Thursday, May 04, 2017
The lies we were told about who would silence free speech - Chicago Tribune
The lies we were told about who would silence free speech - Chicago Tribune:
"The lie we were told as kids was this: The end of American liberty would come at the hands of the political right.
Conservatives would take away our right to speak our minds, and use the power of government to silence dissent. The right would intimidate our teachers and professors, and coerce the young."
"The lie we were told as kids was this: The end of American liberty would come at the hands of the political right.Conservatives would take away our right to speak our minds, and use the power of government to silence dissent. The right would intimidate our teachers and professors, and coerce the young."
History for May 4
History for May 4 - On-This-Day.com:
Horace Mann 1796 - Educator, father of public education in the U.S., author, Thomas Huxley 1825, John Hanning Speke 1827
Audrey Hepburn (Edda Kathleen Hepburn van Heemstra) 1929 - Actress ("Monte Carlo Baby", "Breakfast at Tiffany's"), George F. Will 1941 - Columnist ("Newsweek"), editor, Randy Travis (Randy Bruce Traywick) 1959 - Country singer
1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on Manhattan Island. Native Americans later sold the island (20,000 acres) for $24 in cloth and buttons.
1715 - A French manufacturer debuted the first folding umbrella.
1863 - The Battle of Chancellorsville ended when the Union Army retreated.
1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea commenced as American and Japanese carriers launched their attacks at each other.
1961 - Thirteen civil rights activists, dubbed "Freedom Riders," began a bus trip through the South.
1970 - The Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an anti-Vietnam war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded.
1979 - Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first woman prime minister.
1981 - The Federal Reserve Board raised its discount rate to 14%.
14%
Wednesday, May 03, 2017
LIBERTY REVIEW
LIBERTY REVIEW:
https://libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2017/05/liberal-cookie-cutter-by-tammy-derouin.html
The hypocrisy of the Left has created a
firestorm for all Americans. In today's upside down world, an
uninformed individual could easily be misguided into believing that
freedoms and rights only apply to those who follow the doctrine of
the Left. After all, anyone who has a different opinion and dares to
speak publicly is targeted with the goal of shutting them down. The
Utopian dream that every individual should be shaped, forced when
necessary, by the liberal cookie cutter or land in the scrap pile, is
becoming increasingly real and increasingly dangerous.
https://libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2017/05/liberal-cookie-cutter-by-tammy-derouin.html
Liberal Cookie Cutter
By Tammy Derouin
In the United States, freedoms and
rights are not determined by a political party. They are God-given
and they are protected by the U.S. Constitution. When people do not
know their rights or if they were never taught the truth, it becomes
much easier to convince them that their rights are dependent upon
man.
Americans are being threatened, beaten
and intimidated by fellow Americans if their thoughts or beliefs
differ from the liberal party line. Think about that one. Americans
are attacking Americans for exercising their God-given rights. Voices
are being silenced. Rights are being denied. Freedom and liberty is
denied under the pretense that safety and security cannot be
guaranteed.......
Unexpectedly, Oakland's soda tax money may be going... elsewhere - Hot Air Hot Air
Unexpectedly, Oakland's soda tax money may be going... elsewhere - Hot Air Hot Air:
"Last year, following in the footsteps of Berkeley, Philadelphia and other liberal bastions, the city of Oakland decided to save the citizens from themselves by passing a sin tax on soda and other “sugary beverages.”
When the residents agreed to put it on the ballot in the spring it was being sold as a measure which would help “combat obesity” and fight the Big Soda Lobby.
And the city’s politicians were quick to tell everyone how badly this revenue stream was needed while being far less specific about how the money they collected would be handled. (SF Gate, emphasis added)
"Last year, following in the footsteps of Berkeley, Philadelphia and other liberal bastions, the city of Oakland decided to save the citizens from themselves by passing a sin tax on soda and other “sugary beverages.”
When the residents agreed to put it on the ballot in the spring it was being sold as a measure which would help “combat obesity” and fight the Big Soda Lobby.
And the city’s politicians were quick to tell everyone how badly this revenue stream was needed while being far less specific about how the money they collected would be handled. (SF Gate, emphasis added)
Like Berkeley, [Oakland Vice Mayor Annie Campbell Washington] said, Oakland needs a dedicated revenue stream to combat the big-money marketing of soda and sports drinks.If voters approve the tax, the money raised would go into the city’s general fund, and officials said the idea is to earmark it to pay for health and education programs in the community and in schools. The measure requires the city to create an advisory board to recommend how to spend the money.
You’ll note that the city’s leaders didn’t actually have a direct allocation of the funding set up, so it was going to go into the general fund.
But no worries, mate.
I’m sure they can be trusted.
The measure passed in November with the tax going into effect shortly thereafter.
So problem solved, eh?
I’m sure people are losing weight and living healthier lifestyles all over the place already, thanks to the dollars being hijacked out of shoppers’ wallets when they go to buy groceries.
Or perhaps not.
Keep in mind that this was all taking place at the end of last year.
It’s only a few months later now and there’s about to be some editing done as to where that soda tax money goes.
Who could have guessed? (CBS Local News)
But no worries, mate. I’m sure they can be trusted.
The measure passed in November with the tax going into effect shortly thereafter.
So problem solved, eh?
I’m sure people are losing weight and living healthier lifestyles all over the place already, thanks to the dollars being hijacked out of shoppers’ wallets when they go to buy groceries.
Or perhaps not.
Keep in mind that this was all taking place at the end of last year.
It’s only a few months later now and there’s about to be some editing done as to where that soda tax money goes.
Who could have guessed? (CBS Local News)
Mayor Libby Schaaf says Oakland is facing a $32 million budget shortfall. She wants to help fill the gap by diverting $6 million of soda tax.Many people are upset because city leaders promised voters the money would be used for health programs.“It’s a bait and switch by the mayor,” says resident Louis Nagel.
This school is trashing all its textbooks | New York Post
This school is trashing all its textbooks | New York Post:
"School is no place for books, one Manhattan principal apparently believes.
In a scene out of “Fahrenheit 451,” administrators at Life Sciences Secondary School have ordered all textbooks rounded up and removed — calling them “antiquated,” sources say.
Principal Kim Swanson and Assistant Principal Derek Premo, who launched the ban, “really frown upon the use of books,” an insider told The Post."
"School is no place for books, one Manhattan principal apparently believes.
In a scene out of “Fahrenheit 451,” administrators at Life Sciences Secondary School have ordered all textbooks rounded up and removed — calling them “antiquated,” sources say.
Principal Kim Swanson and Assistant Principal Derek Premo, who launched the ban, “really frown upon the use of books,” an insider told The Post."
Important!-----Betsy McCaughey: The Democrats' Pre-Existing Condition Scam | Stock News & Stock Market Analysis - IBD
Betsy McCaughey: The Democrats' Pre-Existing Condition Scam | Stock News & Stock Market Analysis - IBD:
"The House vote on the GOP's ObamaCare repeal bill vote is down to the wire, with dozens of Republicans waffling as "undecideds."
What's the hold-up?
Ninety-six percent of people who have to buy their own insurance stand to benefit from this bill, which will likely drive down premiums by double digits.
The remaining 4% — those with pre-existing conditions — will be protected by a federal fund to subsidize their insurance costs.
They won't get priced out of the market, because the fund will pay the lion's share of their premiums.
But some Republicans are running scared.
Although the bill solves two problems — lowering premiums and protecting people with pre-existing conditions — these fence sitters are worried about something else — getting re-elected.
As a member of the New York delegation put it, the issue is "optics."
They're cowed by the media's false reports that the GOP is abandoning people with pre-existing conditions.
In fact, no one wants to do that..."
"The House vote on the GOP's ObamaCare repeal bill vote is down to the wire, with dozens of Republicans waffling as "undecideds."
What's the hold-up?
The remaining 4% — those with pre-existing conditions — will be protected by a federal fund to subsidize their insurance costs.
They won't get priced out of the market, because the fund will pay the lion's share of their premiums.
But some Republicans are running scared.
Although the bill solves two problems — lowering premiums and protecting people with pre-existing conditions — these fence sitters are worried about something else — getting re-elected.
As a member of the New York delegation put it, the issue is "optics."
They're cowed by the media's false reports that the GOP is abandoning people with pre-existing conditions.
In fact, no one wants to do that..."
The Death of Facts
The Death of Facts:
"Every week in America brings another spate of defeats for freedom of speech.
This past week it was Ann Coulter's turn (yet again) to be banned from speaking at Berkeley for what the university authorities purport to be "health and safety" reasons -- meaning the health and safety of the speaker.
Each time this happens, there are similar responses.
Those who broadly agree with the views of the speaker complain about the loss of one of the fundamental rights which the Founding Fathers bestowed on the American people.
Those who may be on the same political side but find the speaker somewhat distasteful find a way to be slightly muted or silent.
Those who disagree with the speaker's views applaud the banning as an appropriate response to apparently imminent incitement.
The problem throughout all of this is that the reasons why people should be supporting freedom of speech (to correct themselves where they are in error, and strengthen their arguments where they are not) are actually becoming lost in America.
No greater demonstration of this muddle exists than a letter put together by a group of students at Claremont McKenna College earlier this month to protest the appearance on their campus of a speaker with whom they disagreed..."
"Every week in America brings another spate of defeats for freedom of speech.
This past week it was Ann Coulter's turn (yet again) to be banned from speaking at Berkeley for what the university authorities purport to be "health and safety" reasons -- meaning the health and safety of the speaker.Each time this happens, there are similar responses.
Those who broadly agree with the views of the speaker complain about the loss of one of the fundamental rights which the Founding Fathers bestowed on the American people.
Those who may be on the same political side but find the speaker somewhat distasteful find a way to be slightly muted or silent.
Those who disagree with the speaker's views applaud the banning as an appropriate response to apparently imminent incitement.
The problem throughout all of this is that the reasons why people should be supporting freedom of speech (to correct themselves where they are in error, and strengthen their arguments where they are not) are actually becoming lost in America.
No greater demonstration of this muddle exists than a letter put together by a group of students at Claremont McKenna College earlier this month to protest the appearance on their campus of a speaker with whom they disagreed..."
Bret Stephens -- Climate-Change Alarmists React to His Reasonableness | National Review
Bret Stephens -- Climate-Change Alarmists React to His Reasonableness | National Review:
"After Bret Stephens, the Times’ new conservative op-ed columnist, made the mild-mannered and more or less inarguable point that there are details unsettled within the topic of climate change, his many ideological opponents reacted with a mindless fury characteristic of religious zealotry. Someone tweeted at Stephens that he should share the fate of Daniel Pearl, like Stephens a longtime Wall Street Journal writer, "
At this point in the fiscal year, more refugees have entered US in FY2017 than in any of the previous ten years « Refugee Resettlement Watch
At this point in the fiscal year, more refugees have entered US in FY2017 than in any of the previous ten years « Refugee Resettlement Watch:
"Trump is on target to beat Obama numbers in two of O’s fiscal years!
There are some fascinating statistics at the Refugee Processing Center for those of you interested in getting the facts.
Below is a screenshot graph at Wrapsnet showing this year and ten previous fiscal years.
It doesn’t yet include the month of April, but checking that number separately I found we admitted 3,316 in April.
So add that to the 39,098 on the chart (for the end of March) we see that we are now up to 42,414.
That is the highest number for this time in the fiscal year ...than in any of the previous ten fiscal years...
"Trump is on target to beat Obama numbers in two of O’s fiscal years!
There are some fascinating statistics at the Refugee Processing Center for those of you interested in getting the facts.Below is a screenshot graph at Wrapsnet showing this year and ten previous fiscal years.
It doesn’t yet include the month of April, but checking that number separately I found we admitted 3,316 in April.
So add that to the 39,098 on the chart (for the end of March) we see that we are now up to 42,414.
That is the highest number for this time in the fiscal year ...than in any of the previous ten fiscal years...
...Since Inauguration day (as of today), Donald Trump’s Dept. of State has admitted 12,594 refugees. 43% of those are Muslim refugees from Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and even Burma (406 are Rohingya Muslims)."
Climate Editors Have a Meltdown - WSJ
Climate Editors Have a Meltdown - WSJ:
"How did science reporting get so detached from the underlying science?
...a trip down memory lane seems called for.
In the 1980s, when climate alarms were first being widely sounded, reporters understood the speculative basis of computer models.
We all said to ourselves:
Well, in 30 years we’ll certainly have the data to know for sure which model forecasts are valid.
Thirty years later, the data haven’t answered the question.
The 2014 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, voice of climate orthodoxy, is cited for its claim, with 95% confidence, that humans are responsible for at least half the warming between 1951 and 2010.
Look closely.
This is an estimate of the reliability of an estimate.
It lacks the most important conjunction in science: “because”—as in “We believe X because of Y.”
Not that the IPCC fails to offer a “because” in footnotes.
It turns out this estimate is largely an estimate of how much man-made warming should have taken place if the models used to forecast future warming are broadly correct.
...“If our models are reliable, then X is true” is a perfectly valid scientific statement.
Only leaving out the prefix, as the media routinely does, makes it deceptive.
...The job has passed into hands of reporters who don’t even bother to feign interest in science—who think the magic word “consensus” is all the support they need for any climate claim they care to make..."
"How did science reporting get so detached from the underlying science?
...a trip down memory lane seems called for.In the 1980s, when climate alarms were first being widely sounded, reporters understood the speculative basis of computer models.
We all said to ourselves:
Well, in 30 years we’ll certainly have the data to know for sure which model forecasts are valid.
Thirty years later, the data haven’t answered the question.
The 2014 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, voice of climate orthodoxy, is cited for its claim, with 95% confidence, that humans are responsible for at least half the warming between 1951 and 2010.
Look closely.
This is an estimate of the reliability of an estimate.
It lacks the most important conjunction in science: “because”—as in “We believe X because of Y.”
Not that the IPCC fails to offer a “because” in footnotes.
It turns out this estimate is largely an estimate of how much man-made warming should have taken place if the models used to forecast future warming are broadly correct.
...“If our models are reliable, then X is true” is a perfectly valid scientific statement.
Only leaving out the prefix, as the media routinely does, makes it deceptive.
...The job has passed into hands of reporters who don’t even bother to feign interest in science—who think the magic word “consensus” is all the support they need for any climate claim they care to make..."
Exclusive: Watchdog Kept 14 Fraud Reports Secret | The Daily Caller
Exclusive: Watchdog Kept 14 Fraud Reports Secret | The Daily Caller:
"A government watchdog withheld at least 14 reports that revealed department-wide problems that allow fraud and waste at a cabinet-level agency, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s (TheDCNF) Investigative Group has learned.
The reports concern issues plaguing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including felons illegally living in federally-funded homes, tax fraud and millions of dollars sitting in unused bank accounts for years.
...The HUD Inspector General (IG) posted its systemic implication reports – documents that reveal opportunities for fraud in agency programs – to its website.
A comparison between that listing and another TheDCNF previously obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed 14 reports from 2011 through 2014 were excluded from the IG’s the website.
At least three of those reports were also kept from HUD, meaning top department officials may not even be aware of the problems and suggested remedies.
One unreleased 2011 report revealed that 1,300 fugitives – including rapists and murderers – were illegally living in HUD-funded homes, and local authorities managing the properties refused to evict them..."
"A government watchdog withheld at least 14 reports that revealed department-wide problems that allow fraud and waste at a cabinet-level agency, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s (TheDCNF) Investigative Group has learned.The reports concern issues plaguing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including felons illegally living in federally-funded homes, tax fraud and millions of dollars sitting in unused bank accounts for years.
...The HUD Inspector General (IG) posted its systemic implication reports – documents that reveal opportunities for fraud in agency programs – to its website.
A comparison between that listing and another TheDCNF previously obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed 14 reports from 2011 through 2014 were excluded from the IG’s the website.
At least three of those reports were also kept from HUD, meaning top department officials may not even be aware of the problems and suggested remedies.
One unreleased 2011 report revealed that 1,300 fugitives – including rapists and murderers – were illegally living in HUD-funded homes, and local authorities managing the properties refused to evict them..."
David Horowitz: "The Democratic Party is the Party of Hate" | Frontpage Mag
David Horowitz: "The Democratic Party is the Party of Hate" | Frontpage Mag:
"Conservative writer David Horowitz, founder of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, has been banned from CNN and his own alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley.
Horowitz says his publisher called CNN's PR person and they said "we are not having Horowitz."
The same happened to him at Berkeley where his event was canceled just like Ann Coulter's recently cancelled speech.
According to Horowitz, the campus administration and the campus police department were not allowing Berkeley's college Republicans to inform other students of where their event was taking place."
"Conservative writer David Horowitz, founder of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, has been banned from CNN and his own alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley.
Horowitz says his publisher called CNN's PR person and they said "we are not having Horowitz."
The same happened to him at Berkeley where his event was canceled just like Ann Coulter's recently cancelled speech.
According to Horowitz, the campus administration and the campus police department were not allowing Berkeley's college Republicans to inform other students of where their event was taking place."
Iran Using U.S. Cash to Fund Unprecedented, Massive Military Buildup
Iran Using U.S. Cash to Fund Unprecedented, Massive Military Buildup
"Iran is using the billions in cash resources provided under the landmark nuclear deal to engage in an unprecedented military buildup meant to transform the Islamic Republic's fighting force into an "offensive" juggernaut, according to a largely unreported announcement by Iranian military leaders that has sparked concern among U.S. national security insiders and sources on Capitol Hill.
Iranian officials announced late last month that Iran's defense budget had increased by 145 percent under President Hassan Rouhani and that the military is moving forward with a massive restructuring effort aimed at making it "a forward moving force," according to regional reports..."
"Iran is using the billions in cash resources provided under the landmark nuclear deal to engage in an unprecedented military buildup meant to transform the Islamic Republic's fighting force into an "offensive" juggernaut, according to a largely unreported announcement by Iranian military leaders that has sparked concern among U.S. national security insiders and sources on Capitol Hill.Iranian officials announced late last month that Iran's defense budget had increased by 145 percent under President Hassan Rouhani and that the military is moving forward with a massive restructuring effort aimed at making it "a forward moving force," according to regional reports..."
Survey Shows a Majority of European Youth Would Participate in Uprising to Overthrow Status Quo | Liberty Blitzkrieg
Survey Shows a Majority of European Youth Would Participate in Uprising to Overthrow Status Quo | Liberty Blitzkrieg:"...Moving along to the title of this post, disillusionment and despair are even father along the spectrum in parts of Europe than in the U.S., which can be evidenced by the following excerpts from Quartz:
Around 580,000 respondents in 35 countries were asked the question: Would you actively participate in large-scale uprising against the generation in power if it happened in the next days or months?
More than half of 18- to 34-year-olds said yes.
The question was part of a European Union-sponsored survey, titled “Generation What?”
The report went on to focus on respondents from 13 countries to better understand what young people are optimistic and frustrated about in Europe.
Among these spotlighted countries, young people in Greece were particularly interested in joining a large-scale uprising against their government, with 67% answering yes to the question.
Respondents in Greece were also more likely to believe politicians were corrupt and to have negative perceptions of the country’s financial sector..."
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