Doomsayer ME?

Christianity_Astray

This from the mail box:

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade in 2000. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot. The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make o ur class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. Her speech was concise. She said, 'If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream.'

Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream, and 60% percent of America reacts like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other 40% percent know they're going to have to feed the cow.

I've known for a long time that the world would buy lies if the lies are sweet and desirable.  I didn't want to believe America was ready to buy in so cheaply.  The promise was essentially one paycheck as I debated with one Obamite.  She was quite enamored of him and was justifying her emoting with his economic plan.  I explained to her that she was selling her cow (job) for a bowl of ice cream.  (paycheck)  She didn't care.  She wanted that bowl of ice cream.

My president's name will be Barack Obama on January 27, 2009.  I will not sink to the level of the Bush haters and refuse to give him the respect his office calls for.  He is President Elect, Barack Obama.  I have no respect for the man and I've heard (I could not bear to watch) when he walked out to the podium to deliver his acceptance speech, the realization of his responsibility settled on him like a heavy cloak.  He visibly felt the pressure he was assuming.  Yes Mr. President.  You are charged with keeping us safe from threats foreign and domestic.  Yes, Mr. President.  You are expected to fulfill your many promises and your adoring fans think you will heal the earth, and deliver them from their economic woes.  You promised!!

I'm going to go console myself with a bowl of expensive Willie Nelson's favorite peach cobbler ice cream which I bought for myself...  I wonder if anybody will remember to prosecute the ACORN fraud?  mmmm, peachy!  I wonder if anybody will remember to chastise the press corps which have sold out their credibility for advocacy?  creamy, unnnh.  I wonder if the new Republican will have any semblance of conservatism in 2012?  This is really good!  I wonder if we'll be free enough to elect the next president?  I wonder if the leftist Congress will successfully silence the conservative voice via the Fairness Doctrine and hate speech legislation?   Do you think he'll try to bring back that World Poverty Act stupidity?  They actually have pie crust in this stuff.

Ever wonder why President Bush holds the Saudi Princes hand?  Ever wondered why every American president since OPEC was formed is so tight with the Saudis?  Here you go.  This article clearly lays out the positions the Saudis hold on the global oil market.  They can utilize market swings to make lesser oil producers suffer and sometimes, even collapse.  The Saudis and the American interests are aligned more often than not in global influence.  There's just one problem.  The Saudis use their wealth to promote radical Islam everywhere.  In the end, we may be their stepping stone to world domination without their having had to invest their own blood in a shooting war.  Its a game of chess with more than two players.  Its a strategy game with the world's resources as pawns and neighbors' needs and desires are used by the best strategists and the best resourced to dominate all the rest.  And all our lives hang in the balance.  One promotes democracy having replaced Christianity, one promotes Islam, another forces neighbors into collectivism and the debates and the strategic moves go on for generations.  Your job as a self governed citizen of a global national power is to choose who you want doing the debating and making the decisions.  Good luck, your future and that of the entire world is riding on it.

Global leaders

Geopolitical Diary: The World According to Riyadh

October 24, 2008 | 0207 GMT

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be meeting in Vienna on Friday, a month ahead of schedule. The issue on the table is whether or not to cut OPEC production in light of declining global demand for crude as countries the world over are coming down with the financial flu.

OPEC members like Venezuela, Iran, Libya and Algeria — all of which are pulling their hair out watching oil prices slide down to around $70 a barrel — have been issuing statement after statement over the past week, calling on their fellow OPEC members to cut production so that they can maintain the flow of petrodollars coming into their government coffers. Going by their statements, it seemed as if it was inevitable that OPEC would make a decision to cut production and buoy the price of crude.

But earlier in the week, Stratfor cautioned that an OPEC production cut is anything but inevitable — especially with the Saudis in play.

As the world’s largest oil producer and exporter and the cartel’s undisputed heavyweight champion, Saudi Arabia is the ultimate decider when it comes to the issue of increasing or decreasing OPEC production. Since the Saudis have the most oil, they are the only ones who can take enough crude off the market to make a meaningful difference in price.

Upon arriving in Vienna, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi was asked whether his country supports the idea of cutting output when the cartel meets Friday. His answer: “Who said anything about a cut? Prices will be determined by the market.”

We have a feeling a number of leaders in oil-producing countries across the globe nearly went into cardiac arrest upon hearing those words.

Anything can still happen at this OPEC meeting, but Saudi Arabia is very clearly indicating that is in no big rush to prop up the price of oil. On the one hand, you might consider Riyadh crazy not to want to keep the petrodollars flowing at a healthy pace when global demand is sliding. But Saudi Arabia isn’t worried about the cash right now (the Saudis already have a nice cushion of at least US$1 trillion in petrodollars to fall back on.) Riyadh’s plans for OPEC run on a much deeper geopolitical calculus.

The 1973 oil embargo was the first time Saudi Arabia learned what it meant to use oil as a tool of foreign policy. The Venezuelans ultimately knocked the legs out from under the embargo when Caracas decided to fill the gap by increasing its own oil exports. But nonetheless, the Saudis developed a taste for using oil as a weapon. In the 1980s, the Saudis, in private collaboration with the Americans, shifted gears and increased oil production to flood the markets. The Saudi move was one of the variables that helped bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union, allowing the Saudi Arabia to drive a major competitor out of the energy market for a good ten years and dismantle what was at the time the greatest foreign policy threat to the West in one fell swoop.

Since then, the Saudis have used their oil wealth primarily as a means of policy to keep U.S. interests in line with those of Saudi Arabia, particularly when it has come to issues of maintaining Sunni power in Iraq and keeping their Persian rivals in Tehran in check. Now, the Saudis are presented with a situation in which the world’s three major economic centers — the United States, Europe and Asia — are approaching recessions nearly simultaneously. The inevitable global economic slowdown spells bad news for the more-vulnerable oil-producing countries such as Venezuela and Iran, whose regime security is almost wholly dependent on oil prices not taking a deep plunge.

From Saudi Arabia’s point of view, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to hold out a bit longer and allow the price of crude to drop a few more dollars to drive some select competitors out of the market. For instance, by turning the screws on Venezuela, Saudi Arabia could get payback for 1973 and knock down a major irritant in the U.S. backyard.

The Russians also have reason to be worried. The Saudis do not like the idea of a resurgent Russia, especially when it comes to meddling in the Middle East. With the Russians already suffering from major liquidity problems, draining their oil revenue would help deflate their ambitions even more.

The Iranians, who have most vociferously called for a production cut, are on the top of Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical target list. The Saudis want to prevent the Iranians and their Shiite allies from radically upsetting the regional balance of power that has historically been in favor of the Sunnis. With Iran already under deep economic distress, the Saudis would be more than inclined to knock Iran down a few more pegs.

There are, of course, other side effects to bringing down the price of oil, particularly for countries less hostile to U.S. interests — such as Mexico, Canada and Brazil, which are going to take a hit from a decline in energy revenues. Of most concern for the United States is Mexico, which might require substantial bailouts to prevent the chaos from spilling over onto the U.S. side of the border as the country is already struggling with a fight against powerful drug cartels and a tight fiscal crisis. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia’s major energy clients — including the United States — would greatly appreciate a break in oil prices to help reduce production costs at home and ease the pains of the coming recession.

In any case, it would be foolish to think that the cost-benefit analysis running through Riyadh’s head right now is simply based on short-term income numbers. Major geopolitical opportunities are dancing before the Saudis’ eyes. We’ll see in Vienna just how hard and how seriously the Saudis intend to play.

www.stratfor.com

David Barton is a historian.  Historians tend to be conservative because historians observe actions and consequence in history.  That's why the older you get the more likely you are to become conservative.  In your lifetime you begin to see a correlation between your own actions and their consequences.  It isn't too difficult to relate that correlation to bigger issues and so you begin to compare events, actions, and consequences on the national, state and local levels.  So, let's look at what a historian has to say about American politics in the most recent elections and see if we can't apply a little wisdom to this election cycle.

I tried to add some helpful commentary.  These videos stand on their own.  Anything I would have added could only have taken away from their impact.  Do watch these, because they demonstrate the country's need for your participation in the process of electing our leaders.  They demonstrate the need for your influence on the leaders of this country.  They demonstrate the need for your influence in the press.  They demonstrate the need for your participation in public discourse.  They demonstrate the damage our natural tendency to withdraw from the crazies has had in the invasion of our media, our government, and our courts.

I woke up at 4:30 AM this morning and turned on the radio to hear that the so-called breaker switches had been flipped on Wall Street again preventing another Black Monday.  The market had been frozen because the stock had plunged another 6% in its opening hour.  I supported the bailout package at first.  I can now see that I was wrong to do so.  As I have since stated, I suspected as much when it failed to pass on the first vote.  It was firmed up when it did pass the second vote.  It was cemented as I began to see that Congress had no intentions of acting quickly.  In fact, the market has reacted in direct opposition to the threat of government intervention.  When it looked as if the government would not intervene the market soared, and when it looked like the government would intervene the market dropped like a rock.

When I sat down at my computer and started going through my email I opened up my VOX neighborhood recent posts notifier and TedWest had posted a link to the last honest Democrat reporter.  You can find that story which is so popular that they posted it on a static link, meaning it has a permanent address at:
.Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

.An open letter to the local daily paper -- almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.

What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.

The goal of this rule change was to help the poor -- which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house -- along with their credit rating.

They end up worse off than before.

This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.

Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans. (Though why quasi-federal agencies were allowed to do so baffles me. It's as if the Pentagon were allowed to contribute to the political campaigns of congressmen who support increasing their budget.)

Isn't there a story here? Doesn't journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefiting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?

I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you would be treating it as a vast scandal. "Housing-gate," no doubt. Or "Fannie-gate."

Instead, it was Sen. Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting subprime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed.

Where has the integrity of America gone?  It isn't just the press that is dropping all its principals.   Its also the college professors and the teachers and general public behavior.  Even the individual behavior of the last bastion of integrity, the religious institution is dropping many of its ethical standards.  Just as this reporter is an example of a holdout for integrity to the profession, there are pockets of Christians and Jews who are still holding onto their traditions of integrity and merit, but when we have examples of CHURCHES teaching hatred and vice like Jeremiah Wright's church of the Black Christ and the Episcopalian Church literally splitting over the acceptance of the gay lifestyle there is an obvious ill running throughout our society.

One of my friends referenced the movie, Idiocrasy yesterday.  In that movie a man from today is trasported into the future where tv and advertising have transformed the entire world into numbnut idiots.  This average man is hailed as a genius because he knows that the most popular drink will not suffice for the purpose of irrigating crops.  He suggests they use water which is politically very difficult to accomplish because of the drink makers' lobbyists bribing the government to use their product.  In fact, peopel are stunned by the idea that water should be used.  "You mean, like in the toilet?"

I am not comparing myself to the two characters in that movie from the past, but at times I do feel that we are already there with regards to morality and integrity.  Its not that complicated.  If you think about long term benefit it isn't that difficult.  You recognize the profit and the sacrifice of the present success for the eventual payoff.  Its the law of consequences. 

The media are making themselves as irrelevant as the NOW organization after its support of Bill Clinton, one of the worst violators of women's personal rights.  Who considers NOW to be an authoritative voice for women's rights today?  Who will consider the press to be a trusted voice as the disseminator of information after the truth of Democrats' participation in the corruption of the banking industry and radical integration of communism and Islamization into our educational and governmental organizations?  If the Democrats do gain the super majority in both houses and gain the presidency, after the fairness doctrine and hate speech laws are inacted, will there be an American freedom to hold them accountable?

John McCain and many of the conservative talk show hosts simply do not understand the depth of the threat to our way of life.  McCain states, "If Obama wins, I don't think we have to be afraid."  Dennis Prager states, "If Obama wins, he will be my president."  Yes!  He will be the president, but his agenda to change America into a socialist state means we will not be the America the founding fathers envisioned.  We will no longer be free to inform, free to speak, free to choose with knowledge what direction we want to go, who we want to govern, what kind of governance we will abide by.

If John McCain becomes president, we will have a centrist leading us.  Another someone who leads from behind.  Someone who tests the political winds and makes his decisions based on popularity.  Someone, though known for his personal integrity, does not know how to lead others to dedicate their own lives to integrity.  Oh how I ache for a fresh Ronald Reagan.  Someone who knows how to inspire us to live better than we desire.  Someone long established in his faith, with a vision for a better world than the one we occupy.  Someone opposite of the socialist vision that has always led to literal mass murder.

This sign for presidential candidate John McCain was damaged by arson early Saturday.

By Margy Lynch and KATU Web Staff

Video

Gun pulled on student Sunday.

A 19-year-old male not affiliated with Marquette pulled a gun on four Marquette students during a physical altercation early Sunday morning, according to the Department of Public Safety.

The wrangle started outside of Murphy's Irish Pub, 1615 W. Wells St., around 2 a.m. when a 21-year-old male Marquette student was struck in the face while holding a "McCain Palin" campaign sign and yelling to vote for John McCain in the upcoming presidential election. The student said he was blindsided when a group of three individuals approached him, though he is not sure exactly which individual hit him.

Minutes later, the student returned to the porch of his home on the 800 block of North 17th Street where he was confronted by the same three men that had assaulted him outside of the bar. Words were exchanged and the spat migrated into the alley behind the victim's house, the victim said.

By that time, three of the victim's friends had heard the fracas and met in the alley. One of the students, a 21-year-old male, said that he wandered into the alley and came face-to-face with two suspects that were holding bricks. One of the suspects launched a brick and hit one of the students, another 21-year-old male, in the face. The suspects took off down the alley and the students chased after them, the victims said.

When the men reached the north end of the alley at Kilbourn Avenue, one of the suspects turned, pulled out a .38 caliber handgun, and pointed it directly at a student's forehead.

"We get to the end of the alley at Kilbourn, I take one step to my left and I'm looking down the barrel of a loaded gun," said the 21-year-old student that was targeted with the weapon. "The other guy was standing behind him pointing his finger like a gun.

Update:  This story has been determined to be a hoax by the supposed victim.  Police managed to get the complainant to confess to filing a false police report.  She is being charged for filing that false report.
Oct 23, 2008 7:34 pm US/Eastern
Click the title of this story to see the video report.

McCain Worker: Attacker Angered By GOP Sticker

MORE:  KDKA Online Voters Guide |  Campaign '08 News

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Pittsburgh police are investigating after a volunteer for the Republican campaign says she was attacked by a mugger who became enraged after seeing a John McCain bumper sticker on her car last night.

According to police, Ashley Todd, 20, said she was robbed at an ATM at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street in the Bloomfield area around 9 p.m. Wednesday after leaving a Republican phone bank. 

Todd told police that the suspect, described only as a dark-skinned African-American man about 6'4", stole $60 from her and became enraged after seeing a bumper sticker supporting Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain on her car. 

Todd, who is from Texas, said the suspect put a knife to her neck and demanded money. 

Todd told police that the man became very angry after noticing the McCain sticker on her car and began punching and kicking her.

After repeatedly hitting, kicking and threatening her, Todd told police that the man carved a "B" in her cheek.

According to the police report, the officer confirmed that he "observed the wound on the right side of [her] face. 

Todd declined immediate medical attention last night but said she would go to the hospital today.

The suspect ran off after the attack; but police are hoping that footage from bank surveillance camera may help lead them to the suspect.

In an official statement the McCain campaign says: "We're shaken up by this. It's sick and disgusting."

Governor Sarah Palin reportedly spoke with the victim by phone.

Meanwhile, late this afternoon, the Obama-Biden campaign released a statement, saying: "This is a horrendous act of violence. Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery, and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice."

I am delighted to announce the launch of ACT! for America’s “Voter Guide 2008.” This voter guide is a truly ground-breaking project that injects into the public and electoral debate issues such as sharia law and sharia-compliant finance, issues we are sure many candidates for federal office have never faced before.

The ACT! for America staff emailed and mailed issues questionnaires to over 1,000 candidates for President, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. To see how candidates responded, please click here.

With the election only two weeks away, people are paying very close attention to what candidates are saying and doing. This is the ideal time to inform people about how candidates stand on the issues we address in the candidate questionnaire.

So I would ask you that, even before you go to our website to check out how candidates have responded, please forward this email to everyone you know. You can forward using our forwarding device, which you’ll find at the very bottom of this email, or simply forward it using your email client.

As you can imagine, this has been a very involved, very time-consuming project, that has required extensive human and financial resources. If you are able to help support the cost of this project with a contribution, please click here. We would greatly appreciate any help you can provide us.

Thank you so much, our patriotic members, for your continued commitment to exposing and resisting the threat of radical Islam. Thank you for rising in defense of our security, our liberty and our values. Thank you for the time and resources you give to this very important effort. With your continued support we will continue to move forward in our mission to roll back the threat that we know is all too real. I give you my promise, that we at ACT! for America are committed to serving you and our country to ensure that our leaders are monitored and held accountable for their decisions and that we will continue to mobilize, educate and give power to the average citizen who is the backbone of our great nation.

Always devoted,

Brigitte Gabriel

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

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