Political Truth and Fact

Monday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com

Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

New Imam for New York’s Ground Zero Mosque

The Ground Zero Mosque has a new Imam in charge.

A shakeup was recently reported – an ouster of Abdul Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan, and their having been replaced an Imam from Washington.

Backers of the mosque seem to think that with the change the controversy has ended – or at least been mitigated.  The answer of course is “not at all”.  Rauf, for all his negatives, was not the real controversy, nor is the First Amendment right of Muslims to build their mosque the issue.  Clearly they have that right.

What tone-deaf liberals, beginning with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, are trying to ignore is the specific location and Muslim insistence on that specific location that keeps the issue inflamed.  Muslims and their liberal backers have steadfastly refused to even consider alternative sites.  The Islamic obsession with building their mosque adjacent to the site of the 9/11 attack – pulled off by a group of radical Islamic terrorists, has made the project a major controversy and fueled observations it is an in-your- face act of Islamic spite.  As some have described it – it’s actually an Islamic victory lap for the 9/11 terror attack.

Adding to such speculation is the name given the project: “Cordoba”.  The name reprises a Spanish mosque built in the mid 11^th Century to celebrate a Moorish (Muslims of that day) victory over Christians.  Anger over the New York mosque was stoked when its founder, Imam Rauf was dispatched on a tour of Islamic states in the Middle East – with all expenses picked up by American taxpayers.  Despite State Department denials – proffered with straight faces – Rauf was restricted from using the junket as a fund raising ploy for his Mosque.

Of course, without having to murmur a word, Rauf was a walking fund raiser for his Mosque.  Of course we’ll never know how much that junket netted the peripatetic Imam.

So Rauf is out and Muslim strategists are replacing him with Imam Abdullah Adhami.

Of the new Imam, Writer Pam Geller – an expert on things Islamic – points out the new Imam, Adhami, has connections with Siraj Wahhaj, a prominent American Muslim with a history of Islamic supremacist statements.

Such a connection obviously does not bode well for diminishing the controversy.  Again, Mosque backers just cannot grasp the fact that as long as that specific location is involved, the Mosque will forever be a focus for severe tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims.  The controversy will not likely dim.

According to Geller, Siraj Wahhaj once proclaimed: ”The Americans are not your friends ... The Canadians are not your friends ... The Europeans are not your friends. Your friend is Allah, the Messenger and those who believe. These people will never be satisfied with you until you follow their religion..."

Geller quotes Wahhaj further: "In time, this so-called democracy will crumble, and there will be nothing, and the only thing that will remain will be Islam....if only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate."

Of course, Mayor Bloomberg, whose support of the Cordoba mosque is seen as largely due to personal financial considerations, doesn’t care about such details. 

Suggestions the project can bring harmony between Muslims and non-Muslims are beyond absurd.  For those for whom pointing out so obvious a fact is necessary, it probably doesn’t really matter.

As explained in Jeremiah 5:21 (King James version of course): "Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not."  An obvious biblical reference to liberals.

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

House GOP prepares for health care repeal vote 

USA TODAY:  Republican efforts to stymie the health care law passed last year aren't likely to end with a planned House vote Wednesday to repeal it, even if the effort dies in the Senate, according to opponents and supporters of the law. Instead, Republican opponents are already talking about ways to delay the law's implementation or cut its funding.

The House of Representatives had planned to vote on the repeal last week, but after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was critically wounded in an assassination attempt, the House called off all business to pay its respects. Debate is now scheduled to begin Tuesday with a vote likely Wednesday.

When the vote to repeal the law does take place, congressional watchers said, it will likely pass in the Republican-controlled House, and then not even be brought up in the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority. Meanwhile, both sides are making plans for what comes next.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-17-healthcare17_ST_N.htm 

House panel demands Homeland Security Documents

YAHOO: A House committee has asked the Homeland Security Department to provide documents about an agency policy that required political appointees to review many Freedom of Information Act requests, according to a letter obtained Sunday by The Associated Press.

The letter to Homeland Security was sent late Friday by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. It represents an early move by House Republicans who have vowed to launch numerous probes of President Barack Obama's administration, ranging from its implementation of the new health care law to rules curbing air pollution to spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Associated Press reported in July that for at least a year, Homeland Security had sidetracked hundreds of requests for federal records to top political advisers to the department's secretary, Janet Napolitano. The political appointees wanted information about those requesting the materials, and in some cases the release of documents considered politically sensitive was delayed, according to numerous e-mails that were obtained by the AP.The Freedom of Information Act is supposed to ensure the quick public release of requested government documents without political consideration. Obama has said his administration would emphasize openness in providing requested federal records.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110116/ap_on_re_us/us_freedom_of_information

Congress urged to raise debt limit

REUTERS: The Congress must allow the country to borrow more to avoid a debt default that would wreak havoc on financial markets and imperil the U.S. economy, Democratic and Republican lawmakers said on Sunday.

Threatening not to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling -- the amount of debt the country is legally allowed to issue -- is "like playing with fire," Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Republican Senator Tom Coburn predicts a dire outcome if lawmakers are unable to reach an agreement to put the country's fiscal house in order.The Obama administration is under pressure to put a cap on spending to curb its $1.3 trillion budget deficit. Coburn said he thought he would vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling only if there was a specific amount of spending cuts on the table.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70F25Q20110116?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

 

Sunday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

Liberals are often delusional – confronting them can be

Downright unpleasant

Violating a stereotype of a liberal is risky – especially when the liberal is an editor.

I learned that fact true many years ago when I was asked to tell an editor of the Atlanta Constitution – obviously a dedicated liberal – about how the John Birch Society had provided leadership that prevented racial violence in Americus, Georgia.

I never got to tell the story – the editor, Eugene Patterson, flew into a rage the moment the subject was introduced and any thought of honest conversation became out of the question.  Patterson had his own version of the and had no interest at all in information that suggesting his view was in error.

Gene Patterson’s rage and anger common among liberals when they are confronted with facts that contradict their view.  For one thing, on Capitol Hill, Democrats are an endangered species, and the massive losses in the mid-term elections pruned their numbers of more moderate members, leaving radicals holding a higher percentage of Democrat seats.  That Nancy Pelosi retained her leadership position – despite her record – illustrates the point.

Pelosi her disconnect with fact when she led a phalanx of fellow liberals in rudely pushing their way through demonstrators massed outside the Capitol as voting on Obamacare was in progress.  Pelosi was just certain such a crowd would respond violently and she did so much want to be able to reprise images from the Selma march.

Of course there was no violence, and there was also a notable absence of racial slurs.  But liberals continue proving they still have no clue at all about the tea party – what it is and how it responds.  They cannot be convinced tea party members are knuckle-dragging rednecks.  She still has Obama’s image of people clinging to their bibles and guns, or Janet Napolitano’s suspicions that those who differ with Obama politically are potential terror recruits.

It’s a theme that runs through current liberal political thinking

Liberal delusion was in play again in the early coverage of the shooting in Tucson as liberals – especially in the media – were convinced conservatives just had to be responsible in one way or another.  For liberals, “it just had to be the case”.

It wasn’t.  Not remotely.

But political schemers among liberal Democrats saw the tragedy as an opportunity for re-gaining traction that could help stem the nation’s rejection.

Following the lead of the far left partisan Sheriff of Pima County, Liberals moved at full speed to claim the shooter was inspired by political rhetoric from the right.  Media liberals made Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin accessories to the murders.  Much reporting was outright slander.

When a gunman shot to death a guard at a DC Museum, Shep Smith, the most liberal personality on Fox News, demonstrated his bias.  He just knew the shooter was a right winger – in fact, he was so convinced, he immediately brought to comment, a staffer from the far left “Southern Law Poverty Center”.  Together they could “tut tut” about right wing violence.  The shooter was actually a radical liberal.  Sorry Shep.

Facts show the shooter in Tucson is mentally disturbed and one of those idiots who believes 9/11 was a conspiracy from the Bush Administration.  There is no remote intellectual support for such an idiotic position, of course, but a far left sub culture swallows the scam and will hear no counter argument.

Conservatives must understand this fact. It must be factored into how strategy is  developed in the months ahead.  This is especially true in attempting to deal with mainstream media.  Conservatives must remain ever alert and carefully consider the motivation of such reporters. 

A couple of months back, a misspent email revealed an organization of “journalists” conspires to divert conservatives from unpleasant discussions through accusations of “racism” when backed into a corner by facts.

The Media is crucial in determining the course of government and society. Yet its corruption has seriously damaged public confidence and media credibility.  That fact is real and must be understood, accepted, and factored into what we plan to do and how we plan to do it in the months that lie ahead. 

The struggle continues.

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

U.S. Satisfaction Remains Near 12-Month Low

GALLUP: Gallup finds 19% of Americans satisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time -- essentially on par with the lowest level of the past 12 months, 17%, registered in December.

While satisfaction with the direction of the country remains stagnant, the same Jan. 7-9 poll found that Americans' approval of Congress increased to 20% from a record low of 13% in December, during the lame-duck session. This slight disconnect may reveal that Americans are hopeful about what the new Congress can accomplish, but still perceive significant problems in the United States in general.

The current low level of satisfaction is likely tied primarily to the economy. When U.S. satisfaction reached an all-time high of 71% in February 1999, 6% of Americans named the economy as the most important problem facing the country. When satisfaction fell to an all-time low of 7% in October 2008 -- amid the escalating financial crisis -- 47% said the economy was the most important problem.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/145610/Satisfaction-Remains-Near-Month-Low.aspx

Momentum builds for bipartisan State of the Union seating

POLITICO: Momentum is building to mix the traditionally partisan seating arrangements at the State of the Union later this month, even though there’s no clear plan for how to actually make that happen.

Several Senate Republicans have signed on to the effort, along with a few key House leaders, who have endorsed Democratic Sen. Mark Udall’s proposal to head across the aisle – literally – and sit with members of the opposite party during the annual address on Jan. 25. All told, more than two dozen members of Congress have publicly endorsed the idea.

Congressional seating is open at the State of the Union on a first-come basis, so anyone can sit anywhere — outside of the first few rows reserved for cabinet officials, Supreme Court justices and certain congressional leaders.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47630.html#ixzz1BCnBAGOt

Americans Prefer spending cuts to raising taxes

CBS NEWS: Americans strongly prefer cutting spending to raising taxes to reduce the federal deficit. While 77 percent prefer to cut spending, just nine percent call for raising taxes. Another nine percent want to do both. This according to a poll by CBS News. Yet most Americans could not volunteer a program they'd be willing to see cut in order to reduce the deficit - only 38 percent could name a program they would support cutting. The top responses were military/defense (six percent), Social Security/Medicare (four percent) and welfare/food stamps (four percent).

However, Americans are more willing to consider cuts when presented with specific ideas. The most popular ideas for reducing the deficit are to reduce Social Security benefits for the wealthy, reduce the money allocated to projects in their own community, reduce farm subsidies and reduce defense spending. More than 50 percent supported reductions in each of those programs.

Most Americans do not know exactly how the government spends its money. For example, when asked what percent of the budget goes to earmarks, 41 percent said they make up less than 20 percent of the budget, 13 percent said 20-50 percent, 4 percent said more than 50 percent and 42 percent didn't know. Earmarks actually make up less than one percent of the budget.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20028612-503544.html

 

Saturday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

Tucson: Desecrating a memorial service

The speech by Obama at the memorial service in Tucson honoring victims of the week-end shooting there, have been given high marks even by some of Obama’s severest political opponents.

As reported by the Christian Science Monitor, “Glenn Beck called President Obama’s address Wednesday night at the Tucson memorial service ‘probably the best speech he has ever given.’

The article continued: “Pat Buchanan, who wrote speeches for President Nixon, called it ‘splendid.’ Michael Gerson, chief speechwriter under President George W. Bush, says “it had a good heart.” Fox News panelists Brit Hume, Charles Krauthammer, and Chris Wallace all voiced praise.”

That said, the atmosphere of the ceremony itself, is not being praised – the atmosphere is even condemned by many who see it as more political than solemn. This reaction is being generated, not only by what was heard and seen in the nationally televised service but also by photos showing all the chairs for the 14,000 who attended the services adorned with sloganized t-shirts, and by the constant, applause from the audience that some see as intrusive.  Many, if not most, who have considered the matter, say what should have been a somber moment for remembrance and healing, was converted into a crass political rally.  “Tacky” is the mildest term being used.

“To the untrained eye, the University of Arizona ceremony appeared to be a well-meaning memorial service visited by a somber President attempting to heal the nation.  However, to an educated onlooker the event closely resembled a tent revival run by a hypster whose pious pontificating was more about furthering a political agenda than consoling the aggrieved. “ –  Jeannie DeAngelis, writing in the American Thinker.

Now a memo from the Obama campaign back in 2008.  It reveals the “Together we Thrive” slogan is a reprise from the 2008 Obama campaign.  Such evidence converts the service into a tasteless intrusion.  T-shirts and political sloganeering have no place under such circumstances.

Of course this is not the first time liberal Democrats have offended people by converting what should be a somber service into a raucous political rally.  In 2003, liberal Senator Paul Wellstone died when his campaign plane crashed.

Twenty-thousand people showed up for a Wellstone memorial service.  Governor Jesse Ventura attended the services, but left angrily before they ended, expressing his personal outrage saying: "I went to pay my respects in the manner we were asked to do so, and I think that it was very deceitful to turn it into a political rally".

Many Americans are now sharing Ventura’s sentiments as they see and hear more about the Obama-led ceremonies in Tucson.

Writer Monte Kuligowski, concludes: “If Obama had said ‘no’ to handing out blue T-shirts with campaign-type slogans I wonder if the atmosphere would have been a little more respectful. The slogan, ‘Together We Thrive,’ frankly could be used in 2012 for Obama's reelection run. Rather than trying to inspire the crowd, I wonder if the mood would have been a little more solemn if Obama had conducted himself in a low-key manner”.

The criticism comes at time in which polls are showing a weakened Obama presidency. In the latest tally, 51% say they disapprove of the president’s performance to date.  Among more ardent observers, only 25% of voters strongly approve of the way Obama is performing as president, while 38% strongly disapprove.  This according to Scott Rasmussen’s very respected polling.

For those who question whether Obama’s people were aware of the t-shirts and the slogans ahead of time, there is no question they did. White House travels involve very detailed advancing.  All details are specifically approved by the White House.  Furthermore, the 2008 campaign memo, bore the “Together we thrive” political slogan.  The T shirts adorned with that message had a specific White House permission.  It was no accident, it was no misunderstanding, and Obama himself cannot escape the negative response.

Obama may escape those negatives, the emotions of the moment have led to the public as a whole being un-judgmental.  But that same public has reacted negatively to Democrat efforts to lay blame for the shooting at the feet of political opponents – especially the tea party.  Almost 60% of Americans reject claims “heated political rhetoric” was to blame for the shooting – a partisan claim initiated by Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik.  In fact, even a majority of Democrats polled reject the idea.

Americans as a whole, have a huge amount of sincere, heart-felt sympathy for the shooting victims and their families.  It was a horrendous crime, an act by a lone gunman who is identified as being among those radicals who contend 9/11 was a conspiracy by the Bush Administration.

Taking a long look at the week that was, one fact emerges with unblinking clarity: Liberal Democrats, smarting from the severe rejection in the Mid-terms, are ready and willing to grab any opportunity that happens, and convert it into a message allowing them to turn back the negative feelings that engulfed them in November, and allow them to face the 2012 campaign with traction enough to be competitive again.

The operative phrase is “any opportunity”.  In short, Democrats enter the new campaign “swinging from their ankles” to confront their opposition.  Ordinary Americans – via the Internet – must remain alert and watchful.

In the political arena “it’s always November” – the campaign process never ends and those who understand it must remain ever vigilant.

Buddy

The day's top political news:

Oil – back to $100 a barrel

MSNBC: The global economy can withstand an oil price of $100 a barrel, Kuwait's oil minister say as other exporters indicate OPEC may decide against increasing output through 2011 as the market was well supplied.

Analysts have said oil producing countries are likely to raise output after crude rallied more than 30 percent from a low in May because they fear prices could damage economic growth in fuel importing countries.

European benchmark ICE Brent crude for February closed at $93.46 on Friday after hitting $94.74 a barrel, its highest level since October 2008.Arab oil exporters meeting in Cairo this weekend said they saw no need to supply more crude as stocks were high and prices had been inflated temporarily by cold weather in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40811733/ns/business-oil_and_energy/

Feds threaten to sue states over union laws

YAHOO NEWS: The National Labor Relations Board on Friday threatened to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah over constitutional amendments guaranteeing workers the right to a secret ballot in union elections.

The agency's acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, said the amendments conflict with federal law, which gives employers the option of recognizing a union if a majority of workers sign cards that support unionizing.

The amendments, approved Nov. 2, have taken effect in South Dakota and Utah, and will do so soon in Arizona and South Carolina. Business and anti-union groups sought the amendments, arguing that such secrecy is necessary to protect workers against union intimidation. They are concerned that Congress might enact legislation requiring employers to allow the "card check" process for forming unions instead of secret ballot elections.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110114/ap_on_re_us/us_unions_secret_ballots

2012 Candidate Obama – the Billion Dollar Man?

POLITICO: Bracing for a half-billion-dollar onslaught of outside GOP cash in 2012, President Barack Obama’s advisers are quietly working to bring back together the major donor base that produced a record-breaking fundraising haul in his first run for president.

In the past few months, Democratic National Committee aides have contacted several of Obama’s earliest financial backers to brainstorm about when and where to host the first money-raising events. Several big donors said they expect the Obama 2012 operation to open its doors this spring, with a string of fundraisers to generate the early cash needed to rebuild the president’s high-tech campaign operation.

But already some of Obama’s top financial backers are warning the White House: Raising money won’t be as easy this time around. Obama’s team is running into resistance in at least one key fundraising hub — New York City, where some of Obama’s biggest 2008 backers have bitterly protested last year’s passage of financial reform legislation and what they perceived as an unfair bad-mouthing of bankers during the debate.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47596.html#ixzz1B71MRIZz

 

Friday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

Gas surges past $3 a gallon – how much, how far, and how soon? The importance cannot be overstated

It was back in 2008 when gas prices last exceeded $3 a gallon.  They reached that mark again on Monday.  Currently, the average price is $3.052.  The data is from the Department of Energy, so we can assume it’s accurate.

An increase of seven cents a gallon nationally was reported for the final week of December as the price of oil passed $90 a barrel.  Today, experts are telling us, prices for oil are edging above $100 a barrel. That’s a crisis point.

Back in 2008, Bush confronted the gas price crisis (gas prices having reached and begun exceeding $4 a gallon) by issuing an executive order removing the federal ban on off shore drilling.  The Bush move, signaled oil speculators – who many believe caused the price rise – that the US was serious about becoming independent of overseas sources of oil.  In the immediate wake of the Bush move, gasoline prices headed down and, within a few months, had dropped into $2 a gallon areas.

Prices at the gas pump are critical to the nation’s economy, even if many liberals don’t understand or refuse to accept it.  Some liberals have actually cheered the higher gas prices contending they will force a more expedient transformation to alternative energy sources.

Wiser minds know better.  For better or for worse, at least for the next decade, the nation will travel on oil-based fuel.  Travel it must. Excitement over the arrival of such novelties as the Chevrolet “Volt” and Nissan’s “Leaf” are just that – novelties.  Ranges of the car on a single charge are reported to be as little as 50 miles – hardly an acceptable feature.  Some of these novelties are paired with a gas engine, but rather than simply make the cars a bit more practical, the feature underscores the shortcoming of such vehicles.

Even if electric cars can ever be made practical, that goal is clearly years in the future.  To begin with, there is also a matter of building a network of re-charging outlets.  No matter.  A website for Nissan – producer of the “Leaf”, offers a comparison with Ford’s electric car – “the Focus”. Says Nissan: “According to Ford’s director of electrification Sherif Marakby, the ‘Focus’ Electric will require just a three-to four-hour charge on a 240-volt home outlet charging station.  The Nissan LEAF takes up to seven hours to charge at a 220- or 240-volt charging station.”

Gas-fueled cars can fill up at tens of thousands of service stations nation-wide, with such fill ups taking only a few minutes.  Electric car drivers can plan to take in a movie, have dinner, and still have time to engage in other diversions as they await passage of the seven hours required to pump enough charge into their cars to travel another 40 miles.

Imagine the impracticality of such a system in the cases of truck drivers, travelling salesmen, or any average businessman or woman.  Bottom line – electric-powered vehicles are hobbies for wealthy people with other cars and who don’t need to go very far between charges.

The Obama administration has exacerbated the problem.  It quickly cancelled the Bush lifting of the federal ban on offshore drilling, then, in the wake of the Gulf Oil spill, overrode a Federal Judge and banned deep water drilling in the Gulf. 

Moreover, liberals allied with Obama have rabidly pushed for extremist rules and regulations that will result in even higher gasoline prices.  The infamous Cap and Trade concept was actually passed the House.  However, it failed to even be introduced in the Senate.  However, the Obama-controlled EPA, is frantically maneuvering to by-pass elected representatives, and shoe-horn many of the Cap and Trade extreme measures through issuing regulations of its own.

Think gas prices of as much as $8 a gallon if the liberal conspiracy succeeds.

It’s not just a matter of energy sources and prices.  High gasoline prices directly raise prices of other necessities – necessities such as food itself.  The EPA effort must be blocked in some manner by the GOP-controlled House.  Forcing an up and down vote on a measure that threatens $8 a gallon gasoline and the ripple it would send through the entire economy, would almost certainly result in another massive rejection of Democrats … including a rejection of Obama himself.

Once, the energy argument was limited to the origins of oil, and how the oil was retrieved from the Earth.  Now liberals have entangled it in specious environmental debates and even in foreign affairs.

America has sufficient sources for oil from domestic sources.  ANWAR for one, reserves in the Dakotas for another. 

But liberals are having none of that.  Removed from the emotions of the moment, a logical and rational consideration of the facts involved in energy matters, cogent conclusions seem simple.

However, that’s not the way it will play out.  Expect liberals to inject overheated, emotional, and exaggerated claims as they argue their case and verbally assault their opponents.

Few rational Americans oppose developing alternative sources of energy, but such sources must be pragmatically within the reach of us all.  America travels on wheels, and those wheels need to be powered by a reliable energy source available at reasonable prices. 

The energy debate will ultimately determine the real economic recovery – if such a recovery is within our reach.

$8 a gallon gasoline?  Consider the implications.

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

House GOP sets date for Obamacare repeal vote

DAILY CALLERS: HouseRepublicans plan to vote to repeal Obamacare on January 12 as their first order of business in control of the 112th Congress.

Congressman Fred Upton, Michigan Republican, says he expects a full repeal to make it through the House and the Senate with the enough votes to overturn a veto from President Barack Obama, which requires two-thirds of both chambers of Congress. For that to happen, Republicans would need to get 100 percent of their members to vote for the repeal along with at least 20 Democrat or independent senators and 48 House Democrats.

Congressman Steve King, Iowa Republican, told The Daily Caller that he sees the repeal effort as more of a way to get everyone on the record with where they stand on Obamacare, and doubts the repeal will even make it through the Senate, never mind getting enough Democrats on board to overturn an Obama veto.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/04/house-gop-sets-date-for-obamacare-repeal-vote/#ixzz1B1FD6GoW

Economic news is mixed and fears regarding oil prices increase

REUTERS: U.S. weekly initial unemployment benefit claims showed their biggest increase in six months, suggesting that, even with recent signs of economic improvement, the labor market paints a gloomy picture for demand.

The data helped drag down stock markets, even as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he was hopeful about the recent improvement in the outlook, saying he now expects the economy to expand between 3 percent and 4 percent this year.

Meanwhile oil prices raise new fears.  In London, crude oil prices for February settled down 6 cents at $98.06 a barrel, off the day's high at $98.67. U.S. February crude ended down 46 cents at $91.40, falling as Wall Street weakened on the jobs report, after hitting a session high of $92.37.  In late post-settlement trade, Brent crude rose 36 cents to $98.48 a barrel while U.S. crude dropped $1.00 to $90.86.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BD61U20110113

Study downplays outside groups' power

POLITICO: For all the ink spilled on moneyed outside groups’ prominent role in the 2010 campaign, their influence might have been overstated.

A new study from the Wesleyan Media Project found that while outside groups spent slightly more on ads in House and Senate races in the 2010 cycle proportionately to the total amount invested in the campaign, their contributions represented only a small increase from 2000.

Despite the heightened attention on independent groups over the course of the campaign, according to the study, candidates and campaign committees actually drove most of the spending. By the time the final campaign ad aired, candidates and parties paid for 85 percent of all ads in Senate races and 88 percent of ads in House races.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47589.html#ixzz1B1GmHJaR

 

Thursday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual
 
Congress must return to business

Now, back to our regular programming.

Such a suggestion is not a move to ignore the Tucson tragedy, by any means. 

Along with the Fort Hood massacre, The bombing of the Murrah Buiding, and other singular events throughout the nation’s history, Tucson will leave a permanent scar.

But the time has come to regain our balance and return to the challenges that have been so very pressing.  After all, they remain.

Somewhere near the top of the priority list is repeal of Obamacare.  Voters proclaimed a mandate for repeal of that legislation and repair of damage it has inflicted and threatens to inflict.  That vote was to have been held Wednesday, but Tucson intervened.  Now the House calendar is crowded and rescheduling will be more difficult than it might seem.

None-the-less, the vote must be held and held as soon as possible.  It’s not that Republicans can shove repeal by the Senate – which is still encumbered by a Democrat majority – or that any hope exists for Obama signing such legislation, it’s a matter of Republicans providing a viable signal to ordinary Americans that they mean business.  That bit of communications is vital since distrust of Congress remains after several years of unresponsive attitudes from Capitol Hill.  It will take effort and time to transport voters beyond the days of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Republicans face a daunting challenge.  Among the most immediately critical is a question of raising the national debt.  On one hand, there is a serious consideration that raising the limit is crucially necessary to meet America’s financial obligation, thus protecting its financial credibility. Opponents see the expansion as irresponsible and akin to expanding the limit on a credit card already overdue.

Most conservatives are being forced to accept the need to meet our obligations, but insist that agreeing to raising the limit must bring with it iron-clad assurances about financial discipline being applied in other areas.

Getting the agreement, holding liberals to their commitments, and choosing the quid pro quos of such an agreement will be daunting.  Time is fast running out.

As government focuses on moves aimed at restoring some degree of fiscal sanity to the nation’s financial landscape, scars from previous irresponsibility abound.

For example, even among Republicans, there is a question of banning ear marks.  Congressmen who oppose banning them, are thinking in terms of being responsive to local needs and requirements – some of them emergencies. Federal funding has been responsibly used in infrastructure creation and repair, support for law enforcement agencies and even the creation and maintenance of national cemeteries.  Allowing local judgment to supersede that of Washington through a responsible use of ear marks would likely be favored by most Americans. However many have come to see ear marks as money frivolously spent on arcane research and even funding projects and enterprises that enriched Congressmen and their friends.

Closing the disconnect is vital to the debate and to the ultimate decisions.  Bridging that chasm of misunderstanding will not be easy – but it must be accomplished.

There are other crucial areas in which Congress can, and must act.  The EPA, for example, has overreached its service and enacted regulations that impose some provisions of the Cap and Trade scheme passed by the previous House, but not by the Senate.  The EPA regulations, recently issued, threaten the same financial rules that can devastate the economy and send prices rising rapidly.

So it is vital Congress quickly return to business as usual and begin taking on the challenges and concerns that handed Republicans a more than 60 seat surge in House membership.

Most of all, it is vitally important for a sense of balance be resumed.  Americans must be reminded that a definition of “hate speech” is not criticism of Democrat elected officials, nor is it language opposing liberal legislation and proposals.  It’s also important to make certain the political equilibrium is sufficient to remind everyone that it was the political will of a majority of Americans that swept the GOP into power, it was not “a climate of hate”.

If that sounds simple, it is not.  The mainstream media and pundits from its core, have been working overtime exploiting the Tucson massacre – an overt scheme designed to intimidate the national discourse.  If that exploitation is not shameful enough, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is using such the Tucson tragedy in his fund raising letters.

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

Obama addresses Tucson and the Nation

YAHOO: Wednesday night in Tucson, Obama implored Americans to honor those slain and injured in the Arizona shootings by becoming better people, telling a polarized citizenry that it is time to talk with each other "in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds

In an electrifying moment, the president revealed that Giffords, shot point-blank in the head Saturday, had opened her eyes for the first time shortly after his hospital visit. First lady Michelle Obama held hands with Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, as the news brought soaring cheers from thousands gathered for a memorial service.

Obama bluntly conceded that there is no way to know what triggered the shooting rampage that left six people dead, 13 others wounded and the nation shaken. He tried instead to leave indelible memories of the people who were gunned down, and to rally the country to use the moment as a reflection on the nation's behavior and compassion.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_congresswoman_shot_obama

Pima County Sheriff's Department, college won't release data on suspect

ARIZONA REPUBLIC: Sheriff's Department and community-college officials in Pima County are refusing to release a wide range of public documents about the man charged in Saturday's shooting rampage that left six dead and more than a dozen wounded.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department and Pima Community College have declined to release documents that could shed light on run-ins they had with 22-year-old Jared Loughner in the months prior to the shooting.

The Arizona Public Records Law requires that records be "open to inspection by any person at all times" unless officials can prove releasing the information would violate rights of privacy or confidentiality or otherwise harm the best interests of the state. The Arizona Republic requested that records, including incident reports on campus and calls for dispatch of deputies to Loughner's home, be released under the law. Such reports are often released.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/12/20110112gabrielle-giffords-arizona-shooting-pima-county-wont-release-jared-loughner-records.html#ixzz1AvY00wqU

Republican Redistricting Efforts Bankrupt for 2011?

ROLL CALL: Republicans are in danger of entering the next stage of redistricting at a significant financial disadvantage thanks to a cash-strapped Republican National Committee and a high-profile outside group that never got off the ground.

In 2009, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and GOP lobbyist Charlie Black were part of a group that started Making America’s Promise Secure. The 501(c)(4) was supposed to handle the analytical and legal legs of the redistricting tripod for the GOP.

Traditionally, the RNC centralized the Republican redistricting effort using soft money donations. But the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 banned soft money and left Republicans scrambling to reconfigure their redistricting strategy. MAPS was supposed to fill the vacuum, corral the GOP’s top redistricting talent and bear the financial burden since the group is not subject to federal contribution limits. But with states on the cusp of drawing new Congressional lines, MAPS is nowhere to be found.

http://www.rollcall.com/news/-202420-1.html?zkPrintable=true

Fed says economy, jobs outlook improving

REUTERS: The U.S. economy strengthened as the year drew to a close, according to a report from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday that cited rising employment levels across the country.

The Fed's Beige Book report, based on anecdotal reports collected from the business contacts of the central bank's regional branches, painted an increasingly bright, if cautious, picture.

While real estate markets, at the heart of the deepest recession in generations, remained predictably weak, manufacturing contacts sounded more upbeat. The Fed reported better conditions across all 12 of its districts, though banking and financial services showed results that varied by region.

http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USTRE70B61G20110112

 

 

Wednesday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

Americans reject Liberal charges regarding "hate rhetoric"

From the moment news of the tragic shooting in Arizona was reported, rabid liberals, beginning with Paul Krugman of the NY Times, have frantically tried to sell a concept that conservatives – especially Republicans, were somehow to blame.

The effort has obviously failed.

A sizable majority of Americans say they don’t believe harsh political rhetoric was the reason a gunman opened fire Saturday in Tucson

A new CBS poll shows most Americans just aren’t buying it.  The CBS Data reveals "57 percent of respondents say the harsh political tone has nothing to do with the shooting.  32 percent feel it did."  By party, a large majority of Republicans feel rhetoric was not responsible for the shooting and even Democrat opinions are split with 49% rejecting the concept, with only 42% of Democrats buying the liberal line.  Thus, even among Democrats, a substantial margin rejects the “rhetoric” position.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle Giffords, the 40-year-old Democrat congresswoman, is reported "holding her own," and responding to simple commands.  She is now breathing without the aid of her ventilation tube, according to her doctors.

The shooter’s family released a statement late yesterday saying: "We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are so very sorry for their loss."

The more investigators learn about the shooter – 22 year old Jared Loughner –  the more the liberal position falls flat, not just in public opinion, but also on the basis of identifiable fact.

Investigators are piecing together a montage of the shooter revealing a visibly troubled young man – so troubled he scared fellow classmates.  Investigators paint a pre-shooting picture that include Loughner’s running into the desert, a mysterious  black bag in hand,  with his father in pursuit but forced to abandon the chase.

Sheriff's deputies who have searched the Loughners' home are have removed items that may be potential evidence, including indications Loughner was actually targeting the Congresswoman. Among handwritten notes found by investigators, was one on which was scribbled the words "Die, bitch". 

The Associated Press says authorities tell them they believe it was a reference to Giffords. The handwritten notes also read: “I planned ahead," ''My assassination" and "Giffords." Capt. Chris Nanos of the Pima County Sheriff’s office say all the writings were either in an envelope or on a form letter Giffords' office sent Loughner in 2007.

None of the evidence uncovered by his investigators, deters Pima Sheriff Clarence Dupnik from leading the liberal charge. Dupnik claims political motivation for the shooting.

Specifically, Dupnik blames Arizona's new gun laws which he views as “lax” along with what he dubs “the angry rhetoric" of talk radio. The shooting was ignited, he suggests, by "rhetoric about hatred, about mistrust of government, about paranoia of how government operates." 

For those who say Dupnik was speaking emotionally in the immediate wake of the tragedy, it must be noted Dupnik continued his attack days as late as Monday.  Dupnik’s political rhetoric even led the Arizona Republic to note editorially “in response, we have to say at last . . . enough. Enough attacks, sheriff. Enough vitriol. It is well past time for the sheriff of Pima County to get a grip on his emotions and remember his duty.”

The admonition should be heeded by liberal politicians as a whole.  Yet California Congressman, Brad Sherman predicted on Fox News yesterday:  "Whether [political rhetoric] caused what happened in Tucson or not, it’ll cause the next tragedy."

Even more embarrassing are the actions of avowed Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont who has dispatched a fund raising letter using the shooting as motivation for political giving.  His letter seeks to raise money to fight Republicans and other “right-wing reactionaries” responsible for the climate that led to the shooting.

Shamelessly exploiting the tragedy, Sanders poses a question: “is Arizona a state in which people who are not Republicans are able to participate freely and fully in the democratic process?  Have right-wing reactionaries, through threats and acts of violence, intimidated people with different points of view from expressing their political positions?” Shameless exploitation, obviously.

Dr. Charles Krauthammer, a Fox News pundit who is also a psychiatrist, says the killer sounds like a schizophrenic .  Krauthammer also addresses the media’s frantic reaction to the Tucson rampage:

"I think the way that some have manipulated and exploited this – particularly those on the left – is truly scurrilous.  We just heard the Sheriff Duplik imply what happened was a consequence of hate speech," Krauthammer says ."There is not a shred of evidence that the shooter, the gunman, was influenced in anyway by Sarah Palin, by the tea party, by opposition to health care," he adds.

The liberal efforts to smear their political opponents no doubt stems from their frustration at having been so overwhelmingly rejected by voters a couple of months back, along with their unshakable misconceptions that tea partiers, Republicans, and other conservatives are perpetually violence-prone.  They just can’t shake their prejudice and bigotry.

So liberal Democrats again find themselves in a minority – this time regarding motivation for the Arizona shooting.  They should be accustomed to minority status by now.  Majorities of Americans also prefer repeal of Obamacare, and reject challenging Arizona’s immigration law, to cite other issues on which liberals lose. 

As they look toward the elections in 2012, liberals must bring themselves to understand the people of this country just don’t buy what they are trying to sell. 

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

Boehner opposes new gun-control bill

THE HILL: Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is rejecting gun-control legislation offered by the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in response to the weekend shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others in Arizona.

Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) announced plans Tuesday to introduce legislation prohibiting people from carrying guns within 1,000 feet of members of Congress. King, who has previously called for the removal of illegal guns from the streets, made the announcement alongside New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the nation’s loudest voices for stricter gun laws.

King said the legislation is not intended only for the safety of government officials but also to protect the public. He said elected officials are not necessarily more important than constituents, but by protecting them in this way, they would feel safer in meeting federal officials at public events.  King’s legislation got the cold shoulder from Boehner and other Republicans after it was announced.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/137393-speaker-boehner-says-no-to-new-gun-controls

Oil panel comes up dry on offshore drilling

WASHINGTON TIMES: With gasoline prices at unusually high levels for this time of year, a report from a presidential commission Tuesday did little to break the political deadlock over offshore drilling, prompting some observers to warn that the United States is headed toward another gas-price crunch this summer.

The nationwide average price of regular gas over the weekend rose to $3.08 a gallon while crude-oil prices have surged to more than $90 a barrel — levels seen in only one previous winter, in 2007-08. Gasoline prices then ran up dramatically in the 2008 spring-summer driving season and reached an all-time high of more than $4, prompting public outrage and demands that the government open offshore drilling for the first time in 30 years.

But despite the threat of much higher gas prices again this summer, the momentum for increased drilling has been effectively snuffed out by the disastrous Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The Obama administration has withdrawn most of its proposals to expand drilling off U.S. coasts and has imposed more layers of regulation that have stifled new development even in the well-pocked Gulf of Mexico. Tuesday's report from a commission appointed by President Obama to investigate the oil spill blamed it on "complacency" within the industry and the government bureaucracy that regulates drilling, and mostly ratified the administration's moves toward heavier regulation.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/11/oil-panel-comes-up-dry-on-drilling/

Tucson Speech Offers Fresh Start for Obama

ROLL CALL: President Barack Obama will do more than try to heal the nation with his speech in Tucson, Ariz., tonight: He'll try to recast his presidency and regain the trust of Americans who have lost faith in him over the past two years.

All eyes will be on Obama at 8 p.m. Eastern time as he addresses a memorial service at the University of Arizona for the victims of Saturday's shooting rampage. White House aides say the president has been working on his remarks since Monday night and will devote much of them to honoring the victims.

It's a critical moment for Obama. Facing re-election in just two years, he has a narrow opportunity to prove he is the consensus-maker he promised he would be and win back the support of the public that elected him to the White House in 2008. His challenge is further heightened by a newly divided government — a GOP-controlled House — and a political landscape that many believe plays to the Republicans' advantage in 2012.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_66/-202385-1.html?zkPrintable=true

 

Tuesday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

Union ability to impact politics, and its willingness to do so, requires serious scrutiny

Information is coming forward, that paints a dark picture regarding those who call the shots for America’s labor unions.

In New York, courageous whistle blowers – members of the union that holds the city’s Sanitation Department in a stranglehold when weather strikes, have come forward to expose a major political scandal.

According to the New York Post: "There was a method to their madness.  The selfish Sanitation bosses who sabotaged the blizzard cleanup to fire a salvo at City Hall targeted politically connected and well-heeled neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn to get their twisted message across loud and clear”, The Post has learned.

A probe was launched after hearing rumblings of a coordinated job action.

“Sources told The Post several neighborhoods were on the workers' hit list because residents there have more money and their politicians carry big sticks."

If the stories are true, union workers have once again put short term political and economic demands above the health and safety of the millions of New Yorkers they are obligated to serve.  This means the union – especially the union bosses who hatched the scheme – are at least partly responsible for a number of deaths attributed to the inability of emergency services to reach those in need.

According to The Post, In recent years, the Sanitation agency's 6,300-person workforce has been slashed by 400 trash haulers and supervisors and, more recently, 100 department supervisors are being demoted and their salaries slashed as an added cost-saving move.  Slow downs and refusals to clear designated areas, were in retaliation, according to the NY Post report.

The Union scheme was uncovered through stunning admissions by members of the Sanitation Department. They reveal the failure to make the streets of New York safe again was a deliberate protest against the budget cuts – a conscious conspiracy by unionized labor and its bosses.  If true, it means those who run the unions – have again put their own short term political and economic demands above the health and safety of millions of New Yorkers, and that they are at least partly responsible for a number of deaths attributed to the inability of emergency services to reach those in need.

This will shock many people throughout America who still see organized labor unions as compassionately representing poor and voiceless workers.  These trusting Americans were not expecting such a selfish display of brutality that hurt millions of New Yorkers, especially the poor, the elderly, and the incapacitated.  They should have known better. After all, Great Britain faced similar schemes by Labor a few decades back.

Adam Shaw, writing in the American Thinker, recalls the result, reporting that back . back in 1978-79, labeled the  “Winter of Discontent”, labor (or, if you prefer “labour)  unions as unions blocked the entrances to British hospitals, allowed garbage bins to go un-emptied, shut down trains, and even closed gas stations. Most famously, bodies were left unburied for days while gravediggers went on strike in Liverpool. 

“It took three terms of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister to finally break the grip of the unions”, writes Shaw.

Fortunately, New York City, for all its shortcomings, doesn’t face quite the same crisis as Great Britain in terms of unions.  After all, Britain’s National Health Service reflects socialized medicine – a circumstance so far rejected in this country.

Currently, it’s reported the FBI is investigating the snow removal stories in NY City. 

For their part, sanitation union supervisors say they welcome the investigation by the FBI. Union secretary treasurer Glenn Ferber said sanitation workers have been unfairly scrutinized for how they handled the cleanup.

Maybe.  But when added to other reports, a pattern emerges.  Over the past year, SEIU union members spawned violence at town hall demonstrations nationwide.  Elsewhere, a huge throng of SEIU demonstrators took their protests into quiet DC neighborhoods – in one case, assaulting the home of a banker and terrorizing his young son. 

The dominating Democrat majorities from the 2008 election, gave union bosses political power denied them for years.  That renewed power has allowed them to carve out spectacular accommodations in the radical Obama health care scheme, and bought them favored handling by their Democrat allies in many other areas as well.

The mid terms provide a massive barrier to short term union ambitions.  The GOP is now calling the shots – at least in the House.  Expect union bosses to unleash all their minions in a massive effort in 2012.  They will be firmly in the Obama camp, of course, and will be focused on protecting or even enlarging the Democrat Senate majority.

Most significantly, the New York City sanitation union demonstrates its political motives can lead to extreme tactics – rewarding allies of Unions bosses, and punishing or trying to intimidate their enemies.

In the months ahead, Americans must remain particularly alert.  Fewer Americans now belong to unions, but the power unions are capable of projecting, and their willingness to exert such power, cannot be overstated. 

Be alert.  Be aware.  Be on guard.

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

Shooting Suspect Waives Bail and Is Ruled ‘a Danger’

NEW YORK TIMES: Jared L. Loughner, his head shaved bare and his hands and feet in restraints, was led Monday into a federal courtroom, where he agreed not to contest his continued imprisonment but offered no hint of how he would respond to the murder and attempted murder charges linking him to the Tucson shootings that left six dead and 14 injured.

His lawyer is Judy Clarke, a veteran public defender, at his side. The defendant, a 22-year-old college dropout, was wide-eyed and had a wound to his right temple. At the defense table, his eyes darted back and forth and his mouth curled up at one point into a quick smile.

Ms. Clarke signaled that she intended to push for the case to be handled by an out-of-state judge, since one of the victims her client is accused of killing was Judge John M. Roll of Federal District Court in Tucson. Already, all the federal judges in Tucson have recused themselves. As some of Judge Roll’s friends and colleagues looked on, Ms. Clarke said she had “great concern” about any Arizona judges or prosecutors handling the case.

Mr. Loughner, dressed in beige prison garb, a white T-shirt and blue slip-on shoes, agreed not to challenge his continued detention without bail after Wallace H. Kleindienst, a federal prosecutor, labeled him a danger and a flight risk. That prompted the judge to quickly rule, based on the serious charges, that Mr. Loughner was “a danger to the community” and ought to be held without bail.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/us/11giffords.html

DC Officials probe ex-Hill aide's death

POLITICO: A veteran congressional aide who worked most recently as a lobbyist and was married to a senior White House legislative affairs official was found dead in her car Monday behind the couple’s Capitol Hill home following a low-speed car crash and subsequent fire.

Ashley Turton, whose husband, Dan, is the White House’s deputy director of legislative affairs for the U.S. House, died in the early-morning incident in the garage behind 800 A Street SE, friends, her employer and congressional leadership aides said. City fire and police units responded to the vicinity of the home at about 5 a.m. Monday, according to fire department spokesman Pete Piringer.

Police have not officially identified the victim, but the White House, congressional leadership aides and Progress Energy Inc., the company where she worked, all confirmed that Ashley Turton died in the car fire. Ashley Turton worked as an aide to former Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) and then as chief of staff to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). She later became a lobbyist for Progress Energy, a North Carolina-based utility company.

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=709DB978-DD65-0057-51D37662CAB550E6

Democrat leader wants rethinking of free speech, reimpose the “fairness document”

CHARLESTON (SC) POST AND COURIER: U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in Congress, said Sunday the deadly shooting in Arizona should get the country thinking about what's acceptable to say publicly and when people should keep their mouths shut.

Clyburn said he thinks vitriol in public discourse led to a 22-year-old suspect opening fire Saturday at an event Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords held for her constituents in

The shooting is cause for the country to rethink parameters on free speech, Clyburn said from his office, just blocks from the South Carolina Statehouse. He wants standards put in place to guarantee balanced media coverage with a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, in addition to calling on elected officials and media pundits to use 'better judgment.'

The “Fairness Document” is a liberal strategy through which talk radio would – in effect – be ended.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/jan/10/clyburn-words-can-be-danger/

DeLay sentenced to 3 years in prison

WASHINGTON TIMES: Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, known to his colleagues as "the Hammer," was sentenced Monday to three years in prison after his November conviction on money laundering and conspiracy charges in the illegal funneling of corporate cash to Texas political candidates in 2002.

Once one of the most powerful and feared Republicans in Congress, DeLay was sentenced by Senior Judge Pat Priest to the three-year term on the conspiracy charge and was given five years on the money-laundering conviction, but was allowed to accept 10 years' probation in lieu of the added prison time.

The former congressman, first elected to Texas' 22nd Congressional District in the Houston area in 1984, had faced up to 99 years, or life, in prison.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/10/delay-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/print/

 

Monday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

The Arizona shooting – a tragedy that touches us all

It was obviously appropriate for all Americans to join Obama for a moment of silence to honor casualties of Saturday’s brutal shooting in Arizona.  All decent Americans should also join in offering prayerful gratitude for the survival of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the target of the attack.  We also pray for comforting ease for the families of other victims – especially those who died.

It is also most appropriate for Congress to suspend its schedule this week.  This not only to properly honors the victims, but to also provides time for security officials to evaluate reality and make whatever modifications investigations into the shooting may suggest.

Evidence to date points to the attack’s having been the demented actions of a dingle, deranged, young man.  One already noted as being troubled.

Obviously, it’s not an appropriate time for full fledged political debate of the sort that has, so far, spawned emotional, angry, and very vitriolic exchanges.  In the end, Obama care still must be repealed and its damage repaired – just not this week.

It is also a time for America itself to regain its balance.  A Pennsylvania Congressman is proposing legislation making it a federal crime to “use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress”. The intent Is a worthy one, but it is highly unlikely such a law can be applied with any degree of legitimacy.  One man’s symbol can be another man’s call to arm and violence.  Nazis saw their version of a cross as encouraging genocide – other cultures have seen that same symbol as a good luck talisman.  When it comes to language and symbols, the well-intentioned legislation can run seriously afoul of reality.

After all, it was that Congressman’s own president who, just the other day,  advised “if they (conservatives) bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.”  Obama also addressed Latinos, citing anti illegal immigration efforts and advising Latinos “to punish” their Republican “enemies.”

Also recently, candidate Obama relegated Republicans to a status of “hostage takers” and “suicide bombers”: “Here’s the problem”, advised Obama, “It’s almost like they’ve got a bomb strapped to them and they’ve got their hand on the trigger. You don’t want them to blow up.”

Liberals overlook all such matters, and strive to override them through sheer volumes of counter-information and rhetoric.  Liberals have never come to grips with the fact the tea party movement has no element of violence.

(at the same time, liberal union thugs from SEIU have assaulted children of bankers in their homes, and spawned violence seen during 2009’s town hall meetings.)

Talk radio is a favorite target of liberals when cite violence in political rhetoric.  However, no conservative talk show has proposed the murder of a liberal. 

Not so with liberal talk radio.  In the early moments of Air America’s “Randi Rhodes Show”, an announcer intoned: "A spoiled child (referring to George Bush) is telling us our Social Security isn't safe anymore, so he is going to fix it for us. Well, here's your answer, you ungrateful whelp: [audio sound of four gunshots] Just try it, you little bastard. [audio of gun being re-cocked]."

Liberals sniff at such connections.  Yet, the gun smoke had hardly cleared from the Arizona Safeway parking lot, when Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik felt compelled to spark debate during a Saturday press conference in which he blamed talk radio and television for a decline in America

Meanwhile Paul Krugman of the NY Times proved again why neither he nor his newspaper is taken seriously by normal Americans.  Commenting on the Arizona tragedy, Krugman rushed to observe: “where’s that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let’s not make a false pretense of balance: it’s coming, overwhelmingly, from the right. It’s hard to imagine a Democratic member of Congress urging constituents to be “armed and dangerous” without being ostracized; but Representative Michele Bachmann, who did just that, is a rising star in the G.O.P.“

Totally ignoring Obama’s call for liberals to arm themselves, and Air America’s call for an assassination of George Bush, Krugman blithely rants merrily along. “there’s a huge contrast in the media” he claims, “listen to Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, and you’ll hear a lot of caustic remarks and mockery aimed at Republicans. But you won’t hear jokes about shooting government officials or beheading a journalist at The Washington Post. Listen to Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly, and you will.”

Further comment would be superfluous.

Don’t expect accuracy, nor any remote apology or factual correction from any element on the left.  Carry on in the comforting knowledge of reality, and provide support for your allies who may be cowed by the massive piling on of efforts to impose mass guilt on those unwilling to sign on to liberal causes or opinions.

Sensible, decent, patriotic Americans don’t hesitate to eschew violence or encouragement of violence.  It is tempting to point out that such extreme tactics are unnecessary when we consistently have the facts and the truth on our sides of the arguments.  I could do that, but, for the moment, I will resist the temptation and just be satisfied with letting the actual facts speak for themselves…and for us.

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

Bitter Blue Dogs Anxious to Cut Deals

Blue Dog Democrats remain deeply frustrated with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s leadership and are signaling they are ready to break ranks and cut deals with Republicans.

In an interview with Roll Call last week, the leadership team of the fiscally conservative group talked about its vision for the 112th Congress — and its frustration over how Pelosi ran the 111th.

The California Democrat has yet to reach out to the moderate bloc since Democrats lost the majority, nor has she acknowledged any mistakes, they argued. Blue Dogs remain flummoxed over her decision to stay on as the party’s leader after she presided over what they consider to be a series of political blunders that led to Democrats’ historic defeat at the polls on Nov. 2, and most of them refused to vote for Pelosi for Speaker on the floor last week.

Blue Dogs have already started having informal discussions with Republicans in the hope that they can help forge bipartisan deals like they did between President Bill Clinton and the GOP after the 1994 Republican takeover.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_64/-202212-1.html

Sheriff: 'He specifically targeted the congresswoman'

Federal authorities filed murder charges Sunday against 22-year-old Jared Loughner, as new evidence suggested the alleged gunman in Saturday's rampage had fixated on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) while his mental health deteriorated. Loughner appeared to have planned the shooting, according to court documents. In a safe at his parents' home, investigators found an envelope with the words "I planned ahead" and "my assassination" written on it, along with the name "Giffords.'' Loughner's signature is also believed to be on the envelope, the complaint says.

Giffords remains sedated and in critical condition, doctors said. After surgery on the wound - in which a single bullet traversed the left side of her skull - they said Giffords was able to follow simple commands, like holding up two fingers when asked.

Loughner will be arraigned Monday in federal court in Phoenix. He has been charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/09/AR2011010904478_pf.html

Dem planning bill that would outlaw threatening lawmakers

Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) says he plans to introduce legislation that would make it a federal crime to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress.

Brady told CNN that he wants federal lawmakers and officials to have the same protections against threat currently provided to the president. His call comes one day after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was shot, along with 19 other people, at a public event in Tucson. A suspect is currently in custody.

While it is unknown at this time whether the shooter was politically motivated, that has not prevented a vigorous debate about whether heated political rhetoric seen during the healthcare reform debate and during the 2010 campaign is inciting violence.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/136895-dem-planning-bill-that-would-outlaw-threatening-lawmakers

 

 

Sunday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

Arizona shooting tragedy, what may follow?

Saturday’s shooting in Arizona will dominate America for the next week or ten days.  Actually, what will be really dominated, will be TV news.  Anchors for the 24/7 news operations will be desperately grasping for every political straw or new hint of information about the shooting of a Democrat Congresswoman, the assassination of a Federal Judge,  and the wounding and murder of others (including a nine year old girl) who were innocently attending a “meet and greet” event being held by Arizona Democrat Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords.

One person has been arrested, and a second is being sought.

Details are sketchy, but writings and Internet commentary by the suspected shooter (hardly “suspected” since his rampage was witnessed by a crowd of people – but political correctness must be served) show he is a left wing nut case, finding Mein Kampf and the Communist Manefesto very much to his liking.  Federal law enforcement officials identify the suspect as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner.  His record, as has been pieced together so far, shows a troubled young man.

While speculation regarding the event will range widely, there are a number of safe predictions that can be made.

Expect the mainstream media to breathlessly provide links, no matter how obscure, between the shooter and groups and organizations demanding border security, have anti-government inclinations (from a perspective of main stream media mavens), and, most of all, groups opposing Obamacare and are demanding its repeal.

Don’t worry about validity of the connections, invariably, the conversation will morph toward one of the many bases for liberal assaults on those Americans with whom they perpetually disagree.

We’ve seen it all before and now we’ll see it again.  For example, when a nutcase murdered a guard at a Washington Museum, Fox News’ anchor, Shep Smith, couldn’t disguise his bias – immediately assuming the shooter to be a right winger, and managing to bring on, immediately, a spokeswoman from the far left Southern Poverty Law Center.  The two joined in the sort of handwringing liberals engage in at such times.  The enthusiasm faded quickly when it was determined the shooter was a lefty.

The same media bias was obvious the immediate wake of another nutcase flying a light plane into an IRS office (after having set his own home on fire).  Coverage of that event faded quickly once left wing connections of the nutcase became clear.

Expect new rages against the Second Amendment, and predictable shots at conservative political figures will be with us as well.  Already, the media is discussing Sarah Palin’s web site graphics in which – prior to the mid-term elections – Giffords and several other Democrat incumbents were pictured with targets superimposed over their photos.  Conclusions will hold such graphics were open invitations to violence against liberals.  Liberals expect conservatives to be racist and always inclined to violence.

During voting on Obamacare, Speaker Nancy Pelosi gathered a gaggle of liberal politicians and marched through anti Obamacare demonstrators –  linked arm in arm, obviously attempting to replicate scenes from the Selma (Al) march.  Pelosi and other liberals simply could not believe they were unable to incite even a single violent act in their Obamacare march.  Stunned, they were left to manufacture claims of racist slurs from the crowd.   Significantly, only Pelosi’s people heard any such slurs and an intense study of recordings of the event failed to produce any.  But racism and violence were elements liberals “just knew” had to be present in tea party demonstrations.

None of this is to diminish the incredible degree of tragedy involved in the Arizona shooting.  After all, innocent people died. The fatalities include federal judge John Roll, 63, and nine-year-old Christina Greene.

The other casualties were Phyllis Schneck, 79, Dorothy Murray, 76, Dorwin Stoddard, 76, and 30-year-old Gabriel Zimmerman.

Political discourse has become more and more contentious in recent years, and the disconnect between Capitol Hill assumptions, and realities among ordinary Americans, increases almost daily.  The news media is as oblivious of the feelings, emotions, and convictions of grass root America as are those in DC.

This massive disconnect was obvious in an official memo sent from the Department of Homeland Security to law enforcement groups nationally in 2009.  The memo revealed Department Intel had reached an incredible conclusion that opposition to Obama is – primarily – race based.  That memo also identified  Americans disagreeing with Obama on key political issues as potential recruits for terrorists – especially if such Americans are veterans.

It’s all been noted before, but – especially in times such as these – but it bears repeating.  If the intel from Homeland Security is so far off reality, and its conclusions are so radically absurd, then there is legitimate concern regarding the degree of security on which ordinary Americans can depend.

We are left to assume Homeland Security’s extremist views either echo those of others in power, or are positioned to impose such views on society as a whole. We are left with an “If you can’t trust Homeland Security, whom can you trust?” equation. 

Good question.  Anyone have a good answer?

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

Health Care Repeal Vote Postponed After Arizona Shooting

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has announced that the House will delay its efforts to repeal the radical Obama health care law next week as well delaying as other legislative business "so that we can take whatever actions may be necessary in light of (the) tragedy."

Lawmakers voted last week to schedule debate and a vote on repealing health care reform on Wednesday. Repeal was expected to pass in the House, but chances were much less likely in the Senate and the White House threatened to veto it.

A House GOP retreat in Baltimore next week could also be delayed in the aftermath of Saturday's shooting at an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona. “All legislation currently scheduled to be considered by the House of Representatives next week is being postponed so that we can take whatever actions may be necessary in light of today’s tragedy," Cantor said in a statement. "Further information relating to a revised House schedule will be released tomorrow.”

http://republicanifi.com/news/Health-Care-Repeal-Vote-Postponed-After-Arizona-Shooting-1515841.html

Obama, in blow to closing Guantanamo, signs law

President Barack Obama, in a setback to hopes for the quick closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison, reluctantly signed a bill on Friday barring suspects held there from being brought to the United States for trial.

Making plain he would fight to repeal language in the law obstructing civilian U.S. trials for Guantanamo terrorism suspects, Obama said he was left with no choice but to sign the defense authorization act for fiscal 2011.

Obama has vowed to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which has drawn international condemnation for the treatment of detainees, but has met stiff resistance at home. The bill includes sections blocking funding for the transfer of suspects from the Guantanamo prison to the United States. It also restricts the use of funds to ship them to other countries, unless specified conditions are met.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110108/pl_nm/us_obama_guantanamo_detainees

Obama Eyeing Internet ID for Americans

President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans, a White House official says It's "the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government" to centralize efforts toward creating an "identity ecosystem" for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said.

That news, first reported by CNET, effectively pushes the department to the forefront of the issue, beating out other potential candidates including the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The move also is likely to please privacy and civil liberties groups that have raised concerns in the past over the dual roles of police and intelligence agencies.

The Obama administration is currently drafting what it's calling the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which Locke said will be released by the president in the next few months. (An early version was publicly released last summer.)

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20027837-501465.html

 

Saturday's Web

Political Truth and Fact.Com
Neither fair nor balanced, but absolutely factual

A Decline in the importance of party labels, forces new campaign strategies

Less than a third of Americans currently identify themselves as belonging to either political party.

This is not simply a matter of how a voter might be registered – if that voter lives in a state with party registration as an option.   Democrats claim the acknowledged allegiance of 31% of voters, Republicans can claim 28%.  Statistically, there is no significant difference.  However, a case might be made for seeing the figures far more negative for Democrats since they control several solid blocs of voters.

For example, Blacks vote more than 90% Democrat in all national elections. 

Being thus captured by Democrats, Blacks are trapped on a political plantation that denies them serious political clout and representation.  Democrats can be certain Blacks will vote for them no matter what.  They can take them for granted.

On the other hand, Republicans must recognize that whatever they may do or try to do, gaining significant Black votes is futile.  So much for big tents.

Democrats have a lock on majorities of other blocs of voters: union members, academia, and Jewish voters, just to name a few. 

Republicans have no such blocs in which they have inherent voter advantages.  That said, current research is very encouraging for the GOP.  Analysis of the recent election reveals 60 percent of whites nationwide backed Republican candidates for the House, while only 37 percent supported Democrats. 

Enter the tea party movement.

Spontaneously, with the Internet very much in play, tens of thousands of Americans rose up and expressed opposition to the political status quo.  They wanted “change” as Obama promised, but “change” of a sort Obama didn’t intend.  The movement was decidedly anti-Democrat.

An early tea party demonstration occurred in Orlando, as 4,000 people turned out to protest what they saw (and see) as irresponsible, out-of-control, spending.  The movement grew across the country, spiking in town hall meetings by incumbent Capitol Hill denizens.  Liberal Senators such as Arlan Specter suddenly faced off with constituents in angry confrontations.  Public opinion generated by the tea party movement, defeated radical Cap and Trade legislation and prevented the economic chaos it would have imposed.

The sudden political activism led, eventually, to the mid-term sweep by Republicans – not because there was (or is) a surge in Republican allegiance.  The data showing sharp disaffection between voters and specific party labels, bear this out.  They voted GOP because it was not the party in power.

Historically, party organizations such as the RNC, have provided roles of developing campaign assets that attract candidates and help get them elected.  Increasingly, independent groups are now taking on such roles, but without many of the advantages of the traditional groups.  This development is increasingly changing politics. 

The data recently revealed, will force a major evolution in campaign politics.  Republicans will need to focus on getting more and more White voters involved, Democrats will be continuing working to increase vote participation by their traditional supporters such as Blacks.

So what’s new? Each party has to rethink its voter turnout efforts, finding new tactics based on new strategies that reflect current data.

Something must replace telephone banks and “robo calls” that voters increasingly reject.  Voter direct mail long ago almost totally lost its impact, as did advertising in daily newspapers.  TV rules, whether over-the-air, or cable.

The 2012 election will be run with increasingly innovated use of the Internet, the new social networking, and the growth of small personal computers such as Blackberries, which reach voters wherever they go.  Think campaigning 24/7.

An ability to identify voters most likely to support a candidate, and a parallel ability to urge those supporting voters to the polls, will be the secret.  Communications continues to be the life-blood of campaigns, of course, but finding efficient means through which a campaign can harvest the votes TV commercials and candidate campaigning creates, is the single most critical goal of each party.

All of this echoes a traditional strategy: “make a perfect list of voters, then make certain every Whig is carried to the polls”.  The author of that strategy was Abraham Lincoln … and its application will be as important for 2012 every much as was the case in 1860. 

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Buddy

The Day’s Top Political News:

White Voters rejecting the Democrat label

NATIONAL JOURNAL: White voters’ rejection of Democrats in November’s elections was daunting and even historic. Fully 60 percent of whites nationwide backed Republican candidates for the House of Representatives; only 37 percent supported Democrats, according to the National Election Poll exit poll conducted by Edison Research. Not even in Republicans’ 1994 congressional landslide did they win that high a percentage of the white vote.

Moreover, those results may understate the extent of the white flight from the Democratic Party, according to a National Journal analysis of previously unpublished exit-poll data provided by Edison Research.

The new data show that white voters not only strongly preferred Republican House and Senate candidates but also registered deep disappointment with President Obama’s performance, hostility toward the cornerstones of the current Democratic agenda, and widespread skepticism about the expansive role for Washington embedded in the party’s priorities. On each of those questions, minority voters expressed almost exactly the opposite view from whites.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/in-2012-obama-may-need-a-new-coalition-20110105?page=1

Democrat Self – Identification down five points

CNN:  The number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats is at its lowest point in seven years, according to a new survey by Gallup - a warning sign for the president and his party as the next race for the White House gets set to begin.  According to the annual Gallup survey of party identification, 31 percent of Americans say they are Democrats – a number that is down five percentage points from 2008 and is the same as it was in 2003 – the year following impressive Republican gains in the House and Senate.

Democrats can take some solace in the fact that an even smaller percentage of Americans (29 percent) identify themselves as Republicans, despite the GOP's hugely successful midterm elections that resulted in a change of control in the House of Representatives. That percentage is up 2 points from last year but still significantly below the 34 percent that said they affiliated with the GOP in 2004.

Meanwhile, those Americans who say they identify with neither party has shot up to 38 percent, up 3 points since 2008 and among the highest it has been in the 22 years Gallup has conducted the survey. In a separate 2010 Gallup poll seeking to pin down the leanings of independent voters, 45 percent of Americans said they were Democrats or independents who leaned Democrat while 44 percent said the same about Republicans. The 1-point advantage for President Obama's party is the smallest in seven years.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/06/dem-id-down-five-points/

House takes first step toward health care repeal

WASHINGTON TIMES: Confronting President Obama, the new Republican-led House took a first step Friday toward a symbolic vote to repeal his landmark health care overhaul law, which would provide coverage to more than 30 million Americans without health insurance.

But the 236-181 largely party-line vote is unlikely to amount to more than a political message, since Democrats who still run the Senate have promised to block efforts to scrap the law and Obama has veto power.

Both sides are preparing for a standoff. They will probably take the big issues in the health care debate back to the voters in 2012, when Obama is expected to run for re-election and the House and Senate are up for grabs again.  The House action set the rules for a debate next week that will culminate in a simple for-or-against vote on repeal, scheduled for Wednesday. The House will also instruct several committees to come up with more modest replacement health care legislation, a process that could take months even if successful.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/7/house-plans-test-vote-friday-health-care-repeal/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS