The Tea Party is to Blame, The Media Too!

By Noel Sephard - found at MarkLevinShow.com.

According to Colin Powell, who on Sunday blamed both the media and the Tea Party for the divisive political tone in Washington.

He failed to bring up the "class warfare" by President Obama and which is stoked by the DemoRATic Party, nor the resulting Occupy Wall Street movement during this seven minute interview with Christiane Amanpour on ABC's This Week .

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST: What about this tone in the country right now? It's still very divisive. It's still very sort of brash, some say poisonous. I mean, you can barely get anything done on Capitol Hill, just behind me there. What needs to be done, to actually improve the tone and the ability of people to work together?

COLIN POWELL: The tone is not -- is not good right now, and our political system here in Washington, particularly up on The Hill -- Congress -- has become very, very tense in that two sides, Republicans and Democrats, are focusing more and more on their extreme left and extreme right. And we have to come back toward the center in order to compromise.

A story I like to tell is our Founding Fathers were able to sit in Philadelphia and make some of the greatest compromises known to man -- tough, tough issues. But they did it. Why? Because they were there to create a country, where we have a Congress now that can't even pass an appropriation bill, and we're running this country on a continuing resolution which is -- what else are they here for but to pass appropriations bills?

And so we have got to find a way to start coming back together. And let me say this directly. The media has to help us. The media loves this game, where everybody is on the extreme. It makes for great television. It makes for great chatter. It makes for great talk shows all day long with commentators commenting on commentators about the latest little mini-flap up on Capitol Hill.

So what we have to do is sort of take some of the heat out of our political life in terms of the coverage of it, so these folks can get to work quietly.

AMANPOUR: I get your point about heat and light, but what about the fact that, in fact, it is one of the political parties, although -- or rather the big political influence, which is the Tea Party, which quotes left and right the Founding Fathers? They say compromise is a dirty word, and they try to point to the Founding Fathers and the Constitution.

POWELL: They compromised -- the Founding Fathers compromised on slavery. They had to in order to create a country. They compromised on the composition of the Senate, of the House, of the Supreme Court, of a president -- what are the president's powers? Can you imagine more difficult compromises today?

Compromise is how this country was founded, and unless two people in disagreement with each other don't find a way to reach out to one another and make compromises, you don't get a consensus that allows you to move forward.

But the Tea Party point of view of no compromise whatsoever is not a point of view that will eventually produce a presidential candidate who will win.

AMANPOUR: General Powell, thank you very much indeed.

POWELL: Thank you, dear.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/11/27/colin-powell-blames-media-and-tea-party-divisive-tone-washington#ixzz1fCmMv8aX

Thoughtsjustoffcenter:   I met General Powell when I was attending the Sergeants Major Academy, at Ft. Bliss, TX, in 1993. This was after the Gulf War and just after I had come home from 10th SFG's "Saving the World - Tour III" - as we called it. I found him to be a very personable individual, which I you must be to become a General Officer. However, between those ears, he was extremely disrespectful to the enlisted people he worked with, particularly if you weren't of the same color or sex. Brought to my attention by one of the female MP's that worked with him – whom later became a co-worker and friend ." To say that I was surprised is a complete understatement. It changed my view of our political leadership to this very day. I learned a valuable lesson and I now try to look at the whole individual before giving them any backing. To General Powell, “Sir – you need to step out of the public arena.”

However, he is correct in the fact that the job is to comprimise with each other. As the "Rolling Stones" sang, "You can't always get what you want!"

His parting comment, "Thank You, Dear." Is that respectful? (Just asking.)

Senate Bill 1867

The Senate is set to vote on a bill today (yesterday) that would define the whole of the United States as a “battlefield” and allow the U.S. Military to arrest American citizens in their own back yard without charge or trial.

“The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give 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. 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,” writes Chris Anders of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor this week, the legislation will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill.

Thoughtsjustoffcenter: If true, I'm sure this is something that, the majority, of American citizens do not want. I for defending the USA against enemies forgion and domestic, however, isn't this going just a little to far? Contact your Senators and Representatives today! Follow-up and see how they voted.

A Current Steve Emerson Interview

I can't wait to see the sequel. I've worked, in the wings, with Mr. Emerson's organization and my friend and co-worker, Michael W. Jefferson, communicated with him on an almost daily basis.  I have a lot of respect for Mr. Emerson's research, analysis, and truthful potrayal of this radical threat.

Sure do miss Mike and his wit!

Obssession

Obsession is a film about the threat of Radical Islam to Western civilization. Using unique footage from Arab television, it reveals an 'insider's view' of the hatred the Radicals are teaching, their incitement of global jihad, and their goal of world domination. Interviews with Daniel Pipes, Steve Emerson, Alan Dershowitz, a former PLO terrorist, and a former Hitler Youth Commander...

http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/2009/12/hd-full-feature-obsession-radical.html

ThoughtsjustoffCenter: If you haven't seen this film, you should take the time to do so. This is some of the stuff I was working on before I retired. America just wants to put it's head in the sand and hopes it will go away. It is way past time for a bunch of people to wake up to the facts. And yes, I have quite a few books on the history and subject.

Possible things you didn't know: The Muslim Brotherhood, Hitler, Tunisa 1939, and the establishment of an extermination camp for use against the Jews and any others that opposed the Radical Islamist. It was to be operated by founder of the Muslim Brotherhood and his cohorts in Algeria or Tunisa.

Yet according to the current administration, these are now the good-guys? NOT!

This and other films are available for viewing on-line via Kitman TV (Politically Incorrect) at http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/

Affirmative Action at It's Best or Worst

Taken from

http://cowboys-and-tea-parties.blogspot.com/2011/11/affirmative-action-at-its-best-or-worst.html

Incriminating Timeline: DemocRATS Punt on Fiscal Responsibility

Here's the timeline sent out by the GOP Budget Committee press office for 2011:

January 25 – In his State of the Union address, President Obama proposes freezing “annual domestic spending for the next five years.” This freeze would lock in elevated spending levels (24 percent non-defense discretionary, not including stimulus) and produce an estimated $3.8 trillion in deficits over the period in question. Subsequent analysis revealed that, because the White House shifted and hid new spending, non-defense discretionary spending would actually increase even further next year.

February 14 – President Obama proposes a budget with $8.7 trillion in new spending (CBO’s re-estimate actually finds $9.6 trillion in new spending).

February 15 – The House of Representatives begins debate on a bill that would cut spending by $61 billion. President Obama promptly issues a veto threat.

April 11 – Press Secretary Jay Carney: “We should move quickly to raise the debt limit and we support a clean piece of legislation to do that.”

April 13 – President Obama delivers a speech where he lays out a “framework” that he claims will lead to $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10–12 years. In reality, using OMB’s own numbers, deficits under the “framework” are $3.2 trillion higher than the president’s own fiscal commission.

April 15 – The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passes its budget, which cuts $6 trillion in comparison to the President’s budget.

April 19 – S&P assigns a negative outlook to the U.S. credit rating, signaling at least a one-in-three likelihood that the agency will lower the nation’s long-term rating.

May 1 – Total federal spending since President Obama took office reaches approximately $8 trillion.

May 11 – Austan Goolsbee, chair of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, says it is “quite insane” to tie spending cuts to the debt limit increase.

May 17 – Chairman Conrad continues to delay the unveiling of his latest secret budget, announcing that “I’ll say something later — not today, probably… There are a lot of conversations under way.”

May 18 – Majority Leader Reid says it would be “foolish” for Senate Democrats to offer a budget.

May 19 – Chairman Conrad announces he will not reveal a budget to the public until after the Gang of Six produces a proposal.

May 25 – The Senate rejects President Obama’s budget by a vote of 0-97.

May 23 – Senator Schumer, when asked why there is no alternative to the House-passed budget, answers, “To put other budgets out there is not the point.”

May 26 – GOP Senators join Ranking Member Sessions in asking Reid not to break for the Memorial Day recess until Senate Democrats bring forward a budget so the Senate can fulfill its duty.

June 7 – Even some Senate Democrats become anxious about their party’s lack of a budget.

June 29 – Chairman Conrad tells Politico, “Senate Democrats have reached an agreement on a plan — just now — and we’ll be putting that out sometime soon.” (Note: the plan was never made public, but a leaked outline revealed that it contained as many as $2 in tax hikes for $1 in spending cuts.)

June 29 – Sessions renews call for the Senate to remain in town to deal with its budget and debt ceiling work.

July 1 – Sessions and Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch ask the president to reveal, in detail, what his deficit reduction plans actually are. No response is received, and the president’s February budget remains the only plan he has ever put on paper (thus the only plan that can be estimated by CBO) and shared with Congress or the American people.

July 8 – On the 800th day since Senate Democrats passed a budget, the unemployment rate rises to 9.2 percent (the third straight month above 9 percent).

July 19 – Amid continuing calls for the president to reveal what spending cuts he actually supports, Carney says that “leadership is not proposing a plan for the sake of having it voted up or down…”

July 22 – At a press conference discussing his position on negotiating a debt limit increase, President Obama declares, “The only bottom line that I have is that we have to extend this debt ceiling through the next election, into 2013.”

August 2 – Following passage of the debt limit increase package in the Senate, President Obama calls for America to “live within our means” immediately before advocating a further increase in government spending, framed, as usual, as “investments.”

August 3 – Government borrowing tops 100 percent of GDP as the U.S. accumulates $4 trillion in gross debt under President Obama, well above the 90-percent threshold identified by economists Rogoff and Reinhart as when debt harms economic growth and brings down job creation.

August 5 – S&P downgrades the U.S.’ credit rating from AAA, the first time the nation has had less than the top rating since receiving it in 1917.

September 8– Shortly after the passage of the debt limit deal and the spending cuts that went with it, President Obama announcesa second stimulus bill that would cost $447 billion. CBO later admits that stimulus spending depresses long-term economic growth.

September 18– President Obama unveils a deficit reduction plan that he claims will reduce deficits by $3 trillion through a combination of tax increases, war savings, and other spending cuts. But a Budget Committee analysis reveals that, thanks to a number of budget gimmicks, the plan would reduce deficits by only $1.4 trillion and would rely entirely on tax increases.

October 14– 900 days pass since Senate Democrats last offered a budget plan.

November 7– The Congressional Budget Office reports that total federal spending increased in Fiscal Year 2011 by $145 billion over the previous year’s level.

November 9– House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi claims that Democrats didn’t pass a budget when they controlled both chambers of Congress because “Republicans would have filibustered it,” but as she should know, budget resolutions can’t be filibustered.

November 11– As the supercommittee continues its tense negotiations, President Obama departs for a nine-day trip to Bali, Indonesia, and Australia.

November 13– Supercommittee member James Clyburn, the House Assistant Democratic Leader,says that a draft Democrat proposal has been outlined. A Budget Committee analysisestimates this outlined proposal to contain a dramatic tax increase-to-spending cut ratio of 4:1.

November 16– On the 931st day since Senate Democrats offered a budget, the U.S. gross national debt tops $15 trillion.

November 18– In search of common ground, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey puts forward a draft proposal with both spending cuts and tax revenue. Democrats summarily reject the offer.

November 21– New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg chides President Obama, saying that “It’s the Chief Executive’s job to bring people together & provide leadership. I don’t see that happening [with the] #SuperCommittee”

November 22– President Obama places multiple calls, over the course of the month, to European leaders regarding their countries’ debt problems. Meanwhile, Jay Carney says it was “absolutely not” a problem for “him not to have been as involved” with the supercommittee negotiations.

Thoughtsjustoffcenter comments: And you say that you've elected a leader and will vote for him to continue this mess? Just when the hell are you going to wake the hell up? Remember, He's half-white too! White-Socialist at that, his mother was born and raised in Seattle, the socialist center in Washington State.

Happy Black Friday

Well, 6-hours of cooking, an hour of eating, and 2-hours of clean-up. The Refrigerator is full of left overs, 3-half pies are on the counter, and my stomach is still full. So, I guess I won't be eating for about another 2 to 3 hours, at least.

Anyway, I'm not watchingor reading the news, reading any political e-mails, or discussing the issues. Today is relax day with the grandchildren. Their parents are out skiing.

Hopefully, returning without injuries, yet with an air of excitement!

Happy Day After!

Happy Thanksgiving

From ThoughtsjustoffCenter:

Although the cost of food has gone up by 14% since 2009 (in two years), I hope you all have enough to have a very Happy Thanksgiving with your Family and Friends.

National Debt Relief Amendment Has Advantages Over Balanced Budget Amendment

While a broad cross section of Americans continue to favor a balanced budget amendment (BBA), the idea is too closely identified with the Republican Party, and is unlikely to pass anytime soon, North Dakota State Sen. Curtis Olafson, has long argued. The facts appear to be on his side.

The latest effort to pass amendment failed in the House earlier this month with Republicans voting 236-4 in favor and Democrats voting 161-25 against. Twenty-three more votes would have been needed to secure the two-thirds voted needed for passage. Even so, the sentiment standing behind the BBA is very much alive, but there is a better way, says Olafson, who is himself a Republican.

Unlike the BBA, the National Debt Relief Amendment (NRDA) does not have a “get of jail free card,” that the political class can use to sidestep anti-spending restraints, he points out.

“With a two-thirds vote a balanced budget amendment could be waived,” Olafson explains. “I prefer the National Debt Relief Amendment because it is much simpler and it does not dictate any set of policies. It also stands a much better chance of getting to the finish line and exerting pressure on Washington D.C.”

Under Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress is required to set a time and place for delegates from all 50 states to convene once 34 states petition for an amendments convention.

The NDRA was drafted by RestoringFreedom.Org, a Texas-based non-profit group, and endorsed by the Goldwater Institute, an Arizona-based free-market think tank. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) also adopted the resolution providing for the NDRA as model legislation in January. Olafson co-sponsored the resolution in favor of NRDA in his home state.

The NDRA’s proposed amendment language reads as follows: “An increase in the federal debt requires approval from a majority of the legislatures of the separate states.”

In just the past few weeks, state legislators in Montana, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin have committed to introducing NDRA resolutions. The other states where the NDRA is pending introduction or passage are: Arkansas, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Utah. “Serious discussions” are now underway in 12 other states, Olafson notes. All told, this means the NDRA is in play in 24 states.

Congress would find it difficult to simply ignore the NRDA if it went into effect because the financial markets would discount the value of bonds that would be marketed to finance an increase in debt that has not been approved by the states, Olafson observes.

“Anyone who thinks Congress is suddenly going to have an epiphany and reform itself will be sorely disappointed,” he says. “But if we get just a few more states on board with the resolution, we are off to the races.”

Some critics of NDRA have expressed concern that it could open the way to a runaway convention where radical amendments are proposed. In response, the Goldwater Institute has published “10 Facts” to “Refute the Mythology of a Runaway Convention.”

For starters, Goldwater points out that Article 5 does not authorize a full scale convention, but also authorizes a convention for amendments.

Moreover, there is a strong case to be made that the “runaway convention” is already in motion on Capitol Hill. The NRDA is one way to upset the apple cart with the support of average Americans in both major political parties.

Olafson points out, “Getting to that magic number of 34 states to call a constitutional convention, means that a few blue states would be needed. But that’s part of the appeal. NRDA has no strong connection with either party and stands a strong chance of connection with voters across political and ideological lines. Moreover, they are enough safeguards in place to guard against a renegade convention process.

The fear over an Article 5 amendments convention, while it’s pervasive and widespread it is not rational,” he said. “If you do some basic research on the Article 5 process and the history of how and why it was formulated by the founding fathers you come to realize there is no good reason to fear the process.”

There is also the added hurdle of needing 38 states to ratify the NDRA or any other amendment.

“I ask our critics to produce for us their official list of 38 states that they fear would ratify a dangerous, extremist or radical amendment,” he said. “I have challenged many people who preach fear mongering to produce a list and so far no one has because it doesn’t exist.”

This articles is by Kevin Mooney. He is a contributing editor to Americans for Limited Government.

Read more at NetRightDaily.com: http://netrightdaily.com/2011/11/national-debt-relief-amendment-has-advantages-over-balanced-budget-amendment/#ixzz1eTpQDrGL

CommentsjustoffCenter: More research will need to be done, by me, before I'll go with this. I'm fro and against the BBA due to the ability of Congress to over-ride it and increase it without the populations approval. Secondly, I don't like the thought of "a lack of ability" to go off budget when a war is declared.

Pardoning The Turkey

OK - I had to post this - I can't help myself. - - - - - No pardon here! Off with the head and pluck them feathers, or as in survival school - you skin them to keep from eating the parisites.

Chris Matthews Is Just Now Getting It ? ? ?

Although, I can hardly stand the sound of the jerks voice, every once (in a blue moon) he will make some since.

Eewwooo - Is Matthews turning on Obama? There are some good questions here.

Ann Barnhardt - A Rant!

Doing some research and ran across this. It's a little dated, yet it hits the spot when dealing with mealy mouthed politicians - of either party. You go girl!

Part 1 of 2 - -

To See Part Part 2 of 2 - - Go to You Tube for 14 minutes of reading the Koran and burning various pages, if you so desire.

ThoughtsjustoffCenter comments: This is also the lady that just closed her "Hedge Fund" firm and gave all her investors their money back. The action was due to the failure of "MF Global," run by Jon Corzine, an ex-governor of New Jersey, who stole all the investors' money (over 6-million dollars) and the fact that the market let him get away with it. She concluded that she could no longer work in such a criminal environment or "quasay" criminal establishment of brokerage firms.

Of Biden the Magnificent?

See blog

at http://cowboys-and-tea-parties.blogspot.com/2011/11/biden-magnificent.html?showComment=1321633616141#c439224438701113635

ThoughtsjustoffCenter comments: Well, we can always look to the FBI's yearly report on criminal activities/statistics.

In 2010, Minneapolis, MN ranked 48th out of 400 cities in the FBI criminal activities report, with a score of 127.47. Its sister city, St. Paul ranked 102th with a score of 74.66.

Could this sister city reflection be the same as El Paso, TX, USA, ( ranked 275th with a score of -17.91) and Juarez, Chih, MM, (with over 3,000 murders in 2010, and about 7,200 murders over a three year period ); according to the El Paso Times Newspaper. Juarez is considered one of the three most violent cities in the Republic of Mexico?

A review of the FBI’s yearly reports, indicates that major crimes (or level one) rates have continued to decrease every year since 2006 (Murder, Attempted Murder, and Rape).

So my overall question is: Why does the media continue to allow President Obama, and Vice-President Biden, to lie to the public? And those that do call them on it, get nailed?

I know, I know - it's a rhetorical question.

- - BTW, Flint, MN isn't even on the list of released data.

Is Newt Gingrich Electable? Hell Yes!

By Dick Morris - See http://www.dickmorris.com

As the debates accumulate, it becomes more and more evident that Newt Gingrich’s intellect, experience, articulateness and depth of knowledge elevate him to the top of the GOP field. Anyone should be happy to pay admission to watch him duel with President Obama in debate! He’s not as charismatic as Herman Cain or as smooth as Mitt Romney, but boy, does he have a brain!

Ever since the campaign started, Newt has always gotten in his own way. Now he has graciously stepped aside and let his creativity and intellect shine through.

Earlier in the debates, he bit the questioners’ heads off in a pique of surly crankiness. No longer. Now he just answers the questions as they come, often hitting them out of the ballpark. His perspective and insights are penetrating and his condescension has vanished (or at least is sublimated).

Unfortunately, he does owe some of his current surge to the unsubstantiated and vague charges against Cain. While Republicans generally dismiss these charges, they worry that they will hurt him in November should he win the nomination. Herman will recover. His positive solutions for our economy will lift him back into the top tier of contention. Michele Bachmann might also come back, lifted by a tide of opposition to any tax increases embedded in the deficit-reduction supercommittee’s recommendations.

But any recovery by Cain or Bachmann will not bump Newt from the top tier. The likely result of the debate process is to bequeath to Iowa three or four contending candidates and leave it to them to sort out.

If Newt is the candidate, will his personal baggage drag him down? It will hurt, no doubt about that. His marriages will be dissected by the media, and his family will be deluged with questions and well-laid traps.

His ratings will decline as the inevitable baptism of fire begins. As with Cain, he will experience a few bad weeks. But, as with Cain, his positive strengths will carry him through the fire and he will come out the other end.

But once Newt survives the process, he will be inoculated against the charges. He will have immunity against the issue.

And here is the core of Obama’s problem. All of the Republican candidates will be so thoroughly vetted — and purified — by the brutal process they are going through that they will be immune to his charges against them in the fall.

John Kerry never went through that process. His quick knockout of Howard Dean and the tepid challenge mounted by John Edwards did nothing to vet his claims of hero status in Vietnam.

Obama, on the other hand, survived the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers charges in the primary. When the general election came, they were old hat and had no electoral punch. Similarly, Bill Clinton got the nomination only after he had survived Gennifer Flowers and the accusations of draft-dodging. In November, those charges were spent bullets.

That’s the good news for Republicans. The nominating process has been so combative and the media scrutiny so searing that the candidates have been pre-screened. The FBI screening process is nowhere near as intense as the negative-research capacities of the media and political opponents.

If nominated, Romney will have survived the accusations of flip-flopping, Cain will have overcome the sexual harassment charges and Newt’s marital history will be yesterday’s news. And then we can get on with the business of winning the election.

And win it we will. Obama cannot survive his 60 percent disapproval rating on his handling of the economy (the highest ever recorded by CBS during his administration). Under his leadership, Gallup reports an almost 10-point edge for the Republican Party on handling the economy. Against a generic opponent, Obama draws only 43 percent of the vote. With the personal negatives on the Republican candidates aired and used up during the primaries, there will be nothing for Obama to hide behind.

ThoughtsjustoffCenter comments: Yes, Newt can win. He has been through the fire, multiple times, and survived just fine. Has he made a few mistakes in his life? You bet! Did he burn out as Speaker of the House of Representatives and then stand asside as the media tore at him? Yes he did. Has he survived and led a conservative life, tried to teach others his lessons learned, stayed towards the middle of the road on conservative views and answers to the countries needs, along with teaching/preaching the hard decisions that Armerica needs to make in order to survive. Not just as a world power, but to survive socialism, marxism, and communism! I know he has made some serious mistakes - yet, so have so many others, yet they have hidden them well. Heck Barack Obama has all his mistakes/records sealed by the courts - no one can get at them. We don't even know where his is from - REALLY! With Newt, what you see, is what you  get. I like him. I like Herman Cain too. I will vote for either of them in a heart beat!

Blogs of Interest

There is a reason that I post so many articles from other blogs and sites. I do a lot of research and reading. I have come across tons of excellent writings by others that I feel should be passed on. Two of those blogs/sites are "Cowboy & Tea Parties," and "The Two Minute Conservative." Here are the links, if you desire to read and research all of their articles.

http://cowboys-and-tea-parties.blogspot.com/

http://adrianvance.blogspot.com/

A Great Truth From Antiuity

Taken from "The Two Minute Conservative" see http://adrianvance.blogspot.com/ - always has excellent commentary and food for thought! - Thanks Adrian

A study by the Cato Institute covering 30 years confirmed the inverse correlation of metropolitan area taxes, growth in population and employment.

The investigator, Dean Stansel, Associate Professor, Economics, Lutgert College of Business, Florida Gulf Coast University was entitled, “Why Some Cities Are Growing and Others Are Shrinking,” noted, “Although there are numerous factors that can influence the growth of individual economies, one finds a consistent relationship between low taxes and high economic growth in metropolitan areas, states and nations.”

“Over the last three decades, large cities like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Toledo have seen populations shrink. Cities like Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Tampa, and Phoenix had populations grow rapidly. The policy differences between high-growth and low-growth areas gives evidence that may help declining cities reverse their fortunes.”

Dr. Stansel examined 100 largest U.S. metro areas and found the ten highest-tax areas, with state and local taxes of 12.4% of personal income had populations growing by 21% from 1980 to 2007, employment increasing 40% and real personal income by 75%.

In the ten lowest-tax areas, taxes with 8.3% of personal income taxes the population grew 64%, employment 108%, and real personal income 157%. In contrasting pairs of cities, Stansel observed in 1980, Austin, Texas, and Syracuse, NewYork, were the same size. Austin’s metro area had 590,000 people and Syracuse’ metro had 643,000 residents. By 2007, Austin’s population had increased by more than 1 million while the Syracuse population remained stagnant.

State and local taxes were 13% of personal income in Syracuse but only 9% in Austin. Stansel concludes: “Keeping tax burdens low appears to be an important ingredient in the recipe for economic prosperity. If high-tax, low-growth metro areas like Detroit, Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Syracuse want to be more like high-growth areas such as Dallas, Tampa, San Antonio, and Austin, they should lower their onerous burden of taxation and bring spending under control.”

Nationally we are at 40% total taxation, without borrowings. The Democrats want to take us to 60% while enlightened electeds know we should be at 18.3% to expand the economy and increase revenues. But, that reduces the number of people dependent on government, hence the power of the Elected Ruling Class, therefore the idea remains unpopular in Washington, DC.

And so again, we have modern statistical proof for what we have long been saying: Low taxes, more growth and now data again confirming the Genesis Curve, a great truth from antiquity. (See “Genesis Curve”)

Oh Great Leader - "Riddle Me This"

I have seen, and heard, a lot of stupid things in my life, yet here is another one that "takes the cake."

The leader of our country using his brain (another goof).








"Try closing the umbrella, you dork!"






"Mr Soros, Another mistake." "You know you have to keep this guy under supervision at all times."

Thanks Brad!

What That, About Veteran's Day Again -

By Newt Gingrich

This column was originally published on National Review Online.

As the son of an infantryman who spent 27 years serving America in the U.S. Army, maybe I feel a special emotion on Veteran’s Day. This holiday, there is a touch of sadness, a sense of historical passing.

There was a time when November 11 was called “Armistice Day” to commemorate the ending of “The War to End All Wars,” which we now know as World War I, the first of so many brutal conflicts of the 20th century. After World War II, we changed the purpose of the day to honor all living veterans of all our conflicts, at the same time changing “Decoration Day”– originally a day of remembrance of Union dead from the Civil War — to our “Memorial Day,” to honor all those who served but are no longer with us.

What makes this Veteran’s Day so different is that, earlier this year, our last surviving veteran of World War I passed away and now rests with his comrades at Arlington.
Army Cpl. Frank W. Buckles died on Feb. 27, 2011, at the age of 110. He was the last of the 4.7 million Americans who fought in the Great War nearly a century ago.

Having joined the ranks of American doughboys at the age of 16 — after being turned down by the Marine Corps for being too small, and rejected by the Navy for having flat feet — Buckles finally convinced an Army captain that he was old enough to enlist. He was so eager to join the conflict that he volunteered to serve as an ambulance driver, having heard that this would place him on a fast track to the front lines in France, where he did indeed come face to face with the ghastly toll of war as he transported the broken bodies of his comrades.

But even after the Armistice, this did not end Buckles’s experience of war. Over two decades later, during World War II, while serving as a civilian shipping contractor in the Philippines, Buckles was captured by the Japanese and became a prisoner of war for more than three years.

He lost over 50 pounds during his imprisonment, surviving on a daily diet of only a small amount of mush served in a tin cup the size of a coffee mug that he kept the rest of his life.

And now that Buckles is no longer with us, our last link with his generation of warriors has quietly slipped away.

As a boy, I attended the parades in their honor, men still young in their 40s and 50s. The young veterans who once marched beside them — now remembered as our “Greatest Generation” — were in their 20s, having returned not long before from Iwo Jima, Bastogne, and the flak-torn skies over Berlin and Tokyo.

Of the nearly 15 million who served during the Second World War, little more than a million remain with us, and approximately 1,000 of these pass away with each day.

Today, the younger vets who march beside them are those of more recent eras: Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, the Persian Gulf War, and the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan — a total of more than 21 million veterans living among us.
As we honor these 21 million fellow Americans, this Veterans Day is also a stark reminder that we are still a nation at war and a nation that remains at risk.

For the elected officials who direct our military, and the voters who elect them, we have a serious responsibility to reflect upon history and apply the wisdom of the past to our challenges today.

If history teaches us anything, it is the necessity of perpetual vigilance. We must maintain our military strength to defend ourselves against those who would threaten us. And we must guard against complacency and any belief that today is somehow different, that leaders of other nations will always be “reasonable,” or that we can somehow afford to let down our guard.

World War I was believed to be the war to end all wars. Because its results were so horrific and devastating, it was expected that no sane country would engage in such conflict ever again. But war came again just a few years later, and it was even more devastating and horrific than the last.

Before the outbreak of World War II, it was believed by many Western powers that we might be able to reason with Hitler and strike a deal to prevent war. It was a false hope. The failure to confront Hitler from a position of military strength ensured that the ultimate price paid in blood and treasure was far steeper than it had to be. Indeed, Winston Churchill in his Iron Curtain speech said “there never was a war in history easier to prevent by timely action than the one which has just desolated such great areas of the globe. It could have been prevented, in my belief, without the firing of a single shot.”

Following the collapse of Communism and the coming of a new century, it was believed by many that we had reached “the end of history.” Defense budgets were shrunk and attacks on America treated as law-enforcement problems. But the hopes for a more peaceful world were shattered that Tuesday morning in September 2001. Since that time, thousands of our brave men and women have fought on distant fronts to defend us against radical Islamist forces who seek domination and annihilation of any who oppose their beliefs.

Despite the myriad challenges we face today, our national resolve must be unshakeable. Let this November 11 be a special day when we thank our courageous veterans for their service and sacrifice. And let us resolve to honor their service by maintaining a military force strong enough to help keep peace around the world without having to fire a shot.

Something That's Not Really Funny -

As a Veteran - I send a LARGE Thank You to my family of Veterans, Friends, and all other Veterans. Thank You for standing up for America!

Cold Fusion Experiment: Major Success or Complex Hoax?

A physicist in Italy claims to have demonstrated a new type of power plant that provides safe, cheap and virtually unlimited nuclear power to the world, without fossil fuels or radiation concerns.

The only hitch: Scientists say the method — cold fusion — is patently impossible. They say it defies the laws of physics.

Andrea Rossi doesn’t seem to care. He told FoxNews.com that his new device takes in nickel and hydrogen and fuses them in a low-grade nuclear reaction that essentially spits out sheer power, validating the strange science.

“With low energy, it’s possible to give a heater a certain amount of energy and to get from the same heater a superior amount of energy,” Rossi explained. He claims he demonstrated the device, called an E-Cat, at the University of Bologna in Italy on Oct. 28.

Rossi’s claims have confounded the scientific community, many of whom have either dismissed the demonstration outright or have questioned whether the E-Cat really works. Several experts who spoke to FoxNews.com declined to comment or go on the record. - - - Jonathan Koomey, an energy consultant who has advised the EPA, said any extraordinary discovery requires extraordinary proof. He said the E-Cat must be verified by an independent study conducted by scientists who are allowed access to the machine’s inner-workings.

Regards to:

ThoughtsjustoffCenter comments: Hey – I saw the movie, “The Saint” so I know it’s true. It’s just taken awhile for the trueth to come out. – - – - – Laughing Out Here in the Heart of America. Yet, wouldn’t it be GREAT if it worked out that it is possible.

WOW, what a magnificent advancement in science that would be!

The White House Rejects The Subpoena from the Committee Investigating Solyndra

http://www.scribd.com/doc/71628706/Letter-White-House-Rejects-Subpeona-of-Solyndra-Docs

The House of Representatives is responsible for these investigations, and the White House knows it. It will just be another one that goes to the Supreme Court.
(al (?), Nixon and Clinton)

The White House can not ignore subpoena's from them and they know it. They can drag out the process, but the will have to comply.

This adminstration is relying on the fact the if they start impeachment of the President or infact impeach him for not following the constitution, they can play the race card very heavily along with the rest of the left side of politics in America. Oh well - we'll wait and see.

Dirty Energy Cartoon

An another "Green Energy" company files for bankruptcy! It just keeps getting better?

Who Voted Against the "in GOD WE TRUST" Issue Before Congress

Here are our American Atheists that serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Odds are we won't know about the U.S. Senate, for a fact, because the Senior American Atheist in the U.S. Senate won't allow it to come forward for a vote. Yet I'm sure you'll be able to figure it all out just by looking at the over-all voting records of the various Senators.

Lawmakers voting against “In God We Trust” include:

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY),
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY),
Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich),
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA),
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO),
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA),
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA),
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), and
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA).

Voting present, the "Chicken Shits" were:

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), and
Rep. Melvin Watt (D-NC).

A Few Suggestions

Reading various blogs one quickly realizes that there is a lot of anger and frustration among everyday citizens. And a general lashing out at person(s) and injustice. It is past time to do something. Therefore, I recommend the following:

1) The next election day is next Tuesday, November 8, 2011. It is an off-off-off year election, but ALL elections are important! - VOTE!

2) VOTE Independant or Republican on all offices.

3) Vote NO on ALL bond questions. It is very important to destroy the DemocRATS organization from the ground up, as well as from the head down! Without an effective local organization, Obama does not stand a chance! This also reduces the amount of corruption and patronage at the local level which is the life blood of the DemocRAT organization. Bonds are taxes, vote NO.

4) Help get the vote out on election day, every vote helps. Not only will it help to elect a more honest government but it sends a powerful message to those that analyze the voting patterns, including the RINOs.

5) Pass this message along to everyone that you know, “spread the word, not the wealth.”

6) Discuss the importance of a knowledgable vote. Research and study the facts. 

Together we can make a difference and change the course of history.

ThoughtsjustoffCenter comments: This post is taken from ideas found on various blogs on the internet. You'll probably find them as you conduct any reseach concerning the voting issues for Tuesday, November 08, 2011. Educate Yourself!