Coldheartedtruth

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/12/23/weekly-address-celebrating-christmas-and-honoring-those-who-serve

Good Christmas Morning, everyone.

We're having some "different" weather this year - but it's beautiful - cold, windy, sleet - still beautiful...

We'll be leaving for the mountains - hopefully - but I wanted to share a couple of things -

A warming story -

On the narrow path

Mary's song -

Breath of Heaven

I don't believe in making political statements - which party does this, which party does that - not when it comes to the birth of our Lord.

For instance, I truly believe that JerryBrown loves the Lord, her family and our country with all of her being - and wants what is best for everyone - as do I.

She and I differ on the "roads" that will achieve what we perceive is best for our families, ourselves and others.

Have a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah holiday -

- - - - - I hope Santa was/is good to you.

Merry Christmas to all!
Especially to our men and women who are away from their families today, please keep them in your prayers.
And not just our troops, but there are doctors, nurses, EMTs, police, firemen and numerous others who because of their jobs can't be with their families today either. Granted they don't risk their lives daily, but they do save some lives.


========================================

And James, Can't you give your Obama adoration a rest for one day please?
You can still bow towards DC (or Hawaii) 5 times today in prayer if you wish, we don't need to know about it.

The memory of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy loomed over the Senate on Thursday when his weary colleagues moved his life's work, health care reform, to the brink of reality.

"He's having a Merry Christmas in heaven," said an emotional Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., who was appointed to fill the seat after Kennedy. Kirk said it was an honor to essentially cast Kennedy's vote as Democrats passed the Senate's version of a bill that would extend insurance to 30 million Americans.

What I said yesterday, I repeat again today, unapolgetically and with goodwill toward all, including those who choose to be offended by it--
____________________

posted last night:

I am with my family in beautiful blue ky NC, east of Raleigh, with my 90 year old parents, both of whom are, thanks be to God, in good health.

My sister and I have just finished making "tipsy cake" a revered old family recipe, and we look forward to a blessed time together.

The Magnificat of Mary in Luke, chapter one, is actually a post-Easter attempt to give expression to the true significance of the birth of the Special One.

I will leave it for others, whether expert in scripture or not, whether agnostic or atheist or whatever,
to try to determine which political philosophies try to live up to the ideal that one day--

the proud will be scattered in the imagination of their hearts,

the mighty will be put down from their thrones,

those of low degree will be exalted,

the hungry will be filled with good things,

and the rich will be sent empty away.

--sentiments attributed to Mary the mother of Jesus in Luke 1:51b-53*

Have a blessed Christmas everyone!
You too, ProudNeo. You too, Savagette.

And a special greeting to you, Opiespa, and all yours.

*Jewish prophecy was sometimes expressed in the past tense to emphasize the assuredness of its coming to be.

Merry Christmas From Afghanistan


Scottie may your Chinese be good and theatre uncrowded.

;-P

I hope you all found peace in your own way today on this day the day of Christ our King.

Scottie may your Chinese be good and theatre uncrowded.

chinese food was last night, and it was very good. the restaurant has learned to limit their menu, to keep things moving.

we were going to go to the movies, but it came down to the merrill streep movie, or the one with sandra bullock...

bagged them both.

i hope you all had a very merry christmas, and the spirit of good tidings keeps for at least a littl while longer in your normally tiny hearts...:>))

Burp..

Yummy times.

Merry Christmas y'all.

Near and dear to Halfwit's heart:

Christmas under Communism

Christmas Under Communism, As Seen in the 30's

I will never forget the awful reality of Communism or believe that it can ever be anything other than the hell it is. The facts of the last years should be enough to put an end to that vicious ideology forever, but now I find that many in our own government support something similar. Franklin Roosevelt has lost no time at pointing the country toward socialism during his first year in office. Given the chance, he will soon transform our dear country into a socialist state in which liberty will be restricted and private property much reduced. Unless he is stopped in the next elections, he will, with the support of a compliant Congress, drive through Social Security and increase taxes on the weallthy and extend control and regulation to every part of our lives. With the assistance of a subservient media, he will create a propaganda machine designed to control the outcome of future elections.

What the Nigerian yelled

I thought this was supposede to end 01/20/09

Reurn them to territorial status.

So Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has an idea: He wants President Obama to give him $8 billion -- or else, he says, he'll kill or slash most of the state's welfare programs, cut pay for 200,000 state workers and end two tax breaks for big corporations.

Christmas Under Communism, As Seen in the 30's

I doubt that Roosevelt would have ever allowed a picture of Mao to hang as an ornament on his white house Christmas tree.

Christmas is Not Negotiable

Bad news for the anti-Christmas hordes: Christmas has become an integral part of our culture and will be defended as such. Yes, it is part of the Republic of the People, by the People, and it is as secular as all other values and rights. Taking away any of Christmas's components, including Santa, the tree, the baby, the star, the three kings, and even the donkey and ox is the equivalent of ending the rights of people to vote, own, have a fair trial, or express dissent. Christmas is not about politics and exclusion, but its defense will be fierce. It is simple: crushing Christmas is crushing a cultural identity, and that will generate a national resistance.


The anti-Christmas forces do not realize that the society they sprung is time-centered on this benchmark. Without Christmas, how will they begin a new year, and where will they start it? They haven't realized that the end and beginning of our calendar year is calculated initially based on this celebration? And how will they count the years? How can they explain 2009 and the 21st century? Will they create a new calendar, as did the French Revolution? And how can they get a consensus on the new time? Unless they wish to replace this calendar with another, even more religiously explicit one, such as the Sharia Hijra calendar, they have no answer.

Filed Under:Modern Christmas Carol.
It begins with sad news: young Timothy Cratchit, a k a Tiny Tim, is sick. And his treatment will cost far more than his parents can pay out of pocket.
Fortunately, our story is set in 2014, and the Cratchits have health insurance. Not from their employer: Ebenezer Scrooge doesn’t do employee benefits. And just a few years earlier they wouldn’t have been able to buy insurance on their own because Tiny Tim has a pre-existing condition, and, anyway, the premiums would have been out of their reach.
But reform legislation enacted in 2010 banned insurance discrimination on the basis of medical history and also created a system of subsidies to help families pay for coverage. Even so, insurance doesn’t come cheap — but the Cratchits do have it, and they’re grateful. God bless us, everyone.

As usual Krugman and you missed the entire point of Dickins’ A Christmas Carol. It was not about Tiny Tim, it was about saving and redeeming Scrooge’s soul.

Like most Liberals Scrooge was quite content to leave charity to the government:

"At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts sir."

"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.

"Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."

"And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"

"They are. Still, returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."

"The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigor then?" said Scrooge.

"Both very busy sir."

"Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something just occurred to stop then in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it."

Filed Under:Common Phony Conservative.

redeeming Scrooge’s soul.

Scrooge's "charity" was driven by fear.

Your "Christmas Spirit" is as phony as your politics.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Mrs. Phil & I spent Christmas Day driving from Cincinnati to Kansas City through a fair amount of snow, wind, ice and all the rest. The best present of the trip was seeing our new grandson (five weeks old) for the first time. Having the two year old tear into his gifts was pretty good, too.

Obama's Gallup approval rating rose from +6 in the last Gallup to +9 today, due to a one point uptick in approval, to 51%, and a two point downtick in his disapproval rating, to 42%.

So you can keep on calling him a communist all you want to, and the American people will keep on not believing it.

If you tried working with him for the good of the country, you would do yourselves less harm than the course that you are taking. Your "let's make healthcare his Waterloo" strategy is not working, and you will eventually regret it.

But it's ok by me. Keep right on sinking rightwing extremism still further.

Merry Christmas

From latest Rasmussen Reports.

"Republican candidates now have an eight-point lead over Democrats, their biggest lead of the year, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. "

"Republicans have held the lead on the ballot for over four months now. But since early November their lead has steadily increased."

James, winning is all you guys have been doing over the last year, please don't stop now. Your team has the full weight of Joblessness and overspending and sky rocking new debt and you own it all.

Oh and less we forget the two terrorist attacks on US Soil since to ONE has taken office.

I am feeling less safe.

Congrats on the new grandson Phil. Glad you had a safe and enjoyable Christmas.

Has anyone come across the text containing the whole bill that the DemoRATS in the Senate just passed?

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I don't think the Senate has an appetite for another such epic, polarized legislative war this session."

-- Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), quoted by the Washington Post, on the climate legislation he's drafting with Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

***You mean... you mean we're about to start getting some bipartisanship?***

PLAYING BY THE RULES
The New York Times notes that as much as President Obama "presented himself as an outsider during his campaign," a lesson of the health care reform battle "is that this is a president who would rather work within the system than seek to upend it. He is not the ideologue ready to stage a symbolic fight that could end in defeat; he is a former senator comfortable in dealing with the arcane rules of the Senate and prepared to accept compromise in search of a larger goal. For the most part, Democrats on Capitol Hill have stuck with him."

Yet Obama's approach "should not be a surprise to anyone who has followed his career or his campaign for the White House."

***Right. It comes as a surprise to those who constantly lie about him and to those who believe the lies.***

Scrooge's "charity" was driven by fear

That's not the way Dickins saw it:

He had no futher intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge, May that be truly said of us and all of us! And so as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us Every One!

Merry Christmas!

And CS, if you're going to be the expert, please spell his name correctly. It's Dickens, with an 'e'.

Merry Christmas Jerry

Awfully cranky today aren't we. You usually aren't acting the spelling police.

You usually aren't acting as the spelling police.

I'm sorry, CS.

Not cranky at all really, it's just that some things strike me funny at times, and I can't seem to keep quiet.

I thought you'd laugh too.

My apoligies, then I'm the cranky one.

It's spelled "apologies," CS.
:-)

All right All right
apologies.

Comparing the Senate and House Health Care Bills

http://www.boston.com/news/health/graphics/healthcare_bills_compared/#

SOME PERSPECTIVE
According to the Toronto Star, the health care reform package now before Congress "will extend insurance to a medically vulnerable population the size of Canada's population."

MOVING FORWARD ON THE HEALTH CARE BILL
Lawmakers will be cutting their vacations short, in an effort to get a health care reform bill on President Obama's desk before the State of the Union address in January. House and Senate leaders will meet informally on Monday, December 28th, The Hill reports.

Meanwhile, the Boston Globe has a side-by-side breakdown of some the significant differences that need to be reconciled before a final version of the bill can be passed. (SEE 6:32 POST)

Shock and awe come to Tehran and Qom a few weeks after this.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman, will host a conference next week (27-31 December) for Israeli Heads of Missions. At the conference, Israel’s ambassadors and consuls general serving throughout the world will discuss broad diplomatic and strategic issues.

This is the first time a conference for all of Israel’s Heads of Missions has been held. The idea is to facilitate direct dialogue with the country’s leaders, mutual updates on major diplomatic issues, and a discussion of action plans to deal with the challenges awaiting the State of Israel in the international arena in the coming year, including the Iranian threat.

Yet Obama's approach "should not be a surprise to anyone who has followed his career or his campaign for the White House."

it comes as no surprise to me. we've become a celebrity culture accustomed to bestowing awards and accolades upon those who appear wildly popular, but have achieved absolutely nothing of real or lasting value.

so it's no wonder this fucking charlatan assclown got himself elected.

Shock and awe come to Tehran and Qom a few weeks after this.

we can only hope.

the israelis are crystal clear on one thing -

president alinsky has abandoned them, and they are totally on their own.

I doubt that Roosevelt would have ever allowed a picture of Mao to hang as an ornament on his white house Christmas tree.

indeed.

fascist delano roosevelt was smitten with stalin instead.

The U.S. government created a record on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in November 2009 in the intelligence community's central repository of information on known and suspected international terrorists, but there was not enough negative information to put him on a no-fly list, a U.S. administration official said on Saturday.


So there WAS enough information to put him on the "known and suspected interntional terrorist list" but there WAS NOT enough information to keep him from flying on US air carriers?

Therefore, one must assume, that "known or suspected terrorists" are still welcome to travel on US air carriers.

Political correctness in all it's glory.

Four dead in Iran as protesters clash with police

It’s to our shame that our president and our government have abandoned the Iranian people’s quest for freedom and supports the brutal regime in Tehran.

Political correctness in all it's glory.

Yeah but at least Homeland Security is keeping us safe for peaceful tea party protesters.

/sarcasim

Yeah but at least Homeland Security is keeping us safe for peaceful tea party protesters.

Don't forget Napolitano says we have to be on the watch for returning military personnel.

Man what's up with Urban? That was shock from out of left field.

BBC News correspondent Richard Slee said there was fairly low-key police activity at the last known London address of Mr Abdulmutallab, a basement flat in the block near Harley Street. Reporting from the scene, he said police forensic officers had been seen going into the building.

A blue English Heritage plaque states that philanthropist Sir Robert Mayer once lived in the block where properties have recently sold for between £1.5m and £2.5m.

B..b..but we're told they are the poor and disenfranchised and the only way out of their lot on life is through jihad.

Islam is the problem, Islam will always be the problem

Man what's up with Urban? That was shock from out of left field.

It certainly was. I thought he was going to leave Florida for Notre Dame but I didn't think he'd leave football altogether. He must have taken himself out of consideration knowing he was going to retire.

I just hope his health problems aren’t life threatening and that he has a long and comfortable retirement.

If he’s was going to leave, now was the time since Florida is more or less rebuilding and it would be easier to put in a new system.

The question is who is going to replace Myer. They need to make a decision quick. There is only one coach that would be the consensus favorite of the Florida faithful but I don’t know if it’s possible to get him now.

Islam is the problem, Islam will always be the problem

precisely.

unless we profile, all the other measures taken will be futile.

prohibit them from flying, period.

if they need to fly, let them take their fucking magic carpets.

B..b..but we're told they are the poor and disenfranchised and the only way out of their lot on life is through jihad.

One "expert" on FOXNEWS said he went against the profile which was utter nonsense. Young, well born Muslims are the exact profile for terrorist; they are the only ones with enough education to integrate into Western Culture.

Senseless must have gotten a lump of coal. He insulted me for no reason..

Happy Holidays to the rest of you.

To him..

Grow up

Against the profile? MD's load their car with fuel and tried to blow up Glasgow's airport!

Senseless must have gotten a lump of coal. He insulted me for no reason.

Since when did you considered being called a communist an insult?

My god, you are stupid.

A communist.

What a fool.

Grow up, asshole.

Not only that, but how do you rationalize calling me a communist? By definition, a communist is an athiest. BTW, CH is an athiest too.. then in the next breath, you call me a jihdist. Which by definition is a person with deeply held, extremist religious views.

As I say senseless, you just ain't all that bright. And we all, all of us, know it.

With one exception.

YOU!

LMAO

Filed Under:TheProblemIsYOU4evr

Islam is the problem, Islam will always be the problem

The problem is hate based on self centered fear. Religion has nothing to do with it.

Not only that, but how do you rationalize calling me a communist? By definition, a communist is an athiest. BTW, CH is an athiest too.. then in the next breath, you call me a jihdist.

Because I never called you a jihadist, in your madness you have confuse me with one or another of you numerous critics.

I don’t know (or really care) whether CH is an atheist or not. If he is, he, unlike you, shows a remarkable respect for other people’s religious beliefs.

In closing your post is nothing but a loose and incoherent rambling of random insults. Perhaps you should wake up (or sober up) before you try again.

I have NO problem with people's religious beliefs. You can believe what you want. I am not bigoted against religion, unlike your side is with Islam.

Note rat would ban all Muslims from flying. You seem to agree.

He's the bigot, not me.

Some have wondered this year if, in the case of a deadly terrorist attack, Republicans could bring themselves to put patriotism over party, and rally behind a president they disagree with.

I think we're getting a sense of the answer.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said Sunday that it is fair to blame the Obama administration for the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.

Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Select Intelligence Committee said that the administration has not taken the threat of terrorist threats on the U.S. seriously.

Asked by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace if it is fair to blame the Obama administration for the attacks, the Michigan Republican replied "Yeah, I think it really is."



Not quite 48 hours after a Nigerian man -- who got a visa to enter the United States from the Bush administration -- unsuccessfully tried to kill Americans, Pete Hoekstra, one of Congress' more offensive buffoons, is going on national television to blame the Obama administration.

Steve Benen.

Hoekstra would fit right in here.

Hoekstra is exactly right. For about seven years following 9/11, nothing like this happened on Bush's watch.

Now, less than a year into Obama's watch, we've had one tragedy at Fort Hood, and now a near miss that was averted by sheer luck. Both incidents were perpetrated by suspects who had already raised significant red flags, all of which were ignored.

This is a direct result of a "culture of political correctness" fostered by Obama that has effectively paralyzed our intelligence agencies.

Obama is in fantasy land when it comes to the War on Terrorism. He simply doesn't take the threat of Islamist terrorism seriously.

I see hb is squealing like a pig caught under a fence because his bigot/racist ass has been exposed again. And, no one what's to see that not even his blowup doll miget wife.

Steve Benen

The same person who accused Bush & Cheney of torture and twisted that term to fit his political agenda?

Color me not impressed.

hb:
"Some have wondered this year if, in the case of a deadly terrorist attack, Republicans could bring themselves to put patriotism over party, and rally behind a president they disagree with."

Why should the Republicans rally behind Obama? It's Obama's nonchalant 9/10/01 attitude and the culture of political correctness he's fostered that are responsible for these tragedies and near-tragedies in the first place.

Republicans are putting patriotism over party. The patriotic thing to do is not to rally around Obama, but to oppose him for the way he's put Americans in danger from day one.

commonsense [Member]
Senseless must have gotten a lump of coal. He insulted me for no reason.

Since when did you considered being called a communist an insult? "


Exactly.

Call the leftist on this board "Capitalist" and watch them come unglued.

Obama's Lost Face

Why did Chinese premier Wen Jiabao choose to publicly humiliate Barack Obama at Copenhagen? In their eyes, and in those of much of the world, he has lost face, and with it, power and influence. While getting widespread play overseas, this story has been kept very quiet by our disinterested, nonpartisan media (I haven't seen it mentioned in any major U.S. outlet).


After promising to meet the Messiah at 7:00 p.m., Premier Wen stood him up in favor of a meeting with the leaders of India, South Africa, and Brazil. Rather than wait, a no-doubt infuriated Obama stalked into the room in question and demanded, "Are you ready to see me, Premier Wen?" No word on Wen's reaction, though he did submit to a discussion on the spot that evidently sealed the release of the immortal and glorious Copenhagen Quasi-Agreement on Climate Change.


So with Barack Obama, we've reached the point where the leader of record of the most powerful state in history has become a man you can casually stand up. But the question remains: Why?

With all of these attacks within the boarders of the US, I am feeling less safe.

I am sure if I blame Pres. Omarxist that I am some how wrong.

Are we now going to start calling these terrorist attacks again or are we to stay with the non-sense of President Obimbo.

The 'war on terror" is now "Overseas Contingency Operations, the one problem is that those overseas non-sense is now on the Homeland Contingency Operations and Americans are being killed and injuried.

But what the heck at less the ONE is enjoying yet another vacation.

Mainstream news outlets are reporting huge opposition protests in Tehran and elsewhere today. The protests coincide with both the Ashura holiday (making it difficult for the regime to keep people off the streets) and the end of a 7-day mourning for Grand Ayatollah Montazeri. Police are setting up roadblocks and helicopters are patrolling the skies over Tehran.

Ashura is a ritual mourning day for the death of Imam Hussein, killed by caliph Yazid at the Battle of Karbala. Protesters are reportedly chanting comparisons between Supreme Leader Khamenei and caliph Yazid.

Security forces reportedly opened fire on protesters who were attacking police with their bare hands, killing 5 of the protesters, including Mousavi's nephew.

Since the Iranian government forbids reporting on anti-government protests, it's likely that we're not getting the full story, and that the number of dead and the scope of the clashes is in fact much larger than reported.

Anonymous Iranian twitterers are making a number of extraordinary claims. Though unsubstantiated, the rumors seem to be in agreement. Take the following (in no particular order) with a grain of salt if you wish:

--A number of officers and soldiers in Iran's regular army have named themselves the National Iranian Armed Resistance Forces and are accusing Supreme Leader Khamenei and other officials of treason and other illegal acts. The group has announced their intention to begin a military coup which they are calling "Operation Azadi" ("Operation Freedom").

--Protesters capture an Iranian special forces member.

--Gunfire at Tehran's military academy.

--Security forces in the Parliament district (Baharestan) and elsewhere refusing orders to fire on protesters. This report has been repeated by multiple sources.

--Authorities warn of even more brutal crackdown.

--Government plans to detain Mousavi, Khatami, and Karroubi.

--Khamenei taken to military base in military helicopter.

--Military helicopters and jets mobilized in and around Tehran.

--Iranian political leadership going into hiding.

--Iranian military on highest alert. All available reinforcements called in.

--Five government planes and fighter escorts prepped for takeoff from Tehran's largest airport.

--Rafsanjani in refuge on Kish Island (a resort island just off the Iranian coast).

--Police taking off uniforms and joining protesters.

--Government losing control of large part of Tehran. Protests becoming more widespread across Iran.

--Police vans and many Basij paramilitary motorcycles set on fire.

--Revolutionary Guard special forces positioned in front of Iran's state TV station.

--A Basij paramilitary headquarters building in Tehran set on fire.

--Several state-owned banks in Tehran set on fire.

--Oil Ministry building windows smashed.

--Protesters planning to storm hospital where Mousavi's nephew was taken and kill every soldier they find.

--Authorities have lost control of Tehran's streets. Government forces falling back to secure strategic locations and buildings.

--Police and Revolutionary Guardsmen in Tehran, Tabriz, and Shiraz defecting to opposition.

--Iranian politicians fleeing the country. Khamenei being moved to undisclosed location. Ahmadinejad's whereabouts unknown.

--Protesters attempting to capture Tehran's main TV station.

--Government declaring martial law in Najafabad (Montazeri's birthplace).

--Martial law to be declared in Tehran soon.

--Something about planes and bombs that I couldn't get a decent translation for.


Again, claims by anonymous Iranian twitterers. You be the judge.

Why should the Republicans rally behind Obama? It's Obama's nonchalant 9/10/01 attitude and the culture of political correctness he's fostered that are responsible for these tragedies and near-tragedies in the first place.

In good conscience I can't blame Obama for our nonchalance. He's not helping but he didn't foster our irrelevant attitude toward Islam.

Notice I didn't include "radical"

The problem is hate based on self centered fear. Religion has nothing to do with it.

Read a copy of the kOran and Hadiths then come talk to me, idiot.

A few other reports from Twitter and Facebook:

--Protesters trying to storm state TV and radio station headquarters and take over. Major clashes, fires, and gunfire reported. Protesters not deterred by tear gas. (Remember that control of the state TV station was a major turning point in Romania's revolution.)

--Many more security forces being held hostage by protesters.

--Military attempting to impose martial law in Tehran.

--Swedish Iranians protesting outside of Iranian embassy. They plan to seize the Iranian embassy in Sweden tonight.

--Protesters attack security forces' vehicle and free arrested prisoners inside.

--Violence also spreading in Qom, Isfahan, Najafabad, Kashan, Shiraz, Babol, and Mashhad.

--Security forces and roadblocks failed to keep protesters out of Tehran's Revolution Square. Protesters gathering in the square with extreme violence erupting between protesters and security forces.

--I've seen a video of what appears to be policemen pinned in next to a locked gate by protesters and cowering in a huddle. (Strangely, the uniforms read "POLICE" in English, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is actually a video of something completely different. Could be an embassy.)


Whatever anyone thinks of the rumors, today's riots appear to be more severe than anything up to this point. The opposition has not been crushed.

Mainstream sources are reporting that the death toll is up to 9 now.

Rioters responded to the death of Mousavi's nephew by attacking the security forces, driving them back with stones, setting their police cars on fire, ripping off their uniforms, and beating them with their own batons. Riot police forced to retreat.

I just watched a video, and I can confirm now the report of Basij paramilitary motorcycles being torched. No idea what happened to the riders.

In some of the videos I'm seeing, a lot of people are just standing or walking around, chanting, shouting, and throwing stuff on the fires. Security forces seem to be conspicuously absent; there's nobody harassing the protesters. This suggests that it is true that security forces have lost control of at least some Tehran neighborhoods.

Iranian twitterers are saying things like "we are almost free" and "they are finished".

Assuming the protesters aren't just getting themselves pumped up over nothing, and taking into account all of the videos that show a lot of people just milling around, it seems like the general feeling among the regime's opponents right now is that the end is in sight and it's only a matter of time before the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad regime falls.

pnc, do we know what would come next?

the so called opposition is not exactly made up of freedom lovers either.

pnc, do we know what would come next?

the so called opposition is not exactly made up of freedom lovers either.

I don't think it will be any worst than it is now Scottie.

Filed Under:4evrAfraid.

Read a copy of the kOran and Hadiths

None of the great religions of the world teach hate. People teach hate. Who taught you?

"This suggests that it is true that security forces have lost control of at least some Tehran neighborhoods."

I seem to remember from the election that Ahmedinejad's strong support came from the rural areas, while Mousavi was supported far more by urban people. If I'm remembering that correctly, then it doesn't seem like too big of a deal that the regime is weak in certain areas of Tehran.

"the so called opposition is not exactly made up of freedom lovers either."

Also, iirc, Mousavi was far more supportive of women's rights, human rights issues, a better relationship with the west, etc... It was the position on the nuclear program where there was little difference.

I see that the President is still on vacation on not involving himself publicly in the latest Terrorist attack on the US.

But, he will, have something to say just as soon as the telepromter tells him.

not to worry. he'll have a meeting.

Au contrair, MM. BO has said we, er, uh....have to get, uh.....SERIOUS about it. (It being throwing someone in his administration under the bus for allowing such an embarrassment to interrupt his sun and surf time in Hawaii)

It being throwing someone in his administration under the bus for allowing such an embarrassment to interrupt his sun and surf time in Hawaii

The system works.
Janet Napolitano

Shoppers spend a little more during holiday season
Anne D'innocenzio, Ap Retail Writer – 2 hrs 7 mins ago
NEW YORK – Holiday shoppers spent a little more this season, according to data released Monday, giving merchants some reason for cheer.

The spending bounce means retailers managed to avoid a repeat of last year's disaster even amid tight credit and double-digit unemployment. Profits should be healthier, too, because stores had a year to plan their inventories to match consumer demand and never needed to resort to fire-sale clearances.

Retail sales rose 3.6 percent from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, compared with a 2.3 percent drop in the year-ago period, according to figures from MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which track all forms of payment, including cash.

Last year, the economy was in "critical condition," said Michael McNamara, vice president at MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse. "This year, it's in stable condition."

***Good news-- right, Chtroothers? Oh I forgot. You hope he fails.

WAR WIDENS TO YEMEN

"In the midst of two unfinished major wars, the United States has quietly opened a third, largely covert front against Al Qaeda in Yemen," the New York Times reports.

"Yemen's remote areas are notoriously lawless, but the country's chaos has worsened in the past two years, as the government struggles with an armed rebellion in the northwest and a rising secessionist movement in the south. Yemen is running out of oil, and the government's dwindling finances have affected its ability to strike at Al Qaeda."

Two recent terrorist attacks -- the shootings at Fort Hood and the attempt to take down an airliner on Christmas -- have been linked to Yemen.

Meanwhile, The Hill reports Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said that an administration official told him that "Iraq was yesterday's war, Afghanistan is today's war. If we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war."

too bad retail sales are so far below 2007 numbers. 2008 was so bad that it was easy to beat it.

largely covert front against Al Qaeda in Yemen

Nice of them to wake up. Hell the Magic Kingdom (the house of Saud) has been pounding that part of Yemen for 2 months. If you're to crazy for the Saudi's.....

"If we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war."

LOL Bush doctrine.

Too bad the Bush financial fiasco pushed 2008 sales so low.

Try blaming THAT on Obama.

**LOL Bush doctrine. **

another vindication for bush.

that wasn't bush that caused the recession james.

If we don't act both preemptively and intelligently.
No invasion planned.

so be preemptive by not being preemptive. what an obama thing to say.

that wasn't bush that caused the recession james.

Must've been the tooth fairy.

so be preemptive by not being preemptive. what an obama thing to say.

That's called nuance

REPUBLICANS WANT INVASION INTO YEMEN

Run on that.

REPUBLICANS WANT INVASION INTO YEMEN WHICH IS HOARDING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Run on that too.

so to james, the only possible causes of the recession are george bush or the tooth fairy?

you're not much of an economist are you?

BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RECESSION

Run on that too.

i repeat my last post.

i repeat mine.

and there you have it...james confirms that he knows very little about economics.

lame, balls. very lame.
:-)

the truth is lame??

and once again...james' inability to acknowledge any possible causes of the recession other than bush or the tooth fairy confirms what i've said.

did we all see janet nepalitano tell matt lauer this morning that the system was a miserable failure? this after saying yesterday that the system worked.

yeah, the adults are in charge.

Filed Under:NoBalls in denial.

you're not much of an economist are you?

For someone "in the business" and still not seeing the failure of 30 years of REAGANOMICS and 8 years of letting the fox's guard the hen house, is pathetic.

clinton wasn't reaganomics. i keep telling you that and you keep pretending that he wasn't president for 8 years.

For First Time, Plurality Believes Stimulus Plan Hurt the Economy

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 30% of voters nationwide believe the $787-billion economic stimulus plan has helped the economy. However, 38% believe that the stimulus plan has hurt the economy. This is the first time since the legislation passed that a plurality has held a negative view of its impact.

Clearly The O-Gospel according to James is falling on deaf ears. Just as clearly, the Democrats are out of touch with the American people.

The Political Class has a much different view than the rest of the county. Ninety percent (90%) of the Political Class believes the stimulus plan helped the economy and not a single Political Class respondent says it has hurt.

Bush was one of the biggest and most painful presidential failures in American history, which makes Republicans like balls all the more anxious to keep the "blame Clinton for everything" theme alive.

Bush didn't "inherit" the attacks of 9/11 -- they happened more than eight months into Bush's presidency. After they ignored repeated warnings with "Ok, you have covered your ass" to the CIA.

And remember, Bush did not 'inherit' a recession from Clinton. But these righties keep claiming he did.

But let's make sure we do one thing and do it right.

INVADE YEMEN.

So Sed Lieberman.

Git R Done.

LMAO

Filed Under:NoBalls complete devotion to god Reagan.

clinton wasn't reaganomics.

Clinton signed the GRAMM-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. That makes him part of the problem.

Face it NoBalls. REAGANOMICS was a failure.

YOUR WAY DON'T WORK!

Mainstream news outlets have confirmed the earlier report of martial law in Najafabad.

They're also confirming the reports of protesters cornering Basij paramilitary and Revolutionary Guardsmen, disarming them, beating them with their own weapons, having them beg for mercy, forcing them to chant and denounce Khamenei, etc.

Several people close to the opposition leadership have been arrested. Ebrahim Yazdi, former foreign minister and leader of banned but previously tolerated "Freedom Movement of Iran", was also arrested.

Confirmed deaths stand at somewhere between 8 and 15. Mousavi's nephew was apparently assassinated by a government paramilitary "death squad".

The body of Mousavi's nephew has reportedly been stolen by the government (confirming a Twitter post from late last night), probably to prevent a funeral and accompanying protests.

Various pictures show the Basij paramilitary that normally does the regime's dirty work in attacking protesters are clearly outnumbered and ineffective.

Protests are ongoing even in the conservative cities. Reason being that the government's murder of protesters on Ashura (something even the Shah didn't do) is seen as clearly un-Islamic. (The government's stealing of the body of Mousavi's nephew, also un-Islamic, or the fact that some of the people killed are descendants of Mohammed, will not help the regime's standing in the eyes of Iranian conservatives either.)

Some more of those dubious Iranian Twitter updates:

--Ahmadinejad's ministers summoned to Parliament.

--Many Revolutionary Guard leaders have already left the country or are trying to leave.

--An email supposedly intercepted by a hacker says Khamenei and his family ready to escape to Russia via plane in case of further emergency.

--Photo of protesters putting a green scarf (color of the opposition) on a riot policeman.

--Rioters cut down two prisoners who had been hanged on what appears to be a "portable gallows" used by the government in Sirjan.

--Protesters in full control of various streets in Tehran.

--Iranian Army taking up positions in main streets of Tehran.

--People chanting "Iranian Republic" (as opposed to "Islamic Republic").

--Antimullah is reporting that Supreme Leader Khamenei last week proclaimed himself "Imam" (a title that belongs only to the 12th Imam or Mahdi of Shiite eschatology and conveys a sense of practical infallibility) and "Leader of the Revolution" (usurping the title from Khomeini).

--Khamenei in hiding. Armed helicopters circling his house, though he is no longer there.

--Antimullah is reporting that expatriate sources are warning that the "National Iranian Armed Resistance Forces" and "Operation Azadi" I reported earlier is actually a plot by Ahmadinejad to overthrow the Islamic Republic and replace it with a radical Islamist but non-clerical military junta.

--Mousavi calling for a general strike and formation of an "Interim Provisional Government".

--Widespread insubordination by riot police who refuse to fire on protesters. Police taking off their riot gear and joining protesters.

--Taxi drivers near Tehran's largest airport report that motorcades of bullet-proof black Mercedes cars are arriving at the airport where five jets are standing by to take off.

--Protesters in possession of sizeable quantities of nightsticks, armored helmets, and tear gas grenades after seizing, looting, and burning a truck full of riot gear.

--Group of people chanting "The army is against you, Khamenei! Death to you! This is the army against you!"

If we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war."

BTW jimmy guess where half of the current gitmo population is from.

People chanting "Iranian Republic" (as opposed to "Islamic Republic").

Just because the Persians are against the repressive "Islamic" government, don't make them pro-American.

Iran is in turmoil.

I think we should follow Krauthammer's advice, bomb the shit out of them and demolish the revolution that in the long run, may end up being in our favor.

I am sure most of the CHT crowd would welcome that, and an invasion of Yemen, just for the hell of it.

**And remember, Bush did not 'inherit' a recession from Clinton. But these righties keep claiming he did. **

clinton's last 10 months in office, the markets were in freefall, causing a typical ripple effect throughout the economy.

damn, don't any of you obama lovers know anything about economics?

Anne D'innocenzio, Ap Retail Writer – 2 hrs 7 mins ago
NEW YORK – Holiday shoppers spent a little more this season, according to data released Monday, giving merchants some reason for cheer.

The spending bounce means retailers managed to avoid a repeat of last year's disaster even amid tight credit and double-digit unemployment. Profits should be healthier, too, because stores had a year to plan their inventories to match consumer demand and never needed to resort to fire-sale clearances.

Retail sales rose 3.6 percent from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, compared with a 2.3 percent drop in the year-ago period, according to figures from MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which track all forms of payment, including cash.
(SEE BELOW FOR DELETED SECTION FROM OLE dis_HONEST JAMES)
Last year, the economy was in "critical condition," said Michael McNamara, vice president at MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse. "This year, it's in stable condition." James

IF this news was so good why did you in the middle of this piece select to delete the following:

"Adjusting for an extra shopping day between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the number was closer to a 1 percent gain."


Damn it James you are getting as bad as HB.

Bush didn't "inherit" a recession -- it began in March 2001.

Three months after his inauguration.

Obama walked into one that was ongoing and getting deeper.

You just can't resist defending your hero.


Still have a full size statue in the garden?

Max Baucus Drunk on Senate Floor

damn, don't any of you obama lovers know anything about economics? Balls

Answer: No

But it really does not stop them from telling us they do, after all Dear Leader believes we can spend our way out of debt, when asked when and where that has ever demonstrably worked, well, they just don't have a real answer.

Is now the time to buy stock or did we miss Obimbo's "Profit to earnings" ratio window?

**Bush didn't "inherit" a recession -- it began in March 2001.

Three months after his inauguration.**

actually, march was 6 weeks into his term. the market plummet began a year earlier, march 2000.

Filed Under:NoBalls revisionist history.

clinton's last 10 months in office, the markets were in freefall

Hor$hit. The markets were stable. In Feb 2000 the DOW was 10,900. When your a$$hole in chief took office it was around 10,400
Far from being in free fall.

Will the real Janet the FAILURE please stand up?

commonsense [Member]
It being throwing someone in his administration under the bus for allowing such an embarrassment to interrupt his sun and surf time in Hawaii

The system works.
Janet Napolitano
12/28/09 @ 06:55





Napolitano concedes airline security system failed
AP – 46 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday that the aviation security system failed "


She failed and do did the still on vacation Obimbo, darn he is a fuckup.

give us the nasdaq numbers you stupidass.

As I said, the recession was not official until after he took office. Obama walked into the worst one since the Great Depression on DAY ONE.

And you won't admit it.

You get all your talking points from Mary Matalin.

In about a year's time, the possible total collapse of the credit system has been averted, and the economy, albeit slower than we want, is turning around.

It's all Clinton's fault.

Filed Under:The failure of REAGANOMICS

The markets have gained 25% under the Obama administration. Back to where they were when George, son of god Reagan, took office and started destroying the economy.

HB, James and some ripoff calling himself CHTID

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) says you are wrong.

Please leave economics to those of us that know what we are talking about and you all stay with bending over for Obimbo.

Filed Under:Worst President in History!
It was a decade with zero economic gains for the typical family. Actually, even at the height of the alleged “Bush boom,” in 2007, median household income adjusted for inflation was lower than it had been in 1999.

Hey k'putz. I know you have not noticed it, but no one gives a flying fuck about what you say. Everyone knows you are the dumbest fucking person in the state of Kansas. And no one likes your racism either.

Go take a leap off a cliff.

**As I said, the recession was not official until after he took office. **

and you think it all happened in his first 6 weeks in office??

by paul krugman.

'nuff said.

Filed Under:NoBalls worships false idol.

paul krugman.'nuff said.

In 2008, Krugman won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his contributions to New Trade Theory and New Economic Geography. He was voted sixth in Prospect Magazine's 2005 global poll of the world's top 100 intellectuals.

What economic "credentials did your god Reagan have that merits your complete devotion to a proven phony economic philosophy?

And my holiday got off to a great start. Headed home on fwy Wed afternoon, as I was changing lanes, hit a piece of debris on the road, ends up being a piece of steel. Splits the tire, breaks the forged aluminum rim on the exterior side about 1". Able to get the car safely off the fwy, no one hurt, no others involved. Just my wallet to the amount of $500 for the collision deductible.

Merry Christmas!

Krugman is right balls. you just cannot accept that your hero was the worst President in our lives.

Filed Under:NoBalls debates reality.

paul krugman.'nuff said.

Are you saying the average American is better off because of George, son of god Reagan's presidency?

YOUR WAY DON'T WORK!

**In 2008, Krugman won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics **

and in 2009 obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. so what?

Filed Under:NoBalls swims in De-Nile.

so what?

So what economic "credentials" did your god Reagan have that earns your complete devotion even though it destroyed the middle class?

Is Krugman wrong?

No..

Did you win the Nobel Prize in economics?

LMAO

HELL NO

the nobel committee has ruined their own credentials by picking only liberal winners.

as for krugman, its common knowledge that he only has praise for democrats and criticism for republicans.

**HELL NO**

this from the genius who thinks the economic fall towards the recession of 2001 all happened in bush's first 6 weeks in office.

as for krugman, its common knowledge that he only has praise for democrats and criticism for republicans.

that may be true balls.
but your reply "Krugman--nuff said, is pure ad hominem.

if you want to refut his claim, refute it, but so far you have not.

**if you want to refut his claim, refute it, but so far you have not.**

i give what i get. when i am posting to hb and denial, this is the level of debate that they deserve.

so yuo sink to their level?

btw, scott, maybe you'll scold hb for suggesting that clinton's last year in office had no effect on the impending recession.

and maybe you'll scold denial for ignoring clinton's 8 years in office altogether in his veruy tired '30 years of reaganomics' rant.

and maybe you'll scold james for refusing to acknowledge that there are other causes for the current recession besides bush and the tooth fairy.

if you're going to play referee, you should do it properly.

if you want to refut his claim, refute it, but so far you have not.

He can't, because Krugman is correct.

And BTW balls, all I said is this. Bush did not 'inherit' the recession. It started after his swearing in ceremony.

I made no other claims, you did.

All in all though, it was a very mild recession. Bush over reacted, as he did with most things that happened during his term, and used it to push his tax cuts, those tax cuts that are directly responsible for almost 100% of the current deficit.

Two wars and a tax cut.

You supported him and them, almost without fail, you were a cheerleader. Hell, even after Katrina, it took a D-8 Cat to pull a "ok, maybe Bush wasn't perfect" out of you. You even defended 'heckuvajobbrownie' in your knee jerk defense of the 'unfair' attacks on your hero.

Going into the final week of the NFL season the AFC division champions have been determined but none of the wild card teams are set. There are five 8-7 teams in the AFC and three 7-8 teams. none of the 8-7 teams play each other next week, and none of the 7-8 teams play each other, meaning it's mathematically possible that there will be eight teams tied at 8-8 from which the two AFC wild cards will be determined.

Oh, and BTW, I have not hesitated to call out Obama on many subjects. He is far too much of an incrementalist, has let congress and the idiots like Lieberman and Nelson screw up HCR and on several other issues.

I do not have an alter to him, as I know someone did, or still does, to "W".

balls, i am posting to you, when you try to defend your positions by attempting to divert to others all that does nothing for you.

or i could say i have hope for you to make legitimaye arguments versus having hope for two of the others you referenced...:>))

Indy

i hope that the jets make the playoffs, beat cinncinnatti and then face the colts again, and hope the colts lose to them again. what a farce the colts undertook on the nfl yesterday.

you play to win

if i was one of the wildcard hopefuls that lose their position to the jets becasue of yesterdays act committed by bill polian i would be BS.

the nfl sholud take away a draft pick for what they did.

jmo

He can't, because Krugman is correct.

NoBalls and the rest think if they ignore reality long enough, it will somehow change.

"There are five 8-7 teams in the AFC and three 7-8 teams. none of the 8-7 teams play each other next week, and none of the 7-8 teams play each other, meaning it's mathematically possible that there will be eight teams tied at 8-8 from which the two AFC wild cards will be determined. "


That's more screwed up than the BCS.

Did you make it to the Nevada Bowl?

Filed Under:NoBalls can't read.

denial for ignoring clinton's 8 years in office altogether

HOR$HIT!

Repeat of earlier post:
Clinton signed the GRAMM-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. That makes him part of the problem.


The cause of the problem is called PHONY REAGANOMICS based on selfishness and greed.

http://recession.org/history/early-2000s-recession

AFC is a mess.

Denver had a chance to determine their own future and blew it. As did Baltimore with all the penalties. The Ravens should have won that game going away.

Bottom line. There are three teams I would not want to face.

San Diego
Philly
Arizona

add one more..

New England. Never, ever dismiss Brady.

So Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged would-be bomber of Northwest Airlines flight 253, is being detained and questioned in a federal prison in Michigan. He’s expected to appear in court today, after federal authorities indicted him yesterday. If convicted, he’ll be imprisoned in a federal prison. A federal civilian prison. Just like the one that Republican politicians said would leave American communities vulnerable if Guantanamo detainees were sent there.

Spencer Ackerman

yes scott, you posted to me. only to me. thus my response.

and hb, he inherited an economy quickly plummeting toward recession. you're splitting hairs.

add one more..

New Orleans. Drew Brees wants respect.

The recession took place for a number of different reasons. One was the collapse of the dotcom bubble. A money making wave of the internet that came crashing down to a realistic level.

The recession was felt in mostly Western countries and had been predicted by economists for years, since the boom of the '90s, which was accompanied by both low inflation and low unemployment.

Filed Under:NoBalls selective opinion.

you're splitting hairs.

Your the one making claims based on partial evidence.

My claim is based on the big picture.

YOUR WAY DON'T WORK!

you want me to say krugman is correct. ok, he's right about this:

*snip*
Even as the dot-com bubble deflated, credulous bankers and investors began inflating a new bubble in housing. Even after famous, admired companies like Enron and WorldCom were revealed to have been Potemkin corporations with facades built out of creative accounting, analysts and investors believed banks’ claims about their own financial strength and bought into the hype about investments they didn’t understand. Even after triggering a global economic collapse, and having to be rescued at taxpayers’ expense, bankers wasted no time going right back to the culture of giant bonuses and excessive leverage.

Then there are the politicians. Even now, it’s hard to get Democrats, President Obama included, to deliver a full-throated critique of the practices that got us into the mess we’re in.


and we'll conclude that bush is to blame for all that?

*8My claim is based on the big picture.**

your big picture calls 8 years of clinton reaganomics.

No one said, as you imply, that Bush alone is responsible for all that.

What he and his team failed to do, is recognize the depth of the problems. One would not expect him, even though he has an MBA, to understand what was going on, he's a dumbass. But his team should have.

Filed Under:NoBalls defends incompetence.

we'll conclude that bush is to blame for all that?

I blame REAGANISM first and Bush as the catalyst.

Where are all the good jobs that BushCo Inc's big tax breaks for "those who create jobs" made at the expense of a trillion dollar national debt?

Filed Under:It's all Obama Clinton, democrats, liberals fault!

8 years of clinton reaganomics.

Clinton signed the GRAMM-Leach-Bliley Act. That gave the banks the "freedom" to pump too much money into housing.
Bush promoted the bubble and did nothing to stop it until after it burst.
Your problem is always fixing the blame and ignoring the cause (REAGANOMICS).

What Indy did, not "our" Indy but the Colts, sucks.

They made a joke of the game.

Roger cruisin Memphis

A Memphis man was arrested Friday after he walked into seven local businesses and announced that he would bomb them if they didn't close, according to a police affidavit.

The report states that Mohamed Ibrahim, 35, threatened businesses on Poplar Avenue, Summer Avenue, Mendenhall, Perkins and Danny Thomas Boulevard.

"If you don't close this place up, I'm going to blow it to pieces," Ibrahim told customers at the BP Gas Station on the 300 block of Poplar, according to the report.

A police officer pulled over the suspect's black PT Cruiser on Poplar and arrested Ibrahim, who was "very nervous" and appeared as if "he was trying to hide something," the report stated. The suspect tried to kick out the windows of a patrol car during the arrest and police said they had to use pepper spray to subdue him.

The FBI found three Islamic cassette tapes and miscellaneous papers in the suspect's car, which were removed for additional study, according to the affidavit. Police charged Ibrahim with commission of an act of terrorism, filing false reports and disorderly conduct. He posted $100 bond and was released, pending his court date on Monday.

*8No one said, as you imply, that Bush alone is responsible for all that. **

actually, james said it. you implied it.

Black Panther case: Has a head rolled?

Filed Under:The cause of the decline of Americas middle class.

Reaganomics (a portmanteau of Reagan and economics attributed to Paul Harvey refers to the economic policies promoted by the U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to:

1. Deduct government spending, (???)
2. Reduce income and capital gains marginal tax rates, (leading to a trillion dollar national debt)
3. Reduce government regulation of the economy, (causing the collapse of the free market economy)
4. Control the money supply to reduce inflation. (deregulation of banks did the opposite)

control of the money supply has nothing to do with deregulation of banks. inflation is controled by one of two theories, via manipulation of interest rates or the supply of money.

the federal reserve invokes either.

reagan's idea was make decisons on spending local, not at the federal level.

a new library or scholl expenditures are better controlled at the local level was the idea. if a district wanted to spend more they make the decison to raise local taxes.

the reality was that the congress just found new places to spend the largess and the local governments were forced to raise taxes. afterall who wants to deny johnny a good education?

As usual, all Paul has is cheap insults.

money supply has nothing to do with deregulation of banks.

Sure it did. The banker thiefs were able to combine speculation with government guarantees. Look what happened to fannie and fredie. They pumped money into real estate creating the bubble.

Inflation is another story. The way it looks to me is inflation is staying low because nobody has any money. The price of commodities are inflating but at the retail level they can't raise prices.
The result will be what they used to call a lower standard of living.
Who needs more stuff anyway?

One of the things I find rather amusing here, is that you righties really miss Bush and his chest thumping triumphalism. The Obama administration has had a pretty good record of capturing or killing terrorists. But they don't call a press conference every time and play ape about it. You guys seem to mistake that for wimpyness.

Saleh al-Somali, dead, Predator drone strike.

Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, the ringleader of a Qaeda cell in Kenya and one of the most wanted Islamic militants in Africa, and Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan's enemy No.1 and the leader of its Taliban movement. Dead. But no press conferences.

OMG, they are not serious about terrarists! No bragging, no chest thumping triumphalism.

You guys miss that stuff.

And hell, they did not even waterboard Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. What wimps.

He's also going to face a federal trial. I guess that means al Qaeda will be staging car bombings in Michigan, while kidnapping the prosecutor's daughter too. Why isn't the Boehner out protesting!

HB - you don't complain about anything this administration does or doesn't do, do you? To me, it's simple. A man's mother, father, or other family member says he's a threat - and we put him on the no fly list. Forever.

And hell, they did not even waterboard Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

So you are comparing this goomba to KSM.

Wow could you be any more banal or stupid?

What a wonderful holiday season! All the secular, materialistic claptrap was again intertwined with the religious undertones, and a healthy dose of bitching from extremist Christians because they were wished a "Happy Holiday" instead of a "Merry Christmas". People of Jewish and other religious beliefs, along with atheists, don't seem to mind generic holiday greetings.

BTW, I hope the solstice was good to you, and that the earth's perihelion with the sun on January 3rd finds you well.

Cali, I didn't make it to the New Mexico Bowl. The temperature wasn't too cold but wasn't really warm either. I decided to get my Christmas shopping finished instead. Missed a pretty good double-OT game, from what I've read.

Jer, a lot would have to depend on the credibility of the family member making the accusation.

People of Jewish and other religious beliefs, along with atheists, don't seem to mind generic holiday greetings.

Was that a typo, Nyuk? I know a number of non-Christians who get offended by "Merry Christmas" and insist on generic holiday greetings. On the other hand, I don't know of any non-Christians who insist on greetings in their own faith, or at least not from me, a Catholic.

**Look what happened to fannie and fredie. They pumped money into real estate creating the bubble.**

actually, everyone who watched multi-billion dollar dotcom and tech companies lose all their value pumped their money into real estate because it was seen as a much safer investment.

Why, Indy? I mean, let the person stay home - why should we take a chance?

And, especially in this case, as for some reason, he was already on the radar.

Jer, there are plenty of individuals who would lie about their relatives, whether for power over them, or out of spite, or whatever. That's why you have to take into account the credibility of the accuser.

For instance, would you take seriously anything said by any member of Lindsay Lohan's family about any other member?

Filed Under:Greed (Reaganism) is good.

real estate... it was seen as a much safer investment.

Howd that work out?

Banks pumping more money inflated the prices. A bubble is a bubble.

How come the thief's who rated that garbage AAA are still running free?

Jerr my post from yesterday

The U.S. government created a record on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in November 2009 in the intelligence community's central repository of information on known and suspected international terrorists, but there was not enough negative information to put him on a no-fly list, a U.S. administration official said on Saturday.


So there WAS enough information to put him on the "known and suspected interntional terrorist list" but there WAS NOT enough information to keep him from flying on US air carriers?

Therefore, one must assume, that "known or suspected terrorists" are still welcome to travel on US air carriers.

Political correctness in all it's glory.

To me, it's simple. A man's mother, father, or other family member says he's a threat - and we put him on the no fly list. Forever.

could not be any simpler

this was a complete failure thank G-d no one was hurt or killed.

i do not blame the scanners, for this, this guy sholud have been taken away at checkin.

*8 real estate... it was seen as a much safer investment.
Howd that work out?**

we know how it worked out you idiot. too much money chasing the same assets. that does not change the rationale. after 2000, brick and mortar type investments was in vogue. did you sleep through the period?

there are plenty of individuals who would lie about their relatives, whether for power over them, or out of spite, or whatever.

for safety sake, pull the guy off the line and do a oduble secret probation security screening.

why risk 200 deaths?

**why risk 200 deaths?**

because they don't want to look like they're doing anything similar to what bush did or whould have done.

JBD, as to this... A man's mother, father, or other family member says he's a threat - and we put him on the no fly list. Forever.

Link.

When Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's father in Nigeria reported concern over his son's "radicalization" to the U.S. Embassy there last month, intelligence officials in the United States deemed the information insufficient to pursue. The young man's name was added to the half-million entries in a computer database in McLean and largely forgotten.

The lack of attention was not unusual, according to U.S. intelligence officials, who said that thousands of similar bits of information flow into the National Counterterrorism Center each week from around the world. Only those that indicate a specific threat, or add to an existing body of knowledge about an individual, are passed along for further investigation and possible posting on airline and border watch lists.

"It's got to be something that causes the information to sort of rise out of the noise level, because there is just so much out there," one intelligence official said.

The report entered on Abdulmutallab, 23, after his father's Nov. 19 visit to the embassy was "very, very thin, with minimal information," said a second U.S. official familiar with its contents.

They did not have much to go on JBD.

Oh, and btw, Abdulmutallab was issued his visa during the Bush administration.

intelligence officials in the United States deemed the information insufficient to pursue.

according to U.S. intelligence officials, who said that thousands of similar bits of information flow into the National Counterterrorism Center each week from around the world

and how many are form the parents?

this is utter bullshit!

Leader Gingrich sez that "every" Republican running next year should be for repealing HCR.

Funny thing is, that to really do so, would require that the Republicans have a GOP President and 60 seats in the senate to do so.

Good luck with that one, Newtie.

thousands of similar bits of information flow into the National Counterterrorism Center each week from around the world.

It utter bullshit? It is? Do you have any grasp of how much information these people get a day? Do they have the resources to make sure every one of them is put on a do not fly list?

Give me a break.

i want to point out, that the parents sholud be commended for trying to get this information out.

we apparently are still willing to use the mistakes of intelligence once again.

here is a new rule, if a parent contacts the government and says my son has been talking about terrorist acts...don't let him on a plane.

The Party of "NO" voted AGAINST additional funding for the TSA. But of course, that is Obama's fault.

Republicans have cast votes against the key TSA funding measure, the 2010 appropriation bill for the Department of Homeland Security contained, which included funding for the TSA, including for explosives detection systems and other aviation security measures. In the June 24 vote in the House, leading Republicans including John Boehner, Pete Hoekstra, Mike Pence and Paul Ryan voted against the bill, amid a procedural dispute over the appropriations process, a Democrat points out. A full 108 Republicans voted against the conference version, including Boehner, Boehner, Hoekstra, Pence, Michelle Bachmann, Marsha Blackburn, Darrell Issa, and Joe Wilson.

The conference bill included more than $4 billion for "screening operations," including $1.1 billion in funding for explosives detection systems, including $778 million for buying and installing the systems.

And utter bullshit too!!!!!!!!!!

Do you have any grasp of how much information these people get a day?

from a parent?

Do they have the resources to make sure every one of them is put on a do not fly list?

you are right, lets let another 200 get killed because of lame excuses.

William Hochul, a twenty-year prosecutor with expertise in running counter-terrorism cases, was in line for promotion to Main Justice in 2006. Until Monica Goodling, (and graduate of Pat Robertson University.. LOL) the infamous figure from the US Attorney firings scandal, found out his wife is active in Democratic politics and killed the appointment. Now President Obama has nominated him to serve as US Attorney in the Western District of New York.

--Josh Marshall

including $1.1 billion in funding for explosives detection systems, including $778 million for buying and installing the systems.

the guy sholud not have even been in the line.

lets let another 200 get killed because of lame excuses.

200 got killed? That's news to me.

The guy was a joke, obviously working on his own, who failed, and you are blaming Obama and seemingly claiming taht 200 died.

Amazing.

The conference bill included more than $4 billion for "screening operations," including $1.1 billion in funding for explosives detection systems, including $778 million for buying and installing the systems.

So we are supposed install these machines in Nigeria?

even Al-Guardian has finally gotten aboard the clue train

The inference is that the terrorists, whether "al-Qaida" or not, are currently unable to mount operations within the US and are restricted to attacks on the US launched from abroad. The terrorists' chosen mode of operation thus diminishes their ability to portray themselves as purely anti-American. Increasingly they make clear that they are indiscriminately at war with the world

The problem is DHS is designed to be a "first" responder NOT a preventer. They are there to pick up the aluminum and human confetti after a "man-caused disaster"

you are blaming Obama

what i am saying is that the intelligence officers who put out a statement that they receive too many reports and can not act on all is amazing for anyone to believe. it us rationalization at best and incompetence at worst.

a parent calls in and says watch out and you file it away.

this is almost as bad as saying that no one will be killed on planes becasue they are all acting alone and must be incomptetent, so don't worry.

this is my opinion, you have yours, and neither of us will change our opinions. so i am done on this subject.

Given the sheer volume of information received at the TSA and CIA, I can see how some loon slipped through the cracks, no system is perfect.

Luckily, no one got hurt but the idiot who tried to blow up the plane.