Tag Archives: Politics

Politics, Uncategorized, War On Terror

Democrats Secure Win For Terrorists

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A sensational title? Sure, but it is also the truth when it comes to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Democrats letting expire the parts of the Protect America Act that deal with internet and cell communications. This is the same bill that the Senate passed in a bi-partisan vote of 68-29. The consequence? For a little more than three weeks now (Feb 16, 2008) the government has to operate by the 1978 standards of the FISA act. This means, they can not listen in on communications from terrorists in Pakistan to terrorists in Afghanistan. It is taking a tool out of the toolbox in fighting the war on terror. The House democrats seem more concerned with librarians than the terrorists that want us dead.

The Protect America Act amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that was passed in 1978 to protect people inside the United States from being monitored by U.S. intelligence without a warrant proving they were agents of a foreign government.

This point is crucial: FISA was never meant to apply to foreigners outside the United States communicating with other foreigners outside the United States.

To be fair to Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats, they may only appear to be aligned with terrorists in an ‘unintended consequences’ kind of way. To believe Nancy Pelosi does not know of the ‘unintended consequences’ as relates to the enemy requires a suspension of dis-belief. That being the case though, it shows they don’t take alQaeda seriously. So who else benefits from this bill being kept on hold? Trial lawyers. Trial lawyers have dozens of cases against phone companies who are providing help to the government, at the government’s request, in tracking down terrorists, not librarians. And, included in this bill are provisions for granting companies immunity in cases where they provide intelligence at the government’s request. This, of course, is being portrayed by the left as the government listening in on your pizza order delivery call and Big Brother must be stopped. So, the title could also be Democrats Secure Win For Trial Lawyers, a major source of campaign contributions to the Democratic party. Politically, Robet Novak nails it . . .

The recess by House Democrats amounts to a judgment that losing the generous support of trial lawyers, the Democratic Party’s most important financial base, would be more dangerous than losing the anti-terrorist issue to Republicans.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) sites support in the Senate . . .

At one point during the debate, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who helped pass the Senate version, declared that without these measures our intelligence will be “degraded.” Similarly, the Director of National Intelligence said without this legislation, we lack the necessary tools to intercept communications between foreign nationals.

Which ever way you look at the inaction by House democrats, the losers are the same, the American people.

Statement from The White House

related links: The Unilateral Disarmament Democrats: Putting Trial Lawyers Ahead of Your Family’s Safety | Center for Individual Freedom | House Defeats FISA Extension | Do House Democrats Take Terrorism Seriously? | Background: Listening To The Enemy

2008 Election, Politics

Clinton Consistent On Coal

After Bill Clinton’s second run for President, it was learned of a Chinese connection in illegal campaign contributions. Back then, Bill Clinton created a 1.8 million acre monument in southern Utah. On its face, an innocuous move, making environmentalists (also contributors) happy. Everybody feels good about a new park. What wasn’t mentioned was the coal reserves located in that 1.8 million acres.

The effect of creating that ‘monument’ was to take our country’s largest deposit of low-sulphur coal off of the market and out of bounds from mining. Now a quick mineralogical lesson. There are only two known low-sulphur coal reserves in the world, one of which is under this land in Utah that was blocked off by Clinton and the other of which is in China. We then see the Rhiady family, acting as intermediaries between Clinton and the Chinese government, which was making illegal donations to the Clinton campaign.

Over a decade ago, Bill Clinton didn’t blink an eye at handing a huge advantage to China while at the same time helping to cripple the coal industry at home. That was when he was trolling for campaign contributions.

So two days ago, while Clinton is looking for votes, he speaks to an audience in a small mining town in Wyoming . . .

But here was Bill Clinton in southwest Wyoming, two days before Saturday’s Democratic caucuses, telling about 1,000 people how his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, would establish 10 clean-coal technology projects if elected president in November.

“Some environmentalists don’t think we ought to be doing anything with coal, but they’re wrong,” he said. “Think about it, you could become, maybe, the first totally energy-independent state in the United States.”

They don’t call him ‘Slick Willy’ for nothing.   That would have been the time to ask Mr. Clinton why, if he is so behind the coal industry, he wrote off our reserves with a stroke of a pen?  It is easy to see Clinton’s consistency when it comes to our natural resources.  His and Hillary’s interests always come before the country’s interest.  He’ll sell you short, or he’ll sell you snake oil, as long as he/she gets elected.

Related links: Bill Clinton’s campaign role |  Clinton project dogs McGinty

2008 Election, Media, Politics

News Conference Preparation

One or two of the Democrat contenders might just melt down on their own once the media starts to grow a pair and ask some questions. The Wizard of ID captured perfectly the way Clinton appearances have been managed. Slowly, things are changing.

News Conference Prep

The weakest link of the two is Obama. He was seen yesterday running from reporters, er, his campaign was late and he had to run, when a Tony Rezko question came up. The media was surprised to see an Obama that they had not seen before.

related link: Obama ducks questions

2008 Election, Politics

NewsBusted TV, Episode 145

Topics in today’s show:

  • The New York Times suffers from low approval ratings
  • Protestors plan to demonstrate at the political party conventions
  • Hillary Clinton says Barack Obama doesn’t have enough international experience
  • Jay Leno looking for job offers after he quits “Tonight Show.”
  • Rihanna named cultural ambassador from her native Barbados

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phs5D36-13M[/youtube]

2008 Election, MRIOTD, Politics

Vermont Towns Vote To Indict Bush, Cheney

Big victory, if not symbolic, for the far left. From the land of Bernie Sanders ‘voters in two Vermont towns approved measures Tuesday calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for what they consider violations of the Constitution.’

More symbolic than anything, the items sought to have police arrest Bush and Cheney if they ever visit Brattleboro or nearby Marlboro or to extradite them for prosecution elsewhere — if they’re not impeached first.

In Brattleboro, the vote was 2,012-1,795. In Marlboro, which held a town meeting on the issue, it was 43-25 with three abstentions.

Oh, and

The question put to voters in Brattleboro referred to “crimes against our Constitution” but did not specify the allegations.

In typical Vermont fashion. What, no adults in politics in Vermont?  Sanders and Leahy don’t count.

related link: ABC news

Iran, Politics, United Nations

Iran's Nuclear Program Revisited

It wasn’t that long ago that Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was portraying the United Nation’s IAEA, and the New York Times, as confirming that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. Remember, it was reported to have stopped about the time we entered Iraq militarily, 2003?

It doesn’t jibe with today’s headlines on the subject.

U.N. council imposes new sanctions on defiant Iran
Iran defiant over new UN nuke sanctions
ElBaradei urges Iran to clarify atom arms allegations

In U.N, diplospeak, it’s blah blah blah blah

There were 14 votes in favor, none against and one country, Indonesia, abstained. Previous sanctions resolutions were adopted unanimously in December 2006 and March 2007, but council envoys said Monday’s message to Iran was a strong one.

That and, it depends on what the meaning of ‘strong’ is.

Iran denounced the current and previous resolutions as violations of international law and said they only harmed the 15-nation Security Council’s standing.

You can see where this is going.

Politics, Uncategorized

Governor Crist's Crime Prevention Priorities

Governor Charlie Crist has run out of money. So, as part of his proposed 2008-09 fiscal budget, Crist called for the transfer of more than $740 million from various trust funds to the state’s general revenue fund. This includes $5 million of the $7 million Crimestoppers Trust Fund in Manatee County. Both the Manatee Crimestoppers and Manatee County Sheriff are against Crist’s plans to take that funding for the state’s general revenue fund saying it ‘will hurt its ability to curb crime through anonymous informants.’

About the program in Manatee County, Steve Rowland, president of Crimestoppers in both Manatee County and statewide said this about the governor’s plans.

‘It really hurt us to see that the governor would come after our program,’ said Steve Rowland, president of Crimestoppers in both Manatee County and statewide. ‘A program that is proven to improve our safety and security by getting criminals and drugs off the street.’

Since the 1970s, Crimestoppers has provided an avenue for citizens to call in anonymous tips to law enforcement to report criminal activity, Rowland said.

Any tip that generates an arrest can lead to a reward of as much as $1,000.

Over the years, Rowland said, tips coming in through Crimestoppers have led to $44 million in drugs seized, $16 million in property recovered and 24,000 arrests.

A compelling reason not to cut the program, which is the way Crimestoppers and the sheriff portray the consequences of the governor’s request. However, the governor’s office says

taking the $5 million would still leave $2 million in the trust fund, allowing Crimestoppers to continue to operate at its current funding level.

If the governor’s response is correct, then Manatee ought to be able to continue to do well the ‘same as last year’ funding. If crime goes out of control, then maybe they need the National Guard instead. If we are to believe Sheriff Brad Steube and Crimestoppers, that it will be like removing a tool to fight crime, and will hurt their ability to fight it ‘through anonymous informants,’ then it seems the governor has his crime fighting priorities upside down.

And if this doesn’t work, how long before Governor Crist looks for more and higher taxes?

related link: Bradenton Herald

Media, Pensacola, Politics, Uncategorized

What Recession?

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Who better to comment on the financial misdeeds of President Bush (who he affectionately calls the ‘shrub’) than Air America Radio investor and talk show host Mike Papantonio?

According to Papantonio, Bush has this economy in ‘a full-blown recession.’ Actually, he is hoping the economy goes into a recession, or at the very least convince you that the economy actually is in a full-blown recession.

Probably not as good a record as say, Air America Radio, but here are some facts about our economy that the rabid left either ignores or lies about.

Since losing 4 million jobs after the combined effects of the Clinton recession that Bush inherited, and the attacks on 9/11, and devastating hurricanes, that snake-bit president has presided over 54 months of continuous job growth, creating over 8.3 million jobs since August 2003.

Despite all the catastrophic spending the economy of this country has so-far withstood (war and hurricanes), deficit spending is below 1.5% of GDP. That’s lower than the average of the last 40 years.

In true liberal fashion, this significant bit of dishonesty with smoke and mirrors is this statement that we are in “a full-blown recession”. The lesson here is simply this. The economy is still growing. Only in liberalspeak can they both be happening at the same time.

This claim of a recession employs the flawed liberal logic that an increase is a cut. Even the left-leaning Christian Science Monitor has to admit that the economy has grown by “1.4 percent for the calendar year, whereas the economy normally posts growth of 3 percent or so.” In other words, because it did not GROW as much as it has in the past (another fact Papantonio ignores), it must be a full-blown recession.

The unemployment rate was 5 percent in December. This is below the average of each of the past four decades. Of course this must be bad news.

Real after-tax personal income per person has increased over $2,800 – or 9.6 percent – during this snake-bit administration. The truth is the poor are actually getting richer.

And, if you are happy with the price of gas and food nowadays, you can thank the environmentalist movement, and wimpy politicians who won’t stand up to them, for preventing us from using our own resources while making the problem worse with bio-fuels.

related links: Pensacola News Journal | Christian Science Monitor | The White House | Bureau of Economic Analysis