In the news…

1.  Mark Berndt, a teacher, charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct in his classroom successfully thwarted attempts by the Los Angeles Unified School District to fire him. In the process, the teacher, who is accused of spoon-feeding his semen to blindfolded children, managed to retain lifetime health-benefits provided by the nation’s second-largest school system after he hired the attorneys of the liberal United Teachers Los Angeles union. He will also automatically receive nearly $4,000 a month in pension from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.

2.  There’s bribery, corruption, and a cover-up at the Obama Justice Department and no, we aren’t talking about Fast and Furious.  At least two DOJ prosecutors accepted cash bribes from allegedly corrupt finance executives who were indicted under court seal within the past 13 months, but never arrested or prosecuted.  Additionally, the sitting governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, his attorney general and an unspecified number of Virgin Islands legislators also accepted bribes.  A DOJ official adds that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is aware prosecutors and elected officials were bribed and otherwise compromised, but has not held anyone accountable.

According to an attorney with knowledge of the investigation the bribed officials remain on the taxpayers’ payroll at the Justice Department without any accountability. The DOJ offical said Holder does not want to admit public officials accepted bribes while under his leadership.

In the news…

-  Liberals are desperate to keep the lie that Republicans are racist are looking to excuses to explain Herman Cain’s popularity within the Republican Party.  On Martin Bashir’s television program this afternoon, Democratic strategist and MSNBC analyst Karen Finney said that Republicans are supporting Herman Cain because of his race: “One of the things about Herman Cain is, I think that he makes that white Republican base of the party feel okay, feel like they are not racist because they can like this guy,” Finney said. “I think he giving that base a free pass. And I think they like him because they think he’s a black man who knows his place. I know that’s harsh, but that’s how it sure seems to me.”

-  Global warming is about to take another punch.  An October snowstorm is expected to reach Connecticut on Saturday and has the potential to drop historic amounts of snow across the state for the time of year.  By the time all is said and done, 5-to-10 inches is possible in interior Connecticut, 5-to-5 inches around New Haven, and 1-to-2 inches in southeastern Connecticut.

-  Ethics trouble for Attorney General Eric Holder may cost him his job.  At least eight members of Congress have now called on Holder to resign over the growing Operation Fast and Furious scandal.  Records show that Holder lied in sworn testimony to Congress and may be interfering with the Congressional investigation in the scandal.

-  Obama can celebrate his victory in removing Moammar Gaddafi. So can Al-Qiada.  Across Libya Al-Qaida flags are popping up. At Benghazi’s courthouse, which played a prominent role in the Libyan revolution, residents are flying the late terrorist’s Osama bin Laden’s colors.

In the news today…

It’s the Obama Justice Department led by the incompetent Attorney General Eric Holder in the news again today.  If the stories about $16 muffins and the scandal surrounding Fast & Furious weren’t enough now we have the story of Darryl Foster, a supervisor for the Civil Rights Division, who misused taxpayer funds to “facilitate a physical relationship with a woman in Florida.”Expenses for trips were paid for by taxpayers even on days he was not working and the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that Mr. Foster began extending his work travel to Miami to meet with the unidentified woman.  On another occasion, Mr. Foster flew a male friend from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Las Vegas to meet “largely for recreational purposes.” He said taxpayers also picked up that tab, including airfare, hotel costs and rental car.  Email correspondence between Mr. Foster and the unidentified male said such things as, “Make sure you leave me some golf time!!” and “Thought we were going to the Grand Canyon on Saturday??”  How much do the rich have to contribute?

This should be welcomed news to those rich liberals who feel like they don’t pay enough in taxes.  Republicans have an answer to President Barack Obama’s “Buffett Rule” that would mandate a tax increase for wealthy Americans. Nine House Republicans, led by Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, introduced their own “Buffett Rule Act” Wednesday that would make it easier for rich taxpayers to give as much of their wealth to Uncle Sam as they want, The Hill reports.  The bill would have the IRS put a new line on individual tax forms to allow wealthy taxpayers to pony up more than they owe so that they can help reduce the government’s debt burden.

There’s more bad news for Obama out today.  The RealClearPolitics average approval poll for Obama shows the widest gap yet.  Just 42.5% approve of Obama’s job performance while a ful 51.5% disapprove.  In an ABC Poll released today, more trust the Republicans than Obama when it comes to handling the economy.

I’ll be in Atlanta’s Centennial Park tonight with Sean Hannity to celebrate his 15 year anniversary with Fox News.  The live show will be airing at 9:00 EST directly across from the CNN headquarters.  Look to my Flickr for some pictures.

Courtesy:  John Paulus

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In the news for this Tuesday…

Can the Obama get through the week without another scandal?  The latest involves his attorney general, Eric Holder.  Back in May of this year, during testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, Eric Holder is alleged to have perjured himself when he said he was unaware of the ATF’s ‘Fast & Furious’ Program until just two weeks prior.  However, newly released documents show that not only was aware a year earlier, but he was briefed on its details.  In order to protect himself from prosecution for perjury, Holder now claims he “misunderstood the question”.  Is anyone really buying this?

President Barack Obama’s “green jobs” initiatives suffered another major blow late Monday, as the nonprofit National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado, announced a plan to lay off roughly 10 percent of its staff through a voluntary buy-out plan.  According to the Denver Post, the lab plans to eliminate between 100 and 150 of its 1,350 jobs. The Obama administration supported the NREL in 2009 with roughly $200 million in stimulus grants. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu visited Golden in May 2009 to promote the NREL as a beneficiary of those funds.  So much for “green jobs” being the way to the future unless of course that future leads to the unemployment line.

Did you read the report issued today by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper?  Disabled and elderly drug abusers may be costing taxpayer-funded Medicare almost $150 million a year by convincing doctors to write prescriptions for oxycodone and other narcotics. About 170,000 patients in Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly and disabled, acquired often-abused drugs from at least five doctors each in 2008. Taxpayers subsidized multiple prescriptions of hydrocodone, fentanyl, oxycodone and other narcotics at a cost of $148 million in 2007, according to the report.  Wait until ObamaCare.

Obama’s “pass it now” job’s bill ran into some Senate Democrat turbulence today.  Senate Republicans tried to make Democrats hold a quick vote on President Obama’s jobs-stimulus bill Tuesday, but were blocked by Senate Majority Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who is sponsoring Mr. Obama’s bill but who said other matters take priority. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, tried to force a vote, which presumably would have resulted in a humiliating defeat for the White House.  “I’d like to give him that vote,” Mr. McConnell said.

Courtesy:  John Paulus

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In today’s news…

A liberal consultant advising schools has suggested that teachers should censor the toy box and replace the witch’s pointy black hat with a pink one, while dressing fairies, generally resplendent in pale pastels, in darker shades. Another staple of the classroom – white paper – has also been questioned. Anne O’Connor, a former teacher, suggests children should be provided with paper other than white to drawn on and paints and crayons should come in “the full range of flesh tones”, reflecting the diversity of the human race, according to the former teacher.

Segueing nicely into our next topic, in today’s Gallup Poll nearly half of all Americans believe the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. In 2003, less than a third (30%) believed this.  Liberals will see this as “a common problem with  many right wingers and that is their inability to see past their narrow-minded reaction to one thing and see” .

A reporter asked Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain about Obama’s comment, “it’s about math, not class warfare” and the mathematician and former CEO just about blew a blood vessel.  “Can I be blunt? That’s a lie,” Cain said.  “You’re not supposed to call the president a liar. Well if you’re not supposed to call the president a liar, he shouldn’t tell a lie. If it’s not class warfare, it’s highway robbery. He wants us to believe it’s not class warfare, oh okay, it’s not class warfare. Pick my pockets, because that’s what he’s doing!. . . . I’m listening to all this bullshit that he’s talking about, ‘fairness’ and ‘balanced approach’ to get this economy going.”

Herman Cain isn’t the only politician anger at Obama, Maxine Waters is furious over Obama’s comments to the Congressional Black Caucus last week.  Obama told the audience at the annual gala to “take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do, CBC.” Water’s told reporters, ““… he never would say that to the gay and lesbian community who really pushed him on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Or even in a speech to AIPAC, he would never say to the Jewish community ‘stop complaining’ about Israel.”

Citing the Defense of Marriage Act, the Obama administration denied immigration benefits to a married gay couple from San Francisco and ordered the expulsion of a man who is the primary caregiver to his AIDS-afflicted spouse.

Bradford Wells, a U.S. citizen, and Anthony John Makk, a citizen of Australia, were married seven years ago in Massachusetts. They have lived together 19 years, mostly in an apartment in the Castro district. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied Makk’s application to be considered for permanent residency as a spouse of an American citizen, citing the 1996 law that denies all federal benefits to same-sex couples.

The decision was issued July 26. Immigration Equality, a gay-rights group that is working with the couple, received the notice Friday and made it public Monday. Makk was ordered to depart the United States by Aug. 25. Makk is the sole caregiver for Wells, who has severe health problems.

“I’m married just like any other married person in this country,” Wells said. “At this point, the government can come in and take my husband and deport him. It’s infuriating. It’s upsetting. I have no power, no right to keep my husband in this country. I love this country, I live here, I pay taxes and I have no right to share my home with the person I married.”

Husband’s pleas

Wells pleaded with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and President Obama to intervene.

“Anyone can identify with the horror of having the government come in and destroy your family when you’ve done nothing wrong, and you’ve done everything right, followed every law,” Wells said.

The agency’s decision cited the Defense of Marriage Act as the reason for the denial of an I-130 visa, or spousal petition that could allow Makk to apply for permanent U.S. residency. “The claimed relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary is not a petitionable relationship,” the decision said. “For a relationship to qualify as a marriage for purposes of federal law, one partner must be a man and the other a woman.”

Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder decided earlier this year that the law, commonly known as DOMA, is unconstitutional on equal protection grounds and that the administration would no longer defend it in court. House Republicans hired an outside counsel to defend it instead. However, the administration said it would continue to enforce the law, while exercising discretion on a case-by-case basis.

ICE’s director, John Morton, issued a memorandum in June that offered guidance to agents in making enforcement decisions. Because no law enforcement agency can pursue every case, they routinely prioritize where to commit the government’s limited resources.

The memorandum said prosecutions should seek to promote “national security, border security, public safety and the integrity of the immigration system.”

Makk meets several of the circumstances specified in the memorandum. Aside from being a spouse of an American citizen, he is also the primary caretaker of a citizen, has no criminal history, and has legally resided in the country under various visas for many years.

The couple said they spent nearly $2,000 to file the petition that was denied, and now must decide whether to file a motion to reconsider the decision, which Wells said would almost certainly be denied, giving the couple at most another 30 days of residency.

Makk gave up a professional career in Australia to be with Wells, and started a business in San Francisco and invested in rental property to meet various visa requirements. He said he has never remained in the country illegally.

Poor alternatives

Wells could move to Australia, but he said doing so would require him to give up his extensive medical care and insurance in the United States.

“We are appealing to the Obama administration to begin to put into action what they’ve said repeatedly they can do,” said Immigration Equality spokesman Steve Ralls. “The Department of Homeland Security and ICE have said again and again that they can exercise discretion in individual cases, but they have not done so for a single gay or lesbian couple yet.”

In rare cases, lawmakers can introduce so-called private bills to shield specific immigrants from deportation, but only after deportation proceedings have begun. Such bills are considered a last resort.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said Pelosi has contacted immigration officials on behalf of the couple and “will be working to exhaust all appropriate immigration remedies that are open to pursue.”

– Obama promised to change how the world thought of us, but it doesn’t seem like his brothers in the Muslim world have gotten that message.  In the picture below, an effigy of Obama is being stepped on and burned.  So much for changing opinions.

– Obama helped to start the war in Libya, but doesn’t have the leadership to lead it so…. Oh Canada to the rescue. Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Friday that Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard has been designated to lead the alliance’s military campaign in Libya.

– It sure is great to be a buddy of Obama’s.  Heck, all you have to do is have you anchors at NBC report glowing news about Obama and not report all the mistakes, facts, and mishaps and in return you don’t have to pay any taxes.  GE, parent company of NBC, reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States. Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.  How are those deficits doing again?

– Remember when candidate Obama complained about weapons being smuggled into Mexico?  Well, under his leadership CBS is reporting that the ATF initiated a program that allowed smuggling of Arms into Mexico.  The President’s response, “I didn’t know”.  How about his Attorney General Eric Holder, “I didn’t know”.  It seems that the prolific golfing, world traveling, White House partying President might want to spend a little more time in the Oval Office.

Could we be any more surprised or disappointed in this administration?

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As an internationally known blogger, sometimes personal and world events can consume my days.  Unfortunately, there aren’t enough hours for me to adequately fulfill my obligation to as prolific a blogger as some of you may hope… but I am here today.

As you many of you have already heard, Charles Rangel was handed a censure by the Congress for his ethics violations- some of which revolved around tax evasion.  Unlike Wesley Snipes who learned today that he would be imprisoned for 2 years, Charlie will get a proverbial slap on the wrist.  Just another example of the double standards by the Democrat controlled Congress and broken promise by Nancy Pelosi to “drain the swamp”.

TSA agents are given air travelers a choice; get groped or have a full body scan.  On a recent trip to Seattle, I was not offered the option.  Flying from Raleigh, I passed through the full-body scanner and upon exiting, succumbed to a TSA agent sliding his latex gloved hand up my left leg to my “junk” and back while his other hand rested on my buttocks.  Not a very pleasant experience.

In 42 days Americans will face the largest tax increase in American history if Democrats don’t extend the Bush tax cuts.  Democrats are in disarray after the 2010 election and with the tax cuts set to expire on December 31st, many are beginning to battle each other on what to do.  With most moderate Democrats having lost their seats in the last elections, the radical left are demanding that they expire to fight the deficit while some wish to extend those cuts only for those making less than $200k a year.

The frequent flier President is in Portugal discussing NATO after his 10 day failed trip to Asia.  The President has been unable to solve any of the issues that he claimed could be settled when he was candidate Obama; Europe is refusing to send more troops to Afghanistan, he was unable to get the Kyoto treaty signed, no trade agreement with Korea, no cooperation with China and Russia on Iran nuclear plans, no agreement with North Korea, no agreement with Israel and Palestine… nothing.  His only hope for some foreign policy success is a SALT agreement with the Russian which calls for the United States to cut its nuclear defense capabilities.

And on a final point, has anyone been able to contact Eric Holder regarding the terrorist Ahmed Ghailani who was found innocent of all but 1 of over 280 charges against him in the bombing of U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Eric assured all of us that this would be a “slam dunk” case.  His absence speaks volumes.  Perhaps they’ll consider military tribunals.

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The United States government had won its case against Black Panther, King Samir Shabaz for intimidating voter in November of 2008.  The government was reading for sentencing when, under the new administration’s new Attorney General, Eric Holder, the case was mysteriously dropped.

This video, when watch from start to finish, shows King Samir Shabaz calling for the killing of White children- this is the man that Obama and his administration decided to excuse.  These are the people that Democrats and Obama defend.  The question you must ask yourself is why?

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So much going on in the news today.  Let’s see, we have Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who demands businesses be honest, lying to about his military record.  Blumenthal, a Democrat, is hoping to pick up the Senate seat being vacated by another liar and crooked, Democrat Chris Dodd, told a group,  “We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam”.  Problem is, he never served in Vietnam.  In fact, He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.

In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he landed a coveted spot in the Marine Reserve, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. He joined a unit in Washington that conducted drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive. 

If Blumenthal can’t be trusted to be honest about his military record, how can Connecticut voters trust him to be their Senator?

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Can I have another “I told you so moment”?    Texas doctors are opting out of Medicare at alarming rates, frustrated by reimbursement cuts they say make participation in government-funded care of seniors unaffordable.

Two years after a survey found nearly half of Texas doctors weren’t taking some new Medicare patients, new data shows 100 to 200 a year are now ending all involvement with the program. Before 2007, the number of doctors opting out averaged less than a handful a year.

“This new data shows the Medicare system is beginning to implode,” said Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the Texas Medical Association. “If Congress doesn’t fix Medicare soon, there’ll be more and more doctors dropping out and Congress’ promise to provide medical care to seniors will be broken.”

More than 300 doctors have dropped the program in the last two years, including 50 in the first three months of 2010, according to data compiled by the Houston Chronicle. Texas Medical Association officials, who conducted the 2008 survey, said the numbers far exceeded their assumptions.

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You got to love it when Liberals like Obama, Holder, and others negatively comment on a Bill that they haven’t read.  In the latest,  Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano admits she hasn’t read the Arizona immigration law, but passed judgment on it anyway. “That’s not the kind of law I would have signed,” she declared. “I believe it’s a bad law enforcement law. I believe it mandates and requires local enforcement and puts them in a position many do not want to be placed in,” Napolitano said. “When I was dealing with laws of that ilk, most of the law enforcement agencies in Arizona at that time were opposed to such legislation,” she claimed.  Word of advice, if you haven’t read the Bill, keep you liberal mouth shut so your parrots don’t repeat the same lies you’re spewing.

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