From Debates to Occupy and on to the latest Crony Capitalism scandal

What’s new today

Our # 1 story reviews Saturday’s Republican debate.  Perry did a lot better, but it appears it is becoming a race between Romney and Gingrich.  #2 relates how Occupy Denver is being turned out of their overnight quarters.  #3 demonstrates what the final solution of problems end up being if you listen to the left.  #4 talks about the Occupy Movement and what it is degenerating into.  Newt is rising in story #5 while in #6 a liberal judge decides schools can ban wearing T-shirts with the American Flag on Cinco de Mayo.  #7 is advice from Gene Simmons of Kiss.  Finally #8 brings you the latest scandal from the Obama Administration.  Another example of crony capitalism.

1.  Republican Debate

IF THERE WAS A LOSER ON THE DEBATE STAGE TONIGHT, IT WAS CBS. First, they scheduled their debate on a Saturday night between two major football games. THEN THEY DECIDE TO ONLY BROADCAST THE FIRST HOUR OF THEIR 90-MINUTE DEBATE. Then their Internet feed failed for the final 30 minutes. This was CBS’s first and only debate — and it showed.

SCOTT PELLEY WAS A TERRIBLE MODERATOR. He treated the men who might be the next commander in chief like schoolchildren, cutting them off in mid-sentence, lecturing them to answer his questions. HE EVEN LECTURED NEWT GINGRICH ON POLICY, TELLING HIM THAT KILLING “TERRORIST SUSPECTS” IS “NOT THE RULE OF LAW.”  Big mistake. NEWT SMACKED HIM DOWN, explaining that we are at war AND IN WAR WE ARE ALLOWED TO KILL THE ENEMY WITHOUT A COURT ORDER.

This was CBS’s first and only debate — and it showed.

Of the candidates, RICK PERRY HAD HIS BEST DEBATE BY FAR. His construct of starting at zero on foreign aid with every country (including Israel) and then deciding from there what is in our national interests got good applause, and both Newt and Romney openly embraced it. He had several self-effacing jokes about that agency he forgot about at the last debate (Energy) which got big (friendly) laughs from the crowd. Despite Pelley’s blatant efforts to trip him up, he did not trip. Who would have imagined that Perry’s best debate would be on foreign policy?

NEWT HAD A VERY GOOD NIGHT AS WELL. In addition to smacking down Pelley on killing terrorists, HE REFUSED TO TAKE THE BAIT IN PELLEY’S EFFORT TO START A FIGHT BETWEEN HIM AND ROMNEY. He was clear and articulate and will only enhance his growing following with his performance.

ROMNEY PUT IN ANOTHER STRONG NIGHT. His best moment was when he was asked if he would negotiate with the Taliban: “We don’t negotiate with terrorists, I won’t negotiate with the Taliban.”…

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/283050/big-loser-night-cbs-marc-thiessen

I think the race is now starting to clear and is between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.  Either one of these candidates will wipe the floor with Obama.

2.  Police Clear Occupy Denver

When I ran over to the Civic Center park area after riot police clear out the Occupy encampment here, I found DOZENS OF RIOT POLICE FORMING A WALL TO BLOCK PROTESTERS FROM REENTERING THE PARK.

Impeded from reoccupying the park, the remaining group of protesters began shouting down the cops and taunting them. The protesters argued that it was a waste of taxpayer dollars to send so many riot police to handle what they saw as just some people peacefully camping. They said there were rapes, murders and other crimes that weren't being prevented because of the police focus on the protests.

"TODAY, YOU ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY," ONE FEMALE PROTESTER, JEANNIE HARTLEY, SHOUTED AT THE COPS. "TODAY, YOU ARE THE CRIMINALS."

Hartley, who noted she was a guest on Keith Olbermann on Oct. 31 to talk about police brutality (see interview here), claimed a cop hit her as hard as he could with a baton for no reason….

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/police-clear-out-occupy-denver

It appears as health concerns rise, more and more cities are shutting down the tent cities of the Occupy movement.  As for the comment on history, I doubt that any of these protesters have the slightest inkling of any kind of real history.

3.   What the solution of the left always ends up at

No Logo author NAOMI KLEIN HAS A SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE and it goes like this: PUNITIVE TAXATION; MASSIVE WEALTH RE-DISTRIBUTION; THE ABOLITION OF FREE TRADE AND FREE MARKETS; A STATE-ENFORCED END TO TO THE "CULT OF SHOPPING"; THE WHOLE TO BE SUPERVISED BY A NEW WORLD ORDER OF SELFLESS ILLUMINATI (who presumably resemble Naomi Klein).

If it weren't so scary it would almost be funny, the way the leftie Canadian activist ON THE BASIS OF NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER DECLARES THAT THE TIME HAS COME TO STRIP THE HUMAN RACE OF ALL ITS HARD-WON FREEDOMS IN ORDER TO SAVE THE PLANET FROM A NON-EXISTENT PROBLEM. Unfortunately, Klein means it and her audience takes her seriously. Just read the first comment below her screed:

I can't say enough good things about this article. IT'S A MANIFESTO FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS. CORPORATE CAPITALISM IS DOOMED BY THE IMMUTABLE FACT OF FINITE RESOURCES; IT WILL REQUIRE PLANNING AND SHARING TO SUSTAIN CIVILIZATION IN THE FUTURE, which is heretical thinking in the boardrooms of elite capitalists.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100117165/only-a-totalitarian-new-world-order-can-save-us-now-says-naomi-klein/

This has been said over and over again by lefties, but it isn’t highlighted by much of the media.  The left is truly dangerous if you believe in freedom and liberty.    

“A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources.”
- Quote by Emma Brindal, a climate justice campaigner coordinator for Friends of the Earth

“We’ve got to ride the global-warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.”
- Quote by Timoth Wirth, U.S./UN functionary, former elected Democrat

“No matter if the science of global warming is all phony, climate change provides the greatest opportunity to bring about justice and equality in the world.”
- Christine Stewart, Former Canadian Minister of the Environment

4.  Occupy:  The Real Story

Much has transpired with Occupy Oakland since the grass was green in Frank Ogawa Plaza: businesses have been vandalized, banks terrorized, buildings occupied, commerce obstructed, and a man murdered, all to the tune of millions in damages the taxpaying 53% of the 99% will have to pay.

From occupying the park to closing the port, OCCUPIERS OF ALL STRIPES HAVE CONSISTENTLY DISPLAYED CONFRONTATIONAL BEHAVIOR -- INTIMIDATING CITIZENS, THREATENING BUSINESSES AND GOADING LAW ENFORCEMENT.

OAKLAND'S MAYOR QUAN and the press repeatedly stress that this is a "mostly peaceful" movement. They HAVE PUSHED THE NARRATIVE THAT THE VIOLENCE AT OCCUPY OAKLAND IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO 60-80 OUTSIDE ANARCHISTS -- members of the Black Bloc -- and that the vast majority of Occupiers are peaceful demonstrators clamoring for fair taxation and an end to corporate and millionaire greed.

But, for those of us who have been following this closely, OCCUPY OAKLAND IS RIDDLED WITH THE STEADY DRUMBEAT OF INTIMIDATION, VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION; AND THE ANARCHISTS ARE NOT THE ONLY PLAYERS.

At first the drumbeat is subtle, carefully tapping out a steady theme of defiance.

THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE OCCUPATION QUA OCCUPATION IS COERCIVE. It calls for squatting on public property and forcibly taking it over for the exclusive use of the Occupiers. When probed, squatters readily admit they intend to stay forever, take control of the means of production and Occupy Everything.

Occupiers bully their neighbors simply by "occupying" -- blocking access to the plaza, streets and commerce.

They intimidate businesses by vandalizing storefronts and using human blockades to shut down the city. Countless small entrepreneurs have lost money due to the mayhem and diminished patronage of the past few weeks. To date, three businesses have refused to sign leases, including one that would employ 100 people….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/11/the_occupation_devolution.html#ixzz1dacdDuy0

This movement actually reminds me of the Ku Klux Klan rallies back in the 1920s.  By in large they were peaceful, but they were meant to intimidate. 

5.   Newt Rising

What goes up must come down. But Newt Gingrich may just add his own twist to the law of physics. GINGRICH MAY PROVE THAT IF A POLITICIAN TOUGHS OUT THE INEVITABLE CAREER DOWNS, HE MIGHT REBOUND -- AND SPECTACULARLY. Could Gingrich surprise everyone by securing the GOP presidential nomination and winning the presidency?

Two new polls should encourage Gingrich. On Friday, a McClatchy-Marist Poll showed GINGRICH EDGING OUT HERMAN CAIN. A CBS News Poll shows GINGRICH TIED WITH ROMNEY. If these polls are correct, they indicate that sexual harassment allegations against Cain have begun to stick. Further polling in coming days should reveal whether or not Gingrich's movement up is a trend….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/11/newts_physics.html#ixzz1dadoluCb

Either Newt or Mitt will make mincemeat out of BHO in any presidential debates. 

6.   Two Precedents:  Which one doesn’t make any sense?

 In 1969, in Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court ruled that students at public schools had a FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO WEAR BLACK ARMBANDS TO PROTEST THE VIETNAM WAR, EVEN IF OTHER STUDENTS WOULD BE OFFENDED. The Court noted that because the students were “quiet and passive” while wearing the bands, they did not impinge on the rights of others. “A PROHIBITION AGAINST EXPRESSION OF OPINION, WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE RULE IS NECESSARY TO AVOID SUBSTANTIAL INTERFERENCE WITH SCHOOL DISCIPLINE OR THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS, IS NOT PERMISSIBLE UNDER THE FIRST AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS,” the Court added.

Now, A FEDERAL COURT HAS RULED THAT A SCHOOL CAN FORBID THE WEARING OF AMERICAN FLAGS — American flags! — on Cinco de Mayo, on the grounds that THE PASSIVE WEARING OF SUCH FLAGS CAN CAUSE A “SUBSTANTIAL DISRUPTION” BY CAUSING FIGHTS BETWEEN WHITE AND HISPANIC STUDENTS. Not only does this contradict a Supreme Court ruling in a very similar case, but the “disruption” STANDARD ITSELF CREATES A “HECKLER’S VETO,” giving students and groups of students the ability to censor their peers by overreacting to speech they find offensive.

How about we punish kids who are enraged to the point of violence at the sight of an American flag, rather than censoring our nation’s most fundamental symbol?

This is a ridiculous ruling and should be overturned.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/282995/against-banning-american-flags-robert-verbruggen

This one is a no brainer which also appears what the judge in the second case used.  Perhaps what the school should do is simply cancel any wearing of colors etc. on May 5^th.  No wait, wouldn’t that be infringing on the students right to free speech??? 

7.   Economic advice from Kiss’s Gene Simmons

…And we created this miserable economic state. IT'S LIKE FAT PEOPLE WHO THINK IT'S THE BAKERY'S FAULT THEY GOT FAT.

No, you kept going in there and you kept eating cake. It's not the bakery's responsibility to tell you to slow down.

BANKS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO BORROW SO MUCH.

They're banks — they're supposed to lend you money. If you can't afford to take out £100,000, don't take out a £400,000 mortgage.

IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE A GROWN-UP AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF….

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3929275/Debt-crisis-like-fat-people-blaming-bakers.html

In an age where you have young people marching protesting greed and the debt they’ve incurred going to college, this advice which is so simple, sound profound. 

8.   A New Obama Scandal in the Making?

Over the last year, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS AGGRESSIVELY PUSHED A $433-MILLION PLAN TO BUY AN EXPERIMENTAL SMALLPOX DRUG, DESPITE UNCERTAINTY OVER WHETHER IT IS NEEDED OR WILL WORK.

Senior officials have taken unusual steps to secure the contract for New York-based Siga Technologies Inc., whose CONTROLLING SHAREHOLDER IS BILLIONAIRE RONALD O. PERELMAN, ONE OF THE WORLD'S RICHEST MEN AND A LONGTIME DEMOCRATIC PARTY DONOR.

When Siga complained that contracting specialists at the Department of Health and Human Services were resisting the company's financial demands, SENIOR OFFICIALS REPLACED THE GOVERNMENT'S LEAD NEGOTIATOR FOR THE DEAL, INTERVIEWS AND DOCUMENTS SHOW…

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-smallpox-20111113,0,4293298.story

Crony capitalism strikes again.  How many scandals does this administration need to rack up before the MSM notices?

Progressives and Liberty

Progressive Utopia

Progressive Governance:  Say goodbye to liberty

Liberals have isolated the problem in American politics today: THERE IS JUST TOO MUCH DEMOCRACY. THE INCESSANT DEMANDS OF THE UNWASHED MASSES ARE FAR TOO DISTRACTING FOR THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS IN THE GOVERNMENT TO GET ANY WORK DONE.

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue now claims she was joking when she suggested that congressional elections be suspended to remove the inconvenient pressure of public opinion from the backs of harried legislators. "I THINK WE OUGHT TO SUSPEND, PERHAPS, ELECTIONS FOR CONGRESS FOR TWO YEARS AND JUST TELL THEM WE WON'T HOLD IT AGAINST THEM, WHATEVER DECISIONS THEY MAKE, TO JUST LET THEM HELP THIS COUNTRY RECOVER," she said this week. "You want people who don't worry about the next election."…

…Former White House Budget Director Peter Orszag chimed in this week with his suggestion that to solve the country's problems, "we need to minimize the harm from legislative inertia by relying more on automatic policies and depoliticized commissions for certain policy decisions. In other words, radical as it sounds, WE NEED TO COUNTER THE GRIDLOCK OF OUR POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS BY MAKING THEM A BIT LESS DEMOCRATIC." Mr. Orszag is attempting to make a virtue out of cowardice, allowing legislators to hand off the hard questions to others while retaining their seats in Congress to hand out favors and make ceremonial proclamations. Despite Mr. Orszag's romantic pretensions, this escapism is anything but radical; it is an incumbent-protection program.

CALIFORNIANS WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO MULL OVER A TRULY RADICAL PROGRAM COURTESY OF THE THINK LONG COMMITTEE. This group is proposing the formation of a 21-member independent body appointed to six-year terms to serve as a type of government overseer. THE COMMITTEE - WHICH WOULD BE FREE TO FOCUS ON THE BIG PICTURE RATHER THAN ENGAGING IN ENDLESS CRISIS MANAGEMENT - WOULD HAVE THE POWER TO PROPOSE LEGISLATION, PUT INITIATIVES ON THE BALLOT AND, MOST IMPORTANT, SUBPOENA AND INVESTIGATE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE. Thus, rather than representatives having to fawn over voters, they would instead learn to fear the investigative arm of this unelected committee. You don't have to think very long to see how this type of power could be abused. Men are not angels, as James Madison reminded. If implemented, Think Long's proposal would simply hasten the spiraling decline of the Golden State…

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/28/democrats-scared-of-the-masses/print/

I wish I could say these were the ramblings of some far out left wing kooks.  But it isn’t.  These are the mainstream attitudes of the Progressive movement.  They believe in the power of expertise, and like most people who think they have the answer they don’t like to be challenged and stymied.  We separated church and state in our Constitution because history showed us what happens when political power is wedded to “moral” authority.  We designed our constitution to have checks and balances to prevent a dictatorship of any branch, person or movement.  We were designed to have gridlock, because gridlock is superior to the alternative of tyranny. 

Barney Frank, no Fed dissent will do

 “IF TWO PEOPLE ALWAYS AGREE,” SAYS BEN BERNANKE, “ONE OF THEM IS REDUNDANT.” So, imagine what the Federal Reserve chairman thinks of Rep. Barney Frank’s legislation designed to dampen dissent within the Fed.

FOND OF DIVERSITY IN EVERYTHING BUT THOUGHT, A CERTAIN KIND OF LIBERAL FAVORS MANDATORY HARMONY (e.g., campus speech codes). Such liberals, being realists at least about the strength of their arguments, discourage “too much” debate about them (e.g., restrictions on campaign spending to disseminate political advocacy). Now FRANK WANTS TO STRIP THE PRESIDENTS OF THE FED’S 12 REGIONAL BANKS OF THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE AS MEMBERS OF THE POLICYMAKING FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE.

Five presidents are permitted to vote at any one time, and Frank’s bill is partly a response to three of them voting incorrectly, in his opinion. In August, the FOMC voted 7 to 3 in favor of an indefinite extension of the very low interest rates of the past three years.

Frank says he has “long been troubled” from a “theoretical democratic standpoint” by the “anomaly” of important decisions affecting national economic policy being made by persons “selected with absolutely no public scrutiny or confirmation.” IT WAS NOT, HOWEVER, UNTIL AUGUST THAT THIS AFFRONT TO FRANK’S DEMOCRATIC SENSIBILITIES BECAME SO INTOLERABLE THAT HE PROPOSED A LEGISLATIVE REMEDY. …

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/for-barney-frank-no-fed-dissent-will-do/2011/09/27/gIQAWlne5K_story.html

Barney Frank is already the godfather of the current recession.  I think we need a legislative remedy to his being in congress.  Perhaps we should start an investigation into his relationship with Fannie and Freddie and how that influenced his stances. 







The Tea Party: the adults in the room



Democrats have effectively turned "tea party" into a pejorative, making the words conjure a rigid, uncompromising movement that is at the root of Washington's dysfunction.

YOU WON'T HEAR A DEMOCRATIC MOUTH OPEN TODAY WITHOUT A SLUR AGAINST THE TEA PARTY SPILLING OUT.

What are these Republican revolutionaries doing that Dems find so divisive and dangerous?

Best I can tell, their major offense is holding Washington accountable. Listen to them, as I did on Mackinac Island last week during the Republican Leadership Conference, and THE ONLY DEMAND YOU HEAR IS THAT POLITICIANS STOP MORTGAGING AMERICA'S FUTURE TO RECKLESS SPENDING AND SWELLING DEFICITS.

All they want is for politicians to finally do what both Democrats and Republicans always said they'd do — make the government live within its means — but never got around to doing until the tea party forced their hand.

In other words, the tea party is the adult in a roomful of overindulged children who resent the call to accountability. How much greater would the debt be today, how much larger the deficit, if the tea party hadn't shouted, "Enough!" …

http://detnews.com/article/20110929/OPINION03/109290333/Tea-party-gets-bad-rap-for-telling-truth#ixzz1ZLZoIxR5

This is the awful truth.  The people who are telling the truth and demanding sane behavior from our politicians are pilloried for doing so.





Who should voters blame?



VP Joe Biden told Florida radio station WLRN on Thursday that VOTERS SHOULD HOLD PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, NOT FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE POOR STATE OF AMERICA’S ECONOMY.

Conservative PAC American Crossroads circulated the startling statement Thursday afternoon, expecting it will take Democratic campaign strategists by surprise.

“Right now, understandably — totally legitimate — THIS IS A REFERENDUM ON OBAMA AND BIDEN AND THE NATURE OF THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY,” BIDEN SAID.

Polls indicating that more Americans blame Bush for the economy than Obama are not relevant, Biden said.

“Even though fifty-some percent of the American people think that the economy tanked because of the last administration, that’s not relevant,” Biden stressed. “What’s relevant is we’re in charge. And right now we are the ones in charge and it’s gotten better, but it hasn’t gotten good enough.”

“I don’t blame them for being mad. We’re in charge,” Biden explained….


http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/29/biden-voters-should-blame-obama-not-bush-for-economy/#ixzz1ZMy7bBk2

Something like this from Biden may indicate that Obama will drop out. By taking the blame, they would clear the way for Hillary Clinton to run free of the blame for the economy. 







Obama Scandal Update:  Fast and Furious

This just might be the smoking gun we’ve been waiting for to break the festering “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal wide open: the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives apparently ordered one of its own agents to purchase firearms with taxpayer money, and sell them directly to a Mexican drug cartel.

Let that sink in: AFTER MONTHS OF PRETENDING THAT “FAST AND FURIOUS” WAS A BOTCHED SURVEILLANCE OPERATION OF ILLEGAL GUN-RUNNING SPEARHEADED BY THE ATF AND THE US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE IN PHOENIX, IT TURNS OUT THAT THE GOVERNMENT ITSELF WAS SELLING GUNS TO THE BAD GUYS.

Agent John Dodson was ordered to buy four Draco pistols for cash and even got a letter from his supervisor, David Voth, authorizing a federally licensed gun dealer to sell him the guns without bothering about the necessary paperwork.

“Please accept this letter in lieu of completing an ATF Form 4473 for the purchase of four (4) CAI, Model Draco, 7.62x39 mm pistols, by Special Agent John Dodson,” read the June 1, 2010, letter. “THESE AFOREMENTIONED PISTOLS WILL BE USED BY SPECIAL AGENT DODSON IN FURTHERANCE OF PERFORMANCE OF HIS OFFICIAL DUTIES.”

On orders, DODSON THEN SOLD THE GUNS TO KNOWN CRIMINALS, who first stashed them away and then -- deliberately unhindered by the ATF or any other agency -- whisked them off to Mexico.

People were killed with Fast and Furious weapons, including at least two American agents and hundreds of Mexicans. And the taxpayers picked up the bill….


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/furious_revelation_OhK6TBqPlEpRglHjsSbiBI#ixzz1ZLYzQ6Ad

This scandal is getting more and more sordid.  Be sure to read the article to see what the conjecture of the author is as to why this happened.