Democrats Voting Record on H.R. 3590

 Here’s how the Democrats voted on H.R. 3590, the Health Care Bill.  See if your Representative needs a plane ticket home, permanently.

NAME STATE – DISTRICT VOTE Ackerman, Gary New York-5 Y Andrews, Rob New Jersey-1 Y Baca, Joe California-43 Y Baird, Brian Washington-3 Y Baldwin, Tammy Wisconsin-2 Y Bean, Melissa Illinois-8 Y Becerra, Xavier California-31 Y Berkley, Shelley Nevada-1 Y Berman, Howard California-28 Y Bishop, Sanford Georgia-2 Y Bishop, Tim New York-1 Y Blumenauer, Earl Oregon-3 Y Boccieri, John Ohio-16 Y Boswell, Leonard Iowa-3 Y Boyd, Allen Florida-2 Y Brady, Bob Pennsylvania-1 Y Braley, Bruce Iowa-1 Y Brown, Corrine Florida-3 Y Butterfield, G. K. North Carolina-1 Y Capps, Lois California-23 Y Capuano, Mike Massachusetts-8 Y Cardoza, Dennis California-18 Y Carnahan, Russ Missouri-3 Y Carney, Chris Pennsylvania-10 Y Carson, André Indiana-7 Y Castor, Kathy Florida-11 Y Chu, Judy California-32 Y Clarke, Yvette New York-11 Y Cleaver, Emanuel Missouri-5 Y Clyburn, Jim South Carolina-6 Y Cohen, Steve Tennessee-9 Y Connolly, Gerry Virginia-11 Y Conyers, John Michigan-14 Y Cooper, Jim Tennessee-5 Y Costa, Jim California-20 Y Costello, Jerry Illinois-12 Y Courtney, Joe Connecticut-2 Y Crowley, Joseph New York-7 Y Cuellar, Henry Texas-28 Y Cummings, Elijah Maryland-7 Y Davis, Danny Illinois-7 Y Davis, Susan California-53 Y DeFazio, Peter Oregon-4 Y DeGette, Diana Colorado-1 Y Delahunt, Bill Massachusetts-10 Y DeLauro, Rosa Connecticut-3 Y Dicks, Norm Washington-6 Y Dingell, John Michigan-15 Y Doggett, Lloyd Texas-25 Y Donnelly, Joe Indiana-2 Y Doyle, Mike Pennsylvania-14 Y Driehaus, Steve Ohio-1 Y Edwards, Donna Maryland-4 Y Ellison, Keith Minnesota-5 Y Ellsworth, Brad Indiana-8 Y Engel, Eliot New York-17 Y Eshoo, Anna California-14 Y Etheridge, Bob North Carolina-2 Y Farr, Sam California-17 Y Fattah, Chaka Pennsylvania-2 Y Filner, Bob California-51 Y Foster, Bill Illinois-14 Y Frank, Barney Massachusetts-4 Y Fudge, Marcia Ohio-11 Y Garamendi, John California-10 Y Giffords, Gabrielle Arizona-8 Y Gonzalez, Charlie Texas-20 Y Gordon, Bart Tennessee-6 Y Grayson, Alan Florida-8 Y Green, Al Texas-9 Y Green, Gene Texas-29 Y Grijalva, Raúl Arizona-7 Y Gutiérrez, Luis Illinois-4 Y Hall, John New York-19 Y Halvorson, Debbie Illinois-11 Y Hare, Phil Illinois-17 Y Harman, Jane California-36 Y Hastings, Alcee Florida-23 Y Heinrich, Martin New Mexico-1 Y Higgins, Brian New York-27 Y Hill, Baron Indiana-9 Y Himes, Jim Connecticut-4 Y Hinchey, Maurice New York-22 Y Hinojosa, Rubén Texas-15 Y Hirono, Mazie Hawaii-2 Y Hodes, Paul New Hampshire-2 Y Hollen, Chris Van Maryland-8 Y Holt Jr., Rush New Jersey-12 Y Honda, Mike California-15 Y Hoyer, Steny Maryland-5 Y Inslee, Jay Washington-1 Y Israel, Steve New York-2 Y Jackson Jr., Jesse Illinois-2 Y Jackson-Lee, Sheila Texas-18 Y Johnson, Eddie Bernice Texas-30 Y Johnson, Hank Georgia-4 Y Kagen, Steve Wisconsin-8 Y Kanjorski, Paul Pennsylvania-11 Y Kaptur, Marcy Ohio-9 Y Kennedy, Patrick Rhode Island-1 Y Kildee, Dale Michigan-5 Y Kilpatrick, Carolyn Cheeks Michigan-13 Y Kilroy, Mary Jo Ohio-15 Y Kind, Ron Wisconsin-3 Y Kirkpatrick, Ann Arizona-1 Y Klein, Ron Florida-22 Y Kosmas, Suzanne Florida-24 Y Kucinich, Dennis Ohio-10 Y Langevin, Jim Rhode Island-2 Y Larsen, Rick Washington-2 Y Larson, John B. Connecticut-1 Y Lee, Barbara California-9 Y Levin, Sander Michigan-12 Y Lewis, John Georgia-5 Y Loebsack, David Iowa-2 Y Lofgren, Zoe California-16 Y Lowey, Nita New York-18 Y Luján, Ben R. New Mexico-3 Y Maffei, Dan New York-25 Y Maloney, Carolyn New York-14 Y Markey, Betsy Colorado-4 Y Markey, Ed Massachusetts-7 Y Matsui, Doris California-5 Y McCarthy, Carolyn New York-4 Y McCollum, Betty Minnesota-4 Y McDermott, Jim Washington-7 Y McGovern, Jim Massachusetts-3 Y McNerney, Jerry California-11 Y Meek, Kendrick Florida-17 Y Meeks, Gregory New York-6 Y Michaud, Mike Maine-2 Y Miller, Brad North Carolina-13 Y Miller, George California-7 Y Mitchell, Harry Arizona-5 Y Mollohan, Alan West Virginia-1 Y Moore, Dennis Kansas-3 Y Moore, Gwen Wisconsin-4 Y Moran, Jim Virginia-8 Y Murphy, Chris Connecticut-5 Y Murphy, Patrick Pennsylvania-8 Y Murphy, Scott New York-20 Y Nadler, Jerrold New York-8 Y Napolitano, Grace California-38 Y Neal, Richard Massachusetts-2 Y Oberstar, Jim Minnesota-8 Y Obey, Dave Wisconsin-7 Y Olver, John Massachusetts-1 Y Ortiz, Solomon Texas-27 Y Owens, Bill New York-23 Y Pallone, Frank New Jersey-6 Y Pascrell, Bill New Jersey-8 Y Pastor, Ed Arizona-4 Y Payne, Donald New Jersey-10 Y Pelosi, Nancy California-8 Y Perlmutter, Ed Colorado-7 Y Perriello, Tom Virginia-5 Y Peters, Gary Michigan-9 Y Pingree, Chellie Maine-1 Y Polis, Jared Colorado-2 Y Pomeroy, Earl North Dakota-At Large Y Price, David North Carolina-4 Y Quigley, Mike Illinois-5 Y Rahall, Nick West Virginia-3 Y Rangel, Charles New York-15 Y Reyes, Silvestre Texas-16 Y Richardson, Laura California-37 Y Rodriguez, Ciro Texas-23 Y Rothman, Steve New Jersey-9 Y Roybal-Allard, Lucille California-34 Y Ruppersberger, Dutch Maryland-2 Y Rush, Bobby Illinois-1 Y Ryan, Tim Ohio-17 Y Salazar, John Colorado-3 Y Sanchez, Linda California-39 Y Sanchez, Loretta California-47 Y Sarbanes, John Maryland-3 Y Schakowsky, Jan Illinois-9 Y Schauer, Mark Michigan-7 Y Schiff, Adam California-29 Y Schrader, Kurt Oregon-5 Y Schwartz, Allyson Pennsylvania-13 Y Scott, David Georgia-13 Y Scott, Robert Virginia-3 Y Serrano, José New York-16 Y Sestak, Joe Pennsylvania-7 Y Shea-Porter, Carol New Hampshire-1 Y Sherman, Brad California-27 Y Sires, Albio New Jersey-13 Y Slaughter, Louise New York-28 Y Smith, Adam Washington-9 Y Snyder, Vic Arkansas-2 Y Speier, Jackie California-12 Y Spratt, John South Carolina-5 Y Stark, Pete California-13 Y Stupak, Bart Michigan-1 Y Sutton, Betty Ohio-13 Y Thompson, Bennie Mississippi-2 Y Thompson, Mike California-1 Y Tierney, John Massachusetts-6 Y Titus, Dina Nevada-3 Y Tonko, Paul New York-21 Y Towns, Ed New York-10 Y Tsongas, Niki Massachusetts-5 Y Velázquez, Nydia New York-12 Y Visclosky, Pete Indiana-1 Y Walz, Tim Minnesota-1 Y Wasserman Schultz, Debbie Florida-20 Y Waters, Maxine California-35 Y Watson, Diane California-33 Y Watt, Mel North Carolina-12 Y Waxman, Henry California-30 Y Weiner, Anthony New York-9 Y Welch, Peter Vermont-At Large Y Wilson, Charlie Ohio-6 Y Woolsey, Lynn California-6 Y Wu, David Oregon-1 Y Yarmuth, John Kentucky-3 Y Adler, John New Jersey-3 N Altmire, Jason Pennsylvania-4 N Arcuri, Michael New York-24 N Barrow, John Georgia-12 N Berry, Marion Arkansas-1 N Boren, Dan Oklahoma-2 N Boucher, Rick Virginia-9 N Bright, Bobby Alabama-2 N Chandler, Ben Kentucky-6 N Childers, Travis Mississippi-1 N Davis, Artur Alabama-7 N Davis, Lincoln Tennessee-4 N Edwards, Chet Texas-17 N Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie South Dakota-At Large N Holden, Tim Pennsylvania-17 N Kissell, Larry North Carolina-8 N Kratovil, Frank Maryland-1 N Lipinski, Dan Illinois-3 N Lynch, Stephen Massachusetts-9 N Marshall, Jim Georgia-8 N Matheson, Jim Utah-2 N McIntyre, Mike North Carolina-7 N McMahon, Michael New York-13 N Melancon, Charlie Louisiana-3 N Minnick, Walt Idaho-1 N Nye, Glenn Virginia-2 N Peterson, Collin Minnesota-7 N Ross, Mike Arkansas-4 N Shuler, Heath North Carolina-11 N Skelton, Ike Missouri-4 N Space, Zack Ohio-18 N Tanner, John Tennessee-8 N Taylor, Gene Mississippi-4 N Teague, Harry New Mexico-2 N

 

[Via http://theconservativeanthem.wordpress.com]

inevitable

i like to be informed and am thus subscribed to receive breaking news texts from cnn.sometimes they’re really dumb, like tiger woods is returning to golf (i don’t care) and sometimes they’re ruhl important like the one i got one last night about the health care debate (which was just the headline on cnn i’d already read). a minute ago i got one saying that google is staying in china, but will no longer censor chinese searches, redirecting users to its hong kong servers. i read an old article about this over the weekend for gov homework, then read an article about this two days ago (also on cnn. i also read bbc, cbc, and occasionally the new york times). google decided that they will not censor information in totalitarian governments, but will comply to censorship demands of democratic nations (eg france). to conclude, the chinese government is scary and i don’t really want to go there ever (although they would appreciate my porcelain skin. thanks jersey shore). and i hope ryan doesn’t censure future blogs (oh wait, he already censuredmelissa lulz) and i hope youtube doesn’t remove this video for copyright infringement because it is the best song eva. freedom of speech is awesome (ryan), hopefully this healthcare thing will be awesome, too!

i went to washington and all i got was this lousy picture with barack and michelle(’s wax dolls)!

[Via http://ryanexplainsitall.wordpress.com]

Sports is an escape - vs - Obama's ego

Right now the world is pretty tough.  Wars. High unemployment.  Bad economy.  Major government and political decisions (like health care reform) being made behind closed doors which is creating a feeling of helplessness in the US.  Promises being broken to the citizens of the US (such as transparency).

How do we escape this madness for a few minutes?

Some of us watch sports. Turn on ESPN. Watch a game.

The problem now is Obama is now invading that arena also.   I agree with him on some topics. I disagree with him on other topics.  I resent when he has to stick his nose into sports. He has done it many times. He inserted himself into a broadcast of a Jets game in September.  He fills out an NCAA Hoops bracket. Millions of people do it. Who cares?

Please cut it out.  Please work on the country’s problems.  But please give us somewhere to have a little peace and not think about politics and the economy.

* * * * * * *

Bob (below) is extreme but he has a point…

[Via http://topofthethread.wordpress.com]

Psalm 2010

A fellow patriot posted this on one of the Facebook pages we administer and we received permission to pass it along. Enjoy!

Psalm 2010

PSALM 2010

Obama is the shepherd I did not want.
He leadeth me beside the still factories.
He restoreth my faith in the Republican party.
He guideth me in the path of unemployment for his party’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the bread line,
I shall fear no hunger, for his bailouts are with me.
He has anointed my income with taxes,
My expenses runneth over.

Surely, poverty and hard living will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will live in a mortgaged home forever.

I am glad I am American,
I am glad that I am free.
But I wish I was a dog …..
And Obama was a tree.

[Via http://americayouaskedforit.wordpress.com]

Daily Caller reports Deem and Pass / 'Slaughter Solution' Dead on Arrival

As is should be:

BREAKING 2:42 p.m. – Democrats will scrap the ‘deem-and-pass’ / ‘Slaughter solution’ and will hold separate votes on health care reform, according to a democratic aide.

via Live updates from Capitol Hill in the race to reform | The Daily Caller – Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment.

[Via http://punditpawn.wordpress.com]

:Weekly articles

Libertarians drive ACORN out of Ohio http://news.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100311/NEWS0108/303100107/ACORN-leaving-Ohio-under-settlement

A very good article from a Polish source, the thesis of which is "ideas matter." http://www.obserwatorfinansowy.pl/2010/03/13/businessman-and-the-war-of-ideas/?k=lawrence-reed

Seven minute educational VIDEO on that pervasive evil known as "earmarking."

This very good article on State’s rights, which surprisingly was published in the New York Times, was forwarded to me (thanks Bruce) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/us/17states.html?emc=eta1

ECONOMICS / BUSINESS
The stimulus scam has been going on for a very long time, not just since last winter http://mises.org/daily/4158

It begins now, the implosion of the giant government ponzi scheme know as Social Security.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SOCIAL_SECURITY_IOUS?SITE=NEYOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Are the Chinese less of a direct economic threat to the U.S. than many of us believe. http://www.thedailybell.com/890/Trade-War-China-Versus-the-West.html

Former Clinton Labor Secretary, sometimes economist and most often leftist-wacko actually
makes some sense (ignore all the inferences to "class warfare") http://moneynews.com/StreetTalk/Reich-Economic-Recovery-Sham/2010/03/18/id/353148

AM I CONFUSED OF IS BERNANKE ADVOCATING THE COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF THE FED’S RESERVE REQUIREMENT? http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/testimony/bernanke20100210a.htm#fn9

OBAMACARE
ObamaCare could be bad in a lot of ways http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2010/03/19/mad-money-cramer-health-care-passage-will-topple-stock-market

Here come the "Health Care Wars?" http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704743404575127540906168462.html?mod=rss_opinion_main

There seems to be an implicit promise that Dem House members who lose their seats this fall, because they vote for ObamaCare now, will get sweet-heart appointments to Federal posts. Sen. Coburn say, "No you won’t!" http://www.redstate.com/jrichardson/2010/03/18/coburn-promises-to-hold-future-nominations-of-ex-house-democrats/

CLIMATE CHANGE
International Panel on Climate Change publically regrets including untrue, non-peer reviewed claims by WWF on the Amazon Rain Forest in in it’s report. (Similar to the regret for including incorrect data on Himalayan glacier melt). http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/12/ipcc_rainforest_rubbish_coup_de_grace/

Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) calls it like it is. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34443.html

When to doubt a "scientific consensus" on anything. (Climate Change related article) http://www.american.com/archive/2010/march/when-to-doubt-a-scientific-consensus
….Global Warming going to court http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/global_warming_on_trial.html

[Via http://freemadd.wordpress.com]

Foto Obama Bermain Dengan Anak Menteng 40 Tahun Silam

Seperti kita ketahui beberapa hari lagi Presiden Amerika Serikat Barrack Hussein Obama bakal berkunjung ke-Indonesia dalam rangkaian lawatannya ke beberapa negara di Asia Pasifik. Sesuai dengan rencana yang sempat tertunda, akhirnya Obama akan ke Indonesia Tanggal 23-25 Maret mendatang.

Sosok kecil Obama yang lebih dikenal dengan panggilan Barry ketika bermain-main dengan teman kecilnya di Menteng saat pesta ulang tahun rekan sekelasnya

Siapa yang bakal kira dan sangka sosok foto anak kecil yang sedang bermain main di Menteng (seperti foto diatas) bakal menjadi pemimpin salah satu pemimpin dunia?
Beberapa hari sebelum kedatangan “Barry Soetoro” panggilan akrab Obama semasa di Menteng Jakarta 40 tahun silam seorang sahabat lama Presiden Amerika Serikat tersebut yaitu Hadi Surya Dharma yang masih menyimpan foto kenangan masa lalu Obama di Indonesia memberikan foto Obama Kecil kepada media masa asing yaitu AP (Associated Press) dalam gambar hitam putih.

Sosok kecil Obama yang lebih dikenal dengan panggilan Barry ketika bermain-main dengan teman kecilnya di Menteng saat pesta ulang tahun rekan sekelasnya

Seperti kita ketahui Obama lahir dari ayah Kenya dan Ibu Amerika pindah ke Indonesia saat usianya 7 tahun dan tinggal dikawasan Menteng Jakarta tepatnya di Menteng Dalam. Saat itu Obama yang lebih dikenal dengan nama Barry termasuk anak yang cerdas dan cepat menyesuaikan dengan lingkungan termasuk belajar bahasa Indonesia dengan cepat. Bahkan Barry cilik sempat mengajar bahasa Inggris bagi teman dan tetangga, ujar Coenraad Koesoemah yang membiarkan ruang depan rumahnya untuk digunakan Barry mengajar bahasa Inggris.

Sosok kecil Obama yang lebih dikenal dengan panggilan Barry ketika bermain-main dengan teman kecilnya di Menteng saat pesta ulang tahun rekan sekelasnya
Sosok kecil Obama yang lebih dikenal dengan panggilan Barry ketika bermain-main dengan teman kecilnya di Menteng saat pesta ulang tahun rekan sekelasnya
Seperti halnya anak -anak pelajar Sekolah Dasar lainnya Barry-pun sering bermain dengan rekan rekan sekolah maupun anak menteng lainnya seperti main layang-layang dan lainnya. Seperti dikutip ruanghari.com dari harian Telegraph yang memuat foto Obama kecil ini, sosoknya yang gampang bergaul menjadikan Barry menjadi salah satu murid favorit di SD Besuki, Menteng Jakarta dimana patung kecil Obama saat ini berada setelah dipindahkan dari Taman Menteng.
Welcome Back In Menteng Barry Soetoro !!

Sosok kecil Obama yang lebih dikenal dengan panggilan Barry ketika bermain-main dengan teman kecilnya di Menteng saat pesta ulang tahun rekan sekelasnya

Anak yang pernah mengenyam pendidikan di Indonesia pun bisa menjadi salah satu pemimpin negara adidaya dunia, bagaimanakah anak-anak Indonesia lainnya , akankah kita bisa menjadikan Indonesia sebagai salah satu negara adidaya di dunia?

Dirumah inilah Barry Kecil pernah tinggal

Inilah kamar tidur Berry panggilan akrab Obama saat tinggal di Jakarta selama 4 tahun 40 tahun silam

Di Sekolah Dasar (SD ) Besuki ini Barry (Obama) selama 4 tahun menuntut ilmu sebelum akhirnya kembali ke Hawaii bersama kakek dan neneknya

http://ruanghati.com/2010/03/18/foto-kecil-obama-di-menteng-indonesia/

[Via http://samudro.wordpress.com]

ObamaCare In Action. You Have Insurance, You Have No HEALTHCARE

Effective April 16, Walgreens drugstores across the state won’t take any new Medicaid patients, saying that filling their prescriptions is a money-losing proposition — the latest development in an ongoing dispute over Medicaid reimbursement.

The company, which operates 121 stores in the state, will continue filling Medicaid prescriptions for current patients.

In a news release, Walgreens said its decision to not take new Medicaid patients stemmed from a “continued reduction in reimbursement” under the state’s Medicaid program, which reimburses it at less than the break-even point for 95 percent of brand-name medications dispensed to Medicaid patents.

via Local News | Walgreens: no new Medicaid patients as of April 16 | Seattle Times Newspaper.

[Via http://aconservativeedge.com]

More Unethical, Unconstitutional Democrat Maneuvering.

The Democrat-controlled statist press trumpets that ‘more’ anti-abortion votes have been peeled off (they haven’t, they’re talking about the same two from last week and they may not stick), and changes have been made to get the pro-life Democrat holdouts back on board (that’s a lie too, nothing has been changed, they are talking about a ‘promise’ to change the language in ’sidecar’ legislation).

Rent-a-crowd inside.....

‘If wishes were fishes’ seems to be the thrust of the House Madam’s entire strategy. To show you how popular this whole thing is… Sarah Palin isn’t running for anything… she draws 20,000 people in appearance after appearance, she draws more than 4,000 people to a book signing. Barack Hussein Obama has trouble drawing 200 hand-picked union goons in a senior center in Ohio, while outside thousands of patriots protested the government takeover of health care and the unethical actions of the Democrat Congress. Obama trotted out and cited the obligatory medical sob-stories and cited the same sad case histories he’s been dragging out all year. He’s getting to sound a lot like the proverbial broken record.

....and the real crowd outside.

After a ‘rip and tear’ head count, John Batchelor and some of his associates came out with some advice on his nationally-syndicated radio show for Madame Pelosi… “get a plan B”. John echoed what most of the rest of the close observers of all things Washington have said, that despite Obama’s and Pelosi’s continuing proclamations of imminent victory, they don’t have the votes. Pelosi’s romancing the so called “deem and pass” tactic could well prove disastrous for Democrat hopes in 2010 and 2012 and may be resisted by many who are not willing to go down in flames with the leadership.

Resorting to such a tactic, which is patently unconstitutional, will throw the nation into a constitutional crisis and inflame the American people to levels never before seen.

Don’t forget to contact the Representatives on the list below by any means possible. Don’t just give up if you can’t get through on the Capitol phones. It’s a safe bet most will be shut down, on purpose if not by the sheer volume of calls. Email, fax, use snail mail, visit your local Senators’ and Representatives’ offices. Be persistent. Tell them we say NO!!

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2010

Tell key Congressmen listed below to vote no. Fax, call and even personally visit each in their offices in Washington DC:

PLEASE CALL!   DC Office   Local Office      State    District
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411 AZ 5th District
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588 AZ 8th District
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914 AZ 1st District
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 925-833-0643 CA 11th District
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107 CO 3rd District
Jim Himes (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028 CT 4th District
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757 FL 8th District
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 630-406-1114 IL 14th District
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999 IN 9th District
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075 MI 7th District
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227 MI 9th District
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 702-256-DINA (3462) NV 3rd District
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813 NH 1st District
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3868 (631) 696-6500 NY 1st District
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371 NY 19th District
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150 NY 23rd District
Mike Arcuri (202)225-3665 (315)793-8146 NY 24th District
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657 NY 25th District
Earl Pomeroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355 ND At-Large District
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723 OH 1st District
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196 OH 15th District
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300 OH 18th District
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038 PA 3rd District
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963 PA 8th District
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988 PA 10th District
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200 PA 11th District
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803)327-1114 SC 5th District
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291 VA 5th District
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422 WVA 1st District
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000 WVA 3rd District
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954 WI 8th District

[Via http://skipmaclure.wordpress.com]

2010 Political Forecast

It’s been a challenge for me to address the changing political landscape since the Massachusetts special election on January 19. I was hoping that the political tsunami that swept Obama into office and gave the Democrats big majorities in both houses would be the start of a progressive wave that would carry us forward through the 2012 time.

But the replacement of Senator Kennedy with Scott Brown in Massachusetts clearly marks a new phase of political history for our country. Most political pundits are forecasting a big resurgence of political strength for Republicans in the Congress in 2010 in both the Senate and the House.

The Tea Party movement seems to be gaining momentum and now polls well in popularity compared to either of the major political parties.

Although President Obama still enjoys about fifty percent approval ratings, he is starting to look vulnerable in 2012. Congress is caught up in unprecedented grid lock and polarization. Republicans have used filibusters to block most legislative progress in the Senate.

Welcome to the political Chaostrophe of the 2012 time.

Yet things are not as bleak as they appear. My forecast is that the Democrats will lose a net of only two Senate seats in 2010 and no more than 25 House seats. To understand how this can be, we need to understand what is fueling the regressive political tides. In spite of how it looks in March, 2010, the political chaos of 2010 is a two-edged sword with negative consequences for both Republicans as well as Democrats.

It’s understandable that the sense of rapid change that we are all experiencing in this 2012 time is not welcome to many people. There is a big divide with the Republicans and tea baggers on one side resisting change and the Democrats on the other embracing it. Independents, nonpartisan voters that make up about fifty percent of the voting population, would then be somewhere in the middle.

This political scenario seems to be a world away from the 2008 elections. In that political time, the theme was change and it brought Obama a near landslide victory plus big Democratic majorities in both Houses of Congress. It was Obama’s hope and vision versus the Bush administration’s legacy that clouded McCain’s campaign.

Once Obama came into office though and the Democrats had nominal control of Congress, the bloom soon fell off the rose. There has not been an immediate transformation of our country in a positive direction.

Obama’s team was able to pull the US, and ultimately the world, away from the brink of economic disaster through a series of governmental interventions. Yet the so-called recovery leaves no one very happy. For what we really have is a chronic recession, the Great Recession. In my reading, we are in the second year of a three year economic storm.

The world is changing at a disconcerting rate in the 2012 time and there is nothing that can really slow down the rate of change. We are a civilization in crisis. And as in all crises involving human beings, the options are acting out against others or ourselves, trying to turn back the clock, or embracing transformation and making the most of the opportunities that this presents.

The Tea Party Movement seems to embody the acting out against others option. If you look at the demographics of the Tea Party Movement, it’s clear that they don’t represent a broad spectrum of Americans.

There are almost no people of color in their movement. They have a disproportionate number of males and they are pretty much all middle class and above in net worth. They could well call themselves the Privileged People’s Party as in “I’ve got mine and don’t you dare mess with me.”

Although I have no research on this point, it’s easy to imagine that 95% or better have health insurance. They are economic survivalists and would be economic vigilantes. They are like people who take up rifles in riots to protect their property in times of extreme social chaos. They model themselves after the economic vigilante behavior of the Revolutionary War era individuals who poured the English tea into the bay.

The Republicans embody the turn back the clock response to crisis. They could also be called the Privileged People’s Party except that they have a major contingent of people who aren’t that well off. And, of course, most of the “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it” religious right folks are in their camp.

This is starting to look like some apocalyptic scenario of a zero sum game conflict over diminishing resources. These conflicts are really about economic resources in spite of the ideological rhetoric about liberty and freedom used to rationalize narrow interest and self-serving behavior.

I guess as long as you believe that economic apocalypse is already upon us, economic survivalist and economic vigilante behavior might seem a reasonable course. But this is not what’s so in our country or in the world. My reading is that it’s not our future either. We’re going through a tumultuous reorganization of our economic functions and institutions. Old systems are crumbling. Yet this is far cry from total chaos and anarchy.

If you live in a world of moral or economic absolutes, then it seems reasonable to take a conservative posture in the effort to maintain economic and social structures which in your view support eternal truths.

From the rhetoric perspective, the Tea Party philosophy seems reasonable enough. The economic absolutes they hold as their principles are free markets, limited government, and fiscal responsibility. By fiscal responsibility they mean fewer taxes and no deficit spending.

All of this makes great sense if you’re a member of the Privileged People’s Party because it serves to conserve the wealth you already have. But from a national and global perspective, it’s an amazingly short sighted perspective. As the world changes, we need to adapt our economic strategies. For example, lack of sufficient regulation in financial industries almost catapulted us into another world-wide depression.

There is a genuine political Catastrophe aspect to what is happening this year and which will continue throughout the 2012 time. People are defending incompatible pictures of what’s real, true, and important. We see this in the obstructionism from the Republican Party who routinely votes as a block against any progression measure that Obama puts forward.

The assumption of the regressive political elements is that the human species won’t be able to adapt to the changes of the 2012 time. We’ll be swept into a whirlpool of chaos, anarchy, and ultimately destructive economic forces. This is what will happen unless we stop any and all attempts to tinker with our economic and social order.

There is considerable hypocrisy in the regressive movements. Tea Party activists run down to sign up for what they would otherwise condemn as socialist programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. You don’t see any of them staging a protest by refusing individual government help.

In several states, Republican politicians accepted government help from the economic stimulus while claiming it was a disastrous policy.

As long as we’re under the spell of the Great Recession, the Democrats are vulnerable. The anxieties and fears of change of the 2012 time are given a foundation in reality when the economy is struggling. Apprehension about the future is easily co-opted by those who seek to manipulate the voting public through appeals to fear.

But what we will see in the rest of 2010 is creeping prosperity. The economy is slowly getting better and even the unemployment issue is turning around. Obama’s popularity is on the rise. We could expect this to happen as the unreasonable expectations of Obama, the instant miracle worker, wear off with time.

The Republicans are not as strong as they may appear to be. They have put forward no positive agenda for the country. Moreover their embrace of the Tea Party Movement will not help them the way they think.

The Republican Party is locked in a battle between the purists and the pragmatists. To the extent that they echo the Tea Party line, they add fuel to the primary campaigns of very right wing candidates like senate candidate Marco Rubio in Florida. This opens the door for Democratic victories in unexpected places.

This has already happened in a special election in New York District 23 where the Tea Party faction sabotaged the Republican candidate forcing her to withdraw. She eventually endorsed the Democratic candidate. A seat which has been in Republican hands since 1870 went into the Democratic column.

A majority of the people in the United States think the country is going in the wrong direction. This reflects economic anxiety plus apprehension about where change is taking us as we move through the 2012 time. People want Congress and the President to do something, to take action.

The best Republicans can offer is some promise about slowing down change and trying to keep things the way they have been in the past. My reading is that people won’t buy into this completely. Change is happening whether we want it to or not. What I see happening is a significant number of people coming to understand that turning into the wave is much better than turning our backs to it.

After the November, 2010 election, there will be two fewer Democrats in the Senate and some 25 less in the House. However, I don’t see this changing the dynamics of Congress much. Many of the Democrats voted out in the House are going to be from conservative districts and their support for progressive legislation was already pretty minimal.

The Democrats are actually almost as well off having 57 Senators if they can’t get to at least 62. With 60 Senators in their caucus, every member of the caucus has virtual veto power over important legislation.

The polarization between the conservative and progressive political factions is going to continue to grow as we go further in the 2012. As it intensifies, this will give people a clear choice between starkly contrasting political philosophies.

But the spiritual intelligence of our population is also on the increase. This is justification for cautious optimism that the progressive elements will be able to prevail in spite of desperate opposition from regressive forces.

The Democratic Party is going to have to push ahead with little or no support from any Republicans on most of the big issues. The Democrats are not a unified ideological block like the Republicans. But they are capable of reaching agreements and compromises within their caucus. This is the politics of inclusion of differing viewpoints that Obama want to champion. It’s just can’t happen across the Republican, Democratic divide.

The front line in the current political turmoil is health care reform. My reading is that the Democrats are going to get it done in spite of the parliamentary obstacles and knarly process of House vote plus reconciliation. This will prove to be a tipping point away from Republican and Tea Party ascendancy towards something that looks like a quest for positive solutions.

[Via http://interdimensionaltimes.wordpress.com]

What's Moral, greedy 911 survivors or Dead Heroes ?

“I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound.
No one is really talking about it either, because you just don’t criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can’t let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country.
If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you’re going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4~7 million.

If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.

Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there’s a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it’s not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers. (Actually, soldiers are put in harms way by politicians and commanding officers.)

We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see where this is going, don’t you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It’s just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense?

However, our own US Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don’t know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn’t have to pay into the system. If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm’s way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.

“When do we finally do something about this?” If this doesn’t seem fair to you, it is time to forward this to as many people as you can. ” “

Reportedly By Rush Limbaugh:

[Via http://readthisor.wordpress.com]

Guess how many taxes are in this bill??!!

As a citizen concerned about our nation’s health care system, I thought you’d like to know that the health care bill being rammed through the House contains 10 years worth of tax increases to pay for only 6 years worth of benefits.   These taxes total $500 billion dollars over 10 years.  Many of these taxes will affect Americans earning less than $200,000 a year, despite the President’s promise to avoid such taxes.
Here are just a few of the taxes contained in the bill:

• $750 penalty per worker charged to employers who fail to provide government-sanctioned health insurance
• Tax on brand name drugs—totaling $2.3 billion
• Increased penalty for early withdrawal from your HSA (from 10% to 20%)
• Tax on medical devices—totaling $19.2 billion
• 10% tax on indoor tanning services

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU:  Some of these taxes may affect you directly.  Others, like the employer mandate, will cost our economy desperately needed jobs.  Others will have ripple effects through the system that will raise prices for everyone.    THE DOCTOR’S DIAGNOSIS:  America needs common sense health reform, not job-killing taxes.  Future Congresses will be under pressure to raise taxes even further to pay for future years of an expanded government-administered health care system.
As this process unfolds, I will continue to work to represent you, bring common-sense to this debate, expose abuses of power and do all I can to prevent bad policy from becoming law.   

[Via http://randysright.wordpress.com]

A Quickie: Pope Plays Dumb

Pope John Paul II Pope is ’shocked’ to hear of abuse case in Munich while he was archbishop
Shocked, eh Pope? Give him an Oscar!

“His former archdiocese of Munich has acknowledged that, while he was in charge, it dealt with a suspected paedophile priest by transferring him to a different parish where he went on to commit sex offences against children. The revelation has drawn attention to Benedict’s handling of abuse claims, both when archbishop and later as a prefect of the Vatican office dealing with such crimes, a position he held until becoming pope in 2005.

I bet he is as shocked as Obama and Biden and Hillary on the new Israeli settlements!
Another three Oscars, please!!!!!

[Via http://fkpolitics.wordpress.com]

The Most Dangerous Weapon

I haven’t yet read the books by Tom Brokaw about the Greatest Generation, or the Baby Boomers.  I have enough of a worldview to know that who they are and what they did.  In their own way, they were courageous people who had to stand up against those people who had done wrong.  And all the times that I heard people talking about the Civil Rights Movement or the people who fought the Axis Powers, I always thought, damn, man.  Ours is not a generation that has done any of that.  We don’t do these things.  We don’t have Nazis to fight, or civil rights to save.

Certainly, gay marriage is a civil right, as is health care, and the extremists who are responsible for me having to take my shoes off every time I go to the airport need to be stopped, but these aren’t threats to the world.  Realistically, these “terrorists,” they’re sad little men that simply want attention and have no means of coping with this world we live in today.  They have no frame of reference.

I have followed very carefully, and much to my distraction, the rantings and lunatic ravings of Glenn Beck.  At first I was fascinated by this man, this guy that, in spite of facts, truth and evidence to the contrary, would just up and invent falsehoods and spouted them on TV.  No one did anything about it.  After I was fascinated, I was terrified that he was going to be the undoing of this great experiment.  The Constitution and the Framers never ever anticipated a world like this: internet, television, news and opinion 24 hours a day, phones with mail and a universe of knowledge at your fingertips.  No one, even in the history of science-fiction, ever thought of today.

And then I wasn’t scared of him anymore.  I’m not amused by him, certainly (He’s a dangerous person, strictly because he has too many people believing him.  It’s like Bizarro Jesus.  I honestly expect one of these days that he’s going to call the President a Pharisee and call for him to be stoned), but I’m not afraid of him.  He’s a tragic figure, a sad little boy, who just wants his mommy to hold him.  He’s nothing more than a frightened child.  Once you realize that, you realize that he’s completely harmless.  An uneducated buffoon who reads, but does not understand, a man with no real understanding of the world, who just likes to hear himself talk.  A man who fears the government, and has no real reason to, apart from the fact that he should face up to the fact that he let the government get in this deep.

And I got to thinking about the rest of them, these Tea Partiers, Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin, people who aren’t so much sad, but very very vocal.  People who rail against the government, for no real reason.  they don’t understand costs, or debts or anything else, really.  They just know we’re in a bad place and can’t figure out how we got there.  They’re scared and they have every right to be scared.

Then there’s the banks.  The hippies and post-hippies who preached individualism, tune in turn on drop out and explode.  They opened their minds and found untold treasures beyond their wildest imaginings.  Kings among men who currently posess more money than there is any sort of precious metal or gemstone to back up.

And they’re all over 40.

You might say that they worked hard to get there.  Or, you might say that after World War II, they discovered that we had completely and utterly untouched resources for the taking.  No one had bombed our cities.  No one had destroyed out infrastructure.  The War was 3000 miles away in both directions and we were perfectly fine.  We were able to create a solid economy here, because we still had one to begin with.

That, of course, combined with the mentality of the individual, “just be yourself” generation turned into “Me, Me, Me.”  Which turned into the 80s.  And now, here we are.

But then I still think of my generation, and how we haven’t a battle to fight, that we’re given this world to live in and we might as well live in it.  We are a lost generation, buried under mountains of debt because it’s what our parents did.  It’s how you make it.  Follow the American Dream.

And then, apart from a wicked few, it occurred to me:  my generation might not be the Greatest or the Boomers, or Y or X or ZABFR at all.

When Haiti was hit by that earthquake, I found out that a friend of mine had started a charity to help with education.  It’s still running and she was hoping to get down to the devastated country to help in any way she could.  The caterers for my wedding are organic, local, free-range, fair trade and every other descriptor of good.  My fiancee’s best friend works for AmeriCorps.  I’m working to save a classic movie theatre for a town that desperately needs it.  This article. Pittsburgh elected a man in his twenties to be the mayor, and Pittsburgh is now one of the great cities of America again.  And it’s because of these things that I know what my generation is called now.

We’re the Sesame Street Generation.

We grew up believing that every last person, right down the the grouchiest grumps, are worth saving and befriending.  We learned unconditional love.  We learned that it’s not about me.  It’s about all of us, near and far.  We learned that you don’t eat a whole plate of cookies (at least not all the time).  We learned that science is cool and that the numbers, ah-ah-ahhhh, the numbers are miraculous.  We are Ernie and Bert, We are Grover.  We are Gordon and Maria and Mr. Hooper and Bob and Oscar and Snuffy and Big Bird and we are the generation that believes, absolutely and without question, that together we can make something greater than before.  We do not stagnate, because to stagnate is to die.  We move forward and we pull everyone with us, no matter how weak, or how grumpy.  We are full of wonder and cookies and the world is our oyster.

Our war is not fought with guns or bombs or poison gas.  Ours was already won with the most dangerous weapon of all:

A puppet.

[Via http://clockworkthoughts.wordpress.com]

O'Biden: 'Oh Boss, Israel Won't Play. They've Seen This Rodeo Before'.

Vice Emperor Biden’s sidewalk act isn’t playing well in places like Tel Aviv, Beersheba, Haifa, or Jerusalem. The administration’s choice for ‘putting those Jews in their place’ is no intellectual giant in the first place, as he has proven on innumerable occasions both at home and abroad. In this he’s much like his boss, the would-be once and future king. Too bad the President hasn’t figured out that the American people don’t cotton much to kings, dictators or wannabes. Much to ‘Jumpin’ Joe Biden’s discomfiture, the Israelis have this one down pat also.

Joe Biden and President Shimon Peres

Joe is so dense that he went to Israel planning on tapping in to the autumn of Israeli discontent, in the form of the completely discredited and now powerless liberals, who have been the loudest proponents of an appeasement policy towards the very ‘Palestinian’ terrorists who would gleefully see to the annihilation of every man, woman and child in the State of Israel.

These same ‘appeaseniks’ are the ones who would trade away much of Israel’s strategic security in fanciful ‘land-for-peace’ deals. Shamefully, many of these bogus ’security’ deals have been fostered by a United States desperate to show some sort of moral high ground at the expense of the Israeli people through several administrations. This points to a sadly deficient State Department which has been proven to be not only anti-American, but anti-semitic as well.

Speaking of anti-semitic, we have ‘good old Joe’ scolding the Israelis for not buying into Barak Hussein Obama’s latest attempt to collar Israel and have them cower in front of His Magnificence. The Israelis announced no intention to reverse the decision to build 1600 settlers’ homes on the occupied West Bank, on land annexed to the holy city. Ramat Shlomo is part of the area that Israel considers to be part of the holy city and capital of the State.

Biden was depending on selling the Israelis the idea that his boss, Barack Obama, was committed to defending Israel from the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. A claim which recent cowardly reversals by the administration have proven to be patently untrue.
Sorry, Joe. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2010

[Via http://skipmaclure.wordpress.com]

Senate Climate Bill

Here we go again. The three little pigs are “crafting legislation“. That’s right Lindsay, Lieberman and Lurch (John Kerry) are hard at it but it’s just so difficult to hide the decline that they are not sure if they can get it done by Easter. They ruined Christmas and now they’re shooting for Easter. HEY! ATHEISTS! HOW ABOUT SCREWING UP RAMADAN!

Just like the failed health care fiasco the libs are “indicating” that they are willing to settle for something less so the three stooges (My deepest apologies to the Howard brothers and Mr. Fine) are toiling two, sometimes three-hour a day to get this done by Easter so they can have another all night vote-a-thon on Easter morning.

They don’t seem to have the votes to pass this thing so Chairman Zero summoned some errant voters to be water-boarded at a meeting on Tuesday but there were some no shows. (Wonder why.) Anyway, the Sierra Club and The League of Conservation Voters have attacked Blanche Lincoln, the Senate Agriculture Chairwoman, for backing off on climate change. I guess she likes her job. I tempted to send the old bag a ten-dollar donation just for pissing them off. Until next time, screw environmentalists.

[Via http://libertyview.wordpress.com]

Obama And The Rule Of Law

The New York Times has a good article, in which several pragmatic reasons for retaining the use of what used to be the most common, normal thing in democracies with the rule of law until ten years ago – namely, the criminal justice system – for trying terrorism suspects are cited. Of course, this is as much a principal matter as a pragmatic one, but in the age of Obama, principles don’t really count for much.

Obama’s view on trying terrorism suspects – either putting them away forever, or giving them a fake trial in a military commissions system - is now almost indistinguishable from that of the most conservative of Republicans. This is not why he was elected, and if he continues on this line, I believe he deserves a challenger in the next primaries, and then I hope he loses.

Of course, if he turns around from what he is now expected to do and does give the 9/11 suspects, who are bound to get convicted anyway, a normal trial, then I take everything back. In the meantime, read the following article. This is not something that only “left wing” “fringe” ”civil libertarians” (should) worry about, as people who want to support Obama no matter what he does might contend. This is really about the fabric of democracy, about the most basic principles you can have in a state to which the rule of law applies – that you give people who are suspected of something a trial. If Obama does not have it in him to retain this principle, then he was elected for nothing.

Leading Congressional Republicans are arguing that getting tough on terrorism means trying all foreign terrorism suspects before military commissions. But national security officials who served in the Bush administration say that taking away the criminal justice option would weaken the government’s hand.

Former counterterrorism officials are warning that the political debate has lost touch with the pragmatic advantages of keeping both the civilian and military systems available.

“This rush to military commissions is based on premises that are not true,” said John B. Bellinger III, a top legal adviser to the National Security Council and the State Department under President George W. Bush. “I think it is neither appropriate nor necessary to limit terrorism cases to either military commissions alone or federal trials alone.”

Among the problems with a commissions-only policy, they say, are that some nations will not extradite terrorism suspects or provide evidence to the United States except for civilian trials; federal courts offer a greater variety of charges for use in pressuring a defendant to cooperate; military commission rules do not authorize a judge to accept a guilty plea from a defendant in a capital case; and the military system is legally untested, so any guilty verdict is vulnerable to being overturned on appeal.

(…)

The Republican line on military commissions has hardened after an outcry over the administration’s decision to send to a civilian court the cases of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of planning the Sept. 11 attacks, and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound jet on Christmas.

Conservatives, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, have sought to attack Mr. Obama as soft on terrorism and unwilling to treat Al Qaeda as a wartime enemy rather than a criminal target.

But Mr. Obama has undertaken several hard-line policies in national security matters — including sending more troops to Afghanistan, increasing missile strikes on militants from Predator drones in Pakistan, continuing to imprison some detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, without trials and using military commissions to prosecute some terrorism suspects. Those policies, which have outraged some civil libertarians, have left the administration’s willingness to handle other terrorism cases in civilian courts as a rare remaining opportunity to try to draw a sharp political line between the Obama approach and that of Republicans.

(…)

National security officials from both the Bush and Obama administrations say such a ban would create major obstacles to swift punishment of terrorism suspects. For instance, many European allies, including Britain, have been willing to extradite terrorism suspects only if they faced regular criminal trials, not military commissions. In some cases, extradition treaties require criminal trials.

(…)

Current and former officials who want to preserve the option of civilian trials note that prosecutors routinely use a broad array of charges against terrorism defendants or their friends and families: obstruction of justice, false statements to investigators, passport and immigration fraud, firearms and arms trafficking offenses, and various computer and finance-related offenses.

[Via http://lsdimension.wordpress.com]

Why to Sell in Today's Market

Last month, the Jansen Multifamily Team polled Puget Sound apartment investors about their impressions of the current market.  That poll data, coupled with our own observations form the basis for a three-part series on the “Why’s” of today’s Puget Sound apartment market.  This week’s post, number two of three, discusses why to sell in today’s market.

Generally speaking, nobody wants to sell in a market like today’s.  Values have come down 15-20% off their market peaks, significantly eroding many investors’ equity in their assets, and the prospective buyer pool has shrunk as many investors wait on the sidelines until the market clearly “hits bottom.”  For many Puget Sound apartment investors, now may seem like the wrong time to sell.  However, the situation is not completely dire, as there are still strong reasons to sell today, including the opportunity to re-leverage, the availability of cheap debt, and a historically low capital gains rate.

Re-Leverage Your Capital

In last month’s JMT poll, 44% of respondents indicated that an opportunity to re-leverage would motivate them to sell in today’s market, and it is a compelling argument.  Current market conditions enable investors to sell their apartment buildings today and reposition their net proceeds into superior assets that better fulfill their investment goals.

The fundamental rationale for re-leveraging is the notion that, if your value has gone down, your neighbor’s value has gone down as well.  Relative buying power has not changed for the worse.  Rather, buying power has gotten better for prospective purchasers.  Selling into a declining market gives investors the opportunity to strike a better deal on the replacement property as prices continue to decline.  If one were selling into a growing market (i.e. after we have “hit bottom”), relative buying power would decline, as prices would continue to appreciate while seeking a replacement property.

Secure Long-Term Debt While Rates Are Low

The opportunity to re-leverage is made even more attractive by the low interest rates currently available through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Mortgage rates have remained historically low throughout the national economic downturn, as illustrated in chart below (provided by Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors, Inc.), which tracks mortgage rates over the last 30 years.  Investors that start a new holding period today will enjoy the stability provided by long-term debt at the most competitive rates we will see for years.  Looming inflation will likely drive interest rates up, which will decrease opportunities for positive financial leverage (explained in last week’s “Why to Buy” post).

Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors, Inc.

Rising interest rates will take many buyers out of the market; those buyers still in the market will require higher capitalization rates to achieve adequate leverage and returns, thereby decreasing asset values.  Apartment owners can avoid this potential scenario by selling into today’s market, where financing is still keeping buyers “in the game.”

Capitalize on Historically Low Capital Gains Rate

Another exceptional way to maximize today’s value is to take advantage of one of the lowest capital gains rates in U.S. history.  The current tax rate on capital gains is 15%, per the Bush tax cuts of 2003, which is the lowest capital gains rate since the 1920s, when the rate was 12.5%.  The Bush tax cuts will expire at the end of 2010, and President Obama has vowed he will not renew them, thus returning the capital gains rate to 20% next year.  As far as where rates could head in the future, it is anyone’s guess (the rate was 28% in the early-to-mid-1990s).

Consider an example where an investor sells a 20-unit apartment building for $2 million.  The investor had $1.2 million in debt on the property and their taxable gain after closing costs and depreciation recapture is $500,000 (estimated for simplicity’s sake).  At the 15% capital gains rate, their tax obligation is $75,000, while at the 20% rate, their tax obligation is $100,000.  By selling today, rather than a year or two into the future, this investor saved $25,000, or possibly more, depending on where the capital gains rate goes in the future.

Selling in today’s market may not be ideal, but whether your motivation to sell is a “have to,” or a “want to,” there are concrete reasons why it makes sense to sell today.  If you unsatisfied with your property’s location, you can re-leverage into a stronger submarket.  If you do re-leverage, you will be locking in long-term debt at some of the lowest rates we will see for a while.  Finally, by selling today and “cashing out,” rather than exchanging, you will take advantage of the final year of capital gains rates at 15%, before they head to 20% and beyond.

There is a downturn in every investment’s holding period, and it makes sense to experience it at the beginning, rather than the end.  Regardless of your motivation, now seems as good of a time as any to start.

Check back in next week for the final installment of our three-part series, as we will be discussing why to refinance in today’s market.

[Via http://jansenmultifamilyteam.com]

An Unrestricted Interpol in the US

Obama has signed away American’s civil rights to Interpol.
In “Amending Executive Order 12425 Designating Interpol as a public international organization entitled to enjoy certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities,” our president has undermined all US civil liberties.

There are multiple reasons why this Obama decision is so deeply disturbing. First, the Obama order reverses a 1983 Reagan administration decision in order to grant Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, two key privileges. First, Obama has granted Interpol the ability to operate within the territorial limits of the United States without being subject to the same constitutional restraints that apply to all domestic law enforcement agencies such as the FBI. Second, Obama has exempted Interpol’s domestic facilities — including its office within the U.S. Department of Justice — from search and seizure by U.S. authorities and from disclosure of archived documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by U.S. citizens. Think very carefully about what you just read: Obama has given an international law enforcement organization that is accountable to no other national authority the ability to operate as it pleases within our own borders, and he has freed it from the most basic measure of official transparency and accountability, the FOIA.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m highly disturbed that any US president would give free reign to a foreign police force, above all US law, including the protections of the constitution that are afforded to us as citizens of the United States.
Now, I’m not one to see conspiracy everywhere, or the NWO as more than a tacit threat that might come to fruition at some point in the future, but even I can see this as another great blow, and another tactic to bring the USA into a world governmental force, instead of keeping us set apart as a singular nation. It’s just the beginning, but it’s there nonetheless, no matter how you try to spin this decision.
There may be people who don’t believe this is a big deal (probably all those left wingers who wail about civil rights for all, and the necessity for more and more protective laws to ensure it). Well, keep kidding yourself and next thing you know, it won’t be someone else affected.

[Via http://lmliberty.wordpress.com]

Dollars for change in Wonderland

Tim Burton has hit one out of the park again! Where is that motherfucker’s Oscar?! Alice In Wonderland kicked royal ass (Mia Wasikowska is positively lovely), and here’s the gist of it- don’t care if this spoils it- Alice escapes her huffy mother, oblivious sister, and slutty Edwardian Era Bobbsey Twins from getting hitched to Lord Piggish Ascot to follow the waistcoated White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) down the hole to Wonderland (or in the early version of Carroll’s tale “Underland” taken from the original title Alice’s Adventures Underground). She tries every door, drinks, eats, shrinks, grows, and ends up in sweet Stella McCartney outfits (I WANT THEM!). Nevertheless she’s convinced this is the dream she’s been having for the last 13 years.

The Dormouse (Barbara Windsor), Dee & Dum (Matt Lucas), the Dodo (Michael Gogh) are somewhat convinced that she’s “the right Alice” so they bring her to the Caterpillar, Absolem (Alan Rickman), and sitting atop his toadstool nearly invisible from his hookah’s fumes announces, “She’s hardly Alice”. He unfurls the Oraculum sketched by Tenniel himself where Alice is foretold slaying the Jabberwocky (Christopher Lee) on the Frabjous Day- callooh callay!- delivering Wonderland from the evil clutches of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and her deceitful knave of hearts Stayne (Crispin Glover at his sexiest!) back to the dottily tender loving care of her younger sister, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway).

Finding herself at at tea party in the company of the schizophrenic Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the histrionic March Hare (Paul Whitehouse), and, of course the passive-aggressive Dormouse Alice is told of the Red Queen’s bloody coup, and then is delivered via air hat to the Red Queen’s castle. She loves the slimy Stayne, hates animals, children, and because of her gigantic head demands that her loyal subjects must show a display of ugliness to keep their own heads from rolling. Alice infiltrates the RQ’s castle and is determined to get the Hatter freed from prison and steal back WQ’s Vorpal Sword that is hidden in the house of dreadful Bandersnatch.

Well after returning the Bandersnatch’s eye (plucked out by the plucky Dormouse) he gives her the key to the Vorpal Sword’s chest and away they go to the WQ’s castle of cherry blossoms, demolished kitchens, and Persian pajama sets. The Cheshire Cat (Steven Fry) breaks out Hatter and Dormouse in time for the great battle of Frabjous Day on the chessboard square betwixt the two queens’ domains where Alice reluctantly accepts her fate as the WQ (really Wonderland’s champion) and clashes with the Jabberwocky in armor that could be suited for Joan of Arc herself. Six impossible things later, Alice dashes to the top of an aging tower, remembers her time in Wonderland and beheads the Jabberwocky.

RQ’s playing card army lays down their arms, WQ gets her crown back, and banishes big sis and Stayne to the Outlands. Then Alice takes a sip of the Jabberwocky’s blood after bidding farewell to her dear Hatter goes back to the garden party, tells Piggish to fuck off, tears down the Bobbsey Twins, asks her spinster Aunt Imogene to get some help (from Dr. Freud most likely considering the timeline), and she’ll be watching her adulterous brother-in-law, then convinces her late father’s old business partner to set out for Hong Kong where Alice starts her apprenticeship never forgetting her dear friends in Wonderland.

And some dumbass ghetto whore says it wasn’t nearly as good as Avatar… People have some serious problems with creativity.

Afterward my best friend Kaye and I along with Joel and Mack set out to Chipotle, some Tex-Mex fast food place that gave me a major headache (although food sensitivity seems to be a recent problem with me but the bright-ass florescent lights and blasting pop music just added to the problem). I got the vegetarian burrito bowl and that dumbfuck Mack called it “puny”. I had no idea at how much weight Kaye gained! Though most of the bloating comes from the drink. And those two assholes couldn’t stop drooling over the sight of her ever enlarging tits! She’s picking up some extra scratch doing everybody’s taxes, but the fifty we gave her just won’t go for the online filing. She’ll be stocking up on vodka and rum. I want to help, but I know I can’t, I’m sickened by her being drunk, and just want to dump her because of it.

I know it’s bad and an economic turnaround is far fucking off, but I really need away from these ghetto motherfuckers! I love my best friend and always will, but change is hard to come by for poor folks- and at least she has a degree, I have nothing. But I need to get myself moving if I want to get away from these idiots. I’m dodging Joel and Mack because I want to avoid going to their houses, Joel has a sprog and as you know being CF, babies sicken me. Mack can’t stop looking at my boobs despite the fact that I wear huge black sweaters and a man’s bubble jacket. I have made myself clear: I don’t date friends! So he’s backed off and looked for other women to knock up and marry. He’s balding, doesn’t have a real job, and lives in the fucking ghetto. Yeah, that’s a desirable spouse.

So until Kaye’s mother crashes and burns allowing Kaye to exterminate the bedbugs, disinfect the apartment, and get shit fixed, I will only be hanging out with her online, outdoors, and she can come over here… so she can help me with the FA shit and I can get myself back into school to finish it and get busy with my library sciences master’s degree coursework that will keep me busy and away from them so a slow alienation can build up. I hope to get some real writing done and that makes me hopeful for a little artistic and financial success which will further my goals of moving away to never come back.

[Via http://silvererieann.wordpress.com]

Watch as America Self-Destruct

I often wonder how great we would be today if America truly lived up to our potential. If we truly followed democratic principle. The founders set us on the road to a great destiny but the money grubbers changed all that and with our country in the grip of bigoted, right-wing religious extremist, (zealots), we are going down the toilet fast. If we were a nation that advanced truth instead of race, the world would know us as the proud and powerful nation that we pretend to be. I’ve had this discussion before and have always been told the same thing, as if from a secret right-wing playbook, “America is a republic not a democracy”. As you can guess that statement always comes from someone who loudly and proudly proclaim to be ‘conservative’ and who hate any association with the word democrat in any form. They’re half right, though. America is a republic… that follows democratic principles. Let’s take a moment to see where the founders were heading with this. What does republic mean?  When the founders declared America a republic they clearly had one thought in mind. To them the definition of republic meant:

“A state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state”.

So, in fact America IS a republic. Now, let define democracy. Democracy means:

“Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system”.

This is true also. We have in America, what is called “Representative Democracy”. Can you imagine how our economy would be effected if each and every one of us had to vote on every appointment, ratifications, bill, law, amendment that passed through congress on the state and federal level? Then we must also include in state, county, township and local level. That’s a lot of time voting. We’d be screaming for the return of monarchy. I assume that we are now all in agreement that America is both a republic and democracy, or at least understand, if you refuse to agree. I will move on.

America, like the many great societies that have come before, is at a cross-road. Do we stand behind the principles which we’ve expounded for over 200 years; having shed the blood of untold hundreds of thousands of our young men and women in defense of those principles; executed and assassinated tens of thousands here in this country and abroad; spent billions around the world to prop up seriously flawed democratic governments; fought a 40 year cold war with the then U.S.S.R., and now Islāmic extremists, or do we cast all that aside, because the someone who played by the rules, exercised those American principles and achieved the highest office in the land happens to be black? If those principles are cast aside so easily, then they really aren’t good principles to live by are they?

All across the nation I see crowds of people calling President Obama a socialist; a Nazi; a Kenyan, and those are the nice terms. Pictures of him in clown face are splashed around the world, for his children to see. There are people coming to rallies and town hall meeting where the president is, carrying guns. We have current and former elected and non-elected officials constantly on the airway denouncing a sitting president, spreading lies, misinformation and dissention.  When does it end?

Is this the democracy that we’ve been spreading around the world? Do we support discrimination of citizens in other democratic countries, or does discrimination of blacks not really count as discrimination? Where is the outrage at this?

Let me say this. We are all victims of propaganda. When other nations and cultures shout anti-American slogans, they are actually referring to “White Male America”. They study us better than we study them and they know that minorities, (blacks, Hispanics, Asians and women have no power in this country. White male leaders in politics and corporations do. In this country the rest of us aren’t seen as Americans until there is a war. Our job is to consume and be fodder.

Can we get back on track or is it our time to self destruct like the great ancient cultures before us? Because of racism, having a black man win the presidency did more damage to this country than 911. The events of 911 galvanized a country into one people. Racism is going to destroy it.

[Via http://mrkellybrownjr.wordpress.com]

High Crimes and Misdemeanors - The president's path to health care

Tonight the president is meeting with 10 of the Democratic Congressmen and women who have opposed his health care bill in an effort to either buy them off or twist their arms in order to gain crucial support. The brother of Congressman Scott Matheson was nominated to a Federal judgeship this afternoon. It is an amazing act of political graft.The real crime is that he is using a technique, reconciliation, that even he has been quoted as saying is illegal, in order to pass his legislation. The man who wrote the legislation, Robert Byrd, has said exactly the same thing. It could not be any clearer.

The president has been using every trick in the book, including ones we don’t know about, to try to achieve his aim of taking over the country’s health care system. He bought off the pharmaceutical companies. Many insurance companies are now selling the rope by which he will hang them to him in the interest of short term profits. He bought off the leaderships of AMA  and AARP with shiny objects despite a $300 Billion/year hit to Medicaid which directly and negatively affects their memberships. And his accounting numbers, according to the Congressional Budget Office, are lies despite his calling Lamar Alexander, the man who disputed these numbers the other day, a liar on national television.

But it just doesn’t matter. For this is the Super Bowl and World Cup and World Series and Olympics rolled into one for the left wing of the Democratic Party. Once the camel’s nose is under the tent they can the use incrementalism and executive orders and the bureaucracy to shape their policy. This is a long range plan for establishing the party as a permanent ruling party as they dole out jobs and benefits.

Our country is now run under crony capitalism. If you’re in, you win. On Wall Street, in corporate America, in State and Federal politics, and in the unions it’s an insiders game. If you’re close to the action, the benefits are real and substantial. But if you’re a working stiff, you’re out of luck. Ask a Chrysler retiree who first took it on the chin when the government took away their pensions and who is now facing a loss of medicare benefits for their opinion.

The last time the level of corruption was even mentionable in the same sentence was when Benjamin Harrison was president, and back then, the government had not elbowed its way into a controlling position on Wall Street and in our largest industries. The hell of it is that this is being done in the name of the little guy. The leadership class has become a ruling class drunk on its own power.

To the Democratic left in this country, the Constitution is an obstacle to be overcome. Woodrow Wilson started this trend and it continues to this day. And yet the founders of our country and our Constitution were explicit. The arguments in the Federalist Papers and correspondence between them and the Constitution itself are explicit. They argued about the ways and means to enact major legislation. The Equal Rights Amendment is in limbo today for exactly that reason. It did not meet the test of passage by a majority of the 50 state legislatures. Health care affects all of us and is even more important, and yet the president wants to use parlor tricks and bribery to ram it through.

For if he achieves this, he will have gutted our civil rights. We will no longer have the right to choose except as the government dictates. And therein lies the rub.

The term “high crimes and misdemeanors” was first used in England in 1386 to impeach the Chancellor for lying to Parliament when he failed to pay a ransom for the city of Ghent as he had promised. It was next used in the conviction of one of his descendants for obstructing justice, cronyism, and corruption. It has been repeatedly used to prosecute negligence, abuse of power, and violations of the public trust at the highest levels. The most controversial use of the term was in the impeachment of Bill Clinton not because of his adultery, but rather for his perjury before a grand jury. If one reads the history of the term, William Jefferson Clinton has nothing on the current occupant of the White House.

This isn’t simply about health care. It is about the basic conduct of our government. 52% of the public adamantly oppose the president’s proposal. His policies on many issues are highly unpopular not only on the right but the left as well. He is taking away much of what it means to be an American; those inalienable rights bestowed upon not by a ruler, but by God. For what he is doing is ripping up the Constitution with his actions. He knows it. We know it. And he doesn’t care. Legally, the grounds will exist for impeachment. And it doesn’t look as if his supporters are going to do very well in the next election. Something he may want to consider.

There is an anger and a fear for our future abroad in the land that has not existed since December 7, 1941. This is existential fear. And this fear is rational. Our government’s spending and irresponsibility and poor policy have put us into a very difficult position which will take years to resolve. During such times it would behoove all of us to act with courage and conviction. But what we are seeing instead is a craven act of political self interest and lust for power. One that we and our children will be paying for as long as the Republic remains. If ever there were high crimes and misdemeanors, these actions fit the bill.

[Via http://oceanaris.wordpress.com]

Education The Panacea

I found this fascinating quote today from my old the blog of my old Critical Inquiry Professor Michael LaBossiere

:

Obama noted that people who do not finish highschool make less money than graduates, are more likely to be unemployed and are more likely to engage in undesirable behavior, such as committing crimes. His proposed solution is to take steps to make it more likely that children will finish school.aphilosopher.wordpress.com, A Philosopher’s Blog, Mar 2010

You should read the whole article

Are you done reading the article? OK good. One of the things that is often neglected when discussing drop out rates is that sometimes dropping out is not the result of disinterest in, or unwillingness to learn. It is not the result of poor teaching, or standardized test. The choice does not have it’s roots in lack of funding for texts books, field trips, or computers, but it is the result of something that is a little more basic. The need to eat.

In the neighborhood where I grew up there was nearly a decade break in between my sister’s graduation, and that of the previous graduates from when the neighborhood was a Black middle class enclave. That decade break coincided the Crack pandemic, and the rise in street gangs as the surrogate families for a lot of young people. Those street gangs fed a lot of my friends who were orphaned by crack, and I am not using orphaned in a figurative sense. In many neighborhoods around the country you could count the amount of fathers on one hand, in my neighborhood you could do the same with mothers. This parenting vacuum left a lot of hungry children, and the older children were tasked with feeding their younger siblings. Doing this while going to school full time was nigh impossible when you factor in the other bills that needed to be paid. So a lot of young men and women deferred or forgot their dreams, dropped out of school, hit the block full time, and in the process lost a generation. Nicer books would not have made a difference to them. Neither would a sparkling new gymnasium. Money had to be put in the mailbox, by any means necessary, and the only means left to them was to work on their wrist game.
Rhetoric about drop out rates that does not recognize and confront poverty, and the immediate needs of those caught up in it does nothing for those it intends to help.  Just my last two dollars.

[Via http://thecochranfirm.wordpress.com]

Yummy for my tummy!

Hi all, back again. Sorry been away for so long. Hope you’s didn’t miss me too much lol ^_^

Anyway found this really cool site on more food art, looks so pretty you should definitely check it out. (Over here) It’s super kawaii. I really like the bok choi fishy (i think it’s suppose to be pak but anyways) It very playful and stays with the vegetable structure making it even more realistic. The pumpkin carvings are spectacular aswell especially the predator (from alien vs. predator….duh), not really a big fan of the movie but i can still admire the art and work that’s been put in (alot of detail as you can see).  The toasts i thought was super awesome and reminded me my friend’s Miss Dorothy Hunter’s Foundation piece (only she burnt little piece of toast). Check out some of her work here. Well here are some preview samples of what’s on the site to give you a little taster. ^_^ Hope you enjoy it!!

[Via http://winnieshek.wordpress.com]

The truth and the lies about abortion funding in the health care bill

I just don’t see how Nancy Pelosi could possibly continue lying about this when the funding of abortion is pretty much the entire reason this awful bill can’t pass. How stupid do they think we are? Wait. Don’t anwer that.

Doug Johnson of National Right to Life wrote:

Speaker Pelosi has her own idiosyncratic dictionary, one in which federal agencies can pay for abortion on demand without spending “public funds” or “taxpayer funds” for abortion. In ordinary English, however, this is deceptive claptrap.

Kathleen McKinley at Right Wing News said:

Every version of the health-care bill has contained multiple pro-abortion mandates and federal subsidies for abortion, except for the version that was fixed by adoption of the Stupak-Pitts amendment. But Obama and Reid kept that provision out of the Senate bill. It had been used to get Stupak and other pro life Democrats (I love typing that..pro-life Democrats- music to my ears ) votes in the House, but then quickly dropped to satisfy abortion lobby. The final bill is the most pro-abortion piece of legislation since Roe v. Wade. It would result in direct federal funding of abortion through Community Health Centers, tax subsidies for private plans that cover abortion, and pro-abortion federal administrative mandates. When Obama said that no federal funds would be used to fund abortion, he was either flat out lying or he changed his mind. He should admit that now.

I think that the Democrats have had the media in their pocket for so long that they’ve believed that they can lie with impugnity and never get called on it. But it’s our job as bloggers and new media types to continue getting the word out that the people are being lied to.

See the whole article and watch the video clips

[Via http://douglawrence.wordpress.com]

News Media Act Stupidly Over Obama's Birth Certificate...Again

Image via Wikipedia

Yet another news agency spreads misinformation about Obama’s birth certificate. Today Sky News did a story about “birthers” and falsely claimed Obama’s paper birth certificate was burned in a fire that destroyed many state records. There are four problems with this.

1. The Obama people claimed this happen

2. The media reports it as fact.

3. In Obama’s book Dreams of my father he writes he has the birth certificate in his possession.

4. The media Doesn’t seem to put two and two together and see that Obama lied, or they are ignoring this huge lie about the birth certificate being destroyed in a fire.

Glenn Beck compares birthers to terrorists. You see, Obama has been very very good to Beck. If not for Obama, Beck wouldn’t be where he is today. Getting to the bottom of Obama’s birth certificate would get Obama thrown out sooner. Beck, along with Fox News  wants to milk this presidency for all its worth.  Beck and O’Reilly just repeat  things that have been proven false for 2 yrs now and wouldn’t dare look into any of it himself.

Feb 26 it was posted in Post Mail Blog they have received pdf files from Hawaii showing the Hawaiian birth index has no record of Obama listed.  This does not surprise me at all. After all, there is no record of Obama or Obama’s mother ever being admitted into any hospital in Hawaii…ever.

The media wonders why they are becoming irrelevant.  Well its because every day people are doing the media’s job while they  sit there spinning the news, protecting terrorists, covering up stories, and calling every day Americans names.

[Via http://rovingpatrol.wordpress.com]

GUNDEM-Polis-Adliye Haberleri-MORIS MITRANI

GUNDEM-Polis-Adliye Haberleri

        Moris (Maurice) Mitrani dolandırıcılığa doymuyor!

Kadıköy Cumhuriyet Savcılığı, Üsküdar Cumhuriyet Savcılığı,Sultanahmet,Büyükçekmece Cumhuriyet Savcılığı,Eyüp Cumhuriyet Savcılığı,Edirne Cumhuriyet Savcılığı,Ankara Cumhuriyet Savcılığı’nda  Moris (Maurice) Mitrani hakkında  açılmış ve hazırlık aşamasında olan , bir çok suç duyurusu(dava)’na rağmen Mitrani dolandırıcılığa doymuyor. Bazı finans ve iş  çevrelerine göre yatırımcıların kayıpları dahil edildiğinde mağdurların  zararlarının  milyon doların üzerine çıktığı ileri sürülüyor.

  Nitelikli dolandırıcılıktan sabıkalı olan  Moris (Maurice) Mitrani ; yanında yerli ve yabancı düzmece avukatlar barındırıp  ,finans sağlama işini profosyonel bir şekilde tüm dünya genelinde yaptığını iddia ederek,paraya ihtiyacı olan iş adamlarının ,sahte avukatlarının yardımı ile önce güvenini kazanıp ,daha sonra ‘’expertiz bedeli’’ adı altında  dolandırıyormuş.Mitrani’nin kurduğu düzmece şirketin isminin ise ‘’BENA INTERNATIONAL’’ oldugu ancak şirketin hiçbir ticari faaliyetinin olmadığı belirtildi.

   Adli kaynaklara göre, İddianamelerde  ; Mitrani,kendisinin Alaton ailesinin akrabası ,Nesim Malki’nin yiğeni ,adı Galataport ihalesi ile gündeme gelen İsrailli işadamı Eyal Ofer’in temsilcisi olduğunu ve Sabancı ailesine ait olan SASA’nın mali danışmanlığını yaptığını ileri sürerek işadamlarını ve  bazı kurumları  kandırıp dolandırmak sureti ile kanunlara aykırı biçimde  ciddi gelirler elde ederek suç işlediği iddialarına sıkça yer verilmiş. Nitelikli dolandırıcılıktan sabıkalı olan Mitrani , basit yalanı aşmış ve mağdurların  karar verme yetisini engelleyecek derecede hile ve göz boyamalarla,kişi ve şirketlere finans sağlayacağını vaat edip expertiz bedeli adı altında haksız kazanç elde etmiş.

 Bilindiği üzere Türk Ceza Kanunu’nda,Bir kişiyi veya kurumu kandırabilecek nitelikte hile ve desiseler yaparak hataya düşürerek veya mağdurda esasen varolan hatadan hile ve desise kullanmak sureti ile yararlanarak onun veya başkasının zararına ,kendisine veya başkasına haksız bir menfaat sağlamak dolandırıcılık suçunu oluşturur.Moris (Maurice) Mitrani ve suç ortaklarından Nedim Beneroya’nın, ‘’kişiyi içinde bulunduğu zor şartlardan kurtarmak bahanesi suretiyle dolandırıcılık’’(finans sağlamak bahanesi) yaptığı tespit edilmekte olup,cezalarının da bu nedenlerden dolayı ağırlaşacaği(nitelikli dolandırıcılık) finans çevrelerinde büyük yankı uyandırdı.

 

     Çok yakında,Moris Mitrani ve suç ortaklarından Nedim Beneroya’nın ,Savcılıklarda yer alan suç bilgilerini ve iddianame detaylarını ,okurlarımızla paylaşacağız.

[Via http://gundemhaberiniz.wordpress.com]

Guns and Laws - Think it can't happen here?

You’re sound asleep when you hear a thump outside your bedroom door.  Half-awake, and nearly paralyzed with fear, you hear muffled whispers. At least two people have broken into your house and are moving your way. With your heart pumping, you reach down beside your bed and pick up your shotgun. You rack a shell into the chamber, then inch toward the door and open it. In the darkness, you make out two shadows.

One holds something that looks like a crowbar. When the intruder brandishes it as if to strike, you raise the shotgun and fire. The blast knocks both thugs to the floor. One writhes and screams while the second man crawls to the front door and lurches outside. As you pick up the telephone to call police, you know you’re in trouble. In your country, most guns were outlawed years before, and the few that are privately owned are so stringently regulated as to make them useless.  Yours was never registered…

Police arrive and inform you that the second burglar has died. They arrest you for First Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of a Firearm.

When you talk to your attorney, he tells you not to worry: authorities will probably plea the case down to manslaughter.

“What kind of sentence will I get?” you ask.

“Only ten-to-twelve years,” he replies, as if that’s nothing. “Behave yourself, and you’ll be out in seven.”

The next day, the shooting is the lead story in the local newspaper. Somehow, you’re portrayed as an eccentric vigilante while the two men you shot are represented as choirboys. Their friends and relatives can’t find an unkind word to say about them. Buried deep down in the article, authorities acknowledge that both “victims” have been arrested numerous times.  But the next day’s headline says it all: “Lovable Rogue Son Didn’t Deserve to Die.”

The thieves have been transformed from career criminals into Robin Hood-type pranksters. As the days wear on, the story takes wings. The national media picks it up, then the international media. The surviving burglar has become a folk hero.

Your attorney says the thief is preparing to sue you, and he’ll probably win. The media publishes reports that your home has been burglarized several times in the past and that you’ve been critical of local police for their lack of effort in apprehending the suspects. After the last break-in, you told your neighbor that you would be prepared next time. The District Attorney uses this to allege that you were lying in wait for the burglars.

A few months later, you go to trial. The charges haven’t been reduced, as your lawyer had so confidently predicted.  When you take the stand, your anger at the injustice of it all works against you.  Prosecutors paint a picture of you as a mean, vengeful man.  It doesn’t take long for the jury to convict you of all charges. The judge sentences you to life in prison.

This case really happened.

On August 22, 1999, Tony Martin of Emneth, Norfolk, England, killed one burglar and wounded a second.  In April, 2000, he was convicted and is now serving a life term.

How did it become a crime to defend one’s own life in the once great British Empire?

It started with the Pistols Act of 1903.

This seemingly reasonable law forbade selling pistols to minors or felons and established that handgun sales were to be made only to those who had a license.

The Firearms Act of 1920 expanded licensing to include not only handguns but all firearms except shotguns. Later laws passed in 1953 and 1967 outlawed the carrying of any weapon by private citizens and mandated the registration of all shotguns.

Momentum for total handgun confiscation began in earnest after the Hungerford mass shooting in 1987. Michael Ryan, a mentally disturbed man with a Kalashnikov rifle, walked down the streets shooting everyone he saw. When the smoke cleared, 17 people were dead.

The British public, already de-sensitized by eighty years of “gun control”, demanded even tougher restrictions. (The seizure of all privately owned handguns was the objective even though Ryan used a rifle.)

Nine years later, at Dunblane, Scotland, Thomas Hamilton used a semi-automatic weapon to murder 16 children and a teacher at a public school.

For many years, the media had portrayed all gun owners as mentally unstable or worse, criminals. Now the press had a real kook with which to beat up law-abiding gun owners. Day after day, week after week, the media gave up all pretense of objectivity and demanded a total ban on all handguns. The Dunblane Inquiry, a few months later, sealed the fate of the few sidearms still owned by private citizens.

During the years in which the British government incrementally took away most gun rights, the notion that a citizen had the right to armed self-defense came to be seen as vigilantism. Authorities refused to grant gun licenses to people who were threatened, claiming that self-defense was no longer considered a reason to own a gun. Citizens who shot burglars or robbers or rapists were charged while the real criminals were released.

Indeed, after the Martin shooting, a police spokesman was quoted as saying, “We cannot have people take the law into their own hands.”

All of Martin’s neighbors had been robbed numerous times, and several elderly people were severely injured in beatings by young thugs who had no fear of the consequences. Martin himself, a collector of antiques, had seen most of his collection trashed or stolen by burglars.

When the Dunblane Inquiry ended, citizens who owned handguns were given three months to turn them over to local authorities.  Being good British subjects, most people obeyed the law. The few who didn’t were visited by police and threatened with ten-year prison sentences if they didn’t comply. Police later bragged that they’d taken nearly 200,000 handguns from private citizens.

How did the authorities know who had handguns? The guns had been registered and licensed. Kind of like cars. Sound familiar?

WAKE UP AMERICA; THIS IS WHY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS PUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT IN OUR CONSTITUTION.

“…It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds…” – Samuel Adams

If you think this is important, please forward to everyone you know.

You had better wake up, because your new president is going to do this very same thing over here if he can get it done. And there are stupid people in congress and on the street that will go right along with him.

[Via http://lockdoc1.wordpress.com]

COMING SOON: CELEBRITY NZNRL REPORT

Hey Gang,

I am very pleased to announce the newest feature for NZNRL – Celebrity NZNRL Report.

Each week (depending on celebrity availability, I will be bringing you an mini interview with worldwide celebrities and present their take on the current events in both the  NRL and the NZNRL!

The first few have been completed and will be unleashed in the very near future.

"Coming Soon - Celebrity NZNRL Report

So if there are any celebrities you would like me to conatct for this feature, please let me know and I’ll do my best to have it done…

League On.

[Via http://nznrl.wordpress.com]

The Stimulus Package – A Bad Deal

The Progressives who believe that the government can spend its way out of the current recession typically justify the huge expenditures with one of the follow arguments.

1. If the goventment didn’t do the Stimulus Package, more serious economic calamities would occur.  And/or,

2. When the private sector is not spending at a certain level, the government has to jump in to make up the difference, a classic Keynesian view.

Neither argument stands up to reasonable scrutiny.  The first one, heading off more serious calamities, is no different than the one George W. Bush used in fighting terrorism.  His argument was that we needed to give the government additional powers to avoid unseen calamities caused by terrorists.  It is remarkable that the Progressives were able to see Bush’s power grab, but not Obama’s.  It all boils down to the glasses one sees through.

The second argument, that government spending can make up for private sector shortfalls, requires a belief in alchemy.  First, some rhetorical questions.  When is the last time any major governmental spending program achieved the stated goal?  For example, has the trillions spent on anti-poverty over the past 40 years eliminated poverty or even put a dent in it?  How many broken government promise does it take for us to finally get it?

More to the point, to assume governmental spending can make up for private sector spending shortfalls requires that the spending benefits be greater than the negative impact of the tax increases required to pay for the spending.  This is where alchemy comes in; we aren’t paying for the spending, ….. yet.  We just keep barrowing, ignoring the fact that some day it has to be paid back.  Sort of reminds me of the sub-prime mortgage mess, but on a governmental scale.

The above logic should be enough to conclude that the Stimulus Package could not work and future ones will not work.  But, for those that require more empirical data, I suggest an Op-ed from the Wall Street Journal on February 23 by Dr. Robert Barro, professor of economics at Harvard University and a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute.  I have posted some of Barro’s comments below, as well as a link to the entire article.  His reasoning is sound and may help explain why clear-thinking senators like Evan Bayh have decided to call it a day.

• We need to ask whether the government’s spending reduced or enhanced private spending and whether public-sector hiring lowered or raised private hiring.
• I estimate a spending multiplier of around 0.4 within the same year and about 0.6 over two years.  Thus, if the government spends an extra $300 billion in each of 2009 and 2010, GDP would be higher than otherwise by $120 billion in 2009 and $180 billion in 2010.  These results apply for given taxes and, therefore, when spending is deficit-financed, as in 2009 and 2010.  Since the multipliers are less than one, the heightened government outlays reduce other parts of GDP such as personal consumer expenditure, private domestic investment and net exports.
• Christina Romer, the chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, and her husband, David, have been major contributors to research on tax multipliers.  Their results, which rely on the history of U.S. tax legislation since 1945, show tax multipliers of larger magnitude than the one I found. (So my conclusions here—based on the coming increases in taxes—would be strengthened if I switched to their estimates.)
• How attractive this short-run deal looks depends on how much one values the added governmental activity.  If it’s considered useful public investment—such as building a needed highway or, more modestly, fixing potholes—it might look good.  If it’s wasteful spending in a hastily constructed and highly political stimulus package, it looks bad.
• But these calculations are not nearly the end of the story, because the added $600 billion of government spending leads to a correspondingly larger public debt.  These added obligations must be paid for sometime by raising taxes (unless future government spending declines below its 2008 level, an unlikely scenario).
• Thus, viewed over five years, the fiscal stimulus package is a way to get an extra $600 billion of public spending at the cost of $900 billion in private expenditure. This is a bad deal.

The Stimulus Evidence One Year On – By Robert J. Barro

[Via http://enduringsense1.wordpress.com]