Good Morning,

From world news to local news today, I honestly feel like I do not belong in my own country.  Every now and then I find myself crying as I write the NTKN. Today is one of those days.

From Michelle Malkin’s piece this morning in Townhall: On Friday, March 30, 2012, Hisham Y. Altalib visited the White House. According to visitor logs, Altalib was received by Joshua DuBois, the director of President Obama’s Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Four days later, White House officials welcomed a foreign delegation of the radical Sharia-enforcing Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt. The White House meeting with overseas Muslim Brotherhood leaders was reported in April by a few mainstream journalists and questioned loudly by conservative media. But the White House confab in March with U.S.-based Altalib — which appears to be a prep session with the global Muslim Brotherhood’s American advance team — has received no attention until now. So, who is Hisham Yahya Altalib? What is his agenda?

http://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2012/09/26/who_is_white_house_visitor_hisham_altalib/page/full/

Now, please add that to this:

Recently, The Egyptian Prime Minister said that the United States should limit free speech to keep from insulting Muslims around the world.

Let me introduce you to the ‘new intense Muslim  Sensitivity Training’ complete with “orders” – NOT encouragement to do so, but direct orders, which include the following:

Always wear surgical gloves when handling the Koran.

Never walk in front of praying Muslims.

Never, under any circumstances, shall any U.S. troop show the bottom of his/her boots while sitting or lying across from a Muslim, which in Islam is considered an insult.

Never share photos of family or ask to see photos of a Muslims family.

Never smoke or eat in the vicinity of Muslims during the month long Ramadan fasting.

Avoid, at all costs, cursing, winking or nose-blowing in the presence of Muslims — all considered insults in Islam.

Never exit the shower without a towel.

Avoid giving or taking things with the left hand, which in Islam is reserved for bodily hygiene and considered unclean.

If this seems like a list of “suggestions,” think again: Troops that violate Muslim Sensitivity Rules shall face severe punishment.

You can read the rest of the story here: (h/t Carl)

http://dcxposed.com/2012/09/25/pentagon-mandates-islamic-sensitivity-training-in-response-to-green-on-blue-attacks/

and here from the NY Post:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/blaming_our_troops_gsNkgSOnejhkmabM2KA6TI

Please, talk to everyone, shake them if you must, but help them see the light on what is coming down the pike if we don’t change the Senate and get Obama out of office.

To the kids out there that still want to give Obama another 4 years – chew on this fact: Over 50% of America’s young Adults CAN NOT find a job. Even with a 4 Yr. Degree.

Okay, taking a deep breath, let’s look at this one:

Here is an actual copy of a letter sent to churches around the country. Get a load of this threat:

Ask yourself….WHO DO WE OBEY….GOD or MAN?

An 18th century philosopher once said: “When I speak, I put on a mask. When I act, I am forced to take it off.”

They are no longer behind masks – they are right out in the open.

WHEN WILL AMERICANS WAKE UP????

Here are two quotes from two world leaders. See if you can guess the speakers.

Leader #1: “Any action that is provocative [and] offends the religious thoughts and feelings of any people, we condemn. Likewise, we condemn any type of extremism. Of course, what took place was ugly; offending the Holy Prophet is quite ugly.”

Leader #2: “The future must not belong to those who target Coptic Christians in Egypt … The future must not belong to those who bully women … The future must not belong to those corrupt few who steal a country’s resources … The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.”

The first quote is from Iranian dictator and Islamist radical Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Piers Morgan’s CNN program. The second quote is from President Obama at the United Nations.

The message is the same. Both speakers equate nasty rhetoric with violence. Both suggest that slandering the “Prophet” is off limits. And both fundamentally misunderstand what free speech is all about.

Ben Shapiro writes: Why does Obama sound like Ahmadinejad? He concludes with this:

President Obama doesn’t truly believe in the First Amendment. He believes in a restricted vision of free speech, a politically correct vision. That’s not free speech at all. It’s tyranny. Which is why he sounded so much like Ahmadinejad at the U.N.

WHEN WILL AMERICANS WAKE UP????

Posted on our website yesterday – A video that every single Democrat needs to see:

WHEN WILL AMERICANS WAKE UP????

Here is O’s latest ad that he’d like us to believe:

Reality Check #1:

In an unaired bit of his recent 60 Minutes interview, President Obama continued to defend his at-this-point-entirely-indefensible policies aimed at forcibly remaking America’s economy into the green utopia of environmentalists’ most romantical visions.

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/25/obamas-green-jobs-argument-still-bearing-little-to-no-resemblance-to-reality/

Reality Check #2:

Median household incomes fell by another 1.1% in August, according to a Sentier Research report released Tuesday. Since Obama took office, according to the report, household incomes are down more than 8%. And since the economic recovery began in June of 2009, household incomes have fallen by 5.7%. ”Even though we are technically in an economic recovery, real median annual householdincome is having a difficult time maintaining its present level, much less recovering,” said Sentier co-founder and former Census Bureau official Gordon Green. These figures come as, Business Insider notes, the Census Bureau released its annual report showing three million more people were in poverty in 2011 than 2009, and the “average inflation-adjusted income for households in the middle 20% is now lower than it’s been since 1995.” In addition, The Health Care Cost Institute released a report that found “per-capita costs jumped 4.6% last year,” and a Center for Disease Control and Prevention report found there were more than one million uninsured Americans in the first three months of 2012 compared with last year.

Reality Check #3:

A president who says “I haven’t raised taxes” has authorized his Internal Revenue Service to issue a “final rule” that will illegally tax some 12 million individuals, plus large employers, in as many as 40 states beginning in 2014. Oklahoma’s attorney general has asked a federal court to block this rule. Members of Congress have introduced legislation in both the House and the Senate to quash it.

At first glance, it might not seem that the IRS is up to anything nefarious. The rule in question concerns the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s tax credits, not the law’s tax increases. The tax credits are intended to offset the cost of insurance premiums for low- and middle-income workers.

For many Americans, however, those tax credits are like an anchor disguised as a life vest. The mere fact that a taxpayer is eligible for a tax credit can trigger tax liabilities against both the taxpayer (under the act’s “individual mandate”) and her employer (under the “employer mandate”). In 2016, these tax credits will trigger a tax of $2,085 on many families of four earning as little as $24,000. An employer with 100 workers could face a tax of $140,000 if even one of his workers is eligible for a tax credit.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/328523/irs-has-gone-rogue-michael-f-cannon

Will THAT WAKE UP the masses???

Here is a great history lesson about the choice between Obama and Romney:

With the economy sputtering, President Obama would like voters to believe he faces tougher challenges than any president since Franklin Roosevelt and needs two terms to turn things around. Sadly, the president’s problems are so daunting only because his policies are not up to the task.

One need only look as far back as Ronald Reagan to find a fair but embarrassing comparison for Mr. Obama’s special brand of statism.

In 1980, Americans were bearing double-digit interest rates and inflation, growing trade deficits on oil and with export juggernauts Japan and newly industrializing economies in Asia, and stuck in a malaise of self-doubt quite similar to today.

Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, appointed in August 1979, pushed interest rates even higher to halt runaway inflation, the economy suffered two wrenching recessions, and unemployment peaked at 10.8 percent just 22 months into the Reagan presidency.

Listen to Governor Romney closely—he’s offering Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” all over again—not a replay of the Bush administration, as Barack Obama would have voters believe.

The Reagan recovery package emphasized putting money and decision making back into the hands of ordinary citizens and private businesses. Immediate tax cuts, followed by tax reform—just three personal income tax rates, a top rate of 28 percent, and fewer special breaks and loopholes.

He removed Carter-era policies that discouraged domestic oil production, and aggressively sought to right-size regulation—not slash and burn, but retaining what was needed to keep business honest and foster competition, and jettisoning the rest.

All, strikingly similar to Governor Romney’s platform.

When President Reagan faced voters in 1984, the economy was growing at 6.3 percent and unemployment was down to 7.3 percent—it ultimately fell to 5 percent, as Old Dutch engineered a 92 month economic expansion.

Not satisfied to rest on his laurels, he pursued free trade, called to task Japan and others for undervalued currencies, and negotiated the 1985 Plaza Accord, which increased the value of the yen by more than 50 percent and set the stage for export-led prosperity of the 1990s.

Similarly, Mr. Obama inherited an economy crippled by gaping trade deficits—this time with China and again on oil, and too much financial chicanery on Wall Street.

Sadly, President Obama has avoided confronting China on currency manipulation, and the deficit with the Middle Kingdom is up 50 percent since the recent recovery began.

President Obama has limited offshore drilling in the Gulf, the North Slope of Alaska and Atlantic and Pacific Coasts—no surprise the petroleum trade deficit is up nearly 70 percent since the recovery began.

Every dollar that goes to China or for imported oil that does not return to buy US exports is lost demand for US-made goods and services, and together those deficits are costing Americans 10 million jobs.

All this is exacerbated by Dodd-Frank financial reforms, whose bureaucratic burdens are forcing small banks to sell out to their larger brethren on Wall Street, where the deal making, sharp practices and gambling continue seemingly unabated.

Small businesses can’t get loans, and a day doesn’t seem to pass that the financial press doesn’t publish a story about federal and New York State regulators chasing some slippery scam or tax dodge begotten by Manhattan’s big-bonus aristocracy.

As President Obama faces the voters, the economy is growing at a 2.2 percent pace. Unemployment has fallen to 8.3 percent but only because so many adults have quit looking for work altogether. If the adult labor force participation rate was the same today as when he took office, the jobless rate would be 11 percent, and most economists see little room for improvement on that sad record.

Listen to Governor Romney closely—he’s offering Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” all over again—not a replay of the inept Bush administration, as Barack Obama would have voters believe.

Encouraging individual initiative and entrepreneurs, an understandable tax system, producing more American oil, getting a fair deal for American workers competing with China, lowering health care costs, and smarter regulation of Wall Street—it all makes sense.

It’s the smart choice.

Peter Morici is an economist and professor at the Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, and widely published columnist.

FYI:

The average A.T.M. surcharge rose 4% to a new record of $2.50.

The U.S. Postal Service will default this week on a $5.6 billion congressionally mandated obligation to pre-fund retiree health benefits, marking the second time in two months the cash-strapped agency has done this.

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich were a part of protests against Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday.

The theory goes like this: Climate change has created a drought, the drought drives up the cost of feed, pig farmers can’t afford feed, pig farmers can’t afford pigs, the crunchy goodness of a BLT goes silent. This. Must. Stop. Britain’s National Pig Association is urging consumers on their side of the pond to pay the higher prices when the shortage is expected to hit in six months to keep their pig producers in business. In the U.S., the Agriculture Department (USDA) spent $100 million on a pork-buying program, and in China, the government is putting pork into cold storage.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer responded that he was surprised and infuriated by the Monday announcement that Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., in Big Flats, Chemung County, would close its doors by the end of the year, costing the area 570 jobs.   “This decision came as a total surprise, as no one was informed ahead of time,” Schumer told Gannett’s Albany Bureau in an email. “This action shows a total disregard for the workers that put their lives into this plant and to Chemung County, which welcomed Sikorsky with open arms.  “This is an infuriating decision,” he continued, “and I have called the CEO of United Technology Corp. and Sikorsky, not only to express my great displeasure, but to tell them that they have an obligation to help the workers and Chemung County in every way possible.”  The company cited cuts in the federal defense budget and a continuing weakness in its military helicopter business as reasons for closing. The work will be transferred to a facility in Florida, according to the Associated Press. One would think Chuckie, will all his infuriation, would know that as HE helped to make the cuts in the first place. Dope!

Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus pleased ABC News’ “This Week” by enthusiastically reiterating the self-defeating conclusion that the GOP establishment will not fund nor support Rep. Todd Akin’s bid to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri. They won’t lift a finger.  That’s right – the message to Republican voters DO NOT elect a pro-life, conservative, veteran lawmaker with an excellent record over a vulnerable Barack Obama-supporting extremist. I could scream. I can’t tell you how much this saddens me b/c I really do like Priebus.

In 42 days, we will pick a new President of the United States, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and a third of our U.S. Senate. We will also cast ballots for governors, state legislators, judges, and local officials. What America will look like on November 7 is up to you! “Revival preceded the American Revolution,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “America was birthed in a prayer meeting led by our Founding Fathers.” After dissention arose among the Revolutionary leaders following the Revolutionary War about the proper form of government and all hope seemed lost, Benjamin Franklin arose and said, “Have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?” … “Perhaps, not since [Franklin's Constitutional invitation to pray] has America been in more need of Eternal assistance,” Mat Staver said. Liberty Counsel is joining with Christian leaders across the country and asking you to exercise your faith for the preservation of Christian freedoms and values in America. Beginning on September 28 and continuing through November 6, 40 Days to Save America is issuing a national call to prayer, fasting, and repentance.

Now, as in the days of the Founding Fathers, America’s destiny rests in God’s hands. Our nation faces multiple crises – pending economic collapse, moral disintegration, and international terrorism. Our God-given rights are imperiled on all sides.

 

I have been struggling with something this week and given that I am a firm believer in ‘the truth shall set you free’ I post the following. This is not to hurt or embarrass anyone – it is merely to shine a light into the darkness.

Here is the scenario….a tea party invited a candidate in to speak to their group. The meeting was taped. After the meeting the candidate said ‘I don’t want the tape to be shared’. The tea party agreed and sent out the following:

“One thing is for sure: we will not release tapes against the will of someone who comes to talk to us. Otherwise there won’t be any more candidates willing to speak at our meetings”.

Has our beloved tea party now decided getting people to speak at a  meeting is more important than getting out the platform (regardless if good/bad/indifferent) of a candidate?

This worries me for it appears that we are no better than the R’s or the D’s in that we are now curtailing the message.

Here is the Q & A of the candidate – he’s a Republican or better defined as RINO (and YES, he has the party’s endorsement):

Answers from the candidate (received via email w/no Confidential tag attached so I’m pretty sure I can share it):

Questions	Bob Cohen
What are your core convictions and principles?	Working together in solving problems, no side has all the answers
What is your favorite non-fiction book?	“Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle”  by Dan Senor and Saul Singer
Are you in favor of New York’s property tax cap?	Yes
Are you in favor of repealing the Triborough amendment?	Triborough absolutely has to be reformed
Are you in favor of increasing the minimum wage to $ 8.50?	Yes
Are you in favor of a NY law requiring Photo Id’s for voters?	Critical that only US citizens vote, but don’t know if I would require a voter ID law in New York
Would you vote to eliminate the prevailing wage requirements that requires municipalities to pay government determined scales to contractors?	No
Horse farms get an agricultural exemption from real estate tax. Should horse farms have this exemption?	Generally no, but have to look further into this to understand what the reason for the exemption is
Senator Ball proposed a bill that would cap school property taxes for people 67 years of age and earning under $ 50.000. Will you vote for that bill if elected?	Have to see the bill
Senator Ball mentioned tying property taxes to income and not property value. Would you support Senator Ball in that effort?	Moving away from property taxes as the sole means of supporting our schools
Should New York state keep the Star exemption program?	Yes
Assemblyman Castelli cosponsored a bill that would require a municipality  to pay a ten percent fine if the contractor they entered into a contract with did not pay his employees the prevailing wage. Would you support that bill?	Have to think about this
Would you vote for a law allowing public works contracts over $ 35,000 to be allotted on a best-value basis and not lowest bid?	Have to look at the legislation
Are you in favor of a state spending cap?	Yes
Would you vote yes or no in submitting a constitutional amendment to the voters that will allow seven casinos to be built in NYS?	Yes
Do you think Cuomo’s recent pension reform measures are going far enough?	There is room for improvement in terms of pension reform
Do you think Cuomo should have been tougher with the unions?	Cuomo was realistic in trying to get what he could get; but we need further incremental changes
Are you in favor of restricting collective bargaining rights for public service employees?	Depends on the specific changes proposed in legislation
Last year, Cuomo broke his promise not to raise taxes by signing into law a “millionnaires’ tax.” Would you have supported the millionaires’ tax?	No
Are you in favor of fracking in New York?	No. Need to wait to have the safety in place to protect our ground water; waiting for safety reports
Are you in favor of school vouchers and charter schools?	Yes
What is your view on mandate relief? Where do you see room for mandate relief?	Crucial for Westchester to get mandate relief
Do you support Paul Ryan’s plan to reform Medicare?	Need to know more about it
Are you in favor of repealing Obamacare?	Yes
Are you in favor of repealing Dodd-Frank?	parts of it, but not familiar enough to be specific
How do you define marriage?	Between a man and a woman; do support civil unions
Would you have supported Cuomo’s same-sex marriage legislation?	No
What is your view on abortion?	Pro-choice
Do you support second amendment rights?	Yes
Do you believe in the power of free markets or in close market regulation by the government?	Yes
What kind of rights to you believe in?	God-given Rights guaranteed in the constitution (freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom of assembly)
You talk a lot about the need to fight against unfunded mandates. Please give us some details which mandates exactly you are targeting and which parts of which mandates you would abolish	The state passes a mandate and does not provide the financial means to pay for the mandate. An example: school busing. 90% of it used to be paid by the state. Over the years this was reduced to now 10%. If the state passes an unfunded mandate, the state should pay for it or have the mandate optional
How many billions of dollars in unfunded mandates are imposed on NY by the federal government and how much in unfunded mandates are imposed on NY by the state government? What can you do about federal mandates?	Don’t know; can’t impact federal law; in state law will not support unfunded mandates; don’t know the ration between unfunded mandates from the federal and state government
How do you propose to transform Westchester into a more competitive place to start and run a business?	Get local taxes under control; property tax cap a good first step; unfunded mandate relief a good second step
Do you think it makes sense for the state of NY to subsidize solar and wind energy?	Have to look at the numbers; want to support energy resources of the future but am against excessive government spending and crony capitalism
Do you know what Agenda 21 is? Do you have an opinion about it?	Yes, know what it is. Generally do not support Agenda 21 where US citizens give up their rights to organizations outside of the United States

It is plain for all to see why the candidate wanted the video squashed. The question remains – why would a tea party agree? A promise is a promise – there is no doubt – but it’s a promise that never should have been made. The tea party was created to CHANGE the culture/players of politics. We do no justice in appeasing anyone.

I have said for years now that the Republican Party will not learn to stop giving us RINO’s until they start losing elections. With us now hiding the candidates own words, out of courtesy and promise, we have become no better than the party we’re supposedly trying to straighten out. I mean no disrespect here, but sometimes, even our own, go astray.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the campaign war and why the video could have been denied posting. In the news today we learn that a mailer has prompted a war of words in the Senate race between Bob Cohen and George Latimer.

Politics Tonight reports: An excerpt from a 2010 Journal News article is used in a new, pro-George Latimer mailer funded by Senate Democrats that is now heading to Westchester County homes. The quote points out that the Rye Assemblyman “favors a tax cap and relief from state mandates.”

It doesn’t mention, however, a seemingly pertinent piece of information: Latimer voted against the state’s 2 percent property-tax cap in 2011.

Latimer, a Democratic Assemblyman now running for state Senate, opposed the bill that created the now-implemented tax cap, explaining at the time (and ever since) that he didn’t believe enough was done concurrently to free local government’s from state-mandated costs, such as Medicaid payments.

The campaign of Latimer’s Republican opponent, New Rochelle developer Bob Cohen, pounced on the mailer.

“I have never seen such a blatantly dishonest mailer in my career,” Cohen spokesman Bill O’Reilly said in a statement.

Senate Democrats, however, defended the mailer and said the use of The Journal News excerpt was not misleading, noting that Latimer has consistently spoken out on the need to pair the property-tax limit with meaningful relief for local governments.

Latimer released a web video on his position on the tax cap last week, in which he quotes Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino (ironically, also a client of O’Reilly) as saying “a property-tax cap without mandate relief is like running up a credit card debt on a fixed income.” (You can watch that video here.)

“Cohen and his extremist allies can try to lie and distort the facts but the truth is only George Latimer has provided tax relief to the people of Westchester,” Senate Democratic spokesman Mike Murphy said in a statement.

The original article—from the Oct. 14, 2010 edition of The Journal News, when Latimer was running for re-election in the Assembly—notes that Latimer said he “favored sweeping changes in the way education and health care are funded by shifting away from property taxes,” but supports “tax cap and relief from state mandates” in the shorter term.

Latimer, meanwhile, has found himself on the receiving end of about a dozen direct-mail campaigns within his district, leading him to release a letter last week saying they “ruthlessly” misrepresent his record and accusing Cohen of spreading “negative lies.”

You can find the original Latimer mailer here, and read the full statements from Senate Democrats and the Cohen camp after the jump

So while we are distracted with the Cohen camp pointing fingers, this writer says perhaps he should point that finger at himself first. Go back and reread his Q&A responses then visit his website. Mindboggling.

We reported earlier in the week that some schools will be giving young girls 12,13,14, the morning after pill. Bloomberg said, “The good news is we’ve brought teenage pregnancy down by, I think, something like 25 percent over the last 10 years. The bad news is there is still an awful lot of girls who get pregnant at a very early age.” The mayor’s statement follows City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s defense of the program. “High school students are very sexually active and getting pregnant so we don’t have that luxury to think that they are too young to be engaged in conversations about contraception and sexual education.”

Just so we are clear – murder good – big gulp bad but he can do one better.

That’s right – one upping himself, Bloomberg is now going after hospital food. To hell with the kids and their morals, and their souls, let’s go to the hospital cafeterias and lay a crackdown that will ban deep fryers, make leafy green salads a mandatory option and allow only healthy snacks to be stocked near the cafeteria entrance and at cash registers.
Can someone, anyone, explain this insanity to me.

Bloomberg wants to be a daddy. OKAY, then how about getting on the DON’T HAVE SEX bandwagon and be, ya know, a GREAT daddy.

I honestly don’t think I can take much more insanity.

 

GOD help this country.

It’s time to declare a state of emergency in America — Get the facts out there b/c your future depends on it.

Lisa