Not A Dime’s Worth Of Difference

Ron Paul: What No One Wants to Hear About Benghazi

"Neither side wants to talk about the real lesson of Benghazi: interventionism always carries with it unintended consequences. The US attack on Libya led to the unleashing of Islamist radicals in Libya. These radicals have destroyed the country, murdered thousands, and killed the US ambassador. Some of these then turned their attention to Mali which required another intervention by the US and France. Previously secure weapons in Libya flooded the region after the US attack, with many of them going to Islamist radicals who make up the majority of those fighting to overthrow the government in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: What No One Wants to Hear About Benghazi

Obama Meets Privately with Energy Industry CEOs

"President Barack Obama met behind closed doors with energy executives Wednesday in a session the White House said was arranged to discuss the industry's response to Hurricane Sandy last year and preparations for this year's hurricane season, reports Poltico's Josh Gerstein. The White House did not respond to queries from POLITICO about why the public and press were excluded from the discussion, which took place at the Energy Department. Gerstein reports that during Obama's first bid for the White House, the freshman senator complained about then-Vice President Dick Cheney's private meetings with energy industry representatives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Meets Privately with Energy Industry CEOs

U.S. Currently Fighting 74 Different Wars … That It Will Publicly Admit

"By mid-2010, the Obama administration had increased the presence of Special Operations forces from sixty countries to seventy-five countries. [A]mong the countries where [Joint Special Operations Command] teams had been deployed under the Obama administration were: Iran, Georgia, Ukraine, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Yemen, Pakistan (including in Baluchistan) and the Philippines. These teams also at times deployed in Turkey, Belgium, France and Spain. JSOC was also supporting US Drug Enforcement Agency operations in Colombia and Mexico." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Currently Fighting 74 Different Wars … That It Will Publicly Admit

How humanitarians trumped neo-cons in Libya

"With Muammar Gaddafi dead, the hunt is on for a new hate figure on whom to spew venom; far more satisfying than actually evaluating our own role in the creation of human misery. For the governments that lead us into war, of course, it makes perfect sense that we do not stop to look back at the last invasion before impatiently demanding the next one - if we realized, for example, that the 1999 bombing of Serbia - the textbook 'humanitarian intervention'- actually facilitated the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo it was supposedly designed to prevent, we might not be so ready to demand the same treatment for every other state that falls short of our illusory ideals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow humanitarians trumped neo-cons in Libya

President Obama Nominates Penny Pritzker for Commerce Secretary

"Pritzker is a Chicago billionaire heiress. Her father co-founded the Hyatt Hotel. She is estimated to be worth at least $1.7 billion. She was instrumental in funding Obama in his senatorial campaign and later his presidential campaigns. Cronyism will go wild with her at Commerce. She didn't spend all that money on Obama for nothing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPresident Obama Nominates Penny Pritzker for Commerce Secretary

Uh-oh: AT&T and Comcast are ecstatic about the FCC’s new chairman

"The same President who said 'I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over' when he was running for office has given the FCC's top job to a former lobbyist. Wheeler donated $38,500 to Obama's election efforts and helped raise additional money for Obama by becoming a 'bundler,' arranging for large contributions from other donors after hitting legal limits on personal contributions. Not surprisingly, the cable and telecom companies that Wheeler springs from are ecstatic about the nomination. Wheeler led the NCTA from 1979 to 1984 and the CTIA from 1992 to 2004." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUh-oh: AT&T and Comcast are ecstatic about the FCC’s new chairman

Jay Leno’s Gitmo Solution

“President Obama held a press conference earlier today, and he said he still wants to close the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, but he doesn’t know how to do it. He should do what he always does: declare it a small business and tax it out of existence. It will be gone in a minute. Be gone in a minute! One month! Be out of there!” Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJay Leno’s Gitmo Solution

Republican Lawmakers Urge Obama To Use ‘Combatant Status’ For Bombing Suspect

"Senator Lindsay Graham argues that because the public safety could be at risk (because there could be more bombs in place that could go off and/or more bombers who intend to kill still at large) that we do not read a terrorist suspect their Miranda rights (right to remain silent, etc.). The problem with this line of thinking is that we are assuming the ‘suspect’ is guilty without proof and so are denying him his rights based on the assumption that he is guilty until proven innocent. Senator Lindsay Graham wants to throw that American principle out the window and replace it with a fear driven, paranoia based legal system that does the opposite of what America stands for." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRepublican Lawmakers Urge Obama To Use ‘Combatant Status’ For Bombing Suspect

Federal Government Rating Hits New Low Among Americans

"For the first time since Barack Obama became president, more Democrats say they have an unfavorable view of the federal government in Washington than a favorable view (51% unfavorable vs. 41% favorable). Favorable opinions of the federal government among Republicans, already quite low in 2012 (20% favorable), have fallen even further, to 13% currently. Notably, politically divided state governments get positive ratings from members of both parties. In the 13 states with divided governments – those in which the governor and a majority of state legislators are from different parties – majorities of both Republicans and Democrats express favorable opinions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Government Rating Hits New Low Among Americans

Obama Budget Contains Middle Class Income Tax Hike

"Chained CPI means the Obama budget contains a tax increase on 100 percent of middle class taxpayers (anyone who pays the federal income tax). Many other tax provisions—the standard deduction, the personal exemption, PEP and Pease, IRA and 401(k) contribution limits, and many others—are also tied to how CPI is measured. Chained CPI as a stand-alone measure (that is, not paired with tax relief of equal or greater size) is a tax increase and a Taxpayer Protection Pledge violation. Various reports peg the tax increase amount as exceeding $100 billion over the next decade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Budget Contains Middle Class Income Tax Hike