RealClearMarkets - Budget Deficits Have Consequences
"Just after the debt ceiling increase, the Treasury announced, without consulting Congress, that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would get unlimited funding for the next three years for emergency aid to the housing market, 'to assure markets of the government's support.'
The translation of bureaucratic prose into ordinary speech is quite simple: the administration does not feel bound by congressional debt limits. It will spend as it sees fit.
The next time Congress considers raising the debt ceiling, a few members may wonder aloud what difference the debt ceiling makes when the administration brazenly ignores it.
It's not as if Fannie and Freddie have no money authorized by Congress.
So far they have been allocated $400 billion for emergency housing loans, of which $111 billion has been spent.
That means that the two government-sponsored enterprises already have congressional authority to spend an additional $289 billion. Now the administration finds that this is not sufficient, and the agencies can spend as much as they like even without congressional authority."
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Friday, January 01, 2010
Hundreds of Cars Torched in France at New Year - ABC News
"Youths burned 1,137 cars across France overnight as New Year's Eve celebrations once again turned violent, the French Interior Ministry said on Friday.
Car burnings are regular occurrences in poor suburbs that ring France's big cities, but the arson is especially prevalent during New Year's Eve revelry.
The number of vehicles torched was only 10 short of the record 1,147 burned this time last year, even though the Interior Ministry mobilized 45,000 police during the night -- 10,000 more than 12 months ago."
And just who are the allah-praising "youths" living in these "poor", car burning suburbs?
Top Cartoons Of '09
"IBD Editorial Cartoonist Michael Ramirez picks his favorite cartoons of the year."
Its a Wrap: The Most Underreported Stories of 2009
Its a Wrap: The Most Underreported Stories of 2009
A long, sad list that the media (and their democrat comrades) would prefer you never knew about.
Underreported by the MSM, not the web.
Or FoxNews.
Or much of talk radio.
A long, sad list that the media (and their democrat comrades) would prefer you never knew about.
Underreported by the MSM, not the web.
Or FoxNews.
Or much of talk radio.
U.S. to Lose $400 Billion on Fannie, Freddie
"Taxpayer losses from supporting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will top $400 billion, according to Peter Wallison, a former general counsel at the Treasury who is now a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
“The situation is they are losing gobs of money, up to $400 billion in mortgages,” Wallison said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
The Treasury Department recognized last week that losses will be more than $400 billion when it raised its limit on federal support for the two government-sponsored enterprises, he said."
$400 BILLION!!!!!
Does Alamo Bowl belong on Court TV, not ESPN?
Does Alamo Bowl belong on Court TV, not ESPN?
"The Alamo Bowl held a pep rally Thursday afternoon, the kind of delightfully ridiculous event that makes bowls so much fun.
Players, coaches and band members rode in boats to the 'Rivercenter Lagoon,' which is a lagoon in the same sense that your local Wendy's is a rainforest.
It's basically an outdoor mall."
"The Alamo Bowl held a pep rally Thursday afternoon, the kind of delightfully ridiculous event that makes bowls so much fun.
Players, coaches and band members rode in boats to the 'Rivercenter Lagoon,' which is a lagoon in the same sense that your local Wendy's is a rainforest.
It's basically an outdoor mall."
Biggest Exporters of World
Biggest Exporters of World
(2000) ($)
USA 1,065,740,000,000
Germany 633,052,000,000
Japan 528,751,000,000
UK 401,385,000,000
France 377,274,000,000
Canada 321,693,000,000
Italy 294,852,000,000
China 279,562,000,000
Netherlands 258,951,000,000
Hong Kong (China) 244,004,000,000
Source: - World Bank, World Development Indicators 2002"
(2000) ($)
USA 1,065,740,000,000
Germany 633,052,000,000
Japan 528,751,000,000
UK 401,385,000,000
France 377,274,000,000
Canada 321,693,000,000
Italy 294,852,000,000
China 279,562,000,000
Netherlands 258,951,000,000
Hong Kong (China) 244,004,000,000
Source: - World Bank, World Development Indicators 2002"
Trade Protection = Economic War on Yourself
"'Protectionism is doing to ourselves in peacetime what our enemies do to us in wartime (cutting off trade and moving a country in the directon of self-sufficiency).'"
Those who want to "protect" us from the discount merchandise offered by developing countries forget (or believe the sophistry of our anti-American MSM) that the USA is the world's largest EXPORTER.
Most popular baby names in West Michigan during the 2000s
Most popular baby names in West Michigan during the 2000s
1. Jacob, Emma
2. Ethan, Isabella
3. Carter, Addison
4. Noah, Olivia
5. William, Ava
6. Isaac, Abigail
7. Caleb, Sophia
8. Gabriel, Ella
9. Evan, Lillian
10. Logan, Natalie
Isn't it a bit odd that, during the recent decade's decline in christian belief, the most popular names seem to come right out of the Bible?
1. Jacob, Emma
2. Ethan, Isabella
3. Carter, Addison
4. Noah, Olivia
5. William, Ava
6. Isaac, Abigail
7. Caleb, Sophia
8. Gabriel, Ella
9. Evan, Lillian
10. Logan, Natalie
Isn't it a bit odd that, during the recent decade's decline in christian belief, the most popular names seem to come right out of the Bible?
What Ever Happened To The Duke 88?
Instapundit » Blog Archive » POWER LINE: What Ever Happened To The Duke 88?
"POWER LINE: What Ever Happened To The Duke 88?
And, from Professor Bainbridge, Stuart Taylor’s Stinging Indictment of Academe.
Plus, Ed Driscoll reminds us of this video from Mary Katharine Ham."
Great Instapundit links
How quickly we...er....the MSM, forgets...and sure wants us to forget.....
Do click on the video link.
Plus, Mary Katharine gettin' her lacross game down!
"POWER LINE: What Ever Happened To The Duke 88?
And, from Professor Bainbridge, Stuart Taylor’s Stinging Indictment of Academe.
Plus, Ed Driscoll reminds us of this video from Mary Katharine Ham."
Great Instapundit links
How quickly we...er....the MSM, forgets...and sure wants us to forget.....
Do click on the video link.
Plus, Mary Katharine gettin' her lacross game down!
Texas Tech interim coach makes his case to stay
Texas Tech interim coach makes his case to stay
"Jerry Turner, vice chairman of the university system's board of regents, told the Associated Press 'other things' came to light during an investigation of Leach's treatment of the receiver. Turner declined to elaborate about the other issues.
Leach was suspended Monday after he refused to agree to guidelines for dealing with players set forth by his bosses in a Dec. 23 letter.
'I'm very sad to say there's only one person to blame for this and it's Mike Leach,' Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance said."
This keeps getting stranger every day.
And this:
http://www.bringbackleach.com/
"Jerry Turner, vice chairman of the university system's board of regents, told the Associated Press 'other things' came to light during an investigation of Leach's treatment of the receiver. Turner declined to elaborate about the other issues.
Leach was suspended Monday after he refused to agree to guidelines for dealing with players set forth by his bosses in a Dec. 23 letter.
'I'm very sad to say there's only one person to blame for this and it's Mike Leach,' Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance said."
This keeps getting stranger every day.
And this:
http://www.bringbackleach.com/
Michigan State takes convincing route to GLI title
Michigan State takes convincing route to GLI title
"Michigan State earned its nation-leading 14th win of the season Wednesday night to raise the Great Lakes Invitational banner to the Joe Louis Arena rafters."
Go State!
"Michigan State earned its nation-leading 14th win of the season Wednesday night to raise the Great Lakes Invitational banner to the Joe Louis Arena rafters."
Go State!
Judge Drops Charges From Blackwater Deaths in Iraq - NYTimes.com
Judge Drops Charges From Blackwater Deaths in Iraq
Gotta love the NYT.
Read the first page. Sounds pretty bad for the Blackwater guys.
And way down.....on the second page is this:
“The explanations offered by the prosecutors and investigators in an attempt to justify their actions and persuade the court that they did not use the defendants’ compelled testimony were all too often contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility,” Judge Urbina wrote.
The judge also criticized prosecutors for withholding “substantial exculpatory evidence” from the grand jury that indicted the defendants, as well as for presenting “distorted versions” of witnesses’ testimony and improperly telling the grand jury that some incriminating statements had been made by the defendants but were being withheld.
Gotta love the NYT.
Read the first page. Sounds pretty bad for the Blackwater guys.
And way down.....on the second page is this:
“The explanations offered by the prosecutors and investigators in an attempt to justify their actions and persuade the court that they did not use the defendants’ compelled testimony were all too often contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility,” Judge Urbina wrote.
The judge also criticized prosecutors for withholding “substantial exculpatory evidence” from the grand jury that indicted the defendants, as well as for presenting “distorted versions” of witnesses’ testimony and improperly telling the grand jury that some incriminating statements had been made by the defendants but were being withheld.
and this:
The judge’s allegations of prosecutorial misconduct were the latest in several blows to federal prosecutors in 2009 in which judges dismissed high-profile cases.
When Obama Apologists Attack
The Weekly Standard
"When Obama Apologists Attack"
If Richard Reid had been allowed to fly even though he was on a terrorist watch list, you better believe that Bush would have taken the heat that Obama is taking right now.
"When Obama Apologists Attack"
If Richard Reid had been allowed to fly even though he was on a terrorist watch list, you better believe that Bush would have taken the heat that Obama is taking right now.
3 reasons home prices are heading lower
3 reasons home prices are heading lower
"After four months of gains, home prices flattened in October.
Worse yet, industry insiders think that they'll soon start to fall."
Good news for new buyers!
Not so good news for everyone else.
Bummer.
"After four months of gains, home prices flattened in October.
Worse yet, industry insiders think that they'll soon start to fall."
Good news for new buyers!
Not so good news for everyone else.
What Suckers We Are
What Suckers We Are
"In fact, nearly one out of five federal workers pulls down more than $100,000.
That's up over 33% during what the administration says is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
And that's before overtime and benefits — which used to suffice for such workers — kick in.
Meanwhile, a 'pay czar' aggressively caps salaries at companies that receive 'federal' money"
"In fact, nearly one out of five federal workers pulls down more than $100,000.
That's up over 33% during what the administration says is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
And that's before overtime and benefits — which used to suffice for such workers — kick in.
Meanwhile, a 'pay czar' aggressively caps salaries at companies that receive 'federal' money"
HeraldNet: Taxes are the wrong solution for too much public spending
HeraldNet: Taxes are the wrong solution for too much public spending
"Pittsburgh is wrestling with an interesting financial issue that is lurking in every city hall, county seat and state house in America.
It is largely silent and unseen, although it does give off its own distinctive scent.
It is the cost of funding the retirement of public employees.
Recently, the mayor of Pittsburgh was faced with a budget that was out of balance by the $15 million needed to fund the public employees retirement fund. This is, generally, a legal obligation, not a discretionary expenditure — a “fixed cost.”
The mayor’s solution was to propose a 1 percent tuition tax. This set off protests from all sorts of people — students at first, then educational institutions — and the usual threats of litigation."
"Pittsburgh is wrestling with an interesting financial issue that is lurking in every city hall, county seat and state house in America.
It is largely silent and unseen, although it does give off its own distinctive scent.
It is the cost of funding the retirement of public employees.
Recently, the mayor of Pittsburgh was faced with a budget that was out of balance by the $15 million needed to fund the public employees retirement fund. This is, generally, a legal obligation, not a discretionary expenditure — a “fixed cost.”
The mayor’s solution was to propose a 1 percent tuition tax. This set off protests from all sorts of people — students at first, then educational institutions — and the usual threats of litigation."
Michigan Forces Business Owners Into Public Sector Unions
Michigan Forces Business Owners Into Public Sector Unions
"Ms. Berry owns her own business—yet the Michigan Department of Human Services claims she is a government employee and union member.
The agency thus withholds union dues from the child-care subsidies it sends to her on behalf of her low-income clients.
Those dues are funneled to a public-employee union that claims to represent her.
The situation is crazy—and it's happening elsewhere in the country."
Read this story.
It is an outrage!
"Ms. Berry owns her own business—yet the Michigan Department of Human Services claims she is a government employee and union member.
The agency thus withholds union dues from the child-care subsidies it sends to her on behalf of her low-income clients.
Those dues are funneled to a public-employee union that claims to represent her.
The situation is crazy—and it's happening elsewhere in the country."
Read this story.
It is an outrage!
Mayo Says: Hold The Medicare
Mayo Says: Hold The Medicare
"The Mayo Clinic will stop accepting Medicare patients at one of its primary care clinics in Arizona.
Why?
The government doesn’t pay enough:"
Well..who's gonna get to go to Mayo?
(hint...our rich and connected.....and..er....foreigners....! Oh yeah!)
Welcome to Obama "care".
"The Mayo Clinic will stop accepting Medicare patients at one of its primary care clinics in Arizona.
Why?
The government doesn’t pay enough:"
Well..who's gonna get to go to Mayo?
(hint...our rich and connected.....and..er....foreigners....! Oh yeah!)
Welcome to Obama "care".
Thursday, December 31, 2009
When Obama Apologists Attack
The Weekly Standard
"It's particularly dumbfounding that this Politico piece alleging a double standard regarding the treatment of Obama in the wake of Abdulmutallab's attempt and the treatment of Bush after shoe bomber Richard Reid's attempt doesn't care to mention that the facts of each case are very different.
If Richard Reid had been allowed to fly even though he was on a terrorist watch list, you better believe that Bush would have taken the heat that Obama is taking right now"
"It's particularly dumbfounding that this Politico piece alleging a double standard regarding the treatment of Obama in the wake of Abdulmutallab's attempt and the treatment of Bush after shoe bomber Richard Reid's attempt doesn't care to mention that the facts of each case are very different.
If Richard Reid had been allowed to fly even though he was on a terrorist watch list, you better believe that Bush would have taken the heat that Obama is taking right now"
Europe's looming demise - Washington Times
Europe's looming demise - Washington Times
By Pamela Geller
"The Europe as you know it from visiting, from your parents or friends is on the verge of collapsing," Geert Wilders said in a speech in the United States last year.
The leader of the Netherlands' populist Party for Freedom added: "We are now witnessing profound changes that will forever alter Europe's destiny and might send the Continent in what Ronald Reagan called 'a thousand years of darkness.' " And not just Europe, but America as well.
Been to Europe lately?
Thought it was bad?
You ain't seen nothing yet.
The passage of the Lisbon Treaty, hailed by President Obama, nailed the coffin shut on national sovereignty in Europe.
The people of Europe fought it, but were overwhelmed by their political elites and the lack of American leadership in this age of our rather Marxist, collectivist U.S. president.
Come Jan. 1, 2010, a disastrous and suicidal pact called the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Europe/Mediterranean) goes into effect with little fanfare or examination. It boggles the mind that such a consequential and seismic cultural shift could be mandated and put into play without so much as a murmur from the mainstream media.
Why should Americans care about this? Americans have to care because this global gobbledygook is coming to our shores, thanks to our globalist president....
....The goal of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation is to create a new Greater European Union encompassing both Europe and North Africa, with the Mediterranean Sea becoming a domestic Eurabian sea.
The goal is to establish a "comprehensive political partnership," including a "free trade area and economic integration"; "considerably more money for the partners" (that is, more European money flowing into North Africa); and "cultural partnership" - that is, importation of Islamic culture into post-Christian Europe.
According to the SIOE, in the Euro-Med plan "Europe is to be islamized.
Democracy, Christianity, European culture and Europeans are to be driven out of Europe.
Fifty million North Africans from Muslim countries are to be imported into the EU."
Skeptical? It's already happening. The British newspaper the Daily Express reported in October 2008 on "a controversial taxpayer-funded 'job centre' " that opened in Mali at that time as "just the first step towards promoting 'free movement of people in Africa and the EU.'
Brussels economists claim Britain and other EU states will 'need' 56 million immigrant workers between them by 2050 to make up for the 'demographic decline' due to falling birthrates and rising death rates across Europe."
To offset this decline, a "blue card" system is to be created that will allow card holders to travel freely within the European Union and have full rights to work - as well as the full right to collect welfare benefits.
A Muslim population from Africa moving freely into Europe threatens America.
On Christmas Day, a Nigerian Muslim flew from Amsterdam to Detroit and tried to explode a bomb on the plane - after he was allowed to board the plane without a passport.
The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership will make jihad attacks like this one all the easier.
And once in Europe, Muslims have already begun demanding special privileges and accommodations. IslamOnline reported on Dec. 21 that "Muslims activists from 26 European countries have come together to launch the first rights council to enlighten European Muslims about their rights, monitor rising Islamophobia and defend Muslim rights in European courts of law."
Ali Abu Shwaima, a Muslim leader in Italy, explained: "We think European human rights groups are not doing enough to defend the rights of Muslims. Therefore we thought that we need this new council, especially that all laws and constitutions in Europe respect freedom of religion and oppose all forms of discrimination and racism."
"Islamophobia," "discrimination" and "racism" are all terms Muslims in Europe and America use to confuse people into thinking that the perpetrators of Islamic terrorism are the real victims. And it is working: Mr. Wilders is going on trial in the Netherlands, instead of all the Islamic hate sponsors he is fighting against. It has to be this way, to increase harmony among the Muslim and non-Muslim member states of the Euro-Med Partnership.
This internationalism is already destroying what has made Europe free and great. And now Mr. Obama seems to want to do the same to America.
Pamela Geller is the editor and publisher of the Atlas Shrugs Web site. She is the author (with Robert Spencer) of the forthcoming book "The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America" (Simon and Schuster, July 2010).
By Pamela Geller
"The Europe as you know it from visiting, from your parents or friends is on the verge of collapsing," Geert Wilders said in a speech in the United States last year.
The leader of the Netherlands' populist Party for Freedom added: "We are now witnessing profound changes that will forever alter Europe's destiny and might send the Continent in what Ronald Reagan called 'a thousand years of darkness.' " And not just Europe, but America as well.
Been to Europe lately?
Thought it was bad?
You ain't seen nothing yet.
The passage of the Lisbon Treaty, hailed by President Obama, nailed the coffin shut on national sovereignty in Europe.
Come Jan. 1, 2010, a disastrous and suicidal pact called the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Europe/Mediterranean) goes into effect with little fanfare or examination. It boggles the mind that such a consequential and seismic cultural shift could be mandated and put into play without so much as a murmur from the mainstream media.
Why should Americans care about this? Americans have to care because this global gobbledygook is coming to our shores, thanks to our globalist president....
....The goal of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation is to create a new Greater European Union encompassing both Europe and North Africa, with the Mediterranean Sea becoming a domestic Eurabian sea.
The goal is to establish a "comprehensive political partnership," including a "free trade area and economic integration"; "considerably more money for the partners" (that is, more European money flowing into North Africa); and "cultural partnership" - that is, importation of Islamic culture into post-Christian Europe.
According to the SIOE, in the Euro-Med plan "Europe is to be islamized.
Democracy, Christianity, European culture and Europeans are to be driven out of Europe.
Fifty million North Africans from Muslim countries are to be imported into the EU."
Skeptical? It's already happening. The British newspaper the Daily Express reported in October 2008 on "a controversial taxpayer-funded 'job centre' " that opened in Mali at that time as "just the first step towards promoting 'free movement of people in Africa and the EU.'
Brussels economists claim Britain and other EU states will 'need' 56 million immigrant workers between them by 2050 to make up for the 'demographic decline' due to falling birthrates and rising death rates across Europe."
To offset this decline, a "blue card" system is to be created that will allow card holders to travel freely within the European Union and have full rights to work - as well as the full right to collect welfare benefits.
A Muslim population from Africa moving freely into Europe threatens America.
On Christmas Day, a Nigerian Muslim flew from Amsterdam to Detroit and tried to explode a bomb on the plane - after he was allowed to board the plane without a passport.
The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership will make jihad attacks like this one all the easier.
And once in Europe, Muslims have already begun demanding special privileges and accommodations. IslamOnline reported on Dec. 21 that "Muslims activists from 26 European countries have come together to launch the first rights council to enlighten European Muslims about their rights, monitor rising Islamophobia and defend Muslim rights in European courts of law."
Ali Abu Shwaima, a Muslim leader in Italy, explained: "We think European human rights groups are not doing enough to defend the rights of Muslims. Therefore we thought that we need this new council, especially that all laws and constitutions in Europe respect freedom of religion and oppose all forms of discrimination and racism."
"Islamophobia," "discrimination" and "racism" are all terms Muslims in Europe and America use to confuse people into thinking that the perpetrators of Islamic terrorism are the real victims. And it is working: Mr. Wilders is going on trial in the Netherlands, instead of all the Islamic hate sponsors he is fighting against. It has to be this way, to increase harmony among the Muslim and non-Muslim member states of the Euro-Med Partnership.
This internationalism is already destroying what has made Europe free and great. And now Mr. Obama seems to want to do the same to America.
Pamela Geller is the editor and publisher of the Atlas Shrugs Web site. She is the author (with Robert Spencer) of the forthcoming book "The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America" (Simon and Schuster, July 2010).
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
TSA Threatens Blogger Who Posted New Screening Directive
TSA Threatens Blogger Who Posted New Screening Directive Threat Level Wired.com
"Two bloggers received home visits from Transportation Security Administration agents Tuesday after they published a new TSA directive that revises screening procedures and puts new restrictions on passengers in the wake of a recent bombing attempt by the so-called underwear bomber."
The document, which the two bloggers published within minutes of each other Dec. 27, was sent by TSA to airlines and airports around the world and described temporary new requirements for screening passengers through Dec. 30, including conducting “pat-downs” of legs and torsos. The document, which was not classified, was posted by numerous bloggers.
Information from it was also published on some airline websites....
...“They’re saying it’s a security document but it was sent to every airport and airline,” says Steven Frischling, one of the bloggers. “It was sent to Islamabad, to Riyadh and to Nigeria. So they’re looking for information about a security document sent to 10,000-plus people internationally. You can’t have a right to expect privacy after that.”
.....Frischling, a freelance travel writer and photographer in Connecticut who writes a blog for the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, said the two agents who visited him arrived around 7 p.m. Tuesday, were armed and threatened him with a criminal search warrant if he didn’t provide the name of his source. They also threatened to get him fired from his KLM job and indicated they could get him designated a security risk, which would make it difficult for him to travel and do his job.
“They were indicating there would be significant ramifications if I didn’t cooperate,” said Frischling, who was home alone with his three children when the agents arrived. “It’s not hard to intimidate someone when they’re holding a 3-year-old [child] in their hands. My wife works at night. I go to jail, and my kids are here with nobody.”
It seems, in our Obamafied BraveNewWorld, that Americans are the real enemy.
"Two bloggers received home visits from Transportation Security Administration agents Tuesday after they published a new TSA directive that revises screening procedures and puts new restrictions on passengers in the wake of a recent bombing attempt by the so-called underwear bomber."
The document, which the two bloggers published within minutes of each other Dec. 27, was sent by TSA to airlines and airports around the world and described temporary new requirements for screening passengers through Dec. 30, including conducting “pat-downs” of legs and torsos. The document, which was not classified, was posted by numerous bloggers.
Information from it was also published on some airline websites....
...“They’re saying it’s a security document but it was sent to every airport and airline,” says Steven Frischling, one of the bloggers. “It was sent to Islamabad, to Riyadh and to Nigeria. So they’re looking for information about a security document sent to 10,000-plus people internationally. You can’t have a right to expect privacy after that.”
.....Frischling, a freelance travel writer and photographer in Connecticut who writes a blog for the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, said the two agents who visited him arrived around 7 p.m. Tuesday, were armed and threatened him with a criminal search warrant if he didn’t provide the name of his source. They also threatened to get him fired from his KLM job and indicated they could get him designated a security risk, which would make it difficult for him to travel and do his job.
“They were indicating there would be significant ramifications if I didn’t cooperate,” said Frischling, who was home alone with his three children when the agents arrived. “It’s not hard to intimidate someone when they’re holding a 3-year-old [child] in their hands. My wife works at night. I go to jail, and my kids are here with nobody.”
It seems, in our Obamafied BraveNewWorld, that Americans are the real enemy.
Obama Amends Executive Order 12425, Placing INTERPOL beyond Reach of American law
Obama Amends Executive Order 12425, Placing INTERPOL Beyond reach of American law....in the USA!-by PipeLineNews.org
"In a quiet manner, on December 16 President Obama amended Executive Order #12425.
12425 is a Reagan era document [1983].
Please note item 2[C] - document reproduced in its entirety below [source, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-amending-executive-order-12425 Amendment to Exec. Order #12425].
"Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable."
We find it unusual for this administration to amend an Executive Order that had been in effect through 4 presidencies, Democrat and Republican, over a period of 25 years. Why the hurry and why now?
These changes - "immune from search," "archives...inviolable" - seem to clearly place Interpol above the reach of American law and immune from the reach of FOIA , Congressional oversight and media inquiry
Since Interpol performs various investigative duties including those related to the International Criminal Court, the changes in 12425 seem to clear the way as a first step to placing the United States under the jurisdiction of the ICC [as noted by Threats Watch] allowing Interpol to without restriction conduct investigations of U.S. citizens, organizations, etc.
We tend to agree that this move apparently clears the deck if, as some are speculating, the Obama administration broaches the very sticky issue of signing the Rome accord, which would place the U.S. under ICC jurisdiction.......
......If this matter is simply housekeeping, and the problem which amending 12425 now supposedly corrects was of such concern, why did it take 5 years for it to be recognized and dealt with, and why by this administration - especially given the myriad of security issues it is unconcerned about, not the least of which is the continuing policy of sending Yemeni nationals directly from GITMO detention back to the fray in Yemen, whereupon they will have the opportunity to link up with a newly invigorated al-Qaeda?
Moreover if the issue is so mundane and easily explicable why did it take multiple requests for information by Mr. Tapper before the WH responded?"
Another surprise coming at us in 2010 from Jimmah Obamma?
"In a quiet manner, on December 16 President Obama amended Executive Order #12425.
12425 is a Reagan era document [1983].
Please note item 2[C] - document reproduced in its entirety below [source, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-amending-executive-order-12425 Amendment to Exec. Order #12425].
"Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable."
We find it unusual for this administration to amend an Executive Order that had been in effect through 4 presidencies, Democrat and Republican, over a period of 25 years. Why the hurry and why now?
These changes - "immune from search," "archives...inviolable" - seem to clearly place Interpol above the reach of American law and immune from the reach of FOIA , Congressional oversight and media inquiry
Since Interpol performs various investigative duties including those related to the International Criminal Court, the changes in 12425 seem to clear the way as a first step to placing the United States under the jurisdiction of the ICC [as noted by Threats Watch] allowing Interpol to without restriction conduct investigations of U.S. citizens, organizations, etc.
We tend to agree that this move apparently clears the deck if, as some are speculating, the Obama administration broaches the very sticky issue of signing the Rome accord, which would place the U.S. under ICC jurisdiction.......
......If this matter is simply housekeeping, and the problem which amending 12425 now supposedly corrects was of such concern, why did it take 5 years for it to be recognized and dealt with, and why by this administration - especially given the myriad of security issues it is unconcerned about, not the least of which is the continuing policy of sending Yemeni nationals directly from GITMO detention back to the fray in Yemen, whereupon they will have the opportunity to link up with a newly invigorated al-Qaeda?
Moreover if the issue is so mundane and easily explicable why did it take multiple requests for information by Mr. Tapper before the WH responded?"
Another surprise coming at us in 2010 from Jimmah Obamma?
Woman's blood alcohol content topples state records
Woman's blood alcohol content topples state records
"A Sturgis woman had a blood-alcohol level of .708 percent, possibly a state record, when she was found earlier this month behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle parked on Interstate 90......
After she was found, Engle was hospitalized and freed on bond......
She failed to appear in court on Dec. 15, but Sturgis police located her Monday evening in another stolen car sitting in a ditch along S.D. Highway 34 near Fort Meade."
Oh man, this New Year's party is gonna rock, dudette!
....... ummm.....it's....BYO
"A Sturgis woman had a blood-alcohol level of .708 percent, possibly a state record, when she was found earlier this month behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle parked on Interstate 90......
After she was found, Engle was hospitalized and freed on bond......
She failed to appear in court on Dec. 15, but Sturgis police located her Monday evening in another stolen car sitting in a ditch along S.D. Highway 34 near Fort Meade."
Oh man, this New Year's party is gonna rock, dudette!
....... ummm.....it's....BYO
YALE WIMPS OUT AGAIN
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"YALE WIMPS OUT AGAIN: A T-shirt calling Harvard men “sissies” proves too offensive for students and administrators."
Read it all and fear for out future.
"YALE WIMPS OUT AGAIN: A T-shirt calling Harvard men “sissies” proves too offensive for students and administrators."
Read it all and fear for out future.
Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank
Bankers Get $4 Trillion Gift From Barney Frank: David Reilly - Bloomberg.com
"The reading was especially painful since this reform sausage is stuffed with more gristle than meat.
At least, that is, if you are a taxpayer hoping the bailout train is coming to a halt.
If you’re a banker, the bill is tastier. While banks opposed the legislation, they should cheer for its passage by the full Congress in the New Year: There are huge giveaways insuring the government will again rescue banks and Wall Street if the need arises.
Nuggets Gleaned"
Read 'em and weep....
"The reading was especially painful since this reform sausage is stuffed with more gristle than meat.
At least, that is, if you are a taxpayer hoping the bailout train is coming to a halt.
If you’re a banker, the bill is tastier. While banks opposed the legislation, they should cheer for its passage by the full Congress in the New Year: There are huge giveaways insuring the government will again rescue banks and Wall Street if the need arises.
Nuggets Gleaned"
Read 'em and weep....
MSU bowl opponent Texas Tech fires coach Mike Leache Detroit News
MSU bowl opponent Texas Tech fires coach Mike Leach
"According to terms of the deal, Leach was due a $800,000 bonus on Dec. 31 if he were still the head coach at Texas Tech."
And this is the school that hired Bobby Knight?
"According to terms of the deal, Leach was due a $800,000 bonus on Dec. 31 if he were still the head coach at Texas Tech."
And this is the school that hired Bobby Knight?
Hoekstra Deserves an Apology
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion:
Hoekstra Deserves an Apology: "Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) commented soon after the attempted bombing of an airplane over Detroit that the Obama administration needed to do a better job at connecting the dots regarding terror threats from Yemen:
“People have got to start connecting the dots here and maybe this is the thing that will connect the dots for the Obama administration.”
Think Progress immediately went into attack mode."
(via Instapundit)
Hoekstra Deserves an Apology: "Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) commented soon after the attempted bombing of an airplane over Detroit that the Obama administration needed to do a better job at connecting the dots regarding terror threats from Yemen:
“People have got to start connecting the dots here and maybe this is the thing that will connect the dots for the Obama administration.”
Think Progress immediately went into attack mode."
(via Instapundit)
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Broadcasters' woes could spell trouble for free TV
Broadcasters' woes could spell trouble for free TV
"The networks might even ditch free broadcast signals in the next few years.
Instead, they could operate as cable channels - a move that could spell the end of free TV as Americans have known it since the 1940s."
"The networks might even ditch free broadcast signals in the next few years.
Instead, they could operate as cable channels - a move that could spell the end of free TV as Americans have known it since the 1940s."
Once Patients Pay, Health Costs Will Fall
Once Patients Pay, Health Costs Will Fall
"There are two reasons why per-person health care spending in the U.S. is far higher than even Switzerland at $4,417 a year, or Luxembourg at $4,162, which rank second and third in the world.
One, America has the best health care on the planet. The smartest doctors, the finest in diagnostic equipment, top-flight treatment and advanced drugs don't come cheap.
Two, our system encourages overuse. And, as any ninth-grade economics student will confirm, an increase in demand forces prices higher."
"There are two reasons why per-person health care spending in the U.S. is far higher than even Switzerland at $4,417 a year, or Luxembourg at $4,162, which rank second and third in the world.
One, America has the best health care on the planet. The smartest doctors, the finest in diagnostic equipment, top-flight treatment and advanced drugs don't come cheap.
Two, our system encourages overuse. And, as any ninth-grade economics student will confirm, an increase in demand forces prices higher."
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