Americans get an 'F' in Citizenship; Obama finally vists Southern Border
One thousand Americans recently took the U.S. citizenship test as a part of an experiment for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. According to Newsweek, 10 questions were chosen at random from a pool of 100 for the test, with six correct answers needed to pass. After 38 percent failed, Newsweek declared the "country's future is imperiled by our ignorance." These are some of the startling results that were published in the May issue of Townhall Magazine
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In the line of citizenship, immigration is becoming more of an issue than ever before. With President Obama's recent visit to the U.S. border with Mexico, we now see the direction he is going. Treating it more like a campaign stop than anthing else, News Editor Katie Pavlich breaks down yesterday's speech. You can read more from Katie in this month's issue of Townhall Magazine.
Obama Finally Visits U.S.-Mexico BorderThe president is leading the progressive charge in forcing environmental conscientiousness upon the masses. He has made it his presidential mission to implement "green energy" and "clean jobs" into the American economy, market signals be damned. Obama believes that the accomplishment of such a wildly noble, unquestioningly beneficial goal must be solely the duty of the federal government, but if he were to examine past governmental efforts to intervene in environmental affairs, he might notice that those experiments did far more harm than good.
President Obama laid out his plan for amnesty comprehensive immigration reform today in El Paso, Texas, saying illegal immigrants make good democrat voters immigrants are the way to expand the middle class, make America more competitive on a global level and said immigration reform is an economic imperative, which it is considering illegal immigration costs Arizona and California over $12 billion per year.
The President did what was expected by lumping all immigrants together and failed to distinguish the difference between the two, in fact, Obama went out of his way to make sure Americans believed their was no difference as he referenced immigrants from different countries coming to America and seeing Lady Liberty.
It was a reminder of a simple idea, as old as America itself. E pluribus, unum. Out of many, one. We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants - a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America's precepts. That's why millions of people, ancestors to most of us, braved hardship and great risk to come here - so they could be free to work and worship and live their lives in peace. The Asian immigrants who made their way to California's Angel Island. The Germans and Scandinavians who settled across the Midwest. The waves of the Irish, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Jewish immigrants who leaned against the railing to catch that first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.
And I think of the naturalization ceremonies we've held at the White House for members of the military, which have been so inspiring.
President Obama said the fence was now "basically complete." This declaration is completely false. The fence along the southern border in total equals 670 miles. The entire southern border is 2000 miles long, which is nowhere near, "basically complete." On top of a meager border fence, the February 2011, Government Accountability Office report shows "1120 southwest border miles have not yet achieved operational control." Also, according to Sheriffs working and living on the U.S.-Mexico border, Obama's assertion that his administration has done it's part to enforce the border is laughable.
Well, over the past two years we have answered those concerns. Under Secretary Napolitano's leadership, we have strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible. They wanted more agents on the border. Well, we now have more boots on the ground on the southwest border than at any time in our history. The Border Patrol has 20,000 agents ��� more than twice as many as there were in 2004, a build up that began under President Bush and that we have continued.
They wanted a fence. Well, that fence is now basically complete.
So, we have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement. Obama took credit for confiscating 64 percent more weapons than ever before. Well, that's what happens when the federal government sends thousands of guns into Mexico in the first place through Operation Fast and Furious under the Obama Justice Department and ATF, of course it becomes easier to confiscate more guns when you put more into an area to begin with.
Obama also called again for the passing of the DREAM Act which failed in the Senate during the previous lame duck session. As a refresher, the DREAM Act if passed would allow children of illegal immigrants to gain citizenship if they go to college or join the military. Or as Obama put it, "Stop punishing children for their parents' mistakes."
Obama asked both sides to avoid playing politics with the issue in order to get to the next election, which was ironic considering the odds of completing immigration reform in the short time remaining during his first term are slim, making his speech today look solely like a political move.
That's one reason it's been so difficult to reform our broken immigration system. When an issue is this complex and raises such strong feelings, it's easier for politicians to defer the problem until after the next election. And there's always a next election. So we've seen a lot blame and politics and ugly rhetoric. We've seen good faith efforts - from leaders of both parties - fall prey to the usual Washington games.
On another note, Obama asked the audience if he needed to build a moat on the border to make republicans happy. There is already a moat on the border Mr. President, it's called the Rio Grande. This was the first visit by Obama to the U.S.-Mexico border despite being invited numerous times by local officials in border states to do so.
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Thursday May 12, 2011 @ 09:24 AM ET
1. CNN: 'Is It Time for the GOP to Blink When It Comes to Tax Hikes?'
CNN's Jack Cafferty hinted Monday that despite Republican opposition to tax hikes, the extra revenue could help the country. Then on Tuesday morning, anchor Carol Costello framed Republicans as being on the wrong side of the tax debate. Costello asked if it is time "for the GOP to blink" on tax hikes, adding that "many economists" say tax hikes don't necessarily hurt job growth.
2. George Stephanopoulos Cherry Picks High Obama Polling, Skips Lower Numbers
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday hyped the best polling data available for President Obama, ignoring surveys finding much lower numbers. The co-anchor enthused, "And a new poll out just this morning shows President Obama with his highest approval rating in two years." "60% Of Americans, according to the AP, now think the President is doing a good job," he added. But, the poll is really an outlier. Rasmussen has Obama at 48 percent. Gallup finds 52. However, Stephanopoulos ignored those numbers and focused on the AP data: "And for the first time in that poll, a majority of Americans, 53 percent, say he deserves re-election."
3. Flashback: ABCCCP Tossed Softballs to bin Laden's Son and Touted His 'Glamorous' Wife
While Good Morning America covered the news that Omar bin Laden, the son of the terrorist mastermind, has condemned the U.S. for his father's killing, no mention was made of GMA's January 22, 2008 friendly interview with the young man. On Wednesday, reporter Jim Sciutto explained, "Another of bin Laden's son, Omar, who is living in Saudi Arabia and other family members have condemned the raid, calling it an illegal assassination of an unarmed man."
4. CBS Plays Up Obama's Mockery of GOP on Border Security, No Opposing Clip
On Wednesday's Early Show. CBS's Bill Plante highlighted President Obama's recent mockery against Republicans on border security, but omitted playing an opposing clip from a GOP politico. The President jabbed the opposing party during the speech in El Paso, Texas: "Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they'll want alligators in the moat." The morning show was alone among the Big Three in covering the event. Plante noted at the beginning of his report, which aired 3 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour, that "the President went all the way to the Mexican border to make the case for immigration reform, trying to get over the heads of the Republicans who are blocking it here in Washington. Mr. Obama said that his administration has answered the complaints of Republicans about border security with more agents, a border fence, and aerial surveillance, going above and beyond what they asked for."
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Philadelphia schools reported that instruction was 54 percent of its expenditures, but including capital costs and other expenses, only 31 percent of its spending was instructional, says Michael Barba, a graduate student fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis...
NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS
Despite having the highest corporate tax rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations, the United States raises less revenue from the corporate tax than the OECD average...
REASON MAGAZINE
Emergency room visits in Massachusetts rose 9 percent from 2004 to 2008, to about 3 million visits a year...
BOSTON GLOBE
Approximately 26,400 black males lost their jobs as a result of increases in the minimum wage between 2007 and 2010...
WASHINGTON EXAMINER/EMPLOYMENT POLICIES INSTITUTE
Hybrid autos accounted for two of the top 10 most expensive repairs in 2010...
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN | |
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| The recent dispute between Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian President Ahmadinejad has led to increased tensions between supporters of each party. Violent clashes erupted between the two groups, and several people were injured.
Many believe that if this conflict leads to a separation between Iran’s leader and president, it may lead to the fall of the entire current regime, a regime that has been murdering and oppressing its citizens for the past 30 years.
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Exclusive Clip (Iranium): "Apocalypse Now"
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Iran: The Purge of the Hojatieh Society Showdown in the Shia Corridors of Power
By Gary H. Johnson, Jr. |
“A nation from the East will rise and prepare the way for the coming of the Mahdi”
-Prophet Muhammad, Hadith tradition
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s defiance of Ayatollah Khameini, Iran’s Supreme Leader, is no laughing matter. An 11-day strike by President Ahmadinejad has ended with the arrest of 25 of his associates on the charge of sorcery – a charge which carries the penalty of death. Ahmadinejad’s Chief of Staff, Esfandiar Rahim Masheia, lies at the heart of the controversy. Rumor has it that “Mashaei allegedly occasionally enters a trance-like state to communicate with the Twelfth Imam or will sometimes randomly say ‘hello’ to no one at all and then explain that the Twelfth Imam just passed by.”  |
The Iranian Death Spiral Resumes
By Michael Ledeen |
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So now the Ahmadinejad people and the Khamenei people are fighting it out in the streets of Tehran, as Reza tells us. Those who have followed this blog for some time will recognize it as the latest phase in what I call "The War of the Persian Succession," a nasty fight over who will be the next Supreme Leader of Iran, after the passing of Khamenei.
Remember, too, that Mousavi — the leader of a Green Movement that is very much a player in this struggle — designed a strategy that would lead to the implosion of the regime, not its overthrow in a dramatic confrontation. He believes that the internal conflicts are so severe, that if only pressure can be maintained, the system will come down. He hoped that pressure would come from the West, but it didn’t (even though the sanctions have made life more difficult). So the process is slower than it might have been, but still moving along the lines he designed. |
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Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) created the Iranian Dissident Awareness Program to allow U.S. citizens to become familiar with the dissidents and political prisoners who are fighting for freedom and democracy in Iran. Learn more about these brave individuals here. | | | | |
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Afghans lead poppy eradication operations
Posted: 11 May 2011 06:24 AM PDT
ZABUL, Afghanistan (May 5, 2011) — Under the direction of Zabul Provincial Gov. Ashraf Naseri, over 90 Afghan National Security Force, or ANSF, members conducted the first poppy eradication event this year in Zabul province, Afghanistan. |
Now, I know nobody who reads this blog is surprised by the AP skewing their poll data in favor of the Democrats. But 17 points? Sheesh! (okay the link thingy here is doing weird things - here's the link: http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/266932/latest-ap-poll-sample-skews-democrats-17-points.
Wow! The AP poll has Obama’s approval rating hitting 60 percent! And 53 percent say he deserves to be reelected!
And on the economy, 52 percent approve of the way Obama’s handling it, and only 47 percent disapprove! He’s up 54–46 on approval of how he’s handling health care! On unemployment, 52 percent approval, 47 percent disapproval! 57 percent approval on handling Libya! Even on the deficit, he’s at 47 percent approval, 52 percent disapproval!
It is a poll of adults, which isn’t surprising; as I mentioned yesterday, you don’t have to be a registered or likely voter to have an opinion on the president.
But then you get to the party ID: 46 percent identify as Democrat or leaning Democrat, 29 percent identify as Republican or leaning Republican, 4 percent identify as purely independent leaning towards neither party, and 20 percent answered, “I don’t know.”
That's Jim Geraghty over at National Review Online. As one of the commenters says, they must really be getting desperate to skew the sampling that much. Apparently their internal polling is not looking good for Obama. We can only hope and pray, and pray some more.
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Wednesday May 11, 2011 @ 09:58 AM EDT
1. Matt Lauer Worries Debt Ceiling Fight Will 'Shatter' National Unity, Urges 'Increase in Revenue'
In an interview with Speaker of the House John Boehner on Tuesday's Today on NBCCCP, co-host Matt Lauer fretted over the upcoming debate on raising the nation's debt limit: "...after the news surfaced that Osama bin Laden had been killed there was this – a good feeling in this country....Are we going to see that unity shattered in the coming weeks when we start to debate things like the debt ceiling?" Later, Lauer hit Boehner from left: "Why not use an increase in revenues? Tax hikes to help with that debt problem? What is the evidence that you can present that the tax cuts of the Bush era have actually accomplished their goals?"
2. Veteran Newsman Demands Media Become Even More Hostile to GOP Policies
House Speaker John Boehner took the outrageous step - to liberals, anyway - of insisting that any increase in the federal debt limit be accompanied by spending cuts and budget reforms. Within hours of Boehner's Monday night speech, Carl Bernstein on the Tuesday edition of MSNBCCCP's Morning Joe was exhorting his fellow journalists to push the line that Boehner's approach would be a disaster. "The press has got to start reporting on the economy and the debate in a different way," Bernstein, a veteran of the Washington Post, ABCCCP News and Time magazine insisted. He added: "We go ahead and do what John Boehner says, you are really going to see the economy tank. You're going to see a disaster!"
3. CBS Finds Sympathetic College Student to Use to Promote Obama's Push for 'Dream Act'
Pedro Ramirez knows his “future depends on” President Barack Obama’s success in passing “immigration reform,” specifically the “Dream Act,” CBS’s John Blackstone asserted in a Tuesday night story which corroborated the need for Obama’s quest by holding up Ramirez as an innocent victim. “He is student body president at California State University at Fresno where he'll graduate this month following years of accomplishment,” Blackstone heralded, “until his parents admitted to him they've been living here illegally since he was three years old. Last year he joined other young undocumented immigrants pushing for passage of the Dream Act." Linking Ramirez’s plight to Obama’s policy solution, Blackstone asserted: “On the Texas border today, the President called for those who want immigration reform to help push an entrenched Congress.”
4. NPR's Liasson Excludes Amnesty Opponents from Immigration Story
NPR's Mara Liasson noticeably left out anti-illegal immigration conservatives on Tuesday's Morning Edition as she reported on President's Obama's latest push for "comprehensive" immigration reform. Liasson only played clips from the President, Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and Republican consultant Marty Wilson, who claimed that "the hardline approach on immigration...is not going to work." Host Steve Inskeep introduced the correspondent's report by noting the President's forthcoming speech later in the day outlining his "principles for an immigration overhaul." He continued by recalling how "President Bush's immigration efforts encountered opposition from his own party, and many Republicans are also likely to resist President Obama's efforts."
5. Ed Schultz Tangles With a Guest More Liberal Than Him, Spins Obama as 'on the Footsteps of Greatness'
MSNBCCCP's Ed Schultz is so pro-Barack Obama that he wasn't the most liberal person on his Monday program. The Ed Show host hyperbolically praised the President as "on the footsteps of greatness" and tangled with a guest who refused to agree that Osama bin Laden was guilty. Grit TV anchor Laura Flanders appeared on the program to out-liberal Shultz, arguing, "...You can say a lot of things about what happened Sunday night [with the killing of bin Laden]. You can say it was justified. But justice is not the word. It wasn't what we stand up for around the world and call justice."
6. Howard Kurtz Uses Osama Death to Rerun Charge Media Were 'Too Passive' Toward Bush on Terror
On Sunday's Reliable Sources, CNN host Howard Kurtz used the killing of Osama bin Laden to revisit how the media were too deferential to the Bush Administration. Kurtz questioned the validity of the terror alerts in the years following 9/11 and wondered if they were used for political gain. Kurtz, comparing the press coverage of the bin Laden assassination and the War on Terror, pondered if there was a "climate of fear" post-9/11 and asked "did the media contribute to that?"
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Globally, grid-connected solar capacity increased an average of 60 percent annually from 2004 to 2009, faster than any other energy source, says H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis...
NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS
The average wait in Massachusetts for a non-emergency internal medicine appointment is almost seven weeks...
REUTERS/MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY
American companies paid nearly $100 billion in income taxes to foreign governments on foreign taxable income in 2007...
TAX FOUNDATION
Adjusted for inflation, housing prices stayed nearly flat from the end of World War II until the mid-1990s...
REASON FOUNDATION
Low-risk substance abuse offenders directed into an evidence-based probation and treatment program were 22 percent less likely to recidivate within a year after the program than comparable offenders sent to prison...
TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION | |
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It's already started!
The Democrats' attack arm (the "DCCC") has issued a press release pledging to take out conservative Republican Congressman Thad McCotter (MI-11), one of the GOP's most dependable conservative votes – and by all accounts its most glib and eloquent spokesman.
And they didn't just PLEDGE – they've already sent radio ads and robo-calls into his district to make good on their pledge.
Thad is one of only two non-freshman incumbents out of the 19 announced DCCC targets. THEY WANT HIM BAD!
This email will tell you why they hate him:
- why the left-wing crusader Rachel Maddow has attacked him on her hate-filled MSNBC show;
- why the despicable talking head Keith Olbermann called him the Devil, and "the worst person in the world;"
- why billionaire George Soros' MoveOn.org has picketed his Michigan office repeatedly, holding vigils and press conferences denouncing his conservative record on everything from the war for freedom against terror to his votes against the most recent spate of "continuing resolutions."
Unfortunately, this email will also tell you why we have to take their threats seriously!
 Part of that is because solid conservative Thad McCotter represents a district that is NOT solidly conservative – lying in the decidedly Democratic suburbs of Detroit, it gave Barack Obama a 9-point victory over John McCain. Ouch! This ain't Idaho!
It's a testament to Thad's fighting spirit and unbelievable work ethic that he has survived for five terms in a district that by all rights should NOT be in the GOP column. He won that 2008 election with a mere 51% of the vote.
There's worse news still: Michigan is losing a congressional seat as a result of the reapportionment following the 2010 decennial census. The Democrat sharks smell blood in the redistricting water, and can't wait to take Thad out.
Help Thad out by contributing to his campaign committee today
The Washington Post says Thad's likely opponent is liberal Democrat incumbent Gary Peters, currently representing a neighboring district, who has already made clear he is going to run again no matter whose district they put him in. And in the first quarter of this year, Peters raised an unbelievable half-million dollars in support of his next race!
Why do you think Peters has been able to shake that liberal money tree? Pure and simple, it's because THE LEFT HATES THAD McCOTTER!
That's because Thad is rock solid on all the issues conservatives care about and not afraid of who knows it, and constantly articulating the conservative viewpoint unapologetically day in and day out in every medium from Fox News to Twitter to Red Eye to Facebook.
Here's a quick and dirty on Thad McCotter. He grew up in Detroit to parents who were both schoolteachers. He went to Detroit Catholic Central High, where he was a football star and played in a rock band. Now he's a 45 year-old lawyer, a married father of three who lives between a cop and an autoworker in Livonia, a city on the outskirts of Detroit.
Thad still plays in a band, but this one – "The Second Amendments" – comprises five current or former Congressmen, and plays only for charity, like the time they played for the American troops in Kuwait.
Thad McCotter is pro-life, pro-family, and pro-gun, and NOT looking for any "truces" with the Left on these types of important issues – and that's exactly what he told the audience at the Reagan Ranch in California last week.
Afraid he might sell out on second amendment issues? No chance. He's one of the few public figures courageous enough to say our right to keep and bear arms comes not from the constitution, but from God.
Illegal immigration? Research his record -- Thad has a special place in his heart for those fleeing tyranny and wants to preserve an open door for them, but insists that we must secure our borders, period. No anchor babies, no chain migration, no social security. No citizenship and endless government benefits for babies strategically birthed at the border by those who are not citizens.
Absolutely no "Sanctuary Cities." NO AMNESTY. Go home. If you come back, come back legally, and learn to speak English, because it is our national language. (U.S. English has consistently given Thad their "A in English" award.)
Thad's own father-in-law emigrated to this country from Mexico, and promptly fought for the United States in the Pacific in World War II. You don't have to worry about Thaddeus George McCotter on that score. He respects the immigrant, but will put America first.
And Thad is just as firm with the national purse strings. He was the first Congressman to announce his opposition to TARP, calling it "socialism," and "a 700 billion dollar bag of dung." When Bush, Obama, McCain, and the Congressional leadership were all chanting, "Too big to fail," Thad McCotter responded, "Too big AND failed."
 He and Mike Pence were the only members of the GOP leadership to vote against the Obama tax deal last December, hurriedly rushed through by the Democrats because the new, Republican-dominated House was about to come in.
Thad was with the small minority of courageous Republicans who bucked the leadership (yet again) to vote AGAINST both of the recent continuing resolution deals thrown together with liberal Democrat Harry Reid.
And he has sponsored again this congress a resolution calling for a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, and requiring the President to submit a BALANCED budget to the Congress each year.
Have concerns about where he stands on raising the debt ceiling above the already outrageous 14.3 trillion dollars? You shouldn't. When Thad was a 27 year-old member of the Wayne County Board of Commissioners, he spearheaded the effort to require any prospective tax increase for Wayne County residents to secure a 2/3rds super majority vote of the Commission, followed by a 60% majority vote of the electorate.
As an effective mouthpiece for the RIGHT, Thad often bears the brunt of the attacks from the Left on the major issues of the day. The environmental extremists called him a "caveman" for opposing Cap & Trade (which he called "Cap & Tax"), and ran ads in his district portraying him as a Neanderthal. It was a lovely thing for his three children to have to watch, but when you are effective on the RIGHT, you become a huge target for the LEFT.
A polyglot of liberals bashed Thad for opposing Obamacare, and fired up again recently when he called for its repeal.
Finally, with respect to issues of national security, no member of Congress in either party works harder to expose the threats presented by the Communist Chinese, the North Koreans, the Iranians, and the assorted radical Islamic terrorist elements out there.
Read anything Thad has written about the Communist Chinese in the last eight years and it will chill you to learn of the many, many ways in which they are infiltrating our institutions at every level, stealing our secrets and our work product, and undermining our economy and our military. 
Even more frightening is the fact that there are times when it seems Thad McCotter is the only voice out there pointing out these concerns.
Please don't let that voice be silenced by the DCCC, Barack Obama, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, and George Soros.
THAD NEEDS YOUR HELP! His district is a tough one and he has dodged many bullets, but this next one promises to be a real Donnybrook.
Can Thad count on you?
His opponents can rely on the liberal media to attack him and do their fundraising for them. They will point out the slim margins by which he has carried the district in the past. They will point out how effective he has been as a voice for America and her traditional conservative values – WHICH THEY DESPISE. They will point to a seasoned veteran congressman waiting in the wings to try to take Thad out, and his coffers will fill.
It has already started.
If you support what Thad McCotter stands for and want him to be around to fight for those values in the Congress, please donate as much as your heart tells you you can afford?
Can you make a donation of $500.00 to the cause? $250.00?
Even smaller donations add up when enough good Americans like you make them, so a $100 or $50 donation (or whatever you can manage) is more than welcome.We would be happy just to have you abroad!
We know you will do what your heart and conscience tell you, and trust that at a minimum your thoughts and prayers will be with Thad as he continues the hard work of freedom.
Thank you for your time, and may God bless you and yours.
Sincerely,
The McCotter Congressional Committee
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING ABOUT THAD McCOTTER:
Glennbeck.com's S.E. Cupp: "He is unflinchingly conservative, an unapologetic defender of American exceptionalism and the war on terror; he prizes good works over big promises."
Red Eye's Greg Gutfeld: "He's one of the few pols who seem less interested in impressing celebrities or making cheap points of sentimentality than preserving the freedoms unique to our delightful island nation."
Dennis Miller: "He's the most refreshingly candid Congressman I've ever interviewed."
National Review Online's Jay Nordlinger: McCotter "gave just about the most riveting short political speech I have ever heard."
PS. If you have any friends who you think might share Thad's values and want to help, please forward this email to them.
PAID FOR BY MCCOTTER CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE |
Dear Jim,
I'm sure you're just as outraged as I am by the Obama National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) latest assault on worker freedom.
Last month the Acting General Counsel of the NLRB, to appease International Association of Machinists union bosses, issued a complaint against Boeing for creating over 1000 new jobs in South Carolina, a Right to Work state.
"We consider this an attack on millions of workers in 22 right-to-work states, as well as a government-led act of intimidation against American companies that should have the freedom to choose to build plants in right-to-work states," Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) explained in a letter to President Obama signed by 17 other U.S. Senators.
They're right.
The union tyrants and their allies in the Obama Administration would rather shut down a plant than allow Boeing employees to work where they can't be forced to pay dues or "fees" to Big Labor.
That's why National Right to Work Foundation attorneys are offering free legal aid to victimized employees.
In fact, we've launched a media campaign including newspaper ads like the one above in the Charleston Post and Courier to alert Boeing Dreamliner workers.
By chipping in with a tax-deductible contribution of $10 or more today, you can help the Foundation's legal aid and public relations programs for cases just like this one.
Sincerely,
Mark Mix
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Tuesday May 10, 2011 @ 10:19 AM EDT
1. CBS Omits Waterboarding, Other Key Issues from Obama Interview
On Sunday's 60 Minutes, CBS's Steve Kroft failed to bring up key issues related to the killing of Osama bin Laden during an interview of President Obama. Most prominently, Kroft omitted the enhanced interrogation of captured al Qaeda leaders which provided the first intelligence that ultimately lead to the Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan. The journalist set the overall tone of his interview, which he conducted on Wednesday, by tossing a softball in his lead question to Obama: "Mr. President, was this the most satisfying week of your presidency?" After the chief executive gave his initial answer, Kroft followed up by asking, "Was the decision to launch this attack the most difficult decision that you've made as commander-in-chief?
2. MSNBCCCP's Chris Matthews: 'Torture Advocate' Dick Cheney Should Waterboard Karl Rove
MSNBCCCP's Chris Matthews on Monday continued to obsess over Dick Cheney, deriding the former Vice President as a "torture advocate" who should waterboard Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby. The Hardball anchor attacked Cheney for complaining that Barack Obama has ended Bush-era war on terror polices. Matthews offered this aside: "...But Cheney being Cheney- doesn't that sound like a good torture advocate name, by the way- he couldn't help but stick it to the President on this very issue."
3. Juan Williams Refers to the 'Murder' of bin Laden
While discussing what role President Bush and enhanced interrogations played in the death of Osama bin Laden, Fox News Sunday panelist Juan Williams referred to the terrorist's death as "murder." Responding to conservative Paul Gigot, Williams dismissed, "But to somehow say it's because we were engaged in enhanced interrogation, and that led- and it's a very uncertain path that it leads directly to the murder of Osama bin Laden- it seems to me petty, and it seems to me an attempt to diminish President Obama's accomplishments."
4. NBCCCP's Gregory Not Sure if Role of Enhanced Interrogation in bin Laden Killing is 'Objectively Knowable'
On NBCCCP's Meet the Press on Sunday, host David Gregory remained highly skeptical of the role enhanced interrogation tactics played in tracking down and killing Osama bin Laden: "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times. And based on reporting this week in NBCCCP News and outside, he never gave up the truth about the courier that led to bin Laden." In response to Gregory's assertions, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff referred to political partisans debating the issue: "...there will be people who will never be persuaded one way or the other about this." Gregory argued: "But it's a question of whether it's knowable....Is it objectively knowable?"
5. Washington Times and Washington Examiner Highlight MRC's 'DisHonors Awards'
Monday’s Washington Times and Washington Examiner wrote up short items on the MRC’s Saturday night gala. “The Media Research Center's 2011 ‘Dishonors Awards’ for the most liberally biased news reporting drew so many guests on Saturday evening that it was staged in the mammoth National Building Museum,” Jennifer Harper wrote in the lead item in her Washington Times “Inside the Beltway” column. “It was exactly what you would expect at a gala with some of the nation's most high-profile conservatives in media and politics - a lot of Keith Olbermann jokes,” observed the Washington Examiner’s “Yeas and Nays” page where Nikki Schwab reported.
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Nevada receives only half the distribution of federal Medicaid funds it would if the distribution were based on need, say Pamela Villarreal, a senior fellow, and Michael Barba, a graduate student fellow, at the National Center for Policy Analysis...
NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS
In 2006 the U.S. Postal Service processed and distributed 213 billion pieces of mail; by 2010 that number had dropped to 170 billion...
REASON MAGAZINE
Illinois is spending more than $3 billion to increase average train speeds from 51.6 to 56.8 miles per hour, reducing the travel time between Chicago and St. Louis by just 30 minutes...
CATO INSTITUTE
The manufacturing industry has grown consistently over the past 21 months...
FORBES
Public comparative effectiveness studies are vulnerable to lobbying from interest groups, and are apt to be driven as much by politics as by sound science...
WASHINGTON EXAMINER | |
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Iraqi unit adds four Mi-171 helicopters to inventory
Posted: 09 May 2011 07:54 AM PDT
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'Golden hour' initiative pays off in Afghanistan
Posted: 09 May 2011 07:51 AM PDT
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (May 9, 2011) — Two years ago, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates traveled throughout Afghanistan, promising deployed troops he would make sure they had everything they needed to accomplish their mission -- including more forward-deployed medical capabilities in the event they were wounded. |
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Sailor shares experiences as Afghan adviser
Posted: 09 May 2011 07:49 AM PDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (May 4, 2011) — Afghanistan advisers represent a variety of nations and services. At the Afghan National Police Regional Logistic Center in Mazar-e-Sharif, one U.S. Navy sailor plays a critical role. |
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Corps unleashes Labradors in counter-IED fight
Posted: 09 May 2011 07:17 AM PDT
CAMP DWYER, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (May 9, 2011) — The Marine Corps believes it has found the right dog for the counter-IED fight, but it’s not the traditional military working dog. |
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The effect of a 10 percentage point increase in trade openness lowers unemployment by about 1 percentage point...
REASON MAGAZINE
The Census Bureau's 2009 Current Population Survey shows that 20 percent of individuals making less than $20,000 per year have bachelor's or master's degrees...
JOHN W. POPE CENTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
The pension benefits paid out to retirees by state and local governments have more than doubled from 11.1 percent of payroll in 1990 to 23.8 percent of payroll in 2009...
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Groceries and many other staples of daily life are distributed effectively by competitive markets responding to consumer choice -- the same could be true of education...
WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Dodd-Frank Act will fail to prevent the growth of subprime and other low-quality lending in the housing market...
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE | |
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Monday May 09, 2011 @ 07:49 AM EDT
1. MRC's 2011 DisHonors Awards Presented Saturday Night; Ed Schultz 'Wins' Quote of the Year
Neal Boortz, Ann Coulter, Andrew Klavan, Erick Erickson, Congressman Steve King and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and a performance by The Outlaws band highlighted the MRC's “2011 Gala featuring the DisHonors Awards: Roasting the Most Outrageously Biased Liberal Reporting” presented on Saturday night, May 7, before an audience of more than 800 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Following the presentation of the DisHonors Awards videos in five categories and a look at some “funny clips” from the news, the audience picked an anti-conservative outburst from MSNBCCCP’s Ed Schultz as the “Quote of the Year.” Schultz screamed: “The Republicans lie! They want to see you dead! They’d rather make money off your dead corpse!” MRC President Brent Bozell also honored leading conservative commentator and columnist Cal Thomas with the MRC’s fifth annual “William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence.”
2. Michael Moore: You 'Hate Being an American' If You Wanted Bin Laden Killed Without a Trial
Ever looking to criticize the American populace from his cardboard platform, filmmaker Michael Moore lashed out Thursday on CNN at supporters of Osama bin Laden's assassination. "We've lost something of our soul here in this country," he said of the mission to kill the al Qaeda leader rather than capture him and try him in court. The liberal filmmaker ripped Americans' disregard for a trial and their support of an assassination. "The second you say that, you're saying that you hate being an American," he huffed.
3. NY Times Says It's 'Ugly' to Celebrate bin Laden's Death
The headline over Benedict Carey's NY Times story: "Celebrating a Death: Ugly, Maybe, but Only Human." Carey wrote: "Some Americans celebrated the killing of Osama bin Laden loudly, with chanting and frat-party revelry in the streets. Others were appalled - not by the killing, but by the celebrations....The sight of Bin Laden's face on television or a smartphone news feed might have been enough to move people from the sidelines into the streets, to cheer for the home team."
4. NBCCCP's Today Takes Sympathetic Look at 'Devoted' Mrs. Osama bin Laden
In report from Pakistan on Friday's NBCCCP Today, news anchor and soon-to-be co-host Ann Curry offered this description of Osama bin Laden's widow, Amal al-Sada: "After more than 10 years of marriage, Amal was known to be devoted to him....and she was much like him: simple, pious, not interested in luxuries like his other four wives. And it appears she lived his life on the run." A sound bite was featured from terrorism expert Evan Kohlman, who like Curry, adopted a sympathetic tone toward the al-Qaeda leader's spouse: "She joined bin Laden and she traveled with him during one of the most difficult parts of his life, which when he was mostly on the run, traveling across Pakistan, Afghanistan with few luxuries. And yet, she stuck by him."
5. George Stephanopoulos Lectures Pawlenty on How Obama Has Kept His Promises, Ignores Gitmo
Interviewing presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty on Friday, George Stephanopoulos lectured the Republican that Barack Obama can say I've "kept my promises" for the war on terror. The Good Morning America anchor ignored examples such as the failure to close Guantanamo Bay. Stephanopoulos added, "Our troops are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. And a weakened al Qaeda has not succeeded on a major attack on our homeland. When President Obama makes the case that America is safer on his watch, how will you respond?"
6. Chris Matthews Dreams Up Silly GOP Debate Questions: Do You 'Fundamentalist' Christians Hate Science?
Chris Matthews apparently misses moderating Republican debates and hectoring the candidates with bizarre questions. On Thursday's Hardball, hours before the first GOP face-off, the cable anchor dreamed up hypothetical queries he would like to see: "Question to Mr. Candidate, do you believe in evolution? Are you a fundamentalist who believes in the Bible as written? Has man been around millions of years or, say, just about 6000?" Apparently this question is crucial as it determines "whether you believe in science or not." On the week Osama bin Laden was killed, Matthews added this relevant inquiry: "A question for the fundamentalists who give that answer, why do we conduct health experiments for people on animals if there's no relation?"
Honestly, the idiocy of the leadership in San Francisco is breathtaking. Now they're going to stop detaining arrested illegals before they can be deported.
San Francisco, one of the first sanctuary cities in the nation, plans to end its cooperation with federal immigration officials and start releasing illegal immigrants arrested for minor offenses before they can be picked up for deportation.
The city's decision is the latest development in a tug of war between several communities and the federal government over its controversial national program that automatically checks the immigration status of arrestees. First of all, why is that controversial? Is it controversial to ask for your license and registration if you're pulled over for speeding to make sure you're a licensed driver?
Officials in jurisdictions including Providence, R.I., and Chicago have also challenged the program, which they say undermines trust that it has taken local law enforcement years to build in immigrant communities. If they're here legally, they have no reason to lose trust in law enforcement. Indeed, it should INCREASE trust because they're doing their job. Liberal arguments are so twisted.
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"ONE MAN WITH COURAGE IS A MAJORITY" Thomas Jefferson |
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Check out the video 'UPDATE: NavySEAL Adam Brown & the US Military' Nice! Enjoy!
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UPDATE: NavySEAL Adam Brown & the US Military The heroic story of Adam Brown was first released Friday, April 29, 2011. He was a Navy SEAL that gave his life so that we could be free. O... |
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Video link:
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About Patriot Action Network
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The latest issue of the National Right to Work Committee's monthly newsletter is now available for a free download.
This month's issue examines Big Labor's schemes to overturn Wisconsin's duly-enacted Right to Work law for most state and local government-sector workers.
In March, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law S.B.11, which abolished all forced union dues and fees for teachers and many other public employees. But the union bosses are desperate to restore their special privileges over taxpayers and workers.
Other stories in this issue include:
- Right to Work Advances in U.S., State Capitols -- Federal Data Again Confirm: Forced Unionism Impedes Income Growth
- Union-Label Academics Gloss Over Oklahoma Facts -- Sooners' Real Income Growth Outpaces Non-Right to Work Neighbors'
- Pundits Assess "Foot Voting" For Right to Work -- Forced-Unionism-State Exodus Well-Documented by 2010 Census
- House Backs Independent Transportation Workers -- Right to Work Inoculates Majority Against "LaTourette's Syndrome"
- "I Will Have Your Decapitated Head on a Pike" -- Revocation of Forced-Dues Privileges Enrages Wisconsin Union Bosses
Please click here to read the entire issue.
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What is a can't-miss signal that we in the freedom movement are having an impact? When the Left starts muttering about a "well-funded, shadowy right wing network" that's attacking "the middle class."
That's why we took it as a good sign when MSNBC and Mother Jones magazine took a swipe at us and our allies last week, accusing us of defending the free market, among sundry other wrongdoings.
You can watch the video here, and read a related article from Mother Jones magazine here.
 Clearly, they're worried. They've seen the impact you and I have had over the past two years. They've seen the public debate change from one about how many taxes they could raise, or how many pork projects they can get away with, to a debate about how deeply we have to cut spending.
That has certainly happened in Washington state. The budget debate has been radically different this year because of the message you sent in November. Government unions and their allies felt desperate enough to rally in force, and to even storm the governor's office. And that's despite the fact that their legislative allies are still in charge!
And what's happening here can have a great impact on other states. Many of you stood with us during our 10-year battle with the Washington Education Association. You helped us spread the idea of protecting worker rights to other states. Those Supreme Court precedents set the stage for states like Wisconsin and Ohio to enact legislation increasing the freedom of teachers and other workers. And this week Florida passed a bill to prohibit automatic payroll deductions of union dues, one of the reforms we have long advocated.
Mother Jones and Ed Shultz demonstrate how the Left is gearing up their public relations to try and discredit you and me--the people toiling on the front lines every day for freedom and free enterprise. Thanks to your generosity and your partnership, we are making significant progress.
Just last Thursday our work garnered a $15,000 fine against Sound Transit for hiding $813,000 worth of lobbying expenditures. The fine was a result of a complaint we filed against them last year, and was one of 68 similar complaints against agencies and other government bodies across the state. In the process, we discovered that government agencies and government unions have spent over $60 million dollars in the last decade lobbying the Legislature. They are the most well-funded voice in the Capitol. (Full report here.)
Is it any wonder that our spending has risen precipitously during that same period? We believe this practice should stop, to undercut the machinery of overspending that currently exists. That's why we've been working hard to change this practice. So far the Public Disclosure Commission has fined five entities, and just this week Rep. Matt Shea filed a bill seeking to limit taxpayer-funded lobbying that uses the model language we put together. (See Seattle Times article here.)
This is just one of the avenues we are pursuing to change the culture in Olympia, to reduce the influence of government unions and other rent-seekers, and to put power back in the hands of citizens.
The other side knows this, and they'll stop at nothing to discredit you and me and our work. But we must keep up the pressure to make real, transformational change. Together, we can win. Thank you for your support.
For Freedom,
Jonathan Bechtle, J.D.
Chief Executive Officer | | | | |
Well it all started back
About a week or two
I bought this instant Wonder Glue.
I'd seen it work on TV and I just had to try me some.
Well when I got home
I spilled the stuff
And I reached for a towel to wipe it up,
And that towel stuck to my hand like another thumb.
And as if that wasn't trouble enough,
Here come Rover chasing Fluff,
And that cat jumped up
And stuck right to my knee.
(He doesn't have a knee!)
Well I reached down to hold the dog away
And I touched his ear and that's where my hand stayed
And he lit out a yelping dragging the cat and me.
Well running through the house
We knocked the bird cage down
And the parakeet got loose and was flying all around
And finally landed and stuck to the top of my head
And I was tryin' to be careful, but I just wasn't able
And we were stickin' to ashtrays, lamps n tables
And I was wishin' that I had bought a roll
Of Duct Tape instead.
Well I finally fell exhausted into a chair
And then you came in and found me there
With the bird on my head and my hand on the dog
And the cat stuck to my knee,
And you said the scene looked
Heaven sent that I looked like a man perfectly content
A regular St. Francis of Asissi.
And before I could stop you, You laid a big kiss on me.
Now Honey, I'm stuck on you.
Yes I'm stuck on you,
I'm stuck to the dog
And stuck to the cat
And stuck to the parakeet too.
Ever since I bought that tube of
Instant Wonder Glue
Everything has stuck on me
And now I'm stuck on you.
Well I got to thinkin' sittin' there that day.
How did they make that stuff anyway,
I mean there must be workers
Stuck all over the factory.
I bet there's shoes on the floor and shirts on the walls
And hat's on the ceiling and all up and down the halls
Why just gettin' this stuff in the tube
Has got to be a miracle to see.
 
Now if we could ever make it to the telephone
And get the paramedics out to our home
Maybe they could surgically remove you and the dog
And the cat and the parakeet
And as soon as we're all healed up enough
We're gonna sneak into the plant where they make that stuff
And for revenge we'll put instant Wonder Glue
On all their toilet seats
Hee Hee Hee ...
Until then I'm stuck on you,
Yes I'm stuck on you,
I'm stuck to the dog
And stuck to the cat
And stuck to the parakeet too.
Ever since I bought that tube of Instant Wonder Glue
Everything has stuck on me and now I'm stuck on you.
Ohhh, I'm stuck on you, yes I'm stuck on you.
I'm stuck to the dog and stuck to the cat
And stuck to the parakeet too.
Ever since I bought that tube of Instant Wonder Glue
Everything has stuck on me and now I'm stuck on you.
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| May 6, 2011 |
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By: Hugh Hewitt |
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The GOP race for the 2012 presidential nomination arguably gets underway Thursday night in South Carolina. Because front-runner Mitt Romney has declined to participate and because other significant candidates or potential candidates including Jon Huntsman, Mitch Daniels and Newt Gingrich are also skipping the event, there is much less interest in what is said in Greenville.
But Republicans and analysts alike should pay close attention to how former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former United States Senator Rick Santorum address what will certainly be an extended discussion of the circumstances surrounding the killing of Osama bin laden.  |  |
| Advertisement |
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Bill Bennett
Bill speaks with Fouad Ajami on the death of Osama bin Laden and its implications in the Middle East.
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Mike Gallagher
Mike talks to 9/11 activist Debra Burlingame, whose brother was the pilot of doomed Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon.
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Dennis Prager
The President has announced he won't release Bin Laden's death photos. Dennis supports the decision.
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Michael Medved
Atheists object to National Day of Prayer.
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Hugh Hewitt
Hugh talks about the legalities of the Pakistani raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and whether enhanced interrogations did help.
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Greg Clugston |
| White House Correspondent |
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SRN Correspondent Greg Clugston keeps you informed about all the news coming from the White House.
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Linda Kenyon |
| Capitol Hill Correspondent (Senate) |
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Reporting from Capitol Hill, Linda Kenyon has updates on what's going on in the Senate.
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Peggy Wehmeyer |
| World Vision Report |
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SRN Correspondent Peggy Wehmeyer discusses what's happening in the world today.
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| FOX Nws |
| Journalists Shield Obama From Road Rage Over High Gas Prices |
| By: Dan Gainor |
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The long-awaited demise of Usama bin Laden still dominates the news. But the feel-good story of justice finally served will soon have a hard time competing with the feel-bad story of high gas prices.
The price of a gallon of gasoline is at $3.98 as of Friday May 6. And it's only going higher. The price will likely hit $4 a gallon sometime soon, despite a big drop in the price of oil, and head toward record highs soon after. | |
| The Daily Caller |
| Rep. McCarthy introducing national gun control legislation following Sen. Schumer's lead |
| By: Jeff Winkler |
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A House bill that could drastically overhaul the nation's gun control laws and strengthen federal power over states' handling of individuals' background checks is expected to be introduced today by New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, The Daily Caller has learned.
McCarthy is expected to drop the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 — a near-identical companion to that of fellow New Yorker Chuck Schumer's Senate bill — according to sources familiar with the legislation. | |
| The Wall Street Journal |
| Medicare As We've Known It Isn't an Option |
| By: Betsy McCaughey |
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The Democratic Party is urging Americans to choose Medicare as we've always known it rather than a new plan by Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) that would enroll seniors in private health insurance beginning in 2022. This choice is a hoax: Medicare as we've always known it is already gone. It was eviscerated by President Obama's health law. Yet if the president and the Democratic Party successfully bamboozle voters, they may win back independents and registered Democrats who voted for Republicans in 2010. The 2012 election could turn on this falsehood. | | |
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| Advertisement | |
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| May 6, 2011 |
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| National Security and the Republican Nominee |
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By: Hugh Hewitt |
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The GOP race for the 2012 presidential nomination arguably gets underway Thursday night in South Carolina. Because front-runner Mitt Romney has declined to participate and because other significant candidates or potential candidates including Jon Huntsman, Mitch Daniels and Newt Gingrich are also skipping the event, there is much less interest in what is said in Greenville.
But Republicans and analysts alike should pay close attention to how former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former United States Senator Rick Santorum address what will certainly be an extended discussion of the circumstances surrounding the killing of Osama bin laden. | |
| Advertisement |
 |
Bill Bennett
Bill speaks with Fouad Ajami on the death of Osama bin Laden and its implications in the Middle East.
|
Mike Gallagher
Mike talks to 9/11 activist Debra Burlingame, whose brother was the pilot of doomed Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon.
|
Dennis Prager
The President has announced he won't release Bin Laden's death photos. Dennis supports the decision.
|
Michael Medved
Atheists object to National Day of Prayer.
|
Hugh Hewitt
Hugh talks about the legalities of the Pakistani raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and whether enhanced interrogations did help.
| |
|
Greg Clugston |
| White House Correspondent |
|
SRN Correspondent Greg Clugston keeps you informed about all the news coming from the White House.
| |
|
Linda Kenyon |
| Capitol Hill Correspondent (Senate) |
|
Reporting from Capitol Hill, Linda Kenyon has updates on what's going on in the Senate.
| |
|
Peggy Wehmeyer |
| World Vision Report |
|
SRN Correspondent Peggy Wehmeyer discusses what's happening in the world today.
| | |
| FOX Nws |
| Journalists Shield Obama From Road Rage Over High Gas Prices |
| By: Dan Gainor |
|
The long-awaited demise of Usama bin Laden still dominates the news. But the feel-good story of justice finally served will soon have a hard time competing with the feel-bad story of high gas prices.
The price of a gallon of gasoline is at $3.98 as of Friday May 6. And it's only going higher. The price will likely hit $4 a gallon sometime soon, despite a big drop in the price of oil, and head toward record highs soon after. | |
| The Daily Caller |
| Rep. McCarthy introducing national gun control legislation following Sen. Schumer's lead |
| By: Jeff Winkler |
|
A House bill that could drastically overhaul the nation's gun control laws and strengthen federal power over states' handling of individuals' background checks is expected to be introduced today by New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, The Daily Caller has learned.
McCarthy is expected to drop the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 — a near-identical companion to that of fellow New Yorker Chuck Schumer's Senate bill — according to sources familiar with the legislation. | |
| The Wall Street Journal |
| Medicare As We've Known It Isn't an Option |
| By: Betsy McCaughey |
|
The Democratic Party is urging Americans to choose Medicare as we've always known it rather than a new plan by Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) that would enroll seniors in private health insurance beginning in 2022. This choice is a hoax: Medicare as we've always known it is already gone. It was eviscerated by President Obama's health law. Yet if the president and the Democratic Party successfully bamboozle voters, they may win back independents and registered Democrats who voted for Republicans in 2010. The 2012 election could turn on this falsehood. | | |
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| Advertisement | |
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What should be Congress's top priority right now? The looming debt crisis
and how to fix it!
I wish the politicians would stop posturing and instead sit down, work out a plan and implement it. Nothing is driving the debt crisis more than out-of-control health costs. Even if we cut earmarks, foreign aid, and hundreds of other government programs, the debt crisis will continue to drag down the economy if we don't address health costs.
Everyone does agree that regaining control of the federal budget means finding a way to curb health care costs, especially Medicare costs, but "the huge inconvenient truth is, you cannot hold health care expenses for the elderly down if you don't hold health care expenses down for everybody else," according to NCPA President John Goodman. The NCPA has identified ten solutions to address out of control health care costs. Read about them here.
Thank you for your support. By helping us, we can help you!
Best,
Richard Walker
Chief Operating Officer
National Center for Policy Analysis | |
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In June 2009, the month pinpointed as the end of the recession, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' unemployment rate stood at 9.5 percent; in early 2011, it was 9 percent...
REASON MAGAZINE
According a survey of state and local pension plans, unfunded liabilities amounted to roughly $0.7 trillion in 2009; an alternative measure yields a much larger estimate -- between $2 trillion and $3 trillion...
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
Forty-three percent of American offenders are returned to state prison within three years of their release...
THE ECONOMIST
California's residential electricity rates, at $0.144 per kilowatt-hour, are 30 percent higher than the national average...
NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE
Overall tax revenues remained close to 18 percent whenever the economy was doing well, regardless of top tax rates...
CATO INSTITUTE | |
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday May 06, 2011 @ 09:01 AM EDT
1. Incoming CBS Anchor Pelley Mimics MSNBCCCP's Pledge: 'We're Going to Be Leaning Forward'
Scott Pelley, the incoming anchor for the CBS Evening News, dropped by Washington, DC’s CBS affiliate on Wednesday where he mimicked left-wing MSNBCCCP’s “Lean Forward” slogan as he promised: “We’re going to be leaning forward.” On DCRTV.com I saw a link to online video of a WUSA-TV story about Pelley’s May 4 visit to the Gannett-owned station where he pledged: “We're going to cover hard news. We're going to be aggressive about that. We're going to be leaning forward.” Very unlike MSNBC, however, he pledged fairness: “Were going to be all about original reporting, unique insight and being fair to everybody involved in a story. It is just that simple.”
2. New CBS Anchor Scott Pelley Defensively Responds to MRC Criticism
Incoming CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley was asked by the Politico's Keach Hagey for his reaction to the MRC's Profile in Bias on him and the longtime 60 Minutes correspondent, who once compared global warming skeptics to Holocaust deniers, seemed to deny the charge of liberal bias as he huffed: "CBS has been called liberal for a lot of years," adding, "It probably harkens all the way back to Edward Murrow."
3. NBCCCP's Today Frets Celebrations After bin Laden's Death Were 'Very Disturbing' to Children
On NBC's Today on Wednesday, co-host Matt Lauer worried about Americans celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden: "...your children are going to see, and have already seen, people in the streets celebrating about the death of someone and that's a contradictory image for them." Today contributor and psychiatrist Gail Saltz replied: "Absolutely, very disturbing for them." The segment was on how to talk to children about the killing of bin Laden and Saltz speculated that kids may ask: "Why are people partying, being happy that anybody was killed?" She suggested those who celebrated may now regret their actions: "I think it's really important to talk about this, because what you saw was a lot of people who, in the impulse of the moment, reacted in a way that later on they may not be happy about."
4. On Defensive, NY Times Takes on 'Torture Apologists' Who See Vindication of Harsh Interrogation Tactics
From Thursday's New York Times lead editorial: "The killing of Osama bin Laden provoked a host of reactions from Americans: celebration, triumph, relief, closure and renewed grief. One reaction, however, was both cynical and disturbing: crowing by the apologists and practitioners of torture that Bin Laden's death vindicated their immoral and illegal behavior after the September 11 attacks."
5. NYT: Obama Nabbing Osama: 'Glow of National Pride;' Bush's Capture of Saddam 'Momentarily' Halted 'Spiral of Concern'
First sentence of the New York Times' second paragraph on Obama's rising poll numbers after Osama's capture: "The glow of national pride seemed to rise above partisan politics, as support for the president rose significantly among both Republicans and independents." First sentence of the Times' second paragraph on Bush's numbers after Hussein's capture: "But even in the glow of Mr. Hussein's capture, Americans worry that United States forces will be mired in Iraq for years, are concerned that the attacks on American troops will continue and say that President Bush has no plan to extricate the United States from Iraq..."
6. Chris Matthews Bizarrely Mocks Rush Limbaugh as a 'Walrus Underwater' for bin Laden Response
MSNBCCCP's Chris Matthews on Wednesday mocked Rush Limbaugh's response to the killing of Osama bin Laden, deriding the conservative as a "walrus underwater." Matthews also made an odd grunting noise to back up this description. After playing a clip of Limbaugh asserting that the media have played up Barack Obama's role in the action, the Hardball anchor berated, "You know, I don't even know what that is except just bitterness. I mean- [makes noise] Walrus underwater talking and what is he actually saying?"
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Friday, May 6, 2011
Feature: The now-broke Early Retirement Reinsurance Program benefitted major corporations and labor unions---and no one else. | | |
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FEATURED STORY: Special Interests Walk Away With Multi-Million Dollar Obamacare Handouts
Today, May 6th, is the last day that businesses and unions can apply for the Early Retirement Reinsurance Program (ERRP). ERRP is an Obamacare program intended to help employers cover costs for early retireees. It was supposed to last until 2014, but it stopped taking on new applicants far ahead of schedule. That's probably because groups like the United Auto Workers cashed in early and walked away with millions---in UAW's case, hundreds of millions---of taxpayer dollars. CEI Labor Policy Counsel Vincent Vernuccio last week exposed ERRP waste in a National Review op-ed. This week, Vernuccio revisited the issue in BigGovernment to mark the final week of the expensive, short-lived program.
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