Sebelius: Time for ‘Reeducation’ on Obama Health Care Law
ABC News’ Steven Portnoy reports:
With a number of polls showing a sustained level of opposition to the Democrats’ health care reform efforts more than five months after passage, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the Obama administration has “a lot of reeducation to do” heading into the midterms.
While some surveys – namely the Kaiser Family Foundation monthly tracking poll – have suggested an uptick in support for the reforms, most other surveys continue to show a steady level of opposition to the new law that remains higher than the favorable opinions of it.
Department of Justice Lists Survivalists, Constitutionalists in Extremism Guide
A recent Department of Justice guide for investigators of criminal and extremist groups lists “constitutionalists” and “survivalists” alongside organizations like Al-Qaeda and the Aryan Brotherhood. The 120-page, “Law Enforcement Sensitive” guide to “Investigating Terrorism and Criminal Extremism – Terms and Concepts” describes itself as “a glossary designed primarily as a tool for criminal justice professionals to enhance their understanding of words relating to extremist terminology, phrases, activities, symbols, organizations, and selected names that they may encounter while conducting criminal investigations or prosecutions of members of extremist organizations.”
Constitutionalist, defined by Random House’s 2010 Dictionary as an “adherent or advocate of constitutionalism or of an existing constitution”, is described in the report as a “generic term for members of the ‘patriot’ movement”. Survivalists are described in the document as fearing a “coming collapse of civilization” and are trying to prepare themselves for this collapse. Such individuals are said to have “typically stockpiled food, water, and weapons, especially the latter, and instructed themselves on topics ranging from first aid to childbirth to edible plants”.
The guide defines the term “New World Order” as being “used by conspiracy theorists to refer to a global conspiracy designed to implement worldwide socialism”. The Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, and Council on Foreign Relations are described as organizations “targeted by right-wing extremists for conspiring to dominate the world”. The guide also defines “One World Government” as the “concept that there will ultimately be a single governing body that will control the world”, adding that “some right-wing extremists fear this occurring, believing that white people will be in the minority, with Jewish people ultimately controlling the world”.
UN climate change panel to be warned over reports
The United Nation’s climate change organisation faces a warning over how it uses scientific facts in its influential reports, following the discovery of a series of embarrassing errors in its work.
A review of the practices of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been conducted in response to intense criticism of the body, whose reports are used by governments to inform policy decisions on global warming.
The findings of the review are due to be handed to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tomorrow.
Conducted by a committee of representatives from the world’s leading scientific bodies, the analysis is expected to recommend a number of changes to the way the IPCC compiles and checks its extensive 1,000 page reports.
The committee, which is made up of scientific organisations that form the InterAcademy Council, is also expected to recommend changes to help the IPCC keep its reports, which take around six years to complete, more up to date with current science.
Death of the First Amendment — The Nazification of the United States
Chuck Norris is no pinko-liberal-commie, and Human Events is a very conservative publication. The two have come together to produce one of the most important articles of our time, “Obama’s US Assassination Program.”
Broadcasters defend push for mandatory FM tuners
Newspaper publishers didn’t ask the U.S. Congress to put news-reading apps on mobile phones. Walkie-talkie and CB radio makers haven’t pushed Apple or Nokia for radio frequency compatibility.
But radio broadcasters are a bit more politically ambitious. Claiming public safety benefits, the National Association of Broadcasters is proposing a new federal law that would force manufacturers to implant FM tuners in all mobile phones.
In an interview with CNET on Thursday, NAB executive vice president Dennis Wharton said that because nonbroadcast wireless networks tend to become clogged during emergencies, “there would be a public benefit to have free and local radio on all of these devices.”
“I don’t think it’s a huge burden on cell phone manufacturers to add this device,” Wharton said. Lending its support is the Music First coalition, which includes the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the American Federation of Musicians.
The Great Collapse of the Chicago Climate Exchange
Plagued a free fall in carbon emissions prices and the perennial failure of Washington to pass any binding Cap and Trade Bill, it seems that the Chicago Climate Exchange is on its last legs, announcing that it will be scaling back its operations.
Chicago Climate Exchange or CCX, is North America’s sole voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas trading and carbon “offset” projects in North America and Brazil. Rueters reported on Aug 11th that Intercontinental Exchange Inc, the operating body for the CCX, will be scaling back major operations this month, a move that includes massive layoffs. This is likely due to the complete market free-fall of their only product… carbon emissions.
Anthony Watts from the climate watchdog website Watts Up With That posts a graph from the CCX which shows Carbon prices dropping like a stone, bottoming out this week at the embarrassingly low figure of 10 cents per tonne. Compare this to trading prices during its brief hay days in May and June 2008 where market highs reached $5.85 and $7.40 respectively, and you can say that most investors will be evaluating carbon as one of today’s more worthless commodities.
Islam and the Bane of a Nation
In the wake of the “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy (articles which can be found here, here, and here) it may be time to look at this through a larger context of Islam and the Global War on Terror. I sometimes wonder if it has now officially morphed in to an all out war on Islam. Maintaining The Liberty Voice website is an unpaid gig I do for my desire to see a counter balance to the mainstream media echo chamber. Daily I get off work , drive home and listen to Sean Hannity yammering on and on about Sharia Law, “The Ground Zero Mosque” and Iran and nuclear weapons and linking all three together. For weeks and weeks this has been going on and seems to be his only topic of conversation, at least between the times of 4:30 – 5:00 EST. Since Sean Hannity wants to play connect the dots while skipping over a dot the size of the Nemesis star, I’ll take it upon myself to dispel some of the popular Neoconservative talking points in regards to the Cordoba House. I do encourage readers to check out the hyperlinks above for some specifics on the imagery being used by Neoconservative commentators. But first, lets play connect the dots using the quickly established conventional wisdom of talk radio and Fox News.
Interview / Why Israel should end its policy of nuclear ambiguity
Avner Cohen is a senior fellow of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He is the author of “Israel and the Bomb” and the forthcoming “The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel’s Bargain with the Bomb.”
Avner Cohen, you claim that the time has come for Israel to abandon its policy of nuclear ambiguity. Why now, and why would that be good for Israel?
“Nuclear ambiguity is a cornerstone of Israeli strategic thinking. It was born many years ago, and sealed as part of a comprehensive deal with the United States in 1969. It was appropriate at the time, but today, in my opinion, it is not just anachronistic, but foolish and anti-democratic. Even in realpolitik terms, it is an ‘own goal’ for Israel. In my view, it undermines genuine Israeli interests, including the need to gain recognition and legitimacy and to be counted among the responsible states in this strategic field.”
Are you sure the pressure on Israel is so severe? If Israel is criticized over its nuclear program, it’s usually marginal. The brunt of the criticism is over its treatment of the Palestinians.
Congress to clandestinely impose Internet dictatorship
Buried in the lead of this article is the fact that Congress is up to their old tricks. Because it is politically infeasible to pass a takeover of the Internet on merit alone, Congress is attempting to attach the much talked about Internet “kill switch” as a rider to the Senate Defense Bill:
The Senate is considering attaching cybersecurity legislation to a key defense authorization bill as a way to assure passage this year of the measure to reform the way the government safeguards its computer networks and that of key national IT systems, Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., said in an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com.
“It’s hard to get a measure like cybersecurity legislation passed on its own,” said Carper, who chairs a Senate subcommittee with cybersecurity oversight.
The Government’s New Right to Track Your Every Move With GPS
Government agents can sneak onto your property in the middle of the night, put a GPS device on the bottom of your car and keep track of everywhere you go. This doesn’t violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway – and no reasonable expectation that the government isn’t tracking your movements.
