GM is paying back Uncle Sam to shake him down for more money.
GM CEO Ed Whitacre announced in a Wall Street Journalcolumn Wednesday that his company has paid back its government bailout loan "in full, with interest, years ahead of schedule." He is even running TV ads on all major networks to that effect--a needless expense given that a credulous media is only too happy to parrot his claims for free. Detroit Free Press' Mike Thompson, for example, advises bailout proponents to start "warming up their vocal chords" to jeer their opponents with chants of "I told you so."
But before belting out their victory aria, GM-boosters ought to hear the whole story--not just the fairytale version about Government Motors' grand comeback that Mr. Whitacre is feeding them.
But when Mr. Whitacre says GM has paid back the bailout money in full, he means not the entire $49.5 billion--the loan and the equity. In fact, he avoids all mention of that figure in his column. He means only the $6.7 billion loan amount.
But wait! Even that's not the full story given that GM, which has not yet broken even, much less turned a profit, can't pay even this puny amount from its own earnings.
As it turns out, the Obama administration put $13.4 billion of the aid money as "working capital" in an escrow account when the company was in bankruptcy. The company is using this escrow money--government money--to pay back the government loan.
GM claims that the fact that it is even using the escrow money to pay back the loan instead of using it all to shore itself up shows that it is on the road to recovery. That actually would be a positive development--although hardly one worth hyping in ads and columns--if it were not for a further plot twist.
Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research, points out that the company has applied to the Department of Energy for $10 billion in low (5%) interest loan to retool its plants to meet the government's tougher new CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. However, giving GM more taxpayer money on top of the existing bailout would have been a political disaster for the Obama administration and a PR debacle for the company. Paying back the small bailout loan makes the new--and bigger--DOE loan much more feasible.
In short, GM is using government money to pay back government money to get more government money. And at a 2% lower interest rate at that. This is a nifty scheme to refinance GM's government debt--not pay it back!
GM boasts that, because it is doing so well, it is paying the $6.7 billion five years ahead of schedule since it was not due until 2015. So will there be an accelerated payback of the rest of the $49.6 billion investment? No. That goal has been pushed back, as it turns out.
In order to recover that investment, the government has to sell its equity. It plans to do that only when GM becomes a publicly traded company once again. GM was hoping to turn a profit by the end of 2010 and float an initial public offering this winter. However, GM Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell, when queried about that timeline a few days ago, demurred. The offering will be made, he said, "when the markets and the company are ready."
(Take that, taxpayers!)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Despite The Spin: Still Government Motors
From Forbes:
More Proof: They Knew, But Hid It From the Public
From the American Spectator
What Lies Beneath
OFFICE POLITICS
The economic report released last week by Health and Human Services, which indicated that President Barack Obama's health care "reform" law would actually increase the cost of health care and impose higher costs on consumers, had been submitted to the office of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius more than a week before the Congressional votes on the bill, according to career HHS sources, who added that Sebelius's staff refused to review the document before the vote was taken.
"The reason we were given was that they did not want to influence the vote," says an HHS source. "Which is actually the point of having a review like this, you would think."
The analysis, performed by Medicare's Office of the Actuary, which in the past has been identified as a "nonpolitical" office, set off alarm bells when submitted. "We know a copy was sent to the White House via their legislative affairs staff," says the HHS staffer, "and there were a number of meetings here almost right after the analysis was submitted to the secretary's office. Everyone went into lockdown, and people here were too scared to go public with the report."
In the end, the report was released several weeks after the vote -- the review by the secretary's office reportedly took less than three days -- and bore a note that the analysis was not the official position of the Obama administration.
Monday, April 26, 2010
MDEQ offers Debris Management Guidance for storm ravaged areas
“As a native of Yazoo County, I understand clearly the challenges facing local governments in that county and also in Warren, Holmes, and Choctaw counties. The amount of debris left behind is a big challenge for any county. Therefore, MDEQ has moved quickly to provide guidance to local officials who are dealing with large amounts of debris and other solid waste. We realize the need for additional public solid waste management facilities and are here to provide that information as well as for other solid waste management issues,” said MDEQ Executive Director Trudy Fisher.
The MDEQ documents include the following:
• Guidance to local governments on selecting and requesting approval for emergency debris management sites for burning, storage, or chipping of vegetative debris and storage/staging of structural debris.
• Guidance on the existing permitted solid waste facilities available in the 4 high impact counties and the permitted solid waste facilities in the adjacent counties to those high impact counties.
• Preliminary guidance on dealing with asbestos containing materials advising people to be cautious in managing and cleaning asbestos materials at single family homes and advising owners of commercial, non-residential, and multi-family dwelling unit owners to contact MDEQ for further guidance
The documents are available at:
http://www.deq.state.ms.us/MDEQ.nsf/page/SW_EmergencyDebrisManagementGuidance4.24.2010?OpenDocument
MDEQ Press Release
Allstate Announces Mobile Claims Centers Located to Yazoo City For Disaster Relief
By visiting a Mobile Claims Center, Allstate customers will be able to start the claims process and ask questions about their claim.
The current Allstate Mobile Claims Center location as of April 26, 2010, is listed below. The location of this unit is subject to change. For an updated list of locations visit www.allstate.com/catastrophe/Mobile-Response-Units.aspx
Sunflower Foods
734 E 15 St,
Yazoo City, MS
Hours are from 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.
Allstate policyholders whose homes or automobiles have been damaged or destroyed by the recent storm can contact Allstate by calling 1-800-54-STORM, visiting a Mobile Claims Center, or logging onto Allstate.com.
Governor declares Day of Prayer, State Flags at Half Staff for Period of Mourning
Gov. Haley Barbour has declared Tuesday as a Day of Prayer to remember Mississippians who suffered losses in Saturday's severe weather and for those families who lost loved ones in last week's oil rig accident.
Ten people in Mississippi died in Saturday's tornado.
Four Mississippians were reported missing in the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
Barbour says the past few days "have been tough for many Mississippi families."
Barbour has ordered state flags to be flown at half staff April 27 through April 30 as part of a period of mourning.
Associated Press
Fox News highlights the incredible dedication of long time Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers (Video)
Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers -- a Baptist deacon -- says he was in his truck when the twister picked it up and flipped it four times. Shivers says he told God that if it was his time to die, he was ready. Later he went out in his hospital gown to help identify bodies.
Fox reporter, Kris Gutierrez does an amazing job with Mr. Shivers. How do you think a CNN or MSNBC reporter would have responded to Mr. Shivers' Christian worldview of the twister? Considering the response from Mr. Guiterrez, would the MSM respond with an "Amen" or the "We're praying for you, and I mean it"?
Town Hall
Fox reporter, Kris Gutierrez does an amazing job with Mr. Shivers. How do you think a CNN or MSNBC reporter would have responded to Mr. Shivers' Christian worldview of the twister? Considering the response from Mr. Guiterrez, would the MSM respond with an "Amen" or the "We're praying for you, and I mean it"?
Town Hall
Gulf Coast Residents come to aid Tornado Victims in Yazoo City
State asks for volunteers to help with tornado relief efforts
Yazoo City, Miss., residents walk past a tornado destroyed home on Sunday, April 25, 2010. Many residents spent the better part of the day cleaning up and trying to salvage possessions in the homes and businesses damaged by Saturday's tornado. The director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said Sunday that volunteers are needed after a tornado sliced through dozens of counties, killing at least 10 people and destroying numerous homes.
Mike Womack, director of MEMA, said officials are working with the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service to coordinate emergency relief efforts.
"We've set up the Volunteer Reception Center, which will oversee volunteers and national service members," Womack said. "We need people to assist in the removal of fallen trees, destroyed homes, as well as the clearing of other debris."
Visit www.volunteermississippi.org to volunteer or call 888-353-1793. Registered volunteers will be contacted, Womack said.
Paige Roberts, executive director of the Southeast Mississippi Chapter of the Red Cross, was in Yazoo City on Sunday with at least one other volunteer from Jackson County.
Yazoo City has been reported to be one of the hardest-hit areas by the mile-wide twister that ripped through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday.
"It's bad here," Roberts said when contacted by cell phone on Sunday. "This is what tornadoes do. It ripped thorough cities and towns, leaving behind snapped trees. Trees cause the majority of the damage."
Roberts said when she arrived Saturday afternoon to the city that's just outside Jackson, she first encountered a family who lost their brother.
"He was asleep in his trailer, and a tree fell on it, killing him," Roberts said.
She also comforted two children who lost their mother as she tried to protect them.
"She died while trying to save her children," Roberts said. "The children are hospitalized, and both are under 7 years old."
Roberts said there are also Red Cross volunteers from Biloxi in Yazoo City.
"It reminds me of Katrina," she said. "The devastation is not as widespread as Katrina was, but the places that were hit resemble Katrina's destruction."
Roberts said more Gulf Coast volunteers could arrive throughout the week.
Mississippi Press
Yazoo City, Miss., residents walk past a tornado destroyed home on Sunday, April 25, 2010. Many residents spent the better part of the day cleaning up and trying to salvage possessions in the homes and businesses damaged by Saturday's tornado. The director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said Sunday that volunteers are needed after a tornado sliced through dozens of counties, killing at least 10 people and destroying numerous homes.
Mike Womack, director of MEMA, said officials are working with the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service to coordinate emergency relief efforts.
"We've set up the Volunteer Reception Center, which will oversee volunteers and national service members," Womack said. "We need people to assist in the removal of fallen trees, destroyed homes, as well as the clearing of other debris."
Visit www.volunteermississippi.org to volunteer or call 888-353-1793. Registered volunteers will be contacted, Womack said.
Paige Roberts, executive director of the Southeast Mississippi Chapter of the Red Cross, was in Yazoo City on Sunday with at least one other volunteer from Jackson County.
Yazoo City has been reported to be one of the hardest-hit areas by the mile-wide twister that ripped through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday.
"It's bad here," Roberts said when contacted by cell phone on Sunday. "This is what tornadoes do. It ripped thorough cities and towns, leaving behind snapped trees. Trees cause the majority of the damage."
Roberts said when she arrived Saturday afternoon to the city that's just outside Jackson, she first encountered a family who lost their brother.
"He was asleep in his trailer, and a tree fell on it, killing him," Roberts said.
She also comforted two children who lost their mother as she tried to protect them.
"She died while trying to save her children," Roberts said. "The children are hospitalized, and both are under 7 years old."
Roberts said there are also Red Cross volunteers from Biloxi in Yazoo City.
"It reminds me of Katrina," she said. "The devastation is not as widespread as Katrina was, but the places that were hit resemble Katrina's destruction."
Roberts said more Gulf Coast volunteers could arrive throughout the week.
Mississippi Press
Tornado Relief Effort at Brandon City Hall
An 18-wheeler will be on site to collect relief items. Items being accepted: Non-perishable food, bottled water, clothing, bedding, sleeping bags, blankets, batteries, chain saws, blowers, towels, toiletries, cash donations, etc.
Location:
Brandon City Hall
1000 Municipal Drive
601-824-4579 or 601-955-1960
Collected between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Sun Pine has already agreed to supply pallets of cleaning supplies toward the effort.
MEMA issues latest damage assessment
They are:
• Attala — 35 homes damaged and seven injuries
• Choctaw — 114 homes/mobile homes damaged, two businesses, 15 injuries
• Holmes — 60 homes damaged and 25 injuries
• Monroe — 48 homes/mobile homes damaged, three businesses damaged, one injury
• Union — 63 homes/mobile homes damaged and one injury.
• Warren — 42 homes/mobile homes damaged
• Yazoo — 319 homes/mobile homes damaged
MEMA's Mobile Operations Unit is deployed in Yazoo County. Area coordinators are in Yazoo and Choctaw. More than 60 Mississippi National Guardsmen and MP's are in both of those counties, and 40 additional MHP officers have been deployed, as well.
The Department of Health has sent in water engineers and facility inspectors to Yazoo County.
MEMA has deployed 740 tarps; 10 light towers; one pallet of Meals Ready to Eat and seven pallets of water to Yazoo County; one pallet of water to Holmes County; and, 192 tarps to Attala County.
The United Way's Mississippi 211 opened it's call center today. The American Red Cross is on the scene, and shelters have been opened by ARC.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Video of destruction from Yazoo City
Taken from site of Hillcrest Baptist Church destruction:
Mississippi Business Journal footage:
AP coverage of local footage:
Fox News:
More from MBJ:
Mississippi Business Journal footage:
AP coverage of local footage:
Fox News:
More from MBJ:
AP: 2 killed as tornado strikes Mississippi
The ¾-mile wide tornado roared across at least three counties in west-central Mississippi. Mayor McArthur Straughter said the county coroner confirmed the deaths.
"It's devastating. All of the buildings up in this area have had the roof torn off," said Straughter, estimating about 15 to 20 buildings had been heavily damaged.
Power lines and trees were down, blocking roads, Straughter said by telephone as sirens whined in the background. At least four people had been brought by four-wheeler to a triage center at an old discount store parking lot in the town about 40 miles north of Jackson.
Three counties were conducting a "massive response," Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn said.
Associated Press
Yazoo County hammered by major twister
Initial information received suggested that Benton had also been hit, but reports now indicate that Benton has received only minor damage.
Update: WLBT reports Dale Thrasher was inside Hillcrest Baptist Church and took refuge under the communion table as the entire building came down around him.
Update 3:13 pm: Military helicopter passed over Flora in route to storm damage minutes ago. Emergency vehicles still in route to Yazoo City.
Update: 3:29 pm: Reports from Holmes County are that an Ebenezer man was killed while trying to get in his truck from the same storm.
Update: 3:39 pm: MDOT announcing road closures due to the storm:
Debris on Hwy 51 from Madison County to Durant, MS
County: Yazoo
Traffic Impact: High
Direction: All Directions
Lanes: All Lanes
Trees down on Hwy 51 from Madison County to Druant, MS
I-55 @ 151 mile marker north of Pickens near Holmes Co. Park
Traffic Impact: Closed
Approximate Duration: 1 hour
Direction: Northbound
All Lanes
All northbound lanes are closed. One southbound lane is open.
Update 3:49 pm: Yazoo City has established a staging area for injuries at the old Yazoo Motors on Highway 49.
Update 3:55 pm: Governor Barbour briefing media from storm site in Yazoo City. Say's will be no confirmation of fatalities until cornoner reports them. Governor says, "several fatalities likely" from across Yazoo and Holmes County's. 17 reported injuries taken to Jackson via Ambulance, 2 by helicopter.
Update 4:09 pm: AP reporting two confirmed deaths.
Update 4:20 pm: MHP confirmed 2 children dead in Weir, Choctaw County.
Update 4:30 pm: Red Cross has established a shelter, and will be serving meals at the LT Miller Community Center in Yazoo City.
Forward any pictures and information you have on the storm to floraharvester@bellsouth.net and we'll attempt to keep information posted.
Friday, April 23, 2010
U.S.’s Toughest Immigration Bill Is Signed in Arizona
PHOENIX — Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country on Friday, aimed at identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants. The governor’s move unleashed immediate protests and reignited the divisive battle over immigration reform nationally.
Even before Governor Brewer signed the law at a 4:30 p.m. news conference here, President Obama strongly criticized it.
Speaking at a naturalization ceremony for 24 active-duty service members in the Rose Garden, Mr. Obama called for a federal overhaul of immigration laws — an overhaul that Congressional leaders signaled they were preparing to take up soon.
He said the failure of officials in Washington to act on immigration would open the door to “irresponsibility by others.” He said the Arizona bill threatened “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”
The law, which opponents and critics alike said was the broadest and strictest immigration measure in the country in generations, would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime. It would also give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Opponents have decried it as an open invitation for harassment and discrimination against Hispanics regardless of their citizenship status.
New York Times
Even before Governor Brewer signed the law at a 4:30 p.m. news conference here, President Obama strongly criticized it.
Speaking at a naturalization ceremony for 24 active-duty service members in the Rose Garden, Mr. Obama called for a federal overhaul of immigration laws — an overhaul that Congressional leaders signaled they were preparing to take up soon.
He said the failure of officials in Washington to act on immigration would open the door to “irresponsibility by others.” He said the Arizona bill threatened “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”
The law, which opponents and critics alike said was the broadest and strictest immigration measure in the country in generations, would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime. It would also give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Opponents have decried it as an open invitation for harassment and discrimination against Hispanics regardless of their citizenship status.
New York Times
Sun Herald: Oil spill may hit Coast
Coast Guard and oil company officials at a news conference Thursday said it was not clear whether the 18,000-foot-deep well was still leaking.
Environmental threats include the 336,000 gallons of oil a day that had been spurting from the rig before it sank, though nearly all of it was burning off in the incessant fire, Coast Guard firefighter Katherine McNamara told the Associated Press.
Coast Guard cutters Zephyr, a patrol boat homeported in Pascagoula, and Cobia, a patrol boat out of Mobile, are involved in the search for 11 rig workers missing since the explosion.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry said that the probability of the crewmembers’ survival was decreasing, despite warm waters and calm seas.
At least 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel was in a tank on the rig, but that could have been consumed in the fire before the rig sank, said Doug Helton, incident operations coordinator for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s office of response and restoration.
“The diesel fuel, if it didn’t burn off, will evaporate and not come to shore,” he said.
The crude oil leaking from the newly drilled well is heavier and will last longer.
“It could float around long enough to reach the shore,” he said.
Sun Herald
Will Dems 'go for it' on immigration reform?
Will the president, the speaker, and the majority leader try to pass "comprehensive" immigration reform in a midterm election year that already threatens to be a disaster for Democrats?
So why are Obama, Pelosi and Reid going forward? There are five possible explanations.
1) They've lost their minds.
2) They are very smart and know something we don't.
3) They're out of touch with the public's concerns.
4) They want to be able to tell the most ardent supporters of reform that they tried.
5) They're fully aware that the public doesn't want "comprehensive" reform but are racing to do as much as they can before the elections take away their power to defy the public's wishes.
The first possibility is highly unlikely. The second is less so, but still pretty unlikely. The third is plausible, but not probable. The fourth is arguable. And the fifth? It makes a lot of sense, especially in light of the Obamacare experience.
Not long ago, in another context, the president challenged Republicans to "Go for it." Don't be surprised if the GOP tells him the same thing this time.
Washington Examiner
Madison County Schools get boost, may get to keep some teaching positions open.
School district enjoys one-time ‘windfall’
Madison County schools may be able to keep several teaching positions next fall because of a nearly $260,000 one-time windfall.
Leavitt Tube, LLC, owes back taxes dating to 2003. Tax assessor Gerald Barber said an oversight led to the company not paying taxes on its buildings and grounds after a 10-year tax exemption lapsed.
School Superintendent Mike Kent welcomed the good news.
Earlier this month, Kent told The Clarion-Ledger that the district might have to eliminate 40 teaching units to balance the upcoming budget because of cutbacks from the state.
In addition to the back taxes, Barber says the school district can expect Leavitt Tube to pay its yearly taxes from now on. The annual amount, over the past seven years, has ranged from $31,199 to $49,628.
Mississippi Business Journal
Madison County schools may be able to keep several teaching positions next fall because of a nearly $260,000 one-time windfall.
Leavitt Tube, LLC, owes back taxes dating to 2003. Tax assessor Gerald Barber said an oversight led to the company not paying taxes on its buildings and grounds after a 10-year tax exemption lapsed.
School Superintendent Mike Kent welcomed the good news.
Earlier this month, Kent told The Clarion-Ledger that the district might have to eliminate 40 teaching units to balance the upcoming budget because of cutbacks from the state.
In addition to the back taxes, Barber says the school district can expect Leavitt Tube to pay its yearly taxes from now on. The annual amount, over the past seven years, has ranged from $31,199 to $49,628.
Mississippi Business Journal
Rainy weekend reading
The People and Their Government
DISTRUST, DISCONTENT, ANGER AND PARTISAN RANCOR
DISTRUST, DISCONTENT, ANGER AND PARTISAN RANCOR
Redstate: Billy Graham’s Son Is Too Christian For Barack Obama’s Army
Billy Graham’s son Franklin, a solid evangelist in his own right, was invited to give the address at the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer service.
Barack Obama’s administration has revoked the invitation.
Why? Well, it turns out Franklin Graham really believes in Christ and holds that Christ really is “they way and the truth and the life.”
Consequently, Franklin Graham has spoken out about Islam — the only religion to see its followers carry out violent terrorist attacks on the United States in the name of that religion — and its violent ways.
The Council on Islamic-American Relations and other Islamic groups got upset with Franklin Graham pointing out the truth.
So the Obama Administration caved.
Read the entire post at Redstate
Barack Obama’s administration has revoked the invitation.
Why? Well, it turns out Franklin Graham really believes in Christ and holds that Christ really is “they way and the truth and the life.”
Consequently, Franklin Graham has spoken out about Islam — the only religion to see its followers carry out violent terrorist attacks on the United States in the name of that religion — and its violent ways.
The Council on Islamic-American Relations and other Islamic groups got upset with Franklin Graham pointing out the truth.
So the Obama Administration caved.
Read the entire post at Redstate
Oh the irony!
Man arrested in Barrett homicide
White supremacist found stabbed, burned in home. McGee had performed yard work for Barrett, Pennington said.
McGee had served five years of a six-year sentence for simple assault on a police officer and grand larceny when he was released on probation in February from the State Penitentiary at Parchman.
He is being held in the Rankin County Detention Center. His initial court appearance will be Monday.
A photo on his Facebook page shows off numerous tattoos associated with the Vice Lords street gang.
Pennington said McGee was arrested after investigators obtained a search warrant based on evidence they spotted under the carport of his parents' home. Pennington did not elaborate.
Witnesses told investigators Barrett had gone to McGee's home around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to pay him for yard work.
Clarion Ledger
Thursday, April 22, 2010
White Supremacist Barrett found dead
WLBT is reporting:
Richard Barrett dies in house fire
RANKIN COUNTY, MS (WLBT) - Nationalist Movement founder and leader Richard Barrett was found dead in his home this morning following a fire.
A neighbor spotted the fire at Barrett's home around 7:45 this morning and called the fire department. When they responded to 227 East Petros Road, in Rankin County, they found smoke coming from inside the house and Barrett's body inside.
Several law enforcement agencies are on scene, including the FBI, but no one has said if foul play is suspected.
The Nationalist Movement is a white supremacist group Barrett founded after moving to the Magnolia State in 1966. He's also run unsuccessfully for Governor and Congress.
In 1994 he spearheaded a movement to get Governor Kirk Fordice to pardon Byron de la Beckwith, who was convicted for the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers.
UPDATE: Man arrested in death of Miss. white supremacist
RANKIN COUNTY, MS (WLBT) - Nationalist Movement founder and leader Richard Barrett was found dead in his home this morning following a fire.
A neighbor spotted the fire at Barrett's home around 7:45 this morning and called the fire department. When they responded to 227 East Petros Road, in Rankin County, they found smoke coming from inside the house and Barrett's body inside.
Several law enforcement agencies are on scene, including the FBI, but no one has said if foul play is suspected.
The Nationalist Movement is a white supremacist group Barrett founded after moving to the Magnolia State in 1966. He's also run unsuccessfully for Governor and Congress.
In 1994 he spearheaded a movement to get Governor Kirk Fordice to pardon Byron de la Beckwith, who was convicted for the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers.
UPDATE: Man arrested in death of Miss. white supremacist
PEARL, Miss. -- Authorities says a white supremacist lawyer found dead in his house had been stabbed, beaten and his body set afire.Sun Herald
Pennington said 22-year-old Vincent McGee has been charged with murder. He said additional charges could be forthcoming, including arson.
Pennington said Friday that a preliminary autopsy showed Barrett had been stabbed multiple times in the neck and had blunt force trauma to the head. The sheriff said 35 percent of Barrett's body had been burned.
New PR push for Livingston Township suggests waning interest?
A recent story on WJTV promoting Livingston Township at the corner of Highway 22 and 463 is only one attempt of many over the past several months to keep the development in the public eye. The development is owned by David Landrum, and has seen significant challenges including the filing of two lien's here and here for over $120,000 in Madison County Chancery Court for architectural work.
Landrum was in Flora during a Town Board meeting earlier this year to promote the development as a good thing for Flora. That leap in logic is questionable. One would think development away from Flora is the opposite of "good for Flora."
WJTV reports:
I have a great respect for Charles Elon Bowering. But, I tend to think the "wilderness" that has grown up there is quite a beautiful and pastoral setting, and the fact that "it was abandoned years ago" doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea to rebuild something there now. There is only so much money to go around from developers and investors in today's real estate market, and with millions of dollars coming due this year, liens for architectural work, and rumors of Landrum's own financial problems the project is already at a disadvantage.
Furthermore, the assertion by Don Williams that essential services "are absent in the area" is nothing more than a sales pitch. Nothing could be further from the truth. Flora is only 5 miles away, the Mannsdale area where considerable development is now occurring, is even closer.
Maybe, like years ago, people are recognizing that Livingston should be abandoned.
WJTV reports:
Plans are in the works to bring life back to one part of Madison County.
Livingston once a historic town, was abandoned years ago.
The historic land is located at the corner of U.S. 22 and Highway 463 in the Mannsdale-Livingston Heritage Preservation District.
The historic land will turn into “Livingston Township”.
A 60 million dollar project that will be the home of offices and businesses while paying homage to the town’s history.
There are also plans to build about 60 Charleston-style cottages.
Developers say the project will keep the area’s history and economy alive.
“It’s our intent that the small businesses that will be located here will be in a nurturing environment to spawn other businesses that can open manufacturing in Flora or Canton’s industrial parts,“ said Don Williams the President of Livingston Holdings. “we are going to provide the essentials that are absent in this area.“
Historians like Charles Bowering hopes the future development will keep Livingston’s past in the present.
“I think it’s great,“ said Bowering. “It would just grow up in a wilderness if they don’t clean it up.“
Developers plan to break ground on the project this fall.
I have a great respect for Charles Elon Bowering. But, I tend to think the "wilderness" that has grown up there is quite a beautiful and pastoral setting, and the fact that "it was abandoned years ago" doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea to rebuild something there now. There is only so much money to go around from developers and investors in today's real estate market, and with millions of dollars coming due this year, liens for architectural work, and rumors of Landrum's own financial problems the project is already at a disadvantage.
Furthermore, the assertion by Don Williams that essential services "are absent in the area" is nothing more than a sales pitch. Nothing could be further from the truth. Flora is only 5 miles away, the Mannsdale area where considerable development is now occurring, is even closer.
Maybe, like years ago, people are recognizing that Livingston should be abandoned.
Earth Day 2010: More about blame, than conservation and stewardship.
Excuse me if I don't act surprised. It is hardly news that everyone wants hard choices to be made, but very few people want to be the ones to make the sacrifices themselves.
When it came to wasteful spending former Senator Trent Lott once said "Pork is anything spent north of Memphis." The same mindset holds true for those who would otherwise be enviromentally friendly.
Case in point: The New York City sightseeing company Gray Line is promoting an “Earth Week” package of day trips that includes visits to “green spots” like the botanical gardens and flower shopping at Chelsea Market. The fact that these tours will be taken on buses running on fossil fuels does not sit well with the first Earth Day national coordinator Denis Hayes who tells The New York Times what he thinks of such green consumerism: “This ridiculous perverted marketing has cheapened the concept of what is really green. It is tragic.”
Even the Old Gray Lady can't help but notice:
At 40, Earth Day Is Now Big Business
So strong was the antibusiness sentiment for the first Earth Day in 1970 that organizers took no money from corporations and held teach-ins “to challenge corporate and government leaders.”
Forty years later, the day has turned into a premier marketing platform for selling a variety of goods and services, like office products, Greek yogurt and eco-dentistry.
And then there is the left’s push for economy-killing energy taxes. The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis has found that cap-and-tax legislation pending in Congress would cost the average family-of-four almost $3,000 per year, cause 2.5 million net job losses by 2035, and a produce a cumulative gross domestic product (GDP) loss of $9.4 trillion between 2012 and 2035. Losing that $9.4 trillion to appease the fragile sensibilities of the enviro-left – now that would be tragic.
Especially when one considers that studies clearly show that important indicators of environmental quality actually improve as incomes and levels of consumption go up.
I, for one, would be more than happy to stop increasing my carbon footprint if the government would get the hell out of my money. If I were able to keep more of it, I wouldn't have the need to be constantly burning fossil fuels to find more.
Finally, there is the growing sentiment that we've all been lied to. It's becoming hard to believe traditional media sources as they continue to hype the same old argument despite the 900-pound gorilla sitting behind Katie Couric.
It’s been a rough five months for the credibility of many of the “leading” climate scientists.
First, the ClimateGate e-mails appeared to show unethical or illegal behavior of high profile scientists and a potential conspiracy to distort science for political gain. These weren’t just a few renegade scientists; in the following months, damning information came to light about the world’s leading climate alarmists and their work with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Stern Report, the U.S. National Climate Data Center and even NASA.
Even with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day coming up on April 22, Americans are skeptical about the threat of climate change. A March 2010 Gallup poll found that 48 percent of Americans think the threat of global warming is “generally exaggerated". That’s the highest in 13 years, according to Gallup.
The public’s receding fear of climate change may be related to the series of scandals and admissions that have been uncovered since Nov. 20 when e-mails from University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) were leaked. Those e-mails provided “ammunition” to climate skeptics about the authenticity and ethics surrounding the CRU’s work on global warming science.
Including this very damning email:
From: Phil Jones
To: ray bradley ,mann@XXXX, mhughes@XXXX
Subject: Diagram for WMO Statement
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:31:15 +0000
Cc: k.briffa@XXX.osborn@XXXX
Dear Ray, Mike and Malcolm,
Once Tim’s got a diagram here we’ll send that either later today or first thing tomorrow.
I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline. Mike’s series got the annual land and marine values while the other two got April-Sept for NH land N of 20N. The latter two are real for 1999, while the estimate for 1999 for NH combined is +0.44C wrt 61-90. The Global estimate for 1999 with data through Oct is +0.35C cf. 0.57 for 1998.
Thanks for the comments, Ray.
Cheers
Phil
Prof. Phil Jones
Climatic Research Unit Telephone XXXX
School of Environmental Sciences Fax XXXX
University of East Anglia
Norwich
As for me and my house, we'll continue to do the very things my family and my faith has always taught me to do; be good stewards of the resources the Lord has provided. At the same time, I will try to get away, hide and otherwise stop those who would take those resources away to give them to someone else who refuses to take the same responsibility for themselves.
Williams: Taxes and Voting
Let's not dwell on the fairness of such an arrangement for financing the activities of the federal government. Instead, let's ask what kind of incentives and results such an arrangement produces and ask ourselves whether these results are good for our country. That's a question to be asked whether or not one has federal income tax liabilities.
Having 121 million Americans completely outside the federal income tax system, it's like throwing chum to political sharks. These Americans become a natural spending constituency for big-spending politicians. After all, if you have no income tax liability, how much do you care about deficits, how much Congress spends and the level of taxation? Political calls for tax cuts and spending restraints have little appeal. Survey polls revealed this. According to The Harris Poll taken in June 2003, 51 percent of Democrats thought the tax cuts enacted by Congress were a bad thing while 16 percent of Republicans thought so. Among Democrats, 67 percent thought the tax cuts were unfair while 32 percent of Republicans thought so. When asked whether the $350-billion tax cut package will help your family finances, 59 percent of those surveyed said no and 35 percent said yes. Tax cuts to many Americans mean just one thing: They pose a threat to the federal handouts they receive.
Here's my perhaps politically incorrect question: If one has no financial stake in our country, how much of a say-so should he have in its management? Let's put it another way: I do not own stock, and hence have no financial stake, in Ford Motor Company. Do you think I should have voting rights or any say-so in the management of the company?Let's put it another way: I do not own stock, and hence have no financial stake, in Ford Motor Company. Do you think I should have voting rights or any say-so in the management of the company? I'm guessing that the average sane person's answer is no. You say, "Williams, just where are you heading with this?" I'm not proposing that we take voting rights away from those who do not pay taxes. What I'm suggesting is that every American gets one vote in every federal election, plus another vote for each $20,000 he pays in federal taxes. With such a system, there'd be a modicum of linkage between one's financial stake in our country and his decision-making right. Of course, unequal voting power could be reduced by legislating lower taxes.
This is not a far-out idea. The founders worried about it. James Madison's concern about class warfare between the rich and the poor led him to favor the House of Representatives being elected by the people at large and the Senate elected by property owners. He said, "It is nevertheless certain, that there are various ways in which the rich may oppress the poor; in which property may oppress liberty; and that the world is filled with examples. It is necessary that the poor should have a defense against the danger. On the other hand, the danger to the holders of property cannot be disguised, if they be undefended against a majority without property."
Town Hall
Financial Regulation: The foxes are guarding the hen house
This post from CleanGovernmentNow on the upcoming hearings and financial regulation:
Are We At Farce Yet? The Show Trial of Goldman Sachs
What could possibly be more tragic than a 1400 page financial reform bill written by some of the key architects of financial ruin: Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and Timothy Geithner ?
How about a convenient show trial for Goldman Sachs, one of biggest beneficiaries of the bailout these clever men cooked up?
On the one hand, you have a handful of elite, well-connected financial intermediaries and their investing clients that loaded up on smart gimmicks that were too clever by half. These derivatives instruments went poof when underlying real estate values declined more than expected. In a normal world, this would mean those dabbling in these hot potatoes would get burned. But lo and behold, these cats, who are perfectly capable of fattening themselves up for slaughter, were saved from their own idiocy by the bailout of their chief casino on credit -- AIG.
That was the tragedy. It is a tragedy that continues with an effort by Dodd, Frank, Geithner to play house to the Wall Street whales -- for a cut of the take of course.
Now comes word that one of the main beneficiaries of the AIG bailout -- Goldman Sachs -- might have done something that might have looked like something that might be connected to something that could possibly be interpreted as greedy speculation.
What I do know is that the timing and subject matter has all the earmarks of a show trial meant to distract from a far greater set of sins that took place within the government before, during and after the financial crisis.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Baldwin: SPLC Publishes Patriot Hit List
By Chuck Baldwin
In a report on its web site dated April 2010, entitled "Meet The Patriots,"
the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) profiled "36 individuals at the heart of the resurgent [patriot] movement." (In reading the list, I counted only 35 "patriots" and 5 "enablers" for a total of 40. I'm not really sure how the SPLC came up with "36." Perhaps their ability to count is commensurate with their ability to appreciate patriotism and liberty.) The SPLC (founded by Morris Dees) sees itself as America's guardian against "right wing militias" and loves to label conservatives and libertarians that it doesn't like as "extremists." The SPLC is one of the most ultra-liberal organizations in the country and should be dismissed as a group of paranoid leftists, not worthy of thought or mention.
The sad truth is, however, our federal government has chosen to exalt the SPLC to the position of being its "go to" source for information regarding "potential domestic terrorists" and similar characterizations. As a result, the information and reports disseminated by SPLC wind up in police reports and bulletins all over the United States. As an example, the SPLC had its fingerprints all over the infamous MIAC report. One could even question whether the SPLC is merely a front organization for Big Brother.
Therefore, it is highly likely that the report negatively profiling 40 American patriots will find its way into Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fusion centers and be distributed to police agencies all across the country. So, should the 40 people who find themselves targeted by SPLC expect some kind of government/police attention? Are we really that close to Nazi-style persecution in America? If the SPLC has its way, the answer seems to be a definite yes.
I remind readers that in the book, Nazi Justiz: Law of the Holocaust (page 3), there were five steps to Hitler's plans for the destruction of European Jews. Step 1: Identification/registration of the targeted group as a public menace. Step 2: Ostracism of the targeted persons. Step 3: property confiscation. Step 4: Concentration of members into geographical locations. Step 5: Annihilation. In this latest report, SPLC seems quite willing to accomplish steps 1 and 2.
Here are the 40 names that are targeted in the SPLC report (and guess who is listed at the very top? Yours truly):
1. Chuck Baldwin, Pastor, Radio Broadcaster, Syndicated Columnist, 2008 Constitution Party Presidential nominee.
2. Joe Banister, former IRS special agent, tax protester.
3. Martin "Red" Beckman, tax protester
4. Catherine Bleish, head of the Liberty Restoration Project.
5. Chris Broughton, Second Amendment advocate, member of "We The People" group.
6. Bob Campbell, head of American Grand Jury.
7. Robert Crooks, Army veteran, retired commercial fisherman, anti-illegal immigration proponent.
8. Joseph Farah, CEO of World Net Daily
9. Gary Franchi, producer of "Camp FEMA: American Lockdown," national director of RestoreTheRepublic.com.
10. Al Garza, head of the Patriot's Coalition, an anti-illegal immigration group.
11. Ted Gunderson, retired FBI agent.
12. John Hassey, "The public face of Alabama's militia movement in the late 1990s," says SPLC.
13. Alex Jones, Radio Talk Show host.
14. Devvy Kidd, "prolific columnist, blogger, and public speaker."
15. Larry Kilgore, telecommunications consultant, former US Senate candidate from Texas, pro-secession advocate.
16. Cliff Kincaid, syndicated columnist and author, editor of AIM Report (Accuracy in Media's publication), founder and president of America's Survival, Inc., a UN watchdog group.
17. Mark Koernke, associated with the now-defunct Michigan Militia.
18. Richard Mack, former Graham County, Arizona, Sheriff, author, and public speaker.
19. Jack McLamb, former Phoenix, Arizona, police officer, author, and public speaker.
20. John McManus, former member of the US Marine Corps, president of the John Birch Society.
21. Daniel New, father of Michael New (the Army medic who refused to wear a UN uniform), author, public speaker.
22. Norm Olson, founder of the now-defunct Michigan Militia.
23. Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America.
24. Stewart Rhodes, Army veteran and Yale Law School graduate, founder of Oath Keepers.
25. Jon Roland, computer specialist, founder of the Constitution Society.
26. Luke Rudkowski, founder We Are Change.
27. Robert "Bob" Schultz, founder of We The People.
28. Joel Skousen, editor, World Affairs Brief.
29. Jim Stachowiak, Radio Talk Show host, "Longtime militia organizer,"
claims SPLC.
30. John Stadtmiller, founder, Republic Broadcasting Network.
31. Orly Taitz, California attorney, a leader in the push to make President Obama disclose his US birth certificate.
32. Amanda Teegarden, executive director of Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise.
33. Mike Vanderboegh, anti-Obama health care activist.
34. Paul Venable, former candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives.
35. Edwin Vieira, Jr., attorney, author, proponent of constitutional State militias, lecturer.
36. Michele Bachmann, US Representative from Minnesota.
37. Glenn Beck, Fox News Channel TV host.
38. Paul Broun, medical doctor, US Representative from Georgia.
39. Andrew Napolitano, attorney, former State judge in New Jersey, Fox News Channel legal analyist, lecturer.
40. Ron Paul, former member of the US Air Force, medical doctor, US Representative from Texas, 2008 Republican candidate for President.
See the SPLC report at:
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/the-patriots?page=0,0
The SPLC, no doubt, sees each person on the above list as being a leader of the "radical right," a "conspiracist," and "antigovernment." But understand, the SPLC makes its living off of big-government, leftist ideology. To say it is a shill for Big Government Liberalism is an understatement. The SPLC is so radical it makes the ACLU look conservative!
Again, this SPLC report would not even merit a mention (much less an entire column) except for the fact that the SPLC has become a source of information fuelling anti-freedom hysteria for countless bureaucrats at the DHS. Add this to the previously exposed MIAC and DHS reports, and the Army major's report blaming "millennialist" Christians for much of the ills of the world, and a disturbing trend is quickly developing: so-called right-wing ANYTHING is being targeted and demonized as a "public menace."
But the lists that you and I are not seeing are even more disturbing.
Joel Skousen quotes (Radar Magazine's) Christopher Ketcham's The Last Roundup as asking if the federal government is "compiling a secret enemies list of citizens who could face detention?" He goes on to say, "A number of former government employees and intelligence sources with independent knowledge of domestic surveillance operations claim the program that caused the flap between [former assistant attorney general under John Ashcroft, James] Comey and the White House was related to a database of Americans who might be considered potential threats in the event of a national emergency.
Sources familiar with the program say that the government's data gathering has been overzealous and probably conducted in violation of federal law and the protection from unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.
"A veteran CIA intelligence analyst who maintains active high-level clearances and serves as an advisor to the Department of Defense in the field of emerging technology tells Radar that during the 2004 hospital room drama [between former Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Attorney General Ashcroft, in an attempt by Card to coerce a very ill Ashcroft to authorize President Bush's secretive domestic spying programs as his assistant--and acting--attorney general had refused to do so], James Comey expressed concern over how this secret database was being used 'to accumulate otherwise private data on non-targeted U.S. citizens for use at a future time.'"
The report further states, "According to a senior government official who served with high-level security clearances in five administrations, 'There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived "enemies of the state" almost instantaneously.'" At this point, Skousen noted, "And that is precisely why the census bureau took a GPS coordinate on every front door in America, secretly linking this to dissidents and their known addresses."
This database of Americans who are perceived to be potential "enemies of the state" goes by the code name "Main Core." And according to the report, "One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.
"Officials at the Department of Homeland Security begin actively scrutinizing people who--for a tremendously broad set of reasons--have been flagged in Main Core as potential domestic threats [sound familiar?]. Some of these individuals might receive a letter or a phone call, others a request to register with local authorities. Still others might hear a knock on the door and find police or armed soldiers outside. In some instances, the authorities might just ask a few questions. Other suspects might be arrested and escorted to federal holding facilities, where they could be detained without counsel until the state of emergency is no longer in effect."
The report also noted that former Assistant Attorney General James Comey "had concluded that the use of that 'Main Core' database compromised the legality of the overall NSA domestic surveillance project. 'If Main Core does exist,' says Philip Giraldi, a former CIA counterterrorism officer and an outspoken critic of the agency, 'the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is its likely home. If a master list is being compiled, it would have to be in a place where there are no legal issues--the CIA and FBI would be restricted by oversight and accountability laws--so I suspect it is at DHS, which as far as I know operates with no such restraints.' Giraldi notes that DHS already maintains a central list of suspected terrorists and has been freely adding people who pose no reasonable threat to domestic security."
So, is there a secret list of 8 million "unfriendly" Americans kept by DHS (if there is, dear reader, you are probably on it!)? Does anyone reading this column doubt that our federal government is more than willing and capable of doing such a thing? All of us are quite familiar with the government's "no fly" or "flagged" airline passenger list. I can personally attest to the authenticity of this list, as airport officials in San Antonio, Texas, told me that I'm on it. I also made it to the "list of three" that were named in the MIAC report (the other two were Ron Paul and Bob Barr). And now I am on the SPLC list of "patriots" (not a compliment in the SPLC lexicon). Wow! I never realize how popular I was! (With the exception of Ron Paul, I'm probably on more lists than anyone in America.)
Who would ever have thought that the day would come in America when to speak up for freedom, constitutional government, and the principles expressed by our Founding Fathers would land one on a government watch list? Well, that day is here, my friend! No doubt, the major media and federal government--in order to further ostracize patriotic, God-fearing Americans--will use the SPLC patriot hit list as a vehicle to carry our country further down the road of oppression.
But what the radical left fearmongers at the Southern Poverty Law Center fail to realize is that the more they try to marginalize and ostracize American patriots such as you and me, the more they isolate themselves from America's future, because millions and millions of hard-working, God-fearing, liberty-loving Americans are not going to sit back and let Morris Dees and his cabal of Big Government elitists destroy the principles of freedom in our land.
So, people such as Morris Dees can put us on as many lists as they like; we will never let liberty die! And the more they try to demonize us, the more people will want to join with us. You see, freedom burns deep and strong in the hearts of real Americans. And that's something the SPLC can't extinguish--no matter how many lists it makes!
In a report on its web site dated April 2010, entitled "Meet The Patriots,"
the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) profiled "36 individuals at the heart of the resurgent [patriot] movement." (In reading the list, I counted only 35 "patriots" and 5 "enablers" for a total of 40. I'm not really sure how the SPLC came up with "36." Perhaps their ability to count is commensurate with their ability to appreciate patriotism and liberty.) The SPLC (founded by Morris Dees) sees itself as America's guardian against "right wing militias" and loves to label conservatives and libertarians that it doesn't like as "extremists." The SPLC is one of the most ultra-liberal organizations in the country and should be dismissed as a group of paranoid leftists, not worthy of thought or mention.
The sad truth is, however, our federal government has chosen to exalt the SPLC to the position of being its "go to" source for information regarding "potential domestic terrorists" and similar characterizations. As a result, the information and reports disseminated by SPLC wind up in police reports and bulletins all over the United States. As an example, the SPLC had its fingerprints all over the infamous MIAC report. One could even question whether the SPLC is merely a front organization for Big Brother.
Therefore, it is highly likely that the report negatively profiling 40 American patriots will find its way into Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fusion centers and be distributed to police agencies all across the country. So, should the 40 people who find themselves targeted by SPLC expect some kind of government/police attention? Are we really that close to Nazi-style persecution in America? If the SPLC has its way, the answer seems to be a definite yes.
I remind readers that in the book, Nazi Justiz: Law of the Holocaust (page 3), there were five steps to Hitler's plans for the destruction of European Jews. Step 1: Identification/registration of the targeted group as a public menace. Step 2: Ostracism of the targeted persons. Step 3: property confiscation. Step 4: Concentration of members into geographical locations. Step 5: Annihilation. In this latest report, SPLC seems quite willing to accomplish steps 1 and 2.
Here are the 40 names that are targeted in the SPLC report (and guess who is listed at the very top? Yours truly):
1. Chuck Baldwin, Pastor, Radio Broadcaster, Syndicated Columnist, 2008 Constitution Party Presidential nominee.
2. Joe Banister, former IRS special agent, tax protester.
3. Martin "Red" Beckman, tax protester
4. Catherine Bleish, head of the Liberty Restoration Project.
5. Chris Broughton, Second Amendment advocate, member of "We The People" group.
6. Bob Campbell, head of American Grand Jury.
7. Robert Crooks, Army veteran, retired commercial fisherman, anti-illegal immigration proponent.
8. Joseph Farah, CEO of World Net Daily
9. Gary Franchi, producer of "Camp FEMA: American Lockdown," national director of RestoreTheRepublic.com.
10. Al Garza, head of the Patriot's Coalition, an anti-illegal immigration group.
11. Ted Gunderson, retired FBI agent.
12. John Hassey, "The public face of Alabama's militia movement in the late 1990s," says SPLC.
13. Alex Jones, Radio Talk Show host.
14. Devvy Kidd, "prolific columnist, blogger, and public speaker."
15. Larry Kilgore, telecommunications consultant, former US Senate candidate from Texas, pro-secession advocate.
16. Cliff Kincaid, syndicated columnist and author, editor of AIM Report (Accuracy in Media's publication), founder and president of America's Survival, Inc., a UN watchdog group.
17. Mark Koernke, associated with the now-defunct Michigan Militia.
18. Richard Mack, former Graham County, Arizona, Sheriff, author, and public speaker.
19. Jack McLamb, former Phoenix, Arizona, police officer, author, and public speaker.
20. John McManus, former member of the US Marine Corps, president of the John Birch Society.
21. Daniel New, father of Michael New (the Army medic who refused to wear a UN uniform), author, public speaker.
22. Norm Olson, founder of the now-defunct Michigan Militia.
23. Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America.
24. Stewart Rhodes, Army veteran and Yale Law School graduate, founder of Oath Keepers.
25. Jon Roland, computer specialist, founder of the Constitution Society.
26. Luke Rudkowski, founder We Are Change.
27. Robert "Bob" Schultz, founder of We The People.
28. Joel Skousen, editor, World Affairs Brief.
29. Jim Stachowiak, Radio Talk Show host, "Longtime militia organizer,"
claims SPLC.
30. John Stadtmiller, founder, Republic Broadcasting Network.
31. Orly Taitz, California attorney, a leader in the push to make President Obama disclose his US birth certificate.
32. Amanda Teegarden, executive director of Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise.
33. Mike Vanderboegh, anti-Obama health care activist.
34. Paul Venable, former candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives.
35. Edwin Vieira, Jr., attorney, author, proponent of constitutional State militias, lecturer.
36. Michele Bachmann, US Representative from Minnesota.
37. Glenn Beck, Fox News Channel TV host.
38. Paul Broun, medical doctor, US Representative from Georgia.
39. Andrew Napolitano, attorney, former State judge in New Jersey, Fox News Channel legal analyist, lecturer.
40. Ron Paul, former member of the US Air Force, medical doctor, US Representative from Texas, 2008 Republican candidate for President.
See the SPLC report at:
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/the-patriots?page=0,0
The SPLC, no doubt, sees each person on the above list as being a leader of the "radical right," a "conspiracist," and "antigovernment." But understand, the SPLC makes its living off of big-government, leftist ideology. To say it is a shill for Big Government Liberalism is an understatement. The SPLC is so radical it makes the ACLU look conservative!
Again, this SPLC report would not even merit a mention (much less an entire column) except for the fact that the SPLC has become a source of information fuelling anti-freedom hysteria for countless bureaucrats at the DHS. Add this to the previously exposed MIAC and DHS reports, and the Army major's report blaming "millennialist" Christians for much of the ills of the world, and a disturbing trend is quickly developing: so-called right-wing ANYTHING is being targeted and demonized as a "public menace."
But the lists that you and I are not seeing are even more disturbing.
Joel Skousen quotes (Radar Magazine's) Christopher Ketcham's The Last Roundup as asking if the federal government is "compiling a secret enemies list of citizens who could face detention?" He goes on to say, "A number of former government employees and intelligence sources with independent knowledge of domestic surveillance operations claim the program that caused the flap between [former assistant attorney general under John Ashcroft, James] Comey and the White House was related to a database of Americans who might be considered potential threats in the event of a national emergency.
Sources familiar with the program say that the government's data gathering has been overzealous and probably conducted in violation of federal law and the protection from unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.
"A veteran CIA intelligence analyst who maintains active high-level clearances and serves as an advisor to the Department of Defense in the field of emerging technology tells Radar that during the 2004 hospital room drama [between former Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Attorney General Ashcroft, in an attempt by Card to coerce a very ill Ashcroft to authorize President Bush's secretive domestic spying programs as his assistant--and acting--attorney general had refused to do so], James Comey expressed concern over how this secret database was being used 'to accumulate otherwise private data on non-targeted U.S. citizens for use at a future time.'"
The report further states, "According to a senior government official who served with high-level security clearances in five administrations, 'There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived "enemies of the state" almost instantaneously.'" At this point, Skousen noted, "And that is precisely why the census bureau took a GPS coordinate on every front door in America, secretly linking this to dissidents and their known addresses."
This database of Americans who are perceived to be potential "enemies of the state" goes by the code name "Main Core." And according to the report, "One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.
"Officials at the Department of Homeland Security begin actively scrutinizing people who--for a tremendously broad set of reasons--have been flagged in Main Core as potential domestic threats [sound familiar?]. Some of these individuals might receive a letter or a phone call, others a request to register with local authorities. Still others might hear a knock on the door and find police or armed soldiers outside. In some instances, the authorities might just ask a few questions. Other suspects might be arrested and escorted to federal holding facilities, where they could be detained without counsel until the state of emergency is no longer in effect."
The report also noted that former Assistant Attorney General James Comey "had concluded that the use of that 'Main Core' database compromised the legality of the overall NSA domestic surveillance project. 'If Main Core does exist,' says Philip Giraldi, a former CIA counterterrorism officer and an outspoken critic of the agency, 'the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is its likely home. If a master list is being compiled, it would have to be in a place where there are no legal issues--the CIA and FBI would be restricted by oversight and accountability laws--so I suspect it is at DHS, which as far as I know operates with no such restraints.' Giraldi notes that DHS already maintains a central list of suspected terrorists and has been freely adding people who pose no reasonable threat to domestic security."
So, is there a secret list of 8 million "unfriendly" Americans kept by DHS (if there is, dear reader, you are probably on it!)? Does anyone reading this column doubt that our federal government is more than willing and capable of doing such a thing? All of us are quite familiar with the government's "no fly" or "flagged" airline passenger list. I can personally attest to the authenticity of this list, as airport officials in San Antonio, Texas, told me that I'm on it. I also made it to the "list of three" that were named in the MIAC report (the other two were Ron Paul and Bob Barr). And now I am on the SPLC list of "patriots" (not a compliment in the SPLC lexicon). Wow! I never realize how popular I was! (With the exception of Ron Paul, I'm probably on more lists than anyone in America.)
Who would ever have thought that the day would come in America when to speak up for freedom, constitutional government, and the principles expressed by our Founding Fathers would land one on a government watch list? Well, that day is here, my friend! No doubt, the major media and federal government--in order to further ostracize patriotic, God-fearing Americans--will use the SPLC patriot hit list as a vehicle to carry our country further down the road of oppression.
But what the radical left fearmongers at the Southern Poverty Law Center fail to realize is that the more they try to marginalize and ostracize American patriots such as you and me, the more they isolate themselves from America's future, because millions and millions of hard-working, God-fearing, liberty-loving Americans are not going to sit back and let Morris Dees and his cabal of Big Government elitists destroy the principles of freedom in our land.
So, people such as Morris Dees can put us on as many lists as they like; we will never let liberty die! And the more they try to demonize us, the more people will want to join with us. You see, freedom burns deep and strong in the hearts of real Americans. And that's something the SPLC can't extinguish--no matter how many lists it makes!
The rats scurry as the ship goes down.
The best thing the other Supervisor Paul Griffin can hope to do right now is to join Supervisor's John Bell Crosby and DI Smith in ordering a full audit of Madison County's books, and hopes the voters reward him for his change of heart. Either that, or he can take the path of Administrator Mark Houston and jump ship. Otherwise, Griffin can expect to drown with the rest of the rats.
From the Madison County Journal:
Bill Murphy was the highest paid charity bingo director in the state until regulators determined he was operating the dump for personal gain and shut him down.
The Secretary of State ordered the charity shut and levied fines totaling $50,000 against the organization and Murphy.
FAIM paid Murphy $155,000 in 2008 and spent only $22,000 on actual charitable giving, testimony showed.
Murphy's actions are indefensible, but look who's lurking around the bingo hall, District 2 Madison County Supervisor Tim Johnson, the charity's PR hack and their former lobbyist.
Murphy's attorney, Eric Hamer, - who happens to be the attorney for the Madison County Board of Supervisors, Murphy's former employer, as it would happen - argued during hearings that Murphy's compensation shouldn't be in question, claiming there are no statutory rules governing such things. Perhaps, but decent people have morals and principles.
To make things even more interesting, an asset sharing agreement FAIM had with Lynn Johnson, Tim Johnson's wife, was the red flag for regulators, they said.
What kind of confidence can Mississippians have in charities - or our elected public officials (Tim Johnson is president of the Madison County Board of Supervisors) -with these kinds of shenanigans going on?
If bingogate wasn't enough of a scandal, Johnson has been threatening to sue the state Department of Transportation over the failed $37 million Reunion interchange the county was going to build and give to the federal government.
Nearly 300 Madison countians showed up at a regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors in January to protest "wasteful and misdirected spending" of county tax dollars, including Reunion.
Examiners from the State Auditor's Office are currently reviewing engineering contracts connected to Reunion. The real meat of that story will be found in the subcontracts the county engineer arranged.
Bill Murphy should be ashamed and so should Tim Johnson and Eric Hamer.
What kind of people stand behind the kind of fraud Murphy was committing?
Read the entire Editorial at the Madison County Journal
The wheels are coming off. Ain't it GRAND?
Local Blogger digging in Madison County Supervisors backgrounds uncovers potential ethics violations by Karl Banks
Kingfish over at Jackson Jambalaya continues his investigative digging in Madison County Supervisors dealings, and it looks like he may have found where some of the bodies are buried. It appears Supervisor Karl Banks buried some of them in shallow graves.
Former Bush advisor says GOP should back immigration reform
By CHARLES C. FOSTER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
The political and economic climate in our country is right for American leaders to fix our broken immigration system. Although they don't always agree on the solutions, Democrats and Republicans are in a position to forge a much-needed bipartisan consensus that a problem exists, and our Texas congressional delegation should take the lead on a bipartisan basis. No state or city is more affected by immigration than Texas and Houston. And as unfortunate as it is, the current U.S. economic recession has resulted in an exodus of illegal workers who came to our country for jobs that now don't exist. Before the economy resumes steam and new jobs again attract large numbers of workers across our borders, it is essential we confront the problem.
Given the state of our economy, President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress know they cannot pass immigration reform without significant Republican support, and that has been a tough sell to date. GOP congressional members will tell you that their base strongly opposes illegal immigration and are angry when illegal immigrants commit crimes and abuse our social services.
Unfortunately, merely being angry about illegal immigration does not constitute effective policy. Republican leaders should recognize that no one supports illegal immigration and we all agree that with an estimated 12 million illegal aliens in the United States, some break the law and use health care and other services (even if actual statistics show that they do so in percentages lower than other groups in society).
A Republican policy of opposing both illegal immigration and at the same time any meaningful immigration reform results in a dangerous affirmation of the status quo. That is a critical point missed by radio and TV commentators and other shrill anti-immigrant groups that fail to offer realistic answers. When pressed in one of the GOP presidential primary debates about his proposal for the estimated 12 million illegal workers here, Mitt Romney could only say that if elected president, he would issue an executive order giving all illegal aliens 90 days to depart the country. Ultimately, all sides agree that having risked their lives and treasure, illegal workers will not leave on their own and it would be logistically impossible, inhumane and economically insane for the government to round up 12 million men, women and children and deport them.
Just building a longer, higher, more durable fence is no answer, either. Candidly, fence contractors and Border Patrol officials concede that no barrier is foolproof. Illegal aliens will climb over, around, under and even through any fence that is built as long as there is the powerful magnet of higher-paying jobs in the U.S. Ironically, as we have increased border enforcement over the last several decades, the primary beneficiary has been organized crime, which simply charges a greater premium for smuggling services. Further, a harder border only fences illegal immigrants inside our country rather than allowing them to return home and maintain family ties. Legislation mandating use of electronic verification (E-Verify) of all new hires by itself would only push illegal workers further into the underground economy.
Any serious proposal to deal with illegal immigration should include the following points:
* A reliable forge-proof identity document. To dry up the job magnet, Congress should provide a uniform forgery-proof biometric document in the form of an upgraded Social Security card so employers can determine on the spot who is authorized to work. Congress failed in 1986 when it designated the easily copied Social Security card as the primary document to establish U.S. work authorization and did not require that it be upgraded. At the same time, Congress should increase penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants and address the independent-contractor loopholes that allow employers to bypass verification laws. That alone would be far more effective than quadrupling the Border Patrol.
• Temporary worker program. Most illegal workers who come to get a job only want to work, save money and go home. Yet there is no viable temporary worker program for semi- or low-skilled workers. Congress should restrict same to applicants from North America, thus permitting circular immigration, and protect U.S. workers by requiring proof of prior recruitment of U.S. workers at the prevailing wage.
• Registration of illegal workers. Congress should require those here illegally to come forward within a reasonable time frame to be identified, registered and fingerprinted. Those without criminal records would be eligible for an interim status that would allow them to work, pay taxes and travel in and out of the country. Such status could be extended only upon payment of a fine for violating U.S. immigration law and back taxes and registering in English-language and civics courses. Further extension would also be conditioned upon completion of the latter.
• No automatic citizenship. No one would be allowed to cut in line and apply for lawful permanent residency (LPR) or so-called green-card status ahead of someone who has already legally applied through family ties or a U.S. employer. Thus, at best it would take eight to 12 years to establish eligibility to apply for LPR. Furthermore, with interim status and authorization to work in the United States and travel home, many would never seek to apply for LPR. Those who did would not be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship for another five years. Based upon current statistics, a smaller percentage of those individuals who achieve LPR would gradually apply for citizenship. Thus, immigration reform would not result in an increase in any new voters in our country for decades, but their U.S. citizen children will vote.
By being viewed as obstructionists, Republicans risk alienating Hispanic-American voters who interpret the heated anti-immigrant rhetoric as anti-Hispanic. In the not-too-distant future, this growing generation of Texans will attain political power just as other ethnic groups did in the past. While those voters share many values with the Republican Party, they could condemn the Republican Party in Texas to minority status for years unless it can find a way to support realistic, common-sense immigration reform.
Foster was the senior immigration policy adviser to President George W. Bush during the 2000 and 2004 elections and today chairs the Immigration Task Force of the Greater Houston Partnership.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
A Lesson In Deflection
Unless someone comes forth to claim they witnessed the Mayor pointing a gun at Skinner's head and demanding he sign, this is much ado about nothing. In fact, if Madison County, under the leadership of Supervisor Johnson, would uphold their end of the deal on the Reunion Parkway project and complete it by December of 2011, then the money would be returned to Mr. Skinner as the deal clearly states (posted on Jackson Jambalaya). Then again if the State Auditor would subpoena the UNapproved subcontracts for enviromental work that Engineer Warnock ordered and then way overbilled for on the Reunion project and a couple of others, it would go a long way to help return money to the county that could then be used on construction.
It is a typical response from Johnson: create a problem by using your position to provide a loop hole for your friends to gouge the taxpayer, while shifting money from the original project to others which in turn slows the project (further providing your buddy the engineer with a chance to re-engineer the project). And then, when it comes to light what you have done and bites you in the rear end, blame it on the accuser. Of course the tactic is used often by the other two Supes in the voting block of three, as well, as my friend Kingfish at Jackson Jambalaya reports and is busy uncovering today.
The lack of ethics in DC ain't got nothing on us!
CLASSY!
Related Posts: Madison County Supervisor's lobbying adds to county's woes
Monday, April 19, 2010
Obama's likely nominee will have to defend stance on military recruitment
Foes may target Kagan's stance on military recruitment at Harvard
Four months after becoming dean of Harvard Law School, Elena Kagan sent an e-mail to students and faculty lamenting that military recruiters had arrived on campus, once again, in violation of the school's anti-discrimination policy. But under government rules, she wrote, the entire university would jeopardize its federal aid unless the law school helped the recruiters, despite the armed forces' ban on openly gay members.
"This action causes me deep distress," Kagan wrote that morning in October 2003. "I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy." It is, she said, "a profound wrong -- a moral injustice of the first order."
Her stance put Kagan squarely in sync with professors at Harvard and other law schools -- and wholly out of sync with the Supreme Court, which later ruled unanimously that the schools were wrong. Four years after that ruling, Kagan, now the U.S. solicitor general, is a leading candidate to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Conservatives have signaled that if President Obama nominates her, her stance on this issue -- like perhaps no other in her career -- dangles as ripe fruit that opponents would grab to thwart her confirmation.
"For someone who has been so guarded on so many issues, she used strikingly extreme rhetoric. 'Moral injustice of the first order' would seem fit for something like the Holocaust," said Ed Whelan, president of the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center. "This is one issue that provides some jurisprudential clues as to how much her reading of the law will be biased by her policy views. If she is the nominee, that is an angle that I would press."
The Washington Post
"This action causes me deep distress," Kagan wrote that morning in October 2003. "I abhor the military's discriminatory recruitment policy." It is, she said, "a profound wrong -- a moral injustice of the first order."
Her stance put Kagan squarely in sync with professors at Harvard and other law schools -- and wholly out of sync with the Supreme Court, which later ruled unanimously that the schools were wrong. Four years after that ruling, Kagan, now the U.S. solicitor general, is a leading candidate to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Conservatives have signaled that if President Obama nominates her, her stance on this issue -- like perhaps no other in her career -- dangles as ripe fruit that opponents would grab to thwart her confirmation.
"For someone who has been so guarded on so many issues, she used strikingly extreme rhetoric. 'Moral injustice of the first order' would seem fit for something like the Holocaust," said Ed Whelan, president of the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center. "This is one issue that provides some jurisprudential clues as to how much her reading of the law will be biased by her policy views. If she is the nominee, that is an angle that I would press."
The Washington Post
Corn farmers enjoy nice weather, increased acreage
Mississippi’s 2010 corn crop is off to a promising start after recent sunny skies and favorable soil conditions gave farmers a chance to plant and manage their fields.
“The nice weather during the past week has allowed a tremendous amount of field work to get done, particularly in North Mississippi where farmers can finally begin planting corn,” said grain crops agronomist Erick Larson of the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “This was the first good weather that many farmers have had in a while.”
Corn planting is rapidly concluding in many areas of the state where rainfall has been light for a few weeks. Young corn plants are growing quickly in response to warm weather, and growers are applying fertilizer and preparing for the next phase of production.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts Mississippi will be one of eight states to increase corn acreage in 2010. The planting intentions report estimate for the state corn crop is 800,000 acres.
Mississippi Business Journal
“The nice weather during the past week has allowed a tremendous amount of field work to get done, particularly in North Mississippi where farmers can finally begin planting corn,” said grain crops agronomist Erick Larson of the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “This was the first good weather that many farmers have had in a while.”
Corn planting is rapidly concluding in many areas of the state where rainfall has been light for a few weeks. Young corn plants are growing quickly in response to warm weather, and growers are applying fertilizer and preparing for the next phase of production.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts Mississippi will be one of eight states to increase corn acreage in 2010. The planting intentions report estimate for the state corn crop is 800,000 acres.
Mississippi Business Journal
Madison County Administrator's Resignation: Timing is Everything.
Makes you wonder if the ongoing audit has anything to do with it, huh? Houston is the man in charge of making sure the county books are in order with respect to roadwork and, considering he just took the job three months ago, it seems like a hasty retreat. It was Houston who sent out an email to the Board of Supervisors before the State Auditor's Audit Response Team moved in to "review" some subcontracts, giving the Board Pres and his buddy Warnock a chance to get their press releases ready.
Houston resigns as County Administrator
Madison County Administrator Mark Houston will resign at the end of the month to take a job in the private sector.
Houston offered his resignation to the Board of Supervisors Monday with members saying they were unsure when or if they would name a permanent replacement for Houston.
He called the position one of the most rewarding experiences of his life, but said the opportunity to work in the private sector was to good to pass up.
Houston was named County Administrator in January after former County Administrator Donnie Caughman retired.
The Madison County Journal
Extramarital sex, earthquakes and blindness.
The warning that "you'll go blind" also extended to just about anything a grandparent or elderly person didn't want you to do.
Looks like the old timers in Iran have decided the blindness trick wasn't doing it so they have moved on to outright Armageddon.
Extramarital sex fuels earthquakes, warns Iran cleric
A SENIOR Iranian cleric has claimed that dolled-up women incite extramarital sex, causing more earthquakes in Iran, a country that straddles several fault lines, newspapers reported today.
"Many women who dress inappropriately ... cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes," Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi told worshippers at overnight prayers in Tehran.
"Calamities are the result of people's deeds," he was quoted as saying by reformist Aftab-e Yazd newspaper.
"We have no way but conform to Islam to ward off dangers."
The Islamic dress code is mandatory in Iran, which has been under clerical rule for more than three decades.
The Australian
Undoubtedly, there is also a connection to Global Warming. Maybe all those dolled-up women are causing men to get "heated" which in turn is causing the earth to warm, and the Earthquakes to wreak more havoc.
Today's Quakes Deadlier Than In Past
Study: Seismic Activity 5 Times More Energetic Than 20 Years Ago Because Of Global Warming
(AP) New research compiled by Australian scientist Dr. Tom Chalko shows that global seismic activity on Earth is now five times more energetic than it was just 20 years ago.
The research proves that destructive ability of earthquakes on Earth increases alarmingly fast and that this trend is set to continue, unless the problem of "global warming" is comprehensively and urgently addressed.
The analysis of more than 386,000 earthquakes between 1973 and 2007 recorded on the US Geological Survey database proved that the global annual energy of earthquakes on Earth began increasing very fast since 1990.
Dr. Chalko said that global seismic activity was increasing faster than any other global warming indicator on Earth and that this increase is extremely alarming.
CBS
More comparisons to '94
Mistrust in Government: 'Perfect Storm'
Last time the weather got this bad (1980 and 1994), big things happened.
Only 22 percent of all Americans surveyed say they trust the government in Washington almost always or most of the time -- among the lowest measures in half a century - according to a new Pew Research Center survey released tonight.
The results point to "a perfect storm'' of public unrest, Pew reports -- "a dismal economy, an unhappy public, (a) bitter, partisan-based backlash and epic discontent with Congress and elected officials.
There have been political ramifications in the past when the public mood grew this sour: In 1980, Ronald Reagan unseated President Jimmy Carter. In 1994, the GOP won the House.
The current level of public skepticism was matched previously only in the periods leading up to both events -- from 1992 to 1995 (reaching a low of 17 percent trust in government in the summer of 1994), and from 1978 to 1980 (bottoming out at 25 percent in 1980).
The Swamp
Only 22 percent of all Americans surveyed say they trust the government in Washington almost always or most of the time -- among the lowest measures in half a century - according to a new Pew Research Center survey released tonight.
The results point to "a perfect storm'' of public unrest, Pew reports -- "a dismal economy, an unhappy public, (a) bitter, partisan-based backlash and epic discontent with Congress and elected officials.
There have been political ramifications in the past when the public mood grew this sour: In 1980, Ronald Reagan unseated President Jimmy Carter. In 1994, the GOP won the House.
The current level of public skepticism was matched previously only in the periods leading up to both events -- from 1992 to 1995 (reaching a low of 17 percent trust in government in the summer of 1994), and from 1978 to 1980 (bottoming out at 25 percent in 1980).
The Swamp
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