AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

Bush, incompetently dealt with the USA economy.

Obama, is incompetently and fraudulently dealing with the USA economy.

A bunch of Obama lovers use the Bushes and Sarah Palin as a way to divert attention away from Obama's incompentence and fraud.

www.TaxDayTeaParty.com
It IS a war against us!
This post is really in place to clarify a statement I made last week. I have suggested on several occasions that we as a movement need to view this as a war, and I truly believe that to be the case.

As I’ve mentioned before, our government has looked the camera in the eye and openly declared war on our way of life.

“We’re going to force you to do this or that, we’re going to take this liberty and that freedom from you, we’re coming after your free speech, we’re watching your every move, etc.”

We’ve all heard it. We’ve all seen it. Yet I got a few replies telling me I should be careful and try not to use the word war. Which seems a little bizzare to me considering the circumstances.

Let’s face the facts here, the thugs in Washington are waging a war against us. There is no way to sugar coat that. They wish to dramatically change this country and to do so requires that they strip us of our ability to be politically active and financially strong.

In war, you want to cut off communication, freeze all financial assets, and disrupt the political system. Doesn’t that sound eerily familiar?

It does. And it’s because our own government is waging war against us right here in our own back yards. They’ve set up a mechanism through which they can control the economy, they’re close to controlling all forms of communication, and they’ve completed gutted our political system by letting lawyers run Congress for far too long.

This machine doesn’t care about our protests. They don’t care if we march on Washington. They don’t care if we win a battle here and there. They don’t care how big our movement gets.

All they care about is full and total control over our lives. And they’ll do whatever is necessary to obtain it.

As an American, I recognize this as an act against my life and liberty. I recognize this as a declaration of war against me.

It is what it is folks.
Just sayin…
-Eric Odom

All they care about is full and total control over our lives. And they’ll do whatever is necessary to obtain it.

ican711nm wrote:

Bush, incompetently dealt with the USA economy.

Obama, is incompetently and fraudulently dealing with the USA economy.

A bunch of Obama lovers use the Bushes and Sarah Palin as a way to divert attention away from Obama's incompentence and fraud.

Odd that I would be looking to divert attention from Obama... by commenting on a piece McG posted. Don't make much sense.

Cycloptichorn

Tempest in a Teabag: Tea Party Founder Announces He's (Re)Joining GOP
(Dawn Teo, Huffington Post, November 11, 2009)

After years of a love-hate relationship with the Republican Party, the man most often regarded as the founder of the Tea Parties, Eric Odom, announced Tuesday that he is re-joining the Republican Party. This after he posted an open letter to the Republican Party in July in which he said he would be willing to re-join, "if and only if" certain conditions would be met. (His conditions have not been met.) Odom's road to re-joining the Republican Party has been long and full of Tea Party theatrics.

Because Odom acted fast (or had forewarning, you decide) in the hours after Rick Santelli's CNBC rant, he rose to infamy by building (and controlling) much of the online infrastructure through which the hundreds of Tea Parties were organized across the country throughout 2009. While Odom self-identifies as a "newbie" grassroots leader and has been characterized in the media as rebelling against the Republican establishment, his connections to well-known conservative heavyweights are undeniable and years old.

As a key organizer of the 2007 Conservative Leadership Conference, Odom put together an impressive assemblage of speakers, including former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, then Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee Jo-Ann Davidson, Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, and the infamous lobbyist Rick "Astroturf Kingpin" Berman. Last year, Odom organized Roots HQ 2009 (the equivalent of NetRoots Nation for conservatives). In November of 2007, shortly after Rightoberfest, Odom picked up a job as New Media Coordinator for the Sam Adams Alliance, where he worked until just days before Santelli's rant.

Odom has consistently taken controversial public stances against Republican candidates. In 2007 he was in the center of a debate with a Nevada assemblyman who Odom accused of pork barrel spending when he proposed spending money to help pay for housing for veterans while they are seeking medical treatment. Odom used a now-familiar tactic against Ty Cobb -- he accused him of not being a "real" Republican, just not being conservative enough. Odom was later accused of being behind an anonymous website that made vicious attacks of a truly personal nature (most of which were later proven to be untrue) against that same Nevada assemblyman.

At 6:11 AM on February 19, Rick Santelli told the world via CNBC, "We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party," in what he later claimed was a spontaneous, "half serious" outburst of anger against the bailouts. In what can only be described as an incredible feat of web programming skills, by 11:36 AM, Odom had rolled out OfficialChicagoTeaParty.com, a professionally designed website where Santelli's rant fans could sign up to organize or attend Tea Parties. Just four days later, Odom posted specific details and locations for Tea Parties that would take place just a week later on February 27.

According to the Libertarian Party of Illinois (LP-IL) Chair Dave Brady, his group created a Tea Party group on Facebook in late 2008, and Odom was a member. According to Brady, when Odom (who was an active member of LP-IL) launched his Tea Party efforts, he effectively hijacked their Facebook page and their tea party idea: "This all is kind of frustrating because LP Illinois gets no credit for this project. Eric Odom, a member of LP Illinois, and our original group, created his own website and Facebook group and aligned directly with Santelli."

At the time, Odom gave Santelli all of the credit, describing the CNBC rant as authentic and spontaneous. Months later, in May, Odom would take the credit, saying in a blog posting, "I'm the guy who developed both the site and concept for the February 27th Chicago Tea Party."

Most website creators are excited when a new website goes live, especially if it is related to a cause that they are passionate about, but Odom didn't post his new website to his Twitter feed until 10:35 PM. He was coy with his followers, imploring them to "wait for Santelli" three times, saying his people were in discussions with Santelli, before posting, "#Dontgo Movement is putting together a Chicago Tea Party Planning Committee http://officialchicagoteaparty.com #optwtp."

Odom did make sure to promote the new Tea Party Facebook page, "Make sure you join this Facebook group. It has the RIGHT orgs running it." Phil Kerpen of Americans for Prosperity (an organization funded, at least in part, by the infamous Koch family of Koch Industries) is listed as the Creator.

Nine days after registering OfficialChicagoTeaParty.com, Odom registered TaxDayTeaParty.com, designed to help protesters register to organize or attend Tea Parties across the country, complete with a substantial list of partner organizations and a state-by-state list of protests being planned for April 15. In March, he created the American Liberty Alliance, which would later become one of the driving forces of the August Congressional recess rallies.

In fact, when Odom created RecessRally.com to (once again) coordinate nationwide rallies on a single day (August 22), Odom reused his TaxDayTeaParty.com formula. Unlike earlier Tea Parties, however, August recess rallies focused on health care reform. They were also much louder, meaner, and promoted by Fox News.

Odom currently manages more than 200 web domains either directly or through his consulting agencies (which include Flat Creek Management and Fresh Vision Media) and his organization (American Liberty Alliance--which, oddly, seems like a nonprofit but is not registered as a nonprofit). He was one of the Tea Party leaders who traveled to NY-23 to stump for the Tea Party candidate, Doug Hoffman, against the Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava. Once again, she just wasn't Republican enough.

According to Odom, when John McCain became its presidential nominee, Odom left the Republican Party for the Libertarian Party and supported Bob Barr's presidential bid saying, "I might have taken a different approach if I wasn't voting in Illinois where it didn't really matter." Once Sarah Palin came onto the scene, though, Odom became (and remains) a stalwart Palin supporter. He even registered the website ThanksToPalin.com

In July Odom said he would re-join the Republican Party if and only if the Republican Party leadership (paraphrasing):
1.Gives Odom their blessing.
2.Expels from any future party support or praise any Republican Congressperson who votes for health care reform.
3.Stops being camera whores.
4.Stops asking for money.
5.Promotes (Odom's) Tea Party websites on the GOP website.
6.Stops paying professionals, and hires real activists.
7.Stops holding "idea camps"; stops asking for ideas; and stops co-opting activists' ideas.
8.Starts really attacking Democrats.

Nevertheless, Odom wrote in his blog Tuesday, "I know many of my fellow Tea Party activists are going to hate me for this, but it's time to face reality. The Republican Party must be our vessel in 2010," adding later, "As a libertarian who voted for Bob Barr in 2008, I find it very difficult to state this in a public manner, but I will now be joining the Republican Party."

Just a couple of weeks ago, Odom declared war on the GOP, saying in a blog post about the GOP establishment, "Wake up. The machine is waging war against you."

Odom is also unhappy with the current conservative news outlets. In late September he announced what he calls a movement-minded news portal and his answer to the Huffington Post.

Earlier this week, Odom announced the formation of a new PAC, telling TPM that Tea Partiers have "lacked the initiative to get involved in the campaign side of politics." Odom vowed, in his PAC-announcement email, that his Liberty First PAC has an initial goal of raising $1 million and will do three things: (1) "refuse to help any incumbents," (2) help "Patriot Candidates" defeat "power hungry politicians," and (3) "build a national educational media campaign to help the general electorate understand what our government is attempting to do to us."

Though Odom has no intention of supporting the current crop of Republicans (and proudly asserts that he will work to defeat many of them), he is making his 2010 stand from within the Republican Party, "Love or hate the Republican Party, it's our only vessel in the short term. We either unify through it and make a stand strong enough to stop this madness in government, or we fracture over third party efforts and meet uncertain political demise."

By BETSY MCCAUGHEY for WallStreetJournalOnline, Nov. 7, 2009
The health bill (H.R.3962) that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [brought to a vote 11/7/09] is 1,990 pages. Here are some of the details you need to know. [SINCE SENATE IS ABOUT TO VOTE ON IT, NOW!]

What the government will require you to do:

• Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires you to enroll in a "qualified plan." If you get your insurance at work, your employer will have a "grace period" to switch you to a "qualified plan," meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there's no grace period. You'll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit.

• Sec. 224 (p. 118) provides that 18 months after the bill becomes law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will decide what a "qualified plan" covers and how much you'll be legally required to pay for it. That's like a banker telling you to sign the loan agreement now, then filling in the interest rate and repayment terms 18 months later.

On Nov. 2, the Congressional Budget Office estimated what the plans will likely cost. An individual earning $44,000 before taxes who purchases his own insurance will have to pay a $5,300 premium and an estimated $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, for a total of $7,300 a year, which is 17% of his pre-tax income. A family earning $102,100 a year before taxes will have to pay a $15,000 premium plus an estimated $5,300 out-of-pocket, for a $20,300 total, or 20% of its pre-tax income. Individuals and families earning less than these amounts will be eligible for subsidies paid directly to their insurer.

• Sec. 303 (pp. 167-168) makes it clear that, although the "qualified plan" is not yet designed, it will be of the "one size fits all" variety. The bill claims to offer choice"basic, enhanced and premium levels"but the benefits are all the same. Only the co-pays and deductibles differ. You will have to enroll in the same plan, whether the government is paying for it or you and your employer are footing the bill.

• Sec. 59b (pp. 297-299) says that when you file your taxes, you must include proof that you are in a qualified plan. If not, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt from this requirement.

• Sec. 412 (p. 272) says that employers must provide a "qualified plan" for their employees and pay 72.5% of the cost, and a smaller share of family coverage, or incur an 8% payroll tax. Small businesses, with payrolls from $500,000 to $750,000, are fined less.

Eviscerating Medicare:

In addition to reducing future Medicare funding by an estimated $500 billion, the bill fundamentally changes how Medicare pays doctors and hospitals, permitting the government to dictate treatment decisions.

• Sec. 1302 (pp. 672-692) moves Medicare from a fee-for-service payment system, in which patients choose which doctors to see and doctors are paid for each service they provide, toward what's called a "medical home."

The medical home is this decade's version of HMO-restrictions on care. A primary-care provider manages access to costly specialists and diagnostic tests for a flat monthly fee. The bill specifies that patients may have to settle for a nurse practitioner rather than a physician as the primary-care provider. Medical homes begin with demonstration projects, but the HHS secretary is authorized to "disseminate this approach rapidly on a national basis."
A December 2008 Congressional Budget Office report noted that "medical homes" were likely to resemble the unpopular gatekeepers of 20 years ago if cost control was a priority.

• Sec. 1114 (pp. 391-393) replaces physicians with physician assistants in overseeing care for hospice patients.

• Secs. 1158-1160 (pp. 499-520) initiates programs to reduce payments for patient care to what it costs in the lowest cost regions of the country. This will reduce payments for care (and by implication the standard of care) for hospital patients in higher cost areas such as New York and Florida.

• Sec. 1161 (pp. 520-545) cuts payments to Medicare Advantage plans (used by 20% of seniors). Advantage plans have warned this will result in reductions in optional benefits such as vision and dental care.

• Sec. 1402 (p. 756) says that the results of comparative effectiveness research conducted by the government will be delivered to doctors electronically, to guide their use of "medical items and services."

Questionable Priorities:

While the bill will slash Medicare funding, it will also direct billions of dollars to numerous inner-city social work and diversity programs with vague standards of accountability.

• Sec. 399V (p. 1422) provides for grants to community "entities" with no required qualifications except having "documented community activity and experience with community healthcare workers" to "educate, guide, and provide experiential learning opportunities" aimed at drug abuse, poor nutrition, smoking and obesity. "Each community health worker program receiving funds under the grant will provide services in the cultural context most appropriate for the individual served by the program."

These programs will "enhance the capacity of individuals to utilize health services and health related social services under Federal, State and local programs by assisting individuals in establishing eligibility . . . and in receiving services and other benefits" including transportation and translation services.

• Sec. 222 (p. 617) provides reimbursement for culturally and linguistically appropriate services. This program will train health-care workers to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their "right" to have an interpreter at all times and with no co-pays for language services.

• Secs. 2521 and 2533 (pp. 1379 and 1437) establishes racial and ethnic preferences in awarding grants for training nurses and creating secondary-school health science programs. For example, grants for nursing schools should "give preference to programs that provide for improving the diversity of new nurse graduates to reflect changes in the demographics of the patient population." And secondary-school grants should go to schools "graduating students from disadvantaged backgrounds including racial and ethnic minorities."

• Sec. 305 (p. 189) Provides for automatic Medicaid enrollment of newborns who do not otherwise have insurance. [Social Security numbers will have to be assigned].

For the text of the bill with page numbers, see www.defendyourhealthcare.us.

Ms. McCaughey is chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former Lt. Governor of New York state.

Ms. McCaughey is chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former Lt. Governor of New York state.

Army says 'morale down in Afghanistan Troops'
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091113/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_troops_mental_health>

Mister President, STOP YOUR DAWDLING! You are letting down our American Troops!

We have family members there!

You are putting their lives in peril, while fiddling around in Asia!!

Darlene Plyter
Georgetown TX

Judicial Watch Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Hillary Clinton Lawsuit
Judicial Watch continues to pursue a lawsuit on behalf of a Foreign Service Officer challenging Hillary Clinton's constitutional eligibility to serve as Secretary of State. On November 3rd, we filed a "Notice of Appeal" as a first step in asking the United States Supreme Court to consider the lawsuit, which we filed on behalf of U.S. Foreign Service Officer David Rodearmel on January 29, 2009.
The appeal became necessary when a special three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit on October 29th on the grounds that Mr. Rodearmel lacked "standing" to bring the lawsuit. (Under applicable law, any appeal goes directly to the Supreme Court.) The panel, which reviewed the lawsuit on an expedited basis, did not issue any rulings on the constitutional merits of Judicial Watch's legal argument.
But according to Article I, section 6 of the U.S. Constitution (known as the "Ineligibility Clause"): "No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time."
This clause is an absolute prohibition and the Constitution does not allow for any exceptions. Now, it is a matter of fact, as noted in Judicial Watch's court filings, that "the 'compensation and other emoluments' of the office of the U.S. Secretary of State increased during Mrs. Clinton's tenure in the U.S. Senate, including as many as three times during the second, six-year term to which she was elected."
Therefore, according to the Constitution, Hillary Clinton cannot serve as Secretary of State. This should have been case closed, but then Congress got involved.

Oh Dear! How do I deside who is truly "an infamous liar and paid shill"?

• Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires you to enroll in a "qualified plan." If you get your insurance at work, your employer will have a "grace period" to switch you to a "qualified plan," meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there's no grace period. You'll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit.

“Treason is any attempt to overthrow the government or impair the well-being of a state to which one owes allegiance; the crime of giving aid or comfort to the enemies of one's government,” according to the Random House Dictionary. By that definition, Barack Hussein Obama and his Attorney General Eric Holder should be impeached.

By ordering that the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America, be in a federal courtroom, Barack Obama’s administration has seriously undermined your safety.

If these trials are allowed to go forward, they will do more damage to America than any single act since our withdrawal from Vietnam dooming Saigon and the people of Southeast Asia to communism and genocide.

For seven years after the 9-11 attack, the US Government has done an outstanding job of keeping us safe. Under the leadership of the Bush Administration with the approval of the US Congress, our soldiers and CIA operatives scoured the world for terrorists. They brought those terrorists to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and kept them from killing more Americans.

Last year, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his band of thugs tried pleaing guilty to murder and asked to be sent to Allah. At the time under pressure from the Left, the Bush Administration created a military commission designated with the task of bringing them to justice.

By canceling this process for the Islamic radicals in Guantanamo, Obama has guaranteed that the CIA and the other foreign and domestic government agencies will have their secrets paraded before the largest television audience in world history.

According to legal experts, it may be impossible to present evidence that would confirm their guilt, and the reputation of America will once again be dragged through the mud. K. S. Mohammed will be particularly difficult to prosecute in the US because his defense lawyers will twist it and put the United States on trial, arguing that he was illegally tortured by the CIA. America learned vital information that thwarted additional attacks by waterboarding him.

Writing in National Review, Andrew McCarthy said:

“We are now going to have a trial that never had to happen for defendants who have no defense. And when defendants have no defense for their own actions, there is only one thing for their lawyers to do: put the government on trial in hopes of getting the jury (and the media) spun up over government errors, abuses and incompetence. That is what is going to happen in the trial of KSM et al. It will be a soapbox for al-Qaeda's case against America. Since that will be their "defense," the defendants will demand every bit of information they can get about interrogations, renditions, secret prisons, undercover operations targeting Muslims and mosques, etc., and " depending on what judge catches the case " they are likely to be given a lot of it. The administration will be able to claim that the judge, not the administration, is responsible for the exposure of our defense secrets. And the circus will be played out for all to see " in the middle of the war. It will provide endless fodder for the transnational Left to press its case that actions taken in America's defense are violations of international law that must be addressed by foreign courts. And the intelligence bounty will make our enemies more efficient at killing us.”

The damage that Barack Hussein Obama is continuing to afflict on the brave men and women who are protecting and defending us is unconscionable. How could you not call providing these murdering thugs all of the legal protections afforded an American Citizen anything but aid and comfort? If no earlier action demanded his impeachment, this sole act of treason does.

This is proof that BHO hates the America we love. No wonder he failed to salute the honored dead at a recent ceremony. Don’t believe me. Believe your own eyes.