We finally have Big Brother!
In the name of "national security," NSA collects all the phone calls and emails, and ObozoCare will be collecting all your medical information.
To complete the trifecta, another agency (not subject to Congressional budgeting) will be collecting all your financial and demographic data if you've had a mortgage at any time in the last 16 years.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau posted an April 16 Federal Register notice
of an expansion of their joint National Mortgage Database Program to
include personally identifiable information that reveals actual users, a
reversal of previously stated policy.
But that's not all.
... under the April register notice, the
database expansion means it will include a host of data points,
including a mortgage owner’s name, address, Social Security number, all
credit card and other loan information and account balances.
The database will also encompass a mortgage holder’s entire credit
history, including delinquent payments, late payments, minimum payments,
high account balances and credit scores, according to the notice.
The two agencies will also assemble “household demographic data,”
including racial and ethnic data, gender, marital status, religion,
education, employment history, military status, household composition,
the number of wage earners and a family’s total wealth and assets.
So, comrade, all that remains is for Big Government to monitor every word you say to anyone, at any time, in any place.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
What Epic Systems REALLY Does: Spy on You!
If you're not living in a cave, you know that ObozoCare is a gold-mine for IT systems providers, especially if they have current installations in hospitals and clinics. You also know that people who know what the system-requirements are going to be will do very well, indeed, when the bids are let.
So yah, Epic Systems had a large installed base in health-care institutions, and yah, their CEO was in Obozo's office quite a few times before the "law of the land" was cast in stone.
Humdrum, right? Crony capitalism is not new.
Well, some of this crony-ism IS new, and you won't like it.
A very broad government biosurveillance plan that makes your health records a matter of “national security” showed up on my radar today. It opens the door leading to the government having near-real-time access to monitor your health....the reason we might not have heard much about this “sneaky biosurveillance plan that will track American’s health records” is because the 50-page departmental draft (pdf) states, “Do not cite or quote.”
Hmmmm.
It’s regarded as national security, meaning in the same way NSA surveillance was a secret until the Snowden leaks, you won’t even know how your health is being spied upon and shared with others. The 2015-2018 National Health Security Strategy (NHSS) (pdf) will keep track of and share information about not just sick people and sick animals, but even sick plants.
“The information collected by the government will be ‘all-encompassing’ and include ‘what our health status is, whether we exercise, how often we get a cold, or what kind of medications we’re taking,” according to the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF).
And how do you s'pose it will be tracked? Epic Systems' software.
“Officials want a ‘near-real-time’ reporting requirement for electronic data systems. What is a ‘health threat’ or ‘incident’ that could jeopardize our ‘national health security?’ The Strategy says these could include terrorist activities, antibiotic resistance, climate change or subjects surrounding the economic environment. In other words, anything and everything could become a health threat by the government’s standards.”
So. What, exactly, will be tracked by the Ruling Class?
...The draft proposal (pdf) claims NHSS will create “health situational awareness” made up from “many types of health-related and non-health-related data.” A graphic illustration of inputs to health situational awareness includes: non-health sources like informatics, supply chain, energy, environment, event driven, media, social determinants, transportation services, active intelligence and veterinary. Examples of health-related sources include: morbidity and mortality, lab/diagnostics, social service utilization, disease prevalence, health service utilization, public health investigation and response asset data. All of the above are merely part of the big picture, or “examples” of what data feeds into the “biosurveillance” portion of public health and medical situational awareness.
And what does the Ruling Class call this?
...Brase warns that the “government’s biosurveillance plan is much more intrusive than the data collection currently being done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” It “talks about the need for the ‘examination of data from electronic medical records’ and calls for ‘cooperation among federal and non-federal stakeholders, including the scientific community and public and private healthcare providers ... to achieve an efficient and reliable surveillance system.”
But the (R) Party doesn't want to repeal ObozoCare. They want to "fix" it, instead.
You can bet that the 'efficient and reliable surveillance system' will not be "fixed.', folks.
So yah, Epic Systems had a large installed base in health-care institutions, and yah, their CEO was in Obozo's office quite a few times before the "law of the land" was cast in stone.
Humdrum, right? Crony capitalism is not new.
Well, some of this crony-ism IS new, and you won't like it.
A very broad government biosurveillance plan that makes your health records a matter of “national security” showed up on my radar today. It opens the door leading to the government having near-real-time access to monitor your health....the reason we might not have heard much about this “sneaky biosurveillance plan that will track American’s health records” is because the 50-page departmental draft (pdf) states, “Do not cite or quote.”
Hmmmm.
It’s regarded as national security, meaning in the same way NSA surveillance was a secret until the Snowden leaks, you won’t even know how your health is being spied upon and shared with others. The 2015-2018 National Health Security Strategy (NHSS) (pdf) will keep track of and share information about not just sick people and sick animals, but even sick plants.
“The information collected by the government will be ‘all-encompassing’ and include ‘what our health status is, whether we exercise, how often we get a cold, or what kind of medications we’re taking,” according to the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF).
And how do you s'pose it will be tracked? Epic Systems' software.
“Officials want a ‘near-real-time’ reporting requirement for electronic data systems. What is a ‘health threat’ or ‘incident’ that could jeopardize our ‘national health security?’ The Strategy says these could include terrorist activities, antibiotic resistance, climate change or subjects surrounding the economic environment. In other words, anything and everything could become a health threat by the government’s standards.”
So. What, exactly, will be tracked by the Ruling Class?
...The draft proposal (pdf) claims NHSS will create “health situational awareness” made up from “many types of health-related and non-health-related data.” A graphic illustration of inputs to health situational awareness includes: non-health sources like informatics, supply chain, energy, environment, event driven, media, social determinants, transportation services, active intelligence and veterinary. Examples of health-related sources include: morbidity and mortality, lab/diagnostics, social service utilization, disease prevalence, health service utilization, public health investigation and response asset data. All of the above are merely part of the big picture, or “examples” of what data feeds into the “biosurveillance” portion of public health and medical situational awareness.
And what does the Ruling Class call this?
...Brase warns that the “government’s biosurveillance plan is much more intrusive than the data collection currently being done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” It “talks about the need for the ‘examination of data from electronic medical records’ and calls for ‘cooperation among federal and non-federal stakeholders, including the scientific community and public and private healthcare providers ... to achieve an efficient and reliable surveillance system.”
But the (R) Party doesn't want to repeal ObozoCare. They want to "fix" it, instead.
You can bet that the 'efficient and reliable surveillance system' will not be "fixed.', folks.
The Real Perps in Milwaukee
Couldn't have said it better.
Of particular interest: Chisholm, the politically craven cluck, and DiMotto, who's even dumber.
HT: The Invaluable Sykes & Co.
Of particular interest: Chisholm, the politically craven cluck, and DiMotto, who's even dumber.
HT: The Invaluable Sykes & Co.
The Big Boys Got What They Wanted, and....
....it bit them in the ass. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch, either.
Corporate America was an early supporter of Obamacare, because CEOs thought they could “game the system” by dumping their sickest workers onto state and federal healthcare exchanges that are often subsidized by taxpayers. But in an unexpected financially important ruling, the Internal Revenue Service just notifed employers they will be subject to a tax penalty of $100 a day — or $36,500 a year — for each employee who goes into the individual exchange....
The Business Roundtable boyzzzz were perfectly happy to dump their obligations onto taxpayers.
Too bad.
Corporate America was an early supporter of Obamacare, because CEOs thought they could “game the system” by dumping their sickest workers onto state and federal healthcare exchanges that are often subsidized by taxpayers. But in an unexpected financially important ruling, the Internal Revenue Service just notifed employers they will be subject to a tax penalty of $100 a day — or $36,500 a year — for each employee who goes into the individual exchange....
The Business Roundtable boyzzzz were perfectly happy to dump their obligations onto taxpayers.
Too bad.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Walker to "Settle"? It Fits
Apparently Scott Walker wants to "settle" with the John Doe kleagles. While much remains to be learned about this "settlement," the legal beagle for the targets of the Doe is very unhappy.
...David B. Rivkin Jr., lead attorney for Eric O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth, who are taking on the John Doe prosecutors in a civil rights lawsuit, had much to say on the reported potential deal — and the environment in which it may be created.
...David B. Rivkin Jr., lead attorney for Eric O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth, who are taking on the John Doe prosecutors in a civil rights lawsuit, had much to say on the reported potential deal — and the environment in which it may be created.
Rivkin takes aim at the notion by the left and the prosecutors
pushing the probe that Walker’s campaign and the reported 29
conservative groups targeted in the investigation have illegally
coordinated.
"Self-appointed campaign-finance 'watchdogs’ act as if the
Wisconsin Club for Growth is a proxy for the Walker campaign. They and
the John Doe prosecutors assume issue advocacy groups are in cahoots
with candidates whose policies they may support and, for that reason,
those groups’ speech may be regulated by the government and even subject
to criminal penalties. But reporting in today’s Wall Street Journal
explodes that myth," Rivkin wrote in a statement issued to Wisconsin
Reporter....
We mentioned earlier that Capitol rumors have it that Walker quashed the pro-life bills in the State Senate (i.e., he told Fitzgerald to shut them down) for his own political purposes.
Principles, schminciples. We have an election to worry about!
Like I Said: Buy More Ammo!
In these days, it came to pass that the Emperor got worried.
A 2010 Pentagon directive on military support to civilian authorities details what critics say is a troubling policy that envisions the Obama administration’s potential use of military force against Americans.
... Directive No. 3025.18, “Defense Support of Civil Authorities,” was issued Dec. 29, 2010, and states that U.S. commanders “are provided emergency authority under this directive.”
“Federal military forces shall not be used to quell civil disturbances unless specifically authorized by the president in accordance with applicable law or permitted under emergency authority,” the directive states.
“In these circumstances, those federal military commanders have the authority, in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the president is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances” under two conditions.
The conditions include military support needed “to prevent significant loss of life or wanton destruction of property and are necessary to restore governmental function and public order.” A second use is when federal, state and local authorities “are unable or decline to provide adequate protection for federal property or federal governmental functions.”
Hmmmm. 'State authorities....decline to provide adequate protection for [the Feds]'? WHY would THAT happen, eh?
Oh, I know!! I know!!
....A U.S. official said the Obama administration considered but rejected deploying military force under the directive during the recent standoff with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his armed supporters....
Yes, there's more. PajamaBoy President needs a large Palace Guard, ya'know:
Defense analysts say there has been a buildup of military units within non-security-related federal agencies, notably the creation of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams. The buildup has raised questions about whether the Obama administration is undermining civil liberties under the guise of counterterrorism and counternarcotics efforts.
Other agencies with SWAT teams reportedly include the Department of Agriculture, the Railroad Retirement Board, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Office of Personnel Management, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Education Department.
Ag SWAT for Killer Chickens, OPM SWAT for ???, CPSC SWAT for Drug-Crazed Davenports, Ed SWAT for Killer Kindergartners. Ya' never know when the little bastards will haul out their SuperSoakers to attack the Fed Ed 'crats.
Right?
Or, as we're reminded by ColdFury, that Manufacturing Rebellion is just around the corner.
HT: Zippers
A 2010 Pentagon directive on military support to civilian authorities details what critics say is a troubling policy that envisions the Obama administration’s potential use of military force against Americans.
... Directive No. 3025.18, “Defense Support of Civil Authorities,” was issued Dec. 29, 2010, and states that U.S. commanders “are provided emergency authority under this directive.”
“Federal military forces shall not be used to quell civil disturbances unless specifically authorized by the president in accordance with applicable law or permitted under emergency authority,” the directive states.
“In these circumstances, those federal military commanders have the authority, in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the president is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances” under two conditions.
The conditions include military support needed “to prevent significant loss of life or wanton destruction of property and are necessary to restore governmental function and public order.” A second use is when federal, state and local authorities “are unable or decline to provide adequate protection for federal property or federal governmental functions.”
Hmmmm. 'State authorities....decline to provide adequate protection for [the Feds]'? WHY would THAT happen, eh?
Oh, I know!! I know!!
....A U.S. official said the Obama administration considered but rejected deploying military force under the directive during the recent standoff with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his armed supporters....
Yes, there's more. PajamaBoy President needs a large Palace Guard, ya'know:
Defense analysts say there has been a buildup of military units within non-security-related federal agencies, notably the creation of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams. The buildup has raised questions about whether the Obama administration is undermining civil liberties under the guise of counterterrorism and counternarcotics efforts.
Other agencies with SWAT teams reportedly include the Department of Agriculture, the Railroad Retirement Board, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Office of Personnel Management, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Education Department.
Ag SWAT for Killer Chickens, OPM SWAT for ???, CPSC SWAT for Drug-Crazed Davenports, Ed SWAT for Killer Kindergartners. Ya' never know when the little bastards will haul out their SuperSoakers to attack the Fed Ed 'crats.
Right?
Or, as we're reminded by ColdFury, that Manufacturing Rebellion is just around the corner.
HT: Zippers
Monday, May 26, 2014
One Shooter Nabbed; Courts Indicted
The Milwaukee cops nabbed one of the two shooters who shot a 10-y-o girl at a playground.
..Flynn said the 18-year-old man they have in custody has been arrested by Milwaukee police 15 times previously and was on probation. ...
The criminal justice system, hard at work for you!!
..Flynn said the 18-year-old man they have in custody has been arrested by Milwaukee police 15 times previously and was on probation. ...
The criminal justice system, hard at work for you!!
The Unfathomable Stupidity of Obozo & Co.
I suppose that it's "unfathomable stupidity" rather than intentional mayhem against the Republic.
Right?
Right?
Santa Barbara: Koch Brothers!!
Harry Reid will tell us that the Santa Barbara murders were caused by the Koch Brothers.
Al Gore will assign blame to Climate Change.
Our DipsyDoodle President will mention immigration policy.
Al Gore will assign blame to Climate Change.
Our DipsyDoodle President will mention immigration policy.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Image Is All
Apparently the (D) (short for duhhh) party is pushing a new image for Obozo.
Here's the one I think fits best:
Yup. Excellent representation of the subject, with complete fidelity, too!!
HT: PJMedia
Here's the one I think fits best:
Yup. Excellent representation of the subject, with complete fidelity, too!!
HT: PJMedia
Buy More Ammo, With CASH Only
GWBush initiative (Operation SWIFT) becomes Obozo/Holder dream scenario.
In June 2006, the New York Times, over strident pleas not to from the Bush 43 administration, published details of how counterterrorism officials were “tracing transactions of people suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda by reviewing records from the nerve center of the global banking industry.” According to the administration, the program had “helped in the capture of the most wanted Qaeda figure in Southeast Asia.” Other outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, which were apparently on the brink of breaking what the Times reported first, also chipped in with their own supplements. The stories received prominent network TV coverage, and reinforced the image of the Bush administration as secretive and far less than transparent....
Well, yah--because as far as the GWB ops went, 'secretive' was--arguably--a national security imperative.
But just like with the "Patriot Act", good intentions are easily corrupted, especially when corrupt people are regnant. Not by co-incidence, sloppy Congressional law-writing in combination with the Congressional habit of turning all decisionmaking over to the Agencies and Bureaus will invariably result in Bad Things--specifically, Totalitarianism.
...why has the press been barely interested in a far more troubling development, namely Eric Holder’s U.S. Department of Justice using pressure on the financial system to conduct “a massive government overreach into private businesses that are operating within the law,” which has been going on for at least a year? Welcome to “Operation Choke Point.”
The Press never got off its knees in the last 6 years, that's why.
(Quoting American Banker):
On March 20, 2013, federal prosecutor Michael Bresnick gave a little-noticed speech to the Exchequer Club in Washington in which he said that that (the) Justice Department planned to crack down on banks that allowed online scammers to access the payments system. “Sadly, what we’ve seen is that too many banks allow payment processors to continue to maintain accounts within their institutions, despite the presence of glaring red flags indicative of fraud,” said Bresnick,
So far, not all bad. 'Scammers' are evil, right? Your Granny (and your kids) can be ripped off.
...In recent months, Operation Choke Point has increasingly become a political football. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who chairs the House Oversight Committee, wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder in January, requesting a slew of documents and suggesting that the probe was a veiled effort to eliminate even legal online lending. Around the same time, an anonymous online campaign, “Stop the Choke,” sought to persuade conservative lawmakers to attack Justice’s investigation. Then in February, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and 12 other congressional Democrats wrote to Holder urging the Justice Department not to cave in the face of Republican opposition....
DOJ is essentially employing a variant of the tactics former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer used against mutual fund companies last decade: threatening to smear them in the business community and otherwise make their lives miserable unless they settle....
Yah. So?
...There are two problems with this position....
The first is that DOJ doesn’t have the constitutional authority to go after businesses whose illegality has not been established by threatening their bank and financial services providers with legal sanctions and regulatory harassment if they don’t participate in the persecution. There are these things called laws which must be passed to declare certain financial practices and contracts illegal. That hasn’t happened. Short of that, there at least need to be court rulings having the same effect. There is apparently no evidence that DOJ has involved the courts at all.
Yup. This is now. Granted, "the law" never had a close nexus with Obozism/Holderism. And sure enough, when corrupt people get their hands on 'good intentions,' things go directly to Totalitarianism.
(Now quoting Cryptocoin, with link to FDIC website embedded.)
The DOJ is targeting 30 high-risk industries, as labeled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2011, in a report titled “Managing Risks in Third-Party Payment Processor Relationships.”
The FDIC’s list of 30 high-risk merchant categories that are currently being pursued by the DOJ.
Now quoting "Techdirt":
Let’s not mince words: a program that was built upon the goals of stopping financial fraud has devolved into a massive government overreach into private businesses that are operating within the law. … The intention of the government, it would seem, is to make the banks unwilling to deal with the government harassment and simply cut anyone in those industries off from the financial institutions. Nobody is happy about this....
The federal government is lording over legal industries operating within their respective states’ laws and single-handedly directing banking institutions to cut their legs out from beneath them. … It represents a violation of a free and legal marketplace by a government that has as much moral authority as can fit in a thimble.
… This should be terrifying to business owners in every industry. Sure, this time they’re going after some companies that you may not like, be they porn, or payday lenders, or people making racist materials, tobacco, or fireworks. But if those industries are operating within the law, they have the right to exist. The law is the only measure by which the DOJ should be invoking banking policy....
It's not a stretch to say that within 2 years, you will be paying cash-only for guns and ammo--assuming you can find a retailer that's still operating.
So who gives a s*&^ about the Second Amendment (or the Fourth, or Fifth)? Not Obozo/Holder.
In June 2006, the New York Times, over strident pleas not to from the Bush 43 administration, published details of how counterterrorism officials were “tracing transactions of people suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda by reviewing records from the nerve center of the global banking industry.” According to the administration, the program had “helped in the capture of the most wanted Qaeda figure in Southeast Asia.” Other outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, which were apparently on the brink of breaking what the Times reported first, also chipped in with their own supplements. The stories received prominent network TV coverage, and reinforced the image of the Bush administration as secretive and far less than transparent....
Well, yah--because as far as the GWB ops went, 'secretive' was--arguably--a national security imperative.
But just like with the "Patriot Act", good intentions are easily corrupted, especially when corrupt people are regnant. Not by co-incidence, sloppy Congressional law-writing in combination with the Congressional habit of turning all decisionmaking over to the Agencies and Bureaus will invariably result in Bad Things--specifically, Totalitarianism.
...why has the press been barely interested in a far more troubling development, namely Eric Holder’s U.S. Department of Justice using pressure on the financial system to conduct “a massive government overreach into private businesses that are operating within the law,” which has been going on for at least a year? Welcome to “Operation Choke Point.”
The Press never got off its knees in the last 6 years, that's why.
(Quoting American Banker):
On March 20, 2013, federal prosecutor Michael Bresnick gave a little-noticed speech to the Exchequer Club in Washington in which he said that that (the) Justice Department planned to crack down on banks that allowed online scammers to access the payments system. “Sadly, what we’ve seen is that too many banks allow payment processors to continue to maintain accounts within their institutions, despite the presence of glaring red flags indicative of fraud,” said Bresnick,
So far, not all bad. 'Scammers' are evil, right? Your Granny (and your kids) can be ripped off.
...In recent months, Operation Choke Point has increasingly become a political football. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who chairs the House Oversight Committee, wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder in January, requesting a slew of documents and suggesting that the probe was a veiled effort to eliminate even legal online lending. Around the same time, an anonymous online campaign, “Stop the Choke,” sought to persuade conservative lawmakers to attack Justice’s investigation. Then in February, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and 12 other congressional Democrats wrote to Holder urging the Justice Department not to cave in the face of Republican opposition....
DOJ is essentially employing a variant of the tactics former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer used against mutual fund companies last decade: threatening to smear them in the business community and otherwise make their lives miserable unless they settle....
Yah. So?
...There are two problems with this position....
The first is that DOJ doesn’t have the constitutional authority to go after businesses whose illegality has not been established by threatening their bank and financial services providers with legal sanctions and regulatory harassment if they don’t participate in the persecution. There are these things called laws which must be passed to declare certain financial practices and contracts illegal. That hasn’t happened. Short of that, there at least need to be court rulings having the same effect. There is apparently no evidence that DOJ has involved the courts at all.
Yup. This is now. Granted, "the law" never had a close nexus with Obozism/Holderism. And sure enough, when corrupt people get their hands on 'good intentions,' things go directly to Totalitarianism.
(Now quoting Cryptocoin, with link to FDIC website embedded.)
The DOJ is targeting 30 high-risk industries, as labeled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2011, in a report titled “Managing Risks in Third-Party Payment Processor Relationships.”
The FDIC’s list of 30 high-risk merchant categories that are currently being pursued by the DOJ.
Ammunition SalesThe red-highlighted items are not necessarily "illegal" businesses. Some may be extremely distasteful, some are abusive, and certainly, every one of the operations on this list (red OR blue) could be run by criminals. But that's not the point.
Cable Box De-scramblers
Coin Dealers
Credit Card Schemes
Credit Repair Services
Dating Services
Debt Consolidation Scams
Drug Paraphernalia
Escort Services
Firearms Sales
Fireworks Sales
Get Rich Products
Government Grants
Home-Based Charities
Life-Time Guarantees
Life-Time Memberships
Lottery Sales
Mailing Lists/Personal Info
Money Transfer Networks
On-line Gambling
PayDay Loans
Pharmaceutical Sales
Ponzi Schemes
Pornography
Pyramid-Type Sales
Racist Materials
Surveillance Equipment
Telemarketing
Tobacco Sales
Travel Clubs
Now quoting "Techdirt":
Let’s not mince words: a program that was built upon the goals of stopping financial fraud has devolved into a massive government overreach into private businesses that are operating within the law. … The intention of the government, it would seem, is to make the banks unwilling to deal with the government harassment and simply cut anyone in those industries off from the financial institutions. Nobody is happy about this....
The federal government is lording over legal industries operating within their respective states’ laws and single-handedly directing banking institutions to cut their legs out from beneath them. … It represents a violation of a free and legal marketplace by a government that has as much moral authority as can fit in a thimble.
… This should be terrifying to business owners in every industry. Sure, this time they’re going after some companies that you may not like, be they porn, or payday lenders, or people making racist materials, tobacco, or fireworks. But if those industries are operating within the law, they have the right to exist. The law is the only measure by which the DOJ should be invoking banking policy....
It's not a stretch to say that within 2 years, you will be paying cash-only for guns and ammo--assuming you can find a retailer that's still operating.
So who gives a s*&^ about the Second Amendment (or the Fourth, or Fifth)? Not Obozo/Holder.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Sensenbrenner Brags, NSA Rejoices
Jim Sensenbrenner is bragging that his USA FREEDOM act passed.
Justin Amash, who had originally co-sponsored the act, voted against it. Why?
“This morning's bill maintains and codifies a large-scale, unconstitutional domestic spying program,” Amash wrote on his Facebook page. “It claims to end ‘bulk collection' of Americans' data only in a very technical sense: The bill prohibits the government from, for example, ordering a telephone company to turn over all its call records every day.”
... For example, the government could order AT&T to turn over all phone records for a particular area code or for “phone calls made east of the Mississippi,” according to Amash.
The current bill also extends the Patriot Act’s controversial section 215, which allows for the bulk collection of data, until 2017. The original bill expired that section in 2015.
In other words, Jim Sensenbrenner--who wrote the Patriot Act that was "mis-used" by NSA--wrote another bill which doesn't really stop NSA surveillance of US citizens.
Jim kinda likes the Gummint, ya' know. He's lived on it for a long, long, long, long, long, time.
Justin Amash, who had originally co-sponsored the act, voted against it. Why?
“This morning's bill maintains and codifies a large-scale, unconstitutional domestic spying program,” Amash wrote on his Facebook page. “It claims to end ‘bulk collection' of Americans' data only in a very technical sense: The bill prohibits the government from, for example, ordering a telephone company to turn over all its call records every day.”
... For example, the government could order AT&T to turn over all phone records for a particular area code or for “phone calls made east of the Mississippi,” according to Amash.
The current bill also extends the Patriot Act’s controversial section 215, which allows for the bulk collection of data, until 2017. The original bill expired that section in 2015.
In other words, Jim Sensenbrenner--who wrote the Patriot Act that was "mis-used" by NSA--wrote another bill which doesn't really stop NSA surveillance of US citizens.
Jim kinda likes the Gummint, ya' know. He's lived on it for a long, long, long, long, long, time.
What Abp. Listecki SHOULD Be Prioritizing
The Archbishop of Milwaukee has been busy attempting to resolve the bankruptcy case precipitated by two of his predecessors (Weakland and Cousins). He's also been busy attempting to silence the growing dissent over his apparatchik's ramming Common Core into the Archdiocesan schools.
Prioritizing the former is appropriate but secondary. Prioritizing the latter is silly at best, and threatens the unity of the Church, especially with the incendiary and borderline-slanderous flapjaw of his designated mouthpiece on the matter.
What should the Archbishop be prioritizing? Exactly what the Second Vatican Council (in several documents) described as "the source and summit" of Catholic life: the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Specifically, the Archbishop should be focusing on the clear and continuous teachings and regulations concerning that 'source and summit', particularly the music therein.
(Perhaps it's just co-incidence, but the mouthpiece above has openly bragged at least twice that he's not a liturgical "fusspot." Apparently he's only a "fusspot" when it comes to demanding that the Faithful shut up and obey about Common Core. Other "fusspotting"--say, about the 'source and summit'--well, that's just silly. A waste of breath, time, and his intellectual superiority.)
Uh-huh.
Let's begin with a takeoff on the thinking of Marshall McLuhan, who happens to be Catholic. Recall his famous dictum that "the medium is the message" here utilized in an essay in Patheos:
“The music of the Mass is made similar to the
music of our culture. The demeanor of the Mass is made similar to the
“Christian services” of our culture. The clothing we wear to Mass is made
similar to our everyday clothing. The posture, structure, language,
architecture, the position of priest to people — all this, and nearly anything
that can be presented in a mode of similarity is thus presented. And, in a
sense, it works. People come. But what does the mode of similarity do to the
way in which people encounter the Mass? What does the mode do to the message?
Indeed. One does not go to the tavern to hear sacred music. What on earth possesses diocesan priests who want their flocks in the church to hear variations on "Evita" and/or third-rate Elton John tunesmithing from Haugen, et.al., dressed up with 'hymn-language'?
The good news for Abp. Listecki is this: another US Bishop has written a clear and concise document on the matter. H.E. Listecki could re-publish it and tell his priests that he expects them to....ahhh....shut up and obey. (Of course, he might then be called a "fusspot", as is--apparently--the Bishop of Phoenix.)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1157) makes a direct reference to St. Augustine’s experience when it teaches that the music and song of the liturgy “participate in the purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful.”
The
Council’s enthusiastic rediscovery and promotion of sacred music was not meant
to discourage “religious” music but rather to encourage it — assuming the clear distinction and proper
relationship between them.
Priorities, Your Excellency.
Prioritizing the former is appropriate but secondary. Prioritizing the latter is silly at best, and threatens the unity of the Church, especially with the incendiary and borderline-slanderous flapjaw of his designated mouthpiece on the matter.
What should the Archbishop be prioritizing? Exactly what the Second Vatican Council (in several documents) described as "the source and summit" of Catholic life: the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Specifically, the Archbishop should be focusing on the clear and continuous teachings and regulations concerning that 'source and summit', particularly the music therein.
(Perhaps it's just co-incidence, but the mouthpiece above has openly bragged at least twice that he's not a liturgical "fusspot." Apparently he's only a "fusspot" when it comes to demanding that the Faithful shut up and obey about Common Core. Other "fusspotting"--say, about the 'source and summit'--well, that's just silly. A waste of breath, time, and his intellectual superiority.)
Uh-huh.
Let's begin with a takeoff on the thinking of Marshall McLuhan, who happens to be Catholic. Recall his famous dictum that "the medium is the message" here utilized in an essay in Patheos:
“This possibility of undoing the message by the mode in
which you yodel gains special importance with respect to the Divine Liturgy.
Catholics have, for the past 60 years or so, tended towards presenting the
Divine Liturgy in a mode of similarity. We want to “get people to come,”
and so we strive to make our liturgies similar to other experiences, to provide
that condition by which someone may enter comfortably into its presence, as I
am comfortable to be in the presence of someone I already know, comfortable to
engage a conversation with people who have similar interests, similar views.
Indeed. One does not go to the tavern to hear sacred music. What on earth possesses diocesan priests who want their flocks in the church to hear variations on "Evita" and/or third-rate Elton John tunesmithing from Haugen, et.al., dressed up with 'hymn-language'?
The good news for Abp. Listecki is this: another US Bishop has written a clear and concise document on the matter. H.E. Listecki could re-publish it and tell his priests that he expects them to....ahhh....shut up and obey. (Of course, he might then be called a "fusspot", as is--apparently--the Bishop of Phoenix.)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1157) makes a direct reference to St. Augustine’s experience when it teaches that the music and song of the liturgy “participate in the purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful.”
The Mass itself is a song; it is meant to be sung. Recall
that the Gospels only tell us of one time when Jesus sings: when he institutes
the Holy Eucharist (Cf. Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26). We should not be surprised, then,
that Christ sings when he institutes the sacramentum
caritatis (the Sacrament of love), and that for the vast majority of the
past 2,000 years, the various parts of the Mass have been sung by priests and
lay faithful. In the 1960s, the Second Vatican Council strongly encouraged a
rediscovery of the ancient concept of singing the Mass: “[The musical tradition
of the universal Church] forms a necessary or integral part of solemn liturgy”
(Sacrosanctum Concilium,112). The Mass
is most itself when it is sung.
This recent rediscovery of “singing the Mass” did not begin with the Second Vatican Council.
Following a movement that stretches back at least to Pope Saint Pius X in 1903,
Pope Pius XII wrote in 1955, “The dignity and lofty purpose of sacred music
consists in the fact that its lovely melodies and splendor beautify and
embellish the voices of the priest who offers Mass and of the Christian people
who praise the Sovereign God” (Musicae Sacrae Disciplina, #31).
Sacred music is distinct from the broader category of what
we may call “religious” music, that which aids and supports Christian faith but
is not primarily a part of the sacred liturgy. “Religious” music includes
various devotional music, such as much popular hymnody, “praise and worship”
music, as well as a host of other musical forms.
Sacred music is, in the narrowest sense, that music created
to support, elevate, and better express the
words and actions of the sacred liturgy. The Council praises it as music
“closely connected…with the liturgical action” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 112),
for example, the Order of Mass (dialogues between ministers and people, the
unchanging framework of the Mass), the Ordinary of the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, The
Creed, Sanctus and Agnus Dei), and the Proper of the Mass (the priest’s sung
prayers, the Responsorial Psalm, Alleluia and Verses, the antiphons and psalms
prescribed for the processions [specifically, the Introit, Offertory, and
Communion processions]).
Sacred music is distinct from the
broader category of what we may call “religious” music, that which aids and
supports Christian faith but is not primarily a part of the sacred liturgy.
“Religious” music includes various devotional music such as much popular
hymnody, “praise and worship” music, as well as a host of other musical forms.
Priorities, Your Excellency.
VA Problems? It's "Da Union."
Responding to the VA scandal, the House passed a bill which would dminish Da Union's power to negate firing of Da Union's members.
It's not hard to tell who is on Da Union's side here. 33 (D) Congress-slimes voted against it.
...House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) and House Assistant Minority Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), all voted in opposition. All 33 votes against the measure came from Democrats....
There's an interesting history here.
...President Carter's biggest domestic policy achievement was winning passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 that included several desperately needed changes in the federal bureaucracy.
The most important of those changes was creation of the Senior Executive Service, the highest level of career managers, and the Merit Pay program for federal middle managers.
Both the SES and Merit Pay managers were put under a Pay-for-Performance system and could be more easily disciplined, transferred or removed entirely from the civil service than before.
Of all people! Carter!!
But that didn't last too long. The Hildebeeste's hubby un-did that.
...the Clinton administration gave the employee unions significantly more power, the Bush administration ignored civil service issues and the Obama administration consolidated union power and privileges in the federal workplace....
The Examiner's item points out that the bill will have repercussions which go far beyond VA--which is why Da Union is going to do everything in its considerable power to block the legislation in the Senate.
In Wisconsin, we are well-aware of Da Union's (former) ability to suck the taxpayer dry. We are also aware that all it takes to slap Da Union into the next galaxy is the Tea Party.
It's not hard to tell who is on Da Union's side here. 33 (D) Congress-slimes voted against it.
...House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) and House Assistant Minority Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), all voted in opposition. All 33 votes against the measure came from Democrats....
There's an interesting history here.
...President Carter's biggest domestic policy achievement was winning passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 that included several desperately needed changes in the federal bureaucracy.
The most important of those changes was creation of the Senior Executive Service, the highest level of career managers, and the Merit Pay program for federal middle managers.
Both the SES and Merit Pay managers were put under a Pay-for-Performance system and could be more easily disciplined, transferred or removed entirely from the civil service than before.
Of all people! Carter!!
But that didn't last too long. The Hildebeeste's hubby un-did that.
...the Clinton administration gave the employee unions significantly more power, the Bush administration ignored civil service issues and the Obama administration consolidated union power and privileges in the federal workplace....
The Examiner's item points out that the bill will have repercussions which go far beyond VA--which is why Da Union is going to do everything in its considerable power to block the legislation in the Senate.
In Wisconsin, we are well-aware of Da Union's (former) ability to suck the taxpayer dry. We are also aware that all it takes to slap Da Union into the next galaxy is the Tea Party.
The Pope: "Homosexual Marriage Is Contrary to Nature"
There's a reason that the homosex-marriage people frame the argument as one of 'religion.' It's because 'religion' (and truth) has been relative-ized in what remains of Western culture.
St. John Paul II saw that, as did Benedict XVI; JPII therefore argued from truth in his theology of the body; Benedict, on the other hand, argued against 'the culture of relativism.'
Pope Francis argues from nature, as did JPII.
...the Pope has rejected the idea of same-sex marriage as an “anthropological regression” and stressed that when it comes to adoption, “every person needs a male father and a female mother.”
Pope Francis explained his views on these hot-button issues in his book, On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century, which he co-wrote with Rabbi Abraham Skorka in 2010 and which was republished after the then-Argentine cardinal was elected to the papacy in March 2013.
The book is a dialogue between Skorka and the future Pope and includes a chapter on same-sex marriage, which is where the pontiff also talks about adoption.
Looks like Pope Francis will not again grace the cover of Time Maga-rag, eh?
Skorka first explains that Judaism “prohibits sexual relations between two men” and then expresses worry about how a proposed gay-marriage law in Argentina could change “the core values of our society.”
Pope Francis (then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio) says, “I have the exact same opinion; in order to define it I would use the expression ‘anthropologic regression,’ a weakening of the [marriage] institution that is thousands of years old and that was forged according to nature and anthropology.”
It's not only Jews and Catholics, of course. There is NO civilization on the face of the Earth which endorses homosexual "marriage." (And for those of you who argue that black-robed lawyers represent 'civilization,' let's remember Dred Scott and Roe.)
In the end, Francis, JPII, and Benedict all argued from "what is", the epistemology of truth. "What is" also is the essential of nature. It's why rain falls down, not up.
But none are so blind as those who will not see; another Jewish/Catholic maxim which just so happens to be true, and conforms with nature.
St. John Paul II saw that, as did Benedict XVI; JPII therefore argued from truth in his theology of the body; Benedict, on the other hand, argued against 'the culture of relativism.'
Pope Francis argues from nature, as did JPII.
...the Pope has rejected the idea of same-sex marriage as an “anthropological regression” and stressed that when it comes to adoption, “every person needs a male father and a female mother.”
Pope Francis explained his views on these hot-button issues in his book, On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century, which he co-wrote with Rabbi Abraham Skorka in 2010 and which was republished after the then-Argentine cardinal was elected to the papacy in March 2013.
The book is a dialogue between Skorka and the future Pope and includes a chapter on same-sex marriage, which is where the pontiff also talks about adoption.
Looks like Pope Francis will not again grace the cover of Time Maga-rag, eh?
Skorka first explains that Judaism “prohibits sexual relations between two men” and then expresses worry about how a proposed gay-marriage law in Argentina could change “the core values of our society.”
Pope Francis (then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio) says, “I have the exact same opinion; in order to define it I would use the expression ‘anthropologic regression,’ a weakening of the [marriage] institution that is thousands of years old and that was forged according to nature and anthropology.”
It's not only Jews and Catholics, of course. There is NO civilization on the face of the Earth which endorses homosexual "marriage." (And for those of you who argue that black-robed lawyers represent 'civilization,' let's remember Dred Scott and Roe.)
In the end, Francis, JPII, and Benedict all argued from "what is", the epistemology of truth. "What is" also is the essential of nature. It's why rain falls down, not up.
But none are so blind as those who will not see; another Jewish/Catholic maxim which just so happens to be true, and conforms with nature.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Doctor/Patient Confidences? Not in Obozo's America
Noted by Ticker, from CNS News:
The federal government is piecing together a sweeping national “biosurveillance” system that will give bureaucrats near real-time access to Americans’ private medical information in the name of national security, according to Twila Brase, a public health nurse and co-founder of the Citizens Council for Health Freedom.
Sure. It's "national security" whether you have hemorrhoids in ObozoLand.
The federal government is piecing together a sweeping national “biosurveillance” system that will give bureaucrats near real-time access to Americans’ private medical information in the name of national security, according to Twila Brase, a public health nurse and co-founder of the Citizens Council for Health Freedom.
Sure. It's "national security" whether you have hemorrhoids in ObozoLand.
Monday, May 19, 2014
The Business Model of the Abortion Industry
Anyone who saw the "sex-ed" curricula rammed into Wisconsin schools back in the '70's/'80's knew what the results would be. Now comes the admission from an ex-Planned Parenthood Abortion Revenue employee.
The business model is simple: 1) Get 'em while they're young, 2) establish trust, and 3) sell them the "service". Cha-Ching!! You've monetized!!
...Public school sexual education programs run by pro-choice groups “break down the natural modesty (of students), they separate them from their parents and their values … and they eventually give them low-dose birth control pills they know they’ll get pregnant on,” Everett told Progressives Today.
...many parents don’t understand what their children are learning about sex at school, or more importantly, how their kids are being targeted as potential clients by the abortion industry.
“We went to the schools as early as kindergarten,” Everett said of her years working in the industry. During those sessions, sex ed instructors “are planting the seed (in student’s minds) that parents don’t know what they are talking about.”
In elementary schools, the sex ed curriculum utilizes several books – such as Robie H. Harris’ “It’s So Amazing,” “It’s Perfectly Normal,” and “It’s Not the Stork” – to acclimate students to the idea of sex, and to promote sexual behaviors....
Yup.
...By fifth or sixth grade, the curriculum turns to “talking about having sex” and intentionally encourages a “parents don’t understand you” mentality.
“That’s when we gave them the low-dose birth control we know they’ll get pregnant on,” Everett said. The pills must be taken at exactly the same time every day, something those administering the pills know is very difficult, if not impossible, for most teens, she said.
Inevitably, many young girls become pregnant while still in school. Scared, vulnerable, and conditioned to avoid discussions of a sexual nature with their parents, they call the only people they think they can trust.
When crisis pregnancy counselors at Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics get a troubled young girl on the line, “they … pull out their abortion script and use that to sell an abortion,” Everett said.
By the way, repeat business is best!!
“It’s more deceptive than people realize,” Everett said. “The abortion industry sells and re-sells their product.
“Our goal was three to five abortions per student for every student we could get.”
About 45 percent of women who have an abortion have more than one, she said.
Any questions, class?
HT: Gateway
The business model is simple: 1) Get 'em while they're young, 2) establish trust, and 3) sell them the "service". Cha-Ching!! You've monetized!!
...Public school sexual education programs run by pro-choice groups “break down the natural modesty (of students), they separate them from their parents and their values … and they eventually give them low-dose birth control pills they know they’ll get pregnant on,” Everett told Progressives Today.
...many parents don’t understand what their children are learning about sex at school, or more importantly, how their kids are being targeted as potential clients by the abortion industry.
“We went to the schools as early as kindergarten,” Everett said of her years working in the industry. During those sessions, sex ed instructors “are planting the seed (in student’s minds) that parents don’t know what they are talking about.”
In elementary schools, the sex ed curriculum utilizes several books – such as Robie H. Harris’ “It’s So Amazing,” “It’s Perfectly Normal,” and “It’s Not the Stork” – to acclimate students to the idea of sex, and to promote sexual behaviors....
Yup.
...By fifth or sixth grade, the curriculum turns to “talking about having sex” and intentionally encourages a “parents don’t understand you” mentality.
“That’s when we gave them the low-dose birth control we know they’ll get pregnant on,” Everett said. The pills must be taken at exactly the same time every day, something those administering the pills know is very difficult, if not impossible, for most teens, she said.
Inevitably, many young girls become pregnant while still in school. Scared, vulnerable, and conditioned to avoid discussions of a sexual nature with their parents, they call the only people they think they can trust.
When crisis pregnancy counselors at Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics get a troubled young girl on the line, “they … pull out their abortion script and use that to sell an abortion,” Everett said.
By the way, repeat business is best!!
“It’s more deceptive than people realize,” Everett said. “The abortion industry sells and re-sells their product.
“Our goal was three to five abortions per student for every student we could get.”
About 45 percent of women who have an abortion have more than one, she said.
Any questions, class?
HT: Gateway
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Even MORE ObozoCare Trouble
Yah, well, the website didn't work, and you can't keep your plan, nor your doctor, prolly not your hospital, and the insurers will be given tax money by the ton next year.
Otherwise, all dandy, right?
Not if you have an ObozoCare policy.
The Washington Post has learned that more than a million Americans who signed up for Obamacare insurance policies are being paid too much or too little in taxpayer funded subsidies.
Bad enough, right? It gets worse
The process by which the government informs these taxpayers that they are receiving an incorrect subsidy has broken down, or is not even in place yet. In their unholy rush to sign people up and “prove” Obamacare “works,” the administration has created a monstrously confusing situation that won’t be resolved any time soon....
If you are over-subsidized, you'll find out next year when you do your taxes. Then you'll have to pay the bill.
Yes, there's even MORE trouble. Read all about it at the link.
Otherwise, all dandy, right?
Not if you have an ObozoCare policy.
The Washington Post has learned that more than a million Americans who signed up for Obamacare insurance policies are being paid too much or too little in taxpayer funded subsidies.
Bad enough, right? It gets worse
The process by which the government informs these taxpayers that they are receiving an incorrect subsidy has broken down, or is not even in place yet. In their unholy rush to sign people up and “prove” Obamacare “works,” the administration has created a monstrously confusing situation that won’t be resolved any time soon....
If you are over-subsidized, you'll find out next year when you do your taxes. Then you'll have to pay the bill.
Yes, there's even MORE trouble. Read all about it at the link.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Sensenbrenner Worried About Attack Chickens!!
We mentioned that the USDA was purchasing submachine guns (.40 cal) in preparation for ......well.......maybe.......ATTACK CHICKENS!
As it turns out, Jim Sensenbrenner voted for the legislation which allows USDA to establish its own mini-army. Evidently Sensenbrenner was aware of the ATTACK CHICKEN menace.
He'll be in the district this weekend. Ask him about ATTACK CHICKENS. Then ask why he did not vote to de-fund ObozoCare when it counted. (Fake "no" votes don't count in this game, Jimbo.) For that matter, why didn't he vote to cut the bloated cesspool that is the US budget?
Finally, ask when he's going to retire to play the lottery full-time.
As it turns out, Jim Sensenbrenner voted for the legislation which allows USDA to establish its own mini-army. Evidently Sensenbrenner was aware of the ATTACK CHICKEN menace.
He'll be in the district this weekend. Ask him about ATTACK CHICKENS. Then ask why he did not vote to de-fund ObozoCare when it counted. (Fake "no" votes don't count in this game, Jimbo.) For that matter, why didn't he vote to cut the bloated cesspool that is the US budget?
Finally, ask when he's going to retire to play the lottery full-time.
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