GoE and Warrior Legacy Back At Walter Reed

Thanks to a very generous and thoughtful donation from the Band of Mothers, Gathering of Eagles was able to present a brand new laptop to a Staff Sergeant with 9 (NINE!!) deployments under his helmet. Dedicated Warriors such as this Staff Sergeant are the reason we sleep soundly and can freely express our opinions, no matter how distasteful some of those opinions may be; we need to give them all the support we can muster.

Thanks especially to the GoE Tidewater volunteer for getting the logistics worked out with Best Buy Business and thanks to Best Buy Business for being so damn nice. It was a Charlie Foxtrot for about an hour, but it got solved and the folks at Best Buy Broad Street helped enormously.

We took care of an 82NDABN Trooper with a nice new Toshiba and Dragonspeak.

Thanks to James Hanson, Communications Director for Warrior Legacy Foundation for donating his time this morning. Thanks to Cooking with the Troops CEO Blake Powers for making the trip under extreme weather conditions. (CwtT will have a huge announcement pertaining to our National Advisory Board soon. Stay tuned.)

A couple of SNCO's at WRAMC were instrumental in getting us in and out and for that, we are eternally grateful. HOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to my BFF SKK and Mini-SKK for being so damn hot. (You really didn't think I could do a post and not mention the hot women, did you?)

IVAW At CPAC???

Ron Paul Supporters Boo, Heckle Rumsfeld and Cheney

Words to remember: "Show us the shekels, Dick, show us the shekels."

Paul promotes a fiscal and security policy that would be disastrous to the nation for reasons no more substantial than self aggrandizement. Were that the limit of his damage he would be easy to ignore. It isn’t like he’s the first crank or nutjob we’ve had in the movement and the GOP. Far from it. What makes Paul so distasteful is not so much his policies but the classless twits who follow him like rats leaving Hameln.

Here at RedState we have experienced several influxes of Ronbots but our first real introduction to the type of person we were dealing with occurred as the 2008 primaries were heating up. Their monomania — along with mouthbreathing and poor personal hygiene — forced us to take the unprecedented step of banning them on sight.

Any doubt that we have unfairly maligned them disappeared this past week at CPAC where they booed and shouted anti-Semitic slogans at two of the pre-eminent public servants our side has produced in the past couple of decades.

It started with former Secretary of Defense being invited to receive an award by CPAC and to speak. In response, Ron Paul’s supporters, many of them paid to attend, booed him and staged a walkout.

A steady stream of Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s supporters walked out of a planned tribute for Donald Rumsfeld at CPAC Thursday afternoon. The walk-out had been planned ahead of time in part by Campaign for Liberty organizers and it seemed to be supported by more than 100 CPAC attendees.

The former defense secretary was also booed when took to the stage

The real fun started when Dick Cheney showed up to pay tribute to Rumsfeld. Dave Weigel was apparently at CPAC doing his Conservatives in the Mist schtick and reports in Slate:

When Rumsfeld takes the stage, the boos keep going, because some anti-war conservatives have stuck around to heckle. When it sees Dick Cheney, the crowd’s din drowns out the boos… for a while. I find a place on the floor next to several activists wearing Ron Paul gear.

“Bringing in Cheney made it worse,” says Nathan Cox, a Richmond, Va. activist and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. “I kinda feel like yelling something.”

He doesn’t yell, but another activist yells “Show us the shekels, Dick! Show us the shekels!” It’s a not-so-veiled critique of Israel that gets him immediately kicked out. Another anti-war conservative yells “Draft dodger!” and he’s kicked out.

By this point, enough supporters of the last Republican administration are in the room to fill it with cheers of “Cheney 2012!” and to drown out a heckler who yells “Where’s bin Laden?”


Show us the shekels. Draft dodger. Murderous scum.

Foul epithets directed at men who accomplish more in any given day than the combined mass of Ron Paul supporters will accomplish in the totality of their miserable pissant lives.

These are people who fancy themselves conservatives and believe they have some place honor within the conservative movement. They are wrong. This odious behavior will be neither forgiven nor forgotten.

Wild Growth in Extremist, Anti-Government Groups in America… Or Is There?

Wild Growth in Extremist, Anti-Government Groups in America… Or Is There?

Without having any substantive proof of its claims, once again the Old Media takes the word of The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a group that says right-wing hate groups are on the rise in the United States of America. Worse that Old Media outlet, Agence France Presse, simply takes this group’s press release, re-words it a bit and regurgitates it as if it were straight news. Typically, contrary to good journalistic practice, there is no second source to prove that these “hate” groups are on the rise. What’s more is that the SPLC’s claims are taken as gospel year in and year out by every Old Media outlet, not just the AFP.

snip

Even more ridiculously, the SPLC has named the blog of blogger Pamela Geller of New York as a “hate group.”

Geller is most well known for her efforts to stop the Ground Zero Mosque from being built on the grounds where 19 Islamofascists killed 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001. Of her inclusion on a “hate group” list, Geller told the New York Daily News that the SPLC, “failed to address the greatest threat to our national security.”

“My group is a human rights group,” she said. “And these people are taken seriously? This is the morally inverted state of the world.”

Who has double-checked the veracity of these proclamations by the SPLC? Who has made sure that what the SPLC claims is a hate group really satisfies universally to deserve such an appellation? No one has.

The Global Caliphate and the Universal Delusion

The Global Caliphate and the Universal Delusion

I almost forgot how the Pundit Right smacked down Glenn Beck over his wholly rational concern that out of Tahrir Square a new caliphate might arise in the Islamic world until I read William Kristol’s op-ed this week.

Earlier this month, Weekly Standard editor and Fox analyst Kristol had led off the anti-Beck attack with a heated column accusing Beck of “hysteria” for his “rants about the caliphate taking over the Middle East” and connections to the American Left. Kristol was seconded by National Review editor Rich Lowry. The New York Times’ David Brooks entered the debate lambasting Beck for his “delusional ravings about the caliphate coming back” while “the conservative establishment” saw Mubarak’s fall as “a fulfillment of Ronald Reagan’s democracy dream.” (Count me out.)

Read more

The Constitution and Obamacare

The Constitution and Obamacare

Just Watch Your Car For New Dings

Well, the General Assembly has authorized the issuance of new car licenses for the TEA Party. Its good that folks want to display their support. Always nice to be able to pinpoint the friendlies, as it were.

However, recognition of your political and philosophical leanings also tend to fall under the jurisdiction of the "Law of Unintended Consequences"; to wit, there are stupid, cruel, vindictive people walking the planet, wasting valuable air and space. They tend to react stupidly and destructively when confronted with a sign or symbol indicating that the vehicle belongs to someone on the extreme right. And while a footprint in the dent on the hatch door of my Durango directly underneath my Protest Warrior bumper sticker is anecdotal, the vehicle was parked on Constitution Ave during a counter-protest.

So be prepared for an increase in "parking lot dings" after you hang that shiny new TEA Party license plate on your car.

Huh??

Sheila Jackson-Lee DFC-TX on the penalty for not having health insurance. Be sure to limber up before reading this; you might pull a muscle.

Verbal gymnastics: "I would make the argument, one, that instead it is an incentive to do right, that it is not penalizing because penalty is punishment. You're not punished if you have health insurance, in fact. And so you are, in fact, incentivized to have health insurance, rather than take the negative, which is to suggest that because we have a penalty you are being punished." --Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX

Redstate Morning Briefing

I'm sure he had a perfectly good reason for being a wimp and selling out to the dhimmis. He probably talked to his wife before he voted to bankrupt the nation.

Eric Cantor's Failure of Leadership

On Friday, 92 Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, joined all of the Democrats to defeat an amendment offered up by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn to ensure the GOP lived up to its "$100 billion in cuts" pledge.

This was a failure of leadership, particularly by Eric Cantor.

Blackburn's amendment, by its own description, would have "reduce[d] spending by 5.5% in 8 non-securiy spending subsections of the bill and reduce[d] Legislative Branch appropriations by 11%."

In other words, just as Republicans pledged to bring spending down to 2008 levels, Congresswoman Blackburn's amendment would have ensured it happened across the board, save for security matters.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy joined Democrats to oppose this. Other Republicans took to the floor to call Rep. Blackburn and her conservative colleagues "lazy" for wanting across the board cuts.

US Navy Chief Bill Cosby

Navy Hails Cosby as Honorary Chief

By Navy Chief Petty Officer Sonya Ansarov
Office of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2011 – Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West recognized actor, comedian and former sailor Bill Cosby as an honorary chief petty officer in a ceremony yesterday at the U.S. Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center.

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby stands between Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus during a Feb. 17, 2011, ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., in which Cosby was recognized as an honorary chief petty officer. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason M. Graham (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

"Bill Cosby is not just a comedian and an actor -- although he's pretty good at both -- he's also been a tireless advocate for social responsibility and education and a constant friend to the Navy," Mabus said. "Last year was the highest compliment I've ever received –- being made an honorary chief petty officer, and now Dr. Cosby –- you're about to get the same honor."

Read the rest here.

Bussing In Protestors

Rumor has it that Uncle Jimbo was on the ground in his home-town of Madison. He files this and one other report over at Blackfive.

Big Journalism has this piece up:
Progressives In Front of WH Protest Effort Mad at Koch Brothers

The President took a public stand against the hard-working private sector families of Wisconsin who are struggling to make ends meet in an post-stimulus era of 9% unemployment.

OFA, the President’s campaign arm, has organized and bussed in hundreds of out-of-state protesters to continue the agitation in Wisconsin.

The DNC has been working to help organize protest against states’ rights and the Wisconsin governor.

Yet progressive columnists who, for whatever reason, are allowed to post poorly-written Kos fantasies in a publication like Forbes and are freaking out over, who else? The Koch Brothers. Rick Ungar ironically and generously quotes the Soros-funded Think Progress in his diatribe about the Wisconsin protests.

Even if, for the sake of this ridiculous argument, the Koch brothers were involved in funding a portion of the rally, who cares? Ungar misses the irony of quoting a Soros publication while complaining about the Koch brothers. He misses the irony of standing for government-organized protests. He props up one bajillionaire while whining about another. It’s good enough for progressives to allow the White House to abuse its power and stir up tension in state capitols, yet somehow Ungar finds it within himself to draw a boundary when it comes to conservatives doing the same.

More--->

Breitbart.tv » Liberals Ignore Hitler Imagery and Violent Rhetoric From Union-Thug Protesters in Wisconsin

Breitbart.tv » Liberals Ignore Hitler Imagery and Violent Rhetoric From Union-Thug Protesters in Wisconsin

SIT-REP NY-26

I checked in with my buddy Charlie up in Rochester. He runs Rochester Conservative and is an Air Force vet.

He reports this tidbit:
The Republican Party bosses seemed to be siding with Jane L. Corwin as she's wealthy and can fund her own campaign. That was the deciding factor when they chose Lee back in 2008, when DB tried his first run at the seat.

So the party apparatchik is deciding who gets to represent the good folks up in NY-26? I think not. Time for some TEA Party action.

FreeRepublic

Iraqi Vet Back In the Fight

David Bellavia speaking at Vets for Freedom Vets on the Hill

This time, he's doing it at home. Full disclosure, I am an unpaid volunteer for Warrior Legacy Foundation, which was founded by David and Matt Burden from Blackfive, and I have met David and consider him a friend.

We have a rare and immediate opportunity to replace a disgraced politician with an authentic hero of the Iraq War. David Bellavia is running in a special election to fill the vacancy left by disgraced Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY-26) who resigned last week after shirtless photos he sent to a woman surfaced.

Staff Sergeant Bellavia is the real deal! He was nominated for the Medal of Honor and Distinguisehed Service Cross and was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the Second Battle for Fallujah. He also received the Bronze Star, three Army Commendation Medals and two Army Achievement Medals.

Bellavia's heroics in Fallujah were the subject of a Time Magazine cover story and he was an honored guest of the President at the 2006 State of the Union. He is also the co-founder of Vets for Freedom and the author of the best-selling book House to House.

As a decorated veteran, David Bellavia has demonstrated selfless service to country. As a principled conservative he is right on the issues. The special election will be held in just a few weeks and we need to make sure that this dynamic and honorable man has the resources he needs to win.

So please, no matter the size of your contribution today - be it $10, $25, $50, $100 or more - I know every dollar will make a difference toward victory.

Warmest Regards,

Kieran Michael Lalor

Founder, Iraq Veterans for Congress PAC

###

Iraq Veterans for Congress PAC (IVC) is a federally registered political action committee supporting the congressional campaigns of conservative veterans. IVC looks for veterans who are determined to become a voice for our troops, military families and hardworking patriotic Americans who believe that our country, our Constitution and our way of life are worth fighting for. IVC was founded in 2007 by Kieran Michael Lalor, a Marine Corps Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This Will Probably Not End Well For Someone

Lawmaker seeks ban of military NASCAR sponsors

A Minnesota congresswoman has introduced an amendment to ban the military from spending money to sponsor NASCAR race cars through Sept. 30, end of this fiscal year. Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat whose district includes St. Paul, introduced the amendment Monday to keep any military branch from sponsoring “NASCAR race cars.’’

The Army sponsors Ryan Newman, the National Guard sponsors Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the Air Force sponsors AJ Allmendinger in the Sprint Cup Series, the highest level in NASCAR.

Military officials have said in the past that sponsoring cars helps with recruitment, but Bill Harper, McCollum's chief of staff, doesn’t buy that.

“I would challenge the Pentagon to give me one example of someone today in Iraq or Afghanistan who saw the Go Army car going around the race track and that’s why they joined the Army,’’ Harper said this morning. “It may be the reason why they go to Home Depot, but not necessarily Afghanistan.’’ NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston countered: “NASCAR fans are the kind of people who fight America’s wars, which would put into question the wisdom of banning the military’s ability to reach out to them."

Poston said NASCAR research shows that one in three servicemen or women is a NASCAR fan and that one in five either serves now or has served in the military.

Harper noted that there is nothing in the amendment that would prohibit military branches from going to NASCAR races to recruit by setting up booths and other such things.

How significant is this in terms of money saved? As an example, in 2009 the Army paid $11.6 million to sponsor Newman’s car. Though the amount spent is miniscule compared with a federal budget approaching $4 trillion, Harper said it's about priorities.

“We’re in a fiscal crisis. There’s an amendment on the floor to eliminate all funding for homeless veterans. On one hand we’re eliminating assistance to men and women who served our country, … and on the other hand we’re paying for race cars. That doesn’t make sense," Harper said. “The question is, why are taxpayer dollars being used to sponsor NASCAR race cars? We’ve got two wars going on. Can we afford it? This is not an attack on NASCAR. There are a lot of private sector businesses that support NASCAR. The Pentagon is in the war-fighting business and not the race business.’’

Both the House and Senate are expected to pass separate bills. If they then emerge from a House-Senate conference committee as a passed bill, it would go to the president.

Harper conceded there is a long way to go before this amendment could become law. “The question is going to be what do we want to invest our precious tax dollars in as Americans.’’

Rep Allen West On Bloggers Row At CPAC

Yeah, this guy gets it.

H/T BreitbartTV

Military and Overseas Voter Protection Act MOVE

MVP Project Director To Testify Before Congress

Tomorrow marks another step in the right direction for our military and their right to vote. I will testify on behalf of the Military Voter Protection Project (MVP Project) before the Committee on House Administration regarding the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act).

As you know the MOVE Act is intended to protect the right for all members of our military stationed overseas to vote. The 2010 election left us with work to be done, and tomorrow I will present MVP Project's preliminary analysis of the elections and whether the MOVE Act had a positive impact. I will also highlight the egregious treatment of military voters in New York and Illinois during the 2010 elections and further discuss unsettled issues regarding enforcement of the MOVE Act by the Voting Section of the Department of Justice.

Protecting military voting rights is not just a once every two years job. As you will see by tomorrow's hearings it is an everyday priority for the MVP Project. We are asking, once again, for your support as we ensure that every vote of every military man and woman is counted on Election Day. The MVP Project will continue to fight hard for their rights as they are fighting for our rights. Thank you for joining us for this important endeavor.

If you are in the DC Metro area and wish to attend, hearings are open to the general public. You can also show your support by watching a live web stream of the hearings at the Committee's website.

Sincerely,

Eric Eversole
Executive Director, Military Voter Protection Project

Tell Me Again Which Political Party Is Racist

You can read more after the jump

As of 2004, the Democrat Party (the oldest political party in America) has never elected a black man to the United States Senate, the Republicans have elected three.

and the Keynote Speaker at CPAC was none other than Republican Representative Lt Col Allen West, a career Army officer and American of African descent.

Paul Off the Board

Ron Paul Removed from Board of Young Americans for Freedom.

In a statement evocative of William F. Buckley, Jr. when he excoriated Robert Welch and the John Birch Society as being “far removed from reality and common sense”, the Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative/libertarian youth group founded in 1960, has given Ron Paul (Crank - TX) the boot from its board of directors.

“Rep. Paul has strayed to the left of Obama and allied himself with the radical anti-war left by laying the blame on America for the unprovoked attacks of Sept. 11th. Additionally, Rep. Paul has not condemned the 9/11 “Truther” conspiracy theorists that support him, and he has repeatedly insisted, that the United States not bring justice to those who have murdered thousands of our civilians and soldiers at home and abroad. This is simply unacceptable. Clearly Rep. Paul cares more about a doomed presidential run than he does our country,” [YAF’s Senior National Director Jordan] Marks added.

I don’t follow groups like YAF so I am assuming the move has been a while in coming because otherwise one has to assume YAF simply hasn’t been paying attention to Ron Paul’s lunacy for the past decade. There was nothing in the mishmash of goldbuggery, conspiracy theories, and historical ignorance Paul spun in his CPAC speech to a crowd of adoring naïfs which marks it as uniquely, or even particularly, crazy by Ron Paul standards.

Regardless of what precipitated the decision by YAF it was both justified and long overdue. Ron Paul and his followers have existed as parasites on the conservative movement for much too long. The sooner they are cut loose in the way William F. Buckley, Jr., cut loose the John Birch Society the stronger our movement will be.

West/Palin 2012

No I haven't lost what's left of my mind. I haven't been eating the funny-looking mushrooms growing in my basement. This is serious.

LTCOL Allen West (R) FL-22, gave the keynote speech last night at CPAC. I managed to catch the first 5-7 minutes.

If you remember, LTCOL West was the officer who used fear-tatics to extract information from a Taliban terrorist and saved lives. He immediately notified his command and he was discharged. The Army's loss is Florida's, and now OUR, gain.

LTCOL West has presence of mind, a grasp of fundemental conservative values, and the cajones to run this country. He is National Security personalized. Coupled with Sarah Palin, who has Domestic Energy credentials, I believe we could actually return this country to a position of independence and security.

Product Warning From Federal Ammo

PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING FROM FEDERAL CARTRIDGE COMPANY

FEDERAL and AMERICAN EAGLE 45 AUTO PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING

Immediate Action Required

FEDERAL CARTRIDGE COMPANY · 900 BOB EHLEN DRIVE · ANOKA, MN 55303 · PHONE 763.323.2300 · Toll Free: 1-800-322-2342

Certain lots of recently manufactured 45 Auto ammunition may contain an incorrect propellant charge. Use of product from these lots may result in firearm damage and possible serious injury.

DO NOT USE PRODUCT FROM THE FOLLOWING LOTS:

38X628 through 38X765
38T401 through 38T414

If you have in your possession any 45 Auto with the following brand names and part numbers, check to see if your ammunition package contains the above lots: American Eagle® (AE45A, AE45N1, or AE45A250), Champion™ (WM5233), GoldMedal® (GM45B), Hi-Shok® (45C, 45D) and Federal® Personal Defense® (C45C, C45D).

THIS WARNING APPLIES ONLY TO THE LOTS LISTED ABOVE.

If you possess ammunition from any of these lots, or have questions concerning this warning, please contact us at 1-800-831-0850 or 1-800-322-2342 and ask for Product Service. Federal will provide replacement product and will cover the cost of returning the affected product.

Federal has issued an apology for any inconveniences this situation may have caused.

Presidential Birthdays - Believe

Three great Presidents of the United State were born in February. Each one saved the Union.

Washington

Lincoln

Reagan


Happy Birthday, Sarah Palin!!











h/t Day by Day

I Hope This Is True

The ex-Marine, pedophilia novel writing, "I don't know where my weapon is" so-called Senator Webb has announced he will not run for his Senate seat.

Good idea, Pally, cause we had your ass in our sights and a good time you would not have had.

Contempt

"An administration that has no respect for Congress, the courts or the Constitution has been found in contempt for reissuing a drilling moratorium that a U.S. district judge found overly broad. The Obama administration's trouble with the courts has continued with a judge's ruling last week that the Interior Department's reinstating of a drilling moratorium followed by a de facto moratorium via an overly restrictive permitting process constituted contempt. The administration had issued a drilling moratorium in May in waters deeper than 500 feet after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off Louisiana that resulted in the spill of more than 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. In June, Martin Feldman of the Eastern District Court of Louisiana struck down Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's original moratorium, saying it was overkill based on flawed reasoning. ... So the administration went back, rearranged a few words and a few deck chairs, and reissued its moratorium. That one was officially lifted in October, although the permitting process, which mysteriously includes shallow-water wells, has had the effect of continuing the moratorium. Feldman was not amused.

'Each step the government took following the court's imposition of a preliminary injunction showcases its defiance,' the judge said in his ruling. 'Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the reimposition of a second moratorium ... provides this court with clear and convincing evidence of its contempt.' ...

It is not so much that the Obama administration differs with the law, but that it considers itself above it -- even above the Constitution." (emphasis added)--

Investor's Business Daily

Heritage Morning Bell-The Patriot Act

Read today's Heritage Web Memo:

Letting PATRIOT Act Provisions Expire Would Be Irresponsible

Patriot Act Facts

Last night, despite a strong majority vote in favor of the bill, the House of Representatives fell seven votes short of the two-thirds they needed to suspend the rules and pass three key counterterrorism amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Many of the headlines you will read today will say things like “Patriot Act Extension Fails in House,” but the reality is that much of the PATRIOT Act was already permanently enacted.

Of the three amendments to FISA at issue in last night’s vote, two were part of the original PATRIOT Act, one was part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, and all are set to expire at the end of this month.Eight of the 26 Republican no votes came from freshmen who, Politico reports, “felt completely uniformed by their leadership.” Representative Todd Rokita (R–IN), who voted for the bill, even told Politico that he “didn’t know anything about [the vote] until today.”

The three amendments voted on last night have been extensively modified over the years and now include significant new safeguards, including substantial court oversight.

They include:

Roving Surveillance Authority: Roving wiretaps have been used routinely by domestic law enforcement in standard criminal cases since the mid-1980s. However, national security agents did not have this garden-variety investigative tool until the passage of the PATRIOT Act in 2001. Section 206 of the PATRIOT Act allows law enforcement, after approval from the FISA court, to track a suspect as he moves from cell phone to cell phone. The government must first prove that there is “probable cause” to believe that the target is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power. It further requires continuous monitoring by the FISA court and substantial reporting requirements to that Court by the government.

Business Record Orders: Domestic law enforcement, working with local prosecutors, routinely rely on business records through the course of their investigations, oftentimes through the use of a subpoena. However, national security agents did not have the same authority to acquire similar evidence prior to the passage of Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. This provision allows law enforcement, with approval from the FISA court, to require disclosure of documents and other records from businesses and other institutions (third parties) without a suspect’s knowledge. The third-party recipients of 215 orders can even appeal any order to the FISA court.

The Lone Wolf Provision: Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act allows law enforcement to track non-U.S. citizens acting alone to commit acts of terrorism that are not connected to an organized terrorist group or other foreign power. While the FBI has confirmed that this section has never actually been used, it needs to be available if the situation arises where a lone individual may seek to do harm to the United States.

At least 36 known terrorist plots have been foiled since 9/11. The United States continues to face a serious threat of terrorism. National security investigators continue to need the above authorities to track down terror leads and dismantle plots before the public is any danger. Opponents of these provisions have produced little evidence of any PATRIOT Act misuse. All of the provisions above are subject to routine oversight by both the FISA court and Congress, and no single provision of the PATRIOT Act has ever been found unconstitutional. Congress should not let the sunset provisions expire and should instead seek permanent authorization.

A Martyr for the Cause......almost

Sooooo close.....sooooo close. And the irony! It burns!

Happy Birthday, President Reagan

We miss you.


And we sure could use you again.

Super Bowl Ad Targets Wrong Audience

Super Bowl Ad Targets Wrong Audience

While many Americans will park in front of their televisions to watch football on Super Bowl Sunday, others will tune in just to see the commercials. Unknown to most Americans, one commercial will be seen only by members of the U.S. military deployed overseas. Sadly, it’s a spot that probably needs to be shown to federal, state and local election officials, too.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has arranged for a public service announcement (below) to air on the Armed Forces Network’s commercial-free broadcast of Super Bowl XLV in Dallas. The objective of the PSA produced in conjunction with the Federal Voting Assistance Program is to remind overseas military of their right to vote.Why should the FVAP spot be shown to election officials? Because election fraud, electioneering, vote fraud — call itwhat you will — seemed to run rampant during the 2010 election cycle.

Prior to the 2010 general election, several reports surfaced about problems with absentee ballots for military members stationed outside of their states of legal residence:

•BigGovernment.com reported about Illinois soldiers waiting for ballots;
•The Buffalo News reported on ballots being mailed after the federal deadline had passed;
•Pamela Geller reported on multiple cases of military ballots not being counted; and
•Investors Business Daily published an editorial, Denying Our Soldiers the Vote.

John Fund Battles Bill Maher and Rep. Weiner About Beck, Palin and Clarence Thomas's Wife

John Fund Battles Bill Maher and Rep. Weiner About Beck, Palin and Clarence Thomas's Wife

Charles Krauthammer: 'If Godzilla Appeared on National Mall Gore Would Say It’s Global Warming'

Charles Krauthammer: 'If Godzilla Appeared on National Mall Gore Would Say It’s Global Warming'

I Think He's Just Contemptuous of America

Obama Administration Found in Contempt of Court, Media Silent
By Kyle Drennen February 04, 2011 12:46

On Thursday, Louisiana Federal District Court Judge Martin Feldman found that the Obama Interior Department was in contempt of his ruling that the offshore oil drilling moratorium, imposed by the administration in 2010, was unconstitutional. After Feldman struck down the initial drilling ban, the Interior Department simply established a second ban that was virtually identical.

While the story was reported on Thursday by wire services like the Associated Press and picked up by frequently cited internet news sites like Politico, the television media, including ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN, all ignored the story.

In his ruling, Judge Feldman forcefully admonished the administration's attempt to circumvent his 2010 decision: "Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the reimposition of a second blanket and substantively identical moratorium and in light of the national importance of this case, provide this Court with clear and convincing evidence of the government’s contempt of this Court’s preliminary injunction order."

As Politico further explained: "Gulf state lawmakers have criticized the Obama administration for stopping drilling last summer, and accuse Interior of continuing a 'de facto' ban on permits, saying it cost their states thousands of jobs."

Read more:

A Little Historical Context

Big Dupes at Big Peace: Ronald Reagan – From Liberal Dupe to Conservative Cold Warrior

This is the most recent installment of exclusive interviews with Dr. Paul Kengor on his book revealing how communists, from Moscow to New York to Chicago, have long manipulated America’s liberals/progressives. Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century is based on an unprecedented volume of declassified materials from Soviet archives, FBI files, and more.

Big Peace: Professor Kengor, in these interviews, you’ve disclosed some shocking things: the Soviet material on Ted Kennedy; the FBI file on Obama’s mentor, Frank Marshall Davis. But we haven’t addressed your remarkable information on Ronald Reagan, which we’re covering now because February 6 is the centennial of Reagan’s birth. You say Ronald Reagan was once a dupe. You cover that in your chapter on Hollywood in the 1940s.

Kengor: Yes. The dupes in that chapter range from Gene Kelly to Katharine Hepburn, Danny Kaye, Judy Garland, Gregory Peck, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. It’s a long list of liberals. They were exploited by secret CPUSA members like John Howard Lawson, Dalton Trumbo, Albert Maltz, mostly Hollywood screenwriters. There was also, among others, playwright Arthur Miller, the scowling Lillian Hellman, and Lillian’s “mystery lover,” Dashiell Hammett, all who were at least pro-communist, if not CPUSA members.

Happy Birthday, Mr Reagan

We sure could use you right about now.

Uncle Jimbo has a great essay over at Blackfive in honor of Mr. Reagan. Here's the last two paragraphs, but you should make the jump and read the whole thing.

I bet the protesters in Egypt, or the poor bastards who preceded them in Iran, would love to hear the support of the most powerful man on the planet. Or more importantly for their governments to hear it. Belief in freedom and the rule of democracy is the greatest gift America has given the world. We should never fail to stand tall and refuse to countenance tyranny. We do our country, our security and the world as a whole a tremendous good every time we reaffirm those beliefs.

So thanks President Reagan, for the inspiration, the example, the strength and the dignity. America is exceptional, we were founded that way and remain the shining city on the hill the rest of the world wishes they lived in.

Thanks Uncle J. Excellent!!!

From the Governor

Statement of Governor Bob McDonnell on Attorney General’s Decision to Seek Expedited Review of Health Care Suit in Supreme Court

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell issued the following statement this morning regarding Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s decision to seek an expedited review of the Virginia health care lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the United States.

“Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is taking the proper and necessary step in seeking an expedited review of the Virginia health care lawsuit. Immediately following Judge Henry Hudson’s December decision that the individual mandate component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, I contacted my fellow governors to seek their support for this course of action. Regardless of where one stands on the issue of the federal health care law, it is imperative that the constitutionality of the matter be settled expeditiously. States, businesses and individuals are already incurring expenses of time and money as they seek to understand and prepare for the implementation of this unprecedented law in 2014. That preparation is taking place at the same time that recent court decisions in both Virginia and Florida are calling into question whether or not this law can withstand judicial review. It is a confusing situation, and there must be clarity and finality on such an important national issue. That finality will only be achieved through a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States. All other court decisions and reviews prior to that moment will serve simply to exacerbate the uncertainty and continue the delay.

I thank the Attorney General for moving forward with this action. The Virginia health care case must be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States at the earliest date possible.”

This Day In History

"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."

When our country, 98 years ago today, ratified the 16th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we ceded more power to our government than at any other time in our history.

And we have a plan to get our power back. The Fair Tax will be the single greatest transfer of power from the government to the People since the Declaration of Independence.

The worst part is no one is really sure the 16th Amendment was properly ratified. It was most assuredly the beginning of the end of free enterprise and the right of the people to be secure in their possesions.

The Man Is Earning His Pay

Attorney General Cuccinelli announces he will seek expedited review of Virginia health care lawsuit in the Supreme Court

RICHMOND (February 3, 2011) – Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced today that Virginia will file a petition to ask the United States Supreme Court to take Virginia’s health care lawsuit now, as opposed to waiting for the case to first be decided by the court of appeals. The Petition for Certiorari Before Judgment in the United States Supreme Court in the case of Commonwealth v. Sebelius will be filed pursuant to Rule 11 of the Rules of the United States Supreme Court.

“Given the uncertainty caused by the divergent rulings of the various district courts on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we feel that it is necessary to seek resolution of this issue as quickly as possible,” said Cuccinelli. “Currently, state governments and private businesses are being forced to expend enormous amounts of resources to prepare to implement a law that, in the end, may be declared unconstitutional. Regardless of whether you believe the law is constitutional or not, we should all agree that a prompt resolution of this issue is in everyone’s best interest.”

Normally, appeals of decisions of United States district courts are first heard in the federal courts of appeals. But Rule 11 provides that an immediate review in the U.S. Supreme Court is permissible “upon a showing that the case is of such imperative public importance as to justify deviation from normal appellate practice and to require immediate determination in” the Supreme Court.

Cuccinelli noted, “Rule 11 is the exception to the general rule, but this case and the other cases challenging the constitutionality of PPACA are truly exceptional in their own right. There are a number of suits pending throughout the country challenging the constitutionality of PPACA. Presently, 28 states have filed suits challenging the authority of Congress to enact this law. That, in and of itself, is exceptional and makes the cases excellent candidates for immediate review in the Supreme Court.

“We did not make this decision lightly. Given his unique responsibilities to fund and implement PPACA as Governor of Virginia, Governor McDonnell is particularly concerned about the possibility of wasting precious and strained taxpayer dollars preparing for a law that may well be struck down. Recognizing the tremendous amount of time and resources that are and will be expended to implement a law that two federal judges have ruled contains unconstitutional provisions, Lieutenant Governor Bolling and Speaker Howell have joined the governor in requesting that my office seek expedited review. Additionally, I have been encouraged to attempt to expedite this case by Democrats as well as Republicans in Virginia's General Assembly, and of course, the bipartisan passage of Virginia's Health Care Freedom Act last year was the very first step in this entire process here in the commonwealth.

“Despite the fact that the Department of Justice has not agreed to join in a Rule 11 motion, in a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to set an expedited schedule for its appeal of Virginia's district court victory, the Justice Department stated, ‘The constitutionality of [PPACA] has public policy implications of the highest magnitude.’ In other words, according to the Justice Department itself, a case cannot have public policy implications that are more important than this case. We agree and feel that reinforces the fitting nature of our request for immediate review in the Supreme Court,” Cuccinelli said.

The Petition for Certiorari and Appendix are currently being assembled by the legal printer for the attorney general and will be filed with the court as soon as is practicable.

The Rise of Islam

From Dr Richard Swier, (USA LTC Ret)

As the Islamic civilization has modernized it has become more religiously fundamental and has rejected the Western ideals of democracy, free markets, civil rights, the rule of law, decentralized government, the prohibiting of a state religion and freedom of worship.

All civilizations are not created equal, all civilizations are not good and all civilizations are not our friends. Diversity and multiculturalism work against us and favor those who would destroy us. The West is made up of many cultures living and working in peace together. Those who come to the West must embrace its ideals and assimilate into our culture. Islam does not and will not do that.

We cannot live with a state within a state - it is the United West or nothing.

I could not agree more.

Romania probes carbon credits theft from Swiss Holcim

Romania probes carbon credits theft from Swiss Holcim

This is an outrage. (Notice they call this a "scheme".) It should be placed under the RICO Act.

Late November, Holcim informed authorities about "10 unauthorised transfers of polluting rights from two of its accounts opened at the national registry of carbon credits."
Romanian prosecutors have requested rogatory commissions in Italy, Britain, Liechtenstein, Belgium and Israel.
According to Romanian daily Gandul, the polluting rights were first transferred to Liechtenstein and then resold.
The EU on Thursday extended a halt on trading in carbon credits ordered after hackers broke into national trading registries and stole and then sold millions of euros worth of polluting rights.
Trading was first suspended on January 19.
The European Union Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) is the largest multi-national, greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the world, with about 12,000 companies on the exchange

Stuff We Do

I mostly keep a very low profile when it comes to supporting our military and veterans. No one really needs to know what I do and for whom. However, if another related story involving a veteran I have helped are published, I'll call attention to the other story and explain why.

Last month I was asked to play Santa Claus for Gathering of Eagles and by extension, Warrior Legacy Foundation, and give some laptops to some wounded soldiers. The following link is to a story about one of the Warriors who received one of those laptops.

Soldier fights way back from brink
Pieces life together with husband by her side

Major tissue alert, girls.

BZ's and OOOORAHH!!! to Paul Courtier for his allegiance to his fellow Massachuesettians (is that even a word?). He made the laptop happen. I was honored to be able to help.

Remarks From Lt Col Murray on Moron's Comments

Last Tuesday after the State of the Union address, Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) told an international audience on the Arab television network Alhurra that the results of last November's election were because most Americans are racists who "don't want to be governed by an African-American . . ." This latest outburst, coming as we know all too well on a long history of Moran outbursts, is not only wildly inaccurate, it is un-American.

I do not support many of President Obama's policies because I do not think they are good for our country. To wit:

· I do not support "Obamacare," which despite what was promised does not cover everyone, will force many people to have to change coverage, piles on billions of dollars of additional debt and countless layers of bureaucracy, and robs one half trillion dollars from Medicare.


· I do not agree with President Obama's energy policies that keep us reliant on foreign oil by denying American companies the ability to produce energy (and thus creating jobs)here at home.


· I do not support President Obama's $850 billion "stimulus" package, pitched as the way to create jobs and keep unemployment under 8%. The only thing it seems to have stimulated was the unemployment rate, while piling on more debt that will eventually have to be paid for by our children and grandchildren.


· I disagree with President Obama's decision to cut Army and Marine Corps troop levels by almost 10% while we are fighting our nation's wars abroad.

The vast majority of Americans who voted for change in Nov 2010 did so because of these and other fact-based and policy-related reasons. But political views aside, as an American I am very proud that in 2008 we elected an African-American to be our President; in my view it reinforces our creed that all of us, regardless of race, gender or orientation are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe it is also a tangible reminder of how far we have progressed as a nation in which slavery was once an institution. We aren't perfect, but we have come a long way. Moran's rant, particularly given as it was to an international audience, dismisses this progress and casts us all back to our regrettable pre-14th Amendment past.

Over the years Northern Virginia and indeed most of America has become accustomed to Mr. Moran's mean-spirited verbiage and his aggressive behavior, including a pattern of making arguably anti-Semitic comments.

However with this latest statement Moran outdoes himself, going beyond insulting just one ethnic group or political party. His offensive comments as a sitting U.S. Congressman made to an international audience demean all Americans regardless of religion, political affiliation or ethnicity. It was a staggering lapse of judgment, divisive and un-American. Jim Moran should correct the record with Alhurra, and he owes an apology to his fellow countrymen and to this nation.