatives to support the mandate. "But what they actually mean is the use of religion to discriminate and deny millions of women access to birth control [original emphasis]." Murphy faulted opponents of the mandate for "us[ing] religion to discriminate] against women.

The ACLU email framed the issue as a conflict between "lobbying groups" and Obama over the rights of women. "[W]hen lobbying groups — led by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — insisted that the exemption be expanded to include religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and other institutions, jeopardizing coverage for millions of women, the Obama administration drew a line in the sand," the email declared.

"If the lobbying groups get their way, a woman teaching at a Catholic university could not get coverage," the Murphy added. "Or, a nurse working at an evangelical Christian hospital could be denied access to basic health care."

The totalitarians at the ACLU have a history of violating the First Amendment rights of Christians. Now, they would have the Catholic Church commit (according to doctrine) a mortal sin. If anyone believes the ACLU is a protector of religious liberty after this outrage, than they need their head examined.

Source: http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/aclu-christians-are-discriminating-against-women/365956

ACLU Cheerleads Obama's Molestation of the Catholic Church

Where is the ACLU? Many are asking this very question, as the Obama administration forces themselves on the Catholic Church, by demanding they provide contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortifacients for their employees; in essence, to violate the very tenets of what it means to be a Catholic.

Well, surprise…surprise, the ACLU defends the Obama administrations outrageous power grab by framing this as a women’s health issue:

The ACLU has always been a strong advocate for religious freedom. For nearly a century we have defended the rights of all religious believers – from majority and minority faiths alike – to practice their religion. And to be clear, the rule does not require religious institutions like churches or synagogues that hire people of the same belief for the purposes of advancing that faith to purchase birth control coverage for their employees. Moreover, clergy remain free to espouse their beliefs, and individual women remain free to follow those beliefs or not, according to their own conscience. However, the fundamental promise of religious liberty in this country doesn’t create a right to impose those views on others, including ignoring civil rights laws or denying critical health care.


The ACLU has never been an advocate of religious freedom. If anything they have been antagonistic to all Christians' rights of free speech and religion by censoring their participation in the public arena. Now, this anti-American organization has become a cheerleader for a genuine violation of the First Amendment by the federal government.


Make no mistake, the ACLU is a totalitarian organization, hell bent on suppressing the freedoms of American Christians.

Source: http://www.aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom/aclu-today-birth-control-rule-does-not-put-religious-liberty-risk

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/07/146511839/weekly-standard-obamacare-vs-the-catholics?ps=cprs

Two Different Visions of America on Ronald Reagan's Birthday

Here is a video contrasting the vision of President Ronald Reagan's America with that of Barack Hussein Obama's. Which one do you want to live in?