ACORN’S Joe McGaven gets $445 million in Illinois

“ACORN, the supposedly defunct organization defunded by Congress in the aftermath of James O’Keefe’s video exposing ACORN employees’ willingness to help out pimps and prostitutes attain government benefits, is back. As Judicial Watch has uncovered, the Obama administration offered $445 million to a former ACORN official as part of a $7.6 billion government program designed to help “unemployed or substantially underemployed” Americans make their mortgage payments.

The ACORN official, Joe McGavin, is director of Hardest Hit, an Illinois program that received that massive Treasury infusion. Prior to his time at Hardest Hit, McGaven was director of counseling for ACORN Housing in Chicago, and the operations manager for Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA), an ACORN affiliate.”

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/08/ACORN-official-gets-payoff

“Until two years ago AHCOA was called ACORN Housing. The nonprofit corporation renamed itself Affordable Housing Centers for America after undercover activists caught ACORN employees offering helpful advice about starting a brothel for pedophiles and committing other crimes on video in 2009. Soon after, popular revulsion prompted Congress to ban funding of ACORN and groups related to it.

ACORN Housing, which had been the largest affiliate in ACORN’s corrupt, taxpayer-subsidized empire of activism, grew out of crime: squatting. It emerged from a 1982 action in which ACORN built a squatters’ tent city behind the White House.”

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/06/12/obama-gives-446-million-to-acorn-veteran/

Give a wedding gift that will last

I'm still using some of our wedding gifts. We were married in 1960. President Obama wants couples to give that up so he can raise more money for his campaign. No president in history has ever run up a debt like he has or spent more time on the golf course. I don't think I'd trust him with my wedding gift money or my tax money. http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2012/06/22/obama_to_couples_why_dont_you_forgo_wedding_gifts_and_ask_your_guests_to_donate_to_me_instead

                         

Still using my silverplate received as a gift from my husband’s aunts and uncles. 

Conservatives complain too much about welfare—except where it counts

Welfare comes to many, not just the poor. Princeton University is highly invested in the success of capitalism with an endowment of $17 billion, or about $2 million per student. Even so, it received approximately $54,000 per student in 2011 from the federal government--you and me. Richard Vedder, Bloomberg.com, Mar. 18, 2012.

‎"In 2002, Meg Whitman, now the chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Co. and a former CEO of EBay Inc., made a $30 million gift for what is essentially a luxury dorm (Whitman College) at Princeton that probably netted her a tax break of $10 million or so. Less opulent residences at the College of New Jersey lack such rich private funding. One could argue that this is the equivalent of building public housing for the rich. "

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-18/princeton-reaps-tax-breaks-as-state-colleges-beg.html

“It's unlikely that more money has ever been lavished on the education of so few. Even as Ivy Plus budgets have spiraled upward, the schools' enrollments have barely budged. From the 1997-98 academic year through 2006-07, graduate enrollment at the 10 institutions inched up by 10%, to 55,708, while the number of undergraduates actually fell by 1.4%, to 68,492.

Meanwhile [2007], the wealth gap between the Ivies and everyone else has never been wider. The $5.7 billion in investment gains generated by Harvard's endowment for the year that ended June 30 exceeded the total endowment assets of all but six U.S. universities, five of which were Ivy Plus: Yale, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, and Columbia. Ivy dominance extends to fund-raising. A mere 10 schools accounted for half the growth in donations to all U.S. colleges and universities last year. All of the top five on the list were Ivies, led by Stanford, which set a record for higher education in 2006, collecting $911 million in gifts.”

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_50/b4062038784589.htm

Why the general public doesn’t trust architects

A glass box addition to a 19th century farm house.

Story here

Even fewer jobs for Mexico in the future

“On April 19, 2012, Mexico’s Senate unanimously passed the Ley General de Cambio Climático, or the General Law on Climate Change. The bill, which previously passed The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, by a vote of 128-10, includes a requirement that Mexico reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent below business-as-usual levels by 2020 and by 50 percent below 2000 levels by 2050.

In addition, the bill mandates that 35 percent of the country’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2024; requires mandatory emissions reporting by the country’s largest polluters; establishes a top-level commission to oversee implementation of the law, lead environmental research, and report on emissions levels; provides for the development of a carbon emissions trading scheme; and establishes a fund to collect resources for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.”

I guess there will be more Mexicans heading north to support their families. But at least the wealthy, white Mexicans who run their government can breath clean air.

http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/

This is one serious climate change blog.  They are “true believers.”

Pelosi unhinged

It’s not only her boss who grabs power not assigned to his office.

“I could have arrested Karl Rove on any given day,” she [Nancy Pelosi] said. “I’m not kidding. There’s a prison here in the Capitol. If we had spotted him in the Capitol, we could have arrested him.”

However, Rove noted that while a House committee cited him for contempt in the investigation of the firing of U.S. attorneys in 2007, the House never took up the resolution.

“So it's nice to know that Speaker Pelosi wanted to have me arrested,” he said in an appearance on Fox News. “It's nice to know that she thinks she had the power to. But we're still a nation of laws, and she had no authority to do so, and had she attempted to arrest me on any of the number of times that I was in and out of the Capitol, without a resolution passed by the entire House of Representatives, she would have been up the proverbial creek without the proverbial paddle.

“You know, she sounds a little bit like Inspector Clouseau and a little bit about the mad red queen. But you know, Speaker Pelosi was dead wrong in her assertion today. I'm sure she had a good laugh, and it's nice to know that she dreams of slapping me in her own personal jail, but didn't have any authority to do it.”

Read more  Rove: Nancy Pelosi the Inspector Clouseau of House Speakers

Running from economic issues—Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi thinks Holder's contempt charge (he has lied to Congress) is about "voter suppression" (he's trying to stop states from cleaning up their voter registration rolls). Why does she want dead people, illegals and prisoners to vote? Talk about suppression. That denies legal voters a right to be counted. http://washingtonexaminer.com/pelosi-holder-contempt-vote-about-voter-suppression-not-fast-and-furious/article/2500261

Rep. Allen West (R-FL) said "Black unemployment remains at almost 14 percent -- almost double the rate for whites," and destruction of the family can be blamed for that. Look what Obama has done for blacks--just think what he could do for Hispanics. But that's not fair. The government has been destroying the black family for about 70 years. For unborn African-Americans, the abortion rate is about 40%. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/rep-allen-west-family-values-not-government-needed-economic-stability-black-community

“In the 1950s, after at least seventy years of rough parity, African American marriage rates began to fall behind white rates. In 1950, the percentages of white and African American women (aged fifteen and over) who were  currently married were roughly the same, 67 percent and 64 percent, respectively. By 1998, the percentage of currently married white women had dropped by 13 percent to 58 percent. But the drop among African American women was 44 percent to 36 percent—more than three times
larger. The declines for males were parallel, 12 percent for white men, 36 percent for African American men.” http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/0817998721_95.pdf

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/12/14/barely-half-of-u-s-adults-are-married-a-record-low/

Ineptocracy T-shirt

       

Too short to blog

Idioms. "Expecting a baby." It's already a baby. "Going to be a mother." Already a mother. "With child." Now you're catching on.

Sandals.  I have owned many, but they rarely fit well.  My “best” pair is over 12 years (summers) old, and the sole on the right foot separated on Sunday.  I bought some super glue.  On hold for now. Cost is no object (these were $5.00), comfort is.

Kitty.  Is not eating well again (refer you back to August 2011).  So we’re using appetite stimulants, baby food, and lots of variety.  But when you have a cat that doesn’t like fish of any flavor or species, the selection is limited.

Shams. I bought a pillow sham with 2 stylized cats on it for 26 cents at Volunteers of America that had colors matching my couch in my office.  I put a pillow in it—the cat loves it. So I went back and got the other one, also 26 cents.

Glasses. I picked up my new glasses on Tuesday.  Not very different than the 2008 style.  It’s too expensive to get a second pair at the optometrist’s or to even have new lenses for old frames (wanted $228), but I can get a wide selection at Wal-Mart for $79.

Education. About 50 years ago the Supreme Court decided that American children didn't need prayer or Bible reading in public schools. In their place we now have metal detectors, armed guards and classes on using condoms.

Ears. When I was about 35, I thought about getting my ears pierced. Still thinking. . .

Blueberry biscuits.  I made this.  Wasn’t as good as I expected, but ate it anyway.  Do you ever do that?

I have no idea what happened. “The OCLC Board of Trustees has concluded that rather than moving forward with the appointment of Jack B. Blount as its President and CEO, it is in the best interest of OCLC to have Jay Jordan continue serving in these capacities. Mr. Jordan has agreed to postpone his retirement to continue leading OCLC.”

Not very healthy for the baby. . .

“While hundreds of Connecticut residents rallied in New Haven against abortion and federal requirements that religious organizations cover their employees' contraceptives, officials at the State Capitol complex took up a measure on whether the insurance everyone will be required to purchase under the federal health law will cover the procedures.

The panel unanimously decided that abortion is an essential benefit by eliminating the plan that prohibits elective abortion coverage, and that it will be covered in the plan they select.

"This issue is favorably resolved for all women now in Connecticut," said Jennifer Jaff, executive director of the group Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness and a member of an advisory committee of the Insurance Exchange Health Plan. "Stripping women of elective abortions is not a tenable option." “

http://ctmirror.org/story/16602/abortion-be-considered-essential-health-benefit

The Advocacy group appears to only be Jennifer Jaff.

Usually he’s compared to Carter

“In 1999, Christopher Hitchens penned an acid reflection on the presidency of Bill Clinton, titled "No One Left To Lie To." The verdict on the presidency of Barack Obama, at least during this campaign season, might be No One Left to Pander To. In three and a half years, we've gone from the "audacity of hope" to the "shameless palm grease." “

Mona Charen

The first shot in this battle over religious freedom was not from the Catholics

“The Catholic commitment to religious freedom doesn't stem from partisan political concerns. Anyone who's listened to a dinner-table political argument among Catholics knows there's no way this diverse group of litigants agrees about who they'll pull the lever for in November. In fact, months before these lawsuits were filed against the administration, Catholic bishops filed a Supreme Court brief arguing against Arizona's Republican-sponsored immigration law on religious liberty grounds. Alabama Catholic bishops have made similar arguments against their state's immigration law as well.

Before the administration initiated this controversy, a long-standing bipartisan consensus existed in favor of health care conscience exemptions and a robust conception of religious freedom. With broad Democratic support, President Clinton signed laws that included strong conscience exemptions. Senator Ted Kennedy wrote Pope Benedict XVI that he believed in "a conscience protection for Catholics in the health field." And President Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which codifies strong free exercise protections, after it passed the Senate 97-3. Just recently, former Clinton administration official (and RFRA point-man) William Galston told attendees at a religious liberty conference that he believes the HHS mandate violates RFRA.”

If anything, it's the administration that has politicized this serious issue by portraying opposition to the mandate as evidence of a manufactured "war on women". It's patronizing for the administration to assume that Catholic women are fair-weather believers willing to trade limits on religious freedom for the promise of free contraception.”

http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2012/06/16/solidarity_for_in-the-pews_catholics.html

Abortion is part of the Culture of Death

 

                                   

http://www.myfathershouse.com/pdf/Architects%20of%20the%20Culture%20of%20Death.pdf

“DeMarco and Wiker have given the Culture of Death high definition and frightening immediacy. They have exposed its roots by introducing its "architects." In a scholarly, yet reader-friendly delineation of the mindsets of twenty-three influential thinkers, such as Ayn Rand, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alfred Kinsey, Margaret Sanger, Jack Kevorkian, and Peter Singer, they make clear the aberrant thought and malevolent intentions that have shaped the Culture of Death.

Still, this is not a book without hope. If the Culture of Death rests on a fragmented view of the person and an eclipse of God, hope for the "Culture of Life" rests on an understanding and restoration of the human being as a person, and the rediscovery of a benevolent God. The "Personalism" of John Paul II is an illuminating thread that runs through Architects, serving as a hopeful antidote.”

http://www.newhorizonbooksandgifts.com/index.php?module=viewitem&item=41440

Dishonorable mention—non profits that support Planned Parenthood

“The Boycott List includes a “Dishonorable Mention” section, which identifies nonprofits that are associated with Planned Parenthood and/or its agenda.

The only addition to this section is The Lance Armstrong Foundation. Other groups in the “Dishonorable Mention” section include: AARP, American Cancer Society, Boys & Girls Clubs, Camp Fire, Dr. Phil Foundation, Girl Scouts, Girls Inc., Kiwanis Clubs, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, March of Dimes, Michael J. Fox Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Rotary Clubs, Salvation Army, Save the Children, Sierra Club, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, YMCA, and YWCA.”

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/22/new-planned-parenthood-donors-include-gq-bob-evans-hotels/  March 22, 2012

2009-10 income was over one billion.

Obama’s budget—unprecedented deficits

“The President is responsible for submitting an annual budget to Congress and has the authority to veto legislation, including irresponsible spending. Most Administrations have run small but manageable deficits, but President Obama's unprecedented budget deficits pose serious economic risks.”

http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/budget-create-deficits#

It seems obvious the the Republicans, until Obama, were the big time spenders.

Will Romney be able to stop Taxmageddon?

Not unless he can take office before January 1.

Taxmageddon* is a one-year $494 billion tax increase slated to strike the economy on January 1, 2013. Taxmageddon is made up of several expiring tax policies and the beginning of some major tax increases from Obamacare.

*And they gathered them together to the place which to Hebrew is called Armageddon" (Rev. 16:12-16).

Although these tax increases will not start raising new revenue until next year, they are having a negative impact on the economy today. Families, businesses, and investors need to know how much tax they will pay in the future before making important economic decisions. The uncertainty caused by Taxmageddon means they are stuck in neutral while they wait for President Obama and Congress to act. This is slowing job creation and stopping many of the millions of unemployed Americans from going back to work.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/04/taxmageddon-massive-tax-increase-coming-in-2013

Abortion is big business

In 2010, Planned Parenthood made 841 adoption referrals; in 2000, 2,486. Why the change? More profit in abortion than in adoption. It's a money making industry. 2009-10 income was over one billion, of which almost $500 million was our tax money and $18.5 million was profit. Not bad for a "non-profit" organization that sucked up almost $224 million in donations from gullible Americans. 22 of Planned Parenthood CEOs make over $300,000 a year in these killing fields. President Cecile Richards earns $353,819. Perhaps women hit the glass ceiling in other industries, but they do very well in this one. Only 2 of the top 20 money makers are men.

The Imperial presidency

Allen West (R-FL) says the last time we had this was King George III.  Nai Nai agrees—“I do feel disrespected and disregarded. Permanent legal status isn't cheap and my parents paid for themselves and their four children. I can't get my citizenship because the cost of it goes up every year and I just can't afford it. I've paid my taxes every year since I became old enough to get a job and my parents paid their taxes every year that they've been in this country. This is a slap in the face to those of us that did things the right way. It also sends the message to others that want to come to this country that they don't have to go thru the legal channels to get here. That they may as well save their money 'cause the current president will just hand them legal status and citizenship as long as they are illegal. Whereas those that are legal have to pay the ever-increasing costs of for naturalization, which includes the costs associated with the "free" service for illegals. So it's paid for no matter how you look at it. As if my tax dollars supporting them to live off of the system weren't enough, now I have to pay for their legal statuses/citizenships as well. I'm a little more than just angry right now. “

http://www.mrctv.org/videos/allen-west-obama-last-time-we-had-was-king-george-iii

The amnesty pandering for votes

Obama's trying to change to the subject to immigration (to get votes he violates the constitution), but if he's smart, Romney won't let him.  I hope he stays focused on Obama’s many weaknesses.

A better plan for Mexico’s citizens would be to pressure that government to correct its flaws so Mexico's poor can share in the vast riches of that country. Roughly 10% of Mexico's population of about 107 million is now living in the United States, estimates show. About 15% of Mexico's labor force is working in the United States. One in every seven Mexican workers migrates to the United States. 

“These are challenging times in America. And because of (Obama’s) failed record, his campaign is having a hard time deciding what to talk about,” Romney told the Janesville crowd. “They’d like to talk about the economy and his record, but they know the last time his campaign slogan was ‘hope and change.’

“This time they’re going with ‘we hope to change the subject.’ But we’re not going to let him do that. We’re going to talk about the economy and jobs and getting Americans back to work,” Romney said, garnering laughter and applause, the crowd apparently pleased with a political line the GOP challenger has pushed on his campaign trip.

Romney spent most of his speech ripping into Obama’s economic policies and highlighting some reforms he’d make.

http://www.wisconsinreporter.com/romney-turns-up-heat-on-obama-during-wi-stop

Obama’s lies about the Bush years

"Obama's depiction of the Bush years is wrong in just about every possible way. First, Bush was hardly a deregulator. In fact, the nation's regulatory budget nearly doubled in his eight years, and regulatory staffing climbed 42%, according to an annual report on the federal regulatory state by George Mason University's Mercatus Center. Nor did Bush's tax cuts devastate the budget. In fact, revenues as a share of gross domestic product hit 18.5% in 2007, which is above the post-World War II average. And deficits fell three years in a row to a low of $160 billion.

Unemployment, meanwhile, dropped to 4.4% just before the recession hit. And as we've pointed out on countless occasions, the financial crisis that caused the recession was not the result of too little government, but of far too much government intervention in the banking industry.

Then again, Obama can't even keep his own complaints straight. Moments after lambasting Bush's tax-cutting, deregulating ways, he was bragging about how he's imposed fewer regulations than Bush, cut taxes more than a dozen times and how he's not a big spender. (None of that is true.)

The real question before voters isn't whether they want to return to some dark, mythical past of Obama's imagination, but whether they want four more years of a dismal present characterized by stagnant growth, chronic unemployment, massive deficits and a president who is utterly clueless about how to fix any of it."

--Investor's Business Daily