Thursday, September 30, 2010

Barney Frank is in no danger (is he?)

If you only listen to Rush, or to Hannity, you get a skewed view of the American people. For example, after listening to Rush you might think Barney Frank is in danger of losing his Massachusetts seat.

And he's not.

Hannity in particular has a habit of saying "The American people are sick of it" when the polls show that half of 'em are, half of 'em aren't.

All the polls that show Obama losing ground are polls from Republicans. Dems still think he's doing a good job. If they are upset with him, its not because they think he's doing too much, but that he's not doing enough!

And of course it's rather sad. This guy has been in office for20 years. Just like Charlie Rangel. Their constituents keep voting them in.
Here's the article Rush provides a link to on his website.
It’s another “only in 2010” scenario: Massachusetts’s 4th congressional district, home to liberal giant Barney Frank, may be within reach.

His challenger is Sean Bielat, a 35-year-old former Marine and businessman. An internal poll conducted by Bielat’s campaign showed Frank below the crucial 50 percent mark, at 48 percent to Bielat’s 38 percent.

A ten-point gap may seem imposing, but consider that the vote split 68 to 25 in favor of Frank in 2008. In a district where mind-boggling 40-point gaps are not uncommon, a ten-point gap is positively narrow. It’s the most competitive race the nearly 30-year incumbent Frank has faced since 1982.

Then, of course, there is that other factor. This is a post–Scott Brown Massachusetts. For Democrats tired of their party’s complacency, the January special election demonstrated that “Lightning didn’t strike, the world didn’t end,” as Bielat jokes. Brown’s victory not only pulled weary independents and Democrats, but also energized the GOP base, which had been demoralized to the point of thinking that a Republican could never win federal office from Massachusetts again.

“People now believe that they can elect Republicans,” says GOP strategist Holly Robichaud. She talks about the different reception Republicans get now, when they go door-to-door campaigning. They used to get a lack of interest, or a slammed door. This year, she says, one of her candidates said he was a Republican — and got a hug.

One reason might be the economic downturn’s impact on Massachusetts. “Our unemployment is the highest it’s been since the ’90s,” says Jennifer Nassour, chairman of the Massachusetts Republican party, mentioning that 300,000 state residents are out of work. She thinks voters in the heavily Democrat-represented state are beginning to consider electing Republicans as a way “to restore some fiscal balance.”

Tory Mazzola, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, agrees. The NRCC has been pushing economic themes in its advertising. “There’s a lot of reception to Republican policies, and those include lower taxes, limited government, and less spending,” Mazzola says.

But Bielat still faces an uphill battle. No independent poll has yet replicated the results that Bielat’s pollsters found. Frank’s campaign says its polls show Frank up 20 points. Pundits don’t think Frank is in any danger of losing: The Cook Political Report rates the district as “Solid Democratic”; CQ Politics considers it “Safe Democratic.” Neither Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball nor The Rothenberg Political Report considers it a competitive seat.

On Sunday, Bill Clinton came to the district, campaigning for Frank at a rally that drew 2,000 people. Nassour thinks that Clinton’s visit shows Frank is “running scared.” But in an interview with the Boston Globe last week, Frank denied that Clinton’s visit was due to desperation over the election. “Why is it a sign of desperation to bring in a popular figure to say something nice about me?” Frank retorted. “Unless [Bielat’s] view is that I should only be bringing in ineffective campaigners. Maybe next time I should bring in Jimmy Carter.”

Bielat remains optimistic. He thinks district voters “like the idea of everyday leaders” and “of people who have worked for a living outside of politics.” His past business experience, he says, could make him a “citizen legislator” who serves in Washington for a few terms and brings to the table a specific type of knowledge. In an atmosphere where voters are concerned about economic growth, spending reduction, and bailouts, he believes his fiscal-conservative message will prove appealing.

Bielat also thinks Frank has major weaknesses. Constituents have complained to him about Frank’s self-assured aloofness. Bielat even repeats a story in which Congressman Frank declines to say hello to a stranger — a constituent — on the street. “Thirty years of doing that adds up,” Bielat says.

Constituents have other reasons to be fed up with Frank. There are the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts, “a tendency toward profligate spending,” and Frank’s prioritizing of his “social economic agenda ahead of other concerns, like deficit reduction.”

Bielat also says Frank is part of “a culture of soft corruption.” Frank worked to ensure that the earmark Rep. Maxine Waters requested for OneUnited — of which her husband had been a board member and in which he still owned stock — was inserted into the TARP legislation. “I’m not saying it’s something illegal,” Bielat says, “but it’s something that is not right.”

There are two other crucial factors in Bielat’s favor. First, his name recognition is only at 35 percent in the district, suggesting that getting to know more voters might boost his poll numbers. And second, according to his campaign’s polling, independents prefer him to Frank by 17 points, 51 to 34. Independents make up about half of registered voters in the district.

In a year where voters are anti-incumbent, Bielat isn’t just the new candidate — he’s also the candidate determined never to become part of the Washington establishment. “I want to go down, do some good, and if I’m a one-term guy, so be it,” Bielat says. “What I couldn’t live with is going down and spending my time hedging and hawing over different issues because I was concerned about the impact it would have on reelection.”

Nassour, the state party chairman, attributes that kind of independent, constituent-focused mindset to Bielat’s military service — another trait he shares with Senator Brown. “That makes them more willing to put themselves on the front line and stand up for their constituents,” Nassour observes.

At the beginning of this year, Massachusetts voters discovered that they could elect a Republican. If Bielat has his way, the 4th district’s voters will take it a step further, and vote the iconic Barney Frank out of office.

– Katrina Trinko writes for National Review Online’s Battle ’10 blog.

Rush Couldn't Keep Barney Frank out of office

When you hear Barney Frank speak, you do wonder how he got elected for anything, because his speech isn't really easily understandable. He's certainly not a great orator and could neverhave made it as an actor on state...yet somehow he was elected and has "served" for 20 years.

And, as Rush pointed out today, can't understand that his election problems are his own fault:
RUSH: Barney Frank says he has been targeted by right-wing media. That's why he's in trouble in his reelection bid. Washington, DC, a Washington Times reporter, Kerry Picket interviewed Barney Frank. Question: "An article has just came out saying that this is your toughest race in 20 years. Do you have any concerns right now, Congressman Frank?"

FRANK: Yes, it's a tougher race because once I became chairman of the committee in 2007, the right-wing media talk show hosts decided to target me. I've had Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck basically saying things about me that weren't true and if people say things that aren't true over time and you don't respond, then it has an impact. It's been this kind of targeting of me by the right-wing media.

RUSH: There's only one thing wrong with this. By the way, we got strange, wacko audio quality today, but were you able to hear what Barney said? Okay. There's one thing wrong with this. Barney Frank is in a, what, 99% Democrat district? And the person running against him is a Democrat, am I not correct, or at least votes Democrat. I don't know what party. But the point is I don't care what Barney thinks. Whatever it is I'm saying or Hannity is saying about him is not having an effect on people in his district. It's what he's doing! Barney, let me tell you who's bringing you down, pal: You, and Obama, and your party. I mean, there's no question we have been nailing Barney as a central figure at the front of the subprime mortgage problem, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

We've been making fun of Barney Frank for 20 years. We've had Barney Frank parody after Barney Frank parody for 20 years. We've had a Barney Frank update for 20 years called My Boy Lollipop sung by Millie Small and now all of a sudden, 20 years after all this, now he's in trouble because of what we've been doing on this program? It's a convenient thing. Blame Fox, blame conservative talk radio, but that's not the problem. The Democrats are in trouble because of who they are. The Democrats are in trouble because of what they are doing. The Democrats are in trouble because of what they have done. The Democrats are in trouble because of what people now know they want to do more of. The Democrats are in trouble because of who they are. It's that simple. His opponent used to be a Democrat.

Look, ladies and gentlemen, if what I said about Barney Frank was gonna harm his electoral chances, it would have happened 20 years ago. The fact that Barney Frank is in a race alone -- who cares why -- gives you an indication of just how volatile this whole election season is for them. In fact, I got it wrong a moment ago. Dick Morris actually is saying Republicans are going to win 100 seats in the House. Barney Frank had been elevated by the left-wing media for years. Barney Frank has been portrayed as one of the smartest, most brilliant members. He's never faced a tough question. He's one of these guys the Democrat media, the left-wing media loves him.

Bob the Cherokee

Rush had a caller today, a man called Bob who claimed to be part of the Cherokee mation, and told Rush to go back where he came from.

And that is part of the radical American Indian belief, they've been "fighting terrorism since 1492" when Columbus landed and the invasion of the Caucasian began.

And Rush never answered Bob directly, nor do I think he has ever answered the question directly.

He'll point out that native Americans did not live in peace before the white man came - Aztecs had slaves in what is now Mexico, had human sacrfices, etc., and most of the native American tribes in what is now the US hated each other.

But that doens't change the fact that our ancestors - any caucasian folks who had ancestors who came here before the 1800s (I don't think my great grandfather showed up here until the 1900s, in Germany) did take the Indian's land by right of conquest.

So basically, the Spaniards and the British and the French and what were to become Americans were only carrying on a tradition of conquest - that every race has done, regardless of country.

Now, the Federal government didn't play fair with the Indians, lots of treaties were broken - but reparations have been paid and its too damn late for them to go back to their old way of life which doesn't exist any more!

Time to get over it, just as African Americans need to get over it, just as caucasian women had to get over it (it wasn't until the 1960s that women could get decent jobs, etc, prior to that time millions of them were stifled and even destroyed because of the repressive attitude of the patriarchal establishment - but even with all that we still had it better than women in the Middle East!

Native Americans couldn't protect their borders, which is why they lost their land. We need to learn that lesson and protect our borders before we lose our land.

And if white folks return to the land of their ancestors...does Bob or any native American think the Chinese aren't going to move right in?

Who is Meg Whitman? (Rep. California gov. candidate)

Rush mentioned Meg Whitman today, in his talk about Carl Fiorino.
Now here they're going after Meg Whitman on this illegal maid business. Let's not forget here, the head of the IRS at the time, Little Timmy Geithner had an illegal alien working as a nanny for his family for years and he never paid any Social Security or FICA tax or any of the required taxes for her, and in fact we find out he hadn't paid his own federal income taxes because of a TurboTax error. What were we told? Well, we have to look past this; everybody makes these kinds of mistakes; minor little miscalculation. There's only one man in America who can shepherd our country through the bailouts and the TARP; only one man smart enough to translate all of this gobbledygook and make it so that the country will be safe, only one man capable." And that's the little nerdy looking Timmy Geithner.

So we'll look past the fact that he had a nanny untaxed, illegal, we'll look past the fact that he cheated on his own tax because he was so important, he was so crucial. And now here comes Meg Whitman. I got no brief for Meg Whitman, I mean don't misunderstand, but here comes a phony trumped up thing about a nanny or illegal nanny or what have you. Meanwhile, the people in California are about to be priced out of health insurance. The economy is south. There aren't any jobs. Obama has destroyed us. And we're supposed to think bad things about Carl Paladino and Meg Whitman. Well, no longer, folks. It's not gonna work this way anymore. The American people, in increasing numbers, are simply not gonna play the game according to the old rules.

Didn't Meg Whitman do everything she was supposed to do under our laws? If she had done more wouldn't she be guilty of the hate crime of profiling? You know, when you're a Republican, I don't care if you're a RINO, I don't care if you're a liberal Republican, when you're running against a Democrat, they're gonna destroy you no matter what.


Here's a bio from Wikipedia:
Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman (born August 4, 1956) is an American businesswoman and Republican candidate for Governor of California. Whitman was Chief Executive Officer and President of eBay from 1998 to 2008, and served on its board of directors. She is the fourth wealthiest woman in the state of California with a net worth of $1.3 billion in 2010, and has spent more of her own money than any other self-funded political candidate ever.

A native of Long Island, New York, Whitman is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School. Whitman has served as an executive in numerous international companies, including The Walt Disney Company, DreamWorks, Procter & Gamble, and Hasbro, in addition to eBay.

In February 2009 she announced her candidacy for Governor of California. She won the Republican primary on June 8, 2010. She will face ex-governor Jerry Brown in the November election.

Early life and education
Whitman was born on Long Island, New York, the daughter of Hendricks Hallett Whitman and Margaret (née Goodhue) Whitman. She attended Cold Spring Harbor High School in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, graduating after only three years in 1974. She was in the top ten of her class. She had wanted to be a doctor, so she studied physics and mathematics at Princeton University. However, after spending a summer selling advertisements for a magazine, she switched to studying economics, earning a BA with honors in 1977. Whitman then obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979.

Whitman is married to Griffith Harsh IV, a neurosurgeon at Stanford University Medical Center. They have two sons. She has lived in Atherton, California, since March 1998.

Career
Beginning her career in 1979 as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, Whitman later moved on to work as a consultant at Bain & Company's San Francisco office. She then rose through the ranks to achieve a senior Vice President position.

In 1981, Whitman became vice president of strategic planning at The Walt Disney Company and in 1991, joined Stride Rite Corporation, before becoming president and CEO of Florists' Transworld Delivery in 1995.

In January 1997, Whitman joined Hasbro's Playskool Division as a General Manager. Here she oversaw global management and marketing of two children's brands, Playskool and Mr. Potato Head as well as importing the Teletubbies into the U.S.

eBay
Whitman joined eBay in March 1998, when it had 30 employees and revenues of approximately $4 million. During her time as CEO, the company grew to approximately 15,000 employees and $8 billion in annual revenue by 2008. Originally, when Whitman had joined eBay, she found the website as a simple black and white webpage with courier font. On her first day, the site crashed for eight hours. She believed the site to be confusing and began by building a new executive team. Whitman organized the company by splitting it into twenty-three business categories. She then assigned executives to each, including some 35,000 subcategories.

In 2004 Meg Whitman made several key changes in her management team. Jeff Gordon took over PayPal, Matt Bannick took control of international operations and Bill Cobb was placed in control of U.S. operations, which has the colorful U.S. logo, while each international site has its own unique branding.

Shortly after taking the company public, Whitman retold how stock for the company would rise 80 points and fall 50 points in a single day. Soon after, Whitman received a call at her eBay office from Arthur Levitt, Jr., Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She called in her general counsel and the two sat down and answered the line on speaker phone. Instead of any perceived negative reaction to stock volatility, Levitt was calling to ask about the company going public and was concerned about whether the SEC was customer-friendly. He also discussed his interest in collectible Depression era glass, post 1929.

In June 2007, while preparing for an interview with Reuters, Whitman allegedly shoved her subordinate, communications employee Young Mi Kim. Of the incident, Whitman related, "In any high-pressure working environment, tensions can surface." Kim also stated, “Yes, we had an unfortunate incident, but we resolved it in a way that speaks well for her and for eBay”. The matter was resolved after a six-figure settlement.

During Whitman's tenure as CEO, eBay completed the controversial purchase of Skype, a competitor to Google's telephony services, for $4.1B in September 2005. The transaction was widely questioned as reckless in the business press and, in 2009, the company was sold at a reduced valuation of $2.75B.

Whitman resigned as CEO of eBay in November 2007, but remained on the Board and served as an advisor to new CEO John Donahoe until late 2008. She was inducted into the U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2008. "I've said for some time that 10 years is roughly the right time to stay at the helm at a company like ours", adding that "it's time for new leadership, a new perspective and a new vision", she said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

Directorships
Whitman also served on the board of directors of the eBay Foundation, Procter & Gamble and DreamWorks SKG, until early 2009. She was appointed to the board of Goldman Sachs in October, 2001 and then resigned in December 2002, amidst controversy that she had received shares in several public offerings managed by Goldman Sachs. (see "Ties to Goldman Sachs" for further detail)

Political positions
Whitman was a supporter of former Bain Capital founder and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in 2008 and was on his National Finance Team. She was also listed as Finance co-chair of Romney's exploratory committee. However, after Romney stepped out of the race and endorsed McCain, Whitman joined McCain's presidential campaign as a national co-chair.

McCain mentioned Whitman as a possible Secretary of the Treasury during the second presidential debate in 2008.

Whitman has made monetary donations to various candidates and PACs. While these have gone to both Republicans and Democrats, the donations are weighted to Republicans. Though Whitman has contributed to a few Democrats, including Senator Barbara Boxer; donating $4,000 to her campaign and serving on the "Friends of Boxer" committee in 2004, she donated more than $225,000.00 during the same period to Republicans, eBay's PAC and to Americans for a Republican Majority, the PAC of former Rep. Tom DeLay.

Whitman has emphasized three major areas: job creation, reduced state government spending, and reform of the state's K-12 educational system. She has argued that it is best to start only a few things and finish them, instead of starting a lot of things and finishing few of them.

Education
Whitman's policy papers state that she supports "policies that will not allow undocumented immigrants admission to state-funded institutions of higher education, such as UC, CSU and community colleges."

In mid 2010, Whitman launched a Spanish-language television ad during the World Cup soccer games. One advertisement is quoted by the LA times that "The Latino kids attending public schools in California today will be tomorrow's doctors, engineers, businessmen and teachers."

Environment
Whitman said that if elected, on her first day she would suspend AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, to study its potential economic implications. AB32 requires the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020.

At the state GOP Convention in March 2010, Whitman described California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's climate change bill as a "job-killer." Whitman opposes Proposition 23 that would delay the global warming law AB32 until California's unemployment falls to 5.5 percent and stays there for a year.

On water issues, Whitman opposes further restrictions on water supply in the Central Valley and has suggested President Obama should overturn a federal judge's ruling under provisions in the Endangered Species Act which reduced water supplies another 5% to 7%.

Marriage
Whitman supported California's Proposition 8 in 2008, which reversed In re Marriage Cases and defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman in the state. Whitman believes that the same-sex marriages that took place before the ban should be recognized, and that gay and lesbian couples should be permitted to adopt children. Whitman has criticized Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown for not defending Proposition 8 in the federal judicial system. Whitman is a supporter of civil unions.

Abortion
Whitman voted in favor of California Proposition 4, an initiative that requires minors to notify a parent prior to undergoing an abortion, except in certain cases. Whitman supports abortion rights, but not late-term abortion.

Illegal immigration
Whitman states that Arizona's approach to illegal immigration with Arizona SB 1070 is wrong and that there are better ways to solve the problem.

She has said that, if she had lived in California in 1994, she would have voted against Proposition 187 concerning illegal immigrants. In an op-ed during her gubernatorial campaign, Whitman wrote, "Clearly, when examining our positions on immigration, there is very little over which Jerry Brown and I disagree".

Whitman states that illegal immigrant students should be prohibited from attending state-funded institutions of higher education. Currently, California permits illegal immigrant students to enroll in the state's three higher education systems.

According to Whitman's website, "Meg believes the federal government should complete the construction of the border fence and ensure that adequate resources and manpower are deployed to the Mexican border." "Meg will seek a legislative solution to prevent cities, such as San Francisco, from shielding undocumented immigrants from federal immigration laws." "Modeled after drug seizure raids, Meg will institute a system where state and local law enforcement agencies conduct inspections of workplaces suspected of employing undocumented workers."

In 2009, Whitman called for "a path to legalization" of illegal immigrants. During the 2010 campaign, she ran a radio ad entitled "Tough as Nails" in which she stated her position on illegal immigration as the following:

I am 100 percent against amnesty for illegal immigrants. Period. As governor, I will crack down on so-called sanctuary cities like San Francisco who thumb their nose at our laws. Illegal immigrants should not expect benefits from the State of California. No driver’s license and no admission to state-funded institutions of higher education. And I’ll create an economic fence to crack down on employers who break the law by using illegal labor.

Meg Whitman employed an undocumented worker, provided her with a fake Social Security number, state registered driver's license, and signed a required statement stating that she was a legal resident of the country as her housekeeper from 2000-2009. Gloria Allred is suing on behalf of Ms. Diaz for back pay including mileage.

Marijuana
Southern California Public Radio states that Whitman's stance on marijuana is relatively new. She said that the legalization of marijuana is not what any law enforcement person would suggest for any reason and that "this is the worst idea [she has] ever seen".

Voting record
The Sacramento Bee reported that Whitman did not vote for 28 years, after reviewing her voting records in California. Records uncovered by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt countered the claims of the Sacramento Bee and resulted in an interview by Hewitt with editor Amy Chance. However, Whitman has described her voting record as "atrocious", apologized for it, and stated that she is happy to discuss the matter.

2010 campaign for California Governor
On February 10, 2009, Whitman announced she would run for governor of California in the 2010 election.

Whitman's campaign is largely self-funded, and she became the largest self-funded political candidate in history. As of September 15, she had spent a record-breaking $119 million of her own money.

The Daily Caller said that her "penchant for throwing money around is well known in California political circles." The comment came in connection with the disclosure that her campaign had paid far above market rates for advertising on a conservative political blog. The blog's founder, addressing the issue of a possible attempt to influence the blog's content, said he had made clear to the Whitman campaign that "advertising and editorial are two very different things."

In the summer of 2010 Whitman released a political ad which seemingly contained images of the FAIL Blog website, making it appear in the ad as if Jerry Brown had been the subject of one of the website's namesake "fails."

Ben Huh, founder of the Cheezburger Network, of which failblog.org is a part, has demanded an apology and the removal of the video, stating that the image was faked, and that the website is non-partisan and has never endorsed a particular political candidate or party. FactCheck.org found that "Meg Whitman's attack ad fails to tell the truth"

Awards
Whitman has received numerous awards and accolades. On more than one occasion, named among the Top Five most powerful women by Fortune Magazine . Harvard Business Review has named her the eighth-best-performing CEO of the past decade as well as having the Financial Times name her as one the 50 faces that shaped the decade.

Ties to Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs, whose executives have donated $100,000 to the Whitman campaign, manages a part of Whitman's fortune. As CEO of EBay, Whitman earned approximately $1.78 million resulting from a practice known as spinning (IPO) whereby executives who did business with Goldman Sachs could reap profits by getting early deals before the public on hot IPOs offered by the bank. While Whitman was on Goldman’s board, she served on the compensation committee, which approved multi-million dollar bonus packages for then-CEO Henry Paulson and his top aides. Public domain documents reveal that Whitman has a multi-million dollar stake in 21 different investment funds managed by Goldman.

Given Goldman's major investments in California state finances, all these various ties to Goldman Sachs have led to considerable controversy.

In response, Whitman has vowed to eliminate any potential conflicts of interest, and has publicly stated that she will immediately sell her Goldman stock and put her Goldman-managed investments in a blind trust if elected governor.

Griffith R. Harsh IV and Margaret C Whitman Charitable Foundation
Whitman founded a charitable foundation with husband Harsh on 21 December 2006 by donating to it 300,000 shares of eBay stock worth $9.4 million. By the end of its first year of operation, the foundation had $46 million in assets and has disbursed $125,000 to charitable causes. Most of the money disbursed went to the Environmental Defense Fund. In 2010 Warren Buffett asked Whitman to join the Giving Pledge in which billionaires would commit to donate half of their money to charity. Whitman declined, saying that she is committed to working with her foundation.

30 Sep, 2010, Thurs: Rush Limbaugh Report Update

Welcome new readers!

Normally I wouldn't worry about you. If you check the archives you can see the type of material I cover in this blog on a regular basis. But since I've recently discovered that only about 3 days worth of posts are archived here, you may have a skewed view of this blog, since it hasn't been "business as usual" here for a few days.

My normal posts has been intermitten over the past couple of days, because I'm driving my mother to Burleson, Texas. I can do the President and Vice President's schedule at about 6 am, which is when I get on the road, SoS Clinton's schedule doesn't seem to update til 9.30 am, so it will be late again today as I'm about to get on the road

By the time I get us settled in at night, I'm too tired to make my normal commentaries on Rush's show. Even yesterday, when I deliberately sought out a hotel room at only 2 pm central time, the hotel's internet connection was so intermittent that I couldnt' get any work done.

So, my commentary will return by Sunday, until that time, it will be bare bones, schedules, Rush's headlines, and so on. I need to write an explanation of Darwinism vs Evolution, and I'll do that before Sunday.

Thamks all, for your patience.

30 Sep, 2010, Thursday, VP Biden's Schedule

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president

No public schedule

30 Sep 2010, Thursday, President Obama's Schedule

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president

No public schedule.

It's NOT Darwinism, it's evolution!

Rush said yesterday:
There are two guys whose work goes on and on and on that continue to just have everything all screwed up. One was Darwin, the other is Freud. You ever stop to think what would happen if Freud had never been born, or Freud had become a barber. If Darwin had become a street sweeper rather than a scientist, how things would be different. We might not even have liberals were it not for those two guys.

Now, I don't know much about Freud - I know Frasier Crane was a Freudian and Niles Crane was a Jungian. I also know Freud came up with penis envy. And that's about it.

But Darwin?

Read up on Darwin. He published his book, On Origin of Species, before he wanted to....because someone else had come up with the same ideas he had, after having had the same kinds of experiences. Darwin's theory was flawed...Darwin's theory is no longer taught. Darwin's theory has evolved.

And all the evidence says that evolution is correct. It is not Darwinism and hasn't been Darwinism for a long time.

Isaac Asimov put it more clearly than I can, and come Sunday when I have a chance to research the appropriate writings from Asimov (everything's on the Internet) I'll share then here.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Apologies

I wasn't able to listen to Rush today. There's a lot of material in the transcripts that I need to read. The internet at this hotel continues to go off and on on me, and that frustration coupled with general mental tiredness leads me to say, no more commentary tonight. Time to watch a Banacek DVD and just vegetate.

I hope to be back on form tomorrow.

Thanks for understanding.

Evolution and creationism are both articles of faith.

No, Rush.

I'm sorry, but Evolution is a fact. Creationism comes from a 4,000 year old book that some people happen to believe.

I can't go into all the details about evolution right now - I'm tired from a short time driving, and a long time trying to get the TV and internet in my hotel room to work, and for the running toilet and the loud fridge to be fixed (we'd unpacked before we'd realized all the problems this room had, and my mom with whom I'm travelling didn't want to move. Of course, she couldn't hear the running toilet or the loud fridge. Finally, 5 hours after checking in, everything is fixed, but my mind is mush.

Anyway, I will write on evolution vs creationism in more detail tomorrow, hopefully!
--You'll Love Michael Walsh's Books
These novels are Vince Flynn-caliber stuff, folks.
• Buy Walsh's Books: Early Warning | Hostile Intent

--Obama Learned the "Precepts of Jesus Christ" from Rev. Wright
Analyzing the president's explanation of his Christianity.

--A Bad Night for Chris Matthews
Sounds like it was a rough show for the Hardball host

--Obama Upset by "Imam Obama"
Wolf Blitzer reports Obama is upset with his nickname.

--Beware State-Run Media Hype: Don't Think This Election is Over
Obama is trying to distract you. Don't let it happen.

--Should Teacher Ratings be Public?
Media blame a suicide on published rankings.

--Why the GOP Won't Rip Gov't Jobs
Gov't workers are voters; politicians won't bash them.

Stack of Stuff Quick Hits Page
» Terror Alert? So What? We Can Absorb It, Can't We?
» Boehner: We Had the Votes to Extend Bush Tax Cuts
» Meg Whitman Ex-Housekeeper Files "Explosive" Claim
» Business Leaders: Economy Has Slowed Significantly
» Where are Obama and Clinton? Haiti Still Waits for Aid
» Poll Shows Tea Party Isn't White, Fringe Racist
» Republicans: More Likely to Vote for an Independent

--King Samir Shabazz is Back
This is the guy Holder and Obama let off the hook.

--Tackling Darwinism in Literalville
Evolution and creationism are both articles of faith.

29 Sep 2010, Thurs, SoS Clinton's Schedule

Sorry for the lateness of this schedule. Computer problems while traveling!

ECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

9:45 a.m. Secretary Clinton delivers welcoming remarks to the Historical Conference on the American Experience on Southeast Asia, at the Department of State.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with EU High Representative Lady Catherine Ashton, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 11:35 A.M.)


1:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 2:05 P.M.)
Pre-set time for video cameras: 1:20 p.m. at the 23rd Street Entrance.
Final access time for journalists and still photographers: 1:45 p.m. at the 23rd Street Entrance.

2:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY WITH JOINT STATEMENTS FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 3:15 P.M.)


DEPUTY SECRETARY JAMES STEINBERG

11:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

2:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

5:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)


USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJIV SHAH

12:30 p.m. Administrator Shah delivers the keynote address at the ANDE/Aspen Institute Annual Conference, in Glen Cove, New York.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Administrator Shah delivers remarks at the Joseph Wharton Alumni Dinner, at the Metropolitan Club in New York City.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WILLIAM BURNS

8:30 a.m. Under Secretary Burns has a working breakfast with Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Under Secretary Burns joins National Security Adviser Jim Jones’ meetings with Indian National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

4:00 p.m. Under Secretary Burns meets with Australian Ambassador Kim Beazley, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS ROBERT HORMATS

8:35 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats delivers welcome remarks at the Afghanistan Mining Roadshow, at the Grand Hyatt Commodore Restaurant in New York City.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)


UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE

Under Secretary McHale travels to Turkey, Belgium and Germany through October 1.


UNDER SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO

8:45 a.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Assistant Secretaries Posner and Schwartz and Ambassador Cdebaca, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with Congresswoman Nita Lowey, on Capitol Hill.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


COUNSELOR AND CHIEF OF STAFF CHERYL MILLS

11:30 a.m. Counselor Mills participates in a conference call with Interaction CEOs on the 1000 Days effort. For more information, click here.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Counselor Mills briefs members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the United States’ Haiti recovery strategy, on Capitol Hill.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS ESTHER BRIMMER

Assistant Secretary Brimmer attends the 37th triennial session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly, in Montreal, Canada. For more information, click here.


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell appears before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment to testify on “Renewed Engagement: U.S. Policy Toward Pacific Island Nations,” in Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2172.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOUSE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS JOHNNIE CARSON

Assistant Secretary Carson departs for travel to Abuja, Nigeria as part of the Presidential Delegation to the 50th Anniversary of Independence of Nigeria Celebration.


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ

2:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez joins Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with Salvadoran President Maurico Funes, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY WITH JOINT STATEMENTS FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING)

4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez and Salvadoran Technical Secretary briefs members of the foreign press on the Building Remittance Investment for Development Growth and Entrepreneurship (BRIDGE) Initiative, at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, D.C.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF FOREIGN MEDIA OUTLETS)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS PHILIP GORDON

10:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Gordon joins Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with EU High Representative Lady Catherine Ashton, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 11:35 A.M.)

1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Gordon joins Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 2:05 P.M.)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR VERIFICATION, COMPLIANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION ROSE GOTTEMOELLER

9:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller meets with members of the Consensus for American Security, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR MICHAEL POSNER

8:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Under Secretary Otero, Assistant Secretary Schwartz and Ambassador Cdebaca, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Congresswoman Nita Lowey, on Capitol Hill.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION ERIC SCHWARTZ

8:45 a.m. Assistant Secretary Posner meets with Under Secretary Otero, Assistant Secretary Schwartz and Ambassador Cdebaca, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO

Assistant Secretary Shapiro attends the Seoul Liberation Commemoration as part of the U.S. Presidential Delegation through September 29 in Seoul, South Korea.


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ARTURO VALENZUELA

12:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

2:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Valenzuela joins Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with Salvadoran President Maurico Funes, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY WITH JOINT STATEMENTS FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING)


AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN

8:45 a.m. Ambassador Benjamin delivers opening remarks, via virtual teleconference, at the Western Hemisphere Affairs Counterterrorism Workshop in Panama.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

11:00 a.m. Ambassador Benjamin attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

12:30 p.m. Ambassador Benjamin delivers the keynote address at a luncheon honoring the 6th Annual U.S.-Turkey Seminar of the Congressional Study Group on Turkey, at Rayburn House Office Building.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS LUIS CDEBACA

8:45 a.m. Ambassador Cdebaca meets with Under Secretary Otero, Assistant Secretary Schwartz and Assistant Secretary Posner, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


SPECIAL ENVOY FOR INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AFFAIRS DAVID GOLDWYN

Special Envoy Goldwyn travels on official business to China through September 30 with Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Robert Einhorn.


GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR ERIC GOOSBY

10:00 a.m. Ambassador Goosby testifies on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs at the Rayburn House Office Building.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)


AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER

Ambassador Melanne Verveer travels to Tokyo and Gifu, Japan through October 2 to participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Women Entrepreneurs Summit and the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministerial. She will also deliver an address in Gifu and participate in an event marking the summit sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.


DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER

10:30 a.m. Dr. Slaughter joins Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with EU High Representative Lady Catherine Ashton, at the Department of State.
(JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY FOLLOWING BILATERAL MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 11:35 A.M.)

4:00 p.m. Dr. Slaughter meets with Ambassador Ronald Neumann, President of the American Academy of Diplomacy, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:00 p.m. Dr. Slaughter attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

29 Sep, 2010, Wed, Sec Clinton's Schedule, pt 1

Hi all my faithful readers.

It's 7.58 Tennessee time...I'm driving my elderly mother across country to see her two sisters, before relocating to Wyoming.

Since she gets up early, I'm up early. The Secretry of State's website has not yet been updated with her schedule, so I won't be able to share it here for another 10 hours or so. Sorry about that.

Will probably be another light commentary day as well, but by Friday we should be at our first destination where we'll stay for a week, so things here will get back to normal.

Thanks for reading.

29 Sep, 2010, Wed, VP Biden's Schedule

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president

No public schedule.

29 Sep, 2010, Wed, President Obama's Schedule

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president

11:05 am The President meets with Des Moines family
Local Event Time: 10:05 AM CDT
Des Moines, Iowa, Private Residence
Travel Pool Coverage

11:15 am The President holds a discussion on the economy
Local Event Time: 10:15 AM CDT
Des Moines, Iowa, Private Residence
Open to pre-credentialed media

12:45 pm The President departs Des Moines, Iowa en route Richmond, Virginia
Local Event Time: 11:45 AM CDT
Des Moines International Airport
Open Press

2:45 pm The President arrives Richmond, Virginia
Richmond International Airport
Open Press

3:20 pm The President meets with Richmond family
Richmond, Southampton Recreation Association, Virginia
Travel Pool Coverage

3:35 pm The President holds a discussion on the economy
Richmond, Southampton Recreation Association, Virginia
Open to pre-credentialed media

5:05 pm The President departs Richmond, Virginia en route Andrews Air Force Base
Richmond International Airport
Open Press

5:40 pm The President arrives at Andrews Air Force Base
Andrews Air Force Base
Travel Pool Coverage

5:55 pm The President arrives at the White House
South Lawn
Open Press

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Teen Evangelists..Placing Kids in Harms Way?

It's ironic...we don't want Muslim missionaries coming to the US and converting our kids to Islam - that'd be horrible. But Christian missionaries are going to go into Iraq...

Don't they know that it's a crime punishable by death to convert from Islam?

Frankly, as an atheist, I think this is a bad idea. Which is not to say that I don't think Iraqis should be converted - but to atheism, so that the Iraqi women, and hopefully one day Afghani, Iranian and Saudi women, will be able to drive cars, walk around without veils, and basically have decent lives.


From the Daily Telegraph:
Teen evangelists: next stop Iraq
It’s just after 6am and the sun is not yet up. Two hundred children stand in a clearing, surrounded by a dense jungle of palm trees on an island off the Florida coast. A girl of about 15 climbs a stepladder in the middle of the group and everyone bows their heads. 'We pray the Lord will keep us safe today,’ she says.

The children divide into smaller groups and disappear into the forest where, one at a time, they embark on an army-style obstacle course that involves crawling through painted steel tunnels, scrambling over a 20ft mountain of tyres, climbing over huge wooden walls emblazoned with the words 'doubt’, 'anxiety’ and 'confusion’, and then attempting to put large wooden boxes, painted with the books of the Bible, in chronological order.


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A-level results: Gap year safety'Judges, Ruth, where’s 2nd Chronicles?’ shouts a staff member named Linda Maher. 'Psalms. Ecclesiastes!’

This is Teen Missions International, affectionately known as 'The Lord’s Boot Camp’, a sprawling 250-acre slice of jungle on Merritt Island, 45 minutes east of Orlando. Each summer, hundreds of children between the ages of four and 18 descend on this place to sleep in tents, wash themselves and their clothes in muddy lake water (there is no running water or electricity), endure swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes, tackle obstacle courses, and – most importantly – learn to evangelise.

Once boot camp is over, the children are flown to far-flung corners of the globe to begin their work as Christian missionaries where they will help build schools and churches, and attempt to convert the people who live there. 'This is not pamper camp,’ Teen Missions’ 82-year-old founder Bob Bland once told an American television crew. 'If you’re looking for pamper camp, that’s down the road.’

Bland set up Teen Missions 40 years ago and in that time 40,000 youngsters have come through here. At the end of this week, the teams will head to places like the Amazon rainforest, Belize, Uganda and Malawi to begin evangelising, work with Aids orphans or expand existing mission buildings.

Eighty million Americans identify themselves as Evangelical Christians, making them the largest religious group in the United States, and while some say missionaries have been a force for good, providing much-needed medical care and education as well as championing the rights of indigenous people, others say the spread of Christianity reeks of colonialism and has obliterated native traditions. But that hasn’t stopped the Teenvangelists – this new breed of young, passionate American bent on spreading their old-time religion.

Bland is unapologetic about the potentially thorny issue of trying to convert people. Evangelism is the underpinning of everything that happens at Teen Missions, although he says there is more than one way to preach the gospel: it’s not just bible thumping, he insists. 'They show by example; by helping people.’

Occasionally, though, spreading the word can be met with hostility: at one of the first boot camps in Indonesia, Bland says the team had rocks thrown at them. 'Some people are anti-whatever,’ he says. 'But now we are operating six Bible schools there, so in time they see you’re real and doing something good. You can’t force anyone to be anything.’

Bland and his team will certainly have their work cut out for them next year, when they plan to visit what could be their most hostile country yet: Iraq.

Back at boot camp, a group is attempting to cross the Slough – a stagnant man-made swamp. 'Praise the Lord,’ one boy yells as he swings across and emerges, wet and muddy, from the smelly water. A girl, Ashley, looks apprehensive as she gets to the edge, grabs hold of the rope and swings but slips, emerging a second later from the water, crying.

'Whoa, you walked across the water,’ another boy yells to his friend as he makes it across.

The Lord’s Boot Camp is nothing if not authentic: on more than one occasion I’m told that if the children can survive this they can survive anything the developing world can throw at them. It’s hot (a scorching 97F/36C while I’m there), humid and a 13ft alligator was removed from the lake that doubles as the children’s swimming pool last summer (there are rumours that smaller ones still lurk under the water). The snapping turtles, however, are still very much there.

Home for the two weeks they’re here is in tents, pitched on wooden pallets and covered with pegged-down sheets of black tarpaulin. There are makeshift washing lines suspended between trees and each child is issued with a five-gallon bucket to collect lake water to flush the lavatories, clean their clothes and themselves.

Teams are given points each day depending on how clean their camp site is: the group that wins the most gets to swim in a bona fide swimming pool (not the lake). Those that lose have to wear placards that say 'I live like a pig’ around their necks and clean the lavatories.

The main gathering area is a huge 'big top’ tent where rallies are held each evening, at which the children sing, pray and listen to sermons. Overlooking that is the 30ft-high prayer tower, which looks not unlike a prison watchtower. Here, for 12 hours each day, children spend one-hour shifts sitting in the top, praying over photos of their fellow missionaries.

Nearby, a group of younger children wearing pyjama bottoms, hard hats and work boots are learning to mix concrete in a clearing among the palms. One of the girls in the group, May Wadman, is just nine years old. She is tiny, wears thick-lensed glasses and her hair sticks to her face with sweat. She has never been out of the US before and tells me she’s excited about going to Malawi.

Her friend, Elena Demos, an 11 year-old from West Springfield, Massachusetts, went there last year. 'We planted fruit and vegetables for the kids at the orphanage, hung out with street children and taught them stories from the Bible,’ she says. 'We made their day.’

Teen Missions estimates that scores of its campers have gone on to become full-time missionaries or work for the church in some capacity.

The main purpose of boot camp, though, is to learn evangelism techniques to employ in the field. Classes take place daily in an office building near the estate entrance. It’s seen better days – there are damp brown patches on the ceiling and peeling paper on the walls. It is, however, the only chance during camp that the children get a break from the intense heat.

Before they begin, a girl leads the group in prayer. 'Please Lord, help us turn the world more Christian,’ she says, before they pair off and practise evangelising.

Sixteen-year-old John Givens says his tactic is usually to sit down and talk to someone as if he’s getting to know them. 'We’re taught to ask big questions,’ he says, 'like: “Do you think you’re a good person?” Then you say: “Good people can’t get into heaven.”’

According to Teen Missions, they’re not good enough.

'I then pull the Ten Commandments on them,’ continues John. 'I tell them that if they tell a lie it’s the same thing as murder in God’s eyes.’

The instructor asks the class if it’s getting easier to articulate their faith. 'Are you fumbling for the right words or the right verses?’ he says. 'Just remember, the best philanthropist in the world doesn’t qualify for eternal life. That includes Gandhi and, what’s her name, Mother Teresa. Not good enough.’ Wow. What chance do the rest of us have?

John, from New Jersey, is the youngest of five children and grew up in a large Christian family. He tells me he’s finding the camp tough. 'It’s physically and mentally challenging. The first few days were awful. I’m a clean person but I haven’t taken a bath for two weeks. It’s hot and humid. I barely get any sleep – I have to lie on my shirt or I’ll stick to my mattress. We bathe with a bucket of lake water – I have found dead fish in my clothes. But it’s a personal challenge and I will finish it,’ he says.

I ask whether he’d send his children here in future. 'If they were p---ing me off,’ he says, laughing.

Amber Tuttle admits Teen Missions isn’t for everyone. Together with her husband, Brian, Tuttle – a pretty woman in her mid-thirties – is leading a group to Peru. 'There may be some here who say they’ll never come back, that’s fine,’ she says. 'It may be a one-time experience, but for some it changes the course of their life.’

Tuttle first heard about Teen Missions in a Christian radio broadcast when she was 11. Three years later she went on her first camp – to Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. 'Two miles from where we were staying was poverty like I’d never seen,’ she says. 'The church was literally made of twigs and cardboard, and we tore it down and built a concrete block church.’

Tuttle met Brian on another mission trip – to Canada – in 1990, they married and now have three children: Wes, 15, Seth, 13 and Emily, 11. In 2008, the couple decided they wanted to become full-time missionaries. They sold their home and moved into a trailer down the road from the base on Merritt Island, and asked family, friends and their local church to sponsor them. They receive around $2,000 a month to live on.

'We’ll see where the Lord leads us,’ Tuttle says. 'It was hard for Brian as the man. He had a good job, we were out of debt, we had a nice little home, a car, and it was hard to let go of that.’

Bob Bland can be seen most days during boot camp, riding around on his old bicycle. Dressed in a purple polo shirt and jeans, he is tanned, has smartly combed white hair and speaks with a strong Southern drawl. He also looks a lot younger than his 82 years.

Born in Ohio into a farming family, he initially trained as a plumber and carpenter before deciding to go to Bible college. He then worked at a youth ministry for six years, came up with the idea for Teen Missions and bought some land bordering Nasa's Cape Canaveral space centre from the Girl Scouts organisation.

'We didn’t have boot camp to begin with,’ Bland explains. 'We just took ’em into the field. But then the Peru trip happened and everything that could go wrong went wrong.’

'Peru’ has become legend at Teen Missions. Bland says the trip there in the early Seventies was a disaster that involved, among other things, rebellious campers, cancelled flights, getting stuck in the Amazon, near-drownings and deadly snakes. 'Kids could have lost their lives on that trip,’ he tells me. 'So many bad things happened. We needed some training and discipline.’

I ask Bland whether some of the children are really cut out for mixing cement and building schools – especially the younger ones like nine-year-old May, who I’d met earlier, or Elena, whose shovel was taller than she was. But when it comes to Teen Missions, I quickly discover Bland is particularly evangelistic.

'At boot camp we unplug ’em,’ he says. 'There’s so much noise in their lives they can’t hear anything. They got so much junk – iPods and they’re texting and… here it’s all gone. You smuggle a Pepsi in here, you can sell it for 50 bucks on the spot. A lot of kids grow up at boot camp.’

One major criticism levelled at short-term mission trips – let alone ones that involve children as young as nine – is that they really don’t make much impact in the places they go; that the trips are designed to help the missionaries, not the people native to those countries.

Take the Haiti trip next summer, for example. The promotional blurb reads: 'Looking for an unforgettable missions trip in one of the poorest countries in the world?’ That project involves working on a church building and clearing rubble from the pastor’s house.

Bland admits that although they do build schools, churches and orphanages, the main work of Teen Missions is to change the lives of the children that are going on these trips. 'In our leader training seminar, the first thing we tell them is we’re building kids, not buildings,’ he says.

'Are they helping? Yeah, they’re helping, but who are they helping? Are they helping the people there? No, not very much… If it’s a two-week deal it’s pretty much a touristy thing because you’ve got to see the sights and by the time you do that you’re gone. But it does help get them to see there’s another world they’ve never been to, especially if it’s a Third World country. They don’t forget that.’

What about the conflict between the spread of Christianity and local cultures? 'The missionary Marilyn Laszlo, a big name in Christian circles, was just here giving a talk to the kids,’ Bland says. 'She was along the Sepik river in New Guinea and the people there were burying people alive. Are we changing that culture? Yeah – you better believe it.’

I’d earlier asked a group of girls heading to Samoa if they knew much about the island. 'We’re not told much about the countries we go to unless we research it ourselves,’ they said.

Soon, Bland is flying to Iraqi Kurdistan to lay the foundations for a mission trip there next June. The person leading that expedition will be Margaret Watsa, a Canadian who used to teach in England. She’ll be teaching phonetics. 'God has made it very clear to me there is a plan and that I’m part of that plan,’ Watsa tells me. 'I think if I’m supposed to be doing this, he’ll either protect me from harm or it’s his plan that something should happen… I believe my life is in God’s hands.’ Two children have already signed up for the Iraq trip, but Bland says he won’t decide whether it’ll go ahead until he gets back from his recce.

The final evening at boot camp, before the teams fly off to their respective countries to begin the Lord’s work, is known as Commissioning Night. During the day there has been hammering, the clunking of metal and the roar of tractor engines as the children and their team leaders help take down their tents and dismantle the camp.

Several weeks’ worth of dust and forest debris is blown and swept from paths, and teams march around the site carrying buckets, shovels and bags. 'One more day, one more day,’ they shout as they gather in the big top for the final ceremony.

Just outside the marquee, the forest is alive with the shrill hum of crickets. Standing by the obstacle course, kicking dirt up against the 30ft-high boards that, earlier in the week, hundreds of children had leapt over at an ungodly hour, are two boys: Peter Vance, 16, from Massachusetts, and his new friend Austin Carver, 15, from Pennsylvania, are flying to Madagascar in the morning.

Neither of them has enjoyed his time here. Peter says his parents gave him an ultimatum: stay at state school and come to Teen Missions for the summer, or go to a tiny Christian school in the autumn. Teen Missions was the lesser of two evils. 'I grew up as a missionary kid in Uzbekistan for 14 years,’ he says. 'This isn’t such a bad place but the worst thing is not having any technology. I miss my iPod, logging on to Facebook, my Xbox. I miss playing and watching sports.’

Austin is less diplomatic. 'They try to force Jesus on you in every physical way,’ he says. 'We go to church every single day but they only call it church on Sunday. I won’t come back. I want to form a band – I play bass. The music sucks here. My parents paid $5,000 for me to do this.

'Dude, if Pete wasn’t here I don’t know what I’d have done – you’d have seen me hanging from the prayer tower.’

Who Knew? WWI - One! - Officially Ends Sunday

Note before you read the article below.... England didn't finish paying off its war debt to the US until 2009...these debts run a long time. How much of the payment was principle and how much interest, I wonder.

From the Daily Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8029948/First-World-War-officially-ends.html

The final payment of £59.5 million, writes off the crippling debt that was the price for one world war and laid the foundations for another.

Germany was forced to pay the reparations at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 as compensation to the war-ravaged nations of Belgium and France and to pay the Allies some of the costs of waging what was then the bloodiest conflict in history, leaving nearly ten million soldiers dead.


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Russia shuts out the international communityThe initial sum agreed upon for war damages in 1919 was 226 billion Reichsmarks, a sum later reduced to 132 billion, £22 billion at the time.

The bill would have been settled much earlier had Adolf Hitler not reneged on reparations during his reign.

Hatred of the settlement agreed at Versailles, which crippled Germany as it tried to shape itself into a democracy following armistice, was of significant importance in propelling the Nazis to power.

"On Sunday the last bill is due and the First World War finally, financially at least, terminates for Germany," said Bild, the country's biggest selling newspaper.

Most of the money goes to private individuals, pension funds and corporations holding debenture bonds as agreed under the Treaty of Versailles, where Germany was made to sign the 'war guilt' clause, accepting blame for the war.

France, which had been ravaged by the war, pushed hardest for the steepest possible fiscal punishment for Germany.

The principal representative of the British Treasury at the Paris Peace Conference, John Maynard Keynes, resigned in June 1919 in protest at the scale of the demands.

"Germany will not be able to formulate correct policy if it cannot finance itself,' he warned.

When the Wall Street Crash came in 1929, the Weimar Republic spiralled into debt. Four years later, Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany.

Yet another story of wasteful government spending

Money is going to be defunded from SPAN - one poor children's welfare food program - to fund a new program, that Michelle Obama wants.

Story #2: First Lady Puts Lawmakers in Evil Thigh Squeeze

RUSH: From The Politico: "A bill to provide healthful school lunches for low-income children -- a high-profile project of first lady Michelle Obama -- has raised tensions between the White House and President Barack Obama’s key allies in the House of Representatives." May I just stop there? Let me make sure I read this correctly: "A bill to provide healthful school lunches for low-income children." Don't we have about 25 of those already? Do we not now have school lunch? We have school lunch. We have school breakfast. We have school lunch during the summer when there is no school. We're even talking about school dinner. So what is this? A bill to provide healthful school lunches for low-income children, as though we don't already have that? What the hell is food stamps? What the hell's a school lunch program? What do you mean a bill to provide healthful school lunches for low-income children? Who wrote this? Abby Phillip and Carol Lee, a couple of women. Here we go. Feminization of the news business, Chickification.

You know, a real journalist, when told that there's a bill to provide healthful school lunches to low-income children, instead of swooning and saying, "Oh, that's so wonderful," would say, "What do you mean, how many do we already have?" Anyway, let's continue now. "A bill to provide healthful school lunches for low-income children -- a high-profile project of first lady Michelle Obama -- has raised tensions between the White House and President Barack Obama’s key allies in the House of Representatives. Despite heavy lobbying by the first lady, more than 100 House Democrats have balked at approving the Senate’s $4.5 billion version of the nutrition bill because it is funded in part with $2.2 billion in cuts to SNAP, the federal food stamp program."

Now, we knew this was coming. Remember how they passed some sort of a stimulus bill a month or so ago and they were gonna pay for it with cuts to the school lunch program, and we all said, "Well, they'll fix that by the time they get there, they're just saying this to give the impression that they're so-called paying for this." But now a hundred House Democrats are upset $2.2 billion was cut from the food stamp program. "They want assurances from the Obama administration that the funding cuts the Senate approved will be restored in the near future. 'The White House’s preference is to just pass the bill,' said a congressional staff member who spoke on the condition of anonymity while the negotiations are ongoing. 'So far, our folks … they’re not willing to do that.' Under pressure from advocacy groups and the first lady to pass the bill before the current authorization expires Sept. 30, West Wing efforts to persuade House allies to support a second cut to SNAP have escalated to a frantic race against the clock." Well, this is absurd.

"The first lady, frustrated over the pace of the legislative process, has applied pressure behind the scenes -- on the president’s aides as well as on lawmakers." Now, this pressure behind the scenes is not specified. We do not know, what, she got 'em in the evil thigh squeeze out there? What's she doing to these people? Well, have you seen 'em? Crying out loud. There was a Bond movie, GoldenEye, and one of the female bad people, her last name was Onatopp, something like Xenia Onatopp. And her way of killing her enemies was to get them into vise grips between her thighs and squeeze 'em. Well, it was a Bond movie. When I see here: "The first lady, frustrated over the pace of the legislative process, has applied pressure behind the scenes," and they don't specify it, what's she doing? For a silly, stupid school lunch program that we've already got.

Politiicans Who Pass Lame-Duck Legislation

Rush had this story today, and of course it's pretty interesting. If the Dems are voted out of office in November, it's because the people don't like what they're dling. Should they be allowed to pass unpopular legislation after they've been informed in no uncertain terms that the people don't like their legislation?

Story #1: Dems to Pass 20 Bills During Lame Duck Session?

RUSH: Look at this, from Alexander Bolton of TheHill.com: "Democrats are considering cramming as many as 20 pieces of legislation into the lame-duck session they plan to hold after the Nov. 2 election. The array of bills competing for floor time shows the sense of urgency among Democratic lawmakers to act before the start of the 112th Congress, when Republicans are expected to control more seats in the Senate and House." Now, 20 pieces of legislation in a month and not one of them will be a tax cut bill. If they do this, Obama may not be able to protect the peasants with the pitchforks. If they do this, this will be a naked expression of disrespect and "up yours" as a statement from the Democrats to voters. And it won't bother 'em. They'll do it anyway.

28 Sep, 2010, Tues, SoS Clinton's Schedule

There is still no schedule for 27 Sep, 2010, Monday.
It goes right from 24 Sep to 28 Sep
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2010/09/148126.htm

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Secretaries Clinton, Gates and Geithner, Administrator Shah and Millenium Challenge Corporation CEO Yohannes participate in a roundtable discussion on the Administration’s new Global Development Policy at the annual U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Conference, at the Grand Hyatt Washington.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

4:15 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and National Secuirty Advisor General Jim Jones, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

5:15 p.m. Secretary Clinton attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY JAMES STEINBERG

10:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

11:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Steinberg attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)


USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJIV SHAH

3:00 p.m. Administrator Shah, Secretaries Clinton, Gates and Geithner and MCC CEO Yohannes participate in a roundtable discussion with Secretary Clinton on the Administration’s new Global Development Policy at the annual U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Conference, at the Grand Hyatt Washington.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)


UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WILLIAM BURNS

9:15 a.m. Under Secretary Burns joins Secretary Clinton’s bilateral meeting with Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE

Under Secretary McHale travels to Turkey, Belgium and Germany through October 1. For more information, click here.


UNDER SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS MARIA OTERO

8:30 a.m. Under Secretary Otero addresses participants of the Bureaus of Near East Asian Affairs and South Central Asian Affairs’ Joint Conference on Environment, Science and Technology and Health (ESTH) on the topic of water and science diplomacy, via digital video conference from Washington, D.C.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


COUNSELOR AND CHIEF OF STAFF CHERYL MILLS

3:00 p.m. Counselor Mills meets with Director General of the International Organization for Migration Bill Swing, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS ESTHER BRIMMER

Assistant Secretary Brimmer attends the 37th triennial session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly, in Montreal, Canada.


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS KURT CAMPBELL

5:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Campbell delivers remarks at a CSIS Schieffer Series Dialogue on “The South China Sea: A Key Indicator for Asian Security Cooperation for the 21st Century,” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC, ENERGY AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ

2:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with U.S.-based non-governmental organizations and diamond industry leaders to discuss the Kimberley Process, in Washington, D.C.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with Nick Rémillard, CEO of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, in Washington, D.C.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR VERIFICATION, COMPLIANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION ROSE GOTTEMOELLER

12:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller meets with Philippe Betoux, French Deputy Director for Nonproliferation and Disarmament, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Gottemoeller meets with Makio Miyagawa, Japanese Director General for Nonproliferation, Disarmament and Science, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS DAVID JOHNSON

Assistant Secretary Johnson meets with Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Police Chief Timothy Dolan and attends the annual meeting of the International Association of Women Police, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION ERIC SCHWARTZ

Assistant Secretary Schwartz meets with William Swing of the International Organization for Migration, with Amy Slaughter of Mapendo International and with Irena Omelaniuk of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, at the Department of State.


ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO

Assistant Secretary Shapiro attends the Seoul Liberation Commemoration as part of the U.S. Presidential Delegation through September 29 in Seoul, South Korea.


AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN

11:00 a.m. Ambassador Benjamin meets with Saudi Arabian Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:15 p.m. Ambassador Benjamin delivers the keynote address at the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) 2010 Annual Meeting, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

5:00 p.m. Ambassador Benjamin meets with UK Deputy National Security Advisor Oliver Robbins, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)


SPECIAL ENVOY FOR INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AFFAIRS DAVID GOLDWYN

Special Envoy Goldwyn travels on official business to China through September 30 with Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Robert Einhorn.


AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER

Ambassador Melanne Verveer travels to Tokyo and Gifu, Japan through October 2 to participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Women Entrepreneurs Summit and the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministerial. She is to deliver an address in Gifu and participate in an event marking the summit sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.


DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER

10:30 a.m. Dr. Slaughter meets with Hans-Juergen Beerfeitz, Permanent Secretary of Germany's Development Ministry, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:30 p.m. Dr. Slaughter delivers remarks to the September 2010 Ambassadorial Seminar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Dr. Slaughter attends a roundtable discussion on the Administration’s new Global Development Policy at the annual U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Conference, at the Grand Hyatt Washington.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)

6:30 p.m. Dr. Slaughter attends a reception in honor of the People’s Republic of China, hosted by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui, in Washington, D.C.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY CHINESE EMBASSY)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE

12:00 p.m. Daily Press Briefing.

28 Sep, 2010, Tuesday, Rush Limbaugh headlines

--Obama Lectures His Voters as White House Aides Abandon Ship
Oh, and by the way, Hank Haney isn't mad, just sad.

--Why Are Democrats Spending Cash to Beat Christine O'Donnell?
The ruling class told us the woman was a sure loser.

--Listen to Ernie in Harlem, GOP!
Heed Ernie, elitists: Sarah Palin is our Xenia Onatopp.

--Obamacare Must be Repealed
As planned, insurance companies drop coverage.
BG: Pilgrim Cancels Medicare Advantage
NRO: Anatomy of Hostile Government Takeover
• Hold Their Feet to the Fire: TheRepealPledge.com

--Report: Vice President Bite Me Can’t Draw a Crowd at Penn State
Caller claims they couldn't give away tickets.

--Do Libs Know What's Happening?
As they sit and talk to each other, do they know?

--Is the Fed Pumping Up the Market?
Wall Streeters in the know are buzzing about this.

28 Sep, 2010, Tues, SOS Clinton's Schedule

From: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2010/index.htm

Official schedule has not been updated since Sept 24, 2010

28 Sep, 2010, Tues, VP Biden's Schedule

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president

No public schedule

28 Sep, 2010, Tues, Pres Obama's Schedule

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/president

12:00 pm The President meets with Albuquerque family
Local Event Time: 10:00 AM MDT
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Private Residence
Travel Pool Coverage

12:15 pm The President holds a discussion on the economy
Local Event Time: 10:15 AM MDT
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Private Residence
Pooled TV, Open to Correspondents

2:20 pm The President departs Albuquerque, New Mexico en route Madison, Wisconsin
Local Event Time: 12:20 PM MDT
Kirtland Air Force Base
Open Press

4:35 pm The President arrives Madison, Wisconsin
Local Event Time: 3:25 PM CDT
Traux Field Air National Guard Base
Open Press

5:30 pm The President attends a DNC finance reception
Local Event Time: 4:30 PM CDT
Concourse Hotel, Madison, Wisconsin
Closed Press

7:00 pm The President delivers remarks at a DNC rally
Local Event Time: 6:00 PM CDT
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Open Press

8:20 pm The President departs Madison, Wisconsin en route Des Moines, Iowa
Local Event Time: 7:20 PM CDT
Traux Field Air National Guard Base
Open Press

9:15 pm The President arrives Des Moines, Iowa
Local Event Time: 8:15 PM CDT
Des Moines International Airport
Open Press

Monday, September 27, 2010

Semantics: Obama is not lowering taxes

Here's what Rush had to say about it today.
Barack Imam Hoover Obama and his accomplices in the Democrat Party have this bizarre impression that millions of America's small businesses can absorb a tax hit, a tax increase just like the country can "absorb" another 9/11 terrorist attack. No big deal. Life goes on. Obama said it: "We can absorb it." Yeah, I might be able to physically be able to absorb a head-on collision, but it's not a gamble I want to take, especially if I just recovered from one a few months ago. Higher taxes, terrorist attacks are to be avoided at all costs last time I checked. Especially now. The people are going to have to start asking themselves -- and you wonder. I go back to Victor Davis Hanson's piece last week in National Review, the peasant culture, peasant society, where we now seem obsessed with sameness and equality.

Happiness is reached when other people are punished. But people are going to have to start asking themselves, "What good does it do you if the person who employs you has money taken away from the business by the government?" How's that gonna help you? How is it gonna help you get a raise? How is money being taken away from your company gonna help you? The money being taken away is not being invested in the growth of the company. It's shrinking the company! You start raising taxes on people over $250,000 a year and you are raising taxes on a slew of small businesses. Some of you should also ask yourselves -- I know you people understand it. But they ought to ask themselves if they've ever worked for an employer who himself made less than $200,000 a year in his business.

What is the upside? What is upside to having the government confiscate money from the place you work? It's no different than if it was held up and robbed. They still don't have the money. If they don't have the money, they can't invest, they can't hire anybody else and they certainly can't pay anybody any more. The issue is jobs, and that's what everybody is focusing on. The issue is jobs. How does the government confiscating more revenue from your employer help you? How does the government taking money out of your company, your employer's pocket, your business, how does that help that company hire anybody else or give anybody that works there a raise? How does it happen? Where is the goodness in this? Where is the decency?

Where's the stimulus? Where is the stimulus? Oh, it's so important that $700 billion -- and that's a made up number because it's a static number. It's so important that $700 billion be given to the government to help with the deficit. Yes, paying for the deficit ought to fall on the backs of the people who hire others in this country. And it isn't gonna make the deficit go down. That $700 billion is throwing a penny in Lake Michigan and hoping it ripples all the way up to Canada. It isn't going to happen. But what does it all play off? It plays off of class envy. It plays off of resentment. You know, I say I might be able to physically absorb a head-on collision but I wouldn't want to take the gamble. It's going to be interesting to see how Democrats feel after they absorb a head-on collision with voters in about 40 days. 'Cause I'm hoping in that head-on collision the Democrats are totaled and that they don't walk away from it. I mean in a political sense, of course.

and
RUSH: All right. Ninety-eight percent of the American people get a tax cut. That's right out of the stimulus talking points. You know what it was? That was like 95% of the American people got a check for 250 bucks, and it was called stimulus. That it's not a tax cut. There haven't been any tax cuts. CNNMoney.com, July 27, 2010: "The Tax Hike Nobody's Talking About -- Get ready for a smaller paycheck. At least that's what could happen if Congress doesn't approve President Obama's proposal to extend the Making Work Pay tax credit soon." This is a $7-a-week tax credit, $7 a week. That's the wonderful middle-class tax cut Obama's been bragging about over the last year and a half. Seven bucks! It's a tax "credit." There haven't been any income tax rate reductions. It's all a smoke screen.

You know, I've been thinking about something else, and this last call from the woman that went to Rutgers -- I'm gonna put it out there for you to think about. Now, we've been hearing that the recession ended in June last year, which is what, 15 months ago. Now, you and I believe that it hasn't ended. We have a bunch of guys from Harvard who tell us that it ended, all right? For the fun of it, there might be some advantage to going along with this idea that the recession ended 15 months ago. Because if we admit that the recession ended 15 months ago, then there goes out the window Obama's "I inherited a mess" argument, does it not? Okay, if the recession ended 15 months ago, then that's it. We've come back. Whatever garbage Bush put us in, that's over. 'Cause the recession's over. We've stopped this.

So you can't any longer say, "I inherited this mess" 'cause the mess is his. Anything since the recession is his mess. And we know that unemployment's gone up since last June. We know that more people have lost their jobs, there's no increased economic activity. Ah, it's just little semantic play on words. But it does, as does most of what I do here, brilliantly illustrate the point.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: John, Orlando, Florida, it's great to have you on the Rush Limbaugh program. Hi.

CALLER: Hey, Rush, mega dittos.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: Yeah, I was calling because I think you might be wrong. That crazy lady who just called before the top of the hour break --

RUSH: Ah, ah, ah! She's misguided. She's simply a parrot. You know, she's reading the talking points that the regime has put out with the stimulus nonsense.

CALLER: Now, hold on, Rush. She has a point because if 98% of us Americans have had income reduced by 50 to 30%, our taxes have gone down.

RUSH: Uhhhhh. Well, yeah, if your income goes into the toilet, yeah, you're not paying as much taxes. Is that what you're saying?

CALLER: Exactly.

RUSH: If your income goes to the toilet...

CALLER: Uh huh.

RUSH: So your taxes have gone down, yeah, because you're paying taxes on less income.

CALLER: Exactly.

RUSH: Right. Well, I mean, yeah, that's inarguable. You could say we've had a tax cut but we've had to get poorer in the process. We've lost cash flow. We've lost the value of our house, we can't find a job, but yeah, damn, we had a tax cut. Whoop-de-doo.


Rush is right and I would comment on this, but I'm too tired from my long drive. Apologies to my readers! [I'm moving from VA to WY, and driving my elderly and not-too-healthy mother. So it's not going to be a fun trip.]

I Disagree With Rush: Futbol Americana was not feminists' fault

Last night, the Jets and the Dolphins were identified by Spanish names showing the score. And this annoyed me all last night. I'm not watching Telemundo, I'm watching NBC.

Of course Rush blamed it on the "feminisation" of America. I disagree with that entirely. But that's a rant for a different time, when I'm not recovering from a long drive.

Here's what he had to say:
RUSH: I ought to do a monologue about this. I think this is symptomatic of a whole bunch of things that are happening on our culture, the feminization of our culture. I see it in male, liberal sportswriters. I see how they've been feminized. I see how they have been feminist-ized. Our culture is more concerned with not offending our enemies today. We have a culture, if somebody attacks us, a growing percentage of our country wants to ask, "What did we do to cause this? It's our fault." Somehow they've been told and they've bought into the notion that America is hated deservedly. So this Spanish stuff that you see in this ad, this is just an outgrowth of America thinking it's guilty of being so big and such a superpower that we have to reach out, we have to be nice to the people that we've oppressed or made angry. That's one of the ways Obama got where he is, and I think it's facilitating the total degradation of what used to be the American culture, because there was a distinct American culture. It's under assault now from within.

That's nothing to do with feminism! It's all to do with multiculturism instead of melting pot.

Rush Explains Why He Agreed to Be on Family Guy

Family Guy is a repulsive show, as far as I'm concerned (and I am often depressed to think how popular it is, much as crap like Married With Children was and is popular), and so I was surprised to hear that Rush was making a guest appearance on it.

Here's what he had to say about it.

(And I learned one thing I didn't know. Actors tape their stuff a year in advance, and the animation takes a year? Even on crap-animated shows like this?)

RUSH: This coming Sunday night The Family Guy episode starring me. The title of The Family Guy episode is "Excellence in Broadcasting." The premise is I am in town for a book signing. Of course I haven't written a book in 16 years, but I'm in the town where this wacko family lives, doing a book signing, and the family dog comes down to start giving me some grief, Brian, and I rescue the dog from some precarious situation. The dog becomes a big conservative, follows me around, actually gets more conservative than I am, starts calling me a weenie and all sorts of stuff. We taped this a year ago. It's a half hour episode, I think, and it takes a year to animate these things. So it was a year ago, and I got an e-mail from Seth McFarlane last night. It's premiere airdate is this Sunday, it's 9:30 Eastern and Pacific Time.

Fox has released four pictures, four photos, cartoon stills from the episode. We put 'em at our Facebook page, Facebook.com/RushLimbaugh. I looked at some of the comments that people have written and they run the gamut. "Rush, sorry you had to lower yourself to be on that program. I won't be watching." "Rush, are you that hard up? You're doing this for money?" Well, I don't even know what I got paid to do this. Whatever it is it's union scale. I didn't do this for the money. I did this for the fun of it. I've been in a couple Family Guy episodes already and I gotten to know Seth McFarlane pretty well. Yeah, he's a Hollywood liberal but we get along.

Seth appreciates and has a great affection for professionals, and we're all professionals here. You know, this was hard work, too. We were in the sound booth for three or four days at four hours a time. I even sing in this episode. I sing, but I sang a song that I've never heard before, and so I really don't know what the melody was. I had to guess. And for Seth... It's really interesting when I try to explain people, because they can hear me and I can hear them, and I can carry on a conversation. It's tough for people to understand that I cannot distinguish music melodies if I've never heard it before. So he's singing the song in a bunch of different ways trying to get me the melody.

I said, "Seth, I'm sorry. It all sounds the same note to me. All I can do is imitate what I'm hearing you do." (singing) "I live in Republican town!" That's what it sounds like to me. I don't know if that's what the song really is. So I end up sort of talking it with my usual bravado and bombast and so forth. It was a lot of fun and it's Sunday night. Fox, by the way, is bigger this on their PR page. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom. It's like 25 pages of PR on their shows coming up this week, and they're burying it out there that it airs. And people ask me, Andrew Breitbart sent me a question: "Why did I have to look real hard to find out when this was?"

Probably because it's pretty good. Family Guy has their own built-in audience. You know, it's not everybody's cup of tea. This program crosses a line every night that it's on. It runs up to the border and goes over it. But I like Seth. I was offered the opportunity to do it, and it was a new challenge. And what the hell? I'm into the crossover. I'll be happy to do it and see what happens. I know some of this audience don't like The Family Guy. You know, it is what it is. But they didn't put any curse words or foul mouth in my script. You know, I am El Rushbo. I come out looking like a champ on this thing. So... (interruption) No, I've not seen it. (interruption) I don't care what the edited version is. There was nothing in the script that I would want them to edit out.

Catch Rush Monday night at 10 pm ET on Greta Van Susteren

Sorry for the short notice on this. I'm moving cross country, and have just now checked into a hotel for the night and started to catch up on all my work.

Rush will appear on Greta Van Susteren's "On the Record" on Fox News Channel at 10PM ET.

Be there or be square.

27 Sep, 2010, Mon, Rush Limbaugh headlines

--Hank Haney Got Mad This Week
A tough weekend of production on The Haney Project.

--Rush on Family Guy Airs Sunday October 3rd at 9PM ET on FOX
El Rushbo explains his decision to do FOX's Family Guy.
Facebook: Stills from "Excellence in Broadcasting"

--Playboy.com: Rush Limbaugh Interview, 1993
(Warning: This Site Contains Objectionable Content)

--Real People with Real Lives are Ascending in American Politics
Voters are following the money, vote against ruling class.

--If a Tea Party Candidate Runs for President, GOP Will Be Third Party
Republicans better nominate a conservative in 2012.

--NFL's "Fútbol Americano" Telecast is a Symptom of What Ails America
Facilitating the degradation of distinct American culture.

--The Steelers and President Obama
Caller implores your host to dump his favorite team.

--UN Should Name Obama and Carville as Official UFO Greeters
The UN names official representative to greet UFOs.

--Obama and the Democrats Have Not and Will Not Cut Your Taxes
Don't buy talking points like Sylvia from Rutgers did.

--Why Libs Fear Palin and O'Donnell
These women expose liberalism as the lie that it is.

Stack of Stuff Quick Hits Page
» Computer Worm Hits Iranian Nuke Plant
» Segway Company Owner Dies in Segway Accident
» Feminazis Denounce Reid for Gillibrand Remark
» Ahmadinejad Met with Farrakhan, New Black Panthers
» Will Flight Attendants Demonstrate the Bra/Gas Mask?
» SF Chronicle Can't Endorse Moderate Carly Fiorina
» Federal Workers Becoming Flash Point in Midterms

--Rush to Excellence in Philadelphia
Audio, video, transcript: Rush's speech in Philadelphia.

27 Sep, 2010, Monday, SoS Clinton's schedule

SoS Clinton's schedule has not been updated for today, Monday, and it is now 7.38 pm eastern tme. Someone's falling down on the job!

27 Sep, 2010, Mon, VP Biden's Schedule

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president

8:00 am The President is interviewed live on NBC Today Show [interestingly, this appears on the VP's official schedule, not the President's.]
Green Room
Closed Press

10:45 am tTe Vice President hosts a backyard discussion on the economy and issues important to America’s middle class families
Manchester, New Hampshire
The Vice President will be joined by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Representative Paul Hodes, and Representative Carol Shea-Porter.
Open Press

12:30 pm The Vice President attends an event for Representative Paul Hodes and Representative Carol Shea-Porter
Manchester, New Hampshire
Open Press