Ruth Bader Ginsburg To Egypt: Don't Use US Constitution As A Model

"You should certainly be aided by all the constitution-writing that has gone one since the end of World War II. I would not look to the US constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012. I might look at the constitution of South Africa. That was a deliberate attempt to have a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights, had an independent judiciary... It really is, I think, a great piece of work that was done. Much more recent than the US constitution - Canada has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It dates from 1982. You would almost certainly look at the European Convention on Human Rights. Yes, why not take advantage of what there is elsewhere in the world?," Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in an interview with Al Hayat TV in Egypt.

Jon McNaughton - "The Forgotten Man"

There's an interesting aspect to this piece of art that I noticed after admiring it for some time. If you are standing in Obama's position, to your left are some of the biggest "Progressive" Presidents this country has known...FDR, Clinton, Carter, Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt. Even G.W. Bush is standing pretty much behind Obama - and to the left of JFK.

Of course, Reagan, Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson are far to the right of Obama. As Obama tramples our constitution, I'm sure Ruth Bader Ginsburg is applauding him somewhere from the sidelines.

- DesertSage

Giant Victory For NY, Eli Manning, In Superbowl XLVI

INDIANAPOLIS -- The word of the season was finish, and boy, what a finish it was. Super Bowl XLVI ended with a 51-yard pass from Tom Brady fluttering toward the end zone, where Aaron Hernandez was hunting a game-winning touchdown reception. Instead, about 57 seconds after Eli Manning had driven the Giants for their own go-ahead touchdown on Ahmad Bradshaw's 6-yard run, Kenny Phillips was able to bat the ball away and give the Giants a 21-17 victory and a championship. "I remember hitting it, and after that, everyone just fell all over the place," Phillips said. "I looked to my right and saw the ball on the ground and I knew the game was over."

Left in the Past

Roy M. Brewer's voluminous files show Ronald Reagan's anti-communist conservatism had its beginnings in his liberal past.

Recollections of Ronald Reagan’s time in Hollywood are full of myth and misinformation. From the right’s perspective, his role as a union man who campaigned for Truman is conveniently forgotten; the left, on the other hand, has held tight to its view of him as an archconservative Red baiter.

What is indisputable is that the 40th president of the United States came to office with a deep-seated hatred of Communism. But less known than his commitment to its end was that he already had a plan for seeing to it. In fact, it was during the bizarre McCarthy-era Red Scare that the seeds of his campaign against the ideology were planted.

The key to unlocking and understanding Reagan’s evolution was found in 75 legal-file boxes in a house at the end of a dirt road in Canoga Park, where former movie-industry union chief Roy Brewer lived with his daughter and son-in-law. Brewer, who turned out to be both a witness and archivist for Reagan’s time in Hollywood, became the closest thing the future commander in chief—an officer and later president of the Screen Actors Guild—ever had to a mentor.

Brewer saved everything from his life in Hollywood, and as it turns out, his papers form a remarkable portrait of Reagan’s life as a movie star, liberal Democrat and union man. The boxes held a treasure trove of private correspondence, speeches, congressional documents, Communist Party newspapers, transcripts of testimony from executive sessions and minutes from closed union meetings—the total of which provides a new view of the most enigmatic president in recent memory.

The documents are a time machine to Hollywood in the Cold War, revealing something that has eluded us for decades: Reagan’s Rosebud. Brewer’s role was to be the magical helper who provided the unlikely protagonist advice and training.

Food Gestapo Seek A Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco, Sugar

Nanny State: The food police who've targeted everything from salt to Happy Meals now set their sights on regulating sugar as a controlled substance to fight obesity. The fat we should fear most, though, is overweight government.

The pursuit of happiness, one of those unalienable rights endowed to us by our Creator, is under assault once again by those who spend every waking moment worrying that somebody somewhere is actually enjoying his or her life without government supervision.

In an article titled "The Toxic Truth About Sugar," published in the journal Nature, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (where else?) said worldwide consumption of sugar has tripled over the last 50 years and is now contributing to 35 million annual deaths, even if sugar-coated corn flakes aren't listed as the causes of death.

Whether these unfortunate victims of what may be called "cereal killers" died happy is also not recorded.

The researchers cite three major health risks — alcohol, tobacco and sugar.

"Two of these three — tobacco and alcohol — are regulated by governments to protect public health, leaving one of the primary culprits behind this worldwide health crisis unchecked," the researchers write.

We are not insensitive to the reality that abuse of any substance, from salt to sugar, can contribute to myriad health risks. Yet we are concerned that an overbearing nanny state, aided and abetted by the food police, will contribute to sterile, joyless lives where everything on our menu must be approved by the government.

The President at the Prayer Breakfast

President Obama, whose church attendance during the three years of his presidency has been as notable for its paucity as his visits to the golf course have been notable for their frequency, showed up -- as he proudly pointed out, for the third time -- at the National Prayer Breakfast to talk about the importance of his faith in his governing, politics, and policy-making. Coming from a president whose administration, from one end to the other, has worked consistently to limit religious freedom in this country, demonize Christian believers, and remove religion from the public square, the speech was a masterpiece of manipulation and demagoguery. He had the gall to come to the prayer breakfast to proclaim that "we can't leave our values at the door" after ripping up the "conscience clauses" so that people of faith and personal religious convictions must pay for abortions as part of ObamaCare and all employers must provide abortifacients to their employees under the new HHS mandates regarding health insurance coverage.

"Know your audience" is one of the first rules in public speaking, and Obama's rhetoric, as usual, was pitch-perfect for this particular audience. He began by "giving all praise and honor to God" and expressing how "truly blessed" he and Michelle were to be there and asking those assembled to "seek God's face together." Like most American politicians, he definitely knows the Christian vernacular; he even knows to quote C.S. Lewis. He also knows how to slyly slip in zingers for the opposition, with a smile on his face that signals he's putting one over on the rubes. In the context of acknowledging the "rancor that too often passes as politics today," he asked the assembled faithful of "imperfect vessels" to avoid "phony religiosity" in order to listen to Him.

Well and good -- if you could forget for the moment all of Obama's rancorous attacks on any and all who will not accede to his disastrous policies. For the informed listener, well in tune with the facts, what followed was a bumpy ride of cognitive dissonance. We had to listen to Obama declare that the economy is "making progress as we recover from the worst crisis in three generations," which was made worse and longer by his economic policies, which have given us the weakest and most protracted recovery since the Great Depression. We had to forget his disdain for our fighting men, the imposition of the homosexual agenda on the military, and his cutbacks on defense as we listened to the hollow praise for "our men and women in uniform," and then he got down to his real message: "Part of living in a pluralistic society means that our personal religious beliefs alone can't dictate our response to every challenge we face."

Render Unto Obama? Are the President's Polices Really Guided by the Gospels?

First Light’ Taken by NASA’s Newest CERES Instrument, includes stunning “blue marble” image

Western Hemisphere  + web view | + hi-res image

Eastern Hemisphere + web view | + hi-res image

A ‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite – Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012. + go to feature

The doors are open on NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite and the newest version of the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument is scanning Earth for the first time, helping to assure continued availability of measurements of the energy leaving the Earth-atmosphere system.

The CERES results help scientists to determine the Earth’s energy balance, providing a long-term record of this crucial environmental parameter that will be consistent with those of its predecessors.

U.S. to End Combat Role in Afghanistan as Early as Next Year, Panetta Says

BRUSSELS — In a major milestone toward ending a decade of war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday that American forces would step back from a combat role there as early as mid-2013, more than a year before all American troops are scheduled to come home.

Former Taliban Officials Say U.S. Talks Started

KABUL, Afghanistan — Several Taliban negotiators have begun meeting with American officials in Qatar, where they are discussing preliminary trust-building measures, including a possible prisoner transfer, several former Taliban officials said Saturday.

It's Looking Like Some Taliban May Be Released from Guantanamo

It appears the White House is moving to transfer five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as an incentive to bring the Afghan insurgency closer to peace talks. In early January, White House officials denied a Guardian report that a "handful of Taliban figures" would be exchanged for the Taliban opening a political office in Qatar to launch negotiations. "This report is not accurate," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor told The Atlantic Wire. "The United States has not decided to release any Taliban officials." It wasn't clear what was considered inaccurate about the story but reports this morning suggest the prisoner transfer is moving forward.

Taliban leader sent letter to Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar wrote to President Barack Obama last year indicating an interest in talks key to ending the war in Afghanistan, current and former U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

The letter purportedly from Omar was unsigned. It was passed through a Taliban intermediary in July and intended for the White House. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the letter and its contents are part of sensitive diplomacy with a fighting force that still targets U.S. troops.

The previously undisclosed communication was considered authentic by people who saw it, but skeptical administration officials said they cannot determine it actually came from Omar. The Obama administration did not directly respond to the letter, two officials said, although it has broadened contacts with Omar's emissaries since then.

Sources who described the letter did not disclose its precise contents, but one current and one former official said it addressed Taliban willingness to build trust with the United States. One official said Omar complained that the United States had not done enough to establish good faith for negotiations, such as arranging the release of Taliban prisoners held in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Most of us here saw those stories earlier this week. They are just a refresher. For the main point.

The Afghanistan effort is collapsing and rapidly. Mostly for political reasons, so Obama can claim having ended both of "Bush's Wars" in his first term.

Just an aside, if we aren't in Afghanistan to win, get out. No phased withdrawal, just get out. Everything since Oct. 7, 2001 has been wasted effort, wasted lives, wasted blood, wasted treasure. I can't express how sick I feel at writing those words.

Afghanistan was a winnable proposition, if done right, winnable in an objective of leaving a stable, nominally democratic government behind which could resist the Radical Islamists and provide some protection of individual rights.

The current state of collapse, and how to gain meaningful object success in Afghanistan is here, if you care to review it. Op-Ed Reprise from Jan 5th 2010 - C2 Op-Ed File: JCM and realwest on Obama's Afghanistan policy.

Afghanistan will pull Pakistan down with it into the sewer of Radical Islamic States.

With the "Arab Spring" the entire Northern tier of Africa is now Radicalized. Syria is toppling, Turkey is teetering. The Saudi Royal Family feeds the tiger hoping to be eaten last. Iraq is also losing ground to the Islamist since our pull out.

Osama bin Laden's Scary Vision of a Grand Muslim Super State

In order to evaluate the aftermath of September 11, we first must understand that event. What did al-Qaeda intend to achieve? Only if we understand that can we gauge their success or failure.

From the point of view of al-Qaeda, the Muslim world can and should be united into a single country. They believe that it once had this political unity, under the early caliphs. Even as late as the outbreak of World War I, the Ottoman state ruled much of the Middle East, and the Ottoman sultans had begun making claims to be caliphs (Muslim popes) from about 1880. In the below map, blue indicates heavy Muslim populations, green means medium, and yellow means the Muslims are a significant minority.

Bin Laden sees the Muslim world as continually invaded, divided and weakened by outside forces. Among these is the Americans in Saudi Arabia and the Israelis in geographical Palestine. He repeatedly complained about the occupation of the three holy cities, i.e., Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

For al-Qaeda to succeed, it must overthrow the individual nation-states in the Middle East, most of them colonial creations, and unite them into a single, pan-Islamic state. But Ayman al-Zawahiri's organization, al-Jihad al-Islami, had tried very hard to overthrow the Egyptian state, and was always checked. Al-Zawahiri thought it was because of U.S. backing for Egypt. They believed that the U.S. also keeps Israel dominant in the Levant, and backs Saudi Arabia's royal family.

Those of us around here are familiar with Radical Islam's goal of restoring the Caliphate.

Not in the 7 years of George Bush and the active war on Radical Islma did Radical Islam make such gains. These gains have only been since Obama's Cairo speech, extending a open hand to Radical Islam.

In 750 at the height of the 1st Caliphate the map looked like this.

A unified Islamic empire spreading from the Himalayas, to the Pyrenees.

Now in 2012, what do we have?

Not all the green is controlled by Radical Islam. However everywhere there is green Radical Islam is being felt.

The second (geographically) tier of Africa States are descending rapidly into failed states where Islamic Warlords can establish bases, Syria is nearly gone, Turkey on the brink and Iraq is sliding into the abyss. Afghanistan is being handed back to the Taliban, which will further destabilize and in all likelihood finish off Pakistan. This will increase tension with India, and the amount internal Islamic insurrection in India will increase, as will the external threat. Malaysia and Indonesia are also sorely pressed by the Radical Islamists and are crumbling.

In 3 short years we've gone from holding Radical Islam to holding essentially only Iran, with nominally secular and thuggish regimes holding power for their own reasons. Some like Egypt aligned with the West and keeping the peace for 30 years.

Sooner rather than later I fear, with Obama's aid, I believe we will hear the declaration of a New Caliphate, with either Iran's or Pakistan's nuclear threat to back it up, and control of the Mid-east oil.

And I thought Rabbit Bait's capitulations to the Soviets were bad. Bait was a amateur.

Tough Targets: When Criminals Face Armed Resistance from Citizens

HT: Occasional Reader

The ostensible purpose of gun control legislation is to reduce firearm deaths and injuries. The restriction of access to firearms will make criminals unable to use guns to shoot people. Gun control laws will also reduce the number of accidental shootings. Those are the desired effects, at least in theory. It is important, however, for conscientious policymakers to consider not only the stated goals of gun control regulations, but the actual results that they produce.

What would be the effect of depriving ordinary, law-abiding citizens from keeping arms for self-defense? One result seems certain: the law-abiding would be at a distinct disadvantage should criminals acquire guns from underground markets. After all, it is simply not possible for police officers to get to every scene where they are urgently needed.

Outside of criminology circles, relatively few people can reasonably estimate how often people use guns to fend off criminal attacks. If policymakers are truly interested in harm reduction, they should pause to consider how many crimes — murders, rapes, assaults, robberies — are thwarted each year by ordinary persons with guns. The estimates of defensive gun use range between the tens of thousands to as high as two million each year.

This paper uses a collection of news reports of self-defense with guns over an eight-year period to survey the circumstances and outcomes of defensive gun uses in America.

Defensive Gun Use: An Interactive Map

Purchase a Copy from the Cato Bookstore

Download the Full White Paper (PDF) (6 MB)
View this White Paper in HTML

A couple of interesting items in the paper.

Colorado State University decided to allow concealed carry, while the University of Colorado prohibited firearms. The former observed a rapid decline in reported crimes, while the latter, under the gun ban they claimed was for safety, observed a rapid increase in crime.

***

The data set contains only 11 stories out of 4,699 where a criminal took a gun away from a defender; the reverse was reported more than 20 times more often.

This study only focuses on individuals using firearms for personal defense.

The primary function of the Second Amendment and right to keep and bear arms is for The People to have the means to resist tyranny.

In 2009 U.S. had 31,347 firearms deaths. (Source CDC)

Normally about 5.5 in 10 are suicides, 4 in 10 homicide, and remaining accidents etc...

I can't find the data going back far enough, so let's assume a static rate of 30,000 a year for the U.S.

Rummel at Univ. of Hawaii put's China's death toll to it's tyrannical gov't at 76 million.

So 65 years, times 30,000 that's 1.9 million a lot but no where near 76 million.

Russia, had 70 years, and 60 million dead.

When you examine the death toll tyrannies exacted on unarmed populations in the 20th century you come up with over 200 million killed.

Or 100 times the number in an armed America.

Food for thought.

Afterburner with Bill Whittle: The Coin of the Realm

Pew Polls Show Jewish Shift Toward GOP, Away from Democrats

Washington, D.C. (February 2, 2012) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) responded today to an analysis from the Pew Research Center showing a significant increase in Jewish support for Republicans between 2008 and 2011. RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said: "This notable analysis from the unimpeachable professionals at the Pew Research Center shows a significant shift in Jewish political identification - a shift toward Republicans and away from Democrats. This was not the softer move of more Jewish respondents saying that they 'lean' Republican, but a solid shift in Jewish self-identification as Republicans.

Roseanne Barr Seeks Green Party Nomination

WASHINGTON - Roseanne Barr said Thursday she's running for the Green Party's presidential nomination - and it's no joke. The actress-comedian said in a statement that she's a longtime supporter of the party and looks forward to working with people who share her values. She said the two major parties aren't serving the American people. "The Democrats and Republicans have proven that they are servants -- bought and paid for by the 1% -- who are not doing what's in the best interest of the American people," Barr said.

Employment Jumps; Rate 8.3%, 243,000 New Jobs Created

The pace of job creation surged in January, with the US economy generating 243,000 new positions while the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, according to government data released Friday. Both numbers were far better than consensus, which expected a growth of 150,000 jobs and a steady unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. The stock market rallied on the jobs news, with gains of better than 1 percent, while bond yields surged as well to push the benchmark 10-year Treasury to 1.93 percent.

Why The Official 8.3 Percent Unemployment Rate Is A Phony Number

H/T - JCM

The January jobs report is out and it seems pretty strong, at least superficially. The unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent, the lowest rate since February 2009. And the economy added 243,000 jobs, the most since April 2011. But does anyone believe an “official” unemployment rate of 8.3 percent really gives an accurate picture of the U.S. labor market? Even though the unemployment rate fell, so did the labor force participation rate (as more Americans became discouraged and gave up looking for work). Here’s what that means:

1. If size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office — 65.7 percent then vs. 63.7 percent today – the U-3 unemployment rate would be 11.0 percent.

2. But let’s not go all the way back to January 2009. In January 2011, the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent with a participation rate of 64.2 percent. If that were the participation rate today, the unemployment rate would be 8.9 percent, instead of 8.3 percent. As an analysis from Hamilton Place Strategies concludes, “Most of the shift of the past year is due not to the improvement in the labor market, but the continued drop in participation in the labor force.”

3. Now to be fair, some of the decline in the participation rate is aging Baby Boomers dropping out of the labor force. But taking that into account still doesn’t get us very far, as HPS notes:

4. Then there’s the broader, U-6 measure of unemployment which includes the discouraged plus part-timers who wish they had full time work. That unemployment rate is still a sky-high 15.1 percent.

5. If the participation rate does level off at its current rate, according to HPS, the economy would need to generate 231,000 jobs per month to get below 8 percent unemployment by Election Day. If the participation rate continues its downward slide, however, that number would be much lower — perhaps as low as 131,000 jobs a month (see below chart). But such a decline wouldn’t necessarily be good news.