Obamacare's Failures; Obamacare Support at 35%

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March 23, 2011 Visit my Website | Forward to a Friend | Share on:

FLEMING HEALTH CARE REPEAL UPDATE The New Health Care Reform Law One Year Later and Getting Worse by the Day The New Health Care Reform Law One Year Later and Getting Worse by the Day Today, on the one year anniversary since government-approved health care was signed into law, a look at the implementation of the new health care reform reveals how the legislation has failed to deliver on costs, premiums, spending, and preserving Americans’ existing coverage: 19 — States where parents can no longer buy child-only insurance policies as a result of the law 30 — States suing to block the law from taking effect, or requesting waivers from its requirements 51 — Percentage of American workers who will lose their current health coverage by 2013, according to the Administration’s own estimates 1,270 — New bureaucrats requested by the Internal Revenue Service to implement the law this year $2,100 — Increase in individual insurance premiums due to Obamacare, according to the Congressional Budget Office $2,500 — Premium reduction promised by candidate Obama “by the end of my first term as President” 6,578 — Pages of new regulations issued implementing Obamacare through March 14, 2011 800,000 — Reduction in the American labor force due to Obamacare provisions that “will effectively increase marginal tax rates, which will also discourage work,” according to the CBO 2,624,720 — Total individuals in 1,040 plans granted waivers thus far exempting them from the law’s insurance mandates; nearly half of whom participate in union plans 7,400,000 — Reduction in Medicare Advantage enrollment as a result of Obamacare, resulting in a loss of choice for seniors and millions of beneficiaries losing their current health plan 40,000,000 — Firms subject to the health law’s new 1099 reporting requirements, which the National Federation of Independent Business called a “tremendous new paperwork compliance burden” $118,000,000,000 — New costs imposed on states to implement Obamacare—budgetary costs that will lead to reduced services for other state programs like education or to higher state taxes $310,800,000,000 — Projected increase in health costs due to Obamacare, according to the independent Medicare actuary, who called its promise of lower costs “false, more so than true” $552,200,000,000 — Amount of higher taxes Americans will pay if Obamacare remains in place $1,390,000,000,000 — Federal spending on new entitlements during fiscal years 2012-2021 according to the CBO, a 48 percent increase from an earlier estimate WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU: Even though we have seen only a few of the law’s initial provisions take effect, American families and businesses are already facing higher costs, economic uncertainty, and loss of their current coverage. THE DOCTOR’S DIAGNOSIS: The new health care reform law is the prime example of how the Democrats’ tax hikes, spending spree, and heavy-handed government policies are hurting our economy and making it harder for small businesses to create jobs.  Removing these barriers will provide the businesses that create new jobs with the certainty they need to hire new employees and get our economy back on track.I remain committed to reducing healthcare costs by providing access and choices for every American, protecting the patient-doctor relationship, and keeping the government out of the exam room.  I will work aggressively in Congress to repeal what I firmly believe to be an onerous and unconstitutional health care reform law and support market-based solutions to our health care needs. Sincerely, JOHN FLEMING, M.D. Member of Congress ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Associated Press-GfK poll showed that support for Obama's health-insurance expansion has slipped to 35 percent, while opposition stands at 45 percent, and another 17 percent are neutral. Among seniors, support has dipped below 30 percent for the first time. Read more: Poll: Support for health care law drops to 35% - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_17831739?source=rss#ixzz1JQxv5MGL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Federal Deficit Under Obama's Administration; Eric HolderShould Not Be Attorney General;

From another email: The  Washington  Post babbled again today about Obama inheriting a huge deficit from Bush. Amazingly enough, a lot of people swallow this nonsense.
So once more, a short civics lesson.  

Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress and the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democratic Party.

Furthermore, the Democrats controlled the budget process for FY 2008 and FY 2009 as well as FY 2010 and FY 2011.

In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases.

For FY 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the FY 2009 budgets.

And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete FY 2009. Let's remember what the deficits looked like during that period:    (below)

 

In a nutshell,  what Obama is saying is I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th.

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Verifying the above statistics, it is said, are the following charts from the US Government Spending website's Christopher Chantrill, a writer for American Thinker:  

http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php?year=1900_2010&view=1&expand=&units=b&fy=fy12&chart=G0-fed&bar=0&stack=1&size=m&title=US%20Federal%20Deficit%20As%20Percent%20Of%20GDP∓state=US&color=c&local=s

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Human Events recently editorialized that Eric Holder should have never been confirmed as attorney general and that his priorities are dangerous.  Here are the Top 10 Reasons Eric Holder Should Not Be Attorney General:

1.  Wants special rights for Muslims:

2.  Hostile to Second Amendment:

3.  Weak on terror: 

4.  Arizona immigration suit: 

5.  Refusal to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act:
 
6.  Opposition to the death penalty:

7.  Voter intimidation case dropped: 

8.  Civil rights division disarray:

9.  Clemency for terrorists, pardon for fugitive:  When Holder served as deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, he backed the President’s pardoning of fugitive financier Marc Rich, a major Democratic campaign donor.  He also advised that Clinton offer clemency to 16 members of the Boricua Popular Army, a Puerto Rican terror group, despite opposition from the FBI, the federal prosecutor, and victims of their violence.

10.  "Nation of cowards":  During a February 2009 Black History Month speech, Holder called America a “nation of cowards” on race issues.  Read details of all at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=42812
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Getting to Know Barack Obama: A Community Organizer/A Country Divider; Hiding White House Logs; Lies on Need for Libya Invasion; Lack of "Cool Phones and Stuff"; Obama Says Republicans Want to Turn America into Third World Country; Signing Statements; FEC Investigates Obama's Campaign Donations; Union Statements; The Price of Things After Two Years of Obama

Washington Examiner writes: What could be more quintessentially Sixtyish than this passage in Obama's - [or was it written by William Ayers?] memoir Dreams from my Father?

To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets. At night, in the dorms, we discussed neocolonialism, Franz Fanon, Eurocentrism and patriarchy. When we ground out our cigarettes on the hallway carpet or set our stereos so loud that the walls began to shake, we were resisting bourgeois society's stifling constraints. We weren't indifferent or careless or insecure. We were alienated.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2011/04/mean-streak-obama-not-nice-he-looks#ixzz1JsFTA3E2

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CBS News reports: In what he thought was a private chat with campaign donors Thursday evening, President Obama offered the most revealing behind-the-scenes account to date of his budget negotiations with GOP leaders last week.
In the candid remarks, Mr. Obama complains of Republican attempts to attach measures to the budget bill which would have effectively killed parts of his hard-won health care reform program.
"I said, 'You want to repeal health care? Go at it. We'll have that debate. You're not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we're stupid?'" recalled the president of his closed-door negotiations on the bill to fund the federal government until September. (listen to the remarks in the video at left).  "Put it in a separate bill," the president said he told Boehner and his staff. "We'll call it up. And if you think you can overturn my veto, try it. But don't try to sneak this through."  [Theses are appropriate tactics and speech of a community organizer, not a President who respects his office and his pledge to bring Americans together.]  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20054185-503544.html
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Politico writes: The [White House visitor] logs are missing the names of thousands of other visitors to the White House, including lobbyists, government employees, campaign donors, policy experts and friends of the first family, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.
The White House website proudly boasts of making available “over 1,000,000 records of everyone who’s come through the doors of the White House” via a searchable database.
Yet the Center’s analysis shows that the logs routinely omit or cloud key details about the identity of visitors, whom they met with and the nature of their visits. The logs even include the names of people who never showed up. [So much for transparency....]
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53072.html#ixzz1JUu0tneo

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The Blaze reports: Nor did Khadafy ever threaten civilian massacre in Benghazi, as Obama alleged. The “no mercy’’ warning, of March 17, targeted rebels only, as reported by The New York Times, which noted that Libya’s leader promised amnesty for those “who throw their weapons away.’’ Khadafy even offered the rebels an escape route and open border to Egypt, to avoid a fight “to the bitter end.’’

If bloodbath was unlikely, how did this notion propel US intervention?

Kuperman explains that the rebels deftly crafted the narrative of an “impending genocide” in order to sway the international community to intervene in Libya.
And it worked.
So did the president lead the U.S. into war under false humanitarian pretenses, or was he duped by the rebels?  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/expert-obama-led-u-s-into-libya-under-false-pretenses/
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Fox News reports: "The Oval Office, I always thought I was going to have really cool phones and stuff," he said during a small fundraising event at a Chicago restaurant. "I'm like, c'mon guys, I'm the president of the United States. Where's the fancy buttons and stuff and the big screen comes up? It doesn't happen."  [Well at least he still has Air Force One to give him a kick.]  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/15/obama-disappointed-lack-cool-phone-oval-office/?cmpid=cmty_email_Gigya_Obama_Disappointed_With_Lack_of_%27Cool%27_Phone_in_Oval_Office
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Yahoo News reports: US President Barack Obama accused Republicans of wanting to turn the United States into a "Third World" country as he rallied support for his reelection campaign.  Under their vision, we can't invest in roads and bridges and broadband and high-speed rail," Obama told a select group of the Democratic faithful at the second of three fundraising events in his hometown of Chicago.
"I mean, we would be a nation of potholes, and our airports would be worse than places that we thought -- that we used to call the Third World, but who are now investing in infrastructure." [And here I thought that all those federal taxes we pay on our gasoline purchases are to pay for infrastructure.  This man is totally ignorant about how the country works, and he is only too willing to lie.]  http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110415/pl_afp/usvote2012obama_20110415045805
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From the very liberal Salon.com: There is no ambiguity in that vow: none at all. He explicitly promised not to use signing statements to nullify Congressional statutes he thought were invalid. Citing his credentials as a Constitutional Law professor, Obama explained that "Congress' job is to pass legislation," and when that happens, a President has only two options: "the President can veto it or sign it." In contrast to Bush -- who, Obama said, "has been saying 'I can change what Congress passed by attaching a statement saying I don't agree with this part, I'm going to choose to interpret it this way or that way'" -- Obama said he, by contrast, believes "that's not part of [the President's] power." He punctuated his answer as follows: "we're not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end run around Congress." It just doesn't get any clearer than that.

Obama vaguely asserted that "no one doubts that it is appropriate to use signing statements to protect a president's constitutional prerogatives", but then added: "it is a clear abuse of power to use such statements as a license to evade laws that the president does not like or as an end-run around provisions designed to foster accountability" and explicitly vowed: "I will not use signing statements to nullify or undermine congressional instructions as enacted into law."

He said in that Boston Globe questionnaire, as clearly as possible, that "the President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation"; he added that only "in instances of self-defense" would "the President [] be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent." 

These campaign statements are nothing less than vows made to voters about how he would exercise the power he was seeking if they voted for him.  To insist during the campaign that Presidents have no power to start wars without Congress or to ignore laws the President believes are unconstitutional -- and then do exactly that once he's been vested with that power -- is a form of fraud.

"http://www.salon.com/news/politics/barack_obama/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2011/04/17/signing_statements

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Barack Obama raised a record-shattering $750 million on his way to winning the 2008 presidential election. But that stunning flood of cash has triggered an investigation by the Federal Election Commission, which is taking a detailed look at the campaign's records and transactions.

Newsmax reveals:  According to Roll Call, the audit of Obama's financial records began two years ago. It was not required by law, since the Obama campaign did not accept federal matching funds and funded itself entirely with private donations. But allegations of improper contributions, coupled with the FEC's suspicions of certain transactions, led to the probe.

"The FEC is conducting a routine review — as is true with the McCain campaign, the Romney campaign and many others — to determine if they have any questions with the information reported,"

A Newsmax canvass of disclosed Obama campaign donors shows worrisome anomalies, including outright violations of federal election laws.

For example, Obama has numerous donors who have contributed well over the $4,600 federal election limit.

And more than 37,000 Obama donations appear to be conversions of foreign currency.

According to a Newsmax analysis of the Obama campaign data before the latest figures were released, potential foreign currency donations could range anywhere from $12.8 million to a stunning $63 million in all. With the addition of $150 million raised in September, this amount could be much more.

Read more on Newsmax.com: FEC Investigators Digging Into Obama's 2008 Campaign
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND2XKjAy-Tc&feature=share
On this video you will see and hear union members saying that they will "brand" anyone who denies the "right" to collective bargaining a "human rights violator".  Richard Trumka is excited about unionizing home care workers, cabbies, ect., as well as  "international union efforts" and he says to, "forget the law".   They are desperate and ready to rumble......
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After two years of Obama... [Gas is higher than listed, and our government declares there is no inflation 
to worry about.....]

	January 2009	TODAY	% chg	Source
Avg. Retail price/gallon gas in U.S.	$1.83	$3.104	69.6%	1
Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)	$43.48	$99.02	127.7%	2
Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)	$38.74	$91.38	135.9%	2
Gold: London (per troy oz.)	$853.25	$1,369.50	60.5%	2
Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL	$3.56	$6.33	78.1%	2
Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL	$9.66	$13.75	42.3%	2
Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. Fob	$13.37	$35.39	164.7%	2
Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall	7.6%	9.4%	23.7%	3
Unemployment rate, blacks	12.6%	15.8%	25.4%	3
Number of unemployed	11,616,000	14,485,000	24.7%	3
Number of fed. Employees, ex. Military (curr = 12/10 prelim)	2,779,000	2,840,000	2.2%	3
Real median household income (2008 v 2009)	$50,112	$49,777	-0.7%	4
Number of food stamp recipients (curr = 10/10)	31,983,716	43,200,878	35.1%	5
Number of unemployment benefit recipients (curr = 12/10)	7,526,598	9,193,838	22.2%	6
Number of long-term unemployed	2,600,000	6,400,000	146.2%	3
Poverty rate, individuals (2008 v 2009)	13.2%	14.3%	8.3%	4
People in poverty in U.S. (2008 v 2009)	39,800,000	43,600,000	9.5%	4
U.S. Rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings	5	9	n/a	10
Present Situation Index (curr = 12/10)	29.9	23.5	-21.4%	11
Failed banks (curr = 2010 + 2011 to date)	140	164	17.1%	12
U.S. Dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate	89.76	82.03	-8.6%	2
U.S. Money supply, M1, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)	1,575.1	1,865.7	18.4%	13
U.S. Money supply, M2, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)	8,310.9	8,852.3	6.5%	13
National debt, in trillions	$10.627	$14.052	32.2%	14

Just take this last item:  In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history.  Over 27 times as fast.  Metaphorically speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane. 27 times faster, it would be doing  7,555 MPH!
 
Sources:
(1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor; (7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; (13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury

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The brutal crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad may finally be getting the attention of world leaders -- but apparently not enough to stop Syria from becoming the newest member of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/26/human-rights-abuser-syria-set-join-uns-human-rights-council/#ixzz1KjZD85dJ

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A Letter to Obama; More on Barack's Eligibility; Cell Phone Data Taken by Police

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp
Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends -- an 

acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest 

rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management.  Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering."  He rose from soap salesman to 

Vice President, Sales and Customer Development for Proctor and 

Gamble and, over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.

The letter to follow was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it. Big surprise. Since it hit the Internet, however, it has had over 500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing. It's happening right now.

AN OPEN LETTER FROM LOU PRITCHETT, PROCTOR & GAMBLE EXECUTIVE, TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike 

Any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive 

Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and  housing with no 

Visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth 

Growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus 

Don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned 

Yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to 

Publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' 

Crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style 

Country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system 

With a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly 

Capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose 

That lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of 

Living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics 

Against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from 

Challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider 

Opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both 

Omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything 

You do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the 

Limbaugh's, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing, 

Conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will 

Probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett
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American Thinker writes: For over two years, I have been privy to private investigators' files, have seen private investigations of other private investigations, have done my own research -- and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are two crucial problems with President Obama's life documents.  First, the registration number on Obama's "Certification of Live Birth" (which, as Trump recently explained to an incredulous Meredith Vieira, is not a long form birth certificate) is out of sequence to other birth certificates issued on the very next day in Hawaii to a pair of twins named Nordyke (certifications of live birth and birth certificates carry the same registration number). [There is on the internet a photo of the "real" birth certificate - from Kenya - with the footprint and the raised seal.  It looks legitimate.  I have not written about all this before, but since
The Donald is bringing it up......]

Second, according to a private investigator, Susan Daniels, whose work was validated by at least two other investigators I'm aware of, the Social Security number that Obama used for approximately 25 years was issued with a Connecticut-based number, though neither Obama nor anyone in his family lived in that state at any point during their lifetimes.  Bill O'Reilly claimed on his April 14, 2011, show that Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., lived in Connecticut "for several years", but when I called O'Reilly for verification of his source(s), I was put into a voicemail and received no return call. As of this writing, it appears that O'Reilly's Mailbag Segment on Obama's Social Security number has been scrubbed by Fox News from the podcast of the show, along with some viewer mail on the subject.  [When O'Reilly said this, I noted that I had never heard it before, and I've done a  lot of research on the subject. He also said that when Obama went to Pakistan when it was forbidden for Americans to do so, he did it from India, I believe.  Now who can believe this when O'Reilly is now untrustworthy?  We need to see the citizenship listed on that Passport which we are not allowed to see. I also believe O'Reilly is in Obama's camp, for he has consistently given him all the leeway he can manage to give.  O'Reilly also said on his show (another lie) that George Bush never got the approval of Congress prior to going into Iraq.  Take him with a grain of salt.)

So it appears Obama Sr. had nothing to do with the application for Obama's Social Security number, as Mr. O'Reilly suggested. But then again, this is the same O'Reilly who also announced on his April 14^th show that, although Obama's birth certificate has not been made public, Hawaii officials have it on file. This about-face conflicts with his 2008 statement that he'd actually seen the birth certificate and that's how he knows Obama is legitimate. "We have a copy of it," he said at the time. (NB: such a possession would have been illegal.)  

Because of the irregularities and unanswered questions outlined above, certainly the American people have a right to know whether the birth record that supposedly establishes the eligibility of their president is un-tampered with.  And they also have a right to know whether the social security number that he has been using is genuinely his or stolen.  Use of another person's social security number is a felony.  Carol A. Taber is president of FamilySecurityMatters.org   http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/trump_needs_to_shift_to_second.html

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[Regarding Michigan State police saying that they only take info off cell phones with the permission of the driver.  I warn you - when you willingly submit to such search and seizure, even because you are afraid to confront the police, that will be considered "consent".]  Popular Mechanics gives this important warning: The Ohio Supreme Court held that a cellphone is analogous to a closed container and cannot be searched without a separate warrant—and that’s for a search where someone has actually been arrested for a crime, not mere snooping during a traffic stop.

Without an arrest, search requires probable cause—the officer must have some reasonable basis for believing that a crime has been committed, and that a particular search will turn up evidence relevant to that crime. It’s hard to see how cellphone data could be relevant to a traffic stop. Instead, searching cellphones looks more like a fishing expedition: Having gotten access to you with a traffic stop, officers are just looking around to see what they find. That’s explicitly forbidden by the Constitution, and with good reason. Letting government officials snoop on anyone they choose, for no particular reason, is a bad idea.

If you consent to a search, however, all bets are off. It’s hard to see why anyone would do so: If you’re a criminal, you’ve got something to hide; and if you’re not a criminal, why would you want to let the police paw through your email? And remember that when you consent to have your smartphone searched, you’re also giving up data on all your contacts, who haven’t consented. The legal ramifications to that have yet to be worked out. [Be bold!  Refuse to do so, respectfully, without a warrant.]

Read more: Are Smartphone Searches Legal – Michigan State Police - Popular Mechanics

Cassava Chips Going to Biofuel, Not Food Crops; Old-timers Not "Green"; Is EPA a "Rogue Agency?; Where Are the 50 Million Climate Refugees?; Asian Carp Video

The New York Times reveals: But last year, 98 percent of cassava chips exported from Thailand, the world’s largest cassava exporter, went to just one place and almost all for one purpose: to China to make biofuel. Driven by new demand, Thai exports of cassava chips have increased nearly fourfold since 2008, and the price of cassava has roughly doubled.
But with food prices rising sharply in recent months, many experts are calling on countries to scale back their headlong rush into green fuel development, arguing that the combination of ambitious biofuel targets and mediocre harvests of some crucial crops is contributing to high prices, hunger and political instability.
This year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that its index of food prices was the highest in its more than 20 years of existence. Prices rose 15 percent from October to January alone, potentially “throwing an additional 44 million people in low- and middle-income countries into poverty,” the World Bank said. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/science/earth/07cassava.html?_r=1&src=twr
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Following is a good email making the rounds about old-timers not being "green".

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that 

plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized
to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then,
they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to
the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and
refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an
escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the
grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every
time they had to go two blocks.

But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have
the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy
gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind and solar power really
did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always
brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in
every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish,
not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they
blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric
machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item
to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not
styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to
cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by
working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on
treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a
cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They
refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they
replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the
whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to
school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their moms into a
24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not
an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they
didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from
satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But they didn't have the green thing back then!
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Redstate reports: A Seattle public school has decided that Easter eggs are super offensive and not politically correct. They’ve renamed them Spring Spheres (even though eggs are not spheres. This is our public education system at work, people):  http://www.redstate.com/snarkandboobs/2011/04/12/don%E2%80%99t-call-them-easter-eggs-intolerant-monsters-they-are-spring-spheres/ 
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Washington Examiner wrote: Someday, you will be pumping gas, staring at the digital numbers racing by, and you’ll wonder: “How could I possibly be paying $6 a gallon for gasoline?”
You also will be wondering why so many of your friends and relatives are still looking for work. Or why America is more dependent on foreign oil than ever before.
If you look back to today, you’ll remember why: President Obama’s de facto moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
You’ll recall how Gulf workers had begged the White House to approve new permits for oil exploration. They were losing their jobs and gas prices were soaring. It made sense to get everyone back to work exploring for oil in the Gulf.
Obama responded from the Bizarro World. He said he wanted to cut America’s dependence on foreign oil. Then his administration effectively blocked U.S. offshore exploration, refusing to approve but a handful of deepwater permits in the Gulf. He said he wanted incentives for domestic drilling, then sought new limits on drilling leases.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2011/04/how-we-will-end-paying-6-gallon-gas#ixzz1JgfMC5e8

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Daily Caller writes: In 2005, the United Nations Environment Programme predicted that climate change would create 50 million climate refugees by 2010. These people, it was said, would flee a range of disasters including sea level rise, increases in the numbers and severity of hurricanes, and disruption to food production.
The UNEP even provided a handy map. The map shows us the places most at risk including the very sensitive low lying islands of the Pacific and Caribbean.

Thanks to the reality of census numbers, followed by the UN’s handling of this, we can now safely say that the claim of “climate refugees” is total fantasy. Be sure to leave comments on any website that makes this claim, and link to this and the Asian Correspondent website.
Kudos to Gavin Atkins for asking this simple question after six years of this fantasy being used to push an agenda.
Update: The UN now says that there will be 50 million climate change refugees by 2020.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/16/the-un-disappears-50-million-climate-refugees-then-botches-the-cover-up/#ixzz1JmMQgNhs

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Glenn Beck reveals:  Bolivia is drawing up a U.N. treaty which would give Earth the same rights as humans. These rights include but are not limited to life, pure water and clean air. This is a new attempt at an old U.N. desire: to impose global environmental regulations.

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Stop the ACLU wrote:  Now the German online DIE WELT has a report here called: Energy Saving Lights Emit Toxic Substances.
It was already widely known that CFLs released deadly mercury, but only if they broke, see here for example, or here on what to do if one breaks. Now, according to the German television news show “Markt“, which will air tomorrow evening at 8:15 pm, CFLs also emit cancer-causing fumes during their operation, principally phenol, which is highly toxic even in small amounts.

Apparently, Democrats just want to kill grandma. And kids. And everyone. Hey, Paul Krugman says people should no longer be civil, ya know.
The official expert for lighting, Peter Braun, confirmed the magazine’s claims that substances can find there way in the air in a room. ‘Of special concern was that all lights that were tested emitted cancer-causing substances while they operated, and these happened to be the substances that occurred with the highest concentrations,’ Braun told the network.”  http://www.stoptheaclu.com/2011/04/18/good-news-cfls-now-reported-to-release-cancer-causing-vapors/
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Youtube shows: Much has been written about the probable Asian carp invasion into the Great Lakes via the Chicago river, and the legal efforts to shut that Chicago river down to prevent the dangers and eco-disaster which would accompany that invasion.  Although the video referenced below is full of laughter, we should consider just what this would mean to our safety while swimming, skiing, or boating.  It is a terrible thing to contemplate. Please watch and be ready to be amazed.  http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=x3Bf0WhvsNk
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