Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Lawmakers Consider Digital Download Tax
Goldman Op-Ed Shows Need for Volcker Rule, Democrats Say
The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)
Bob Barr Files Lawsuit Against TSA Over ‘Drudge’ Controversy
White rice link seen with Type 2 diabetes, says study
California could decide the GOP nominee
Bryant Declared Tea Party Governor

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:56 PM PDT

From NBC Connecticut

Downloading music, movies, e-books and Apps could soon cost Connecticut residents more as lawmakers consider a tax on digital downloads.

The bill, proposed by the General Assembly’s Finance, Review and Bonding Committee, would have consumers pay the 6.35% sales tax on any electronic transfer.

Supporters say the bill would level the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers in the state who are already required to charge Connecticut sales tax to consumers who purchase these products in their stores.

About 25 states around the country have already begun taxing digital downloads.

Goldman Op-Ed Shows Need for Volcker Rule, Democrats Say

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:54 PM PDT

By Phil Mattingly and James Rowley – Bloomberg.com

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) employee who criticized the company's culture in a newspaper column bolsters the case for Wall Street restrictions like the Volcker rule, congressional Democrats said.

While the March 14 New York Times (NYT) opinion piece by former executive director Greg Smith drew no requests for hearings or investigations, lawmakers including Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Jeff Merkley said the article showed why the U.S. needs tighter restrictions on Wall Street practices. The two Democrats authored the Volcker rule's ban on proprietary trading and conflicts of interest in the Dodd-Frank Act.

Former Goldman Sachs executive director Greg Smith's New York Times opinion column published March 14 drew no requests for hearings or deeper investigations. Lawmakers including Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the Democrats who authored the Volcker rule's ban on proprietary trading and conflicts of interest in the Dodd-Frank Act said the piece strengthened the case for restrictions on Wall Street trading.

Congress can't "legislate the culture but I think the heart of this goes to why we needed the Merkley-Levin amendment," Merkley, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said in an interview.

The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:53 PM PDT

By James Bamford, Wired.com

The spring air in the small, sand-dusted town has a soft haze to it, and clumps of green-gray sagebrush rustle in the breeze. Bluffdale sits in a bowl-shaped valley in the shadow of Utah's Wasatch Range to the east and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. It's the heart of Mormon country, where religious pioneers first arrived more than 160 years ago. They came to escape the rest of the world, to understand the mysterious words sent down from their god as revealed on buried golden plates, and to practice what has become known as "the principle," marriage to multiple wives.

Today Bluffdale is home to one of the nation's largest sects of polygamists, the Apostolic United Brethren, with upwards of 9,000 members. The brethren's complex includes a chapel, a school, a sports field, and an archive. Membership has doubled since 1978—and the number of plural marriages has tripled—so the sect has recently been looking for ways to purchase more land and expand throughout the town.

But new pioneers have quietly begun moving into the area, secretive outsiders who say little and keep to themselves. Like the pious polygamists, they are focused on deciphering cryptic messages that only they have the power to understand. Just off Beef Hollow Road, less than a mile from brethren headquarters, thousands of hard-hatted construction workers in sweat-soaked T-shirts are laying the groundwork for the newcomers' own temple and archive, a massive complex so large that it necessitated expanding the town's boundaries. Once built, it will be more than five times the size of the US Capitol.

Rather than Bibles, prophets, and worshippers, this temple will be filled with servers, computer intelligence experts, and armed guards. And instead of listening for words flowing down from heaven, these newcomers will be secretly capturing, storing, and analyzing vast quantities of words and images hurtling through the world's telecommunications networks. In the little town of Bluffdale, Big Love and Big Brother have become uneasy neighbors.

Bob Barr Files Lawsuit Against TSA Over ‘Drudge’ Controversy

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:51 PM PDT

By Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars.com

Former Congressman Bob Barr's Liberty Guard organization has filed a lawsuit against the TSA after the federal agency refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request that sought to discover whether or not the TSA temporarily amended its security policies for political reasons during the height of the national opt out day protest in late 2010.

The lawsuit seeks to discover if there was internal TSA discussion of individuals and websites that promoted the national opt out day, including prominent critics of the TSA like Matt Drudge and Alex Jones.

Liberty Guard's original FOIA request sought to obtain all internal TSA material that mentions the terms "Matt Drudge", "Drudgereport.com", "Alex Jones", "PrisonPlanet.com", "John Tyner", "national opt-out day", "Opt-Out Alliance" and "domestic extremists."

The lawsuit, to be heard in the Eastern District Court of Virginia, seeks to secure the release of 9 pages of material the TSA admits it has which include some or all of the terms listed above, but has refused to disclose.

White rice link seen with Type 2 diabetes, says study

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:48 PM PDT

By AFP, YahooNewsCanada

Health researchers said on Thursday they had found a troubling link between higher consumption of rice and Type 2 diabetes, a disease that in some countries is becoming an epidemic.

Further work is need to probe the apparent association and diets that are notoriously high in sugar and fats should remain on the no-go list, they cautioned.

“What we’ve found is white rice is likely to increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, especially at high consumption levels such as in Asian populations,” Qi Sun of the Harvard School of Public Health told AFP.

“But at the same time people should pay close attention to the other things they eat.

“It’s very important to address not just a single food but the whole pattern of consumption.”

California could decide the GOP nominee

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:46 PM PDT

By Aaron Blake, The Washington Post

California is not exactly the GOP's idea of home turf.

But in the 2012 Republican presidential primary, it's the most important state on the calendar.

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign stop at William Jewell College on Tuesday, in Liberty, Mo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

California's June 5 primary, despite being the second-to-last contest, is looking more and more like it may determine whether Mitt Romney can win the Republican nomination or whether the party goes to its August convention without a nominee.

"If Gingrich drops out and Santorum can go at Romney one on one, it could be competitive all the way to California, in which case California would pretty much decide the nomination," said John Ryder, a Republican National Committeeman from Tennessee who is an expert on the delegate process.

Part of the reason is the state's sheer size. Because states are given three delegates to the Republican National Convention for every congressional district they have, California has a whopping 172 delegates. That's more than 15 percent of the delegates needed to win the nomination.

California is technically a winner-take-all state, but because basically all of its delegates are awarded by congressional district, there is the possibility that they get sliced up any number of ways.

Bryant Declared Tea Party Governor

Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:44 PM PDT

By Maggie Wade, WLBT3 NBC

He has been proclaimed the First Tea Party Governor. Thursday night Phil Bryant addressed Tea Party members at the Farmer’s Market on High Street in Jackson.

Tea Party leaders say Bryant enjoyed their support during his campaign and they backed his platform. The event was a follow up to a meeting for the Mississippi Federation of Republican Women who met at the state capitol Thursday.

The Governor was asked if he felt being so closely tied to the Tea Party would alienate Mississippians who don’t agree with their views on issues such as patriotism, immigration and abortion.

“I don’t think so, I mean I’m a Republican, I’m a Methodist, I’m a dad, I was a Big Brother for many years, I’ve been on mission trips, I’ve been supporting the Tea Party. All of us have lots of things that we do in life, I can’t imagine that it would,” said Governor Bryant.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Senate Republicans Warn IRS Against Scrutiny of Tea Party
Good News: Jobless Claims Back at 4-Year Lows
TSA set to test new screening protocols for elderly
DARPA Unveils Drone-Slaying War Laser
Science declares war on eating meat: Pharma pills may be introduced to induce nausea when people consume beef or pork
Utah senator faces caucus challenge from Tea Party candidates
CHRIS ROCK ATTACKS Camera Over Tea Party Question

Senate Republicans Warn IRS Against Scrutiny of Tea Party

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 04:21 PM PDT

By Jonathan D. Salant, BusinessWeek.com

Senate Republicans today expressed concern that the Internal Revenue Service was singling out Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny in deciding whether to grant them tax-exempt status.

"It is critical that the public have confidence that federal tax compliance efforts are pursued in a fair, even- handed, and transparent manner – without regard to politics of any kind," the senators wrote to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman.

Their letter followed a similar one written March 1 by House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany, a Louisiana Republican, and followed a call by Senate Democrats for the IRS to cap political spending by nonprofits that don't disclose their donors.

Anti-tax Tea Party groups have backed Republicans, and gaining nonprofit status would allow them to engage in political activity while keeping their donors hidden, unlike traditional political action committees. They are applying for social welfare status under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, which means that political activity can't be their primary focus.

Other nonprofit groups such as Crossroads GPS, affiliated with Republican strategist Karl Rove; and Americans for Prosperity, funded in part by Koch Industries Inc. executives Charles and David Koch, spent more than $130 million on the 2010 elections, with more than $120 million of that going to elect Republican congressional candidates. The money helped the Republicans to a net gain of 63 House seats and 6 Senate seats.

Democratic Groups

On the Democratic side, a PAC supporting President Barack Obama's re-election, Priorities USA Action, has an affiliated nonprofit that can keep its contributors hidden.

Outside group spending has increased since the Supreme Court, in its 2010 Citizens United decision, removed restrictions on independent corporate and union spending on political ads.

Good News: Jobless Claims Back at 4-Year Lows

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 04:18 PM PDT

From: FOXBusiness.com

New claims for unemployment benefits fell back to a four-year low last week, a government report showed on Thursday, suggesting further strengthening in the labor market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 351,000, the Labor Department said. That took claims back to a four-year low reached in February.

The prior week’s figure was revised up to 365,000 from the previously reported 362,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 356,000 last week.

The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, was unchanged at 355,750.

First-time applications for jobless benefits have been tucked in a tight range since mid-February, a hopeful sign for the labor market, which has enjoyed three straight months of employment gains above 200,000.

The jobless rate held at a three-year low of 8.3 percent in February.

While the Federal Reserve on Tuesday acknowledged the recent improvement in the labor market, it remained concerned with the still-high unemployment rate.

TSA set to test new screening protocols for elderly

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 04:16 PM PDT

By Mike M. Ahlers, CNN

After years of criticism, the Transportation Security Administration is taking the initial steps to modify screening for people age 75 or older.

Beginning Monday, the TSA will test procedures allowing those passengers to leave their shoes on, as well as light outerwear. Other changes are intended to reduce the likelihood that older passengers will be subjected to a pat-down.

The tests will be conducted at four airports: Chicago’s O’Hare, Denver International, Portland International in Oregon, and Orlando International. If they are successful, the TSA could expand the procedures to checkpoints nationwide.

The new protocols closely parallel changes implemented last fall for passengers age 12 and under, and for the same reason — intelligence indicates that they are unlikely to be involved in a terrorist attack, the TSA said.

TSA spokesman Greg Soule said the agency is trying to “move away from the one-size-fits-all approach” to security screening. The changes will manage risk, but not eliminate it, he said.

At the selected checkpoints, passengers 75 and older will be allowed to leave their shoes and light outerwear on. If the full-body scanner detects an anomaly, the passenger will be allowed a second pass through the machine to resolve the issue.

DARPA Unveils Drone-Slaying War Laser

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 04:13 PM PDT

BY NEAL UNGERLEIDER, FastCompany.com

DARPA is unveiling a portable laser weapons system, HELLADS, which seems like something out of a sci-fi movie. The new laser application, created by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems with a custom power system from Saft Batteries, will help change the way the American military fights future wars. Current military laser systems are bulky contraptions which are mainly the size of a passenger jet, while the proposed DARPA weapon can fit on the back of a flatbed truck. The 150-kilowatt, solid state laser weapon is strong enough to take down drones or other aerial targets; a prototype is expected to be available by the end of 2012.

HELLADS stands for High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System. Since laser beams work at the speed of light, it’s effectively impossible for aerial targets to dodge them. The use of laser beams against land targets is complicated by line-of-sight issues, but the miniaturization of laser technology makes them perfect for use against aerial and naval targets. The demonstration laser for DARPA will be the first 150-kilowatt laser weapon of its kind. DARPA plans to use the completed prototypes against targets at White Sands Missile Range in early 2013–this will include ground testing against rockets, mortars, and surface-to-air missiles.

Although video footage of HELLADS is not available yet, this clip of a previously developed American-Israeli laser system (which will be discussed later) from Northrop Grumman gives a good idea of how the system will work.

The big advance with these weapons is in the strength of the lasers and in their portability. Saft’s Annie Sennet-Cassity told Fast Company that while previous military laser prototypes were stronger, they were also about the size of a passenger jet. This creates obvious difficulties in battlefield or aerial use. A 150-kilowatt laser beam is powerful enough to destroy aircraft.

Previous military laser weapons primarily relied on blinding pilots with laser beams, rather than destroying the aircraft itself. For the United States Air Force, the ultimate goal is to equip bombers and UAVs with HELLADS weaponry.

However, the United States is not the only nation developing laser weapons. The Israeli government and American defense contractors have quietly been working for years on the Nautilus laser system, which in the words of Wired’s Danger Room blog, gave the country a "ray gun defense." Russia has been working on aerial military lasers since at least 2010, and India has also been developing a laser weapon system of its own.

While the idea of military lasers, death rays, and ray guns encourage all sorts of futurist fantasies, there will be major limitations to these weapons. Despite the fact that DARPA’s laser can destroy airplanes, the strength of the laser beam is greatly weakened by clouds, haze, and dust clouds—something that can limit on-the-ground use in warzones.

Science declares war on eating meat: Pharma pills may be introduced to induce nausea when people consume beef or pork

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 04:10 PM PDT

By: Ethan A. Huff, NaturalNews.com

There is a concerted effort currently underway to demonize all things meat, regardless of how it is raised or produced, by blaming disease, obesity, and now even global warming, on human meat consumption. And a recent paper put out by S. Matthew Liao, a professor of philosophy and bioethics at New York University, outlines some outlandish solutions for how to combat so-called man-made climate change, including a recommendation that pharmaceutical companies develop drugs to induce nausea when people eat beef or pork products.

In a recent interview with Ross Anderson from The Atlantic, Liao presents his case for why he believes humans need to be micromanaged, controlled, and ultimately genetically-engineered (GE) for the betterment of the planet. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions and implementing various environmental measures are simply not enough, in Liao’s mind, to stop his theory of man-made climate change, which has led him to envision a world where human beings are genetically redesigned with “eco-friendly” characteristics, and where pharmaceutical drugs are used to reprogram the way people think and act.

Drug-induced vegetarianism to ‘save the planet’

Making no differentiation between meat that comes from grass-fed, pasture-based livestock, and meat from genetically-modified (GM), grain-fed, confined livestock, Liao claims that “livestock farming” in general is responsible for a large bulk of man-made global warming. So his solution to this alleged problem is to urge drug companies to create a pill or patch that would induce nausea when a person consumes a meat product.

“The paper suggests that such individuals could take a pill that would trigger mild nausea upon the ingestion of meat, which would then lead to a lasting aversion to meat-eating,” writes Anderson about Liao’s idea of an anti-meat drug, which admittedly would be voluntary, at least initially. And if the drug option is not plausible, then Liao suggests an anti-meat patch that would stimulate an immune response that rejects the assimilation of meat proteins in the body.

Pasture-raised animals actually help the environment, naturally improve soil health

Liao’s short-sighted and ignorant views about meat production are concerning, because they could be used to implement tyrannical restrictions on meat consumption in the very near future. What Liao fails to grasp is the difference between the factory-farm model of raising livestock, which is destroying human health and the environment, and small-scale, pasture-based models of raising livestock, which are actually improving the environment and soil health.

Back in 2010, Lisa Abend from TIME wrote a great piece about how grass-fed livestock operations are changing the way meat is produced, and all for the better. Unlike conventional livestock, grazing animals eat grass and other forage that humans cannot eat, and naturally work manure and other organic matter into soil while they ruminate, which improves soil nutrient content and keeps carbon dioxide in the ground where it belongs (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1953692,00.html).

In the pasture-based model, grazing animals are a vital part of the ecological cycle rather than a detriment to it, and the meat these animals produce is highly-nutritious and rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients. Pasture-raised animals, in other words, are an essential component of vibrant environmental health, as opposed to their confined counterparts, which are responsible for immense environmental destruction (http://www.naturalnews.com/027199_meat_fat_cattle.html).

Utah senator faces caucus challenge from Tea Party candidates

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 04:07 PM PDT

By Debbie Hummel, Reuters.com

Seeking one last term, Republican U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch is facing what may prove to be the toughest re-election of his 36-year tenure in Thursday’s Utah Republican caucus against two popular younger Tea Party-backed candidates.

Conservative and heavily Republican Utah last elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate more than four decades ago, so the Republican nominee is usually considered the presumptive winner of the general election in November.

For a senior stalwart of the Republican mainstream like Hatch, the ranking Republican on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, the Senate seat has long been regarded as his to lose. He was first elected in 1976 and turns 78 next week.

But former state Senator Dan Liljenquist, 37, and state Representative Chris Herrod, 46, are running this year against Hatch, saying now is the time for change.

Both have gained a strong following from the conservative Tea Party movement with campaign rhetoric focused on such themes such as reducing the size of government and lowering taxes. They have suggested Hatch’s principles have been compromised by his lengthy tenure as part of the inside-the-Beltway establishment.

“It’s time for a new generation to step up and lead,” Liljenquist said in a recent interview. “Washington will not be changed from the inside.”

CHRIS ROCK ATTACKS Camera Over Tea Party Question

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 04:04 PM PDT

From: TMZ.com

Chris Rock violently attacked a journalist’s camera in January — after the guy tried to trap Rock with a question about the comedian’s controversial stance on the Tea Party — and the intense footage has just surfaced.

In case you didn’t know — Rock went OFF on the TP last year in an Esquire interview, claiming, “When I see the Tea Party and all this stuff, it actually feels like racism's almost over. Because this is the last — this is the act up before the sleep. They're going crazy. They're insane.”

So conservative writer Jason Mattera decided to question Rock about his opinion at the Sundance Film Festival in January — blindsiding Rock with a TP question … asking, “When you said the Tea Party was insane and racist …”

But before he could finish his question, Rock tried to walk away. When he discovered his path was blocked by other people, Rock turned around and grabbed Mattera’s camera and wrestled it to the ground.

A rep for Chris says the actor’s attorney is looking into the video.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

How to Avoid Unfair Property Taxes; Top 15 Highest Property Tax Counties
What If Ron Paul Really Killed the Fed?
Major US Airport To Evict TSA Screeners
Unknown Tech Company Defies FBI In Mystery Surveillance Case
Obamacare to cost $1.76 trillion over 10 yrs
Why Ron Paul May Cut a Deal With Mitt Romney
American flag with President Obama’s image sparks outrage at Florida Democrats

How to Avoid Unfair Property Taxes; Top 15 Highest Property Tax Counties

Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:33 AM PDT

By SUSANNA KIM, ABC News

The battered real estate market has another side effect that often goes overlooked, consumer finance and tax experts say: Millions of homeowners are unknowingly paying too much property tax.

According to the National Taxpayers Union, about 30 percent of properties in the U.S. are assessed at higher values than they are really worth. That means their owners pay inflated property tax bills while other taxpayers in their towns reap the benefits.

Cities, counties and school districts are collecting 20 percent more in property taxes than they did in 2006, before the housing bubble burst and when home values were one-third higher than they are today, USA Today reported.

Though some of the assessments may have adjusted, the total amount of local state and property tax collection has only taken a small dip very recently, said Pete Sepp, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union. Sepp said that may mean the assessments have been decreasing but property tax rates may be increasing.

“Homeowners probably haven’t been getting the relief they expected when values dropped,” he said.

In 2003, the New York Public Interest Research Group examined assessment accuracy of nearly 700,000 homes in New York City and found that 31 percent were incorrectly over or under-assessed, based on fair market value.

Meanwhile, only 2 percent of homeowners appeal their property taxes, according to the National Taxpayers Union.

What If Ron Paul Really Killed the Fed?

Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:30 AM PDT

By Joe Mont, TheStreet.com

The most radical proposals to surface during this year’s presidential primaries are Congressman Ron Paul’s dual efforts to abolish the Federal Reserve and return the Unites States to a monetary standard backed by gold.

Should he prevail in November, and make good on his mission, how would that feat be accomplished and, perhaps more importantly, how would it affect average Americans?

It depends on whom you ask.

Economists — many freely admit it — have a spotty record when it comes to prognostication. There are diverse schools of thought within economics, and it is hardly an exact science despite the seeming precision of its mathematical formulas.

Abolishing the Federal Reserve is to take less than a year during a Ron Paul presidency. It would start with an audit of the Fed and end with the Treasury Department assuming its duties, overseeing a monetary supply backed by gold. (Silver has been touted as a potential secondary monetary commodity).

Paul is not the only high-profile figure who has championed an end to the Fed.

Major US Airport To Evict TSA Screeners

Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:26 AM PDT

By: Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars.com

One of America's busiest airports, Orlando Sanford International, has announced it will opt out of using TSA workers to screen passengers, a move which threatens the highly unpopular federal agency's role in other airports across the nation.

"The president of the airport said Tuesday that he would apply again to use private operators to screen passengers, using federal standards and oversight," reports the Miami Herald.

With Sanford International having originally been prevented by the TSA from opting out back in November 2010 when the federal agency froze the ability for airports to use their own private screeners, a law passed by the Senate last month forces the TSA to reconsider applications.

Larry Dale hinted that the move was motivated by the innumerable horror stories passengers have told of their encounters with the TSA, noting that the change was designed to provide a more "customer friendly" operation.

The agency has been slow to reissue the guidelines on the the rule change, prompting Republican Representatives John Mica of Florida, Darrell Issa of California and Jason Chaffetz of Utah to press TSA head John Pistole to implement the mandate.

Appearing at Orlando Sanford International yesterday, Mica said he had written to 200 airports advising them of the opportunity to op out of using TSA screeners.

Unknown Tech Company Defies FBI In Mystery Surveillance Case

Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:23 AM PDT

By Kim Zetter, Wired.com

Sometime earlier this year, a provider of communication services in the United States – perhaps a phone company, perhaps Twitter – got a letter from the FBI demanding it turn over information on one, or possibly even hundreds, of its customers. The letter instructed the company to never disclose the existence of the demand to anyone – in particular, the target of the investigation.

This sort of letter is not uncommon post-9/11 and with the passage of the U.S. Patriot Act, which gave the FBI increased authority to issue so-called National Security Letters (NSLs). In 2010, the FBI sent more than 24,000 NSLs to ISPs and other companies, seeking information on more than 14,000 individuals in the U.S.

The public heard about none of these letters.

But this time, the company that received the request pushed back. It told the agency that it wanted to tell its customer that he or she was being targeted, which would give the customer a chance to fight the request in court, as a group of Twitter users did last year when the Justice Department sought their records under a different kind of request. The minor defiance in this latest case was enough to land the NSL request in a federal court docket last Friday, where the government filed a request for a court order to force the company to adhere to the gag order.

In its petition, the government asserted that disclosure of the fact or contents of its NSL "may endanger the national security of the United States" and urged the court to issue an order binding the company to the nondisclosure provision, or be in violation of federal law and face contempt charges.

Although documents in the case are redacted to hide the identity of the company and the target of the investigation, they shed a little light on how NSLs are working these days, after a few reforms.

Obamacare to cost $1.76 trillion over 10 yrs

Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:21 AM PDT

By: Philip Klein, The Washington Examiner

President Obama’s national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office, rather than the $940 billion forecast when it was signed into law.

Democrats employed many accounting tricks when they were pushing through the national health care legislation, the most egregious of which was to delay full implementation of the law until 2014, so it would appear cheaper under the CBO’s standard ten-year budget window and, at least on paper, meet Obama’s pledge that the legislation would cost “around $900 billion over 10 years.”

When the final CBO score came out before passage, critics noted that the true 10 year cost would be far higher than advertised once projections accounted for full implementation.

Today, the CBO released new projections from 2013 extending through 2022, and the results are as critics expected: the ten-year cost of the law’s core provisions to expand health insurance coverage has now ballooned to $1.76 trillion.

That’s because we now have estimates for Obamacare’s first nine years of full implementation, rather than the mere six when it was signed into law. Only next year will we get a true ten-year cost estimate, if the law isn’t overturned by the Supreme Court or repealed by then.

Given that in 2022, the last year available, the gross cost of the coverage expansions are $265 billion, we’re likely looking at about $2 trillion over the first decade, or more than double what Obama advertised.

Why Ron Paul May Cut a Deal With Mitt Romney

Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:17 AM PDT

By ALEX ALTMAN, Time Swampland

For Ron Paul, victory is finally in sight. No, not a swearing-in ceremony next January 20, or even a single statewide win. Halfway through the primary season, Paul has won only a preference poll in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and he is running dead last in delegates among the four GOP candidates for President. He has spent a lot, if not always wisely: the $31.55 he has dropped per vote (more than even Mitt Romney) is a sum that might shock even a Democrat.

But winning the presidency was never Paul's foremost goal, and as he nears the end of his last presidential crusade, he has one more chance to promote his ideas. The Republican race is a muddled mess. Even after his southern losses, only Romney has a real shot at amassing the 1,144 delegates required to wrap up the nomination, and he would then face the task of unifying the GOP's warring factions. Which is why Paul's campaign has sent discreet signals to Camp Romney that the keys to Paul's shop can be had for the right price.

History suggests the two men are already in cahoots. Throughout the primary, Paul has been Romney's secret weapon. During the 20 GOP debates, Paul attacked Romney's rivals a total of 39 times while sparing Romney entirely, according to an analysis by the liberal group ThinkProgress. Paul leapt to Romney's defense when his tenure at Bain Capital and his taste for firing insurance companies came under attack, and skewered a series of Romney antagonists in TV ads. "He is our deputy campaign manager," jokes one Romney ally.

Paul's advisers bristle at suggestions that the libertarian icon is in league the GOP frontrunner. They say Paul still has a shot at the nomination if he can hold Romney beneath the delegate threshold until Tampa and then force a floor fight that sends delegates fleeing to Paul on a secondary ballot. This may be the company line, but the scenario is improbable enough that even Paul has conceded his "chances are slim."

Even as they tamp down rumors of a pact, Paul's advisers concede that the friendship between Paul and Romney is the initial step toward a deal. And behind the scenes, discussions between the two campaigns — as well as initial discussions with the Santorum and Gingrich camps, according to one Paul adviser — are slowly taking shape.

An alliance could benefit both camps. Paul's support would go a long way toward helping Romney with a bloc of young Republicans who have been turning out in huge numbers for Paul and who otherwise might stay home in November. It might also help Romney grab all of Paul's delegates. Such an arrangement would help Paul get what a Romney ally called "an important speaking role at the convention."

American flag with President Obama’s image sparks outrage at Florida Democrats

Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:14 AM PDT

By Joshua Rhett Miller, FOXNews.com

An American flag with President Obama’s image in place of the stars flew over a Florida county’s Democrat headquarters long enough to enrage local veterans who called the altered banner “a disgrace.”

Lake County Democratic Party officials took down the flag, which flew just below a standard Old Glory on the flagpole outside headquarters in Tavares following complaints by local veterans. But merely taking it down wasn’t enough for several local veterans, who said they fought for the flag Betsy Ross made famous, not one with a politician on it.

“It’s absolutely disrespectful,” Jim Bradford, a 71-year-old veteran who participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion told FoxNews.com. “It’s totally ridiculous. To put somebody’s picture there, to me, it’s a disgrace to do that.”

Bradford, an organizer with the Veterans Memorial at Fountain Park in Leesburg, Fla., snapped photos of the flag and distributed them to fellow veterans and friends. By late afternoon, he and several other veterans delivered a copy of the federal flag code to Nancy Hurlbert, chairwoman of the Lake County Democratic Party.

“We read that to her, but she would not accept that,” Bradford said. “The discussion finally got a little bit heated.”

The flag, which had been flying for several months without complaint and is available online for $12.95, was later removed by Hurlbert.

Bradford said Hurlbert apologized for the incident, but did not offer any promises that it wouldn’t fly again.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Anti-Obesity Soda Tax Fails as Lobbyists Spend Millions: Retail
Department Of Justice Wants Court To Keep Google/NSA Partnership Secret
Red meat is blamed for one in 10 early deaths
Illinois primary pits leaders vs. Tea Party
Tea Party group effort would take gay history out of school books
Outrage after cop uses taser on 9-year-old truant — twice!
Fed stress testing banks against 13% unemployment, 50% drop in stock market

Anti-Obesity Soda Tax Fails as Lobbyists Spend Millions: Retail

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 10:16 AM PDT

By Duane D. Stanford, BusinessWeek.com

Last month, Hawaii lawmakers killed a proposed tax that would have added 17 cents to a single-serve bottle of soda. It was the second failed attempt, even though Governor Neil Abercrombie had pushed the proposed levy.

Like many advocates of a sugary beverage tax, Abercrombie faced a well-funded lobbying campaign from soda makers opposed to such efforts, which are designed to stem rising rates of obesity. Since the beginning of 2009, PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and the American Beverage Association have spent as much as $70 million on lobbying and issue ads, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a proponent of soda taxes.

Efforts to enact such levies have foundered in 30 states.

"Whoever is loudest tends to control the discussion and, generally speaking, you buy your microphone with money," said Judith Phillips, a research analyst for Mississippi State University who studied the issue for lawmakers.

Health advocates agree soft drinks are an unhealthy source of sugar in Americans' diets. More than 35 percent of U.S. adults and about 17 percent of youths — or roughly 90 million people — are considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some say taxing soft drinks is one of the most effective ways to reverse the trend.

Department Of Justice Wants Court To Keep Google/NSA Partnership Secret

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:49 AM PDT

By Steve Watson, Infowars.com

The Department of Justice will ask a federal court to uphold the secrecy that surrounds the working relationship between Google and the National Security Agency in a hearing that is scheduled for next week.

Privacy watchdog group The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is returning to court once again in an effort to disclose more information regarding the widely publicized partnership between the spy agency and the search engine giant.

EPIC is suing to obtain documents that detail the relationship, and will appeal against the NSA's so-called "Glomar" response, claiming it "could neither confirm nor deny" the existence of any information about its relations with Google, because "such a response would reveal information about NSA's functions and activities."

The NSA's response stated that the agency "works with a broad range of commercial partners and research associations" in order to oversee the security of important information systems, but did not provide any further detail. The issue rose to prominencein January 2010 following a highly sophisticated and targeted cyber attack on the corporate infrastructure of Google and some twenty other large US companies.

Red meat is blamed for one in 10 early deaths

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:39 AM PDT

By Rebecca Smith, TelegraphUK

Small quantities of processed meat such as bacon, sausages or salami can increase the likelihood of dying early by a fifth, researchers from Harvard School of Medicine found. Eating steak increases the risk of early death by 12%.

The study found that cutting the amount of red meat in peoples' diets to 1.5 ounces (42 grams) a day, equivalent to one large steak a week, could prevent almost one in 10 early deaths in men and one in 13 in women.

The scientists said that the government's current advice that people should eat no more than 2.5 ounces (70 grams) a day, around the level the average Briton already consumes, was "generous".

Dr Frank Hu, co-author of the study, said: "Given the growing evidence that even modest amounts of red meat is associated with increased risk of chronic disease and premature death, 2.5 ounces (70 grams) per day seems generous. The bottom line is that we should make red meat only an occassional rather than regular part of our diet."

Illinois primary pits leaders vs. Tea Party

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:37 AM PDT

By Cameron Joseph, TheHill.com

The primary battle between Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) has turned into a proxy war between the House Republican leadership and the Tea Party.

This is the first election of 2012 to expose the schism between the two wings of the Republican Party, which have fought on policy issues since the conservative grassroots movement helped the GOP take control of the lower chamber in 2010.

Republican leaders — including House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — have either endorsed or donated to Kinzinger, a rising star in the Republican Conference. But many Tea Party members who supported Kinzinger in 2010 feel betrayed by his more centrist voting record and are backing Manzullo.

Manzullo told The Hill he's "not surprised" that House leaders are backing Kinzinger.

Tea Party group effort would take gay history out of school books

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:35 AM PDT

By Kristina Hernandez, The Sun

REDLANDS – The Redlands Tea Party Patriots are working to collect signatures from residents to help repeal the FAIR Education Act (Senate Bill 48).
The act amends the Education Code to require schools across the state to integrate factual information about social movements, current events and the history of people with disabilities and those from the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered community into existing social studies lessons.

Since its introduction into California law last July when the measure was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, SB 48 has received its fair share of support and controversy.

Those who are against the bill say that lessons will introduce the LGBT lifestyle into classrooms when the discussion of a gay individual is on a lesson plan, and that the discussion of the LGBT community should be handled under the discretion of a parent or guardian of a California student.

Pastor Don Wallace of the Redlands Christian Center said the law will not allow students who are uncomfortable with the subject matter to opt out of any lesson on gay history.

“My understanding is that it is supposed to be a historical teaching of those who are (gay) and have had a contribution to society. My point is that their sexuality should have nothing to do with it. If they made a contribution to our society, fine talk about their contribution and not their sexuality. This moves on from teaching to the promotion of a lifestyle that I don’t think is appropriate,” he said.

Outrage after cop uses taser on 9-year-old truant — twice!

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:31 AM PDT

By Holly Zachariah, The Columbus Dispatch

MOUNT STERLING, Ohio – Embattled police Chief Mike McCoy announced last night that he will soon resign from his village post, though he insisted it has nothing to do with the fact that one of his officers shocked a 9-year-old boy twice with a Taser last week.

McCoy, who was placed on paid leave late last week after he did not tell Mount Sterling Mayor Charlie Neff of the incident, said he wasn't pressured to resign.

Instead, after an hour-long, closed-door meeting between his personal attorney and village officials, McCoy read a statement that said the village's declining budget keeps him from doing his job.

He said he did nothing wrong by not immediately telling Neff what had happened because, as chief, he felt he needed to check into the incident himself first.

"I did what I was supposed to do to maintain the integrity of the incident," McCoy said.

Neff said McCoy wasn't asked to quit, but he added that the past few days "have been tough." He said that lawyers are drafting a separation agreement and the council is expected to accept McCoy's formal resignation at its meeting in two weeks. McCoy will not be reporting back to his $49,900-a-year job, though.

In the meantime, the entire part-time police force remains disbanded and the Madison County sheriff's office will patrol the village. There was no discussion of hiring a new chief or bringing back officers, and last week's incident is being reviewed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Among the 70 or so people at the meeting was Michelle Perry, whose son Jared was shocked by Mount Sterling police Officer Scott O'Neil last Tuesday morning.

Mrs. Perry didn't comment, but her attorney, Tracy Comisford, said after the meeting that when O'Neil came to arrest her son for truancy, Mrs. Perry never expected that he would be subdued with a Taser. "She certainly never wanted this to happen," Comisford said.

Village officials released the police report yesterday. According to O'Neil's written account:

He went to the boy's S. Market Street home about 8:30 a.m. to serve a complaint filed against Jared for truancy.

Fed stress testing banks against 13% unemployment, 50% drop in stock market

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:26 AM PDT

By Joe Weisenthal | BusinessInsider.com

The Fed just announced that the latest round of bank stress tests will come out Thursday at 4:30 PM ET.

As a reminder, this is the doom scenario banks will be stress tested against:

The supervisory stress scenario for CCAR 2012, which was designed in November 2011, depicts a severe recession in the United States, including a peak unemployment rate of 13 percent, a 50 percent drop in equity prices, and a 21 percent decline in housing prices. The supervisory stress scenario is not the Federal Reserve’s forecast for the economy, but was designed to represent an outcome that, while unlikely, may occur if the U.S economy were to experience a deep recession at the same time that economic activity in other major economies contracted significantly.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Property tax collections to start downward trend
Obama defends energy policies amid gas price pain
While California persecutes raw milk farmers, France unveils raw milk vending machines for happy, healthy consumers
Tea Party Turns Up Heat on GOP Over ‘Fast and Furious’

Property tax collections to start downward trend

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 06:13 PM PDT

By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

More than five years after real estate prices began to tumble, Americans are finally starting to get property tax breaks on their devalued homes, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Cities, counties and school districts today collect 20% more in property taxes than they did in 2006 when home values were one-third higher than now. But the tax tide is slowly starting to recede.

Last year, property tax collections rose just 1.2% — and actually declined 0.9% when adjusted for inflation, according to data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s the first time property tax collections have fallen below the inflation rate since 1995 and only the third time in 40 years.

If the downward trend continues, property taxes may actually bring in fewer dollars this year than last even before adjusting for inflation. That hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.

Property taxes generated $436 billion last year, about $66 billion more than in 2006 when home values peaked. Public schools get about 40% of this money. The rest flows to other local governments.

Most states have complex laws that make property tax declines rare, small or long-delayed, even when home values plummet. This makes the property tax stable during economic turmoil, unlike the income or sales tax.

Obama defends energy policies amid gas price pain

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 06:10 PM PDT

By Alister Bull, Reuters.com

President Barack Obama launched the most comprehensive defense to date of his energy policies on Monday, pushing back against election-year attacks from Republicans who say they are to blame for high gas prices that are eroding his popularity with voters.

Heralding a report on energy security showing a big drop in U.S. oil imports, Obama acknowledged pain at the pump that analysts fear could lift gasoline to $5 a gallon in some parts of the country and pose a threat his Nov. 6 bid for re-election.

“Today’s high gas prices are a painful reminder that there’s much more work to do to free ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil and take control of our energy future,” Obama said in a statement on the energy report. “We have made progress.”

The 20-page study, which highlighted rising domestic oil and gas production and Obama’s steps to lift fuel efficiency, showed U.S. oil imports declined to 8.4 million barrels a day by the end of 2011, versus 11 million barrels a day in January 2009.

The White House said his policies were tackling a troubling topic for many Americans. This was underlined by a new Washington Post-ABC poll, which showed disapproval of Obama’s handling of the economy increased to 59 percent, from 53 percent when the survey was taken last month.

Nearly two-thirds of those polled said they did not approve of his handling of the situation with gas prices.

While California persecutes raw milk farmers, France unveils raw milk vending machines for happy, healthy consumers

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 06:07 PM PDT

By: Mike Adams, NaturalNews.com

Thanks to the extraordinarily cruel and vindictive actions of the LA County and Ventura County District Attorneys’ offices, California is rapidly losing its reputation as a state that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Instead, the state is becoming increasingly known as “the torture state” where senior citizen farmers and fresh food advocates are imprisoned, tortured, and charged with felony crimes for making fresh milk available to customers. See our astonishing report on California’s latest assault on a 65-year-old “milk man” at:

http://www.naturalnews.com/035208_James_Stewart_torture_county_jail.h…

France, on the other hand, has embraced the health benefits of raw milk. There, innovative dairy farmer Michel Cantaloube has created a raw milk vending machine (see photo below). The vending machine is a tastefully-designed kiosk that blends right into the urban setting, allowing it to be set up on a street corner on a French town or even a major metropolitan area.

Customers can purchase whatever quantity of raw milk they wish, and unlike in the United States, they don’t even have to go through the bizarre paperwork of owning a “cow share.”

California declares war on raw dairy farmers

Back in Los Angeles, raw dairy farmer Sharon Palmer has been slapped with 38 felony counts drummed up by the county, which has a rogue DA office running a campaign of personal revenge against dairy farmers. Driven into near-bankruptcy by the fines and legal fees, Palmer has been unable to repay farm investors as planned, so when her repayments fell behind, the county charged her with financial fraud.

Keep in mind that when MF Global’s Jon Corzine stole billions of dollars from investors, he was never even charged with a crime. When Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs went broke making bad beds with other people’s money, the United States government gave them a trillion-dollar bailout! But when a small, organic raw milk farmer in California runs into financial trouble caused by the state itself, they get charged with 38 felony counts of fraud.

James Stewart, the 65-year-old “milk man” from California, was arrested nine days ago for the crime of merely “knowing” Sharon Palmer. His bail was set at the astonishing level of $1 million — an amount rarely used even for rapists and murderers. (Sharon’s bail was set at $2 million!) He was then subjected to extreme torture that nearly killed him in an LA County jail. This included food deprivation, sleep deprivation, hypothermia, interrogation, verbal intimidation and even flooding his jail cell with raw human sewage and forcing him to clean out the raw sewage himself. Read the full details at:

http://www.naturalnews.com/035208_James_Stewart_torture_county_jail.h…

So in France, raw milk is happily sold in vending machines on street corners, but in California — a state which used to represent a healthy, happy lifestyle — raw milk advocates are targeted by the state as criminals, then subjected to personal vengeance campaigns run by the DA’s office.

France = the “healthy food nation” of raw milk and red wine.

California = the “torture state” of total government brutality and oppression of farmers, along with the torture of raw dairy advocates.

Tea Party Turns Up Heat on GOP Over ‘Fast and Furious’

Posted: 12 Mar 2012 05:59 PM PDT

From: FOX Nation

Judson Phillips, the founder of Tea Party Nation, appeared on Fox News this morning and called out top Republican leaders in Congress for their inaction on the Fast & Furious gunrunning scandal.

Phillips accused GOP leaders like John Boehner and Eric Cantor of just "sitting there" and "not picking a fight with the president" instead of making the case a priority.

Jamie Colby reminded viewers of Fast & Furious and its link to several deaths, including the murder of a U.S. border agent. She asked Phillips if the support of an investigation was a purely partisan one. Phillips said it goes back further than that, because the entire Fast & Furious operation was a partisan one.

He accused the Justice Department of running a "purely political operation" as opposed to a "law enforcement sting," suggesting that anyone who supported it bought into the belief that American guns are being sent into Mexico and that's what's causing all the gang violence, which Phillips said could ultimately lead to a push for stricter gun control legislation.

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Friday, March 16, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

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