Friday, September 30, 2011

Iran Plans to Execute Christian Preacher

Nardarkhani, his wife, and their two sons
Iranian Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who is facing the death penalty, again refused to convert to Islam to save his life.

Nadarkhani was arrested in 2009 for the crime of apostasy because he allegedly abandoned Islam for Christianity. As a pastor, Iranian clerics believe that Nadarkhani was preaching in order to convert Muslims.

Before his last hearing Wednesday, Nadarkhani had been given three previous chances to repent, and all three times he has refused.

After his final refusal Wednesday, no verdict has been announced, but many expect that he could be put to death as soon as Friday.

The case has slowly garnered international attention, and there are a number of Christian rights groups advocating for his release. 

There were rumors on Wednesday night that Nadarkhani's execution sentence was to be waived after the final trial, but contradicting reports indicate that the news was incorrect.

"We've had some reports that there has been a verbal announcement from the court in Iran that the sentence is annulled but we urge caution," said Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a religious group campaigning for Nadarkhani's release.

"It's been known that verbal announcements have been directly contradicted by later written statements. We are still calling for international pressure to be kept up." 

The Iranian Government routinely burns Christian Bibles
The American Center for Law and Justice said in a message titled "Troubling News" that the rumors were spread by the Iranian secret service in an attempt to get the media to stop reporting the story.

ACLJ said Nadarkhani's lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah called the center Wednesday to say the death sentence hasn't been overturned.

Even if the sentence were commuted, Nadarkhani could still face life in prison. And even if he were released, there would still be danger.

"In Iran about 18 years ago, they had released a pastor, but then came and assassinated him and his bishop later. We cannot stop the pressure," Pastor Firouz Sadegh-Khandjani, a Member of the Council of Elders for the Church of Iran, told the ACLJ. 

Between June 2010 and January 2011, more than 200 people in Iran were arrested for their religious beliefs, according to Elam Ministries, a United Kingdom-based church with ties to Iran.

President Obama enjoys strong support from Musli
In August, a pastor named Haghnejad was arrested for the third time, according to Christian Solidarity. Police also confiscated 6,500 bibles, which Iran's social issues committee deemed were being used to deceive youths.

While no one has been hanged for the crime of apostasy in Iran for more than 20 years, the country has the second highest execution rate of any nation in the world. So far in 2011, there have been about 400 executions, a quarter of which occurred in September.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Obama Myth: Bright, Articulate, and Clean

Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, is a reasonably intelligent man. He is probably a good husband and father. And his dog probably likes him.

But he isn't the "brilliant and articulate" person that his fans paint him to be. And because they worked so hard to create this false impression, this comparison is bound to keep coming up.

The "brilliant" Obama, who struggles to put five words together without the use of a script written by professional writers... verses the "very stupid" Bush, who can easily speak impromptu, even if he does pronounce a few words wrong.

The radical left and their allies in the media created this Obama image. But it was all done with smoke and mirrors by inflating his resume and the constant repetition of telling us "how articulate" he was, when he really isn't. And now, they must defend this man whenever he speaks extemporaneously and makes the inevitable gaffs.
  • Obama worked as a lawyer for a community organizing group. This was portrayed as "He was a community organizer" ... which is like saying Derek Jetter's accountant must be a great ball player.
  • Obama worked as associate lecturer at a law school, occasionally teaching classes. This was transformed into "Obama was a brilliant Professor of Constitutional Law."
  • Obama, being half white, and being raised by white people who sent him to the best schools, does not speak with a black dialect, or use very much street slang. This became "He is bright, articulate, and clean" (from Joe Biden).
  • Obama, who is allegedly a brilliant man, is said to have graduated from Harvard Law School where he was the Editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. Yet all his college records and grades are sealed. There are absolutely no articles in the Law Review written by him. Which makes him the only Editor in the 134 year history of this journal to never write an article of his own.
  • Obama has tried to speak without a teleprompter, and has paid a high price every time he tried. He ends up telling us we have "57 states" or that Marines are "corpse-men" and not corpsmen." One can only imagine the ridicule Bush would have been dealt had he made similar gaffs.
Before all the Obama Zombies go ballistic, let me just say... Obama isn't a bad person, he was just WAY over-hyped. His handlers and sponsors created this "Obama Myth" and these folks fell for it. They took the bait.... hook, line and sinker, because they wanted to believe it. He simply isn't anywhere near as bright or as articulate as they want him to be. He is just a Chicago City councilman who got lucky.

Obama is the only President in our history who got schools named after him BEFORE his inauguration, and before he served one day in office.

Obama was stunned when the Nobel Prize committee awarded him their Peace Prize before he had done anything to earn it. He even said: "I hope I will do something to earn this someday." He went on to escalate the war in Afghanistan, start a war in Libya, and then pursued a "drone war" in Yemen, thereby embarrassing the Nobel Prize committee for their choice.

Barack Hussein Obama is not an articulate man. No sensible person could say this. He mumbles and fumbles and stutters when he speaks. He needs notes or gets things very wrong.

Being a marginally better speaker than GW Bush does NOT make him articulate. It just makes him a marginally better speaker than GW Bush.

We have had some Presidents who were great speakers. FDR, JFK, Reagan, and Clinton all leap to mind. Obama is not in this group. And anyone who thinks "Obama is articulate" is just too partisan to have an objective opinion on the matter.

The Emperor has no clothes.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

New Poll: Jewish support for Obama drops to 45%

"I was just kidding about that Palestinian State thing"
Tel Aviv, Sep 27. 2011. President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, has lost much of his support from Jewish-American voters. His approval rating on handling of US-Israel relations are down to 45%, among the voters who cast 78% of their votes for him in the 2008 election.

The annual survey was conducted by AJC, a Jewish advocacy organization.

Disapproval among Jewish voters exceeded approval of Obama's presidency for the first time during the current administration. Jewish approval of Obama’s performance as president declined to 45%, with another 48% disapproving and 7% undecided.

Up until now, President Obama has enjoyed strong support from the Jewish community, who are the most  reliable and predictable liberal Democrat voters. However, his strong support and even encouragement for a Palestinian state being carved out of Israel is eroding this.

According to the survey, which included 800 respondents, if the 2012 presidential elections were held today, Obama would still hold a considerable lead over potential Republican challengers among Jewish voters. But the margin differed significantly depending on which candidate the GOP fields.

When asked about Obama’s handling of US-Israel relations, 40% of respondents gave their approval, with another 53% disapproving and 7% undecided. A year ago, 49% of respondents approved and another 45% disapproved of the president's policy vis-à-vis the Jewish State.

President tries to smooth things over with Jews
In contrast, approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of Israel-US relations dropped to 54%, compared with 62% approval last year.

In general, 63% of American Jews characterize US-Israel relations as positive, compared with 68% in 2010.

As part of the survey, respondents were also asked about their prospect for a lasting peace between Israel and the Arabs.

Less than 3% of respondents said they were “more optimistic” about the peace prospects now than they had been one year ago, compared with 8% feeling “more optimistic” in last year’s survey.

This year, 35% of respondents said their outlook has become “less optimistic”, compared to 18% in 2010.

Support for a Palestinian state among American Jews has also declined in the past year. According to the survey, in the current situation, 38% would favor and 55% would oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, compared with 48% in favor and 45% opposed in 2010.

On a related question concerning Palestinian efforts to unilaterally seek recognition of statehood without an agreement with Israel, only 9% approved of this strategy, while 88% disapproved.

Helen Thomas loves Obama's plan to partition Israel
Support for requiring the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is strong, with 95% saying they should be required to do so in a final peace agreement. 

When asked about US aid to the Palestinian Authority, 73% of respondents said they would support the US Congress withdrawing assistance if the PA and Hamas form a unity government, while 21% said they would oppose the move.

Regarding Iran, 43% approved Obama's handling of the Iran nuclear issue, while 45% disapproved.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Obama Justice Department Buys $16 Muffins

Nice muffin.... but $16?
Washington DC, Sep 25, 2011. President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, and First Lady Michelle Obama are well known for their extravagant luxury vacations at five star resort hotels, where no expense is spared.

But this tendency towards spending freely doesn't stop at the White House. It extends throughout the Obama Administration.

It was recently discovered that the Obama Justice Department, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder, has been spending a fortune for agency-sponsored conferences, including buying $16 muffins, $10 cookies, and $8 cups of coffee.

And this is according to a new Justice Department Inspector General audit released this week! The audit even found that this administration was spending almost $5 "per Swedish meatball" for one event!

The report revealed, “one conference served $16 muffins while another served Beef Wellington hors d’oeuvres that cost $7.32 per serving. Coffee and tea at the events cost between $0.62 and $1.03 an ounce. At the $1.03 per-ounce price, an 8-ounce cup of coffee would have cost $8.24.

“For event planning services, DOJ spent $600,000 (14 percent of costs) to hire training and technical assistance providers as external event planners for 5 of the 10 conferences reviewed. This was done without demonstrating that these firms offered the most cost effective logistical event planning services. Further, these event planners did not accurately track and report conference expenditures,” the audit noted.

"True, but they were really good muffins"
The report highlights two examples where the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) spent over $32,000 in planning meetings in Palm Springs, Calif., for two conferences.

In another instance at an Office of Violence Against Women conference, “OVW conference attendees received Cracker Jacks, popcorn, and candy bars at a single break that cost $32 per person.”

The $16 muffins were served at a conference hosted by the Executive Office for Immigration and Review (EOIR). “The EOIR spent $4,200 on 250 muffins and $2,880 on 300 cookies and brownies.

By itemizing these costs, we determined that, with service and gratuity, muffins cost over $16 each and cookies and brownies cost almost $10 each,” the audit noted.

The Inspector General’s report made 10 recommendations to cut conference expenditures. These include reviewing hotel service charges, logistical and salaries for conference workers, and conducting cost comparisons.

The extent to which public money has been wasted on snacks and soft drinks was laid bare in a report issued Tuesday by the Justice Department's inspector general.

Justice spent about $490,000 on food and beverages at the conferences — more than 10 percent of the $4.4 million total budget for the events.

In response, the Justice Department agreed with the inspector general's recommendations to more closely monitor costs. The department hosted or participated in 1,832 conferences in 2008 and 2009, costing $121 million.

"Joe, you gotta admit.... a $16 muffin is pretty funny!"
The report says that with service charges, taxes and indirect costs, many of the meals and refreshments at the conferences the inspector general examined appeared to be extravagant and wasteful and exceeded department cost limits.

This is just another indication that this administration isn't spending money wisely. Rather, they act like they don't care about the cost, since the taxpayers are footing the bill.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Change... Real Change.... Change You Can Believe In


This is what a dollar is worth if you use it to buy gas, since Barack Hussein Obama, D-Keyna, was elected President. The Obama Dollar is now worth 66¢ if you spend it on gasoline. If you spend it on food, then it's worth a little more, perhaps 75¢. If you try to buy gold with it.... then it's only worth around 40¢.

Barack Obama promised you "change." You probably didn't think he meant "pocket change."

Friday, September 23, 2011

Government Bans Asthma Inhalers to Stop Global Warming

Washington DC, Sep 23, 2011. The Federal Government will be banning the only asthma inhaler sold over the counter in the United States starting next year to prevent the use of products that harm the environment.

The Obama Administration  Food and Drug Administration said Thursday patients who use the epinephrine inhalers to treat mild asthma will need to switch by Dec. 31 to other types that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons, an aerosol substance once found in a variety of spray products.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in metered-dose asthma inhalers that contain the drug epinephrine cannot be used, following an international agreement that bans CFCs because they deplete the Earth's ozone layer.

These inhalers use CFCs to propel medicine out of the inhaler so patients can breathe it into their lungs. The FDA said some manufacturers now use a propellant called hydrofluoroalkane instead, which is less harmful to the environment.

The action is part of an agreement signed by the U.S. and other nations to stop using substances that deplete the ozone layer, a region in the atmosphere that helps block harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun.

Primatene Mist inhalers are already labeled to show they cannot be used after Dec. 31, 2010. The FDA said some consumers may have to pay more for prescription asthma inhalers. About 1 million to 2 million patients use Primatene Mist, although it is difficult to get an estimate of how many people use over-the-counter drugs, the FDA said.

President Obama consults Al Gore for global warming tips
But the switch to a greener inhaler will cost consumers more. Epinephrine inhalers are available via online retailers for around $20, whereas the alternatives, which contain the drug albuterol, range from $30 to $60.

More than 235 million people worldwide suffer from asthma and it is the most common chronic disease among children, according to the World Health Organization.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Obama's Own Alien and Sedition Act

Washington DC. Sep 21, 2011. Be careful what you say... someone might report you to President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya.

The Obama reelection campaign has decided it must deal with any and all criticism aimed at the President.

In order to accomplish this, his campaign has set up a web site, attackwatch.com, to monitor “inaccuracies… falsehoods… gossip…“ and ”smears” against the President.

The site includes a new Twitter hashtag, #attackwatch, and an account - @Attackwatch - to make it easier for the President's followers to report attacks and discuss them as they happen.  I suppose this is a good way for President Obama to assemble his "enemies list" and give the New Black Panthers a starting point for the eventual silencing of all dissent.

And this isn’t the first time Obama has started this sort of initiative. The much-less-frightening-looking FightTheSmears.com has been up for some time, and back in 2009 the Obama administration launched an official government effort to have Americans report dissent against Obama’s policies.

If any of this sounds vaguely familiar, it might be because you were a good student of American history when you were in school. Criminalizing political speech is not a new concept in America.

In 1798 President John Adams pushed the Alien and Sedition Acts through Congress. This law punished any  Americans who stirred up "sedition within the United States" by speech or actions that brought the president or Congress into "contempt or disrepute."

John Adams lost the 1800 presidential election to Thomas Jefferson in large part because the American people were so upset by this clear violation of the First Amendment, that they voted for Jefferson, who was a strong opponent of Adan's Alien and Sedition Acts.

Americans cherish their hard won freedoms and rights, and not even a President can get away with abridging these rights. Even a popular President like Barack Hussein Obama can't expect the voters to approve of this sort of thing.

But this isn't the only abuse of our rights this President has perpetrated. Obama's Department of Justice's Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative, or NSI, asks Americans to report possible seditious acts by other Americans to the FBI and local and state police.

We are asked to do this by cooperating with the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign. It's up to you to define "suspicious." This is what our America has become.

President Obama is gutting of the First and Fourth Amendments to our Constitution.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Obama "Pay for Play" Cronyism Scandal Explodes!

President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya
Washington DC, Sep 19, 2011. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA, announced today that his committee plans to investigate government loan programs to private corporations in light of improper dealings between the White House and failed energy company Solyndra and wireless start-up LightSquared.

Allegations were first made in February about White House political favors for a company called LightSquared, a company that was funneling huge campaign donations to the Democrat Campaign Committee.

The chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Tuesday morning on C-SPAN:
"I want to see when the president and his cronies are picking winners and losers… it wasn't because there were large contributions given to them."
LightSquared is owned by the Harbinger Capital hedge fund, headed by billionaire investor Phil Falcone. He visited the White House and made large donations to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Soon after, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted LightSquared a highly unusual waiver that allows the company to build out a national 4G wireless network on the cheap.

The deal has been criticized not only for its 'pay to play' appearance but also because the LightSquared network would interfere with the part of the wireless spectrum that is used by Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja
Issa said the committee was looking at whether it was improper for members of Congress or White House staff to select companies eligible for subsidized government loans when those companies could give campaign donations.

Loan programs have been a popular tool to provide funding for popular industries, like tech, green energy, and American auto companies, at more favorable terms than could be secured privately.

The Obama administration has been defending itself against criticism by Republicans that it exerted improper influence to the aid of both companies.

Solyndra abruptly filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, surprising both employees and the administration, which had secured $535 million in low-interest loans for the company. Republicans in Congress quickly mocked the bankruptcy as emblematic of the president's green technology initiatives under the stimulus bill — and noted that a key Solyndra investor had been a bundler for the Obama campaign.

House Republicans say they have emails showing the White House pressuring Department of Energy bureaucrats to expedite the loan approvals, although the White House has argued that nothing improper occurred.

Naturally, due to the bankruptcy, the taxpayers will never get back the $535 million that President Obama loaned to his cronies. But half a billion dollars is just a "drop in the bucket" compared to the hundreds of billions President Obama has wasted on his other pet projects.

Republicans have also charged that the White House pressured an Air Force general to revise testimony before a closed congressional hearing to aid LightSquared, a wireless start-up company. Emails between the company and the White House make mention of the fact that the company's CEO would be attending Democratic fundraisers in Washington, and administration officials met with executives from the company on the same day that CEO Sanjiv Ahuja wrote a $30,400 check to the Democratic National Committee.

The company is facing a tough regulatory road after initial tests showed LightSquared's technology had been found to interfere with military and aviation GPS. But both the company and White House have denied any influence-peddling.

Although Issa did not specifically accuse the White House of wrongdoing, he suggested that government loan programs tempted corruption.
"This is another reason that crony capitalism … is dangerous, because they're going to pick winners that they ideologically, or in some cases because they support their candidacy, want to see win," Issa said.
Representative Issa wants answers
The congressman said he also wanted to expand the investigation to see whether congressmen were also exerting influence on the bureaucracy, which is commonly tasked with approving low-interest government loans.

"We see that as a backdoor, easy way to end up with corruption in government," Issa said.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Obama: "I was for it... before I was against it"

President Obama demanding that Israel return to 1967 borders
NYC, Sep 19, 2011. Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, has really stepped into it this time.

First, he publicly and loudly affirmed his support for a Palestinian state, even going so far as to state that Israel should return to their pre 1967 borders!

As would be expected, this had the effect of encouraging the Palestinians to seek their own separate state, even if it meant getting one via a UN Mandate.

Then, he discovered he was rapidly losing support from liberal Jewish voters at home.

This is an ethnic voting block that overwhelmingly votes for Democrats, and supplies a disproportionate number of campaign workers and campaign contributions to Democrats. In the last election President Obama got 78% of the Jewish vote. Jews are the second most reliable Democrat voters, after African-Americans. This is significant because Jewish voters are concentrated in five states with high electoral college numbers (NY, NJ, PA, FL and IL).

A full blown panic set in when the Democrats lost Anthony Weiner's seat in NYC, a seat they had held continuously since 1920. It was starting to look like President Obama was losing his support among Jewish voters, and these are votes he will desperately need if next year's election is as close and competitive as most people think it will be.

Now, he has painted himself into a corner, and he had to order his Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, to veto any UN resolution that might create an actual Palestinian State, in order to salvage the Jewish.

Barack Obama, pretending he respects Jews
And when the USA vetos that resolution it will only expose President Obama as the self serving hypocrite he is. Saudi Arabia has already threatened retribution.

We can probably expect another round of oil price hikes when President Obama blocks the very same Palestinian State that he proposed!

Thanks to President Obama's inept way of dealing with foreign policy issues, no matter which way the UN vote goes, the USA will lose.

Either we end up offending an ally, or we end up offending a major oil supplier. The term "Hobson's Choice" may have to be renamed "Obama's Choice" for use whenever we describe a no win situation.

This is exactly what happens when you put amateurs in charge. Barack Hussein Obama has created his own mess.

Lets see if he blames it on Bush... or the Japanese earthquake this time....

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Opinion: The Dumbing Down of Our Schools

Propaganda has replaced conventional education
We have a serious problem with our public school system in America.

The public schools in the USA have been converted into political indoctrination centers by the radical left. They took gradual control in the 1960s, and have slowly expanded their control over the past four decades.

The college students who protested the Vietnam War, and who rioted on their campuses are now the professors and administrators and school superintendents.

This is a major issue in the USA today. There is also a raging political debate on whether to allow the right of school choice for parents by using "school vouchers" so they could enroll their children in any accredited school.

There is also a movement towards "home schooling" here in response to the downgrading of our schools. This movement is supported by conservatives, and universally demonized by liberals who consider it "racist."

Today, our schools make absolutely no attempt to educate anyone. They see their goal as "socializing children" so they will be "better people." This means that the important subjects are no longer reading, writing and arithmetic... but are now diversity, feminism, recycling and global warming.

In our schools today, there are no absolute right and wrong. Everything is right. Even math is considered to be a relative science. My first cousin was a high school teacher in NYC for 30 years. He told me that teachers were instructed to never correct a student. If a child said "2+2=5" the teacher was supposed to say "That's an interesting answer. Does anyone else have any ideas?" But in no case was the teacher supposed to correct the student, because it would be bad for their self esteem!

We spend more money per child on education than any other nation in the world, and many third world countries get better results in their schools. Some might think spending more money will guarantee better results, but in this case most of the money was spent on higher wages and benefits for teachers who have strong unions here, and not on improving the education for children.

"Diversity Training" is the most important subject today
We graduate students who cannot read or write beyond grammar school levels. (40% of the high school graduates in Washington DC cannot read or right above a 6th grade level).

We got away with this for a long time. We just used those graduates as unskilled laborers in our factories.

But then we got machines that had computer controls, and employers had to start teaching adults reading and writing!

Our schools no longer teach geography.  Even a large portion of college students cannot find their own state on a map. If they cannot find their own state, do you expect them to find the Czech Republic on a map? Or even know that it is no longer Czechoslovakia but two nations... the Czech Republic and Slovakia?

Our schools no longer teach history. At least not real history. We teach a revisionist history that is designed to make everyone feel good and feel included. Today, young people are not aware that the USA was founded by European white men, who were mostly Christians. Children are taught that our nation's Founders (it is politically incorrect to say "Founding Fathers") were men and women of many races and cultures who all made equal contributions. While this is true today, back in 1776 they were almost all exclusively white Englishmen who were Christians. But this fact is considered offensive to some, so it was changed.

Our schools no longer teach literature. At least not the kind you might recognize as literature. Shakespeare is gone. Mark Twain is gone. Most of the "dead white men" have been purged from the curriculum. They have been replaced by radical writers and poets, most of whom are minorities. This was done to create cultural diversity, and not to improve education.

Our standards have been significantly lowered so that no child will ever fail. Every child is called "an exceptional student." Even those who cannot spell the word "exceptional." We no longer promote students to the next grade when they pass tests, but when they achieve a certain age. ("Social Promotion"... google it.) Standardized tests have been redesigned to be "culturally relevant" and the net result has been everyone gets a diploma and no one can compete with children from Europe or Asia, where standards are still high.

The situation has gotten so bad that the American liberal politicians that many folks admire so much (Obama, Clinton, Gore, Jackson, Sharpton, Kerry, etc.) all sent their OWN children to private schools, while insisting that the public schools are perfect for everyone else. They do this for a simple reason. They love their own children and want them to get a good education. (You might be interested to know that there is a notable exception to this: GW Bush's two daughters attended public schools. Which might be proof that he really wasn't that bright.)

And all of this effort has paid off for the radical left.

In 2008 we elected Barack Obama, a man with a blank resume, and absolutely no qualifications or skills for the job, largely because he is black and we wanted to "make history." The voters had essentially become one giant "OJ Simpson Jury" who wanted to send a message about racism."

9th Graders forced to watch an Obama speech
And look at how the voters for Obama broke down by age (according to CNN):

18-29 ............ 66%
30-44 ............ 52%
45-64 ............ 37%
65 and Older... 16%

There really is political advantage for the left in dumbing down our schools.

Time is on their side.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

President Pushes Jobs Bill at Company who Outsources!

Raleigh NC, Sep 14, 2011. President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, will present his “jobs plan” today at a company which is shipping jobs overseas.

Obama is scheduled to present his “jobs plan” in Apex, N.C., today at the headquarters of WestStar Precision.

WestStar is a manufacturing company today that has outsourced half its workforce to Costa Rica and whose president is a Democratic politician who has contributed $2,000 to Obama.

WestStar Precision, who is headquartered in the Raleigh-Durham area, has a second plant located in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Ironically, Obama is traveling to the company’s headquarters to tout his new proposal to create jobs in the United States. And while he’s there, he can thank WestStar President Ervin Portman for his financial assistance.

According to the website Opensecrets.org, WestStar's owner, Ervin Portman, is a local Democrat on the Wake County, N.C. Board of Commissioners. He donated $1,000 to Obama’s 2008 campaign. Portman and his wife together donated several thousand more to other Democratic candidates and the state Democratic party.

In 2009-2010, Portman gave $5,000 to Democratic North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall’s failed campaign to unseat Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.). He also donated $250 to the successful 2008 campaign of Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.).

"We just love the lower labor costs"
Portman’s company makes no secret of its outsourcing, touting its Costa Rican plant on its website.

Our new office and manufacturing facility in San Jose, Costa Rica, also has approximately 10,000 sq. ft. with similar equipment as the main office. This facility is designed for high volume production to support our international and domestic clients.

According to an April 2004 article in the Raleigh News & Observer, Portman moved the jobs overseas to “take advantage of low labor costs.”

This isn’t the first time Obama has chosen to speak at a North Carolina company outsourcing jobs overseas. In mid-June, Obama spoke at Cree LED Light Company to discuss his job creation and economic policies. Cree has been shipping jobs to China.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Census Data: Obama Depression Worse Than Thought

President Obama pondering his next extravagant vacation
Washington DC, Sep 13, 2011. Shocking statistics released by the Census Bureau are telling us that we are now in a full fledged Economic Depression.

This sad state of affairs was largely caused by the inept management, reckless spending, and dangerous policies of President Barack Hussein Obama, D. Kenya.

The U.S. poverty rate rose to the highest level in almost two decades and household income fell in 2010, underscoring the lingering impact of the worst economic slump in 70 years.
Amid a still struggling economy, more Americans fell below the poverty line last year, according to new census data released Tuesday.
The proportion of people living in poverty climbed to 15.1 percent last year from 14.3 percent in 2009 and median household income declined 2.3 percent. The 46.2 million Americans living in poverty was the highest since the Census Bureau began counting the number 52 years ago. Those figures may have worsened in recent months as the economy weakened.

“Families are struggling to put food on the table, and they don’t have the purchasing power to help the economy recover,” said Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. 

Obama's economic policies have made us a third world nation
Stagnating incomes and rising poverty will be at the heart of the 2012 presidential election campaign.

More and more, voters are focusing on the President's failure to create any jobs despite record spending for various "stimulus plans."

This will give added urgency to debates in Washington and statehouses across the U.S. over budget cuts to programs designed to protect families from hardship.


The government defines the poverty line as income of $22,314 a year for a family of four and $11,139 for an individual. The Office of Management and Budget updates the poverty line each year to account for inflation.
As for middle-class American families, income fell in 2010. The median household income was $49,445, down slightly from $49,777 the year before.
Overall, median income has changed very little compared to rising consumer prices over the last 30 years. Adjusted for inflation, the middle-income family only earns 11% more than they did in 1980, while consumer prices have risen roughly 155%.

The figures weren't very surprising, given the unemployment rate remained above 9% in 2010 and the number of Americans who have been unemployed for six months or more surged to an all-time high during the year.

More than a fifth of Americans under the age of 18 lived in poverty last year, new U.S. Census figures show.

The poverty rate for children rose from 20.7 percent in 2009 to 22 percent last year, making kids more likely than any other age group to be poor.

For children under the age of 6, the picture is even bleaker--25.3 percent of them lived in poverty last year. Overall, 15 percent of Americans were poor last year, the highest rate since 1993.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Ten Years After: We Still Lack The Will

The Spin Cycle has joined a group of conservative bloggers who have formed The Right Blogfest. On some special occasions we will all write a post on the same topic, with each one of us providing our own unique viewpoint.

Today we welcome a new blog to The Right Blogfest, The Samuel Adams Committee.

We are proud to join Two Sisters From The RightRaised On Hoecakes,  Steve Bussey.com, The Samuel Adams Committee, and Patriot's Corner in this project. 

We invite you to visit the other blogs for their own perspective on the topic at hand. 

Ten years have passed since Radical Islam declared war on the USA.

The attack on the World Trade Center
On 9-11-2001 19 radical Islamic terrorists hijacked four jet planes, sending two of them into the World Trade Center in NYC, one into the Pentagon building, and one destined for Washington DC that was forced down by the passengers into a rural area in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 American citizens were murdered in this attack. 

Immediately following this attack, then President GW Bush launched a "War on Terror" to defeat the terrorist group that sponsored this attack, their sponsor states, and their enablers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned us at the time, saying:
"They (the terrorists) have the will to destroy us, but lack the means. We have the means to destroy them, but lack the will. It is a race to see who gets what first."
On the tenth anniversary of this inhuman act of terrorism, lets reflect on where we are today.

1. We have adopted a defensive posture, ramping up all our airport airport security measures, at a cost of trillions of dollars and millions of manhours of labor. The net result of this was to make air travel a nightmare for American citizens, adding huge costs and tremendous inconvenience.

Because we wanted to be "fair" we refused to target those most likely to be terrorists, and instead thoroughly inspected everyone, even old women, the handicapped, and infant children. Despite all these efforts, further terror attempts continued, that were prevented by only good luck, and nothing we actually did to prevent them.

2. On Oct 7, 2001, we waged war against Afghanistan, the nation that hosted Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda training camps. After rapidly winning the war, ousting the Taliban, and liberating the people, we decided to stick around and do some nation building to install a democracy in Afghanistan. The theory was we would be safer if Moslems would embrace democracy. The nation building effort resulted in over 1,800 American servicemen and women being killed, and around 10,000 being wounded. Despite nine years of nation building, terrorist acts against our troops continue.

3. On Mar 19, 2003 we invaded Iraq, a nation that was not involved in the 911 attack, but did threaten us and our allies in the region.

After rapidly winning this war too, we also decided to "nation build" in Iraq, and lost an additional 4,500 troops, plus tens of thousands more wounded. And we still have no stable democracy in Iraq eight years later.

4. We took all of the worst terrorists we captured, and moved them to a detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Marine base in Cuba, holding them for planned military tribunals. However, a sizable minority in the USA ("the Democrats") were sympathetic with the terrorists, and insisted we grant them all the rights and privledges of American citizens. Because of their intense pressure, some of the terrorists were released, and they returned to fighting against and killing our troops.

5. On Nov 4, 2008, we elected a President who is sympathetic with the terrorist cause, and who is a frequent critic of our own country. President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, not only openly supports and encourages Islamic Jihadists, but has helped fund Hamas, in their efforts to destroy our ally Israel. Despite this, the leader of Al-Qaeda was killed in a raid by the Navy Seals in 2011, which was most likely planned prior to President Obama's election, and politically impossible for him to prevent. However, he did take full credit for the success of the raid.

The bottom line here is that we are losing this war and losing it badly. We are losing because we lack the will to win it. We are losing this war for the very same reason we lost the Vietnam War. We simply are not committed to winning. Once again, political dissension at home has prevented us from reaching a consensus on what we need to do and how we must do it.

This is a total disgrace to the memory of the brave young men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,

Islamic terrorists have completely disrupted our economy and our transportation system, and have cost us around 7,000 military deaths and trillions of dollars.

The "War on Terror" has become another "War on Drugs." A war that will be fought for the rest of time, at enormous cost, and will yield no good end result. And this is only because we lack the will to win it. We are too worried and distracted about treating the enemy well, and not offending their sponsors.

War should never be waged unless vital American interests are at stake, and unless we have a full commitment at home to win, and win quickly, using every weapon at our disposal.

Anything short of that is fighting a war half-assed, and will destroy our nation over time.

This is the lesson we should have learned in Vietnam.

As long as we keep worrying about terrorist's rights, and not offending Islam at large, we are doomed to failure.

No one ever worried about offending the Germans or Japanese during World War II. This demonstrates how much we have changed, and explains why we won that war, and are losing this one.

We should either wage war to win, or not wage it at all.


Friday, September 9, 2011

Democrats Approve Another Half Trillion in Spending

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has a message for America
Washington DC, Sep 9, 2011. The Democrat controlled U.S. Senate, in an unusual procedure, cleared the way yesterday for the U.S. to lift its borrowing authority by $500 billion to $15.19 trillion, enough to keep the support federal government borrowing through late January or early February.

The action came under an unusual legislative procedure spelled out under the August agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. credit default.

In a 52-45 vote, the Senate blocked an attempt by Republicans to slow down the process that will result in the $500 billion debt-ceiling increase.

This was essentially a straight party vote... with only one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-NE, breaking ranks with his party to vote with the Republicans in trying to move forward with the measure.

The increase stems from a deal between Congress and the White House, finalized last month, that spells out how the borrowing limit would be increased by $500 billion. Under the process, lawmakers in both the House and Senate must vote on a resolution of disapproval against the increase in the borrowing limit. President Barack Obama would then have to veto the resolution of disapproval, and Congress would then vote to try and override that veto.

President Obama wants to spend even more
The complicated procedure, designed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), would allow an increase of the borrowing limit while allowing most Republicans to vote against such an increase.

There was a twist in this scenario Thursday evening, however. Democrats held firm, rejecting the resolution of disapproval, thereby speeding the process and increasing the borrowing limit immediately.

The next increase in the borrowing limit, likely in the first quarter of next year, will be dependent on the ability of a panel of 12 lawmakers to reach a deal that cuts at least $1.2 trillion from federal budget deficits over the next decade.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Opinion: Why Does the Radical Left embrace Islam?

Radical Mullah offers proof that Obama is Muslim
For some reason that only they can explain, the radical left has chosen to support Islam and reject conventional western religious beliefs.

We actually have a President who celebrates Ramadan at the White House, and who routinely praises this religion.

Of course, that is his right, since Christian Presidents also celebrate their own religion.

President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya,  has plainly stated in his autobiography The Audacity of Hope:
“I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”

During an interview with George Stephanopoulus, President Obama has told us that:
"you’re absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith."
Stephanopoulus quickly corrected Obama, saying "Don't you mean your Christian faith?" And Obama agreed. But the significance of the Freudian slip was hard to miss.

President Obama's father was a Muslim, as was his stepfather. He has not one, but three Muslim names. As a small child, Barack Obama was enrolled in a Madrass School in Indonesia, where studied the Koran in Arabic.

President Obama recently hosted an Iftar Dinner at the White House, a tradition shared by all Muslims during Ramadan.

I realize some will say that they "don't support Islamic fundamentalism any more than they support Christian fundamentalism." The common belief is that "all religions are good." It is only the radicals in each group who distort their beliefs and cause harm.

But it is not radical Islam that should be the only problem from the so called "progressives."

Young Obama in Muslim garb
It is "mainstream Islam" that preaches all the things that progressive liberals say they oppose:

* banning all types of abortions
* banning all homosexual acts
* very harsh treatment for petty criminal
* completely banning equal rights for women
* banning freedom of religion
* selectively banning books
* allowing polygamy for men
* banning all freedom of expression
* the merging of church and state
* a judicial system run by clerics

Every one of these things are violently opposed by leftists, yet they all are embraced by "mainstream Islam." Mind you, it isn't just the Islamic Fundamentalists who hold these beliefs, but all 1.5 billion Muslims on the face of the earth.

To their credit, Mainstream Islam seems to generally oppose honor killings of family members and the beheading infidels. I suppose this is what separates the radicals from the mainstream.

And the liberal "progressives" in the USA seem to have no problem worshiping a President who was raised with these beliefs, and still praises this religion, even though he says that he converted to a radical Christian Cult of Liberation Theology some time ago.

I see this as a major disconnect for liberals.
The support and defend a belief system that contradicts everything else they believe in.

A textbook used in some public schools
While they violently oppose Christmas trees in public schools, they have absolutely no problem installing  prayer rooms and foot baths for Moslems. It seems like their "wall of separation between church and state" has holes in it.

They have renamed the school Christmas break as a "Winter Solstice Break" so they won't offend Muslims. But they have no problem teaching school children how wonderful the Islamic religion is under the guise of "diversity training."

Perhaps they will say... "the Constitution separates church and state.... not mosque and state?"

Do these people really believe in anything?
Or is everything framed in partisan terms?

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Profiles in Stupidity: Albert Arnold Gore Jr.

This is the ninth installment of "Profiles in Stupidity" in which we  highlight the dumbest politicians in America today.

Albert Arnold Gore Jr. is a former U.S. Senator, who also served as the 45th Vice President of the United States (1993–2001). He was the Democratic Party's losing candidate for President in the 2000 U.S. election.

He currently is working as a an environmental terrorist, professional hoaxer, and national embarrassment. I was stunned that I hadn't highlighted him earlier in this series, because Gore is the textbook definition of "liberal goofball," and is much more deserving than anyone else I wrote about.   

Albert Gore has a long and colorful history of saying very stupid things, thereby making him someone all liberals could admire and respect.

This dope could have been President if he just wore less rouge, or just had shown up at all three Presidential debates with the same "Gore personality."

Gore probably would have won the 2000 election if he had asked for a recount in all of Florida, rather than just the  four counties Gore had asked for recounts in. But that's Al Gore for you. An idiot who even screws himself.

Gore is best known for his stupid statements, things like....

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water."
"We are ready for an unforeseen event that may or may not occur."
"I discovered Love Canal"
"A zebra does not change its spots" 
"The book Love Story was written about me and Tipper."
"I was on a tour of Latin America, and I regret that I didn't study Latin harder in school'" 

But the more significant problems Gore had were in his outright lies. For example:

LULLABY LIE
USA Today, Sept. 19, 2000
CLAIM: Addressing a Teamsters meeting, Gore spoke of lullabies from his youth and sang, “Look for the union label.”
TRUTH: The song was written in 1975, when Gore was 27.

TOBACCO LIE #1
March 1, 2000; San Jose Mercury News 
CLAIM: “It’s not fair to say, ‘Okay, after his sister died, he continued in the same relationship with the tobacco industry.’ I did not. I did not. I began to confront them forcefully. I don’t see the inconsistency there.”
TRUTH: The same month Gore’s sister died in 1984, he received a $1,000 speaking fee from U.S. Tobacco. The next year, he voted against cigarette and tobacco tax increases three times and favored a bill allowing major cigarette makers to purchase discounted tobacco.

In the 1988 campaign, Gore bragged of his tobacco background: “I want you to know that with my own hands, all of my life, I put [tobacco] in the plant beds and transferred it. I’ve hoed it, I’ve dug in it, I’ve sprayed it, I’ve chopped it, I’ve shredded it, spiked it, put it in the barn, and stripped it and sold it” (Newsday, 2-26-88). 

TOBACCO LIE #2
March 1, 2000; San Jose Mercury News
CLAIM: “My family had grown tobacco. It was never actually grown on my farm, but it was on my father’s farm.”
TRUTH: Gore had already admitted growing tobacco on his own farm: “On my farm, we stopped growing tobacco some time after Nancy died” (Cox News Service, 4-26-99). Also, Gore received federal subsidies for growing tobacco on his farm (Wall Street Journal, 8-10-95).

ABORTION LIE
February 20, 2000; New York Times
CLAIM: Gore said he has “always, always, always” supported Roe v. Wade.
TRUTH: In 1977, Rep. Gore voted for the Hyde Amendment, which says that abortion “takes the life of an unborn child who is a living human being,” and that there is no constitutional right to abortion. He cast many other votes favorable to the pro-life cause and earned an 84 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee.

VIETNAM SERVICE LIE

October 15, 1999; Los Angeles Times
CLAIM: “I carried an M-16. . . . I pulled my turn on the perimeter at night and walked through the elephant grass, and I was fired upon.” In 1988, Gore told the Washington Post: “I was shot at. . . . I spent most of my time in the field.”
TRUTH: Gore never faced direct enemy fire, although several times he may have arrived on the scene shortly after fighting was completed. The photo at the left shows Gore in Vietnam, hauling his typewriter around with him far, far away from any combat zone.

INVENTING THE INTERNET LIE
March 9, 1999; CNN interview
CLAIM: “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.”
TRUTH: The Internet is an outgrowth of a Pentagon program established in 1969. In the 1980s, Gore supported legislation considered favorable to the Internet’s development. 

PEACE CORPS LIE February 16, 1992; C-SPAN’s Booknotes
CLAIM:
Gore said his sister was “the very first volunteer for the Peace Corps.”
TRUTH: Nancy Gore Hunger was a paid employee at Peace Corps headquarters, 1961-64.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Rare Childhood Photo of President Obama Found

Young Barack, honing his can kicking skills
NYC, Sep 3, 2011. A rare photo of President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya,  was found by Emmaual R. Schwartzman, a prominent NYC memorabilia collector.

Mr. Schwatzman says he plans to offer it to the major auction houses, and says it should be worth millions.

In the photo, a very young Barack Obama is seen practicing what would someday be his economic policy.

The photo was either taken in Kenya, Indonesia or Hawaii, based on which version of the President's childhood you are willing to believe.

President Obama has to kick the can for another year or so, and then he can retire comfortably and earn a seven figure salary giving speeches to liberal groups. As President Clinton abundantly demonstrated, "the real money comes after you retire. You can cash in giving speeches for $200,000 a pop."

This explains why the President insisted on a debt ceiling compromise that wouldn't require another vote "until after the next election." The last thing he wanted was to revisit this issue while campaigning for reelection next year. If he wins reelection, then it will become a moot point, since he is limited to only two four year terms.

So he will "kick the can down the road" to the next President, whether it is a Democrat or a Republican.

Friday, September 2, 2011

African-American Unemployment Highest in 27 years

NYC, Sep 2, 2011. The August jobs report was dismal for plenty of reasons, but perhaps most striking was the picture it painted of racial inequality in the job market.

Black unemployment surged to 16.7% in August, its highest level since 1984, while the unemployment rate for whites fell slightly to 8%, the Labor Department reported.

"This month's numbers continue to bear out that longstanding pattern that minorities have a much more challenging time getting jobs," said Bill Rodgers, chief economist with the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.

Black unemployment has been roughly double that of whites since the government started tracking the figures in 1972. Obviously, President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, hasn't done very much for his own race. (0r, is it half race?) This might explain why the Black Congressional Caucus is so upset with him.

Economists blame a variety of factors. The black workforce is younger than the white workforce, lower numbers of blacks get a college degree and many live in areas of the country that were harder hit by the recession. all of which are things that could lead to a higher unemployment rate.

But even excluding those factors, blacks still are hit with higher joblessness.

"Even when you compare black and white workers, same age range, same education, you still see pretty significant gaps in unemployment rates," said Algernon Austin, director of the Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy program at the Economic Policy Institute. "So I do think the fact of racial discrimination in the labor market continues to play a role."

About 155,000 blacks got jobs in August, but the group's unemployment rate still went up because those jobs weren't enough to make up for all the people who started looking for work during the month.


However, the gain for whites of 211,000 jobs was enough to bring their unemployment rate down.

Overall, black men have it the worst, with joblessness at a staggeringly high 19.1%, compared to 14.5% for black women. Black unemployment has now remained above 10% for four straight years, and the given current economic sluggishness, some experts say it's safe to predict the rate will remain above 10% for four more years.

Obama is working hard on the problem
"Our job creation is just not happening -- certainly not at the rate necessarily to bring rapid reductions to the unemployment rate," Austin said.

Latinos saw their unemployment rate remain unchanged at 11.3% in August. Unemployment remains at 9.1% for the country as a whole.

President Obama tells us that he could have solved this problem by now, if it wasn't for the earthquake in Japan and the Tea Party Movement obstructing his legislative initiatives.