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POPS Thomas Sowell: Random Thoughts
But what this means is that even the record-breaking federal deficit understates the government's real financial liabilities, because agencies like FDIC and the Federal Housing Authority are likely to need increased amounts of money to keep going. An e-mail from a reader says that liberals like to take the moral high ground, even though their own moral relativism means that there is no moral high ground. I doubt whether the man responsible for the massacre at Fort Hood will pay with his life for the lives that he took. He may well be free again someday. We can only hope that he does not get a hero's welcome when he arrives in some terror-sponsoring country, the way the Lockerbie bomber did. A recent study by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights showed that, after the housing boom and bust, blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asian Americans and American Indians all reduced their subprime mortgage loans. Only politicians seem not to have learned anything from the economic disaster ...
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POPSA quiet voice for gay marriage Many of these former spouses -- from those who still feel raw resentment toward their exes to those who have reached a mutual understanding -- see the legalization of same-sex marriage as a step toward protecting not only homosexuals but also heterosexuals. If homosexuality was more accepted, they say, they might have been spared doomed marriages followed by years of self-doubt. "It's like you hit a brick wall when they come out," Brooks said. "You think everything is fine and then, boom!" Carolyn Sega Lowengart calls it "retroactive humiliation." It's that embarrassment that washes over her when she looks back at photographs or is struck by a memory and wonders what, if anything, from that time was real. Did he ever love her?
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POPSCarrie Prejean Goes Down. Literally! Of course, all of this should have little effect on her career. If anything it will add fuel to it with the way Americans are infatuated with hypocrites and fallen angels. Vivid Entertainment Group, which specializes in adult films, made an offer of a million dollars to Prejean back in May to make a movie for them. Seems she might be a natural. This could only raise her value in the porn market. Practice makes perfect. I'm curious as to how all the rightwing Prejean backers will spin this and find a way to blame this on everyone but Prejean. I might even turn on Fox News to check it out. With Prejean's looks and attitude, she may end up with her own show over there since credibility isn't a factor in Fox's hiring practices. And for those of you who don’t remember who actually won the Miss California Pageant, her name is Tami Ferrell from Malibu. How soon we forget those with actual morals.
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POPSIt's Never Easy {{iamonetoo}} told me once that she didn't understand why it had to be so hard to be herself. She could have taken the easy way. But she didn't and I admire her. Social change is hard, long and difficult work. It will often spawn hatred by other's who are just ignorant of human differences. That's ok; the struggle of civil rights for everyone is always worth it :)
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POPSProp 8 Redux Now it's Mains turn, keep your eye on this. What happen here can have major impact
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POPSNoor Almaleki is Dead :( :( Let's pray Rifqa Bary isn't next. Btw: I met Pam Geller, Robert Spencer and a whole wack of other awesome folks at the International Legal Conference of Free Speech and Religion last week in Washington Dc. It was a real honor. You can hear much more about the conference at : http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2009/11/legal-conference-on-freedom-of-speech.html#readfurther (and on a much needed lighter note, I had the good fortune to run into Steven Crowder at Dulles Airport last night and got to thank him for his work---he was exactly like he is in the videos---good guy )
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POPSCrazy Sheriff Joe Arpaio facing FBI investigation for abusing his power by arresting his critics We described Arpaio's incredible thuggery late last year in his dealings with the public, especially those who dare criticize him. An anti-Arpaio group called Maricopa Citizens for Safety Accountability, which formed last year in response to investigative reports and studies demonstrating that Arpaio's insane obsession with illegal immigrants was destroying his office's ability to actually deal with real law enforcement work, began showing up at county board meetings and asking to speak. Arpaio actually sent out his deputies in force to patrol these meetings, and they arrested people for merely applauding Arpaio's critics. If that sounds fascist to you, that's about right -- after all, some of the local neo-Nazis are Arpaio's biggest fans -- and he's been known to return the love.
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POPSMichigan Raid Reveals a Mysterious Islamic Sect According to documents filed in U.S. District Court here earlier this week, Abdullah, 53, called his followers to an “offensive jihad,” rather than a “defensive jihad,” and urged them to carry, and use, firearms and swords. The documents note the group was evicted from its Detroit mosque earlier this year because it failed to pay property taxes. The precise origins of the Ummahs are unclear. Its national leader is Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a militant former civil rights activist also known as H. Rap Brown. In 2002, he was convicted of fatally shooting two Georgia police officers. He is serving a life sentence at a federal prison. Read more: http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2009/10/29/michigan-raid-reveals-a-mysterious-islamic-sect/#ixzz0VNInOYMF
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POPSBackdoor Legislation: Obama Signs Hate Crimes Bill with Defense Bill How to Pass Unpopular Legislation 101: Attach them to Defense Spending. This is how Bush administration got through REAL ID. This is contrary to the purpose of Congress which should read and debate ONE BILL AT A TIME, instead of this fraudulent manipulation through "must pass" Defense bills. As for the bill itself, while a woman could slap a man for being too forward in a bar now normal men cannot do the same to a pressing homosexual who might "hit on them" without being charged with a new Federal "Hate Crime". Some are just "more equal than others" now and have Special Protection of the Federal government ABOVE all other U.S. citizens.
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POPSSimilarities Between the Assassinations of Kennedy and Lincoln Lincoln was shot in the back of the head in the presence of his wife Kennedy was shot in the back of the head in the presence of his wife Lincoln shot in the Ford Theatre Kennedy shot in a Lincoln, made by Ford He was shot on a Friday He was shot on a Friday The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was known by three names, comprised of fifteen letters The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was known by three names, comprised of fifteen letters Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and fled to a warehouse *3 Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theater Booth was killed before being brought to trial Oswald was killed before being brought to trial There were theories that Booth was part of a greater conspiracy There were theories that Oswald was part of a greater conspiracy Lincoln's successor was Andrew Johnson, born in 1808 Kennedy's successor was Lyndon Johnson, born in 1908
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POPSRacist Undertones Of The 'Socialist' Epithet
More From The Article: Take another black leader, another society fraught by racial division. In 1956, Nelson Mandela and 155 other antiapartheid activists were arrested by the South African government under the infamous Suppression of Communism Act of 1950, a law that was used gratuitously to incarcerate anyone who was critical of the government. The treason trial that followed resulted in a 1961 acquittal for all those involved, the government unable to prove any "socialist" intentions. But the political equation of black activists as "communists" would continue up through the 1980s. The Reagan administration egregiously soft-pedaled the issue of apartheid on the basis of the South African government's purported anticommunist stance. Indeed, the South African government itself viewed its policies not as racist, but as anticommunist. Only popular pressure through a global antiapartheid movement persuaded the US to isolate South Africa. It takes the cry of "socialism!" liter
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POPSChild Porn Fears Scupper Airport ‘Nude X-ray’ Scans The Rapiscan works by beaming electromagnetic waves on to passengers as they stand in a booth, creating a virtual three-dimensional black-and-white ‘naked’ image from the reflected energy and sending it to a computer monitor elsewhere in the airport where it is examined by a security officer. The whole process takes only about 20 seconds and then the image is deleted. But the scans show every contour of people’s bodies – even revealing breast implants – which some may find intrusive.
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POPSAmnesty Now! Let’s play a hypothetical game. Let us assume that Gutierrez’s bill passes, and he achieves his major goal of a general amnesty. The 12 million aliens currently residing in the country illegally suddenly find themselves free to stay, become card-carrying members of the Democratic Party, and live happily ever after. What happens to the next person who steals across the border? History has shown us that, after an amnesty, the rate of illegal border crossings increases. After the last amnesty bill in 1986, the US experienced a flood of new illegal aliens crossing the border. In the twenty-year period between 1985 and 2005, the number of illegal residents soared from an estimated 2-3 million to about 11 million. It is only human nature that, upon hearing of an amnesty, people would, predictably, risk all to come to the US by any means and simply wait out their chance in the hopes of catching the next one.
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POPSProp 8 lawyer admits he doesn't know how same-sex marriage would threaten opposite-sex marriage More: Walker pressed on, asking again for specific "adverse consequences" that could follow expanding marriage to include same-sex couples. Cooper cited a study from the Netherlands, where gay marriage is legal, showing that straight couples were increasingly opting to become domestic partners instead of getting married. "Has that been harmful to children in the Netherlands? What is the adverse effect?" Walker asked. Cooper said he did not have the facts at hand. "But it is not self-evident that there is no chance of any harm, and the people of California are entitled not to take the risk," he said. "Since when do Constitutional rights rest on the proof of no harm?" Walker parried, adding the First Amendment right to free speech protects activities that many find offensive, "but we tolerate those in a free society."
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POPS'Now we have proof' jihadis infiltrating D.C. "Until now, CAIR has remained a powerful force in the nation's capital and across the country, from demanding the Obama administration stop FBI counter-terrorism tactics to compelling a school district to apologize to Muslims."
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POPSGang Finds Suing New York Pays Better Than Crack The gang's leader, Anthony Lawrence, was shot multiple times in his apartment in August. The robbers weren't there to steal his crack profits; they were after the $17,000 settlement he'd received in his latest suit against the city.
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POPSWhy Letterman's behavior was problematic, even if consensual
More: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission finds that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “does not prohibit isolated instances of preferential treatment based upon consensual romantic relationships,” but is less sanguine when such treatment permeates an office: “If favoritism based upon the granting of sexual favors is widespread in a workplace, both male and female colleagues who do not welcome this conduct can establish a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII regardless of whether any objectionable conduct is directed at them and regardless of whether those who were granted favorable treatment willingly bestowed the sexual favors. In these circumstances, a message is implicitly conveyed that the managers view women as ‘sexual playthings,’ thereby creating an atmosphere that is demeaning to women.”… Another former writer e-mailed me: “And the No. 1 Sign David Letterman is changing his ways: ‘Mr. Letterman’s office. Lloyd speaking.’"
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POPSLife In Prison For Judge Accused Of Spanking and Sexual Abuse Of Inmates?
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a leading civil rights group, has defended Thomas and claims race is behind his prosecution. Thomas and his attorney blame the charges on politicians who don't like him. ‘There is no doubt that people assisted these inmates in telling these lies on me,’ Thomas said in April. In an echo of sex allegations made against black Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, Thomas's lawyer called the indictment ‘a high-tech lynching’. ‘They don't like uppity black folks, and that's what they consider Herman,’ Clark added. Chief Assistant District Attorney Nicki Patterson said authorities began looking at Thomas after he changed a jail sentence in 2006 for his cousin, former Mobile County school commissioner David Thomas, even though the case was being handled by another judge. Other cases that Thomas had taken over from other judges without their approval soon surfaced , she said.
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POPSHumanity's Team "a civil rights movement for the soul," The New Spirituality is not a new religion, according to the movement. Rather, it is an expansion of all present human theologies; an updating of them; a refreshing of them, rendering all current sacred teachings even more relevant to the present day and time. Key to the New Spirituality is a belief that God is not separate from anything -- and neither are humans. more details at source
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POPSTwisted Spirit of Hate and Fear Will Not Fade Away Everyone wants to be on the 11 o'clock news it seems. If police had not mis-characterized the bullying attack on a school bus, would these wannabe American Nazi bullies have had a rally that was successful for them? If local news had gotten the story correct earlier would the march had taken place. We have no shortage of looonies filled with hate and fear; we do have a shortage of newspeople who have respect for anything other than getting on first by pandering to the worst.
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POPSObama Speaks At Congressional Black Caucus, Talked About What A Great Job He's Doing The New York Times is reporting today: Job seekers now outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio since the government began tracking open positions in 2000. According to the Labor Department’s latest numbers, from July, only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed. And even though the pace of layoffs is slowing, many companies remain anxious about growth prospects in the months ahead, making them reluctant to add to their payrolls. Expect those numbers to increase even further if our president tries to push through cap-and-trade.