What Country Are You from, Madame Speaker? By Joe Siano

House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, called for an investigation of those opposing the Mosque at Ground Zero. Come again?



This from a woman who opposes asking a suspected illegal alien for documentation of citizenship? She demands to know who is “funding” it. Does she live in the same country that was attacked September 11, 2001, the Great Satan, the good old US of A? Does she not understand that the American people are not the enemy?



Just as she missed the mark last year by calling the Tea Party movement “Astroturf”, Ms. Pelosi finds it hard to believe that Americans are capable of spontaneous outbursts of righteous rage and indignation. Somehow she does not get that New Yorkers who saw their friends and loved ones unjustly slaughtered on 9-11, can actually feel offended and hurt by this apparent reminder that “we gotcha” from the Islamic world.



If the Mosque is a gesture of peace, friendship and rapprochement to New York, the message is not getting through. They need to make it clear to us how this will make things better. On the other hand, if this project is, as the name “Cordoba” implies, an allusion to Islamic victory and conquest on American soil, they are asking for trouble.



And trouble they will get. I’m not threatening or saying that it is right. I’m just sayin’. New Yorkers are tough people and they won’t stand for having humiliation and insult rubbed in their faces. Perhaps this is what their Boston-bred mayor fails to get, as well.



As a libertarian, I support the private property rights of the developers to build as they please on their own land. Likewise, I oppose government intervention to block this project without due cause such as knowledge that builders will use the site to further jihad in the U.S. Libertarians are fearful of giving government license to persecute unpopular individuals or movements. After all, we cannot be far down the list.



On the other hand, I have no issue with private, free market efforts to block the mosque such as blacklisting or boycotting any person or company that contributes to the construction or maintenance of the Mosque. The threat that “you’ll never work in this town again” is pretty potent when that town is New York. The rest of America should back Gotham up on this.



Still, the question lingers, “what is the Left’s fascination and patronage of Islam all about?” Liberals will rush to crucify any American who makes a public display of their Judeo-Christian faith. Just try praying on the field after a high school football game or putting up a Christmas tree in front of town hall and see what happens.



Surely Liberals must know that Islamic nations are among the world’s least liberal.

In the Islamic world women are truly second class citizens and homosexuals might be better off dead. Freedom of religion is non-existent; in fact one religion is compulsory. This might be tough for the humanist-atheists to handle. And freedom of speech is a no-no. Say goodbye to Hollywood.



The only thing that I could figure that the Left finds attractive in Islam is that it is restrictive system that represses individual freedom for the supposed greater good of the community. That sounds a lot like the Obama-Pelosi-Reid legislative agenda.

NY Gov. pays $96k for World Series tickets

That could be one of the most expensive baseball games ever. The state’s top ethics watchdog wants to slug Gov. Paterson with a $96,375 fine for allegedly shaking down the Yankees for free tickets to Game 1 of last year’s World Series. The Public Integrity Commission requested the historic penalty — the first of its kind sought against a governor — after a lightning-quick hearing in the agency’s Albany office yesterday. The recommendation will be passed along to an administrative law judge who will decide the matter, which could take months to resolve.

LEBRON JAMES COVERS GQ MAGAZINE

LEBRON JAMES cleaned up to cover the latest issue of GQ Magazine. Apparently he can handle the heat. Did I ever tell you I LOVE men who have beards? But I’m growing to hate men in earrings. Sighs. I’m trying to balance it all out. LEBRON talks about returning to play in Cleveland and CHARLES BARKLEY’s comments. Check out all the deets and pics after the jump kids.

On Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert:

LeBron: “I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron. My mother always told me: ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character.’ Me and my family have seen the character of that man.”

On growing up rooting for Chicago and Jordan:

LeBron: “It’s not far, but it is far. And Clevelanders, because they were the bigger city - kids when we were growing up, looked down on us.… So we didn’t actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day.“

On Charles Barkley’s comments:

LeBron: “Charles was probably trying to be funny. It wasn’t funny to me.“

On the possibility of playing again in Cleveland:

LeBron: “If there was an opportunity for me to return and those fans welcome me back, that’d be a great story.  Maybe the ones burning my jersey were never LeBron fans anyway.“

Posted by MeccaDonna

North Korean jet' crashes in China

Pictures of the wreckage show what appears to be North Korea's air force emblem [REUTERS/Yonhap] An aircraft that crashed in northeast China may have flown into the country from neighbouring North Korea, regional media have suggested South Korean and Chinese news agencies suggested on Wednesday that the plane, which came down in Liaoning province, could have been a fighter jet flown by a pilot attempting to defect. "Based on an initial assessment at the scene, an aircraft that crashed in Chinese territory yesterday may be North Korean," China's state-run Xinhua news agency said. "Currently, the Chinese side is contacting the North Korean side about this matter." Photographs of the wreckage on the internet appear to show the North Korean air force emblem beneath the aircraft's tail. South Korea's military said the plane was likely a MiG-21, citing radar detection by its air force of the aircraft leaving a military airbase in the North Korean city of Sinuiju, near the border with China. "Radar images show the North Korean aircraft took off from the air base in Sinuiju," an official in Seoul, who asked not to be named, was reported to have said. "According to the images, it appears to be a MiG-21," the official said. Defection rumours South Korea's Yonhap News Agency cited an unnamed intelligence official as saying the pilot may have been attempting to defect to Russia. The aircraft was said to have ploughed into an apple orchard in a village, about 150km from the North Korean border on Tuesday, killing its pilot. "The engine was making a very strange noise and it was flying in a very weird way, with it's head up and rear down" Ning, a local witness A witness said he saw the plane flying low over the area before it crashed. "The engine was making a very strange noise and it was flying in a very weird way, with it's head up and rear down,", a man named Ning was quoted by The Associated Press news agency as saying. "It looked like a piece of scrap iron flying in the sky." He said that he heard from other villagers that the aircraft had flown from North Korea and that the pilot was killed on impact. China is a neighbour and close supporter of North Korea, which depends on Beijing for food and energy aid. However, ties have been strained in recent years, particularly since the North resisted an international effort led by Beijing to persuade it to give up its nuclear weapons programme. In recent years, thousands of North Koreans facing hunger and difficult living conditions at home have made the risky journey into China, with many seeking eventual asylum in South Korea. The Chinese government has not yet commented on the crash.

China’s Military Is Playing for Keeps: Will the U.S. Remain a Contender?

After a very protracted gestation and calls from Congress for its release, DOD today finally unveiled the latest report on China’s military capabilities, as called for under the FY 2000 National Defense Authorization Act.

What is surprising in this report of some 83 pages is how little of its content is actually surprising.

For example, the report reminds us that, not only is the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) a large force, but it is also increasingly sophisticated. This sophistication is reflected in its growing ability to conduct joint operations (i.e., operations involving land, sea, air, space, and cyber forces). It is also reflected in its people, who are thinking carefully about the shape of future wars, as reflected in the emphasis on “informatized war,” i.e., the application of information technology to all aspects of warfare, from command and control to logistics.
The report also points out the growing range of capabilities at the PLA’s disposal. This is not an army that will rely on human wave attacks; it is one that is working on anti-ship ballistic missiles, electronic and information warfare, and space combat capabilities.

Nor is the PLA solely a local force anymore. Chinese military forces, as the report notes, now operate in the Gulf of Aden, and exercise with a variety of nations from Africa to Asia. China’s military officers are part of its larger diplomatic outreach efforts.

But none of this is especially surprising. These “developments” have been elemental to PLA modernization and expansion efforts for much of the past two decades.

Perhaps this is the real news: The PLA has enjoyed sustained growth in its resources, its capabilities, and its sophistication for so long that we are no longer surprised by its burgeoning reach and expanding envelope. There are individual technologies, such as anti-ship ballistic missiles, that are being pioneered by Chinese engineers, but we have become accustomed to China’s overall efforts to become a true military power.
The question, in this context, is no longer: “What will China do?” China clearly will continue to expand its military as it sees fit.

Instead, the question is: “What will the United States do?” In this context, the delay in releasing the report is troubling, especially as there were no major surprises embodied within it. Like the proverbial frog in the pot, have we become so accustomed to expanding Chinese capabilities that we think we can afford to ignore them?

Author: Dean Cheng

Well-Funded Democrats Positioned to Avoid 1994 Scenario, NYT Says

By Kevin Mooney 
 
Democrats are better prepared this time around for the mid-term elections than they were in 1994 when they lost control of congress and a sitting house speaker was defeated, The New York Times informs readers in a piece that is replete with wishful thinking and cheerleading.

“Unlike 1994, when Republicans shocked Democrats by capturing dozens of seats held by complacent incumbents, there will be no sneak attacks this year,” the report observes. “Democrats have sensed trouble for more than a year, with the unrest from town-hall-style meetings last August providing indisputable evidence for any disbelievers. The result has been to goad many Democrats into better preparation: more fund-raising, earlier advertising, lots of time on the campaign trail.”

This is partially true in that President Obama’s declining poll numbers have not translated over into public enthusiasm for the Republican Party. Special elections held earlier this year demonstrate that Democrats who hold out against overspending can prevail over uninspiring Republicans. Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, is very attuned to the policy preferences of his conservative district and voted against several Obama initiatives. He is cited as an example here of someone who Republicans will find difficult to dislodge. Fair enough.

However, there is no escaping the growing danger to incumbent Democrats who have been complicit in advancing unpopular public policy measures.

The Cook Political report, for instance, has seen an uptick in the number of House seats now leaning Republican. It also envisions a scenario in which Republicans could actually capture control of the Senate; something that was unthinkable to most analysts at outset of 2009.

Get full story here.

Got Twitter?

Twitter can be used for more than just a play by play of your daily events. As fun as it is to Tweet that you are sitting at home on your couch, #lazy, Twitter has much more to offer.

If you’ve recently signed up for a Twitter account, not sure what to Tweet about or just want to stay informed, NetRight Daily (NRD) can help you out.

Netrightdaily.com is a blog affiliated with Americans for Limited Government (ALG) featuring insights on current political news. The website also features a feed of breaking-news, right/libertarian-leaning and political Tweets. Even if you aren’t a Twitter user, this feed is useful to keep you current on daily news and issues as they happen.

“We felt it was important to have a page where NRD readers could see what their politicians were saying on Twitter,” says NRD Director Adam Bitely. “A lot of folks that read our page don't use Twitter, and we wanted to make sure that they could see what their elected officials were Tweeting while also showing them that Twitter is more than just celebrities ranting into cyberspace like P. Diddy and Chad Ochocinco.”

Like Bitely says, NRD’s Twitter page is great way to stay informed. With more and more politicians and media outlets joining this social media channel, it is an easy and fun way to stay current on issues and follow the politicians who most interest you.

For useful and up-to-date information, visit NetRight Daily’s Twitter feed page. Don’t forget to follow @NetRightDaily.
Get permalink here.

The Future of Housing Finance

By Edward Pinto

Today the Obama administration will begin a discussion on how to overhaul our nationalized housing finance system. Moderated by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the "Conference on the Future of Housing Finance" seeks answers to what went wrong in the U.S. housing market. This promises to be the next big domestic policy debate—one that could mold housing finance for a generation or more. But the early signs of where policy makers might be headed are not promising.

A consensus is building around a three-part grand bargain:

• An explicit federal guarantee of a large portion of the mortgage-backed securities created to finance American's home mortgages;
• A tax on these securities to fund low-income housing initiatives; and
• A requirement that issuers of securities meet affordable housing mandates.

This is a dead end for two reasons. First, while supporters of an explicit federal guarantee tell us it will never be called upon, Americans have read this book before and know how it ends.

Get full story here.

Sheriff: SC mom killed kids, dumped car in river

RANGEBURG, S.C. — Broke, jobless and berated by her mother for her failings, Shaquan Duley killed her young sons, then strapped their lifeless bodies into their car seats before rolling the vehicle into a South Carolina river in a desperate cover-up attempt, authorities said.

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old mother was expected to appear before an Orangeburg County judge for an arraignment hearing on two murder charges.

Duley's attorney, Carl B. Grant, said Wednesday morning he hasn't had the opportunity to review any of the evidence against her.

"We want everybody to keep an open mind and to understand that they don't know the whole story," said Grant, who would not say what he discussed in his first talk with his client.

Investigators were not convinced when Duley said her sons, ages 2 years and 18 months, drowned after her car plunged into a river. She ultimately confessed to killing the toddlers, they say — not by dumping them in the water but by suffocating them earlier with her own hands.

"She truly felt, 'If I don't have these toddlers, I can be free,'" Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said at a news conference Tuesday. "I think she was fed up with her mother telling her she couldn't take care of the children, or she wasn't taking care of the children and just wanted to be free."

Coroner Samuetta Marshall told several media outlets Tuesday the older boy had defensive wounds that suggested he had been in a struggle.

Read More..

Usher And Chris Brown Plotting Tour Together

Chris Brown and Usher - Twitpic

Teen girls and cougars, gird your burning loins. Two of R&B’s hottest showstopping male performers could be hitting the road together.

Though it hasn’t yet been confirmed by their reps, Chris Brown and Usher are plotting a tour together, according to their producer buds Jermaine Dupri and B. Michael Cox, who let the news slip during a video blog posted this morning (August 17).

“Usher and the boy Chris Brown going on tour…y’all know that, right?” Cox said in the video. “They might don’t know that,” Dupri responded. “I might have just gave y’all some exclusive sh*t!” Cox quipped.
Usher and Breezy seemingly confirmed the slip up on twitter, with Brown tweeting, “What would you guys say if me and usher went on tour?,” and Usher asking, “If you could see Usher perform live with anyone – who would it be?”

The tour would be in support of Usher’s latest full-length album, Raymond v Raymond, and his EP, Versus, out August 24. For Brown, the tour would be an opportunity to perform on a much larger stage than his own month-long Fan Appreciation Tour, which took place in November – December 2009 following the release of his third album, Graffiti.

E-News

Snooki's New Boyfriend Still Can't Shut His Jersey Hole!

While some concerned boyfriends would want to help their girlfriends curb their obscenely heavy drinking habits, Jeff Miranda actually thinks lush-ery is pretty endearing. More on the “Jersey Shore”‘s Snooki and her new beau after the jump.
Snooki’s new man recently told US Magazine:

“We hit it off really, really good. Nicole is actually really cute and seems like a cool-a** person, even though she’s drunk most of the time. She’s a real sweet girl.”

“She got mad at me because of my tongue ring. It reminded her of [her ex-boyfriend] Emilio [Masella]. I took it out of my tongue and threw it out into the beach. I took it right out for her.”

Ahh, now that’s true love. And that sort of makes us want to hurl

Jay-Z Tops Forbes’ 2010 Hip-Hop Cash Kings List With $63 Million

 For the second year in a row, Jay-Z has been crowned 2010's "Hip-Hop Cash King" by Forbes, earning a ridiculous $63 million over the past 12 months.
The mag's opening sentence describes Hov's status among hip-hop's elite best: "Four years ago Jay-Z issued a lyrical taunt to his fellow rappers: 'What you call money, I pay more in taxes.' Turns out his line was more than just a boast."

Couldn't put it any better than that.

According to Forbes, the hip-hop superstar's income puts him the 35% tax bracket, which means when tax season rolls around, he'll be paying $22 million to the IRS. That's more than the total earnings of any other rap star besides this year's second-ranked star, Diddy.

"Jay-Z is in a league of his own right now," Ryan Schinman, chief of Platinum Rye, the country's largest buyer of music and talent for corporations, told Forbes. "There are very few artists of any genre, not just hip-hop, who've created such brands for themselves."

His earnings are thanks to 2009's The Blueprint 3, investments in his 40/40 nightclub chain, the Broadway show "Fela!", and his stake in NBA's New Jersey Nets. However, his biggest money maker came from the Blueprint 3 Tour, which grossed over $1 million per concert this year.

Last year, he topped the list with earnings of $35 million.

The report says that the top 20 earners on this year's Cash Kings list total around $300 million in earnings, despite a troubled economy and a music industry continuing its downward spiral.

Bad Boy Entertainment mogul, Diddy, comes in a #2 this year, earning $30 million, thanks to his deal with Diageo vodka, the parent company behind Ciroc, as well as roles in television and film. Additionally, his new Diddybeats headphones, his line established by Dr. Dre, is another item in his portflio.

The Forbes "Hip-Hop Cash Kings" list is determined by earnings estimates calculated between June 2009 and June 2010, which include income from record sales, digital downloads, touring, films, TV shows, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures.

Weird, 50 Cent didn't even make this year's list, after earning $20 million in 2009 to come in at #4, and $100 million in 2008 to top the list.

The full list of the list's top 20 is as follows:
1. Jay-Z – $63 million
2. Diddy – $30 million
3. Akon – $21 million
4. Lil Wayne – $20 million
5. Dr. Dre – $17 million
6. Ludacris – $16 million
7. Snoop Dogg – $15 million
8. Timbaland – $14 million
9. Pharrell – $13 million
10. Kanye West – $12 million
11. Drake – $9 million
11. T.I. – $ 9 million
12. Swizz Beatz – $9 million
14. Eminem – $8 million
14.50 Cent – $8 million
14. Young Jeezy – $8 million
17. Common – $7 million
18. Soulja Boy – $7 million
18. T-Pain – $7 million
20. Lil Jon – $5 million
20. Gucci Mane – $5 million
20. Rick Ross – $5 million


 

By Allen Starbury

Atlanta black churches face foreclosures

Associated Press
08/17/10 12:10 PM PDT

ATLANTA — A predominantly black Atlanta church is facing foreclosure and says banks aren't doing enough to keep churches like it open.

Higher Ground Empowerment Center pastor Dexter Johnson says the bank has given the church until Aug. 31 to pay up or move out. He says they're trying to work with the lender to modify the loan, but suffered membership loss and damage during the 2008 Atlanta tornado and don't have a lot of resources.

Johnson and a coalition of clergy leaders of other predominantly black churches believe banks are putting unfair pressure on them.

Two weeks ago, a bank evicted Darryl Winston's southeast Atlanta Church. Marshals dumped the church belongings in the parking lot.

Winston believes as many as 40 other Atlanta churches like his could be facing the same thing soon.
Johnson says the churches want banks to realize they're more than just brick and mortar buildings.

NY Times Scrubs Imam Rauf's Controversial Islamic Supremacist Ground Zero Mosque Remark, "New York is the capital of the world, and this location close to 9/11 is iconic"

Back on December 8, 2009, the New York Times ran a puff piece on the proposed Ground Zero mosque at the site of a building hit in the World Trade Center attacks. In that piece the following quote ran:

Despite the potential backlash against an Islamic institution opening so close to ground zero, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who already leads prayers and reads from the Koran inside the building, said that the location was one of the project's key selling points. "New York is the capital of the world, and this location close to 9/11 is iconic," said the 61-year-old cleric, who is known for being a longtime critic of radical Islam. Being in a building "where a piece of the wreckage fell," he added, "sends the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11 ... We want to push back against the extremists."

I ran the piece back in December, as did a number of other on line journals like this.
Now that quote is gone. Poof.
The NY Times has since scrubbed this telling remark, "New York is the capital of the world, and this location close to 9/11 is iconic," and the paragraph now reads:

The building has no sign that hints at its use as a Muslim prayer space, but these modest beginnings point to a far grander vision: an Islamic center near the city’s most hallowed piece of land that would stand as one of ground zero’s more unexpected and striking neighbors.
The location was precisely a key selling point for the group of Muslims who bought the building in July. A presence so close to the World Trade Center, “where a piece of the wreckage fell,” said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the cleric leading the project, “sends the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11.”
“We want to push back against the extremists,” added Imam Feisal, 61.

They removed the quote. Why?

Posted by Pamela Gelle

As Obama Recalibrates Cuba Policy, the New York Times Shills for Castro, as Usual

This just in from the New York Times.

The Obama administration is planning to expand opportunities for Americans to travel to Cuba. The policy… is meant to loosen restrictions on academic, religious and cultural groups that were adopted under President George Bush and return to the “people to people” policies followed under President Bill Clinton… Those policies, officials said, fostered robust exchanges between the United States and Cuba, allowing groups … to share expertise as well as life experiences.

In fact, these groups shared much more than “life experiences.” The Times is much; too bashful in detailing just how “robust” these exchanges with Cuba had gotten during the Clinton administration.

Mr. and Mrs. Kendall Myers, Cuban spies in the State Dept.

No mention by the Times, for instance, that the deepest and most damaging penetration of the U.S. Defense Department by an enemy agent resulted precisely from all that “sharing” by the Clinton administration with Stalinist Cuba, a regime Obama’s very State Department lists as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. Schizophrenia by any other name

“Castro poses no significant threat to the U.S. or any of his hemispheric neighbors. No evidence exists that Cuba is trying to foment any instability in the Western Hemisphere,” asserted the Clinton Defense Department’s “National Intelligence Estimate on Cuba.”

From Havana Castro immediately hailed the report as “an objective report by serious people.”




This report was authored by the Clinton Defense Department’s Ana Belen Montes, a champion of cultural and educational exchanges with Cuba, in which she partook abundantly. During the Clinton administration Ana Montes was awarded the “Certificate of Distinction,” the third-highest honor awarded by any U.S. Intelligence agency. Her diligence, brilliance and sagacity led the Clinton team to promote Ana Montes to head the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Cuba division, an ideal post to better champion her enlightened policy of “openness” and “sharing” with Castro’s Cuba.

Ana Belen Montes, Cuban spy in the Defense Dept.

Ana Montes had access to all U.S. intelligence on Cuba and led briefings on Capitol Hill, at the State Department and the Pentagon regarding her enlightened Cuban policy. “On Cuba,” one government official said. “Montes was who you went to.”

Thus pampered, promoted and honored under Clinton, Montes today serves a 25-year prison sentence for “Conspiracy to Commit Espionage.” On September 20 2001, (under Bush) Ms. Montes was arrested by the FBI as a Castro spy and accused of the same crime as Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. After conviction, only a plea bargain allowed the Clinton Administration’s top “Cuba Expert” to escape their fate.

• “Montes passed some of our most sensitive information about Cuba back to Havana,” said then Undersecretary for International Security, John Bolton.
• “Ana Montes compromised our entire program against Cuba, electronic as well as human,” admitted Joel F. Brenner, National Counterintelligence Executive.

The Montes case is widely considered the most damaging espionage case since the “end” of the Cold War.
In May 2003 14 more Cuban spies were uncovered and booted from the U.S. Most had worked under diplomatic cover while “robustly exchanging” all those “life experiences” with their American hosts.

“It’s a way (Obama’s forthcoming Cuba policy) over the long term to allow Americans and Cubans to have contact, even as their governments continue to hash out a lot of seriously thorny issues,” The Times thus quotes Ms Julia Sweig, resident Cuba Expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Such contact was particularly useful to Ms Sweig, whom the Times habitually consults and quotes on all matters Cuban. “In Cuba many people spent long hours with me, helped open doors I could not have pushed through myself, and offered friendship and warmth to myself during research trips to the island… Elsa Montero and  Jose Gomez Abad championed this project.” That’s Julia Sweig in the acknowledgements to her book, Inside the Cuban Revolution. 

By looking in their very archives, the Times can discover that the Cubans who provided such “friendship and warmth” to Ms Sweig, who “opened so many doors” and who “championed” her project are Castro agents of considerable notoriety. Had J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI not nabbed them in time, 9/11 might be remembered as the second-worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Big Journalism already reported the details of the explosions Ms Sweig’s “champions” plotted for Macy’s, Gimbel’s and Bloomingdale’s on Black Friday 1962.

Interestingly, the very Defense Intelligence officer (retired Lt. Col. Christopher Simmons) who helped nab Ana Montes and the 14 other Castro spies alleges that Times favorite, Ms. Julia Sweig, serves as an Agent of Influence for the Castro regime. “For Cuba, being able to influence policy and elite opinion-makers is equally important–possibly even more important– than recruiting spies with access to intelligence information,” explained Norman Bailey, a high official in the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence.


The Times article also mentions that this “opening” might be a doggie treat to reward Castro for good behavior: “Others described it (the forthcoming Obama Policy) as a nod to President Castro’s stunning decision last month to begin releasing dozens of political prisoners.”

Indeed, the Times has a long and illustrious history of being “stunned” by Fidel Castro.  That the newspaper swallowed Castro’s latest about “releasing” political prisoners is no surprise. In fact, this very month, Castro unleashed a fresh wave of repression against his subjects.

If only the Times would consult more reliable “Cuba Experts,” its editors might learn of such developments. Some brave black Cubans just smuggled out some tapes and videos of what the Stalinist/Apartheid Castro regime has been up to lately. The Times, needless to say, cannot be bothered. They’re much too busy interviewing Manhattan-based “Cuba Experts.”

Posted by Humberto Fontova

Immigration: Treating People like Humans

By: Delonte Harrod

                Within these last couple of months political issues have been heating up. Just in a recent poll it was stated that Obama’s approval rating is down, the Daily Beast issued an article about a month ago gathering sixteen economist giving suggestions that we might need another stimulus. Not to mention these crazy oil spills, in Michigan and of course let us not forget BP in the Gulf Coast, Obama’s Iraq (Afghanistan).

                Although those issues are important for right now I would like, for a temporal moment, to push them to the side. There is one issue that I feel I’ve been asked a lot about; I don’t know why!  I am not an expert on this issue, but as I thought about it I do have a couple of comments to add to this very public topic...immigration!

1. In my opinion the government should issue all individuals who are potentially illegal in the US working visas. This would allow the families who are here to get jobs and legally support their families. In addition, this would allow them time to take the necessary steps in becoming a legal citizen.

2. In addition to the visa’s the government should allow temporary funding to anyone who wants to start a non-profit organization teaching Latinos English. This would allow Latinos to communicate in an English speaking country and enhance their chances in the job market.

3. We should protect the borders from incoming Latinos. The White House has reported that the amount of Latinos trying to cross the border is in decline.  

4. When we as a country feel the need to just start deporting people we are breaking up families. I think that it is inhumane for people to break up families in the name of “up-holding the Law”.  The Tri-personal God has given us family for a reason and it is a gift of common grace. Therefore, to break up anyone’s family is a violation of all humanity.

                A. If our government continues down this path of mass deportation the children of those families will become orphans in the U.S.  And the number of orphans in our country will increase! If that happens there will be more children on the street!

5. Businesses should be held accountable for hiring illegal immigrants who are “new” to the country. Businesses exploit the fact that these individuals need jobs, so they pay them very little for regular labor, which is modern day slavery!

6. Anyone who is not white should be very sensitive to this topic of immigration. America has a history of wanting people out of the country who are not American born! Just food for thought….

“Compassion does not mean that you overlook truth, rather true compassion upholds truth in the law while having a hand to help and uplift” (Delonte Harrod).

Wyclef Jean’s Haiti Presidential Bid Is In Limbo Uncategorized Add comments

Haiti’s electoral commission said late Tuesday that it was postponing its ruling on who will be allowed to run for president in November elections, leaving hip hop artist Wyclef Jean’s candidacy in limbo.

A statement from the commission, known as the CEP, said it would postpone the announcement until Friday.
The delay was the latest turn in the fledgling presidential race in this earthquake-torn country. Jean – one of dozens of candidates vying for the office – said he was in hiding Tuesday after receiving death threats.

The musician disclosed the threats in a series of e-mails to The Associated Press, revealing few details. Jean said he received a phone call telling him to get out of Haiti and that he was in hiding in a secret location in the Caribbean country.

The Haitian-born Jean said he did not know whether the commission would approve his candidacy, but there have been questions about whether he meets the residency requirements to run.

“We await the CEP decision but the laws of the Haitian Constitution must be respected,” he said in one of a flurry of e-mails.

Later in the evening, Jean sent the AP a one-word e-mail: “Hope!”

The CEP’s decisions – or lack thereof – sparked small protests throughout Port-au-Prince. During one peaceful march near the CEP office Tuesday afternoon, several dozen young men marched and sang in the rain.

Later in the evening, a main road in and out of the city was blocked by burning tires.

Haiti’s Constitution requires candidates to have lived in the country for the five consecutive years before the election. Jean knew his U.S. upbringing could be a roadblock to his candidacy, but has said his appointment as a roving ambassador by President Rene Preval in 2007 exempts him from the residency requirement.
Lawyers for the musician were at the CEP headquarters seeking to argue his case, he said.

More than 30 people had filed to run for president of a country still struggling to recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake, which destroyed thousands of buildings and killed an estimated 300,000 people. The candidacies of some 20 people were contested, the CEP announced; in order to properly decide on their eligibility, the group said it needed more time to investigate.

The CEP had been expected to publish the list of candidates earlier Tuesday but spokesman Richardson Dumel said the eligibility requirements of a number of candidates were still under review.

Haiti’s president will preside over the spending of billions in foreign reconstruction aid in a country with a long history of political turmoil. Preval is not permitted to run for re-election.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was in Port-au-Prince to meet with the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission. The group moved a step closer to implementing a set of priorities aimed at helping the country rebuild. On Tuesday, it announced more than $1.6 billion in projects, including a $500 million plan to overhaul the country’s failed education system.

Ex-Inmates Dilemma.....

Just reading through the NYTimes article Cleared, and Pondering the Value of 27 Years.  I'm not sure how much play this story is getting in the US, but it hasn't been on the news radar here in Canada (not that it should be....), but this story really touched me for a variety of reasons. 


Imprisoned for the past 27 years for a rape crime that he did not commit, Michael A. Green is in the process of clearing his name and thinking about whether or not the offer of $2.2 million is worth the past 3 decades of imprisonment, abuse, and nonexistence in the functioning world. 

For me, this "offer" and injustice strikes all the wrong chords...and reveals a lot about our flawed judicial system.....

1. There is no amount of money that can compensate for a lifetime (at the very least, mine!) of living in prison....and Texas' offer of $2.2 million (would it be taxed by Texas as well??!!?!?) is almost a slap in Michael's face. The state of Texas has committed a HUGE injustice here, and I really hope Michael has a no-holds barred attorney to file a massive lawsuit. 
2. The article mentioned that Michael was offered a 5 year term if he had pled guilty.  How can a justice system offer a sentence of 5 years in exchange for the admission of guilt.....but force a sentence of 75 years to the same man for the same crime when he says he's innocent?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?
3. And what about the victim?  I'm sure she's quite upset at having identified the wrong person for the crime - but there's no justice for her because those who raped her 27 years ago cannot be charged because the statute of limitations has expired.
4. On the same note, I'm just wondering....is there some type of accountability in place that victims have to consider (like a penalty of some sort.....) when pointing the finger?  I sympathize with the victim, whose emotions were probably running very high, and she wanted her rapists behind bars...I totally get that.  But, when identifying someone once or twice in a lineup is all that a victim has to do to put someone behind bars for 75 YEARS, I'd hope that the victim is pretty sure....or that the law protects those who may be falsely accused for a crime they didn't commit. 
5. What is the state of Texas doing to ensure Michael's safe, comfortable and well-supported return to a highly technological functioning society, 27 years after he was removed?  Is there a therapist, life coach, or support system that the state is putting in place for Michael...or are they satisfied by merely writing this off ?

Posted by DJ Taurus

Pelosi Calls For Investigation Into Ground Zero Mosque

An investigation, yes — except the investigating Queen Nancy wants to do is into the opponents of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, called for an investigation of those who are protesting the building of the Ground Zero Mosque on Tuesday. She told San Francisco’s KCBS radio:
“There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded,” she said. “How is this being ginned up that here we are talking about Treasure Island, something we’ve been working on for decades, something of great interest to our community as we go forward to an election about the future of our country and two of the first three questions are about a zoning issue in New York City.”

Pelosi isn’t concerned in the least with how a guy who was a restaurant waiter just a few years ago and rented apartments on commission since came up with $4.8 million to buy the lot for the mosque — but many 9/11 families who are organizing a protest of the location of the mosque are highly suspect in the Botox-addled mind of Nancy Pelosi.

Update: Pelosi & Company might end up having to investigate New York area construction companies too, because according to Bill O’Reilly: “That mosque… not gonna get built. Because not one construction crew in this city, in New Jersey, in Connecticut, is going to lift a hammer to build it.”

From The Powers that Be

News Corp Donates $1 Million to Republican Governors Association

from the inbox:

Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, issued the following statement today regarding a $1 million dollar contribution from News Corp., parent company of Fox News, to the Republican Governors Association.

"By contributing $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, Fox has crossed a bright line. Fox can no longer pretend that it is a ‘fair and balanced’ news organization when Rupert Murdoch greenlights a million dollar contribution to defeat Democratic governors.

“Time and time again, Fox News has defended itself against accusations that it is nothing more than a tool of the Republican Party. We know now that the reality is so much worse: they’re bankrolling the GOP. FOX's news division is ignoring the fact that its own parent company made a direct and unprecedented partisan contribution to defeat Democrats. This is hypocrisy at its worst, and is a sad day for all of us who believe that an independent and impartial media is vital to our democracy.

“Not only does this contribution severely compromise Fox's news reporting, but it even breaks Fox’s own promise to its shareholders that it won't give money to benefit office holders.

“While it might be naive to think this will ever happen, we can only hope that Fox will own up to the activities and that its stable of opinion hosts like Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly will do the right thing and call on their company to return the contribution.”

Rod Blagojevich gets only a single guilty verdict

Peter Stone

Rod Blagojevich is not exactly Al Capone but not exactly innocent either. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The trial of disgraced former governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich has just concluded. After two weeks of deliberation, the grand jury returned only a single guilty verdict. Blagojevich was only convicted of one count of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sentencing will soon follow, and he could face up to five years in prison for giving false statements to government officials. Federal prosecutors have already announced they fully intend to re-try Blagojevich.

Jury renders verdict after two weeks

 

Rod Blagojevich was arrested two years ago in connection with federal surveillance that indicated he was trying to sell the seat in the United States Senate vacated by Barack Obama. In the time between then and the verdict, he was impeached and removed from office. He faced 24 different accusations of corruption. After two weeks, the jury, which had been mostly deadlocked before then, came back with only one clear verdict. The judge declared a mistrial on 23 of the 24 accounts and announced the guilty verdict on one count of providing a false statement to the FBI.

U.S. Attorney will file for a retrial

 

According to the New York Times, officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office said they will attempt to retry Blagojevich. He was still convicted, after all, of one count of lying to the FBI. Making false statements to the FBI is a federal crime, that carries a fine of up to $250,000 or up to five years in prison, or both. Some people might be hoping for both.

Balgojevich seen as stereotypical Chicago politician

 

Chicago, Ill., has a long history of political corruption. The previous governor before Rod Blagojevich, George Ryan, was also removed from office and convicted. Ryan was sent to federal prison for corruption. It’s unknown what the fate of Rod Blagojevich will be, as he still has a second trial in his future. He could end up serving all five years in prison.
Further Reading

New York Times

What’s the Future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is being debated this week at a housing summit in Washington, D.C. Considering that the government-run companies are currently backing a large percentage of loans–9 out of 10 new loans when the Federal Housing Administration is also included according to the Wall Street Journal–the outcome is important to future first-time homebuyers, or those looking for their next home.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said today that the U.S. government is expected to guarantee mortgages for the near term, though there must be a system in place to prevent another breakdown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Reports indicate that early next year, President Obama will be revealing a new housing proposal.


About two years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the government. WSJ says that a total of $148 billion has been put into the mortgage companies by the federal government since then.
It is unclear how Fannie and Freddie will operate down the road, however many say that the government should no longer be aiding the companies. Geithner is urging a bipartisan solution to rebuild the housing system. Also, policy makers are trying to determine how private capital can enter into the solution moving forward.

- Jill Kipnis, Move Trends Editor