The youth in the Middle East are in the majority and, like young people in America, just want to be free. They don’t hate Americans. They don’t even hate Jews. They save their distaste for the American and Israeli governments. At first glance one would say that Jared Cohen’s “Children of Jihad” is a fascinating examination of the youth culture in the Middle East, but it is so much more than that. It is possible that somewhere in the book lies the answer to the question: Will there ever be peace in the Middle East? Young people are the future, and, according to Cohen, they are much more like us than we realize.
Cohen, a Jewish American, befriends the youth of Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. He sits down with young members of Hezbollah at McDonald’s in Lebanon. He travels into war-torn Iraq. He worships at a synagogue — in Iran. Most Americans haven’t a clue about daily life in the Middle East. Cohen’s travelogue shatters the mistaken, but commonly held belief that every Muslim with a turban on his head is chanting “Death to America” in his head.
The White House released a budget deficit projection today for 2009 at $490 billion. In more shocking news, the Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for the mess. Bush inherited a budget deficit of $128 billion from Bill Clinton in 2001. This after Clinton was praised the year before for showing a budget surplus. What a wonderful gift George Bush and his Congress are leaving for the next administration and America. It’s like receiving a mugging for Christmas.
The two major parties continue to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic while truly fiscally responsible Third Party candidates are waving their arms wildly holding up life preservers trying their best to show the economic geniuses the way to salvation. Maybe someday they will pay attention.
The White House on Monday predicted a record deficit of $490 billion for the 2009 budget year, a senior government official told CNN.
The deficit would amount to roughly 3.5 percent of the nation’s $14 trillion economy.
The official pointed to a faltering economy and the bipartisan $170 billion stimulus package that passed earlier this year for the record deficit.
The fiscal year begins October 1, 2008.
The federal deficit is the difference between what the government spends and what it takes in from taxes and other revenue sources. The government must borrow money to make up the difference.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing a lack of authorization to speak publicly ahead of an official briefing later Monday by Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the stimulus package was necessary, even if it increased the deficit.
Quote of the Day:
“We were not made to serve the state, but the state was made to serve us.”
– Jason Kuznicki
Subject: Vote on omnibus bill still pending
A vote is still pending on S. 3297, the “Advancing America’s Priorities Act” (America’s priorities? Where do they get these bill names?). This means we still have time to oppose it.
This bill groups together 36 completely different legislative proposals. What if your Senator strongly opposes most of these proposals, but votes for the whole package because he feels one specific proposal simply must be passed? If many Senators feel this way then than we end up with a lot of laws and programs that could not have passed on their own merits.
Last year, I admitted to my Ron Paul-aholism. It could be more accurately described as an eternal need to quench my thirst for liberty. Ron Paul was my elixir of choice, but he is no longer running for President. I reject writing his name on the ballot. You might as well drink water. Sure it is pure, but doesn’t accomplish much.
Once it became obvious Ron Paul would not get the GOP nomination I began scanning the back of the bar for new drinks to satiate me. The problem became obvious from the start. That delicious Ron Paul concoction was nowhere to be found. Ron Paul ruined all of the other potential candidates. Drinking up the other candidates from Ron Paul’s gold shot glass left me unsatisfied.
To remedy this I came up with a scoring system to help determine which of the current candidates most closely represents Ron Paul’s sweet liberty message. I started with only 10 criteria. Those 10 quickly became 20. Each of the criteria is assigned a score between 0 and 5. A perfect score of 100 means the candidate is a Ron Paul twin which to me is not possible, so I disallowed a perfect score making the total possible score a 99.
The current Bush AIDS relief plan expires at the end of September. That was a Bush backed plan to send $15 Billion overseas (mostly Africa) to combat the proliferation of AIDS. Now, the House has approved another Bush backed relief plan that more than triples the current plan, bringing the total to $48 Billion. Bush is said to be running around with pen in hand anxious to sign the bill.
I must sound like a jackass for saying anything against such a “charitable” thing but if that is the case then so be it. I don’t care if it is AIDS relief or sending billions of our tax payer money to places like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or Israel for whatever reason. I think we should just stop. If I were to become President (gods help us all) I’d install a large plasma screen (at my own private expense) on the ceiling above my bed in the White House. On the screen will be the the National Debt clock. Every day after falling asleep I will have ticking number nightmares and wake up in a cold sweat until I take action so that the numbers reverse and start counting towards zero.
It is actions like these that confirm the notion that the two major parties are just more of the same.
I feel like crying. I feel like what my daughter must feel like when I brush her ever-tangled hair each night. “Daddy, please make it stop!” I guess I’m supposed to welcome Big Daddy Government’s painful brush by now, but I just can’t do it, not even for AIDS relief.
Bruce Fein, who is a scheduled speaker at Ron Paul’s Rally For The Republic testified at a Congressional hearing regarding the Executive Branch (ie. Bush Administration) power hungry ways. Watch his testimony in the video below or read it online here(PDF). Great words from another patriot.
Bob Barr was interviews by Keith Olbermann this evening on MSNBC. The subject matter was geared toward the “fake impeachment hearings” held today. Barr was one of many who testified. Barr masterfully twisted his answers toward his campaign for President. I must admit he does this kind of stuff really well. Check it out below.
This morning on Glenn Beck’s radio program he praised Ron Paul for his recent speech on the House floor regarding the state of our country and the move towards globalism. He said he is trying to get Ron Paul back on his show to discuss it. The real kicker was that he said that if Ron Paul were running today as a third party or independent candidate that he’d vote for him.
This statement from Beck was coupled with his typical disclaimer that he doesn’t agree with Ron Paul on his “isolationism”, but getting Beck to admit that he would vote for Ron Paul is a huge step. Now if Beck would only read Ron Paul’s book, perhaps he’d come around on foreign policy as well. For a start, Beck needs an education on isolationism.
Beck then goes into Barack Obama’s speech for comparison suggesting Obama is completely wrong unlike Ron Paul who “gets it”.
So look/listen for an upcoming Ron Paul interview with Glenn Beck and listen to the audio below for “proof” that Beck said he’d vote for Ron Paul. Beck has come a long way since last year when he called Paul supporters crazy and Paul himself the mayor of crazy town.
Tomorrow morning at 10am CST Ron Paul’s Campaign For Liberty begins selling tickets for the Rally For The Republic being held at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN on September 2nd. There are many speakers lined up as well as some significant musical acts. The word is that they are in talks with a certain “American Icon” country music star. Hmmmm wonder who that could be? Check out all the details at the rally web site.
At first, I wasn’t planning on attending due to cost and location, but I’m going to buy a couple tickets and get there somehow. I suppose the call of liberty is just too strong for me to miss it.
Ron Paul has been cautiously optimistic about the “Ticket Bomb” tomorrow. What a message it would send if the event sells out in a day or two. Would the shriveling Republican Party take notice? Unlikely, but it sure would send another message to the masses and make some main stream media news (well maybe). Get your tickets starting tomorrow!
Below is another great video promoting Libertarian candidate Bob Barr. Footage includes Ron Paul, Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and much more. It does more than just promote the Barr campaign though. It is effective at promoting the overall message of liberty by showing leaders throughout history who have fought for liberty to various extents. Truly inspiring stuff.
Liberty Maven
The youth in the Middle East are in the majority and, like young people in America, just want to be free. They don’t hate Americans. They don’t even hate Jews. They save their distaste for the American and Israeli governments. At first glance one would say that Jared Cohen’s “Children of Jihad
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