Likely Terror Attack ‘Dry Run’ Exposes Dangerous TSA Missteps

NOTE: Please see the previous post on Guy Average for context as to why I believe that we are likely to see much more of this happening in the USA in the days and months going forward.

Pajamas Media » Likely Terror Attack ‘Dry Run’ Exposes Dangerous TSA Missteps (Updated)

Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi, a Yemeni man residing in Detroit, and Hezem al Murisi, a Yemeni man in the U.S. on an expired visa, were arrested in Amsterdam on Monday at Schiphol Airport after having conducted what federal law enforcement are saying was a dry run for a terrorist attack.

“This was almost certainly a dry run, a test,” a senior law enforcement official told ABC News.

The two men flew to Amsterdam on United Airlines Flight 908 from Chicago. CNN reports there were federal air marshals on board the transcontinental flight. At least one of the men is being accused of placing mock bombs in the cargo hold of a different aircraft. “What good [is it] having federal air marshals on the plane if terrorists can get bombs on the plane through incompetent TSA screening?” a retired federal air marshal told Pajamas Media.

It appears al Soofi and al Murisi met up in Chicago for the Amsterdam-bound flight after flying in earlier in the day from Alabama and Tennessee, respectively. Al Soofi began his journey in Birmingham, where he had been picked out for secondary screening after a TSA screener found his baggy clothing to be suspicious. According to law enforcement, the suspicion triggered a baggage search in Alabama and revealed that al Soofi had mock bombs, large knives, and box cutters in his checked baggage — none of which are illegal when placed inside the belly of an airplane. Al Soofi’s mock bombs were made of cell phones and several watches taped to various sized plastic bottles. These are historically the components terrorists use to create improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

Because al Soofi’s mock bombs did not contain actual explosive material, TSA allowed him to board the plane and fly to Chicago. While defying common sense, carrying mock IEDs does not defy TSA security. Apparently neither does the fact that al Soofi was carrying $7,000 in cash and was destined for Yemen.

UPDATE: Holes continue to grow in the dry run story. Interviews with law enforcement and airline personnel have brought up a key question.

It remains unreported where exactly al Soofi went through customs — namely in Birmingham or Chicago. This would help explain whether or not al Soofi’s luggage had been cleared all the way to Yemen in Alabama. If not, he would have had access to the box cutters and knives in his bags, as well as his mock bombs, at the airport in Chicago when he retrieved them to transfer to an international flight. If he was cleared all the way to Yemen, then when he was in Chicago he would have moved through a secure area during his transfer process. Once an international passenger has been cleared by U.S. customs, the federal security rules change considerably. If al Soofi was cleared for international travel in Birmingham, Alabama, then he should not have been able to change his ticket to an entirely different continent (Europe) so easily in Chicago — certainly not without his bags coming off the Yemen-bound airplane. The air carrier involved in the Yemen-bound flight has not been named and United Airlines has not returned calls.

Courting Disaster: How Barack H. Obama Is Inviting The Next 9-11

From the Book, Courting Disaster by Marc A. Thiessen

[As President George W. Bush's top speechwriter, Marc Thiessen was provided unique access to the CIA program used in interrogating top Al Qaeda terrorists, including the mastermind of the 9/11 attack, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM).]

Here is an excerpt from Courting Disaster:

Just before dawn on March 1, 2003, two dozen heavily armed Pakistani tactical assault forces move in  and surround a safe house in Rawalpindi .  A few hours earlier they had received a text message from an informant inside the house. It read:  "I am with KSM."

Bursting in, they find the disheveled mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in his bedroom. He is taken into custody.  In the safe house, they find a treasure trove of computers, documents, cell phones and other valuable "pocket litter."

Once in custody, KSM is defiant.  He refuses to answer questions, informing his captors that he will tell them everything when he gets to America and sees his lawyer. But KSM is not taken to America to see a lawyer.  Instead he is taken to a secret CIA "black site" in an undisclosed location.

Upon arrival, KSM finds himself in the complete control of Americans. He does not know where he is, how long he will be there, or what his fate will be.

Despite his circumstances, KSM still refuses to talk.  He spews contempt at his interrogators, telling them that Americans are weak, lack resilience, and are unable to do what is necessary to prevent the terrorists from succeeding in their goals.  He has trained to resist interrogation.   When he is asked for information about future attacks, he tells his questioners scornfully: "Soon, you will know."

It becomes clear he will not reveal the information using traditional interrogation techniques. So he undergoes a series of "enhanced interrogation techniques" approved for use only on  the most high-value detainees. The techniques include waterboarding.

His resistance is described by one senior American official as "superhuman." Eventually, however,  the techniques work, and KSM becomes cooperative-for reasons  that will be described later in this book.

He begins telling his CIA de-briefers about active al Qaeda plots to launch attacks against the United States and other Western targets.  He holds classes for CIA officials, using a  chalkboard to draw a picture of al Qaeda's operating structure,  financing, communications, and logistics.  He identifies al Qaeda travel routes and safe havens, and helps intelligence officers make sense of documents and computer records seized in terrorist raids.   He identifies voices in intercepted telephone calls, and helps officials understand the meaning of coded terrorist communications.  He provides information that helps our intelligence community capture other high-ranking terrorists,

KSM's questioning, and that of other captured terrorists, produces more than 6,000 intelligence reports, which are shared across the intelligence community, as well as with our allies across the world.

In one of these reports, KSM describes in detail the revisions he made to his failed 1994-1995 plan known as the "Bojinka plot" to blow up a dozen airplanes carrying some 4,000 passengers over the  Pacific Ocean .

Years later, an observant CIA  officer notices that the activities of a cell being followed by  British authorities appear to match KSM's description of his  plans for a Bojinka-style attack.

In an operation that involves unprecedented intelligence cooperation between our countries, British officials proceed to unravel the plot. On the night of Aug.9, 2006 they launch a series of raids in a northeast London suburb that lead to the arrest of two dozen al Qaeda terrorist suspects.  They find a USB thumb-drive in the pocket of one of the men with security details for Heathrow airport, and information on seven trans-Atlantic flights that were scheduled to take off within hours of each other:

*    United Airlines Flight 931 to San Francisco departing at  2:15 p.m.;

*    Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto departing at 3:00  p.m.;

*     Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal departing at 3:15  p.m.;

*      United Airlines Flight  959 to Chicago    departing  at  3:40 p.m.;

*      United Airlines Flight  925 to Washington departing at 4:20 p.m.;

*     American Airlines  Flight 131 to New York departing at 4:35 p.m; and

*     American  Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago departing at 4:50 p.m.

They seize bomb-making equipment and hydrogen peroxide to make liquid explosives.  And they find the chilling martyrdom videos the suicide bombers had prepared.

Today, if you asked an average person on the street what they know about the 2006 airlines plot, most would not be able to tell you much. Few Americans are aware of the fact that al Qaeda had planned to mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with an attack of similar scope and magnitude.  

And still fewer realize that the terrorists' true intentions in this plot were uncovered thanks to critical information obtained through the interrogation of the man who conceived it: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

This is only one of the many attacks stopped with the help of the CIA interrogation program established by the Bush Administration in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Editor's Note: For other foiled terrorist plots, see page 9 of Courting Disaster.

In addition to helping break up these specific terrorist cells and plots, CIA questioning provided our intelligence community with an unparalleled body of information about al Qaeda

Until the program was temporarily suspended in 2006, intelligence officials say, well over half of the information our government  had about al Qaeda-how it operates, how it moves money, how  it communicates, how it recruits operatives, how it picks  targets, how it plans and carries out attacks-came from the  interrogation of terrorists in CIA custody.

Former CIA Director George Tenet has declared: "I know that this program has saved lives.  I know we've disrupted plots.  I know this program alone is worth more than what the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency put together have been able to tell us."

Former CIA Director Mike Hayden has said:  "The facts of the case are that the use of these techniques against these terrorists made us safer.  It really did work."

Even Barack Obama's Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, has acknowledged:  "High-value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country."

Leon Panetta, Obama's CIA Director, has said:  "Important information was gathered from these detainees.  It provided information that was acted upon."

And John Brennan, Obama's Homeland Security Advisor, when asked in an interview if enhanced-interrogation  techniques were necessary to keep America safe, replied :"Would  the U.S. be handicapped if the CIA was not, in fact, able to  carry out these types of detention and debriefing activities?  I would say yes."

On Jan. 22, 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13491, closing the CIA program and directing that, henceforth, all interrogations by U.S. personnel must follow the techniques contained in the Army Field Manual.

The morning of  the announcement, Mike Hayden was still in his post as CIA Director, He called White House Counsel Greg Craig and told him bluntly: "You didn't ask, but this is the CIA officially nonconcurring. The president went ahead anyway, overruling the objections of the agency.

A few months later, on April 16, 2009, President Obama ordered the release of four Justice Dept. memos that described in detail the techniques used to interrogate KSM and other high-value terrorists.   This time, not ust Hayden (who was now retired) but five CIA  directors -- including
Obama's own director, Leon Panetta -- objected.  George Tenet called to urge against the memos' release.  So did Porter Goss.  So did John Deutch. Hayden says:  "You had CIA directors in a continuous unbroken stream to 1995 calling saying, 'Don't do this.'"

In addition to objections from the men who led the agency for a collective 14 years, the President also heard objections from the agency's covert field operatives.  A few weeks earlier, Panetta had arranged for the eight top officials of the Clandestine Service to meet with the President. It was
highly unusual for these clandestine officers to visit the Oval Office, and they used the opportunity to warn the President that releasing the memos would put agency operatives at risk.  The President reportedly listened respectfully-and then ignored their advice.

With these actions, Barack Obama has arguably done more damage to America's national security in his first 100 days of office than any President in American history.

(Please note: I'm not receiving any money for posting this nor any other financial considerations nor any in-kind considerations.   I'm posting this simply because I think that it is information worth considering)

US Economy Is Right On Track For Destruction

Yes, Mr. President we're right on track if you want to destroy the Free Market Capitalism that has gotten the USA through all of the previous years since 1776. 

Is The Constitutional Republic Of The USA Worth Living In? Is It Worth Dying For?

Why would our young people and children in school be willing to not only go along with the "fundamental transformation" of the USA, but be excited about it?  I believe that it is because they do not understand how good we have it here in the USA, or at least how good we had it when our Constitutional Republic was alive and fully functional.  They have been indoctrinated in the belief that there is something wrong with the USA as it was Founded, and they have been burdened with a false guilt that they have a duty to fight against what they have been convinced is evil.  They have also been convinced that life itself has little, if any, inherent value and that God is an abstract concept.  This paragraph may seem to be disjointed, but it is not;  all of these things are working together to undermine and destroy the Constitutional Republic of The United States of America.

Now we are at the point that there have been laws passed, and unlawful actions taken by our government, that if they come to fruition then the USA will be a Marxist state.  We still have a shot at avoiding this but only if we address things in the light of the root causes. 

Our children will have to be taught that they are blessed to be in a country where they have a chance to use their God-Given Talents to better themselves and the world around them instead of relying on the government to take away from all of the citizens in order to level out any differences in talents and abilities and results.  They will have to learn that life is a sacred gift from God and we should not end it prematurely nor should we treat the conception of life and responsibility to nurture and teach our children so cavalierly as we have. We will need to teach them ourselves, as parents taking responsibility for the life or lives that we have conceived, because our government programs and our government schools have been teaching them The Principles of Marxism.  Indeed, marriage between a man and a woman who can biologically conceive children together will have to become not only the foundation of families but the sole definition thereof, and children will have to see an example of two parents working together to overcome life's challenges instead of divorcing when there is adversity.  The children will have to know that they are more valuable than any possession in order to be convinced that life itself is a sacred gift that should be guarded and nurtured.  

The young people will have to learn the value of competition and the lessons that can only be learned in defeat and failure, those lessons that lead eventually to success and prosperity.  Indeed, the experience of failure and defeat lead to an appreciation of success and accomplishment that can only come through the rocky road of adversity.  

In a Marxist, or Communist, state there is no personal risk nor is there the possibility of personal accomplishment.  The opportunities are limited to a very few select individuals, and those individuals are determined by a sort of Affirmative Action that comes only through being part of a Ruling Class or gaining favor with the Ruling Class.  The value of the individual and the talent and the "Rising Tide that lifts all boats" is eliminated from consideration.  Once this is lost it may not be possible to reestablish it; any reestablishment of True Liberty in the face of Tyranny would very likely demand a price in blood, just as it did of The Founders of Our Republic. 

Is The Constitutional Republic Of The USA Worthy Dying For?  If it isn't worth that risk, then it won't be worth living in. 

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

President Theodore Roosevelt

"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Welcome To The Fifth Annual Hurricane Katrina Week Celebration

Gulf? What Gulf? Right on Schedule, It's "Hurricane Katrina" Week in the MSM!

The Ministry Of Propaganda Mainstream Media is running interference for their Anointed Leader, The Current President, on things like the Government Takeover of banks, automobile companies, student loans, Individual Retirement Accounts, and pretty much everything else. They also never miss a chance to deflect any heat The Current President may receive onto his predecessor.  Celebrating the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, or any anniversary, is one of those convenient things that come up every year, right on schedule. That way, everyone can be reminded of how the previous President is to blame for all that is wrong, sort of like Emmanuel Goldstein in George Orwell's classic, 1984. By doing this, the aim is to marginalize George W. Bush and, by inference, anyone who may have any ideas that are not totally in line with Our Current President.  In addition, it is something that can be used to deflect the attention of We The People away from the steady dismantling of The USA. 

Ron Futrell on Big Journalism:

Thank goodness the activist old media has something to distract them from the disaster being created by the Cold Hearted Social Engineer in the White House.

They have Hurricane Katrina to talk about again.

This week marks the 5th anniversary of the hurricane and disaster caused by George W. Bush. Whew! Thank goodness, they can start talking about Evil Bush again. (Yes, RFK, Jr., said Bush caused the hurricane by derailing the Kyoto Protocol thus increasing CO2 pollution—he also predicted an onslaught of hurricanes to follow Katrina because of George W. Bush.)

NBC is planning a special Meet the Press from New Orleans on Sunday to no doubt bring up their favorite issue, George W. Bush and his horrible failures.

This will be a big week for the media to recreate what happened in Katrina to make themselves look like heroes and to make Bush look bad, once again.  They will recount the many awards they gave each other for what they saw as excellent coverage and they will repeat the mantra that it is government’s job to save us. If there is a disaster in my neighborhood, I will work to save myself, my family and my neighbors —  only then will I call 911.

I will hope and pray for the best. I will not call Obama, then blame him when he can’t save me. 

Mr. Futrell makes a few short and scintillating points about the facts regarding Hurricane Katrina that The Mainstream Media handles as "inconvenient truth", and it is well worth the few minutes it would take to read the entire article. If you've got to be reminded of Hurricane Katrina every year, you might as well get some actual facts to go along with the MSM's revisionist history.

The Current President Was A Muslim As A Boy But He Is Only A Muslim Supporter As An Adult?

The Current President was raised as a Muslim and supports Muslims and Muslim causes.  Is he still a Muslim?  I can't answer that question.  Would a Muslim President be more supportive of Islam than The Current President?  I can't answer that question either.

Washington Post: Poll shows more Americans think Obama is a Muslim

By Jon Cohen and Michael D. Shear

The number of Americans who believe -- wrongly -- that President Obama is a Muslim has increased significantly since his inauguration and now accounts for nearly 20 percent of the nation's population. 

Those results, from a new Pew Research Center survey, were drawn from interviews done before the president's comments about the construction of an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero, and they suggest that there could be serious political danger for the White House as the debate continues. 

 "While the president has been diligent and personally committed to his own Christian faith, there's certainly folks who are intent on spreading falsehoods about the president and his values and beliefs," DuBois said.

I'm sticking with what I know to be true, as I wrote at the top of this post. As far as The Current President's Christian Faith, there does not seem to be enough evidence to convict him of it.

Would a Muslim lie about being a Muslim in order to destroy an Enemy of Islam (e.g. The Great Satan a.k.a. The United States Of America)?  For the answer to that question, see this article:

How Taqiyya Alters Islam's Rules of War

Was America A Stronger Nation 100 Years Ago Than It Is Now In 2010?

'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language.. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.'
 
 
-Theodore Roosevelt 1907

There Is a LOT To Remember In November

Herman Cain: TheHermanatorPAC.com

As primary elections are settled around the country, it is not too early to start remembering what people should remember in November. With all of the distractions coming out of Washington through the filter of the media, it is easy for people to forget come Election Day.

This writer will not forget. Here are some of the things this administration and Congress have done to deceive, mislead and insult the American people:

TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program): $750 billion
When the financial institutions started paying the taxpayers back with interest, the Democrats, led by Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), wanted to use the interest for other purposes instead of paying down debt as specified in the legislation.This is just dishonest – to tell the public one thing and then change the law later to be able to add to the national debt instead of reducing it.

Stimulus spending bill: $862 billion
This was a deceptive bill. It was supposed to keep unemployment below 8 percent and create jobs. It did not. Instead, the administration concocted a “saved jobs” concept to help disguise the deception. Gross Domestic Product growth is still sluggish, and unemployment has remained high at 9.5 percent. Businesses are in a state of “survive” rather than a growth mode because of all the uncertainties created by the administration and Congress. Even though the stimulus bill has not worked, the administration and Congress keep spending and plan on raising taxes.

Health Care Deform legislation: $1 trillion
The president and the Democrat-controlled Congress passed this legislation against the will of the majority of the American people. Currently, an even larger majority of Americans want this legislation repealed and the president and Congress continue to ignore their wishes. And more insulting, Democrats voting for the legislation did not read it. Speaker Pelosi even said “We must pass it so we can then tell you what’s in it”.

Cap & Trade & Tax & Kill bill
No members of Congress read this bill either as it sailed through the House with only Democrats and one freshman Republican voting for it. Fortunately, the outcry by the people caused it to not go through the Senate as fast and it is still on the back burner, where it should die a quiet death. This legislation is a tax on our economy and businesses, and is based on faulty science which has been exposed. The Democrats and the president want to pass it anyway.

Annual Deficits
The largest annual deficit for President George Bush was during his last year in office ($455 billion in FY 2008).  The annual deficits under President Obama’s first two years of FY 2009 and FY 2010 were $1.7 trillion and $1.6 trillion, respectively. This is why the national debt is growing so fast. President Obama said in December 2008: “Deficits don’t matter”. They do matter to the American people and the future of this country.

National Debt is nearly $14 trillion
Nearly $4 trillion has been added to the national debt since President Obama took office less than two years ago with a Democrat-controlled Congress. This is in contrast to the $4 trillion added to the national debt during eight years of the Bush administration. The Congressional Budget Office and others have warned that this is unsustainable, but the president and the Democrats continue to ignore these warnings.

Financial Deform legislation
This legislation is another unnecessary new bureaucracy created by the same two Members of Congress (Senator Dodd and Rep. Frank) who chaired Congressional Committees that allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to fail. Their failure was the catalyst for the financial meltdown of 2008 and 2009. Get this! The new legislation excludes Fannie and Freddie from oversight by the newly created bureaucracy. Fannie Mae is now seeking a second bailout of $1.5 billion after 12 straight quarters of loses, and Freddie Mac is asking for $1.8 billion of additional bailout money.

Another $26.1 billion
Speaker Pelosi called Members of Congress back from August recess to pass this “emergency” jobs bill. Sixteen billion dollars went to the states that had done the worst job of managing their Medicaid program, and $10 billion were targeted to save teacher jobs. Right! One caller last week appropriately called it a “snow jobs” bill.

The political arrogance, waste of taxpayers’ money and abuse of power by this administration and Congress has been unprecedented. If people remember in November, we can make an unprecedented change of control in Congress.

It’s November or never.

Herman Cain is right on track with this summary of the path of destruction that The Leftist Cyclone that has slammed through the USA since early 2009 has caused.  Check out Herman's site for some inspirational Conservative point of view.

Mr. President, We Need To Know Something About The US Constitution And The Ground Zero Mosque

Mr. President, when the US Constitution is read it indicates that you are supposed to, as the Chief Executive, be responsible to defend our nation from its enemies.  When Islamic Jihadists hijacked airplanes and flew them into buildings, that was an attack on our nation.  One of the things that those Islamic Jihadists do when they have a victory is establish the victory by seeking to build a mosque at the site of that victory as a symbol of conquest.  This is an act of war, not an expression of religious freedom.  Why do you allow them to hide behind this as an expression of religious freedom that is protected under our Constitution and to proceed with their plan to build the mosque in New York City at the site where part of one of the the hijacked airplanes came to rest after it crashed into the World Trade Center?  This mosque is part of an act of war, a symbol of conquest, something that will inspire and encourage our enemies.  Why not do your Constitutional Duty and defend us from this enemy?

Senate Bill would Make It Unlawful To Grow Or Share Your Own Produce. Yes, Really.

Senate bill on homegrown food equals homegrown tyranny - National conservative

From Anthony G. Martin posting on Examiner.com:

The Obama regime and Democrats in Congress want to prevent citizens from growing, sharing, trading, or selling homegrown food.  Senate bill S510 would make such activity illegal.  Such legislation amounts to homegrown tyranny, yet another example of how this government has declared war on the citizens.

Under the guise of 'food safety' the bill contains the following ominous provisions, as cited by The World's Prophecy:

1. All U.S. food and U.S. farms are placed under the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense in the event of contamination or some vague. undefined 'national emergency.'

2.  U.S. sovereignty over food and farms would end, placing them under the international oversight of the WTO.

4.  A global system of control over food would be imposed on the United States under the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Trade Organization. 

5.  The right of citizens to purchase, own, store, and clean seed would be removed and placed into the hands of large international corporations such as Monsanto.  

6.  An animal traceability program would be implemented under international control, thus threatening small U.S. farmers and ranchers who raise animals.

10.  'Food crimes' would be a new category of criminal activity, increasing the power of the police state, and removing Constitutional protections of citizens who are thusly charged, placing them totally at the mercy of 'large corporate tribunals' which will be granted unlimited power to levy penalties--and outside the purview of U.S.  judicial review.  

The way to control a population is to control the food supply of that population.  That is as basic as it gets, and as fundamentally dangerous to liberty as anything can be.

On the bright side, think of all the "Jobs Created" for "Garden Police". 

Read the rest at the link or look up the bill itself.   Think this is impossible or outlandish?  Ask the farmers in California's Central Valley if they think so.

WWJCD: What Would Jimmy Carter Do

Obama Nation: The Negotiator

Our Children And Grandchildren Will Be Paying For This Year's Road Repaving For Many Years To Come

The tax bill for this will be around long after the new road surfaces are cracked and replaced.  At least we'll have nice new road surfaces for our Government Motors Chevrolet Volt to drive on; they'll last for about two years before they crack.  The roads won't last too long either.



Pic from American Principles Project

U.S. State Department Using Taxpayer Money In Building Mosques

U.S. State Department is Building....Mosques

From Candace DeRussy posting on Big Peace:

...it will likely disturb you to learn that the State Department has been hard at work – on your dime – rebuilding of mosques in foreign countries.

The Washington Times reports:

In April, U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso E. Lenhardt helped cut the ribbon at the 12th-century Kizimkazi Mosque, which was refurbished with assistance from the United States under a program to preserve culturally significant buildings. The U.S. government also helped save the Amr Ebn El Aas Mosque in Cairo, which dates back to 642. The mosque’s namesake was the Muslim conqueror of Christian Egypt, who built the structure on the site where he had pitched his tent before doing battle with the country’s Byzantine rulers. For those who think the Ground Zero Mosque is an example of “Muslim triumphalism” glorifying conquest, the Amr Ebn El Aas Mosque is an example of such a monument – and one paid for with U.S. taxpayer funds.

Yeah, that disturbs me.  Does it surprise me?  No, not at all.  The Current President is a Muslim sympathizer and spent his youth living as a Muslim. He fully understands the symbolic nature of building mosques at the site of a military (or in modern times terrorist) victory. I have said all along and continue to maintain that the goal of The Current President is the destabilization of the USA.  He knows fully well what he is doing.  The project outlined above serves to give our enemies, those who submit to Islam, both encouragement and also actual physical locations from which to recruit Islamic Soldiers.  The recruitment will come straight from the Imams who preach at these mosques.  In other words, The Current President is giving aid and comfort to our enemies by this mosque-building project. 

Motorist Finds a Great Way to Thank Obama Voters.

SharpElbows.Net: Motorist Finds a Great Way to Thank Obama Voters.

A Speech Every American High School Principal Should Give

Townhall - Dennis Prager - A Speech Every American High School Principal Should Give

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.

First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white.

The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American. This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans.

Second, I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school.

Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.

Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events.

Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.

Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. 

Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.

There is much more on the original post by Mr. Prager, and I encourage you to read the whole thing at the link above.  

The battleground where Self-Government is being defeated is right where this ideal school principal's speech needs to be heard.  The young people who are being subject to constant indoctrination in Marxist thought from the time they enter daycare through high school are fertile ground for these ideas that are anathema to the principles in the US Constitution.  Read the whole thing; read it to you children, because it is likely that your school principal would never speak any of this to the young ears that flank the brains of our future leaders.   

Michelle and Sasha go to Spain

H/T Jeannie DeAngelis on American Thinker: Michelle and Sasha go to Spain

Notwithstanding the 5-star rating, the Villa Padierna is a peculiar choice for a mother/daughter moment as it is "often associated with reality TV and gangsters."  Regardless, Michelle should feel right at home in a "millionaire's playground," internationally recognized as one of the world's top 30 hotels. 

Either way, this private mother-daughter getaway stands to put a big dent in the President's Martha's Vineyard vacation budget.  Lucky for Barry the First Lady decided to "officially" visit the King and Queen.  A ten minute courtesy call ensures American taxpayers foot the bill.

Michelle's four-day jaunt includes reserving 60 rooms in a 129-room hotel whose accommodations start at $333.00 and go up to $6502.00 per night. If Shelley decides to spare no expense to entertain nine year-old Sasha, the Villa Padierna hotel bill could be upwards of $1 million dollars or more. 

Of course this is the birthright of The American Left, those denizens of the Democrat Party who are the Champions of The Common Man, the ones who are "For The Little Guy".  After all, since it takes The Current President $700,000,000,000.00 (Seven Hundred Billion Dollars) to get some roads paved (plus the cost of signs), what is a measly Million Dollars for a short vacation for his wife? 

Video From Breitbart TV: FLOTUS Criticized For Extravagant Holiday

Obama Nation: Campaign Strategy

Obama Nation: Campaign Strategy

Want Your Children And Granchildren To Pay In Years To Come So Democrats Can Be Reelected In 2010?

The White House is planning on forgiving significant portions of mortgages nationwide in an effort to build good will for Democrat candidates before the 2010 elections.  They know that if they want to complete the transformation of the USA from Constitutional Republic to Marxist State that they need to drive the stake in NOW.

From James Pethokoukis posting at Reuters:

Main Street may be about to get its own gigantic bailout. Rumors are running wild from Washington to Wall Street that the Obama administration is about to order government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of the mortgage debt of millions of Americans who owe more than what their homes are worth.

The key date to watch is August 17 when the Treasury Department holds a much-hyped meeting on the future of Fannie and Freddie.

Keep in mind the political and economic context. The nascent recovery is already running out of steam. Wall Street economists just downgraded the government’s second-quarter GDP estimate of 2.4 percent to around 1.7 percent. And as even Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is warning, the unemployment rate may well begin to rise back toward the politically toxic 10 percent level given such sluggish growth. Many in the White House thought the unemployment rate would be dropping sharply by this point in the recovery.

But that is not happening. What is happening is that the president’s approval ratings are continuing to erode, as are Democratic election polls. Democrats are in real danger of losing the House and almost losing the Senate. The mortgage Hail Mary would be a last-gasp effort to prevent this from happening and to save the Obama agenda. The political calculation is that the number of grateful Americans would be greater than those offended that they — and their children and their grandchildren — would be paying for someone else’s mortgage woes.

And don’t think the White House is worried about financial market reaction. If they thought it would pass Congress, they would be submitting a $200 billion Stimulus  2.0  (3.0?, 4.0?) right now.

August is supposed to be a slow month for Washington politics. But maybe not this one.

I know that in my area of the country some of the roads are being repaved (as they are every year), and the "American Reinvestment and Recovery Act" signs are all around these projects, and of course this is to try to build in grateful voters the delusion that billing our children and grandchildren for road repairs that will last for a year or two before needing to be redone is a valid reason to send the Marxist Democrats back to their elected offices in Washington.  Apparently, this is not enough and so now the lady (video below) who was famously quoted as saying that she would not have to work out paying her mortgage now has been proven correct; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would now become overt arms of tyranny in a country transformed from Constitutional Republic to Marxist State.  

Why should the group of American citizens who are responsible for their own debts and are willing to wait until they can afford to pay for things be penalized for their good stewardship of finances so that those who have no concept of personal responsibility be given mortgage payment forgiveness from taxpayer funds? Why should our children and grandchildren be forced to pay this cost just so Democrats can be reelected and remain in power in order to complete the dismantling of the USA?

ObamaCare In A State Of Misery In The Show-Me State

Show Me State Shows Obamacare the Door...In a Rout!

When an election is say, 60% to 40%, conventional wisdom says that the electorate is tilted heavily in favor of whichever candidate or issue gets the 60% of the vote.  On most issues or candidacies, there is something known as the "Hard 20" which means that no matter what, at least 20% will stay loyal to their candidate or issue, so an 80% to 20% result would be considered to be effectively unanimous.  I didn't make this up; heck I don't make anything up really, I just mostly plagiarize, ask anyone.  Anyway, take a look at this article from Big Government regarding the results of Missouri's Proposition C, which is a referendum on ObamaCare.

Missouri rejects the Pelosi-Obama Rationed Health Care Plan

All eyes were on Missouri today. The Show Me voters were voting for or against the new federal health care law.

Missouri showed Obamacare the door.
 

FOX KC reported:

Election officials are hoping the heat won’t keep people from getting out to vote. One of the hottest races in Missouri is Proposition C. It’s an issue that is getting a lot of attention across the country.
All eyes will be on Missouri’s Proposition C results because it’s the first time voters in the country vote for or against the new federal health care law. Basically Proposition C would create a state law against federal mandates requiring people to buy health insurance.
Missouri’s top U.S. Senate candidates are divided on the measure. If passed, it will will reject part of the new federal health care law. Republicans Roy Blunt and Chuck Purgason both support Proposition C. Democrat Robin Carnahan plans to vote against it.

Christie Herrara has more on Prop C at Big Government.

Republicans today were out in force to vote in the primaries. This likely helped Proposition C in Missouri.

Now Check out the election results in intervals as the evening progressed: 

UPDATE: (8:15 PM CST)
Proposition C Precincts Reporting 186 of 3354
Yes 42,211 71.7%
No 16,693 28.3%
Total Votes 58,904

UPDATE: (8:15 PM CST)
Proposition C Precincts Reporting 255 of 3354
Yes 58,237 73.3%
No 21,214 26.7%

Total Votes 79,451

UPDATE: (8:30 PM CST)

Proposition C Precincts Reporting 366 of 3354
Yes 86,704 73.4%
No 31,500 26.6%
Total Votes 118,204

UPDATE: (9:00 PM CST)

Proposition C Precincts Reporting 869 of 3354
Yes 196,962 76.1%
No 62,021 23.9%

Total Votes 258,983

UPDATE: (9:10 PM CST)
With one-fourth of precincts reporting…
Proposition C Precincts Reporting 1157 of 3354
Yes 271,529 75.8%
No 86,783 24.2%
Total Votes 358,312

UPDATE: (9:50 PM CST)
Proposition C Precincts Reporting 2080 of 3354
Yes 453,481 74.4%
No 155,869 25.6%
Total Votes 609,350

UPDATE: (10:05 PM CST)
Proposition C Precincts Reporting 2444 of 3354
Yes 516,636 73.5%
No 186,268 26.5%
Total Votes 702,904

UPDATE: (10:05 PM CST)
Proposition C Precincts Reporting 2704 of 3354
Yes 547,142 72.7%
No 205,603 27.3%
Total Votes 752,745

UPDATE: (10:25 PM CST)
Proposition C Precincts Reporting 3007 of 3354
Yes 614,480 72.7%
No 230,356 27.3%
Total Votes 844,836

The results would have been the same had it been put to a vote of We The People back on March 21, 2010, a.k.a. The Day The Constitution Died.  The jubilant characters in the picture below, shown on their march to destroy the US Constitution, knew as much even then, and I'm sure they, well the DOJ actually, will try an end-run in the courts to shut this down, knowing that Judicial Tyranny is their ace-in-the-hole.  They really should work on their Poker Faces, though.

.

 Below is a video of the same scene that I shot from the sidewalk in the background of the picture above.  I was standing approximately where the pink-blossomed tree is visible just above Representative John Lewis' head in the picture, and I shot video as The Traitors passed by.

Anyone who does not expect a challenge in the courts from the US Department Of Justice on Missouri Proposition C has not been paying attention to the recent events in Arizona.  Court rulings are the way that these Marxists hope to drive their agenda.  Still, it is really encouraging that the people in Missouri have spoken so clearly on this issue.

Representative Pete Stark (D-California): ‘The Federal Government Can Do Most Anything in This Country’

Breitbart.tv » Congressman at Town Hall: ‘The Federal Government Can Do Most Anything in This Country’

In a Constitutional Republic, this statement would be patently false.  In the USA of The Current President and Marxist Democrats like The Honorable Mr. Stark, it is how things currently operate.  

Mexican Special Forces Invade New York City

Apparently they were unable to plant the Mexican Flag at this time.  Stay tuned for further updates.  One more thing:  If you have tickets for the 2011 MLB All-Star game, let me know because I'm gonna go to Arizona and spend some cash and speak english ALL DAY LONG.