Tracking the Left Media CyberAlert

From CyberAlert – Tracking Liberal Media Bias …

Describing the agenda of questions CNN chose to pose, during its Wednesday night Republican presidential debate with YouTube, as “completely different” from those forwarded to Democrats in July, Fred Barnes, on Thursday’s Special Report on FNC, cited the contrast in questions about the military and Iraq as demonstrating how CNN picked the questioners to “screw Republicans” and “boost Democrats.” Mara Liasson of NPR echoed the sentiment, recalling that the questions put to Democrats “were about global warming and health care and education, all kind of Democratic issues” and so they “weren’t challenging the basic principles of the Democratic Party,” but “there were lots of questions last night that were “meant to undermine GOP principles. Earlier in the day, on The Weekly Standard’s website, Barnes, Executive Editor of the magazine, hypothesized: “I don’t know if the folks who put the debate together were purposely trying to make the Republican candidates look bad, but they certainly succeeded.” He asserted that the YouTube video submission questions CNN decided to air reflected “the issues, in the view of liberals and many in the media, on which Republicans look particularly unattractive.”

CNN has, for some time, been a media element that has showed its bias on several occasions, this is one of them. And what right does the media or even the individual to perform such a one-sided debate? The questions asked of the Democrats should have been the same for the Republicans. Skirting the issues is not acceptable.

Arguments Concerning the FairTax and Repeal of the 16th Amendment

Laurence M. Vance of the Mises Institute writes that the Fair Tax is a fraud [May 18^th 2005]:

… FairTax proponents are correct in their assessment of the Internal Revenue Code …
The Internal Revenue Code cannot simply be “fixed”, which is amply demonstrated by more than 35 years of attempted tax code reform, each round resulting in yet more complexity and unrelenting page-after-page, mind-numbing verbiage (now exceeding 54,000 pages containing more than 2.8 million words).
But could the cure they offer be worse than the disease?
The FairTax is a consumption tax in the form of a national retail sales tax on new goods and services. …
The elimination of the 16^th Amendment, the IRS, and all those taxes sounds like a great idea that all free market economists and advocates of liberty could agree with. …
Various consumption tax proposals were recently critiqued on this site in an article by Murray Rothbard. So rather than just repeat them and apply them to the current FairTax scheme, I will focus instead on problems with the FairTax proposal itself. …
Strangely absent from the list of co-sponsors of H.R. 25 is Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX). Representative Paul has consistently been named the “taxpayers’ friend.” …
…all H.R. 25 does is repeal Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that relates to income taxes and self-employment taxes and Subtitle C that relates to payroll taxes and the withholding of income taxes. The only mention of the 16^th Amendment in H.R. 25 is when it says: “Congress further finds that the 16^th Amendment to the United States Constitution should be repealed.”
To repeal the 16^th Amendment would require a constitutional amendment. Can Congress be relied on to pass a constitutional amendment that repeals the 16^th Amendment after a national sales tax has already been enacted? And even if Congress passed a constitutional amendment, it would still have to be approved by three-fourths of the states. Without the repeal of the 16^th Amendment, what is to prevent an income tax from being imposed again after a national sales tax has been enacted?
Although the FairTax would eliminate the filing of all individual tax returns, the FairTax turns every business into a tax collector. …
The national retail sales tax rate under the FairTax plan is 23 percent. That is on top of state sales taxes that are currently collected by forty-five states. That is on top of the sales tax that many cities and counties also collect. That is on top of the special taxes that exist on hotel rooms in most areas of the country. I suppose that a national retail sales tax would also apply to gasoline. …
The FairTax will make it easier for Congress to raise taxes. The initial rate of 23 percent is supposed to begin in 2007. …
Under the FairTax system, there are no longer any Social Security and Medicare taxes. However, this does not mean that Social Security and Medicare will be eliminated. …means that the Ponzi scheme known as Social Security will continue as is – only the way it is funded will change. …
The claim that the IRS will be eliminated under the FairTax is bogus. Although the national sales tax will be collected by the states from retailers, it is still a national sales tax, and as such, its collection will have to be overseen by some agency of the federal government. …
The real problem with the FairTax is threefold. In “An Open Letter to the President, the Congress, and the American People Concerning Reform of the Federal Tax Code,: which is posted on the FairTax website along with the endorsement of seventy-five “professional and university economists,” we can see the trouble with the FairTax immediately: …
The FairTax does nothing to tame the federal leviathan. The solution is nothing less than a drastic reduction or wholesale elimination of its revenue source. What is fair about allowing the government to confiscate 23 percent of the value of every new good and service? FairTax proponents may call it necessary legislation, but I call it highway robbery.

More Arguments Concerning Government and Global Warming

John Coleman, founder of the cable TV Weather Channel and currently TV meteorologist in San Diego at KUSI began a series of short articles concerning global warming and why he does not believe in the alarmist views of it in his blog.

John Coleman calls the global warming alarm, originally a theory, and now because of consensus and not complete or accurate “scientific” evidence and the involvement of politics – “the greatest scam in history”:

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming: It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific date to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus. Read the rest of the original blog here.

New Invention: Print A Paperback for $3

Time announced the Best Inventions of the Year at their website (November 28^th, 2007 posting) and among them is the Espresso Book Machine. No, it is not a coffee machine, as TIME reports. The machine is also mentioned by Andrew Sullivan in his blog The Daily Dish (November 26^th). It is a machine that presently costs around $50,000 and helps libraries become “mini-bookstores” and produce in paperback hard-to-find titles for $3 per book. Something entrepreneurs and bookstores may be interested in.

PAUL, Ron – Election 2008 Dossier

PAUL, Ron (R-Texas)

"Don’t Steal. The government hates competition." (Unknown Origin)

Wikipedia –

Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul (b. August 20, 1935) is a Republican United States Congressman from Lake Jackson, Texas, a physician, and a 2008 U.S. presidential candidate. He has represented Texas’s 14^th Congressional district (1997-present) and its 22^nd district (1976-1977, 1979-1985) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Paul placed a distant third in the 1988 presidential election, running as the Libertarian nominee while remaining a registered Republican. After his 1961 graduation from Duke University School of Medicine and a residency in obstetrics and gynecology, he became a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, serving outside the Vietnam War zone.

Snippets – November 28th 2007 – American Politics

– Sometimes residents in Hollyweird come up with things where it either wants you to laugh (it away) or just heave. Susan Sarandon and her “life-partner”, Tim Robbins (no-nuke) has been well known for their “peace activism” – anti-war demonstrations. Hollywood Confidential reports:

 

 

Sarandon was asked, “What are some ways that regular people can help with peace into the world?”
Sarandon spoke of starting with “your everyday life and living as Christ did, in a loving way and a respectful way.” She then went on to characterize Jesus in an unusual sort of manner.
“I think that Christ was an activist,” Sarandon said. “Christ wasn’t afraid. His life is an example of activism.”
She followed with this statement: “I think that the gap between the rich and the poor contributes to the pain of the world.”
“Anything you can do that helps to alleviate this huge gap between the rich and the poor will eventually make the world a more peaceful place,” she added.

Advice Concerning Forwarding Email

Here is something that Verna K., Wisconsin sent to Kritter Girl and has some good advice for folks using email (original author unknown) …

1) When you forward an e-mail, DELETE all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). That’s right, DELETE them. Highlight them and delete them, backspace them, cut them, whatever it is you know how to do. It only takes a second You MUST click the “Forward” button first and then you will have full editing capabilities against the body and headers of the message. If you don’t click on “Forward” first, you won’t be able to edit the message at all.

Light Side of Lighthouse – "Fly the Friendly Skies of Lutran"

Diane S., Wisconsin, Friend of LPJ, sends an announcement of a new airline in Minnesota …

Announcement:
Vee are pleased to announce lutran air is now operating from dulut  airport.  

Ya shure, ya betcha!  

Dis is da latest air service to sprout up in minnysota.   Also serving visconsin, nort and sout dakota.
If you are travelin soon, consider Lutran Air, da no-frills airline. 

You’re all in da same boat on Lutran Air, where flyin is a upliftin experience. Der is no first class on any Lutran Air flight.
Meals are potluck:

Rows 1-6, bring rolls;
7-15, bring a salad;
16-21, hot dish, and
22-30, a dessert.
Basses and tenors please sit in da rear of da aircraft.

Everyone is responsible for his or her own baggage.
All fares are by free will-offering and da plane will not land ’til da budget is met.
Pay attention now to your flight attendant, who will acquaint you wit da safety system aboard dis Lutran Air 599 …
“Okay den, listen up you guys.  I’m only gonna say dis vonce.  In da event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure,  I am frankly going to be real surprised and so vill Captain Olson, because vee fly right around two tousand feet, so loss of cabin pressure would probably mean da Second. Coming or something of dat nature, and I vouldn’t bodar with doze liddle masks on da rubber tubes.  You’re gonna have bigger tings to vorry about den dat.
Yust stuff doze back up in dair little holes. Probably da masks fell out because of turbulence which, to be honest wit you, we’re going to have quite a bit of at two tousand feet, sort a like driving across a plowed field, but after a while you get used to it.
In da event of a water landing, I’d say forget it.  Start saying da Lord’s Prayer and yust hope you get to da part about forgive us our sins as we forgive doze who sin against us, which some people say “trespass against us,” which isn’t right, but vut can you do?
Da use of cell phones on da plane is strictly forbidden, not because day may confuse da plane’s navigation system, which is seat of da pants all da way.   No, it’s because cell phones are a pain in da wazoo, and if God meant you to use a cell phone, He vould have put your mout on da side of your head.
Vee start lunch right about noon and it’s buffet style wit da coffee pot up front.  Den vee’ll have da hymn sing; hymnals are in da seat pocket in front of you.  Don’t take yours wit you when you go or I am going to be real upset and I am not kiddin!
Right now I’ll say Grace:
“Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let deze gifts to us be blessed.
Fadar, Son, and Holy Ghost, may we land in Dulut or pretty close.
Amen!”

COX, John – Election 2008 Dossier

COX, John H. (R-Illinois)

Wikipedia:

John Herman Cox (born July 15, 1955) is a United States lawyer, accountant, businessman, broadcaster, and aspiring politician. He is seeking the 2008 Republican nomination for president, but has told media in November 2007 that he is using his candidacy to get a “message” out and believes he will not win the nomination. Cox is unique among the 2008 Republican presidential candidates in that he has never been elected to any government position above a board of education.
Born on the near north side of Chicago, John Cox is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he majored in accounting and political science, and of IIT – Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is married to Sarah and has four daughters. He credits his wife as inspiring him to run for president. In 1981 Cox founded a law firm specializing in corporate law and tax planning, named John H. Cox and Associates Ltd. In 1985, he founded Cox Financial Group Ltd., which specializes in investment counseling, income tax planning, retirement planning, and asset protection. In 1995 he founded Equity Property Management, a real estate management firm specializing in apartment rental property.
He hosted “The Progressive Conservative”, a twice-weekly bought-time radio talk show on low-wattage WJJG 1530 AM in Chicago. It featured guests such as Michael Moriarty, and its themes included antagonism towards trial lawyers and creation of a “Friends of Saddam” website during the run-up to the Iraq War in March 2003, which nominated public figures such as Janeane Garofalo, Jacques Chirac, and Martin Sheen. He has served on a local school board and a zoning board.

Al Gore Making Profit Off Advocacy of Global Warming

Al Gore was a fraud when he was Vice President and he is certainly not changing. And why should he? He has made money on a “documentary” Hollyweird propaganda film, was at the Academy Awards ceremony, and now a recipient of a Noble Peace Prize. The “noble” Mr. Gore is now joining forces with a capital company to seek profit from all this “clean energy” hyperbole (while he continues to use more energy in a month than the average citizen uses in a year). NewsMax staff reports:

Former vice president and environmental activist Al Gore is joining forces with a venture capital company that’s seeking to profit from the move toward “clean technology” in the $6 trillion global energy business. Gore is becoming a hands-on partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a major Silicon Valley venture capital firm where an old friend, John Doerr, is a partner. …
Within several years more than a third of Kleiner’s latest fund, which totals $600 million, will reportedly be invested in technologies that seek to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Among the companies the fund has already invested in are firms that make microbes to scrub old oil wells, build large-scale solar-power farms, develop solid-oxide fuel cells, and design equipment for use in electric car batteries.[I] …
Gore, along with Doerr and Blood, insist that halting global warming will require “a makeover of the $6 trillion global energy business,” according to Fortune. …
Asked why he is combining his environmental advocacy work with profit motives, Gore – who is already an advisor to Google and a director at Apple, Inc. – told Fortune: “We all believe the market must play a central role.”

Yeah, uh-huh.

Read the book authored by Glenn Beck – An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World’s Biggest Problems. Also read the background article of the book via NewsMax.

---

[I] All of these technology breakthroughs are a good thing – it is just that after so many scandals and controversy involving this public clown, one suspects everything this guy gets his hands on or endorses.

Myth Blaster – Story of SR-71 Pilot’s Experience

The Lockheed SR-71 is a long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft that was developed from the prototypes of YF-12A and A-12 aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Unofficially named the “Blackbird” and called Habu (“snake”) by its crews, it is so fast that it can outrun any surface-to-air missile made. It is also called, as many fighter pilots refer to their aircraft – the Sled.

I received an email from Dixie, Iowa (“Quills”), who corresponds with Don Farr, a veteran friend, who received an email of a personal story from someone called Gene Winfield, that describes what it is like to be an SR-71 pilot transcribed below:

Iranian Threat is a Reality

This article has moved to the NEW LOCATION in cyberspace.

Turkey Day by Kritter Girl

Just two days before Thanksgiving my Editor suggested to me via e-mail that while writing his traditional Thanksgiving Day article, he thought that perhaps I might consider writing about the American native bird called the turkey for Kritter Korner and publish before Thursday.

“It was just a passing thought,” he said.

Later that night, shortly before he walked out the door to go to work, he asked if I received his email about the turkey article. Well, my only comment at the time I could come back with was,

“And when do you think I will have the time to do that?!”

After all I only have a turkey feast to prepare for us here at home and a client’s dogs to walk for 3 miles on Thanksgiving Day; I have plenty of time, right!!

So for all you women out there who know WE can multi-task and our guys can’t, I had to once again step up the pace. Now the only question here is:

Will my editor have time to proof and publish this by Thursday?)

Light Side of Lighthouse – Thanksgiving Day Gobbler

I couldn’t resist publishing this from Diane S., Wisconsin, a naughty (but nice) Friend of LPJ: Feminist Turkey …

Or how about the turkey who decided not to be dinner …

Have a great Thanksgiving “Turkey” Day!

Myth Blaster – Montebello High School Flag Incident

I just got through publishing my annual article about Thanksgiving Day, an American (and Canadian) tradition, and received the following email from CJ, Wisconsin, Friend of LPJ and technical advisor for this e-journal (received via chain email) …

Turkey Day – A Day of Thanksgiving, A Celebration of Family

Most everyone, I am sure, know that this Thursday represents a day set aside for family gathering and feasting upon the traditional bird called turkey – a day traditional set aside to give thanks for the current year’s favorable occurrences, a day we refer to as Thanksgiving Day, an American tradition. It is also a time to watch the yearly Thanksgiving Day Parade that occurs in Times Square, New York City, New York and the official entry into the Christmas holiday season with the Santa float bringing up the rear in the Macy-sponsored traditional parade, of which was immortalized in the Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood film Miracle on 34th Street based on the age-old argument – Is there really a Santa Claus?

The modern Thanksgiving Day includes watching the Thanksgiving Classic football game that has become part of American tradition.

State of the Union – Reformation Long Overdue

A few days ago the news [New York Daily News] hit the wire that an illegal Lebanese immigrant who received jobs within the FBI and CIA networks had gained enough recognition to receive an undercover assignment in Iraq in counterinsurgency efforts pleaded guilty on November 13^th to charges of obtaining a U.S. citizenship illegally and charges related to FBI files on Hezbollah activities. Nadin Nadim Prouty, 37, had been working at the CIA Baghdad station between 2003 and 2006 that also provided her talent for breaking captured terrorists and obtaining important information. Thus far she is not charged with espionage, just the fact that she lied about her credentials and obtained false documentation for citizenship; however, investigation continues to determine if she was a “mole” for the Lebanese terror organization called the Hezbollah. Nadin’s brother-in-law is Talal Khalil Chahine, a Hezbollah fugitive and she had been investigating FBI files for her sister, who married him in 2000. PA Pundits has dubbed Nadin as “Jihad Jane“.

This incident indicates the problem with our immigration system as well as background checks for security clearances required to operate certain government positions of employment. It also is just the surface of the terrorist organizations that are utilizing the lax enforcement of our immigration laws and the present federal administration’s inability and/or unconcern of seeking out and deporting illegal immigrants – from wherever they come. In the case of Nadin, if she is found guilty she will be deported – which will probably mean a death sentence because she will most likely be considered a US spy.

Myth Blaster – Tax Cuts for the "Rich"

I have several issues and grievances with/against President Bush but they are honest and forthright grievances not construed for political propaganda. As Walter E. Williams writes:

An important component of the leftist class warfare agenda is to condemn President Bush’s tax cuts for the rich. This claim is careless, ignorant or dishonest on at least two counts: First there’s the constitutional issue. Article I, Section 8 reads, “The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes …” That means the president has no tax authority.[I]
Presidents can propose or veto taxes and Congress can override vetoes. The bottom line is that all taxing authority rests with the U.S. Congress.[II] The next time you hear someone condemn or praise Bush’s tax cuts,[III] ask them whether the Constitution has been amended to give the president taxing authority.
But what about those tax cuts for the rich? Are the rich now sharing a smaller burden of the federal income tax because their fair share of the burden has been shifted to the poor? … In 2005, the top 1 percent of income earners, those with an annual gross income of $365,000 and higher, paid 39 percent of all federal income taxes;[IV]in 1999, they paid 36 percent.
In 2005, the top 5 percent of income earners, those having an adjusted gross income of $145,000 and higher, paid 60 percent of all federal taxes; [V]in 1999, it was 55 percent. The top 10 percent, earning income over $103,000, paid 70 percent. The top 25 percent, with income of over $62,000, paid 85 percent, and the top 50 percent, earning $31,000 and higher, paid 97 percent of all federal taxes.[VI]
What about any argument suggesting that the burden of taxes have been shifted to the poor? The bottom 50 percent earning $30,000 or less, paid 3 percent of total federal income taxes. In 1999, they paid 4 percent. Congressmen know all of this, but they attempt to hoodwink the average American who doesn’t.
… The Tax Foundation estimates that 41 percent of whites, 56 percent of blacks, 59 percent of American Indian and Aleut Eskimo and 40 percent of Asian and Pacific Islanders had no 2004 federal income tax liability.[VII] The study concluded, “When all of the dependents of these income-producing households are counted, there are roughly 122 million Americans – 44 percent of the U.S. population – who are outside of the federal income tax system.”[VIII] These people represent a natural constituency for big-spending politicians. In other words, if you have little or no financial stake in America, what do you care about the cost of massive federal spending programs?
Similarly, what do you care about tax cuts if you’re paying little or no taxes? In fact, you might be openly hostile towards tax cuts out of fear that they might lead to reductions in handout programs from which you benefit. Survey polls have confirmed this. According to the Harris Poll taken in June 2003, 51 percent of Democrats thought the tax cuts enacted by Congress were a bad thing while 16 percent of Republicans thought so. Among Democrats, 67 percent thought the tax cuts were unfair while 32 percent of Republicans thought so. When asked whether the $350 billion tax cut package will help your family finances, 59 percent of those surveyed said no and 35 percent said yes.
Whether you are for or against President Bush matters little, but what do you think of politicians and their media dupes winning you over with lies about the rich not paying their fair share? And, by the way, $145,000 or even $345,000 a year hardly qualifies one as rich. It’s not even yacht money.

Stop listening and believing in the propaganda that is strategy straight from the Karl Marx mantra. Start seeking truth. Check out the figures. You have at your fingertips when owning a computer a vast opportunity to beat the political left and their game of cat and mouse with the American citizen. Don’t forget that when it comes time to decide whether or not to retain a congressional member in office or pick a new candidate.

Also see:

How Tax Friendly is Your State? (2006)
State and Local Tax Burdens Hit 25-year High
State-Run Lotteries – States’ Growing Reliance
Study on Corporate Income Tax
Tax Foundation Figures Lead to Misinterpretation of Middle Class Tax Burden

---

[I] For years I have been stressing that presidents become the scapegoat for Congress, blaming the Commander-in-Chief for those things that are their constitutional duty. However, the President may push a certain issue and gain the vote to pass his/her advocated policy or law within the legislative jurisdiction of Congress – if indeed he can persuade them to pass whatever issue or policy he/she advocates.

[II] So, if you think that taxation is unfair (call your congressmen and tell them you want the Fair Tax Act passed) and/or you feel you are being overtaxed or that the tax funding that the government receives is being wasted – take it up with them. They are the authority.

[III] Or any congressional member accusing any president of such things.

[IV] If the present Democratic majority has its way that amount will be boosted to 50%.

[V] And because the Democrats believe in progressive taxation just as they believe that the American governmental system requires change to progressive socialism and statism – this group will be paying closer to 75% of all federal taxes. Punishing the wealthier Americans who provide employment and keep the economy healthy are punished for being more productive than other Americans in terms of gross income.

[VI] And which brings up the argument that the most taxed ends up being the middle class and above.

[VII] This means they got back all or most of the taxes they paid via payroll in the form of a refund check – and because of the other tax programs in place, some citizens received more in their refund check than they paid in taxes throughout the year. What’s wrong with that picture?

[VIII] Which is another argument for the Fair Tax Act – everyone will pay their fair share and not in steps, but a flat tax that is taxation upon consumption; which means that whenever goods or services are bought, taxes are paid to the government, and as percentages go, this means that those with more money spend more money and therefore automatically pay more taxes. The Fair Tax has some provisions to prevent certain products and services not to be taxed – such as food and when purchasing a home.

Hamas Massacre of Peaceful Fatah Rally by Tom Carew

Tom Carew, guest writer comments on the a malicious incident in Palestine:

If only the Palestine Solidarity groups, along with even once condemning the unending rocket attacks launched  into Israeli towns and schools from Gaza, a campaign of aggression perpetrated or tolerated by Hamas, would also lead a mass demonstration to the nearest Hamas Office, to protest their savage murder of seven unarmed Fatah supporters while engaged in a peaceful rally in Gaza, to remember the late Palestinian President Arafat. And Palestine Solidarity still expects either Israel or Fatah to trust Hamas after such Jihadi thuggery?
Such an anti-massacre march would show real impartiality, not partisanship, and show real solidarity with living Palestinians and their democratic rights, not just ideological bias or perverted sympathy for Islamic suicide-bombers.

John Stossel – "Don’t Look to Government to Cool Down the Planet"

John Stossel is a regular host on the TV show 20/20,  an ABC-sponsored web page, and also a syndicated columnist regularly featured at Townhall.com. He is also an author of a book entitled Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel – Why Everything You Know is Wrong – a major theme of John is analyzing misinformation. He does it well.

In the abovementioned article, published on November 14^th, 2007, he writes with logic:

Robert Redford – Breaking with Personal Political Tradition

Robert Redford, traditionally a Hollyweird liberal (in the classic sense) has stated that he has snubbed all of the Democratic presidential hopefuls – all of them – and doesn’t see any viable candidates representing the Democratic Party.

Starring in traditional liberal mindset films like The Candidate and All of the President’s Men as well as a film that wrongfully depicts conditions in military prisons as a disgraced Army general, The Last Castle (2001) and the look at the American socialist/communist movement in The Way We Were, co-starring with the diva-socialist Barbara Streisand – and other traditional films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), and The Horse Whisperer (1998) films depicting real historical characters. His thriller films are excellent, such as Three Days of the Condor (1975), Sneakers (1992) and Spy Game (2001). His independent films that he produced kept in tune with his advocacy for the environment and protection of the Native American culture, as well as controversial historical figures such as Ernesto Guevara depicted in the film he produced The Motorcycle Diaries in 2004.

Apparently Redford doesn’t support the likes of the progressive elite represented in the presidential candidate hopeful lineup – Hillary, Obama, Edwards, and Kucinich. Hmm. There’s hope for those in Hollyweird after all.

Announcement of New Features

I have important updates here at Lighthouse Patriot Journal courtesy of its sponsoring blog host – WordPress.

First, and this concerns me the author/publisher at LPJ, premium features that once cost will soon be free. I do not know how the wizards at WordPress can do this, but they ARE remarkable and talented individuals.

Second, avatars will soon be a global thing. Which means that little picture/photo/graphic that you have chosen to accompany your comments can know be more easily obtained and used here and other blogs that are globally aligned with this feature. To obtain a free registration for your avatar – visit Gravatar, which will soon be linked to this site and all WordPress sites. Avatars are fund and give comments a sort of personal touch, but certainly not required. If you are interested, visit the link above and see your avatar posted with your comments. Those that have received avatar posting via WordPress visit Gravatar and post it globally there.

WordPress intends to transfer avatars posted with them and transfer them to the Gravatar system. I will keep everyone posted as thing progress.

What is an avatar?

Wikipedia:

An avatar is an Internet user’s representation of himself or herself or herself, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, a two-dimensional icon (picture) used on Internet forums and other communities, or a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. The term “avatar” can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.

For example, a person whose “handle” is dragon uses the depiction icon of a dragon; a person with the “handle” Quills might use a quill feather as a personal icon.

The history of the use of an avatar is interesting and I suggest that you read the Wikipedia entry linked below. Some avatars are even animated (GIF format); however, LP Journal is not set up as of now for animated avatar format.

An Avatar as an icon, according to Wikipedia in its original history and meaning …

In Hindu philosophy … commonly refers to the incarnation (bodily manifestation) of a higher being (deva), or the Supreme Being (God) onto planet Earth. The Sanskrit word avatāra – literally means “descent” and usually implies a deliberate descent into lower realms of existence for special purposes. The term is used primarily in Hinduism, for incarnations of Vishnu whom many Hindus worship as God. Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars, with the Genesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana detailing Ganesha’s avatars specifically. The word also has been used by extension to refer to the incarnations of God or highly influential teachers in other religions, especially by adherents to dharmic traditions when explaining figures such as Jesus. …

Snippets – November 13th – State of the Republic

Recently I wrote about Kathleen Willey where Bob McCarty mentioned her book about the Clintons. Art Moore in his article [WorldNetDaily] reveals more information about the new book, which I haven’t read in its entirety yet.

In a new book alleging a campaign of slander and intimidation orchestrated chiefly by Hillary Clinton, Kathleen Willey points a finger of suspicion at the former first couple for the death of her husband, who was believed to have killed himself. Asked if she suspects her husband Ed, a lawyer and son of a prominent Virginia lawmaker, was murdered, Willey replied, “Most definitely.” “I’m having someone with a forensics background look at this, and I intend to pursue this further, now that these questions have been raised,” she told WND, pointing to alleged discrepancies in the autopsy report.

 

Snippets – November 13th – World Affairs

I didn’t post anything special for fellow veterans (Sunday November 11^th) and realized something on Monday, November 12^th when trying to conduct business at the local post office. Did you ever think that most national holidays declared by our government only apply to government employees? If Veteran’s Day is truly for the veterans who have served, past and present, why do they still have to go to work – why don’t they get off as a paid holiday? What good is that sort of “holiday” anyway?

Myth Blaster – Return of the Perfume Hoax Email

The following email concerning “perfume muggers” comes in varied forms, but are the gist of what the Myth Blaster Verdict result is FALSE. Thanks to Tara M., Wisconsin, Friend of LPJ, for letting me know that this hoax is back in circulation again.

This was written by a guy from KVLY-TV in Fargo … This is something that happened to us on the way back from vacation last week. At first I didn’t think much of it until now. The reason we were a little suspicious is we had been riding in a Jeep all day with 100-degree temps and we stopped at a truck stop for something to drink. When I was leaving, a young girl followed me out and asked what kind of cologne I was wearing. Well, after seven hours in the car sweating, I don’t think you could tell if I was or was not wearing any cologne. We just got in the Jeep and said no thanks. [something missing in this version] Then it was about 3 weeks ago, I was at a service station in Birmingham getting gas. …

The rest of this hoax email is just about the same as those posted at Break The Chain and Snopes.

This hoax email has been circulating around in different forms and different fantastic tales since 2001 – around the time when America had just been attacked by Islamic fascists and the anthrax scare was going on. I will never understand why people do this. Most of you are aware of this nonsense, but I thought I would post this to keep everyone informed on the latest hoax email passing around.

Light Side of Lighthouse – Dogs Can Sense Danger

Diane S., Wisconsin, Friend of LPJ, sends satire our way …

Have you ever heard that a dog ‘knows’ when an earthquake is about to hit?

Have you ever heard that a dog can ‘sense’ when a tornado is stirring up, even twenty miles away?

Do you remember hearing that, before the December tsunami struck Southeast Asia, dogs started running frantically from the seashore, at breakneck speed?

I’m a firm believe that animals – especially dogs – have keen insights into the Truth.

And you can’t tell me that dogs can’t sense a potentially terrible disaster well in advance.

Simply said, a good ol’ hound dog just KNOWS when something isn’t right, when impending doom is upon us …

The dog is probably just marking its territory – but …

Cost of Energy and Statism

Let’s face it, fuel prices at the pump are not only hard on the pocket book but history shows that when fuel prices climb, everything else follows except the wages. But let me sit down with you and relate logically (without the emotion of anger of what we are paying) about this phenomenon.

President Bush in response to angered consumers back in April of 2006 took “steps” to provide relief from the swift climb in the price of gasoline and diesel[I]. The “steps” of government didn’t amount to much and sometimes government involvement made matters worse. And Democrats used it, of course, as a political tool in their effort to make their political counterparts look bad – yet had the same problem when they had control as the majority in Congress as well as one of their own in the White House. Ideas like windfall profits tax on oil companies and a short-lived tax break on federal gas tax – just a brief respite from the climbing prices.

Snippets – November 10th 2007

• CNSNews, November 8^th 2007 by Terence P. Jeffrey …

Deficit spending and promised benefits for federal entitlement programs have put every man, woman, and child in the United States on the hook for $175,000, says a new report by David Walker, comptroller general of the United States. …
Of this nearly $9 trillion in debt, $5.049 trillion is in the form of Treasury securities held by the public, while the other $3.944 trillion is in the form of loans made to the Treasury from “surpluses” in the trust funds of federal entitlement programs, including Social Security, Medicare, military retirement, and civic service retirement programs.
In addition to this debt, which represents money the federal government has already spent, the government also faces a gap between the projected revenue expected from the current tax structure and the spending that will be required to cover promised benefits in Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Administration and other entitlement programs. …
Of the $5.049 trillion in debt currently held by the public, $2.22 trillion is held by foreign investors, Walker calculated. …
In fiscal 2007, the federal government owed $433 billion in interest on the money it had already borrowed and spent. Of this $433 billion, $239 billion was paid in interest on Treasury bonds, and the other $194 billion was added, on paper, to the money that the Treasury already owes to the entitlement program trust funds. Over 25 years, the federal debt grew almost eight-fold, from $1.142 trillion in 1982 to $8.993 trillion in 2007.

Kucinich, Dennis J. – Election 2008 Dossier

Kucinich, Dennis J. (D-OH)

BIOGRAPHY [Wikipedia]

… born October 8, 1946 is an American politician of the Democratic Party and a candidate for President of the United States in both 2004 and 2008. Kucinich currently represents the 10^th District of Ohio in the United States House of Representatives. … He is currently the chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He is also a member of the Education and Labor Committee. From 1977 to 1979, Kucinich served as the 53^rd mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, a tumultuous term in which he survived a recall election and was successful in a battle against selling the municipal electric utility before being defeated for reelection by George Voinovich.

Richardson, Bill – Election 2008 Dossier

Richardson, Bill (D-NM)

BIOGRAPHY [Wikipedia]

 

 

William Blaine “Bill” Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician and the current Governor of New Mexico. … He has previously served as a U.S. Representative, Ambassador to the United Nations, and as the U.S. Secretary of Energy. He was chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention as well as the Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association in 2005 and 2006, overseeing the Democrats’ re-capturing of a majority of the country’s governorships.
Bill Richardson was born in Pasadena, California. His mother … was Mexican. His father was William Blaine Richardson Jr., the son of Boston-born naturalist William Blaney Richardson … and his Mexican wife, Rosaura Ojeda. The elder William and Rosaura moved to Matagalpa, Nicaragua, in the 1890s, where he did research for Smithsonian Institute as a naturalist; some of his findings were published in the Boston Globe up to 1927. William Jr. was born on a boat heading to Nicaragua 1891 …