Allen West officially joins Fox News as a contributor. This may not come to a surprise to many, as West is featured on the news channel on a daily basis. The outspoken former Congressman from South Florida, will be giving his ‘special’ point of view on the different daytime and prime time programs like ‘Hannity,’ ‘The Factor.’ and others.

“Representative West’s congressional and military experience along with his fearless approach to voicing key issues will provide a valuable point of view to the FOX News lineup,” said Fox news vice president in the announcement released on Business Wire. “Representative West’s congressional and military experience along with his fearless approach to voicing key issues will provide a valuable point of view to the FOX News lineup.”

EDITORS NOTE: This content was originally posted at Shark Tank.

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by Dr. Richard Swier

Three families of Navy SEAL Team VI special forces servicemen, along with one family of an Army National Guardsman, will appear at a press conference on May 9, 2013, to disclose never before revealed information about how and why their sons along with 26 others died in a fatal helicopter crash in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011, just a few months after the successful raid on the compound of Osama Bin Laden that resulted in the master terrorist’s death. The event will be held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn

Among the families there will be Billy and Karen Vaughn from Florida. They are the parents of Navy SEAL Team VI  member Aaron Vaughn.

Accompanying the families of these dead Navy SEAL Team VI special operations servicemen will be retired military experts verifying their accounts of how and why the government is as much responsible for the deaths of their sons as is the Taliban. Among the military experts expected to attend are: Adm. James A. “Ace” Lyons, Jr., LTG William G. “Jerry” Boykin, LTG Thomas G. “Tom” McInerney, MG Paul E. Vallely and former Navy SEAL Benjamin Smith.

The event will be live streamed on TrentoVision.TV from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, May 9th.

The areas of inquiry at the press conference will include but not be limited to:

1. How President Obama and Vice President Biden, having disclosed on May 4, 2011, that Navy Seal Team Six carried out the successful raid on Bin Laden’s compound resulting in the master terrorist’s death, put a retaliatory target on the backs of the fallen heroes.
2. How and why high-level military officials sent these Navy SEAL Team VI heroes into battle without special operations aviation and proper air support.
3. How and why the military brass carries out too many ill-prepared missions to boost their standing with top-level military brass and the Commander-in-Chief in order that they can be promoted.
4. How the military restricts special operations servicemen and others from engaging in timely return fire when fired upon by the Taliban and other terrorist groups and interests, thus jeopardizing the servicemen’s lives.
5. How and why the denial of requested pre-assault fire may have contributed to the shoot down of the Navy SEAL Team VI helicopter and the death of these special operations servicemen.
6. How Afghani forces accompanying the Navy SEAL Team VI servicemen on the helicopter were not properly vetted and how they possibly disclosed classified information to the Taliban about the mission, resulting in the shoot down of the helicopter.
7. How military brass, while prohibiting any mention of a Judeo-Christian God, invited a Muslim cleric to the funeral for the fallen Navy SEAL Team VI heroes who disparaged in Arabic the memory of these servicemen by damning them as infidels to Allah. A video of the Muslim cleric’s “prayer” will be shown with a certified translation.

This press conference takes on special significance given that our government has over the last twelve years since September 11 committed brave American servicemen to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which, in large part as a result of politics, were poorly conceived of and implemented, resulting in the deaths of thousands and the maiming of tens of thousands of our brave heroes. To make matters even worse, America has effectively lost these wars.

http://watchdogwire.com/florida/2013/05/07/navy-seal-team-six-families-to-reveal-government-culpability-in-death-of-their-sons/

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By Jung Ha-Won

SEOUL — North Korea dramatically escalated its warlike rhetoric on Thursday, warning that it had authorised plans for nuclear strikes on targets in the United States.

“The moment of explosion is approaching fast,” the North Korean military said, warning that war could break out “today or tomorrow”.

Pyongyang’s latest pronouncement came as Washington scrambled to reinforce its Pacific missile defences, preparing to send ground-based interceptors to Guam and dispatching two Aegis class destroyers to the region.

Tension was also high on the North’s heavily-fortified border with South Korea, after Kim Jong-Un’s isolated regime barred South Koreans from entering a Seoul-funded joint industrial park on its side of the frontier.

The post North Korea Approves Nuclear Strike On the US appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

What has our Department of Homeland Security metamorphosed into? Our third largest government agency has been stockpiling weapons and ammunition at a very alarming rate. Since early 2012, DHS and its 200,000 employees have purchased so much ammunition that many of the top weapon and bullet manufacturers have had trouble keeping up with the increased demand.

So why is our government buying hundreds of thousands of tactical weapons and millions upon millions of bullets? Do they think that the Russians are going to invade us? Do they think the North Koreans are going to show up in Washington State and take over like in the remake of Red Dawn? Do they think hygienically challenged Iranians are going to power chute into the country holding dull bladed swords and wearing dirty night shirts yelling, “Allah Akbar”?

Hardly.

Our government would never loose a wink of sleep thinking about any one of those scenarios unfolding. Our government’s enemies are not foreign, they are domestic. They are the 60 million Americans who rejected this sorry excuse for a President and are completely against his entire agenda to remake America.

When assessing the Department of Homeland Security’s actions, there is no other logical explanation or reason other than to say they are preparing for civil unrest at the very least and all out civil war at the very best.

What is so alarming and has many Americans on edge is the type of weaponry and ammunition they have purchased; in particular 450 million rounds of hollow point bullets.

Hollow point bullets for those who are not familiar with them are very different than regular bullets, or what are called full metal jackets. Hollow point bullets are designed to fray or fragment upon impact. Regular bullets when they hit their target make a smaller hole but for the most part stay in one piece. Hollow points do the exact opposite. When they hit their target they create substantially more damage by fragmenting on impact.

When questioned by members of Congress as to their motivations for such ammunition purchases a DHS spokesperson said they were purchased for “training exercises” at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico.

According to retired Marine Richard Mason’s interview with WHPTV in Pennsylvania, hollow point bullets are rarely used for training purposes. In fact, in the interview Mr. Mason said, “Never in my entire military career did I know of any Marines training with hollow point bullets.”

When pressed further on why DHS has purchased and continues to purchase massive quantities of weapons and ammunition there answer was also one to be desired. The best they could come up with is buying so many in bulk allows for them to get better pricing.

Once again, this is a suspicious and ridiculous answer. First of all, hollow point bullets are almost twice as expensive as regular bullets. So why would DHS buy the most expensive, most dangerous bullets possible to save money? Furthermore, if hollow point bullets are typically not used for training purposes than why did DHS feel compelled to purchase 450 million rounds of hollow points rather than full metal jackets?

It doesn’t stop there.

They have also purchased 2,700 armored tanks that are designed to withstand ballistic arms fire, mine blasts, and improvised explosive devices. These tanks were not ordered to be used on the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan. These tanks were ordered to be used on our city streets and in quiet towns all across America. In fact, many Americans have already spotted them in their neighborhoods.

So why does DHS need 2,700 ballistic arm and mine resistant military tanks patrolling our neighborhoods and towns? What do they plan on using them for? Who do they plan on using them on? These are the questions that every single American should be demanding their elected representatives in Congress ask the Department of Homeland Security.

Here is a partial list of their purchases since 2012:

450 million rounds of 40 caliber hollow point bullets, 175 million rifle ammunition rounds .233 caliber (the same ones used by NATO forces), 7,000 fully automatic assault rifles, (you know, the same ones Dianne Feinstein and the Obama Administration are trying to ban), and so far over 2 billion with a capital B in total rounds of ammunition.

So now that we have the facts let’s discuss the possible reasons for all this provocative behavior by our government. You don’t have to be a Republican or a Democrat to know that Barack Obama is a big government liberal. In fact, he is so far to the left he makes Jimmy Carter look like Ronald Reagan. Never in our nation’s history have we seen a more radical President.

The first thing any good leftist leader does when they come to power is try to get their military to go along with their agenda. If they find any major resistance to what type of change they are trying to implement they will usually resort to minimizing their strength or neutralizing it by creating a more loyal parallel force. Barack Obama’s goal has always been to create a loyal civilian army to help implement his type of transformational change.

In July of 2008 Barack Obama said, “We cannot continue to rely on our military to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We have got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, and just as well funded.”

We already have a civilian force Mr. President; it’s called the National Guard.

Zombie-like salivating yes we can sheeple will have you believe that the President wants to create a civilian army to help fight terrorism. The non kool-aid drinking folks on the right and many in the middle understand this is not the President’s true intent.

First off, the American military is the most powerful, most tactical, and well trained fighting force in the world. Our military is more than capable of fighting terrorism and doesn’t need a bunch of Communist radicals with Billy clubs and switchblades running around the country pretending to be patriotic freedom fighters. The only thing this coalition of Obama supporters would be terrorizing are the people that didn’t follow the President’s orders, mainly Conservatives.

Many fear that this may have been this administration’s goal all along. History has shown that during periods of major civil unrest and forcible revolutionary change many governments prepare themselves by insulating and arming their leaders while simultaneously depleting the resources of their adversaries.

So how do you make your resisters less resistant?

By purposely buying up as much ammunition as you can. Then you make sure law abiding citizens do not have access to ammunition they will need to defend themselves. Additionally, you make sure that local police departments sworn to protect and to serve their citizens suddenly do not have the tools needed to do so. Last but not least you strategically exploit a tragedy like the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting to pass draconian legislation that restricts the Second Amendment under the guise of public safety.

If millions of ammunition purchases and thousands of tactical weapons don’t keep you up at night maybe unmanned aircraft capable of eliminating United State citizens will.

Drones have been typically used in the war on terror to eliminate potential terrorist threats in other countries. Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama have used these unmanned aircraft to kill many high profile targets such as former Al-Qaida leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in Iraq; and American born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. This type of aircraft is highly effective at eliminating specific targets while creating very little in collateral damage.

Our government would never use these types of weapons on American soil to eliminate American citizens would they?

On March 5, 2013 Attorney General Eric Holder actually said this, “Drone strikes against American citizens on US soil are legal.” He actually uttered these exact words from his lips. This should make every single American very nervous, especially the ones who vehemently disagree with this administration.

After Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster, Eric Holder sent him a letter backtracking from his statement. The fact that he said it at all is what is so scary. This administration could and would still use drones against Americans citizens regardless of what the attorney general says.

After more questioning and pressure from some members of Congress to clarify his prior statement Eric Holder than went on to say, “Using lethal force against American citizens on US soil is highly unlikely. We hope no president will ever be faced with that decision. However if there was an imminent threat such as a domestic terror attack on the country similar to a Pearl Harbor or 9-11 it is conceivable that the use of an unmanned aircraft could be used as a viable option.” That sounds like a whole lot of wiggle room to me.

Suppose the President is walking from his motorcade one day to the White House. He is surrounded by his security detail and the Secret Service. There is a sniper within range ready, willing, and able to take him out. The sniper is spotted and a drone is dispatched to eliminate the threat. How is this legal? How does this even constitute as an imminent threat to the nation?

The answer is it’s not legal and it doesn’t qualify as a threat to the nation. It qualifies as a threat to the President. Luckily for him he has the Secret Service and his personal security detail to protect him.

Whether or not we as Americans wake up one day and find out that the President is no longer with us doesn’t constitute as a national emergency or an imminent threat. Did the world stop when John F. Kennedy was assassinated? Did time stand still when Ronald Reagan was shot? None of these events stopped the country’s everyday routines and if these events should transpire once again in the future nothing will change how we live our daily lives.

Our Constitution was set up this way. We have a line of succession when it comes to events such as assassinations. The American people will go on with their lives and the Vice President will take over.

So let’s recap.

Our Attorney General says it is legal to kill American citizens on American soil. Barack Obama has cut the military and wants to reduce our nuclear weapons capability even though many rogue nations want to destroy us. Barack Obama wants to create a 1 million member strong civilian security force to “help defeat terrorism”. DHS has refused to answer questions under oath in judiciary hearings as to the intent of their purchases, only giving lame excuses such as training and bulk pricing discounts. And finally the Democrats in Congress and the Obama Administration are trying to strip law abiding citizens of their right to protect themselves by undermining the Second Amendment. Even Stevie Wonder can see what is happening.

So what do we do?

If our government is going to make provocative purchases over and over without reason or explanation I suggest we prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I would implore all Americans if they haven’t done so already to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

I think it is time for all Americans to purchase as many firearms as they can get their hands on. Handguns, rifles, assault rifles, M-16’s, hunting rifles, shotguns, carbon rifles, AK 47’s, Mac 10’s, etc.

If most Americans decided to “arm up” than maybe our government will see that as a deterrent. We need to neutralize the potential threat from this administration by showing them we are not going to go quietly into that good night. We need to make sure that our government knows that if they decided to travel down this road that we the people will guarantee it will be a very bumpy ride.

Suggested by the author:
www.joshbernsteinpoliticalwriter.com
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Sen. Rand Paul gives hope to the curly–haired.

The 40^th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held this week in National Harbor, just across the river from Washington, DC, did not appear to be a depressed gathering of Republicans and conservatives still reeling from last November’s presidential loss. There was friendly rivalry between supporters of Sen. Rand Paul (R–KY) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R–FL), but I saw no evidence of divisive infighting and vicious internal attempts to gain mainstream media publicity at the expense of fellow party members.

But then again an impressive contingent of off–duty police officers was probably more than enough to keep John McCain and Lindsey Graham from attending the conference.

The opening day of CPAC 2013 evolved into a faceoff between two potential Republican presidential candidates: the aforementioned Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.

Judging by the crowd’s reception, Paul was the winner.

Rubio — America’s foremost spokesman for regular hydration — did not address immigration, the issue he’s been most associated with this year. Instead the bulk of Rubio’s speech, once we got past the H2O jokes, was fairly standard — although he did touch on the call for a remodeled Republican party.

Rubio said the goal of the Republican Party should be to “create an agenda to apply our time–tested principles to the challenges of today” because average Americans are asking, “who is fighting for them?”

Specifically, Rubio believes the US should be the best place in the world to create middle–class jobs and to facilitate that the country must solve the federal government’s debt and spending problem. Republicans should stress pro–growth energy policies that include both oil and gas. On the home front, he wants every parent to have an opportunity to send their children to “the school of their choice.” And we need real heath care reform that empowers Americans so they can buy insurance from any company, regardless of where the company is headquartered.

The young senator also addressed leftist critics and predicted they will downplay his speech and claim that he didn’t offer any new ideas. “We don’t need a new idea. The idea is called America and it still works,” Rubio responded as the audience applauded.

It would have been the best conservative speech of the day, if Rand Paul had not made an appearance.

It was a standing–room only crowd that anticipated Paul’s appearance and it erupted in applause as he brandished the binders he used during his drone filibuster in the Senate and declared, “I was told I only had ten measly minutes, but just in case I brought 13 hours worth of information.”

Paul — who gives hope to the curly–haired since no one will ever call him ‘blow dried’ — began by explaining that the motivation for his filibuster was to question whether presidential power has limits: “We want to know will you or won’t you defend the Constitution?”

As an audience member called out, “Don’t drone me, bro!” Paul explained that the president’s good intentions are not enough. “No one person gets to decide the law,” he said. And that’s his philosophy in a nutshell: leaders must defend and abide by the Constitution even when it’s not convenient.

Paul then moved to compare his conservative philosophy with that of Obama’s, which has proven to be you can have your cake and eat your neighbor’s, too. He quoted Ronald Reagan who said, “As government expands, liberty contracts.”

With that in mind he proposed a five–year plan to balance the budget. Paul’s blueprint cuts the corporate income tax in half, creates a flat personal income tax of 17.5 percent, erases the regulations “strangling American business” and eliminates the Department of Education entirely giving the power and the money back to the states.

Paul observed without mentioning names that the GOP “of old has grown stale and moss–covered.” His new GOP will need a big tent because it will “embrace economic and personal liberty. Liberty needs to be the backbone of the Republican Party and I ask everyone who values liberty to stand with me.”

And the crowd did, giving him a standing ovation that easily eclipsed the response to Rubio’s earlier speech.

The post CPAC 2013 Stands With Rand appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

When I say criminals I am not just talking in the abstract; I am referring to real criminals.

According to a study from the online publication Capitol Hill Blue, the American people have elected a bunch of politicians that are better at breaking laws than making laws. America’s low information voters have chosen some real class acts to represent them.

Just how bad are some of our members of Congress?

29 members have been accused of spousal abuse, 7 have been arrested for fraud, 19 have been accused of writing bad checks, 117 have bankrupted at least 2 businesses, 3 have been arrested for physical assault, 71 have such bad credit that they can’t even qualify for a credit card, (yet with their special clearance as a member of Congress they get an Amex card without having a credit check.) 14 have been arrested on drug related charges, 8 have been arresting for shoplifting, and at least 84 members of Congress have been stopped for drunk driving but subsequently let go once they showed they were members of Congress.

If all that hasn’t made you lose your lunch this sure will.

According to the 2013 Congressional schedule, Congress will take 239 days off! That means they will only “work” 126 days of the year. If that wasn’t bad enough these hardly working, drunk driving, womanizing, bad credit, criminals get paid a minimum of $175,000 a year. Not bad for 126 days of so called work. They have worked themselves so hard that they don’t even have the strength to create a budget. The last time our dedicated public servants passed a budget was April 29, 2009. That is an unbelievable mind boggling 1,415 days without a budget, and counting.

This article’s intent is not to highlight the ineptness and unprincipled actions of our corrupt Congress; instead its purpose is to illustrate just how incidental and unnecessary Washington, DC has become. Former Republican Presidential nominee Rick Perry may not have been able to talk his way out of a paper bag; however he had the political will and courage to tell the American people that if he were to be elected President he would make Congress a part time job.

I couldn’t agree with him more. In fact, I’d like to take his suggestion a little further and dismantle Washington, DC altogether; and here is how we can do it.

We live in a virtual and digital society in which nothing seems impossible. The constant advancements in technology have created a very mobile society. We live in a world where you can start your car, turn the lights on and off in your house, and check your blood pressure, all by using your I-phone. There is no reason why Congress can’t conduct official government business from their respective state Capitols. Think about how much money they could save in travel expenses and housing alone?

With email, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, video conferencing, and websites such as gotomeeting.com; there is no shortage of technology that could be utilized to perform the everyday functions of Congress from outside of Washington, DC.

According to census.gov, 1 out of 10 workers over the age of 65 works from home. This is a growing trend that is only going to continue as more businesses look for ways to cut operating expenses and increase productivity. With so many older workers still in the workforce due to the Obama economy; many of these workers work from home.

Companies that employ workers who telecommute save on expenses such as office space, equipment, furniture, and supplies. Employees who work from home are able to save money on such expenditures as clothing, childcare, parking, and gasoline. Also, some studies have shown that workers who telecommute are more effective and efficient at their jobs than those who work in the office. Why not extend that same invitation to members of Congress?

According to statistics from the 112th Congress, the average age of a member of the House of Representatives is 57 years and the average age of a member of the Senate is 63 years. These folks should be required to work remotely from their respective states and only come into Washington a few times a month to cast votes.

Washington, DC is 68.3 square miles of influence, corruption, and centralized power. The only way to change Washington is to remove the influence, corruption, and power from it; and that starts with Congress. The only way to do this is by forcing members of Congress to not congregate permanently in Washington, DC.

A suggestion would be to pass a law in which no member of Congress is allowed to have permanent residence within 100 miles of Washington, DC. By doing this you automatically decentralize the influence and power, and make it harder for lobbyists and power brokers to influence fiscal policy. This is how you change Washington, DC.

To some who are reading this I understand it may sound a bit Orwellian. Telling free people where they can and cannot live may seem a little extreme. What is more extreme is having career politicians drunk with power spending future generation’s money on programs they can’t pay for. We are at a time in our nation’s history in which the only real solutions require real drastic measures.

The truth is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. If we take away Congress’s power we can return it to its rightful owners; we the people. Most Democrats who read this will think I’m crazy. Even some Republicans will think this is a bad idea; however most limited government Conservatives will love it. My only hope is that those members of Congress who believe in freedom, liberty, and limited government read my article and introduce legislation based on this idea. A good idea can only become a great idea when it is acted upon.

As a political strategist, commentator, and radio talk show host my job is to give solutions, not talking points. I may not always be right, but I am always thinking outside the box about different ways to make America a better, stronger, and freer country. If we are serious about saving this country and truly believe in a limited government it is time we put our money where our mouth is and dismantle Washington, once and for all.

Suggested by the author:
www.joshbernsteinpoliticalwriter.com
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The post Dismantling Washington appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

By Mr. Curmudgeon:

“Women and children huddle in niches and corners,” reads the diary entry for April 27, 1944, “They all listen for the sounds of battle . . . Suddenly water starts to pour into the [subway] station. Screams, sobs, curses. People fighting around the ladders that run through the air shafts up to the streets. Masses of gurgling water rush over the stairs. Children and wounded are abandoned and trampled to death …The panic lasts for hours. Many are drowned. Reason: On somebody’s orders, engineers have blasted the locks of the canal between Schoeneburg and Mockern bridges to flood the tunnels against the advancing Russians.”

That “somebody” was a desperate Adolf Hitler. With 2.5 million Soviet troops surrounding the German capital Berlin, Hitler ordered the flooding of the city’s S-Bahn subway to slow the advancing Red Army, killing women, children and his wounded soldiers, who sought shelter from the battle raging in the streets above. The lives of ordinary Germans were of little concern to a ruler bent on saving the authoritarian state. Three days later, Hitler took his own life.

The historical event above came to mind while reading a memo issued by Charles S. Brown, the eastern regional director of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). During a conference call with USDA officials in Washington, Brown asked if he could spread out his department’s sequestration budget cuts in a way that would prevent having to furlough food inspection personnel in his department.

“The response back,” said Brown in a memo to his staff, “was, ‘We have gone on record with a notification to Congress and whoever else that APHIS would eliminate assistance to producers in 24 States in managing wildlife damage to the aquaculture industry, unless they provide funding to cover the costs. So, it is our opinion that however you manage that reduction, you need to make sure you are not contradicting what we said the impact would be.’By suggesting to Washington that he could keep a full staff, maintaining the safety of America’s food supply by implementing needed efficiency measures, Brown was dangerously close to “contradicting” plans made by Washington’s permanent federal bureaucracy to hurt Americans to as great an extent as possible. Brown’s mistake, you see, was believing that government serves “We the People,” not the other way around.

A press release issued by House Republican Tim Griffith said, “This email confirms what many Americans have suspected: The Obama Administration is doing everything they can to make sure their worst predictions come true and to maximize the pain of the Sequester cuts for political gain.  Instead of cutting waste, the Obama Administration is hurting workers.  President Obama should stop protecting wasteful government spending.”

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Known pathogens cause an estimated 9.4 million food-borne illnesses annually in the United States.” In the period 2009-2010, the CDC reports that food-caused illnesses affected 29,444 Americans, resulting in “1,184 hospitalizations, and 23 deaths.”

Americans should keep these measures in mind as the Obama administration undermines the health of American families in its war to preserve Washington’s unsustainable spending.

Bon Appétit.

The post Obama’s Food Fight appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

“Apologize for what?”

These three words have inspired and motivated millions of patriotic Americans. They have become a calling card to Conservatives everywhere who are sick and tired of out of control liberalism destroying this great country. On the anniversary of Andrew Breitbart’s death I’m sure he is looking down on us from that special reserved spot in heaven where the heroes lay and is smiling. In the post Andrew Breitbart Conservative era, his legacy lives on and his influence continues to grow.

From Twitter to Facebook and everything in-between, Andrew is alive and well in spirit. His death to most Conservatives, including myself is one you will always remember and not soon forget. Like a great fallen warrior his disciples have picked up where he has left off. Their very simple and loyal battle cry is, “I Am Breitbart.”

Andrew Breitbart was someone who was comfortable swimming in the belly of the beast and always relished the hatred and vitriol that he received from the left. He wore it like a badge of honor; never backing down or shying away. Andrew said things out loud that most of us would only think and that is what made him so effective yet controversial. He was the type of guy who would take ten to the chin just to deliver the one knockout punch.

Breitbart was unapologetic and his “apologize for what?” has posthumously become his trademark. He never let the left get away with anything which is why he was so demonized by them. His undercover investigative work was a major contributing factor to exposing the radical group ACORN. His work is the reason they were forced to change their name and are now thankfully defunded by Congress.

When the liberal media started to run stories about how the Tea Party was racist he called them out on it. Andrew knew that playing the race card was a Saul Alinsky tactic used by the left whenever they were losing the argument. Brilliantly, he offered a 100,000 dollar grant payable to the United Negro College Fund if they could find even one shred of evidence of racism at Tea Party rallies. Needless to say, the UNCF is still 100,000 dollars poorer.

His untimely death has always struck me as a little peculiar. Although I do not subscribe to conspiracy theories I do find the timing of his death remarkably odd. At the 2012 CPAC event, Andrew spoke about releasing “something big” on March 1st that apparently was going to be very damaging to Barack Obama. He spoke passionately about finally “vetting” Barack Obama and doing the job the liberal media has not done and refuses to do. Then coincidentally, the day he was to release this damaging information he allegedly dies of a heart attack?

More importantly, the media was very quick to point out that Andrew had a history of heart problems. The Los Angeles Police Department’s full investigation into Andrew’s death did not find any foul play and the Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy and full toxicology report which also turned up nothing.

Andrew Breitbart may be gone but his legacy still lives on. Like in war, when one soldier goes down the next soldier picks up the fallen soldier’s weapon and keeps on firing. Let’s just hope our aim is as good as his was. In this ideological war we find ourselves in we must master the strategies and tactics that Andrew perfected.

The silent majority in this country can no longer afford to be silent, or silenced. We can no longer be made to feel guilty or ashamed for our beliefs. We must be forceful in our convictions and be unapologetic for having them. This war is not about left versus right, it is about right versus wrong. This is about two very different visions for America. It is one of freedom and opportunity or slavery and bondage. As another great patriot Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not passed down through the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed down to our children and their children to do the same.”

Andrew knew this all too well and he lived his life on the frontlines of this battle. So the next time a liberal asks you to apologize for your beliefs, you tell them “apologize for what”?

Suggested by the author:
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The post Apologize For What? appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot in things racial, we have always been, and we, I believe, continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.  Though race-related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about things racial. This is truly sad. Given all that we as a nation went through during the civil rights struggle, it is hard for me to accept that the result of those efforts was to create an America that is more prosperous, more positively race-conscious, and yet is voluntarily socially segregated.” (Attorney General Eric Holder, February 18, 2009)

A Yahoo Poll issued the day of our 2013 State of the Union message indicated that over 75% of the public had no intention of watching or listening to it, a remarkable drop in interest and excitement compared to worshiping throngs that embraced America’s first half-white President in 2008.   It’s understandable to a degree I guess.  Those of us who follow this administration can almost recite what Obama is going to say and we don’t require a teleprompter to do it.

It is also unfortunate because it indicates why we are in the mess we continue to find ourselves.  Obama’s repetitive boring rhetoric allows him to continue to thrive because most Americans now choose ignorance over information.   I guess the thought is, “If I don’t hear it, it won’t remind me of what’s wrong”, proving my contention Obama is not the problem, we the people are.

But while most presumably tuned out because either we all knew in advance it would simply be a re-hash of the Obama campaign touting hope and change via wealth redistribution or because “The Big Bang Theory” is simply a better expenditure of time I listened, primarily in order to be able to talk coherently about it on my show which happened to air right after his speech.  Yes, my sacrifice to my country is I miss re-runs of Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard and Raj so my audience doesn’t have to in exchange for re-runs of Obama’s speeches in a fresh suit.

But back to my point.  Obama wasn’t 3 minutes into his speech when I caught something he said that confirmed what I have been proclaiming since the Newton, Connecticut shootings as to how he will portray the next 4 years in hopes of assisting the progressive element of this country to remain in power beyond 2016.

“It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country – the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.”

Aside from the fact liberty and responsibility are not bargains, the surface of his statement sounds much like most of Obama’s patriotic sounding chest thumping, meaning he always attempts at “sounding” American.  And it does sound American, doesn’t it?  Who wouldn’t agree with the ideals and principles of hard work, responsibility and equality?

But if you follow Obama as much as I and others like me do, you recognize this as progressive doublespeak, that which sounds like one thing to mainstream America but something different to those who religiously embrace progressive ideology.

Obama was in fact highlighting the voting blocks he is targeting for his continuing class warfare campaign.  Embedded within this one line lies the meaning of all Obama is and all he seeks to do.  It exposes his distrust and dislike for not only the wealthy but middle income Christian conservative white America.

In Obama speak; ”…where you come from” is a reference to poverty, “…what you look like” is a reference to race and “…who you love” is a reference to sexual preference.

For some reason I immediately I thought to myself, “The time has come to not only stand up to this continuing division of America through the bastardizing tactics of this tyrant but much more to those who through their ignorance buy into his claims”.  This can only be done by addressing Obama’s and those like him misconceptions it is the white race that is keeping everyone else down.  In other words it is time to take up Mr. Holder’s challenge to discuss “things racial”.

Upon assuming the position of Attorney General in 2009 Eric Holder issued the challenge quoted above to America regarding racism.  Like Obama it sounds right, even American.  But there is much more to this than meets the politically correct eye.  The same innuendo and accusation our President proclaimed just an evening ago lies hidden in Mr. Holder’s real meaning.  Herein lays the problem with such a discussion.

Eric Holder’s challenge to debate racism in America is based on a narrow perception racism is not seen or understood from the perspective of the black community and therefore that is why we can’t or won’t acknowledge it exists and needs to be dealt with.

Others like him express the same meaning when they speak of social and economic injustice politically referred to today as disenfranchisement.  A great example of this paradigm would be Jesse Jackson’s “Rainbow Coalition” which as far as I know displays only colors in grayscale.

In other words, having won the right to vote black activists now have expanded disenfranchisement as not only a racial issue but economic and social believing that one inherently leads to the other.  It is their way of sounding rhetorically inclusive (to other non-white races, the impoverished and guilt ridden whites) while remaining racially segregated, the very issue Mr. Holder says he is sad to acknowledge.

The thrust of this theological ideology is a political agenda that claims white America owes reparation to black America due to the issue of slavery.  Obama calls it wealth redistribution that gives everyone a fair chance.  Eric Holder refers to it as the white sin of “cowardice”.

History, as interpreted by others who are not white often paints a picture of aggression, oppression, hatred and greed as the traits by which Anglo Saxons have conquered much of the world.  That is certainly true to a great degree I suppose.  But it also indicates something most people do not understand about the white race.

And that is the history of the white race is one of overcoming the very things those who are not white claim they cannot.  Poverty, security, freedom are the same desires the white race sought and still seek to obtain as much as any nation or people caught in the cross hairs of that quest.  And if the truth be told perhaps the biggest enemy the white man has overcome is himself.  Let me explain.

In the Bible we read the story of Abraham.  Abraham appears to be a somewhat religious man (his father was an idol maker) and certainly from what we read of him he desired prosperity.  At some appointed time, the Bible tells us, God decided that Abraham would be the father of the nation of Israel, the people by which He would send Jesus Christ to die for the sins of mankind.

The question before us is why did God choose Abraham?  Was Abraham special because of his social standing, theology or wealth?  As a nomadic shepherd he had no wealth which would indicate he had no social standing.  His father was an idol maker by trade so it certainly wasn’t his religion.  Could it be because Abraham was white?

I would put it before you that God chose Abraham because He saw a man who would recognize opportunity, embrace the responsibility it involves and would eventually mature to a man that would put in the work and achieve his desires all the time remembering who he was and from Whom his prosperity came.  The side note to this is Abraham just happened to be white.  And, it is only a side note.  It was, as Martin Luther King once stated, “…the content of his character” that set Abraham’s course and destiny, not the color of his skin.

To further prove my point we know that when God called Abraham that character He recognized in him had not yet been developed.  Abraham disobeyed God by taking his idol making father with him when he moved away from his home, gave his own wife away not once but twice to save his own skin and even laughed at God when told he would have a son at the age of 100 years old.  But God saw the finished man, not the man in the making.

Even further, the nation of Israel which descended from Abraham is called by God more than once, “…a stiff-necked people” inferring they are stubborn and prone to disobedience, not unlike their father Abraham.   You could say stubbornness is in their DNA.

So by our standards Abraham was not the best candidate for the founding of a nation though he might have made a good politician given his propensity for deceit.  And neither would we consider Israel a great people as they possess the negative traits of their ancestor. But, you ask what does this have to do with racism?

In an age where too many claim the white race is the source of all that ails us I put it to you to consider that perhaps God chose Abraham not for his color or for who he was but what he was to become.  If Abraham is indicative of what is wrong with the white race than I think it is fair to say God may have chosen him to show what any man or woman can become if priorities and discipline are nurtured.  In essence maybe the white race has actually been the weakest race all along and God is telling us that if we whites can do it anyone can do it.

I personally believe it is not color but culture that determines who we allow ourselves to become.  We too easily color code our respective cultures in order to justify or defend our own shortcomings, lack of discipline and low self-esteem.  We also can use it to boast of our own superiority. All these faults transcend color.

I believe anyone can achieve their heart’s desire.  But I also believe that like Abraham we must place our trust in the same God Abraham did and look beyond color, culture, social standing, ideology and institutional theology and embrace the equality that Jesus died to provide for all of us.  This also requires we practice the same discipline and assume the same responsibility such freedom requires.

Unfortunately it also requires placing our faith in a Great White Hope…that would be Jesus Christ sent for our redemption and empowerment to achieve what God has ordained for us.  Yeah, a white guy.  Since we will all return to dust one day, in the end does that really matter? What say you, Mr. Holder and Mr. President?

Jon Matthews is the Producer and Host of “That Radio Show” which airs Monday – Wednesday from 7 – 8 PM (PST) on Blog Talk Radio. He is also author of the soon to be released book, “The Day The Music Died; How Apostasy & Liberalism Have Destroyed Our Republic”.  You can reach Jon at jon@rightandwrongradio.com.

The post Restoring Our Republic Through The Great White Hope appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

The 85 year old head of the Catholic Church stated, “After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.”

He continues, “However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

The words The Pope chose were very revealing. At one point he talks about the physical strength it takes to lead the Catholic Church. On the other hand he reveals the emotional toll it has taken on him as well. When one feels as though they are fighting a battle that doesn’t seem to be getting any easier it has a profound affect on them; especially the elderly.

When The Pope talks about questions in deep relevance he is referring to America turning their backs on God as a society. The rapidly changing world he is referring to is the speed at which more Americans than ever are denouncing the Church by switching from the Catholic faith to the religion of Social Justice.

The practice of Social Justice by the Catholic Left has been gaining in political power in America and around the world for years. From embracing Gay Marriage and homosexuality to the acceptance by many Catholics of the practice of abortion the Catholic Left has been gaining in influence. The sanctity of life has devolved into the rejection of capital punishment while simultaneously negating the value and rights of the unborn. The dignity of every human life has been distorted by the practice of euthanasia for unwanted babies and the elderly infirm.

Fighting for your values is not an easy task. It can be draining both psychically and emotionally. It is also not a young man’s game either. Pope Benedict XVI realized this and understood that in order to help the Catholic Church move forward that he would need to take a step back.

So who should replace him?

Given the factors that lead to Pope Benedict XVI decision to step down the next Pope should be younger, healthier, and stronger both psychically and emotionally. He should be more charismatic and possess more passion. He should be able to fight to preserve the Catholic Church and its teachings worldwide and never back down from an ideological challenge.

There has never been an American Pope in the entire history of the Papacy, but maybe that could change. Although history and long odds are stacked against him, the perfect replacement for Pope Benedict XVI would be the current Arch Bishop of New York Timothy M. Dolan.

Cardinal Dolan is relatively young at age 63, he is in seemingly good health, and he has already proven to be a much needed and reliable conservative voice for not only the Catholic Church but more importantly for our Judeo-Christian nation as a whole.

Cardinal Dolan has been on the frontlines in the battle for religious freedom. He was a leading voice against the Obama Administration’s far reaching mandate on contraception. In a CBS interview, Cardinal Dolan condemned the interference of the government in what he viewed as the outright dismissal of the right to religious conscience and freedom. His position lead to the Obama Administration slightly changing their policy in regards to the contraception mandate.

Cardinal Dolan is also staunchly pro-life. During the 2008 Presidential Election, Cardinal Dolan strongly rebuked then Senator Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for misrepresenting timeless Church doctrine on the issue of abortion. He also criticized the University of Notre Dame for allowing the most radical pro abortion President in the history of the United States to give the graduating class its commencement speech, calling it a “big mistake.”

Cardinal Dolan is also a big supporter of traditional marriage. He understands the dangers of changing the definition of traditional marriage and the far reaching consequences it can have on society. In a 2009 New York Post interview he said, “There is an in-built code of right and wrong that is imbedded in the human DNA that defines marriage between one man and one woman for life. If we go tampering with the definition of marriage than we will be in big trouble.” For more on the importance of preserving traditional marriage see http://www.examiner.com/article/why-the-defense-of-marriage-act-should-never-be-repealed

There are a host of other great reasons why Cardinal Dolan would be the best choice as the new Pope but the main reason is he has been a proven fighter against the left and particularly the Obama Administration. He has been that constant thorn in the side of Barack Obama and the rest of the leftist ideologues in America. He will not back down in the battle between traditionalism and secularism. He understands the threat the Catholic Church is facing from Socialism, Communism, Marxism and Islamofascism here in America and around the world.

America and the rest of the world need a new spiritual leader with the capability, charisma, and intellect to change disbelieving hearts and minds. Our religious freedoms and long standing traditions are under constant threat from an enemies both foreign and domestic. Having someone like Cardinal Dolan in our corner will give us the strength and determination to endure these battles and emerge victorious.
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One of the most isolated, longest surviving, and brutal dictatorship the world has ever known is at it again. North Korea recently put out a very disturbing video that showed a nuclear bomb hitting New York City and the subsequent aftermath. The propaganda film depicts what the world might look like if the United States were no longer a part of it. For a country whose rulers supposedly hate everything about America they sure seem to admire American culture which I will revisit later on in this article.

The video’s background music was set to the 1985 hit song “We Are The World” sung by a collection of popular American singers including the King of Pop himself, the late Michael Jackson. It is ironic that in a country where hundreds of thousands of people die every year from starvation and poor nutrition the North Korean government chose a song about the United States feeding starving people in Africa?

According to a 2012 report on human rights from Freedom House, North Korea had the dubious honor of being the world’s number one offender in regards to human rights. The destitute people of North Korea have virtually no rights at all.

There is no justice system, no appeals process, no political opposition, no freedom of expression, no dissenting voices, and no freedom of the press.

Many brutal dictators throughout history have controlled their people; but very few have been as effective as the North Korean’s are at controlling their people’s thoughts too. Every single bit of news and information is controlled by the government. The people are fed story after story about how great their government is and how loving and caring they act towards their fellow citizens. The propagandists in the state controlled media tell stories that depict their leader as a magical and mystical person. There are the stories of how the late Dear Leader Kim Jong Il once shot 4 holes in one while playing golf, or how the Dear Leader had the ability to change the weather just by changing his mood.

The North Korean people walk around in a catatonic zombie like state in which everything they do and say revolves around the Great Successor. In fact, you could be executed in North Korea for not prepositioning the phrase, “Our Great Successor before speaking to an official of the North Korean Government.

Everything inside the capitol city of Pyongyang is a facade. The city itself is very beautiful. It has big buildings and beautiful skyscrapers. The streets are impeccably clean and nothing is out of place. However there is one problem. Most of buildings are all empty. They were built to impress foreign dignitaries and fool others into thinking that Pyongyang is a vibrant city. It is far from it. When darkness falls, the city and the rest of the country is pitch black. The only lights that can be seen from satellite images are mostly from the very select few who live in luxury and work for the government.

North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship. It can also be described as an absolute monarchy or a hereditary dictatorship. It is ruled by the Kim family. The Kim family is a ruthless, barbaric lot. They have tortured, mutilated, and murdered millions of North Koreans. They have imprisoned hundreds of thousands of their citizens in internment camps and starved to death an estimated 3.5 million more in the Great Famine from 1994 to 1998. For more on life inside a North Korean prison camp read The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Kang Chol-Hwan if you have the stomach.

The first Kim to rule North Korea was Kim Il Sung. He ruled from 1948 until his death in 1994. There are over 400 statues of Kim Il Sung all over North Korea. There are many buildings, a few schools, a library, and a town square named in his honor. He is the most revered figure in North Korea to this day. He is known as “The Great Leader” or “The Eternal Leader” to the North Korean people.

After the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994, his son Kim Jong Il took over as “The Dear Leader.” He was just as brutal, barbaric, and eccentric as his father. Like his father he was also afraid of flying and traveled everywhere by armored trains.

Kim Jong Il loved everything about the American culture except America. He loved our movies, he loved our food, and he loved our sports. His favorite movie was said to be Rambo, his favorite food was said to be lobsters, and the 5 foot 2 potbellied dictator’s favorite sport was basketball. He loved lobsters so much that he had live ones air-lifted into the country on a daily basis. Imagine that, in a country where more than three quarters of the population are starving to death the “Dear Leader” is eating fresh lobster, watching Rambo and cheering for his favorite NBA team.

Kim Jong Il died on December 17, 2011. His youngest son, Kim Jong Un is now the ruler of North Korea. The “Great Successor” as he is known by is reportedly only 30 years old. He is reported to be the youngest Head of State in the world. Not much is known about the youngest son other than his striking resemblance to his grandfather, Kim Il Sung. It has been reported that Kim Jong Un was educated in Switzerland and may even speak English. Like his father, he is also known to be a huge basketball fan. It is reported he smokes cigarettes, drinks Johnny Walker whiskey, and drives a Mercedes Benz.

It is not known whether or not young Kim will rule exactly like his father and grandfather before him but if history is any indication chances are he will. There have been reports that because Kim Jong Un has spent time living abroad he has been exposed to different cultures outside of North Korea. It is possible that some of what he learned could influence how he will rule. However the reality is he is surrounded by relatives of the Kim family who want things to remain the same.

The North Korean military style government continues to stick their thumb in the eye of the International Community. They have broken numerous agreements with the United States in regards to their nuclear program. They have conducted numerous missile launches over the years and show no signs of stopping. In fact, it has been reported that they are getting ready to launch yet another missile in the very near future.

North Korea is a puppet regime. Their threats are empty and their rhetoric is as weak as their leader; a school boy whose only military experience was probably shooting down an airplane in a video game. They are the equivalent of having an army of soldiers that carry empty guns. They are like a small dog with a loud bark, harmless and annoying. If they ever tried to attack the United States they would never be successful. They barely have enough resources to equip their military let alone launch a successful missile attack.

With that being said it may be possible to thwart their aggression towards us by possibly eliminating their perceived threat.

The Korean War started but technically has never officially ended. It started on June 25th 1950 and it ceased on July 27th 1953 with a signed armistice agreement. After 60 years the United States and North Korea have never actually signed a peace treaty to end the Korean War.

What if we were to offer an olive branch to the North Korean government? What if we were to kill them with kindness? You may be reading this and thinking is this guy turning into the modern day version of Neville Chamberlain?

Not quite.

The North Korean people are starving. Even the select privileged few are worse off due to international sanctions, long term droughts, and not enough food. In fact, the only time the North Korean government complies with the International Community is when they need assistance. That is when they sign some agreement they have no intention of keeping in return for food and supplies.

We could offer the North Koreans a conditional peace treaty along with a food for human rights assistance program. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission has been monitoring the DMZ for years. There is no reason they couldn’t also monitor for human rights violations too. We could offer the North Koreans our assistance in exchange for verifiable improvements in human rights and the complete dismantling of their nuclear weapons program.

By potentially eliminating one nuclear threat it would allow us to focus our attention on the more dangerous threat in Iran. Additionally, it may also bring much needed stability to the Asian Peninsula while simultaneously securing the backing of the International Community.

If the North Koreans should breach any portion of this new peace treaty it should be considered an act of war. They need to know that the United States could be an ally or an adversary depending on their actions. I believe the only way you can secure peace is through superior strength. You can not be weak in the face of evil.

Some on the left might think my suggestion is nothing more than cowboy politics. They may be right. It is no secret that the American people are tired of fighting and supporting foreign wars, I get that. But in the end our country will be safer if we show strength rather than weakness in the eyes of our enemies.
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Written by: Dr. Richard Swier

The Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC) won a major victory in Jacksonville last year when a sexual orientation and gender identity ordinance was soundly defeated. The FFPC is now focusing on bills being introduced by the Florida legislature during the 2013 session. According to the FFPC website, “The Florida Family Policy Council is committed to strengthening marriage and family structures, protecting innocent human life and defending our religious liberties. One of the ways we influence culture in these areas is by engaging our elected officials in Tallahassee.”

The FFPC website lists the following bills as “bad”:

HB 139 by Rep. Pafford SB 166 by Sen. Sobel

This bill would authorize domestic partnerships in Florida. For more information on these bills, click here for the House version and here for the Senate version.

HB 247 by Rep. Randolph SB 340 by Sen. Rich

These bills would add sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the list of protected classes in Florida’s Civil Rights Act. It would prohibit employers with more than 15 employees from discriminating in their hiring practices against persons based on their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.  For more information on these bills, click here for the House version and here for the Senate version.

HJR 353 by Rep. Clemens SJR 1028 by Sen. Bullard

These bills would allow the medicinal use of cannabis in Florida. For more information on this bill, click here.

HB 487 by Rep. Fresen SB 710 by Sen. Bogdanoff

These bills would authorize “destination casinos” with full scale gambling in Florida. For more information on these bills, click here for the House version and here for the Senate version.

HB 563 by Rep. Gonzalez SB 1016 by Sen. Garcia

These bills create a new pari-mutuel in Florida called the Breeders Cup Permanent Meet. For more information on these bills, click here.

The FFPC Legislative Agenda page states:

We are looking to build on the successes of last session on protecting life in Florida. This year, we are promoting legislation that will prohibit abortions during the third trimester or after a baby is viable unless the abortion is required to save the life of the mother or to prevent severe and irreversible impairment of the mother. It would also grant the same rights to an infant born alive during an attempted abortion that any natural born infant would have and requires physicians to do all in his power to preserve the life and health of that baby.

We are also supporting legislation that would empower school board[s] to authorize student led prayers at non-compulsory assemblies.

We will be opposing legislation that would allow full-scale destination casinos in Florida. The casino industry has invested millions into this effort to dramatically expand the scope of gambling that is available in our state. The Florida Family Policy Council continues to stand against the expansion of gambling in Florida.

We also will be working against legislation that would create domestic partnerships in Florida.

To see the entire FFPC legislative list of good and bad bills click here.

Source: WatchDogWire.com

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Published: Jan. 30, 2013 at 2:30 AM

GENEVA, Switzerland, Jan. 30 (UPI) — Israel became the first country to boycott a required U.N. review of countries’ human-rights practices, citing what it called the body’s strong bias against it.

Israel’s vow not to cooperate with the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, followed its cutting of all ties with the 47-member council in last March after the body announced it would probe how Israeli illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem might infringe on Palestinian rights.

“That was the last straw after we had to endure systematic abuse and marginalization for years,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told The Washington Post. “They have held more meetings and taken more decisions on Israel than on all the other countries put together. Israel, and only Israel, is a permanent agenda item.”

The United States, Canada and the European Union have accused the council of focusing disproportionately on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Written by Diane Sori

While we’ve all been focused on the Benghazi hearings and Obama’s nefarious plans to disarm ‘We the People’, very quietly and under the
radar North Korea is getting ready to test another nuclear weapon. Making this worse is that intelligence sources believe it will be an
underground test, so we will NOT know about it until it actually happens.

Now ‘aint that a happy thought…until it actually happens.

And what is Obama stance on this newest development out of North
Korea…who knows for he hasn’t been heard from on this…which is par
for the course when our nation’s security is threatened, and believe
me with a madman like Kim Jong Il in charge of nuclear weapons we are
indeed threatened. Barack HUSSEIN Obama is decidedly ignoring yet
another threat to our country…by a country who shares nuclear
secrets with the ultra dangerous Iran.

Kim Jong Il, speaking through his North Korean National Defense
Commission, orchestrated last week’s very blunt and very pointed
threat to target the US for attack. Saying, “We are not disguising the
fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will
fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are targeted at
the United States” as they called the US “the sworn enemy of the
Korean people.”

Could the threat be anymore direct than this…I don’t think so.

And with this, Kim Jong Il continues defying and baiting us in
retaliation for punishing his government in the U(seless) N(ations).
Last week the Security Council (with even China, North Korea’s closest
ally agreeing), tightened economic sanctions against them even further
in response to December’s long-range rocket launch that boosted their
ballistic capabilities. North Korea, whose weapons program is quite
advanced when compared to Iran’s, proved that their successful launch
of a long-range rocket could, with fine-tuning, very well reach our
west coast.

A working nuclear bomb in the hands of a madman…a nuclear bomb small
enough to be placed on top of a rocket with the capability of reaching
either Hawaii or the western US mainland…NOT good…NOT good at all.
And see how well the U(seless) N(ations) economic sanctions are
working in stopping North Korea’s work on nuclear weapons…they’re
NOT…as madmen like Kim Jong Il could care less about how sanctions
affect the people who are suffering under his reign…all he cares
about is his own power hungry ambitions and wealth built upon the
backs of the people.

Hmmmm…sounds like someone we all know doesn’t it.

And remember, in a totalitarian state, as is North Korea, power to a
madman is defined through military strength and military strength
alone for he who posses nuclear capabilities is the epitome of
strength in the eyes of the world…and this is the goal of Kim Jong
Il…to be thought of as a man with great strength…to be feared and
respected NO matter how much he breaks the backs and spirit of the
North Korean people in order to get that respect.

Thankfully, we do know that even with this threat of an imminent test,
Kim Jong Il is really just a saber rattler of sorts, and that he
actually could be baiting us to see if we’ll jump through his hoops,
take the bait, and urge the U(seless) N(ations) to do away with some
of the sanctions as a trade-off for NOT testing his weapon. Just like
his father (Kim Jong-il) before him, Kim Jong Il could be playing the
pouting but manipulating child, because past events have shown that
when North Korea is being ignored on the world stage they always seem
to act up.

And right now they are indeed being ignored as focus is on Obama
trying to take away our guns, Hillary giving the performance of a
lifetime at the Benghazi hearings, and the Palestinian/Israeli
conflict heating up as Obama helps arm the Muslim Brotherhood by
sending F-16 fighter jets to Egypt. So this threat of a test could
very well be Kin Jong Il’s way of stomping his feet and saying, ‘don’t
forget about North Korea and the danger we pose to you.’

And we should NOT forget them as North Korea has conducted nuclear
tests before, one in 2006, the other in 2009. Both these tests used
plutonium as fissile material, but some think this next test will be
with highly-enriched uranium, making this test even more dangerous
than the two previous tests. And this is NOT something that should be
taken lightly by the Obama administration as it’s believed that North
Korea has enough weaponized plutonium for four to eight basic nuclear
weapons…some of which have America’s name on them for sure.

But with Obama, any threat to our country is considered a victory for
him and his agenda…an agenda that is unabashedly un-American and pro
anybody out to kill us.

Source: ThePatriotFactor.com

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Read EPA regulations not the classics

Written by Dr. Mary Grabar

Ask any college freshman what he knows about communism and he will likely engage in a word association game.

“The red scare, McCarthyism,” he will blurt out, displaying lessons well-learned from his textbooks and teachers.

One way to go beyond the idea of communism as evidence of paranoia, though, is to recall George Orwell’s Animal Farm. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” will be the phrase students recall. Students seem to get that “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” never works out in reality from this fictional work.

This novel shows how literature can sometimes demonstrate historical realities better than many textbooks.

But with the Obama administration’s unconstitutional program of nationalizing education, students will not likely be able to experience the insights and pleasures of novels, like Orwell’s. In 2009, during the economic “crisis,” states were offered part of the $4.35 billion in stimulus funds in a hurried contest called Race to the Top. After the initial application, they were told that they would have to adhere to national standards and testing called Common Core, sight unseen, and without any legislative input.

Forty-eight states signed on initially; today, 45 states are committed to CC—although citizens and teachers are organizing against it.

The standards, now in place for math and English, emphasize “work and career readiness”–that is for workers who see themselves as global citizens unacquainted with their national and cultural heritage. This became apparent as I read the recent article, “Teachers Get Help with Common Core Lessons Through (sic) CPALMS,” at the NPR site. This was also because one of the CPALMS lessons for English/Language Arts was on Animal Farm.

The article explained that as Common-Core aligned assessments and textbooks are being written, the state of Florida is using a federal Race to the Top grant from the Department of Education to develop a site of resources for teachers who are scrambling to adhere to the new standards.

Pinellas County School Superintendent Mike Grego recently told the Florida State Board of Education that there is “no resistance” to Common Core. At the same time, Florida’s new state superintendent  Tony Bennett, is steamrollering the curriculum in. Bennett, by the way, lost reelection in Indiana, many believe, because of his support for Common Core.

The lack of “resistance” may very well be due to the behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the Department of Education that bypassed state legislatures and public input, often gaining the support of Republicans with vague promises of “rigor” and uniform “standards.” Most in the politically informed Tea Party Manatee audience before whom I spoke on the evening of January 8 were not aware of this federal takeover of education.

Among the points I made are those from my recent report for Accuracy in Media. National tests (being written by close, like-minded colleagues of terrorist-turned-education-professor Bill Ayers, like Stanford education professor Linda Darling-Hammond) will eventually nullify the idea of private schools and even home schools. Some Catholic and other religious schools are already beginning to adopt Common Core standards as they see college entrance exams being written to CC specifications. The 45 participating states are also required to keep data bases of students from “cradle to career”–to use Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s favorite phrase–and submit them to the federal government, in effect making a national database.

Some conservative organizations have protested this unconstitutional power grab by the Department of Education.

But the mandate to replace literature in English classes with “informational texts”—with only half the time allotted to literature, and reduced to only 30 percent by the last two years of high school—caught the attention of even the liberal media. They became alarmed that favorites like To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye are to be replaced by such things as EPA directives.

Spokesmen tried to alleviate fears. They directed skeptics to the standards: “the Standards require a certain critical content for all students including classic myths and stories from around the world, America’s Founding Documents, foundational American literature, and Shakespeare.” Plus, they “intentionally do not offer a reading list.” David Coleman the well-connected new president of the College Board, which writes and administers college entrance exams, has pointed to these caveats, and repeated the claim that the standards call for evidence-based writing instead of writing based on personal experience and feelings. (See the very funny take down by the Pioneer Institute’s James Stergios of how the advocate of “close reading,” David Coleman, mixed up Federalist 51 and 10 in an instructional video.)

Animal Farm would seem to fall into the category of classical literature that the bureaucrats and educrats refer to in attempts to mollify critics. Those who wrote the ninth and tenth-grade lesson plans for CPALMS (Collaborate, Plan, Align, Learn, Motivate, Share) seemed to have this in mind. First, the novel is put into the broad category of “fables” from Aesop, with a list of those usually taught to young children like “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

In typical Common Core fashion, students are to search out “elements” of a fable and then mechanically fill in a chart that is provided as a hand-out in the lesson plan.

Did anyone consider, though, that the comparison to a fable for preschoolers might be insulting to teenagers? The teacher’s version of the chart has the blanks filled in, with the element of the “problem” described as “Power can make the animals corrupt; they struggle to take care of the farm and with leadership.” The “resolution” is “The farm ends up being worse with the animals in control because of too much power and corruptness by the pigs.” The “moral/lesson” is “Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.” (The source for this quotation, the conservative historian Lord Acton, is not mentioned, however.)

All this is very general. And when one compares it to other sample lessons in Common Core and its standards, one sees that it is deliberately so. While one small mention is made in a sheet on the “elements of a fable” that Animal Farm is “satirized Stalinist Communism, in particular, and totalitarianism, in general” it is clear that the novel is to be taught in a historic vacuum. The pointed criticisms of communism are generalized to an indictment of a vague sense of too much “power.”

This exercise recalls one that gave consternation to teachers when they were instructed to read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address without emotion and without providing any historical context. Common Core reduces all “texts” to one level: the Gettysburg Address to the EPA’s Recommended Levels of Insulation.

This leveling is demonstrated in another lesson plan at CPALMS that involves the historical young adult novel Kidnapped in Key West, where teachers are told to “avoid giving any background context or instructional guidance at the outset of the lesson while students are reading the text chorally.” This kind of “close reading” presumably “forces students to rely exclusively on the text instead of privileging background knowledge and levels the playing field for all students as they seek to comprehend the text.”

Leveling the playing field is a primary objective of the Obama Department of Education, and Common Core presents a means to do so by encouraging such “close” or “deep” reading.

Reading the “text” “chorally,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “sung,” implies reading aloud in unison. It ensures that all students, including struggling readers, are brought along with the group. Such objectives are in line with Darling-Hammond’s educational agenda. The former Obama education transition team director is in charge of using $176 million in Race-to-the-Top funds to develop tests for one of two consortia and is implementing her “five-dimensional grading rubric” of personal responsibility, social responsibility,  communication skills, application of knowledge, and critical and creative thinking. This assessment philosophy had the dubious distinction of placing her Stanford New Schools on California’s list of the lowest-achieving five percent. Now about half of American students will be required to take her tests.

The sample test questions released by her consortia give no indication that acquisition of knowledge is important. As I noted in my other reports, social responsibility is the aim o the new curriculum materials being developed. They follow Arne Duncan’s stated purpose for schools: to be part of the “battle for social justice.”

Many have been fooled by rhetoric that simply repeats the talking points of the Department of Education and the well-connected leftists in the education field who will profit from our tax dollars by selling teacher training, software and hardware, and Common Core-aligned curricula. Bernie Reeves even called David Coleman an “education hero” in American I thought it might be a satire, or Newspeak.

Duncan, who worked with Bill Ayers in Chicago on education issues, is on the same page, as is Darling-Hammond. Obama’s signature education initiative has been dubbed “Obama Core” for good reason. It is an Orwellian re-education campaign.

Florida’s sample lesson for teaching, among all things, Animal Farm, provides an illustration of how this is being done. For my full analysis of the CPALMS lessons for English/Language Arts, please go here to my website www.dissidentprof.com.

Source: WatchDogWire.com

The post Common Core: Orwellian Lessons in Florida appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

Ever hear of a CAFR? You need to.

Written by: Dr. Richard Swier

The state of Florida has invested in the currencies of foreign nations. Florida’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) reports that as of June 30, 2011 the state held over $183 million of foreign currencies (see page 66).

The CAFR states that the State Board of Administration, “[H]as developed a total fund investment plan for the investment of assets in the FloridaThe CAFR states that the State Board of Administration, “[H]as developed a total fund investment plan for the investment of assets in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) Pension Trust Fund and the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund (LCEF) that sets ranges on investments by asset class. In the FRS Pension Trust Fund, no current investment policy exists that limits investments in foreign equity securities that are not denominated in U.S. dollars. Retirement System (FRS) Pension Trust Fund and the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund (LCEF) that sets ranges on investments by asset class. In the FRS Pension Trust Fund, no current investment policy exists that limits investments in foreign equity securities that are not denominated in U.S. dollars.” [My emphasis]

The top three foreign currencies held are: the Japanese Yen – $38.473 million, Taiwan New Dollar – $26.495 million and the Euro $20.552 million. However, the report shows investments in the currencies of members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Listed OIC member nation currencies held include: Egyptian pound $619,000, Indonesian rupiah $748,000, Malaysian ringgit $2,130,000, Moroccan dirham $320,000 and the Turkish new lira $2,514,000. The total held is $6,331,000.

Florida also holds $572, 000 in Israeli shekels. The combined OIC currency holdings are eleven times greater than those of Israeli currency holdings.

According to the 2011 State of Florida CAFR:

“At June 30, 2011, the state’s investments in governmental and business-type activities and fiduciary funds totaled $194.4 billion, consisting of pooled investments with the State Treasury in the amount of $15.9 billion and other investments in the amount of $178.5 billion. The State Treasury also had holdings at June 30, 2011, of $3.4 billion for discretely presented component units in total. These investments are not reported as part of the primary government and may be different from the amounts reported by some component units due to different reporting periods. Other investments for discretely presented component units totaled $20.5 billion.” [My emphasis]

NOTE:  ”Discretely presented component units”, include: Certificates of deposit,Commercial paper,Repurchase agreements,Money market funds, U.S. guaranteed obligations, Federal agencies, Domestic bonds & notes, International bonds & notes, Domestic stocks, International stocks, Real estate investments, Mutual funds, and Investment agreements.

All of these investments are taxpayer money. You are in effect a share holder in Corporation Florida with a valuation in excess of $412 billion.

Think of the power the state can wield over the private sector with this kind of investment portfolio. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Every city, county and school board in Florida have similar investments. This report is the best kept secret of every level of government. Why? Because these governments are awash in investment dividends and interest payments, all courtesy of the taxpayer. Rather than return the profits to taxpayers, governments at every level use it for their own purposes while crying poor to the public.

According to Gerald R. Klatt, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (Ret.) and former Auditor/Commander, Air Force Audit Agency and a Federal Accountant, in 2003, “The State of Florida at the State-level has approximately $48.79 billion of the taxpayer’s money it is not using, i. e. surpluses equal to $2,843 for every man, woman and child in Florida or $11,374 for a family of 4. This does not include all the additional surpluses that exist in the school districts, cities, or counties in Florida.”

There are approximately 83,000 governments and government-like entities in the U.S. You can start at the State, county, township, and/or city level. From there you will have to do some digging and ask questions. Here is a step-by-step approach that you may use to attempt to locate and obtain Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) for your city, county and State.

1. Start with the following government website: Type in the name of the school district, city, county and/or State in a search engine.

Locate the official website of the government.

2. Now this is where the search begins.

a. If the government web site has a Search function, then type in “Comprehensive Annual Financial Report” and search the site for this document. If found then you can download the CAFR onto your hard drive and review it at your leisure, print out certain pages and have available for future use in the event you are not now ready to review the CAFR.

b. If the above search is either not available or does not take you to the governments CAFR, then

1) For a State-level CAFR look in the Statewide Offices and/or Executive Branch categories shown above. Look for a financial department such as Treasurer, Finance, Finance and Accounting, etc. Usually the CAFR is found in a reporting section. Sometimes the department will have its own Search function. If so, then again type in “Comprehensive Annual Financial Report”.

2) If you are looking for a city or county CAFR, then go to the list of departments and look for a financial department such as Treasurer, Finance, Finance and Accounting, etc. You are interested in the reports section. Sometimes the department will have its own Search function. If so, then again type in “Comprehensive Annual Financial Report”.

c. If the above are unproductive, then consider sending an email/letter to one of the financial departments/agencies of the government you are interested in and ask them:

1) Whether their CAFR is on-line. if so at what address can it be accessed.

2) If the CAFR is not on line, then ask how you can obtain a copy.

3) Here is an email/letter that you may use to ask about the governments CAFR. You can highlight this email with your mouse or keyboard, copy it to the clipboard, and then paste it to a New Message in your email program or to your word processing program.

“SUBJECT: [Name of government] Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)

I request a copy of [government name] FY 2002 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The copy requested is a copy of the original report prepared in compliance with the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 34 – ‘Basic Financial Statements.’ and audited by either an AICPA firm or internal auditors. If you submit your CAFR to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) , then the copy I request is the CAFR report of that submission, which should be the same as the GASB prepared CAFR previously described.”

In case you do not have a financial document called the CAFR, the document I request is an annual financial statement that:

Presents a comprehensive picture of a government’s financial condition by combining the annual financial reports of all government agencies and universities.

Provides information on all government funds including those held outside the government treasury.

Presents information on the accrual basis recognizing amounts owed by the government but not paid at the end of the fiscal year, as well as amounts due to the government but not received by the end of the fiscal year.

Contains information on real property and other fixed assets, long-term obligations or investments held outside the government treasury; and

Includes statistical and some economic data.

If the document is currently on your web site, please provide the address so I can access and download the document.

If the document is not on your web site, please advise how I can obtain a copy.

Your assistance regarding my request will be appreciated.

Respectfully,

[Name]
[Address]
City, State, ZIP]
[Telephone]
[Email address]“

Source: WatchDogWire.com

The post FLORIDA Florida Invests in the Currencies of Islamist Nations – But that is the Good News appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

Israel may be surrounded by Islamic fundamentalists on all of its land borders and face threats to its destruction from Iran.  Meanwhile, President Obama is upset with Israel and the prospect of a possible rightward shift in next Tuesday’s Knesset elections. According to columnist Jeffrey Goldberg writing in Bloomberg.com, President Obama allegedly expressed the opinion privately “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu “is moving his country down a path toward near-total isolation.”  The President was referring to PM Netanyahu’s announcement to proceed with the construction of housing in the E-1 project  in Judea, a rebuke of the UN vote granting the Palestinian Authority non-observer status.

Given the looming January Knesset election, less than a week away, Israel’s electorate may be moving towards what Carolyn Glick has called the “Second Zionist Revolution” She noted in a blog post:

Next week we’re going to vote and it is already clear that Israel is in the midst of the Second Zionist Revolution. The first Zionist revolution was a socialist revolution. The second Zionist revolution is Jewish. Israel is coming into its own. Judaism is flourishing, changing, living and breathing here like it never has anywhere since the destruction of the Second Commonwealth.

Perhaps Israel’s critics haven’t gotten the word of what is about to occur in the Jewish nation.

Notwithstanding, 2013 could augur well for a good year in Israel. Here are four reasons why.

The Demographic Time Bomb in Israel is a Myth.  According to estimates from the Central Bureau of Statistics Israel’s population reached 8 million in 2012.  Israel Hayom noted  that over 75.4 percent are Jewish, 20 percent are Arab and four percent are defined as “other.” For the first time Israel’s 6.0 Million Jews equals or surpasses the Jewish population in the US. Fertility for Jewish women of child bearing age now surpasses that of Arab women in Israel which is in decline.  Former Ambassador Yoram Ettinger noted the underlying demographic changes in an Ettinger Report article in October 2012:

In 2012, Israel’s Jewish fertility rate (three births per woman) is trending upward, boding well for Israel’s economy and national security.

In 2012, the Israeli Arab-Jewish fertility gap is half a birth per woman, compared with a six birth gap in 1969.  Moreover, young Jewish and Arab Israeli women have converged at three births, with Arab women trending below – and Jewish women trending above – three births.

That wasn’t the only good news; Israelis are living longer and have amongst the highest life expectancies in the world.  Israel Hayom reported:

Israelis have among the highest life expectancies on the globe, with an overall life expectancy of 81.7 years, according to a new study released by the Central Bureau for Statistics. The study, which covered Israeli demographic trends from 2011, found that although Israeli men can expect to live shorter lives than Israeli women, when compared to other men around the world they come in second only to Switzerland.

According to the study, the overall Israeli life expectancy of 81.7 years puts Israel in fifth place out of all OECD countries, and is two years more than the average OECD life expectancy of 79.7.

Israel Starts Energy Independence.   Remember the hoary joke about ancient Jews who left Egypt and crossed into the Sinai making a wrong turning left instead of right when they could have had all of Saudi Arabia’s oil.   The mainstream media has not emphasized Ha Shem’s great gift to Israel, the huge offshore natural gas fields, estimated at over 30 trillion cubic feet. These fields are about to begin production along with the pilot tests of in situ oil extraction from the shale formation in the Shefla basin in 2013.   Israel oil shale reserves might even rival those of Saudi Arabia perhaps exceeding more than 250 billion barrels.

The development of these energy resources may enable Israel within this decade to become energy independent.

Those offshore gas and on-shore oil shale developments have the potential of making Israel an energy independent political power in the Middle East and player in the world energy markets. The energy developments could pour billions of royalty revenues into a newly authorized  Sovereign Wealth Fund that might significantly enhance the country’s high tech driven growth. Most importantly it would also provide the funds to enable the IDF to meet the threats arrayed against it.

Dr. Uzi Landau, Minister of Energy and Water Resources, said at the inauguration of the offshore Tamar natural gas platform production, “The Tamar project is the greatest production platform in Israeli history”.  Prof. Stanley Fisher head of the Bank of Israel has adjusted upwards Israel’s Gross Domestic Product for 2013 due to the Tamar production.  Landau went on to say:

Natural gas will not only make electricity production more efficient, cleaner, and cheaper, it is a giant step toward freeing us from dependence on foreign energy sources, especially Arab oil. Although the reservoirs are located thousands of meters below the seabed, as far as the possibility of exploiting them is concerned, the sky’s the limit.
The Tamar and Leviathan gas fields are the product of a joint venture between Noble Energy of Houston, Texas (NBL-NYSE) and the Delek Partners listed on the Tel Aviv Exchange.   The Tamar well alone cost over $3 billion to develop.

The offshore gas potential is so large that Gazprom, Russia’s energy giant and an Australian concern have jumped on board angling to obtain minority interest investments in the larger Leviathan offshore gas field.  In December, 2012, RT.com  reported  that Gazprom lost out to Australian Woodside Energy, Ltd in the competition for a minority interest in the Leviathan gas field project.

Israeli High Court decisions in late December 2012 have cleared the way for pilot tests of the on-shore shale oil production to begin in 2013 with hopes of producing more than 50,000 barrels a day by the end of this decade. The offshore natural gas production will provide the fuel to the heat the in-situ production of oil from shale formations in the Shefla Basin. Should you want to gauge the economic value of this fascinating energy development using advanced technology look up a NYSE-listed stock, Genie Energy, Ltd. (GNE).

High Technology Drives Israel’s Economic Growth.  Israel ranks 17th among 187 world nations on the UN’s Human Development Index, which places it in the category of “Very Highly Developed”.   In 2011, the latest year of date available, the World Bank estimated Israel’s GDP at over 242 Billion dollars.  GDP growth was 4.7% in 2011. Nominal Per capita GDP for Israel is over $32,298, 27th in world rank among industrial economies. Israel’s public debt to GDP is less than 74%.   More than 64.7% of Israel’s GDP is created by its high tech driven services sector.  “Israel is a world leader in software, telecommunication and semiconductors development. The concentration of high-tech industries in Israel is backed by a strong venture capital industry. It has been given the nickname “Silicon Wadi”, which is considered second in importance only to its Californian counterpart.”

The secret behind Israeli entrepreneurship is its graduates from super secret electronic intelligence Unit 8200 who end up being backed by leading Israeli and American venture capital firms.  In our interview with American Israeli venture capitalist Jon Medved, we noted:

One of the hidden secrets of why Israel is so successful in this high tech environment is its military. You were quoted in a Foreign Policy article entitled “Boot Camp for Billionaires,” as saying that “everybody who matters in high tech here, meaning Israel, is ex- Unit 8200. I salivate over these guys.” Most Americans don’t realize that the IDF reaches down to the high school level to build competition and selectivity in getting these young, talented Israelis into the military and ultimately onto a track where they become high tech entrepreneurs.

High Technology Shields Israeli Citizens from Harm.  Despite the propaganda from the Arabs, Iran and naysayers in the West, Israel won the recent eight day rocket war in November 2012, Operation Pillar of Defense.  The iron Dome batteries fired anti-rocket missiles that intercepted and destroyed more than 425 rockets, including the longer range Fajr-5 supplied by Iran via the Sudan and smuggled across the Sinai to Gaza. Thwarting the ability of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to terrorize Israel’s citizens and save lives.  Iron Dome is part of a three layer anti-missile umbrella that includes the Arrow 3 missile system, jointly developed with Boeing, and the David Sling. The Arrow 3 anti-missile has successfully knocked out ICBMs in tests in the US.  David’s Sling is scheduled to be deployed  in 2014. US Congressional fundingwill enable Israel to complete the deployment of more than 14 Iron Dome batteries covering the country.  This high tech umbrella of protection will assure Israel’s citizens that it can contend with the rocket and missile threats from Jihadists in Gaza, the terrorist army of Hezbollah and Iran.

But don’t overlook Israel’s drones, its unmanned aerial vehicles. Israel has been the leader in development of UAVs.  Salon.com noted Israeli dominance in drone developments:

The Israeli influence is not visible but it is real, documented and extremely relevant to the future of drones in America. If you want to know how drones may change American airspace in coming years, just look to Israel, where the unmanned aerial vehicle market is thriving and drones are considered a reliable instrument of “homeland security.”

“There are three explanations for Israel’s success in becoming a world leader in development and production of UAVs,” a top Israeli official explained to the Jerusalem Post last year. “We have unbelievable people and innovation, combat experience that helps us understand what we need and immediate operational use since we are always in a conflict which allows us to perfect our systems.”

Israel’s drone expertise goes back to at least 1970, according to the UAV page of the Israeli Air Force.

Israeli company Elbit Ltd.  has developed the heavy lift Hermes 900 UAV capable of loitering at high altitudes for more than 40 hours.  UAVs were the reason behind the IDFs success in the recent Gaza conflict.   They played an important role in long range missions in the Sudan intercepting and destroying Iranian weapons convoys bound for Hamas and the PIJ. There is reason to believe that Israeli drones might be used in possible actions against Iranian nuclear sites.

Then there are the German built Dolphin submarines equipped with Israeli designed Popeye tube launched cruise missiles. They are on rotation cruising offshore In the Gulf of Oman keeping a watching brief on Iran’s intentions in the Persian Gulf. Finally, there is Israel’s network of spy satellites providing early warning intelligence to IDF planners in Tel Aviv on Iran’s shipments of longer range rockets and missiles.

The Knesset Elections may produce a surprise.  Two state solution rhetoric you hear from the White House in Washington, Whitehall in London, the EU in Brussels and the UN comes up empty.  The Oslo Process is virtually dead.

Recent polls by the Peace Index in Israel at year end in 2012 revealed that two thirds or 67%  of Israeli respondents agreed with the statement that regardless of which party wins in the January 22nd Knesset general elections that peace was impossible to achieve with the Palestinians.  As noted by Israel National News (Arutz Sheva):

The poll found that 55% of Israel’s Jews define themselves as right-wing, while 21% define themselves as center and 17% as left. The same holds true for voting intentions: about 50% of Jewish respondents report that they intend to vote for secular right-wing and religious right-wing parties, and 30% for parties of the center and the left, while the rest of the respondents have not yet decided or did not respond.

The Peace Index survey result may reflect a spike in Knesset election polls for the Jewish Home party. The Jewish Home party is headed by 40 year old Naftali Bennett, a resident of the American style suburb of Ra’anana north of Tel Aviv.  The charismatic Bennett is the son of American Olim from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a former IDF Sayeret Matkal officer, reserve Major and multi-millionaire software entrepreneur who sold his company for $145 million in 2005. Bennett then became the former chief of Staff in 2006 to current PM Bibi Netanyahu when he was in opposition in the Knesset prior to his election in 2009.  Bennet broke with Netanyahu was briefly Yesha Council head and ultimately took over leadership in the Jewish Home party. His party might claim upwards of 15 seats in the new Knesset if actual voting confirms polls in Israel.

Part of that spike of interest in the Jewish Home party is fueled by Bennett’s call for annexation of 60 percent of Area C in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria with an estimated 350,000 Jews and 48,000 Palestinians.  The Palestinians would be offered Israeli citizenship.

Caroline Glick noted what is behind the Jewish Home phenomenon:

The secular Left has been eclipsed by the Jewish Right. I don’t call it the religious Right because that is too limiting. What’s happening isn’t just about religion, it’s about everything and that is why non-observant hipsters in Tel Aviv are voting for the Jewish Home party. Non-observant and observant Jews are joining forces and the anti-religious are being left behind.

Two thirds of the Jewish Home party’s voters are under 40 and the party is polling at 14-18 seats in polls that under-represent their supporters. I don’t pretend to know how the election results are going to look but it is clear that a massive change has occurred in the last few years and it will only become more pronounced in the coming years. Next week’s election will be the first formal expression of this change.

So look for a possible surprise when the January 22nd Knesset general elections occurs. Depending on the outcome Bennett could be a factor in a new ruling coalition with a decided shift to the right in Israel.

These are four reasons why it could be a good year for Israel and Jews around the world.

Watch  this Latma TV satiric commentary, “A Day will Come” as to what Glick is predicting might occur next Tuesday in Israel:

Source: WatchDogWire.com

The post The Good News from Israel for 2013 appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

Written by: Diane Sori

The post It’s all about the photo-op…say cheese appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

Written By: Dr. Swier

Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) website states, “The Florida Public Service Commission is committed to making sure that Florida’s consumers receive some of their most essential services — electric, natural gas, telephone, water, and wastewater — in a safe, reasonable, and reliable manner. In doing so, the PSC exercises regulatory authority over utilities in one or more of three key areas: rate base/economic regulation; competitive market oversight; and monitoring of safety, reliability, and service.”

The FPSC was considering a rate increase for Florida Power and Light (FPL) late last year. However, the process according to those attending the public hearings on the rate increase was usurped by FPL and commission staff at the expense of Florida citizens. Larry Nelson, a citizen present during the 2012 hearings in Sarasota and Miami, outlined in a letter how FPL was given preferential treatment by the Commission and staff.

Nelson wrote, “My first stop on my adventure was the public service hearing held in Sarasota on May 31, 2012. Here I first saw the most shocking thing about the public hearing process. In the lobby of the hearing site (Sarasota City Hall) were numerous FPL customer service representatives wearing FPL shirts who are greeting members of the public arriving to speak to the rate increase proposal. And FPL seems to have their own dedicated room. Which made no sense at all. It’s like a court hearing but one of the parties to the case gets to have their own room in the courthouse and a staff to lobby everyone, judges, jurors and the public as they walk by as to why their side is right. FPL also gets to have a table handing out literature. Nobody else gets to have a room or a table or representatives right outside the hearing room. There is no Audubon Society, no Environmental Defense Fund, no Florida Public Interest Research Group in the lobby lobbying (I guess that is where the term comes from!) against the rate increase or against the proposals or actions of FPL.”

The result of the rate increase hearings was FPSC issuing an Order on January 14th, 2013 granting Florida Power and Light FPL the ability to self-regulate over the next 4-years and to increase rates without citizen representation by the Office of Public Counsel. Thomas Saporito, from Saprodani Associates, believes that the process by which the FPSC came to issue this order was at best flawed and at worse illegal violating  multiple Florida statutes.

Saporito states, “The recent decision by the Florida Public Service Commission has placed public trust and confidence and the integrity of the agency in the “toilet”. No longer can the citizens of Florida have any measure of trust or confidence in the agency to be an advocate for the Public Interest regarding electric rates established for the Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). “

According to Saporito, “The settlement is “illegal” as a matter of law because the Commission does not have requisite jurisdiction and authority to consider the settlement for several reasons:

(1) the Office of Public Counsel (OPC) opposed the settlement and OPC represents all FPL ratepayers – and is a vital and required signatory to any FPL settlement;

(2) the settlement violates the “due-process” rights of citizens who would otherwise intervene where FPL seeks recovery for power plants which have not yet been built or are not yet operational;

(3) the Commission placed the settlement hearing on a rush basis and denied intervenors from fully participating in the discovery process; and

(4) the settlement allows FPL to create a “slush-fund” and access depreciation and dismantlement funds without proper oversight for the sole purpose of raising FPL’s return on equity (profits for its shareholders).”

Thomas Saporito filed a motion for reconsideration on January 14th, 2013 asking the Commission to reconsider its decision.

According to Saporito: ”I am gravely concerned about the Commission’s approval of the revised settlement with FPL where the citizens had no representation by the Office of Public Counsel. I have raised serious mis-conduct issues about the entire Commission with Steven J. Stolting, Inspector General – Office of Inspector General and I have asked his office to conduct an investigation.”

Depending on the Commission’s decision on his motion to reconsider – Saporito, “Fully intends to challenge the Commission’s Order – in filing an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court – and to file with agencies of the federal government – and perhaps a civil legal action.”

Source: WatchDogWire.com

The post The Integrity of the Florida Public Service Commission in the “Toilet”? appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.

Written By: Diane Sori

The post And little children all lined up in a row… appeared first on Tea Party Tribune.