Warren Buffett: A Study in Hypocrisy

In a New York Times op-ed piece last month, Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett voiced the complaint that rich people like him pay a smaller share of their income in federal taxes than middle-class taxpayers.

According to Buffett, he and his rich friends “have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress.”

This, as you now know, led President Barack Hussein Obama, to name his latest “Soak-the-Rich-to-Improve-the-Economy” scheme, which he unveiled yesterday, the Buffett Plan.

Apropos, since both the plan and its namesake, positively reek of hypocrisy.

So, how does Buffett get away with not paying a whole lot of taxes?.  As Peter J. O’Reilly, writing for Forbes.com, explains it,  the answer is very simple:

…Berkshire Hathaway does not in fact pay dividends. Mr. Buffett’s secret which you can find blasted all over the Internet is one of his famous quotations:

Our favorite holding period is forever.

You only pay income taxes at any rate on realized appreciation. An investment with a holding period of forever incurs a capital gains tax of 0%, while all along the holder can be getting wealthy from appreciation. That’s the real reason Mr. Buffett does not pay a lot of income taxes.

He protects his wealth by reinvesting it.  His money in the bank (taxable income) represents only a small percentage of his real income.  Therefore, he will be able to handle a tax increase with ease.

For example, an article posted on 9/13/11, on wsj.com, reports that:

Warren Buffett is likely to make at least $1.2 billion from an investment in General Electric struck during the heart of the financial crisis in October 2008.

GE confirmed today it plans to repay Buffett’s $3 billion investment, which helped prop up confidence in the conglomerate as the financial world was being torn apart. Under the terms of the deal, GE owes Buffett a 10% repayment premium, or $300 million, on top of his $3 billion returned investment.

In addition, GE agreed to pay Buffett a 10% annual dividend, or $300 million a year, to rent his seal of approval. That means Buffett will have accumulated $900 million in cumulative dividends, assuming GE repays the preferred-stock investment in October. The $900 million would buy nearly 42 million 20-ounce T-bones at Buffett hangout Piccolo’s in Omaha.

And, more importantly, he cheats.  From Americans for Limited Government’s netrightdaily.com:

According to Berkshire Hathaway’s own annual report — see Note 15 on pp. 54-56 — the company has been in a years-long dispute over its federal tax bills.

According to the report, “We anticipate that we will resolve all adjustments proposed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (‘IRS’) for the 2002 through 2004 tax years at the IRS Appeals Division within the next 12 months. The IRS has completed its examination of our consolidated U.S. federal income tax returns for the 2005 and 2006 tax years and the proposed adjustments are currently being reviewed by the IRS Appeals Division process. The IRS is currently auditing our consolidated U.S. federal income tax returns for the 2007 through 2009 tax years.”

Americans for Limited Government researcher Richard McCarty, who was alerted to the controversy by a federal government lawyer, said, “The company has been short-changing the tax collection agency for much of the past decade. Mr. Buffett’s company has not fully settled its tax bills from 2002-2009. Yet he says he’d happily pay more. Except the IRS has apparently been asking him to pay more going on nine years.”

Apparently, not paying taxes in full is an annual occurrence under Buffett’s watch. Considering the size of the company, the amount of unsettled taxes could total in the tens of millions.

A great deal was made in the MSM about Buffett’s pledge to give away 85% of his considerable fortune in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill and Melanie Gates Foundation.  In July of this year alone, he gave a gift of $1.5 billion to the charity, of which he is a Trustee.

However, Shira Ovide told us the rest of the story in an article found on wsj.com on 7/7/11:

At the beginning of July each year, Buffett hands over chunks of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is all part of plans Buffett kicked off in 2006 to give away the bulk of his vast fortune to charity.

The Gates’ foundation, helmed in part by the former Microsoft CEO and longtime Buffett buddy, has the enviable task of spending Buffett’s gift. In 2006, the donation had a value of $30 billion, making it the biggest philanthropic largess in history.

Under the system Buffett put in place when he announced his massive donation, the number of shares he hands over declines by 5% a year. Still, Buffett predicted that the value of the donations would “trend higher” along with the price of Berkshire stock. This year, that didn’t happen.

The latest donation of 19.3 million Class B Berkshire stock is valued at more than $1.5 billion, based on today’s closing share price. The value is less than last year’s stock handover of 20.4 million shares, because of a slight dip in the value of Berkshire stock since last July.

And this is the man whom the president is holding up as a shining example?

Obama has named a bill after a guy who does everything that this punitive proposal is supposed to “fix”.

Hypocrisy,  thy name is…well…take your pick.

Obama’s Economic Plan: A Touch of Class…Warfare

In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx theorized that a social class is formed when its members achieve class consciousness and solidarity. This happens when those who make up the social class decide that they are being used and abused by those who hold power over them, by means of money or station in life.  That is when the class conflict, or class warfare begins.

That social class will then bond together over their shared interests and form a common identity.

Per Marx, that lower or working class (the Proletariat) will then rise up against those that are exploiting them (the bourgeoisie).

In Marxist theory, the stage after the proletarian revolution when a society is changing from capitalism to communism, marked by pay distributed according to work done rather than need, is called socialism.

Per the hill.com:

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said President Obama is practicing “venture socialism” with his jobs proposal.

The conservative Tea Party favorite played off the term “venture capitalism” in criticizing Obama’s ideas for improving the economy.

“I would love to be able to work with the president on something, but he’s basically practicing what we call venture socialism. He’s basically taken the approach where it’s the government that needs to stimulate jobs,” DeMint said Wednesday on Fox News’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.”

DeMint said the difference of opinion on the government’s role in job creation between some Democrats and Republicans makes it difficult to compromise on economic issues.

“There are a number of Democrats … and this is the scariest thing of all, who really believe that government spending is the major part of our economy,” DeMint told Van Susteren.

He added that there is a “polar-opposite vision” on what makes America work.

DeMint called for a moratorium on regulation, reform of the tax code and an opening up of energy supplies to help create jobs.

“It’s not that we’re not willing to work with [Democrats] and compromise in a lot of ways, but the president has just sold out to big labor, to radical environmentalists — and this isn’t a partisan comment — all you have to do is look at every bill he’s tried to pass,” DeMint said.

Evidently, Obama’s venture socialism pays pretty well…for his friends, anyway.  Yahoo.com reports:

The United Auto Workers union won $5,000 signing bonuses and the possibility of sweeter profit-sharing checks as part of a new four-year contract with General Motors Co., two people briefed on the talks said Saturday.

The deal, which was reached late Friday, also includes a $2- to $3-per-hour pay raise for entry-level workers over the life of the contract and guarantees more union jobs, the people said.

Both persons asked to remain anonymous because the details of the contract haven’t been reviewed by all local union leaders.

The GM deal will serve as a template for contracts that still must be negotiated with Chrysler Group LLC and Ford Motor Co. It would set the pay and benefits for 112,500 U.S. auto workers. It also sets the bar for pay and benefits at nonunion auto companies and other industries across the country.

The contract is the first since GM and Chrysler received government bailouts to make it through bankruptcy protection in 2009. GM earned $4.7 billion last year.

Workers have to approve the deal before it can take effect. A vote is expected within 10 days.

In addition to the bonuses, workers could get profit-sharing checks that exceed the $4,000 that workers earned last year.

However, Obama does not plan on rewarding those Americans who actually create jobs and hire other Americans, thus providing “fuel” for America’s economic engine.

Obama is proposing a new base tax rate for the wealthy today as a part of a long term deficit reduction. This tax hike is supposedly meant to make sure that millionaires pay at least at the same percentage as middle income taxpayers.

Sharing the misery, instead of sharing the wealth.

The desperately flailing chief executive has decided to call it the “Buffett Rule”, in honor of Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who, in a New York Times op-ed piece last month, voiced the complaint that rich people like him pay a smaller share of their income in federal taxes than middle-class taxpayers.

According to Buffet, he and his rich friends “have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress.”

The tax rate increase on the upper class would be in addition to $447 billion in tax hikes on us regular Americans that Obama is seeking in order to pay for his short-term spending and tax cutting plan which he euphemistically named the American Jobs Act.

Margaret Thatcher, in a TV interview for Thames TV This Week on Feb. 5, 1976, said:

…and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them.

Indeed.

Jefferson, Madison, and Church in the Capitol Building

Christianity has played a predominant role in the building of our nation.  In fact, the Capitol building itself was used for church services, even before Congress moved into the building, and continued to be used for Sunday Church Services until well after the Civil War.

The approval of the Capitol for church was given by both the House and the Senate on December 4, 1800, with House approval being given by Speaker of the House, Theodore Sedgwick, and Senate approval being given by the President of the Senate, Thomas Jefferson, whose approval came while he was still officially the Vice- President but after he had just been elected President.

According to David Barton at wallbuilders.com:

Jefferson attended church at the Capitol while he was Vice President 5 and also throughout his presidency. The first Capitol church service that Jefferson attended as President was a service preached by Jefferson’s friend, the Rev. John Leland, on January 3, 1802. 6 Significantly, Jefferson attended that Capitol church service just two days after he penned his famous letter containing the “wall of separation between church and state” metaphor.

U. S. Rep. Manasseh Cutler, who also attended church at the Capitol, recorded in his own diary that “He [Jefferson] and his family have constantly attended public worship in the Hall.” Mary Bayard Smith, another attendee at the Capitol services, confirmed: “Mr. Jefferson, during his whole administration, was a most regular attendant.” She noted that Jefferson even had a designated seat at the Capitol church: “The seat he chose the first Sabbath, and the adjoining one (which his private secretary occupied), were ever afterwards by the courtesy of the congregation, left for him and his secretary.” Jefferson was so committed to those services that he would not even allow inclement weather to dissuade him; as Rep. Cutler noted: “It was very rainy, but his [Jefferson’s] ardent zeal brought him through the rain and on horseback to the Hall.” Other diary entries confirm Jefferson’s attendance in spite of bad weather.

…Jefferson was not the only President to attend church at the Capitol. His successor, James Madison, also attended church at the Capitol. 14 However, there was a difference in the way the two arrived for services. Observers noted that Jefferson arrived at church on horseback 15 (it was 1.6 miles from the White House to the Capitol). However, Madison arrived for church in a coach and four. In fact, British diplomat Augustus Foster, who attended services at the Capitol, gave an eloquent description of President Madison arriving at the Capitol for church in a carriage drawn by four white horses.

The series of cacophonous thuds you just heard were the “I’m-smarter than-you” Atheists from both sides of the aisle, falling off their chairs.  You see, they (all 8% of them) will argue until they are blue in the face that Jefferson and Madison were not Christians, and our founding documents were not based on a Judeo-Christian system of beliefs.

Then, they go out to feed the unicorn in their backyard.

Jefferson told his friend, William Bradford (who served as Attorney General under President Washington), to make sure of his own spiritual salvation:

[A] watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest, while we are building ideal monuments of renown and bliss here, we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven.

Concerning Christianity, Jefferson said:

The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.

The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral principles of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses.

I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.

I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.

But, what about Jefferson’s re-writing of the Bible, leaving out Jesus’ miracles, you ask? David Barton answered that question in 2001, in a letter to a newspaper, in response to a reader:

The reader, as do many others, claimed that Jefferson omitted all miraculous events of Jesus from his “Bible.” Rarely do those who make this claim let Jefferson speak for himself. Jefferson’s own words explain that his intent for that book was not for it to be a “Bible,” but rather for it to be a primer for the Indians on the teachings of Christ (which is why Jefferson titled that work, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”). What Jefferson did was to take the “red letter” portions of the New Testament and publish these teachings in order to introduce the Indians to Christian morality. And as President of the United States, Jefferson signed a treaty with the Kaskaskia tribe wherein he provided—at the government’s expense—Christian missionaries to the Indians. In fact, Jefferson himself declared, “I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus.” While many might question this claim, the fact remains that Jefferson called himself a Christian, not a deist.

The other Founding Father whom Atheists claim was one of them is James Madison.

Per David Barton:

James Madison trained for ministry with the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon, and Madison’s writings are replete with declarations of his faith in God and in Christ. In fact, for proof of this, one only need read his letter to Attorney General Bradford wherein Madison laments that public officials are not bold enough about their Christian faith in public and that public officials should be “fervent advocates in the cause of Christ.” And while Madison did allude to a “wall of separation,” contemporary writers frequently refuse to allow Madison to provide his own definition of that “wall.” According to Madison, the purpose of that “wall” was only to prevent Congress from passing a national law to establish a national religion.

Also, as this writing shows, Madison wanted all public officials – including Bradford – to be unashamed concerning their Christian beliefs and testimony:

I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and [who] are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ; and I wish you may give in your evidence in this way.

Did you know that Madison was a member of the committee that authored the 1776 Virginia Bill of Rights and approved of its clause declaring that:

It is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other.  ?

And, per Barton, Madison’s proposed wording for the First Amendment demonstrates that he opposed only the establishment of a federal denomination, not public religious activities.  The proposal reads:

The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established.

But, wait.  There’s more:

In 1789, Madison served on the Congressional committee which authorized, approved, and selected paid Congressional chaplains.

In 1812, President Madison signed a federal bill which economically aided a Bible Society in its goal of the mass distribution of the Bible.

Finally, throughout his Presidency (1809-1816), Madison endorsed public and official religious expressions by issuing several proclamations for national days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving.

So, if you run into one of those individuals who, when it comes to accepting the Faith of our Founding Fathers, proves that denial is not just a river in Egypt, you can respond with one or all of three things:

1.  Quote from this article.

2.  Give him/her this link to wallbuilders.com.

3.  Show them this excellent video, in which David Barton conducts a historical tour of the Capitol Building.

God Bless America!

 

 

Elections Have Consequences: The UN Palestinian Vote

A spark from the firestorm known as the fight for a Palistinian State has come to our shores.

No.  It’s not quite time for the UN vote, yet.  More about that in a moment. This war concerns New York City subway billboards.

Per nydailynews.com:

The dispute began with posters urging an end to U.S. military aid for Israel, prompting a City Council member to demand an end to the ads – and spawning an upcoming series of counter-ads.

“This is a highly political campaign with a controversial underlying anti-Israel message,” Councilman Lewis Fidler (D-Brooklyn) wrote MTA President Thomas Prendergast.

“I would urge you to disallow and/or remove these advertisements.”

The group behind the ads, the Westchester County-based WESPAC Foundation, said the subway spots are intended to encourage dialogue and not dissension.

“If the councilman thinks they’e anti-Israeli, he should say why,” said Felice Gelman, a member of the group. “I have family in Israel. They deserve peace. And U.S. policies are not helping.”

Israel was slated to receive roughly $3 billion in military aid this year from the U.S. The ads – with the tagline “End U.S. military aid to Israel” – appeared in 18 stations beginning Sept. 5.

The pro-Israel group Stand With Us said it planned to counter the WESPAC campaign with a series of ads appearing in stations later this month.

“We didn’t ask for a billboard war,” said the nonprofit group’s CEO, Roz Rothstein. “But the group putting them up wants a response, and we have to give them a response.”

The answering ad shows two small boys with their arms over each other’s shoulders. “The Palestinian Authority Must Accept The Jewish State & Teach Peace, Not Hate,” the copy reads.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it had no problem with the ads.

What’s causing all this?

Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas explains (grab your waders):

The Palestinian Authority will be seeking full United Nations membership in its statehood bid later this month, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas said Friday.

“I’m going to the UN in order to demand our legitimate rights and secure full membership for the state of Palestine,” the Palestinian president said in Ramallah. “We hope to secure full membership.”

“We are going to the Security Council,” Abbas added, but then made it clear that “all options are open” and that a final decision has not been made yet.

Abbas said the Palestinians will be aiming to “secure independence in the 1967 borders and its holy capital, Jerusalem.” He also urged his countrymen to avoid violence, saying “we must avoid force.”

“We are the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and we intend to keep going until we secure full independence,” he said.

Abbas added that the Palestinians are proceeding with their United Nations statehood bid in September because US President Barack Obama said previously he wanted to see a Palestinian state.

‘We don’t want to isolate Israel’

Yeah, right.

President Barack Hussein Obama (peace be upon him) spoke to the nation last May, announcing the push to move Israel back to its 1967 Border in a move designed to form a separate Palestinian Country.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his response, told all those involved that the moving back to the 1967 Borders would make Israel indefensible.

Of course, Bibi was right.

If Israel were forced back to those lines, their country would be exactly 8 MILES WIDE at one point. In this supersonic age, that’s not enough air space to do anything about an enemy attack.

Now, a few days before the showdown at the UN, Obama and his Administration have changed their minds.

U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, speaking last Monday to a Christian Science Monitor Banquet,  said that:

A showdown in New York could have adverse negative consequences for the Palestinian people and for our partners and allies at a time when things are already fragile.

She said that, instead, that Israelis and Palestinians must come together for peace talks.

Per politico.com:

If there is a vote, Rice said, the effect on Palestinian “relations with the United States is for the president and the Congress to decide.”

Rice said that “steps to try to circumvent” peace talks, such as a U.N. vote on statehood, “are ultimately counterproductive and self-defeating.”

If there is a vote approving Palestinian statehood, “This isn’t one day of hoo-ha and celebration … and then everybody goes home,” Rice said.

Countries that would vote for Palestinian statehood would “have a responsibility to own the consequences of their vote,” she said. A U.N. resolution wouldn’t create borders, improve the economy or otherwise set Palestinians on a path to true statehood.

The Obama administration has mounted an intense campaign in recent days to head off the Palestinian initiative. U.S. Middle East peace envoy David Hale and National Security Council adviser Dennis Ross met with Abbas in Ramallah last week, urging him to ditch the effort. In addition, the U.S. has been working with its three partners in the so-called quartet — the European Union, Russia and the U.N. — to craft an alternative proposal to restart peace talks.

There would be “real-world implications” of a U.N. statehood vote, Rice said, and U.S. diplomats are having “very plain discussions” about the potential fallout with countries — including a majority of General Assembly members — that are seen as favoring the Palestinian resolution.

The U.S. has pledged to veto a statehood measure in the U.N. Security Council. However, the U.S. lacks any official power to prevent the broader General Assembly from upgrading the Palestinian delegation from its current status as a nonvoting observer “entity” to a nonvoting observer “state.” With that enhanced status, the Palestinians could take some actions against Israel, including filing cases in the International Criminal Court.

My, how things have changed since last May.  You don’t think that the Jewish uprising in New York’s 9th Congressional District, resulting in underdog Republican Bob Turner’s victory and the fact that only 60% of American Jews still support Obama and the Democrats, has anything to do with this change of heart toward the UN vote on the part of the Obama Administration, do you?

Naw.  Of course not.

 

 

 

Hey, Michelle…Keep Your Eyes off My Fries.

Like many of you, some of my happiest times as a child were spent eating hambers and fries with my parents at McDonald’s. Of course, back then, there was only one McDonald’s in Memphis, Tennessee and their hamburgers were 25 cents a piece.

But, I digress….

Yesterday First Lady Michelle (Moochelle) Obama, in her crusade to reduce childhood obesity, appeared at an Olive Garden Restaurant to announce that the company that owns the Olive Garden, Red Lobster and four other popular restaurant chains has pledged to cut the calories and sodium in its meals and change its kids’ menu to make it more healthy.

Darden Restaurants Inc. has pledged to reduce the calories and sodium in all its meals by 10 percent over five years, and by 20 percent over 10 years. It will now require an adult’s supervision for a child to have a Coke and an order of french fires.

Instead of fries, all kids’ meals will now come with a side of fruit or vegetables and eight ounces of 1 percent milk. An adult will have to ask for a substitute, according to Drew Madsen, president and chief operating officer of Orlando, Fla.-based Darden, who added:

We think it’s the most comprehensive health and wellness commitment in the industry.

Darden’s is a huge company, whose restaurants dish out over 400 million meals annually, with more than 1,900 locations nationwide. Besides Olive Garden, Darden’s also owns LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52. The Capital Grille and Seasons 52 do not have children’s menus.

Darden’s actions is part of a national movement spurred on by pressure from the Administration, in support of Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move” Program, an effort to get Pookie, Jr. off the couch and away from the video game.

Beginning last January, Moochelle and her Food Police have pressured McDonald’s, Burger King, Chili’s, IHOP, Friendly’s and more than a dozen other large and small chains into promising that they will begin replacing the French fries in their kid’s menus with fruit and will begin removing those evil pictures of french fries and less healthy foods from their menus.

According to government studies, one in three U.S. children is overweight or obese, putting them at greater risk of developing diabetes, heart disease or other health conditions.  Mrs. Obama has made it her crusade to become “First Mama” and control what our children and grandchildren eat.

When she spoke a  year ago to the National Restaurant Association, Moochelle urged its  members to “actively promote healthy foods and healthy habits to our kids.”  According to her, Consumers spend half their food dollars on meals outside the home and eat one in three meals at a restaurant.  She told the restauranteurs that they needed to start serving low-fat milk and healthy sides like apple slices or carrots, while making French fries available only upon request.

White House domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes announced yesterday that Darden’s announcement amounts to a “full-throated endorsement” of the types of changes Mrs. Obama has asked the nation’s restaurant owners and operators to make.

But wait, gentle reader, there’s more.  Moochelle does not think that you have enough sense to take care of yourself, either.

In January, she stood  beside Walmart, the nation’s largest grocer, as it announced that it would change the formula of thousands of products it sells to make them healthier and it would push suppliers to do the same.

This summer, the first lady beemed with self-satisfication as Walmart, Walgreens drug stores, and several regional grocers got in line and promised to eliminate “food deserts” by opening or expanding in rural and urban areas without easy access to healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables.

Moochelle is not only trying to control what our children eat, she wants to control the diet of American adults, as shown in this article, posted on latimes.com, on February 6th, 2011, as she was beginning her Let’s Move Campaign.

…as she uses her public platform to persuade children to eat healthier and exercise more, Mrs. Obama and her team are also quietly pressing the levers of industry and government. Over the past year she has become involved in many aspects of the nation’s dietary habits, exerting her influence over nutrition policy.

Her team has worked with beverage makers to design soda cans with calorie counts and is deeply involved in a major remake of the government’s most recognizable tool for delivering its healthy-eating message: the food pyramid.

Mrs. Obama persuaded Congress to require schools to include more fruits and vegetables in the lunches they offer, and she encouraged lawmakers to require restaurants to print nutrition information on menus, a provision that wound up in President Obama’s landmark health care law.

“They really want a cooperative relationship with the food industry, and they’re looking at industry to come up with ideas,” said Lanette R. Kovachi, corporate dietitian for Subway, the nation’s second-largest restaurant chain in terms of revenue. She said she had taken part in at least four conference calls with Mrs. Obama’s food advisers.

Still, Mrs. Obama has been treading carefully. As part of her anti-obesity campaign, she has called on food makers to design clear “front-of-package” labels to warn consumers about ingredients like salt, sugar and fat. But after months of negotiations with the White House, the companies insisted on a plan that would also spotlight healthy ingredients, like calcium or fiber.

Hey, Michelle…what part of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness don’t you understand?  What our children and grandchildren eat is our responsibility, not yours. 

What I consume, as a FREE American adult, is my business.  My parents passed away years ago.  I don’t need you or your Nanny-State trying to run my life.

By the way,as someone who has lost 30 pounds since January of 2010, first remove the log from your own eye ( or a more Southern Region) before you complain about the cinder in mine.

In other words:  KEEP YOUR EYES OFF MY FRIES!

Obama: Looking for Love (in All the Wrong Places)

The 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama, has a problem (just one you ask?):  He’s unloved and in a downward spiral in his presidency that can only be called Jimmy Carter on steroids.

Yesterday just wasn’t a very good day for our boy, Scooter.  It all began with the news that underdog, Republican Tom Turner had won the NY-9 race, and will occupy disgraced Democrat Anthony Weiner’s chair in the House of Representatives. (I sure hope he disinfects it first.)

On the heels of losing that largely Jewish District, Democrat Leaders are desperately working on a strategy to try to convince American Jews that Obama does not hate Israel, in spite of  his words and actions since he became president.

Speaking of Israel, Obama has Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and American diplomats trying to stave off a scheduled vote by the United Nations to split Israel in half, in order to give the Palestinians their own country.

Per guardian.co.uk:

The US is leading diplomatic pressure on Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a bid to persuade the parties back to negotiations rather than risk a damaging collision in New York next week. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton is in telephone contact with the three delegations in the region, who are co-ordinating their efforts.

Washington is keen to avoid carrying out a threat to veto a Palestinian request for full membership of the UN, a move likely to further damage America’s already battered reputation in the Middle East, particularly following its strong backing for moves towards self-determination in the region this year.

But some at the heart of the diplomatic manoeuvres [maneuvers] believe that it is now too late to stop the Palestinians taking their case to the UN and are concentrating on damage limitation by seeking a clear position for a return to the negotiation table after the world body meets.

The Palestinians insist that they will not be diverted from making a formal request at the security council for full member status, and that diplomatic interventions have come too late. They claim to be resisting pressure, which included President Obama this week describing their move as “counterproductive”.

…Israeli ministers have threatened retaliatory measures should the Palestinian bid succeed. They include tearing up the Oslo accords, under which the Palestinian Authority was given control of parts of the West Bank and Gaza, annexing the West Bank settlements and withholding tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the PA. The US Congress is also threatening to cut off financial aid to the Palestinians.

Continuing Obama’s very bad day, it became quite apparent as the day progressed, that barackobama.com’s newest feature, the page dedicated to turning in mean ol’ Conservatives, titled “Attack Watch”, has become the laughing stock of the internet.

Designed by Obama’s staff to implore Obama’s base to  “Get the Truth.  Fight the Smears”, the web page has been taken over by Conservatives who have bombarded the sight with gloriously snarky “Tweets”, such as:

I just saw 6 ATM’s in the alley attacking a job, I think it was a hate crime!

While all this was going on, Scooter was on the road again (hey, that sounds like a song cue) feverishly trying to push a jobs bill that nobody wants…including Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, who announced yesterday that if the bill came before the Senate, they would probably not pass it.

Later in the day, Reid altered his story during his very first Twitter town hall, saying that he won’t immediately take up Obama’s plan because the Senate must tackle other issues first.  However, Dinghy Harry was not specific as to which bills would receive priority over Obama’s Jobs Bill.

Don’t call us, Scooter.  We’ll call you.

Speaking of the president, he made an appearance yesterday in North Carolina.

While he was speaking to the raucous crowd, one fan shouted to Obama that he loved him, and in a standard response, left over from his 2008 campaign, he replied “I love you back”.  Then , he decided to speak without a teleprompter (and you know what happens when he does that).

Obama declared, sounding more like an amorous boyfriend, than a sitting president:

If you love me, you got to help me pass this bill.

That’s going to be an uphill battle, Scooter. 

Based on a 3 day rolling average, gallup.com shows Obama’s job approval rating holding steady at a dismal 40%, with disapproval at 52%.

That’s what happens when a politician , elected by a cult of personality, does not achieve the grandiose promises made to those who elected him.

Between a horrible domestic policy, resulting in basically 20 % of Americans being unemployed, underemployed, or just plain disgusted and giving up on ever working again, and a foreign policy consisting of apologizing to our enemies and alienating our allies, this out-of-control downward spiral that Obama is experiencing is one of his own making.

He’s been looking for love in all the wrong places.

Obama: A Face in the Crowd II

In the middle of the White House Press Briefing on Monday, CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell asked Press Secretary Jay “Jaybird” Carney about whether or not Obama‘s American Jobs Act tour is nothing but a political campaign. Carney decided to imitate Jon Stewart with a sarcastic quip that produced a minor guffaw from the normally-sycophantic press corps, saying:

You’re absolutely right, it is a campaign.  The President is campaigning…. [insert long pause] for growth and jobs.

Unfortunately for both Carney and his boss, the reporters were only partially laughing at Carney’s delivery. They were mostly laughing because they believed the first part of Carney’s statement and discounted the second as propaganda.

After hearing yesterday about this decidedly weak attempt at comedy by Jay Carney, I was immediately struck by how similar the rapidly devolving presidency of Barack Hussein Obama was to the classic movie “A Face in the Crowd”:

Andy Griffith makes a spectacular film debut in this searing drama as Lonesome Rhodes, a philosophical country-western singer discovered in a tanktown jail by radio talent scout Patricia Neal and her assistant Walter Matthau. They decide that Rhodes is worthy of a radio spot, but the unforeseen result is that the gangly, aw-shucks entertainer becomes an overnight sensation not simply on radio but, thereafter, on television. As he ascends to stardom, Rhodes attracts fans, sponsors and endorsements by the carload, and soon he is the most powerful and influential entertainer on the airwaves. Beloved by his audience, Rhodes reveals himself to his intimates as a scheming, power-hungry manipulator, with Machiavellian political aspirations. He uses everyone around him, coldly discarding anyone who might impede his climb to the top (one such victim is sexy baton-twirler Lee Remick, likewise making her film debut). Just when it seems that there’s no stopping Rhodes’ megalomania, his mentor and ex-lover Neal exposes this Idol of Millions as the rat that he is. She arranges to switch on the audio during the closing credits of Rhodes’ TV program, allowing the whole nation to hear the grinning, waving Rhodes characterize them as “suckers” and “stupid idiots.” Instantly, Rhodes’ popularity rating plummets to zero. As he drunkenly wanders around his penthouse apartment, still not fully comprehending what has happened to him, Rhodes is deserted by the very associates who, hours earlier, were willing to ask “how high?” when he yelled “jump”. Written by Budd Schulberg, Face in the Crowd was not a success, possibly because it hit so close to home with idol-worshipping TV fans. Its reputation has grown in the intervening years, not only because of its value as a film but because of the novelty of seeing the traditionally easygoing Andy Griffith as so vicious and manipulative a character as Lonesome Rhodes.

Just like Lonesome Rhodes, Obama was a charismatic figure who came out of nowhere to a place of national prominence.  Also like Rhodes, he represented something unique.

While Rhodes represented the common man, down on his luck, who pulled himself up by his bootstraps to achieve success, Obama, in turn, represented what was good and right (or so it seemed at the time to those who voted for him) about our country:  the fact that anyone, regardless of race and in spite of humble beginnings, could grow up to become the President of the United States of America.

And just as Rhodes was exposed for the vacuous, megalomaniac that he was, so has Obama been revealed for who he is, through burdensome legislation designed to make the American Proletariat dependent upon Obama’s Politburo, through ill-timed photo op-laden vacations,  and, finally, through his repetitive use of oratory laden with images of class warfare and apologies  to our enemies for the actions of our sovereign nation.

While Lonesome Rhodes reached out to the people through his radio program, Obama is a master at using the New Technology.  For example, his website Obama for America, later renamed Organizing for America, as it was known before his re-election campaign kicked off, was a collection of Blogs and propaganda designed to stir up his voter base and keep them involved.

And if that wasn’t enough, our petulant president has a new feature on that same website, barackobama.comAware Watch, whose purpose is to gather information and report on all subversives who would dare question or criticize Obama.  Its sub-title reads:  Get the Facts.  Fight the Smears.

And here, for my 52 years, I’ve always thought that this was America.  Not Soviet Russia.

Meanwhile, Obama continues to insist that Congress rush through the passage of his American Jobs Act, even to the point of using a bunch of high school kids as an Amen Chorus, chanting “Pass This Bill!” during an appearance in Columbus, Ohio yesterday.

Obama knows that he has to hurry to complete his agenda…before he’s totally exposed to the public, as Lonesome Rhodes was.

Unfortunately for Obama, he’s too late.

Obama’s New Jobs Bill: Words…Just Words…

Yesterday morning, President Barack Hussein Obama unveiled the fine print included in his new American Jobs Act, and Americans found out why he wanted it passed immediately…before everyone found out what was in it.

Porkulus II: Hope You Have Change Left:  If Scooter has his way and this bill passes through Congress, it would be funded primarily through tax increases that according to Republicans, would destroy jobs, not create them.

Per wsj.com:

Mr. Obama proposed limiting itemized deductions for families making $250,000 or more a year, ending tax breaks for oil companies and corporate jet owners, and cutting out a tax break for investment-fund managers. The White House says the tax changes would take effect in 2013 and estimates they would raise $467 billion in additional revenue over 10 years.

Republicans in Congress, who had been striking a more conciliatory tone about backing at least parts of the proposal the president unveiled last Thursday, disputed the White House contention that the plan would cause no additional job losses for the struggling economy.

“It would be fair to say this tax increase on job creators is the kind of proposal both parties have opposed in the past,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio). “We remain eager to work together on ways to support job growth, but this proposal doesn’t appear to have been offered in that bipartisan spirit.”

Mr. Obama made a new pitch for his plan at the White House Monday and has said he intends to campaign against Congress and Republicans in 2012 if they don’t pass the bill.

“We’ve got to decide what our priorities are,” he said. “Do we keep tax loopholes for oil companies, or do we put teachers back to work? Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, or should we invest in education and technology and infrastructure?”

Despite Mr. Obama’s demand that Congress act on the legislation quickly, neither the jobs nor tax proposals are likely to be approved or take affect any time soon. Senate Democratic leaders are expected to bring the bill to a vote in the coming weeks, but it is not expected to pass.

Evidently, the public is not impressed either.  As of yesterday, per gallup.com, Obama ‘s Job Approval  Poll is sitting at 42% approval, 49% disapproval concerning the job he’s doing as president.

But, there’s no doubt the Obama can create jobs…especially for his political cronies.  Take a look at this list of Obama’s Czars (political positions which Obama has appointed):

Frank Ruggiero – Afghanistan Czar

A career civil servant and has served in several positions in the Departments of State and Commerce. Ruggiero has an M.A. in Middle Eastern Affairs from American University and has completed all requirements for a Ph.D. (but the dissertation) in U.S. Foreign Policy in Asia from the University of Virginia.

Ed Montgomery – Auto recovery Czar

Black radical anti-business activist. Affirmative Action and Job Preference for blacks. Univ of Maryland Business School Dean teaches US business has caused world poverty. ACORN board member. Communist DuBois Club member.

Jeffrey Crowley – AIDS Czar

A Gay Rights activist. Believes in Gay Marriage and especially, a Special Status for homosexuals only, including complete free health care for America’s gay population.

Alan Bersin – Border Czar

The former failed superintendent of San Diego . Ultra Liberal friend of Hilary Clinton. Served as Border Czar under Janet Reno – to keep borders open to illegals without interference from US

David J. Hayes – California Water Czar

Sr. Fellow of radical environmentalist group, “Progress Policy”. No training or experience in water management whatsoever.

Ron Bloom – Car Czar

(Left in August 2011) Auto Union worker. Anti business & anti nuclear. Has worked hard to force US auto makers out of business. Sits on the Board of Chrysler which is now Auto Union owned.

Dennis Ross – Central Region Czar

Believes US policy has caused Mid East wars. Obama apologist to the world. Anti-gun and completely pro-abortion.

Lynn Rosenthal – Domestic Violence Czar

Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Vicious anti male feminist. Supported male castration.

Gil Kerlikowske – Drug Czar

Devoted lobbyist for every restrictive gun law proposal, Former Chief of Police in Liberal Seattle. Believes no American should own a firearm. Supports legalization of all drugs

Paul Volcker – Economic Czar

Head of Fed Reserve under Jimmy Carter when US economy nearly failed. Obama appointed head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board which engineered the Obama economic disaster to US economy. Member of anti business “Progressive Policy” organization

Carol Brower – Energy and Environment Czar

Political Radical Former head of EPA – known for anti-business activism. Strong anti-gun ownership.  Listed on Socialist International’s website.

Joshua DuBois – Faith Based Czar

Political Black activist-Degree in Black Nationalism. Anti gun ownership lobbyist.  Pentecostal pastor in his 20s.

Cameron Davis – Great Lakes Czar

Chicago radical anti business environmentalist. Blames George Bush for “Poisoning the water that minorities have to drink.” No experience or training in water management. Former ACORN Board member.

Van Jones – Green Jobs Czar

(since resigned).. Black activist Member of American communist Party and San Francisco Communist Party who said Geo Bush caused the 911 attack and wanted Bush investigated by the World Court for war crimes. Black activist with strong anti-white views.

Daniel Fried – Guantanamo Closure Czar

Human Rights activist for Foreign Terrorists. Believes America has caused the war on terrorism. Believes terrorists have rights above and beyond Americans.

Nancy-Ann DeParle – Health Czar

Former head of Medicare / Medicaid. Strong Health Care Rationing proponent. She is married to a reporter for The New York Times.

Vivek Kundra – Information Czar

Born in New Delhi , India . Controls all public information, including labels and news releases. Monitors all private Internet emails.

Todd Stern – International Climate Czar

Anti business former White House chief of Staff- Strong supporter of the Kyoto Accord. Pushing hard for Cap and Trade. Blames US business for Global warming. Anti-US business prosperity.

James R. Clapper – Intelligence Czar

Dubbed the “Godfather of Human Intelligence”  for championing interpersonal means of gathering intelligence, in addition to more technical methods like satellite photography and signal interception.

David Hale – Mideast Peace Czar

Previously, he was the State Department’s Director of the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, and Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State. Previous tours were at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Beirut, Amman, Manama, and Dhahran. He has held several staff positions in the Department.

Kenneth Feinberg – Pay Czar

Chief of Staff to TED KENNEDY. Lawyer who got rich off the 911 victims payoffs.

Cass Sunstein – Regulatory Czar

Liberal activist judge believes free speech needs to be limited for the “common good”. Essentially against 1st amendment. Rules against personal freedoms many times -like private gun ownership and right to free speech.

John Holdren – Science Czar

Fierce ideological environmentalist, Sierra Club, Anti-business activist. Claims US business has caused world poverty. No Science training.

Earl Devaney – Stimulus Accountability Czar

Spent career trying to take guns away from American citizens. Believes in Open Borders to Mexico . Author of statement blaming US gun stores for drug war in Mexico …

J. Scott Gration – Sudan Czar

Native of Democratic Republic of Congo . Believes US does little to help Third World countries. Council of foreign relations.

Herb Allison – TARP Czar

Fannie Mae CEO responsible for the US recession by using real estate mortgages to back up the US stock market. Caused millions of people to lose their life savings.

John Brennan – Terrorism Czar

Anti-CIA activist. No training in diplomatic or gov. affairs. Believes Open Borders to Mexico and a dialog with terrorists and has suggested Obama disband US military

Aneesh Chopra – Technology Czar

No Technology training. Worked for the Advisory Board Company, a health care think tank for hospitals. Anti-doctor activist. Supports Obama Health care Rationing and salaried doctors working exclusively for the Gov. health care plan

Adolfo Carrion Jr. – Urban Affairs Czar

Puerto Rican born Anti American activist and leftist group member in Latin America . Millionaire “slum lord” of the Bronx , NY. Owns many lavish homes and condos which he got from “sweetheart” deals with labor unions. Wants higher taxes on middle class to pay for minority housing and health care

Ashton Carter – Weapons Czar

Leftist. Wants all private weapons in US destroyed. Supports UN ban on firearms ownership in America .. No Other “policy”

Gary Samore – WMD Policy Czar

Former member of the US Communist Party. Wants US to destroy all WMD unilaterally as a show of good faith. Has no other “policy”.

Obama has been superb at stimulating the pocketbooks of all of his cronies.

As far as his multiple promises to put average Americans back to work?

Words…just words.

The Day After 9/11…Stay Vigilant

Yesterday, September 11, 2011, was a day of remembrance. As we settle back into our lives today, here in the greatest country on Earth, we need to remain vigilant, for there are those out there who wish us nothing but harm.

From dailymail.co.uk:

Protesters set fire to the U.S. flag outside the American embassy in London today during a minute’s silence to mark the moment the first hijacked airliner hit the World Trade Centre.

A group of 100 Muslim radicals, including members of Muslims Against Crusades, shouted ‘USA terrorists’ and brandished anti-American placards.

One protester in Grosvenor Square said: ‘You will always face suffering, you will always face humiliation, unless you withdraw your troops from Muslim lands.’

A small group of Muslims staged a counter-demonstration nearby, holding up placards reading ‘Muslims Against Extremism’ and ‘If You Want Sharia, Move To Saudi’.

Abdul Sallam, 41, who was waving a sign that read ‘Keep The Silence’, travelled down to London from his home in Glasgow to show the strength of his feelings.

He said: ‘I’m a Muslim. What they’re doing is bringing shame on all Muslims.This is not part of the teachings of Islam.

‘Islam is all about peace, but what they want to do is hate other people.

‘Islam teaches you that when you see anything bad or evil, you should speak out against it.

‘If the moderate Muslims all came out and spoke out, that would defeat them.

‘I am proud to be British. I love my country. All these people are doing is breaking Britain apart.’

Meanwhile, back in America, CBS Chicago reported on September 8, 2011:

CHICAGO (CBS) — The head of a local Islamic-American organization says that after this year, except for remembering its victims, it’s time for America to move on from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports, Ahmet Rehab of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says many people still are under the false impression that Islam is a radical religion, and that its believers want to change the U.S. into an Islamic state.

Rehab says the United States needs to move on from that.

“It was always a gang of criminals, called al-Qaeda, who happened to be Muslim, who are trying to justify their acts through faith and through religion,” Rehab said.

Rehab says the American people should not allow politicians, right-wingers and TV networks make them fear fellow Americans who are Muslim.

He says the way to defeat fear is through hope, and the way to defeat terrorism is through American values and principles.

Do Americans need to “move on”?  I don’t think so.

Three passengers on board an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to John F. Kennedy Airport caused quite a stir yesterday afternoon.

Sources told CBS News, the three passengers on Flight 34 were disruptive, moving in and out of lavatories, even at one point locking themselves inside. Considering the heightened state of security and general uneasiness air travelers are feeling due to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on New York City and Washington D.C., security officials are leaving nothing to chance.

The unruly passengers eventually returned to their seats. They were later questioned by federal authorities and cleared, 1010 WINS’ Sonia Rincon reported. At least one federal air marshal was on board and at no point was the cockpit in danger.

There was “no nexus to terrorism,” FBI spokesman J. Peter Donald said.

“In our eyes, it’s a big nothing,” American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled two F-16 jets to shadow Flight 34 until it landed safely at Kennedy Airport at 4:10 p.m. Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. The jets acquired the plane about 100 miles west of New York City and followed until it landed.

The FBI’s Donald said in a statement that the jets were sent to escort the flight “out of an abundance of caution.”

Smith said a “security concern” was brought to the airline’s attention but the plane’s captain never declared any sort of security threat and never requested law enforcement help.

He said the crew used “normal procedures” to assess the circumstances and the plane landed as planned.

Normal procedures include scrambling 2 F-16s?  I’ve never had that kind of escort when I’ve flown.

Another frightening situation happened on a flight out of  Denver:

Police detained three passengers at Detroit’s Metropolitan Airport on Sunday after the crew of the Frontier Airlines flight from Denver reported suspicious activity on board and NORAD sent two F-16 jets to shadow the flight until it landed safely, the airline and federal officials said.

Frontier Flight 623, with 116 passengers on board, landed without incident in Detroit at 3:30 p.m. EDT after the crew reported that two people were spending “an extraordinarily long time” in a bathroom, Frontier spokesman Peter Kowalchuck said.

The Airbus 318 taxied to a pad away from the terminal and police took three passengers into custody, Kowalchuck said. The three escorted off the plane in handcuffs included two men and a woman, passenger Ilona Hajdar, of Charlotte, Mich., told The Associated Press.

She said she realized there was a problem when the plane’s bridge didn’t extend at the gate. The plane then rolled to a remote spot on the airfield. After about a half hour, police SWAT boarded.

“Everybody, put your hands on the seat rest in front of you. Don’t move,'” said Hajdar, 27, who had been asleep for most of the flight and on board with her 2 1/2-year-old daughter.

Authorities cleared the aircraft at 5:15 p.m. EDT after it was searched, the Transportation Security Administration said.

Kowalchuck said luggage was removed from the plane for inspection by police K-9 sniffer dogs. The remaining passengers were taken by bus to the terminal.

Flight 623 originated in San Diego before stopping at Denver International Airport on its way to Detroit.

In Denver, the FBI said that the North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled F-16 fighter jets to shadow the plane “out of an abundance of caution.” The plane was searched and nothing was found, the FBI said.

FBI Denver spokesman Dave Joly referred further questions about the incident to Detroit authorities.

Let me make this clear.  I don’t believe that all Muslims are waging Holy Jihad against the United States.  However, it certainly is about time  for our Moderate Muslim-Americans to begin speaking out publicly against those who do.

Now is the time for all Americans to stay vigilant.

Ten Years after 9/11/01: Why the Terrorists Failed

Ten years ago today, the unthinkable happened:  America was the victim of the largest Islamic Terrorist Attack ever on our soil.

Per the Executive Summary of the 9/11 Commission Report:

At 8:46 on the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States became a nation transformed.

An airliner traveling at hundreds of miles per hour and carrying some 10,000 gallons of jet fuel plowed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. At 9:03, a second airliner hit the South Tower. Fire and smoke billowed upward. Steel,glass,ash,and bodies fell below.The Twin Towers, where up to 50,000 people worked each day, both collapsed less than 90 minutes later.

At 9:37 that same morning, a third airliner slammed into the western face of the Pentagon. At 10:03, a fourth airliner crashed in a field in southern Pennsylvania. It had been aimed at the United States Capitol or the White House, and was forced down by heroic passengers armed with the knowledge that America was under attack.

More than 2,600 people died at the World Trade Center; 125 died at the Pentagon; 256 died on the four planes. The death toll surpassed that at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

This immeasurable pain was inflicted by 19 young Arabs acting at the behest of Islamist extremists headquartered in distant Afghanistan. Some had been in the United States for more than a year, mixing with the rest of the population. Though four had training as pilots, most were not well-educated. Most spoke English poorly, some hardly at all. In groups of four or five, carrying with them only small knives, box cutters, and cans of Mace or pepper spray, they had hijacked the four planes and turned them into deadly guided missiles.

Our enemies throughout the Muslim World danced in the streets, thinking that they had struck a crippling blow, demoralizing “The Great Satan”, and thinking that Americans would meekly cower in our homes after their attack.

That night, President George W. Bush addressed the nation:

Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.

The victims were in airplanes or in their offices — secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers. Moms and dads. Friends and neighbors.

Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.

The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger.

These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation.

Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.

Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.

Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government’s emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it’s prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C., to help with local rescue efforts.

Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks.

The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight and will be open for business tomorrow.

Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business as well.

The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I’ve directed the full resources for our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.

Now, 10 years later, the mastermind behind the mass murder, Osama bin Laden is dead, sent to Hell by an American Navy Seal team.  While still dangerous, the Islamic Terrorist Organizations have been dealt crippling blows by our intelligence services and our fighting men and women.

Hiding out in their caves, these barbarians sit, scratching their heads, trying to figure out why these Americans are different from others they have attacked around the world.

Why have they failed?

The answer is simple.  Allow me to present a very special teacher to explain it to you, gentle reader:

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten.  On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

‘Ms. Cothren, where’re our desks?’

She   replied, ‘You can’t have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.

They thought, ’Well, maybe it’s our grades.’

‘No,’ she said.

‘Maybe it’s our behavior.’

She told them, ’No, it’s not even your behavior.’

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms. Cothren’s classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the  day came and as the puzzled  students found seats on the floor of the desk less classroom, Martha Cothren said, ‘Throughout the day no one  has been able  to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the  right  to sit at the desks that are  ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.’

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, ‘You didn’t earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it’s up to you to sit in them.  It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don’t ever forget it.’

By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded Teacher of the Year for the state of Arkansas in 2006.

Americans understand the Cost of Freedom.  Freedom is not free. 

So, on this solemn anniversary, please take a moment to say a prayer for all those who lost their lives that fateful day, including the New York City First Responders,  and for all of our Best and Brightest, who have lost their lives in defense of our sovereign nation.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.