konane's Blog

Sam Stein
HuffPost Reporting
 
"Unions To Take On Conservative Groups Health Care Town Halls
Updated: 08- 6-09 12:26 PM
 
"The nation's largest federation of labor organizations has promised to directly engage with boisterous conservative protesters at Democratic town halls during the August recess.

In a memo sent out on Thursday, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney outlined the blueprint for how the union conglomerate would step up recess activities on health care reform and other topics pertinent to the labor community. The document makes clear that Obama allies view the town hall forums as ground zero of the health care debate. It also uses the specter of the infamous 2000 recount "Brooks Brothers" protest to rally its members to the administration's side.

"The principal battleground in the campaign will be town hall meetings and other gatherings with members of Congress in their home districts," reads the memo. "We want your help to organize major union participation to counter the right-wing "Tea-Party Patriots" who will try to disrupt those meetings, as they've been trying to do to meetings for the last month. ...

(Remember the hooligans - many of them Republican Congressional staff - who harassed Florida vote counters in 2000? We can't let that happen again!)."

A showdown between unions and grassroots conservative organizations could make for an August full of fireworks, with even more dysfunctional town hall meetings. The AFL-CIO is planning to target 50 "high priority districts," in addition to organizing telephone town hall gatherings.

But while the union conglomerate seems poised to flex its political muscle on Obama's behalf, it may find some friction on the policy front. Detailed in Sweeney's memo are certain legislative priorities that are clearly at odds with what seems likely to be produced in the Senate Finance Committee's compromise bill.

Sweeney describes it as a "requirement that ALL employers 'pay or play,'" that the final bill have "a robust public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers and drive down health costs," and that the legislation contain "relief for company/union funds providing pre-Medicare retiree coverage, and no taxation of health benefits!"

The AFL-CIO also promises to "Redouble our efforts on Capitol Hill against taxation of benefits OF ANY KIND, for including ALL businesses in the requirement to provide coverage, and for a robust public health insurance plan option."

According to reports on Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee is considering compromise legislation that will contain no public option for insurance and would tax health-care benefits of the most generous plans.

UPDATE: AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka sends out a scathing statement about the town halls, hitting on Sweeney's themes and calling the events corporate funded."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/unions-to-take-on-conserv_n_252720.html

Good summary, worth the time to watch.

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports:

"A Republican senator is calling for the White House to suspend a new project that asks members of the public to flag “fishy” claims about President Obama’s health care plans, arguing that it raises privacy concerns and will serve to chill free speech.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is sending a letter to the White House today asking the president to “cease this program immediately” -- or to explain how Americans’ privacy will be protected if e-mails are forwarded to the White House as requested.

“I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy’ or otherwise inimical to the White House’s political interests,” Cornyn writes

“I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward emails critical of his policies to the White House. I suspect that you would have been leading the charge in condemning such a program -- and I would have been at your side denouncing such heavy-handed government action.”

Yesterday, White House director of new media Macon Phillips wrote a blog posting urging readers to flag questionable claims about health care proposals.

“There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care.  These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation.  Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

Cornyn specifically asks whether those who quote the president’s past statements -- such as his 2003 statement that he was a “proponent” of single-payer care -- qualifies as “disinformation.” He also asks what actions the White House would take against those engaging in “fishy” speech."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/08/gop-senator-white-house-encroaching-on-first-amendment.html

_____

"White House Website Asking for Informants on Anti-Healthcare Advocates

By Warner Todd Huston  Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Source Canada Free Press

"I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that the Obama White House is now asking the public to snitch on their fellow citizens by sending an email to White House staffers informing them of other Americans that oppose Obamacare. I know what you are saying. You are probably saying that I am just a rabble rousing conservative that is just trying to stir trouble. You are probably thinking that I am taking something out of context.

Well I wish I were.

An August 4 bog post on the White House website is clearly asking for Americans to snitch on their neighbors. WH staffer Linda Douglas, a former “journalist” turned political operative, is featured on a video telling tall tales about Obama’s healthcare plan and how wonderful it is for America. But here is the scary part:


There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov

If that isn’t asking citizens to snitch on each other…. What is?

Of course the WH site pushes the Obama lie that we can keep our health insurance “if we like it” by pointing out that Obama has “consistently said” it. But saying a lie 100 times does not make it the truth. It is a fact that millions of Americans WILL lose their current healthcare plans if Obamacare passes in the form the president keeps advocating for.

But of the information that these American snitchers send off to the White House, who in the White House is going to get this information? What are they going to do with it? Will they create a data base of people that stand against Obama? What is to be done with such a database? Who will get visited by the FBI in the dead of night because they sent an email critical of Obama’s socialist styled healthcare policies?

A friend of mine named Bill Collier has written a great letter to the White House asking these questions and more.


A letter to President Barack Obama, sent to flag@whitehouse.gov

Greetings, sir, I pray for your health and that God may grant you peace and wisdom.

I am writing to you at this email address because of a post at the White House blog that, frankly, sir, has me a bit concerned.

I am certain that you are committed to freedom and liberty and do not intend on decreasing the level of freedom or the participation of citizens in the process of deciding public policy for our nation, even if that might mean that some of your initiatives have to be scaled back or simply abandoned.

Some might, however, question your commitment to freedom and the participation of citizens in the decision making process and this is why I am writing, respectfully, in the hope of seeing a happy resolution to what I hope is merely a poorly stated appeal for help in support of your health care initiative.

I understand you are asking people, through your staff, to email flag@whitehouse.gov to report people who oppose your health care plan, even though, Mr. President, you have NOT actually sent out a specific proposal and there are multiple different proposals.

Your appeal, which I sincerely fear is a call for informants (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/) was cloaked in what seems to some, myself included, doublespeak, and to my mind this appeal carries the implication that the White House wants to capture the names of opponents, which has a potentially chilling effect on open debate.

As part of this appeal, you tell your readers, basically, that people who are citing video of yourself calling for a single payer system and detailing an incrementalist approach ‘liars’, something that is both impolite and, frankly, juvenile and beneath contempt. Those statements were made by you, Mr. President. If indeed you are opposed to a single payer plan and have changed your mind, it is useful to you, and citizens who may even support you but for this perception, to clear this matter up rather than blaming others for a reasonable and logical assumption based on what you actually said.

Mr. President, facts ARE stubborn things and unless or until you publicly disavow a single payer system and actually ANNOUNCE and put in print YOUR health care proposal, it is only reasonable to think that all those things you have said are still on the table and part of your overall plan. If, however, you want a single payer system, please tell us and put in writing what your plan is so that we can have a civil discourse.

Mr. President, are you willing to state what your plan is then publicly disavow any plan that involves single payer plans in any fashion?

Further, Mr. President, would you be willing to solemnly swear that the minute you propose or even SIGN any bill that includes a single player plan or a precursor thereto that you will resign your office? Are you willing, sir, to resign your office if the implementation of your plan results in anything more than a 10% decrease in the number of people enrolled in private plans within 4 years after whatever bill is passed?

Please be advised, Mr. President, I will not be monitored: I oppose what some refer to as ‘Obamacare’ on the basis of my conviction that the Federal Power has no business sticking its nose in such things, a point of view that I sincerely believe is consistent with the original intent of our Founders. I respect that you feel differently and read that differently, but to dismiss our point of view with juvenile and petty name-calling that is clearly beneath contempt and that is simply not professional is a reflection on the content of your character that will not turn Americans against those who oppose state-run or regulated and managed health care by ANY name.

I am NOT afraid to stand up for my convictions, I respect you and your office, and I rightfully and justly demand that you and your staff respect me and my office, the office of “elector”, one of your 300 million “bosses”.

I respectfully request that you stop asking people to become informants, please spend a few minutes and re-read your constitution which you swore to uphold, and which is a condition of your tenure which must be adhered to.

I am enclosing a copy of this email to my member of Congress, my Senators, and my Governor as well as any local media and asking them to investigate WHY the White House is trying to capture names of opponents and asking people to inform on opponents.

If your office is seeking to obtain names of people who oppose your plan and to engage other Americans as informants or agents I would, and I am sure many others would, consider this to be a SERIOUS offense against the Bill of Rights if indeed your objective here is to do this, so, with this in mind, sir, please cease and desist and respect even those who oppose you in a civil and fair manner.

I pray that this communication is seen as a friendly appeal for a quick and amicable resolution of my concerns or, at worse, a friendly rebuke, if you will, due to what is clearly impolite behavior that is beneath of the dignity of the Presidency or the White House.

May you continue to be in good health and good spirits as you lead our free nation of free and sovereign citizens who wish you, and America, Godspeed within the reasonable constraints of liberty, justice, and our Constitution.

Yours in service to the Republic,

Bill Collier,
By the Grace of God, Citizen and Elector, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The United States of America
Marysville PA

PS I have BCC’d this to other individuals and hope that they, too, stand up by name and without fear, knowing that your White House, Mr. President, would never seek to in any way censure or persecute in any manner any citizen for simply questioning your policies or conduct: I am sure you will agree with me that the best way to dispel such myths is to reply in a cordial and civil manner to such citizens, even your loyal opposition.

It appears that the White House thinks this is Orwell’s 1984. Big Brother is watching and he apparently resides in Oceania’s White House."

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/13391

Son sent me this .... you don't have to speak the language to 'get it'.

The issue needs to be thoroughly investigated and settled once and for all.  Link by Andy Martin's name to his bio page listing credentials.

____________________

"CHICAGO NEWS CONFERENCE TUESDAY: Obama “Kenyan birth certificate” prompts call for federal grand jury probe.

Andy Martin  ( http://www.andymartin.com/bio.htm )
Source pr-inside.com

"2009-08-04 07:05:30 - Internet Powerhouse Andy Martin says the filing of a purported “Kenyan birth certificate” for Barack Obama with a federal court in California opens the way to an FBI/Department of Justice inquiry into the provenance of the document. Martin’s Chicago news conference Tuesday will release copies of requests to the FBI and Attorney General Eric Holder requesting an investigation of the “Kenyan” document.

Internet Powerhouse Andy Martin says a “Kenyan birth certificate” of Barack Obama is probably a forgery

Martin says the time has come to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Obama’s “records”

Martin seeks an FBI/DOJ probe of Obama “birth” documents, says they may have been college application forgeries

(CHICAGO)(August 4, 2009) Internet Powerhouse Andy Martin, the crusading columnist and investigator who five years ago began asking tough questions about Barack Obama’s childhood religion and birth certificate, and who today is a U. S. Senate candidate from Illinois, will hold a Chicago news conference Tuesday to announce he has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate a purported “Kenyan birth certificate” of Barack Obama.

“In my personal opinion Martin will state, “The purported ‘Kenyan birth certificate’ KBC of Barack Obama is a forgery. But who forged it, and why? These are questions that Americans want answered.

“Over the past five years, beginning in August, 2004, I have written a number of columns and a bestselling book that Barack Obama’s operatives have attacked. But almost every allegation that I made in those columns and in my book has ultimately been proven true. Obama himself has admitted many of my claims.

“The only exception to the ‘truth’ of my factual claims is my expressed 'theory' involving Obama and Frank Marshall Davis. I labeled the Obama-Davis connection a theory, not a fact.

“I was the first, for example, to suggest Barack Obama was born with dual US/UK nationality, a claim that he later admitted.

“I filed the first, and so far only, lawsuit in Hawai’i to open to public view what I believe is now an archive of American history: Barack Obama’s original, typewritten 1961 Hawaiian birth certificate. Obama has obstructed access to that document.

“A California attorney has now filed a purported KBC with a federal forum. The Department of Justice and FBI automatically have jurisdiction to investigate matters filed in federal court.

“I want to stress that I have no connection of any sort with the KBC. And I have serious questions about its provenance. In particular, two theories interest me. First, I think there is a very real possibility that this document is a ‘smoking gun but not the smoking gun that so-called 'birthers' are seeking.

'Birthers' claim me as their Godfather, and in a sense I am; but I am not in fact a birther myself. I do not accept many of the theories that they have propounded. I continue to believe Obama was born in Hawai’i, although under suspicious circumstances. That is why Obama does not want the typewritten original document of his birth made public.

“I suspect the KBC may be a forgery that was created by Obama himself, as part of his admissions package to Occidental College. Obama forged the KBC to falsely claim Kenyan birth as part of his ‘affirmative action’ application to Occidental. That is a very real explanation for the KBC. The KBC may also explain why Obama has shrouded his college records in secrecy; he should now release all of them to the public.

“My second theory as to who forged the KBC is more sinister. But based on Mr. Taitz’ provenance, and my contacts with various intelligence agencies, I can see another potential source of the forged KBC.

“Which of these possible explanations, or some other explanation that has yet to be proffered, is the correct one to corroborate the authenticity or forgery (or “both of the KBC remains to be seen.

“Someone forged a birth document concerning the President of the United States. He may have forged it, or someone else may have forged it. The American people have a right to a thorough and impartial investigation of this matter.

“I am releasing [Tuesday] my request to the FBI and AG to open a criminal investigation of his document. It is now apparently a federal court record. Therefore, federal criminal jurisdiction indisputably exists.

“If it turns out that someone forged the KBC to obstruct justice, then that person should be criminally prosecuted. There is no place for forgery or lies on either side of the Obama birth controversy. I have consistently rejected lies as an appropriate response to Barack Obama’s own stream of distortions and fabrications.

“We need a special prosecutor, or independent counsel, who is free of entanglements with the Obama administration.

“I no longer call the national media ‘mainstream media They are 'meathead media’ in my view. Over and over again they have tried to cover up reasonable questions about Obama’s past. My book explored many of these issues up to June, 2008; and I subsequently wrote extensively on Obama's lacunae, as well as appearing on 'Hannity's America' in what became the most controversial TV program of the 2008 election [click on Part two]: www.youtube.com/watch?v=
UKSq2oJ0W1c&feature=related

“Because of my investigations, I have been the subject of political terrorism by Robert Gibbs and Obama’s henchmen. I will also be asking to appear and be sworn as a grand jury witness.

"If there is nothing wrong in all of the Obama documentation, I will be the first one to congratulate him. But if, as appears almost certain, there are forgeries and fraud somewhere, though not necessarily where the ‘birthers’ expect, then Mr. Obama must answer to the collective wrath of the American people.

“My own judgment, and this is only an honest opinion, not a statement of fact, is that Obama probably lied in his college documents, and sought special treatment as a foreign-born student. If that is the case, he had best admit the truth, and fast. The longer Obama allows this ‘birth certificate circus' to fester, the greater the ultimate damage to his administration.

“In closing, I wish to note that I bear Barack Obama no personal animus. I began my inquiries as a legitimate author and Internet columnist. I continue to pursue scholarly evidence such as original documents.

“I am completely committed to searching for the truth and finding the facts about Barack Obama. I am convinced to a moral certainty that, to date, those facts and that truth has not yet seen the light of day.

“Rightly or wrongly, tens of millions of Americans rejected the Republicans and believed the message of ‘change’ that Obama projected. If he betrayed them, a prompt confession, not endless prevarication, is the only honorable resolution.

“Eric Holder represents us; he does not represent Barack Obama. As our national lawyer-in-chief, he owes us an independent criminal investigation of the KBC.

“The meathead media can try to lie to the American people, but collectively there is a growing national consensus that something is rotten in Barack Obama’s past. The sooner Obama tells us the truth, the sooner we can move on Martin will state. “Until then, the doubts and the potential nightmare will persist"

© Copyright by Andy Martin 2009.
http://www.pr-inside.com/chicago-new...a-r1420868.htm

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQDDFnAWMld0

Found this breaking news via  " **FLASH** FBI RAID! (Colonial Bank Building, Orlando)

http://market-ticker.org/archives/1286-FLASH-FBI-RAID!-Colonial-Bank-Building,-Orlando.html

_________

Federal Agents Raid Colonial Bank In Orlando

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32271661/ns/local_news-orlando_fl/

________

"raided
by FBI

Updated: Monday, 03 Aug 2009, 1:27 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 03 Aug 2009, 12:07 PM EDT

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/orange_news/080309_fbi_raids_building

Have never been in favor of peer to peer music sharing due to loss of royalties to singers and song writers, and it's just plain against laws on the books.  However interesting that details of this proposed law are coming from another country instead of from our own fawning press.

_____________

"Police called on retirees at senator's LA office

Sen. Dianne Feinstein


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/30/state/n184320D61.DTL

YouTube - Cash for Clunkers and Your Computer

Bringing my last blog post forward below is a financial expert which I've cited several times giving his take on disruptive town hall meetings, scared politicians.

Quote:

"Politicians: Wake The Hell Up

by Karl Denninger

Source MarketTicker.com

From Yahoo News:

On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control.

“I had felt they would be pointless,” Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO, referring to his recent decision to suspend the events in his Long Island district. “There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what is basically an unruly mob prevents you from having an intelligent conversation.”

Really?

Well Tim, guess what: you work for your constituents, not the other way around.

It would appear to this commentator that the Reps and Senators who feel "besieged" by their constituents in town hall meetings might have paid better attention in September and October when they were told by 300:1 margins not to pass the EESA/TARP bill.

Or when they were told repeatedly to NOT try to advance amnesty for illegal aliens and refuse to enforce our immigration laws.

Or when they were told repeatedly to quit bailing out the irresponsible, looking the other way while the populace is looted systematically by those in the banking and other "coddled" industries.

There are a whole host of issues like this, and Congress seems to think (because it has gotten away with it for years) that ignoring the voters is not only acceptable, but is indeed a good idea.

Let me remind Mr. Bishop, along with the other Congressfolk, that the entirety of our government serves at our pleasure, not the other way around.  Specifically, let me cite The Declaration of Independence:

....That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness....

Loud voices of dissent and sign-waving constituents are an unmistakable sign that our government has pressed the line of tolerance, and may, if it does not reverse course, exceed it.

And before someone claims that I am some sort of "right-wing nut" or similar, let me point out that the above text is not mine - they are the words of the founders of our nation, who believed that absent consent government does not exist - that's tyranny, not government.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

How close to the line has our government come?

I have no idea, but this much I do know: I do not want to discover that the line has been crossed.

Again:

• Stop the looting and start prosecuting.  The bankers, lenders and others in the "bizness side" have been literally robbing the people for over two decades.  This includes both so-called "captains of the banking industry" and government officials who have looked the other way and in some cases (e.g. OTS) actively conspired to conceal the truth.  Taxpayers have lost hundreds of billions as a consequence yet nobody has gone to prison for it nor are there even outstanding indictments.  There is no reason on God's Green Earth why Goldman Sachs should be allowed to keep the roughly $13 billion in AIG pass-through money, nor why they should, having elected to become a bank holding company, be able to keep using their "VaR" risk model (instead of the more-stringent BANK risk limits.) There are dozens of examples; Goldman is hardly alone in this regard.
• Quit voting FOR bills you did not read - end to end!  There's no excuse for this.  The Stimulus Bill, EESA/TARP and more - this is absolutely common behavior and it's outrageous.  Sorry, there is no emergency that demands passing a 1,000 page bill until every member has read it from one end to the other, personally.  If you need to pass something fast then it needs to be simple enough that it can be read in the hour you get before the vote!  I don't care what the emergency is - if you haven't read the bill cover-to-cover the only acceptable vote is NO.
• Quit spending more than you make.  We are here because we have turned into a nation of Madoffs, and nowhere is it more evident than in Washington DC.  We cannot have a sustainable economic recovery until the debt-to-GDP ratio is restored to a rational and sustainable ratio.  This means much less spending; promising that which cannot be paid for is how we got into this mess.
• Represent your constituents and TELL THE TRUTH.  We're tired of being lied to, and government has done a LOT of lying.  The idea that "the economy is improving" is just one example; go ask your unemployed constituents what they think of this claim.  Fact: The economy stinks and it stinks because Washington DC conspired to blow a bubble after the 2000 tech implosion.  You're culpable; take responsibility and do the right thing instead of trying to blow air into a popped balloon!

Our government has become an unacceptable and unaccountable den of liars and thieves, and the people are getting tired of it.  The evidence of extreme dissatisfaction, which may rise beyond the soapbox and ballot box if this trend is not reversed and soon, is clear.  Nobody with a shred of intelligence wants to see the inevitable outcome of a government that refuses to follow the law itself, refuses to prosecute criminal wrongdoing by favored parties, and refuses to listen to the electorate on the issues of the day, instead mollycoddling those who have committed massive fraud upon the public and giving them hundreds of billions of dollars in hand-outs funded by the very people they ripped off in the first place!"

http://market-ticker.org/archives/1277-Politicians-Wake-The-Hell-Up.html

Video was part of this article.  Email and call your congress persons.

__________

YouTube - Congressman Tim Bishop Encounters Angry Citizens at Townhall Meeting

"Town halls gone wild

POLITICO 44

"Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.

On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control.

“I had felt they would be pointless,” Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO, referring to his recent decision to temporarily suspend the events in his Long Island district. “There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what is basically an unruly mob prevents you from having an intelligent conversation.”

In Bishop’s case, his decision came on the heels of a June 22 event he held in Setauket, N.Y., in which protesters dominated the meeting by shouting criticisms at the congressman for his positions on energy policy, health care and the bailout of the auto industry.

Within an hour of the disruption, police were called in to escort the 59-year-old Democrat — who has held more than 100 town hall meetings since he was elected in 2002 — to his car safely.

“I have no problem with someone disagreeing with positions I hold,” Bishop said, noting that, for the time being, he was using other platforms to communicate with his constituents. “But I also believe no one is served if you can’t talk through differences.”

Bishop isn’t the only one confronted by boiling anger and rising incivility. At a health care town hall event in Syracuse, N.Y., earlier this month, police were called in to restore order, and at least one heckler was taken away by local police. Close to 100 sign-carrying protesters greeted Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) at a late June community college small-business development forum in Panama City, Fla. Last week, Danville, Va., anti-tax tea party activists claimed they were “refused an opportunity” to ask Rep. Thomas Perriello (D-Va.) a question at a town hall event and instructed by a plainclothes police officer to leave the property after they attempted to hold up protest signs.

The targets in most cases are House Democrats, who over the past few months have tackled controversial legislation including a $787 billion economic stimulus package, a landmark energy proposal and an overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

Democrats, acknowledging the increasing unruliness of the town-hall-style events, say the hot-button issues they are taking on have a lot to do with it.

“I think it’s just the fact that we are dealing with some of the most important public policy issues in a generation,” said Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), who was confronted by a protester angry about his position on health care reform at a town hall event several weeks ago.

“I think in general what is going on is we are tackling issues that have been ignored for a long time, and I think that is disruptive to a lot of people,” said Bishop, a four-term congressman. “We are trying, one by one, to deal with a set of issues that can’t be ignored, and I think that’s unsettling to a lot of people.”

Freshman Rep. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.), whose event at a Syracuse middle school was disrupted, said that he still planned to hold additional town halls but that he was also thinking about other options.

“I think you’ve got to communicate through a variety of different ways. You should do the telephone town hall meetings. You should do the town hall meetings. You should do the smaller group meetings,” said Maffei. “It’s important to do things in a variety of ways, so you don’t have one mode of communication.”

“You’re going to have people of varying views, and in this case, you’ve got the two extremes who were the most vocal,” Maffei said of the flare-up at his July 12 event.

On Tuesday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who handles incumbent retention duties for House Democrats in addition to chairing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, met with freshman members to discuss their plans for the monthlong August recess. While the specific issue of town hall protesters never came up, according to sources familiar with the meeting, he urged them not to back away from opponents.

“He said, ‘Go on offense. Stay on the offense. It’s really important that your constituents hear directly from you. You shouldn’t let a day go by [that] your constituents don’t hear from you,’” said one House Democratic leadership aide familiar with the meeting.

Some members profess to enjoy the give-and-take of the town halls, even if lately it’s become more take than give.

“Town halls are a favorite part of my job,” said Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), a third-term congressman from St. Louis who noted that a “handful” of disruptions had taken place at his meetings. “It’s what I do. It’s what I will continue to do.”

“People have gotten fired up and all that, but I think that’s what makes town halls fun,” said Perriello, a freshman who is among the most vulnerable Democrats in 2010. “I think that most of the time when we get out there, it’s a good chance for people to vent and offer their thoughts. It’s been good.”

“I enjoy it, and people have a chance to speak their mind,” he said.

Both Carnahan and Perriello said they were plunging forward with plans to hold more town hall meetings.

Republicans, with an eye toward 2010, are keeping close track of the climate at Democratic events.

“We’ve seen Russ Carnahan, we’ve seen Tim Bishop, we’ve seen some other people face some very different crowds back home,” said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas). “The days of you having a town hall meeting where maybe 15 or 20 of your friends show up — they’re over. You’ve now got real people who are showing up — and that’s going to be a factor.”

Asked later how or whether the GOP would use the confrontations against Democrats, Sessions responded: “Wait till next year.”

But Democrats are quick to point out they’re not the only ones facing hostile audiences. They single out Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), who found himself in a confrontation earlier this month with a “birther” protester, and insist that Republicans face a backlash of their own if it appears the party is too closely aligned with tea party activists or other conservative-oriented protesters.

“It’s a risk that they align themselves with such a small minority in the party,” said Brian Smoot, who served as political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the past election cycle. “They risk alienating moderates.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25646.html#ixzz0MqpQFkoO

Another piece of the puzzle.

________

"Mexico on the brink

"Felipe Calderón says drug cartels threaten Mexico's democracy. But his effort to crush them are damaging its society.

Last month, President Felipe Calderón announced that Mexico was at a crossroads: the country's drug cartels had grown so powerful that they now posed a threat to future of Mexican democracy. As if to underscore his point, the country was last week gripped by a fresh wave of brutal violence, as heavily-armed gunmen laid siege to police stations across Calderón's home state, left a dozen federal agents dead by the side of a mountain highway and assassinated the mayor of a northern ranching town.

The cartels' brazen attacks point to their evolution from ragged criminal collectives into de facto military organisations. Better funded, better trained and far more heavily armed than the police officers attempting to contain them, they now more closely resemble Colombia's Farc rebels than any conventional street gang.

Like the Farc, the cartels are seeking to control neighbourhoods and even entire regions. Oversized banners proclaiming the gangs' dominance are common sights in public spaces across the country, and cartel leaders' orders can drive police chiefs from office or help propel sympathetic politicians to electoral victory. Amid last week's violence, one cartel capo even tried to dictate terms for a ceasefire to the federal government. His offer was rebuffed but stood as further testimony to the cartels' increasing well-founded confidence.

So, could Mexico be on the brink of a Colombia-style conflagration? A descent into open conflict is no longer unthinkable. Around 11,000 people have died since the government started pushing back against the drug cartels, and reports from the Rand Corporation and the Pentagon recently concluded that if left unchecked, the spiralling violence could conceivably lead to the collapse of the Mexican state.

Still, such an outcome remains highly unlikely. Unlike Colombia's rebels, Mexico's drug gangs are less interested in overthrowing the government than in maximising the profits from their drug-running and human-trafficking operations. A more pressing concern is that in striving to crush the cartels, Calderón might himself do lasting damage to Mexican society.

Borrowing from the playbook of his Colombian counterpart, the Mexican leader has taken a tough line in the battle against the drug gangs, treating the violence as an insurgency rather than a crime-wave and ordering tens of thousands of federal troops onto the streets to restore order. That strategy – facilitated by hundreds of millions of dollars in US military aid – has met with some success. The army has made tens of thousands of arrests and seized tons of cocaine and other drugs.

But Calderón's security forces are nowhere near delivering a knockout blow to the drug runners. A recent surge of 10,000 troops failed to stem violence in Ciudad Juarez, and there's little indication that the 5,000 extra soldiers deployed in response to last week's violence will meet with much more success. Each high-level arrest sparks a new round of retaliatory attacks and infighting as the cartels scramble for position, but does little to disrupt the cartels' core businesses. Mexico's $25bn-a-year drug-running and human-trafficking industries continue unabated.

And there are serious downsides to Calderón's strong-arm approach. Battling savage, shadowy drug gangs has brought out the worst in the Mexican military, who have swiftly gained a reputation for brutality and stand accused of abuses ranging from rape and torture to extrajudicial killings and illegal detentions. Since the armed forces are essentially self-regulating, troops commit such acts with virtual impunity. A recent Human Rights Watch report documented dozens of incidents of abuse but failed to find a single case in which military investigators had obtained a conviction.

In any case, while sending in federal troops plays well with Mexican voters, it's hardly a long-term solution. By sidelining local police forces and judiciaries, Calderón is allowing Mexico's regional law-enforcement infrastructure to continue to atrophy, making the country ever-more dependent on the military to keep the cartels in check. With the armed forces only proving able to fight the drug gangs to a jittery stalemate, Calderón's strategy appears to be paving the way for a troubling long-term militarisation of Mexican society.

Disappointingly, Washington has so far endorsed Calderón's approach. Under the Merida Initiative, hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid are being shipped south to buy bigger guns and high-tech toys for the federal security forces.

Virtually nothing, however, is being spent on cleaning up or strengthening local law enforcement. In fact, 90% of Mexico's police forces – some 325,000 officers – won't receive a dime's worth of equipment or training under current aid plans. Worse, the human-rights standards upon which the aid was originally contingent have been substantially diluted – and it's far from clear whether even those watered-down guidelines will actually be enforced in any meaningful way.

The US – whose drug and immigration policies created the markets so successfully exploited by Mexico's cartels, and whose arms sellers supply nine out of 10 of the weapons used by their gunmen – can't simply stand by while her southern neighbour falls to pieces. But neither should she seek to tackle the crime wave with a carbon-copy of Plan Colombia.

Putting Mexico back on track will require the US to take a more holistic approach, curbing her own appetite for drugs while seeking to strengthen and modernise her neighbour's local law-enforcement infrastructure.

Despite Calderón's tough-man swagger, relying on military force alone will only make matters worse."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jul/28/mexico-drug-violence-us

"China's national flag to go up in White House on Sept 20

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-13 16:45

"The national flag of the People's Republic of China (PRC) will be hoisted at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on September 20, media reported Sunday.

Chinese associations in the United States had applied to hold a ceremony in front of the US President’s residence to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of PRC.

Chen Ronghua, chairman of Fujian Association of the United States, told reporters that their application was approved not only because of the sound Sino-US relations but also because China is a responsible country.

"Many Americans admire China due to the success of last year’s Beijing Olympics," said Chen.

More than 1,000 people will attend the ceremony and the performances held after it, according to Zhao Luqun, who will direct the performances.

Zhao said the performances will demonstrate the friendship, magnanimous spirit and kindness of modern Chinese people."

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-07/13/content_8422505.htm

Politicians love to make people think they have their best interest at heart when it translates to the opposite in real life.  Some of you are going to love this.

_____________

Quoted as written:

"Barney Frank: Shut The F$%k Up

http://market-ticker.org/archives/1269-Barney-Frank-Shut-The-F%25k-Up.html