Constitution Classes Resume This Week, Upcoming Events

Constitution Classes in Temecula and Corona Resume This Week!

Constitution Classes by Instructor Douglas V. Gibbs meet once per week in Corona and Temecula. The class in Corona meets at 6:00 - 7:00 pm on Tuesdays at All Star Collision, 522 Railroad Street, Corona, California. The class in Temecula meets at 6:30 - 7:30 pm on Thursdays at Faith Armory, 41669 Winchester Road, Temecula, California.

The classes are an examination of the general principles and philosophies of the United States Constitution from the context of the time period, using historical references, the language used by the persons of that time period, and the original intent of the framers as provided by Madison's Notes of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the State Ratification Conventions, and other texts and written communications of the period. Also reviewed are the functions authorized to the federal government, general concepts such as Separation of Powers, and the powers reserved to the States. Current issues from today's headlines are also used to assist the student in understanding the material.

The classes are appropriate for all persons from Middle-School age, and up. Most attendees are mature adults concerned about the political condition of the United States, and would like to learn more about what the dynamic of the American form of government should be. Class materials given to the attendees are handouts covering the night's lesson, and a free pocket constitution. The classes are free, but at the end of the class a bucket is passed around to help cover Doug's expenses.

Civil War Amendments

This week's classes will be covering Amendments 13, 14, and 15, ratified during the reconstruction period. The discussion will include the end of slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation, States' Rights, Birthright Citizenship, Equal Protection Clause, and subsequent civil rights movements.

Each class stands on its own, and you will learn no mater which class you attend. However, if you would like to join us at the beginning, we will start over again during the first week of February.

Learn More

Other Events

Every Saturday at 2:00 pm is Constitution Radio with Douglas V. Gibbs on KCAA 1050 AM. Upcoming guests include:

- Doc Nigh to discuss charities his organization, "Team Time Car" of the Back to the Future movie fame, are involved in.
- Don Dix of Act for America's Corona Chapter to discuss the work he does bringing attention to political Islam.
- Logan Darrow, producer of the Documentary "Sick and Sicker" that takes on the problems of Obamacare, and centralized systems of medicine.
- John L. Hancock regarding revisionist history, and how the truth is being hidden by design.
- Nick Tomboulides of TermLimits.org
- Kurt Potter of the Center for Self-Governance, and the key strategies we must be using to restore the republic.
- G.R. Mobley, author of the We the People series, on how to convene a convention for Republic Review.

On January 22, 2015 I will be attending the Birth Choice Prayer Breakfast. Learn more at www.birthchoicetem.org

On February 4, 2015 I will be speaking at the Republican Women's Federated Luncheon in Anaheim, California.

On February 21, 2015 the Unite I.E. will be sponsoring the Unite IE Conservative Conference at the Fox Performing Arts Theater in Riverside, California. This year's speakers are Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and Texas Governor Rick Perry. The Constitution Association will have a table at the event, and I need volunteers to run the booth. I have tickets for balcony seats right now, not just for you, but for folks that may not know about the event, that we can share this tremendous opportunity with. Tickets will be on sale online sometime next week. Information regarding this event is available at the Unite I.E. website.

On February 21, 2015 the Back To Basics Forum in Temecula has invited me to be a speaker, so I will be unable to attend the Unite IE event as much as I would like to be there. I will have a table at the Back to Basics Forum, as well, and will give a 45 Minute Workshop on the principles and philosophies of the United States Constitution. Learn more.

In April I will be participating in the University of Southern California Book Fair, with my books on sale at the event.

On May 19, 2015 I will be speaking at the Temecula Valley Republican Women's Federated meeting. http://tvrwf.org/

Other events in Chino, Apple Valley, Banning, and Coachella Valley are currently being discussed. As soon as I know the details, I will send them out to you.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DOUG

Constitution Association

Once a month the Constitution Association meets in Menifee, not just to discuss the Constitution, and learn the Constitution, but to put the principles and philosophies that led to the formation of the greatest nation on Earth into action. Join us on the first Saturday Night of each month at Boston Billies, 26850 Cherry Hills Blvd., Menifee, CA 92586.


LEARN MORE

Blessings,

Douglas V. Gibbs
Constitution Radio, KCAA AM1050
Author, "25 Myths of the United States Constitution," and "The Basic Constitution"
President, Constitution Association
www.douglasvgibbs.com
www.politicalpistachio.com
www.constitutionassociation.com
www.constitutioneducation.net

Hillary Clinton America's Worst-Dressed Woman

by JASmius

A conclusion that will surprise nobody.  But then Her Nib has the same sartorial problem as former pro wrestling "Hardcore Legend" Mick Foley the time he wrestled in a tuxedo: She doesn't look good in anything.  There's not a pantsuit she can wear, there's not an evening gown she can don, and there's not a swimsuit on the face of this planet that would even fit her, even if doing so wouldn't violate the Geneva Convention.  "Bulk, [upside-down] legs, and bizarrely thick ankles" are for-evah.  Let's just count our blessings that she doesn't go undressed in public, or anthropologists might mistake her for a newly-discovered breed of pony-tailed, albino, hairless gorilla.

But that wasn't why I went ahead and posted about this story.  Rather, I wanted to pose an aesthetic question for your consideration.



Does the Empress not resemble.....



....Boris The Animal's matronly grandmother?  'cause if she sticks with that look, she'll lock up the Boglodite vote in no time.

Pennylvania Democrat Attorney-General Won’t Defend New Pro-Gun Law

by JASmius



And why should she?  She's only following Eric "The Red" Holder's lawless example that he's been effortlessly getting away with for the past six years:

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is leaving it to the governor’s office to defend a lawsuit challenging a law backed by the National Rifle Association that was designed to dismantle illegal municipal firearms ordinances, officials said Friday.

A spokesman for Governor Tom Corbett said the governor’s legal office will defend the law against the challenge led by Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Lancaster. Kane’s office sent word earlier in the week that she would not take the case.

That would be in the two weeks that the governor's legal office remains under Tom Corbett's control.  Here's hoping they have a "maximum overdrive" setting.

Corbett, a Republican who opposes new forms of gun control, signed the law last month. The law widens the ability of the NRA or gun owners to successfully sue over municipal firearms ordinances.

“We can find no legitimate reason for the attorney general to decline to defend the commonwealth in this case,” said Corbett’s spokesman, Jay Pagni.

And there isn't one.  As Pennsylvania's top law enforcement official, it is Kathleen Kane's job to enforce ALL the laws of the Keystone State, not just the ones with which she agrees.  But as alluded to in the lede above, leftwing bureaucratic nullification of duly-enacted statutes to which they are hostile now has ample precedent, which means that Kane would get away with her dereliction of duty even if fellow Donk Tom Wolf wasn't replacing Governor Corbett in two weeks.  Which just gets back to why she should bother taking up a case that the new guv will nullify for her.

If any Pennsylvanians are outraged by this blatant defiance of the expressed will of the people through their elected representatives, just remember: Y'all also elected Kane and Wolf.  Which means you voted for the nullification of the pro-gun law you wanted passed, and you have a minimum of four years before you can do anything about it.

Suckers.

Is Obama Really "Stumped" On Why The Castros Are Already Double-Crossing Him?

by JASmius



Warner Todd Huston seems convinced of it.  I, as always, am unable to believe that any human being is capable of that level of naivete without their skull imploding, and this debacle is no different:

State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki repeatedly refused to answer questions this afternoon about the fifty-three political detainees Cuba promised to release as part of a deal with President Obama to normalize relations with the United States.

May I observe, parenthetically, that Miss Psaki's brains....



....are in her bodice?  Such that she may well have once been a Clinton intern?

Just calling it as I see 'em, folks.

When asked about a lack of transparency in the prisoner exchange process, Psaki said, “Well, we know who’s on there. And the Cuban government knows who’s on there.”

And......?

The Cuban government hasn’t exactly been a model for transparency the last half century.

Neither will have the Obama government by 2058, during Malia's reign.

Included in his deal with Cuba, Obama announced two weeks ago that the U.S. government had released three Cuban spies. The lack of progress in freeing the Cuban political prisoners increases the scrutiny on that White House decision.

....and just exactly why they made it.

After Psaki stated that she had no updates to provide, a befuddled Matt Lee asked, “Hold on — hold on a second. Can we — I mean, is it — what’s happening? Are they out? Are they not out? … Where are they?”

Psaki responded, “I don’t have any more updates to provide for you, Matt.”

Lee, frustrated, followed up, “So the Cubans don’t actually have to do anything?”

Psaki answered, “Matt, no. This is something they’ve agreed to. I would point you to them for any updates on the number of people or the people have been released.” [emphasis added]

Did I miss something there, or did Miss Psaki tacitly admit that Fidel and Raul Castro are more reliable and trustworthy news sources than the Obama Regime?  I think she dropped a cup size in the space of ten seconds.

Which brings us back to the "naivete" versus complicity question, and whether it's even relevant anymore.  Either Barack Obama's reputation as a laughably weak naïf is so universally known around the planet by now that the Castros aren't bothering to even take American reaction to a double-cross into consideration, or they know that he is so tight and loyal a fellow communist ally that they have complete confidence that he will continue to do his part for their common cause.  Either way, we are harvesting the fruits of "fundamental transformation" such that if there ever is an Obama successor not named Elizabeth Warren, he'll face more damage cleanup than any single two-term presidency can possibly handle.

For which, as far as The One is concerned, making Jen Psaki look like Hooter McJuggs is a small price to pay, even if she doesn't realize it.

John Bolton Mulls Leaving Fox For 2016 Presidential Bid

by JASmius



Entrance question: In God's Name, why?:

“My hypothesis is that voters are practical and they care more about national security than the media seems to believe; I think, right now, especially after two terms of President Obama, they want a president who has the know-how to lead during a crisis, a president who can defend our national interests,” Bolton told the National Review in an August 2013 interview, which discussed his interest in the presidency.

I'm truly sorry, Ambassador Bolton, but I'm afraid I must tell you that you're talking out your 'stache.

First of all, if Americans wanted a president "who has know-how to lead during a crisis" and "can defend our national interests," they wouldn't have twice elected Barack Hussein Obama.  That's not to say that Americans specifically don't want a president with those two particular qualities, but rather that Americans are too woefully ignorant and mercurial and frivolously-minded to know what they want.  Not realizing that twenty-first century presidential elections are glorified, overhyped American Idol-esque fadfests is arguably the biggest error that Republican candidates and grassrooters alike persist in making.

Also remember, Ambassador, that what American voters detest most of all is being asked to make adult choices.  The One told them in 2008 that we could abandon the Middle East, withdraw from all our national security commitments, and just "go home" and the world would miraculously become a better place for our blanket departure - retreat without consequences - and a majority snarfed that infantile promise down like a hit to a crack addict going through the throes of withdrawal.  If you tell them that they need a POTUS who is, without saying so, a national security/foreign policy "hawk," no matter how eloquently or convincingly you phrase it, they're going to hear two words: "Bush" and "Iraq".  In other words, "cost".  No easy, no-brainer choice.  No instant gratification.  Reality.  And your candidacy will be dead faster than a Hollywood pregnancy.

Not that it isn't functionally pushing up daisies anyway.  Please understand, Ambassador, that I have immense respect for you and your foreign policy expertise, the way your were screwed out of confirmation as Ambassador to the UN by Senate Democrats was despicable, and you would make a fantastic Secretary of State.  But single-issue candidacies never go anywhere or even do much for their actual purpose, elevating that particular single-issue in the eventual primary campaign (just ask Mike Huckabee).  Not unlike the first leg in a four-member relay team; you've got a specific baton you want to pass off to somebody who can actually make it to the finish line in first place.  But are you that concerned that no other GOP figure will pay any attention to foreign policy and national defense issues with Iran building a nuclear arsenal, Vlad Putin overrunning Ukraine and eyeing the Baltic States (and NATO) next, Red China overtaking us in naval power, and the Islamic State overrunning the Middle East and planting radiological weapons in Western cities?

This is part of the Obama legacy - if O ever allows there to be one besides his decreed lifetime presidency: his "fundamental transformation" of this country into de facto Third World hovel has been so comprehensive on every issue front that it makes every issue a top priority.  Can the case be made that national security and defense should top that list?  Certainly.  But then you have to remember that Red Barry will have doubled the national debt, and piled another huge entitlement (ObamaCare) atop its collapsing predecessors (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) that were bankrupting the country already, crowding out defense spending to the brink of totality.  Yes, President Reagan also had to choose between balancing the budget and rebuilding the U.S. military to win the Cold War and opted for the latter.  But this isn't merely about annual deficits, but about an existential threat to America's economic, and even national, existence, at least as we have known it.

We're not far from the point, if we're not past it already, when we not only must choose between "guns and butter," but may not be able to afford either one.  If you were POTUS, Ambassador, which would you choose, if you even still had the ability to do so (and could remain in office after choosing "guns")?  How would you re-Reaganize U.S. foreign policy when both we and our enemies know for a fact that you will never have the ability to back up a return of America to its erstwhile role as benevolent global hegemon and civilizational protector?

Of course, those are questions that every Republican hopeful is going to have to answer at some point.  Perhaps your being on those overflowing debate stages will ensure that they are asked, and maybe even, God willing, elect a certain Wisconsin governor to implement those answers.

Or maybe you're just angling to take over Huck's weekend Fox News program.

If so, can I have your Fox contributor slot and syndicated newspaper column gigs?  I could really use an income again.

Hard Starboard Radio: The Fierce Urgency of Now

For feminists and gun-grabbers and the Left in general, an infantile rallying cry; But then, the nation’s problem isn’t make-believe "problems" or even gridlock — it’s Washington itself; and though Republicans should try to repeal and replace ObamaCare, there's no immunity to the "I WANT!" impulse on the Right, either.  Plus today's Morning Jolt.

Back to the old grind at 6PM Eastern/3PM Pacific.

Harvard Professors Who Pushed ObamaCare Now Pissed They Aren't Exempted From It

by JASmius



<sigh>:

For years, Harvard’s experts on health economics and policy have advised presidents and Congress on how to provide health benefits to the nation at a reasonable cost. But those remedies will now be applied to the Harvard faculty, and the professors are in an uproar.

Members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the heart of the 378-year-old university, voted overwhelmingly in November to oppose changes that would require them and thousands of other Harvard employees to pay more for health care. The university says the increases are in part a result of the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, which many Harvard professors championed.

In the immortal words of Nelson Muntz:



Do "many Harvard professors" get the connection?  Are you kidding?

In Harvard’s health care enrollment guide for 2015, the university said it “must respond to the national trend of rising health care costs, including some driven by health care reform,” otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act. The guide said that Harvard faced “added costs” because of provisions in the health care law that extend coverage for children up to age 26, offer free preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies and, starting in 2018, add a tax on high-cost insurance, known as the Cadillac tax.

Richard F. Thomas, a Harvard professor of classics and one of the world’s leading authorities on Virgil, called the changes “deplorable, deeply regressive, [and] a sign of the corporatization of the university.” [emphasis added]

Well, "Professor," it's amazing how "corporatized" we all become, individually and collectively, when your whiz-bang, can't-miss, holier-than-thou, paternalistic "We know better than you peasants" Big Government schemes that your ilk claim will solve all our real and imaginary "problems" inevitably blow up in our faces and cost us a fortune in both money and liberty.  It just so happens that in this instance, you and your colleagues were collateral damage.  Or what we peasants prefer to think of as "poetic justice".

If anybody ever needed additional evidence for why our country should not be run out of the Ivy League, you're welcome.

Former New York Times Reporter Compares Israel To ISIS

by JASmius



That picture alone fairly screams "anti-Semite," doesn't it?  The down-swept eyebrows, the beady little eyes, the 1930s-esque spectacles, the ill-concealed sneer.  It's like if somebody shaved down Ming The Merciless or something.

In fact, come to think of it.....



....former New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges bears a striking resemblance to Heinrich Himmler, doesn't he?  One could almost say a family resemblance.

And certainly an ideological one:

Former New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges recently claimed that he was uninvited from speaking at University of Pennsylvania conference on peace in the Middle East after he penned a column comparing the foundation of Israel with the foundation of ISIS.

Shocking, isn't it?  Not Hedges' anti-Semitic blood libel - I would expect nothing else from a New York Times "correspondent" - but that an American "institution of higher learning" actually disassociated itself from it, given that the latter are as much bastions of Jew-hatred as is the Obamedia.

"Being banned from speaking about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, especially at universities, is familiar to anyone who attempts to challenge the narrative of the Israel lobby. This is not the first time one of my speaking offers has been revoked and it will not be the last," Hedges wrote in a December 21st column for TruthDig.com.

The "narrative of the Israel lobby" is the truth, Chris.  As somebody who evidently is either so demonically hostile to God's chosen people or so determinedly historical ignorant as to not know the difference between a people oppressed and persecuted and pogromed and almost completely wiped out by your Nazi forebears fighting and struggling honorably for independence and freedom against pretty much the entire world and then protecting their hard-won State against that world, most particularly their irredeemably bloodthirsty and self-declared Islamic enemies, and the absolute worst breed of the latter overrunning an ever-larger swath of the Middle East, enslaving, raping, pillaging, destroying, and slaughtering via beheadings, crucifixions and shootings and live burials Jews and Christians and pretty much every other non-Muslim human being they come across, you have a....unique take on the respective history of the Jewish and Islamic States.

But if you can produce any evidence - not fabricated propaganda bullbleep but actual historical facts - substantiating your not-so-implicit charge that early-twentieth century Zionists perpetrated ethnic cleansing and genocide on the sparse population of pre-Israel "Palestine," or for that matter that there has ever been such a national or ethnic entity as "Palestinian," or that the Balfour Declaration did not set aside Jordan - a much larger territory than it allotted to the Jews - as the "Palestinian state" - than by all means, knock yourself out.

Literally.

So egregiously odious and toxic has Hedges' Jew-hatred made him that UPa is going so far as to deny that they ever invited him to their "Middle East peace" conference in the first place:

But the IAA says it never formally invited Hedges to the conference, nor did they have any direct e-mail contact with him.

"Please be aware, that at this point, the IAA had not formally invited Mr. Hedges and were still in discussions to select and secure a speaker. The IAA also never had any direct e-mail contact with Mr. Hedges and the entire process was run through APB. Additionally no contract had been signed between the IAA and any external agency. Furthermore, this decision was taken by the Academic Affairs branch as a whole, with the support of the Executive Board of the IAA – not by any single individual within the club," read a release posted December 30th on the IAA's website.

Can't wash their hands of this "journalistic" chicken-farmer fast enough, can they?  And who can blame them, even if they are probably doing so out of PR nervous complaint rather than honorable conviction.

But then, Hedges doesn't limit himself to rhetorical arson on just that one topic:

Hedges has found a niche making controversial statements and supporting left-wing groups, notes the Daily Caller.

Last year, he attended the People’s Climate March and a protest called “Flood Wall Street,” and in 2013, he spoke out in support of Bradley Manning, the Army private who convicted and imprisoned for revealing classified documents.

Or, in other words, a card-carrying Obamunist in "good" standing.  Which is why we should both loathe and seek to utterly and completely defeat, not "work and getting along with," this filth.

Did I mention he's got audacity worthy of The One himself?:

Hedges has insisted that it is wrong to say he does not believe in coexistence between the Palestinians and Israel.

"The charge that I oppose coexistence cannot be substantiated by anything I have said or written. And those of us who call on Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders are, after all, only demanding what is required by international law and numerous U.N. resolutions," he wrote.

We already established that the rest of the world hates Israel as much as you do, Chris.  Weren't you paying attention?  Or were you practicing you Himmleresque sneer in the mirror?

Constitution Association Takes a Step Forward

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The logo you see is an improvement upon my original logo for the Constitution Association group that meets once a month at Boston Billies in Menifee, California.  Jeremy, a supporter, and avid follower of what we do at the Constitution Association, a fan of the Constitution Radio with Douglas V. Gibbs radio program, and an owner of my books on the United States Constitution, took my original logo's basic design, and made it awesome.

Why not?  The timing is perfect for improvement on the logo, because the Constitution Association is transforming into an active group prepared to influence elections, and influence the elected.  Influenced by the We the People series by G.R. Mobley, and the Foundations in Self-Governance classes, our mission is becoming more clear, and our strategies are taking shape in ways we had hoped they would.  For you to get a good idea regarding our philosophy, it is explained in my article, The Republican Horse We Rode In On, and my article about Republic Review.

Here's what the former logo looked like:

Join the group, and join my mailing list.  Join us in our battle to Restore the Republic.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Cities Across America Banning Snow Sledding

by JASmius



It's another of the ironic hallmarks of the times in which we live that Americans are becoming ever more obsessed with contrived legal risks on ostensible behalf of largely mythical physical risks that, in this case, are - or used to be - simply part of being a kid:

As anyone who has grown up around snow knows, part of the fun of sledding is the risk of soaring off a jump or careening around a tree.

But faced with the potential bill from sledding injuries, some cities have opted to close hills rather than risk large liability claims.

No one tracks how many cities have banned or limited sledding, but the list grows every year. One of the latest is in Dubuque, Iowa, where the City Council is moving ahead with a plan to ban sledding in all but two of its fifty parks.

"We have all kinds of parks that have hills on them," said Marie Ware, Dubuque's leisure services manager. "We can't manage the risk at all of those places."

No, I suppose they can't.  But since when is it - or, rather, should it - be the job of municipalities to "manage the risk" that parents and children, as supposedly free citizens, voluntarily undertake?  There's risk in everything, after all; the only variable is how much risk each particular action entails.  You could fall out of bed when getting up in the morning; you could slip in the shower and break a bone; you could slip on ice or even wet grass on your way out to your car to go to work (for those who still have jobs, anyway) and knock yourself unconscious.  And there's always the proverbial banana peel.

Risk, in other words, cannot be eliminated, which is what is meant by the term "manage".  And because of that, trial lawyer piracy and the obsolescence of personal responsibility will never die:

A study by Columbus, Ohio-based Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that between 1997 and 2007, more than 20,000 children each year were treated at emergency rooms for sledding-related injuries.

In meetings leading up to the ban, Dubuque council members lamented the move but said it was the only responsible choice given liability concerns and demands from the city's insurance carrier. They pointed to judgments in sledding lawsuits in the past decade, such as a $2 million judgment against Omaha, Nebraska, after a 5-year-old girl was paralyzed when she hit a tree and a $2.75 million payment when a man in Sioux City, Iowa, slid into a sign and injured his spinal cord. [emphasis added]

Were the injuries sustained by the little Omaha girl and the Sioux City man tragedies?  Absolutely.  Should they and their families be in our prayers?  Indubitably.  Were those injuries (or the other twenty thousand odd sledding mishaps, which amount to forty per state per year, or about one per county annually, so it's not the "epidemic" it's being portrayed as) the fault of Omaha, Nebraska or Sioux City, Iowa, for the unforgivable sin of having snow-covered hills inside their respective city limits?  Hell, no.  Did Omaha, Nebraska and Sioux City, Iowa have, or were the perceived as having, deep pockets?  Hell, yeah.  And that is a much bigger risk to society than any risk that goes with the territory of having fun outdoors.

And please understand, folks, I say this as someone who is both risk-averse and hates snow and cold and winter with a, well, fiery passion, and yet used to both sled and ski in his youth.  In fact, one fine sunny Saturday at Mission Ridge, I was gunning down the "Bomber Bowl" run and collided with an unmarked, snow-concealed boulder, sending me tumbling ass-over-tea-kettle and landing buttocks-first on one of my ski tips.  Being fourteen years old at the time, I thought I'd broken my pelvis.  As it turned out, I only sustained one helluva bruise to my gluteous maximus, but if I had broken anything, I can't imagine that it would have ever occurred to my parents to sue the ski area, even though the unmarked status of that snow-covered boulder might have given them a negligence case.  It just was not their mentality, just as it didn't used to be the general American mentality.  Once upon a time, risk was accepted as being a part of life, just as what is known, in other contexts, as "greed" used to reside in the private, as opposed to public, sector.  Put even more succinctly, Americans used to be much tougher and less whinily selfish.

But that traditional American spirit may not have completely vanished just yet, and may well manifest itself in whooping, daredevil civil disobedience:

In Omaha, the city banned sledding at a popular hill as a test one winter after losing a lawsuit, but decided to allow it again after most people ignored the restriction.

"It wasn't practical," assistant city attorney Tom Mumgaard said. "People wouldn't abide by the ban."

Kids will stubbornly be kids, in short - both little and big.

Almost makes me want to take my skis out of mothballs.

Almost, that is.

Socialist France Abandons 75% "Super Tax"

by JASmius



Well, it was either that, or rebuild the Maginot Line around the entire country to keep well-to-do Frenchies in:

Once a flagship policy of French President Francois Hollande, the 75% “supertax” on top earners limps into its final weeks this month having sparked plenty of controversy but few economic results.

Anybody who's surprised by that, come look at the bridges I'm selling.

It was no surprise that the policy, which expires on February 1st, would be quietly dropped: it was only ever slated to last two years and the Socialist government has for months declared it would not be renewed.

Which begs the question of whether "democratic" socialists, as opposed to communist revolutionaries, really have the courage of their tyrannical convictions.  Did Francois Hollande only ever intend his "[BLEEP] the rich" measure - which was the crown jewel of his presidential campaign - to be a campaign stunt?  I always credit lefties with being a lot more hardcore than that, but then, if Hollande had really been serious, he would have rebuilt the Maginot Line around his entire country before he imposed his "super tax".

The tax had also been watered down until it was barely a shadow of the “exceptional contribution to solidarity” proclaimed by Hollande when he came to power in 2012.
France’s top court had declared as unconstitutional the original plan to levy the tax on all individuals earning one million euros ($1.2 million).

The government came back with a version that made companies pay the 75% rate only for the portion of employees’ salaries above the million-euro ceiling.

Stop the tape.  A socialist president actually obeyed his country's constitution?  Hollande didn't just decree his "super tax" as originally formulated anyway and tell France's top court to go take a bath?  Geez, what a wimp.

But by then, it had already become a symbol of France’s opposition to big business and attracted high-profile derision.

Which begs the question of why the French electorate elected Francois Hollande in the first place.  Maybe it's a Gaullist genetic disorder.  Or maybe the eternal search for the "right socialist" still "labors" on.

I'd ask whether or not Barack Obama is paying heed and taking notes on this development, but I think we all know better.

ONLY Black Lives Matter, Apparently

by JASmius



They should, shouldn't they?  Black, white, red, yellow, purple, polka-dot, plaid, extraterrestrial, whatever.  We should all be allowed to be born and live out the lives God gave us to the fullest extent possible, excepting those of us who commit capital crimes like pre-meditated murder.  You know, like Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley gunning down New York City Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in completely unprovoked cold blood.

Do "blue" lives matter?  They should as well, but these days, they appear to be mattering less and less - at least to some of us:

FBI Director James Comey on Sunday honored murdered New York City Police Officer Wenjian Liu and remarked that he was shocked and bewildered by the increased number of police officer deaths in 2014.

Is he really?  I doubt it.  I'm certainly not "shocked," and I imagine that y'all aren't flummoxed by it, either, given the cacophonous Black Klan/Extreme Left "What do we want?  DEAD COPS!  When do we want 'em?  NOW!!!" chants that continue to blister through American big city streets and across social media of all types.  I seriously doubt we've seen the last such "putting of wings on pigs," as the late Mr. Brinsley put it, any time soon.

“One hundred and fifteen were killed last year,” he said. “That’s a shocking increase from 2013.

And that's after the annual number had declined for years prior to the current Ferguson-inspired insurrectionary race war.  Yep, race relations in this country have never been peachier, have they?

I don’t understand evil and I cannot try.”

Oops.  Sounds like Director Comey went off Regime script with that comment.  Brinsley's atrocity is officially a righteous act of "social justice," not "evil".  Don't be surprised if Comey abruptly expresses a desire to "spend more time with his family" in the near future.  Until they're all gunned down by New Black Panther Party "troops," anyway.

Comey was the highest-ranking Obama administration official to attend Liu’s memorial service at a Brooklyn funeral home.

That any Obama Regime official attended the memorials of either Officers Ramos or Wen is what shocks me.  Consider that a barometer of the White House's perception of how Mr. Brinsley's act of racist vigilantism has gone over with the public at large.  But this, too, will pass, most assuredly.

Of course, it's not all murder and mayhem with these bigoted rabble.  For the less "energetic" in their ranks, being obnoxious assholes is apparently enough:

U.S. Navy veteran Dario Raschio was all smiles Saturday as he awaited a special honor from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, who joined him at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus to present the 100-year-old with a handful of medals.

"I feel I'm no hero," said Raschio, dynamic and spry, before the event. "I don't accept it as being a hero. I accept it as being a part of my job."

Shortly after Wyden began speaking, though, protesters erupted in the back of the room, shouting "hands-up, don't shoot!" More than 100 pushed through the doors, banged on the windows from outside and hoisted signs.

Raschio and his daughter, Pam Brown of Portland, had a front-row seat to the spectacle. Raschio's smile faded.

In case there was any doubt, yes, Mr. Raschio is white.  So is Senator Wyden, for that matter, although he's an Obamunist, so that mitigates his lack of pigmentation.  If there was any other conceivable reason for this predatory behavior inflicted upon a very old man being honored for his service to his country, I don't know....oh, right, he served a "racist" country.  Guess I answered my own question.

But the nobility and courage that marked Mr. Raschio's service didn't take long to manifest itself:

As he grabbed the mic to speak, more shouts came from the back of the room, demanding the military exit from Iraq.

The feisty centenarian quickly responded, "Give me a chance" which brought chuckles from the audience. He further chastised the shouters, saying "Let's show a little respect for this occasion," to which the crowd applauded.

Chuckles?  Applause?  Mr. Raschio should have gotten a standing ovation, followed by the "protestors" being shouted down and driven off.  But this did take place in Oregon, I suppose.

Predictably, the rabble didn't take his advice:

But before Raschio could even sit down the unrest resumed. A protester at the front of the room announced that "for 4.5 minutes we are going to take time to pay respect to everybody who has been killed by police in this nation."

Really, Mr. "Protestor"?  Seems to me it's "unarmed black men" who are provoking these incidents by physically attacking cops, and "armed" black men who are slaying cops in much larger numbers.

But I guess only black lives matter, right?

Exit question: Where and when do these animals have their own meetings?  Maybe some counter-protestors should pay them a visit, just to see how they'd react to being administered a stiff dose of their own poisonous medicine.

With a police escort, of course.

Gohmert Challenges Boehner

by JASmius



Ah, yes, Louie Gohmert.  I'd completely forgotten about him.

Well, gents, may the best man win:

Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas-1 has joined Representative Ted Yoho of Florida-3 to challenge House Speaker John Boehner as he seeks re-election as House Speaker on Tuesday.

Ouch.  I'd forgotten about Mr. Yoho(ho, who's gonna know?) as well.  So he's running for Speaker too, huh?  Thus dividing the conservative vote and ensuring that Boehner will retain the third-ranking post in the federal government.  Lovely.  Why can't we rightwingers ever "take one for the team" and unify behind the strongest single candidate?  Couldn't Yoho be convinced to stand aside so that Gohmert would at least have a clear, unobstructed run at the Ohioan?

Especially in light of this polling detail:

Gohmert said he is running because a recent poll showed that 60% of those who voted Republican in November's midterms did so because they wanted a different speaker. And 25% of them said they will not vote for the GOP in 2016 if there isn't a change. [emphasis added]

The GOP took 53% of the total nationwide vote on November 4th.  Take away 15% of it and they'd drop to 46%, which is approximately where they were in 2006 and 2008 when they lost a combined fifty-six seats.  Now who knows if that 25% of 60% will still feel that way twenty-two months from now, but it's certainly an ominous statistic, particularly given that ticket-splitting is much more rare than it used to be.

Of course, it's not as though the top of the ticket in presidential election years doesn't have a vastly larger influence down-ballot than who the House Speaker is does up-ballot, so your mileage may vary, as it were.  But still, why risk it?  John Boehner, God love him, is a spent force.  I've speculated more than once on whether he even still wanted the House's top job, and it's pretty clear that whether or not he was ever quite up to it, the CRomnibus fiasco amply demonstrated that he certainly isn't now.  It's like when a starting pitcher starts getting tired late in a baseball game and gets in a bases-loaded jam; if you're the manager, what do you do?  Lose the game or take out the starter and put in a reliever?

Unfortunately, politics is not baseball.  Boehner is actually the "manager" in that metaphor, and he isn't likely to send himself to the showers.  Which gets back to Ted Yoho clogging up the Speaker selection process.  If the contest were a, um, "three-way" between Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, and Gohmert, and the latter edged out Boehner for second place (assuming that 60% figure translated to the GOP caucus vote), then, per House rules, a second, head-to-head matchup would ensure Gohmert got the gavel and Boehner was deposed.  But with Yoho getting in the way - and he declared his Speaker candidacy before Gohmert did, so he's got a head-start of sorts - the chances of Boehner surviving are dramatically enhanced.

Or maybe nobody is taking this "insurgency" seriously outside the GOP grassroots and Gohmert and Yoho will be mercilessly crushed like overripe grapes.  Recall that there are only (and allegedly, since most won't publicly out themselves) a maximum of eighteen Boehner opponents, and twenty-nine votes are needed to deny Boehner an outright majority on the first ballot.  Although at least some in the "establishment" appear to be sufficiently skittish that they're circulating fearmongering disinformation:

Typically, there are only two candidates for House Speaker, one Democrat and one Republican, with the candidate for the majority party winning. Gohmert said that many in the party establishment have warned that if more than one Republican runs it could hand the speakership to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Which could only happen if at least fifty-nine Republicans abstain from voting at all, which isn't very bloody likely.  I mean, if Ted Cruz (1) voted in the Senate Majority Leader contest and (2) voted for Mitch McConnell, does anybody believe that the biggest GOP majority in eighty-six years would allow the Big Gavel to fall into Crazy Nancy's hands again?  We all know the Republicans are the "Stupid Party," but let's not abuse the privilege, shall we?

It's been ninety-two years since there was more than one round of voting for House Speaker.  Here's hoping Ted Yoho gets a clue and bows out so that Louis Gohmert has a chance to make things interesting.  After all, the longevity of the GOP House majority may depend on it.

Steelers Fan Presumed Guilty before Guilty

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The NFL Playoffs are here, and the stadiums are full of rabid fans cheering their favorite teams on.  Some fans will even discuss the games using first person pronouns such as "we," and "I," as if they were on the field during the gridiron battle.

A Steelers fan, tweeting during the game, indicated he planned to run onto Heinz Field, and after over 6,000 folks retweeted his tweet, the security forces employed by the Pittsburgh Steelers noticed.  It took them less than twenty minutes to find him, escort him to the exit, and eject him from the stadium.

We always figured the thought police would find a way to tap into our brains to arrest us for our thoughts without us necessarily acting upon them.  They do indeed use technology, but apparently they don't have to tap into our brains, because we seem to have decided to open our brains up to social media, instead.  But, how tyrannical is it that people are being accused, and found guilty, without actually performing the deed?  Now, the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Next, the cockroaches in our ever-expanding government tyranny.

Tweet carefully.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Steelers fan kicked out of game because of tweets - CBS Pittsburgh

The Republican Horse We Rode In On

By Douglas V. Gibbs

"Where a constitution, like ours, wears a mixed aspect of monarchy and republicanism, its citizens will naturally divide into two classes of sentiment, according as their tone of body or mind, their habits, connections and callings, induce them to wish to strengthen either the monarchical or the republican features of the constitution. Some will consider it as an elective monarchy, which had better be made hereditary, and therefore endeavor to lead towards that all the forms and principles of its administration. Others will view it as an energetic republic, turning in all its points on the pivot of free and frequent elections." -- Thomas Jefferson to James Sullivan, 1797. ME 9:377

The politicians are out of control.  RINOs dominate the Republican Party, and the Democrats have gone so far to the left that we might as well just call them communists.  With each passing day any difference between the two parties dwindles, and we are beginning to recognize that John Adams may have been right when he said that the two-party system would be the death of this nation.

The two-party system, unfortunately, is as natural to us as humans as breathing and eating.  If we were hypothetically to get rid of the two parties, how long would it take before they would reform?  An issue would come up, and groups that support and oppose the issue would emerge.  The two groups would flock together, organize, choose leaders, and boom, we'd have two parties again.

Understanding that the two-party system is inevitable means that to grab control of our nation, and restore the republic, requires us to go beyond the parties, and beyond politics.

The goal is to learn how to control your horse.  When the horse is wild, and won't listen to your commands, the way to solve the problem is not to shoot the horse, and then go find another wild horse and hope it listens to your commands.  Not only do you wind up with no horse for a while, but when you go out to find a new horse, you are still surrounded by horses that won't listen.  Therefore, the key is not to find a horse you hope will listen to you from the start, but to train and teach your horse to obey your commands.

For as long as I can remember, the Republican Party has been the horse that conservatives have.  Our horse is temperamental, refuses to obey our commands, and keeps running in fear of the other animal that's in the race.  The other animal, a jackass, is also temperamental, and stubborn, but the jockeys of that other animal have learned to keep theirs under control. . . for now.

The idea that there is no difference between the political parties is partially correct.  They both are in the game for the power, and for control of a centralized government.  There are some Republicans that actually believe the oxymoron that they ought to be the elite ruling class that controls the centralized government, but that they will do it in a conservative manner.  The establishment is not interested in the Republican platform.  When it comes to the political machinations of our American System, and trying to jockey for position as the controllers of that system, there is no difference between the parties.  In the end, only the platforms differ. . . but what good is a platform if the GOP rejects it?

The way to break our horse is to teach it to abandon the establishment mindset, and listen to its constituents.  The Constitution, after all, does not begin "We the Politicians," "We the Judges," or "We the Lawyers."  It begins "We the People."  The training of our horse must begin with that idea, that it is for the reason of "serving the people" that our horse is in the race for.  However, trying to train a wild horse requires constant care, constant attention, and intense involvement.

But. . . what if the horse is not red, but blue?  Here in California we are surrounded by herds of blue horses that bite us, kick us, and run wild.

Red and blue, in the end, doesn't really matter.  Blue horses can be controlled, too, if only we take the steps to do the work.

As conservatives, we get hung up on using the courts, or voting only for Republicans, when the courts are filled with progressive judges that have vowed to stand against us, and the GOP is filled with progressives that simply refuse to admit that "progressive" is what they are.  The courts are useless, and voting can only go so far.  Even when we put someone in office after an election, after championing them as a conservative that believes in the principles of the United States Constitution, things seem to go wrong.  Our thoroughbred goes to Washington, proud of his or her ideals, and then after the establishment threatens them with pulling their money for campaigns, and tells them to play ball or they will never accomplish anything in office, our star stallion kicks off its saddle, spits out its bridle, and runs with the rest of the wild horses, refusing to obey the commands of the people who put that horse into the ring.

In response to watching our filet mignon being ground into hamburger meat, we point fingers, and angrily threaten them saying that we will vote them out of office.  We try to push them into shape, and they kick us, reject us, and run wild anyway.

It is time to quit pushing them, put the bridle back in their mouths, and grab the reins of the horse and lead them to where we want them to go.

To change the system, however, we can't do it at the national level.  We must start locally.  I am not saying ignore federal politics.  We must continue to hang carrots on sticks in front of those horses, but what good is complaining about the cockroaches in Washington, when we are breeding cockroaches at the local level?

Since training your horse takes constant attention, how is it that many of us don't even know the names of our horses?  Who are they?  When was the last time you paid them a visit, not to hammer on them about how they tick you off, but to find out who they are, and how they are doing?  Build relationships. . . working relationships, where the official knows you by name.  Then, when they step out of line, don't just let them know, as a concerned citizen, but let the voters in their district know, too.

Is the best way to train a horse to viciously beat it down, or is the best way through a method that includes calm communication, a stroking of the mane, and offering a few carrots as a treat?

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Learn more about a group in Southern California using this style republic restoration: ConstitutionAssociation.com

Check out Books by Douglas V. Gibbs on the United States Constitution

NFL Players say it Hurts to Lose

By Douglas V. Gibbs

As the pre-game show for the Cincinnati-Indianapolis wildcard playoff match-up wound down and the start of the game approached, CBS played a quick segment showing players from the teams saying that it hurts when they lose.  The message was that these players were going to play hard to avoid that hurt.

I wonder if the bleeding heart liberal left democrats watching that promo said to themselves, "They hurt?  We have to stop the pain!  We have to use government to level the playing field and make sure that none of these poor players ever have to feel that kind of pain again!"

Someday in the near future:

"Welcome to the new football season, folks.  After last year's rule changes that disallows scores from being kept, tackles from being made, and in fact no contact is allowed at all, in an amazing year, all 32 teams earned Super Bowl rings!"

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

NFL Wild Card Sunday

by JASmius



Yesterday left more than a bit to be desired.  Today, I think, business will begin picking up.



I always make a distinction between playoff teams and Super Bowl contenders.  The former are fairly numerous and a dime a dozen: Good enough to feast and load up on also-rans, not good enough to avoid inconsistency, the occasional upset, and eventually getting exposed by the latter.  The Bengals and Colts epitomize the breed.

The team from "The Jungle" has, under the decade-long guidance of coach Marvin Lewis, been a nominal winner, usually a wild card, intermittently grabbing AFC North championships depending upon the rise and fall of its divisional rivals, and invariably one-and-done in the playoffs.  Seriously, the Bengals haven't won a playoff game in almost a quarter of a century, the longest current drought in the NFL.  Which is odd, because Cincy usually has a much-underrated defense (it was #3 last year), and has offensive talent in quarterback Andy Dalton, wideout A.J. Green (69 receptions, 1,041 yards, 6 TDs in thirteen games), and running back Jeremy Hill (1,124 yards, 9 TDs).  You'd think they could make at least the occasional deep playoff run.

Then you take a look at Dalton's QBR over his four years under center: 80.4, 87.4, 88.8, 83.5.  A hundred is the gold standard QBR threshold for NFL quarterbacks.  Which indicates what Andy Dalton is: second-tier.  Not bad, by any means, but plainly and simply not good enough to take his team to the next level.  It's most of why he has earned his reputation for choking in big games, where he can always be counted on to throw just enough interceptions to ensure that his teammates will be cleaning out their lockers the next Monday.  And apparently, unlike another second-tier quarterback in the doubleheader game tonight, the addition of a thousand-plus yard running back taking some of the offensive load off his arm hasn't made Dalton any better.

Which means, I'm sorry to say, Bengals fans, that your team will never go any farther until you upgrade your quarterback position.

This creates a strange contrast with Cincy's opponent today, because while they have their quarterback of the next decade-plus in Andrew Luck, the case can be made that the Indianapolis Colts aren't even as good as are the Bengals.

A pattern has definitely been established in the now-three Luck years in Hoosierville: The Colts are a mediocre team in a crappy division that inflates their record and raises expectations that are invariably smushed whenever they play a division-leading counterpart from outside the AFC South.  Look at their five losses this season: 31-24 to the AFC Champion Broncos, 30-27 to the 2013 NFC East Champion Eagles, 51-34 to the AFC North Champion Steelers, 42-20 to the AFC East Champion Patriots, and a 42-7 bludgeoning at the hands of the NFC East Champion Cowboys.  Put the Colts in the AFC North or West and they'd be a .500 team at best; put them in the NFC West and the only thing for which they'd be competing is a high draft position.

There is, however, one division titleholder of recent vintage that Indy not only beat this year, but dominated: the Bengals, 27-0 at The Drum in Week 7.

Then you take a look at the statistical matchups, in which the Colts are better in every area except rushing offense, and their #1 passing offense will be feasting on Cincy's #20 pass defense, and you're left scratching your head at why the Colts can't seem to gain enough traction outside the AFC South to (here's that phrase again) get to the next level.

So whom am I picking?  The Bengals, of course.

Cincinnati* (+3.5)
Indianapolis

Why?  Because I'd rather see another second-tier team take a turn getting massacred at the Big Razor, that's why.



All of the above is why the Lions-Cowboys marquis matchup of Wild Card Weekend is such an interesting contrast, because these two teams have been, in the previous few seasons, the NFC version of what the Bengals and Colts are now: talented underachievers who can't win the Big One.  So what did Detroit and Dallas do to try and upgrade themselves to Super Bowl contenders?  One did so with offense, the other with defense.

In the Lions' case, assemble the #2 total defense, and top rushing defense, in football.  Particularly in light of injuries slowing wide receiver Calvin "Megatron" Johnson and running back Reggie Bush, that defense was the difference between this year's 11-5 playoff season and last year's 8-8 face-plant that saw Detroit gift the NFC North to the Packers on a silver platter.

Will it be enough to snap the NFL's second-longest playoff victory drought?  Some "experts" think it's at least plausible:

Monday's overturn of Ndamukong Suh's suspension ensures that the Detroit Lions will be armed with the three best defenders on the field for Sunday's Wild Card round matchup at the Dallas Cowboys.

Along with reigning first-team All-Pro Suh, the Lions boast one of the NFL's premier linebackers in DeAndre Levy as well as a rising star in pass rusher Ziggy Ansah.

In addition to that trio, the safety duo of Glover Quin and James Ihedigbo has been the league's best for portions of the season.

If Detroit is bringing that much firepower on one side of the ball, a natural follow-up question is whether they have a more talented roster than the NFC East champions.

With Cowboys defensive tackle Henry Melton out for the season and run-stuffing rookie linebacker Anthony Hitchens nursing an ankle sprain, the Lions have a major edge in the front seven as well as the secondary. Detroit's run defense ranks as the NFL's fifth best over the past twenty five years, per Football Outsiders' metrics. Teryl Austin's defense also ranks ninth in opposing passer rating.

Although Dallas counters with one of the most dominant offensive lines of recent memory, NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray isn't the explosive tackle-breaker that he was en route to breaking records in the first three months of the season.

Murray has averaged a pedestrian 3.9 yards per carry over the last five weeks after topping 4.0 in every game from Weeks 1-11.

The key matchups in my estimation are DeMarco Murray and the Cowboys' #2 rushing attack against the Lions' top-ranking rush defense, and whether Lions quarterback Matt Stafford can pull enough consistency together to exploit Dallas's poor (#26) pass defense.  If Detroit can get off to a quick lead and force Tony Romo to have to throw on every down, that Lions front four can turn him back into his old turnover-prone self.  If not, their playoff futility will continue.

Given the respective teams' trends coming into this contest, I have to go with Jerry's boys.

Detroit
Dallas* (-7)

Exit question: Over/under on in which quarter Ndamukong Suh or Dominic Raiola tap-dances on Tony Romo's shins?

Selena Gomez, Harper Collins & Dhimmism

by JASmius

Would this....



....be known as a "Muslim wardrobe malfunction"?  'cause that's how the "Muzzies" are taking it:

Pop starlet Selena Gomez was so heavily criticized for posting pictures of herself flashing her ankle inside Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque on Instagram that she appears to have deleted the evidence altogether.

A second picture, showing Gomez and fellow musicians Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Cody Simpson and Shay Mitchell smiling and striking poses has also been lambasted but remained on her Instagram Thursday.

Mosque visiting rules strictly ban all 'intimate behavior' including holding hands and kissing, and states that all skirts must be ankle-length.

Kinda makes me wish Gomez had bared her breasts instead, just to make a statement about what we should all think about "Muslim anger".  Not that I'm any fan of "wardrobe malfunctions," but when Justin Timberlake flashed Janet Jackson's rack on national television a decade ago, nobody seemed overly concerned about angering evangelical Christians.  Indeed, Hollywood seems to take inordinate pride in flouting Christian mores and insulting and persecuting the Brethren.

So why should the sensibilities of Muslims be any different?  The only difference appears to be that Muslims are hyper-vengefully violent, and Christians are passively pacifist.  Is that an admonition to my brothers and sisters in Christ to start making bomb jackets and stocking up on C4 explosives?  No.  But it is to urge "pop starlets" like Selma Gomez to "grow a set" and keep that naked ankle pic right where it is - or was.

At least Harper-Collins....



....corrected their geography malfunction:

After outrage over a HarperCollins atlas designed for schools in the Middle East that literally wiped Israel from the map, the publisher announced Wednesday that it has removed the atlas from "sale in all territories" and apologized for "any offense it caused."

The atlas, which has been on sale for months, was developed to satisfy "local preferences" of English-speaking schools in the Muslim-majority Gulf. HarperCollins promoted the atlas as a tool to provide children "in-depth coverage of the region and its issues" and help them better understand the “relationship between the social and physical environment, the region’s challenges [and] its socio-economic development.”

"Nice goals," the Washington Post quips, "But there's one problem: Israel is missing. There’s Syria. There’s Jordan. There’s Gaza. But no mention of Israel."

You're damned right omitting Israel from that map was offensive.  Ditto pretending that the Jewish State doesn't exist to pander to "local preferences" straight out of Adolph Hitler's "final solution to the Jewish problem".  But it's more than even that: Educational materials are supposed to teach actual facts.  Facts are objective bits of information.  School is not supposed to be a cafeteria where students get to pick and choose the facts they want, and if they can't find them, they just get to make them up and pretend they're real, and everybody else has to respect it.

Yeah, I get the whole "target marketing" concept - marketing was part of my college business curriculum, after all - but assuaging the wounded pride of genocidal maniacs falls far outside any reasonable marketing boundaries, and starts looking an awful lot like wishful thinking.  And there can be no "Muslim Reformation" until ALL Muslims come to terms with the fact that Israel exists, it isn't going anywhere, it will not allow itself to be literally wiped from the map, and that faux religious berserkerism will not be tolerated by an otherwise advanced, civilized world.

Which is to say, there will be no Muslim Reformation.

Care to take any bets on whether Harper Collins will mention that in their next atlas?

Mike Huckabee Ends Fox News Show, Preps For 2016 Presidential Bid

by JASmius



First Jeb Bush, then Marco Rubio, now Huckles - the RINOs sure are getting a head-start on flooding the proverbial zone, aren't they?:

TV host and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says he is leaving his Fox News talk show as he considers whether to seek the Republican nomination for president, a decision he expects to reach in the spring.

Well, so much for my getting off my "don't quit your day job" line.  But I'd be happy to fill in for Huck while he's off tilting at windmills.

Huckabee said Saturday night's edition of "Huckabee" would be his last as he ponders his political future. The weekly show, which is taped with a live audience and features political commentary as well as interviews with guests and musical entertainment, has been on the air for more than six years.

He wouldn't be walking away from a successful TV show if he was only "pondering" his political future.  Which is ironic, because if he actually ever did ponder his political future, he might just realize that, as a single-issue socon candidate and the "John Edwards of the Republican Party," he doesn't have one.

"There's been a great deal of speculation as to whether I would run for president.

From whom?

And if I were willing to absolutely rule that out, I could keep doing this show. But I can't make such a declaration," he said at the end of Saturday's program.

In other words, he's running.

"Now, I'm not going to make a decision about running until late in the spring of 2015....

Because it'll take that long to put all the candidacy infrastructure together, particularly fundraising.

....but the continued chatter has put Fox News into a position that just isn't fair to them — nor is it possible for me to openly determine political and financial support to justify a race. The honorable thing to do at this point is to end my tenure here at Fox. Now, as much as I have loved doing the show, I cannot bring myself to rule out another presidential run."

He's running, folks.  Which is just fine by me.  With JB, Rubio, Huckles, and presumably Governor Christie all fragmenting the "establishment" vote, the door will be wide open for two-term, thrice-elected Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to unify conservatives behind his banner and march to the GOP nomination.  Presuming, of course, that Tea Partiers have the sense and savvy not to fragment themselves (again) and slam that door in their own faces.

Last Call For Constitution Association Meeting In Menifee

Couldn't make it to this morning's Level 1 - Foundations in Self Governance class at All-Star Collision (522 Railroad St, Corona, California)?  Get a briefing on what you missed tonight at the Constitution Association meeting at Boston Billies, 26850 Cherry Hills Boulevard, Menifee, California at 5PM.

G.R. Mobley will begin the meeting for Mr. Gibbs, which will cover the following:

-Discussion of what class participants learned at the Foundations in Self Governance Class.

-Viewing of the video Mr. Gibbs made with the audio from his interview on Al Jazeera the other day.

-Viewing of a video about the American Form of Government.

-Viewing of pictures from the Festival of Trees event just before Christmas in which a number of folks from the Constitution Association participated.

-Don't miss the hopey-changey drawing for a fantastic gift.

Dinner will, of course, be available for all with an appetite.  The proceedings should wrap it up at 7:00 pm.

See you there!

NFL Wild Card Saturday

by JASmius



I just love Wild Card weekend.  Partly because it's the playoffs, even though first round matchups are occasionally compelling but mostly less "hit" and more "miss," and mostly because the World Champs again have the #1 seed in the NFC and a very much needed first round bye to try and get defensive tackle Jordan Hill (the pleasant surprise who filled in, well, hugely after Brandon Mebane went down with a torn hamstring two months ago, having suffered a sprained knee last week against the Rams), wide receiver Jermaine Kearse (hamstring), and outside linebacker K.J. Wright (finger) ready to roll.  I can settle in my comfortable recliner on Saturday afternoon and, with sleep, food, and potty breaks, watch (almost) every snap of all four games straight through Sunday evening.  And best of all, I can scout (for my own amusement) Seattle's likely first sacrificial goat visitor to CenturyLink next week.

Speaking of which.....



This less than scintillating matchup being the Saturday early game was such a fait accompli that I didn't bother to look it up.  To say that it is not just not ready for prime time, but criminally unworthy of it, is a gaping understatement.

The NFC South Champion (hyuk) Carolina Panthers became only the second team ever (the 2010 Seahawks were the other) to win its division and host a playoff game off of a losing regular season record (7-8-1).  (Which illustrates why home field advantage in the playoffs should be based on regular season record and not playoff seeding if the league wants to avoid such embarrassing miscarriages of justice.  But I digress.)  The swerve is that a month ago, the Panthers were 3-8-1, and hadn't won a game in two months.  But somebody had to win the NFC South, and all it took was one of its four sadsacks putting together a late season run to take the title and set themselves up for a one-and-done.

So why do I think Carolina is going to win this game?  Certainly not all the sudden buzz swirling about them for their current four-game winning streak, as not one of those four victories came against a winning team (three of them were divisional games, and the fourth was against the collapsing, Johnny Manziel-misled Cleveland Browns).  While it is true that if you're going to get hot, the stretch run is the best time to do it, and quarterback Cam Newton is getting healthier, and running back DeAngelo Williams is picking up the rushing pace (#7), none of that would matter - ordinarily.

However, the situation with the Panthers' opponent is far from ordinary.  Six weeks ago the Arizona Cardinals had the best record in the NFL (9-1) and a three-game lead in the NFC West, even if they were getting insanely lucky with every bounce and call, and otherwise surviving on a steady diet of turnovers, resulting short fields, and taking three or four long shots down the field most of which they cashed in.  In other words, they were overachieving unconscionably, and it was just a question of when their carriage was going to turn back into a pumpkin.  The 19-3 thumpin' the Seahawks laid on them in Week 12 started what in stock trading is known as a "correction," and the proverbial wheels started coming off, as in lugnuts shooting in every direction like micromissiles.  The luck ran out, the turnovers dried up, starting quarterback Carson Palmer blew out a knee, backup Drew Stanton sprained one of his, and by the time they were hanging by a thread in the NFC West showdown against the Champs, they were down to starting a signal caller (Ryan Lindley) that had never thrown a touchdown pass and hadn't taken a single snap in two years.  The greatest NFL defense of the twenty-first century messily devoured him, the Cards got blown out 35-6 (would have been 44-6 if Pro Bowl kicker Steven Hauschka hadn't left his aim in his other pants), and they were Wild Card-bound.

Arizona, not to put too fine a point on it, is a mess.  The only statistical category in which the have any edge over the Panthers is rushing defense (#13 to Carolina's #16).  They can't run, Lindley can't pass, and their defense has collapsed after the Champs laid 597 yards and a bushel of big plays on them two weeks ago.

It really doesn't matter how well Carolina is or is not playing.  With the condition the Cardinals are in right now, it's questionable whether they could beat anybody, and they certainly won't do so today in Charlotte.

Arizona
Carolina* (-4.5)



Rivalry games always have an enhanced level of unpredictability, especially in the playoffs.  But contra the usual exaggerations of that caveat, you really can't throw the stat book out the window.

The bottom line at Heinz Field tonight is this: Both teams are terrific against the run (Baltimore #4, Pittsburgh #6), and both teams suck against the pass ( Baltimore #23, Pittsburgh #27).  But the Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger boast the league's #2 passing attack, while Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is a pedestrian #13.

'nuff said, whether or not star running back Le'Veon Bell can suit up.

Baltimore
Pittsburgh* (-3)

Constitution Radio: The Mice Will Play

While Douglas V. Gibbs is off at an activism seminar - which is kind of like a camel enrolling in a hump class - JASmius and Alex Ferguson hold down the fort.  But the host is not completely absent, for due to the miracle of digital audio, we will bring you Mr. Gibbs' interview on Al-Jazeera America regarding illegal immigration, and his (and our) post-interview thoughts and analysis.

Constitution Quest gets a two-fer with both a question and a brief discussion on nullification and the Electoral College.  Don't forget to enter the discount code "DOUG" in the discount field when you make your purchase of Constitution Quest and get 10% off your purchase!

And then cometh the All-Star Collision Big Stories of the Week:

15) The frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is....Jeb Bush?
14) U.S. Economy To Obama: 'I can't breathe," but the Fed has plenty more Quantitative Easing "Morphine" to ease the pain
(13) Here comes the ObamaCare Individual Mandate
(12) Another airliner from a SouthEast Asian Muslim country vanishes - except this one was quickly found
(11) From Red China to Castroite Cuba, communist regimes tighten their grip
(10) Snow in SoCal?
(9) Islamic fatwa puts Mars off-limits
(8) Sony's release of The Interview underwhelms, but the hackers might not be finished, and may be overseen by....the ChiComms
(7) No, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise isn't a white supremacist
(6) For Barack Obama, it really is good to be the king
(5) Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo passes away at 82
(4) Barack Obama's race war rages on
(3) Obama officially abandons Afghanistan, women and children hardest hit
(2) Guess to where Obama is turning loose the remaining inmates at Guantanomo Bay?
(1) Happy New Year!

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