WHAT HAPPENED TO THE AMERICAN DREAM?? MURDERGATE, UNEMPLOYMENT, SEXUAL ABUSE AND SOCIETAL UPHEAVAL, RAGING DEFICITS, AND WORLD TENSION MAKE A CASE FOR THE COMPARISON TO THE TIMES OF NOAH AND APT BACKDROP FOR MAYAN 2012 PROPHECY OF CATASTROPHE...
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Ly6dF7RGpohXFiSTUVfw9s8JaMWjA0VDbCK1mY5bmY/edit#
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @JasonGallaherLA Ann Curry.... best looking thing I've seen leave the public eye as the drapery on Obama's curtain falling...
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty The only "American Dream" still alive is Dusty Rhodes.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusty_Rhodes_(wrestler)
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SarahPalinUSA THE DREAM IS DEAD AND OBAMA KILLED IT: http://www.facebook.com/groups/thesynthesis/doc/241147409283928/#DreamAct will never pass, it needs 2 amendments to Constitution
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
The #DreamAct is dead legislation, like Obamacare, as it lacks #ConsitutionalMotility requiring 2 amendments and documentation for taxation.
2m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin I do not support passage of S. 952 because you neglect passing 2 constitutional amendments and documentation for paying taxes
3m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin Another thing, you don't give someone "TRIAL CITIZENSHIP" either they pay in and their parents 20yrs. or no consideration.
5m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin OUR CITIZENS DESERVE JOBS AND A COLLEGE EDUCATION -- NOT GIVING EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP TO THOSE EVADING PAYING TAXES !!!!!
6m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin Without 2 amendments to the #Constitution the #DreamAct is #Amnesty and a political ploy for votes.
6m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin This is our proposal for #DrugReform #ImmigrationFeeIssues #TaxRevenue and #TracingID which is what needs to be followed.
7m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin That way, you can track census numbers, criminal records, and no one is here we don't know about http://www.facebook.com/groups/thesynthesis/doc/241147409283928/#REFORM
9m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin Once you pay taxes for 15-20yrs. then you can be considered a citizen or your parents, you need to issue Temporary ID cards.
10m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin pg. 10 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s952is/pdf/BILLS-112s952is.pdf 23-25 pg. 11 1-2 we must have a cap on immigration numbers you have to amend #Constitution first
11m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin We can not permit this:
13m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
The problem is-you won't get those amendments @BarackObama @MarcoRubioDaily @SpeakerBoehner @SquawkCNBC especially after what Obama has done
13m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
You have to amend #Constitution @BarackObama and @MarcoRubioDaily about non-citizen requirements @SpeakerBoehner @SquawkCNBC census numbers
15m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Permitting @BarackObama to remain in Office or be considered on general election ballot @SpeakerBoehner will cause rebellion @SquawkCNBC
15m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SquawkCNBC Don't get me wrong - I love @MarcoRubioDaily I am not racist, it is just the existing law Obama totally disrespects flagrantly
16m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SquawkCNBC We've discussed this: amendment must be passed as Rubio does not meet #NaturalBornClause to be President in place of @MittRomney
18m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@weeklystandard The #Constitution must also be amended to permit passage of the #DreamAct when it comes to census restrictions on numbers
20m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@weeklystandard The #Constitution must be amended for Obama to run again for Office for a second term, as he should've been removed already
20m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@weeklystandard Rubio DOES NOT pass #NaturalBornClause Requirements and Rubio does not want to face prosecution as Obama does after Holder
21m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@JacksonLeeTX18 We need to pay for the citizens we have, not wave a wand for political winds for votes, it is remuneration and vote bribery
24m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@JacksonLeeTX18 #DreamAct not the right thing to do, because you permit parents to avoid paying taxes 20yrs. and extend citizenship #Hellno
25m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@JacksonLeeTX18 It is #unconstitutional and it is #TaxEvasion -- you have to alter constitution by amendment, which you never will
26m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin Even I as a Native American, indigenous originated person writes down what I want to change/depends on an imperfect Congress.
27m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin we can not have ANY President making law by voice command, that is not the government we have, he is not a King whatsoever.
28m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin Next to the fact #DreamAct is #unconstitutional as there is no amendment for Obama to occupy the @whitehouse
28m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin In a time where 30 million+ Americans have suffered because of #Obamacare from lost income, you must pay taxes for benefits
29m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin I am reading #DreamAct - #unconstitutional there's no provision for anyone who is not a citizen that we're compelled to spend
31m Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin Maybe you are just as removed as Obama is from the plight of ACTUAL citizens of this country that you forget what that means.
SYNTHESIS
— with Brandy Danyelle Agee,Sportfight X Mcdonough, Keith Reid and 31 others.
Tags: WRITE IN RED! THE RED LETTER CAMPAIGN: GOT SOMETHING TO SAY TO CONGRESS??? and GA Tea Party
Franklin E. Cole · 5 mutual friends
Not dead, but seriously wounded! Bad news is that Nurse Ratchet i the charge nurse! (If ya don't rememeber, she was Jack Nicholson's nurse in One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Yesterday at 6:32pm · Like
Les Kingsbury · 15 mutual friends
Just work around the system, opportunities are out there.
22 hours ago · Like
American Dream
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor other uses, see American Dream (disambiguation).
For many immigrants, the Statue of Liberty was their first view of the United States, signifying new opportunities in life. The statue is an iconic symbol of the American Dream.
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States; a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.[1] The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."[2]THE AMERICAN DREAM DEFIES THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL SYSTEMS THAT INSIST ON KARMA OR CASTE SYSTEMS, AND LENDS TO THE REASON THAT GOD GAVE MAN FREE WILL....
[edit]History
Since its founding in 1776, the United States has regarded and promoted itself as an Empire of Liberty and prosperity.[citation needed]The meaning of the "American Dream" has changed over the course of history. Historically the Dream originated in the New World mystique regarding frontier life. As the Royal governor of Virginia noted in 1774, the Americans "for ever imagine the Lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled." He added that if they attained Paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west.[3]The ethos today simply indicates the ability, through participation in the society and economy, for everyone to achieve prosperity. According to the dream, this includes the opportunity for one's children to grow up and receive a good education and career without artificial barriers. It is the opportunity to make individual choices without the prior restrictions that limited people according to their class, caste, religion, race, or ethnicity. Immigrants to the United States sponsored ethnic newspapers in their own language; the editors typically promoted the American Dream.[4]
[edit]19th century
In the 19th century, many well-educated Jews fled the failed revolution in Germany in 1848. They encountered political freedoms in the New World, and the lack of a hierarchical or aristocratic society that determined the ceiling for individual aspirations. One of them explained:
”The German emigrant comes into a country free from the despotism, privileged orders and monopolies, intolerable taxes, and constraints in matters of belief and conscience. Everyone can travel and settle wherever he pleases. No passport is demanded, no police mingles in his affairs or hinders his movements....Fidelity and merit are the only sources of honor here. The rich stand on the same footing as the poor; the scholar is not a mug above the most humble mechanics; no German ought to be ashamed to pursue any occupation....[In America] wealth and possession of real estate confer not the least political right on its owner above what the poorest citizen has. Nor are there nobility, privileged orders, or standing armies to weaken the physical and moral power of the people, nor are there swarms of public functionaries to devour in idleness credit for. Above all, there are no princes and corrupt courts representing the so-called divine 'right of birth.' In such a country the talents, energy and perseverance of a person...have far greater opportunity to display than in monarchies."[5]
THIS IS WHAT IS CALLED THE POWER AND UNIQUENESS OF AN INDIVIDUAL AND THEIR GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE IN THE WORLD, AND AMERICA WHILE NOT TOTALLY OUTLAWING ABORTION, STRONGLY ABDICATED AGAINST ABORTION WHILE WORKING FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE UNBORN INDIVIDUAL, WHEREAS OTHER COUNTRIES CONSIDERED WOMEN AND CHILDREN PROPERTY OR A BURDEN; AMERICA BELIEVED THAT PEOPLE BELONGED TO GOD, NOT THE GOVERNMENT OR AS SLAVES REGARDLESS OF RACE, DUE TO THEIR ECONOMIC POSITION.
[edit]20th century
Historian James Truslow Adams popularized the phrase "American Dream" in his 1931 book Epic of America:But there has been also the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.[1]
And later he wrote:
The American dream, that has lured tens of millions of all nations to our shores in the past century has not been a dream of merely material plenty, though that has doubtlessly counted heavily. It has been much more than that. It has been a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as man and woman, unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been erected in the older civilizations, unrepressed by social orders which had developed for the benefit of classes rather than for the simple human being of any and every class.
Martin Luther King Jr. in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (1963) rooted the civil rights movement in the black quest for the American dream:[6]
"We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. . . . when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."
[edit]Literature
The term is used in popular discourse, and scholars have traced its use in American literature ranging from the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,[7] to Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Willa Cather's My Ántonia,[8] F. Scott Fitzgerald'sThe Great Gatsby (1925), Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy (1925) and Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon (1977).[9] Other writers who used the American Dream theme include Hunter S. Thompson, Edward Albee,[10] John Steinbeck,[11] Langston Hughes.[12] The American Dream is also presented through the American play, Death of a Salesman by playwright Arthur Miller. The play's protagonist, Willy, is on a journey for the American Dream.As Chua (1994) shows, the American Dream is a recurring theme in other literature as well, for example, the fiction of Asian Americans.[13][14]
Mayan End Age 12-21-2012
Mayan Calendar "An Apocalypse (Greek: “lifting of the veil” or “revelation”) is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted." — Wikipedia
"Both the Hopis and Mayans recognize that we are approaching the end of a World Age... In both cases, however, the Hopi and Mayan elders do not prophesy that everything will come to an end. Rather, this is a time of transition from one World Age into another. The message they give concerns our making a choice of how we enter the future ahead. Our moving through with either resistance or acceptance will determine whether the transition will happen with cataclysmic changes or gradual peace and tranquility. The same theme can be found reflected in the prophecies of many other Native American visionaries from Black Elk to Sun Bear."
— Joseph Robert Jochmans
The Reawakening of the Divine Feminine, and the Apocalypse
Ancient Mayan Glyph showing
transfer of the Staff of Power
to the Spirit of the Feminine
"Amazingly, there is a cultural/
prophetic context for the arising
of this Feminine-based planetary
transformation that is underway.
The Mayan 2012 prophecies
foretold of this shift of planetary
stewardship into the hands of
the Feminine. In a personal
communication with this author,
Nicaraguan Mayan Grandmother
Flordemayo, of the International
Council of 13 Indigenous
Grandmothers, explained that
the final glyph (pictogram) from
the “Mayan Story of Creation”
(the Dresden Codex) shows the
Reawakening of the Feminine."
— Vikki Hanchin"Rudolf Bultmann ... calls the coming of the Redeemer (Paraclete) an “eschatological event,” “the turning-point of the ages”." — George Eldon Ladd"The reaction of the world to theParaclete will be much the same as the world’s reaction was to Jesus." — Berard L. Marthaler
"But She—the Spirit, the Paraclete ...—will teach you everything." — Danny Mahar
"The functions of the Paraclete spelled out in verses 13-15... are all acts of open and bold speaking in the highest degree." — David Fleer
"They will be privileged to know the Paraclete, as they have known Jesus (14:7, 9, 17). The Spirit will be within the disciples and will remain with them."— Robert Creech
The Paraclete's "appearance means that sin, righteousness, and judgment will be revealed." — Georg Strecker
"Because of the presence of theParaclete in the life of the believer, the blessings of the end-times—the eschaton—are already present." — Robert Kysar
"The Spirit acts in such an international situation as the revealer of 'judgment' on the powers that rule the world." — Michael Welker
"I know all ... but I have not revealed it so far. It will be slowly revealed by me because people have not been prepared yet to become capable of absorbing it."
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Bombay, India — February 26, 1987
Mar 21, 1923 – Feb 23, 2011
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi was
Christian by birth, Hindu by
marriage, and Paraclete by duty.
"The Paraclete represents direct,
intimate divine intervention,
supporting and teaching
believers and challenging the
world, as Jesus did." (D. Stevick
Jesus and His Own, 2011, 290)
Note: This 4000-page site is an effort to enable humanity to grasp the vastness of the Spirit-Paraclete's Apocalypse, mystically and esoterically revealed to children by the Mother Kundalini (Kukulkan)within themselves since 1993. This site explains in detail the Apocalypse—evidence, source, nature, knowledge and means to evolve into the Spirit—that may help set the initial global shift in consciousness by 12-21-2012 in motion, and then ever onwards.All living beings have the same Mother Kundalini within themselves, the font of Consciousness. "According to Hunbatz Men, ‘Ku’ is sacred, God. ‘Kul’ is coccyx, the base of the spine, where latent spiritual energy resides. ‘Can’ means serpent.‘Kukulcan’ therefore is synonymous with‘kundalini’—which is what the Kukulcan/Quetzalcoatl archetype is all about, of course." (Dr. John Jay Harper) Those ready for awakening their own Mother Kundalini—the total and exact gnosis required by anyone of any religion, race, culture or creed wishing to radically transform themselves in order to fully and completely evolve as a human being—clickhere.
What is so special about the Mayan Calendar?
Carl Johan Calleman (Ph.D)
"The person with no previous exposure to the Mayan Calendar will usually initially be surprised by the fact that some people today take such an interest in an ancient calendar. After all, human history has seen a high number of different calendars. Is not then the Mayan calendar just a very specialized subject of interest only to specialists or history buffs? “Why would the world today need another calendar than the Gregorian or Muslim that are currently in use, and why should this be the Mayan calendar?” some may ask.
Well, to begin with most people probably have a much too limited view of the importance of the Mayan civilization, and Native American traditions generally. In fact, at their height in the 5th to 9th centuries AD, the Mayan cities would be among the largest in the world and developed the most advanced mathematics and astronomy of their day. And so, even if the Native American civilizations hardly survived the later contact with the Europeans they were and are the carriers of a significant and irreplaceable part of the global human consciousness.
When we talk about the Mayan Calendar something profoundly different is also meant than just a system to mark off the passage of time. The Mayan Calendar is above all a prophetic calendar that may help us understand the past and foresee the future. It is a calendar of the Ages that describes how the progression of Heavens and Underworlds condition the human consciousness and thus the frames for our thoughts and actions within a given Age. The Mayan Calendar provides an exact schedule for the Cosmic Plan and the unfolding of all things that come into existence. There is now ample empirical evidence for this, something that shines new light on the age old questions of mankind. Things do exist for a reason. The reason is that they fit into the divine cosmic plan. For those that seriously engage in a study of the Mayan Calendar this soon becomes evident and the former materialist world view loses all relevance. The Mayan Calendar is a gateway to the worlds of consciousness which the majority of humanity has been blinded to through the use of false or delusory calendars.
Since everything that exists is an aspect of consciousness, and the Mayan Calendar describes the evolution of consciousness in all of its aspects, no stone is left unturned for the serious student of the Mayan Calendar. All of science is affected, all of religion is affected, all of life is affected. We are here for a reason. Time is no longer equated with money, but with spirit. Time is inspiration!"
Carl Johan Calleman
"My own view is that this is the last chance that human beings will have to truly align themselves with the cosmic plan. It is now or never and if you do not think that the Conscious Convergence has something to do with you you probably have not studied the Mayan calendar seriously enough. Hence, there can be no proxies for your participation in the transformation of the world as the calendar comes to an end."
Carl Johan Calleman, Stockholm, 11 Ahau (March 7, 2010).
The Conscious Convergence
Carl Johan Calleman has a Ph.D. in Physical Biology from the University of Stockholm and has been a Senior Researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle and a cancer expert for the WHO. He is the author of The Purposeful Universe (Inner Traditions, 2009) a book that presents a new theory of biological evolution based on the Cosmic Tree of Life. He currently teaches at the online International Metaphysical University (http://www.intermetu.com).
He held his first talk with the mention of the end of the Mayan calendar in 1979 and is the only professional scientist to have studied the meaning of the Mayan calendar (many professional Mayanists have studied the calendar as such, but not its reality basis in biological and historical evolution). He is among other things the author of Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our Time: The Mayan Calendar (Garev, 2001) and The Mayan calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness (Inner Traditions, 2004).
“2012 is such a profound archetype,” Jenkins went on. “Here we are five and a half years before the date, and already there's so much interest. Personally, I think it's about transformation and renewal. It's certainly nothing as simplistic as the end of the world.”
But what about the connection many people see between the approach of 2012 and environmental crisis? I asked. What about the popular link between the Maya and end-time prophecy?
“A lot of people are talking about apocalypse right now,” he said, “but there's a deeper meditation that can and should happen around the end date.” Jenkins—bearded, in a T-shirt and jeans—is originally from Chicago, and traces of a flat Midwestern accent remain in his voice. He looked and sounded beleaguered by the mention of apocalypse. “At any end-beginning nexus—at the dawn of a new religion or a spiritual tradition—you have this amazing opening,” he said. “Revelations come down. There's a fresh awareness of what it means to be alive in the full light of history.”
The New York Times (July 1, 2007)
Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted." (Wikipedia) The word is derived from the Greek apokalupsis, a term applied to revelation or disclosure, to certain privileged persons, of what already exists, though hitherto it has been hidden, or only imperfectly known.
"The Spirit/Paraclete will bring the past to memory, but the Spirit/Paraclete will be the voice of the glorified Jesus teaching in new situations in the present. However, this new teaching will be anchored in the Jesus of the past, because the Spirit/Paraclete will be speaking anew on behalf of Jesus. It is this claim of access to new teaching that has become problematic within the Johannine communities." – Ormond Rush, The Eyes of Faith CUA (2009), p. 23.
"In the Thomas gospel, Jesus is presented as a spiritual guide whose words (when properly understood) bring eternal life (Saying 1). Readers of these sayings are advised to continue seeking until they find what will enable them to become rulers of their own lives (Saying 2) and thus to know themselves (Saying 3) and their legacy of being the children of "the living Father" (Saying 3). These goals are presented in the image of "entering the Kingdom" by the methodology of insight that goes beyond duality. (Saying 22). The Gospel of Thomas shows little or no concern for orthodox religious concepts and doctrines...
The Gospel of Thomas emphasizes direct and unmediated experience. In Thomas saying 108, Jesus says, "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become as I am; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him." Furthermore, salvation is personal and found through spiritual (psychological) introspection. In Thomas saying 70, Jesus says, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not bring it forth, what you do not have within you will kill you." As such, this form of salvation is idiosyncratic and without literal explanation unless read from a psychological perspective related to Self vs. ego. In Thomas saying 3, Jesus says,
...the Kingdom of God is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty, and it is you who are that poverty." - Wikipedia (April 24, 2011)
Definitions of unmediated
"1. [adj] - without the interposition of other agencies or conditions
Quotes - Example use of the word unmediated
1. unmediated relations between God and man"
www.webdictionary.co.uk
"unmediated - having no intervening persons, agents, conditions"
www.thefreedictionary.com
"not mediated : not communicated or transformed by an intervening agency"
www.merriamwebster.com
Temple of Kukulkan (Serpent)
Temple of Kukulkan: In the 1980s, Chichen
Itza began to receive an influx of visitors on
the day of the spring equinox. Today several
thousand show up to see the light-and-
shadow effect on the Temple of Kukulcan in
which the feathered serpent god supposedly
can be seen to crawl down the side of the
pyramid. "A serrated line of seven
interlocking triangles (chakras) gives the
impression of a long tail leading downward to
the stone head of the serpent Kukulkan
(Kundalini), at the base of the stairway."
"The Mayan masters teach that we are the
integration of the seven powers of light,
traveling in the form of the serpent,
undulating eternally with movement and
measure. In Mayan, the pyramid is called
k’u, the root word for the sacred Hunab K’u,
the Only Giver of Movement and Measure.
Thus, when we see the seven triangles in
Chichen Itza during the equinoxes, we are
witnessing a demonstration of culture which
pervades the atmosphere and stones of
this sacred place. With respect and humility,
we should kneel before the presence of
Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl. By so doing, we will
begin to awaken our cosmic consciousness,
allowing Hunab K’u to enter the sacred
temples in our bodies!" – Hunbatz Men,
Secrets of Mayan Science and Religion p.126.
tail during the spring equinox.)"Quetzalcoatl taught the ancients all the necessary skills to advance their civilization, from mathematics and science to agriculture and astronomy, as well as the famous Mayan calendrical formulae which predicts the end of the world to be December 21st 2012. He taught the people to live in peace and then moved on disappearing across the sea, but he promised he would someday return. Unfortunately for the ancient inhabitants of Mexico they mistook the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and Cortez in 1519 as Quetzalcaotl's return, bringing about their tragic doom. Accepting them with open arms and treating them with utmost reverence the ancient people expected their newly arrived god to bestow great benevolence upon them. Instead the Spanish invaders brought nothing but greed and brutality for their trusting hosts.The name Quetzalcoatl (ket-tsul'kwot-ul) means "plumed or feathered serpent". We must certainly then mention the great ancient city of Chichen Itza on Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. There, twice a year, an amazing spectacle related to the feathered serpent god takes place:
"The Temple of Kukulkan (the Feathered Serpent God, also known as Quetzalcoatl) is the largest and most important ceremonial structure at Chichen Itza. This ninety-foot tall pyramid was built during the eleventh to thirteenth centuries directly upon the multiple foundations of previous temples. The pyramid is a store-house of information on the Mayan calendar.... The northern stairway was the principal sacred path leading to the summit. At sunset on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, an interplay between the sun's light and the edges of the stepped terraces on the pyramid creates a fascinating—and very brief—shadow display upon the sides of the northern stairway. A serrated line of seven interlocking triangles (chakras) gives the impression of a long tail leading downward to the stone head of the serpent Kukulkan (Kundalini), at the base of the stairway." (Linda Casselman)
So then, on these two very important dates, the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, it appears that Quetzalcoatl is indeed present among his people as the shadow of the serpent moves along the steps of the Pyramid of Kulkulkan.
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
"This Power is placed in the triangular bone which is called as sacrum, which means Greeks knew about this centre. They very well knew about it, that’s why they called it sacred, sacrum. In many countries there has been a manifestation that they know about this particular Power.I happened to go to Colombia where I collected an authentic antique copy of the antique necklace. The necklace had at its bottom a Kundalini and even the earrings had the Kundalini, but, surprisingly, it was from the Indians of America, though it is now kept in the museum in Colombia. It was in America that people knew about Kundalini, definitely absolutely in three and a half coil they had done this pattern very well. Is very surprising that it was done even before Columbus came here."
The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Philadelphia, USA — Oct 15, 1993
"Great serpent Mound may be viewed as a golden thread running through all the great religious systems of the world and potentially functioning as a key to their secrets" — Ross Mamilton
(Aerial photo)"The Great Serpent Mound has been classified with a large collection of North American prehistoric earthen mounds extending from the East Coast to the Mississippi and beyond. This particular work, however, is distinguished from the countless other mounds and earthen structures throughout the eastern United States in that its design can be dated to a period about 5,000 years ago. Only Watson Brake, a group of mounds in Louisiana discovered in the last decade of the twentieth century, can rival its antiquity. But to my knowledge, nothing in the Americas compares with the Serpent Mound in terms of the precise astronomic, arithmetic, geometric, and spiritual knowledge it embodies...
The Great Serpent Mound is situated in southwestern Ohio's Adams County, not far from the Ohio River. It is on the western edge of an elevated plateau overlooking Brush Creek, one of the last unpolluted streams in the entire state. Owning three features, the Serpent's complete body, uncoiled and stretched out, would measure more than a quarter of a mile tip to tail. Its height varies from the perhaps less than ten inches at the end of the tail's helix to several feet at the opposite end. The earthwork appears to be a serpent attempting to swallow, regurgitate, or simply be in association with an object archaeologists refer to as "the oval feature," or the Great Oval. At the very western end of the Serpent is the smallest feature, a triangular mound measuring approximately 31.6 feet along its east base.
Lunar alignments correspond to
six of the seven coils of the
serpent effigy. The coils to the
right point to the moon's
maximum northern, southern,
and central rising points, and
the coils to the left point to the
moons maximum northern,
southern and central setting
points. As such, the serpent is
closely identified with the moon,
and with the underworld. The
head and oval also point to the
sun's maximum northern setting
point, during the summer
solstice, and appear to show the
sun symbolically being
"swallowed" by the serpent. The
serpent is also aligned to true
north via a line traveling from
the center of its coiled tail to
the base of its head. (Enlarged)The earthwork is aligned exactingly to the north. Numerous other features show that its builders oriented it to astronomical phenomena in a startlingly rich and detailed fashion and built it in accord with precise principles of geometry and arithmetic. Many other prehistoric earthworks and stonework also show astronomical and mathematical connections, but it is one of the aims of this book to demonstrate how the Great Serpent Mound is unique in the sheer number and complexity of these connections. In this regard it exceeds even the Great Pyramid of ancient Egypt or the Parthenon of Greece. Truly, it is a wonder of the prehistoric world...The mystery of the Serpent Mound boils down to the questions of who designed it, who constructed it, and why. It is probably beyond our capacities to determine exactly what our Serpent was signifying. In the opinion of some, it is a "manitou," a Native American tem for "spiritual entity." I would take this notion a step further, being now convinced that our Serpent is "Gitche Manitou," which is to say, the "Great Spirit" and ancestral guardian of the ancient people. Yet while the Great Serpent has long been believed to be a treasure indigenous to North America, there are undeniable connections in its design to distant regions of the ancient world...
Our Great Serpent, showpiece of the world's ancient architectural forms, may once have been perceived as the representation of an extensive body of knowledge that could be wisely described as a philosophical masterpiece, a magnum opus. Constructed to demonstrate the highest possible esoteric concepts, our Serpent Mound is the remnant of an ancient philosophical transmission...
Whatever its origin, properly understood, the symbolism of the stellar serpent contained in the Great serpent Mound may be viewed as a golden thread running through all the great religious systems of the world and potentially functioning as a key to their secrets. The serpent image itself is a compacted seed of light, a bearer of all knowledge. Like the worm of the mythical phoenix, the shape is which is familiar yet forgotten, the Great Serpent’s destiny is to be recognized as a harbinger of light, ultimately to be reinstated to its true fullness of form, dominating the landscape and politics of the human race. It would be the first of the apocalyptic “seals” to be opened, aptly called the Great Seal.; these auguring a time when peace and prosperity will once again rule the Earth.
Though we now have begun to see that the patterns contained in some of the earthworks are actually alignments pertaining to the stars and to the paths of the sun and moon along the horizon, we are also at the dawn of a more far-reaching illumination. So profound in meaning and broad in scope is this revelation that it may well test the general populace to the rational limits of its mental horizon ... the focus of a multi-dimensional scheme of the genius of a distant golden age."
The Mystery of the Serpent Mound: In Search of the Alphabet of the Gods
Ross Mamilton, Frog Books, (May 3, 2001), xiii-xvi
TO CONTINUE READING ABOUT MAYAN PROPHECY: http://www.adishakti.org/mayan_end_times_prophecy_12-21-2012.htm
MORE ON THE AMERICAN DREAM....
[edit]Political leaders
Scholars have explored the American Dream theme in the careers of numerous political leaders, including Henry Kissinger,[15] Hillary Clinton,[16] Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln.[17] The theme has been used for many local leaders as well, such as José Antonio Navarro, the Tejano leader (1795–1871), who served in the legislatures of Coahuila y Texas, the Republic of Texas, and the State of Texas.[18] The American Dream is also a main theme in the book by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men. The two friends George and Lennie dream of their own piece of land with a ranch, so they can "live off the fatta the lan'" and just enjoy a better life. But the symbolism shows this is futile due to the fact that it will never happen, and that they end up shooting Lennie in the back of the head, like Candy's dog. This shows that not everyone can achieve the American dream, thus proving by contradiction it is not possible. Although it is possible to achieve the American dream for few. A lot of people follow the American dream to achieve a greater chance of becoming rich. This was easier in the 1900's and now it is really hard to achieve the American dream because of all the competition and hard work required to achieve this dream.In 2006 U.S. Senator Barack Obama wrote a memoir, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. It was this interpretation of the American Dream that helped establish his statewide and national reputations.[19][20]
Political conflicts, to some degree, have been ameliorated by the shared values of all parties in the expectation that the American Dream will resolve many difficulties and conflicts.[21]
[edit]Public opinion
Hanson and Zogby (2010) report on numerous public opinion polls that since the 1980s have explored the meaning of the concept for Americans, and their expectations for its future. In these polls, a majority of Americans consistently reported that for their family, the American Dream is more about spiritual happiness than material goods. Majorities state that working hard is the most important element for getting ahead. However, an increasing minority stated that hard work and determination does not guarantee success. On the pessimistic side, most Americans predict that achieving the Dream with fair means will become increasingly difficult for future generations. They are increasingly pessimistic about the opportunity for the working class to get ahead; on the other hand, they are increasingly optimistic about the opportunities available to poor people and to new immigrants to get ahead in the United States. Furthermore, most support programs make special efforts to help minorities get ahead.[22][edit]The four dreams of consumerism
Ownby (1999) identifies four American dreams that the new consumer culture addressed. The first was the "Dream of Abundance" offering a cornucopia of material goods to all Americans, making them proud to be the richest society on earth. The second was the "Dream of a Democracy of Goods" whereby everyone had access to the same products regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or class, thereby challenging the aristocratic norms of the rest of the world whereby only the rich or well-connected are granted access to luxury. The "Dream of Freedom of Choice" with its ever expanding variety of good allowed people to fashion their own particular life style. Finally, the "Dream of Novelty," in which ever-changing fashions, new models, and unexpected new products broadened the consumer experience in terms of purchasing skills and awareness of the market, and challenged the conservatism of traditional society and culture, and even politics. Ownby acknowledges that the dreams of the new consumer culture radiated out from the major cities, but notes that they quickly penetrated the most rural and most isolated areas, such as rural Mississippi. With the arrival of the model T after 1910, consumers in rural America were no longer locked into local general stores with their limited merchandise and high prices in comparison to shops in towns and cities. Ownby demonstrates that poor black Mississippians shared in the new consumer culture, both inside Mississippi, and it motivated the more ambitious to move to Memphis or Chicago.[23][24][edit]Home ownership
Home ownership is sometimes used as a proxy for achieving the promised prosperity; ownership has been a status symbol separating the middle classes from the poor.[25][edit]Ethics
Sometimes the Dream is identified with success in sports or how working class immigrants seek to join the American way of life.[26]
[edit]Criticism
European governments, worried that their best young people would leave for America, distributed posters like this to frighten them. This 1869 Swedish anti-emigration poster contrasts Per Svensson's dream of the American idyll (left) and the reality of his life in the wilderness (right), where he is menaced by a mountain lion, a big snake, and wild Indians who are scalping and disembowelling someone.[27]
The American Dream has been credited with helping to build a cohesive American experience, but has also been blamed for over-inflated expectations.[28] Some commentators have noted that despite deep-seated belief in the egalitarian American Dream, the modern American wealth structure still perpetuates racial and class inequalities between generations.[29] For example, Dr. Heather Beth Johnson, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Lehigh University, notes that advantage and disadvantage are not always connected to individual successes or failures, but often to prior position in a social group.[29]Recent research suggests that the United States and the United Kingdom show less intergenerational income-based social mobilitythan the Nordic countries and Canada. These authors state that "the idea of the US as ‘the land of opportunity’ persists; and clearly seems misplaced."[30]According to these studies, "by international standards, the United States has an unusually low level of intergenerational mobility: our parents’ income is highly predictive of our incomes as adults. Intergenerational mobility in the United States is lower than in France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Among high-income countries for which comparable estimates are available, only the United Kingdom had a lower rate of mobility than the United States."[31]"This challenges the notion of America as the land of opportunity."[32][33][34]
Since the 1920s, numerous authors, such as Sinclair Lewis in his 1922 novel Babbitt, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his 1925 classic, The Great Gatsby, satirized or ridiculed materialism in the chase for the American dream. Within 'The Great Gatsby', Gatsby - the character representative of the American dream was killed, symbolizing the pessimistic belief that the American dream is dead.[35] In 1949 Arthur Miller wrote the play "Death of a Salesman" in which the American Dream is a fruitless pursuit. Hunter S. Thompson in 1971 depicted inFear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey Into the Heart of the American Dream a dark view that appealed especially to drug users who emphatically were not pursuing a dream of economic achievement.[36] The novel "Requiem for a Dream" by Hubert Selby Jr. is a study of the pursuit of American success and stability, and is told through the ensuing tailspin of its main characters. George Carlinfamously wrote the joke "it's called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."[37] Carlin pointed to "the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions" as having a greater influence than an individual's choice.[37]
Many counter-culture films of the 1960s and 1970s ridiculed the traditional quest for the American Dream. For example Easy Rider(1969), directed by Dennis Hopper, shows the characters making a pilgrimage in search of "the true America" in terms of the hippie movement, drug use, and communal lifestyles.[38]
[edit]Other parts of the world
[edit]Britain
The American dream regarding home ownership has been emulated in Europe. In the 1980s, the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher worked to create a similar dream, by selling public housing units to their tenants.[39][edit]Russia
Since the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union in 1991, the American Dream has fascinated Russians.[40] In 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev lamented the fact that 77% of Russia's 142 million people live "cooped up" in massive apartment buildings. In 2010, his administration announced a plan for widespread home ownership. "Call it the Russian dream," said Alexander A. Braverman, the Director of the Federal Fund for the Promotion of Housing Construction Development. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, worried about his nation's very low birth rate, said he hoped home ownership will inspire Russians "to have more babies."[41]WE ALL KNOW OBAMA ISN’T THE EMBODIMENT OF THE
Obama Sinking? http://bit.ly/LceXL4 Romney Holds Lead Over Obama for Ten Days Straight #tcot #tlot
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
OBAMACARE IS VOTER REMUNERATION AT BEST AND AT WORST, IT DID NOT PROVIDE FOR THE UNINSURED, AS IT WAS NOT LEGITIMATELY FUNDED BY ANYTHING BUT ABORTION QUOTAS AND AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE THAT CAN’T LAWFULLY BE ENFORCED OR IMPOSED AGAINST THE WILL OF TAXPAYERS, SO WE ALL AGREE THAT OBAMA IS NOT THE FULFILLMENT OF MLK JR.’S
‘I HAVE A DREAM’ SPEECH.....
SANTORUM: Obamacare is no care
Repeal and replace health law
COMMENTS (45)By Rick Santorum
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Obama presidency has been disastrous on so many levels. From unemployment to rising energy prices to an appeasing foreign policy, this Administration has exhibited a multitude of failures. Yet, if we’re to talk about the lack of forward vision that keeps us in this economic recession, look no further than Obamacare. Of all legislation developed from the president’s left-wing ideology, Obamacare is the defining policy of his first, and hopefully only, term.
As we await the Supreme Court’s decision on the individual mandate, I write today as concerned about the economic and religious freedom ramifications as I am about the individual mandate. Don’t get me wrong. I firmly believe the individual mandate is an undeniable infringement on our constitutional rights. Our Founding Fathers devised a system of government in which individual liberty is protected with restraints on the government. The Constitution enumerated powers that Congress possesses with most of the authority reserved for the states. The Founders never intended that those powers would grow and expand to the point where Congress could one day force Americans to purchase health insurance. Obamacare is an unprecedented exodus from our system of limited government. It was the president’s important legislative priority because he has a fundamentally different view than conservatives have of the proper relationship between the government and individuals.
But putting the constitutionality of the individual mandate aside, the underlying ideology of Obamacare is a time-tested example of what not to do, particularly during trying economic times. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Obamacare will result in an estimated 800,000 fewer U.S. jobs. The Heritage Foundation recently determined that Obamacare will result in $52 billion in new taxes on businesses because of the mandate. It will also continue to expand, rather than reduce, our growing federal debt as well as direct dependency upon government through expanded Medicaid rolls and other means.
However, most alarming are the testimonials of businesses who are witnessing Obamacare’s effects firsthand. One owner of 12 IHOP restaurants recently said that he cannot expand his business because he cannot afford the burden of Obamacare. He simply can’t afford to pay a $2,000 penalty for every part-time waitress, so rather than risk paying all of these new fees, this owner has instead canceled his plans to grow and expand his business.
The effects of ObamaCare are entirely predictable. In fact, I have been a consistent and staunch opponent of Obamacare because we are all aware of the failures of government-run healthcare programs around the world. England and Canada, for example, both have government-run health care systems, and both countries lag in medical care and innovative medicine.
Every American should have access to high-quality, affordable health care, with decisions made by patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats. America needs targeted, market-driven, patient-centered solutions to address the costs and underlying causes of barriers to access rather than a one-size fits all, government-run health care system. We need solutions that freedom lovers and problems solvers such as John Adams would sign into law, not solutions that might be imposed on subjects by King George.
But perhaps the most insulting portion of Obamacare is the effort to destroy our freedom of conscience. Obamacare now demands that Americans will directly pay for ending the life of an unborn child. So no matter if you oppose abortion on conscience grounds, as I do, you will be forced to pay for abortions under the new law. Whether you believe in the practice of abortion or not, your money will help someone get one. Obamacare forces faith-based hospitals and other social service providers and religious organizations to provide employees with health insurance that covers free birth control and sterilization procedures — including the morning-after pill — and it forces them to also pay for abortions.
This also clearly violates current law that has long prohibited some funding for abortion, as well as funding for insurance plans that include abortion. Taxpayer dollars cannot subsidize abortion plans that include elective abortion. Under Obamacare, this new rule would do just that — even for late-term abortions. Simply stated, pro-life Americans will need to pony up money to pay for someone else’s abortion.
What do these major provisions of Obamacare have in common? They allow government to instill rights for the governed rather than protecting their fundamental rights. I stand with the words of the Declaration of Independence, the document founding this great Nation. Our rights come from God, not government. When government defines what rights Americans can have, they can also take those rights away. With Obamacare, the government has told us we must have health insurance. It has taken away the fundamental rights of conscience and religion by forcing you to practice them in the way it wants. In doing so, they are constraining faith-based organization from helping those in need during economic times where they’re needed more than ever.
Let’s be clear. The ideology underlying Obamacare raises important questions that will define our country’s future. Will we be a country that believes we need government to do things for us better than we can do for ourselves? Or will we believe, as our founders did, that rights come to us from God, who also gave us the freedom to build a great and just society not from the top down, but from the bottom up? Freedom and opportunity versus dependency. This is a choice that each generation must make in order to pass on the torch of freedom.
Rick Santorum, a former representative and senator from Pennsylvania, ran as a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. He is the founder of Patriot Voices, an organization to mobilize one million conservatives committed to promoting faith, family, freedom, and opportunity.
TIME.com @TIME
Even if the health care law survives, 26 million Americans will remain uninsured | http://ti.me/N5R96w (via @TIMEBusiness)
@TIME @TIMEBusiness my biggest beef with Obama - everyone still remains uninsured/we did not accomplish reform -- Obamacare dead legislation
9:23 PM - 19 Jun 12 via web · Details
HEALTHCARE
Millions Still Go Without Insurance if Law Passes
By ASSOCIATED PRESS | June 19, 2012 | 5
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One of the biggest misconceptions about President Obama’s health care overhaul isn’t who the law will cover, but rather who it won’t.If it survives Supreme court scrutiny, the landmark overhaul will expand coverage to about 30 million uninsured people, according to government figures. But an estimated 26 million Americans will remain without coverage — a population that’s roughly the size of Texas and includes illegal immigrants and those who can’t afford to pay out-of-pocket for health insurance.
“Many people think that this health care law is going to cover everyone, and it’s not,” says Nicole Lamoureux, executive director of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, which represents about 1,200 clinics nationally.
To be sure, it’s estimated that the Affordable Care Act would greatly increase the number of insured Americans. The law has a provision that requires most Americans to be insured or face a tax penalty. It also calls for an expansion of Medicaid, a government-funded program that covers the health care costs of low-income and disabled Americans. Additionally, starting in 2014, there will be tax credits to help middle-class Americans buy coverage.
The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision this month on whether to uphold the law completely or strike down parts or all of it. If it survives, about 93 percent of all non-elderly, legal U.S. residents will be covered by 2016. That’s up from 82 percent this year.
Still, millions of illegal immigrants won’t qualify for coverage. This population will account for roughly 26 percent of those who will remain uninsured, according to Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
And many legal U.S. residents will go without insurance, too. About 36 percent of the population that remains uninsured will qualify for Medicaid but won’t sign up for various reasons. Others likely will make too much money to qualify for assistance but be unable to afford coverage.
Here’s a look at some of the groups that will likely remain uninsured if the law survives:
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
More than 11 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research center. That amounts to nearly 4 percent of the total population. But there are no provisions that address illegal immigrants in the health care law.
They won’t be able to sign up for Medicaid. They won’t be eligible for the tax credits to help buy coverage. And they won’t be able to use online marketplaces that the government will set up in order for people to get coverage in a process that’s similar to buying plane tickets on travel web sites. Those online exchanges, much like the tax credits, will require proof of citizenship.
“They will still need to find alternative ways to seek care because nothing in the law really expands coverage and affordable coverage options for undocumented immigrants,” says Sonal Ambegaokar, a health policy attorney with the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles.
The topic is a politically divisive issue. On one side, there are people who say that the government should provide health care for all U.S. residents — legal or not. The other side contends that doing so could take valuable resources away from U.S. citizens.
“Because of the limited supply of health care, we’re almost in a sociological triage,” says Bob Dane, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national group that calls for stricter immigration laws. “It begs the question, ‘Who do we serve, who do we serve first and who is not entitled?’”
Researchers have found that immigrants tend to use the health care system less than legal residents. Illegal immigrants, in particular, tend to avoid using the health care system until they have to, favoring home remedies first or making cash payments to providers when they need care. That population also is younger, so it generally has fewer health care needs, says Timothy Waidmann, a researcher with Urban Institute.
The think tank, using federal government survey data, estimates that illegal immigrants accounted for an estimated $18 billion of the $1.4 trillion spent on health care in the United States in 2007. That adds up to less than 2 percent of total spending.
Some say excluding illegal immigrants from the overhaul will keep some legal residents uninsured, too. Ambegaokar, the Los Angeles attorney, points to parents who are illegal immigrants but have children who are legal citizens because they were born in the United States.
If the parents are not eligible, they may not know that their kids qualify. And in other instances, if one child is legal and the other is not, the parents may decide not to sign up either to avoid playing favorites.
“The goal is to enroll everybody who is eligible,” Ambegaokar says. “But when you make systems complicated and require proof of ID, you’re going to inevitably keep out people who should be in.”
LOST IN TRANSLATION
Medicaid, which currently covers more than 60 million people, is expected to add about 17 million more people to its program by 2016 if the law is upheld, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which researches budgetary issues for Congress.
But people are still expected to fall through the cracks. That’s because the requirements and process for signing up for Medicaid can be confusing. And while the overhaul aims to make the process easier, it won’t smooth out all the wrinkles.
The problem? Many people don’t realize that they qualify for coverage. And that likely will still be the case, albeit to a lesser extent, after Medicaid expands.
Coverage depends on how someone’s income stacks up to federal poverty guidelines, which can be obscure to the average person. Plus, because income can fluctuate, someone could qualify one year but not the next.
“Regardless of how much outreach you do … you’re never going to get perfect enrollment,” Matthew Buettgens, another Urban Institute researcher, says.
Staying enrolled can be another hurdle. Medicaid recipients have to re-enroll, sometimes more than once a year. They can be dropped if they miss deadlines, submit incomplete forms or if paperwork doesn’t catch up with them after they move — something poor families tend to do more frequently than the average American household
Leeanna Herman learned this when an unexpected $300 doctor bill arrived in the mail. The Bakersfield, Calif., resident was pregnant and unemployed and didn’t know her government-funded health coverage had lapsed.
“I was freaking out,” says Herman, 23, who went a month without coverage because she missed the deadline to re-enroll. “How do you expect me to pay that?’”
Experts say online applications and electronic verification of income levels and other things will make this process easier. But deadlines will still matter and some people don’t have easy access to the Internet. And there will still be some people who simply won’t enroll.
“There will always be that segment that says, ‘Aw, the heck with it, I will just wait until I get sick and go to the ER,’” says Stephen Schilling, CEO of Clinica Sierra Vista, a nonprofit that has a network of 27 community health centers in California.
Schilling expects to still see a lot of uninsured patients at the nonprofit group’s health centers even if the law is upheld. The center sits in an agricultural area in California’s San Joaquin Valley, populated with migrant workers and saddled with an unemployment rate of around 15 percent.
It cares for about 60,000 uninsured people annually, thanks in part to grants and a sliding fee scale for patients based on their family size and income. Schilling says he still expects between 20,000 and 40,000 uninsured patients if the overhaul is implemented.
LIVING IN THE GAP
The overhaul calls for tax credits to help middle-class Americans buy coverage. But some people who make too much money to qualify for the tax credits may have a hard time finding an affordable option for private health insurance
The subsidies can pay a large chunk of the insurance bill. For instance, a 40-year-old person who makes $50,000 in 2014 and needs coverage for a family of four might receive a government tax credit of more than $8,000.
That would cover more than 70 percent of the premium, or the cost of coverage, according to a subsidy calculator on the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation’s website. Of course, that estimate depends on the type of coverage the person choses, where they live and whether they can get coverage through work.
But the tax credits will go to people with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or $44,680 for an individual this year. People just above that level may have a hard time finding affordable health insurance.
If the health care law is upheld, Angela Agnew Laws worries that she might remain uninsured like she has been for the past eight years.
Laws, who lives in Leesburg, Va., runs a small business that cleans and maintains commercial buildings. She hopes her income will climb to about $60,000 by 2014, which would be too high for tax credit help.
A plan that offers more than just basic protection against big medical expenses could cost as much as $10,000 annually for Laws. She could find less extensive coverage for a lower premium, but that may only save about $1,000.
Laws, 58, figures that she’ll remain uninsured if she can’t find an affordable coverage option that fits a monthly budget already crammed with payments of $1,203 for rent $530 toward her car.
“It’s a scary prospect for me,” she says.
Reported by Tom Murphy
Related Topics: affordable care act, health-care reform, Obamacare, supreme court, uninsured, Economy & Policy, Healthcare
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Speaker John Boehner @SpeakerBoehner Fewer jobs & higher costs – why all of #ObamaCare must be repealed #4jobs: http://j.mp/LwIuyz @gracemarietweet
Speaker John Boehner @SpeakerBoehner Fewer jobs & higher costs – why all of #ObamaCare must be repealed #4jobs: http://j.mp/LwIuyz @gracemarietweet
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
19 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Court Releases Four Decisions; Health Care Ruling Next Week
WASHINGTON, DC
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court released four rulings today which did not include the high-profile case on federal health care. A ruling on this case is expected next week.
Over three days in March, the court heard four oral arguments in Florida v. Department of Health & Human Services.
First, the Justices have to decide whether challenges to the individual mandate in the Affordable Health Care, requiring individuals to purchase health insurance, can be heard before the law takes effect, and if so, whether the individual mandate is constitutional.
They then review the issue of "severability" -- if the individual mandate is stricken, can the rest of the law remain in effect?
And finally, the court considers whether the Act's Medicaid expansion violates the constitution.
On April 25, 2012, the court took up Arizona v. U.S, which decides whether federal immigration law takes precedence over Arizona's law giving local police the power to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Among the eight remaining decisions to be released today or over the course of next week, three will resolve First Amendment issues.
Knox v. Service Employees International Union, heard on January 1, 2011, will decide if the First Amendment gives state employees the right to decline to pay union dues used for political advocacy by the union.
FCC v. Fox Television, heard on the same day as Knox, is a free speech challenge to federal broadcast decency rules.
And U.S. v. Alvarez, heard on February 22, 2012, will decide if a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about receiving military medals or honors violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to free speech.
Updated: 9 hr., 20 min. ago
Sen. Robert Menendez @SenatorMenendez
Thanks to the #AffordableCareAct, around 73,000 young New Jerseyans have either gained or kept their health insurance. It's working.
@SenatorMenendez Thanks to the #UnAffordableCareAct 30 million lost their jobs and 23 million still haven't regained employment.....
12:48 PM - 19 Jun 12 via web · Details
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty Provisions requiring insurance coverage for 26yr. olds, pre-existing clause, all of that can be met without mandate WITH REAL PROPER #REFORM
11:12 AM - 21 Jun 12 via web · Details
10h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty To answer reporter: Obamacare never had legitimate funding mechanism being funded off of abortions performed-to keep goodies = real reform!
11:11 AM - 21 Jun 12 via web · Details
10h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @NancyPelosi How about the Constitution? I don't think you believe in FREEDOM OF CHOICE, COMMERCE, AND INDIVIDUAL PRIVACY !!!!!
11:08 AM - 21 Jun 12 via web · Details
10h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty put a sock in it Pelosi -- NO MORE OBAMACARE BIOTCH
11:07 AM - 21 Jun 12 via web · Details
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
You only wish #EricHolder #ContemptCitation was revenge:@NancyPelosi REVENGE WAS SNATCHING THE GAVEL FROM YOU, RECIPROCITY RETIRING YOU OUT
Y'all need to get paid next year @SpeakerBoehner @SenatorReid TAX REFORM must be your top priority as Payroll taxes pay part of your salary!
@SpeakerBoehner Let us ease the gridlock-pass our jobs bills 30+ in exchange for road revamp projects @SenatorReid or no appropriations made
I will not beg y'all to get along and compromise @SpeakerBoehner@NancyPelosi @SenatorReid PASS THE JOB BILLS FOR CONCESSION ON ROADS
3 Fallacies in Obama's Public-Sector Stimulus Strategy
Paying people to do busy work won't revive the U.S. economy.
Shikha Dalmia | June 19, 2012
Poor President Obama. Life under the White House klieg lights must seem soooo unfair. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been saying since last year that although “private-sector jobs have been doing just fine,” public-sector jobs need help with another $35 billion in stimulus spending, without raising an eyebrow. But the president regurgitates the same line and all hell breaks loose: The blogosphere chortles mercilessly; Twitter chatter roundly lampoons him; and Mitt “I Like Being Able to Fire People” Romney accuses him of being out of touch with ordinary Americans.
Truth is, though, that Obama was asking for it. His statement might be conventional wisdom in his party’s circles. But it nonetheless manages to pack in virtually every “progressive” economic fallacy—and then some.
For starters, his claim that private-sector job growth is hunky-dory is hooey. It is true that private companies have added 4.3 million jobs since February 2010. However, this represents a 2.8 percent rate of job growth compared to the 8 percent average after previous recoveries—despite (or perhaps because of) $800 billion in stimulus spending.
But instead of asking whether the effects of his own policies—like uncertainty over the extension of the Bush tax cuts and the compliance costs of ObamaCare—might be choking the private sector, Obama wants to apply his stimulus therapy to the public sector. This won’t produce overall growth. Indeed, more government spending means a shrinking private sector, and there are three main reasons why.
One. Obama’s talk of a public-sector stimulus is guided by the Keynesian conviction that what’s necessary to restore overall economic growth is large aggregate demand. If local governments are handed money to hire more public workers—teachers, cops, librarians, social workers—these people will consume more goods and services, which will stimulate other industries. Every dollar pumped into their pockets will magically multiply into several more.
It’s a neat theory—but fanciful.
If boosting aggregate demand is what’s needed, why bother creating jobs? Uncle Sam can simply send every unemployed person a generous check with the proviso that it can’t be saved. It must be spent on TVs, cars, dresses, and shoes (that’ll get the female vote). Call it the “Stay at Home and Pamper Yourself” economic recovery plan.
Obviously, this would be absurd. But is paying people to do governmental busy-work any less absurd than paying them to do no work? No.
Every (unsubsidized) job in the private sector exists because it generates more in wealth or value than it consumes in resources—and hence grows the economic pie. That’s not the case with the public sector.
For example, between 1970 and 2010, public school enrollment went up by 8.5 percent—while public-school employee rolls swelled a mind-boggling 96.2 percent. This cost the country $210 billion and failed to produce one iota of improvement in student achievement. Was this money well-spent because the teachers who received it could spring for nice houses and vacations? Or was it a waste of precious resources that could have been better deployed elsewhere?
Since public-sector jobs don’t pay for themselves, they have to be financed either through taxes or borrowing or inflation (printing money), all of which divert resources from productive private endeavors and hurt overall growth.
Two. But suppose that “free” money appeared like manna from heaven to finance the stimulus spending Obama craves. Then boosting aggregate demand would complement private-sector activity and boost overall growth, right? Wrong.
Harvard Business School researchers Lauren Cohen, Joshua Coval, and Christopher Malloy published a fascinating study last year examining the impact on a state’s economy after its senators or representatives secured powerful committee appointments on Capitol Hill and sent home more federal funds through earmarks, transfers, and government contracts.
They found that this money produced not private-sector growth but retrenchment. Indeed, in every state, virtually every affected firm—large and small—cut payroll, investment, and other expenses. Why? As publicly funded enterprises grew, they crowded out demand and resources from private ones.
Coval’s advice in the wake of his finding? “[Policymakers] should revisit their belief that federal spending can stimulate private economic development.” Amen!
Shikha Dalmia | June 19, 2012
(Page 2 of 2)
Three. The public sector doesn’t just indirectly crowd out private job growth but directly clobbers it as well. That, in fact, is why the regulatory state—the main public-sector enterprise—exists. You can argue that its key products (red tape and mandates) are necessary for public safety, but you can’t argue that they lead to job growth. As the regulatory state grows, the private economy shrinks—and that’s exactly what’s been happening on President Obama’s watch.
Investor’s Business Daily writer John Merline points out that since the post-2008 stimulus, the combined budget of America’s regulatory agencies has grown a healthy 16 percent, topping $54 billion. The overall economy? A paltry 5 percent. Employment at federal regulatory agencies has climbed 13 percent since Obama took office. By contrast, employment shrank by 5.6 percent in the private sector.
Can anyone seriously argue that handing more stimulus funds to more regulatory agencies—something that would inevitably happen given that money is fungible—to hire more bureaucrats to write more regulations will mean more net job growth?
That President Obama can’t see this and naively preaches the stimulus gospel speaks volumes about the liberal bubble that he inhabits. A little ridicule—even by Mitt Romney—is just what he needs.
Shikha Dalmia is a Reason Foundation senior analyst and a columnist at The Daily, where this column originally appeared.
Senator Dick Durbin @SenatorDurbin
Senator Dick Durbin @SenatorDurbin
Job creation doesn’t have to come at the expense of clean air and higher environmental standards
20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorDurbin Job creation doesn't have to come at the expense of 30 million losing their jobs to unconstitutional Obamacare/Dream Act
11:54 AM - 20 Jun 12 via web · Details
14h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty While the #DreamAct is #dead and #unconstitutional @marcorubio here is how we fix broken diplomacy and immigration https://docs.google.com/document/d/15xO2f5q-AvaXaG4FNzdi1u2hLpoWYYWWgwOW0Ep0j00/edit8:58 AM - 21 Jun 12 via web · Details
14h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@midlifechick He has been impeached since 1/1/12 -- why do you think his sanctions on Iran meant nothing https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kW8Dg_Z89TVkoQfo_2a7qcj78uidW3z3lWR0jQCn9OE/edit
14h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty As you talk to Latino voters @MittRomney please tell them our initiatives on diplomacy and proper Immigration Reform https://docs.google.com/document/d/15xO2f5q-AvaXaG4FNzdi1u2hLpoWYYWWgwOW0Ep0j00/edit
Let me say @SpeakerBoehner @NancyPelosi @SenatorReid I am very disappointed with stagnant unemployment http://news.yahoo.com/us-unemployment-aid-applications-little-changed-123331515--finance.html PASS JOB BILLS
Dismayed our unemployment reduction plan raises awareness but does not fix economic strategy short-term unemployment http://news.yahoo.com/us-unemployment-aid-applications-little-changed-123331515--finance.html
WE PASSED YOUR STUPID BILLS @NancyPelosi @SenatorReidNOW PASS OUR BILLS.... OR ARE YOU AFRAID OURS WILL ACTUALLY WORK ???????
@albertemartinez @MittRomney Yeah and they can't say me, because they're too busy bitching than passing the job bill legislation !!!!!!
While @MittRomney lays out bi-partisan ways to fix broken immigration system, WH can't name 1 Republican they're working with on anything...
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
I don't spend newsletter after newsletter or tweet after tweet yammering about how y'all fucked up @NancyPelosi @SenatorReid PASS JOB BILLS!
How about both of you: shut the fuck up @NancyPelosi@SenatorReid and pass job bills from the House in exchange for surface/transportation?
@michellemalkin I think people are getting over the black eye thing with John McCain and Bush Jr. --- really, not every Republican agrees.
7h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty If Pelosi&Reid worked as hard as they do vehemently criticizing Repubs for not wanting to do it their way that hasn't worked,we'd have jobs!OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TOO BUSY POINTING FINGERS THAN PASSING ANY LEGISLATION IN THE SENATE THAT IS BENEFICIAL FOR JOBS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, ALREADY PASSED BY THE HOUSE, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY EXCLAIMING REPUBLICANS HAVE DONE NOTHING TO CREATE JOBS WHEN ALL WE’RE FOCUSED ON IS USING ERIC HOLDER FOR REVENGE....
OH YEAH, AND WANTING THE ECONOMY TO FAIL, WHEN WE HAVE AVERTED 4 GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS, APPROACHING OUR 5TH SHUTDOWN THIS SEPTEMBER, AND WE STILL MANAGED TO DO OUR WORK LEGISLATIVELY.
THAT WAS THE DUMBEST SH*T THAT I HAVE HEARD NANCY PELOSI SAY ABOUT USING HOLDER FOR REVENGE, NEXT TO WHAT GOT HER REMOVED FROM BEING SPEAKER, WHEN SHE DECLARED...
“WE HAVE TO PASS THE BILL, TO SEE/FIND OUT WHAT’S IN IT....”
TRACK THE LEGISLATION
House Republicans are committed to taking every possible step to spur job creation and get our economy back on track so that Americans can do what they do best: create, innovate and lead.
These 27 job creating measures have been passed by the House and are awaiting action in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Contact your Senator here.
Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS) Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
H.R. 1633
Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Learn More »
Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
H.R. 3012
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Learn More »
Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Access to Capital for Job Creators Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
H.R. 1965
To amend the securities laws to establish certain thresholds for shareholder registration, and for o
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Learn More »
Small Company Capital Formation Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
H.R. 2681
Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Learn More »
EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act of 2011 (TRAIN Act)
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
H.R. 1938
North American-Made Energy Security Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Learn More »
Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Improvement Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
H.R. 1231
Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Learn More »
Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
H.J.Res. 37
Disapproving the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to regulating
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
Learn More »
Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011
Status: Awaiting Senate Action
7h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @USAmjs @PressSec @NancyPelosi same voters who were tired of Bush Jr.'s shit are even more tired of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, b.s. tactics8h
USAmjs @USAmjsSounds to me, like @PressSec, @NancyPelosi is trying to change the subject, which means the GOP must be doing something right.
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
@Snarky_Basterd @nancypelosi The same voters who were tired of Bush Jr.'s shit are even more tired of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, b.s. tactics
Obama Administration suffers from #ErectileDysfunction - failure to build anything, work passionately to succeed, or even make it look good.
Heard at this week's Tea Party Movement: is this #ContemptOfCongress or #LackOfProgress why we think it is actually both/failure to perform.
7h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty IF THERE IS ANY INDICATION OF NON-IMPROVEMENT, OBAMA'S COMMERCE SECRETARY RESIGNS http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/21/john-bryson-resigns-obama-commerce-secretary_n_1586026.html THE SENATE MUST PASS JOB LEGISLATION!
@MittRomney I do like what you have to say to quell the tension, but the work must be done through legislation we want you to back/support.
8h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @MittRomney I think part of the problem is that you're long and great on the rhetoric so people eye roll and think @BarackObama #GetSpecific8h
Speaker John Boehner @SpeakerBoehner VIDEO: GOP relentlessly focused on jobs w/vote on energy bill, plan to #stopthetaxhike, #pledge to repeal #ObamaCarehttp://j.mp/L8s1L2
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
8h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @Shouse_Danny @ZachforSenate If we had people like you run in 2008, we'd never have had Obama dueling with McCain or any of this......
Jay Carney must have been thinking about a different bill--the White House still hasn't responded to Republican efforts on student loans.
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
THE TEA PARTY CHIEF MULLS OVER THE ROMNEY NOMINATION AND VICE PRESIDENTIAL PICKS...
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty I say good @MittRomney your plans on deficit reduction seemed too general for me in your latest interview but #RobPortman for #VP good idea9:21 PM - 19 Jun 12 via web · Details
Perry @BAMAPERRYRomney wasn't my 1st choice, BUT, it's kinda like I'm not Catholic, but we're in the same league. It's a lot better than siding with Satan.
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
19 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty Female vote may very well be the general repugnance of #MichelleObama and the general gravitation to #AnnRomney http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/us/politics/at-romneys-side-a-determined-running-mate.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&hp
At Romney’s Side, a Determined Running Mate
James Estrin/The New York Times
Ann Romney has become more visible on the campaign trail with and without her husband. More Photos »By ASHLEY PARKER
Published: June 15, 2012
WASHINGTON — Years before Mitt Romney ever ran in his first political race, his wife, Ann, beat him to public office.
Multimedia
TimesCast Politics: Ann Romney's Role
Slide Show
Ann Romney Steps Into the Spotlight
campaign bus tour. More Photos »In 1977, Mrs. Romney, at 27, campaigned for town meeting representative in Belmont, Mass., where the young couple lived. She studied up on local issues and went around town talking to residents. She even printed placards — complete with a photograph of herself above a list of platform positions — that she handed out door to door and on street corners.
The big campaign issue “was to move the fire station or not,” Mrs. Romney recalled. “I won.” The Ann Romney on display before voters today is the warm mother of five, the devoted grandmother of 18, and the glowing presence beside her husband on election nights. But that determined campaigner more than three decades earlier provides a glimpse of the woman beyond the gracious helpmeet, someone with a competitive streak who enjoyed her early foray into politics, and who, friends say, has steel behind the smile.
While her biography outlines a seemingly conventional course, one that is more Laura Bush than Michelle Obama, Mrs. Romney casts herself as someone who has defied others’ expectations, not endeavored to fulfill them.
As the 17-year-old Ann Davies, she said, she initiated her conversion to Mormonism because she was on a spiritual quest, not trying to please her then-boyfriend, Mitt Romney. She married young and started a family over the protests of her parents. She chose to become a homemaker, even though the newly emboldened career women of her era in Boston would, as she put it, “turn their noses down at me.” She always planned, she disclosed in a recent interview, on having her own later-in-life career, but those ambitions were derailed — and reshaped — by her struggle with multiple sclerosis.
“I consider myself a very strong person, a very independent-minded person and someone that just sets my own path and goes my own way,” Mrs. Romney, 63, said. “I don’t worry about what other people think or do.”
For nearly two decades, Mrs. Romney has chosen to nurture her husband’s political aspirations, and now that he has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, she is becoming more visible on the campaign trail, headlining fund-raisers and political events. Her husband’s team is making her available for news media interviews and has surrounded her with minders to help her withstand the increasing scrutiny.
Like Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Bush, she once had deep reservations about politics and has learned the perils of being a combatant. Her husband’s first race, unlike her contest in Belmont, ended in a bitter defeat, losing in a Senate run against the incumbent, Edward M. Kennedy, and she came off in the news media as a frivolous lady who lunches. Afterward, she told The Boston Globe: “Never. You couldn’t pay me to do this again.”
Since then, though, she has become her husband’s chief promoter, willing to plunge into the political fight and prodding him into his current race, even though most of her family was against it. While he was enumerating all the possible hurdles, she recalled, she frustrated him by cutting him off and saying, “No, I’m not going to consider those things because those change every day.”
Mrs. Romney has provided a few glimpses of what kind of first lady she might be, if her husband makes it to the White House. She exhibits no Hillary Rodham Clinton-type desire to become a player in policy matters, though she has expressed an interest in health issues. She sees a possible example in Mrs. Obama, whom she praised as “gracious and lovely,” and who similarly provides an outgoing counterweight to a more aloof husband.
In raising their five boys, Mrs. Romney said, her husband was strict while she was more lenient. She is decisive, while he is deliberative. He is wary of going off script, while she unabashedly mentioned their multiple houses and her expensive dressage horses, hot-button topics for a campaign trying not to highlight the Romneys’ wealth. And while he is earnest, she can be irreverent.
(Page 2 of 3)
Asked why her husband put many of their financial assets in her name years ago — at the time, Mr. Romney said the couple had decided that “Ann would feel more comfortable if she had assets in her name” — she joked: “You know what the real reason is, for Mitt? He wants to make sure I never have to remarry. ‘You have all the money! You never have to remarry then!’ ”
But the couple shares a similar drive and intensity. She once pushed — literally — a heckler who threatened her husband when he was governor of Massachusetts, said her eldest son, Tagg. And, like her husband, she hates losing.
“She’s a lioness, very competitive and determined,” said Alex Castellanos, an adviser to the Romney 2008 campaign. Losing upsets her, he said, adding that she expects others to commit as deeply as she does to her husband’s cause. “She’s an all-in kind of person.”
A Conversion
By the time she arrived on campus at Brigham Young University in 1967, Ann Davies was something of a celebrity. Everyone knew she was dating Mitt Romney, who had just been named an eligible bachelor by Town & Country magazine and whose father, George W. Romney, the governor of Michigan, was considering a presidential run. A daughter of privilege from a Michigan family, she stood out as “ladylike and restrained,” recalled one former student. She threw herself into student government, volunteering in an academic affairs office several days a week. University officials declined to release her transcript, but her press secretary described her as an “A student.”
Kim Cameron, a fellow student whom Mrs. Romney briefly dated while Mr. Romney was away on his Mormon mission in France, said she made a point of plunging into campus life. “Everybody knows you’re this hotshot woman who’s smart and gorgeous and you’re waiting for your missionary,” he said. “You can sit back on your laurels, but she got involved.”
Mrs. Romney had recently converted to Mormonism, a process that stemmed, she said, from her “own personal questions about the purpose of life and is there a God,” as well as her strong bond with Mr. Romney’s father. She delighted in how the senior Romney treated her as “a complete equal,” reveling in her opinions and ideas, and she chose him to baptize her. She and Mr. Romney married shortly after, when she was 19.
When the young couple moved to Belmont so that Mr. Romney could attend graduate school at Harvard, where she finished her Brigham Young undergraduate degree in French, Mrs. Romney found herself a young mother — she had one son, with a second on the way — in a world where women were immersed in the feminist movement. Friends and family members say Mrs. Romney felt disparaged for her choice to stay home with her boys.
Her relatives were also skeptical of her decision to start such a large family, so quickly. “My parents were questioning my choices, my peers were,” she said. “But again, I was pretty resolute, pretty confident in what I was doing.”
Ronald B. Scott, a distant cousin of Mr. Romney who wrote “Mitt Romney, an Inside Look at the Man and His Politics,” said Mrs. Romney warned her parents, “ ‘You keep this up and you’re not going to see much of your grandkids,’ ” Mr. Scott said. “There was that backbone in her that said, ‘I’ll put up with this, but at a certain point, I’ll hold my ground.’ ”
Years later, she was asked to give a speech at Harvard Business School, talking about that period in her life. Her message: “Women have the choice,” Tagg Romney said, echoing his mother’s remarks. “You can choose to have careers, you can choose to be mothers and have careers, or you can choose to be stay-at-home moms — don’t be intimidated one way or other because that’s what your peers are doing.”
She had worried that she might be booed off the stage, her son said. Instead, everyone applauded, and many women came up afterward to thank her.
(Page 3 of 3)
Besides raising her boys and running her household (she had no help until shortly after emergency surgery for an ovarian cyst after the birth of her youngest son), Mrs. Romney, a natural athlete, took up tennis and became a top player on the country club circuit. She performed volunteer work, fulfilled church obligations, and even briefly taught French cooking with a friend.
“She has a strong sense of doing things well and doing things correctly,” said Grant Bennett, a friend of the Romneys who served as a church leader with Mr. Romney. “So if it’s playing tennis, she’s going to master it and do it well; if it’s raising her kids, she’s going to master it and do it well; if it’s her various equestrian activities, she’s going to jump in and do it well; if it’s decorating her home, it’s done well; if it’s cooking, it’s done well.”
While she describes herself as “tough,” her fortitude was tested in 1998 with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. With the illness came bone-crushing fatigue. So tired that she barely had the energy to form words, she found herself in bed all day because of exhaustion, and depression soon followed.
Mrs. Romney largely turned inward. “I wasn’t sharing,” she said. “I wasn’t telling anyone what I was going through.” Though she often talks on the campaign trail about this “dark” period, she struggled last week to describe the grimness of those early months: “I don’t want to say I was suicidal or anything like that.”
“There were many times when I sort of wished I had cancer and would just die,” she said. “And just sort of say, O.K., this is cancer and this is what it’s going to do. And this is where it’s going to finish me.”
She tackled her illness with characteristic determination, and Mr. Romney took a practical approach, trying to figure out ways to help his wife feel better. In addition to receiving standard treatment from top doctors in Boston, she sought alternative remedies including reflexology (her son Josh learned the basics so he could help out), acupuncture, and eventually, horse therapy.
Not only had the disease altered her sense of self — the energetic, vivacious woman used to caring for others — but it also upended her vision of the future: her plan to go back to school for a master’s degree in art history and pursue a career outside of the home.
Her illness also brought a new perspective, and made the ups and downs of her husband’s two presidential runs seem bearable. “You know there’s a resolution to these things,” Mrs. Romney said. “You know that things go on, you know that life goes on.”
Learning From 2008
Mrs. Romney had soured on politics after her husband’s first race, a United States Senate bid against Mr. Kennedy in 1994. Mr. Romney was trounced and she was portrayed as naïve and entitled, fretting about her weight and claiming she and Mr. Romney had never had a serious argument. During the primary race this year, she drew criticism when she told a Fox News host, “I don’t even consider myself wealthy.” Still, she has emerged as a more disciplined and savvy surrogate, one who is less daunted by the nastiness of political campaigns. Recently, during a particularly rough patch, her close friend Laraine Wright sent her a text message with words of encouragement. “All good,” Mrs. Romney wrote back.
In 2008, when the Romneys held a family meeting with their sons and daughters-in-law to vote on whether he should run for president, all 12 hands went up in favor of a bid. Four years later, aware of the toll and the long odds, the family was reluctant. When they took a vote, only two hands rose to say yes — those of Tagg and Mrs. Romney.
Mrs. Romney said that her husband was bogged down in the details — the political climate, the likely Republican field — while she focused on the “abstract” of whether she believed he would make a good president.
“I skipped right past all of those and went just to the heart of it,” she said.
Though former and current aides say she does not meddle in the day-to-day operations of the campaign, she has made her views known. During his first presidential race, she argued that he should address the issue of his Mormon faith head-on, which he eventually did in a speech in Texas. This time, echoing a point aides had been making, she helped put an end to a seemingly indeterminable series of primary debates when she publicly declared, with a laugh: “I’ve also decided no more debates. If we’re going to do another debate, he’s going to sit in the audience and watch me.”
“She said it kind of jokingly, but she also drew a line that no one in the campaign would cross,” Mr. Castellanos said. “I think behind the frivolity, between the warm humor, there’s a lot of steel that’s respected by everybody in the campaign because it’s respected by Mitt Romney.”
When she had a brief flare-up of her illness right before Super Tuesday, a crucial day of nominating contests, Mrs. Romney kept the health scare a secret and forced herself to continue campaigning. “I knew I had to take a break, and I knew I couldn’t,” she said.
All of her energy, friends say, is devoted to getting her husband elected president. Tony Kimball, a friend of the Romneys from Belmont, recalls running into Mrs. Romney at church in December, when the campaign was heating up.
“She just kept saying, ‘I really think Mitt is going to go all the way, I’m convinced of it,’ ” he said. “She’s very, very much in favor, and pushing hard.”
14h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @MicheleBachmann Yeah on top of #Murdergate and the pile of gay dead lovers in Obama's past, the nagging security leaks demand impeachment.14h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty #Murdergate poses serious questions about Obama's integrity, next to a pile of gay dead lovers in his past http://news.yahoo.com/house-panel-vote-holder-contempt-charge-aide-141022378.htmlON 6/20/2012, THE WHOLE WORLD STOPPED AND FOCUSED UPON THE DEATH BORDER PATROL AGENT BRIAN TERRY, AGENT ZAPATA, AND COUNTLESS MEXICAN LIVES LOST DUE TO THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SCANDAL EQUIVALENT IN NATURE TO WATERGATE CORRUPTION, ONLY KNOWN BY ITS RESULTS OF UNSCRUPULOUS PROVISION OF WEAPONRY TO CARTELS....
#MURDERGATE
10h
Jim Humbert @JimHumbert Holder Goes Back on His Word, Doesn’t Provide Fast and Furious Documents at Meeting With Issa http://www.theblaze.com/stories/holder-goes-back-on-his-word-doesnt-provide-fast-and-furious-documents-at-meeting-with-issa/ via@theblaze
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
POLITICSHOLDER GOES BACK ON HIS WORD, DOESN’T PROVIDE FAST AND FURIOUS DOCUMENTS AT MEETING WITH ISSA
- Posted on June 19, 2012 at 7:05pm by Jason Howerton
- Email »
Attorney General Eric holder speaks to reporters following his meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Holder wants a House panel to drop plans to try to hold him in contempt of Congress, and the panel's chairman wants more Justice Department documents regarding Operation Fast and Furious. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(The Blaze/AP) – Despite Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent pledge that his department would make an “extraordinary accommodation” in providing additional documents relating to Operation “Fast and Furious,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said in a statement Tuesday that the attorney general did not keep his word.(Related: Eric Holder to Meet Face-to-Face With Darrell Issa to Discuss ‘Fast and Furious’)
After a 20-minute meeting at the Capitol Tuesday, Holder told reporters he would not turn over documents on Fast and Furious unless Issa agreed to another meeting. The attorney general says he would explain what is in the materials at that time. Holder says he wants an assurance from Issa that the transfer of the records would satisfy a subpoena from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that Issa chairs.
Issa, who initially requested the documents to be delivered before the meeting, did not appear to be amused by the ploy. As of now, a vote on contempt charges is still on. Fox News filed this report on the proceedings:
“I had hoped that after this evening’s meeting I would be able to tell you that the Department had delivered documents that would justify the postponement of tomorrow’s vote on contempt. The Department told the Committee on Thursday that it had documents it could produce that would answer our questions. Today, the Attorney General informed us that the Department would not be producing those documents. The only offer they made involved us ending our investigation,” Issa’s statement read.
“While I still hope the Department will reconsider its decision so tomorrow’s vote can be postponed, after this meeting I cannot say that I am optimistic. At this point, we simply do not have the documents we have repeatedly said we need to justify the postponement of a contempt vote in committee.”
The House committee is after a “subset of Post February 4 documents,” which Holder had previously agreed to provide on Tuesday, not at a future meeting.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., speaks to reporters following his meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“Chairman Issa has repeatedly stated over the past week that a postponement of Wednesday’s vote would only come after the delivery of a subset of Post February 4 documents that Attorney General Holder said he was prepared to produce and the Department of Justice further outlined to Committee investigators on Thursday, June 14,” a Tuesday release from Issa’s office said.“The length of any postponement would depend on the amount and substance of documents delivered.”
Issa argues the documents will shine light on a number of revelations about just how much knowledge Holder and the the U.S. Department of Justice as well as the Obama administration had about the Fast and Furious, including:
- The Justice Department switching its view from denying whistleblower allegations to admitting they were true.
- Hiding the identity of officials who led the charge to call whistleblowers liars and retaliate against them.
- The reactions of top officials when confronted with evidence about gunwalking in Fast and Furious, including whether they were surprised or were already aware.
- The Justice Department’s assessment of responsibility for officials who knew about reckless conduct or were negligent.
- Whether senior officials and political appointees at fault in Operation Fast and Furious were held to the same standards as lower level career employees whom the Department has primarily blamed.
Relying on the tactic, federal agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives abandoned their usual practice of intercepting all weapons they believed to be illicitly purchased. Instead, the goal of gun-walking was to track such weapons to high-level arms traffickers, who had long eluded prosecution, and to dismantle their networks.
Gun-walking has long been barred by Justice Department policy, but federal agents in Arizona experimented with it in at least two investigations during the George W. Bush administration before Fast and Furious. These experiments came as the department was under widespread criticism that the old policy of arresting every suspected low-level straw purchaser was still allowing tens of thousands of guns to reach Mexico. A straw purchaser is an illicit buyer of guns for others.
The agents in Arizona lost track of many of the weapons in Operation Fast and Furious. Two of the guns that “walked” in the operation were found at the scene of the slaying of U.S. border agent Brian Terry.
Issa’s committee has been investigating Fast and Furious for the past year and a half. Holder says the Justice Department has turned over about 7,600 pages of documents.
The Associated Press Contributed to this report.
COULD THIS BE WHAT ERIC HOLDER IS OBSTRUCTING....
I’D SAY FROM THE PUBLIC RELEASE OF THIS MATERIAL IN PREPARATION THE MORNING OF THE HEARING ON 6/20/2012, BEING FRESHLY RE-CIRCULATED AGAIN FROM 6/11/2012, WITH ANOTHER CHART ADDED FROM THE DAY BEFORE IN THE AFTERNOON, JUST BEFORE HOLDER REFUSED TO TURN OVER DOCUMENTS TO RESOLVE CONTEMPT CHARGES....
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
It's obvious to me @SpeakerBoehner @ChuckGrassley@JohnCornyn what is being withheld now....http://pic.twitter.com/J9ZOmh0 http://pic.twitter.com/06PnvdR
image by @2012_TeaParty, 15 Jun
image by @2012_TeaParty, 15 Jun
1:17 PM - 19 Jun 12 via web · Details
The idea that Oversight is willing to accept only 1300 #fastandfurious docs to avoid contempt after requesting 70,000, is crap
@KatiePavlich @KatiePavlich I think it is PRETTY OBVIOUS what is being withheld now.... http://pic.twitter.com/J9ZOmh0http://pic.twitter.com/06PnvdRt | Fixed position
1:13 PM - 19 Jun 12 via web · Details
12:50 PM - 19 Jun 12 via web · Details
AND GIVEN THAT THESE FLOW CHARTS WERE RE-RELEASED PROMPTLY 15-20 MIN. IN FACEBOOK GROUPS AHEAD OF THE SCHEDULED TIME OF THE 6/20 HEARING WITH A REQUEST TO SIGN A PETITION TO PROSECUTE HOLDER, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION FREAKED AT SEEING THEIR MESS DISPLAYED ON TWO FLOW CHARTS, AND IN FULL PANIC MODE, OBAMA INVOKED EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE IN A VAIN ATTEMPT TO COVER HIS OWN ASS...
20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @TheJusticeDept @BarackObama squarely responsible for not stopping #FastAndFurious #VictorHill #weaponry #corruption http://pic.twitter.com/3pYdHy820 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty 20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @RepLankford may this dutifully assist your efforts to resolution http://pic.twitter.com/AVlPM5p20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @BretBaier you don't need thousands of documents when you have 2 handy dandy flow charts... guess Holder can't draw http://pic.twitter.com/WRp8NFH20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @BretBaier no 11th hour anything from the powerless Obama will spare him and Holder the wrath of the public http://pic.twitter.com/63Vm2Vc20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @TXCupCake I'd say so... more like neck high in shit http://pic.twitter.com/w0NUnEu20 Jun
Katie Pavlich @KatiePavlich Reminder: At LEAST 3 White House National Security Advisers were getting emails about #fastandfurious Obama's MurderGate
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty Oh Jesus please @RepTierney Here's your reform #VoteContempt #ImpeachObama and pass legalization and decriminalization and #DrugReformLaws20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @RepTierney This information was synthesized for public release to protect the lives of those involved from corruption http://pic.twitter.com/45bQF1q20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @KatiePavlich yeah undeniable now isn't it http://pic.twitter.com/9GV3E3f20 Jun
Katie Pavlich @KatiePavlich
Murdergate has now turned into OBAMAGATE #fastandfurious
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
20 Jun
Byron York @ByronYork
Issa reminds Kucinich that Kucinich voted to hold Bush WH counsel Harriet Miers in contempt, without benefit of court.
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @RepKucinich seems irrelevant in light of #ImpeachmentOrder 1/1/1220 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@DarrellIssa @RepConnieMack I owe no one anything anymore, except that the truth has been told publicly, this day http://pic.twitter.com/4HBZu6Z
20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty 20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@RepKucinich It seems to me that we have been gracious with Obama's eviction order, and perhaps he should leave peacefully and immediately.
20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
So Reno's inactions led to the death of government personnel?@CarolynBMaloney I don't think it's anything like this:http://pic.twitter.com/WIhSeGa
20 Jun
Fox Nation @foxnation
REMEMBER THIS? Obama Blasting Bush For " Hiding Behind Executive Privilege" (WATCH) http://nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2012/06/20/flashback-obama-blasts-bush-hiding-behind-executive-privilege
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
#Present http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN3/@CarolynBMaloney I'm sorry, what else has Holder not cooperated with Congress on? http://pic.twitter.com/xlukU2C
Here's your reform @EdTowns #VoteContempt #ImpeachObama and pass legalization and decriminalization legislation and #DrugReformLaws
20 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @EdTowns Eric Holder deserves every bit of scrutiny, tonality, inquiry, and #contempt for this obstruction http://pic.twitter.com/P8e0RM820 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@GOPoversight @JasonInTheHouse me too Jason, I pray my life is not in vain and the work I've done here http://pic.twitter.com/8psI7BA
20 Jun
GOP Oversight @GOPoversight
"I hope we have the guts to get to the bottom of this...so we can FIX THIS." - @JasonInTheHouse at http://Fastandfuriousinvestigation.com
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
@RepGosar Oh yeah #extraordinaryEFFORTS to #accommodate#cartels Obama's ego and Holder's reputation http://pic.twitter.com/vyMsUGq
Sen. Grassley came out with a strong statement to the WH, "how can the president assert executive privilege if there was no WH involvement?"
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
Issa says he went into the #fastandfurious meeting last night assuming Holder would produce docs, to prevent contempt, didn't happen
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
@theRealExTex I don't know who is worse: Cummings for blubbering, Maloney for bitching, or Norton for ineptitude and droning on monotone...
@KatiePavlich @freddoso yeah the cat got let out of the bag <shakes with Katie> good work and note comparison http://pic.twitter.com/hxW471v
@EleanorNorton stop droning on --- THE TRUTH HAS BEEN SPOKEN AND WILL NOT BE SILENCED http://pic.twitter.com/vHO9Ivu
#tweetcongress THE BUCK STOPS WITH WE THE PEOPLE! WE WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS LAWLESS ADMINISTRATION! START CONTEMPT & IMPEACHMENT!
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
@AG_Conservative it doesn't apply anyway, because of Obama's Impeachment Order filed 1/1/12 it is a last ditch *oh shit* move
The WH has asserted for months that Obama had almost no knowledge of #FastAndFurious, which would mean Executive Privilege shouldn't apply.
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
@bccohan yeah it's pretty embarrassing and dangerous this is the world we live in because of Holder and Obama http://pic.twitter.com/UcRsmVG
#FastandFurious is the number 1 trending topic nationwide. And Holder is trending worldwide.
RT @RepGosar: "@mboyle1: BREAKING: Sen. Marco Rubio demands Eric Holder's RESIGNATION: http://thedc.com/LF3FtN#FastandFurious"
Fast & Furious was obama's plan, Holder implemented & covered it up. This isn't rocket science. It has obama's DNA all over it. #TCOT#p2
10:49 AM - 21 Jun 12 via web · Details
MURDERGATE WAS SPONSORED BY THE BUSH JR. ADMIN. FOR INTELLIGENCE GATHERING:- IT IMPERILED CITIZENS AND STRIPPED THEM OF HABEAS CORPUS BY THE PATRIOT ACT,
- WHICH MUSHROOMED OUT OF CONTROL, PERPETUATED BY ITS RENEWAL BY THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, AND CONTINUED, DESPITE HAVING THE INTELLIGENCE NECESSARY TO WARRANT THE DEATH OF OSAMA BEING REPORTED BY BHUTTO IN 2007 AND THE FOLLOWING INVASION OF PAKISTAN IN THE ATTACK OF AL QAEDA HEADQUARTERS...
- USED UNSCRUPULOUS ABUSE OF POWER MULTIPLIED BY OBAMA,
PERHAPS IF THERE WAS ANYTHING MORE SINISTER TO ADD TO THE MURDERS OF BRIAN TERRY, JAIME ZAPATA, AND HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF MEXICANS WHO ARE DEAD OR WILL BE AS A RESULT OF WEAPONRY STILL NOT ACCOUNTED FOR AND NOT PRIED FROM THE WRONG HANDS.....
IS THAT ALL OF THIS OCCURRED IN A COUNTRY WHO HAS A FREE PRESS, BUT A GOVERNMENT WHOSE ABUSE OF POWER TRAMPLES THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS TRYING TO COMPLY WITH THE VERY LAWS THE GOVERNMENT ITSELF DOES NOT UPHOLD OR ENFORCE....
KNOX GUN-RIGHTS REPORT
U.S. FAMILY JAILED FOR HOLDER'S GUN CRIMES
Jeff Knox summarizes stunning story of Fast & Furious hypocrisy
Published: 58 mins ago
by JEFF KNOXEmail | ArchiveJeff Knox is a second-generation political activist and director of The Firearms Coalition. His writing can regularly be seen in Shotgun News and Front Sight magazines as well as here on WorldNetDaily.More ↓
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Eighteen months after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered in Arizona by Mexican bandits using guns purchased through a U.S. government program called Fast and Furious, we still don’t know who within the Department of Justice knew about the program, much less who authorized it.
Certainly there has been no serious talk about prosecuting any of the people responsible for assisting in the illegal sales of over 2,000 guns to Mexican arms traffickers – guns that were subsequently involved in the murders of BPA Terry and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata, as well as possibly hundreds of Mexican citizens.
But while that investigation has dragged on, with Attorney General Eric Holder denying knowledge of the program, denying knowledge of who was involved and denying congressional investigators access to tens of thousands of documents that might answer those questions, New Mexico gun dealer Rick Reese and his two sons Ryin and Remington have sat rotting in separate detention centers, jails and prisons around the state accused of a similar crime involving some 30 guns.
The Reese family, including Rick’s wife Terri, ran a gun shop in Deming, N.M., and was arrested in late August of 2011 on charges of knowingly selling guns to Mexican smugglers and various other related charges.
After spending 6 months in jail, Terri Reese was finally granted bail in March of this year, but Rick and the boys have been repeatedly denied bail on the pretext that they are flight risks or might try to engage in a Ruby Ridge-type standoff.
The rationale for denying the Reeses’ constitutional rights is that Rick knows some people in Mexico, his home has a well and solar power and there were guns and ammunition in their homes and businesses when they were arrested. That’s right: Guns and ammo in the home and business of a federally licensed firearms dealer (all of which were seized a year ago and have never been returned) is being offered as evidence that they can’t be trusted – and a judge bought it.
Well, there’s also the fact that Rick and Terri were involved with a local tea-party group. That’s probably reason enough right there.
The Reeses are scheduled to finally get their day in court in late July, almost a full year after they were arrested and incarcerated. The first of several pre-trial motion hearings was held last week in which the judge heard arguments as to whether the charge of criminal conspiracy should be dropped. The prosecution contends that the Reese family members were all in cahoots in a conspiracy to sell guns to illegal buyers, falsify purchase paperwork, smuggle guns to Mexico and launder the illegal proceeds. The defense contends that the family operated a business buying and selling firearms, ammunition and accessories, and that they made every effort to ensure that every sale they made was legal and properly documented.
During this first hearing, we learned several things about the prosecution’s case. For instance, we learned that prosecutors acknowledge that every gun the Reeses sold was properly logged into and out of their store inventory, and that FBI background checks were conducted, and approvals received, for each purchaser. They also agree that all taxes were paid and no money was exchanged “under the table,” nor did any of the family members receive compensation above their normal company paycheck.
We learned that Rick Reese also employed retired and off-duty law enforcement officers as part-time help in the shop, and that a substantial portion of the company’s business came from law enforcement officers and agencies.
We learned that prosecutors consider three family members standing close to each other and quietly talking to be evidence of conspiracy and that the lead investigator in the case has a very low opinion of fellow law enforcement officers. When asked if he considered the fact that the Reeses employed LEOs in the shop to be contraindicative of a criminal conspiracy, he replied that he did not because “a lot of them [cops and former cops] are dirty.”
Probably the most important fact we learned at this hearing was that the entire investigation was instigated based on a tip that a woman named Penny Torres was making suspicious purchases of guns and ammunition, and might be illegally buying for someone else. That tip led to Torres’ arrest and her subsequent grand jury testimony against the Reese family and another gun shop where she had made some purchases. The presumption is that her cooperation garnered her leniency in the charges and sentence she was facing for her criminal activity.
What is most significant about the arrest of Penny Torres is that the original tip identifying her as a potential “straw buyer” came from Terri Reese.
Torres had claimed that her purchases were in preparation for a large family reunion at an area ranch where her relatives wanted to do a lot of shooting. At some point after the sales, Terri Reese became suspicious of Torres’ story and contacted a friend in the Luna County Sheriff’s office, who acted as the shop’s go-to guy in law enforcement. He assured Terri that he would make a report to ATF and get back to her.
Torres testimony against the Reese family led to a months-long sting operation conducted against the Reeses by a federal agency called Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI. That investigation involved a confidential informant named Roman, who was trying to earn a reduced sentence for drug and human smuggling. His job was to make purchases of firearms and ammunition from the Reeses while dropping hints that his intent was to illegally take the guns to Mexico. The trick was to drop those hints in such a way that they wouldn’t alarm the Reeses, but that someone listening to a recording of the tape and reading a transcript would conclude that the Reeses knew, or should have known, his intentions.
Roman, by the way, speaks only broken English, and his conversations with the Reeses included a lot of Spanish, a language that no one in the Reese family speaks, but which has been transcribed for the court in English.
Who would believe that a gun dealer’s report of a suspicious purchaser would lead to a federal investigation of the dealer herself, culminating in a raid with armored vehicles, helicopters and heavily armed officers and agents from multiple jurisdictions?
Or that a few firearms and ammunition sales in a high-volume gun store, including the sales that Terri Reese had reported as suspicious, would result in confiscation of virtually everything the family had accumulated over a 25-year marriage and 17 years in business – bank accounts, gun and coin collections, store inventory, vehicles, real estate, just about everything the family had?
Or that the same Justice Department that had instructed dealers to sell over 2,000 guns to known straw buyers for Mexican drug cartels while making no attempt to track or interdict them – with a few arrests and minor charges against the straw purchasers, but no charges against the ATF and DOJ employees who masterminded the criminal operation – would effectively destroy a family for not being quite diligent enough in their efforts to screen their customers?
It is worth noting that as HSI progressed in their investigation against the Reese family, they were briefing and receiving guidance from Phoenix ATF Bureau Chief Bill Newell – the man responsible for directly overseeing Operation Fast and Furious.
For the Reese family, who have already served 10 months behind bars and have had all of their worldly possessions taken from them, the July trial is an opportunity to prove their innocence and try to reassemble what’s left of their lives.
For the prosecution, it is imperative that they prove that the Reeses were intentionally engaging in the criminal activity they have already been being punished for. Failure to get a conviction would leave egg on the face of a relatively new federal law enforcement agency trying to establish itself, and would mean that the various agencies involved wouldn’t get to divvy up the spoils already pillaged.
Once again though, we see a case where those inside the government and law enforcement are handled with kid gloves and given the benefit of every doubt, while those outside of government and law enforcement are presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence – even after the government has taken away the resources they need to make their case.
If you would like to help the Reese family in their struggle, a defense fund has been set up at:
REESE DEFENSE FUND
ATTENTION Patricia Arias
First Savings Bank
520 South Gold
Deming, NM 88030
WORLD...
#Syria as a new day dawns and a new moon here our prayers are with you for new beginnings, abundance, and a future....
9:13 PM - 19 Jun 12 via web · Details
Thursday, June 21, 2012
PRAYER, COMMITMENT AND FRATERNITY FOR SYRIA
Vatican City, 21 June 2012 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received participants in the annual general meeting of the Reunion of Organisations for Aid to the Oriental Churches (ROACO).
In his remarks to the group Benedict XVI mentioned the social and economic crisis which, "due to the global dimension it has taken on, does not spare the more economically developed parts of the world and, even more worryingly, also affects the most disadvantaged areas". Above all in the East, "homeland to ancient Christian traditions", this process "generates insecurity and instability also at the ecclesial level, and in the ecumenical and inter-religious fields. These factors nourish endemic wounds of history and make dialogue, peace, coexistence among peoples and authentic respect for human rights even more fragile, especially the right to religious freedom for individuals and communities".
In this year's meeting, representatives form the Holy Land were joined by prelates from the Syro-Malabar Church in India, the Greek-Catholic Church of Ukraine, the apostolic nuncio to Syria and the president of Caritas in Syria.
"This", the Holy Father said, "is an occasion to reaffirm my closeness to the great suffering of our brothers and sister in Syria, in particular the young innocents and those most defenceless. May our prayers, our commitment and our concrete fraternity in Christ ... help them not to lose the light of hope at this moment of darkness; and may God give wisdom of heart to those in positions of responsibility, that all violence and bloodshed may cease".
The Pope went on: "May the international community spare no effort to help Syria emerge from its current situation of violence and crisis, which has already gone on a long time and risks becoming a generalised conflict which would have highly negative consequences for the country and the entire region. I also make an urgent and heartfelt appeal that, in the face of the dire need of the population, the necessary humanitarian assistance be guaranteed, also to the many people who have had to abandon their homes, some of whom have taken shelter in neighbouring countries. Human life is a precious gift which must always be protected".
In closing Benedict XVI called on the members of ROACO to be "eloquent signs of the charity that pours from Christ’s heart" and to "present the Church to the world in her most authentic identity and mission". He concluded by expressing the hope that the Virgin would give them hope and watch over his own forthcoming trip to Lebanon.
Published by VISarchive 02 - Thursday, June 21, 2012
POPE-SYRIA Jun-21-2012 (320 words) With photo. xxxi
Appealing for peace in Syria, pope expresses fear of wider conflict
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The international community must act swiftly and decisively to end the violence in Syria, which "risks becoming a widespread conflict that would have seriously negative consequences for the country and the entire region," Pope Benedict XVI said.
The pope expressed his prayers and hopes for peace in Syria during a meeting June 21 with Catholic Church representatives from throughout the Middle East, including the nuncio to Syria and the president of Caritas Syria, and with leaders of Eastern Catholic churches.
The representatives and leaders were at the Vatican for a meeting of the Vatican's coordinating body for church funding agencies that assist Eastern Catholics and Catholics throughout the Middle East.
The violence in Syria began in March 2011 and has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians as soldiers battle forces seeking an end to the rule of President Bashar Assad.
Pope Benedict said he wanted to express again his sorrow for the suffering of the Syrian people, particularly innocent children and defenseless citizens.
"May our prayer, our commitment and our concrete brotherhood in Christ, like the oil of consolation, help them not lose the light of hope in these dark moments, and may God grant the leaders wisdom of heart so they would halt all bloodshed and violence, which brings only pain and death, and open the possibility for reconciliation, agreement and peace," he said.
The pope called on the international community to do everything possible to promote peace in Syria, and he launched "a pressing and heartfelt appeal that in the face of the extreme needs of the population humanitarian assistance would be guaranteed."
With Catholic representatives from Lebanon also present at the meeting, the pope prayed that Mary would "watch over the upcoming trip that -- if it pleases God -- I will make to Lebanon" in September to present his document reflecting on the 2010 special Synod of Bishops on the Middle East.
END
I pray for the strength and patience of #Syria as we organize and mobilize #Israel #Iran and even Palestinians for political support.
11:06 AM - 21 Jun 12 via web · Details
Released: June 21, 2012
But Lebanese Shia Backing Syrian Regime
Widespread Condemnation for Assad in Neighboring Countries
SURVEY REPORT
With the uprising against him showing no signs of abating, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is widely unpopular in neighboring countries. And the vast majority of Jordanians, Egyptians, Tunisians and Turks would like to see him step down. In Lebanon, however, views differ sharply along sectarian lines, with Shia Muslims overwhelmingly expressing support for the Assad regime.
Even though many would like to see Assad out of office, there is no consensus on taking action to dislodge him from power. There is limited support for tougher international economic sanctions or Arab military intervention, and very little support for Western military action.These are among the key findings from a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted from March 19 to April 20, prior to the May 25 massacre in Houla, Syria, as well as other recent acts of violence against civilians by pro-Assad forces.
Few Have Positive View of Assad
Large majorities hold an unfavorable opinion of Assad in Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey. In Lebanon, which was occupied by Syrian forces for three decades before they withdrew in 2006, about six-in-ten (59%) express an unfavorable view of Assad, but opinions of him vary dramatically across the country’s major religious communities.
About nine-in-ten Lebanese Sunni Muslims (92%) express a negative opinion of Assad, as do 66% of the country’s Christians. However, almost all Shia Muslims (96%) have a favorable view of Assad, who is a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam.
Assad Should Go, But No Consensus on Taking Action
Nearly nine-in-ten say Assad should step down in Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia, and two-thirds agree in Turkey. Again, views in Lebanon reflect sectarian divisions: 80% of Sunnis and 67% of Christians want Syria’s autocratic ruler to leave office, compared with just 3% of Shia Muslims.
The widespread desire for Assad to step down does not translate, however, into support for economic sanctions or military action against Syria. Tunisia is the only country in which a majority approves of tougher sanctions on Syria.
Similarly, Tunisia is the only nation polled in which most would support military intervention by Arab states to remove Assad from power.
And there is no country in which a majority favors military intervention by Western countries. About four-in-ten Tunisians (38%) endorse this idea, while fewer than a quarter in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon support Western military action.
SURVEY METHODS
About the 2012 Pew Global Attitudes Survey
Results for the survey are based on face-to-face interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Survey results are based on national samples. For further details on sample designs, see below.
The descriptions below show the margin of sampling error based on all interviews conducted in that country. For results based on the full sample in a given country, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus the margin of error. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.
The CIA Is Guiding Weapons into Syria
JOHN HUDSON 726 Views8:59 AM ET
Publicly, the Obama administration opposes "further militarization" of the conflict in Syria. Covertly, the CIA is helping direct powerful weapons purchased by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Syrian opposition fighters. The seemingly contradictory military strategy was revealed this morning in a report byThe New York Times' Eric Schmitt and gives the most detailed description yet of the U.S. government's delicate involvement in the weaponizing of Syria's opposition. To be sure, there are multiple ways of looking at the administration's public and private actions.
According to Schmitt, CIA officers in southern Turkey have been directing "automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some antitank weapons" for several weeks via a "shadowy network of intermediaries including Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood and paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar." How can the CIA justify this as White House press Secretary Jay Carney tells reporters "we don't want to contribute to the further militarization there"? It sounds complicated.
While The Washington Post's Liz Sly and Karen DeYoung were first to report whispers of the U.S. coordinating the supply of weapons into Syria in May, it wasn't clear how or why the program was being carried out. According to Schmitt, the CIA is doing this "in part to help keep weapons out of the hands of fighters allied with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups." For several months, Arab states such as Saudi Arabia have voiced a willingness to arm Syrian rebels, so the U.S. could plausibly argue that if these countries are going to supply weapons anyway, the U.S. might as well make sure they stay out of the hands of extremist groups.
But tellingly, the Times report says this is merely "part" of why the U.S. is justifying its involvement. That opens up the possibility that the U.S. has acknowledged that Syrian rebeles are woefully outgunned by President Bashar al-Assad's regime and need a boost. The argument against arming the rebels is that they will never be strong enough to challenge Assad's military, which is seen as more united than Qaddafi's was. (For what it's worth, a Syrian fighter jet pilot reportedly defected earlier today.) Clearly, these are all tough choices in a conflict that the UN says has resulted in the deaths of 10,000 Syrians.
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author atjhudson@theatlantic.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
With much praise, I commend negotiations with #Palestinians a people of Biblical heritage and place in the world http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/israeli-big-time-act_647693.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
THE BLOG
Israeli Big: Time to Act
9:02 AM, JUN 21, 2012 • BY DANIEL HALPER
Israeli vice prime minister Shaul Mofaz, of the centrist party Kadima, told Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C., that talks with the Iranians have failed and that the U.S. should escalate its activity to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
COURTESY: RON SACHS/CNP
"After the failure at the third round of talks with the Iranians in Moscow, it is time for the United States and the Western powers to impose more severe sanctions in the oil embargo and financial sectors in order to stop Iran's nuclear development program," said Mofaz in a written statement released after the meeting.The Israeli vice prime minister also asked Clinton "to continue to prepare all of the other options." Those options must include a credible military plan to decimate Iran's nuclear program.
Later, at the Washington Institute, Mofaz expanded on his view of dealing with Iran. "The use of military power should be the last option, and I believe that this option should be led by the US and the Western countries," he said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
It is not clear how Clinton responded to Mofaz's statements.
Additionally, Mofaz, who recently teamed up with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to create a broad coalition, also talked about the Palestinian issue with Clinton. "[T]he broad coalition in Israel has created a unique window of opportunity to restart talks with the Palestinians," Mofaz told the secretary of state.
"We have a window of opportunity for historic changes, both in Israel and with our neighbors," Mofaz expanded, in a talk at the Washington Institute, according to Haaretz. We have about 1.5 years before the general elections in Israel. For the first time in Israel's history, we have such a large coalition, and a unified one. It's time to break the ice and resume negotiations with the Palestinians without preconditions."
10h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty #Ahmedinejad this is sane and composed -- we look forward to protecting collective interests of world security with you http://news.yahoo.com/iran-attacks-world-powers-dishonesty-113642374.html
Iran attacks world powers' 'dishonesty'
By NASSER KARIMI | Associated Press – 8 hrs ago
RELATED CONTENT
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad …
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's leaders have accused the West of "enmity" and "bullying" policies after recent nuclear talks with world powers in Moscow ended without progress, according to media reports Thursday.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of "Rio+20" U.N. conference on sustainable development in Brazil, and called for the world powers to "return to the legal framework" in talks with Tehran on Iran's controversial nuclear program.
"Arrogant and domination-seeking parties should avoid enmity toward the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by Iranian state TV. Ahmadinejad defended Iran, saying it had offered "legal, constructive, fair and friendly proposals," during theMoscow talks.
Two days of intensive discussion in Moscow between Tehran and six world powers ended Tuesday, with both sides agreeing only to continue low-level talks in early July. The six — the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany — want Iran to stop enriching uranium to a level that is just steps away from its use as the core of nuclear warheads.
Iran says it does not seek atomic weapons and that it is enriching uranium only to make reactor fuel or medical isotopes, insisting it has a right to enrich under international law.
With neither side ready to accept what the other brought to the table in the form of inducements to compromise, the talks ended with no headway. The lack of progress in Moscow is sure to be seen by critics as a sign that talks are ineffective in persuading Iran to curb enrichment.
Meanwhile, the chief of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Thursday the agency is still trying to gain access to a suspected nuclear testing site at an Iranian military base southwest of Tehran and that dialogue with the Iranians on that issue is ongoing.
The activities at the Parchin military base are a recent concern of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA last month showed member nations of its board satellite images indicating a cleanup of the site but Iran denied it was trying to remove evidence of nuclear testing. It insists Parchin is a conventional military base and has turned down IAEA requests to visit the site.
Yukiya Amano, director general of the Vienna-based IAEA, said the agency is aware that a cleanup at the base is ongoing, "and we have concerns that this will hamper our verification activities."
In Tehran, influential cleric and former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, said world powers showed "bullying" policies and "dishonesty" in Moscow talks.
"The talks proved that the Western side is (not interested) in interaction and they are not honest. They have based their policy on bullying alone," Rafsanjani was quoted by several Iranian dailies. He also urged Iranian unity to thwart its enemies.
Rafsanjani heads an advisory body to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, who has final say on all state matters.
Along with recognition of the right to enrich, Iran seeks relief from growing U.N. and other sanctions, including spreading international embargoes on its oil sales. That is something the six world powers are ready to grant only if Tehran agrees to enrichment suspension and related measures.
Iranian state TV ran a commentary blaming the failure of the Moscow talks on the West's refusal to hold a round of preparatory technical discussions between experts beforehand. Iran says it repeatedly asked the West for these preparatory discussions but received no answer.
The newscaster said the West hoped Iran would concede its "nuclear rights" to avoid tightening U.S. and EU sanctions. An EU embargo on Iranian crude starts July 1.
Ali Reza Khamesian, an analyst in Tehran, believes the lack of any outcome from the Moscow talks has convinced Iranian leaders that "the West is trying to pin Iran in the corner of the ring in heavy fighting." Khamesian says that Iran sees the talks as "fruitless" but will continue them to lessen "threats."
Iran's arch-foe Israel says Iran is stretching out the talks to move closer to the ability to make weapons, and it has threatened to attack the Islamic Republic as a last resort. Israel may argue that the negotiations are turning into "talks about talks" — something the U.S. and its allies have vowed they will not tolerate.
Earlier this month Khamenei warned any Israeli attack would be answered with a "lightning" response by the Islamic Republic and suggested Iran's nuclear program cannot be curtailed by Western sanctions.
___
Associated Press writer Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this story.
RJC National @RJCHQ
Obama tried to slow down #Iran sanctions in Congress - Romney would do the opposite, urging Congress to move expeditiously. #jcot#tcot
19 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@RJCHQ Let's not play the game WWJD or WWOD or WWRD .... we need to worry about what we will do now, #Israel just got lobbed again.
12:40 PM - 19 Jun 12 via web · Details
Succession worries surface in Saudi Arabia
The passing of Crown Prince Nayef on Saturday underscores just how fragile, and elderly, the Saudi leadership is, reports Rasheed Abul-Samh
The death of Saudi Crown Prince Nayef Ibn Abdel-Aziz on 16 June in Geneva, Switzerland, took many by surprise in Saudi Arabia, despite his advanced age of 78. Nayef had been on a personal trip to Europe, and had been shown on Saudi TV just a few days before meeting Saudi officials there. He had suffered from cancer in the past, and he had been ill recently. Some reports speculated he died of a heart attack.
His body was flown back to the kingdom and on Sunday night his brother, King Abdullah Ibn Abdel-Aziz, who is 88, and other senior princes, buried him in Mecca. On Tuesday, in a widely expected move, Defence Minister Prince Salman Ibn Abdel-Aziz, 77, was named the new crown prince.
As a tough and outspoken interior minister from 1975 until the end of last year, Prince Nayef struck fear in many Saudis, jailing many opponents and critics of the royal family, where they languished in jails without trial for many years. A close ally of the religious conservatives, he often berated people in public who did not agree with him, and was even known to shout at reporters who asked him questions that annoyed him at press conferences. He controlled all of the Saudi security forces, including the regular police, the secret police, border forces, and was in charge of the kingdom's policies on Bahrain and Yemen.
"He will be remembered as the great police chief and creator of an unparalleled security apparatus which his critics called repressive, but which kept Al-Saud in power. He was late though in recognising the domestic threat posed by Al-Qaeda, and owed much to the creative policies by his son Mohammed in dealing with terrorism," said British writer Robert Lacey, a keen observer of the country, and the author of Inside the Kingdom.
Some liberal Saudis breathed a sigh of relief that Prince Nayef never made it to being king as they feared he would turn back some of the reforms that King Abdullah had instituted, such as allowing women to vote in municipal elections and the mixed-gender university that he built near Jeddah. But Lacey thinks that Nayef's conservative credentials would have given him the power and prestige to push through further reforms, such as allowing women to drive, if he had made it to being king.
"Actually the conservative Prince Nayef had more chance of pushing through, say, women's driving rights, than his brother Salman, who, though extremely pious, does not command the huge conservative constituency of Nayef," said Lacey in an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly. "Nayef's early death is a tragedy in that it has certainly delayed changes that only he could have pushed through."
Nayef's reign as crown prince was extremely short as he had been appointed to the position only last October after the death of Prince Sultan Ibn Abdel-Aziz. The position of second deputy premier, in effect the number three position in the Saudi leadership, is expected to remain vacant for some time. According to Thomas Lippmann, a scholar on Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah is the last king with the sole power to appoint a crown prince. After he dies, the new king will have to allow the Allegiance Council, made up of 35 senior princes, to select the new crown prince from one to three candidates chosen by him.
"Choosing the second in line will be much harder and there's a chance they'll simply put off making this decision for weeks or months, as there is a tendency to postpone potentially divisive decisions when they don't have to make them immediately," said Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow at Chatham House in London. "However, the country would probably benefit from more clarity in this area."
Lacey believes that second deputy premier is not a position that needs to be filled, especially when there is a dynamic crown prince. "Prince Salman did not hold the position, and it was only awarded to Prince Nayef when the incapacity of Prince Sultan made it essential for King Abdullah to have a deputy. Naming a second deputy premier pre-empts the choice of future crown prince, and there is every reason for both King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman -- and Al-Saud as a whole -- to monitor and weigh up the performance of the various contenders," he explained.
What many Saudis worry about is the third generation of royals and whom among them will be prepared and able to lead the country once most of the second generation is gone. There are therefore several possible candidates for the now vacant position of interior minister. Among them are Prince Ahmed Ibn Abdel-Aziz, Nayef's and Salman's younger brother, who has been deputy interior minister since the 1970s, and Nayef's son Mohamed, assistant interior minister for security affairs, and who has been in charge of the country's counter-terrorism programme.
The problem that the third generation princes face is that the royal family is extremely traditional and conservative, and always appoints princes to public positions according to their age and seniority within the family. Apart from some senior royals who have taken themselves out of the race because of political reasons, such as Prince Talal Ibn Abdel-Aziz, who has been a frequent critic of the family, older princes who might not necessarily be as suited for a particular job, nevertheless get first consideration.
"There are several stars waiting to shine -- who are shining already in fact -- and they are being given all the scope they need to make their names," said Lacey of the third generation of royals. "But one of the guiding disciplines of the House of Saud is respect for age and of not upstaging parents and elders."
Crown Prince Salman was the governor of Riyadh, the Saudi capital, for many decades and despite being thought of as friendly to the US, is also known to be very traditional and conservative, allowing the religious police much leeway in policing public morality in the capital.
No one expects the kingdom's policies to change vis-³-vis Bahrain with the death of Nayef, who was known to be extremely wary of Iran and critical of Shia protesters in Bahrain.
"Saudi Arabia's policy is not going to change on Bahrain. Nayef was the instrument of clearly agreed Saudi and general Gulf policy to keep Bahrain Sunni and Arab -- not Shia and pro-Iranian," said Lacey.
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© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
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SOCIETAL DECAY....
Aja Brooks via Joe Flanagan
My generation never would've thought of even saying things like this to an adult, either out loud or in their presence. This lady had not done anything to provoke these children bullying her: of course, we are one generation removed from Dr. Spock and a youth vote under 30 who supported Obama, who have no home training, respect for adults, or the Constitution. It is time we take our society and culture back from being hijacked and subjected to the whim of liberal lies and behavior polluting our youth and destroying families.
Upsetting Footage Of Bus Monitor Being Bullied Causes Outrage (VIDEO)www.huffingtonpost.com
Karen Huff Klein, a bus monitor for the Greece School District in Rochester, N.Y., is receiving an outpouring of support after a ten-minute video of her enduring vicious bullying while watching over students on a bus ride home was uploaded to YouTube. WARNING: The above video contains explicit langu...
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Deah McNeill WHERE are those little brats??? WHERE are the parents of those little brats? THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR!
Matt Sandusky says he was abused by father, Jerry Sandusky
By Mike Krumboltz | The Lookout – 30 mins ago- 9
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Jerry Sandusky (Matt Rourke, File/AP)
Jerry Sandusky's adopted son, Matt Sandusky, said that his father sexually abused him. Matt Sandusky released a statement through his lawyers, Andrew Shubin and Justine Andronici.
[Related: Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case goes to the jury after both sides make final arguments]
"During the trial, Matt Sandusky contacted us and requested our advice and assistance in arranging a meeting with prosecutors to disclose for the first time in this case that he is a victim of Jerry Sandusky's abuse. At Matt's request, we immediately arranged a meeting between him and the prosecutors and investigators."
The statement continued: "This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy."
In the past, Matt Sandusky has defended his father over allegations that he abused young boys. Jerry Sandusky is on trial for multiple charges of child abuse. The jury is currently deliberating.
ROGER CLEMENS.... ACQUITTED????
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @ChuckGrassley Clemens was charged with wrong substance evidence did not support what he did use http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/roger-clemens-verdict-jury-perjury-trial-not-guilty_n_1606862.html #acquittal
Roger Clemens Not Guilty: Jury Delivers Verdict In Perjury Trial Of Ex-MLB Star
JOSEPH WHITE 06/18/12 11:58 PM ET 
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WASHINGTON — Roger Clemens was acquitted Monday on all charges that he obstructed and lied to Congress in denying he used performance-enhancing drugs to extend his long career as one of the greatest and most-decorated pitchers in baseball history.Fierce on the pitching mound in his playing days, Clemens was quietly emotional after the verdict was announced. "I'm very thankful," he said, choking up as he spoke. "It's been a hard five years," said the pitcher, who was retried after an earlier prosecution ended in a mistrial.
This case was lengthy, but the deliberations were relatively brief. Jurors returned their verdict after less than 10 hours over several days. The outcome ended a 10-week trial that capped the government's investigation of the pitcher known as "The Rocket" for the fastball that he retained into his 40s. He won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic of the league's best pitcher each year in a 24-year career with the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Astros.
The verdict was the latest blow to the government's legal pursuit of athletes accused of illicit drug use.
A seven-year investigation into home run king Barry Bonds yielded a guilty verdict on only one count of obstruction of justice in a San Francisco court last year, with the jury deadlocked on whether Bonds lied to a grand jury when he denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs.
A two-year, multi-continent investigation of cyclist Lance Armstrong was recently closed with no charges brought, though the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency filed formal accusations last week that could strip the seven-time Tour de France winner of his victories in that storied race. Armstrong denies any doping.
In a non-drug-related case, the Clemens outcome also comes on the heels of the Department of Justice's failure to gain a conviction in the high-profile corruption trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards
Late Monday, as the jury foreman read the acquittal on the final count, Clemens bit his lower lip and rubbed a tear from his eye.
Clemens, family members and his lawyers took turns exchanging hugs. At one point, Clemens and his four sons gathered in the middle of the courtroom, arms interlocked like football players in a huddle, and sobbing could be heard. Debbie Clemens dabbed her husband's eyes with a tissue.
Accused of cheating to achieve and extend his success – and then facing felony charges that he lied about it – Clemens declared outside the courthouse, "I put a lot of hard work into that career."
His chief lawyer, Rusty Hardin, walked up to a bank of microphones and exclaimed: "Wow!"
Hardin said Clemens had to hustle to get to court in time to hear the verdict. "All of us had told Roger there wouldn't be a verdict for two, three or four days, so he was actually working out with his sons almost at the Washington Monument when he got the call that there was a verdict."
Prosecutors declined to comment as they left the courthouse. But the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a written statement, "The jury has spoken in this matter, and we thank them for their service. We respect the judicial process and the jury's verdict."
Clemens, 49, was charged with two counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements and one count of obstructing Congress when he testified at a deposition and at a nationally televised hearing in February 2008. The charges centered on his repeated denials that he used steroids and human growth hormone during a 24-year career produced 354 victories.
The first attempt to try Clemens last year ended in a mistrial when prosecutors played a snippet of video evidence that had previously been ruled inadmissible.
Still, Monday's verdict is unlikely to settle the matter in sports circles as to whether Clemens cheated in the latter stages of a remarkable career that extended into a period in which performance-enhancing drug use in baseball was thought to be prevalent. Clemens himself told Congress at the 2008 hearing that "no matter what we discuss here today, I'm never going to have my name restored."
A crucial barometer comes this fall, when Clemens' name appears on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. His statistics would normally make him a shoo-in for baseball's greatest honor, but voters have been reluctant to induct premier players – such as Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro – whose careers were tainted by allegations of drug use.
Clemens capped his career with age-defying performances. He went 18-4 and won his seventh Cy Young Award at the age of 41, and the next year posted a career-best 1.87 ERA. His 4,672 strikeouts ranked third in baseball history.
The government's case relied heavily on the testimony of Clemens' longtime strength coach, Brian McNamee, who testified he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and with HGH in 2000. McNamee produced a needle and other materials he said were from a steroids injection of Clemens in 2001, items that McNamee said he stored in and around a Miller Lite beer can inside a FedEx box for some six years.
But McNamee was the only person to claim firsthand knowledge of Clemens using steroids and HGH, and even prosecutors conceded their star witness was a "flawed man." Clemens' lawyers relentlessly attacked McNamee's credibility and integrity. They pointed out that his story had changed over the years and implied that he conjured up the allegations against Clemens to placate federal investigators.
Some items associated with the beer can were found to have Clemens' DNA and steroids, but the defense called the evidence "garbage" and claimed it had been contaminated or manipulated by McNamee.
Other evidence offered tenuous links between Clemens and performance-enhancing drugs. Former teammate Andy Pettitte recalled a conversation in which Clemens supposedly admitted using HGH, but Pettitte said under cross-examination that there was a "50-50" chance that he had misheard.
Convicted drug dealer Kirk Radomski testified that he supplied McNamee with HGH for a starting pitcher and even sent a shipment to Clemens' house under McNamee's name, but Radomski had no way of knowing if any of the HGH was specifically used on Clemens. The pitcher's wife, Debbie, admitted receiving an HGH shot from McNamee, but she and McNamee differed over when the injection occurred and whether Clemens was present.
One juror said the panel was troubled by the prosecution's reliance on McNamee
"We just could not believe that they even called their key witness, the drug dealer," juror Joyce Robinson-Paul told the Daily News in New York, in reference to McNamee.
Clemens' lawyers contended that the pitcher's success resulted from a second-to-none work ethic and an intense workout regimen dating to his high school days. They said that Clemens was indeed injected by McNamee – but that the needles contained the vitamin B12 and the anesthetic lidocaine and not performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens was invited to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in 2008 after he publicly denied accusations made in the Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball that he had used steroids and HGH. He first appeared at a congressional deposition, where he said: "I never used steroids. Never performance-enhancing steroids." He made a similarly categorical denial at a hearing about a week later, appearing alongside McNamee, who stuck to his story.
Soon after, committee chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and ranking member Tom Davis, R-Va., asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Clemens had lied under oath. In 2010, a grand jury indicted him on the six counts. Clemens lawyer Hardin revealed at the time that federal prosecutors made Clemens a plea offer but the former pitcher rejected it.
Both Waxman and Davis accepted the verdict while defending their decision to send the case to the Justice Department.
"The committee referred Mr. Clemens to the Justice Department because we had significant doubts about the truthfulness of his testimony in 2008," Waxman said. "The decision whether Mr. Clemens committed perjury is a decision the jury had to make and I respect its decision."
Davis said, " I think he's gone through enough. We did the appropriate thing in referring it over to Justice. But hopefully this will put it behind him. He's a good citizen."
___
Associated Press writers Frederic J. Frommer, Pete Yost and Mark Sherman contributed to this report.
FILE THIS UNDER.... “I BELIEVE IT’S NOT STEROIDS, BUT IT SURE ACTS LIKE STEROIDS AND PRODUCES RESULTS LIKE STEROIDS, BUT IT’S NOT CALLED STEROIDS, NOR IS IT HGH....”
19 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty There is a big difference between smoking and injecting: I had to take#B12 ... but #B12 don't turn you into a 300lb. white gorilla #Clemens19 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty #RogerClemens wasn't threatened like I was, but #HGH and #B12 don't turn you into a 300lb. white gorilla, I had to take #B12 so I know.19 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty If you are #RogerClemens you get #acquitted but if you are as smart as I am, you get locked up a year, even if you did the right thing.19 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty Bottom line: if you are #RogerClemens and that dumb to let someone inject you, you don't know difference between #B12 and #methamphetamine
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
How you can quit and stay quit from ANY kind of smoking http://www.quitfullstop.co.uk/blog/stop-smoking-news/herbal-medicine-week.html#.T-C0-0MHjAQ.twitter
Herbal Medicine Week: Quit Smoking With Tea: http://www.quitfullstop.co.uk/blog/stop-smoking-news/herbal-medicine-week.html#.T-C0-0MHjAQ.twitter
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
@KatiePavlich really Clemens didn't know -- if he did, he wouldn't have let them inject him if he had any clue it was what it was not #B12
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| DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: CREATIVE INNOVATIONS http://www.facebook.com/TeaPartyConsortium Small Business · McDonough, Georgia Information Description ORIGINAL ART, REPRODUCTIONS, COMMISSIONS *also making handmade purses and Tea Party hats!! Address 5916 EAST LAKE PKWY. SUITE 107, McDonough, GA 30253 · Get Directions Phone 1 972.628.0080 Website http://www.myspace.com/creativeinnovatio... http://artid.com/PHOENIX_ART http://www.google.com/profiles/creativei... http://www.myyearbook.com/oijvblackribbon http://twitter.com/GAteapartychief http://www.facebook.com/teapartychief Status Open until 3:00 pm. 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Our God has a method in providence by which He can succeed our endeavours beyond our expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of His hand He can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the liberal and leaves the miserly to find out that withholding tendeth to poverty. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to wealth of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord; He gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. 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CONTINUE TO PLAN AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR BY BUILDING UP FOOD SUPPLIES AND RESTORE YOUR CREDIT AND SAVE YOUR MONEY:
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