Rational Nation USA

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth William H. Pauley III , a federal judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled " ... that protections under the Fourth Amendment do not apply to records held by third parties, like phone companies. " This of course means that all phone records essentially become the property of the federal government and can be used for any reason whatsoever Big Brother deems appropriate. It certainly seems America is rapidly approaching the government described in George Orwell's epic novel 1984. Big brother will not be content until it can listen to and see everything its citizens are doing. Nominated by President William Jefferson Clinton in 1998 to the federal bench Judge Pauley's decision is somewhat befuddling. Especially in light of Judge Richard J. Leon of Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ruling that " ... the program most likely violated the F

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth I am so pleased this afternoon. Following a very enjoyable luncheon with none other than my ever engaging and intuitive as well as highly intelligent better half I came home to find Karl Rove's report on his 2013 predictions. A real treat if 1)you're a republican or 2) you happen to be in the mood for a chuckle. Something the "White Chalk Board Man" never fails to provide. Mr. Rove, the dude that has successfully built and or maintained the current GOP box the faithful find themselves locked into gave a brief but informative who-ah for himself on 2013 and as well as his 2014 predictions. A veritable treat if ya have some time to waste. Read Karl Rove's "My Fearless Political Predictions For 2014" below the fold.

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth It seems Pope Francis has the GOP is a twist. I can understand this because the Pontiff, being the head Theologian steeped in education and the pursuit of Mysticism really hasn't a clue when it comes to economics, business, or how to run anything other than the Church. Supposedly a purely altruistic and spiritual pursuit. On the other hand we have the ex Randian (for political reasons he later denounced Objectivism) Representative Paul Ryan talking about capitalism and how the Pope, who hails from Argentina, doesn't understand capitalism because all Argentinians have known is crony capitalism. Fair enough. Let us take a look at the definition of crony capitalism and see how it all plays out shall we? Crony Capitalism - An economy that is nominally free-market, but allows for preferential regulation and other favorable government intervention based on personal relationships. In such a system, the false appeara

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation U S A Liberty -vs- Tyranny Government is neither benign or benevolent. In fact, as the following article correctly points out, the government, in conjunction with the corporations it continues to subsidize and offer corporate welfare to is in fact complicit in helping to create the inequality we see today. Don Baker's article Inequality: Government Is a Perp, Not a Bystander is as interesting as it is informative. President Obama, Congress, and American business should seek his council and consider his words as they determine national policy. Oh yeah, I forgot we don't have a cohesive national economic policy that benefits America at large . Excerpt from CEPR - In his speech on inequality earlier this month President Obama proclaimed that the government could not be a bystander in the effort to reduce inequality, which he described as the defining moral issue of our time. This left millions convinced that Obama would do nothing t

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation U S A Liberty -vs- Tyranny Washington (CNN) - The Affordable Care Act, which is the signature domestic achievement for President Barack Obama, was passed along party lines in 2010, when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. Since that passage, Republicans have fought to either repeal, defund, or severely restrict the law. A push by congressional conservatives to defund the law was the catalyst for October's 16-day long partial federal government shutdown, the first in nearly two decades. As Americans began to better understand the flaws in the ACA and struggle through perhaps the most customer unfriendly sign up experience in human history, as well as more and more people now realizing the Affordable Care Act is really the Unaffordable Care Act for many, support for ObamaCare continues its descent. CNN, a slightly left leaning cable news network has just released a nationwide CNN/ORC International poll indicating ObamaCare is decid

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation U S A Liberty -vs- Tyranny Below is a statement made by Ian Baynes , Congressman from the 11th district of Illinois. I guess to the muddled minds of some floating on the fringes the comparison makes perfect sense. Yep, for some the best thing to do when in a hole is to keep digging, I guess. BUCK DYNASTY STAR IS ROSA PARK OF OUR GENERATION Friday, December 20th, 2013 @ 4:23PM Today, Ian Bayne called Phil Robertson, star of the A&E series “Duck Dynasty,” the ‘Rosa Parks’ of our generation. “In December 1955, Rosa Parks took a stand against an unjust societal persecution of black people, and in December 2013, Robertson took a stand against persecution of Christians,” said Bayne. Parks, famous for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white person, as was the rule of her day, provided inspiration for a movement of equality of black people and white people in America. “What Parks did was courageous,” said Bayne. “What Mr. Rober

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny ,Momma Moose Palin and Homespun Idiocy It is astounding to many that this country, given all it's really important issues and problems (the national dept, deficits, the (Un)Affordable Care Act, crony capitalism, off-shoring of business activity, the shrinking middle class, etc.), still finds time to fixate on Duck Dynasty's outspoken bigot Phil Robertson and Momma Moose Sarah Palin's support of Robertson's bigotry. However one may view it there is no question it diverts attention from real issues of importance. Driven by the the now dying old guard relics that yearn for a return to the era they grew up in Mamma Moose Sarah Palin is trying to equate the suspension of a bigot by a private business entity as suppression of free speech. Apparently what she hopes is all of us are as ignorant of the 1'st amendment as she is. Free speech as enshrined in our Constitution was meant to insure the right o

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Politico - Conservative legal activist Larry Klayman got into an argument on CNN with host Don Lemon and legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin when he was brought on to discuss his victory this week in a lawsuit challenging NSA surveillance, resulting in Lemon cutting him off the screen and Klayman comparing Lemon to disgraced former MSNBC host Martin Bashir. Wow, what a smack-down! One that was certainly appropriate and well deserved. One of the great problems with the media, both right leaning and left leaning, is their tendency to control discussion and debate to favor their own biases. I must admit I did enjoy this smack-down of the left leaning Lemon on CNN. Read the entire article HERE . Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny President Obama is watching his approval ratings hit their lowest point of his presidency. Concern has caused President Obama's Chief of Staff to approach John Podesta to accept the position of White House Counselor. Looks like damage control is preparing to into high gear. Barbara Walters , the soon to retire co-host of morning program The View , confirmed what many suspected all along. That the left, or at least many of them, viewed Barrack Husein Obama as the second Messiah. Of course the right has opposed nearly everything Obama has put forth , ObamaCare, or the ACA (affordable care act, if you can call it that)has crawn almost non stop fire from conservatives since 2009. Now, even some in his own party are beginning to have concern over the cracks in the President's veneer. 2014 could well be shaping up as the year republicans increase strength in the House and gain a majority in the Senate. Shoul

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Francisco Seco/AP - In this October 2013 file photo, a man looks at his cellphone as he walks on the street in downtown Madrid. The NSA’s ability to crack cellphone encryption used by the majority of cellphones in the world offers it wide-ranging powers to listen in on private conversations. Big Brother is Watching You. Now Big Brother is soon to be able to be Listening to You as well, via your cell phone. As America approaches the Land of the UN-Free. Thanking the insidious fascist element in politics and government. The Washington Post - The cellphone encryption technology used most widely across the world can be easily defeated by the National Security Agency, an internal document shows , giving the agency the means to decode most of the billions of calls and texts that travel over public airwaves every day. While the military and law enforcement agencies long have been able to hack into

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Principle is important. Vigorously pursuing the goal of achieving fiscal sanity again in America a noble and necessary endeavor. Finding the right mix that both allows government to function and at the same time control the natural human urges for excess is a challenge to say the least. A challenge our leadership in the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate have, in my never humble opinion, failed at miserably. Now, when two congressional leaders from heretofore inept opposing sides have managed to piece together a deal that while far from perfect is a step in the right direction certain "principled" republicans seem only too willing to play the role of obstructionist yet again. Reasonable people, who use reason as they think through what all this means will at the end of the day question the sanity of the party apparently bent on proving a point point that sold well and worked well a

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Oh no, President Obama shook hands with Raul Castro. Everyone should know the frigging sky is now going to fall in and American capitalism is going to be destroyed by this single handshake. The delusional and idiot extreme right wing has nothing more important to focus on? Like fiscal mismanagement? Corporate welfare? Excessive unneeded DOD spending? The list goes on... Media outlets, and most specifically the furthest right in the media is increasingly becoming a joke and as a result making itself more irrelevant. From none other than Breitbart : For those who believe in human rights and liberty, the sight of our president bounding up some stairs to energetically shake hands with Raul Castro, dictator of Cuba, was more than a little unsettling -- regardless of the circumstance. But that's what President Obama seemed to go out of his way to do at Nelson Mandela's memorial service Tuesday. Although C

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Newt Gingrich, while not my favorite Republican does a great job of honoring a great man and transformational leader, Nelson Mandela. His question to conservatives, "What would you have done?" is one that I, and probably thousands, it not millions of other thinking people would like you to answer. You know who you are. Be honest with yourselves, answer the question truthfully. If you cannot see the rightness and wisdom in the words of a former conservative Republican leader of the House of Representatives then you have, IMNHO, lost the right to call yourselves Patriots. GINGRICH PRODUCTIONS - Yesterday I issued a heartfelt and personal statement about the passing of President Nelson Mandela. I said that his family and his country would be in my prayers and Callista’s prayers. I was surprised by the hostility and vehemence of some of the people who reacted to me saying a kind word about a unique histori

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Nelson Mandela died yesterday at age 95. He was a man of immense integrity who possessed a remarkable character and a great capacity for forgiveness . Wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years by the Apartheid South African government for his opposition to, and activism to end the governments oppression of his people, he later went on to become the first democratically elected black president of South Africa. President Obama has ordered the American flag to be flown at half mast in honor of Nelson Mandela. A fitting tribute to a man instrumental in ending the oppression of his people. In so doing he left his mark on the world stage and became a inspiration for others who remain oppressed by their government. Nelson Mandela example is one to emulate and the President's decision is one all liberty loving individuals should support. Unfortunately many, and it is mostly republicans, have a problem with the Presidents decis

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Oops! Time for more re-education/indoctrination I suppose. The very crowd that the ACA (OBAMAFART) needs to successfully foist the government mandated health insurance law on the individual and independent American people are balking. GREAT NEWS for liberty and the proper role of government. Since the two lunkheaded sides of the political spectrum are INCAPABLE of working to find consensus this is the next best thing. Independent, intelligent individuals, and the future of the nation making their voices heard, loud and clear. NationalJournal - Young Americans are turning against Barack Obama and Obamacare, according to a new survey of millennials, people between the ages of 18 and 29 who are vital to the fortunes of the president and his signature health care law. The most startling finding of Harvard University's Institute of Politics : A majority of Americans under age 25--the youngest millennials--would fa

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny I guess the one good thing about being really really bad is any improvement is hailed as success. Forgive me if you will, but after the three years plus it apparently required to create a broken website (ACA of course), expecting us to believe that after only a month the myriad of problematical issues have been resolved and the ObamaCare website has now achieved the administrations goals is a bit much. Right. We believed if we liked out healthcare we could keep our health care. Turns out such such was not true. Like I said, forgive me for being the skeptic. Maybe after six months without the site crashing and millions of positive reports have poured, then, and only then, it will be time to become "a believer." Not that I will ever believe ObamaCare is necessarily a good or even adequate healthcare system. Forget about affordable, unless you qualify for the low income government subsidies. BUSINESS INSI

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Food for thought. At least for those republicans that have retained the ability to think outside the box their party has sculpted for them or they created for themselves. In recent decades, the Republicans have usually been the more nationalist of the two major parties. Whereas Democratic foreign policy experts have been more at home among global elites, and more enthusiastic about pursuing altruistic humanitarian goals, Republican experts have been less comfortable at conferences abroad, and more concerned about the safety of the American homeland and its traditional allies than about trying to improve the lot of the rest of the world. As one might expect, defense budgets have usually fared better under Republican than Democratic presidents. The problem for Republicans is that there are various kinds of nationalism. There is, for instance, the aggressive Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld brand of nationalism, in whi

As we gather with family and friends to celebrate our National Holiday Rational Nation USA wishes all it's readership, whether they be liberal, conservative, libertarian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist or whatever the very best of Thanksgivings and humbly asks that all remember how truly fortunate we are to live in a land where freedom of political and religious speech is allowed. It is I think appropriate on this day to post George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. Whether one is religious and believes in one supreme being or not Thanksgiving personifies the importance of being thankful for all we have achieved as a nation and if the USA returns to, and holds true to the principles of The Age of Reason and the Enlightenment we will be fine for another 224 years. To all you extreme partisans and zealots I say, THINK ABOUT IT. Happy Thanksgiving All!!! Thanksgiving Proclamation Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congr

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny One of these guys is going to be very happy on Election Night 2014 (Photo: EPA/Aude Guerrucci) As the tumble from lofty heights and the expectations that accompanies such heights continues Peresident Obaba and his fellow Democrats have reason to be concerned. VERY concerned. With the horrendously botched ACA roll out and the huge credibility gap created by the Presidents misleading statement that "If you like your health insurance keep you can keep your health insurance plan, PERIOD" the opportunity for the Republican party to retain the House and retake the Senate in 2014 is becoming increasingly possible. With the tide turning against the Presidents party the enthusiasm within the ranks of Republican and Libertarian activists will build and grow exponentially. Not unlike the "Hope and Change" of 2008 and 2012. From The Washington Post no less. President Obama’s poll numbers are at re

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny Brave New World and Big Brother continuing to grow in the Land of the Free, the United States of America. Government is simply growing too effing big for its britches. Thank you GWB, BHO, and all your henchmen. A very disturbing trend, one the government is very likely to accelerate in the coming months and years. The Washington Post - Microsoft is moving toward a major new effort to encrypt its Internet traffic amid fears that the National Security Agency may have broken into its global communications links, said people familiar with the emerging plans. Suspicions at Microsoft, while building for several months, sharpened in October when it was reported that the NSA was intercepting traffic inside the private networks of Google and Yahoo, two industry rivals with similar global infrastructures, said people with direct knowledge of the company’s deliberations. They said top Microsoft executives are meeting thi

Is it possible? As Dana Milbank , Washington Post opinion writer points out most likely for the birthers, those, who like Donald Trump believe President Obama forged his birth certificate, is not a USA born citizen, and therefore an illegitimate president. So much for the loonies. However, the Obama Administration and its practice of excluding photo journalist in favor of in house photographers to record official events is troublesome, at least IMO it is. From the Washington Post opinion pages. Is the Obama White House airbrushing history? It was a hallmark of the Stalin era: Fallen Soviet leaders vanished from official photographs. Nobody accuses President Obama of such subterfuge (well, nobody except for those who believe he forged his birth certificate), but a change in longtime practice in the White House has raised questions about the integrity of images Americans see of their president. The White House has increasingly excluded news photographers from Obama’s official

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny For some strange reason I'm getting the sense "the deal" may very well turn out quite unfortunately to be a dude. This from FARS News Agency . “What has been released by the website of the White House as a fact sheet is a one-sided interpretation of the agreed text in Geneva and some of the explanations and words in the sheet contradict the text of the Joint Plan of Action (the title of the Iran-powers deal), and this fact sheet has unfortunately been translated and released in the name of the Geneva agreement by certain media, which is not true,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on Tuesday. She said that the four-page text under the name of the Joint Plan of Action (which has been released by the Iranian foreign ministry) was the result of the agreement reached during the Geneva talks and all of its sentences and words were chosen based on the considerations of all parties to the tal

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny As the floodgates of bad news for ObamaCare and President Obama seem to continue to widen. Or, is it just more anti Obama nutter talk fueled by the wacko right wing extreme obstructionists of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party? According to Mark Halperin health care rationing and "death panels" are going to be a reality of the ACA. This from TPM One of the Beltway's best-known pundits gave credence this week to perhaps the fringiest of all Obamacare conspiracy theories. In an interview on Monday with the conservative Newsmax, Time's Mark Halperin said that so-called "death panels" are enshrined in the Affordable Care Act. "It's going to be a huge issue," Halperin said. "And that's something else about which the President was not fully forthcoming or straight-forward." "So, you believe there will be rationing, a.k.a 'death panels'?&q

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Ty r a nny Is it all scare tactics? Right wing hyperbole orchestrated to bring down the hated ACA and deny President Obama's hoped for legacy? A bunch of nutters as the left not so fondly refers to those who have opposed the ACA since the start just being obstructionists? Certainly the ACA roll out has been riddled with difficulty, including security concerns. President Obama's credibilty has unquestionably been damaged, a result of promises broken with respect to oe being able to keep there insurance if they liked it. And now this... From Fox News . Almost 80 million people with employer health plans could find their coverage canceled because they are not compliant with ObamaCare, several experts predicted. Their losses would be in addition to the millions who found their individual coverage cancelled for the same reason. Stan Veuger of the American Enterprise Institute said that in addition to the individual ca

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Lib e rty -vs- Tyr a nny With many lawmakers wary over the Iran nuclear deal its looks like the right and the left may have rediscovered bipartisanship Top lawmakers on both side of the aisle on Sunday voiced skepticism about the newly struck agreement with Iran, and vowed to keep up the pressure with sanctions. Senior members in both chambers said that, at first glance, Iran got the better end of the deal with western powers, China and Russia – effectively exchanging looser sanctions for very little progress in impeding Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. Some powerful lawmakers have said they’re willing to seek new sanctions now, but delay their implementation until after the six months covered by the current deal. But others weren’t even willing to go that far. Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), the No. 3 Democrat in the chamber, called the deal disproportionately good for Iran , and that it was only strong sanctions that gave the United States

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation U S A Lib e rty Tyr a nny Fifty-six percent questioned say they disapprove of Obama's performance, an all-time high in CNN surveys. It just doesn't seem to be getting any better for the embattled President. Nice guy that he is, passionately concerned about finding that silver limning in the clouds for ALL Americans, it appears at this point in time credibility (and honesty) still remains important to the American people. Given the President's recent credibility gap (rightfully so) he certainly does have much work to do. It is looking like a Republican House, AND Senate may be within the realm of possibility following the 2014 mid term elections. From recent CNN/ORC International polling. Washington (CNN) As President Barack Obama's approval rating hits another all-time low, a new national survey also indicates that Americans say the President has less power than congressional Republicans when it comes to shaping events ove