How Social Security Makes Us Poorer by Brenton Smith

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When you read that Social Security lifts 50 percent of seniors out of poverty, keep in mind that it was largely the cost of Social Security that put them there. It’s the perfect example of government incompetence creating higher costs and misguided incentives—and delivering exactly the opposite of what it promised.

The contradiction stems from the cost of Social Security, which has exploded. In 1950 Social Security cost 2 percent of the first $3,000 of income (in 2013 dollars, that would be 2 percent of roughly $29,000, according to the BLS calculator).  In 2013, the retirement portion of Social Security cost 10.6 percent of the first $113,700. On top of this cost, the government now takes another 1.8 percent of your wages to cover the cost of disability benefits, which were added in 1958.

What’s more, you get a lot less bang for a lot more bucks. A couple retiring in 1960 expected to collect $8 of benefits for every $1 of contributions. Today the return for average Americans is actually negative.

The process of rising costs and declining returns has continued for 80 years. We are now at a point where the largest investment in retirement planning of the vast majority of Americans loses money. No one should be surprised to find that people who invest their retirement savings poorly wind up in poverty when they reach retirement.

The Urban Institute’s “Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Benefits over a Lifetime” projects what a hypothetical worker will contribute to Social Security versus what they expect to collect. The “lifetime value of taxes” shows what would have happened if the accumulated taxes had been put into an account that earned interest. The research projects that an average worker who retires in 2030 will have lost more than $400,000 in savings in order to collect about $370,000 in expected benefits.

Here is where the system gets really ugly. The $370,000 isn’t guaranteed. In fact, the Trustees project that in a good economy this worker will only get 77 percent of his scheduled benefits because he will retire after the trust fund is exhausted. Mind you, the 77 percent of scheduled benefits is completely dependent upon the willingness of future workers to commit 12.4 percent of their wages to this system as it falls into collapse. Basically this worker only collects provided another worker gets a worse deal.

The government has compounded the impact of the problem by feeding the systemic dysfunction directly through our labor market. Social Security is financed with a tax on labor—so it penalizes work even though the best cure for poverty is a job. This tax also creates a disincentive to hire people and creates an incentive to move work to countries with a lower tax burden. Social Security introduces incentives to work less, such as early retirement.

Nobody wants to be poor in their old age. If workers did not have to spend their entire careers burdened with Social Security taxes, fewer would face that possibility.

ABOUT BRENTON SMITH

Brenton Smith is the founder of Fix Social Security Now.

US Army troop cuts: Hagel and Obama seem determined to decimate our military capability by Allen West

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Early this morning I received an email from Mrs. Annie Shyne, a former constituent, whose son Nicholas received a nomination from our congressional office to the US Naval Academy where he is now a plebe.

She was distressed over the intentions of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, former US Army Soldier, to decimate our military capability with deep US Army troop cuts. Her email expressed concern for her son and his future as a commissioned officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. She was even more disturbed over the abandonment our military families will receive by way of cuts to commissary services and pay freezes. We recently reported the level of food stamp usage by our military families and its unconscionable increase.

Then this morning, I tuned in to hear SecDef Hagel attempt to explain this ill-conceived budget decision — which certainly has our enemies cheering. It seems Hagel, in his insidious and dubious manner, fails to realize that the most technologically advanced weapon on the battlefield is a trained, resolute, and determined warrior.

Instead of “investing” in the most important task of our federal government — providing for the common defense — we shall now focus on “investing” in the expansion of the welfare nanny-state. There is no doubt where President Obama’s priorities lie.

We have departed from the maxim of “peace through strength” to a belief in “appeasement through weakness.” Obama somehow believes kumbaya is a strategic objective. And don’t give me the crap about drones, because we learned during Vietnam that a president should not be directing strikes from the White House – implemented by another failed progressive president, Lyndon Baines Johnson.

We should be examining how we create the capability and capacity to meet the challenges of the enemy globally. That means looking at each geographic AOR (Area of Responsibility; CENTCOM, AFRICOM, EUCOM, PACOM, SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM) and ensuring they have the appropriate level of force mix to meet the threats in their AORs.

We don’t need massive endeavors into new technologies, we need a massive focus on capability to meet and defeat the enemy by way of deterrence. Of course I support the defense industry, but the defense industry should not be the drivers of our national security strategy.

For Obama and Hagel to believe taking the US Army down to pre-World War II levels is a smart decision evidences their abject stupidity in comprehending the global conflagrations in which we are embroiled — the enemy has a vote. This whole inane statement about “pivoting to the Asian-Pacific rim” is more empty rhetoric as we decimate our US Naval strength while China builds theirs.

Barack Hussein Obama cannot be seen as a Commander-in-Chief and I will never refer to him that way. His fundamental transformation of America means weakening our nation and leaving our Republic less secure. I can just imagine how appreciative and elated his Muslim Brotherhood friends are at this point, to include Turkey’s President Erdogan, as well as the mad mullahs in Iran.

Why would any mother like Annie Shyne want her son or daughter to serve under this charlatan? The real “War on Women?” It’s the Obama vision to have more American mothers welcoming their children home in flag-draped caskets — as we’ve seen under his purview in Afghanistan, where deaths have skyrocketed.

This is my Army for whom I gave 22 years of honorable service and where I have a nephew and many a dear friend serving. I will be damned if I allow these progressive socialists to put their lives in danger. This, my fellow Americans, is why we need conservative American leaders who have served and are willing to lay down their life for this nation. Not some sorry Obama lapdog.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com.

The Night Venezuela Finally Imploded

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Tonight, Venezuela is seeing a spasm of violence that’s unlike anything the country has experienced since 1989. Information is fragmented, since an almost complete media black-out is in place, but you don’t need the media to hear your neighbor’s screams.

LATEST VIDEOS FROM VENEZUELA IN OUR VENEZUELA TV CHANNEL CLICK HERE

Caracas, Valencia, Merida and San Cristobal in particular have become virtual war zones: National Guard units and National Police have been shooting tear gas canisters and buckshot sometimes directly at protesters, sometimes into residential buildings and, raiding any place they think student protesters may be hiding. Alongside them, the government backed colectivos (basically paramilitary gangs on motorbikes, a tropical basij) shoot at people with live ammo.

But of course, this is no war zone: in a war zone you have two sides shooting at each other. Tonight one side is doing all the shooting, the other side is doing all the being shot at.

The videos that are starting to come out are simply shocking. It’s as though the denouement we both sides have either feared or looked forward to for so long is finally coming to a head. See the arrival of the colectivos at Altamira square earlier tonight:

As these videos were being shot, president Maduro was on a live TV and radio cadena broadcast saying “I can give you guarantees that what those colectivos are doing is working, producing.”

Here we see the Tupamaros, perhaps the oldest and best established colectivo, at work in Los Ruices.

It gets worse. In this video, you can see the National Guard murdering a civilian in La Candelaria (at 1:52)

Here, we see National Guard troops shooting a civilian in Av. Panteon – there are conflicting reports about whether he survived:

Some Twitter streams are genuinely scary. JG Punto writes, while hiding from police and collectives in one a residential building in Altamira: “They found us”, his next tweets are mayhem and beatings of the students hiding with him.

Others post a picture of the National Guard beating down a building’s door:

going in

Here is Catia tonight – the one glimmer of hope is that everyone has a camera ready phone these days – there will be plenty of evidence:

Catia

Here we see the guy shot at Avenida Panteon, above:

Avenida Panteon

After midnight, a fire was set in an apartment in El Marqués , (Romulo Gallegos Ave.)

Bg4_pHjIAAAMs5e.jpg-large

The Petare-Santa Lucia Road:

Carretera Petare-Santa Lucia

Here we see soldiers shooting into residential buildings in the Caracas neighborhood of Santa Monica:

Santa Monica

And this is not Kyiv, not Baghdad…it’s Valencia tonight:

Valencia

Here’s Barquisimeto earlier today:

Barquisimeto

And this was San Cristobal yesterday. (We’re hearing reports that the internet has gone down in San Cristobal now.)

Bg0AF4hCcAA-eoe.jpg-large

Of course it’s not just the big cities. This is Acarigua tonight:

Acarigua

Ramon Muchacho is working with Polichacao to evacuate students from their hiding places. You read that right, the municipal police is scrambling to keep national security forces from killing protesters.

A grave line has been crossed. Real, physical violence is finally catching up with the huge reserve of pent-up rhetorical violence we’ve suffered through since 1999.

We’ve spent 15 years fearing this.

Now we’re living it.

LATEST VIDEOS FROM VENEZUELA IN OUR VENEZUELA TV CHANNEL CLICK HERE

RELATED COLUMN: Hezbollah operative relocates to Venezuela, supports failing Maduro

Minding the Campus: “Slut Walks” to Pass USF Freshman Composition

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“Real learning takes place outside the classroom,” the late communist history professor Howard Zinn famously said.  Zinn practiced what he preached and led his students at Spelman College and Boston University on marches and protests.

The 1960s saw plenty of teach-ins and marches by students and some radical professors.  But even then it would have been hard to imagine how the staple of first-year coursework, Freshman Composition, would be used to turn students into activists, subverting the idea of “composition” itself and leaving some students free of any ability to write.

Little Writing, But Plenty of Activism 

Indeed, as I learned from reading an article in the journal Hybrid Pedagogy, freshman composition provides an opportunity to display “bravery.”  In “Social Action and the Status Quo: Bravery in First Year Composition,” Susan Gail Taylor refers to the Rhetoric in Action project at the University of South Florida where she was then teaching as a graduate student.  The project asks students to engage in activism and then offer their “personal narrative of social action experience.”  Although the website states that students should use the “writing process” and “academic conventions,” much of what they do seems to go far beyond “composition” as traditionally known.  Students, instead, are asked to share first-person experiences in “multiple genres,” such as “letter, website, video, artwork, flyer, pamphlet, panel, demonstration.”

Taylor has given her students assignments at “Take Back the Night” and “Slut Walk” events.  She has had them videotape themselves discussing how they have overcome personal challenges.  Some students appear to resist, but Taylor tells colleagues, “I’ve developed a few ways to counteract possible hesitation and prepare my students to inspire others with their actions. For instance, I typically choose a social issue and have students organize and lead flash mobs in efforts to raise awareness.”

In “brief moments,” of flash mobs–90 seconds to 3 minutes–“students are faced with the power of their own voices (both literally and figuratively).”  (One wonders about the “power of the voice” of the student who disagrees with such causes.)  Students, Taylor claims, “are challenged to step outside of a traditional essay that discusses action and instead are tasked with becoming the action, thus inciting them to discover their own capacity for bravery and resistance.”

Bravery?  In her YouTube video of the SlutWalk on September 16, 2011, her mostly female students chant, “what I wear does not mean yes.”  The male voices make an odd counterpoint towards the end, as does the image of a couple guys reluctantly tagging behind a few paces. Taylor writes under the link: “They made awesome choices in their posters, they were loud and they were proud. Rhetoric was definitely in action! :)”

[youtube]http://youtu.be/TIP7GdBWzcw[/youtube]

She explains her pedagogical purpose: “I want to show students how the power of language and the power of action can intersect: they select our chants and the information we use, they design the posters (which I provide), and they choose the locations– all in an effort to have even one person be affected by their work.”

Well, yes, this is a form of persuasion, but certainly outside the bounds of legitimate rhetorical persuasion.  Such an assignment seems to verge on illegality or coercion, and certainly has little to do with the “art of persuasion,” as described in Aristotle’s Rhetoric–the foundational text.

Taylor, however, does not seem to be outside the current academic mainstream.  The 35,000-member National Council of Teachers of English publishes, among  other books, Writing Partnerships by Thomas Deans, which tells composition teachers how to combine “writing instruction with community action.”

Deans traces the recent evolution of composition: “As a discipline, rhetoric and composition has adopted the broadly defined ‘social perspective’ on writing,” having “evolved from studies of the lone writer to more contextual understandings of composing; from a narrow, functional definition of literacy, focused on correctness, to a broader definition; from an exclusive focus on academic discourse to the study of both school and non academic contexts for writing; from presuming white middle-class culture as normative to analyzing and inviting cultural difference; and from gatekeeping at the university to facilitating the advancement of all students.”

Betraying the Original Purpose 

Freshman Composition was intended to provide remedial help to students as campuses opened up to a broader mass of students–to the chagrin of traditionalists who wanted to maintain standards. It has been a service course, intended to equip college students with basic writing skills, to be transferred to other classes and then into the workplace. Advanced students could opt out by demonstrating their ability in writing tests, usually some variation of the standard five-paragraph essay. Increasingly, though, students have required remedial help for a course intended to be remedial. I know from teaching such courses that the remediation goes back to sentence-level grammar.

At the same time, I’ve seen the changes Deans notes: the emphasis on group work and peer review, the politically contentious topics almost exclusively from a leftist perspective, the addition of “visual literacy” as a category of literacy, and the multicultural sensitivities, not only in topics, but in language use.

The shift away from composition instruction to activism is evidenced in articles published in the organization’s journal, the College Composition and Communication and in the journal Pedagogy.  Similar books, such as Composition and Sustainability: Teaching for a Threatened Generation, Rhetoric of Respect, about “academic-community writing partnerships” and  S.U.N.Y. Press’s Making Writing Matter: Composition in the Engaged University, offer strategies for transforming classrooms into activist sites.  A professor writes in the foreword to Affirming Students’ Rights to Their Own Language, “For many of us, the assertion of student language was inextricable from our national and international quest for social justice.”  Major textbook publishers, like Bedford, are responding to market demand with single-themed readers on Sustainability, Money Changes Everything, Food Matters, and Composing Gender (the last with a cover photo of a female ballerina holding up a male ballet dancer).  The upcoming annual meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication is filled with panel discussions on activism; a featured speaker is Black Panther-turned professor, Angela Davis.  Her biography notes her “activism,” from when she was a “youngster” to her work today as an advocate of “prison abolition.”

The radicalization is finessed by statements like Deans’–that the field is expanding beyond a “narrow, functional definition” and shifting from “gatekeeping” to “facilitating the advancement of all students” (emphasis added).  In plain English, this means that standards for writing are being eliminated.  Furthermore, writing itself is being replaced by visual and auditory forms of persuasion, often in mobs.  These are called “brave” actions.

Deans attempts to spread a patina of academic legitimacy over such activism by claiming there is a “coherent and substantial theoretical framework” for it. He cites the progressive education theorist and philosopher John Dewey and Marxist theorist Paulo Freire.

Deans also ludicrously claims that such activism goes back to the ancients.  He states that Aristotle’s Rhetoric was intended to “intervene in the public sphere,” (maybe), and not necessarily be used in today’s “school settings,” but he ignores the fact that freshman composition is being to taught to young people who should be acquiring knowledge and skills.  That is why they are in college in the first place.  He also misleadingly refers to Isocrates, Cicero, and Quintilian in the same way of needing “to connect rhetorical practice to civic responsibility.”  He even uses the “sweep of U.S. history–from Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin to Jane Addams and John Dewey”–to support “experiential learning.”

Indeed, if we did go back to Jefferson and Franklin, two men who did have a sense of civic responsibility, we would find an opposite approach, one that values study, introspection, imitation, and debate before taking on the adult duties of “civic responsibility.”  Franklin in his autobiography describes how he educated himself by imitating the master stylists in the Spectator, by reading widely, and by debating his peers in the Junto club.  In such education, the effort is made to gain a perspective outside one’s own limited circle.  Shouting in mobs is the opposite of what Aristotle, Jefferson, and Franklin had in mind.

We have radical professors promoting the idea that students’ own language is good enough, that there are no models for them to read and emulate, that they are to be change agents, participating in mob actions and demonstrating their “bravery” for credit.  The end results are sure to be confused, narcissistic, indoctrinated illiterates.

EDITORS NOTE: The feature photo is from the “Slut Walk” Tampa Facebook page.

Oh No! Another Black Conservative Republican Running For Office

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In the tradition of Sarah Palin, black tea party leader Katrina Pierson is a beautiful God, family, country and Constitution loving conservative Republican. Fearless and outspoken, Pierson’s inspiring life story nukes the Democrats’ mythical Republican War on Women.

Sad that I even have to go there, Pierson’s skin-color derails the Democrats’ deplorable narrative that Republican equals racist.

Pierson is running for office, Texas 32nd Congressional District. After hurdling over establishment Republican Pete Sessions in the primary and defeating her Democrat opponent, Pierson will be the Democrats’ worst nightmare.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/uE_6eOM2duo[/youtube]

 

The last thing Democrats want on the national stage is a black conservative Republican, anti-abortion, successful single mom who worked her way through college to achieve her American dream (without seeking government for answers). They do not want another non victim-minded black elected official out there touting traditional values; preaching that the rewards of hard work and self-reliance are self-respect and dignity. It would drive Democrats to drink.

Oh my gosh, what if women across America became inspired to emulate Pierson rather than the totally government dependent pathetic character in the Democrats’ Julia ad.

Pierson boldly stated, “Democrat policies keep women in poverty”.

Black politicians like Katrina Pierson, Sen. Tim Scott, Niger Innis, Allen West and others who view themselves as Americans rather than members of a victimized voting bloc, offering common sense solutions, will not be tolerated.

Prime examples are the Democrats’ relentless attacks on former Congressman Allen West and the NAACP’s campaign to destroy Sen. Tim Scott. 

Pierson is sure to suffer a similar fate with every rise in her poll numbers and successes.

This is why it is vitally important that we bolster Pierson with our utmost support and encouragement.

Yes, Obama and the Democrats appear to be holding all the cards; a complicit mainstream media and a spineless GOP petrified of being called racist. Our ace in the hole is a diligent army of patriots armed with right, truth and a relentless resolve to restore liberty and freedom to America.

Staying focused on confidently espousing the virtues of Conservatism, getting conservatives elected and holding positive role models high and proud for all the world to see will produce results. When presented correctly, Conservatism speaks to the human spirit. Liberalism is counter to the higher nature of man. This is how we make a difference folks. This is how we defeat this evil Administration which encourages sloth and is attempting to transform our great nation. This is how we win!

GOP establishment pundits seek to disqualify Pierson saying she lacks experience.

I say Pierson has “the right stuff” and epitomizes the intentions of our Founding Fathers; sending concerned citizens committed to service to Washington rather than career politicians skilled in making deals solely for personal gain.

Five years ago, Pierson’s speech at a Texas tea party endeared her to patriots across America. She has been a rising star in the movement ever since.

Pierson is ready, willing and able to take the next step toward making a significant difference serving “the people” — Texas 32nd Congressional District.

The tidal wave effect of a Pierson victory will reap national rewards; adding to the ranks of Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and others; conservative warriors fighting for the rights, freedom and liberty of We The People.

Let Katrina Pierson know that we have her back. Be there for her folks.

Facebook event calls for execution of Operation American Spring organizer

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On Saturday, a complaint was filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center against Colorado resident Nathaniel C. Marshall over a Facebook event calling for the execution of Col. Harry Riley, the retired officer heading up Operation American Spring, a protest movement that seeks to remove President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden from power, along with congressional leaders of both parties, Col. Riley said in an exclusive interview.

The now-defunct event, titled “Operation American Spring Target: Citizens arrest trial and execution of Harry Riley,” had a total of four attendees, according to a photograph provided to Examiner. The photo also indicates Marshall allegedly established the event.

We reached out to all four individuals listed on the event page. Three said they never heard of the event, but Marshall did not respond.

Instead, he set up a petition at Change.org accusing Col. Riley of treason and demanding he, along with other organizers, be indicted for treason and given the death penalty.

“Colonel Harry Riley is committing treason,” the petition says. “His top Operation American Spring aides and he are organizing a coup to be held on May 16, 2014 in Washington DC. This is blatant treason and sedition and needs to be not just addressed but we need indictments and the death penalty!”

As of this writing, five people have signed the petition. The petition does not display the names of those who have signed.

An OAS volunteer who asked to remain anonymous told Examiner Marshall has caused problems before and was booted off the site.

Further research shows that a person by the same name with the same physical features was arrested in 2011 on charges of criminal impersonation and a computer crime in connection with a Craigslist scam involving a condominium.

“On March 17, 9NEWS spoke to Boris Umanskiy who tried to rent a Steamboat Springs condo the weekend of March 12. Umanskiy said he found a Craigslist ad from Marshall offering a condo in The Antlers,” Channel 9 News reported.

Christina Dickinson added:

Umanskiy said his friends paid Marshall $250 for the place, but they arrived at the condo and they learned it wasn’t for rent; it was for sale.

Marshall agreed to cooperate with investigators and promised to help identify victims who’ve not come forward so they can get their money back.Accord

According to the report, Marshall allegedly needed the money to help pay for medical bills.

Having served over 34 years in the military, Col. Riley is no stranger to danger, having received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal and a number of other decorations for his service.

The adversaries he faced in the military, he said, were soldiers worthy of respect.

But, he added, the individuals engaging in these attacks are something else.

“It’s quite amazing to me that a man, who I assume is a United States citizen, views any other citizen that wishes to exercise his/her constitutional rights of free speech, assembly in a non-violent, peaceful, unarmed status, challenging elected leadership, is an act of treason,” Col. Riley said in a statement to Examiner. “Leadership in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches have all violated their oath, and numerous examples of constitutional violation. Lawlessness abounds in Washington, D.C., individuals must be held accountable for unconstitutional and lawless behavior.”

Read more. 

Col. Riley said in an online interview Wednesday his protest has grown to about 1.8 million participants. That interview can be heard here:

Joe Newby – (Interview Only) with Col. Riley On Operation American Spring 2.19.2014 by Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children on Mixcloud

RELATED COLUMN: Americans rising up against government – USA Today

Barack Obama and Pamela Geller win “Islamophobia” awards

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Congratulations to my colleague Pamela Geller, winner of the Orwellian-named Islamic Human Rights Commission’s Islamophobia award. There must be weeping and gnashing of teeth at the White House over this: Obama has been unstintingly obsequious toward the Islamic world, even going so far as to declare his opposition to his own country’s Constitutional protection of the freedom of speech by declaring that “the future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.” But he has not acted against two vestiges of counter-terror programs that he inherited: Guantanamo (although he has freed jihad terrorists who were incarcerated there) and the drone attacks. And for that, he is now an “Islamophobe.” That shows that this Islamic Human Rights Commission, which no doubt enjoys a reputation in Britain as a “moderate” organization, wants all obstacles to jihad terror removed — and that is no surprise, since it is the goal of the entire propagation of the concept of “Islamophobia.”

“Barack Obama wins first prize at ‘Islamophobia awards,’” from Asian Image, February 21 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

US president Barack Obama has won first prize at the toung-in-cheek Islamophobia awards for for his nations unrelenting drone attacks.

Obama had been nominated by the public for “just about everything” – a charge that covers his continuation of drone strikes in the Muslim world as well as the failure to close the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention centre, and the introduction of the National Defense Authorisation Act that effectively ‘Guantanamises’ the whole USA.

Obama came in streets ahead of a gallery of fellow rogues which included other prominent politicians including French President Francois Hollande – cited for his country’s invasion of Mali – and the British Home Secretary Theresa May for a host of sins including extraditing Asperger’s sufferer Talha Ahsan to the United States, stripping Muslims of their citizenship, and most recently thinking about applying “anti-terror” ASBO-style punishments for British Muslims who are merely “suspected” of so-called terrorist activities.

As well as a chief Islamophobe award, an award is given to the worst Islamophobe in each of five geographical areas in line with the votes received from the participating public.

In the Americas the winner this year was Pamela Geller. Geller was nominated for her rise to fame as the USA’s Islamophobia Matriarch.

She has made a name for herself for opposing anything Islamic and particularly her opposition to the planned construction of a mosque near the site of the Twin Towers destroyed in the Sept 11 attacks in the USA.

First prize in the Europe and Central Asia category goes to the Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders. Wilders is the leader of the Netherlands’ Freedom Party, which continues to campaign on its virulently anti-Muslim platform and propagate fears of an impending Islamic takeover of Europe.

In Asia and Australasia, the top prize went to the unlikely figure of Burmese freedom and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner was nominated for her continuing refusal to back citizenship calls by the country’s oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority.

The Burmese government’s denial of statehood to the Rohingya is one of the main reasons they are described by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted peoples.

Along with her National League for Democracy party, Aung San Suu Kyi has tiptoed around the issue and has even refused to condemn the state-supported attacks that ravaged Rohingya communities in 2012.

The clear winner in The Middle East and Africa was Egypt’s General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the army general who conducted a bloody campaign to remove and then ban the democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood and put the Arab world’s most populous nation firmly back on the road to military rule.

Although the Islamophobia Awards are intended to be a tongue in cheek poke at public figures of all stripes, they do carry a serious message.

Islamophobia is on the rise all over the world, particularly in the West, and the event serves to focus attention on the problem. Five genuine awards will also be given to people who have struggled against Islamophobia.

It will be interesting to see which tools, hacks, bottom feeders and jihad enablers get those awards. I do hope that Reza Aslan’s gunsel, the creepy little thug Nathan Lean, who cheerfully and repeatedly endangers innocent people by publishing what he thinks is my home address and the names of places I frequent, is a prize winner, as that will show up the cynicism and whiff of menace surrounding this whole enterprise.

Islamophobia can be described as stereotypes, bias or acts of hostility towards individual Muslims or followers of Islam in general.

In reality, the charge of “Islamophobia” is an attempt to intimidate people into thinking that there is something wrong with resisting jihad terror and Islamic supremacism.

In addition to individual acts of intolerance and racial profiling, Islamophobia leads to viewing Muslims as a greater security threat on an institutional, systemic and societal level and perceiving their views to be intrinsically problematic, violent or unethical.

The 2014 Islamophobia Awards are being held tonight [February 23rd] at the Holiday Inn, Wembley, starting 6.30pm.

The event will consist of performances including comedians, gala dinner, and a fundraising charity auction. It is being streamed live on www.ihrc.tv

Unrest in Venezuela and Ukraine coming to America?

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The prevailing theme for this week is liberty. A lot of attention is being focused towards the events in Ukraine. However, just south of us here in South Florida there is another example, Venezuela.

In Venezuela we see what always happens when socialism takes root, as described so aptly by Margaret Thatcher, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” When Hugo Chavez rose to power in Venezuela, he promised everything for everyone: shared prosperity, fair share, economic equality. He enacted policies that directed the government to nationalize more of the country’s production — especially the lucrative oil industry.

He took over the means of informing the people – hm, I wonder if he started with a “critical information needs” study similar to what the Obama administration’s FCC is seeking to initiate?

What resulted? The same that always happens when you punish, demonize, and denigrate the individual entrepreneurial spirit. The same that always happens when you disincentivize work for a government subsidy check. The same that always happens when there is a promotion of a welfare nanny-state focused on dependency rather than opportunity.

The producers stop producing and flee. We see it right here in South Florida in Broward County in the city of Weston, where the Venezuelan flag flies right along with the American. So as Prime Minister Thatcher poignantly stated, socialism fails because its empty promises are rooted in the legal plunder of others based upon some ill-conceived – I submit, actually demented — sense of benevolence. And then come the riots — because after all, you promised stuff but in the end what do the people gain? Nothing. What do they lose? Liberty.

In the Ukraine the fight for liberty is not against socialism but rather totalitarianism. A quarter of a century ago, Ukraine was given a new lease on life, a chance to determine its own future. It had once been a central part of the Soviet Union but then became an independent state.

However, old desires don’t fade away easily and control is a powerful motivator. Ukraine is caught in the middle of a fight to gain control of its future and it centers around a very important commodity: natural gas. Control of energy resources is a vital aspect of foreign policy and national security strategy — as well as important to the resurgence of Putin’s Russia. Liberty is the result of independence. Subjugation is the result of totalitarianism. Ukrainians seek the former, not the latter, and so they are making a stand.

There are lessons to be learned for us here in America. Venezuelans and many from Eastern Europe have fled to our shores to enjoy liberty and freedom as they escape the ills of their home countries. But if America succumbs to progressive socialism and totalitarian control of our government, where will people go? If America succumbs, who will be the beacon of liberty and freedom? Let me refresh your memory about what’s happening in America. Democrats and the New York Times are advocating for the IRS to eliminate and attack Americans. The FCC is seeking to put monitors into newsrooms. Our president feels he does not need to govern by legislative process but rule by edict — executive order. Elected officials such as Obama and DeBlasio are leading the charge to punish hard-working successful Americans — for what purpose? Redistribute their wealth.

So where do Americans flee? What is actually perplexing is that liberal progressives run away from failing liberal states such as California and New York. Unfortunately, they do not leave behind their damaging political beliefs. Like locusts they migrate to states like Colorado, Montana, and Florida with their cancerous political philosophy and destroy those states — message to Texans: you may want to stop asking Californians to relocate, unless they renounce liberal progressivism!

As we watch unrest in Venezuela and Ukraine unfold, I wonder, will we soon reach a tipping point in America?

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com.

RELATED COLUMN: Americans rising up against government – USA Today

Victory for Ukrainian Revolution

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Ukrainian revolution has won today and it’s very emotional for me, since that is where I was born and raised. eighty-two protesters are dead, the president is running, government thieves are being hunted down and brought to justice, communist party headquarters ransacked, and all remaining statues of Lenin and other communist leaders torn down all over Ukraine.

I spent all day watching live feed from the victory rally on Independence Square, or Maidan (pronounced as My-DONE) in Kiev, wishing I were there. In fact, this is the first time in almost 20 years that I’ve been in the US that I wanted to be back in Ukraine and celebrate. So many memories, so much to say. So excuse me if I don’t write more now. Perhaps, later.

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EDITORS NOTE: We stand with the Ukrainian people and salute their victory over a tyrannical socialist regime. Our prayers are with them as they rebuild their great nation into a center of prosperity, beauty and freedom.

February 27th: Congressional Hearing for 30 fallen heroes killed in the shoot down of Extortion 17

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On May 9, 2013, Billy and Karen Vaughn and other families of fallen American heroes held a press conference demanding a Congressional Hearing to investigate the death of their sons in the military operation, commonly referred to as Extortion 17.

Their cries have been heard. Americans all across the nation banded together with the Vaughns, and on February 27th, Congress will hold a one-day hearing on the devastating details behind the fatal operation leading to the death of 30 Americans.

On August 6, 2011, a U.S. Boeing CH-47D Chinook military helicopter, carrying special operations officers sent to reinforce Army Rangers under fire, was shot down in the Wardak Province, Afghanistan, killing 30 of our soldiers – 22 of whom were part of Navy SEAL Team VI; the team who took down Osama Bin Laden.

Only months before, Vice-President Joe Biden betrayed Navy SEAL Team VI after publically crediting them to the killing of Osama Bin Laden. This put members of the special ops community, and their families, in grave danger.

The shoot down of Extortion 17 resulted in the greatest loss of U.S. military lives in a single incident in the twelve-year war in Afghanistan that began in 2001, and the greatest single loss in the history of the Navy SEALs.

The Vaughns, parents of slain U.S. Navy SEAL Aaron Vaughn, demanded answers from military leaders and the Obama administration after reading the 1,200-page heavily redacted document provided to them after their son’s death.

Questions demanding to be answered during the Congressional Hearing will include:

  • Why our special operations forces were sent into an active battle zone in an outdated Chinook transport helicopter, as opposed to the MH47’s with which they trained.
  • Why the U.S. military has permitted the Afghan military and police to be part of every planned military operation executed in this war on terror.
  • Why our military’s rules of engagement under Obama’s administration has caused the casualty rate of our American heroes to skyrocket.

After the hearing on February 27th, America will be one step closer to saving the lives of future men and women who answer the call to serve our nation.

For interviews, please contact Ana Rivera at forourson1@gmail.com.

RELATED COLUMNS:

Extortion 17: A Scandal Worse than Benghazi?

Florida Family of a fallen Navy SEAL feels “Betrayed”

In Memoriam: August 6, 2013 marks the 2nd anniversary of the Extortion 17 shoot down

Florida State Board of Education adopts Common Core over the protests of citizens

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The Florida State Board of Education (FL SBOE) meeting on Common Core State Standards was held in Orlando on February 18th. Concerned citizens attended to speak and wave signs in protest. Nearly one hundred signed up to speak and implore the Board to reject Common Core in Florida.

I must say, I was so proud to be among the dedicated and articulate speakers at the State Board of Education hearing clarifying why we are vehemently opposed to Common Core. The impassioned testimony at the State Board of Education meeting in Orlando showed a disappointing and at times disgusting lack of respect on the part of the Chair, Gary R. Chartrand.

Here is the video link to the entire meeting: http://thefloridachannel.org/videos/21814-state-board-education-meeting.

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Gary R. Chartrand

It is worthwhile to listen to the entire testimony. Every single speaker was excellent! You will be shocked at Chartrand’s conduct.

You may wish to start after the full hour of awards, group photos and self-adulation, for which the board had plenty of time. About 1 hour 10 minutes in, Mr. Chartrand begins the public comment and alerts us that instead of 3 minutes, he will only allow 2 minutes each and that no clapping would be allowed.

After people began respectful clapping for a speaker at 1 hour 16 minutes, it was my turn to speak. Chartrand interrupts me and again stops the proceedings to admonish the audience. I began by saying, “I object to the reduction of time and the lack of respect for the speakers who have traveled long distances for an opportunity to express their views.” It is then he starts an argument with me, interrupting me again in an intimidating manner. The audience responds as well. He interrupted other speakers as they had difficulty chopping their well-crafted 3 minute speeches to just 2 minutes.

It is a continuation of the arrogance shown by the Florida Department of Education, State Board of Education, the Governor and some members of the state legislature. Those who are against adoption of Common Core have been polite but are being ignored. Many of the groups attending brought the experts to them, yet the FL SBOE said our facts were wrong. We said parents should be in control. They stated the federal government knows best what to do with our kids.

The State Board of Education in a unanimous vote, adopted the Common Core Standards with the minor changes they added many termed this putting “lipstick on a pig.”

Far from being discouraged, the group gathered to talk about their next moves, and resolved never to allow Corporate Cronies who have greased the skids to sell our kids for their quest for money and power. They may have the money, but we have the truth and we will never sell our children out to the progressives who want a compliant citizenry called “Human Capital.”

We must redouble our efforts against this tyrannical child abuse called Common Core. Join our efforts. Our ads are spreading the word across the nation. You can help by going to www.ivbe.org and make a tax deductible contribution to our ads which are now playing in Florida and Pennsylvania. Contact the Governor: (850) 488-7146  or email him by clicking here: http://www.flgov.com/contact-gov-scott/email-the-governor/

I encourage you to tell him what you think about Common Core and its mainlining of our children with government propaganda. You may wish to ask your state representative and senator to stand up for our kids and vote for one of the bills to STOP COMMON CORE!

Various bills are now being considered on Common Core in the State Legislature. Rep. Debbie Mayfield (R-FL District 54) has introduced HB 25 but has met resistance as the leadership has opposed it. The leadership under Senator John Legg who owns charter schools and Senator Don Gaetz (R-FL District 1) who has close ties to Jeb Bush, the Foundation for Florida’s Future and Foundation for Excellence in Education. In a Tampa Bay Times article Gaetz is quoted as saying:

Top choice for 2016 is Jeb Bush: Gaetz said Florida’s former governor is the Republican Party’s strongest choice for president in 2016, even as a new poll by Democratic-aligned Public Policy Polling said most Florida Republicans prefer U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio to run over Bush.

“I’m a Jeb Bushie,” he said, adding Bush’s book on immigration reform “will turn heads.”

Patricia Levesque is the Executive Director for Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future. She served as Governor Jeb Bush’s deputy chief of staff for education. Previously, Patricia served six years in the Florida Legislature in the Speakers Office and as staff director over education policy. Her husband is The Senate counsel, George Levesque. Entangling relationships seem to trump the will of the people.

Twenty-seven County Republican Executive Committees have resolved against Common Core, not to mention the Republican National Committee, and both the Florida and National Federation of Republican Women. It is curious why Rick Scott has chosen not to listen to the conservatives who recognize Common Core is unconstitutional as it is a federal takeover of education supported by President Obama, Secretary Arne Duncan, the Center for American Progress (established and funded by George Soros)and establishment Republicans, like former Governors Mike Huckabee and Jeb Bush.

Jeb Bush endorsed Rick Scott’s campaign for reelection and this is what Rick Scott said:

“I am grateful to have the support and friendship of Governor Jeb Bush. His time as governor built a strong foundation for Florida’s future by making our education system more accountable and our state’s economy more attractive to job creators. His positive vision for Florida continues to inspire us today as we work to cut taxes and get our economy back on track.”

Meanwhile, the same people who are listed as contributors to Jeb’s foundations are supporting Rick Scott’s campaign. They also stand to gain Billions from Common Core. They have paid hundreds of millions to quiet opposition to the national takeover of education. The list of grants and contributions is publicly available on the web sites of the foundations. The National Education Association, PTA, State Boards of Education, various media outlets, Fordham Institute, and Jeb Bush’s Foundations were all recipients of generous awards from Microsoft, the Eli Broad Foundation, GE, and Pearson PLC, the textbook company whose third largest shareholder is the Government of Libya.

Gary Chartrand, Chair of the Florida State Board of Education stated at the meeting that he calculates that the expense of just getting initially set up with computers and bandwidth for the required implementation of Common Core would run over $2.5 Billion. Federal funding they received was only $700 million. No budgets were ever submitted or reviewed by state legislators or the State Board of Education to approve the adoption of Common Core.

It was approved by the State Board of Education with no dialog about the expense to the taxpayers of the state.

RELATED COLUMN: Obama Asserts Federal Control Over Discipline in Public Schools

EDITORS NOTE: Rob Bluey reports, “In a letter to the National Education Association’s 3 million members, President Dennis Van Roekel issued a sharp critique of Common Core. It marks the first time NEA has voiced concerns about the standards, a key initiative of the Obama Administration.”

I am sure it won’t come as a surprise to hear that in far too many states, implementation has been completely botched. Seven of ten teachers believe that implementation of the standards is going poorly in their schools. Worse yet, teachers report that there has been little to no attempt to allow educators to share what’s needed to get [Common Core State Standards] implementation right.  In fact, two thirds of all teachers report that they have not even been asked how to implement these new standards in their classrooms.

Common Core Standards Threaten Our Children’s Schools
[youtube]http://youtu.be/1DOCH1YT6Uk[/youtube]

Ukraine: Does President Obama have a third bite at the “Apple of Freedom”?

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A second bite at the apple is defined as, “A second chance at an argument or negotiation previously lost.” President may have a third bite at the apple of freedom if he decides to support the people of the Ukraine in their efforts to achieve liberty. He has failed twice to make a strong argument against tyrannical regimes during his administration. As people died Obama remained silent.

The first failure was in 2009 during the Green Revolution in Iran.

The Los Angeles Times reported, “At a White House news conference in June 2009, Obama was asked whether he had a message for ‘people who are on the streets protesting, who believe their votes were stolen and who are being attacked violently?’… We will continue to pursue a tough, direct dialogue between our two countries, and we’ll see where it takes us.  But even as we do so, I think it would be wrong for me to be silent about what we’ve seen on the television over the last few days.  And what I would say to those people who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was.  And they should know that the world is watching.”

Iranian officials and the Russian media have accused the Western media for unfair coverage and have contended that the protests were planned by the CIA.

President materially did nothing and the Green Revolution was put down violently by the Iranian regime. The winners: Russia and Iran. Loser: United States.

The second failure was in 2013 during the mass demonstrations against and overthrow of the Morsi regime in Egypt.

President Obama stated on July 3rd, 2013, “The United States is monitoring the very fluid situation in Egypt, and we believe that ultimately the future of Egypt can only be determined by the Egyptian people. Nevertheless, we are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed Forces to remove President Morsy and suspend the Egyptian constitution. I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsy and his supporters. Given today’s developments, I have also directed the relevant departments and agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our assistance to the Government of Egypt.”

President Obama materially did nothing and the people of Egypt prevailed. The winners: Egypt and Russia. Loser: United States.

Today President Obama is faced with yet another revolution but this time in the heart of Eastern Europe – Ukraine.

CBS News reports:

Following deadly clashes between protesters and police on the streets of Ukraine’s capital, President Obama said Wednesday [February 19th] that the United States “condemns in the strongest terms the violence that’s taking place.”

“We have been deeply engaged with our European partners as well as the Ukrainian government and the opposition to try to ensure that that violence ends,” Mr. Obama said, shortly after arriving in Toluca, Mexico for an economic summit.

 The U.S., he said, holds the Ukrainian government primarily responsible for dealing with peaceful protestors in an appropriate way. Hours later, a statement on Ukraine’s presidential website said that President Viktor Yanukovych met with opposition leaders and that the two sides called for a truce, the Associated Press reports. However, the statement gave no details of what the truce would entail or how it would be implemented.Mr. Obama said that over the next several days, “we’re going to be watching closely, and we expect the Ukrainian government to show restraint, to not resort to violence in dealing with peaceful protestors.”

Sound familiar? Will President Obama miss, once again, the opportunity to take a bite out of the apple of freedom? Or will he, once again, make statements without taking material actions?

RELATED COLUMNS:

Why American Foreign Policy is Headed for Disaster

Protesters Seize Presidential Palace…

Yanukovych cries ‘coup,’ will not resign…

Parliament Votes To Dismiss…

RELATED VIDEO:

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is courtesy of Mstyslav Chernov and is of the state coat of arms of Ukraine, Tryzub, against the background of Dynamiska street barricades on fire. Euromaidan Protests. Events of Jan 19, 2014. The use of this image implies that Mstyslav Chernov in anyway endorses the author or the use of the work in this column. This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Senator Ted Cruz upstaged by young Republican State Committeeman in Sarasota, FL

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Christian Ziegler, the Republican Party of Sarasota (RPOS) State Committeeman, fired up the crowd just before Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) took the stage to accept the RPOS  2014 “Statesman of  the Year” award. Christian told me that he was so honored and excited to introduce Senator Cruz. Christian is a young conservative who holds the right values and beliefs. He has worked hard to make the RPOS a must stop for conservative political leaders like Senator Cruz. RPOS Chairman Joe Gruters notes, “Sarasota is the new Iowa.”

Christian’s introduction took the form of a rallying cry for Senator Cruz. Please watch Christian followed by the full remarks of Senator Cruz:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Glubni4RSvA[/youtube]

During his remarks Senator Cruz asked everyone to take out their cell phones and text the word “Growth” to: 33733. Very clever and savvy method of joining his supporters together and keeping them up-to-date on his political activities.

The event was standing room only. Senator Cruz was repeatedly interrupted with applause and calls of “Run Ted, Run!” As RPOS Chairman Joe Gruters told Breitbart, “We are shocked at the level of interest that we’ve received for doing this rally… We are a center right community. If you look at all of our individuals and officials on a local level, they’re all pretty much just barely center right. The interest and the energy that’s being created as a result of this event is that Cruz—to me, it’s just amazing. From my standpoint, Ted Cruz is a serious political player—and it’s amazing he’s able to attract these large crowds.”

“I’m inspired by the men and women like those here at the Republican Party of Sarasota and across America who are standing up to defend liberty and to defend our Constitution!” – – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (facebook)

VIDEO – Ted Cruz Thanks Sarasota: “Thank you to the Sarasota Republican Party, we had a FANTASTIC event” –Ted Cruz

Click here to watch – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151953701443317

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is courtesy of the RPOS.

Florida based rocket scientist is America’s best Climate Prediction Expert

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Who Is America’s Best Climate Prediction Expert? It’s a fair enough question, given all our government and the mainstream media have been telling us about the threats we all face from climate change (a.k.a. man-made global warming).

With twenty five years and tens of billions of dollars spent by the US government alone on understanding what the causes and effects of climate change are, surely someone has risen to the top in terms of making accurate climate change predictions, right?

The answer is likely a surprise to most. I have an idea who this person is.

According to any number of internet searches, there is one person who may well rank number one in this question of who the best American climate prediction expert is. He has risked it all in publishing his predictions on line, with the science to back it up for all to see, and critique. In doing so, this lone researcher has been subjected to the ‘slings and arrows’ of the established scientific community and those who have invested so much capital, political power and personal prestige at making sure manmade global warming and its experts come out on top.

Despite being heavily criticized for years, this person has amassed an impressive list of major climate predictions that as of today makes him one of the best if not the best climate expert in the Americas. However he is not as you may surmise, on the list of the thousands of researchers the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN-IPCC) has been using for its many climate reports. He is not a solar physicist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and definitely does not work for NASA’s Goddard center where much of the US media gets its manmade climate info. He is not on the staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or any of its several centers that deal extensively with climate change research. He is not a PhD professor at some prestigious university and also is not working for the Department of Defense or any national science agency.

In fact, this maverick among climate researchers is a single individual with a courageous band of other scientists from around the world who have, with little funding to speak of have been operating out of a small office with no special interests assisting from either side of the climate debate. Yet this team, led by this one person have routinely beat the best US government science agencies and the United Nations (UN) for the past six years in telling us what the Earth’s climate is doing and what it will do in the future.

John L. Casey, President of the Space and Science Research Corporation

Mr. Casey has had a distinguished career in any case. A former White House space policy adviser consultant to NASA Headquarters and a space shuttle engineer with a major aerospace contractor, he is no stranger to tackling and solving tough problems. For example, after the space shuttle Challenger accident in January 1986, NASA brought him in to chair an internal investigation into the breakdown in quality and space flight safety systems that were at the heart of the tragedy.

Many years later in 2007, while doing some solar physics research he stumbled on a curious pattern among sunspots that would prove to be the most important problem he had ever confronted – what causes climate change and what is the planet’s next climate era going to be like? A few months later after completing his research, he made several a startling announcements to the world. In April and May of 2007 he said:

1. Global warming was about to end, within three years!

2. The Sun was going to begin a “solar hibernation” beginning with the next solar cycle #24 (which began in 2008). This hibernation would result in a record reduction in the energy output of the Sun.

3. The Earth’s atmosphere and oceans were about to begin a long term drop in temperatures lasting for decades.

4. A new cold climate era was beginning that posed a serious threat to all with the potential to bring global crop damage and loss of life through starvation, cold weather fatalities, and social upheaval on a historic scale.

He proposed that a new climate theory which he called the “Relational Cycle Theory” or simply the “RC Theory” should replace the greenhouse gas theory of manmade climate change and asserted that the Sun and not mankind was the primary cause of climate change.

His announcement and predictions at that time were received with hostility reminiscent of that Galileo received by the Catholic Church when he said the Sun was at the center of the solar system instead of the Church’s opinion that the Earth was. Once more, by saying the Sun was at the center (of climate change) and not the Earth (not mankind), he immediately was attacked by all sides of the global warming debate including conservatives and liberals. He was slandered and demeaned by members of the established scientific community, some of whom were reaping windfall research grants to study man’s emissions of CO2. So called ‘authorities’ at prominent internet science blog sites were equally as unkind. The most prominent science periodicals and many in the media as well as the government did even worse – they ignored him!

Even Casey admits his timing was bad for his predictions by saying, “My announcements and predictions could not have come at a worse time. Both presidential party candidates were saying manmade global warming was real and they were going to fix it. Al Gore and the UN were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work in alerting the world to the effects of man’s industrial emissions on the climate. Many former friends stopped returning may calls or emails. My message was one that no one wanted to hear.”

Now six years later much has changed. Scientists outside the US and not tied to US politics or US government research funding began to take notice of his work. In June of 2011 when he published his internationally acclaimed climate science book, “Cold Sun,” it included some of the strongest endorsements yet seen from other scientists for a climate book. Other scientists have called his work “…simply a great work!” or “…adds a brilliant page to the history of science…,” or “…this is an Earth-shattering book!”

Here we are in early 2013 and his diligence in getting his word out about what is really happening with the climate for all to read has led to Mr. Casey becoming the most often quoted and referenced on the web on the subject of climate change to a cold era. He still sees a few lingering critics repeat personal attacks and derogatory remarks from 2008 but no one has countered any of his science. They can’t!

Other scientists have joined his team and are actively cooperating with him in their own countries by trying to alert their countrymen to the dangers of the coming cold climate. His prominent and vocal stance on the next climate change has made it easier for others to now come forward to make similar predictions. Past researchers who made such forecasts many years before Casey are now seeing a resurrection from the dusty science journals where their research was buried and are once again seeing the light of day.

Because of his success in climate prediction, other scientists from around the world in earthquake research have now asked him to help in the great humanitarian cause of saving thousands of lives yearly by finally predicting the world’s largest quakes well in advance. As of December 2012, this new group has already had some success!

He is now frequently called on to do interviews and speak to large groups of interested citizens on his RC Theory, his book “Cold Sun,” and most importantly how to prepare for the coming difficult cold climate.

In March of this year Mr. Casey stepped up the gain on describing what is happening with the Earth’s climate by publishing the Global Climate Status Report (GCSR) ©. This heavily researched and data filled resource he and his supporting scientists have published, is intended for all individuals and leaders who want to have a different perspective on climate change from the one they have been receiving from the government and the media. As Casey puts it, “Too long now our people and our leaders have been given only one side, the wrong side, of the climate change story. With the regular publication of the GCSR, anyone can now have a single source for the true status of the Earth’s climate rather than the heavily politicized version we have been force fed for twenty five years now.”

But what about the accuracy of his predictions?

Why should he be on our list of candidates for America’s best climate researcher? This one is easy. All his predictions, as disruptive and controversial as they were in 2007, have now either come to pass or are about to! This remarkable record according to internet searches is without peer. Casey acknowledges this by commenting, “No other climate researcher that I can find has such a public record for similar major climate predictions. There is nothing predicted by the UN-IPCC, NASA or NOAA from 2007-2008 that comes even close to what I was forecasting. In fact they all said that global temperatures could only go up for the foreseeable future and yet as I correctly predicted, they have been dropping.”

But, there is something else.

Among his major predictions he made a very specific one of a detailed scientific nature that goes far beyond simple chance that some may ascribe to it. In early 2007, he contacted NASA’s top solar physicist to discuss what Casey believed was a significant error by NASA in predicting the behavior of the Sun during the next 11-year solar cycle (cycle #24). Casey said at the time that NASA was, “way off” in its calculations for the peak year and level of activity for the next solar cycle. NASA was at the time saying cycle #24 was going to be of record high level of activity and as measured by sunspot count would be at least 145 average sunspot count, likely much higher, and peaking in 2011. Casey, on the other hand, said his math showed the peak would be in 2012 and would be no more than 74 sunspots at peak. In other words Casey told NASA they were more than 100 % in error! The NASA opinion in a joint conference with NOAA scientists went the same. They all said cycle #24 was going to be one of the most energetic ever.

This month, NASA, after making downward adjustments with NOAA every year since 2007, have now issued their latest forecast for cycle #24. Guess what? Now in the peak period for cycle#24, NASA says the peak will be this year, in 2013 with an average of 70 sunspots plus or minus 18 with a likely final cycle average of 69 sunspots! It looks like Casey has done it again – he has beat the US government best scientists on predicting the very complicated nature of the Sun’s behavior to an astounding level of accuracy! And he did it with a shoe string budget by himself, compared to these science agencies who had thousands of researchers, state of the art advanced computers and billions of dollars at their disposal.

According to one of Casey’s now growing number of supporters in a recent email, a Mr. RV said “In 2007 you said the (cycle#24) peak would be in 2012 and the sunspot count would not be greater than 74, half of what NASA was saying…Your prediction turned out to be SPOT ON! Congratulations on your prediction. That was nothing short of awesome.”

But what about the peak in 2013 as NASA now predicts. Casey said the peak of activity would be in 2012. Actually he got that call right also, Casey elaborates with, “ Most except a few solar physicists are not even aware that the typical 11-year solar cycle has a double peak, the first being the primary followed a year or two later by a lesser secondary peak. We then average the two as the cycle winds down and we are certain both peaks have passed. If we look at a chart of sunspots for cycle #24 we did in fact have the primary peak in 2012 as I predicted.”

When it comes to picking America’s best climate prediction expert there are also some intangibles I think we should consider. The first that comes to mind is how tough a challenge was it for the researcher to make his predictions? Were they easy to make scientifically, or were they controversial and likely to bring the researcher much criticism? It takes a lot of endurance to last out a solar cycle and maintain one’s opinion in face of incredible public, media, scientific, and political opposition.

Second is purpose. Casey from the outset has said his goal and that of his company, SSRC is to do what they could to alert the people to the next climate change so they can be prepared for what he calls a “life altering event.” He never expected to get rich as many “warmists” have by pushing manmade climate change. He has on the contrary, spent all he had keeping his research going and the lights on in his little office. As to purpose, Casey reflects on a quote from his book “Cold Sun,” by George Elliott, by saying, “I think Elliott was right with his question, ‘What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?’ ”

Is there any doubt. Casey gets my vote. He is not only America’s best climate prediction expert, but he is also among America’s best, period!

References: NASA’s latest Solar Cycle prediction

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Charles Krauthammer—The Myth of Settled Science

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PAPER: It’s the cold, not global warming, we should be worried about…

President Obama killing our soldiers softly with his Rules of Engagement

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In the 7 years, from 2001 to 2008, US Military Personnel engaged in combat in Afghanistan operated under the “standard” Rules Of Engagement (ROE) that the military always operated under; during those 7 years, 630 US Military Personnel were Killed In Action (KIA).  In 2009, Obama imposed new and “dangerous” ROE on US Military Personnel operating in combat in Afghanistan, over the next 5 years, from 2009 thru 2013, 2,292 personnel were KIA.  The increase in KIAs for Combat personnel who had previously operated under the “standard” ROE, jumped from 90/year during the first 7 years, to 458/year over the next 5 years employing Obama’s new and “dangerous” ROE—–an increase in 458% in KIAs.

According to CNS News.com, 19,080 US Military Personnel have been casualties in Afghanistan since 2001; CNS News.com further reported that 73% of all casualties in Afghanistan occurred from 2009 thru 2013, the time frame when Obama’s new and “dangerous” ROE were forced upon US military personnel engaged in combat.  The increase in casualties for US Combat personnel who were operating under the new and “dangerous” ROE jumped from 5,151 during the first 7 years, to 13,928 over the next 5 years (many of those casualties were maimed for life), the annual casualty rate has gone from 736/year when they were operating under the “standard” ROE to 2785/year when they had to employ Obama’s new and “dangerous” ROE—an increase of 378%/year for Combat personnel Wounded In Action.

Apologists for the Obama administration might say there were more casualties because of an increase in tempo of operations; the tempo of operations might have increased somewhat, but the tempo operations did not increase by 378%.

The below listed article will put a face on the above listed statistics on Killed In Action numbers, and number of casualties, as a result the new and “dangerous” Rules Of Engagement imposed upon military personnel engaged in combat by the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mullen. General Mullen never saw ground combat, but followed in lock step with how the occupant in the Oval Office wanted the Rules Of Engagement changed, and he didn’t carefully evaluate how those devastating changes would dramatically increase the casualties of combat personnel going into “Harm’s Way” daily, or how the new and “dangerous” would degrade the Combat Effectiveness of the finest tip of the spear military units in the world.

Two well-known losses of combat personnel are examples of how the imposition of the new and “dangerous” ROE forced on combat personnel increased the dangerous environment on the battlefield.  The first example was depicted in the movie “Lone Survivor” where the fear of being charged by civilians in the Pentagon with war crimes, if they silenced a hostile Afghani, resulted in compromising an entire operation and resulted in the death of 3 SEALs.  The second event, Extortion 17, occurred because the request for suppression fire at a landing zone, that used to be normally approved to allow a helicopter to land in a hot zone, was denied by senior commanders because of the new and “dangerous” ROE.  That lack of support resulted in the loss of 48 military personnel flying on Extortion 17 (those killed included 16 members of SEAL Team SIX, 20 Spec Ops Warriors, 5 helo crew members, and 7 Afghani military allies); Extortion 17 was the largest loss of life of US military personnel in one day in the 13 year history of combat operations in Afghanistan.  There have been thousands of incidents over the last 5 years that resulted in casualties that could have been avoided, if the “standard” ROE were being employed.

The occupant of the Oval Office has let it be known that he welcomes debate, but won’t tolerate dissent; the past 5 years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan has taught the combatant commanders not to complain about the ROE (because they knew of the unusually high number of commanders that had been relieved in the midst of their tours).  Sound judgment was not exhibited by Mullen when he imposed the new and “dangerous” Rules Of Engagement on the US military by Obama—he should have had the courage to resign to demonstrate his opposition to Rules of Engagement that would result in killing so many of the Republic’s finest warriors.  Each year since 2008 when the new and “dangerous” Rules of Engagement took effect, 2049 more military personnel per year have been Wounded In Action each year for 5 years (a total of 10,245 more personnel have been wounded and/or maimed for life) which is an increase of 378%.  Each year since 2008 when the new and “dangerous” Rules Of Engagement took effect, 368 more military personnel have been Killed In Action each year for 5 years (a total of 1840 more personnel have been killed) which is an increase of 458%.  The unacceptable number of casualties continues to increase, while the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hasn’t made a concerted effort to change the dangerous Rules Of Engagement that US Military personnel, engaged in combat, are required to operate under.

US SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN ARE NOW FORCED TO FIGHT A TWO-FRONTED WAR

Written by Billy & Karen Vaughn on Friday, 14 February 2014.

OUR BEST AND BRIGHTEST COME HOME IN BODY BAGS AS POLITICIANS AND LAWYERS DINE OVER WHITE LINEN TABLECLOTHS; WRITING, MODIFYING, AND RE-MODIFYING THESE LETHAL RULES…RULES THAT FAVOR THE ENEMY RATHER THAN THE AMERICAN SOLDIER.

US soldiers in Afghanistan are now forced to fight a two-fronted war. Before each deployment, these soldiers understand fully that day after day they will do battle against relentless terrorists with shifting loyalties and unspeakable hatred. But what none of them could have foreseen was the killing field that would open from their rear…the Continental United States.

Our government’s incessant tightening of already restrictive ROE (Rules of Engagement), compounded by the failed COIN (Counterinsurgency) strategy—also known as “winning hearts and minds,” has made an otherwise primitive enemy formidable.

Our best and brightest come home in body bags as politicians and lawyers dine over white linen tablecloths; writing, modifying, and re-modifying these lethal rules…rules that favor the enemy rather than the American soldier. Rules so absurd they’re difficult to believe until you hear the same stories over and again from those returning from battle.

In a delicate discussion with an Army Ranger who recently left the military, we heard the following: “I had to get out. I have a family who needs me. I didn’t join to be sacrificed. I joined to fight.” This decision came shortly after he lost a close friend to the ROE. He went on to explain: the Taliban had attempted an ambush on his friend’s squad, but quickly realized they were in a battle they couldn’t win and began retreating. While chasing them, the US soldiers were ordered not to engage due to the slight chance the Taliban had laid down their arms as they ran through some type of shack. While arguing with leadership at the JOC (Joint Operations Center) his friend was shot and killed.

A Navy SEAL who left his job only a few years shy of full retirement said the following: “I got out because I couldn’t take it anymore. We tried to explain how much reckless danger we were being exposed to and they told us we were being illogical.”

This type of response has created a growing compromise of confidence between our war fighters and senior military leadership. His argument wasn’t illogical at all.

A gut-wrenching pattern began forming in early 2009…a pattern completely ignored by Congress, the White House, and apparently the DOD.

In the first seven plus years of war in Afghanistan (October, 2001 – December, 2008) we lost 630 US soldiers. In early 2009, this administration authorized the implementation of the COIN strategy. Over the next five years, the US death toll skyrocket to 2,292.

Seventy-three percent of all US deaths in Afghanistan have taken place since 2009.

In the first seven plus years of war in Afghanistan, 2,638 US soldiers were wounded in action. In the next forty-five months (2009 – 2012) an additional 15,036 suffered the same fate.

Liars figure, but figures don’t lie.

While concern over being killed due to these policies weighs heavy on the minds of those we’ve spoken with, the deepest pit-in-the-stomach comes from fear of prosecution should they violate these absurd and ever-changing ROE. The last thing a war fighter should ever be forced to experience is unnecessary fear.

Fear creates hesitation. Hesitation creates flag-draped caskets. Flag-draped caskets create fatherless children, widowed wives, and childless parents. Our heroes deserve the right to fight with swift hands, clear minds, and confident hearts.

However, today’s war fighters have the grave misfortune of serving leaders who elevate the virtues of inaction over action. The message? If you dare use your training or your gut instinct, if you have the fortitude to fight for your life, or the desire to kill the enemy, there is a good chance you will be punished.

The physiological capacities of a true patriot cannot tolerate the vile stench of injustice, especially when perpetrated against those who defend us. Its wretched aroma permeates the core and demands a response.

We’re counting on you, the American patriot, for that response. We must defend our defenders. Please, spread the news and demand change.