Israel's Reagan

Subject: txt israel msm -

"But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame? Have you no decency?"

-- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

He was blunt.

Direct.

Hearing him, the press corps gasped, literally and audibly.

No, the reference isn't to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent wake-up call at the United Nations. The man throwing cold water in the face of a somnolent world was Ronald Reagan.

"So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride -- of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong, good and evil."

-- President Ronald Reagan

[snip]

Ronald Reagan made history by his unwillingness to gloss over the hard truths of his time. He told us that

"if history teaches anything, it teaches that simpleminded appeasement or wishful thinking about our adversaries is folly. It means the betrayal of our past, the squandering of freedom."

Today there is one nation, at least, that has a leader who understands this.

That leader would be Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel's Reagan.

[Highly Recommended > ]

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POLL: Most Say Obama Not Tough Enough on Iran

Subject: txt gwot nsec -
Fifty-one percent (51%) of U.S. voters say President Obama has not been aggressive enough in responding to Iran's nuclear program.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only four percent (4%) think the president has been too aggressive in dealing with Iran, while 38% believe his response has been about right.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of Republicans and 55% of voters not affiliated with either party say the president has not been aggressive enough in reacting to Iran's nuclear program, but 61% of Democrats say his response has been about right.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of voters are now at least somewhat concerned about Iran's nuclear program, with 59% who are very concerned. Only 11% are not very or not at all concerned.

Voters 40 and older are more concerned than those who are younger.

[If only our schools taught history...]

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image toon - gwot israel = Iran nuke = Oby needs another talk

Portugal election: Socialists lose majority

Subject: txt sclm -
Portugal's Socialist centre-Left party lost its absolute majority in parliament. Nonetheless, socialist President Socrates has pledged to continue plans to spend his way out of the recession, promising big budget public works projects to stimulate growth as Portugal struggles with the highest unemployment rate in decades.

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Ignoring History

Subject: txt mny intl sclm mny hstry =
French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently said he wanted the nations of the world to stop using gross domestic product (GDP) as the main measure of their economic performance. He wants them instead to work up another metric that takes into account not only economic production but such things as environmental quality and even time not spent in traffic -- a sort of gross national satisfaction index.

France has excellent reason to suppress GDP statistics, say Brian Domitrovic, a professor at Sam Houston State University and author of "Econoclasts: The Rebels Who Sparked the Supply-Side Revolution and Restored American Prosperity," just out from ISI Books:

Since 1982, among developed nations, France has been a clear laggard in GDP growth.

In the quarter century following 1982, France's GDP growth rate was a mere 2.1 percent per year in comparison to the U.S.'s 3.3 percent.

Thus the U.S. grew at more than a 50 percent premium to France per year during that span; when the quarter century elapsed, Americans were one-third richer than the French.

Also:

• France lagged Britain, which over the 25-year period grew at 2.8 percent per year.
• Germany matched the French rate of 2.1 percent, but it had a good reason -- a few years in, it had to absorb the post-communist economic basket case that was East Germany.
• About the only thing France can say about its GDP performance since 1982 is that it beat Italy's, which came in at a measly 1.8 percent per year.

France's poor GDP showing over this period was in stark contrast to the 1950s and 1960s, when it had long stretches of GDP growth at 6 percent per year. By the early 1980s, its GDP per capita was nearly that of the United States.

In other words, France achieved prosperity equal to what was enjoyed in America - and then lost it.

There is a clear reason the inflection point was 1982. At that time, France chose not to participate in an international wave and transform its economy with a free-market revolution.

In the early 1980s, Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Ronald Reagan in the United States shed governmental regulations on the economy, cut taxes, committed to not manipulating their currencies, and encouraged global trade.

Their economies boomed...

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Germany veers right - socialists 'slaughtered'

[HT:MM]Subject: txt intl sclm -
This may be a harbinger of things to come or, just as likely, a purely German reaction to the failed programs of the social democrats. Not only did Chancellor Angela Merkel return to power, the pro-business Free Democratic Party increased their share [as is tippling] of deputies in the Bundestag and Merkel will be forced to make concessions to the FDP if she wants them in her governing coalition.

As America veers hard left, Germany and the rest of Europe appears ready to lurch rightward; and how ironic is that?

[Yeah, hilarious.]

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image toon - sclm intl owg mny = EU v US Capitalism v Socialism reversa

World Bank says don’t take US dollar’s place for granted

Subject: txt mny -
WASHINGTON — World Bank president Robert Zoellick said the United States should not take the dollar's status as the world's key reserve currency for granted because other options are emerging.

Zoellick said global economic forces were shifting and it was time now to prepare for the fact that growth will come from multiple sources...

[We can't ruin our currency through deficit spending (printing!) and expect the rest of the world not to notice....]

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Treemometers: A new scientific scandal

Subject: txt grn -
Since 2000, a large number of peer-reviewed climate papers have incorporated data from trees at the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia. This dataset gained favour, curiously superseding a newer and larger data set from nearby. The older Yamal trees indicated pronounced and dramatic uptick in temperatures... [snip]

How could this be? Scientists have ensured much of the measurement data used in the reconstructions remains a secret - failing to fulfill procedures to archive the raw data. Without the raw data, other scientists could not reproduce the results. The most prestigious peer reviewed journals, including Nature and Science, were reluctant to demand the data from contributors [?!?!]. Until now, that is.

At the insistence of editors of the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions B the data has leaked into the open - and Yamal's mystery is no more.

From this we know that the Yamal data set uses just 12 trees from a larger set to produce its dramatic recent trend. Yet many more were cored, and a larger data set (of 34) from the vicinity shows no dramatic recent warming, and warmer temperatures in the middle ages.

In all there are 252 cores in the CRU Yamal data set, of which ten were alive 1990. All 12 cores selected show strong growth since the mid-19th century. The implication is clear: the dozen were cherry-picked...

[Again and again, every AWG claim debunked with time - hence the alarmists' demand we act now-right-now; time's not on their side...]

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At the president's pleasure

Subject: txt edu crpt libs reps bdd -
A teacher was told by a 15-year-old high school sophomore that he was having homosexual sex with an "older man."

At the very least, statutory rape occurred. Fox News reported that the teacher violated a state law requiring that he report the abuse.

That former teacher, Kevin Jennings, is President Obama's new "safe school czar."

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Couric Bubbly Over Soda Tax, Fails to Consider Idea Obnoxious to Average Americans

Subject: txt vals lbrty msm bdd -
"It's the most explosive moment for the soda industry since the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment," CBS's Katie Couric quipped of a proposed federal soda tax in her September 18 Notebook video on CBSNews.com.

While careful not to explicitly endorse a proposed one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks, Couric hinted that taxing sodas could help curb obesity, because, after all,

"some lawmakers say taxes on cigarettes have reduced smoking and raised revenues."

[Do you think this country will ever again ask if extortion is right vs. merely if it works?]

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imag toon - bbro bdd vals edu reps = Reid Pelosi = Soda jerks

Undemocratic To Read Before You Vote?

Subject: txt crpt - Iaction It’s
House Resolution 554 would require that all major legislation be posted on the web for public review for a minimum of 72 hours before it could be brought to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.

No more dropping thousand-page bills and hundreds of pages of amendments at the last minute barring not only the public but members of Congress from reading the bills -- forcing votes on legislation members haven’t been allowed or given the time to read.

On Friday at the behest of Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Walz sent a “Dear Leader Colleague” letter applauding Pelosi and Hoyer for their “transparency and openness” in the legislative process, as if they’d actually been letting members and the public read the bills before votes.

He said the Walden/Baird resolution isn’t necessary, and asked for fellow Democrats to step into the Orwellian Zone with him and sign the letter in support of Pelosi and Hoyer’s current open and transparent legislative process.

You can’t make this stuff up.

["The most ethical congrress in history."

Hom many insults before people finally fire these folks?

A: When you're dependent on them for benefits, you can't.

Health Care anyone?]

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Silence that idiot box

Subject: txt gdd vals msm bdd - othr -
YOU’RE A prudent parent, and you protect your children from behavior that is needlessly risky or harmful. You don’t let them ride a bicycle without putting on a helmet. You wait with them for the school bus, or drive them to school yourself. You wouldn’t dream of letting them drink alcohol, and if you caught them with cigarettes, you’d go through the roof.

So why do you let them watch so much TV?

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Go East, Young Man (Oh, You Already Are)

Subject: txt cali -

The westward expansion of the United States is over.

After two centuries of westward expansion, with California being a choice settling spot (there was no more continental west, after all), general U.S. migration patterns now are changing.

It seems parts of the West have become what the settlers were leaving: too crowded, too expensive and lacking in opportunity.

The general pattern reversed over the last decade, with the main out-migration occurring in California, according to a study released Wednesday by the University of Kansas School of Business...

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G, B, F...

.

Sarah Palin Is Winning

I have said this before: There are only two political stars in the country. One is president, the other is Sarah Palin. While the usual political news sources have seen everything going wrong for Palin—scandal, personal oddness, intra-party hostilities, myriad family problems—everything, in fact, has been going right for her.

The Palin plan is working...

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Males become minority on college campuses

The declining number of men compared to women attending the nation’s colleges is a phenomenon that carries profound social and economic implications as comparatively more female graduates enter the workplace.

Experts aren’t really sure why it’s happening....

[Three generations of women raised to believe they're 'incomplete' if they're only mothers and home makers, but our 'experts' are baffled.]

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Out-Foxing The Times

Media: The New York Times, still smarting after losing scoops to Fox News, has thrown in the towel, vowing to avoid future embarrassment by monitoring the cable channel.

We have a better idea — it's called reporting...

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.

-end 090930 post-

tl gwot nsec - Iran smolders, Afghanistan burns, and Obama heads to...Denmark

Iran smolders, Afghanistan burns, and Obama heads to...Denmark

Subject: txt 1st othr intl gwot nsec -
With growing pressure for decisions on life-or-death issues in Afghanistan and Iran, this morning the White House announced that President Obama will soon travel to…Copenhagen.

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Chicagoans divided on Obama's trip to win 2016 Games

Subject: txt fnn othr reps libs - mny 1st -
CHICAGO--President Barack Obama's decision to personally lobby for Chicago to host the 2016 Summer Olympics was greeted with hope and skepticism on Monday, with some in his hometown wondering if he didn't have better things to do.

"The last time I looked we had double-digit unemployment in Illinois and I'd rather Obama dealt with that than jetting off to Copenhagen,"

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Ensign receives handwritten confirmation

Subject: txt hcare 1st -
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it "Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold."

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Some States Push to Ban Mandate on Insurance

Subject: txt 1st hcare - cali - In
In more than a dozen statehouses across the country, a small but growing group of lawmakers is pressing for state constitutional amendments that would outlaw a crucial element of the health care plans under discussion in Washington: the requirement that everyone buy insurance or pay a penalty.

Approval of the measures, the lawmakers suggest, would set off a legal battle over the rights of states versus the reach of federal power...

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Wall Street money rains on Chuck Schumer

Subject: txt 1st hcare
Wall Street has showered nearly $11 million on the Senate since the beginning of the year, and more than 15 percent of it has gone to a single senator: Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York.

Schumer’s $1.65 million take from the financial services industry is nearly twice that of any other senator's — and more than five times what the industry gave to any single Republican senator.

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Sen. Schumer to put government option in health bill

Subject: txt 1st hcare -
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed Sunday to jam a government-run insurance provision into the Senate bill he and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) are readying for a showdown tomorrow with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.).

If health reform passes, it will require people to buy insurance, and fine them if they don't.

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POLL: Most Americans Do Not Want Health Care Proposals Passed

Subject: txt 1st hcare =
Just 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down two points from a week ago and the lowest level of support yet measured.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% are opposed to the plan.

Currently 75% of Democrats favor the plan. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Republicans are opposed, as are 72% of the unaffiliated.

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image toon 1st hcare mny = Oby's def of tax = USam's def screwed

Confessed Child Rapist Roman Polanski May Finally Face American Justice

Subject: txt 1st msm bias -
Nothing mitigates director Roman Polanski’s unspeakable crime. Certainly Polanski has dealt with personal tragedy on a scale few of us can understand, but that’s not a license to drug, rape and sodomize a 13 year-old girl.

This may come as a surprise to some in Hollywood, but helming a few cinematic masterpieces doesn’t turn someone who anally raped a child into some kind of tragic hero… In all the revisionist history, the simple fact that Polanski plead guilty to “unlawful sex with an underage girl” is seldom mentioned at the top of the special brand of rationalizations extended to our celebrity class...

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[Meanwhile, in the MSM...]

ABC Touts European Outrage Over Polanski Arrest
"There is a scary America that has just shown its face.’"

Senior Editor on Polanski Rape Case: ‘It’s Mind Boggling Why They’re Still Pursuing This’
Disturbingly, some are up in arms, claiming that - even though obvious after reading her grand jury testimony that the 13 year old was raped, - the incident should be forgotten...

WaPo's Applebaum Excuses Polanski, Fails to Note Her Conflict of Interest
Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum not only penned a post lamenting the recent arrest of child rapist, she failed to mention her conflict of interest.

Applebaum is married to Poland's foreign minister, who is lobbying for Polanski's release on bail...

LA Times's Goldstein Excuses Child Rapist
Apparently, Goldstein is of the opinion that Polanski has suffered enough for his crimes, and the Los Angeles prosecutors should not be spending precious taxpayer money - a phrase which, in reference to California, causes much mental angst...
.

Reminder: Roman Polanski raped a child

Subject: txt bdd vals 1st othr msm -
Roman Polanski raped a child. Let's just start right there, because that's the detail that tends to get neglected when we start discussing whether it was fair for the bail-jumping director to be arrested at age 76, after 32 years in "exile" (which in this case means owning multiple homes in Europe, continuing to work as a director, marrying and fathering two children, even winning an Oscar...

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Iran tests most advanced missiles capable of hitting Israel

Subject: txt gwot israel -

Iran tested its most advanced missiles Monday to cap two days of war games, raising more international concern and stronger pressure to quickly come clean on the newly revealed nuclear site Teheran was secretly constructing.

Both can carry warheads and reach up to 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers), putting Israel, US military bases in the Middle East, and parts of Europe within striking distance...

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Robert Gates: Iranians intend to develop nuclear weapons

Subject: txt gwot owg -
[NO SHIT]

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US: Too Late to Stop Iran

Subject: txt gwot owg -
A top official in the Obama Administration has at last admitted what intelligence agents and Israeli government officials have been warning about for years: Iran intends to build a nuclear arsenal.

In a separate interview with ABC News, he noted that Iran had engaged in "a pattern of deception and lies... from the very beginning," even as it claimed it was developing nuclear power for peaceful domestic energy purposes...

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Gates hints at more Iran nuke sites

Subject: txt gwot islm iran nsec -
Defense Secretary Robert Gates strongly hinted on Sunday that Iran may be concealing other nuclear facilities in the country, beyond the uranium enrichment facility disclosed Friday by President Barack Obama and other leaders at the G-20 Summit.

George Stephanopoulos asked Gates if the newly discovered site is ''the only secret site that we know of.'' After a pause, Gates said, ''I'm not going to get into that"...

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image toon - gwot - Iran = Nukes Inc.

U.S. Is Seeking Tougher Sanctions Against Iran

Subject: txt gwot owg -
The Obama administration is scrambling to assemble a package of harsher economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program that could include a cutoff of investments to the country’s oil-and-gas industry and restrictions on many more Iranian banks than those currently blacklisted, senior administration officials said Sunday.

The administration also is seeking to build a broader coalition of partners...

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Medvedev Leaves Wiggle Room on Sanctions

Subject: txt gwot iran intl owg -
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev may have joined the U.S. and other Western powers last week in threatening Iran with tough new sanctions, but he left plenty of room for the Kremlin to break ranks when it comes to making them stick.

Analysts and Western diplomats noted the Kremlin has shifted its rhetorical tone in the past, as well, only to slip back to its traditional opposition to any moves...

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image toon - gwot islm owg = Imanidiot trashing UN resolutions

There Are Only Two Choices Left on Iran

Subject: txt gwot nsec owg -
Unless you are a connoisseur of small pictures of bearded, brooding fanatical clerics there is not much reason to collect Iranian currency. But I kept one bill on my desk at the State Department because of its watermark—an atom superimposed on the part of that country that harbors the Natanz nuclear site.

Only the terminally innocent should have been surprised to learn that there is at least one other covert site...

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Two Ways of Buying Time. One Way Works.

Subject: txt gwot -
Defense secretary Robert Gates has been given the assignment of placating the anxious with "severe" new sanctions on Iran. So we are told inferentially in an article by Brian Knowlton in Sunday's New York Times.

In any event, Gates, assures us that Tehran will now be faced with "several additional sanctions," although he certainly can't promise that either Russia or China will be in on the punitive regime.

Although we aren't taking "any options off the table" (by this he means military options), Gates thinks "there is still room left for diplomacy." Less and less room, given the news about the facility at Qom which--shall we say?--blew up in President Obama's face.

But Gates also has taken on the task of pooh-poohing any military option (which, of course, he hasn't taken off the table), blah, blah, blah. Here exactly is what he said: "There is no military option that does anything more than buy time." So there!

This is likely to be the administration's fail-safe excuse for not itself doing anything concrete against Tehran's bombs and missiles. And it will use this rationale also to persuade Israel from defending itself.

But, if it comes to that, Israel is not likely to listen. It has had its own experience with how long the time you buy will last.

On June 7, 1981, several Israel air force F-16s, accompanied by F-15 interceptors, took out an Iraqi uranium-powered nuclear reactor outside of Baghdad. Twenty-two years later--and not for wont of trying--the Iraqis still did not have a nuclear facility, as poor George Bush can tell you.

Yes, Iranian nuclear facilities are more dispersed and more intricate. But Israeli military might (to say nothing of American military might) is also more sophisticated, more intrusive and more capacious than in 1981.

I'd be happy with a 20 years delay in Iranian nuclear arms development, and even in a decades delay. With such a devastating defeat the regime would probably collapse. That's when the diplomatic option might really work.

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image toon - israel = Iran's positive response = wipe Israel out

What the hell is the point of the United Nations?

Subject: txt owg - gdd -
So the circus has come to town again. The unspeakable Gaddafi is given a reasonable 15 minutes to speak, and goes on for an hour and three quarters of clowning, tearing up the UN charter and talking complete nonsense about swine flu.

Well, you might say, that’s what Gaddafi does.

But why do they let him?

[A: Because the primary goal of the UN, like all bureaucratic organizations, is first-and-foremost its own expansion.

That's how its membership mushroomed from 52 nations at its inception to 193 now - many of which have no business being considered legitimate governments/nations, and nearly universally use it as a forum to spout anti-US 'imperialism' propaganda. ]

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image c-art toon = owg = UN logo = all darts toward US

Why is Hillary Clinton giving millions to Gaddafi?

Subject: txt intl libs owg -
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee has written to the Secretary of State calling on her to cancel $2.5 million in State Department Economic Support Funds for Libya - of which $400,000 is earmarked for foundations run by the Gaddafi family...

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image toon - owg = Gadhafi lose screw = UN notjob

Gadhafi strengthens relationship with Chavez

Subject: txt intl -owg -
Moammar Gadhafi and Hugo Chavez are strengthening their relationship and finding common ground as two radical former military men who both want to challenge the ''imperialism'' of wealthy nations and aspire to speak for many poor nations. The Libyan and Venezuelan leaders were expected to meet one-on-one on Monday, although no public events were announced...

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image toon - intl owg = Chavez re sulfer smell replaced with toilet

New world economic order takes shape at G20

Subject: txt owg - trade - -
The Group of 20 is set to become the premier coordinating body on global economic issues, reflecting a new world economic order in which emerging market countries like China are much more relevant, according to a draft communique.

Leaders of the G20 developed and developing nations also agreed to make the International Monetary Fund more representative by increasing the voting power of countries that have long been under-represented in the world financial body, said the draft G20 communique obtained by Reuters.

It called for a shift in IMF voting by at least 5 percent, although several G20 representatives said it was a 5 percentage point shift from developed to under-represented countries. Currently, the split in voting power is 57 percent for industrialized countries and 43 percent for developing countries.

The shift would make the split nearly 50-50...

[I.e., another UN-like farce to give bit players disproportionate influence. When will we learn that our participation in these theatrical plays isn't in our interest?]

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G20 Summit Is an Exercise in Colossal Vanity

Subject: txt owg - 50M
International summits are little more than colossal exercises in political vanity. Full of hot air and meaningless photo opportunities they are designed purely to feed the self-importance of the global oligarchy.

Politicians like to see themselves as heroic figures grappling with the world’s problems but in reality are incapable of achieving anything beyond the misuse of public money...

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More Americans Than Ever Say Local Solutions Better for Economy Than G-20

ubject: txt mny owg -
The leaders of the world’s most powerful nations may have agreed late last week to work more closely together to control and protect the global economy, but Americans believe more than ever that the best solutions start at home.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 23% of Americans believe that decisions made by world leaders to help the global economy will do more to help the U.S. economy than decisions made by domestic business leaders.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) say the American economy will be helped more by decisions made by U.S. business leaders to help their own businesses grow. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure.

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image toon - bdd owg mny - G20 full of ideas for the US but won't do anything themselves

STIMULUS FUNDS ONLY BOOST NUMBER OF FEDERAL JOBS

Subject: txt sclm bbro - mny -
The $787 billion economic recovery package also is stimulating growth in the federal government as agencies hire thousands of workers and spend millions of dollars to oversee and implement the package, according to government records and spokesmen. For example:

• That's helped fuel the continued growth of the federal government, which increased by more than 25,000 employees since December 2008, according to the latest quarterly report.
• During that time, the ranks of the nation's unemployed increased by nearly 4 million, Labor Department statistics show.
• There are now about 2 million federal workers, the data show.

Stimulus critics such as Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the top Republican on the House oversight committee, say the package has enlarged the federal bureaucracy without making a dent in the nation's unemployment rate, which was 9.7 percent in August.

"The only thing we have seen stimulated by this package has been the size of the federal government,"

[Virtually all voting Democrat for life. Now do we get it...]

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New website can't track paths of federal stimulus grants

Subject: txt mny crpt libs reps -
The goal was to build a reporting system that allows the public to follow the zigzagging paths of dollars awarded under the $787 billion federal stimulus package. A financial GPS of sorts.

But despite federal lawmakers' pledge of transparency, the final stages of most money trails, along with key information about job impacts, will remain invisible to users of the Recovery.org website when it debuts next month...

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mage toon - crpt reps libs msm = Mult Oby's to cover so many TV shows

Who is doing the governing?

Subject: txt reps libs crpt othr -
With Mr. Obama is constantly on television; frequently on the road appearing at rallies and delivering prepared speeches; submitting to interviews (he has been on 60 Minutes three times in the past six months!); and generally continuing to campaign, it is appropriate for the American people to question who is actually governing our nation?

Could it be the Cabinet? There are 15 members of the president's cabinet, but we hear little if anything about what -- if anything -- they are doing. Could it be our country is run by the 37 (and counting) Czars Mr. Obama appointed who are accountable to only him? -- we do hear a great deal about their ideas for ‘re-making' America. Some notables in the new media have referred to this band of 37 as a shadow government that is free to operate without any scrutiny. The old media certainly is not asking about what the czars are actually doing... [snip]

In effect, the president is back to his old Illinois State Senate habit of voting "present" when it comes to issue after issue. He has dithered on Afghanistan and avoided a hard decision. On health care, he has outsourced political leadership to Senate and House pols. There is still no written health care plan from the White House. Sometimes it looks like nobody is in charge... [snip]

Seriously, he is leaving open the question that someone or some group is doing most of the governing. Unfortunately, delegation of this responsibility is not an available option for any president, and certainly not an option while our nation is fighting two wars and dealing with a serious economic crisis that is still gripping the entire world... [snip]

This question is a serious one and we need to start looking for answers. My fear is that no answer is a good one. A weak president out of touch with the substance of governing, in a world of conflict and danger, would be terrible for our nation. A president with a carefully orchestrated agenda that is rejected by the American people when it is revealed -- so he keeps it hidden behind his personality -- is even more dangerous.

This question needs to be asked until the truth is known and all of the American people can deal with it: who is governing our nation?

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Howard Fineman: Enough TV, Mr. President. How About Governing?

Subject: txt reps libs othr -
How do you know when an extraordinarily liberal politician is failing badly?

When extraordinarily liberal journalists like Newsweek's Howard Fineman not only notice, but are willing to write about it AND get their critique's published.

Adding insult to injury, in Fineman's most recent column, he expressed concern that

"[u]nless Obama learns to rely less on charm, rhetoric, and good intentions and more on picking his spots and winning in political combat, he's not going to be reelected."

Ouch. But there was much more in Fineman's, "The Limits of Charisma: Mr. President, Please Stay Off TV":

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image toon - 1st fnn msm bias reps = Oby wins award for best TV actor

NYT Tries to Deflect Charges of Bias, Announces 'Opinion Media' Editor

Subject: txt msm bias fnn -

The New York Times announced today that it would appoint an editor to monitor 'opinion media'. In an attempt to respond to criticism that it has been too slow to pick up on stories first reported by conservative blogs and talk show hosts, the Times acknowledged poor coverage, but denied a political agenda...

[That's the NYT labeling other sources as 'opinion media' - hyperventilating...]

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Public Editor Admits NY Times Slow on ACORN -- Not First Conservative Media Story NYT's Ignored

Subject: txt msm bias fnn -
In "Tuning In Too Late," Hoyt criticized the Times for its lack of coverage of the juicy ACORN imbroglio, an omission that has prodded the paper into creating a new semi-position.

It's assigned an editor to monitor opinion media and catch stories like this earlier (apparently not a single television at Times headquarters is tuned to Fox News, where they could have 'caught' it quite easily.) [snip]

"The Times stood still. Its slow reflexes -- closely following its slow response to a controversy that forced the resignation of Van Jones, a White House adviser -- suggested that it has trouble dealing with stories arising from the polemical world of talk radio, cable television and partisan blogs."[snip]

This is quite misleading. The Times already monitors new media for story tips. It's just that they only monitor the left side of the blogosphere.

Lachlan Markay provided some stark examples on Sunday...

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image toon 1st vals libs reps bdd - Carter as race baiting Czar-jester

Liberal McCarthyism': Whttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhen In Doubt, Blame It On Racism

txt 1st vals msm - '
Leave it to George Will to perfectly explain in just two words all the recent accusations by Democrats and their media minions that anti-government sentiment sweeping the nation is caused by racism.

Liberal McCarthyism.

Fortunately for those not understanding the reference, Will explained further when the Roundtable discussion on Sunday's "This Week" turned to all the recent pronouncements of racism directed at anyone having the nerve to challenge President Obama's agenda:

What we’re hearing is the liberals’ McCarthyism, which is, when in doubt, blame people for racism. Litigators have an old argument: When the law’s on your side, argue the law. When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When neither’s on your side, pound the table. This amounts to pounding the table.

I have yet to see evidence, is there -- does evidence even intrude in this conversation? Is there any evidence that these people are racists? I think not.

Unfortunately, those pounding the table include so-called journalists who should be exposing the lack of evidence rather than participating in the charade...

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The Unhealthy State of America

Subject: txt 1st vals -

The disdain and contempt that Americans are expressing towards our government have been categorized by the left as nothing more than racist vitriol. The facts behind our discontent are quickly ignored as liberals cohesively race to point out, in a miraculously orchestrated way, what they believe is the true motive behind our actions.

"They don't agree with us, so it must be because he's a black man."

We, honest Americans who wish for nothing more than to be heard and answered, have been pushed to the opposite side of a chasm of division that grows wider each day. No longer is it acceptable to have an opinion-unless it mimics that of leadership. No longer are we encouraged to be heard unless we're parroting the thoughts that will forward the agenda of those is power. Winston Churchill once said that

"criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things."

Will future events be further categorized as un-American fringe activities, or will this administration finally realize that the American body recognizes the unhealthy activities that are-for the moment-causing pain, but that will eventually become terminal and cripple this great nation...

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Truth trumps the race card

[HT:HE]Subject: txt 1st vals -
Did I miss something extremely important in the fine print on our presidential ballots last year?

Was there some fishy legalese in there specifying that if Barack Obama were elected, then I as a citizen, would thereby give up my right to free speech and would have to walk barefoot over hot coals if I criticized any of his policies? Did I miss some dictate down there on the ballot in my Southern state that notified me of my loss of U.S. citizenship in the event that Barack Obama became the first black president?

I don't think so. [snip]

Investors Business Daily enumerated 15 distinct, quite problematic instances of misinformation uttered by the President in his speech before Congress. The Heritage Foundation debunked 10 false claims in the speech. Reason Magazine, a fierce supporter of the President's election, published a column calling it like it is, "Obama's Lies Matter, Too." The not-known-for-racism group, FactCheck.org listed six big areas where the President fudged the truth in very carefully worded ways that seemed intentionally misleading.

Whether one chooses to call these "lies" or "misinformation" probably depends upon one's own proclivity for candor... [snip]

So, the next time some insanely condescending liberal tries to pull the race card from his hand and lay it on the table like it's some kind of cockamamie trump card, be ready and armed with the truth. Because truth trumps the race card every single day of the week.

And that's exactly how MLK envisioned it.

It's all about character.
It ain't about race.

Oh, and the establishment media needs to understand once and for all that if they're not willing to be colorblind protectors of the people's right to know, then they will be -- in perfect capitalistic fashion -- moved right off the stage posthaste...

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Hypocrisy In Media's Race Baiting

txt 1st vals msm -
In the first segment on the most recent installment of CNN's "Reliable Sources," Kurtz and his panel discussed comments made by various press members last week that opposition to Barack Obama's agenda is being fueled by racism.

Unfortunately, what Kurtz failed to point out was that in two of the examples he gave -- Duke and Gates -- the press's own prejudices and biases caused them to badly get the story wrong.

After all, media members were quick to assume the white Duke lacrosse players were guilty of raping a black woman, and never apologized for their error to the families whose lives were destroyed by their negligence when it was proved she made it all up.

As it pertains to Gates, the old media never questioned whether the President's background, experiences, and prejudices drove him to capriciously characterize the Cambridge police department as having acted stupidly well before he had all the facts.

What REALLY would have been a teachable moment concerning that incident would have been the news media asking America's first black president whether his own biases led him to act stupidly.

Alas, that didn't happen, and Kurtz didn't mention it Sunday.

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image toon - vals bdd libs = Dems see nothing but racism in ink blot tests

The rest of the story...

Subject: txt 1st othr gdd bdd hstry -
Sometimes people ask me why I insist on writing column after column about Barack Obama, or before him George W. Bush, when I am just a small-town editor. The answer is simple. Because I care about what happens to this country.

If you know of anything more important to write about than the takeover of health care under Obama or the attempted surrender of sovereignty under Bush, let me know what it is.

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Obama is stifling dissent on health care reform

Subject: txt 1st hcare -
By: Sen. Mitch McConnell
OpEd Contributor
September 24, 2009

"First and foremost, this episode should be of serious concern to millions of seniors on Medicare who deserve to know what the government has in mind for their health care. But it should also frighten anyone who cherishes their First Amendment right to free speech -- whether in Louisville, Helena, San Francisco, or anywhere else... [snip]

"Let's review: at the instigation of the Chairman of the Finance Committee, the author of the health care legislation now working its way through Congress, the Executive Branch, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has launched an investigation into Humana for explaining to seniors how this legislation might affect their coverage.

"One more time: a private health care provider told its elderly clients how health care legislation might affect their lives. And now the federal government is putting its full weight into investigating that company at the request of the senator who wrote the legislation in question. [snip]

"Yesterday my office called CMS to ask for the legal authority that would warrant them imposing an industry-wide gag order on an issue of public concern. We're still waiting for a response. So this morning, I'm asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide my office with its justification for telling a company it can't communicate with its seniors...

[More, all bad - Recommended > ]

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Obama's best of intentions...

Subject: txt gwot nsec owg -
UNITED NATIONS — For President Obama, the handshakes and hugs during his first visit to the United Nations last week masked a cold reality: nine months into his presidency, he is being forced to retool his most important foreign policy initiatives, from the war in Afghanistan to peace in the Middle East and his diplomatic overture to Iran.

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Iran Nuclear Site Could Pose Test to U.S., Israel Ties

Subject: txt gwot nsec - israel -
Iran's disclosure that it has been building a nuclear site ratchets up already simmering tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel, raising questions about whether President Obama retains enough influence to prevent Israel from launching a preemptive military strike should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government turn to its last resort. Polls show Obama's popularity is waning in Israel, where some say his administration is too conciliatory toward the Palestinians.

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Iran test-fires short-range missiles

Subject: txt gwot islm owg nsec -
TEHRAN-Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles during drills Sunday by the elite Revolutionary Guard, a show of force days after the U.S. and its allies condemned Tehran over a newly revealed underground nuclear facility that was being secretly constructed. English-language Press TV reported the Fateh-110, Tondar-69 and Zelzal were test fired in a missile defense exercise, but did not give specifics on range or other details. All are short-range, surface-to-surface missiles.

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image toon - bdd gwot iran israel nsec - Imanidiot threats v missles for peaceful purposes

World's Cowards Exposed

Subject: txt owg israel - gdd -
WASHINGTON -- It's amazing how simple moral clarity slices through the toxic drivel that has come to define the United Nations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strode into the world's billion-dollar debating society yesterday and, in calm, deliberate tones, reminded us all of the real purpose for the UN's existence -- so long forgotten... [snip]

Generously, Netanyahu commended those who rose and walked out during Ahmadinejad's speech.

It tells you all you need to know about the UN these days that walking out when a lunatic takes the podium passes for courage.

The only thing more criminal than sitting there listening to the lies and pure hate of these lunatics is standing there idly by watching history repeat itself.

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The History Lesson Obama Missed

Subject: txt hstry owg reps libs -
Much has been written about what motivates Barack Obama. Some suggest he is simply naïve; others suggest he is pure evil. Some look to his socialist upbringing and his narcissistic personality. The one obvious and consistent feature self-evident in speech after speech comprising his world apology tour is Obama's disdain for America. Obama stands with the world's evil-doers in rejecting American exceptionalism. If there was a question about Obama's love of his country, the disparaging remarks on Wednesday about the country he was elected to lead confirm his scorn.

There was no mention of the good that American men and women have done for the people of the world in the 20th and 21st centuries. There was no mention of the soldiers that have fought, been maimed, and died on battlefields across the globe so that people could be free of dictators the likes of which sat in the General Assembly and applauded for Obama. There was no mention of the financial support, the humanitarian aid, or the work of various American not-for-profits that exist solely to help individuals less fortunate the world over. And of course, there was no mention of the international AIDS-fighting campaign launched under George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor who received the biggest bashing in his speech.

But notwithstanding Obama's motives for reaching out to the dictators of the world, Americans must take note of the fact that the lessons of history and basic understanding of human nature teach that irrational megalomaniacs cannot be reasoned with. No matter how articulate America's president, his Messiah-like aura will not turn evil into good, the devil into an angel...

[Recommended > ]

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Old Media claim recession is over, but Americans aren't buying it

[HT:MG]Subject: txt msm bias mny -
Pundits proclaim the recession is "technically" over. Yeah, right. The Daily News Impact Panel begs to differ. (Snip)

"As you walk along the city streets, do you see fewer For Rent signs on closed businesses?"

upper East Side pharmacist Glenn Jacobi asked.

"Have the credit card companies started to charge less interest than the mob?"

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The dead end kids

Subject: txt mny - sclm bbro - The dead end kids
The unemployment rate for young Americans has exploded to 52.2 percent -- a post-World War II high, according to the Labor Dept. -- meaning millions of Americans are staring at the likelihood that their lifetime earning potential will be diminished and, combined with the predicted slow economic recovery, their transition into productive members of society could be put on hold for an extended period of time...

[And Democrats are still raising the (arbitrary) minimum wage...]

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Reuters: 'Obama Scores Twin Coups on Iran, Economy'

Subject: txt gwot mny msm -
Woo! Hoo! Break out the victory champagne! Wonderful news on the diplomatic and economic fronts!

Obama's expressions of deep concern have caused Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wilt under the pressure and announce that Iran will destroy its nuclear plants. On top of that there is news of soaring employment numbers as well as a booming economy.

Okay, so maybe none of this is really happening but one could be forgiven for believing these fantasies if his reading material were limited to Reuters which jubilantly published a story by Steve Holland titled Obama Scores Twin Coups on Iran, Economy: [snip]

Out of work? Losing your home to foreclosure? Good news! Cheerleader Steve of Reuters has reported that Obama made it possible for China to have a greater role in the global economy. Now don't you feel so much better?

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image toon - mny msm = ression's over rumor in unimployment line

NRO: Data Underlying Global Warming Claims May Be Gone

Subject: txt grn msm -
At National Review Online Wednesday morning, Patrick J. Michaels told us that:

.... the data needed to verify the gloom-and-doom warming forecasts have disappeared.

Or so it seems. Apparently, they were either lost or purged from some discarded computer. Only a very few people know what really happened, and they aren’t talking much. And what little they are saying makes no sense.

There have been many questions about the integrity of the science behind global warming, but what Michaels describes may be the most troubling example yet cited.

Here's more from his column:

Since the 1980s, we have merged the data we have received into existing series or begun new ones, so it is impossible to say if all stations within a particular country or if all of an individual record should be freely available.

In other words, we're being told that a lot of the raw data is gone. We're just supposed to trust that the adjustments made were done accurately and properly. Even if they were done conscientiously at the time based on the best available knowledge, there's no way to modify those adjustments for better information that may have come along in the last three decades.

So here's the bottom line:

.... So the question remains: What was destroyed or lost, when was it destroyed or lost, and why?

.... If there are no data, there’s no science. U.S. taxpayers deserve to know the answer to the question posed above.

It looks like there's a lot of material in place that should motivate someone in the establishment press to do an investigative report. Will anyone in the establishment media, which incessantly questions the accuracy of scientific reports based solely on who paid for them, even care to tell us that much of the scientific data supporting what I have for years referred to as "globaloney" apparently no longer exists?

Don't hold your breath.

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Oxy oil discovery could spark new interest in California's energy potential

Subject: txt engry cali -
The biggest find in the state in 35 years, somewhere in Kern County, could herald new exploration in California and the U.S., experts say

The Westwood company revealed in July that it had found the equivalent of 150 million to 250 million barrels of oil and natural gas in an undisclosed part of Kern County using techniques that the oil company's executives would rather not talk about... [snip]

Despite steady declines in petroleum output to about 214.5 million barrels last year from about 394 million barrels at the 1985 peak, California still ranks fourth in the nation behind the combined federal offshore drilling sites and Texas and Alaska.

The U.S. Geological Survey travels the country to assess petroleum reserves and the potential for new discoveries. In 2003 and again in 2007, its geologists said that it was likely that an additional 4 billion barrels "may be added to reserves in existing oil fields"...

[Again and again, our discovery of reserves outpaces our increasing consumption throughout the history of oil - when we but look for it...]

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Fw: image c-art - engry LIBERTY OIL AND GAS PETITION gif w-link

MORE OF WORLD'S TALENTED OPT TO LEAVE UNITED STATES

Subject: txt intl bdd immig -
More skilled immigrants are giving up their American dreams to pursue careers back home, raising concerns that the United States may lose its competitive edge in science, technology, and other fields.

"What was a trickle has become a flood,"

says Duke University's Vivek Wadhwa, who studies reverse immigration:

In the next five years, 100,000 immigrants will go back to India and 100,000 to China, countries that have had rapid economic growth.

For the first time in American history, the United States is experiencing the brain drain that other countries experienced.

Suren Dutia, CEO of TiE Global, a worldwide network of professionals who promote entrepreneurship, says the U.S. economy will suffer without these skilled workers.

"If the country is going to maintain the kind of economic well-being that we've enjoyed for many years, that requires having these incredibly gifted individuals who have been educated and trained by us,"

Wadhwa surveyed 1,203 Indian and Chinese immigrants who had worked or been educated here before returning to their homelands and found the exodus has less to do with the faltering United States economy than with our immigration process:

Multinational companies that belong to the American Council on International Personnel tell Executive Director Lynn Shotwell that skilled immigrants are discouraged by the immigration process, waiting up to a decade for permanent residency...

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CHARTER SCHOOLS PASS KEY TEST IN STUDY

Subject: txt edu -
New York City students who win a lottery to enroll in charter schools outperform those who don't win spots and go on to attend traditional schools, according to a new study, led by Stanford University economics Prof. Caroline Hoxby.

Charter schools are publicly funded schools, typically with nonunion teachers, that are granted more freedom by states in curriculum and hiring, and are often promoted as a way to turn around failing schools.

• Among students who had spent their academic careers in charter schools, the average eighth grader in Hoxby's study had a state mathematics test score of 680, compared with 650 for those in traditional schools;
• Hoxby's study also found that the charter-school students, who tend to come from poor and disadvantaged families, scored almost as well as students in the affluent Scarsdale school district in the suburbs north of the city; the English test results showed a similar pattern.
• Lastly, the study found students were more likely to earn a state Regents diploma, given to higher-achieving students, the longer they attended charter schools.

This year, the Renaissance Charter School in Queens and the Democracy Prep Charter School in Harlem each had 1,500 applicants for 80 seats.

Renaissance co-principal Stacey Gauthier says 90 percent of students go on to college.

"We have to perform well or we lose our charter," ... "It makes us step up our game."

Critics of charter schools have long argued that any higher test scores were not necessarily attributable to anything the schools were doing, but to the students themselves, on the premise that only the most motivated students and families elected charters.

Hoxby's study sought to address that argument by comparing students who attend charters directly with similarly motivated students -- those who sought to attend charters but were denied a seat through a random lottery...

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image toon - edu crpt libs - Oby wants kids in school - but not voucher schools

N.J. Principal Unapologetic for Kids Praising Obama, Would Do It Again

Subject: txt edu crpt libs -
The principal of a New Jersey elementary school where young students were videotaped singing the praises of President Obama is making no apologies for the videotape and says she would allow the performance again if she could, according to parents who spoke with her Thursday night.

[We need universal, unencumbered {school system 'managed'} vouchers.]

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Giant ACORN nuts in 'shell game' : report

Subject: txt crpt libs acorn -
Washington - The embattled community group ACORN, comprising a mind-boggling 94 different affiliates, amounts to ''a big shell game,'' a biting Senate Finance Committee study shows.

The study, by the staff of Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, reveals four ACORN charity groups give more than half their revenue to taxable entities that engage in ''impermissible lobbying and political activity'...'

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image toon - 1st msm bias = Watchdog MSM ignoring screaming ACORN

The MSM Lambaste Giles and O’Keefe’s Politics and Faith

Subject: txt 1st msm bias crpt libs - bdd -
Let me see if I have this right: ACORN, in five locations coast-to-coast are on tape counseling tax fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, and the coup de grace, how to set up a whorehouse for 12 to 15-year-old El Salvadoran sex slaves, and now the MSM are POed about it being exposed without ACORN’s consent?!

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MSM: Attack the Messenger(s)

Subject: txt msm bias acorn -

As soon as James O’Keefe’s explosive video footage was unveiled two weeks ago — shaking ACORN to its core — various leftists and their allies in the mainstream media have fixated on a singular mission: smearing the messenger.

O’Keefe was not just targeted by MSM backbenchers, but the Big Three: New York Times, Washington Post, and the Associated Press.

The results weren’t even close. It was a lopsided victory for O’Keefe, as all three titans of media issued corrections on damning allegations... [snip]

None of the above was a small mistake, either in terms of relevance or harm to reputation. Between the Big Three’s articles, there were a total of seven reporters on the byline or listed as contributors, most of whom were veterans. That’s not even counting editors or the ample resources available to the MSM journalists.

One wonders if the MSM reporters with egg on their faces realize the irony: the 25-year-old, self-described “skinny nerd” with scarce resources has outclassed deep pocketed media titans. He has no corrections, and each of the Big Three has one — and that’s just in the past few days.

Public trust in the mainstream is at an all-time low. Its reaction to the ACORN revelations and ham-handed attacks on O’Keefe will only accelerate the downward spiral....

[We can hope.]

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MSNBC: Corporate Interests, Not Video of Employees Willing to Aid Illegal Prostitution Ring, for ACORN Downfall

Subject: txt msm bias fnn -

[Yeah, that was it.

MSNBC]

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Lingua Crapa

The decline of the mainstream media is not only a matter of liberal bias, but of linguistics. The dinosaur media is losing readers because it is full of bad writers. I grew up with the Washington Post, and still pad down the driveway faithfully every morning to read the paper. To be sure, the leftward tilt is annoying, but to me it's only what the writers are saying, but how they are saying it.

[Didn't read it - the title got it posted.]

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