CBS polled almost 700 adults in the wake of the mass murder in Tucson committed by Jared Lee Loughner to determine whether the media spin that the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the murders of six others was a political act had resonated with the public. Perhaps surprisingly, the spin machine seems to have failed. A majority of 57% say that politics had nothing to do with the shooting, and even a plurality of 49% of Democrats agree (via Dan Spencer):
Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country’s heated political rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll.
In the wake of the shooting, much focus has been put on the harsh tone of politics in Washington and around the country, particularly after a contentious midterm election. Rhetoric and imagery from both Republicans and Democrats have included gun-related metaphors, but the majority of the country isn’t connecting the shooting to politics.
It seems that the public has been able to separate the spin from the actual facts, which show that Loughner was a loon acting out of insanity and a personal grudge against Giffords, one completely of his own making. The publicity-hound sheriff who’s supposed to be leading the investigation may want to get around to, you know, looking at the evidence, as the feds apparently have done:
There’s mounting evidence that the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wasn’t a political act but a plan by a disturbed high school dropout who had few friends and no clear agenda. …
Instead, Loughner may have had some self-generated dislike of Giffords that stemmed from when he first spoke to her at an event in 2007.
Court filings indicate the FBI seized papers from his home Saturday that talked of planning an assassination of Giffords and also included a letter she sent him four years ago thanking him for attending the event.
One Loughner friend, Bryce Tierney, told Mother Jones magazine that Loughner had harbored a grudge against Giffords for more than a year, and that he considered her a “fake.”
Getting back to the poll, it seems as though the media spin of the first 48 hours failed to even convince the predisposed. Only 42% of Democrats in the survey believed that the shootings were a political act, and independents broke out at about the same ratio as the overall sample, 56/33. That is very good news for America, and bad news for those in the media and in Congress who hoped to leverage the shooting to pass gun-control and speech-control legislation and bully grassroots conservatives into silence.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/4fjpszj
(links to Hotair.com)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tucson Memorial? More like Obama Campaign Rally - Complete with free t-shirts! I kid you not!
Tucson Memorial? More like Obama Campaign Rally - Complete with free t-shirts! I kid you not!
At times the Tucson Memorial, unfortunately, looked and sounded more like a campaign pep rally. Very often throughout the memorial there were whoops and hollars, along with loud applause and whistling, not just during the president's speech, but for other speakers, including members of the Obama administration.
T-shirts Handed Out at Tucson Memorial
Some conservatives are upset over t-shirts bearing the logo "Together We Thrive: Tucson & America" that were handed out to attendees at tonight's memorial service in the McKale Center on the campus of the University Of Arizona here.
The shirts, which bear the same logo that adorns other items from the event -- including press passes, signage and volunteer t-shirts -- were placed on many of the seats in the lower sections of the arena when tonight's capacity crowd walked in.
This is a Memorial for the Dead done Obama Style! What a disgusting exhibition!
At times the Tucson Memorial, unfortunately, looked and sounded more like a campaign pep rally. Very often throughout the memorial there were whoops and hollars, along with loud applause and whistling, not just during the president's speech, but for other speakers, including members of the Obama administration.
T-shirts Handed Out at Tucson Memorial
The shirts, which bear the same logo that adorns other items from the event -- including press passes, signage and volunteer t-shirts -- were placed on many of the seats in the lower sections of the arena when tonight's capacity crowd walked in.
This is a Memorial for the Dead done Obama Style! What a disgusting exhibition!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
As Gun Ownership Climbs, Crime Continues to Decrease
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released crime report data(1) for the first half of 2010 indicating a 6.2 percent drop in violent crime across the nation.
Though the FBI report does not give reasons for the drop in crime, many researchers have attributed it to everything from an aging population to stepped-up law enforcement(2). Conspicuously absent from the list of attributions, however, is the continued rise in firearm ownership by law-abiding Americans over the last two years — most notably following the Heller v. District of Columbia and McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court rulings that reaffirmed the right of all law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms.
The FBI statistics undermine a favorite argument of anti-gun groups and some mainstream media that “more guns equal more crime.” This is especially true when you consider that the decrease in violent crime for the first half of 2010 follows a 5.3 percent decrease in violent crime from the previous year.
Sources:
(1)http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/preliminary-crime-in-the-us-2009
(2)http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/20/crime.statistics/
Original source: http://www.nssfblog.com/as-gun-ownership-climbs-crime-continues-to-decrease/
Though the FBI report does not give reasons for the drop in crime, many researchers have attributed it to everything from an aging population to stepped-up law enforcement(2). Conspicuously absent from the list of attributions, however, is the continued rise in firearm ownership by law-abiding Americans over the last two years — most notably following the Heller v. District of Columbia and McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court rulings that reaffirmed the right of all law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms.
The FBI statistics undermine a favorite argument of anti-gun groups and some mainstream media that “more guns equal more crime.” This is especially true when you consider that the decrease in violent crime for the first half of 2010 follows a 5.3 percent decrease in violent crime from the previous year.
Sources:
(1)http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/preliminary-crime-in-the-us-2009
(2)http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/20/crime.statistics/
Original source: http://www.nssfblog.com/as-gun-ownership-climbs-crime-continues-to-decrease/
Palin Criticizes Manufacturers of 'Blood Libel' as Proponents of Speech Limits Cite Sharron Angle
Sarah Palin made a call to conscious Wednesday for those who would manufacture "a blood libel" for last weekend's Arizona shooting, saying "acts of monstrous brutality ... begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively" with Americans exercising their constitutional freedoms.
The former Republican vice-presidential candidate, the target of many pontificators ascribing motive to gunman Jared Lee Loughner, charged in the Tucson attack that killed six and injured 14 others, had been silent since shortly after the Saturday shooting when she issued a two-line statement offering her prayers for the families and victims.
But Palin's name -- and those of others, including Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle -- had been central in the early accusations over what spurred the shooting. Liberal media pundits assigned blame by citing Palin's political action committee's website, which showed crosshairs on districts that it was targeting in the November midterm, including the district of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the believed target of the gunman who was wounded in the shooting.
Others said Angle's comments on the campaign trail also incited violence. The debate about heated political rhetoric ratcheted up so quickly and vigorously -- even before Loughner had been identified as the alleged shooter -- some Democratic lawmakers called for curbs on free speech.
In a Facebook posting issued Wednesday morning, Palin lamented the "irresponsible statements" of those casting blame on political figures.
"If you don't like a person's vision for the country, you're free to debate that vision. If you don't like their ideas, you're free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible," Palin said.
She added that claims that the political rhetoric is somehow more heated today than ever before seem unfounded, noting that "back in those 'calm days'" of the Republic, political differences were occasionally settled with "dueling pistols."
But even as Palin decried the accusations, some lawmakers said federal regulations are needed to stop heated speech.
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., on Monday referenced a comment by Angle in calling for a change in the nation's political dialogue -- by will or by law.
"'Don't retreat, reload.' Someone in Nevada saying we may need to use Second Amendment remedies. There's only one way to read this," Slaughter said.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., told Fox News that Angle "talked about people rising up and taking over the government by force, using their guns. She was very explicit."
Sherman said that even if language used by Angle and her supporters hadn't incited the shootings in Arizona, eventually it will lead to violence.
"I'm saying if you have a heart attack, stop smoking, not because nicotine may or may not have caused your last heart attack, you'll never know, but it's going to cause the next one," Sherman said. "And if we continue to bring into the mainstream and treat as civil those who call for violence and disruption and assassination and revolution and insurrection, then whether that caused what happened in Tucson or not, it will cause the next tragedy."
Angle defended herself in a statement released late Tuesday.
"Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people's constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ignorant. The irresponsible assignment of blame to me, Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement by commentators and elected officials puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger," Angle said.
"Finger-pointing toward political figures is an audience-rating game and contradicts the facts as they are known," Angle added. "I have consistently called for reasonable political dialogue on policy issues to encourage civil political education and debate. Inappropriately attributing blame of a singular tragedy to achieve a political agenda is contrary to civil discourse, and is a media ploy to which I refuse to belong."
In the wake of the shooting, the National Hispanic Media Coalition used the incident to reiterate its call for the FCC to update its definitions of hate speech in media. It also asked the FCC to "examine the extent and effects of hate speech in media, and non-regulatory options for counteracting the violence that extreme rhetoric breeds."
Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pa., said he has no knowledge about what motivated Loughner to attack Giffords and the others, but he still wants legislation that bans the use of certain imagery when talking about congressional targets.
"I want to eliminate what may have been," Brady told Fox News. "I'm not a psychologist ... All I'm saying is you can't put a bull's eye or a crosshair on a member of Congress."
And on Tuesday, Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., was quoted in the Oregon Statesman-Journal saying he blamed conservative media personalities like Fox News' Glenn Beck and radio host Rush Limbaugh.
"I hold them personally responsible. I don't know how they can sleep at night after this," Schrader said.
Loughner, the accused gunman with no discernible connection to American political discourse, has not stated why he allegedly shot 20 people in the assault at a Tucson Safeway grocery store. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the community college student who had been suspended last October had frequented gaming websites seeking answers to questions about why he couldn't find a job or get a girlfriend.
More than a decade ago, lawmakers like Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., warned that violence in movies and video games could cause violence in life. But graphic imagery and heated rhetoric moved to the political theater long before that.
Several recent examples have been offered from both sides of the aisle, including President Obama's quoting from the film "The Untouchables" in which appears the statement, "If they bring a knife, we'll bring a gun."
And even before movie references, crosshairs and bull's eyes, "battlefields" were drawn across campaign and policy landscapes. President Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union speech called for a figurative "War on Poverty," a precursor to the Reagan administration's equally figurative "War on Drugs."
Slaughter said that while she's not up to speed on current regulations, the Federal Communications Commission should work to sanction broadcasts that could incite people to violence.
"No one owns the airwaves," Slaughter said. "They are owned by the people."
If lawmakers were to seek remedies to quiet distasteful discussion, the so-called Fairness Doctrine is at the top of lists inspiring supporters and alarming opponents.
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., told National Public Radio said he "came up in a time that the Fairness Doctrine did not allow media outlets to say things about a candidate or a person in public office without giving that person equal time to respond. And I really believe that everybody needs to take a look at where we are pushing things, and may need to take a serious step back and evaluate what's going on here."
But not everyone may be on board with a hasty turn to bottling up dissenting voices. Delivering a speech Tuesday, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said media have the power to inspire, motivate and inform. "But they also have the power to inflame and incite. The seething rhetoric has gone too far."
However, Leahy added, "In a free society, the society that we Americans must always want our country to be, the government should not and must not restrain free expression."
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also suggested Tuesday in a speech at the Center for American Progress that the blame game has no winner.
"The big question wasn't whose rhetoric was right or wrong, but whether our political conversation was worthy of the confidence and trust of the American people," he said.
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/11/democrats-single-sharron-angle-calling-limits-speech/
The former Republican vice-presidential candidate, the target of many pontificators ascribing motive to gunman Jared Lee Loughner, charged in the Tucson attack that killed six and injured 14 others, had been silent since shortly after the Saturday shooting when she issued a two-line statement offering her prayers for the families and victims.
But Palin's name -- and those of others, including Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle -- had been central in the early accusations over what spurred the shooting. Liberal media pundits assigned blame by citing Palin's political action committee's website, which showed crosshairs on districts that it was targeting in the November midterm, including the district of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the believed target of the gunman who was wounded in the shooting.
Others said Angle's comments on the campaign trail also incited violence. The debate about heated political rhetoric ratcheted up so quickly and vigorously -- even before Loughner had been identified as the alleged shooter -- some Democratic lawmakers called for curbs on free speech.
In a Facebook posting issued Wednesday morning, Palin lamented the "irresponsible statements" of those casting blame on political figures.
"If you don't like a person's vision for the country, you're free to debate that vision. If you don't like their ideas, you're free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible," Palin said.
She added that claims that the political rhetoric is somehow more heated today than ever before seem unfounded, noting that "back in those 'calm days'" of the Republic, political differences were occasionally settled with "dueling pistols."
But even as Palin decried the accusations, some lawmakers said federal regulations are needed to stop heated speech.
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., on Monday referenced a comment by Angle in calling for a change in the nation's political dialogue -- by will or by law.
"'Don't retreat, reload.' Someone in Nevada saying we may need to use Second Amendment remedies. There's only one way to read this," Slaughter said.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., told Fox News that Angle "talked about people rising up and taking over the government by force, using their guns. She was very explicit."
Sherman said that even if language used by Angle and her supporters hadn't incited the shootings in Arizona, eventually it will lead to violence.
"I'm saying if you have a heart attack, stop smoking, not because nicotine may or may not have caused your last heart attack, you'll never know, but it's going to cause the next one," Sherman said. "And if we continue to bring into the mainstream and treat as civil those who call for violence and disruption and assassination and revolution and insurrection, then whether that caused what happened in Tucson or not, it will cause the next tragedy."
Angle defended herself in a statement released late Tuesday.
"Expanding the context of the attack to blame and to infringe upon the people's constitutional liberties is both dangerous and ignorant. The irresponsible assignment of blame to me, Sarah Palin or the Tea Party movement by commentators and elected officials puts all who gather to redress grievances in danger," Angle said.
"Finger-pointing toward political figures is an audience-rating game and contradicts the facts as they are known," Angle added. "I have consistently called for reasonable political dialogue on policy issues to encourage civil political education and debate. Inappropriately attributing blame of a singular tragedy to achieve a political agenda is contrary to civil discourse, and is a media ploy to which I refuse to belong."
In the wake of the shooting, the National Hispanic Media Coalition used the incident to reiterate its call for the FCC to update its definitions of hate speech in media. It also asked the FCC to "examine the extent and effects of hate speech in media, and non-regulatory options for counteracting the violence that extreme rhetoric breeds."
Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pa., said he has no knowledge about what motivated Loughner to attack Giffords and the others, but he still wants legislation that bans the use of certain imagery when talking about congressional targets.
"I want to eliminate what may have been," Brady told Fox News. "I'm not a psychologist ... All I'm saying is you can't put a bull's eye or a crosshair on a member of Congress."
And on Tuesday, Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., was quoted in the Oregon Statesman-Journal saying he blamed conservative media personalities like Fox News' Glenn Beck and radio host Rush Limbaugh.
"I hold them personally responsible. I don't know how they can sleep at night after this," Schrader said.
Loughner, the accused gunman with no discernible connection to American political discourse, has not stated why he allegedly shot 20 people in the assault at a Tucson Safeway grocery store. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the community college student who had been suspended last October had frequented gaming websites seeking answers to questions about why he couldn't find a job or get a girlfriend.
More than a decade ago, lawmakers like Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., warned that violence in movies and video games could cause violence in life. But graphic imagery and heated rhetoric moved to the political theater long before that.
Several recent examples have been offered from both sides of the aisle, including President Obama's quoting from the film "The Untouchables" in which appears the statement, "If they bring a knife, we'll bring a gun."
And even before movie references, crosshairs and bull's eyes, "battlefields" were drawn across campaign and policy landscapes. President Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union speech called for a figurative "War on Poverty," a precursor to the Reagan administration's equally figurative "War on Drugs."
Slaughter said that while she's not up to speed on current regulations, the Federal Communications Commission should work to sanction broadcasts that could incite people to violence.
"No one owns the airwaves," Slaughter said. "They are owned by the people."
If lawmakers were to seek remedies to quiet distasteful discussion, the so-called Fairness Doctrine is at the top of lists inspiring supporters and alarming opponents.
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., told National Public Radio said he "came up in a time that the Fairness Doctrine did not allow media outlets to say things about a candidate or a person in public office without giving that person equal time to respond. And I really believe that everybody needs to take a look at where we are pushing things, and may need to take a serious step back and evaluate what's going on here."
But not everyone may be on board with a hasty turn to bottling up dissenting voices. Delivering a speech Tuesday, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said media have the power to inspire, motivate and inform. "But they also have the power to inflame and incite. The seething rhetoric has gone too far."
However, Leahy added, "In a free society, the society that we Americans must always want our country to be, the government should not and must not restrain free expression."
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also suggested Tuesday in a speech at the Center for American Progress that the blame game has no winner.
"The big question wasn't whose rhetoric was right or wrong, but whether our political conversation was worthy of the confidence and trust of the American people," he said.
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/11/democrats-single-sharron-angle-calling-limits-speech/
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Lamestream Media Ties Shooting to Tea Party
“The shooter’s motivation is still unknown,” Katie Couric announced as she anchored Saturday’s CBS Evening News, but that didn’t deter CBS, nor CNN, NBC and ABC on Saturday night and into Sunday morning from forwarding attempts to blame Sarah Palin and, by implication, the Tea Party, for the Tucson shooting.
Read full story at Newsbusters.org
Read full story at Newsbusters.org
Glenn Beck: Fundamental Transformation
Today, I call out to those who are tired of feeling powerless. Commit to become the person you were meant to be, not who you have allowed yourself to become; the Father, mother, sibling, friend, businessperson and American. As the old story goes:
A man decided that he would change the world.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change the country.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his community.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his street.
But, be wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his family.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change himself.
AND HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
AND HIS FAMILY CHANGED AND THEY AFFECTED THEIR STREET.
AND THE PEOPLE ON THE STREET AFFECTED THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY AFFECTED THEIR COUNTRY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY AFFECTED THE WORLD.
Today, I ask you to take the first step in your success. This is part Enlightenment and part Empowerment (E1 and E3 of the E4 Solution). One of America’s premiere psychiatric minds, concerned American and good friend Dr. Keith Ablow has been working with me on a project called “The 7.” Together we have developed 7 steps that can help you change your life, I know because they are the 7 steps that I used to change my life. This book meant for those who are tired being less than happy, fulfilled and want to be a part of a life that is bigger than they can currently imagine.
In the next 12 months, I challenge each American to come to the place where they can say without equivocation “YES, I CAN.” I believe strong, educated, charitable individuals who can stand on their own two feet, because they know who they are, will be remembered by future historians as those Americans who once again answered the call and changed the world again.
Read the entire article at source: Glenn Beck: Fundamental Transformation.
A man decided that he would change the world.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change the country.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his community.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his street.
But, be wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his family.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change himself.
AND HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
AND HIS FAMILY CHANGED AND THEY AFFECTED THEIR STREET.
AND THE PEOPLE ON THE STREET AFFECTED THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY AFFECTED THEIR COUNTRY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY AFFECTED THE WORLD.
Today, I ask you to take the first step in your success. This is part Enlightenment and part Empowerment (E1 and E3 of the E4 Solution). One of America’s premiere psychiatric minds, concerned American and good friend Dr. Keith Ablow has been working with me on a project called “The 7.” Together we have developed 7 steps that can help you change your life, I know because they are the 7 steps that I used to change my life. This book meant for those who are tired being less than happy, fulfilled and want to be a part of a life that is bigger than they can currently imagine.
In the next 12 months, I challenge each American to come to the place where they can say without equivocation “YES, I CAN.” I believe strong, educated, charitable individuals who can stand on their own two feet, because they know who they are, will be remembered by future historians as those Americans who once again answered the call and changed the world again.
Read the entire article at source: Glenn Beck: Fundamental Transformation.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Glenn Beck - 9 principles and 12 values
I have reproduced below the 9 principles and 12 values of Glenn Beck... If you agree, come join us at the912project.com
9 Principles(1)
1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson
12 values(2)
* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Gratitude
Sources:
(1) - http://theglennbeck912project.com/9principles/
(2) - http://theglennbeck912project.com/12values/
9 Principles(1)
1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson
12 values(2)
* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Gratitude
Sources:
(1) - http://theglennbeck912project.com/9principles/
(2) - http://theglennbeck912project.com/12values/
Vatican Rebuffs Caroline Kennedy Ambassador Seat Over Abortion, Say Sources
Just when Caroline Kennedy was recovering from the political mess over her bid for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, she now has hit some more political roadblocks. And these are coming from a holier land: the Vatican.
The Massachusetts Catholic Action League and sources within the Vatican itself are protesting the idea President Obama may appoint JFK’s daugher as an ambassador to the Vatican. Why are they so angry? Because Ms. Kennedy, a Catholic, supports abortion rights.
Sen. John Kerry, D-MA, reportedly was pushing Obama to pick Kennedy, 53, for the job, but C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Massachusetts league, said her nomination is "a calculated insult to the Holy See."
"It’s inappropriate to appoint someone who pretends to be a Catholic but rejects the fundamental teachings of the Church," Doyle said. U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Raymond L. Flynn told The Boston Herald Kennedy’s nomination would be a "mistake."
Vatican sources told the Italian newspaper Il Giornale that they disapprove of several of Obama’s ambassador picks, including Kennedy, because of their stances on abortion or stem cells. But the Vatican is denying reports that they’ve opposed any of Obama’s picks over their split on abortion.
"No proposals about the new ambassador of the United States to the Holy See have reached the Vatican, and therefore it is not true that they have been rejected. The rumors circulating about this topic are not reliable," the spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, told Catholic News Service. "It’s possible names have been circulated inside the U.S. administration, and perhaps rejected for some reason or other, but not because of any Vatican veto."
So far, no official word from the Obama camp on what’s what. But needless to say, the split on such a controversial topic will likely make for a slightly awkward meeting between Obama and Pope Benedict XVI in Italy in July.
Source URL: http://www.wowowow.com/politics/vatican-reportedly-miffed-over-caroline-kennedy-ascending-ambassador-post-266327
The Massachusetts Catholic Action League and sources within the Vatican itself are protesting the idea President Obama may appoint JFK’s daugher as an ambassador to the Vatican. Why are they so angry? Because Ms. Kennedy, a Catholic, supports abortion rights.
Sen. John Kerry, D-MA, reportedly was pushing Obama to pick Kennedy, 53, for the job, but C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Massachusetts league, said her nomination is "a calculated insult to the Holy See."
"It’s inappropriate to appoint someone who pretends to be a Catholic but rejects the fundamental teachings of the Church," Doyle said. U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Raymond L. Flynn told The Boston Herald Kennedy’s nomination would be a "mistake."
Vatican sources told the Italian newspaper Il Giornale that they disapprove of several of Obama’s ambassador picks, including Kennedy, because of their stances on abortion or stem cells. But the Vatican is denying reports that they’ve opposed any of Obama’s picks over their split on abortion.
"No proposals about the new ambassador of the United States to the Holy See have reached the Vatican, and therefore it is not true that they have been rejected. The rumors circulating about this topic are not reliable," the spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, told Catholic News Service. "It’s possible names have been circulated inside the U.S. administration, and perhaps rejected for some reason or other, but not because of any Vatican veto."
So far, no official word from the Obama camp on what’s what. But needless to say, the split on such a controversial topic will likely make for a slightly awkward meeting between Obama and Pope Benedict XVI in Italy in July.
Source URL: http://www.wowowow.com/politics/vatican-reportedly-miffed-over-caroline-kennedy-ascending-ambassador-post-266327
Move Over, MoveOn: Tea Parties Spark Conservative Insurgency Online
Tea parties have sparked an online insurgency, with independent media sites driving coverage of the protests, suggesting that conservatives may be catching up with their liberal counterparts in building a Web-driven, grassroots campaign to push their agenda.
FOXNews.com - Monday, April 13, 2009
Conservatives may be catching up with their liberal counterparts in building a Web-driven, grassroots campaign to push their agenda.
The online insurgency-in-the-making revolves around the so-called tea parties, the anti-tax protests popping up around the country that they expect to culminate Wednesday -- tax day -- with hundreds of rallies nationwide.
The movement, which expanded over the last two months via the Web, is now relying heavily on independent media Web sites to track and cover the campaign.
The digital evolution of conservative activists comes too late to help John McCain, whose new media arm was left in the dust by President Obama's campaign. But organizers are holding out hope that this movement has juice.
"It's thoroughly viral," said Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit.com blogger who hosts an online news show for the Web site Pajamas TV.
Pajamas TV is on the frontlines of new media coverage for the tea parties. The Web site already has covered some protests and is pledging to recruit an army of citizen journalists, working without pay, to cover the hundreds of protests on April 15.
Roger L. Simon, co-founder of the blog network Pajamas Media, which includes Pajamas TV, said the site went after tea party coverage because the mainstream media didn't.
He said Pajamas TV has more than 200 people registered to report on Wednesday's tea parties. He said they'll send in text reports, as well as videos and photos, to drive what he expects to be about 12 straight hours of online coverage.
"They'll be across the country essentially," he said, calling the operation a "big experiment."
"What will the quality of these reports be? Variable of course," Simon said. "But that's the nature of the beast."
The Web site currently features extensive footage of Tea Party protests, including interviews with activists and roundtable discussions.
From here, Simon wants to use the network of volunteer reporters for future assignments. Reynolds, who is also a law professor at the University of Tennessee, said he'll cover the protest in Knoxville and then return to co-anchor an online broadcast from his home.
"I've got an HD studio in my basement," he said. "If we can cover it in a way that traditional media isn't and capitalize on that interest, then that seems like a good thing."
Pajamas TV is just one online aspect to the tea party movement. Dozens of Web sites -- some independent, some sponsored by organizations -- have sprung up in support of the anti-tax rallies. Participants have used these forums, as well as social-networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter, to connect and plan more rallies.
TeaPartyDay.com, for instance, keeps an online list of hundreds of volunteer organizers across the country, and their contact information.
"There was a claim that this had to be a vast right-wing conspiracy because it sprung up so fast," Reynolds said. "I just had to laugh."
Leslie Marshall, a nationally syndicated radio host, dismissed the tea party protests. She said the mainstream media are not covering them because they're not worthy of coverage.
"It's not sexy. It doesn't bleed," she told FOX News, suggesting the protesters were doing the American Revolutionary a disservice by operating under the "tea party" name.
"You have to look at our history. The reason these people revolted is they didn't want to pay taxes that were not presented by elected officials," she said. "Last time I checked, Obama's not taxing you to death -- he is spending to stimulate the economy and he is an elected official."
Plus she said these protests are coming too late to disrupt government actions like the Wall Street bailouts, which she opposed.
But Michael DePrimo, with the American Family Association, which is helping promote the events, said the lack of mainstream coverage hasn't hindered organizers from getting their message out.
"It's all over the Internet," he said. "I'd be very surprised if any congressmen, or the White House, don't know what's going on."
FOXNews.com's Judson Berger contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/13/pub-moveon/
FOXNews.com - Monday, April 13, 2009
Conservatives may be catching up with their liberal counterparts in building a Web-driven, grassroots campaign to push their agenda.
The online insurgency-in-the-making revolves around the so-called tea parties, the anti-tax protests popping up around the country that they expect to culminate Wednesday -- tax day -- with hundreds of rallies nationwide.
The movement, which expanded over the last two months via the Web, is now relying heavily on independent media Web sites to track and cover the campaign.
The digital evolution of conservative activists comes too late to help John McCain, whose new media arm was left in the dust by President Obama's campaign. But organizers are holding out hope that this movement has juice.
"It's thoroughly viral," said Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit.com blogger who hosts an online news show for the Web site Pajamas TV.
Pajamas TV is on the frontlines of new media coverage for the tea parties. The Web site already has covered some protests and is pledging to recruit an army of citizen journalists, working without pay, to cover the hundreds of protests on April 15.
Roger L. Simon, co-founder of the blog network Pajamas Media, which includes Pajamas TV, said the site went after tea party coverage because the mainstream media didn't.
He said Pajamas TV has more than 200 people registered to report on Wednesday's tea parties. He said they'll send in text reports, as well as videos and photos, to drive what he expects to be about 12 straight hours of online coverage.
"They'll be across the country essentially," he said, calling the operation a "big experiment."
"What will the quality of these reports be? Variable of course," Simon said. "But that's the nature of the beast."
The Web site currently features extensive footage of Tea Party protests, including interviews with activists and roundtable discussions.
From here, Simon wants to use the network of volunteer reporters for future assignments. Reynolds, who is also a law professor at the University of Tennessee, said he'll cover the protest in Knoxville and then return to co-anchor an online broadcast from his home.
"I've got an HD studio in my basement," he said. "If we can cover it in a way that traditional media isn't and capitalize on that interest, then that seems like a good thing."
Pajamas TV is just one online aspect to the tea party movement. Dozens of Web sites -- some independent, some sponsored by organizations -- have sprung up in support of the anti-tax rallies. Participants have used these forums, as well as social-networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter, to connect and plan more rallies.
TeaPartyDay.com, for instance, keeps an online list of hundreds of volunteer organizers across the country, and their contact information.
"There was a claim that this had to be a vast right-wing conspiracy because it sprung up so fast," Reynolds said. "I just had to laugh."
Leslie Marshall, a nationally syndicated radio host, dismissed the tea party protests. She said the mainstream media are not covering them because they're not worthy of coverage.
"It's not sexy. It doesn't bleed," she told FOX News, suggesting the protesters were doing the American Revolutionary a disservice by operating under the "tea party" name.
"You have to look at our history. The reason these people revolted is they didn't want to pay taxes that were not presented by elected officials," she said. "Last time I checked, Obama's not taxing you to death -- he is spending to stimulate the economy and he is an elected official."
Plus she said these protests are coming too late to disrupt government actions like the Wall Street bailouts, which she opposed.
But Michael DePrimo, with the American Family Association, which is helping promote the events, said the lack of mainstream coverage hasn't hindered organizers from getting their message out.
"It's all over the Internet," he said. "I'd be very surprised if any congressmen, or the White House, don't know what's going on."
FOXNews.com's Judson Berger contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/13/pub-moveon/
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Charley DAniels hits the nail on the head!
2009 Soap Box Archives
It's Finally Happened
Washington has totally lost its collective mind and is drowning in a sea of make believe that transcends common sense and even political correctness.
I'm going back to Iraq later on in the year, and I can't wait to see what the young men and women in the military think about fighting the "Overseas Contingency Operation."
They actually thought they were fighting the War on Terror, but their new Commander in Chief and the bunch of politically correct, pantywaist loonies who serve under him are afraid of offending Osama bin Laden or some other scum-sucking, head-decapitating terrorist murderers, so they changed horses in mid stream.
The War on Terror is now the Overseas Contingency Operation, terrorism is now referred to as "man caused disasters" and now the White House has decided that they would no longer call the Islamic fanatics -who want to destroy our way of life- "enemy combatants," but so far the Obama administration hasn't thought of anything less offensive. May I suggest "misguided well-meaning foreign citizens"? That sounds like something the White House can run with.
If it wasn't so dangerous it would be funny. Do these people actually think that by calling something by a kinder gentler name they can make it less dangerous? This is downright stupid. Yes, I said it. It's stupid.
It's like saying, "Mr. bin Laden, we're sorry for calling you all those terrible names. We're really sorry, and if we'll stop using those awful descriptions, will you just leave us alone? Can't we all just put some flowers in our hair and live in peace? Besides it was all that awful George W. Bush's idea."
Well Mr. Obama, I might have missed it but I haven't heard you mention 9/11 once, and just in case you've forgotten these noble enemy comba… sorry, "foreign mischief-making citizens", -or whatever you end up calling them- of yours murdered over 3000 of our citizens in three different locations on American soil and your milksop definitions of these pus ball killers is just not good enough for me.
I have some suggestions for your vocabulary:
Rattlesnake - triangle-headed surface crawler
Black Widow Spider - red dotted black circle
Shark - fish with a toothy smile
Grizzly Bear - big cuddly fuzzball
Dynamite - stringed red stick
Ted Bundy - homo sapien with a slight attitude
Jeffrey Dahmer - peculiarly-appetited loner
The media in this country have their heads so far up the collective posteriors of the Obama Administration that all they can do is sit back and say, "Oh isn't he wonderful? Isn't he brilliant? He has compassion and cares about everybody's feelings!"
Folks, please don't let this bunch of new age liberal fanatics pull the wool over your eyes.
Regardless of what the White House says, we are still fighting the War on Terror. If you don't believe it, ask some of the young heroes who patrol the roads of Iraq everyday at the risk of having their Humvees blown to kingdom come by a roadside bomb, not put there by a soldier but by a citizen terrorist and that does not compute into enemy combatant, "peace-depriving individual" or any other ridiculous politically correct term they can come up with, no matter how you cut it.
The more Obama tries to placate these people, the weaker they will perceive us to be and you know what's sad? It will be the truth.
I remember watching a TV show a few years ago when there was a war going on between Israel and their Arab neighbors. I remember the rapper, Vanilla Ice, walking to the microphone, raising his fist in the air and saying, "Peace in the Middle East!"
I think that's a wonderful idea, Mr. Ice. How about you go over there and fix it for us. I'm sure you and Sean Penn could make all of the problems in the Middle East just go away.
These idealistic platitudes may make the people who say it feel good about themselves, but it does absolutely nothing to solve the situation.
The only thing to be accomplished by soft-pedaling the rhetoric will be to give our blood enemies a good laugh.
I can't help but wonder how the coverage of the trade towers bombing would be reported today, would it be something like…?
"Today misguided well-meaning foreign citizens from the Overseas Contingency Operation inflicted a Man Caused Disaster at the World Trade Center depriving some three thousand people -who probably shouldn't have been there anyway- of their livingness, and besides, we're sure they had a good excuse for doing it."
Film at eleven.
What do you think?
Pray for our troops
God Bless America
Charlie Daniels
©Copyright The Charlie Daniels Band
Source: http://tinyurl.com/d7276u
It's Finally Happened
Washington has totally lost its collective mind and is drowning in a sea of make believe that transcends common sense and even political correctness.
I'm going back to Iraq later on in the year, and I can't wait to see what the young men and women in the military think about fighting the "Overseas Contingency Operation."
They actually thought they were fighting the War on Terror, but their new Commander in Chief and the bunch of politically correct, pantywaist loonies who serve under him are afraid of offending Osama bin Laden or some other scum-sucking, head-decapitating terrorist murderers, so they changed horses in mid stream.
The War on Terror is now the Overseas Contingency Operation, terrorism is now referred to as "man caused disasters" and now the White House has decided that they would no longer call the Islamic fanatics -who want to destroy our way of life- "enemy combatants," but so far the Obama administration hasn't thought of anything less offensive. May I suggest "misguided well-meaning foreign citizens"? That sounds like something the White House can run with.
If it wasn't so dangerous it would be funny. Do these people actually think that by calling something by a kinder gentler name they can make it less dangerous? This is downright stupid. Yes, I said it. It's stupid.
It's like saying, "Mr. bin Laden, we're sorry for calling you all those terrible names. We're really sorry, and if we'll stop using those awful descriptions, will you just leave us alone? Can't we all just put some flowers in our hair and live in peace? Besides it was all that awful George W. Bush's idea."
Well Mr. Obama, I might have missed it but I haven't heard you mention 9/11 once, and just in case you've forgotten these noble enemy comba… sorry, "foreign mischief-making citizens", -or whatever you end up calling them- of yours murdered over 3000 of our citizens in three different locations on American soil and your milksop definitions of these pus ball killers is just not good enough for me.
I have some suggestions for your vocabulary:
Rattlesnake - triangle-headed surface crawler
Black Widow Spider - red dotted black circle
Shark - fish with a toothy smile
Grizzly Bear - big cuddly fuzzball
Dynamite - stringed red stick
Ted Bundy - homo sapien with a slight attitude
Jeffrey Dahmer - peculiarly-appetited loner
The media in this country have their heads so far up the collective posteriors of the Obama Administration that all they can do is sit back and say, "Oh isn't he wonderful? Isn't he brilliant? He has compassion and cares about everybody's feelings!"
Folks, please don't let this bunch of new age liberal fanatics pull the wool over your eyes.
Regardless of what the White House says, we are still fighting the War on Terror. If you don't believe it, ask some of the young heroes who patrol the roads of Iraq everyday at the risk of having their Humvees blown to kingdom come by a roadside bomb, not put there by a soldier but by a citizen terrorist and that does not compute into enemy combatant, "peace-depriving individual" or any other ridiculous politically correct term they can come up with, no matter how you cut it.
The more Obama tries to placate these people, the weaker they will perceive us to be and you know what's sad? It will be the truth.
I remember watching a TV show a few years ago when there was a war going on between Israel and their Arab neighbors. I remember the rapper, Vanilla Ice, walking to the microphone, raising his fist in the air and saying, "Peace in the Middle East!"
I think that's a wonderful idea, Mr. Ice. How about you go over there and fix it for us. I'm sure you and Sean Penn could make all of the problems in the Middle East just go away.
These idealistic platitudes may make the people who say it feel good about themselves, but it does absolutely nothing to solve the situation.
The only thing to be accomplished by soft-pedaling the rhetoric will be to give our blood enemies a good laugh.
I can't help but wonder how the coverage of the trade towers bombing would be reported today, would it be something like…?
"Today misguided well-meaning foreign citizens from the Overseas Contingency Operation inflicted a Man Caused Disaster at the World Trade Center depriving some three thousand people -who probably shouldn't have been there anyway- of their livingness, and besides, we're sure they had a good excuse for doing it."
Film at eleven.
What do you think?
Pray for our troops
God Bless America
Charlie Daniels
©Copyright The Charlie Daniels Band
Source: http://tinyurl.com/d7276u
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)