Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Congressional Democrats Attempting To Push Back Against Supreme Court Free Speech Ruling
The Los Angeles Times reports that Democratic legislators are hoping to "swiftly" pass a "proposed bill, which is aimed largely at making life more uncomfortable for corporations that wish to take advantage of the high court's decision, in advance of this year's congressional primaries and general election. The package is in direct response to the high court's ruling last month in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission, which struck down federal limits on corporate spending in elections as a violation of freedom of speech... But many conservatives and some liberals cheered the ruling, calling it a victory for freedom of speech. And several Republicans in Congress praised it, suggesting that passing a bill could be tough."
Tweet
Cartoon In Saudi Daily: Iran Enriches Uranium Faster Than Obama Can Formulate Sanctions
To see the cartoon for yourself, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/24683.htm. Tweet
Joe Scarborough Vs. Chris Wallace On Wallace's Supposed "Eye Roll" After Palin Interview
Scarborough's initial response to what he saw as the eye roll: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Chris Wallace responded very forcefully to the "Morning Joe" coverage of the quick movement of his eyes:
Tweet
Texas Tea Party Candidate For Governor Admits To Being A 9-11 Truther On Glenn Beck's Radio Show
This candidate should be completely disowned by everyone inside and outside the Tea Party movement and pressured to get out of the race. When you are a part of the Tea Party movement and even Glenn Beck thinks you are nuts, you know there is something wrong. This candidate has come, according to some polls, within the margin of error for second place to be Texas's governor. She says that the "9-11 Truther" conspiracy theorists raise "good questions" that "haven't been answered." The nutter ignoramus candidate is completely wrong, they have been answered by reputable sources such as Popular Mechanics for a very long time: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1227842.html.
Tweet
Obama Ready To Break Tax Pledge As He Is Now “Agnostic” About Raising Taxes On Households Making Less Than $250,000
Bloomberg reports that "Barack Obama said he is 'agnostic' about raising taxes on households making less than $250,000 as part of a broad effort to rein in the budget deficit. Obama, in a Feb. 9 Oval Office interview, said that a presidential commission on the budget needs to consider all options for reducing the deficit, including tax increases and cuts in spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. 'The whole point of it is to make sure that all ideas are on the table,' the president said in the interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which will appear on newsstands Friday. 'So what I want to do is to be completely agnostic, in terms of solutions.' Obama repeatedly vowed during the 2008 presidential election campaign that he would not raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 and households earning less than $250,000 a year. When senior White House economic adviser Lawrence H. Summers and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner suggested in August that the administration might be open to going back on that pledge, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs quickly reiterated the president’s promise." Tweet
Newt Gingrich Vs. Jon Stewart
For the purpose of fairness, it should be pointed out that Newt did make a factual error. When Jon Stewart argued that the Republican criticism of Obama for mirandizing the underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was unwarranted as the Bush administration had also mirandized the shoe bomber Richard Reid, Gingrich said “Richard Reid is an American citizen.” In fact, he is a British citizen.
What Gingrich should have said was what former Bush speechwriter Mark Thiessen has pointed out: "The Richard Reid attack came almost immediately after 9/11, long before we figured out that we had other options than handing him over to law enforcement. After that came Jose Padilla, who was arrested at the Chicago airport on a mission from KSM to blow up apartment buildings in the United States. He was taken out of the criminal-justice system, declared an illegal enemy combatant, and transferred to the Charleston brig for interrogation."
Bill Buck and Dana Perino further point out that Richard Reid "could have been subject to President Bush’s military order. In late December 2001, however, there were no military commissions in operation, Guantanamo was not yet open to hold detainees, and no one was being held in the U.S. as an enemy combatant." For their full discussion of what Bush did do, and would have done, had the underwear bomber been apprehended while he was President, visit http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YzM0NDVjZjkzMGU0MTYxNGNlZjEwMDA3ZmE0YWIxYzk.
Tweet
Ahmadenijad: Iran Is Now A "Nuclear State" Having Capability To Produce Weapons Grade Uranium
The MailOnline reports that "Iran is now a 'nuclear state', President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this morning. He spoke as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Despite fears of violence, opposition supporters found themselves largely overwhelmed by the clerical regime and pro-government demonstrators. The massive security clampdown appeared to succeed in preventing protesters from converging into a cohesive demonstrations. Large numbers of riot police, members of the Revolutionary Guard and Basij militiamen, some on motorcycles, deployed in back streets near key squares and major avenues in the capital to move against protesters. This morning Ahmadinejad told scores of cheering Iranians that the Islamic Republic is capable of producing weapons-grade uranium."
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency points out that the announcement from the Iranian President that it has produced its first highly enriched uranium comes only "a day after he said that Israel must be finished off 'once and for all.' Ahmadinejad announced Thursday the successful production of Iran's first package of highly enriched uranium, two days after he ordered the processing to begin. The president of the Islamic Republic told the country on live television Thursday that Iran had become a nuclear state. He added, however, that the country is not building nuclear weapons...The announcement came a day after Ahmadinejad told Syrian President Bashar Assad in a phone conversation reported by Reuters citing Iran's state broadcaster that 'If the Zionist regime should repeat its mistakes and initiate a military operation, then it must be resisted with full force to put an end to it once and for all.'"
Tweet
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Proposed Wyoming Legislation Attempts To Counter The Use Of The Commerce Clause As A Presumptive Justification For Federal Laws
Wyoming State Representative Allen Jaggi has introduced House Bill HB 95, the “Wyoming Firearms Freedom Act” (FFA), in his State legislature. Though the Act's title implies that it is only a bill increasing the right to own a handgun, if passed this bill would amount to much more than that. It is specifically meant to bolster the Second Amendment at the same time as it counters the interpretation of the Commerce Clause (article 1, section 8, clause 3 of the United States Constitution) by the Supreme Court that for the most part presumptively allows Congress to pass all sorts of federal legislation. The Act states, "A personal firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Wyoming and that remains exclusively within the borders of Wyoming is not subject to federal law, federal taxation or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of the United States congress to regulate interstate commerce. It is declared by the Wyoming legislature that those items have not traveled in interstate commerce. This section applies to a firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition that is manufactured in Wyoming from basic materials and that can be manufactured without the inclusion of any significant parts imported from another state or foreign country." The Act explains that "[t]he regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under the ninth and tenth amendments to the United States constitution, particularly if not expressly preempted by federal law pursuant to article 1, section 8 of the United States constitution. The United States congress has not expressly preempted state regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of firearms, firearms accessories and ammunition." Tweet
CNN: "Tenther" Movement Aims To Put Power Back In States' Hands
The Tenth Amendment, the last in the Bill of Rights, states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
CNN reports that their "message is loud and clear: Big government is out of control; states need to take back their constitutional rights. A movement has been growing over the past two years of urging states to exert their rights under the 10th Amendment... A number of states have passed resolutions that assert their rights. While the resolutions have no legal teeth, they're intended to carry a message: States' rights are being trampled on. The anger behind the so-called 'Tenther' movement comes from what advocates see as the federal government's forcing policies on the states -- most notably on health care reform, economic recovery measures and social issues... Michael Boldin, the founder of the Tenth Amendment Center, said the amendment is simply a reinforcement that the people created the federal government -- and the 'people are in charge.' His organization helps provide information to grass-roots groups looking to strengthen the sovereignty of states. Boldin pointed to several states laws that have been passed -- such as medical marijuana and same-sex marriage -- as examples why states should be able to decide their own fate. 'These really important issues ... were supposed to be left close to home,' he said. 'That way you can have a huge country with all kinds of viewpoints living in peace because you don't have people battling each other for the federal prize.' Steven Schwinn -- a law professor at John Marshall Law School and Constitution expert -- says that the amendment is too vague to be used as an argument for state sovereignty on key issues such as economic recovery, marijuana laws and same-sex marriage. 'To say that the 10th Amendment somehow empowers states or gives them state sovereignty is just reading way too much into the text,' he said. 'The 10th Amendment just can't bear that weight.' But don't tell that to the 37 state legislatures that introduced sovereignty measures in 2009. According to the Tenth Amendment Center, seven state legislatures -- Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee -- have passed such legislation. All the resolutions, Schwinn noted, are nonbinding and do not carry any legal muscle. Tennessee and Alaska, in particular, went a step further: The governors in each state, including Sarah Palin of Alaska, signed their respective legislatures' resolutions."
CNN further reports that already "in 2010, sovereignty resolutions have been introduced in 17 states. One of the first to move the ball forward this year is Alabama; the legislature voted in late January to approve a state sovereignty resolution. Roy Moore -- a former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who was removed from office for refusing a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument -- commended Alabama's decision. I am certainly pleased that the Alabama Legislature has passed a resolution affirming the sovereignty of our state under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,' he wrote. 'Alabama now joins many other states which have passed such resolutions as a principled response to unprecedented threats to our liberties by the bloated and ever-expanding federal government.' In early February, South Carolina's House voted overwhelmingly in favor of a state Senate resolution on sovereignty. It now returns to the Senate for action... And some lawmakers are also questioning the need for using the 10th Amendment in passing legislation. Last week, the Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee recommended for approval a nonbinding resolution that says the federal government has violated the 10th Amendment. The resolution -- was approved 10-1 by the committee. The one holdout -- Sen. David Haley, a Democrat from Kansas City -- told the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper that while he at times disagrees with the federal government, the push didn't necessarily warrant a sovereignty resolution."
Tweet
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Senate Committee On Environment And Public Works Postpones Global Warming Hearing Due To "Inclement Weather"
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works was forced to postpone a hearing entitled, "Global Warming Impacts, Including Public Health, in the United States" due to the record DC snowstorm.
The Hill reports that "Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Tuesday used the D.C. snowstorm to make a political jab, saying that it provides evidence for global warming skeptics. The conservative senator took to Twitter on Tuesday amid reports that the area is due to receive another 10 to 20 inches of snow this week: 'It's going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries 'uncle.'"
Tweet
Obama: "We Are...Working On...Developing A Significant Regime Of Sanctions" Against Iran
The Voice of America reports that as "Iran accelerated its nuclear program on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that major new sanctions on the Iranian government are being developed. The president says Tehran is still pursuing a program that would lead to nuclear weapons. President Obama said the process of developing further sanctions against Iran is moving along quickly. 'What we are going to be working on over the next several weeks is developing a significant regime of sanctions that will indicate to them how isolated they are from the international community as a whole,' said President Obama... Mr. Obama said Iran appears to have ignored his offer of engagement." Tweet
Iran Protester Sentenced To Death
CNN reports that an "Iranian court has sentenced one person to death and eight others to prison for their parts in anti-government demonstrations in December, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Tuesday. The nine defendants were tried last week over their roles in protests during the Shiite Muslim holy period of Ashura, Fars said, quoting the Tehran judiciary's public relations office. There now are 10 people sentenced to death and awaiting appeal in connection with the protests." Tweet
Rush Continues To Challenge Obama To Health Care Debate
Of course it is clear that such a debate would be of little value to Obama, and of great value to Rush Limbaugh in debating the President of the United States. It's not going to happen, but Rush keeps putting the challenge out there anyway:
Tweet
Johnn Brennan: "Politically Motivated Criticism And Unfounded Fear-Mongering Only Serve The Goals Of Al-Qaeda"
John Brennan is Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. He wrote the following in an op-ed in USA TODAY:
"Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of al-Qaeda. Terrorists are not 100-feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill. They will, however, be dismantled and destroyed, by our military, our intelligence services and our law enforcement community. And the notion that America’s counterterrorism professionals and America’s system of justice are unable to handle these murderous miscreants is absurd."
Apparently, Brennan missed the memo from the woman who became Secretary of State under the Obama administration:
Tweet
Monday, February 8, 2010
Alliance Defense Fund Files Lawsuit Against Florida Library Alleging Policy Prohibiting Religious Use Of Meeting Room Is Unconstitutional
The Alliance Defense Fund reports that ADF "attorneys filed a lawsuit Thursday against the New Smyrna Beach Public Library on behalf of a man who was prohibited from reserving a public meeting room for a 'Religion in America' seminar. Library policy forbids religious uses of meeting rooms. 'Christian groups shouldn’t be excluded and denied access to public meeting rooms because of their beliefs,' said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. 'Having a policy explicitly designed to exclude religious groups from meeting in public facilities is blatantly unconstitutional.' New Smyrna Beach Public Library officials rejected Anthony Verdugo’s application to reserve a meeting room for a seminar to be presented by the Christian Coalition entitled 'Religion in America,' which was set to address current social issues in our nation from a biblical perspective. ADF attorneys argue in the suit that the library is in violation of the First and 14th Amendments by rejecting Verdugo’s request and enforcing a policy prohibiting the religious use of its public meeting rooms. The lawsuit, Verdugo v. New Smyrna Beach Public Library, was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida-Orlando. An Osceola County library refused to allow the same seminar in one of its public meeting rooms, resulting in a separate lawsuit that ADF attorneys filed in November... ADF is also representing a New York City church that is fighting to be allowed to continue renting a public school facility for its religious services. In Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York, city officials are violating the church’s constitutional rights by denying it rental access to public school buildings based strictly on the fact that it is a church."
This is not the first case of this kind that the ADF has filed. The ADF reports that in "a similar case, ADF attorneys secured a court order in June 2009 preventing a California public library from banning a Christian group from its public meeting room. In the suit Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries v. Glover, the court ruled that Contra Costa County officials cannot ban meetings it labels 'religious services' at the Antioch Branch Library. In addition, ADF attorneys worked together with officials in the city of Richmond, Calif., and town of Elk River, Minn., to rectify similarly problematic policies that prohibited religious meetings in their community centers."
Tweet
Iran's Leader Says Israel's Destruction Is "Imminent"
The AFP reports that "Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday the destruction of Iran's arch-foe Israel was "imminent,' and called for continued resistance against the Jewish state, state media reported. 'I am very optimistic about the future of Palestine and believe Israel is on the steep path of decline and deterioration,' Khamenei told Ramadan Abdullah, the secretary general of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad. 'God willing, its destruction will be imminent,' the Islamic republic's all-powerful leader said. 'Continued resistance and hope for victory should be taken into consideration.'" Tweet
Feds Admit Wrongly Tracking Abortion Groups
The AP reports that "the U.S. Department of Homeland Security improperly conducted a threat assessment of Wisconsin pro- and anti-abortion rights groups before an expected rally last year. The DHS said in a memo released last year that it destroyed or deleted all of the copies of the assessment after an internal review found it violated intelligence gathering guidelines about 'protest groups which posed no threat to homeland security.' The assessment was shared only with the director of Wisconsin's intelligence-sharing center and police in Middleton, where the rally was expected to take place. The report was compiled prior to a February 2009 meeting in Middleton by the University of Wisconsin Hospital board to decide whether to open a clinic that would offer late-term abortions."
Lifenews.com reports that in "response to an open records request by the Alliance Defense Fund and Pro-Life Wisconsin, the Middleton Police Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice, along with the Department of Homeland Security all refused on February 4 to release copies of the threat assessment."
Tweet
Federal Judge That Is To Decide Constitutionality Of Prop 8 And Traditional Marriage Is Himself Gay
NBC Bay Area reports that it turns "out 9th District Court of Appeals Judge Vaughn Walker, who is currently considering testimony in the closely watched marriage-rights case regarding the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, is himself gay... Asked if he had any problem with the issue of his sexuality being raised so publicly, Walker responded 'No comment.'" Tweet
Leon de Winter: "Stop The Trial Of Geert Wilders"
Dutch novelist and adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute Leon de Winter writs in the Wall Street Journal that what "started as a trial against Geert Wilders for alleged Islamophobia has nearly turned into its opposite: a historical case about the message of the Quran" and argues that this "preposterous trial needs to be stopped right now." To read the full article visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703906204575026532718536518.html?mod=googlenews_wsj.
As was reported by the London Times, Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), is facing charges for his outspoken anti-Islamic comments and his film Fitna.
Tweet
Yemen-Based Al-Qaeda Wing: "You Have No Other Way...Than To Wage Jihad" Against "The Christians, The Jews, And The Treacherous Apostate Rulers"
Reuters reports that the "Yemen-based wing of al-Qaeda called on Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula to wage jihad, or holy war, against Christians and Jews in the region."
"The Christians, the Jews, and the treacherous apostate rulers have pounced on you...you have no other way out from this plight other than to wage jihad," the wing's deputy leader, Saeed al-Shehri, said in an audio tape. Al-Shehri is a former Saudi inmate at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay that was released, and who has since then become a leader in the global jihad. "We advise you, our people in the Peninsula, to prepare and carry your weapons and to defend your religion and yourselves and to join your mujahideen brothers," he said.
Tweet
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran Is Set To Deliver "Punch" That Will Stun World
The AFP reports that "Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a 'punch' that will stun world powers during this week's 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. 'The Iranian nation, with its unity and God's grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned,' Khamenei, who is also Iran's commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel. The country's top cleric was marking the occasion when Iran's air force gave its support to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a key event which led to the toppling of the US-backed shah on February 11, 1979. His comments came as Iran said it would begin to produce higher enriched uranium from Tuesday, in defiance of Western powers trying to ensure the country's nuclear drive is peaceful. This year's anniversary is expected to become a flashpoint between security forces and supporters of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who charge that the June re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rigged." Tweet
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Secret Super Bowl Ad Featuring Letterman, Leno, And Oprah
The idea for this ad reportedly came from David Letterman:
Tweet
RSS Feed (xml)