The Founding Father's Real Reason for the Second Amendment
And remember the words of Thomas Jefferson "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." See Video of Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s Congressional Testimony: What the Second Amendment is REALLY For, below (u-tube HERE).
The Leaders Are Here... Palin, Cruz, Lee, Paul, Chaffetz....
T'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Can You Really Still Believe That None of These People Would Have Done a Better Job???
Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.
Rand Paul won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, a victory that cements his status as a tea-party favorite.
Paul, who spoke at CPAC earlier this week, drew the support of many college-age activists and libertarians. Throughout the conference's hallways, the support for Paul was strong, and his backers handed out "Stand with Rand" posters.
Conservative leaders say Paul's victory is a sign of his popularity within Republican ranks. "I'm glad someone who says bold things is rising," says Arthur Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute. "At a time when many conservatives are reflecting on the future, his views are connecting."
Boyden Gray, a former counselor to President George H. W. Bush, agrees. He says Paul may not be cheered in every corner of the party, but he's a formidable figure. "Even within the GOP, people are beginning to question big institutions, from big government to big banks, and Rand Paul is speaking to them," he says.
Senator Paul, a Kentucky Republican and ophthalmologist, follows in the footsteps of his father, Ron Paul, who won the CPAC straw poll in 2010 and 2011.
Paul's supporters were not the only activists pushing a candidate at the Gaylord National Hotel in suburban Maryland. Supporters of Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, and supporters of New Jersey governor Chris Christie also had informal get-out-the-vote operations.
But Paul's group was, by far, the most vocal, and its efforts paid off. According to a CPAC official, Paul was expected to win, and he drew heavy, consistent support.
Other Republicans on the ballot included Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Bobby Jindal, and Governor Scott Walker. Rubio, for his part, came in a close second. Paul won 25 percent, and Rubio won 23 percent.
Tea Party favorite, rising Republican star, libertarian heartthrob - but a successful candidate for the GOP nomination in 2016?
It won't be his fiscal conservatism, or his ability to articulate conservative principles. But it may be his foreign policy positions that would make Rand Paul a bridge too far for a majority of Republicans. Is the party ready to accept isolationism as a foundational principle in foreign affairs? This remains to be seen.
Rand Paul is not as stridently anti-interventionist as his father and that has to count for something. But you can bet the major line of attack of Paul's primary opponents will be questions about his commitment to Republican foreign policy principles.
Rand Paul won the CPAC straw poll and was closely followed by Marco Rubio… and many feel that if Ted Cruz had spoken earlier in the event that he would have come in higher in the poll… but again, Sarah Palin rocked the house!!
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin drinks from a 7-Eleven Super Big Gulp on stage while speaking at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., on Saturday. Earlier in the week a New York judge struck down a ban proposed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to end the sale of sugared sodas larger than 16-ounces.
“Barack Obama promised the most transparent government ever… Barack Obama, you lied!!” said Sarah Palin
Amid the Republican soul-searching on display at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference, the former GOP vice presidential nominee and Governor of Alaska issued her prescription: "Now is the time to furlough the consultants, and tune out the pollsters, send the focus groups home, and toss the political scripts," Palin said, "because If we truly know what we believe, we don't need professionals to tell us."
Governor Palin’s exceptional speech at CPAC 2013 was well-received, with loud applause and repeated standing ovations from the audience. CSPAN posted an archival video of her speech, and you can practically get a transcript by reading the many articles that have been written about it. As in 2012, when Palin was the Keynote speaker, she brought it home again this year after a surprise extra introduction from Ted Cruz who thanked her and said he and 2 other recently elected candidates would not be there if it were not for Sarah Palin… plus rattling off a list of other candidates that Sarah Palin has supported and helped.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin delivered a barn-burning, hyper-folksy speech to conservative activists Saturday, bringing the entire audience to its feet multiple times.
Palin’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference started in an unconventional way: After she was first introduced, the crowd was shocked to see Texas Sen. Ted Cruz walk out onstage. Cruz said he was there to introduce Palin himself ahead of his keynote speech later in the afternoon.
“The mainstream media wants us to be timid and hide in a corner. And the mainstream media is absolutely convinced that women cannot be conservatives, and if they are, they especially cannot shoot really big guns and hunt grizzly bears,” Cruz said. “That’s why Governor Sarah Palin drives the mainstream media batcrap crazy.”
Cruz directly attributed his success to Palin, a key backer of his, saying: “I would not be in the U.S. Senate today if it were not for Sarah Palin.”
When Palin herself entered, the entire crowd surged for the first of many times. Palin waved energetically as she was welcomed, then immediately thanked Cruz.
“The senator is the keynote speaker and he would lower himself to do an introduction for a hockey mom from Wasilla,” Palin said in faux-wonder. “Ted Cruz, he chews barbed wire, he spits out rust. That’s what we need.”
[...]
“That chunk of metal did the crime? That’s like saying, ‘that fork made me fat,’” Palin joked about the idea that guns are responsible for violence. “Background checks? Dandy idea, Mr. President. Should’ve started with yours.”
Palin wasn’t close to finished. She moved on to attack the calls for “rebranding” of the Republican Party.
“Let’s be clear about one thing: We’re not here to rebrand the party. We’re here to rebuild a country,” Palin said. “We’re not here to dedicate ourselves to new talking points coming from DC. We’re not here to put a fresh coat of rhetorical point on our party…We’re here to restore America, and the rest is just theatrics. The rest is sound and fury. It’s just noise. And that sums up the job President Obama does today.”
[...]
“If you don’t have a team of lobbyists in D.C. or a canceled contribution check, well, you’re not at the table. You’re on the menu,” she said. “The last thing we need is Washington, D.C. vetting our candidates…If we had one message to send to Washington, it would be this: Get over yourself. It’s not about you.”
But when Palin left the stage, for those few moments, it was all about her, leaving the audience roaring on its feet for several minutes straight.
From an Associated Press article posted at Newsday:
Returning to the national stage, Former AlaskaGov. Sarah Palin said Saturday that the Republican Party must broaden its message to grow.
“We must leave no American behind,” she said in a populist speech that electrified supporters at a conservative summit in suburban Washington. “And we must share our powerful message of freedom and liberty to all citizens — even those who may disagree on some issues.”
[...]
Instead of focusing on rebuilding the Republican Party, she said that party leaders should focus on rebuilding the middle class.
She jabbed President Barack Obama and the Republicanprofessional class alike, urging the crowd to reject the ideas of political consultants and pollsters, taking a not-so-subtle dig at Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush and a co-founder of outside group Crossroads USA.
“The architects can head on back . . . to the great Lone Star State, and put their name on some ballot, though, for their sake, I hope they give themselves a discount on their consulting services,” she quipped.
But Palin saved her most pointed criticism for the president, likening him to Ponzi-scheme felon Bernie Madoff. Taking a shot at the president’s call for universal background checks on gun owners, she said, “Dandy idea, Mr. President — should have started with yours.”
Sarah Palin called for the conservative grassroots to avoid consultants in a fiercely anti-establishment speech that received the strongest response yet from a packed auditorium at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday.
“The next election is 20 months away. Now is the time to furlough the consultants, and tune out the pollsters, send the focus groups home and toss the political scripts. Because if we truly know what we believe, we don’t need professionals to tell us,” Palin said, one of at least a dozen lines that received standing ovations and sustained cheering from the crowd.
[...]
Palin pleased the crowd with a number of punchy one-liners that drew laughter and widespread applause.
She criticized President Obama for claiming to want to have the most transparent administration ever, charging “Barack Obama, you lie!” a reference to a House member shouting the same thing at Obama during a 2009 joint address to Congress.
And she lambasted the president for, she said, continuing to campaign instead of govern.
“Now step away from the teleprompter, and do your job!” she said.
In a jab at New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s recently defeated plan to ban large sugary drinks, Sarah Palin brought one with her onto the stage at CPAC! In a moment that drew a huge response from the crowd during her address, the former VP candidate unexpectedly pulled out the huge beverage and took a sip.
“Oh Bloomberg’s not around, our Big Gulp is safe,” she quipped.
“Shoot, it’s just pop! With low-cal ice cubes in it. I hope that’s okay.”
James V. DeLong at Conservatives for Palin writes:
It started with a very nice introduction by a young woman from the NRA emphasizing Palin as an example to young conservatives, especially women. (I will post a transcript when I find it.) Then, just as the crowd began to roar in anticipation of Palin, out walked, instead, Ted Cruz. He delivered a short introduction reminding the audience of Palin’s importance in recent elections, including a comment that without Palin, Texas would not have Ted Cruz as a senator. Then Palin did come out, to an even greater roar than the first abbreviated one.
She has become an excellent speaker. You can tell from the leftist media that the current equivalent of Journolist has sent out the talking point for the day — “she’s just an entertainer.” The line was repeated too often in the early commentary for it to be an accident. Well, she is an entertainer, just as Reagan was an actor, Franklin Roosevelt was a radio personality, and Winston Churchill was a writer. She entertains her audience with humor and wit, using them as tools to get across serious messages.
[...]
Her style choices were interesting, too. She was dressed in casual but elegant black pants and shirt. Her hair was also casual, but disheveled in a way that takes considerable skill. She is tanned and looks very healthy. She is too thin, but that probably comes from the need to be in front of TV cameras, which add pounds. She spoke to the audience as friends, with lots of expression and gesture, and throughout the talk she was clearly enjoying herself, especially when she delivered the one-liners. The look was casual, but the presentation and packaging were not. I have seen some good speakers, and she is formidable, in way that meshes with her person, her history, her message, and her target audience.
After grudgingly admitting that “the ‘Mama Grizzly’ can work a crowd better than almost anyone else in the GOP,” Grace Wyler at Business Insider posted these as Gov. Palin’s 10 best one-liners:
Here are the 10 best lines:
1. To CPAC and partiots in the audience: “ We are not here to re-brand a party… We are here to rebuild a country!”
2. ”More background checks? Dandy idea Mr. President. Should’ve started with yours.”
3. On her husband, Todd Palin: ”He’s got the rifle, I’ve got the rack.” [Pulls out Big Gulp]
4. “Mr. President, we admit it. You won. Accept it. Now step away from the teleprompter and do your job.”
5. “We can’t just ignore, though, that we just lost a big election. Yeah. Came in second. Out of two … Second position on a dog sled team is where the view never changes and the view ain’t pretty.”
6. “We don’t have leadership coming out of Washington. We have reality television.”
7. To College Republicans: “I’m so proud of the college Republicans. But I’m a Mama so I have to say, ‘You gotta be thinkin’ Sam Adams… not drinkin’ Sam Adams’”
8. “If these experts keep losing elections, keep raking in millions, if they feel that strongly about who should run in this party they should buck up and run or stay in the truck. The architects can head on back to the Lone Star State and put their name on the ballot.” [Clearly this is a reference to Karl Rove]
9. ”The next election is 20 months away. Now is the time to furlough the consultants, and tune out the pollsters, send the focus groups home and toss the political scripts. Because if we truly know what we believe, we don’t need professionals to tell us.”
10. To Washington consultants:“Get over yourself. It’s not about you.”
10.“Barack Obama promised the most transparent administration ever. Barack Obama — you lie!”
11. To Obama: Crisis after crisis… Now step away from the teleprompter and do your job
12. Remember no drama Obama? Now it is all drama Obama!!
Today, I caught Glenn Beck on The Blaze and his excellent showcasing of Obama’s Common Core Standards that are now in 45 states, including my state of Idaho. Common Core is Marxism for children. It is state run propaganda and is meant to dumb down and control our little ones. It is evil and it has been a long time coming. Obama pushed it through slyly and quickly after coming into office, but I can tell you, this has been brewing since at least the 1990s.
A little background… When my children were in school in the 1990s, my husband and I requested to see the school curriculum for their school in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were refused and basically told we were too dumb to understand what the teachers were instructing our son and daughter in. The last straw came when they wanted to put my daughter in the second grade on Ritalin instead of disciplining her. I was pulled in front of four teachers and accused of not raising my daughter correctly, as well as basically being an abusive and stupid parent. I promptly told these teachers that they could pound sand and pulled our children (our son was in third grade at the time) out of school that very same day. I left the Fortune 500 and home schooled both of them till high school and in retrospect, should have kept them out even then. My children could not do the simplest of math or read when we pulled them out. I tested them and started them all over again with the ABEKA home schooling system, which at the time, cost a great deal of money. The children were tested by the state within a week of being pulled out and because they could not read or do math, the state threatened to remove our children, even though it was their damn lack of teaching that had produced this. Well, we knuckled down and by the end of the following year, both kids were excellent readers and were caught up in math. I never heard from the state again. My son went on to be a gifted software developer and although my daughter is still trying to find her way in the world, she is a talented artist and a survivor. Now on to the present matter at hand.
My friend and fellow blogger Michelle Malkin has done a set of four in-depth articles on reporting on the Common Core Standards as well as additional pieces providing more information. Her work is very well done. Before her write-ups, I would wager most parents had never heard of Common Core. There are now many teachers who are quitting and/or standing up against this Progressive travesty that is intent on corrupting our schools and students. Here are some videos explaining the Common Core Standards:
I will tell you that George Soros and the Tides Foundation along with other major Progressive organizations and the Obama Administration are behind all of this monstrosity. Gee, I’m sooo surprised. Educational policies are supposed to lie with the states, so the government coercing the states to carry the Common Core Standards violates the Constitution. The tracking database violates privacy at every turn as well. I strongly recommend you click on the links below and read what Michelle has written and fight to drive out the Common Core Standards from your state. While Obama took us from one emergency to the next, he was slipping in the back door to destroy our children who are the building blocks of the country. Get your children out of the public schools now and fight this at the state level. It is almost too late.
Many of you have expressed concern about the influence of the Common Core Standards and it's connection to Race to the Top. I am attaching a letter from Paul Horton, a history teacher at my old alma mater, The University of Chicago Laboratory School. He is also State Liaison of the Illinois Council for History Education. Mr. Horton is a serious, passionate teacher of history who teaches from history books and not textbooks. He believes that the Common Core has been corrupted by undue external influence. Mr. Horton believes that Pearson LLC and others are net beneficiaries of Common Core. Mr. Horton is demanding a full investigation of undue influence. If you agree with Mr. Horton that there should be a full investigation of Common Core simply e-mail me and I will pass your name as a joint signatory of the attached letter.
Citizens Against Corporate Collusion in Education (CACCE)
As American parents, students, educators, and concerned citizens, we are united in opposition to the agenda of those corporate, foundation, and government interests that seek to influence local district boards of education, state boards of education, state governments, governors, and the Office of the Secretary of Education. This agenda calls for standardization of national curricula in the form of the Common Core Standards mandated in the Federal initiative “Race to the Top,” data-driven assessments of students and teachers, and the creation and implementation of standardized discrete item testing to measure compliance to the Common Core Standards. The president of the College Board’s recent announcement that a new SAT will be created to measure Common Core Standards skills proficiency also alarms us. In addition, the Secretary of Education’s former press secretary has recently used the “revolving door” of public office to acquire a job with a company that is related to Pearson LLC.
We demand transparency and public accountability for decisions that are being made on the above issues without open hearings or public debate on the influence of corporate lobbying and marketing at local, state, and federal levels. We strongly suspect the existence of quid pro quo understandings between the current Secretary of Education and Bill Gates, The Bill and Melina Gates Foundation, The College Board and David Coleman, The Educational Testing Service (ETS), and Pearson Education LLC that amount to collusion between a Federal Public servant(s) and corporate interests that appear to be working together to limit competition in an open marketplace.
We therefore resolve:
1) That State Attorneys General investigate possible quid pro quo agreements between the above parties and members of state boards of education and commissioners,
2) That State Attorneys General investigate lobbying of the above parties to determine whether bribery laws have been violated,
3) That all state governments conduct investigations of the contributions of Pearson LLC, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Students First Foundation to local school board elections and the elections or appointments of state education commissioners and state boards of education,
4) And that each state file a complaint with the Anti-Trust Division of the Department of Justice in Washington preliminary to discovery of evidence of possible collusion of the above parties.
5) We call for a Joint House-Senate Committee to be formed to investigate possible collusion and influence peddling between the above parties.
6) We call for the Attorney General of the United States to select an independent prosecutor to investigate the possibility of quid pro quo dealings and collusion between the parties above.
7) We understand that the Tunney Act does not apply to this case and we argue that is precisely why collusion is involved, to avoid merger or the appearance of merger that would trigger a court hearing.
8) We strongly recommend that the Special Prosecutor (6) investigate all contracts let by the Department of Education to Pearson Education LLC.
9) We strongly recommend that all State Attorneys General investigate all state contracts let by Pearson LLC.
9:05 a.m.: Rep. Steve King (R., Iowa) 9:45 a.m.: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) 10 a.m.: Dr. Ben Carson 10 a.m.: Technology panel Noon: Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska 3:45 p.m.: Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican National Committee 3:55 p.m.: David Keene, president of the National Rifle Association 5:10 p.m.: Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas)
Associated Press
Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital
Photo: Really Jesse?? - the man who helped arrange the Obama marriage and portrayed the Venezuelan president/dictator as a hero of the poor, while pushing for the nation’s rapprochement with the United States. Jesse Jackson also compared Marxist Hugo Chavez to First 15 US Presidents.
FrontPage: If on April 14th, you find yourself standing on the edge of a bridge looking down into the swift waters wondering whether you should jump or go to the White Privilege Conference at the University of Colorado… you should probably jump.
Anyone who invokes a claim of White Privilege is already a racist. Holding a conference on the topic of why some people are evil based on the color of their skin with the backing of the University of Denver and Goddard College is like a Klan rally being held at MIT. The White Privilege Conference is predictably backed by the Seattle Housing Authority, which has been going rather crazy lately. And even more predictably, most of these social justice projects are really about the money.
The theme of the White Privilege Conference is “The Color of Money: Reclaiming our Humanity.” It’s the money part that really matters because 99% of these racial social justice gimmicks are about ways to drag more money out of the government for the benefit of hucksters running social justice organizations.
There’s a reason that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton will never have to work for a living and they have a legion of imitators promising social justice at cut rate prices.
The White Privilege Conference stays true to its name by offering the next generation of radical money grabs for social justice.
That’s right. They’re guaranteed. They’re from the government. How can this go wrong?
The federal government should establish a National Investment Employment Corps offering all citizens 18 years of age and above an employment guarantee at a minimum salary of $20,000 with $10,000 in benefits, including medical coverage and retirement support. An upper bound estimate of the expense of the program can be established by putting all 15 million persons unemployed at the peak of this crisis at a mean salary of $40,000, inclusive of materials and equipment per worker, with $10,000 in benefits. The total compensation package would amount to $750 billion,
Well that’s great. Only 3/4 of a trillion a year at a time when we’re already running trillion dollar deficits each year. And we can’t afford to subsidize the guaranteed jobs at the Post Office anymore.
But what would the people at these Guaranteed Government Jobs do? Besides take money from people who actually go to work.
This could include the construction, staffing and provision of high quality preschools, computer repair, upgrade and maintenance, sanitation workers, flood and other disaster service workers in hospitals and schools, and the extension, repair and maintenance of the public transportation infrastructure
So we’re going to put 15 million people to work renovating preschools, providing disaster relief and fixing roads?
Even though Obama has spent the last four years shrieking that all our bridges are about to fall down, I really think 15 million people are a bit much for that.
With 15 million people we could build a build a bridge to China.
And at some point all the preschools will be finally renovated. The infrastructure will be in decent enough shape that the existing maintenance crews can take care of it and there won’t be a large enough disaster that 15 million people will be needed to clean up for it.
And then what will that 15 million people do?
But think of it as an investment
Furthermore, the income paid to the employees of the National Investment Employment Corps would restore tax bases at the state and municipal levels, alleviating their current budget crises
So the taxpayers will pay 3/4 of a trillion dollars to people to renovate preschools and these people will barely make enough money from the government to pay taxes on… but this will somehow restore the tax base?
I’m not sure that even Paul Krugman could get behind this math.
But if Gov.Jobs.Bankruptcy doesn’t thrill you, there’s a Baby Bond, which I would be very surprised if Obama didn’t propose in a future State of the Union address, to redistribute wealth over to minority children from birth.
We are not optimistic about the public will to directly address the racial wealth gap. Indeed, the surge in the post-racial perspective has moved the public sentiment strongly away from race specific social policies. But all is not lost. Since the distributions of white and non-white wealth are so disparate—85% of black families have wealth holdings below the median white family—wealth can be an effective non-race based instrument to eliminate racial inequality. A shift from an income based means test to a wealth based means test for transfer programs.
The Savings for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Down-payment (SEED) initiative which establishes Children’s Development Accounts (CDA) (what Manny Marable refers to as “Baby Bonds”) to create endowed trusts for children at birth.
The United Kingdom has moved beyond the demonstration stage. Beginning in 2005, every newborn in the UK receives a trust ranging from 250 to 500 pounds depending on familial resources.
Every year since 2004 the American Savings for Personal Investment Retirement and Education (ASPIRE) is introduced in congress to established universal CDAs in the U.S. (see Sherraden2009 for more details). Since the nation’s black president eschews race specific policies, perhaps a strongly amended ASPIRE bill designed to progressively distribute funds based on familial net worth can be the policy that enables him to “bind…[black America’s] grievances … to the larger aspirations of all Americans.”
We envision a “baby bond” plan of much greater scale and magnitude—progressively rising to $50,000 or $60,000 for children in families in the lowest wealth quartile and accessible once the child turns 18 years of age.
…the baby bond program would cost about $60 billion per annum
No reason this can’t work. I mean most lottery winners do well with their money. Dumping 60 grand on an 18-year-old kid whose big dream until this point was to be a rap star can’t possibly go wrong.
For anyone keeping track, we just passed 800 billion dollars in social justice spending.
And if blowing 60 billion a year, that we don’t have, so a bunch of 18 year olds can have the best summer of their lives doesn’t appeal to your deep sense of white guilt, how about attacking the axes of ability?
The White Privilege Conference journal will be taking an axe to all the axes of privilege. That includes ability. What, you didn’t know your ability was an axe, you ax?
Like the WPC, the journal is committed to examining not only white privilege and oppression, but the intersections of systems of privilege based on race, gender, sexuality, class, religion, ability, nationality, and other axes of inequality.
I want to hear about more religious privilege, but I want to hear even more about ability privilege. And if you want to learn more about why you should feel ashamed at your skin color, religion, gender, nationality, sexuality, ability to get up out of bed in the morning…
… come to the White Privilege Conference and Matrix Center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. It’s got the word Matrix in it, so it’s bound to be good.
If you don’t go, you’re racist…
No wonder our young people are so screwed up!!
University to Hold Controversial ‘White Privilege Conference’ — Watch the Event’s Stunning Promo Video:
Senator Mitch McConnell tweeted: #ObamaCare regulations - 828 pages in one day. Overall, there are nearly 20,000 pages – with many more to come… along with the photo of the document stack.
Yes, ObamaCare regulators added more than 800 -pages to an ever-growing document that will govern your healthcare. The bureaucrats’ work product now prints out to 20,000 pages — nearly eight times the length of the infamous original bill:
HotAir: That tower is already taller than Kobe Bryant, and much of the law hasn’t even gone into effect yet. According to the Government Accountability Office, Obamacare is projected to add $6.2 trillion to the nation’s long-term deficits, despite presidential assurances that it wouldn’t add a “single dime” to our red ink:
“This legislation is fully paid for, and will not add one single dime to our deficit.”
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released an edition of its so-called “beige book,” that said the 2010 healthcare law is being cited as a reason for layoffs and a slowdown in hiring. ”Employers in several Districts cited the unknown effects of the Affordable Care Act as reasons for planned layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff,” said the March 6 beige book, which examines economic conditions across various Federal Reserve districts across the country.
A former Obama adviser is now admitting that the law was never intended to be “a jobs program.” Funny, that’s not what Democrats told us while they were jamming it down our throats. I’ll leave you with Nancy Pelosi explaining how Obamacare is really all about creating millions of jobs and, er, reducing the deficit:
The Joint Committee on Taxation recently released a 96 page report on the tax provisions associated with Affordable Care Act. The report describes the 21 tax increases included in ObamaCare, totaling $1.058 trillion – a steep increase from initial assessment, according to the Tax Prof Blog. The summer 2012 estimate is nearly twice the $569 billion estimate produced at the time of the passage of the law in March 2010.
Every week on Monday morning , the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher’s Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day. This week’s question: Did Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster last week have an effect, and if so, what do you think it was?
The Noisy Room: It definitely had an effect and won Paul some points with Conservatives, as well as the Tea Party and there was certainly cred earned with Libertarians. You may be seeing the birth of a new movement in which Libertarians, Constitutional Conservatives, the Tea Party and some Democrats start to come together to stand for the Constitution and founding principles. I believe the filibuster was an indication that the Republicans have begun a journey that takes them to the same destination as the Whigs.
The filibuster was a show of resolve from what could well be a new dynamic in Conservative/Libertarian leadership.
On the other side, the great stone-faces of the ‘most transparent administration ever’ found themselves compelled to blink. From establishment RINOs such as John McCain and Lindsey Graham to the staunch Progressive Left, they in one distressed voice decried the filibuster as grand-standing. Meanwhile, in true Alinsky fashion, those such as Van Jones and Code Pink declared their ‘support’ of Rand Paul’s efforts, in what I believe, is an effort to discredit him through association.
A new Mr. Smith went to Washington, and in the tradition of Mr. Smiths, sowed consternation among the Old Guard. ‘Stand with Rand’ became the clarion call in a moment of moral clarity that caused even the cynical to turn their gaze toward the Ten-Mile-Square and consider — if only for a moment (or maybe thirteen hours) — that there may yet be noble causes and noble men to carry their standard.
It may only be one domino. But that’s what it takes. The cascade? That comes later and nothing can stop it. The Senator from Kentucky has everyone’s attention. For real leadership, that’s the first requirement. The New Guard of the Tea Party has begun to fight.
The Independent Sentinel: Rand Paul’s filibuster got the attention of the public and perhaps they will start thinking about how our constitutional rights are being compromised by this administration.
The drone program certainly needs some guidelines on privacy rights.
I don’t agree with everything that Rand Paul says but for me it was exhilarating to see an honest politician having the courage to stand up for his beliefs for almost 13 hours! For a moment, I thought the Grand Ole Party was back. Establishment Republicans missed a real opportunity.
I think McCain and Graham felt upstaged by a sincere man who was not trying to upstage them. They, on the other hand, were trying to make political hay.
Here we have the president using sequester against Republicans, shutting down the White House tours, cutting off tuition assistance to our military, etc. and Graham and McCain partake in a 20-car motorcade and fancy dinner with him. It’s a disgrace.
Lindsey Graham should concentrate on Benghazi, McCain should focus on our military, and they should both leave the Constitution to Rand Paul.
The Razor: Paul’s filibuster as energized the libertarian base of the GOP. Krauthammer calls it a “stroke of genius” and says the event will launch his national persona. Even limousine liberal John Cusack tweeted “where are the democrats? Where are the progressives?” As Paul was filibustering, the GOP guard was dining with Obama – proving that the Old Guard really has no sense of timing. And the near hysteria that followed by the likes of John McCain only shows how out of touch they are with the grassroots.
Right now I’m expecting a 2016 contest between Christy and Paul. Both have completely different visions; Christy is a liberal that will pull from the Left while Rand is a saner version of his old man. At this point I’d be happy with either one of them but for different reasons.
Ask Marion: Although I did not officially participate this week, I must say that my opinions, and post if I had participated, would be very much in line with my buddy, Terresa at the Noisy Room. Though this filibuster we saw the first strong challenges against the status quo, the Obama administration and the Old Guard of the Republican Party.
Well, there you have it.
Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning. It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it.
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Mark E. Kelly, husband of Gabby Giffords, was recently sited purchasing an AR-15… that’s right, an ‘assault weapon’ (that nobody needs) per the administration. Normally people would say, “So what?!? Good for him! Patriotic and sensible since they know the price of not being able to defend yourself, being in a gun-free zone or just normal for Arizona.
Because the thing is that they were not always pro-gun control, let alone gun confiscation. Let us remember that: Representative Giffords and her husband Mark E. Kelly were strong second amendment, pro-gun advocates as well as a gun owners even after she was shot, until they were co-opted by the cause! In an interview soon after the tragic shooting of his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, former astronaut Mike Kelly said he was not in favor of new or strictor gun legislation that would restrict the second amendment. They were very much in step with the parents of the 9-year-old (youngest victim) of the same shooting spree.
The problem is that now that this information has been leaked, it leaves Mr. Kelly in a tough spot requiring either a little truthfulness or a lot of back peddling. Seems Mike might have chosen to swim?
Mark E. Kelly, gun-control proponent and husband to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, recently purchased an AR-15 (an "assault weapon," he called it) —which he now says he intended as an illustration of the need for more stringent gun laws.
Photo: Captain Mark Kelly/Facebook
Kelly reportedly bought the AR-15 and a 1911-style semi-automatic pistol at a gun store in Tucson, Arizona.
Breitbart News received a tip on this when Neil McCabe, editor of Guns & Patriots newsletter, contacted us on March 7 and said:
Mark E. Kelly, made purchases which included an AR-15–sometimes described as an "assault rifle"–at 3:30 pm on the afternoon of March 5 at Diamondback Police Supply, 170 S. Kolb Street, Tucson, AZ.
According to McCabe, witnesses to the purchases claimed Kelly purchased "high capacity" magazines as well.
On March 6, McCabe contacted Kelly’s gun control group – "Americans for Responsible Solutions"–and on March 8 they replied that his message had been passed on to colleagues who handle press requests. Breitbart News then began investigating the details surrounding the purchase, including visiting the gun store.
Suddenly, Kelly announced on his Facebook page that he was not going to keep the AR-15, which he has yet to pick up from the store.
Days after making the purchases, Kelly wrote on Facebook:
I just had a background check a few days ago when I went to my local gun store to buy a .45. As I was leaving, I noticed a used AR-15. Bought that too. Even to buy an assault weapon, the background check only takes a matter of minutes. I don’t have possession of it yet but I’ll be turning it over to the Tucson PD when I do.
Testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee Jan. 30, Kelly had urged senators to restrict sales firearms based on their lethality–a common refrain with other witnesses that day, who argued that semi-automatic weapons, which chamber subsequent rounds as bullets are fired, and other guns with military-style features level the playing field against law enforcement.
Kelly and Giffords founded their own advocacy group to restrict gun rights, Americans for Responsible Solutions, in January. On its website, ARS wrote: “High capacity magazines are a deadly factor in gun violence.” A 30-round magazine is considered a high-capacity magazine.
The ARS website says: “Congress should act to limit the sale of high capacity magazines, which are not needed for hunting or self-defense, but have proven very lethal.”
Similarly, the ARS website says: “Congress should act to limit the sale of assault weapons.
In February, Kelly told Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace that lawmakers need to address "assault weapons." He said the purpose of an "assault weapon" is "to kill a lot of people very quickly," and he lamented that such products were "too readily available."
Kelly has not commented on whether he will also return the .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol he purchased.
Yeah sure and why would buying one be difficult for him… it’s not like he has a criminal record, isn’t a high profile liberal and has been diagnosed with a mental illness lately… though liberalism should be defined as a mental illness in the DSM.
Tucson, Arizona Quietly Placed Under Martial Law? - Hmmm… Arizona, wonder if there is a connection? And let us remember that: Representative Giffords and her husband Mark E. Kelly were strong second amendment, pro-gun advocate as well as a gun owners even after she was shot, until they were co-opted by the cause!
thecommunists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
Then they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.
Then they came for the trade unionists, I did not protest; I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, I did not protest; I was a Protestant.
Then they came for the Jews, I did not speak out; I was not a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.
Election 2014 - What Is Really At Stake
Help Stop Voter Fraud!! Stand for the Constitution and God
Time to remember that: "We Surround Them", not the other way!
Stand Up Against Voter Fraud... Demand Re-Counts and Verification Until It is Right!! A Little Ink Goes a Long Way Toward Honesty... 1 Person 1 Vote... No More Mickey Mouse or Dead People Voting
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about IT! --Albert Einstein
Call Congress Today and Tell Them To Vote Against Cap and Trade
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Thanks for calling the Congressional switchboard. Keep up the pressure: "NO on Cap and Trade"!!! "NO Vote on Obamacare", NO on another Stimulus Bill, NO to the never ending parade of "Power Grab Bills", and ABSOLUTELY NO on the Climate Change Treaty in Copenhagen!!
"No" on Cap and Trade and "No" on Government Controlled Healthcare!!! And Keep up the good fight! Keep up the Pressure on both the House and Senate! These are 2-fights the American People cannot afford to lose!!!
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"...there comes a time, ladies and gentlemen, when ideology can cause death. I am so tired, so tired, of zealots, primarily on the left, putting their insane personal agendas above the safety of fellow Americans. Do you think the brave soldiers and Marines operating in dangerous areas right now want [unreleased photos of alleged abuse of prisoners] all over al-Jazeera and the terror websites? So let's look out for the military, OK? Nancy Pelosi has an obligation to get the loons in her party under control. If the Speaker can't do that, she doesn't deserve her position." ... Bill O'Reilly
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![mark-kelly-gun-store[1]](http://askmarion.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/mark-kelly-gun-store1.jpg "mark-kelly-gun-store[1]")
