Saturday, December 8, 2012

Terrorist organization "inherits" U.S. war gear, courtesy of Obama.


Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 9, 2012

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Our tax dollars hard at work supporting terrorism. The United States is sending more battle tanks and jet fighters to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood- dominated government.

Right now, Egypt is due 200 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, the same mechanized firepower manned by American soldiers, bringing Egypt’s inventory to a robust 1,200. Also in the pipeline is a squadron of the Air Force F-16 Falcon, a multipurpose warplane able to dogfight and drop ordnance.

The government awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a contract in March 2010 for 20 F-16s, the last to be delivered next year. That would increase Egypt’s total fleet to 240, according to a company press release at the time. The billions of dollars in U.S. military aid — in annual $1.3 billion stipends — have made the Egyptian air force the fourth-largest F-16 operator among 25 countries. Egypt’s 4,000 tanks, including the 1,000 or so M1A1s, make it the world’s seventh-largest tank army.

All of this despite the fact that Morsi has decreed near-absolute power for himself and his supporters and opponents battle outside his palace.

In addition, Egypt’s military buildup presents risks for Washington — and Israel — with the growing influence of the Brotherhood, whose overriding goal is to establish Shariah, or Islamic, law worldwide.

A Pentagon statement to The Washington Times on Thursday said: “We are always reviewing our foreign assistance to make sure foreign assistance advances U.S. objectives and is being used for the right purposes.”

Thanks President Obama for your undying loyalty and support of Islam and its most devout followers and supporters of terrorism, The Muslim Brotherhood. With friends like you in high places and our tax dollars, they are certain to succeed in their mission of world domination.

By the way….. isn’t aiding and abetting the enemy, TREASON?

Read more at The Washington Times :#ixzz2EO8rWiBT

Libya attack report imminent, John Kerry says

 Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 7, 2012

 



Libya Attack 
By DONNA CASSATA 12/07/12 03:58 PM ET EST AP
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) (R), and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (L) participate in a news conference with people who have disabilities on Capitol Hill, December 3, 2012 in Washington, DC. Sen. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) urged fellow Senators to approve the 'Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities bill, an international agreement for protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Kerry says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about an independent report on the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya.
In a letter Friday to the panel's members, Kerry indicated that the report from the accountability review board headed by retired diplomat Thomas Pickering is imminent. The Massachusetts Democrat and committee chairman says he's asked that Pickering and retired Adm. Mike Mullen appear before the committee before Clinton. Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a member of the review board.
The attack on the consulate in Benghazi killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Clinton has also agreed to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Clinton to testify on Benghazi attack report -- U.S. lawmaker

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 7, 2012


 











WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify on a report expected to be released next week on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, a top Republican lawmaker said on Friday.

"I have just received confirmation from Secretary Clinton's office that the secretary of state will appear before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss, in an open hearing, the findings and the recommendations in the report," Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement.

Ros-Lehtinen is chair of the House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee, which has already held several hearings and classified briefings on the attack.

The attack killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, and raised questions about the adequacy of security in far-flung posts.

Republicans have criticized the Obama administration for its flawed early public explanations of the attack, and then for shifting explanations of why talking points given to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice were changed to delete a reference to al Qaeda.

Ros-Lehtinen said she expected an accountability review board report on the attack to be released next week.

She said she wanted to hear from Clinton about steps the State Department has taken to deal with problems in the "security of our posts, threat assessments, host government responsibilities and coordination with other U.S. security agencies."

The committee's press release did not give a date for the hearing with Clinton but said it expected to happen "soon after" the review board's report is released.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Right-to-work bills are rays of sunshine for Michigan -- and all of America.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 7, 2012

The House and Senate each passed bills on the same day they were introduced that give private and public sector workers the right to avoid paying union dues in an organized workplace. Only police officers and firefighters would be exempt.
The package can't reach final completion until at least Tuesday because of procedural rules that require a five-day layover for two of the bills before they can be voted on in the other chamber.
That gives opponents more time to lobby against the legislation, like they did Thursday starting in the early morning when word spread the bills would be introduced, to late evening when the Senate finally adjourned.
The historic legislation passed over the thunderous chanting from thousands of workers who descended on the Capitol, resulting in at least eight arrests and a temporary lockdown of the building by Michigan State Police. Democrats in both chambers staged walkouts and procedural maneuvers to stall passage while workers protested in and outside the Capitol.
"Young people don't know the history of labor relations," said Diane Petryk, a union member from Lansing. "They have an eight-hour day, a weekend, vacation and more because of labor unions.
"Their grandparents died on the picket lines in Flint, Detroit and other places so that we could have a middle class."
The Legislature's votes make Michigan the latest focal point in a national debate over unions — pitting Republicans against Democrats, workers against employers and business interests against many in the middle class who believe right to work will roll back gains made over decades in wages, benefits and working conditions.
Six Republicans in the House and four in the Senate voted against the bills.
Thursday's actions also come a month after voters defeated a statewide referendum that would have enshrined collective bargaining rights in the state constitution. Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, denied the November vote was a mandate for right to work.
Conservatives lauded the move.
Glenn Spencer, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Workforce Freedom Initiative, in a press release, said: "Workers in Michigan should not have to choose between financially supporting a union or losing their jobs."
Michigan Chamber President and CEO Rich Studley issued a statement saying: "Passage of this legislation will help create and retain jobs and improve our state's economic competitiveness."
But it was condemned by supporters of union rights, including Whitmer. She pledged to obstruct what she called an "abomination" and "cowardly act" by Republicans, vowing to use every parliamentary tool available to bottleneck the legislation.
In the Senate, Democrats attached numerous amendments to the bill, hoping to stall its progress. Each — including one to rename the bill the Randy Richardville Right to Work Act, after the Senate majority leader — was defeated.
President Barack Obama reiterated his opposition to right-to-work legislation, saying he believes the economy is "stronger when workers get good wages and good benefits," and he opposes attempts to roll back their rights.
White House spokesman Keith Maley said Michigan workers' role in helping revive the U.S. auto industry shows "how unions have helped build a strong middle class and a strong American economy."

'About breaking unions'

"This bill is not about giving people choice. This bill is about breaking unions," said Rep. Steven Lindberg, D-Marquette. "When we do, the people in this state and in my district are going to be so much poorer."
About 2,000 labor supporters had gathered at the Capitol by midafternoon.
They took over the Capitol steps and tore down a banner of Michigan Freedom Fund, a group that aired statewide radio and TV ads this week seeking passage of the bill.
"The working families are not going to lie down and watch their state go in a negative direction," said UAW President Bob King outside the Capitol. "Every right-to-work state in America has lower wages, lower benefits, greater income inequality, more discrimination, less equality in the workplace. Right to work is wrong for Michigan."
At one point, there were so many protesters that Michigan State Police ordered the Capitol closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave either chamber.
Democrats sought a court order to reopen the doors, and eventually a judge agreed. That created a minor problem in the House, where Democratic members went outside to welcome in protesters, but found themselves locked out of the House chamber.
"I came out to escort the citizens back into their house … and I was denied re-entry," said state Rep. Vicki Barnett, D-Farmington Hills. She got back in after calling a staff member.
Democrats were upset about how quickly the Republican leadership moved the bills. There were no committee hearings and the bills were instead moved directly to the floor for votes.
"This is not right," said House Democratic Floor Leader Kate Segal, D-Battle Creek.
In a meeting with reporters, House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, downplayed questions about the lack of a public hearing on the legislation.
"This issue has been discussed in this session for almost two years now, and it's been discussed in Michigan for decades," he said.
Snyder added: "This topic has been out there for a significant amount of time."
House Republicans have a 64-46 majority and need 56 votes to pass the bills. In January, when the new legislative session begins, the GOP majority will be reduced to 59-51 following the results of the November election.
"You're doing this in lame duck because you know next session you won't have the votes," said Rep. Brandon Dillon, D-Grand Rapids.
A few Republican representatives stood on the House floor and defended the legislation as giving workers a choice about financially backing a labor union.
"Unions will have the same rights as before, but now workers will have them too," said state Rep. Greg MacMaster, R-Kewadin.
In arguing against the concept of a right-to-work law, Democrats and labor union members compared forcing nonunion workers to pay unions agency fees for collective bargaining benefits to different forms of collective membership.
Rep. Tim Bledsoe, D-Grosse Pointe, said during floor debate that there are "compulsory" fees levied on cattle producers and dairy farmers to generate revenue to market their products.
"Let's keep these arguments for economic freedom in perspective," he said. "Compulsory workplace fees are not all that uncommon."

'Freedom to choose'

Snyder said Thursday morning at a packed news conference at his office in the Romney building across from the Capitol that he wanted the Legislature to act quickly on the bills and that he would sign them.
The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn by Dec. 20, but Republicans were hoping to leave town as early as Dec. 13.
Snyder has long said right-to-work legislation hasn't been on his agenda, but he changed his view because of Indiana's February passage of a right-to-work law and increased political pressure to pass the bill in the Legislature's lame-duck session.
"Workers should have freedom to choose who they associate with," Snyder said.
The law would apply broadly to the 17.5 percent of Michigan's workforce that works in unionized workplaces, but contains an exemption for firefighters and police officers, Snyder said, to be consistent with state law for binding arbitration.
Bolger said the legislation would include an appropriation of state money to pay for implementation. Attaching an appropriation to legislation is a legislative mechanism to prevent voter-initiated repeals of legislation.
The Legislature will not put the law into effect immediately, so it wouldn't take effect until April 1, Richardville said.
kbouffard@detnews.com
(517) 371-3660
Detroit News Staff Writers David Shepardson and Tony Briscoe contributed.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 "A date that will live in infamy". Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- Payback.





By Verne Strickland, December 7, 2012

I had the great fortune during my sixteen years on the air at WRAL-TV in Raleigh to get in a considerable amount of international travel, visiting over thirty countries on U.S, trade and reverse investment missions.

A favorite destination was Japan, which I visited a dozen times or more during that period. I personally enjoyed the Japanese experience, studied the Japanese language at N.C. State, and produced some films through the auspices of the NC/Japan Society on campus.

Unfortunately, my ardor has cooled toward that society and culture in the intervening years.

One damper has been by virtue of a great opportunity which has come my way -- to collaborate on a project with an extraordinary friend and documentary film producer at Research Triangle Park -- Scott Long.

Scott has won the rights to co-produce a full-length docu-drama on the exploits of the legendary Flying Tigers, aerial aces in China's war against the invading Japanese in the late years of World War II. Scott has asked me to write the script for this film, and I am very excited about the opportunity.

Accounts of the savagery with which Japan's military attacked Chinese civilians in Hunan Province is at first hard to comprehend. Then we Americans remember Pearl Harbor -- a date "that will live in infamy."

The December 7 sneak attack on the peaceful Hawaiian islands brought America into the war against Japan, and that bloody conflict cost the lives of countless Americans and our allies, and of the Japanese aggressors.

During my trips to Japan, I was asked on a number of occasions if I wished to visit Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Each time I declined -- for patriotic reasons. I refused to be brought into a situation where misty-eyed Japanese -- yes, and cynical, arrogant American expatriates -- would attempt to shame me over our use of the atomic bombs employed by American bombers to force the Japanese into unconditional surrender, essentially ending hostilities in the Pacific theater.




I did not -- and do not -- feel shame or regret over that supreme victory over the Japanese. To me, Hiroshima and Nakasaki are merely exclamation points that ended a war that Japan triggered by its own disgrace. The bombs snuffed out two big Japanese cities in a heartbeat, but spared an estimated one million American lives that surely would have been sacrificed by taking that country by using conventional forces.

That not only is a fair trade-off as far as I am concerned -- it is clear and convincing payback. And no nation could deserve it more than Japan.

As the legendary Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto intoned with dread during that onerous attack: "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant." Boy did he have that right.

So, in Verne's book, Pearl Harbor was the fire that started the Pacific war, but the all-consuming flames from our atomic explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended it.

I hate to say it so bluntly -- but in those by-gone days when America found itself in harm's way due to powerful foreign enemies, we put on big boots and kicked the hell out of the attackers. Would that we had such a no-nonsense philosophy today. And no malevolent and belligerent United Nations to tell us how to manage our own affairs.

As December 7, 2012, approached this week, I spotted a related story about Japan's attempt to assign guilt over "the bomb" incident. It relates the experience of Clifton Truman Daniel, 55, eldest grandson of former president Harry Truman -- Give 'em hell Harry -- who gave the fateful nod that loosed the atomic age over Japan in 1945. I admire the President's courageous decision, which he made apparently with no second-guesses.

In August of this year, Truman Daniel made a personal visit to Japan -- and to the two cities whose fates intersected with the most powerful weapon ever utilized to this date in history. His trip to Japan was not welcomed by all, he said.

“There are those in Japan who are still very angry about the bombings,” Daniel said.
“Most people would tell me ‘We appreciate your coming.’ But some of the meetings with survivors were very emotional.”

Following the Nagasaki ceremony, a French journalist asked Daniel, again, why he had come.
“I said the trip was about reconciliation and healing,” he said. “I didn’t try to duck anything, but neither was I going apologize for my grandfather. He never did, first of all, and the country has not.
“But I can still reach out to these people.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/23/4434571/truman-grandson-plants-seeds-of.html#storylink=cpy

And the Truman family spokesman disclosed another reaction -- this from Americans who were awaiting an amphibious assault on the Japanese mainland.

Said young Thuman, "Over the years I have shaken the hands of dozens of American survivors of World War II, veterans who have told me ‘I wouldn’t be alive if your grandfather had not dropped that bomb,’ ”

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/11/23/3683477/truman-grandson-plants-seeds-of.html#storylink=cpy





Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/23/4434571/truman-grandson-plants-seeds-of.html#storylink=c“Over the years I have shaken the hands of dozens of American survivors of World War II, veterans who have told me ‘I wouldn’t be alive if your grandfather had not dropped that bomb,’ ” he said.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/23/4434571/truman-grandson-plants-seeds-of.html#storylink=cpy



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Stocks to drop 90%, 50% unemployment, 100% annual inflation, starting in 2013. Happy New Year!

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 5, 2012

 

Tuesday, 04 Dec 2012 11:09 PM
By Newsmax Wires
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“The data is clear: 50% unemployment, a 90% stock market drop, and 100% annual inflation . . . starting in 2013.”

These were the prophetic words spoken to Aaron DeHoog, Financial Publisher of Newsmax Media, by famed economist and New York Times best-selling author Robert Wiedemer, at a private dinner in Palm Beach, Fla.

“You see, the medicine will become the poison,” Wiedemer continued, as he pulled a worn manila envelope from his briefcase.

Skeptical of his claims at first, DeHoog was convinced when Wiedemer showed him the chilling evidence using five indisputable charts ().



The very next day, Wiedemer stopped by DeHoog’s office to record an interview for an invitation-only audience explaining how America got itself into this mess, and how this select group could find safe, secure investments during these tumultuous times.

Unfortunately, many media outlets have banned Wiedemer’s video, labeling it too controversial. Some have called it “The Video That Will Get Obama Fired,” but that was never Wiedemer’s intention.

He does, however, unapologetically name those who paved this road to perdition.

Wiedemer says the blame lies squarely on those whose job it was to avoid the exact situation we find ourselves in, including current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and former Chairman Alan Greenspan, tasked with preventing financial meltdowns and keeping the nation’s economy strong through monetary and credit policies.

At one point, Wiedemer even calls out Bernanke, saying that his “money from heaven will be the path to hell.”

The interview has become a wake-up call for those unprepared (or unwilling) to acknowledge an ugly truth: The country’s financial “rescue” devised in Washington has failed miserably.

But it’s not just the grim predictions that are causing the sensation in Wiedemer’s video interview. Rather, it’s his comprehensive blueprint for economic survival that’s really commanding global attention. (It has now been seen over 40 million times.)

DeHoog believes the interview offers realistic, step-by-step solutions that the average hard-working American can easily follow.

“People were sitting up and taking notice, and they begged us to make the interview public so they could easily share it,” DeHoog said.

Asked if he was concerned that Wiedemer might be wrong about his predictions, DeHoog commented, “Absolutely not. Our real concern is this — what if only half of Wiedemer’s predictions come true?

“That’s a scary thought for sure. We want the average American to be prepared, and that is why we will continue to push this video to as many outlets as we can. We want the word to spread.”



Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Under deal, debt to rise $12 trillion -- but 95% of network stories leave that out.


Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 5, 2012

Monday, December 3, 2012

Why Dan Forest if the most feared politician in North Carolina

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 3, 2012





forest


shadow
December 02, 2012

Brant Clifton, writing at his Daily Haymaker blog, had what we think is an excellent explanation for why Lt. Governor Dan Forest is the most feared man in North Carolina politics. You can read what Brant has to say about Forest here:
El Rushbo often says you can tell who The Left fears the most by looking at who they attack with the most ferocity. Look at the reaction to John McCain's unveiling of Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008. Palin was a successful grassroots leader, with a rapidly growing national following, who had been elected governor of the State of Alaska. Leftists and their media allies saw the excitement she generated in "flyover country" and went into panic mode. They HAD to discredit this woman QUICK.

SNL mocked her accent. She talks "funny", so she must be an idiot — Just like George W. Bush. You know, THAT guy from Texas with the degrees from Harvard and Yale. Bill Clinton talks "funny" too, but he's OK because (1) he agrees with us and (2) he's married to our hero Butch Rodham.

The media went after the church Palin attended with her family. Of course, they had no time for Barry Obama's church. You know, the one with the preacher who said moderate and rational things like "G– D— America."

According to the media and their leftist allies, Palin was an idiot just like Dan Quayle, Ronald Reagan, and W. Of course, they showed little concern about Congressman Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) who seriously fretted that increasing our military presence in Guam might cause the island to "tip over and capsize."

Fast forward to 2012 and the North Carolina elections. Dan Forest, a conservative rookie candidate, runs a hard-fought grassroots campaign to get elected lieutenant governor. During his GOP runoff with establishment favorite Tony Gurley, the term "religious kook" spread through establishment gossip circles at a rapid-fire rate. Forest won the runoff and entered into the general election against SEIU-backed Democrat Linda Coleman. The SEIU's pro-Coleman advertising barrage attempted to make the word "extreme" Forest's middle name. Don't believe me? Run a Google search.

SEIU's past president Andy Stern has spoken lovingly about Marxism-Leninism. SEIU thugs have threatened and assaulted Tea Party activists across the country. Why isn't Coleman — backed by these people — called "extreme"?

Pat McCrory — running far ahead of his Democrat opponent — did next to nothing to aid his ticketmate Forest. Forest spent a lot of time tagging along behind McCrory and hoping for a shout-out from the podium at McCrory campaign events.

You can look at the November 6 totals to see that A LOT of folks who voted for Pat McCrory didn't do the same for Forest. (NCGOP's PR efforts made you think Pat McCrory, Mitt Romney, Richard Hudson, David Rouzer, and Chad Barefoot were the only Republicans on the ballot.)

The silence from the GOP establishment was also deafening post-election when Coleman and her team were publicly mulling a recount. After the recount effort faded, and the reality of a Lt. Gov. Dan Forest began to set it, Chris Fitzsimon, Rob Schofield and their team kicked into gear with rational, even handed analysis like "Just How Extreme is North Carolina's new Lt. Governor?"

What has Fitzsimon and Schofield so concerned? Apparently it's Forest's ties to something called "The Faith Driven Consumer" and his presidency of what appears to be a men's Bible study group. They also show concern over his desire to abolish some state taxes and kill ObamaCare. Never mind that polls show Forest's line of thinking to be on the same side of a majority of North Carolinians. Chris and the boys worked hard against the marriage amendment to the state constitution, while Forest championed it. The amendment was approved by voters by a 2-1 margin. Fitzsimon & co.'s position was on the losing end of a 2-1 vote, and THEY are calling Forest "extreme."

One of my political mentors once said: "Make sure you define yourself to the public FIRST, because your opponents are out there ready and willing to do it for you."

The GOP establishment is concerned about Forest because (1) he has the potential to upstage their beloved Pat, and (2) he appeals to "the great unwashed" outside the Raleigh beltline and Charlotte city limits.

The Democrats and their media allies see him as a threat to (1) keep the executive mansion in GOP hands for eight years beyond Pat McCrory, (2) show folks that real conservatism isn't really all that scary, and (3) successfully climb the ladder to higher offices.

Team Forest needs to learn some lessons from the Sarah Palin experience. Their guy needs to step up and define himself as a serious, principled conservative leader. If Team Forest keeps proceeding as they are, they are opening up a large window of opportunity for Chris, Rob & the McClatchy gang in Charlotte and Raleigh.


Commentary
We agree with Brant in his assessment of Dan Forest. And we also think Forest's message is the single most important thing the leaders of the NCGOP should be hearing right now. Here's why we believe that.

Mitt Romney lost the presidential election, we think, primarily because his handlers allowed Barack Obama's handlers to define Romney. They defined Romney as a "rich white guy" who could not relate to the average American's situation. It was the same image machine that succeeded in blaming George W. Bush for the economic catastrophe that Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid dumped on America and in so doing let Obama off the hook to be elected with the highest unemployment extant in recent history. We have no doubt that historians will kill tons of trees writing about how they pulled that one off.

Of course, it is the same image machine that took a man totally and completely unqualified by training, experience, intellect and temperament to be President and got him elected both times, all-be-it narrowly both times. It was this image machine that produced "likeability" ratings that trumped the issue of whether voters actually want the kind of nation Barack Obama is intent on making America. Romney said many times that the election was about two distinctly different visions of America, but we have yet to find a single Zombie who voted for Barack Obama—most typically with a straight-party ticket—who can articulate the difference in the two visions the two candidates offered. They voted purely on the basis of image and what they believe will be the "best Santa Clause" for them, as Rush put it.

The point is simple. American politics at the national level is today defined not by substantive issues but by image. We will predict that this will be seen played out in the budget negotiations now in full swing in Washington. Obama has already begun to cast Republicans as "scrooges" intent on killing Santa. And he will succeed. He will win simply because the GOP does not understand this image thing and how to make it work for them, much less keeping it from working against them.

Republicans are running campaigns by the rules of the 1980's. Obama's Machine is running a perpetual campaign rooted in using the Elite Media and social media to paint anyone who opposes any policy they espouse as ogres. This can be seen in Obama casting a $16 trillion deficit as the fault of "the rich not paying their fair share."

A cornerstone of the Obama Image Machine is to demonize their opponents. They, as Brant points out, did this to Sarah Palin. They did it to Michele Bachman, and Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum etc. etc. Just consider what they did to Rick Perry. It was not their policies the Chicago Mafia attacked, it was the image of their opponents.

Republicans will never elect another president until they come to the realization that at this stage in our nation's history image is not only the most important thing in politics, it is the only thing to that part of the electorate that affords only a few minutes to deciding who they will vote for and against.

Interestingly, the opposite has been true in North Carolina. Pat McCrory, in all due respect, did not win the governorship because more people believed him more qualified or his policies better for the state, but rather because the image that has been created (accurately) of the North Carolina Democrats is that of corruption as epitomized by Mike Easley, Jim Black and Beverly Perdue. It will be so easy for Democrats to simply substitute McCrory, Tillis and Burger as "more of the same--cut from the same cloth" if the Republicans continue as the early signals indicate they are doing. But we'll have more to say about that later.

So Forest is the favorite target of the Democrat image machine in the state simply because they fear him so much. The most significant point about Dan Forest's election even Brant failed to mention is that Forest ran a TEA Party campaign. He won because of that. His standard campaign stump speech was pure TEA Party principles. And that is why he is so feared by the GOP Establishment. But we'll have more to say about that later also.

Dan Forest is not feared because of what he will do as Lt. Governor. Dan Forest is the most feared politician in North Carolina political circles because he is the best possibility for 2020 and maybe even sooner. And if he plays his cards right, he will be the leader of a New Republican Party in North Carolina. The current GOP Establishment obviously does not understand the "image thingy" any more than did Romney's handlers nor any more than they understand the TEA Party movement in this state.

The Democrats know this and they are just waiting for the GOP train wreck to crank up the Image Machine against the Establishment Repblicans. But first things first: They must wipe out Dan Forest before they do anything else. That's why they tried so hard to keep him from being elected to a relatively meaningless job in state government. They accurately sense his message is the greatest threat the Democrats face, not only in North Carolina but in America.

New Hanover County GOP wants less glaring publicity on nomination process.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 3, 2012

Rhonda Amoroso NHCGOP Chairwoman

 

by Kelly Corbett / Lumina News

Monday, December 3, 2012

As New Hanover County Commissioner Rick Catlin prepares for his last meeting before he takes his North Carolina House District 20 seat, the board will be left with another open spot.
New Hanover County Republican Party Chairwoman Rhonda Amoroso said she does not know the nominating committee’s schedule.
The five committee members signed confidentiality agreements so the names currently being considered are private.
“We’re trying to keep the press a little tighter than last time,” Amoroso said on Monday, Dec. 3. “… It’s really to protect the candidates too.”
Controversy surrounded the last nomination when local attorney and former planning board chairwoman Melissa Gott’s voter residency was challenged.
Gott, who is now re-registered in the county, first withdrew her objection to the challenge, removing her name from the voter rolls. She later registered at the same address, 602 Chestnut St., during early voting.
“We’re trying just to improve the process so we don’t have a repeat of the last one,” Amoroso said.
The executive committee meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at Jungle Rapids to nominate a person to fill the two-year term. The next regular commissioners’ meeting is scheduled on Monday, Dec. 17.
Catlin said he spoke with Amoroso last week.
“I wanted to make sure that they got a recommendation to the commissioners before the following meeting so that we wouldn’t have a vacant seat,” he said. “… I think one of the things that added a week or so to the process is they’re actually going to do a background check on the candidates which is a good idea.”
Catlin said he has not heard anything about who the candidates on the list are yet.
“It’s a decision of the board that has to work with them for the next two years so I respect that,” he said. “I just hope they continue to think of me as part of the team because I'll always be a commissioner at heart and continue to do what I can for this area. I look forward to working with them in the future.”
Amoroso said she has full confidence in the nominating committee and process.
“These folks that are serving have spent hours working on this,” Amoroso said. “I trust they will come up with somebody who is acceptable and confident and qualified; that’s really what we’re looking for.”
Contact Kelly Corbett at kelly@luminanews.com.

State department spent $4.5 million on embassy art, had no money for benghazi security. (No art nowhwere is worth an American life)

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 3, 2012






 Remember Benghazi only happened because the State Department had no money for security. And the military had no money for planes. And Obama had no money for his campaign and had to rush to Vegas to fundraise with Beyonce.

Things that the State Department did have money for? Mosque renovations, promoting environmental awareness in Baghdad, and 4.5 million for Art in Embassies.
The New York Times reported in 2009 that Art in Embassies spends about $4.5 million a year for permanent art acquisitions; chief curator Virginia Shore said at the time that artists and dealers support the program via favorable pricing; for the embassy in Beijing, an outlay of $800,000 yielded works with an appraised value of $30 million.
So… maybe we can sell some of that as a profit and pay for bodyguards. Or we could just hand out medals to the artists in exchange for favorable pricing. Yes, let’s do that.
On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts to five artists who have shown “an enduring commitment” to the effort: Jeff Koons, Cai Guo-Qiang, Shahazia Sikander, Kiki Smith and Carrie Mae Weems.
It’s the first time the award has been given – and its future will likely depend on whether Clinton’s successors want to make it a tradition.
Let’s make it a tradition. Even if we have to strip security from all our embassies in war zones. This stuff, unlike human life, is really important.

There is of course a certain irony in that Clinton ordered the arrest and imprisonment of the Mohammed filmmaker, but is now honoring “controversial” artists who may offend Christianity, but don’t offend Islam.
Like every regime, the Obama regime has artists that it honors and artists that it imprisons. And the artists that it hands out medals too, like their Soviet counterparts, are delegitimized by their placement as the pet artists of a repressive regime.

Kiki Smith, one of the artists honored by Secretary of State Clinton, offended Catholics with pieces such as, “Virgin Mary,” a female figure stripped of her skin, with her tissues and muscles exposed. Another exhibit features Mary Magdalene growing fur on her body. If Kiki Smith had depicted Mohammed that way, she would be in hiding and maybe in prison, depending on how many embassies Muslims burned afterward. But since she depicted a religion that Obama and his cronies hate, she’s getting her art placed in embassies and getting a medal instead. That is how things work in repressive regimes.

And just as a reminder that this isn’t art, it’s regime propaganda, here’s one of the “paintings” from the Art in Embassies exhibit in Stockholm. “Paul Rusconi, Barack Obama, 2008.” Sold for $20,000. You can see it up above. The new symbol of America. But I offer my own “artistic” take on Rusconi’s piece. One that might be better representative of what America under Obama truly stands for.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Liberals blast Rice's 'outrageous' investments in Canadian pipeline firm


Verne Strickland Blogmaster / Dec 2, 2012



By Julian Pecquet - THE HILL 11-30-12:

A liberal group launched an online petition Friday demanding that potential secretary of State nominee Susan Rice divest herself of “every dollar of stock” in the Canadian company seeking approval for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline to the Gulf Coast.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations owns between $300,000 and $600,000 in TransCanada Corp. stock, according to her financial disclosure forms. The pipeline needs approval from the State Department before it can go forward.

The revelation has opened Rice up to criticism from environmentalists at a time when several Senate Republicans have vowed to oppose her because of her early statements about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

Green groups are pressing the White House to require that any nominee for the position divest themselves of any stock in TransCanada or other oil sands companies.

“It's indefensible that Rice has millions of dollars invested in oil companies and banks that will make huge profits if the State Department gives approval to the XL pipeline,” reads the petition from RootsAction.org, which claims almost 200,000 members.

“As a high-ranking administration official — and a potential replacement for Hillary Clinton early next year to run the State Department — Susan Rice shouldn't have any stake in corporations that are doing all they can to plunder tar sands in Canada and send carbon emissions soaring even faster.”

Rice is still seen as the favorite to get the nomination because of her close ties to President Obama since serving as his senior foreign policy adviser during the 2008 campaign.

She failed to change the minds of her Republican opponents during a two-day visit to Capitol Hill last week, however, setting up a bitter confirmation fight if Obama nominates her to replace Hillary Clinton.

USA DOT COM exclusive interview with David Rouzer:



 

  
By Verne Strickland / December 2, 2012


I asked conservative Republican David Rouzer of Johnston County this past week to join me at lunch so we could talk about politics and key issues. We broke bread at Elijah's Restaurant on the Riverwalk in Wilmington, and had this conversation:


After a vigorous effort, you came up short in your challenge to Mike McIntyre, when it seemed that you were poised to send him back to Lumberton. Please talk about the 2012 election in North Carolina’s Seventh District.

It was a very close race. As a matter of fact, if it had been any closer we would have won. But campaigns are great experiences. I really enjoyed developing new relationships with people here in Wilmington and across the district. 


You gained a lot of public awareness which could come in handy for you one day.

No doubt about that. It may be a loss on a sheet of paper, but it was certainly a win in many other respects. Like I said, we have elections every two years, so it won’t be too long before I’ll have to be thinking about what’s next.

I’m made aware of your faith in God, which is suggested frequently when you talk with me. Give me some more insight into this area of your life.

I think there’s a bigger picture, and scripture says the Lord’s ways are not our ways, so we don’t always understand the true meaning of events in our lives. It’s easy to get frustrated and disappointed at times, so I have great faith that as long as we individually do our best in all circumstances, that’s all the Lord requires. The rest He’ll take care of.

What sort of future do you see for our America?

We as conservatives have to work harder and harder and harder to get our message out, to help people understand why be believe as we do – in the free enterprise system, in limited government. I’ll share this with you – not long after the election I was having a conversation with our pollsters and they were saying that nationally there were more folks out there who tend to believe it’s better to have an equal outcome than to have an equal opportunity. 

As conservatives it’s incumbent to explain why equal opportunity is more valuable than equal outcome. If you look at the history of the world, everywhere there has been equal outcome, people have been equally poor and deprived. That’s short-sighted in my opinion, and we don’t want that. We’ve got to have a real conversation in this country about the role of government, and the value and advantages of free enterprise, building a culture in government that is stable in its beliefs and philosophy for the long term. We can do that and we must.

Conservatives have sustained a lot of political and verbal assaults from the President, and this has made me wonder what the true nature of this man really is. How are we going to fend off these partisan attacks during his second term in office?

The House of Representatives and John Boehner have a real chore on their hands, because they are working with a Democrat-controlled Senate that doesn’t believe as we do, and they’re working a Democrat-controlled White House that has the same mindset. Thank goodness for the House of Representatives and John Boehner in this process, because they’re the firewall. They are the only impediment to a far-reaching liberal agenda. So we need to support them as best we can, and to encourage them and help them keep up the fight. 

What conservative victories stand out in your mind from the national to the local level in this recent election? 

There has always been so much focus at the federal level. But the states in 2010 elected a number of new Republican governors. Here in North Carolina in 2012 we won a big victory when Pat McCrory was elected governor. He is our first Republican governor since Jim Martin. The states are gaining the traction now to push back with more assertiveness against the federal government. And under the Constitution, they have that authority to resist and challenge against federal power and actions. 

Up to now, the states have not been as proactive and they could and should in that role. I think now the states will need to step up, and many of them have already begun to do that – particularly in regards to Obamacare and the individual mandate, pushing back against the overreach of the bureaucracy at the federal level. You know, if the states of this country begin to ban together and stand up and say “no”, there will be a profound impact that can turn this country around. 

Well, thank you very much, and as you go back home to Johnston County, don’t forget us down here on the coast, will you?

No chance of that. You know my family and I have a place at Kure Beach. For a long time I came down here to get away from politics. Now I come down here to politic. It’s always great to come down here to Wilmington. It’s a great part of our State, and I’m certain I’ll be here quite often.