Anyone know which section of the Constitution says big brother can take money from me and give it to someone else? It was James Madison who said, "Charity is not in the Constitution." So why are the Republicrats going along with the democraps on expanding unemployment insurance? It seems the republican leadership (still an oxymoron) has not changed their stipes.

"Truth is treason in an empire of lies." ~ Ron Paul

Where is the outrage at the proof of lies, thievery and corruption on the part of US government officials which was revealed by WikiLeaks? All attention is deflected to the villian, Julian Assange, by the corporate media and political spinners. They are angry because the peasants (who foot the bill) have seen them exposed for what they really are. Why isn't anybody talking about that? And even if some begin to think critically and a dialogue ensues, what will we do about it?

The solution to all of the problems in this country is the same solution as it always was and always will be:

"So great is this struggle of the passions and so serious the dangers involved, that we must either anticipate ultimate ruin or seek for an efficient remedy. It is of course both right and necessary to punish malefactors, to educate the masses, and by legislation to prevent crime in every possible way: but all this is by no means sufficient. The salvation of the nations must be looked for higher. A power greater than human must be called in to teach men's hearts, awaken in them the sense of duty, and make them better. This is the power which once before saved the world from destruction when groaning under much more terrible evils. Once remove all impediments and allow the Christian spirit to revive and grow strong in a nation, and that nation will be healed. The strife between the classes and the masses will die away; mutual rights will be respected. If Christ be listened to, both rich and poor will do their duty. The former will realise that they must observe justice and charity, the latter self-restraint and moderation, if both are to be saved. Domestic life will be firmly established ( by the salutary fear of God as the Lawgiver). In the same way the precepts of the natural law, which dictates respect for lawful authority and obedience to the laws, will exercise their influence over the people. Seditions and conspiracies will cease. Wherever Christianity rules over all without let or hindrance there the order established by Divine Providence is preserved, and both security and prosperity are the happy result. The common welfare, then, urgently demands a return to Him from whom we should never have gone astray; to Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,-and this on the part not only of individuals but of society as a whole. We must restore Christ to this His own rightful possession. All elements of the national life must be made to drink in the Life which proceedeth from Him- legislation, political institutions, education, marriage and family life, capital and labour. Everyone must see that the very growth of civilisation which is so ardently desired depends greatly upon this, since it is fed and grows not so much by material wealth and prosperity, as by the spiritual qualities of morality and virtue." --Pope Leo XIII in Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus, November 1, 1900

'All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent'. Thomas Jefferson

I took that quote to heart this past november. I am one of those 'backwards hicks' that got off my rump and worked to get a man of good character and good conscience elected to serve in congress. It is my hope that many, many more americans will wake up and see the truth. This administration is engaging in a take over of our nation by forcing a fundamental change in everything we hold near and dear. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness will is not part of that change. And I know it's not 'change we can believe in.'

Don't think you can not make a difference. WE can. Be informed, be active. If not me who? If not now, when?

To the Editor:

My Dad was born on the tiny Greek island of Karpathos, in the Eastern Mediterranean. He was as gentle as Spring rain.

My mother was born in Cairo. She was hard, inflexible. I know about Arab women from having been raised in that mind-set.

I had to undergo ten months of intensive therapy to rid myself of the hatred of all things Western which she taught me a child.

--------------------------------------------

To that point:

Outside the home, Muslim women are veiled -- which, according to the Qur'an, is a symbol of their proper place.

However, inside the home, Muslim women are queens of their domain. Inside the home, the husband is subservient, must kowtow to the oldest woman, must obey her commands without hesitation. It's not something to be argued over or compromised with.

She -- the Muslim woman -- is the heartbeat of Islam for it is she who nurses her babies and, while they're suckling life's milk from her, she speaks to them, whispers to them, sings to them, all the while imparting the Islamic world-view. By the time the child is 6 years old, (s)he is already deeply imbued with the language of Arabia and the precepts of the Qur'an.

Without hesitation or question, Muslim women prepare their sons for martyrdom because the Qur'an teaches that every male child belongs to Allah and has one goal in life: to die bravely and thus to be instantly carried to the bosom of Allah. By the time a female child is six years old, she already knows and accepts her life's role.

What makes a Muslim male a martyr? Obeying the precepts and tenets of the Qur'an. The most important of these is to convert the world to the "One, True Religion." If that male child dies while killing Infidels, so much the better for Paradise awaits. The 72 Virgins are a symbol of glorious life eternal, held in Allah's loving arms. Those loving arms are a reconstitution of each boy child's mother's arms.

There is no alternative, no argument, no resistance, no compromise, no middle ground, no disputation, in Islam.

The Qur'an simply IS.

Our Infernal Revenue Service recognizes 2,600 + Protestant sects. If a person is dissatisfied with the Baptists, there's always the Methodists or Unitarians or Seventh Day Adventists or the local Community Christian Church or Catholicism. There's even the local Synagogue, should a Christian wish to adopt the Jewish religion -- or the reverse.

There is nothing of the sort in Islam. Suckled by Muslim women, children become Muslim for life.

Now, what about Obama's parsing "Jihadists" as opposed to "peaceful Muslims"?

If you or I see a crime in the making, if we don't intercede, at the least we'll call law enforcement on our cell 'phones.

If a "peaceful" Muslim sees a homicide bomber preparing himself and his equipment for an attack, (s)he will not interfere with a Muslim "hero," who, regardless of his or her age, is about to willingly become a martyr. The Qur'an forbids interference with that process. No mortal dare stand between a martyr and Allah.

There are only two classes of people in the Muslim world-view: Believers or Infidels.

If a stoning of a Muslim woman who has violated the Qur'an is ever aired outside of the Muslim world, you will see Muslim women helping with the stoning. The woman being executed has polluted, perverted, infected, the purity of Muslim womanhood and it is proper and just for loyal Muslim women to assist in ridding The Faith of such corruption.

There is no such thing as "radical" or "extreme" Islam.

It can't be any clearer than that.

Where is this tax cut crap coming from? What just happened didn't cut anything. All it did was extend what we have now and sock it to the remains when we die. A tax cut is when taxes are actually lowered or cut back. All that happened was that they were not raised; the status quo was maintained, and that IS NOT A CUT. Also, it IS very hard for Mr. Obama to know what the average wage earner feels. Remember, it order to know that one must have had a "real" job, and community organizer does not constitute a "real" job. This guy doesn't know squat!

WHERE is the outrage over those Globalists & their US cohorts who have destroyed the old social order by OUTSOURCING MOST of our manufacturing to bamboo gulags & workers' paradises? After living 23 years of my life in The Peole's Republic of Massachusetts, I've returned to my native Central NY. What a hollow shell of a once thriving area of activity. I know New York City Libs cast a dark pall over economic life here. But everyday I drive by shuttered factories that once supported middle income earners & gave us a great way of life. I've gotten tired of the pedigreed elites & self-appointed spokesmen for consevatives saying: "pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps! I did!" I have an MSEd., but the Lib establishment did everything to undermine my career path. Coupled with a divorce, I'm saddled with staggering debt. I also have a business purchasing-logistical background, but CANNOT obtain work. I have the solace in my GOD, the Warrior's Creed, good humor, & my Libertarian-Conservative beliefs, which I STILL hold. But tell me...WHEN are the rest of you going to rise up & DEMAND a return to COMPETITIVE CAPITALISM, less government, & more personal responsibility. I spent my LIFE as a Reagan conservative, I guess drawing UI makes me a socialist, LOL?

I am getting more and more pissed at the way most political hacks keep referring to not raising taxes as tax cuts. This BS is just revealing to all us that they think we are just plain ignorant SOB's. What makes it worse is even Fox news parrots the so called tax cut deal.

Every great and deep difficulty

bears in itself its own solution.

It forces us to change our

thinking in order to find it.

---Niels Bohr (1885-1962)

Please guys, click this link . It will show who is

behind the TV ads "Progressive Insurance" that

features that pretty brunette.

The link on "Progressive Insurance" is below :

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/peterlewis.asp

President Obama, first standing arms folded behind former President Clinton, and then exiting the dais and leaving Clinton to face the press in his stead, probably did more to enhance Clinton's legacy than anything Clinton himself ever did.

I was really glad that a reference from Adam Smith was finally included in a discussion of the basics of the economy.His book, "The Wealth of Nations", should be required reading as well as The "Declaration of Independence". Both were published in 1776 in revolt against the monarchical mercantilism in England.

It is a shame that Adam Smith is not is not studied at the high school level in Government classes along with the Declaration of Independence, or even part of the curriculum of Political Science majors. I was lucky to have a PoliSci professor who introduced me to Adam Smith along with Keynes in political policy.

The basic tenet of Adam Smith was to describe the nature of man as wanting to out out the minimum amount of effort to achieve the maximum amount of profit, therefore let a man do what he is most talented at for that is what requires the least amount of effort. I believe that this is the basis of Capitalism - individuality of purpose. The Founding Fathers in defense of the Constitution in "The Federalist Papers" recognized this propensity.

It is shameful that this has not been taught in the last 2 generations.

I am a retired Junior College Political Science teacher.

Lana Hills

To the Rifleman:

Thank you for posting an enlightening and frightening commentary. Too many, and not just Americans, have a total blind spot when it comes to recognizing a dangerous threat. Pray that we wake up to reality in time to avert total disaster.

I love the article by columnist Rebecca Hagelin. What truth she unveils concerning the Southern Poverty Law Center. I'm so glad they've seen fit to lump me, my siblings, my parents, and my friends in the same company of such outstanding, viable people who have done so much for the betterment of humanity down through the ages. NOT! Just another ploy to cover up the REAL truth. Marriage IS between a man and a woman. Children born into such a union are happier, better adjusted, and experience fewer psychological and emotional problems than those raised by same-sex parents. The SPLC can deny these facts until they are blue in the face, but it doesn't change anything. What God has joined together, let no man put assunder. Bring it on SPLC. You haven't a leg to stand on~

Obama is the worst president we have ever had the misfortune to elect. His policies will hasten God’s eventual just judgement. Rest assured he will shrivel under God’s rebuke and he will be humbled, a position to which Obama is not accustomed. As for homosexuals consider Lev 20:13 If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. This is God’s law not my opinion.

Obama is not the only politician to “ thumb his nose” at God, there is enough guilt to go around. Now is the time to repent God loves us and he longs to restore us into His glorious kingdom. His gift of eternal life is within our reach, all wee need to do is reach out and take hold of it. I am including a poem I wrote several years ago. Enjoy, Merry Christmas.

Born to Die

Born to Die,

Jesus, do you know

why you have come?

As you sleep peacefully in

a manger, do you know that

one day you will die on a cross

and yes rise to redeem us?

Do you being God, know your

mother’s thoughts as she holds

her newborn son in her arms? Or

are you like any other newborn child

blissfully unaware of the future?

Are you aware of Simeon’s joy

as he received God’s promise

or of Simeon’s prophetic words.

Mary, are you prepared

for the soul shattering

grief, as you watch your

first born, Jesus, die?

Born to die,

Yet, Jesus, your death,

shall give birth

to eternal life, to all

who would receive your gift.

Part of what is missed concerning the unemployment extension is the psychological ramifications to unemployment. At first it seems to be a way of taking an extended break from the drudgery of waking to an alarm clock and allowing someone else to dictate your day. You may only plan to take this break for a short time and then you plan to go out and obtain another job. The longer you are on this government program; you begin to see that you are slowly sinking. It then occurs to you to pick up a part time job getting paid under the table. All during this time you are not a consumer. You cannot afford to be one, but you are barely making your bills. So this is one more consumer taken from the market to help feed free enterprise.

After a time, and a very short time, you don't know how you were able to fit work into your short day. While this weighs on you, you become a "victim" of the economy. You begin to fell worthless as you try to feign looking for work to get your wife or husband off your back.

The next trap that you fall into is the feeling that you are not a person of worth any more. As your self worth degrades, one will begin to lash out at the ones closest to them. This happens because they are the only ones that will put up with your tirades. You will pick on how they dress, how they treat you and so on. Still you are a drain on the economy and you, and your whole family, are no longer consumers.

It is not until you have, or almost have, lost everything and everyone that means anything to you that you are forced to actively seek employment. By this time, your employment record looks so bad that most employers are afraid that you are one of the habitually unemployed, and may eventually cause their unemployment insurance to go up. Basically you almost become unemployable. You have a low self image, which gets worse each day.

If you look at what this does to the economy. There are fewer consumers buying goods to help support the businesses, which helps to create jobs while being a drain on the system. Unemployment, as with welfare, is a vicious trap that keeps you in the victim mentality. I know, because I have been in that situation myself.

"Tax Cuts" or, as one Republican Congressman said, "only the Democrats would refer to no increase in taxes as tax cut." I have trouble everytime I hear the progs talk about tax cuts for millionaires in the same breath as the issue of not increasing taxes on those who earn over $200K ($250K for married couples) per year. I earn much much less than that, but to me while it's a lot of money, $200K does not constitute a "millionaire". So maybe there needs to be an upper fourth, not an upper third: Let those who fall in the over $200K category but earn less than, say $1M a year, keep their current tax rate, and only look at those who are truly "millionaires." The $200K folks are typically small businesses and they need a break. Just my 2¢ worth!

How come I don't hear any comments about 'equal' justice...??? re:taxes

Shouldn't we citizens be taxed 'equally'? If pay 10% tax so should everyone else...Why should it be different for someone who may work harder and earn more than I do?

Can you answer that mr. president????

Great job on DADT discussion. Here's more reasons oppose repeal.

The CDC has recently posted a detailed fact sheet on homosexual HIV infection patterns that when coupled with US Census data provides an analytic view of homosexual HIV infection rates. The document can be found at the following UR: http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/FastFacts-MSM-FINAL508COMP.pdf

The document provides the following four points on "men having sex with men” (MSM):

- MSM account for nearly half of the more than one million people living with HIV in the U.S. (48%, or an estimated 532,000 total persons).

- MSM account for more than half of all new HIV infections in the U.S. each year (53%, or an estimated 28,700 infections).

- While CDC estimates that MSM account for just 4 percent of the U.S. male population aged 13 and older, the rate of new HIV diagnoses among MSM in the U.S. is more than 44 times that of other men’s demographic (range: 522–989 per 100,000 MSM vs. 12 per 100,000 other men).

- MSM are the only risk group in the U.S. in which new HIV infections are increasing. While new infections have declined among both heterosexuals and injection drug users, the annual number of new HIV infections among MSM has been steadily increasing since the early 1990s.

Assuming the CDC statistic that 4% of US Population of males between the ages of 15 and older is MSM inclined, and 532,000 MSM are HIV positive, we can extrapolate the following: The closest US Census demographic statistics for military service are ages 15-44 years of age - producing approximately 53 million men (see http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=PEP_2009_EST&-mt_name=PEP_2009_EST_G2009_T006_2009&-CONTEXT=dt&-tree_id=809&-all_geo_types=Y&-geo_id=01000US&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en

If the 4% statistic is applied to only the 53 million military aged demographic and assume the 532,000 HIV positive MSM are in that demographic, we get a 25% infection rate – or one in four MSM in that age group are HIV positive. If we apply the 532,000 HIV positive MSM to the total male adult demographic of ages 15 and up (109 million men), approximately 12% - about one in twelve - of all MSM in the United States are HIV Positive. Given that MSM mortality average is in the upper 50s, this tells us the infection rate for military aged personnel is somewhere closer to 25% than 12% - either end of the range indicates significant risk if allowed to propagate inside the Armed Forces. While infection rates appear relatively low at about 1% per year (the~28k figure), the overall high level of infection amongst the MSM population carries significant resource implications. With a 1% new infection rate, in 25 years there is a 25% new infection rate overall. This indicates that well over half of all MSM will at some point in their lives contract HIV.

This past June of 2010 the long standing ban on homosexual men donating blood was reaffirmed by Department of Health and Human Services. Opposing discussion centered on the allowable time between the act of homosexual sex (men having sex with men – MSM) and the actual blood donation. The primary reasoning behind this ban is the inability to test potential blood donors and be reliably confident that HIV positive blood is identified before it is admitted to the blood supply. The impact of openly practicing homsexuals in the combat zone, a population that is banned from donating blood specifically due to the threat of aids, poses a threat to heterosexual soldiers that is difficult to justify. See the article on DHHS website concerning the ban at the following URL: http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?docid=640056 .

In a 2006 transcript (see http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/06/transcripts/2006-4206t1.pdf - this is a~60mb file and takes time to download) of meeting and hearing notes concerning MSM blood donation, it was noted on page 46-47 of the document that the European Blood Exchange also bans donations from MSM, and the ban was upheld in a court challenge.

The primary reasoning cited in all the material concerned the inability of current blood donation testing techniques is they cannot detect HIV reliably to the point of being able to provide over 1 in 1 million reliability. The more I read into the reasoning behind the donation ban, the more it is a case of not being able to guarantee the blood supply against infection. If we consider the impacts of HIV positive soldiers on the battlefield, we see a risk to their fellow soldiers during combat resulting from wounds and bodily fluids – the quickest transmitters of HIV are open wounds and bodily fluids.

These statistics are all the more interesting when combined with a recent study of teenagers in New York City Schools (see http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/127715/teen-sex-survey-reveals-risky-behavior ). According to the study in the journal Pediatrics released in October 2010, nearly 1 in 10 of the city's sexually-active high school students say they have had at least one partner of the same sex. This sub-set of teens reported higher-than-average rates of dating violence, forced sex, and risky sexual behavior. Of the male teens who say they have had both male and female partners, just 44 percent said they used a condom the last time they had sex. That's compared to 79 percent of male teens who have only slept with female partners and 62 percent who'd slept with only same-sex partners. The report is based on more than 17,000 public health surveys administered in New York City high schools in 2005 and 2007. The level of MSM sex in New York City high school students is more than statistically significant and if similar rates of this behavior occur across the country indicates the potential for a new HIV epidemic.

One of the more interesting aspects of the debate on open homosexual service is the drive for legalizing homosexual marriage – something that the homosexual community will pursue with renewed vigor if the military ban on homosexual service is repealed. It is instructive that three of four Supreme Court Justices in Iowa who voted to make gay marriage legal were summarily “fired” by the electorate over this issue this past November (see http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2010-11-03-gay-marriage-iowa-election_N.htm ). I personally found this most compelling. Couple this with the fact that no state has approved homosexual marriage at the ballot box, and we seem to have a strong indication the homosexual agenda is not accepted across America and that a political backlash is already occurring.

Some other second and third order effects include exclusion of the Boy Scouts of America from military installations as a result of their steadfast opposition to homosexual scout leaders and homosexual behavior. What a tragic loss it would be for the military to lose all that the Boy Scouts provide us in molding and shaping our young men. Having a private organization that explicitly bans practicing homosexuals from its ranks will conflict with the new Military rules. The Boy Scouts will have to go.

Regarding Victor Davis Hansen's editorial condemning Julian Assange, I am a committed and life long concervative but I find myself in support of Mr. Assange. First, Mr. Hansen's misplaced attack is about Mr. Assange "personally" rather than about "what he has or has not done". The issue is the leaking of the USA classified documents...... NOT whether Mr. Assange has traveled the world looking for other axes to grind. Like it or not, Mr. Assange has shed a disinffecting light of FREEDOM AND KNOWLEDGE on issues that ALL Americans and ALL Military members should be allowed to study and contemplate. If we are to spend our money and send our son's and daughters to die, should we not be privy to the "truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"? In evidence of the "truth" of the preceding I ask YOU to answer this question: What exactly was fought for in Vietnam in exchange for all of the money, lives and limbs lost over there? Answer that, and you have the answer regarding Afganistan. "We will NEVER stop terrorist from attacking within the US, even by killing EVERYONE in Afganistan...... this is nothing short of an ignorant exercize in futility. My regret is that Mr. Assange DID NOT BLOCK INDIVIDUAL'S PERSONAL NAMES.

Why not give the taxpayer the option of paying taxes at the "Bush" rate or the "Obama" rate...

If liberals are so willing to pay more let's allow them to demonstrate this willingness voluntarily...

12/16/10

Well folks,

We have seen what ALLI BAMA and his BAND of

TREASONOUS THIEVES in the H0USE and SENATE have

done to our already unsurtainible deficit.1.25

trillion dollars payola to boughten voters.NO JOBS

rising prices.Mexican cartels killing BORDER

PATROL GUARDS,And pass the upcoming AMNESTY bill,

We will be a third country very quickly,

I like the new T-shirt " It's the Law "...of course I would love to have one, but without the S&W logo. Whose idea was that? Why not COLT or even Ruger? The design on the front pocket should have only been a pair of crossed guns....maybe a pistol and rifle...but to advertise for a gun company is not the way to do it. I'll buy a couple when that is changed.