Right Mind

DHS Document on Right Wing Extremism

HT: Bill J.

Don't Make America More Like France

Our Gravest Domestic Danger

What crisis in America is “more dire than the economy, more dangerous than foreign enemies”?

According to Ken Blackwell, it’s the breakdown of the family.

Why are 40 percent of American children being deprived at birth of their fathers? By the time they reach age 18, fully 60 percent of young Americans have seen their mothers and fathers break up. This comes either from divorce or from the breakup of cohabiting relationships. Or it stems from never-formed families. How can the young learn commitment if their parents remain uncommitted?

This lunge toward a 40 percent out-of-wedlock birthrate is the sign of a culture unraveling. In its wake will come a blighted future of increasing crime, educational failure, drugs, and poverty. It is not poverty that is driving these numbers; the out-of-wedlock birthrate is driving poverty.

But in a culture where fathers are either optional or someone who is in the way, what can you expect?

Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire

From NPR:

NPR has learned that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire at the end of the court's current term.

The court has completed hearing oral arguments for the year and will be issuing rulings and opinions until the end of June.

Souter is expected to remain on the bench until a successor has been chosen and confirmed, which may or may not be accomplished before the court reconvenes in October.

At 69, Souter is nowhere near the oldest member of the court, but he has made clear to friends for some time now that he wanted to leave Washington, a city he has never liked, and to return to his native New Hampshire.

Now, according to reliable sources he has decided to take the plunge and has informed the White House of his decision.

Souter's retirement would give President Obama his first appointment to the high court, and most observers expect that he will appoint a woman.

The court currently has one female justice — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is recovering from cancer surgery.

Obama was elected with strong support from women.

An Obama pick would not likely change the ideological makeup of the court. Souter, though appointed by the first President Bush, generally votes with the more liberal members of the court, a group of four that is in a rather consistent minority.

8-year-old Saudi girl divorces 50-year-old husband

From the Associated Press:

CAIRO - An 8-year-old Saudi girl has divorced her middle-aged husband after her father forced her to marry him last year in exchange for about $13,000, her lawyer said Thursday. Saudi Arabia has come under increasing criticism at home and abroad for permitting child marriages.

The United States, a close ally of the conservative Muslim kingdom, has called child marriage a "clear and unacceptable" violation of human rights.

A kinder, gentler Marxism: The worldview of the "Social Democracy" America is heading toward

Is this a distinction without a difference?

From World Magazine.

Barack Obama is not a socialist, explained Eric Etheredge of The New York Times. He is a "social democrat." The administration's attempt to control private companies and the free market should not alarm us, according to Etheredge and other pundits. European nations do this all the time. It is simply an application of the European political and economic theory known as "social democracy."

If social democracy is America's new governmental principle, we should know a little about it. To avoid biased spins and inflammatory rhetoric, let us consult basic, objective sources such as dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Here is the definition of "social democracy" from Merriam-Webster's online dictionary: "1 : a political movement advocating a gradual and peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism by democratic means 2 : a democratic welfare state that incorporates both capitalist and socialist practices."

So this political and economic system either moves from capitalism to socialism or incorporates both capitalism and socialism at the same time, so as to form a welfare state.

And how is “social democracy” different from generic Marxist socialism?

Texas to Secede...from Gas Tax?

Proposed legislation from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will allow Texas to keep its own gas tax money and opt out of the federal Highway Trust Fund, using its own money for its own road infrastructure needs.

Here are the reasons given:

A key rationale for devolution is that the funding approach developed to build the Interstate system is now obsolete. That approach transfers large sums from larger and fast-growing states to smaller and slower-growing states. And states like Texas end up subsidizing other states. That is exactly backwards of what a real user-fee system would do—which is to generate and spend large sums in the places with huge problems of congestion and insufficient highway capacity. A side benefit of devolution would be the elimination of tons of pork, as members of Congress would no longer be able to earmark pet projects that are political winners but economic losers.

Take pity on the left as it grapples with the tea party revolt

Matt Kibbe hits the nail on the head. The left completely don’t get what the TEA Parties were all about.

From Reason:

According to Pajamas Media, 700,873 people attended some 883 tea party protests on April 15. It was a remarkable day, a tangible expression of public outrage that I have not experienced in my 25 years of advocacy and grassroots organizing on behalf of free-market principles.

Judging from the left's hysterical reaction, something really big must have happened. But the only way to really understand the left's misinformed and paranoid attacks is to realize that the protests represent tangible proof that basic libertarian values continue to resonate with the American electorate. That, apparently, is a difficult thing for some to accept.

I attended the tea party in Atlanta along with 15,000 other activists, and was struck by the makeup of the crowd. This was not a typical conservative Republican rally, with local GOP activists, Ron Paul enthusiasts, and single-issue obsessives. (Those folks always show up—and they did in Atlanta.) The difference was the new people: Young hipsters, families, angry moms, and retirees alike left their normal routines and work obligations to show up in protest of government policies that they passionately believe will ruin what is unique about America.

What were the tea parties about? Reading the signs and talking to people (unlike CNN's incredibly hostile Susan Roesgen, I actually let folks answer my questions in their own words), the "agenda" was crystal clear. Tea party activists were worried and angry about government bailouts for the irresponsible, about spending that "stimulated" record growth in government and not much else, and about government borrowing that will place unconscionable burdens on future generations of Americans. My favorite sign of the day: "Give Me Liberty, Not Debt."

Some tried to diminish the tea parties as misguided tax protests. In reality, the protestors demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of economics that went well beyond objections to higher tax rates. You can't spend money you don't have, the tea party attendees understood, and government spending above current revenues must be paid for with higher taxes, more borrowing (to be paid for with higher taxes in the future), or artificial government expansion of money and credit, which can only debase the currency and make everyone poorer through inflation.

Like I’ve said before, Obama can only pay for his bloated spending by

1. Raising taxes
2. Inflating the currency
3. Defaulting on the debt
4. Cutting expenses

#1 and #2 are definites. He’s more likely to do #3 than #4.

Grassroots Economics

From the St. Pete Times:

Dear Mr.President,

Patriotic retirement:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force; 

pay them $1 million a piece severance with stipulations:

1. They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2. They buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3. They either buy a house or pay off their mortgage- Housing Crisis fixed.

AND......... simply amazing, but.........

All this and it's still cheaper than the "bailout".

Pro-abortion clergy

Said without irony in the Albany Times Union:

While pro-life advocates might see members of the clergy as likely allies on their side of the argument over abortion, the spiritual leaders who joined representatives from Family Planning Advocates of New York State emphasized that their belief in keeping abortion safe and legal stems from the same call to minister to society's most vulnerable members.

HT: John L.

New Yorkers Respond to Air Force One

GPS Marking EVERY Front Door in America

From the Free Republic:

Republican Senator Judd Gregg was Obama’s first choice for the Secretary of Commerce post, and Gregg was actually considering joining the Obama team, until he found out that control of the US Census was being stripped from the Commerce Department and placed under the direct control of White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel.

Then, the same week that Americans learned that they were “domestic terrorists” -- at least according to Obama’s new DHS (Department of Homeland Security), -- if they own a bible, a pocket Constitution or guns, and still believe in Life, Liberty and Freedom, - they also learned that Obama’s Census Bureau had hired thousands of new temporary employees, equipped each with a handheld GPS computer and sent them out to mark GPS coordinates for every residential front door in America.

Chrysler will file for bankruptcy now that negotiations with creditors have collapsed

From CNN:

Chrysler will file for bankruptcy now that negotiations with creditors have collapsed

New York City photo-op was one dumb stunt

Here’s a copy of the people in NYC freaking out at the Air Force One stunt.

Brilliant, Obama.

Not letting go of public records

Steve McClure (Editor of the Daily News) has some thoughts about public records.

And he’s right about these things.

From March 1 through April 21, the city of Moscow received 57 public records requests (58 if you count the one we filed to get the records requests). Most of those, 45, were filed with the police department in order to obtain police reports.

Of the remaining 12, four were from a single individual who wanted video files of the council meetings, one was for copies of council meeting minutes, five were from Wayne Fox — the individual who appears to be at the center of the public records fee flap — and a couple others were for miscellaneous items (including one request from someone who wanted to see what Wayne Fox’s records requests said).

To be fair, the city is not the only agency that utilizes that tactic. Council members should, however, be aware of how these fees are used. Here’s a current example. We’re working through another records request right now in which the state agency, after stalling beyond what is statutorily allowed, dropped us a letter saying we’d have to fork over some cash before it will begin processing our request. As a business that puts a premium on obtaining access to those documents, we’ll continue to press forward.

But the public records law isn’t designed just for news organizations. It’s designed so everyday people can find out what people are doing (or not doing) on their behalf. There’s no language in the law that says it’s there for reporters or residents of a jurisdiction. It’s for the public period.

The council needs to rethink its decision before it travels too far down a road that ultimately shuts residents out of the process.

But how many of these public records requests above took any time to process and provide. Video files? Those are online. You can burn a DVD of those in a few minutes.

Steve makes some excellent points. And newsrooms need to have access to public records in a timely and full manner.

My concern is if someone just wants to run up the bill for the city (“tell me how many times the word ‘the’ was used in an email from…”).

An Open Letter to President Obama

From Lou Pritchett:

Dear President Obama, You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

• You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.
• You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.
• You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American..
• You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.
• You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.
• You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.
• You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.
• You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America' crowd and deliver this message abroad.
• You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.
• You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.
• You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.
• You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.
• You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.
• You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.
• You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.
• You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.
• You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.
• You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.
• You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.
• Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Saudi Royal: U.S. can't be energy-independent

From The Washington Times:

A key member of the Saudi royal family who headed the country's intelligence service for 25 years accused both the Obama and Bush administrations Monday of "deceiving" the American people that the U.S. can ever end its dependence on foreign oil.

"You can't get rid of oil. You can't get rid of fossil fuels — gas and coal — unless you want to price yourself out of existence," Prince Turki al-Faisal, former ambassador to Washington, told editors and reporters at The Washington Times.

"I'd hope that the general public in the United States would be wiser than to be deceived into thinking that the U.S. can ever be energy independent," he said.

Saudi Arabia, a long-time U.S. ally that has suffered a significant image problem since it was revealed that 15 of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers hailed from the kingdom, is the world's largest oil exporter. Last year, the U.S. imported from Saudi Arabia 1.5 million barrels of oil a day — more than 11 percent of total imports.

"The U.S. has rising energy needs despite the economic downturn," Prince Turki said. "If you are going to be paying for wind, electric and solar energy equivalents that cost five or 10 times more than it costs to use oil, you are going to price yourself out of the market. You are going to lose whatever competitiveness you have in your products."

He noted that the first president to declare the goal of independence of foreign oil was George W. Bush, in his 2006 State of the Union speech, shortly after the prince was named ambassador to the U.S.

"Politicians, when they do that, I think they are misleading their publics," he said.

During his election campaign last year, President Obama said, "I will set a clear goal as president. In 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil in the Middle East."

On its Web site, the White House has outlined a plan how to "eliminate our current imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 Years." It includes increasing fuel economy standards, getting one million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015, creating "a new $7,000 tax credit for purchasing advanced vehicles" and establishing a national "low-carbon fuel standard."

Just another promise to bankrupt the US.

If Obama really wanted to be free of foreign oil, then why not drill and pump our own 1.5m barrels per day?

HT: Dave G.

Obama’s teleprompter commits mutiny during major science speech

HT: Chris W.

PANDEMIC FLU PREPAREDNESS

This press release from the City of Moscow:

PANDEMIC FLU PREPAREDNESS

 

Moscow, Idaho – City of Moscow Administration and Emergency Responders are working closely with North Central District Health Department, the Local Emergency Planning Committee of Latah County, the University of Idaho, Moscow School District and other area partners to reinforce direction provided by the Centers for Disease Control, as well as federal and state departments of Homeland Security to reduce the incidence and severity of flu.  The team is regularly updated on the distribution of cases of swine flu around the world, and is committed to keeping the public informed.

 

The Mayor urges precautionary measures, and asks residents to be informed and prepared.

Common-sense precautions include frequent hand washing, avoiding exposure to others who are sick, staying home if you are ill, covering coughs and sneezes with one's elbow, and generally keeping hands away from faces.  For more ideas, contact North Central District Health Department at (208) 799-3100, or their Swine Flu Hotline at (208) 748-0400, or check out links on the City's Web page: www.ci.moscow.id.us or visit www.panfluidaho.org, www.cdc.gov, www.idahopublichealth.com, or www.pandemicflu.gov .

 

Also, the City of Moscow, in an ongoing effort to be proactive in the preparation of all types of potential flu outbreaks, is presenting the updated Pandemic Flu Plan Annex to the Disaster Management Planning Guide at the May 4th City Council meeting.

 

The Plan is intended to prepare staff, educate citizens, establish a state of readiness and provide for continuity of City of Moscow business operations in case a pandemic flu outbreak.  Other plans researched and included in the development of the City’s Plan include Latah County, State of Idaho and the University of Idaho as well as the Federal Homeland Security Plan.

 

Breaking News: The World Health Organization raises the swine flu alert level to Phase 5, one step away from a full pandemic.

From KREM News in Spokane:

The World Health Organization raises the swine flu alert level to Phase 5, one step away from a full pandemic.

Cable TV turning into disaster for liberals: top 11 news programs all on Fox, bigger than CNN, MSNBC combined

From Newsbusters:

As the Fox News Channel continues to be berated by America's new president along with his Party and liberal media minions, the cable network keeps drawing in more and more viewers.

In fact, it has been the second most-watched ad-supported cable network for nine straight weeks, and now sports the top eleven cable news programs.

Adding insult to injury, TVNewser reported Tuesday that FNC is now attracting more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined:

Here’s the quote:

How's this for cable news domination - Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in every hour from 6amET to MidnightET in both Total Viewers and the A25-54 demo for April 2009. [...]

From 9amET on, every program grew by more than 60% in the demo. The 5pmET hour, now occupied by Glenn Beck, is up 212% in the demo and up 128% in Total Viewers. Your World with Neil Cavuto is up 102% in the demo and up 60% in Total Viewers. On the Record with Greta Van Susteren is up 75% in demo and up 55% in Total Viewers. Also in demo: FOX Report is up 75%, Special Report 70%, The O'Reilly Factor 74% and Hannity 64%.

Fox & Friends has now been #1 for 90 consecutive months, Studio B with Shepard Smith for 80 consecutive months.

Passed House: S. Con. Res. 13, congressional budget resolution $29k per U.S. family to be spent FY 2010

From Washington Watch:

S. Con. Res. 13, An original concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2010, revising the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal year 2009, and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2011 through 2014.

Cost per family: $28,924.88

The Supreme Court imposes long-overdue limits on car searches

Looks like the SCOTUS is requiring the police to follow the 4^th Amendment.

From Reason Mag:

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court said police may no longer routinely search the vehicles of recently arrested people. It was a refreshing departure from a long line of cases in which the Court has whittled away at the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures to make the war on drugs easier to wage.

Among other things, the Court has ruled that a search warrant can be granted based on information from an anonymous (and perhaps nonexistent) informant; that evidence obtained with an invalid search warrant can be used in court as long as police acted in "good faith"; that police do not need a warrant to monitor homes and backyards from low-flying helicopters; that police may use dogs to inspect luggage and cars without probable cause; and that government employees and public school students may be subjected to random drug testing.

The rule that police may search a vehicle without a warrant whenever they arrest someone who has recently been in the vehicle also came from a drug case. In a 1981 decision that, like Gant's case, involved cocaine found in a jacket, the Court declared, "When a policeman has made a lawful custodial arrest of the occupant of an automobile, he may, as a contemporaneous incident of that arrest, search the passenger compartment of that automobile."

That broad rule had the advantage of clarity, but it went well beyond the goals the Court had cited in allowing warrantless "searches incident to arrest": preventing arrestees from grabbing weapons or hiding evidence of their crimes. Neither concern is plausible when an arrestee, like Gant, has been handcuffed and locked up before the search takes place.

Miss California Speaks At Liberty University and Appears as Special Guest on Liberty Live

I wonder if the reaction would have been any different if Miss California had said that she holds the same position as President Obama and the majority of California voters?

From the Liberty Counsel:

Miss California, Carrie Prejean will be in Lynchburg today to encourage thousands of Liberty University students to stand up for their faith, as she did recently at the Miss USA Pageant.

Following her appearance at Liberty's Convocation Service at 10:00 a.m., she will join Mat Staver and Matt Barber on Liberty Live from 4-5 p.m., where she will be taking questions from listeners during the program.

During the final round of the Miss USA Pageant a judge, homosexual activist blogger Perez Hilton, asked Prejean whether every state should legalize same-sex marriage. Prejean responded with her belief that "marriage should be between a man and a woman."

After the pageant, Hilton openly bashed Prejean for her answer through a video blog. Prejean's answer ultimately cost her the Miss USA title, leaving her first runner-up. It is incredible that a Pageant judge would show such open hostility and intolerance toward a contestant who honestly expresses their Christian beliefs. However, this controversy has given Prejean a new platform to share her faith with others. 

The last great swine flu epidemic: "This virus will kill 1 million Americans," declared the U.S. in 1976. The panic then has a lot to teach us today.

There is evidence there will be a major flu epidemic this coming fall. The indication is that we will see a return of the 1918 flu virus that is the most virulent form of the flu. In 1918 a half million Americans died. The projections are that this virus will kill one million Americans in 1976.

—F. David Matthews, secretary of health, education, and welfare (Feb., 1976)

From Salon:

In January 1976, 19-year old U.S. Army Private David Lewis, stationed at Fort Dix, joined his platoon on a 50-mile hike through the New Jersey snow. Lewis didn't have to go; he was suffering from flu and had been confined to his quarters by his unit's medical officer. Thirteen miles into the hike, Lewis collapsed and died a short time later of pneumonia caused by influenza. Because Lewis was young, generally healthy and should not have succumbed to the common flu, his death set off a cascade of uncertainty that confused the scientists, panicked the government and eventually embittered a public made distrustful of authority by Vietnam and Watergate.

This past Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano left open the possibility of a mass immunization program for the current outbreak of swine flu. If that happens, the Obama administration has a lot to learn from the debacle set in motion by Private Lewis' ill-fated hike.

Lewis was a victim of swine flu, a form of influenza endemic to pig populations. Influenza is caused by a virus, a microorganism that is mostly dead and partially alive. The virus' genetic code, held inside a protein sheath, consists of several helices of RNA. The virus injects its RNA into a healthy cell, which causes the cell to stop its usual work and make more copies of the virus. RNA genes mutate easily; for this reason, each new flu season brings a slightly different form of the disease into the population. Most year-to-year mutations bring little change to the virus, but for some still unknown reason, influenza seems to undergo a significant genetic change every ten years or so.

Ron Paul, MD, on the 1976 Swine Flu Scare

1 person died from the Swine Flu.

25 people died from the vaccine.

Hysterical Flu Propaganda from the Feds, 1976

Obama-Notre Dame Controversy

From the Washington Post:

Offering this backdrop and extending the school's imprimatur to Obama constitutes a wink and a nod to abortion. Why not throw a pig roast in Mecca? That was Glendon's point. By her symbolic gesture of self-denial, she demonstrates that faith is an act, not a motto.

Obama might consider following Glendon's lead. Although he supports choice, the president also recognizes the moral complexity of those decisions. Out of respect for pro-life Catholics and their beloved institution, he should politely bow out.

HT: Dave G.

Social Life Board Game Commercial

A Narf Biscuits Channel

HT: Doug F.

Asleep at the Wheel

Here’s the president's chief economic advisor, Larry Summers, asleep at the wheel during a meeting with credit card officials.

This is the second known meeting with BO that Summers haze dozed off in (previous one in Feb).

Doesn’t this give you a warm-fuzzy confidence in our leaders?

HT: Ed I.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party

Finally, an honest RINO.

From CNN:

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party.

I could send him a couple Moscow Republicans, too…