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Post by CaptApril on Apr 13, 2009 14:11:06 GMT -5
The Real World Gives The Bama A Reality Check
By Monica Crowley
Many of President Obama’s fans think that he was so mystical during his trip abroad last week, so magical, dynamic, persuasive and charming, so George Clooney-seductive, that world opinion of the United States has now changed. Our friends now have warmer and fuzzier feelings for us, and our enemies will soon put down their guns, swords, and nukes, and rush to embrace us like a long-lost lover leaping over fields of grain to fall into our arms.
A cursory glance at today’s headlines shows how these assumptions are really panning out:
Russia is strongly opposing U.N. sanctions on North Korea after its long-range ballistic missile launch this week.
Iran says it’s in the final stage of uranium enrichment.
Russia and China have penetrated our electrical grid and have left behind software that could disrupt our electrical systems.
Turkey is making fun of The Bama on state television.
The Castro brothers are playing Congressional liberals like a Stradivarius.
Hugo Chavez is in China, forming a newly close alliance with Beijing.
The Pakistanis blew off The Bama’s special envoy, Richard Holbrooke, telling him there is no longer any “trust” between the two nations.
The Europeans told The Bama that as much as they’d love to help out more on Afghanistan, they just, you know, can’t.
And twenty Americans were taken captive by Somali pirates.
None of this is a coincidence. Our enemies smell weakness in the president. They know he disdains the use of force, even when necessary. His utter lack of response to the North Korean missile launch reinforced to all of our enemies that when pressed, The Bama will do nothing.
The U.S. crew retook the ship from the pirates, although the last report indicated that the pirates still hold the captain hostage. The crew knew that if they waited for The Bama to go through his Hamlet-like deliberations, they’d end up as skeletons. So the crew took matters into their own hands and took control of the situation: something that The Bama might want to take note of.
He might also want to review early American history: our first international war after gaining independence was against the Pasha of Tripoli. The Barbary pirates were hijacking and harassing U.S. merchant ships, and President Thomas Jefferson had had enough. He took us to war, and we crushed them.
Our enemies tested Jefferson, and he passed. So many presidents who came after Jefferson were tested and passed. Some failed. And so far, The Bama looks like he belongs in the latter group.
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 13, 2009 14:15:12 GMT -5
Civilization walking the plank By Mark Steyn www.JewishWorldReview.com | The Reuters headline put it this way: "Pirates Pose Annoying Distraction For Obama." So many distractions, aren't there? Only a week ago, the North Korean missile test was an "annoying distraction" from Barack Obama's call for a world without nuclear weapons and his pledge that America would lead the way in disarming. And only a couple of days earlier the president insisted Iraq was a "distraction" — from what, I forget: The cooing press coverage of Michelle's wardrobe? No doubt when the Iranians nuke Israel, that, too, will be an unwelcome distraction from the administration's plans for federally subsidized day care, just as Pearl Harbor was an annoying distraction from the New Deal, and the First World War was an annoying distraction from the Archduke Franz Ferdinand's dinner plans. If the incompetent management driving The New York Times from junk status to oblivion wished to decelerate their terminal decline, they might usefully amend their motto to "All The News That's Fit To Distract." Tom Blumer of Newsbusters notes that in the past 30 days there have been some 2,500 stories featuring Obama and "distractions," as opposed to about 800 "distractions" for Bush in his entire second term. The sub-headline of the Reuters story suggests the unprecedented pace at which the mountain of distractions is piling up: "First North Korea, Iran — now Somali pirates." Er, OK. So the North Korean test is a "distraction," the Iranian nuclear program is a "distraction," and the seizure of a U.S.-flagged vessel in international waters is a "distraction." Maybe it would be easier just to have the official State Department maps reprinted with the Rest of the World relabeled "Distractions." Oh, to be sure, you could still have occasional oases of presidential photo-opportunities — Buckingham Palace, that square in Prague — but with the land beyond the edge of the Queen's gardens ominously marked "Here be distractions…" As it happens, Somali piracy is not a distraction but a glimpse of the world the day after tomorrow. In my book "America Alone," I quote Robert D. Kaplan referring to the lawless fringes of the map as "Indian Territory." It's a droll jest but a misleading one, since the very phrase presumes that the badlands one day will be brought within the bounds of the ordered world. In fact, a lot of today's badlands were relatively ordered not so long ago, and many of them are getting badder and badder by the day. Half a century back, Somaliland was a couple of sleepy colonies, British and Italian, poor but functioning. Then it became a state, and then a failed state, and now the husk of a nation is a convenient squat from which to make mischief. According to Chatham House in London, Somali pirates made about $30 million in ransom and booty last year. Thirty mil goes a long way in Somalia, making piracy a very attractive proposition. It's also a low-risk one. Once upon a time we killed and captured pirates. Today, it's all more complicated. Attorney General Eric Holder has declined to say whether the kidnappers of the American captain will be "brought to justice" by the U.S. "I'm not sure exactly what would happen next," declares the chief law-enforcement official of the world's superpower. But some things we can say for certain. Obviously, if the United States Navy hanged some eye-patched, peg-legged blackguard from the yardarm or made him walk the plank, pious senators would rise to denounce an America that no longer lived up to its highest ideals, and the network talking-heads would argue that Plankgate was recruiting more and more young men to the pirates' cause, and judges would rule that pirates were entitled to the protections of the U.S. Constitution and that their peg legs had to be replaced by high-tech prosthetic limbs at taxpayer expense. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy, which over the centuries did more than anyone to rid the civilized world of the menace of piracy, now declines even to risk capturing their Somali successors, having been advised by Her Majesty's Government that, under the European Human Rights Act, any pirate taken into custody would be entitled to claim refugee status in the United Kingdom and live on welfare for the rest of his life. I doubt "Pirates of the Caribbean" would have cleaned up at the box office if the big finale had shown Geoffrey Rush and his crew of scurvy sea dogs settling down in council flats in Manchester and going down to the pub for a couple of jiggers of rum washed down to cries of "Aaaaargh, shiver me benefits check, lad." From "Avast, me hearties!" to a vast welfare scam is not progress. In a world of legalisms, resistance is futile. The Royal Navy sailors kidnapped by Iran two years ago and humiliated by the mullahs on TV were operating under rules of engagement that call for "de-escalation" in the event of a confrontation. Which is to say their rules of engagement are rules of nonengagement. Likewise, merchant vessels equipped with cannon in the 18th century now sail unarmed. They contract with expensive private security firms, but those security teams do not carry guns: When the MV Biscaglia was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden last year, the Indian and Bangladeshi crew were taken hostage but the three unarmed guards from "Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions" in London "escaped by jumping into the water." Some solution. When you make a lucrative activity low-risk, you get more of it. As my colleague Andrew McCarthy wrote, "Civilization is not an evolution of mankind but the imposition of human good on human evil. It is not a historical inevitability. It is a battle that has to be fought every day, because evil doesn't recede willingly before the wheels of progress." Very true. Somalia, Iran and North Korea are all less "civilized" than they were a couple of generations ago. And yet in one sense they have made undeniable progress: They have globalized their pathologies. Somali pirates seize vessels the size of aircraft carriers flying the ensigns of the great powers. Iranian proxies run Gaza and much of Lebanon. North Korea's impoverished prison state provides nuclear technology to Damascus and Tehran. Unlovely as it is, Pyongyang nevertheless has friends on the Security Council. Powerful states protect one-man psycho states. One-man psycho states provide delivery systems to apocalyptic ideological states. Apocalyptic ideological states fund nonstate actors around the world. And in Somalia and elsewhere nonstate actors are constrained only by their ever increasing capabilities. When all the world's a "distraction," maybe you're not the main event after all. Most wealthy nations lack the means to defend themselves. Those few that do, lack the will. Meanwhile, basket-case jurisdictions send out ever bolder freelance marauders to prey on the civilized world with impunity. Don't be surprised if "the civilized world" shrivels and retreats in the face of state-of-the-art reprimitivization. From piracy to nukes to the limp response of the hyperpower, this is not a "distraction" but a portent of the future.
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Post by MicahBee on Apr 13, 2009 14:25:37 GMT -5
Sure looks like he was bending down to be at eye level with the Saudi dude. Obama's six-foot whatever. The Saudi's barely five feet tall. Oh by the way: Dubya held hands with and kissed the Saudi King when he was in town. But of course, that's somehow different, right? Different in that Bush didn't show subservience to the Saudi king. Not to say it wasn't disturbing on a certain level, and certainly unseemly for an American president to be engaging in such behavior with anyone but his spouse, but if holding the little shit's hand means heading off another oil embargo, then ya suck it up, look straight ahead, and think of England. Bush's treatment of the Saudi king was borderline (and also exhibited by every previous president who had to deal with the Saudis), but Obama's finally crossed that line. Heads of state do not bow to each other! Ever!Apparently, however, they do. Here's a picture of Dubya bowing to the head of the Holy See. And it's not a quick dip at the waist, either.  And if the White House says Obama didn't bow to him, but bent down to shake King Abdullah's hand, I believe it. |
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 13, 2009 14:29:23 GMT -5
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 13, 2009 14:32:31 GMT -5
Different in that Bush didn't show subservience to the Saudi king. Not to say it wasn't disturbing on a certain level, and certainly unseemly for an American president to be engaging in such behavior with anyone but his spouse, but if holding the little shit's hand means heading off another oil embargo, then ya suck it up, look straight ahead, and think of England. Bush's treatment of the Saudi king was borderline (and also exhibited by every previous president who had to deal with the Saudis), but Obama's finally crossed that line. Heads of state do not bow to each other! Ever!Apparently, however, they do. Here's a picture of Dubya bowing to the head of the Holy See. And it's not a quick dip at the waist, either. And if the White House says Obama didn't bow to him, but bent down to shake King Abdullah's hand, I believe it. As head of the Catholic Church, The Pope is a special case. Or do we want to dig up the argument thath Obama's a closet Muslim? |
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Post by MicahBee on Apr 13, 2009 20:11:39 GMT -5
Apparently, however, they do. Here's a picture of Dubya bowing to the head of the Holy See. And it's not a quick dip at the waist, either. And if the White House says Obama didn't bow to him, but bent down to shake King Abdullah's hand, I believe it. As head of the Catholic Church, The Pope is a special case. Is Dubya Catholic? No. So why does he need to genuflect to him? |
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Post by Wahrheit on Apr 13, 2009 21:40:08 GMT -5
I'm gonna guess he's referencing the recently departed *A*OT (Almost Off-Topic) board. Then shouldn't it be called "Not Even Close To Being On Topic"? I don't think so, seeing that there really isn't a specific topic, but rather various (often great Conservative) viewpoints. |
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Jor-El
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Post by Jor-El on Apr 13, 2009 21:51:26 GMT -5
And if the White House says Obama didn't bow to him, but bent down to shake King Abdullah's hand, I believe it. I don't. I saw the video. Obama bowed. If the White House says different, they lie. What's funny, is that they have nothing to lie about. Obama was showing the kind of respect for that particular head of state which is traditional for that particular head of state. Rather then defeinding a legitimate action, they lie about it. Interesting. Not sure what the pic of President Bush and the Pope has to do with anything. Did Obama lie about that too? JOR-EL |
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Post by Wahrheit on Apr 14, 2009 9:32:11 GMT -5
The occasion may mark the first time a U.S. president has bowed to a foreign potentate. By the way, if you want to see how your eyes lie, take a look at the video of Obama "not" bowing to the Saudi king: Sure looks like he was bending down to be at eye level with the Saudi dude. Obama's six-foot whatever. The Saudi's barely five feet tall. If you look carefully at the video, at the beginning of the 00:54 mark (pause video), Obama's hand and the Saudi's hand are touching, before Obama bends down. So clearly, Obama didn't need to bend over to reach him. The video doesn't lie, Obama is clearly bowing. |
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 14, 2009 13:18:04 GMT -5
"The apportionment of taxes on the various descriptions of property is an act which seems to require the most exact impartiality; yet there is, perhaps, no legislative act in which greater opportunity and temptation are given to a predominant party to trample on the rules of justice. Every shilling which they overburden the inferior number is a shilling saved to their own pockets."
--James Madison, Federalist No. 10
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 14, 2009 13:21:18 GMT -5
Townhall.com's Washington Beat
with Jillian Bandes, National Political Reporter
April 14, 2009
ARRRRRRRRRR!
Three pirates walked the proverbial gang plank after Navy seals shot them in the head four days after they took U.S. Capt. Richard Phillips hostage off the coast of Somalia. Phillips headed the U.S. freighter that the pirates had tried to commandeer, and was held on a lifeboat where he was tied up and beaten after he offered himself in exchange for the safety of his crewmembers. The U.S. Navy had communicated with the pirates over the course of the four days, transporting food and water to the lifeboat and attempting negotiations. But negotiations were breaking down, and after one transport approached the lifeboat, the pirates held Phillips at gunpoint. It was then the Navy issued the go-ahead for snipers to take them out ? action that President Barack Obama had sanctioned earlier, though not early enough for conservative commentators. A fourth pirate had surrendered before the snipers took out the other three. He will be brought to the U.S. to face charges, will be sent to Kenya for trial, or be returned to Somalia. The episode has returned the issues of high-seas lawlessness to the front of international debate, as a reported 400 other hostages are being held by pirates at sea.
FIDEL GAINS AN INCH
Unlimited money transfers and travel to Cuba were approved by President Obama yesterday for Americans with family there. The president will also take steps to try and lift other restrictions on the embargo that has been imposed since 1962. The move was widely expected ahead of Obama's trip to the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago this weekend, and in light of Obama's campaign promises to lift restrictions on the island. He says the moves will reduce Cubans dependence upon Fidel Castro. A reported 1.5 million Americans have relatives on the island. Former President George W. Bush had eased restrictions slightly towards the end of his term.
LET THE EASTER EGGS ROLL
The White House hosted the annual Easter Egg Roll and thousands of children participated in outdoor activities and family events on the White House lawn. It was headlined by the traditional race where decorated eggs are pushed down the lawn with spoons, and featured Fergie, Ziggy Marley and the D.C. Youth Orchestra, among others. The Obamas appeared on a balcony during the event, and President Obama spoke to the crowd despite technical difficulties. The first family was cheered after the speech. The focus of this year's Easter Egg Roll was "Let's Go Play," designed to encourage young people to be active and stay healthy. No word on whether or not the Easter candy contributed or detracted from that effort.
DOG TRUMPS PRESIDENT
After much anticipation, the Obamas got a Portuguese water dog over the weekend, which Malia and Sasha named Bo. The name was chosen in honor of their grandfather, whose nickname was Diddley ? after the musicial Bo Diddley. The publicity awarded to Bo's arrival rivaled that given to the First Family upon their arrival at the White House, with a front page story on the New York Times and near-deafening clamor on the blogosphere. Bo was a gift from Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and his wife, Victoria, who own several Portuguese water dogs.
STATE OF AFFAIRS IMPROVES AT VA PUBLIC AFFAIRS
The Veterans Affair Department will return a radio reporter's equipment after a public relations official confiscated it when the reporter was covering a story on health care for veterans. WAMU journalist David Schultz was accosted by public affairs officer Gloria Hairston during his interview with Army veteran Tommie Canady, who had made accusations against the VA on tape about shoddy care and racist policies. Hairston claimed Schultz did not properly identify himself as a reporter, and took his flash drive. A spokeswoman from the VA later claimed that it regrets the incident, and would review what had happened; in the meantime, the equipment would be returned.
WHITE HOUSE FARMLAND
Michelle Obama planted a garden on the White House lawn on Thursday in an effort to raise awareness about healthy eating and sustainable food . DC elementary students assisted with the effort, which included the planting of lettuce, onions, herbs, cucumbers, and peas. A beehive will be installed near the garden, kept by Charles Brandts, a carpenter of 25 years and beekeeper veteran.
HONORING THE BEST BASKETBALL TEAM ON EARTH
The University of North Carolina Tar Heels won the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship last Monday night, and President Obama called to congratulate coach Roy Williams on the win. Obama had picked the Heels to win the championship, and thanked Williams for "vindicating him in front of the entire country." This reporter would also like to thank Williams and her alma mater for its smashing 89-72 success, which not only affirmed her belief that the proper translation of "UNC" is "University of National Champions," but also granted her a landslide victory in the Townhall.com office pool.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Wednesday, April 6
Actor Woody Harrelson, on his confusing a member of the paparazzi with a zombie at La Guardia Airport:
"I wrapped a movie called Zombieland, in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character. With my daughter at the airport I was startled by a paparazzo, who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie."
- Jillian Bandes
National Political Reporter, Townhall.com
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 14, 2009 13:25:54 GMT -5
Jewish World Review April 14, 2009 / 20 Nissan 5769 Not a penny more By Cal Thomas www.JewishWorldReview.com | April 15 might become the biggest tax-and-spend protest since the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Politicians fear spontaneous citizen outrage. That's because when the public realizes they have been scammed, bamboozled, defrauded and hustled by politicians who take and then misspend their money — mostly to enhance their own power — they'll run like scalded dogs. Unlike in the 1958 cult movie "The Blob," which featured a creature from outer space that consumed everything to which it attached itself, government is a homegrown monster, consuming ever-increasing amounts of capital. And this government blob doesn't discriminate. It grows no matter which party is in charge. While the deficit last week raced past $1 trillion, the federal government and many state governments are trying to pry more of our money from us so they can finish creating a dependency culture from which we'll never escape. Governments never have enough of our money and they'll never ask if we have enough. Whatever they do is sold as noble, even righteous and if the people rebel, they are uncaring and greedy. The cry at these tea parties should be "not a penny more" until governments get their houses in order, just as we must do. Most people have been forced to reduce spending during the recession, but not the federal government, and likely not the government in your home state. Take New York (puh-leeze). The state legislature has approved a $131 billion budget, which represents a 9 percent increase in spending over last year. There are stories that Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump have threatened to abandon New York over higher taxes. A New York Observer editorial asked the right question: "...why did legislators refuse to deal with the need to control their own spending — the real source of the state's fiscal problems — and instead increase it, blowing millions in public funds on pork barrel programs like 'Urban Yoga,' gun clubs and other member-driven spending items?" California is a close second to New York's high tax rate, having just raised its top income tax rate to 10.55 percent. This means that with the Obama administration's plan to increase federal taxes, successful residents of New York and California will be paying more than half of their incomes — when payroll, sales and other forms of taxes are included — to governments. When is enough, enough? Now! To further increase your outrage, read the "2009 Pig Book" from Citizens Against Government Waste, www.cagw.org, which is released today. Like its previous editions, the latest "Pig Book" chronicles some of the most outrageous examples of wasteful government spending. It wouldn't take much to get the attention of politicians. If the current level of outrage can be maintained after the tea parties, individuals will have two choices. They can reduce the amount of taxes they pay government, thereby sending the message that if we have to cut back then so should government. (Government can't put everyone in jail. The tax system has worked only because of a docile and compliant citizenry.) The other choice is for the successful to either defer income until a tax-cutting administration succeeds this one, or deliberately limit their incomes to no more than $250,000 a year, depriving government of the new income sources it needs to maintain its obscene size. On March 28, 2007, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) commented on the Bush administration's proposed fiscal 2008 budget: "The gross federal debt is now almost $9 trillion, or more than $29,000 per person. That is how much every man, woman and child in America owes to this debt. This is the fiscal mess that we have to clean up." The debt and the per-person cost are now far greater. Do we hear a peep from Rep. Maloney or the many other Democrats who were critical of the Bush deficits? Nope. It's time Maloney, the rest of Congress and state legislators hear from the people. Not a penny more until you put your house in order! |
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 15, 2009 13:40:09 GMT -5
April 15, 2009 | Vol. 4, No. 15 Broken Windows and Somali Piratesby Newt Gingrich Today I want to discuss what Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Chief William Bratton's success in lowering crime in New York City has to do with the piracy issue today. But first, let me give you three reasons to go out and be a part of a Tax Day Tea Party TODAY: If you're a 50-year old-with a college degree, you will pay approximately $81,000 over your working life just to pay the interest on the debt in the Obama budget. If you're a 40-year-old, you'll pay $132,000. And if you're a 20-year-old, just starting out after college, you will pay a whopping $114,000 just to service the interest on the debt created by the Obama budget. To find a Tax Day Tea Party to attend today, visit TaxDayTeaParty.com or TeaPartyDay.com. More about who else will be attending and what's at stake in a moment. Navy Seals: 3, Somali Pirates: 0The good news came on Easter Sunday. All Americans said a prayer of thanks when three eagle-eyed Navy Seals freed American Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates with just three shots. By simply doing their job, honorably and effectively, these remarkable men set the right standard for a civilized world. And give credit to President Obama for authorizing the use of force to protect the captain. But are you ready for the bad news? Here it is: The Seals' show of strength and leadership was a singular event in a dangerous world. In New York In the 1970s, Civilization Was Giving Way to PredatorsDo you remember New York City in the 1970s? It seems like every other car parked on the street had a sign posted in its window that said: "No Radio." These "No Radio" signs were a white flag of surrender to the rampant crime that terrorized New York in the 1970s. They were a signal that the criminals were winning; the ultimate sign of the weakness of civilization in the face of the uncivilized: Predators, aggressors and thieves. Much like New York 30 years ago, the world today is full of predators and aggressors constantly testing the limits of what they can get away with. They prey on the weak and the innocent. And the signal they are receiving from America and the civilized world is that there are no consequences for their bad behavior. Hanging Up a "No Radio" Sign in the International ArenaWe are back to hanging up "No Radio" signs. And the Somali pirates are just the latest example. North Korea fires a long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon deliberately on the day the President is giving a big speech on nuclear disarmament, and the civilized world wrings it hands and talks about legal conventions. The Iranian dictatorship cheerfully announces that is has 7,300 centrifuges to make nuclear bombs and nothing happens. Hamas fires a few more missiles into Israel and everyone ignores it. Pakistan transfers power to the Taliban in its North West Frontier and the world stands idly by. There's a Mexican drug war going on that barely makes the newspapers. And as Rich Galen points out, there are still approximately 260 hostages being held by Somali pirates. Two more ships were seized Tuesday. But you never hear about them because they're not Americans. Strength Works Against Predators-Weakness Only Invites More PredationAs mayor, Rudy Giuliani, along with his police commissioner, William Bratton, transformed New York by doing something very simple in conception but very difficult in execution. Giuliani and Bratton cleaned up crime in New York by showing that strength works against predatory aggressors. Weakness only invites more predatory aggression. Mayor Giuliani and Commissioner Bratton were inspired by a theory developed by social scientist James Q. Wilson and criminologist George Kelling called the "broken windows" theory. If Criminals Believe There are No Consequences,
More (And Worse) Crime Will FollowThe Broken Windows theory simply states that if a building has a broken window that is not fixed, the message is sent that no one cares. Vandals believe there will be no consequences for their bad behavior, and consequently, worse behavior will follow. However, fixing the broken window sends a message that people care about their community and are watching, which deters crime. Giuliani and Bratton acted on the insights of the Broken Windows theory to transform New York from one of the most dangerous cities in America to the safest big city in the country by treating minor crimes like vandalism, prostitution, and loitering like broken windows. They deployed police to where they were most needed using the CompStat (computer statistics) system. And instead of tolerating these crimes and showing weakness to criminals and would-be criminals, the police showed strength. They instituted a "zero tolerance" policy for so-called minor crimes. When other criminals witnessed this show of strength, they were deterred. Citizens, meanwhile, felt safer walking the streets and taking the subway. They took more responsibility for their neighborhoods and helped make them safer as well. In New York, restoring a sense of order to the streets meant that police didn't have to spend all their time responding to actual crime. Their show of strength inspired citizens to care more for their own communities and deterred criminals from committing crimes in the first place. President Obama Should Take a Lesson from the Wilson,
Giuliani, Bratton and Reagan PlaybookThis is a lesson that all those who now dismiss the Somali pirates as "distractions" would do well to learn. It's a lesson that Ronald Reagan, in addition to Mayor Giuliani and Commissioner Bratton, well understood. As Callista and I tell in our new movie, Rendezvous with Destiny, the time America spent under the presidency of Jimmy Carter was a four-year lesson in the perils of weakness. Ronald Reagan moved America from weakness to strength with astounding speed, and the end of the existential threat to America of the 20th century, the Cold War, was the result. President Obama should take a page from James Q. Wilson, Rudy Giuliani, William Bratton and Ronald Reagan's playbook: Strength works. Weakness fails. We need a strategy to end piracy. Do You Know What Your Obama Debt Number Is?As I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter, all of us will be forced to pay for President Obama's record-setting budget increases-as will our children and grandchildren. By 2019, President Obama's budget will have added over $9.4 trillion to the federal debt. And like any form of debt, such as a home mortgage or car loan, this debt comes with a steep debt load. Just like paying off the interest on a credit card, every young American will be responsible for not only paying the principal on President Obama's budget, but will also have to shoulder the interest payments. How much will you have to pay? How much will your kids owe? American Solutions has put together an Obama Debt Calculator to determine how much President Obama's deficits will cost you over your working life. Just click here, enter your age, your current salary, and get your Obama Debt Number. I Will Be At the New York Tax Day Tea Party at City Hall at 8:30 pmAnd when you're done, take the time - make the time - today to come out to a Tax Day Tea Party in your area. I will be at the New York City Tea Party at City Hall at 8:30 pm. My friend and Fox News host, Sean Hannity, will be at the Atlanta Tea Party. To find a Tax Day Tea Party near you, you can visit TaxDayTeaParty.com or TeaPartyDay.com. And don't forget to bring your Tax Day Tool Kit, which you can download at AmericanSolutions.com/TeaParty. Let's make this Tax Day the day Americans stopped just paying up and started fighting back. Your friend, Newt Gingrich Newt's Quick Links:Last Wednesday, at an event sponsored by the Center for Health Transformation's Missouri Project, I had the opportunity to join a bipartisan group of local and state leaders, employers, and healthcare experts in Missouri to discuss drastically improving our healthcare system. We discussed issues from combating Medicaid fraud to restructuring the reimbursement rates of physicians. It has been clear with the Center for Health Transformation's state projects that people all over this country want to be more engaged on transforming healthcare. You can learn more at HealthTransformation.net. On Greta van Susteren's show last week, I suggested that those who are upset by President Obama speaking at Notre Dame should organize on the same day as his speech a nationwide series of events in support of the right to life. You can watch it here. On the same show, we also discussed how better roads are key to Afghanistan's future. Watch it here. |
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 15, 2009 13:42:21 GMT -5
"An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation."
--John Marshall, McCullough v. Maryland, 1819
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Post by CaptApril on Apr 15, 2009 13:55:15 GMT -5
Wednesday Chronicle Vol. 09 No. 15 15 April 2009 THE FOUNDATION " n this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." --Benjamin Franklin
INSIGHT
"When more of the people's sustenance is exacted through the form of taxation than is necessary to meet the just obligations of government, such exaction becomes ruthless extortion and a violation of the fundamental principles of a free government." --President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908)
"Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt." --President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964)
"To tax the community for the advantage of a class is not protection: it is plunder." --British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
"The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." --American humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
THE GIPPER
"People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they're angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant bureaucrats, and public officials who think all of mankind's problems can be solved by throwing the taxpayers' dollars at them." ++ "Government can't tax things like businesses or corporations, it can only tax people. When it says it's going to 'make business pay,' it is really saying it is going to make business help it collect taxes." ++ "We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." ++ "Our tax policy is engineered by people who view tax as a means of achieving changes in our social structure." ++ "Raising taxes will slow economic growth, reduce production, and destroy future jobs, making it more difficult for those without jobs to find them and more likely that those who now have jobs could lose them." ++ "My friends, history is clear: Lower tax rates mean greater freedom, and whenever we lower the tax rates, our entire nation is better off." --Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)
UPRIGHT
"I say let's have Election Day on tax day. Let's get what we're paying for. Sign the check -- for the full amount -- and write in your preferred candidates on the back of the same check. Abracadabra ... smaller government, here we come." --columnist Jonah Goldberg
"Rampant redistribution of wealth by government is now the norm. So is this: It inflames government's natural rapaciousness and subverts the rule of law." --columnist George Will
"Inflation also means that all the talk about how higher taxes will be confined to 'the rich' is nonsense. Inflation is a hidden tax that takes away the value of money held by everyone at every income level." --economist Thomas Sowell
"[W]e need to return to a taxation system similar to the one established by our Founding Fathers. They did not penalize productivity through taxes the way we do today. They had no Internal Revenue Service. They believed in minimal taxation." --columnist Chuck Norris
"Today American taxpayers in more than 300 locations in all 50 states will hold rallies -- dubbed 'tea parties' -- to protest higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. There is no political party behind these rallies, no grand right-wing conspiracy, not even a 501(c) group like MoveOn.org. So who's behind the Tax Day tea parties? Ordinary folks who are using the power of the Internet to organize." --author Glenn Harlan Reynolds
"s there any limit to this administration's intentions to interfere and perhaps control large swaths of our economy? ... That's the real message of the homegrown Tea Party revolt against bailout nation and the higher taxes, deficits, and debt being used to finance it. Folks are trying to tell Washington on Tax Day, April 15, that enough is enough. They can't take it anymore." --economist Larry Kudlow
"The cry at these tea parties should be 'not a penny more' until governments get their houses in order, just as we must do. Most people have been forced to reduce spending during the recession, but not the federal government, and likely not the government in your home state." --columnist Cal Thomas
"President Obama's own budget numbers show that Social Security this year will take in $654 billion in payroll taxes and dole out $662 billion in benefits and expenses -- a negative cash flow of $8 billion. Uh oh." --columnist Stephen Moore
EDITORIAL EXEGESIS
"Today is tax day, and across America, taxpayers are holding tea parties to protest out-of-control government spending. Their concern is no tempest in a teapot. The tax burden on American families is growing increasingly heavy. According to the Tax Foundation, tax-freedom day came on April 13 this year. That day marks the point of the year when taxpayers have earned enough money to pay off their federal, state and local taxes. It takes Americans about 3 1/2 months of labor to cover their tax obligation. That time will increase as government continues to grow. President Obama's current budget proposal admits to plans to raise taxes by almost $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) estimates that hundreds of thousands will turn out to protest this tax servitude. ... Today's tea parties are carrying on a noble American tradition of protesting unfair taxation. Mike Allen, co-author of 'A Patriot's History of the United States,' explained to us: 'America was born out of hatred of a strong centralized government. The Boston Tea Party (and a half dozen other concurrent tea parties from New York City to Charleston) protested government subsidies to create monopoly status for a corporation, the East India Company. From that point onward, tax protests have peppered American history.' The first tea party to protest taxes occurred on Dec. 16, 1773, when patriots called the Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk Indians, boarded ships in Boston Harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. Other colonials followed the lead of Sam Adams and his fellow Bostonians by tossing tea into the sea. Today's tea-party movement is building steam because taxpayers are steamed. As ATR's anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist explained ... 'These are real people with real lives taking the time and effort to do this in reaction not to a tax increase yesterday, but in reaction to too much spending that will lead to tax increases and inflation years from now.' These modern Mohawks are angry because they fear the future is being poured down the drain. This kind of activism is our cup of tea." --The Washington Times
DEZINFORMATSIA
This week's "Leftmedia Buster" Award: "David Shuster, filling in for MSNBC loose-cannon Keith Olbermann on his April 13 broadcast, and his writers probably thought they were pretty clever when they pieced an item denigrating the tax protests by using the [dirty] term 'teabagging.'" --Jeff Poor of NewsBusters (to read the text of Shuster's puerile dirty jokes if you dare, click here -- Warning: Graphic puns.)
Doesn't get it: "Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn't feel right to make fun of crazy people." --New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on the tea parties taking place across the country today
Poor (but accurate) choice of words: t's fair to give the new kids on the block a chance to get their learner's permits first." --CBS's Katie Couric on the Obama administration
Capitalism? Oh my!: "I'm worried if you think if [Goldman-Sachs paying back its federal loan early is] a good thing. Are they doing this because of financial stability or might they be talking about that, simply to get out from under the thumb of the federal government and be allowed to go back to running the business the way they want to run it as opposed to the way the government wants them to run it?" --NBC's Matt Lauer to Christina Romer on Obama's Council of Economic Advisers
Twisted blame: "That weekend tragedy [of the murder of three Pittsburgh police officers] involves a man who allegedly shot and killed three police officers in cold blood. Why? Because he was convinced, after no doubt watching Fox News and listening to right-wing radio, that quote, 'Our rights were being infringed upon.'" --CNN's Rick Sanchez
Oddly enough!: "If anything, the recent shootings have inspired more Americans to buy guns, recession or no recession. In fact, all over the country they are stocking up on as many pistols, rifles, and shotguns as possible before the Obama Administration bans or taxes them. ... Interestingly, however, violent crime rates have at the same time been falling in Los Angeles, New York and other big American cities. The experts are at loss as to explain why this should be happening." --London Times Los Angeles correspondent Chris Ayres
Newspulper Headlines:
We Blame Global Warming: "Thaw Seems Near for U.S., Cuba" --St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Breaking News From 1980: "Thousands Demonstrate Against Georgian President" --The New York Times
Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: "Cows With Gas: India's Global Warming Problem" --Time.com
News You Can Use: "Obama Not the New Messiah: Archbishop" --ABC News Web site (Australia)
Bottom Stories of the Day: "Fewer Disney Employees Whistle While They Work" --CNN.com
(Thanks to The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto)
THE DEMO-GOGUES
Tooting his own horn: "What is most remarkable about this effort ... isn't just the size of our investment or the number of projects we're investing in. It's how quickly, efficiently and responsibly those investments have been made. Because these projects are getting approved more quickly than we thought ... and because these projects are costing less than we thought, we can utter a sentence rarely heard in recent years: This government effort is coming in ahead of schedule and under budget." --President Barack Obama praising his stimulus plan, which is actually doing little but costing money
File under "Wait and See": "We are grateful for what you will do, and as long as I'm in the White House, you are going to get the support that you need." --Barack Obama to American troops in Iraq
The BIG Lie: "No one's told me to back off. I understand the Second Amendment. I respect the Second Amendment." --Attorney General Eric Holder, who has called for a renewed ban on so-called "assault weapons"
Premature victory celebration: "The 'hard right' that still believes you know 'traditional values' arguments ... all that is over." --Sen. Chuck Schumer
Willingly deceived: "We've been led to believe that the Cuban people are not free, and they are repressed by a vicious dictator, and I saw nothing to match what we've been told. ...[Fidel Castro is] one of the most amazing human beings I've ever met." --Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) on his recent trip to Cuba with the Congressional Black Caucus
Foreign law: "I frankly don't understand all the brouhaha lately from Congress and even from some of my colleagues about referring to foreign law. Why shouldn't we look to the wisdom of a judge from abroad with at least as much ease as we would read a law review article written by a professor?" --Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg **"If we're relying on a decision from a German judge about what our Constitution means, no president accountable to the people appointed that judge and no Senate accountable to the people confirmed that judge. And yet he's playing a role in shaping the law that binds the people in this country." --Chief Justice Roberts
VILLAGE IDIOTS
From the "Taxing Your Intelligence" Department: "I do think there's a variety of kinds of strains in the tax code ... it suggests that the tax code will have to get visited at some point, preferably sooner rather than later." --Larry Summers, Director of the Regime Obama National Economic Council
Guns are scary: "Well, you know, saying the government is growing in size is a lot different than saying they are going to come knock on your door and take your guns, that democracy in America is on the wane, and that we're going to turn into a socialist or Marxist or fascist, depending on what week it is with Glenn Beck. That's quite a leap, and again, that's incredibly irresponsible. We have never seen, you know, a television news outfit, you know, sort of exploit these kind of fears before, and they're doing it on a daily basis. And again they're basically mainstreaming this militia -- this militia movement and this militia rhetoric." --Eric Boehlert of the radical left Media Matters for America
Non Compos Mentis: "I would rank [Obama], way at the top, in the pantheon of presidential huggers." --NBC News presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin
A defining moment: "We never kill people. We are Muslims. We are marines, coastguards -- not pirates." --a Somali pirate who claims they detest being called pirates for engaging in piracy
SHORT CUTS
"The Treasury Department predicted better-than-expected tax revenues Sunday when tax returns arrive this week. Their optimism is based on the recent uptick in the economy. Today is National Tax Day, or as the Obama Cabinet calls it, Casual Citizenship Day." --comedian Argus Hamilton
"In piracy, as in most other endeavors, there are a few 'first principles' which must be followed. If you want to be a successful pirate in the Gulf of Aden, then the Principal Principle is: Take all the hostages you want just make sure none of them are Americans." --political analyst Rich Galen
"Last week Obama told the planet on his Dixie Chick America Sucks Euro-Tour that ol' bigheaded America is not and has never been a Christian nation. ... America's not a Christian nation? Well, it's not a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim (yet) or Tai Chi nation. I know Barack is auguring for the USA to become an Obamanation, but heretofore from what I've read regarding our founders' beliefs and original intent for this experiment in self-government, this Republic has a massive intentional Judeo-Christian bent to it and not a religiously neutral one. Stevie Wonder can see that." --columnist Doug Giles
Jay Leno:
[It's] April 15th [and] taxes are due, but people who work for President Obama are busy doing their taxes for 1998, '99, 2000.
ccording to a survey on how Americans will spend their tax returns, 48 percent say they'll pay debts, 39 percent will save it, 27 percent will use it for everyday expenses, 11 percent will make a major purchase, and another 11 percent will use it for vacation. OK, that adds up to 136 percent. OK, there's the problem right there!
Last night I had a new drink: the Navy Seals shot. It's three shots and boom! You're done.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Somali pirates were all untrained teenagers with heavy weapons -- which we call rap stars in this country.
*****
Veritas vos Liberabit -- Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot's editors and staff.
(Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families -- especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)
*PUBLIUS*
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