Rev Up Your Engines Updated

Monday reading for concerned American citizens:

1. A cheery way to brighten your Monday morning would be to read the clever "Why I Vote Democratic" at Brutally Honest.

2.This administration and its public relations agents, a.k. mass media, apparently have no clue when it comes to economics. Every single report comes with a variation of the word "unexpected." In last Friday's dump of unpleasant news, Geithner says economy growing faster than expected. In light of the fact most people have not yet discerned any real growth, one wonders exactly what they were expecting.

3. Finally, some real coverage of the beating of 2 young Republicans in New Orleans after the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. The girl is still in the hospital after surgery to repair broken leg; the boy had a broken jaw. PowerLine links the attack to Democratic party. Big Government gives details of the attack and the injuries suffered. Mass media is too busy claiming that Tea Partiers are neo Klan members to notice that only real violence has come from Democrats in Pittsburg, St. Louis, and New Orleans.

4. The Catholic Church gets support from an unlikely source - a Jewish businessman in Cleveland. Refreshing to see that someone outside of the Church recognizes the recent attacks on Catholics and the Pope are based on prejudice, not facts. There have been point by point refutations of the instances when outright lies were told and when relevant facts were omitted on these stories dealing with decades old stories. But this man puts it all in perspective and looks at the big picture instead.

Just Which Side Incites Violence?

Domine, da mihi hanc aquam!: Reality-check on anti-Obama rhetoric

Check out this post to get an exact number of times the left has recently incited violence toward conservatives, their ideas, or their leaders. For example, Fr. Powell, OP lists 626,000 suggestions published online to assassinate Bush. Yet, the mass media now cries "foul" because Sarah Palin used the visual of gun sights with cross hairs on a map that showed the 20 Congressional Districts she is targeting (another violent word) for change in the November elections. Once again, they've moved from blatant hypocrisy to embarrassing stupidity.

About Yesterday's Post . . .

Andrew Breitbart has written about several instances that prove my point yesterday about Democrat faux martyrs. Read it to refute the hue and cry from the mass media regarding Tea Party violence. It amazes me that the Republicans are the party of Lincoln and civil rights legislation, yet Blacks almost universally fear them as racists. Then they embrace all Democrats who instituted the Jim Crow laws and opposed civil rights laws at every turn.

ACORN Again

Like many who had hoped that exposing the rampant corruption in the ACORN offices on the national news would result in criminal prosecutions, I am disappointed that nothing has happened. The District Attorney in Brooklyn rubbed salt in my wounds when he found no evidence of criminality despite the videotapes showing Brooklyn officers showing O'Keefe and Giles how to avoid taxes, employ underage, illegal aliens in a prostitution ring, and qualify for a federally backed mortgage. Ann Coulter cleverly dissects his ruling in Subprime Mortgage Crisis in Whorehouses.

Andrew on ACORN

Please use 10.54 minutes of your time to watch this video of Andrew Breitbart as he accepted the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award from AIM for uncovering corruption at ACORN this past year. He's funny as well as correct in his assessment of the mass media.

(Note: I copied the code to my blog, so that it would play at FairKaye, but Google would not allow it to be published.)

If you have lots of time or you're seriously putting off yard work today, take another few minutes to watch the first part of his speech where he explains his astonishment at discovering that people from "fly over" country actually are wise, decent people with a sense of humor. That was the beginning his conversion from liberal to conservative.

Unexpected -- Again???

With unswerving regularity, the mass media daily headlines the "unexpected" events and data of the Obama administration. Yesterday the Associated Press used their worn out headline: "Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly." They must have believed Obama's promise about the infamous Stimulus Bill despite decades of history to the contrary.

Here is a graphic about joblessness. The figures are correct except the typo about January 2090 instead of 2009.

Also interesting to note is the difference between the way the media interprets jobless data. When George Bush was president, an unemployment rate between 5% and 6% was never praised and often used as proof of a Bush recession. On the other hand, throughout the Carter administration, the media frequently mentioned that 6% unemployment figure might reflect too high of an expectation in the modern era. During Obama's tenure, nearly all media outlets hype the good news if only the unemployment rate doesn't fall as much as predicted.

See Sweetness and Light if you want more information about Bush and unemployment.

The Few, The Proud

I just added Andrew Breitbart's new blog, Big Journalism, to my Blogroll List because that's where I can find Kyle-Anne Shiver's work and because it's really good.

Today features yet another great article by Ms. Shiver about the Main Stream Media and James O'Keefe. It puts the radical Sixties into perspective for those of us who survived it and for those who've only heard the stories.

Join The Rebellion

Tired of mass media lies or Hollywood decadence? Choose your own entertainment instead of yelling at the television set. There's a wide world out there beyond the packages served to us by those who detest Christian values or who promote "alternative lifestyles."

If you're reading blogs, you've already started to think for yourself. Congratulations! Keep it up and encourage the ones that you like best.

If you've been there and done that, here are a few suggestions for free Podcast entertainment I've found since cutting the cable (as in TV) last fall. If you have a MP3 player, you can download the programs and listen while you drive, do the supper dishes, or walk the dog. If not, you can still listen and watch from your computer. Afterwards, you'll feel refreshed instead of tired.

1. Even if you hated science classes in school, you'll love Ian Maxfield's genial wit at The Catholic Lab (also see link at the right). He includes a bit of study, news items, biographies, and jokes with each weekly broadcast. My favorites were the one that explained some of the miracles that take place each time a baby is born and the one explaining the importance of carbon. (Yes, the same carbon the EPA recently designated as a major pollutant.)

2. Peter Kreeft, everyone's favorite philosopher, has a whole list of talks he's given that make philosophy understandable, interesting, and fun. Typing Peter Kreeft in the search box of iTunes will lead you to several selections posted under iTunes U. My absolute favorite, Ecumenical Jihad, is so good that I wish I could get everybody to listen to it and follow his suggestions. You can also go to his website and find at least 39 more favorites to download.

3. ITunes U has university lectures from all over the place on all sorts of topics. I've just begun to explore The Mises Institute's series on political philosophy from Plato to Rothberd, but they also carry many other lectures from both universities and think tanks. Last night I enjoyed Laughing with the Saints and collected about five good jokes making fun of us Catholics.

Of course, if you're willing to spend money, you can also download thousands more books and movies from iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Audible. But, I'm going to enjoy the freebies first.

The Truth Will Out

Yesterday, on the 37th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, around 300,000* people marched to protest. Usually, the media ignores the march or they seriously downplay the number attending. Reuters wrote that tens of thousands attended this year, giving the impression that the actual number was far smaller than it actually was. And so many, if not most, Americans remain uninformed about the growing discontent with this Supreme Court ruling.

To honor the occasion NPR produced a show commemorating abortion "rights" for its fairly liberal audience. However, when the call-in portion began, most of the calls were from men and women who expressed deep grief and regret about abortions twenty and twenty-five years earlier. The normally cool professionals could hardly contain their surprise at the pain callers expressed about actions they took so many years ago.

The reality is that no matter what you call it or how you excuse it, you can not break the laws of God without suffering for it. The Ten Commandments tell us who we are and how to best take advantage of our lives. They are the Manufacturer's Handbook, not arbitrary rules from a vengeful God.

*The first march started with 20,000 protesters, but the numbers have grown through the years. Because it is possible to get accurate counts from the different organizations coming from all around the country, the March for Life organization numbers are far more reliable than media or, even, police estimates.

How The Mighty Have Fallen!

Considering that the Main Stream Media continue to act as a branch of Obama's public relations committee, this chart from Rasmussen Polls is amazing.

It’s A Lot More Than Just Bias (Updated)

The way that the mass media and the Obama administration have handled these recent ACORN videotapes reveals much more than mere hypocrisy. Suddenly we see people who care NOTHING about the white slave trade, prostitution, tax evasion, or dishonest loan applications. It’s bad enough to know that ACORN doesn’t care, but to realize that neither the administration nor the mass media care is truly chilling.

At first, most news outlets ignored the tapes even after the US Census broke off ties with ACORN. That alone should have been a bombshell story calling for even more investigation and more stories about its impact. But, only those who watch FOX News, listen to Glenn Beck, or get their information from the Internet even knew about it. When questioned a few days later, Charles Gibson, head of ABC News claimed to know nothing about the scandal despite the fact that he is the head of the News Department and it’s his business to know what’s going on, not to mention that one of his reporters, Jake Tapper, had posted a story about it on his blog.

After that gaffe, stories began to appear on television and print, but the emphasis repeatedly was about Republicans trying to persecute ACORN.

It terrifies any just/compassionate/sane person to think that our “news” media see things only in terms of political fights and they’re only going to pay attention when it helps “their” side. (Read Media Malpractice for additional instances.) Have they no compassion about the possibility of young girls being used as sex slaves? Does the fact that an organization that receives federal money, i.e., from our pocketbooks, encourages clients to avoid taxes and shows them how to do it? Is no one investigating if such things have really happened in the past, instead of just during a sting operation with undercover video? Are we going to just sit there and wink at gross corruption in our system?

And let’s not even consider Congress investigating ACORN. Far too many of them owe ACORN favors, beside the fact that such investigations seldom accomplish anything worthwhile.

Addendum: ACORN has decided to call for an "independent" investigation of itself. That sounds so contrite until you look at the people who will conduct the investigation such as John Podesta, Center for American Progress (the group that just hired Van Jones, the self avowed Communist who had been a czar) and Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. Besides, no investigation is independent when the organization gets to name its preferred investigators.

Also, someone needs to do a lot of investigation of all of Obama's ties with ACORN before too many papers are shredded and too many speeches removed from the Internet. Where are true patriots who can and will do this job for our country?

Your Homework Assignment

1. To get a fresh understanding of the dangers of current health care proposals, read Thomas Sowell's article at Townhall. Fables for Adults by out favorite economist/philosopher illustrates the folly of Obamacare.

2. To get some idea of the public relations work the US media has performed for liberal causes during the last 60 years, read Media Malpractice: Tom Brokaw's World Implodes in The American Spectator. From Barry Goldwater to John Edwards to ACORN, it reveals the depth of the deception and misinformation the mass media has inflicted on unknowing Americans. In the fifties and sixties, only those few who read National Review knew what was really happening, but now the Internet and talk radio daily bring more truth to light, effectively curtailing their influence.

3. To get a new understanding of the big picture, read about George Soros' nefarious role in our national decline. He prefers to stay in the background, but his power is global. Changing the US is his crowning achievement.

Listen to The Silence

The silence of the mass media about the murder of a prolife activist in Michigan is a dramatic contrast to the keening over the murder of Dr. Tiller, an abortionist. As of today there have been 19 stories about James Pouillion who was shot as he stood in front of a high school holding a pro life sign, while there were at least 643 different stories about Tiller in the mass media.

When Tiller was killed, every Pro Life organization leader in the United States, Catholic Bishops, and Protestant pastors immediately condemned the murder and offered prayers for Tiller and his family. So far, I have heard of no one who has condemned Pouillion's killer.

Neither have there been blanket accusations about all abortion supporters being budding terrorists. However all prolife supporters are still on the Homeland Security Watch list for terrorism. And no one has called for a ban on private ownership of guns because Pouillion was murdered with a gun.

No wonder most mass media outlets are going broke. They have become public relations offices, not news organizations.

News about US from Australia Via Costa Rica

An interesting letter in the Australian Shooter Magazine this week, which I quote:

"If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the past 22 months, and a total of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers per month.

The firearm death rate in Washington , DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period. That means you are about 25 percent more likely to be shot and killed in the US capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the US , than you are in Iraq"

Conclusion: "The US should pull out of Washington "

Thanks to TIGblogs for this information.

The Inside Scoop

The following is an unedited email from a friend in Montana who attended the Obama "Town Hall" in Bozeman. I find it informative and much more revealing than anything I've seen in the mass media. If you agree, please send it on.

Hello All,

By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not covered. I feel that since Joe and I live here and we were at the airport on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this on.

On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date.

On about Tuesday Joe found out that they would be holding the “Town Hall” at the airport. (This is only because Joe knows EVERYONE at the airport).

Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very remote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public.

FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$

During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was, especially during a recession. $$$$$

Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday.

Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm……900 tickets just DISAPPEARED.

This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama. Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!! And it would have been really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of the Recession?? Just think…with all of the traveling the White House is doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.

On Friday Joe and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that wanted to protest Obama’s spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up onto the area (illegal)and unloaded right there.(SURPRISE, SURPRISE) It was quite a commotion and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a fight. Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd. (LET'S SEE, THE PRESIDENT IS IN TOWN BUT THERE IS NOT ENOUGH POLICE MANPOWER TO CONTROL A BUS LOAD OF PROTESTORS ?)

The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns (TO DROWN OUT THE OPPOSITION) and PROFESSIONALLY made signs. (THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZER-IN-CHIEF KNOWN HOW TO PROTEST.)Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh, and Planned Parenthood folks were with them…..professing abortion rights with their T-shirts and preprinted signs. (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to protest in ANOTHER area)

Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man.

So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to protest.

If you are wondering about the press…..Well, all of the major networks were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away. None of these crowds were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about the crowds.

We did have some local news media around us from this state and Idaho.

Speaking of the local media…they were invited. However, all questions were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn’t want anyone to have to think off the top of their head.

It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare.

Even those people that talked about their insurance woes……..the White House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee) and asked for names. Then the White House asked those folks to come.

Smoke and mirrors…EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House. The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable. I felt I was not living in the United States of America, more like the USSR!! I was physically nauseous. Joe and I have been around when Presidents or Heads of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care about our country please get involved. Know the issues. And let Congress hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on in Washington DC. Scary!!

JOE'S WIFE

Bozeman, Montana

Swine Flu Hoax?

This week, “news” outlets all over the country have frightened us with scary stories about the impending Swine Flu pandemic. They continue to make dire predictions of hundreds of thousands of deaths from it during the next two years and to issue priority lists of vaccine recipients.

Meanwhile, the CDC website expects no more flu victims than in other years. Usually 5% to 20% of the US population or 15,000,000 to 60,000,000 people succumb to the virus each year. So far, according the CDC again, 1,000,000 people in the States have been diagnosed with Swine Flu and 302 deaths have occurred. That’s an extremely mild .03 death rate.

Frankly, I’m more frightened of a vaccine rushed into production and distribution than I am of the flu itself. I can still remember the tragic results from the 1976 scare when many people suffered dire results from the VACCINE.

If you’re interested in reading more in depth about today’s scare tactics, read it at Investor’s Business Daily. If you would like to review a “60 Minutes” interview with then President Ford about the seventies tragedy, go here.

Please Read the Encyclical before Commenting

Finally someone with access to the latest Papal encyclical, Love in Truth, actually read it before writing or speaking about it. It does NOT promote one world government or call for more power in the UN despite the claims of the New York Times, Reuters, conspiracy bloggers, et al. Non-Catholic reporters usually only skim Pope Benedict’s writings, looking for fodder to bolster their own preconceived notions whether they support “a new world order” or believe that the Pope is the anti-Christ.

His work to too dense to be treated so cavalierly. One must read the whole thing, noting his digressions and illustrations, as well as conclusions.

John Henry Westen of LifeSite News has an editorial explaining it that has also been carried by Canada Free Press. Check it out if you want a better understanding of Pope Benedict’s work.

Silent Scandals

Read Canada Free Press for a rundown of recent scandals in the American political scene that the media has chosen to ignore. All of them involve Democrats, strangely enough. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the media silence. Ahem!

Even this article fails the mention the biggest story of all -- the attempt to ruin our economy (even more) with $134,500,000,000 in (hopefully) counterfeit Treasury Bonds. Two Japanese men were discovered with the bonds by Italian border patrols, but Japanese, Italian, and U.S. officials have refused to give out any information. However, it has been rumored that the nameless men have been set free.

Obama Speeches

While the media continue to swoon over Obama's speeches and press conferences, I find them rather dull. His speech pattern is totally predictable with the inevitable pause as he turns his head from one teleprompter to the other. The timbre of his voice seems condescending, as if he were trying to explain physics to unruly six year olds. And the practiced professorial tone grates on my ears.

But the content is even more predictable:
1. He faces a problem through no fault of his own. The implication is either that Bush did it or it's been happening for decades.
2. He alone has the answer to the problem and somehow his answer always involves giving more power to the federal government and spending more money that we don't have.
3. The problem is so devastating that it must be handled IMMEDIATELY by forcing a new bill through Congress so he can sign it tomorrow, if possible.

His refusal to allow time for honest debate about important issues merely indicates the extreme poverty of his ideas and plans. Good ideas are worth discussion and only increase in value through honest debate. In fact, if his main goal were to destroy our once great country, I hardly know of anything he could do differently than he's already done in the first 150 days of his presidency.

Read American's for Tax Reform for a thorough recounting of his tenure in Taxpayer Timeline of Obama's First 150 Days.

Don't Read The Headlines!

Journalists discovered ages ago that most people only read the headlines in a newspaper before heading to the comics, lifestyle, or sports section. The next most frequently read portions are photo captions and opening paragraphs. Some will read the final paragraph, but few will read the entire article no matter how important the story is. Radio and television news, because of time contraints, usually consist of mere headlines and leads (opening paragraphs).

Today's journalists carefully craft their headlines, captions, and leads to promote the message they want the public to remember. The Media Rule (I think we're up to four now) for today is: Always be suspicious of headlines and leads in this era of unbridled bias in major media outlets.

For example, throughout the Bush administration, most economic reports were couched in negative terms. Even a tiny rise in unemployment was often accompanied by a story about a newly homeless person or a family facing foreclosure because of job loss. Little attention was paid to the times when unemployment rates were well below what had been considered normal (6%). The R word for recession was bandied about until most people thought we were in the middle of one two years before it actually began.

Now that Obama is in office, the unemployment stories feature people who gladly use the opportunity to vacation, do volunteer work, or garden instead of those in dire financial straits. They even coined a new word, "funemployment" instead of unemployment, to describe the situation.

Friday's unemployment news stories were classic examples of "lying though headlines." By today practically everyone knows that the rate of new applications for unemployment slowed for the first time since September. Most quickly concluded that the recession will soon be over.

Hardly anyone knows that although the rate slowed, the percentage (9.4%) is now the highest in 27 years. Buried in the middle of an AP story is this sentence:
If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.4 percent in May, the highest on records dating to 1994.*

*Although the sentence above is technically correct, it hardly gives an accurate portrayal of the facts. The highest recorded unemployment rate since 1948 is 10.8% in November and December of 1982. The unemployment rate in 1994 ranged between 5.5% and 6.6%. Go to this Department of Labor statistics page to see the official tabulations. And don't forget that 16.4% is higher than any year listed in the table.