Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Shooters Heard: Interior Will Not Ban Target Practice
Obama Praises Australia’s Draconian Carbon Tax
Turf War? Glendale Bans Fake Grass
Walls Have Eyes: How Researchers Are Studying You on Facebook
CDC admits not a single person has died from consuming raw milk products in 11 years
Poll watcher: Gingrich rides tea party surge; Obama trails Romney in N. H.
Poll: Tea Party 43%, Occupy 37%
Tea Party Group Presents Its Own Debt Commission Report

Shooters Heard: Interior Will Not Ban Target Practice

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:31 PM PST

By: Paul Bedard, USNews.com

Under fire from gun owners concerned about draft guidelines that could limit areas for target practice on western public lands, the Interior Department today said it would make sure shooters still have access to lands long available for firearms recreation.

“Our goal is to leave lands open to shooting,” said an Interior official for the Bureau of Land Management, which is drafting guidelines to deal with the growing clash between skittish urbanites moving to western wilderness areas and America’s tradition of letting gun owners shoot targets on public lands.

“We don’t want to have to close any areas,” said an official as BLM provided Washington Whispers with a statement clarifying the developing guidelines.

“We are in no way interested in banning recreational target shooting, hunting, or fishing—on the contrary, our goal is to develop guidance that will help land managers maximize and preserve opportunities for recreational shooting,” said the BLM statement.

However, the official said it is possible that areas previously used for target practice that are too close to houses or areas of urban growth could be put off limits. The new plan would be to provide shooters with a map or guide on where they can go for target practice nearby, said the official.

“It’s the difference of driving two minutes [to shoot] or 15 minutes,” said the official.

Obama Praises Australia’s Draconian Carbon Tax

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:27 PM PST

By: Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars.com

President Barack Obama has ominously praised Australia's draconian carbon tax, even as details emerge over how the government plans to fine businesses up to $1.1 million dollars merely for suggesting the fact that the new tax will cause prices to rise.

During a press conference yesterday, Obama praised Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard for pursuing "a bold strategy" in passing the highly controversial carbon tax bill.

"I think that's good for the world," Obama said. "I actually think, over the long term, it's good for our economies, as well, because it's my strong belief that industries, utilities, individual consumers — we're all going to have to adapt how we use energy and how we think about carbon."

In reality, the carbon tax is set to devastate Australia's economy and send energy prices skyrocketing even as the world teeters on the brink of a financial collapse.

Illustrating how overwhelmingly unpopular the new tax is amongst both businesses and consumers, the Australian government has been forced to impose draconian punishments on retailers merely for complaining or informing their customers about how the new rules will cause price hikes.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been "directed by the Australian government to undertake a compliance and enforcement role in relation to claims made about the impact of a carbon price," which in real terms means that firms can be fined up to $1.1 million dollars merely for running promotions that suggest the tax will cause prices to rise, such as "Beat the Carbon Tax – Buy Now" or "Buy now before the carbon tax bites".

Turf War? Glendale Bans Fake Grass

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:24 PM PST

From: CBSLosAngeles.com

GLENDALE (CBS) — The city of Glendale is imposing a ban on artificial grass. Notices are going out to homeowners whose front yards are covered in turf.

Geneva Dotson says she was forced to pay crews $3,000 to rip up her brand new front yard after receiving a notice from city hall.

"There's enough drama in life without having the city breathing down my back," says Dotson. "I'm very angry about it, to tell you the truth."

So, what's the gripe?

City officials say the concern is related to the plastic and chemicals used in the artificial turf.

When asked why the fake grass would continue to be allowed in backyards, officials had no answer.

A turf company contacted by KCAL9 said some artificial lawns contain lead, but there is no harm posed to children or adults.

City officials say they plan to press criminal charges against those who do not comply with the ban.

Walls Have Eyes: How Researchers Are Studying You on Facebook

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:21 PM PST

By SONIA VAN GILDER COOKE, Time.com

Before he became the new face of right-wing extremism in Europe, Anders Behring Breivik was just another guy airing his anti-immigration views online. On Monday, Breivik, who admitted to a killing spree in Norway in July, which left 77 people dead, faced his first public-court hearing. While Breivik may have acted alone, he was far from alone in cyberspace: he had spent much of the time leading up to his attack at his computer, chatting with some of the millions of nationalists who support right-wing groups on social-networking sites. After this summer’s tragedy, researchers wanted to find out more about these people. But how to find them? Easy — just log on to Facebook.

“We realized that it wasn’t that difficult to get to them at all,” says Jamie Bartlett, the lead author of a recently published report on European digital populism by British think tank Demos. Facebook’s stash of personal information is so encyclopedic, says Bartlett, that the researchers could simply use the site’s advertising tool to pinpoint their desired demographic with scientific accuracy — the way marketers have been doing for years. Bartlett’s team found half a million fans of right-wing groups across Europe and then targeted them with ads, but instead of linking to a new band or diet product, the ads invited users to complete a survey that asked questions about their education level, attitudes toward violence and optimism about their own future.

By reaching out through Facebook, Bartlett and his colleagues were able to survey over 10,000 followers of 14 far-right parties in 11 European countries — all without ever leaving the office. “It’s quite a new way of doing research,” Bartlett says. Some of the results aren’t all that surprising: online supporters of right-wing groups tend to be young, male and vexed by immigration. But in something of a twist, “those who combine their online activism with off-line activism are more reasonable, more democratic and less violent than those who just remain behind the computer screen.”

Demos’ work is just one example of how Facebook is becoming a hot new tool in the hands of scientists. Think tanks, medical researchers and political scientists are using the site to study everything from health issues to social trends as expressed in Likes, Wall posts and Status Updates. With over 800 million active users adding an average of three pieces of content per day, the Facebook “data supernova” is generating a research boom, driving the number of academic papers with the site’s name in the title up almost 800% over the past five years.

For some researchers, the beauty of Facebook is that it lets you study people you couldn’t approach with a clipboard on the street. “Before, when you tried to survey people from the British National Party, it would be very difficult to identify them. You’d have to go through the party, and they would never allow you access,” says Bartlett. “Facebook cuts all that out — you go to them directly.”

Others say the site could offer a way to identify and tackle social-health problems. A recent study by Dr. Megan Moreno, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her colleagues found that undergraduates who discussed their drunken exploits on Facebook were significantly more at risk for problem drinking than students who were silent on the topic. Moreno suggests that students’ peers, like residential advisers, could monitor the site and intervene to help a student who posts one too many boozy Status Updates. “You can’t treat a problem if you can’t diagnose it,” Dimitri Christakis, Moreno’s co-author and director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, told the Washington Post. “We’ve found a way to identify kids at risk who would not otherwise be diagnosed.”

CDC admits not a single person has died from consuming raw milk products in 11 years

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:17 PM PST

By: Ethan A. Huff, NaturalNews.com

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) refuses to acknowledge that, based on all available statistics, raw milk produced on clean, small-scale farms is actually far safer than pasteurized milk from factory farms. But the agency did admit earlier this year, after being pressed and warned of a potential Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request if it failed to comply, that not a single person has died from raw milk consumption in over a decade.

This may come as a shock to some who, because of all the propaganda about the alleged dangers of raw milk, are convinced otherwise, but it is true — one of the two deaths often cited by the CDC as evidence that raw milk is dangerous was actually linked to the consumption of raw queso fresco cheese, which is currently outlawed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And the other is likely linked to an adulterated raw milk product as well, rather than to raw milk.

After repeatedly petitioning the CDC for clarification about its questionable raw milk statistics and getting nowhere, Mark McAfee, owner of Organic Pastures Dairy Company (OPDC) in California, finally threatened to file a FOIA request to get to the truth. Shortly thereafter, he received a response from an unidentified official at the CDC’s information office explaining that the one “raw milk” death that occurred between 1998 and 2008 was actually linked to illegal raw queso fresco cheese.

The agency has not yet provided details about the other death, but it is likely that it, too, was linked to some adulterated raw milk product rather than to raw milk itself. If and when the agency finally fesses up to the truth about that case, it will also be inadvertently admitting that it has lied to the public for many years about the nature of raw milk.

The CDC’s continual avoidance of talking about the much worse dangers associated with pasteurized milk further illustrates its raw milk bias. In 2006 alone, there were at least 1,300 people who got sick from pasteurized milk just in California — and yet the CDC only talks about the roughly 39 reported illnesses every year in the Golden State that are alleged, but not necessarily proven to be, linked to raw milk.

Poll watcher: Gingrich rides tea party surge; Obama trails Romney in N. H.

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:13 PM PST

By Scott Clement, WashingtonPost.com

Gingrich rides tea party surge — Newt Gingrich has climbed above 20 percent support for the first time in CNN/ORC and Fox News polls released this week, two points shy of Mitt Romney in the CNN poll and holding a non-significant one-point edge in the Fox poll. Gingrich's support peaks at 35 percent among tea party supporters in the Fox poll, twice as many who supported him in October (17 percent).

Despite catapulting to the top tier, just 8 percent of Republican primary voters in the Fox poll say Gingrich is the most likeable candidate. Romney (26 percent) and Herman Cain (25) lead on this measure. Experience may overwhelm charm. Nearly eight in 10 Republicans say Gingrich has the experience to serve effectively as president, compared with just 47 percent who say the same about former frontrunner Cain. Gingrich is also seen as the most trustworthy candidate with nuclear weapons, another indicator that he is seen as a seasoned operator.

New Hampshire at risk for Obama — President Obama trails Romney by 10 points in a hypothetical 2012 matchup in New Hampshire among likely 2012 voters in a Bloomberg News poll released Wednesday, a state Obama won by nine points over John McCain in 2008. The deficit for Obama may be surprising given that New Hampshire's unemployment rate — at just 5.4 percent in September — is well below the national average. Romney holds a commanding lead in the state's Republican nomination contest.

GOP support for alternative energy plummets — Support for increasing federal funding for alternative energy research has fallen from 82 to 53 percent since 2009 among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents, according to a Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll released last week. Only two years ago, upwards of eight in 10 Democrats and Republicans alike backed increased funding for wind, solar and hydrogen technology, opening up a previously nonexistent partisan gap. Fully 83 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents support more funding.

A small majority of Americans opposes increased use of nuclear power, a sentiment that's grown since the disaster at Japan's Fukushima power plant. But almost six in 10 Americans support more offshore, oil and gas drilling, up significantly from a poll shortly after last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Poll: Tea Party 43%, Occupy 37%

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:09 PM PST

By: Don Surber, DailyMail.com

You say you want a revolution? Well, you know, we all want to change the world — but not really. The liberal Public Policy Polling reported that the American people are turning their back on the Occupy movement as it inevitably becomes more angry, more violent and more crazy.

From Public Policy Polling: "The Occupy Wall Street movement is not wearing well with voters across the country. Only 33% now say that they are supportive of its goals, compared to 45% who say they oppose them. That represents an 11 point shift in the wrong direction for the movement's support compared to a month ago when 35% of voters said they supported it and 36% were opposed. Most notably independents have gone from supporting Occupy Wall Street's goals 39/34, to opposing them 34/42."

But of course, Public Policy Polling cannot resist a dig at conservatives, noting: "Voters don't care for the Tea Party either, with 42% saying they support its goals to 45% opposed. But asked whether they have a higher opinion of the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street movement the Tea Party wins out 43-37, representing a flip from last month when Occupy Wall Street won out 40-37 on that question. Again the movement with independents is notable- from preferring Occupy Wall Street 43-34, to siding with the Tea Party 44-40."

Yea, yea. Whatever.

The bottom line is when asked: "Do you have a higher opinion of the Occupy Wall Street movement or the Tea Party movement?" 43% say Tea Party, 37% Occupy — and that is after 2 years of the media maligning, ridiculing and deriding the Tea Party. Anderson Cooper never called Occupyers "tea-baggers" now did he?

This was an inevitable outcome because the same thing happened in the 1960s and 1970s. And we wound up with Richard Nixon.

Tea Party Group Presents Its Own Debt Commission Report

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:06 PM PST

By KATE ZERNIKE, TheNewYorkTimes.com

As the Congressional committee charged with reining in the deficit nears its deadline for coming up with a way to cut it by at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years, the Tea Party — or at least, a small group aiming to represent the Tea Party — is presenting its own ideas.

The group, the Tea Party Debt Commission, has been soliciting ideas from Tea Party supporters over the past several months, and will release its final recommendations on Thursday, at a hearing on Capitol Hill convened for it by conservative senators and House members.

When it was formed, its organizers said that the commission would prove that the Tea Party, which tends to like the idea of cutting deficits rather than actual cuts, could in fact come up with a specific plan – one with far more ambitious goals than the joint Congressional committee that is supposed to release its recommendations next week.

The Tea Party budget, as the group calls it, claims to balance the budget in four years, and reduce federal spending by $9.7 trillion over the next 10 years, all while making permanent the Bush-era tax cuts.

If this sounds too good to be true, many will argue it is. Some nonpartisan voices, such as the Congressional Budget Office, have disputed the cost savings that the report estimates for things like repealing the health care legislation passed in 2010, which the Tea Party refers to as ObamaCare.

Among the group's recommendations are things that have long been favorites of conservatives and/or libertarians — it's a little bit Ronald Reagan, a little bit Ron Paul.

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Friday, November 18, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

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