2014 Election: Blacks, Hispanics, Young and Women Still Reliably Liberal

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The best predictor of future voting patterns is past voting patterns, to use a twist on a famous maxim. This is probably even truer of groups than individuals, and, despite some wishful thinking to the contrary, this election cycle was no exception. As to this, Silvio Canto at American Thinker recently asked “What Happened to ‘Demographics’?” in a piece in which he says that “people of color…don’t automatically vote Democrat.” Perhaps this means they manually vote Democrat, but, whatever the case, this person “of no color” is here to tell you three things:

  1. They are voting Democrat.
  2. They will continue voting for liberals.
  3. This is also true of women and the young.

Let’s now analyze the numbers. Please examine the chart below from Pew Research.

pew chart mid term

For a larger view click on the chart.

The black vote has been quite consistent through all three election cycles. The 2014 Hispanic vote did swing six points in the Republican direction from 2012, but the GOP actually did slightly better in 2010. Now let’s examine the rest of the Democrat phalanx.

Below is a chart from a Pew Research article titled “As GOP celebrates win, no sign of narrowing gender, age gaps.”

pew mid term

For a larger view click on the chart.

As you can see, Republicans actually did better among women in 2010 than this year, while the numbers among the youngest demographic remained virtually unchanged.

So what really accounted for this month’s GOP wave election? For sure, the widespread sense that our country is declining and the unpopularity of Barack Obama caused that sliver of the electorate known as swing voters (a.k.a. confused), governed by emotion as much as anyone, to feel the Republicans were a better choice.

The rest was turnout. Being generally lower in midterm elections, which minimizes the idiot vote — and with Obama ennui further depressing Democrat-constituency turnout (which, uh, minimizes the idiot vote) — the electorate was older and whiter this time around. The age-group turnout reflected 2010. And relative to 2012, the share of the electorate represented by voters:

  • 65-plus increased 6 points.
  • 45-64 increased 5 points.
  • 30-44 decreased 5 points.
  • 18-29 decreased 6 points.

In general, voters over 60 constituted 37 percent of the turnout; those under 30 just 12 percent.

I should also mention that, true to form, Republicans received approximately 90 percent of their votes from whites.

Some may now point out that the GOP did better among non-whites in certain places and races; an example is that Texas governor-elect Greg Abbott won 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. Yet it’s also true that Democrat senatorial candidates in Oregon, Mississippi and Minnesota improved their standing among whites. These are outlier races, and focusing on them can prevent one from seeing the forest for the trees.

And the forest is this: 2014 did see the election of more GOP candidates who are younger, female and non-white. But same as usual, they were elected by those “old white guys.”

The problem with much election analysis is that pundits are overly impressed with what invariably prove to be transitory swings toward one party or the other. But it’s not how people vote that determines a civilization’s destiny — it’s what makes them vote how they vote that does. In 2008 and 2012, for instance, the problem was not that the majority of the electorate voted for Obama.

It was that they were the kind of people who could vote for an Obama.

Better leadership is only born of fundamental change in the electorate. And what is such a thing? When we hear a political conversion story — such as that concerning writer and editor Adam Bellow, the late Ron Silver or anyone we know with the brains to transition from being a liberal at 20 to a conservative at 30 — does the person say, “You know, I walked into that there voting booth and my hand, my hand…it…it, it was like an alien was controlling my body! It just pulled that GOP lever like it had a mind of its own. Now, ’scuse me, pal, I need to go renew my ACLU membership”? Nor does the person say, “I just woke up one day and realized how much more attractive the R is than the D. The D just looks sorta’, you know, obese. This repulses my vegan self, and that’s why I support Michelle Obama right down the line.”

A real conversion is one of heart and mind. The person has had a flash of insight, an epiphany, and he actually changes at least some of his beliefs.

That’s where the rubber hits the road. Civilizations rise and fall, prosper or perish, due to ideas that come to imbue people’s emotional realm and then shape their words and actions.  This means that to secure tomorrow, you must win their hearts and minds for Truth.

And what can we say about the Democrat constituencies in question here? It’s not just that their voting habits haven’t changed. It’s that:

  • Blacks and Hispanics haven’t given up their affinity for big government and redistributionist appeals.
  • Millennials haven’t given up their love affair with the homosexual agenda and, more generally speaking, their adherence to what G.K. Chesterton called “the next great heresy”: the attack on morality in general and, in particular, sexual morality.
  • Women haven’t given up their loyalty to feminism and relative propensity for sacrificing liberty for security, which draws them toward demagogues spouting specious wage-gap, safety-net and equality rhetoric.

By the way, you don’t have to write me saying indignantly that you’re a woman, a young person or a minority and you don’t embrace the above. I know you’re out there. But just as individuals have characteristic qualities, so do groups. And my above characterizations are, lamentably, spot-on.

In other words, this election was not a repudiation of liberalism. It was a reaction to the status quo, which people tend to associate with the president.

Of course, the fantasy that this election means something more is understandable. People want to relish the victory, enjoy the champagne, without a party pooper raining on their parade. Republicans also see the demographic writing on the wall. With the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ensuring that 85 percent of our immigrants hail from the Third World and Asia — and with even conservatives taking this importation of socialist-leaning peoples as a given — they, echoing the X-Files, say “I want to believe.” So they enthusiastically say that Hispanics are natural-born conservatives.

Left unexplained is why these natural-born conservatives vote for socialist-oriented candidates in every Hispanic nation on Earth (the “conservatives” in such countries would occupy our political left).

We also hear about how Republicans just need to “reach out” to the black community.

Left unexplained is how this is going to work when, reflecting a wider phenomenon, a robustly conservative black man such as Tea Party stalwart Lloyd Marcus cannot even convince his own father to embrace the GOP.

It’s also said, as Forbes contributor Sabrina Schaeffer put it, Republicans need “to rebuild a coalition of women who understand and value limited government.” Since a group of such women already exists, we can assume she means a majority of them. However….

Left unexplained is how you can “rebuild” something that never existed. Women vote for big government all over the Western world. And as research scientist John Lott outlines here, statism’s birth in the US directly coincides with women’s suffrage, and the growth of both the female vote and big government perfectly correspond with each other. This is at least partially because, as explained here, women are the Security Sex.

We lastly hear that the young will come around when they graduate from college and find no jobs waiting.

Left unexplained is how this one hardship will change hearts marinated in leftism from birth via the schools, media and entertainment arena. Note that Lincoln pointed out, “The philosophy of the classroom today will be the philosophy of government tomorrow.” Also note that people in Weimar Germany and Tsar Nicholas II’s Russia had it far worse economically. They reacted by empowering Hitler and Lenin.

Speaking of demagogues, we can talk about “outreach,” framing our message and finding appealing candidates all we want. But if women, non-whites and the young are still voting for de-facto socialists after six years of the train wreck that is our first lazy, low-info, anti-American, affirmative-action, crypto-fascist president, it should be clear that our problems extend far beyond the political.

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com

Eighteen Essay book ‘Common Ground on Common Core’ released

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EssayCover_v9Resounding Books today officially announced publication of Common Ground on Common Core: Voices from across the Political Spectrum Expose the Realities of the Common Core State Standards. The 18-essay volume uniquely gathers 20 top education experts and activists. The authors hold widely varied political and ideological viewpoints, yet they stand firmly united against the Common Core.

Standards expert Sandra Stotsky and prominent mathematician R. James Milgram are among the book’s authors. Both served on the national Common Core validation committee but refused to sign o’ on the standards. Former U.S. Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul, a passionate advocate for true education in his own rite, graciously contributed.

Edited to ensure that readers of any political stripe could inform and empower themselves and others in the growing fight to push back against the controversial education initiative, Common Ground on Common Core enables understanding and appreciation not just of the basics but also crucial anti-Common Core arguments and insights they might not otherwise encounter, because those concerns have been raised principally on only one side of the political continuum.

“Common Ground on Common Core takes the fight against Common Core to new levels by encouraging open dialogue and alliances across political lines,” asserts Resounding Books’ Founder and Editor, Kirsten Lombard. “Interacting with Common Ground’s many authors—who self-identify as everything from radical Leftists to social conservatives to libertarians—has made it clear to me that we all have a lot more in common than we’d previously been led to believe.”

The book stands out in yet another way. All of the authors agreed to forego royalties so that Resounding Books, established in early 2013 as a super political action committee, could dedicate a significant percentage of the book’s proceeds to funding anti-Common Core activism at the state and local levels. “Resounding Books is strongly committed to encouraging and funding citizen activism around the subjects on which we publish,” Lombard asserts. “We look forward to realizing that goal.”

In addition to Stotsky and Milgram, other contributors to Common Ground on Common Core who will be more familiar to readers include Ze’ev Wurman, who helped to review the standards for the State of California, education researcher Christopher H. Tienken (author, The School Reform Landscape: Fraud, Myth, and Lies) as well as activists Kris L. Nielsen (author, Children of the Core), Jane Robbins (American Principles Project), Ceresta Smith (United Opt Out National), William A. Estrada (HSLDA), and Shane Vander Hart (Truth in American Education).

There will also be plenty of new and valuable discoveries for readers among the the essay collection has already begun to receive nods from key individuals in various political corners. In addition to Ron Paul, for example, Democratic New York State Senator George Latimer (Dist. 37) describes the book as “a thoughtful presentation of why we must have a slow, deliberate government that always asks who will benefit when we implement any new programs, but especially in education.” Dr. Gary Thompson, a Utah psychologist who has become known for his opposition to the experimental nature of Common Core assessments, calls the book a “brilliant, diverse compilation…which forever will put to rest the notion that Common Core critics emanate exclusively from the Right Wing.”

Lombard

Kirsten Lombard

EDITORS NOTE:Common Ground on Common Core is currently available in print, with two digital formats planned. It is available for purchase on the Resounding Books website. Bulk orders are also possible. To interview editor Kirsten Lombard or any of the book’s authors, telephone Resounding Books at 608.467.0877 or email kirsten@resoundingbooks.org.

2014 Mid-Term Election: A Really Great First Step

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The American people have spoken. But will elected officials, particularly Republicans place the desires of the American people above political correctness or the open borders crowd? Once again and probably for the last time, congratulations to the Republicans who won an historic election victory and swept away Democrat party control of the Senate. It was great to see Republicans win gubernatorial races in Massachusetts, Maryland and even Illinois. Democrats lost their grip on the legislative branches in Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Maine, West Virginia and New Hampshire. Republicans now control more state legislatures than they have at any point since the 1920s.

Republicans now have a larger House majority than they have had since 1928. For the first time in over six years a measured sense of optimism has resurfaced after Obama’s gloomy version of hope and change has wreaked much havoc throughout America. Before the first election of President Obama, I had predicted that his administration would be the political slap across the face of America that would awaken many of my fellow countrymen out of their political stupor. In other words, I believed that many great Americans would grow tired of the president’s leftist Marxist agenda that has been transforming our nation into a weakened shadow of her former self. Finally, many sovereign citizens utilized the ballot box to say enough is enough!

So now, despite the legions of negative nellies who proudly said that Republicans would never regain prominence, because they felt George W. Bush was such a horrible president, Republicans have regained a political stronghold. But, the question is, will the beltway statesmen and women listen and ride this momentum correctly? “We the people” or at least many of us will not settle for politicians creating magnets for illegal immigrants. We are tired of preferential treatment for defiant border crossers, deportation fugitives and visa over steppers. We still want approval of the Key Stone Pipeline. Also the transfer of vast areas of land under federal control to the private sector.

America’s corporate tax rate is the highest on earth and must be significantly reduced or done away with altogether. If not, the corporate headquarter march out of America will continue. Our military has been purposefully demoralized by the Obama regime. But now there is a chance to at least stop the president’s mission of hollowing out our armed forces and avoid being placed in mortal danger. After all, Russia, China and numerous Muslim nations are arming to the teeth and are now beginning to be a major thorn in the side our nation. In the world as it stands now, the only way for the United States to have a chance of peace is through strength, not weakness.

Hopefully, there are now enough conservative Republicans in the legislative branch who will make sure that House Speaker Boehner won’t be allowed to go along with Obama’s plan to grant amnesty to the 34 million illegal immigrants trespassing upon our great nation. Speaker Boehner has vowed to repeal Obama care. Is that an empty promise, or will he follow through? There is now a bipartisan majority in both the House and the Senate for repealing the medical device tax. The individual mandate portions of the Affordable Care Act should be done away with great haste.

For the long term good of America, Republicans must agitate for the abolishment of all international agreements and entanglements that undermine the stability of the United States. So, the big question remains to be answered. Will the Republicans put the desires of the American people above political correctness, the open borders crowd, the gun grabbers, etc. etc.? Only time will reveal the true motives of the Republican majority.

May “We The People” also remember to pray that providential guidance will be sought to help our elected officials lead America back to her rightful place of greatness as one nation under God.

November surprise: Blacks giving GOP another look?

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Wow!

That one word sums up my reaction to the midterm election results. This was a total repudiation of the Obama administration, along with the national Democratic Party.

Not only did Republicans take control of the U.S. Senate, they also expanded their margins in the U.S. House of Representatives and among governors.

As usual, most of the post-election analysis has been woefully short of any substance. Yes, Republicans taking over the Senate is major, and yes, increasing numbers in the House and among Republican governors was impressive; but the real story was where we won.

Democrats have been stuttering all over the place trying to explain how Democrats lost governors’ races in Massachusetts and Maryland. These are two of the bluest states in the country. The preliminary exit polls give some insight as to how this happened.

These are two of the most highly taxed states in the country. Their governors took great pride in taxing businesses and the wealthy — and then wondered why these businesses and wealthy individuals moved from their states.

With this mandate, Republicans must now prove to the American people that they can govern. I would strongly suggest that they pass a few non-controversial bills that have bipartisan support in both chambers.

They could start with repealing the medical device tax on medical equipment that was part of Obamacare; approve the XL Pipeline; and pass a bill that would lower taxes on corporations who repatriate their overseas money back to the U.S. It is estimated that corporations have over $2 trillion sitting offshore because of the high taxes they would have to pay to bring the money into the U.S.

This doesn’t mean that Republicans should be hesitant to stand up to President Obama when he is pushing policies that are in conflict with our beliefs. So, if and when he attempts to unilaterally give amnesty to those in the country illegally, I hope our side has the spine to block it.

Another opportunity for the Republican Party that no one is talking about is the black vote. They are furious with Mr. Obama and the Democratic Party. Blacks are begging the Republicans to give them a reason to vote Republican. One report estimated that 30 percent of blacks in Maryland voted for the Republican candidate!

It’s not the GOP’s platform that’s the issue; it’s the tone and the optics. Republicans need to get rid of the hyperbolic language coming out of the party, especially when referring to Mr. Obama.

When blacks look at the Republican Party, they see very few people who look like them. So either Republicans are colorblind or just blind to people of color.

House and Senate leadership should make a concerted effort to begin to engage with the black community at the highest levels. For example, I strongly advise that:

  • new members hire blacks to be on their staffs;
  • leadership make a point to invite blacks to testify at committee hearings;
  • the House and Senate campaign committees hire blacks on staff.

Blacks in Maryland have proven that they are no fans of high taxes and voted for a white Republican running against a black Democrat! How many times has that ever happened? This is the political story of the year. Blacks in Maryland voted against the black Democratic candidate because it was in their own best interest to do so. This is a tectonic shift in Maryland politics.

Larry Hogan, the incoming governor of Maryland, also had a black running mate, Boyd Rutherford, who is now the incoming lieutenant governor of Maryland. Former RNC chairman Michael Steele, you may recall, was the first black statewide elected official in Maryland’s history when he served as lieutenant governor under Bob Ehrlich. Isn’t it ironic? The Republican Party is constantly breaking racial barriers, but they get no credit for it. Nor does the party know how to leverage these historic accomplishments.

With Republicans now controlling Congress, I am optimistic that they will propose legislation to deal with the high unemployment rate within the black community, propose legislation that advances school choice and vouchers and have hearings on how to create a better business climate for small and minority businesses.

Mr. Obama has been derelict on these issues, and the Republicans thus have a great opportunity to use their majority to help solve some of the issues that blacks are extremely concerned about. This is good for blacks, good for Republicans and good for America.

Republicans Can Make Headway with Blacks

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Last week’s midterm elections were historic. Republicans regained control of the U.S. Senate, increased their majority in the House, and expanded their majority among governors. While these gains were historic and impressive, there was a bigger story that no one is talking about.

According to early polling figures, Black participation in this year’s midterm was 12 percent, down slightly from 13 percent in 2010. Eighty-nine percent of Blacks voted for Democratic congressional candidates and 10 percent voted for Republicans. This year’s figures match the 2010 midterm figures for Democrats and represents a slight increase in support for Republicans, up from 9 percent in 2010 to 10 percent in 2014.

In Illinois, incoming Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner received 6 percent of the Black vote. He actively courted the Black vote, but did it the wrong way. For example, how many people in Illinois know that Rauner has endowed a full professor’s chair at historically Black Morehouse College in Atlanta? There was no reason why he should not have earned upwards of 25 percent of the Black vote with his history in the Black community. But, as with many White Republicans, his White consultants and staff thought they knew more about the Black community than Blacks.

The exit polls further noted that 11 percent of Black millennials, 12 percent of Gen Xers, and 7 percent of those ages 45-64 voted Republican. The RNC, under the leadership of Reince Priebus, is the only Republican entity that “gets it” when it comes to the Black vote. The House and Senate campaign committees and the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) are still living in the dark ages when it comes to the Black community.

I know Republicans are still in love with this idiotic notion of being “colorblind,” but if they can’t look around at their staffs and realize that they are surrounded by Whites, then they have a real problem. Either they are truly colorblind or just blind to people of color.

So while last week’s national elections were historic for Republicans, they were not transformative. However, what happened in Ohio was not only transformative, but it was also a tectonic shift in the political landscape of America.

Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich received 26 percent of the Black vote. He was endorsed by the Call & Post, Ohio’s leading Black newspaper. In their editorial of endorsement, they listed two specific examples of how Kasich addressed issues of concern to the Black community. Kasich expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income Ohioans and supported set-asides for minority contractors on the Opportunity Corridor construction project in Cleveland.

According to the newspaper, “Opportunities like the Opportunity Corridor usually means ‘inopportunity’ for us [the Black community]…Of the $267 million in construction contracts on the Corridor, Kasich set aside a staggering 20 percent for minority-owned and disadvantaged firms. That’s about $22.7 million dollars ‘specifically’ for Black-owned businesses, not to mention an additional half a million dollars thrown in for job training of area residents. And even this came with some maneuvering from him on our behalf with the federal government and Turnpike Board.”

Contrast that with Obama’s record of issuing fewer Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to Blacks than George W. Bush.

Ohio’s is home to the political story of the year.

So, to the House and Senate campaign committees and the RGA, now we have empirical data that shows Blacks will vote Republican if given a reason. But when GOP candidate continue to make racist insults or, in the case of Illinois governor-elect Bruce Rauner, fail to mention things they’ve done that will resonate with African Americans, the GOP will not attract Black voters who are disgruntled with the Democratic Party and looking for an alternative.

Obviously, left to their own devices, GOP candidates can’t do this on their own. That’s why they need to look beyond the White male consultant who offer bad advice on how to reach the Black community. I ask my Republican friends: When will you begin to hire Black consultants to cultivate this fertile movement in the Black community? When will you hire Blacks who are not ashamed of their Blackness for staff positions? When will you spend money with Black media buyers?

Republicans hire more Black Democrats to work their campaigns than they do Black Republicans. Years ago, I committed to never voting for or working with any Republican that didn’t have any Blacks on their staffs or as consultants; and I have made good on that commitment.

Republicans should make a public commitment to broaden their base to truly look like America. If Republicans transformed the way they interact with the Black community, especially by using Black Republicans and Black political operatives, that indeed would be both historic and transformational.

When Will the NAACP Truly Help Their People?

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Upon reading a post election article in which the NAACP is all fired up about supposed black voter suppression, my response was when will these people ever seriously do something to help black people? Folks, I am sorry, but the NAACP and others in their civil rights syndicate are a despicable bunch. All they really care about is furthering Liberalism and increasing their political power. They are disgusting.

In their typical we know we can count on the MSM to help us “play” black voters and portray Republicans as the modern KKK, the NAACP and their race-baiting posse are insisting that the newly elected congress pass a robust Voting Rights Act Amendment.

Yes, heaven knows we black folks desperately need that. Why waste time and resources on fixing trivial things like black on black crime, blacks aborting themselves into extinction, epidemic high school dropouts, black baby daddies outnumbering fathers and record high black unemployment under Obama? Let’s triple down on our efforts to create victim mindsets in blacks and racial hate. That will surely empower and enhance the lives of blacks.

Every time the NAACP and their MSM suck-ups launch another of their deplorable whitey-is-out-to-get-cha narratives such as black voters were disenfranchised during this election, it is shrouded in an we’re-smarter-than-you arrogance. Not only are these vile people feeding us a load of crap, they are superior about it.

Charlie Rangel tried to scare blacks to the polls by saying that the GOP wants to return blacks to slavery in America. This is trash folks. This evil little man is a disgrace.

First lady Michelle Obama tried to bribe blacks with a reward of fried chicken for their vote. Heck, why didn’t Michelle throw in permission for blacks to indulge in an extra large slice of watermelon for dessert? A white politician making the same offer to blacks as Michelle would be tarred, feathered and run out of D.C. on a rail. When will black Americans wake up and smell the condescension, manipulation and exploitation coming from the Democrats; fronted by black traitorous operatives.

I could go on and on about black traitors in the Democratic Party screwing their own to please their socialist/progressive liberal massas. But why keep repeating what I have written in countless articles?

Let’s talk about the broken promises, unfulfilled and wasted lives resulting from black leaders selling out their own to the Democrats’ enslaving big government programs for 30 pieces of political silver. Real people. Real lives.

My late cousin Poochie (Lawrence) comes to mind. He was the eldest in my Aunt Bummie’s cradle-to-grave welfare household; five fatherless sons. Poochie was the lone survivor who broke free from the government welfare system. Miraculously, Poochie worked his way through college and achieved great success. His four siblings all died young on welfare; drugs, AIDS, serial out of wedlock impregnating and crime. An idol mind truly is the Devil’s workshop.

Urban blacks are finally beginning to smell the betrayal of so-called black advocates, white liberal socialist/progressives, the Democrats and Obama.

A talent agent once told me that he had seen numerous black kids with Michael Jackson talent living in the projects. According to this agent, kids in the projects were doing the moon walk before Michael brought it to the national stage. Fatherless households, drugs, teen pregnancies, quitting school and crime prevents many black youths from fulfilling their God given talents, gifts, potential and dreams.

Meanwhile, black Democrat operatives are running around trying to destroy and silence non-whiny successful blacks; laser focused on delivering blacks to the polls every election cycle scared and angry at whites.

Presuming that blacks are clueless idiotic sheep, the best the Democrats are offering blacks is a promise to stop white cops from shooting them at will, preventing the GOP from reinstating black slavery, lighter sentences when they are caught dealing drugs, free Obama phones, food stamps and more crumbs. Oh, and permission to eat fried chicken, if they are really good.

Black retired gifted neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson gained international fame for his groundbreaking work separating conjoined twins. Carson came from humble beginnings raised by a single mom. What if Carson was amoung the extremely high number of black abortions? Could a brilliant black baby destined to cure Cancer have already been aborted?

Why on earth do blacks in the Democratic Party and Obama celebrate, protect, fund and vehemently defend Planned Parenthood who have a disproportionate high number of offices in black communities?

Blacks kill their babies in higher numbers than other races. Why are so-called black leaders so high on abortion? The answer is socialist/progressives intrenched in the Democratic Party believe babies contribute to destroying the planet. Blacks who supp at the socialist/progressive’s table sacrifice black babies for their seats, keeping massa happy.

So, right on NAACP, push forward with you scheme to shame congress into passing your absurd unnecessary politically calculated Voting Rights Act Amendment.

Meanwhile, black lives are going down the toilet thanks to your failed government programs and refusal to seriously deal with real issues.

And may God have mercy on your wretched souls.

U.S. Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch would be Eric Holder in a skirt!

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Discover The Networks has an extensive profile of Loretta Lynch. Lynch’s background and experiences make her ill suited as the next U.S. Attorney General. Here is the Lynch profile on Discover the Networks:

  • Served as a U.S. Attorney under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama
  • Believes that the American criminal-justice system is rife with discrimination against nonwhite minorities
  • Favors the use of alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders
  • Supports the restoration of voting rights for convicted felons who have completed their prison sentences

Loretta Lynch was born in 1959 in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1981 she earned an A.B. from Harvard College, where she was an original member of Delta Sigma Theta, a newly formed African-American sorority chapter; another noteworthy original member was Sharon Malone, who subsequently went on to marry Eric Holder.

After completing her undergraduate studies, Lynch in 1984 earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Black Law Student Association. From 1984-90 she was a litigation associate for the New York-based firm of Cahill, Gordon & Reindel.

In 1989 Lynch donated $550 to the New York City mayoral campaign of Democrat David Dinkins, who defeated both the incumbent Ed Koch (in a five-way Democratic primary) and Republican challenger Rudolph Giuliani (in the general election).

From 1990-2001, Lynch worked in various capacities for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. In 1999 President Bill Clinton appointed her as U.S. Attorney for that District, a position she held until the end of the Clinton administration in January 2001.

In 2000, Lynch was a member of the trial team in the highly publicized United States v. Volpe civil-rights case against a New York City police officer who had brutalized a black Haitian immigrant named Abner Louima. Also during her years in the U.S. Attorney’s office, Lynch was a frequent instructor in the Justice Department’s Criminal Trial Advocacy Program, and she worked as an adjunct professor at the St. John’s University School of Lawduring the fall 2000 semester.

From October 1994 to January 1998, Lynch was a partner with the Connecticut-based Ujamaa Investment Group. “Ujamaa” is a Swahili term signifying a commitment to the practice of “shared wealth” and a repudiation of economic inequality.

Lynch has long opposed capital punishment because of its alleged bias against blacks and Hispanics. “Apply the death penalty to securities fraud prosecutions [committed mostly by whites] and [you’ll] wipe out [the racial disparity] just like that,” she said sarcastically during a 2002 roundtable discussion. But when the defendants of certain crimes are mostly poor and minority, she charged, “you don’t have anybody there on the floor of Congress saying, ‘Wait a minute.’”

By Lynch’s reckoning, capital punishment would be immoral even if it were applied without any racial bias at all—because of the disparate impact it would continue to have on nonwhites, who commit homicides (i.e., the crimes subject to the death penalty) at much higher rates than whites: “That, to me, has always been the problem with the death penalty. Because you can be as fair as possible in a particular case, but the reality is that the federal death penalty is still going to hit harder on certain groups.”

In 2002 Lynch began an eight-year stint as a partner with the New York law firm of Hogan & Hartson, where her practice focused on commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and corporate compliance issues. From 2003-05 she served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

In 2008 Lynch initially supported Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign. But after Mrs. Clinton was defeated in the Democratic primaries by Barack Obama, Lynch donated a combined $9,200 to Obama For America (later known as Organizing For America and Organizing For Action) and the Obama Victory Fund.

In May 2010, President Obama appointed Lynch to the same post she had held towards the end of the Clinton administration—U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. In that capacity, she was responsible for overseeing all federal and civil investigations and cases in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, as well as Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island.

During her four-and-a-half years as U.S. Attorney, Lynch developed a close relationship with Attorney General Eric Holder. In early 2013 she was named chair of Holder’s advisory committee, and she collaborated with the AG in a high-profile Justice Department investigation that ultimately (in July 2014) forced Citigroup to pay a $7 billion fine for having helped trigger the financial crisis of 2008. Specifically, Citigroup was charged with:(a) making mortgage loans that had material defects and a high probability of default, and (b) securitizing and selling pools of these defective loans to investors. Said Lynch: “[A]fter collecting nearly 25 million documents relating to every residential mortgage-backed security issued or underwritten by Citigroup in 2006 and 2007, our teams found that the misconduct in Citigroup’s deals devastated the nation and the world’s economies, touching everyone.” By contrast, Lynch made no mention of the various government policies—most notably the Community Reinvestment Act—which, in the name of social and economic justice, had required banks to knowingly lend money to underqualified borrowers, particularly nonwhite minorities.

In 2012, when the 66-year-old Shiite imam Kareem Ibrahim was sentenced to life-in-prison for the role he had played in a failed plot to firebomb New York’s JFK Airport five years earlier, Lynch said that Ibrahim had “abandoned the true tenants [sic] of his religion” by participating in the conspiracy.

During a 2013 speech which she delivered at the Martin Luther King Center in Long Beach, New York, Lynch asked the young people in the audience: “What is it that makes you feel oppressed? Is it the prison of racism?”

Lynch believes that voter ID laws are part of a racist effort to suppress minority turnout at the polls. “Fifty years after the civil rights movement,” she said in 2013, “we stand in this country at a time when we see people trying to take back so much of what Dr. [Martin Luther] King fought for…. People try and take over the State House and reverse the goals [gains] that have been made in voting in this country.” In line with this view, Lynch emphasized that she was “proud” of the Justice Department for having filed suit against North Carolina’s voter ID laws that “seek to limit our ability to stand up and exercise our rights as citizens.”

Lynch has also suggested that school discipline policies, which result in higher rates of suspension and expulsion for nonwhite children than for whites, are racist. “The dream is still continuing not only in the courts but in our schools,” she told a mostly black audience in 2013. “And we all know, education is the key. And we understand that discipline is important. We understand that rules are important, but we also know that when we sit and look at schools that have these zero-tolerance programs, they are often used, and they take our babies, minority children, black children, Hispanic children, and they put them out of school before they have a chance to learn.” Building on this theme, Lynch praised the Department of Justice for having “gone into the South, although we’re looking further, and brought the first … ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ cases against school districts in Alabama.”

In April 2014 Lynch participated in a panel titled “Strengthening the Relationship Between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color,” along with such notables as Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, and Bill de Blasio. One of the panel’s action items stated: “Remember that racial bias is pervasive. Research has shown that people who are not consciously mistrustful of African Americans or intentionally racist can still behave in a way that is influenced by racial bias.”

In August 2014 Lynch spoke about the need to “eliminate,” from the American criminal-justice system, all forms of “racial discrimination” against “the most vulnerable members of society.” She stated that she and Eric Holder were focused “not just on the prosecution of crime, but on eradicating its root causes as well as providing support for those re-entering society after having paid their debt to it.” Lamenting that the U.S. “currently … imprisons approximately 2.2 million people” who are “disproportionately people of color,” Lynch emphasized the need to “reform … this aspect of our criminal justice system,” which she described as a “drain on both precious resources and human capital.”

Lynch contends that “stringent mandatory minimum sentences for certain federal drug crimes” should be “reserved [only] for the most serious criminals”—on the premise that, “quite often, less prison can also work to reduce crime.” Advocating the implementation of “alternative programs in place of incarceration,” she stresses the need to “provid[e] formerly incarcerated people with fair opportunities to rejoin their communities and become productive, law-abiding citizens”; to “restore voting rights to those who have served their debt to society, thus ending the chain of permanent disenfranchisement that visits many of them”; and to “identify [and eliminate] policies that result in unwarranted disparities within criminal justice.” Vis à vis the latter, Lynch has supported “the expansion of the federal clemency program,” “the retroactive reduction of penalties for non-violent drug offenders,” and “the reduction in the sentencing disparity” between crimes involving crack cocaine (a drug most often used by poor blacks) and powder cocaine (whose users are typically more-affluent whites.

In addition to her work in government and with private law firms, Lynch also served a stint as an advisory board member with the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

On November 8, 2014, President Obama nominated Lynch to succeed Eric Holder, who had recently announced his intent to step down from the post of attorney general.

RELATED ARTICLE: What Happened to Main Justice.com?

Why the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Tom Tryon just doesn’t seem to get it

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Opinion Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Tom Tryon did a column titled “Post-election enmity won’t help schools.” Tryon used the word enmity when referring to Bridget Ziegler, a newly elected member of the Sarasota County School Board.

Enmity is defined as, “the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.” You know like being opposed to things that are absurd, and people who are bad or evil.

Tryon is concerned that  in the local community there is “a palpable sense of hostility, enmity and animus.” Tryon wants to be the “can’t we all just get along” Rodney King of Sarasota, Florida. You know, think alike, be alike, don’t stand out from the crowd for your ideas and ideals. Perhaps Tryon should write a letter to President Obama on his enmity toward Republicans, rather than picking on a working mother who is doing her civic duty.

Tryon wants this new school board member to go along to get along. To fully embrace Common Core State Standards (a.k.a. Florida Standards) even though she campaigned against it because teachers and parents are against it. In the name of just getting along Tryon wants this newly elected school board member to abandon those who have enmity toward Common Core.

He wants this school board member to embrace government secrecy and behind closed door “workshop” meetings in the name of being nice.

He wants this new school board member to lovingly embrace the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association that repeatedly used the district email system, even after Superintendent Lori White sent out a warning that it violates district policy, to defeat her. Perhaps district staff member Gary Ferguson, who used his office and the district email system to support Ziegler’s opponent, didn’t get the memo, which he probably wrote?

What about the district staff and SC/TA enmity toward Ziegler?

Tryon wants this school board member to forget what she stands for and stands against in the name of uniformity of purpose.

Tryon wants this school board member to abandon those parents, teachers, administrators and citizens who voted for her in the name of friendship with those on the School Board who openly and publicly attacked her at a behind closed doors school board “workshop.”

Tryon wants this newly elected school board member to forget how her fellow school board member Democrat Shirley Brown and her fellow Republicans Caroline Zucker and Jane Goodwin did everything in their power to undermine her election. Brown used the school district email system to fund raise for her opponent. Zucker brought her opponent to a North Port Republican Party event as her guest. Goodwin did a robo-call endorsement of her opponent. Isn’t three against one bullying?

But let’s let bygones be bygones. Just slip into bed with the enemy and all will be right as rain.

Abandon your principles, says Tryon, and you will be loved. Tryon has one thing right, the 2014 mid-term election is over. But the bad policies of the school board continue. Policies like:

  1. Embracing Common Core State Standards (Florida Standards) that takes away every teachers ability to teach. A centralized one size fits all education system.
  2. Holding school board workshops off camera, throwing government transparency under the bus.
  3. Holding SC/TA negotiations at their offices rather than in the open, live and on camera at the district so all can see.
  4. Putting the tax referendum on an off year March ballot (thereby suppressing the vote), while costing taxpayers $500,000, rather than during the regular November election cycle.
  5. Teaching to the test as required by No Child Left Behind and Race To The Top federal legislation.
  6. Allowing school board members, the district staff, SC/TA and others to use the taxpayer funded district email system for political purposes.

Tryon seems to want a 5-0 vote on everything district staff brings to the board for action. Heaven forbid that any school board member ever questions any district action or school board policy because it is considered unfair, wrong or just plain bad policy by parents, students and ordinary citizens.

Maybe Tryon needs to tell Brown, Zucker and Goodwin to stop the enmity toward those who don’t think like them such as parents and students?

We do agree with a couple of Tryon’s comments like Brown, Zucker and Goodwin avoiding “creating the appearance that the School Board is their private club.” We also like Tryon’s idea, which he took from us,  to make “Union leaders to help themselves and their members by creating their own email system.”

Maybe Tom Tryon is actually reading what we write? No, that can’t be it.

Enmity is a good thing. Marching in lockstep is a bad thing, just as it is in Washington, D.C. and at Sarasota school board meetings. Different ideas must be heard, discussed in a civil manner and then voted on. That is the Constitutional Republican way.

Tryon is trying to use his editorial pen to pound a round peg into a square hole. Good luck with that Tom.

High school students fight back against culture of death: Bold challenge at abortion clinic!

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When it comes to standing up to the culture of death, a lot of people have given up on the youth of America. But don’t believe it!

The students at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School in Still River, MA, out-perform most adult groups. They take activism right to the streets!


VIDEO of students and their “Prayer Vigil Challenge”. You can also see it on Vimeo HERE.

As a conservative Catholic school, they are determined to confront the horrific scourge of abortion. Unlike many pro-life groups, they don’t just hold meetings, put out literature, give some speeches, hold banquets, and raise money. They actually go to the abortion clinics. The older kids help counsel women who would otherwise make a deadly “choice” — and they all use the power of prayer. They make a difference!

In this wonderful video – made outside of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic featuring the students themselves – they are challenging students from nearby schools to join them on the front lines.

In this video the students are right on the front lines!

These kids are very inspiring. They really get it. They are not afraid to talk about God and the religious basis of why they’re there. And they clearly understand the terrible things that secularism has done to society.

Prayer vigil near entrance of the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.

That’s not all. For the last 25 years the school has provided what has become themost memorable float in the annual South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade – St. Patrick blessing the crowds — and the school band has also marched in the parade.

As we all know, in recent years many homosexual activist groups and liberal politicians have tried to intimidate schools, businesses, and others from participating in the parade. The liberal establishment is angry because the parade leaders have held fast to their Catholic beliefs and kept it a “family friendly” parade that excludes openly homosexual groups.

The annual Parade wouldn’t be the same without the school’s memorable float! [MassResistance photo]

They’re the real thing. The school even has a special dispensation from Rome to hold a daily Latin Mass!

A big part of this, of course, is the school’s principal, Br. Thomas Augustine. He is a pillar of strength and moral leadership in a time of unfortunate religious and cultural weakness. We wish there were a thousand more like him!

And like all moral heroes, Br. Thomas is hated by the Left. Earlier this year, the Boston Globe published an editorial personally attacking Br. Thomas after he wrote a letter to the editor taking an uncompromising stand supporting the Parade organizers’ right to hold their parade with real Catholic values.

We would encourage you to watch the video. The Resistance movement is alive and well!

P.S. – Br. Thomas reported to us that the video brought a great response to their challenge!

Voters Reject the Green Political Agenda

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What the midterm voters wanted was an economy that returned to its average 3.3% annual growth since the end of World War II. For six years of the Obama presidency, growth has all but disappeared. In 2013, as measured by the World Bank, it was barely 1.9% That translated into a lack of jobs, stagnant middle class income, and what Obama correctly called the Great Recession, but could not end.

Instead, in the lead-up to the midterm elections, he was still talking about “climate change” as the greatest threat to the nation and the world. For the voters, however, climate change wasn’t even on its list of priorities and with good reason, there is nothing anyone or any nation can or should do about the great forces of nature that determine what the Earth’s climate will be; starting with the Sun.

The day after the elections two major environmental organizations, the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth (FOE), wrote to their members. Their message was similar and their conclusions were absurd.

“The election’s over and the planet lost,” wrote Erich Pica, FOE president. “The next Congress will be controlled by politicians elected with millions of dollars of the Koch brothers’ oil money—putting at risk the vital environmental protections we’ve fought so hard to achieve.” FOE has more than 2 million activists in 75 nations including the U.S.

What Pica does not mention in his letter is the estimated $85 million spent on six Senate races by what The Hill described as “the nation’s top environmental groups including the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and billionaire Tom Steyer’s NextGen Climate…”

So the Koch brother’s money is evil, but environmental organizations’ money is okay?

As far as FOE’s Pica is concerned, “The truth is, President Obama hasn’t always done the right thing for the environment. He should have denied the Keystone Pipeline years ago, he should be rolling back unchecked fracking, and he should have taken stronger action on climate both at home and in international negotiations.”

FOE could care less about the thousands of jobs the Keystone pipeline would create, plus the revenue from refining the oil it would transport to the Gulf States. As for fracking, it is not “unchecked.” It has to be done within the context of safety and environmental laws. As for the climate, China and India are just two nations increasing the use of coal to generate the electrical power they need to stimulate industrialization and improve the lives of their citizens by bringing power where he has never been before.

Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, wrote that “Friends of Big Oil have taken control of the Senate” claiming they have “a 100-day action plan that reads like Big Oil’s wish list. Our opposition is about to have free reign to implement their anti-environment agenda. And approving the Keystone XL pipeline and destroying proposed environmental regulations top their list.”

Oh, really? If the polls and elections are any indicator, a lot of Americans want to see the pipeline construction. As for the “anti-environment agenda”, that too is pure fiction. What Americans oppose is the forced closure of electricity generation plants in the name of a global warming that is not happening. Or a climate change over which no government has any role or control.

To drive home his doom-and-gloom message, Brune added that “Rare species of wildlife already hanging by a threat will not survive this onslaught.” Consider the absurdity of the claim that a Republican controlled Congress will be responsible for species extinction. For good measure, Brune, like the FOE, mentioned the Koch brothers, labeling them “big polluters.” Since when is drilling for oil and providing it to a world that runs on it “pollution”? It’s not. It’s progress that benefits humanity.

Commenting on the elections, Dr. Jay Lehr, the Science Director of The Heartland Institute, a free market think tank, characterized them as “the repudiation of the President’s policies” and the nation’s political pundits all agree. Dr. Lehr called for “a bill to require the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline which has bipartisan support and has passed every environmental test.”

Dr. Lehr called on Congress to “require the government to open up public lands to environmentally safe mineral and energy exploration as well as speed up approval of permits to drill and mine for resources on already approved lands. This will ensure our resource independence in both areas for centuries to come.”

High on my list of priorities was reflected by Dr. Lehr’s call for Congress “to take charge of the funding of the Environmental Protection Agency which has gone rogue in efforts to impede virtually all economic development in our nation, and eventually phase out the EPA, passing on its responsibilities to a committee of the whole of our fifty state environmental protection agencies.”

A November 6 article, “Climate change supporters suffer losses”, published in The Hill, reported that “Despite millions spent to make climate change a wedge issue during the midterms, environmentally friendly candidates didn’t fare well on Election Day.” Even so, the Sierra Club’s Brune was quoted saying, “Public support is solidly behind action to tackle the climate crisis. While we have lost friends in Congress, we are gaining them in the streets, as our movement grows stronger and broader.” NOT!

Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, echoed Brune’s empty boasts. “Whatever may have driven individual races, the American people want action on climate change.” NOT!

As far as the environment is concerned, it is way down on the list of the voter’s priorities and the change of leadership and control of Congress reflects that. The voters don’t want a lot of vapid, idiotic talk of climate change and other environmental fantasies. They want jobs. They want an economy that will provide them. They want a better future for themselves and their children. And whether they know it or not, they want a conservative approach to government.

© Alan Caruba, 2014

Congressional Black Caucus: Blacks Own Worst Enemy

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Black Democrats are the most despised people on the face of this earth and they have worked hard to deserve this designation.

They vote upwards of 90 percent for Democratic candidates for president and get very little in exchange for their loyalty. They constantly deliver victory to Democrats, only to see the spoils of victory go to other groups: homosexuals, illegals, and White women.

Jimmy Carter had very few Blacks in his administration. Bill Clinton had more, but threw Lani Guinier, one of his closest personal friends and a top campaign supporter, under the bus because of threats by Republicans not to confirm her as Assistant Attorney General. Obama has even refused to interview a Black female jurist for consideration to the U.S. Supreme Court.

So, I was thoroughly stunned by the comments of the Democratic chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) during their annual conference two weeks ago here in D.C.

Here is a direct quote from her:

“I hope you will spend this much time with your local elected officials. I guarantee you most people in this room have not done that. With your school board, with your city council, and so then you won’t be calling me talking about somebody didn’t come and pick up your trash. You need to call your city council person for that.

And I say it that way because, I need you to understand we all have a role to play and the Congressional Black Caucus cannot do it all by ourselves. Everybody has to do their part …The black caucus fights for you every day. Even when you won’t fight for yourself. We fight for you. Whether its immigration or education, whether it’s food stamps or housing, we fight for you every day. So my message to you is to contain your complaining.”

Now mind you, the CBC is the same group that criticized Obama for telling them to stop complaining at their annual dinner in September of 2011, “Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes; Shake it off. Stop complainin’. Stop grumblin’. Stop cryin’. We are going to press on. We have work to do.”

Isn’t it amazing that both Fudge and Obama’s tone to this group of Blacks was extremely condescending? They both showed a great deal of disdain for their own people. Now just suppose that a White Democrat had said the same thing. These very same Blacks would have lost their minds screaming bloody racism.

With Fudge and Obama it may not be racism, but it is liberal elitism at its finest.

Fudge claims that the CBC is fighting for Blacks even when they won’t fight for themselves. Really? How is supporting amnesty for illegals helping the Black community? Every analysis done has concluded that amnesty would drastically increase the Black unemployment rate. How is denying poor mothers the power to choose which schools to send their kids to helping better the lives of those forced to attend subpar schools? I find it ironic that most CBC members refuse to send their kids to public schools. There are more Americans on food stamps now than at any point in our country’s history and Blacks are disproportionately represented in this number.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in the past five years, the number of households on food stamps has greatly increased. In fiscal year 2009 – Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2009 — the number of households on food stamps was 15,232,115. Five years later, in 2013, that amount had increased by 51.3 percent to reach 23,052,388 households (or 20 percent of all households). Twenty two percent of Blacks receive food stamps during this time period, though Blacks are 13 percent of the U.S. population.

How does the CBC expect Blacks to be able to afford to buy a home, if they are promoting policies that continue to keep the unemployment rate at high levels?

Fudge and the CBC seem to talk about fighting for welfare as though it should be a badge of honor. Would it not make more sense to brag about how their policies are increasing employment opportunities for Blacks, therefore those needing food stamps is going down. That would be worth celebrating.

If Republicans would take this message into the Black community, not only will we take over the Senate; but we will win the White House with double digit support from the Black community. Would this not be a “conservative” approach to dealing with some of the issues affecting the Black community? Would this not be a worthy expenditure of campaign funds?

The Black vote is up for grabs during this congressional election and beyond. The question for Republicans is who will turn a deaf ear to their White consultants who constantly tell them that the Black vote is unattainable? Just food for thought.

Democrats reveal the ‘secret’ of the Republican win

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In an email to supporters, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced the “secret” behind the Republican win on November 4th, 2014 – a day that will live in infamy for the loyal followers of President Obama.

No, it is not his failed domestic policy that has left tens of millions of Americans without jobs. It is not the illegal alien invasion bringing with it the deadly EV-D68 virus into public school classrooms across America. It is not the mishandling of the Ebola virus pandemic that has for the first time reached America’s shores. It is not Obamacare, the stone walling of the Keystone Pipeline, climate change, the inability to stop the Islamic State and Iranian nuclear program, Russia in the Balkans and Ukraine or the administration throwing Israel under the Palestinian bus. Its not even the unsustainable national debt and failed stimulus program.

It is “obstructionism.”

The email features the below image of Paul Krugman:

krugman obstructionism

The DCCC email states, “In other words, the Republicans broke Washington. Then, they spent millions of dollars of secret money running against a broken Washington.” I appears the voters know who”broke Washington” and voted accordingly on November 4th.

Just who are the Republicans obstructing and sabotaging? Why President Obama and his Collectivist agenda. Paul Krugman got it right, as did the American people. While President Obama was not on the ballot his policies were, as the President so eloquently pointed out.

The “sabotage” of the Obama agenda was and remains priority one for the lame duck 113th Republican House of Representatives and will continue under the new Republican majority in the U.S. Senate and expanded Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 114th Congress. This strategy will continue until the 2016 Presidential elections when it is expected that Republicans will offer a stark alternative to the Collectivism of President Obama.

As Redstate’s Erick Erickson noted the American people got a taste of socialism under Obama. It is now clear they did not like it and spit it out.

The DCCC email concludes that in President Obama’s final two years, “There’s no sugarcoating it. Full Republican control of Congress won’t be easy.”

Who will become the obstructionist when legislation is passed by both houses of the 114th Congress and placed on the Presidents desk for signature?

For Democrats this has always been about Obama. For Republicans it has always been about Obama.

Its the President’s policies, stupid!

RELATED ARTICLES:

BIG REVIEW SET BY DEMOCRATS AFTER ELECTION LOSSES – AP

DNC chief: We have a problem – The Hill

Poll Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein shouldn’t run again, majority of voters say – LA Times

‘Historic’ Sixth Circuit Ruling Upholds Marriage Amendment

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The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) played an instrumental role in a ruling issued late yesterday afternoon in which the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided to preserve traditional marriage, stopping the homosexual juggernaut that had been sweeping the nation. In its 2-1 decision, the Sixth Circuit upheld marriage laws from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.  Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote the opinion joined by Judge Deborah Cook.“Historic” Sixth Circuit Ruling Defers to the People; Upholds Marriage Amendment Crafted by the Thomas More Law Center

The Thomas More Law Center played a significant role in crafting Michigan’s constitutional amendment upheld by the Court.  TMLC also filed an amicus brief (friend of the court brief) on behalf of a Coalition of Black Pastors and Christian leaders supporting traditional marriage.

Responding to yesterday’s ruling, Richard Thompson, TMLC’s President and Chief Counsel commented, “This opinion is an historic and elegant defense of the principle of judicial restraint and deference to democracy and the voice of the people. It could well become the catalyst for the US Supreme Court to finally take-up the issue as well as the basis of an ultimate Supreme Court decision to allow the individual states to decide the definition of marriage.”

The Sixth Circuit ruled that laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman were constitutional, even in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last year in U.S. v. Windsor, which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”).  The Sixth Circuit held that deference must be given to the individual states to regulate marriage, and that defining marriage between a man and a woman—as it has been for “thousands of years,” “span[ning] almost every society in history”—is a constitutional and rational act of the states.

TMLC played an intricate part in this crucial victory.  In 2004, TMLC crafted the Michigan Marriage Amendment which was upheld by yesterday’s decision.    TMLC cautiously ensured that the Marriage Amendment served no discriminatory purpose and explained its reasoning in the amendment itself, stating:

To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.

Mich. Const. Art. I, § 25.

Michigan’s Marriage Amendment was passed by fifty- nine percent of Michigan’s voters.  Supporters of “homosexual marriage” have not tried to pass their own legislation through the usual channels of democracy, but have tried to use judges to bypass the ballot box. Their strategy has proven successful in several courts across the county. It failed in the Sixth Circuit.

Instrumental to the Sixth Circuit’s decision was TMLC’s amicus brief that provided a full legal analysis explaining why marriage amendments that protect traditional marriage are constitutional.  The brief was submitted as part of TMLC’s national strategy to defend laws protecting traditional marriage and to enlighten courts on why traditional marriage is the only sound response to the approximately 90 cases filed in the past year by pro-homosexual activists.  TMLC has filed several briefs nationally as an answer to this assault on Christianity and traditional family values.

TMLC’s amicus brief was filed on behalf of a Coalition of African-American pastors and Christian leaders to reflect the voice of a majority of African-Americans that discrimination because of one’s sexual preference is not the same thing as racial discrimination and that tradition and morality should not be discarded as a basis of the law as the pro-homosexual judges have done in their opinions.

A legal team consisting of TMLC’s senior trial counsel, Erin Mersino, and Co-counsels William R. Wagner and John S. Kane of Lansing, MI, has been filing briefs in significant cases dealing with traditional marriage.

Coalition member, Pastor Danny Holliday of Victory Baptist Church, of Alton, Illinois reacted to yesterday’s ruling, “I am grateful to God because the Sixth Circuit overturned the decisions, concluding the definition of marriage should be left to the voters — not judges — and that voters should be allowed to decide whether gay marriage is a good idea or not.”

Coalition member, Minister Stacy Swimp, of Greater Bibleway Temple, stated, “I thank God that the U.S. 6th Circuit Court has lived up to its appointed responsibility to interpret law rather than create new laws. The ruling is indeed a major victory for traditional marriage and a strong affirmation of our nation’s Judeo Christian values and culture.”

Janet Boynes, another Coalition member reacted, “This is a great victory for those of us who believe in the sanctity of marriage, but we know the fight isn’t over. We pray for Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton and his family as they might have to face the rage of those with opposing views.

The Sixth Circuit adopted many of TMLC’s legal arguments including its point of view that preservation of our Nation’s tradition and morality should not be replaced with the trendy, moral relativism of only the last decade.  The brief states, “Some truths are self-evident. Among them are that men and women are different. In fact, it is clear from our very existence that men are made for women, and women for men. None of us would be here but for that truth. Another self-evident truth is that it is best for children to be raised by their parents whenever possible. There have been many theories to the contrary throughout history, but they have all proven vacuous at best. Public policy that recognizes and acts on these truths is not unfairly discriminatory. In fact, the only way to have sound public policy is to build on such truths.”

Click here to read the Court’s Opinion

Unprofessional conduct complaints filed against Florida Attorney John Morgan

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A Florida lawyer and two Florida citizens filed complaints against trial attorney John Morgan, of Morgan & Morgan, for unprofessional conduct (view the complaints here and here). The complaints referred to a video of Morgan at a pro-Amendment 2 rally where he appeared with supporters. Morgan makes comments that are profane, while holding a drink in his hand.

In the video Morgan states, “I’m just scared sh*tless of [Polk County Sheriff] Grady Judd” to which the crowd chants “F*ck Grady Judd.”  On Amendment 2 Morgan states, “I’m not just here to do it, I’m here to F*cking do it” and “If you Mother-F*uckers don’t get up and vote, F*ck it all we can’t win I’m telling you.” On November 4th Amendment 2 failed to garner the 60% of votes needed for a Florida constitutional amendment.

Morgan appears to refer to Sheriff Grady Judd and to those working against Amendment 2 as “professional whores” and mother-f*uckers.” At the end of his diatribe Morgan states, “I do, I do have, I do have some money. And let me tell you what [to the chanting crowd]. Everyone of you mother-f*uckers can get sex on the beach. I’m… I’m going to buy it for you.”

The full public comments of John Morgan (with captions) are captured in the video below:

In June 2013 the Florida Supreme Court established a Code for Resolving Professional Complaints based upon recommendations of a commission on professionalism for those in the legal profession. The Code recognizes, “[T]hat professionalism involves principles, character, critical and reflective judgment… unacceptable professional conduct and behavior is often a matter of choice or decision-making. Therefore, we accept the proposal of the Professionalism Commission to create a structure for affirmatively addressing unacceptable professional conduct.” Subsequently Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. of the Ninth Circuit Court of Florida established by administrative order the Ninth Circuit Court Local Professionalism Panel. Judge Perry, Jr.’s administrative order states:

2.  PURPOSE OF LOCAL PROFESSIONALISM PANEL

The purpose of the Local Professionalism Panel is to receive, screen, evaluate and act upon such reasonable complaints of unprofessional conduct as may be referred to the Panel asserting improper behavior of attorneys who may have conducted themselves in contravention or disregard of the standards of professionalism as set forth in the Oath of Admission to The Florida Bar, The Florida Bar Creed of professionalism, The Florida Bar Ideals and Goals of Professionalism, the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, the decisions and administrative directives of the Florida Supreme Court, professional standards of the Osceola County Bar Association and the Orange County Bar Association’s Professionalism Guidelines – all of which are hereinafter referred to collectively as “Ideals and Standards,” and resolve those complaints informally, if possible, or refer the complaints to The Florida Bar, if appropriate or necessary. The conduct of the attorneys who are the subject of such complaints shall be reviewed and addressed in a prompt, informal, respectful, non-punitive, educational and constructive  manner, as may be appropriate.

John Morgan practices law in Florida’s Ninth Circuit Court. Fourteen months before Morgan’s diatribe the Code and Procedures were established.

Understanding the Code and Ninth Circuit Court Procedures the complaints were filed using the proper forms. However, none of the complaints were referred to the Ninth Circuit Court Local Professionalism Panel for review and action. Rather the Florida Bar reviewed the video above. A letter from the Florida Bar’s Shanell M. Schuyler, Director of Intake, ACAP Hotline 866-352-0707, states:

The Florida Bar has carefully reviewed the videos of Mr. Morgan which were posted on YouTube following his recent debate with Sheriff Grady Judd over the use of medical marijuana. While The Florida Bar does not condone Mr. Morgan’s conduct, there is insufficient evidence of a violation of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. Consequently, this file is closed and the computer record will be disposed of one year from the date of closure pursuant to the Bar’s record retention policy.

Chapter 4 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar states:

A lawyer’s conduct should conform to the requirements of the law, both in professional service to clients and in the lawyer’s business and personal affairs. A lawyer should use the law’s procedures only for legitimate purposes and not to harass or intimidate others. A lawyer should demonstrate respect for the legal system and for those who serve it, including judges, other lawyers, and public officials. While it is a lawyer’s duty, when necessary, to challenge the rectitude of official action, it is also a lawyer’s duty to uphold legal process.

After the defeat of Amendment 2 Morgan appeared at a press conference on November 5th. The presser was captured in the video below. Again Morgan uses profanity. He begins the presser by saying he was stopped by the local police on the way to his office and thought to himself that the police would plant marijuana on him.  Watch the full presser:

Perhaps the Florida Bar needs to follow the Code established by the Florida Supreme Court and refer the case to the Ninth Circuit Court Professionalism Panel? Just thinking out loud.

EDITORS NOTE: One of the 51 members of the Board of Governors Florida Bar is Paul Louis SanGiovanni (09-02) from Morgan & Morgan, P.A.

Islamic State slave price list shows Yazidi, Christian girls aged 1-9 being sold for $172

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“One should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar — the infidels — and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah, or Islamic law.”

Indeed so: “When a child or a woman is taken captive, they become slaves by the fact of capture, and the woman’s previous marriage is immediately annulled.” (Umdat al-SalikO9.13)

official-isis-price-list-has-been-released-by-group-iraq-price-control-measure

Official Islamic State price list for captured Christian women and girls in Iraq. For a larger view click on the image.

“Shocking: ISIS Official ‘Slave’ Price List Shows Yazidi, Christian Girls Aged ‘1 to 9′ Being Sold for $172,” by Johnlee Varghese, International Business Times, November 5, 2014 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

In a rather shocking revelation, it has been found that Islamic State militants have been selling Yazidi and Christian girls as young as one to nine years of age for a price of $172 in Iraq.

Activists working ‘secretly’ out of Iraq have leaked a ‘price list‘ of the ISIS slave markets, from where men can buy Yazidi and Christian women as ‘sex slaves.’

According to a report published by Iraqi News, ISIS has imposed these ‘price controls’ over the sale of women and spoils of war, including cattle as the market lately has experienced a down-turn.

It also stated that those disobeying the diktat ‘would be executed.’

On the price list, the youngest is a mere one-year-old girl, while the oldest is 50.

The price for the girls between one- and nine-years is the highest, followed by Yazidi or Christian girls between the ages of 10 and 20, priced at $130.

Women between the ages of 20 and 30 were being sold for $86; a 30 to 40 year was being sold for $75 and 40 to 50 year old women were listed for sale at a price of $43.

The barbaric group that has full-fledged slave markets both in Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria; has even gone to the extent of justifying its kidnapping of women as sex slaves citing Islamic theology.

“One should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar — the infidels — and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah, or Islamic law,” the group had said in an online magazine report, reported CNN.

In the price list translated from Arabic, the ISIS says: “In the name of Allah, most gracious and merciful. We have received news that the demand in women and cattle markets has sharply decreased and that will affected Islamic State revenues as well as the funding of the Mujaheddin in the battlefield. We have made some changes. Below are the prices of Yazidi and Christian women.”After listing out the prices on the women, the ISIS notes that “consumers are allowed to purchase only three slaves at a time, except those from Turkey, Syria and Gulf.”

The price list reportedly is dated 16 October,2014. The authenticity of the list that has widely been shared on social media could not be verified independently….

RELATED ARTICLES:

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UK: Muslim parents tell daughter they would “cut her head off” if she went to authorities over forced marriage

Atlanta: Bloody Shi’ite Muslim ritual includes children this year

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is of a Yazidi girl fleeing violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar rests at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in mid-August. Photo courtesy of Reuters.