The Least Hard Working President... Among Other Things

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

There is something to be said for hard work and dedication to achieving results, even when it means schmoozing with those you disagree with and compromising when necessary. Especially when you are the leader. President Ronald Reagan and President William Jefferson Clinton knew this. So have all other effective presidents.

I wonder what President Barack Obama doesn't get about the hard work and all the other stuff as well...

POLITICS - President Obama does his job less often than any commander-in-chief since Grover Cleveland, who held the office in the 19th century.

That’s according to Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was interviewed on MSNBC Wednesday ahead of a Republican-backed measure to sue Obama for overstepping his executive authority, especially in his unilateral actions to implement Obamacare.

But in the interview, Wasserman Schultz, a US congresswoman from Florida, inadvertently agreed with a complaint levied most often by Republicans that Obama has not put much effort into his job.

“I’m going to go to the House floor and actually debate why we shouldn’t be voting for the first time in American history to sue the president of the United States for doing his job, and doing his job actually less often and at a rate that is lower than any other president since Grover Cleveland,” said Wasserman Schultz, while fingering Republicans who she claims “refuse to do anything.”

It is unclear why Wasserman Schultz compared Obama to Cleveland, who was president for two non-consecutive terms from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897

SKIP

According to an analysis by the New York Post, Obama has played golf 185 times since taking office in 2009. He has hit the links 81 times during his second term — more than doubling the rate of his first term.

Obama also spends a lot of time raising money for fellow Democrats. According to the Post, he has attended 75 fundraisers since the 2012 re-election.

Read MORE HERE

Via: Memeorandum

As More Soft and Squishy Americans Criticize Israel for Defending Themselves Against Hamas Aggression...

by:Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Hamas, the terrorist organization and it's leader went on record recently stating Hamas, and by extension the Palestinian people, do not want to coexist with the state of Israel. This terrorist organization has used women and children as human shields for the purpose of pumping up civilian deaths to create world criticism and opposition to Israel's defense initiatives. And, Hamas is the entity that STARTED the current conflict in the region.

Hamas does not want a permanent and lasting peace. Hamas and the Palestinians want the annihilation of the Jewish people. They, like so many other extremist adherents of the cult "faith" of Islam will not rest until they achieve the genocide they seek or are all killed trying to achieve their goal.

When we see the growth of Hamas and Palestinian sympathizers in the USA, indeed the western world it is becoming increasingly obvious that Israel is perhaps the nation that hasn't lost all it's marbles.

POLITICO - Joe Scarborough on Thursday had harsh words for Israel’s actions in Gaza, saying the country was engaging in “indiscriminate” killing. “This is asinine,” said the MSNBC host and former Republican congressman. “This continued killing of women and children in a way that appears to be indiscriminate is asinine.” SKIP “The United States of America — we cannot be associated with this if this continues. This is so bad, not only for the Israeli people, but for us,” Scarborough said. More than 1,300 Palestinians, most of whom are reported to be civilians, have died since the conflict began earlier this month, according to The Associated Press. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have accused Hamas of deliberately stockpiling weapons in civilian areas to increase the death toll. Scarborough, a contributor at POLITICO, said the backlash against Israel from this conflict will create a much more radical organization than Hamas. “[A]s much as we all hate Hamas, what is going to replace Hamas is going to be much worse,” he said. “It is going to be a radical Islamist group instead of just power-hungry, corrupt people that despise Israel. This is such a nightmare that is unfolding.”

Perhaps when all the "moderate" Arab states Scarborough alludes to actually stand up, are counted, and speak out strongly and loudly against Hamas and other Islamic terror groups we will be able to believe there really are some. Silence is approval to extremists, and perhaps it really is so. Read full story BELOW THE FOLD. Via: Memeorandum

Is the Republican Congress Likely To Continue New Deal Era Corporate Welfare...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Excerpt from NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE that highlights the reality that republicans are, and have been as supportive of crony capitalism and corporate welfare as democrats.

... If Republicans in Congress simply do nothing, the New Deal–era Export-Import Bank, which guarantees loans so that American multinationals can sell products overseas, will vanish at the end of September. Last year, the bank backed $37.4 billion in loans, loan guarantees, working-capital guarantees, and export-credit insurance, the vast majority of which went to mega-companies such as Boeing, General Electric, and Caterpillar.

Despite Ex-Im’s protestations that it has programs to help women, minorities, and small businesses, the bank is essentially a form of corporate welfare for giant multinationals. As the Wall Street Journal puts it: “If a private bank won’t do an export-financing deal, why should Congress put taxpayer money at risk to clinch the deal? In today’s global financial markets, companies large and small can access trade financing, either in the capital markets or from lenders.” Indeed, Standard & Poor’s has figured out that Boeing would do just fine without the bank, even though Boeing made up more than one-third of the bank’s loan portfolio from 2007 to 2013. “We don’t believe that the expiration of Ex-Im’s authorization in September would hurt Boeing’s credit quality or ability to make planned deliveries in 2014 and 2015,” S&P analysts wrote.

Of course, the Ex-Im Bank claims that it has recently made money for the taxpayers. True enough, but there have been years where it suffered losses. By a “fair value” accounting approach, meanwhile, the system recommended by the Congressional Budget Office (but not used by Congress), Ex-Im will cost billions over the next ten years.

The bank’s authorization to exist goes away at the end of September, and if the Republican House simply does nothing, it can demonstrate that it has some backbone when it come to reining in corporate welfare, political favoritism, and taxpayer risks. ...

I'm betting the republicans follow past habits. What's SAY YOU??

The read rest of the article HERE.

The Stupid Party and Impeachment Talk...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

If the stupid party (republican in this instance) had any common sense and wisdom it would just let this impeachment nonsense die. Let the dude in office continue to attend fundraisers and do what he does best... TALK. American people are not completely asleep and recent polls show that the President and his policies continues to slip.

Sometimes it's just best to keep quiet and let things take their natural course.

Washington (CNN) – There’s not a lot of public appetite for a Republican push to sue President Barack Obama, or for calls by some conservatives to impeach him, according to a new national survey.

A CNN/ORC International poll released Friday morning also indicates that a small majority of Americans do not believe that Obama has gone too far in expanding the powers of the presidency.

Earlier this month, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP's 2008 vice presidential nominee, called for Obama's impeachment, becoming the latest voice on the right to make the suggestion.

But according to the poll, only 35% want Obama impeached, with nearly two-thirds saying the President should not be removed from office.

There's an obvious partisan divide, with 57% of Republicans but only 35% of independents and 13% of Democrats backing a move to impeach Obama.

"Anti-impeachment sentiment is roughly where it was for past presidents - 67% opposed Bill Clinton's impeachment in September 1998, and 69% opposed impeaching George W. Bush when a few Democrats began talking about it in 2006," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

"One reason may be that Americans take impeachment very seriously. Only about one in five say that impeachment is a valid response if Congress is dissatisfied with a president's policies or the way he is handling his job. Nearly eight in 10 say impeachment should be reserved for high crimes and misdemeanors," Holland adds.

Continue reading BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

As The President Remains "Transparent"...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

I'm sure it was just an honest oversight.

POLITICO - SAN FRANCISCO — President Barack Obama went to the West Coast to meet donors from two top Democratic super PACs, but the press wasn’t invited.

Tuesday, the reporters and photographers traveling with the president on Air Force One and in his motorcade were left on the gravel path not even within sight of former Costco CEO Jim Sinegal’s house in the Seattle suburbs where Obama sat for a Senate Majority PAC fundraiser with a $25,000 entrance fee.

Wednesday morning, when he met with big donors for the House Majority PAC at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown San Francisco, they weren’t even told what room or floor he was on.

“We think these fundraisers ought to be open to at least some scrutiny, because the president’s participation in them is fundamentally public in nature,” said Christi Parsons, the new president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. “Denying access to him in that setting undermines the public’s ability to independently monitor and see what its government is doing. It’s of special concern as these events and the donors they attract become more influential in the political process.”

Despite constant complaints from the press corps and promises from White House officials, access to the president continues to be limited. The constantly repeated line that they’re running the “most transparent administration in history” tends to prompt snickers. Halfway through Obama’s West Coast swing, it’s tipping toward outrage.

Yeppers, just an "honest" oversight.

Full story BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

GOP Mayor Jim Fouts, Mich. Compares Atheists To Nazis, KKK...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Jim Fouts (R) Mayor of Warren, Mich.. - "The city has certain values that I don't believe are in general agreement with having an atheist station, nor in general agreement with having a Nazi station or Klu Klux Klan station. I cannot accept or will not allow a group that is disparaging of another group to have a station here."

Just when you thought the crazies of the Republican party couldn't get any crazier Mayor Fouts, in the effort to silence non believers and in violation of the Constitution of the United States, banned a group of atheists from setting up a station alongside a religious group in city hall's atrium. Sanctioning religious activity in city hall while denying atheists the same freedom apparently wasn't enough for the "mayor", he felt it necessary to stoop to the low level of comparing atheists to Nazis and the KKK.

What do you want to bnet the "mayor" is much closer to the KKK and or the Nazis than the atheists will ever be? What a putz the guy is, and that is being much too polite.

Continue reading BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

Another Brutal Practice of Islamic Extremists...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Iraq is facing a radical Isis-led insurgency, with Mosul and other cities in the north-west under militant control.

The ritual cutting of girls' genitals is practised by some African, Middle Eastern and Asian communities in the belief it prepares them for adulthood or marriage.

FGM poses many health risks to women, including severe bleeding, problems urinating, infections, infertility and increased risk of newborn deaths in childbirth.

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution in December 2012 calling for all member states to ban the practice.

Christians fled

Earlier, Ms Badcock warned that the alleged Isis edict could affect nearly four million women and girls in and around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The UN's resident and humanitarian co-ordinator in Iraq said the practice "is something very new for Iraq... and does need to be addressed".

She was talking to reporters via video link from the Kurdish provincial capital, Irbil.

There is some questions as to the validity of the allegation the ISIS has issued an edict all females between 11 and 46 years of age undergo the procedure in the northern city of Mosul to.

Given the radical nature of Islam and the basic lack of respect for women among the Islamic extremists the allegation is certainly quite possibly true.

Read more of the BBC story BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

The "Tolerance" of Islam, the Peaceful Religion...

by Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

So, Iraqi ISIS jihadis have given Christians a deadline to convert to the religion of "peace" (Islam), pay or face death. Precisely as the Koran instructs all "good" Muslims to demand. As the west stands back and preaches tolerance while accepting the intolerance of bigots, the intolerant, and murderers, all in the name of, TOLERANCE.

A safe bet is leftists in the USA as well as worldwide, (I"m talking about the flaming reason and anti west haters), will be for the most part silent so as nor to offend the sensibilities of the Muslims who are not complete A-holes. Such is the state of political correctness. At some point the western world will fully come to realize the dangers facing it. All indications are it may very well be too late before they do.

I personally know many Muslims who do not hold with the extremist backwards violent religiosity of the extremists that seem to be gaining power in the Arabic world. What I, and many of my associates fail to understand is why the moderate Muslims do not stand up and scream at the top of their collective lungsenough is enough.

This is a Arab and Muslim problem, certainly it is not the place of the west to intervene in the religious or political affairs of a sovereign nation (we've been there, done that, and we've seen the results). However, the entire western world ought to rise up in unison and denounce this immoral and barbaric attitude of Islam and the ISIS.



Waiting for the American Left to speak out, tic toc, tic toc, tic toc...

Read more BELOW THE FOLD.

ON VACATION - BLOGGING WILL BE LIGHT - IF AT ALL

On the Lighter Side...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

While checking polling data for the Massachusetts Gubernatorial race between Democratic candidate Martha Coakley and Republican Charlie Baker the following excerpt discussing firearm ownership in Massachetts compared to the national average was noted. Massachusetts, with one of the nation's strictest firearm regulation laws is only slightly below the national average.

Democrats as well as those with a college degree are less likely to own a firearm or have a family member who owns one than either Republicans or those with less education.

Despite Massachusetts’ strict gun laws, as well as its reputation as a liberal bastion, 30 percent of likely voters said they or one of their immediate family members own a gun. That is not much different from national rates of gun ownership. One national survey, for example, found that 34 percent of American households owned a gun in 2012.

The Globe poll found younger voters were just as likely as older voters to own a gun, although there was a split among voters depending on their level of education. Thirty-five percent of likely voters who did not have a college degree said they or one of their immediate family members own a gun, compared to 26 percent of college graduates.

Democrats, at 16 percent, were less likely than Republicans, at 37 percent, and independents, at 36 percent, to own a gun.

Certainly one can't draw sweeping conclusions from the above, however it does suggest it is not the regulations placed on firearm ownership by the government that accounts for slightly lower MA firearm ownership. Perhaps it is the level of education? As Massachusetts is largely an independent and left leaning state one would expect a greater gap between the national average and Massachusetts.

Got me to thinking, since regulation doesn't seem to kill ownership, political affiliations are unlikely to change all that much, and education apparently has a noticeable influence on lowering firearm ownership perhaps the NRA's next move will be a Reduce Education to Insure 2'nd Amendment Rights campaign.

Just sayin... :-)

Via: Memeorandum

Civil Rights and Liberties Require Constance Vigilance...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Putting partisan politics aside, something America seems inept at of late, the following article by Sally Kohn is something we should all be able to sincerely agree on.

Of course the immediate problem will be the interpretation of civil rights, civil liberties, and how they stack up with the politics and stated agendas of progressives and conservatives. In short what they mean (without emotionalism) and how to best insure they are recognized and protected.

People are not robots or automatons. Most are intelligent, thinking, and caring people. But as much as some might like everyone to think alike humans are not wired that way, and if I may say so it is a it is a damn good thing!

Having stated the obvious, the next obvious observation is... how do Americans, a diverse people with many intelligent yet divergent ideas sort it out, make well thought out decisions, and continue to be the nation are fore-bearers fought to create, died for, and handed on to us. IN A Single and simple word, COMPRISE.

I won't be holding out much hope this will be achieved. I'll be keeping my bets in which party is the most responsible for this inability to put America ahead of political agenda. I'm sure honest people will be able to figure it out though.

Now on to the article below.

The civil rights movement is not some dusty antique—it’s alive and well today, and we need it as much as ever.

When we hear the phrase “civil rights movement,” our minds automatically click into history mode and visualize those grainy and often searing black-and-white images from Birmingham and Selma. But that same energy and spirit—and urgency—are alive and well today, and as necessary as ever.

On Friday, July 11, 2014, a group of a hundred or so young and racially diverse leaders from across the United States sat in the Civil Rights Room of the Nashville Public Library and watched scenes from the legendary documentary film Eyes on the Prize. They focused on the portions that had local interest: Student leaders in Nashville in 1960 had been staging sit-ins to protest segregated lunch counters while tensions in the city steadily rose. On the morning of April 19, 1960, the home of a prominent black lawyer was bombed.

That afternoon, in response, the students led a silent march through the streets of Nashville to the steps of City Hall. Mayor Ben West met them there, and repeated his usual explanation of how the city was powerless to change segregation. Diane Nash, a student who was the elected leader of the Nashville movement, simply asked, “Mayor, do you recommend that the lunch counters be desegregated?”
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West replied yes. A few weeks later, Nashville became the first major Southern city in which blacks and whites could sit together and eat lunch.

But what struck the young people as they sat watching the film this past Friday, many the same age as Nash and her compatriots had been, was how the students who marched silently through the streets of Nashville were yelled at, spat on, and even beaten, simply for standing up for their equal humanity and rights.

The next morning, as this group of young leaders marched silently down the streets of Nashville in the shadow of the civil rights marchers before them, a group of white women drove by and from the back of a truck hollered the N-word at the group. It was a searing reminder of how much things can change and yet stay the same. And it’s a microcosm of why we still need to fight actively for justice...

Continue reading BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

As The Border Crises Continues More Info From The Administration...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Wella, Wella, Wella and golly gee.

It appears as though the administration is softening it's stance on how the onslaught of illegal alien children, most sent to the USA border alone by their parents, will be handled. An educated guess at this point is a very large number of these kids will end up staying in the good ole US of A. Most likely on the American taxpayer's dime.

Reporting from THE HILL.

The White House said Monday it was “likely” that immigrant children facing mortal danger in their home countries would be allowed to stay in the United States.

The comments come amid a growing debate over a 2008 law that allows many of the children flooding across the southern border an automatic asylum hearing.

“These children will — and other immigrants who are attempting to enter the country without documentation — will go through the immigration process and that means their claims of asylum will be considered by an immigration judge and by asylum officials,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday.

“What that means is it means that if a immigration judge determines that they face a credible threat of death upon their return to their home country, then, again, I'm not an immigration judge, but it is likely that the immigration judge will find that that person should be granted humanitarian relief.”

“These children will — and other immigrants who are attempting to enter the country without documentation — will go through the immigration process and that means their claims of asylum will be considered by an immigration judge and by asylum officials,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday.

“What that means is it means that if a immigration judge determines that they face a credible threat of death upon their return to their home country, then, again, I'm not an immigration judge, but it is likely that the immigration judge will find that that person should be granted humanitarian relief.”

Earnest's comments underscored the careful balancing act the White House is attempting on the border, looking to appease both its Democratic base — which has expressed concern over the treatment of the migrant children — and Republicans eager to blame the crisis on mismanaged enforcement by the administration.

Republicans want to change the 2008 law so that immigrant children from Central American countries largely driving the surge at the border are treated the same as children from Mexico and Canada, who don’t get an automatic hearing.

Democrats on Capitol Hill, however, have raised warnings that such a change could harm children seeking safety in the United States.

What a surprise eh? Read the rest of the story HERE.

Via: Memeorandum

Despicable Pro Palestinian/Hamas - Anti Israel Protests in Seatle...

by:Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

JEWS DEPICTED AS EATING GENTILE BABIES AND DRINKING THEIR BLOOD.

It did not take long. As I predicted in Israel Again On The Defense... criticism of Israel for defending it's national integrity and right to exist peacefully in the Middle East has started in the United States of America. Anti Israeli (which means pro palestinian and Hamas) protests have took place Seattle Washington Sunday, July 13.

Despicable is the softest description I can think of to describe the unfounded hatred displayed by those who took part in Sunday's hate fest in Seattle. I am ashamed to say I lived in Seattle at one time in my life.

As Hamas Rockets continued to rain down on Israeli population centers, a large anti-Israel rally took place in Seattle’s Westlake Center this Saturday, July 12. Protesters screamed anti-Israel slogans calling for the destruction of the Jewish state while waving signs and marching through the downtown sidewalks. But this was more than a rally in opposition to Israel or her defensive operations. The signs being waved and the chants hollered constituted a shocking public display of shameless Jew hatred right in the heart of Seattle.

The truth was in short supply. Many posters asserted that Israel had halted food and medicine to Gaza during the current Hamas provoked conflagration.

While supplying one’s enemy in a time of war seems to The Mike Report to border on insanity, according to Ynet “Israel has allowed some 200 trucks to cross into the strip, including some 200,000 liters of fuel daily, in an attempt to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza”. Israel continues to provide medical services to Gaza residents. “Over 20 Palestinians, including eight Gazan children were treated at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, as part of Israel’s longstanding cooperation with the Palestinian Authority”.

While you may have thought that blood libel accusations are a relic of the past, in fact the slander was alive and well in downtown Seattle this past Saturday. The below poster depicts a Jew eating a gentile child along with a cup of blood to wash it all down.

Simply Unbelievable Idiocy.

For a photo gallery of the signs held at this despicable and shameful as well as the rest of the story BE SURE TO GO HERE.

Va: Memeorandum

As The Feds Ship Illegals To Massachusetts From The Southern Border...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

As the crises on our southern border continues illegals are being shipped to Massachusetts by plane according to the Boston Globe. Apparently the feds have been keeping this operation "under the radar." Local law enforcement officials in the Bay State are growing increasingly concerned, as they rightly should.

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson is calling for sheriffs across America to "“mobilize” on the red-hot immigration issue and confront the feds over their failure to communicate with local officials."

Illegal immigrants are being secretly flown to Massachusetts and kept in local lockups in an under-the-radar operation that has alarmed lawmen who are raising health and security concerns amid recent spikes in detainees coming up from Texas during the latest border crisis.

“We’re all becoming border sheriffs now with these people being carted all over the country,” said Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson.

“The blame goes all the way up. It’s a travesty and people ought to be upset,” Hodgson said. “This is un-American and has raised the stakes to the public health and public safety threat.”

Hodgson said buses from his facility were recently used to transport six planeloads of illegals sent up from San Antonio to Hanscom Field in Bedford en route to the Plymouth County 
Correctional Facility.

The sheriff said he’s also heard of 100 immigrant children recently arriving in his county. But he couldn’t say if they are part of the deluge of 50,000 unaccompanied kids crossing the nation’s southern border.

On the receiving end of the buses from Hodgson’s facility was Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald Jr., who said he’s seen a jump in illegal immigrants arriving at his jail and had to deal with “scenarios where we’ve had 100-plus detainees coming in at the same time.”

Hodgson called for sheriffs across the United States to “mobilize” on the red-hot immigration issue and confront the feds over their failure to communicate with local officials.

He said he’s heading to the Texas border Tuesday with other sheriffs from around the country to meet with ranchers and immigration officials to address the porous border crisis.

After weeks of denying an increase in flights to the Bay State, federal immigration officials finally admitted this weekend that four planes filled with detainees captured at the southern border have been flown to Hanscom and Logan International Airport since April as part of a “large-scale nationwide response” to the crisis.

President Obama and his administration certainly seem NOT to grasp the growing storm that mat very well be spreading across America over the issue of illegal immigration. While the President is not responsible in full for an issue that has been around for nearly 40 years the problem now rests on his shoulders.

It would do the President and his administration well to listen to, and compromise with the opposition party and their leaders. Compromise is not caving, if the President moves wisely to resolve this issue and the repubs refuse to cooperate... the President will have strengthened his hand. 2014 mid term elections are coming up. He would be wise to gain the high ground and act soon.

Find the rest of the story HERE.

Via: Memeorandum

And Really, Exactly Who Benefits?...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

The AFSCME union has decided to no longer support the United Negro College Fund. Its sin? Accepting a 25 million dollar grant from the Koch Industries.

Principle or Partisan Political Considerations?

Intelligent or Stupid?

Story from the New York Post.

WASHINGTON — A powerful government workers’ union will end its support for the United Negro College Fund after the group accepted $25 million from the conservative powerhouse Koch brothers and the college fund’s president appeared at a Koch event.

In a letter made public Thursday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said it will no longer partner with or raise funds for the fund, known for its iconic motto, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
AFSCME President Lee Saunders said the actions of the college fund’s president “are not only deeply hostile to the rights and dignity of public employees, but also a profound betrayal of the ideals of the civil rights movement.”

The fund supports historically black colleges and universities and provides scholarships. It accepted a $25 million grant last month from Koch Industries Inc. and the Charles Koch Foundation.

The Koch brothers are major contributors to conservative causes and are often vilified by Democrats and liberals. After accepting the grant, Saunders says, UNCF President Michael Lomax spoke at a Koch brothers summit in California.

Saunders called the Koches “the single most prominent funders of efforts to prevent African-Americans from voting” and said Lomax’s appearance at their function was “a betrayal of everything the UNCF stands for.”

Lomax said the fund never had a litmus test for donors.

“While I am saddened by AFSCME’s decision, it will not distract us from our mission of helping thousands of African-American students achieve their dream of a college degree and the economic benefits that come with it,” Lomax said.

AFSCME is the nation’s largest public services employees union and has more than 1.6 million working and retired members. The union will sever its relationship with the UNCF on Sept. 1.

AFSCME gave between $50,000 and $60,000 annually to the UNCF for its AFSCME/UNCF Union Scholar Program, which has served 94 students since 2003. The program will continue, the union said, just no longer in partnership with the UNCF.

What say you?

Via: Memeorandum

Millennials... The Future of America

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Perhaps there is hope that the millennials will get it right. After they actually take charge sometime in the future.

From Reason some interesting factoids.

Millennials Think Government Is Inefficient, Abuses Its Power, and Supports Cronyism

But young Americans also want government to guarantee health insurance and living wages; plan to vote for Democrats in 2014 and 2016

A Reason-Rupe survey of 2,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 finds 66 percent of millennials believe government is inefficient and wasteful — a substantial increase since 2009, when just 42 percent of millennials said government was inefficient and wasteful.

Nearly two-thirds of millennials, 63 percent, think government regulators favor special interests, whereas just 18 percent feel regulators act in the public’s interest. Similarly, 58 percent of 18-to-29 year-olds are convinced government agencies abuse their powers, while merely 25 percent trust government agencies to do the right thing.

The Reason-Rupe report finds this skepticism of government has millennials favoring general reductions to government spending and regulations:

73 percent of millennials favor allowing private accounts for Social Security; 51 percent favor private accounts even it means cutting Social Security benefits for current and future retirees because 53 percent of millennials say Social Security is unlikely to exist when they retire

64 percent of millennials say cutting government spending by 5 percent would help the economy

59 percent say cutting taxes would help the economy

57 percent prefer a smaller government providing fewer services with low taxes, while 41 percent prefer a larger government providing more services with high taxes

57 percent want a society where wealth is distributed according to achievement

55 percent say reducing regulations would help the economy

53 percent say reducing the size of government would help the economy

74 percent of millennials say government has a responsibility to guarantee every citizen has a place to sleep and enough to eat

However, millennials also support more government action and higher spending in a number of key areas:

Be sure to GO HERE  for the rest of the story.

Via: Memeorandum

Israel Again On The Defense...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

The nation of Israel, a target of Arab Islamic terrorism since its inception again finds it necessary to defend itself from attacks by Hamas. While the world will rightly decry Palestinian deaths resulting from Israeli defensive airstrikes, it is also likely many in the USA and other western nations will be critical of Israel and her necessary response to Hamas, a terrorist organization at it's core.

GAZA CITY — The number of reported Palestinian deaths from Israeli airstrikes rose Thursday while rockets fired by Hamas struck farther into Israeli territory, targeting Tel Aviv and other cities.

Israel claimed Thursday that Hamas is firing a rocket into Israel at a rate of about one every 10 minutes. Israel's military arrived at the figure based on its claims that Hamas has fired more than 400 rockets at Israel in less than three days.

That assessment comes as Israel dramatically escalated its aerial assault in Gaza for a third day Thursday, hitting hundreds of Hamas targets as its missile defense system, Iron Dome, once again intercepted incoming rockets.

Military spokesman Peter Lerner said Thursday that Israel struck more than 300 Hamas targets overnight, focusing on underground tunnel networks and rocket-launching sites. That brought the total number of targets hit to 750.

The military said it struck a car in Gaza carrying three Islamic jihad militants involved in firing rockets, raising the Palestinian death toll to at least 84. About half were women and children, though the exact breakdown remains unclear, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. At least 22 of those deaths reportedly occurred Thursday.

Skip

Israel has not reported any deaths of its citizens since both sides intensified their aerial campaigns this week in a tense scenario that has threatened to spill over into a possible Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.

But the longer range of the rockets fired from Gaza has disrupted life across southern and central Israel, where people have been forced to remain close to home, and kindergartens and summer camps have closed. Israeli television has been a constant news loop with updates from both sides of the border and even radio music stations were interrupting songs with news of every siren informing of incoming rockets.

Besides firing toward Israel's two largest cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Hamas also launched a rocket that reached the town of Zichron Yaakov, more than 60 miles north of Gaza.

Skip

Speaking from Beijing on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry, who has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said it was a "dangerous moment" for the Mideast.

Israel's offensive has halted daily life in Gaza with locals staying home while many shops, restaurants and places of work have shut their doors.

Certainly the situation in the Middle East is serious and dangerous for the entire region. If it is not permanently resolved (which is likely) it will effect the entire globe.

It seems reasonable that the question the sane nations of the world should be asking is... when will it finally be the right time to unite and put up a solid front against the Islamic terrorism that is threatening western civilization?

Via: Memeorandum

S. Palin Calls for Obama's Impeachment...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

It is now beyond any doubt. Alaska's half term governor and failed 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is certifiable. Lost her marbles. Flew over the cuckoos nest.

With her Mama Mouse intellect and an American flag waving she has declared it is time to impeach President Obama. No doubt Palin's fellow travelers in the ozone layer of politics are as gleeful of the thought of impeaching America's first bi-racial president as she is.

The women who can "see Russia from her porch", and likely knows less about the constitution than the moose she shares Alaska with, penned a letter calling for the President's impeachment. It was published in Breitbart.

Without borders, there is no nation. Obama knows this. Opening our borders to a flood of illegal immigrants is deliberate. This is his fundamental transformation of America. It’s the only promise he has kept. Discrediting the price paid for America’s exceptionalism over our history, he’s given false hope and taxpayer’s change to millions of foreign nationals who want to sneak into our country illegally. Because of Obama’s purposeful dereliction of duty an untold number of illegal immigrants will kick off their shoes and come on in, competing against Americans for our jobs and limited public services. There is no end in sight as our president prioritizes parties over doing the job he was hired by voters to do. Securing our borders is obviously fundamental here; it goes without saying that it is his job.

The federal government is trillions of dollars in debt; many cities are on the verge of insolvency; our overrun healthcare system, police forces, social services, schools, and our unsustainably generous welfare-state programs are stretched to the max. We average Americans know that. So why has this issue been allowed to be turned upside down with our “leader” creating such unsafe conditions while at the same time obstructing any economic recovery by creating more dependents than he allows producers? His friendly wealthy bipartisan elite, who want cheap foreign labor and can afford for themselves the best “border security” money can buy in their own exclusive communities, do not care that Obama tapped us out.

Have faith that average American workers – native-born and wonderful legal immigrants of all races, backgrounds, and political parties – do care because we’re the ones getting screwed as we’re forced to follow all our government’s rules while others are not required to do so. Many now feel like strangers in their own land. It’s the American worker who is forced to deal with Obama’s latest crisis with our hard-earned tax dollars while middle class wages decrease, sustainable jobs get more scarce, and communities become unrecognizable and bankrupted due to Obama’s flood of illegal immigration.

Who’s looking out for the American workers? Who has their backs? Who fights for them?

We should.

President Obama’s rewarding of lawlessness, including his own, is the foundational problem here. It’s not going to get better, and in fact irreparable harm can be done in this lame-duck term as he continues to make up his own laws as he goes along, and, mark my words, will next meddle in the U.S. Court System with appointments that will forever change the basic interpretation of our Constitution’s role in protecting our rights.

It’s time to impeach; and on behalf of American workers and legal immigrants of all backgrounds, we should vehemently oppose any politician on the left or right who would hesitate in voting for articles of impeachment.

The many impeachable offenses of Barack Obama can no longer be ignored. If after all this he’s not impeachable, then no one is.

America's far right is making a mockery of politics as well as the principles on which our democratic republic was founded. For 5 and 1/2 years the republican party and it's TP (toilet paper) Wing has forced gridlock and I'm one American, likely among millions, who are sick and tired of the sh*t.

Via: Memeorandum

Is President Obama Preparing To Back Warren For 2016 Democratic Nomination For Prez?...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

The New York Post is reporting that President Obama is quietly trying to convince Massachusetts extreme progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren to make a run for presidency in 2016. He has reportedly expressed privately concerns that his former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would if nominated and ultimately elected undo some of his policies.

While Obama has publicly been non committal this report should surprise few given the aggressive campaign Hillary waged against Obama for the democratic party nomination in 2008. Clinton, while certainly a liberal is more centrist than her ex boss.

Should Warren choose to toss her hat in the ring for 2016 with the President's blessings it will certainly energize the right and moderates who are given pause by her leftist views.

It has been said by many talking heads and bloggers on the far right that Obama was the far left's socialist candidate (some even said he is a communist) that was elected to set the stage for a socialist government in the USA. One can only guess what the right is going to chime in with after the New York Post article.

President Obama has quietly promised Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren complete support if she runs for president — a stinging rebuke to his nemesis Hillary Clinton, sources tell me.

Publicly, Obama has remained noncommittal on the 2016 race, but privately he worries that Clinton would undo and undermine many of his policies. There’s also a personal animosity, especially with Bill Clinton, that dates from their tough race six years ago.

A former Harvard law professor and administration aide, Warren would energize the left wing of the Democrat Party just as Obama did against Clinton in 2008.

Thanks to her outspoken stand against big banks and the top 1 percent, Warren is the darling of progressives. She won her Senate seat thanks to millions of dollars in donations from outside Massachusetts, including from rich environmentalists and Hollywood celebrities.

Obama has authorized his chief political adviser, Valerie Jarrett, to conduct a full-court press to convince Warren to throw her hat into the ring.

In the past several weeks, Jarrett has held a series of secret meetings with Warren. During these meetings, Jarrett has explained to Warren that Obama is worried that if Hillary succeeds him in the White House, she will undo many of his policies.

He believes that the populist Warren is the best person to convince the party faithful that Hillary is out of touch with poor Americans and the middle class. Warren, in his view, would carry on the Obama legacy after he leaves the White House.

So far, Warren has been reluctant to make a commitment. During several recent interviews, she has said that she has no present plans to run for president.

However, she always phrases her stance on the issue in the present tense and has refused to issue a Shermanesque statement that she will not run for the White House under any circumstances.

“Barack, Michelle, and Valerie have been talking about Elizabeth Warren for quite some time,” says an Obama administration source. “Valerie has told Warren that Obama is prepared to throw a great deal of money and organizational support behind her.

The drama of politics, as well as the BS. Read much more BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

Our Founders Really Were Liberals...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

This site represents honest conservatism, you know, the type of conservatism that is not afraid to acknowledge that our nation was founded on the principles and values of Classical Liberals. Indeed they were not only liberal in their thinking they were in fact extremely revolutionary in pursuit of their vision.

Conservatism is about preserving the classical liberal principles of our founders while at the same time recognizing and acknowledging that as the world changes, as knowledge grows exponentially, as we become increasingly global and thus more interdependent, we remain ready and willing to adapt to modern realities. Unfortunately for America it is becoming increasingly evident that present day republicans, conservatives, libertarians, and neocons either fail to understand this, refuse to acknowledge it or both. Given this fact it is reasonable to make the statement that present day groups as noted are in fact reactionary, which is to say they favor a return to the status quo of a past era, 1776 to be precise.

While feeling thankful, as well as grateful, for the giants of American Classical Liberalism I decided to fire up my computer and see what was going on at some of the regular "conservative" sites I visit from time to time. One particular site whose administrator I believe is educated and knowledge gave me plenty to think about so I hung around for awhile. What I read convinced me my that 1) my above assessment is in fact correct, and 2) this nation will indeed be in dire circumstances should present republican party "conservatism" prevail.

One particular comment is responsible for this evening's post. It was clear from this comment there is most definitely something to be very concerned with, at least from my perspective anyway. They say ignorance is bliss which may or may not be true. However it is true for sure that ignorance can, and often is dangerous.

TruthseekerJuly 4, 2014 at 4:55:00 PM EDT

On This July 4th, DON'T "Thank A Liberal".... The liberals on these blogs always boast that the likes of Jefferson and Washington and Hamilton and Adams and Franklin and many other founding fathers were "liberals", and we should all "thank a liberal" for what the founding fathers risked everything to achieve.

This is, of course, absolute NONSENSE, and the liberals should hide their faces in SHAME for even suggesting that our founding fathers would have condoned, defended, and supported today's liberal social and economic agendas.

Would our Founding Fathers have supported a bloated, reckless, out-of-control federal government?

Would they have supported aborting millions of unborn babies under the guise of "privacy" and "reproductive rights"?

Would they have supported marriage between two men and marriage between two women?

Would they have supported the influx of millions of illegal aliens streaming across our borders unchecked?

Would they have supported providing millions of illegal aliens with federal and state-funded education, food, housing, and medical care?

Would they have supported deficit spending, crushing national debt, and the fiat currency system?

Would they have supported the creation of the Federal Reserve System and the resulting manipulation of our money supply and our country's economic health by the Federal Reserve Board?

Would they have supported the executive branch bypassing the legislative and judicial branches and unilaterally making laws via Executive Orders?

Would they have supported our participation in military actions in foreign countries that did not pose direct threats to the United States?

Would they have supported the breakdown of the family unit through divorce or illegitimacy or abuse or irresponsibility?

Would they have supported the erosion of state's rights via the judiciary?

Would they have supported the erosion of religious freedoms?

Would they have supported a gridlocked legislative branch and an extremely partisan and subjective judicial branch?

Would they have supported the widespread voter fraud that has affected countless local, state, and federal elections?

Would they have supported negotiating with terrorist organizations for the release of American hostages?

The answer to all of these questions is a resounding ABSOLUTELY NOT!

So today, if you must "thank a liberal" for something, thank them for ALL of the items I listed, and while you're at it, thank a few Faux Conservatives, those batty Libertarians and Republicans (RINO’S) too!

Consider the above and after doing so draw your own informed opinion. That is after all what a Classical Liberal as well as a true honest 21st century conservative does. Be sure to spend time ready all the comments as they will prove to be quite instructive.

On a side note Paul Harvey, always one of my favorites, really rocks on this video.

The Ominous NSA...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Many, but far from enough, resisted the Patriot Act and warned us of the potential and likely infringement on our civil liberties and privacy rights by the NSA. Perhaps Professor Leonard Piekoff in his book "The Ominous Parallels" was prophetic when he outlined similarities between Nazi Germany and modern America in its slow march towards fascism. Present day American conservatism is perhaps the greatest threat to our freedoms and personal liberties the nation has faced at any time in our history, although the Obama administration and many liberals have been supportive of the NSA.

Deutsche Welle - A former NSA technical chief has told Germany's parliament that the US agency has become a "totalitarian" mass collector of data. German public broadcasters say the NSA targets individuals who use encryption services.

Former NSA technical head William Binney described the US National Security Agency in Berlin on Thursday as an entity that had abandoned every rule-of-law principle and breached the democratic freedoms of citizens.

Binney was the first American insider to testify to the German Bundestag's newly formed NSA inquiry committee, which is pursuing three questions, including whether German intelligence services had worked with the NSA.

Testifying, Binney accused the NSA of having a "totalitarian mentality" and wanting "total information control" over citizens in breach of the US constitution. It was an approach that until now the public had only seen among dictators, he added.

Mass collection was "senseless" and did not help in counterterrorism, and actually hindered the agency's capabilities, Binney said.

The NSA represented the "greatest threat" to American society since the US Civil War of the 19th century, Binney added.

Binney left the NSA as its technical chief in 2001 shortly it began mass scanning in the wake of 9/11 hijack attacks by al Qaeda terrorists on New York and Washington.

Another former NSA staffer, Thomas Drake, who left the NSA after trying to use official complaint channels, told the inquiry that almost all data that transited Germany was accessed by the NSA and Germany's BND foreign intelligence service -- or the NSA alone.

The US government was exercising the ultimate form of control, Drake said, adding that the German BND's silence on the issue was "terrible."

"The public has a right to know what the NSA does," he said, according to a quote from the hearing delivered by the German DPA news agency in German.

Drake said the United States would soon become a "real surveillance" nation in which the private lives of individuals were becoming more and more the property of the state.

On Wednesday, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), a panel appointed by US President Barack Obama, defended the NSA's vast foreign intelligence data sweeps.

Read more BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

Religious Leaders Ask The President To Exempt Religious Groups From Order Barring LGBT Bias In Hiring

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

As fundamentalist religious leaders continue to press their discriminatory and bigoted agenda in the halls of our government. Unless this nation puts a stop to BS of this nature it will be harder and harder to tell the difference between us and the fundamentalism we see in Islamic regimes in the Middle East.

Fourteen prominent faith leaders — including some of President Obama’s closest advisers — want the White House to create a religious exemption from his planned executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against gays and lesbians in hiring.

A letter to the White House, sent Tuesday and made public Wednesday, includes the signatures of Michael Wear, faith director for Obama’s 2012 campaign; Stephen Schneck, a leader of Catholic outreach in 2012; and Florida megapastor Joel Hunter, whom Obama has described as a close spiritual counselor.

The letter reminds Obama of his own earlier faith-based opposition to same-sex marriage, as well as the government’s massive partnerships with faith-based social service groups that work on issues including housing, disaster relief and hunger.

“While the nation has undergone incredible social and legal change over the last decade, we still live in a nation with different beliefs about sexuality. We must find a way to respect diversity of opinion,” said the letter.

“An executive order that does not include a religious exemption will significantly and substantively hamper the work of some religious organizations that are best equipped to serve in common purpose with the federal government.,” it said. “When the capacity of religious organizations is limited, the common good suffers.”

Obama announced last month that he would sign an executive order barring discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. He did this after failed efforts to get through Congress the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would make it illegal under federal law to discriminate in the workplace — not just for contractors.

Read more BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

Influence of Religion...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth

Tehrik-e-Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, is a closely held, profit-making enterprise organized on religious principles. One of its principles, announced as public policy in July, 2012, is that children should not be inoculated against polio, because the vaccines violate God’s law. So sincere are the Taliban’s religious beliefs that its followers have assassinated scores of public-health workers who have attempted to administer polio vaccines in areas under Taliban control or influence.

This year, three out of five of the world’s new polio cases have been found in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas, particularly in North Waziristan, where the Pakistani Taliban and groups like it have run a de-facto state since about 2008. The great majority of the polio victims are children under two years old.

If the Pakistani Taliban, aided by clever lawyers, organized a closely held American corporation, and professed to run it on religious principles, might its employees be deprived of insurance coverage to inoculate their children against polio? And would the Supreme Court, by the five-to-four decision issued on Monday in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores and in Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell, endorse such a move?

From The New Yorker the above excerpt, while seemingly absurd on the surface,is really not all that far fetched given the rationale used by five Catholic, male, and conservative SCJ in arriving at their majority decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores and in Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell. The decision is flawed at many levels as was pointed out in the dissenting minority opinion. Indeed a minefield has been laid down, one that threatens the liberty of Americans as religion, especially religious fundamentalists continues to burrow into our secular government and the judiciary.

How long before we begin to resemble the likes of the Pakistani Tehrik-e-Taliban?

Continue reading HERE

Via: Memeorandum