Does America really want a change?

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Inauguration and Hajj

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Desecration

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US Flag Code: "The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature."


§176. Respect for flag
No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor.
(a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
(b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.
(c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.
(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.
(e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way.
(f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling.
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
(h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.
(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.
(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.
(k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.

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Pray Obama fails

Many American Christians believe, as an article of faith, that we are to pray for the success of our leaders.

It has become a sort of conventional wisdom among soft-minded believers. The biblical proof-text for this misguided way of thinking is Romans 13:1-4:

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

"Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

"For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."

What could be more clear-cut? At face value, it would seem the Bible is telling us government is a God-ordained good and that we are not to resist its terrors.

Many a coward has been bolstered in his conviction against challenging tyranny by not reading too deeply into the Scriptures. Yet, nowhere does the Bible ever suggest evil rulers are to be obeyed. When the rule of men conflicts with the commands of God, the Bible leaves no doubt about where we should stand.

That's why I do not hesitate today in calling on godly Americans to pray that Barack Hussein Obama fail in his efforts to change our country from one anchored on self-governance and constitutional republicanism to one based on the raw and unlimited power of the central state.

It would be folly to pray for his success in such an evil campaign.

I want Obama to fail because his agenda is 100 percent at odds with God's. Pretending it is not simply makes a mockery of God's straightforward Commandments.

So you will not see me joining in the ritual of affirming Obama and his mission in public or private prayer this week – or any other week.

Instead, I uphold the words of Jesus in Matthew 15:14: "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." And I take warning from Isaiah 9:16: "For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed."

And please don't tell me about "rendering unto Caesar."

It's important to consider the circumstances and the audience behind Jesus' instructions to "render unto Caesar." The Sadducees were attempting to trap Jesus into advocating open contempt for Caesar. He recognized their wicked and hypocritical little game and answered them with a totally truthful response that astonished everyone.

But think about it. There are two components to Jesus' words. We are to "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," but we are also to "render unto God the things that are God's." Well, everything ultimately belongs to God. But, most of all, this injunction by Jesus instructs us that government laws cannot trump God's laws – ever.

If government commands you to do evil, as a Christian you must resist. There is no alternative. Citing the "render unto Caesar" line is an apologetic for accountability to God – nothing more, nothing less.

Furthermore, it needs to be pointed out that in America we don't have a Caesar. Never have, never will. You see, our system of government is called a free republic, and it is based on the concept of constitutional self-government. We have no "rulers" in America – except ourselves and our God. We believe in the rule of law, not the rule of men.

This is an important distinction, not a semantic one.

Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us to obey evil rulers. Nowhere.

This is a time for principled biblical resistance, not phony Christian appeasement.

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Stock markets don’t celebrate inauguration day!


Worries about banking industry send shares tumbling;
Dow down -332.13 (-4.01%)7949.09



NEW YORK - The dawn of the Obama presidency could not shake Wall Street from its dejection over the banking industry’s growing problems.

After hearing the new president’s inaugural address Tuesday, investors continued selling. All major indexes finished trading sharply lower. Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange paused at times to watch the inauguration ceremony and Obama’s remarks, but the transition of power didn’t erase investors’ concerns about the struggling economy.

Obama said the economic recovery would be difficult and that the nation must chose “hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord” to overcome the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Investors are expecting Washington will be a central part of the economic recovery. But the first few minutes of Obama’s term did little to ease their concerns.

“At this stage, markets in general and bank investors specifically are really looking to government as the way out,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. “Certainly, of just about all of inaugurations that I can recall today’s event probably has the not only the symbolic importance but really tangible importance to the stock market.”

Obama’s speech suggested Wall Street would see greater oversight: “Without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control,” he said.

Investors already nervous about the state of U.S. banking were rattled by the Royal Bank of Scotland’s forecast that its losses for 2008 could top $41.3 billion, the biggest ever for a British corporation. The British government injected more money into the struggling bank Monday. The government also announced another round of bailouts for the country’s banks.

The moves in Britain are designed to insure banks against further losses and are similar to steps the U.S. government has made to protect Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America. Both companies on Friday reported multibillion dollar fourth-quarter losses. Citigroup also said it planned to split its operations in two in an effort to return to profitability.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times is reporting that Bank of America will begin cutting as many as 4,000 jobs in its capital markets unit as it consolidates its operations in that division with those of recently acquired Merrill Lynch & Co.

Investors were uneasily awaiting the bulk of companies earnings reports to see how badly industries beyond banking are hurting.

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U.S. Stocks Slide in Dow Average’s Worst Inauguration Day Drop

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks sank, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst Inauguration Day decline, as speculation banks must raise more capital sent financial shares to an almost 14-year low.

State Street Corp., the largest money manager for institutions, tumbled 59 percent after unrealized bond losses almost doubled. Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. slumped more than 23 percent on an analyst’s prediction that they’ll need to take steps to shore up their balance sheets. The Dow’s 4 percent slide was the most on an Inauguration Day in the measure’s 112-year history, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and the Stock Trader’s Almanac.

“All the banks are going to have to recapitalize,” said Greg Woodard, portfolio strategist at Manning & Napier Advisors Inc., which manages $16 billion in Fairport, New York. “That’s not done. That’s in front of them, and we don’t want to try to get in front of that trade.”

The S&P 500 plunged 5.3 percent to 805.22. The S&P 500 Financials Index fell 17 percent to below its lowest closing level since March 1995 as concern European banks need more capital also weighed on the group. The Dow average slid 332.13 points to 7,949.09. Both the Dow and S&P 500 retreated to two- month lows.

The S&P 500 is off to its worst start to a year, shattering the biggest rally since World War II, as analysts cut earnings estimates by a record 83 percentage points and companies signal worse to come.

The S&P 500 is down 11 percent in the first 12 trading days of 2009, exceeding last year’s 9.2 percent drop, according to data compiled by Bloomberg going back to 1928. The decline helped erase more than two-thirds of a 24 percent rally since Nov. 20 as optimism that government spending would revive the economy evaporated.

‘Effectively Insolvent’

U.S. financial losses from the credit crisis may reach $3.6 trillion, according to New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, who predicted last year’s economic and stock-market meltdowns.

“If that’s true, it means the U.S. banking system is effectively insolvent because it starts with a capital of $1.4 trillion,” Roubini said at a conference in Dubai today. “This is a systemic banking crisis.”

Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index retreated 2.1 percent today, led by banks and technology companies. It fell almost 2 percent yesterday after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc forecast the biggest-ever loss by a U.K. company. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 2.1 percent today.

Obama Sworn In

Barack Obama became the 44th U.S. president today, inheriting the most severe economic crisis since Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in 76 years ago. The turmoil has dragged the world’s largest economies into recession, caused more than $1 trillion of losses at financial institutions and prompted a sell-off in global stock markets.

Treasuries fell for a second day on speculation Obama will sell record amounts of debt to battle the recession. The dollar strengthened for a second day against the euro.

State Street lost $21.46 to $14.89 for the biggest drop in the S&P 500 and the stock’s steepest tumble since at least 1984. Unrealized losses on fixed-income investments rose to $6.3 billion at Dec. 31 from $3.3 billion at Sept. 30, the company said. Unrealized losses on assets held in conduits increased to $3.6 billion from $2.2 billion.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the world’s largest custodian of financial assets, fell 17 percent to $19, its lowest closing price since 1997.

Financials Tumble

Financial companies posted the biggest drop among the S&P 500’s 10 main industry groups as all 81 shares fell.

Wells Fargo, the largest bank on the U.S. West Coast, slid 24 percent to $14.23. Friedman Billings Ramsey Group Inc. analyst Paul Miller lowered his earnings estimates and price target, in addition to predicting a dividend cut.

Bank of America, the biggest U.S. lender by assets, fell the most in the Dow average, sliding 29 percent to $5.10. FBR’s Miller estimated Bank of America needs at least $80 billion of additional capital.

“You don’t want to be anywhere close to these common stocks because you don’t know how much new stock is going to be issued,” said Wayne Wilbanks, who oversees $1.1 billion as chief investment officer at Wilbanks Smith & Thomas in Norfolk, Virginia. “If one wants to invest in this space I would focus almost exclusively on the preferred shares,” he said, because that’s the same type of stock the government is purchasing.

The U.S. government has taken preferred equity stakes in at least 257 banks including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York and State Street since October under its Troubled Asset Relief Program aimed at stabilizing the banking system.

‘Aggregator’ Bank

Regions Financial Corp. fell 24 percent to an almost 24- year low of $4.60 after reporting a record fourth-quarter loss. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lost 21 percent to $18.09, the lowest since October 2002.

Obama’s advisers are considering options for dealing with troubled assets still clogging banks’ balance sheets, according to people familiar with the matter. Among alternatives: setting up a government-backed “bad” or “aggregator” bank to hold the securities, or leaving the assets on banks’ books and providing a government guarantee.

‘Atmosphere of Cynicism’

“The risk of investing in financials remains relatively high,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management in Richmond, Virginia. “There’s an atmosphere of cynicism and disbelief with regard to a lot of these turnaround stories.” RidgeWorth manages $70 billion.

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. slid 9.4 percent to $37.25. Goldman Sachs advised selling the designer of the U.S. Olympics team’s official uniform as consumer spending shifts from “aspirational to desperational.”

Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, sank 11 percent to $8.35. Aluminum declined for the seventh straight day in London on speculation that demand will weaken as the housing slump worsens.

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Obama: U.S. also country of Muslims, nonbelievers
Echoes past remarks in which he said America 'no longer a Christian nation'
January 20, 2009
Aaron Klein


Echoing his previous declaration that the U.S. is "no longer a Christian nation," President Barack Obama today in his inaugural address affirmed America is a nation of many faiths that includes Muslims and "nonbelievers."

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers," Obama stated during his speech before a crowd estimated by security officials at about 1.8 million.

He continued: "We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

Obama's statements about an inclusive country were strikingly similar to remarks he made twice in 2007 in which he went further and stated the U.S. is "no longer Christian." At that time, some took issue with his pronouncement, fearing the declarations indicated his intention to reorient the U.S. away from its traditional Judeo-Christian values.

During a June 2007 speech available on Youtube, Obama stated, "Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation. At least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."

In that speech, Obama took aim at the "Christian Right" for "hijacking" religion and using it to divide the nation:

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked. Part of it's because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, who've been all too eager to exploit what divides us," he said.

Asked last year to clarify his remarks, Obama repeated them to the Christian Broadcast Network: "I think that the right might worry a bit more about the dangers of sectarianism. Whatever we once were, we're no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers," Obama wrote in an e-mail to CBN News senior national correspondent David Brody.

"We should acknowledge this and realize that when we're formulating policies from the statehouse to the Senate floor to the White House, we've got to work to translate our reasoning into values that are accessible to every one of our citizens, not just members of our own faith community," wrote Obama.

Obama clarified his statement about the "Christian Right."

"My intention was to contrast the heated partisan rhetoric of a distinct minority of Christian leaders with the vast majority of evangelical Christians – conservatives included – who believe that hate has no place in our politics.

"When you have pastors and television pundits who appear to explicitly coordinate with one political party; when you're implying that your fellow Americans are traitors, terrorist sympathizers or akin to the devil himself; then I think you're attempting to hijack the faith of those who follow you for your own personal or political ends," wrote Obama.

Obama's speech declaring the U.S. "no longer Christian" was originally met with little fanfare. But it was recirculated this summer during the presidential campaign.

A television commercial that aired in South Dakota by a group calling itself the Coalition Against Anti-Christian Rhetoric juxtaposed the audio of Obama's "no longer Christian" statement over images of the presidential candidate dressed in Somali garb and a picture of him with his hands rested below his waist while other politicians place their hands over their hearts during the Pledge of Allegiance.

"It's time for people to take a stand against Barack Hussein Obama," declares the voiceover on the commercial.

The Gateway Pundit blog took notice of Obama's speech 2007 about the U.S. being a nation also for Muslims and non-believers.

"This won't play well in the Bible Belt," commented the blog in a posting.

Obama's campaign had utilized faith as a central theme. The candidate's Christianity and his former membership in the controversial Trinity United Church of Christ led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright were much scrutinized.

His comment about the "Christian Right" echoed similar statements made by Merrill A. McPeak, Obama's military adviser and national campaign co-chairman. As WND reported, in a 2003 interview with The Oregonian newspaper, McPeak apparently compared evangelical Christians to the terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

The Oregonian interviewer asked McPeak whether "there's an element within Hamas, Hezbollah, that doesn't want Israel to exist at all and always will be there?"

McPeak responded by comparing the two terror groups to "radical" Oregonians.

"There's an element in Oregon, you know, that's always going to be radical in some pernicious way, and likely to clothe it in religious garments, so it makes it harder to attack," he said. "So there's craziness all over the place."

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More boos than balls

It will not be easy for President B. Hussein Obama. More than half the country voted for him, and yet our newspapers are brimming with snippy remarks at every little aspect of his inauguration.

Here's a small sampling of the churlishness in just the New York Times:

The American public is bemused by the tasteless show-biz extravaganza surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration today.
– There is something to be said for some showiness in an inauguration. But one felt discomfited all the same.

– This is an inauguration, not a coronation.

– Is there a parallel between Mrs. Obama's jewel-toned outfit and somebody else's glass slippers? Why limousines and not shank's mare?

– It is still unclear whether we are supposed to shout "Whoopee!" or "Shame!" about the new elegance the Obamas are bringing to Washington.

Boy, talk about raining on somebody's parade! These were not, of course, comments about the inauguration of the angel Obama; they are (slightly edited) comments about the inauguration of another historic president, Ronald Reagan, in January 1981.

Obama's inaugural address tracked much of Reagan's first inaugural address – minus the substance – the main difference being that Obama did not invoke God as stoutly or frequently, restricting his heavenly references to a few liberal focus-grouped phrases, such as "God-given" and "God's grace."

Obama was also not as fulsome in his praise of his predecessor as Reagan was. To appreciate how remarkable this is, recall that Reagan's predecessor was Jimmy Carter.

Under Carter, more than 50 Americans were held hostage by a two-bit terrorist Iranian regime for 444 days – released the day of Reagan's inauguration. Under Bush, there has not been another terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001.

But I gather that if Obama had uttered anything more than the briefest allusion to Bush, that would have provoked yet more booing from the Hope-and-Change crowd, which moments earlier had showered Bush with boos when he walked onto the stage. That must be the new tone we've been hearing so much about.

So maybe liberals can stop acting as if the entire nation could at last come together in a "unity of purpose" if only conservatives would stop fomenting "conflict and discord" – as Obama suggested in his inaugural address. We're not the ones who booed a departing president.

It is a liberal trope to insult conservatives by asking them meaningless questions, such as the one repeatedly asked of Bush throughout his presidency about whether he had made any mistakes. All humans make mistakes – what is the point of that question other than to give insult?

When will the first reporter ask President Obama to admit that he has made mistakes? Try: Never.

No, that question will disappear for the next four years. It will be replaced by the new question for conservatives on every liberal's lips these days: Do you want Obama to succeed as president?

Answer: Of course we do. We live here, too.

But merely to ask the question is to imply that the 60 million Americans who did not vote for Obama are being unpatriotic if they do not wholeheartedly endorse his liberal agenda.

I guess it depends on the meaning of "succeed." If Obama "succeeds" in pushing through big-government, terrorist-appeasing policies, he will not have "succeeded" at being a good president. If we didn't think conservative principles of small government and strong national defense weren't better for the country, we wouldn't be conservatives.

And why was that question never asked of liberals producing assassination books and movies about President Bush for the last eight years?

Say, did liberals want Pastor Rick Warren to succeed delivering a meaningful invocation at the inaugural?

The way I remember it, the Hope-and-Change crowd viciously denounced the Christian pastor, stamped their feet and demanded that Obama withdraw the invitation – all because Rick Warren agrees with Obama's stated position on gay marriage, which also happens to be the position of a vast majority of Americans every time they have been allowed to vote on the matter.

Liberals always have to play the victim, acting as if they merely want to bring the nation together in hope and unity in the face of petulant, stick-in-the-mud conservatives. Meanwhile, they are the ones booing, heckling and publicly fantasizing about the assassination of those who disagree with them on policy matters.

Hope and unity, apparently, can only be achieved if conservatives would just go away – and perhaps have the decency to kill themselves.

Republicans are not the ones who need to be told that "the time has come to set aside childish things" – as Obama said of his own assumption of the presidency. Remember? We're the ones who managed to gaze upon Carter at the conclusion of his abomination of a presidency without booing.

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Inaugural prayer slam prompts Obama smile

Outrage is erupting over the inauguration benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery, an 87-year-old civil rights pioneer, for asking God to help mankind work for a day when "white would embrace what is right."

Lowery, known for co-founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr., opened with a quote from the "Black National Anthem." He then asked God to encourage America to make "choices on the side of love, not hate, on the side of inclusion not exclusion, tolerance not intolerance" after President Barack Obama took the presidential oath.

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Then he ended his prayer with, "Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around – when yellow will be mellow – when the red man can get ahead, man – and when white will embrace what is right."

Obama reacted to the benediction with a smile.

The crowd cheered and boomed with a loud "Amen."

However, talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Lowery's prayer "offended" and was "far more memorable than the inaugural address by President Obama."

Referring to Lowery's "When black will not be asked to get in back" comment, Limbaugh responded, "When does that happen today? Did we not just inaugurate a black man as president of the United States?"

Limbaugh went through each statement about color, attempting to decipher Lowery's intended message.

"I know it's a left over from the '60s thing," he said. "It's not relevant today! Everybody here is living in the past, and they don't want anybody to think we've made any progress at all despite inaugurating Barack Obama as president today."

Repeating Lowery's "When white will embrace what is right" statement, Limbaugh said, "He just insulted this country, large numbers of which elected Barack Obama president of the United States."

Several angry bloggers posted reactions to Lowery's prayer, including the following:

• Didn't whites just do that by electing Jesus Christ president?
  
• Am I allowed to be offended?
  
• Race card pulled during the inauguration. Wow that didn't take long.
  

• It is completely inappropriate to have that in any prayer, much less a prayer at an inauguration that is supposed to be about how "We're all one."

• Black … brown … red … yellow … white? I'm stunned. The prayer is so racist and so inappropriate. Is Rev. Lowery just a kinder, gentler Rev. Wright?

• You guys are all spelling it wrong. That's the problem. I'm sure that if you look at his notes you'll see that it says "… whites will embrace what is Wright."

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INVASION USA
Immigrants ravage U.S. infrastructure
Financial analyst: $1.6 trillion required to repair devastation


The United States will need $1.6 trillion to repair damage to its infrastructure from a massive influx of immigrants, a new report reveals.

In his report titled, "The Twin Crises: Immigration and Infrastructure," prominent researcher Edwin S. Rubenstein examines 15 categories of infrastructure: airports, border security, bridges, dams and levees, electricity (the power grids), hazardous waste removal, hospitals, mass transit, parks and recreation facilities, ports and navigable waterways, public schools, railroads, roads and highways, solid waste and trash, and water and sewer systems.

Rubenstein, a financial analyst and former contributing editor of Forbes and economics editor of National Review, claims the nation is facing a crisis – with immigration responsible for at least 80 percent of spending needed to expand the U.S. infrastructure before the middle of this century.

"If the infrastructure crisis could be fixed by spending money, there would be no crisis," Mr. Rubenstein explained in a statement. "Since 1987, capital spending on transportation infrastructure has increased by 2.1 percent per year above the inflation rate. At $233 billion (2004 dollars), infrastructure is already one of the largest categories of government spending. Our infrastructure is 'crumbling' because population growth has overwhelmed the ability of even these vast sums to expand capacity."

While immigration policy has been hotly debated for a number of years, Rubenstein writes that its impact on infrastructure is rarely discussed.

Public schools

Immigrants make up 21 percent of the school-age population in the U.S.

"In California, a whopping 47 percent of the school-age population consists of immigrants or the children of immigrants," the report states. "Some Los Angeles schools are so crowded that they have lengthened the time between classes to give students time to make their way through crowded halls. Los Angeles' school construction program is so massive that the Army Corps of Engineers was called in to manage it."

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 18 percent of all schools are considered overcrowded, and 37 percent use trailers and portable structures to accommodate growing student bodies. Public facilities are an average of 40 years old. Cities with high populations of illegal aliens are spending large amounts of their budgets on constructing new schools.

"Our anticipated gains in the number of foreign-born students alone will require us to build one elementary school a month to keep up," Miami-Dade, Fla., school Superintendent Roger Cuevas said.

Hospitals

Rubenstein cites a recent construction boom among the nation's hospitals. As many as 60 percent of America's hospitals are either under construction or have plans for new facilities.

"But we have a two-tier hospital system in the U.S. Hospitals in poor areas – that serve primarily uninsured immigrants and Medicaid patients – cannot afford their facilities," he writes. "The uncompensated costs are killing them. In California, 60 emergency departments (EDs) have closed to avoid the uncompensated costs of their largely illegal alien caseloads."

Illegal aliens use emergency rooms more than twice as often as U.S. citizens, and providing their uncompensated care has been the death of many emergency departments.

In 2006, more than 46 percent of illegals did not have medical insurance. Although illegal aliens are not supposed to be eligible for Medicaid, they receive Emergency Medicaid and their children are entitled to all benefits that legal immigrants receive.

Because hospitals are forced to care for Medicaid recipients, the government program never covers full costs of service. It underpaid hospitals by $11.3 billion in 2006, he wrote.

Water and electricity

Rubenstein referenced immigration trends revealing that aliens often choose to live in cities with strained water supplies – especially near the border – and their sheer numbers have made conservation efforts nearly impossible.

"Cities like San Antonio, El Paso, and Phoenix could run out of water in 10 to 20 years," he writes. San Diego's water company has resorted to a once-unthinkable option: recycling toilet water for drinking."

Due to immigration, demand for water exceeds the California State Water Project's capacity. Now Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed building a $6 billion reservoir. Approximately one-fifth of the state's electricity is tied up in collection, storage and transportation of the water.

Electric utilities are expected to require an additional $142 billion to keep generator capacity at recommended levels before 2050 due to the increasing population.

National parks

America's national parks are also bearing the brunt of immigration. Illegals wear roads and paths through parks.

"Their fires, trash, and vandalism have despoiled thousands of acres of pristine parkland," he writes.

According to Rubenstein, illegals leave beer, water and milk bottles, personal hygiene items and medications, clothing and shoes, food and food cans, jewelry, paper trash, sanitary pads, disposable diapers, backpacks, blankets, towels, plastic bags, homemade weapons, disintegrating toilet paper and human feces on U.S. property while they journey into the country.

They damage vegetation, leave abandoned vehicles and bicycles, spray paint trees and boulders and create campfires that turn into wildfires.

Border security costs

Costs for securing the nation's borders are expected to increase 20.6 percent in fiscal year 2009. These include expenses for border patrol, electronic surveillance, the border fence and other security needs. President Bush allocated $44.3 billion for the Department of Homeland Security – a 4.5 percent increase from last year's budget of $42.4 billion.

"While the U.S. builds a fence across much of the border, many illegals are taking a different route. Underground," Rubenstein reveals. "Authorities have discovered dozens of illegal tunnels across the international border in recent years. Smuggling of drugs, weapons, and immigrants takes place daily through these underground passageways."

Illegal aliens also use drainage systems to travel across the U.S.-Mexico border – from El Paso to San Diego.

"One tunnel, actually a system of two half-mile passages connecting Tijuana with San Diego, is by comparison a superhighway," he wrote.

While the Border Patrol attempts to stop these underground incursions with steel doors, cameras and sensors, harsh weather conditions and human smugglers destroy the equipment and barriers.

These costs, and the expenses of providing "enhanced driver's licenses" as alternative passports for citizens, RFID chips, government databases and watch lists are expected to soar.

Fiscal burden

In his research, Rubenstein finds that the average immigrant household generates a fiscal debt of $3,408 after federal benefits and taxes are considered. At the state and local level, the fiscal debt amounts to $4.398 per immigrant household.

"There are currently about 36 million immigrants living in about 9 million households, so the aggregate deficit attributable to immigrants comes to $70.3 billion," he writes. "… Immigrants could deplete the amount of funds available for infrastructure by as much as $70 billion per year."

Rubenstein cites figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, projecting that the U.S. population will reach 433 million by 2050 – increasing 44 percent, or 135 million, from today's numbers.

A full 82 percent of this increase will be directly attributable to new immigrants and their U.S.-born children.

"The brutal reality is that no conceivable infrastructure program can keep pace with that kind of population growth," he wrote. "The traditional 'supply-side' response to America's infrastructure shortage – build, build, build – is dead, dead, dead. Demand reduction is the only viable way to close the gap between the supply and demand of public infrastructure."

He concludes, "Immigration reduction must play a role."

[homedawg]

Dear President Bush

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George W. Bush - The American Hero


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[homedawg]

Obama's Dirty Dozen: What the President's Agenda Means for America

Talk radio’s Rush Limbaugh and Democratic firebrand Rahm Emanuel agree on one thing: Barack Obama’s presidency could alter America for decades.

Emanuel, the new White House chief of staff, recently told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that the financial meltdown provides an opportunity “to do things that Americans have pushed off for years.”

Limbaugh offered the contrary view, with this warning: “We're about to see an encroachment by the left that will take a generation to roll back.”

1. Allow Anyone to Vote

[Probability 5.2 / U.S. Impact 6.4 / GOP Impact 7.8 / GOP Misery Index = 6.46]

The 2008 election triggered multiple voter-fraud investigations, and Democrats apparently have decided that, if everyone is declared eligible to vote, no one can be accused of voting illegally.

Registering to vote is just a “bureaucratic obstacle” they say. So Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., says she’ll introduce legislation to promote automatic, universal voter registration by the government.

Government voter registration would rely on existing databases, mail surveys, and door-to-door canvassing. This would make the demographic challenges facing Republicans that much tougher.


2. Ban Offshore Drilling

[Probability 7.0 / U.S. Impact 7.5 / GOP Impact 3.1/ GOP Misery Index = 5.86 ]

Blocking offshore oil drilling has been a mainstay of the Democratic agenda. Under political pressure, Congress let a drilling moratorium expire, and President Bush changed an executive order that prohibits it. Obama will be pressured to reinstate the executive prohibition. It wouldn’t even require congressional approval.


3. Close Guantanamo
[Probability 9.8 / U.S. Impact 7.5 / GOP Impact 2.0 / GOP Misery Index = 6.43]

Now that Guantanamo Bay is Obama’s problem, The New York Times is admitting the problems associated with shutting it down, stating it could lead to “the release of suspects for lack of evidence.” Jailing suspects in the United States could lead to the radicalization and recruitment of U.S. prison populations, along with the nightmare scenario of armed jailbreaks. Obama is closing the camp to placate the globalists -- but at what cost to U.S. security?


4. Curtail Gun Owners’ Rights

[Probability 8.0 / U.S. Impact 8.5 / GOP Impact 3.2 / GOP Misery Index = 6.56]

Obama strongly supports the right of cities and states to restrict gun owners’ rights. So it was not surprising that more than 350,000 Americans rushed to buy guns the week after the election. Expect Obama to appoint judges who oppose the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Washington, D.C.’s, gun ban. No only will he have a chance to fill key vacancies of the nation’s appellate courts, Democrats are pushing through a new judgeship bill that will create more judicial slots – all to be vetted and filled by the Democrat-controlled Congress.


5. Enact Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants

[Probability 8.2 / U.S. Impact 7.8 / GOP Impact 8.8 / GOP Misery Index = 8.26]

Democrats know that amnesty for America’s 12 million illegal immigrants is the best way to lock in the gains it achieved in 2008.

Given the 2006 political backlash against immigration reform, however, look for Obama and Congress to move circumspectly. The first step will be legislation fast-tracking naturalization for all illegals serving in the U.S. military or attending college. Next, processing backlogs will be expedited. Given that 67 percent of Latinos voted for Obama in 2008, the long-term impact on the GOP could be devastating.

Amnesty would be “a nation killer” politically, says William Gheen, president of the Raleigh, N.C.-based Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC). It would “destroy any future hopes for immigration enforcement or border security,” he warns.


6. End Faith-Based Initiatives

[Probability 7.7/ U.S. Impact 7.1 / GOP Impact 6.5 / GOP Misery Index = 7.10]

Obama insists that religious groups not discriminate in hiring, which could kill faith-based initiatives. This could mean, for example, that an Orthodox Jewish group would have to hire an avowed atheist to administer a faith-based program. “He’s rolling back the Bush protections,” Richard Cizik, vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals, told The New York Times.


7. Give Driver’s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

[Probability 8.5 / U.S. Impact 6.6 / GOP Impact 7.4 / GOP Misery Index = 7.43]

Obama says giving illegals licenses “is the right idea.”

Unfortunately, a driver’s license confers many other rights to anyone who holds it. With a license, you can board a commercial aircraft, open a checking account, or register to vote.

“When you give somebody a license you give them the keys to the kingdom,” says ALIPAC’s Gheen. “You have at that point given them a type of legal presence.”


8. Hike Taxes
[Probability 6.6 / U.S. Impact 7.2 / GOP Impact 6.3 / GOP Misery Index = 6.70]

Obama promised to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans -- quite a feat, considering that only about 60 percent of Americans earn enough to pay taxes in the first place. Political sleight-of-tongue aside, any realistic hope of extending the Bush tax cuts died on Nov. 4. Obama has yet to back off on his plan to hike taxes for the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, despite the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression.


9. Implement ‘Card Check’ in the Workplace
[Probability 6.0 / U.S. Impact 8.1 / GOP Impact 7.2 / GOP Misery Index = 7.10]

The unions helped elect Obama and expect some payback. They’re demanding approval of the Employee Free Choice Act, which, naturally, being a government program, seeks to take away workers’ free choice. The act would eliminate the confidential balloting in which workers now determine whether they want to be unionized. Even former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern warns that the measure could deny “freedom to many Americans.”


10. Impose Greenhouse Restrictions
[Probability 8.5 / U.S. Impact 7.8 / GOP Impact 2.3 / GOP Misery Index = 6.20]

Energy companies are bracing for a double whammy: Obama will push for the greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system he once said would bankrupt coal-fired power plants, while hitting oil companies with a windfall profits tax. It’s all part of “spreading the wealth around.”


11. Silence Talk Radio
[Probability 5.6 / U.S. Impact 7.8 / GOP Impact 8.5 / GOP Misery Index = 7.30]

Democratic Campaign Chairman Charles Schumer recently compared outlawing talk radio with “limiting pornography.” So should Rush, Sean, Laura, and the gang start looking for another line of work? The guess here is that the Democratic troika of Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Sen. Harry Reid will have bigger problems to deal with, at least initially. But count on frequent attempts to intimidate right-minded radio.


12. Promote Islamic Education

[Probability 5.5 / U.S. Impact 6.1 / GOP Impact 2.7 / GOP Misery Index = 4.76]

Despite the recession, Obama plans to pour $2 billion into reforming schools -- not in America, mind you, but in the Middle East.

It’s all part of Obama’s plan to defeat global terrorism by winning “the battle of ideas.” Obama promises to “work with moderates within the Islamic world” by establishing “a $2 billion Global Education Fund to work to eliminate the global education deficit and offer an alternative to extremist schools.”

Rush Limbaugh’s skeptical reaction: “You're going to be paying for schools that try to convert terrorists.”

:puke:

[homedawg]

Obama snubs vets, skips Heroes ball

Becomes 1st new president to miss inauguration event
Since its inception in 1953, every new president has attended The Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball – until now.

The ball was created for President Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration to honor recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award. The event is sponsored by the American Legion and co-sponsored by 13 other veteran’s service organizations, including the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

And while 48 of the nation’s 99 living recipients of the Medal of Honor attended the event, reports the Cleveland Leader and various self-attested attendees of the ball, newly sworn-in President Barack Obama became the first president in 56 years to skip out on the ceremony.

Obama’s itinerary on Inauguration Day, however, did include attendance at 10 balls in his honor, many of which were graced by a cast of the nation’s biggest music and movie stars.

You do not forget something like this, this man does not care to associate with our military how does he get off telling everyone how he cares so much he is going to bring them home…