The civilized man vs. the savage
From Jihad Watch
Contrast this:
Egyptian jihad leader calls for destruction of Sphinx, Pyramids
with this:
Israel museums hide art to protect it from rockets
...and support the civilized man.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Americans Are Pro-Israel: Obama's Party? Not So Much!
By: Ken Blackwell / Townhall Columnist
(This article was co-authored by Bob Morrison.)
It seems every time the Republicans lose a presidential election, white
board-toting architects and backroom strategists descend on the Sunday
talk shows. Republicans must dump the social issues. Defending the right
to life of unborn children and upholding the civil right of marriage is
just costing too much support with the voters.
We have to moderate our positions, they say.
It’s as if the Second Officer on the Titanic were to run down six
flights of stairs and yell at the grimy, coal dust covered sweating
stokers shoveling coal in the engine rooms: This is all your fault!
What we saw on Election Day was a strong turnout among Evangelicals and Catholics for Mitt Romney.
Evangelicals backed the former governor even
more strongly than his fellow Mormons did. Catholics who attend Mass
regularly were also strong backers of the GOP nominee.
What the so-called strategists—those architects of defeat-- are proposing is an abandonment of a 36-year commitment of the Republican Party. Since 1976, the Republican Platforms have rejected the infamous Roe v. Wade ruling. They have applauded those in Congress and the states who are trying to restore the protections for mothers and their unborn children. This is what the Supreme Court stripped away when it unconscionably overturned the abortion laws of all fifty states. Those laws were all a part of state homicide codes. And this long-term commitment is what the consultant class wants Republicans to throw overboard.
Compare this reaction with that of the Democrats over Israel. A recent
CNN-ORC poll shows that 59% of Americans support Israel’s position in
today’s crisis in Gaza. Israel is responding with deadly force to the
almost daily rocket attacks by the terrorist group, Hamas on Israeli
towns and schools. Only 13% of Americans back Hamas in this clash. This
is a 4-1 commanding majority of Americans at the grassroots level.
Would anyone like to guess where Democratic Party activists are on this clash? You have only to consider the behavior of credentialed delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte last summer. The Democratic Party Platform—as reported out by its Platform Committee—dropped all reference to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This was no oversight. When pro-Israel Democrats pointed this out and urged the delegates on the convention floor to restore the Jerusalem-is-Israel’s-capital plank to the party’s platform, there were shouted Nos that clearly outnumbered the Yeses. Realizing they could not mount a national election campaign as an avowedly anti-Israel party, the powers-that-be quickly gaveled the Jerusalem plank back into the platform. Then we heard loud boos.
Regardless of what the Democratic Party Platform now says, with the Jerusalem post-it note plastered over it, the stance of this administration is quite clear. State Department weasel-worder Victoria Nuland has repeatedly refused to state that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. And the Obama administration has gone into court to evade congressional requirements for “ Jerusalem , Israel” to be stamped on passports and birth certificates for Americans abroad.
The public opinion is four-to-one against the administration and the Democratic Party’s sentiment on a vitally important foreign policy issue.
Did the GOP ticket press this point during the televised debates? Not at all. Did the nominees raise this issue on the campaign trail? If they did, it was not in big way.
Did the Republican Party take out ads to drive home the point that the Democrats’ liberal activists are hostile to Israel. No.
But the Democrats did take out ads to press for more abortions. Fifty-five million unborn children killed since Roe are not enough. Now, we must have abortion-on-demand and you must pay.
It was a small pro-life group that produced this powerful ad for the Internet. Eduardo Verástegui in this video says President Obama wants your thirteen year old to have access to a free abortion—with you paying and without your ever knowing. No Republican strategist has dared to say something that strong, that true in forty years.
Instead of abandoning convictions and a party’s commitment to tens of millions of voters, perhaps it would be better for the Republicans to throw their strategists overboard. Then, they just might start winning again.
The People vs. Unions: Cash, Credit and Corruption
By: John Ransom / Townhall Columnist
While it’s a truism that for every finger you point at someone
else you’ve got three pointed right back at you, for liberals it’s part
of their laws of physics.
It would be impossible for the laws of liberals to govern without this binding hypocrisy that keeps them in orbit.
That’s why it shouldn’t surprise you that for all the leftist rhetoric about corporations and greed contributing the decline of the country, there’s one corporate outfit that’s really screwing up this country- and it’s a creation and a creature of the left.
Like most Big Left organizations it is a corporate body that is funded by you and I, but serves only the holy trinity of liberals, leftists and liars.
That corporation is, of course, Union, Inc.
Some call it Big Labor, but that’s an insult to the dignity of labor.
And if you want to see examples of corporate personhood gone bad you needn’t look to Wall Street. No; the stakes there are too high and the disclosures too transparent for mere corporation law to shield corporations from poor governance.
The laws of economics- the real laws, not the theories- usually take care of things in the private, corporate marketplace.
Instead- like many things in the country- you need to look farther left for real-life examples of rogue corporate personhood.
Union domination of the Democrat Party has become so entrenched- and so full of government money- that it’s impossible to tell if Union, Inc. is the parent corporation of the Democrats, or if the Democrats control the unions. And the symbiotic and sybaritic relationships between the unions and the Democrats have helped screw up corporations, municipalities and public policy in this country for too many decades.
Even as the so-called recovery notches another year, and state revenues begin to stabilize, municipalities and school districts are increasingly filing for bankruptcy in order to containing the rising cost of benefits demanded by unionized public workers.
In California, the greedy, union-benefits outfit working for public employees, called Calpers, is treated with kid gloves in both law and in practice. Law says that when municipalities file for bankruptcy, Calpers must be paid even if the benefits paid to Calpers are causing the bankruptcy. Police can be fired, private vendors stiffed, teachers laid off, investors in public debt can get zero pennies on the dollar, but union benefits must be paid.
The city of San Bernardino however is challenging union dominance over their balance sheet. The city is $5 million behind in pension payments, “the city simply says it's broke,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
But “San Bernardino is treating CalPERS like any other creditor that's not getting paid.”
Of course the Chronicle is livid over union benefits being treated “like any other creditor that's not getting paid.”
“We urge San Bernardino to come to a solution with CalPERS that doesn't involve shorting the fund and its own retirees - or dumping its burdens on California's other taxpayers,” says the Chronicle.
But that’s exactly what Calpers already does.
Calpers is under-funded by anywhere from 55 percent to 75 percent in large part because Calpers uses math that would land private pension managers in jail. Calpers uses annualized growth rates of 7.5 percent when in fact the pension system only returned one percent last year. A 30-year Treasury right now only returns 2.79 percent. Last year the stock market returned zero percent and this year is up about 5 percent.
And really, under the law, a private pension manager would go to jail for using a 7.5 percent assumption to manage their pension fund.
That’s because someone will have to pay the difference between the assumption and the real rate of return.
In both the Calpers and the private cases it will be the taxpayers who will pick up the tab.
Why should the city have to lay off workers because previously-elected officials entered into unsustainable retirement programs with unions who bankrolled their candidacies? Or because unions don’t have to use generally accepted accounting practices?
Cities -and states- shouldn’t have to choose between public safety and other necessities so that liberal council members and legislators can have an adequate supply of yard signs and bumpers stickers during an election year.
And taxpayers shouldn’t have to bailout union bad behavior again, just because they bought the Democrats with cash, credit and corruption.
By: John Ransom / Townhall Columnist
It would be impossible for the laws of liberals to govern without this binding hypocrisy that keeps them in orbit.
That’s why it shouldn’t surprise you that for all the leftist rhetoric about corporations and greed contributing the decline of the country, there’s one corporate outfit that’s really screwing up this country- and it’s a creation and a creature of the left.
Like most Big Left organizations it is a corporate body that is funded by you and I, but serves only the holy trinity of liberals, leftists and liars.
That corporation is, of course, Union, Inc.
Some call it Big Labor, but that’s an insult to the dignity of labor.
And if you want to see examples of corporate personhood gone bad you needn’t look to Wall Street. No; the stakes there are too high and the disclosures too transparent for mere corporation law to shield corporations from poor governance.
The laws of economics- the real laws, not the theories- usually take care of things in the private, corporate marketplace.
Instead- like many things in the country- you need to look farther left for real-life examples of rogue corporate personhood.
Union domination of the Democrat Party has become so entrenched- and so full of government money- that it’s impossible to tell if Union, Inc. is the parent corporation of the Democrats, or if the Democrats control the unions. And the symbiotic and sybaritic relationships between the unions and the Democrats have helped screw up corporations, municipalities and public policy in this country for too many decades.
Even as the so-called recovery notches another year, and state revenues begin to stabilize, municipalities and school districts are increasingly filing for bankruptcy in order to containing the rising cost of benefits demanded by unionized public workers.
In California, the greedy, union-benefits outfit working for public employees, called Calpers, is treated with kid gloves in both law and in practice. Law says that when municipalities file for bankruptcy, Calpers must be paid even if the benefits paid to Calpers are causing the bankruptcy. Police can be fired, private vendors stiffed, teachers laid off, investors in public debt can get zero pennies on the dollar, but union benefits must be paid.
The city of San Bernardino however is challenging union dominance over their balance sheet. The city is $5 million behind in pension payments, “the city simply says it's broke,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
But “San Bernardino is treating CalPERS like any other creditor that's not getting paid.”
Of course the Chronicle is livid over union benefits being treated “like any other creditor that's not getting paid.”
“We urge San Bernardino to come to a solution with CalPERS that doesn't involve shorting the fund and its own retirees - or dumping its burdens on California's other taxpayers,” says the Chronicle.
But that’s exactly what Calpers already does.
Calpers is under-funded by anywhere from 55 percent to 75 percent in large part because Calpers uses math that would land private pension managers in jail. Calpers uses annualized growth rates of 7.5 percent when in fact the pension system only returned one percent last year. A 30-year Treasury right now only returns 2.79 percent. Last year the stock market returned zero percent and this year is up about 5 percent.
And really, under the law, a private pension manager would go to jail for using a 7.5 percent assumption to manage their pension fund.
That’s because someone will have to pay the difference between the assumption and the real rate of return.
In both the Calpers and the private cases it will be the taxpayers who will pick up the tab.
Why should the city have to lay off workers because previously-elected officials entered into unsustainable retirement programs with unions who bankrolled their candidacies? Or because unions don’t have to use generally accepted accounting practices?
Cities -and states- shouldn’t have to choose between public safety and other necessities so that liberal council members and legislators can have an adequate supply of yard signs and bumpers stickers during an election year.
And taxpayers shouldn’t have to bailout union bad behavior again, just because they bought the Democrats with cash, credit and corruption.
From LTC Allen West to me
Diane,
For two weeks since Election Day, we have been working to ensure every vote is counted accurately and fairly. We have made progress towards that goal, thanks to the dedication of our supporters and their unrelenting efforts to protect the integrity of the democratic process. While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election.
While there are certainly still inaccuracies in the results and the actions of the St. Lucie County and Palm Beach County Supervisors of Elections rightly raise questions in my mind and for many voters, after much analysis and yesterday’s recount in St. Lucie County, our legal team does not believe there are enough over-counted, undercounted or fraudulent votes to change the outcome of the election.
While a contest of the election results might have changed the vote totals, we do not have evidence that the outcome would change. Given the extremely high evidentiary hurdles involved in a successful challenge, I will not ask my generous supporters to help fund a drawn-out, expensive legal effort with little chance of success. Therefore, we will not contest the certification or challenge the seating of Congressman-Elect Murphy.
Serving the people in the House of Representatives has been among the highest honors of my life, but this seat does not belong to me, or for that matter, to any individual. It belongs to the people. I want to congratulate my opponent, Patrick Murphy, as the new Congressman from 18th Congressional District. I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.
I must thank my wife Angela, and my daughters Aubrey and Austen for their support, patience, understanding and most of all, love. These are three of the toughest women I know. They have sent me off to defend our nation overseas at war and to Capitol Hill to serve our nation in the House of Representatives. They have all handled the challenges of these last few months, and the last many years, with amazing grace. I know they will be my side for whatever is our next chapter.
I must also thank my congressional and campaign staff for their service, and most importantly, I must thank you and our other tremendous supporters who provided their time and money to power our campaign. I am humbled by the dedication and perseverance of our supporters, and their commitment to a free and prosperous America. I cannot thank them enough for all they have done for our campaign, but most importantly, what they have done, and will continue to do for our country. None of us should let the outcome discourage us. We should only redouble our resolve.
Above all, I want to thank God for his blessings, and for blessing me with the opportunity to serve.
Only God knows what is in store for each of us. I have dedicated my life to serving this nation, and the results of this election will not change my purpose. Just as I did in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, just as I did on Capitol Hill, I will continue to fight for our Republic.
Our nation will not overcome our challenges overnight ,and the road ahead for each one of us will not be easy. But this nation would never have become that shining beacon of light if our founders had chosen the easy path 236 years ago. We all must proudly continue their legacy.
God bless you and God bless these United States of America.
Steadfast and Loyal,
Allen B. West
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