Govt 'creating vast domestic snooping machine'

Let's see....

The TSA is groping & scanning regular Americans, while allowing Muslims to carry weapons on planes.
The Government, via the FCC, is likely to take over the Internet any day now to impose their will thru "Net Neutrality."
So, naturally, they fear the Average Citizen.
I suppose we'll all be issued official 'papers' soon, and will have to produce them on demand, as well as allowing our vehicles, homes, and bodies to be detained and searched on demand.

Welcome to Amerika, Comerades.

T.W.

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Original Article;


The government is creating a vast domestic spying network to collect information about Americans in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks and subsequent terror plots, The Washington Post reported Monday.
The government is using for this purpose the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators, the daily added.
The system collects, stores and analyzes information about thousands of US citizens and residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing, the report noted.
The government's goal is to have every state and local law enforcement agency in the country feed information to Washington to buttress the work of the FBI, noted the paper, which has conducted its own investigation of the matter.
According to the report, the network includes 4,058 federal, state and local organizations, each with its own counter-terrorism responsibilities and jurisdictions.
At least 935 of these organizations have been created since the 2001 attacks, The Post said.
The probe has revealed that technologies and techniques developed for use on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan have migrated into the hands of law enforcement agencies in the United States, the paper pointed out.
In addition, the FBI is building a database with the names and personal information of thousands of US citizens and residents, the report said.
The database is accessible to an increasing number of local law enforcement and military criminal investigators, the report noted.
In a bid to counter what is seen as a threat from radical Islam, some law enforcement agencies have hired as trainers people whose extremist views on Islam and terrorism are considered inaccurate and counterproductive by US intelligence agencies, the paper pointed out.
The cost of the network is difficult to measure, the paper said. But the Department of Homeland Security has given 31 billion dollars in grants since 2003 to state and local governments for homeland security and to improve their ability to find and protect against terrorists, The Post said.
Only this year, it gave 3.8 billion dollars to local law enforcement agencies.

Iranian-American man walks onto plane with loaded handgun while other stopped over harmless liquids

Original Article

Yeah, this inspires confidence, doesn't it?

Why the hell are we allowing this to happen--the total ignoring of our Constitutional rights, in the name of false security?

The TSA are an abysmal failure.

If they would go back to real screening, the way El AL does we would not have to be subjected to groping and near-pornographic "screening" by the scanners.
El AL simply uses humans to interview passengers, and yes, they also perform 'profiling'.

It works.
They have  had one plane hijacked in 30 years, and are considered the safest airline on the planet for a good reason.
Their system works.



Read about it here;

The REAL way to protect ourselves from Terrorism

They rely on extremely well trained people, and don't violate the passengers' civil rights in doing so.
Simple as that.

T.W.

Monday promises to be interesting on the Korean Peninsula

South Korea set to begin live-fire drills Monday, despite threats of war from the North

from Reuters; 

On November 23, the last time Seoul conducted live firing drills from Yeonpyeong close to the disputed maritime border off the west coast of the peninsula, Pyongyang shelled the island, killing two civilians and two marines in the worst attack on South Korean territory since the Korean war ended in 1953.

North Korea warned last week that it would strike even harder if the latest drills went ahead. China and Russia have cautioned Seoul against holding the exercise, while the United States has backed South Korea's right to hold the drills.

Both sides have said they will use force to defend what they say is their territory off the west coast, raising international concern that the standoff could quickly spiral out of control.

South Korean officials said the North had been making military preparations similar to those observed ahead of last month's deadly clash, removing covers from coastal artillery and forward-deploying some artillery batteries.
Seoul defends the drills as routine and says it has been holding them on a monthly basis for years. China and Russia say holding the exercise now will only worsen tensions.
Seoul appears determined to go ahead with the drills, anxious to avoid a repeat of domestic criticism in November for its perceived weak response to the shelling of Yeonpyeong.

The South has said if it is attacked in the same manner as last month, it would hit back hard with air power and bombing.
Analysts were skeptical the North would carry through with its threats. The North will most probably respond by holding a live-fire drill on its side of the tensely guarded sea border if the South goes ahead with its exercise, they said.

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Get ready, Monday promises to be very interesting.

T.W.

Thoughts on the 'new' START Treaty

Why do we need a NEW treaty with Russia??

To help America?

I say no way it does anything other than assist Russia.
The new treaty would further hamper the US in weapons development, total number of warheads, and hamper (at best) or totally ban (at worst) any further Missile Defense technology development/deployment by the US.

That's what this is all about.

The Russians know the only way to "level the playing field" with the US is to block our existing & future Missile Defense technology.

And the amateur Obama & Co. are playing along.

If they want to create any sort of treaties with anyone, they need to turn their gaze further east, to the Chinese.

They are the only ones we need to worry about strategically.

We need to continue our Missile Defense tech, and deploy the hell out of it everywhere we can.

I promise you, the Chinese Communists won't be offering any treaties any time soon.

Call your Senators and let them know We the People DO NOT support the new START.

T.W.

Government using "mobile screening units" to spy on average citizens

Are we Americans OK with this??

I am definitely NOT OK with it. 

Any of it.

Seems to me that this would be a definitive breach of my 5th Amendment rights, for starters.

Also, the Dept. of Homeland Security advertises this technology as being "up to 80% accurate".

"Up to" 80%??

Hell, my personal BS detector (looking you in the eye while I talk to you) is better than that.

Big Brother is not only watching us, he's feeling us up, "scanning" us, interrogating us.

Next, we'll be required to show our "papers" on demand.

This has got to be stopped ASAP.

I guarantee you, our Founding Fathers would NOT allow themselves to be treated like this.

T.W.

North Korean Crisis deepens

News & personal opinions on this situation;

North Korea continues to threaten harsh retaliation towards South Korea if they continue with planned live-fire artillery drills on a front-line island the North bombed last month, saying it would hit back even harder than in the previous attack that killed four South Koreans.

South Korea has said it plans one-day, live-fire drills sometime between Saturday and Tuesday on Yeonpyeong, a tiny island that is home to fishing communities and military bases and sits just seven miles (11 kilometers) from North Korean shores. Seoul says the drills' timing will depend on weather and other factors and, despite the North's threats, the exercises will go ahead as planned.

A senior North Korean military official said in comments carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency that if South Korea goes ahead with more drills on Yeonpyeong, "unpredictable self-defensive strikes will be made."

"The intensity and scope of the strike will be more serious than the Nov. 23 (shelling)," the North said in the notice that was sent to South Korean military officials Friday. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's government has faced stinging criticism that his military was unprepared for the attack and reacted too slowly and too weakly. He has since replaced his defense minister and vowed to boost troops and weapons on islands along the Koreas' disputed western sea border.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Friday that the North's threats wouldn't stop the planned drills. Seoul has said they are part of "routine, justified" exercises and has warned that it is prepared to deal with any North Korean attack. Representatives of the American-led U.N. Command that oversees the armistice that ended the Korean War will observe the drills.

The tough words from the Koreas came as a high-profile U.S. state governor visited North Korea on Friday.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who has frequently been an unofficial envoy to the North, said he wanted to visit the North's main nuclear complex and meet with senior officials during his four-day trip, though details of his schedule were unclear. He said ahead of the visit that he expected to get some sort of message from the North.

"My objective is to see if we can reduce the tension in the Korean peninsula," Richardson said at the airport in Pyongyang, according to Associated Press Television News.

Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, voiced worry of a potential chain reaction of firing and counter-firing if the drill is misunderstood or if North Korea reacts negatively.

"What you don't want to have happen out of that is for us to lose control of the escalation," he told reporters at the Pentagon. "That's the concern."

My concern is that the Administration continues to fumble through this crisis, sending Bill Richardson to do their talking. Again, (see previous article below dated Dec. 13th) I ask-why Bill Richardson?

To me, this appears amateurish on the part of Obama & Co., and again I wonder what the North Koreans think of these lackadasical moves on the part of the Administration. 

Moreover, I wonder what South Korea thinks?

Americans shed our own precious blood beside our South Korean allies in years of deadly combat against the North Koreans and Chinese. 

Is this the best we can do for them?

T.W.

Congressional Budget Office advises U.S. municipalities to go bankrupt

I strongly advise all to read the original Article;

CBO recommendations to Muni's--Default!!

The charts found there are a very disturbing graphic, as if the information here isn't enough already.

So, the US is going to die a death of a thousand cuts?

Sounds more like a death of 36,000 cuts.

T.W.

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from the Article;

You hear a lot about the states that are facing a financial wall. California, NY and Il are on top of the list. But that is a 2010 story. The 2011 story will shift toward the nations municipalities. There are 36,000 cities, towns, villages and boroughs across the land. They all are facing problems.

The local munis get the lions share of their revenue from three sources; direct payments from the State (30%), local property taxes (26%) and other revenues (22%). A total of nearly 80% of the muni revenue stream is now suspect.
Property tax revenue is also a risk. At the end of the day there is a relationship between the value of a property and the taxes that the property pays. With housing in the dumps now for two years (and with no prospect for any improvement) the tax base is falling apart. Where I live price are down about 40% from the 06 levels. One after another neighbors are petitioning the local authorities for relief based on lower values. RE agents who represent sellers tell their customers to go forward with the process before the house is listed. If the listing price is less than the value on the books, tax relief is granted. This process will accelerate. This is what the CBO had to say on the prospects of property taxes actually falling:

The decline in house prices implies that (tax) collections will probably fall in the coming years as local governments gradually update property tax assessments to reflect lower market values. On average, collections of property tax revenues lag behind changes in house prices by three years. Even small declines in collections could cause fiscal stress when the cost of providing public services is growing.

The largest contributor to Muni budgets is the states themselves. We know that the states are broke and have to cut costs, so this source of revenue has to be reduced.
What are the options for a cash strapped muni? Unlike state borrowers, munis can go bankrupt. (more than half have laws on the books permitting a chapter filing - including key ones). The CBO report provided an excellent set of reasons for munis to default:

Benefits of Bankruptcy

-One key advantage of bankruptcy is the “automatic stay,” which is issued by a court and prevents creditors from taking action against the municipality and its officials without approval from the court.

-Another important advantage of bankruptcy is that courts can implement a restructuring plan without the consent of every creditor.

-The bankruptcy process may also allow a municipal government to reduce its labor costs by facilitating the con- sent of employee unions to changes in labor contracts.

-While a stay is in place, bondholders cannot force municipal officials to raise taxes in order to make debt-service payments.

Over the past 30 years of the 18,400 muni borrowers only 54 have defaulted on their debt. An admirable track record. One that is unlikely to be continued over the next few years. Not a pretty picture for a muni investor. To top it off BABs (the last pillar of support for munis) is gone. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some big Muni became the Greece of America in the near future.

Companion video to Bailout Scam Article bleow

Pay special attention starting at the 4:30 mark in the video;

T.W.

Biggest Financial Scam In World History $12.3 TRILLION in U.S. taxpayers' money go to Foreign banks in secret bailout

"...What if the greatest scam ever perpetrated was blatantly exposed, and the US media didn’t cover it? Does that mean the scam could keep going? That’s what we are about to find out...."

Largest bailout scam in world history steals money from US taxpayers

The article referenced above is long, with a few embedded videos, so I chose not to post the article itself here.
I strongly urge you all to read the article in its entirety, as well as viewing the embedded videos.

Suffice it to say, we American taxpayers have been thoroughly screwed.
And the "mainstream" media are complicit in their lack of reporting.

Dear Lord.

There simply aren't enough zeroes to add the amount of money the Federal Reserve has stolen from the American People.

T.W.

Tensions remain high on Korean Peninsula

I heartily applaud Admiral Mullen for having the fortitude to speak the truth during his visit to South Korea.

However, the White House is sending Governor Bill Richardson to speak directly to North Korea?

"....Mr Richardson, who has often acted as a diplomatic troubleshooter, has made regular visits to North Korea and has also hosted North Korean officials in New Mexico."

I had no idea this was so.

Personally, this move smacks of amateurism on the part of the Obama White House, and I wonder just how much power Mr. Richardson has to bargain on behalf of the US?


Just when I think they couldn't look any weaker or clumsy, they pull out the Bill Richardson card........


T.W.



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North Korea threatens South with Nuclear War

North Korea warned today that US-South Korean co-operation could bring nuclear war to the region.

The warning came as the South began artillery drills amid lingering tension nearly three weeks after the North's deadly shelling of a South Korean island.

The South's naval live-fire drills are due to run until Friday at 27 sites.

The regularly-scheduled exercises are getting special attention following a North Korean artillery attack on front-line Yeonpyeong Island that killed two South Korean marines and two civilians.

The November 23 artillery barrage, the North's first assault to target a civilian area since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, began after the North said South Korea first fired artillery toward its territorial waters. South Korea said it fired shells southwards, not towards North Korea, as part of routine exercises.

After the attack South Korea staged joint military drills with the US and also pushed ahead with more artillery exercises, despite the North's warning that they would aggravate tension.

A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff officer tried to play down the significance of this week's drills, saying they were part of routine military exercises and would not occur near the disputed western Korean sea border where last month's attack took place.

North Korea, however, lashed out at Seoul, accusing South Korea of collaborating with the US and Japan to step up pressure on Pyongyang.

That co-operation "is nothing but treachery escalating the tension between the North and the South and bringing the dark clouds of a nuclear war to hang over the Korean peninsula," Pyongyang's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea has often issued similar threats during stand-offs.

In a show of unity, top diplomats from South Korea, the US and Japan met in Washington last week and said they would not resume negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme until the country's behaviour changed.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited South Korea last week and warned Pyongyang to stop its "belligerent, reckless behaviour."

Meanwhile South Korean and US defence officials met in Seoul today for one-day discussions on North Korea and other issues that are part of regular defence talks, according to Seoul's Defence Ministry.

At the opening of the meeting, US deputy assistant secretary of defence Michael Schiffer said "the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with the Republic of Korea and with the Korean people in the face of recent North Korean provocations", referring to South Korea by its formal name.

Deputy secretary of state James Steinberg was also due to visit China later this week for talks on North Korea amid international pressure for Beijing to use its diplomatic clout to rein in North Korea, its ally.

After the China meeting, senior US officials accompanying Steinberg will travel on to Seoul and Tokyo, Japan.

New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, meanwhile, leaves the US for North Korea tomorrow. Mr Richardson, who has often acted as a diplomatic troubleshooter, has made regular visits to North Korea and has also hosted North Korean officials in New Mexico.

Liberalism=Progressivism= "Friendly Fascism"

Finally, it looks like columnists other than Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin and a few others are beginning to awaken to the true dangers facing the Republic.

It's Progressivism, not "Liberalism", that is the true danger we face.

T.W.

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What's Next for Liberals? Friendly Fascism

 The Great Denial continues. The liberals continue to labor under the assumption that nothing very bad happened in early November. They are still supreme. The columnists go on as though nothing is amiss. This week, E.J. Dionne consulted with three defeated members of Congress and passed on to President Barack Obama their advice on how to succeed during the next two years. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues as if she is speaker for life, though it probably will be a generation until another Democrat holds the post. Mental illness can be amusing.

The fact is that the Democrats lost badly in the midterms, and they probably are going to lose again in 2012. The Republicans picked up six seats in the Senate and more than 60 in the House. They won 683 legislative seats nationwide and gained six governorships. That will give them a powerful say in redistricting. Moreover, in 2012, the Democrats have to defend 23 seats in the Senate, and they probably will lose the presidency, unless the Republicans run a platypus.

In truth, the Democrats have been living on borrowed time for years. Their philosophy is liberal, and outside of the academy, government employee labor unions and a few enthusiasts wedded to identity politics, liberalism is not very popular. In the most recent elections, liberals accounted for 20 percent of the vote. Conservatives accounted for 42 percent of the vote, and independents accounted for 29 percent and broke for the conservatives' positions. These figures have been about the same for nearly three decades.
Most polls show a margin of 40 percent for conservatives and 20 percent for liberals going back to the Reagan years. Even before that, conservatives clearly outnumbered liberals, which is why in the aftermath of the past two elections one had to wonder about the predictions of conservatism's demise. Where was 40 percent of the electorate to go? How could a minority of 20 percent govern the country for long?
Actually, the liberals have been hustlers for a long time. Remember in 2009 when Sam Tanenhaus wrote "The Death of Conservatism"? What did he have in mind? I read the book; it was not very obvious. Or James Carville, who wrote the similarly charnel "40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation." I did not read Carville's mendacious book, but what could he possibly have said? Did he talk policy? Did either of these two con men consult the numbers out there among average Americans? Or how about considering their ideas? Americans are alarmed by high deficits and grand political schemes. Actually, the whole world is alarmed. Now the bills are coming due for the European welfare states' entitlements, and there is not the money in Europe to pay for them. The street demonstrations of Greece are going to be Europe-wide before not too long, and we Americans want to avoid them. That is why we threw the big-spending liberals out in November.
Over the past two years, the liberals have shown their true colors. Faced with an entitlement crisis, they rang up trillion-dollar deficits. We now face the aforementioned entitlement crisis and gigantic budgetary problems — and liberals have no answer for them beyond the policy of tax and spend. They are going to be out of office for a long time. They lean toward calling themselves not liberals, but progressives. I have a better title for them: friendly fascists. The alacrity with which they sprang to support the takeovers of the giant banks and the automobile industry over the past two years suggests their program for the future: corporatism. All they need is a Mussolini and a bankrupt America. I think there is enough vitality in the land to avoid the latter. As for the former, Americans do not like uniforms very well.


R. Emmett Tyre's column

Bill Clinton to the rescue!!! Obama lets Clinton carry Press Conference

If there has ever been a more pathetic Presidential Press Conference in my 48 years on this planet, I would like to see it.
This is so surreal, I can hardly believe it.

One thing was definitely accomplised by the presser;

Saturday Night Live will certainly spoof the Hell out of this "Charlie Foxtrot" this weekend......

T.W.



Obama Leaves Clinton to It from The Blaze on Vimeo.

The Top 10 Worst Economic Myths of 2010

Read the entire article at the link below for details on each of the "Top 10".
T.W.

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10. GM Repayment Shows Taxpayer Bailout Worked
9. All the Economy Needs is More Stimulus
8. Soda is Like Cocaine and Ads Cause Obesity
7. Obama the Tax Cutter
6. The Tea Parties are Astroturf, but Green Groups Aren't.
5. Despite Largest Budget in History, Obama is Fiscally Conservative
4. Lack of Press Freedom in Gulf Doesn't Point to Obama
3. Nearly 10 Percent Unemployment Isn't So Bad
2. ClimateGate? What ClimateGate?
1. The Chamber of Commerce is Taking "Secret Foreign Money" for Election

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/julia-seymour/2010/12/10/top-10-worst-economic-myths-2010#ixzz17jfkCsNq

Narcissist in Chief congratulates Nobel Peace Prize winner--by speaking about himself!!!

This guy kills me.

It's simply all about him.
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From the Washington Examiner;
President Obama on the awarding of the prize to Liu in absentia. And this is how Obama's statement began:

One year ago, I was humbled to receive the Nobel Peace Prize -- an award that speaks to our highest aspirations, and that has been claimed by giants of history and courageous advocates who have sacrificed for freedom and justice.

Critics have often said of Obama that "it's all about him," that he has a tendency to reference himself no matter what subject he is discussing. Could he do any more to prove them right? But just to show that he is, in fact, humble, the president followed his opening sentence with this:

Mr. Liu Xiaobo is far more deserving of this award than I was.

In the rest of his statement, Obama writes that "We respect China's extraordinary accomplishment in lifting millions out of poverty, and believe that human rights include the dignity that comes with freedom from want." But of course, Liu wasn't at the Nobel ceremony in Oslo because of the Chinese government, so Obama adds, "Mr. Liu reminds us that human dignity also depends upon the advance of democracy, open society, and the rule of law. The values he espouses are universal, his struggle is peaceful, and he should be released as soon as possible." And then, before closing, the president makes one more reference to himself:

I regret that Mr. Liu and his wife were denied the opportunity to attend the ceremony that Michelle and I attended last year.

Indeed.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2010/12/obama-honors-nobel-winner-statement-about-himself