I guess they're tired of attacking tea party conservatives, so now they're gonna turn their ire towards REAL Americans struggling with REAL ailments under the suppression of government-run health care. And your Senate leader is at the center of it, America...
NewsBusters: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid insulted victims of ObamaCare on Wednesday – and the three major networks didn’t seem to care.
Speaking on the Senate floor, the Nevada Democrat lashed out at those whose lives have been hurt by the law, saying this:
"There's plenty of horror stories being told. All of them are untrue. But in those tales turned out to be just that. Tales. Stories made up from whole cloth. Lies distorted by Republicans to grab headlines or make political advertisements."
Reid tried to walk it back, but Rush also informed us Friday morning that Patty Murray, senator from Washington, joined Reid's call on the Senate floor yesterday, urging people to stop listening to him and FoxNews, because they're part of the cabal spreading lies about all these people who are suffering under Obamacare or something...
MURRAY: I hope that everybody can turn off the Fox News for a little while and not listening to Rush Limbaugh and really listen to some real stories of real-life Americans who have been impacted by this law.
Hey, Harry...Hey, Patty...the only lies here are YOU! These people are very REAL...
FreeBeacon: Following Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s patently false claim that all stories of Obamacare victims are “untrue”, a mother of one such victim spoke out on “Fox and Friends” Friday demanding Reid apologize for his “offensive” comments.
Here's another REAL person who's publicly sharing her story...and it's enraging Michigan Democrat Rep. Gary Peters so much so that he's threatening TV stations' licensing over the ad...pretty extreme there, Gary...
WashingtonExaminer: While Julie Boonstra of Dexter, Mich., struggles to survive leukemia, she now also has to cope with being called a liar by the Democrat who wants to be her next senator.
You see, their anger in these REAL stories getting out has nothing to do with compassion, fairness or health coverage, but everything to do with politics and power.
RUSH: "Since Dingy Harry and Patty Murray are out there saying that all these stories about Obamacare being a disaster are just lies, none of 'em are true, do you ever ask yourself why you haven't seen a whole host of success stories with Obamacare? I mean, why isn't the media even making 'em up in the midst of all this?"
Is the Cold War making a comeback? Thanks in large part to the weak-kneed foreign policy of the Obama regime, it certainly appears that way. Not only are Russian forces making their way into the Ukraine, CNSNews reports Russia is seeking access to bases in eight countries for its ships and bombers, including countries in South America. Monroe doctrine, anyone?
At a time of escalated tensions with the West over Ukraine, Russia says it is negotiating with eight governments around the world for access to military facilities, to enable it to extend its long-range naval and strategic bomber capabilities.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday the military was engaged in talks with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Algeria, Cyprus, the Seychelles, Vietnam and Singapore.
“We need bases for refueling near the equator, and in other places,” ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying.
Russia is not looking to establish bases in those locations, but to reach agreement to use facilities there when required.
Right. Unfortunately, the Russians aren't alone. While the Obama administration embraces enemies and repels allies, we find most of the world's hostile forces on the move. And the only real, unscripted response from this White House: HAPPY HOUR! What tha...
You know, this might not be all that big of a deal if Obama was actually being genuine and generous (or as the urban dictionary says, 'genuous') with this newly announced $200 Million My Brother's Keeper initiative. However, it's laughable when a man, who not only was raised with an extraordinary degree of privilege (even if much of it was squandered) not shared by any of the kids this program is targeting (inner city, minority kids), but who's never lifted a finger to help his own brothers! So personal, so emotional, so compassionate...so racially-centric! What about ALL American kids, Mr. President? Content, not color, Barry. I thought we were all supposed to be colorblind now?
And, as Rush alluded to, if you want to gauge the state of journalism in America today, look no further than CNN's Don Lemon, who made it quite known that yesterday, Obama ‘became the Black President.’ The hypocrisy would be startling if we hadn't already seen it coming from a mile away...
"As journalists, you weigh how much you should criticize the president because he's black, but then you have to do it, because ultimately, you're a journalist."
Really, Don? When's the real media criticism begin? We're going on six years and still waiting...
Bradley Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission and current chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics, wrote an extensive op-ed today, revealing the 'smoking gun' in the IRS's targeting of conservative groups. And it's a divulgence that's been hiding in plain sight all along: the usual & obnoxious Democratic Senators on Capitol Hill. First, the backstory:
On Jan. 21, 2010, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Citizens United v. FEC upholding the right of corporations and unions to make independent expenditures in political races. Then, on March 26, relying on Citizens United, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the rights of persons (including corporations) to pool resources for political purposes. This allowed the creation of "super PACs" as well as corporate contributions to groups organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that spend in political races.
The reaction to Citizens United was no secret. Various news outlets such as CNN noted that "Democrats fear the decision has given the traditionally pro-business GOP a powerful new advantage."
The 501(c)(4) groups in question are officially known as "social-welfare organizations." They have for decades been permitted to engage in political activity under IRS rules, so long as their primary purpose (generally understood to be more than 50% of their activity) wasn't political. They are permitted to lobby without limitation and are not required to disclose their donors. The groups span the political spectrum, from the National Rifle Association to Common Cause to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. If forced out of 501(c)(4) status, these nonprofit advocacy groups would have to reorganize as for-profit corporations and pay taxes on donations received, or reorganize as "political committees" under Section 527 of the IRS Code and be forced to disclose their donors.
Now, here's where things get interesting. Smith asks us to simply consider the following events which essentially connect the dots that the MSM apparatchik in the back pocket of the Democratic Party refuse to sensibly acknowledge:
• Jan. 27, 2010: President Obama criticizes Citizens United in his State of the Union address and asks Congress to "correct" the decision.
• Feb. 11, 2010: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) says he will introduce legislation known as the Disclose Act to place new restrictions on some political activity by corporations and force more public disclosure of contributions to 501(c)(4) organizations. Mr. Schumer says the bill is intended to "embarrass companies" out of exercising the rights recognized in Citizens United. "The deterrent effect should not be underestimated," he said.
• Soon after, in March 2010, Mr. Obama publicly criticizes conservative 501(c)(4) organizations engaging in politics. In his Aug. 21 radio address, he warns Americans about "shadowy groups with harmless sounding names" and a "corporate takeover of our democracy."
• Sept. 28, 2010: Mr. Obama publicly accuses conservative 501(c)(4) organizations of "posing as not-for-profit, social welfare and trade groups." Max Baucus, then chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, asks the IRS to investigate 501(c)(4)s, specifically citing Americans for Job Security, an advocacy group that says its role is to "put forth a pro-growth, pro-jobs message to the American people."
• Oct. 11, 2010: Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) asks the IRS to investigate the conservative 501(c)(4) Crossroads GPS and "other organizations."
• April 2011: White House officials confirm that Mr. Obama is considering an executive order that would require all government contractors to disclose their donations to politically active organizations as part of their bids for government work. The proposal is later dropped amid opposition across the political spectrum.
• Feb. 16, 2012: Seven Democratic senators— Michael Bennet (Colo.), Al Franken (Minn.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Mr. Schumer, Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Tom Udall (N.M.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.)—write to the IRS asking for an investigation of conservative 501(c)(4) organizations.
• March 12, 2012: The same seven Democrats write another letter asking for further investigation of conservative 501(c)(4)s, claiming abuse of their tax status.
• July 27, 2012: Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.) writes one of several letters to then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman seeking a probe of nine conservative groups, plus two liberal and one centrist organization. In 2013 testimony to the HouseOversight and Government Reform Committee, former IRS Acting Commissioner Steven Miller describes Sen. Levin as complaining "bitterly" to the IRS and demanding investigations.
• Aug. 31, 2012: In another letter to the IRS, Sen. Levin calls its failure to investigate and prosecute targeted organizations "unacceptable."
• Dec. 14, 2012: The liberal media outlet ProPublica receives Crossroads GPS's 2010 application for tax-exempt status from the IRS. Because the group's tax-exempt status had not been recognized, the application was confidential. ProPublica publishes the full application. It later reports that it received nine confidential pending applications from IRS agents, six of which it published. None of the applications was from a left-leaning organization.
• April 9, 2013: Sen. Whitehouse convenes the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism to examine nonprofits. He alleges that nonprofits are violating federal law by making false statements about their political activities and donors and using shell companies to donate to super PACs to hide donors' identities. He berates Patricia Haynes, then-deputy chief of Criminal Investigation at the IRS, for not prosecuting conservative nonprofits.
• May 10, 2013: Sen. Levin announces that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold hearings on "the IRS's failure to enforce the law requiring that tax-exempt 501(c)(4)s be engaged exclusively in social welfare activities, not partisan politics." Three days later he postpones the hearings when Lois Lerner (then-director of the IRS Exempt Organizations Division) reveals that the IRS had been targeting and delaying the applications of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
• Nov. 29, 2013: The IRS proposes new rules redefining "political activity" to include activities such as voter-registration drives and the production of nonpartisan legislative scorecards to restrict what the agency deems as excessive spending on campaigns by tax-exempt 501(c)(4) groups. Even many liberal nonprofits argue that the rule goes too far in limiting their political activity—but the main target appears to be the conservative 501(c)(4)s that have so irritated Democrats.
• Feb. 13, 2014: The Hill newspaper reports that "Senate Democrats facing tough elections this year want the Internal Revenue Service to play a more aggressive role in regulating outside groups expected to spend millions of dollars on their races."
Pretty plain to see what's been going on ever since that decision. More bullying from a statist party and an imperial president who can't have their way on everything. But you see, we're the extremists...right.
"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." ~ Thomas Paine, 'The Crisis'
AFP: US Senator Ted Cruz stood before hundreds of conservatives and with a pointed jab proclaimed that the small-government movement which sent him to Washington last year is alive and kicking.
"I'm a little bit confused," he said, the edges of his mouth rising into a smirk. "I could have sworn I read in The New York Times that the Tea Party was dead."
And with that, America's most influential -- some would argue disruptive -- new political force in decades marked its fifth anniversary, reminding Washington it has bounced back from the political tundra to thrust itself to the fore in time for November's congressional elections.
The grass roots Tea Party movement, which grew out of a "Taxed Enough Already" campaign that launched on February 27, 2009, swept dozens of fresh-faced lawmakers like Senator Rand Paul into Congress the following year on a platform of lower taxes, free-market principles, limited government, fiscal restraint and adherence to the US Constitution.
They rallied against President Barack Obama's health care proposal, the seemingly never-ending federal bailouts, and skyrocketing national debt.
Mark Levin, who gave the keynote address at the event today, joined Neil Cavuto this afternoon to discuss the movement's direction...
Here's that Draconian Obamacare tax that Chief Justice John Roberts felt justified the health care law's continued existence and enforcement, despite its unconstitutionality...and that conservatives warned against from the very beginning...
Examiner: On Tuesday, the IRS warned Americans must have a government-approved health care plan or pay what it called a "shared responsibility payment" in 2015, Americans for Tax Reform reported.
"The term 'shared responsibility payment' refers to the Obamacare individual mandate tax, one of at least seven tax hikes in the healthcare law that directly hit families making less than $250,000 per year," ATR said, calling the term "Orwellian."
The IRS also says the "individual shared responsibility provision" applies to everyone, including children and seniors, and goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.
You'll buy the health care they tell you to buy, or you'll pay a penalty that will spread your wealth around. Either way, a win-win for Tyranny.
Besides all kinds of other truths in this excellent piece, Daniel Horowitz perfectly lays out the importance of PRIMARIES preceding general elections and choosing the right person to serve, especially within GOP ranks...
RedState: The unambiguous strategy of the GOP establishment this year has been to avoid any and all confrontation in the hopes of gliding into a Senate majority in 2015. To that end, they have capitulated on all of the major leverage points, passed a number of Democrat spending bills, and are in the process of pushing “small-ball” legislation in the House so as not to rock the boat before November.
This pusillanimous strategy is predicated on the false hope that a bare-minimum Senate majority – comprised of the same Republicans who support these Democrat priorities – will somehow alter the landscape in Washington. They are misleading conservative and GOP activists into thinking that as long as the GOP can hold tight on the status quo until 2015 we will enjoy robust power to push for conservative priorities thereafter.
The reality is that nothing will change in 2015. Irrespective of the outcome in November, Republicans will control the House and have the ability to block bad legislation. On the other hand, President Obama will still be in the White House for another two years. Consequently, the addition of six more Senate seats with the current incumbent leaders and rank-and-file members will not change the legislative dynamic.
Republicans who lack the will or principles to fight on major issues will still use Obama’s obstructionism as the baseline for excuses not to advocate bold initiatives. Whether it’s a debt ceiling or a budget bill, they will fear brinkmanship with Obama as much as they do now.
What about blocking bad bills? Certainly Republicans will have the power to do so if they win back the Senate, won’t they?
Well, they already have the power to stop bad bills with control of the House, yet, time and again, we have seen a de facto Democrat super-majority in the Senate pass harmful legislation only to be rubber-stamped by the House – or at least open for consideration.
Unless we elect the right candidates for Senate, a weak GOP majority would still net enough votes to pass amnesty, an internet sales tax, omnibus bills, highway bills, or the anti-liberty “ENDA” bill.
Additionally, Horowitz questions how these same cowardly Republicans will even attempt to fight for a 'bold conservative agenda' next year, the year after or the years to come. They're certain to continue to capitulate while Obama remains in the presidency, but 'how will they risk losing power' even if they regain control of all branches of government? It's Horowitz's conclusion, as well as my own, that the GOP leadership will be 'even more indisposed to roll back big government.'
Furthermore, let’s remember that many of the same arguments promulgated by Republicans in the minority will persist even when they are in control of the White House. These same hackneyed politicians have already agreed to the Democrat premise of default. So they will feel compelled to raise the debt ceiling even with full control of the government.
The current crew of GOP leaders has already agreed to the Democrat premise on immigration. That will not change when they are in the majority.
They have already accepted the notion of a permanent federal control over transportation and agriculture policy. That will not change when they are in power.
Republicans have made it clear that they will not publicly fight back against the growing anti-religious–liberty agenda forcing alternative lifestyles on private citizens and organizations. ...
Hence, whether we are talking about 2015, 2017, or well beyond, there is never an end-game for these politicians. The pursuit of power over principle; the quest for authority for its own sake is a circuitous cycle of failure.
The only way to end the failed cycle of politics is to change the way we approach primaries. This year would be a great time to start.
I couldn't agree more...and I would add, this applies just as much to LOCAL and STATE primaries as it does nationally.
So, what's it gonna be, Republcans? Conservatives? Americans? Tyranny now from either side of the aisle, through force or capitulation...or perhaps, finally, a refreshing installation of Liberty?
With the ongoing debates on VoterID and illegal immigration, here's one that seems to cross both boundaries.
Uh oh...BIRTHER!
British Intelligence Advisor Barrister Michael Shrimpton reported Obama's purported mom was not pregnant in 1961 and that Obama was born in Kenya in 1960. He said Kenya was under British intelligence files and that Obama's father ran guns for the Mau Mau. He then dropped a bombshell claiming the CIA did covert DNA testing on Obama at a fundraising dinner and the test came back with no match to the claimed grandparents. Shrimpton said Rudy Giuliani's people knew and sat on the intelligence and further stated he spoke with Hillary Clinton's people and that they were quite interested.
Obviously, this guy didn't understand, even in 2008 when this video was apparently produced, that mainstream American media had codified itself as a Democratic Party apparatchik.
Also, because we have a castrated Republican Party, along with an American people whom at large seem to care more about a handouts and self-immersion these days than anything real anymore, don't count on this one going anywhere.
It's a shame too, 'cause we sure could use some tyrannical legal plunder reversed about now.
In a discussion with a caller, Rush explains the 'cultural balkanism' of charging racism on practically everything that the Democrat Party has chosen as its official policy.
"This country is paralyzed by race, because that is the chosen state of the Democrat Party. The Democrat Party has sought to advance itself politically by making as many groups of people victims of the Republicans as possible in people's minds."
Racism has been whipped up by the Left, by the Democrat Party, as a means of silencing its opponents. The Democrat Party is not about self reliance, rugged individualism and freedom; they're about dependence. They need people depending on them. They don't want people exercising the kind of creative freedom and entrepreneurial freedom that can launch them into a circumstance where they don't need government to get by. The Democrat Party has always been based on racism."
Rush also reminds listeners that it was Democrats, not Republicans, who formed the KKK, who wrote/signed/passed every Jim Crow law, who wouldn't allow blacks at Ole Miss, who released firehoses and dogs on blacks at Selma...
"Democrats were the big segregationists, and they have now just turned that around and make that charge of racism everywhere to silence critics. Look how effective it is. There is no criticism of Barack Obama. Absolutely none of any substance from the Republican Party because they're so afraid of being called racists. It's that simple."
ADDENDUM: Yet another example of the Democratic balkanization...
FreeBeacon: Florida Democratic congressional candidate Alex Sink said immigration reform was important at a Tuesday debate because, without it, it would be difficult for employers to find people to clean hotel rooms and do landscaping.
“Immigration reform is important in our country,” she said. “We have a lot of employers over on the beaches that rely upon workers and especially in this high-growth environment, where are you going to get people to work to clean our hotel rooms or do our landscaping? We don’t need to put those employers in a position of hiring undocumented and illegal workers.”
Evidently, without this reform, these blue-collar jobs will fall into the hands of illegal aliens.
A rare treat of honesty from a Democrat! Oh, imagine if a Republican outright said this...then it would definitely be RACIST!
Discussing the Democratic establishment's endorsement of Obama's imperial presidency, Levin says that the party that used to stand for civil liberties and the Bill of Rights have shown themselves as frauds. Using Rahm Emanuel as just one example, Mark points out the shear tyranny being collectively promoted by the progressive agenda...
"They all have the talking points down, and they all sound like dictators. 'He [Obama] can't allow America's future to be held hostage by a Congress that won't do anything.' Well, Congress, if it chooses, can act, and Congress, if it chooses, doesn't act. This is our process, ladies and gentlemen. This is our separation of powers. This is the way it's supposed to work.
So when some jerk, who's the Mayor of Chicago, the 'creepy ballerina,' goes on and on like this, 'He can't allow America's future to be held hostage by a Congress that won't do anything,' Congress is not required to do anything! And what they mean is 'they won't genuflect and do what this president tells them to do!' How many more examples do we need of this outright, in-your-face tyranny?! And all of its cheerleaders.
Let me just say this, not intending to be controversial, but it's a fact: When Harry Reid says this stuff, when Nancy Pelosi says it, Schumer, Durbin, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional 'White' Caucus, everybody, when ALL the Democrats are saying this stuff, it is the Party of Fascism!"
This would be the same coalition of black pastors led by Rev. Bill Owens that ripped into Obama just a few months before his reelection for abandoning the black community to instead promote the gay 'marriage' agenda, and offensively comparing the latter to the civil rights struggle. Owens also warned black Americans that they'd be "very angry that you bit into the Big Lie."
CNSNews: A coalition of black pastors announced on Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. that they are launching a campaign to gather one million signatures on a petition calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Eric Holder for violating his oath of office by trying "to coerce states to fall in line with the same-sex 'marriage' agenda."
"President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have turned their backs on the values the American people hold dear, values particularly cherished in the black community: values like marriage, which should be strengthened and promoted, rather than weakened and undermined," says a statement by the Coalition of African American Pastors that has been posted online with their impeachment petition.
"Our nation calls for the building up of a healthier marriage culture; instead, our elected leaders are bent on destroying marriage, remaking it as a genderless institution and reorienting it to be all about the desires of adults rather than the needs of children," says the coalition.
"In pursuing this intention, the president and his administration are trampling the rule of law.Attorney General Holder in particular has used the influence of his office and role as the chief law enforcement figure in our nation to try to coerce states to fall in line with the same-sex ‘marriage’ agenda," says the coaltion. :Millions of voters in 30 states have voted to defend marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but Attorney General Holder is attempting single-handedly to throw those votes away!
"For abandoning the oath he swore in taking office and his duty to defend the common good, Attorney General Holder should be impeached by Congress," says the coalition. "CAAP is calling on all men and women of good will to sign the following petition urging Congress to take action against the Attorney General’s lawlessness today!"
The Rev. Bill Owens, founder and president of CAAP, said that political leaders in Washington have not held Holder accountable.
“Yet our leaders in Washington are letting him get away with his illegal conduct and doing nothing meaningful to hold him accountable,” said Owens. “Our campaign to gather one million signatures of citizens calling for Holder’s impeachment is intended to create a groundswell of support, giving congressional leadership the encouragement necessary to remove this dangerous ideologue from public office.”
Owens stressed that the petition is meant for all citizens regardless of race or creed.
“Marriage is an institution that benefits all of society; therefore every citizen has an interest in protecting marriage from these brazen attacks,” Owens said.
AMEN, Reverend!
The CAAP's response came after Holder told a gathering of state attorneys-general on Tuesday that it's okay if they didn't uphold the laws of their states which prohibit same-sex marriage. Unbelievable...promoting shear lawlessness according to his own immoral compass (and political gain).
'Cause this will keep America safer in an increasingly hostile world, according to Schmuck Hagel...
FoxNews: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called Monday for shrinking the U.S. Army to its smallest size in decades, along with other cuts, drawing criticism that the drastic changes will hurt U.S. security.
Hagel announced his Pentagon budget priorities Monday afternoon. The Army had already been preparing to shrink to 490,000 active-duty members from a wartime peak of 570,000. Hagel is proposing to cut it further to between 440,000 and 450,000.
That would make it the smallest since just before the U.S. entered World War II.
"We are repositioning to focus on the strategic challenges and opportunities that will define our future: new technologies, new centers of power, and a world that is growing more volatile, more unpredictable, and in some instances more threatening to the United States," Hagel said at a press conference at the Pentagon.
He defended the proposed reductions in troop strength, as a trade-off for building up "technological superiority" and priorities like Special Operations Forces and "cyber resources."
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, warned that the cuts would hurt military readiness. And he said the country is only in this position because the Obama administration and Congress will not seriously take on cuts to entitlements.
"It's all being sacrificed ... on the altar of entitlements. This president cannot take on mandatory spending, so all we've done in the Congress -- and this president -- is basically cut discretionary spending," he told Fox News.
...afterall, we can't make ANY cuts to the Welfare State, so what's among the Democrats' favorite targets: our military.
And as far as trading physical numbers for so-called technological advancement, just remember, these are the same guys that haven't been able to get a website operating properly. Between that and their base-hatred for the military, you think they're even considering preparedness for the unpredictable?
I saw several mentions of this on Friday (Rush mentioned it as well), but just couldn't bring myself to end the week on such saddening news, so I delayed it until today...
Abortion is celebrated as the golden calf of the Democratic Party, no matter the destruction, no matter the lack of reasonable restriction. And it's because of the promoted on-demand mentality that we find these kind of devastating reports to relay throughout America.
Just let this sink in and understand the shear evil that has been wrought on our culture and, more generally speaking, humanity. Unfortunately, Margaret Sanger's wish is coming true...
CNSNews: In 2012, there were more black babies killed by abortion (31,328) in New York City than were born there (24,758), and the black children killed comprised 42.4% of the total number of abortions in the Big Apple, according to a report by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The report is entitled, Summary of Vital Statistics 2012 The City of New York, Pregnancy Outcomes, and was prepared by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Vital Statistics. (See Pregnancy Outcomes NYC Health 2012.pdf)
The total number of live births in New York City in 2012 for women ages 15-49 was 123,231. That is a rate of 14.8 live births per 1,000 women, which is the lowest rate since 1979, according to the report. In addition, the live birth rate (per 1,000 women) has declined 3.9% since 2003, when it was a 15.4 rate, states the report. (See Pregnancy Outcomes NYC Health 2012.pdf)
In addition, while there were 73,815 abortions in New York City in 2012, the rate of abortions per 1,000 women is down 8.6% since 2011, according to the report.
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have not published their abortion statistics for 2011 or 2012 yet, they do have data for 2010. (See Table 12.) In the CDC’s numbers, there were 38,574 black babies killed by abortion in New York City in 2010; Hispanic babies aborted, 27,112; white babies killed by abortion, 9,220; and “other” aborted, 5,368. The total abortions in New York City in 2010 “reported by known race/ethnicity” were 80,274, according to the CDC.
NRO also reminds us that New York has had the highest abortion rate of any city in the nation for years now.
How much longer will proponents excuse this holocaust? There's no denying what this is.
Prayers for all those lost, innocent souls, as well as for all those who participated in this evil practice. As Christ said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
CNSNews: Although whites outnumber blacks in Mississippi by nearly 2-to-1, 71.67% of the babies aborted in Mississippi are black, while 26.6% are white.
Based on data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 39,052 black babies were killed by abortions in Mississippi between 1995 and 2010. During that same time period, 14,529 white babies were aborted in the Magnolia State.
The total number of abortions between 1995 and 2010 in Mississippi was 54,484. In addition to blacks and whites, that number also includes abortions among Hispanics, "Other" (meaning Asian and Native American), and "Unknown," as published by the CDC.
The data for 2010 is the latest information from the CDC on reported abortions, as published in their annual Abortion Surveillance reports. The next report, which will cover 2011, is projected to be published in November of this year.
Belated a day, but never forgotten. February 22nd marked George Washington's 282nd birthday, and our first president made an unforgettable mark on America...we need to re-remember that...
JSOnline: Saturday [marked] George Washington's 282nd birthday...
Regrettably, in too many ways, we find that Washington's legacy is fading away. Two hundred years ago, every American knew his bravery, leadership and impeccable character. But not so today. A survey by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni shows that college graduates more readily identify Lady Gaga than Washington at Yorktown.
A zealous handful of patriots – led by Washington – risked everything to create the world's first true republic. Too many Americans simply take this for granted.
We need to be reminded that America didn't 'just happen.' And one way we can and should do that is by remembering and celebrating George Washington's birthday. Keep our first president "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
Go to MountVernon.org to learn more about our first and greatest President.
Aside from being a bit of a political junkie, I'm also a child of the '80's, and as such, an action figure fan (Transformers were my favorite!). So imagine my delight when this video popped up a few weeks back combining both phenomenon! An absolutely brilliant portrayal/mockery of the krumbling state of our nation's Kapitol...specifically, the kareer politicians entrenched within...
This is one way to get the message across. For more awesome adventures in Kronyism, visit TheKronies.com! (or your nearest federal building)
Speaking of the deteriorating state of journalism today, there was an interesting exchange between a singer and a mediaite the other day. Korn frontman Jonathan Davis calmly unloaded some shocking news to an unsuspecting TMZ reporter when describing the band's new music video: "I think that the government uses those people [crazy lives of celebrities] to detract from what's really going on. And you guys, you get very interested in what's going on in their lives." Going on to express that while those distractions play out, laws are being passed, "that made [Obama] basically a dictator." and they're "taking away your freedom."
Wow. Whichever direction he's reaching this conclusion (whether from an OWS influence or a sensible libertarian approach), it's nonetheless a sign that perhaps more are awakening to the tyranny of unlimited, unrestrained, authoritarian government that the current crop of career politicians seem hell bent on pursuing...
If I had one thing to suggest to Davis, it would be clarifying something that it seems he begins to scratch: It's the idolatrous love-affair that the mainstream media and celebrities have with American leftist leaders, like Barack Obama, that allows a statist-controlled government to infringe upon more and more of our liberties daily.
As if half, or I'd suggest more, aren't already allowing that! But put that aside for now...
This is apparently Obama's effort to resurrect the aptly ironic-named Fairness Doctrine via his executive pen...executing another unconstitutional assault on Americans, yet again, as with other lawless pursuits, towards the First Amendment.
Mr. Constitutional Professor, my @$$...
HotAir: The better question is this — why should the FCC care what editors at TV stations and especially newspapers are thinking? More than a week ago, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai blew the whistle on the commission’s proposed study of editorial bias in news rooms, even though the FCC has no jurisdiction on broadcast news content, and no jurisdiction whatsoever on newspapers. Fox News began covering this yesterday:
The last thing we need is the government mucking around with news content.
The title of this Big Brother-ish effort by the Federal Communications Commission sounds innocuous enough: “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs.” But it’s a Trojan horse that puts federal officials in the newsroom, precisely where they shouldn’t be.
Don’t take my word for it. The FCC says it wants to examine “the process by which stories are selected,” as well as “perceived station bias” and “perceived responsiveness to underserved populations.”
Perceived station bias? Are you kidding me? Government bureaucrats are going to decide whether a newsroom is being fair?
They're thinking this would serve as yet another totalitarian effort by the regime...or as Krauthammer put it, "As if the IRS and the EPA and the NLRB haven't done enough damage, the FCC has to trample on what rights are remaining."
Although, I wouldn't put it past certain newsrooms (uh hum, MSLSD!) to welcome the Obama regime into their so-called journalistic confines, as Rush explained this morning...
Still, such an outrageous move doesn't bode well for our genuine constitutional rights (the real ones, not the made up ones that the left constantly create on a whim).
UPDATE I: Byron York reports more on this story, revealing not only how this initiative tramples First Amendment protections, but that the program is being run by Democratic Rep. James Clyburn's daughter...
WashingtonExaminer: The First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” But under the Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission is planning to send government contractors into the nation’s newsrooms to determine whether journalists are producing articles, television reports, Internet content, and commentary that meets the public’s “critical information needs.” Those “needs” will be defined by the administration, and news outlets that do not comply with the government’s standards could face an uncertain future. It’s hard to imagine a project more at odds with the First Amendment.
The initiative, known around the agency as “the CIN Study” (pronounced “sin”), is a bit of a mystery even to insiders. “This has never been put to an FCC vote, it was just announced,” says Ajit Pai, one of the FCC’s five commissioners (and one of its two Republicans). “I’ve never had any input into the process,” adds Pai, who brought the story to the public’s attention in a Wall Street Journal column last week.
Advocates promote the project with Obama-esque rhetoric. “This study begins the charting of a course to a more effective delivery of necessary information to all citizens,” said FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn in 2012. Clyburn, daughter of powerful House Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, was appointed to the FCC by President Obama and served as acting chair for part of last year. The FCC, Clyburn said, “must emphatically insist that we leave no American behind when it comes to meeting the needs of those in varied and vibrant communities of our nation — be they native born, immigrant, disabled, non-English speaking, low-income, or other.” (The FCC decided to test the program with a trial run in Ms. Clyburn’s home state, South Carolina.)
UPDATE II: So apparently, the Obama administration has felt the heat over the past few days; so much so that the FCC is supposedly backing off the newsroom study...for now, anyway...
FoxNews: The Federal Communications Commission announced Friday that it was putting on hold a controversial study of American newsrooms, after complaints from Republican lawmakers and media groups that the project was too intrusive.
FCC spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said Chairman Tom Wheeler agreed with critics that some of the study's proposed questions for reporters and news directors "overstepped the bounds of what is required."
...in other words, we're unable to trample your rights this blatantly without resistance right now, so look for a resurrection of such suppressive policies towards the end of Obama's reign.
Well, looks like Elmendorf may have some company amidst the Democratic disliked...GOOD!
"I've never been an advocate for any minimum wage. I've always felt that at the end of the day, the market would determine a person's value per hour. But given that we have one, the last thing we want to do, now that we have the evidence, is clear: do not raise it. It's just a huge mistake. End of story."
What's this?! A refreshing broadcast of fearless honesty and TRUTH? Finally, someone, namely Kevin O'Leary in this instance, appears to have listened and learned from Milton Friedman!
When asked what kind of wages or economy we'd have if we never had a minimum wage, O'Leary fired back brilliantly (H/t: MarketSanity)...
"I think we'd have a very vibrant economy based on demand.
In other words...think about if you never had a minimum wage. People would go seek the highest opportunity at the lowest risk all the time. Companies would do the same thing. We'd probably have more jobs remaining in America today than what we have today, because basically our cost of labor in many sectors -- automotive, I like to use all the time, using the leverage of unions over the decades that have made our car companies less competitive than global leaders. There was a time when Detroit owned this sector globally. Look at it today. And I blame union wages as part of that problem. Why do people want to move manufacturing to Mexico? Because the labor is cheaper.
Let the market determine what labor should be, and we’d have a much more vibrant economy.
Remember guys, we're competing globally now! We're not just competing in North America. We have to fight everybody, all the time, everywhere!
I feel like we're in the middle of a game and we have to give a pep talk back to the economy."
“This is a basic premise upon which capitalism was built, and we’ve drifted so far off the pendulum that we don’t even question anymore policies like this."
And that's fairly evident by the insistence to keep pushing off implementation until AFTER each consecutive election cycle...
NationalJournal: For nearly three years, the Democratic approach to the political unpopularity of President Obama’s health care law was denial. Deny it played a significant role in the party’s historic midterm losses in 2010. Insist, in the face of contradictory evidence, that as more voters experienced the benefits of the law, the more popular it would become. Deny it would be a major issue at all in the 2014 midterms.
The latest version of the argument points to polling showing that voters don’t want to repeal the law but prefer to see it fixed—perfectly in line with the newly adopted positions of vulnerable Democratic officeholders. In a memo leaked to the press, Democrats argue they can neutralize their health care vulnerabilities by promoting their desire to fix the law and blaming Republicans for intransigence in seeking a full repeal. But dig a bit deeper past the talking points, and it’s unclear what they want to fix—beyond their broken poll numbers.
Indeed, in a sign that Democrats are stuck in neutral on their Obamacare messaging, the “news” from the memo is months old. The strategy devised by the sharpest party operatives has already been in effect in numerous ads across the country and was promoted by the party’s top strategists two months ago. In those targeted races, public polling has shown Democratic standing worsening where the on-air Obamacare debate has already begun. (See: Landrieu, Mary; Hagan, Kay.)
The main reason 2014 is different than 2012 isn’t the quality of the messaging. It’s that the law is now a reality affecting millions of Americans—and more don’t like the changes. The most important test on the ultimate success of the health care law will be whether voters think they’re getting a better deal out of the law than not. And all available evidence, from polling to the government’s cherry-picked enrollment data, suggests that supporters face a tough challenge making the sell.
I guess they're tired of attacking tea party conservatives, so now they're gonna turn their ire towards REAL Americans struggling with REAL ailments under the suppression of government-run health care. And your Senate leader is at the center of it, America...
