Quote of the Day - Marco Rubio Edition

Let's be clear. Nobody is talking about preventing the legalization. The legalization is going to happen. That means the following will happen: First comes the legalization. Then come the measures to secure the border. And then comes the process of permanent residence

Ok, I am done.  I want to see immigration reform.  Especially when it comes to visa reform.  But until the borders is secured, there is nothing to talk about.  Luckily it seems that they can't get the house on board.

Shame on you Senator Rubio, shame on you.

Rand Paul on NSAGate and Immigration

Quote of the Day - Herman Cain Edition

Hey, South Carolina! If we ask nicely, will you give us more Gowdy and less Graham? ...please?

LOL   

Press Release of James Clapper on Verizon Phone Records

DNI Statement on Activities Authorized Under Section 702 of FISA

Thursday, June 06, 2013

• 

June 6, 2013

DNI Statement on Activities Authorized Under Section 702 of FISA
The Guardian and The Washington Post articles refer to collection of communications pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.  They contain numerous inaccuracies.

Section 702 is a provision of FISA that is designed to facilitate the acquisition of foreign intelligence information concerning non-U.S. persons located outside the United States.  It cannot be used to intentionally target any U.S. citizen, any other U.S. person, or anyone located within the United States.

Activities authorized by Section 702 are subject to oversight by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the Executive Branch, and Congress. They involve extensive procedures, specifically approved by the court, to ensure that only non-U.S. persons outside the U.S. are targeted, and that minimize the acquisition, retention and dissemination of incidentally acquired information about U.S. persons.

Section 702 was recently reauthorized by Congress after extensive hearings and debate.
  
Information collected under this program is among the most important and valuable foreign intelligence information we collect, and is used to protect our nation from a wide variety of threats. 

The unauthorized disclosure of information about this important and entirely legal program is reprehensible and risks important protections for the security of Americans.


James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence 

Quote of the Day - ACLU Edition

‘It Is Beyond Orwellian’

On the news of the Obama administration gathering of Verizon phone information.  This doesn't happen all that often, but I agree.   

Quote of the Day - Louie Gohmert Edition

 "We've all got an Obama phone now"

LOL.

This is a very serious issue, but a little levity never hurts.

The Incredible Ego of Anthony Weiner

As we all know Anthony Weiner has decided that he wants to be New York City's next mayor.  Now let's be honest here, he won't be all that much of  a step down from Nanny Bloomberg, but he really does expect people to forget his perv past.  Apparently he doesn't even like it when a democrat questions him on it.  District leader Chris Owens asked:

“I have a three-word question: How dare you?”

“I am outraged and disgusted by you.  Both by what you did and by the fact that you have the arrogance to run for mayor.

“I want to understand how you explain to us how you used a public facility to tweet offensive material to . . . minors you did not know, you then lied about it . . . and now you come back.”

His response:

“I appreciate the question Chris, and I know some people may feel that way.

“I think it might be influenced in part . . . [because] I supported Yvette Clarke over you when you ran for Congress [in 2006.]”

“I apologize to you, but now people have to decide whether or not that disqualifies me.
“Frankly, everyone wasn’t going to vote for me whether I did that or not.”

But he fully expects people to vote for him in spite of it:

When asked about how he handle a teacher accused of doing the same type of thing his response was:

“If you believe that my personal failings disqualify me, then don’t vote for me. I’m going to win this election and I’m going to govern this city really well. You’re supporting another candidate who’s not going to win.”

Sadly I am not even stunned by this.  I should be, but I am not.  This is what our government has come to.  We elect people who have shown through their actions that they can't be trusted.  The truth is this, we get the government that we deserve.  When we have candidates that can text obscene photos of their private parts to underage strangers and they truly believe that they still have a political future there can be no wonder why our country is in such a mess.

Elected officials are entrusted with tax payers dollars, they make choices that affect how we live our daily lives, and expecting them to be someone who has character and sense of decency isn't a great deal to ask.  We all make mistakes, we all have things in our lives that we wish we could take back, but sexting pics of your penis and various stages of undress, while in a building that is paid for by the tax payers, really is a step too far.  The fact that he even may have a chance to become an elected official again is nothing short of tragic.

Do we really have any chance of turning this ship around if this is the type of people we elect?   Congressman Mark Sanford should not be in congress and Anthony Weiner shouldn't be the next mayor of New York City.  Morality matters, no matter what letter you put after your name.

Kathleen Sebelius and Organ Transplants

I am most likely not going to make many friends with this post, but oh well, here it goes anyway.

I have been somewhat following the story of  Sarah Murnaghan, the ten-year CF patient, that is dying due to her lungs being in such bad shape due to her illness.  Absolutely tragic story.  One of the guidelines of the transplant lists UNOS is that children receiving adult organs must be 12 or older.  Of course that number is for the most part arbitrary, the data shows that children don't always do well with adult organs.  Although it seems that is less common with lungs.

Sarah's parents are talking to every media outlet they can to raise awareness to this issue.  I would hope that any parent would do the same.  As a parent, part of your responsibility is to be an advocate for your child.  This mom is trying to save her daughter's life.  I can't imagine being in her position.  I couldn't hate someone enough to wish this on anyone.

A congressman from Pennsylvania has asked Kathleen Sebelius to waive this requirement and allow her to be put on the adult waiting list.  Sebelius has declined that request.

“I would suggest, sir, that, again, this is an incredibly agonizing situation where someone lives and someone dies,” Sebelius replied. “The medical evidence and the transplant doctors who are making the rule — and have had the rule in place since 2005 making a delineation between pediatric and adult lungs, because lungs are different that other organs — that it’s based on the survivability [chances].”

While this is a very hard thing to do when the life of a ten-year old is hanging in the balance, these decisions must be made without emotion.  What she said is 100% true.  When making decisions about who gets the organ and who doesn't is a life and death decision.  Many people die every year while waiting for an organ to become available.

Dr. Stuart Sweet, director of the pediatric lung transplant program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis says this:

When asked about concerns over whether adult candidates who are less sick are getting transplants instead of sick children, Sweet said, “There’s no way to really answer that question.” He said the number of adults who die waiting for an organ transplant greatly exceeds the number of children.

"The reality is ... the numbers suggest that there are lots of patients who are running out of time on the waiting list and many more patients run out of time ... in the older age group than the younger group,"

The question also becomes does she even have the legal authority to waive this rule?  The UNOS list is not a federal list.  It is done by a private organization that has government oversight, but operates independently.   This is one of the few things in our country that are still done by need.  The only exception being that before being put on the list you must be able to prove that you can pay for the medications that are mandatory for all transplant patients after surgery.  In most cases that will be done through medical insurance.

We have to look at outcomes when these decisions are made.  There are only so many organs to go around.  This from The Mayo Clinic on lung transplants on CF patients:

• Lung transplant. If you have severe breathing problems, life-threatening lung complications or increasing resistance to antibiotics used to treat lung infections, lung transplantation may be an option. Because both lungs are affected by cystic fibrosis, both need to be replaced. Lung transplants for people with cystic fibrosis are controversial because studies indicate the procedure is associated with many complications, and may not prolong life or enhance quality of life.

We also have to remember that is said to be "end stage".  CF affects more than just the lungs.  It also damages the liver, causes intestinal damage and quite a few other problems.  What are her other health issues?  Like it or not in cases such as these survivability rates must be taken into consideration.  Doesn't it make more sense to give the limited amount of organs to people who have the most likelihood to survive?  Now, I am not saying that Sarah is not one of these people, she may well be.  But the truth is we aren't hearing that side of the story.  We are hearing the pleas from a family who is facing the loss of a child.  

It is very possible that we need to look at these rules again.  As medical advances are made it may be very possible that putting adult organs into children has gotten to be an easier procedure than in the past and that number can be lowered or even done away with.  But looking at that data is going to take more time than she has.  As an update to this story, her family has filed a lawsuit this afternoon asking a judge to waive the rule while the regulations are being studied again.  

This sounds cruel and looks nothing less than wicked in writing, but these decisions must be made by medical need, not emotion.  Again, I wouldn't do anything different if Sarah was my child.  I would do everything possible to save the life of my child.  But we have to step away from the emotion of this and look at the medicine of the situation.  This has nothing to do with Obamacare, as I have heard ballied about today and yesterday.  These rules were in place long before he even took office let alone before Obamacare became law, current regulations came into place in 05.  

The amount of available organs in this country are few and become even fewer for young children.  The organs must go to the people who are the most likely to have a positive outcome.  We cannot run an organ donor list based on giving to the squeaky wheel, who has more money, more prestige, or any thing other than medical need and survivability rates. The science at the time when these rules were put into place said that a young child taking an adult lung wasn't that person.  

A very sad truth is that someone has to die in order for this child to live.  Another sad truth is that an adult who likely is just as ill will not get the organs if she does.  There are no good outcomes in this situation.  47 people in her state are on the adult list waiting for the same organ.  We should take a step back and realize that not everything is political.  This tragic story isn't about politics, it is about a family facing the loss of their child and being helpless, and an organ list that will always make a choice about who gets a second chance of life and who doesn't.  Sad, but true.  

Kathleen Sebelius did exactly the right thing, she left these choices up to medical professionals instead of getting the government involved. This is exactly what conservatives say they want.  

  

Mint Juleps and the Stay at Home Mom (or Dad)

"There are some people who want to lean in. There are some people who want to lean back and be on a rocking chair drinking a mint julep."

Yep, this is the latest attack on SAHM's.  Sadly, this one came from a "republican", Ana Navarro on Meet the Press over the weekend.

It is now almost 10:15.  I have made breakfast on two different occasions.  I am on my second load of laundry, I have read three books, hung some crayon art, and am presently getting ready for some finger painting.  I will need to make some lunches, pick someone up from school about an hour after that.  Then I will have snack time and listen to all the adventures that went on in school today.   Two play dates will follow the snacks.  My kitchen floor is a mess and must be cleaned today (I hope anyway).  Grocery shopping must be done before dinner if I want to eat.  I have dishes that need to be put away, fold the laundry, put it away, take the dog out for her walk (which I try to make at least a mile, she is a big dog and needs a great deal of exercise).   I will have a few more stories to read before the day is over, bath times, a dinner to make, a birthday cake to bake for tomorrow, a church meeting to attend, a blog to keep up with, a man that I need pay attention to as well.   Oh yeah, I have yet to make the beds, I am still somewhat getting a new house in order, three handwritten thank you notes to write; I guess I have a stop at the post office to make too!  The flower beds need some tending, I had the windows opened last night to save a little money on the electric bill, so the chances are good I have to wipe off the window sills; allergies.  

She then went on to slam the even smaller community of  the SAHD:

When I say in my house that I want to be a kept woman, the answer I get back is I want to be a kept man. So, you know, that`s not working -- it`s not working in my house.

A kept woman?  That is what she thinks I am.  I looked up recently the costs of what I do every day.  It is about $60K per year.  Personally I think that is very low.   I think I am being way underpaid, but I don 't mind.  This is what I CHOOSE to do.  I am not being forced, I am not doing this against my will, nor do I put other women who make other choices down.  Some families simply cannot afford for a parent to stay home.  Some women put a great deal of time into getting an education (I graduated from an Ivy League school by the way) and decide not to put that on hold while raising their children.

I know plenty of single mothers who have done an incredible job raising their kids.  One of my high school friends has two kids in college now and they both are honor students, very motivated, happy, healthy, well-adjusted young adults figuring out their place in the world.  I also know people who had stay at home moms are very troubled.  There is no one way to guarantee your children will grow up to be well-adjusted adults, but virtually all studies show that children that have both parents in the home and a mother who stays at home statistically will do better.

Wanting to give that best chance to my children doesn't make me lazy or someone who is sitting in a rocking chair drinking day after day.  It well past time that women stop putting down other women and their choices they make for their familes.

Becky Gerritson Testifies in Front of Congress on IRS Abuses - Video

She was fabulous, just fabulous.  

Government Allowed to Take DNA without Warrant

The Supreme Court today ruled that it is perfectly acceptable for the police to take your DNA without a warrant.  Oh my.  

In 2009 a man named Alonzo King was taken under arrest and charged with assault, during this arrest the police took a swab and matched his DNA to an unsolved rape.  Mr. King was not taken under arrest for the rape, nor was he believed to be involved at the time of the arrest.  He was charged, prosecuted, and found guilty of the rape.  His attorney's filed an appeal under the fourth amendment of illegal search and seizure.  

The court has decided that DNA swabs are no different than taking a photograph and fingerprints.  It is only a source of identification.  Really?  Giving the government bodily fluids is just another source of making an ID?  

Scalia joined with the more liberal wing of the court and said this in his dissent:

"The Fourth Amendment forbids searching a person for evidence of a crime when there is no basis for believing the person is guilty of the crime or is in possession of incriminating evidence," Scalia said. "That prohibition is categorical and without exception; it lies at the very heart of the Fourth Amendment."

But my favorite has to be:

"I hope that the Maryland officials who read the Court’s opinion do not take it seriously,"

Doesn't those on the court understand how this can be abused?  Now, it seems pretty obvious that King is indeed a rapist.  I have zero sympathy for him, zero.  But he isn't really the point.  These cases are always about something bigger than person who brought the case.  When he was arrested, there doesn't seem to be that there was evidence he was guilty of committing this rape.  So why would they have right to take his DNA?  The entire point of our justice system is the presumption of innocence.  By automatically taking DNA swabs of every person who is arrested we have forgone that presumption and walking towards something that will no longer resemble our justice system.  

What is so odd is that it seems that the deciding vote came from Justice Stephen Breyer.  Strange bed fellows indeed.  

But sadly we have gotten to the point in this country that the government's desires and needs are now over taking our rights.  This government was built on the rights of the individual being paramount.  That seems to no longer exist.  

Sunday Funny

Investigating Eric Holder

Believe me, I am no fan of Eric Holder.  I feel that he never should have gotten the job as Attorney General.  The Department of Justice has a bad habit of looking at everything on a color bar instead of justice.  The entire purpose of our justice system in this country is give equal rights to all.

Since Holder has taken over lawsuits against states to firm up their voter rolls have been dropped.  By law, every state across the union is supposed to update their voter registration rolls in order to get the money that the federal government gives them to help cover the costs for all federal level elections.  The department filed these suits against states that were not keeping up with their end of the bargain when Michael Mukasey was heading the department.  They were summarily dropped when Holder took over.  The evidence of how the department of "civil rights" is anything but.  While most of the people in this department are career lawyers, it still is a statement of the people who are running the department when eyes are closed to what they are doing.  Free and fair elections cannot happen if we don't have trust that the states are doing what they should be doing when it comes to removing ineligible voters off the rolls.

As much I would like to think that Eric Holder is going to be convicted of perjury, I just don't see it happening.  What Eric Holder actually said was that he wasn't aware of anyone wanting to prosecute reporters.  While it may be a parsing of words, there is a big difference being investigating a person and charging a person with a crime.

The real thing that should be investigated is who is the person who misled the courts?  By AG Holder's own testimony, they never had any intention of charging James Rosen with a crime, they just wanted some information that they could get no other way.  Someone stood in front of judge and asked for phone and email records of a private citizen who they never had any intention of prosecuting.  Not only that, they went judge "shopping" to find one that would allow them not to notify his employers and called him a flight risk.  This person should be fired for cause, therefore giving up all rights to the federal benefits, and also be barred from practicing law, ever again.

Now, I do think that since Eric Holder's signature is on the paperwork he can no longer be trusted by Americans to do what is fair and just.   If President Obama had any sense he would ask for the resignation of his attorney general.  Moving forward the citizens of this country deserve to have someone at the helm of this department that they believe is doing the work of the office, giving citizens the belief that our justice system is doing its job, upholding the law without regard to political beliefs, race, color, or creed.  The amount of power this department used to go after one person is exactly what our founders warned us against and tried to protect us from.

They Gave All

For those you were willing to give their lives to their country.  

Thank you and to your families.  

President Bush & The Wounded Warrior Bike Ride

There are many things that I wasn't happy about during President Bush's tenure, but his love and sheer admiration for our troops always makes my heart go pitty pat.  

You can see more photos here.  

Quote of the Day - Alan Dershowitz Edition

"It should never have been allowed. She should have been told by her attorney that the law is clear, that once you open up an area of inquiry for interrogation, you have to respond, Now she may have made a political decision that it's worth it to take the risk . . . That's just not the way the law works. It may be the way politics works . . . but she can't invoke the Fifth."

Attorney Alan Dershowitz on Lerner invoking the Fifth Amendment yesterday during her congressional testimony. 

Michelle Obama's Message to the Black Community - Education Is Not "Acting White"

It rare, but I happen to agree with Michelle Obama on something.  Over the weekend she gave a commencement speech at a historically black college and during this speech she said:

“reject the slander that a black child with a book is trying to act white.”

There was a time in my life that I wouldn't believe that this was so widespread of a belief in the black community.  But that naiveté is long gone.  I have done some volunteer work with the scholarship program in Washington, D.C..  It is basically a voucher program that allows low-income families to apply for money to be used at the school of their choice.  The forms can be a little overwhelming, so I would help parents fill out the forms for the application.  I also did outreach to get as many as possible to apply.  During this outreach I got a little education of my own.  This is a common theme among the inner city blacks, at least in D.C..  I heard this mantra over and over again.   I also heard far too often that learning how to fight wouldn't happen in those "white schools".  Sadly, that is true story.

What exactly is "acting white" supposed to mean anyway?  Why would getting an education that can lift your child out of poverty and a life of low earning jobs a bad thing?  Every one of the parents I spoke with were living in low-income, high crime areas of The District.  They have lived the life of not having enough money to get their children into a neighborhood that would provide them a better school and reduce the amount of violence around them.  I went into doing this work thinking every parent would jump at the chance to get some help for their child. Wrong.

Education is an issue that I feel very strongly about.  Every child in this country deserves a quality education; regardless of the income of their parents.  Sadly, when you are living in low-income areas, the public schools are failing your children.  A lack of a good education leads to all kinds of social ills throughout your life and in many instances leads to a life dependent on government subsidies just to survive.  It also costs the taxpayers a great deal of money when you start looking at the rates of incarceration among people who don't finish high school.  They are far less likely to add to the economy; actually they become a drain to tax payers.  From a human point of view it is a difficult life to lead.

It has also been shown that pay disparities between blacks and whites disappear within one generation.  A black person who finishes two-year of college will have children that makes just as much as their white counterparts.  This is among one of the chief complaints among "civil rights" leaders.  Well, here is a your solution.  Yet, this is something that is rarely, if ever, spoken about by these race hustlers.  They just talk about all that is wrong, but rarely every talk about the 'unspeakable".  The apathy in the black community that has haunted far too many and allows generation after generation to live a life of poverty need to hear this message.  You can lift yourself and your family out of poverty by getting yourself an education.

She went on:

“Today, more than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, more than 50 years after the end of ‘separate but equal,’ when it comes to getting an education, too many of our young people just can’t be bothered,” she said.

“Today, instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours, playing video games, watching TV. Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper,” Obama kept going. “Right now, one in three African American students are dropping out of high school, only one in five African Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 has gotten a college degree.”

This is something that the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton don't understand.  They continue to hold onto the belief that somehow only access to the same public schools that whites go to is enough.  The evidence that clearly isn't true sadly is the many inner city black youths who are being robbed of a decent education.  This is demonstrated quite clearly when the NAACP sued the City of New York to keep the worst performing school in the country open.  That incident also clearly demonstrated how hypocritical they truly are about the issue.  The lawyer for the NAACP that filed the lawsuit sends her daughter to boarding school in New Hampshire.  If you are stunned by that, you really shouldn't be.  It is par for the course.  Education for me, but not for thee seems to be mantra of the race hustlers that have money.  Letting those poor kids stay in the under performing schools is perfectly fine, as long as it isn't their children.

I have waited four long years for the Obama family to make these type of statements.  While I truly believe that singling out people by race is a bad thing, I also truly believe that with the type of platform that they have it is a crying shame that they have not used it more effectively to reach those in the black community.  Simply being president and first lady isn't enough.  The message must be that you too, with an education, can accomplish what we have accomplished.  You too can make it to Harvard and Princeton if you work hard.  You too can lift your families to greater heights.  I also feel that they need to talk about the family dinner table and the importance of fathers in the home and being around to raise your children.  While I have heard it from him, it isn't nearly often enough.  Every study shows that having a father around increases grades, decreases drug use, and makes the possibility of that child growing up in poverty that much less.  In fact, the percentage that lift themselves out of poverty is more than 70% when three simple things are done, finishing high school, not marrying before the age of 21, and not having children out-of-wedlock.  This study was also confirmed by a left leaning think tank that tried to prove it wrong.

I will always give credit where credit is due.  I want to hear more of this from Michelle Obama.  I also would like other leaders in the black community to follow her lead.  Lets talk about some of the uncomfortable truths, that sometimes blacks are their own worst enemies.  Believing that getting an education is "white" then getting ahead will be nearly impossible.  The choice is yours black community, the choice is yours.

Quote of the Day - Lizz Winstead Edition

‘This tornado is in Oklahoma so clearly it has been ordered to only target conservatives,’

Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show and all around idiot.

Yes I am sure that the young children who apparently drowned in that school were right-wing nut jobs.

She has since apologized saying she didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.  I guess if only fewer people died or it was just people losing everything that they owned it would have been fine.

Now Fox News Targeted by DOJ - Meghan Kelly Reports - Video

If this isn't Nixonian, I don't know what is.  Be very afraid America, be very afraid.  No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, this should outrage you.  This will only make our government workers more afraid to come forward with information that is being withheld from us "for our own good".

Quote of the Day - State Senator Tommy Tucker Edition

"I am the senator, you are the citizen. You need to be quiet,"

Sadly he is a republican.  Obviously it matters none which party you are from, this attitude is all to prevelant.  

He has denied saying this, saying that he actually said:

"I'm the senator here, let me finish."

But, three others in the room have confirmed that what is being reported is correct.  

Time for this man to take a lesson at humility and I think it should start at the ballot box.