Via Looking in the Mirror
The former head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) unit tracking terror leader Osama bin Laden, Michael Scheuer (left), endorsed Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas for President in 2012, days before the Iowa caucus. He argued, among other points, that the top-tier GOP hopeful is the best candidate to protect America from violent Islamic extremism. In a column entitled "Iowa’s Choice: Dr. Paul or U.S. bankruptcy, more wars, and many more dead soldiers and Marines" published on his website over the weekend, Scheuer said voting for any candidate other than Paul would help inflict further damage on an already-wounded America. It would also contribute toward the continuation of a foreign policy that will ensure total national bankruptcy, noted the 22-year intelligence-community veteran, who now serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Peace and Security Studies.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Why the English Language is So Hard to Master
This is good. I waded through it and so shall Dixie tomorrow for homeschool.:) Good luck!
The Poke
Verbatim Post
The Poke
Verbatim Post
If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world.
After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he’d prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud.
Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Fe0ffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!
English Pronunciation by G. Nolst Trenité
NC Patriots of ’61: Private J.T. Prickett, Granville Stars
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial
www.ncwbts150.com
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial Commission"
J.T. Prickett enlisted as private in the “Granville Stars” at age 21, on 17 June 1861. He and his local compatriots mustered in at Oak Hill for 12 months, and additional recruits were sworn in at Garysburg in Northampton County. The Granville Stars initially became part of the 13th Regiment, North Carolina Troops, and later Company I, 23rd North Carolina Troops. Private Prickett’s unit was sent by rail to Manassas for the July 21 battle in Virginia, but was not engaged due to train delays. Placed under Colonel Jubal Early’s command, they were brigaded with the 5th and 21st Regiments, North Carolina Troops and the 24th Virginia.
Camp illness struck down many of the soldiers in these units and kept them idle. Private Prickett and his 13th was moved to Fairfax Station in early August – then to Union Mills in September for picket duty. It was here in mid-November that the unit designation was officially changed to the 23rd Regiment, North Carolina Troops.
Private J.T. Prickett died on 14 December 1861, exact cause of death was not reported but probably as a result of the many camp diseases – he was one of over 20,600 North Carolinians who would perish from disease during this war for independence.
(Source: Confederate Images, C.E. Avery, Confederate Veteran Magazine, July/August 2003, page 14)
www.ncwbts150.com
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial Commission"
J.T. Prickett enlisted as private in the “Granville Stars” at age 21, on 17 June 1861. He and his local compatriots mustered in at Oak Hill for 12 months, and additional recruits were sworn in at Garysburg in Northampton County. The Granville Stars initially became part of the 13th Regiment, North Carolina Troops, and later Company I, 23rd North Carolina Troops. Private Prickett’s unit was sent by rail to Manassas for the July 21 battle in Virginia, but was not engaged due to train delays. Placed under Colonel Jubal Early’s command, they were brigaded with the 5th and 21st Regiments, North Carolina Troops and the 24th Virginia.
Camp illness struck down many of the soldiers in these units and kept them idle. Private Prickett and his 13th was moved to Fairfax Station in early August – then to Union Mills in September for picket duty. It was here in mid-November that the unit designation was officially changed to the 23rd Regiment, North Carolina Troops.
Private J.T. Prickett died on 14 December 1861, exact cause of death was not reported but probably as a result of the many camp diseases – he was one of over 20,600 North Carolinians who would perish from disease during this war for independence.
(Source: Confederate Images, C.E. Avery, Confederate Veteran Magazine, July/August 2003, page 14)
NC Patriots of ’61: Private J.T. Prickett, Granville Stars
Citizen Attacks Cop On Youtube Video
What's interesting is this man comes out of nowhere.
Once again, citizens are getting fed up with the CopDom crap LEO's are doing against them.
A video posted on Youtube shows a pair of Baltimore police officers struggling with a suspect before another man walks up and punches one of the officers in the face, prompting the two officers to turn their attention to him, apparently allowing the first man to go free.
One of is the officers is on his back with the second suspect on top of him when a third cop runs up and kicks him in the face, which allows them to eventually handcuff and detain him.
There is not much more information on the incident, according to The Baltimore Sun, which still hasn’t determined when the incident took place. The video was uploaded to Youtube early this morning.
One of is the officers is on his back with the second suspect on top of him when a third cop runs up and kicks him in the face, which allows them to eventually handcuff and detain him.
There is not much more information on the incident, according to The Baltimore Sun, which still hasn’t determined when the incident took place. The video was uploaded to Youtube early this morning.
Military surplus modular sleep system $99.98
2 sleeping bags: Patrol and Intermediate Cold Weather. Compression Stuff Sack and a Gore-tex Bivy Cover. You can use either bag inside the Gore-tex cover alone, or use the ICW bag inside the Patrol bag for waterproof warmth down to -40° F Entire system fits inside compression sack to cinch down to a tiny roll.
Fallbrook, CA 2001
Facebook is helpful at times as Sandy just posted this picture of Dixie in the middle that I had never seen before.
Iran’s Propaganda Exposed by Experts as False
Verbatim Post
Iran’s actions of the last several days poured more fuel into the rabid war hysteria of the war-mongers in the United States. Several things happened: Iran declared that they were closing the Ormuz Straits in response to the threat of sanctions; then the Iranian Navy declared that three missiles were launched and hit their targets successfully; and finally, a technological breakthrough in the area of nuclear fuels, a uranium rod of industrial grade produced from Iran’s own uranium deposits. Iran’s claims and threats for the last several years have been many, and they are usually met by another round of irrational war propaganda here in the US, which refuses to hear the opinions of the intelligence and foreign policy experts, both in the US and in Israel.
No one really believes that Iran will carry out their threat of closing the straits, and European leaders – usually very timid when it comes to sanctions – defied Iran’s threats and agreed to oil sanctions. A White House press secretary said in a press conference that Iran’s position is a position of weakness, and pointed to the fact that the Iranian currency dropped 20% and the Iranian people are frantically buying gold. Experts on foreign policy at The Wall Street Journal comment that Iran won’t proceed with closing the straits, first, because of the shakiness of its own economy, and second, because it will only move the US to strike at its nuclear program., and the Iranian leadership is afraid of that.
As far as the Iranian missile tests are concerned, Michael Singh, an expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says that there are clear signs that the clips and the pictures the Iranian military published online are photoshopped to look impressive. In addition to it, the bragging of Iran’s official propaganda that the “can hit any target, any time, if necessary,” is baloney: the missiles were tactical missiles with maximum range of 125 miles, which in naval engagement is considered tactical, not strategic range. The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain is now about 150 miles from Iran. There is no information if the missiles really hit the targets; experts like Singh describe Iran’s muscle-flexing as “posturing” and “gamesmanship.”
Neither is there any information whether the nuclear fuel rod was really developed by Iranian scientists. The information suspiciously comes at a time when the regime in Tehran needs some propaganda line to feed to its own population which is scared by the prospect for international sanctions. In itself, the information means nothing and it doesn’t necessarily lead to the conclusion that Iran has the capability to produce nuclear weapon. A fact that is often unknown to the general public – and concealed by our war-mongering politicians – is that industrial-grade uranium fuel can not be used as a weapon, and is not even close to be used as a weapon. The industrial-grade concentration of U-235 (the radioactive isotope of uranium, the true nuclear fuel) in U-238 (the natural, low-radioactive isotope) is supposed to be about 3-4%, maximum 9%. The technology to get to 9% from the natural concentration of 0.7% is fairly widespread. But weapon-grade uranium requires concentrations of U-235 of over 85%, preferably 90-95%, if a critical mass of U-235 is to be reached within a reasonably small warhead that can be carried by a missile. The technology to achieving such high concentration from the natural concentration of 0.7% is very expensive, and there is still no data that Iran has achieved it. And even if Iran has a nuclear weapon, all the foreign policy and intelligence experts – American and Israeli – agree that the threat of their cities being incinerated by an Israeli nuclear attack will force the Iranian leaders to act rationally.
None of this, of course, will change the war-mongering among the majority of the American politicians. If politicians ever learn something from history, it is that scare tactics can dumb populations down enough to make them willfully surrender their liberties. Hitler’s propaganda was based on the lie that the Jews were out to destroy Germany; the Communist propaganda was based on the lie that the West is out to destroy the Soviet Union; and the American liberal and neoconservative propaganda is based on the lie that the Iranian leadership is out to destroy the United States, when intelligence data clearly shows that the Iranian regime has only one concern: its own survival. A population paralyzed by fear is an easy tool in the hands of the establishment. The experts will be ignored as long as the fear tactics works here in the US.
Flagging Lexington
Via PoP
Friday, January 13th, the Virginia Flaggers will be observing the official Lee-Jackson holiday by Flagging Lexington. We ask all Flaggers to take to the streets and sidewalks of Lexington in protest of the Flag Ban passed by Lexington City Council on September 1st, 2011. We have a suggested route to follow, slightly altered from the original proposed parade route, which now covers 2.5 miles, and passes by the homes and businesses of many of those who dishonored Lee, Jackson, and our ancestors with their prejudicial ban. We hope that many of you will follow the route in small groups, at your leisure, and as you are able on the morning/afternoon of January 13th.
Info:
suzn68@comcast.net
Friday, January 13th, the Virginia Flaggers will be observing the official Lee-Jackson holiday by Flagging Lexington. We ask all Flaggers to take to the streets and sidewalks of Lexington in protest of the Flag Ban passed by Lexington City Council on September 1st, 2011. We have a suggested route to follow, slightly altered from the original proposed parade route, which now covers 2.5 miles, and passes by the homes and businesses of many of those who dishonored Lee, Jackson, and our ancestors with their prejudicial ban. We hope that many of you will follow the route in small groups, at your leisure, and as you are able on the morning/afternoon of January 13th.
Info:
suzn68@comcast.net
Iowa Caucus Thoughts Part II: Santorum vs. Romney
Conservative Heritage Times
Verbatim Post
Verbatim Post
DanPhillips
Have you ever watched an athletic contest in which you have no particular rooting interest, but pick a team to root for anyway based on some logical reason (they are geographically closer, you have a friend who likes them, you like one particular player, etc.), but found yourself rooting at an emotional level for the other team against the team you logically decided you should support? Maybe I’m weird, but that’s what last night was like for me.
This illustrates the emotional and visceral nature of politics. People do not always vote logically as much as us wonkish types would like to believe they do. People often vote based on their gut. Yesterday my gut was talking to me.
As Walter points out, Romney is probably better on immigration although I don’t trust either Santorum or Romney on the issue. I could see Santorum doing a sentimental Catholic squish on immigration as well as I could see Romney doing a moderate squish on immigration.
Where I think Romney is likely better is foreign policy. Romney has surrounded himself with neocon advisers and his public foreign policy pronouncements are pitch perfect neoconservatism, but Romney is fundamentally a moderate in both policy and temperament. Therefore I think he is more likely to proceed with caution and carefully weigh all the political ramifications before plunging us into another war. Santorum, on the other hand, has distinguished himself for his comical alarmism.
I think foreign policy, specifically not plunging us into a disastrous war with Iran, is the most imminent issue. (I hope to distinguish between important and imminent issues in a future post.) This alone is reason enough to support Ron Paul. Paul will not plunge us into war with Iran. All the others might. Romney may be marginally less likely to do so than Santorum. So by logic I should have been rooting for Romney between the two, but emotionally I wasn’t. Emotionally I was rooting for Santorum.
Here’s why and it is mostly visceral identity politics as you will see. Every four years the Republican Party has a charade of a primary and then eventually nominates the inevitable Establishment centrist who everyone knew was going to be the nominee to begin with - George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, George W. Bush, John McCain. Why bother even having a primary except to make the Buchanan or Forbes or Thompson or Keyes (etc., etc. etc.) supporters of the world think they actually have a say in the process? This is extremely disheartening and illustrates either the power of the Establishment and/or the sheep like nature of the plurality/majority of the Republican primary electorate. Once, just once, it would be nice to see this cycle broken. Just once I would like to see some upstart beat the inevitable nominee.
I am under no delusion that Santorum somehow represents authentic conservatism vs. Romney’s Establishment centrism. If Ron Paul is not the Republican nominee, I will vote third party. But Santorum is the ”conservative” alternative to Romney according to the current distorted paradigm whether we like it or not.
Those of us on the “far right” who see ourselves as to the right of “mainstream conservatism” have two tasks on our hands. The first is to break the stranglehold of the centrist Establishment and pragmatic politics on what passes for conservative politics these days. The second is to convince those “conservatives” who see themselves as conservatives and in opposition to centrism to embrace authentic conservatism and reject the inauthentic version they currently mistakenly believe is the real thing. If Romney is the nominee we still have both tasks to accomplish. If Santorum somehow manages to get the nomination, then we have only the latter task to complete. Of course this isn’t the real world, but is my conceptual gestalt visceral way of looking at it and explains why my heart was rooting for Santorum while my head was telling me I should have been rooting for Romney.
Report: Government Vastly Overstating Immigration Enforcement
Via Don
This is remarkable. A just-released Syracuse University study indicates that the government is overstating its enforcement of the immigration laws by a staggering amount.
According to TRAC, Syracuse’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has overstated the number of immigration law violators apprehended by a 5:1 ratio. And that’s the good news. Deportations were overstated by 24:1 and detentions by 34:1.
TRAC says that ICE has represented, not only in press releases but in congressional testimony, that in 2005 it apprehended 102,034. The records it produced, however, show only 21,339. It further claimed 166,075 deportations but documented only 6,906; and said it had detained 233,417 when the paperwork shows only 6,778.
Congress Must Fix the Indefinite Detention Provision of the NDAA Law
There are two worthwhile legislative initiatives underway in Congress to counteract the unconstitutional, new detention policy included in the recently passed and signed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Read "Rep. Landry Offers Amendment to NDAA to Protect Civil Liberties" to learn about Rep. Jeff Landry's (R-La.) new bill H.R. 3676 to amend Section 1021 of the NDAA to restore all the rights of due process to American citizens.
Read "Feinstein Introduces Due Process Guarantee Act" to learn about Senator Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) new bill S. 2003 "To clarify that an authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and for other purposes." A companion bill, H.R. 3702, has been introduced in the House by Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.).
Landry's H.R. 3676 has 31 cosponsors; Feinstein's S. 2003 has 15; and Garamendi's H.R. 3702 has 29.
Send a message to your Representative and Senators, asking them to counteract the unconstitutional detention policy in the new NDAA law by passing Landry's H.R. 3676 in both the House and Senate, Garamendi's H.R. 3702 (companion bill to S. 2003) in the House, and Feinstein's S. 2003 in the Senate. Thanks.
Your friends at The John Birch Society
Read "Rep. Landry Offers Amendment to NDAA to Protect Civil Liberties" to learn about Rep. Jeff Landry's (R-La.) new bill H.R. 3676 to amend Section 1021 of the NDAA to restore all the rights of due process to American citizens.
Read "Feinstein Introduces Due Process Guarantee Act" to learn about Senator Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) new bill S. 2003 "To clarify that an authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and for other purposes." A companion bill, H.R. 3702, has been introduced in the House by Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.).
Landry's H.R. 3676 has 31 cosponsors; Feinstein's S. 2003 has 15; and Garamendi's H.R. 3702 has 29.
Send a message to your Representative and Senators, asking them to counteract the unconstitutional detention policy in the new NDAA law by passing Landry's H.R. 3676 in both the House and Senate, Garamendi's H.R. 3702 (companion bill to S. 2003) in the House, and Feinstein's S. 2003 in the Senate. Thanks.
Your friends at The John Birch Society
The world is collapsing around my ears...
View From The Porch
Verbatim Post
Verbatim Post
...but I voted for Rick Santorum, so I can't hear it.
Seriously, Iowa? Seriously? Y'all liked ol' Rearrange-the-Deck-Chairs Rick? Fantastic. We'll be living in yurts, warming our hands over dreary little fires of worthless dollar bills, sending our children to Chinese slave labor camps to pay the national debt, but at least them homos won't be able to get married. The guy with the gross name is more concerned about birth certificates and marriage licenses than stock certificates and business licenses.
In second place we have Obama with an only slightly worse tan. If you vote for Obama, you're voting for a guy who hates guns and loves socialized medicine, whereas if you vote for Romney, you're voting for a guy who loves socialized medicine and hates guns.
In third place, we have the guy who is rapidly becoming the most, if not only, palatable GOP candidate to me, which says more about the rest of the field than it does about Ron Paul. At least his campaign seems to revolve around laws he wants to see repealed rather than ones he wants to see passed. People are yelling that he wants to dismantle the federal government and pull all our troops back to a defensive posture (as though these are bad things) but we're only voting for president here, not priest-king. He's not going to be able to unilaterally do a lot of the things people are afraid he will.
A president can want a lot of stuff, but is lucky to see a tiny fraction of his wishes come true. At least I can find a tiny fraction of Ron's dreams that I wouldn't mind seeing come true myself. We've had both the Legislative and Executive branches pulling on the same end of the rope in the game of Government Growth Tug-o'-War for almost a quarter century. Why not let one guy pull on the other end for a couple years and see what happens? I doubt it'll make much of a difference, but let's at least try flapping our arms a little before we hit bottom. What can it hurt?
C'mon, y'all; let the wookie win.
Seriously, Iowa? Seriously? Y'all liked ol' Rearrange-the-Deck-Chairs Rick? Fantastic. We'll be living in yurts, warming our hands over dreary little fires of worthless dollar bills, sending our children to Chinese slave labor camps to pay the national debt, but at least them homos won't be able to get married. The guy with the gross name is more concerned about birth certificates and marriage licenses than stock certificates and business licenses.
In second place we have Obama with an only slightly worse tan. If you vote for Obama, you're voting for a guy who hates guns and loves socialized medicine, whereas if you vote for Romney, you're voting for a guy who loves socialized medicine and hates guns.
In third place, we have the guy who is rapidly becoming the most, if not only, palatable GOP candidate to me, which says more about the rest of the field than it does about Ron Paul. At least his campaign seems to revolve around laws he wants to see repealed rather than ones he wants to see passed. People are yelling that he wants to dismantle the federal government and pull all our troops back to a defensive posture (as though these are bad things) but we're only voting for president here, not priest-king. He's not going to be able to unilaterally do a lot of the things people are afraid he will.
A president can want a lot of stuff, but is lucky to see a tiny fraction of his wishes come true. At least I can find a tiny fraction of Ron's dreams that I wouldn't mind seeing come true myself. We've had both the Legislative and Executive branches pulling on the same end of the rope in the game of Government Growth Tug-o'-War for almost a quarter century. Why not let one guy pull on the other end for a couple years and see what happens? I doubt it'll make much of a difference, but let's at least try flapping our arms a little before we hit bottom. What can it hurt?
C'mon, y'all; let the wookie win.
American Holocaust: Planned Parenthood Kills 329,445 Babies In One Year Using $487.4 Million In Taxpayer Funds
This is just a ‘cleaner’ version of Hitler’s SS (Schutzstaffel) – an organization America’s leaders and their supporters use to keep their proverbial hands out of the filth, and their proverbial noses away from the stench of death.
Every 3 years America will have exterminated the same number of children – 1 million – that were exterminated during the entire Holocaust.
Let me repeat that…
‘Every 3 years America will have exterminated the same number of children that were exterminated during the entire Holocaust.’
Yet last January President Barack Hussein Obama marked the 38th anniversary of Supreme Court’s landmark decision on abortion by calling the procedure a constitutional right he’s committed to protecting.
Obama Regime Imposes Rubber-Stamping of Suspect Visa Applications
Moonbattery
Verbatim Post
Verbatim Post
At this point the Obama Regime has jettisoned even the pretense of defending our borders or acting in America’s interests. Imagine these people guarding the door through 2016:
Higher-ups within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are pressuring rank-and-file officers to rubber-stamp immigrants’ visa applications, sometimes against the officers’ will, according to a Homeland Security report and internal documents exclusively obtained by The Daily.
A 40-page report, drafted by the Office of Inspector General in September but not publicly released, details the immense pressure immigration service officers are under to approve visa applications quickly, sometimes while overlooking concerns about fraud, eligibility or security.
One-quarter of the 254 officers surveyed said they have been pressured to approve questionable cases, sometimes “against their will.”
What happens to bureaucrats who take their responsibility to uphold the law and to serve their country’s interests seriously?
At least five agency veterans seen as being too tough on applicants were either demoted, or given the choice between a demotion or a relocation from Southern California — where their families were — to San Francisco and Nebraska, according to sources and letters of reassignment provided to The Daily.
Those kind of threats have caused lower-level employees to fall in line, sources said.
“People are afraid,” said one longtime manager, who requested anonymity for fear of being fired. “Integrity only carries people so far because they’ve got to pay the rent.”
That’s how things work in authoritarian countries, where the whims and agendas of the rulers matter, and the laws on the books do not.
An obvious effect of this policy is to make it easier for future Mohamed Attas to enter the country. The actual purpose is less obviously sinister — but even more destructive.
The “fundamental transformation” of America into some totally different country isn’t about ramming through unpopular legislation like ObamaCare that could conceivably be repealed. It is about erasing America, so that it can never be reconstituted. This is why the Obama Regime is committed to ensuring that any Third Worlder who wants a visa can get one. Many never return to their native hellholes, but stay on gathering generous benefits in exchange for helping to displace the native population.
A Girl and Her Gun Give-A-Way
Via North
Two commenters have volunteer to give the winner 300 rounds also.
A Girl and Her Gun
Verbatim Post
Verbatim Post
*UPDATE* I changed the dates. There is no reason we need to wait until March for the drawing. I picked March because that was the month on the one year mark, but who cares. 30 days is plenty of time and I think there are actually a lot of good courses that take place in March, so it will run from yesterday January 3rd, 2012 to February 3, 2012 at midnight. The drawing will be on February 4, 2012.
Last month I started talking to my husband about wanting to do something positive and encouraging for the women out there that might be like me.
Women, who for whatever reason are looking for a way to help themselves.
So as we approach the one year mark of the event that literally changed my life, I have decided to have a Give-A-Way.
And it is just that, a Give_A-Way. There is nothing for you to do. You don't have to give any money to my favorite charity, or like me on FaceBook, or even let me blog about your training(although I would really love it, if you do). It is just my gift to one of you.
I have been very blessed by this community and I have been very blessed by the training and support I have received, so what better gift can I give a woman, than the gift of freedom.
The freedom that comes from knowing she can defend herself.
I think we all know that simply taking one class won't necessarily do that, but it's a start.
As I said in my last post, "Good guys don't always win, but together I think we can up the odds".
I would like to help one woman up the odds, so if you are interested keep reading...
Here are the details...
The prize:
I will pay $300 towards any reputable beginning self defense shooting course in the United States.
Who Can Enter:
Any female who is interested in taking the next step in learning how to defend herself in the event that she may need to. I would really prefer it be a new shooter that hasn't had any formal training to this point.
How To Enter:
Leave a comment specifically saying you would like to enter or email me at agirlandhergun@gmail.com subject Give-A-Way.
This will run from January 3, 2012- February 3, 2012 at midnight and must be redeemed by September 2012.
On February 4, 2012, I will put the names into a "hat" and pick one. That person will have until September 2012 to register for a class and when she does, I will send the $300 to the school/course/instructor.
It can not be redeemed for cash and can not be used for any other purpose. If the winner does not register for a course by September 2012, the prize will be forfeited and the drawing will be redone with the remaining names.
I would appreciate you're help in spreading the word. I think there in only one official entry right now, so the odds of winning are pretty darn good.
I am very excited about this and you all will be doing me a huge FAVOR, if you let me be a part of doing something positive for you!
Last month I started talking to my husband about wanting to do something positive and encouraging for the women out there that might be like me.
Women, who for whatever reason are looking for a way to help themselves.
So as we approach the one year mark of the event that literally changed my life, I have decided to have a Give-A-Way.
And it is just that, a Give_A-Way. There is nothing for you to do. You don't have to give any money to my favorite charity, or like me on FaceBook, or even let me blog about your training(although I would really love it, if you do). It is just my gift to one of you.
I have been very blessed by this community and I have been very blessed by the training and support I have received, so what better gift can I give a woman, than the gift of freedom.
The freedom that comes from knowing she can defend herself.
I think we all know that simply taking one class won't necessarily do that, but it's a start.
As I said in my last post, "Good guys don't always win, but together I think we can up the odds".
I would like to help one woman up the odds, so if you are interested keep reading...
Here are the details...
The prize:
I will pay $300 towards any reputable beginning self defense shooting course in the United States.
Who Can Enter:
Any female who is interested in taking the next step in learning how to defend herself in the event that she may need to. I would really prefer it be a new shooter that hasn't had any formal training to this point.
How To Enter:
Leave a comment specifically saying you would like to enter or email me at agirlandhergun@gmail.com subject Give-A-Way.
This will run from January 3, 2012- February 3, 2012 at midnight and must be redeemed by September 2012.
On February 4, 2012, I will put the names into a "hat" and pick one. That person will have until September 2012 to register for a class and when she does, I will send the $300 to the school/course/instructor.
It can not be redeemed for cash and can not be used for any other purpose. If the winner does not register for a course by September 2012, the prize will be forfeited and the drawing will be redone with the remaining names.
I would appreciate you're help in spreading the word. I think there in only one official entry right now, so the odds of winning are pretty darn good.
I am very excited about this and you all will be doing me a huge FAVOR, if you let me be a part of doing something positive for you!
Iowa Caucus Thoughts Regarding Ron Paul’s Finish
Conservative Heritage Times
Verbatim Post
Verbatim Post
DanPhillips
I am disappointed by Ron Paul’s third place showing. He can still do well in NH and SC, but I was hoping for a first place finish. Had the caucus been 1-2 weeks ago, Paul might have won.
Here is my suspicion of what happened. Paul’s voters likely turned out as anticipated. The problem for Paul was that I doubt very many of the late deciders went for him. The people who peeled off from Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich, etc. likely largely went to Santorum or Romney. I think the newsletter flap probably did some damage at the margins. While his core largely stayed with him, and I think charges of racism are somewhat losing their power, I suspect it made it more difficult for marginal people who were considering Paul to go that way, especially in a public caucus.
There is a constituency out there for Paul’s message, but the GOP is not a Paul party however much we might wish it was. The GOP is a militaristic, interventionist party that has non-interventionist dissidents within it. It is not a non-interventionist party. Therefore our job number one is to make the case for non-intervention and change hearts and minds.
My thoughts on Romney vs. Santorum in a separate post.
Ron Paul and other "not quite Libertopias"
Kent for Liberty
Verbatim Post
Verbatim Post
There are a lot of things that don't exactly pass muster with me, as far as true liberty goes, but which I still provisionally support anyway. For one reason or another.
The main reason is usually that I think they'd be "interesting" and upset a lot of statists. I think they'd each qualify as "monkeywrenching". I think there would even be fun involved.
1) In this list I would include a Ron Paul presidency. And, as a part of that, auditing and abolishing the Fed.
2) A rigidly enforced Constitution, where (back to the reality of the document) anything that is not specifically authorized by name or minute description for the government to do, is prohibited- and I'd whimsically add "under penalty of death", to be carried out immediately upon any government employee who advocates or endorses- or somehow attempts to enforce- the most measly unconstitutional idea. Including, particularly, Supreme Courtjesters who quibble over things that no sensible person has any doubt over the clear Constitutional meaning of. ("...shall not be infringed" being among them.) Remember that the Supreme Courtjesters are not the Constitutional "last word" on the Constitution; they usurped that power illegally.
2a) Full re-legalization of all "drugs". "Where, Mr. or Ms. Drug Warrior, does the Constitution spell out- exactly and specifically in clear unambiguous wording- that the government can prohibit people from harming themselves with self-administered chemical compounds? You can't find it? Up against the wall!" (OK, I admit, I am even against a death penalty in these cases, except as carried out by the intended victim at the time and place of the attack. But it's fun to imagine- especially after reading about so many horrible crimes against the innocent carried out by these psychotic prohibitionists!)
3) Secession of any of the formerly united States. Especially, by reason of residency, Texas. Yeah, there are a lot of things in this movement I dislike; things that are decidedly anti-liberty in nature. But I'd still prefer an end to the rapidly-growing cancer that the US government has become- we can deal with mopping up the smaller infections later.
No, none of these things is the Holy Grail. That remains Libertopia, in one form or another. But each of these things would be fun to watch in its own way.
It is too little, too late, for the nation
Vox Popoli
Verbatim Post
While it is disappointing that nearly 80 percent of Iowa Republicans support the status quo, it is not at all surprising and the strength of Ron Paul's showing indicates there is a growing understanding among the electorate that the present political structure, dominated as it is by the two factions of the Bank Party, is going to fail. This is why Ron Paul must run as a third-party candidate in the general election, to give Americans the genuine choice between the national interest and the Bank Party they will be otherwise denied. Rand Paul's assessment is completely wrong, as the Tea Party will remain toothless so long as it remains in the Republican Party and is subject to being used by the Red Party faction. The continued increase in federal spending and federal debt despite more than 100 new Republican House members, the majority of whom voted to increase the debt limit, suffices to prove that.
Unlike most Americans, Iowans were given a genuine choice. They decided to support the status quo. So, shed no tears for them when they suffer the consequences of their decision. Have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who supports the likes of Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Barack Obama, then complains about losing their job, not keeping up with the interest payments on their debts, having their house foreclosed, losing their pension, or being victimized by an immigrant. All of those things are the predictable result of the continuation of the status quo, which they materially support.
That may sound bitter, but it's truly not. I pronounced the casting of the die several years ago I certainly didn't expect Ron Paul to win enough caucus support to reach double digits. But barring some extraordinary events in the next three months causing a great awakening among primary-voting Republicans, it is too little, too late, for the nation.
Verbatim Post
Iowa Republicans prefer the status quo
30,015 Mitt Romney
30,007 Rick Santorum
26,219 Ron Paul
30,007 Rick Santorum
26,219 Ron Paul
While it is disappointing that nearly 80 percent of Iowa Republicans support the status quo, it is not at all surprising and the strength of Ron Paul's showing indicates there is a growing understanding among the electorate that the present political structure, dominated as it is by the two factions of the Bank Party, is going to fail. This is why Ron Paul must run as a third-party candidate in the general election, to give Americans the genuine choice between the national interest and the Bank Party they will be otherwise denied. Rand Paul's assessment is completely wrong, as the Tea Party will remain toothless so long as it remains in the Republican Party and is subject to being used by the Red Party faction. The continued increase in federal spending and federal debt despite more than 100 new Republican House members, the majority of whom voted to increase the debt limit, suffices to prove that.
Unlike most Americans, Iowans were given a genuine choice. They decided to support the status quo. So, shed no tears for them when they suffer the consequences of their decision. Have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who supports the likes of Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Barack Obama, then complains about losing their job, not keeping up with the interest payments on their debts, having their house foreclosed, losing their pension, or being victimized by an immigrant. All of those things are the predictable result of the continuation of the status quo, which they materially support.
That may sound bitter, but it's truly not. I pronounced the casting of the die several years ago I certainly didn't expect Ron Paul to win enough caucus support to reach double digits. But barring some extraordinary events in the next three months causing a great awakening among primary-voting Republicans, it is too little, too late, for the nation.
Okla. Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder: 911 Operators Say It's Okay to Shoot
A young Oklahoma mother shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby on New Year's Eve, less than a week after the baby's father died of cancer.
Sarah McKinley says that a week earlier a man named Justin Martin dropped by on the day of her husband's funeral, claiming that he was a neighbor who wanted to say hello. The 18-year-old Oklahoma City area woman did not let him into her home that day.
On New Year's Eve Martin returned with another man, Dustin Stewart, and this time was armed with a 12-inch hunting knife. The two soon began trying to break into McKinley's home.
As one of the men was going from door to door outside her home trying to gain entry, McKinley called 911 and grabbed her 12-gauge shotgun.
McKinley told ABC News Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO that she quickly got her 12 gauge, went into her bedroom and got a pistol, put the bottle in the baby's mouth and called 911.
"I've got two guns in my hand -- is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door?" the young mother asked the 911 dispatcher. "I'm here by myself with my infant baby, can I please get a dispatcher out here immediately?"
The 911 dispatcher confirmed with McKinley that the doors to her home were locked as she asked again if it was okay to shoot the intruder if he were to come through her door.
"I can't tell you that you can do that but you do what you have to do to protect your baby," the dispatcher told her. McKinley was on the phone with 911 for a total of 21 minutes.
When Martin kicked in the door and came after her with the knife, the teen mom shot and killed the 24-year-old. Police are calling the shooting justified.
Video:Impeach Obama Banner Flies Over the Rose Parade,Next Stop:Super Bowl
As promised,two patriotic groups flew an “Impeach Obama”banner over the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day. The Impeach Obama Tea Party and Stop Obama Now – San Diego flew a banner,with 12-feet-tall letters,over the parade and surrounding highways during the well-attended annual event. Roger Ogden,the primary organizer behind the flights,e-mailed this author that FAA regulations limited visibility over the parade itself but the banner was heavily visible outside the immediate parade route.
The groups raised more than $2,500 in contributions from all around the country to fly the banner.
Because of this author’s coverage,the groups listed the ImpeachObamaCampaign.com,with WND.com and the “America Betrayed”radio program,in its acknowledgements.
Ron Paul May Have Secretly Won The Iowa Caucuses
Ron Paul may have officially come in third tonight, but if the campaign's caucus strategy went off as planned, then Paul may actually be the real winner of the first Republican voting contest.
That's because Paul's massive organizational push in Iowa focused on both winning votes, and also on making sure that Paul supporters stuck around after the vote to make sure they were selected as county delegates — the first step towards being elected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
That's because Iowa's Republican caucuses are non-binding — they are technically just a straw poll, so once selected, delegates are free to vote for whichever presidential candidate they choose.
"Part of what we've been training the Ron Paul people to do is not to leave after the vote," Dan Godzich, a senior campaign advisor, told BI. "Stay and get elected to the conventions and get us those delegates."
Godzich and Sydney Hay, another Paul advisor, crisscrossed Iowa in the weeks leading up to the caucuses, making sure precinct leaders knew what to do and organizing slates of delegates that would ensure Paul walked away with a strong majority, even if he lost the caucus' straw poll vote.
DON’T TAKE NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS OFF THE MEXICAN BORDER
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Will Ron Paul Destroy the 'Party of Lincoln'?
Via Bazz
Excerpt: Former Bush administration speechwriter Michael Gerson, who is now a columnist for the company newspaper of the company town known as Washington, D.C., recently authored yet another hysterical neocon rant over the Ron Paul candidacy. Ron Paul is on a "quest to undo the Party of Lincoln," blared Gerson’s headline. Every freedom-loving, patriotic American can only hope and pray that Ron Paul succeeds...............
One thing that Gerson gets right is that Ron Paul’s conception of liberty, based on the above-mentioned literature, is indeed very different from those of Lincoln’s. Lincoln probably never even read The Federalist Papers; his personal library consisted almost entirely of books on rhetoric and speech making and political strategy. He was a champion of central banking, protectionist tariffs, and corporate welfare, all for the benefit of the Northern business elite that financed his career and his party at the expense of the rest of the public. He was willing to wage total war on his own citizens for the benefit of his own political benefactors. He was a machine politician who would make today’s Chicago politicians look like so many Mother Theresas by comparison. He deplored constitutional limitations on his own dictatorial powers, and waged war on his own countrymen for refusing to have their federal taxes doubled. Read Lincoln’s first inaugural address for yourself.
If Ron Paul succeeds in his "quest to undo the Party of Lincoln" it would be the greatest advance in freedom for Americans since the ending of slavery by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1866.
Excerpt: Former Bush administration speechwriter Michael Gerson, who is now a columnist for the company newspaper of the company town known as Washington, D.C., recently authored yet another hysterical neocon rant over the Ron Paul candidacy. Ron Paul is on a "quest to undo the Party of Lincoln," blared Gerson’s headline. Every freedom-loving, patriotic American can only hope and pray that Ron Paul succeeds...............
One thing that Gerson gets right is that Ron Paul’s conception of liberty, based on the above-mentioned literature, is indeed very different from those of Lincoln’s. Lincoln probably never even read The Federalist Papers; his personal library consisted almost entirely of books on rhetoric and speech making and political strategy. He was a champion of central banking, protectionist tariffs, and corporate welfare, all for the benefit of the Northern business elite that financed his career and his party at the expense of the rest of the public. He was willing to wage total war on his own citizens for the benefit of his own political benefactors. He was a machine politician who would make today’s Chicago politicians look like so many Mother Theresas by comparison. He deplored constitutional limitations on his own dictatorial powers, and waged war on his own countrymen for refusing to have their federal taxes doubled. Read Lincoln’s first inaugural address for yourself.
If Ron Paul succeeds in his "quest to undo the Party of Lincoln" it would be the greatest advance in freedom for Americans since the ending of slavery by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1866.
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