Oregon...

There is an ongoing battle for the soul of the Country...some are in the fight, others don't even know its happening.

Compromise on Pledge of Allegiance in Oregon Town Has Some Seeing Red
By Dan Springer

"An Oregon town's (Eugene) City Council voted down a proposal to say the Pledge of Allegiance before every council meeting, but later passed a compromise that seemed to make no one happy..."

"...(Councilman Mark) Clark says all he wanted to do was unite the council and show his more conservative constituents that in this city where diversity is celebrated, their more traditional values also are important. “It’s a little ironic to see those who have championed the idea of tolerance be less tolerant on this question...”

"Mayor Kitty Piercy called the Pledge of Allegiance divisive..."

"...Under Clark’s proposal, saying the pledge would be voluntary not only for the public at the meetings, but the council members themselves."

"Councilman George Brown voted against the compromise, saying the Pledge of Allegiance had no place at City Hall..."It does not unite us.”

"Councilwoman Betty Taylor compared saying the Pledge of Allegiance to reading from "The Communist Manifesto."

"Resident Anita Sullivan summed up a common viewpoint: “...It sort of means loyalty to your country; well, I feel loyalty to the entire world...”

I wonder how they feel about that in....Ohio

Science...

Agenda 21: The U.N.’s Earth Summit Has Its Head In The Clouds by Larry Bell, Forbes

"...Earth Summit (1992) chairman Maurice Strong left no doubt about where to place blame for global problems, stating in the conference report: “It is clear that current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class…involving high meat intake, consumption of large amounts of frozen and convenience foods, ownership of motor vehicles, golf courses, small electric appliances, home and work place air-conditioning, and suburban housing are not sustainable…A shift is necessary toward lifestyles less geared to environmentally damaging consumption patterns...We may get to the point where the only way of saving the world will be for industrialized civilization to collapse.” "

"Former Senator Timothy Wirth, representing the Clinton-Gore administration as undersecretary of state for global affairs, stated that public concern about global warming could be used to advance that cause: “We have got to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.” Wirth now heads the U.N. Foundation which has lobbied for hundreds of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to help underdeveloped countries fight climate change..."

"...As Gary Lawrence, a planner for the city of Seattle and an advisor to the Clinton-Gore administration’s Council on Sustainable Development and to U.S. AID commented...“Participating in a U.N. advocated planning process will very likely bring out many…who would work to defeat any elected official…undertaking Local Agenda 21 …So we will call our process something else, such as comprehensive planning, growth management or smart growth.” "

"...Every county in America now has sustainable development directives guided by federal agencies, NGOs, and/or the ICLEI. ICLEI-USA claims that its official members consistently rank among the greenest cities and “…have led the effort in recent years to envision, accelerate and achieve strong climate protection goals, creating cleaner, healthier, more economically viable communities.” "

Crazy Talk...

Second Favorite line: "Why does Rice play Texas?"

Favorite line:  "...made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented..."

The Soviets picked a fight with US.  Everybody played a part...Truman, Eisenhower...Carter... 

But Kennedy drew a line in the sand (or ocean)...and Reagan delivered the knockout.



If you like spaceships, astronauts, and TOTALLY AWESOME websites...GO HERE!  The same type of people that launched a rocket, with men inside, to the moon and back...made that website.

License and Registration please...

Ever vote?  Ever go to the polls on election day and vote? (Sorry Oregonians, there is nothing I can do for you, you don't pump your own gas and you don't have election days?!?!?!).  Could you imagine going there without any identification?

Yes, its that time again...

Ohio is the latest state to attempt to pass a law that requires people to identify themselves at the polls.  In Arizona, they passed this same law - although they included provisions for people who don't have "State Issued Identification", you could bring two pieces of "official mail" addressed to you at your address.  (Not to mention that they waved the fee for a State Issued Identification Card if its for voting. I'm okay with that - you have to have registered, then got mail sent to your address, it stops people from just showing up and claiming to be anybody in that neighborhood, or a dead person. The facts are that we hear every election about thousands of votes cast in the name of dead people. 

...but why is this a Left Vs. Right issue?

Why are people on the left against this? 

The arguments usually are that it will disenfranchise the poor.  Why?  I know and deal with many, many people who make less than $10,000 a year.  They all have photo identification.  Oh, and...they don't vote. 

Who are these people who don't have identification?

It is a fake argument made by people who don't deal with the "poor" until they want to bus them to a polling place. 


Ohio ACLU threatens lawsuit if Buckeye photo ID bill becomes law

"The ACLU will act swiftly to protect all people’s right to vote..." - Christine Link ACLU of Ohio

Whether they are dead or not...

"...passing the photo ID bill will deprive thousands of Ohioans of their right to vote and will drive the state into years of expensive litigation." - Former Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish

There is a reason you are the 'Former" Speaker...

"Today, we are attempting to clean up the mess that was created by a bill passed under Secretary Husted's watch when he was speaker of the House, which allows no-fault registration and voting on the same day -- otherwise known as 'Golden Week...The House Republicans are not introducing legislation to cater to editorial boards. We are introducing legislation to promote good government and protect the voice of the people of Ohio." - Republican House Member John Adams (former Navy SEAL)

SEALs in Ohio...must be Global Warming...

"Once again Republicans are trying to suppress the poor and minority vote by requiring photo identification, which would place an undue burden on those who cannot afford to pay these costs. It's nothing more than a modern day poll tax." - Democrat House Member Sandra Williams

There you have it folks - a Democrat claiming minorities aren't capable of getting photo identification...

Freedom and Justice...

U.S. Jews Not Able To Fly On Delta Flights To Saudi Arabia

BRIEF Summary:  Delta partnered with some Saudi airline that flies from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia.  The deal allows Delta to fly there.  Saudi Arabia does not allow many things inside their country, including...bibles, Jews and other non-Islamic things. 

I believe in free markets.  Do you?  Delta should be able to do this.  Delta released a comment saying that Delta "does not discriminate, nor do we condone discrimination against any protected class of passenger in regards to...nationality, religion, ..."  Wait, Delta should not be able to say that.

Oh, and its against the law in the United States...I forgot that part.

On the one hand, as Delta pointed out, they could let you on the plane, but you would not be allowed to depart once you arrived in the country of Saudi Arabia.

I'm sure that is where the catch is...Delta will not forbid a Jew from buying a ticket, and getting on the plane, but they will advise the Jew that they will not be allowed to depart the plane in Saudi Arabia.

Like I said, I believe in free markets.  In my world, this choice will hurt Delta - and will continue to hurt Delta to the point where they realize it is not worth it to fly to Saudi Arabia.

But again, on its face - refusing to sell a ticket to a Jew (or somebody with a Jewish sounding name), is clearly against the law in the United States.

...I wonder if there are any good Jewish lawyers out there...

Why I Hate Cats...

Have you seen this?



...well, have you seen this?

And the Winner is...

I didn't watch the GOP debate - can't stand them.  They are not debates, and the winner usually ends up being the person who didn't screw up...which means they didn't really impress either.

I have read dozens of reviews of the debate (READ THIS ONE), and I came away with this:

Herman Cain will fade, but it was great to hear what he DID have to say

Newt's time has passed, too much baggage

Rick Santorum will not stand out enough to win, wonder why he entered

Ron Paul used to have a good message, he's gotten a little long in the tooth

Tim Pawlenty does not want to knock Republicans, good...still too boring.  Doesn't need to juggle chainsaws (though I'd vote for him if he did) but he has to do something to get attention.  I'd take him over Romney.

Romney learned from 2008, but old habits die hard, the only way he wins the general election is on anti-Obama votes, and I don't think that does it

Michelle Bachmann was the winner.  The media has tried to paint her as stupid, and she has helped by not measuring her words enough.  As a member of Congress, I think she's great, like Ron Paul.  I know she would make a great member of the Cabinet - in almost any position.  But her performance in the debate moved her to another level - we'll see if it sticks.

Nice Group!

A Bunch of Trash...

...the Main Stream Media fails again to understand a simple issue. A smidgen of research would have not only cleared things up for them, but would have put them on the right side of the argument.  That being said, the change was necessary because our "Top" Law Enforcement and Elected Leaders didn't understand it either...

FBI's New Rules to Give Agents More Leeway on Surveillance

The link is to the FoxNews version of the story, which is the same as most others out there.

"..the new rules would allow agents to look up people on various databases without opening up a low-level inquiry known as an "assessment." Currently, agents have to take that formal step before looking into someone's background and provide some semblance of justification..."

"..The new rules would also allow agents to use surveillance squads multiple times during the "assessment" phase. Currently, those teams can only be used once during that phase..."

"..another change would allow agents to secretly attend up to five meetings of organizations they are monitoring without disclosing their actions internally..."

"...The changes would also allow agents to administer lie-detector tests to and search the trash of potential informants. Currently, those techniques are reserved for people they are investigating..."

I've blogged about this before, as this was just another step in the process - but it seems to make news EVERY step of the way.

The changes are in regards to investigations into SUSPECTED TERRORISTS.  The changes give "powers" to Special Agents of the FBI that EVERY NORMAL CITIZEN, and MOST POLICE OFFICERS already have. 

If you saw the guy down the street, Muhamad Jihad, was acting in a way that made you suspect he may want to cause harm to America - you could secretly go through his trash after he placed it on the curb to look for indications such as personal notes "I hate America," or his downloaded instructions on how to make a bomb, or stuff that looks like bomb making materials.  Any citizen could do that.  A Special Agent of the FBI assigned to investigate terrorism COULD NOT, unless he had approval, and opened a formal investigation.

If the Special Agent got all dressed up, searched the trash, and found nothing - he MIGHT get frustrated:




You could look up Mr Jihad on the Internet, Google him, pay for one of those services that gives you all the PUBLICLY AVAILABLE data on Mr Jihad, such as his previous addresses, etc.  You could do that. A Special Agent of the FBI assigned to investigate terrorism COULD NOT, unless he had approval, and opened a formal and investigation.

I could go on and on, but its pointless.  The FBI did not get new powers, the rules the FBI placed on itself AFTER 9/11 - YES, THESE RULES CAME INTO EFFECT AFTER 9/11, have been relaxed to allow Special Agents of the FBI to do what is legal for a non-Special Agent to do.

I'm just sayin'....again.

Monday...

"...and the next...President of the United States..."

I always hate it when people say that too early in campaigns.  But I always like it when the nomination is locked up, after the conventions, when I start thinking of all the things a new President could do.

If things continue the way they are, and there is no reason to believe things would change for the good when the government keeps doing bad, an Obama victory would be historic...not because his father was from Africa, but because nobody has ever been re-elected (save FDR) with things this bad.

So.

Who will his opponent be?

Chris Christie...not now.

Paul Ryan...I guess not now.

Newt...done.

Rick Perry? 

We already have a Rick Perry running.  His name is Tim Pawlenty.  I have pretty much said, so far, "I like what he says, I like what he has done, but I don't think he can beat Obama." 

Pawlenty gave a speech last week, and par for the course, I didn't hear any of it, it didn't get much MSM fanfare...but like a good movie, its getting alot of traction. 

Unlike Obama, the SUBSTANCE of his speech is what people are talking about.  READ IT HERE.

It starts out, "How are you enjoying your recovery Summer? That’s what the President said we were having. And that was last year. Now, gas is nearly $4 a gallon. Home prices are in the gutter. Our healthcare system — thanks to ObamaCare — is more expensive. And less efficient. Unemployment’s back over 9%. Our national debt has skyrocketed. Our budget deficit has grown worse. And the jobs and manufacturing reports are grim. If that was a recovery — then our President needs to enter economic rehab. And the American people need to stop his policies. Cold turkey."

Pawlenty goes on to suggest...IN THE MIDST OF WHAT HE ACKNOWLEDGES IS A DISMAL ECONOMY...a target growth rate of 5%.  When others refer to 2% annual growth as "the new normal", Pawlenty says that is "not the American way."

He said we could get there by:

Cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%...when Obama wants to raise taxes on oil companies and "obscene profits"...

NOT taxing American corporation's overseas earnings...when Obama wants to tax them more, to stop 'outsourcing'...

Abolishing the taxes on capital gains, interest, dividends, and estates, saying "Government has no moral or economic basis to claim a second share of the same income..."

Further, in his speech, he took on the fight of Wisconsin and of California, "I cut state spending in real terms for the first time in our state’s history. We did it with priority-based budgeting. We did it by setting a record for vetoes.  It took a government shutdown. And a long government union strike. But we got it done. We didn’t close our schools. Or empty out our prisons. We cut spending where it needed to be cut. We can do the same thing in Washington..."

He even suggests privatizing the US Postal Service, Amtrak, and Fannie and Freddie...

One thing he hinted on, and I think could be a successful counter point, is to speak of Obama's audacity to speak of sitting down with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea without preconditions...and contrast with a willingness to sit down with the leaders of South Korea, Columbia, Panama, and other allied Democracies and discuss free trade agreements.

I guess what I'm saying is, this guy may actually have a chance...

Outside the box...

...or oval.  This is from May 1, 2010.  Chris Solinsky, a 5k runner, ran a 10k against some of the fastest 10k runners in the country.  There had been alot of press about the others planning on breaking the American record.  From the interviews afterword, one would never know, but I think all the talk about the others put a spark in Solinsky's mind...

Providence...

Last November's election results were a rebuke of the left's overstepping.  In retrospect, its good they overstepped.  Would they have continued at the normal bureaucratic pace, had the Tea Party not "rung the alarm bells", had some Washington fixtures not been sent packing, we might be further away from the republic we started out as, and closer to their dream of a socialist utopia.

Many on the Right (and a few on the Left) ran, won, and were sent to Washington with the goal of repealing Obamacare. They didn't repeal it.  If the Right had won the Senate...I wouldn't be writing this post...

Many, including smart people on the Right, said it could not be repealed (not enough votes in the Senate, and certainly not enough to override Obama's veto), so why talk about that?  Others, forced the vote in the House, and made their voices heard.

So what happens when Washington does what Washington wants regardless of the voice of the people? How can Washington be stopped?

The States.

Over half the States are suing the Federal Government to stop Obamacare (yes, the Federal Government is now spending our money to fight...us).

Who would have ever thought... 


"...It may safely be received as an axiom in our political system, that the State governments will, in all possible contingencies, afford complete security against invasions of the public liberty by the national authority. Projects of usurpation cannot be masked under pretenses so likely to escape the penetration of select bodies of men, as of the people at large. The legislatures will have better means of information. They can discover the danger at a distance; and possessing all the organs of civil power, and the confidence of the people, they can at once adopt a regular plan of opposition, in which they can combine all the resources of the community. They can readily communicate with each other in the different States, and unite their common forces for the protection of their common liberty..."   

 - Alexander Hamilton, December 26, 1787

Hamilton wrote that in Federalist 28.  The Federalist Papers were written by him, John Jay and James Madison - they were fighting for the ratification of the Constitution.  The CREATORS OF THE CONSTITUTION were telling the people, that the States were the check on the LIMITS of the Federal Government.

Oh What a Tangled Web...

Ten Years ago, or maybe not that long, which would you have believed would be a future headline:

A)  Congressman Twitter Acknowledges Weiner Pics

B)  Wiener Congressman Pics Acknowledge Twitter

C)  Pics Acknowledge Congressman Twitter Weiner

D)  Congressman Weiner Acknowledges Weener Twitter

Congressman Twit

Sarah's Weekend Ride...

Race Based Justice...

Atty. Gen. Holder Proposes Retroactive Breaks in Crack Cocaine Convictions

Summary:   Last year congress reduced FEDERAL sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine.  The sentencing guidelines are used by judges to sentence people after being convicted - its based on the amount of drugs they were found responsible for, their criminal history, and their cooperation after arrest.  Many argued that the sentencing guidelines were RACIST, because they were much harsher for crack cocaine than they were for powder cocaine. 

The racist part comes in because of the view that crack cocaine is favored by blacks.  Which is a racist view.  The sentencing guidelines matched that of meth - which is favored by whites. 

The harsher sentences were meant to deter people from using the far more dangerous form of the drug.  A point I agree with - is that the users don't care - so enhanced sentencing has not worked as a deterrent.  So, for that reason, I don't care much either way.

However...these are FEDERAL guidelines.  People in prison for FEDERAL drug charges are not targeted because they use drugs - they are targeted because they DISTRIBUTE, SELL, or TRANSPORT drugs. 

That is the part that the ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES fails to mention in his sob story...