Island evacuations start as Earl nears East Coast (AP)

On September 2, 2010, in Uncategorized, by If Bush Did It

AP – Hurricane Earl steamed toward the Eastern Seaboard early Thursday as communities from North Carolina to New England kept a close eye on the forecast, worried that even a slight shift in the storm’s predicted offshore track could put millions of people in the most densely populated part of the country in harm’s way.

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Island evacuations start as Earl nears East Coast
(AP)

Federal contractor charged with leaking secrets (AP)

On August 28, 2010, in Uncategorized, by If Bush Did It

AP – The Obama administration on Friday accused an analyst who worked at the State Department of leaking top secret information about North Korea to a reporter.

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Federal contractor charged with leaking secrets
(AP)

Continuing my coverage of the revolt against the White House ocean grab , here’s the latest on today’s fishermen’s protest flotilla gathering at Martha’s Vineyard while President Obama plays Scrabble and golf with his Chicago cronies. Takeaway quote from this local news report from one of the fishermen outraged at the administration’s junk science-based catch limits: “All these politicians scream about is jobs, jobs, jobs. Why are they putting out of business?” Related: Corruption, waste, and anti-fishing vendettas at NOAA have been rampant. Background from Richard Gaines of the Gloucester Daily Times here and here . More from Andrew Malcolm at Top of the Ticket. Get involved: More from the Fishing Rights Alliance and the Recreational Fishing Alliance. *** A local fishermen took out a full-page ad in the Martha’s Vineyard Gazette. I’m reprinting it in full here. How about a fish and chips summit, Mr. President? Northeast Seafood Coalition takes out full page ad in Vineyard Gazette EDGARTOWN, Massachusetts – Aug 24, 2010 – The Northeast Seafood Coalition has taken out a full page ad in today’s Vineyard Gazette. The ad is an open letter to President Obama from Russell Sherman, captain of the Fishing Vessel Lade Jane of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The text follows: “MR. PRESIDENT, WE NEED YOUR HELP” Dear President Obama, My name is Russell Sherman, and I am a life-long fisherman. Like New England fisherman before me have done for 387 years, I take my vessel, the 72-foot F/V Lady Jane from the port of Gloucester, Massachusetts, into North Atlantic waters to bring back cod, haddock, flounder, and other groundfish for America’s table. I hope that while you’re in New England, you and your family are enjoying a few meals of our fresh catch – there’s none better tasting or healthier in the world. Mr. President, my fellow fishermen and I need your leadership. We are small businessmen and women who want to continue the profession we love. We have worked hard over the past 16 years to rebuild groundfish stocks. Today, some stocks are fully rebuilt, and most others are expected to rebuild in three years, by 2014. According to federal forecasts, a fully rebuilt fishery will yield a sustainable catch nearly five times current landings. At a time when we should be hopeful about the future of our businesses, we are desperate instead. We are being driven from our work and the fishery we have helped to rebuild. Ironically, what’s putting us out of work are the rules to rebuild the fishery. The most recent version of these rules – effective on May 1, 2010 – impose very low annual catch limits on stocks for the next three years, and at the same time institute a “catch share” system. Take my case. Under the 2010 rules, my permit allows an annual catch of only 60,000 lbs of groundfish. At an average price of $1.50 a pound, that’s an annual gross of $90,000, or about one-quarter of my business’ gross income last year. I simply cannot run my business and support my crew of four – each with a family – on only $90,000 a year. My business is only one of hundreds facing extinction. While there will be a small handful of “winners” under these new rules, the vast majority of us will be losers. And when we “losers” are forced out, jobs will be lost, coastal communities gutted, and crucial commercial fishing infrastructure gone forever. Is this the way to rebuild our storied, centuries-old groundfish fishery? I belong to an organization called the Northeast Seafood Coalition, a New England-wide organization of 255 small, entrepreneurial fishing businesses and allied support businesses that participates in the public process. The Coalition has tried to bring this matter to the attention of your Department of Commerce. We have tried to offer constructive solutions to the challenge of rebuilding fisheries without at the same time destroying them. But our efforts have fallen on deaf ears. Mr. President, we desperately need your leadership. We ask that you please direct your Department of Commerce to listen to us and work with us. We know that we can meet this challenge by working together. Sincerely yours, Russell Sherman, Captain, F/V Lady Jane Port of Gloucester, Massachusetts

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The fishermen’s flotilla: Showdown at Martha’s Vineyard

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Grim reaper photoshop credit: Manly Rash I said yesterday in my Beltway Chainsaw Massacre column that the GOP needs to track the Obama jobs death toll and tell the victims’ stories far and wide. But there’s no need to wait for the GOP. I’ll keep doing it right here. The first story of the day comes from the Fort Worth Star Telegram in Texas, where a health insurer called Health Markets has laid off 70 workers and expects up to 180 more as it braces for the costs of Obamacare and other government mandates: HealthMarkets, the North Richland Hills-based seller of health insurance, laid off 70 employees this month and expects to trim 180 more positions by the end of the first quarter of 2011, according to a recent federal filing. In the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, HealthMarkets blamed the layoffs on “dropping enrollment levels experienced by the company’s insurance subsidiaries,” along with national healthcare reform and “related legislative developments.” HealthMarkets provides insurance plans to the self-employed, individuals and small businesses. The second story of the day comes from the Worcester Telegram in Massachusetts, where a local hospital will slash about 50 full-time jobs: About 50 full-time jobs will be eliminated at the HealthAlliance Hospital — Leominster Campus, and one of two planned expansion projects may be cut back. Mary Lourdes Burke, chief communications officer for the hospital, said yesterday the job cuts do not mean 50 layoffs, because some were vacant positions that will not be filled, and some were positions that had hours reduced. Also, she said, some union contracts required moving employees into other posts. …Ms. Burke attributed the cuts to health care reform, with its reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, along with cuts in private health insurance reimbursements and increasing co-payments for patients…David F. Duncan, hospital vice president for facilities, told the City Council earlier this year that the design may be scaled back because the new federal health reform law discourages emergency room visits. …In addition, he said, health care reform is expected to result in the loss of $24 million in Medicare reimbursements, out of $170 million total, starting in five years. The state’s health insurance reform laws, on which the national model is based, have already resulted in at least that much in losses, Mr. Muldoon said. Ho, ho, hey, hey. How many jobs did O destroy today?

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Obama jobs death toll watch: More health care layoffs

Mr. Peanut to the rescue… (Foreign Policy) — Jimmy Carter is set to travel to North Korea very soon, according to two sources familiar with the former president’s plans, in what they characterized as a private mission to free a U.S. citizen imprisoned there. Carter has decided to make the trip and is slated to leave for the Hermit Kingdom within days, possibly bringing his wife and daughter along for the journey. His goal is to bring back Aijalon Mahli Gomes, a 30-year-old man from Boston who was sentenced to 8 years in prison in April, about three months after he was arrested crossing into North Korea via China. In July, North Korea’s official media organ reported that Gomes had tried to commit suicide. Earlier this month, the State Department secretly sent a four-man team to Pyongyang to visit Gomes, but was unable to secure his release. There will be no U.S. government officials on the trip and Carter is traveling in his capacity as a private citizen, our sources report — much like when former President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang last August to bring home Current TV reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had wandered across the North Korean border with China and were promptly arrested and threatened with years of hard labor. A senior administration official would not confirm that Carter has decided to go but told The Cable, “If anyone goes it would be a private humanitarian effort.” Carter’s office did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.

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Dhimmi Carter Traveling to North Korea to Help Free US Citizen…

Tammy Bruce identifies Imam Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan as “Obama’s favorite Hillary Clinton Department funded Islamists.” And while “Little Miss Daisy” made some rounds on the Sunday talk show circuit, our “bridge-building” Imam is little to be found. He has turned up, of course, in Bahrain. Most press outlets don’t seem to care, but see the New York Post , ” ‘Ground Zero’ Imam on Mideast Tour to Make Islam ‘Americanized’ “: The imam behind the plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero surfaced yesterday far from the controversy — in Bahrain, where he’s on a taxpayer-funded trip to the Middle East to spread good will. Appearing in public for the first time in weeks, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, speaking at a mosque near Bahrain’s capital of Manama, said he wants to “Americanize” Islam — but dodged questions about the uproar over his planned mosque and community center. Rauf spoke against fanaticism, saying, “This issue of extremism is something that has been a national-security issue — not only for the United States but also for many countries and nations in the Muslim world.” “This is why this particular trip has a great importance because all countries in the Muslim world — as well as the Western world — are facing this . . . major security challenge,” Rauf told Associated Press Television News in a brief interview. The cleric also said he was working on a way to “Americanize Islam,” but didn’t offer any details. No details… That makes sense, since the dude’s looking for $100 million large to help finance the Ground Zero Victory Mosque. No doubt sharia finance networks will be coming up with some of that cash, news of which of course wouldn’t go over so well with some of the 9/11 families now speaking out in New York. Indeed, opponents of the mosque might not have the full details on the depth of Imam Rauf’s scam, which is more fundamentally implicated into the Obama administration than has been noted by most commentators. See, for example, Sharia Finance Watch : It is highly likely that the financing from this mosque is coming from one of two sources, or perhaps both: foreign sources and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). NAIT is reported to hold title to as many as 80% of the mosques and Islamic centers in the U.S. There are three things that are especially disturbing about this: 1. NAIT is at least partially funded by Saudi Arabia (a foreign power with a dismal human rights record and significant portions of its royal family associated with jihad. 2. NAIT is a Muslim Brotherhood organization. This was stipulated to by the defense in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history. 3. In that same terrorism financing trial, the United States v. the Holy Land Foundation, NAIT was named as an unindicted co-conspirator. The prosecution was successful in that case, defendants were convicted on all counts. When NAIT challenged its classification as an unindicted co-conspirator, the Justice department refused to relent and issued a spirited and strong justification. Foreign financing for this mosque on this site has implications far beyond building a place where Muslims can go pray. There is reason to believe that this site was chosen with some other purpose in mind. Of all the places to build such a mosque, why Ground Zero? It’s not a residential area. There are no large numbers of Muslim residents in the neighborhood. If foreign powers are behind its financing, then the implications immediately become much more profound and sinister. Nevertheless, Imam Rauf remains tight-lipped on the subject of financing sources, media such as The Economist exhibit no intellectual curiosity on the subject and apologists such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg refuse to even consider that it might be a bad idea if the Muslim Brotherhood or a foreign Salafi power is behind the project. Also, Doug Hagmann reported yesterday on the financial trail tying Imam Rauf’s Cordoba Initiative to far-flung financiers in the Persian Gulf and back to the Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton State Department. See, ” Report of Investigation Park 51 “: Despite the plentiful amount of information developed by independent researchers, bloggers, and commentators that has been published about the questionable associations of project front man ABDUL-RAUF over the last few weeks, he continues to travel to the Middle East as an emissary of America at the behest of the Obama/Clinton State Department. Ostensibly, his purpose is to “discuss Muslim life in America and religious tolerance” with Islamic leaders in Muslim countries. Despite his questionable associations, the U.S. State Department is steadfast in their support of his goodwill tour. Not only is the U.S. State Department unwavering in their support in spite of such controversy, they are invoking an unprecedented shroud of secrecy over the trip. When questioned about the content and message of Abdul-Rauf’s goodwill tour, U.S. State Department Spokesman Phillip Crowley curiously cited a 62 year-old law, erroneously claiming that the law shields Rauf’s message from the American public – at least by way of government web sites – as cited in this article published Tuesday by the editor of Family Security Matters. It is clearly evident that there is something very disturbing taking place behind the scenes that is permitting this “duck or bleed” approach being employed by politicians and lawmakers. It is only when we investigate deeper into the people and groups behind this assault on American sensibilities and “follow the money” do we find the nefarious nexus of “Cap and Trade globalists,” Progressives” and Islamic leaders who are pushing for a “one world” religion. The latter group, including foreign entities and governments, is working to replace our Judeo-Christian heritage with Islam as the dominant religion of America and Shariah in place of the U.S. Constitution. It is being conducted under the pretext of interfaith dialogue and unity, an objective for which Feisal ABDUL RAUF and his closest associates have been groomed. While ABDUL RAUF and his associates are working to install Shariah in the U.S., the former group is engaged in the systematic effort to destroy the current religious and moral structures as a means to facilitate their objectives of control and domination. The Progressives and globalists are exploiting this transformation for their own agenda, which is the implementation of global governance. That is exactly what can be found when the layers of deception and distraction are carefully and methodically pulled back and the prospective money sources are identified. All that sounds, well, almost fantastic. But that’s only momentarily. This is reality, and information to this effect has been in the public domain for some time. We can even go back and read the words of Imam Rauf himself, ” What Shariah Law Is All About “: At the core of Shariah law are God’s commandments, revealed in the Old Testament and revised in the New Testament and the Quran. The principles behind American secular law are similar to Shariah law – that we protect life, liberty and property, that we provide for the common welfare, that we maintain a certain amount of modesty. What Muslims want is to ensure that their secular laws are not in conflict with the Quran or the Hadith, the sayings of Muhammad. Where there is a conflict, it is not with Shariah law itself but more often with the way the penal code is sometimes applied. Some aspects of this penal code and its laws pertaining to women flow out of the cultural context. The religious imperative is about justice and fairness. If you strive for justice and fairness in the penal code, then you are in keeping with moral imperative of the Shariah. In America, we have a Constitution that created a three-branch form of government – legislative, executive and judiciary. The role of the judiciary is to ensure that the other two branches comply with the Constitution. What Muslims want is a judiciary that ensures that the laws are not in conflict with the Quran and the Hadith. Just as the Constitution has gone through interpretations, so does Shariah law. It’s almost unconscionable that Imam Rauf places the guarantees of universal moral goodness and inalienable rights found in the Declaration of Independence alongside the commands to crushing violence and the racist/sexist morality of submission found in Sharia. But this is the meme that Americans are being subjected to over and over again. This is the “interfaith” agenda that seeks to subordinate the U.S. Constitution to Islamic law, to have American courts interpret American laws so that they ” are not in conflict with the Quran and the Hadith .” Of course, it’s the other way around in this country, at least according to the 1st Amendment. But you won’t get that from the Democrats and the communists and their jihadi enablers in the mainstream press. We are being blinded by a blizzard of lies and propaganda, and those who are standing up in opposition are being excoriated as Muslim-hating bigots . This is sick and perverted. We have to keep fighting. The Family Security Matters report is here: ” The Ground Zero Mosque – What Have We Not Been Told? ” Photo Credit : Looking at the Left .

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Imam Rauf’s Hush-Hush Taxpayer-Subsidized Middle East Tour — Plus, Inside the Victory Mosque’s Shady Washington-Riyadh Finance Trail

Another Four Women Get Nods From Sarah Palin

On August 19, 2010, in Health Care, Uncategorized, by If Bush Did It

This week, Sarah Palin endorsed a quartet of Republican women running for the U.S. House: Martha Roby served on the Montgomery City Council where she fought tax increases and worked hard to reduce government spending. She’s now running to represent Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District with a strong message of reform to get our country back on the right track. Please join me in supporting this hardworking, proud mother of two by visiting her website at www.martharoby.com and following her on Facebook and Twitter . Renee Ellmers is a true citizen-politician running in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District. Having worked in the health care industry all her life, she joined countless other concerned Americans at the town hall meetings last summer to protest the disastrous Obamacare legislation. And she didn’t stop there! Renee decided to join the ranks of patriotic mothers across the country who have the courage to run for office this year and fight to make sure our children have as bright a future as we were given. Renee has an uphill battle against a truly out of touch incumbent who made news not too long ago when he was caught on video assaulting a student who asked him if he supported the Obama agenda. Simple enough question, but this Democrat Congressman who’s been in Washington for 14 years turned violent rather than answer it. My point with this is that Renee is willing to answer that question . She supports a commonsense conservative agenda which will put our country back on sound fiscal footing. Please visit Renee’s website at www.reneeforcongress.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter . Jackie Walorski will make an excellent representative of Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District, having been born and raised there and serving as a state representative for the past five years. She knows the people, she knows the issues that matter to them, and most importantly, she knows what she stands for – limited government, fiscal restraint, and a proper respect for our Constitution. The incumbent Democrat she’s running against has already launched his first attack ad against her, so I hope you’ll join me in standing with Jackie. She truly knows what public service means. Please visit her website at www.standwithjackie.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter . Vicky Hartzler is determined to shake things up in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District. She ran an underdog campaign to win her primary and is now determined to challenge a 17-term Democrat incumbent who has long lost touch with the good people of Missouri. Vicky grew up on her family farm and is still a farmer with her husband. Her diverse background includes being a teacher, a state legislator, a grassroots organizer, a successful small business owner, and a proud mom of a wonderful daughter. She’s a dynamic commonsense conservative who is running to get our economy and long-term fiscal security back on track for her daughter and all of our children. Please visit this farmer’s daughter’s website and learn more about Vicky at www.vickyhartzler.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter . Jim Geraghty

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Another Four Women Get Nods From Sarah Palin

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Hey, Look, Rick Berg’s Ahead Again. What a Surprise.

On August 16, 2010, in Uncategorized, by If Bush Did It

Because North Dakota's House district encompasses the entire state, and because Rasmussen polls the state fairly regularly, the race between incumbent Democrat Earl Pomeroy and GOP challenger Rick Berg is becoming one of the most frequently polled House races in the country. The results are pretty consistent. Here's the latest : Republican challenger Rick Berg remains slightly ahead of incumbent Democratic Congressman Earl Pomeroy in the race for North Dakota’s only U.S. House seat. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely North Dakota voters shows Berg with 53% support, his best showing in the contest to date, while Pomeroy picks up 44% of the vote. One percent (1%) favor some other candidate in the race, and three percent (3%) are undecided.

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As I said this morning: It’s not about the children. It’s about political self-preservation. Chris Moody at The Daily Caller follows the “EduJobs”/BigGovJobs money and discovers that, lo and behold, the $26 billion bailout will help states that don’t need the dough: The federal government estimates that the bill will save 161,000 teaching jobs, but North Dakota, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alaska and a handful of other states have kept their educational pay rolls full despite the recession, which has drastically lowered government revenues around the country. Since the new bill provides funds based on state population and the number of children in school, these states will receive funds even if their budgets are in the black. This has some employees at state education departments wondering exactly how they will spend all the fresh cash. Arkansas, for example, has a fully funded teaching staff for the coming year, but the state will still receive up to $91 million for teaching jobs… …children in each class based upon those numbers. Although the teaching jobs are filled, the state will still receive $24 million under the bill, and a state official asserted that it probably would not go to adding new teachers. According to an Education Department official, unneeded teacher funding may go to help pay for “on-campus therapists.” No word on whether they’ll be spending the extra cash on Viagra , too.

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“Edujobs” money going to states that don’t need it

Monday Morning’s Great Big Rasmussen Roundup

On August 9, 2010, in Uncategorized, by If Bush Did It

This weekend and this morning, Scott Rasmussen releases a whole bunch of polls, mostly reassuring to Republicans. Nationwide , 55 percent want to repeal Obamacare; 38 percent oppose repeal. That's down from last week but within the usual range on this question. The South Dakota House seat race continues to look good for Republicans: “The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows [GOP challenger Kristi] Noem picking up 51 percent support against [Democrat incumbent Stephanie] Herseth-Sandlin, who receives 42 percent of the vote. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are undecided.