Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Fast and Furious Secret Wiretaps
Full article:
http://www.martinezreport.com/2012/06/29/issa-brings-stack-of-wiretap-applications-onto-h-o-r/
http://www.martinezreport.com/2012/06/29/issa-brings-stack-of-wiretap-applications-onto-h-o-r/
http://www.martinezreport.com/2012/06/29/issa-brings-stack-of-wiretap-applications-onto-h-o-r/
In the midst of a fiery floor debate over contempt proceedings for Attorney General Eric Holder, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) quietly dropped a bombshell letter into the Congressional Record.
The May 24 letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), ranking member on the panel, quotes from and describes in detail a secret wiretap application that has become a point of debate in the GOP’s “Fast and Furious” gun-walking probe.
The wiretap applications are under court seal, and releasing such information to the public would ordinarily be illegal. But Issa appears to be protected by the Speech or Debate Clause in the Constitution, which offers immunity for Congressional speech, especially on a chamber’s floor.
According to the letter, the wiretap applications contained a startling amount of detail about the operation, which would have tipped off anyone who read them closely about what tactics were being used. [...]Full article:
“The wiretap affidavit details that agents were well aware that large sums of money were being used to purchase a large number of firearms, many of which were flowing across the border,” the letter says.
The application included details such as how many guns specific suspects had purchased via straw purchasers and how many of those guns had been recovered in Mexico.
It also described how ATF officials watched guns bought by suspected straw purchasers but then ended their surveillance without interdicting the guns.
In at least one instance, the guns were recovered at a police stop at the U.S.-Mexico border the next day.
The application included financial details for four suspected straw purchasers showing they had purchased $373,000 worth of guns in cash but reported almost no income for the previous year, the letter says.
“Although ATF was aware of these facts, no one was arrested, and ATF failed to even approach the straw purchasers. Upon learning these details through its review of this wiretap affidavit, senior Justice Department officials had a duty to stop this operation. Further, failure to do so was a violation of Justice Department policy,” the letter says.
http://www.martinezreport.com/2012/06/29/issa-brings-stack-of-wiretap-applications-onto-h-o-r/
Monday, June 25, 2012
Obama’s Religion
Obama’s
Religion
What most people have failed to recognize is that Obama’s religion is the same religion of a vast growing number of contemporary church-going Americans. I am one of those people who believe firmly that the very core of America’s greatness and uniqueness is due to the fact that the founding fathers built this country’s foundation solely on the rock of the Christian Scriptures. Anyone who denies this is denying the very nose on their face.
What most people have failed to recognize is that Obama’s religion is the same religion of a vast growing number of contemporary church-going Americans. I am one of those people who believe firmly that the very core of America’s greatness and uniqueness is due to the fact that the founding fathers built this country’s foundation solely on the rock of the Christian Scriptures. Anyone who denies this is denying the very nose on their face.
Muslim Brotherhood & Egyptian Miltary in face off
Conflict
over presidential powers to remain between Egypt military and
Brotherhood
The conflict between the Egypt's military force and political wing Muslim Brotherhood will remain as the presidential powers are apparently seized by the generals, expert have warned. The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammad Mursi has been elected Egypt's first president since former leader Hosni Mubarak's toppling.
Israel now entering ‘deeply problematic’ period in ties with Egypt, says ex-envoy
Israel must brace itself for a deeply problematic period in its relations with Egypt, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt said Sunday afternoon, responding grimly to the election of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s president. Incoming president Morsi seeks the destruction of Israel, charged Mazel, who was Israel’s ambassador to Cairo in the late 1990s. “He has said he wants to conquer Jerusalem.”
Egypt braces for announcement of president
Egyptian police were ordered to confront any attempt to break the law with decisive force ahead of the announcement Sunday of a new president as soaring tensions in the country raised fears of a new outbreak of political violence. In Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the pro-democracy uprising, a swelling crowd of thousands gathered in sweltering midday heat awaiting the announcement.
The conflict between the Egypt's military force and political wing Muslim Brotherhood will remain as the presidential powers are apparently seized by the generals, expert have warned. The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammad Mursi has been elected Egypt's first president since former leader Hosni Mubarak's toppling.
Israel now entering ‘deeply problematic’ period in ties with Egypt, says ex-envoy
Israel must brace itself for a deeply problematic period in its relations with Egypt, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt said Sunday afternoon, responding grimly to the election of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s president. Incoming president Morsi seeks the destruction of Israel, charged Mazel, who was Israel’s ambassador to Cairo in the late 1990s. “He has said he wants to conquer Jerusalem.”
Egypt braces for announcement of president
Egyptian police were ordered to confront any attempt to break the law with decisive force ahead of the announcement Sunday of a new president as soaring tensions in the country raised fears of a new outbreak of political violence. In Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the pro-democracy uprising, a swelling crowd of thousands gathered in sweltering midday heat awaiting the announcement.
President-elect
Morsi seeks ‘to conquer Jerusalem,’ says Ambassador Zvi
Mazel
Israel must brace itself for a deeply problematic period in its relations with Egypt, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt said Sunday afternoon, responding grimly to the election of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s president. While Israel’s political leadership issued no immediate response to the election result, and the Foreign Ministry also had no immediate comment, ex-envoy Zvi Mazel was unequivocal in expressing his concerns. Incoming president Morsi seeks the destruction of Israel, charged Mazel, who was Israel’s ambassador to Cairo in the late 1990s. “He has said he wants to conquer Jerusalem.”
Israel must brace itself for a deeply problematic period in its relations with Egypt, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt said Sunday afternoon, responding grimly to the election of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s president. While Israel’s political leadership issued no immediate response to the election result, and the Foreign Ministry also had no immediate comment, ex-envoy Zvi Mazel was unequivocal in expressing his concerns. Incoming president Morsi seeks the destruction of Israel, charged Mazel, who was Israel’s ambassador to Cairo in the late 1990s. “He has said he wants to conquer Jerusalem.”
Egypt
election commission: Islamist Mohammed Morsi wins presidential
runoff
Egypt's election commission has declared Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood the winner of Egypt's first free elections by a narrow margin over Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak. The commission said Morsi won with 51.7 percent of the vote versus 48.3 for Shafiq. A huge crowd of Morsi supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted in cheers and dancing when the result was read out on live television.
Egypt's election commission has declared Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood the winner of Egypt's first free elections by a narrow margin over Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak. The commission said Morsi won with 51.7 percent of the vote versus 48.3 for Shafiq. A huge crowd of Morsi supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted in cheers and dancing when the result was read out on live television.
Morsy:
I will work to expand bilateral ties with Iran
Egyptian President-elect Mohammed Morsy is looking to expand ties with Tehran to create a strategic "balance" in the region, according to an interview with Iran's semi-official Fars news agency published Monday. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been severed for more than 30 years, but both sides have signalled a shift in policy since former president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown last year in a popular uprising.
Egyptian President-elect Mohammed Morsy is looking to expand ties with Tehran to create a strategic "balance" in the region, according to an interview with Iran's semi-official Fars news agency published Monday. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been severed for more than 30 years, but both sides have signalled a shift in policy since former president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown last year in a popular uprising.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Christ Turns ‘Green’ at U.N. Earth Summit — Literally
Christ Turns ‘Green’ at U.N. Earth Summit — Literally
Green guru James Lovelock was right. He warned last week that “the green religion is now taking over from the Christian religion.” Now at the U.N. Earth Summit, even the image of Christ has been made a forcible convert to the eco-faith, as the city of Rio is bathing the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer in green light
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Obama Asserts Executive Privilege Over DOJ Gun Runner Scandal
President Barack Obama has exerted executive privilege over documents related to the Fast & Furious gunrunning operation, stepping into the stand-off between Attorney General Eric Holder and House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa.
The Oversight Committee is demanding previously undisclosed documents about the DOJ's response to Fast and Furious, a gunrunning operation in which U.S. agents allowed guns to "walk" across the border and into the hands of Mexico's drug cartels.
Obama's move today is surprising —this is the first time that he has invoked executive privilege — and comes on the same day that the Oversight Committee is set to vote on whether to hold Holder in contempt over the Department of Justice's involvement in the botched operation.
Holder has so far declined to turn over the documents, and an attempt to break the stalemate failed last night after Issa rejected Holder's offer to brief members of Congress on those documents. Obama's executive privilege order will protect the Fast & Furious documents from being subpoenaed by Congress
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/justice-department-obama-executive-privilege-fast-and-furious-contempt-eric-holder-2012-6#ixzz1yM6HO95l
Rubio addresses CFR
Remember Rubio? He's one of the guys that helped co-opt and "domesticate" the Tea Party movement to bring it more in line with the establishment RHINO agenda.
It looks like all of his tagging along with Hillary Clinton to international summits has boosted his globalist credibility and He's now being considered for Romney's VP slot.
Infowars.com
June 3, 2012
June 3, 2012
It turns out Rubio did indeed address the CFR in New York on May 31. According to New York Magazine, Rubio talked foreign policy during a discussion and Q&A. The CFR one-world government crowd was apparently very enamored with Rubio, according to the magazine.
Rubio did not try to hide the fact he rubbed elbows with the globalists. It was announced it on his tax payer funded website:
Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, May 31, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will address The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). During his remarks and a question and answer session, Rubio will discuss his views on America’s role in the world as well as top issues of the day in foreign affairs.
Rubio played an important role in the domestication of the libertarian Tea Party movement and helped usher it into the GOP establishment tent. The corporate media called him the“crown prince” of the movement. His appearance at the CFR reveals his true establishment cred.
Full article:
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
House Members seek answers about Muslim Brotherhood
We've known for a while that representatives from the Muslim Brotherhood are frequent guests of Obama at the White House.
New Warning About Muslim Brotherhood’s Influence on White House
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/new-warning-about-muslim-brotherhoods-influence-on-white-house-from-liberal-marxist-muslim/
White House Plays Down its Muslim Brotherhood Dinner Guests
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.10202/pub_detail.asp
Looks like Congress is finally beginning to ask questions about how much influence the Muslim Brotherhood is having on our own laws and national security policy.
"Evidence indicates that this administration continues to bow before groups associated with the goal of ‘destroying Western civilization from within,’ and about whom the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has found that there is plenty of evidence indicating that they support terrorism," said Gohmert. "For departments of this administration to continue meeting with such groups and agreeing to further blind our government agents charged with looking for enemies wanting to destroy us is at best foolhardy. At a minimum, we need an independent inspection regarding the role, the roots and the results of such destructive groups within this administration. Our enemies have been identified; now we need to know what they have done to our ability to protect ourselves."
Act for America
Washington, Jun 13, 2012
In yet another sign that progress is being made in the pushback against radical Islam, five Members of Congress recently sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security, Director of National Intelligence, and others, which “seek answers about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood…”
We’re sure we’ll hear more about this at our upcoming National Conference & Legislative Briefing!
Today, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06) and Congressmen Trent Franks (AZ-02), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Tom Rooney (FL-16) and Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03) sent letters to the Inspectors General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State. These letters seek answers about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that calls for "civilization jihad."
In the letter, Bachmann, Franks, Gohmert, Rooney and Westmoreland questioned the Inspectors General about the direct influence within the intelligence community of Muslim Brotherhood operatives. They explained that the U.S. government in federal court has established that the group’s mission in the U.S. is "destroying the Western civilization from within." The members went on to request that the respective offices of the Inspectors General conduct a formal investigation or evaluation of the extent to which Muslim Brotherhood-tied individuals or entities are involved.
"The national security of our country depends on getting straight answers from the Inspectors General to the questions we posed in these letters," said Bachmann. "The Muslim Brotherhood is not shy about their call for jihad against the United States. We seek answers through these letters because we will not tolerate this group and its affiliates holding positions of power in our government or influencing our nation’s leaders."
"Evidence indicates that this administration continues to bow before groups associated with the goal of ‘destroying Western civilization from within,’ and about whom the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has found that there is plenty of evidence indicating that they support terrorism," said Gohmert. "For departments of this administration to continue meeting with such groups and agreeing to further blind our government agents charged with looking for enemies wanting to destroy us is at best foolhardy. At a minimum, we need an independent inspection regarding the role, the roots and the results of such destructive groups within this administration. Our enemies have been identified; now we need to know what they have done to our ability to protect ourselves."
"The Muslim Brotherhood openly calls for violence against the United States, but we’re learning that this organization may be infiltrating our ranks, even within our military," said Rooney. "We need our top security agencies to investigate thoroughly the degree to which members of this organization are active in our defense and intelligence communities, and what impact that has on our national security."
"We must always stay vigilant when fighting against those who want to destroy our way of life," said Westmoreland. "The Muslim Brotherhood may not have the name recognition of al-Qaeda or the Taliban, but that does not mean they don't have the potential to be just as deadly. I'm hoping these letters will send the message to our country's intelligence, law enforcement and diplomatic agencies that we cannot ignore the Muslim Brotherhood and must look into their operations and membership with the seriousness that is necessary in order to root them out of our government."
Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood’s motto reads, "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
Signers of the letter serve on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Bachmann, Rooney and Westmoreland), the Armed Services Committee (Franks and Rooney) and the Judiciary Committee (Franks and Gohmert). Additionally, Gohmert is the Vice Chair of the Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
House Members Seek National Security Answers from Inspectors General
http://bachmann.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=299447
New Warning About Muslim Brotherhood’s Influence on White House
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/new-warning-about-muslim-brotherhoods-influence-on-white-house-from-liberal-marxist-muslim/
White House Plays Down its Muslim Brotherhood Dinner Guests
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.10202/pub_detail.asp
Looks like Congress is finally beginning to ask questions about how much influence the Muslim Brotherhood is having on our own laws and national security policy.
"Evidence indicates that this administration continues to bow before groups associated with the goal of ‘destroying Western civilization from within,’ and about whom the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has found that there is plenty of evidence indicating that they support terrorism," said Gohmert. "For departments of this administration to continue meeting with such groups and agreeing to further blind our government agents charged with looking for enemies wanting to destroy us is at best foolhardy. At a minimum, we need an independent inspection regarding the role, the roots and the results of such destructive groups within this administration. Our enemies have been identified; now we need to know what they have done to our ability to protect ourselves."
Act for America
Washington, Jun 13, 2012
In yet another sign that progress is being made in the pushback against radical Islam, five Members of Congress recently sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security, Director of National Intelligence, and others, which “seek answers about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood…”
We’re sure we’ll hear more about this at our upcoming National Conference & Legislative Briefing!
Today, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06) and Congressmen Trent Franks (AZ-02), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Tom Rooney (FL-16) and Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03) sent letters to the Inspectors General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State. These letters seek answers about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that calls for "civilization jihad."
In the letter, Bachmann, Franks, Gohmert, Rooney and Westmoreland questioned the Inspectors General about the direct influence within the intelligence community of Muslim Brotherhood operatives. They explained that the U.S. government in federal court has established that the group’s mission in the U.S. is "destroying the Western civilization from within." The members went on to request that the respective offices of the Inspectors General conduct a formal investigation or evaluation of the extent to which Muslim Brotherhood-tied individuals or entities are involved.
"The national security of our country depends on getting straight answers from the Inspectors General to the questions we posed in these letters," said Bachmann. "The Muslim Brotherhood is not shy about their call for jihad against the United States. We seek answers through these letters because we will not tolerate this group and its affiliates holding positions of power in our government or influencing our nation’s leaders."
"Evidence indicates that this administration continues to bow before groups associated with the goal of ‘destroying Western civilization from within,’ and about whom the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has found that there is plenty of evidence indicating that they support terrorism," said Gohmert. "For departments of this administration to continue meeting with such groups and agreeing to further blind our government agents charged with looking for enemies wanting to destroy us is at best foolhardy. At a minimum, we need an independent inspection regarding the role, the roots and the results of such destructive groups within this administration. Our enemies have been identified; now we need to know what they have done to our ability to protect ourselves."
"The Muslim Brotherhood openly calls for violence against the United States, but we’re learning that this organization may be infiltrating our ranks, even within our military," said Rooney. "We need our top security agencies to investigate thoroughly the degree to which members of this organization are active in our defense and intelligence communities, and what impact that has on our national security."
"We must always stay vigilant when fighting against those who want to destroy our way of life," said Westmoreland. "The Muslim Brotherhood may not have the name recognition of al-Qaeda or the Taliban, but that does not mean they don't have the potential to be just as deadly. I'm hoping these letters will send the message to our country's intelligence, law enforcement and diplomatic agencies that we cannot ignore the Muslim Brotherhood and must look into their operations and membership with the seriousness that is necessary in order to root them out of our government."
Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood’s motto reads, "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
Signers of the letter serve on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Bachmann, Rooney and Westmoreland), the Armed Services Committee (Franks and Rooney) and the Judiciary Committee (Franks and Gohmert). Additionally, Gohmert is the Vice Chair of the Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
House Members Seek National Security Answers from Inspectors General
http://bachmann.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=299447
Monday, June 18, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Open Letter: Dear Pastor Hagee and Christian Zionists
By: Yishai Fleisher
Published: June 7th, 2012
Latest update: June 8th, 2012
www.jewishpress.com
Dear Pastor Hagee and Christians Zionists,
Thank you for the work that you are doing. Christians supporting Israel is a beautiful phenomenon and it is beginning to heal the many wounds that Jews suffered at the hands of persecutors in the name of the Church for almost two-millennia. It is amazing to see Christians singing Israeli songs in beautiful harmony, waving the flag of Israel along with the flag of the USA, and even donating their hard-earned money to many causes of Israel. It is a sight that past generations could not have imagined, and it is a blessing for Israel and a blessing for Christians as well.
To be sure, there is still lingering suspicion between our two worlds. Among the Jews, there are many who doubt the sincerity of Christians with regard to Israel. Jewish skepticism is understandable since the dark past is still fresh while some Christian circles continue to practice underhanded missionizing tactics against Jews and maintain a goal of infiltrating Israel. These keep many Jews from believing that there are Christians who truly love Israel without ulterior motives.
For its side, the Christian world is certainly not homogeneous. While Israel-lovers make their voices heard, Israel-haters, like those who recently organized the “Christ at the Checkpoint Conference” in Bethlehem seek to undermine Israel’s sovereignty. These Christians do not see the ingathering of the Jews to the land of Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy but rather an obstacle to their theological supremacy. For them, replacement theology is alive and well, with Christianity attempting to best Judaism and Palestine aiming to replace Israel.
This is why true Christian Zionism is so important: it gives a platform for Bible-believing pro-Israel Christians to show their real love for Israel, to heal the painful past, and to offset the forces that want to use Christianity to bring Israel down.
However, if Christian Zionism to is win the ideological war against replacement theology, and earn Jewish trust, Christian Zionism needs to take a stand on real issues. Standing with Israel means backing Israel when we face our enemies. Today, those enemies use, more and more, the tool of delegitimization to remove the underpinnings of the Jewish State. Shockingly, some of the US Government’s own policies lend a hand to the delegitimization campaign, and it is in this arena where Israel-loving American citizens in general, and American Christian Zionists in particular, can make a difference.
Here is one example among many:
When I speak with American Christian groups I ask: “Do you know that the US is the number-one delegitimizer of Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem?”
People are invariably shocked when I explain that the US refuses to place its embassy in Jerusalem because it does not recognize Jerusalem as part of Israel, let alone the capital of Israel. The State Department does not even add the word “Israel” to the word “Jerusalem” in any official document including birth certificates, passports, and death certificates, so that children born in Jerusalem (like my daughter) have no “country of birth” listed in their American papers.
As Ambassador Yoram Ettinger has written: “Israel is the only country in the world, whose (3,000 year old) capital is not recognized by the State Department and by the Presidents of the US. However 71% [of the American people] support (and 9% oppose) Jerusalem as Israel’s indivisible capital.”
I also remind American Christians that it is not only about paper work. US government representatives make a point to tell Israel not to build in Jerusalem. This was the case in August 2010 when Vice President Biden slammed Israel for planning to build additional housing in a well established residential neighborhood in the capital.
This State Department position sends a signal to the world that if America, Israel’s friend, rejects the legitimacy of Jewish Jerusalem, certainly the Irans of this world have a right to challenge it as well.
But the American people did not accept this toxic status quo. They fought and passed a new law in Congress entitled the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 which calls for the embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. The law also said that “Jerusalem should remain an undivided city…[and that] Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel.”
But this act has a proviso which allows the president to waive the law every 6 months. And, sadly, Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, have not missed an opportunity to deny the American people the fulfillment of the law which reflects their will and has been passed by their representatives. In fact, President Obama just signed the waiver again, and regarding Mitt Romney, JTA writes: “the Republican presidential candidate, has privately told Jewish leaders he would not commit to moving the embassy as president.” So the US embassy is still in Tel Aviv, and my daughter’s US passport is still countryless.
At this point of the talk, members of the American Christian group I am addressing are really mad and they want to know only one thing: “How do we engage? Our own government delegitimizes Jewish rights to Jerusalem and thereby delegitimizes the State of Israel! How do we combat our government which is taking our money to curtail policies we voted for, and fulfill policies that we abhor?”
And that is the beauty of American civil society – being suspicious of power in the hands of government and keeping that power in check is hardwired into the American system, and into the American psyche. As the long history of American politics and jurisprudence shows: US government policy can actually be changed by the people. They just need to be empowered.
With that in mind, I turn to you, Pastor Hagee.
At the top of your website one finds a quote from Isaiah: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet.” This begs the question: where is CUFI and the Christian Zionist community on the Jerusalem issue? Where is the American people’s voice, and especially the Christian voice, saying “Hey, US Government, fulfill your mandate, end the waiver charade, and follow the law. The American people want the US to recognize Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel now!”
Pastor Hagee, I once heard you say at a fundraiser in Jerusalem: “Don’t tell me you love me, show me you love me.” Now I say that very phrase back to you – Don’t tell me you love me, show me you love me by harnessing the power of CUFI and Christian Zionists to defend Jerusalem from bad US policy. American Christian Zionists are in a unique position to be part of the struggle against Israel’s delegitimization and they are waiting for you to empower them and If CUFI gets behind the issue, you can be sure the White House will listen.
A success in this arena will be a historical achievement for CUFI and for American Christian Zionism, and it will go a long way to building bridges and healing age-old wounds. In short, this is your fight.
With Sincere Respect,
Yishai
Full article:
http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/dear-pastor-hagee-and-christians-united-for-israel-cufi/2012/06/07/#cf5_field_5
Published: June 7th, 2012
Latest update: June 8th, 2012
www.jewishpress.com
Dear Pastor Hagee and Christians Zionists,
Thank you for the work that you are doing. Christians supporting Israel is a beautiful phenomenon and it is beginning to heal the many wounds that Jews suffered at the hands of persecutors in the name of the Church for almost two-millennia. It is amazing to see Christians singing Israeli songs in beautiful harmony, waving the flag of Israel along with the flag of the USA, and even donating their hard-earned money to many causes of Israel. It is a sight that past generations could not have imagined, and it is a blessing for Israel and a blessing for Christians as well.
To be sure, there is still lingering suspicion between our two worlds. Among the Jews, there are many who doubt the sincerity of Christians with regard to Israel. Jewish skepticism is understandable since the dark past is still fresh while some Christian circles continue to practice underhanded missionizing tactics against Jews and maintain a goal of infiltrating Israel. These keep many Jews from believing that there are Christians who truly love Israel without ulterior motives.
For its side, the Christian world is certainly not homogeneous. While Israel-lovers make their voices heard, Israel-haters, like those who recently organized the “Christ at the Checkpoint Conference” in Bethlehem seek to undermine Israel’s sovereignty. These Christians do not see the ingathering of the Jews to the land of Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy but rather an obstacle to their theological supremacy. For them, replacement theology is alive and well, with Christianity attempting to best Judaism and Palestine aiming to replace Israel.
This is why true Christian Zionism is so important: it gives a platform for Bible-believing pro-Israel Christians to show their real love for Israel, to heal the painful past, and to offset the forces that want to use Christianity to bring Israel down.
However, if Christian Zionism to is win the ideological war against replacement theology, and earn Jewish trust, Christian Zionism needs to take a stand on real issues. Standing with Israel means backing Israel when we face our enemies. Today, those enemies use, more and more, the tool of delegitimization to remove the underpinnings of the Jewish State. Shockingly, some of the US Government’s own policies lend a hand to the delegitimization campaign, and it is in this arena where Israel-loving American citizens in general, and American Christian Zionists in particular, can make a difference.
Here is one example among many:
When I speak with American Christian groups I ask: “Do you know that the US is the number-one delegitimizer of Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem?”
People are invariably shocked when I explain that the US refuses to place its embassy in Jerusalem because it does not recognize Jerusalem as part of Israel, let alone the capital of Israel. The State Department does not even add the word “Israel” to the word “Jerusalem” in any official document including birth certificates, passports, and death certificates, so that children born in Jerusalem (like my daughter) have no “country of birth” listed in their American papers.
As Ambassador Yoram Ettinger has written: “Israel is the only country in the world, whose (3,000 year old) capital is not recognized by the State Department and by the Presidents of the US. However 71% [of the American people] support (and 9% oppose) Jerusalem as Israel’s indivisible capital.”
I also remind American Christians that it is not only about paper work. US government representatives make a point to tell Israel not to build in Jerusalem. This was the case in August 2010 when Vice President Biden slammed Israel for planning to build additional housing in a well established residential neighborhood in the capital.
This State Department position sends a signal to the world that if America, Israel’s friend, rejects the legitimacy of Jewish Jerusalem, certainly the Irans of this world have a right to challenge it as well.
But the American people did not accept this toxic status quo. They fought and passed a new law in Congress entitled the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 which calls for the embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. The law also said that “Jerusalem should remain an undivided city…[and that] Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel.”
But this act has a proviso which allows the president to waive the law every 6 months. And, sadly, Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, have not missed an opportunity to deny the American people the fulfillment of the law which reflects their will and has been passed by their representatives. In fact, President Obama just signed the waiver again, and regarding Mitt Romney, JTA writes: “the Republican presidential candidate, has privately told Jewish leaders he would not commit to moving the embassy as president.” So the US embassy is still in Tel Aviv, and my daughter’s US passport is still countryless.
At this point of the talk, members of the American Christian group I am addressing are really mad and they want to know only one thing: “How do we engage? Our own government delegitimizes Jewish rights to Jerusalem and thereby delegitimizes the State of Israel! How do we combat our government which is taking our money to curtail policies we voted for, and fulfill policies that we abhor?”
And that is the beauty of American civil society – being suspicious of power in the hands of government and keeping that power in check is hardwired into the American system, and into the American psyche. As the long history of American politics and jurisprudence shows: US government policy can actually be changed by the people. They just need to be empowered.
With that in mind, I turn to you, Pastor Hagee.
At the top of your website one finds a quote from Isaiah: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet.” This begs the question: where is CUFI and the Christian Zionist community on the Jerusalem issue? Where is the American people’s voice, and especially the Christian voice, saying “Hey, US Government, fulfill your mandate, end the waiver charade, and follow the law. The American people want the US to recognize Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel now!”
Pastor Hagee, I once heard you say at a fundraiser in Jerusalem: “Don’t tell me you love me, show me you love me.” Now I say that very phrase back to you – Don’t tell me you love me, show me you love me by harnessing the power of CUFI and Christian Zionists to defend Jerusalem from bad US policy. American Christian Zionists are in a unique position to be part of the struggle against Israel’s delegitimization and they are waiting for you to empower them and If CUFI gets behind the issue, you can be sure the White House will listen.
A success in this arena will be a historical achievement for CUFI and for American Christian Zionism, and it will go a long way to building bridges and healing age-old wounds. In short, this is your fight.
With Sincere Respect,
Yishai
Full article:
http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/dear-pastor-hagee-and-christians-united-for-israel-cufi/2012/06/07/#cf5_field_5
Next Target: Syria
A lot of buzz about how Obama is prepping to oust the current Syrian government and install a Muslim Brotherhood/Al-Qaida regime, repeating what has been done in Egypt, Libya, and others.
Obama has ordered the US Navy and Air Force to accelerate preparations for a limited air offensive against the Assad regime and the imposition of no-fly zones over Syria, debkafile reports. Their mission will be to knock out Assad’s central regime and military command centers so as to shake regime stability and restrict Syrian army and air force activity for subduing rebel action and wreaking violence on civilian populations. debkafile’s sources disclose that the US President decided on this step after hearing Russian officials stating repeatedly that “Moscow would support the departure of President Bashar al-Assad if Syrians agreed to it.”
Syria using children as human shields, says UN
A UN report released Monday includes Syrian government forces and their allied “shabiha” militias for the first time on a list of 52 governments and armed groups that recruit, kill or sexually attack children in armed conflicts. -The secretary-general said the United Nations has received reports of “grave violations” against children in Syria since March 2011, when protests against President Bashar Assad’s government began.
Massacre feared as Syria troops pound Al-Haffe
Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces were using heavy artillery against the town while massing reinforcements in preparation for a ground assault. Residents said helicopter gunships were strafing rebel positions in Al-Haffe and said they feared a massacre if troops managed to enter the town, considered strategic because of its proximity to Qardaha, President Bashar al-Assad’s home town. Abdel Rahman said hundreds of rebel Free Syrian Army fighters are active in and around Al-Haffe, a town of about 30 000 people in Latakia province, setting the scene for a violent confrontation.
Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces were using heavy artillery against the town while massing reinforcements in preparation for a ground assault. Residents said helicopter gunships were strafing rebel positions in Al-Haffe and said they feared a massacre if troops managed to enter the town, considered strategic because of its proximity to Qardaha, President Bashar al-Assad’s home town. Abdel Rahman said hundreds of rebel Free Syrian Army fighters are active in and around Al-Haffe, a town of about 30 000 people in Latakia province, setting the scene for a violent confrontation.
(Stories about the Syrian regime torturing children have been making the rounds for the last month, drumming up support for an invasion of Syria. Sounds eerily familiar to the "babies being dumped out of incubators" that was used to support an invasion of Iraq -- a story that was proven false when it came out that an actress was hired to play the part of a nurse and testify before congress.)
(The Al-Qaida connection)
Al-Qaida affiliates operating in Syria
Britain has for the first time raised the spectre of al-Qaida operating in Syria... Hague said security assessments had indicated the presence in Syria of al-Qaida, a group disavowed by the main opposition force, the Free Syria Army, but who regime officials insist are at the vanguard of a now raging insurgency. "We … have reason to believe that terrorist groups affiliated to al-Qaida have committed attacks designed to exacerbate the violence, with serious implications for international security," said Hague in a speech to the Commons... The US has previously said it believed al-Qaida could have been responsible for bombing a security headquarters in Damascus in December.
(The Russian connection)
Russian arms supply to Syria not for protesters: Lavrov
Russia is completing air defence weapons' deliveries to Syria under previous contracts. It is not supplying any arms that can be used against protesters, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.-"We are completing the implementation of contracts signed and pre-paid long ago on deliveries of air defence weapons that could be used only if Syria is subjected to military intervention from abroad. We are not delivering anything else," Lavrov said. Russia has supplied arms under a contract signed in 2007."
Russia is completing air defence weapons' deliveries to Syria under previous contracts. It is not supplying any arms that can be used against protesters, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.-"We are completing the implementation of contracts signed and pre-paid long ago on deliveries of air defence weapons that could be used only if Syria is subjected to military intervention from abroad. We are not delivering anything else," Lavrov said. Russia has supplied arms under a contract signed in 2007."
Russia prepares army for Syrian deployment
...the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reported that the Russian army is apparently being prepared for a mission in Syria. Citing anonymous sources in the military leadership, the newspaper said that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the general staff to work out a plan for military operations outside Russia, including in Syria.
...the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reported that the Russian army is apparently being prepared for a mission in Syria. Citing anonymous sources in the military leadership, the newspaper said that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the general staff to work out a plan for military operations outside Russia, including in Syria.
U.S. says Russian attack helicopters sent to Syria
The U.S. accused Russia of escalating the Syrian conflict by sending attack helicopters to President Bashar Assad's regime, and U.N. observers were attacked Tuesday with stones, metal rods and gunfire that blocked them from a besieged rebel-held town where civilians were feared trapped by government shelling.
The U.S. accused Russia of escalating the Syrian conflict by sending attack helicopters to President Bashar Assad's regime, and U.N. observers were attacked Tuesday with stones, metal rods and gunfire that blocked them from a besieged rebel-held town where civilians were feared trapped by government shelling.
Clinton Says Russia Sending Attack Helicopters to Syria
Clinton says Russia sending attack helicopters to Syria, warns of escalating conflict.
Clinton says Russia sending attack helicopters to Syria, warns of escalating conflict.
(Is this going to be another proxy war between the US and Soviets engineered by both parties to further their own domestic causes? Obama needs a war to run cover for the progressive agenda, justify further erosion of our freedom, distract from a failing economy, and win support for an upcoming election. Putin needs a war for many of the same reasons while he deals a heavy hand against unrest in Russia.)
Russian police raid homes of opponents of Vladimir Putin
Russian police searched the homes of prominent opponents of President Vladimir Putin on Monday in a clear warning he is losing patience with dissenters a day before a rally that could draw tens of thousands of people challenging his rule. The searches, which police launched at the apartments of opposition leaders early in the morning, were a new sign Putin is shifting to more aggressive tactics to quash protests as he starts a six-year term.
Tens of thousands defy raids to march against Putin
Tens of thousands of protesters chanting "Russia Will be Free" rallied in Moscow on Tuesday against President Vladimir Putin's third term despite a police crackdown on their leaders a day earlier. The largely youthful crowds, many wearing the movement's symbolic white ribbons, made their way down leafy boulevards from Moscow's central Pushkin Square as Putin warned in a speech to mark Russia's national holiday that any upheaval would not be tolerated.
Tens of thousands of protesters chanting "Russia Will be Free" rallied in Moscow on Tuesday against President Vladimir Putin's third term despite a police crackdown on their leaders a day earlier. The largely youthful crowds, many wearing the movement's symbolic white ribbons, made their way down leafy boulevards from Moscow's central Pushkin Square as Putin warned in a speech to mark Russia's national holiday that any upheaval would not be tolerated.
(Notice how the US, Russia, Britain, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, and more are all gearing up for involvement... This may not be a clean and contained conflict...)
On brink of Bosnia-style war: Britain could send in troops to Syria says William Hague
The Foreign Secretary said that time for a diplomatic solution is rapidly running out and the country is “on the edge” of a Bosnia-style sectarian conflict. Britain will “greatly increase” support for the Syrian opposition if attempts to end President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal repression fail, Mr Hague said.
The Foreign Secretary said that time for a diplomatic solution is rapidly running out and the country is “on the edge” of a Bosnia-style sectarian conflict. Britain will “greatly increase” support for the Syrian opposition if attempts to end President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal repression fail, Mr Hague said.
British Foreign Secretary: Force in Syria can’t be ruled out
British Foreign Secretary William Hague says he can’t rule out military intervention in Syria, saying the situation there is beginning to resemble the violence which gripped Bosnia in the 1990s. Hague told Sky News that time was now “clearly running short” to implement international envoy Kofi Annan’s ceasefire plan in Syria.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague says he can’t rule out military intervention in Syria, saying the situation there is beginning to resemble the violence which gripped Bosnia in the 1990s. Hague told Sky News that time was now “clearly running short” to implement international envoy Kofi Annan’s ceasefire plan in Syria.
Turkey Fears Syrian Conflict Spilling Over Border
More than 29,500 Syrian refugees have fled through that border to the safety of Turkey in the past year, officials in Ankara have said. At least two thousand of those arrived within the past 48 hours, a major upswing in the number of people fleeing the violence at one time, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
More than 29,500 Syrian refugees have fled through that border to the safety of Turkey in the past year, officials in Ankara have said. At least two thousand of those arrived within the past 48 hours, a major upswing in the number of people fleeing the violence at one time, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
'Hezbollah may move Syrian arms to Lebanon'
Concern is mounting in Israel over the possibility that Hezbollah will try to move sophisticated weaponry, including Scud missiles, from Syria to Lebanon to protect them in the event of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s downfall. The concern stems from reports that Assad might be losing control over certain military capabilities including an air defense base which was captured by rebels earlier this week.
Concern is mounting in Israel over the possibility that Hezbollah will try to move sophisticated weaponry, including Scud missiles, from Syria to Lebanon to protect them in the event of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s downfall. The concern stems from reports that Assad might be losing control over certain military capabilities including an air defense base which was captured by rebels earlier this week.
IDF brass warns of Syria’s chemical weapon threat
Bashar Assad’s chemical weapon stockpile could fall into the hands of Syrian rebels, which would threaten Israeli national security, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh warned. “Syria’s chemical arsenal is the world’s largest, and it possesses missiles that can target the entirety of Israel’s territory,” Naveh’s statements regarding chemical weapons and missiles came shortly after Syrian rebels reportedly commandeered a Syrian air force base near the city of Homs and took possession of a number of surface-to-air missile batteries.
Bashar Assad’s chemical weapon stockpile could fall into the hands of Syrian rebels, which would threaten Israeli national security, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh warned. “Syria’s chemical arsenal is the world’s largest, and it possesses missiles that can target the entirety of Israel’s territory,” Naveh’s statements regarding chemical weapons and missiles came shortly after Syrian rebels reportedly commandeered a Syrian air force base near the city of Homs and took possession of a number of surface-to-air missile batteries.
Iran Reiterates Rejection of Foreign Interference in Syria's Affairs
Iran reiterated its rejection of all forms of foreign interference in the Syrian internal affairs, stressing that the crisis in Syria should settled by the Syrians only. Spokesman of the Iranian FM, Ramin Mehmanparast, on Tuesday stressed that Syria is implementing reforms, adding that the plan of the UN envoy Kofi Annan should be supported by all countries. -He pointed out that Iran does not interfere in the internal affairs of Syria.
Iran reiterated its rejection of all forms of foreign interference in the Syrian internal affairs, stressing that the crisis in Syria should settled by the Syrians only. Spokesman of the Iranian FM, Ramin Mehmanparast, on Tuesday stressed that Syria is implementing reforms, adding that the plan of the UN envoy Kofi Annan should be supported by all countries. -He pointed out that Iran does not interfere in the internal affairs of Syria.
Iran’s Quds Force active in Syria - Iranian opposition
The Iranian opposition has condemned Tehran’s support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Iranian government’s backing of the crimes being committed by al-Assad regime forces. In a joint-statement signed by 16 political movements, the Iranian opposition condemned the “full partnership” between Tehran and al-Assad and expressed its support of the Syrian revolutionaries and their demands for freedom and the ouster of the al-Assad regime. For his part, Iranian opposition political activist Nour al-Din Hosseini told Asharq Al-Awsat “we, as Iranians, do not want to be partners in the regime’s crimes.”
The Iranian opposition has condemned Tehran’s support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Iranian government’s backing of the crimes being committed by al-Assad regime forces. In a joint-statement signed by 16 political movements, the Iranian opposition condemned the “full partnership” between Tehran and al-Assad and expressed its support of the Syrian revolutionaries and their demands for freedom and the ouster of the al-Assad regime. For his part, Iranian opposition political activist Nour al-Din Hosseini told Asharq Al-Awsat “we, as Iranians, do not want to be partners in the regime’s crimes.”
Syrian rebels take battle to heart of Damascus
Government tanks opened fire in central Damascus for the first time in the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad this weekend, as William Hague compared the situation in Syria with "Bosnia in the 1990s". Following another 140 deaths across the country, the Foreign Secretary pointedly refused to rule out foreign military intervention.
Government tanks opened fire in central Damascus for the first time in the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad this weekend, as William Hague compared the situation in Syria with "Bosnia in the 1990s". Following another 140 deaths across the country, the Foreign Secretary pointedly refused to rule out foreign military intervention.
(and don't forget that the eventual target is Israel, the "cup of trembling for all nations")
Israel offers humanitarian assistance and medical aid for Syrian refugees
Condemning the recent massacres in Syria, Israel has offered medical aid to Syrian refugees and said the world is not doing enough to stop the killing of civilians in the country. “Israel is ready to receive casualties who would be evacuated from Syria to Israel and, alternatively, we are ready to fly medical aid via Jordan to those children and infants whose families were destroyed by the Syrian regime’s massacres.”
Condemning the recent massacres in Syria, Israel has offered medical aid to Syrian refugees and said the world is not doing enough to stop the killing of civilians in the country. “Israel is ready to receive casualties who would be evacuated from Syria to Israel and, alternatively, we are ready to fly medical aid via Jordan to those children and infants whose families were destroyed by the Syrian regime’s massacres.”
(There may be some well meaning folks who have bought the propaganda that unlawful, unconstitutional wars can be "just wars". That somehow our involvement in the middle east and being "police of the world" helps Israel. My question is: have any of our military police actions helped Israel? Egypt had a peace treaty with Israel before we got involved. How many countries have we helped overthrow and install openly hostile-to-Israel Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaida sharia/fascist "democracies"? All we are doing is furthering the cause of the globalists as they carve out regions for global governance by deposing anyone who does not "play along" and replacing them with puppet regimes.)
Obama preps campaign to hand Syria to muslim brotherhood
Obama
speeds up limited air strike, no-fly zones preparations for
Syria
Obama has ordered the US Navy and Air Force to accelerate preparations for a limited air offensive against the Assad regime and the imposition of no-fly zones over Syria, debkafile reports. Their mission will be to knock out Assad’s central regime and military command centers so as to shake regime stability and restrict Syrian army and air force activity for subduing rebel action and wreaking violence on civilian populations. debkafile’s sources disclose that the US President decided on this step after hearing Russian officials stating repeatedly that “Moscow would support the departure of President Bashar al-Assad if Syrians agreed to it.”
Obama has ordered the US Navy and Air Force to accelerate preparations for a limited air offensive against the Assad regime and the imposition of no-fly zones over Syria, debkafile reports. Their mission will be to knock out Assad’s central regime and military command centers so as to shake regime stability and restrict Syrian army and air force activity for subduing rebel action and wreaking violence on civilian populations. debkafile’s sources disclose that the US President decided on this step after hearing Russian officials stating repeatedly that “Moscow would support the departure of President Bashar al-Assad if Syrians agreed to it.”
40 Reasons to Ban Guns
- Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, Detroit & Chicago cops need guns.
- Washington DC’s low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Indianapolis’s high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control.
- Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control but statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are “just statistics.”
- The Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, both of which went into effect in 1994 are responsible for the decrease in violent crime rates,which have been declining since 1991.
- We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a shooting spree at any time and anyone who would own a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.
- The more helpless you are the safer you are from criminals.
- An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray, but if shot with a .357 Magnum will get angry and kill you.
- A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.
- When confronted by violent criminals, you should “put up no defense – give them what they want, or run” (Handgun Control Inc. Chairman Pete Shields, Guns Don’t Die – People Do, 1981, p. 125).
- The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice about guns; just like Guns & Ammo has some excellent treatises on heart surgery.
- One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seat belts, a civil engineer for a better bridge, a surgeon for internal medicine, a computer programmer for hard drive problems, and Sarah Brady for firearms expertise.
- The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard, which was created 130 years later, in 1917.
- The National Guard, federally funded, with bases on federal land, using federally-owned weapons, vehicles, buildings and uniforms, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a “state” militia.
- These phrases: “right of the people peaceably to assemble,” “right of the people to be secure in their homes,” “enumerations herein of certain rights shall not be construed to disparage others retained by the people,” and “The powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively, and to the people” all refer to individuals, but “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” refers to the state.
- “The Constitution is strong and will never change.” But we should ban and seize all guns thereby violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments to that Constitution.
- Rifles and handguns aren’t necessary to national defense! Of course, the army has hundreds of thousands of them.
- Private citizens shouldn’t have handguns, because they aren’t “military weapons”, but private citizens shouldn’t have “assault rifles”, because they are military weapons.
- In spite of waiting periods, background checks, fingerprinting,government forms, etc., guns today are too readily available, which is responsible for recent school shootings. In the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s,anyone could buy guns at hardware stores, army surplus stores, gas stations,variety stores, Sears mail order, no waiting, no background check, no fingerprints, no government forms and there were no school shootings.
- The NRA’s attempt to run a “don’t touch” campaign about kids handling guns is propaganda, but the anti-gun lobby’s attempt to run a “don’t touch” campaign is responsible social activity.
- Guns are so complex that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy.
- A handgun, with up to 4 controls, is far too complex for the typical adult to learn to use, as opposed to an automobile that only has 20.
- Women are just as intelligent and capable as men but a woman with a gun is “an accident waiting to happen” and gun makers’ advertisements aimed at women are “preying on their fears.”
- Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering butchers but revert to normal when the weapon is removed.
- Guns cause violence, which is why there are so many mass killings at gun shows.
- A majority of the population supports gun control, just like a majority of the population supported owning slaves.
- Any self-loading small arm can legitimately be considered to be a “weapon of mass destruction” or an “assault weapon.”
- Most people can’t be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, which most people will abide by because they can be trusted.
- The right of Internet pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights, but the use of handguns for self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.
- Free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but self- defense only justifies bare hands.
- The ACLU is good because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the Constitution, and the NRA is bad, because it defends other parts of the Constitution.
- Charlton Heston, a movie actor as president of the NRA was a cheap lunatic who should be ignored, but Michael Douglas, a movie actor as a representative of Handgun Control, Inc. is an ambassador for peace who is entitled to an audience at the UN arms control summit.
- Police operate with backup within groups, which is why they need larger capacity pistol magazines than do “civilians” who must face criminals alone and therefore need less ammunition.
- We should ban “Saturday Night Specials” and other inexpensive guns because it’s not fair that poor people have access to guns too.
- Police officers have some special Jedi-like mastery over handguns that private citizens can never hope to obtain.
- Private citizens don’t need a gun for self-protection because the police are there to protect them even though the Supreme Court says the police are not responsible for their protection.
- Citizens don’t need to carry a gun for personal protection but police chiefs, who are desk-bound administrators who work in a building filled with cops, need a gun.
- “Assault weapons” have no purpose other than to kill large numbers of people. The police need assault weapons. You do not.
- When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give Microsoft preferential promotion, that’s bad; but when the Federal government pressures cities to buy guns only from Smith & Wesson, that’s good.
- Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun for defensive purposes, which is why you see police officers with one on their duty weapon.
- Handgun Control, Inc., says they want to “keep guns out of the wrong hands.” Guess what? You have the wrong hands.
http://libertarianchristians.com/2009/02/13/40-reasons-to-ban-guns/
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Al-Qaida affiliates operating in Syria
Britain has for the first time raised the spectre of al-Qaida operating in Syria, while at the same time accusing Damascus of brutally targeting specific communities and driving Syrians to take up arms.
The foreign secretary, William Hague, said regime forces were bombarding neighbourhoods then unleashing militia groups to murder civilians in their homes. He said more sanctions against the regime were likely if the UN-brokered peace plan continued to fail, and again appeared to leave open an option for some sort of intervention in the rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria.
Hague said security assessments had indicated the presence in Syria of al-Qaida, a group disavowed by the main opposition force, the Free Syria Army, but who regime officials insist are at the vanguard of a now raging insurgency.
"We … have reason to believe that terrorist groups affiliated to al-Qaida have committed attacks designed to exacerbate the violence, with serious implications for international security," said Hague in a speech to the Commons.
He offered no details. The US has previously said it believed al-Qaida could have been responsible for bombing a security headquarters in Damascus in December.
Violence in Syria showed no letup on Monday, with scores of opposition fighters and regime troops again killed in fierce fighting in parts of Homs city and the surrounding province. An area north of Latakia, near the Turkish border, was targeted by helicopter gunships, which also roamed the skies of central Syria near a military base that was raided by the Free Syria Army, with the help of defectors, on Sunday.
The raid, the first large-scale assault by the Free Syria Army on a military base since the start of the Syrian uprising, has given impetus to claims that the anti-regime insurgency is gaining momentum after 16 haphazard months.
Buoyed by defectors, scores of whom are thought to have aided the attack on the al-Ghanto air defence base near Homs on Sunday, opposition fighters seized large amounts of weapons and ammunition – a rare haul during many months of battles that has seen them severely outgunned by loyalist forces.
The area targeted by helicopters near the Turkish border is home to several corridors where evidence of co-ordinated arms-smuggling into Syria has recently been confirmed. A witness to one transfer said scores of AK-47s and ammunition had been smuggled across the border and paid for in cash in the days following the Houla massacre in late May, in which at least 100 died.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have suggested since February that they supported arming opposition groups. However, evidence of state-backed weapons runs has been difficult to find in northern Syria, where Free Syria Army units are mainly using small-arms supplied by defectors, or bought from still-serving loyalist troops.
Weapons have at times also made it across the Lebanese borders, with one supply line through the Bekaa valley delivering guns and rockets from civil war era arms bazaars and another through the far north providing more modern weaponry, some of which is believed to have come from Libya.
One of the leading opposition groups, the Syrian National Council (SNC), on Monday announced it had picked a new leader, a secular Kurd, Abdulbaset Sayda, who has lived in exile for the past 17 years. Sayda immediately urged new defections, while reaching out to minority communities of Kurds, Christians, Alawaites and Druze, many of whom have feared life after the Assad regime which has ruled the country for more than 40 years.
The SNC has been crippled by infighting since its inception more than a year ago and has had a severely strained relationship with the Free Syria Army, which has been beset by its own leadership problems.
The FSA has largely been devoid of central command and control and has operated as a series of militia franchises who each call their own shots. However, an attack on parts of the capital over the weekend appeared to show heightened co-ordination. The Syrian government claims some other FSA attacks, especially near Homs, have shown a new sense of rigour and discipline.
For now, the UN plan championed by special envoy Kofi Annan remains the centrepiece of international efforts to stop Syria from unravelling across sectarian lines. The plan has called, among other things, for both sides to agree to a ceasefire and for regime forces to pull heavy weapons back from urban centres. None of its elements have been implemented.
"The coming weeks must see an intensified and urgent international effort to stop the violence and restore hope to Syria," said Hague. "Political transition must be based on democratic principles and reflect the needs of all Syria's minority communities, including the Kurds, Christians and Alawites."
Full article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/11/al-qaida-syria-william-hague
The foreign secretary, William Hague, said regime forces were bombarding neighbourhoods then unleashing militia groups to murder civilians in their homes. He said more sanctions against the regime were likely if the UN-brokered peace plan continued to fail, and again appeared to leave open an option for some sort of intervention in the rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria.
Hague said security assessments had indicated the presence in Syria of al-Qaida, a group disavowed by the main opposition force, the Free Syria Army, but who regime officials insist are at the vanguard of a now raging insurgency.
"We … have reason to believe that terrorist groups affiliated to al-Qaida have committed attacks designed to exacerbate the violence, with serious implications for international security," said Hague in a speech to the Commons.
He offered no details. The US has previously said it believed al-Qaida could have been responsible for bombing a security headquarters in Damascus in December.
Violence in Syria showed no letup on Monday, with scores of opposition fighters and regime troops again killed in fierce fighting in parts of Homs city and the surrounding province. An area north of Latakia, near the Turkish border, was targeted by helicopter gunships, which also roamed the skies of central Syria near a military base that was raided by the Free Syria Army, with the help of defectors, on Sunday.
The raid, the first large-scale assault by the Free Syria Army on a military base since the start of the Syrian uprising, has given impetus to claims that the anti-regime insurgency is gaining momentum after 16 haphazard months.
Buoyed by defectors, scores of whom are thought to have aided the attack on the al-Ghanto air defence base near Homs on Sunday, opposition fighters seized large amounts of weapons and ammunition – a rare haul during many months of battles that has seen them severely outgunned by loyalist forces.
The area targeted by helicopters near the Turkish border is home to several corridors where evidence of co-ordinated arms-smuggling into Syria has recently been confirmed. A witness to one transfer said scores of AK-47s and ammunition had been smuggled across the border and paid for in cash in the days following the Houla massacre in late May, in which at least 100 died.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have suggested since February that they supported arming opposition groups. However, evidence of state-backed weapons runs has been difficult to find in northern Syria, where Free Syria Army units are mainly using small-arms supplied by defectors, or bought from still-serving loyalist troops.
Weapons have at times also made it across the Lebanese borders, with one supply line through the Bekaa valley delivering guns and rockets from civil war era arms bazaars and another through the far north providing more modern weaponry, some of which is believed to have come from Libya.
One of the leading opposition groups, the Syrian National Council (SNC), on Monday announced it had picked a new leader, a secular Kurd, Abdulbaset Sayda, who has lived in exile for the past 17 years. Sayda immediately urged new defections, while reaching out to minority communities of Kurds, Christians, Alawaites and Druze, many of whom have feared life after the Assad regime which has ruled the country for more than 40 years.
The SNC has been crippled by infighting since its inception more than a year ago and has had a severely strained relationship with the Free Syria Army, which has been beset by its own leadership problems.
The FSA has largely been devoid of central command and control and has operated as a series of militia franchises who each call their own shots. However, an attack on parts of the capital over the weekend appeared to show heightened co-ordination. The Syrian government claims some other FSA attacks, especially near Homs, have shown a new sense of rigour and discipline.
For now, the UN plan championed by special envoy Kofi Annan remains the centrepiece of international efforts to stop Syria from unravelling across sectarian lines. The plan has called, among other things, for both sides to agree to a ceasefire and for regime forces to pull heavy weapons back from urban centres. None of its elements have been implemented.
"The coming weeks must see an intensified and urgent international effort to stop the violence and restore hope to Syria," said Hague. "Political transition must be based on democratic principles and reflect the needs of all Syria's minority communities, including the Kurds, Christians and Alawites."
Full article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/11/al-qaida-syria-william-hague
Monday, June 11, 2012
"Triple Standard" for Israel
By Earl Cox
Created Jun 8 2012 - 10:41am
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it accurately recently in an American TV interview. He said that the world holds Israel to a "triple standard." Not a double standard, but a triple standard. He explained that there is one standard for the world's dictatorships, a second standard for the world's democracies, and a third standard for Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu added that the "triple standard" for Israel has meant that Israel does not have the right to defend itself from all the terrorists and rocket attacks hurled against them over the years by their Arab Muslim neighbors. Netanyahu went on to say that the world would never expect any dictatorship or democracy to “show restraint” had they been the victims of more than 12,000 explosive rockets and missile attacks having been continually hurled across their borders by terrorists killing and maiming thousands of innocent civilians.
"What would the democracies do if 12,000 rockets were fired into their land?" he asked. "They would undoubtedly defend themselves and retaliate if more than one rocket hit them. But when Israel wants to defend itself, we are accused of being the villains, rather then the victims." He added, "No other nation would tolerate that."
The interviewer Mike Huckabee reminded Netanyahu of the great reception the Prime Minister received during his recent speech to the United States Congress where he received 29 standing ovations and 50 applause interruptions. "It was because our country has a great friendship with the United States and an important bond with its people," he said. "The Congressmen simply expressed the support of the people."
"Israel is wall-to-wall pro-American, the Prime Minister stated.”Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel. We believe that we are there for you, and that you are there for us, also." He added, "Our two countries are both 'cities on a hill' for the whole world to look to."
Netanyahu further stated that he thinks most Americans see Israel as a parable. The Jewish people and the nation of Israel were left for dead 2,000 years ago, he explained. "But our people and our nation have now come back from the dead, and we are now a free and thriving people and nation. We are a story of hope fulfilled and the American people identify with that."
Concerning Iran, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that this rogue nation is definitely the greatest threat to all humanity today, not only to Israel but to the entire Middle East and to the whole world. He added, "Iran has proven itself to be a terrorist regime, and their threats are very real. We must be prepared and ready, if necessary, to take military action."
Concerning the upheavals in numerous Arab countries including Syria, the Prime Minister stated, "We'll certainly have a safer world if we can move more toward democracy. The uprisings have shown that many Arabs truly want more democratic freedoms. If democracy triumphs, we could have genuine peace. But right now, the jury is still out."
Full article:
http://cc.org/commentary/quottriple_standardquot_israel
Sunday, June 10, 2012
High Court Backs Closing Tax Loophole Retroactively
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
Published: June 14, 1994
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/14/business/high-court-backs-closing-tax-loophole-retroactively.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
The United States Supreme Court ruled today that Congress did not violate the Constitution when it closed a tax loophole retroactively in 1987 and collected back taxes from those who had relied on the original provision.
The 9-to-0 decision involving an estate tax provision overturned a 1992 ruling by a Federal appeals court in California, which held that the retroactive application of the amended provision violated the constitutional guarantee of due process of law.
Because Congress often acts retroactively in the tax area -- most recently, in last summer's budget package that raised tax rates retroactively to the beginning of 1993 -- the decision alarmed the Government and prompted the Clinton Administration to seek Supreme Court review. This case involved an estate tax provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
But in a second important decision today, the Government did not fare nearly as well. The Court ruled unanimously that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is bound by state law when it takes control of a failed savings and loan and seeks to recover losses by suing the lawyers and accountants who had advised the previous management.
As a practical matter, the decision means that certain defenses the outside professionals would have been entitled to invoke had the Federal regulators never come on the scene remain available to them.
In this case, involving the failed American Diversified Savings Bank of Costa Mesa, Calif., the decision permits a Los Angeles law firm, O'Melveny & Myers, to assert that under California law, it cannot be sued by the F.D.I.C. for its role in preparing two real estate syndications shortly before the institution was declared insolvent in 1986.
In the tax case, Justice Harry A. Blackmun's opinion for the Court was a broad vindication of Congressional authority. "Tax legislation is not a promise, and a taxpayer has no vested right in the Internal Revenue Code," Justice Blackmun wrote.
He said that retroactive tax legislation did not violate due process as long as the Congressional purpose "was neither illegitimate nor arbitrary." In a concurring opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said that the Court's reasoning "guarantees that all retroactive tax laws will henceforth be valid."
The retroactive tax case, United States v. Carlton, No. 92-1941, involved a provision of the 1986 tax law intended by Congress to help employee stock ownership plans by encouraging the sale of stock to these plans. Under the original provision, an estate could deduct from its Federal estate tax half the proceeds of the sale of a company's stock to that company's employee stock ownership plan. Big Tax Saving
Relying on that provision, the executor of a large California estate used the estate's funds to buy 1.5 million shares of MCI Communications Corporation stock, which he sold two days later to the MCI employee stock ownership plan. While the stock price had declined, and the estate lost $600,000 on the $10.6 million transaction, it saved $2.5 million in Federal estate tax.
Numerous other executors had the same idea, with the result that a provision that was supposed to cost $300 million over a five-year period was soon estimated to be draining the Treasury at the rate of $7 billion over five years. Fourteen months later, Congress closed the loophole by limiting the deduction to the sale of stock that had been owned immediately before the deceased person's death. The provision was made retroactive to the date of the original 1986 law, and the Internal Revenue Service then disallowed deductions that had been claimed for newly purchased stock. The California executor, Jerry W. Carlton, paid and sued for a refund.
Justice Blackmun's opinion was signed by five other members of the Court: Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Scalia's separate concurring opinion was signed by Justice Clarence Thomas, and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor also filed a separate concurring opinion.
In its F.D.I.C. ruling, the Supreme Court rejected the agency's argument that the Federal courts should create an overriding "Federal common law" that could negate the defenses available under state law. The Court did not, however, resolve the merits of this case or declare definitively what the California law actually provides in the particular situation. The lower Federal courts in California must now examine those questions.
The decision, written for the Court by Justice Scalia, was based in large part on the Justices' interpretation of a 1989 law, the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, or Firrea.
In that law, Congress created some special Federal rules enabling the F.D.I.C. to override some state laws in its capacity as receiver of failed savings and loans. For example, Congress explicitly extended the statute of limitations that might exist under state law, and gave the F.D.I.C. authority to sue directors and officers for gross negligence in situations that might not be permitted by state law.
Those powers have proved an important part of the F.D.I.C.'s legal strategy for recovering some costs of the savings and loan bailout. Justice Scalia said that because Congress was so precise and explicit about the situations that it addressed in Firrea, its silence on other situations must be interpreted as leaving state law in place.
The Court placed in this second category the legal question at issue in this case: whether the F.D.I.C., as the receiver of a failed savings and loan, can sue a third party when the savings and loan itself would have been unable to do so under state law.
In deciding that state law, rather than a court-created "Federal common law," governs such situations, the Court handed a substantial problem to the F.D.I.C. as well as to another Federal agency, the Resolution Trust Corporation, the authority of which is also defined by Firrea.
Jack D. Smith, the deputy general counsel of the F.D.I.C., said today that while he expected the agency eventually to prevail in this particular case, the Court's general theory would weaken the Government's position in another important category of savings and loan cases involving state statutes of limitation.
While Firrea gave the F.D.I.C. three years from the date of an institution's failure to bring its suits, some Federal courts have been dismissing cases that have not been brought within shorter state-imposed time-limits. Today, the Supreme Court refused without comment to hear the agency's appeal in one such case, F.D.I.C. v. Dawson, No. 93-1486. Mr. Smith, the F.D.I.C. lawyer, said there was some $1.5 billion at stake in cases involving the statute of limitations. The F.D.I.C. and the
Resolution Trust Corporation are seeking legislation to address the problem, he said.
Another $1.5 billion is potentially at stake in the legal question at issue in the case the Court decided today.
Under a principle known as the "general rule of imputation," corporate insiders' knowledge of wrongdoing is imputed, or attributed, to the corporation itself, so that as a legal matter, the corporation cannot be seen as the victim of a fraud that its insiders have in fact perpetrated.
In this case, O'Melveny & Myers, the outside law firm, argued that under California law, the savings and loan would not have been able to sue its own lawyers for failing to uncover the fraud that led to the institution's demise. Thus, the firm argued that the F.D.I.C. should also be barred from bringing the suit because, as receiver, the Federal agency "stands in the shoes" of the failed institution. Suit Was Reinstated
The Federal District Court in Los Angeles accepted this argument and dismissed the F.D.I.C.'s lawsuit in 1990, but the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco reinstated the suit in 1992 on the ground that there existed a "Federal common law" that permitted the F.D.I.C. to overcome the "imputation" defense that might otherwise be available to the law firm.
Nearly simultaneously, and underscoring the confusion in this area, another Federal appeals court, the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, reached the opposite conclusion on two Texas savings and loans, City Savings and Loan and Lamar Savings Association. The Supreme Court has not yet acted on the F.D.I.C.'s appeal of that ruling.
In his opinion today, O'Melveny & Myers v. F.D.I.C., No. 93-489, Justice Scalia made it clear that Congress could give the F.D.I.C. expanded powers to override state law defenses if it chose to do so. But in the absence of Congressional action, "there is no Federal general common law," he said.
Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/14/business/high-court-backs-closing-tax-loophole-retroactively.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Published: June 14, 1994
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/14/business/high-court-backs-closing-tax-loophole-retroactively.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
The United States Supreme Court ruled today that Congress did not violate the Constitution when it closed a tax loophole retroactively in 1987 and collected back taxes from those who had relied on the original provision.
The 9-to-0 decision involving an estate tax provision overturned a 1992 ruling by a Federal appeals court in California, which held that the retroactive application of the amended provision violated the constitutional guarantee of due process of law.
Because Congress often acts retroactively in the tax area -- most recently, in last summer's budget package that raised tax rates retroactively to the beginning of 1993 -- the decision alarmed the Government and prompted the Clinton Administration to seek Supreme Court review. This case involved an estate tax provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
But in a second important decision today, the Government did not fare nearly as well. The Court ruled unanimously that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is bound by state law when it takes control of a failed savings and loan and seeks to recover losses by suing the lawyers and accountants who had advised the previous management.
As a practical matter, the decision means that certain defenses the outside professionals would have been entitled to invoke had the Federal regulators never come on the scene remain available to them.
In this case, involving the failed American Diversified Savings Bank of Costa Mesa, Calif., the decision permits a Los Angeles law firm, O'Melveny & Myers, to assert that under California law, it cannot be sued by the F.D.I.C. for its role in preparing two real estate syndications shortly before the institution was declared insolvent in 1986.
In the tax case, Justice Harry A. Blackmun's opinion for the Court was a broad vindication of Congressional authority. "Tax legislation is not a promise, and a taxpayer has no vested right in the Internal Revenue Code," Justice Blackmun wrote.
He said that retroactive tax legislation did not violate due process as long as the Congressional purpose "was neither illegitimate nor arbitrary." In a concurring opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said that the Court's reasoning "guarantees that all retroactive tax laws will henceforth be valid."
The retroactive tax case, United States v. Carlton, No. 92-1941, involved a provision of the 1986 tax law intended by Congress to help employee stock ownership plans by encouraging the sale of stock to these plans. Under the original provision, an estate could deduct from its Federal estate tax half the proceeds of the sale of a company's stock to that company's employee stock ownership plan. Big Tax Saving
Relying on that provision, the executor of a large California estate used the estate's funds to buy 1.5 million shares of MCI Communications Corporation stock, which he sold two days later to the MCI employee stock ownership plan. While the stock price had declined, and the estate lost $600,000 on the $10.6 million transaction, it saved $2.5 million in Federal estate tax.
Numerous other executors had the same idea, with the result that a provision that was supposed to cost $300 million over a five-year period was soon estimated to be draining the Treasury at the rate of $7 billion over five years. Fourteen months later, Congress closed the loophole by limiting the deduction to the sale of stock that had been owned immediately before the deceased person's death. The provision was made retroactive to the date of the original 1986 law, and the Internal Revenue Service then disallowed deductions that had been claimed for newly purchased stock. The California executor, Jerry W. Carlton, paid and sued for a refund.
Justice Blackmun's opinion was signed by five other members of the Court: Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Scalia's separate concurring opinion was signed by Justice Clarence Thomas, and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor also filed a separate concurring opinion.
In its F.D.I.C. ruling, the Supreme Court rejected the agency's argument that the Federal courts should create an overriding "Federal common law" that could negate the defenses available under state law. The Court did not, however, resolve the merits of this case or declare definitively what the California law actually provides in the particular situation. The lower Federal courts in California must now examine those questions.
The decision, written for the Court by Justice Scalia, was based in large part on the Justices' interpretation of a 1989 law, the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, or Firrea.
In that law, Congress created some special Federal rules enabling the F.D.I.C. to override some state laws in its capacity as receiver of failed savings and loans. For example, Congress explicitly extended the statute of limitations that might exist under state law, and gave the F.D.I.C. authority to sue directors and officers for gross negligence in situations that might not be permitted by state law.
Those powers have proved an important part of the F.D.I.C.'s legal strategy for recovering some costs of the savings and loan bailout. Justice Scalia said that because Congress was so precise and explicit about the situations that it addressed in Firrea, its silence on other situations must be interpreted as leaving state law in place.
The Court placed in this second category the legal question at issue in this case: whether the F.D.I.C., as the receiver of a failed savings and loan, can sue a third party when the savings and loan itself would have been unable to do so under state law.
In deciding that state law, rather than a court-created "Federal common law," governs such situations, the Court handed a substantial problem to the F.D.I.C. as well as to another Federal agency, the Resolution Trust Corporation, the authority of which is also defined by Firrea.
Jack D. Smith, the deputy general counsel of the F.D.I.C., said today that while he expected the agency eventually to prevail in this particular case, the Court's general theory would weaken the Government's position in another important category of savings and loan cases involving state statutes of limitation.
While Firrea gave the F.D.I.C. three years from the date of an institution's failure to bring its suits, some Federal courts have been dismissing cases that have not been brought within shorter state-imposed time-limits. Today, the Supreme Court refused without comment to hear the agency's appeal in one such case, F.D.I.C. v. Dawson, No. 93-1486. Mr. Smith, the F.D.I.C. lawyer, said there was some $1.5 billion at stake in cases involving the statute of limitations. The F.D.I.C. and the
Resolution Trust Corporation are seeking legislation to address the problem, he said.
Another $1.5 billion is potentially at stake in the legal question at issue in the case the Court decided today.
Under a principle known as the "general rule of imputation," corporate insiders' knowledge of wrongdoing is imputed, or attributed, to the corporation itself, so that as a legal matter, the corporation cannot be seen as the victim of a fraud that its insiders have in fact perpetrated.
In this case, O'Melveny & Myers, the outside law firm, argued that under California law, the savings and loan would not have been able to sue its own lawyers for failing to uncover the fraud that led to the institution's demise. Thus, the firm argued that the F.D.I.C. should also be barred from bringing the suit because, as receiver, the Federal agency "stands in the shoes" of the failed institution. Suit Was Reinstated
The Federal District Court in Los Angeles accepted this argument and dismissed the F.D.I.C.'s lawsuit in 1990, but the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco reinstated the suit in 1992 on the ground that there existed a "Federal common law" that permitted the F.D.I.C. to overcome the "imputation" defense that might otherwise be available to the law firm.
Nearly simultaneously, and underscoring the confusion in this area, another Federal appeals court, the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, reached the opposite conclusion on two Texas savings and loans, City Savings and Loan and Lamar Savings Association. The Supreme Court has not yet acted on the F.D.I.C.'s appeal of that ruling.
In his opinion today, O'Melveny & Myers v. F.D.I.C., No. 93-489, Justice Scalia made it clear that Congress could give the F.D.I.C. expanded powers to override state law defenses if it chose to do so. But in the absence of Congressional action, "there is no Federal general common law," he said.
Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/14/business/high-court-backs-closing-tax-loophole-retroactively.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Glenn Beck Promotes Kabballah
You can view this book promo by Glenn Beck where he teaches Kabbalah mysticism and says that "with your body and soul, you're complete". Notice how God is not needed. Beck says he and read and re-read this book. This is perfectly in line with Beck's new age mormon beliefs (as described in his book 7 Wonders).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GIp9tPwEI9c#!
Also check out this article about Beck's Seven [New Age] Wonders
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=6809
And, while at it, check out this video of how to produce perfect tears every time ...
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-becks-sobbing-secrets-revealed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GIp9tPwEI9c#!
Also check out this article about Beck's Seven [New Age] Wonders
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=6809
And, while at it, check out this video of how to produce perfect tears every time ...
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-becks-sobbing-secrets-revealed
Friday, June 08, 2012
How to Die
The Eugenics agenda is moving forward with this soft sell of how to save so much money by denying care to the elderly based on "outcome based health-care".
Both Newsweek (Why Did Her Husband’s End-of-Life Care Cost So Much? May 2012) and Time (How to Die, July 2012) have articles about this.
Both Newsweek (Why Did Her Husband’s End-of-Life Care Cost So Much? May 2012) and Time (How to Die, July 2012) have articles about this.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Court: Christians can be ordered to violate beliefs
Refuse to photograph lesbians, get fined $7,000
by Bob UnruhEmail | Archive
by Bob UnruhEmail | Archive
A ruling from Judge Tim L. Garcia in the New Mexico Court of Appeals says states can require Christians to violate their faith in order to do business, affirming a penalty of nearly $7,000 for a photographer who refused to take pictures at a lesbian “commitment” ceremony in the state where same-sex “marriage” was illegal.
Judges Cynthia Fry and James Wechsler joined in the ruling by Garcia, which involved Elane Photography, whose owners, Elaine and Jonathan Huegeunin, are Christians and declined to do photography for lesbians Vanessa Willock and another woman.
The women complained under the state’s anti-discrimination requirements and a state commission, the New Mexico Human Rights Commission, imposed the penalty, which now has been affirmed by the appeals court judges. The judges explained in the 45-page ruling that the photography company is a “public accommodation” and those cannot discriminate under state law based on “sexual orientation.”
“The owners of Elane Photography must accept the reasonable regulations and restrictions imposed upon the conduct of their commercial enterprise despite their personal religious beliefs that may conflict with these governmental interests,” the judges wrote.
Officials with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has been representing Elane, said there would be an appeal.
“Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence. “Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy? Of course not, and neither should the government force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience. Because the Constitution prohibits the state from forcing unwilling artists to promote a message they disagree with, we will certainly appeal this decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court.”
It started in 2006 when Willock asked Elaine Huguenin to take pictures at her “commitment” ceremony. It was in 2009 when the ADF appealed a trial judge’s ruling in favor of the lesbians.
In reaching their decision the judges aligned photography with those that are “an essential service” under state law.
“Services, facilities and accommodations are available to the general public through a variety of resources. Elane Photography takes advantage of these available resources to market to the public at large and invite them to solicit services offered by its photography business,” the judges explained.
They cited the idea of a KKK rally asking an black photographer to supply his work, and the photographer refusing. Could then the KKK cite racial discrimination?
“The Ku Klux Klan is not a protected class,” opined the judges. “Sexual orientation, however, is protected.”
The judges continued, “The act of photographing a same-sex ceremony does not express any opinions regarding same-sex commitments, or disseminate a personal message about such ceremonies.”
They called the state requirement “a neutral regulation of commercial conduct” and said that it does not “infringe upon freedom of speech or compel unwanted expression.”
The judges wrote that the photography company’s claim of protection under the state constitution’s requirement that “no person shall ever be molested or denied any civil or political right or privilege on account of his religious opinion” was not applicable.
The judges suggested the interesting scenario of the photographer accepting the job, and vocally condemning the women while taking pictures.
“The owners are free to express their religious beliefs and tell Willock or anyone else what they think about same-sex relationships and same-sex ceremonies,” they said.
The district court decision had come from Alan M. Malott.
Malott’s ruling said the Christian owners were compelled to photograph the ceremony for Vanessa Willock and Misty Pascottini because of the state’s interest in preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“Once one offers a service publicly, they must do so without impermissible exception,” the judge wrote. “Therefore, plaintiff could refuse to photograph animals or even small children, just as an architect could design only commercial buildings and not private residences. Neither animals, nor small children, nor private residences are protected classes,” he wrote.
When the district judge’s decision arrived, it seemed to substantiate the concerns of opponents of a federal “hate crimes” bill signed into law by President Obama during his first year in office that gives homosexuals special rights. Attorney General Eric Holder admitted in a congressional hearing that under the measure an attack on a homosexual would be dealt with differently than one on another citizen.
Benjamin Bull, chief counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, noted at that time, “Homosexuals got exactly what they wanted. In the marketplace of ideas, one side has now been censored. This [situation] is exactly what homosexual activists have in mind.”
Interestingly, a subsequent poll revealed that almost half of Americans believe that Christians in the United States are being persecuted by homosexual “marriage” advocates who take legal action against them over their religious beliefs, and almost one in three Democrats believes such persecution is “necessary,” according to the alarming results of a new poll
The results are from a WND/WENZEL Poll conducted for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies.
It found that 49.2 percent of all respondents consider the legal activism against Christians and their beliefs regarding homosexuality to be “persecution.”
The question was, “There is a trend developing in which gay activists are filing lawsuits against people who refuse to do business with them on moral/religious grounds – such as when a New Mexico photographer was sued by a lesbian couple for refusing to photograph their wedding. Knowing this, which of the following statements most closely represents what you think about this?”
More than two of three Republicans called it “persecution of Christians,” along with 45 percent of independents. Even 33.1 percent of Democrats had he same answer.
But 31 percent of Democrats, as well as 12 percent of Republicans and 24 percent of independents, said, “Such tactics are necessary.”
Full article:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/06/refuse-to-photograph-lesbians-get-fined-7000/print/
Judges Cynthia Fry and James Wechsler joined in the ruling by Garcia, which involved Elane Photography, whose owners, Elaine and Jonathan Huegeunin, are Christians and declined to do photography for lesbians Vanessa Willock and another woman.
The women complained under the state’s anti-discrimination requirements and a state commission, the New Mexico Human Rights Commission, imposed the penalty, which now has been affirmed by the appeals court judges. The judges explained in the 45-page ruling that the photography company is a “public accommodation” and those cannot discriminate under state law based on “sexual orientation.”
“The owners of Elane Photography must accept the reasonable regulations and restrictions imposed upon the conduct of their commercial enterprise despite their personal religious beliefs that may conflict with these governmental interests,” the judges wrote.
Officials with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has been representing Elane, said there would be an appeal.
“Americans in the marketplace should not be subjected to legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence. “Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy? Of course not, and neither should the government force this photographer to promote a message that violates her conscience. Because the Constitution prohibits the state from forcing unwilling artists to promote a message they disagree with, we will certainly appeal this decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court.”
It started in 2006 when Willock asked Elaine Huguenin to take pictures at her “commitment” ceremony. It was in 2009 when the ADF appealed a trial judge’s ruling in favor of the lesbians.
In reaching their decision the judges aligned photography with those that are “an essential service” under state law.
“Services, facilities and accommodations are available to the general public through a variety of resources. Elane Photography takes advantage of these available resources to market to the public at large and invite them to solicit services offered by its photography business,” the judges explained.
They cited the idea of a KKK rally asking an black photographer to supply his work, and the photographer refusing. Could then the KKK cite racial discrimination?
“The Ku Klux Klan is not a protected class,” opined the judges. “Sexual orientation, however, is protected.”
The judges continued, “The act of photographing a same-sex ceremony does not express any opinions regarding same-sex commitments, or disseminate a personal message about such ceremonies.”
They called the state requirement “a neutral regulation of commercial conduct” and said that it does not “infringe upon freedom of speech or compel unwanted expression.”
The judges wrote that the photography company’s claim of protection under the state constitution’s requirement that “no person shall ever be molested or denied any civil or political right or privilege on account of his religious opinion” was not applicable.
The judges suggested the interesting scenario of the photographer accepting the job, and vocally condemning the women while taking pictures.
“The owners are free to express their religious beliefs and tell Willock or anyone else what they think about same-sex relationships and same-sex ceremonies,” they said.
The district court decision had come from Alan M. Malott.
Malott’s ruling said the Christian owners were compelled to photograph the ceremony for Vanessa Willock and Misty Pascottini because of the state’s interest in preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“Once one offers a service publicly, they must do so without impermissible exception,” the judge wrote. “Therefore, plaintiff could refuse to photograph animals or even small children, just as an architect could design only commercial buildings and not private residences. Neither animals, nor small children, nor private residences are protected classes,” he wrote.
When the district judge’s decision arrived, it seemed to substantiate the concerns of opponents of a federal “hate crimes” bill signed into law by President Obama during his first year in office that gives homosexuals special rights. Attorney General Eric Holder admitted in a congressional hearing that under the measure an attack on a homosexual would be dealt with differently than one on another citizen.
Benjamin Bull, chief counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, noted at that time, “Homosexuals got exactly what they wanted. In the marketplace of ideas, one side has now been censored. This [situation] is exactly what homosexual activists have in mind.”
Interestingly, a subsequent poll revealed that almost half of Americans believe that Christians in the United States are being persecuted by homosexual “marriage” advocates who take legal action against them over their religious beliefs, and almost one in three Democrats believes such persecution is “necessary,” according to the alarming results of a new poll
The results are from a WND/WENZEL Poll conducted for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies.
It found that 49.2 percent of all respondents consider the legal activism against Christians and their beliefs regarding homosexuality to be “persecution.”
The question was, “There is a trend developing in which gay activists are filing lawsuits against people who refuse to do business with them on moral/religious grounds – such as when a New Mexico photographer was sued by a lesbian couple for refusing to photograph their wedding. Knowing this, which of the following statements most closely represents what you think about this?”
More than two of three Republicans called it “persecution of Christians,” along with 45 percent of independents. Even 33.1 percent of Democrats had he same answer.
But 31 percent of Democrats, as well as 12 percent of Republicans and 24 percent of independents, said, “Such tactics are necessary.”
Full article:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/06/refuse-to-photograph-lesbians-get-fined-7000/print/
Damascus’ Cup of Wrath
From RaptureReady.com
Reports of atrocities coming out of Syria are reminders of the ongoing rage of man against man. We live in a world headed for a time in which God must deal in judgment with planet earth. We get an inkling of what faces the cities of this world with the declaration found in the book of God’s most terrible judgment. “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (Revelation 16:19).
The great commercial center at the time of that judgment will suffer as perhaps no city or people have ever suffered, when God’s cup of wrath is full, and He gives it to Babylon to drink. Jesus Himself said it would be the most terrible time in human history–and that’s saying something! This earth has been witness to regimes that have dealt so fiercely with their peoples that we sometimes wonder how the Creator of all things could have allowed such treatment.
The Lord has acted at times to judge the murderous governments throughout history, of course. The Third Reich is an example. Hitler’s Reich was to last a thousand years, but lasted barely twelve, and is today looked upon as among the most heinous–certainly considered the most horrendous of the modern era. Yet there are elements among us that view the Nazi regime as a good idea, particularly because of the way that government treated the Jews.
Syria’s present tyrant-ruler is one such admirer of the Nazi attitude toward God’s chosen people. Like all Muslim states of the radical sort–and it’s difficult to find one that isn’t radical—the brutal Syrian dictatorship of Bashar Al-Assad, successor to his father, Hafez Al-Assad, hates Jews with satanic passion and has Israel in its crosshairs for annihilation. For this reason it can be said with certainty that, barring repentance, the Syrian leader and his ilk are in for some very rough times indeed. God’s Word says about the people of earth and their treatment of Abraham’s progeny: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).
But, it is not the Jews alone that the Syrian dictator comes against with luciferian anger. He slaughters anyone who would defy his self-anointed right to rule with an iron fist of oppression. He is doing so with abandon these days, even in the face of pressure–although milquetoast pressure—by the international community.
The world of opposition to what’s going on in Damascus and surrounding area is of the spineless sort because of threats from Russia and China. Putin and the Chinese leadership have made it clear that any military action to put Assad out of power will be met with Russian and Chinese force. It is much like in the cold-war days when the Soviets and the Maoists held the nuclear threat over the heads of the world’s diplomatic community.
As the death tolls rise with Assad’s military murdering people in plain view, yet blaming the opposition rebel forces of perpetrating the killings, the international community sends the likes of former U.N. head, Kofi Annan, to plead with the Syrian dictator to stop the genocide.
During his meetings, Annan renewed an appeal to the Assad regime to end the violence against its people. Annan said he expressed the international community's concerns about the government attacks, including last week's slaughter in Houla.
"We are at a tipping point," Annan said. "The Syrian people do not want the future to be one of bloodshed and division. Yet the killings continue and the abuses are still with us today."
Eleven nations, including the United States, said they are expelling Syrian envoys in a coordinated action over the killings. Besides the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Canada announced that they are expelling some Syrian diplomats. ("13 Bound Bodies Found in Eastern Syria," UPI.com, 5/30/12)
There seems no chance of a Jonah-Nineveh sort of repentance by Assad and his ruling henchmen. We can say with certainty, then, that God’s judgment is on its way to Syria. But, it’s not just the fact that God will judge anyone who hates Abraham’s seed, or that judgment will come because of the obvious sins of the regime in murdering the Syrian people. We can know with certainty God’s judgment is coming because of the prophecy, with which most Bible prophecy students are familiar.
“Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1). Damascus’ cup of wrath is about to be poured by the mighty hand of God. But, lest the rest of the world think this city that harbors most every Islamist terrorist organization that is blood-vowed to destroy Israel is alone in the prophetic promise to drink of that cup of wrath, consider again the following forewarning to all cities of earth: “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (Revelation 16:19).
--Terry
Full article:
http://raptureready.com/rap16.html
Reports of atrocities coming out of Syria are reminders of the ongoing rage of man against man. We live in a world headed for a time in which God must deal in judgment with planet earth. We get an inkling of what faces the cities of this world with the declaration found in the book of God’s most terrible judgment. “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (Revelation 16:19).
The great commercial center at the time of that judgment will suffer as perhaps no city or people have ever suffered, when God’s cup of wrath is full, and He gives it to Babylon to drink. Jesus Himself said it would be the most terrible time in human history–and that’s saying something! This earth has been witness to regimes that have dealt so fiercely with their peoples that we sometimes wonder how the Creator of all things could have allowed such treatment.
The Lord has acted at times to judge the murderous governments throughout history, of course. The Third Reich is an example. Hitler’s Reich was to last a thousand years, but lasted barely twelve, and is today looked upon as among the most heinous–certainly considered the most horrendous of the modern era. Yet there are elements among us that view the Nazi regime as a good idea, particularly because of the way that government treated the Jews.
Syria’s present tyrant-ruler is one such admirer of the Nazi attitude toward God’s chosen people. Like all Muslim states of the radical sort–and it’s difficult to find one that isn’t radical—the brutal Syrian dictatorship of Bashar Al-Assad, successor to his father, Hafez Al-Assad, hates Jews with satanic passion and has Israel in its crosshairs for annihilation. For this reason it can be said with certainty that, barring repentance, the Syrian leader and his ilk are in for some very rough times indeed. God’s Word says about the people of earth and their treatment of Abraham’s progeny: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).
But, it is not the Jews alone that the Syrian dictator comes against with luciferian anger. He slaughters anyone who would defy his self-anointed right to rule with an iron fist of oppression. He is doing so with abandon these days, even in the face of pressure–although milquetoast pressure—by the international community.
The world of opposition to what’s going on in Damascus and surrounding area is of the spineless sort because of threats from Russia and China. Putin and the Chinese leadership have made it clear that any military action to put Assad out of power will be met with Russian and Chinese force. It is much like in the cold-war days when the Soviets and the Maoists held the nuclear threat over the heads of the world’s diplomatic community.
As the death tolls rise with Assad’s military murdering people in plain view, yet blaming the opposition rebel forces of perpetrating the killings, the international community sends the likes of former U.N. head, Kofi Annan, to plead with the Syrian dictator to stop the genocide.
During his meetings, Annan renewed an appeal to the Assad regime to end the violence against its people. Annan said he expressed the international community's concerns about the government attacks, including last week's slaughter in Houla.
"We are at a tipping point," Annan said. "The Syrian people do not want the future to be one of bloodshed and division. Yet the killings continue and the abuses are still with us today."
Eleven nations, including the United States, said they are expelling Syrian envoys in a coordinated action over the killings. Besides the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Canada announced that they are expelling some Syrian diplomats. ("13 Bound Bodies Found in Eastern Syria," UPI.com, 5/30/12)
There seems no chance of a Jonah-Nineveh sort of repentance by Assad and his ruling henchmen. We can say with certainty, then, that God’s judgment is on its way to Syria. But, it’s not just the fact that God will judge anyone who hates Abraham’s seed, or that judgment will come because of the obvious sins of the regime in murdering the Syrian people. We can know with certainty God’s judgment is coming because of the prophecy, with which most Bible prophecy students are familiar.
“Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1). Damascus’ cup of wrath is about to be poured by the mighty hand of God. But, lest the rest of the world think this city that harbors most every Islamist terrorist organization that is blood-vowed to destroy Israel is alone in the prophetic promise to drink of that cup of wrath, consider again the following forewarning to all cities of earth: “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (Revelation 16:19).
--Terry
Full article:
http://raptureready.com/rap16.html
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Wiretaps show 'immense detail' about questionable Fast & Furious tactics
FoxNews.com
A House investigative committee said Tuesday it has obtained new information from wiretaps related to the Obama administration’s Operation Fast and Furious that suggests high-ranking officials know more than they are telling Congress about the flawed weapons sting.
The announcement appears to be the latest attempt by GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to press U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder into providing Congress with more information about the operation and an account of which officials knew about any problems -- and when.
“The wiretap applications show that immense detail about questionable investigative tactics was available to the senior officials who reviewed and authorized them,” Issa said in a June 5 letter to Holder. “The close involvement of these officials -- much greater than previously known -- is shocking.”
The targets of "Fast and Furious" bought nearly 2,000 weapons over several months. For reasons that are still in dispute, most of those weapons were never followed. High-powered weapons tied to the investigation ended up at crime scenes in Mexico and the United States, including the December 2010 murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
The wiretaps were intended to allow investigators in Arizona to listen to the phone calls of suspects as part of the strategy to reveal evidence of involvement by high-level Mexican cartel associates. The six applications for wiretaps, which have been sealed by a federal judge, detail specific actions taken by agents involved in the operation, the GOP-controlled committee said in a statement.
The information shows the officials made “conscious decisions” not to interdict weapons that agents knew were illegally purchased by smugglers taking weapons to Mexico, according to the statement.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee, said Tuesday that he is concerned about Issa's possible mis-characterization of the "contents and significance" of the wiretap- related documents.
In a 10-page letter, Cummings tells Issa that he omitted a critical fact and that the omission "completely undermines your conclusion." The information in dispute was redacted.
Cummings also said the "undisputed fact" before the committee is that senior Justice Department officials never saw the wiretap applications. Cummings says the summaries of the applications were prepared by federal attorneys and reviewed by deputy assistant attorneys general, standard practice in previous Democrat and Republican administrations.
Holder has said he has given congressional investigators all of the relevant information.
Issa, R-Calif., issues a subpoena in October 2011 for the remaining documents and last month asked House Speaker John Boehner to support his plans to hold Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to meet the subpoena deadline.
The committee also said the information in the wiretaps had been requested in the subpoena. The content of the wiretaps cannot be made public because they are sealed.
The Justice Department said it cannot comment on the contents of court-sealed applications but directly challenged Issa and expressed concern about documents related to ongoing criminal cases being leaked.
“Chairman Issa continues to distort the facts and ignore the law," said agency spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler. “Senior Justice Department officials were not aware of the flawed tactics in Fast and Furious until they became public in early 2011."
Schmaler said the unauthorized disclosure of such materials is illegal.
"The committee also knows full well that Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer did not review the wiretap applications in Fast and Furious," she said. "That does not stop the committee, however, from falsely asserting ...Breuer was 'responsible for' authorizing them."
Mike Levine contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/05/issa-wiretaps-show-immense-detail-about-questionable-fast-furious-tactics/print#ixzz1x1XQTIoj
Monday, June 04, 2012
What We're Fighting For?
The difference between liberty and freedom.
By GEOFFREY NUNBERG
WHAT exactly are we fighting for? In his speech to the nation on Wednesday, President Bush said it was to "defend our freedom" and "bring freedom to others." Nowadays, Americans always go to war under the banner of freedom, ours or theirs: Operation Iraqi Freedom follows Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
There was a time when the campaign would have been fought in the name of liberty. The recent efforts to rebaptize French fries as "freedom fries" contrast with the World War I renaming of sauerkraut as "liberty cabbage" and dachshunds as "liberty dogs." Freedom fries may have owed something to alliteration, but liberty was much more prominent in the patriotic lexicon back then than it is now. Americans bought liberty bonds and planted liberty gardens; factories turned out liberty trucks and liberty aircraft engines.
If it ever came to all that today, it's a safe bet that we would be talking about freedom bonds and freedom trucks. For that matter, a modern patriot who was writing the Pledge of Allegiance from scratch would probably conclude it "with freedom and justice for all."
This shift from liberty to freedom is a subtle one, which few other languages would even be able to express. The French national motto is usually translated as "Liberty, equality, fraternity," but liberté could as easily be translated as freedom.
Even in English, the words can sometimes seem to be equivalent. The philosopher Isaiah Berlin used them more or less interchangeably in his essay "Two Concepts of Liberty," and so did the historian Eric Foner in his "Story of American Freedom," which traces the evolution of the concept from Colonial times. Indeed, the words are often incanted in the same breath. "The issue is freedom and liberty," Mr. Bush said a few days before the war began. Or as the Grateful Dead said, "Ooo, freedom/ Ooo, liberty/ Ooo, leave me alone."
But English hasn't taken the trouble to retain all those pairs of Anglo-Saxon and Latin near synonyms just so its thesauruses could be heftier. There's a difference between friendship and amity, or a paternal manner and a fatherly one.
Liberty and freedom are distinct, as well. As the political theorist Hanna Fenichel Pitkin has observed, liberty implies a system of rules, a "network of restraint and order," hence the word's close association with political life. Freedom has a more general meaning, which ranges from an opposition to slavery to the absence of psychological or personal encumbrances (no one would describe liberty as another name for nothing left to lose).
But the two words have been continually redefined over the centuries, as Americans contested the basic notion of what it means to be free. For the founders of the nation, liberty was the fundamental American value. That was a legacy of the conception of "English liberty," with which Britons proudly distinguished themselves from the slavish peoples of the Continent who were unprotected from the arbitrary power of the state. Echoing John Locke, the Declaration of Independence speaks of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The text doesn't mention freedom at all. It was liberty that Patrick Henry declared himself willing to die for, and liberty that the ringing bell in Philadelphia proclaimed on July 8, 1776.
Liberty remained the dominant patriotic theme for the following 150 years, even if freedom played an important role, particularly in the debates over slavery. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address began by invoking a nation "conceived in liberty," but went on to resolve that it should have a "new birth of freedom."
But "freedom" didn't really come into its own until the New Deal period, when the defining American values were augmented to include the economic and social justice that permitted people free development as human beings. Of Roosevelt's Four Freedoms — of speech, of religion, from want and from fear — only the first two might have been expressed using "liberty.'
What's the U.S. fighting for? In the patriotic vocabulary, one word is being invoked.
The civil rights movement made "freedom now" its rallying cry. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used "freedom" 19 times in his "I Have a Dream" speech, and liberty only twice. Feminists extended freedom to cover reproductive rights, while Timothy Leary spoke of the "fifth freedom . . . the freedom to expand your own consciousness."
But as Professor Foner has observed, freedom is too central in the American consciousness to remain the property of one political side. The conservative reclaiming of the word began during the cold war, when it was expanded to include the benefits of free markets and the consumer choices they provided. Then, too, freedom was a conveniently vague label used to describe free-world allies like Franco's Spain, whose commitment to liberty was questionable.
President Ronald Reagan understood the power that "freedom" had acquired. His second Inaugural Address mentioned freedom 14 times and liberty only once. But in the mouth of Mr. Reagan and other conservatives, freedom conveyed what Isaiah Berlin called its negative sense, an absence of constraints on markets and individual action. Mr. Reagan's program of "economic freedom" included deregulation, tax cuts and a weakening of unions, which earlier conservatives had championed in the name of the "liberty of employers."
The invocation of freedom became as reflexive for the right as it had been for New Deal Democrats and those in the civil rights movement. Opponents of civil rights legislation appealed to "freedom of association," and opponents of affirmative action have spoken of "freedom from race." On the National Rifle Association's Web site, the word freedom is three times as frequent as the word liberty.
But as the expanding use of "freedom" makes every policy and program a part of the national mission, "liberty" has receded from the patriotic vocabulary. If we still venerate the word now, it's less as a rallying cry than as a stand-in for the legalistic niceties that the founders took such trouble over. That's why the word still comes up when the conversation turns to the domestic war on terrorism, whether in the expression "civil liberties" or standing alone.
Lately, Bush administration figures have been trying to wrest the word from the critics of their homeland security measures.
When a special appeals court upheld the wiretap provisions of the USA Patriot Act a few months ago, Attorney General John Ashcroft called the decision "a victory for liberty, safety and the security of the American people." And last week, the secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, announced Operation Liberty Shield, which will step up surveillance of those suspected of terrorist ties and authorize indefinite detention of asylum-seekers from certain nations.
BUT many still hold that liberty and safety, like guns and butter, are notions that are more appropriately opposed than conjoined. They're mindful of Benjamin Franklin's warning that "they that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Right now, "Iraqi Freedom" conveys something more basic than "American freedom" suggests — it is simply emancipation from tyranny, not a choice of S.U.V.'s or an end to double taxation of dividends. The Iraqis may someday enjoy those more advanced varieties of freedom. Ultimately, they may even enjoy liberty. But that will require more time, and as we have had ample opportunity to learn, eternal vigilance.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company. Reprinted from The Sunday New York Times, Week in Review, of March 23, 2003.
By GEOFFREY NUNBERG
WHAT exactly are we fighting for? In his speech to the nation on Wednesday, President Bush said it was to "defend our freedom" and "bring freedom to others." Nowadays, Americans always go to war under the banner of freedom, ours or theirs: Operation Iraqi Freedom follows Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
There was a time when the campaign would have been fought in the name of liberty. The recent efforts to rebaptize French fries as "freedom fries" contrast with the World War I renaming of sauerkraut as "liberty cabbage" and dachshunds as "liberty dogs." Freedom fries may have owed something to alliteration, but liberty was much more prominent in the patriotic lexicon back then than it is now. Americans bought liberty bonds and planted liberty gardens; factories turned out liberty trucks and liberty aircraft engines.
If it ever came to all that today, it's a safe bet that we would be talking about freedom bonds and freedom trucks. For that matter, a modern patriot who was writing the Pledge of Allegiance from scratch would probably conclude it "with freedom and justice for all."
This shift from liberty to freedom is a subtle one, which few other languages would even be able to express. The French national motto is usually translated as "Liberty, equality, fraternity," but liberté could as easily be translated as freedom.
Even in English, the words can sometimes seem to be equivalent. The philosopher Isaiah Berlin used them more or less interchangeably in his essay "Two Concepts of Liberty," and so did the historian Eric Foner in his "Story of American Freedom," which traces the evolution of the concept from Colonial times. Indeed, the words are often incanted in the same breath. "The issue is freedom and liberty," Mr. Bush said a few days before the war began. Or as the Grateful Dead said, "Ooo, freedom/ Ooo, liberty/ Ooo, leave me alone."
But English hasn't taken the trouble to retain all those pairs of Anglo-Saxon and Latin near synonyms just so its thesauruses could be heftier. There's a difference between friendship and amity, or a paternal manner and a fatherly one.
Liberty and freedom are distinct, as well. As the political theorist Hanna Fenichel Pitkin has observed, liberty implies a system of rules, a "network of restraint and order," hence the word's close association with political life. Freedom has a more general meaning, which ranges from an opposition to slavery to the absence of psychological or personal encumbrances (no one would describe liberty as another name for nothing left to lose).
But the two words have been continually redefined over the centuries, as Americans contested the basic notion of what it means to be free. For the founders of the nation, liberty was the fundamental American value. That was a legacy of the conception of "English liberty," with which Britons proudly distinguished themselves from the slavish peoples of the Continent who were unprotected from the arbitrary power of the state. Echoing John Locke, the Declaration of Independence speaks of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The text doesn't mention freedom at all. It was liberty that Patrick Henry declared himself willing to die for, and liberty that the ringing bell in Philadelphia proclaimed on July 8, 1776.
Liberty remained the dominant patriotic theme for the following 150 years, even if freedom played an important role, particularly in the debates over slavery. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address began by invoking a nation "conceived in liberty," but went on to resolve that it should have a "new birth of freedom."
But "freedom" didn't really come into its own until the New Deal period, when the defining American values were augmented to include the economic and social justice that permitted people free development as human beings. Of Roosevelt's Four Freedoms — of speech, of religion, from want and from fear — only the first two might have been expressed using "liberty.'
What's the U.S. fighting for? In the patriotic vocabulary, one word is being invoked.
The civil rights movement made "freedom now" its rallying cry. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used "freedom" 19 times in his "I Have a Dream" speech, and liberty only twice. Feminists extended freedom to cover reproductive rights, while Timothy Leary spoke of the "fifth freedom . . . the freedom to expand your own consciousness."
But as Professor Foner has observed, freedom is too central in the American consciousness to remain the property of one political side. The conservative reclaiming of the word began during the cold war, when it was expanded to include the benefits of free markets and the consumer choices they provided. Then, too, freedom was a conveniently vague label used to describe free-world allies like Franco's Spain, whose commitment to liberty was questionable.
President Ronald Reagan understood the power that "freedom" had acquired. His second Inaugural Address mentioned freedom 14 times and liberty only once. But in the mouth of Mr. Reagan and other conservatives, freedom conveyed what Isaiah Berlin called its negative sense, an absence of constraints on markets and individual action. Mr. Reagan's program of "economic freedom" included deregulation, tax cuts and a weakening of unions, which earlier conservatives had championed in the name of the "liberty of employers."
The invocation of freedom became as reflexive for the right as it had been for New Deal Democrats and those in the civil rights movement. Opponents of civil rights legislation appealed to "freedom of association," and opponents of affirmative action have spoken of "freedom from race." On the National Rifle Association's Web site, the word freedom is three times as frequent as the word liberty.
But as the expanding use of "freedom" makes every policy and program a part of the national mission, "liberty" has receded from the patriotic vocabulary. If we still venerate the word now, it's less as a rallying cry than as a stand-in for the legalistic niceties that the founders took such trouble over. That's why the word still comes up when the conversation turns to the domestic war on terrorism, whether in the expression "civil liberties" or standing alone.
Lately, Bush administration figures have been trying to wrest the word from the critics of their homeland security measures.
When a special appeals court upheld the wiretap provisions of the USA Patriot Act a few months ago, Attorney General John Ashcroft called the decision "a victory for liberty, safety and the security of the American people." And last week, the secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, announced Operation Liberty Shield, which will step up surveillance of those suspected of terrorist ties and authorize indefinite detention of asylum-seekers from certain nations.
BUT many still hold that liberty and safety, like guns and butter, are notions that are more appropriately opposed than conjoined. They're mindful of Benjamin Franklin's warning that "they that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Right now, "Iraqi Freedom" conveys something more basic than "American freedom" suggests — it is simply emancipation from tyranny, not a choice of S.U.V.'s or an end to double taxation of dividends. The Iraqis may someday enjoy those more advanced varieties of freedom. Ultimately, they may even enjoy liberty. But that will require more time, and as we have had ample opportunity to learn, eternal vigilance.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company. Reprinted from The Sunday New York Times, Week in Review, of March 23, 2003.
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