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National Prayer Breakfast speaker attracts attention and criticism

National Prayer Breakfast speaker attracts attention and criticism


By James H. Shott

The National Prayer Breakfast is held each year in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February, and is attended by some 3,500 guests. The event is hosted by members of the United States Congress, and this year was co-chaired by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). It is organized by The Fellowship Foundation, a conservative Christian organization and is designed to be a forum for the political, social, and business elite to assemble and build relationships.

Among the speakers this year was President Barack Obama, who told the audience, “We are united in the knowledge of a redeeming savior whose grace is sufficient.” However, he said that even though America’s leaders come together in prayer over national policy and the right direction to lead the country, such talk is often forgotten after the event. “I’d go back to the Oval Office and turn on the cable news networks – and it’s like we didn’t pray!” he said.

Dr. Benjamin Carson, director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, delivered the keynote message, which has drawn criticism from the left as being inappropriately political in a decidedly non-political setting.

However, Dr. Carson's comments were fundamentally about empowering the individual rather than the government, and were non-partisan and delivered respectfully. In fact, he claims political independence, being neither a Republican nor a Democrat. "If there were a party called the Logic Party, I would be a member of that," he told Fox News on Sunday.

That said, Dr. Carson is not the first to inject political messages at the Prayer Breakfast. President Obama himself did so last year, discussing public policy issues such as barring health insurance companies from rejecting people with pre-existing conditions and reducing tax breaks for the wealthy, and tying them in with popular Bible verses. “[S]o when I talk about our financial institutions playing by the same rules as folks on Main Street … or making sure that unscrupulous lenders aren’t taking advantage of the most vulnerable among us, I do so because I genuinely believe it will make the economy strong for everybody,” Mr. Obama said on Feb. 2, 2012.

Benjamin Carson's story is one that inspires us all. He grew up in poverty in urban Detroit, but his home was one built on values typical of the 1950s, raised by a single mother with only a third-grade education who worked long hours to support her family, but who understood American values of hard work and determination. He overcame dire poverty, poor grades, a horrible temper, and low self-esteem, all of which worked against his dream of becoming a physician someday. But his mother would not allow him to give up and challenged her two sons to strive for excellence and stressed the importance of education. His mother refused to become a victim, and did not accept excuses for failure.

Today Dr. Carson is a devout Christian, a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and he has directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for over a quarter of a century. His brother is an aeronautical and mechanical engineer. "I became the brain surgeon and he became the rocket scientist," he said.

He told radio host Armstrong Williams last Friday that his comments were “directed at the situation that is going on in our nation and how we can solve it. ... It’s not an attack on anybody, but it’s saying there are logical solutions for our problems and there are things that we can all get behind — be we right wing, be we left wing."

His condemned political correctness, which he described as dangerous because it interferes with freedom of thought and expression. Americans must stop fearing over-sensitive reactions when they express their thoughts and speak their minds freely, he said, but at the same time respect those with whom they disagree.

“We’ve reached a point where people are actually afraid to talk about what they want to say, because somebody might be offended,” he said, citing the example of people refraining from saying “Merry Christmas.” “We’ve got to get over this sensitivity; it keeps people from saying what they really believe.”

Comparing what is happening in America to history, he said: "I think particularly about ancient Rome. Very powerful — nobody could even challenge them militarily … they destroyed themselves from within,” he said. “Moral decay. Fiscal irresponsibility.”

And he offered suggestions for taxation and health care that require far less government involvement than current systems. Citing religious tithing, he suggested a flat tax where everyone pays the same rate, with no loopholes. And he suggested replacing the Affordable Care Act with health savings accounts opened at birth that could be passed on to surviving family members and could receive contributions other than from the owner of the plan to assist the financially disadvantaged.

These are sensible ideas, but they will not gain the support of the control freaks that run our government because they disenfranchise the special interests that Dr. Carson referred to as the fourth branch of government.

Cross-posted from Observations



Clinton Beats Rubio Hands Down ... J. D. Longstreet

Clinton Beats Rubio Hands Down   ...   J. D. Longstreet
Clinton Beats Rubio Hands Down
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

******************

Already looking ahead to the 2016 Presidential Election, it is clear that Hillary Clinton would wipe the floor with Marco Rubio.

Shocked?  Why?  Hillary is heir apparent to the Obama throne.  That fix has been "in" since the 2012 election when Bill Clinton saved Obama's rear end.  It was sealed when Hillary fell on her sword over the Benghazi murders and suffered a concussion for her troubles.

Plus -- there's this:  The GOP is in desperate need of a champion.  Marco Rubio is not the one.

I'm not even certain Rubio is eligible to run for president, in the first place.  There is a huge question hanging over his head just waiting to be dropped by the Mainstream Media a moment after Rubio announces his candidacy.  Just because the MsM did not pursue the Obama ineligibility, do not for one second believe they will not press home an attack on Rubio.  They will, with the gusto of a pack of hungry wolves.  Count on it.

So, what's the problem with Rubio?

Lawrence Sellin, writing at the Canada Free Press,  says the following:

"The precedent of an illegal President having been established by the inauguration of Obama, the Republicans now feel free to promote their own illegal candidates.

I believe Marco Rubio is a good man and a fine public servant. Unfortunately, like Obama, he is not eligible for the Presidency or the Vice Presidency because he is not a natural born citizen.

Both Democrats and Republicans have tried very hard to confuse the eligibility issue, mainly by focusing on what the Constitution and the Supreme Court holdings do not say, rather than what they clearly do say.

Being born in the U.S. makes one a U.S. citizen, but not necessarily a natural born citizen, which requires US citizen parents at the time of birth. The Founding Fathers specifically put that requirement in the Constitution to prevent someone having dual allegiance from becoming President.

Marco Rubio was born in the US, which makes him a US citizen. His parents were not US citizens at the time of his birth. Therefore, Marco Rubio is not a natural born citizen and not eligible for the office of President or Vice President.

Although not defined in the Constitution, Article II, Section I, Clause 5 specifically requires, not just citizenship, but natural born citizenship." 
SOURCE:
  http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/40510   

So, where does that leave the GOP?  Right where they were in the 2012 campaign -- with nobody who can mount anything other than a one-lunged attempt at something that MIGHT resemble a campaign.

What about another Hispanic, Ted Cruz of Texas?  Uh-oh. NOPE.  Senator Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where his parents, Eleanor Darragh and Rafael Cruz, were working in the petroleum business. His father was a Cuban immigrant during the Cuban Revolution to the United States. His mother, an American, was reared in Delaware, in a family of Irish and Italian descent.  SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz

So what about Rand Paul? Forget it.  His ties to his father preclude the support of a huge block of republican voters.  No chance.

Pathetic, isn't it?

The GOP has sunk so far, so fast, that many question its survival as a viable political party in a decade or less.

A lot of things can and will change between now and election day in 2016.  But at the moment it is clear that, Hillary Clinton will be,  heck,  IS the choice of the democrats to carry their banner all the way BACK into the White House on January 20th, 2017.

Is the GOP finished?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  But what is clear, I think, is they have given themselves another 40 years in the wilderness.  If as I suspect, the republicans lose the US House of Representatives in 2014, their return to the political wastelands will be assured.

One week after the election in November of 2012, after 50 years as a card carrying republican, I left the party and registered as an Independent.  The handwriting was on the wall and I saw it.  Problem is -- it had been there for a long time.

I was then, and am now, a conservative
before party affiliation.
  It is my considered opinion, after spending fifty years in the GOP, there is no place in the Republican Party for conservatives.  Oh, sure, they'll glad hand us, take our time, talent, money, and support, but when it comes time to govern, we are relegated to the back benches and told to sit down and shut-up. 

As conservatives, we are people of conviction.  We do not compromise our core belief.  And for refusing to go along to get along we are the butt of numerous jokes among the moderates and liberals who make up the elite of the GOP.

Conservatives need to pull out of the GOP and allow it to fail and collapse as a political party.  It is dying a slow, agonizing, death even now.   Allowing it to die faster might even be considered merciful.

The creation of a VIABLE SECOND PARTY is needed desperatelyThe GOP is finished as a REAL contender against the socialists disguised as democrats.

Barring an act of God, the democrats will retake the Oval Office n 2016.  In fact, there is a very good chance they will retake the House of Representatives in 2014.

Isn't it time we conservatives bite the bullet and do what we know we are going to have to do -- IF  -- we expect to have any political influence in the government of the United States? 

Conservatives need, indeed, must have their own political party, totally separate from the GOP.  Either that, or we can do what the republicans have been ordering us to do:  sit down and shut-up.

© J. D. Longstreet 

Pope To Resign 2nd In 598 years!

Pope To Resign 2nd In 598 years!


The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism, a dispute among competing papal claimants. The most famous resignation was Pope Celestine V in 1294; Dante placed him in hell for it.



With a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict VXI did Monday what no pope has done in half a millennium, announcing his resignation and sending the already troubled Catholic Church scrambling to replace the leader of its 1 billion followers by Easter.
Not even his closest collaborators had advance word of the news, a bombshell that he dropped during a routine morning meeting of Vatican cardinals. And with no clear favorites to succeed him, another surprise likely awaits when the cardinals elect Benedict's successor next month.
"Without doubt this is a historic moment," said Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, a protege and former theology student of Benedict's who is considered a papal contender. "Right now, 1.2 billion Catholics the world over are holding their breath."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/02/11/pope-resigns-in-bombshell-announcement-sending-troubled-church-scrambling-to/#ixzz2Kcy2WrM0





pom pom heart art

It was pointed out to me by Amelia (my 5 year old) that we don't have any Valentine's Day decorations. Now unless it is Christmas I've never really gotten into many decorations, but I'm not one to ever deny the wee ones some beauty. And what better excuse for afternoon crafts with the girls than Valentine's Day prep.

I loved the pom pom pillow that Camila created (inspired by the always wonderful Anna Spiro) and thought it would be a great chance to use up the left over pom poms I had from Christmas. But to involve the girls in the project I decided to include some finger painting.

This canvas has been in the basement for quite some time. I can't remember what this project was for but obviously it didn't turn out very well. No sense in letting it go to waste.


The girls were given a choice between blue, pink or yellow.


They chose blue.

As with any good finger painting project, it didn't take long at all to get the canvas covered. My little artists did quite a fine job of creating layers and depth of color I think.


Next we created a heart to cut out


and positioned it on the canvas. I traced the heart with a blue pen so we would have a line to follow


while Amelia laid out the colors in a pattern. (which isn't really a pattern at all but a word she loves to use)

the can kept the paper from moving

Making sure to follow the outline, we put the glue gun to work.


We made ourselves a fine little heart and the girls LOVED bossing telling me which pom pom to put where.




There was the last minute addition of a pink border around the frame after it was decided that there wasn't enough pink. And really, when is there ever enough pink, right?


It is a hit with the girls and has been featured in about every room in the house. I might not be able to limit it to Valentine's Day.


Do you do much decorating for Valentine's Day? Do you even celebrate Valentine's Day? Do you have a babysitter you can send over on Thursday?



Bower Power

Being "Right" Is NOT Enough ... J. D. Longstreet

Being "Right" Is NOT Enough   ...   J. D. Longstreet
Being "Right" Is NOT Enough
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*****************

Now that the courts have established that Obama can kill just about anyone he wants, anywhere he wants, for whatever reason he wants, AND, I have just learned that I live in a "Constitution Free Zone" of America, shouldn't I be "bunkered-up" someplace with all my conservative commentator friends?

Probably.

Maybe I'm a little "slow."  Or maybe I'm subconsciously waiting for the new FEMA Camps to be opened up so I can spend my remaining days on earth REALLY wired-up inside a government cage.

Now, if all this sounds screwy to you, well, it IS screwy.  The whole scenario sounds as if it comes from the pen of some novelist with a bad hangover and an equally bad case of paranoia.

But there is a problem.

It all comes right out of today's news headlines.

George Orwell, hate to tell you, sir, but you were WAAAY shy of the mark!

Check out these stories:

"No More 4th Amendment: DHS Can Still Seize Belongings Without Reason"  SOURCE:
http://beforeitsnews.com/international/2013/02/no-more-4th-amendment-dhs-can-still-seize-belongings-without-reason-2452030.html

"Wired: Constitution-Free Zone Upheld – Do You Live In A Place Where You Are No Longer Free?"   SOURCE:  http://beforeitsnews.com/survival/2013/02/constitution-free-zones-upheld-wired-do-you-live-in-a-place-where-you-are-no-longer-free-2461948.html

"The Fema Camp Bill Is Back!"  SOURCE:  http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2013/02/the-fema-camp-bill-is-back-2560418.html

"Government Says It Can Assassinate or Indefinitely Detain Americans on American Soil Without Any Due Process of Law"  SOURCE:   http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/12/constitutional-expert-president-obama-says-that-he-can-kill-you-on-his-own-discretion-he-can-jail-you-indefinitely-on-his-own-discretion.html

Conspiracy theories?  Maybe.  But.  Just because they ARE conspiracy theories does not mean there are NOT conspiracies!

In speaking with old friends in recent months the thing we most agree on is this:  None of us ever thought we'd live long enough to see our beloved America disintegrate right before our eyes.  But -- it's happening every day, in every way.

Soon, the American police state will be complete.  Soon the drones will be flying overhead watching our every move -- even when we are out of sight of the ubiquitous cameras mounted everywhere, even when we are not using an electronic communication device,  which the government is monitoring 24/7, even when we are not driving our cars and trucks with the "black boxes" recording our every maneuver.  

Americans now live in a cage.  Gilded it may be -- but it is still a cage.

Only one thing remains for our imprisonment to be complete.  We must give up our guns.  We must voluntarily disarm.

The BIG question in the minds of sentient Americans today is this:  Will Americans willingly give up the only, the last remaining, avenue open to them to preserve their freedom, or what's left of their freedom?  

Americans who are conscious (Yes, there are those who are totally oblivious to it all.  Remember the "lo/info" voters?) of the intolerable encroachment by our government on our hard won freedom and liberty are fearfully asking themselves this question, in one form or another, incessantly today.

When the chips are finally down, when the defecation finally hits the rotary oscillator, who, exactly, will step forward.  Who will say "enough!"  Who will be the champion, the leader, of the new American Freedom Fighters.

Most everyone can "talk" a good fight.  The danger is in having one's mouth write a check one's "derriere" cannot cash.  It's sort of like running an adversary down and then having him beat the living daylights out of you.
Being "right" is not enough. There must be the determination -- and the pure grit -- to not only defend your position but to attack and decimate your opponent at the same time.

As America spirals downward into anarchy, it behooves every American to consider his core belief.  There won't be time to choose-up sides once the coming "unpleasantness" begins.  The government has but one side --the government side.  If you had not thought of that -- maybe you should.

© J. D. Longstreet

 

Dick Cheney the Old Guard Neo-Con...

BY: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-vs- Tyranny



Ex Vice President Dick Cheney continues to advocate for United States intervention into every conflict across the globe while criticizing Obama's nominations for cabinet posts to key national security positions. In essence supporting the idea that the USA ought to be the world's police force and arbiter of ethics and mortality.

It seems to me the prior administration did nothing to either enhance our nations world standing or create a safer world environment by their ill conceived excursion into Iraq. But perhaps the more we get it wrong the more right it will eventually turn out to be. Old Guard Neo-Con logic 101.

CBS - Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Saturday night that President Barack Obama has jeopardized U.S. national security by nominating substandard candidates for key cabinet posts and by degrading the U.S. military.

"The performance now of Barack Obama as he staffs up the national security team for the second term is dismal," Cheney said in comments to about 300 members of the Wyoming Republican Party.

Cheney, a Wyoming native, said it was vital to the nation's national security that "good folks" hold the positions of secretary of state, CIA director and secretary of defense.

"Frankly, what he has appointed are second-rate people," he said.

John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, has been confirmed as secretary of state. CIA designate John Brennan and defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel are still awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation.

Wyoming's two U.S. senators, Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, voted for Kerry's confirmation. Both Enzi and Barrasso gave introductory speeches for Cheney Saturday night.

Cheney said Hagel, a former Nebraska U.S. senator, was chosen because Obama "wants to have a Republican that he can use to take the heat for what he plans to do to the Department of Defense."

He said Obama's plans are to allow severe cuts in U.S. defense spending, which would limit the capability of the U.S. military to respond to future foreign crises well after Obama has left office.

"He is today ... establishing what limitations will be on future presidents," Cheney said. {Read More}
Via: Memeorandum

Call to Action: Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, 15-19 Feb

Bill Ayers
"Guilty as hell, free as a bird—it’s a great country." --Bill Ayers in "Fugitive Days"
This is a call to action for freedom-loving Americans to protest Bill Ayers (bio at Conservapedia), a domestic terrorist who escaped punishment, Marxist, and enemy of the Constitution, speaking at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, 15-19 February at the annual meeting for the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE).

First, protest the ATE's inclusion of Bill Ayers' at their annual meeting:
(1) Write the hotel and/or ATE
(2) Fax the hotel and/or ATE
(3) Call the hotel, speak with the manager
(4) Call the hotel national headquarters
(5) Protest in front of the hotel during the ATE's annual meeting
(6) Notify the press (especially if you are going to protest in front of the hotel)
(7) You could also voice your protest to the ATE, but I suspect it will fall on deaf ears, since if they are inviting someone like Bill Ayers, they probably already have Marxist leanings (cannot confirm, however).

Second, make sure to expose this event to the general public and record each of the speaker's lectures, if possible.  Post to YouTube the ones that may be controversial, especially Bill Ayers'.

Third, organize your fellow patriots and ensure you have adequate talking points that address:
(1) The Weather Underground (which Bill Ayers was the leader) and its plan to kill 25,000,000 unrepentant capitalists in America.  This should strike a chord with those who run businesses, especially Marriott.
(2) That Bill Ayers is a domestic terrorist.
(3) How his espousing of Marxism is a threat to our Constitution and our way of life.
(4) How his ideology will subsequently poison the minds of our children.

Bill Ayers trampling on the US flag
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
265 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Phone: (404) 577-1234
Fax: (404) 588-4137
http://www.hyattregencyatlanta.com


ASSOCIATION OF TEACHER EDUCATORS
David A. Ritchey, Ph.D., CAE, Executive Director
Mail: P.O. Box 793
Manassas, VA 20113
Office: 11350 Random Hills Rd.., Suite 800
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: (703) 659-1708
Fax: (703) 595-4792
http://www.ate1.org/pubs/Contact_Us.cfm


Georgia ATE
Website: http://www.gaate.org
President: Gwendolyn Middlebrooks
ghmiddlebrooks@bellsouth.net
Executive Secretary: Barbara Benson
bbenson@piedmont.edu

As those who believe the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and honor the founding of our nation, we have been backed into a corner and cannot give another inch.  We must resist every person and organization that wishes to enslave the people of this nation with ideologies such as Marxism.


We therefore have a duty to voice our disapproval of Bill Ayers' version of Marxism.  And he should have no influence over those who teach our children.

Connect to AAE
   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgainstAllEnemies (Click "Like")
   Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@AAEnemies ("Follow")
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Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Trump Versus Maher- Its Going To Court!

Trump Versus Maher- Its Going To Court!




New Rule: Now that he's suing me for five million dollars because he says he's proved that he is not the love child of an orangutan, Donald Trump must learn two things: What a joke is, and what a contract is.
Now, let me catch you up on how all this got started: during the last week of the presidential campaign last year, Donald Trump, who previously had been a one issue candidate obsessed with Obama's birth certificate, announced that he would give five million dollars to charity if Obama produced his college records -- because a black guy getting into college? Something fishy there.
So, playing on the fact that the only other thing in nature with the same color hair as Trump's is the orange haired orangutan, I joked that Donald Trump needed to show me his papers to prove he wasn't hiding a bad secret about his birth -- this is known as "parody," and it's a form of something we in the comedy business call a "joke." Naturally, I also aped, if you will, Trump's offer of money to a charity of his choosing, which I identified as the Hair Club for Men. This upset the Donald so much they could barely get him to stop flinging his feces.
Now, public figures of course don't always like everything that's said about them, but that's how we roll here in America -- just like we're the gun country, we're the joke country; we love our free speech, and we love celebrities getting taken down a peg, so Don should just suck it up like everyone else does.
But not Trump -- his lawyer Scott Balber sent me a letter -- I shit you not this is real -- that says:
"Attached hereto is a copy of Mr. Trump's birth certificate, demonstrating that he is the son of Fred Trump, and not an orangutan."
Do these morons even know it's impossible for people and apes to produce offspring?
So, I ignored the letter like I ignore all letters I get from crazy people, and I forgot about the whole thing until this week, when Trump and his lawyer actually sued me for the five million -- and don't forget, this is not a libel case. They seem to be trying to set a bold new precedent that jokes on late night talk shows are now legally binding agreements between the comedian and the person they're making fun of. Yeah, I'm sure this'll go all the way to the Supreme Court.
Do these morons even know it's impossible for people and apes to produce offspring?
So, I ignored the letter like I ignore all letters I get from crazy people, and I forgot about the whole thing until this week, when Trump and his lawyer actually sued me for the five million -- and don't forget, this is not a libel case. They seem to be trying to set a bold new precedent that jokes on late night talk shows are now legally binding agreements between the comedian and the person they're making fun of. Yeah, I'm sure this'll go all the way to the Supreme Court.
The legal system in this country is not a joke -- it's not a toy for rich idiots to play with. And frankly, what they released raises more questions than it answers -- at least it does to a growing chorus of patriotic Americans who call ourselves "Apers" and we're just asking questions!
Questions like -- well, what they put out: It's the short form "Certification of Live Birth," not a birth certificate. It was clearly made on a dot-matrix computer printer and includes a scannable bar code, two technologies that were hardly around in 1946. Where's the original, long-form certificate? Because a short-form copy of a birth certificate unsigned by an attending physician isn't proof of anything. You know who I learned that from?
I learned that from Donald "But I'm White" Trump, who wouldn't accept the exact same document from the president.
But remember who we're dealing with here: a man who, for a little extra publicity, will happily keep alive a debate over whether his family reunions are held at the zoo.

Help KeyWiki Expose the DSA Marxists in Congress!

Help KeyWiki Expose the DSA Marxists in Congress!
Posted from Trevor Loudon's New Zeal Blog.

Submitted by  on February 5, 2013 – 7:30 pm EST


Knowledge is power.
Our sister site KeyWiki is the greatest online store of knowledge available on the internal enemies of the United States of America.
Please help us to grow this resource.
Democratic Socialists of America is the US’s largest Marxist organization.
While claiming to be “democratic” and merely “socialist,” DSA draws much of its inspiration from the Italian Communist Party theoretician Antonio Gramsci.
DSA Orange County Newsletter, Feb. 1, 1984
DSA Orange County Newsletter, Feb. 1, 1984
Rather than working class revolution, Gramsci believed that communism could best be achieved by infiltrating the key institutions of Western Society. In the United States, the Democratic Party has been DSA’s main target, from county to federal level.
The almost 80 strong Congressional Progressive Caucus was created by DSA and today serves as the socialist’s main transmission belt for Marxist policies into the Democratic Party.
Current Congressmen and women who have been paid up DSA members include Illinois Democrats Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis, and New York Democrat Jerry Nadler.
Honolulu DSA membership list, early '80s
Honolulu DSA membership list, early ’80s
Recent Congressional DSAers include Hawaii Democrat Neil Abercrombie (now Governor of Hawaii), Florida Democrat Carrie Meek, New York Democrat Major Owens, one term Ohio Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy, California Democrat Ron Dellums and former Michigan Congressman David Bonior – once second ranking Democrat in the House.
Key current DSA allies include Michigan Democrat John Conyers and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
DSA's Democratic Left, Winter 2007
DSA’s Democratic Left, Winter 2007
Another key DSA congressional ally Bob Filner, has just been elected Mayor of San Diego.
Yet another, former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, is reportedly considering a run for the US Senate to replace John Kerry – who also has DSA ties.
Please help KeyWiki to get this vital information before the voting public. They need to know exactly how they are manipulating them and hiding their real affiliations to get elected.
Please contribute today!

As The Fed Peers Ever Deeper Into Your Lives...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-vs- Tyranny



It looks as though the Obama Administration, not satisfied with enacting a flawed national health plan that even unions are becoming leery of has decided to tell Americans what to do to make their homes safer. Sure to follow will be new mountains of regulations and costs associated with this benevolent and loving plan. Certainly the Federal Government needs more to do as it increases control over the lives of every individual and business in the country.

But I best shut up because the Feds just hate naysayers now din;t they?

HUD No. 13-011
Shantae Goodloe
(202) 708-0685 FOR RELEASE
Monday
February 4, 2013

FEDERAL AGENCIES WORKING TO MAKE HOMES HEALTHIER
Improving housing quality can dramatically affect the health of residents

WASHINGTON—Several federal agencies today unveiled Advancing Healthy Housing – A Strategy for Action. White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, M.D., and Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman discussed the new plan during an event at the National Building Museum this morning.

The initiative represents a bold new vision for addressing the nation’s health and economic burdens caused by preventable hazards associated with the home. The Strategy for Action encourages federal agencies to take preemptive actions that will help reduce the number of American homes with health and safety hazards.

People in the United States spend about 70% of their time in a home. Currently, millions of U.S. homes have moderate to severe physical housing problems, including dilapidated structure; roofing problems; heating, plumbing, and electrical deficiencies; water leaks and intrusion; pests; damaged paint; and high radon gas levels. These conditions are associated with a wide range of health issues, including unintentional injuries, respiratory illnesses like asthma and radon-induced lung cancer, lead poisoning, result in lost school days for children, as well as lost productivity in the labor force. The health and economic burdens from preventable hazards associated with the home are considerable, and cost billions of dollars.

TheStrategy for Action unifies, for the first time, federal action to advance healthy housing, demonstrating the connection between housing conditions and residents’ health. It also promotes strategies and methods intended to reduce in-home health hazards in a cost-effective manner.

“It is clear that unhealthy and unsafe housing has an impact on the health of millions of people in the United States,which is why we must do everything we can to ensure that individuals and families have a healthy place to call home,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Today’s announcement will help the federal government unify action to controlling and preventing major housing-related exposures and hazards.”

“Thanks to unprecedented collaboration across the federal family and among our many partners, we now have a specific plan for action to address radon and other preventable hazards found in homes across the country. This is important progress, especially when you consider that people spend an estimated 70 percent of their time inside a home,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “At EPA we’re committed to ensuring Americans in all communities have healthy places to live, work and play, and the strategy we announced today is a critical step toward reaching that goal.”

“Healthy homes and communities are essential to our quality of life, our productivity, and our economic vitality,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. “Through this plan, Federal agencies have committed to working together to make sure all Americans can count on safe, healthy places to live, grow, and thrive.”

Dr. Mary Jean Brown, Chief of CDC’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch added, “Healthy homes lead to healthier lives. People can take simple steps to protect themselves from health hazards in the home.”

“Energy efficiency and healthy homes are inextricably linked,” explained U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. “We cannot, in good conscience, pursue one in the absence of the other. DOE is committed to ensuring that our efforts towards creating an efficient national housing stock also strive to maximize the health and safety of the families we serve.”

The overall vision for the Strategy is to reduce the number of American homes with residential health and safety hazards, achieved through five goals:

1}Establish healthy homes recommendations
2}Encourage adoption of healthy homes recommendations
3}Create and support training and workforce development to address health hazards in housing
4}Educate the public about healthy homes
5}Support research that informs and advances healthy housing in a cost-effective manner

For more on the Strategy for Action, visit the interagency Healthy Homes website, http://healthyhomes.hud.gov.

Big Brother IS watching...

Via: Memorandum

Bill Ayers to Speak at Teacher Conference Hyatt Regency Atlanta 15 Feb

"...the keynote speaker for this year’s meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators is none other than William Ayers. This year’s annual conference is scheduled to be held next month, February 15-19 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia."  (Hagmann article)
William (Bill) Ayers was a leader of the Weather Underground, and I recommend that you read a biography of Ayers at KeyWiki to understand why this man and his ideology are important today.  From December 27-31, 1969, he led a meeting of the Weathermen faction of the Students for a Democratic Society which went as follows:
"According to a federal indictment, a smaller group, Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Linda Evans, Erik Mann, Howard Machtinger, Diana Oughton and Mark Rudd, met secretly in Flint on December 30, 1969 at the Parish House of Sacred Heart Convent to set up a central committee. It was modeled after Lenin’s democratic centralism. The Weather central committte was to direct underground bombings nationwide from New York, Chicago, Detroit and Berkeley aimed at police, military, university and commercial targets. There was also talk of assassinations." (KeyWiki)
The following video is an excerpt of an interview with Larry Grathwohl, a former member of the Weather Underground, from the 1982 documentary "No Place to Hide."  In it, Larry asks the leadership of the Weather Underground "What happens after we take over the [United States] government?"  Here are some key points of the response of the leadership:
  • Cubans, North Vietnamese, Russians, Chinese would want to occupy different portions of the US
  • They would have to protect against the counter-revolution by establishing re-education centers in the southwest
  • Those who they could not re-educate (the die-hard capitalists) would have to be eliminated (estimated at 25,000,000 people that would have to be killed)
Is Bill Ayers someone we want as the keynote speaker for people who have influence over our children's education?

Link to video


The following article is from Doug Hagmann's website:

Domestic terrorist to be keynote speaker at teacher’s conference



28 January 2013: As Americans, we are witnessing the rabid and unchecked transformation of the United States from a Constitutional Republic to a Communist controlled “captured operation.” Our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the very freedoms we have enjoyed as Americans are under full scale attack by the Communist revolutionaries of the 1960s, including such revolutionaries such as Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, and many others. The revolutionaries from the 1960s have succeeded in infiltrating our federal government with like-minded colleagues as elected leaders on a national level. [...] They are now closer than ever to accomplishing their goal by throwing the U.S. into social, economic and racial chaos. The attack on our Second Amendment rights – disarming the American public -  also figures prominently into their goals.
Three decades ago, the Weathermen, headed by William Ayers, planned to overthrow the government through bombings and killings. It is important to point out that the Weather Underground, an offshoot of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a domestic, left wing, Marxist terror group advocating the overthrow of the “American system,” was responsible for numerous bombings of government buildings, including but not limited to the bombing of the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol. They are also implicated in the bombing of a San Francisco police precinct that was responsible for the murder of 44 year-old police officer Brian V. McDonnell.
[...]
Domestic terrorist to be keynote speaker
Given the strategy of those in power, it should come as no surprise that the keynote speaker for this year’s meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators is none other than William Ayers. This year’s annual conference is scheduled to be held next month, February 15-19 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia.
ateayers
Are representatives of your school district going to attend this conference? Perhaps a call to your school district is in order.
Read the full article...

Cross-posted from Against All Enemies

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Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Black Liberation Theology

Reverend Jeremiah Wright pastored Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago from 1972 until 2008.  Reverend Wright is "an animated apostle of Black Liberation Theology"(BLT), so it is important to know what this theology teaches.  What follows is a quick summary of what "Black Liberation Theology" really believes as found in "The Gospel According to Barack" by Jefrey D. Breshears.
"Jesus, who was an 'African Jew,' was first and foremost a radical social prophet and revolutionary who preached a Gospel of social justice and equality and whose mission it was to liberate all humanity from social, political, economic and religious subjugation.  For this, he was criticized, harassed and eventually executed as a common criminal by the white power structure of his day." (p. 24) 
Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers
"...rather than focusing on individual sin as the root cause of humanity's problems, it shifts the focus to social and institutional injustice.  Therefore, the solution is not spiritual transformation and a renewed heart and mind but radical social change...humanity is basically good but 'society' corrupts..." (p. 24)
"...rather than emphasize forgiveness and healing for past wrongs, BLT tends to focus almost exclusively on retribution." (pp. 24-5) 
"...Black Liberation Theology is a volatile mix of two very toxic elements: (1) Racialism and (2) Neo-Marxim....  Racialism...is an obsessive fixation on race to the extent that it primarily determines one's sense of self-identity and becomes one's paradigm for processing the personal, social, economic, political and religious issues in life." (p. 25) 
"In [BLT], 'white'  represents a history of oppression, exploitation and imperialism--i.e., a culture of evil.  'Black,' on the other hand, represents victimhood--those who have been (and still are) subject to oppression, exploitation and imperialism." (p. 26) 
"Neo-Marxism perpetuates this kind of simplistic social stereotyping [as found in Classical Marxism regarding socio-economic divides], except that now the 'good' are the victimized minorities--feminist women, blacks, Hispanics, homosexuals, etc.--and the 'bad' are white males, non-feminist white females, Christians and conservatives in general." (p.26) 
"...racial politics is a uniquely 20th century concept, and [BLT] expropriated the idea to formulate a unique racialist and Neo-Marxist Christian synthesis.  ...BLT divides humanity along the lines of white oppressors and black victims.  So in effect, God is not only 'black' but also 'red.'" (pp. 26-7)
I recommend that you read "The Gospel According to Barack" by Jefrey D. Breshears to gain a deeper understanding of this topic.

All quotes taken from "The Gospel According to Barack" by Jefrey D. Breshears, 2012 Areopagus Publishing.

Cross-posted from Against All Enemies

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Maher Responds to the Donald

Maher Responds to the  Donald
by:Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-vs- Tyranny


I am not a big fan of Bill Maher, nor do I agree with much that Crooks and Liars puts out for the public's perusal. However, priding myself on being fair and balanced I figured this one deserved a play here at RN USA. It is really funny, portrays the "Donald" perfectly, and besides he had it coming. That and personally I don't care for the "Donald." He may not be an Orangutan but he certainly is a buffoon.

Via: Memorandum

Mary Blair Elementary Gives Another Side to the Grenade Tossing Story

finger gun infowars Last Wednesday we published a story about a little boy who was supposedly suspended from school for tossing an imaginary grenade into an imaginary box. This Week’s Worst School in the Country: Mary Blair Elementary

News stories about the boy were published by major news outlets throughout the country and then the story went viral.

Faultline USA wants to present all sides of the issue and to set the record straight concerning this particular story. Yesterday, we received an email from the school Superintendent, Stan Scheer. Here is that email:

I am writing in response to your recent email to the Thompson School District regarding Mary Blair Elementary School.

As a matter of practice, the Thompson School District does not comment publicly on matters of student discipline. In this case, however, the parent of the student has chosen to make this a public issue, and because there appears to be a great deal of misinformation in the media about this matter, we feel compelled to respond.

On February 1, 2013, a student at Mary Blair Elementary School was observed by a teacher throwing rocks at other children on the school’s playground. The teacher, following District procedures, escorted the child to the school principal, whereupon the student’s mother was contacted. Following a discussion with the student and his mother, the principal imposed a 2-hour in-school suspension as a consequence for the student’s behavior. The student was never removed from school grounds by the District.

Stan Scheer, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Thompson School District

800 South Taft Avenue

Loveland, CO 80537

New information concerning the mother lends credence to the schools's position.

Mom says son suspended for throwing 'imaginary grenade,' but her criminal history clouds credibility

. . .But when 7NEWS took a harder look at the 30-year-old mother's account of what happened on the playground, we found it may not be true.

7NEWS also found that Watkins has repeatedly appeared at the center of news stories in recent years and she has a lengthy criminal history that raises questions about her credibility. . . .

7NEWS' Sablan asked Watkins on Friday about her account that her son was throwing an "imaginary grenade," when the district says he threw rocks at other students.

Watkins insisted it was the school principal who said her son "had been suspended for throwing an imaginary grenade."

"There was an imaginary grenade," the mother continued. "He was throwing an imaginary grenade and that's why I (publicly) clarified and said, 'did he have anything in his hand?'"

Sablan asked if district officials are lying about the rock throwing?

"Yes, absolutely," Watkins replied. "It's not true at all." . . .

We truly hope that the school's version of the story is the correct version. But there are still a number of questions concerning the school's list of "Absolutes, " and why any parent would make an issue of a mere "2-hour in-school suspension" (whatever that is).

Perhaps the school district will have to revamp their policy about public comments concerning student discipline? In the interest of student privacy and yet, preemptive self-protection, perhaps schools should immediately list on their web page each suspension by date, time, and type of offense (omitting the student's name and identifying grade).

Additionally, the previous article links to articles concerning the overuse of suspension in schools throughout the country over the last decade. What, after all, is a "2-hour in-school suspension"??? Why is this term being overly used?

Politically charged Issues such as gun control and Zero tolerance are center stage right now and schools must use sound judgement instead of political correctness at the expense of a child's permanent record!

Thursday ABC News Published:

In Newtown's Wake, Schools Crackdown on Imaginary Weapons

In the wake of December's tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., schools nationwide have taken zero-tolerance policies aimed at reducing violence, suspending kids as young as 5 for brandishing "guns" made from Lego blocks and cutout pieces of paper.

But the policy at Evans' Mary Blair Elementary school in Loveland, Colo., is simple and stringent. "No Weapons (real or play)" is one of the school's "ABSOLUTES," or rules.

Loveland student's suspension spurs debate of zero-tolerance policies

. . .But the story has renewed discussions about a Colorado bill that eliminated zero-tolerance school discipline policies that arose following the Columbine High School shooting and the 1993 Summer of Violence, during which Denver’s street gang activity drew statewide attention.

Senate Bill 12-45, known as the Smart School Discipline Act, passed last year during a special session of the Colorado Legislature. The bill failed initially, but was brought back as an amendment to the School Finance Act.

It was designed to reduce the number of “unnecessary” suspensions, bill sponsor and former Rep. B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland, said, by requiring school districts to implement “proportionate” discipline, in addition to prevention strategies, counseling, restorative justice and peer mentoring programs.

When a student gets in trouble, districts are supposed to consider factors including the child’s age, whether they have a disability, their disciplinary history, the seriousness of the violation, other punishment options and whether the actions threatened the safety of another student or teacher.

School districts were required before the 2012-13 school year to rewrite their discipline code, in order to comply with the act.

Thompson School District disagrees with the notion it hasn’t abandoned zero-tolerance practices. It updated its discipline policies in November to reflect SB 12-45, district spokesman Michael Hausmann said. Administrators have a “number of interventions that they may and do use.”

“I think it’s hard when new laws are enacted for every teacher and every district to know what those laws are,” but districts are responsible to know, Nikkel said.

 

A Powerful Message From Dr. Benjamin Carson...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-vs- Tyranny


Every so often you hear a messages such as the one from Dr. Benjamin Carson that strikes a cord because it is a message of ultimate truth. Whether one is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, a non believer, or whatever, the basic truth Dr. Carson speaks to is universal. As I listened to the good doctor's message I couldn't help but thinking our elected leadership, starting with the President on down needs the message perhaps most of all.

The presentation is 27 minutes long, but if you haven't seen it yet it is well worth the 27 minute of your time. And that from a non believer.



ht: FreeThinke

Dr. Benjamin Carson is a leading pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins, where he is a renowned authority on separating Siamese twins. He was raised in the Detroit inner city by a single mom who worked multiple jobs to get him through school. He is a professor of neurosurgery, oncology, and plastic surgery as well as pediatrics… and he holds over 50 honorary degrees on top of that. He’s been the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins since he was just 33 years old. In 2008, he received America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from George W. Bush. He and his wife Candy run the Carson Scholars Fund, which hopes to “name a Carson Scholar in every school within the United States.” {Continue Reading

How Common Core Standards Are Destroying Our Children's Education

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle




Last month California switch from their previous standards of education to Common Core Standards.  While hailed as a major step forward its true goal is to indoctrinate students to the "Progressive" agenda.  In fact it harms Black and Latino students by failing to prepare them for college.
California will no longer require eighth-graders to take algebra - a move that is line with the Common Core standards being adopted by most states, but that may leave students unprepared for college.

Last month, California formally shifted to the Common Core mathematics standards, which recommend that students delay taking algebra if they aren't ready for it. Previously, algebra class was a requirement for all eighth-graders in the state.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, which is sponsored by the National Governor's Association, is an effort to unify diverse state education curricula. Forty-five other states and the District of Columbia have signed on so far.

But some education experts worry that the change will further damage struggling students' college chances, since early proficiency in Algebra I is an excellent predictor of college graduation, according to the Mercury News.

Black and Latino students in California are significantly more likely to fail eighth-grade algebra, and 80 percent of those who fail it once will fail it again when they take it in high school.

A study published by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area claims that some minority students who score well enough to place into advanced math classes are often mistakenly held back.

Source
Does anyone find this ironic that the 2 groups of students with the highest rate of dropping out of school will be hurt the most by this.  Just another tool in the Progressive arsenal to keep Blacks and now Latinos on the Plantation.