The United States Supreme Court overturned the Sotomayor decision and in doing so, made a landmark decision to stop Racism against Whites in this country.
Congratulations to you men and may you enjoy the promotions you have rightfully earned.
By God, there is a fair legal system in this country after all…. oh wait, Sotomayor has been nominated to be a Supreme Court Judge… and who has the grit to stand up to Obama and reject his nomination of a Racist?
And if she is rejected for nomination who is next on Obama’s list of Socialist Judge nominees?
Folks who are moderate and voted for Obama… you rolled the dice and voted for the UNBUSH candidate.
See… there are things that are much worse that Bush, who did his best to do his duty for the country and got many things right.
Now we have a Socialist who is doing his dead level best to tear this country apart… and racism is but one of his weapons.
Lets see what is breaking at this moment in even the MOONBAT NEWS…
Supreme Court rules for white firefighters in dispute over promotions
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON June 29, 2009 (AP)
The Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.
New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision. The city said that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.
(CBS/AP) The Supreme Court reversed a decision in a controversial reverse discrimination suit.
In siding 5-4 with a group of white firefighters who said the rejection of promotions was unconstitutional, the Justices rejected claims by the city of New Haven that it could refuse to apply a test for which no minorities passed, out of fear those minorities might claim discrimination.
The controversy started when New Haven voided its entire 2003 promotional exam after the results made 18 whites – but no blacks – eligible to become officers. When the city decided to promote no one, the white firefighters called that invalid under the Constitution.
The city said it acted because it might have been vulnerable to claims that the exam had a “disparate impact” on minorities in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
When the case reached the appeals court Judge (now Supreme Court nominee) Sonia Sotomayor was on the three-judge panel that rejected the reverse discrimination complaint.
“Fear of litigation alone cannot justify the City’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy. “Discarding the test results was impermissible under Title VII, and summary judgment is appropriate for petitioners on their disparate-treatment claim.”
Title VII prohibits both intentional acts of employment discrimination based on race, color, religion sex and national origin (or disparate treatment), and policies or practices that intentional or not have a disproportionately adverse discriminatory effect on minorities (or disparate impact).
Under Title VII, an employer can engage in an act of intentional discrimination for the purposes of avoiding or remedying a disparate impact only if there is evidence that the employer would be subject to disparate-impact liability. The Justices did not feel New Haven’s action rose to that level.
In her dissent, Justice Ruth Ginsburg wrote, “It is indeed regrettable that the City’s noncertification decision would have required all candidates to go through another selection process. But it would have been more regrettable to rely on flawed exams to shut out candidates who may well have the command presence and other qualities needed to excel as fire officers. Yet that is the choice the Court makes today. It is a choice that breaks the promise of Griggs that groups long denied equal opportunity would not be held back by tests ‘fair in form, but discriminatory in operation.’”
CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen notes that, with the departure of Justice David Souter, the ruling would not have come out differently had it been decided next year. (Souter agreed with Sotomayor.)
The case is Ricci, et al. v. DeStefano, et al. (07-1428 and 08-328). The opinion can be viewed here.
I did NOT! ...have birth relations with that doctor in Kenya
Why…
would a natural born US Citizen
spend over One Million Dollars
to avoid proving
they are a natural born US Citizen?
Well Folks… this could be the beginning of the end of the cat and mouse game between Obama and US Citizens asking to see his Long Form Birth Certificate.
See… there is this judge, his name is Judge Joel Schneider, and he is the U.S. District Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey.
Additionally… this judge is NOT a left wing Obama Moonbat.
Today is the last day Obama’s defense lawyers have to respond to the complaint filed on behalf of Charles F. Kerchner questioning President Barack Hussein Obama’s constitutional eligibility to hold the office of President of the United States of America, having filed for an extension to respond.
Judge Schneider stated, “Plaintiffs’ complaint raises significant issues necessitating that the named defendants engage competent counsel to represent their interests. Given the high ranking positions of the defendants, the decision as to who will represent them in this case is not simple and straightforward.”
Judge Schneider also stated he was confident after all the attorneys enter their appearances on behalf of all defendants, “the case will proceed expeditiously.”
A previous left wing moonbat judge, U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson, summarily dismissed a similar suit and went on the record as stating Obama’s eligibility had been “blogged, texted, twittered and otherwise massaged by America’s vigilant citizenry,” reprimanding the plaintiff in that case, Hemenway, for filing a frivolous lawsuit, thus evidencing that Judge Robertson relied on internet blogs in lieu of actual evidence.
Let’s take a look at what is being reported in the News…
CAMDEN, N.J. – Despite Attorney Mario Apuzzo’s objection to additional time being granted for defendants to respond to the complaint filed on behalf of Charles F. Kerchner questioning President Barack Hussein Obama’s eligibility, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider, for the District of New Jersey, granted an extension until no later than June 29.
However, while Schneider noted the defendants’ failure to respond in a timely manner was not caused by neglect, he also stated, “Plaintiffs’ complaint raises significant issues necessitating that the named defendants engage competent counsel to represent their interests. Given the high ranking positions of the defendants, the decision as to who will represent them in this case is not simple and straightforward.”
Schneider also stated he was confident after all the attorneys enter their appearances on behalf of all defendants, “the case will proceed expeditiously.”
Schneider’s comments in Apuzzo’s case are a far cry from U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson’s comments, in which he summarily dismissed the case filed by Attorney John D. Hemenway in the District of Columbia on behalf of Gregory Hollister that also raised the question of Obama’s eligibility.
Robertson wrote in his order that Obama’s eligibility had been “blogged, texted, twittered and otherwise massaged by America’s vigilant citizenry,” reprimanding Hemenway for filing a frivolous lawsuit, while Robertson relied on internet blogs in lieu of actual evidence.
In a May 2009 letter to Rupert Murdoch, with whom he attended Worcester College in the early fifties, Hemenway said it is rumored that Robertson, a Clinton appointee, is seeking an Obama appointment.
He also stated, “It is significant that, although dismissed, none of the twenty odd similar legal actions have been designated by the responsible judge as ‘frivolous.’”
He wrote, “Any rational person with even partial knowledge of the facts must know that Obama-cum-Soetoro is desperate to conceal something he does not want known. I believe he is hiding the fact that he and his campaign conspired to assert eligibility for the Presidential office to which he well may not be entitled. In other parts of the world, this would be known as a coup d’etat.”
Hemenway goes on to say “mainstream” news services and judges, including justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, have all failed to demand documentation to prove or disprove Obama’s qualifications to serve in the White House, as if a 53 percent vote is a substitute for an actual determination of his legal qualifications.
Hemenway told Murdoch, sadly, his Fox News now falls in that category as well, because he said, “[I]f Fox News is really to be a voice for rational conservatism in the United States, it cannot ignore this vital constitutional question: We have a man in the White House who refuses to disclose the very documents that would legitimize his Presidency.”
As he awaits the responses to his clients’ complaint, Apuzzo has raised what he calls a “Himalayan Mountain” of contradictory evidence surrounding Obama’s birth and eligibility.
27 Jun 2009 by aconservativeedge … filed on behalf of Charles F. Kerchner questioning President Barack Hussein Obama’s eligibility, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider, for the District of New Jersey, granted an extension until no later than June 29. … AConservativeEdge – http://aconservativeedge.com/
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9 hours ago by Hans Gruen … Mario Apuzzo, attorney for Plaintiffs in Kerchner v. Obama, recently shared with WorldNetDaily that US Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider has begun officially recording letters of public commentary regarding this case: … USA Partisan 2009 – http://usapartisan.wordpress.com/
2 hours ago by Wild Thing
Word of the action by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider in Camden, N.J., comes from attorney Mario Apuzzo, who is handling the Kerchner vs. Obama case. Apuzzo filed his lawsuit in January on behalf of Charles F. Kerchner Jr., … Theodore’s World – http://theodoresworld.net/
17 hours ago by JJ Jackson
U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider apparently has given notice that the case before him filed on behalf of several plaintiffs will go ahead as soon as attorneys are in place. From WorldNetDaily: … Liberty Reborn – http://www.libertyreborn.com/
26 Jun 2009 by Quiet Dogood
xclusive: Judge Accepting Letters in Lawsuit Re. Birth Certificate QuestionThe Editors Judge Joel Schneider is accepting letters in the Kerchner vs. Obama. Metroedit – http://www.metroedit.com/
27 Jun 2009 by goodtimepolitics
Word of the action by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider in Camden, N.J., comes from attorney Mario Apuzzo, who is handling the Kerchner vs. Obama case. Read More. Maybe sooner or later the court system will come to its sense and hear … Goodtimepolitics – http://goodtimepolitics.com/
23 Jun 2009 by jmeasley Obama, et al, is the subject of a civil filing in U.S. District Court, New Jersey. Judge Joel Schneider is hearing the case. Our government (DOJ) attorneys are defending a/k/a Barry Soetoro, as well as the other named defendants. … Politicususa.com – http://www.politicususa.com/
22 Jun 2009 by count us out
While the courts have played fast and loose with the law because they are gutless cowards, it appears, at least at this point in time, that U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider, may be an individual who does respect the U.S. … Count Us Out – http://countusout.wordpress.com/
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9 Jun 2009 by Exploring the Natural Born Citizen Clause
Ms. Pascal entered her appearance on behalf of the United States and President Obama on April 13, 2009 and requested a Clerk’s Order to extend the time to answer as to these Defendants until May 5, 2009, which the Clerk of Court entered. ( See Doc. Nos. 14-16.) … /s/ Joel Schneider JOEL SCHNEIDER United States Magistrate Judge. June 9, 2009 – Posted by Exploring the Natural Born Citizen Clause | Kerchner et al v Obama, Mario Apuzzo | | No Comments Yet. No comments yet. … Native and Natural Born Citizenship Explored – http://nativeborncitizen.wordpress.com/
25 Jun 2009 by Bob Back
Judge Accepting Letters in Lawsuit over Obama’s Birth Certificate Issue. U.S. Judge Joel Schneider is accepting letters in the Kerchner vs. Obama birth certificate case and will include them in the file if received by Monday, June 29th. … World Periscope – http://worldperiscope.blogspot.com/
27 Jun 2009 by Stix1972
Rhetorican: LIES: Obama sez Cap&Tax will cost avrge American about the price of a postage stamp per day: http://bit.ly/NnijE #tcot #capandtax #energytax · 30 seconds ago from Spaz · BoazItsHaky: Wow NYT’s Bob Herbert? Someone please pinch my arm… or the tide is … 2 minutes ago from web · repubx: #tcot #gop #eligibility #news #usurper #robotpickuplines One letter of thousands sent to Judge Joel Schneider – http://bit.ly/P1twv · 2 minutes ago from TwitterPing Extension … Stix Blog ver 3.0 – http://stixblog.com/
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23 Jun 2009 by The Dame Truth
Judge Schneider is accepting letters from people and including them in the file for the record. We have until the 29th, 6 days away. Please, please write to the Judge, tell him we need to resolve this in a court of law and not in the court of … that surrounds this administration cannot be allowed to continue as it fosters suspicion and threatens the public trust. See http://therightsideoflife.com for additional information. Hon. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider… The Dame Truth – http://thedametruth.net/wordpress/ – References
3 hours ago by The JAG Hunter
Fourth, letters need to be addressed not only to Judge Joel Schneider, but also to Judge Jerome B. Simandle. Judge Schneider is the referring magistrate judge; he is outranked by the presiding district court judge, Judge Simandle. … If the judges gets letters saying things like “You have to stop Obama or else we will be destroyed by socialism,” it can only cause damage to this case. The courts are not a political branch, nor should they be. The courts are there to apply … The JAGMIRE – http://jagmire.blogspot.com/
Regardless of the Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision this week on the Case of Racial Discrimination against White Firefighters, Sonya Sotomayor will be back in the news as she ruled in favor of racism against whites in a lower court decision on this very case.
How many of you are aware of
Sotomayor’s Stance on the Second Amendment?
If Sonya Sotomayor is appointed to the US Supreme Court (and what is to stop it?) Obama will have deployed an Anti-Second Amendment Weapon of Mass Destruction… which, if given the chance, will end citizen gun ownership in America. She could not care less that “militia” means citizens, not the Army.
While I do NOT agree that Enemy War Combatants are to be given Citizens Rights, I do agree with this author’s issues with Judge Sotomayor’s mission to end citizen ownership of guns.
Obama Supreme Court pick Sonia Sotomayor believes that suspects captured on the battlefield must receive all rights afforded to American citizens under the Constitution. That’s the good news. Now here’s the bad. She thinks American citizens don’t have the right to own firearms.
Sonia Sotomayor has an extensive track record revealing her hostility toward the Second Amendment.
As a graduate student at Princeton University, Sotomayor wrote a these entitled “Deadly Obsession: American Gun Culture.” In the text, Sotomayor makes the argument that the Second Amendment does not actually afford individual citizens the right to bear arms. She believes only the military has this right. According to Sotomayor, it has been illegal for individuals to own firearms since the passing of the Bill of Rights.
In 2004, in U.S. v. Sanchez-Villar, a three-judge panel that included Sotomayor wrote that “the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right.” In another case, Sotomayor ruled that it is illegal for citizens to keep nunchakus in their homes.
Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said on Wednesday that “Judge Sotomayor’s position on the Second Amendment is a clear signal that Mr. Obama’s claim that he supports gun rights is nothing but lip service,” reports CBS News.
“Judge Sotomayor’s record suggests hostility, rather than empathy, for the tens of millions of Americans who exercise their right to keep and bear arms,” said Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute.
Ken Blackwell of the Family Research Council believes her nomination amounts to “a declaration of war against America’s gun owners.”
Earlier this year, Sotomayor ruled that states do not have to obey the Second Amendment’s commandment that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, according to CNSNews. In Maloney v. Cuomo, Sotomayor signed an opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that said the Second Amendment does not protect individuals from having their right to keep and bear arms restricted by state governments.
Sonia Sotomayor would be a perfect Supreme Court justice for the Obama administration. Obama the supposed constitutional scholar is a notorious gun-grabber, although the corporate media refuses to underscore this fact. He endorsed the unconstitutional Illinois gun ban. In classic doublethink fashion, he has declared support for the Second Amendment in principle but backed local gun bans. Obama wants to ban “all forms” of semi-autos. But it is not simply semi-automatics — he would even ban most common rimfire target pistols, including those used in Olympic competition. For more on Obama’s gun-grabbing philosophy, see Barak Obama’s Gun Control Positions.
Many Americans understand Obama wants to outlaw guns and in response they are purchasing guns and ammo in record numbers. “Gun sales are on the rise across the U.S. and many dealers are having trouble keeping guns and ammunition in stock. Sales of guns moved sharply upward last November, the same month voters chose a new president,” reports VOA News.
A growing number of states understand the federal government is gearing up to not only outlaw firearms and trash the Second Amendment, but possibly confiscate them as well.
For instance, Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen has promised to sign a bill today making it legal to possess a firearm during martial law. “Sponsors say martial rule is the same as martial law at the federal level. They say the law is necessary after law enforcement in New Orleans went door to door seizing weapons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,” reports the Associated Press.
28 May 2009 by giovanniworld Sotomayor’s Sharp Tongue Raises Issue of Temperament. If the GOP handles her with kid gloves during the hearings we should list their names and start a petition to get them thrown out of office. No more RINO’s and no more cowards! … Giovanni’s World – http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
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15 Jun 2009 by Gtbullet The Washington Post article states Sotomayor can’t get around her stance on gun control!!! No Really http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009…adlines&. … XD .40 SubCompact * .380 Taurus SubCompact. PM me for your free gunowner.net wordpress blog and email address! … Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association… – http://forum.pafoa.org/
14 hours ago by BBVM It’s a particularly dangerous tactic in a country with a history and tradition of gun ownership. I should also note here that while the law distinguishes a no-knock warrant from a knock-and-announce warrant, I’m not sure there’s much …. Witness Vice President Biden just recently, when he told law enforcement organizations that Obama Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor “has your back,” a remarkably stupid thing (though probably true) to say about a potential Supreme … Big Bear Observation Post – http://bbvm.wordpress.com/
30 May 2009 by theconservativerepublic Sotomayor would love to help remove the guns from your hands. I agree, criminals should not have guns, but law abiding citizens have that right, it’s in the 2nd amendment. Sotomayor’s interpretation of our constitution and the 2nd … The Conservative Republic – http://theconservativerepublic.wordpress.com/
17 Jun 2009 by Brian Garst And the cause of our present horror is that “we have decided to let just about anyone have a gun.” Cocco also offers the usual gun control lie, claiming that, “among the guns Poplawski reportedly used in his attack was an AK-47, … 2009/06 /12; Shelby Steele demolishes Obama on, “Sotomayor and the Politics of Race:” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124442662679393077.html >> 2009/06/08; Check out my article in the American Thinker on Sotomayor and the Ugliness of Identity … Conservative Compendium – http://conservative-compendium.com/wordpress/ – References
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28 May 2009 by newsdeskinternational Written by Janet Judge Sonia Sotomayor could enter a firestorm when it comes to her stance on gun rights, with conservatives beginning to question some controversial positions she’s taken over the past several years on the Second … Newsdesk International’s Blog – http://newsdeskinternational.wordpress.com/
6 Jun 2009 by Patrick Sperry New by Kopel: Sotomayor; Nordyke v. King; No on Koh; Still More No on Koh; ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban; 10th Circuit on Firearms; Judge Wilkinson’s Errors on Heller; Journal on Firearms & Public Policy; Necessary and Proper Clause; ….. “Because Barack Obama’s 2010 budget request reaffirms a federal statute – the so-called Tiahrt Amendment that protects sensitive gun trace data from the prying eyes of lawsuit-happy mayors and gun control lobby attorneys – gun prohibitionists … Conservative Libertarian Outpost – http://patricksperry.wordpress.com/ – References
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The good news: 44 DEM House of Representatives voted against the Socialist Cap and Trade Bill.
I applaud them and wish to thank them for their Patriotism.
The bad news: Eight so-called Republicans Sold Out America and, by voting for Cap and Trade, provided a tie breaking win for Obama and the Socialists in a final vote of 219 to 212.
The Win was by a margin
OF EIGHT VOTES
Eight GOP Reps gave Obama
The House Cap and Trade Win
IT SUCKS TO BE YOU 8
Let These
GOP Traitors
hear from you!
Rep John Boehner Calls Out just some of the crap these Republican RINO CAP & TRADE Sellouts voted for!
Following is a list of their Websites; each website provides means to send a message…
Ok, tax payers, your new financial burden is about to arrive in the form of very high energy taxes.
The excuse for this attack on your paycheck? A politically strategic ploy to fix something that is not broken for the sake of MONEY.
MONEY = POWER
How can this happen? Because people are not paying attention and taking the word of Socialist Politicians about something only the non-political scientific community understands.
The truth that so-called Global Warming is not man made is being hidden by Obama & Co because it is an “Inconvenient Truth“ that short circuits what Socialists would have us all believe.
You must act this morning
The House of Representatives will vote on this tax hike today… it is called the CAP-AND-TRADE bill.
You either…
1) Accept responsibly for US Citizens being nailed to the TAX CROSS by this bill, or…
2) Pick up your telephone and start making calls this morning.
If you think voting is the end all and be all of your responsibilities as a Voting Citizen you are mistaken. Our representatives in congress represent you and me… all of us.
They need to know your wishes to correctly REPRESENT YOU.
Nancy Peolis is trying to ram H.R. 2454 (CAP-AND-TRADE) through the House TODAY to avoid debate and prevent you from having a voice on this. Her goal is to force feed a vote in the House before the July 4th recess as a pressure weapon against congressmen and congresswomen to not debate this bill by screwing up their holiday plans if they debate this bill as it must and should be debated.
Now, the Patriotic Part, and this is where your power comes into play…
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has obtained internal EPA e-mails that show the agency willfully and recklessly disregarded scientific data that undermined the bureaucracy’s global warming zealotry.
This information is especially relevant as Congress rushes to pass the cap-and-trade nightmare on Friday.
CEI general counsel Sam Kazman has notified the EPA and requested that the internal communications and suppressed study be released to the public and added to the public record. Will another whistleblower be disappeared? Note especially this warning to the dissenting scientist: “The time for such discussion of fundamental issues has passed for this round. The administrator and the administration has decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision… I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office.”
Read:
CEI is submitting a set of four EPA emails, dated March 12-17, 2009, which indicate that a significant internal critique of EPA’s position on Endangerment was essentially put under wraps and concealed. The study was barred from being circulated within EPA, it was never disclosed to the public, and it was not placed in the docket of this proceeding. The emails further show that the study was treated in this manner not because of any problem with its quality, but for political reasons.
CEI hereby requests that EPA make this study public, place it into the docket, and either extend or reopen the comment period to allow public response to this new study. We also request that EPA publicly declare that it will engage in no reprisals against the author of the study, who has worked at EPA for over 35 years.
The emails, attached hereto, consist of the following:
1) a March 12 email from Al McGartland, Office Director of EPA’s National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE), to Alan Carlin, Senior Operations Research Analyst at NCEE, forbidding him from speaking to anyone outside NCEE on endangerment issues;
2) a March 16 email from Mr. Carlin to another NCEE economist, with a cc to Mr. McGartland and two other NCEE staffers, requesting that his study be forwarded to EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, which directs EPA’s climate change program. The email notes the quantity of peer-reviewed references in the study, and defends its inclusion of new research as well. It states Mr. Carlin’s view that “the critical attribute of good science is its correspondence to observable data rather than where it appears in
the technical literature.” It goes on to point out that the new studies “explain much of the observational data that have been collected which cannot be explained by the IPCC models.” (Emphases added);
3) a March 17 email from Mr. McGartland to Mr. Carlin, stating that he will not forward Mr. Carlin’s study. “The time for such discussion of fundamental issues has passed for this round. The administrator and the administration has decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision… I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office.” (Emphasis added);
4) a second March 17 email from Mr. McGartland to Mr. Carlin, dated eight minutes later, stating “ I don’t want you to spend any additional EPA time on climate change.”
Mr. McGartland’s emails demonstrate that he was rejecting Mr. Carlin’s study because its conclusions ran counter to EPA’s proposed position. This raises several major issues.
A. Incompleteness of the Rulemaking Record: The end result of withholding Mr. Carlin’s study was to taint the Endangerment Proceeding by denying the public access to important agency information. Court rulings have made it abundantly clear that a rulemaking record should include both “the evidence relied upon [by the agency] and the evidence discarded.” Ethyl Corp. v. EPA, 541 F.2d 1, 36 (D.C. Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 426 U.S. 941 (1976).
B. Prejudgment of the Outcome of the Endangerment Proceeding: The emails also suggest that EPA has prejudged the outcome of this proceeding, to the point where it arguably cannot be trusted to fairly evaluate the record before it. Courts have recognized “the danger that an agency, having reached a particular result, may become so committed to that result as to resist engaging in any genuine reconsideration of the issues.” Food Marketing Institute v. ICC, 587 F.2d 1285, 1290 (D.C. Cir. 1978).
C. Violations of EPA’s Commitment to Transparency and Scientific Honesty: Finally, the emails suggest that EPA’s extensive pronouncements about transparency and scientific honesty may just be rhetoric. Shortly before assuming office, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson declared: “As Administrator, I will ensure EPA’s efforts to address the environmental crises of today are rooted in three fundamental values: science-based policies and programs, adherence to the rule of law, and overwhelming transparency.” Jan. 23, 2009, link. See also Administrator Jackson’s April 23 Memo to EPA Employees, “Transparency in EPA’s Operations”. These follow the President’s own January 21 memo to agency heads on “Transparency and Open Government”. And in an April 27 speech to the National Academy of Sciences, the President declared that, “under my administration, the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over.”
Because of ideology, however, it was this back seat to which Mr. Carlin’s study was relegated; more precisely, it was booted out of the car entirely.
For these reasons, we submit that EPA should immediately make Mr. Carlin’s study public by entering it into the Endangerment docket, and that it should either extend or reopen the comment period in this proceeding to allow public responses to that study. It should do so, moreover, while publicly pledging that Mr. Carlin will suffer no adverse repercussions from agency personnel. Mr. Carlin is guilty of no wrongdoing, but the tenor of the emails described above suggests he may well have reason to fear reprisals.
22 hours ago by Gateway Pundit
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put cap-and-trade legislation on a forced march through the House, and the bill may get a full vote as early as Friday. It looks as if the Democrats will have to destroy the discipline of economics to get … Gateway Pundit – http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/ – References
8 hours ago by Sammy Benoit
Tomorrow Congress will vote on the Waxman-Markey bill aka Cap and Trade.Experts estimate the annual costs will approach $3000 for every family within a few years. In return for reducing the size of Middle America’s wallet, there will be … YID With LID – http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/ – References
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6 hours ago by Will Kirkland
The House could vote today on a measure to cap US greenhouse gas emissions, with Democratic leaders predicting a tight victory for a behemoth bill that has. The Ruth Group – http://www.ruthgroup.org/
24 Jun 2009 by By Catherine Rampell
How Much Cap-and-Trade Bill Would Cost Families. By Catherine Rampell. DESCRIPTION NASA. Update | 10:51 a.m. Some readers asked for other estimates on the cost of this bill. See, for example, the Environmental Protection Agency’s own … Economix – http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/ – References
10 hours ago by Casey Caplowe
Most likely you’re not a congressman and won’t get to participate in the official vote on the cap and trade bill in the House tomorrow. But, most likely, GOOD Main – http://www.good.is/ – References
22 hours ago by Moe Lane (Profile)
Michael Williams, current Texas Railroad Commissioner* and candidate for Senate, is doing a multi-part survey of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill currently before Congress. He’s up to Part III (see also Part I & Part II, of course), … RedState – http://www.redstate.com/ – References
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16 hours ago by Wild Thing
Speaker Nancy Pelosi conceded Wednesday evening that there were not enough votes to pass the bill, but that meetings with Democrats and Republicans were ongoing. Many Democrats from rural districts are concerned about the bill’s effect on the … Iran, Nortrh Korea, Health Insurance and this Cap and Trade. My gut feeling hers is that he is going to lose on the two domestic issues. If this does occur we will then see some hope for this country. Not the Hope that he wanted, … Theodore’s World – http://www.theodoresworld.net/
7 hours ago by JDS Cap and Trade Bill Just in Time. Well, Congress chose a great time to try to pass this bill, which Democrats claim will combat ”global warming.” The only problem is that it appears that, as of today, the Arctic is still well below … BoldColorConservative – http://boldcolorconservative.com/
24 Jun 2009 by Alan Caruba Cap-and-Trade Bill: Villainy on a Grand Scale. By Alan Caruba Supported by outright lies by the President about “clean” or “renewable energy”, and based on the greatest hoax of the modern era, “global warming”, on Friday Congress is … Warning Signs – http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/ – References
1 hour ago by directorblue
Friday, June 26, 2009. Larwyn’s Linx: Did Congress actually read Cap-and-Trade bill? Have a great link you’d like me to review? Drop me an email! You can also follow me on Twitter. … Doug Ross @ Journal – http://directorblue.blogspot.com/
1 hour ago by realclearmarkets
The Cap-and-Trade Bill Is an Economic Disaster. Posted by: realclearmarkets in RealClearMarkets. Fiscal Policy: The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on an anti-stimulus package that in the name of saving the earth will … Finance Geek – http://financegeek.com/
17 hours ago by Bill Dalton
Climate bill highlights: Can cap-and-trade pass the House? from AP. In an effort to curb global warming, the House is considering legislation that calls for: — Reducing greenhouse gases by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 … KansasCity.com Prime Buzz – Today’s political… – http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/
17 hours ago by Victor Joecks
Even as Democrats have promised that this cap-and-trade legislation won’t pinch wallets, behind the scenes they’ve acknowledged the energy price tsunami that is coming. During the brief few days in which the bill was debated in the … Write on Nevada – http://www.writeonnevada.com/
14 hours ago by Shack
Mongiardo said, “Call it what you will, but for all practical purposes the ‘Cap-and-Trade‘ Bill places a huge energy tax on Kentucky coal which is used to power more than 90% of Kentucky’s homes and businesses. … The Rural Democrat – http://theruraldemocrat.typepad.com/the_rural_democrat/
11 hours ago by directorblue
Meanwhile, the world’s worst polluters continue choking the atmosphere with toxic fumes and poisons. “Cap-and-Trade” is sheer lunacy. Or, in the words of the UK’s Telegraph: it is “economic suicide“. Waxman-Markey’s Cap-and-Trade bill… The Greenroom – http://www.hotair.com/greenroom/ – References
14 hours ago by Dan McGrath
The Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade bill, also known as ACES (the American Clean Energy and Security Act – HR 2454), is projected to impose annual energy cost hikes in excess of $1000 per household. The total cost to the flagging American … Global Climate Scam – http://www.globalclimatescam.com/
Promises, promises: A look at Indian health care’s victims
By Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press Writer
CROW AGENCY, Mont. (AP) – Ta’Shon Rain Little Light, a happy little girl who loved to dance and dress up in traditional American Indian clothes, had stopped eating and walking. She complained constantly to her mother that her stomach hurt.
When Stephanie Little Light took her daughter to the Indian Health Service clinic in this wind-swept and remote corner of Montana, they told her the 5-year-old was depressed.
This July 2005 photo provided by the Little Light Family shows Ta’shon Rain Little Light in Crow Agency, Mont. Five-year-old Ta’shon had stopped eating and walking, and complained constantly to her mother that her stomach hurt. On her first and subsequent visits to the Indian Health Service clinic on the Crow Agency, Mont., Ta’shon’s mother was told her daughter was depressed, when in fact she had cancer, and died some months later. (AP Photo/Little Light Family)
Ta’Shon’s pain rapidly worsened and she visited the clinic about 10 more times over several months before her lung collapsed and she was airlifted to a children’s hospital in Denver. There she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, confirming the suspicions of family members.
A few weeks later, a charity sent the whole family to Disney World so Ta’Shon could see Cinderella’s Castle, her biggest dream. She never got to see the castle, though. She died in her hotel bed soon after the family arrived in Florida.
“Maybe it would have been treatable,” says her great-aunt, Ada White, as she stoically recounts the last few months of Ta’Shon’s short life. Stephanie Little Light cries as she recalls how she once forced her daughter to walk when she was in pain because the doctors told her it was all in the little girl’s head.
Ta’Shon’s story is not unique in the Indian Health Service system, which serves almost 2 million American Indians in 35 states.
On some reservations, the oft-quoted refrain is “don’t get sick after June,” when the federal dollars run out. It’s a sick joke, and a sad one, because it’s sometimes true, especially on the poorest reservations where residents cannot afford health insurance. Officials say they have about half of what they need to operate, and patients know they must be dying or about to lose a limb to get serious care.
Wealthier tribes can supplement the federal health service budget with their own money. But poorer tribes, often those on the most remote reservations, far away from city hospitals, are stuck with grossly substandard care. The agency itself describes a “rationed health care system.”
The sad fact is an old fact, too.
The U.S. has an obligation, based on a 1787 agreement between tribes and the government, to provide American Indians with free health care on reservations. But that promise has not been kept. About one-third more is spent per capita on health care for felons in federal prison, according to 2005 data from the health service.
In Washington, a few lawmakers have tried to bring attention to the broken system as Congress attempts to improve health care for millions of other Americans. But tightening budgets and the relatively small size of the American Indian population have worked against them.
“It is heartbreaking to imagine that our leaders in Washington do not care, so I must believe that they do not know,” Joe Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said in his annual state of Indian nations’ address in February.
Health in Indian country
When it comes to health and disease in Indian country, the statistics are staggering.
American Indians have an infant death rate that is 40 percent higher than the rate for whites. They are twice as likely to die from diabetes, 60 percent more likely to have a stroke, 30 percent more likely to have high blood pressure and 20 percent more likely to have heart disease.
American Indians have disproportionately high death rates from unintentional injuries and suicide, and a high prevalence of risk factors for obesity, substance abuse, sudden infant death syndrome, teenage pregnancy, liver disease and hepatitis.
While campaigning on Indian reservations, presidential candidate Barack Obama cited this statistic: After Haiti, men on the impoverished Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota have the lowest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere.
Those on reservations qualify for Medicare and Medicaid coverage. But a report by the Government Accountability Office last year found that many American Indians have not applied for those programs because of lack of access to the sign-up process; they often live far away or lack computers. The report said that some do not sign up because they believe the government already has a duty to provide them with health care.
The office of minority health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Indian Health Service, notes on its Web site that American Indians “frequently contend with issues that prevent them from receiving quality medical care. These issues include cultural barriers, geographic isolation, inadequate sewage disposal and low income.”
Indeed, Indian health clinics often are ill-equipped to deal with such high rates of disease, and poor clinics do not have enough money to focus on preventive care. The main problem is a lack of federal money. American Indian programs are not a priority for Congress, which provided the health service with $3.6 billion this budget year.
Officials at the health service say they can’t legally comment on specific cases such as Ta’Shon’s. But they say they are doing the best they can with the money they have — about 54 cents on the dollar they need.
One of the main problems is that many clinics must “buy” health care from larger medical facilities outside the health service because the clinics are not equipped to handle more serious medical conditions. The money that Congress provides for those contract health care services is rarely sufficient, forcing many clinics to make “life or limb” decisions that leave lower-priority patients out in the cold.
“The picture is much bigger than what the Indian Health Service can do,” says Doni Wilder, an official at the agency’s headquarters in Rockville, Md., and the former director of the agency’s Northwestern region. “Doctors every day in our organization are making decisions about people not getting cataracts removed, gall bladders fixed.”
On the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, Indian Health Service staff say they are trying to improve conditions. They point out recent improvements to their clinic, including a new ambulance bay. But in interviews on the reservation, residents were eager to share stories about substandard care.
Rhonda Sandland says she couldn’t get help for her advanced frostbite until she threatened to kill herself because of the pain — several months after her first appointment. She says she was exposed to temperatures at more than 50 below, and her hands turned purple. She eventually couldn’t dress herself, she says, and she visited the clinic over and over again, sometimes in tears.
“They still wouldn’t help with the pain so I just told them that I had a plan,” she said. “I was going to sleep in my car in the garage.”
She says the clinic then decided to remove five of her fingers, but a visiting doctor from Bismarck, N.D., intervened, giving her drugs instead. She says she eventually lost the tops of her fingers and the top layer of skin.
The same clinic failed to diagnose Victor Brave Thunder with congestive heart failure, giving him Tylenol and cough syrup when he told a doctor he was uncomfortable and had not slept for several days. He eventually went to a hospital in Bismarck, which immediately admitted him. But he had permanent damage to his heart, which he attributed to delays in treatment. Brave Thunder, 54, died in April while waiting for a heart transplant.
“You can talk to anyone on the reservation and they all have a story,” says Tracey Castaway, whose sister, Marcella Buckley, said she was in $40,000 of debt because of treatment for stomach cancer.
Buckley says she visited the clinic for four years with stomach pains and was given a variety of diagnoses, including the possibility of a tapeworm and stress-related stomachaches. She was eventually told she had Stage 4 cancer that had spread throughout her body.
Ron His Horse is Thunder, chairman of the Standing Rock tribe, says his remote reservation on the border between North Dakota and South Dakota can’t attract or maintain doctors who know what they are doing. Instead, he says, “We get old doctors that no one else wants or new doctors who need to be trained.”
His Horse is Thunder often travels to Washington to lobby for more money and attention, but he acknowledges that improvements are tough to come by.
“We are not one congruent voting bloc in any one state or area,” he said. “So we don’t have the political clout.”
Money runs out
On another reservation 200 miles north of Standing Rock, Ardel Baker, a member of North Dakota’s Three Affiliated Tribes, knows all too well the truth behind the joke about money running out.
Baker went to her local clinic with severe chest pains and was sent by ambulance to a hospital more than an hour away. It wasn’t until she got there that she noticed she had a note attached to her, written on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services letterhead.
“Understand that Priority 1 care cannot be paid for at this time due to funding issues,” the letter read. “A formal denial letter has been issued.”
She lived, but she says she later received a bill for more than $5,000.
“That really epitomizes the conflict that we have,” says Robert McSwain, deputy director of the Indian Health Service. “We have to move the patient out, it’s an emergency. We need to get them care.”
It was too late for Harriet Archambault, according to the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who has told her story more than once in the Senate.
Dorgan says Archambault died in 2007 after her medicine for hypertension ran out and she couldn’t get an appointment to refill it at the nearest clinic, 18 miles away. She drove to the clinic five times and failed to get an appointment before she died.
Dorgan’s swath of the country is the hardest hit in terms of Indian health care. Many reservations there are poor, isolated, devoid of economic development opportunities and subject to long, harsh winters — making it harder for the health service to recruit doctors to practice there.
While the agency overall has an 18 percent vacancy rate for doctors, that rate jumps to 38 percent for the region that includes the Dakotas. That region also has a 29 percent vacancy rate for dentists, and officials and patients report there is almost no preventive dental care. Routine procedures such as root canals are rarely seen here. If there’s a problem with a tooth, it is simply pulled.
Dorgan has led efforts in Congress to bring attention to the issue. After many years of talking to frustrated patients at home in North Dakota, he says he believes the problems are systemic within the embattled agency: incompetent staffers are transferred instead of fired; there are few staff to handle complaints; and, in some cases, he says, there is a culture of intimidation within field offices charged with overseeing individual clinics.
The senator has also probed waste at the agency.
A 2008 GAO report, along with a follow-up report this year, accused the Indian Health Service of losing almost $20 million in equipment, including vehicles, X-ray and ultrasound equipment and numerous laptops. The agency says some of the items were later found.
Dorgan persuaded Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to consider an American Indian health improvement bill last year, and the bill passed in the Senate. It would have directed Congress to provide about $35 billion for health programs over the next 10 years, including better access to health care services, screening and mental health programs. A similar bill died in the House, though, after it became entangled in an abortion dispute.
The growing political clout of some remote reservations may bring some attention to health care woes. Last year’s Democratic presidential primary played out in part in the Dakotas and Montana, where both Obama and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first presidential candidates to aggressively campaign on American Indian reservations there. Both politicians promised better health care.
Obama’s budget for 2010 includes an increase of $454 million, or about 13 percent, over this year. Also, the stimulus bill he signed this year provided for construction and improvements to clinics.
Ta’Shon’s story
Back in Montana, Ta’Shon’s parents are doing what they can to bring awareness to the issue. They have prepared a slideshow with pictures of her brief life; she is seen dressed up in traditional regalia she wore for dance competitions with a bright smile on her face. Family members approached Dorgan at a Senate field hearing on American Indian health care after her death in 2006, hoping to get the little girl’s story out.
“She was a gift, so bright and comforting,” says Ada White of her niece, whom she calls her granddaughter according to Crow tradition. “I figure she was brought here for a reason.”
Nearby, the clinic on the Crow reservation seems mostly empty, aside from the crowded waiting room. The hospital is down several doctors, a shortage that management attributes recruitment difficulties and the remote location.
Diane Wetsit, a clinical coordinator, said she finds it difficult to think about the congressional bailout for Wall Street.
“I have a hard time with that when I walk down the hallway and see what happens here,” she says.
Obama? You just proved what this cartoon told the world... that it is true.
The more public sentiment astute members of White House Press Corps FINALLY ended the Obama Honeymoon yesterday.
While the Liberal Media’s own love affair is not yet over, there is now a biting public sentiment of disgust with the Liberal Media’s fawning over Barack; a fawning that is being judged for what it really is… Political Propaganda for fun and profit.
Not even Liberals’ doctored Obama Popularity Poll numbers can cover up the steadily mounting American Dissatisfaction with Obama’s Behaviors, and Dissatisfaction with the Liberal Media’s whitewashing of it.
In the end, the Liberal Media has to cut it’s losses and stop publicly drooling over Obama like school girls at a rock concert. It is already too late for ABC and NBC/MSNBC. They are now considered nothing more than Socialist Tabloid Propaganda Machines and most of America now “Gets It.”
And… when asked whether the unrelenting and continuing deadly Iranian Islamic Government Attacks on it’s citizens was to be ignored in favor of going ahead with Obama’s Islamic Thug Diplomacy of inviting the Representatives of Iranian Islamic Sociopath Killers to celebrate the 4th of July at US Embassies World Wide, Obama had nothing to say on the matter… a complete ignoring of the question altogether.
It seems to me, Obama is bent on proving he has no understanding of Americans… and is instead a product of Socialist Brainwashing to which he has been subjected since childhood.
Obama is a product of that which hates what America stands for and, taken in that light, it explains so many things he says and does.
Let’s take a look at what is being reported about the end of Obama’s honeymoon with America…
One job of journalists is, to borrow a horse racing phrase, to “call the turns” of developing news. Yesterday, the White House press corps called the end of the Obama honeymoon.
By peppering the President with forceful questions on Iran and other big topics and by challenging some of his slippery answers, reporters captured the changing tone in the country. Like the end of a real honeymoon, blind infatuation is giving way to a more accurate view of reality.
The reality is that polls show rising doubt about President Obama‘s handling of the economy and wide disapproval about exploding deficits. The reality is that even many Democrats worry the White House health plan is messy and unaffordable. The reality is that ranks of independents who voted for him find Obama far more liberal than they expected.
It’s also true that many news organizations have embarrassed themselves with fawning Obama coverage and are the subject of growing ridicule, including from Obama himself.
Those facts all probably played a role in the unprecedentedly aggressive tone of yesterday’s news conference. More than anything else, Iran – where the President had been a timid fence-sitter while a democracy revolution was blooming, then being crushed by a thugocracy – galvanized the press to probe. Six of the 13 questions dealt with Iran.
“What took you so long?” was the most important one asked of the Obama presidency. It came from reporter Major Garrett of Fox News (where I am a contributor) and put an exclamation point on the President’s failure to respond sooner with appropriate condemnation.
Obama finally found his voice yesterday, saying in his strongest language yet that the world was “appalled and outraged” at the violence against demonstrators. And in calling the video showing the death of Iranian icon Neda Soltan “heartbreaking,” Obama succinctly expressed the world’s emotion.
But in answering Garrett’s question with nonsensical insistence he had been consistent, the President damaged his credibility and missed a chance to explain how his thinking has evolved since the June 12 election.
He blew another chance when a reporter asked whether criticism by Sen. John McCain and other Republicans had forced the tougher stance. “What do you think?” he said, getting defensive and saying, “Only I am the President of the United States.”
It’s a bad habit, a sign of weakness, to pull rank, yet this White House does it repeatedly. Obama brushed back calls for changes in stimulus spending by saying, “I won,” and his press secretary said, “We won,” just the other day to a question.
The notion that victory carries a blank check is fantasy. Especially in a polarized country with a nonstop media blitz, a mandate must be re-won on every major issue.
Obama knows as much, which is why he has been running a continuing campaign since the inauguration. Whether he’s conducting town hall meetings in St. Louis or France or asking for prime-time coverage, Obama uses the bully pulpit and his charisma to aggressively push his agenda.
By and large, the approach has worked. Thanks to full Democratic control of Congress, Obama mostly gets his way, and his personal popularity has remained strong.
But his health plan could be in trouble over the cost and impact, and unemployment keeps rising beyond White House estimates, a fact the President conceded yesterday. He also conceded that stimulus spending has been slower than he wants, which I took as a jab at Vice President Biden‘s supposed management of the issue.
The result is that the public hasn’t seen much economic gain and, combined with the growing debts and prohibitive costs of Obama’s health and energy plans, voters are getting significantly more skeptical about the President. Iran added to the doubts.
The press corps gets it. For Obama, the hard part begins now.
2 hours ago by Sandra Rose Obama’s Ratings Begin To Slide (The Honeymoon Is Over). I know you Kool-Aid drinkers don’t want to read this, so hurry up and pull the wool over your eyes. Barack Obama’s approval ratings has dipped to its lowest level since he was … Sandra Rose – http://sandrarose.com/ – References
23 Jun 2009 by Obama Chronicles This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 5:45 am and is filed under obama chronicles, obama cnn, obama news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from … Obama Chronicles – http://www.obamachronicles.org/
23 Jun 2009 by Doug Thompson While public approval of Obama the man remains strong the warning signs suggest the honeymoon is over for the young, inexperienced President and serious political trouble looms. Some say the bill is coming due and no one can pay it. … Capitol Hill Blue – The oldest political… – http://www.capitolhillblue.com/
18 Jun 2009 by Glenn Reynolds CQ POLITICS: Honeymoon Over: It’s On Obama’s Watch Now. “The biggest public concern is over the size of the deficit being run up by Obama’s economic recovery proposals and how much more it will rise if his plan to overhaul health care … Instapundit – http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/ – References
[ More results from Instapundit ]
Dictator Silences the “VOICE” of One
thus strengthens The VOICE from beyond herDeath
These are the final moments of Neda (Translated meaning is Voice) as she lies and dies on street in Tehran from bullets fired into her body from the Guns of Government Civilian Defense Force… and for what?
Because She asks… Where is My Vote?
It happened folks.. Obama’s exposed his lacking attitude concerning Iran Voters Dying in the streets asking a simple question and daring not to back down… Where Is My Vote? as the Iran Supreme leader orders Civilian Defense Force (Militia), Police, and the Army to attack them for protesting.
Obama first stated… I don’t want to Meddle… then when silent for days as the protests continued in the streets of Tehran… and finally, after both DEM majority houses of Congress voted in favor of supporting the Iranian People in their sacrifice of life and security for something all people deserve… freedom from oppression of a Government which thinks it is more important than citizens…
…Then THEN Obama presented himself before the eyes of the world and showed an unbelievable lack of empathy for the Iranian Citizens dying at the hands of an Oppressive Government over the Election Fraud perpetrated on them…
…by enjoying a Media photo opportunity licking the sweetness of an ice cream cone.
Obama goes for photo op to eat ice cream while Iran kills people asking "Where is my Vote?" Obama Approval Rating Index at Rassmusen Poll goes negative for first time
I AM SPEECHLESS…
as I cry for the People of Iran
who were being murdered
as he enjoyed his ice cream.
Both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton sided with the Iran Protesters… and finally FINALLY The Enchanted One issued a statement, not to the IRAN PROTESTERS BUT TO THE DICTATORS… reeking of offering advice as to how to keep their grip on their power.
Take at look at Rasmussen Reports daily Obama Job Approval Index… it now has reached an all time low and for the first time it is NEGATIVE… a minus 2, which means…
More people now disapprove of Obama than approve
Obama responds with
Self-Image Damage Control
too little; too late
This is real folks… Obama, in spite of his Star Appeal and the unquestioned backing of the Massive Liberal Media,is showing the Real Obama and People are not Liking it.
See for yourself… this is historic and marks the end of the love affair:
18 hours ago by Jeff Fecke
The name Neda translates into “The Call” in Farsi. She was well-named, for her death is perhaps the ultimate turning point in the battle between the citizens of Iran and their government. Whether or not this round of protests ultimately … Alas, a blog – http://www.amptoons.com/blog/ – References
1 hour ago by Mark Finkelstein
Why, supporters of the struggle have chosen to immortalize Neda, the young student reportedly slain by the current regime, by creating a poster of her in the style of the iconic Obama poster made famous during his presidential campaign. … NewsBusters.org – Exposing Liberal Media Bias – http://newsbusters.org/ – References
10 hours ago by Michael Shaw (The BAG)
This frame, distributed by Getty Images, was pulled from the gruesome YouTube video of the woman reportedly killed by the Basij at a Tehran protest rally on Saturday…. caption: A screen grab taken on June 21, 2009 from a video posted … BAGnewsNotes – http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/
14 hours ago by Pete Cashmore
Yesterday we published 10 Powerful YouTube Videos from Iran, including a particularly graphic video of an Iranian girl dying on the street – we now know her. Mashable! – http://mashable.com/ – References
14 hours ago by Allahpundit
Word on the street via one Iranian tweeter is that her name was Neda Agha Soltan. That’s also the name circulating on a few websites and now being attributed to her in a hastily arranged Wikipedia bio. The rumor — and it’s all rumor … Hot Air » Top Picks – http://www.hotair.com/ – References
20 hours ago by DownWithTyranny Neda was a real person, a young woman with hopes and aspirations who was shot down and died horribly in the gutter. This video is absolutely horrific and I don’t recommend you watch it unless you’re ready to shed some tears for our … DownWithTyranny! – http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/ – References
8 hours ago by nicedeb
The horrifying and heart-breaking murder of 27 year old martyr, Neda, as seen by millions on Youtube, has become a powerful symbol for the resistance in Iran. This is the injustice they are fighting. … Nice Deb – http://nicedeb.wordpress.com/
18 hours ago by Xeni Jardin
Then again this is why peaceful liberators desperate for a fair democracy are finally turned into submission, or a fully organized battle for freedom. God Bless each and everyone of you! Dont give up! Neda did not die in vain, … Boing Boing – http://www.boingboing.net/ – References
19 hours ago by Jewel
CNN just had a long segment about Neda and about how her death has become an important symbol. More and more Iranians are calling for the rest of the world to step up and condemn the regime in Iran. Neda’s death is playing a large part … Infidel Bloggers Alliance – http://ibloga.blogspot.com/ – References
Neda | Video Cafe21 hours ago by scarce
The indiscriminate killing of a young woman named Neda in the streets of Tehran today. What we know of her is from this caption to the video seen below the fold, and an entry on Mir Hossein Mousavi’s Facebook page which describes her …
Think the CIA,
thus Obama,
has not known about this letter?
not yet independently confirmed copy of election results in Iran
English Translation:
Your Honor the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,
Good Day,
After your worry about the election results and because you have asked for a confirmation that Mr. Mahmoud Achmadinejad has won the election, the situation shall be handled in this way, that the election results of the Islamic Republic shall be the most serviceable to your liking. Preparations have been made for all possible developments; the candidates for President have been warned and the leaders of political movements are being closed monitored and watched.
I want to hereby share with you the true results of the election:
Total registered votes: 42,026,078
Mir Hussein Moussavi Chameneh: 19,075,623
Mehdi Charubi: 13,387,104
Mahmoud Achmadinejad: 5,698,417
Mohsen Rezai: 3,754,218
Invalid/Spoiled Votes: 38,716
____________________
This letter detailing the supposed true Iran election results showing Mirhossein Mousavi as a land slide winner is reported to have been handed out by the thousands and thousands and thousands to Opposition Supporters in Iran.
Let’s see what is being reported about this letter at LiveLeak.com…
They were handing out the photocopies by the thousand under the plane trees in the centre of the boulevard, single sheets of paper grabbed by the opposition supporters who are now wearing black for the 15 Iranians who have been killed in Tehran – who knows how many more in the rest of the country? – since the election results gave Mahmoud Ahmadinejad more than 24 million votes and a return to the presidency. But for the tens of thousands marking their fifth day of protests yesterday – and for their election campaign hero, Mirhossein Mousavi, who officially picked up just 13 million votes – those photocopies were irradiated.
For the photocopy appeared to be a genuine but confidential letter from the Iranian minister of interior, Sadeq Mahsuli, to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, written on Saturday 13 June, the day after the elections, and giving both Mr Mousavi and his ally, Mehdi Karroubi, big majorities in the final results. In a highly sophisticated society like Iran, forgery is as efficient as anywhere in the West and there are reasons for both distrusting and believing this document. But it divides the final vote between Mr Mousavi and Mr Karroubi in such a way that it would have forced a second run-off vote – scarcely something Mousavi’s camp would have wanted.
Headed “For the Attention of the Supreme Leader” it notes “your concerns for the 10th presidential elections” and “and your orders for Mr Ahmadinejad to be elected president”, and continues “for your information only, I am telling you the actual results”. Mr Mousavi has 19,075,623, Mr Karroubi 13,387,104, and Mr Ahmadinejad a mere 5,698,417.
Could this letter be a fake? Even if Mr Mousavi won so many votes, could the colourless Mr Karroubi have followed only six million votes behind him? And however incredible Mr Ahmadinejad’s officially declared 63 per cent of the vote may have been, could he really – as a man who has immense support among the poor of Iran – have picked up only five-and-a-half million votes? And would a letter of such immense importance be signed only “on behalf of the minister”?
The letter may well join the thousands of documents, real and forged, that have shaped Iran’s recent history, the most memorable of which were the Irish passports upon which Messers Robert McFarlane and Oliver North travelled to Iran on behalf of the US government in 1986 to offer missiles for hostages. The passports were real – and stolen – but the identities written onto the document were fake. Mr Ahmadinejad’s loyalists will undoubtedly blame “foreigners” for the “letter” to Ayatollah Khamenei. But its electrifying effect on the Mousavi camp will only help to transform suspicion into the absolute conviction that their leader was quite deliberately deprived of the presidency. Marjane Satrapi, the acclaimed author and the Oscar-winning director of the black and white cartoon Persepolis, was in Brussels brandishing the same document.
In Tehran, there must have been five or six thousand Iranians wearing black, many of them carrying this toxic document in their hands, although they were far fewer than Monday’s million-strong march and scarcely a fifth of their number reached Azadi Square from the centre of Tehran. Their enthusiasm to maintain their protest – led yesterday by a cavalry of a hundred or more motorbike riders – was cruelly treated by the organisers, who clearly had little idea whether they were supposed to direct them to a central venue or all the way out to Azadi. At times, they stood in the heat for more than a quarter of an hour while organisers argued about the route. This was no way to overthrow a government.
What was significant, however, was that once more the security authorities chose not to confront the Mousavi demonstrators. Military conscripts wearing bright yellow jackets and standing with their hands clasped behind their back – rather than holding batons – lined the first mile of the road but then abandoned the marchers to their own devices. This followed less than 24 hours after the frightening confrontation between up to 20,000 Mousavi and Ahmadinejad supporters at Vanak Square on Tuesday night when Iranian special forces paramilitary police protected Mr Mousavi’s men and women from the government “Basiji” militia. Although some civilians were later hurt in fist-fights on the street, the government cops brought in reinforcements and prevented the Basiji and thousands of other Ahmadinejad supporters from entering north Tehran.
Mousavi was clearly behind yesterday’s half-hearted march, for he issued a statement to the participants, condemning those who killed seven men in the dormitories at Tehran University on Sunday night “and beat boy and girl students and killed people in Azadi Square”. He sympathised, he said, with these “martyrs” and urged all Iranians to send their condolences to the families of those who had been killed.
The highly dubious election results, however, are arousing concern far outside Mr Mousavi’s millions of voters. Fifty-two MPs have asked the interior minister why he could not prevent the post-election intimidation and violence. Parliament has asked for a fact-finding investigation into the vandalisation of Tehran University property. Ali-Akbar Mohtashemi, a member of the Combatant Clerics Assembly – an important figure who founded the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and sent them to Lebanon when he was Iran’s ambassador to Damascus – has demanded a committee to investigate the election results, made up of senior clerics, MPs, members of the judiciary, the Council of Guardians and an official of the interior ministry.
But suppression of the free speech which Mr Mousavi’s loyalists demand so insistently continues. Yesterday morning, a 26-year-old student doing his doctorate at Oxford, Mohamed Reza Jaleopour, son of a professor at Tehran University, was arrested without charge at Tehran airport. The pro-Mousavi paper Green Word was again closed down.
As for Mr Mousavi, it seems that, once broken, the “mind-forged manacles of fear” are difficult to re-attach. But revolutionary governments are tough, steely creatures with sharp claws, and the Ahmadinejad regime is not about to collapse.
Interior Ministry’s letter to the Supreme Leader
Salaam Aleikum.
Regarding your concerns for the 10th presidential elections and due to your orders for Mr Ahmedinejad to be elected President, in this sensitive time, all matters have been organised in such a way that the results of the election will be in line with the revolution and the Islamic system. The following result will be declared to the people and all planning should be put in force to prevent any possible action from the opposition, and all party leaders and election candidates are under intense surveillance. Therefore, for your information only, I am telling you the actual results as follows:
Mirhossein Mousavi: 19,075,623
Mehdi Karroubi: 13,387,104
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 5,698,417
Mohsen Rezai: 38,716
(signed on behalf of the minister)
Day 5 of Iran crisis
Political football
Iran’s World Cup qualifier against South Korea in Seoul yesterday took on a decidedly political flavour. At least five of the Iranian team sported green bands around their arms or wrists – the signature accessory of Mousavi supporters back on the streets of Tehran – in an apparent protest against the disputed election back home.
But after half-time, some had removed the impromptu additions to their kit, prompting speculation they had been ordered to do so by their coach. The captain Mehdi Mahdavikia seemed to defy the team edict, much to the delight of fans waving banners with the plea “Free Iran” and chanting “Go to Hell Dictator”. The game ended 1-1.
Ambassadors berated
Diplomatic relations frayed as the government summoned an ensemble of Western ambassadors to complain about interference. According to Iranian state TV, Tehran accused Washington of “intolerable” meddling in its internal affairs, the first time it has blamed the US for playing a role in the post-election turmoil. Barack Obama took pains to note there was little difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. “Either way we are going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States,” he said. Britain’s ambassador was berated for the recent comments of Gordon Brown and David Miliband, as well as the BBC’s news coverage of the crisis. France, Germany and Italy were also given a talking to.
Missing persons
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported that scores of notable figures had been arrested and their whereabouts unknown. These included Saeed Hajarian – a one-time adviser to the reformist president Mohammed Khatami – who sustained brain and spinal injuries in a failed assassination attempt nine years ago, and as such needs constant medical attention. Also arrested was Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a senior adviser to Mehdi Karroubi who came in third in Friday’s presidential election, according to the official results. Mohamed Reza Jaleopour, the son of a reformist university professor, was also detained at Tehran airport as he prepared to fly to England where he is studying for a PhD at Oxford University.
Regime splits
It emerged that the daughter of Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the influential Assembly of Experts that has the right to dismiss the Supreme Leader, had attended Tuesday’s opposition rally. Faezeh Rafsanjani’s public display of support for Mousavi, in defiance of a ban on unauthorised marches from the interior ministry, was widely interpreted as another sign of high-level rifts in the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile Mousavi has declared today a day of mourning, urging Iranians to come together in mosques or congregate peacefully on the streets. “A number of our countrymen were wounded or martyred,” he said on his website. “I ask the people to express their solidarity with the families.”
Bloggers threatened
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the country’s most powerful military force, made its first pronouncement on the post-election crisis, warning that the country’s bloggers must remove any materials that “create tension” or face legal action. It marked another escalation of the information crackdown. But graphic images and detailed updates continued to leak out over sites such as Twitter, although the traffic directly from Iran appeared fractionally lighter than in previous days.
One of the first Iran election protests videos. Translate, the video’s title is “Saturday 23 June.” In actuality, this video was taken on Saturday, June 13th in what we believe to be Tehran.
June 13th: Riot in tehran streets after election day
June 13th: BBC – Protest against Iran election results
June 14th: Iranians protest against election results, police intervene
June 14th: Iran Election Protest in Paris
June 17: Protesting in Silence – Tehran
June 19th: Poem for the Rooftops of Iran
June 20th: Basij Milita have opened fire into crowds
Many believe this incident at Tehran University did happen and that only more incidents of abuse, torture, rape, random targeting and arrests, killing, etc. are happening in Iran. Some figures show the civilian death toll could be as high as 150. The rabble rouser, tinpot despot, totalitarian fascist and bigot tyrant Ali Khamenie, gave more evidence of his involvement and bias…
18 Jun 2009 by Iran News Watch Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 5698417. Mohsen Rezai: 38716 (signed on behalf of the minister) Day 5 of Iran crisis. Political football. Iran’s World Cup qualifier against South Korea in Seoul yesterday took on a decidedly political flavour. …Iran News Watch – http://www.irannewswatch.com/ – References
21 hours ago by News Service
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the claim. The total for Ahmadinejad looks to be too low, for example. Total number of the votes 42026078. Mir Hosain Mosavi 19075623. Mehdi Karoobi 13387104. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 5698417…Israel News – http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/
18 Jun 2009 by MichaelW Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 5698417. Mohsen Rezai: 38716. (signed on behalf of the minister). Fisk has this to say about it: They were handing out the photocopies by the thousand under the plane trees in the centre of the boulevard, …QandO – http://www.qando.net/ – References
19 Jun 2009 by Fred Stopsky
At least fifteen people have died at the hands of President Ahmadinejad’s thugs and apparently the army is now holding off from further attacks on students. Over fifty members of Parliament are demanding an investigation into the …The Impudent Observer – http://theimpudentobserver.com/
16 hours ago by Raphael Alexander
Today, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stpped forward to announce that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection was a victory, and warned protesters against continued public displays. … Mr Mousavi has 19075623, Mr Karroubi 13387104, and Mr Ahmadinejad a mere 5698417. As Mr.Fisk notes, the letter could be a forgery. If Mr.Mousavi won by such a landslide, is it possible that even the “colourless” Mr.Karroubi could have kept to within such a margin? …Unambiguously Ambidextrous – http://unambig.wordpress.com/
18 Jun 2009 by Tulang Besi
since the election results gave Mahmoud Ahmadinejad more than 24 million votes and a return to the presidency. But for the tens of thousands marking their fifth day of protests yesterday – and for their election campaign hero, … elections ” and “and your orders for Mr Ahmadinejad to be elected president”, and continues “for your information only, I am telling you the actual results”. Mr Mousavi has 19075623, Mr Karroubi 13387104, and Mr Ahmadinejad a mere 5698417. …Malaysia Waves – http://www.malaysiawaves.com/ – References
18 Jun 2009 by Oatmeal
Following your concerns regarding the results of the presidential election and per your given discretion to have Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remain as president during this sensitive juncture. Therefore, everything has been planned … However, for your information, the real votes counted are as follows: Total number of votes: 43026078. Mir Hossein Mousavi: 19075623. Mehdi Karoubi 13387104. Mhmoud Ahmadinejad: 5698417. Muhsen Rezai: 3754218. Void: 38716. Minister of Interior …AboveTopSecret.com Hot Topics – http://feeds.abovetopsecret.com/top.xml
18 Jun 2009 by Pekka
Therefore, for your information only, I am telling you the actual results as follows: Mirhossein Mousavi: 19075623. Mehdi Karroubi: 13387104. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 5698417. Mohsen Rezai: 38716. (signed on behalf of the minister) …nettipäiväkirja4 – http://nettipaivakirja5.blogspot.com/
Iranians hold demonstrations in European cities to protest Iran’s …18 Jun 2009 by Deborah Seward
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for Iranians to unite behind the cleric-led ruling system despite rival demonstrations and street clashes between supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his reformist opponent Mir Hossein Mousavi …. katefettighill Mousavi has 19075623, Karroubi 13387104, and Ahmadinejad a mere 5698417 – secret letter #iranelection (via @robynmcintyre, @verkoren); AbahJake RT – Robert Fisk: Secret letter ‘proves Mousavi won poll’ – The …The Gaea News – http://blog.taragana.com/n/ [ More results from The Gaea News ]
The Socialist two-faced lying revisionist, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi out right lied to the Nation in order to launch a witch hunt against the Bush Administration for political purposes when in fact, Pelosi approved of water boarding and was fully informed of plans to use water boarding, that water boarding was being used.
The proof Pelosi lied and falsely attacked the CIA stating the CIA lied to her has now been shown.
The DEMs voted down a “Truth Commission” to investigate Speaker Pelosi and her lies.
Republicans aren’t letting go of the Nancy Pelosi-CIA flap.
This afternoon, the House GOP drafted a privileged resolution that would establish a select subcommittee under the Intelligence Committee to “review and verify the accuracy of the speaker’s aforementioned public statements.” Democrats quickly tabled the resolution on a 247-171 party line vote. No Democrats crossed party lines to vote with Republicans on this resolution.
Republicans wanted to create a special committee that would be comprised of four members of the Intelligence Committee — two appointed by the chairman and two appointed by the ranking Republican on the panel. The subcommittee would have subpoena power for documents and testimony and be forced to report its findings in 60 calendar days.
Because Republicans packaged this legislation as a privileged resolution, the House was forced to vote on it, but Democrats decided they would back their speaker – many Democrats have dismissed these GOP resolutions as purely political.
“I am disappointed that, once again, rank-and-file Democrats have refused to join Republicans in establishing a bipartisan investigation into these serious allegations,” Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said.
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