Saturday, February 11, 2012

SARAH PALIN BRINGS CPAC TO ROUSING CONCLUSION



CPAC: Sarah Palin says long GOP battle will strengthen nominee - LA Times
The crowd welcomed Palin by singing "Happy Birthday" to her--she turned 48 on Saturday--and she delighted them in return by mocking Obama, turning some of his slogans against him. She said there had never been a bigger disconnect between how a president sees the state of the union and how Americans do.

"We don't want an economy built to last, we want an economy built to grow," she said.
At Conservatives’ Event, Palin Aims at President - NY Times
'Hope and change' she says, 'you have got to hope it is going to change' - WND
Sarah Palin CPAC Speech Drowns Out Occupy Protesters - Elise Foley/Huffington Post
Sarah Palin’s CPAC Keynote: ‘Time To Drain The Jacuzzi And Throw The Bums Out With The Bathwater’ - Mediaite
“I came from a state with the corruption problem, too,” she said, while calling President Obama a “Chicago politician” and distinguishing herself for having fought the machine, and mocking the President for singing “Let’s Stay Together” at a fundraiser. She ended with a call for more competition among Republicans, to cull out a “Commander in Chief worthy of our troops.”
Sarah Palin is the Most Powerful Female Politician in the World - Mark Whittington, Commentary/Yahoo! Contributor Network
...no one else can speak and shake the corridors of power to the foundation as can Palin
From inveighing against "death panels" in Obamacare to crony capitalism in Washington, Palin has shaped the political agenda is more profound ways that one would imagine a private citizen who has the bottom half of a failed presidential campaign who was hounded out of office could achieve.

Allen West CPAC 2012 Full Speech

ROMNEY WINS CPAC TAKES MAINE, PAUL CLOSE SECOND


Romney wins The Washington Times/CPAC Straw Poll - Returns to top after two years on the outs - Washington Times
Maine results
Romney doubles down, wins CPAC, Maine caucuses - Politico (image source)
At CPAC, the former Massachusetts governor nabbed 38 percent of activists’ support to edge out Rick Santorum, who finished second with 31 percent.

In Maine, he won by just three points, 39 percent to Paul’s 36 percent. Santorum trailed in third with 18 percent, and Newt Gingrich received 6 percent of the vote.
Romney wins Maine caucuses - Politico
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Mitt Romney

Krauthammer: Israel ‘will strike’ Iran to ‘prevent a second holocaust’



On Friday’s “Special Report” on the Fox News Channel, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer doubled-down on an assertion he made last week about the inevitability of an Israeli strike on Iran to limit their nuclear capabilities. - Jeff Poor/Daily Caller

“Unless something intervenes,” Krauthammer replied. “I cannot imagine the Israelis are going to allow Iran to go nuclear and to hold the Damocles sword over 6 million Jews all over again. Israel was established to prevent a second holocaust, not to invite one.”

Is Israel preparing to attack Iran? - David Ignatius/Washington Post

Several of the protest organizers were unhappy that reporters were trying to ask questions. They demanded that reporters “just film” the signs and protesters, but refrain from speaking to participants.

#‘Occupy CPAC’ protesters have no idea what CPAC is [VIDEO] - Daily Caller

Protesters at the “Occupy CPAC” event, organized by the AFL-CIO and Occupy DC to target the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, were unaware of what they were protesting against Friday afternoon.

The Daily Caller spoke to several protesters outside of the conference venue and many said they had no idea what the Conservative Political Action Conference was, or what they were supposed to be opposing.

The protest organizers stopped as many interviews as they could, by interrupting conversations and walking in front of cameras.

Peggy Noonan: You can win. Keep the faith. Literally: Keep it.

Low Turnout and the Big Tune-Out - Voters aren't bothering with the GOP, but Obama has lost their attention too. - Peggy Noonan/Wall St. Journal

..."By the way, don't call it a brokered convention. That's what the media and the Democrats will call it because it implies there are brokers. Call it a contested convention because that's what it will be, contested." Could it really come to that? The odds, he said, are still way against it. "But they're probably the best in my lifetime."...

An update on the furor surrounding ObamaCare and the Catholic Church. The Obama White House was surprised by the pushback but hopes it will blow over. Their thinking: The Catholics had their little eruption, letters were read from pulpits, the pundits came out, and then the pols. But life goes on, new issues arise, we'll hunker down, it'll go away. Meanwhile, play for time. Send David Axelrod out to purr about possible new negotiations.

That would be a trap for the church. Any new talks would no doubt go past Election Day, at which time, if the president wins, he'll be able to give the church the back of his hand.

The short-term White House strategy is to confuse and obfuscate, to spread a thick web of untruths about the decision and let opponents exhaust themselves trying to fight from under the web.

The church must be resolute and press harder. Now is the time to keep pounding

Newt Gingrich sits down with the Washington Times to discuss his policies, career as Speaker of the House, his vision for the future of America, and says he doesn't fear anybody in the primary

Is America sliding toward autocratic rule? This is the essential question of Barack Obama’s presidency.

End of the Constitution - Jeffrey T. Kuhner/Washington Times

The American war of independence did not just overthrow British imperial domination. The Founders forged something almost unique in history: a nation devoted to individual liberty, Christian civilization and federalism. The rule of men was replaced bythe rule of law. The linchpin was constitutional government based on the separation of powers and checks and balances. The American system is entirely predicated on the Constitution. Once the Constitution becomes meaningless or just an inconvenient piece of paper, the American experiment is over. The republic is dead.

This is what’s at stake. Mr. Obama is acting like an arbitrary tyrant. He is running roughshod over the Constitution, egregiously, repeatedly and deliberately violating its restraints and clear limits on federal power. He has publicly admitted that he finds Congress a nuisance, an “obstacle” to his secular socialist project. He has said that he often thinks about “going it alone.” In fact, this is what he has done - so far, largely with impunity.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Full Speech: Paul Ryan CPAC 2012



Paul Ryan Tells CPAC Conservatives Must Keep Up the Fight - CPAC
Ryan ended his rally with these words, “We can win these fights if we are willing to fight them.”

Full Speech: Governor Scott Walker at CPAC 2012



Scott Walker's courageous conservatism - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner

Throughout his remarks, he spoke about his tangible achievements as governor to reform education, balance the budget and loosen the stranglehold of public sector unions.

"It's a simple concept," he said. "Thinking more about the next generation than about the next election."

An excellent speech from Gov. Scott Walker tonight. This is a man who is on the bleeding edge of fighting the progressives in his state, but so far he is winning. - The Right Scoop

FULL TEXT: Gov. Scott Walker's remarks to CPAC - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner

In a wide-ranging discussion, a number of participants urged Romney to refrain from attacking rival Rick Santorum with the scorched-earth intensity that he directed at Newt Gingrich.

Conservatives urge Romney not to attack Santorum - Byron York/Washington Examiner

Romney told the group he had thought Gingrich's surge would be the last challenge in the primary campaign, only to see Santorum surge with victories in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri last Tuesday. Now, with Santorum the man of the moment, Romney joked that it is time to get the oppo research up and running again. He quickly added: No, no, I'm only kidding.

But Romney's remarks suggested he wasn't entirely kidding. "He said Rick has to be held up to the same scrutiny as everyone else," says one meeting participant.

Obama budget to miss deficit goal... -$1,330,000,000,000.00

President Obama's proposed 2013 budget will forecast a $901 billion deficit for next year, falling far short of his goal to halve the deficit in four years. - USA Today via Drudge
Plans pitch to lower corporate tax

Ann Coulter at CPAC 2012

Part 1:


Part 2:


Ann Coulter: What they’re doing is using insurance as communism - HotAir

Watch: CPAC 2012 Live Here



and here - John Nicosia/Mediaite
link The right Scoop has live feeds
CPAC 2012 is going to have some big names speaking this year, including Sarah Palin as the big keynote on Saturday. ◼ Here is a list of the speakers and PDF of the schedule so you can keep up with who is speaking and when.
The Other McCain is at CPAC
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CPAC 2012
Schedule of Events

Mitt Romney at CPAC 2012

video platform video management video solutions video player

Romney at CPAC: My record is “severely conservative” - HotAir

Romney connects at CPAC - Jennifer Rubin/Washington Post

FULL TEXT: MITT ROMNEY REMARKS AT CPAC - mittromney.com This year, here at CPAC, we’ve got a great crowd. It’s been a great conference. For that I suppose we should acknowledge President Obama, the conservative movement’s top recruiter. Turns out, he really is a great community organizer. Although, I don’t think we were the community he had in mind.

Newt Gingrich at CPAC 2012



Gingrich speech gets conservatives cheering - HotAir

CPAC 2012: Newt Gingrich hits the reset button - Day One will be epic, and then he’ll get really busy.
- John Hayward/Human Events

Andrew Breitbart at CPAC 2012



Breitbart tells CPAC: I have videos of Obama in college and they’ll come out during the election - HotAir

Toward the end of his speech, he made a comment that I think is worth quoting: - The Right Scoop

I don’t care who our candidate is and I haven’t since the beginning of this. I haven’t! Ask not what the candidate can do for you, ask what you can do for the candidate!

When I walk through CPAC or a I travel the United States to meet people in the Tea Party who care – black, white, gay, and straight – anyone that’s willing to stand next to me to fight the progressive left, I will be in that bunker.

And if you’re not in that bunker because you’re not satisfied with [a certain] candidate, more than shame on you! You’re on the other side!

Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill restoring school-bus money

Gov. Jerry Brown today signed legislation restoring $248 million for school buses after rural and urban districts complained that the midyear cut would sink their budgets. - Kevin Yamamura/Sacramento Bee

Senate Bill 81 replaces the $248 million bus cut with an across-the-board reduction of roughly $42 per student that affects all K-12 districts. Under the previous plan, the isolated Death Valley Unified School District would have lost $1,734 per student, while Davis Joint Unified would have lost less than $8 per student, according to the California School Boards Association.

The state's coalition of education groups, including teachers, school boards and administrators, supported the change, as did lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The only opponents were charter schools and some suburban districts that stand to lose more under SB 81 than they did under the bus cut.

The bus reduction was triggered in December when fiscal forecasters determined California would fall $2.2 billion short of the optimistic revenue projections that Brown and lawmakers used last June.
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Chesbro thanks governor for signing SB 81

SACRAMENTO – Praising the Governor for his swift action and understanding of an issue of critical importance to rural California school children, Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) today thanked Jerry Brown for signing SB 81, the bill that restores this year’s funding for the Home to School Transportation program. The signing came in time to save districts on the brink of firing their school bus drivers.

“I am thrilled that the Legislature and Governor were able to come together to restore the funding that gets California’s students to school,” Chesbro said. “Home-to-School Transportation is an essential service in my district. This bill was signed just in time to save the jobs of many school bus drivers and ensure that there is no interruption in getting kids to school.”

SB 81 replaces the $248 million cut to the Home-to-School Transportation program made by Governor Brown, with a smaller, more equitable reduction across all school districts in California. SB 81 moved quickly through the Legislature and made it to the Governor’s desk in just three days.

As a budget bill, SB 81 will go into effect immediately.

SoHum School Buses Seem Saved; Gov. Signs SB 81 - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost
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Background:

Stop the Buses: It’s an Attack on Rural Education - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost
Next Stop, No Students: Southern Humboldt Struggles with School Transportation Funding - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost
Southern Humboldt Takes a Field Trip to Sacramento - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost
Southern Humboldt Pulling Out All the Stops to Protest Transportation Cuts - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost
SB 81 Passes Budget Committee: Bus Bill Roars on to Governor - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost
Southern Humboldt to take school bus woes to Sacramento; North Coast's state senator, assemblyman promise to restore cuts - Jessica Cejnar/Times Standard
School transportation bill on governor's desk; Sen. Evans: Southern Humboldt key in getting bill passed - Jessica Cejnar/Times Standard
SoHum schools may eliminate transportation program; county education official calls on state legislators to stop trigger cuts - Jessica Cejnar/Times Standard
Local K-12, college officials react to $1 billion in cuts; schools worried over slashed transportation funding - Jessica Cejnar/Times Standard

CFRW Advocate: Capitol Update

June Ballot

As reported in previous Capitol Updates, last year the Democrats in our state legislature decided to eliminate propositions from the primary ballot. They know that conservative propositions are more likely to pass and liberal ones more likely to fail on a primary ballot because Republicans come out in more numbers to vote in primaries than Democrat voters do. So this June the primary ballot only has two propositions, two that qualified for the ballot before this new law took effect. These two ballot propositions are the last two to appear on a primary ballot. The CFRW has not taken a position on these two measures yet, but the CFRW Voting Body will very soon. The two propositions on the June primary ballot are Prop 28, limiting legislator’s term limits from 14 years to 12 years (with other provisions), and Prop 29, a cigarette tax for cancer research. The CFRW will analyze the propositions and our analysis will be available very soon. Stay tuned!
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Governor Brown’s Budget Battle

It is no secret that Governor Brown released his 2012 budget with the hopes that voters will approve his multibillion dollar tax plan. Governor Brown has gone as far as to threaten that schools would face the equivalent of cutting three weeks of instruction if voters fail to pass his tax hike. But as the Legislative Analyst Office discovered last week, that may be an empty threat. Because California passed Prop 98 in 1988, the state is required by law to spend a minimum of 39% of the budget on K-12 education. The state has already cut as much as it can, constitutionally, from education. So for Governor Brown to suspend Prop 98, it would take a two-thirds vote by the legislature as well as some legally risky policy maneuvers. Governor Brown will not be able to hide behind his fear tactics for long. Remain educated and informed!
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Democrats Sue for Back Pay

Last Tuesday the Legislative Democrat leaders filed a lawsuit against John Chiang, State Controller, for the pay they lost last year because they did not pass a budget on time. As you may recall, the voters passed Prop 25 in 2010, which requires the legislature to pass a budget by their constitutional June 15th deadline or risk losing their pay each day the budget is not passed. Last year the legislature passed a “budget” by June 15th, which Controller Chiang deemed unbalanced and he then withheld their pay. Democrat leaders Senate Pro Tem Steinberg and Assembly Leader Perez claim that Controller Chiang overstepped his role in taking away legislator’s pay while Chiang says he was enacting the will of the voters since the budget submitted was clearly not balanced. The legislators lost about $4,800 because they did not pass a budget on time. To give you perspective, California legislator’s base pay is $95,000 a year. This does not include approximately $30,000 in per diem payments. It is ridiculous that the Democrat legislative leaders have the arrogance to sue a bankrupt state for that amount of money. This clearly shows just how out of touch the Democrats in the legislature really are with the common California voter. This is the type of news we need to share with everyone we know!
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CA Women’s Caucus Report
Written by our CFRW Intern, Jilian Plank!

On Wednesday, February 1, the Legislative Women’s Caucus (made up of primarily Democrat legislators) met to discuss the California budget proposal in the legislature. The Women’s Caucus heard the testimony of several women who spoke of the statistics involving the impact of the Great Recession and the budget crisis on California’s Women. Judy Patrick of the Women’s Foundation of California revealed that low-income women have been sharply affected by the budget crisis and disproportionately so. Jean Ross, the Executive Director of the California Budget Project, went on to point out some of the numbers that affect low income, specifically single parent women. She cited that all the employment gains for single mothers that have occurred in the past 11 years have been erased by the current budget crisis and that women have not shared equally in the economic recovery or modest employment gains that men have. Since the implementation of welfare reform, the employment rate of unmarried women has dropped 10 percentage points. Unmarried, single women with children have also lost an average of 2 hours per work week.

Later in the caucus, Ms. Ross pointed out that 82% of the drop in enrollment rates in community college students have been women. Sandy Gleysteen, the Chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women, provided the statistic that a woman in California only makes 84 cents to the dollar in comparison to men. All three women advocated for the increase of funding to CalWorks to help single women with children gain access to adequate childcare and higher education. In addition, all three women also advocated for the defeat of legislation in California that would negatively impact women. Senator Wright (D-Inglewood) asked the women, however, to come up with a successful alternative to the current budget. The Senator criticized them for not taking into consideration the limited amount of money California has and challenged them to find a way to allocate money from elsewhere to support the renewal of these proposed programs.
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CRP Convention!

In just a couple of weeks the California Republican Party will be hosting their convention in San Francisco! It was just announced this week that presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will be a speaker and so will GOP Whip Congressman Kevin McCarthy. You won’t want to miss the convention! Click HERE to register and make reservations!

California Federation of Republican Women
Carol Hadley, President
Allison Olson, Legislative Advocate
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Disclaimer: The Capitol Update is an activity of the CFRW Advocate's Office. The update is for information only. CFRW official positions on legislation are stated immediately preceding the stated legislation or immediately following the stated legislation in this report.

Crowd goes wild for Santorum at CPAC



SANTORUM SLAMS OBAMA & ROMNEY AT CPAC, RECEIVES STANDING OVATION & ROARING APPLAUSE - Billy Hallowell/The Blaze

Fresh off the heels of his major victories in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, Rick Santorum sought to solidify himself as the true conservative option during his CPAC 2012 address today in Washington, D.C. Throughout his nearly-30-minute speech, he attempted to convince the audience that he’s the candidate who best reflects their values. The Hill’s Cameron Joseph called it “one of the strongest speeches of his presidential campaign.”

In his remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Santorum drew sharp contrasts between himself and both President Obama and Mitt Romney, although he didn't mention the former Massachusetts governor by name. - The Hill

“Government will own you because you will have to pay tribute to Washington in order to get the care you need for your children,” the former Pennsylvania senator said. “The major reason I’m in this race is because I believe ObamaCare is a game-changer for America.

“We've seen the president of the United States not only tell you what insurance coverage you should have, how much you’re going to pay, how much you’re going to be fined if you don’t, but now he's telling the Catholic Church that they are forced to pay for things that are against their basic tenets and teachings, against their First Amendment right,” he said, framing the issue not just as a religious one but one of personal freedom.

“This is the kind of coercion that we expect,” Santorum added. “It’s not about contraception. It's about economic liberty. It's about freedom of speech. It's about government coercion. It's about government control of your lives and it's got to stop!”
The audience roared to its feet — the standing ovation lasted a full 30 seconds.

Santorum could be the trial by fire the GOP needs - HotAir

Senator Marco Rubio Addresses CPAC 2012

Rick Perry CPAC 2012 Speech Video

Mitch McConnell at CPAC 2012

‘Occupy CPAC’ protesters paid $60 for the day

[VIDEO] - Daily Caller

CPAC SCHEDULE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10th

link

The Honorable Mike Huckabee, Former Governor of Arkansas – Marriott Ballroom Introduced by: David Bossie, President, Citizens United




"Our society has let [children] down by not being supportive of mothers, and even fathers, who dedicate their time and often their lives to their children."

(Rick Santorum) fights what he calls "radical" feminism, but he's expressing a feminist position. - Althouse
Santorum on women in combat: What "other types of emotions" was he talking about? - Althouse
What "other types of emotions"? I'm guessing that Rubin is worried that he's stuck on some stereotype about women — they're too "emotional" — but I think he's referring to an argument about the way men feel — that is, an urge to protect women that would skew decisionmaking and performance.

Why is the Obama administration leaking this information?

Why is the Obama administration leaking this information? - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
Deadly attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists are being carried out by an Iranian dissident group that is financed, trained and armed by Israel’s secret service, U.S. officials tell NBC News, confirming charges leveled by Iran’s leaders.
Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News: U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Obama administration is aware of the assassination campaign but has no direct involvement. - NBC News
Loose lips: How’s this for astonishing: NBC News is reporting that Israeli spies have been involved in the assassinations of five Iranian nuclear scientists. - NY Post
So far, not so bad. We’d say the engineers basically needed killing.

But here’s the astonishing part: The source for the story apparently is the Obama administration — albeit through anonymous leaks....

Trouble is, Israel won’t suffer the consequences alone. Everyone will.
America included.

Obama’s fraudulent abortion mandate “accommodation” Updated: Prez condemns “cynical” opposition

(C)lose observers say today’s announcement will make things worse. - Michelle Malkin
Update 12:26pm EST – From his brief press conference, Obama attacks “cynical” opponents of abortion mandate. He says “principle” of “access to free preventative care including contraceptive services” will stand.
“Religious liberty will be protected.” Translation: You’re still screwed.
Obama Blinks on Contraception Rule - Mark K. Bruce/ABC
Seeking to quell a political uproar over religious liberty and contraception, President Obama announced today that religious-affiliated institutions will not be mandated to cover birth control for their employees after all.

"Religious organizations won't have to pay for these services and no religious institution will have to provide these services directly," the president announced from the White House briefing room. "Let me repeat: These employers will not have to pay for or provide contraceptive services, but women who work at these institutions will have access to free contraceptive services just like other women."

Insurance companies will instead be directly responsible for providing free contraception and covering the cost.
Discussion at Lucianne
No, White House Not "Compromising" On Birth Control Mandate - Katie Pavlich/Townhall

No Double Play

The Obama administration sets off religious wars even as if fights its own. - Peter Hannaford on 2.10.12 at The American Spectator Online

In two areas the Obama Administration has been proving itself too clever by half. It had hoped to score a double play by subsidizing "green" energy companies and forcing Catholic institutions into a once-size-fits-all contraception policy. Instead, both efforts have produced unwanted results.

Almost from Inauguration Day, Obama's Department of Energy has been giving loans and loan guarantees to solar, wind and car battery companies. Normal due diligence by a private venture capital company would have denied (and probably did) loans to several of these, but this didn't stop the DoE. It was driven, after all, by the religion of Environmentalism, whose worshipers had given Obama so many votes in 2008 and continued to insist that Americans must be made to use less gasoline and industry must be made to use less energy to produce its goods.

Today seven or so of the energy companies that received the taxpayer-funded loans are now in bankruptcy, led by Solyndra, the solar panel manufacturer, which received half-a-billion dollars.
The fact that the Bush Administration had decided against a loan to Solyndra was ignored by Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Mr. Chu is a respected physicist, but has no known business experience.

What business does the U.S. Government have dabbling in venture capital investments? None.

Private providers are very careful in assessing risks before investing in new ventures. Even then, some don't pan out. Most do and, in either case, it is private money at risk, not yours.
Just as ideology drove the unwise energy loans, so it has driven the Department of Health and Human Services edict that Catholic-owned hospitals, schools, colleges and charities must provide free contraception devices and services (including "morning after" pills) in all employees' health insurance policies. This is in opposition to the Catholic Church's long-held position on contraception.

A huge backlash has ensued following this edict, and it is far from over. Obama's minions were counting on the fact that many Catholics are not personally opposed to contraception and may practice it. What they overlooked was that this mandate forces Catholic institutions to choose between their consciences and the Department of HHS. Catholic bishops and many lay members -- as well as Protestants, Jews and others -- see this as an abridgment of religious freedom as protected by the First Amendment.

The pro-abortion forces, led by Planned Parenthood, have tried to frame the issue as one of "women's health." It is not. A large number of people -- many of them not Catholics -- are employed by the Catholic institutions targeted by the administration. Catholic Charities, a network of social services organizations, for example, has more than 70,000 employees. There is no record of an employee of this or any other Catholic institution, quitting because the institution's health insurance policies did not include free contraception devices. (Note: when we were young, this writer's wife purchased a contraception device recommended by her doctor. Health insurance policies did not provide free ones.)

Like the energy loans, this edict was driven by the ideology of Obama's left-liberal base which is pushing towards it goal of "single-payer" (that is, federal government-controlled) health care. The edict was a far riskier tactic than the Obama forces had estimated. It could result in a major loss of Catholic votes in November.

Obama and his circle seem intent on forcing all elements of civil society into becoming vassals -- if not wards -- of the federal government, just as many of its policies seem designed to increase the number of American dependent upon that government. If he is reelected in November, it is likely he will succeed.
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Peter Hannaford’s latest book is “Reagan's Roots: The People and Places That Shaped His Character.”

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Recall Follies: Wisconsin Election Watchdog to Ignore Independently-Provided Evidence of Fraud

Imagine the police ignoring evidence of a crime because the right person didn’t call 911. Welcome to the the latest episode of Wisconsin Recall Election Follies. - Breitbart'sBig Government
GAB Decides to Ignore All Independently-Provided Evidence of Recall Petition Fraud - MacIver Institute
...Citizens not affiliated with either the recall organizations or the office holders targeted for recall this spring have found scores of problems with the petitions, but Wisconsin’s elections watchdogs have decided they will not consider any of their evidence....
UPDATE:
Double Reverse: Scott Walker Recall Petitions Finally Posted Online - Brett Healy/Breitbart's Big Government
It’s not quite an online database, but it’s a start.
After reneging on their promise to post pdfs of the Scott Walker recall petitions online, the misnamed Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has relented... The signatures are now online, here. - wi.gov
MORE:
Wisconsin election officials suddenly interested in recall petition fraud — from last spring on petitions to recall Dem Senator - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

AND MORE:
Sen. Galloway Campaign Statement on Challenges to Recall Signatures #WIRight

“Today, challenges were filed with the Government Accountability Board regarding hundreds of questionable signatures that were discovered after an inspection by local volunteers in the 29th Senate District.

The errors found on the petitions range from signatures collected outside of the circulation period to incomplete ...addresses or names. Individuals from Oak Creek, Oshkosh, and even Rhinelander, communities clearly not in the 29th Senate District, signed the recall petitions against Senator Galloway.

“Throughout the review process, the Galloway Campaign has also heard from numerous individuals who were misled into signing the recall petitions. The Democrat Party and their Big Labor allies spent close to $50,000 to manufacture a “grassroots” effort and to distort Senator Galloway’s record to gather the necessary signatures. This dollar figure is equal to the amount spent by these same groups on the other three Senate recall efforts combined.

“A quick review of the circulators also shows that paid operatives from all over the state and country descended on neighborhoods in the 29th Senate District. One has to ask why individuals from Madison, Platteville, Milwaukee, Maryland, Ohio, Minnesota and Florida are forcing an election onto the taxpayers of North Central Wisconsin. It is estimated that a Senate recall election will cost local units of government around $500,000 in Senator Galloway’s District so the Democrat Party can have a do-over of the 2010 elections.

“The voters of the 29th Senate District, a majority of whom did not sign the recall petitions, expect a thorough review of the signatures by the Government Accountability Board.”

Hispanics unsheath anti-Obama condom anger

President Barack Obama’s campaign to woo growing Hispanic communities in southern states being thwarted by his simultaneous campaign to regulate their neighborhood churches, both Catholic and evangelical. Neil Munro/Daily Caller

The proposed regulation “has caused an incredible amount of consternation and angst in the Hispanic community… it is unAmerican to tell my pastor, my minister, my priest that they have to violate what they believe in,” said Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

The conference represents 18,000 non-Catholic churches and 15 million Hispanic evangelicals, or roughly one third of Hispanics in the United States.

Evidence of a breach was released Feb. 8, when a Rasmussen poll showed that 65 percent of Catholics opposed the proposed regulation, which claims the federal government has the authority to fine religious groups that don’t offer their employees health-insurance with free contraception services.

Cancer drug reverses Alzheimer's in mice: study

A widely available cancer drug has shown remarkable success in reversing Alzheimer's disease in mice, raising hope of a breakthrough against incurable dementia in humans, US researchers said Thursday. - france24.com

Mice treated with the drug, known as bexarotene, became rapidly smarter and the plaque in their brains that was causing their Alzheimer's started to disappear within hours, said the research in the journal Science.

"We were shocked and amazed," lead author Gary Landreth of the Department of Neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Ohio told AFP.

"Things like this had never, ever been seen before," he said.

The drug works by boosting levels of a protein, Apolipoprotein E (ApoE), that helps clear amyloid plaque buildup in the brain, a key hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

"Think of this as a garbage disposal," Landreth said.

"When we are young and healthy, all of us can basically get rid of this (amyloid) and degrade it and grind it into small bits and it gets cleared.

"Many of us will be unable to do this as efficiently as we age. And this is associated with mental decline or cognitive impairment."

Six hours after mice got the drug, soluble amyloid levels fell by 25 percent, ultimately reaching 75 percent reductions. The effect lasted up to three days, said the study.

Discussion at Lucianne

“The White House and its lieutenants have made an art form out of the orchestrated attack,” he said. “They’ve shown they’ll go after anybody or any organization they think is standing in their way.... These things demean the office of president. They corrode our democracy and they need to stop."

McConnell says Obama uses tactics that ‘demean’ presidency - Alexander Bolton and Jonathan Easley/The Hill

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) cited a gag order the administration placed on an insurance company during the healthcare debate, research the administration has done on the tax records of political opponents and plans by Democrats in Congress to hold hearings on Republican fundraising groups.

“For a president who spends so much time talking about fairness, there’s a serious shortage of it at the White House and among many of his closest allies,” McConnell said. “Again and again this administration has used the resources of the government itself to intimidate or silence those who question or oppose it, and reward their friends and punish their enemies.”

Democrats Rebelling Against Obama Birth Control Policy

The move was a blunder, an unforced error from an administration that had finally started making some headway with voters. - Doug Heye/U.S. News and World Report,U.S. News and World Report

Obama Contraceptives Mandate Losing Senate Democrats? - Sunlen Miller/ABC

Rick Perry: I was right about Obama's war on religion



"Who would have thought, that when I talked about President Obama's war on religion that now its probably the biggest issue that's being talked about today," Perry said. - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner

L.A. Board of Supervisors Impose $1,000 Fine for Having Fun on the Beach



The Board of Supervisors this week agreed to raise fines to up to $1,000 for anyone who throws a football or a Frisbee on any beach in Los Angeles County. - Michelle Malkin

The updated rules now prohibit “any person to cast, toss, throw, kick or roll” any object other than a beach ball or volleyball “upon or over any beach” between Memorial Day and Labor Day.... Digging holes in the sand over 18 inches deep is also prohibited...

Los Angeles County Bans Frisbees on Beaches - Moonbattery

The scopious ordinance also forbids kids with little plastic shovels from digging any hole deeper than 18 inches in the sand. Think of the jobs that will be created as nearly bankrupt LA County hires regulators equipped with yardsticks to monitor the excavation of sand castle moats.

In other words, the states are stuck trying to meet an impossible NCLB standard by 2014 and Congress is stuck trying to reach a compromise on revised standards before then. But rather than merely waiving the current standards until Congress has come up with something new, O’s actually going to impose new standards of his own as a condition of the waiver

He’s basically swapping out a federal law for his own policy, in other words. Just like he did in ignoring the War Powers Act to wage war in Libya, just like he did in ignoring the Recess Clause to appoint Cordray and the new NLRB commissioners. - HotAir

This strategy of bypassing Congress with unilateral executive action actually dates back nearly two years, well before the GOP took back the House, but he’s gotten more aggressive with it lately as our gridlocked Congress’s approval rating sinks ever deeper into the toilet. He’s making a bet here about the public’s view of separation of powers: So long as he can argue that he’s taking action towards a virtuous end — and education is as virtuous as it gets politically — voters will let him slide on the legal niceties. A war to avert a humanitarian disaster in Libya, a new consumer-protection advocate, relief for public schools from onerous, unrealistic federal regulations: The ends justifies the means in all three cases because that darned “do-nothing Congress” he’s running against refuses to see the light.

Obama declares himself dictator of education - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner

Any time the federal government decreases its role in education should be a good thing. But that is not what Obama is doing. The Heritage Foundation's Lindsey Burke reports:
These are not simply waivers to provide relief to states from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind. These are conditions-based waivers, and the strings attached to this “relief” further tether states to Washington.
...
One of the most concerning conditions attached to the waivers is a requirement that states adopt common standards and tests or have their state university approve their standards. None of the waiver-approved states opted for the latter. The administration’s various carrots and sticks ($4.35 billion in Race to the Top grants and potential Title I dollars) had already pushed them to begin implementing the Common Core national standards and tests.

When national organizations and the Department of Education dictate standards and tests, they effectively control what can—and can’t--be taught in local schools. The degree to which these critical decisions are about to be centralized and nationalized is unprecedented in America.
Even worse, nothing in federal law grants Obama the power to issue these conditional waivers. He is unilaterally rewriting federal education policy through selective enforcement. The American Enterprise Institute's Frederick Hess tells the Christian Science Monitor: "NCLB, for all its flaws, was crafted by the US Congress … [but] these waivers impose a a raft of new federal requirements that were never endorsed by the legislative branch. Once this administration opens this door, it’s hard to imagine future administrations not building on this precedent."

Sen. Rubio blasts White House on religious conscience controversy



Rubio: Obama looks like a really good dad (and a really bad president) - Matt K. Lewis/Daily Caller

Prior to his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Sen. Marco Rubio sat down with a handful of conservative-leaning journalists and bloggers.

Rubio’s opening comments focused America’s unique role as a beacon of hope in the world, but during the Q&A session, he covered everything from ObamaCare to immigration.

As the furor grew over the recent Obama administration ruling regarding abortion-related services at faith-based hospitals, Florida's freshman Republican Sen. Marco Rubio stepped up the counter-attack from Capitol Hill. - Human Events

Rubio added his view that this is "the first time" an administration has clashed with faiths over matters of conscience and said if the president doesn't change his mind on the issue, "we [Congress] will have to do it for him."

President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are entering negotiations over — or seeking ratification of — five treaties that could radically limit our national sovereignty and the reach of our democratic institutions.

Obama’s sneaky treaties - Dick Morris/The Hill

Particularly scary is that the treaties, once signed and ratified, have the same status as constitutional law and cannot be altered or eclipsed by Congress or state legislatures. And their provisions must be enforced by U.S. courts.

Those who wish to preserve our sovereignty and democratic control over our future must rally to block these treaties, either by pressing Obama and Clinton not to sign them or by blocking their ratification.

International Criminal Court — Clinton has reversed George W. Bush’s policy and entered into negotiations over U.S. participation in the court. Specifically, the leftists who are sponsoring the court wish to create a new crime of “aggression,” which is essentially going to war without the approval of the United Nations....

The Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) has been signed, and the Obama administration — with the aid of RINO Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) — will push for its ratification as soon as Lugar’s primary in Indiana is over this year....LOST will also oblige us to hand over our offshore drilling technology to any nation that wants it … for free. ...Read the rest...

Video: The Obama 2012 fashion show!



The ad opens with shots of the invitation to the event, co-hosted by actress Scarlett Johansson and Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Both have been prominent donors for the president in the past. Subsequent shots of the invitation reveal other big-name attendees, including pop stars Beyonce Knowles and Sean Combs and fashion icons Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg and Vera Wang - HotAir

Rick Santorum’s Missouri victory speech: Full transcript

at The Washington Post

Gallup: Obama's approval below reelection standard

According to Gallup's most recent daily tracking poll, Obama's current approval rating is even at 47 percent. He has not been over 50 percent since Osama bin Laden was killed last May. - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

House passes line item veto in rare bipartisan action

Critics of the line-item veto says it will turn the presidency into a monarchy, some hesitated in giving the power to Obama. - Audrey Hudson/HUMAN EVENTS

The House Wednesday passed a presidential line-item veto in a rare show of bipartisan support despite criticism from both sides of the aisle that the bill is unconstitutional and gives the executive branch too much power.

The measure passed 254 to 173 with 57 Democrats voting yes and 41 Republicans voting no.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, and the panel’s ranking Democrat Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, authored the bill that they
said would help cut wasteful government spending.

“We believe this bill will return trust, accountability, and transparency to the way we spend the taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars,” Ryan said.

For example, Ryan said, members of Congress will have to be more accountable to public scrutiny when appropriating $40 million for a rainforest museum.

“This will make every member of Congress think twice … that they might have to justify this spending bill on the merits,” Ryan said. “We think this act of sunshine and transparency will help improve the integrity of the spending in Congress.”

What would happen, though, if a website covered the left in the same way that the left covers the right? You are about to find out.


CONTINETTI: COMBAT JOURNALISM - TAKING THE FIGHT TO THE LEFT

...Try as they might, conservatives could not command anything that approached the cultural power of the progressives. The reigning trends and theories and opinions in New York and Washington set the standard and tone of news coverage and political debate throughout the country. There was simply no way for the right to correct a misimpression or caricature once it set like concrete in the public mind....

The desolate playing field was littered with the political detritus of conservatives and Republicans who had been unprepared for the blitz. Yet a few on the right looked around at the carnage, scratched their heads, and wondered: What if we returned fire?

New media led the conservative counterattack. Exposing the CBS forgeries provided a model: Scrutinize the left’s claims with the same adversarial techniques that the left uses to cover the right. Don’t back down from confrontation. Stick to the facts and avoid the cul-de-sac of conspiracy theory.

Andrew Breitbart pioneered the new approach. His websites were dedicated, impassioned, and broke news. Glenn Beck exposed White House czar Van Jones’s radical, 9/11-Truth past. Guerilla journalist James O’Keefe performed sting operations that led to ACORN, Planned Parenthood, and NPR having very bad days. Tucker Carlson’s website, The Daily Caller, published excerpts from the Journolist, which showed liberal writers coordinating their party line....

What would happen, though, if a website covered the left in the same way that the left covers the right?

You are about to find out. The Washington Free Beacon is here to enter the arena of combat journalism. Our talented staff will add to the chorus of enterprising conservative reporters, publishing original stories, seeking out scoops, and focusing on the myriad connections between money and power in the progressive movement and Obama’s Washington.

At the Beacon, we follow only one commandment: Do unto them.
__________________
freebeacon.com

Dick Morris reviews Ameritopia

Broadly, he divides them into two camps: Utopians and Libertarians. He explains how utopians laid the basis for modern socialism, leftism, and Obamaism and how the libertarian (he calls it Americanism) enlightenment philosophers set the stage for modern conservatism and free market economics. - DickMorris.com

ObamaCare's Great Awakening: HHS tells religious believers to go to hell. The public notices.

What the law does cement is the principle that the government will decide for everyone what "health care" must mean. The entire thrust of ObamaCare is to standardize benefits and how they must be paid for and provided, regardless of individual choices or ethical convictions. - Wall St. Journal

The political furor over President Obama's birth-control mandate continues to grow, even among those for whom contraception poses no moral qualms, and one needn't be a theologian to understand why. The country is being exposed to the raw political control that is the core of the Obama health-care plan, and Americans are seeing clearly for the first time how this will violate pluralism and liberty....

The White House is now trying to cauterize the political damage and saying it is open to some "compromise" on its own contraception decision. But the rule is already final. HHS tried to sell it as a compromise when it was announced, and in any case HHS would revive this coercion whenever it is politically convenient some time in Mr. Obama's second term. Religious liberty won't be protected from the entitlement state until ObamaCare is repealed.

John Boehner: “The federal government has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries. This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand and will not stand”

Cardinal-Designate Dolan: President Obama Needs To Stop ‘Intruding Into Internal Life Of A Church’ - Contraception Issue Just Won't Die Down, Much To White House's Chagrin - New York CBS local

There was a sharp rebuke Wednesday from Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan that put even more pressure on the president to calm a widening election year uproar. The issue at hand was the president’s insistence that Catholic institutions provide free birth control to their employees.

Dolan came to the South Bronx to bless a library, but he had no blessings — just harsh words — for President Barack Obama, who wants Catholic institutions to pay for birth control, the morning after pill and other services for people who work for them.

“The federal government should do what it’s traditionally done since July 4, 1776, namely back out of intruding into the internal life of a church,” Dolan told CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer.

The leader of the New York Archdiocese picked up support from Speaker John Boehner, who said either Obama reverses the policy or the House will.



Rasmussen: Majority opposes Obama contraception mandate on religious organizations - HotAir
Obama Weighed Religious Politics Before Contraceptive Decision - Mike Dorning & Margaret Talev/Bloomberg News
Vice President Joe Biden and then-White House chief of staff Bill Daley, also Catholics, warned that the mandate would be seen as a government intrusion on religious institutions. Even moderate Catholic voters in battleground states might be alienated, they warned, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
White House tries to quell birth control storm - Carrie Budoff Brown & J. Lester Feder/Politico
This is Not Just a “Culture War,” It’s An Attack on The First Amendment - Ron Futrell/Big Journalism



White House Lays Low as Birth Control Dispute Heats Up - Alexis Simendinger/Real Clear Politics

How Santorum's sweep changes the GOP race (and how it doesn't)

The question now ahead of an unusual gap between nominating contests is whether last night represented a minor hiccup or a major setback for the former Massachusetts governor's hopes to win the GOP nomination. - Michael A. Memoli/LA Times

Despite the losses, the delegate math is unchanged. The caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado only started the delegate apportionment process in those states. And Missouri's primary was a nonbinding "beauty contest" -- the state GOP opted to hold caucuses next month when the legislature failed to move the primary to March to comply with new rules from both parties.

According to the Republican National Committee, Romney still leads the GOP field with 73 delegates. Gingrich has won 29, Paul 8, Santorum 3, and 30 are unbound. That's exactly where it stood Monday, too....

The biggest advantage Romney still has is in numbers. Had Santorum not succeeded as he did Tuesday, the pressure would have built for him to get out of the race. Instead, he and Newt Gingrich will still be fighting a two-front war, to establish themselves as the strongest "anti-Romney" and then to take on Romney himself.

President Obama, if you're not going to stop Iran, let Israel do the job!



Urgent. From Netanyahu’s Former Chief Of Staff Re: Iran - Dick Morris

IRANIAN OFFICIAL LAYS OUT ATTACK PLAN TO DESTROY ISRAEL IN NINE MINUTES - Free Beacon

Rep. Allen West: The Danger of A Nation of Dependents


Guest post at The Foundry - Heritage.org

As someone who grew up in inner-city Atlanta, I understand there are times when people need whatever help they can find. The social safety net—in conjunction with generosity from neighborhood groups, churches, charities, and private companies—can help lift Americans out of poverty and toward the path of self-reliance and individual prosperity. However, that “net” should never turn into a “hammock”—and that is what this President and his policies are allowing....

Your independence is a precious gift, protected by the Constitution and enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Fight for it. I know I will. Read the rest...

Santorum surged as Romney and Gingrich fought

The shift to Santorum was fast and overwhelming. In the end, Santorum beat Romney by 27 points in a state Romney had won by 19 points back in 2008. - Byron York/Washington Examiner
Santorum scores major victories in GOP contests - Susan Ferrechio/Washington Examiner

HUMBOLDT REPUBLICANS MOVE TO ENDORSE ROBERTS FOR CONGRESS

February 6, 2012

After hearing presentations from two Republican candidates for the 2nd Congressional District seat, the Humboldt County Republican Central Committee at its monthly meeting last Thursday voted to recommend that the California Republican Party formally endorse one of them, Dan Roberts.

Roberts, of Tiburon in Marin County, has for 25 years been a partner in a small stock brokerage firm in San Francisco. He is a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War. In his presentation he emphasized a balanced federal budget, reduction of the national debt, economic recovery and job creation.
###

danrobertsforcongress.com

Dan Roberts for U.S. Congress



__________________
danrobertsforcongress.com

“. . . I take this lesson [from the Holocaust]. When someone says they want to annihilate you, take them seriously.”



Douglas Murray on Israel, Iran, and the Moral Bankruptcy of British Liberalism - thecontroversyofzion.com

Barone: GOP must show young it's party of options

The reason three of the four Republicans haven’t paid much attention to young voters is that the under 30 folks have been turning out in the Republican contests in miniscule numbers. - Michael Barone/Washington Examiner

According to entrance and exit polls, voters under 30 accounted for 15 percent of participants in Iowa, 12 percent in New Hampshire, 9 percent in South Carolina, 6 percent in Florida and 8 percent in Nevada.

By way of comparison, voters that age were 18 percent of the electorate in November 2008.
And, in that election, they voted 66 to 32 percent for Barack Obama over John McCain. Voters above that age favored Obama by only 50 to 49 percent. McCain would have won if the voting age were 35.

In this year’s Republican contests, the big winner among young voters has been Ron Paul. His libertarian message — on monetary policy, marijuana policy and foreign policy — has brought out the under-30 voters, though many and perhaps most don’t identify themselves as Republicans at all....

The Obama policies are redolent of mid-20th century welfare state planning. From Obamacare’s unaccountable boards determining the care patients get to his affection for high-speed rail that will forever run on the same tracks, choice is limited or eliminated. Central planners determine your future.

It’s as if every iPod had an identical play list and every Facebook page were the same.
Romney and the other Republicans can claim that their policies, by providing choices and opening markets to spur innovation that no central authority can plan, will enable young people to choose their futures.

Obama likes to emphasize the Obamacare provision that lets “children” up to age 26 stay on their parents’ health insurance. Apparently that polls well with Millennials.

Republicans should counter that they want young people to choose their own health plan, from firms competing for their business. An economy liberated from Obamas’ tax and regulations can provide more choices and opportunities.

Romney and the others haven’t been speaking to young voters directly yet. They need to get started.


Stuff Obama's campaign says vs. Stuff that is true

In order to continue to paint President Obama as the scourge of the special interests, the Obama campaign will again and again put out false or misleading claims. Meanwhile, they'll convince much of the media that they are running an honest and fair campaign against dishonest Republicans. - Timothy P. Carney/Washington Examiner @tpcarney

...The Obama campaign has a consistent story about the nature of its fundraising and the administration’s relationships with lobbyists and special interests. That story is consistently false.

Ron Paul’s speech in Minnesota: ‘A strong second place, and it’s going to continue’

Ron Paul took second place in Minnesota's Republican presidential caucuses Tuesday night, pushing Mitt Romney into his first third-place finish of the 2012 campaign. (Video at the link)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

SANTORUM HAS HUGE NIGHT – Cleans Up In Missouri & Minnesota, UPDATE: Colorado


Caucus night open thread: Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri - Michelle Malkin
The first returns in Missouri, where Gingrich failed to make the ballot, showed Santorum with a lead over Romney with 1% of the total votes counted -- a turnout far too small to be considered a trend. - CNN
Results - CBS
Rick Santorum eyes conservative Republicans to fuel his revival in Tuesday caucuses - The Star
MO-MN-CO - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
SANTORUM HAS HUGE NIGHT – Cleans Up In Missouri & Minnesota - Update: Santorum Winning in Colorado, Too - Gateway Pundit
UPDATE: With 30% reporting in Colorado, Santorum is winning 42% to 30% over Mitt Romney. - cnn
Missouri primary, Minnesota and Colorado caucuses results: Santorum wins Missouri and Minnesota - Politico (image source)
Santorum Surge Returns: Wins Missouri, Minnesota; UPDATE: Wins Colorado - The Other McCain
UPDATE II: With the Associated Press reporting just 67% of precincts in Colorado, and Santorum leading Romney 39%-35%, the chairman of the Colorado GOP just called into Fox News to say that he has results from 99% of precincts, and Santorum has definitely won there.
UPDATE III: The results from Missouri:
Rick Santorum ………..138,957 — 55.2%
Mitt Romney ………….. 63,826 — 25.3%
Ron Paul ………………… 30,641 — 12.2%

SOMETHING IS REALLY REALLY REALLY FISHY WITH THIS ! This story has everything! MEXICO, OBAMA, CALDERONE, politics, violence and 1998 QUASHED INDICTMENT? WEIRD…

...there are some really peculiar parts of this New York Time story that warrants further investigation. - Greta Van Susteren

Obama to Return Major Donations Tied to Fugitive - Mike McIntire/New York Times

The President & The Prophet: Obama’s Unusual Encounter with Eric Metaxas

If the organizers of the national prayer breakfast ever want a sitting president to attend their event again, they need to expect that any leader in his right mind is going to ask — no, demand — that he be allowed to see a copy of the keynote address that is traditionally given immediately before the president’s. - Mark Joseph/National Review

That’s how devastating was the speech given by a little known historical biographer named Eric Metaxas, whose clever wit and punchy humor barely disguised a series of heat-seeking missiles that were sent, intentionally or not, in the commander-in-chief’s direction.

Obama has been under pressure for some time now to somehow prove his Christian bonafides for it’s no secret that millions of Americans doubt his Christian faith....Obama came to the prayer breakfast with a tidy speech that was clearly designed to lay those doubts to rest....

But before the president could utter a word, it was Metaxas who delivered a devastating, albeit apparently unintentional critique of such God-talk, recounting his own religious upbringing which he described as culturally Christian yet simultaneously full of “phony religiosity.” ...“Keep in mind that when someone says ‘I am a Christian’ it may mean absolutely nothing,” Metaxas added for good measure, in case anybody missed his point....

By the time he wrapped up his speech with a rendition of Amazing Grace, one got the feeling that this was a modern-day, and perhaps more humorous version, of what Old Testament prophets regularly did to Kings of Israel: deliver brutally honest messages from Yahweh with little regard for their personal safety. Only this time, there were no beheadings, only the difficult-to-watch spectacle of seeing a president forced to uncomfortably read a speech which had just been shredded to pieces by a man who couldn’t possibly have known what was coming. And as he did so, the audience in that room likely left with Metaxas’s four-word condemnation, intentional or not, of the 44th president of the United States ringing in their ears:

“God is not fooled.”

Rush Limbaugh's Clint Eastwood "Halftime in America" Parody



"That's the Clint Eastwood ad that I would expect to hear at halftime if somebody tells me that there was one."

Reason TV's parody - (◼ Found at HotAir:)



The original piece of Propaganda:



The Untold Obama Connection - Hollywood Reporter
Firm That Made Clint Eastwood Ad Has Obama Ties - Newsmax
Eastwood: Chrysler ad wasn't about Obama. It was about America ... - The Right Scoop

John Kerry: "I am alarmed by the attacks against civil society in Egypt"

Egypt arrests 'slap in the face' for US: Kerry - Agence France Presse

Top US Senator John Kerry warned Egypt's military rulers on Tuesday that the planned trial of pro-democracy activists was a "slap in the face" for America that could damage a vital relationship.

Egyptian justices have announced plans to put dozens of pro-democracy activists, including 19 Americans, on trial over alleged illegal funding to foreign aid groups.

The row has led some US lawmakers to openly question the crucial Egypt-US partnership that has anchored America's Middle East policy for a generation and helped keep the peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

POLL: Ron Paul moves into 2nd place...

Romney's lead dips despite wins: Reuters/Ipsos poll - REUTERS

Feinstein challenger Elizabeth Emken


For the first time since she was elected in 1992, more Californians do not want Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein re-elected than do, and her likely Republican opponent hopes to capitalize on that desire for change to oust the three-term senator. - Alexis Levinson/Daily Caller

Elizabeth Emken, a former efficiency expert at IBM and Vice President of Government Relations for Autism Speaks, believes that 2012 is her year.

“When you look at a Congress that has an 84 percent disapproval rating, that means that for the most part, the people of this country and certainly California are looking for new leadership,” Emken said in an interview with The Daily Caller. “It’s really, when you think about it, very sensible and logical to say look, we have got to shake out the existing environment.”
__________________
emken2012.com

Maybe it’s dawning on Wisconsinites — even some who don’t like Walker’s policies — that it would be a disaster to cut his term in half at the behest of a special interest group. That would confirm Wisconsin’s public-sector unions as the state’s de facto rulers, which really would be the end of democracy.

The 2012 U.S. elections could be the most exciting and consequential in years. In Wisconsin, we might be looking at political Armageddon. - Charles Lane/Washington Post

For public-sector unions, the Walker recall is no mere exercise in payback. The unions, upon which Democrats depend heavily for funding and foot soldiers, say Walker must be ousted and his reforms reversed for the sake of the middle class. Progressive values — even democracy itself — are in mortal danger.

Actually, the opposite is true. The threat to such progressive goals as majority rule, transparent government, a vibrant public sector and equality comes from public-sector unionism.

Prop. 8: Gay-marriage ban unconstitutional, U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules

A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year. - LA Times

The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that limited marriage to one man and one woman, violated the U.S. Constitution. The architects of Prop. 8 have vowed to appeal.

Read the Proposition 8 decision - Sacramento Bee
9th Circuit holds Prop. 8 violates 14th Amendment - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
The Court essentially used a bootstrap argument — that since there was a prior right to samesex marriage (based on a California Supreme Court decision which gave rise to Prop. — the taking away of that right without justification violated the 14th Amendment. Judge N.R. Smith filed a 35 page dissent from this finding.

The Court also held that (i) the supporters of Prop. 8 did have standing to defend the law, deferring to the Certified Opinion of the California Supreme Court, and (ii) trial court Judge Walker did not have to recuse himself based on his own longterm samesex relationship. These two findings were unanimous.
Document drop: Lib 9th circuit panel rules Proposition 8 unconstitutional - Michelle Malkin
Calif. court declares Prop 8 unconstitutional – Updates coming in - HotAir

California Republican Party Announces GOP Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich to Speak at State Party Convention

Gingrich appearance signals California Primary may play key role in 2012 Presidential Election

SACRAMENTO, CA – State Republican Party chairman Tom Del Beccaro announced today that GOP presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will headline an event at the State Republican Convention this month.

"It is my privilege to welcome one of the most dynamic figures in GOP politics over the last 50 years," said Chairman Del Beccaro. "Speaker Gingrich brings energy and vision to the Convention during a critical election year."

Gingrich will be the keynote speaker at Saturday's lunch event during the Convention which will run February 24th through 26th in the Bay Area.

"Speaker Gingrich's appearance at this month's Convention illustrates the importance of California as a key Primary state this election cycle," said Eric Beach, California Finance Chair to Gingrich. "There are more delegates in California than have been awarded in all of the other States’ primaries to date."

For more information on the Convention, visit ◼ CAGOP.org.

Project Veritas: Registering Tim Tebow and Tom Brady to Vote in Minnesota



On the day of the Minnesota Caucus, shocking video from James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas – broken here first at PJ Media – shows how easy it is to register NFL stars Tim Tebow, Tom Brady and practically anybody else to vote in that state. - Roger L Simon/PJMedia

The expected bill is the latest attempt by the Democrats to broadly expand the authority of executive branch agencies over the Internet. Details about the bill remain shrouded in secrecy.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, following a recent anti-piracy legislative debacle with SOPA and PIPA, will lead his second effort of 2012 to push Internet-regulating legislation, this time in the form of a new cybersecurity bill. - Josh Peterson, Tech Editor/Daily Caller

In California: The new voter registration statistics are bad news for Republicans, and the closer you look, the worse it becomes for the GOP.

Here is the number of counties, coastal or inland, where Republicans are a majority: zero. - Ethan Rarick/Fox&Hounds

When the Secretary of State released the new report the other day, plenty of people noted that statewide Republican registration is now at an all-time low of 30.4. But even more striking is GOP registration in the 20 coastal counties (those that touch either the Pacific Ocean or San Francisco Bay). It’s down to 27 percent.... (Even in more conservative areas of the state, Republicans can muster only a plurality, not a majority.)

The Coming of the New Ice Age: End of the Global Warming Era?


I just finished reading a terrifying new book about climate change. - Zombie at PJMedia

I realized: The solution (commit civilizational suicide) always remains the same; all that differs are the wildly divergent purported “crises” proffered up to justify the imposition of the solution....

Turns out my choice of reading material (discovered recently at a rummage sale for 25¢, in case you’re curious) was fortuitous, as climate change — and ice ages — are suddenly back in the headlines this past week. And the news is not good for the crisis-mongers.

First we learned that the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is actually helping us stave off the next inevitable ice age by a few years. Yes, you read that right: the “runaway global warming” scenario is now off the table; a new ice age is coming for sure, and whatever human warming effects there may be will only make our descent into the deep freeze a little more comfy.

Then, in a different breakthrough, leading scientists announced the discovery of a heretofore undetected type of molecule in the atmosphere which spurs cloud formation and negates global warming effects. Thanks to something called “Criegee biradicals,” the more we pollute, the more clouds form, and the cooler the planet becomes. Thus, the cumulative effect on the climate due to mankind’s activity: zilch. So for the second time in a week, the entire Anthropogenic Global Warming theory was fatally undermined....

In blaming mankind for causing snow across Europe, Greens sound eerily like 16th-century witch-hunters - Brendan O'Neill/Telegraph

Missouri Presidential Primary, and Minnesota and Colorado Republican Caucus today

A Political Math Problem - The Other McCain

Between now and Super Tuesday on March 6, the calendar looks like this:
Feb. 7
Colorado (caucus) ……………………. 36 delegates
Minnesota (caucus) ………………….. 40 delegates
Missouri (non-binding primary) … 0 delegates
Feb. 11
Maine (caucus) …………………………. 24 delegates
Feb. 22 — Arizona Debate (CNN)
Feb. 28
Arizona (primary) ……………………… 29 delegates
Michigan (primary) …………………… 30 delegates
March 1 — Georgia Debate (CNN)
March 3
Washington (caucus) …………………. 43 delegates
So there will be 202 delegates awarded before Super Tuesday, 100 of which will be awarded before the next debate on Feb. 22.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Could Be the Dark Horse GOP VP Pick


Although largely unknown outside her district in eastern Washington state, Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers could be the next U.S. vice president. - The Swash
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Our Next Vice President? - Moms4SarahPalin
Cathy McMorris Rodgers could be the fall vice presidential surprise - Daily Caller

Fisker Automotive, which was granted a $529 million US Dept. of Energy loan guarantee and then announced they would assemble the first line of cars in Finland, has announced layoffs at a Delaware plant that has yet to produce a single car:


The company says 26 Fisker employees have been let go from the Delaware factory where renowned automotive engineer Henrik Fisker promised to one day begin producing affordable electric sedans. - Michelle Malkin

A Delaware newspaper also reported that subcontractors working on the car venture have been let go.

Life With Trig: Sarah Palin on Raising a Special-Needs Child

He’s nearing his fourth birthday. He has Down syndrome. And he greets every day with a round of applause.

Last week, Rick Santorum and his family offered us a reminder of what really matters. When his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, born with Trisomy 18, was hospitalized with pneumonia, Rick left the campaign trail to be by her bedside. In the middle of this very heated campaign season, many of us prayed through tears for Bella’s health and added prayers of thankfulness for a public example of someone’s sacrifice made with the right priorities.

It’s a sacrifice every parent and caregiver of a child with special needs sympathizes with. Families of children with special needs are bonded by a shared experience of the joys, challenges, fears, and blessings of raising these beautiful children whom we see as perfect in this imperfect world.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, on rope lines at rallies across the country, my husband, Todd, and I met so many of these families and caretakers, and I’ll never forget them. There was an instant connection—a kind of mutual acknowledgment that said, “Yes, these children are precious and loved. Yes, we face extra fears and challenges, but our children are a blessing, and the rest of the world is missing out in not knowing this.” More...