-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
You remember Standard & Poor’s, they’re the credit-rating agency that blessed the fraud-based mortgage securities issued by Wall Street banks with AAA ratings, deceiving gullible investors around the world. Senator Carl Levin (chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations) recently named this company a “key cause” of the economic crisis.
Continue reading “Standard & Poor’s Downgrades Outlook On US Debt”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
The GOP hearts Ayn Rand. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and his father Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), all mention the works of Ayn Rand as being influential in their lives. Even Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas references her work as influence in his autobiography. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, is an acolyte of Rand’s thinking and knew her personally.
I would like to focus on one aspect of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, and its implications for Christianity.
This is the quintessential French story. Anyone who has gone to France knows that you can expect that someone will be striking and shutting down parts of Paris. However, the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS) police force is taking a stand on a matter of French privilege — the right to drink while on duty. After all, if the French cannot have a glass of wine while fighting terror, the terrorists have won.
President Barack Obama has been unabashed in his close association with General Electric CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt, including naming him to head the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Obama has continued to shower such honors and attention on Immelt despite the fact that GE has avoided paying ANY taxes. Indeed, GE has demanded a tax benefit of $3.2 billion. Now, GE has posted a 77% increase in profits while paying less taxes than any of its factory workers.
Continue reading “General Electric Profits Up 77% But Company Avoids Paying a Penny in Taxes”
And we thought pork belly politics were too much in Congress. In Kyrgyzstan, legislators have sacrificed seven sheep to drive out evil spirits out of the parliament chamber.
Continue reading “Kyrgyz Legislators Sacrifice Sheep To Rid Parliament of Evil Spirits”
There is a bizarre story out of Florida where officials at an unemployment agency reportedly spent $14,000 to give 6,000 superhero capes to the unemployed. It was part of its “Cape-A-Bility Challenge” featuring a cartoon character, “Dr. Evil Unemployment.”
President Barack Obama previously drew criticism for his embrace of the controversial Al Sharpton in his re-election effort despite Sharpton’s history of race-baiting and alleged corruption. As if to make clear that his prior appearances with Sharpton were not fleeting mistakes, Obama invited Sharpton to a high-profile meeting on immigration reform and White House officials have pushed him to the forefront of supporters for the President. Putting aside the lack of responsibility shown in embracing a character like Sharpton, I am mystified (again) by the lack of political judgment by Obama and his aides. The President is already facing record low polls which so him as an increasing polarizing figure in American politics. The solution? The White House found one of the most polarizing figures in politics to stand by his side.
Continue reading “Obama (Again) Turns To Al Sharpton in High-Profile Immigration Meeting”
Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains, TN) is one of the politicians leading the effort to introduce creationism back into schools to rival the teaching of evolution. He may, however, need a bit more time in the classroom on his intellectual sources. As noted on sites like Think Progress, Niceley has confused Albert Einstein with Francis Bacon in his insistence that Einstein discredited atheism and said that a truly thinking man will turn to Christianity.
Oscar Wilde once said that a cynic is “a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” Ohio Gov. John Kasich would appear to be that cynic. He believes that he has found an easy way to dealing with high tuition costs in college — cut the college education itself. In a move that would be a disaster for the quality and standing of Ohio universities and colleges, Kasich wants schools to reduce college educations to three rather than four years to pump out more graduates in a shorter time.
Jay Carney says President Obama was never against signing statements, just when President Bush “abused” them. In the press conference, Jay Carney seems to morph with John Kerry, who believed he had found safe political ground by noting that he voted for something before voting against it. For his part, Obama morphed into George W. Bush a while back on civil liberties and constitutional issues.
Continue reading “Carney: Obama Was For Signing Statements Before He Was Against Them”
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley (left) wants Judge Raymond G. Dougan Jr. (right) removed from criminal cases. Dougan is not being accused of being a drunk, pill-popper, or mentally incompetent. His offense is being too pro-defendant in criminal cases for the tastes of Conley. This appears to becoming a trend of prosecutors seeking to remove judges or boycott (or in one case, arrest a judge) who rule too often against the prosecutors or police.
Continue reading “Boston District Attorney Demands Removal of Judge Viewed As Being Too Pro-Defendant in Criminal Cases”
A former soldier in England has been sentenced to 70 days in prison for burning a copy of the Koran (Qu’ran) in public. While a detestable act, the prosecution of individuals for the exercise of free speech is equally detestable and part of a growing trend of such prosecutions in the West under blasphemy or hate crime laws.
Continue reading “England Continues Crackdown on Anti-Religious Speech: Former British Soldier Sentenced To Jail For Burning Koran”
In a surprise move for many critics, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the bill that would have required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove they were born in the United States before their names could have been placed on the state ballot. We previously discussed the bill and the serious constitutional questions that it raised. A former Secretary of State, Brewer objected to one state imposing such conditions on candidates.
Continue reading ““A Bridge Too Far”: Gov. Brewer Vetoes Birther Bill”
U.S. Ambassador and former law professor, Douglas Kmiec, has stepped down after a State Department report criticized him for spending too much time writing and speaking about his religious beliefs. Kmiec (who I know and personally like) is a conservative who supported Obama in the election and was rewarded with the position. The report stated that Kmiec spent too much time writing and speaking about abortion and too little in being an ambassador. Kmiec’s appointment occurred at a time when Obama was turning away from growing criticism by liberals — a trend that has only increased with time. Kmiec was a law professor at Pepperdine University and legal counsel to President Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
This clearly racist photo was sent by Marilyn Davenport – an elected member of the central committee of the Republican Party of Orange County and Tea Party activist with the caption “Now you know why – no birth certificate!” Davenport insists it is not racist, just humorous.
Continue reading “Republican Official Sends Racist Pictures of President Obama”
