Big Brother Is About To Grow

Go ahead and post your comments on the White House’s publicly accessible sites. Just be prepared. The government is hiring vendors to market and store your information.

The National Legal and Policy Center, or NLPC, revealed the White House New Media team is seeking to hire a technology vendor to collect data such as comments, tag lines, e-mail, audio and video from any place where the White House "maintains a presence" – for a period of up to eight years.

How much would you like to bet it won’t be just the information posted to their pages that gets examined, harvested and stored? For example, all they need to do is turn their page into an application at Facebook and it automatically shares all of your information. I’ll bet this gets billed as a means to hunt down threats to the President, but I bet all it eventually does is stifle dissent.


But, then again, that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Consider the President’s address to school children—just school children, by the way. Did you know the speech comes with accompanying lesson plans tailored to various grade levels? That’s the chief complaint from Republicans and other conservatives.

NBC spoke with Katie Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Florida Republican Party, who said the party's "beef" is with the accompanying lesson plans.

According to the article, people are calling those against the speech ignorant for keeping their children from being encouraged by the President. But, obviously that is not the goal. It is all about what the children are supposed to learn. That makes it an indoctrination event, using the basic definition from the dictionary (check this reference at Dictionary.com if you doubt what I say.) Maybe those accusing others of ignorance should better educate themselves on what is going in this case.

Speaking of ignorance, do you know what been going on with the money from the Stimulus package? Joe Biden gave of speech filled with praise on what the package has accomplished. But, the AP did a fact check that shows it isn’t as good as the administration would like it to appear.

(…and Obama wonders why his popularity is dropping…hmmm…)

Banking, Education...and Islam

Despite Ben Bernake’s news of increased consumer spending, things are not what they appear. According to The Economist, consumption will remain in a depressed state for years. Why?

Since the early 1980s, spending by households on goods, services and homes has grown faster than GDP, making it the locomotive of American—and global—expansion. By 2006 it accounted for 76% of nominal GDP, the highest since quarterly data begin in 1947.

It will likely remain depressed for the same reason we got into this mess: an ever increasingly credit driven economy. And that problem, by the way, is not one that governments are addressing. Instead, they are trying to increase the amount of available credit. Granted, there is a need for that in the short term. But, the long term solution for the credit mess is not being addressed at all. And that is going to be very bad.

Ultimately, it’s why the Chinese and other Asian countries own so much of America. And, lest we forget, so do the Arabs. Unfortunately, with their continued investment will likely come more Sharia Law requirements which banks will undoubtedly go for. Don’t think they will? Think again. Profits alone will drive them there. But, the western world is not being threatened by Islamic rules just in banking. Germany is facing this issue in their schools. But, that is nothing new. It’s been an ongoing battle in the U.S. for a few years. It was an unintended consequence of 9-11, to be sure. Of course, educators and teachers unions deny this is some soft form of indoctrination, but…

Policy, Medicine and Islam

After the report on medical information safety by the BBC, the NYT reports that many doctors question whether the cost of implementing digital records may not be worth it.

Two articles, to be published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, point to the formidable obstacles to achieving the policy goal of not only installing electronic health records, but also using them to improve care and curb costs.

Studies found use of data to be far lower than originally thought. One journal article went so far as to say implementing this would be a serious policy mistake. In typical liberal line-toeing, The NYT, though, goes on to cite the importance of implementing the proposed Obama/left wing policy without citing any real sources that refute the Journal’s findings.

On the subject of dealing with tough policy issues, Germany is wrestling with dealing with Islam in the schools. Religious instruction is a constitutional reality in all but two states. The honor killing of a Turkish woman in 2005 scared Berlin into using an ethics based teaching instead of religion.

What everyone shares is an obsession with Muslims, who account for over half the students in parts of the city. The ethics course is partly meant to snuff out incipient violent radicalism. But it leaves many children learning the Koran from teachers who have little stake in German society. Better, says Pro-Reli, to bring it into school, where German-speaking teachers can impart Islam under the state’s watchful eye.

Bringing it into the school to allow state control of religion can be dangerous. America, for instance, was founded on the idea that government should not control the church as well as the church not being the government. At the same time, giving Islam an inroad in one area is just as dangerous. Islam is not tolerant, contrary to those who say otherwise. Just follow the history of how Islam has gained control of once Christian Lebanon.

Consider, for another example, the proposed rules in Tajikistan.

The new law imposes censorship on religious literature and restricts performing rituals to state-approved venues. It makes it harder for new religious communities to get registration.

The new law revolves around a state sponsored version of Islam, for a primarily Sunni population. Part of the new law is government control to block a resurgence of the Taliban.

All of this leaves the U.S. with the question of how it will deal with the most rapidly expanding religion in the world. Will we continue to tolerate it without question, as C.A.I.R. desires and lobbies for? Or will we give it equal footing with other religions and remove the anti-religious laws and restrictions that are steadily increasing in the nation? Or will we do something entirely different? The choice is ours, and we must act. And, we act by what we say to our legislators, and how we deal with those around us. Are you speaking out?

02/05 Morning Report

Did you know it isn’t enough to talk about overcoming racism? Now days, at schools, you also have to support the anti-family agenda of the left.

You may know Ken Hutcherson's name from his pro football days or, more recently, his pro-family activism in defense of traditional marriage. But Hutcherson's daughter was introducing her father at her high school to talk about how he overcame racism thanks to the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"And then she says, 'But the most important thing is, this is my Dad.' I stood up to walk up to the microphone and there were some boos. They started booing."

Hutcherson, senior pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, Washington, ignored the hecklers and gave his presentation, which never mentioned homosexuality. But the homosexual activists who booed Hutcherson were not finished. After his speech, they challenged him directly in front of the entire assembly.

"The sponsor of the Gay Straight Alliance stood up and yelled out, 'I know that I am not on the program, but why is this man here when he doesn’t believe in equal rights for everybody?'" says Hutcherson.

The woman accusing Hutcherson was Kit McCormick, his daughter's favorite teacher. "And I felt like I couldn't sit and not say anything," says the teacher. "I felt like this was a moment that I had to stand up and say something."

McCormick told KING-TV that Hutcherson was misrepresenting himself. "He is not about equality for everyone," she asserts. "He's about equality for some people."

Hutcherson says the teachers' behavior was inappropriate and [the behavior] would never have been tolerated if they had been pro-family activists criticizing a pro-homosexual speaker.

It’s obvious that Hutcherson is right. Those on the left are just as exclusive towards their conservative opponents as they claim conservatives are towards them. It’s immaterial the crux of the disagreement is whether homosexuality is natural or not. It only matters that those on the left want their way, and they will intimidate and shout down anyone who opposes them…all in the name of “equality”, of course.

(…I guess that makes the left just as wrong as the right, unless your on the left…or teaching our children…not that this is anything new…)


Islam is having it’s own public image problems lately. Wikkipedia’s entry on Islam is causing quite a stir. Why? It shows images of the Prophet Muhammed. Supposedly there is a prohibition about showing people’s pictures in Islam. But…

Paul M. Cobb, who teaches Islamic history at Notre Dame, said, “Islamic teaching has traditionally discouraged representation of humans, particularly Muhammad, but that doesn’t mean it’s nonexistent.” He added, “Some of the most beautiful images in Islamic art are manuscript images of Muhammad.”

The ban actually dates only to the 20th Century. There was an on-line petition with some 80,000 signatures sent to Wikipedia, and a lot of emails. One interesting point about the uproar…

The petition has more than 80,000 “signatures,” though many who submitted them to ThePetitionSite.com, remained anonymous.

“We have been noticing a lot more similar sounding, similar looking e-mails beginning mid-January,” said Jay Walsh, a spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation in San Francisco.”

(…hhhmmm…sounds like Islamists have learned how to use SPAM to intimidate…)


Not to be outdone by possibly fictitious rules, requirements and actions, the French bank Société Générale is facing some more problems. It seems bank policies may have let the rogue trader get as deep into trouble as he did. There are apparently several holes in the argument that Mr Kerviel is the supervillain he is portrayed as. Us authorities are investigating the bank as well. Specifically, they are looking at bank board member transactions in the days before the scandal broke. Meanwhile, Agence France press reports that while French trader Jerome is saving any substantial statements for the judges, he is refusing to be a scapegoat for the bank.

(…another rousing success for the French…)

04/19 Morning Report

People have been complaining about “cheap Chinese goods” for years. Well, this BBC article is just more fuel on the fire. The huge rise is hazardous goods in the EU comes primarily from China. Isn’t that sweet? Want to read the dumb part of it all?

Ms Heemskerk said that the high proportion of Chinese goods among those withdrawn said more about the volume of imports from China, than Chinese safety standards.

So…these are hazardous items. But they are only hazardous because there are so many of them?
(…and they wonder why liberals are so frightening to conservatives…)

And, in related (…sort of…) news, the markets took another tumble today because of fears on the Chinese economy.
(…Imagine!...Cheap goods…produced in massive quantities…causing to rapid an economic growth…that affects everyone…who would have thunk it?...)

In a continuation of yesterdays partial birth abortion discussion, the writers over at Conservative Thoughts had some more quotes from the political candidates.
(…not that there are any surprises in who said what…but they are worth reading…)

On the subject of political knee-jerk reactions, be very ready for an avalanche of such proposals in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. For those who wonder why nothing was done, you should read these musings from the Political Pistachio. Now, I admit he is on a rant here. But, check out the facts he posts, and consider what real solutions may be needed here—like teaching people responsibility for their actions.
(…kindly remember…in the commission of the shootings at Columbine High School some 30 existing state and federal gun laws were broken…plainly new laws are not what is required…)

On the subject of Virginia Tech, I cannot say how sorry I am that so many families are suffering due to their losses of friends and family right now. The prayers of my house and family go out to all right now. I know it isn’t much in the midst of this horrible situation, but one spark of good news came in this AP report:

University officials announced Thursday that Cho's victims would be awarded their degrees posthumously and that other students might have the option of ending their semester immediately.

The Teacher Applicant

After being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect
Said:

Let me see If I've got this right.

You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning.

And, I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T-shirt messages and dress habits.

You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self esteem.

You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, how to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job.

I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, make sure all students pass the state exams--even those who don't come to school regularly or complete any of their assignments.

Plus, I am to make sure that all of the students with handicaps Get an equal education regardless of the extent of their mental or physical handicap.

I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter and report card.

And, I’m supposed to do ALL this with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a big smile, AND a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps!

You want me to do all of this…

And, then you tell me...

I CAN'T PRAY ?