Monumental: A map of America's success

“I don’t agree that our country must resign itself to inevitable decline,” said Ronald Reagan. And neither should we. Perhaps this movie can help us recapture some of that spirit – or at least remember some of the Founding Father influences that shaped us.

Monumental, Kirk Cameron's new production, tracks the history of this nation -- Christian roots and all -- and looks at some of the myths and fallacies that have become accepted discourse in our society. The hope?

"When you look at the Roman Empire, the parallels that are going on are absolutely frightening," the trailer states. A warning, and chance for change, would seem the key message.

March 27 showing in select theaters around the nation.

Fed gov: Inflation? What inflation?

Sounds like an Alfred E. Neuman cartoon from a long-ago Mad Magazine: What, me worry? But the latest government numbers say ... economically speaking, we're doing just fine. Great, in fact.

"Just spent a record high amount at the gas pump for this time of year? The BLS says you didn't, and after all when it comes to reality, the BLS has a right of first refusal," writes an economist for Zerohedge. "The just printed headline CPI came at 0.4%, just in line with expectations of 0.4%, while core CPI of 0.2%, missed expectations of 0.3%. That's right: not only is inflation meaningless, it is less than expected."

What about those pesky gas prices, you say? Or how 'bout the most recent surge in grocery prices -- just your imagination?

"Luckily," the economist continues, "those can be hedonically adjusted by everyone to virtually zero."

Whew, what a relief. For a moment there, seemed as if prices were soaring.

God controls the climate -- not humans

This, from Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okl., during a recent radio show interview:

"Genesis 8:22 that I use there is that 'as long as the earth remains there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night,' " said Inhofe, pointing to Scripture cited in a passage from his latest book, The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future. "My point is, God’s still up there," continued the senior senator from Oklahoma in the interview with Voice of Christian Youth America. "The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what he is doing in the climate is, to me, outrageous."

In other words: God controls the climate. Not humankind. Not scientists, the IPCC or the United Nations. What a concept. ...

And it's really about time someone on Capitol Hill said this.

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/215451-god-controls-the-climate-not-humans-suggests-sen-inhofe

Petition: Stop the HHS from infringing 1st Amendment religious rights

The controversy surrounding the proposed rule from the Health and Human Serviced Department requiring religious institutions to provide free abortion-inducing pills and sterilizations to women is far from over – and neither are the protests.

Meet the latest opponents: Ambassador James Nicholson, author and analyst Mary Matalin, author and former RNC chief Ed Gillespie, former Rep. Bill Paxon, scholar Elizabeth Kirk and Rev. Samuel Rodriguez. The team has formed a coalition, the Conscience Cause, and posted a petition.

“A rule proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandating free-of-charge sterilization and abortion-inducing pills for all women would trample on those precious rights of conscience and we petition Congress to stop this regulation from going forward.  Despite a much-touted “accommodation,” the HHS rule would require religious hospitals, schools and charities that self-insure to either violate the tenets of their faith or violate the law.  The same is true of small business owners who provide health care coverage and see such drugs and procedures as contrary to their faith.  

We who sign this petition are not unified by any particular religious faith or political party, and have no uniform view on contraception.  We affix our names here because we believe the unprecedented Federal Government mandate on organizations and individuals affiliated with religions or religious institutions (i.e., the Catholic Church) requiring them to pay for drugs and procedures against their religious beliefs is clearly at odds with our U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights’ protections and would set a dangerous precedent in undermining religious freedom for all Americans. 

We respectfully request the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate to move as quickly as possible to stop this freedom trampling HHS regulation.”

The group is actively seeking signatories.

Outrageous admission: Panetta looks to int'l community, not Congress

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta appeared at a Senate Armed Services Committee congressional hearing on March 7, and told Sen. Jeff Sessions that it was optional for the White House to seek and receive congressional approval to, say, initiate a no-fly zone over Syria.

Sen. Jeff Sessions to Panetta: “Do you think you can act without Congress and initiate a no-fly zone in Syria without congressional approval?”

Panetta: “Our goal would be to seek international permission. … Whether or not we would want to get permission from the Congress — I think those are issues we would have to discuss as we decide what to do here.”

Sessions: “Well I am almost breathless about that."

I am, too! Since when does the president, or the White House administration, hold the constitututional authority to initiate acts of aggression against another nation absent congressional approval? Oh, I forgot ... Clinton initiated air strikes over Kosovo without permission from Congress, citing the War Powers Act -- which he then violated, by continuing strikes past the allowed number of days. And Obama took out U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, an assassination that was later argued as justified by his own Justice Department. What's up with Democrats and the Constitution, especially where it gives Congress the power to declare war (Article One, Section Eight)?

Why do they take political potshots at Republicans and label them warmongers, yet justify their own unconstitutional military actions as ethical, necessary for the security of our nation?

Panetta's cavalier dismissal of Congress should not be taken lightly. Haughty put-downs of America's duly elected as a means of bolstering the political image and influence of the global community -- including the very nations who seek to harm our country -- come very close to the dictionary definition of treachery.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/03/07/obama-un-congress-syria-permission/

Read more at: http://times247.com/articles/panetta-u-s-needs-global-ok-not-congress-to-join-syria-conflict

Second Amendment win in Maryland

Good news on the Second Amendment front:

"Maryland's requirement that residents show a "good and substantial reason" to get a handgun permit is unconstitutional, according to a federal judge's opinion filed Monday," the Associated Press reports.

The lawsuit started years ago.

"Plaintiff Raymond Woollard obtained a handgun permit after fighting with an intruder in his Hampstead home in 2002, but was denied a renewal in 2009 because he could not show he had been subject to “threats occurring beyond his residence.” Woollard appealed, but was rejected by the review board, which found he hadn’t demonstrated a “good and substantial reason” to carry a handgun as a reasonable precaution. The suit filed in 2010 claimed that Maryland didn’t have a reason to deny the renewal and wrongly put the burden on Woollard to show why he still needed to carry a gun," AP continued.

So far, no word on whether Maryland's attorneys general are going to challenge the ruling.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/03/05/md-gun-law-found-unconstitutional/

Oh, just let the Volt die already

General Motors suspended production for five weeks of its dream green machine, the Chevrolet Volt, and let go 1,300 workers in Detroit. Why? The dream is shattering, it appears.

“Even with sales up in February over January, we are still seeking to align our production with demand,” said one GM spokesman. That’s code for: We would go out of business except for a huge government push to succeed.

This, from a March 2 UPI story: “The company reported it has sold 1,626 Volts this year -- 1,023 in February. GM sold 7,671 Volts in 2011, short of its stated goal of 10,000, the newspaper said. Plans previously had called for production of 60,000 Volts this year, 45,000 of them set aside for the U.S. market.”

In the face of even more failure, the company has now set its sights on the West -- the Golden State of taxpayer subsidies, the safe haven for all-things green.

“The company is gearing up production for California, where the car qualifies for a $1,500 state rebate and has been granted access to the carpool lanes on state highways even with just one occupant in the car,” UPI reported.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2012/03/02/GM-halts-Volt-production-lays-off-1300/UPI-38181330742043/#ixzz1o6IWoDq1

Free-speech stifling technology hits Japaese markets

And I quote:

"Japanese researchers have invented a speech-jamming gadget that painlessly forces people into silence. Kazutaka Kurihara of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and Koji Tsukada of Ochanomizu University, developed a portable "SpeechJammer" gun that can silence people more than 30 meters away."

Read more: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/scitech/science/030212-japan-invents-speech-jamming-gun-that-silences-people-mid-sentence#ixzz1nzB40iBA

The story says "the speech-jamming gun could be used to hush noisy speakers in public libraries or to silence people in group discussions who interrupt other people's speeches." 

 

It could also be used, one could say, to silence undesirable political speech. Let's hope this technology stays outside U.S. borders.

Sad day for conservatives

http://biggovernment.com/lsolov/2012/03/01/draft/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BigGovernment+%28Big+Government%29

Andrew Breitbart, 43-years-old, dies shortly after midnight at home.