So... will the draft have to restart under Obama?

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Back in the day, a congressional moron by the name of Rangel dropped legislation to restart the draft.

"Every day that the military option is on the table, as declared by the President in his State of the Union address, in Iran, North Korea, and Syria, reinstatement of the military draft is an option that must also be considered, whether we like it or not," Congressman Rangel said. "If the military is already having trouble getting the recruits they need, what can we do to fill the ranks if the war spreads from Iraq to other countries? We may have no other choice but a draft."

Talk about the irony.

Rangel, best known for his efforts to scam the taxman, was, of course, trying to stick it to President Bush. His efforts was as scummy as leftist efforts to kill Americans by undercutting the Surge.

All of that aside, the empty suited genius running this country has been such an incompetent idiot that our enemies have become increasingly emboldened by his rampant, unending stupidity, and look what we've got to show for it.

Well, yesterday, the NorKs renounced the Armistice that's been in place since 1953.

That means that we are now in a state of war with North Korea.

What to do.... what to do?

We don't have the military assets we need to continue on in Afghanistan while holding down the fort in the vicinity of Iran and simultaneously defending South Korea from that Northern nutjob.

As the rest of the bad guys around the world chat and compare notes, we're undergoing something of a Gulliver attack by the Lilliputians. Our esteemed, Empty-Suited Leader, building his Hearts and Flowers foreign policy, doesn't seem to notice that the hounds nipping at our heals are getting increasingly closer... with much larger bites.

Yes... I pine for the days of a Ronald Reagan... the days where, in the beginning, at least, the world knew exactly who were were, and precisely what they could expect if they screwed with us.

Now, the Moron-in-Chief would have our artillery pieces line up the length of the Korean DMZ and fire UN Resolutions at the massing NorK troops... because "pre-emptive strike" isn't in the American lexicon. Obviously, the NorK's are terrified of Obama and what he might do.

I mean... they are, aren't they? Isn't that why they waited a whole 14 hours to pop that nuke after the Empty Suit told them to behave?

So now, we're in a state of war. Or something. If I'm the US Commander in Korea or SEATO, I'm begging, borrowing or stealing everything I can lay my hands on.

But it's still not enough.

As Obama's miserable foreign policy falls apart because we're the only ones playing by, or concerned with, "the rules," I'm looking around and wondering: where's the wherewithal to fight?

NOW is the time to restart the draft. Now, before it's too late.

We will not have the luxury of time that history has been kind enough to provide us since our inception.

Distance is no longer the barrier it once was. Mutually assured destruction holds no attraction as a serious deterrent to the nut jobs surrounding us now.

So... do we continue to sit on our hands until it's too late?

Or do we start to prepare for the inevitable?

Yes, Americans are going to die because of that short-sighted amateur and his leftist supporters. The only real questions now are "how many" and "where?"

Preparedness now will blunt the losses that our decision to elect Obama will cause. It will give us a chance to survive the upcoming debacle of Obama's incompetence.

Will anyone bother to tell the messiah? Will he listen? Or, now that the teleprompter has blown down... or are we TRULY on our own?
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President Obama: You're kidding.... right? Comrade Sotomayor for Supreme Court

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VIDEO: Sotomayor on the court: 'Where policy is made'...
Sotomayor: 'I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male'...
Prospect's Résumé...
Self described 'Newyorican'...
MAG: The Case Against...
NBC: Would Republicans dare vote against first Hispanic Woman?
McConnell: 'Senate Republicans will treat Judge Sotomayor fairly. But we will thoroughly examine her record'...
NO BIG OPINIONS ON ABORTION...


I GET that this guy is very big on affirmative action, given what it's done for him... but this is absurd.

He actually WANTS to appoint a Justice that directly violates judicial tenets by believing and acting on the concept of usurping legislative prerogative by making "policy" from the bench?

Once again, he's managed to frighten and disgust me.

Well done.
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The debacle of the Obama Fairy-Tale Foreign Policy

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So, what have been the developments since the ascension of the empty suit?

North Korea pops a nuke and fires missiles.

Iran fires missiles and deploys their Navy (such as it is) while continuing to threaten the existence of Israel.

Israel notes his eagerness to sell them out and rightfully tells him to get stuffed.

Russia seems to be ignoring him altogether.

Afghanistan has all of the same problems it had when he were elected 7 months ago, and then some.

Europe was impressed by his shtick, but when it really counted, how much help did they provide for Afghanistan?

Pirates are becoming more emboldened by his incompetence and indecisiveness.

Yes, the security of the world is now in the hands of a buffoonish clown. Give me President Bush every day and twice on Sunday.

(Thanks to the boat-riding leftist for the title correction.)
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Why doesn't Brian Baird give a damn about veterans?

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Memorial Day Weekend is strangely appropriate for this post... a post that provides us with an insight as to where Veterans fit in on our Congressman's list of legislative priorities... and that is...

.... no where.

I've known Brian Baird professionally, that is to say, politically; since he ran for Congress in '98. He has fantastic political instincts, votes his district reasonably well (with few exceptions) and uses his knowledge of human psychology (He is, after all, a Ph.D in psychology... not unlike arguably one of the worst members of congress today, Baghdad Jimmy McDermott out of Seattle's 7th) extremely well. He has shown political courage (His changed stance on Iraq last August flipped out the ultra-fringe left base of the more communist left) along with political cowardice (What's his position on that criminal enterprise known as the Barnett/Paskenta/Mohegan/Cowlitz mega-casino) and political arrogance by failing to demand a vote on this massive, multi-billion dollar money waste known as the I-5 bridge replacement and forgetting all about the simple but eloquent Article One, Section One of the Washington State Constitution:

SECTION 1 POLITICAL POWER. All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.

While quoting Madison from the Federalist Papers as some sort of excuse to ignore us.

Altogether a puzzling, totally political creature.

So... rewind the video tape 5 or 6 years or so. There were hearings underway to determine if our VA facilities should be reduced or closed... it was something of a road show. Patty Murray, our US Senator and number 4 in the democrat leadership (also one of the really big idiots in elective office... ranked "4th dumbest" by Progressive Magazine) who is a pathological liar about how she, personally kept any facilities from closing (If she had that kind of power, none of our facilities would have been even considered for closure)

But there is a red flag here. What kind of power or position has our Congressman amassed during his 6 term tenure? His power ranking is... wait for it... 212th. He's managing to chair the subcommittee on Energy and Environment as a back-bencher of the House Science and Technology Committee.

Now, what that has to do with the 3rd Congressional District and how that helps us is beyond me. His lack of throw weight and gravitas has caused our district to become congressional backwash... which brings me to the point of this post.

As a part of the VA hearings, we held a rally next to the VA facilities across the street from Clark College. Democrats were buried in the minority at the time. I was in the American Legion... holding the District Commander position for this area.

Baird made his pitch about keeping the facilities open (and, in fact, pointing out the obvious; our facilities actually needed to be expanded due to our explosive populatiopn mand veteran growth.) and then came around to shake everyone's hand (Always... ALWAYS.... work the whole room) and when he shook my hand, I looked him in the eye and said, "Brian, it isn't always going to be this way. At some point, you're going to be in power. And when you do... don't forget us."

So, all these years, I've been waiting for him to do something for Veterans. During that time, as a disabled veteran, I've been getting treatment from the VA. I have no complaints at all concerning the treatment. But for the past 2 or 3 years now, many retailers have been selling drugs for $4 worth per month, or $10 per quarter. Not all drugs, mind you, but many of them.

So, I've wondered how it is that drugs the VA charges $24 for 3 months worth can cost $10 at, say, WalMart.

Why is that?

So, last MARCH, I went to Baird's office to find out. There was a rather clueless young man behind the counter, and I gave him my basic information and the following question, to be asked of our congressman:

"Why do drugs cost more at the VA and what are YOU going to do about it?"

He gave me a sob story about Baird's office getting 3000 letters a month (So what, if true) and he told me that it would take 30 days for a response.

In and of itself, that's a terrible standard for a response. When I was on staff in the Legislature, the standard was to reply THAT day if possible, and certainly no latter than the next day.

So I waited. And waited. And waited. I waited 40 days... and no response.

I called AGAIN. I was given a song and dance about how a "mistake" had been made... but they WOULD be getting back with me... IN A ANOTHER 30 DAYS.

Well, guess what: I'm at least SEVENTY days into this... and STILL no response.

This is the worst constituent service I've ever seen. It's bad enough to set the bar so low at 30 days for a response... but SEVENTY days?

Why doesn't Baird care? Why didn't he keep his promise about "not forgetting" about Veterans?

Why doesn't he give a damn about us? Why haven't you answered, Mr. Baird?

Why public service unions typically disgust me: Ridgefield school food proposal draws fire

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Unions seem to come in two basic packages when you're dealing with the government sector.

There's the unions that understand our economic situation and that basically, we all will suffer as long as our economy is heading south, or until the Obama Administration is impeached, since he's doing everything he can to bury us in debt.

Then there's the moronic, viciously greedy, uncaring-that-we-pay-the-bills type, like the 4 unions that sued the Governor because she tossed their labor agreements due to a paltry $10 BILLION deficit.

Ridgefield School Classified Association is one such union.

To save money in the midst of horrific spending cuts, contracting the food services out is under consideration. That would mean that 15 employees would be laid off.

The union is pitching a fit. And to that, I say: That's too damned bad.

When a union president is reduced to lying: "These employees are the essential fabric of what makes our small town schools unique," that shows how out of touch and willing to exaggerate unions are to keep their people going at our expense.

My business is off 54% and it's absolutely attributable to the recession and budget cuts. While I have my thoughts on the causes of the economy, the fact is that our economy sucks, and that means EVERYONE, INCLUDING UNIONS, are GOING to feel the pain of it.

Kudos to the RSB and their Super for thinking outside the box. Unfortunately for the food workers, when their are cheaper alternatives that make sense, their is no compelling reason for these workers not to go.

Of course, instead of whining about it, they might.... just might.... have enough sense to make an alternative, competitive proposal that would allow them to stay.

But, nahhhhhh.... it's easier to whine and snivel and blame. And, because of their "Me, first" attitude, they really won't be missed.


Ridgefield school food proposal draws fire
Union fights plan to lay off 15, switch to contracted service

Saturday, May 23 12:15 a.m.

BY HOWARD BUCK
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

Looks like there's a big food fight brewing in Ridgefield.

Ridgefield School District classified employees say they're furious Superintendent Art Edgerly and the school board would consider terminating 15 food-service workers, to replace them with a contracted company.

The workers' union is urging parents to crowd Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. school board meeting to register displeasure with what its leader calls a "heartless" proposal.

The potential money-saving move comes while Ridgefield sports a relatively healthy budget in a year when other Clark County districts are wrestling with multimillion-dollar deficits.

District officials have sent a contract service feasibility study to the state education office, the Ridgefield Classified Association said in a withering statement issued Friday.

"These employees are the essential fabric of what makes our small town schools unique," said Denise Krause, classified union president.

"This is the wrong direction for the board and district to take," Krause said. Many food-service workers are low-wage, low-hour employees whose families face tough times, she said. To fire them now "is heartless" when the district has more than $2 million in reserves, she said.

The current operating budget for the 2,000-student district is about $18 million.

More:

Is there some reason we should care WHO won American Idol?

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I'm reminded of the brilliant comedienne, Gilda Radner (Tragically dead at 42 of ovarian cancer) who was famous for, among other things, portraying a character named Emily Latella on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update.

One of those bits included a phrase: "What's all this about Endangered Feces?" (As opposed to endangered species.)

I haven't watched American Idol for a while now. I was (and am) taken by a great talent that Simon discovered on "Britain's Got Talent," one Paul Potts. Mr. Potts was a terrible character of a man who, apparently, showed up out of a clear blue sky to, as he put it, "sing opera."

As this youtube shows (The show forbids embedding) it's a rather heart-warming story. The only problem is that I believe it to be a complete tank job.

This guy goes out there, has a recording turned on, music plays, and he sings.

The music was professionally done by an orchestra, and, to my untrained ear, it sounds EXACTLY like the SAME music Potts used on his rapidly-released, post victory CD... with, of course, Simon Cowell owning this guy, to including making the movie about him.

Paul, 37, from Port Talbot in South Wales, went on to sign a £1 million deal with Simon's record label after winning the show. His debut album, One Chance, has sold three million copies so far and this year he is headlining 65 concerts in 13 countries.

After? Clearly, Cowell knew Potts or knew of Potts, before his performance.

The same can be said of Paul Potts, Ver. 2.0, one Susan Boyle. Too perfect. Too heart-tugging... and too owned by Cowell... though I freely admit that AI started this year before the Boyle performance.

The problem I have is that this whole thing smacks of a setup... the rough equivalent of a months-long infomercial, used to pre-market Cowell's latest project... and this is no different.

To that end, I decided that, like the Survivor shows... if these are tank jobs... why watch? So, I haven't bothered this year, nor will I likely do so in the future.

Which brings me to the outcome of this year's effort: Because one remaining contestant was a character of what seemed to be a gay man, and the other seemed to be a character of a Christian man, leftist blogs have lit up like a Christmas tree about how the outcome was a Christian Conspiracy.

I can't help but believe two things: first, that as a voice of the great unwashed center, I could care less.

Second, the idea that Christians would vote for one guy based on his faith while leftists wouldn't vote for the other based on his alleged sexuality is absurd.

In short, the conspiracies amount to a wash. For the left wing whackos attacking those they disagree with, this is just another day and another issue to strike out against those wise enough to disagree with their nonsense.

"Can't we all just get along?" Can't we all figure out that if the gay character has superior talent, he'll make a fortune singing whether he's the number one or number two of AI? Can't we all figure out that winning this thing guarantees nothing, and that, in the end, time will tell?

Some who've won have gone on to success. Others? I can't remember their names. I, personally, for example, believe the best music has come from Chris Daughtry, and he was a 4th place finisher if memory serves.

So, for all you leftist conspiracy theorists, please get over it... and get over yourselves.

Babble on if you will, but we really don't care. Really.
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More hypocrisy from our local newspaper: The Columbian - In our view, May 21: Discrimination Fades

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So, those who don't want to vote on this referendum don't have to. But to insult and silence those who might not agree? The frequent bigotry of gay marriage supporters cannot be denied.

"What is needed now is a truce — temporary, perhaps, but better if extended — between the two opposing factions that are at war over the word "marriage."

What a bizarre perspective.

One of the major problems (of the many) with editorialists on this paper is an inability to be forthright.

This paper wants a "truce" because gay-marriage proponents have gained 99 percent of what they want, and this paper does not want the Prop 8 scenario to play out here, since they rabidly support gay marriage as much as they rabidly support the I-5 bridge replacement/loot rail debacle.

For those who demand gay marriage, just like for those who oppose it, there can be no such thing as a "truce..." Advocating that those opposed to this development remains silent, particularly when this "truce" would represent a victory for the side this paper represents and a crushing defeat for the side this paper loathes, is an underhanded way to demand that the anti-side just accept it.

Gay marriage has NEVER been voted into place by the people. As a result, this sorry effort just serves as yet another in the series of Columbian hypocrisies, where in they're all ABOUT the "will of the people" when it suits them or they want it, but are violently opposed to that same will if there is a risk where, as is typically the case, the people ignore the collective "wisdom" of this newspaper and go in another direction.

Once again, they PICK the issues where they fear our will... and make every effort to tell us that what WE want doesn't matter... when they don't happen to like what that might be.

Instead of saying "truce," this paper should have just come out and said something to the effect of "OK, we've got most of what we want, now... so it's time for those opposing this to shut the hell up, and end any effort to find out if the PEOPLE want this."

This is the rank hypocrisy of this publication that keeps me from buying it. This is the double-standard that is editorial policy by social engineers who think we're too stupid to think for ourselves.

Yup. These morons are ALL about getting our "will" when and WHERE they want it. But when we MIGHT oppose them?

They don't want to hear it where it counts... at the ballot box.

No "truce" (which this despicable waste of pulp uses as a euphemism for demanding acceptance of what THEY want) is in the offing. And one can bet that had this bill died in the legislature, you can damned well bet that these morons wouldn't be asking for a "truce" THEN, would they?





In our view, May 21: Discrimination Fades
Governor signs bill that expands rights of domestic partnerships; it’s time for a truce
Thursday, May 21 1:00 a.m.

When discrimination dies, it doesn't always go quickly or quietly. Sometimes, prejudice passes incrementally. Although a judicial ruling might serve the same purpose of kicking down a door, the legislative process often unfolds in stages.

One of those seemingly small but profound steps occurred Monday when Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill that grants domestic partners all of the rights and privileges enjoyed by married couples. The measure often has been called the "everything but marriage" bill. We'll get to the semantics debate a little later.

First, though, we'll point out that the bill is significant because it accords long-overdue equal rights to more than 5,300 domestic partnerships that have been registered in two years. Domestic partnerships of gay or lesbian couples were recognized by the Legislature in 2007. The law also allows unmarried, senior heterosexual couples to register as domestic partners. That's more than 10,000 people, representing all 39 counties, who have gained virtually all of the rights of married spouses. As Gregoire said at the bill signing, those rights "will make for stronger families, and when we have stronger families, we have a stronger Washington state."

Among the latest rights granted to domestic partnerships are those related to sick leave to care for a domestic partner, unemployment and disability insurance benefits, business succession rights, adoption and child custody. In recent years, rights were accorded relative to hospital visitation rights, beneficiaries, the right to refuse to testify against each other in court and public assistance provisions.

What is needed now is a truce — temporary, perhaps, but better if extended — between the two opposing factions that are at war over the word "marriage." The day might come when that word applies to gays and lesbians. But it's not here yet, and for now, the best strategy is for everyone to calm down, recognize marriages and domestic partnerships as they are recognized by law, and save the semantics war for another day.

More, if you can stomach this rank hypocrisy.

A glimpse at the future Barnett/Paskenta/Mohegan/Cowlitz megacasino.

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We haven't heard much about that lately, although I get the feeling we will. A lot.

That said, here's a snapshot of the way a local tribal casino is run. It certainly isn't that far from the reality that the arrogant, ego-driven, absentee landlords of the Barnett/Paskenta/Mohegan/Cowlitz would impose on THIS community.

Enjoy.

Business

Wednesday May 20, 2009 - Tacoma, WA

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Study critical of the two Emerald Queen casinos

Puyallup tribe: $40 million in net profit lost; employees work in state of fear, auditors’ report says

DEAN J. KOEPFLER/NEWS TRIBUNE FILE

Many nights, the parking lot at the Emerald Queen Casino is full, just as it was one night in September 2008. But an audit requested by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians was critical of the ways the tribe’s two casinos are run.

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• Puyallups deserve better from casinos

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Buzz up!

Emerald Queen boss survives council vote

Frank Wright, the Emerald Queen’s general manager and perhaps the most powerful person in the Puyallup Tribe, nearly lost his job last week over allegations of financial misconduct.

The tribal council deadlocked 3-3 Tuesday on a motion to oust him. He was saved when council chairman Herman Dillon cast a tie-breaking vote in his favor.

Wright has run the tribe’s gambling operation since 1997 when it was housed in a single Mississippi-style riverboat tied up on the Blair Waterway in Tacoma’s industrial Tideflats area.

Contacted last week, Wright said he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Tribal spokesman John Weymer would not say specifically what Wright is accused of or when the investigation was likely to be finished.

“The tribe has a process in place for analyzing and investigating what has happened here, and the investigation is not complete,” Weymer said Friday.

Rob Carson, The News Tribune

ROB CARSON; The News Tribune

Published: 05/17/09 12:05 am Updated: 05/17/09 2:58 pm

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By just about any measure, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians’ gambling enterprise has been an overwhelming success.

The tribe’s two Emerald Queen casinos, across Interstate 5 from each other in Fife and Tacoma, have been reliable money machines, consistently churning out $125 million or more in net profit in recent years.

The flow of casino cash has swept the tribe from poverty to affluence in just 12 years. Each of the tribe’s 3,500 members receives a $2,000 share of profits every month.

With about 2,000 employees, the gaming operation is the fourth-largest private sector employer in Pierce County. The casinos have turned the tribe into a powerful political force and a generous benefactor of local nonprofits, ranging from the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium to the Daffodil Festival.

But lately, the casino picture has not been so pretty.

The recession has reduced profits, tribal leaders say, and a recent analysis by a national consulting firm delivered scathing criticism.

According to a confidential analysis by Lamar Associates, a security investigative firm based in Washington, D.C., the Emerald Queen casinos are wracked with mismanagement, poor morale, inadequate security and dismal ambiance.

Problems are so severe, the report said, that the casinos essentially throw away millions of dollars each year in potential profits.

“The Emerald Queen Casino is leaving approximately $40 million a year in revenue on the table,” the Lamar report concluded. “Immediate changes are necessary to protect the tribe’s gaming assets and to ensure that maximum revenue is generated.”

FINAL REPORT LEAKED

The Lamar investigation, commissioned last summer by the tribal council, was headed by Joe Manno, a former senior vice president at Caesar’s World and manager of Las Vegas’ Bally Casino.

Manno and six other investigators spent four days at the casinos last summer and several subsequent weeks poring through casino records.

Their findings were supposed to be confidential, but a frustrated casino employee leaked a copy of the final report to The News Tribune earlier this month.

Tribal council members declined to comment directly on the report, instead directing inquiries to tribal spokesman John Weymer. He said Friday he was unable to make a statement because a quorum of the council was unavailable to coordinate a response.

The Lamar report does not mention the casinos’ general manager, Frank Wright, by name, but he ultimately is responsible for their operation. When contacted last week, he said the tribal council had not authorized him to speak to the media and therefore he could make no comment.

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SO... where's the leftist outrage? Democratic fundraiser convicted of corruption

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It wasn't that long ago... the leftists whining and sniveling over GOP corruption, both real and imagined. "Transparency!" was the order of the day, and demands for character and integrity.

And now, we're met with, perhaps, the most opaque Administration in history... and corruption everywhere from the criminal tax cheats and lobbyists that Obama, post-campaign-promise-to-the-contrary, have plugged into his Cabinet and offices like a Glade air-stinkener.

And now, we have additional proof of DEMOCRAT corruption.

It's been my position for a long time that BOTH parties engage in corruption, at least on the individual level. Yet the leftists rarely express concern over the issue when it's their guys engaging in the practice.

Norman "Stormin' Norman" Hsu found guilty... of violating campaign finance laws for the left... sort of a one man ACORN.

Yet, there appears to be little of that old-fashioned "outrage" of our leftist brethren. Why?

No honor among thieves?

The problem here of the silence of the left is that when they really DO discover corruption, it will be very hard to believe their typically exaggerated, politically motivated claims... since they totally implement a double standard of hypocrisy on the matter.

Well done, leftists. You make us all proud with your silence.

Politics & Government

Democratic fundraiser convicted of corruption

Longtime fundraiser Norman Hsu was convicted Tuesday of violating campaign finance laws in a case that became an embarrassment to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other prominent Democrats he courted.

By TOM HAYS

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK —

Longtime fundraiser Norman Hsu was convicted Tuesday of violating campaign finance laws in a case that became an embarrassment to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other prominent Democrats he courted.

A jury in federal court in Manhattan deliberated less than three hours over two days before returning the guilty verdict. Hsu, already jailed following an earlier guilty plea, showed no reaction as he was led out of court.

"I think he expected it because it was quick," said his attorney, Alan Seidler. The lawyer said there would be an appeal.

Hsu, 58, had been accused of using clients of his fraudulent investment business, including actors and other political novices, as straw donors to make thousands of dollars in campaign donations. The scheme was designed to bypass rules limiting the amount any single individual or group can donate.

During the trial that began May 12, television actress Susan Chilman testified that she given nearly $42,000 to Clinton and other Democratic candidates. Once she took out her checkbook, Hsu would simply give her a name and an amount, then later reimburse her, said Chilman, who's had roles in "Brothers & Sisters," "CSI Miami" and "ER" under the stage name Susan Pari.

Jurors also heard testimony from several other investors who recounted how Hsu showed off his political connections by decorating his home with photos of himself with marquee Democrats. One witness testified she met President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, President Bill Clinton, Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Ted Kennedy and Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island at fundraisers she attended with him.

Prosecutors played a voicemail recording of Clinton, then a senator, effusively praising Hsu for his loyal support.

More:

Governor: restore the State Auditor's Funding.

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Neat, isn't it?

The leftists running the Leg always seem to be able to find a way to scrounge up cash for crap like this:

$750,000 for Ward Lake purchase for Olympia parks...

$1.115 million for the Vashon Arts Center...

$325,000 for the Federal Way Performing Arts Center...

$950,000 for a "Zina Linnik Park"...

So, not only do they ignore the expressed will of the people via the initiative process, they hamstring the Auditor, Brian Sonntag, from implementing I-900 as the PEOPLE of this state demanded.

Is there some PARTICULAR reason the leftists don't want Brian lifting their rocks to see what crawls out underneath?

Ron Hebron over at Sound Politics nails it:

Sound Politics
Sound Commentary on Current Events in Seattle, Puget Sound and Washington State

May 18, 2009

State Auditor Sonntag plays hardball over "dumb" cut to performance audits

In their desperation to save money the Legislature made a cut that will result in more spending, not less. State Auditor Brian Sonntag has made some real hits (baseball analogy) with his performance audits. He is hurting our elected officials' ability to protect their favorite programs and hire each other's kids. He is using objective measures and informed judgment. They just had to do something!

Seattle Times Newspaper:

State Auditor Brian Sonntag is a serious baseball fan. He's a regular at Mariners games and has a rack stuffed with 20 wooden bats in his office. An inscribed ceramic ball on his desk reads: "Sometimes you just have to play hardball."

Hardball is what the 57-year-old Democrat seems to have in mind when it comes to fighting the Legislature's $29 million cut to his performance-audit program, which seeks to find efficiencies in state and local governments.

He's asked Gov. Chris Gregoire to restore at least some of the money, saying the cut "decimates" a program that's found millions in potential savings. Gregoire is expected to decide by Tuesday.

Sonntag has publicly described the money grab as a "sucker punch" and has thrown around words like "stupid," "dumb," "ridiculous" and "unacceptable" when talking about the plan. That's not how politicians typically describe the work of other elected officials, especially members of their party who control the purse strings.

Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, said Sonntag is blowing the impact of the cut out of proportion. Her advice to him: "Cool it."

... Sonntag's office said it's working on a report that will show how much money the audits have saved.

It's not available yet, but the office points to an audit of the state Department of Labor and Industries as an example. The audit recommended ways to improve the agency's collection of benefit overpayments. As a result, the department had a 50 percent increase in collections, worth $4.6 million in 2007, according to the auditor's office and Labor and Industries.

Overall, Sonntag's office has received high marks for several performance audits, including a 2007 review of the Port of Seattle that said its contracting practices were lax and ripe for fraud and abuse. The audit prompted a federal investigation and a Port-funded probe that identified 10 cases of fraud.

A series of audits of the state Department of Transportation, however, received mixed reviews.

...If you agree with distinguished Senator Prentice then sit on your hands. If you agree with Sonntag then call Chris Gregoire.

See also Save Perfornance Audits - Evergreen Freedom Foundation - Olympian "Give the money back to audit program"

At one of those sources I saw the email addresses of Chris Gregoire's senior staff members in a comment; don't recall which.

Posted by Ron Hebron at May 18, 2009 07:17 AM Email This

____________________________________________________

In a war of money, keeping your top defense organization from getting the right kind and number of bullets makes absolutely zero sense.

Zero.

Restore the damned money. Knock of this kind crap before the people REALLY get steamed.

Or don't. And we'll see you in November next year.

Thanks to the Columbian and Lou Brancaccio for strengthening opposition to the massive waste of money known as the I-5 Bridge replacement.

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I've got to admit I was stunned and amazed. The Columbian has provided, literally, millions of dollars worth of in-kind advertising in the form of fake polls and "articles" in support of ramming this despicable project down our collective throats.

Yet, yesterday's article (with the obvious title, answered "yes") "$4 billion: Too much for this?" provided any sane, unbiased individual with all of the facts needed to condemn the idea of replacing the I-5 Bridge for the purpose of getting light rail into Vancouver.

What the article proved to me is that we don't need to replace the bridge. Period. And for that, I do have to thank Brancaccio for providing all the reasons needed to trash this project, even though it means we will have already wasted in excess of $140,000,000 in taxpayer money for the nonsensical stack of paper that failed to address what really needs to happen here... the development of a new bridge elsewhere.

Wagner on the current bridge:

Wagner said he has no doubts the existing crossings are safe, so much so that he drives and cycles across the spans without hesitation.

"If we don't have an earthquake of any magnitude, those two bridges are going to stay there until something hits them," he said.

First and foremost: Wagner tells us that the current bridge is SAFE. Get that? SAFE. That is a lack of SAFETY has no place in the replacement discussion.

He expresses concern about earthquakes... but then says nothing about the easiest, simplest, fastest, cheapest solution: retrofit.

And, of course, the type of earthquake he envisions could well flatten a new bridge as well, since the new bridge provides no guarantees, meaning that all our $4 billion... or $5 billion or $6 billion (These projects ALWAYS cost MUCH more than they say, and the cost overruns are ALWAYS huge...) only gets us a CHANCE at a better earthquake response. I'm not willing to spend BILLIONS on a chance... especially when the real reason is to bring light rail into Vancouver.

Second: Wagner tells us, “The existing spans, opened in 1917 and 1958, are structurally sound.”

That is, the bridge isn't falling down any time real soon. Further, there was nothing here about retro-fitting the current bridge to make it more able to withstand the earthquakes light rail fans use to hide the real reason for this bridge.

Third: Wagner tells us that even when constructed,

“…during a 3 hour stretch of southbound morning commute, traffic would crawl along at 10mph or slower across the replacement bridge through Hayden Island and portions of north Portland.”

So... we're going to spend an unknown number of BILLIONS of dollars for this?

Fourth: "We have a bridge that's functioning, maybe not as good as we would like, but it's there, it's safe, it's open, the freeway's moving,"

These are ALL reasons NOT to build this horrific waste of money.

What they are, are reasons to build an ADDITIONAL bridge SOME WHERE ELSE.

I am not concerned with the excuses or legalities of finding ways and reasons not to ask us if we want this proven-to-be-unneeded bridge.

Morally and ethically, if not any other way, the reason to get our permission FIRST is clear: this thing will suck as much as $100,000,000 per year out of our local economy and away from many families that simply will not be able to afford this massively unneeded project.

I get why this interview didn't take place with, say, a Pollard. No politician shilling this thing wants to eat their own words in the next election... and they will.

NOTHING provided in this interview even BEGINS to justify this massive expense. When Wagner says: "The two sides of the river have to come together on what's going to happen," he's lying. What he SHOULD say is that the 35 or 40 self-appointed people who want to ram this thing down our throats without a vote are agreeing on the execution... kind of like saying "we'll go with a hanging, instead of a firing squad."

When Wagner says: "And on the Clark County side, while there is growing support for light rail," he's lying AGAIN.

With each of the many stabbings, shootings, robberies and massive expenses of Max, if anything, support for light rail is completely down the toilet. And he offers nothing to back this assertion.
Unfortunately, reading these obvious falsities shows that Mr. Wagner is delusional. He's spun this as positively as he could because he personally stands to benefit from this project.

What he thinks about voting on this is completely irrelevant. As a bureaucrat, Wagner can feel free to ignore us as he marches forward doing everything he can to make this happen. But interviewing THIS guy?

Besides shooting this project in the foot... what more did that accomplish?

So, I do appreciate Mr. Brancaccio's article, although I'm mystified as to why he would print something that confirms the position of many bridge opponents while weakening the position of the loot rail scammers, including himself, that have, while simultaneously providing literally millions in in-kind coverage, including using fake polls, to support this massive, colossal, utter waste of taxpayer resources.

$4 billion: Too much for this?

Bridge official says discussions now under way to pare massive project

Saturday, May 16 3:03 p.m.

BY JEFFREY MIZE
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

There may not be enough money to build a bridge, freeway and transit project costing $4 billion or more, the top state transportation official in Southwest Washington told The Columbian.

Planners and engineers already are looking to slash costs on the multibillion-dollar Columbia River Crossing project, even while the community continues to haggle over bridge design and other sticking points, said Don Wagner, the Washington State Department of Transportation's regional administrator.

Possible cuts include delaying one or more of the interchange projects and slicing off a bridge lane in each direction, he said.

"Just like most of us in the real world, we dream about the car we want," Wagner said in a wide-ranging interview last week. "And at some point, stark reality says, 'Huh. I dream about it, but I don't have quite enough money to get it all today. Maybe I need to take off a few of the options off of this car.' And we are starting those conversations right now."

Wagner said he doesn't believe it's politically possible to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge without extending light rail into Vancouver and predicted the crossing project
would be on "life support" if voters shoot down a light-rail measure.

Despite those looming obstacles, there are benefits to replacing the I-5 Bridge, namely a 70 percent to 90 percent easing of congestion at one of the region's most notorious bottlenecks, Wagner said.

Money remains a constant consideration. Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has suggested the region might be looking to build too much. Last month, Kulongoski used a similar car analogy, saying that "some of us like to go into the Maserati dealership" but "there is always the day of reckoning."

Wagner, however, declined to call the crossing project a Maserati or even a Cadillac.

"What we have out there is a good solid Chevy, with a few extra options on it right now," he said.

Removing a bridge lane — a significant revision given the heated battle that occurred earlier this year to get both sides of the river to back a bridge with six lanes in each direction — would save roughly $150 million, Wagner said.

Between $200 million to $300 million could be trimmed from the budget if overhauling the state Highway 500 interchange was delayed, and another $400 million to $500 million could be saved if the Marine Drive interchange in Oregon wasn't rebuilt, he said.

"There would be a lot of unhappy campers, people saying, 'But I thought I would get this?'" Wagner said. "But it would be a safe structure; it would be a functional approach. It would include proper tie-ins of all the interchanges. They just wouldn't have as many lanes on them. You might have to wait in line to get onto the freeway."

Saving another $750 million by killing light rail isn't going to happen, Wagner said.

"The two sides of the river have to come together on what's going to happen," he said. "And on the Clark County side, while there is growing support for light rail, I am going to stop way short of saying that everybody likes light rail because I've certainly had enough people tell me that they don't like light rail.

"But our side of the river seems to be one that says, 'Look, we have to have highway improvements out there or we don't have a project.' On the Oregon side of the river, it's really pretty close to just the opposite. If they don't have light rail, they have no reason to be at the table. And this project can't be built without money coming from both states."

Public vote

Although there is no requirement for a public vote on either building a replacement bridge or imposing tolls that could cost commuters more than $1,000 a year, a vote will be needed on one or more aspects of light rail.

More:

Hitler weighs in on the Pelosi debacle.

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We're stuck with such a titanic moron for Speaker, that even Adolf had to weigh in.



HT to This Ain't Hell

So, Obama is finally getting it? "Long-Term Debt Load 'Unsustainable?'"

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Well, duhhhh.

Even your lowly blogger here knew that.

Our president's ability to print money has only been limited by an inability to either cut down trees or produce ink fast enough, and only now is he getting worried about "sustainability?"

The Congressional Budget Office warned Obama before he engaged in his reckless, incompetent handling of our economy, putting us in trillions of dollars of debt, debt that our children won't be able to pay off.

His handling of the economy has been a disaster. He's been warned along the way that it's been a disaster. He, personally, bears much of the responsibility for talking down our economy in such a way that it enabled him to scam Congress into voting for a bill that no one had even read... all in the name of his non-existent "transparency," of course.

The time for the President to have considered this increasingly likely outcome was BEFORE he pulled out his shovel and started tossing fiscal dirt on us and our future.

That we are at risk is unquestionable. That our President's incompetent handling of this crisis is, in large part, responsible for this situation is equally difficult to question.

The President stupidly (Yes, I said "stupidly.") tells us:

“Most of what is driving us into debt is health care, so we have to drive down costs,” he said.

That's a crock. What's jacking up our debt load is his out-of-control spending for every leftist special interest group that helped him get elected.

Better late than never, I suppose. But what pain he'll have accomplished along the way.

Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable’ (Update2)

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By Roger Runningen and Hans Nichols

May 14 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.

“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”

Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”

Earlier this week, the Obama administration revised its own budget estimates and raised the projected deficit for this year to a record $1.84 trillion, up 5 percent from the February estimate. The revision for the 2010 fiscal year estimated the deficit at $1.26 trillion, up 7.4 percent from the February figure. The White House Office of Management and Budget also projected next year’s budget will end up at $3.59 trillion, compared with the $3.55 trillion it estimated previously.

Two weeks ago, the president proposed $17 billion in budget cuts, with plans to eliminate or reduce 121 federal programs. Republicans ridiculed the amount, saying that it represented one-half of 1 percent of the entire budget. They noted that Obama is seeking an $81 billion increase in other spending.

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Madame Speaker, as a rule, when you're in a hole, it's best to stop digging.

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Madame Speaker, I've noticed that you have taken to engaging in that trite democrat practice, of, well, lying a lot.

Since you began to take power, most of the things you've said have been a lie.

You lied about enforcing a 5 day work week; you lied about getting us out of Iraq, you lied about pork in the stimulus and the budget... and now... you're lying about waterboarding.

Thousands of people have come here to read about Pelosi's lies and look at the video where she lies on camera.

Well, here's another video lie:



Now, as her "what did she know and when did she know it" lies are falling apart, all of a sudden, she's blaming the CIA.... for lying to her?

Gee. That's believeable.

"They mislead us all the time," she said. And when a reporter asked whether the
agency had lied, Pelosi said yes."

Yet... what did she do with her knowledge of this so-called "torture?"

Nothing.

She has a long-established pattern of lying when the mood strikes.

And it's pretty clear that the mood has struck.

Stop digging, Mademe Speaker. You're burying all of us. And when your level of liability becomes such that you get replaced, you'll have done women everywhere a disservice by not only being the first female speaker... but the first speaker to lose the job because of incompetence.

Unforced errors suck in tennis. They REALLY suck in Congress.

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CURL: The Speaker misspeaks

By Joseph Curl POLITICAL THEATER Friday, May 15, 2009

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, her eyes wide, her hands gesticulating wildly, on Thursday laid out a third version of what she knew and when she knew it on the Bush administration's interrogation policies, edging ever closer to debating what the meaning of the word "is" is.

With her own second-in-command now demanding more answers, the California Democrat, her voice barely audible at times, read a rambling statement at her weekly press briefing about her prior knowledge of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" (EITs) employed by under President Bush, asserting that she was not told in a September 2002 briefing that the U.S. government used waterboarding.

Minutes later, though, she acknowledged for the first time that her top security adviser was part of a February 2003 briefing in which he learned that American interrogators were in fact waterboarding suspected terrorists.

"My statement is clear, and let me read it again. Let me read it again. I'm sorry. I have to find the page," said a flustered Mrs. Pelosi, shuffling through papers, her hands quivering a bit, as she sought to stick to her prepared text.

"When — when — when my staff person — I'm sorry, the page is out of order — five months later, my staff person told me that there had been a briefing — informing that there had been a briefing and that a letter had been sent. I was not briefed on what was in that briefing; I was just informed that the briefing had taken place," she said.

RELATED:
• Pelosi: Bush 'misled' Congress on waterboarding• Democrats tout breakthrough on climate push• Report citing veteran extremism is pulled

The speaker's weekly press conference in her ceremonial office drew a standing-room-only crowd of reporters tracking the steady drip, drip, drip of revelations that have streamed out over the past several weeks. Clad in a key-lime green pantsuit and smiling broadly, Mr. Pelosi charged that the CIA lied to Congress and that House Republicans are using "a diversionary tactic" to deflect criticism from Mr. Bush.

Aside from not being briefed on what was in that briefing, she said she was very busy at the time — "I was fighting the war in Iraq at that point, too, you know" — and battling a Bush administration that was "misleading the American people about the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

Repeatedly clearing her throat, she explained that she was briefed by the CIA in 2002, while on the House Intelligence Committee. Agency records indicate the Sept. 4 briefing included "a description of the particular EITs that had been employed" on al Qaeda detainee Abu Zubaydah, then the only suspected terrorist in U.S. custody. The previous month, he had been waterboarded 82 times.

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This article is now the Columbian's dirty little secret:

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My entry below was written early this morning as it was one of the stories on the Columbian web page.

And while this article hasn't been deleted... as I write this, there is no reference to it on the Columbian's web site that doesn't require a search.

Why?

It's an article from today (13 May) at 1:15 a.m. Why is it gone so that most people will not know it was ever there?

If I hadn't just happened on it early this morning, there';s a good chance I never would have known about this tax break passing.

Is this newspaper ashamed of themselves?

I doubt it. They just don't want the hassle.
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Surprise! While the REST of the business community suffers, the Columbian (among others) scam a tax cut for newspapers.

Last February, word leaked out that the newspapers around here were making an effort to scam special consideration from the legislature, because, well, they're newspapers.

I challenged that assertion; the people of this state should not be tasked with being forced to support an outmoded, obsolete business model when we're not being given any choice in the matter.

Since democrats control the government of this state, and since newspapers in this state endorse in elections like the democrat party was paying them, however, I should have known that the dumb asses in the legislature would sell us out to give their buddies a tax cut... while ignoring the rest of us in small business as our revenues plunge and we ALL suffer.

I guess it pays to know people... right?

"Blethen (Of the Seattle Times) said he understands that lawmakers may wonder why newspapers should get tax relief when other businesses are hurting.

"The answer is the unique role of newspapers," he said. "The unique role that they play in society and the unique role that they play in our self-government and the unique role they play in binding and creating community."

That's a crock, of course. In the age of the internet, no one cares except the unions that
print the papers and the leftists using them as democrat party organs.

Well, the d's delivered the pay offs in spades... so, assuming our own waste of wood pulp hasn't managed to go out of business by November, next year, we can expect yet another round of leg-humping for the left.

After all, the democrats bought them, fair and square.



Wash. gov OKs tax cut for newspapers

Tuesday, May 12 7:45 p.m.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has approved a tax break for the state's troubled newspaper industry.

The new law gives newspaper printers and publishers a 40 percent cut in the state's main business tax. The discounted rate mirrors breaks given in years past to the Boeing Co. and the timber industry.

Newspapers across the country have resorted to layoffs and other cost-cutting moves to deal with a wounded business model and a recession-fueled drop in advertising.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer printed its final edition earlier this year and was converted to an Internet-only publication with a much-reduced staff.

Gee.... the Columbian is going to blow a gasket over this one: US Senate Backs Allowing Guns In National Parks

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Last December, the Columbian blew a gasket over allowing guns into parks... as if they were some sort of zone where criminals (The odd murderer/robber aside) simply don't tread, thus there is no conceivable need for non-criminals to be allowed their Second Amendment rights inside the borders of this federal property.

"... Jeers: To the Bush administration for overturning a 25-year-old rule and allowing people with concealed-weapon permits to carry loaded guns into national parks and wildlife refuges. The Columbian opposed this effort back in May, and, more compellingly, the change was opposed earlier by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees. Yet this week the Interior Department announced that the new provision will take effect in January if the state in question allows concealed weapons.

"According to The Seattle Times, the change will have limited impact in Washington state. Even though the state has a concealed weapons program, the Times reported, “many visitors won’t be able to pack a gun because Washington only recognizes concealed-weapons permits from a handful of states with requirements as stringent. That’s just eight states, the closest of which is Utah.”

"So, in addition to loaded guns being taken into previously pastoral parks and crowded campgrounds, there now is this huge new bureaucratic and enforcement nightmare. We hope the next administration reverts to the old rule."

The idiocy of such a position is obvious to someone not blinded by a bizarre, leftist, anti-gun agenda. And the verbiage?

"So, in addition to loaded guns being taken into previously pastoral parks and crowded campgrounds"

As if the view is somehow diminished by my decision to carry a concealed .45 Colt Combat Commander?

As I stated before: Idiots.

As I had written:

"In situations like these, I tend to think of those writing these editorials in terms of "what would THEY want if their life was on the line?"

If these writers were at risk in a classroom. If there was a Columbine-style shooting going on in a school where they happened to be; would they pissed that I was carrying a .357 magnum? Would they be so outraged when I pulled my weapon and ended the threat?

It's not hard to imagine these sanctimonious hypocrites in a Virginia Tech classroom, whimpering on the floor in little liberal, whinny puddles, howling with outrage that some student or faculty member; or even worse, say, a college-student military-veteran had actually come to class with a firearm and was ready to use it to SAVE THEIR INCREASINGLY WORTHLESS LIVES had actually done so.

And so now what happens?

A completely-controlled-by-democrats Senate now BACKS allowing guns in Federal Parks AND Wildlife Refuges.

How much that must suck for the local fishwrapper.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sponsored the measure, which he said would protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. The amendment allows firearms in parks and wildlife refuges, as long as they are allowed by federal, state and local law.

"If an American citizen has a right to carry a firearm in their state, it makes no sense to treat them like a criminal if they pass through a national park while in possession of a firearm," Coburn said.

Twenty-seven Democrats joined 39 Republicans and one independent in supporting the amendment, which was attached to a bill imposing restrictions on credit card companies. The amendment was approved 67-29.

This is OVERWHELMING support for a position this newspaper abhors. I guess someone is clueless... and I've got to wonder who.

Will this newspaper re-evaluate their position to something that actualy relates to common sense?

Nahhhh.

Senate Backs Allowing Guns In National Parks
Senate Backs Amendment To Allow Loaded Guns In National Parks
WASHINGTON, May. 12, 2009
E-Mail Story
Print Story
Sphere

(AP) The Senate on Tuesday backed an amendment that would allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.

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Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sponsored the measure, which he said would protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. The amendment allows firearms in parks and wildlife refuges, as long as they are allowed by federal, state and local law.

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"If an American citizen has a right to carry a firearm in their state, it makes no sense to treat them like a criminal if they pass through a national park while in possession of a firearm," Coburn said.

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Twenty-seven Democrats joined 39 Republicans and one independent in supporting the amendment, which was attached to a bill imposing restrictions on credit card companies. The amendment was approved 67-29.

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Groups supporting gun control, park rangers and retirees opposed the amendment, which they said went further than a Bush administration policy that briefly allowed loaded handguns in national parks and refuges.

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A federal judge blocked the policy in March, two months after it went into effect in the waning days of President George W. Bush's term. The Obama administration has said it will not appeal the court ruling.

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Change we can believe in? $2.6 million taxpayer dollars go to train Chinese Prostitutes... to Drink Responsibly on the Job.

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Your government in action. And this is "Change we can Believe in?"



U.S. Will Pay $2.6 Million to Train Chinese Prostitutes to Drink Responsibly on the Job

Tuesday, May 12, 2009
By Edwin Mora

Flag of the People's Republic of China

(CNSNews.com) -- The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will pay $2.6 million in U.S. tax dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.

Dr. Xiaoming Li, the researcher conducting the program, is director of the Prevention Research Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit.

The grant, made last November, refers to prostitutes as "female sex workers"--or FSW--and their handlers as "gatekeepers."

"Previous studies in Asia and Africa and our own data from FSWs [female sex workers] in China suggest that the social norms and institutional policy within commercial sex venues as well as agents overseeing the FSWs (i.e., the 'gatekeepers', defined as persons who manage the establishments and/or sex workers) are potentially of great importance in influencing alcohol use and sexual behavior among establishment-based FSWs," says the NIH grant abstract submitted by Dr. Li.

"Therefore, in this application, we propose to develop, implement, and evaluate a venue-based alcohol use and HIV risk reduction intervention focusing on both environmental and individual factors among venue-based FSWs in China," says the abstract.

The research will take place in the southern Chinese province of Guangxi.

Guangxi is ranked third in HIV rate among Chna's provinces--and is a place where the sex business is pervasive, Li said.

“The purpose of the project is to try and develop an intervention program targeting HIV risk and alcohol use,” Li told CNSNews.com. “So basically, it’s an alcohol and HIV risk reduction intervention project."

The researcher outlined three components of the intervention program in the abstract for the project:

“(1) gatekeeper training with a focus on changing or enhancing the protective social norms and policy/practice at the establishment level; (2) FSW (female sex workers) training with a focus on the acquisition of communication skills (negotiating, limit setting) and behavioral skills (e.g., condom use skills, consistent condom use); and (3) semi-annual boosters to reinforce both social norms within establishments and individual skills,” wrote Li.

The doctor said the heart of the study involves “a community-based cluster randomized controlled trial among 100 commercial sex venues in Beihai, a costal tourist city in Guangxi.”

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Our president's clueless idiocy: the Sykes slop.

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By now, we've all heard about the scumbag that was doing stand-up for that empty-suited moron running our government.

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There is no excuse for that garbage, and if the shoe had been on the other foot, the chuckling leftist classes would be howling in their hypocritical outrage.

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It took the US Editor of a British newspaper to bring it into focus for me. And Mr. Obama, you're going to become known by the scum you surround yourself with, and that you laughed or did anything but lock that bitch's heals after her not-funny fringe-leftist diatribe just provides further confirmation of what a clueless idiot you are.

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She disgusts me. And so do you.

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Toby Harnden

US Editor

Not funny: Barack Obama laughs at Wanda Sykes "joke" about wanting Rush Limbaugh dead Posted By: Toby Harnden at May 10, 2009 at 17:51:55 [General] Posted in: Tags: View More Barack Obama, Comedy, OxyContin, Rush Limbaugh, torture, Wanda Sykes , waterboarding, White House Correspondents' Dinner What was Wanda Sykes thinking? Perhaps more to the point, what was President Barack Obama thinking when he laughed and smiled as the comedienne wished Rush Limbaugh dead? Although the Left is reporting her White House Correspondents' Dinner speech as "taking shots" at Limbaugh and mocking everyone, that's a gross misrepresentation of what turned into a hateful and disgusting diatribe. I was at the dinner and I began by laughing at Sykes's gentle teases about the press loving Obama so much they never capture him on film smoking but often seem to get him on the beach. It was amusing when she quipped that Obama trying so hard to be all things to all men that the next thing is he'll be seen mowing the White House lawn. But the speech took a very ugly turn when she laid into Limbaugh. This is what she said: "Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails, so you're saying, 'I hope America fails', you're, like, 'I dont care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq'. He just wants the country to fail. To me, that's treason. "He's not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight." She then concluded: "Rush Limbaugh, I hope the country fails, I hope his kidneys fail, how about that? He needs a good waterboarding, that's what he needs." Obama seemed to think this bit was pretty hilarious, grinning and chuckling and turning to share the "joke" with the person sitting on his right. There's not much room for differing interpretations of what Sykes said. She called Limbaugh a terrorist and a traitor, suggested that he be tortured and wished him dead. What was his crime? Hoping that Obama's policies - which he views as socialist - will fail. That's way, way beyond reasoned debate or comedy and Obama's reaction to it was astonishing. Imagine if a comedian "joked" that Obama was a terrorist who was guilty of treason and should be tortured and allowed to die. There would justifiably be an outcry. But when the "joke" comes from a liberal, Obama-supporting comedienne and the target is a right-winger then the likes of Hilary Rosen and Donna Brazile are on CNN saying it's just comedy and Limbaugh is "fair game". And Obama laughing when someone wishes Limbaugh dead? Hard to take from the man who promised a new era of civility and elevated debate in Washington. Watch the video. What do you think?