Funding Pakistan, but Military Suspends U.S. Tuition Assistance

The disconnect in Washington continues. While warning us of increased security lines at airports, the TSA pushed through a $50 million deal to buy new uniforms. The USDA warned they will not be able to monitor the food you eat, but will forge ahead with its partnership with the Mexican government on food stamps. There’s also the release of thousands of illegal immigrants from jail by the Homeland Security department, which has posted more than 100 job openings this month alone.There’s the closing the White House to public tours, but they’re giving 139 staffers six-figure salaries! The list of hypocrisy in this government goes on and on, but this latest example of sequester hype may take the cake.

The Pentagon is cutting assistance for American troops! According to members of Congress, the Marines spent $47 million to help graduate 50,000 military members last year.That money represents just a tenth of a percent of the Pentagon’s budget.The Army offered similar assistance by giving $4,500 annually for courses and more than 200,000 soldiers participated in the program.

Here’s the hypocrisy of it all

We’re cutting these programs, but are still spending nearly $13 million on education aid in Pakistan! Where hatred against the U.S. is at record levels! That $13 million is just a fraction of the $370 million we’ve spent on all forms of nondefense aid to Pakistan in 2012, and another $1.5 Billion to Egypt. This administration is really missing a golden opportunity here with this sequester. Instead of acting like a two-year old and throwing a temper tantrum, laying people off, closing the White House, and making other big spectacle cuts, why not really look at where the money is going.Look at smart ways to meet the new budget requirements.

No one’s telling you to never spend another dime. We just ask that for once you spend that money wisely!

Obama has left us with an awesome feeling of depression when we look at the national debt and realize that he’s planning on “solving” that problem by taking whatever else he let us keep during his first four years

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/willis-report/blog/2013/03/19/funding-pakistan-military-suspends-us-tuition-assistance#ixzz2OQZrwQq9

Obama Seeks to Knock US Down a Peg

By Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

Much puzzling behavior by Barack Obama falls into place when we go behind the image that he projects (“Obama 1″) to the factual reality of the man’s whole life and thrust (“Obama 2″).
Many of Barack Obama’s actions as president of the United States reflect neither political expediency nor an attempt to promote the best interests of the American people. Take, for example, his bowing low from the waist to foreign leaders.

No president of the United States had ever done that before. It gained Obama nothing with the voters, nor was there any reason to think that he expected it to. Why then did he do it?
What did it accomplish? It brought the United States down a peg, in the eyes of the world, something that he has sought to do in many other ways.

These bows were perfectly consistent with his view of a maldistribution of power and prestige internationally, just as his domestic agenda reflects a felt need for a redistribution of wealth and power within American society.

It is not just the United States, but the Western world in general, including Israel, that needs to be brought down a peg, from the standpoint of the ideology prevalent among the people with whom Barack Obama has allied himself consistently for decades.

Against that background, it is not at all puzzling that President Obama has clamped down on offshore oil drilling by Americans in the Gulf of Mexico, but has actually encouraged and subsidized offshore oil drilling by Brazil with our tax dollars.

Nor is it surprising that he imposes draconian restrictions on industrial activities in the United States, in the name of fighting “global warming,” while accepting the fact that Third World nations that are beginning to industrialize will generate far more pollution than any restrictions in America can possibly offset.

That is another example of international redistribution — and payback for perceived past oppressions or exploitation of the West against the non-West. So is replacing pro-Western governments in the Middle East with Islamic extremist governments.

Some people may have gotten focused on the issue of Barack Obama’s birth certificate because so much of what he has done seems foreign to American ideals, traditions, and interests. But birth tells us nothing about loyalty. One-time American Communist leader Earl Browder was descended from the Pilgrims.

Those who have questioned whether Barack Obama is really a citizen of the United States have missed the larger question: Whether he considers himself a citizen of the world. Think about this remarkable statement by Obama during the 2008 campaign: “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that every other country is going to say, ‘OK.’”

**Are Americans supposed to let foreigners tell them how to live their lives? The implied answer is clearly “Yes!” When President Obama went to the United Nations for authority to take military action and ignored the Congress of the United States, that was all consistent with his vision of the way the world should be.

How has Obama gotten away with so many things that are foreign to American beliefs and traditions? Partly it is because of a quiescent media, sharing many of his ideological views and/or focused on the symbolism of his being “the first black president.” But part of his success must be credited — if that is the word — to his own rhetorical talents and his ability to project an image that many people accept and welcome.

The role of a confidence man is not to convince skeptics, but to help the gullible believe what they want to believe. Most of what Barack Obama says sounds very persuasive if you don’t know the facts — and often sounds like sheer nonsense if you do. But he is not trying to convince skeptics, nor worried about looking ridiculous to informed people who won’t vote for him anyway.

This is a source of much polarization between those who see and accept Obama 1 and those who see through that facade to Obama 2.

But part of his success must be credited — if that is the word — to his own rhetorical talents and his ability to project an image that many people accept and welcome.
An 18th century philosopher put the matter bluntly: “When I speak, I put on a mask. When I act, I am forced to take it off.”
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Read more reports from Thomas Sowell — Click Here Now.

The so-called “obstruction” by the GOP may be the only thing saving the middle class from Obama and the democrats.

Barak Obama said he should be held accountable but today wants to be accountable for absolutely nothing save for killing Bin Laden.

As democrats controlled the entire Congress and senate for the first two years of Obama’s term and were able to shove pretty much anything they wanted down the throat of the country it seems appropriate to judge this administration by the effects of the policies put in place by Obama and the democrats from after the time they were enacted.

Democrats labeled last year “the recovery summer” but it did not pan out that way. Obama’s election campaign theme seems to be “It could be worse” but the fact is things are not getting better- especially not for the middle class.Sentier Research has published data that show the middle class to be losing ground consequent to Obama’s policies.

Between June 2009 and June 2011: Barack Obama is a community organizer. He knows how to grow division and class warfare. He knows nothing of growing economies. Left alone in control, democrats created policies that were not only not helpful to the economy and the middle class, they are harmful. The so-called “obstruction” by the GOP may be the only thing saving the middle class from Obama and the democrats.

“Running left-wing movements has always been the prerogative of spoiled rich kids. This

Thomas Sowell understands this transformation well. “As a young political leftist, I saw the left as the voice of the common man. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he wrote in his book aptly titled Is Reality Optional? He continued,

Running left-wing movements has always been the prerogative of spoiled rich kids. This pattern goes all the way back to the days when an over-indulged and affluent young man named Karl Marx combined with another over-indulged youth from a wealthy family named Friedrich Engels to create the Communist ideology.

The phoniness of the claim to be a movement of the working class was blatant from the beginning. When Engels was elected as a delegate to the Communist League in 1847, in his own words, ‘a working man was proposed for appearances sake, but those who proposed him voted for me.’ It may have been the first rigged ‘election’ of the Communist movement but it was certainly not the last…. The anointed have always wanted to create their own kind of people, as well as their own kind of society.”

Already influenced by the Communist poet, Frank Marshall Davis, Obama attended the elite Punahou School in Hawaii. He studied at prestigious universities such as Columbia and Harvard. His rise to power was funded by rich, liberal men and foundations. They sought his talents and used his rage to facilitate change.As a “community organizer,” Obama was supported by The Woods Fund, a wealthy left-wing foundation. So were Bill Ayers and two radical training organizations founded by Alinsky’s disciples: “The Center for Community Change” and “The Midwest Academy.

It was a 1960s leader of the homegrown terrorist group Weatherman, a Communist-driven splinter faction of Students for a Democratic Society Characterizing Weatherman as ‘an American Red Army,’ Ayers summed up the organization’s ideology as follows: ‘Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, Kill your parents

According to David Freddoso, author of The Case Against Barack Obama, Obama and Bill Ayers served together as board members of The Woods Fund from 1999 to 2002. The Woods Fund also supports the radical activities of (Acorn)the “Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.” So do our taxes!

I have heard stories about massive voter registration drives and preparations to get out the vote with the help of unions, teachers, and other Obama fans. Chief among these groups is ACORN, or Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a radical group that has been caught engaging in voter fraud. Not surprisingly, Obama has close ties to the group since his days as a ‘community organizer’ in Chicago.

“…Obama had been a key ally of ACORN. His influence at charitable foundations ‘allowed him to help direct tens of millions of dollars in grants.’ [The New York Times] also noted the key role ACORN played in helping him win his first state Senate race in Illinois. Like many other radical organizations, ACORN’s strategies are based on Alinsky’s revolutionary tactics. Since socialists are not accountable to traditional ethics, ACORN’s dishonest dealings — exposed by Michelle Malkin’s article titled  $800,000 campaign secret payment to ACORN 

“There’s much more to the story of Obama’s amended campaign finance reports than what Obama and the Obamedia will tell you…. What we have here, essentially, is Obama using a non-profit group called Citizens Services Inc. as a front to funnel payments to ACORN for campaign advance work. Obama officials say it’s no big deal.

In 1992 Obama helped start another revolutionary organization, Public Allies. He resigned the next year, before Michelle Obama became the executive director of its Chicago chapter. Apparently, Obama plans to use it as the model for a national service corps — a “Universal Voluntary Public Service.”

“The pitch Public Allies makes on its Web site doesn’t seem all that radical. It promises to place young adults (18–30) in paid one-year ‘community leadership’ positions with nonprofit or government agencies. They’ll also be required to attend weekly training workshops and three retreats. In exchange, they’ll get a monthly stipend….

But its real mission is to radicalize American youth and use them to bring about ‘social change’ through threats, pressure, tension and confrontation — the tactics used by the father of community organizing, Saul ‘The Red’ Alinsky….

“I get to practice being an activist, and get paid for it,” gushed Cincinnati recruit Amy Vincent….”When they’re not protesting, they’re staffing AIDS clinics, handing out condoms, bailing criminals out of jail and helping illegal aliens and the homeless obtain food stamps and other welfare…. It’s training the ‘next generation of nonprofit leaders’ — future ‘social entrepreneurs.’….

“Not all the recruits appreciate the PC [politically correct] indoctrination. ‘It was too touchy-feely,’ said Nelly Nieblas… ‘It’s a lot of talk about race, a lot of talk about sexism, a lot of talk about homophobia….’

“The government now funds about half of Public Allies’ expenses…. Obama wants to fully fund it and expand it into a national program that some see costing $500 billion.”

A national militia and Community policing

“I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of the United States … this will be a central cause of my presidency,” says Barack Obama.

So how will such “active citizenship” change America? How will he use his mandatory “service learning” programs — and his proposed “civilian national security force” (remember, it will be “just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as our traditional military)?

We find some clues in the article, “Community Oriented Policing,” by Phillip Worts, a detective with the San Diego Police Department. Ponder these excerpts

“Social chaos is the GOAL for the transformational Marxist. The crisis of crime and disorder is the door for the … facilitator/change agent to enter the community and to initiate the paradigm shift! Even though these social architects plainly admit what is most vital in making for a crime free community, they have absolutely no intention of restoring ‘individual conscience’ or going back to repairing the traditional family. On the contrary, for the past sixty years these socio-psychologists have been introducing these very dialectic concepts into our school system with the intent of demolishing personal conscience….”:

“Just in case you doubt the Marxist nature of their concepts of community transformation, Trojanowicz quotes Saul Alinsky, the extreme Marxist change agent of the 60’s who authored Rules for Radicals. Alinsky proposed ‘we begin viewing community through the prism of issues (Issues= problems= crisis= conflict)…

“Formerly, the police administrators were accountable to the elected officials who were accountable to the voters (representative democracy). This new paradigm that Trojanowicz describes is exactly what Marxist George Lukacs termed ‘participatory democracy‘ and is nothing more than the Soviet style council

“The United States Constitution was the law of the land (absolute authority) restraining government intrusion into the rights of the individual. The framers designed it to insulate the private realm (the individual) from the public realm (government).

 Your neighborhood cop is now that facilitator, the Soviet.”Reality versus Delusion You’ve seen that the socialist power structure thrives on conflict, compromise, manipulation and deceit. It spreads its illusions by hiding its totalitarian aims under the noble banner of community service.

Thomas Sowell

The Romney Record Compared ToThe Obama Record

The Romney Record: STAPLES

Mitt Romney and Bain Capital invested in Staples as a startup to give it a chance to grow. Today it provides 89,000 jobs at stores and distribution centers across the country.In 1986, Staples opened its first store in Brighton, Massachusetts. Today, Staples operates more than 1,500 stores and 56 distribution centers across 49 states and the District of Columbia. In 2011, Staples had more than $25 billion in sales.

Staples founder Tom Stemberg recalls Mitt’s role in the company: “Mitt didn’t just invest in Staples when it was an idea — he hung around as a member of the board of directors for close to 15 years and I’ve been on some very good boards with some great directors. I would still rate him as the single best corporate director I’ve ever worked with . . . He was the inspirational leader and while Staples may have existed without him, I doubt it would have been nearly as big or successful without him.”

The Romney Record: STEEL DYNAMICS

When the steel industry was laying off workers and dozens of companies were going bankrupt, Mitt Romney and Bain Capital took a chance to invest in a new steel company. Today, Steel Dynamics employs more than 6,180 workers across the United States.

In 1994, Bain Capital helped make Steel Dynamics possible by joining with GE to provide critical venture capital funding in a costly and struggling industry. In less than 20 years, Steel Dynamics has become America’s fifth-largest producer of carbon-steel products with $8 billion in revenues. It is one of just six major American steel companies.From its initial base in Indiana, Steel Dynamics has grown to include plants in Roanoke, Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Huntington, West Virginia. Additional operations, including mining, recycling and steel fabrication centers have created jobs across Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Minnesota, Florida, Arkansas, and Nevada.

The Romney Record: BROOKSTONE

Before Mitt Romney and Bain Capital invested in New Hampshire-based Brookstone in 1991, news reports stated that the company was in “dire straits.” During their investment, however, the company witnessed a dramatic turnaround.  During the Brookstone investment, the company opened more than 100 stores and added more than 740 jobs across the United States. Brookstone’s revenues nearly tripled from $95 million to $270 million. Today, Brookstone is one of New Hampshire’s largest corporations, and the growth that began during Bain Capital’s investment has continued. Brookstone has subsequently added more than 1,100 employees across 294 retail stores in the United States. And in 2011, Brookstone recorded nearly half a billion dollar in revenues.

The Obama Record: Anti-job-creators, Anti-jobs

Barack Obama’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s record of success in the private sector are no surprise. This administration has been the most hostile to job creators of any in memory.

You cannot love jobs, while attacking the businesses that create them. Yet that is the record of this presidency. The Obama Administration has spent three and a half years criticizing the free market, over-regulating businesses and creating an environment of uncertainty. And now they look around and wonder, “Where are the jobs?”

What we see in President Obama is someone who doesn’t understand the private sector and what we see around us in our stalling economy is the consequence of his attacks on the private sector.

The Obama Record: Hurting Small Businesses

Jack Gilchrist, Gilchrist Metal Fabricating In New Hampshire:

“Our business, our neighbors, ourselves, are all affected negatively by the same condition: and that’s uncertainty. The Obama economy is just loaded with uncertainty. We have a rising debt. We have a devalued currency. And every time that happens I have less money to buy more expensive equipment with to try and keep up with technology. We’re the stockholders of America and every time our stock is worth less, I feel like I’m worth less and it’s harder for me to run my business. I want a Mitt Romney. I want somebody who can generate equity for me and the stockholders of America. I think we need a leader that takes responsibilities, not a fundraising professor that blames others.” (RFP Release, 6/4/12)

Kyle Koehler, K.K. Tool Co., Inc. Of Ohio:

“I think one of our concerns, one of the two concerns I have, one is Obamacare and the fact that if it’s fully implemented we’re going to compete with companies who simply drop their health care and we’re hearing this just pay the penalty and settle for cut-rate government provided health care…. We’ll be the disadvantaged because we care more than just about the bottom line. It’s going to, I believe, it’s going to hurt the average worker, not help them.” (RFP Release, 6/4/12)

Mike Anson Of Anson Excavating And Pipe, Inc. In Colorado:

“’We feel like there’s a lot of uncertainly out there and we just can’t get anyone to spend any money,’ Anson said. ‘We used to get jobs that were $500,000 to $1 million and now we can’t even get a job that pays us $100,000.’ The business owners said that health care reform, higher gas prices, the Dodd-Frank regulatory reform act and other new regulations have all hurt their bottom lines.” (KWGN.com, 6/4/12)

Scott Cook Of Cook Chevrolet In Colorado:

“’All industries and businesses have to be consumer-driven, not regulation-driven,’ said Cook, who runs dealerships on the Western Slope. ‘A lot of people won’t be able to afford to buy cars with these new fuel efficiency standards. People aren’t going to save money on gas because they’re going to pay more just to buy these more expensive cars.’” (KWGN.com, 6/4/12)

Ken Sickmen of Virginia’s Belmont TV:

“Ken Sickmen, who owns Belmont TV in Arlington and participated in the conference call, said beyond the economic figures traded back and forth by the campaigns there is a perception among the business owners he knows that Obama is hostile to the business community. ‘It’s a perception that President Obama policies are working against the businessman,’ Sickmen said. ‘It’s a feeling that Mitt Romney is more likely to be aware and more pro-business in that President Obama and his policies seem as if we’re the bad guy.’” (The Shad Plank Blog, 6/4/12)

Melissa Ball Of Ball Office Products In Virginia:

“Melissa Ball who owns Ball Office Products in Richmond said during the call that the ‘hostility’ towards the business community is keeping companies like hers from growing. ‘I’m looking forward to, right now, being able to say something other than “I’m just trying to stay flat; I’m just trying to maintain; I’m hoping not to let anyone go,”’ Ball said. ‘I want to see a situation where I can say, “I believe this economy can be turned around;” and I want to sit here and say “We’re growing, expanding and hiring.” Those are the types of things that can’t happen with our current policies.’” (The Shad Plank Blog, 6/4/12)

ColorFX CEO Jon Troen Of Iowa:

“ColorFX employs about 500 people in Iowa, including around 200 at the Urbandale facility. CEO Jon Troen spoke about burdensome rules and regulations that business faces under President Obama . . . . ‘When I talk about regulation, it’s not just specific regulation,’ Troen said. ‘It’s a climate and a culture of the government saying we know better than you how to run your business.’” (Des Moines Register, 6/4/12)

A Citizenry Capable Of Entrusting A Man like Him With The Presidency

 

Published In The Prager Zeitung of 28 April 2010….

 

The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency.

It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.

The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America.Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool.

It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.