We had no right to kill Bin Laden?
The whacky world of price index for core personal consumption expenditures
“Removing fuel and food costs from the index purely for the sake of statistical balance seems a bit like saying, “All told, four million people died in World War II. Well, unless you include the people who died in concentration camps. And, oh yeah, the 20 million Russians.”
It’s a bit like saying, “On average, a major league baseball team will win 3.2 World Series each century. Obviously, not the Cubs. And we’ve thrown out the New York Yankees and their 27 world championships because it doesn’t provide a true snapshot of the game at any given moment.”
If Supermarkets Were Like Public Schools
By DONALD J. BOUDREAUX
“What if groceries were paid for by taxes, and you were assigned a store based on where you live?
Teachers unions and their political allies argue that market forces can’t supply quality education. According to them, only our existing system—politicized and monopolistic—will do the trick. Yet Americans would find that approach ludicrous if applied to other vital goods or services.
Suppose that groceries were supplied in the same way as K-12 education. Residents of each county would pay taxes on their properties. Nearly half of those tax revenues would then be spent by government officials to build and operate supermarkets. Each family would be assigned to a particular supermarket according to its home address. And each family would get its weekly allotment of groceries—”for free”—from its neighborhood public supermarket.
No family would be permitted to get groceries from a public supermarket outside of its district. Fortunately, though, thanks to a Supreme Court decision, families would be free to shop at private supermarkets that charge directly for the groceries they offer. Private-supermarket families, however, would receive no reductions in their property taxes.”
Next Time, Use FedEx
Next Time, Use FedEx
by Ann Coulter
The CIA stepped up the search for Osama bin Laden last week after becoming as sick of royal wedding coverage as the rest of us.
American intelligence operations located Osama by following his trusted couriers, whose names were given up by al-Qaida members during harsh interrogations at CIA black sites under President Bush.
Yes, the same interrogations endlessly denounced by the entire Democratic Party (save Joe Lieberman), the mainstream media, and an especially indignant Jane Mayer in The New Yorker. The most-wanted terrorist in the world was living in a moldy, million-dollar mansion in a gated community just outside of Islamabad. It took the CIA five years to figure out the four-digit code to get in.
One important missed clue was that Osama was living at 72 Virgins Way. He might still be alive today if only he hadn’t borrowed his neighbor’s shoulder-mounted rocket launcher and never returned it.
Our mighty Navy SEALs not only put a bullet through Osama’s head, but carried off his computers, disks and hard drives. So far, all they’ve revealed is that Osama had multiple Netflix rentals of “Rendition,” “In the Valley of Elah,” “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Love Actually.”
Click here to continue reading Ann Coulter’s column
Recording The Police
When someone is acting on behalf of the state, they must be held to a higher standard, else there will be abuse which could lead to tyranny.
What do public university officials have against the Christians on their campus?
This is not a plug for Christianity, nor is it a defense of Christianity. It’s a question: where is all the tolerance and respect for others that is supposedly so important?
“It’s hard to understand what, exactly, public university officials across the country have against the Christians on their campus.
Christian students don’t often lead riots. Those who are serious and sincere about their faith don’t cheat on their exams, traffic in drugs, get drunk and disorderly, indulge in sexual hijinks in the dorm, or otherwise undermine the general campus esprit de corps.
Christian students put a particular premium on learning truth (a time-honored practice in academic realms). They value life and the worth of every individual and have deeper incentives than most of their peers for treating those around them – even those with whom they disagree most fervently – with dignity, compassion, and respect.
Many are driven by the nature of their beliefs to share their faith with others, but most do so in appropriate and respectful ways. And proselytizing is not exactly a rarity on college campuses, where the urge is to make converts runs at least as strong among political theorists, sexual hedonists, and vegans as it does among Christians.
So, what’s not to like? Or, more to the point…what’s to despise, so aggressively?
Something, apparently – for the antipathy is intensifying, as more and more public universities coast to coast are creating and enforcing regulations clearly designed to silence, humiliate, and dispel Christian students.”
by Alan Sears
Why is Obama not destroying Trump’s political career by proving him wrong?
By Wayne Allyn Root
“Why exactly is Obama not destroying Trump’s political career by producing the birth certificate? It is so easy and simple — show it and the circus ends instantly. Trump’s gamble would turn into the biggest losing bet in modern political history.
Funny how the “crazy people†seem more credible every day, while the guy in the White House appears more and more as if he has something to hide. Every day that Obama refuses to answer, Trump appears more credible and more presidential . . . while Obama comes across more like the charlatan…I am not a birther, but I do believe there might be something damaging hidden in his college if not his birth records.
Why do I think that? Because Obama behaves suspiciously. Because he hires armies of lawyers to keep his records sealed. I also believe all Americans have a right to ask the question of the man who commands our army and our economy.
Ironically, the more Obama refuses to produce the proof, and the more millions of dollars he spends on legal maneuvering to hide that proof, the more concerned Americans become. Obama is the one stoking the fire, not Trump.”
http://www.newsmax.com/WayneAllynRoot/Obama-Trump-StandardandPoor-s-socialist/2011/04/20/id/393533
Tell Congress: It’s Time for Some Sanity when it comes to Security
Tell Congress: It’s Time for Some Sanity when it comes to Security
Posted by Gary in Law, News, Opinion, Threat Watch on 16/Apr/2011 12:44
It’s not often that the ACLU and I are on the same side of an issue.
From: ACLU
A 6-year old getting patted down at the airport — leaving her confused and in tears because she thought she did something wrong — is an example of the out-of-control searches and security measures in our airports.
Aviation security requires striking a delicate balance between the personal safety of passengers and their right to privacy. Unfortunately, TSA has developed increasingly invasive methods of searching passengers that are encroaching upon their rights. The TSA has subjected passengers to “enhanced†pat-downs, which have resulted in reports of people feeling humiliated and traumatized, and, in some cases, reports comparing their psychological impact to sexual assaults.
Tell Congress to support the bipartisan Aircraft Passenger Whole-Body Imaging Limitations Act of 2011. Read more.
via WarriorTimes
Tribute to a Fallen Comrade
From: Halo.bungie.org
Back in the 90’s, I was in a band called Zone R. It was a RnB/rap outfit that had some small success playing mostly friend’s birthday parties. Haha. We were pretty bad, but we had a lot of fun. Our bassist was a cool Samoan cat called Dirk. He was the best part of the band. No one I met could play bass like that man. He was astoundingly good. He was also one of the scariest people you could ever imagine. He looked like he had been through a million bar fights but underneath he was a teddy bear.He was in a local gang that used to shake down school kids so they could get coins to play Tekken at the Arcade. He hated doing it but his friends thought they were hardcore street thugs. Dirk broke away from them to pursue his dream of becoming a Veterinarian. He did that. It cost him his childhood friends but it meant he could rise above and provide for his family. He inspired his sister to also go to University. He was a leader and a hero to me when I too was lost. We met playing Tekken. I needed a bassist, he wanted to play.
He died today after a long fight with cancer. And I miss him. I love him and I know he would have loved to have seen a day when all of us were doing what we truly love with the courage to go for our dreams.
For you Dirk, Your friend forever, G.
National Right to Work Committee
Dear Concerned American,
You have an historic opportunity to break the cycle of tax-and-spend, political corruption and out of control budgets caused by Big Labor’s compulsory union power.
But you must strike now to make Congressmen and Senators choose between standing with the 80% of Americans who oppose forced unionism and Big Labor’s multi-billion dollar political machine.
You see, President Barack Obama and Big Labor allies in the Senate are now feverishly scheming to bury the National Right to Work Act without a vote.
So I have a question for you.
Will you be the sledgehammer?
Your signature on the petition to your Congressman and Senators is what is needed to bust through the opposition and force a vote on the National Right to Work Act.
This is an opportunity you and I cannot afford to miss.
Without your support for the National Right to Work Committee, they have little chance against Big Labor’s money and power in Congress.
It will be an epic, historic battle and your support is critical.
Please sign the petition below right away.
Sincerely,
Rand Paul
U.S. Senator, (R-KY)
From: Rand Paul
Financial Doom?
I saw today where the Japanese government has downgraded again its economic forecast due to its huge disaster. Also, all sides in the U.S. agree that if there is no increase in the U.S. debt limit then the U.S. is in danger of default on its debt. This means that everyone, dems and reps, agree that we need more debt to service the debt that we have. Therefore, we do NOT HAVE THE WILL to tackle our spending problems, which are primarily driven by programs benefiting the white middle class (mostly in the form of government funded jobs (see Wisconsin) and post-retirement medical benefits). Only, a relatively small percentage of our federal budget goes to “giveaways to the minorities” that we all like to vilify. I.e., to responsibly tackle the debt we need to cut ALL government programs by enough to: 1) balance the current budget and not add to the debt (this means by 0.8-1.5 trillion per year – the current deficit), and then 2) begin to repay our current mountain of existing debt (probably another 1.0-1.5 trillion per year). This means that the federal government would have to go on an extreme diet, if we ever hope to address this issue. Of course, it will not do that as no one wants to really tighten their belt by firing a bunch of white voters. So we are destined to spiral into a hyper-inflationary period that will resemble Germany after WWII (when the world piled a mountain of war debt on Germany that everyone knew it could not pay – the result was Hitler!). So, whether or not the U.S. (and therefore the world) is headed for an extreme depression is not even in question – the only question is when – i.e., how long can our “skillful” politicians be able to pacify our greed and put off the enevitable! Have a nice day. (:-{
The Food Police Are Here
A Chicago public school is not allowing students to bring lunches from home because according to the principal “Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school.”
We didn’t even get to the full implementation of the new “health care” law and already our children are being told what they can and cannot eat at school. This is a sign of things to come if people don’t start standing up against government overreach and supporting individual liberty.
The Most Perilous National Security Crisis Since 1860
From: The Patriot Post
The Most Perilous National Security Crisis Since 1860
· Thursday, April 7, 2011
A Time to Choose: Prosperity or Poverty
“To preserve independence…we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and Liberty, or profusion and servitude. … The fore horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follow that, and in its turn wretchedness and oppression.” –Thomas Jefferson
In the news this week, Barack Hussein Obama announced his 2012 re-election bid.
Plus…
The Treasury Department quietly mentioned that last month the government spent 8.2 times its net revenue.
Plus…
The Continuing Resolution authorizing additional borrowing for federal spending, a source of much political pretentiousness, expires on Friday. If there is no renewed CR, the result will be a partial government shutdown (read: “debt accumulation slowdown”), with dire consequences such as the suspension of IRS audits. Of course, the shutdown showdown is just the opening salvo in a war over how to fund the remaining five months of FY2011, which ends on 30 September, and, moreover, government budgets for 2012 and beyond.
Plus…
The price of oil, amid the Middle East meltdown precipitated by Obama’s leadership vacuum, is on the fast track back to its record high of $147/barrel. Indeed, it may be headed to more than $2-300/barrel if the Saudi government is the next to fall. Despite what the Obama administration would have us believe, oil is the lifeblood of the U.S. and world economy, and we have a critical national interest in sustaining that supply. However, because of Leftist energy policies, we do not have energy hedges including domestic oil and nuclear power alternatives.
Plus…
Consequently, gold bullion — the world’s primary barometer of concern about inflation, national debt, securities and real estate price declines, fiat currency failures, and warfare and social unrest — hit a nominal record high of $1,457 per troy ounce.
However, the most significant news this week, in light of the aforementioned reports, is the big Beltway budget brawl between those who are advocating the right path to economic prosperity and Liberty, and those who would stay the course toward economic catastrophe and tyranny.
The raucous political rhetoric over the federal budget sounds much like the perennial hyperbole between Right and Left over the constitutional authority of the central government and its spending priorities. However, the outcome of the current debate is much more than a budget agreement for next year and the next decade: It will determine whether our nation will avert systemic economic collapse or collide with it head-on, plunging us into the most significant National Security Crisis since 1860, and condemning our posterity to the inevitable institution of socialism and the abject tyranny that accompanies it.
If a majority of our countrymen are not able to distinguish between the veracity of this grave assertion and political playbook hyperbole, the consequences for the next generation of Americans will be grim as the light of Liberty fades.
The danger of public debt was of great concern to our nation’s Founders.
As George Washington wrote, “No pecuniary consideration is more urgent, than the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt: on none can delay be more injurious, or an economy of time more valuable.” James Madison declared, “Having never been a proselyte to the doctrine, that public debts are public benefits … I consider them, on the contrary, as evils which ought to be removed as fast as honor and justice will permit.” Thomas Jefferson warned, “To preserve independence … we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and Liberty, or profusion and servitude. … The fore horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follow that, and in its turn wretchedness and oppression.”
Regrettably, few today attach much reverence to the words of such men. Fewer still — especially those who lived through the last Great Depression — remain among us to attest in first person to its tragic consequences for our nation, for its people, and for our legacy of Liberty.
To paraphrase philosopher George Santayana, “Ignorance of historical tragedy begets its replication.”
Make no mistake: We are at a tipping point.
Allegations of CIA involvement in drug trafficking
On November 15, 1996, there was a town meeting in Los Angeles on allegations of CIA involvement in drug trafficking. Former Los Angeles Police Narcotics Detective Mike Ruppert seized the opportunity to confront then CIA Director John Deutch.
Afghan UN riot: The only people responsible for murder are the murderers themselves.
Terry Jones did not incite violence.
Afghani imams incited violence.
The world needs to begin holding imams accountable rather than blaming people who speak out against radical Islam.