Good morning world...

Woke up early, early this morning and flipped on Fox News as I was getting ready. Usually I go straight to the computer and don't watch Fox until later in the day -- at the earliest I  see Fox and Friends, never earlier. Today was different. I had to be up at 5-ish (yawn).

I was brushing my teeth, doing the norm and swore I was on the wrong channel. Everyone speaking had a British accent. I walked in, took a glance and saw the Fox logo on the bottom. OK, I thought, must be something special going on and they have a British guest or they're just doing a short bit on, what else, the Royal Wedding (yes, it is now a capped event ;-).

I heard nothing  about the wedding (oops, excuse me the Royal Wedding). If not for the accents I could have been listening to one of our financial debates here in the states. It was fascinating. The two financial pundits were talking about Greece, the Euro, and the British economy. One was advocating a fix of  their version of tax and spend, the other was saying cut the spending. They talked about the price of gas, and pretty much all the same things we're talking about here.

I don't pay as much attention to the world outside of the U.S. like I should. I used to get updates from news media in Europe and Great Britain. I stopped at some point. I've decided that I better start looking at a bigger picture than the one provided by U.S. news outlets.


Anyone have any good suggestions for news outlets that give 'fair and balanced' outside of the U.S. I was listening to Sky news this morning, a Fox affiliate. They'll be on my list.

Matt's comment on passage of HB 87 / Immigration

Rep. Matt Ramsey Comments on Passage of Common Sense Immigration Reform

State Representative Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City) released the following statement today in response to the passage of House Bill 87:

“Today members of the General Assembly came together and firmly resolved to uphold the laws of our society. This legislation closes gaping loopholes that have allowed illegal aliens to flood into our country and state, where they unlawfully take advantage of taxpayer funded services. Current economic conditions have made it painfully obvious that the state of Georgia literally cannot afford to continue this broken system. Our classrooms are more crowded, our healthcare system is at its limits, our transportation infrastructure is overburdened and our law enforcement community is pushed to the brink. Georgians have demanded action, and their state legislature has complied. We continue to welcome and encourage legal immigration, and this legislation helps those individuals, as well as all other legal Georgia residents, by ensuring that employment opportunities are filled by legal residents.”

Georgia HB 87, Immigration Bill PASSED!

Representative Matt Ramsey crafted a stellar immigration bill, which has, of course, created a lot of controversy. I'm not going to delve into it right now, it's late and I have an early morning. However, I just wanted to say I'm proud of Matt, pleased the Bill made it through. It's now headed to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal's desk for his signature.

We all know it's not over after watching Arizona, but Georgia has added its name to the list of states going in the right direction.

For all those who choose to write nasty comments or argue, please don't. All comments are screened and I'm not going to argue or post them.

Special interest groups gearing up to stop budget...

Interesting this morning as I was doing my scan of news, checking Facebook, Twitter, etc., etc. Saw the following on a FB account:

URGENT PLEDGE: Tell Obama no cuts to Medicare/Medicaid benefits.

act.boldprogressives.org

Urgent! The White House announced that in a big speech tomorrow, President Obama will do what no Republican President has been able to do: Put Medicare and Medicaid on the table for potential cuts. Tell President Obama that if he cuts benefits, he'll lose your grassroots donations and volunteering i...

(note, that's a Facebook link, not sure if it'll work if you're not logged in. Try this if it doesn't: URGENT PLEDGE: Tell Obama no cuts to Medicare/Medicaid benefits.

Earlier I received an email from a group called Welfare Watch which included an "Action Alert" urging everyone to call their Representatives to 'urge them to oppose the Ryan Budget Plan". Why? They say his plan goes too far as it proposes steep cuts to Medicaid and other social safety net programs, and that it would 'eliminate the Medicaid expansion included in the Affordable Care Act."

They go on to say that 2/3's of the cuts in his budget would be made to programs that "serve low-income children and families". 

In my life I've hit some real lows. I remember a time when things were so tight I took restaurant ketchup packets, mixed them with water, heated and ate over spaghetti at home. Yep, that was as disgusting as it sounds. It never, ever crossed my mind to go on the dole with the government. I was definitely eligible. However, I took on part time jobs, typed resumes, did whatever I could (legally) to make sure I survived. 

If I had taken advantage of food stamps, welfare or whatever programs were available to me, I might not be typing this now. My son might have grown up thinking life was all about how to con the system and get more money out of Uncle Sam. I can't imagine taking the help, so I can't really imagine that I'd have succumbed to the enticement of the system.

End result of my choice though is that we survived that rough time way back when and now we're productive, happy, balanced individuals paying our own way.

I was probably the kind of person that the programs were designed to help. Someone who would use the system for a short time, then get back on the saddle. Instead what we have in our country is an entire culture of people dependent on others. People who could be taking care of themselves. 

I know it's a huge problem. How to get people who've never know anything different, who are mired in the culture of dependence to change the way they look at the world, to get off their duffs and work. I also know there are a lot of people who are truly not capable, who only survive in this world because of the system I'm railing against.

I wonder where all the money we dump into government programs goes. I also wonder what good all the money we donate to charities is doing. Where is all the money going that we tithe to our churches going each month? 

I used to go downtown regularly and feed the homeless. As part of our mission we would cook, serve, then serve ourselves and go sit with the homeless to eat. I have to say that most days I wasn't able to do more than go through the motions of eating, but it did open my eyes to the plight of many. There were many though who chose the lifestyle. There were many who, with a little bit of real help, could have gotten back out into the working and self-supporting world. 

I started this blog to write about how the Left was gearing up to attack any changes to the system. They truly believe that just dumping money into taking care of people is compassionate. I wish we had a system of honesty, where people couldn't "work" the system. I wish we could ferret out those who abuse or take advantage of the system without true need. I wish the system trained people, had a true end time frame and that it worked more as a step program with measurable goals.

True compassion pulls people up, it doesn't keep them locked into a cycle of dependency. If there's never an end, why bother trying to rise up? 

Seeing how all the powers are amassing to thwart any fixes to our woeful monetary problems, I am concerned more than ever that our weak politicians won't be able to make any real changes. Paul Ryan's plan has a lot of good things in it. I'm hearing all kinds of things that are said to be included in President Obama's plan. I will be surprised if we get anything more than watered down gruel when they get through stirring the pot in Washington.

I'm watching them all carefully. Based on what I'm seeing thus far, with few exception, I suspect in 2012 I'll be voting for an infusion of new blood in D.C.

Shocker! On his own, judge demands homeschool student IDs

Issues order for attendance officers to provide names, addresses

By Bob Unruh
(c) 2011 WorldNetDaily

A Mississippi state judge has issued an order to public school attendance officers in his judicial district to provide the names of all homeschoolers there, prompting alarm at the Home School Legal Defense Association, which fights for the rights of homeschooling worldwide.

The order apparently is because the judge himself wants the information, as there appeared to be no case, motion or dispute prompting the request.

The HSLDA, which was alerted by its members in the 13th Chancery Court district in Mississippi, where Judge Joe Dale Walker issued the order, immediately sought and obtained a stay of the order from the state Supreme Court.

The judge's order noted that the "cause" for the order "came on for hearing on the court's own motion," but the HSLDA said apparently no hearing ever was held - and the order is the only document in the court file.

It also has no case number, the organization said.

Spokeswoman Beverly Kraft of the state court system told WND that the issue as it was presented to the state Supreme Court was a "confidential" case about which no documents, no information and no explanation was available.

The HSLDA said the order is highly unusual and could provide a "chilling" effect on not only homeschoolers but any group whose members' names may at some point be demanded by a judge.

The organization said the state Supreme Court ordered a stay in all proceedings in the case in which Walker demanded the names of all homeschoolers in his district. The order instructed Walker to explain to the higher court by April 18 exactly what's going on.

There was no explanation for why the judge issued the original demand for homeschoolers' information.

"At this time it is uncertain how the Supreme Court will proceed after receiving Judge Walker's response," the organization said. "It may simply issue an order disposing of the case or may require legal briefs and/or oral arguments before issuing a final decision.

"In any event, we will keep members advised of the status of the case."

An attorney for the group, James Mason, told WND that in the years he has worked with homeschool issues, he never before has seen such an order.

"It's a very chilling prospect," he said. "The plain fact is if judges start behaving this way - [targeted could be] people who attend churches or synagogues [or other groups]."

"That would have a chilling effect on freedom of association, and the exercise of other freedoms," he said.

A judge in a similar order could demand the names of patriot organizations, tea party groups, Democrat groups, GOP groups or even labor, teacher or parent groups.

HSLDA said that after attendance officers at the schools got the order, they notified homeschoolers, enclosing a copy of the judge's order.

"The letters cited the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and asked the families to notify the attendance officer by April 8, 2011, if they intended to initiate legal action to prevent release of the protected information sought by Judge Walker," HSLDA said.

The notice from the HSLDA to its members said the judge also wanted the addresses of all homeschoolers in Smith, Lawrence, Covington, Simpson and Jefferson Davis counties.

Walker's order listed no parties but only said "RE: HOMESCHOOL."

"We believe that Judge Walker's order is an inappropriate use of judicial power," said Michael Farris, chairman of HSLDA.

The state's court website says chancery courts "have jurisdiction over disputes in matters involving equity; domestic matters including adoptions, custody disputes and divorces; guardianships; sanity hearings; wills; and challenges to constitutionality of state laws. Land records are filed in Chancery Court."

The chancery courts also are given jurisdiction in juvenile matters in counties that have no county court.

Read more: Shocker! On his own, judge demands homeschool student IDs http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=284529#ixzz1IvNByCy3


Shared with permission of author.

URGENT CALL TO ALL REPUBLICANS

We have just been notified that enough leadership in the Georgia House is joining with Democrat's to support the implementation of ObamaCare here in Georgia!!!

HB 476 sets up a basic structure for the government state-run Health Insurance Exchange and establishes an advisory committee to determine the best options available for our state in implementing and running a state-based exchange

Please call the Representatives below to OPPOSE THIS BILL!

THIS COULD BE VOTED ON AT ANYTIME. YOU MUST CALL ASAP!

Start with Leadership and then move down the list as far as you can. House Leadership is priority one.

CALL HOUSE LEADERSHIP

Speaker David Ralston (R) Ellijay O: 404-656-5020

Majority Leader Larry O'Neal (R) Bonaire O: 404-656-5052

Majority Whip Ed Lindsey (R) Sandy Springs O: 404-656-5024

CALL the SPONSORS:

Rep. John Meadows (R) Calhoun O: 404-656-6831

Rep. Richard Smith (R) Columbus O: 404-656-3480

Rep. Sean Jerguson is voting NO and working against this bill actively.

Rep. Mark Hamilton: O: 404-656-5132

Rep. Calvin Hill: O: 404-656-0129

Rep. Charlice Byrd is voting NO and has sent out action alerts on this bill.

Sen. Chip Rogers: O: 404-463-1378

Sen. Jack Murphy: O: 404-656-7127

CALL Gov. Nathan Deal to veto this bill! He has said HE WILL sign this bill.

Gov. Nathan Deal: O: 404-656-1776

Michele Bachmann's Response to State of the Union

Two years ago, when Barack Obama became our President, unemployment was 7.8 percent and our national debt stood at what seemed like a staggering $10.6 trillion dollars. We wondered whether the President would cut spending, reduce the deficit and implement real job-creating policies.

Unfortunately, the President’s strategy for recovery was to spend a trillion dollars on a failed stimulus program, fueled by borrowed money. The White House promised us that all the spending would keep unemployment under 8 percent. Not only did that plan fail to deliver, but within three months the national jobless rate spiked to 9.4 percent. And sadly, it hasn’t been lower for 20 straight months. While the government grew, we lost more than 2 million jobs.

Here are unemployment rates over the past ten years. In October 2001, our national unemployment rate was at 5.3 percent. In 2008 it was at 6.6 percent. But, just eight months after President Obama promised lower unemployment, that rate spiked to a staggering 10.1 percent. Today, unemployment is at 9.4 percent with about 400,000 new claims every week.

After the $700 billion bailout, the trillion-dollar stimulus, and the $410 billion spending bill with over 9,000 earmarks, many of you implored Washington to please stop spending money we don’t have. But, instead of cutting, we saw an unprecedented explosion of government spending and debt, unlike anything we have seen in the history of our country.

Deficits were unacceptably high under President Bush, but they exploded under President Obama’s direction, growing the national debt by an astounding $3.1 trillion-dollars.

What did we buy?

Instead of a leaner, smarter government, we bought a bureaucracy that tells us which light bulbs to buy, and which will put 16,500 IRS agents in charge of policing President Obama’s healthcare bill. ObamaCare mandates and penalties will force many job creators to stop offering health insurance altogether, unless yours is one of the more-than-222 privileged companies or unions that has received a government waiver.

In the end, unless we fully repeal ObamaCare, a nation that currently enjoys the world’s best healthcare may be forced to rely on government-run coverage that will have a devastating impact on our national debt for generations to come.

For two years President Obama made promises just like the ones we heard him make tonight. Yet still we have high unemployment, devalued housing prices and the cost of gasoline is skyrocketing. Here are a few suggestions for fixing our economy:

• The President could stop the EPA from imposing a job-destroying cap-and-trade system.
• The President could support a Balanced Budget Amendment.
• The President could agree to an energy policy that increases American energy production and reduces our dependence on foreign oil.
• The President could also turn back some of the 132 regulations put in place in the last two years, many of which will cost our economy $100 million or more.
• The President should repeal ObamaCare and support free market solutions like medical malpractice reform and allow all Americans to buy any healthcare policy they like anywhere in the United States.

We need to start making things again in this country, and we can do that by reducing the tax and regulatory burdens on job creators. America will have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Look no further to see why jobs are moving overseas.

But, thanks to you, there’s reason to hope that real spending cuts are coming. Last November you went to the polls and voted out big-spending politicians and you put in their place men and women with a commitment to follow the Constitution and cut the size of government. I believe that we are in the early days of a history-making turn. Please know how important your calls, visits, and letters are to the maintenance of our liberties. Because of you, Congress responded and we are starting to undo the damage that’s been done.

We believe in lower taxes, a limited view of government and the exceptionalism of America. And I believe America is the indispensible nation.

Just the creation of this nation was a miracle. Who’s to say that we can’t see a miracle again? The perilous battle that was fought in the pacific, at Iwo Jima, was a battle against all odds, and yet the image of the young G.I.s in the incursion against the Japanese immortalizes their victory. These six young men raising the flag came to symbolize all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor.

Our current debt crisis we face today is different, but we still need all of us to pull together. We can do this. And that’s the hope we hold tonight as Americans. We will push forward to reclaim the greatness of our country and to proclaim the liberty upon which we were founded. And we will do so because we the people will never give up on this great nation.

Just in case you missed Paul Ryan last night...

Paul Ryan - Republican Address to the Nation

Congressman Tom Price: Let's Repeal ObamaCare

Last week the House of Representatives voted with bipartisan support to repeal ObamaCare. As it stands, ObamaCare is a threat to quality, affordable health care in America, and it is undermining the ability of physicians to provide the level of care their patients need. We must fully repeal this massive government takeover and replace it with reforms that protect the rights of patients, families, and their doctors.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he will not schedule a vote to repeal ObamaCare even after a majority of members in the House voted to do just that. I urge you to call Leader Reid and explain that failure to act on a repeal vote ignores the will of the American people. He should allow Senators to vote on repealing a law that expands the reach of the government to unprecedented levels while undermining individual freedoms.

To contact Majority Leader Reid's office, call (202) 224-3542.

Thank you for your support in our efforts to uphold the results of November’s elections.

Yours truly,
Congressman Tom Price, M.D., Chairman
Republican Policy Committee

Radical Leftist Punk Band Inspired Accused Gunman

Lyrics: 'Difference from Nazis is someone tried to stop them'

Loughner, 22, is in custody accused of opening fire into a crowd in Tucson, Ariz., killing six and critically wounding Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Understand what's happening to America's culture and what you can do to fight it with "How Evil Works," autographed, from the WND Superstore.

Almost immediately after the news of the shooting broke, Caitie Parker self identified on Twitter that she had gone to school and been in a band with Loughner:

Link: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=249741

Then, in responding to "anderosa," Parker made clear that Loughner "was a pot head & into rock like Hendrix, The Doors, Anti-Flag:"

Link: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=249741

"Anderosa" is the Twitter username for Anthony DeRosa, an employee of Reuters Media, who has had a history of tweeting continuing attacks on Fox News and Fox News talk show hosts Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly, as well as a wide range of conservative media and political figures.

In responding to a variety of twitter posters, Parker identified being a band member with Loughner in "an alternative band":

Here is the old photograph of Loughner that Parker found from her high school yearbook:

Link: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=249741

Publishing Parker's tweets, James King of the Phoenix New Times confirmed that Parker and Loughner went to school together at Mountain View High School in Tucson and that both attended Pima Community College.

Anti-Flag echoed Loughner's themes, posted in his YouTube channel, of mind control and antipathy to the U.S. flag in "Red, White and Brainwashed," a theme to the group's 1996 album entitled "Die for the Government."

The lyrics:

They use the flag to control us
Brainwash us to be their patrotic slaves
Programs our minds by controlling what we learn
The only difference from the nazis is that
Someone tried to stop them
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
The government says they're working for us
Just as long as we increase their pay
But the minute they get into office we're a has-been
A yesterday
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
The red stands for the blood of all the people
We've slain
The white for this racist, bigoted foundation
The blue for your aryan eyes - all empty
Empty because you're taught to bow down to the man
Fly that flag, that flag of freedom
Do what you can for your country
Go and fight their wars for them
They're not following in our footsteps,
KILL THEM!
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
They call that being a patriot
I just call it ignorant
If you don't fight to make things better
Then you're the one betraying the country
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED
RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED

Anti-Flag's song "Free Nation?" from their 1999 album entitled "A New Kind of Army," echoed themes that should be familiar to anti-war protesters with a radical political consciousness that traces back to the 1960s.

Here are the lyrics to "Free Nation?"

State official talks of freedom
THEY-TALK!
In this country that we live in
THEY-TALK!
Free to be harassed and be beaten by the pigs
YOUR RIGHTS? NO RIGHTS!
Till you're f------ broken, crippled, or until you're f------ DEAD!

YEAH!

They pass laws unfair to gays
THEIR-WORK
And separatist laws to keep the non-whites in their place
THEIR-WORK
Family values as a smoke screen blowing in your face
THEIR TRUTH? NO TRUTH!
Family values isn't something that shouldn't be based on hate

Based on hate...

Justice presides over them, late into the night,
A blind fold covering their eyes, but something isn't right...
Under their arms, there are shackles on her legs
And the hands that once held up her scales are bound,
Are bound in chains!
Bound in chains...

And behind their closed door, they conspire through the night
MORE WORK? SICK WORK!
And they won't stop until this nation is all straight and all white!

NO!!

They call it a free nation... but all it is, is A NAZI NATION!!!

The song "Free Nation?" was evidently so popular that Anti-Flag included it again, in their 2002 album entitled "Mobilize."

Or, perhaps Loughner drew inspiration from a song entitled "We Are the One" on their 2009 album "The People or the Gun," a song that appears to have borrowed from a theme developed in the "Matrix" movie trilogy, a theme Barack Obama wove into his 2008 presidential campaign.

Here are the lyrics from "We Are the One":

It's time to make a move,
Change the times or they'll change you.
False promises of more.
Check that s--- at the door.
We're the ones we've been waiting for.
We are the one...Unified under none.
We are the one...The one to carry on.
Warfare is everywhere.
Poisoned land, water, air.
This routine is long old.
It's time to break that mold.
We'll break it up, then we'll break out.
Withstand the change.
Tear it down rebuild again.
Evolve with vision.
This year's eve, we will breathe fury.
I will scale the city walls.

Reviewers typically describe Anti-Flag as violent punk rock anti-government political music that derives its rhetoric from the radical left.

In an interview with Punxrukus.blogspot.com, Justin Cathal Geever, who goes by the stage name Justin Sane, Anti-Flag's guitarist and lead singer/songwriter, summed up the theme behind Anti-Flag as follows: "The idea behind Anti-Flag is to bring down the false barriers that are put in place by people in power around the world. We think that Patriotism and Nationalism - they're imaginary boundaries that are being set up by the people in power that divide the masses. We want to break down those barriers and bring people together. Instead of having different flags around the world, to have people united under one flag."


Author Profile and Information, Click Here: http://www.redalert.wnd.com
By Jerome R. Corsi
(c) 2011 WorldNetDaily

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jerome R. Corsi received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in political science in 1972. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling books THE OBAMA NATION: LEFTIST POLITICS AND THE CULT OF PERSONALITY and the co-author of UNFIT FOR COMMAND: SWIFT BOAT VETERANS SPEAK OUT AGAINST JOHN KERRY. He is also the author of AMERICA FOR SALE, THE LATE GREAT U.S.A., and WHY ISRAEL CAN'T WAIT. Currently, Dr. Corsi is a Senior Managing Director in the Financial Services Group at Gilford Securities as well as a senior staff writer for WorldNetDaily.com.


Used with permission

More on Sheriff Duprik

Sheriff Who Suggested Talk Shows May Have Incited Attack Was Asked by Fellow Democrats to Apologize for 'Inflammatory' Remarks on Immigration; Blamed Local Violence on Policymakers Who Stopped Institutionalizing Mentally Ill
(CNSNews.com) – Arizona’s Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who on Saturday suggested radio and television talk shows were somehow responsible for inciting a man who may be mentally disturbed to kill six people and wound 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), once blamed policymakers for violence in his county because they had stopped institutionalizing mentally ill people...

Clyburn thinks he's 'speeecial'...

Here's a quote Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) made Sunday on Fox News: “We’ve had some incidents where TSA authorities think that congresspeople should be treated like everybody else,” he said. “Well, the fact of the matter is, we are held to a higher standard in so many other areas, and I think we need to take a hard look at exactly how the TSA interact with members of Congress.”

Doggone those TSA types thinking that Clyburn and other congresspeople aren't special. What is it with those jerks, huh?

Years back when I first started in management I had someone give me a tip. They said that at the point that anyone thought they were indispensable they became dispensable. I'd modify that statement a little to say that at the point any of our elected officials begin to think they're special, set apart, better than those they serve, then they need to be dispensed with. And no, I don't mean in any way other than via the ballot box. It's time for them to go home.

Clyburn is really stretching the Rahm axiom not to waste any crisis past the point of credulousness. He said the above in response to questions about the sad, horrific shooting in Arizona. It's bad enough that they're turning this horrible mass killing by a bent individual into political hay. Clyburn goes over into the rhealm of ridiculousness trying to tie the fact that some, and I bet it's only a few, congresspeople happen to get patted down by security. Just like the rest of us.

Ya think that all the TSA folks know who all their elected officials are? Can you imagine the indignation Clyburn must show when someone doesn't recognize him? I gather he must have been chosen for the indecent pat down and just didn't like it.

Who knows?

His comments just show how far removed from reality our elected officials have become.

If, as Clyburn says, they're held to a higher standard in so many ways, why do we have so many tax evaders, ethics problems and other issues among our body of Congress? How do they manage to slide on all these things that would have you or I sitting in jail or giving up our assets? I'd like for him to list the ways they're held to a higher standard. If I had an affair with a subordinate, I'd lose my job. Not so in Congress. If I didn't pay my taxes I'd face serious consequences. Not so in Congress.

I never, ever want to see an elite ruling class in Washington. I want them treated just like I'm treated. When we get away from having 'real' people in elected office then we've lost everything that America stands for.

House Dem calls for 'beefed up' security, special treatment for members by TSA
By Sean J. Miller - 01/09/11 10:27 AM ET A top House Democrat said the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) should change how members of Congress are screened at airports.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/136849-house-dem-calls-for-beefed-up-security-special-treatment-by-tsa

Obama reading Ronald Reagan's Biography

Saw a few stories on this one... and some more saying Obama's job approval was down. We all know why he's reading about Ronald Reagan, he is studying his actions. I bet he is watching old tapes of Reagan speaking, too. Obama is going to try to act like he's more conservative, sort of, on the surface. If it ain't in the heart it won't work, but he is a good actor. It'll be more 'hope and change' type rhetoric without substance.

He's already moving to do more damage behind the scenes, bypassing Congress completely. We've lamented before that even Democrats should be having problems with the way he goes around them to enact changes via the EPA or wherever. But nope, they are lemmings. Wimpy lemmings, yes they are. (Yes, I've been reading Cat in the Hat and other Seuss books, yes I have).

Now Obama is studying Ronald Reagan.

Obama's actions scare me in general as I firmly believe he's systematically killing the best of what makes our America wonderful. The fact that he's reading Reagan takes my anxiety level  up a notch. He's escalating his game. He is going to do whatever he needs to do to get re-elected, even if it means trying to channel Reagan's persona. Not Reagan's heart, not his beliefs, just the outside shell in an attempt to fool even more Americans.

It's great, I hope, that Republicans now have the power to thwart more of Obama's actions. But if someone isn't acting like an extremely vigilant watchdog they're going to serve as cover. We and the press will be distracted by fights in Congress while behind closed doors Obama and crew make a change here, a change there, all building to ultimately get whatever it is he wants.

We're out here, far away from the inner workings of Washington. We depend on the press, on insiders, on those who scour every action and zap it out via Twitter, Facebook, newsletter or blog. (I love the Heritage Foundation, best watchdog we have on 'our' side.)

I think that Obama truly has a multi-pronged plan in the works. He's going to Reaganize and Clintonize himself up a bit more. He's going to take his show on the road more. He's going to get more devious. He's going to play a public game of giving token submission to some Republican actions, fight them in the arena of public opinion via the press and other means, mouth the words those who vote on whims like to hear... to distract, to paint an image.

If we're not careful, even more aware, we're going to wake up in a few years and find we've lost the best of what makes this the greatest free country in history.

Then again, maybe if Obama reads enough about Reagan and watches enough of his speeches, he'll have a conservative conversion. Hey, I can hope and dream, right? Wow, that'd be interesting. If he did have a conversion, picked up some true conservative values, would any of us be able to believe it? What would it take to convince you he'd really, truly changed? Hmmm....

Republican Shell Game

We had an election. We worked hard to make a difference in Washington and in our local elections. We thought we sent a clear message and that both the Democrats and Republicans would 'get it'. The Republicans keep saying they got it. It appears they didn't.

I'm watching what is going on in this lame duck session and I am more disgusted than ever. It seems to me that the Republicans are simply playing a tricky shell game. They are moving targets, hiding behind a "good" vote in order to shove through a "bad" vote.

I picture a group of the Republican top dogs sitting around discussing the START treaty. They want it to go through but know the public is against it, that there are extremely valid reasons to wait until next year. Maybe the START treaty was a benign, so they thought, vote they could "give" Obama and crew if they gave the Republicans a victory in another area.

Discussion ensues as to how they're going to appease the voters yet obtain their objective...  The current powers-that-be in the Republican hierarchy scrutinize the records of each of their co-horts, checking to see how strong they are in their home states and decide Georgia's Johnny Isakson is on point, is to be one of the designated sacrifices to get the thing through. They allowed him to vote the way they think the public would like on a requisite number of votes and now it's his turn to give one up for the team.

They know they have Scott Brown, Olympia Snow and the liberal end of the Republican Party, they just have to come up with a few more to get it through. Then they can beat their chests to the public and say they really didn't want the START treaty to pass. Lindsey Graham, who has been sliding in the estimation of conservative voters, is allowed to be the one to act like he's righteously indignant, is in tune with the tea party/9-12, etc. conservatives.

Isakson says he can't go it alone, his fellow Georgian Saxby Chambliss is going to have to vote, too. He also wants to make sure he's going to get some pet project included somewhere along the line if he's going to take one for the team. Negotiations start.

I have come to believe that on each of the votes that "we" have lost during the lame duck session, and prior, that type negotiation, or something very similar, has happened. These past few weeks Republicans have handed over victory after victory to the Democrats and Obama. It would be interesting to track the pattern of who votes on the Dem side on various controversial bills over time to see how the shell game works. They've always played it, but now it seems they've gotten a little sneakier.

As with any shell game the shill running the game is faster well able to fool most of us. Even knowing we're being duped it's virtually impossible to catch them at their game.

Yes, we busted the Omnibus bill, sent the Dems packing on that one. But we could have had it all. We could have held them off until the next session. If the Republicans stood strong we would have started fresh instead of ending the year with a whole lot of horrific baggage.

I guess we're going to need to work even harder to get rid of the rest of them and hope they haven't corrupted the new bunch we just sent to Washington by the time we send them some support in two years. I didn't expect things to change overnight, but I certainly wanted to believe that more would have gotten the message.

Dem administration advancing 'North American Union' agenda

- from back on the 16th, but I'm just now reading it... so I'm just now sharing with you. Reprinted with permission.

By Jerome R. Corsi
(c) 2010 WorldNetDaily

Acting quietly, below the radar of U.S. public opinion and without congressional approval, the Obama administration is implementing a key policy objective of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP, to erase the border with Mexico and Canada.

The administration is acting under a State Department-declared policy initiative described in a March 23 fact sheet titled "United States-Mexico Partnership: A New Border Vision."

"Mexico and the United States have a shared interest in creating a 21st century border that promotes the security and prosperity of both countries," the State Department declared. "The U.S. and Mexican governments have launched a range of initiatives that challenge the traditional view of 'hold the line' and are developing a framework for a new vision of 21st century border management."

At the same time, CTV News in Canada has obtained a draft copy of a declaration between the U.S. and Canada entitled "Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Competitiveness," to be implemented by a newly created Canadian-U.S. "Beyond the Border Working Group."

The two documents strongly suggest the Obama administration is pursuing a stealth bureaucratic methodology to establish a common North American border around the continent, encompassing the U.S., Canada and Mexico, while simultaneously moving to erase the borders between the U.S. and Mexico as well as between the U.S. and Canada.

Under the Bush administration's SPP, the U.S., Mexico and Canada organized some 20 different "shadow government" bureaucratic working groups composed of agency heads and undersecretaries in the three nations. The groups span a wide range of policy areas, from e-commerce, to aviation policy, to borders and immigration, trilateral travel, transportation, energy, environment, food and agriculture, health and financial services.

WND has reported since 2006 that a blueprint published in 2005 by the Council on Foreign Relations entitled "Building a North America Community" called for the establishment of a common security perimeter around North America by 2010 to facilitate the free movement of people, trade and capital between the three nations of North America.

In his 2001 book, "Toward a North American Community," American University professor Robert Pastor, a co-chair of the CFR blue ribbon committee that authored "Building a North American Community," called for the creation of a North American Commission, a North American Parliament, and a North American Court on Trade and Investment.

The language of the documents declaring "A New Border Vision" with Mexico and Canada could easily have been lifted directly from the CFR report or Pastor's book.

The 2005 CFR report "Building a North American Community" called on page xvii of the Foreword for the "establishment by 2010 of a North American economic and security perimeter, the boundaries of which would be defined by a common external tariff and an outer security perimeter."

CTV News reported that the language of the draft agreement specified that "A New Border Vision" for the U.S. and Canada would involve "a perimeter approach to security, working together within, at, and away from the borders of our two countries in a way that supports economic competitiveness, job creation and prosperity, and in a partnership to enhance our security and accelerate the legitimate flow of people and goods between our two countries."

Similarly, the U.S. State Department fact sheet calling for "A New Border Vision" with Mexico specified five areas of "joint border management, co-responsibility for cross-border crime, and shared commitment to the efficient flow of legal commerce and travel," namely: enhancing public safety, securing flows of people and goods, expediting legitimate commerce and travel, engaging border communities, and setting policy.

Under "setting policy," the State Department fact sheet with Mexico called for achieving rapid policy change through "an agile inter-agency process within each country as well as a means by which both governments can easily coordinate at a bi-national level."

This provides additional support for the conclusion that the bureaucratic "working groups" established under SPP in the Bush administration will continue to operate under Obama administration.

CTV News reported that the draft declaration of "A New Border Vision" with Canada similarly also specified a cross-border policy agenda, including:

* An integrated cargo security strategy;

* A joint approach to port and border security and screening;

* Cross-border sharing of information between law enforcement agencies;

* A closer working relationship between the two militaries in the event of emergencies;

* A new level of collaboration on preventing and recovering from counter attacks.

Affirming the continuance of the working group process, the draft declaration with Canada specifies the U.S. and Canada "intend to address threats at the earliest point possible, including outside the perimeter of our two countries."

The origin of the SPP can be traced to a trilateral summit meeting in Waco, Texas, March 23, 2005, between President George W. Bush, then-Mexican President Vicente Fox and then-Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

At the end of the Waco summit, the three leaders simply declared that the U.S., Mexico and Canada were now in the Security and Prosperity Partnership, without the signing of any international agreement between the three countries or the ratifying of any trilateral treaty by the U.S. Senate.

The SPP in the administration of President Bush appeared designed to replicate the steps taken in Europe over a 50-year period following the end of World War II to transform an economic agreement under the European Common Market into a full-fledged regional government, operating as the European Union, with its own currency, the euro, functioning as the sole legitimate currency in what has become known as "the eurozone."

The concern was that under the SPP, the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, could evolve into a regional government, the North American Union, with a regional currency, the Amero, designed to replace the U.S. dollar, the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar.

WND has reported analysts have believed the North American integration plan will proceed incrementally, largely below the radar, since the SPP was declared "dead" by one of its chief architects, American University Professor Robert A. Pastor, who for nearly 15 years has been a major proponent of building a "North American Community."

Remarks on the House floor by Congressman Paul Ryan (WI-01)

Senior Member of the House Ways and Means Committee; Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee
December 16, 2010

Let me address just a few of the issues that I have been hearing here on the floor. I'm hearing some of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle saying "We just can't afford these tax cuts." Only in Washington is not raising taxes on people considered a "tax cut". What we're talking about here is not cutting taxes; we're talking about keeping taxes where they are and preventing tax increases.

Second point: "We – meaning the government – can't afford this?" Whose money is this after all? Is all the money that is made in America Washington's money, government's money? Or is it the people's money who earned it? I hear all this talk about the death tax, the estate tax: "This is going to give a windfall to these people. All this money going to these privileged people who have built these businesses, made all this money." It's their money! We have a country built on equal, natural rights, where you can make the most of your life, get up, work hard, take risks, become successful, create jobs, grow businesses, earn success – and yes, pass it on to your kids. What on earth is wrong with that? That's the American dream.

To my friends on my side of the aisle, who simply do not like some of the spending in this bill: I do not like it either. Let's cut the spending next year when were in charge. There is junk in the tax code, everybody agrees with this. This is advancing some of the junk in the tax code and what I say to my friends on the other side of the aisle next year: let's get rid of the junk in the tax code when we are in charge. Right now – let's not hit the American people with a massive tax increase.

If we want to get this debt under control, if we want to get our deficit going down, there are two things we need to be doing: we need to cut spending and we need to grow the economy. We need prosperity in the country. We need job creation. We need people going from collecting unemployment to having a job and paying taxes.

Is this a growth package? No, it's not a growth package. It's only a two year extension [of current tax rates]. We're not talking about a pro-growth economic package. We're talking about preventing a destructive economic package from being inflicted on the American people in about two weeks. The last thing you want to do is put more uncertainty in the economy, hit the economy with a huge tax increase, trigger a stock market sell-off and lose jobs. So do we want to make these permanent? You bet we do and that is exactly what we are going to be advancing.

We need economic growth. We need spending cuts. That's exactly what we intend on doing, and I think that's exactly the message that voters sent us. Let's prevent this tax increase from happening. Let's clean up the stuff we don't like in this bill next year. Let's make sure that when people go home for Christmas, they know that they are not going to have a massive tax increase a few days later.

This is a bill that is necessary to prevent our economy from getting worse. This is not a bill that is going to turn it around. Next year, let's pass the policies that will turn our economy around.

President George W. and Laura Bush to Sign Books in Atlanta!

signing
George W. and Laura Bush
Decision Points

Thursday, December 16, 2010 • 11:30 AM
>>Borders – Atlanta - Buckhead
3637 Peachtree Rd. NE, Ste. C | Atlanta, GA | 404.237.0707

Customers MUST have a wristband in order to attend the event. A limited number of wristbands will be distributed on Wednesday, December 15th beginning at 10:00 am at the Borders Buckhead while supplies last. One wristband per person. EACH customer must purchase one copy of both Decision Points and Spoken From the Heart to receive a wristband, with a limit two books of each title per person. For

Net Neutrality: Will Netflix destroy the Internet?

The FCC is slated to make some decisions on the issue on net neutrality on December 21. Given a looming video-inspired bandwidth crunch, it's important those rules are less about "rights" than economics.
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Have yourself a very liberal Christmas...

Hi all...

I've been extremely busy,but plan to post more  often soon.