Boehner gives Barack a Blank Check

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US national debt clock / billboard. Picture was taken on April 19, 2008 so add approximately $1.5 billion per day to get to the current amount.

Amy Payne from The Foundry reports:

Remember all those debt limit fights? Well, apparently Congress got tired of fighting. So now they’re working toward doing away with the debt limit altogether.

In recent years, conservatives fought to get at least some spending cuts, to begin putting the budget on a path to balance—after all, raising the debt ceiling means Congress has spent too much. Cutting spending before increasing the debt limit is necessary if Congress is to exercise some control over the debt.

But not this year. No one put up a fight this time—so Congress is essentially handing President Obama a blank check for the entire year.

“With almost $17.3 trillion in national debt, failing to put a debt limit in place to protect taxpayers from even more reckless spending by Congress is beyond irresponsible,” Heritage’s Romina Boccia, the Grover M. Hermann Fellow, told The Foundry.

That’s $140,000 per household, by the way.

Watch the Foundry explain in one minute what this “blank check” means:

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

 

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”– Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image was taken on April 19, 2008 by Jesper Rautell Balle. Since this photo was take the national debt has risen over $6.6 trillion.

RELATED COLUMNS:

Fractured House approves debt ceiling hike; ‘clean’ bill drops all GOP demands

GOP leaders help Senate pass large increase in debt limit

Obama is Becoming Public Enemy Number One

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America has arrived at a point at which it has never been in its 226 years of existence since the Constitution became effective in 1788. It has a President for whom that Constitution is routinely ignored in his quest to “fundamentally transform” America into a nation it has never been despite the slide into progressive policies that began early in the last century.

His namesake legacy legislation, Obamacare, is wreaking havoc on the lives of millions of Americans who have lost or will lose their healthcare plans that have been replaced with those whose cost is far higher. It is costing the nation jobs, reducing further the income of millions. The Congressional Budget Office just released a report predicting it will cost 2.3 million jobs and add $1 trillion in projected deficits.

As reported by CNSnews on February 6th, “The debt of the U.S. government has increased $6.666 trillion since President Barack Obama took office on Jan. 20, 2009, according to the latest numbers released by the Treasury Department. It stands at $17,293,019,654, 981.61. The total debt of the nation did not exceed $6.666 trillion until 2003. The U.S. has accumulated as much debt as it did since its founding.”

While in office in his first term, the U.S. credit rating was reduced for the first time in its history.

Among Obama’s Constitutional violations in 2013 were:

  • Delay of Obamacare’s out-of-pocket caps
  • Delay of Obamacare’s employer mandate
  • Delay of Obamacare’s insurance requirements
  • Exemption of Congress from Obamacare
  • Expansion of the employer mandate penalty through IRS regulation
  • Political profiling by the IRS
  • Recess appointments when Congress was not officially in recess

Between January 2012 and June 2013, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Obama Justice Department’s extreme positions on criminal procedure to property rights, religious liberty to immigration, security regulation to tax law, nine times.

In January CNSnews reported that 1,687,000 fewer Americans were holding full time jobs than held jobs in December 2007—the month the last recession began. The current number of jobless Americans is more than 92 million Americans. Simply stated, Obama has failed to restore the economy during his five years in office, having spent the first four years blaming George W. Bush for this failure.

As 2013 came to an end, Fred Barnes, writing in The Weekly Standard, noted that “On the five most important polling questions that measure a president’s success, he not only dropped significantly, but he’s now regarded negatively overall. The five yardsticks are presidential job approval, honesty, handling of the economy, strong leadership, and the public’s impression of him personally. Being underwater on all five is extraordinary, if not unprecedented.”

For a growing majority of Americans, Obama has become public enemy number one.

At the heart of the disapproval of Obama is the realization that he lies about everything all the time. Nothing he says can be trusted and this is a definition of pathological dishonesty. In a recent interview before the Super Bowl with Bill O’Reilly, he lied about every issue raised. Increasingly, guests on the channel’s news shows are beginning to regularly use the word “lie” to describe what he says, where before they used euphemisms such as “untruths.”

Because the Senate is controlled by the Democratic Party, a deluge of legislation passed by the Republican-controlled House to respond to Obamacare and other aspects of the economy have been killed before any debate or vote can be taken. The Democratic Party is now wholly owned by progressives, more resembling the Communist Party USA than its former self. It engages in denouncing any critic of Obama as being a racist.

Obama’s January State of the Union address reflected his dishonesty and his agenda. It reflected the progressive belief in the “collective” rather than the value of the individual. Obama has pursued a policy of class warfare, seeking to divide Americans over the issue of economic inequality. He declared climate change—the new name for “global warming”—as “settled” science at a time when the U.S. and the rest of the world has been in a cooling cycle for the past seventeen years and can expect to remain in it for many decades to come.

At a time when many Americans cannot find work, Obama has urged an immigration amnesty that would add an estimated eleven million illegal aliens to the population along with their families which would also qualify. The only reform Americans want is stronger border security.

Reflecting barely three percent of the population, Obama reversed himself to endorse same-sex marriage, has altered the U.S. military’s policy on gays and pursued a policy to integrate women into combat units. He has forced several hundred flag officers, generals and admirals, to retire, has expanded Homeland Security’s enforcement corps, and endorsed the vastly expanded ability of the National Security Agency to secure data on every phone call Americans make or receive.

At the same time, he has sought restrictions on the Second Amendment right to own and bear arms.

It is essential to understand that no President has had the power to issue an executive order that does not have constitutional or regulatory empowerment. Failing this, any President acting in this manner is doing so as a king or despot. The Constitution was written to avoid such usurpation of power.

These and other actions have endangered the Bill of Rights on which Americans depend for justice and freedom.

I have thought that it would be unlikely the first black President will be impeached. I am beginning to think that a momentum is building toward impeachment in a Congress that no longer trusts Obama.

Obama took an oath to “faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States” which includes the enforcement of its laws. He has not only directed that laws with which he disagrees not be enforced, but he has unilaterally and unconstitutionally made changes to laws. Only Congress has that right.

The November midterm elections hold forth the opportunity to give the Republican Party the opportunity to take control of the Senate and increase members in the House. Given the trends in the polls, this appears to be the outcome. It is all that stands between Americans and a President whose contempt for their welfare and intelligence is on display every day.

© Alan Caruba, 2014

Allen West: If Governor Scott does not “renounce Common Core” he will lose in November

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Dr. Karen R. Effrem, MD from the Florida Stop Common Core Coalition (FSCCC)writes:

“During the [Educational Policy] conference, Colonel West also did an interview with the Report Card, and had a stern warning for Governor Scott and the Republican establishment that seem to be trying to do a stealth implementation of Common Core without really changing anything:

“Colonel West stated: ‘If Gov. Scott does not clearly renounce the Common Core for Florida, he WILL lose the upcoming election. The Republican Clubs and the Republican Executive Committees are overwhelmingly opposed to Common Core.'”

Chad Lincoln in a Facebook post states, “It’s rumored that Scott is going to wait for Crist to take a hard position. Then Scott will match it and take the issue to the sidelines.”

FCCC gives the following update on education related legislation for the 2014 session:

STANDARDS – HB 25 by Rep. Debbie Mayfield (R – Vero Beach) still has not been heard in committee and there is no senate companion bill YET.

On the other side, Rep. Janet Adkins and the K-12 Subcommittee passed the “Common Core Cover-Up” bill, AKA “Lipstick on a Pig” bill, PCB TKS 14-01, that merely removes references to Common Core from statute and changes the name to the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards or Florida Standards.  This matches the cosmetic and “minor” changes that the commissioner is presenting to the State Board of Education for rubber stamping on February 18th.

A full hearing report,including a link  video of testimony by Randy Osborne,  Catherine Baer, and Meredith Mears, and media coverage are available on our website.

DATA COLLECTION – HB 195 by Rep. Jake Raburn (R-Valrico) and SB 189 by Senator Dorothy Hukill (R-Port Orange) had their first hearings in committee this last week.  These identical bills seek to ban the collection of biometric and other sensitive data on students.  We are grateful for the efforts of these legislators and look forward to working with them to make this legislation the best that it can be.

Nationally, support continues to pour in for our statement against the deceptive data privacy letter from Commissioner Stewart and 33 other chief state school officers.  We are up to 8 national and 36 state groups from 29 different states.

CURRICULUM – SB 864 by Senator Alan Hays (R – Umatilla) that seeks to put curriculum decisions at the local level was just filed a few days ago.  We appreciate his efforts.  A detailed analysis will be coming soon.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is courtesy of Gage Skidmore.

RELATED COLUMNS:

Out of Control – Florida Bureaucracy Demands Testing Paperwork for Dying Boy

Update – Boy Dies While Family Still Hassled About FCAT

S.Res.345: A resolution strongly supporting the restoration and protection of State authority and flexibility in establishing and defining challenging student academic standards and assessments

Muslim Brotherhood Operations Against the Right

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Washington, D.C.:  In the wake of the ominous announcement last week by the State and Homeland Security Departments that they are no longer going to enforce statutory prohibitions on granting asylum to individuals who have provided “limited” material support to terrorists, two proponents of such policies have been called to account.

Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist and an individual with longstanding family and personal ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, Suhail Khan, are the subject of a letter [PDF] to leaders of the American Conservative Union (ACU) signed by ten influential national security practitioners. The signers include: former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former Clinton Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey, former Congressman Allen West, former federal prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy, former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Lieutenant General William “Jerry” Boykin and former Pentagon Inspector General Joseph Schmitz.

The joint letter [PDF] transmits a Statement of Facts that responds to, and challenges, representations made concerning Messrs. Norquist and Khan in an exculpatory memorandum to the ACU Board written in September 2011 by one of its members, attorney Cleta Mitchell.  The ACU Board was moved on the basis of those representations to endorse Norquist and Khan, both of whom serve as members.

The Center for Security Policy facilitated the compilation of the forty-five pages listing eighty-seven rigorously documented facts and fifty-five endnotes.  Its President, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. was the subject of the Mitchell memo that claimed on the basis of “fairly substantial due diligence” to have found no basis for Mr. Gaffney’s longstanding charges that both Messrs. Norquist and Khan have enabled Muslim Brotherhood influence operations directed at the conservative movement and Republican Party.

Upon the release of the letter to Ms. Mitchell and the rest of the ACU leadership, Mr. Gaffney observed: “The signers of this letter with its attached Statement of Facts have afforded the Board of the American Conservative Union, the conservative movement as a whole and the Republican Party of which they are important parts an opportunity to address afresh a problem many have chosen to ignore – and, thereby, allowed to continue.  These accomplished national security practitioners have rendered yet another service to their country and the cause of liberty.  It is deeply appreciated.”

A PDF of the joint letter, Executive Summary and Statement of Facts can be viewed at: www.securefreedom.org.

About the Center for Security Policy

The Center for Security Policy is a non-profit, non-partisan national security organization that specializes in identifying policies, actions, and resource needs that are vital to American security and then ensures that such issues are the subject of both focused, principled examination and effective action by recognized policy experts, appropriate officials, opinion leaders, and the general public. For more information visit www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org

France’s united front of Jew hatred

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Parts of the French left have no problems participating in anti-Semitic demonstrations demanding that Jews be kicked out of France. The Socialist government is less than pleased.

PARIS. What happened in the streets of Paris on the 26th of January? On the eve of Shoah Remembrance Day, a significant contingent of demonstrators marching in the Jour de Colère [Day of Rage] howled “Jews, get out of France” and other vicious anti-Semitic slogans.

The best coverage of the march I have seen begins with a display of Islamic Jew hatred on the Champs Elysées in October 2012. Then, scenes of wild Dieudonné fans mocking the Shoah alternate with choice excerpts from the Day of Rage, illustrating converging branches of Jew hatred packed into a cocktail of contemptuous destructive rage.

One week later, on February 2nd, a far larger crowd marched peacefully for five hours with absolutely no violence, anti-Semitism, or disrespect for the République. The Manif’ pour tous [Everyone’s protest march] is a movement created last year in an attempt to block the passage of the mariage pour tous [marriage for everyone] Bill. Though the Hollande government tried desperately to link the two movements, the difference is visible to the naked eye and confirmed by closer examination of the people, the discourse, and the outcome.

The Left, which is never more than a heartbeat away from the barricades, adores street protests… when it is in the Opposition. Today, an embattled government with nothing to show for its first 18 months in office but a tawdry politico-sexual scandal at the summit is tut-tutting about “baseless” demonstrations. The JDC [Jour de Colère] is, apparently, the brainchild of Béatrice Bourges, a dissident of the MPT [Manif’ pour Tous]. Exasperated with the failure to prevent passage of the same-sex marriage law, Bourges created an aggressive Printemps Français [French Spring] faction that engaged in battles with the police, easily used by the government to discredit the squeaky clean MPT movement that had mobilized at least half a million. Having failed to take over leadership of the MPT, Bourges sought new allies and new forms of action.

Ten days before the Day of Rage, in a debate with Pierre Cassen of the anti-Islamization site Riposte Laïque, Béatrice Bourges presented her analysis of same-sex marriage and parenthood, by adoption and eventually artificial insemination and womb rental, as part of a global project of “transhumanism.” The plan is to create a New Man hors sol [without national identity] and hors sexe [without sexual identity], a slave of an oligarchy determined to rule the world by turning people into featureless units of production and consumption. Her choice of villains and vocabulary ring with the familiar string of adjectives often associated, in times of trouble, with Jews: “stateless cosmopolitan unscrupulous money-grubbing demons of finance …”

Cassen announced he would not participate in the Day of Rage after Dieudonné encouraged his followers to join the troops. Bourges countered, helter skelter, that Dieudonné himself wouldn’t attend, the best way to discourage his acolytes was to ignore them, but it doesn’t matter if they do come because this is the Day for all the rhymes and reasons of Rage, no one should be excluded. Expressed rage, she said, is less prone to violence than repressed rage. These and other predictions about attendance—“it will be a tsunami”– and results—“the government has feet of clay, a few good blows and it will topple”– turned out to be equally inaccurate. I have not found on the Jour de Colère or Printemps Français any statement sites of disapproval of the anti-Semitic slogans, chants, and signs.

Though Béatrice Bourges is believed to be a central figure in the JDC organization, the movement adopted the anonymous Facebook-twitter image ascribed to the “Arab Spring.” Another “Arab Spring” prop, the “Hollande dégage” [Hollande, bug off] slogan, picked up from one of the participating groups, goes back to Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution” and subsequent uprisings in Libya, Egypt, etc. “Day of rage” is associated with a Palestinian practice of periodic organized violence against Israel. Aside from the strange Middle East echoes, these borrowings perpetuate the idea that we are living under a dictatorship that must be overthrown. (Similar echoes were found in the Occupy Wall Street movement.)

This justified accusations that the protest movement is aimed at destroying the République. But nothing can hide the Left’s paternity of a movement that coalesces dark forces from all extremes of the political spectrum. It would be impossible within the limits of this article to give an idea of the pot pourri of participating groups listed on the Jour de Colère site. Splinters, split-offs, offshoots of multiple varieties–anti-Islamization, Muslims against gender theory, anti-globalization, anti-population replacement, Catholic fundamentalists, old fashioned neo-Nazis, small businessmen, freelancers, nationalists, royalists, farmers… An undercurrent of the Jew hatred that emerged on the Day of Rage can be discerned here and there: the campaign to keep children home from school to protest gender theory indoctrination in kindergartens was organized by Farida Belghoul, one of the pioneers of the “beur” [second generation Maghrebi] movement spawned on the Left. She is now allied with arch anti-Semite Alain Soral. Media Press, a JDC-friendly site links to articles such as “Is Manuel Valls the Interior Minister of France or Israel?”

Will the coalition of united rage, fired by the weakness of the French government, find Jew hatred as its common denominator? The danger is real. Socialist deputy Julien Dray declared that an important faction of the Day of Rage demonstration intended to march into the rue des Rosiers in the heart of the Jewish Marais. Sammy Ghozlan, president of the BNVCA [Bureau national de vigilance contre l’antisémitisme] warns that when the law catches up with Dieudonné and puts him in handcuffs, it could trigger a “Crystal Day.”

Is there room for the hope that many French people, disgusted with overt Jew hatred, will withdraw from the hastily concocted coalition? It only took fourteen years for the guttural shouts of “Kill the Jews” that have been ringing out in pro-Palestinian, anti-war, pro-Hamas and go-jihad marches to reach the ears of French media. And for the government to recognize that anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism is a danger to the République.

Epilogue

The Manif’ pour Tous is another story and the government didn’t know what to do about it. Spokespersons and friendly media pumped out the talking points as tens of thousands marched in bright winter sunshine: This protest is based on wild rumors. Reproductive boosters—PMA [artificial insemination] for lesbian couples and GPA [womb rental] for males—do not figure in the Family Affairs Bill slated for March. The “ABC of Equality,” experimented in hundreds of kindergartens, is not “gender theory,” it’s just about abolishing stereotypes. Mariage pour tous is the law of the land; it is undemocratic to demonstrate against it.

It didn’t work.

Monday morning the Interior Minister, followed quickly by the Prime Minister, promised they would not allow deputies from the majority to attach PMA and GPA amendments to the Bill.

By late afternoon the government announced that the controversial Bill is postponed … indefinitely.

Sarasota County, FL School Board loves Common Core

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Sarasota County School Board members. Front row: Caroline Zucker, Shirley Brown. Back row: Dr. Carole Todd, Jane Goodwin and Frank Kovach. For a larger view click on the photo.

The School Board of Sarasota County is pushing for the extension of a 1 mill tax on all county property holders on March 25th. They are using school funds to lobby in favor of and promote the 1 mill tax. Has anyone asked if this is legal?

According to their official Report on the Uses of Referendum Funds since 2002, “This vote allows the District to maintain existing programs, provide additional programs and continue the District’s commitment to quality education.” But is the District really committed to a “quality education”?

Scott Ferguson, Communications Specialist Sarasota County Schools, states in an email:

The Sarasota County School District has been implementing the Common Core Standards per Florida Department of Education requirements and timetable. We are in full implementation in grades K-2. The current 2013-14 school year is a “blended year” for grades 3-12 (a combination of Common Core and the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards). Full implementation is scheduled for all grades for the 2014-15 school year. Again, this is all according to the state schedule and requirements.

As you may be aware, the Florida Board of Education is considering adopting some changes to the Common Core Standards, including changes in handwriting and math standards. If adopted, the proposed revised standards will likely be referred to as the Florida Standards, since they will depart from the Common Core Standards in these and other areas.

What Ferguson does not say is that the District can opt-out of Common Core, as did thirty school districts in New York. Parents, teachers, educators and concerned citizens see Common Core as anything but a “quality education.”

Terrence O. Moore, an assistant professor of history at Hillsdale College, states, “The Common Core Standards control the testing and curriculum of public schools and a large number of private schools in over forty states in the nation. Sold to the public as a needed reform, the Common Core nationalizes absurdity, superficiality, and political bias in the American classroom. As a result, the great stories of a great nation are at risk, along with the minds and souls of our children.”

Brenda Pastoric in an op-ed titled “The Price of Human Capital” states:

The new business relationship our leaders of Sarasota schools are now promoting CRADLE TO CAREER sounds very promising for the uninformed public and unsuspecting parents, especially in today’s stagnant workforce climate. While we can agree that not every child is college bound, students will lead productive lives either through our excellent vocational education, ROTC, the Military Academy, Booker’s Visual Arts programs and others omitted here. But when “focus groups” such as the Chamber of Commerce and public-private partnerships are created and the “right people” like the CEO of Sun Hydraulics’ speaks of a “formula” and all are “collaborating” with our school officials who state they cannot “do it alone” and looking at “talent” in the fifth grade through data mining, we should be alarmed.

This early, progressive and socialistic labeling from all fronts is not a new phenomenon. History teaches us that mining for human capital by governments or government-corporate partnerships have been a hallmark for some of the most repressive societies. With unfunded mandates to states, during President Bill Clinton’s 1994 School-To-Work act, federal controls and performance-based education were implemented in local schools at the earliest possible age for every American worker to choose careers by Workforce Development Boards, formed to study which labor skills were needed in each state to determine “human resources” training requirements. Then we saw President Bush with “No Child Left Behind” and his 2001 Executive Order “21st Century Workforce Initiative”.

It’s time to wake up as the 1% surtax referendum draws near, and elected officials and parents call for more $, we may be subsidizing the human capital for government and corporations with our children.

Early voting on the 1 mill referendum began on March 10th. Perhaps voters should consider if they want their tax dollars supporting the implementation of Common Core in Sarasota County public Schools.

RELATED COLUMNS:

Why Common Core is Wrong For Our Kids – Period! 

Common Core nationalizes absurdity, superficiality, and political bias

Comprehensive list of States that have pulled out of Common Core

Allen West: If Governor Scott does not “renounce Common Core” he will lose in November

Where is Obama’s outrage over Afghan “war on women?”

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As we wind down operations in Afghanistan the question is, “did we make any difference?” Sure, Osama bin Laden is dead — then again so is Saddam Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay, but al-Qaida is in control of western Iraq’s al-Anbar province. During my time in Iraq and Afghanistan, I remember the most difficult thing for many of us to stomach was the treatment of women.

The most rewarding sight for me during my two-and-a-half years in Afghanistan was watching little girls in their uniforms walking off to school. Nothing infuriated me more than reading reports about a Taliban attack against a girls’ school — funny thing, you never heard about that in any liberal media reports. How many front pages were dedicated to Abu Gharaib by the New York Times? And these liberals want us to take them seriously when they start droning on about a damn “war on women?” I have seen it with my own eyes, and it is repulsive.

So as we prepare to depart Afghanistan, and President Obama is more concerned with campaign promises and politics, I must ask, what will happen to the women of Afghanistan?

According to a report in The Guardian, a new Afghan law will allow men to attack their wives, children and sisters without fear of judicial punishment, undoing years of slow progress in tackling violence in a country blighted by so-called “honor” killings, forced marriage and vicious domestic abuse.

This is in a nation already considering the return of stoning as a punishment for adultery. Perhaps Sandra Fluke and Nancy Pelosi should visit Afghanistan to understand what a real struggle for women’s rights is — nah, that would require courage. It is an Afghan war on women.

According to The Guardian, The small but significant change to Afghanistan’s criminal prosecution code bans relatives of an accused person from testifying against them. Most violence against women in Afghanistan is within the family, so the law – passed by parliament but awaiting the signature of the president, Hamid Karzai – will effectively silence victims as well as most potential witnesses to their suffering.

The traditions of Muhammad established the level of judicial subservience facing women in Islamic countries, where they can be summarily divorced after their husband repeats “I divorce you” three times, and they have no rights in defense.

Furthermore, it takes three men to offer defense for one woman, as her voice alone means nothing. Barbaric? Absolutely, but hardly mentioned in our news.

As the Guardian reports, under the new law, prosecutors could never come to court with cases like that of Sahar Gul, a child bride whose in-laws chained her in a basement and starved, burned and whipped her when she refused to work as a prostitute for them. Women like 31-year-old Sitara, whose nose and lips were sliced off by her husband at the end of last year, could never take the stand against their attackers.

Countries that spent billions trying to improve justice and human rights are now focused largely on security, and are retreating from Afghan politics. Heather Barr, Afghanistan researcher with Human Rights Watch, said: “Opponents of women’s rights have been emboldened in the last year. They can see an opportunity right now to begin reversing women’s rights – no need to wait for 2015.”

What will become of the female Members of the Afghanistan parliament? Those who are serving in the Army and police corps who will now not even be protected from their own husbands? What does it say about our values? So what, we killed Osama bin Laden, but we find ourselves afraid to take on a 7th century ideology that degrades women in the 21st century — shame on us.

President Obama, you and your party like to give lip service to women’s rights. Let’s see what you have to say about this issue after you and the First Lady sit with your daughters in that nice taxpayer-funded movie theater in the White House and watch “Honor Diaries.” I’ve watched it with my wife and daughters. It’s horrific. After you view it Sir, join me in the real war on women. I’ll be waiting for your phone call — quite sure you can get my number from the NSA.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on AllenBWest.com. The featured image is courtesy of Davric.

America is Complicit in the Murder of Religious Minorities

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This video is by Bill Warner from the Center for the Study of Political Islam. Warner states, “Christians and other religions are persecuted around the world and America plays a role. Our government, churches, media, universities and others stand by silently as innocents die. We are complicit in our silence in the face of evil.”

[youtube]http://youtu.be/l-ULTgX673g[/youtube]

 

RELATED COLUMNS:

Study: Christians are world’s most oppressed religious group

“Islamophobia” in Academia

Hating All Infidels

“How Culture Shapes Terrorism”

Catherine Engelbrecht v. United States

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Catherine Engelbrecht’s testimony at House of Representatives hearing on the IRS targeting her and True the Vote.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/xxcMKtsm5BU[/youtube]

ABOUT TRUE THE VOTE:

Unfortunately, Americans have lost faith in the integrity of our nation’s election results and fraud and law-breaking has become all too common in our electoral system. We hope to change that perception. True the Vote is a citizen-led effort to restore truth, faith, and integrity to our elections.

True the Vote is an initiative developed by citizens for citizens, meant to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. We promote ideas that actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation.

We are working to restore integrity to the American system of electing its leaders. With True the Vote, we have, “deconstructed the entire process, focusing on educating voters, examining the registry, recruiting, training and mobilizing election workers and poll watchers, training how to collect data all along the way, then use the data to shape government action and legislative agendas to support desperately needed election code reform.”

Our government was built upon the belief that election results represent the true will of the people and our election processes were always intended to be supported by citizen volunteers. We are helping stop corruption where it can start – at the polls.

Our initiatives include:

  • Mobilizing and training volunteers who are willing to work as election monitors
  • Aggressively pursuing fraud reports to ensure prosecution when appropriate
  • Providing a support system for our volunteers that includes live and online training, quick reference guides, a call bank to phone in problem reports, information on videotaping at polling places, and security as necessary
  • Creating documentaries and instructional videos for use in recruiting and training
  • Raising awareness of the problem through strategic outreach efforts including advertising, social networking, media relations, and relational marketing
  • Voter registration programs and efforts to validate existing registration lists, including the use of pattern recognition software to detect problem areas

Based in Houston, Texas and headed by Catherine Engelbrecht (President), True The Vote is staffed by volunteers all across the country. Essentially, True The Vote is you and me. Every day Americans interested in the integrity of the elections in the home district.

 

In-depth Report: Following the political money in Florida

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Whenever you find corruption and cronyism in government the first thing to do is follow the money. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” – 1 Timothy 6:10. Politicians are known for piercing themselves, repeatedly.

Two organizations are helping shine the light of day on how money is used in Florida campaigns.

Dan Krassner, Co-Founder and Executive Director Integrity Florida and Ben Wilcox, Research Director Integrity Florida, in an email state, “Florida is considering replacement of its outdated website for tracking money in politics with a statewide electronic filing system for all state and local campaign finance data.”

As this potential solution is reviewed by policymakers to help the public follow the money, the LeRoy Collins Institute at Florida State University and Integrity Florida, today, released the latest installment in the Tough Choices report series:

Tough Choices: Best Practices in Campaign Finance and Public Access to Information. The report, an in-depth analysis of Florida’s campaign finance policies compared to other states in the U.S., found that Florida’s 2013 reform legislation set the right path, but more could be done to improve transparency.

“I am proud of our progress in making Florida’s campaign finance reporting system more transparent through stricter reporting requirements,” said House Speaker Will Weatherford. “We can always do more to increase transparency and accountability, and I appreciate the LeRoy Collins Institute’s and Integrity Florida’s thoughtful suggestions.”

The report found:

The 2013 Florida law on campaign finance is clearly moving the state toward more transparency, aligning with the state’s proud open government culture. The raising of campaign finance limits, while controversial, positions the state near the median of the country, and the call for a comprehensive state-local campaign finance data set will make it easier for citizens to hold their elected officials accountable. While the legislative call for an enhanced statewide campaign finance website that includes local data is an ambitious project, it has tremendous potential to provide valuable information to Floridians and strengthen the Sunshine State’s reputation for open government.

Click here to read the full report.

Click here to review the Florida Division of Elections proposal.

Law Enforcement in America: Pretty Uniforms, Ugly Demeanor

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Most of my adult life I lived and worked in the ever changing world of law enforcement. I feel I put in my time and have the right to provide my analysis on law enforcement in America, and their effectiveness in fighting Islamic based terrorism and their lack of support of the American Patriots who love our country and Constitution.

I will break the various categories of U.S. law enforcement down into four groups:

Group 1: Local and County law enforcement officers
Group 2: State law enforcement officers
Group 3: The dozens of 1811 federal law enforcement officers excluding the FBI.
Group 4: The FBI
Group 5: U.S. Military

Our country has always needed law enforcement officers at all levels of government to enforce the laws of our land in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. For the most part they have been effective … up until the sad day on 11 September 2001.

On 911 I was an active (1811) U.S. Federal Agent. I fell into Group 3. It is my honor to say I did not fall into Group 4. On 911 I saw our country change, and not for the better. This is the day I saw the early stages of a wide separation of the Group 1 officers and the FBI (Group 4).

Group 1: Group 1 officers have always been the backbone of our country. Over our young history they have always been the ones with their eyes on the ground and an inner loving and respect for America. They handled law enforcement matters for the most part with a firm, heavy hand when needed, but knew when to back off when required. Their training normally consisted of ‘on the job training’. They were the American citizens best friend, the true defenders of our U.S. Constitution, and a menace to lawbreakers.. They were not always right, but their intentions normally were. They are often the lowest paid and hardest worked. These officers have a Police Chief, Sheriff, but more often than not there were only a couple of officers assigned to a small town area. In other words their management oversight was low. They worked together as one unit protecting America.

Groups 2 and 3: These officers were normally trained to a higher level and their pay was higher. These two groups had more oversight than group 1 officers. Their organizations were often led by people who were career managers and not law enforcement officers. Politics and pleasing politicians were an every day occurrence. Before 911 these officers worked hard days and nights and did their best to stay out of the media and politicians line of view. These officers put the U.S. Constitution ahead of politics, but often their higher management became politician ‘pleasers’ instead of supporting their street level officers.

Group 4: The FBI. Since it’s founding in 1935 it has always been managed by non elected politicians. The first duty of FBI management has always been to fight for the attention from the media, and to do their best to please their masters (Senior U.S. Government politicians all the way up to the White House). FBI Agent were taught directly from the academy that they were America’s super investigators. They had the money allocated to them that was always in excess of what they truly needed. The egos of most FBI Agents is way higher than their true value to America. Many great street level Agents, but they are taught to be glory hounds. The FBI routinely take over local, county, and state investigations when there is even a hint of nationwide media attention. 1811 Federal Agents who fall into Group 3 attend the same academy and receive the same training, but with the help of the media and politicians (through continuous butt kissing) they are portrayed as a more clever investigator. In actuality they are not. They just have more government money to look pretty. The FBI often get involved in military cases and overseas investigations, although they have no authority to do so.

Group 5: The U.S. military. This group of several hundred thousand are not supposed to be involved in U.S. law enforcement activities. Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 Prior to 911 they seldom were. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was intended to prevent U.S. military from enforcing U.S. civilian law. The role of the military was to defend our country from outside forces. For 200 plus years they have been very honorable.

AFTER 11 September 2001: Prior to 911, the dividing lines between each of the five groups has always been well laid out. Each of the groups knew their roles and duties in enforcing civilian law in America. I noticed a major change after 911. All of the groups have seen an increase in department funding, primarily due to counter-terrorism money granted by the federal government.

Their lines now overlap one another. Even small police departments have been provided money they never knew existed. They now have the money to buy military style uniforms, military style weapons, and many now have the egos of FBI Agents (both undeserved). Their goals are no longer to protect the citizens in their communities, they now have the media, politicians, and federal money dispatchers to please. Group 1 now want to look like highly trained combat military soldiers. Their departments have new patrol cars, expensive SWAT gear, RV’s for HQ operations, and they are now 10 times more likely to be seen giving news conferences on trivial matters.

Nice equipment, authoritative combat gear, tanks, drones, and other costly equipment does not make any of the groups any better in handling Islamic based terrorism events if they do not have the proper training. Current none of the groups (1 -5) are being properly trained to defend our country against Islamic based terrorist groups. Few are ever taught Arabic or can even use the term Islam in their investigations.

Our former leaders never intended for our local, county, state, and federal law enforcement officers to be U.S. military personnel. The lines were drawn over 200 years ago and for a reason. Our forefathers have always known that the closer law enforcement are to senior government officials their mindset changes. We do not need our local law enforcement who police a community of 500 to have the type of equipment our U.S. military have. Why? Because the higher you get to the top of the federal government, the more corrupt people become.

As the non commissioned officers are the backbone of our military (ask any commissioned officer), the backbone of defending America from within as the first-line defenders are the local and county law enforcement officers. The more political and ego driven they become, the less prepared they are to fight Islamic based terrorism.

Another lesson: We could help resolve our country’s high debt ceiling if we were to abolish the FBI. This agency costs billions a year to fund, and the vast majority of cases could be handled by Groups 1, 2, 3, and 5.

AGENDA 21 REVEALED: ICLEI, Comprehensive Planning, Smart Growth, Green, Regionalism

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Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development.[1] It is a product of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN, other multilateral organizations, and individual governments around the world that can be executed at local, national, and global levels. The “21” in Agenda 21 refers to the 21st Century. It has been affirmed and modified at subsequent UN conferences.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/JuoPqxAfnd8[/youtube]

During the last decade, opposition to Agenda 21 has increased within the United States at the local, state, and federal levels.[15] In January 2011, Commissioner Richard Rothschild of Carroll County, Maryland became the first elected official in the United States to successfully remove a U.S. jurisdiction from the ICLEI and Agenda 21.[16][unreliable source?] The Republican National Committee has adopted a resolution opposing Agenda 21, and the Republican Party platform stated that “We strongly reject the U.N. Agenda 21 as erosive of American sovereignty.”

Those who follow Glenn Beck might be aware that Tuesday marks the release of his latest book, “Agenda 21,” the suspenseful and perhaps sobering tale of a futuristic America in which a UN-led program spawned an authoritarian state where individuals are stripped of all personal rights and freedoms.

Oddly, Beck’s novel is not simply a work of fiction, but based on an actual program created by the United Nations by the very same name — “Agenda 21″ — which, according to the UN’s own website, is a “comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations system, governments and major groups, in every area in which human impacts on the environment.” “agenda 21” conspiracy “glenn beck” research un “united nations” fact plan agenda depopulation earth green Sustainability freedom liberty environment environmental “new world order” international global fema drill u.s. “united states” usa america europe illuminati elite mafia planning world earth media 2013 2014 future banking bank society finance wealth “third world” fear invasion action corporate guilty education “middle class” developer dollar usd suburbs forces camp camping prepare food storage 829speedy bush constitution independence one world government homeland security civil unrest emergency military base alex jones glenn beck blaze infowars gerald celente farrakhan lindsey williams david icke

In so many words, the United Nations seeks to co-opt, via individual governments, and eventually, a “one-world government,” privately held land under the auspices of ensuring its “sustainability.” Worse still, the UN’s Agenda 21 has even laid out plans for “depopulation” or rather, “population control.” If it sounds like something out of George Orwell’s 1984, that is because Agenda 21′s tenets are eerily in line with the demented alternate reality Orwell himself had imagined while scribing the pages of his famed novel.

“Sustainable development” is the catch-phrase Beck urged his Monday evening viewers to be leery of.

Where one can live and what land should be designated for would, under fully-realized Agenda 21 plan, be controlled by the United Nations and a future one-world government. Consider the following section from the UN website on Agenda 21′s plan for “promoting sustainable human settlement development.” Emphasis added: The overall human settlement objective is to improve the social, economic and environmental quality of human settlements and the living and working environments of all people, in particular the urban and rural poor. Such improvement should be based on technical cooperation activities, partnerships among the public, private and community sectors and participation in the decision-making process by community groups and special interest groups such as women, indigenous people, the elderly and the disabled. These approaches should form the core principles of national settlement strategies. In developing these strategies, countries will need to set priorities among the eight programme areas in this chapter in accordance with their national plans and objectives, taking fully into account their social and cultural capabilities. Furthermore, countries should make appropriate provision to monitor the impact of their strategies on marginalized and disenfranchised groups, with particular reference to the needs of women.

The Great Housing Boom and Bust: Lessons Relearned

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The Great Housing Boom and Bust: Lessons Relearned was a presentation made at last week’s Eastern Secondary Mortgage Conference sponsored by the Florida Mortgage bankers Association.

Below are three slides from The Great Housing Boom and Bust: Lessons Relearned.  The take-aways include:

  1. Real estate leverage (both nominal and intrinsic) are at historically high levels.
  2. The National Mortgage Risk Index remains at a higher level than is conducive to long-run market stability.

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To learn more visit the AEI International Center on Housing Risk.

Turkeys in Florida: Special “Earmarks” Coming Home to Roost

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Other states refer to “special funding” as earmarks or pork, here in Florida that money is referred to as “Turkeys.” We have a lot of turkeys in Florida regardless of scope or topic, these special spending items have one thing in common: strong ties to top state lawmakers. 

Florida Taxwatch released its 2013 Florida Turkey Watch Report. The report states:

This year, Florida TaxWatch has identi”ed 107 member projects and other items historically referred to as “Turkeys.” These appropriations total $106.8 million and are recommended to the Governor for consideration in his line-item veto process. Despite a budget surplus for the first time in several years, the Legislature showed some restraint when adding local member projects and other projects historically referred to as Turkeys.

This year’s Turkey Watch Report is smaller than last year’s, when 159 items worth $171 million were in the budget, in spite of the multi-billion dollar shortfall in that year.

The annual Florida TaxWatch Turkey Watch spotlights legislative projects placed in the budget without proper opportunity for public review and debate, which circumvent lawfully established procedures, or which non-competitively benefit a very limited special interest or local area of the state.

While the majority of people living in Florida are struggling with ever increasing cost the average family has had to tighten their belts and cut back, while those special few in Tallahassee are still drunk with spending.

When enough people in Florida get sick of the abuse of their tax dollars going to fund things that they themselves don’t believe in then perhaps there will be a shift in government. It will not happen without YOU. Why is it that people always talk about government as if it is some “thing” out there… some gigantic thing that has total power and we just shrink and cower to the whims and fancies of cronyism.

The definition of Atrophy:

A wasting or decrease in size of a body organ, tissue, or part owing to disease, injury, or lack of use: muscular atrophy of a person affected with paralysis. n. A wasting away, deterioration, or diminution: intellectual atrophy. v. To cause to wither or deteriorate; affect with atrophy.

The proliferation of foul spending and the increase in turkeys is directly related to “We The People”. The regular guy has lost control of his vocal cords by way of atrophy. All people who are not a part of government need to stand up and speak!!! Everyone needs to say NO to governmental spending. What if the cut back by the government affects you negatively? My answer – take the pain now; make a change for the future. Either way you are going to feel pain… I for one would rather be in control of the suffering that I go through instead of waiting for the government to inflict it upon me.

Turkey’s are appropriations to specific recipients or local government that bypass the established selection processes or competitive bidding. These projects are placed in the budget without the opportunity for public review or debate. This process circumvents the lawfully established procedures. Which provides funding to very limited special interests or a local area of the state… It’s all in who you know as to who benefits from the pecking order of a turkey.

The 2013 Report identified 107 member projects with these appropriations totaling $106.8M this was a cut from the 2012 Report by 52 projects and less spending by $74.2M. Hope you are feeling really good about the cutbacks on spending your hard earned tax dollars on these turkeys!

Sources:

miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/04/pork-turkeys-earm…jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/matt-dixon/2013-05-…
wtsp.com/news/local/article/193875/8/TaxWatch-ze…
miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/04/pork-turkeys-earm…
floridataxwatch.org/resources/pdf/2013TurkeyWatchFINAL.pdf
articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-13/news/fl-fiscal-group-highlig…
abc-7.com/story/14733869/2011/05/26/scott-vetoes-…
tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content…
politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/nov/16/steven-s…
abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/fami…
sunshinestatenews.com/story/taxwatch-turkeys-close
jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=533673
sptimes.com/News/060801/Pasco/Group_targets_budget_…
earmarks.omb.gov

Communism in America: The first Marxist President and hidden Muslims the Nation’s 230 Year History

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At the 2014 South Carolina TEA Party, listen to two presentations about the first Marxist President and hidden Muslims. New Zealander Trevor Loudon warning of the ‘Enemies Within’.

Ben Smith former Navy SEAL is followed by a panel composed of those who all enlisted in the Cold Civil War that is going on in our homeland today. The assault By Communism, the assault by Socialism, the assault by Islam’s Muslim Brotherhood who are here and in the White House.

Frank de Varona, Director, Bear Witness Central, speaks in South Carolina about the first Marxist President and hidden Muslims:

Trevor Loudon at speaks at the 2014 South Carolina TEA Party, Warning of the ‘Enemies Within’:

ABOUT FRANK DE VARONA:

Frank de Varona is an educator, historian, journalist, and internationally known expert on politics,  economics, foreign affairs, and national security issues. He has written 20 books, including three on President Barack Obama. At the age of 17, he participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. After the defeat, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison and served two years. After his liberation, he came to the United States and received three college degrees.

america in decline book coverDe Varona is the author of “America in Decline”. The book discusses the reasons for the decline of America under Obama. The author presents the real Obama, who has been associated his entire life with Marxists, socialists, and radicals. The author provides an account of Obama’s connections with his racist and unpatriotic pastor, Jeremiah Wright, his friendship with the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers and with criminals such as Tony Rezco.

The author reveals the multitude of scandals that have marked Obama’s life before and after his election as president. The scandals of the purchasing of his house in Chicago, the Saudi Arabia’s financing his Harvard education, the IRS persecution of political opponents, the NSA spying on Americans, the Benghazi affair, and many others. He points out that any of these recent scandals could result in impeachment charges on the president.

The author explains that Obama is the first Marxist and hidden Muslim elected to the White House in the nation’s history. The author tells about Obama’s road towards a totalitarian socialist society and his disdain for the Judeo Christian values that made our nation great and his war against religion and Christianity. The book tells about Obama’s desire to take away the sovereignty and the wealth of the nation through U.N. laws and treaties and the eventual establishment of a one world government.

The author covers the misguided economic and foreign policies of the president who has placed our nation at risk of bankruptcy and seriously endangered our national security. The book covers the disastrous beginning of the first year of Obama´s second term. It includes chapters on the unlawful Common Core, the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood and communists in the Obama administration, the history of the Muslim Brotherhood and its goal to destroy our nation and the West, Obama’s multiple violations of the Constitution and electoral fraud in the two presidential elections.

The author discusses the volatile situation in Egypt and Syria as well as the increasing threat of al-Qaeda, China, and Russia. The book covers the government shutdown and the disastrous implementation of ObamaCare.

The author gives an account of the unlawful creation of the Federal Reserve Bank by a banking cartel and of the Bank for International Settlements, the central bank of all the private central banks which runs the world. He describes the New World Order and the powerful elite of the Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, and Council of Foreign Relations which runs the United States and the world.

Lastly, the author offers specific recommendations to rescue the nation from tyranny and the road ahead for winning the Senate in 2014 and the White House in 2016.

Buy the paperback at Amazon.com
Buy the Kindle edition