WH Rural Council and our farmers

From my friend Boudica’s blog. Please read it.  This is pretty scary stuff.

Julian Assange learned the Breitbart tactic

Just as Andrew Breitbart calculated his release of James O’Keefe’s ACORN videos,  Assange is doing the same thing. The ACORN videos were released in stages for maximum effect and in order to put the ACORNuts off balance. WikiLeaks’ releases are coming in stages in order to keep the Obama regime off-kilter and uncomfortable.

What comes next? What damage will need to be controlled? No one knows and no one knows how serious the effects will be. Despite assurances to the contrary, how many lives will be at risk because of these dumps?  And why should anyone trust these people? For that matter, why should anyone trust America?

As noted in Toby Harnden’s Telegraph article, although Assange has assured the world that the names and identifying information has been redacted,  how many UK-educated engineers from prominent Pre-Revolution Isfahan families who once owned a large factory in Iran and are former national fencing champions of Iran, former presidents of the Iran Fencing
Association and former vice-presidents of an Azerbaijan sports association do you think there are out there?

You don’t think someone can figure out who you’re talking about there, Mr.Assange? I’m thinking that it’s probably not too hard for the Iranians to figure out who this is.

I”m going to say it again: if the Obama regime can shut down domains that are pirating music, why can’t they stop WikiLeaks from damaging alliances and endangering lives? How is Homeland Security keeping us safe by preventing people from downloading music? This is the most asinine government in the entire world.

We are being ridiculed and condemned all over the world because of the O’regime’s misplaced priorities. Just read some of the comments from Brits and Europeans, at the end of this article.  Here’s one of my favorites:

Someone really needs to shoot some people in the US to make this go away.

Who do these people think they are? Since when do they OWN the WWW – WORLD Wide Web – not AWW.

Someone needs to teach this country a lesson.

This is how the world sees us. We can’t control the dangers from the likes of Julian Assange but we can shut down a website that’s selling counterfeit Gucci handbags.

That’s what I call a superpower. Don’t you?

 

The www gets more webbier for me

I’m going to throw some things out here that I freely admit, I don’t really understand.

The current CEO of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) was formerly with the DHS. His name is Rod Beckstrom and he was Director of the National Cyber Security Center, which is part of Homeland Security. He is also a board member of the Environmental Defense Fund, big in the green movement in California and a trustee of Jamii Bora Trust which is based in Nairobi, Kenya. Jamii Bora Trust is an organization that loans money to poor people in Kenya. It’s call micro-economics.

ICANN is headquartered in Marina del Rey, California and part of USC.

What does ICANN do, exactly? Well, I’m not really sure. Wikipedia says  that ICANN’s primary principles of operation have been described as helping preserve the operational stability of the Internet; to promote competition; to achieve broad representation of global Internet community; and to develop policies appropriate to its mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes.

The story of ICANN and Beckstrom go in several directions and can’t be covered in one blog post without confusing myself to no end. You can read about both at Wikipedia and the UN’s attempts to involve itself in an attempted take-over of the internet.

I’ve started a trail for myself and for you: Beckstrom, formerly head of cyber security for DHS which is currently seizing domains, is now CEO of ICANN.  He is on the board of EDF and a proponent of the green church, where Obama also worships. And Beckstrom is a trustee of an organization that loans money to poor folks in Obama’s homeland.

Back to why these domains were seized by DHS and ICE.

These domains are selling pirated materials, mostly music but also NFL jerseys and other items. Due to this pirating, the entertainment industry says they are losing money. Who are some of the biggest contributors to theOne’s campaign? Who is his liberal base? These people in Hollywood want some action taken against the theft of their copyrighted materials.

What I can’t understand is why DHS and ICE were involved in this. This is by no means a national security situation nor does it have anything to do with illegal immigration.

What I do know is that I’m not done with this topic.

No warning – Your domain name is gone! But anyone (who’s progressive) can use the presidential seal.

DHS has seized this page!

Claiming that it is seizing domain names (like amoyhy.com and do search that site so you can see the DHS seizure notice) that are infringing on copyright and counterfeit laws, the DHS has been pretty busy while the rest of us were enjoying turkey and pumpkin pie.

These domain owners had no advance notice or warnings and in fact, even godaddy.com was unaware that its clients were losing their sites.  until after the deed was done.

The targets – at this time – are bootleg music and replica or as DHS calls them, counterfeit handbag-type sites.

Seriously, you’re ordering a Louis Vuittan bag for $49.95 and you think it’s authentic? You really are a dope, if you think so.

So while we’re on the topic of counterfeit, bootleg and pirated stuff, how about this story: Center for American Progress using presidential seal on its ‘teaching Obama how to be a progessive president’ materials.

ALG [Americans for Limited Government] President Bill Wilson initially sent a letter to White House counsel Robert Bauer asking if he granted an exception to the Center for American Progress to use the seal for its publication, “The Power of the President: Recommendations to Advance Progressive Change.”

The report offers President Obama a blueprint on how he can advance his agenda through the use of  executive orders, instead of relying on Congress after Democrats lost control of the House in this month’s midterm elections.

There’s been no response from the White House or from the DOJ on whether permission was granted to CAP to use the seal on its publication.  As the Fox story explains, the use of the seal is very narrow and limited primarily to educational and historical purposes. You can’t just go around slapping THE seal on documents without asking first. . . unless you’re John Podesta or on the George Soros payroll, then I suppose it’s okay to pirate THE seal to promote your propaganda.

Is this the change all those college students voted for? Their music and faux designer handbag and shoe sites are being shut down by DHS – like they have nothing more important to shut down – and the regime is making noises about deactivating their cell phones in their cars.

I hope they are loving this “fundamental transformation” they went all gah-gah over 2 years ago.

They deserve this.

I plan to Opt-Out for life

Like the days of drive-in movies, there’s something romantic and comforting about the days of passenger trains.

Remember the dining car scene in North by Northwest where Cary Grant meets Eva Marie Saint for the first time? Linen table cloths and a flower vase on the table. . .

But there’s no money to be made in passenger trains anymore or Burlington Northern would be running them right now. That’s the reason Governor-elect John Kasich is right to refuse the building of a commuter rail in Ohio. If the private sector sees no profit in running passenger trains again, why does the government think it’s a good idea? Just look at what AmTrack costs us every day for proof that this is a losing proposition.

On the other hand, if passenger trains were available to me, and I don’t mean AmTrack, I’d never fly again. I’d take a train, run by the private sector, almost anywhere rather than fly. I wonder how many people feel the same way I do. Flying has become such a major hassle, that I don’t plan to ever fly again unless in the event of a family emergency. I can get back to Wyoming in less than 24 hours, by car, with a lot less government intrusion.

I’m in favor of the opt-on day that is being promoted online. Opt-out of naked body scans and cause a slow down in the procedures.   Go for it! Our security is reactive not proactive. We create another layer of security after another threat is thwarted. We have to take off our shoes because some IslamoFacist boarded a plane with explosives in his shoes. Body scans now because another tried to blow up a plane with explosives in his shorts.  And in that case, it was an alert passenger who risked his life to thwart that attack – not an air marshal.

The headline at Drudge today is “The Terrorists Have Won.” That is absolutely correct. The airlines are nickle and dime-ing us for an extra suitcase, a blanket or a glass of Coke. We’ve given up the right to a comfortable and quick way to travel and our privacy to fear.

I am quite frankly tired of it all and I’m just not going to fly anymore.

Why Colorado’s Ritter may have bowed out

Barbara Hollingsworth: Sex, Lies and Federal databases

A scandal involving unauthorized use of a federal crime database that’s been brewing in Colorado for four years may have abruptly ended the political careers of Gov. Bill Ritter and his longtime aide, who was nominated by the Obama administration for Denver U.S. attorney.

Last month, Stephanie Villafuerte unexpectedly withdrew her name after the Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Republican member, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said he expected her to answer the FBI’s questions about her role in the affair and under oath.

Democrat Ritter’s announcement that he would not run for a second term sent shock waves through a Democratic Party already reeling from retirement announcements the same day by Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

It also focused renewed attention on Transportation Security Administration nominee Erroll Southers, who gave Congress conflicting reports over his personal use of the same crime database to run unauthorized background checks on his then-estranged wife’s boyfriend.

Congressional Republicans are now demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano investigate the firing of former Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis for pointing out Ritter’s hypocrisy during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

As Denver district attorney, Ritter allowed 152 illegal immigrants accused of deportable felonies to plead guilty to lesser charges such as “agricultural trespass.” Those pleas allowed them to remain in the country.

Angered that Ritter blamed ICE agents for not removing criminal aliens from the state when he had been releasing them himself, Voorhis then contacted a staff member for Republican Bob Beauprez, who was running against Ritter, and suggested he check Ritter’s record on the issue.

Even though Voorhis did not pass on the information himself, he was blamed for a subsequent Beauprez attack ad based on information provided to the Republican’s campaign by a private investigator in Texas.

The ad featured Honduran illegal immigrant and heroin dealer Walter Ramo (aka Eugene Estrada and Carlos Roberto Estrada-Medina) whose 2002 plea deal with Ritter allowed him to stay in the United States. Ramo was later arrested in California for sexual assault on a minor.

Only those with access to the National Crime Information Center database would have been able to link Ramo to the California crime. According to the Denver Post, an FBI investigation found that only three people accessed Ramo’s record: Voorhis, Houston-based private investigator Kenny Rodgers, and First Assistant DA Chuck Lepley. A phone log belonging to DA spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough noted that Villafuerte, who was then working on the Ritter campaign before, had called her to ask about Estrada-Medina.

It took a federal jury less than two hours to find Voorhis not guilty of two misdemeanor charges of unauthorized access to the restricted NCIC database, but ICE fired him anyway. The Merit Systems Protection Board, which upholds federal civil service personnel standards, will hear his appeal later this month.

The Denver Post also reported that an April 2009 internal ICE memo said Tony Rouco, Voorhis’ supervisor, perjured himself at the trial and made false statements to the FBI. Instead of being fired, Rouco was given a temporary promotion.

“Three people accessed the federal database,” Colorado blogger Ross Kaminsky (rossputin.com) told The Examiner. “Of the three, the only one whose access was for law enforcement purposes was Cory Voorhis. Two people passed on the information. … The only one who didn’t pass the information was Voorhis, and he was the only one prosecuted.”

Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., has asked the Justice Department to investigate Villafuerte but he has not yet received a reply. Coffman sent another letter to Napolitano last week asking her to lift the “indefinite suspension” on the still-unemployed Voorhis’ security clearance so he can get a job.

Last month, Sessions also asked Napolitano to reopen the investigation into Voorhis’ dismissal. DHS agreed to do so. However, a Sessions aide says he has since heard nothing from DHS.

Meanwhile, Voorhis — a decorated 15-year veteran who has suffered tremendous financial and personal hardship for exposing Ritter’s duplicity — is still twisting in the wind.

Barbara F. Hollingsworth is The Examiner’s local opinion editor.

Cheney’s new ad and website, as seen on Fox

Check this out.

Be sure and watch the ad.

From the mission statement:

Keep America Safe believes the United States can only defeat our adversaries and defend our interests from a position of strength.  We know that America has, for 233 years, been an unparalleled force for good in the world, that our fighting forces are the best the world has ever known, and that the world is a safer place when America is trusted by our allies and feared and respected by our enemies. Keep America Safe will make the case for an unapologetic approach to fighting terrorism around the world, for victory in the wars this country fights, for democracy and human rights, and for a strong American military that is needed in the dangerous world in which we live.

Liz Cheney, Bill Kristol and Debra Burlingame are the board of Keep America Safe.

It’s a SNAFU! Nothing more than that to this White House

Make no mistake about it, this is nothing short of damage control from the White House.  His image is taking a beating in the court of public opinion and on the op-ed pages of the thinking class of media. He’s coming out here “all fired up – ready to go!” – which is a stark contrast to his first appearance after the thwarted Christmas Day attack.

In his first televised remarks, Obama looked and sounded like a common, wooden D.A. announcing the capture of a wife killer. Los Angeles D.A. Gil Garcetti showed more fire when he announced that OJ was “now a fugitive from justice” a lifetime ago as prelude to the trial of the century – ah…  last century.

The trio of stoogie image handlers in the White House (Iranian born Jarrett – hey, did you know that? –  Axelrod and Emanual) have apparently figured out that they can no longer rest on their laurels and expect the “media” to glow, gush and gloss over (Man! I love alliteration!) every thing TheOne says or does. I guess they realized that the honeymoon is about over.  Even without the benefit of an unbiased media, polls indicate that Americans are starting to figure out that this administration is short on conviction, character and common sense (! yippeee,  there, I did it again!)

So he comes out in front of the cameras, looking all presidential, with fake disgust and anger and tells us that his administration finally bears responsibility for SOMEthing. The main SOMEthng is that he will still not smarten-up and keep Gitmo open.

Seriously, he can prostrate himself to a world full of dictators, but to the American people, he can only do it just so much…

Obama’s lack of conviction, lack of character

For all his flaws and mistakes, Americans largely did not doubt George Bush’s love of country. He acted immediately after 9/11 with harsh words and harsh actions against the enemy. In fact, he was criticized by the left for jingoism, or too much love of country.

Obama, on the other hand, has done what would be unthinkable for a commander-in-chief in an earlier time. His demeanor during the press conference after the foiled Christmas Day attack was without emotion. He has done what would be taken as treason by besmirching his own country on foreign soil. The year was filled with him bowing to America’s enemies and glad-handing with Hugo Chavez. His Department of Justice is persecuting the CIA, of which seven members just died in Afghanistan. He states his discomfort with victory in Afghanistan, while cutting the military budget and changing the rules of engagement to favor the enemy. Through his Justice Department he is according terrorists who killed nearly 3,000 of our citizens the same rights and conducting a trial in the midst of survivors who will pay for the defense through their taxes. The Department of Homeland Security instructed law enforcement to go after dissenting patriotic Americans, particularly military veterans, and displayed callous disregard of the facts and the fears surrounding the thwarted Christmas Day terror attack.

One of the most treasonous acts concerns the communist, antiwar group Code Pink, which has been aiding and funding the enemy and raising money for Obama. As our vulnerable soldiers awaited word about sending more troops to Afghanistan, Obama was meeting with Code Pink, as recent videos show.

In 2008, there were reports out about Jodie Evans’ fundraising for the Obama campaign. But only the most careful readers noticed back then.

Obama is not merely “clueless.” Even when he gives lip service about the regrettable necessity of war as he did in the Nobel speech, Obama’s words do not ring true because they lack conviction.

Mary Garber/PajamasMedia.com

Mark Steyn: Brilliant… as usual

I wish I could see things as plainly as he does and write them even a fraction as well. I hope you can take the time to read it today. He has a great way of putting all kinds of things into perspective.

I think he has coined the absolute best name for this Christmas day terrorist: the Knickerbomber. And a new terrific name for Janet Napolitano – Janet Incompetano.

This is a superb column.