Another (Barely) Useful Idiot

Klein must have been educated in a government school

Which Part of the Constitution is ‘Confusing’ Ezra?

Such an old document is impossible to understand? Forgetting the obvious slams that could be made at young Mr. Klein with regard to his youthful ignorance of any bit of important American culture that predates ‘N Sync, I’d instead like to thank Ezra for providing evidence of one of the basic, principled differences between the right and the left: Conservatives still look to our country’s founding documents to guide their political and legislative agendas and the left just does what they want and then tries to force it through because working within the confines of the Constitution is just “too hard.”

Think I’m exaggerating? Take a look at this fine bit of work from The Right Place, a citizen journalist who provides a liberal’s interpretation of the Constitution:

Constitutional Authority

The top 10 violations of the Constitution by Obama and the 111th Congress

At the close of the 111th Congress, America is deeply in the bog of Thomas Jefferson’s prophetic warning: “The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.” Unfortunately, the broken chains of the Constitution have failed to contain the federal government.

By way of review, let’s take a stroll through the junkyard of constitutional violations that have been painted fresh by President Obama and the 111th Congress. Here’s my top-ten list, highly abbreviated for length.

Read more:

Piling On-EPA Style

Obama Will Make You Pay More at the Pump

“What do you say to people who are losing patience with gas prices at $3 a gallon? And how much of a political price do you think you're paying for that, right now?” This was a question asked of the president at a press conference in August…of 2006. The president was George W. Bush. In fact, it was a question that was asked in one way or another regularly during the entire eight years of the Bush presidency, regardless of where energy prices stood at that moment.

.....Yet, at the end of President Bush’s presidency, gas prices were 9% lower than when he took office (adjusted for inflation). So where have these outspoken critics been since Bush left office?

Just last week (as frigid temperatures and blizzards blasted Europe and the U.S.), the EPA announced that it will begin regulating power plants and oil refineries in an attempt to curb global warming. The new regulations will seek to cut greenhouse gas emissions by making it more expensive to turn fossil fuels into energy. And Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the Bureau of Land Management would issue new rules making it harder to develop natural resources on government-owned land. These measures will not only drive up the cost of electricity and gasoline but will also make us more dependent on foreign sources of energy.

Read the entire piece here

Using Regulation Against The Will Of The People

Companion piece to Dr Sowell's column

Using Regulation Against The Will Of The People

Written into the Declaration of Independence is a simple imperative, “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Our nation was built on this concept, but the Obama administration is using its power to write regulation to circumvent the will of the people and advance its own agenda.

Read the rest at Big Government

He Says "End Run"- I Say Trampled

Thomas Sowell: The Progressive end run around the Constitution

These words begin the Constitution of the United States: "We the people." But neither the Constitution nor "we the people" will mean anything if politicians and judges can continue to do end runs around both.

Bills passed too fast for anyone to read them are blatant examples of these end runs. But last week, another of these end runs appeared in a different institution when the medical "end of life consultations" rejected by Congress were quietly enacted through bureaucratic fiat by administrators of Medicare.

Although Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Senator Jay Rockefeller had led an effort by a group of fellow Democrats in Congress to pass Section 1233 of pending Medicare legislation, which would have paid doctors to include "end of life" counselling in their patients' physical checkups, the Congress as a whole voted to delete that provision.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, soon to become Speaker of the House, objected to this provision in 2009, saying: "This provision may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia."

Read more at the Washington Examiner:

UN Maps Show Security Deteriorating in Afghanistan

UN Maps Show Security Deteriorating in Afghanistan

Uncle Jimbo has an explanation

From Our CEO Posted at Blackfive.

Yes, our CEO is Laughing Wolf of Blackfive.

End of Year Giving

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 03:23 AM PST

This week will be one of the busiest of the year for charitable donations. Individuals and companies wanting or needing a break on taxes will be looking to donate to charities both to do some good and to get that tax break. Companies and organizations that do matching donations make it an even better week for charities.

To that end, I would like you to consider donating to some worthy causes. Check with your employer to see if they will match.

First, I hope you will consider a donation to Cooking with the Troops. We have some news coming out later this week, but one thing I can tell you is that due to a very generous donation, the food for Operation FPH Blues is now fully covered. That said, we are still a long way from our goal of $15,000 and can use your help. Remember that anything not used on the trip will be split between Cooking with the Troops and Pin-Ups for Vets. And, to be very honest, we could use some money just for us to cover some of the remaining start-up expenses and begin gearing up for next year's work.

Read the rest after the jump and make sure you see this post about a former Marine who Stands for the Fallen.

Top 10 Most UN-believable Moments of 2010 | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Top 10 Most UN-believable Moments of 2010

The United Nations: What is it--what are they--good for? Making lists, of course! The Daily Caller's Mary Katharine Ham does exactly that this morning with a list of the U.N.'s biggest, um, biggest, uh--blunders isn't the right word, because all the stupid crap our global council of elders/insane people did this year, they did on purpose. So without further ado: Number 10 is the resolution to “combat defamation of religions.” The U.N. hasn't voted on the resolution this year, but will soon, and as in years past, will vote favorably. The secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference described the resolution's aim thusly: “We insist that freedom of expression should not be abused to insult others or condescend on other cultures.” Ha. Yes. Well. The list only gets better from there.

The Hammer lays out the worst of the UN.

(I'm so glad she's a friend of mine)

Merry Christmas America!!!!

and Merry Christmas to everyone who loves me. ;)

Giving Back-Rolling Thunder New Jersey Chapter 2

Yesterday, I joined members of Soldiers Angels, Gathering of Eagles, and Warrior Legacy Foundation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to give a few wounded warriors a small token of our appreciation for their sacrifices.

This mission was made possible in part by a generous donation from Rolling Thunder's New Jersey Chapter 2. There were other generous benefactors, but we respect their privacy.

I met three recently arrived Marines. Their spirit and attitude despite their wounds, was incredible. It was an honor to be asked to help brighten Christmas for these outstanding young Marines. Thanks to the SNCO for rescuing our band of intrepid Elves and especially the Marine liason who assisted in our distribution.

OOOOOOOOORAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

See? I Told You So!

To all those "conservatives" that objected to filling out the Census because "It's Unconstitutional!" or "Obama just wants to spy on me!" etc......

I TOLD YOU THAT IF YOU DID NOT FILL IN THE CENSUS, CONSERVATIVES GET UNDER-COUNTED. IF YOU FILL IT IN, WE FREAKIN' WIN!

Since enough conservatives DID GET OFF THEIR BUTT AND SEND IT IN, Red states are getting more influence.

I couldn't believe the number of idiots that told me that Obama wanted to just spy on us because the census asked "how many live in the house?"

Of course, that multi-page survey is different thing. I wouldn't fill that out if you were paying me. And, of course, there's the GIGO method of filling out surveys.

From My Morning Email-The Wish I'd Said That Bureau

Senator Alan Simpson Calls Senior Citizens the 'Greediest Generation'..

This person is PISSED!!!! Wish I was the one that sent this to the beloved Senator!!!! There isn't a word that is false and I am believing that many Americans are beginning to think along these same lines...

From a man in Montana ....who - like the rest of us - has just about had enough

Hey Alan,

Let’s get a few things straight…

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS…

2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63)…

3. My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would have made Bernie Madoff proud…

4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age 67. NOW, you and your shill commission is proposing to move the goalposts YET AGAIN…

5. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay the bills…

6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you incompetent bastards spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay of YOUR debt…

To add insult to injury, you label us “greedy” for calling “bull****” on your incompetence. Well, Captain Bull****, I have a few questions for YOU…

1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career?

2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers?

3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance?

4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?

It is you, Captain Bull****, and your political co-conspirators who are “greedy”. It is you and they who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes. That’s right, sir You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it.

And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a beeeeatch.

Patriot Post-The Brief

Opinion in Brief

"The implicit argument for the legality of Obamacare is that the country hasn't taken the Constitution seriously in decades. So why start now? Since all branches of the federal government have colluded in ignoring and violating the Constitution for this or that 'good' cause over the years, why insist on returning to it? Nancy Pelosi relied on this implicit argument when she sputtered 'Are you serious?' to a question last year about Obamacare's constitutionality. Her scoff meant that the matter isn't even debatable anymore; America's de facto new Constitution -- the 'living' one that resides in the wills of modern pols and judges -- permits Congress to do anything it pleases in the name of the 'general welfare.' ... That Congress can establish whatever tax it pleases in the name of the 'general welfare' or ludicrously stretch the Commerce Clause to mean that nonactivity counts as regulatable 'interstate commerce' was rejected over 220 years ago. Forcing every person in every state into purchasing health insurance was not one of the enumerated powers of Congress." --columnist George Neumayr

We Already Knew This

20 States: ObamaCare Unconstitutional

President Obama's landmark health care reform law is being challenged in court by a coalition of 20 states. Lawyers argued in Florida that Congress does not have the authority to force all Americans to buy health insurance or face penalties.

Attorneys also told the judge Obama care is a bank buster and if cash strapped states are forced to pay more to expand Medicaid programs, they will go broke.

Earlier this week a federal judge in Virginia ruled that citizens can not be forced to buy health insurance. Supporters of the Florida lawsuit want the judge to go further and stop the federal government from enacting health care reform. But so far, two other federal judges have upheld the law.

President Barack Obama's administration says all Americans should have health insurance because everyone requires medical care sometimes to cover catastrophic injuries and chronic diseases.

DUH HUH...WE BE STOOPID

Alternet: Soros-Funded Study Says Fox Viewers Are “Stupid”

Of course we are.

Yet another study has been released proving that watching Fox News is detrimental to your intelligence. World Public Opinion, a project managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, conducted a survey of American voters that shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources. What’s more, the study shows that greater exposure to Fox News increases misinformation.

[...]

The body of evidence that Fox News is nothing but a propaganda machine dedicated to lies is growing by the day.

The only thing growing by the day is the ability of the left to produce propoganda.

(Lame) Duck Bill: Defense Authorization Bill Shouldn't be Victim of Political Climate

(Lame) Duck Bill: Defense Authorization Bill Shouldn't be Victim of Political Climate

Ya'll keep poking Mr Wolf and I garontee you will not like the outcome.
Just sayin'

National Defense is Job 1 for the government and elected officials. Politics should stop at the door.
I sometimes wonder if the people we elect forget they are just as vulnerable as we are.

Marines in Pictures

As a retired Gator Navy squid, as an uncle to a former Marine officer, and a brother to Vietnam era Marine Helo pilot.....

all I can say is Oo-Frickin'-Rah!


Go take a look.

While Americans Are Taxed on Death, Political Elites Get a Handout

While Americans Are Taxed on Death, Political Elites Get a Handout

Despite being one of the more unpopular policies in America, the death tax is set to be resurrected on January 1st. How high it will ultimately rise remains to be seen. If the tax deal passes, it will return at a 35% rate and a $5 million exemption. While not good, that’s certainly better than the 55% rate and $1 million exemption we’ll see if the deal fails. Still, both rates would mean disaster for family businesses and farms.

The hard left has inexplicably decided that not pushing hard enough for excessive taxation without respiration is where they draw the line in the sand. Nancy Pelosi referred to any deal that would lesson the fleecing of Americans upon death as “a bridge too far.” Others have referred to its inclusion in the tax deal as “gratuitous.” That’s funny, given how apt the word describes the tax itself.

What are we to make of this inexplicable drive for such an unpopular policy? One explanation is that the left simply holds a profoundly distorted view of social fairness. Rather than seek equality before the law, they look to government to enforce equality of outcomes. But other forces might be at work as well.

Another possible explanation comes courtesy of a new issue brief by the American Family Business Foundation, which highlights the cozy relationship between the life insurance industry and big government. Because life insurance benefits are untaxed, even an overpriced plan can result in more money being passed on to heirs than a simple bequeathal. The life insurance industry benefits heavily from this arrangement, with an estimated $12.5 billion in revenue coming due to estate planning. Without a death tax, much of this revenue would be lost, making the $50 million per year spent on lobbying by the industry seem like a bargain.


When the death tax was phased out temporarily, the industry went to work fighting to ensure it would rise again. This is their customers money they are spending in order to promote higher taxes, which will then force those taxpayers to purchase their product if they want to fulfill the basic human desire of providing their children. Their work is now about to pay off. And this is where the left draws their line in the sand?

To add insult to injury, the very same elites who want to rob the graves of the newly departed will get a gratuity, courtesy of US taxpayers, should they die in office. Known as the death gratuity, this benefit consists of a payout equal to one year’s worth of their bloated salary to the family of a member of Congress that dies in office. So while American farmers are struggling to find a way to pay a gratuitous death tax without selling off their property, the families of the likes of Senators Kennedy and Byrd get gratuity checks of $174,000 or more. Where is Bernie Sanders to ask when enough is enough for these political elites?

They want us broke and desperate. They know disposable income is the oil that keeps the machinery running. Eliminate all the excess income, no matter that taxes have already been paid on its generation once.

Follow-up From Our AG on Healthcare Ruling

Our Attorney General ROCKS THE HOUSE!!!!!!

Dear Defender of Liberty,

As I told you earlier today, Virginia won the first round of the constitutional fight over the federal health care law. I also told you I'd get back to you with more details later in the day, and I'm keeping my promise.

I will tell you up front that I will also go into still more detail later this week - when time allows.


Arguments and Outcomes

There were two basic arguments in this case.

First, Virginia argued that the individual mandate was beyond the power of Congress and the President to impose under the Constitution. Specifically, Congress claimed that their regulatory power under the Commerce Clause allowed them to order you to buy their government-approved health insurance, even if you decide not to buy health insurance.

The judge ruled that the federal government does not have the power to compel you to buy health insurance as part of its attempt to regulate the entire field of health care and health insurance. Thus, Virginia won this argument.

Second, the federal government advanced a 'fallback' argument in case it lost on its commerce clause argument. The feds' fallback argument was that the financial penalty you have to pay if you don't buy the government mandated health insurance is a tax.

This may sound like an odd argument from a political standpoint - usually they say everything is NOT a tax (in fact, they argued the penalty was not a tax while they were trying to get the bill passed); however, they changed position after the bill became law to try and save the bill. What they were trying to do was to get the courts to agree that because the penalty would presumably raise some revenue, it was therefore a 'tax' under the taxing and spending for the General Welfare Clause of the Constitution.

No judge in the country has bought this argument, and Judge Hudson was no exception. He ruled that the taxing power of Congress does not save the bill, because the penalty for not buying the mandated health insurance is not a tax.

The federal government only had to win on either of these two arguments, while Virginia needed to win both to prevail, and we won both!

What's Next?

Certainly the federal government will appeal their loss in the district court to the 4th circuit court of appeals within the next 30 days. And whichever side loses in the 4th circuit will certainly appeal to the Supreme Court. And no one has any serious doubts that ultimately the constitutionality of the individual mandate will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

That could take approximately (very rough approximation) two years. We are discussing with the Department of Justice accelerating the case, and those discussions have been very cordial thus far. More on that later.


Conclusion

Today is a great day for the Constitution. Today the Constitution has been protected from the federal government, and remember, an important reason for the constitution in the first place was to limit the power of the federal government.

Today is also a day of a small degree of vindication. When we first filed suit, the screeching of the liberals was deafening. Everything from accusing us of playing politics instead of practicing law, to filing what they called a 'frivolous' lawsuit.

I want you to know, that our team makes decisions based on the Constitution and the laws. Period. We deal with the consequences of our decisions separately, but first and foremost we have been and will continue to be true to the Constitution and laws of the United States and Virginia, regardless of whether it's easy or hard in any particular case.

Thank you for your continuing support!

Virginia Could Be the First to Reinforce Original Intent

and that would only be fitting. We are the birthplace of individual freedom and limited government. From the Religious Freedom Act to Patrick Henry's speech, Viriginians have stood against intrusive and restrictive actions by government.

Ruling expected Monday on Virginia health care suit

Many observers believe that U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson, who sits in Richmond, may be the first judge to strike down the law.

If he does, he would rule that Congress overstepped its constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce with a requirement in that law that individuals obtain health insurance by 2014 or pay a fine.

The suit was filed in March by Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken T. Cuccinelli II (R), who said he was defending a new state statute that made it illegal to require individuals to have health insurance. It is separate from a case filed jointly by 20 other states in Florida. A judge will hear oral arguments in that case on Thursday.

Hudson's staff says he is expected to file his ruling on the case midday Monday. His decision will almost certainly be appealed. The constitutionality of the law will ultimately be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Honorable Henry Hudson should write a very short brief, saying, in essence:
"The Healthcare Law is trash. You boys have to scrap it now and start over."

Obamacare Heads to Court

While the new Congress deliberates over ways to repeal or defund the Obama Administration’s “healthcare reform” law, twenty states and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), have filed suit in federal court arguing that the law is unconstitutional and should be struck down immediately. This is the largest of several legal challenges to Obamacare across the country.

snip/

The Constitution does not allow Congress to force Americans to purchase a product solely because they are alive and the federal government’s claim of such authority contradicts more than two hundred years of Supreme Court precedent. Yet the individual mandate, which would obligate private citizens to obtain health insurance whether they want it or not, does just that.

Gangsters, Terrorists and Hostage Takers Oh My!!

So we're either terrorists, gangsters, (wait, isn't that the Chicago Way?) or we held the American middle class hostage. Will the left ever run out of hyperbole?

Nadler: Obama gave in to 'a bunch of gangsters' in tax deal with GOP
By Vicki Needham - 12/12/10 12:25 PM ET

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) called Republicans "a bunch of gangsters" who blackmailed Democrats to ensure that the nation's wealthiest retain their tax cuts.

Nadler, appearing Sunday morning on CBS' "Face the Nation," characterized the Republican stance on the bipartisan compromise on extending the Bush-era tax cuts of "nice middle class tax cut you have there, pity if something would happen to it unless you give millionaires and billionaries" a tax cut. "Unless you give the wealthier a tax cut we're not permitting the middle class to get it."

Nadler expressed concern that Republicans will continue pressing Congress and President Obama for a permanent extension of those tax cuts and if we "succumb to blackmail" now why should there be any expectation that they will have the "political gumption in 2012 to not submit again."

More after the jump

And maybe it will work. Here's hoping anyway. I doubt Nadler heard any Conservative actually say the statement quoted above, but I'm sure he knew thats what they meant.

Heritage Foundation Morning Bell

If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid engineer this massive a tax increase in a faltering economy, they will join two Republicans -- Reed Smoot of Utah and Willis Hawley of Oregon -- in the pantheon of economic fools. Before they do so, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid should consider that history has still not forgiven their predecessors for the Smoot-Hawley tariff that led to the Great Depression.

Liberals Leave The Reservation

Any piece of legislation must be both constitutional and improve the condition of the American people. When President Obama and Congressional Republicans first announced their tax deal early last week, our reaction was to hold our noses against its bad elements; on balance, we thought the extension of the current tax rates was laudable. Now, however, the full text of the bill has been released and we see all the bad things that were in the original deal. Meanwhile, liberals in Congress are walking away even from that deal, and are holding the country hostage to their hatred of those they call “the rich.” The tax cut deal, we now know, has been so freighted with liberal special interest tax giveaways that true conservatives cannot support it in good faith.

The Twelve Days of .........Winter

Merry Christmas!



h/t Brutally Honest

Congratulations To Bill Janis

Full disclosure: I like Bill Janis. He's a good man, he served his country honorably and continues to serve the Commonwealth and the citizens of the 56th District. I'd like to cast a vote for him for Governor some day, or maybe Senator. Seriously.

He is now the Majority Whip in the Virginia House of Delegates. If that's not a match made in Heaven, I don't know what is. Go get 'em, Brother. We got your six.

Matters of the Commonwealth

Chris Peace needs some input from the good citizens of the Commonwealth.

He has a few questions he'd like you to answer.

I filled it out. Its no big deal to access, and the more information he has, the better he can perform his duties. We are obligated as citizens of the Commonwealth to assist our elected officials in any way we can.

Could Someone Please Explain That Whole "Hope and Change" Thing Again?

Most Americans Say They’re Worse Off Under Obama, Poll Shows
and not just any old poll; nosirree, this is from Bloomberg

More than 50 percent of Americans say they are worse off now than they were two years ago when President Barack Obama took office, and two-thirds believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, a Bloomberg National Poll shows.

The survey, conducted Dec. 4-7, finds that 51 percent of respondents think their situation has deteriorated, compared with 35 percent who say they’re doing better. The balance isn’t sure. Americans have grown more downbeat about the country’s future in just the last couple of months, the poll shows. The pessimism cuts across political parties and age groups, and is common to both sexes.

The negative sentiment may cast a pall over the holiday shopping season, according to the poll. A plurality of those surveyed -- 46 percent -- expects to spend less this year than last; only 12 percent anticipate spending more. Holiday sales rose by just under a half percent last year after falling by almost 4 percent in 2008.

You can continue to read about how much better things were going to be under Bambi here.

Aint Utopia just so cool.

They Want Us Broke

House Democrats Insist On Tax Increase
by Publius
Big Government.com

House Democrats voted Thursday to reject President Barack Obama’s tax deal with Republicans in its current form, but it was unclear how significantly the package might need to be changed.

By voice vote in a closed caucus meeting, Democrats passed a resolution saying the tax package should not come to the House floor for consideration as written, even though no formal House bill has been drafted. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., introduced the resolution.

Said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas: “If it’s take it or leave it, we’ll leave it.”

The vote will at least temporarily stall what had seemed to be a grudging Democratic movement toward the tax package.

Read the rest here

Meet Michael Copps, He Wants To Regulate Your Speech

Meet the FCC commissioner who wants to control the news

By Mike Riggs - The Daily Caller Published: 12:53 AM 12/08/2010 Updated: 6:58 AM 12/08/2010

In 1949, the Federal Communications Commission created a rule requiring broadcasters to cover issues that the government deemed important, and to do so in a way that the government found “honest, equitable and balanced.” If a broadcaster did not agree to abide by this rule, the FCC reserved the right to revoke the station’s broadcasting license. This rule was called the Fairness Doctrine. The FCC abandoned it in 1987. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, a socially conservative Democrat appointed to the FCC in 2001, would like to bring it back.

Copps has a long history of advocating for government control of media, dating to the beginning of his tenure. But it wasn’t until last week, after Copps spoke to the BBC and an audience at Columbia University, that Congress decided to look into the commissioner’s philosophy against private media companies.

“We are going to be pretty close to denying our citizens the essential news and information that they need to have in order to make intelligent decisions about the future direction of their country,” Copps told the BBC. Media outlets are not “producing the body of news and information that democracy needs to conduct its civic dialogue.”
[Emphasis added]

Copps went on to criticize his Republican colleagues at the FCC, who he claims, “eviscerated just about every public interest responsibility that generations of reformers had fought for and won in radio and TV.” In other words, the FCC folded the Fairness Doctrine in the 80s when it should have been cooking up legal justification for applying it more widely.

Republican Rep. Joe Barton got wind of Copps’ remarks and sent him a letter in which he asked if Copps meant “to suggest that it is the job of the federal government, through the Federal Communications Commission, to determine the content that is available for Americans to consume.” While Copps has not publicly answered Barton’s query, it’s no secret what he’d say: Hell yes

Read more:

Top 10 Concelaed Carry

Top 10 Concealed Carry Guns
by Mark Walters

12/07/2010

This article is sure to generate a ton of emotion and that is a good thing. A “top ten” list of anything is going to be helpful to some, controversial to many and just plain flat out wrong to others. No matter what I put on the list or where I may rank it, someone is certain to tell me I’m right just as someone else is certain to tell me I’m wrong. (That’s what makes America great)!

So, here we go.

As far as I’m concerned, in order for a concealed carry gun to be effective it must meet certain criteria. A CCW gun must:
4. Be simple to use. Point and click, squeeze and bang. No levers, locks, bells or whistles. Nothing that makes you think beyond pulling a trigger. This is a gun. It should be simple and you should not have to worry about running a “system” when your life or the lives of your loved ones are on the line and immediate action is required.

3. Power. All guns are powerful. Don’t believe me? Stand in front of your little 22 LR and have someone pull the trigger. What? I didn’t think so. This is one area where I will challenge conventional wisdom. No one wants to get shot…by ANY gun of ANY caliber, especially criminals. Yes, you should always carry the largest and most powerful caliber that you can comfortably carry and shoot…if that happens to be a .22, good for you and BAD for whoever is on the receiving end!

2. Reliability. You can carry the coolest custom gun in the world but if your choice of handgun doesn’t go POW when your booger hook squeezes the bang switch or the shot goes wide left like a pee-wee football field goal attempt, it is worthless. Your gun MUST be reliable and by reliable I mean reliable right out of the box!

1. Comfort. This is another area where I will also challenge conventional wisdom. We’ve all heard the words that a gun isn’t meant to be comfortable, it is meant to be comforting. That is old school. Nowadays, it can be both. It is no longer necessary to lug around a 2 lb. hunk of steel with only 7 rounds. (Unless you want to)

Here’s my personal list of top ten favorites:

More after the jump

Constitutional Impact Study

Resolution to be introduced demanding all legislation cite Constitutional authorization
By Caroline May -
The Daily Caller Published: 4:43 AM 12/07/2010

New Jersey Republican Rep. Scott Garrett plans to introduce a resolution in the House of Representatives Tuesday that would require all legislation to cite an enumerated power in the Constitution that grants authority for the bill’s mandate.
Garrett, founder and chairman of the House Constitution Caucus, told The Daily Caller that the resolution is the direct result of the American people’s expressed desire for Congress to return to its Constitutional roots.

“This bill grows out of ‘The Pledge with America,’ going across the country prior to the campaign and hearing what was important to the American public and what they have told us is that we need to — as they and we put it — restore the preeminence of the Constitution in law-making and we do that by, as the rule would say, passing a non-waivable rule that would require every bill and amendment to have a citation of the specific authority in the Constitution.”

Read more:

Every representative better be prepared to sponsor this legislation and Cantor needs to be first in line.

A True Hero

Go Vote for her. The winner gets $10,000. Vote Here.

A true Champion

After serving 27 years in the Army including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, surviving 7 IED's blasts, Lt Col Kathy Champion came home only to find she had contracted a virus in Iraq that took her eyesight. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, Kathy acquired a guide dog, Angel, from the Paws for Patriots Program of Southeastern Guide Dog School in Florida, and has made it her quest to raise 2 million dollars to help other soldiers either blinded or suffer from PTSD to acquire service dogs. With Angel by her side, Kathy is an unstoppable force. She is a true "sheroe" to all who have served under her and to all who know her.

h/t BlackFive

We Are Venezuala

Nothing Changed This Week-The FCC Still Has No Authority to Regulate the Internet

What was true before FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s Tuesday midnight run to grab power over the Web remains true today – the FCC does not have the authority to do what they have just announced they will do on December 21st.

Unless and until the Congress enacts law making it so, the FCC doesn’t have the authority to do anything. December’s vote to commandeer control of the Internet is no more legitimate than – and just as capricious as – if they were to vote themselves masters of all the nation’s pizza joints.

The FCC – no government agency – can just decide they want to regulate an industry – and then vote themselves power over it. That’s not constitutional, representative, limited government – that’s Hugo Chavez-style expropriative despotism.

And it’s not as if The Chairman has been suffering from a dearth of people pointing out his lack of authority. We have repeatedly pointed it out. And it hasn’t just been us.

In April, the D.C. Circuit Court said so, unanimously ruling the obvious – that the Commission does not have the authority to do anything to the Internet.

More after the jump

Fox Has Assured Free Chickens For Everyone

EDITORIAL: Wave goodbye to Internet freedom
FCC crosses the Rubicon into online regulation

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised to add the Internet to its portfolio of regulated industries. The agency's chairman, Julius Genachowski, announced Wednesday that he circulated draft rules he says will "preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet." No statement could better reflect the gulf between the rhetoric and the reality of Obama administration policies.

With a straight face, Mr. Genachowski suggested that government red tape will increase the "freedom" of online services that have flourished because bureaucratic busybodies have been blocked from tinkering with the Web. Ordinarily, it would be appropriate at this point to supply an example from the proposed regulations illustrating the problem. Mr. Genachowski's draft document has over 550 footnotes and is stamped "non-public, for internal use only" to ensure nobody outside the agency sees it until the rules are approved in a scheduled Dec. 21 vote. So much for "openness."

More here

When asked about this latest revelation, the fox had this to say, "If you'll just put me in charge of the henhouse, I can assure you there will be free chickens for everyone."

Who Is Michael Copps and Where Has He Been?

"The media in America has a substance abuse problem. They're not producing news like they were 15 years ago."

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!?!?!?!?!?

T'is the Season

Happy Hannukah!

Doesn't this make you smile?

A satellite image of Tehran airport taken by Google Earth service outraged Iranian government officials as the Star of David appeared on the roof of the headquarters of the national carrier Iran Air.

Iranian media explained that the Iran Air building constructed by Israeli engineers during the time of Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi.

The best part? How many pilots have seen this Star and NOT REPORTED IT?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-HANNUKAH!!!