Police New Pain-Ray

Police Pain-Ray

Friday, December 26, 2008 by Shattered Paradigm ·
Labels: Police State
I wonder how many guns Norman will order? Maybe OU will order some in case the fans at an OU Football game ever get on the field or get excited and charge onto the Lloyd Noble basketball court after a big win.
Bob

Imagine a world where police have the ability to fire pain ray guns at protesters that instantly cause them excruciating pain as soon as they are activated.Imagine a world where police have the ability to torture from a distance anyone they want at the touch of a button.Does that sound like something out of a science fiction novel?It's not.It is in the final stages of development and could soon be a reality on the streets of America.NewScientist is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice is developing two portable "non-lethal" weapons that inflict severe pain from a distance using either microwave technology or laser beams.According to that report, the intention of the U.S. Department of Justice is to put these pain ray weapons into the hands of police on the streets of America.Some observers are very upset about this development, as they claim that giving police the ability to instantly torture anyone they want from a distance is a very dangerous thing to do.Others are applauding the development of these new "non-lethal" weapons as a step away from the use of "lethal" weapons by police.All of this comes a couple of months after a report that the U.S. Army will be deploying mobile pain ray trucks (called the Active Denial System) that have the capability to instantly fry the flesh of whole crowds of protesters using microwave technology.Imagine that.A whole crowd of rioters actually being cooked like they are in a microwave oven.Frightening stuff.Instead of finding more ways to torture and kill one another, perhaps we all should be looking for more ways to love each other.

Just a thought.

Newt Is Wrong!

Do grassroots conservatives really care what Newt Gingrich thinks? Newt has done a great job articulating conservative positions in the past, but really Newt, you need to "Wake up and smell the Roses". This is today and we need strong leadership. To be critical of Saltsman over this stupid parody is wrong! The parody has been played hundreds of times on Rush Limbaugh’s show. The parody is almost a year old, Saltsman did not write it nor did he sing it, he only sent the CD to RNC members. If Newt thought the CD was so bad why did he not speak up, one of the many times he was on Limbaugh’s radio show? Why didn't the Current RNC Chairman speak up when he heard the song on Limbaughs radio show? Chairman Duncan needs to step aside and let someone with some actual ideas be the next RNC Chairman. The RNC needs innovation if we are going to be successful in the future. I hope our National Committeewoman, Committeeman and State Chairman vote for a change.
Bob


http://spectator.org/archives/2008/12/30/hapless-white-boys-run-for-gop/

Political Hay
Hapless White Boys Run for GOP Chairman
By Jeffrey Lord on 12.30.08 @ 6:08AM
Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Into the Christmas-New Year's holiday lull comes word that one Chip Saltsman, late of the Huckabee for President campaign (he was the campaign manager) and now a candidate for Republican National Chairman, is under attack by two of his competitors and, of all people, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Why? What on earth could possibly put the contest for GOP chairman in the news amidst Christmas tidings and the impending tidal wave of Obamamania?

It seems that Mr. Saltsman, in pursuit of his candidacy (voters for RNC chairman are the members of the Republican National Committee) sent to all RNC members a disk containing some of the musical political parodies of Paul Shanklin. Mr. Shanklin, according to Saltsman, is a "longtime friend." Shanklin is also, of course, extremely well known to the audience of the Rush Limbaugh Show. Rush frequently plays the latest Shanklin parody about this or that political figure or news event, always to great mirth or at a minimum a considerable chuckle. The Shanklin parodies are a rousing hit with the Limbaugh audience, combining an uncanny ability to match famous songs with a devastating take of the latest shenanigans of the non-conservatives of this world. Needless to say, Shanklin has lots of material to work with.

What has suddenly erupted into a bizarre yet disturbing fight among the candidates for GOP chairman is that the selection Saltsman sent to every RNC member contained a Shanklin parody titled "Barack the Magic Negro." Sung to the famous Peter, Paul and Mary tune "Puff the Magic Dragon," the song features Shanklin-as-Al Sharpton lamenting the rise of Barack Obama.
The title is taken from an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times in early 2007 as Obama was beginning to catch on as a presidential possibility. The article was penned by David Ehrenstein, a black, gay liberal writer. Ehrenstein's point was that Obama was just another "magic negro" (Ehrenstein's phrase) who, like actor Sidney Poitier of 1960s movie fame (or perhaps today's Tiger Woods), comes across to whites as unthreatening, black but yet not really black at all. Certainly Obama is no Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, was the Ehrenstein point, both of whom are real blacks as opposed to, um, fake blacks. Wrote Ehrenstein of Obama and whites: "If he were real, white America couldn't project all its fantasies of curative black benevolence on him." Ehrenstein, it should be said, is no Obama fan, pointedly saying recently that Obama "is not my president" because of the invite to conservative pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the Obama inaugural.

While Sharpton is now on the Obama train, it is important to remember here that at the beginning of the campaign season Sharpton was decidedly not an Obama supporter. It quickly became clear that because Obama had not made his bones in the modern civil rights movement and was -- gasp -- not a descendant of slaves but the son of an African who actually lived in Africa (Kenya) Obama was somehow not down with the struggle. Sharpton, like Jesse Jackson, had also run for the Democratic presidential nomination once upon a time and met with similar results, which is to say defeat. The word was out that there was not an inconsiderable amount of outright jealously directed towards Obama by both Sharpton and Jackson. The more Obama succeeded, of course, the feeling was the less relevant the two would become. If America has a black president, who needs two old and out of touch self-described black civil rights leaders?

In an interview with WCBS-TV reported in the March 13, 2007 Political Bulletin of U.S. News & World Report, Sharpton is said to have made "harsh" criticisms of Obama, saying: "Why shouldn't the black community ask questions? Are we now being told 'You all just shut up'?" Jackson was famously caught waiting for a Fox TV interview, where, unaware that there was a live microphone and already rolling camera, the good Reverend whispered to a fellow guest that he wanted to "cut (Obama's) nuts off." Jackson also used the "N word" in the course of his whispered and highly revealing diatribe.

WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS have to do with Chip Saltsman, Paul Shanklin and Rush Limbaugh?
The Shanklin parody has a very distinct point. It zeroes in on Sharpton for being the racial arsonist that he in fact is. Shanklin, and certainly Rush Limbaugh, are well aware of Sharpton's despicable record as a black David Duke, Duke the Louisiana Ku Klux Klan leader who ran for governor of the state as a brand new Republican. (Duke, by the way, was forcefully and quite publicly disowned by then-RNC chair Lee Atwater and President George H.W. Bush. Sharpton, on the other hand, was recently pictured lunching with New York Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy, just as he has been sought out previously by both Clintons and Al Gore, to name but a few of the establishment Democrats who grovel at his feet.) Sharpton's involvement in the disgraceful Tawana Brawley episode, in which he became an "advisor" to a young black girl who falsely (as was eventually admitted) accused six white men of rape, was but one glaring example of his relentless use of racial cross-burning politics. So too was Sharpton's role in the tragedy of Freddy's Fashion Mart, a Harlem incident in which Sharpton urged on a protest of a Jewish store owner, in anti-Semitic style labeling the Jewish man a "white interloper." The result was the burning of Freddy's and a shooting by a black man riled to action, with several customers shot outright and seven store employees dying of smoke inhalation. In short, the record of Sharpton as, in the words of conservative David Horowitz, "an anti-Semitic racist" is well out there. Yet still there's no problem for Caroline, Hillary, Bill or Al etc. etc. Does that tell you something about the history of Democrats and race or what?

Picking up on the theme of the black Ehrenstein that Obama was a "magic negro" (which is to say, decidedly unlike Sharpton who is presumably an "un-magic negro"), Shanklin's parody, in decidedly 21st century humorist form, makes the ancient core point of the Republican Party. To wit, racism has no business in the GOP, and that it has been at the very center of the Democrats' party since its very inception. Al Sharpton's first, gut reaction to Obama is in fact just the latest personification of what is a very, very ugly history indeed. There is no need here to endlessly detail the record of Democrats, the party of race, which includes enthusiastic support for every hatefully racist idea in American from the cruelty of slavery, to segregation and lynching. For that one can pick up Bruce Bartlett's great book Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past, or read earlier thoughts from this space on the Democrats' Missing Years or whether there would be an apology for slavery in the Democrats' platform from then presumptive-nominee Hillary Clinton. Specifics may be found there.

What disturbs greatly here is the reaction to the Shanklin parody, to Saltsman, and by extension, wittingly or not, to Rush Limbaugh. As quoted in the New York Times of December 28th (and admittedly taking a quote of any Republican as accurate when reported by the Times is perilous), Saltsman has come under virulent attack from at least two of his competitors for the RNC chairmanship. Said incumbent chair Mike Duncan: "I am shocked and appalled." Chimed in Michigan chairman Saul Anuzis: "This isn't funny, and it's in bad taste."

Most amazing was the reaction as quoted from an e-mail by ex-Speaker Gingrich: "This is so inappropriate that it should disqualify any Republican National Committee candidate who would use it. There are no grounds for demeaning him (President-elect Obama) or for using racist descriptions."
One can only be startled that these gentlemen do not seem to understand that their reaction to what is clearly an attack on the racist, anti-Semitic ravings of Mr. Sharpton makes them seem as nothing more than a collection of white-shoe country club Republicans whose idea of civil rights is to tip the black waiter an extra buck while telling him they gave five more bucks to the NAACP. This is serious stuff here. To elect anyone chairman of the Republican National Committee, anyone who does not have a detailed understanding of the real civil rights record of the GOP as opposed to the grossly misrepresented version of that history routinely presented by Democrats and the media, is a critical mistake. The votes of African Americans will never -- and should never -- be sought with the incredibly patronizing attitude about blacks displayed in the comments of Duncan, Anuzis and Gingrich. African Americans are understandably proud that one of their own is about to become President of the United States. So too were Irish Catholics proud of JFK, and this year millions of women enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.

Yet in the end, the American ideal is that we are all Americans here, that America is very much NOT about race, creed, gender or sexual preference but ideas of freedom and liberty. And the embrace of Obama by blacks in a way they refused to embrace Sharpton and Jackson is telling indeed. "Magic negro" or not, instinctively they recognized racism when they saw it. Of the two major political parties, there is only one which from its founding and in platform after platform and policy after policy, from Lincoln to Grant to Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and down to George W. Bush that has relentlessly stood for the goal of a color-blind America. That party is the one which now has two African Americans, Michael Steele of Maryland and Ken Blackwell of Ohio, also seeking the RNC chairmanship. Surely no one has to tell either of these two of the real GOP history that Mr. Shanklin is pointedly highlighting in his parody, particularly not Mr. Steele, who had Oreo cookies thrown at him by Democrats during his race for the U.S. Senate.

ONE CAN ONLY WONDER what possesses these three men -- Duncan, Anuzis and Gingrich to ever -- ever! -- put themselves or their party in the position of adopting a "me-too" version of the Republican Party as presented by opponents that have made the ugliest of racism part of the bedrock of their party history. It is impossible to believe that any of the three thought carefully about what they were saying, thought deeply about Reverend Sharpton's Duke-like history, or have even taken any time recently to go back and read the civil rights history of their own party. In the case of history professor Gingrich this is particularly stunning.

The first thing these three can do when the New Year arrives? Apologize for this mind-boggling display of racial patronizing to the African-American community, to Republicans and quite specifically to Mr. Saltsman, Mr. Shanklin, and Mr. Limbaugh. In the case of the latter -- and as a Newt fan who has met the Speaker many times in my career and for whom I have great respect -- Newt should bite the bullet and ask to go on-air with Rush. To apologize directly to Rush. To get this clarified. To do otherwise is to leave the impression, an impression I am certain he does not hold, that he, Newt Gingrich, has appeared frequently over the years on a radio show he secretly considers racist. Quite aside from the fact that this is insulting to Rush, it is an in-your-face swipe at his 20 million listeners. Does Newt really believe conservatives and Republicans are a party of racists? Of course not -- but you sure couldn't say that from his reaction here.

What were these guys thinking in saying something this nutty? How could they be so wildly off point?
I have no idea. But it wasn't magic, it was hapless.

Democrats Putting Us Deeper In Debt

Supreme Court Will Look At the Birth Certificate Issue

WorldNet Daily

OBAMA WATCH CENTRALEligibility remains focus of Supremes' conferencesDispute posted on docket twice after Electoral College votes in

Posted: December 26, 200810:40 pm Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A second conference has been posted on the docket for the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue of Barack Obama's eligibility to occupy the White House, this one scheduled a week after Congress is to review the Electoral College vote tabulation.

The latest issue posted is a request for an injunction on the election results pending the resolution of a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by attorney Philip J. Berg, a case that is docketed for a similar conference among the justices on Jan. 9.
Berg's original case raises questions about Obama's eligibility and his injunction request first was filed early in December. It was submitted to and rejected by two different justices before it came before Justice Antonin Scalia on Dec. 18. Then just before Christmas the docket was updated to reflect that the motion had been "distributed for conference of January 16, 2009."

On Berg's Obama Crimes.com website, he said Congress is scheduled to hear the Electoral College results on Jan. 8. Then on Jan. 9 there's the conference scheduled on Berg's case itself, with the injunction issue to be addressed a week later.

WND has reported Berg's case, one of the first legal challenges to Obama's eligibility to reach the Supreme Court, alleges he cannot constitutionally be inaugurated.
"I know that Mr. Obama is not a constitutionally qualified natural born citizen and is ineligible to assume the office of president of the United States," Berg said in a statement on his ObamaCrimes.com website.

"Obama knows he is not 'natural born' as he knows where he was born and he knows he was adopted in Indonesia; Obama is an attorney, Harvard Law grad who taught Constitutional law; Obama knows his candidacy is the largest 'hoax' attempted on the citizens of the United States in over 200 years; Obama places our Constitution in a 'crisis' situation; and Obama is in a situation where he can be blackmailed by leaders around the world who know Obama is not qualified," Berg's statement continued.
"The Supreme Court has listed the case of Berg vs. Obama for 'conference' on January 9," the website said.
"I am appalled that the main stream media continues to ignore this issue as we are headed to a 'Constitution Crisis,'" Berg wrote. "There is nothing more important than our U.S. Constitution and it must be enforced. I am concerned that our courts have not yet decided to look into the merits of our allegations."


WND previously reported on a case brought by Cort Wrotnowski. It fell by the wayside when the justices heard about it in conference but refused to give it a further hearing. That was the same fate handed to a case brought by Leo Donofrio. Both challenged Obama on essentially the same issue: allegations that dual citizenship based on a father who was a British subject and a mother who was an American minor disqualified him for office.
Where's the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution? If you still want to see it, join more than 190,000 others and sign up now!

The high court previously turned down a request from Berg to stop the Electoral College from selecting the 44th president until Obama documents his eligibility for the office.
As WND has reported, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed over Obama's eligibility to assume the office of the president, many have been dismissed, while others remain pending.
The cases, in various ways, have alleged Obama does not meet the "natural born citizen" clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, which reads, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."


Some of the legal challenges have alleged Obama was not born in Hawaii, as he insists, but in Kenya. Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.
Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. Such cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.


Several details of Obama's past have added twists to the question of his eligibility and citizenship, including his family's move to Indonesia when he was a child, his travel to Pakistan in the '80s when such travel was forbidden to American citizens and conflicting reports from Obama's family about his place of birth.

A partial listing and status update for several of the cases surrounding Obama's eligibility to serve as president is below:

Philip J. Berg, a Pennsylvania Democrat, demanded that the courts verify Obama's original birth certificate and other documents proving his American citizenship. Supreme Court conferences on the case and its motions are scheduled Jan. 9 and 16.

Leo Donofrio of New Jersey filed a lawsuit claiming Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court but denied a full hearing.

Cort Wrotnowski filed suit against Connecticut's secretary of state, making a similar argument to Donofrio. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court, but was denied a full hearing.

Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes headlines a list of people filing a suit in California, in a case handled by the United States Justice Foundation, that asks the secretary of state to refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office. The case is pending, and lawyers are seeking the public's support.

Chicago attorney Andy Martin sought legal action requiring Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle to release Obama's vital statistics record. The case was dismissed by Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Bert Ayabe.

Lt. Col. Donald Sullivan sought a temporary restraining order to stop the Electoral College vote in North Carolina until Barack Obama's eligibility could be confirmed, alleging doubt about Obama's citizenship. His case was denied.

In Ohio, David M. Neal sued to force the secretary of state to request documents from the Federal Elections Commission, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and Obama to show the presidential candidate was born in Hawaii. The case was denied.
In Washington state, Steven Marquis sued the secretary of state seeking a determination on Obama's citizenship. The case was denied.


In Georgia, Rev. Tom Terry asked the state Supreme Court to authenticate Obama's birth certificate. His request for an injuction against Georgia's secretary of state was denied by Georgia Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter.

California attorney Orly Taitz also has brought a complaint alleging Obama is not a "natural born" citizen and has written an open letter to the Supreme Court asking for the issue to be resolved.

Last month, WND reported the worries over a "constitutional crisis" that could be looming over the issue of Obama's citizenship.
"Should Senator Obama be discovered, after he takes office, to be ineligible for the Office of President of the United States of America and, thereby, his election declared void," argues the Alan Keyes case pending in California, "Americans will suffer irreparable harm in that (a) usurper will be sitting as the President of the United States, and none of the treaties, laws, or executive orders signed by him will be valid or legal."

With such high stakes potentially at risk, WND earlier launched a letter campaign to contact Electoral College members and urge them to review the controversy.

That followed a campaign that sent more than 60,000 letters by overnight delivery to the U.S. Supreme Court when one case contesting Obama's eligibility for the Oval Office was pending.
A separate petition, already signed by more than 190,000 also is ongoing asking authorities in the election to seek proof Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution.

WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi had gone to both Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.


The biggest question was why, if a Hawaii birth certificate exists as his campaign has stated, Obama hasn't simply ordered it made available to settle the rumors. The image his campaign posted online has been rejected by critics since it is a "certification of live birth," not a birth certificate, and under Hawaii law at the time such certifications were given to parents of children born outside the state.

The governor's office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii?
Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, has named two different Hawaii hospitals where Obama could have been born. There have been other allegations that Obama actually was born in Kenya during a time when his father was a British subject. At one point a Kenyan ambassador said Obama's birthplace in Kenya already was being recognized.

Small Town America

This week I took my grandson, Quinn, to Bass Pro Shop looking for a Tomahawk. Bass Pro did not have any Tomahawks so I suggested we go to Sam's Surplus, a family business since 1948 on South Agnew, in my old neighborhood. On our way, I decided to show Quinn Packing Town and the area we called Sand Town, when I was growing up. This is the area south of Exchange, which borders between Penn and Agnew, which is close to the South Canadian River. The homes were small and some even vacant. I explained to Quinn that familes with 4-6 kids lived in these homes with only had one bathroom. Also, families, back then, only had one car. Quinn found this hard to believe. He commented "Boy, Bob were y'all poor?" I stated "well, no not really, because everyone was poor back then and we did not know it." From Packing Town we went south on Agnew to Sam's Surplus, a place that if you have never been; it's worth the visit.

Quinn could not believe all the different items that Sam's carried. When we left Sam's, we drove by Jackson Jr. High School, where I attended. It looked like the Confetti Capitol of South OKC. I explained that growing up in that South Oklahoma City area was like living in a small town. We had our own stores, our own theatres and everyone knew everyone. One thing that caught his attention was when I stated that we never had to lock our doors at night in South Side or small town America, back in those days. Everyone respected their neighbor.

When Sarah Palin ran for Vice President and she talked a lot about small town values I understood what she meant. The below story tells about values that we still have in small towns all across this great country. Sarah Palin was a good pick as our Vice President.
Bob

By Ruben Navarrette Jr.Special to CNN

Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a nationally syndicated columnist and a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Read his column here
Ruben Navarrette says Sarah Palin's critics challenged her because of prejudices about small-town values.

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- During the presidential election, some Democrats demanded to know how I could defend Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Simply put, Palin is my people. She's small-town folk who wound up in the big leagues.
Because I grew up in a small town with a population of less than 15,000 people, I was disgusted by the insults and condescension coming from those who think of themselves as the enlightened elite. Meanwhile, in small towns, I detected great affection for Palin. People talked about how she was "a real person" who "reflected their values."




The most significant divide in America isn't Red State vs. Blue State, it's rural vs. urban. The country mouse and the city mouse are still slugging it out.




In 1982, New York Mayor Ed Koch ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York. Some say the deciding factor was when Koch described life in upstate New York as "sterile" and said he dreaded living in the "small town" of Albany, if elected. That didn't play well in rural areas.
Now comes Colin Powell. During a recent appearance on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," Powell attempted an autopsy on the Republican Party's failed presidential bid. He went after Palin, accusing her of pushing the party so far to the right that it went over a cliff.




"I think [Palin] had something of a polarizing effect when she talked about how small-town values are good," Powell said. "Well, most of us don't live in small towns. And I was raised in the South Bronx, and there's nothing wrong with my value system from the South Bronx."
You'd think the presidential campaign was about conservatives picking on urbanites. It wasn't. Sure, some Republicans probably made a mistake by using phrases such as "real America" or "real Americans" as a rallying cry for the base. Americans who live in cities might have thought they were being slighted.




But those phrases referred as much to people's politics and values as it did their zip code. I live in a city with a population of more than a million people and I never thought the GOP singled me out as not being a "real American."




If anything, it appeared that big-city liberals were tapping into prejudices about small-town America to belittle the governor of Alaska
After Powell attacked Palin, one of the governor's most vocal defenders, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, returned the favor by attacking Powell.








"What is this hatred for conservatives and small-town people and Sarah Palin?" Limbaugh asked on his radio show. "I know a lot of people that are from the Bronx, Gen. Powell, and if you think the values there in the Bronx today reflect the ones you grew up with, take a trip back and see if the street corners and the activities there are the same as when you were growing up."
Limbaugh got it. When people use phrases such as "small-town values," it's as much about time as it is place. The idea isn't that people who live in small towns have better values than people who live in cities. It's simply an attempt to recall, with nostalgia, what life was like when more Americans lived in small towns.




It used to be that more families ate dinner together and high school students worked summers and after school. It used to be that our schools didn't make excuses for why some kids don't learn because they were too busy trying to teach them.
It used to be that parents weren't interested in being their kids' best friends, only good parents. And it used to be that people pulled their own weight and would never dare ask for a handout.
During a recent interview with the conservative newspaper, Human Events, Palin was asked if she thought her humble background accounted for some of the flak she got from the media. Palin acknowledged that she didn't come from elite stock, but said that she was grateful for that.




"I got my education from the University of Idaho because that's what I could afford," she said. "No, I don't come from the self-proclaimed 'movers and shakers' group and that's fine with me. It's caused me, or rather, allowed me, to work harder and pull myself up by my bootstraps without anyone else helping me. I think it allows me to be in touch with the vast majority of Americans who are in the same position that I am."




Sarah Palin understands a lot about America. Too bad many Americans don't understand Sarah Palin. No worries. They may get another chance to acquaint themselves with her -- in say, four years.The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely mine.

Barack The Magic Negro CD Under Fire

Republican Party
From RNC Chair Hopeful, a Provocative Holiday CD
By Michael D. Shear

Chip Saltsman, a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee, sent committee members this month a holiday music CD that included "Barack the Magic Negro," a parody song first aired in 2007 by talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

Created by conservative satirist Paul Shanklin, the song puts new lyrics to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon," and it is performed as if black activist Al Sharpton were singing it. Limbaugh played it after the Los Angeles Times ran an opinion piece with the same title, arguing that a vote for Barack Obama could assuage white guilt.

"A guy from the LA paper said it made guilty whites feel good, they'll vote for him and not for me cuz he's not from the hood," the song goes. "Oh, Barack the magic negro lives in DC, the LA Times they called him that because he's black but not authentically."

The CD accompanied holiday greetings from Saltsman, committee members said tonight. Saltsman, a Tennessee resident who managed former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee's campaign for president, announced his bid to lead the Republican Party earlier this month.
He did not return a call seeking comment tonight. Saltsman had earlier told the Hill newspaper, which first reported the incident, that the song is meant as a joke and should not be taken seriously.

"Paul Shanklin is a longtime friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for 'The Rush Limbaugh Show' are light-hearted political parodies," he told the newspaper.

Another candidate to lead the GOP, South Carolina party chair Katon Dawson, drew headlines this fall by resigning his membership of 12 years in a whites-only country club, weeks before launching his run at the national job.

The two incidents for both men come as Republicans are reeling from losing the presidency and dozens of House and Senate seats, and as many in the party are trying to improve relations with African Americans, who voted in record numbers for Obama and other Democratic candidates last month.

Among the candidates for RNC chairman are two African Americans: Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, and Ken Blackwell, a former secretary of state in Ohio, who ran unsuccessfully for governor of that state in 2006.

Neither Blackwell or Steele could be reached last night for comment on the CD. Another candidate for RNC chair, Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis, declined to comment, saying, "I haven't seen it. I don't really want to make any comment."

A spokesman for president-elect Barack Obama also declined to comment.
Saltsman was widely credited for helping transform Huckabee from a fringe candidate into a serious contender for the Republican nomination, tapping into a desire among evangelical voters for a candidate they could believe in.

A onetime top aide to former Senate majority leader Bill Frist, Saltsman has recently traveled to several states to woo some of the 168 Republican committee members face-to-face. The winner of the chairmanship must get 84 votes to claim the job.
Current Republican chairman Mike Duncan is also running for reelection. The vote is at the end of January.

Open Letter To Our State Party Leadership

RNC Chair.
We need change starting at the top. It's time to replace Chairman Duncan.We need strong leadership that opposes same-sex marriage and abortion. We need leadership that opposes bailouts, supports lower taxes and a smaller government. The Republican Party does not need to move to the left. We do not need to run away from Ronald Reagan. The voter should be able to tell the difference between the Democrat and the Republican Party when it comes to spending. I, for one, am sick and tired of hearing the voters say, "why should I even go vote, you can't tell the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats? They both spend money like a bunch of drunken sailors"

One of the many mistakes John McCain made, while running for President, was voting for the bailout just like the Democrats. Instead of seizing an opportunity to demonstrate fiscal responsibility, John McCain joined the Democrats and many Republicans in the biggest government giveaway in our country’s history! The Republican Party needs to get back to basics. We need leadership that is interested in changing the Republican Party by promoting the Republican platform, from the bottom up not from the top down. The Republican Party needs common sense leadership, someone that understands how important the Internet is. The technology is changing and we need to be out front, not playing catch up.

The grassroots activists need to take this party over and stop the RNC from telling us what to think. We need leadership that is willing to listen. The RNC should be listening, and in my opinion, they have lost track of their responsibility. We need a strong leadership team, stop the old farts and get back to what the Republican Party stands far. The Republican Party needs to get back to supporting strong national defense, family values, and promoting lower taxes and opposing and runaway spending. Those four things can make the difference. We need leadership that will walk the walk and understands that BS will no longer work.

The Republican activists want action not words!The Republican Party is right; it's our leadership that is wrong. I ask our National Committeeman, Committeewoman and our State Chairman to vote for leadership that has strong Christian values, someone that believes that the Republican Party does not need to change, but leadership that will change. The last thing we need is someone that approves of abortion, that supports same-sex marriage, and that supports the bailouts. We need someone that will stay true to our conservative Republican values! We need leadership that will articulate this message to all Americans, including African Americans, Hispanics and other growing minorities to once again make the Republican Party the majority party.Bob
Below is copy of an email I received:
Your letter to the RNC comparing Congress' spending with drunken sailors insults drunken sailors. Joe

American Red Cross

Grand Old Partisan salutes Clara Barton, born on Christmas Day in 1821. During the Civil War, she volunteered at field hospitals and became Superintendant of Nurses. She excelled in fundraising and in distributing medical supplies.
Clara Barton was active in the Republican Party and campaigned for many Republican candidates. She was a political ally of Senator John Logan (R-IL), founder of Memorial Day and a Republican vice presidential nominee. Barton also campaigned for James Garfield (R-OH), elected president in 1880.
On May 12, 1881, Senator Omar Conger (R-MI) convened a meeting in his home at which Barton made plans to establish the American Red Cross. Nine days later, Barton and her colleagues drafted an organizational charter. Her friend Frederick Douglass (R-MD), the Washington, DC Recorder of Deeds, registered the new organization. She then met with Secretary of State James Blaine, a future Republican presidential nominee, and President Garfield to discuss setting up chapters nationwide.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Happy Birthday Jesus

Bob

Coach C.B. Speegle

As a High School student we all have had teachers that have touched our lives. One teacher we had at Capitol Hill back in the early 50’s and the late 60’s was C.B. Speegle (The Great One). C.B. Speegle was one class act. He had a positive impact on all of us at Capitol Hill. He was loved by so many as I look back on my years growing up in South Oklahoma City, I can never remember anyone saying one bad word about C.B Speegle. He was every ones hero.

Bob

Comment
Very sad!!! A legend at Capitol Hill for sure!! Coach Speegle will not be forgotten. I spent many a night at the Speegle household and always looked forward to spending time with them. CB III was one of my very best friends. God Bless their souls!!

I believe he was originally scheduled to speak at our 50th Reunion but was unable to make it. Am I correct on this Committee?

Crosby



C. B. Speegle at the age of 92 passed away Tuesday.


C.B. Speegle Jr., 92, teacher, died Tuesday. Visitation 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today (Vondel L. Smith & Son North, Oklahoma City).

Pope Trying To Save Humanity from Homosexuality

Pope Benedict criticizes homosexual behavior
Reuters
Published: December 22, 2008

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict said Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.
The Church "should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.
"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."
The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound."
The pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman. He compared behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work."
He also defended the Church's right to "speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected."

Another Pope story
From Times Online
December 23, 2008
Pope accused of stoking homophobia after he equates homosexuality to climate change
(Gregorio Borgia/AP)
Pope Benedict has spoken out against 'gender theory'
Philippe Naughton
Pope Benedict was accused of stoking homophobia today after a speech in which he declared that saving humanity from homosexuality was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.
The Pontiff made the remarks yesterday in an end-of-year address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration. He said that humanity needed to listen to the "language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman and behaviour beyond traditional heterosexual relations was a "destruction of God’s work".
"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less," he told scores of prelates gathered in the Vatican's Clementine Hall.
"What’s needed is something like a ‘human ecology,’ understood in the right sense. It’s not simply an outdated metaphysics if the Church speaks of the nature of the human person as man and woman, and asks that this order of creation be respected."
·

Lisbian speaks out.

The Rev Sharon Ferguson, chief executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, described the Pope's comments as "totally irresponsible and unacceptable in any shape or form". She said: "It is more the case that we need to be saved from his comments. It is comments like that that justify homophobic bullying that goes on in schools and it is comments like that that justify gay-bashing.
"There are still so many instances of people being killed around the world, including in Western society, purely and simply because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity.
"When you have religious leaders like that making that sort of statement then followers feel they are justified in behaving in an aggressive and violent way because they feel that they are doing God’s work in ridding the world of these people."
Her views were echoed by the Reverend Dr Giles Fraser, the vicar of Putney and president of Inclusive Church, the pro-gay Anglican movement. "I thought the Christmas angels said ’Fear not’. Instead, the Pope is spreading fear that gay people somehow threaten the planet. And that’s just absurd ... Can’t he think of something better to say at Christmas?"
Pam Spaulding, a leading lesbian blogger from the United States, was even more direct. She said: "The Prada Papa Ratzi opens his trap again, and the homophobia stinks like trash piled up during a NYC garbage strike."
The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".
The Pope's speech was also seen, however, as a denunciation of "gender theory" – the study of how gender assignments affects the behaviour of individuals. The Catholic Church has repeatedly spoken out against gender theory, which gay and transsexual groups promote as a key to understanding and tolerance.
"That which is often expressed and understood by the term ‘gender’ in the end amounts to the self-emancipation of the human person from creation and from the Creator," the Pope said.
"Human beings want to do everything by themselves, and to control exclusively everything that regards them. But in this way, the human person lives against the truth, against the Creator Spirit."
Mark Dowd, campaign strategist at Operation Noah, the Christian environmental group, who is a gay man and a former Dominican friar, said that the Pope’s remarks were "understandable but misguided and unfortunate".
He said that he understood the Pope’s vision of creation in which rainforests were protected and men and women "complement one another, reproduce and live happily ever after".
But he said: "The problem is that if you study ecology seriously as any intelligent man would do, and the Pope is a fantastically intelligent man, you realise that ecology is complex, it has all sort of weird interdependencies and it is the same with human sexuality.
"It is not a one-size-fits-all model, there are lots of differences, so therefore I think it is really sad that these comments betray a lack of openess to the complexity of creation."

Balkman's Win

Notice anything unusual about this Christmas card? See the object crawling away in the background. That's not a dog that's Zoe, the youngest Balkman. Thad-Amy did not even notice she crawled off until Amy saw her do a double gainer off the side of the bridge. They win the best Christmas card of 2008.
Bob

Congressman Cole In Iraq

Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Weiner, Paterson, and Israel Visit Officials, Troops in Baghdad
Representative Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn and Queens), along with Governor David Paterson, Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) and members of the New York congressional delegation visited American troops and top officials in Baghdad on Sunday. The delegation shared meals with service men and women, toured American bases and met with U.S. and Iraqi officials during the trip.

Left to Right: Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Governor David Paterson (D-NY), Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), and Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the Commander of MNSTC-I (Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq). Photo credit: Office of Rep. Israel / Mike Ryan
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; it's the only thing that ever has" - Margaret Mead

Pope/Rinehart

Tim Pope and Brent Rinehart might be in trouble. I sure hope that they have not done anything illegal. Check out the story on http://www.kten.com/global/story.asp?s=9533759

Bob

Tom Cole Off To Iraq

Congressman Tom Cole is off to Iraq to spend part of his Christmas holidays with our troops. We appreciate Congressman Cole and his support and respect for our brave military personal. Bobby

Electoral College Members Outraged!

I will jump in here now.

It was my understanding that the Secretary of State (Susan Savage) was responsible for the proceedings, etc. Her letter said proceedings were to start at 2:00PM. I glanced at the wall clock when she entered the room. It was between 15 and 20 after 2:00PM.

So the Governor must have arrived after 2:30PM. Common courtesy would call for her and the Governor to at least be in attendance at 2:00PM sharp. When they did appear, neither uttered any apology for being late in arriving.

One of the first things our Mommies taught us - have good manners, be polite, and apologize if you keep someone waiting.

The two short sentences he spoke before turning over the proceedings to his aide only further demonstrated his lack of respect.

He never welcomed the Electors (or their guests in attendance) to the State Capitol. Looking back, I believe the Secretary of State and the Governor showed deliberate disrespect to the Electors, individually, and to the purpose for our meeting.

I do not believe any of us could have spoken up and done anything different. I believe by law, the proceedings were to be conducted and led by the Governor and Secretary of State. This was their show!

About the only good thing about the day was personally visiting with the Electors I had not previously met. Gail, Diana, Pete. I agree with Bobby, the entire ceremony (what ceremony?) sucked! On December 15th we were all thrown under the bus!

I have not received my mileage check yet. But I want round trip mileage and tolls and if I do not receive, I will speak up.
Member of Oklahoma Electoral College

Top Gay Speaks Up

Rep. Frank Opposes Warren Invocation at Inauguration
Frank, who is openly gay, says it was a mistake to give such a high honor to a pastor who compared homosexuality to incest
WASHINGTON -- The first openly gay member of Congress said Sunday it was a mistake for President-elect Barack Obama to invite the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.
"Mr. Warren compared same-sex couples to incest. I found that deeply offensive and unfair," Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said in a broadcast interview.
"If he was inviting the Rev. Warren to participate in a forum and to make a speech, that would be a good thing," Frank said. "But being singled out to give the prayer at the inauguration is a high honor. It has traditionally given as a mark of great respect. And, yes, I think it was wrong to single him out for this mark of respect."
Read more http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/21/rep-frank-opposes-warren-invocation-inauguration/

Chaney Mocks Biden

Cheney Mocks Biden, Defends Rumsfeld in 'FOX News Sunday' Interview
Vice President Cheney mocked Vice President-elect Joe Biden's grasp of the Constitution, defended former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and said President Bush "doesn't have to check with anybody" before launching a nuclear attack.In a blunt, unapologetic interview on "FOX News Sunday," Cheney fired back at Biden for declaring in October that "Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history.""He also said that all the powers and responsibilities of the executive branch are laid out in Article I of the Constitution," Cheney said in a interview that was conducted on Friday. "Well, they're not. Article I of the Constitution is the one on the legislative branch.""Joe's been chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a member of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate for 36 years, teaches constitutional law back in Delaware, and can't keep straight which article of the Constitution provides for the legislature and which provides for the executive. So I think I'd write that off as campaign rhetoric. I don't take it seriously."Cheney, who is often called the most powerful vice president in history, also challenged Biden's claim that the Bush administration has amassed too much executive authority, a trend Biden reportedly plans to reverse."If he wants to diminish the office of the vice president, that's obviously his call," Cheney shrugged. "President-elect Obama will decide what he wants in a vice president and apparently, from the way they're talking about it, he does not expect him to have as consequential a role as I have had during my time."
Biden bit back, however, in a dueling Sunday morning interview that aired on ABC's "This Week" in which he said he stood by his statements.
To see the rest of this story go to http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/21/cheney-mocks-biden-defends-rumsfeld-fox-news-sunday-interview/

Archbishop Sends Warning

Archbishop warns of dangers of economic dogma
LONDON (AFP) — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams warned Monday that governments should not pursue dogmatic solutions to the financial crisis at the risk of the most vulnerable, saying that is what the Nazis did.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, he said Hitler's movement was based on a system of principles that "worked quite consistently once you accepted that quite a lot of people that you might have thought mattered as human beings actually didn't".
Williams, the most senior cleric in the Church of England, said that in the current climate, "what looked like a principled defence of some of our economic assumptions... seems more ragged and vulnerable than it once did".

Electoral College Photos

Photos from the Electoral College Ceremony at the State Capitol Blue Room.

Obama Only Virgin In Chicago

Obama says he had no dealings with Blogojevich. Because Obama said so, the media drops the issue. When Sarah Palin ran for VP hundreds of reporters went to Alaska to learn more about her. Chicago has a history of being corrupt, yet how many reporters descended on Chicago to check out Obama's story? None

So, let's just be happy knowing that Obama is the only virgin in the Chicago Democratic whorehouse!

The next four years will be full of lies. What happen to the Transparency Administration that Obama was going to take to Washington?
Get ready for 4 years of lying and evasion.

Bob

Obama's Original Birth Certificate Finally!

In the past weeks I have received a variety of allegedly true articles froma number of you - each calling into question the citizenship of ourPresident Elect and spreading false rumors in an attempt to discredit him. Like so much on the internet it has no basis in fact but lack of facts never stops the bloggers and those who see a conspiracy in every turn. Obama recently released his Hawaii birth certificate and I hope for once and for all the matter will be dropped and I will not have five or six e mails each day from you with a different conspiracy angle... He was elected as our President and we need to get over the fact we lost...please stop stirring up things and trying to discredit him with groundless rumors before he even takes office. I'm attaching a copy of his birth certificate and I hope this will put thematter to rest once and for all...
Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass.

My Thoughts On The Electoral College Ceremony Monday

I am extremely disappointed in the way the Governor treated us during the Electoral College ceremony. Compared to other states, our Electoral College ceremony sucked.
Yes, the Governor was friendy and cordial after showing up 30:00 minutes late.

Other states had their Electoral College ceremony in front of their entire chamber. I resent the Governor's statement, "that we electors should help unite the state and work to move the state forward after a long, and sometimes divisive, presidential campaign. At the end of the day, we are all Oklahoman's. We are Americans" If he really believed his words he would have treated us with more respect.
Bobby

From Land Of Lincoln To Land Of Liars

"Funny Money: How Barack Obama Bought the White House for $668 Million"

Barack Obama and his team smashed all fundraising records on the way to victory, raking in a staggering $668 million. But some of that all-important cash came from questionable — even make-believe — sources.
An intensive Newsmax investigation by investigative reporter Kenneth Timmerman — cited in a complaint by the Republican National Committee — uncovered numerous instances of questionable and even illegal donations.
The Newsmax special report uncovered evidence that that Obama campaign raked in millions by allowing donors to exceed legal limits. Millions more flowed into his coffers from unidentifiable sources, including prohibited financial support from foreign nationals.
And, astoundingly, nearly half of his total campaign contributions, over $300 million, came from donors under $200 — donor names Obama still won't release for public scrutiny.
Newsmax magazine's special report "Funny Money: How Barack Obama Bought the White House for $668 Million" offers an in-depth look at the questions surrounding the fundraising efforts that have forever changed American politics.

Know Who Do You Believe? NewsMax?

My friend Bunny Chambers sent me this information.

Obama Was Born in the United States

Monday, December 8, 2008 11:30 AMBy: Ronald Kessler
For months, I have been bombarded by e-mails claiming Barack Obama was born in Kenya and therefore does not meet the constitutional requirements to be president. I have also received hundreds of e-mails from readers asking why I do not expose the truth about his birth.
The truth is that Obama was born in Hawaii. Hawaii, by law, does not make original birth certificates public, and this has enabled conspiracy theorists to claim that there is something nefarious about the circumstances of Obama's birth.

Instead, it provides those born in Hawaii with a so-called certification of their birth — also known as a short-form birth certificate — that lists the name of the baby and the date and place of birth but not additional details like the birth weight and the parents' hometowns.

As claims of a cover-up mounted on the Internet prior to the election, Obama posted a digitally scanned image of his original short-form birth certificate. But that enabled conspiracy theorists to say the image had been created by Photoshop. Obama then let FactCheck.org, a nonprofit project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, view, handle, and photograph the short-form birth certificate at Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago.
The certificate has all the elements the State Department requires for proving citizenship to obtain a U.S. passport," FactCheck.org, headed by respected former Wall Street Journal reporter Brooks Jackson, concluded.

According to the State Department, that includes "your full name, the full name of your parent(s), date and place of birth, sex, date the birth record was filed, and the seal or other certification of the official custodian of such records."

That led to claims by conspiracy theorists that the document shown to FactCheck.org was fake. However, on Oct. 31, the Hawaii Department of Health issued a press release saying that Chiyome Fukino, director of Hawaii's Department of Health, along with Alvin Onaka, the registrar of vital statistics, had "personally seen and verified that Hawaii's State Department of Public Health has Sen. Obama's original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures."

Fukino told the Honolulu Advertiser that her department issued the press release after being barraged by calls about the issue, including some received by state officials at home in the middle of the night.

This has gotten ridiculous," said Fukino, a medical doctor.
Aside from that official verification of Obama's birth in Hawaii, back on Aug. 31, 1961, the Honolulu Advertiser ran an announcement of his birth.
Mr. and Mrs. Barack H. Obama, 6085 Kalaniaaole Hwy., son, Aug. 4," the announcement said.
What about claims that Obama’s paternal grandmother has said he was born in Kenya? At a dinner at the Ritz Carlton given by a conservative group, I happened to sit next to Philip Berg. Berg is the Philadelphia lawyer who is suing to have Obama disqualified as president because he is allegedly not a citizen of the United States.

A former deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania, Berg has claimed that he has a tape recording of a phone conversation in which Obama’s paternal grandmother says she was in the delivery room in Kenya when he was born Aug. 4, 1961.

On Oct. 23, Berg told talk-radio host Michael Savage that he would release the tape “in a day or two.” To date, he has not done so.
At the dinner, I asked Berg how he knows that the voice on the tape is that of Obama’s grandmother. Berg was vague: He said he knows someone who vouches for the fact that the tape is authentic.

"Tape recordings" are never fool-proof evidence. For example, I remember a dinner my wife and I once had in Paris with a reporter for the National Enquirer while I was writing a book on arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Actor Richard Burton had just died, and the reporter said he was going to meet up later with other National Enquirer reporters at a bar so they could make up stories about Burton to run in the paper.
I knew a Williams & Connolly lawyer who reviewed the paper’s stories for libel before they were published. He had told me that he insisted on listening to any taped interviews that support sensitive stories.

“How do you get around that?” I asked the Enquirer reporter.
“Oh, that’s easy,” the reporter explained. “I get in a cab and pay the driver to say what I tell him to say into a tape recorder.”
On the radio show, Berg told Savage that he believes the birth certificate Obama showed FactCheck.org was forged.

“This has been a real sham he’s pulled off for the last 20 months," Berg told Savage.
Berg said he believes Obama's mother was near the end of her pregnancy and was unable to travel by plane, so Obama was born in Kenya. According to Berg, the family then traveled to Hawaii and registered the birth and submitted the birth announcement to the local newspaper.
Why would they do that? To any conspiracy theorist, the answer would be obvious: They knew that Obama would some day run for president. After all, Berg also believes that President Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, and other government officials had “adequate foreknowledge” of the 9/11 attack and “failed to warn the country or attempt to prevent it and have been covering up the truth of that day ever since,” according to another lawsuit he filed.
“I think that there is no question that President Bush knew about it [and] was very complicit in the events of 9/11,” Berg told Joe Scarborough on MSNBC on Jan. 28, 2004.

In response to Berg’s complaint about Obama’s citizenship, Obama and the Democratic National Committee asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. They said that Berg’s claims were “ridiculous” and “patently false” and that Berg had “no standing” to challenge the qualifications of a candidate for president, because he had not shown the requisite harm to himself.

On Oct. 24, U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick in Philadelphia dismissed Berg’s lawsuit. In a 34-page memorandum and opinion, the judge said Berg’s allegations of harm were “too vague and too attenuated” to confer standing on him or on any other voters.
Berg has appealed to the Supreme Court. A virulent Internet rumor claims that the court has agreed to take the case. In fact, as it does with all cases, the court has merely agreed to decide whether to take the case. Berg's petition is on the justices’ private conference list for today, Dec. 8.

Meanwhile, Berg has been collecting money through his Web site to support his case. When I asked him how much he has collected, he would not say.
If there were any basis for Berg’s claims, one would think that the John McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee would have supported the lawsuit or at least blasted out e-mails touting the case. In fact, a McCain campaign aide told me that McCain campaign lawyers had looked into the allegations about Obama’s birth and found them to be bogus.
You would also think that Berg would be happy to be interviewed about the case by a journalist like me. But although he agreed to an interview at the conservative dinner, he has since failed to respond to my voicemails and e-mails asking for him to call.

Ever since President Bush toppled a man who killed 300,000 people, he has been the subject of vicious attacks and conspiracy theories from the left. Now is the time for the right to show that it will not tarnish itself by going down that road and that it will extend to the new president the fair play and respect Bush never received.
Ronald Kessler is chief Washington correspondent of Newsmax.com.

Electoral College Does It Work

Political Scientist Says Electoral College Lacks What It Needs To Elect Obama To White HousePR Web ^ 12/11/08 Dr. Mary Maxwell
Posted on Sunday, December 14, 2008 12:57:46 PM by BP2
Marblehead, Mass. (PRWEB) December 11, 2008 -- Dr. Mary Maxwell, political scientist, said today: "Obama's silence about his citizenship is indefensible and unworkable. Next Monday, the 538 members of the Electoral college meet and they are at risk, themselves, of violating state election laws if they participate in a fraud."
"If a presidential candidate's claim that he meets the requirements are later found to be false," Maxwell said,"one or more of the 50 states could bring charges against him. But that would be a terrible thing if it comes after Inauguration Day. It would be better if a state would apply its law stringently as early as possible For example, the Election Commission of Alabama has authority to cite for contempt (http://law.justia.com/alabama/codes/16474/17-15-57.html) any person who refuses to deliver, upon subpoena, relevant items."
Maxwell said: "An Obama spokesman has called the eligibility controversy 'garbage,' and wants to keep pertinent records under seal." "Privacy is of great value," Maxwell acknowledged, "but when one signs the form to become a candidate for elective office, one swears, in most states, that one is eligible."
"For a presidential hopeful that means he has attained age 35, has resided here for 14 years,and is a natural-born citizen of the U.S." Maxwell stated, "If voters want proof of a candidate's eligibility -- and thousands have signed petitions and called Congress (http://rallycongress.com/constitutional-qualification/1244/stop-obama-constitutional-crisis/) seeking Obama's proof -- it follows that privacy must be sacrificed. How can Electors do their solemn duty of choosing America's executive for the next four years if they are in doubt about his qualification?" she asked.
"I've posted a current case, Keyes v Bowen, at my website (http://www.marymaxwell.us)," said Maxwell. "The plaintiffs are Electors who don't want to vote until they see Obama's documents," she said, "This case is making its way to the Supreme Court, but not in time for Dec.15th." Also, she reported,"there are some military officers who understandably insist that their Commander in Chief be free of any suspicion of divided loyalties."
"This lays a shockingly heavy burden on Electors' shoulders," Maxwell said. "I believe that Obama's grammar school records, showing his citizenship as 'Indonesian,' are sufficient indication that he has an eligibility problem. So the presumption has to be against him. If Obama feels that is unfair he can simply submit the documents and put an end to the problem, " she said.
"Granted this approach is embarrassing," said Maxwell, "but so what? Don't Immigration officers frequently knock on doors of American residents and say 'Show your passport'?" She observed, "The Constitution protects all congresspersons from arrest on their way to or from their legislative sessions, but no one is immune from the law at other times. That is the core of our great system."
"If we create a cultural habit of exonerating government officials when they do wrong, or look the other way, it will soon be said that rule-of-law no longer works in our society and we need martial law," said Maxwell, "in fact I sniff it in the air now. What nonsense! We have a perfectly workable Constitution. But of course it can't work if the law does not apply to all."
"Failure to deal with Obama's issue is likely to cause an upset on Dec. 15th," said Maxwell. "Since Nov. 4th, the public has been told that the Electors will cast 373 ballots for Obama, and 165 for McCain. Typically, all Electors 'obey' their party but the Constitution does not require them to do so," she noted, "and in a 1992 case, Ray v Blair (http://vlex.com/vid/20012409), the Court ruled that political parties may give direction but they did not say the Elector is thus coerced."
"It is amazing to realize that if Obama drops out, the Electors are not obliged to choose his running mate, Joe Biden, or the next-best from the Democrat's summer convention, Hillary Clinton," Maxwell said. They can even choose someone that ran in a third party, such as Bob Barr or Cynthia McKinney." She remarked, "Indeed they are free to elect a citizen who never campaigned."
"Happily, panic need not occur if no individual gets a majority on Dec. 15th," Maxwell stated. "As usual, the Founding Fathers foresaw that outcome, and arranged for the House of Representatives to choose the president from the three highest on the Elector's list," she said. "and they would vote as states, with each state having one vote. The National Archives website (http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html#270) says that would occur on Jan. 8th, 2009."

More Pictures Helen Cole Banquet

Oops I believe one of the pictures is out of place, do you know which one?

Pictures From Past Helen Cole Banquets

Jesus

Last night, we had the opportunity to attend our granddaughter’s High School Christmas program at Community Christian School. Yes, you heard it right, I said the word Christmas. The program consisted of the grade school, Jr High and High School students playing and singing Christmas carols. My granddaughter, Kenady, Rod’s daughter, is in the High School choir and they did an outstanding job of entertaining everybody. After hearing these young kids sing, I can fully understand why they have won so many awards. As I sat through the program, I thought about the Norman school system not allowing nativity scenes in the school system. I thought about how the kids of the Norman school system are being robbed of the real meaning of Christmas. I remember when I was a kid growing up in the Capital Hill area in South OKC, how I looked forward to the Christmas program each year. As the kids were singing, I started counting the number of times I heard the word Jesus; I lost count at 15 times. The word Christmas was used over 20 times and we even prayed at the start and finish of the program, just like we did when I was a kid.
How refreshing it is to attend a program by our young kids and listen to them use the word Jesus! They certainly are not ashamed of the word Jesus. Something like this could not happen in the public school system. No way can you say Jesus, and in some cases, you cannot even use the word Christmas because that might be offensive to someone. I have never understood how Christmas or even Jesus could offend someone. Sixty-five percent of Americans believe that the nation's founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation and 55% believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation, according to the “State of the First Amendment 2007” national survey released Sept. 11 by the First Amendment Center. Let’s not forget that the Christmas season is when all Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. When someone tells you happy holidays be sure and say Merry Christmas. I find it very offensive for someone to say Happy Holidays. I, for one, am not ashamed to use the word Jesus. As we look back at our Constitution, we need to remember the first five freedoms listed in the First Amendment; Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition.
We have a lot to be thankful for and we should never forget the rights and freedoms we have in the great county. Most importantly, we can never forget Jesus. Merry Christmas!
Bob

Movie Australia

Last night, Barbara and I went to see Australia at the Warren Theater. I had not read anything about the movie, but heard from several friends, that it was really good. The movie is three hours long, and in my opinion, it was the best movie I have seen in years. It is a true story that covers when the Japanese bombed Australia. Hope our good friend Pat McGuigan, Oklahoma’s premier movie critic, will write about Australia.
Bob

Rep Jackson Ready To Pay To Play

Jackson Backers Sought Cash For Senate Seat

CHICAGO – Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report.
Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reports in a story for Friday's editions that businessman Raghuveer Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi told attendees at an Oct. 31 meeting that they needed to raise the money for the governor to ensure Jackson's appointment.
"Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse got the seat," an unidentified source who attended the meeting told the Tribune. Blagojevich also attended the meeting, which was sponsored by Nayak, an Oak Brook businessman. For more on this story go to


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081212/ap_on_re_us/illinois_governor_jackson

Rep Reynolds Right, Again

State Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, wants to remove the governor's authority to fill vacant statewide offices. Reynolds said that in light of allegations that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich tried to sell an appointment to the now-vacant U.S. Senate seat in that state, he will file legislation that would allow Oklahoma voters, not the governor, to choose the person who fills any vacated statewide office. If any major office is vacated before the end of the officeholders current term that position would remain unfilled until the next general election under the proposal. Currently, the governor is allowed to appoint a successor. The Illinois scandal makes clear that the appointment power can easily be abused and weve had more than our share of corruption in Oklahoma already, said Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City. My proposal will simply remove that temptation and ensure the people of Oklahoma get to choose the people they want in office. Reynolds noted that Governor Henry actually endorsed a similar course of action when former State Auditor Jeff McMahan was under federal investigation. During that controversy, Henry urged McMahan to step aside during the investigation. McMahan later resigned from office after being convicted. Reynolds also noted that vacancies in the state Legislature are filled through the election process and not by gubernatorial appointment. In recent years, two major statewide officeholders have resigned due to legal troubles: McMahan and former Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. Other vacancies have occurred in the offices of State Treasurer and Corporation Commissioner.-posted McCarville

Istook And Infrastructure

You call this ‘vital infrastructure’?
With President-elect Obama talking about a $1-trillion-plus “stimulus package” in January, big spenders in the nation’s capital are already drawing up their post-Christmas wish lists. Governors lined up first when they met with Obama to ask for $136 billion or more in immediate projects. Mayors claim they have $73 billion in projects “ready to go. It’s quite a stretch to justify another $1-trillion in debt for many of these.

You can read the details about how they want to waste your money at
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83297

Congress Bailouts

Included in the bailout bill are raises for U.S. Federal Judges. Why is the press not reporting this?
Bob

WASHINGTON (AP) - A House-passed bill to speed $14 billion in loans to Detroit's automakers stands on shaky ground in a bailout-weary Congress, undermined by Republican opposition that could derail the emergency aid in the Senate.
Republicans are challenging lame-duck President George W. Bush on the proposal, arguing that any support for the domestic auto industry should carry significant concessions from autoworkers and creditors and reject tougher environmental rules imposed by House Democrats. More on this story http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081211/D950GI5G0.html

General Curry Speaks Out About Birth Certificate

Bobby:

If the Supreme Court won’t step up and defend our nation and its constitution from a possible fraud masquerading as s US Senator then the electoral college has to, even if it means that one man has to take a stand against the rest.

Jerry



IT’S TIME FOR THE COURT TO BE SUPREME


What if two or three years from now it turns out that President Obama’s birth certificate is a forgery and that he is not a natural-born American citizen eligible under the U.S. Constitution to be President? Such an event would do irreparable harm to the nation and the constitution since none of Obama’s actions and the executive orders and laws he has signed would be valid and legal, from the time he was sworn in as President until he was later discovered to be unqualified to be President.

Such an unfortunate state of affairs can and must be prevented at all costs. Fortunately for all concerned, the Supreme Court Of The United States (SCOTUS) has scheduled the case for a December 5, 2008 conference review to determine if the Court should hear oral arguments as to whether Senators Obama and McCain, according to the constitution, are eligible to be President of the United States. The natural-born status of both men is open to question.

There is little time available between the December 5, 2008 conference, the December 15 meeting of the Electoral College, and the January 20, 2009 presidential inauguration for the Court to properly sort these things out. So much is at stake should Senator Obama in the end turn out not to be constitutionally qualified to be President, that his qualifications or lack thereof cannot be treated cavalierly, as though this were just some routine technical matter.

Constitutional matters of this magnitude and importance should be settled before Obama is sworn into office as President, not afterward. For all our sakes, including Senator Obama’s, let us pray that after the investigation, his claim of natural-born citizenship turns out to be legitimate. If it does not, I fear that the public’s reaction may turn ugly.
Also, it is possible that the Court during its review of Senator Obama’s natural-born birth status may, at the same time, consider whether Senator McCain’s having been born in the Panama Canal Zone of U.S. citizen parents can be equated as to having natural-born American citizen status.

It would be most troubling if the Court constitutionally disqualified both men from holding presidential office. The electoral crisis that such a decision would precipitate could literally rip the guts out of the nation and rioting in the streets is a distinct possibility, especially among black Americans who may feel that once more they have been disenfranchised by their white American compatriots. Let us pray that we are spared such convulsions and that if the nation should enter into a time of crisis, our leadership will not falter in maintaining and keeping order.

Specifically at issue in this matter is whether Senator Obama was born in Kenya instead of in Hawaii as claimed. This would make him a natural-born citizen of Kenya and not a natural-born citizen of the United States. Next, is whether as a child Obama was taken to Indonesia where he legally became an Indonesian citizen. If he did not file for American citizenship under the U.S. Nationality Act of 1940 as required of foreign born U.S. citizens, he may be neither a native-born nor a naturalized American citizen. In short, Senator Obama may not be an American citizen at all. Finally, yet to be properly sorted out is the allegation that Senator Obama’s birth certificate, proving U.S. citizenship, is a forgery.

Until all these matters are legally resolved by SCOTUS, the presidential election process cannot proceed from Senator Obama’s being declared President-Elect on December 15, 2008 by the Electoral College, to his inauguration as President of the United States on January 20, 2009. Who knows but that the U.S. Supreme Court was established by the Framers of the Constitution for such a time as this.

If the Court refuses to aggressively pursue the subject of the legitimacy of Senator Obama’s place of birth at conference on December 5, deliverance will come to the nation through another venue. But don’t think that the Court’s refusal to get involved in the presidential selection process will enhance its reputation as guardian of the Constitution. Rather, its reputation will be forever tainted by its refusal to protect the Constitution and the American people’s interests.



Gen. Jerry R. Curry
US Army, Ret.
Haymarket, VA

Rep Martin Appointment

Norman Republican Named Budget Vice Chairman OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 10, 2008) - A

Norman Republican was appointed vice chairman of the powerful state House Appropriations and Budget Committee by the Speaker of the House today.Rep. Scott Martin, R-Norman, will serve beside Rep. Ken Miller, the chairman of the budget committee and will have a role in crafting the state budget as bills with a financial impact are heard in his committee.

"I consider it a true privilege to serve in this capacity and I look forward to working with the Speaker and Chairman Miller in the upcoming legislative session," said Martin.House Speaker Chris Benge said he is confident Rep. Martin will continue to push pro-growth fiscal policies for Oklahoma that will help its people prosper while also attracting business to the state.“I look forward to working with Rep. Martin to ensure our taxes remain low and government is streamlined so our tax dollars are saved for vital services Oklahomans need like education and public safety," said Benge, R-Tulsa. With the country in a recession, Rep. Martin stressed how important it is to ensure government is efficient with taxpayer dollars. "In this difficult financial time, now more than ever, it is important that the people's resources are used as judiciously as possible," said Martin.

"Oklahoma's strong workforce and recently enacted fiscally conservative policies like tax cuts and restrained spending have put Oklahoma in a better financial situation than many states nationwide."I'm committed to looking for innovative ways to keep growing Oklahoma, and working with my colleagues to find solutions as we set the budget and make sure the people's money is spent in ways that benefit the entire state," he said.Rep. Martin previously served as the vice chairman of the General Government and Transportation Committee, and also sat on Human Services Committee, the Energy Subcommittee and the Arts and Culture Subcommittee.