Daily Thought Pad: Responsibility

Showing posts with label Responsibility. Show all posts

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Hillaryville Imploding

A brewing scandal that potentially suggests some degree of State Department mismanagement during Hillary Clinton’s tenure could hurt not only her legacy, but also prospects for a 2016 presidential bid, some say. Others just say prosecution(s) are in order.

Photo: As (obvious) recent face work has been completed, a Twitter account has been opened, and the image rebuilding process is underway for another Hillary Clinton run for the presidency (2016), the State Department and Ms. Hillary’s record continues to implode.

By Marion Algier – AskMarion

The latest scandal and cover-up, which we will call State Dept-gate for now, started with a State Department memo alleging involvement with prostitution and drugs.

The timeline surrounding the allegations in said memo places the incidents during former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's tenure, opening the possibility that a widening scandal might taint both her record and her possible political aspirations. Clinton has also taken heat for the department's response to the September 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, but has managed to avoid intense scrutiny or prosecution, at least thus far.

Hillary Clinton's new Twitter page

Having just opened a Twitter account, Hillary Clinton Tweets the future is 'TBD' Some would respond to that with… “Only if the American people and the Congress are stupid will there be anything to announce but jail time or a private life!

The memo itself, purportedly written by Ambassador Larry Dinger, describes some of the information as coming from office chatter.

$Photos: Clinton\'s political career$

Hillary Photo (on a good day): Prior to recent ‘image rebuild’ project

"Sometimes the sources are one or more agents who became aware of the case from colleagues in what, given cubicles, can be a collegial environment," the memo says.

Regarding the latest allegations, supported by documents provided to CNN by a lawyer for a whistle-blower who is a former senior inspector general investigator, they include:

• An active U.S. ambassador "routinely ditched his protective security detail in order to solicit sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor children," the memo says. The ambassador's protective detail and others "were well aware of the behavior," the memo asserts. When a diplomatic security officer tried to investigate, undersecretary of state for management Patrick Kennedy allegedly ordered the investigator "not to open a formal investigation."

On Tuesday, CNN obtained a statement from the ambassador, who vigorously denied the allegations, calling them "baseless."

A source close to the investigation of the ambassador told CNN that the ambassador's security detail reported to the inspector general that the ambassador would leave his house at night without notifying the detail. The detail followed the ambassador and saw the ambassador once go to a park that's known for illegal activity, the source told CNN. The detail said they never witnessed the ambassador engage in any sexual activity, the source said.

The ambassador went to Washington and was asked what he was doing and he denied any wrongdoing, the source told CNN. The ambassador explained that sometimes he fights with his wife, needs air and he goes for a walk in the park because he likes it.

Kennedy also issued a statement Tuesday, saying it is his responsibility "to make sure the department and all of our employees -- no matter their rank -- are held to the highest standard, and I have never once interfered, nor would I condone interfering, in any investigation."

• A State Department security official in Beirut allegedly "engaged in sexual assaults" against foreign nationals working as embassy guards. The security official, the Office of the Inspector General says, was also accused of committing "similar assaults during assignments in Baghdad, and possibly Khartoum and Monrovia." The office's memo says that an inspector general's investigator who went to Beirut to try to conduct an investigation was not given enough time to complete the job.

• A member of Clinton's security detail allegedly "engaged prostitutes while on official trips in foreign countries." The inspector general's agent assigned to investigate "concluded" that the "prostitution problem was endemic."

• In Iraq, an "underground drug ring" may have been operating near the U.S. Embassy and "supplying" drugs to State Department security contractors, but an agent sent to investigate the allegations was prevented from completing the job.

The allegations were first reported Monday by CBS.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki responded Monday.

"We hold all employees to the highest standards," she said. "We take allegations of misconduct seriously and we investigate thoroughly. All cases mentioned in the CBS report were thoroughly investigated and under investigation, and the department continues to take action."

During a Tuesday State briefing with reporters, Psaki reiterated that the memo contains "unsubstantiated allegations" and that some cases are ongoing and some are closed. But she would not, though repeatedly pressed by reporters, specify exactly which ones were open or closed.

"As a matter of policy, I'm not going to talk" about specific cases, she said.

"We take every allegation seriously," Psaki added. "We are seeing through the process."

On Tuesday, Nicholas Merrill, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton, said Clinton was completely unaware of any of the investigations mentioned in the Office of the Inspector General's reports and memos, including the case involving her personal security detail allegedly soliciting prostitutes.

"We learned of it from the media and don't know anything beyond what's been reported," Merrill told CNN in a written statement.

Photos: Hillary during Congressional Benghazi Hearing time frame… Is there any question that Hillary wants to run in 2016?

Clinton officially left her post in February, no doubt hoping to distance herself from her mess at the State Department?!?

Also Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he has asked his staff to begin an investigation into the allegations, and sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry demanding an explanation.

"The notion that any or all of these cases would not be investigated thoroughly by the Department is unacceptable," Royce wrote in his letter to Kerry.

CNN obtained a draft, dated December 2012, of a report by the inspector general's office evaluating the performance of the department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security Special Investigations Division.

The report says that the bureau "lacks a firewall" that would preclude higher-ups from "exercising undue influence in particular cases."

The bureau doesn't have a manual with approved guidelines on how to investigate cases, the report also says. Investigators with the inspector general's office "discovered uncertainty" among state agents about how to conduct thorough investigations, and noted that not going through the proper mechanisms can "ruin" a potential criminal investigation.

The report also calls the department's Criminal Investigations Division "unwieldy" and says that "frequent agent turnover" makes it harder for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security to conduct investigations.

The inspector general's office published a February 2013 final report whose key findings are, largely, the same as stated in the December 2012 draft.

The division's current management structure, the report says, does not "foster independence from career pressures and creates significant potential for undue influence, favoritism, and potential retribution.

But things for the State Department just keep getting worse.

Townhall: First we learned from CBS News that Department official covered up and interfered with inspector general investigations of sexual misconduct, including the soliciation of prostitutes by an ambassador. Then we learned those sexual solicitations involved minors. Now, we're learning State Department officials covered up the shooting of four Hondurans.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Incompetent-gate, Corruption-gate and Progressive-gate - Part 1

By Marion Algier – AskMarion

The list of corruption, fraud, scandals, cover-ups, overreach and incompetence by the Obama administration is staggering and growing by the day. Voter fraud and manipulation in both 2008 and 2012, Fast and Furious, Benghazi-gate, IRS-gate, Press-gate and now Sebelius-gate and EPA-gate are all coming to light, yet we are really only seeing the tip of the iceberg and if it were any other president he would never have been elected for a second term and impeachment would be on the table.

But when you start looking at the long list of infractions, it really narrows down to 3 main ‘gates’: Incompetent-gate, Corruption-gate and Progressive-gate. Everything else falls within the parameters of those 3. It is a story of incompetence or feigned incompetence and lies, a Culture of Corruption and the philosophy of Progressivism. The amazing part is that President Obama himself, former Secretary Hillary Clinton, and head cop Eric Holder have all already admitted both directly and indirectly to the first one: Incompetent-gate. They have all admitted over and over again through their testimonies, speeches and press conferences that they were, have been and are incompetent. And anyone paying attention has realized that the buck stops with anyone they can pin it on except themselves. Even Obama’s detachment is strategic!

We are finally reaching the point where half of America wants Obama impeached; worshippers like Chris Matthews are questioning what President Obama likes about his job; courageous journalists are saying it like it is and whistleblowers are coming out of the woodwork.

The panic is obviously building on the left when you look the amount of energy and time both Obama himself and the administration have spent denying their involvement and tap dancing, especially the past 10-days. IRS official Lois Lerner To Plead the Fifth At Congressional Hearing Tomorrow. If you know the law, you can only take the Fifth if you testimony could incriminate you of a crime, not just because you don’t want to answer.

You know they are nervous or someone is getting close when they throw a liberal icon like Bob Woodward under the bus!

But for the first time the mainstream media outlets, that has always been in Obama’s pocket, are beginning to cover the “gates” getting some information to the average Americans who don’t pay a lot of attention to politics.

Joseph Curl tweeted a report from a CIA source on Monday afternoon regarding the Obama administration's developing scandal surrounding monitoring the email accounts of Fox News' James Rosen:

Urgent -- CIA: Fox News Scandal “Goes Much Deeper,” White House Sitting On Something Top Obama Aides “Terrified” About…

We will continue to monitor and review the proceedings and updates as we have since 2007 to help the truth come out before the 2014 Election. Drastic changes in the make-up of the U.S. House and Senate are perhaps the only and last hope to turn the tide back toward the center and save America. Check back next week for part 11 and daily for updates.

It is now time for all Americans to pay attention, demand answers, stand up, and share what they know and suspect for you cannot love or honor what you do not know, miss or understand … and you certainly won’t fight for it. Yet the details of the scandals before us will (and already have) affect all our lives (including those of the libs) as well as the lives of our children, grandchildren and future generations of America!! But those with the courage to stand up will surely pay a price if we don’t all stand together for the truth!

Sign the GOP petition and demand accountability from President Obama and his Administration.

Sign the petition urging Congress to impeach Obama.

What Did the President Know About the IRS Scandal and When Did He Know It?

The Great Unifier Didn't Need to be Told About the IRS Targeting Conservatives

WH spokesperson stumped: Where was Obama on night of Benghazi attack?

Foreign vote-count firm expands U.S. reach

Hey, IRS: Here’s the WW II prison camp survivor you asked about

Obama Isn't Just Too Big to Fail, He's Too Big to Know

‘First they came for Fox News…’

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

You Cannot Love and Honor What You Don’t Know or Miss

By Marion Algier – Ask Marion

The American system is broken and the Great American Experiment is almost lost. But what is even more frightening is that (for far too many) the American people’s connection to their culture, traditions, religion and history are broken while in large part the American people have lost their common sense, ability for critical thinking which is needed to connect the dots and their willingness to work and fight like past generations did and would have to get them back for themselves and for their children before they are gone forever.

Whatever you want to call them, the liberal left, Progressives, Socialists, Communists, Marxists, global elites, etc., which include most of our politicians, media corps, Hollywood types and those who control our educational system, they have been on a mission for decades, while average and generally more traditional Americans, the Sheeple as they have been dubbed by Russia’s Pravda, ‘just lived’ allowing themselves to be manipulated, dumbed down and programmed. The Progressives used political correctness; multiculturalism; White Guilt; division; attacks on societal and cultural norms; racism, diversion; the creation of a permanent underclass that they can theoretically control and manipulate out of dependence; and the infiltration of public schools, churches and both traditional and social media, especially to reach the young, to bring us to this moment in time in American history, when there are more low and under-informed citizens and voters than those engaged and involved.

Tom Brokaw’s ‘Greatest Generation’ was the lynch pin that was purposely broken between tradition and what America was and the rebellious baby-boomers and what America ‘could be molded into’ using the left’s plan. The Greatest Generation fought in one or both World Wars or Korea and were “Great Depression” babies or children of survivors of the “Great Depression and the Great War(s) and in their attempt to spare them the hardships they grew up with, they produced the most rebellious, self-centered, self-indulgent and spoiled generation of all time.

Those in power today from the Clintons to the Obamas and the members of their administrations are and were products of the ‘could be’ generations that followed the so-called The Greatest Generation.

Remember Hillary Clinton’s famous debate comment in 2007: “I prefer to think of myself as a Progressive!” (Video), after being asked if she was a liberal) by Barack Obama. Progressives… the Clintons are and were having been part of the George Soros, Saul Alinsky and Cloward and Piven team; The Shadow Party.

Whereas the Obama’s are part of the generation inspired and spawned by Soros, Alinsky, Cloward, Piven , the Clintons and their ideas. Both President Obama’s mother and grandparents were Communists, who attended the Little Red Church in Washington as well as his mentor Frank Marshall Davis. They were part of the ‘anti-traditional America’ movement.

The members of the Greatest Generation generally grew up poor and gave their all (their youth, their health and their lives) for America and freedom, or definitely knew many who did, and deserve our gratitude and respect for all they gave and their sacrifices. But, where I differ with Tom Brokaw, who like Katie Couric and many other anchors and reporters is a member of the elitist CFR, the Greatest Generation didn’t follow through on their sacrifices and commitment to America after the war years. Instead, wanting to spare their kids the strife and hardships they went through, the Greatest Generation raised spoiled self-indulgent children, the baby-boomers, who in turn raised spoiled self-indulgent children, the Millennials, with even less structure than they had and generally without moms at home after school and who, like our president, often grew up without stable fathers in the picture. They were rife for manipulation, indoctrination and experimentation!

American born and immigrant children learned American history and a pride in this amazing country. History was as important as reading, writing and arithmetic. Most people went to church so they had roots and were grounded and a support group from both home and church. And traditions, beliefs and culture were passed down from generation to generation by parents, grandparents, and communities.

America used to be a melting pot. Immigrants came legally, in an orderly fashion in numbers that America could assimilate.. They brought with them their backgrounds, their traditions, their religion and their talents that would eventually help flavor the pot, but initially they came here hungry, grateful and with sponsors knowing it would be tough and that there would be no handouts. So they were ready to work, ready to blend in, ready to learn English and ready to become Americans… not expecting America to change for them. They retained their personal cultures and honored them at home or in their communities. They blended their traditions with American traditions but strived first and foremost to blend in. Immigrant children quickly learned to speak English, 2 sometimes 3 languages, and knew both their own history and American history as well often better than anyone born here.

When you know where you came from, your history, which includes a pride and knowledge in America’s history and traditions as well as your own family history, traditions, and values as well as your cultural background and your religious background you develop a natural love, respect and honor for all those things, even during the rebellious years, and most people find their back to that core. Those who have worked for generations to lay the groundwork to fundamentally change America understood that and have slowly, quietly and methodically chipped away at that core.

A little diversity, room for growth and positive change are good things, but what we have in common, not division or diversity, is the glue that makes any society, culture and country strong.

Several generations of Americans have now been dumbed down, have lost their religion, have abandoned their traditions, have decided to live by their own rules and have even abandoned the integrity of the family unit. And the grandparents and great-grandparents who should have cemented the generations decided to play golf, go on cruises and indulge themselves instead of passing along the traditions, the stories and the history. They left their grandchildren at the mercy of the Progressives, as they did their children, telling themselves that they had done enough, that they wanted their children to have it easier than they did (less rules, structure and sacrifice) and opting for being the nice and fun grandparents instead of the involved examples who passed the torch.

We have allowed ourselves to be dumbed down and our time to be filled with distractions and in turn have allowed our children to be dumbed down, manipulated and indoctrinated by electronic baby-sitters, an educational system with an agenda and their peers that have the same of even less guidance. Fewer and fewer families eat dinner together or they eat dinner in front of the television or allow cell phones at the table. Less and less people are attending church; after all it is easier to sleep in or more fun to go to a ball game. And more and more people’s holidays revolve around sales at the mall and how many gifts they receive instead of traditions and celebrating and discussing the real meaning behind them. And when was the last time you discussed politics, religion, current events or history with your kids, grandkids, friends or co-workers? How about family history? Our children are being programmed by people like Bill Ayers, mindless or worse television shows and video games full of sex and violence. And most Americans no longer read the newspaper or watch the news and if they do, the majority mindlessly read and watch the mainstream media outlets without question or research, that have become propaganda arms for our ever left-leaning government. And then we vote without knowing the issues, anything about the candidates or for a repeat and wonder why our lives keep getting worse.

Obama is presently fighting off a long list of scandals – Benghazi-gate, IRS-gate, Press-gate and now Sebelius-gate and EPA-gate plus he should be answering for those scandals like Fast and Furious that his team buried. And the leading Democrat Progressive choice for 2016, Hillary Clinton, is equally involved in many of those and others, yet the average American, is either completely unaware that they even exist, or if they have heard of them, really don’t understand what the scandals are about because of the bias liberal media spin and blackouts (Many people have not even heard about the murder trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell). If this were almost any other president in American history, he would already be writing his resignation letter. Yet now we hear that the administration has become so paranoid and controlling that they are even spying on the friendly media.

Reader’s Digest took a ‘Trust’ Poll: The 100 Most Trusted People in America. They survived 1,009 people between January 24th and January 29th. "Who is the most trusted man in America?" Want to take a stab at it? Wanna take a wild guess? I'll give you a little hint. Clarence Thomas is number 88… Tom Hanks is number 1. What happened to the days where astronauts, reporters like Walter Cronkite, Mother Teresa or presidents like Ronald Reagan or John F. Kennedy headed up the list? We can kid ourselves all we want, but you only have to watch a segment of Jay-Walking with Jay Leno or Watter’s World with Jesse Watters or callers to talk radio shows like Howard Stern to realize how lost we really are.

“Sandra Bullock, the 2nd most trusted person in America? I wouldn’t even trust her to tell me she was in a good movie.” –Glenn Beck

The Reader's Digest Poll of the 100 Most Trusted People in Low-Information America

There is only one way to save America and to prove the goal of the Great American Experiment, that people can rule themselves. But it won’t be easy and will take returning to a world with rules; enforcement of the law; respect for parents, grand-parents and authority… including a higher authority; a house-cleaning of the broken system and a concerted effort to replace facebook, twitter, texting, sexting, 24-hour electronic stimulation and even our obsession with the 24-hour sports cycle with family time, reading, going back and learning the real America history as well as our family and cultural histories, delving into current events and the news and sharing the truth with everyone you know. And then it will take our involvement in our schools, in elections at all levels, boycotting TV and other media that lie to us and harm our children, values and culture and demanding honest media and honest politicians. How about running a kid’s patriot camp in your area or taking a summer trip to a presidential library, Gettysburg, Williamsburg or Washington, D.C. for a start? And leave the electronics at home.

You cannot love or honor what you don’t know or miss, let alone be expected to fight for it. We have done our children and the future generations of Americans, if America survives at all, a great dis-service by allowing them to sail through life like ships without rudders. We are teetering on the edge as a nation, a society and a culture and the only way for us to keep from going over the edge is for those, mostly 50 and over, who were raised before common sense and critical thinking died and were educated in pre-rewritten America history, religion and with family and cultural traditions, to step-up and fill-in the gaps for those who are younger and those who are lost and floundering and become the leaders for change… a change back to what worked and mattered, no matter how tough or how unpopular… and to do it quickly.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. . . . whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right." –these are the cornerstones of Jefferson's interest in education and the franchise. He placed education as the foundation of democracy and a prerequisite to vote.

Obama Tells Wealthy Gathering He Wants To “Institutionalize” Crisis Atmosphere

Jefferson, Education and the Franchise

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Marco Rubio, His Chief of Staff Cesar Conda, Amnesty, George Soros and the Grander Plan

Technorati Tags: Love,Honor,knowledge,heritage,history,low-informed voters,ignorance,indoctrination,manipulation,lack of knowledge,culture,society,honesty,self-realization,critical thinking,humor,divide and conquer,the family unit,religion,broken system,destroying America,division,political correctness,guilt,multiculcuralism,White guilt,the Great American Experiment,pride,Charles Krauthammer,Progregressivism,MSM,Hollywood,liberal bias media,dumbing down of America,rewriting history,BenghaziGate,IRS-gate,Press-gate,Sebelius-gate,EPA-gate,Fast and Furious

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Governor Palin: “Who is Running our Country?”

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today posted this Status Update on Facebook:

Who is running our country? We've got a CIA Director sharing security info with his mistress using an unsecure gmail account. We've got the delusional Susan Rice blaming the death of an ambassador on a Youtube video. We've got Iran firing on one of our drones a week before the election. We've got the White House either ignorant of or covering up all of this. Who is minding the store? Everywhere we look we see the rank incompetence or corruption of the people who are supposedly running our country and our major institutions. Let's hope that responsible reporters at Obama's press conference today ask the right questions Americans deserve answers to.

Here's my question for the president: As our nation's chief executive you claim to be unaware of the most important and tragic situations we're facing; so, as a former chief executive, I'd like to know how long it takes for your staff to tell you things like: "Sir, your CIA Director is under investigation"?

– Sarah Palin – Who one day after the 2012 Election was voted the person Republicans consider the leader of their party in the GretaWire Poll.

Rush Limbaugh read this today on his show and said, “Sarah hit the nail right on the head!”

News conference: Obama talks about Petraeus, taxes

obama-whitehouse

2:51PM EST November 14. 2012 - President Obama took questions from reporters Wednesday in his first full-scale news conference since March.

Obama made his first comments on the widening scandal that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus, plus addressed upcoming negotiations with Congress on taxes and spending cuts.

He also forcefully beat back attacks on U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice coming from GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina for her comments following deadly violence in Libya. Obama said the senators are trying to "besmirch" her reputation.

"If Senator McCain and Senator Graham want to go after someone, they should go after me," Obama said. Well, I agree with that!!

Highlights from the news conference are below, as USA TODAY's Aamer Madhani is at the White House.

2:25 p.m. ET: That's a wrap, Obama says. But then a question is shouted out and Obama declines to answer it because it was yelled out.

2:22 p.m. ET: Last question is about Syria and whether the United States would arm Syrian rebels. Obama says he was one of the first leaders to say Bashar Assad should go. He says the United States is in close contact with Turkey and other countries. Obama says he was "encouraged" that the Syrian opposition formed an umbrella group. "We consider them a legitimate representation of the aspirations of the Syrian people," Obama says. But, he added, the United States is "not prepared" to recognize the rebels as a "government in exile."

2:21 p.m. ET: Obama notes it might be easier to deal with the fiscal cliff than to find a bipartisan solution on climate change but suddenly seems to have opened the door for discussion on the long-shot carbon tax as part of the fiscal cliff debate.

2:18 p.m. ET: "I am a firm believer that climate change is real," Obama says. He adds that he doesn't know what Republicans or Democrats are prepared to do to solve the issue, but acknowledges it would involve "making some tough political choices." He says he won't go for anything that would have a negative impact on jobs.

2:16 p.m. ET: Next question is about New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's endorsement and what the president plans to do about climate change. "We can't attribute any particular weather event to climate change. What we do know is the temperature around the globe is increasing," he says.

2:14 p.m. ET: Obama says he wants a diplomatic solution to Iran and vows that country will not get a nuclear weapon. "I will try to make a push int he coming months to see ... if we can get this thing resolved. I can't promise that Iran will walk through the door," he says. Obama vows not to be "constrained by diplomatic niceties and protocols."

2:12 p.m. ET: Back to the fiscal cliff. Obama says he can envision the moment (that he wants to avoid) if there is no agreement before tax cuts expire and spending cuts take effect. He calls again for certainty for middle-class families.

2:11 p.m. ET: Obama shares a light moment with Christi Parsons of the Chicago Tribune, who covered his first race for the Illinois state Senate.

2:08 p.m. ET: Obama says he has one mandate and that's to help the middle class. "I don't presume that because I won an election that everybody suddenly agrees with me on everything," he says. "On the other hand I didn't get re-elected just to bask in re-election. I got elected to do work on behalf of American families and small business all across the country."

2:05 p.m. ET: Obama says there is no debate that there needs to be accountability after four Americans were killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. And he warns Sens. McCain and Graham again: "When they go after the U.N. ambassador apparently because they think she's an easy target then they've got a problem with me." He says he's not yet determined whether Susan Rice is the best person for the secretary of State job.

2:03 p.m. ET ABC's Jonathan Karl asks about Sen. John McCain's vow to block Susan Rice from the secretary of State job. Obama says Rice has done "exemplary" work and has been professional. "If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after somebody they should go after me."

Obama says "for them to go after the U.N. ambassador ... and besmirch her reputation is outrageous."

2:02 p.m.ET: "I hope and intend to be an even better president" in a second term, Obama says.

2 p.m. ET: The question is about improving relationships with Congress. "I will examine ways that I can make sure to communicate my desire to work with everybody," Obama says, adding he will not compromise when it comes to helping the middle class. "All of us have responsibilities to see if there are things we can improve on." Obama says Americans don't want to see "a focus on the next election. ...I don't have another election."

1:58 p.m. ET: Is Obama going to sit down with Mitt Romney? Obama says nothing has been scheduled yet. "Everybody needs to catch their breath," he says, adding he hopes it occurs before the end of the year. Obama says there are "certain aspects" to Romney's career that could be helpful, such as his "terrific" job running the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Obama says he's not "prejudging" what Romney wants to do, nor does he have a specific assignment for his rival.

1:56 p.m. ET: Obama says he doesn't want a "vague" solution when it comes to reducing the deficit. "The American people understood what they were getting when they gave me this incredible privilege of being in office for another four years," Obama says as he repeats his call for the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes.

1:55 p.m. ET: Back to the fiscal cliff. Obama says the problems are "solvable" and that "fair minded people" can come to an agreement. "I don't expect Republicans to simply adopt my budget," he says.

1:54 p.m. ET: Obama says that had he been told sooner about Petraeus then reporters could have been asking him today why he interfered in an ongoing investigation.

1:52 p.m. ET: NBC News goes back to the question: Should the president have known about the Petraeus investigation sooner than he did? "I am withholding judgment with respect to how the entire process surrounding Gen. Petraeus came up," Obama answers. "I have a lot of confidence in the FBI and they have a difficult job."

1:50 p.m. ET: Obama says he wants to move on a comprehensive immigration bill soon after his inauguration. It will include border security measure and should contain serious penalties for companies that hire illegal immigrants. Obama says there should be a "pathway for legal status" for those who are already living in the United States, and that these illegal immigrants should potentially pay a fine. He also said he wants to put into law what he did administratively that allows thousands of young illegal immigrants to stay in the country.

1:48 p.m. ET: The topic now is immigration and what is his vision for a "broad" plan. Obama said it was "encouraging" to see a "significant" increase in Latino voter turnout last week. "You're starting to see a sense of empowerment and civic participation ... that will be good for the country," he said.

1:47 p.m. ET: More on the fiscal cliff. Obama says, "We've got a clear majority of the American people who recognize if we're going to be serious about deficit reduction we have to do it in a balanced way." He says he wants "a big deal" and a "comprehensive deal."

1:43 p.m. ET: Obama says the country cannot afford to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. "A deal that helps the economy, creates jobs, creates certainty" is what he's looking for. After that, he says, he wants a process to set up reform of the tax code and entitlements such as Social Security. "There's a package to be shaped and I'm confident that the ... goodwill of both parties can make that happen."

1:41 p.m. ET: Obama says he doesn't want to "meddle" in the Petraeus investigation and declines to specify if he should have been notified earlier.

1:40 p.m. ET: "General Petraeus had an extraordinary career. ... By his own assessment he did not meet the standards he felt were necessary as the director of the CIA. ... From my perspective, he has provided this country has provided extraordinary service. My hope right now is that he and his family are amble to move and that this ends up being a single side note on what has otherwise been an extraordinary career."

1:39 p.m. ET: First question from AP's Ben Feller on national security and the Petraeus scandal. "I have no evidence ... from what I have seen that classified information was disclosed that in any way ... would impact national security." Ed Henry from Fox tried again to ask the President on tough question on Benghazi but again doesn’t get direct answer.

1:37 p.m. ET: Obama says, "We should not hold the middle class hostage while we debate tax cuts for the wealthy." He's urging a deal before the holidays.

1:36 p.m. ET: Obama says he's "open to compromise and open to new ideas." He's pleased that Republicans want to find new revenue. " He notes everyone's taxes will go up if he and Congress cannot reach a deal on tax and spending cuts.

1:35 p.m. ET: Obama opens with a statement about the importance of creating jobs and the need for bipartisanship as he and Congress try to avoid the fiscal cliff. "We face a very clear deadline that requires us to make some big decision on jobs, taxes and deficits," he said. "I believe that both parties can work together."

Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com/sarahpalin/posts/10151264793653588. h/t to Us4Palin and USAToday

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Petraeus to testify at Benghazi hearing - Don’t Expect his Testimony to be Different from What He Gave September 13th

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Ben Stein’s Final Column

For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called 'Monday Night At Morton's.' (Morton's is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.) Now, Ben is terminating the column to move on to other things in his life. Reading his final column is worth a few minutes of your time.

Ben Stein's Last Column... How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?

As I begin to write this, I 'slug' it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is 'eonline FINAL,' and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long! I came to believe it would never end.

It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.

Beyond that, a bigger change has happened..? I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.

How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a 'star' we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails…

They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit , Iraq . He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.

A real star is the U.S. Soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad . He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him..

A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. Soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.

The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.

We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.

I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.

There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament... The policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.

Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.

I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.

But, I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.

This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York . I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.

By Ben Stein

Related Resources:

The Real Stars - Book
Expelled - DVD
How to Ruin the United States of America... – Book
Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably... – Book

Ask Marion – Daily Thought Pad

Monday, May 25, 2009

The Death of "Common Sense"

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who Has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. ( And some never knew he existed! )

Source: Anonymous

Let Congress Hear You... Call, Fax, Email, Write or Show-Up In Their Offices!

The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. -- Dante Alighieri / Often Quoted by and credited to Mark Twain
If you choose not to go this route… call and fax your Senator and as many of them on the list yourself, but don’t sit idly by!!
United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224 or 225 -3121
Senators from your State.
Call the White House at 202-456-1414 or 1111 and tell President Obama you have had enough!

Find Out Here: How Did Your Congressman Vote ????

Call the switchboard for the house of Representatives in Washington today... your Congressperson and Nancy Pelosi and tell them "NO on Cap and Trade" & NO on the Carbon Tax!!!

Stop the Insanity!!! Stand-Up American... You Are Not Alone!!!

"...there comes a time, ladies and gentlemen, when ideology can cause death. I am so tired, so tired, of zealots, primarily on the left, putting their insane personal agendas above the safety of fellow Americans. Do you think the brave soldiers and Marines operating in dangerous areas right now want [unreleased photos of alleged abuse of prisoners] all over al-Jazeera and the terror websites? So let's look out for the military, OK? Nancy Pelosi has an obligation to get the loons in her party under control. If the Speaker can't do that, she doesn't deserve her position." ... Bill O'Reilly