Socialist revolution…

(Bloomberg)- However history judges the 535 men and women in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate the past two years, one thing is certain: The 111th Congress made more law affecting more Americans since the “Great Society” legislation of the 1960s.

For the first time since President Theodore Roosevelt began the quest for a national health-care system more than 100 years ago, the Democrat-led House and Senate took the biggest step toward achieving that goal by giving 32 million Americans access to insurance. Congress rewrote the rules for Wall Street in the most comprehensive way since the Great Depression. It spent more than $1.67 trillion to revive an economy on the verge of a depression, including tax cuts for most Americans, jobs for more than 3 million, construction of roads and bridges and investment in alternative energy; ended an almost two-decade ban against openly gay men and women serving in the military, and is poised today to ratify a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia.

For all of its ambitious achievement, the 111th Congress, which may adjourn this week, also witnessed a voter-backlash driven by a 9.6-percent unemployment rate that cost Democrats control of the House and diminished their Senate majority.

Why stop there, Bawmey. Initiate a government takeover of all private-sector companies and run them into the ground like you did with Fannie and Freddie…

(RCP) — Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) tells MSNBC that he would like the government to mandate that publicly held companies should hold board meetings once a year to decide what is just compensation for officers of the company. Frank also went beyond that and told corporations how they should spend their money and what should be accepted and what should not.

“The way that you pay them [executives] can not be a way in which they are given an incentive to take big risks because they know if the risk pays off, they get paid extra money and if the risk blows up, they won’t lose a nickel,” Frank said, telling corporations how they should spend their money.

Frank says there should be regulations that make it impossible for people to make money based on risks whether it makes money or not, which is the quintessential tenet of the free market.

It should be noted that the “little guy” Rep. Frank speaks of normally doesn’t own a majority of the shares or a high percentage. Those are normally held by CEOs (sometimes given stock instead of more compensation) and other large investors.

Video here…

This won’t surprise anyone from Mass, Brookline is one of the richest towns in the state, super-elitist and in Bawney Fwank’s district…

A Brookline public school is bringing back the Pledge of Allegiance next month — and the principal is asking parents to fill out permission slips before their children participate.

“It’s uncomfortable. The pledge is a promise, and I’ve always taught my kids to think very carefully before making any promise. It’s not a decision I want to make for them,” said Judi Puritz Cook, who has two sons at the Devotion School.

On Monday, Devotion Principal Gerardo J. Martinez sent a letter to parents telling them that the school would begin weekly recitations next month of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag that he’d lead over the public address system.

Read the letter here.

He said teachers and students can’t be mandated to participate in the pledge under the Constitution, and called it a personal choice to participate.

“I urge you to have a conversation as a family to help your children understand why I will be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and to support them in feeling comfortable and confident in the decision on whether or not to participate,” Martinez said in the letter.

But Sarah Wunsch, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union in Boston, said she hasn’t heard of another school using permission slips to handle the pledge.

“It suggests that this is a decision for parents alone. Are they going to enforce that?” asked Wunsch, calling the use of permission slips “really strange.”

She said that the permission slip raises the issue of what would the schools do if a student’s wishes differ from his or her parents.

“I think that’s really strange that they’d do that… even children don’t lose their right of expression simply by walking into a schoolhouse’s doors,” said Wunsch, herself a Brookline resident.

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GZM Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has held up Yusuf al-Qardawi as an example that Islam does not condone terrorism, yet here he is again doing just that. But don’t worry, Imam Rauf is still a “moderate”…

Following are excerpts from an interview with leading Sunni scholar Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, which aired on Al-Hayat 2 TV on December 17, 2010.

According to Islamic law, in any country that is invaded and occupied by foreign infidels, all the local people should conduct resistance against the occupation, using all the means at their disposal. The jurisprudents said that a woman can set out on Jihad without her husband’s permission, a child can set out on Jihad without his father’s permission, and a slave can set out without his master’s permission. All the people should set out on Jihad. “There is no obedience to a creature in disobedience to the Creator.”

The right of the collective supersedes the right of the individual. if the local people are incapable of confronting the [enemies], who are stronger and better prepared than them, their neighbors need to help them.

All the Muslims must help, each according to his ability – with money, with weapons, with expertise. If they have no expertise in anti-tank warfare, they can offer their expertise in the manufacturing of missiles. In such a case, a collective duty becomes an individual duty, incumbent upon all Muslims.

[The Jews] are the most miserly of all people and the most protective of their lives, yet they devote their lives and their money [to their cause]. The Muslims worldwide must contribute to the regaining of Palestine. Palestine is not merely Islamic land. It is the land of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and of the holy places.

The martyrdom operations which I approve are the ones that target the occupiers. That is why I sanctioned martyrdom operations in Palestine. When I was asked, in London, how I could permit martyrdom operations in Palestine, I said that they are a necessity, because these people want to defend themselves, the things that are holy to them, and their land. I said to them: “You want them to stop the martyrdom operations? Then give them Apache helicopters, planes, tanks, and missiles, and then they will abandon martyrdom operations.” They do not have bombs, so they turn themselves into human bombs. This is a necessity.

Anyone who thinks Obama believes in American exceptionalism should probably schedule a CAT-scan ASAP…

PRINCETON, NJ — Americans widely agree that the United States has a unique character because of its history and Constitution that sets it apart from other nations as the greatest in the world. This view, commonly referred to as “U.S. exceptionalism,” is shared by at least 73% of Americans in all party groups, including 91% of Republicans.

At the same time that Americans believe the U.S. is exceptional, they also are inclined to believe that status is far from secure, according to the Dec. 10-12 USA Today/Gallup poll. Three-quarters of those who believe the U.S. is exceptional (62% of all Americans) also believe the U.S. is currently at risk of losing its unique character.

The poll does not delve into possible reasons why Americans think the United States’ stature is at risk. It is possible this viewpoint reflects Americans’ tendency to see national conditions as getting worse rather than improving. Gallup has observed this pattern in a variety of areas, including the state of U.S. morals, the quality of the environment, the crime situation in the U.S., and the economy.

Some Republican critics, however, imply that Barack Obama’s policies, including his approach to foreign policy, are a threat to the United States’ status as the world’s greatest nation.

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Breakdown:

Hamas suicide bombers unavailable for comment…

SEATTLE — “Israeli War Crimes,” the enormous advertisement reads. “Your tax dollars at work.”

To the right of the image is a group of children — one little boy stares out at the viewer, the others gawk at a demolished building, all rebar and crumbled concrete.

It’s an ad you’ll be seeing soon on a handful of Metro buses in downtown Seattle.

A group calling itself the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign has paid King County $1,794 so that 12 buses will carry that message around town, starting two days after Christmas. That’s December 27: the two-year anniversary of Israeli attacks on Gaza, aimed at stopping rocket attacks and weapons smuggling.

Ed Mast, a Seattle man who is a spokesperson for the group, says it’s not meant to be an anti-Israel message, but a message designed to generate discussion and awareness.

“I wouldn’t say it’s an anti-Israel message any more than any complaint about a country is anti-that country. We would like Israel to stop violating human rights. We would like Israel to give equal rights to its Palestinian subjects who live under occupation,” said Mast.

HT: GWP

Wait, hasn’t she always been nuts?…

HT: Yiddy

And there you have it, the left’s vision of a one-world government…

“we are a country guided by ideals of equity, generosity and engagement in our relations with other nations and those philosophical ideals create safe borders. . . . and God willing one day the border will become an irrelevancy”

HT: Milton

Hey wait, when Bush was President didn’t people like Cynthia Tucker tell us over and over again that dissent was the highest form of patriotism?…

Republicans’ unpatriotic resistance to New START — Cynthia Tucker/AJC

There is simply no modern precedent for the behavior of Republicans in the U.S. Senate. They are not only hyper-partisan, but they are also petty, petulant and unpatriotic, willing to jeopardize national security if they think they can hurt President Obama. Witness their growing resistance to a nuclear pact with Russia, the New START treaty.

The pact represents minimilist, mainstream downsizing of the nuclear weapons arsenals of the United States and Russia, a continuation of policies first envisioned by none other than Ronald Reagan.

New START has been endorsed by every living secretary of state. That includes, obviously, Condoleezza Rice. George H.W. Bush has endorsed it.

But Republicans continue to come up with excuses, including an insistence that Obama is trying to “jam” the treaty through a lame duck session without giving them enough time to consider it. The treaty was signed by the U.S. and Russia in April; they’ve had months to read it.

Some Republicans, such as Jon Kyl of Arizona, claim the Obama administration hasn’t set aside enough money to modernize our remaining nuclear weapons. That, too, is nonsense, according to Linton Brooks, who ran the National Nuclear Security Administration under George W. Bush.

No fan of the Huckster…

(Politico) — Potential GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says Sarah Palin’s wrong and Michelle Obama’s right, at least when it comes to the first lady’s push to combat childhood obesity.

“With all due respect to my colleague and friend Sarah Palin, I think she’s misunderstood what Michelle Obama is trying to do,” the former Arkansas governor said Tuesday on the “Curtis Sliwa Show.”

Michelle Obama has pushed several initiatives to encourage kids to exercise and eat well, including advocating for the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law last week.

Palin has made clear more than once that she sees the first lady’s efforts as an overstep by the federal government. Most recently, on the episode of “Sarah Palin’s America” that aired Sunday, the former vice presidential candidate dedicated the s’mores her family was making to the first lady. “This is in honor of Michelle Obama, who said the other day we should not have dessert,” Palin said.

Overweight for most of his life, Huckabee lost more than 100 pounds after a 2003 health scare and has since become an advocate for healthy eating and exercise.

“Michelle Obama’s not trying to tell people what to eat or not trying to force the government’s desires on people,” Huckabee said. “She’s stating the obvious, that we do have an obesity problem in this country.”

He added: “The first lady’s campaign is on target.”

I’m suprised she didn’t repeat Michelle Obama’s “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country” line…

Washington (CNN) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday led jubilant legislators and soldiers discharged under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in singing “God Bless America” to celebrate the upcoming repeal of the controversial law.

President Barack Obama will sign the repeal bill on Wednesday, and Pelosi did her part at the ceremony attended by hundreds of supporters of the repeal by signing the measure passed by Congress to send it to the White House.

The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy enacted in 1993 banned openly gay and lesbian soldiers from military service. More than 14,000 military members have been discharged because of it.

Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the military will be made stronger by including all Americans who want to serve without making gay and lesbian members lie about who they are.

“Isn’t this a joyful day?” she said, adding that the repeal measure will “change the law, improve the policy, make life better for many Americans, and make our country stronger.”

Pelosi then asked all in attendance to sing “God Bless America.” At the end, Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, one of the first openly gay House members, could be seen wiping his eyes.

Words can’t describe this one, just skip ahead to the 3:35 mark and marvel in the mind-numbing incompetence…

HT: Allah

They drug test at MSNBC? I’m guessing, no…

This president has had a great first two years, far better than your good buddy, Ronald Reagan, over there on the right. Far more legislative accomplishments affecting more people’s lives.

Via Newsbusters

It’s apparent his botched face-lift has lead to some kind of severe brain-damage…

“The issue is that more of these plots have been hatched by non-Muslims… It’s not just one group. 72 Americans. Angry white Americans. People who are angry at the country who fly planes at the IRS building. People like Tim McVeigh. Angry white Americans.”

Via GWP

It’s almost like he’s paying them back for something…

(Daily Caller)- The Office of Labor Management Statistics (OLMS) was supposed to release an annual report tracking labor unions and evidence of corruption in union leadership in January 2010 but still hasn’t released the document.

OLMS, which falls under the Department of Labor, has released no such tracking report since George W. Bush’s administration, something that has the conservative nonprofit organization Americans for Limited Government (ALG) up in arms. ALG filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the 2009 report, and OLMS denied the group’s request by saying it needed more time to complete the report. Originally, however, those reports were publicly available on the OLMS website.

The report would tabulate the number of cases nationwide of union leader prosecution, the amount of funds they embezzle and the misuse of union funds. It also would keep track of indictments. Those statistics do exist elsewhere, as criminal and most civil court proceedings become public record after the cases close, but they’re difficult to track down as they’re in courthouses all over the country. The OLMS annual reports kept track of that information, allowing people to access it easily.

ALG’s current head of research, Don Todd, who led OLMS during the Bush administration, told The Daily Caller he doubts it would be too difficult for the Obama administration to release that information, as they’re supposed to keep track of it all year long. He also said that this administration’s failure to release the report is “freakishly incompetent.” He suspects politics is to blame.

Keep reading…

Yeah, it’s that bad…

(The Hill)- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) lashed out at fellow Republicans Tuesday for a “capitulation … of dramatic proportions” to Democrats and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the lame-duck Congress.

Graham said Republicans have no one to blame but themselves for allowing ratification of the New START Treaty and other legislation in the period before new lawmakers are sworn in in January.

“When it’s all going to be said and done, Harry Reid has eaten our lunch,” Graham said on Fox News radio. “This has been a capitulation in two weeks of dramatic proportions of policies that wouldn’t have passed in the new Congress.”

Republican senators have broken with the party’s leaders on several key votes in order to advance some of President Obama’s top policies during the lame-duck. GOP members defected to pass a repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” and have done likewise to secure likely ratification for the START Treaty. Some Republicans might allow a health bill for 9/11 first responders to move forward, while three Republicans voted to end debate on the DREAM Act, an ultimately unsuccessful immigration bill.

The hard-charging lame-duck Congress has led Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the White House to claim a successful post-election legislative session. That came after nearly two years of griping from Democratic leaders about Republican “obstructionism” on a variety of bills, including many of the unfinished items being addressed now.

A heart-felt thank you to all the brain-dead sheeple who voted for Obama…

(Reuters) – The U.S. government fell deeper into the red in fiscal 2010 with net liabilities swelling more than $2 trillion as commitments on government debt and federal benefits rose, a U.S. Treasury report showed on Tuesday.

The Financial Report of the United States, which applies corporate-style accrual accounting methods to Washington, showed the government’s liabilities exceeded assets by $13.473 trillion. That compared with a $11.456 trillion gap a year earlier.

Unlike the normal measurement of government intake of receipts against cash outlays, accrual accounting measures costs such as interest on the debt and federal benefits payable when they are incurred, not when funds are actually disbursed.

The report was instituted under former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, the first Treasury secretary in the George W. Bush administration, to illustrate the mounting liabilities of government entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The government’s net operating cost, or deficit, in the report grew to $2.080 trillion for the year ended September 30 from $1.253 trillion the prior year as spending and liabilities increased for social programs. Actual and anticipated revenues were roughly unchanged.

The cash budget deficit narrowed in fiscal 2010 to $1.294 trillion from $1.417 trillion in 2009. But the $858 billion tax cut extension package enacted last week is expected to keep the deficit well above the $1 trillion mark for another year.

The latest Treasury report should fuel debate in Congress over spending cuts next year as a new Republican majority in the House of Representatives takes office.

Slow Joe, the gift that just keeps on giving…

Gibbs clarifies Biden’s forecast- Politico

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs sought to clear up Vice President Biden’s comments on U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan on Monday, arguing that the rebuilding nation will follow a similar path that Iraq did.

Biden said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we’re going to be totally out of there come hell or high water by 2014.”

What Biden meant to say, Gibbs argued, was that the “combat role” in Afghanistan would end by 2014.

“I would point you to what was decided in Lisbon just a few weeks ago, that we will, much like we have in Iraq, transfer primary security of Afghanistan to the Afghans, as NATO and ISAF agreed, by the end of 2014, which would – which would end our combat – our combat commitment in Afghanistan,” Gibbs told reporters.

Pressed on whether troops will be completely gone, Gibbs said, “I think what the vice president was discussing was our combat role.”

The UK is doomed…

(Daily Mail)- Around a third of young British Muslims favour killing in the name of Islam, according to a survey revealed by the WikiLeaks’ publication of U.S diplomatic cables.

A survey of 600 Muslim and 800 non-Muslim students at 30 universities throughout the UK conducted by the Centre for Social Cohesion found that 32 percent of Muslims on UK campuses believe killing in the name of religion is justified.

A U.S. diplomatic cable from January 2009 quoted the same poll as saying 54 per cent wanted a Muslim party to represent their world view in Parliament and 40 per cent want Muslims in the UK to be under Sharia law.

The survey results, revealed by WikiLeaks’ release of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables, suggests increasing radicalisation among Britain’s young Muslims.

A further U.S. cable, dated February 5 2009, said reaching out to Britain’s Muslim community there was a ‘top priority’ for U.S. embassy staff.

“Although people of Muslim faith make up only 3 to 4 percent of the UK’s population, outreach to this key audience is vital to U.S. foreign policy interests in the UK and beyond. … This is a top Mission priority,” stated the cable.

The February cable outlined a plan encompassing ‘engagement and community capacity-building’ to counter the possible growth of ‘violent extremism’ in the UK.

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