Friday, September 30, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party


Bank of America to Charge $5 Debit Card Fee

Posted: 30 Sep 2011 07:55 AM PDT

By Reuters, FOXBusiness

Bank of America Corp plans to charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases a $5 monthly fee beginning early next year, joining other banks scrambling for new sources of revenue.

U.S. banks have been looking for ways to increase revenue as regulations introduced since the financial crisis limited the use of overdraft and other fees.

The Dodd-Frank Act’s Durbin amendment, due to go into effect on Oct. 1, caps fees banks can charge merchants for processing debit card transactions at 21 cents per transaction from an average of 44 cents, potentially costing banks billions of dollars.

Banks also face broader operational challenges as low interest rates and higher capital requirements hit profitability, and the sluggish economy depresses loan demand.

To read more, visit:  http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/09/29/bank-america-to-charge-debit-card-use-fee/

Al-Awlaki, U.S.-Born Cleric Linked To Al-Qaida, Is Dead, U.S. And Yemen Say

Posted: 30 Sep 2011 07:51 AM PDT


By MARK MEMMOTT, NPR

Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born Muslim cleric who in recent years became a spokesman known worldwide for his championing of al-Qaida’s arm in Yemen and who was on a list of suspected terrorists U.S. forces had been authorized to kill, is dead, authorities in the U.S. and Yemen say.

Word of his death came early this morning when, as The Associated Press reported, Yemen’s Defense Ministry announced the news.

In the hours since, officials have told news outlets that it was a U.S. operation — involving a drone and jets — that killed al-Awlaki.

“The 40-year-old al-Awlaki” the AP adds, “is believed to have inspired and even plotted or helped coordinate some of the recent attacks on the U.S., including the failed Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner heading for Detroit, Mich., and the also unsuccessful plot to send mail bombs on planes from Yemen to the United States in October.”

To read more, visit: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/30/140945123/yemen-says-al-awlaki-al-qaidas-english-speaking-voice-is-dead

Darpa Underwear Will ‘Harvest’ Soldiers’ Energy, Give Them Killer Abs

Posted: 30 Sep 2011 07:47 AM PDT

By Mark Riffee, Wired.com

Soldiers: Your underwear of the future will do more than prevent crotch rot. It'll protect you from injuries, monitor your vitals, and even "harvest" your energy. That is, if a new project from Darpa's Defense Sciences Office works out as planned. That's an illustration, to the right, of what Darpa thinks its "Warrior Web" onesie might look like.

So far, the project is still in the draw-a-cartoon-with-a-six-pack-in-tights stage — a long way off from the "adaptive, compliant, nearly transparent, quasi-active joint support suit," which can "mitigate musculoskeletal injury caused by discrete dynamic events while maintaining soldier performance," dreamed up by Darpa. An introductory meeting of potential researchers is set for mid-October.

Musculoskeletal injuries (a blanket term for anything from pain caused by overuse to stress fractures and joint derangements) are a real problem in the military. According to a 2010 study, there were 743,547 injury-related musculoskeletal conditions amongst military personnel in 2006. In 2004, 44 percent of military fatalities resulted from unintentional injuries. These Achilles tendon strains, torn meniscuses, and sore labrums slow our soldiers down, rendering them less effective and placing them in more danger.

To read more, visit:  http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/09/darpa-underwear/

Mail Worker Union Goes Postal on Tea Party

Posted: 30 Sep 2011 07:35 AM PDT

By Matthew Boyle – The Daily Caller

In what appears to be an attempt to overwhelm their critics, postal union members have sent more than 100 pounds of mail to a tea party group advocating for United States Postal Service reform.

Donna Wiesner Keene of TheTeaParty.net told The Daily Caller the group receives its mail weekly, and that the onslaught so far has spanned two weeks. The first week, she said the union workers sent approximately 700 letters and delivered them in a box weighing 57 pounds.

Then, this week, Keene said the workers doubled down on their efforts, bringing the total weight of the mail her group received to over 110 pounds.

"I find the idea of the unions attacking a tea party group for simply supporting a bill that would make our whole country more efficient and that would lower the cost of the taxpayers' yearly contributions to an inefficient agency, is just outrageous," Keene said in a phone interview. "These union people need to be doing their jobs in the most efficient manner, and the Post Office needs to be losing people by attrition but doing a really good job of delivering our mail."

"So, if they have time to write letters attacking a tea party group for supporting legislation, then they probably have time to have six-day delivery of the mail," Keene added.

To read more, visit: http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/30/going-postal-mail-worker-unions-overload-tea-party-group-with-more-than-100-pounds-of-mail/

Poll: Ron Paul v Obama a dead heat in Fla.

Posted: 30 Sep 2011 02:00 AM PDT

By Joel Gehrke, The Washington Examiner

Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm, shows Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., trailing President Obama by a mere one point in their latest poll of Florida voters. Obama has a 56 percent disapproval rating in the swing state.

PPP shows Paul trailing Obama 45-44 in a hypothetical general election match-up, while Romney lags Obama by the same margin, 46-45. Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, has a 7 point deficit on the president, 50-43 – likely because 63% of voters polled disagree with his characterization of Social Security as a Ponzi scheme.

That said, PPP made a point of noting that Perry’s deficit to Obama recalls Dewey’s loss to President Truman, which might say as much about how PPP wants Republican voters to see Perry as it does about Perry’s chances in this election.

To read more, visit:  http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/poll-ron-paul-v-obama-dead-heat-fla

‘New’ Virus Catches CDC’s Eye

Posted: 30 Sep 2011 02:00 AM PDT

By Maggie Fox, National Journal

It's not a new virus, but doctors need to keep an eye out for one that's not usually on the radar screen, federal health officials said on Thursday. It's called human enterovirus 68, or HEV68, and it can cause an unusually severe type of cold that can even kill in some cases.

The virus has been around for decades, but for some reason it's been causing clusters of serious illness over the past three years, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

Three people, two in the Philippines and one in Japan, died from an HEV68 outbreak during 2008-2010, CDC and other scientists report in this week's newsletter on illness and death. There were also several clusters of the virus outbreak in the United States that sent batches of patients to the hospital, including in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Arizona.

"HEV68 is not new, but clusters involving large numbers of people with this virus are a recent phenomenon. This may be due in part to improved respiratory diagnostics; however, long-term surveillance at some sites showed that HEV68 was an unusual cause of respiratory illness in other years," according to the CDC report.

To read more, visit:  http://www.nationaljournal.com/healthcare/-new-virus-catches-cdc-s-eye-20110929

Teacher penalizes students for saying “bless you”

Posted: 30 Sep 2011 02:00 AM PDT

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A Northern California teacher says he doesn’t want to hear a common courtesy in his classroom.

He’s even lowering students’ grades if they say “bless you” after someone sneezes.

Steve Cuckovich says the practice is disrespectful and disruptive. He’s banned saying “bless you” in his high school health class in Vacaville.

He even knocked 25 points from one student’s grade for saying the phrase in class.

Cuckovich says the policy has nothing to do with religion, but says the phrase is just a outdated practice and disrupts class time.

To read more, visit:  http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/state&id=8372183

Recent Gold Takedown A Form of Economic Warfare

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 07:38 AM PDT

By Bob Chapman, InfoWars.com

The takedown of gold and silver markets over the past two weeks signified a new milestone in corruption, brazenness, arrogance and it reveals the level of evil control behind our government. This past week, in just one week, saw gold fall almost $200 and silver about $10.00. We have been involved in gold and silver for 53 years and the only event that comes close to this was October 19, 1987, when we witnessed the Bank of England sell down gold $100.00 under the orders of the Fed and the US Treasury, which borrowed the gold from the IMF.

That was illegal, but that means little to the Illuminists who do as they please. Today thanks to Ronald Reagan we have the "President's Working Group on Financial Markets," which has legitimatized corruption to conform to the Keynesian model of corporatist fascism. After the close on Friday we were informed, that the CME, which controls the Comex, had raised margin requirements on gold by 21%, silver 16% and in copper by 18%. In retrospect it is obvious that many banking insiders and traders knew early in the week that this momentous psychological warfare was going to be unleashed on these markets. Your government definitely rigged these markets. Today in America and many other places as well, crime pays. What has been done to investors over this past week is not only a crime, but also a disgrace to all Americans.

Let us now look at the flipside. All is not lost, because there is a limit to the damage that can be done. The paper attack on gold was concentrated and accomplished by using futures, options and derivatives. Thus far there is no evidence of any major sales of gold or silver. This in the past has generated very short terms of suppression. The fundamentals have not changed one bit and if anything they are stronger than ever. The world is in the midst of financial collapse. It could take a few months to fall or several years. We do not have a presence behind the scenes, but we do know history and we know what these criminals are up too and what the end game is and that is world government. We have to back into time sequence. That has thus far been enough to help us to make excellent calls. The call this time is we are approaching another bottom. A bottom that probably won't be seen again. Major buyers of gold and silver have to be waiting with open arms for such a great opportunity to purchase both metals at bargain basement prices. There are sovereigns who are loaded with US dollars, who have been waiting for just such an opportunity to sell them into a strong dollar market to purchase inexpensive gold and silver. Today's market is totally different than the gold and silver markets of just two years ago. Big players are big buyers. Prior to that the opposite was true as sovereigns were sellers year after year, and both were transferred from weak to stronger hands. The monetary and fiscal situations in Europe, the UK and US are in a shambles. The privately owned Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European central bank have all lost credibility. Just look at the reception "Operation Twist" received – bonds rose and the stock market was hit by a typhoon. The Fed has lost its credibility in the investment arena worldwide, because of forced compromise to existing problems. The fed simply didn't have the guts to implement a QE 3. If the Fed is not quickly forthcoming with a new plan the Dow could fall thousands of points. The damage to gold and silver is already in the history books and the turn back up is already taking place. No matter what the powers that be do they cannot for any period of time control gold and silver prices. There are too many buyers who want to dump fiat currencies. Under the circumstances the Twist was the wrong choice at the wrong time. Financial professionals worldwide believe it is a joke. They see the lack of proper action, the activation for events for more damaging then those of 2008 and if something doesn't happen this week markets and economies are doomed. The elitists knew this and that is why they attacked gold, silver and commodities. This was so investors would think it was a general overall retreat not a reflection of Fed incompetence. Their fall had nothing to do with reality and everything to do with smoke and mirrors. This should not surprise anyone. It has been used over and over again by the gold and silver suppression cartel.

To read more, visit: http://www.infowars.com/recent-gold-takedown-a-form-of-economic-warfare/

Tea party groups share views but don’t work together

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 07:33 AM PDT


BY DAVID LIGHTMAN, The Miami Herald

WASHINGTON — Without question, the tea party movement has more passion and energy than any other force in American politics today. But it also has no coherent central organization or plan, raising questions about its potential impact on the 2012 elections.

“They are the most powerful emotional force in American politics,” said Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin, “but they’re disorganized and have no long-term strategy.”

Tea party loyalists proudly concede that they’re a diffuse, diverse bunch who are bound by a commitment to smaller, less intrusive government. They abhor government authority that’s too big and dictatorial. They even recoil at the notion of any hierarchical structure controlling their own effort.

“That’s part of the beauty of the movement,” said Vincent Harris, a Republican consultant who’s also based in Austin.

There are three prominent national organizations that pledge allegiance to the tea party _Tea Party Express, Tea Party Nation and Tea Party Patriots — as well as dozens of local groups that may or may not be affiliated with any of them.

There’s little evidence that these groups want to band together to elect like-minded candidates. They seem to include too many folks like Jeff Luecke, a co-organizer of the Dubuque (Iowa) Tea Party.

“We don’t follow any of those national groups,” he said. “We like the fact that we’re not taking orders.”
Who are these guys?

Tea Party Nation is headed by Judson Phillips, 52, a Nashville lawyer who grew increasingly unhappy with President George W. Bush. The 2003 Medicare prescription-drug benefit, Phillips said, was a budget-buster. When the GOP nominated John McCain, whom Phillips saw as too eager to work with Democrats, as its presidential candidate in 2008, Phillips was steamed.

To read more, visit:

Major tea party group backs Lugar challenger

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 07:26 AM PDT

By Paul Steinhauser, CNN

A leading national tea party group Thursday will endorse a conservative candidate who is primary challenging longtime Republican Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana.

CNN’s learned that the Tea Party Express will endorse state Treasurer Richard Mourdock at a news conference in Indiana.

“Over the years, Senator Lugar has repeatedly failed to address the fiscal crisis facing our country – voting for more wasteful spending and growth of government at every opportunity. At the same time, he has treated the Tea Party – one of the most impactful political movements in decades – with contempt and disdain,” says Tea Party Express chair Amy Kremer, in a statement obtained by CNN.

“Our decision to endorse Richard Mourdock for Senate was easy. Unlike Lugar, he believes in fiscal responsibility and accountability. He supports a government bound by the limits of the Constitution, and has an impressive record of fighting for conservative ideals.”

The endorsement from the Tea Party Express comes less than one week after Mourdock won the backing from 55 local tea party groups from across Indiana, at a convention held last weekend by an organization called Hoosiers for a Conservative Senate.

A spokesman for Lugar downplayed the influence the endorsement might have in the race.

“This is no news for the campaign that an outside-of-Indiana organization would like to come in and influence what the voters of Indiana think, and should think,” Lugar’s political director David Willkie said Wednesday.
“Dick Lugar is a Hoosier, he works hard, he shows up for work. He represents Indiana extremely well in the U.S. Senate and he has continued to do that throughout his career.”

To read more, visit: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/28/first-on-cnn-major-tea-party-group-backs-lugar-challenger/

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party


Mind-reading car could drive you round the bend

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:40 AM PDT


By Sam Jones, guardian.co.uk

One of the world’s largest motor manufacturers is working with scientists based in Switzerland to design a car that can read its driver’s mind and predict his or her next move.

The collaboration, between Nissan and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), is intended to balance the necessities of road safety with demands for personal transport.

Scientists at the EPFL have already developed brain-machine interface (BMI) systems that allow wheelchair users to manoeuvre their chairs by thought transference. Their next step will be finding a way to incorporate that technology into the way motorists interact with their cars.

If the endeavour proves successful, the vehicles of the future may be able to prepare themselves for a left or right turn – choosing the correct speed and positioning – by gauging that their drivers are thinking about making such a turn.

However, although BMI technology is well established, the levels of human concentration needed to make it work are extremely high, so the research team is working on systems that will use statistical analysis to predict a driver’s next move and to “evaluate a driver’s cognitive state relevant to the driving environment”.

To read more, visit:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/28/nissan-car-reads-drivers-mind

NYC Mayor Bloomberg: ‘Government’s Highest Duty’ Is to Push ‘Healthy’ Foods

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:00 AM PDT

By Eric Scheiner, CNSNews.com

During a United Nations General Assembly summit on non-communicable diseases — a discussion that included diet and eating habits — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said "governments at all levels must make healthy solutions the default social option.”

Speaking on the government’s role in diet and health last week, Bloomberg told the UN General Assembly, "There are powers only governments can exercise, policies only governments can mandate and enforce and results only governments can achieve. To halt the worldwide epidemic of non-communicable diseases, governments at all levels must make healthy solutions the default social option. That is ultimately government's highest duty."

Earlier in his address Bloomberg lauded the past dietary efforts of NYC, "In 2009 we enacted the first restriction on cholesterol-free artificial trans fat in the city's food service establishments. Our licensing of street green card producer/vendors has greatly increased the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in neighborhoods with high rates of diet related diseases. And we've led a national salt reduction initiative and engaged 28 food manufacturers, supermarkets and restaurant chains to voluntarily commit to reducing excessive amounts of sodium in their products. "

To read more, visit:  http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/nyc-mayor-bloomberg-government-s-highest-duty-push-healthy-foods

Ron Paul Bests Obama in Latest Poll

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:00 AM PDT

LAKE JACKSON, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– In a new Harris Poll, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul beats President Obama 51 percent to 49 percent in a general election race.

"This is yet another poll that clearly proves how competitive Ron Paul is against the sitting President," said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton. "Dr. Paul is making strides, affirming that the American people are looking for conviction instead of the typical status quo rhetoric being offered by establishment candidates."

These results come just a few weeks after a Reuters/Ipsos survey showed Ron Paul polling within striking distance of President Obama among registered voters. Furthermore, a late August Rasmussen poll showed him within 1 percent of President Obama in a head-to-head matchup.

To read more, visit:  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Ron-Paul-Bests-Obama-in-bw-3821734650.html?x=0

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party


‘We didn’t mean to track you’ says Facebook as social network giant admits to ‘bugs’ in new privacy row

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 06:31 AM PDT

By DANIEL BATES, Mail Online

Facebook has admitted that it has been watching the web pages its members visit – even when they have logged out.

In its latest privacy blunder, the social networking site was forced to confirm that it has been constantly tracking its 750million users, even when they are using other sites.

The social networking giant says the huge privacy breach was simply a mistake – that software automatically downloaded to users’ computers when they logged in to Facebook ‘inadvertently’ sent information to the company, whether or not they were logged in at the time.

Most would assume that Facebook stops monitoring them after they leave its site, but technology bloggers discovered this was not the case.

In fact, data has been regularly sent back to the social network's servers – data that could be worth billions when creating ‘targeted’ advertising based on the sites users visit.

The website's practices were exposed by Australian technology blogger Nik Cubrilovic and have provoked a furious response across the internet.

To read more, visit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2042573/Facebook-privacy-issues-Social-network-watching-youre-logged-out.html

Tea Party Group Casts National Debt as a Household Budget

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 06:27 AM PDT

By Perry Chiaramonte, FOXNews.com

America’s ever-growing debt crisis is in the trillions — more than $14 trillion, give or take a few billion.

That’s a lot of zeros, numbers so large they’re sure to make Americans numb when trying to get their arms around what it means to them.

But what would the federal debt crisis look like if you set it up as a household budget?

A heck of a lot simpler, according to new figures from one Tea Party group, which estimates the government “household” spends nearly twice as much as it takes in every year, has a credit card bill nearly seven times annual income and cuts back less than 2 percent of that spending in an effort to control the debt.

“We had discussed about how any citizen needs to understand what the proposed cuts mean,” said Laurie Newsom, president of the Gainesville, Fla., Tea Party. “One of our members had figured it out and put it in terms of a household budget. If you ran a household with these numbers, you would see that it’s simply not enough.”

To read more, visit:  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/27/tea-party-group-casts-national-debt-as-household-budget/

Tea Party Groups Divided in Nebraska Senate Race

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 06:24 AM PDT

By Caitlin Huey-Burns, Real Clear Politics

Two national Tea Party groups are split in their Nebraska Senate primary preferences as the GOP targets incumbent Ben Nelson, a key part of its effort to win control of the upper chamber.

FreedomWorks threw its support behind underdog Republican candidate and state Treasurer Don Stenberg (pictured) over establishment pick and state Attorney General Jon Bruning on Tuesday. Back in May, the Tea Party Express, an organization that played an influential but divisive role in last cycle's Senate primaries, endorsed Bruning, the race's nominal front-runner.

But with neither candidate able to claim the mantle of the grass-roots movement, how influential will these endorsements truly be?

"Certainly these national endorsements can help to grow support and a fundraising base outside Nebraska," says Jordan McGrain, executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party. "The Tea Party groups in the state are obviously very independent, and my guess is that all the major candidates in the primary will have Tea Party support of some kind."

What’s not clear is whether Tea Party backing will have as much impact in the Cornhusker State as has been the case elsewhere. "I'm not convinced the Tea Party in Nebraska is something that's absolutely crucial for the Republican candidate to win the endorsement of," says Mike Wagner, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "I think they're an active group, a motivated group, but I don't think they've demonstrated they are the kingmakers in American politics."

To read more, visit: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/09/27/tea_party_groups_divided_in_nebraska_senate_race.html

Sen. Marco Rubio writing memoir

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT

NEW YORK — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican and tea party favorite, says he’s writing a memoir.

The 40-year-old Rubio told The Associated Press on Monday that he wants to tell his story and articulate his policies. He expects to meet with publishers over the next few weeks.

He will be represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose clients include President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush.

Rubio has often been cited as a potential vice presidential candidate for 2012, but he says the book is not a step toward seeking national office.

To read more, visit: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/27/business-us-books-rubio_8702688.html

$200K Per Job? Timothy Geithner Says White House Jobs Plan Is Still a Bargain

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 08:56 AM PDT

By BEN FORER, ABCNews.com

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner didn’t dispute a Harvard economist’s estimate that each job in the White House’s jobs plan would cost $200,000, but said the pricetag is the wrong way to measure the bill’s worth.

And he also pointed out, in an interview today with ABC News’ David Muir, that there is no other option on the table for getting the economy moving and putting more people back to work.

“You’ve got to think about the costs of the alternatives,” Geithner said when asked about Harvard economist Martin Feldstein’s calculation that each job created by President Obama’s American Jobs Act would cost taxpayers about $200,000.

“If government does nothing, it does nothing now because they’re scared by politics or they want to debate what’s perfect, then there will be fewer Americans back to work, the economy will be weaker,” he said.

“We can borrow money for 10 years as the government of the United States because people have confidence in this country at less than 2 percent,” he said. “The responsible path now is to take advantage of the unique position we’re in as a country. People have a lot of confidence in us. Let’s take advantage of that now to do things that help growth in the short-term.”

To read more, visit: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/geithner-good-chance-jobs-act-pass/story?id=14609951

Univ. of NH backtracks on energy drink sales ban

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 08:53 AM PDT

By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. — The University of New Hampshire has backtracked on its just-announced plan to stop selling energy drinks on campus, saying it needs more time to study the idea and gather input from students.

Citing health and safety concerns, the university said Monday morning it would remove Full Throttle, Red Bull, Moxie Energy and NOS from vending machines and its seven dining halls, cafes and convenience stores starting in January. But in a statement Monday night, university President Mark Huddleston said conflicting reports about the caffeine and sugar content of some of the drinks, as well as negative student reaction, prompted him to call for a delay.

“I want to be sure we respect our students’ ability to make informed choices about what they consume,” he said.

To read more, visit:  http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNH_ENERGY_DRINKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-26-19-16-49

Rep. Ron Paul: The country is ripe for revolution

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 08:50 AM PDT


By: Karrah Kaplan, CNN

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul rallied a sold- out crowd of more than 1800 of his most ardent under-thirty-year-old supporters in New York City Monday night.

Tickets to the event cost $20-25. It was originally scheduled to take place at the famed Webster Hall’s Marlin Room, but, the event had to be moved to a room twice as large at the last minute due to an overwhelming response. The final setting was in the Grand Ballroom, which has hosted celebrities to the scale of Mick Jagger and Madonna.

“We are seeing a level of enthusiasm for Ron Paul that can be compared with President Obama in 2008″, said Eric Brakey, Media Coordinator for NYC Liberty HQ, the grassroots organization hosting the rally for the candidate. “Congressman Paul’s youth support is different now than it was during his last presidential campaign. It’s more organized and it’s picking up steam and continues to grow”.

As the longtime congressman from Texas stepped onto the stage, the crowd screamed with enthusiasm. The audience’s biggest reaction came when he spoke about ending the Federal Reserve. “The country has changed in the last four years, but my message hasn’t changed” Paul said. “The country is ripe for a true revolution”.
Responding to an earlier interview with Jon Stewart, he told the crowd that he is largely ignored by the media for a couple of reasons, one being that “people in charge don’t want to hear our message”.

Paul, who’s making his third bid for the White House, devoted the final moments of his speech to President Obama. “Obama thinks he is going to spend a billion dollars on his [re-election] campaign”, but “when truth prevails you don’t need a billion dollars”.

To read more, visit:  http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/27/rep-ron-paul-the-country-is-ripe-for-revolution/

‘Raise My Taxes,’ Town-Hall Participant Tells Obama

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 08:48 AM PDT

By Theresa Poulson | National Journal

At a town-hall meeting hosted by LinkedIn on Monday, President Obama got a softball question from a Silicon Valley resident who enjoys willful unemployment due to the success of an unnamed start-up search engine that “did pretty well.”

To see the video, visit:  http://nationaljournal.com/-raise-my-taxes-town-hall-participant-tells-obama-video-20110926

Health reform lawsuit appears headed for Supreme Court

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 08:46 AM PDT

By JENNIFER HABERKORN | Politico

The Obama administration chose not to ask the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to re-hear a pivotal health reform case Monday, signaling that it's going to ask the Supreme Court to decide whether President Barack Obama's health reform law is constitutional.

The move puts the Supreme Court in the difficult position of having to decide whether to take the highly politically charged case in the middle of the presidential election.

The Justice Department is expected to ask the court to overturn an August decision by a panel of three judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that found the law's requirement to buy insurance is unconstitutional. The suit was brought by 26 states, the National Federation of Independent Business, and several individuals.

Since the ruling, the Justice Department had until Monday to ask the entire 11th Circuit to review the case. Administration lawyers didn't file the paperwork by the 5 p.m. deadline, so the ruling would stand unless the Justice Department asks the Supreme Court to step in.

The petition isn't due until November, and the administration could get an extension.

Opponents of the law had expected the government to ask for the so-called en banc hearing to delay a ruling by the Supreme Court.

To read more, visit:  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64475.html

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party


Stop The Internet Blacklist Bill

Posted: 24 Sep 2011 09:00 PM PDT

By David Segal and Patrick Ruffini, OregonLive.com

We are Tea Partiers and bleeding-heart liberals, we are artists and investment bankers, we represent the left and the right, and we support Senator Wyden as he comes forward, yet again, as a stalwart champion for First Amendment rights, innovation and digital security.

The problem at hand is a bill called the “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act” (PROTECT IP) and it aims to permanently change our digital landscape – that’s why we’re calling it what it is: The Internet Blacklist Bill.

Imagine you’re the successful owner of a heavily trafficked website. Your income and that of those with whom you work depends entirely on the advertising revenue and payments provided by visitors to your site. One day, without warning, your site no longer appears at its domain, your advertisers have backed out, and you can’t even find your site on Google. You’ve been disappeared – blacklisted by new regulations set by Congress in the PROTECT IP Act.

If passed, PROTECT IP would give the government dramatic new powers to target websites dedicated to the illegal distribution of copyrighted content. Violating sites would have their domain disabled in DNS servers (the servers that match the domain name with the numerical IP address and make sure you go to the websites you want to), and all third party sites, including search engines, would be required to remove the site from their registries and disable all links to the domain in question.

Even worse, PROTECT IP also includes a “private right of action” that would allow rights holders to obtain a temporary restraining order against a domain in civil court. Instead, big content providers like the RIAA can target websites at their whim, urging courts to shut down anyone they accuse of violating U.S. copyright law.

To read more, visit:  http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/08/protect_ip.html

Patients to wait longer for care under new health law, think tank says

Posted: 24 Sep 2011 09:00 PM PDT

By Getahn Ward | The Tennessean

Nearly 700,000 Tennesseans will gain new coverage under health-care reform, but those already with insurance might have to wait longer to receive care and younger people overall may have to pay more.

Those are among findings from a report out from a think tank the state's largest health insurer, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, launched this year to study the interface between public policy and health care.

"It will be a little longer line, but everybody will be in the line," said Dr. Steven L. Coulter, president of the insurer's Tennessee Health Institute and co-author of the report with William T. Cecil, an independent health-care consultant.

The bulk of the new people obtaining coverage would be younger men who become eligible for Medicaid under new guidelines because of their low incomes, according to the report.

The rest will be people who qualify for subsidies to buy insurance policies through state health exchanges starting in 2014.

Expanding insurance coverage without a corresponding increase in the number of primary care doctors, though, could create problems with access to medical care, the study says.

To read more, visit:  http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110923/BUSINESS05/309230081/Patients-wait-longer-care-under-new-health-law-think-tank-says

Herman Cain wins GOP Florida straw poll; Rick Perry in second place

Posted: 24 Sep 2011 04:20 PM PDT

By Seth McLaughlin-The Washington Times

ORLANDO — Former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll here Saturday, delivering a blow to Texas Gov. Rick Perry's frontrunner status and a victory for a candidate who has struggled to transform his grassroots popularity into strong showings in national polls.

"Tonight's winner is Herman Cain," Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced. "It shows you something, the road to the White House come through Florida, and it pays to spend time here."

He received 37 percent of the more than 2,600 votes cast.

"Thank you to the Republican voters for this incredible honor of being named the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida today," Mr. Cain said. "This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored. I will continue to share my message of 'common-sense solutions' across this country and look forward to spending more time in Florida, a critical state for both the nomination and the general election."

The two national frontrunners — Mr. Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — placed second and third. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, meanwhile, landed in fourth place; Rep. Ron Paul of Texas landed in fifth place; and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, sixth. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann finished last.

To read more, visit:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/24/herman-cain-wins-cpac-florida-straw-poll/

Beck and Breitbart coming to Chicago area for TEACON 2011

Posted: 24 Sep 2011 11:07 AM PDT


By Chicago Tribune

Former Fox television commentator Glenn Beck will be among the headliners this month when tea party supporters gather in Illinois to hold the Midwest Tea Party convention in Schaumburg, officials announced Monday.

The event, dubbed TeaCon 2011, also will play host to activist Andrew Breitbart and others on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center, officials said.

“While Glenn Beck is no longer on Fox, you’ll have a chance to see him live and in person at TeaCon,” Chicago Tea Party Director Steve Stevlic said in a statement. “The venue will allow people to get more up close and personal with Glenn.”

The convention is sponsored by the Chicago Tea Party, WIND-AM 560, the Illinois Tea Party and ChampionNews.net, officials said.

“TeaCon is designed by grass-roots tea party groups for grass-roots tea party members. Every session is designed for regular people who want to make a difference in the 2012 election. They’re going to leave with the knowledge, tools and skills to do just that,” Stevlic said.

Supporters will be able to attend educational sessions designed to train tea party activists.

Among the sessions available, the “Citizen Track” will focus on helping activists become better informed on policy issues. The “Patriot Track” will focus on helping people become more effective activists. The “Leadership Track,” which is designed for organizers and leaders of the tea party movement, will focus on helping people become more effective leaders, organizers said.

To read more, visit:  http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-09-20/news/ct-met-midwest-tea-party-convention-0920-20110920_1_illinois-tea-party-straw-poll-glenn-beck

Google Erases Popular Alternative News Source

Posted: 24 Sep 2011 11:02 AM PDT

By Zen Gardner, Infowars.com

At mid-day on Friday, September 23, 2011, the popular alternative news blog, ActivistPost.com, was taken offline. Activist Post receives over one million views per month and has been hosted by Google's Blogger since its founding in June 2010.

"We remain puzzled as to why Activist Post was erased completely by Google," said chief editor and co-founder Michael Edwards. "When we tried to load our back-up file into our secondary Blogger account, that was blocked as well," he added.

It remains unclear whether Google has acted to censor ActivistPost.com for their controversial reporting. Google is becoming somewhat notorious for clamping down on truth and liberty activists, of which Activist Post is known for.

"Clearly, this is a huge set back for us and the work we do," said co-founder Eric Blair. "Our entire crew is working on resolving the issue and restoring the website. We certainly look forward to an explanation from Google."

To read more, visit:  http://www.infowars.com/activist-post-deleted-google-erases-popular-alternative-news-source/

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party


Should Certain Dog Breeds Be Banned?

Posted: 24 Sep 2011 02:15 AM PDT

By Buck Sexton, The Blaze

There has been a surge of highly-publicized dog attacks this week, including one that was nearly fatal for a toddler in Maine. Yesterday alone in San Diego, three people were hospitalized for pit bull attacks, as was a toddler in Massachusetts after being mauled.

And today in the Portland Daily Sun, a writer titled a piece "How We Could Ban Pit Bulls."

All of this raises the question: is it ever right to completely ban a breed of dog?

It's a more complicated issue than it seems at first. Some states don't allow municipalities to enact breed specific bans, while cities such as Miami and Denver already have blanket bans in place. Given the recent headlines and opinion pieces, dog breed bans are up for discussion across the country.

There are over 78 million owned dogs in the United States, and 39% of households own at least one dog, according to the Humane Society. Of that massive number, there only a few dozen fatal dog attacks in the U.S. each year.

But dog-kills-man stories get major national headlines, and that alone can result in bad laws. Even in generally freedom-loving Texas, legislation was prepared earlier this year that would have made owning a pit bull a felony (it did not pass). The bill was named "Justin's Law" after a young boy who was tragically mauled to death by two pit bulls in 2009.

To read more, visit:  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/should-certain-dog-breeds-be-banned/

Obama Administration to Ban Asthma Inhalers Over Environmental Concerns

Posted: 23 Sep 2011 03:46 PM PDT

By MARK HEMINGWAY, The Weekly Standard

Remember how Obama recently waived new ozone regulations at the EPA because they were too costly? Well, it seems that the Obama administration would rather make people with Asthma cough up money than let them make a surely inconsequential contribution to depleting the ozone layer:

Asthma patients who rely on over-the-counter inhalers will need to switch to prescription-only alternatives as part of the federal government’s latest attempt to protect the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday patients who use the epinephrine inhalers to treat mild asthma will need to switch by Dec. 31 to other types that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons, an aerosol substance once found in a variety of spray products.

The action is part of an agreement signed by the U.S. and other nations to stop using substances that deplete the ozone layer, a region in the atmosphere that helps block harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun.

To read more, visit:  http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-administration-ban-asthma-inhalers-over-environmental-concerns_594113.html

Friday, September 23, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party


‘Stingray’ Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash

Posted: 23 Sep 2011 06:46 AM PDT

By JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES

For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they called simply “the Hacker.” Only after using a little known cellphone-tracking device—a stingray—were they able to zero in on a California home and make the arrest.

Stingrays are designed to locate a mobile phone even when it’s not being used to make a call. The Federal Bureau of Investigation considers the devices to be so critical that it has a policy of deleting the data gathered in their use, mainly to keep suspects in the dark about their capabilities, an FBI official told The Wall Street Journal in response to inquiries.
A stingray’s role in nabbing the alleged “Hacker”—Daniel David Rigmaiden—is shaping up as a possible test of the legal standards for using these devices in investigations. The FBI says it obtains appropriate court approval to use the device.

Stingrays are one of several new technologies used by law enforcement to track people’s locations, often without a search warrant. These techniques are driving a constitutional debate about whether the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, but which was written before the digital age, is keeping pace with the times.

On Nov. 8, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether or not police need a warrant before secretly installing a GPS device on a suspect’s car and tracking him for an extended period. In both the Senate and House, new bills would require a warrant before tracking a cellphone’s location.

To read more, visit:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904194604576583112723197574.html

Two clear winners in GOP debate: Gary Johnson and Ron Paul

Posted: 23 Sep 2011 06:42 AM PDT

By Karl Dickey, West Palm Beach Libertarian Examiner

Last night’s Fox News / Google GOP debate televised live from Orlando, Florida allowed the public to see a full range of Republican candidates vying to be our next President of the United States. Surprisingly, late last night and early this morning the mainstream media seems interested in flipping the results of the debate around to Perry and Romney when the two clear winners of the Fox News poll clearly shows Ron Paul and Gary Johnson the winners of the debate by a wide margin. Ironically, these are the two most libertarian candidates in the entire field.

On stage were Gary Johnson, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Michelle Bachmann. But to watch the news or read the online papers early this morning would almost suggest it was the Rick Perry & Mitt Romney show.

Johnson and Paul win the debate, however the media disregards them. Is it because they are offering specific detailed solutions? Is it because the media doesn’t want them in the White House? Is this an organized effort to keep libertarian ideas from getting too much exposure?

If one missed the debate and did read something about Gary Johnson’s performance in the debate, they may only have heard of his great line about his neighbor’s dog which everyone in the crowd enjoyed immensely. His line was, “My next door neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs than this president.”

To read more, visit:  http://www.examiner.com/libertarian-in-west-palm-beach/two-clear-winners-gop-debate-gary-johnson-and-ron-paul

Tea Party pushes schools to teach Constitution, meet federal mandate

Posted: 23 Sep 2011 06:24 AM PDT

By Christopher Rosacker, TheUnion.com

Dressed as protesting hippies, fifth-grade students at Deer Creek Elementary School were not just light-heartedly entertaining the entire student body at the small Nevada City school; they were fulfilling a federal mandate.

Students at Grass Valley’s Bear River High School did the same, participating in a scavenger hunt. So did students at Margaret Scotten and Lyman Gilmore schools, who watched "School House Rock."

Members of the Nevada County Tea Party Patriots seek to ensure other area schools fall in line this week with a federal law requiring schools to teach some sort of educational program on Constitution Day related to the United States Constitution.

Public Law 108-447 directs "(e)ach educational institution that receives federal funds … shall hold an educational program on the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17 (Constitution Day) of such year for the students served by the educational institution."

Since Constitution Day fell on a Saturday this year, educators may fulfill the requirement in the week before or after the actual observance, the California Department of Education advised.

Whereas this once little-known law was not initially paid much notice, local Tea Party members have campaigned to ensure schools are in compliance as part of a nationally dictated adopt-a-school "action plan" to "pressure" schools to teach the Constitution, according to the grassroots organization’s website.

To read more, visit:  http://www.theunion.com/article/20110921/NEWS/110929990/1001&parentprofile=105

Half of Tea Party Rejects Climate Change and Evolution

Posted: 22 Sep 2011 03:06 PM PDT

By Luiza Oleszczuk | Christian Post

Approximately half of Tea Party members do not believe in evolution and climate change, according to the newest poll by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). That could be an issue in the 2012 elections, researchers say.

The study found that some 69 percent of all Americans believe there is solid evidence for global warming and nearly 57 percent believe in evolution. However, within the Tea Party, 50 percent of the affiliates reject the idea of global warming and 51 percent do not believe in evolution.

"Americans who identify with the Tea Party and white evangelical Protestants strongly reject evolution," said Daniel Cox, PRRI Research Director. "In fact, roughly one-third of these groups believe humans and other living things were created within the last 10,000 years."

The study, which concluded in the midst of presidential campaigns, also suggests that these results might be significant for the 2012 GOP presidential contenders.

"While most Americans say the issues of evolution and climate change do not strongly influence their support of candidates, these issues are symbolically important for two groups that play an outsize role in Republican primary politics: white evangelical Protestants and members of the Tea Party," said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. "The challenge for Republican candidates is to talk about these issues now in a way that will not hurt them later in the general election."

To read more, visit:  http://global.christianpost.com/news/half-of-tea-party-rejects-climate-change-and-evolution-56286/

Soros turns up in Obama’s LightSquared imbroglio

Posted: 22 Sep 2011 02:30 PM PDT

By Timothy P.Carney, The Washington Examiner

As Republican lawmakers begin to dig into the White House’s cozy relationship with a startup wireless company and the wealthy Democratic donor who owns it, a new character has appeared on the story’s edges: liberal superdonor, conservative bete noire and controversial investor George Soros.

Soros reportedly invested in the telecom company LightSquared through a hedge fund, and many of the nonprofits he finances have backed LightSquared in regulatory and policy disputes.

The background:

LightSquared wants to compete with AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to provide mobile broadband (for instance, email and Internet on your Blackberry or iPhone).

To read more, visit: http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/soros-turns-obamas-lightsquared-imbroglio

Dow plunges 391 points

Posted: 22 Sep 2011 02:27 PM PDT

By: JeeYeon Park, CNBC.com

Stocks came off their worst levels, but still finished sharply lower Thursday in heavy-volume trading as a gloomy outlook from the Federal Reserve in addition to ongoing economic jitters fueled concerns of a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 391.01 points, or 3.51 percent, to finish at 10,733.83, led by United Tech [UTX 68.31 -6.56 (-8.76%) ], Caterpillar [CAT 73.90 -5.46 (-6.88%) ] and Alcoa [AA 10.11 -0.73 (-6.73%) ], but still finished above its August closing low of 10,719.94. The blue-chip index skid 528 points in its intraday low.

The blue-chip index is on track for its worst week in almost three years.

The S&P 500 plummeted 37.20 points, or 3.19 percent, to close at 1,129.56 after flirting with its key technical support level of 1,120. The Nasdaq declined 82.52 points, or 3.25 percent, to end at 2,455.67.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, soared above 41.

All 10 S&P sectors finished firmly in the negative territory, led by materials and energy.

To read more, visit:  http://www.cnbc.com/id/44624491