Court won't rule on Jefferson search case

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to step into a legal fight between the Justice Department and a member of Congress who has been indicted on bribery charges.

The court declined to review an appeals court ruling that the FBI reviewed legislative documents in the office of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., in violation of the Constitution.

Jefferson has pleaded not guilty to charges of soliciting more than $500,000 in bribes while using his office to broker business deals in Africa. His trial has been delayed indefinitely.

The ruling "is jeopardizing ongoing public corruption investigations," the Justice Department said in urging the justices to accept its appeal.

If allowed to stand, the ruling also would essentially prevent investigators from searching lawmakers' offices because it requires the FBI to give the lawmakers advance notice, the department said.

"The bottom line is that, if the government cannot search a member's office in the manner authorized by the search warrant here ... the government cannot do so in any meaningful manner and congressional offices may become a 'sanctuary for crime,'" the Justice Department said.

Yet Mukasey said in testimony to Congress that an agreement between lawmakers and his agency would be better than a court-issued "bright-line ruling that one of us can't live with or would find it awkward to live with."

At issue is a constitutional provision known as the speech or debate clause, which protects elected officials from being questioned by the president, a prosecutor or a plaintiff in a lawsuit about their legislative work.

The question for the court was whether the protection also applies to searches.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it does.

Please someone remind me what Democrats have denounced this guy?  Democrats were quick to pounce on the various Republicans for their crimes (inappropriate contact with an aide, "wide stances", etc.)

So, I want to know why there's physical evidence condemning this guy, and yet, Democrats seem to want to sweep this under the rug.

Nancy Pelosi's infinite wisdom allowed her to put this guy in the Homeland Security Committee of all places:

House Republicans plan a formal objection on the House floor to the appointment of Rep. William Jefferson to the Homeland Security Committee.

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt announced the move Wednesday, a day after the House Democratic caucus approved Speaker Nancy Pelosi's appointment of Jefferson to the panel.

The guy is charged with corruption and bribery, and Nancy's idea of getting rid of the "culture of corruption" is to promote someone like that to a committee that has access to CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.

No wonder people look at Democrats in Congress with disdain.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Clinton didn't pay health insurance bills

So THAT'S why Hillary has been pushing for "Universal Health Care".  She doesn't want to pay for it out of her pocket.

Among the debts reported this month by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s struggling presidential campaign, the $292,000 in unpaid health insurance premiums for her campaign staff stands out.

Clinton, who is being pressured to end her campaign against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, has made her plan for universal health care a centerpiece of her agenda.

The campaign provides health insurance to all its employees, their spouses, partners and children — and that wasn’t interrupted by any lag in payments to insurance providers, said Jay Carson, a Clinton campaign spokesman.

He said the campaign this month paid off all outstanding bills to Aetna Healthcare and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Those payments will be reflected on a report the campaign will file this month with the Federal Election Commission, which Carson said will show “zero debt owed to both vendors.”

“Sometimes invoices are not paid immediately because we need additional information for our records, or to verify expenses,” Carson said in a statement e-mailed to Politico. “Sometimes invoices arrive at the very end of the month at the cutoff of the reporting period, which means that we are required to report them as a debt on the current FEC report, even where they are paid in regular course during the next month.”

But the unpaid bills to Aetna were at least two months old, according to FEC filings.

They show the campaign ended last year owing Aetna more than

$213,000 for “employee benefits.” During the first two months of the year, the campaign did not pay down any of that debt. In fact, it accrued another $16,000 in unpaid bills last month, and it finished the month owing Aetna $229,000.

Healthcare is paid for by businesses, and it is extremely expensive.  I know my employer pays about $600 a month in premiums for me.  There's rumors that Hillary's having some major issues about paying her bills on time.  She's even being sued by a vendor for unpaid bills.

It's all downhill from there.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Body found of Ohio soldier missing in Iraq

After nearly four years of hoping, waiting and praying, an Ohio family learned Sunday their missing son died in Iraq.

"It hurts -- it really hurts. You go through four years of hope," said Carolyn Maupin, whose son, Staff Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin, was captured by insurgents in April 2004.

"It's like a letdown to me. I'm trying to get through that right now."

His father, Keith Maupin, said military officials informed the family Sunday afternoon that the remains of the 24-year-old Army reservist had been identified.

"Every parent knows the possibility exists that they may have to face the death of their child when they volunteer to go to war," he said. "However, those who are fortunate make peace with that and support their soldier, because they enlisted at their own free will."

A Defense Department official also confirmed the identification, saying Maupin's remains were found last week but DNA results just came in.

Maupin, who was 20 at the time of his capture, and another soldier, Sgt. Elmer Krause, 40, were captured by insurgents April 9, 2004, after their convoy came under attack near Baghdad International Airport. A week later, Maupin was shown on a videotape, surrounded by several armed masked men.

"My name is Keith Matthew Maupin," he stated in the video. "I am a soldier from the First Division. I am married with a 10-month-old child. I came to liberate Iraq, but I did not come willingly because I wanted to stay with my child."

Krause's body was found two weeks later.

Later that summer, Al-Jazeera aired a videotape purportedly showing the execution of Maupin, but U.S. officials haven't confirmed the identity of the person on the tape.

Welcome home.  I'm sad to see you come home this way, but it's better then not knowing.

That'd being said, what do we know about his captors?  What became of them?  I want their hides hung on a wall.

Where's Code Pink?  Where's Daily Kos?  Where's liberals in general?  When are we going to be hearing from them in this violation of the Geneva Conventions?  Oh that's right.  They'll be appeasing and making excuses for this.

Al-Jazeera has no problems splashing this across their airwaves, but they will censor anti-Islamic militant materials.

You can bet your bottom dollar that if Sergeant Maupin's captors are ever found, they will not be heard from again.

THEN we'll hear from the liberals about the violation of the Geneva Conventions.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Michigan delegate compromise offered

A Michigan congressman proposed an alternate plan Monday for seating the state's delegates at the Democratic National Convention, awarding delegates based partly on Michigan's Jan. 15 primary results and partly on the popular vote in all the nation's presidential primaries.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., in a letter to DNC Chairman Howard Dean, proposed that Michigan's 83 pledged delegates be chosen at congressional district conventions according to the results of the state's primary.

The party stripped both Michigan and Florida of their national convention delegates because they moved their primaries to January dates that were earlier than party rules allowed.

Under Stupak's formula, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who received 55 percent of the primary vote, would receive 47 delegates.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who pulled his name from Michigan's ballot, would receive 36 delegates. Many Obama supporters in Michigan voted for "uncommitted," which received 40 percent in the primary.

I still can't believe that we're talking about this.  Let me explain something that everyone involved can't seem to understand:

Michigan broke the rules and they were punished according to party rules.

That's it.  End of story.  The only reason why Hillary is pushing so hard for "disenfranchised voters" is because she's behind in the delegate count.  It's the same reason why Obama is opposed to the count.

Sorry kids, you broke the rules and now you're being punished for it.  That's it.  You teach your kids the same things, so how about you lead by example instead of whining about how it's "not fair" like a 10 year old.

You knew the rules before hand and you ignored them.  Now you have to live with the consequences.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Paulson to propose changes for financial system

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson proposed a set of sweeping changes on Monday aimed at modernizing the nation's financial system in what could herald the biggest regulatory overhaul of Wall Street since the Great Depression.

The plan, which would broadly expand the Federal Reserve's powers, comes as concerns about the housing crisis and its fallout in the financial system continues to fuel calls for change in Washington. The Paulson changes, if enacted, would be largely invisible to consumers but would drastically alter how the financial services industry is regulated.

"Government has a responsibility to make sure our financial system is regulated effectively," Paulson said. "And in this area, we can do a better job."

But the Treasury chief was cautious to warn that changes could take "many years to complete."

Oh good!  Yet another knee jerk reaction!  That's exactly what we need.  How about we all just let the economy correct itself like it's supposed to?

People who make risky investments or loan out money to people who can't pay it back should go bankrupt!  That's it!  The rules that are currently in place are adequate. 

This country's economy has been fine for the past 80 years, yet, because people need a fucking security blanket and a pat on the head like a child, all of a sudden we need government intervention and bailouts of poor performing companies?

No one is making my mortgage payment.  No one offered to "bail" me out when I was on the verge of bankruptcy many times during my 20's.  I was told a big "tough shit" when people knew of my fiscal health.  So, I sucked it up and worked extra hours to make ends meet.

Everyone expects you to stumble a little bit when you're starting out in life.  But if you're going to trot out a 40 year old woman who lives better then most Americans and tell a sob story about how she went from $70k a year to the food bank in TWO MONTHS, you can't expect the responsible people in society to feel sorry for them, let alone, have their tax money being used to bail them out.

This is just a knee jerk reaction by politicians who's irresponsible constituents want them to "do something".

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Hamas: "Hey! We'll stop attacking civilians!"

In an exclusive interview in Damascus, Khalid Meshaal said he was renewing an offer first made to the Israelis 10 years ago.

"We renew our offer to Israel to let the civilians on both sides not be a part of this conflict," he said. "We renew this offer today."

Mr Meshaal, who is a target for Israeli assassination, said if Israel agreed it would not kill any Palestinian civilians then Hamas would only carry out attacks against Israeli military targets.

He also gave confirmation for the first time in almost a year that the Israeli soldier captured in 2006 and held in Gaza is alive.

So he just admits that Hamas attacks civilians, and yet, everyone praises this asshole?  Everyone somehow sees this as a "step forward"?  These guys have put bombs on city buses, night clubs, and restaurants, knowing full well that innocent people would die.

You want to attack only military targets?  Ok, but Hamas leadership is considered military targets.  You're leading a militant terrorist group, that makes you a legitimate target.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

I Told You

With the furor of the anti-Quran movie Fitna going on, I've seen places like Live Leak, Youtube and others caving into Islamic militants threats.

Unfortunately for them, I don't cave.  So, just like I promised, here's Fitna that's hosted on MY server and will NEVER be deleted.

Link.

Geert Wilders - Fitna the movie (Official English)

Fitna, the anti-Radical Islamic terrorist movie has been removed from Live Leak after serious threats were made against them (Why am I not surprised)

So, here's a copy of it on Youtube:

I'll save radical Muslims some time and effort:  I won't bring this video down and as soon as I get home, I'm copying this to my server.

If you think you can threaten me over this video, you can kindly go fuck yourself.  I don't cave to savages.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

More Political Cartoons

This first one is my favorite.

 

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Political Cartoons

These are always a treat, so I thought I'd share them with you all.

 

(click here to view)

Tbloom (Dean Turnbloom) Self-Syndicated Mar 28, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

(click here to view)

Clay Jones Free Lance Star Mar 28, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

(click here to view)

Jeff Darcy The Plain Dealer Mar 28, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

(click here to view)

Jimmy Margulies The Record Mar 28, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com

 

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

FBI Focusing on 'About Four' Suspects in 2001 Anthrax Attacks

The FBI has narrowed its focus to "about four" suspects in the 6 1/2-year investigation of the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001, and at least three of those suspects are linked to the Army’s bioweapons research facility at Fort Detrick in Maryland, FOX News has learned.

Among the pool of suspects are three scientists — a former deputy commander, a leading anthrax scientist and a microbiologist — linked to the research facility, known as USAMRIID.

The FBI has collected writing samples from the three scientists in an effort to match them to the writer of anthrax-laced letters that were mailed to two U.S. senators and at least two news outlets in the fall of 2001, a law enforcement source confirmed.

You know, I was wondering where we were in finding out who did this.  For a scientist to do something like is incomprehensible.  Whoever did this deserves nothing less then a public execution.

The anthrax even infected a small toddler.  Hanging is too good for whoever did this.

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

U.N.'s Ban condemns Dutch film as anti-Islamic

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned as "offensively anti-Islamic" a Dutch lawmaker's film that accuses the Koran of inciting violence.

Ban acknowledged efforts by the government of the Netherlands to stop the broadcast of the film, which was launched by Islam critic Geert Wilders over the Internet, and appealed for calm to those "understandably offended by it."

"There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence," Ban said in a statement. "The right of free expression is not at stake here."

"Freedom must always be accompanied by social responsibility," Ban said.

I posted the video here on my site and I watched it.  It is not NOT anti-Islamic, it is a reflection of how Muslims have allowed maniacs to carry out attacks on civilians in the name of their religion.

And Ban Ki-moon is merely trying to stem the rioting from savages who would allow a movie to influence them to the point where they decide to perpetuate violence against people who are trying to express their freedoms.

It's funny too, I don't hear Ban talking about the Muslim Imams who on a DAILY basis spit out hate speech against the Jews or Christians.  It's simply a thing that must be tolerated.

If you're going to act like a hypocrite, you lose credibility to denounce.

Perhaps Muslims should take a harder look at themselves if they feel the need to riot over a movie like this.

I don't see Christians or Jews rioting in the streets after Islamic clerics call them "apes and pigs" and call for their deaths.

I don't see Christians and Jews threatening to cut the heads off of Muslims because of who they are on such a grand scale.

So to denounce this film is merely a transparent way to show that you're a coward towards violent Muslim extremists who've scared you into submission.

First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

China says Tibet monks won't be punished

China will not punish a group of Tibetan monks for disrupting a government-organized foreign media tour of Lhasa and voicing support for the Dalai Lama, a senior official said in a bid to allay fears of repercussions.

In other words "China will not punish a group of Tibetan monks YET".  With the world looking at China because of this uprising and the upcoming Olympics, China needs to come across as a fair and just country, even though everyone knows they aren't.

It's the proverbial elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.

Well I will. 

China is a constant abuser of human rights who's brutal tactics have seen thousands of deaths at the hands of its government.

If the United States did these things, we'd be on the front page of every newspaper in the world with "See how evil the Americans are!"

You want to see how gruesome the Chinese have been against the Tibetans?  Take a look. 

WARNING!  IT IS GRAPHIC AND SHOWS DEAD HUMAN BEINGS!

It's on Wikileaks.org, but their site appears to be down at the moment.

And that's the hypocrisy of the media there in a nutshell.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Patricia Guerrero's Story

I'd like to thank my reader David for pointing this out to me.  Now, this came from another site, and not the official LA County Assessor's office, so take it with a grain of salt, but I assume you all remember when I was speaking about Patricia Guerrero's story on CNN where she went from $70k a year down to food bank within 2 months?

Well, according to this site, who claims they got it from the LA County Assessor's office, here's her story:

Here's a little more information about Patricia Guerrero's financial situation from public records (LA County Assessor and Recorder):

The 2,948 square foot house on a quarter acre lot was built in 1948.

She and her estranged husband Ray acquired the house, apparently from HIS PARENTS Israel and Esther Guerrero, in August 2002, at which time the debt load on the property was about $157,000.

Ray and Patricia took out a conventional fixed-rate first trust deed on the property on 8/14/2002 for $202,000.

I'll spare you all the gory details of their various refinancing's and equity loans, but the present note from 8/21/2006 is for $649,999.

So, it looks like they bought the place for a sweetheart deal and proceeded to jack themselves up to the tune of about $450,000 over a period of just 4 years.

NO SYMPATHY.

I'm still working to see if these above statements are true, but the math does indeed add up according to the CNN story.  I made assumptions about terms and interest rates, which I made public in my previous story.  It just looks like the terms I assumed were off a little bit.

Here's the video of the story on CNN.  Take a look at the home, including the kitchen, it's BEAUTIFUL!  It's bigger then mine, and towards the end of the video, you can even see the wine rack with bottles of wine in it!  Then she has the NERVE to talk about taking off her Tiffany bracelet and leaving her Coach purse in the car??

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Instinct

Sometimes I get a story that is sensational, but something about it is very wrong.  I can't quite place it, but a story will sometimes feel off.  So I don't report it.

Many times the story is dead on and then I report on it, other times, it's completely wrong.

This is one of those stories that has blown up in the face of liberal blog Think Progress:

CORRECTION: As a blog that strives to maintain credibility and transparency, we would like to explain our mistake. When we were alerted to the tip that Adm. Ziemer gave a similar speech in 1996, We searched LexisNexis and McCain’s campaign site for whether the senator used the disputed phrases before that time. We did not find anything. After we published the post, the McCain campaign contacted us and pointed to a speech given by the senator in 1995, which appears on McCain’s Senate site. As soon as we were alerted to the error, we rushed to publish a correction. Once again, we regret the error, and we apologize for it.

So, because they couldn't find it in two places, it must be true!  If you're going to accuse a Presidential candidate of plagiarism, regardless of political party, you'd better make damned sure you're right.  Otherwise you look like you're just playing partisan politics.

And now, they are taking a beating for it from their readers:

mildlyamused1 Says:
March 28th, 2008 at 11:07 am

To simplify the apology for those on the fourm: “We, at Think Progress, totally screwed up and can never be trusted again because we got caught in a lie. We let our complete and utter hatred of anyone who is not a far left, socialist/Communist loon, cloud what little reason that we had in the first place. It is unfortunate that our blind idealogical rage and willingness to fabricate things was exposed here. We hope that the next time that we rush to slander a conservative without checking our facts, that we can get away with it. We also know that the truth doesn’t matter in the least to the vast majority of impotent, “victimized” lemmings that read and post on our site, so McCain if you are waiting for apologies from all the deranged morons that automatically assumed that this story was true, don’t hold your breath, old man.” I hope that clarifies this “apology” for everyone

Sometimes my instincts are dead on. :)

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Obama Tells A Stinker Of A Lie

"Had the reverend not retired and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church," the senator said.

Bullshit!  Wright spewed out hatred against the US shortly after the 9/11 attacks, that was 6 and a half YEARS ago Obama.  For those of you keeping track, Wright retired earlier this year.  Wright also talked about "God damn America" and Italian's "Garlic nose".  So this was hardly an isolated incident.

You had plenty of time to "not feel comfortable staying there at the church" and yet you did nothing.  That shows you either agree with Wright's hate speech or you have extremely poor judgement.  Either way, you're lying to the American people.

Obama was very quick to throw his grandmother under the bus for her racist hate speech, but he refused to do the same for Wright.  It says something about the character of this guy.

Obama isn't this super nice guy who's fighting for the common man like he'd like everyone to believe.  He's lustful for power and will be absent from hard decision making if it's convenient (See the "Flying Imam" vote).

He's certainly better than Hillary, but he's definitely NOT the guy who he claims to be.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Fidelity National Trying To Weasel Out.

Financial-data processing company Fidelity National Information Services Inc. said new government regulations that prohibit lenders from using in-house appraisals when assessing loan values could substantially harm its business.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said in a filing made on Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission that increasing government scrutiny into the mortgage business "could have adverse consequences that could affect our business."

Yes, because you've been doing so well as of late.  But wait, it gets better:

The business of appraising loans has come under a microscope this year as artificially inflated home values became a major part of the mortgage crisis. Lenders realized they'd loaned more than a house was worth and borrowers found they did not have as much equity in their homes as they had thought.

Critics of inflated appraisal values had charged that mortgage companies were more likely to put pressure on in-house appraisers to put higher values on properties.

So in other words, Fidelity is trying to weasel out of new rules that would prevent them from squeezing more money out of people.  If someone's home is worth $200k and it "appraises" for $250k, people will take a loan for the $250k.  Then, when they go to sell it, they will find out that they don't have the extra $50k that they thought they once had.

With the new rules, Fidelity will have to deal with a home's true value and that's something they don't want, because they won't be able to loan and earn back interest on that extra $50k.

And this is why they need that particular new rule.  If they don't like it, they can adapt or go out of business.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

42 Democrats Vow a Drawdown in Iraq If They Win Seats

More than three dozen Democratic congressional candidates banded together yesterday to promise that, if elected, they will push for legislation calling for an immediate drawdown of troops in Iraq that would leave only a security force in place to guard the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Hmm...Why does this sound so familiar?

Oh that's right!  This is the exact same line of bullshit that Democrats pushed during the 2006 election!  "Elect me and I'll end the war in Iraq!".

And we all saw how far they got with that.  When push came to shove, they caved in.  They didn't stand for their morals, they didn't band together and stay that way.  They instead voted for more funding and called President Bush names.

And they wonder why they get creamed in elections and are laughed at when they make campaign promises.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Dutch critic of Islam launches anti-Koran film

God, how I love the Dutch.

They see fundamental Islamic terrorists and basically tell them to go fuck themselves.

In my country, I have appeasers like CAIR and most of the Democratic party.

Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders launched a film on Thursday

that accuses the Koran of inciting violence and warns that Muslim immigrants
threaten the West, prompting the government to appeal for calm.

The film "Fitna" was posted on his Freedom Party's Web site (www.pvv.nl), which crashed soon afterwards. But it could still be viewed on a file-sharing Web site in English and Dutch.

Dutch broadcasters had refused to show the film and a U.S.-based web service which Wilders had planned to use deactivated the site at the weekend after receiving complaints.

The Dutch government is anxious to avert the kind of Muslim backlash Denmark suffered in 2006 over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said on Thursday he rejected the film's attempt to link Islam with violence.

Their servers are getting hammered, but I found a copy, in English, on Live Leak and it is now here for your enjoyment.  I haven't watched it yet, but I will do so shortly.

 

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Court: Mumia Deserves New Hearing

A federal appeals court on Thursday said former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal cannot be executed for murdering a Philadelphia police officer without a new penalty hearing.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Abu-Jamal's conviction, but said he should get a new sentencing hearing because of flawed jury instructions. If prosecutors don't want to give him a new death penalty hearing, Abu-Jamal would be sentenced automatically to life in prison.

So when are we going to get some justice for Officer Daniel Faulker?

There's no doubt that Mumia killed Officer Faulkner.  The only thing that Mumia has bothered to do is brainwash a bunch of idiots that he's some how the victim of racism.  Let's not forget that it was Mumia who, according to witnesses, said "I shot the mother fucker, and I hope the mother fucker dies."

A .38 caliber revolver, belonging to Abu-Jamal, with five spent cartridges was retrieved at the scene. The shell casings and rifling characteristics of the weapon were consistent with bullet fragments taken from Faulkner's body.

So, despite 4 witnesses saying he did it, a weapon belonging to him has it's bullets in Officer Faulkner and two separate witnesses saying he confessed, he is somehow a victim here?

So when is Mrs. Faulkner going to see her husbands murderer get his sentence carried out?  It's been almost 30 years, that is WAY too long for someone to spend on death row.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Michelle Obama Bashes America at USC

"It's easier to hold on to your own stereotypes and misconceptions, it makes you feel justified in your own ignorance...That's AMERICA"

Maybe that's your view Michelle, but it isn't how it is.  Remember, you tried to play up the "Barack could be shot just getting gas as a black man" bullshit line.

Stop with the rhetoric, only idiots and the lazy are buying into it.

Let's not forget this is the kind of woman that buys into the Reverend Wright's line of hate speech.

Including "garlic noses"

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Russia to US: Scrap Missile Defense

Russia's foreign minister laid out a tough negotiating position on America's missile defense plans Thursday ahead of a visit by President Bush, saying the best solution would be for the U.S. to scrap the idea altogether.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russian experts were studying the latest U.S. plans—intended to ease Russian concerns about the proposed missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic—but he reaffirmed Moscow's call for Washington to drop them.

"We are convinced that the best way to assuage Russia's concerns ... will be to abandon such plans and turn to a truly collective project," Lavrov told reporters.

Bush, Putin to discuss Cold War treaties next month: report

And what are you giving us in return?  You're already building a nuclear plant in Iran.  How about this?  We abandon the missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, and you drop all present and future plans for nuclear reactors in Iran.

It's win-win really.  If Iran can't build nuclear facilities, then that takes away our need to put these missile defense shields up in place now doesn't it?

Perhaps Russia would best be served if they managed to offer something in return for their demands.  Until then, I find it difficult to want to get rid of our current plans.

Perhaps if they offered to sell us oil at $25 a barrel would change our minds?  It's only fair, other countries rattle around and they have their hand out when we ask them to stop, so why not us doing the same to Russia?

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Obama: I Would Not Go Over Cap-Gains Rate of 28 Percent Under Bill Clinton

 

Oh well good!  Just because he got permission from Warren Buffett, that means that it's ok to almost double the amount of taxes paid by investors!

Because as we all know, Warren speaks for all investors.

 

Ok genius, what happens if people stop investing as much money because the IRS is going to take away more money?  What do you do then?

 

Hey!  I got an idea, how about you work on NOT SPENDING AS MUCH FUCKING TAXPAYER MONEY!

 

I know it will be difficult, given your Democratic leanings, but how about, just to shake things up a bit, you tone down the spending.  You know, like the $30 billion dollars you just asked for to help bail out people who made bad financial decisions.

 

I don't mind taxes going up IF that money is going to be used properly, such as paying down the national debt.  I am perfectly ok with that.  However, when I keep reading article after FUCKING article of government waste, why should I pay another dime in taxes when I know damned good and well you'll simply waste it.

 

Here's a thought:  How about you put forth a balanced budget FIRST, which includes massive debt pay down, then we'll talk about higher taxes.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

 

Now Taliban regrets cellphone disruptions

Taliban attacks on telecom towers have prompted cellphone companies to shut down service across southern Afghanistan, angering a quarter million customers who have no other telephones.

Even some Taliban fighters now regret the disruptions and are demanding that service be restored by the companies.

The communication blackout follows a campaign by the Taliban, which said the United States and NATO were using the fighters' cellphone signals to track them at night and launch pinpoint attacks.

About 10 towers have been attacked since the warning late last month – seven of them seriously – causing almost $2 million in damage, the telecom ministry said. Afghanistan's four major mobile phone companies began cutting service across the south soon after.

The speed with which the companies acted shows how little influence the government has in remote areas and how just a few attacks can cripple a basic service and a booming, profitable industry.

The shutdown could also stifle international investment in the country during a time of rising violence.

But the cutoff is proving extremely unpopular among Afghan citizens. Even some Taliban fighters are asking that the towers be switched back on, said Afghanistan's telecommunications minister, A. Sangin.

You know what?  You guys threatened these phone companies with death just a few short months ago because your cell phones could be tracked by US intelligence.  Well now you got what you wanted and now you have a revolt on your hands.

So kindly go fuck yourselves.  Now you can deal with not being able to communicate with one another.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

From $70K to food bank, one family's struggle

I swear to God CNN and all of these other news organizations keep coming up with bad example after bad example of people hit by the "fiscal crisis" going on right now.

Take Patricia Guerrero.

When she was laid off in February, Patricia Guerrero was making $70,000 a year. Weeks later, with bills piling up and in need of food for her family, this middle-class mother did something she never thought she would do: She went to a food bank.

It was Good Friday, and a woman helping her offered to pay her utility bill.

"It brought tears to my eyes, and I sat there and I cried. I was like, 'This is really where I'm at?' " she told CNN. "I go 'no way;' [but] this is true. This is reality. This is the stuff you see on TV. It was hard. It was very hard."

Brings tears to your eyes doesn't it?  A woman who's struggling to make ends meet has hit bottom and has to ask for help from a local food bank. I know I'd be moved if that was the only facts of this case.

First off, let me explain something.  There is nothing wrong with getting food from a food bank.  You have to eat and so do your kids.  Sure, it hurts the pride a bit, but if your kids eat, then who really cares?

However, Mrs. Guerrero has a few facts about her that CNN and the "30 second generation" have downplayed or overlooked.

Guerrero is estranged from her husband and raising her two young children. She's already burned through her savings to help make ends meet, and is drawing unemployment checks. She has had to take extreme measures to pay for her interest-only mortgage of $2,500 a month. In fact, her mother moved in with her to help pay the bills.

Guerrero even applied for food stamps, but was denied.

Ok, so where's Mr. Guerrero at?  Why is he not paying child support?  But more importantly, why does she have an interest only mortgage of $2,500 a month??

This is EXACTLY what I'm talking about here people.  Some of my fellow countrymen and women have over extended themselves when it came to buying a home.

To give you an idea, her interest only loan of $2,500 a month is roughly a $500,000 home, more than twice the price of my home.  That's assuming a 30 year loan at 6% interest.

Why was this woman paying interest only on her home?  Because her and her husband over extended themselves when they bought this home.

A former loan processor, Guerrero knows all about that, although so far she has been able keep her house.

WHAT??  She should have known better then to do an interest only loan!  She's gone from 70k a year to nothing inside of two months??  Something is very wrong here and it's not the "credit crisis"'s fault.

She should have sold her home immediately if she lost her job and knew she'd be without money inside of 2 months.

I'm getting a lot of hate mail from people lately calling me a heartless monster and worse, but take a look at your own financial situation.  Would you be destitute in 2 months if you lost your job?  If so, you're living above your means.

You can send me all the hate mail you'd like, but deep down, you know I'm right.

Remember when we were kids and we had an allowance and we saw something in the store we wanted, but we didn't have enough money?  What did our parents say?  "Then you can't get it".  The same rules apply.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Jim McDermott: "We Don't Mind Being Used" by Saddam Hussein

Looks like one of the Representatives from my home state is a fucking idiot:

Thompson and McDermott would have us believe that they visited a sworn enemy of the United States -- one who had tried to assassinate a former president and declared that the "Mother of all Battles" had never ended -- without doing even the most basic research about who was funding their trip? That's hard to believe. And Bonior, who was from Michigan and had taken money from al Khafaji before, had no idea that he was backed by Saddam Hussein? When I spent a week reporting in Michigan for a story on Iraqi exiles, virtually every Iraqi I spoke to told me about al Khafaji and his dirty money. Is is possible that nobody ever mentioned this to Bonior, who recently chaired John Edwards' presidential campaign, before he traveled to Iraq with al Khafaji? Again, hard to believe.

In any case, they knew well that they would be used as propaganda tools before they left. This is how we put it in a piece on the trip back in October 2002:

EVEN BEFORE the Baghdad boys left Iraq, media outlets throughout the Middle East gleefully highlighted divisions in the U.S. government and the travels by the "antiwar" congressmen. The Iraq Daily, for example, published by Saddam's Ministry of Information, printed daily updates of the trip and posted them in English on their website.

For example, a September 30 report says, "the members of the U.S. Congress delegation has underlined that this visit aims to get acquainted with the truth of Iraq's people sufferings due to ongoing embargo which caused shortage in food and medicine for all Iraqi people." (That article appeared next to a report on Saddam's continuing financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers or, to use the paper's formulation, "intrepid Palestinian uprising martyrs." Also in that issue is an article by American white supremacist Matthew Hale, "Truth About 9-11: How Jewish Manipulation Killed Thousands.")...

So how does it feel to be used as a propaganda tool against your own country? McDermott, who was asked that question by CNN's Jane Arraf when he was still in Baghdad, said it feels fine. "If being used means that we're highlighting the suffering of Iraqi children, or any children, then, yes, we don't mind being used."

Words escape me.  Next up, I imagine he'll be traveling to Iran or perhaps a nice dinner with North Korea's Kim Jong II

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Obama: Beware 'you're on your own' society

Presidential candidate Barack Obama, largely ignoring his Democratic rival for now, ridiculed likely Republican nominee John McCain on Wednesday for offering "not one single idea" to help hard-pressed homeowners facing foreclosure.

"George Bush called this the ownership society, but what he really meant was 'you're-on-your-own' society," Obama told a town hall meeting here, tying McCain to a president whose popularity is low. "John McCain apparently wants to continue this."

The Illinois senator touched on some themes he's likely to strike today at 9:15 a.m. ET in what his campaign bills as a major economic address, at New York's Cooper Union.

Tuesday, McCain warned that some proposals for government intervention in the housing crisis would rescue banks and borrowers who acted irresponsibly.

Campaigning in California on Wednesday, McCain told reporters "we may have to do more" to help homeowners. "But raise taxes as Sen. Obama wants to do, or some kind of massive bailout that is a needless expenditure of taxpayer dollars, is obviously something that I don't support," he said.

Ok Senator Obama, I'm listening.  Tell me, why do I have to foot the bill for people who overextended themselves, didn't plan on losing their jobs when they bought their homes, or just simply are living above their means? 

Why should I have to foot the bill on a "bailout" for companies that lent money to people who couldn't pay it back?

Why should I have to foot the bill for people to continue to live above their means?

Why are you continually talking about our debt, yet want to use tax payer money that could be used to pay down that debt to bail people out from bad financial decisions?

If you are going to bail people out of these bad financial situations, are you going to make my mortgage payment for me?

Are you going to bail me out if the stocks I've invested in lose money?

It's the same thing, the only difference is that people live in their financial mess they created.

Apartments were created for a reason.  They are inexpensive places to live for people starting out in life, people who need to get back on their feet, crowded cities, or just simply the lazy.

If someone is living above their means, they need to sell their home and move into an apartment.  It's as simple as that.

And what's worse is that this isn't even a Democrat/Republican argument.  This is a "Why should I pay for you to live in a nicer home" issue.

Obama called for immediate relief for those affected by the housing crisis, revamping the regulatory framework and boosting the economy with an additional $30 billion stimulus package.

$30 billion dollars.  That's $30 billion EXTRA dollars out of yours and my pocket.  No where did Obama say "I'm going to cut $30 billion from the budget to help you", I could actually get behind a plan like that.

Obama said the U.S. economy was a success because it balanced free markets and regulation.

"Our free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it. That is why we have put in place rules of the road to make competition fair and open and honest," he said.

Precisely Mr. Obama!   Everyone involved in the "mortgage crisis" broke these rules and now they are paying a price.  Rules are in place for a reason and if you bail people out, then why bother to have the rules in the first place?  You teach your children that, I assume, so the same thing should apply to adults.

Sorry guys, but I don't feel sorry for you because you bought a nicer home, in a nicer neighborhood, and drive a nicer car.  I've lived in neighborhoods that had drug dealers and SWAT team raids because that was all I could afford at the time.  So sell your place and stop whining.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

US: Saddam Paid for Lawmakers' Iraq Trip

Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

An indictment unsealed in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a member of a Michigan nonprofit group, of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam's regime. Prosecutors say Iraqi intelligence officials paid for the trip through an intermediary.

At the time, the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq.

The lawmakers are not named in the indictment but the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California. None was charged and Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said investigators "have no information whatsoever" any of them knew the trip was underwritten by Saddam.

Pretty damning things.  However, who is this "Muthanna"?   Why he's none other than a former director of CAIR!  The Council For American/Islamic Relations!

But according to the AP, it's a "nonprofit group".  While technically true, I think they owe it to their readers that the CAIR group has been so under scrutiny lately, that they've been called a "turnstile for terrorists".

CAIR itself recently was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an alleged scheme to funnel $12 million to the terrorist group Hamas. In the Holy Land Foundation case, federal prosecutors also listed CAIR as a member of the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement that gave rise to Hamas, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. The government will retry the Holy Land case, which ended in a hung jury.

"There was a lot of evidence presented at the recent Holy Land Foundation trial which exposed CAIR and others as front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States," Myrick said.

Still, CAIR is lobbying House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and other sympathetic members of Congress to pressure the Justice Department to expunge its name from the case, arguing the negative publicity has hurt membership and fundraising.

Al-Hanooti, who emigrated to the U.S. from Iraq, formerly helped run a suspected Hamas terror front called LIFE for Relief and Development. Its Michigan offices also were raided last September. In 2004, LIFE's Baghdad office was raided by U.S. troops, who seized files and computers.

Al-Hanooti is related to Shiek Mohammed al-Hanooti, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He currently leads prayers at a Washington-area mosque that aided some of the 9/11 hijackers.

The FBI alleges al-Hanooti, an ethnic-Palestinian who also emigrated from Iraq, raised money for Hamas. In fact, "Al-Hanooti collected over $6 million for support of Hamas," according to a 2001 FBI report, and was present with CAIR and Holy Land officials at a secret Hamas fundraising summit held last decade at a Philadelphia hotel.

Prosecutors recently added his name to the list of unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land case.

Al-Hanooti denies supporting Hamas, although he's praised Palestinian suicide bombers as "martyrs" who are "alive in the eyes of Allah."

Is that the kind of guy you want hanging around your members of Congress?  They should have known better and they should have investigated this guy more thoroughly.  It's irresponsible at best and criminal at worst.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Outsourced passports netting govt. profits, risking national security

The United States has outsourced the manufacturing of its electronic passports to overseas companies — including one in Thailand that was victimized by Chinese espionage — raising concerns that cost savings are being put ahead of national security, an investigation by The Washington Times has found.

The Government Printing Office's decision to export the work has proved lucrative, allowing the agency to book more than $100 million in recent profits by charging the State Department more money for blank passports than it actually costs to make them, according to interviews with federal officials and documents obtained by The Times.

The profits have raised questions both inside the agency and in Congress because the law that created GPO as the federal government's official printer explicitly requires the agency to break even by charging only enough to recover its costs.

Re-read that again.  It's ok, I'll wait.  Someone in the government thought it was a GREAT FUCKING IDEA to have our passports be manufacturer outside of this country?  This isn't one of those stupid "oops" mistakes, this is one of those "someone should be fired and sent to jail" types of things. 

It's that fucking important.  What the hell are these idiots thinking?

Plus, the GPO is charging more money then they are legally allowed to charge?

Officials at GPO, the Homeland Security Department and the State Department played down such concerns, saying they are confident that regular audits and other protections already in place will keep terrorists and foreign spies from stealing or copying the sensitive components to make fake passports.

"Aside from the fact that we have fully vetted and qualified vendors, we also note that the materials are moved via a secure transportation means, including armored vehicles," GPO spokesman Gary Somerset said.

Yes, Gary, NOW they are sent via armored vehicles, but before:

A 2005 document obtained by The Times states that GPO was using unsecure FedEx courier services to send blank passports to State Department offices until security concerns were raised and forced GPO to use an armored car company. Even then, the agency proposed using a foreign armored car vendor before State Department diplomatic security officials objected.

Gary should be the first to go to jail.  The $100 million dollar profit should be used to get the passport manufacturing plants back to the US.  How do you think that the fucking Chinese got their hands on these?  They walked right in.

This should be grounds for termination:  gross incompetence.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

D.C. Gun Crackdown Meets Community Resistance

A crackdown on guns is meeting some resistance in the District.

Police are asking residents to submit to voluntary searches in exchange for amnesty under the District's gun ban. They passed out fliers requesting cooperation on Monday.

The program will begin in a couple of weeks in the Washington Highlands neighborhood of southeast Washington and will later expand to other neighborhoods. Officers will go door to door asking residents for permission to search their homes.

Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the "safe homes initiative" is aimed at residents who want to cooperate with police. She gave the example of parents or grandparents who know or suspect their children have guns in the home.

What?  You mean that US citizens don't like to be searched by the police?  Said it aint' so!  I am a perfectly law abiding citizen, but you can bet your ass that if the police show up at my door, they'd better have a warrant to search my place.  Otherwise, they can take a hike.

Police officers need to follow the rules like everyone else, and I don't want a rogue cop coming into my home and trying to make things up to arrest me for.

Besides, won't someone PLEASE think of the children!

If weapons are recovered, they will be tested and destroyed if they are not found to be linked to any other crimes.

A police spokeswoman said that if evidence of other crimes is found during voluntary searches, amnesty will be granted for that crime as well.

"Chief Lanier has been clear," Traci Hughes said. "Amnesty means amnesty."

Wow, that's an incredibly dumb idea.  So, what happens if someone is found to have committed a major crime, like rape, robbery, or murder?  Does "amnesty mean amnesty" then?  If that's the case, what's to prevent someone from killing someone else, putting a gun in their home, and inviting the cops in?  Do they get to stay out of jail?  Certainly that's what's implied here.  Otherwise it's just the DC cops lying to people.

Sure, it sounds far fetched, but it is entirely within the realm of possibility.

Asking people to submit to a volunteer search is a dangerous, slippery slope and the DC cops who suggested this should be ashamed of themselves.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

U.N. food program seeks $500M

A United Nations food program has issued an emergency appeal for donations as the amount of food aid sent abroad from the United States is plunging.

The World Food Program, which feeds about 73 million people worldwide, is seeking funding to close a $500 million gap caused by global spikes in food and fuel prices, the United Nations said in a release issued in New York.

"We urge your government to act quickly on this request so that we may avoid cutting the rations for those who rely on the world to stand by them during times of abject need," Josette Sheeran, WFP executive director, wrote in letters to donors.

Hey, I got an idea, how about you ask China or Russia for those extra donations?  We're constantly the ones who are asked for extra money and supplies, and it's insinuated here in this article as well.  Well guess what?  China and Russia need to step more up to the plate and be benefactors.

I have no problem with helping out the world's poor, but if China and Russia aren't going to step up to the plate, then perhaps they should have less of a say in world affairs.  They are riding on the coat tails of hard working Americans tax dollars and getting all the benefits of UN membership.

What about the EU?  They are enjoying a high Dollar to Euro exchange rate, perhaps they could be persuaded to foot the bill?

Sorry guys, but I'm sick and tired of everyone with their hands out while countries with deep pockets stand by looking the other way.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Former Democratic presidential hopeful bolts for Libertarian Party

One-time Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Gravel announced Wednesday he is abandoning his political party and will run for the White House as a Libertarian.

Gravel, a former senator whose presidential campaign was never taken seriously by most political observers, made the proclamation in a message posted on his Web site.

“The fact is, the Democratic Party today is no longer the party of FDR,” Gravel said. “It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism — all of which I find anathema to my views.”

Well he's from the Democratic party, so he should be used to surrendering by now. :)

But is he really "Libertarian" material?  Here's a list of his accomplishments from ontheissues.org and frankly, I don't see it.

But it's a very damning thing to see one of your own defect to another party.  Especially to go from left wing Democrats to right of center Libertarians.

But what kind of guy runs for President in one party, then turns around and defects to another party when it's clear he won't get the nomination?  Makes him look like a "I'll take my ball and go home" kind of guy.

 

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Obama pastor cancels scheduled appearances

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, has canceled his plans to speak at church services in Houston, Texas, this weekend in the wake of the recent uproar over portions of his past sermons.

Video clips of those sermons caused a public stir this month after being widely circulated on the Internet.

The clips in question include several racially charged statements and accusations the U.S. government has adopted policies to systematically oppress African-Americans.

Wright was scheduled to speak at three services Sunday at Houston's Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. But the Rev. Marcus Cosby, the church's pastor, said Wright decided to cancel the appearances amid safety concerns.

"He canceled for largely personal reasons," Cosby said, adding that recent uproar has led to threats against Wright, his family and his church -- the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

The church, Cosby said, had planned to take extra security precautions for Wright's services this weekend, but said the decision to cancel the appearances was Wright's entirely.

How about you stand by your words Reverend and not act like a coward?  You said these things, you had no problem saying them when everyone in your audience was agreeing with you.  Now that you're experiencing some blowback, you want to back down like a coward.

You want to say something controversial?  Go for it, but act like a man and deal with the consequences of those words.

Sounds like your "chickens are coming home to roost" Reverend.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Are you ready?

Gas prices drive up sales tax revenue in state

Think people are angry about gas prices?  Take a look at California:

While motorists fume over the skyrocketing cost of gasoline, state officials say the extra sales tax revenue from high prices at the pump is proving to be a boon as California faces an $8 billion budget deficit.

And lawmakers are likely to tussle in coming weeks over how to spend the unexpected revenue.

Sales tax receipts from gasoline have been rising sharply over the past five years - from $2.1 billion in 2003, when a gallon of regular unleaded cost an average of $1.88, to $3.8 billion in 2007, when the same gallon cost $3.12, according to the state Board of Equalization.

If gas hits an average of $4 a gallon this year - not an unrealistic possibility considering that fuel prices rose to an average of $3.63 on Monday - state and local governments could collect nearly $5 billion in sales tax on gasoline.

Now, that normally wouldn't be a problem.  However, check out this little problem issue:

How the state will close the rest of the gap has been hotly debated in Sacramento, Republicans demanding cuts in spending and Democrats arguing for increased taxes.

Yes with people having budget problems because of the high costs of gas, including one area that has $5.40 a gallon gas, California Democrats are actually asking for MORE taxes.  Yet, Republicans are asking to cut government spending.

So, let me ask you this Californians, would you rather shell out more and more money towards a government that's wasting money by the truckful, or would you rather your taxes stay the same and idiotic spending is reigned in?

The choice is yours, either reign in spending, or face less money in your paycheck.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Sources: Air marshals missing from almost all flights

Of the 28,000 commercial airline flights that take to the skies on an average day in the United States, fewer than 1 percent are protected by on-board, armed federal air marshals, a nationwide CNN investigation has found.

That means that a terrorist or other criminal bent on taking over an aircraft would be confronted by a trained air marshal on as few as 280 daily flights, according to more than a dozen federal air marshals and pilots interviewed by CNN.

The investigation found those low numbers even as the Transportation Security Administration in recent months has conducted tests in which it has been able to smuggle guns and bomb-making materials past airport security screeners.

The air marshal program began in 1970, after a rash of airline hijackings, and it was expanded significantly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Specially trained to safeguard passengers and crew aboard crowded aircraft, air marshals were seen as a critical component in the overall effort to secure America's commercial aviation system.

One pilot who crisscrosses the country and flies internationally told CNN he hasn't seen an air marshal on board one of his flights in six months. A federal law enforcement officer, who is not affiliated with the air marshal service and who travels in and out of Washington every week, said he has gone for months without seeing a marshal on board.

Neither individual wanted to be identified because neither is authorized by his employer to speak out.

Yet, another pilot, who wanted to protect his identity because he carries a weapon in the cockpit, said he regularly flies in and out of New York's airports and almost never encounters an air marshal.

"I would have to guess it's fewer than 1 percent of all my flights," the pilot said. "I'm guessing by the coverage of when I go to those cities, fewer than 1 percent."

Am I the only one pissed by this?  What the FUCK are we paying for here people?  Sure, when/if another Al-Qaeda guy stands up to take over a plane, he's most likely going to be beaten to death by the passengers or shot by the pilot.  However, what about flights where there aren't many passengers?  I've been on flights where there was fewer then 10 people on board and this was a larger aircraft.

Now, my personal feeling is:  "If I'm going down, you're coming with me at the very least, or you'll be dead by the time we slam into the ground at most".  However, I can't be on all the flights at once folks.  Here's what would have happened on 9/11 if things were slightly different:

Believe me, if passengers were armed, you can bet your ass that 9/11 would have never happened.  But of course, you'll have fucking Gun Control pussies out there who'll try to argue the contrary.

Let me ask you this:  When was the last time you heard about a mass shooting at a gun show, police station, gun shop, or any other place that's typically full of law abiding, armed to the teeth citizens?  Exactly, you haven't.  There's a reason for that.

We all get this idea in our heads that the government will take care of things like this, but if they aren't going to put US Marshall's on those flights, then the only solution is to allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry their weapons onto the aircraft. 

You could even make a rule that says if you bring your weapon on board, you can't be served alcohol.

Why is this such a hard thing to think through people?  There's a reason why Flight 93 didn't slam into a government building:  The passengers took matters into their own hands and prevented further deaths that day.

Many people will point to explosive decompression as a counter argument to my ideas, but obviously these people haven't seen Mythbusters.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

My New CD Is Here!

It's extremely rare when I buy a new cd, so when I heard these guys on the radio, I became interested and bought their debut album.

Their name is Airbourne, and they're an Australian band.  If you dig AC/DC, you'll dig these guys.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Hillary Responds To Her Lies

Sen. Hillary Clinton said she "misspoke" last week when she gave a dramatic description of her arrival in Bosnia 12 years ago, recounting a landing under sniper fire.

Clinton was responding to a question Monday from the Philadelphia Daily News' editorial board about video footage of the event that contradicted her assertion that her group "ran with our heads down" from the plane to avoid sniper fire at the Tuzla Air Base.

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for rival Sen. Barack Obama's campaign, said the Bosnia claim was part of "a growing list of instances in which Sen. Clinton has exaggerated her role in foreign and domestic policymaking."

Clinton told the paper's editorial board it was a "minor blip." Watch how Clinton described her trip »

"I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement," she said.

In a radio interview that aired Tuesday, Clinton said she wasn't worried about the incident hurting her credibility.

Oh I don't think you have to worry about hurting something you don't have.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

McCain to blame 'complacent' lenders for mortgage crisis

Looks like John McCain agrees with me:

"Lenders ended up violating the basic rule of banking: Don't lend people money who can't pay it back," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is expected to say in a speech in Santa Ana, California, according to his prepared text.

While the Democratic presidential candidates have both proposed specific plans to address the mortgage crisis, Tuesday's speech will be McCain's most extensive comments on the subject to date.

The economic slowdown caused by the credit crunch has become a top concern for voters. Consumer confidence in March dropped to its lowest level in five years, according to The Conference Board.

Vowing not to "play election year politics," McCain will call for more transparency in lending and higher capital reserves for lenders.

McCain also will call for homeowners to provide "responsible" down payments for homes, saying government-backed companies, like Fannie Mae, should never back loans when the borrower "clearly does not have skin in the game."

The Arizona Republican will also say he will oppose any government bailout of "those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers."

"Any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were
irresponsible at the expense of those who weren't," McCain is expected to say.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

How The Subprime Works

A funny little stick figure cartoon showing how the subprime lending got everyone into trouble.  There's some language in it.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Clinton Unveils Plan to Ease Housing Crisis

Well this ought to be entertaining:

The Democratic contenders have flayed President Bush for embracing policies they say have fueled the economic slide. They have criticized the stimulus package he hammered out with Democrats in Congress as insufficient and have pressed for more relief for low- and middle-income Americans.

On Monday, Clinton laid out a plan in Philadelphia aimed at slowing mounting foreclosures, renewing her call for greater lender transparency and for $30 billion in assistance for individual homeowners and communities to help most Americans through the credit crunch.

Great, another $30 billion dollars.  Tell me Hillary, where are you going to get this money from?  Are you going to take it out of the $300 million that you've gotten earmarks for?  You complain about spending, yet you're willing to blow another $30 billion, which is $100 for every man, woman, and child in America, to bail out people who don't deserve it.

Clinton used a speech at the Un iversity of Pennsylvania to argue that the federal government should apply the same kind of resources to assist individuals as it did in bailing out investment giant Bear Stearns.

"Let's be clear: When families are losing their homes, that's also a financial crisis," Clinton said. She spoke not far from the site where Obama last week delivered a rousing address on race -- and her campaign was pleased with the juxtaposition in the hope that blue-collar voters will be swayed more by pocketbook matters than the loftier subject of social harmony.

No, let ME be clear.  The people and companies who are involved in this "mortgage crisis" are there because of their own doing.  If you bought a house that you couldn't afford, tough shit.  Sell it and move into an apartment.  You should have read the conditions of the loan or prepared for the possibility of you losing your job or interest rates going up.

If you loaned people hundreds of thousands of dollars who normally wouldn't qualify for it because you wanted to squeeze out a few extra bucks from people, tough shit.  Take your loses and move on.

It's called tough love people.  Everyone involved needs to hear the truth:  You're in this mess because of your own doing.  It is YOUR fault.  Chalk it up to a life lesson learned and rebuild.  That's what Americans do.  We get kicked in the teeth by life, but we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off.  You should be ashamed of yourselves for giving into such self pity.

Hillary Clinton:  You should be ashamed of yourself for being such a conniving bitch, willing to sell out future generations to bail out people who can't plan ahead.  The market is correcting itself, nothing more.  If that means that businesses and homeowners need to file bankruptcy, then that's what that means.  If companies go out of business because of it, then that's what that means.  If people need to take an extra few years to get back on their feet, then that's what that means.  It pisses me off that someone lives in a bigger house, has a larger car, and lives high on the hog, then has the fucking nerve to ask for a bailout when it all comes crashing down.  And it's idiots like Hillary Clinton who will in essence, try to buy votes with taxpayer money.

My wife and I pulled in more than $100k last year and I drive a 3 year old Honda Civic.  I don't have kids in private schools or have no plan if I lose my job.  That's how it's supposed to work.  If you didn't plan ahead and you've been caught with your pants down, you have only yourself to blame.  Sorry kids, but that's the difference between Republicans and Democrats.  Republicans will allow you to fall and pick yourself up.  It's the greater freedom you have.  It makes you a stronger person who can deal with the problems that life gives you.  Democrats will give you the kid glove treatment and give out handouts while hard working Americans pay for that.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

US court jails 'agent of China'

The court in California had also convicted Chi Mak, 67, of acting as a foreign agent and of making false statements to federal agents.

Mak had worked on submarine propulsion systems for defense contractor Power Paragon in Anaheim.

The FBI found defense CDs in luggage of Mak's relatives at Los Angeles airport.

Prosecutors had alleged that Mak gave thousands of documents to his brother, who handed them to Chinese authorities.

Hong Kong flight

Mak said during last year's six-week trial that he copied sensitive documents from Power Paragon and kept copies in his office.

Mak, a naturalized US citizen, said he had not realized at the time that making copies was illegal.

Mak was arrested in October 2005 in Los Angeles after FBI agents stopped his brother and sister-in-law as they boarded a flight to Hong Kong.

Investigators said they found three encrypted CDs in their luggage that contained documents including one on a propulsion system that could make submarines virtually undetectable.

Three ENCRYPTED CD's and he didn't think that copying them was wrong?  He encrypted them and gave them to his brother, who gave them to the Chinese.  How much more evidence do you need?

Personally, if we find a spy, he should get life or death.

Of course, I'm a hard ass, so I would recommend death.

But there will be my detractors who say "well what about our spies in other countries".  Our guys get executed when they are found out in Russia or China, so I fail to see why I should have to pay for this cocksucker to be housed in one of my tax payer paid for prisons for the rest of his life.

His actions endangered the lives of American men and women on these subs and their lives are more valuable to me then his.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com