Mystery Man Resides in Dallas, TX
The National Enquirer released more than just the photos of John Edwards holding Frances Quinn Hunter yesterday [: it also revealed more clues to the identity of the man who, the Enquirer claims, funneled the hush money to Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young.
But, the Enquirer released the details in their print edition only, which hit parts of the country yesterday. One area of the country which doesn't have the new Enquirer yet is our own. But through the efforts of one reader--who wishes remain anonymous and who purchased a copy of the newest Enquirer for us!--that went beyond and above the call of duty, we did obtain some details about the Edwards "hush money man".
We won't spill all the Enquirer's beans here; after all, David Perel, the Enquirer's Editor-in-Chief, has to recoup the investment of a year's worth of reporting on the story.
It ain't cheap chasing around people who don't want to be found.
However, we will report a few of the Enquirer's findings about a man, about whom an earlier Enquirer story would only refer to as, "a wealthy colleague who was closely tied to the Edwards’ campaign. This same man is also shoveling cash to Edwards’ pal and former aide Andrew Young – who tried to take the heat off the ex-Senator by claiming he is the father of Rielle’s baby."
The Enquirer also wrote last week on its website [EDWARDS' HU$H MONEY TO MISTRESS]: “A super-rich pal – who was closely involved with the campaign finances – is helping John. It’s likely this man doesn’t know all the dirty details of John’s extramarital affair, but is acting out of loyalty and is not asking a lot of questions – only writing the checks,” revealed a source very close to the situation."
The newest Enquirer reveals more clues to the man's identity--to entice MSM reporters who have thus far proved resistant to investigating and reporting on the story, perhaps?
A "wealthy Democratic fundraiser" from "Dallas, TX" is part of what the Enquirer reveals.
The story also states that besides the $15,000/month payments to Rielle Hunter and daughter, F.Q. Hunter, that $20,000 is being given to former Edwards' operative, Andrew Young and his family.
The details of the Enquirer's attempt to question the man, when and how much money the wealthy Edwards' backer raised?
Go buy your own copy of the Enquirer.
Any MSM reporter with an Enquirer and an Internet connection ought to be able to run down the identity of the man in a heartbeat.
Doug Ross?
by Mondoreb
image: National Enquirer
Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!"
--Famous denial, Luke 22:60
Media Circulates False Story that Edwards Denied Affair in December
National Enquirer's December Allegations NEVER Denied
The Media's "Don't Ask Edwards, He Won't Tell" Policy
Edwards' Denials After November 29: A MSM Urban Legend
Perhaps history's three most famous denials were issued by the apostle Peter on the night that Jesus was arrested. Thus, Peter issued three more denials in one night than John Edwards has made after November 29, 2007; i.e., none.
One recurring theme turning up for Mainstream Media apologists in the last several days goes something on the order of, "Edwards denied this story in December". Variations range from yesterday's Raleigh Telegram's insistent "Edwards continuously denied the accusations," [Enquirer Publishes Blurry 'Photo' Of John Edwards] to Deceiver's July 28 "The John Edwards Non-Scandal Keeps Getting Not-Weirder":
Then, last December, Edwards denied having an affair and an illegitimate child with Hunter after the National Enquirer spotted her, visibly pregnant, living in North Carolina.
One British newspaper repeated the "Edwards' December Denial" recently. Yesterday, at NRO, Byron York cited--inadvertently, no doubt--the EDD meme. From "John Edwards: The Picture of a Scandal" (emphasis added):
Last December, when the Enquirer first named Hunter, Edwards did deny it. A couple of months earlier, when the Enquirer published a thinly-sourced story claiming that Edwards was "caught in a shocking mistress scandal that could wreck his campaign," Edwards quite emphatically denied it. "The story is false," he said then. "It's completely untrue, ridiculous. Anyone who knows me knows that I have been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years."
As our own LBG put it, in "John Edwards Scandal: Where in the World is John Edwards?":
The MSM turned a blind eye to the alleged Edwards' affair so it was a surprise when the story resurfaced in November in the Daily News. On November 29, the Daily News' Rush and Molloy published "Tabloid's affair rumor dispelled, says John Edwards". The article wrote that "John Edwards believes he's stared down the National Enquirer".The article mentioned the Enquirer's promise to follow-up the initial Edwards affair story on October 10. The Daily News cited an Enquirer insider who admitted "there's a lot of smoke, but no smoking gun". The Daily News also quoted Edwards who claimed the story "disappeared because it's made up".
In December, a two-line item was tagged onto the end of one report that "an unnamed reporter in South Carolina" asked Edwards about it and he responded with the deflection, "Tabloid gossip" and "trashy lies". DBKP believes this occurred during Edwards' Christmas campaigning break, when he was back in North Carolina
Is this hair-splitting? Maybe, but that incident was no denial.
This point is important: it allows the those in the major media to excuse what was their complete failure to fulfill their adversarial duties for nearly eight months. Once the Enquirer allegations went from the general (October Enquirer story) to the specific (December), the press didn't ask, Edwards didn't tell--at least until July 23.
The Democrats could have save a pound of August headaches with just an ounce of December MSM investigative legwork.
As we stated earlier today in "John Edwards Scandal: Dems Worry, Call on Edwards To Come Forward":
It may be noted that Democrats could have avoided all of this–if just one major news organization would have investigated the easily-checked facts of the National Enquirer’s December edition of the scandal. [Curious Circumstances Excite No Curiosity in the Mainstream Media and The Edwards Scandal, The Press, The Enquirer and the Blogosphere]Back in December, in the above stories DBKP wondered why not one reporter had asked Edwards, “Do you deny you’ve been in telephone contact with Rielle Hunter since she found out she was pregnant?” Hunter, at that time, was living within five miles of the Edwards campaign HQ in Chapel Hill, NC, in the house of an Edwards’ backer, driving a BMW registered to former Edwards Director of Finance, Andrew Young–all checkable facts.
But not one reporter thought it curious enough to investigate then.
In doing the research for this article, we found several "December denials" sprinkled throughout the sparse MSM coverage of the last few days. We can find no such proof that Edwards was even asked about the Rielle Hunter affair in December.
We waited, in vain in December for that one brave MSM reporter to ask Edwards about the National Enquirer's allegations. Astonished that none did not, we wrote about it in December several times.
The waiting continued, though Edwards was in the news as a possible VP pick or cabinet selection.
Our waiting was over July 23, when Edwards gave his now-infamous video "non-denial".
[Edwards Love Child: Worst Denial Video Ever]
Edwards denials came in October, with the last one on November 29, when he felt he had covered his tracks and that the Enquirer was bluffing about the affair.
The "continuous denials" and "December denials" that are being bandied about in the press as reasons they didn't investigate Edwards eight month ago?
They have all the making of a Mainstream Media urban legend: they sound good, but they simply aren't true.
It's a matter of record--for any reporter wanting to investigate.
THE BUZZ
Speaking of denial...
A few days ago, Mickey Kaus, Slate, wrote a handy "Why write about the Edwards scandal?
Here's a short clip-'n'-save response to those (including many friends) who argue the Edwards scandal shouldn't be pursued--or at least pursued too vigorously-- even if it is true:**
In the ** footnote to the above, Kaus outlines what might be the "Six Stages of MSM/Dem/Edwards' Supporter Denial".
**--For purposes of this item, I'm assuming we're reaching the next-to-final stage of the natural progression in cases like this: 1) Too horrible and shocking; it can't possibly be true; 2) It's not true; 3) You can't prove it's true; 4) Why are you trying to prove it's true? 5) It's disgusting that you've proved it's true; 6) What's the big deal anyway? ...
A check of the comments section, on any Internet locale that has written about the Edwards scandal since December, will quickly confirm Kaus' six stages. In fact, you can tell when pro-Edwards readers learned about the story by which stage of denial they were in when they penned their outraged comments.
Don Surber, in "Dems do what MSM won’t", wonders--most reasonably, we think:
When Edwards is not in Denver later this month, I wonder how ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, NBC, and PBS will explain his absence.
Oh yeah: John Who?
by Mondoreb
images: National Enquirer
"If there is not an explanation that’s satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is 'no,' he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention."
--Don Fowler, a former Democratic National Committee chair, as reported in Tabloid's claims threaten Edwards' role at party's convention
Distress Could Have Been Avoided if Press Had Done Their Job
The meter is running for John Edwards to answer the National Enquirer's allegations that he fathered an illegitimate daughter, lied about it and orchestrated an "elaborate coverup".
And, with the Democrat National Convention less than three weeks away, it was prominent Democrats who started that meter running yesterday.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, Gary Pearce, the strategist who ran Edwards' 1998 Senate race, was blunt:
“He absolutely does have to [resolve it]. If it’s not true, he has to issue a stronger denial,” said Gary Pearce, the Democratic strategist who ran Edwards’ 1998 Senate race. “It’s a very damaging thing. ... The big media has tried to be responsible and handle this with kid gloves, but it’s clearly getting ready to bust out. If it’s not true, he’s got to stand up and say, ‘This is not true. That is not my child and I’m going to take legal action against the people who are spreading these lies.’ It’s not enough to say, ‘That’s tabloid trash.’ ”
Former DNC Chair, Don Fowler was succinct on whether Edwards would be accorded a prime speaker's spot at the convention--which according to reports he was promised when he endorsed Barack Obama.
"If there is not an explanation that’s satisfactory, acceptable and meets high moral standards, the answer is 'no,' he would not be a prime candidate to make a major address to the convention."
What's changed the media picture in the last several days? Why is the Mainstream Media suddenly interested in reporting on the scandal now, just a few weeks away from the Democrat National Convention, when they wouldn't touch it for seven months ago?
Ryan Tate, at Gawker, sizes up the changed media scenery as though he were using X-Ray Specs [Exploding The Edwards Mistress Scandal]:
See, previously the Edwards scandal was just an irrelevant trifle about how the maybe next U.S. attorney general or even vice president had a baby with another woman while his wife died of cancer and possibly paid the mistress hush money and lied to everyone about it. But now it's about how a speaker at a meaningless convention might distract the media from covering the media event in the way media handlers prefer. In other words, a REAL story.
What's up for grabs now is a prime prime-time speaking spot and, as Tate explained, a distraction-less Denver convention. But where is Edwards?
LBG points out that Edwards has disappeared from public view since July 30. [John Edwards Scandal: Where in the World is John Edwards?]:
Despite the fact that Edwards was in the midst of promoting his Half in Ten national poverty tour, the July 30th appearance at the AARP symposium in Washington, D.C. was Edwards’ last known public appearance.
As she points out, Edwards' Washington sighting was only his third appearance since the morning of July 22, when he was cornered by the Enquirer's reporters at the Beverly Hilton.
A story on the McClatchy Newspapers wire listed several details sure to unsettle Democrats planning for Denver, "Tabloid's claims threaten Edwards' role at party's convention":
* Edwards evaded (The McClatchy story calls it "brushing off") reporters after a July 30 speech in Washington, D.C.--including at least two from McClatchy papers in North Carolina--by exiting through a side entrance normally reserved for kitchen help. [John Edwards Scandal: Edwards Bolts from Reporters Once Again]. Edwards reportedly answered journalists' questions at the time with "Sorry," and "I don't have time for that now."
* A reporter at the Edwards estate in North Carolina got no response Wednesday when he rang the buzzer.
* McClatchy reports Edwards' designated staffer for the press has yet to respond to email requests for an interview.
* The story also reports that "Friends and former staffers refuse to comment now, though they helped Edwards last fall by dismissing an October story in the Enquirer of a sexual relationship between Edwards and a campaign videographer when it initially broke."
* The Raleigh News & Observer reported that: "Sorry cannot help you on this one," wrote Jennifer Palmieri, a former top Edwards aide, in an e-mail Wednesday."
On July 26, The Politico reported [Everybody wants a piece of Obama] that "Edwards told others he was promised a prime time speaking slot when he endorsed Sen. Barack Obama". Traditionally, also-rans in the primaries are offered opportunities to speak to the convention.
It may be noted that Democrats could have avoided all of this--if just one major news organization would have investigated the easily-checked facts of the National Enquirer's December edition of the scandal. [Curious Circumstances Excite No Curiosity in the Mainstream Media and The Edwards Scandal, The Press, The Enquirer and the Blogosphere]
Back in December, in the above stories DBKP wondered why not one reporter had asked Edwards, "Do you deny you've been in telephone contact with Rielle Hunter since she found out she was pregnant?" Hunter, at that time, was living within five miles of the Edwards campaign HQ in Chapel Hill, NC, in the house of an Edwards' backer, driving a BMW registered to former Edwards Director of Finance, Andrew Young--all checkable facts.
But not one reporter thought it curious enough to investigate then.
In May, we revisited the Edwards story [John Edwards: Looking for Rielle Hunter’s Baby News, VP Love, After Obama Endorsement] and asked a few questions:
Mark, a commenter at New York Nerd, sounded absolutely like a fortune teller when, back on January 6 2008, he predicted that the MSM, which imposed a blackout on any news concerning the Hunter-Edwards affair, would only become interested in the affair IF Edwards won the Democrat nomination.
...
Might that not still hold true, if Edwards is the VP candidate again?
We’ll see.
The Mainstream Media has proved unusually resistant to any and all curiosity where the curiously “coincidental” happenings of the Rielle Hunter-John Edwards story is concerned. Maybe the “Two Americas” Edwards referred to meant the ordinary curiosity that most folks exhibit upon reading about the circumstances surrounding Rielle Hunter and John Edwards–and the Mainstream Media brand of decidedly selective curiosity about all things involving the Democrat Party.
Democrats will be right to wonder what might have been, if the press had fulfilled their adversarial duties back in December, when the Enquirer's Edwards allegations went from the general, featuring unnamed sources, to the specific, with dates, names and locations?
If only.
NOTES
* Byron York, NRO, talked to David Perel, Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer [John Edwards: Picture of a Scandal]. One topic was the Denver convention.
But is there anything else? Maybe the Democratic National Convention, coming up a little more than two weeks? “Obviously, the convention has not been our driving force behind the story,” Perel says. “The reporting takes however long it takes. It took seven months to go from the December story to the [Beverly Hilton] meeting….But if it happens to be a happy coincidence — if the story just happens to be breaking around that time, in terms of maximum exposure — “ Perel pauses. If the convention wasn’t part of the timetable before, it is now. The Edwards pictures might make a nice splash with the Democratic delegates gathered in Denver.
* A comment from Ping2007 on the News & Observer website to the story cited above:
"Diaper Change We Can Believe In"!
* Ann Coulter's response to the Washington Post reporter, who defended the total blackout on the National Enquirer's John Edwards' love child story, telling the Times of London: "Edwards is no longer an elected official and he is not running for office now. Don't expect wall-to-wall coverage." [Only His Hair Dresser Knows for Sure]
"Isn't there some level of coverage between "wall-to-wall" and "double-secret probation, delta-force level total news blackout" when it comes to a sex scandal involving a current Democratic vice presidential and Cabinet prospect?"
More Coulter licks against the MSM; among which was this gem:
But with a Democrat sex scandal, the L.A. Times is in a nail-biting competition with The Washington Post, The New York Times, ABC, NBC and CBS for the Pulitzer for "Best Suppressed Story."
At this point, it's a dead heat.
by Mondoreb
images: dncc; thumbs; National Enquirer; Technology360
Is the Democrat Party Suicidal?
The Conservative Punk
Is the Democratic Party suicidal?
The head of the DNC's religious outreach, Leah Daughtry who, in addition to believing that God finds abortion acceptable (something I find hard to swallow even as an agnostic), is a believer in the same Marxist "Black Liberation Theology" preached by Reverend Wright. This from a glowing puff piece about Ms. Daughtry from the New York Times:
Behind her as she preached, a simple wooden cross hung on a brick wall in the vaulted and sizable sanctuary of the church, which is headed by her father, Herbert Daughtry. A prison convert who served time in his early 20s for armed robbery and passing bad checks, Herbert Daughtry — whose father founded the church and whose grandfather and great-grandfather were also ministers — became the church's pastor 50 years ago, and today Leah was delivering the sermon as part of an anniversary celebration. Below the sanctuary, in the fellowship hall, a banner for slavery reparations proclaimed, "They Owe Us." Fliers recounted Herbert Daughtry's arrest, a few weeks earlier, as he led marchers protesting the not-guilty verdict in the police killing of Sean Bell, an unarmed black man. His ministry has always combined consuming spirituality with black liberation theology — the theology Jeremiah Wright invoked this spring to defend his controversial sermons — and zealous political activism. Leah holds these forces within her.
But wait there's more!
This New York-born Pentecostal minister is not only the head of their religious outreach, she's the CEO of the Democratic National Convention! That's right, the CEO of the DNC is a MARXIST!
Folks...do we really need any more proof?
by rizutto
Source: CEO of the Democratic National Convention, Black Liberation Theologist
images: DBKP.com
We Won!
The rest of the world apparently doesn't read the U.S. Mainstream Media.
Or listen to Congressional Democrats, Harry Reid or Code Pink, either.
Companies from around the world are rushing into Iraq to do business, due to the improved security climate in that country. Over a half-billion dollars worth of investments from countries that, in many cases, didn't support the U.S. in its efforts to improve Iraq's security.
European and Asian companies are beating their American rivals into Iraq now that security has improved the investment climate, Iraq and U.S. officials say.
"It's starting to turn … and the people who are getting in on the ground floor are not American," said Paul Brinkley, the Pentagon official who is leading U.S. efforts to help Iraq rebuild its economy. "It's ironic."
Foreign companies, including U.S. investors, have committed to deals worth about $500 million so far this year and Brinkley expects at least $1 billion in foreign investment by the end of the year.
What about China, who hamstrings the USA in the United Nations every chance it gets?
Even China is reaping profits from the U.S. investment in troops and treasure in Iraq.
USA Today goes on to note that "China has also aggressively pursued the Iraqi market, selling machinery to the government and electronic products to consumers."
Why aren't we celebrating this good news from Iraq?
Or, the questions should more properly be: Why isn't the MSM celebrating the good news from Iraq?
Millions of readers know the answer to that question. Or, rather: Millions of MSM ex-readers.
Apparently, that includes the CEOs of many foreign companies.
by Mondoreb
Sources:
* Foreign firms investing in Iraq
* Right Bias
* si
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
--author unknown
For the past 32 years, the election cycle has revolved in a most familiar way.
Every sixteen years, the Democrat candidate for president has been a relatively-unknown who campaigned as an agent of "CHANGE!"
"One reason why this constant mantra of “CHANGE! HOPE!” is so irritating is that they’ve been peddling this snake oil for decades."
--Charles Johnson, Little Green Footballs
Thirty-two years ago, it resulted in a squeaker of an election that wasn't decided until the next day. Jimmy Carter became just the second Democrat since 1944 to convince a majority of voters that the country needed "CHANGE!" Carter received 50.1% of the popular vote.
He was the last Democrat who's managed that trick.
Carter's term was disastrous and, after four years, the U.S. had had enough of his "CHANGE!"
Many Americans saw Carter as an inept leader who had failed to solve the worsening economic problems at home, and had made the US look weak abroad. The election was held on November 4, 1980. Ronald Reagan with running mate George Bush beat Carter by almost ten percentage points in the popular vote. Republicans also gained control of the Senate for the first time in twenty-five years on Reagan's coattails. The electoral college vote was a landslide, with 489 votes (representing 44 states) for Reagan and 49 votes for Carter (representing 6 states and the District of Columbia).
Sixteen years after Carter, Bill Clinton--another relatively-unknown Democrat--convinced 43% of American voters that the country needed a "CHANGE!"
In 1996, Clinton almost got a majority of the vote: 49.4% voted for him. Both times, Clinton won a comfortable margin in the Electoral College.
Clinton's "CHANGE!" included failed attempts to nationalize health care and forcing the military to change its policy on homosexuals, as well as an endless parade of scandals.
In the 2000 election, Clinton's vice-president Al Gore lost the election (he received 48.38% of the popular vote, though), even though the US economy--always an important issue--was strong.
Sixteen years after 1992, Barack Obama--once again another relatively-unknown Democrat--is campaigning on "CHANGE!"
Every sixteen years, another group of Americans--who are unfamiliar with Carter or Clinton and the results of their "CHANGE!"--enter the voting booths. It is this group of historically-ignorant voters that Democrats rely on to win national elections. 2008 is no different.
Carter and the "misery index" are unknown to these voters. That's the combination of the unemployment rate plus the rate of inflation. It reached 21.98% in June 1980, Carter's last year.
Currently, it is 8.94%.
"Monica Lewinsky", "Hillary's health care task force", "Buddhist temple fund raisers", "the selling of sensitive technology to China" and "the selling of the Lincoln Bedroom" are just names and phrases to those who were too young to recall the Clinton years. The consequences of Clinton's selling of US military technology to China are still being felt.
Newly declassified documents show that President Bill Clinton personally approved the transfer to China of advanced space technology that can be used for nuclear combat.
The documents show that in 1996 Clinton approved the export of radiation hardened chip sets to China. The specialized chips are necessary for fighting a nuclear war.
Two years ago, Democrats took over Congress by campaigning--again--on "CHANGE!"
What have been the results of Nancy's Pelosi's "CHANGE!"?
We'll let the reader come to his own conclusion.
The Obama campaign is wise to target these (mostly) young voters, who don't remember those previous promises "CHANGE!" from a relatively-unknown Democrat presidential candidate. If Obama is to be president, he absolutely needs these votes. If John McCain is to win, he needs some of these votes, as well as those of Independents.
It promises to be another close election.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
To paraphrase another famous quote by philosopher George Santayana which carries much the same message:
"Those who cannot remember "CHANGE!" are condemned to repeat it."
To paraphrase
by Mondoreb
Source:
* 1980 election in the United States
* Clinton Gave China Chips for Nuclear War
* Jimmy Carter 1976 Election Ad: Change!
“Nothing is easier, or more emotionally satisfying, than blaming high prices on those who charge them, rather than on those who cause them.”
-–Thomas Sowell
Pull up a chair, class is about to begin.
The subject: Failed Democrat Party Economic Theories 101
The instructor: Red Planet Cartoons
In "Rocket Scientists They're Not", RPC lets the facts speak for themselves.
The House approved $18 billion in new taxes on the largest oil companies Wednesday [Feb. 27] as Democrats cited record oil prices and rising gasoline costs in a time of economic troubles.
As detailed in last week's DBKP post, "Democrats Pass Largest Tax Hike in History", Democrats--and some Republicans--think you can tax a country into prosperity.
Red Planet demonstrates the sheer asininity of this idea by providing plenty of info.
One has to wonder: if taxing the oil companies an extra $18 billion is such a good idea, why not tax them twice that? Or three times the amount?
Of course, upon hearing these suggestions, there are readers on the Left who would smack the side of their heads and yell, "Brilliant!"
Apparently, some in the Democrat-controlled House, also.
They're not done reaching into your wallet yet. Rep. Dingell (D-MI) is hell-bent on adding 50 cents to the price of every gallon of gas sold. DBKP posted "Democrat Dingell Wants 50-cent Tax Increase on Gasoline" less than two weeks ago.
Red Planet gives Thomas Sowell the floor for a rebuttal of this economic nonsense and winds up with links to a plethora of related articles.
Ding ding ding!
Class is over.
Now go check out "Rocket Scientists They're Not" at Red Planet Cartoons.
Taking notes is optional.
by Mondoreb
image: Red Planet Cartoons
Sources:
* Rocket Scientists They're Not
* Democrat $18 Billion Oil Tax Hike: Taxing US into Prosperity Unlikely to Happen
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Back to DBKP at Blogger Front Page
Southern Border Security Should be Part of FISA Bill
There's a thought-provoking article at the National Republican Congressional Committee website on the continuing FISA battle in the House.
Our position is that FISA should be passed, but that as long as the southern U.S. border is an open door, why bother?
House Republicans could make a much more convincing argument if the porous southern border was attended to at the same time.
This article does hold the House Democrats' feet to the fire on the expired terrorist surveillance program.
We present the first part of it here. You can read the rest of the article, comment on the NRCC blog and/or sign the petition to try and get FISA moving again by clicking on the link at the end of this story.
The FISA Fight Continues
By: Karen Hanretty
National Republican Congressional Committee.
Communications Director, NRCC
It was over three weeks ago that House Democrats allowed the terrorist surveillance program to expire, and in the dead of the night on February 16, 2008, every single American became less safe. To make matters worse, the following week the House of Representatives skipped town for a ten-day vacation, leaving the security of our nation in limbo.
Since then, Democrats have maneuvered through desperate stall tactics to block the Protect America Act, knowing that it would pass with overwhelming bipartisan support like the Senate bill did earlier in February, by a vote of 68-29. Every member of the Blue Dog Coalition, which consists of 21 moderate House Democrats wrote to House Speaker Pelosi and said "the consequences of not passing such a measure could place our national security at undue risk" (Bloomberg, 2/13/08).
Why do the House Democrats want to keep our intelligence community weak? The answer is quite simple - many House Democrats have received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions by the trial lawyer lobby, and Democrats are working hard to prolong their boon to trial lawyers, who are tying up the court system with frivolous lawsuits against telecommunications companies who carried out their patriotic duty to assist in terrorist surveillance in the wake of September 11th.
It is unconscionable that the House Democrat Leadership would play politics with our national security. The Protect America Act expired almost a month ago and has hindered our ability to intercept conversations between those linked to suspected terrorist networks.
How long will House Democrats continue to leave our national security at risk by failing to pass the critical terrorist surveillance program that expired weeks ago? [Read the rest of "How Long will House Democrats Leave our Nation at Risk: The FIFA Fight", then Comment on NRCC blog and/or sign the petition.
Terrorist surveillance is needed.
With an open southern border that the government seems determined NOT to close, however, some Americans would question the expanded powers of FISA. Closing the southern border should be the number one priority of every House member sponsoring FISA.
It makes no sense to grant government increased surveillance powers in the name of protecting Americans against terrorists, when terrorists can waltz across the Mexican border at will.
Surveillance of those doing the surveillance is also needed to ensure that ordinary Americans are not caught up in the increased power of government.
As long as the government doesn't go fishing or use the information collected against non-terrorist Americans, then FISA should be passed with all due speed.
And building the southern fence should be part of this bill.
by Mondoreb
image: NRCC
Source: NRCC Newsletter
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
With all the moving, we don't want to forget the good folks over at Red Planet Cartoons. The latest RP theme is "The Prosperity Killers".
[T]he Democratic presidential candidates are presenting economic plans that are chock-full of ideas that reduce economic growth, rather than expanding it.
Of course, they know that.
They're also betting that they can hoodwink enough suckers to make it worth their political while. Rhetoric is the politician's weapon of choice.
Whenever a politician starts talking about "socking it to the rich", hold on to your wallet. One thing you'll never hear at a Clinton or Obama rally is how the top 5% wealthiest Americans pay over 50% of the taxes.
That wouldn't piss off any of their supporters.
It's a whole lot easier to fire up the troops if they're upset.
When Democrats talk about "soaking the rich", it always seems that working stiffs are the ones who end up getting wet.
As usual, Red Planet has some great links to back up the cartoon at the top of the post.
"The Prosperity Killers" is just a reminder of the old saying: TANSTAAFL.
There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
by Mondoreb
image: Red Planet Cartoons
Source: The Prosperity Killers
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
WAR!
1862 during the Civil War, some 14,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered at Fort Donelson, Tenn. (Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's victory earned him the nickname "Unconditional Surrender Grant.")
1942 German submarines attack Aruba oil refinery.
1945 American troops landed on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines during World War II.
TERRORISM
1992 Abbas Musawi leader of Hezbollah, assassinated.
2007 An Italian judge indicted 25 suspected CIA agents and a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel in the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian terror suspect. (The proceedings have been suspended pending a ruling on the Italian government's request to throw out the indictments.)
DISASTER
1994 6.5 earthquake strikes SE Sumatra, kills 200.
1996 11 people were killed in a fiery collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a Maryland commuter train in Silver Spring, Md.
1998 A China Airlines Airbus A300-600R trying to land in fog near Taipei, Taiwan, crashed, killing all 196 people on board and six people on the ground.
SNEEZE
600 Pope Gregory the Great decrees saying "God bless You" is the correct response to a sneeze.
WOMEN
1838 Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under conditions.
TRAFFIC
1980 Continuous traffic jam extends 176 km north of Lyons, France.
BLIMPS
1992 Former silver Goodyear blimps are now painted yellow & blue.
CLUBS
1905 1st US Esperanto club organizes in Boston.
NAZIS
1943 Sign on Munich facade "Out with Hitler! Long live freedom!" done by "White Rose" student group, caught on 2/18, beheaded on 2/22.
PATENTS
1932 1st patent issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree.
1937 DuPont Corp patents nylon, developed by employee Wallace H Carothers.
PIRATES!
1804 Lt. Stephen Decatur led a successful raid into Tripoli Harbor to burn the U.S. Navy frigate Philadelphia, which had fallen into the hands of pirates.
DOORS
1909 1st subway car with side doors goes into service (New York NY).
BEATLES
1968 Beatles George Harrison & John Lennon & wives fly to India for transcendental meditation study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
JEWS
1349 Jews are expelled from Burgsdorf Switzerland.
1917 1st synagogue in 425 years opens in Madrid.
SWIM
1963 1st round-trip swim of Strait of Messina, Italy (Mary Revell of US)
CHECKS
1659 1st known check (£400) (on display at Westminster Abbey).
LEVIATHAN
1938 US Federal Crop Insurance program authorized.
DEATH PENALTY
1956 Britain abolishes the death penalty.
RADICALS
1989 Jane Fonda & Tom Hayden separate after 16 years of marriage.
DEMONSTRATION
2003 More than 100,000 people demonstrated in the streets of San Francisco to protest a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq.
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
1948 1st newsreel telecast, "20th Century Fox-Movietone News" shown on NBC.
1950 Longest-running prime-time game show, "What's My Line" begins on CBS.
EXECUTED
1979 Nematullah Nassiri Iran General/head of Savak, executed.
DEMOCRATS
2007 The Democratic-controlled House issued a symbolic rejection of President Bush's decision to deploy more troops to Iraq, approving the nonbinding resolution by a vote of 246-182.
SOCIETIES
1868 The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City.
TOMBS
1923 The burial chamber of King Tutankhamen's recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt by English archaeologist Howard Carter.
DICTATORS
1959 Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.
ELECTROCUTED
1936 Tommy Ward South African cricket wicket keeper (23 Tests), electrocuted.
911
1968 the nation's first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated, in Haleyville, Ala.
RAMPAGE
1988, Seven people were shot to death during an office rampage in Sunnyvale, Calif., by a man who was obsessed with a co-worker. (The gunman, Richard Farley, is under sentence of death.)
SPORTS
2003 Michael Waltrip raced past leader Jimmie Johnson to win the rain-shortened Daytona 500 for the second time in three years.
BORN
1903 Edgar Bergen Chicago IL, ventriloquist (Charlie McCarthy).
1906 Vera Menchik Moscow, 1st official women's world chess champion (1927).
BIRTHDAYS
Singer Patty Andrews is 90. Kim Jong Il, the president of North Korea, is 66. Actor Jeremy Bulloch is 62. Actor Pete Postlethwaite is 62. Actor William Katt is 57. Actor LeVar Burton is 51. Actor-rapper Ice-T is 50. Actress Lisa Loring is 50. Tennis Hall of Fame player John McEnroe is 49. Rock musician Andy Taylor is 47. Rock musician Dave Lombardo (Slayer) is 43. Rock musician Taylor Hawkins (Foofighters) is 36. Singer Sam Salter is 30. Rapper Lupe Fiasco is 26. Actor Mike Weinberg is 15.
DEATH
1977 Janani Luwum, the Anglican archbishop of Uganda, and two other men were killed in what Ugandan authorities said was an automobile accident.
2003 Eleanor "Sis" Daley, the matriarch of Chicago's Daley political clan, died at age 95.
February 16, the 47th day of 2008. There are 319 days left in the year.
compiled by Mondoreb
image: clangrant
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
It's been one year since Democrats won the 2006 elections. As Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) points out:One year ago, when they took control of Congress, House Democrats made many promises. Most of all, Democrats promised you that they were ready to govern – over the past year it has become all too clear that they have let you down.
This may be the solitary instance when we've heartily agreed with Nancy Peolosi.
Take a moment to watch our latest web video, which highlights the performance of House Democrats over the past year. With an 11 percent approval rating, the lowest in recorded history, it’s no wonder that Speaker Pelosi recently remarked, "I know that Congress has low approval ratings, I don’t approve of Congress, because we haven’t done anything."
Watch the video and make up your mind. Were the Democrats right to commission RAPH for a new symbol?
What do you think?
by Mondoreb
[graphic: RidesAPaleHorse; video: ericcantor]
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
Treason or Dementia?
It's hard to salute the flag when you're in a straitjacket.
John Hawkins at Right Wing News reveals one the thoughts of one brave KOS economic warrior and her solutions to what ails her world.After spending half her diary comparing America to Nazi Germany, Daily Kos diarist
Granny Doc openly roots for an "economic meltdown" in America, The parallels are undeniable, and I see only one solution if America, The Grand Experiment, is to survive.
Without pausing for breath or thought, she continues at length in the same vein.
I want to stand by and watch it all blow up.
I want the dollar to plunge to worthless paper.
I want the stock market to implode.
I want the economy to plunge into chaos.
I want the Chinese to call in all the debt they hold.
Poor Granny Doc! In America past, such talk would have earned her accommodations in a nice relaxing rubber room. There she could have calmed her fevered mind and contemplated how many buckles were on the nice white jacket that had been thoughtfully provided for her.
Something on the line of "I wrote this America-hating Screed and all I got was this lousy straight jacket."
Now she barely raises the attention of a few right wing bloggers looking for another "man bites moonbat" storyline. Is it treasonous to wish economic destruction on one's own country? Granny's too busy with rapturous thoughts of Americans selling apples and souplines stretching from Maine to Wisconsin to wonder whether a U.S. stock market implosion might set off an economic 'Big Bang'. No thoughts about treason wrinkle her well-furrowed brow.
Besides, treason is so passe on the Left.
Hawkins concludes with this advice to the obviously distraught Granny:Granny Doc better be careful. If she keeps writing posts like this, even someone as influential as Kos won't be able to get her a job any better than Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy in the Treasury Department of a future Clinton Administration.
Granny certainly would be in the running. One wishes Granny well, if only because it is to her crowd that Democrats are increasingly paying attention. They are anxious to hear what the Granny Docs at KOS are saying, after all, KOS is the new Democratic center.
The Democrats might be surprised that many Americans don't know who KOS is, nor do they care. They might care more about the American economic meltdown that is wished on their country by KOS's Granny Doc. Many might decide that the new Democrat center no longer speaks to them.
Of course, for KOS, Granny Doc and many Democrats: it's hard to put your finger in the wind when your fist is always in the air.
by Mondoreb
[image:tuberose]
Trackback
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Yesterday, we commented on the back-breaking taxing ways of Charles Rangel. And today an article by Cal Thomas confirms what RidesAPaleHorse already knew: Rangel is a scary tax bloodsucker.
Cal Thomas at Town Hall on Rangula.
Just in time for Halloween comes House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel - henceforth known as Count Rangula - with a bill that would suck more blood from the American taxpayers.It's worth another look at RAPH's take.
As RAPH put it: We're in pretty good company.Our original story:
10 More Reasons To Grasp Your Pocketbook More Tightly
by Mondoreb
[image:RidesAPaleHorse]
Back to Front Page.
Just as American taxpayers relaxed the death-grip on their pocketbooks, along comes another chapter in the eternal Texas cage-match between hard-pressed U.S. workers and the Democrat Party tax writers.
One is about to light another stogie, embark on the morning's second pot of coffee and is look over the email, along comes an email that sums up recent Democrat tax proposals in one easy-to-read article. RidesAPaleHorse sent us a heads-up, along with the nifty comic cover above.
The story comes from The Green Eyeshade. And the sub-headings are capitalized for easy reading by knuckle-dragging Neo-Nazi conservative tax-cutters across the land.
After wiping the drool from the keyboard, more about this important Public Service Announcement from Green Eyeshade:
The Republican Staff on the Ways and Means Committee put this fact sheet together, I feel it is quite enlightening, and wanted to share it with you.The Top 10 include 1. MARRIAGE PENALTY ON STEROIDS, 6. IF A TREE FALLS IN A FOREST, and 7. TAXING PHANTOM INCOME.
When Chairman Rangel introduced his long-awaited tax legislation yesterday morning, there were certain things he conveniently forgot to mention. Among the things the Democratic Majority doesn’t want you to know about the “Mother of All Tax Hikes”:
Charles Rangel and the Incredible Democrat Tax Machine are gearing up again for another go at the American taxpayers' wallets. What remains to be seen is if the Republicans in Congress have been sufficiently chastised by the 2006 election results to be able to take advantage of it.
by Mondoreb
Back to Front Page.
The Right Wing Queen of Mean, Michelle Malkin, relates the contents of an internal Democratic Party memo, courtesy of The Hill. The memo states the hypothesis: Democrats' Message Doesn't Appeal to Emotions. An excerpt:
Democrats are losing the battle for voters’ hearts because the party’s message lacks emotional appeal, according to a widely circulated critique of House Democratic communications strategy.
“Our message sounds like an audit report on defense logistics,” wrote Dave Helfert, a former Appropriations spokesman who now works for Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). “Why are we defending [the State Children’s Health Insurance Program] instead of advocating a ‘Healthy Kids’ plan?”
His memo is sharply critical of Republican policies but also suggests a neurological explanation for Republican message success: By using emotional appeals and warning of dire threats, Republicans can trigger neurons called “amygdalae” in the temporal lobe, which is the seat of the “fight or flight” response in the brain.
To which MM replies:
This is high-larious.Malken goes on to conclude:
The Democrats’ problem isn’t understimulation of the amygdalae. It’s overstimulation. Perhaps a political lobotomy–separating the nutroots lobe from the party’s thalamus–might be a far more effective prescription.One only has to recall the Code Pink members of the Democrat base being dragged, screaming, from the room during the Patraeus hearings to understand the cold analysis of the Dem's arguments. Too much logic and resorting to facts; not enough emotion is the problem alright.
Democrat leaders would have had to douse themselves with gasoline and strike a match to get anymore emotional than they were during the SCHIP debate. Every time questions arose about this expansion of government, Democrats would haul another ailing child in front of the cameras and scream "Why do you hate the kids?" Have to admit that prompted visions of a party of CPAs at work.
The Hill had it right: the Democrats' message is a problem with voters. It's the same problem a college student has when faced with the dilemma of a weekend of binge drinking: sure it'll be fun, but you're going to feel like hell when you come to on Monday morning.
The Democrats are as cold and calculating as a town drunk.
The Code Pinks, the welfare lobby, the big-government types of the Democrat base are binge drinkers. But it's the voters, their children and grandchildren, who are going to be paying for their financial debauchery.
Back to Front Page.
