Members of Congress Win Right to Say 'Merry Christmas' Without Ethics Violation - WoC 2013

For anyone out there who still believes that there isn’t a war on Christmas, religion, or Christianity… It is a battle that has been ramping up for years, but check out this terrific victory in that ‘politically correct’ battle: 

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) has just won a major battle against the politically correct left’s “War on Christmas,” he announced in a press release on (Tuesday)… Christmas Eve.

 

By Marion Algier – The War on Christmas (and religion) verses the Spirit of Christmas Series at AskMarion – 25

Breitbart: Since 1973, U.S. House rules made it an ethics violation for any official congressional communications to contain the phrase “Merry Christmas.” This month, after battling the system for the more than two years since he took office in 2011, Huelskamp was able to get the House to determine it will not consider use of the phrase “Merry Christmas” an ethics violation.

“For decades the PC Police have intimidated Christians throughout America with their attacks on the symbols and language of Christmas,” Huelskamp said in a statement released midday on Christmas Eve. “From nativity scenes to Christmas trees, those opposed to Christmas has sought to eradicate any reason for the season from the public square.  And Congress has not been exempted.”

Huelskamp noted the history of the U.S. House’s War on Christmas before detailing how he has won this battle in the war.

“Amazingly since 1973, the U.S. House of Representatives has forbidden the use of ‘Merry Christmas’ and deemed use of such words in any official mailing or e-mail an ethics violation,” Huelskamp said. “Instead, they demanded the use of ‘Happy Holidays.’ This month, the House Franking Commission accepted the position I have fought for since arriving in Congress — ignore the PC Police and let us use ‘Merry Christmas.’”

Huelskamp added that since 2011, he has fought against the politically correct people in the U.S. Congress who implemented and still attempted to enforce this rule. “In 2011 during an interview on Fox News, I stated my refusal to comply with this decades-old policy, which reflects the continual leftist war on Christmas,” Huelskamp said. 

I have continued that refusal through today, even as it has cowered many other public officials and private industry alike. The new refusal of the U.S. House to cater to the PC Police moves us one small step away from that carefully crafted secular society devoid of any reference to our religious and cultural heritage. I am glad that finally Members of Congress can express their holiday joy in a manner that they see fit and consistent with our American history—without an ethics threat.

Huelskamp ended his statement with a warm Christmas greeting for his constituents and all Americans: “As I have done for the past two years, I personally wish you and all of America a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Merry Christmas, folks.

WATCH REP. HUELSKAMP ON FOX NEWS IN 2011 FIGHTING AGAINST 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' BAN IN CONGRESS

Video: Fox & Friends - Holiday Greetings (2011)

Plus NORAD Tracks Santa on Christmas Eve

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight.

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born. LINK: NORAD tracks Santa on Facebook

In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.

Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world. In addition, we now track Santa using the internet. Millions of people who want to know Santa’s whereabouts now visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website.

Finally, media from all over the world rely on NORAD as a trusted source to provide updates on Santa’s journey.

Santa Tracker Christmas or Santa Tracker

Related:

Simpler Times, A Groetzmeier Christmas – WoC 2013

Presidential Christmas Addresses… WoC 2013

Last Minute, Budget and Gifts of Thoughtfulness – WoC 2013

The Best Part of the Christmas Season – Love, Charity, and Kindness – WoC 2013

Christmas for Pet People – Woc 2013  -  Watch Glenn Beck’s (2012) Emotional Tribute To His Dog, Victor

Christmas Baking – WoC 2013

The Best Christmas Gifts – WoC 2013

Remembering Military and Veterans at Christmastime – W0C 2013

American Traditions – WoC 2013

Still Think There Is No War on Christmas – WoC 2013

In Defense of the Truth and Megyn Kelly – WoC 2013

Carolling… or Caroling and Christmas Music – WoC 2013

Best Christmas Season Movie Classics – WoC 2013

Santa Photos… Often Yesterday’s Oooops Are Tomorrow’s Treasures! – WoC 2013

Christmas Lights – WoC 2013

Nativity Scenes and Glories – The Reason For the Season – WoC 2013

European Markets or Christkindlmarkts Capture the Christmas Spirit – WoC 2013

St. Nickolas Day – WoC 2013

Hanukkah… The Jewish Festival of Lights – WoC 2013

God Rest Ye Merry Merchants – Christmas: An American Holiday and Tradition to Love and Preserve – WoC 2013

Where Does the War on Christmas Come From? A Worthwhile Read – WoC 2013

The War on Christmas verses the Spirit of Christmas Series 2013 at AskMarion – WoC 2013

Advent – The Season of Anticipation and Hope – WoC 2013

2013 Official Christmas Card Only Features the Four-Legged Obamas

Sending Holiday Season Regards to our Conservative Warriors

ANOTHER FAILED IDEA: Woman gets laughed at after bringing up Obamacare at Thanksgiving…

The Twelve Days of ObamaCare

Huckabee’s ’12 Days Of ObamaCare’

Disney scores big with biblical values – But their subsidiary A&E suspends Phil Robertson for expressing his

The Thanksgiving Illusion

Obama Thanksgiving and Christmas Disgrace

Keeping Pets Safe for the Holidays: The “Not So Safe” or No-No Pet Food List

Sarah Palin on Politics and Religion • 11/10/13 With Susan Page

The Cross – Billy Graham’s Message To America

Citizenship and Church Membership

Happy 101st Birthday, Daddy

There are some great books out for Christmas this year: ‘Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas’ (Kindle), The Romney Family Table: Sharing Home-Cooked Recipes & Favorite Traditions (Kindle) and Dear Chandler, Dear Scarlett: A Grandfather’s Thoughts on Faith, Family, and the Things That Matter Most (Kindle) Plus: Losing Our Religion(Kindle) by atheist S. E. Cupp and The United States vs. Santa Claus: The Untold Story of the Actual War on Christmas (Kindle)

Technorati Tags: Political Correctness,Congress,House,Fox,Huelskamp,Ethics,PC,NORAD,Reagan,Obama,Conservatism,Obamaland,Inspiring,Books,Desparation,Speeches,Nativity,Presidents,Tracking Santa,ObamaCare,Patriotism,Tradition,Choices,Love,Kindness,Santa Photos,Christmas,animals,holidays,War on Christmas,Charity,Hanukkah,American Traditions,American values,War on Christianity,Pets,WoC,Gifts,Movies,Fatih,CONAD,Groetzmeier,Grötzmeier,Christians,Memories,Progressivism,Spirit of Christmas,Simpler Times,The War on… The War on Christmas,War on Religion

Rebranding Hillary

By Marion Algier – Ask Marion

The remaking of Hillary Clinton is in full force!

[…] Hillaryville should be imploding and even though Hillary does ‘not’ deserve our admiration nor another shot at the Presidency, the left is sure that Hillary Clinton will be the 2016 Democrat Presidential candidate.  Regardless of the truth about Hillary’s disgraceful handling of and decisions during the Benghazi crisis and the entire surrounding operation; her involvement in gun-walking; her questionable involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood… hence her relationship with her senior staffer, Huma Abedin Weiner… yes Mrs. Anthony Weiner; and her role in promoting several major anti-Constitution pro-UN treaties and programs including the UN Small Arms Treaty and the Rights of the Child Treaty which essentially aim to transfer rights and powers of the Constitution, Americans and American parents to the United Nations she is at the top of the Democrat Party’s list of 2016 presidential candidates and the media is and will continue to follow their lead. 

Facts Don’t Lie

Video:  Judge Jeanine Pirro “Fact Blasted” Hillary & the Obama Administration on the Benghazi Attack &

Rand Paul Destroyed Hillary Clinton Over Benghazi-Gate During Capitol Hill Press Conference

Remember those who died in the Benghazi attacks in service of the United States… and all the unanswered questions… It does make a difference!! I bet if it were Chelsea left behind in Benghazi it would make a huge difference to Hillary!!

The left is committed to rebuilding Hillary from a sinner to a saint including a campaign of whitewashing the Clinton past (both Bill and Hillary’s) and the mainstream media the left controls will be airing cherry picked specials on both the Clintons beginning with an upcoming NBC miniseries where Hillary will be played by Diane Lane, the daughter-in-law of uber-liberal Barbra Streisand and wife of Josh Brolin who starred in the less than complementary film W./[Blu-ray] about George W. Bush; what could go wrong? The complicit media will spin the Clinton story to Hillary’s benefit, unlike the way they portrayed the Reagans in the recent Lee Daniels’s movie, The Butler, where ‘Hanoi’ Jane  was purposely cast as First Lady Nancy Reagan and unlike the jour’no’lists who purposely colluded  as part of a mission to destroy Sarah Palin with lies and fabrications.

Video: Hillary Clinton Goes Hollywood - NBC, CNN To Produce Clinton Projects - Bias Alert?

Video: David Webb VS Leslie Marshall talk Hillary Mini Series & Anthony Weiner on Fox News

Charles Krauthammer recently appeared on The Factor predicting that a 2016 Hillary Presidential bid will not be easy and that she is not a shoe in. The “only memorable thing about Clinton as Secretary of State was her 'what difference does it make' catastrophe” when she testified before Congress on Benghazi, said Krauthammer.

Is Hillary Clinton already campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination? Charles Krauthammer doesn’t think she’s a shoe-in candidate. He told Bill O’Reilly on The Factor, “First of all, let’s remember she’s not exactly invincible. She was the anointed one before Barack Obama came along.”

He said the Republican Party has a stronger argument because the country hasn’t done well under President Obama. Krauthammer cited Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush as some of the possible opponents to take on Clinton.

O’Reilly wasn’t as convinced, saying that Clinton is almost like an incumbent. But Krauthammer said that doesn’t mean a Republican candidate won’t win in the end. He said part of the GOP’s job will be de-mythologizing Clinton.

Krauthammer also took issue with Clinton’s record as Secretary of State. “Name me one thing she accomplished in the four years. […] The only thing that came out of her Secretary of State period was a memorable line, ‘what difference does it make,’ about the Benghazi catastrophe – the first slaying of an American ambassador in three decades.”

Moreover, “people get tired of a party in power,” Krauthammer said. “Obama’s going to have an unsuccessful second term. The economy’s going to be anemic. It’s not going to be that easy for a Democrat to say eight more years.”

Barack and Hillary in 2008 during the primaries… as they slipped away to a clandestine meeting  of the power elite where many feel the decision was made to run Obama instead of Hillary

Hillary and Barack now (2012 – 2013)… a MUCH worn Hillary

“The left progressive Democrat party is already hot and heavy into trying to rehab the old sow’s ear Hillary, even with all the scandals, into a silk purse they can (and will if America doesn’t wake up) sell to Americans and far too many women who have long been sold a bag of tainted goods about Hillary Clinton and feminism in general.”  —Reformed Woman

And Mark Levin noted: Hillary Clinton Is Barack Obama In A Dress (see video).  She is just smarter… which will make her more dangerous.  Let us remember that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have the same mentor.

Obama in a Dress….

Even the NY Times Took a Hard Look at the Clinton Foundation in a recent piece. And many are questioning the early unofficial start of the Clinton campaign.  It leaves a lot of time for people to dig out the dirt, and there is plenty on the Clintons; plus there is the burnout factor.  Beginning her campaign this early may leave many looking for someone new, even if the truth doesn’t turn them away, by 2016.

You might want to read Books: The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Kindle) and Hillary Clinton Nude: Naked Ambition, Hillary Clinton And America's Demise (Kindle) as a balance to the MSM news, miniseries and Clinton specials that will be thrown your way between now and 2014 and intensified after that. The left is sure America will buy whatever they sell, from harmful drugs, to GMO foods, to cover-ups on an ever-growing list of scandals, to lies about and purposeful negative intervention of anyone who stands up to them… and of course to another 8-years of the Clintons. (Propaganda/Kindle by Edward Bernays is a must read for everyone). […]  The Progressive Democrat Party leadership, actually the  power elite (on both sides), think average Americans are stupid or at least uninformed and disinterested enough for them to steer us in any direction they see fit. 

2016 just could turn out to be the year of The Election of the First Female President of the United States and Hillary Clinton will do anything to make sure it is her.  So now is the time for people with options and solutions to step up and for the rest of us to educate ourselves!

Related:

Huma Abedin Weiner…

Bill, Ted, Antonio, Joe, Debbie and Friends Take Us All to an Alternative Universe….

Books

The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party (Kindle)

Hillary Clinton Nude: Naked Ambition, Hillary Clinton And America's Demise (Kindle)

The Muslim Brotherhood in the Obama Administration  (Kindle)

From Shadow Party to Shadow Government: George Soros and the Effort to Radically Change America (Kindle)

Collusion: How the Media Stole the 2012 Election—and How to Stop Them from Doing It in 2016 (Kindle)

DVD: Primary Colors (VHS)

Technorati Tags: rebranding,remaking,rebuilding,repackaging,Hillary,Hillayville,Hillary Clinton,Palin,Options,politics,watch the other hand,smoke and mirrors,Progressivism,Levin,Mark Levin,remaking Hillary,rebranding Hillary,lies,Election 2016,2016 Election,low-informed voters,the Clintons,ethics,UN Small Arms Treaty,Rights of the Child Treaty,disarming America,Krauthammer,Clinton Foundation,Edward Bernays

For Any That Missed This: ABC News scrambles to downplay Obama’s attendance at VP debate moderator’s wedding… Ethical? Fair?

The Daily Caller:

President Barack Obama was a guest at the 1991 wedding of ABC senior foreign correspondent and vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz, The Daily Caller has learned. Obama and groom Julius Genachowski, whom Obama would later tap to head the Federal Communications Commission, were Harvard Law School classmates at the time and members of the Harvard Law Review.

After TheDC made preliminary inquiries Monday to confirm Obama’s attendance at the wedding, ABC leaked a pre-emptive statement to news outlets including Politico and The Daily Beast Tuesday, revealing what may have been internal network pressure felt just days before Raddatz was scheduled to moderate the one and only vice-presidential debate Thursday night.

Both Politico and The Daily Beast jumped to ABC and Raddatz’s defense. The Huffington Post, a liberal news outlet, joined them shortly thereafter, while calling “unusual” ABC’s attempt to kill the story before it gained wide circulation.

Genachowski — called “Jay” at the time of his wedding, sources told TheDC — and Raddatz would go on to have a son together before their divorce in 1997. They have both since remarried to other people.

A source who attended the 1991 wedding told TheDC that Obama was also a guest there, and remembered that a man by the name of “Barry Obama” was among the guests dancing at the reception.

In August, The Daily Caller first connected Genachowski, an Obama appointee, to Raddatz following her selection as the vice presidential debate moderator by the left-leaning Commission on Presidential Debates. That debate, between Congressman Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden, will take place Thursday night at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

Carol Platt Liebau, a political commentator who was a Harvard Law Review colleague of Genachowski and Obama, wrote that “despite being a year below both men on the Review and not close personal friends with either of them,” she remembered Genachowski and Raddatz’s relationship as “quite public” during those days, and that “Raddatz visited Boston frequently.”

Genachowski’s friendship with Obama would continue through the campaign trail in 2008 and into the White House: He aggressively fundraised for Obama in 2008 as a campaign bundler, and served on the presidential transition team before winning his appointment to chair the FCC.

On Monday evening ABC spokesman David Ford grudgingly confirmed Obama’s attendance at the wedding, after shielding Raddatz in August by declining to comment when The Daily Caller first reported the story.

“This is absurd,” Ford said, in the same statement now circulated by ABC’s media allies on the left.

Obama, Ford wrote, “attended their wedding over two decades ago along with nearly the entire Law Review, many of whom went onto successful careers, including some in the Bush administration,” he said without providing a specific number of Harvard Law Review members to verify the statement.

When pressed further on Tuesday for a specific number of Harvard Law Review members in attendance at the wedding, Ford could offer none, despite circulating the same unverified approximation through sympathetic media outlets earlier that day in order to discredit The Daily Caller’s reporting.

Ford also could not provide The Daily Caller with a specific number of Harvard Law Review members who worked with Obama and Genachowski during that year. A photo taken of the Harvard Law Review during Obama and Genachowski’s final year of law school contains 70 people.

The ABC spokesman’s assertion that “nearly the entire Law Review” attended the wedding cast doubt on the significance of Obama’s attendance. But Ford’s unwillingness to document that claim now suggests that Obama was among a close circle of fewer Harvard classmates who were personal friends of Raddatz and Genachowski.

Instead, Ford maintained his ambiguity in subsequent statements to The Daily Caller, identifying only one other Harvard Law Review classmate of Obama and Genachowski who attended the wedding.

When TheDC asked Ford via email Tuesday night for further specifics on actual numbers, he did not respond with any.

The FCC, the Obama campaign and the Romney campaign also did not respond to The Daily Caller’s request for comment.

David Martosko contributed reporting.

UPDATE: Michael Steel, a spokesman for Paul Ryan, told Fox News’ Joy Lin that he has “no concerns” about Raddatz’s conflict of interest.

Related:

Marital, personal ties link Obama administration to Commission on Presidential Debates

The Media is the Real Enemy

“Going Rogue”: Gov. Palin on Debating Biden

This Week’s Watcher’s Council Nominations – Paul Ryan Edition Oct 10 2012

Will Biden-Ryan Debate be a Catholic Smackdown?

FIRST Presidential Debate in Photos

Watch Salaried Obama Campaign Workers Actively Encourage Voter Fraud

Technorati Tags: media,media spin,MSM,liberal bias media,ethics,fairness,ABC News,veep,debates,VP debates,Election 2012,2012 Election,Joe Biden,Paul Ryan,The Choice,watch the other hand,rigging elections,Martha Raddatz,Obamaland,journolists,Team Obama,enemies within,Harvard Law Review,BHO,Julius Genachowski

Sunlight Down the Spider Hole

Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman. – Louis Brandeis

This is the defining statement that The Sunlight Foundation claims to base their cause on. Oh, if that were only even remotely true…

Founded in January 2006, the Foundation has a stated goal of using the revolutionary power of the Internet and new information technology to enable citizens to learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing and thus help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and accountability by government and foster public trust in the vital institutions of democracy. At the declared core of all of the Foundation’s work is a focus on the power of technology and the Internet to transform the relationship between citizen’s and their government.

The truth is somewhat different however. The Foundation and its many tentacles, began in 2006 during the Bush Administration. I suspect it was meant to be used to skew political instances against the Republicans in order to assure an Obama win in 2008 – to snare them in a web of record so-to-speak. It made for a great political weapon and it certainly didn’t hurt. However, during the current Administration, much of what The Sunlight Foundation and its minions record is either soft-balled, inaccurate or twisted to make it look more favorable. Politics at its finest! It is a very insidious and clever form of propaganda, claiming one thing, while in reality doing the opposite. A classic Progressive tactic.

Claiming non-partisanship and not officially supporting any candidate, in 2007, the Foundation did have three specific priorities for the incoming Congress in 2007:

· Contemporaneous online filing: “The public reports about campaign receipts and expenditures, personal financial disclosure, trips, gifts and travel currently required of lawmakers should be filed electronically [on a monthly basis] and shared online within 24 hours of their filing.” Moreover, the Foundation believes that candidates’ Personal Financial Disclosure reports should be amended to require disclosure of the affiliations of lawmakers (and their family members) with political organizations or charities.

· Ending secret legislation: “All earmarks, bills, and amendments should include an identification of the proposing Member’s name. All non-emergency legislation should be posted online, in its final form, at least 72 hours before a vote.”

· Meaningful lobbyist disclosure: “All who are paid to engage in direct issue advocacy with lawmakers and their staff should be required to register, and all registered lobbyists should disclose all legislative contacts, all legislation and regulations discussed, all contributions they make and coordinate to Members and organizations affiliated with members, all prior government employment, and any relationship to a current Member of Congress, staff member, or executive branch employee.”

Now, I ask you, has ANYONE made any noise about the above three priorities during the Obama Administration that you know of? Token at best and primarily against the right side of the aisle. In fact the left side of the aisle has done the opposite of the above – they have gone all gonzo on financial corruption, meetings in secret, undecipherable legislation for nefarious purposes, power grabs and shredding the Constitution. Either The Sunlight Foundation is massively incompetent or corrupt. I vote for number two, Bob.

The Foundation’s initial projects – from the establishment of a Congresspedia, the making of “transparency grants” for the development and enhancement of databases and websites and two separate efforts to engage the public in distributed journalism and offer online tutorials on the role of money in politics efforts – are based on the premise that the collective power of citizens to demand greater accountability is the clearest route to reform.

Unfortunately, the supporters of  The Sunlight Foundation are suspect and funding is provided, in part, by George Soros. Therefore, the transparency and the claim of participants of self-policing blogs etc., while reducing corruption and increasing accountability, is highly doubtful and most likely is being used to an extent as a propaganda outlet.

The Sunlight Foundation was founded by Ellen Miller and Michael Klein because of claimed concerns about the influence of money and relationships, as well as a fear of corruption, in Congress. The Sunlight Foundation was launched in April 2006 with a $3.5 million contribution from co-founder Michael Klein, a securities lawyer.

From Discover The Networks:

The Foundation’s co-founder and Executive Director is Ellen Miller, who previously served as Deputy Director of the Campaign for America’s Future, where she directed its Project for an Accountable Congress. She also established the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics (which is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy, the Joyce Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts) and Public Campaign (funded by the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Columbia Foundation, the Compton Foundation, the Educational Foundation of America, the Ford Foundation, the JEHT Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy). Miller is the former publisher of  TomPaine.com, a former fellow at The American Prospect and an occasional contributor to The Nation.

Michael Klein is co-founder and Chairman of The Sunlight Foundation. In January 2006, he retired from the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering after 35 years as a practicing attorney. He now serves as a trustee of the American Himalayan Foundation and the Pen Faulkner Foundation.

A Senior Fellow at The Sunlight Foundation is veteran journalist and editor Bill Allison, who for nine years worked for the George Soros-funded Center for Public Integrity, where he co-authored The Cheating of America, whose central thesis holds that “the rich and powerful shirk their responsibilities” as taxpayers. Allison was also senior editor of  The Buying of the President 2000 and co-editor of  The Buying of the President 2004.

Another Senior Fellow at the Foundation is Larry Makinson, who was a journalist in Alaska in the mid-1980s and then worked for fifteen years at the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), including two years as its Executive Director. After leaving CRP he spent a year as Senior Fellow at the Center for Public Integrity.

The National Director of The Sunlight Foundation is Zephyr Teachout, who formerly worked as a lecturer at the University of Vermont and was Director of Online Organizing for Howard Dean‘s 2004 presidential campaign. A licensed attorney, Teachout has represented indigent death-row inmates in North Carolina for the Center for Death Penalty Litigation; she was also the co-founding Executive Director of the Fair Trial Initiative, a fellowship program that trains young lawyers in death penalty trial work.

The Sunlight Foundation’s major disbursements (ranging from $25,000 to $325,000) in 2006 included grants to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (which also has received financial backing from George Soros‘ Open Society Institute, Democracy Alliance, the Tides Foundation, the Streisand Foundation and the Arca Foundation), the Young Elected Officials Network, (a project of People for the American Way), MAPLight.org, the Center for Responsive Politics, OMB Watch, the Center for Media and Democracy, the Center for Citizen Media, NewAssignment.Net, Room Eight, the Project on Government Oversight and ReadtheBill.org. Smaller grants (ranging from $1,650 to $16,000) were made to Metavid,More Perfect, Arizona Congresswatch, the Connecticut Local Politics Blogspot,WashingtonWatchdog.org, the National Institute on Money in State Politics, the Project on Government Oversight and the BluegrassReport.

Are you seeing a pattern yet? I am. Almost all of these lean left and/or are Progressive. Well spent funds indeed.

The Sunlight Foundation website features or featured four blogs on the subject of ethics and money in Washington D.C.; they are run by four of its principals: Citizen’s Notebook (Zephyr Teachout); Sunspots (Ellen Miller); Under the Influence (Bill Allison) and Dollarocracy (Larry Makinson). I’m not sure if all of these still exist, but they are leftist in nature and purpose. The Sunlight Foundation’s site currently reads like a conservative hit piece.

· Assets: $2,066,772 (2009)

· Grants Received: $7,111,704 (2009)

· Grants Awarded: $2,640,282 (2009)

But wait, there’s more:

Contributions

2011

· $1,000,000.00 Michael R. Klein
For general support.

· $1,000,000.00 Rockefeller Family Fund
For general support.

· $500,000.00 Rita Allen Foundation
To fully develop and implement the Open States Project which will provide a new resource for identifying and tracking activity within state legislatures. (Grant awarded over two years)

· $300,000.00 Open Society Foundations
To advance transparency and open government through reporting, tools and policies that will further expose for public scrutiny the influence of lobbying in Washington and will promote the full implementation, codification and expansion of the Open Government Directive. (Grant awarded over 15 months)

· $200,000.00 Atlantic Philanthropies
To establish a new pilot, post-graduate journalism fellowship program, the “John E. Moss Fellowship,” at Sunlight which will intensively train journalism post-graduates in new techniques and technologies. (Grant awarded over two years)

· $156,000.00 Pew Charitable Trusts
Contract

· $110,000.00 Kaphan Foundation
For general support.

· $100,000.00 Mark Cuban
For general support.

· $93,077.00 Stanton Foundation
To create a national, legislative alert system on the basis of issue or keyword – a Google Alerts for public policy.

· $75,000.00 SRA International, Inc.
For general support.

· $60,000.00 William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
For development of open-source software that reveals the patterns of influence behind public comments.

· $50,000.00 Chang K. Park Foundation
For general support.

· $40,000.00 Open Society Foundations
To expand and diversify a coalition of groups that will publicly demand transparency from the “Super Committee” and to coordinate action among the coalition.

· $40,000.00 Rockefeller Brothers Fund
To ensure greater transparency of the effects that corporations have on American public policy.

· $37,000.00 Minnesota Historical Society
Contract

· $27,525.00 OSI-ZUG
For support of  TransparencyCamp 2011.

· $25,000.00 Alan A. Fischer
For general support.

· $25,000.00 Craigslist Charitable Fund
For general support.

· $25,000.00 Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation
For general support.

· $23,245.87 Omidyar Network
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.

· $5,000.00 Esther Dyson
For general support.

· $5,000.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Helianthus Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Marjorie B. Roswell.

· $5,000.00 Google, Inc.
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.

· $5,000.00 James and Theodore Pedas Family Foundation, Inc.
For general support.

· $5,000.00 M & M Foundation
For general support.

· $5,000.00 O’Reilly Media, Inc.
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.

· $5,000.00 Raymond C. Clevenger, III
For general support.

· $4,423.23 O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Royalties from the book Beautiful Data, 1st Edition

· $2,500.00 Adobe Systems Incorporated
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.

· $2,500.00 David Bonderman
For general support.

· $2,500.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Andrew C. Florance Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Andrew C. Florance.

· $1,000.00 Lederer Foundation, Inc.
For general support.

· $600.00 Scott Crabtree
For general support.

· $500.00 Warren H. Haber
For general support.

That’s just 2011. Question – is charity in the name of political expediency still charity? The Foundation doesn’t try to hide any of its connections – it’s right there for all to see. George Soros is The Open Society Institute. Do you really think these organizations are being ethical and transparent when they are bought and paid for by the likes of George Soros? If you do, I have a bridge to sell you and some great swamp land that you really must see or not.

Just how deep does Sunlight go down the Soros spider hole? All the way to the bottom baby. Don’t mistake sunlight for an on-coming Progressive freight train bent on manipulating political data online.

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton - the NoisyRoom

Will Ignorance Lead to a Second Obama Term??

Stealing Election 2012

Good reads if you haven’t already:

The Road to the White House 2012, Barack Obama and the Enemies Within and Throw Them All Out

Montanans Launch Recall of Senators Who Approved NDAA Military Detention – Updated

Well it is about damned time……. When our representatives that took an oath to OBEY and protect the Constitution repeatedly break that oath by voting FOR laws or bills that anyone that understands the simple language in our Constitution, it is our Duty to remove them from office by any ethical and moral means available.

For those not familiar with NDAA see Silent Running and As Government is Activating FEMA Camps Across U.S. below:

Excerpt:

The Senate passed NDAA giving this president — and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.

The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing

The Issue of Federal Official Recall Has Never Reached the Federal Courts

“Montana is one of nine states with provisions that say that the right of recall extends to recalling members of its federal congressional delegation, pursuant to Montana Code 2-16-603, on the grounds of physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offenses.” (SOURCE)

The operative language “violation of oath of office” applies here. We have nine states that can start a snowball of recalls to at least remove and ostracize or better convict these traitors to “we the people” and the nation.

The fact is, “we the people” can go further in the other 49 states by influencing our state U.S. Supreme Courts Grand Juries to subpoena these traitors, in their home states, to determine whether laws have been broken. We just need a few constitutional lawyers to get the ball rolling. No need for petitions or other legal mumbo jumbo. Once a grand jury has determined that laws have been broken, the trials can commence.

Source: Constitution Attacked

UPDATE from the Daily Kos:

This is from a statement from Stewart Rhodes of Oathkeepers regarding Republican Denny Rehberg as a target of recall, who also voted for NDAA.

Here in Montana, while we will go after all three violators of the Bill of Rights, I will place special emphasis and "focus of effort" on Denny Rehberg, since he is so fond of wrapping himself in the flag and claiming to be defending the Constitution while his votes do the exact opposite. In that sense, Rehberg is much like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, two Republicans who, right along with Carl Levin and Joseph Lieberman, are leading a sustained and relentless assault on our Bill of Rights.

Disclaimer: I am now a volunteer press contact for this campaign.

From the press release:

Moving quickly on Christmas Day after the US Senate voted 86 - 14 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA) which allows for the indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial, Montanans have announced the launch of recall campaigns against Senators Max Baucus and Jonathan Tester, who voted for the bill.

Montana is one of nine states with provisions that say that the right of recall extends to recalling members of its federal congressional delegation, pursuant to Montana Code 2-16-603, on the grounds of physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offenses.

Section 2 of Montana Code 2-16-603 reads:

"(2) A public officer holding an elective office may be recalled by the qualified electors entitled to vote for the elective officer's successor."

The website Ballotpedia.org cites eight other states which allow for the recall of elected federal officials: Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wisconsin. New Jersey's federal recall law was struck down when a NJ state judge ruled that "the federal Constitution does not allow states the power to recall U.S. senators," despite the fact the Constitution explicitly allows, by not disallowing ("prohibited" in the Tenth Amendment,) the states the power to recall US senators and congressmen:

"The powers not...prohibited...are reserved to the States...or to the people." - Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The issue of federal official recall has never reached the federal courts.

Montana law requires grounds for recall to be stated which show conformity to the allowed grounds for recall. The draft language of the Montana petitions, "reason for recall" reads:

"The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees all U.S citizens:

"a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed..."

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA 2011) permanently abolishes the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, "for the duration of hostilities" in the War on Terror, which was defined by President George W. Bush as "task which does not end" to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001.

Those who voted Aye on December 15th, 2011, Bill of Rights Day, for NDAA 2011 have attempted to grant powers which cannot be granted, which violate both the spirit and the letter of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

The Montana Recall Act stipulates that officials including US senators can only be recalled for physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of a felony offense. We the undersigned call for a recall election to be held for Senator Max S. Baucus [and Senator Jonathan Tester] and charge that he has violated his oath of office, to protect and defend the United States Constitution."

Montana residents William Crain and Stewart Rhodes are spearheading the drive. Mr. Crain is an artist. Mr. Rhodes is an attorney, Yale Law School graduate, and the national president of the organization Oath Keepers, who are military and law enforcement officers, both former and active duty, who vow to uphold their Oath to the US Constitution and to disobey illegal orders which constitute attacks on their fellow citizens. Rhodes said:

"These politicians from both parties betrayed our trust, and violated the oath they took to defend the Constitution. It's not about the left or right, it's about our Bill of Rights. Without the Bill of Rights, there is no America. It is the Crown Jewel of our Constitution, and the high-water mark of Western Civilization."

Rhodes noted that:

"Two time Medal of Honor winner Marine General Smedley Butler once said "There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights." Time to fight. "

Butler famously ended his career as a Marine General by touring the country with his speech and book denouncing war, "War is a Racket."Butler confessed that he had spent most of his life as a "high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers...a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism..."

Eighteen states at present have recall laws, most of which do not apply to federal officials. For these and other states to recall federal officials, state legislatures would have to first pass or amend such laws.

Rising on the House floor to oppose the bill based on the military detention provisions for Americans, Rep. Tom McClintock said before the House vote:

" today, we who have sworn fealty to that Constitution sit to consider a bill that affirms a power contained in no law and that has the full potential to crack the very foundation of American liberty."

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said in opposing the final NDAA:

”This bill also contains misguided provisions that in the name of fighting terrorism essentially authorize the indefinite imprisonment of American citizens without charges.”

And in a New York Times op-ed piece by two retired four-star U.S. Marine generals, Charles Krulak and Joseph Hoar, Krulak and Hoar said that "Due process would be a thing of the past."

Montana would be the first recall drive to be launched as a result of the vote for the NDAA military detentions provisions. A number of Facebook pages appeared after the passage of the bill from locations across the country.

References:

Facebook: "Recall Every Congressman Who Voted for the NDAA"
http://www.facebook.com/...

"Recalling Senators and Congressmen"
http://www.uscitizensassociation.com/...

"How to Recall US Senators and Congressmen"
http://recallthetraitors.blogspot.com/...

Does this article give anyone an idea ?

Silent Running – Targeting of Americans

Preparing for What is Coming… As Government is Activating “FEMA Camps” Across U.S.

Martial Law Attempt in Louisiana Echoes Ron Paul’s Warning

Why Sarah Palin Will Be the Next President of the United States

On Sunday, July 17th, I braved heat and Harry, (No disrespect to fellow fans!) and traveled to Independence, Missouri to see The Undefeated, the documentary of Sarah Palin’s accomplishments as Governor in Alaska.  I left the theater certain of two things: Sarah will run in 2012 and she will win.

What convinced me?  Two things:  The Palin Platform and 80%.

The Undefeated chronicles the four areas upon which Governor Palin focused, the Palin Platform.

1.  Ethics Reform.  Governor Palin basically built a wall between those writing or enforcing the law and major corporations profiting from the shared resources belonging to Alaskans.  Before Sarah’s arrival, the conflicts of interest were such that politicians and Big Oil conducted business in a manner that mutually benefited each another while neglecting the best interest of the ordinary citizens.

2.  “Kitchen Table Economics.” When Sarah Palin arrived at the Governor’s Mansion, she was asked by the director to give a detailed list of what groceries she would like purchased.  The new Governor told the director that she wanted to use up all the food and supplies still in the pantry from the previous tenants before buying fresh groceries.  Sarah’s spirit of “using what’s in the pantry first” is indicative of her application of simple household money management principles to general government.  This spirit is detailed in the The Undefeated.  She literally sat at the table and, pen in hand, personally removed almost half a billion dollars of wasteful spending from the State’s Budget.  She spent money on building infrastructure that would bring business to towns and improve economy, rather than on wasteful programs.  She insisted on balanced budgets and that legislators remember they were spending other people’s money.

3.  Independent Energy Revolution.  Sarah lay the foundation for a total transformation in American Energy Policy and total energy independence for the United States from all foreign sources.  She worked to  open new areas for drilling and restructured the state tax code so that oil companies now receive tax benefits in proportion to the lowering of energy costs.  Sarah pushed for new privatized pipelines that would bring more American energy resources and new jobs to Alaska and eventually, the entire nation.

4.  American Exceptionalism-Inspired Foreign Policy.  Sarah believes that an energy independent America is the basis for a less tangled foreign policy, one that focuses on securing our freedoms and those of our true allies.  This independence permits America to stand for those unique values in areas of the world where these values are compromised by our dependence on oil produced by countries who hate us and our way of life.

The Undefeated begins with a five-minute montage of derision aimed at Sarah Palin by liberal media, celebrities,  and politicians.  Her opponents often spoke of her as ignorant or incompetent, but none ever attempted to address the significance of her 80% approval rating.  During the months preceding her Vice-Presidential campaign,  though she advanced legislation and reforms that had the potential to alienate many Alaskans, Sarah Palin’s approval rating never dropped below 80%.  This level of approval is unheard of in politics after the first three “honeymoon” months are over.  The only way Governor Palin could have maintained these ratings is if her policies were really and truly good for all her citizens, ordinary people as well as corporations and businesses in Alaska.

Policies generated by a metal dwarf, or an incompetent narcissist would produce chaos and please only the few who benefit from them.  Only well-balanced and intelligent government that weighs the common good of all can create the order in which people with varying needs are all, or nearly all content and find they are able to go about their lives and business uninhibited by intrusion or neglected where good intervention is needed.

I believe that Sarah will run because she believes profoundly in the efficacious principles of governing she applied, with great success, in Alaska.  The Undefeated presents the reality of Sarah Palin as an inspirational leader who is actually most apt, not at the podium, but in her ability to envision and execute practical solutions to state problems.  Sarah will run because she is passionate about her Platform of simple principles that she knows, from personal experience, will fix the crisis we are facing in America.

Sarah will probably announce in early September that she is seeking the office of President of the United States.  This announcement, contrary to what the media, Hollywood, the Democrats, and the GOP Luminaries have told us, will be met by a storm of enthusiasm and relief, support we have yet to see for any GOP Candidate to grace the field.  For the first two years his reign, Sarah was the most vocal opponent of the Obama madness and is the de facto, respected, seasoned representative of the Conservative electorate.  Once declared, her rapid rise as the logical and enthusiastic nemesis of post-American Obama will be met with ridicule by overconfident opponents until it is too late.  They will pay the ultimate price for ignoring her abilities, real record, tenacity, and proven Platform for the restoration of our country.

Posted on July 23 2011 - 2:41 PM - Posted by: Submissions (Guest Submission by Jeanette Pryor) at Conservatives 4 Palin  Cross-posted at Lipstick2012 and the Daily Thought Pad

Palin 2011

Video:  Palin 2011

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Comedian George Lopez Threatens to Flea America of Sarah Palin Is Elected President  -  I wrote him a note and suggested he leave now!  And from the looks at the comments at the bottom of the article seems that a lot of people would be happy to help him move!  I noticed he said he’d move to Canada… wonder why not Mexico?!?

Sarah announced that she will be in Iowa on September 3rd… perhaps that will announcement time??

Manipulating morals: scientists target drugs that improve behavior

Researchers say morality treatments could be used instead of prison and might even help humanity tackle global issues  -  Progress, Big Brother or just creepy…?

Existing drugs such as Prozac are already known to affect moral behaviour, but scientists predict that advances may allow more sophisticated manipulations. Photograph: Scott Camazine/Alamy

A pill to enhance moral behaviour, a treatment for racist thoughts, a therapy to increase your empathy for people in other countries - these may sound like the stuff of science fiction but with medicine getting closer to altering our moral state, society should be preparing for the consequences, according to a book that reviews scientific developments in the field.

Drugs such as Prozac that alter a patient's mental state already have an impact on moral behaviour, but scientists predict that future medical advances may allow much more sophisticated manipulations.

The field is in its infancy, but "it's very far from being science fiction", said Dr Guy Kahane, deputy director of the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics and a Wellcome Trust biomedical ethics award winner.

"Science has ignored the question of moral improvement so far, but it is now becoming a big debate," he said. "There is already a growing body of research you can describe in these terms. Studies show that certain drugs affect the ways people respond to moral dilemmas by increasing their sense of empathy, group affiliation and by reducing aggression."

Researchers have become very interested in developing biomedical technologies capable of intervening in the biological processes that affect moral behaviour and moral thinking, according to Dr Tom Douglas, a Wellcome Trust research fellow at Oxford University's Uehiro Centre. "It is a very hot area of scientific study right now."

He is co-author of Enhancing Human Capacities, published on Monday, which includes a chapter on moral enhancement.

Drugs that affect our moral thinking and behaviour already exist, but we tend not to think of them in that way. [Prozac] lowers aggression and bitterness against environment and so could be said to make people more agreeable. Or Oxytocin, the so-called love hormone ... increases feelings of social bonding and empathy while reducing anxiety," he said.

"Scientists will develop more of these drugs and create new ways of taking drugs we already know about. We can already, for example, take prescribed doses of Oxytocin as a nasal spray," he said.

But would pharmacologically-induced altruism, for example, amount to genuine moral behaviour? Guy Kahane, deputy director of the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics and a Wellcome Trust biomedical ethics award winner, said: "We can change people's emotional responses but quite whether that improves their moral behaviour is not something science can answer."

He also admitted that it was unlikely people would "rush to take a pill that would make them morally better.

"Becoming more trusting, nicer, less aggressive and less violent can make you more vulnerable to exploitation," he said. "On the other hand, it could improve your relationships or help your career."

Kahane does not advocate putting morality drugs in the water supply, but he suggests that if administered widely they might help humanity to tackle global issues.

"Relating to the plight of people on other side of the world or of future generations is not in our nature," he said. "This new body of drugs could make possible feelings of global affiliation and of abstract empathy for future generations."

Ruud ter Meulen, chair in ethics in medicine and director of the centre for ethics in medicine at the University of Bristol, warned that while some drugs can improve moral behaviour, other drugs - and sometimes the same ones - can have the opposite effect.

"While Oxytocin makes you more likely to trust and co-operate with others in your social group, it reduces empathy for those outside the group," Meulen said.

The use of deep brain stimulation, used to help those with Parkinson's disease, has had unintended consequences, leading to cases where patients begin stealing from shops and even becoming sexually aggressive, he added.

"Basic moral behaviour is to be helpful to others, feel responsible to others, have a sense of solidarity and sense of justice," he said. "I'm not sure that drugs can ever achieve this. But there's no question that they can make us more likeable, more social, less aggressive, more open attitude to other people," he said.

Meulen also suggested that moral-enhancement drugs might be used in the criminal justice system. "These drugs will be more effective in prevention and cure than prison," he said.

By Amelia Hill - guardian.co.uk, Monday 4 April 2011 16.23 BST  Cross-posted at True Health Is True Wealth

Article history

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