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LIFE AFTER SUICIDE


Ever wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat of anxiety over something?  Something you feel such dread over you can't shut your brain off and stop fretting so there's no way you can go back to sleep?

That was me last night.   No matter how much I tried not to, I couldn't stop thinking about suicide.  Not mine.  America's.

I am scared out of my mind for my country.  I never felt this way before, I've always looked upon America's glass as half-full all through this nightmare presidency of the last 27 months.  No longer - for there was an act of evil perpetrated by that presidency a few days ago that has caused my hope for America to falter.

The Nov. 2nd election last year of Republican control of the House gave us - pro-Americans who want their country to survive - an ace in the hole.   Only the House has the constitutional authority to spend federal government money.  If the House refuses to spend money on any given federal program or agency, it is "defunded" and they cease to exist.

And that's all we needed to save America.  All we need is to get the government out of the way by defunding its fascist regulations and agencies, by refusing to let the fascists borrow more money, and America could once again be solvent and free.

Then came last night, when I woke up seeing the face of the Grinning Monster who currently occupies the Oval Office, and listening to his contemptuous laugh at any House threat to defund or shutdown his fascist government.  Then the Grinning Monster looked at me and said, "Don't you realize I have an ace in the hole of my own?"

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IT’S WAR, NOT A CRIME SPREE


President Obama's meeting with his top national security advisers does nothing to change the fact that his fundamental approach to terrorism is fatally flawed. We are at war with radical Islamic extremists and treating this threat as a law enforcement issue is dangerous for our nation's security.

That's what happened in the 1990s and we saw the result on September 11, 2001. This is a war on terror not an "overseas contingency operation." Acts of terrorism are just that, not "man caused disasters."

The system did not work. Abdulmutallab was a child of privilege radicalized and trained by organized jihadists, not an "isolated extremist" who traveled to a land of "crushing poverty." He is an enemy of the United States, not just another criminal defendant.

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Pat Buchanan’s Catch-22

The former presidential candidate these days is in a real bind. He can’t decide between his putative love for America or his hatred of Jews and Israel.

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CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO REDEEM HIMSELF


Before the Democrat-led Senate rammed it through in the dead of night, Christmas Eve 2009 – Senate President Harry Reid used a House bill unrelated to Obamacare, struck all the language and the title so that only the former HR number remained, and then inserted a new title and over 2,000 pages of job-killing, economy-crushing, health-care-rationing compost.

Sneaky? Yes. Typical? No doubt. Unconstitutional? Absolutely. It’s like dropping a Ford Pinto engine into a totaled Ferrari body, patching it up and then selling it to some unsuspecting dupe as a “brand new Ferrari.”

Unfortunately, America was that unsuspecting dupe.

Well, the jig’s up.  Although the mainstream media paid it little attention, back in November (11/26/12) the U.S. Supreme Court shocked many in the legal community by granting Liberty Counsel’s motion for a rehearing on its multi-pronged challenge to Obamacare. The high court ordered the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear arguments. We will present our oral arguments May 14-17.

Liberty Counsel’s brief argues that Obamacare is invalid because, since it’s a tax – as the Supreme Court already ruled in June – it violates the Constitution’s Origination Clause. To pass constitutional muster, tax bills must originate in the House, not the Senate.

No matter how the 4th Circuit rules, it will be appealed to the SCOTUS.  Chief Justice Roberts will get another bite at the rotten apple – this time, with a whole new quiver of legal arrows.

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HALF-FULL REPORT 06/15/12


It was yet another lousy week for Zero, but to tell the truth, it's getting reeeeaaallly boring talking about this guy.  I am so excruciatingly bored with him and his grimacing wife and his moonbat supporters and his groveling media sycophants and his union thugs and his crony business-shysters and his airhead celebrities.

So let's get outta here and go somewhere else.  How about France?  That should be fun - for it's simply awesome to witness the French immolate themselves.

When I was growing up, there were two Frances.  One was that embodied by Maurice Chevalier (1888-1972) - completely captivating, oozing French charm and savoir-faire, impossible not to like. Here's a link to him singing Thank Heaven For Little Girls in Gigi (1958).

The other France was embodied by Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970) - completely pompous, oozing arrogance and pretentiousness, utterly ungrateful to America for saving his country in World Wars I and II, yearning for the days of French gloire (glory) centuries ago and pretending they still existed.       

De Gaulle's France is the only one left now, still pompous, still the arrogant beggar, with a hopelessly incompetent champagne socialist running the place.

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US FINANCIAL REGULATION NEEDS TO BE MORE LIKE THE CAYMAN ISLANDS


Last week, ABC News ran a story that led with the statement, ‘Mitt Romney has millions of dollars of his personal wealth in investment funds set up in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven.'

What the reporters failed to mention was that ABC, a unit of the Disney Corp., also has millions of dollars in Cayman-registered funds. Probably most employees at ABC, including the reporters who wrote the story, have some of their money in Cayman-registered funds, as probably do many of you reading this column, even though you don't know it.

This is how the real world works.  There is a very good reason why fund managers place a portion of their portfolios in the Caymans.  It's that the Cayman financial regulatory system is far superior to America's.

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FOOD CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY


I'm resisting the temptation to engage in black humor and entitle this How To Profit From The Coming World Starvation. 

While we don't need to go apocalyptic, it's obvious to anyone who goes grocery shopping that food prices are skyrocketing.  And while we may complain about this here in the US, it's getting worse around the world - in many places a lot worse.

This is more serious than the price of oil, and that's bad enough.  Gas in the US is headed to $5 a gallon, while in many European countries such as Portugal it's already close to $9.  It's easier to cut down on driving than eating.  We can scrimp and save on food as this report shows, but no one wants to starve.

That's why food riots are taking place across the globe.  From December 2008 to February 2010, global food prices have risen more than 60% -- and research by IMF economists is showing that with every 10% increase in food prices comes a 100% increase in antigovernment protests.

This is particularly true in low-income countries - such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, which is why antigovernment revolutions there started with food riots.

The IMF researchers found much less of a correlation between food prices and political unrest in high-income countries - but that's going to change, certainly in the US. 

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SARAH AT THE GRIDIRON


[The Gridiron Club, founded in 1865, is the oldest and most prestigious journalist organization in Washington DC.  The annual Gridiron Dinner is attended by the media elite, at which the president is traditionally the speaker.  This year, President Zero was the first president to refuse to address The Gridiron Dinner since Grover Cleveland.

[Last night, Saturday December 5th, the black tie dinner at the ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel had double the attendance of recent years - for instead of Zero, the speaker was Sarah Palin.  The tradition of the dinner is that the speaker pokes fun at himself and the attendees.  Sarah was such a hit there were dozens of the most liberal elite journalists in America laughing their heads off, many wiping tears of laughter from their eyes. Here's her speech. It is as clever as it is funny.]

Good evening. It's great to be in Washington.  I am loving the weather [it was snowing].  I braved the elements and went out for a jog! Or, as Newsweek calls it, a cover-shoot.  I feel so at home here in DC.  I can see the Russian Embassy from my hotel room!

It's a privilege to be here tonight at the Washington DC Barnes & Noble.  Tonight, I'll be reading excerpts from my new book.  Perhaps you've heard of it?  "Going Rogue."

Yukon wasn't sure if I'd go with that title and somebody suggested I follow the East Coast self-help trend and go with, "How To Look Like A Million Bucks...For Only 150 Grand."

Todd liked, "The Audacity of North Slope." [She nods to him as he's at the head table]

Hey, I considered not having a title at all.  I've said it before, but you Beltway types just don't seem to get it. You don't need a title to make an impact.  But anyway, let's get started.

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Fallujah Payback

The US military has promised “an overwhelming response” in retaliation for the Fallujah Atrocity of March 30. "Coalition forces will respond," the U.S. army's deputy director of operations Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told a news conference. "They are coming back and they are going to hunt down the people responsible for this bestial act. "It will be at a time and a place of our choosing. It will be methodical, it will be precise and it will be overwhelming."

Here’s a way to begin.

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WHY IS OBAMA FUNDING POLITICAL WARFARE AGAINST ISRAEL?


Earlier this month NGO Monitor released its report on foreign government funding of radical political Israeli NGOs which work to undermine Israel's international standing and subvert Israeli society.

Along with the usual European suspects who give millions of shekels (or euros or pounds) to Israeli groups like this, it works out that the US government is also funding extremely radical organizations, courtesy of American taxpayers. Notably, the three groups that reported receiving funding from the US are all in the business of waging political warfare campaigns directed at the Israeli public.

According to the report, in accordance with the NGO Transparency Law which requires NGOs to report on donations received from foreign governments, three Hate-Israel Israeli NGOs received funding from the US, i.e., Obama's State Department. They are:

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HALF-FULL REPORT 06/08/12


As are many TTPers who attended, I'm still coming down from the high of the Seascape Rendezvous last weekend.  A Rendezvous is a TTP Family Reunion, and it was simply wonderful to see old friends (Don Parker, Dan Barak, and Ken Glass have been to all 12!) and meet new ones (Feebie at last!). 

It was information overload, as the brain power of our speakers - Alex Alexiev, Jack Kelly, David Evry, Will Block, Joe Katzman, Paul Rosenberg, Joel Wade and Bruno Conzelmann - was stunning.  Then there was Dana -- Congressman Rohrabacher -- who gave a talk from the heart and told us about having dinner with Mitt Romney the night before.

Many TTPers have expressed doubts on the Forum regarding Romney.  I have them myself.  After the Rendezvous, Rebel and I stopped by to see friends of ours on our drive down the coast.  One of them is a man of astounding achievement in the highest echelons of American and international business.  He has known and worked closely with Bill Bain (the founder of Bain Capital who appointed Mitt Romney as its CEO) for decades, and Romney for his entire business career.

My friend's assessment:

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WHY ONE COUNTRY IS RICH AND ONE COUNTRY IS POOR


Ambergris Caye, Belize.  The Cayman Islands are rich, and Belize is poor. Why?

Both are small Caribbean countries with the same climate and roughly the same mixed racial heritage, and both were English-speaking British colonies. Belize (the former British Honduras) received its independence in 1981, while Cayman is still not fully independent but is self-governing at the local level, with its own currency, laws and regulations.

Belize should be richer: It has a larger population than Cayman (345,000 as contrasted with Cayman's 54,000). Belize has a much larger and more varied land area with many more natural resources, including gas and oil, and some rich agricultural land that Cayman lacks. Both have nice beaches, but Belize has the second-largest barrier reef in the world after Australia and also has Mayan ruins. Yet Cayman, with fewer points of interests, has done more to attract tourists.

Back in the early 1970s, Cayman was as poor on a per capita basis as is Belize today. Both countries had ambitions to be tourist and financial centers. Cayman succeeded and has about six times the real per capita income of Belize. What did Cayman do right and Belize do wrong?

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LIBYA IN AMERICA


In 1930, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made a film entitled Another Fine Mess...
another_fine_mess.jpg
... in which Hardy famously informs Laurel, "Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten me into!"  (Actually, he says "nice," but everyone remembers him saying "fine" due to the movie title.)

It's pretty easy to imagine him, speaking for America, saying that to Zero today, isn't it?

Or would he say, this is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into?  After all, Zero didn't get us into this all by himself.  So let's talk about Libya in America.  That's a place called Wisconsin and all the Wisconsins to come - but we'll talk about Libya first.

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THE WEAPON OF MASS HEALTH DESTRUCTION


For years our military has been in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan, and our intelligence agencies have also been scouring the world to unearth these threats.

Good idea.. wrong location. The single greatest WMD, which will adversely affect every American, was not developed on foreign soil: it is The Obama-Pelosi-Reid Health Care Legislation.  WMHD for short.

The heart and core of their plan is based on the most inhumane and unethical means of cutting costs:  the rationing and denying of care. Even worse, the death panels that will ration and deny care, according to the Obama-Pelosi-Reid plan, will be unelected and unaccountable Federal bureaucrats.

On Sunday, November 22, Fox News Sunday interviewed Senator Arlen Specter, who was a Democrat before he was Republican before he was a Democrat.  Senator Specter let the "secret agenda" of Obama-Pelosi-Reid slip.

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PRAY FOR A BLACK POPE


Gosh, won't it be marvelous if the next pope turns out to be black? And I'm not saying this as a Catholic or one of those earnest Lefty types who yearns for an ethnic minority figure to be appointed to every position of authority. It's that I can hardly wait to see the cat among the pigeons, if someone like the current favorite - Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson - gets the job.

Turkson is Ghanaian (from Ghana, West Africa) and considerably darker of hue than the previous three African pontiffs  -- St Victor I (p. 189-199), St Miltiades (p. 311-314) and St Gelasius (p. 492-496) -- all of whom hailed from Roman North Africa and as you can see weren't black at all. I've no doubt in the salons of academia and the media canteens, they will all think this is a jolly good thing, much as they did when Barack Hussein Obama ushered in a golden new era of joy, healing, reconciliation and endless world peace.

But I'm not sure that's what they're going to get. African churchmen - non-Western or non-white clergy, generally - tend to be considerably more robust and old school than your oh-so-modern Anglican vicar with his very real concerns about diversity and homosexual rights and the urgent threat of climate change. They're so old-fashioned, in fact, that they even all still believe in God.

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