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Friday, January 14, 2011
The Foundation
"Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread." --Thomas Jefferson
Government & Politics
The Real Unemployment Story
According to the latest Department of Labor statistics, December unemployment fell to 9.4 percent, down from November's 9.8 percent. At first glance this seems to be a sign that the job outlook is improving, but, as we have noted before, looks are deceiving. While the White House and its lackeys tout the 0.4-point drop in unemployment as a policy victory for the "stimulus," discerning taxpayers will question whether a paltry 0.4 percent drop in reported unemployment is really worth the trillion dollars we spent to achieve it.
As Investor's Business Daily reports, "The only reason the rate dropped was that 260,000 Americans stopped looking for work entirely in December." In other words, add those who are no longer job hunting to those who have part-time jobs but want full-time work, and the real total unemployment rate leaps to 16.7 percent. Additionally, for the third consecutive month, the average length of unemployment increased, hitting 34.2 weeks. The bad news doesn't end there. IBD also notes, "[T]his is the 20th month in a row that the unemployment rate has hovered above 9%, a post-World War II record."
Testifying before a Senate committee last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said, "At this rate of improvement, it could take four to five more years for the job market to normalize fully." Yet even that estimate assumes pie-in-the-sky monthly job growth of 250,000. Bernanke went on to assert that the labor landscape has "improved only modestly at best." You don't say.
The extension of the Bush tax rates was a good start, but because they're not permanent, growth will be slower than it otherwise could be. Massively cutting government spending is the next thing that will ultimately help our ailing economy.
Leading the resistance against that remedy is, not surprisingly, failed 2004 presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). He warned Republicans this week against cutting government to the point that it can't help the U.S. economy. And what a "help" it's been so far!
"Do [Republicans] want a government too limited to have invented the Internet, now a vital part of our commerce and communications?" he asked. Do they want a "government too small to give America's auto industry and all its workers a second chance to fight for their survival? Taxes too low to invest in the research that creates jobs and industries and fills the Treasury with the revenue that educates our children, cures disease and defends our country?" He forgot to mention the "moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal," all thanks to the election of Barack Obama.
Illinois Raises Taxes
Speaking of Obama, the former community organizer's home state is preparing to do its part to drive up unemployment. Illinois Democrat Governor Pat Quinn and the lame-duck Democrat-controlled legislature enacted a 67 percent state income tax hike, which will add an average of $1,400 to a family's tax bill, as well as a 50 percent increase in the corporate tax. The personal income tax rate will move from 3 percent to 5 percent for four years (yes, another "temporary" tax hike), in order to help close a $15 billion budget deficit. Of course, raising taxes rarely raises the revenue its proponents "need."
Illinois has lost 374,000 jobs in the last two years, and taxing businesses won't help that number. In fact, governors Mitch Daniels (R-IN) and Scott Walker (R-WI) took the opportunity to extend invitations for Illinois residents and businesses to relocate to their states. As Daniels said, "We already had an edge on Illinois in terms of the cost of doing business, and this is going to make it significantly wider."
This Week's 'Braying Jenny' Award
"We still would have lost the election because we had 9.5 percent unemployment. Let's take it where that came from. The policies of George W. Bush and the Republican support for his initiatives, tax cuts are for the wealthy, recklessness by some." --Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
News From the Swamp: House Rules
House Republicans plan to bring back the "Truth in Testimony" rule, requiring anyone who testifies before Congress to declare any money they receive from the federal government in the form of aid, loans or grants. The rule was created by the Contract with America bunch in 1995 and it exposed a number of leftist groups that were receiving major amounts of funding from the government. Former Republican Rep. David McIntosh of Indiana first sponsored the idea. "It forced liberal advocacy groups to come clean in admitting how much federal money they were getting," he said recently. "Many groups that were said to be unbiased experts were actually financially benefiting from the programs they were testifying to get more money for."
The rule drifted into obscurity, however, as Democrats refused to follow it. They didn't want the truth exposed that three out of four "expert" witnesses are always asking for more money, and only one in four supports smaller government. Returning the Truth in Testimony rule to the books may change this for the better.
New & Notable Legislation
In the wake of the Arizona shootings, MSNBC's Richard Lui asked, "Is it time to rethink the Second Amendment?" Some gun-control advocates on Capitol Hill say the answer is yes, though they seek merely to ignore the Second Amendment, not rethink it. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) has unveiled a bill that will once again make illegal gun magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. "The only purpose for the existence of these devices is to be able to shoot as many people as possible as quickly as possible," McCarthy wrote. "There is no reason that these devices should be available to the general public." We didn't notice exceptions like that the last time we read the Second Amendment.
Also in the House, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) plans to introduce legislation that will make it illegal to carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of a member of Congress. This, of course, makes us wonder why he or anyone else would think members of Congress are so special. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) oppose the bill, as do we. May it not come within 1,000 feet of passing.
Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) are sponsoring legislation called the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which would require that Congress approve regulations enacted by the Executive Branch. Over the last 25 years, administrations of both parties average between 30 and 40 major regulations (those affecting the economy by $100 million or more) each year. The Obama administration created 59 in 2009 and 62 in 2010. However, as The Wall Street Journal put it, "[T]he Constitution vested Congress with the duty to make laws, not to make vague suggestions about what it might be good for the law to be." This bill wouldn't be necessary if Congress wasn't ceding its power to unelected bureaucrats, but that's the best political cover for politicians who don't want to take responsibility for the negative effects of their actions. If passed, this law would go a long way to fixing the system and holding government accountable.
DeLay Sentenced to Three Years
Tom DeLay was sentenced to three years in prison this week after his December conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering in Texas. As we said in December, charging DeLay with money laundering seems terribly out of step with what actually took place, and the same goes for the sentence. When he was Republican House Majority Leader in 2002, DeLay collected $190,000 from corporate donors in 2002 for Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), an organization that he ran. His political action committee then donated $190,000 to the Republican National State Elections Committee, which then donated the same amount to Republican candidates for the Texas House. DeLay maintains that his conviction is politically motivated and remains free on bond pending his appeal.
National Security
Warfront With Jihadistan: Obama's Afghan Surge
Obama's Afghan war-fighting policy continues full speed ahead. Or is that full reverse? It's hard to tell, as it's almost impossible to determine what Obama's ultimate Afghan objective is. Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that an additional mini-surge of 1,400 Marine combat troops would be sent to Afghanistan, possibly arriving as early as this month. These extra troops come on top of Obama's original 30,000-troop surge of 2009.
The extra troops are headed for the southern Kandahar region, where the U.S. is consolidating recent gains in anticipation of an expected spring offensive by the Taliban. U.S. commanders are also looking at other ways to provide even more combat troops in Afghanistan. It should be noted here that U.S. commanders originally asked for at least 40,000 additional troops for the 2009 surge, but Obama gave them only 30,000 in an attempt to appease his anti-war base. If Obama had listened to military leaders to begin with, this mini-surge might not be needed and many U.S. and NATO casualties could have been avoided.
We would applaud this move if Obama's ultimate war objective were victory, or at least giving our troops a shot at victory. In spite of the recent increases in U.S. troop strength, Obama still plans to start the withdrawal of U.S. troops in July. What's the point of ordering more U.S. troops into battle if whatever gains those battles yield are surrendered six months later? All indications are that the native Afghan troops are not yet ready to secure any gains that U.S. troops make. Before we risk the lives of more American warriors, would it be too much to ask Obama to make clear that he's committed to victory?
On Cross-Examination
"It is not our intention to govern or to nation-build. As President [Hamid] Karzai often points out, this is the responsibility of the Afghan people, and they are fully capable of it. We stand ready to help you in that effort. And we will continue to stand ready to help you in that effort after 2014. The United States, if the Afghan people want it, are prepared, and we are not leaving in 2014. Hopefully we will have totally turned over [the lead on security] to the Afghan security forces ... but we are not leaving, if you don't want us to leave." --Vice President Joe Biden, in a joint press conference in Afghanistan with President Karzai, completely changing the emphasis of U.S. policy
Department of Military Readiness: China's Not-So-Stealthy Move
This week China unveiled its version of the F-22 Raptor -- America's stealthy front-line air superiority fighter -- via "leaked" (i.e., well-staged) Internet releases. Designated the J-20, the aircraft completed its first test flight only hours before U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates met with Chinese President Hu Jintao. The purpose of the meeting was supposedly to mend frayed relations between the two nations, but the test flight didn't help further that end much.
The calculated disclosure of the J-20 also is not the big news. Nor is the news that the J-20 looks a lot like the F-22. Nor even that China has apparently been "mining" data from super-secret U.S. computers to be able to build a "J-20" in the first place. No, the news is that President Hu and the rest of China's civilian leadership apparently had no clue about the J-20 and its test program. This revelation comes from senior U.S. defense sources in the wake of the meeting, noting Hu's reactions to Gates' questions about the new weapon system.
Those reactions highlight the growing disconnect between China's military and its civilian leadership. In a nation comprising roughly one-fifth of the world's population, the issue has at least regional, if not global, implications. Although China's civilian leadership ostensibly has control over its military, this event and others like it -- including China's anti-satellite test -- call into question the practical application of China's claim that its civilian leadership controls its military arm.
It's also a wake-up call to America's Pollyanna doves, who believe the U.S. no longer needs a strong force-on-force defense and that all future wars will simply be door-to-door counterinsurgency operations. Among this group, sadly, is the SecDef himself, who advocated vehemently for limiting F-22s and against fighting "tomorrow's wars."
The U.S. has only 187 F-22s in total to replace roughly 650 aging F-15s. With the makings of "tomorrow's wars" now on America's doorstep courtesy of the J-20, Russia's T-50 and other as-yet-to-be-announced fifth-generation weapons systems, we invite Secretary Gates to reconsider his position -- especially in light of the looming numbers-fight over the F-35 Lightning II, the fifth-generation replacement for the venerable-but-aging F-16.
Finally, with respect to U.S. national defense concerns, we believe: Yes the Army is important. Yes the Navy is important. Yes the Marines are important. But give up air superiority, and in any war -- let alone "tomorrow's war" -- you've just given up the ballgame.
Profiles of Valor: Maj. Dick Winters, Inspiration for 'Band of Brothers', RIP
America lost another World War II hero on Jan. 2, when Army Maj. Dick Winters (ret.) died at the age of 92. He requested that his death not be made public until after the funeral. On June 6, 1944, then-First Lt. Winters parachuted into the French village of Ste. Marie-du-Mont with the other members of the U.S. Army's E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. The group was famously nicknamed "Easy Company" and became the inspiration for historian Stephen Ambrose's "Band of Brothers."
After Easy Company's commander was killed in a plane crash early in the assault, Winters led the company on its mission to destroy four 105mm howitzers and a 50-man German platoon to help clear the way for the invading Allied Forces' landing at Utah Beach. Winters lost his weapon during the drop and was initially isolated from his men, but he regrouped and led the successful assault, despite the unit's suffering 50 percent casualties. He later called his actions "my apogee" -- actions for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross. Ambrose wrote, "It surely saved a lot of lives, and made it much easier for -- perhaps even made it possible in the first instance -- for tanks to come inland from the beach."
When the war was over, Winters worked in New Jersey at a fertilizer plant, and later sold animal feed and ran a farm. He left his war experiences behind him, but his men never forgot. William Guarnere lost a leg in the Battle of the Bulge under Winters' command. After learning of the latter's death, Guarnere said, "I would follow him to hell and back. So would the men from E Company." Rest in peace, Maj. Winters.
Business & Economy
Income Redistribution: Government Pays Itself Back for Investments
For the second year in a row, the Federal Reserve sent a record amount of money back to the Treasury Department. On the heels of a $47.4 billion transfer in 2009, interest from the Fed's portfolio -- which is, by statute, transferred back to the Treasury Department after the Federal Reserve pays its expenses -- accounted for another $78.4 billion. This is considered the "profit" from the vast increase in securities acquired by the Federal Reserve since the TARP program was instituted two years ago. Since TARP was put in place, the Fed has bought $1.4 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in government debt -- and that's just what we know about.
While TARP proponents claim the move was necessary to save our economy, the fiscal shell game being played is actually creating a bigger financial mess. In essence, the government is borrowing money from itself to finance deficit spending while prospectively leaving itself stuck with some of the worst money-losing toxic "securities" -- everything from paper securities to properties it can never sell for the purchase amount. What happens when the spigot of profitable items is cut off -- who will pay then? Even our financial system isn't actually "too big to fail."
Regulatory Commissars: Oil Business Comes Under Scrutiny
While the national average price for a gallon of gasoline creeps past the $3 mark in this time of limited driving and the prospect of another summer of $4 gas looms, Barack Obama's handpicked seven-member Oil Spill Commission released a report calling for, you guessed it, more regulation and red tape for the industry.
It goes without saying that extracting raw crude can be a messy business, and few, if any, are calling for unfettered drilling in offshore areas. However, the report ignores the fact that the industry had an exemplary safety record for decades before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and the commission's solutions lean heavily on additional government involvement with the system. To be fair, we concede that there are a few reforms in the package, which are prudent, particularly in the area of risk-based assessment.
Unfortunately, this administration has proved repeatedly that it simply will not stick to commonsense reform. They likely will seek to gum up the works with additional taxes, fees and restrictions on where drilling may take place regardless of the Commission's recommendations. With this prospect of additional regulation and other plans in Washington to place vast swaths of land off-limits to mineral extraction, Obama's stated desire to raise gasoline prices to $4 a gallon is steadily coming true.
Mexican Trucks to Resume Transport in U.S.
Two years after pulling the plug on a pilot program that allowed Mexican trucks to transport goods north of the border, the Obama administration has made an about-face. Last week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood introduced a new pilot program that would re-open U.S. highways to Mexican trucks and, as Investor's Business Daily notes, "help restore U.S. trade to its normal, pre-recession vigor."
The original program had tardily fulfilled a NAFTA requirement that the U.S. give Mexican trucks full access to our highways by 2000, but as we wrote in 2009, the administration was more concerned with catering to U.S. labor unions, which oppose the program, than with fulfilling our treaty obligation. In response, Mexico slapped tariffs on 99 U.S. products, costing American companies $2.4 billion and killing some 28,000 jobs in 43 states.
Not surprisingly, the Teamsters are none too thrilled with the renewal, and union president James P. Hoffa claims that the program will "threaten U.S. truck drivers' and warehouse workers' jobs." As IBD notes, however, "Keeping Mexican trucks out didn't save a single U.S. job." Instead, unemployment climbed.
Culture & Policy
Village Academic Curriculum: What Value Is Added?
Several cash-strapped states -- and their taxpayers -- are tired of paying more each year for higher education, and they're demanding that schools be held accountable. Now Texas A&M, the Lone Star State's oldest public institution of higher learning, wants to institute a cost-benefit analysis that has the academic community in an uproar.
College tuition has been rising at three times the rate of inflation. At some schools, four years of college carries a price of $200,000. Total student loan debt, at $850 billion, now trumps even credit card debt, which means that many 20-somethings are starting their professional lives under an enormous financial burden. This would be bad enough under normal circumstances, but it's even worse when one considers today's bleak employment prospects. Wise parents understand this, and they want to know if they're getting a good return on their investment.
Under Texas A&M's proposed plan, a professor's salary will be broken down to determine how much he or she earns per student. The school will also look at student evaluations, as well as the amount of money the professor brings in for research. Professors who rate highly under these criteria will be given a bonus of up to $10,000. Texas is facing a $12 billion deficit and subsidizes Texas A&M and the University of Texas to the tune of nine figures a year. The higher-education bubble has been building for some time now; surely it's time for this sort of analysis.
Around the Nation: Stimulus Incinerators
A little known environmental consequence of Barack Obama's failed stimulus scheme is just beginning to attract attention: the construction of waste-to-energy incinerators on Indian reservations using deficit stimulus financing.
Building these facilities on reservations allows Democrats to claim that they're promoting green energy projects. However, as is often the case with stimulus dollars and Democrats, the truth and the project claims are strangers. Placing incinerators on Indian lands merely removes them from the environmental oversight that normally prohibits them from doing just what they're doing. Due to the quantity and hazardous composition of nano-particulate fly ash and chemical vapors emitted by the plants, the EPA would shut them down in a heartbeat if it could get at them. The large emission fallout zone contaminates soil, water and air for miles in every direction. This is what passes as "liberal compassion for native peoples."
The effect on residents of metropolitan areas adjacent to reservation lands where the plants are proposed can be particularly devastating. They find themselves lacking both representation to oppose the facilities as well as the normal environmental protections or legal recourse against the tribes responsible for damaging their health and property values. A good example of such a planned project is by the Oneida tribe in Wisconsin, which will be in close proximity to numerous residential homes, elementary schools, churches and Lambeau Field, the football stadium of the Green Bay Packers.
Given the high failure rate for Obama's "green" stimulus initiatives, the new GOP House majority should follow through on its stated goal to pull back unspent stimulus dollars. Otherwise, they will be forcing taxpayers to pay for being injured in a twisted new form of taxation without representation.
Judicial Benchmarks: Profanity as Free Speech
A Superior Court judge struck down a North Carolina law prohibiting profanity last week. Judge Allen Baddour ruled that the law, which bans "indecent" or "profane" language, is unconstitutionally vague. What constitutes profane or indecent language has certainly changed in the 98 years since the law was enacted. In this case, Samantha Elabanjo had been convicted for saying the word "damn" in front of police officers. Of course, millions of American TV viewers hear that and more any given night of the week. The state chapter of the ACLU helped Elabanjo with her appeal and called Baddour's decision a "victory for free speech."
The timing of this case is ironic, given the Left's push to censor political speech in reaction to the horrific events in Tucson last weekend. One wonders where the ACLU falls on that issue, and whether it will continue to remain (conspicuously) silent.
And Last...
National Review's Jonah Goldberg wrote of Barack Obama's speech at the Arizona memorial, "The speech was a good speech, probably the best of his presidency (somewhat surprisingly, that's not as high praise as it might sound). The president, who campaigned as a post-partisan, spent two years in office as a rank and intellectually disingenuous partisan. For two years, conservatives have been decrying and denouncing Obama for failing to live up to his own standards. [Wednesday] night Obama took our advice. He gave what may have been the least self-involved speech he has ever given -- and the most presidential. It was high-minded and empathetic, open-hearted and civil. It was inspiring without belittling those not on his side."
We agree. However, we would add that, though Obama's speechwriters paid proper tribute to those who were killed and injured, they should have left out the opportunistic Demo rhetoric. We suppose the temptation to "never want a serious crisis to go to waste" was just too great. (For more on how Democrats seek to convert tragedy into fodder for their political agendas, see Tragedy to Triumph, Democrat Style.
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) has been at the forefront of such efforts, criticizing so-called violent and vitriolic political speech. However, while on MSNBC, Clyburn himself couldn't help but use a gun metaphor. The president, he said, made a "double barrel" effort in his speech to help the victims move on from the tragedy. As blogger Doug Powers quipped, "Clyburn really shot himself in the foot there."
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Rifleman
When NASA "confirms" global warming, how much of their research budget comes from "federal" funding and how sensitive are they to placating the source of that funding?
Now that The House has come under Republican control and the Senate might turn the same way in 2012, I wonder if NASA's tune will change.
Don't even get me started about NPR.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 11:33:03 AM
Pamela Heckel
Is it possible for the Texas A&M plan to be applied to primary and secondary schools, too? I'd like to start a trend...
Posted January 14, 2011 at 11:44:03 AM
Bob Chester, Sr.
Since it was single edge razor blades, not bullets, that brought down the Twin Towers why haven't the liberal leftwing wackoes suggested tough new anti-razor blade laws?
Posted January 14, 2011 at 11:51:02 AM
Ben Blankenship
Q: Why did AG Holder get to speak at Arizona pep rally, er, "memorial service," since he led action against Arizona's immigration law? And what legitimacy did U. of Arizona have, other than to pack the gym with students?
Another Q, if you please: Is the battle to gain more fighter aircraft blunted by the fast rise of the drone technology? If not, why not?
Posted January 14, 2011 at 11:56:23 AM
Robert
I read with interest the story about Mexican trucks being allowed to transit the U.S. I agree with the information except for the part that is always left out of these staories. U.S. trucks are not allowed to go into Mexico - even into the commercial zone along the border. While most U.S. trucking companies would not go even if they were allowed to because of corrupt Mexican authorities, it would be equitable if they could go over there. This situation is like most of our other trade agreements that put U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage. Don't get me started on NAFTA. I have been a Customs Broker on the border with Mexico for 30 years and extremely conservative for 28 of those years.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 12:08:23 PM
Alton Womack
Speaking of the braying jack asses. The media is already slobbering all over Obama's speech in Tucson, that it was the turning point of his presidency. If we as a people believe this kind of crap, we are indeed in deeper kimchi that I believed. C,mon man it was nothing more than his obligation and the President is so cool, caluculating and ego driven, for him it was just another campaign stop and if you asked him now to recount any of the names he mentioned, dah.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 12:15:12 PM
Nevada Chuck
Let's see if I've got this straight: Jared Lee Loughner Looked like a duck, quacked like a duck, and walked like a duck, but yet none of the public servants who made contact with him in the weeks and months leading up to his rampage had the ability of the plain, old-fashioned guts to call him a duck.
This incident is almost an argument for the abolition of formal government. The chaos that would insue would in some ways be preferable to what we have today in government.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 12:16:31 PM
Rob
There is more to the IL tax hikes than you're reporting here. They're using the revenues from the hike not to pay down existing debt, but as leverage to create more debt.
http://therightofthepeople.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/illinois-house-solution-to-everything-lets-raise-taxes/
http://therightofthepeople.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/illinois-legislature-brain-surgeons-raise-taxes-so-they-can-increase-state-debt/
Posted January 14, 2011 at 12:20:04 PM
Dominigan
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) took an oath of office before Congress to uphold and defend the Constitution. The Constitution includes the 2nd Amendment which states "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed".
To put it simply, Rep. King intends to commit perjury (literally, the breaking of oath), which he made before Congress. If he proceeds, he should be charged with High Crimes (perjury before Congress) and removed from office.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 12:53:36 PM
Betty Grice
So we give Mexico billions to make their politicians rich then they black mail us or threaten
us to let their lousy trucks run across the US
We have some great American destroying lardo's still doing their stupid-dumb things for the good of their party. Whats next?
Posted January 14, 2011 at 1:16:50 PM
Richard Whitman
RE: Rep. Peter King (R-NY) plans to introduce legislation that will make it illegal to carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of a member of Congress.
I hope he plans on spending the rest of his time in congress inside as most of the people in Washington, DC, the murder capitol of the US , Carry weapons
Posted January 14, 2011 at 1:31:54 PM
MYRL ALLINDER
"Air superiority"
You would do well to study history, including the 1972 DeptDef "CLOSE AIR SUPPORT" Study with which i was directly involved.
"Air superiority" never won a war. "Boots on the ground" did. Every time. Fact is, the more the Allies bombed Hitler in WW II, the more Germany produced. If Hitler had had in 1940 the same weapons he had in 1944, there would be a whole lot more German being spoken.
You've been listening to too much USAF propaganda.
Myrl Allinder
USMC-Ret
375 combat missions SE ASIA
Strategic Planner for SECDEF, CNO's Strategic Studies Group, etc
Posted January 14, 2011 at 1:36:42 PM
forest
Your deranged cartoon certainly fits our times. My 3 Statements-IRS exposes three such monsters. Please listen to my video on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzGTSXPWNrQ
My name there is 44forest44, which will help you locate my work.
(I still call this paper "Vin", after the original editor.)
Posted January 14, 2011 at 1:45:55 PM
Old Timer
I always thought that it was that humongous big mushroom cloud that ended the war.......
Was I not paying attention,,,or did my history teacher lie to me???
Posted January 14, 2011 at 1:49:34 PM
A retired Trucker
When I was driving one of the big rigs, we would be dispatched to the border at Nogales Az. to load tomatos and other fresh produce grown in Mexico. We would unhook from our trailers, and a Mexican truck would take it across the border and load it. We never got to see the load, only the "paper work", and were expected to accept it as factual. Sometimes at the destination, we would be instructed to unhook again and another truck, usually a Co. owned rig, would take it to wherevere to be unloaded.
I have (as well as others) a suspicion as to why this was the procedure. I shall leave it at that.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 2:06:19 PM
Dave Templeton
I wonder just how many illegal aliens are in the U.S. and being paid for their work.
Where would the unemployment number be if there were no illegal aliens to hire or if the employer knew he would be jailed or fined into bankruptcy if he hired illegal aliens?
The whole spectre of unemployment figures and measurements and pronouncements is a sham and the robbery we taxpayers and purchasing citizens endure is larceny on the grandest of scales. It is shamelessly perpetrated on us by our unscrupulous politicians and treasonous, self-serving employers.
Ironically, most of the people I know who hire illegals listen to Rush Limbaugh and believe themselves to be patriotic Americans.
Why have we come to a point where people just yawn when the massive burden caused by the hiring of illegals is mentioned?
We pay people not to work so illegals can be exploited by the businessman and the business woman.
We are well on the other side of the looking glass.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 2:21:38 PM
Edward
I am of the opinion that unless/until the parents of American school-age children rise up and remove their children from the the indoctrination/ influence of the Liberal teachers that are endemic at all levels of our schools, we shall be fighting an uphill battle to restore all that America represents. The alteration,if not elimination, of the people, events, and documents that created our Republic by those charged with teaching our Nation's history has severely damaged our Nation.
Through almost 4 decades in the classroom I have observed, but been unable to stop, this shift from education to indoctrination. A start to reversing this destruction must begin with a restructuring of curriculum and content, and a total removal of non-educational issues from both the classrooms and union purview.
To better understand why, all one need do is look at the steady decline in performance of our children when compared with all other countries. Our "educators" are failing miserably at what they were purposed to do while at the same time creating a class largely dependent upon others rather than themselves. The "Multi-culturalism" they promote is anti-thetical to assimilation into Americanism and ignores our National motto, "E Pluribus Unum", "Out of many, one."
Posted January 14, 2011 at 2:23:20 PM
Marvin
All people do about the "OIL Shortage" is talk talk talk. The "Bakken Reserve" has more crude than all the Mid East combined, but nobody will say or do a damn thing. WHY!!!!
Posted January 14, 2011 at 2:42:37 PM
bob apjok
my question is, how are bush and cheney still raising gas prices? i mean, it is their fault, right?
Posted January 14, 2011 at 2:56:06 PM
bob apjok
Obama's speech could have easily been reduced to much fewer words. "Quit arguing with me and let me do what I want, when you argue with me, people die."
Posted January 14, 2011 at 2:58:46 PM
Gary Chambers
The reporting of the small drop in unemployment in December is kind of confusing to me. I would have expected the slight drop coming from Retail sales stores hiring extra temporary people for the Christmas season who will be layed off in February causing the rate to rise again. I just have not seen this consideration in print. Now of course there will be people hired for temporary jobs in the tax prep areas which will expire after April. Maybe I just missed something here.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 3:35:49 PM
garrett
First the Democrats demolish the economy then the 1st amendment now Patriot Post. Who's next, Tea Party?
Posted January 14, 2011 at 3:42:40 PM
Gary Chambers
An armed society is a polite society. An unarmed society will be victimized. If the judge or one of Giffords' staff had been doing their duty to carry protection then the carnage would have been greatly reduced. If one fails to protect themselves then they are much more apt to become victims when least expected. If those who were victims of Laughner had known in advance then surely they would have taken steps to prevent it. They did not and therefore became victims. Assume that you may be attacked at any time and be prepared. Better to carry and not need it in your lifetime than to be caught as these victms were. It should be the duty of all law abiding citizens to cary concealed protection. It may not prevent all crime but it would go a long way toward reducing it
Posted January 14, 2011 at 3:44:41 PM
D Riley
Drastically cutting spending will put this country in a drastically downward economic spiral not seen before.
When Republicans have recovered control in congress and tried to balance the budget in earlier years, the economy dumped! Every time! AND the economy was good when they tried it before, not an already feeble economy as we have now.
FREEZE the individual depts(ALL) and the total government budget for 4 years.....THEN try to cut the budgets.
After four years the congressmen MAY have an idea what they are doing and how it will have an effect on the economy.
To jump in and start cutting away at the budgets will also "disturb" many people, especially ones who depend on government funds for survival.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 3:55:43 PM
Anton D Rehling
Just received an e-mail from Patriot (Shop) Post about the efforts of Barbara Boxer (D, Kalifornia) to shut the Patriot Post down because of what I think is your Constitutional rights. This kind of actions by our liberal politician needs to be placed in our CROSSHAIRS to be ELIMINATED.
The left is desperately attempting to paint themselves in a favorable light with the American public and in so doing is adding to their demise.
People who placed her in office and keep her there are just plain dumb, stupid, educated (or not) idiots.
Any help the Partiot Post and staff need to win this fight I am 100% on board.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 4:03:14 PM
Jiggs
These ignorant do-gooders and the anti-gun crowd, and their followers still don't get it. It's not the guns that are the problem, it's the deranged and mentally challenged people WITH access to the guns that are the problem. When this event in Tucson occurred, I realized immedediately that the cry for more gun control would rise to a crescendo. Could it have been prevented? YES, of course it could have if someone who knew what this guy was like mentally as well as socially had just blown the whistle. Did they? Heck no. Why? Because they didn't want to get "involved" and be accused of profiling. Is preventing unbalanced people with guns from shooting people, profiling? Hardly, but you cannot expect the politically correct crowd to see that UNTIL it affects them directly, and then they want to know who is to blame. In Walt Kelly's comic strip, "Pogo," the little critter once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Until we stop the "blame game," and get straight, these events are going to continue. However, let's put the blame where it belongs and the average, stable person's right to own a gun is not it.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 4:10:16 PM
Gary Chambers
I just received your report on the hate and vitriol by Senator Boxer (D) Un-American. This is the same pro communist hate mongering used first against Senator Joeseph McCarthy in the fifties then the Birch society in the sixties and seventies. They are continuing even today with attacks on Bush, Palin, the TEA party and now your very fine organization. They so far have won every battle in which they used this tactic. This is how they got an idiot elected to the Presidency and Reid back to the Senate. We must end their ability to cause hate against the good guys. We must learn that their tactics have worked wonders for them with the American public. WE must fight back. WE must fight fire with fire. If we do not have the stomach to fight dirty as they have done then we will LOSE and lose big time. WE must play their game but with the resolve to WIN. Obama is the cause of most of this and we must lay the blame directly on him. Obama is at fault for gasoline prices rising because he will not allow off shore drilling. The shooting in Arizona is obama's fault because of the evil "obamacare". It is his fault that abortions continue. It is obama's fault for the high unemployment. It is obama's fault for all the evils...It is obama's fault that Boxer spews hatred with every breath and the same for the very evil Pelosi whose hatred is manifested on a daily basis. WE must have started this fight yesterday and continue to sway opinion until WE WIN.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 4:30:17 PM
Newt
I also received a posting that the Patriot Post's PATRIOTSHOP is now under attack, supposedly for an old sticker (no longer used) from the 'Humor' section. The posting says that the sticker is being censored 'By Order of Sen. Barbara Boxer'. My question is this: by what authority does 'Babs' Boxer have to censor anything on the Internet??? Only proves once again that liberals have NO sense of humor!!!
Posted January 14, 2011 at 4:34:37 PM
Gary Chambers
May I add that this is the hate that was used against Bush and is the same we should return the favor for obama the kenyon.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 4:36:29 PM
Hal Thompson
"Also in the House, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) plans to introduce legislation that will make it illegal to carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of a member of Congress. This, of course, makes us wonder why he or anyone else would think members of Congress are so special. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) oppose the bill, as do we. May it not come within 1,000 feet of passing."
highlights the need for the proposed 28th Amendment which says that:
"Congress shall enact no legislation which does not apply equally to congress members as it does to citizens, nor shall Congress enact any legisalation that does not apply equally to citizens as it does to congress members."
Hal
Posted January 14, 2011 at 4:51:59 PM
Jane
I usually don't like to call names, but I just have to say what an idiot Barbara Boxer is - what a bloomin' idiot! But I fear we'll never be able to get rid of her in this ultra-liberal state.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 5:12:37 PM
Jane
Oops! My comment re Barbara Boxer may not be considered "civil." If so, and you have to delete it, may I say that Barbara Boxer is only thinking of her power and that I fear we will never be able to vote her out of office even though she has done nothing constructive.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 5:17:57 PM
Paul
I strongly wish the picture on the front page with the recovery.gov and fail was a bumper sticker!!
Posted January 14, 2011 at 6:05:23 PM
Peoria Rob
bob apjok wrote:
my question is, how are bush and cheney still raising gas prices? i mean, it is their fault, right?
Hey Bob, surely you remember BHO 'BOWING' to the Saudi King....could it be that they then retired to some tent in the desert to plan how to ruin the American/western economies? OPEC just announced that $100 per barrel sounds about right...and, have you heard ONE word of complaint about $3+ per gallon costs from Obama or the MSM?? NO? Neither have I.....ya think BHO has a secret bank account to hide all the profits?? Oh wait..aren't we supposed to buy a Volt?
Posted January 14, 2011 at 6:23:59 PM
mugwumps
It's all about the $10,000 bonus. Duh!!
Posted January 14, 2011 at 6:41:17 PM
Matt S
I noticed a typo in the Friday (1/14/11) edition of the Patriot Digest "Now Texas A&M, the Lone Start State's oldest public institution of higher learning" The Lone Start State? Shouldn't that be the Lone STAR State?
Posted January 14, 2011 at 7:19:08 PM
Matt S
Regarding the Tom Delay case: If he is accused of "conspiracy to commit money laundering", then I guess all campaighn contributions could be considered money laundering. After all, the money I donate comes from my income. I could be accused of giving corporate contributions to the candidates I support.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 7:21:18 PM
Anton D Rehling
Dick Winters, a man we all should hope to be like. In spite of the danger, he was a man who stood for what is right about our constitutional Republic. RIP, you will always be in my thoughts and prayers. Can many say they would commit to defeating the enemies without and within as he did?
We are all going to leave this world, how we leave and what we leave is our legacy.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 7:30:39 PM
burrman
Marvin
The Bakken formation info sent to me piqued my interest as well. I did a little research, and while a great source of crude, it's '"not all it's cracked up to be". See- http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/bakken.asp Fact check reiterates Snope's view.
BM
Posted January 14, 2011 at 8:43:01 PM
Robert Oberdorf
RE: Digest • January 14, 2011
The item about Maj. Dick Winters included this remark, "The group was famously nicknamed "Easy Company" I am not sure "famously nicknamed" is an accurate explanation for the origin of "Easy Company." The name actually was based on the WWII radio phonetic code for the alphabet. WWII material is filled with comments about Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy, etc.
Sometime around the time (1964) of my enlistment in the Army the old standard was converted to the NATO radio phonetic standard. Easy became Echo. The old phonetic standard still lingered on into the sixties especiallly with the "old soldier" crowd.
Posted January 14, 2011 at 11:56:10 PM
M Rick Timms, MD
I wonder if Rep. McCarthy understands that guns do not fire unless the trigger is pulled, or that most medium and full sized handguns have standard capacity magazines that hold 15- 19 rounds depending on the caliber. Where does she get the number "10" as the allowable magazine capacity?
Is she aware that anyone trained to do so can perform "tactical and emergency reloads" within a fraction of second. The magazine capacity does not determine the number of targets - the person pulling the trigger does. Laws cannot control the gun, the magazine, or the number of rounds because the criminal and the mentally ill do not pay attention to the law.
In every case, the relaxation of gun control laws have resulted in lower rates of gun related crime. Take away the gun or the ammunition from those who obey the law, and only the lawless - and the government - will have them. Of course that may be just what they want.
Posted January 15, 2011 at 12:01:26 AM
Scott Barr
Your article, "Around the Nation: Stimulus Incinerators" Doesn't make much sense to me. Wastes to Energy Plants (WTEP) have been proven to be among the cleanest thermally created energy available. I run a Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator in Alaska and have amazingly clean stack gases and particulate output. I do not believe in Global Warming but I would point out to those that do, that the incineration method is still far superior to Bio Reactor (gas producing and capturing) type landfills, let alone your average methane spewing traditional landfill. I have never heard of a modern WTEP that does not put out less air pollution then if the same waste were landfilled. I suggest more research on your part; you can start by calling me. I have a great deal of solid information on the topic and years of personally collected data. Call (907) 978-3479 and ask for Scott. Best regards.
Posted January 15, 2011 at 6:26:40 AM
Ruth Ann Wilson
"Neapolitan Cancels Virtual Border Fence Project, Proposes Alternative"(The "spell checker" wants to change this spelling, I think that's a good idea) This is a Fox news article, Neapolitan wants a "New Path Forward" because "fences do not work" DUH Suggestion: ARM THE BORDER GUARD, AND TURN THEM LOOSE.
La Hood, Secretary of one of ABC agencies under the Office of the President, now, wants to enforce tenets of the NAFTA Treaty given to US by Clinton and William Daley, Now, Chief of Staff under Hussein, (you know the one who took Rahm Emanuel's place.) Where are all the Rank and File Union members who were "Double Crossed" by the Clintons and Hussein. Back during the "Primary", I remember distinctly, Mrs. Clinton and Hussein, promising the Northern Ohio UAW to do something about this NAFTA Treaty, I think the words were "REVISIT" the Treaty??????
Sorry, UAW Union Members, a few days after the "DEBATE", the Canadians got "MAD" at Hussein for his remarks about "RE VISITATION of the NAFTA Treaty", His position with the Canadians "to calm their agitation" was this, "the remarks were Political Rhetoric". I reckon.
Get rid of these ABC Agencies under the "Office of the President. DEFUND, The Federal Employment Agency.
For God & Country
The American
Posted January 15, 2011 at 8:16:56 AM
Chris
Keeping guns 1,000 feet from Congressmen is never going to pass, so how about the next best thing: keep Congreemen 1,000 feet away from everyone else! Hey, it's a start.
Posted January 15, 2011 at 9:20:53 AM
Brian
First of all, I think Congressmen should be afraid that someone one with a gun would come within 1,000 feet of them. Maybe instilling a little fear will get some true reform accomplished. That, after all, is the true purpose behind the 2nd amendment. A government SHOULD be afraid of its people.
@Myrl Allinder, not to denegrate your service, but "boots on the ground" are incredibly hard to keep supplied without "air superiority". The Normandy landings would have been an order of magnitude more deadly to the Allies had we not had air superiority over the beachheads. Without air superiority, the AEF could never have kept its armies supplied deep in enemy-held territory. Just my two cents worth.
Posted January 15, 2011 at 12:05:57 PM
Marcus
I figure China can build a J-20 because they're probably selling us the parts to build F-22's....
Posted January 15, 2011 at 3:26:09 PM
armedandsafe
There is one sure way to kill the 1000 foot bill: Just remove the exceptions for Congressmen and their bodyguards. Doing so would make even Boxer scream.
Posted January 15, 2011 at 4:57:11 PM
Liberty
I continuously see reported that the NEW claims for unemployment benefits top 400,000 per week. Since it is also reported that this has been going on for more than 3 years, we have apparently lost - the equivalent - of some 60,000,000 jobs in this recession. Given that there are only about 120-150 million Americans employed, why aren't our REAL jobless numbers about 50%? '
Oh, wait. That's right. People drop off the roles and stop looking for work.
Say, just how many chinese have American jobs now? Just those on the J-20, you say?
Posted January 15, 2011 at 5:00:38 PM
Adrian
Brian and Myrl - the army has more ships than the navy and the navy has more planes than the air force. But marines are still part of the navy and the air force still has the most golf courses of anyone.
Posted January 15, 2011 at 5:03:21 PM
Canderous Ordo
I'm pessimistic. I think it is too late to save our country. I don't think we as a nation have enough time to complete the long term cultural and political realignnments that will prevent the destruction of the USA. The lurch to the left and social and economic decline we have experienced took about 100 years to come to fruition. We don't have that much time to correct course. Best thing to do now is prepare for the crash. Maybe even speed it along Atlas Shrugged style. Go on strike. Let the looters have the carcass. When the lights go out in our great cities we can then rebuild and start the world over again.
Posted January 16, 2011 at 4:36:20 PM
NamVet-68
I have noticed Debbie Wasserman has her face in the media as a friend of Gabby Giffords. Wasserman is one of those extreme left wing nut cases that just loves to have her face on the Sunday talk shows or any other available media outlet. I have heard her comments on many occasions and she is an arrogant, sarcastic individual. How the people in Florida put up with her I have no idea. How does someone like that get re-elected? Scarey!
Posted January 16, 2011 at 5:11:35 PM
Rick Brandt
With regard to your comments concerning waste-to-energy plants, you seem to have bought into the Gore/Browning leftist environmentalist hysteria. Well-designed and well-run waste-to-energy plants emit cleaner air than exists in the neighborhoods around them and should be considered a potential asset to any community. The EPA and state regulatory agencies regularly issue permits for such plants in areas within their jurisdiction, especially in crowded metropolitan areas where landfill space is at a premium. Redundant and effective emissions control technology has been in use in such plants since at least the 1980s.
Posted January 16, 2011 at 9:25:29 PM
Ken
RE: Global warming, Tampa International Airport renumbered their runways recently because the EARTHS magnetic core shifted more toward Russia. Could this be more of a cause to global warming than fossel fuel emissions? Isn't this a theory on why possible life on MARS disappeared? If this is true then Mr. Gore and his bunch are wrong for pushing CAP AND TRADE LEGISLATION.
Posted January 16, 2011 at 10:47:00 PM
bob w
The drop in unemployment was simply the result of a Republican, conservative congress taking power, plain and simple.
Large and small businesses, and most hard-working citizens alike, know the benefits of an anti-tax raise congress.
The whole country, working and independent class citizens that is, feared the socialists and their increasing tax payer money grabs.
2012 cannot come soon enough!
Posted January 18, 2011 at 11:39:19 AM
Tim
"Do [Republicans] want a government too limited to have invented the Internet, now a vital part of our commerce and communications?"
Can someone please remind John Kerry that the military invented the internet, and the military is the only arm of the government that Democrats are willing to cut?
Posted January 21, 2011 at 12:53:51 PM