Saturday, July 6, 2013

George Bush’s birthday present: Higher approval rating than President Obama

President George W. Bush’s 67th birthday passed quietly on Friday, but he did receive his share of well wishes on Twitter, along with one encouraging note from the folks at National Review. Despite continuing to shoulder the blame for just about every failure of the current administration, Bush currently enjoys a higher approval rating than President Obama. - Twitchy

Most Americans are proud of their country, he said. The risk is from progressives, who he says “seek [nothing] short of their own revolution, one that will purposefully instill tyranny in order to instill social equality, which is just a fancy term for socialism.”



BEST-SELLING AUTHOR’S BOLD SUGGESTION: IT’S TIME FOR TEA PARTY TO CONSIDER A NEW NAME — HERE’S WHY - Erica Ritz/The Blaze

“I’m throwing this out there…” Thor told the audience. “Do we need to consider adopting another name so that we can reach out to young people…get beyond the stigma? We don’t have to change our values. Do you think ACORN changed its values…?”

The audience seemed almost completely on board, throwing up a cheer immediately....

Thor did not suggest a new name for the Tea Party, but spoke about how conservatives can go about “reclaiming” the Republican Party by utilizing the same tactics as the Democrats.

The audience may not agree with the opinions and policies of those on the left, but Thor said it’s undeniable that they have a certain talent when it comes to messaging and organizing.

“Success leaves clues, and if you sow the same seeds, you’ll reap the same rewards,” he said.

One of Thor’s ideas was to take out billboards in every black community across the United States reading: “There’s a limit to what the Democrat Party can do for you, and you’ve been seeing it for decades.” Below would be statistics like the black unemployment rate, incarceration rate, and more. He noted that Democrats always warn Republicans about being on “the wrong side of history” in various issues — Democrat stances in history could also be on the billboards, from slavery to Jim Crow laws to the Ku Klux Klan.

“There are gains that the Republicans can be making in those precincts, and I don’t know why they’re not trying harder,” he said.

"Leading from Be-Heinz" WATCH: CNN Analyst Defends John Kerry for Being on Yacht During Egypt Coup: ‘To Be Fair…He Has Been Going Through a Grueling Time’





“He deserves a break on this.” - Madeleine Morgenstern/The Blaze

CNN analyst David Gergen said Secretary of State John Kerry should be given a break for being on his yacht while crisis was unfolding in Egypt.

Gergen, a former White House adviser to Presidents Clinton, Reagan, Ford and Nixon, said the State Department “blew it” by first denying a CBS producer’s report that Kerry was on his boat, only to have to turn around and admit otherwise after photos emerged.

◼ On the other hand: Sarah Palin: John Kerry’s yacht cover-up worse than the ‘crime’ - Twitchy

The photo of John Kerry climbing on to his yacht in Nantucket pretty much settled the question of whether Kerry was on his yacht in Nantucket this holiday while Egypt erupted into chaos. The State Department, which originally denied that Kerry was out sailing, finally corrected the record, saying the Secretary of State was on the yacht “briefly” on Wednesday. Fox News’ Brit Hume wondered if that admission would have happened at all without photographic proof, while others wondered why the State Department would lie over such a seemingly minor detail.

Sarah Palin called out Kerry for his “crime” in a lengthy Facebook post. The whole thing is worth reading, but her concern is the cover-up — something that comes a little too easily to the Obama administration.

...Being on his boat isn't the issue. Blatantly deceiving the American people is the issue.

Our government, yet again, either had no idea where the boss was, or worse yet, they lied to us. (Oops-a-daisy. Correction. In Obamaspeak, we were told the "least untruthful statement.") Our government directed its swift-ly boat changing denials to what one can only surmise is their perception of who we are: a nation of sheep – heads down, grazing away, gullible, ignorant, and undeserving of truth.

Confronted with photographic evidence, the State Department merely tossed the public a handful of hay today in its tepid effort to kinda-sorta explain the whole thing away. Something about, well, yeah, so the evidence contradicted all their public claims, but… eh, no harm, no foul. And like good herder dogs, with calm authority to avoid commotion, the bureaucrats barked the suggestion that we all just move along now....

While celebrating America's glorious Independence this week, be secure in knowing that there are more of us who support men and women ready and willing to fight on our behalf for freedom and truth than those who would continually deceive us. Thank God. And thank a Vet.

State Department: say you're sorry and don't ever do this again. CBS News: thank you for doing your job on this issue.

Happy 4th of July weekend, America.

- Sarah Palin

Racialized prosecutorial indiscretion in the Zimmerman case + Recap to date

...My overall impression of the trial doesn’t really deviate from my overall impression of the pre-trial phase: This is a case which never should have been brought, and would not have been brought except for racial politics. - William A. Jacobson/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

Florida prosecutors made an initial decision not to prosecute after the police investigation. Those prosecutors did what prosecutors should do, take a disinterested and dispassionate view of the evidence in determining whether the state could prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The facts known at that time of the initial decision not to prosecute do not materially differ from the facts known now that the prosecution has rested its case....

Zimmerman Trial Day 9 — Families Feud Over Scream Identification - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
Trayvon Martin’s Brother: Originally not sure if it was Trayvon screaming on 911 call. Prior TV interview contradicts current claims of certainty - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
Zimmerman Trial Day 9: Live Video, Analysis of State’s Case & Witnesses - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
Zimmerman Trial Review– How We Got Here, And Where We’re Going - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/4/13
As the State prepares to rest its case against George Zimmerman as early as tomorrow, I can’t help but juxtapose where we ought to be in terms of the weight of evidence of Zimmerman’s guilt of second degree murder, and contrast it with where we are. The gap is of Grand Canyon proportions.
Zimmerman Trial Day 8: Live Video, Analysis & Reader Poll: DNA Inconclusive & Judge Nelson Terse - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/3/13
Zimmerman Update Exclusive — Mid-Day 8 — State Wins Evidentiary Battle, Loses Testimony War - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/3/13

State Calls Zimmerman Professors to Testify

The State did call two of Zimmerman’s professors, however, and based on the intensity with which the State had pursued this theory of the case the expectation was that their testimony would be somehow devastating to Zimmerman. Perhaps this was where the “lid was lifted” and we would gain our first real view of the seething hatred that boiled over that night of February 26, 2012, and led the apparently friendly and meek Zimmerman to murder Trayvon Martin with a depraved mind.

In fact, the testimony of both Professors overwhelmingly favored the defense.

Zimmerman Update: BLOCKBUSTER: State witness says Zimmerman wanted to be Prosecutor! - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/3/13
Zimmerman Trial Day 8: Live Video, Analysis of State’s Case & Witnesses - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/3/13
Zimmerman Trial Day 7 Wrap Up: Prosecution recovers a little, prepared to introduce college records - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/2/13
Zimmerman Update Exclusive — Mid-Day 7 — Serino more ambivalent, Osterman supports self-defense - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/2/13

Zimmerman Trial Day 6 – Analysis & Video – State’s witness Chris Serino seriously undermines charge - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/1/13
Zimmerman Update Exclusive — Mid-Day 6 — Zimmerman recounts fight for his life (recording) - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion 7/1/13
Zimmerman Update — How Much Injury Is Required Before Self-Defense is Justified? - HRWF earlier

Twitter wants to start tracking you on the Web,
here's how to opt-out

link - Alan Henry, Lifehacker/Today Tech

To turn off Twitter's new tracking:

◼ Log in to Twitter and visit your account settings page.
◼ Uncheck the box that says "Tailor Twitter based on my recent website visits."
◼ Uncheck the box that says "Tailor ads based on information shared by ad partners."
◼ Scroll down and click "Save Changes...."

The Stunning Incompetence of Obama Over Egypt

Heard via friends in the “intelligence” community that the spooks have known for “weeks” that the Egyptian Army was planning to oust Egyptian President Morsi. - Larry Johnson/No Quarter

Do you think they kept that news to themselves? Nope. Barack Obama was briefed on this–repeatedly.

So here’s the question–Barack Obama knew that Morsi had a target on his back and would soon be under arrest by the Generals and he chose to do nothing? Sure looks that way. The Obama Administration appeared stunned and flustered by this week’s coup in Cairo. And yes, it was a coup.

Did Obama have some options? Absolutely. But as with his languid response to the attacks on our personnel in Benghazi last September, Obama displayed the same nonchalance and sonambulence as as the Egyptian military mobilized to take out President Morsi. Obama shied away from substantive public statements and failed to clarify U.S. policy towards a military ouster of a democratically elected President....

ONLY 47% OF ADULTS HAVE FULL-TIME JOB

The release of the June Jobs' Report Friday was something of a relief for the markets. The Labor Department reported that the economy gained 195,000 jobs in June, which beat economists' expectations. - Mike Flynn/Breitbart

The Department also reported that the economy gained 70,000 more jobs in April and May than it originally estimated. The report, however, also provides clear evidence that the the nation is splitting into two; only 47% of Americans have a full-time job and those who don't are finding it increasingly out of reach.

Of the 144 million Americans employed last month, only 116 million were working full-time. Friday's report showed that 58.7% of the civilian adult population of 245 million was working last month. Only 47% of Americans, however, had a full-time job.

The market's positive reaction to Friday's report is another sign of how far our economic expectations have fallen.

June Jobs Report: Part-Time Jobs Up, Full-Time Jobs Down - PJM

This is the ObamaCare effect. Obama’s health care law incentivizes employers to drop workers to below 30 hours per week in order to avoid incurring liabilities or fines. Or, if the employer is near the 50 employee mark, to trim down to below 50 to escape ObamaCare altogether.

Factor in the fact that the rate of participation in the job market remains at a historic low, and the economy remains weak. McJobs won’t power a full recovery.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Former NSA whistleblower calls for new American Revolution against surveillance state



"I call for a new American Revolution declaring our independence from the surveillance state and government control of information," said Thomas Drake, a former whistleblower and intelligence official at the National Security Agency. - ASHE SCHOW/Washington Examiner

Drake made the declaration at Thursday's Restore the Fourth rally in Washington, D.C., saying the U.S. "has become the kind of secret, undemocratic, authoritarian, imperialist nation against whom we fought the first American Revolution."

Does Obama have authority to undo Obamacare?

Obamacare called ‘The fiasco for the ages’ - Wesley Pruden/Washington Times

Barack Obama and the gang that can’t shoot straight aren’t having much fun, but if they think they aren’t having fun now, just wait. The “best” is yet to come.

The best the Democrats can say about Obamacare is that it’s an approaching train wreck, in the memorable description of Sen. Max Baucus of Montana. Mr. Baucus was one of the authors of the legislation and now he’s hurrying home to Montana for good, anxious to avert his eyes from all the hair, teeth and eyeballs soon to be scattered along the railroad right-of-way.

Pundits and professors are rifling through the thesaurus, looking for the right word to describe what the Wall Street Journal calls “a fiasco for the ages.” The Journal editorialists reminded everyone that they “fought the Affordable Care Act from start to passage, and we’d like to apologize to our readers. It turns out we weren’t nearly critical enough.”

The editors of The New York Times, Mr. Obama’s most reliable sycophants, are deep in mourning, but working furiously to apply more rouge to the corpse before it turns the parlor too fragrant for a wake. It’s summer, and they’re running out of ice.

OBAMA TELLS BROS: I'VE GOT YOUR BACK...


While President Barack Obama’s administration has stopped short of condemning the July 3 military takeover, it has called on Egyptian leaders to pursue “a transparent political process that is inclusive of all parties and groups,” including “avoiding any arbitrary arrests of Mursi and his supporters,” Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said July 4 in a statement. - Bloomberg

Brotherhood ouster in Egypt may clear way for stricter Islamists - LA Times
CIVIL WAR FEAR GRIPS CAIRO, AT LEAST 30 DEAD - WSJ
BBC reporter Jeremy Bowen shot in Egypt as demonstrations end in bloodshed - The Mirror
Oil jumps $2 on Egypt, U.S. data, biggest weekly gain in a year - Reuters
Egyptian army warns against ‘endless circle of revenge’ - alarabiya

FLIP-FLOP: State Dept. confirms Secretary Of State John Kerry was yachting during Egypt crisis

Cavalcade of conflicting info: Where in the world was John Kerry as Egypt lurched into chaos? - Twitchy

As regime change was unfolding in Egypt, Secretary of State John Kerry spent time on his boat Wednesday afternoon in Nantucket Sound, the State Department acknowledged to CBS News on Friday, after repeatedly denying that Kerry was aboard any boat. - CBS

A "CBS This Morning" producer spotted Kerry on his boat Wednesday afternoon on Nantucket, where Kerry has a vacation home. When "CBS This Morning" senior producer Mosheh Oinounou tweeted about the sighting, Psaki issued a denial, calling the tweet "completely inaccurate" and said Kerry has been "working all day and on the phone dealing with the crisis in Egypt."

Also on Wednesday afternoon, the White House released a photo of the president and his national security team meeting in the situation Room. Kerry was not present in the photo, but his office said he did participate in the meeting via a secure phone line.

SPOTTED: Back out on 'Isabel' today - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard



Shiver their timbers! State Dept. backtracks, admits Kerry ‘was briefly on his boat’ - Twitchy

Hey, any guesses where John Kerry is ‘briefly’ today? [photo] - Twitchy

Twitter user: ‘Kerry sailed right by me yesterday on the Nantucket sound’ [photo]; Update: Boston Herald confirms Kerry is on Nantucket - Twitchy

The Kitchen Cabinet - Oh boy... we were lied to again. On Wednesday when the military coup was happening in Egypt, CBS News reported that Secretary of State John Kerry was aboard his yacht, the "Isabel". State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki issued a categorical denial, stating: "Any report or tweet that he was on a boat is completely inaccurate."

Today they acknowledge that it was Psaki's statment that had been 'inaccurate' and that Kerry actually had been on the Isabel on Wednesday, but only for a little while and that he was hard at work all the time.

This Jen Psaki was Obama's campaign press secretary "where she walked back claims that the campaign had not known of an accusation that Mitt Romney had caused a worker's wife to die of cancer" and as "White House Deputy Communications Director, Psaki had been deeply involved in a campaign to exclude and discredit the Fox News Channel, calling Special Report host Bret Baier a "lunatic."" Meaning, this woman is well versed in manipulation of the truth, so it's no surprise her first inclination was to lie about the whereabouts of the Sec. State when the Egyptian coup was in progress.

"Breitbart News' Ben Shapiro noted: In other words, the American people were directly lied to about the whereabouts of the Secretary of State as a coup took place in one of the most strategically important countries in the world--a country where the President of the United States chose to launch his foreign policy in 2009, where the U.S. embassy was overrun in 2012, and where the Obama administration planted its flag with the Arab Spring in 2010. Only an administration completely secure in its control of media spin could pull such a stunt."

But what about today, with the Islamic pushback against the Egyptian military and interim government that it has installed, where is our Secretary of State?

Back at the helm of the Isabel (front boat/center), again... apparently having a blast. We wonder if they will deny this yachting escapade as well...

Thousand pictures of John Kerry boating prompts State Dept. to retract denial that Kerry was boating - Michelle Malkin

...(A)fter denying that John Kerry was sailing on Nantucket during chaos in Egypt (kind of surprised they didn’t blame the rumor on a YouTube video), the State Department acknowledged that Kerry was in fact on Nantucket but working constantly, which is what everybody goes to Nantucket for...

FRIDAY OF RAGE: ISLAMISTS PUSH BACK

Drudge Headlines:
Morsi Loyalists Clash With Soldiers in Cairo Protests - NYT
EGYPT TROOPS OPEN FIRE ON PRO-MORSI PROTESTERS... - AP
AT LEAST 3 DEAD... - Reuters
Army declares state of emergency in Suez, South Sinai... - Guardian
OIL SURGES... - Reuters
OBAMA URGENT MEETING AFTER BRO OVERTHROW... - Guardian
Army warns against 'endless circle of revenge'... - alarabiya
Widening Sweep...
Air of defeat hangs over Islamists... - Financial Times (requires sign in)
Rival gangs gearing up for battle... - Daily Mail
Supporters of Mohamed Morsi expected to pour on to the streets after Friday prayers today
Mohammed Badie detained in Mediterranean coastal city near Libyan border over killings outside Cairo HQ
Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi being held at Presidential Guard facility just a year after coming to power
Judge in Egypt's supreme court, Adly Mansour, sworn in as interim president in Cairo just hours after coup
BBC reporter tweeted that people were chanting 'no more beards' apparently aimed at the Muslim Brotherhood
Arrest warrants have been issued for 300 members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party as round-up begins
Military suspends Islamist-drafted constitution, calls for new elections and said it would install civilian government
Fears grow as Islamists take to Twitter to organise series of rallies to coincide with Friday prayers
At least 14 people have been killed in violent clashes after declaration by head of Egyptian army in TV broadcast
President Obama urges military to hand back control to democratic government, but stops short of calling it a coup
British foreign secretary says uprising sets a 'dangerous precedent' and UK did not support military intervention
Rapid reaction team of diplomats despatched to Cairo to prepare for possible evacuation of British nationals

Defending the Coup - NYT
Violence erupts in Egypt - CNN
EGYPTIAN MILITARY RAIDS AL JAZEERA - Larry O'Connor/Breitbart
EGYPTIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD PARTY CHAIRMAN: 'LORD MAKE ME A RESIDENT OF ATOMIC BOMB EXPLOSIONS' - Kerry Picket/Breitbart
Egypt: Now What? - Robert Spencer/Front Page

Few analysts expected that the demonstrations in Egypt over the past few days would result in such a swift toppling of Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood regime, and no one can be sure of what is going to happen next in Egypt, but there are some things we do know:

First is that the forces standing for equality of rights for all and a free society in Egypt are overjoyed at what happened Wednesday. Secularists and Coptic Christians are celebrating, and insisting to a Western press that has been as indefatigably pro-Muslim Brotherhood as Barack Obama that this is not a military coup, but a revolution, a true people’s revolution as the “Arab Spring” that toppled Mubarak was supposed to be.

The economy stagnates. Syria burns . Scandals lap at his feet. China and Russia mock him , even as a “29-year-old hacker” revealed his nation’s spy secrets to the world. How does President Obama respond? With a grandiloquent speech on climate change

Obama’s global-warming folly - Charles Krauthammer/Washington Post

“It’s not a coup because the military did not take power,” Mohamed Tawfik, the Egyptian ambassador in Washington, told Foreign Policy magazine. “The military did not initiate it. It was a popular uprising. The military stepped in in order to avoid violence.”

A Coup? Or Something Else? $1.5 Billion in U.S. Aid Is on the Line - New York Times
Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday condemned the military coup that has ousted Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, calling it a "US-led conspiracy." - Ahram Online
Egypt’s second revolution: Questions of legitimacy - Ahram Online
KERRY CALLED DEPOSED FOREIGN MINISTER, ASKED IF HE WAS STILL IN POWER - Breitbart
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Amr “had tendered his resignation hours earlier but agreed to stay on.” Kerry wanted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to call new presidential elections, replace the prime minister, and bring others into his government. When Morsi said no, the coup was on.

The Journal notes, “The moment served to underscore the Obama administration's limited ability to steer events in a Middle East still being swept by political upheaval.
Obama’s propped up Muslim Brotherhood Bosom Buddy Out! - Judi McLeod/Canada Free Press

BOOK: Obama Administration Pushed Negative Stories on Issa to 'Trusted' Reporters...

In the summer of 2010, with Republicans poised to take over the House and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in line to lead the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the White House started urging reporters to write negative stories about the congressman’s past, a new book says. - Rachel Weiner/Washington Post

New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich describes what he says were the anti-Issa efforts in “This Town,” a condemnation of Washington self-obsession and self-promotion, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Post.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Is the NSA Making a Gun Registry?

A bipartisan group of Senators who aren’t satisfied with the National Security Agency’s (NSA) answers on a whole host of questions, recently ◼ sent a letter (Click for PDF Download from sen. Ron Wyden) to the agency trying to get some more definite answers. The Senators, led by Ron Wyden (D-OR), asked whether or not the NSA was collecting (or had collected) data that went beyond simple phone records. Data like gun purchases. - Eagle Rising

The Senators ◼ were troubled that the actions of the NSA could have allowed them to collect bulk data that the government should not be privy to.

“It can be used to collect information on credit card purchases, pharmacy records, library records, firearm sales records, financial information, and a range of other sensitive subjects. And the bulk collection authority could potentially be used to supersede bans on maintaining gun owner databases, or laws protecting the privacy of medical records, financial records, and records of book and movie purchases.”

The Senators are worried that the NSA’s understanding of their legal limits and boundaries may be quite different than that of the American people. The problem is that much of the guidelines that our more clandestine agencies are using have been developed in secret and do not have any oversight until someone uncovers malfeasance.

Operating in this manner, many agencies may indeed be breaking the law simply because they understand the law to give them certain freedoms that they do not actually have.

Senators Ask if NSA Collected Gun Data - Washington Free Beacon

Patriotism, Disney Style


Nearly five decades after Walt Disney's death, the company he founded continues his tradition of celebrating American exceptionalism - Chris Queen/PJ Media

Disney admitted to a patriotism that occasionally overwhelmed him. He once confessed, “I get red, white, and blue at times.” His love of country showed up in his films and television programs and has carried on in the theme parks that bear his name nearly half a century after his death. Sometimes the Disney brand of patriotism makes itself known in subtle ways, while at other times, it jumps directly in your face.

◼ The Words That Started It All The Declaration of Independence. Everyone should re-read it today. - Heritage Foundation

By toppling Muslim Brotherhood regime, Egypt saves Middle East from another Iran



Egyptians now seek a liberal, democratic framework and refuse to repeat the mistake of choosing an incompetent leader just because he is religious. - Haaretz

Helicopters drawing the Egyptian flag on the sky of Cairo, fireworks, patriotic songs, and chants. This is how the Egyptians proudly celebrated the fall of Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday and the swearing-in of Adly Mansour, the new interim president, Thursday morning. But above all, Egyptians are celebrating their once again confirmed power and determination to drive their country through the path of liberal democracy, a path we first took when we brought down Hosni Mubarak, in January 2011.

By toppling the Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood regime, Egypt is given a new chance to stand on its right foot, and the Middle East is given the privilege of not having a Sunni version of the Mullah regime in Iran.

Independence Day!


Take a moment, with Col. Allen West, this Independence Day, to think about how unique and how special our great nation is. (VIDEO: Declaration of Vigilance) - PJ Media



Bill Whittle thinks that the Freedom of Speech is in peril, and so is the Freedom of Religion. Hear why on this Afterburner as Whittle reminds you of the importance of our most important civil liberties, and how each is threatened by the expanding welfare state. (VIDEO) - PJ Media
__________________

Humboldt GOP has a booth at the 4th Of July Fest in Old Town, Eureka, and an antique car in the parade in Ferndale. Pop over to say hi - and remember, you can register to vote at the booth in Old Town.

GALLUP: Republicans more proud to be American than Democrats...



The Greatness of America: Happy Independence Day, From RepDarrellIssa



In recognition of Independence Day, Gallup has released a poll on whether American citizens are still proud to be American. - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

Ninety-three percent of Republicans indicate that they are “extremely/very proud” to be American while only 85 percent of Democrats feel the same way.

◼ Mitt Romney: Happy Independence Day! Hope you're celebrating our great nation with family and friends.


◼ Darrell Issa: Spent a little time today enjoying the great American outdoors ‎#4thofJuly


◼ Elizabeth Emken: Happy 4th of July! How privileged we are to be able to celebrate our country's founding, our essential liberty--our very freedom. America's founding principles are worth fighting for--I pledge to stand with you as we support and defend our Constitution. This is one of my favorite 4th of July parade photos. We love America! –e

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The Fourth of July President

Who else, but someone born on July 4? - Peter Hannaford/American Spectator on 7.3.13

Calvin Coolidge, who became the 30th President, was born on the Fourth of July, as if Divine Providence had decided he was to be the embodiment of basic American values. As it turned out, he was.

He was born in 1872 to a long line of farmers who scratched out a living from the thin soil of Vermont. The residents of Plymouth Notch took it for granted that hard physical work was part of their destiny. As a boy, Calvin was no exception. Chores around the home and farm were part of his daily life.

Public service was also a birthright. Calvin grew up to believe that honest and earnest public service was the highest calling. He had an almost sacramental view of the democracy of the town meeting and, later, by extension that of larger deliberative bodies. No wonder. His father was a role model. In addition to his involvement in running the town, he was a justice of the peace and state legislator.

The characteristics that we think of as ideal American ones became his through example: thrift, modesty, self-reliance, tolerance, morality, and civility. Even in today’s age of relativism and situation ethics, such characteristics are widely admired.

These traits, combined with shyness, led him to use words carefully and economically (in public life he became jokingly known as “Silent Cal”). When one reads his speeches (he wrote his own), the value of this approach to communication comes through strongly. He did not use more words than were necessary to describe an idea. The resulting clarity made many people realize that he was dispensing common sense.

After finishing college at Amherst he read law and began to practice it in Northampton, Massachusetts. Public service also called, from city council to mayor, the state House of Representatives, state Senate president and lieutenant governor; he went on to become governor. In 1919 the Boston police went on strike. After the directly responsible authorities dithered, Coolidge, using the State Guard, stepped in and quickly brought it to an end. Nineteen policemen were fired.

When Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labor, asked him for leniency for the strike’s ring-leaders, Coolidge replied, “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” This statement brought him into national consciousness — and politics.

In 1920 he become Warren Harding’s vice-presidential running mate. Harding, who was later vilified by the Left, managed to create the Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) to coordinate budgets of all Executive Branch units. Coolidge was able to use its creation to good effect in reducing expenses and providing balanced budgets.

When Harding died unexpectedly on August 2, 1923, Coolidge was sworn in by kerosene lantern by his father, a justice of the peace, in the family parlor at Plymouth Notch. He lost no time in taking hold of the reins of government.

He inherited Andrew Mellon as Secretary of the Treasury. Mellon had been engineering sharp income tax rate reductions. Coolidge began allotting several hours a week on his schedule to working with Mellon and his budget director to cut, squeeze, and trim expenses to get the federal budget under control and provide surpluses.

Unprecedented growth followed for the rest of the Coolidge years. Per capita income increased by nearly 50 percent between 1921 and 1929. Automobile production, which was only 569,054 vehicles in 1914, soared to 5,621,715 in 1929. Air travel grew from 49,713 passengers in 1920 to 417,505 in 1929. It was an era of great technological advancement. The number of patents issued between 1918 and 1934 (most of those during Harding-Coolidge years) was not matched until the late 1980s and ’90s.

Coolidge believed that, in normal times, the government should get out of the way, for the most part, and let the private sector — the people — build and expand economic prosperity. He said, “I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry, This is the chief meaning of freedom.” Would that Barack Obama had a hearing aid to overcome his tin ear that blocks such messages.

Upon Coolidge’s early death in January 1933 (just short of age 61), humorist Will Rogers wrote this tribute: “By golly, you little redheaded New Englander, I liked you. You put horse sense into statesmanship.”
__________________

Peter Hannaford was closely associated for a number of years with the late President Reagan, beginning in the California Governor’s office. His latest book is ◼ Presidential Retreats.

Turns out that the official "savings" for taxpayers of $184 billion over the next decade really add up to $95 billion in losses.

Washington's $279 Billion Fraud - Wall St. Journal

If you think the federal student-loan program looks like a bad deal for taxpayers, imagine how it would look with honest accounting. And now you don't need to imagine thanks to a new report that's receiving far too little attention. Turns out that the official "savings" for taxpayers of $184 billion over the next decade really add up to $95 billion in losses.

Here's the scam: Lawmakers peddle what is a massive subsidy for universities while claiming that student loans generate a windfall for the taxpayer. This phony windfall is conjured by creative accounting that politicians mandated via the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990. Specifically, the law requires a deliberate under-counting of the cost of defaults.

This is partly how a Democratic Congress and President Obama managed to enact ObamaCare in 2010 while claiming that their big entitlement expansion would reduce costs. The health plan was paired with legislation that made the U.S. Department of Education the originator of roughly 90% of all student loans, which in turn generated billions in imaginary budget "savings."

To its credit, the Congressional Budget Office has noted on various occasions that while the law forces it to use this Beltway math, CBO knows it's not accurate under fair-value accounting. And in a new report on the costs of student loans made in the decade ending in 2023, CBO quantifies the size of this discrepancy at $279 billion. CBO adds with its typically wry understatement that Washington's mandated accounting method "does not consider some costs borne by the government."

CSPAN & Rush: James O’Keefe talked about his book on the government and media and the role his Project Veritas plays in “ambush journalism."



Interview: James O'Keefe, the Special Forces of the Conservative Movement - RUSH

Well, yeah, I mean, to say I was in danger was an understatement. The book starts out with me in federal jail. We had a federal judge delete my videotapes and then charge me with a crime I didn't commit. I was confined to my state where I live, New Jersey, for three years, three and a half years. The government would not let me travel without permission from a US attorney, a federal judge, and a probation officer, for a misdemeanor crime which I would argue I didn't even commit. And I was audited once a month. I had to submit cash inflows and outflows to federal agents. When I would release an investigation, they'd show up at my parents' house and ask my father, "What's your son doing? What's he doing next?" We have faced the fire. And I know that they are politicizing the First Amendment. I see the Department of Justice protecting the guy who bugged McConnell and calling him a journalist, and it is this politicizing of the First Amendment which threatens us. Not just me, but everyone, all Americans, because if we lose this, if we lose the First Amendment, it's over. And we have been on the front lines, and that's what my story is about. It's about surviving them, and overcoming their obstacles and continuing to make a difference, despite everything they've thrown at us.

Brilliant: James O’Keefe breaks through in interview with Rush Limbaugh [video] - Twitchy

Something happening here...

Reports: Morsi under house arrest, military coup underway in Egypt Morsi's out, the Army's in, and the coup is complete UPDATES


'Morsi is no longer president': Military coup forces out Egyptian leader as tens of thousands celebrate in the streets - DAVID WILLIAMS and JAMES RUSH/Daily Mail

Revolt in Egypt Marks the End of America's Illusions About Arab Democracy - By Romesh Ratnesar/Bloomberg Business Week

The apparent military ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is a triumph for the coalition of protestors who have massed in Tahrir Square in recent days. They include many of the young, secular, tech-savvy activists who captured the world’s imagination more than two years ago, when they helped bring down Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic regime. That’s one reason the Obama Administration hasn’t attempted to stop or even condemn the coup. Morsi’s removal may well empower forces that are more friendly to the U.S. than the Muslim Brotherhood. It also signals the end of a decade-long U.S. project to bring democracy to the Middle East.

Late Breaking News! Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi said the head of the country's constitutional court will serve as Egypt's temporary president until a new constitution can be drawn up and new elections can be held.
Fireworks exploded over Cairo’s Tahrir Square after the announcement. via Lucianne

Late Breaking News! 'Full military coup' underway in Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood spokesman (NY Post & Wires) via Lucianne

TANKS MOVE ON CAIRO... - NBC World News

Supporters of Egyptian president say military coup is underway

Unconfirmed thus far, but the army’s deadline for him to leave office had recently passed. Let’s get a thread up, as things are moving quickly. - Allahpundit/HotAir

Update: Morsi apparently offered the army a deal at the last minute in which he’d ◼ organize a coalition government in return for being allowed to stay in office. No dice, apparently. After the Brotherhood’s power grab, why would any opposition leader think he’d have meaningful responsibilities in a coalition government? And who in the opposition would want to re-legitimize the Brotherhood at this point, on the eve of seeing them ousted, by joining their government?

Update: Enjoy Eli Lake’s and Josh Rogin’s chronicle of ◼ Obama’s kid-gloves treatment of Morsi and the Brotherhood at every turn over the past two years. Hope Morsi enjoyed the fortune in aid that the U.S. showered on him at the White House’s insistence.

Obama Offers a Revisionist History of His Administration’s Approach to Egypt - Josh Rogin, Eli Lake/Daily Beast

Despite its claims now, the Obama administration has done little to press Morsi’s administration to support human rights....

President Obama said Monday his government makes decisions on aid to Egypt based on that government’s respect for democracy and the rule of law. The record suggests otherwise.

Drudge headlines:
TANKS MOVE ON CAIRO - NBC
FLASH: Military suspends constitution, replaces president - France24
U.S. DUMPS MORSI - Politico
REPORT: Under House Arrest...
Refuses to step down...
Fight to the death in 'final hours' showdown...
Offers Military a Coalition Govt...
Muslim Bros prepare defense force...
'Massive wave of anti-Obama sentiment' - Zerohedge
'Your bitch is our dictator' - Townhall
PHOTOS...
Oil Above $100...
Epidemic of Sexual Violence; 91 Attacks in 4 Days...
LIVE CAM AT TAHRIR SQUARE...
US orders nonessential diplomats, embassy families to leave - AP via Washington Post
Students In Arabic Program Evacuate - CBS Detroit


Live updates: Egypt tense as army deadline passes, troops deployed around Cairo - english.ahram.org (Al-Ahram [Egypt])

OBAMA BEGS EGYPTIAN MILITARY: Please Don't Arrest Members of Muslim Brotherhood or Al Qaeda in North Africa! - Doug Ross

Christian churches, homes are reportedly under attack by Morsi supporters - Twitchy

The media are focusing on all the happy protesters in Cairo, but we are seeing unconfirmed reports on Twitter that chaos has erupted elsewhere in Egypt and thugs are taking this opportunity to attack churches and homes of Coptic Christians.

"Egyptian anti-sexual harassment groups confirmed that mobs sexually assaulted and in some cases raped at least 91 women in Tahrir Square... over four days of protests beginning on June 30, 2013, amid a climate of impunity." - Althouse

In Chicago: Mother of slain boy,14: ´The city belongs to the gangbangers´

Damani Henard called his mom to say he was biking to a friend's house to play video games. - Chicago Tribune

Paige got home late Tuesday night and didn't see her son, but figured he had stayed overnight. Then detectives showed up at her door.

"They were telling me my son was murdered," Paige said as she prepared to go to the morgue. "They were telling me he was riding his bike home and three guys approached him and he tried to pedal away, to get away, and he was shot twice, once in his neck and once in his chest.

"He died instantly," she said. "He was not a bad child. He was on his way home from visiting his friend."

Egyptians Love Us For Our Freedom

link - Tyler Durden/Zerohedge

Obama’s New World Order: Power to Our Enemies, Death to Our Friends, and a Fish in the President’s Face - by Michael Ledeen/PJMedia

The anti-Morsi, anti-Muslim Brotherhood, and therefore anti-Obama demonstrations in Egypt are the biggest in human history. It’s quite something, an historic event. Whatever the outcome, we should pay attention. What does it signify? Are we now in a new world? Has there been a paradigm shift? Does it portend similar huge protests elsewhere, even here in the USA? Does it require rethinking basic policy options? Or is it just an Egyptian thing, or maybe an “Arab street” thing?

If you’ve been following ◼ Spengler, as you should, you know that Egypt is a failed state, where there is a real danger of starvation, and it is tempting to describe the demonstrations as a reaction to misery, as an act of desperation....

Egypt under the fist of the Muslim Brotherhood was looking more and more like Khomeini’s vision of Islamic government, and millions of Egyptians don’t want to go there, let alone do that.

The Muslim Brotherhood organized its takeover of Egypt by following the same strategy as Hezbollah in Lebanon: offering social services the state was unable to provide, organizing the faithful and telling them that their government was failing because it was godless, and assuring them that Allah would bless a regime that followed his dictates. The Egyptians got the Brothers’ version of sharia, hence less freedom, alongside the hunger pains. The biggest demonstration in human history thus pits Sunni Muslim against Sunni Muslim, not Sunni against Shia, or Muslim against infidel.

Massive Wave Of Anti-Obama Sentiment In Egypt Ignored By Mainstream Media - IJ Review

In what amounts to blatant censorship, the “mainstream” media has virtually ignored the wave of anti-Obama sentiment in Egypt during the uprising. Here are few images you won’t see on CBSCNNABCNBCMSNBC.

AWW: President Obama ‘deeply concerned’ over Morsi’s ouster, tells military not to arrest Morsi - The Right Scoop

President Obama: U.S. 'Deeply Concerned' Over Morsi's Ouster - NPR

DRAMA IN SKY: Bolivian leader's plane rerouted on fear Snowden aboard...

The plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales was rerouted to Austria after various European countries refused to let it cross their airspace because of suspicions that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board, Bolivian officials said Tuesday. - AP

Furor over denied airspace passage, refueling rights - France24
'Act of aggression'
'Orders came from United States' - NPR
Austria finds 'no sign' Snowden on board - Reuters
UPDATES

“I think what the Obama administration wants, and has been trying to establish for the last almost five years now with the unprecedented war on whistleblowers that it is waging, and to make it so that everybody is petrified of coming forward with information about what our political officials are doing in the dark that is deceitful, illegal or corrupt,” Greenwald said


New bombshell coming - Hadas Gold/Politico

Barack Obama, This Blood is On Your Head

I do not post this to appeal to purient interest. What follows is abject horror. It is the murder of Metropolitan “François Murad”, who was patron of Sumaan al-Amoudi Monastery - Larry Johnson/No Quarter



As the Holocaust unfolded in World War II, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the media knew about the horror and wrote little. Never again. Let the world know the nature of this monsters who slaughter in the name of Allah. No one can say, “I did not know.”

This is unholy. And Barack Obama, with the backing of Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Lindsey Graham is pushing to arm “the rebels.” THESE ARE THE REBELS.

Syrian rebels beheads bishop François Murad - LIVE LEAK

ASIA/SYRIA – A Catholic priest killed. Bishop Hindo: he offered his martyrdom for peace - Fides News Agency (The Vatican)

The Press and Paula Deen


Do the twenty-year-old words of a lady with a television cooking show trump the lie an Attorney General told Congress, or officials at the IRS usurping the rights of the American public and pleading the fifth amendment when confronted about it or the hiding of the facts surrounding the murder of four Americans at a Consulate in Libya or the incredibly shabby image of a president taking a one hundred million dollar vacation in this economy while closing down tours of the White House or the NSA invasion on the privacy of millions of unsuspecting citizens? - Charlie Daniels/CNS News via ◼ Newsbusters on Facebook

I think not, and yet these and other stories of the utmost importance were either ignored or given a back seat to the Paula Deen story which, when taken in context with the high level scandals, Putin's snubbing of an American president, the potentially explosive situations in so much of the world the story was certainly not newsworthy enough to be featured five nights in a row on network news.

Wouldn't a week-long investigation into the life of Lois Lerner, the things she's done and the reason she's pleading the fifth be more meaningful to the American people?

What about what's going on in Israel? The media has been strangely quiet on that front lately; is there nothing worth reporting in that volatile part of the world?

How about the coming catastrophic tidal wave the effect of Obamacare is going to have on America, is there nothing worth questioning in the over 30,000 pages of regulations?

...No wonder the mainstream media has fallen so far in the trust of the American people.

Why is the Paula Deen story worth so much airtime if not to take attention off the truly important issues, the life-changing things that really affect the lives of Americans?

The news is not about news anymore. It's about protecting some people, destroying others and shoving a socialist agenda down the collective throats of America.

White House Memo Shows Obama Administration’s Painful Efforts To Defend Valerie Jarrett

“Valerie is someone here who other people inside the building know they can trust. (need examples.)” - /Andrew KaczynskiBuzzfeed
'The Magic of Valerie'... 'Valerie is someone here who other people inside the building know they can trust. (need examples.)'...

A soon-to-be-released book by Mark Leibovich reveals in excruciating detail the White House’s efforts to defend longtime Obama friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett in the run-up to a New York Times profile that ran in September 2012.

Leibovich, himself a reporter for the New York Times, got ahold of a White House memo titled “The Magic of Valerie” that included 33 talking points circulated throughout the administration.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Megyn Kelly moving to Fox News primetime; Congratulations pour in ==>


Kelly will take over her new time slot when she returns from maternity leave. The revamped schedule has yet to be announced, but warm wishes are already pouring in - Twitchy

Rush Limbaugh: Republicans are getting ‘skunked’ by Democrats

The conservative broadcaster joined ‘Fox and Friends,’ Tuesday morning over the phone, and criticized Republicans for failing to raise more awareness about the problems with Obamacare. - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @charlesspiering

“Republicans are sitting around twiddling their thumbs, worried about immigration and whether the Hispanics like them or not, and being skunked on issue after issue after issue,” Limbaugh explained.

Limbaugh reminded the audience that the 2014 Congressional mid-term elections were critical to stopping Obama’s second term agenda – adding that it was a very real possibility that Democrats could take back the House.

“The 2014 mid-terms are really, really important,” he said. “Democrats win the House, then there is no such thing as a lame duck last two years for Obama. He’s going to have clear sailing.”

Democrats trying to suppress confusion, hide cost of ObamaCare - Ed Rogers/Washington Post

...Smart Democrats are beginning to get frantic about the need to suppress the confusion and hide the cost of ObamaCare between now and the 2014 midterm elections. We are just three months away from the October 1st enrollment start date and so far, nothing about the ObamaCare implementation process should be politically encouraging for Democrats. In fact, the more people learn about ObamaCare, the more frightened they become....

Today’s Wall Street Journal article, ◼ “Health-insurance costs set for a jolt” hints at the debacle that is to come. At some point soon, it’s going to be undeniable that ObamaCare is nothing but another federal entitlement, where those who are young and healthy bear the direct cost of subsidizing those who are not.

In midterm elections, those who vote tend to be more engaged voters. In other words, these voters will notice if they have health insurance that is more expensive but offers less coverage than what they had before ObamaCare. Some of the Democrats’ reactions will be predictable, i.e. blaming Bush and blaming Republicans, or for a while, denying the obvious. But that won’t work forever. One of the worst sins you can commit in politics is to say something that’s different from what people can see for themselves. There is no chance that Obamacare will perform as promised and when it doesn’t, voters will be looking for relief.

Health-insurance costs set for a jolt - Wall St. Journal

Healthy consumers could see insurance rates double or even triple when they look for individual coverage under the federal health law later this year, while the premiums paid by sicker people are set to become more affordable, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of coverage to be sold on the law's new exchanges.

Monday, July 1, 2013

15 Photos From the Tahrir Square Protests You'll Never See In Legacy Media. #Egypt #Morsi #Obama

Banner decision upholds property rights

The Pacific Legal Foundation just won an important property rights case - Katy Grimes/Cal WatchDog

The U.S. Supreme Court case expanded the right to just compensation to “non-takings” of property in Koontz v. St. Johns River Management District.

Paul Beard, the PLF attorney who litigated the Koontz case, said the decision is important for property owners because no longer will the government be able to force them to apply for permits to pay money to the government without constitutional scrutiny on the reason for the extortion.

Until now, permitting agencies have been able to demand money for land use permits without showing just cause.

“The ruling says the Fifth Amendment protects landowners from government extortion, whether the extortion is for money or any other form of property,” Beard told me in an interview. “The Supreme Court said limits imposed by the St. Johns River Water Management District on how Koontz used his land were a ‘taking’ subject to compensation under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“The court has recognized that money is a form of property, and the Constitution prohibits grabbing money from property owners the same way it prohibits grabbing land without compensation.”

The left reacts

“The decision is a very serious loss for local governments,” said John Echeverria, a Vermont Law School professor specializing in land use and property rights, who filed a brief for state and local government associations on St. Johns’ behalf, as quoted by Reuters.

“It means requirements to pay fees or other payments as a condition of permit approvals will be subject to heightened scrutiny. That is a revolutionary change in the law.”

Siding with government power against private property, in dissent were the four most liberal justices: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Steven Breyer, Sondra Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Wrote Kagan in the dissent,“The boundaries of the majority’s new rule are uncertain, but it threatens to subject a vast array of land-use regulations, applied daily in states and localities throughout the country, to heightened constitutional scrutiny.”

Pew: Obama less 'honest,' more 'incompetent' than Bush

It's word bubble time at Pew Research Center, and that's not really good news for President Obama, especially when compared to the one word Americans used to describe former President George W. Bush as this time. - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner

California Gas Tax Hike Goes Into Effect; Now Highest In Nation

The tax hike gives the Golden State the highest gas tax in the nation, at 71.9 cents per gallon. - CBS SF

Interest rates on student loans doubled today

link - John Boehner

Speaker Boehner said, "Republicans have passed common-sense legislation mirroring the president’s plan to stop student loans from doubling and make college more affordable. It’s disappointing that Senate Democrats left town without taking action on behalf of students and their families."

Change: Democrats Double Student Loan Rates, Use the Money to Fund Obamacare - Rush

...RUSH: About 15 months ago Obama as in Iowa City, Iowa. By the way, I went back to my website and I now am fully up to speed. The Democrats wrote this student loan bill so that the rate would double as a campaign issue in an election year. Details coming up. I want you to hear Obama, though, April 25th, 2012, in Iowa City. He's at the University of Iowa talking about student loan program.

OBAMA 2012: Now is not the time to double the interest rates on our student loans. Now is not the time to double interest rates. Now is the time to double down on start investments that build a strong and security middle class. Now is the time to double down on building an America that's built to last.

RUSH: Okay, so that's during last year's presidential campaign, April 25th in Iowa City. "Now is not the time to double interest rates." They were scheduled to double today, and they were using this as a campaign issue. Guess what? Interest rates doubled. Obama won reelection so it doesn't matter. They need the money for Obamacare. ....

Obama: 'The Planet Will Boil Over' If Africans Are Allowed Cars and Air-Conditioning



President Barack Obama said at a town hall event in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Saturday that unless we find new way of producing energy "the planet will boil over" if people in Africa are allowed to attain air conditioning, automobiles and big houses. - CNS

According to UNESCO, unsanitized water causes billions of preventable diseases annually, from diarrhea (4 billion), cholera (120,000), malaria (300-500 million), intestinal parasites (25% of world’s population), typhoid (12 million), trachoma (6 million), and schistosomiesis (200 million). list from highest to least affected

The president gave short shrift to these more traditional health concerns during his visit to the continent. Instead, Obama implied several times that the U.S. would only encourage growth in Africa should it be grounded in “clean energy strategies” and not in “corrupting” energy economies that gave rise to unprecedented levels of health and prosperity among Western nations.

Speaking on the future of U.S. aid to Africa, the president said that it was his goal “to see if we can leapfrog some of the polluting practices of America or Europe, and go straight to the clean energy strategies that will allow you to advance economic growth, but not corrupt the planet.”

Group Tied To Planned Parenthood Paying People To Protest For Abortion In Texas…

◼ From Weaselzippers: Craigslist ad posted on June 29th:


Sounds like they are going to astroturf the special session Rick Perry called to pass the pro-life bill Wendy Davis filibustered.... this campaign is directly working with Planned Parenthood to bolster their efforts. As a reminder, Planned Parenthood is a tax-exempt, tax payer funded organization that performs more than 330,000 abortions every year.

Zimmerman Update — How Much Injury Is Required Before Self-Defense is Justified?

Thoughout the week the State has sought to minimize the apparent seriousness of Mr. Zimmerman’s injuries. These efforts reached an almost ludicrous stage during Friday afternoon’s re-cross of Lindzee Folgate, the physician’s assistant who examined Zimmerman the day after the shooting. - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

Mr. de la Rionda asked, as if he meant it, whether all people have perfectly round heads or wasn’t it true that a person can have a bumpy or raised area of their head as a normal state of affairs, and not solely as the result of traumatic injury.

Was he trying to suggest that the normal appearance of Mr. Zimmerman’s skull included contusions, abrasions, lacerations, and blood trails? It was more than a little bizarre.

Zimmerman Trial LIVE VIDEO Day 6 – State’s Witnesses - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

Zimmerman Update Exclusive — Mid-Day 6 — Zimmerman recounts fight for his life (recording) - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

Zimmerman Trial Day 6 – Analysis & Video – State’s witness Chris Serino seriously undermines charge - Andrew Branca/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

If you didn’t listen to the live streaming of the Zimmerman case, you missed the most astonishing cross-examination of a trial that has been hip-deep in astonishing cross-examinations.

On the stand was Chris Serino, who was the lead investigator for the Sanford Police Department on the Trayyvon Martin shooting. Defense counsel Mark O’Mara led cross-examination with his usual consummate skill, obtaining responses from this witness–remember, the State’s witness–that all but completely guts the State’s charge in this case.

Among the key revelations so far:

Zimmerman was always completely cooperative, open, and straightforward with all the police investigators over many weeks of multiple interviews, both in person at the police station and phone. The sense given is that Zimmerman demonstrated endless patience.

O’Mara noted that Serino was leading an investigative team, gathering and sharing evidence ,that included all levels of the Sanford Police Department up to the Chief, and even members of the 18 Circuit State Prosector’s office. Asked if there was ANYTHING that Zimmerman had said that contradicted the wealth of evidence possessed by Serino, the Investigator answered, “No, sir.” No physical evidence, no witness evidence, no officer statements, nothing? “No, sir.”

Egypt Opposition Blames U.S. for Supporting Morsi Regime


An Egyptian opposition group accused the US of "being partner to a conspiracy to keep President Mohamed Morsi in power." - Elizabeth Shield/Breitbart (Image source: ◼ The Big Pharaoh)

Obama addressed the situation in Egypt on Saturday explaining "The United States supported democracy in Egypt. It’s been challenging given there has not been a tradition of democracy in Egypt." he said. "Our most immediate concerns have to do with our embassies and consulates."

In June, the Secretary of State John Kerry quietly gave $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt. The money was given a month after a memo admitted "we are not satisfied with the extent of Egypt's progress and are pressing for a more inclusive democratic process and the strengthening of key democratic institutions."

The opposition is furious. "America and the Brotherhood have united to bring down the Egyptian people," said Hassan Shahin, a member of the Tamarod, or "rebel," movement.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Connection To Benghazi

On Wednesday June 26, 2013 reports began to pop up across the Arabic world citing an internal Libyan government memo that has not yet been acknowledged in the American press. - Kevin McCullough/Townhall

Multiple sources have confirmed this document details several confessions of the six Egyptians in Libyan custody for the 9.11.12 bombing of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

The document details the involvement of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi as being involved with and in the funding, support, planning, and execution of the attack.

What is unique about this document is that its content wasn't leaked to the press in some sort of salacious move. This is simply an interdepartmental memo from the Libyan National Security offices in Tripoli to the Ministry of the Interior. Written solely as a perfunctory after-action report as the results of the Libyan investigation in the events of that night.

The danger of what Edward Snowden has not revealed

Snowden is reportedly carrying four laptop computers loaded with top-secret U.S. intelligence documents. - Marc A. Thiessen/Washington Post

Bush: Snowden ‘damaged the security of the country’ rt.com

Speaking to CNN, Bush not only condemned Snowden’s actions but defended the surveillance policies he signed off on more than a decade earlier.

“I put that program in place to protect the country,” Bush said. “One of the certainties was that civil liberties were guaranteed.”

Drudge:
PUTIN WELCOMES 'NEW DISSIDENT'...
SNOWDEN APPLIES FOR ASYLUM IN RUSSIA...
OBAMA: US In 'High-Level Discussions' To Extradite...
PUTIN: Snowden 'must stop his work aimed at harming our American partners'...

Lucianne:
Obama brushes off European criticism of American spying
His response, "Everybody does it." Right up there on the
snotty response hit parade with, "What difference does it make?"

Honey, Snowden Shrank Obama
American Spectator, by Jed Babbin

Putin Says Snowden Must Stop Hurting U.S. to Stay in Russia
New York Times, by Andrew Roth and Ellen Barry

Putin hints at offer for Snowden to remain in Russia
Guardian (UK), by Miriam Elder

5 Intriguing New NSA Revelations From Edward Snowden - Mother Jones

The United States is bugging EU diplomats, can store 1 billion cellphone calls daily, and more eyebrow-raising disclosures about National Security Agency spying.

EGYPT: ULTIMATUM TO MORSI: YOU HAVE ONE DAY



Egypt's armed forces sent a stiff message to the country's embattled president and his political opponents and allies, saying Monday that the growing governing dispute must be resolved in 48 hours or it will step in to restore order. - CNN

Protesters storm Muslim Bros HQ - AP

Sunday saw millions of Egyptians flood the streets nationwide in a massive outpouring of anger and frustration with the president and the Brotherhood, the Islamist group that propelled Morsi to power. The protests were largely peaceful, although in a sign of the volatility of the country's divisions, clashes erupted in the evening around the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters between armed Morsi supporters barricaded inside the building and young protesters pelting it with firebombs and rocks.

Set ablaze, looted - AlJazeera

10 killed after millions flood streets - alarabiya.net

Muslim Brotherhood vows action after Cairo headquarters attacked - “It’s very dangerous for one entity in society to take up violence as a means of change because it may entice others to do so. The Muslim Brotherhood is a disciplined organization,” he said, criticizing the security forces for failing to protect the headquarters in Sunday’s attack.

“The people will not sit silent,” the spokesman said.

Dutch reporter gang-raped in Tahrir Square - YNet

Egyptian media reported Sunday that a Dutch journalist was raped by several men in Cairo's Tahrir Square a few days ago.

Dina Zakaria, a journalist reporting for the "Egypt 25" news channel affiliated with the January 25 revolution, shared the incident on her Facebook page Sunday: "A Dutch journalist in Tahrir was raped by men who dub themselves revolutionists. Her condition is severe and she is hospitalized."

Return of the revolution? Egypt's Tahrir Square is packed to capacity again as thousands protest against hated president - Tara Brady/Daily Mail

Obama’s leadership in worldwide Jihad hits a snag - David Rushton/Canada Free Press