The First Amendment is Under Attack by Academics to Placate Islamism

Yale University Press has bowed to Islamists by refusing to publish illustrations about Mohammed in a book about, the banned illustrations.

Camp Preparations

A FEMA camp is pictured in Idaho, June 2009 and the National Guard is recruiting
Interment and Re-settlement specialists. The most difficult thing for people to grasp during the Holocaust must have been that it could actually happen to them. Camps are in the works.

Straight From the Horse's Mouth: The White House is Against the First Amendment

The White House is accumulating information against American citizens and the enjoyment of their constitutional liberties.

Excerpt from the August 13 White House Press Briefing with White House press secretary Robert Gibbs:

BQ: The briefings the past 2 days have been unbelievable. Gibbs is out of control, paranoid and defensive; a growing number of press corps are clearly suspicious of the White House admin’s antics.

One of the more interesting exchanges happened between FoxNews.com’s Major Garrett and Gibbs. This is most of the dialogue, with Gibbs cutting Garrett off at the end, never answering his question:

Major Garrett: Do you in any way seek databases or information about people who might be interested in health care?

GIBBS: I will certainly check. I will certainly check. I am not under that impression. But again –

Major Garrett: I mean, folks have emailed me — I just want to know — would like to know how they get an e-mail from the White House when they have never asked for one.

GIBBS: I’d be interested to see who you got that e-mail from and whether or not they’re on the list. I don’t –

Q May I follow up politely on one of Major Garrett’s –

GIBBS: Well, let me — let me finish needling Major.

Q — this row, please.

GIBBS: Again, I just want to be — but I just want to be very –

Major Garrett: So what you’re telling me is I need to give you these people’s e-mails so you can check them on a list? I’m just asking.

GIBBS: Well, you’re asking me if they’re on a list.

Major Garrett: No, they’re telling me –

MR. GIBBS: If you can figure out a different way of checking without asking me to double-check the name, I’m happy to –

Major Garrett: Perhaps I’m not phrasing this correctly. They’re telling me they’re not — they can’t be on a list because they never asked for an e-mail from the White House.

GIBBS: Right, but what I’m saying is I don’t — I’d have to look and see –

Major Garrett: So there’s no — you don’t have an explanation for how someone who never signed up and never asked for anything from the White House would get an e-mail from David Axelrod?

GIBBS: Well, I hesitate to give you an answer, because you might impugn the motives of the answer.

Major Garrett: Why would you say that?

GIBBS: Because of the way you phrased your follow-up. I’d have to look at what you got, Major. I don’t — I appreciate the fact that I have omnipotent clarity as to what you’ve received in your e-mail box today.

Major Garrett: You don’t have to have omnipotent clarity. You don’t have to impugn anything. I’m telling you what I got — e-mails from people who said they never asked anything from the White House –

MR. GIBBS: And I’m simply saying –

Major Garrett: — and yet they received something.

GIBBS: We can — let me go to someplace else that might be constructive.

UPDATE:

BQ: Major Garrett “keeps pushing” in this excerpt from today’s Laura Ingraham radio show.

Major Garrett: Let me update your listeners to what’s happened since.

I hesitated in the briefing to offer up emails because I didn’t have permission from the few people who contacted me.

Laura Ingram: Right, you actually are respecting people’s privacy

Garrett: And since then – it will come to no surprise to you and your listeners – many have emailed me and said, “Here, give these to the White House. I want an explanation.”

I’ve since gone back to Robert [Gibbs] a number of times and said, ok, I have what you requested, let’s have a substantive conversation about this. I’ve gotten no response.

Ingraham: And so how are we gonna get the answer here then?

Garrett: Well, we’re gonna keep pushing. We’re gonna keep pushing.

And there’s a whole additional issue that’s going on right now that’s in the whole other office management budgets out of the White House, y’know O&B recently put out a new change in federal law, a regulation, taking away a 9-year ban on using persistent internet cookies on federal websites. They want to put those in there so if you come to a federal website more than once or twice the federal government can capture your email address. That’s a change in policy that’s being worked out at the federal regulatory process right now but it’s raised concerns among internet privacy advocates that this is something the government hasn’t done; maybe it ought not to.

Now persistent cookies are used by commercial internet sites all the time but –

Ingraham: gmail

Garrett: Yeah, but are we comfortable with the government using that, I don’t know. It’s being worked out. It’s a separate issue but it’s a part of this larger question of the government having an email address and what it may or may not do with it. I’m not suggesting there’s anything nefarious, I just wanna know!

How did someone who never sent anything to the White House get on a list that would make them able to receive directly – not forwarded, I get that, I’m not dense, I don’t misunderstand the concept of forwarding emails. These are not forwarded, they are directly from the White House. How did it happen?

400,000 Military Troops in the U.S.

If this headline from the Progressive, a liberal publication, does not alarm Americans, I do not know what will. Think it can not happen here? Yes, it can. The headline states: "The Pentagon Wants Authority to Post Almost 400,000 Military Personnel in U.S."

The posting of military troops is in conflict with the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. But we being slowly acclimated to accept the presence of military troops posted in the U.S.

In June, the U.S. Northern Command distributed a “Congressional Fact Sheet” entitled “Legislative Proposal for Activation of Federal Reserve Forces for Disasters.” That proposal would amend current law, thereby “authorizing the Secretary of Defense to order any unit or member of the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, and the Marine Corps Reserve, to active duty for a major disaster or emergency.”

Previously, the governors of individual states, as a system of check and balances, maintain control of their own National Guard forces, as well as military personnel acting in a domestic capacity in their states.

NorthCom’s Congressional fact sheet refers not just to a “major disaster,” such as Hurricane Katrina, but also to “emergencies.” And it says, “Those terms are defined in section 5122 of title 42, U.S. Code.”

That section gives the President the sole discretion to designate an event as an “emergency” or a “major disaster.” Both are “in the determination of the President” alone.

That section also defines “major disaster” by citing plenty of specifics: “hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought,” as well as “fire, flood, or explosion.”

But the definition of “emergency” is vague: “Emergency means any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the President, Federal assistance is needed to supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.”

The current definition of emergency can be re-defined with legislation.

But even the ACLU is alarmed by proposed legislation. Mike German, the ACLU’s national security policy counsel, expressed amazement “that the military would propose such a broad set of authorities and potentially undermine a 100-year-old prohibition against the military in domestic law enforcement with no public debate and seemingly little understanding of the threat to democracy.”

Flip Flopper Pelosi from 2006: ‘I’m a Fan of Disruptors"

The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare

Whole Foods CEO weighs in against Obama and he makes sensible, reasonable suggestions for health care reform.

Peacable Assembly

Call out the National Guard! The Federal government is alarmed because, and I quote: "The Secret Service is investigating a Maryland man who held a sign," "another man stood across the street from a Presidential town hall with his gun on full display," "Los Angeles police officers apprehended a man Thursday after a standoff. . . . officials said the man had mental problems," Rush Limbaugh "legitimizes people who are on the edge to go do something or say something," "someone painted a swastika outside the office of Congressman David Scott of Georgia, one of Obama's supporters."

Let me summarize, a man held a sign, as stupid as the saying was, it is just a sign, and he was exercising a First Amendment right; another person, who as research pointed out actually holds a valid concealed weapons permit in his state, New Hampshire, and thus exercising, even as an alarmist article states, his "legal" Second Amendment right; a mentally ill person was in a stand-off in L.A.--seems to be business as usual in Los Angeles; a talk show host spoke, hmmmm, seems like the First Amendment again; and, an unidentified person painted a swastika on an office. Anyone know who? Any identified Nazis in town? Any groups meeting there? Any uptick in violence? Any Brownshirts marching in the streets? Anything of substance at all?

No.

One anonymous person performed a reprehensible act.

None of these isolated actions widely dispersed and unconnected across the entire country are indicative of a rise in racial hostility. They are not even racial incidents.

However, as the alarmist news report attempts to drive up emotion, God forbid, the bad guys are also associated with rock music and the Internet. Goodness, what will they think of next? These people must be truly evil, the article can impugn them with guilt by association with connotations of racial hatred, rock 'n' roll, and the Internet.

The news media is ratcheting up the rhetoric. Another story from Florida notes that: "city officials, meanwhile, are trying to determine what local crimes might be associated with the posting of the images on public and private properties," about a possible suspect who is posting the Obama as Joker posters.

Graphic source: poster of Soetoro as the Joker at the S.R. 50 underpass in Clermont, Tom Benitez, Orlando Sentinel/12 August 2009.

Why is it that the local police are "currently. . . still conducting interviews of victims, witnesses, and other suspects," yet they have not determined what crime was committed? First they are pursuing an individual for an unknown offense, then they will find the crime. Isn't that the fascist way? Let's face it, at the worst this is vandalism, at best it is free speech and worth defending.

Nonetheless, the alarmists, such as the Southern Law Poverty Center and the Secret Service, are implying as a headline states: "Fear Grows for President as Hate Groups Thrive on Racial Backlash." There is no concrete evidence for this position. Evidence exists that stories are manufactured. For example, Fox News reported that an African-American man from Mississippi admitted to posing as a white supremacist to send a death threat across state lines by Facebook. Even the Department of Homeland Security cobbled a threat assessment together from nothing more than pointless Internet drivel and did not follow standard intelligence practices to conclude that hate groups are thriving.

Yet, that watchdog of violence, the Southern Law Poverty Center, states that there is: "a genuine backlash against Obama."

They are correct to a certain extent. People are simply exercising their liberties under the law. The Center and others are mistaking genuine, simple American frustration with Obama and his misguided policies. If every dumb expression was censored then there is no way to distinguish between truth and falsehood. It is more revealing that the opponents of expression are so dumb founded with legitimate dissent. The cognitive dissonance that they are experiencing demonstrates how out of touch they are with ordinary simple expressions of dissent. Not all dissent is violent, the First Amendment states that there exists: "the right of the people peacably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Peaceable assembly is just as American, and just as authentic. Consider Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s example if peaceable assembly is American. The genuine backlash against Obama may, as in the case of King, involve boycotts, demonstrations, marches and other staples of non-violent protest.

The media created a problem: a cult of personality of Obama as the first black president. Actually, he is not black. If he would release his long form birth certificate we might know for certain but by all reasonable accounts he is a product of a white mother and a black father. Thus, he is half-white and half-black. Nonetheless, he was packaged both by the media and in the election rhetoric as black. Despite his black packaging the American people, 53%, voted for him. The Americans, we have to reasonably conclude, did not invoke the "Tom Bradley" effect, named after a former L.A. mayor who did not garnish white voters since as a black man they would not vote for him.

Meanwhile, real people, an African-American Kenneth Gladney, are physically assaulted by Obama's purple-shirted Union thugs SEIU, yet this incident is not mentioned at all as a racial crime. In addition, the most consistent and incindiary anti-Obama statements are made by African-Americans such as Dr. Alan Keyes,

The Reverend Dr. James David Manning,

Manning interviewed on Fox News, Part 1, in the interview, it is Hannity and Colmes who object to Pastor Manning's characterization of Obama.

Manning interviewed on Fox News, Part 2

and Sonja Schmidt.

The estimates vary but white voters by and large voted for Obama and they are off the hook. They are not racist in electoral voting for the presidency.

When will the mainstream media get off this dead horse? They need to stop waving the bloody shirt and move on.

Peaceable assemblies will continue, more to follow. Get used to it.

ACLU Opposes Obama On Privacy

You know Soetoro is in trouble when even the farthest left of organizations, the ACLU for instance, identifies how intrusive Obama's policies are.

Australia Rejects Cap and Tax

Australia had the good sense to reject a cap and tax proposal similar to the one proposed by Obama. One advantage of the Parliamentary system is that the Prime Minister has to amend the bill or face an early election. I wonder how Soetoro would do in a national referendum on his policies right now.

National Guard drill at high school to prepare for possible H1N1 riot

Is it time for America's Reichstag fire? Health care rationing has set the Americans on fire and awakened a sleeping giant, Soetoro is tanking in the polls, and it may just about time to: invent another crisis. Before there is any emergency whatsoever, the military, this time the National Guard, is in the streets and drilling. In Maine, the headline reads: "National Guard drill at high school to prepare for possible H1N1 riot."

Twain on Truth and Fiction

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.

Mark Twain

How to Use the Census to Manipulate Elections

Susan Tully, national field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, explains how the census can be misused to manipulate elections.

Where to Go When You Dump AARP Membership

I dumped AARP and I will receive my remaining membership refund check of $32.15 in 4-6 weeks according to "Vickie Marie." I am disturbed by AARP that suggests supporting health care rationing, despite Barry Soetoro's protestations to the contrary. He knows how the game is played and we should too: AARP of course is "on board" and they support his rationing of health.

I called AARP a week ago and talked to "Steve." I told him my opinion at that time and I was assured that my comments would be taken seriously. In the meantime though, I understand that SEIU remains as a partnering organization with AARP since these "purple shirts" remain listed on AARP's website. You may recall Kenneth Gladney, an unemployed African-American man who attended a Town Hall meeting, trying to raise money by selling patriotic "Don't Tread On Me" flags. The SEIU "purple-shirt" thugs beat him up for his efforts. SEIU remains as a supporter of AARP's "Divided We Fail" campaign, and is listed as a co-sponsor while linked directly to their site from AARP. I noted the connection in my comments to the AARP representative.

As they old saying goes: `Politics makes strange bedfellows' and while checking out AARP's page I also noticed a supporting organization: The Islamic Society of North America. Although ISNA often claims to be a mainstream Muslim organization, it is actually a Wahhabi Muslim organization. The Wahhabi's originate from the extreme purist brand of Islamism characteristic of the Saudi royal family as well as representing the religious background of Osama Bin Laden and his family (Steve Coll, The Bin Ladens, pp. 81-83). Perhaps the Saudi royal family and al-Qaeda does not advocate sound health care practices for Americans and do not wish us well.

It occurred to me also to ask AARP if my comments, since they are "recorded for training purposes," are considered "fishy" and I asked if they would be reported elsewhere, such as to the White House. The answer was in the negative.

In any case, since I am no longer a member of AARP I need to take stock. I considered what services they provide, I get discounts when renting cars and making hotel reservations. Thus, some type of Senior discount membership is useful. Fortunately, there are alternatives. For example, although I am not endorsing anyone in particular, there is another organization that is pro-American and patriot.

AMAC, the Association of Mature American Citizens, may be a handy alternative for others once they cancel their AARP membership. According to their website they state:

As an American, you have the freedom to make your own health care decisions, along with the guidance of your trusted doctor. Imagine this freedom being stripped away by your own government.

Under proposed health care law, your freedom to choose your own doctors, treatments, procedures, and hospital needs would be limited. Government controlled health care would mean rationed health care.

AMAC may be a reasonable alternative and seems to actually advocate the interests of American seniors.

I do not need AARP and apparently they do not need seniors either. Good riddance.

As a follow-up to this blog, according to my blog traffic, D.C. was interested:

Washington, District of Columbia arrived from blogsearch.google.com on "Blog Smith: Where to Go When You Dump AARP Membership" 09:57:59 -- 4 hours 45 mins ago

Washington, District of Columbia arrived from blogsearch.google.com on "Blog Smith: Where to Go When You Dump AARP Membership" 09:37:07 -- 5 hours 6 mins ago

Washington, District of Columbia arrived from blogsearch.google.com on "Blog Smith: Where to Go When You Dump AARP Membership" 09:24:26 -- 5 hours 18 mins ago

Representative and 25 Year Practising Physician, Tom Price, Testifies Before Congress

"Sleeping Giant," A Natural Born Citizen Speaks

"Sleeping Giant" Town Hall protester was once a loyal Democrat but not any more. She is getting calls abusing her as a racist once she opposed health rationing.

Green Is Red

John Bellamy Foster: "The transition to socialism and the transition to an ecological society are one."

Ecology, Capitalism, and Socialism from mrzine on Vimeo.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren Town Hall Meeting: Rationing to Pay for Abortions

Many people do not realize that rationing must include Federal funding for abortions. It is the law and unless an amendment in the various bills explicitly restricts abortion funding, it will be included. I noted this point when Senator Claire McCaskill stated, correctly, in another Town Hall meeting that abortion is not mentioned in the various bills in Congress: exactly. The pro-rationing forces do not want it mentioned or it may engender debate about Federal funding for abortion.

In the Town Hall Q&A a constituent asks Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA 16) to explain why rationing will cover abortions when at least 90% of them are not medically necessary — in other words, the kind of elective surgery that insurance plans usually don’t cover. CA-16 is a heavily Democratic district and she states truthfully: abortion will be Federally funded with rationing, and personally, she believes it should be so.

Soetoro's Facts in Question

Surely Soetoro should name those greedy physicians who are profiting from cutting off feet for profit as he stated at the New Hampshire Town Hall. On the other hand, he irresponsibly states numbers without regard to reality. The American College of Surgeons took issue with Obama: “Surgeons are not paid $30,000 to $50,000 to amputate a diabetic’s foot. Medicare pays a surgeon, on average, from $541.72 to $708.71 for one of two procedures involving a foot amputation.”

Esquire Article About Orly Taitz.

Esquire magazine ran an article about Orly Taitz.

Banned Words in Textbooks: "American"