Obama Anti-Conscience

Obama is poised to rescind a policy that protects the conscience rights of American health care workers.

The policy protects health care workers from being forced to perform and provide controversial services that conflict with their personal, moral and religious beliefs. Without the policy, doctors, nurses and others could be forced to participate in abortions or to dispense the abortifacient morning after pill, even if to do so would violate their core beliefs.

Father Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International (HLI), today lambasted Obama for his decision to reverse the Bush administration policy.

"Any pretense of 'moderation' on life issues was long ago dispensed with," said Fr. Euteneuer. "With the rescinding of the Mexico City Policy, the appointment of dozens of radical anti-life cabinet members and staff, the enormous increase in funding for contraception and irresponsible sex advocacy, and now these grave insults to human life and dignity … one shudders to think what could be next."

"It's as if the president and Congress are trying to outdo each other for the dishonor of who can forward the most extreme anti-life agenda," said Father Euteneuer.

"Like everyone who believes in human dignity, I am tired of these cowards in Congress trying to sneak these destructive, anti-life measures into bills that are supposed to be helping our country emerge from this recession," said Fr. Euteneuer. "And I'm tired of President Obama's 'Choice for me, but not for thee' hypocrisy. His audacity is not of hope, but of the destruction of freedom and human life."

Tea Party Rallies Held Over the Weekend

Tea parties were held over the weekend, one of the largest was in St. Louis, to object to the Stimulus, bailouts, and greater government control. The regime is no doubt watching closely for signs of trouble. I would suspect that if this move catches steam the regime will clamp down on trouble makers and it will start to move against free speech.

The inevitable result of not reading and disclosing laws before they are passed is tyranny.

Intelligence Head Has Not Only Bin Laden Ties, but Chinese Oil & Government Interests at Heart

Graphic source: China National Offshore Oil Corporation

Obama's nominee for a top intelligence post, the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC), sits on the board of a major oil company owned by the Chinese government that is widely seen as conducting business deals meant to expand China's influence worldwide.

Charles "Chas" Freeman, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War, is on the board of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC, which in 2005 tried to purchase the ninth largest oil firm in the U.S. while he was a member. The merger was halted following bipartisan congressional opposition amid fears the deal would harm American national security interests.

The Chinese oil firm also has been accused of multiple human rights violations.

Freeman has served on the board of CNOOC since 2004. He also founded a pro-China organization, the U.S.-China Policy Foundation, which seeks to promote U.S.-China relations.

75% of CNOOC, the third largest Chinese oil company, are owned by the government of the People's Republic of China.

In 2005, CNOOC made a staggering, all-cash $18.5 billion offer to buy the American oil company Unocal. Immediately, lawmakers and many policy experts, including a broad array of Democrats and Republicans in Congress, mounted a major opposition campaign to the bid, urging the Bush administration to have the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. determine how the deal would affect national security.

Alan Tonelson, a research fellow with the U.S. Business and Industry Council, told reporters in 2005. "It's also part of a Chinese campaign to move, again, very aggressively into the American economy."

"The acquisition would significantly help China achieve its goal of dominating the entire (Asian) region," John J. Tkacik Jr. wrote in a 2005 article in Capitalism Magazine.

Arakan Oil Watch, a human rights organization, issued a report accusing CNOOC last October of human rights abuses and land theft in an oil prospecting venture in Burma.

As previously noted, Freeman also has Saudi Arabian and bin Laden family ties.

Quote: Montaigne

Consider a quote from Montaigne's dear friend Etienne de la Boetie:

More than 400 years ago, the philosopher Etienne de la Boetie wrote of this phenomenon in his Discourse on Voluntary Servitude. Speaking of Rome in the time of emperors, he said:

Tyrants would distribute largess, a bushel of wheat, a gallon of wine, and a sesterce: and then everybody would shamelessly cry, “Long live the King!” The fools did not realize that they were merely recovering a portion of their own property, and that their ruler could not have given them what they were receiving without having first taken it from them. … The mob has always behaved in this way — eagerly open to bribes that cannot be honorably accepted and dissolutely callous to degradation and insult that cannot be honorably endured.

Obama Declares War on Investors, Entrepreneurs, Businesses, And More

Afghanistan Commands

The map illustrates the Afghanistan Regional Commands and Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

Muslim Threatens American

According to a news story, in the weeks leading up to Obama's inauguration, Saad Hussein, an Ethiopian refugee in his late 20s, sent an AIDs infected envelope addressed to "Barack Obama." Court documents said Hussein, who takes drugs to treat a mental illness, later told FBI agents he is "very sick with HIV" and cut his fingers with a razor so he could bleed on the letter.

Hussein, with his brother acting as an interpreter, told FBI agents he was actually "an admirer" of Obama and was "seeking help from the government."

Hussein, who has never held a job in the three years he's been in the United States, was arrested last month. He was charged with "knowingly" mailing letters "containing HIV-infected blood, with the intent to kill or injure another," in violation of federal law.

A judge ordered he receive a mental examination to see if he's fit for trial, but as of two weeks ago the court couldn't locate a translator to conduct the examination, according to court documents.

This is not the first time law enforcement officials have had to take Hussein into custody. He was arrested by police in 2006 after starting a fire in the middle of a crowded Chicago intersection. When officers arrived on the scene, he was waving the Koran in the air and yelling "Allah Akbar," or "God is Great" in Arabic. Court documents say he was transported to a hospital, where he called President Bush a terrorist and criticized American foreign policy. He was not formally charged, but he did spend time in the mental health unit of the hospital.

When did this really happen? Why is just being released now? Why does no one question an unemployed, Islamic man yelling `God is great' in Arabic waving a Koran around while threatening Americans.

Its America, that is why.

Which President?

President #1 and his reception; President #2

and his reception by the troops. Which president has the support of the troops?

Obama Ready to Strike North Korea

In an exclusive interview with ABC News', Admiral Timothy Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Commands, said that the military is prepared to shoot down any North Korean ballistic missile if Obama orders it.

I thought we may get lucky and only have Iran to worry about but maybe we have North Korea as well.

U.S. Options Eminent Domain to China

According to the blogosphere, sources at the United States Embassy in Beijing China have just confirmed that the U.S. has tendered to China a written agreement which grants to the People's Republic of China, an option to exercise Eminent Domain within the USA, as collateral for China's continued purchase of US Treasury Notes and existing US currency reserves. Without confirmation this story is too big to sit on but there are more sobering evaluations afoot as well. At the very least, Chinese investors

are looking over California property.

85 Military Ask Where is the Proof?

Clinton Grimes and family

Eighty-five service personnel have joined in the suit to uncover the paper trail on Obama.

This is the record of one typical plaintiff:

Clinton Alan Grimes

POSITION IN THE MILITARY/RANK/DATES SERVED/STATUS: CDR/0-5 US Navy (Reserve)
1 OCTOBER 1984 - Present
OCCUPATION: N-5 Mentor, NCAGS DELTA, Silverdale, WA
Civilian Occupation: Sergeant, Long Beach Police Department
ACHIEVEMENTS: Navy Commendation Medal (2), Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Medal(2), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, , Global War on Terror Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Navy/Marine Overseas Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/”M” device and Bronze Hourglass, Rifleman Expert Medal, Pistol Expert Medal, Surface Warfare Breast Insignia.
Police Awards: Police Awards: Employee of the Year 1999, Meritorious Class A

Denver archbishop warns against ‘spirit of adulation’ surrounding Obama

Byrd: Obama in Power Grab

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

Islamicizing America

A new documentary outlines the homegrown American jihad and their training camps.

Speech Reaction: AP slams Obama for dishonesty, Byrd says “Obama Grab for Power”, Stock Market Drops, Dem Governor May Turn Down Stimulus Funds

Emanuel & Taxes, Not His: Yours

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." Thomas Jefferson

Saudi Agent to Direct U.S. Intelligence

The National Intelligence Council is the center of strategic thinking within the US Government. The former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chas Freeman is the Obama administration's pick to head up the group and people have weighed in on Freeman's merits. Critics have been attacking the appointment over Freeman's views on Israel and ties to Saudi Arabia.

Freeman received $1 million in 2006 from the Saudis for public relations services in running his Middle East Policy Council. The money was given from “the generosity of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.” The Saudis paid him to promote their influence in the United States.

In 2005 Freeman wrote in a speech:

As long as the United States continues unconditionally to provide the subsidies and political protection that make the Israeli occupation and the high-handed and self-defeating policies it engenders possible, there is little, if any, reason to hope that anything resembling the former peace process can be resurrected. Israeli occupation and settlement of Arab lands is inherently violent.

Freeman has clearly thanked his benefactors:

These are obviously very difficult times for any organization attempting to promote better understanding and stronger ties between the United States and the Arab world. …Financial support has been very negatively affected both by … the financial controls and other restrictions on international financial transactions — inhibiting and tending to reduce the willingness to give as well…About a year and a half ago the board of MEPC …concluded that we probably couldn’t continue our work and we couldn’t survive on the basis of a continuing flow of small and medium size donations. The only way we could ensure our survival and the continuation of our work over the long run was through the establishment of an endowment. Thanks to the generosity of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia we have managed to accumulate an endowment….I periodically visit the region — to the Kingdom and to other countries in the Gulf. I meet mostly with individuals and companies who are interested in seeing better relations between the US and the Arab world…Frankly, I’m delighted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has, after a long delay, begun to make serious public relations efforts.

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors. Originally posted at http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/02/freeman-appointment-usa-may-appoint.html.

Changing History One Fact at a Time

Obama revisionism is annoying. History gets short shrift by most politicians but it does get even more egregious at times. During the address, Obama opined:

History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry.

I'd have to wonder who the "he" is that is referred to. It was not the Federal government. Authorized by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 during the American Civil War, and supported by U.S. government bonds and extensive land grants of government owned land, it was built by private companies. The expansion of the railroads was accomplished also by British railroad speculators and a land bribe, giving a section (one square mile) of land along each mile of railroad bed right-of-way. It cost taxpayers nothing, and created hundreds of thousands of jobs and planted the seeds of the great catalog retailers, Sears Roebuck and Co. and J.C. Penney. Settlement followed the railroad as new towns were founded to supply the routes. If Obama is suggesting that the great railroad expansion was a Federal program then he is patently wrong.

He also misstated the schools:

"From the turmoil of the industrial revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age."

Wrong again, public education was not championed by the Federal government. Public schools were local efforts by local citizens out of a civic duty.

Afghan Order of Battle: February 2009

Graphic source: The Long War Journal

This month, due to the relative draw down in Iraq, and the recent decision by Obama to escalate in Afghanistan, I am posting information regarding the Afghan Order of Battle according to The Long War Journal:

Overall, the Afghan National Army has made significant strides in the last year. Its improved readiness and ability to carry out independent operations are particularly noteworthy. However, a rapid expansion, the doubling of their strength, will be a major challenge. Success or failure in this endeavor will have a significant impact on the overall security situation in Afghanistan.

Obama Escalates: No Congressional Oversight

In September 2007, Obama grilled General Petraeus and criticized the actions of the military. This time around though, with Obama’s recent decision to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan, there has been little scrutiny from Congress-–unlike the ultimately successful “surge” in Iraq that Petraeus was forced to defend to a skeptical Congress two years ago. Obama’s decision lacks oversight from members of Congress. The 17 February escalation entailed approximately 17,000 additional U.S. troops that will be deployed to Afghanistan in the next few months. This will mean an approximately 50% increase over the estimated 38,000 troops already there.

Obama Pledge Means Nothing

Obama pledged that his administration would cut the federal budget deficit in half by the end of his first term.

But according to the Congressional Budget Office, even if Obama meets that goal – the deficit would go down, but only to a level higher than that seen during most of the Bush administration.

Obama’s policies will cause the federal government to run deficits of more than $1 trillion through fiscal year 2010, meaning that any deficit-reduction measures he enacts simply will be returning federal spending to levels seen during the administration of Bush.

Obama "inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit – the largest in our nation’s history – and our efforts will add to it in the short term.”

But according to the Congressional Budget Office, the projected deficit for 2009 was pegged at $1.2 trillion – even before the passage of Obama’s $787 billion stimulus and his pledge of $75 billion in mortgage relief spending.

Now, with the stimulus and mortgage plans in place, 2009’s deficit will be approximately $1.5 trillion, the CBO said – and further spending would push that figure higher. The 2010 deficit, which had been pegged at $703 billion, will balloon to $1.1 trillion, due to Obama’s stimulus package.

Cutting even the $1.3 trillion figure in half, as pledged by Obama, would still leave the budget with $650 billion of red ink.

By contrast, in 2006, the deficit stood at $248.2 billion; in 2007, at $162 billion; in 2008, at $410 billion, as calculated by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

"Strong. But Average. And Way Divided."

Gary Langer is director of polling at ABC News, and according to his results regarding Obama he concluded: "Strong. But Average. And Way Divided."

Approval in February of 1st term:

In-out In party

President All Dem Rep Ind party vs. ind.

Obama 68 90 37 67 53 23

Bush 55 37 86 54 49 32

Clinton 63 86 40 59 46 27

Bush 76 64 90 74 26 16

Reagan 68 56 89 71 33 18

Carter 71 79 58 69 21 10

Nixon 60 52 76 57 24 19

Kennedy 72 86 49 69 37 17

Eisenhower 68 61 84 66 23 18

ABC/Post polls since Reagan, Gallup previously

February 24, 2009

NH Next State to Assert State Sovereignty

New Hampshire is the second state that has passed a state sovereignty resolution. These resolutions appear to be the natural result of "Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis."

Holder Against Free Speech on Internet

Attorney General Holder advocated restricting Internet speech in 1999.

On the 28 May 1999 edition of National Public Radio's Morning Edition Holder stated:

"The court has really struck down every government effort to try to regulate it. We tried with regard to pornography. It is going to be a difficult thing, but it seems to me that if we can come up with reasonable restrictions, reasonable regulations in how people interact on the Internet, that is something that the Supreme Court and the courts ought to favorably look at."

Iran Promised to End Coalition Attacks: If Nukes Continue

Iran has denied a claim by British diplomat, Sir John Sawers, Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations, and his claim that Iranian officials secretly offered to end attacks on coalition soldiers in Iraq in exchange for a stop to interfering in Iraqi affairs while Tehran continued its nuclear program.

The claim is startling since Iranian willingness to acknowledge complicity in the attacks has consistently been denied in public. However, it is entirely plausible and appears to be a credible claim. Iran has miffed Obama's efforts at conciliation.

U.S. to Bribe Hamas

The United States plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel's invasion.

So what is Israel now? Is Israel the 51st state? In our troubled economy, why is it that the U.S. is paying off the Palestinians?

The answer is obvious. It is a bribe. We are bribing Hamas so that they do not attack. Their hand is strengthened now that Iran has nuclear power.

Secret Meeting: Martial Law

The videos have extraneous religious-ideological commentary but the excerpts from the sessions can still be heard.

13 March 2008 secret debate and meeting held in Congress: martial law.

PA State Senator Sam Rohrer On the 10th Amendment

Pennsylvania State Representative Sam Rohrer explains some of the reasoning behind why several States are pushing for Tenth Amendment resolutions.

10th Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Rohrer has submitted his resolution for consideration.

Active Duty Officer Questions Obama

23 Feb 2009

To Any and All Interested Parties,

As an active-duty Officer in the United States Army, I have grave concerns about the constitutional eligibilty of Barack Hussein Obama to hold the Office of President of The United States. He has absolutely refused to provide to the American public his original birth certificate, as well as other documents which may prove or disprove his eligibility. In fact, he has fought every attempt made by concerned citizens in their effort to force him to do so.
Until Mr. Obama releases a "vault copy" of his original birth certificate for public review, I will consider him neither my Commander in Chief nor my President, but rather, a usurper to the Office - an impostor.
My conviction is such that I am compelled to join Dr. Orly Taitz's lawsuit, as a plaintiff, against Mr. Obama. As a citizen, it pains me to do this, but as an Offficer, my sworn oath to support and defend our Constitution requires this action.

I joined the Army at age 40, after working in Iraq as a contractor with KBR in '05/'06. I chose to work with KBR to support my troops and then left that lucrative position when the Army raised it's maximum enlistment age to 40. Upon completion of Basic Training, I entered Officer Candidate School and commissioned as a 2LT in August 2007. After completing the subsequent Basic Officer Leadership courses, I was assigned to Ft. Knox and shortly thereafter deployed to Balad, Iraq. I was promoted to 1LT on Feb. 2, 2009 and I have approximately five months remaining of our fifteen month deployment.

I implore all Service-members and citizens to contact their Senators and Representatives and demand that they require Mr. Obama prove his eligibility. Our Constitution and our great nation must not be allowed to be disgraced.

Very Respectfull,
Scott R. Easterling
1LT OD/LG
United States Army

An active duty officer has joined the suit by Dr. Orly Taitz to question Hussein about his lack of natural born citizen status.

Obama Defense Budget Secret

The Obama administration has directed Department of Defense officials to sign a pledge stating that the budget is secret and they will not share the 2010 budget data with individuals outside the federal government.

The pledge stated:

"Under no circumstances will I disclose such information outside the Department of Defense and other government agencies directly involved in the defense planning and resource-allocation process, such as the Office of Management and Budget."

Obama's War Update

U.S. military air strikes in western Afghanistan killed 13 Afghan civilians.

Three soldiers in the US-led coalition helping to fight a Taliban-led insurgency in southern Afghanistan have died after their patrol was hit by a bomb.

During the campaign, the polls that were taken as Obama visited Europe were revealing.

In France, historically the European country with the strongest anti-American sentiment, 65% would back Obama. In Germany, the Obama would get 67% of the vote--while Mr McCain would receive 6%.

Today, no nation in NATO or amongst American allies has any other nation committed more troops for Obama's war.

Clinton On Her Knees Before China

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Sunday urged China to keep buying US debt as she wrapped up her first overseas trip, during which she agreed to work closely with Beijing on the financial crisis.

Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi largely agreed to disagree on human rights as they pledged future joint action on the economy and climate change.

The goodwill, also on display in her talks with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, could raise hope for a new era of cooperation between the two largest greenhouse gas emitters and two of the world's top three economies.

Clinton stated: "We have to incur more debt. It would not be in China's interest if we were unable to get our economy moving again."

China is the top holder of US Treasury bills, with 696.2 billion dollars worth of the securities in December followed by Japan with 578.3 billion dollars, according to the latest official data from Washington.

Yang indicated Saturday that China would not deviate drastically from its US Treasury policies, but gave no overt promises either way.

Beck's Three Part Unthinkable Series

Part I

Part II

Part III

Glenn Beck's ”War Room“ Experts discuss worst case scenarios. The 3-part program gathered experts in all fields to address unthinkable scenarios.

Sweden: Soon to be America?

Malmo, Sweden is an example of the Eurabia culture war that is happening in parts of Western Europe. The police and other emergency services are too afraid to respond to calls. Parts of Malmo, as in some parts of France, have become a state within a state.

Obama: "More Popular Than Jesus"

A Harris Poll conducted a survey in mid-January asking a cross-section of U.S. citizens to name the individual they most admire as a hero.

The top 10:

1. Obama
2. Jesus
3. Martin Luther King
4. Ronald Reagan
5. George W. Bush
6. Abraham Lincoln
7. John McCain
8. John F. Kennedy
9. Chesley Sullenberger (pilot on the downed Hudson River plane)
10. Mother Teresa

Pork Bill Possibly Stopped by 2010

Representative Gohmert claiming that the GOP can stop most of the Porkulus bill if Congress votes for more Republicans in 2010. Most of the funds are being held in reserve for the election anyway so its possible Gohmert and others have a point.

How Democracies Become Tyrannies

Yale Demolishes Stimulus

The bright kids at Yale have been doing their homework and have made it clear that the Stimulus boondoggle is a mess.

Keyes On Obamination

As is typical for Dr. Keyes, he is shy and reticent about sharing his views. However, with some coaxing, we can discern his salient points.

Military Assault Training Exercise on American Civilians Called Off

Following objections that the Army National Guard was planning a military training exercise on the streets of Arcadia, Iowa, the commanding officers have called off the mock “invasion.”

The Guard had planned a four-day urban military operation, sending troops to take over the town and search door-to-door for a suspected weapons dealer.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Oklahoma: First State?

The Oklahoma House of Representatives became the first state legislative body this year to pass a resolution affirming its "sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States." This resolution, HJR1003, was passed by a very large margin, 83-13. It remains to be seen if this is just a tip of the iceberg or if this is evolving into a legitimate movement.

Obama's Ten Year Trillion Dollar Deficit Plan

In a report released yesterday by the Brookings Institution, authors Alan Auerbach and William Gale predicted that, even under optimistic assumptions, the deficit will "average at least $1 trillion per year for the 10 years after 2009, even if the economy returns to full employment and the stimulus package is allowed to expire in two years."

That could make it much tougher for Obama to deliver on some of his most extensive--and expensive--campaign promises, such as expanding health-care coverage for the uninsured and cutting taxes for the middle class.

Obama's Administration Attacks Media Rant

Rick Santelli's CNBC rant stated:

"The government is promoting bad behavior. I have an idea. The new administration is big on computers and technology, how about this President and new administration: Why don't you put up a website to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the loser's mortgages or would we like to at least buy cars, buy houses in foreclosure, and give them to people that might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water."

The most interesting aspect of the rant is that the Obama administration was quick to counter-attack. They are demonstrating a persnickety and righteous indignation as well as an inability to accept valid criticism and frustration on the part of many people. If there were vestiges of integrity and decorum on the part of the Obama administration, this video rant would roll off their backs, but they must feel compelled to respond. They single out critics, as they did with Rush Limbaugh, in an attempt to silence opposition.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs poked fun at Santelli and thus underscores how sensitive the Obama White House is to media coverage. Cable television news shows have been annoying and they have made no effort to hide their displeasure.

The episode is ludicrously insignificant yet by dignifying the rant with a response Obama legitimizes the message delivered by Santelli.

Obama Stiffs Chicago Too

Chicago has yet to recoup the $1.74 million cost of Obama's victory celebration in Grant Park--despite a burgeoning $50.5 million budget shortfall that threatens more layoffs and union concessions.

Obama: "The Check Is In the Mail"

Obama for America still owes Philadelphia nearly $24,000 for several pre-election events, and the cash-strapped city hasn’t given up its collection efforts.

The most expensive event was an Oct. 4 rally on the Parkway, featuring Bruce Springsteen. The city’s expenses came to $9,050, including sound systems, lighting, platforms, bleachers and clean-up costs.

There were smaller charges for a series of Obama appearances on Oct. 11, at Progress Plaza, the Mayfair Diner and Vernon Park, and $3,666 for a Joe Biden rally at Marconi Plaza the day before the election.

Mechelle Sabb, special-event coordinator in the Managing Director’s Office, said the bills remain unpaid in spite of a December letter sent to Obama headquarters in Chicago, warning that non-payment could jeopardize his welcome at future events in Philadelphia or Fairmount Park.

Mossad Chief Warns About Obama/Iran

Obama's policy of direct diplomacy with Iran may buy Tehran enough time to produce nuclear weapons, Shabtai Shavit, former chief of the Mossad intelligence agency, warned.

"My concern is that until Obama finishes his learning curve of the subject, the Iranians are going to have maybe the first or even more nuclear bombs."

Shavit served as director of the Mossad from 1989 through 1996.

Walt On "Obama's War"

The point should be obvious now that Obama committed 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan but as Stephen M. Walt has pointed out in Foreign Affairs that it has now become Obama's war.

High School Students Thinking

Perhaps the kids at NYU could learn a bit of wisdom from some of these younger kids.

American College Students Support Islamic Gaza Students

In a curious echo of 60s activism students at NYU protested and demanded scholarships for students in Gaza and asked the University to provide surplus supplies to the Islamic university in Gaza.

Banking Lowest Today Since 1992

U.S. banking shares hit their lowest level since 1992 today as fears mounted that the government would be forced to nationalise a key institution.

Iran Has The Bomb

Iran has built up a stockpile of enough enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb, United Nations officials acknowledged today.

This development arises at a time that the Obama administration is planning a policy to subsequently negotiate with Tehran over its nuclear program, UN officials said Iran had produced more nuclear material than previously thought.

They said Iran had accumulated more than one ton of low enriched uranium hexafluoride at a facility in Natanz.

If such a quantity were further enriched it could produce more than 20kg of fissile material: enough for a bomb.

This is the point that Israel has stated they will not allow Iran to reach.

Citizen Arbitrarily Detained and Released: Oklahoma

To cower a population, it is not necessary to arrest and convict everyone, what you have to do is to perform in an arbitrary and capricious manner and people will generally censor themselves. Naomi Wolf has written in The End of America about how she has been arbitrarily detained, no doubt because of her political actions and statements. She has a slew of recent stories in the U.S., with a nod to other chilling parallels, such as Nazi Germany where governments arbitrarily detain and release citizens.

Now comes this story about a guy, an ordinary Joe, who was arbitrarily detained and released, after his sign was confiscated and then returned. This is an ominous occurrence.

Military Deaths (Casualties): 1980-2006

For the record, below are the accurate totals for the past 26 years; the figures are subject to revision by the U.S. government; the figures below match those provided by the Congressional Research Service as of May 14, 2008:

U.S. Active Duty Military Deaths 1980-2006

1980 .... 2,392
1981 .... 2,380
1982 .... 2,319
1983 .... 2,465
1984 .... 1,999
1985 .... 2,252
1986 .... 1,984
1987 .... 1,983
1988 .... 1,819
1989 .... 1,636
1990 .... 1,507
1991 .... 1,787
1992 .... 1,293
1993 .... 1,213
1994 .... 1,075
1995 .... 1,040
1996 ....... 974
1997 ....... 817
1998 ....... 827
1999 ....... 796
2000 ....... 758
2001 ....... 891
2002 ....... 999
2003 .... 1,410
2004 .... 1,873
2005 .... 1,941
2006 .... 1,875

Obama: Third Term Bush

The government will dispense with centuries of legal precedent and the rule of law when it sends out Obama’s proposed National Civilian Security Force along with the military.

Of course, reports have noted that the U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials. “The Pentagon’s plan calls for three rapid-reaction forces to be ready for emergency response by September 2011. The first 4,700-person unit, built around an active-duty combat brigade based at Fort Stewart, Ga., was available as of 1 October 2008.

All of this complements Bush’s presidential directive NSPD 51, or PDD51, the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, created and signed on 4 May 2007. A president, now Obama, may execute procedures for continuity of the federal government in the event of a “catastrophic emergency,” in other words, it allows the president to declare martial law in the United States without consulting Congress. It should be noted that Congress and the American people are not allowed to see the Continuity Annexes of the directive. On July 2007 U.S. Representative and Homeland Security Committee member Peter DeFazio made an official request to examine the documents but was refused under “national security concerns.”

Jailhouse Muslim Rock

The prisons and jails of the world have been fertile recruiting grounds for Islam. In the U.S., here is a story which confirms its spread.

Obama Change: Dow Drops, Again

The stimulus package is creating change. The Dow Jones Industrial Average greeted this news with a drop of nearly 298 points to end the day at 7552.60. As a point to consider, on 16 January, the last day of trading before the inauguration, the Dow ended the day at 8,281.22. Since the beginning of Obamaworld, the Dow has dropped 728.62 points or a little under 9%.

Roggio: Long War on Pakistan

Per the usual, the Long War Journal issued another perceptive analysis of the ongoing Pakistan situation.

Obama Pipedream: Afghanistan

"I am absolutely convinced that you cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region solely through military means," Obama told journalist Peter Mansbridge in a wide-ranging interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "We're going to have to use diplomacy. We're going to have to use development."

As one of the salient points of the Obama campaign, he criticized Bush as unable to form an international coalition. Let us now observe, after committing 17,000 troops, just how many other nations, and international troops he will be able to muster. Is there anyone who seriously believes, now that the Pakistanis have made their peace with the Taliban and sharia, that Obama will convince other nations to commit their blood and treasure to an American fight?

Dumbing Down for the Americans

"Using graphs, charts and layman's terminology, the online portal is an example of how the tech-savvy Obama administration is taking its message to the American people."

I do not believe CNN, or many for that matter, catch the irony in that statement as yet again, Obama's minions reveal (ho hum), yet another web site. But for those of you who missed it, let me run that boondoggle by you again. No one, including the politicians, were allowed to read, or had time to actually read the document in question, and the administration broke a promise to post the bill online for 48 hours so the American people can examine it and decide what they think of it. Now however, graphs, charts, and simple terms will be used to tell people what someone at least twice removed claims is in the text. God forbid if someone actually trusted Americans to be able to read and decide for themselves what they thought about the bill.

Top American Lawman Calls Americans "Cowards"

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," said Eric Holder.

I take it this is a salvo in the new Administration's post-racial policies.

Economist Says U.S. Like Zimbabwe, or a Banana Republic

Marc Faber concludes, from his perspective in Thailand, that the U.S. is moving along the lines of Zimbabwe or a banana republic.

Faber was born in Zurich and schooled in Geneva, Switzerland. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, obtained a Ph.D. in Economics magna cum laude.

St. Obama

St. Obama is the reincarnation of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian-born Dominican friar, who became one of the first black saints in the Americas upon his canonization in 1962.

That is at least what some say, on the other hand, the Reverend Tony La Torre of St. Philip the Apostle Church in San Francisco says the candles, sold by the Just for Fun store for $15, "mock and ridicule the Catholic/Christian faith."

Take a look; you decide.

Live Free or Die

Glenn Beck interviews the sponsor of the New Hampshire sovereignty resolution.

Obama Jugend

The exact details of this seemingly paramilitary force are unclear but an Obama Civilian National Security Force is in the offing.

The Department of Defense Directive (Number 1404.10) establishes a “DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce” and rescinds a prior directive dealing with the emergency use of civilian personnel.

The new 1404.10, 23 January 2009 is effective immediately, and cancels the prior directive of the same designation (”Emergency-Essential (E-E) DoD U.S. Citizen Civilian Employees”), that was issued in 1992 under Clinton. One significant difference is that the 1992 directive specifically deals with overseas deployments of civilian personnel, and mentions the term “overseas” no fewer than 33 times.

The new directive does not mention the term “overseas” in the body of the directive. Only indirectly is “overseas” even mentioned.

The key seems to be deployment of civilians in the United States mainland.

The previous Directive does not mention “restoration of order” or “stability operations.” The new guidelines feature these operations. In fact, these functions are central to the mission of Obama’s new DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce:

Members of the DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce shall be organized, trained, cleared, equipped, and ready to deploy in support of combat operations by the military; contingencies; emergency operations; humanitarian missions; disaster relief; restoration of order; drug interdiction; and stability operations of the Department of Defense.

While the directive suggest that the DoD will seek volunteers, Section 4 (d), subsection {e} paragraph 2 states: "Management retains the authority to direct and assign civilians either voluntarily, involuntarily, or on an unexpected basis to accomplish the DoD mission."

There are two clips, a short excerpt first, then a fuller statement available from 2 July 2008 where the service was announced.

The new directive seems to be in line with campaigner Obama's statements on 2 July 2008 to establish a paramilitary “civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded as our military."

Perhaps more to the point, and perhaps adding the appropriate details, are from Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel who wrote (in his 2006 book, “The Plan: Big Ideas for America”):

“It’s time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us. We propose universal civilian service for every young American. Under this plan, all Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation and community service.”

Emmanuel described his mandatory civil service plan to NY Daily News reporter Ben Smith in 2006.

Contemporary models for organizing a cadre of personal, civilian national security forces currently exist at fifteen centers.

Public Allies has an impressive list of donors.

Champions

Atlantic Philanthropies
Helen Bader Foundation
Cisco Systems
Fannie Mae Foundation
Ford Foundation
William C. Graustein
Greater Milwaukee Foundation
William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Microsoft Corporation
Omidyar Foundation

Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, and his wife, Pam, established Omidyar as a philanthropic investment firm. A typical program is Comat which is bridging the digital divide by bringing access to Internet and basic government and educational services to rural India.

Procter & Gamble Corporation
Rockefeller Brothers
Surdna Foundation
Woodcock Foundation

Top Allies

ABC/Capital Cities
ABN/Amro (LaSalle Bank)
Advanta Foundation
Amoco Foundation
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Badger Meter, Inc
Bank of America
Bank One
Booth Ferris Foundation
Brico Fund
Butler Family Fund
Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
California Endowment
California Wellness Foundation
Carnegie Corp. of NY
Castellini Family Foundation
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Charles Young
Chicago Community Trust
Community Foundation of Greater New Haven
Community Technology Foundation of CA
Arie & Ida Crown Memorial
Daniels Fund
Deutsche Bank
DeWitt Wallace
Discover Bank
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation
Duke Power
Duke University
DuPont Company
Echoing Green
Empowerment Corporation
Entertainment Industry Foundation
First 5 California Public Education Team
Firstar Milwaukee Foundation/US Bank
Forrest County Potawatomi Community Foundation
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation
Fund for the City of New York
David Geffen Foundation
The Gill Foundation
GO SERV
Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Haas Foundation
Luke B. Hancock Foundation
Harnischfeger Industries Foundation
Harris Bank Foundation
William Randolph Hearst Foundation
Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation
Honkamp Family Foundation
IBM
Inbusch Foundation
Intel Foundation
Henry Jackson Foundation
Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation
Jones Foundation
Joyce Foundation
JP Morgan
Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Knight Foundation
Laffey-McHugh Foundation
Levi Strauss & Co.
Longwood Foundation
Henry Luce Foundation
Marquette Medical Foundation
Mayerson Foundation
MBNA America
Faye McBeath Foundation
Mead Family Foundation
Meyer Foundation
Miller Brewing Company
New York Community Trust
Northern California Grantmakers
Northwestern Mutual Life Foundation
Open Society
David & Lucile Packard Foundation
Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
John Pepper
Daniel & Susan Pfau Foundation
Albert Pick, Jr. Fund
Pinkerton Foundation
Points of Light Foundation
Polk Bros. Foundation
Private Industry Council
Public Welfare Foundation
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
Rockefelller Foundation
Jack & Lucile Rosenberg
Sallie Mae
Sara Lee Foundation
Murray & Agnes Seasongood Foundation
Louise Taft Semple
Smart Family Foundation
A.O. Smith Foundation
Sobrato Family Foundation
The Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute
Sprint
Steans Family Foundation
Sidney Stern Memorial Trust
Texaco
Times Mirror Foundation
Tow Foundation
Triangle Community Foundation
University of Delaware
Van Ameringen Foundation
Verizon
Wachovia Foundation, Inc.
D. Michael Warner Foundation
Weingart Foundation
Welfare Foundation
WGN-TV Children's Charities
William Blair & Company
William Randolph Hearst Foundation
Wilmington Trust Company
Wisconsin Energy Foundation
Woods Fund of Chicago
William T. Grant Foundation

Government Sources

Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps)
City of Cincinnati, Dept. of Neighborhood Services
City of San Jose
City of San Jose BEST
City of Wilmington CDBG
Delaware Dept. of Health & Social Services
Delaware Dept. of Labor
State of California
US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development

Obama has called to “change America.” American youth will be a part of “The Movement,” and part of the United States of America.”

A massive, organized, youth political action force, a personal paramilitary organization on behalf of a president, has never existed before: in America.

Pakistanis Cede Territory to Sharia

Graphic source: The Long War Journal

The Pakistani government has negotiated an agreement with the Taliban in the war-torn district of Swat to end the fighting in exchange for the implementation of sharia, or Islamic law in a large region of the Northwest Frontier Province.

Negotiations on the five-point agreement have been conducted between the government of the insurgency-infested Northwest Frontier Province and Sufi Mohammed, the spiritual leader of the Movement for the Implementation of Mohammad's Sharia Law, and Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Swat Taliban and Sufi's son-in-law.

The provincial government agreed to allow for the implementation of sharia law the entire Malakand Division, a large region in the Northwest Frontier Province made up of the districts of Malakand, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Dir, and Chitral.

Other parties have been advocating for the implementation of sharia. Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, or the Pakistan Movement for Justice, called for the government to allow for sharia law not just in the tribal areas and the northwest, but throughout the country. Khan and his party are considered moderate by some observers of Pakistan.

Cf. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/02/pakistan_to_end_mili.php

Obama: Half Way Measure in Afghanistan

Obama has approved adding about 17,000 U.S. troops for the war in Afghanistan.

About 8,000 Marines are expected to go in first, followed by about 9,000 Army troops.

The additional forces only partly answer a standing request from the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, who has sought as many as 30,000 additional U.S. forces.

The United States has slightly more than 30,000 troops in Afghanistan now.

More importantly, Obama seemed to be unaware of recent developments in Pakistan now that the government there has conceded ground to the Taliban.

Indonesian Muslim Women Tell Hillary to Go Home

Graphic source: REUTERS/Stringer

Muslim women hold placards during a protest outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta to protest against the upcoming visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

I suppose this is the improved view of America under an Obama administration.

Obama Needs a Tele-Prompter Writer

Michael Hammer, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, confirmed to WND Obama did not authorize the migration of any Palestinians to the U.S. A State Department spokesman provided the same comment.

Perhaps the text of Obama's executive order left the matter open for interpretation.

The order stated the money was to be used for the "purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs."

Sounds like someone needs a Tele-Prompter writer who can write.

Obama Dissed by Afghans

Afghan President Hamid Karzai sparred with Obama, saying he hopes the president shows better judgment in his plans for Afghanistan once his administration has "put itself together."

In his first major interview since Obama assumed the presidency, Karzai was asked by CNN host Fareed Zakaria on his show "GPS" to respond to charges made by Obama that the Afghan president has demonstrated a "bunker mentality."

"I was surprised to see that statement," Karzai said. "Perhaps it's because the administration has not yet put itself together. Perhaps they have not been given the information yet. And I hope as they settle down, and as they learn more, we will see better judgment."

I guess this was the respect from the rest of the world that Obama has described will be characteristic of his administration.

Karzai added that Obama has a tough act to follow, calling former President George W. Bush "a great person."

Obama Against Democracy, Free Speech, Opposes Counter-Terrorism

Representatives of the United States will take part in discussions for the first time in years which is the strongest indication yet that the Obama administration could end up participating in the Durban Review Conference, also known as “Durban II.”

Doing so would undercut a campaign calling on democracies to boycott the event, undermine Western counter-terrorism initiatives, and endanger free speech.

Israel and Canada have formally announced they will not take part.

U.S. representatives attending the inter-governmental working group discussions will possess a draft agenda that equates references to racism impacting on counter-terrorism efforts, and calls for governments to act against “negative stereotyping of religions and defamation of religious personalities, holy books, scriptures and symbols.”

Arguing that “Islamophobia” is a “contemporary form of racism,” the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is using Durban II to further its campaign to have religious “defamation” outlawed-–a drive which critics say is designed to prevent criticism of Islam and practices associated with it.

The Bush administration walked out of the last U.N. racism conference, held in Durban, South Africa, in September 2001.

The chief planners for Durban II are a 20-strong panel, chaired by Libya, and comprising a group that includes countries hostile to America, among them Iran, Pakistan, and Cuba.

Anne Bayefsky, editor of Eye on the U.N., a project of the Hudson Institute, said Obama’s decision to take part in the preparatory discussions “sends a terrible signal.”

“Durban II is a cover for an assault on free speech, the demonization of the Jewish state, and an effort to undermine anti-terrorism activities by labeling them all racist,” she said.

The United States will legitimize the undercutting of free speech and anti-Western policies.

Bayefsky noted “Now Obama has handed fascists pretending to be interested in human rights a victory without anything in return,” she said. “He’s legitimized a process designed to defeat democracy, a process which the U.S. has refused to legitimize since September 2001.”

Obama's `Welfare Spendathon'

Clinton's economic adviser, Robert Rector, a prominent welfare researcher who was one of the architects of Clinton's 1996 reform bill, warned last week that Obama’s stimulus plan was a “welfare spendathon” that would amount to the largest one-year increase in government handouts in American history.

Douglas Besharov, author of a big study on welfare reform, said the stimulus bill passed by Congress and the Senate in separate votes on Friday would “unravel” most of the 1996 reforms that led to a 65% reduction in welfare caseloads and prompted the British and several other governments to consider similar measures.

Obama is most adept at bread and circuses.

"Well, a little state control wouldn't hurt anybody."

Jerry Brown, California's Democrat attorney general, remarked in on air comments yesterday about the possible reinstatement of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine." He stated about the Doctrine: "Well, a little state control wouldn't hurt anybody."

The Doctrine has been called for by numerous liberal politicians. Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., expressed support about introducing legislation to bring "accountability" to the airwaves. Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., told Albuquerque radio station KKOB last year. "I think the country was well-served. I think the public discussion was at a higher level and more intelligent in those days than it has become since." Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., told WYNC's Bryan Lehrer Show in 2007, "I think the Fairness Doctrine ought to be there and I also think equal time doctrine ought to come back." In June of last year, John Gizzi reported in Human Events a conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in which she personally supported revival of the "Fairness Doctrine." And as recently as December, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. – who serves on the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee – told the Palo Alto Daily Post she still believes in the "Fairness Doctrine" and will work on bringing it back. The debate heated up again recently, however, when Obama singled out Rush Limbaugh, the king of talk radio, for criticism: "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done."

The "Fairness Doctrine" is an assault on First Amendment liberty.

The Fairness Doctrine, abolished in 1987, was a policy of the Federal Communications Commission that required the holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance in a manner the agency considered "balanced." Reagan vetoed the Doctrine and since then, right wing commentators, and free speech liberty flourished, something which apparently the left in this country is not comfortable with.

Congressman Burton on China, Carter, and Inflation

Representative Dan Burton describes the current situation in regards to China, the hyperinflation of Carter, and how the next generation will pay for the present mistakes.

The One for Children to Worship

Obama book display: Borders Bookstore in Dallas, Texas, in the Children's Reading section, displayed as "Religion."

Obama's Islamic Agenda Progresses

The 18 February 2009 edition of Geostrategy Direct is reporting:

DOSSIER: Ehud Barak
‘Change’ the mullahs can believe in: Obama to drop sanctions on Iran

But “Change” is taking place, Barak has intimated, originating not in the Mideast but in Washington, D.C. in the form of a U.S. reconciliation with Iran.

Such a process could result in U.S. acceptance of Teheran’s nuclear weapons program and the downplaying of its threats against Israel.

Obama entered office facing a massive economic crisis beyond the scope of his experience.

The United States has abandoned its policy of sanctioning companies that aid Iran’s nuclear and missile program, they said.

The officials said the new Obama administration of has decided to end sanctions against Iranian government agencies or companies that aid Teheran’s missile and nuclear program. The officials said Israel has been informed of the new U.S. policy.

“We were told that sanctions do not help the new U.S. policy of dialogue with Iran,” an official said.

Barak confirmed the new U.S. policy. In an address to the Herzliya Conference on Feb. 3, Barak said Washington did not say whether it would resume sanctions against Iran.

Obama decided to end sanctions against Iran after determining that the U.S. measures had failed to block Teheran’s missile or nuclear weapons program, officials said. Under the administration of former President George Bush, the United States accelerated sanctions on Iran in 2008.

In his address, the Israeli defense minister indicated that Obama had forged an entirely new approach toward Iran. He said the Israeli government has sought a briefing from the new U.S. administration.

A U.S. defense source said the White House would no longer enforce sanctions imposed by the Bush administration. The source said the decision has already been relayed to Iran.

“The administration has abandoned sanctions entirely,” the U.S. source said. “It is a completely new ballgame.”

Similarly, Obama has decided on a new U.S. ambassador to Syria and is expected to lift sanctions against a nation charged with aiding Al Qaida in Iraq and secretly building a nuclear reactor with North Korean assistance.

Diplomatic sources said Obama, in consultation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has asked Frederic Hof to become the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus since 2005. The sources said Hof, a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Middle East Policy Council, agreed to take the post.

The sources said the Obama administration was expected to suspend U.S. sanctions on Syria’s military and energy programs.

They said Hof would be authorized to facilitate an expansion of U.S. relations with Syria, which deteriorated under President George Bush.

In 2005, the United States withdrew its ambassador to Damascus in wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria was blamed for the car bombing in Beirut in which Hariri and many of his bodyguards were killed.

The sources said Obama sent emissaries to Syria in September 2008 and pledged that if elected he would reconcile with the regime of President Bashar Assad. After his election victory, they said, Obama sent another message that promised to appoint an ambassador within the first weeks of his administration.

Obama's Islamic agenda continues.

Update on Kanjorski: Additional 9/11 Attack

Kanjorski states that there was a closed meeting of Congress on about the 15th of September. This would be a Monday. But he then lets it slip out that the financial meltdown occurred on a Thursday of the previous week. Thursday was September 11th. The markets were under attack on the anniversary of 9/11.

"The Federal Government Is Bankrupt"

As the Obama administration shoved down the unread $800 billion deficit-spending boondoggle, the true deficit of the federal government should be grasped. The $65.5 trillion in total obligations exceeds the gross domestic product of the world.

The total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account.

The real 2008 federal budget deficit was $5.1 trillion, not the $455 billion previously reported by the Congressional Budget Office, according to the "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" as released by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The difference between the $455 billion "official" budget deficit numbers and the $5.1 trillion budget deficit cited by "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" is that the official budget deficit is calculated on a cash basis, where all tax receipts, including Social Security tax receipts, are used to pay government liabilities as they occur.

But the numbers in the 2008 report are calculated on a GAAP basis ("Generally Accepted Accounting Practices") that include year-for-year changes in the net present value of unfunded liabilities in social insurance programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Under cash accounting, the government makes no provision for future Social Security and Medicare benefits in the year in which those benefits accrue.

"As bad as 2008 was, the $455 billion budget deficit on a cash basis and the $5.1 trillion federal budget deficit on a GAAP accounting basis does not reflect any significant money [from] the financial bailout or Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which was approved after the close of the fiscal year," economist John Williams, who publishes the Internet website Shadow Government Statistics.

"The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fiscal year 2009 budget deficit as being $1.2 trillion on a cash basis and that was before taking into consideration the full costs of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, before the cost of the Obama nearly $800 billion economic stimulus plan, or the cost of the second $350 billion in TARP funds, as well as all current bailouts being contemplated by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve,"

stated Williams.

"The federal government's deficit is hemorrhaging at a pace which threatens the viability of the financial system," Williams added. "The popularly reported 2009 [deficit] will clearly exceed $2 trillion on a cash basis and that full amount has to be funded by Treasury borrowing."

"It's not likely this will happen without the Federal Reserve acting as lender of last resort for the Treasury by buying Treasury debt and monetizing the debt," he said.

"Monetizing the debt" is a term used to signify that the Federal Reserve will be required simply to print cash to meet the Treasury debt obligations, acting in this capacity only because the Treasury cannot sell the huge of amount debt elsewhere.

The Treasury has been largely dependent upon foreign buyers, principally China and Japan and other major holders of U.S. dollar foreign exchange reserves, including OPEC buyers purchasing U.S. debt through London.

"The appetite of foreign buyers to purchase continued trillions of U.S. debt has become more questionable as the world has witnessed the rapid deterioration of the U.S. fiscal condition in the current financial crisis,"

Williams noted.

"Truthfully," Williams pointed out, "there is no Social Security 'lock-box.' There are no funds held in reserve today for Social Security and Medicare obligations that are earned each year. It's only a matter of time until the public realizes that the government is truly bankrupt and no taxes are being held in reserve to pay in the future the Social Security and Medicare benefits taxpayers are earning today."

Calculations from the "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" also show that the GAAP negative net worth of the federal government has increased to $59.3 trillion while the total federal obligations under GAAP accounting now total $65.5 trillion.

The $65.5 trillion total federal obligations under GAAP accounting not only now exceed four times the U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, the $65.5 trillion deficit exceeds total world GDP.

"In the seven years of GAAP reporting, we have seen an annual average deficit in excess of $4 trillion, which could not be possibly covered by any form of taxation," Williams argued.

"Shy of the government severely slashing social welfare programs, federal deficits of this magnitude are beyond any hope of containment, government or otherwise," he said.

"Put simply, there is no way the government can possibly pay for the level of social welfare benefits the federal government has promised unless the government simply prints cash and debases the currency, which the government will increasingly be doing this year," Williams said, explaining in more detail why he feels the government is now in the process of monetizing the federal debt.

"Social Security and Medicare must be shown as liabilities on the federal balance sheet in the year they accrue according to GAAP accounting," Williams argues. "To do otherwise is irresponsible, nothing more than an attempt to hide the painful truth from the American public. The public has a right to know just how bad off the federal government budget deficit situation really is, especially since the situation is rapidly spinning out of control."

"The federal government is bankrupt," Williams stated. "In a post-Enron world, if the federal government were a corporation such as General Motors, the president and senior Treasury officers would be in federal penitentiary."

Maxmimus Porkulus Passes: Bipartisan, Or, American Taxpayers Optional

House Republican leader Congressman John Boehner noted: "Not one" member of the House has read the $787 Billion Stimulus Bill, yet, it passed, with 7 Democrats opposing the boondoggle. "They loaded every big government idea of the last 40 years into this bill," Rep. Jeb Hensaring, R-Texas stated.

Muslim TV Exec Beheads Wife

Graphic source: The Buffalo News

Muzzammil S. Hassan, President & CEO of Bridges TV, founded the first-ever American
Muslim television network in English. The show had a specific intent:

"Every day on television we are barraged by stories of a 'Muslim extremist, militant, terrorist, or insurgent.' But the stories that are missing are the countless stories of Muslim tolerance, progress, diversity, service and excellence that Bridges TV hopes to tell."

That was then; this is now. Hassan, founder of Bridges TV, is charged with murder in the beheading of his wife, Aasiya Hassan.

PA Declares Independence

From the DailyPaul.com, Pennsylvania State Rep. Samuel Rohrer is planning to introduce a resolution reasserting State’s rights:

In an attempt to proclaim and reassert Pennsylvania state government’s independence and sovereignty from the federal government, I plan to introduce a House resolution reminding federal authorities about the constitutional limitations on their powers and calling on them to cease and desist with all activities that infringe on the powers reserved to the state of Pennsylvania and its citizens.

This is an issue that is currently being addressed by more than 20 other states across our nation. Like our sister states, Pennsylvania must draw a line in the sand and reassert its sovereignty.

I am currently circulating the resolution among my peers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Please encourage your family members, friends and acquaintances who live outside our legislative district to contact their House member and urge them to support this measure to protect Pennsylvania’s independence.

Rushdie Still Sentenced to Death By Islamic Fatwa

"It was twenty years ago today" and yet the West still fails to effectively respond to censorship. Twenty years ago Iran ordered the death of British author Salman Rushdie and his publishers for blaspheming Islam. The verdict still stands.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa (religious edict), issued on February 14, 1989, sent Rushdie into hiding under 24-hour police protection, and triggered attacks on bookstores and assassination attempts-–at least one successful-–against the publishers of his controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said this week Khomeini’s death sentence stood. Unlike a political decree, he said, a fatwa remains valid unless nullified by the cleric who issued it.

Khomeini died four months after issuing the decree, but not before declaring in an official statement that “even if Salman Rushdie repents and becomes the most pious man of all time, it is incumbent on every Muslim to employ everything he has got, his life and wealth, to send him to hell.”

Over the years since then, various Iranian leaders have reiterated that the fatwa remains valid, and rewards worth millions of dollars have been offered for Rushdie’s murder.

No other fatwa had played as crucial a role in awakening the Islamic world, said one lawmaker, Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh.

“I call on all zealous Muslims to execute [Rushdie and his publishers] quickly, where they find them, so that no one will dare to insult the Islamic sanctity, “he said. “Whoever is killed on this path will be regarded as a martyr, Allah-willing.”

The Rushdie affair has generated considerable debate over the years about freedom of expression, intolerance, Islamic law (shari’a) and Islamic-inspired violence.

For some free speech advocates, the United Nations’ low-key response to the Rushdie death sentence paved the way for Islamic states and organizations to become increasingly forceful in their response to what they view as insults to Islam, and strengthened their continuing campaign for a global ban on religious “defamation.”

Historian and veteran U.N. observer David Littman noted later that it took four years for the world body’s then top human rights watchdog, the Commission for Human Rights, to include a reference to the case in a resolution.

“This attitude of indifference emboldened member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) sympathetic to the enhancement of the shari’a and they proceeded to try to introduce Khomeini-style restrictions on freedom of speech about certain political aspects of Islam to the United Nations itself,” he wrote in the Middle East Quarterly in 1999.

“Thus did the ‘Rushdie rules’ begin affecting U.N. bodies, and especially the Commission on Human Rights, eating away at international norms.”

A year after the fatwa was issued, OIC member states adopted the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, which says all human rights and freedoms must be subject to shari’a.

Over the ensuing years, the issues raised by the Rushdie fatwa emerged again in more recent controversies involving Islamic sensitivities, such as the furor over the publication in European newspapers of cartoons satirizing Mohammed, and Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders’ provocative documentary linking the Koran and terrorism.

Rushdie and other critics have accused non-Muslim governments, publishers and corporations of practicing self-censorship and appeasement in the face of Muslim threats.

This week alone, an Indian newspaper editor and publisher appeared in a Kolkata court accused of hurting Muslims’ religious feelings after reprinting an opinion piece from a London newspaper that argued for the right to criticize religion; and the British government barred Wilders from entering the country, charging that his beliefs “would threaten community harmony and therefore public security.”

In a recent interview with The Times of London, Rushdie said the West should have realized that the Iranian fatwa was the beginning of a new era.

“There was a tendency from everybody to believe that it was an isolated incident rather than an indicator or something wider, to believe that it was all my fault,” he said.