Disgusting.

(CNSNews.com) — Y-PEER, a youth initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has issued a call to make access to abortion and contraception an international human right for children as young as 10 years old.

The U.N.-affiliated group also issued what U.N. analysts say is a call for the decriminalization of prostitution and drug use, and for “confidentiality” in health-care services for youth.

The “Joint Youth Statement on the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Young People” was released in preparation for the U.N. Youth Conference, which began Wednesday in New York.

“In order to fully recognise young people’s sexual and reproductive rights, especially the right to choose, we must achieve universal access to safe and youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health care services, including access to evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education, in formal and non-formal settings,” the document states.

The phrase “reproductive health care services” is shorthand for abortion, which the statement further underscores.

Just another Dem who wants to treat the Constitution like it’s a roll of toilet paper.

The other thing, the 14th Amendment, I believe, authorizes the president to raise the debt ceiling, of course, I think he’ll draw some legal challenges, but so be it. If they — I think at the end of the day we swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the 14th Amendment says the debt ceiling should not be questioned. I think the president has authority to raise it and move forward that way. I prefer to have the legislative body to operate and function, but if push comes to shove, I think that he needs to just invoke that Constitutional option.

HT: RCP

Filed under: When pandering goes horribly wrong.

(NYDN) — Mayor Bloomberg practiced his version of verbal jujitsu Wednesday, mangling a greeting to Muslim leaders at a Ramadan gathering with “shalom alaikum.”

Hizzoner was shooting for “salaam alaikum” — the traditional Arabic “peace to you” greeting.

“He just got a little confused,” one witness said.

Imam Omar Abunamous of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York said it was an understandable mistake for the Jewish mayor.

“Well, it’s common to both religions,” Abunamous said. “They are the same thing. The same idea.”

Jackass.

Thanks to Obama’s insane domestic drilling policies we’re more dependent than ever on OPEC oil.

(Guardian) — A senior commander of Iran’s revolutionary guards, who is subject to comprehensive international sanctions, has been nominated as the country’s oil minister, a position that currently includes the presidency of Opec.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, sent a list of four ministers, including Rostam Ghasemi, commander of the revolutionary guards’ Khatam al-Anbia military and industrial base, to the parliament for approval, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Should the parliament confirm Ghasemi’s nomination next week, the commander, who is targeted by US, EU and Australian sanctions, will be automatically appointed as head of Opec, giving the revolutionary guards access to an influential international platform.

Under Iran’s constitution the president is in charge of appointing cabinet ministers, who take office after the approval of parliament.

Worship Chicago Jesus or face the consequences.

(Haaretz) — An internal report of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State recommends terminating the U.S. loan guarantee program to Israel at the end of 2011.

The report, which deals with the performance of the U.S. embassy in Israel, says American diplomats have difficulty mustering support for the Obama administration’s policies and implies the embassy failed completely in its PR efforts during the Obama administration.

“A fragile Israeli coalition government leans toward the views of its members from the nationalist and religious right, creating a challenge for diplomats seeking to build support for U.S. policies,” the report says.

The unclassified version of the report was distributed in the State Department in March. At the same time the OIG released a report about the Consulate General Jerusalem. Haaretz has obtained copies of both reports, whose findings are published here for the first time.

The State Department’s comptroller’s team came to Tel Aviv in October 2010 and spent two weeks talking to its American diplomats.

The reports portray a problematic picture of the missions’ performance in Israel.

The Tel Aviv embassy faces intense challenges, generated by Israel’s current government, negative public opinion toward President Obama, a sensitive political environment and a vibrant media scene, the report says.

It finds that the embassy’s annual public relations budget, intended to influence public opinion in Israel, is about $7 million a year, or roughly NIS 25 million.

(Bloomberg) — Orders for U.S. durable goods unexpectedly dropped in June, raising the risk that a slowdown in business investment will weigh on the world’s largest economy in the second half of the year.

Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years fell 2.1 percent after a 1.9 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than last reported, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Demand for business equipment, including machinery and computers, also dropped.

Other recent Bloomberg “unexpectly” headlines below the fold:

(more…)

(ABC News) — During the White House briefing earlier today, David Wiggs of Franklin, TN, aka @wiggsd, tweeted: “This WH correspondence (sic) briefing isn’t nearly as entertaining as yesterday’s. #TCOT #WHchat”

Oddly enough, the White House responded: “@wiggsd Sorry to hear that. Fiscal policy is important, but can be dry sometimes. Here’s something more fun: tinyurl.com/y8ufsnp #WHChat.”

The link is to a video of Rick Astley singing his worldwide Number 1 hit from 1987, “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

This is known in the internet world as “Rickrolling” someone: a prank in which you send someone a link they think will be of someone else and instead it’s the Rick Astley video.

This should be interesting.

Just goes to show how much of a pro-abortion fanatic he is.

The new Gallup poll showing Americans strongly supporting some of the kinds of pro-life laws that have been successful in stopping abortions around the country and reducing them to historic lows in some states has another interesting conclusion.

While President Barack Obama has stopped at nothing to advance abortion and taxpayer funding of abortion, the poll shows Democrats nationwide are not as strongly pro-abortion as the president. In fact, a majority of Democrats support some key pro-life laws and large minorities support others.

The polling data reveals 84 percent of Democrats back informed consent measure to give women more information about abortion’s risks and alternatives, 61 percent support parental consent before a teenage can get an abortion, and 60 percent support a 24-hour waiting period. That’s not the overall percentage of Americans who support those pro-life laws, that’s not the percentage of Republicans. That’s more than 60 percent of Democrats backing each of those policies.

The results go further and they show 59 percent of Democrats back a partial-birth abortion ban, and 49 percent support a bill to allow women a chance to see an ultrasound before an abortion. While not a majority, a good percentage of Democrats also support a ban on federal funding of abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood (25 percent), and an allowance for pharmacists and healthcare providers to opt out of participating in abortions or dispensing abortion drugs (33 percent).

Keep reading…

Update to this story.

(Daily Mail) — Islamic extremists have launched a poster campaign across the UK proclaiming areas where Sharia law enforcement zones have been set up.

Communities have been bombarded with the posters, which read: ‘You are entering a Sharia-controlled zone — Islamic rules enforced.’

The bright yellow messages daubed on bus stops and street lamps have already been seen across certain boroughs in London and order that in the ‘zone’ there should be ‘no gambling’, ‘no music or concerts’, ‘no porn or prostitution’, ‘no drugs or smoking’ and ‘no alcohol’.

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has claimed responsibility for the scheme, saying he plans to flood specific Muslim and non-Muslim communities around the UK and ‘put the seeds down for an Islamic Emirate in the long term’.

In the past week, dozens of streets in the London boroughs of Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Newham have been targeted, raising fears that local residents may be intimidated or threatened for flouting ‘Islamic rules’.

Probably because it’s a total crock of shit.

(The Hill) — Twenty-four hours closer to the nation “cataclysmically” exceeding its borrowing authority, the White House appeared to be losing patience, as officials urged Congress to get moving on a plan that can pass.

White House press secretary Jay Carney continued to dismiss House Speaker John Boehner’s proposal, holding steady on a veto threat from President Obama while offering qualified endorsements and a defense of Senate Majority Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) plan.

Carney defended Reid’s proposal in particular for containing savings attributed to drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying that money saved by not being at war is the same as money saved from cutting programs.

“If you’re asking me if the policy decisions of this president are going to save $1 trillion, I’d say yes,” Carney said. “And I encourage you to write and talk about it.”

No doubt the result of his poor polling numbers, although I can’t see this helping his cause.

(Washington Examiner) — Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who angered many Muslims with his opinions on Muslim loyalty to the United States, Sharia law, and mosque construction, today apologized to a group of Muslim leaders after a meeting at an Islamic center in Northern Virginia.

In a statement released after the meeting, Cain said he is “humble and contrite for any statements I have made that might have caused offense to Muslim Americans and their friends.” Cain added that he is “truly sorry for any comments that may have betrayed my commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the freedom of religion guaranteed by it.”

Cain caused controversy when he said earlier this year that he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet. Asked to explain his comments, he told Fox News that “I would have to have people totally committed to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, and many of the Muslims, they’re not totally dedicated to this country.” During another appearance on Fox, Cain expressed support for opponents of a proposed mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Asked whether any community had a right to forbid construction of a mosque, Cain said, “Yes, they have the right to do that.”

Controversy over those and other remarks led Cain to meet with five officials of the ADAMS Center — ADAMS stands for All Dulles Area Muslim Society — outside Washington. “In my own life as a black youth growing up in the segregated South, I understand their frustration with stereotypes,” Cain said in a statement. “Those in attendance, like most Muslim Americans, are peaceful Muslims and patriotic Americans whose good will is often drowned out by the reprehensible actions of jihadists.” Cain said that he stands by his “opposition to the interference of Sharia law into the American legal system.”

Keep reading…

Rush must have read Fred Thompson’s Open Letter to the House GOP.

He’s right.

HT: The Daily Caller

The Stache speaks.

(John Bolton) — All conservatives, especially those concerned with American national security, should support the Boehner Plan.

That plan, as Speaker Boehner himself understands, is far from perfect. But there is no reasonable prospect, given the current political balance of power in Washington, to get anything better on the debt ceiling issue. We cannot know exactly how financial markets will react to the various scenarios that might play out over the next several days, but the potential cost of finding out what the defeat of the Boehner Plan would be is not worth the risk.

If America’s prospects for economic recovery are gravely impaired, if President Obama is able to turn the inevitable turmoil to his political advantage and achieve re-election, and if we face four more years of his debilitating economic and national security policies, the safety and security of America in the world may be damaged irreparably.

In politics as in battle, conservatives should remember Carl von Clausewitz’s sage advice to be satisfied with identifying and achieving “the culminating point of victory.” That does not mean total victory, but rather the maximum that can be achieved in any particular engagement. We should not stop short, but neither should we risk what we have achieved by proceeding dangerously beyond that culminating point.

There are many more battles to be fought to rescue our economy and preserve our national defenses. But on this present issue, we have reached the culminating point of victory. Let’s not throw it away.

Good grief.

(ABC News) — Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., blames an unconscious culture of sexism for the failed appointment of Elizabeth Warren to the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“Part of it I have to say was gender bias,” Frank said on the House Floor today.

Warren, a former Harvard professor, was tapped as a White House adviser and helped set up the newly formed CFPB, but she was ultimately passed over by the Obama administration. Instead, they nominated former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to lead the start-up government agency. The CFPB is a new federal agency that will put regulators in charge of policing the financial services industry.

It was widely assumed that Warren would not have obtained the necessary 60 votes to overcome a filibuster of her nomination.

Warren was the subject of harsh questioning from Republican members of Congress and during her numerous appearances before the House Financial Services Committee when she was working to create CFPB.

Frank did not say who he blames for gender bias — the White House for not nominating her or Republicans in the Senate for promising to block her nomination.

The world is a better place now.

(ABC News) — Michelle Obama today called McDonald’s decision to add more fruit and reduce the fries in its Happy Meals “continued progress” in the fight towards solving childhood obesity.

“McDonald’s is making continued progress today by providing more fruit and reducing the calories in its Happy Meals,” she said in a statement. “I’ve always said that everyone has a role to play in making America healthier, and these are positive steps toward the goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity.”

The Illinois-based chain announced today on “Good Morning America” that it will begin serving a fruit or vegetable with every Happy Meal sold in the U.S.

“What we’re doing is offering fruit to every child that comes in and buys a Happy Meal, so it is an automatic,” Jan Fields, president of McDonalds, said today on “GMA.”

What it means for kids across the country is that ripping into their Happy Meal box at McDonald’s will deliver something different than the standard hamburger, soft drink and fries that have filled the little, red box for 30 years.

“We know portion size and we also recognize the importance of fruit in a child’s menu,” said Fields. “We’re confident about this being a great message for children.”

The first lady, who has become a national advocate for healthy eating and brought the fight against childhood obesity to the White House, also praised the chain for listening to consumer demands in continuing to change its menu.

“McDonald’s has continued to evolve its menu, and I look forward to hearing about the progress of today’s commitments, as well as efforts in the years to come,” she said.

Keep reading. . .

See McDonald’s Caves In To Michelle Obama’s Food Police, French Fries In Happy Meals Take A Back Seat To Apple Slices

Amazing, we have a $14 trillion deficit and this assclown is claiming we don’t have a problem.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) argued at a news conference with the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus that the United States does not currently have a budget crisis.

“That’s the real crisis — the unemployment, not the deficit. We don’t have a deficit problem right now. In the long term, we have a deficit problem — we’ve got to get it under control but not right now,” said Nadler at the Capitol on Wednesday.

“Right now we’ve got to get unemployment under control. If we got unemployment down to 7 percent, down to 5 percent, which is what it was in 2005, and 2007 rather before the recession hit, if we got it down to 5 percent, half the deficit would be eliminated just by that — half the deficit without cutting a nickel from the budget. So, we have to address the real problem. The real problem is we are not taxing properly.”

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the federal budget deficit will reach $1.5 trillion by the end of the fiscal year 2011. The current national debt limit is $14.29 trillion.

Keep reading…

The discretionary part is certainly a very good thing as opposed to Dingy Reid’s bogus “savings” that come from winding down the Iraq and Afghan wars. On the flip side, I’m not sure if this even matters because immediately after the CBO score came in 51 Senate Dems and the two independents who caucus with them sent a letter saying they would not support it.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The House’s second take on a bill to resolve the debt ceiling crisis would meet a key GOP pledge. But that doesn’t mean it’s going far.

The amended proposal by House Speaker John Boehner would cut spending more than it would raise the federal borrowing limit, according to an analysis Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office.

CBO estimates that Boehner’s amended bill would reduce deficits by $917 billion over 10 years. That’s $17 billion more than the immediate debt ceiling increase of $900 billion that the bill would authorize.

On Tuesday, CBO said the original bill would cut deficits by $851 billion.

Boehner’s plan — and a competing Democratic bill in the Senate — are the only live bills this week that would increase the debt ceiling by Aug. 2. The ceiling must be raised by then, when the Treasury Department estimates it will no longer be able to guarantee it can pay all its bills without borrowing.

As the news broke that the amended bill got a better score from CBO, a letter signed by 53 senators (51 Democrats and 2 independents) indicated that they would not support it.

The CBO said the bulk of deficit savings under Boehner’s amended bill — $756 billion — would result from caps on discretionary spending.

Via NRO:

We’re told the cut is $22 billion in fiscal year 2012 from the adjusted CBO baseline, and $42 billion in fiscal year 2013. Most of the change has to do with a technical adjustment one of our budget experts will have to explain. The new version preserves the 1:1 match in the first tranche of the debt increase, which leadership considers a very important benchmark for members. Leadership sounds increasingly optimistic about passage and even outsiders opposed to the Boehner plan have been predicting privately today that it will pass.

This is the same woman who just accused Republicans of using “vitriol.”

(Politico) — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Wednesday that House Republicans are trying to impose “dictatorship” through their tactics in the debt-ceiling negotiations. She said the GOP rhetoric could “spark panic and chaos,” which she called “potentially devastating” to the economy.

The chair telephoned POLITICO to express “significant disappointment in where . . . Republicans have allowed this debate to degenerate.”

“Aren’t we at the point where the closer we get to chaos, the more concern that there should be about coming to the table and compromising with Democrats?” Wasserman Schultz asked. “This is not leadership. This is almost like dictatorship. I know they want to force the outcome that . . . their extremists would like to impose. But they are getting ready to spark panic and chaos, and they seem to be OK with that. And it’s just really disappointing, and potentially devastating.”