A Nation In Distress
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Why the Government Must Control the Internet
From Godfather Politics:
It wasn’t too long ago that that we had three sources of national news: ABC, CBS, and NBC. Print media were limited to the daily newspaper and national news magazines like Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report. No more.
Read more: Why the Government Must Control the Internet - Godfather Politics http://godfatherpolitics.com/3293/why-the-government-must-control-the-internet/#ixzz1nqElSWhR
Why the Government Must Control the Internet
It wasn’t too long ago that that we had three sources of national news: ABC, CBS, and NBC. Print media were limited to the daily newspaper and national news magazines like Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report. No more.The media gatekeepers are few and far between today. The last gate – the biggest gate – is the internet. If it can’t be controlled, the people can’t be controlled. That’s why governments around the world are working to implement ways to control it. A nation like China just does it, but here in the United States the pretense of a legitimate legal remedy must be found.
Congress got slapped down with an all-out internet frontal attack that shut down their phone lines. Republican Senator Everett Dirksen (1896–1969) explains what happens when sustained pressure is put on Congress: “When we feel the heat, we see the light.” Gary North comments:
The Good Old Boys learned that they cannot conduct business as usual any longer — not when Internet autonomy is concerned. The Internet can mobilize millions of voters in hours. The Good Old Boys had not yet figured this out on Tuesday. They are slow learners.
Al Gore didn’t realize what he had invented.
Even the leftist New York Times understood what happened. Of course, they’ve seen the effect of the internet on their industry through a drop in subscription rates and ad revenue:
And for all the campaign contributions, Washington parties and high-priced lobbyists the old economy could muster, nothing could compare to the tentacles the new economy can reach into Americans’ everyday lives through sites like Wikipedia.
The most encouraging aspect of the protest was the action people took. What politicians count on is a short memory and activist exhaustion. These guys won’t stop. Harry Reid has postponed a vote on the controversial laws. He’s waiting for the outcome of the 2012 election. This is from the “Techdirt” site:
Think the blackouts were just a “publicity stunt” that didn’t wake up the American people to a serious problem with the legislative process? Wikipedia has now revealed that an astounding eight million people used its tool to look up their elected officials’ contact info. It’s not yet clear how many actually called, but some information on calls is starting to come out, and it sure sounds like a lot of people called.
We heard from multiple Senate staffers that the phones — both in DC and back home in the district offices — were ringing non-stop with complaints about the bill. Our own calling widget, care of Engine Advocacy, got a tremendous amount of usage — including over 2,000 phone calls per minute at peak calling times. Meanwhile, Google’s online petition scored 4.5 million signatures… and that’s the number that was reported earlier in the day. I’m sure it was higher by the end of the day. Anyone think this isn’t a mainstream issue yet? More importantly, can anyone explain why various Senators still want to move forward with this bill?
The battle’s not over. Keep a sharp eye and keep the heat on. Your congressman is counting on you to fatigue of “eternal vigilance.”
Read more: Why the Government Must Control the Internet - Godfather Politics http://godfatherpolitics.com/3293/why-the-government-must-control-the-internet/#ixzz1nqElSWhR
FAIR Legislative Update January 23, 2012
From FAIR:
FAIR Legislative Update January 23, 2012
FAIR Legislative Update January 23, 2012
DHS Retaliates Against Alabama; Suspends Roll-Out of Secure CommunitiesEarly in January, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified Alabama officials it had suspended the roll out of Secure Communities within the state. (The Birmingham News, Jan. 18, 2012) The Secure Communities program, which uses fingerprinting technology to identify illegal aliens within local jails, is currently operational in 37 out of Alabama’s 67 counties. However, DHS had scheduled to complete the roll-out of Secure Communities to all counties in the state by the end of 2011. (CQ Today, Jan 17. 2012) Remarkably, in an email sent to members of the Alabama Congressional Delegation, DHS essentially admits that the decision to suspend the program was done in retaliation against Alabama’s new immigration enforcement law, HB 56. The email from DHS states: “Although the federal courts have enjoined several parts of H.B. 56, certain provisions were not enjoined and are currently in effect…While these provisions of Alabama’s state immigration enforcement law, which conflict with ICE’s immigration enforcement policies and programs, remain the subject of litigation, ICE does not believe it is appropriate to expand deployment of Secure Communities…in Alabama.” (Aderholt press release, Jan. 17, 2012) Meanwhile DHS told Alabama officials that the reason for the suspension of Secure Communities was cost. Spencer Collier, director of the Alabama State Department of Homeland Security, said that a DHS official assured him two weeks ago that the delay in Alabama was strictly for budget reasons. (The Birmingham News, Jan. 18, 2012) “She assured me that all 67 counties would be brought up to speed, but that it was taking longer and they were not going to make the December deadline,” Collier said. “She didn't say anything about the immigration law…” (Id.) Alabama’s representatives reacted strongly to DHS’s announcement. In a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, Rep. Robert Aderholt, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, urged DHS to complete the implementation of Secure Communities in Alabama. (Aderholt Letter to Napolitano, Jan. 17, 2012) He wrote: “The decision to delay deployment in Alabama, a state that enacted its own Immigration enforcement law due to concerns about the Federal government’s failure to enforce the law, is incomprehensible and gives additional evidence to those very concerns.” (Id.) President Obama to Relax Screening Requirements for Visa ApplicantsIncreasing the potential for terrorism and visa over-stays, President Obama issued an executive order Thursday that will make it easier for aliens to obtain nonimmigrant visas by waiving screening safeguards. (See Executive Order, Jan. 19, 2011) The order directs the Secretaries of State and DHS to come up with a plan within 60-days that: (1) increases nonimmigrant visa processing in China and Brazil by 40 percent over the coming year; and (2) ensures that 80 percent of nonimmigrant visa applicants are interviewed within three weeks of the government receiving their application. In a release issued the same day as the order, the State Department announced that this will be accomplished in part by waiving the long-standing statutory requirement that aliens seeking to renew visas undergo in-person interviews with a consular officer. (State Department Press Release, Jan. 19, 2012) Because the order applies to all “nonimmigrant visas,” it will relax the screening process for not only the tens of millions of tourists and business travelers who enter the U.S. each year, but also for hundreds of thousands of guest workers. In addition to relaxing the screening process for issuing visas, President Obama also proposed expanding the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The VWP allows visitors from participating countries, which have low rates of visa refusals, to be admitted to the United States without applying for a U.S. visa. (See FAIR VWP Backgrounder, Oct. 2011) As such, a VWP traveler bypasses the normal human-to-human consular scrutiny that is intended to deny persons who represent a threat to the country for health, criminal, or security reasons, as well as those who have no intention of returning to their country after their visit. (Id.; see FAIR Legislative Update, Dec. 12, 2011) In his speech announcing the changes, President Obama sought to portray these changes , lobbied for by the powerful travel industry, as a way to create jobs and improve the economy. (See, e.g., U.S. Travel Association Visa Report, 2011) “[T]oday I directed my administration to send me a new national tourism strategy focused on creating jobs…The more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work.” (White House Remarks, Jan. 19, 2011) However, FAIR President Dan Stein called Obama’s plan “reckless,” arguing that if President Obama really wanted to change immigration policy to expand jobs, “he’d restore credibility to our immigration system by securing our border, stepping up interior enforcement, supporting mandatory E-Verify, and substantially reducing legal immigration.” (FAIR Press Release, Jan. 19, 2012) Remarkably, the President’s executive order comes just two weeks after the Inspector General released a report revealing that only 10 percent of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) visa processors felt they had sufficient time to review cases. (OIG-12-24Report, Jan. 2012; see also FAIR Legislative Update, Jan. 9, 2012) The report also revealed that senior officials at USCIS were strong-arming employees into approving visa applications. (Id.) Obama Administration to Abandon over 1,600 Deportation CasesU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys in Denver and Baltimore have recommended that the agency “administratively close” 1,667 removal cases. The recommendation is a result of a six-week pilot review of all pending deportation cases in Denver and Baltimore immigration courts. (Bloomberg Businessweek, Jan. 19, 2012) Data released by the Department of Homeland Security shows that during that time, ICE attorneys reviewed 7,923 cases in Denver, recommending that 1,301 be closed, and 3,759 in Baltimore, recommending that 366 be closed. (Id.) The pilot programs are part of the Obama Administration’s backdoor amnesty program, announced in August 2011, designed to ensure that only aliens meeting the Administration’s “priorities” are deported. (SeeNapolitano letter , Aug. 18, 2011) The Administration issued guidelines for implementation of the program in November and actually began the process through the launch of pilot programs in Denver and Baltimore in December. (Read more about the Administration’s amnesty efforts here) Although the pilot program was slated to end Jan. 13, 2012, the Denver Post reports that ICE attorneys in Denver will continue to review the remaining cases on that Court’s pending removal docket. “It is not a sprint. It is about being careful. We know we are making an impact on human beings' lives,” said ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez of the review. (Denver Post, Jan. 13, 2012) House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Lamar Smith (R-TX), lamented the consequences of the pilot program’s preliminary results. “Nearly 2,000 illegal and criminal immigrants in Denver and Baltimore have been granted backdoor amnesty that allows them to remain in the U.S. and apply for work authorization. And this administration routinely grants work authorization to 90% of illegal immigrants when their cases have been administratively closed,” he stated. (House Judiciary CommitteePress Release, Jan. 19, 2012) DHS officials say they plan to use the results to review the remaining estimated 300,000 pending deportation cases, as well as for all incoming cases indefinitely. (NY Times, Jan. 19, 2012) Gallup: Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Dissatisfied with Current Immigration LevelsIn a Gallup Poll released this week, nearly two-thirds of Americans said they are dissatisfied with the current level of immigration. (Gallup,Americans’ Immigration Concerns Linger, Jan. 17, 2012) Of the total number of respondents, 34 percent said they are “very dissatisfied” and another 24 percent said they are “somewhat dissatisfied.” Only 4 percent of respondents said they are “very satisfied” with current immigration levels. (Id.) Of the respondents who said they are dissatisfied, Gallup asked whether immigration should be increased or decreased. Combining the results of the second question with the first, Gallup reports that 42 percent of Americans are dissatisfied and want immigration decreased; 16 percent are dissatisfied and want levels to remain the same; and, only 6 percent are dissatisfied and want immigration increased. (Id.) |
White House Wants to Keep Gas Prices High
From The Heritage Foundation:
With the national average of gas prices hitting $3.65 a gallon, nearing $6 in some parts of the country, and poised to head even higher, America's families are wondering when the bleeding at the pump will stop. But for Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, those steep prices aren't even a concern. In fact, he says his goal is not to get the price of gasoline to go down.
Chu delivered those stunning remarks in testimony before Congress yesterday. When Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) asked Chu whether it's his "overall goal to get our price" of gasoline lower, Chu said, "No, the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy."
As shocking as his remarks are, they shouldn't come as a surprise. Chu has a long record of advocating for higher gas prices. In 2008, he stated, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." Last March, he reiterated his point in an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace, noting that his focus is to ease the pain felt by his energy policies by forcing automakers to make more fuel-efficient automobiles. "What I'm doing since I became Secretary of Energy has been quite clear. What I have been doing is developing methods to take the pain out of high gas prices."
One of those methods is dumping taxpayer dollars into alternative energy projects like the Solyndra solar plant. Another is subsidizing the purchase of high-cost electric cars like the Chevy Volt to the tune of $7,500 per car (which the White House wants to increase to $10,000). In both cases, those methods aren't working. Solyndra went bankrupt because its product couldn't bear the weight of market pressures, and Chevy Volts aren't selling, even with taxpayer-funded rebates. What's the president's next plan? Harvesting "a bunch of algae"as a replacement for oil.
Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is seemingly doing everything it can to make paying for energy even more painful by refusing to open access to the country's oil and gas reserves and blocking new projects that would lead to the development of more energy in America. Case in point: the president's decision to say "no" to the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that would have delivered hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from Canada to Texas refineries, while bringing thousands of jobs along with it.
Sensing impending political fallout from the high cost of gas, President Obama last week spoke on the subject and attempted to deflect blame for the pain. He said that there is no quick fix to high gas prices and the nation cannot drill its way out of the problem, but as Heritage's Nicolas Loris writes, the president ignored reality and dished out a series of half-truths. Among them, the president claimed oil production is its highest in eight years, that increasing oil production takes too long, and that oil is not enough. Loris writes that while production is up on private lands, unrealized production on federal lands and offshore could have yielded even more output, increasing supply and driving down costs. If the president had said "yes" to Keystone, oil could have reach the market quickly. And as for the president's push for alternative energy, those sources simply cannot stand the test of the market.
There are steps the president and Congress can and should take today to bring down the cost of energy. Namely, end the de facto moratorium on drilling, open offshore areas that are off-limits to drilling, place a 270-day limit on environmental reviews for energy projects on federal lands, remove regulatory delays, and approve Keystone.
As Loris writes, "The market would respond if Congress and the Obama Administration allowed it to work." But Secretary Chu and the Obama Administration are evidently not interested in market-based reforms that bring down the cost of energy. Instead, they're bent on keeping energy costs high in order to placate the environmental left. And now Americans are paying the price.
VIDEO: Watch President Obama and Secretary Chu describe in their own words their vision of higher energy prices. See the video on YouTube.
With the national average of gas prices hitting $3.65 a gallon, nearing $6 in some parts of the country, and poised to head even higher, America's families are wondering when the bleeding at the pump will stop. But for Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, those steep prices aren't even a concern. In fact, he says his goal is not to get the price of gasoline to go down.
Chu delivered those stunning remarks in testimony before Congress yesterday. When Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) asked Chu whether it's his "overall goal to get our price" of gasoline lower, Chu said, "No, the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy."
As shocking as his remarks are, they shouldn't come as a surprise. Chu has a long record of advocating for higher gas prices. In 2008, he stated, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." Last March, he reiterated his point in an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace, noting that his focus is to ease the pain felt by his energy policies by forcing automakers to make more fuel-efficient automobiles. "What I'm doing since I became Secretary of Energy has been quite clear. What I have been doing is developing methods to take the pain out of high gas prices."
One of those methods is dumping taxpayer dollars into alternative energy projects like the Solyndra solar plant. Another is subsidizing the purchase of high-cost electric cars like the Chevy Volt to the tune of $7,500 per car (which the White House wants to increase to $10,000). In both cases, those methods aren't working. Solyndra went bankrupt because its product couldn't bear the weight of market pressures, and Chevy Volts aren't selling, even with taxpayer-funded rebates. What's the president's next plan? Harvesting "a bunch of algae"as a replacement for oil.
Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is seemingly doing everything it can to make paying for energy even more painful by refusing to open access to the country's oil and gas reserves and blocking new projects that would lead to the development of more energy in America. Case in point: the president's decision to say "no" to the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that would have delivered hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from Canada to Texas refineries, while bringing thousands of jobs along with it.
Sensing impending political fallout from the high cost of gas, President Obama last week spoke on the subject and attempted to deflect blame for the pain. He said that there is no quick fix to high gas prices and the nation cannot drill its way out of the problem, but as Heritage's Nicolas Loris writes, the president ignored reality and dished out a series of half-truths. Among them, the president claimed oil production is its highest in eight years, that increasing oil production takes too long, and that oil is not enough. Loris writes that while production is up on private lands, unrealized production on federal lands and offshore could have yielded even more output, increasing supply and driving down costs. If the president had said "yes" to Keystone, oil could have reach the market quickly. And as for the president's push for alternative energy, those sources simply cannot stand the test of the market.
There are steps the president and Congress can and should take today to bring down the cost of energy. Namely, end the de facto moratorium on drilling, open offshore areas that are off-limits to drilling, place a 270-day limit on environmental reviews for energy projects on federal lands, remove regulatory delays, and approve Keystone.
As Loris writes, "The market would respond if Congress and the Obama Administration allowed it to work." But Secretary Chu and the Obama Administration are evidently not interested in market-based reforms that bring down the cost of energy. Instead, they're bent on keeping energy costs high in order to placate the environmental left. And now Americans are paying the price.
VIDEO: Watch President Obama and Secretary Chu describe in their own words their vision of higher energy prices. See the video on YouTube.
‘Buy a Gun’ & ‘Keep Your Powder Dry’: Economists Warn of Looming ‘Economic 9/11′
From Conservative Byte.com:
‘Buy a Gun’ & ‘Keep Your Powder Dry’: Economists Warn of Looming ‘Economic 9/11′
Despite recent reports that the U.S. economy is “recovering” and that there are signs of economic growth, some analysts are less than thrilled with what they see in the near future. In fact, they’re downright scared.
Harry Dent, author of “The Great Crash Ahead,” believes that the global debt bubble is going to burst and when it does, there will be a massive market crash. It should be noted that this is a revision of his earlier prediction that a crash would hit in 2012. He says he modified his forecast because the global central banks have been pumping the markets with so much money, stocks have been given a temporary boost. But he warns that as soon as the short-lived boost comes to an end, the crash will be hard.
“This will be a repeat of 2008-09, only bigger, when it finally hits,” Dent told USA Today.
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