Tag Archives: New York Post

Is This Really What We Intended?

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The media silence on the trial of Kermit Gosnell is deafening, but how do the things he did compare with what goes on at other abortion clinics? Yesterday the New York Post posted a story (updated today) about a sting operation in a Bronx abortion clinic.

The women went in claiming to be 23 weeks pregnant (abortion is legal in New York up until 24 weeks) seeking an abortion.

The article reports:

In an exchange laden with euphemisms on both sides to conceal the gruesome nature of the discussion, the pregnant woman wondered aloud what would happen if “it” (her fetus) emerged from her intact and alive.

The employee assigned to take note of medical history reassured the woman, “We never had that for ages” (a seeming admission that a baby did survive abortion at the clinic at least once) but that should “it” “survive this,” “They would still have to put it in like a jar, a container, with solution, and send it to the lab. . . . We don’t just throw it out in the garbage.”

Oh, and this innocuous-sounding “solution” was, of course, a toxic substance suitable for killing an infant.

“Like, what if it was twitching?” asked the pregnant woman.

“The solution will make it stop,” said the clinic employee. “That’s the whole purpose of the solution . . . It will automatically stop. It won’t be able to breathe anymore.”

This is what has happened to ‘a woman’s right to choose.’ Was this what was intended?Enhanced by Zemanta

The Pitfalls Of Random Acts Of Charity

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It feels good to help someone who is less fortunate than yourself. We encourage our children to be generous, and we try to set a good example. However, our efforts are not always as helpful as we would like to think. I used to know a Pastor who when someone on the street asked him for money would offer to buy them lunch–that way he knew the money didn’t go toward drugs or alcohol. I don’t know the actual percentage of homeless people with drug or alcohol problems, but I suspect it’s fairly high.

Recently, a video of a New York City policemen went vital on YouTube because he bought a barefoot homeless man on the street a pair of new shoes. It was a beautiful gesture, but the story is not what it appears to be. Scott Johnson at Power Line posted ‘the rest of the story’ yesterday.

It seems that the homeless man actually did have a home–and multiple pairs of shoes. He earns a few hundred dollars a day (tax free) by walking the streets of New York City barefoot, asking for money.

The article at Power Line cites a New York Post article which concluded:

Hillman reminds us how easy it is to exploit generosity. His scam seems to have been directed at passers-by who take pity on a man who goes about Midtown pretending to be barefoot, poor and homeless. His example reminds us why it is important for the city to ensure that its own assistance is not exploited by those who don’t need it.

For in addition to the needy, New York also has a whole class of politicians and activists quick to denounce City Hall as cruel and heartless (and to sue) whenever it takes reasonable measures to weed out the deserving from the undeserving.

Scott Johnson draws a different conclusion:

I don’t think the Post quite gets the lesson offered by the Hillman saga as a case study. Despite Hillman’s exploitation of the kindness of strangers, I think his case is inherent in the welfare state. One way or another, however, it provides a case study worthy of continuing discussion.

The generosity of the policeman is commendable. The actions of the barefoot beggar are those of a con man taking advantage of the kindness of New Yorkers.

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Skewing The Definition Of Charity

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I haven’t written about the death of Hugo Chavez. My only comment is, “If this man cared so much about the poor, why was he worth millions when he died?” In contrast, how much was Mother Theresa worth when she died? Just an observation…

Today’s New York Post posted a story about how the death of Hugo Chavez will impact Citizens Energy Corp, the organization founded in 1979 by Joe Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy‘s oldest son. The organization provides assistance to Massachusetts residents who need help paying for heating oil in the winter. The charity is able to do this by buying crude oil from Venezuela at below market price, selling it at the market price and using the difference to provide oil for people who need it. It really is a good idea and works well.

People should be paid fairly for their work, even when they work for a non-profit organization, but somehow I think we have forgotten that a non-profit organization is supposed to be supporting a cause of some sort and that’s where most of it’s money should go.

The article reports:

After Joe Kennedy left Congress, he returned to run Citizens Energy. That job paid him $86,311 in 2010. But the bulk of his income comes from his for-profit companies — Citizens Enterprises Corp. and Citizens Investments Ltd. — which together paid him $807,390 in salary and benefits. Kennedy’s wife, Elizabeth, raked in $346,764 from the nonprofit, where she is marketing director, and from the for-profit companies.

I would have left Congress too! Note that Elizabeth Kennedy was making more than $300,000 from the nonprofit company. I really think that is a little much.

The article concludes:

The oil started to flow in 2005 via two related nonprofits. Citizens Programs Corp., a charitable foundation, takes in the heating oil — $59 million worth in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. It immediately sells the supply to an undisclosed “prearranged buyer,” according to its tax returns. The proceeds are used to buy 100 gallons of heating oil for 200,000 needy households in 25 states and Washington, DC.

The distribution is done through Citizens Energy, which receives a $5 million management fee from Citizens Programs.

Citizens Programs uses some of its oil riches — $4 million in fiscal year 2011 — to pay for its ubiquitous advertising program. Running a call center and the “Joe-4-Oil” hot line costs $1.3 million.

A spokesman for the groups refused to answer questions about the operation.

Kennedy also funnels cash to his family’s own causes, including the Robert F. Kennedy Center in DC.

I think Joe Kennedy’s commitment to helping the poor stay warm in the winter is wonderful. The cost of living is high in Massachusetts, and a lot of people have been helped by Citizens Energy Corp. I just wonder about the details of how the money was spent.

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Don’t Mess With My Pizza Order

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Yesterday the New York Post posted an article about some of the consequences of Mayor Bloomberg‘s ban on serving or selling sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces. That ban means that when you call your local pizzeria for a delivery, that delivery cannot include the standard 2-liter bottle of Coke (which you can legally buy in the grocery store).

The article reports:

Typically, a pizzeria charges $3 for a 2-liter bottle of Coke. But under the ban, customers would have to buy six 12-ounce cans at a total cost of $7.50 to get an equivalent amount of soda.

There is some serious food for thought in the fact that you can no longer get a 2-liter bottle of soda with your pizza. First of all, how many people are going to eat the pizza? If the entire pizza is going to be eaten by only one person, the large bottle of soda is the least of his worries. If the pizza is going to be shared, can we also assume that the soda is going to be shared? Therefore, how can the city know that any one person eating the pizza and drinking the soda will actually get more than 16 ounces of the soda? Therefore, the law probably should not apply.

The article further reports:

Families will get pinched at kid-friendly party places, which will have to chuck their plastic pitchers because most hold 60 ounces — even though such containers are clearly intended for more than one person.

Changes will be made at the Frames bowling alley in Times Square, where 26-ounce pitchers are served at kids’ parties, said manager Ayman Kamel.

“We’re going to try to get creative,” he said, noting drinks with 100 percent juice are exempt from the ban.

“We’re figuring out a way to have freshly squeezed juice for the birthday parties. We might have to raise the price about a dollar or so.”

At this risk of totally skewing the issue, what happens to bars that provide pitchers of beer to tables of patrons? Is beer subject to the same restrictions as soda? Does beer have sugar? Do the carbs in beer count as sugar? Has anyone ever been arrested for driving under the influence of Coca-Cola?

This ban is an exercise in stupidity and unintended consequences and needs to be repealed.

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Do Parents Have The Right To Know That The School Is Giving Their Children Drugs ?

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The New York Post posted an article on Saturday (updated today) about a program in the New York City schools that provides high school girls with birth control pills–including Plan B (the morning-after pill).

The article reports:

Last September, the city revealed it had started giving out Plan B and other birth control in the nurses’ offices of 13 high schools. At the time, officials said 567 girls had gotten Plan B.

But the birth-control blitz was much bigger than the city had acknowledged. About 40 separate “school-based health centers” doled out 12,721 doses of Plan B in 2011-12, up from 10,720 in 2010-11 and 5,039 in 2009-10, according to the newly released data.

 About 22,400 students sought reproductive care from January 2009 through last school year, records show. Under state law, minors don’t need parental OKs to get contraceptives.

The article further reports:

The city says about 6,300 NYC girls under age 17 had unplanned pregnancies last year, and more than half had abortions. Of those who give birth, the city says, about 70 percent drop out of school, making their futures bleak.

Just for the record, the age of consent for sex in New York is seventeen. That means that the schools are giving out birth control to children who are not legally supposed to be having sex. So let me get this straight. There won’t be salt on my table at a restaurant in New York City because Mayor Bloomberg says it is bad for me. No restaurant can use transfat to fry food in New York City, and ‘big gulp’ sodas are illegal in New York City because Mayor Bloomberg says they are bad for me, but my daughter can obtain birth control or the morning after pill without my consent our without consulting me about any medical conditions that she may have.

The world has truly turned upside down.

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Bad News From Algeria

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The Associated Press is reporting tonight that hostage crisis at the natural gas complex in Algeria has ended with the deaths of all 32 of the the terrorists involved, and unfortunately the deaths of at least 23 hostages. Algeria has a history of dealing with terrorists with military action rather than negotiations.

The article reports:

Immediately after the assault, French President Francois Hollande gave his backing to Algeria’s tough tactics, saying they were “the most adapted response to the crisis.”

“There could be no negotiations” with terrorists, the French media quoted him as saying in the central French city of Tulle.

Hollande said the hostages were “shamefully murdered” by their captors, and he linked the event to France’s military operation against al-Qaida-backed rebels in neighboring Mali. “If there was any need to justify our action against terrorism, we would have here, again, an additional argument,” he said.

There are a few things to remember here. One is that kidnapping and hostage taking is one way the terrorists raise money for their activities. If you follow the link above and read the entire article, you will realize that the terrorists had no qualms about killing any westerner they happened to take prisoner. Another thing to remember is that President Morsi of Egypt (and the Muslim Brotherhood) is pressuring the United States to release the blind sheik.

It was reported in the New York Post today that:

Trapped terrorists made a bizarre offer to end the 3-day-old Sahara showdown: We’ll trade the blind sheik for US hostages.

The lives of two Americans seized in a brazen attack on a remote Algerian gas plant would be spared in return for the release from federal prisons of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and a fellow terrorist.

Terrorism needs to become unprofitable and socially unacceptable. Unfortunately that will not happen until the civilized world unites against it. The United Nations is useless in combating terrorism because the Islamic states have formed a voting bloc that prevents the United Nations from acting (also because of the anti-Semitism that seems to have found its way into the United Nations).

As much as I regret the loss of innocent lives, I think the Algerian military handled the situation well. To me, the best example of a successful hostage rescue is the Israeli Defense Forces raid on Entebbe on July 4, 1976. The Israelis did their homework–they knew the layout of the airport and they managed to rescue the hostages with a minimum number of casualties. That example needs to be studied. I understand that there were certain aspects of that raid that could not be duplicated, but we need to learn from our successes.

My condolences to the families of those lost this weekend.

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Banning Something That May Not Be The Problem

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Today’s New York Post posted an article about a disagreement between two scientists over the dangers of salt.

The article reports:

“We cannot extrapolate that lowering sodium consumption would reduce cardiovascular risk or premature death,” declared Dr. Sean C. Lucan of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in this month’s American Journal of Public Health.

Meanwhile, New York City declared war on salt in 2010.

The article reports:

The city launched its salt plan in 2010, with the goal of a 25 percent reduction of salt in packaged foods and restaurants by 2014.

Dr. Lucan has called the war on salt misguided and potentially dangerous. Dr. Lucan points out that as salt is removed from foods, it will be replaced by other things which may be less healthy.

The article reports:

Lowering salt, Lucan notes in his article, “may also decrease insulin sensitivity, alter lipids, and stimulate a variety of neurohormonal pathways detrimental to the cardiovascular system.”

Sodium is simply a marker of unhealthy food, Lucan said, adding that the real target should be refined carbohydrates and highly processed foods — and the city’s war on that front also falls short.

“Refined carbohydrates are a greater enemy,” he warned in the journal. “If sugar-sweetened beverages are a public-health problem, then why aren’t sugar-laden cookies?”

Good grief! Why can’t we all just be free to eat what we want and suffer the consequences?

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What Has America Become ?

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Today’s New York Post is reporting that the four State Department officials who resigned in the wake of the Benghazi attacks really didn’t resign–one has a new job and the other three took a short leave of absence.

The article reports:

Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton “has accepted Eric Boswell’s decision to resign as assistant secretary for diplomatic security, effective immediately.” What Nuland omitted was that Boswell gave up only the presidential appointment as assistant secretary, not his other portfolios.

The other officials — Deputy Assistant Secretaries Charlene Lamb and Raymond Maxwell, and a third who has not been identified — were found to have shown “performance inadequacies” but not “willful misconduct,” Pickering said, so they would not face discipline.

It is so sad to see what has happened to America. The political class now rules at the expense of the people, at the expense of the concept of responsibility, and at the expense of honor.Enhanced by Zemanta

Why We Can’t Trust Congress With Taxpayer Money

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Today’s New York Post posted an article about the bill for Hurricane Sandy relief now before Congress. President Obama has requested $60.4 billion in relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The article reports:

The pork-barrel feast includes more than $8 million to buy cars and equipment for the Homeland Security and Justice departments. It also includes a whopping $150 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to dole out to fisheries in Alaska and $2 million for the Smithsonian Institution to repair museum roofs in DC.

An eye-popping $13 billion would go to “mitigation” projects to prepare for future storms.

Other big-ticket items in the bill include $207 million for the VA Manhattan Medical Center; $41 million to fix up eight military bases along the storm’s path, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; $4 million for repairs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida; $3.3 million for the Plum Island Animal Disease Center and $1.1 million to repair national cemeteries.

We truly need to take away the credit card away from Congress. The problem is that the money that the victims of Hurricane Sandy need will be held up if the bill is carefully scrutinized, but the taxpayers will be fleeced if the bill is not examined carefully and the pork spending removed. What we really need is a few grown-ups in Washington.

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I Guess Maybe Killing Osama Bin Laden Didn’t Solve The Terrorism Problem

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Thanks to the fantastic work of the FBI, New York City avoided a serious terrorist attack Wednesday. The New York Post posted the story yesterday and updated it today.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, first arrived in the US in January on a student visa, though his sole purpose was to carry out a terror attack, according to the criminal complaint.

The New York Post reports:

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, allegedly wanted to kill scores of people, wreak havoc on the US economy and stop the presidential election when he parked on Liberty Street around 8 a.m. and repeatedly dialed into the cellphone detonator from a nearby hotel room.

But all he did was set off an indicator in the van that proved he tried to set off the explosion. He was promptly arrested, with his grand plans up in smoke.

 “I don’t want something that’s like small. I just want something big,” Nafis, 21, told an undercover agent during a recorded August meeting in Central Park.

“Something very big. Very very very very big, that will shake the whole country . . . that will make us one step closer to run the whole world. I want to do something that brothers coming after us can be inspired by us.”

The al Qaeda-obsessed terrorist — who was living with relatives in Queens — also recorded a video addressed to Americans right before he tried to detonate the bomb.

“We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom,” he said in the video, in which he covered his face, wore sunglasses and disguised his voice.

Thank you FBI for saving the lives of many New Yorkers. Please read the article at the New York Post for the rest of the story.

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Doctor’s Comments on ObamaCare

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Today’s New York Post posted an article today about a survey done among Doctors asking for their opinion of Obamacare.

These are some of the comments reported in the article:

Under ObamaCare, we’re being asked to provide the same high-tech service with more restrictions and regulations to more patients and to be paid less for doing so.

Do you honestly think that a cardiologist who is being paid $280 by Medicare for performing and interpreting the same echocardiogram he was paid $560 for two years ago is happy?

How do you think he will feel if the test he trained for many years to learn is suddenly ruled excessive by ObamaCare’s new Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board?

The article reports that 55 percent of doctors surveyed said they’d repeal and replace ObamaCare, as Romney says he would, compared to only 40 percent who said they’d implement and improve it.

I think we need to listen to the people who will be impacted by ObamaCare if it is not repealed, and we need to remember that we as patients will also be impacted in a negative way.

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More Under The Radar

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The New York Post is reporting today that the Obama Administration is in negotiations with the new government of Egypt to release the blind Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman to Egypt as a gift to the new government of Egypt. The Obama Administration denies that this is the case, but the story can be found on at least two reliable internet sources that I am aware of. As I am sure you remember, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman was responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

The New York Post reports:

His incarceration was the subject of Arabic-language message-board rants two days before protesters stormed the US Embassy in Cairo and later killed the American ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, according to a Department of Homeland Security report obtained by Fox News.

They wrote he should be released, “even if it requires burning the embassy down with everyone in it.”

King and other congressional Republicans sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying, “The release of Abdel-Rahman or any terrorist who plots to kill innocent Americans would be seen for what it is: a sign of weakness and a lack of resolve by the United States and its president.”

I will bet anyone a steak dinner that sometime after the election, when the Obama Administration thinks no one is looking, the Blind Sheik will be sent back to Egypt. It may be framed as a compassionate move, as the Sheik is elderly, but he will be sent back to Egypt.

Please consider this when you vote in November.

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A New Dimension In Meddling

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Mayor Bloomberg is at it again. The New York Post reported yesterday that the Mayor is asking New York City hospitals to lock up the baby formula so that more mothers will breast-feed their babies.

The article reports:

Starting Sept. 3, the city will keep tabs on the number of bottles that participating hospitals stock and use — the most restrictive pro-breast-milk program in the nation.

I support breast-feeding. I think it is a good idea. All my children were breast-fed and all my grandchildren were breast-fed. There is a history of milk allergies in my family and that seemed like a logical preventative measure. It seems to have worked. However, forcing women to do something they may not want to do because the Mayor thinks it’s healthy is a horrible idea. What if Mayor Bloomberg wakes up one morning and decides we should all eat seaweed for a week? Where will he draw the line?

I have no problem encouraging new mothers to breast-feed their babies. In 1970, when my first daughter was born, I was the only breast-feeding mother in the hospital. By 1974, when my third daughter was born, there were more babies breast-fed than formula-fed. I think the way to get mothers to breast-feed their children is to give them as much information as possible about the benefits. The new mothers are the ones who need to make the choice–not the government.

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The Fight For The Integrity Of The Coming Election

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This is article is based on two stories–one posted at PJ Media on Thursday and one posted in the New York Post on Friday. Both stories have to do with the Justice Department‘s (under Eric Holder) fight against verification of voter registration and voter identification laws.

The story at PJ Media deals with the Texas voter ID trial which wrapped up its closing arguments in federal court in Washington on Thursday. The case is headed to the Supreme Court.

The article at PJ Media reports:

The clown show saw another DOJ expert, paid thousands of dollars by you, the taxpayer, opine that vast numbers of Texans do not have photo identification.  On that list were President George Bush, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Phil Gramm.  These days that’s called an epic fail.

But the testimony got even more ridiculous.  San Antonio teenager Victoria Rodriguez travelled the whole way to Washington, D.C., for the clown show.  She testified that she did not have photo ID, even though she had the birth certificate to get a free one.  Her excuse?  She couldn’t find the time. Neither could her parents be bothered to drive her to get the ID.  One wonders if Victoria Rodriguez ever leaves the house, or when she does, if she has other priorities besides voting.  I’d suspect so.

One wonders how she got from Texas to Washington. If she flew, she needed a photo id to get on the plane!

The New York Post article quotes Attorney General Holder’s statement during his speech to the NAACP, “The arc of American history has always moved toward expanding the electorate.”

The article at the Post points out:

Yet that doesn’t mean it ought to include foreigners, felons or the deceased.

But how else to interpret the Justice Department’s war on in-state efforts to tighten voter-ID requirements and prevent ballot-box fraud?

Whether it’s trying to block Florida from purging its rolls of noncitizens or taking Texas to federal court over its new photo-ID requirement, Holder has signaled an unseemly coziness with potential fraud in pursuit of political advantage.

Voter fraud hurts everyone equally. It undermines the principle, “One man, one vote.” It dilutes the votes of the majority and all minorities. It destroys faith in the results of our elections. It is a disgrace to have an Attorney General who not only will not fight voter fraud, but whose actions seem to actually support it.

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Welcome To Alice In Wonderland’s America

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John Podhoretz posted an article yesterday at the New York Post contrasting the press coverage of the Obama Administration with the press coverage of the Bush Administration. He cites specific instances of how similar stories were covered and how many stories were written about similar incidents. I admit–I assume bias on the part of the press, but to see the details listed was amazing to me.

The article reminds us:

To take just one example: Scooter Libby was accused, though not charged or convicted, of revealing the name of a covert CIA operative, thus potentially endangering her life. In the case of “Fast and Furious,” a federal agent was in fact murdered by a gun that was effectively sold to a Mexican cartel by the Justice Department.

The thing that always amazed me about the ‘covert CIA operative’ was that she drove to CIA headquarters every day. Didn’t anyone ever think that if anyone wanted to find out what she did for a living all they had to do was follow her to work?

The article reminds us:

But the issue isn’t whether the Times or any other media organization has done some stories. What was present during the Bush years scandals but isn’t in the Obama years is “the drumbeat.”

The drumbeat happens when a story reaches critical mass in all media sectors. The New York Times and The Washington Post assign reporters to focus on it full-time. Their stories appear daily, often on the front page or in prominent locations on their Web sites.

The questions raised by those stories dominate the White House press briefing at midday. The answers at the press briefing, combined with new details, are the focus of NPR’s “All Things Considered” and the network-news programs. The reports here are strengthened by reaction from Congress members.

All that, in turn, provide the Times and the Post with more stories, and the hearings they set up and the political machinations that follow create more stories in affiliated media.

None of this is managed, manipulated or directed communally. It’s organic, the way the media business works.

Except it really hasn’t worked this way with coverage of the Obama campaign in 2008 or the Obama administration in the years since.

I remember BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome). Generally speaking, the press would have had their toenails pulled out rather than say anything nice about George Bush or the people around him. I didn’t necessarily agree with everything George Bush did, but I believe he was a good man who loved America. The press treated him very shabbily. It is my hope that if Mitt Romney is elected, the press will do its job, but not set out to destroy his administration as they have attempted to do with Republican administrations in the past.

Finally, I should thank the major media for their bias–it has created a demand for alternative media, of which I am a part. Thank you, you have made a little old retired lady feel useful!

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Sometimes I Just Have An Attitude Problem

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Yesterday’s New York Times reported on the antics of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the four other detainees being tried at Guantanamo as the planners of the September 11 terrorist attacks on America. Needless to say, the trial is a something of a circus because of the behavior of these five men. Al Qaeda and its related groups have very little respect for the American justice system (military or civilian), and play our courts and our media very well. I don’t have any other comments on the article, but I mention it because it leads to what I want to say.

Today’s New York Post posted a story by Gary Buiso explaining some of the details of how we eventually collected information from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Just as America waterboards many of its military to prepare them for what will happen to them if they are taken prisoner by an enemy of America, Al Qaeda and related groups prepare their terrorists for what will happen to them if the Americans capture them (we used to capture them and send them somewhere for questioning–now we simply kill them with drones and cut off our source of information). The source of the story in The New York Post is a book titled “Hard Measures” by ex-CIA official José Rodriguez, Jr.

The article at the New York Post mentions Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s response to waterboarding. He had been coached on how it worked and how long it would last, and he simply counted on his fingers until it was over. Waterboarding alone would not have resulted in America getting the information we needed to understand the organization of Al Qaeda and eventually find Osama Bin Laden.

So what made Khalid Sheikh Mohammed talk–the experiencial equivalent of having a newborn baby in the house!

Ex-CIA official José Rodriguez Jr., told The Post:

The first day he was in custody, Mohammed — who attended college in Greensboro, NC — initially pretended to only speak Urdu, fooling no one. Officers forced him to stand, and after hours of questioning, his weakness for shut-eye began to show.

“Here’s the deal,” an interrogator said. “I know you speak English. I want you to politely ask me to let you go to sleep.”

The idea was to demonstrate to Mohammed “that he was no longer in control,” Rodriguez says. Officers would later keep him awake for 180 hours straight — 7 1/2 days. Loud noises and stress positions — where a detainee is shackled and forced to stand, putting intense pressure on the leg muscles — were used.

Other than the stress positions, that really does sound a lot like different stages of parenting. One of my daughters had a child who finally slept through the night after about a year. By the time that year was over, I think she and her husband would have given about anything for a good night sleep. As for loud noises, what do you say to parents who are raising a child who is a gifted drummer?

My point here is that there is a legal definition of torture–it does not include simply making someone uncomfortable.

The article reminds us:

One of Mohammed’s frequently stated goals was to be put on trial in civilian court in New York — which nearly happened until Congress last year blocked the Justice Department from transferring any Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States.

“It seemed to us that he was looking for a platform from which he could spout his hatred for all things American, and a trial would certainly present that opportunity,” Rodriguez writes. “It strikes me as more than a little ironic that several years later, Attorney General Eric Holder almost granted KSM his wish.”

A civilian trial in New York would have been made into a circus with the antics of these five prisoners. Thank God it never happened.

There is one other comment in the New York Post article I would like to mention:

“More than one detainee expressed surprise when slapped, and told the interrogator, ‘Hey, you aren’t supposed to do that!’ The al Qaeda training manual told them that Americans would treat them with kid gloves!” Rodriguez writes.

We can’t win the war on terror wearing kid gloves. Even if we are not planning to use torture, it might be a good idea to let our enemies think we are. We are not dealing with nice people–we are dealing with people who cut off the heads of innocent people with dull knives and think it is fun. We need to remember that.

 

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Playing Games With Taxpayer Money

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No, this isn’t about the Secret Service scandal or the GSA scandal–it’s about using taxpayer money intended for other things to prevent voters from feeling the impact of Obamacare and voting against President Obama because of it.

Yesterday’s New York Post posted a story about how some of the money intended to implement Obamacare is being spent.

The article states:

It’s hard to imagine a bigger electoral disaster for a president than seniors in crucial states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio discovering that he’s taken away their beloved Medicare Advantage just weeks before an election.

This political ticking time bomb could become the biggest “October Surprise” in US political history.

But the administration’s devised a way to postpone the pain one more year, getting Obama past his last election; it plans to spend $8 billion to temporarily restore Medicare Advantage funds so that seniors in key markets don’t lose their trusted insurance program in the middle of Obama’s re-election bid.

The money is to come from funds that Health and Human Services is allowed to use for “demonstration projects.” But to make it legal, HHS has to pretend that it’s doing an “experiment” to study the effect of this money on the insurance market.

That is, to “study” what happens when the government doesn’t change anything but merely continues a program that’s been going on for years.

Obama can temporarily prop up Medicare Advantage long enough to get re-elected by exploiting an obscure bit of federal law. Under a 1967 statute, the HHS secretary can spend money without specific approval by Congress on “experiments” directly aimed at “increasing the efficiency and economy of health services.”

I think this should be included on the list of reasons why the federal budget needs to be cut drastically. The taxpayers’ money is being spent irresponsibly, and we need to make sure Washington has less money to spend.

 

 
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Letting People Go Hungry Rather Than Taking The Chance That They Might Eat Something Unhealthy

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The New York Post reported today that New York City Mayor Bloomberg is blocking food donations to all government-run facilities that serve the city’s homeless.

The article reports:

In conjunction with a mayoral task force and the Health Department, the Department of Homeless Services recently started enforcing new nutritional rules for food served at city shelters. Since DHS can’t assess the nutritional content of donated food, shelters have to turn away good Samaritans.

The new policy ends the custom of houses of worship in New York who routinely donate food to the homeless shelters.

The article reports:

 For over a decade, Glenn Richter and his wife, Lenore, have led a team of food-delivery volunteers from Ohab Zedek, the Upper West Side Orthodox congregation.

They’ve brought freshly cooked, nutrient-rich surplus foods from synagogue events to homeless facilities in the neighborhood. (Disclosure: I know the food is so tasty because I’ve eaten it — I’m an OZ member.) The practice of donating such surplus food to homeless shelters is common among houses of worship in the city.

DHS Commissioner Seth Diamond says the ban on food donations is consistent with Mayor Bloomberg’s emphasis on improving nutrition for all New Yorkers. A new interagency document controls what can be served at facilities — dictating serving sizes as well as salt, fat and calorie contents, plus fiber minimums and condiment recommendations.

I appreciate the Mayor’s wanting to make sure everyone gets healthy food to eat, but it seems as if the choice here is whether people in the shelters get healthy food or very little food. The government interference in this matter prevents the churches from providing the charity that is part of their mission. The government needs to step aside and let the churches help.

 

 

 

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In Case You Missed The New Coming Events Link

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AN EVENING WITH ANDREW BOSTOM

“Understanding the Islam in Muslim Jew Hatred”

 February 14th at

7:30 PM

 Ahavath Torah Congregation

1179 Central Street

Stoughton, MA 02072

 Suggested Donation: $5

 Dr. Bostom will demonstrate Anti-Semitism in the Muslim world—from the 7th century advent of Islam, through the contemporary era—is rooted in the foundational texts of Islam itself.

 Dr. Andrew G. Bostom is the author of the highly acclaimed books The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims, and The Legacy of Islamic Anti-Semitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History.

 Dr. Bostom has published numerous articles and commentaries on Islam in The New York Post, The Daily News, Washington Times, National Review Online, Pajamas Media, American Thinker, FrontPage Magazine.com, Big Peace, and other print and online publications.

 Dr. Bostom speaks on topics related to jihad, the threat of Shariah Law’s encroachment on Western societies, Islam’s treatment of non-Muslim minorities in general, and Islamic Jew-hatred in particular.

    For information email office@atorah.org

Co-sponsored by Christians and Jews United for Israel, ACT Boston, ACT Framingham, Rabbis and Ministers for Israel

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A Tradition Under Attack By The Board Of Health

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On Wednesday the New York Post reported that Matilda III, the current Algonquin Hotel feline, has been leashed and banished to behind the Algonquin’s check-in desk, or out of sight on a higher floor. I will admit to being a cat lover, and I was totally offended by the fact that Mayor Bloomberg’s Department of Health decided that Matilda III is a health hazard. I can think of nothing more relaxing than checking into a hotel away from home and having a friendly cat to pet.

Upon reading this story, I immediately called my sister in Memphis to see if the ducks were still allowed in the Peabody Hotel. I wondered if the insanity had spread. The Peabody ducks have been in the hotel in Memphis since the 1930′s. The Algonquin has had a cat roam it’s lobby since 1932. My sister assured me that the ducks were still in residence at the Peabody and believed that they would be permanently housed there because the South understands the concept of hospitality.

If New York City wants to be tourist attraction, they need to preserve their tourist attractions. Matilda III was one of those attractions.

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Jon Corzine And MF Global

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Today’s Wall Street Journal (this is a subscriber only article) is reporting that MF Global Holdings Ltd. shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in customer funds to its own brokerage accounts in the days before its bankruptcy filing. That is illegal.

The article reports:

“If they used client moneys to meet house margin calls, that’s a misuse of client funds,” said Ronald Filler, a law professor at the New York Law School.

According to the Commodity Exchange Act, customer funds at futures commission merchants “shall not be commingled with the funds of such commission merchant or be used to margin or guarantee the trades or contracts…of any customer or person other than the one for whom the same are held.”

Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Scott O’Malia said earlier this week that it “appears that MF Global failed this fundamental responsibility.” 

The New York Post posted a story yesterday with the title, “These guys want Corzine in prison.” The writer of the article talks about the impact of what was done at MF Global on four commodities traders he refers to as Eeny, Meeny, Miney, and Moe.

The article reports:

All of them were stung hard — not only because their money at MF disappeared overnight but also because they couldn’t even get on the floor of the exchange to conduct business.

Their IDs had been revoked.

Up to 30,000 of MF’s customers worldwide are said to be unable to access money they had in so-called “segregated” accounts at the company. And with the bankruptcy court and a trustee now involved, that money could be locked up for a long time.

“I want to see jail. I want to see one of these guys go to prison,” Moe said, with Eeny, Meeny and Miney nodding in agreement. “They destroyed lives because they wanted to make money. No more fines and Club Fed. People need to pay” with jail time.

Corzine, who took over the sleepy brokerage firm after being defeated for a second term in the statehouse, is the one they hold most responsible.

I think it’s time to take a good look at the way we treat ordinary people who break the law and extremely wealthy people who break the law. I am sure we will be hearing more of this story in the future.

 

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What’s Wrong With This Picture

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Jonah Goldberg posted an article at the New York Post yesterday about the riots on the Penn State campus when the firing of football coach Joe Paterno was announced.

Mr. Goldberg observes:

You have to wonder what’s wrong with our society when someone can say, “Of course we’re going to riot,” but not over the coverup of pedophiliac rape. Rather, students feel it is their obvious right, perhaps even duty, to throw violent temper tantrums when a multimillionaire football coach is fired, simply because the coach is part of their “college experience.”

If the students actually knew why Coach Paterno was fired, where in the world was their compassion for the victims of Coach Sandusky? What in the world are our children learning in college?

Mr. Goldberg concludes:

Most of the time, I find campus protest culture to be shallow and predictable. But I would have cheered it this time around, if only someone rioted for the alleged victims of Jerry Sandusky.

I linked to the Grand Jury testimony in a previous article (rightwinggranny). It is difficult to read the testimony. Coach Sandusky was caught in the act of raping a child and everyone in charge looked the other way–oh, wait, they didn’t look the other way–they told him he could no longer bring children into the athletic facility. Coach Sandusky’s activities continued for another ten years. There are some serious legal issues here–authorities of the school were required to report the incident to the police when it occurred–no one seems to have done that. Because the school was aware of the incident, I would think that children (now young adults) who were molested after the incident that was discovered could very easily sue to school. I hope they do. I won’t bring healing, but it might teach people in charge to fulfill their legal reporting obligations.

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The Promised Government Help With College Loans Is Not What It Appears To Be

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Yesterday John Podhoretz posted an article at the New York Post detailing what President Obama’s proposed changes in how college loans are financed would mean to the average student.

Mr. Podhoretz points out that the federal loan programs have resulted in out of control tuition costs at colleges. He states:

The staggering inflation in the cost of higher education since the federal government got involved in lending money to Americans for college in 1965 beggars description. One federal study found that between 1982 and 2007, tuition costs rose 432 percent while family income rose only 147 percent.

The article further reports:

So say you’re an average student carrying a $27,000 debt. Your monthly payment is about $208. With the reforms Obama is instituting, and assuming an interest rate of 6 percent, your monthly payment will drop $9 a month to $199. Staggering.

The article also points out that under the proposed changes, the government would be entirely responsible for college loans. Students would borrow directly from the government and pay the government back. What happens when students default? The taxpayers pick up the tab. Aside from the fact that the benefits to the students of this program are minuscule, we need less government in all aspects of our lives–not more.

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An Interesting Series Of Events

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Yesterday’s New York Post posted a story about the problem of robberies at Occupy Wall Street in New York City.  The article reports:

Occupy Wall Street protesters said yesterday that packs of brazen crooks within their ranks have been robbing their fellow demonstrators blind, making off with pricey cameras, phones and laptops — and even a hefty bundle of donated cash and food.

“Stealing is our biggest problem at the moment,” said Nan Terrie, 18, a kitchen and legal-team volunteer from Fort Lauderdale.

“I had my Mac stolen — that was like $5,500. Every night, something else is gone. Last night, our entire [kitchen] budget for the day was stolen, so the first thing I had to do was . . . get the message out to our supporters that we needed food!”

What is a supposedly unemployed protester doing with a $5,500 computer? If the protester is so oppressed and down and out, where did the money come from to buy the computer? Likewise for all of the other pricey electronics gear? These guys have more ‘stuff’ than the rich they are protesting!
The article further reports:

Meanwhile, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was at Zuccotti late last night as he and about 50 protesters formed a human chain in front of a medical tent after police officers came over to ask about the tent, cops and protesters said.

“Jesse dropped in like a ninja,” said Stephanie Perricone, 21. “He came out of nowhere and helped us all out.”

The officers were asking about the size of the tent when the crowd of demonstrators — including Jackson — stood en masse in front of it.

The cops said didn’t ask for it to be taken down and the issue was quickly resolved.

It makes you wonder what was going on in the medical tent!

An Update On Fast And Furious

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Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article yesterday with some new details on Operation Fast and Furious. The New York Post has reported that the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) ordered one of its agents to buy weapons with taxpayer money and sell them directly to a Mexican drug cartel.

The article reports:

Agent John Dodson was ordered to buy four Draco pistols for cash and even got a letter from his supervisor, David Voth, authorizing a federally licensed gun dealer to sell him the guns without bothering about the necessary paperwork. …

This is no way to run a country. The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that Fast and Furious guns turned up in El Paso, Texas in January 2010.

The article at Hot Air speculates on why the Fast and Furious was allowed to continue after it became obvious that the operation was out of control. There are two possible reasons:

1.  The first is that the anti-gun Obama administration deliberately wanted American guns planted in Mexico in order to demonize American firearms dealers and gun owners. The operation was manufacturing “evidence” for the president’s false claim that we’re to blame for the appalling levels of Mexican drug-war violence.

Or:

2. A second notion is that the CIA was behind the whole thing, which accounts for all the desperate wagon-circling. Under this theory, the Agency feared the los Zetas drug cartel was becoming too powerful and might even mount a coup against the Mexican government. So some 2,000 weapons costing more than $1.25 million were deliberately channeled to the rival Sinaloa cartel, which operates along the American border, to keep the Zetas in check.

The article at Hot Air suggests that it may be a combination of the two. At any rate, it would be nice to see someone in the government held accountable for this horrible operation.

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