Truth Has No Agenda (GB)

Archive for December, 2011

New Year’s Eve night out: Why what women wear actually matters

[HotAir.com]

posted at 7:00 pm on December 31, 2011 by Tina Korbe

Jazz already made a compelling case to avoid a night out altogether — and, to this day, my best New Year’s Eve memories involve watching M*A*S*H reruns with my parents until midnight and then skipping down the hall to go to sleep. But a chic party is fun, too, especially if it compels frequently-pajama-clad bloggers to dress festively. So, I’ll be the chipper to Jazz’s chill — and celebrate with those of you who do plan to go out on the town tonight. I hope y’all have a ball!

At the same time, though, I can’t help but my implore my fellow females to aim for “pretty” and not “hot” tonight. Let me explain. Truthfully, I didn’t plan to write about this. We’re not a fashion blog — and, by and large, I don’t think what folks wear does matter. But, this morning, I read a brief blog post headlined “The Death of Pretty” — and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. This is a rather long excerpt, but it’s too good to not be shared (the whole piece is worth your time, too!):

Pretty, pretty is dying.

(more…)


The Daily Mail Has No Idea What An iPad Is, Attacks Bachmann

Dana Loesch

[BigJournalism.com]

Posted by Dana Loesch

Dec 31st 2011 at 9:00 am

The Daily Mail is a joy to read, mainly because you never know what delicious nugget of editorial bizzarreness you’ll find in its column inches: photos that have nothing to do with the story, misidentified subjects, ads for products published as regular content; it’s British tabloid journalism at its finest (?) and I think they even lean slightly conservative. I mainly read it because I enjoy reading about where the latest UFO was spotted and what Daphne Guinness or Helena Bonham Carter are wearing this week (love them both). But they have no idea what an iPad is.

Video

The Daily Mail realizes that reading a speech in document form off of an iPad is not the same as having it continuously fed to you via teleprompter, yes? Or that an iPad and a teleprompter are two different things?

It sounds like she’s just reading bullet points from her iPad. If she was using one of the teleprompter apps, she would have lost her space as she pauses multiple times including an interrupting train. Not to engage in “iPad-gate,” it does look as though she’s rolling the screen up manually using her thumb.

The horrors!

So no, she’s not using a teleprompter and the Daily Mail is ridiculous for publishing this filler.

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Federal judge: For blacks, ‘voting rights’ include identifying Democrats on ballots

[DailyCaller.com]

Published: 1:42 PM 12/26/2011 | Updated: 12:04 AM 12/28/2011

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee (David Martosko/TheDC)

A U.S. District Court judge has rejected a challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — filled when the Department of Justice barred the city of Kinston, N.C. from holding nonpartisan elections — reasoning that lack of access to party affiliation would discriminate against minority voters who otherwise wouldn’t know how to find Democratic candidates on a ballot.

The challenge was initiated after the Justice Department rejected a 2008 referendum vote in which the city of Kinston voted to stop listing candidates’ party affiliations on ballots.

Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department must approve changes to election law in regions with a history, however distant, of racial discrimination.

The Justice Department prevented the 2008 referendum change, arguing in part that “the elimination of party affiliation on the ballot will likely reduce the ability of blacks to elect candidates of choice.”

(more…)


Michele Bachmann Reveals Her ‘Favorite’ Gun: ‘An AR-15′ — Here’s Why

[TheBlaze.com]

Have you ever wondered what presidential candidate Michele Bachmann considers her favorite gun? Well wonder no more: it’s an AR-15.

An AR-15 — Michele Bachmann’s favorite gun.

Bachmann made the revelation during a radio interview with WHO-AM RADIO on Thursday morning. But that wasn’t the only gun-related news she discussed. She also talked about how she‘s a concealed carry permit holder and how she’s actually set to go on an upcoming bird hunt with Rep. Steve King.

“Hey, I’m a pretty good shot, I got to tell you,” she said, later adding, “I learned how to hunt here in Iowa from my dad. I went through gun safety when I was 12. … And I scored the best in my class of any of the men, too, in that class.”

So why does she like the AR-15 so much? “Because you can be so accurate with it.”

“I love it. I love it, it’s a great gun. I like being accurate, and that is a great gun.”

You can listen to her describe her love for the AR-15, as well as the size of her magazine, below:

Michele Bachmann talks guns… AR-15Click here to find out more!


New Law Creates More Charter Schools for Michigan

Education Action Group

[BigGovernment.com]

Posted Dec 28th 2011 at 10:26 am

by Education Action Group

Labor unions are very powerful in Michigan, and the Michigan Education Association may be the strongest of them all.

That explains why the number of charter schools in Michigan has remained capped at a frustrating 150 for nearly two decades.

But that finally changed last week, when Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill that will increase the cap to 300 charter schools in 2012, 500 in 2014 and eliminate limits altogether starting in 2015. That means school choice is on the march in Michigan, and traditional public schools will face increased pressure to measure up or lose thousands of students and millions of dollars of state funding.

The new law is a major defeat for the MEA and many public school organizations, who bitterly opposed the idea of increased competition.

(more…)


Are You Posing or Living?

[FOXBusiness.com]

Written by

Published December 28, 2011

At this time every year, with the influx of tourists into New York, I get a little bit more perspective on what it really means to be present in your life. It comes, remarkably, from trying to negotiate the jammed sidewalks and store aisles in the city.

I like the bustle and energy of the holidays. I am pretty unfazed by crowds because if I’m in them it’s usually voluntary. And there is something exhilarating about being in this part of the world in December and witnessing the wonder.

But here’s where I differ from many: I am not prone to take pictures of every darned thing I see. Now, with not only cameras but smartphones and tablets having that capability, it’s like posing has taken over for experiencing. To the tenth power. Chronicling gone wild. Documentation on steroids.

(more…)


Some Call for HBO Boycott in Wake of Bill Maher’s Derisive Tweet About Tim Tebow

[FoxNews.com]

Published December 27, 2011

bill maher talk show host entertainment

Reuters

HBO is catching some flak in the wake of comedian Bill Maher’s crack about Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

Maher, who hosts the long-running HBO show “Real Time With Bill Maher,” wrote a message on his Twitter account after the Broncos lost to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

“Wow, Jesus just [screwed] #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere … Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler “Hey, Buffalo’s killing them.”

Tebow had thrown four interceptions in his team’s Christmas Eve loss to the Bills, which prompted Maher’s remark.

Tebow did not respond to Maher, but now some fans are calling for a boycott of HBO, urging customers to cancel their subscriptions, Yahoo! Sports reports.

(more…)


Fact Check: Harry Reid‘s Claim That ’Millionaire job Creators…Don’t Exist’ Thoroughly Debunked

[TheBlaze.com]

“Tax policy should be serious business carried out by serious politicians using real facts and figures. This is why we have the Library of Congress and the Congressional Budget Office, among other expert institutions,” writes Paul Roderick Gregory of Forbes.

Indeed, given the current state of the U.S. economy, tax policy has become an increasingly important subject. And yet, some top-ranking politicians have been making “patently inaccurate, outrageous and bizarre” claims on tax-policy issues and they are doing it without repercussion.

For instance, on Dec.12, while proposing his 1.9 percent surtax on millionaires, Sen. Harry Reid said the following (via Forbes):

Millionaire job creators are like unicorns. They’re impossible to find, and they don’t exist…Only a tiny fraction of people making more than a million dollars, probably less than 1 percent, are small business owners. And only a tiny fraction of that tiny fraction are traditional job creators…Most of these businesses are hedge fund managers or wealthy lawyers. They don’t do much hiring and they don’t need tax breaks.

(more…)


White House Condemns Christmas Day Terrorist Attack in Nigeria

[TheBlaze.com]

(AP) The White House is condemning what it is calling a “senseless” Christmas terrorist attack in Nigeria.

The White House also offered its condolences to the Nigerian people, especially the families of the at least 39 people killed Sunday. The majority died on the steps of a Catholic church after celebrating Mass, part of an apparently coordinated assault by a radical Muslim sect.

The White House says U.S. officials have been in contact with their counterparts in Nigeria and pledged to assist them in bringing those responsible to justice.

President Barack Obama was monitor developments from Hawaii, where he is vacationing with his family.

(TheBlaze.com/AP)


Pope to Faithful at Christmas Eve Mass: ‘See Through the Superficial Glitter of this Season’

[TheBlaze.com]

(The Blaze/AP) Pope Benedict XVI decried the increasing commercialization of Christmas as he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass on Saturday night, beginning celebrations around the globe. Two hours before midnight at Vatican City, Pope Benedict urged the faithful to look to the holiday’s true meaning.

“Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light,” Benedict told congregants in a packed St. Peter’s Basilica.

Benedict presided over the service in a packed St. Peter’s Basilica, kicking off an intense two weeks of Christmas-related public appearances that will test the 84-year-old pontiff’s stamina amid signs that fatigue is starting to slow him down.

The Christmas Eve Mass was moved up to 10 p.m. from midnight several years ago to spare the pope a late night that is followed by an important Christmas Day speech. In a new concession this year, Benedict processed down the basilica’s central aisle on a moving platform to spare him the long walk.

(more…)


Troops Open Fire on Protesters in Yemeni Capital

[FoxNews.com]

Associated Press 

Published December 24, 2011

protestersyemengate

AP – Dec. 24, 2011: Protestors stand behind the gate of a field hospital to watch wounded demonstrators being carried from the site of clashes with security forces, in Sanaa, Yemen.

SANAA, Yemen –  Yemen’s outgoing president said Saturday he would leave the country for the United States to help calm tensions in his country as forces commanded by his son and nephew opened fire on more than 100,000 protesters marching into the capital, killing at least eight.

The protesters had marched on foot for four days from the city of Taiz, south of Sanaa, in the first such march of its kind seen in Yemen, to pressure the government not to give Saleh immunity from prosecution. When they reached the southern entrances to the capital, forces of the elite Republican Guard fired on them with automatic weapons, tear gas and water cannons.

The turmoil reflected the confused political situation in Yemen caused by the slow-motion, uncertain exit of Saleh from power in the face of huge protests demanding his ouster that have shaken the country since February.

(more…)


Video: Occupy DC protesters react to Time magazine’s POTY

[HotAir.com]

posted at 8:30 pm on December 23, 2011 by Tina Korbe

One protester caught the irony: Time magazine is itself a part of a media conglomerate (a.k.a. a corporation, the 1 percent, the Man, the Machine). To be honored by them, then, the lone protester said, is actually a “slap in the face.”

The rest of the protesters? They were just elated — some to the level of profanity, others to the level of a meta-meta-meta moment, still others to the level of tears. It’s touching, really: These people who never knew what it was, exactly, that they set out to accomplish take validation from Time magazine as evidence that they did, in fact, accomplish it.


Rick Perry Disqualified from Virginia Primary Ballot

Publius

[BigGovernment.com]

Posted Dec 23rd 2011 at 6:05 pm

by Publius

From the Washington Examiner:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry failed to get on Virginia’s presidential primary ballot after the state Republican Party determined Friday that he didn’t submit at least 10,000 valid signatures. The GOP earlier announced former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul will be on the ballot.

An announcement from the party on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s petitions is expected Friday evening.

The state GOP verified Friday that Romney and Paul turned in petitions with enough valid signatures, including 400 from each of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts, to get their names on the March 6 primary ballot.

(more…)


Sniper Detectors Coming to America’s Heartland

[FoxNews.com]

By

Published December 22, 2011

Swat unit aims at sniperAP – Members of a SWAT unit take aim at a second floor apartment window during a 2006 standoff in which a shooter wounded three police officers and a state trooper.

Gunshots ring out in the dead of night, and not a single person reports it. Yet police know exactly where the shots came from, even before they arrive on the scene.

It sounds like a scene from The Minority Report, but it’s real. A new technology called ShotSpotter enables law enforcement officials to precisely and instantaneously locate shooters, and it has been quietly rolling out across America. From Long Island, N.Y., to San Francisco, Calif., more than 60 cities in the U.S. have been leveraging ShotSpotter to make their streets safer.

Technology to precisely and instantaneously locate shooters — called ShotSpotter — has been quietly rolled out across America.

(more…)


Newt’s Last Chance

American [Spectator.org]

By on 12.22.11

Instead of complaining about Romney’s attacks, he should launch his own.

Negative ads work; whining about negative ads doesn’t. Newt Gingrich is just wasting time by complaining about them. Who cares if Mitt Romney hasn’t disavowed attack ads? The question is: Why haven’t Newt and his friends launched their own?

Voters want a “positive” candidate, says Newt. No, they don’t. Candidates whose supporters have the money to run ceaseless attack ads against their opponents do just fine with voters.

“And you now understand my entire strategy for the next two weeks,” Gingrich said to the press this week. “The state of Iowa must choose between the negative and somebody who wants to be positive.”

Iowans look ready to take up this dare and choose the negative. Ron Paul, who has no qualms about running negative ads, is thriving there.

(more…)


Propaganda: TLC’s All American Muslim; Sponsors pull support

[GDMP.net]

By: Taylor McAdams

December 21, 2011

If you are like me, a conservative American, you may think that the program title All-American Muslim is an oxymoron.  Obviously, we all agree that there are some Muslims in America that are genuine Americans who came here, or whose family came here to escape the oppression and tyranny of Islamic Sharia law.

Nevertheless, if you are an avid Muslim adherent to the Koran, you should know that the call of every Muslim is to convert the entire world to Islam; and anyone that does not convert is to be killed.  That sounds pretty intense and straight forward to a common sense American.

The United States of America was created by our God fearing forefathers who were in agreement that our rights are God given.  These rights come from the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry and others wanted freedom from the tyranny of King George of England.

(more…)


RyanAir CEO Slams EU at EU Innovation Summit

American (Spectator.org)

By on 12.19.11 @ 4:46PM

Politicians and bureaucrats in the European Union were treated to a verbal lashing for their cronyism and anti-entrepreneurism by Michael O’Leary, CEO of airline RyanAir, at a conference held by the EU on “innovation.”

The CEO started his remarks tearing down the European ruling class for protecting inefficient airlines that charge too much money for useless services. For this speech to come from someone in Europe, let alone at a summit at the EU, is a conservative dream.

(more…)


On the Ground in Iowa

[PJMedia.com]

The situation is fluid, but Iowa Republicans know which candidate they don’t want.

by Ari J. Kaufman

Bio  December 19, 2011 – 6:58 pm

Iowa is in the spotlight again as America’s first presidential caucus on January 3 nears. Coincidentally, my day job found me traveling across various portions of President Herbert Hoover’s home state on a bi-weekly basis the past four months, and I was able to gather views from a diverse group of people while making these treks.

In January 2008, Mike Huckabee won the state’s Republican caucus, and Barack Obama took the Democratic caucus. Ten months later in the general election, the former Illinois senator prevailed by ten points over John McCain. Though that was the same margin as traditionally liberal Minnesota, the Hawkeye State has a more regional voting bloc. The rural west toward the Missouri River is more conservative, while the larger cities and Mississippi River towns to the east lean Democrat.

(more…)


Boehner Demands Year-Long Tax Cut, Challenges Senate to Heavier Lift

[FoxNews.com]

Published December 19, 2011

WASHINGTON –  Under the gun from his Republican caucus and unwilling to let the Senate off the hook, House Speaker John Boehner on Monday said the House GOP will reject a two-month payroll tax cut bill that does nothing to help businesses plan or Americans save.

House leaders are planning a vote Monday night to approve a larger package than the Senate-passed legislation, whose price tag is $33 billion and which allows for the Social Security tax rate to stay at 4.2 percent from 6.2 percent for another two months instead of the year that most members prefer.

(more…)


White House Stands by Biden Statement That Taliban Isn’t U.S. Enemy [WH Gaff Central]

[FoxNews.com]

 [You Decide]

Published December 19, 2011

biden_110411

AP – November 4, 2011: Vice President Joe Biden speaks at University of Pittsburgh.

The White House on Monday defended Vice President Joe Biden for saying that the Taliban isn’t an enemy of the United States despite the years spent fighting the militant Islamic group that gave a home to Al Qaeda and its leader Usama bin Laden while he plotted the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

“It’s only regrettable when taken out of context,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said of  the vice president’s remarks in an interview published Monday.

“It is a simple fact that we went into Afghanistan because of the attack on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. We are there now to ultimately defeat Al Qaeda, to stabilize Afghanistan and stabilize it in part so that Al Qaeda or other terrorists who have as their aim attacks on the United States cannot establish a foothold again in that country,” Carney continued.

(more…)


Bestselling Author Brad Thor Endorses Rick Santorum

[TheBlaze.com]


New York Times #1 bestselling novelist Brad Thor announced Monday his endorsement of former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum for President.

“There is one presidential candidate who understands and can swiftly address the threats facing our nation – and that candidate is Rick Santorum,” Thor said in a statement.

“Rick Santorum has stood strong against radical dictators in Syria and Iran, the gravest threat to our national security.  Rick knows that the world would be forever changed by Iran getting a nuclear weapon, and he has sworn to keep this from happening,” he continued. “I am excited to add my endorsement to the growing list of prominent supporters who understand that Rick Santorum is the right man, at the right time to lead our nation.”

A senior Santorum advisor tells POLITICO that the Santorum campaign is talking to Thor about a prominent role on the campaign trail.

Thor is the author of The Lions of Lucerne, Path of the Assassin, State of the Union, Blowback, Takedown, The First Commandment, and The Last Patriot. Thor has expressed conservative viewpoints as a commentator on the “Glenn Beck Program” and shows on several cable news networks. He has also been a guest speaker at events for The Heritage Foundation. 


Pelosi Economic Advisor Also a Business Partner

Publius

[BigGovernment.com]

Posted Dec 19th 2011 at 7:16 am

by Publius

From Roll Call:

May 2010, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to a podium in the Capitol to introduce a half-dozen economic experts she had convened for a meeting on how to jump-start the economy. The group had met for several hours with top Democratic leaders, and Pelosi invited them to speak publicly on their perspectives on economic growth.

What Pelosi did not mention is that one of the men in the group was her son’s boss and a partner with her husband in more than a half-dozen investments, including one that generated more than $100,000 in income for the Speaker’s family last year.

It was the fourth time since 2007 that Pelosi had invited San Francisco investment banker William Hambrecht to be part of an economic policy forum on the Hill and the third time she appeared at a podium with him to speak to reporters. At none of those events did the then-Speaker reveal her financial ties to Hambrecht, and House rules did not require her to do so.

At a time when the connection between a Member of Congress’ personal finances and public role has been spotlighted by the proposed STOCK Act — which would prohibit lawmakers from trading on legislative knowledge — the case of Pelosi and her family’s investment adviser is a reminder of how few rules exist to govern these relationships.

(more…)


Right to Work: A Basic American Freedom

David A. Bego

[BigGovernment.com]

Posted Dec 18th 2011 at 1:08 pm

by David A. Bego

Recent polls indicate Americans are fed up with Big Labor’s schoolyard bully tactics and utilization of taxpayer money to support political candidates and liberal agendas. Additionally, Americans are tired of government deficits driven by public sector pay, overblown benefits, and restrictive work rules. Americans, including union rank and file members, are tired of Big Labor’s attempt to deprive them of basic freedoms.

They voiced their displeasure in last November’s election (see Union Members Not Happy with Their Leader’s Political Spending and Union Members Overwhelmingly Oppose Union Boss Political Spending on 2010 Midterm Elections). In states like Indiana, elected officials have heard the people’s mandate and are proposing “Right to Work” legislation (“RTW”) that will provide each and every American the right to personally decide if they wish to be represented by a union, without fearing the threat of reprisal. What could be more American than the freedom of choice?

Politicians and Big Labor bosses in Indiana, Michigan and New Hampshire are already drawing the battle lines for debate and potential passage of Right to Work (“RTW”) laws during their respective 2012 legislative assemblies. Determining which state will be next and become the 23rd Right to Work state is a matter of speculation.

Unfortunately, we can be certain that the rhetoric, propaganda, misinformation and theatrics from liberal politicians and Big Labor bosses will be divisive. As chronicled in my book The Devil at My Doorstep, I have first-hand experience with Big Labor’s tactics and their use of corporate campaigns.

(more…)


Gingrich: Increasingly Arrogant Judiciary, Considers Capitol Police to Arrest Activist Judges

[TheBlaze.com]

AP – Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich again blasted the judicial branch of the U.S. government Sunday and said he would be willing to send Capitol Hill police or U.S. Marshals to arrest judges and haul them before a congressional hearing.

Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,“ Gingrich said there is a ”fundamental assault on our liberties by the courts.” He defended his previously stated position that the president and Congress should have the authority to ignore court rulings they disagree with, and that in the case of extremely controversial decisions, lawmakers should have the power to subpoena activist judges and have them defend their rulings.

(more…)


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