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"Bringing Thunder-ous change to New Jersey

"Bringing Thunder-ous change to New Jersey

By George F. Will
Source Washington Post
Thursday, April 22, 2010

MORRISVILLE, PA.

"The bridge spanning the Delaware River connects New Jersey's capital with this town where the nation's most interesting governor occasionally eats lunch at Cafe Antonio. It also connects New Jersey's government with reality.

The bridge is a tutorial on a subject this government has flunked -- economics, which is mostly about incentives. At the Pennsylvania end of the bridge, cigarette shops cluster: New Jersey's per-pack tax is double Pennsylvania's. In late afternoon, Gov. Chris Christie says, the bridge is congested with New Jersey government employees heading home to Pennsylvania, where the income tax rate is 3 percent, compared with New Jersey's top rate of 9 percent.

There are 700,000 more Democrats than Republicans in New Jersey, but in November Christie flattened the Democratic incumbent, Jon Corzine. Christie is built like a burly baseball catcher, and since his inauguration just 13 weeks ago, he has earned the name of the local minor-league team -- the Trenton Thunder.

He inherited a $2.2 billion deficit, and next year's projected deficit of $10.7 billion is, relative to the state's $29.3 billion budget, the nation's worst. Democrats, with the verbal tic -- "Tax the rich!" -- that passes for progressive thinking, demanded that he reinstate the "millionaire's tax," which hit "millionaires" earning $400,000 until it expired Dec. 31. Instead, Christie noted that between 2004 and 2008 there was a net outflow of $70 billion in wealth as "the rich," including small businesses, fled. And he said previous administrations had "raised taxes 115 times in the last eight years alone."

So he closed the $2.2 billion gap by accepting 375 of 378 suggested spending freezes and cuts. In two weeks. By executive actions. In eight weeks he cut $13 billion -- $232 million a day, $9 million an hour. Now comes the hard part.

Government employees' health benefits are, he says, "41 percent more expensive" than those of the average Fortune 500 company. Without changes in current law, "spending will have increased 322 percent in 20 years -- over 16 percent a year." There is, he says, a connection between the state's being No. 1 in total tax burden and being No. 1 in the proportion of college students who, after graduating, leave the state.

Partly to pay for teachers' benefits -- most contribute nothing to pay for their health insurance -- property taxes have increased 70 percent in 10 years, to an average annual cost to homeowners of $7,281. Christie proposes a 2.5 percent cap on annual increases.

Challenging teachers unions to live up to their cloying "it's really about the kids" rhetoric, he has told them to choose between a pay freeze and job cuts. Validating his criticism by their response to it, some Bergen County teachers encouraged students to cut classes and go to the football field to protest his policies, and a Bridgewater high school teacher showed students a union-made video critical of him. Christie notes that the $550,000 salary of the executive director of the teachers union is larger than the total cuts proposed for 190 of the state's 605 school districts.

He has received some support from the Democratic president of the state Senate, Stephen Sweeney, a leader of a local ironworkers union. This suggests waning solidarity between unionized private-sector workers who are weary of paying ever-higher taxes to enrich unionized public employees.

New Jersey's governors are the nation's strongest -- American Caesars, really -- who can veto line items and even rewrite legislative language. Christie is using his power to remind New Jersey that wealth goes where it is welcome and stays where it is well-treated. Prosperous states are practicing, at the expense of slow learners like New Jersey, "entrepreneurial federalism" -- competing to have the most enticing business climate.

Christie's predecessor addressed a huge unionized rally of public employees, vowing to "fight for a fair contract." Who was he going to fight? The negotiator across the table would be . . . himself.

Saying "subtlety is not going to win this fight," Christie notes that New Jersey's police officers, the nation's highest paid, can retire after 25 years at 65 percent of their highest salary. In the state that has the nation's fourth-highest percentage (66) of public employees who are unionized, he has joined the struggle that will dominate the nation's domestic policymaking in this decade -- to break the ruinous collaboration between elected officials and unionized state and local workers whose affections the officials purchase with taxpayers' money."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/21/AR2010042104451.html

Entry #1,764

"Gangster Government Becomes a Long-Running Series

April 22, 2010

"Gangster Government Becomes a Long-Running Series

By Michael Barone

Source RealClearPolitics

"Almost a year ago, in a Washington Examiner column on the Chrysler bailout, I reflected on the Obama administration's decision to force bondholders to accept 33 cents on the dollar on secured debts while giving United Auto Worker retirees 50 cents on the dollar on unsecured debts.

This was a clear violation of the ordinary bankruptcy rule that secured creditors are fully paid off before unsecured creditors get anything. The politically connected UAW folk got preference over politically unconnected bondholders. "We have just seen an episode of Gangster Government," I wrote. "It is likely to be a continuing series."

Fast forward to last Friday, when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Goldman Sachs, alleging that the firm violated the law when it sold a collateralized debt obligation based on mortgage-backed securities without disclosing that the CDO was assembled with the help of hedge fund investor John Paulson.

On its face, the complaint seems flimsy. Paulson has since become famous because his firm made billions by betting against mortgage-backed securities. But he wasn't a big name then, and the sophisticated firm buying the CDO must have assumed the seller believed its value would go down.

That's not the only fishy thing about the complaint. Yesterday came the news, undisclosed by the SEC Friday, that the commissioners approved the complaint by a 3-2 party-line vote. Ordinarily, the SEC issues such complaints only when the commissioners unanimously approve.

Fishy thing No. 3: Democrats immediately used the complaint to jam Sen. Christopher Dodd's financial regulation through the Senate.

You may want to believe the denials that the Democratic commissioners timed the action in coordination with the administration or congressional leaders. But then you may want to believe there was no political favoritism in the Chrysler deal, too. The SEC complaint looks a lot like Gangster Government to me.

The Dodd bill, however, has it trumped. Its provisions promise to give us one episode of Gangster Government after another.

At the top of the list is the $50 billion fund that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp could use to pay off creditors of firms identified as systemically risky -- i.e., "too big to fail."

"The Dodd bill," writes Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, "has unlimited executive bailout authority. That's something Wall Street desperately wants but doesn't dare ask for."

Politically connected creditors would have every reason to assume they'd get favorable treatment. The Dodd bill specifically authorizes the FDIC to treat "creditors similarly situated" differently.

Second, as former Bush administration economist Larry Lindsey points out, the Dodd bill gives the Treasury and the FDIC authority to grant an unlimited number of loan guarantees to "too big to fail" firms. CEOs might want to have receipts for their contributions to Sen. Charles Schumer and the Obama campaign in hand when they apply.

Lindsey ticks off other special favors. "Labor gets 'proxy access' to bring its agenda items before shareholders as well as annual 'say on pay' for executives. Consumer activists get a brand new agency funded directly out of the seniorage the Fed earns. No oversight by the Federal Reserve Board or by Congress on how the money is spent."

Then there are carve-out provisions provided for particular interests. "Obtaining a carve-out isn't rocket science," one Republican K Street lobbyist told the Huffington Post. "Just give Chairman Dodd and Chuck Schumer a s---load of money."

The Obama Democrats portray the Dodd bill as a brave attempt to clamp tougher regulation on Wall Street. They know that polls show voters strongly reject just about all their programs to expand the size and scope of government, with the conspicuous exception of financial regulation.

Republicans have been accurately attacking the Dodd bill for authorizing bailouts of big Wall Street firms and giving them unfair advantages over small competitors. They might want to add that it authorizes Gangster Government -- the channeling of vast sums from the politically unprotected to the politically connected."

Copyright 2010, Creators Syndicate Inc.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/04/22/gangster_government_becomes_a_long-running_series_105265.html

Entry #1,763

"It Worked So Well For Bush...

"It Worked So Well For Bush...

Source Powerlineblog.com

April 23, 2010 Posted by John at 7:22 PM

"Whenever President Bush talked about immigration, his approval ratings went down. It was like clockwork: liberals never understood that the fatal decline in Bush's popularity during his second term had at least as much to do with his advocacy of "comprehensive immigration reform" as with war-weariness. Now President Obama has entered the lists, urging Congress to take up immigration. One can only wonder what Congressional Democrats make of this. Maybe they figure their own approval ratings can't possibly get any lower. But Obama's can, and they will if he keeps talking about immigration.

In Arizona, frustrated by ongoing lack of enforcement of immigration laws by the federal government, the legislature has taken matters into its own hands, adopting legislation to try to crack down on illegals. This is how the Associated Press summarizes the Arizona statute:

_ Makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally by specifically requiring immigrants to have proof of their immigration status. Violations are a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Repeat offenses would be a felony.
_ Requires police officers to "make a reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of a person if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that he or she is an illegal immigrant. Race, color or national origin may not be the only things considered in implementation. Exceptions can be made if the attempt would hinder an investigation.
_ Allow lawsuits against local or state government agencies that have policies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws. Would impose daily civil fines of $1,000-$5,000. There is pending follow-up legislation to halve the minimum to $500.
_ Targets hiring of illegal immigrants as day laborers by prohibiting people from stopping a vehicle on a road to offer employment and by prohibiting a person from getting into a stopped vehicle on a street to be hired for work if it impedes traffic.

It isn't clear to me what, in that legislation, is controversial. If we take seriously the idea that immigration laws are to be enforced, Arizona's measures seem rather modest. But Barack Obama thinks Arizona's effort to sustain the rule of law is "irresponsible." In public remarks today, Obama said:

I'll continue to consult with Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and I would note that 11 current Republican Senators voted to pass immigration reform four years ago. I'm hopeful that they will join with Democrats in doing so again so we can make the progress the American people deserve.

Indeed, our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others. And that includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona, which threatened to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.

In fact, I've instructed members of my administration to closely monitor the situation and examine the civil rights and other implications of this legislation. But if we continue to fail to act at a federal level, we will continue to see misguided efforts opening up around the country.

How, exactly, does Arizona's law "threaten[] to undermine basic notions of fairness"? Why is it unfair to enforce the immigration laws? Most Americans would say that it undermines basic notions of fairness when our government deliberately refuses to enforce the laws Congress has passed, to the disadvantage of our citizens. And as far as trust between police and "communities" is concerned--assuming we are talking about communities of American citizens--one would think it would improve trust if citizens can see that the laws are being enforced. It's funny, isn't it: liberals love to talk about the "rule of law" when they are trying to create never-before-seen "rights" belonging to enemy combatants. But where is the "rule of law" when the laws relating to immigration are studiously ignored, if not deliberately undermined?

What is most striking about Obama's harsh condemnation of the state of Arizona is its political myopia. It is hard, offhand, to think of precedents for a President denouncing a state law in such vituperative fashion. Evidently Obama doesn't think he has a chance of carrying Arizona in 2012--assuming that he intends to run for re-election, which I am starting to doubt. More broadly, he seems to have learned nothing from the Bush administration's experience with comprehensive immigration "reform." "

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/04/026141.php

Entry #1,762

"President Obama: Where Are The HANDCUFFS?

Highlights of an excellent article.  Suggest reading it in full if you have time.

___________

Thursday, April 22. 2010

Posted by Karl Denninger in Politics at 12:15

Source The Market Ticker

"President Obama: Where Are The HANDCUFFS?

So the speech now has been given....  Let's analyze it:

Since I last spoke here two years ago, our country has been through a terrible trial.  More than 8 million people have lost their jobs.  Countless small businesses have had to shut their doors.  Trillions of dollars in savings has been lost, forcing seniors to put off retirement, young people to postpone college, and entrepreneurs to give up on the dream of starting a company.  And as a nation we were forced to take unprecedented steps to rescue the financial system and the broader economy.

Yet those who committed the acts that led us to this terrible place, that is the bankers, even when bribery of public officials was going on and the bankers knew it, have not been indicted or prosecuted.

Instead, we bailed them out.

As a result of the decisions we made - some which were unpopular - we are seeing hopeful signs.  Little more than one year ago, we were losing an average of 750,000 jobs each month.  Today, America is adding jobs again.  One year ago, the economy was shrinking rapidly.  Today, the economy is growing.  In fact, we've seen the fastest turnaround in growth in nearly three decades.

We blew $1.5 trillion a year, or about 10% of GDP for the last two years.  President Obama's policies in this regard are a mirror-image of George Bush's, and of course GDP appears to be "growing" when one does this.  But this is no more "growth" than it is when you take a cash advance on your credit card - it is simply pulled-forward demand, and now the economy has become dependent on it. 

Again, these policies are an extension and in fact an engrossment of what George Bush did.  Proof is right here: ....................."

".............Indeed, the acts of the last decade can be best characterized as financial terrorism, and instead of meeting this challenge head-on our government has cowered under the desk. .............."

"..........I don't care how much anyone makes - so long as the income is earned honestly.  I care very much when it is "earned" by various schemes, including felonious ones that (in some instances) included outright bribery - yet the banking system people who made that money not only are not prosecuted they get to keep the ill-gotten gains!

I'll close by saying this.  I have laid out a set of Wall Street reforms.  These are reforms that would put an end to taxpayer bailouts; that would bring complex financial dealings out of the shadows; that would protect consumers; and that would give shareholders more power in the financial system.

No they won't.  In order for that to happen, WE NEED TO SEE HANDCUFFS.

There has always been a tension between the desire to allow markets to function without interference - and the absolute necessity of rules to prevent markets from falling out of balance.

They're not RULES, THEY ARE LAWS.

Re-impose Glass-Steagall.  17 pages of legislation that kept the system safe and sound for FIFTY YEARS.

We started dismantling it in the 1980s by circumventions and outright unlawful acts including Alan Greenspan granting an illegal waiver to legitimate an illegal merger.

This culminated in Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the Commodities Futures Modernization Act - the latter overruling anti-bucket-shop laws put in place to prevent the precise same acts that caused the meltdown in 1929.  As one would expect, we got the same result we had in the 1920s. 

Seventeen pages Mr. President. 

Re-enact Glass-Steagall  - the original seventeen pages.  No ifs, no ands, no carve-outs, no buts, no exceptions and no edits.

SEVENTEEN PAGES.

Without them you have fixed nothing."

http://market-ticker.org/archives/2229-President-Obama-Where-Are-The-HANDCUFFS.html

Entry #1,761

"SEC staffers watched porn as economy crashed

"SEC staffers watched porn as economy crashed

By DANIEL WAGNER
The Associated Press
Friday, April 23, 2010; 1:25 AM

Excerpt

"WASHINGTON -- Senior staffers at the Securities and Exchange Commission spent hours surfing pornographic websites on government-issued computers while they were being paid to police the financial system, an agency watchdog says......."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/22/AR2010042205783_pf.html

Entry #1,760

"Potentially deadly fungus spreading in US, Canada

  What?    What next, a locust swarm???

_______________

"Potentially deadly fungus spreading in US, Canada

22 Apr 2010 22:21:58 GMT
Source: Reuters
 * Fungus is unique genetic strain

* Climate change may aid its spread
Source Reuters AlertNet

"WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - A potentially deadly strain of fungus is spreading among animals and people in the northwestern United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia, researchers reported on Thursday.

The airborne fungus, called Cryptococcus gattii, usually only infects transplant and AIDS patients and people with otherwise compromised immune systems, but the new strain is genetically different, the researchers said.

"This novel fungus is worrisome because it appears to be a threat to otherwise healthy people," said Edmond Byrnes of Duke University in North Carolina, who led the study.

"The findings presented here document that the outbreak of C. gattii in Western North America is continuing to expand throughout this temperate region," the researchers said in their report, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Pathogens at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000850.

"Our findings suggest further expansion into neighboring regions is likely to occur and aim to increase disease awareness in the region."

The new strain appears to be unusually deadly, with a mortality rate of about 25 percent among the 21 U.S. cases analyzed, they said.

"From 1999 through 2003, the cases were largely restricted to Vancouver Island," the report reads.

"Between 2003 and 2006, the outbreak expanded into neighboring mainland British Columbia and then into Washington and Oregon from 2005 to 2009. Based on this historical trajectory of expansion, the outbreak may continue to expand into the neighboring region of Northern California, and possibly further."

The spore-forming fungus can cause symptoms in people and animals two weeks or more after exposure. They include a cough that lasts for weeks, sharp chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, fever, nighttime sweats and weight loss.

It has also turned up in cats, dogs, an alpaca and a sheep.

Freezing can kill the fungus and climate change may be helping it spread, the researchers said."

(Editing by Eric Beech)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22129903.htm

Entry #1,759

"A Sober Warning To The GOP - And The Democrats

Long article very worth the read, also watching the embedded video.

________

"A Sober Warning To The GOP - And The Democrats

"The political witch-hunt that is now being fomented related to the SEC's charges against Goldman is a minefield that threatens to blow up the GOP for the next 20 years - if not permanently.

The full-court press by right-wing talking heads such as Limbaugh and Hannity, who appear to have not bothered to do a bit of research into the matter before spouting off absolute nonsense, are piling on in a fashion that will just do further damage to the Republican brand.

The premise here is that the SEC action was "concocted" in some fashion.  Well, if that's true, how come the key trader involved, Tourre, has been de-registered in London? ......................."

http://market-ticker.org/archives/2224-A-Sober-Warning-To-The-GOP-And-The-Democrats.html

Entry #1,758

"George Wallace's ghost

"George Wallace's ghost

Source Powerlineblog.com
April 8, 2010 Posted by Paul at 8:54 AM

"My friend Ray Hartwell (article in full below) grew up in the Deep South in the 1950s and 1960s. He is therefore mindful of the fact, so often forgotten or ignored these days, that the shameful politics of racial division (literal division) were the handiwork of Democrats. As he explains in a Washington Times op-ed:

It was the Democratic Party that conceived, implemented and perpetuated the pernicious system of racial discrimination and preference that arose early in the last century and finally crumbled in the 1960s. They did this in order to sustain their own power. It worked for them, but not for the people. The Jim Crow system not only was morally reprehensible and responsible for much injustice over many years, but also clearly retarded economic growth. This hurt whites and blacks alike for decades.

By contrast, the Republican party had a long record of support for civil rights legislation. And Republicans were far more supportive than Democrats of the landmark civill rights legislation that finally was enacted beginning in 1964.

The Democrats eventually signed on to a color blind society. But, as Ray observes, their support was only fleeting:

The Democrats were the masters of racial patronage; with hardly a hiccup, they took the game to another level. Where once they played on the fears and prejudices of whites, they found new "victim" constituencies to "protect" with pledges of government largesse and favoritism.

So, blacks and perhaps Hispanics, among others, became the new and increasingly dependent beneficiaries of racial preference. Other "peoples of color," such as Indians and Asians, perceived as intent on self-reliance, generally were not among the favored. Thus, the same old game resumed, with a cynical new arrangement of pieces on the playing board. Once again, the Democrats sought gain through divisive means, playing on fear and resentment.

Ray also sees continuity in the way in which the Democratic practitioners of racial politics deal with their critics:

Then as now, opponents were attacked personally. For a Wallace supporter, it was easier to brand someone as an "agitator," or worse, than to engage in a substantive discussion about the virtues and vices of racial segregation and discrimination. Better to smear the opposition, especially when your position on the merits is weak.

Today, many Americans are unhappy that Congress has enacted, in a dramatically partisan fashion, sweeping "health care" legislation that entails unprecedented federal interference in doctor-patient relationships, an array of new and higher taxes, and unsustainable increases in government spending. . . .In response, the Democrats revert to Jim Crow tactics: Change the subject via personal attacks. They hurl accusations of "racism," and use the vulgar sexual innuendo "tea-bagger" to assail fellow Americans who oppose the administration's aggressive expansion of federal power.

This time, though, the Democrats find themselves demonizing not minority group members and "pointy-headed intellectuals," but a substantial chunk of mainstream America. Thus, their approach is likely to have even less success than its early 1960s counterpart."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/04/026024.php

______________

"HARTWELL: Democrats reek of George Wallace

Tea-bagger epithet just the latest example of liberals' hate hypocrisy

By Ray Hartwell 

Charges of intolerance are leveled routinely at those who question the administration's policies. To listen to the accusers, one would think the entire history of racial discrimination and discord in this nation were properly laid at the feet of Republicans. History teaches otherwise.

I grew up in the Deep South, a John F. Kennedy Democrat. My parents taught me that, as Martin Luther King would say later, people should be equal before the law, judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Of course, that was not the prevailing view at the time, when racial discrimination led to separate schools, theater seating and water fountains.

The shameful politics of racial division were practiced skillfully by the demagogues of the day. They were all Democrats. If you're of a certain age, you'll remember, among others: Georgia's Lester Maddox, of ax-handle fame; George Wallace of Alabama, who stood in the schoolhouse door; Harry Byrd of "massive resistance" Virginia; and the everlasting Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, who, along with Sen. Al Gore Sr. of Tennessee and other Democrats, filibustered against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for 57 days.

It was the Democratic Party that conceived, implemented and perpetuated the pernicious system of racial discrim- ination and preference that arose early in the last century and finally crumbled in the 1960s. They did this in order to sustain their own power. It worked for them, but not for the people. The Jim Crow system not only was morally reprehensible and responsible for much injustice over many years, but also clearly retarded economic growth. This hurt whites and blacks alike for decades.

As of 1963, the Republican Party had a long record of support for civil rights legislation - not so the Democrats. Republican support for the major civil rights legislation enacted during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson was stronger than that of the Democrats.

More than three times as many Democratic senators (21) as Republicans (6) voted against the Civil Rights Act in 1964; in the House, the "no" votes came from 96 Democrats and 34 Republicans. In both chambers, greater percentages of Republicans than Democrats supported both bills, by significant margins. For example, 82 percent of Senate Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as opposed to 69 percent of Democrats; for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 97 percent of Republican senators voted yes, versus 74 percent of the Democrats.

There was a time when majorities in both parties (even if narrower among Democrats) endorsed the equal treatment of all Americans, without regard to race. Public opinion shifted heavily and quickly in the same direction, perhaps because the moral and rational case was compelling. As sociologist John Shelton Reed wrote, "During the three years 1963 to 1966, support for de jure segregation became a minority view among white Southerners. The percentage of white Southern parents who completely opposed public school desegregation, for example, dropped from 61 to 24." That was a dramatic shift in a short time. It was permanent, too, the death rattle of Jim Crow.

Sadly, however, the ascendancy of "colorblind" politics in the Democratic Party was fleeting. The Democrats were the masters of racial patronage; with hardly a hiccup, they took the game to another level. Where once they played on the fears and prejudices of whites, they found new "victim" constituencies to "protect" with pledges of government largesse and favoritism.

So, blacks and perhaps Hispanics, among others, became the new and increasingly dependent beneficiaries of racial preference. Other "peoples of color," such as Indians and Asians, perceived as intent on self-reliance, generally were not among the favored. Thus, the same old game resumed, with a cynical new arrangement of pieces on the playing board. Once again, the Democrats sought gain through divisive means, playing on fear and resentment.

Then as now, opponents were attacked personally. For a Wallace supporter, it was easier to brand someone as an "agitator," or worse, than to engage in a substantive discussion about the virtues and vices of racial segregation and discrimination. Better to smear the opposition, especially when your position on the merits is weak.

Today, many Americans are unhappy that Congress has enacted, in a dramatically partisan fashion, sweeping "health care" legislation that entails unprecedented federal interference in doctor-patient relationships, an array of new and higher taxes, and unsustainable increases in government spending. Similarly unwelcome are the union sweeteners, the student loan takeover and the "expert" panels that will restrict access to medications and treatments.

Perhaps most outrageous is the (underreported) fact that our "ruling elite" have exempted themselves from the regime being imposed on the rest of us. If it's such a good thing, why do you suppose they carved themselves out of it? In sum, there are a multitude of grounds on which Americans oppose Obamacare.

In response, the Democrats revert to Jim Crow tactics: Change the subject via personal attacks. They hurl accusations of "racism," and use the vulgar sexual innuendo "tea-bagger" to assail fellow Americans who oppose the administration's aggressive expansion of federal power.

In fact, in all of the issues raised by the dissenters, there is not a trace of race. Would people be equally concerned if Hillary Rodham Clinton were in office and moving forcefully to implement the same agenda as President Obama? I think so. Or, would people march in protest if a President Colin L. Powell or Condoleezza Rice were pursuing more moderate policies? I think not.

Ray Hartwell is a Navy veteran and a Washington lawyer."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/07/democrats-reek-of-george-wallace/

(Locked)
Entry #1,757

"Botox may diminish the experience of emotion

"Botox may diminish the experience of emotion

Category: Neuroscience • Psychology
Posted on: April 16, 2010 7:15 AM, by Mo
Source ScienceBlogs.com

"DO you smile because you're happy, or are you happy because you are smiling? Darwin believed that facial expressions are indeed important for experiencing emotions. In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, he wrote that "the free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it...[whereas]...the repression...of all outward signs softens our emotions." This idea was subsequently elaborated by the great psychologist William James, who suggested that "every representation of a movement awakens in some degree the actual movement which is its object." 

Botox, which is used by millions of people every year to reduce wrinkles and frown lines on the forehead, works by paralyzing the muscles involved in producing facial expressions. A study due to be published in the journal Psychological Science suggests that by doing so, it impairs the ability to process the emotional content of language, and may diminish the quality of emotional experiences. ........"

Entry #1,756

"NASCAR, Guns and Barbecue

Gov. Rick Perry could be a factor in 2012 ........  Big Grin  Works for me.

_____________

"NASCAR, Guns and Barbecue

Source Powerlineblog.com

April 20, 2010 Posted by John at 8:50 AM

"I can think of few ways to spend an afternoon more painful than watching cars race around a track. Over and over again. If there is one person I would have sized up as even more motor-sports averse than me, it would be Roger Simon. Yet Roger has just returned from a weekend of NASCAR, guns and barbecue with Texas Governor Rick Perry, and he seems to have enjoyed the experience.

Barbecue and auto racing aside, Roger's most striking observation is this:

"Perry is a people person on a level I have not quite seen before in politics. You even worry about him, if he ever does make a White House run.

When Rudy Giuliani was Mayor of New York, he had some of that people person thing, throwing out the ball at Yankee games and taking the role of America's Mayor after 9/11. But he doesn't have as much charisma as Perry."

Interesting thought: is Rick Perry the most charismatic politician in America? If so, maybe it's not so farfetched to think that he could be a factor in 2012."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/04/026120.php

Entry #1,755

"U.N.'s Ballooning $732 Million Haiti Peacekeeping Budget Goes Mostly to Its Own Personnel

Updated April 20, 2010 

"U.N.'s Ballooning $732 Million Haiti Peacekeeping Budget Goes Mostly to Its Own Personnel

By George Russell  - FOXNews.com 

The United Nations has quietly upped this year's peacekeeping budget for earthquake-shattered Haiti to $732.4 million, with two-thirds of that amount going for the salary, perks and upkeep of its own personnel, not residents of the devastated island. ..........."

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/20/uns-massive-haiti-budget-goes-staff/

Entry #1,754

"Air ban led by flawed computer models

"Air ban led by flawed computer models
By Joshua Chaffin in Brussels

Published: April 19 2010 15:17 | Last updated: April 19 2010 20:46
Source Financial Times

"Flawed computer models may have exaggerated the effects of an Icelandic volcano eruption that has grounded tens of thousands of flights, stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers and cost businesses hundreds of millions of euros. ........"

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0821cc00-4bb5-11df-9db6-00144feab49a.html

Entry #1,753

Iceland's disruptive volcano - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Iceland's disruptive volcano - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Today, British civil aviation authorities ordered the country's airspace closed as of noon, due to a cloud of ash drifting from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The volcano has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. The volcanic ash has forced the cancellation of many flights and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, stranding thousands of passengers. Collected here are photos of the most recent eruption, and of last month's eruptions, which were from the same volcano, just several miles further east. (18 photos total)

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/icelands_disruptive_volcano.html

Entry #1,752

"Earth/Sun Healing Event" Thursday Free Meditation

Metaphysical stuff mind over matter .... total change of pace from recent political topics.  You may or may not choose to participate in the event but here is the info in the event you do.

Note:  She mentions creating rain .... happened in drought stricken Austrailia, Georgia USA,  and to help put out California wildfires after she held group collective meditations/visualizations. 

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Dear Friends,

On Thursday, April 22 is Earth Day.  We would like to gather people all day to listen to a Special Broadcast for the following reason:

We are experiencing an emotional planet right now which may be attributed to the increase solar storms.  Here is how I understand this phenomenon (via http://www.terracycles.com/joomla/sections/1-earth/27-solarearthquakeevidence.html).   It states that after a solar storm strikes the Earth, a geomagnetic storm erupts.  The increased magnetic field strength of the magnetosphere pushes down on the ionosphere, which pushes against the oceans.  It is due to the electromagnetic properties of sea water that the oceans become temporarily heavier.  The extra heaviness of the sea water, coupled with the daily tidal forces of the Sun and Moon cause greater than normal forces to press against both the eastern and western boundaries of the Pacific Plate, but more so the western boundary in the South Pacific Islands region which includes Indonesia, Philippines and Japan….  currently the Iceland Volcano may be attributed to the latest solar storm.  Not only is this effecting the earth, it’s affecting us emotionally, intellectually and physically... during the last six months in particular as we can see increasing tension with world leaders threatening nuclear war.   Upon further research, physicists are sounding the warning about solar activity in 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_TzIUlaQok&feature=related

While we don't want fear to stop us, we do want fear to motivate us.  We all know the power of love as demonstrated by Dr. Emoto on water and the Institute of Heartmath through the heart's intelligence (coherence).  On Thursday, April 22 - Earth Day, I would like to invite you to personally take part in a mass consciousness project (24 hours). 
Instead of feeling powerless, this is the time for us to use action of sending loving energy. Let us invite all the energy healers you know and every man, women and child to send out love to our sun and send it calming energy.  Starting Thursday, a short broadcast,  energized by many incredible healers, will be available for people to listen to and will then remain on the archives to be heard anytime one feels the urge.   Ask your friends and love ones to participate.   Then, when you are in daylight, stop, focus and send appreciation, love and joy to the Sun as well as to our planet and oceans.

Realizing that if it is God's/Source's will for earthquakes,  volcanoes,  solar storms  to happen, nothing will stop it... BUT, what if  God/Source is giving us a valuable opportunity to realize how powerful we truly are over our environment.  We already know from experience that we can create rain through our collective consciousness.  Perhaps this is what we are suppose to be doing in order to deliver ourselves into the "Golden Age."  Let's come together in love which is so much more powerful than doing nothing.   PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

To hear the broadcast anytime Thursday, April 22, go to http://loaradionetwork.com/jewels.html

Much LOVE and HUGS,
Jewels
Law of Attraction Talk Radio
Law of Attraction Radio Network

Entry #1,751

"Clinton Once Again Redefining The Word "IS"

Gotta love the many ways 'Slick Willie' tries to re-write history, and were it not for the internet he might succeed. 

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Sunday, April 18. 2010

Posted by Karl Denninger in at 13:16

Source The Market Ticker  market-ticker.org

"Clinton Once Again Redefining The Word "IS"

You have to love Dear Old Bill:

April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Former President Bill Clinton said he should have pushed for regulation of financial derivatives when he was president, rejecting the advice of top economic advisers Robert (I am Citibank) Rubin and Larry (I nearly bankrupted Harvard) Summers.

The argument was that derivatives didn’t need transparency because they were “expensive and sophisticated and only a handful of people would buy them,” Clinton said on ABC’s “This Week” program. “The flaw in this argument was that first of all, sometimes people with a lot of money make stupid decisions and make it without transparency.”

Clinton also said that Republicans who controlled Congress would have stopped him from trying to regulate derivatives. “I wish I had been caught trying,” Clinton said. “I mean, that was a mistake I made.”

Uh huh.

Mr. Bill.  You do remember this little law PL 106-102, 113 Stat 1338, right?

Do you remember it's title and the date it was enacted?

Yes, you did sign it Mr. Clinton on November 12th, 1999, and in doing so you retroactively made legal an unlawful merger of two companies that your fabulous former Fed Chairman, Alan Greenspan, intentionally allowed to occur (and granted a waiver for which he had no lawful authority to give), remember?

The law in question is otherwise known as Gramm-Leach-Bliley.

Without it the disastrous derivatives mess could not have happened, because regulated banks with access to The Fed window, not to mention FDIC depositor protection, could not have engaged in derivative trades.

Let us also remember that your Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin (who you claim gave you "wrong" advice) resigned as Treasury Secretary and brokered the deal to pass GLBA.  While doing so he was allegedly in secret negotiations to become the head of Citigroup, the direct and proximate beneficiary of making their merger retroactively legal.

IF you want to try to repair your legacy on this account what you need to do is press for the repeal of Gramm-Leach-Bliley, making it your singular political focus until it is both achieved and every institution that operates in this nation in violation of Glass-Steagall (which would be effectively re-imposed) is broken up.

GLBA was nothing more or less than a license to loot this nation and Mr. Rubin was personally and deeply involved in its passage for both his own and Citi's corporate benefit.  It was and is a shining monument to the colossal corruption and outrageous kleptocracy that became the mantra of The United States under your Presidency and has continued since to this day.

You are 100% responsible for this mess Mr. Clinton, and I, along with many others, have absolutely zero intention of ever letting anyone forget that."

http://market-ticker.org/archives/2213-Clinton-Once-Again-Redefining-The-Word-IS.html

Entry #1,750
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