Killing For Congress

August 16, 2007 -- TWO days ago, al Qaeda detonated four massive truck bombs in three Iraqi villages, killing at least 250 civilians (perhaps as many as 500) and wounding many more. The bombings were a sign of al Qaeda's frustration, desperation and fear.

The victims were ethnic Kurd Yazidis, members of a minor sect with pre-Islamic roots. Muslim extremists condemn them (wrongly) as devil worshippers. The Yazidis live on the fringes of society.

That's one of the two reasons al Qaeda targeted those settlements: The terrorist leaders realize now that the carnage they wrought on fellow Muslims backfired, turning once-sympathetic Sunni Arabs against them. The fanatics calculated that Iraqis wouldn't care much about the Yazidis.

As far as the Thieves of Baghdad (also known as Iraq's government) go, the terrorists were right. Iraqi minorities, including Christians, have been classified as fair game by Muslim butchers. Mainstream Iraqis simply look away.

But the second reason for those dramatic bombings was that al Qaeda needs to portray Iraq as a continuing failure of U.S. policy. Those dead and maimed Yazidis were just props: The intended audience was Congress.

Al Qaeda has been badly battered. It's lost top leaders and thousands of cadres. Even more painful for the Islamists, they've lost ground among the people of Iraq, including former allies. Iraqis got a good taste of al Qaeda. Now they're spitting it out.

The foreign terrorists slaughtering the innocent recognize that their only remaining hope of pulling off a come-from-way-behind win is to convince your senator and your congressman or -woman that it's politically expedient to hand a default victory to a defeated al Qaeda.

Expect more attempts to generate massive bloodshed in Iraq in the coming weeks. The terrorists are well aware of the exaggerated-by-all-parties importance of Gen. David Petraeus' Sept. 15 progress report to Congress. They'll do all they can to embarrass the general and provide ammunition to the surrender caucus.

Meanwhile, our military progress has become undeniable. Even Democratic presidential aspirants have started hedging their peace-at-any-price positions. To the horror of al Qaeda and left-wing bloggers alike, cutting and running is starting to look unfashionable.

Source: New York Post

Read the whole thing, and you'll see why Lefties and certain Democrats (and Ron Paul) give the enemy hope that they can still win. President Lincoln would have these traitors removed to Canada...but I think their newly elected conservative Prime Minister would object!

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Stomper Video: BlackOut Rally and No Zoning

Visit Carolina Stompers to see the next two videos put out by the Carolina Stompers.

One is about the BlackOut Rally back in December of 2005, which I blogged about on WNC Citizens Blog during the run-up. The weather was too bad for me to drive from Sylva to Asheville.

The other is a commercial about Zoning in Buncombe County, reminding the voters just who is responsible for it, which is a perfect excuse for me to post a couple of three videos taken from the Public Hearing.

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Anti-Semitic and Far Left Supporters of Ron Paul

Rob Taylor has been digging around the fevered swamps of Ron Paul supporters, and has found some real nut jobs:

This time it’s the paranoid mouth breathers from Freedomtown who are putting up YouTube videos supporting Ron Paul’s fight against “neo-conservatives” and demanding “9-11 truth.”

Wow. Feedomtown has (I kid you not) a Sheeple De-programing section on their website where they ironically recycle Communist propaganda and as you would suspect promote Alex Jonesian hoaxes. It’s funny to check out Paul’s supporters, until you realize that President Paul would have people just like them in positions of power.

Imagine Secretary of State whoever telling the U.N. that we need to contain the NWO (Jews) by force if necessary. Or Ron Paul brownshirts rounding up “Zionists” for stirring up trouble in the mid east. If Paul was elected that’s exactly what would happen.

In case you want to make the case that Freedomtown isn’t anti-semitic, check out this page then try to make that argument. Yeah, I didn’t think so.

But is Freedomtown really a bunch of rabid conservatives and libertarians. No their quite far left actually, or at least their trusted anti big media sources are. A few progressive websites the “patriots” at Freedomtown think you should be reading (taken from their links page):

Source: Red Alerts

Hat Tip: Center for Vigilant Freedom Blogroll

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Mother forced to give birth alone in toilet of 'flagship' NHS hospital (Democrat Party HealthCare)

This is a story that reminds us that Socialist (Universal) Health Care ain't what it's bragged as...just like Cuba's dismal system:

A young mother had to deliver her own baby in the lavatory of a flagship hospital because there were no trained midwives available. Surveyor Catherine Brown had made the agonising decision to undergo a chemically-induced abortion after being told her 18-week pregnancy was risking her life. But when the time came to give birth she was on an ear, nose and throat ward and had only her mother to help her through the ordeal. Her premature son Edward died in her arms minutes later. The traumatised mother-of-one said: "I just howled and howled. I remember sitting there looking at him...

Source: UK Daily Mail

Hat Tip: Free Republic

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Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst 082107

Elvira Arrelano busted! We look at her threatening statements from
last week.

100% Preventable! The harvest of innocent Americans continues...



Please vote for us in the "Bloggers
Choice Awards!"

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For
Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security
and a sane immigration policy. If you'd like to join find
out how right here.

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Talk Radio Sank Amnesty Bill !!!

Opposition from key talk radio and cable TV hosts helped kill the
immigration bill in Congress, a study out today concludes. “What listeners of the conservative talk radio media were hearing, in large part, was that the legislation itself was little more than an ‘amnesty bill’ for illegal immigrants, a phrase loaded with political baggage,” it says. The study by the nonpartisan Project for Excellence in Journalism quantifies what White House and Capitol Hill phone lines and e-mail inboxes already indicated: Talk radio focused on the immigration debate more intensely than the mainstream media did from April to June. Conservative hosts touched off a brushfire in the Republican base that President Bush and other party leaders were helpless to contain.

Source: Politico

Hat Tip: Drudge Report

Commentary

With this study in their hands, the progressives are gonna come after us with everything they have to try to get a "Fairness Doctrine" enacted. Heaven help us if a Democrat gets in for Jan 2009! Stay Vigilant!

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Hillary's Prayer

I heard a portion of Claire Jeffrie, Senior Editor of Mother Jones, on C-SPAN Radio on XM132 during their replay of the Sunday Morning Talk Shows. One of the topics was an article written for Mother Jones called "Hillary's Prayer," which concerned Senator Clinton's membership in a tight-knit group of Congress Critters called "The Fellowship."

I fired up my computer, went online, and did some quick research. The article is apparently not available online yet, although a Kos Kid was helpful enough to offer a review of the article, [Snapshot] and express their fear that was generated by the article because Joe Lieberman, Tom Delay, and John Ashcroft were all members of the same group at one time or another.

Of course, this is not the first time The Fellowship has been in the news, and one of the Kids was helpful enough to provide a copy of an article in Atlantic Magazine.

Commentary

I get a kick at the Kos Kidz, at how everything is a conspiracy!

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Local Libertarians Plan to Ride Wave of Ron Paul Popularity: Control of Buncombe GOP

Stop Laughing, because they are apparently serious...unless the joke went over my head.

Occaisional blogger Tim Peck, Carl Milsted, and Buncome County Libertarian Leader Bernard Carmen joined fellow libertarian-leaning Matt Mittan on his show, "Take A Stand", which airs on WWNC-AM 570, and can be heard online.

Take Carl Milsted's Quiz.

I suggest you listen to the podcast of the 4 o'clock hour and the 5 o'clock hour.

Okay, stop laughing.

There are so many holes in this that I should probably cut the audio up into tracks, and splice my commentary into the thing as a running commentary aka Mystery Science Theater 3000 style on You Tube. I have taken 10 clips out of the 1st hour of the program with a running time of 20 minutes and a fews seconds without my responses... I'll save that for later (like soooo many other projects).

I'll tell you, dear reader, why this laughable attempt will fail.

First, Carl Milsted starts out saying he is for Ron Paul. Okay, let's examine Ron Paul based on his on website section "Issues":

First Up is his position on Debt and Taxes:

Working Americans like lower taxes. So do I. Lower taxes benefit
all of us, creating jobs and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives.

Check #4...Maybe he should join the next administration as Border Czar.

Sounds good to me. Check.

Next is American Independence and Sovereignty:

So called free trade deals and world governmental organizations like the International Criminal Court (ICC), NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA are a threat to our independence as a nation.

Sounds good to me. Check #2.

Next is War and Foreign Policy:

The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information. The area is more
dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct
enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them.

This is a lie, and a suicidal position to take. Iraq's weapons were moved out while we wasted out time begging the UN for permission to invade, and here is one of many open-source intelligence report about the removal. [PDF of a Symposium]

We not only destroyed the regime of Saddam Hussein, we liberated tens of millions of people formerly living under oppression of a brutal dictator; the same man also responsible for the executions of more than a million of his people, many of whom ended up in mass graves. He was, in fact, tried, convicted, and executed for crimes against humanity involving just one incident in 1982.

We created new recruits for them, to go where? Iraq, and Afghanistan. Get your head out of the sand! The goal of the Salafists has always been world domination by their "Religion of Peace."

Ron Paul's stand on this issue by itself is enough to disqualify him from further consideration. President Bush's position on this issue is one of his saving graces. I thank God that these people are prominent in giving advice to the President in this time of crisis as we face the Third Great Jihad, [Alternate Link].

The very survival of Western Civilization is at stake, and Ron Paul has his head up his, well...you know!

No check...counts as a forfeiture of the game.

Life and Liberty position:

The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty. My professional and legislative record demonstrates my strong commitment to this pro-life principle.

Check # 3, were it not for the war, this would cover a multitude of other policy position sins.

Border Security and Immigration Reform:

The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked.


Check #4...perhaps he should consider joining the next administration as Border Czar.

Privacy and Personal Liberty:

The biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must
drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding
citizens’ personal matters.

Strike! Listen to this recent radio show[Left Click to Save] to gain perspective on the patriot act, and a bonus section on Illegal Immigration. Patriot Act research Website.

The Patriot Act is a valuable Law Enforcement tool for fighting this war.

Property Rights and Eminent Domain:

We must stop special interests from violating property rights and literally driving families from their homes, farms and ranches. Today, we face a new threat of widespread eminent domain actions as a result of powerful interests who want to build a NAFTA superhighway through the United States from Mexico to Canada. We also face another danger in regulatory takings: Through excess regulation, governments deprive property owners of significant value and use of their properties — all without paying “just compensation.”

Property rights are the foundation of all rights in a free society. without the right to own a printing press, for example, freedom of the press becomes meaningless. The next president must get federal agencies out of these schemes to deny property owners their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property.

Check #5. Precious Few have this position.

Health Freedom:

Americans are justifiably concerned over the government’s
escalating intervention into their freedom to choose what they eat and how they take care of their health.

Foul Ball. I have problems with his idiotic stand against genetically modified food...what the heck does he think corn is? It started out as a well-endowed seed-bearing grass. And all you druggies...did you know your precious pot plants are genetically modified to produce a high thousands of times more potent than wild pot...known as hemp?
If it weren't for genetically modified foods, pesticides, and fertilizers...billions would starve.

Okay, enough with my analysis of Ron Paul's positions...

Number One...their attacks on Christians and Christianity may be kosher in the city of Asheville, but not in Buncombe County, and most certainly not in the BCGOP. Perhaps they have been living in the bubble that is Asheville, and do not realize the connection between Christianity and Conservatism.

Let me quote for them the first of six principles of Conservatism as espoused by Russell Kirk in "The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana" page 7. I have it in a second edition printed in 1953:

1) Belief that a divine intent rules society as well as conscience, forging an eternal chain of right and duty which links great and obscure, living and dead. Political problems, at bottom, are religious and moral problems. A narrow rationality, what Coleridge calls the Understanding, cannot itself satisfy human needs. "Every Tory is a realist," says Keith Feiling: "he knows that there are great forces in heaven and earth that man's philosophy cannot plumb or fathom. we do wrong to deny it, when we are told that we do not trust human reason: we do not and we may not. Human reason set up a cross on Calvary, human reason set up the cup of hemlock, human reason was canonised (sic) in Notre Dame."

Politics is the art of apprehending and applying the Justice which is above nature.

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Are You A Global Warming Traitor?

At the Live Earth concert in New Jersey last month, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. denounced climate-change skeptics as "corporate toadies" for "villainous" enemies of America and the human race. "This is treason," he shouted, "and we need to start treating them now as traitors."

Some environmentalists and commentators have suggested that global-warming "denial" be made a crime, much as Holocaust denial is in some countries. Others have proposed that climate-change dissidents be prosecuted in Nuremberg-style trials. The Weather Channel's Heidi Cullen has suggested that television meteorologists
be stripped of their American Meteorological Society certification if they dare to question predictions of catastrophic global warming.

Read the rest at Al Fin.

Commentary

So much for building consensus! Progressives and Watermelon Environmentalists seem to share the need to sanction, imprison, exile, or kill their opponents with their cousins the Socialists, Communists, Fascists, and other totalitarian political philosophies.

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VIDEO: HIV Positive Arafat Gave Blood for 9/11 Victims

Watch for it at -3.45 mark
Source: Atlas Shrugs

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Goodbye Karl, Welcome Back, Ed!

Karl Rove is gone from the White House. Conservatives rejoice, for this signals a return to the White House paying attention to the conservative base.

In my opinion, Rove had to go because he was tone-deaf on Illegal Immigration. That mistake cost him his high-profile job. Ed Gillespie is more in tune with the grassroots.

Here are some articles to peruse on the matter:

From the Court House to the White House

Wall Street Journal

Rove Hits the Road

Kos Kidz

Scrutiny Hooligans

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No Zoning Video from Carolina Stompers

Carolina Stompers

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Hallmark of the 110th Congress: Earmarks

When Democrats campaigned in the 2006 midterm elections, they promised to reform the pork-barrel practices of previous Congresses once they took control. They have certainly changed the process, but not in the manner they promised. Instead, for the second time this session, they have buried their earmarks and made accountability nearly impossible while using federal dollars to bolster their incumbencies (via Power Line):

Source: Captain's Quarters

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The Holocaust Today in China

NEW YORK – During the month of June the Falun Dafa Information Center has recorded the deaths of 20 Falun Gong adherents as a result of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of the practice. Some of the deaths took place as early as January 2007 but only became known in June due to the difficulties and dangers involved in obtaining such sensitive information from inside China.

The deaths took place across ten provinces and cities throughout China, with over three quarters of them occurring in the northeastern part of the country. Fourteen of those killed were women, who also account for 70 percent of the overall confirmed death toll, which now stands at 3,073. Estimates place the actual death toll at over ten times this figure, as many thousands remain missing and earlier killings continue to be uncovered.

Source: The Canadian Sentinel

Related: The John Batchelor Show Interviewed some Falun Gong practitioners, and even took calls from members of Falun Gong in the spring of 2006. I have included links to download the MP3 files from the John Batchelor Show website archives. I hope it returns to the air soon.

Dr. Wang Wenyi, Chief Editor of Medical Life Journal and Member of the Falun Gong. Interviewed by John Batchelor. Aired April 24, 2006. (6 M 56 S ; 6.34 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

Dr. Wang Wenyi, Chief Editor of Medical Life Journal and Member of the Falun Gong. Interviewed by John Batchelor. Aired April 24, 2006. (11 M 59 S : 10.9 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

Dr. Wang Wenyi, Chief Editor of Medical Life Journal and Member of the Falun Gong. Interviewed by John Batchelor. Aired April 24, 2006. (9 M 07 S : 8.33 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

Dr. Wang Wenyi, Chief Editor of Medical Life Journal and Member of the Falun Gong. Interviewed by John Batchelor. Aired April 24, 2006. (11 M 08 S ; 10.1 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 1. ( 10M 39S ; 9.74 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 2. ( 9M 36S ; 8.78 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 3. ( 11M 57S ; 10.7 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 4. ( 6M 57S ; 6.36 MB)
Download the MP3 audio file


John Batchelor and Dr. J. Yang, Physician and Falun Gong (Falun DaFa) Practitioner, take calls from international Falun Gong members and activists. Aired March 20, 2006. Part 5. ( 10M 09S ; 9.29MB)
Download the MP3 audio file

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Blogger Finds Y2K Bug in NASA Climate Data

Years of bad data corrected;
1998 no longer the warmest year on record

My earlier column this week detailed the work of a volunteer team to assess problems with US temperature data used for climate modeling. One of these people is Steve McIntyre, who operates the site climateaudit.org. While inspecting historical temperature graphs, he noticed a strange discontinuity, or "jump" in many locations, all occurring around the time of January, 2000.

These graphs were created by NASA's Reto Ruedy and James Hansen (who shot to fame when he accused the administration of trying to censor his views on climate change). Hansen refused to provide McKintyre with the algorithm used to generate graph data, so McKintyre reverse-engineered it. The result appeared to be a Y2K bug in the handling of the raw data.

Source: Daily Tech

Hat Tip: Red Clay Citizen

Bonus Link: Al Fin, who covered all the bases, and has more links to follow!


It must really suck to believe in CAGW right about now.

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Carolina Stompers

There is new website in Asheville, and it promises to take the fight to the liberals and the RINOs!

Among some of the stories that will be forthcoming are:

1. Democrat corruption in the Buncombe County Court House
2. Rumors of RINO's wanting to throw out loyal Republicans
3. Carolina Stompers raise money for Republican Canidates
4. Carolina Stompers educate public about what Republicans stand for
5. Blogs from the team Chad Nesbitt / Nancy Nesbitt / Don Yelton /
Zora Hays / Senator RL Clark / Pastor Lewis / NC State Rep John Rhodes
6. "LIVE" Talk Radio "The Citizens Speaks" www.ugsmusic.com
7. Why Republicans fight drugs -
Support CARL MUMPOWER (Asheville City Councilman)
8. STOMP out the liberals with "LIVE" debates
9. "Politicle Problem Solving Department"
10. Why we do what we do. "The problem with the BCGOP leadership"
11. The National Black Republican Association
12. "WHATCH OUT!" The Elephants Are Coming!

So, give the Carolina Stompers a visit to check them out, and add them to your bookmarked sites so that you can return again and again.

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The Collectivist Left vs. The Individualist Right

The Collectivist Left vs. The Individualist Right
Culture War Doug Hagin, Senior Writer
July 16, 2007









There are several significant differences between the ideological Right and Left. We all know this. Abortion, taxation, the size of government, national defense, gun control, etc are all issues that divide the two ideologies. We all are well aware of these specific issues and the way the two sides generally view them. What is interesting, to me anyway, is why the two sides differ on these and other issues. I have come to believe there is a common theme that divides the two ideologies.

While the specific issues already cited separate the two sides, there is one major difference that coves all these issues. The difference is in the thinking of the two sides. What they think, is best explained in how they think. In short, the Left thinks collectively, while the right thinks individually.

The Left talks about charity and giving for example. They talk about it constantly. They talk about it so much you might think they invented charitable giving. Their talk, though, and their walk, are quite different. Several studies of charitable giving have shown that those on the right give significantly more than those on the Left. Studies also have shown that those Americans in red states, states that tend to vote Republican, are more giving than those in the blue states. How can this be? Perhaps it is best explained by how each side sees charity and generosity.

The Right thinks as individuals. We see a tragedy somewhere and we give our money. We do not expect the government to take our money and then give it. In fact, we would rather the government take much less of our money. The Left tends to call us greedy because we want lower taxes. Yet, the record of the Right on charitable giving is better than that of the Left. Therefore, really, it is surely not greed that drives Conservatives is it. If we were greedy, we would keep our money and not support the Red Cross or Salvation Army, or other charities wouldn’t we?

The Left, however, sees true charity as national giving, collective giving. Recall the Tsunami at the end of 2004. Americans gave billions and billions of dollars to the relief organizations after that tragic disaster. Yet, those on the left bashed America as greedy. How can that be? Well it was the amount our government gave they focused on. Ignoring the billions individual Americans gave, the Left instead saw only what the US government gave. Again, collectivism raises its head.

To the ideological Left it is only the collective giving that counts. They see America as a government, not as a nation of free people. To them, the giving of individuals, who choose to give is worth less than when government chooses for them what charity to give to and how much to give to it. Only when a government takes our money then gives it is it truly charitable and worthwhile to the Left. This is not to say no one on the Left gives of their own money, it is to point out the value the Left grants to individual giving as compared to the worth they attach to collective giving.

Source: New Media Journal

Commentary

Just listen at the current crop of Dems for President when they are speaking. They all have one common refrain, "That the government take from the rich, and give to the poor."

Sounds an awful lot like Karl Marx's appropriated dictum: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

It will do you well to remember that every one of those candidates are communists, and most are too cowardly to admit it openly. The 2008 Election Campaign will offer us to diverging paths...one will lead to the utter destruction that is Collectivism, and the other leads to American Exceptionalism expressed as Individualism. (Unless we nominate Rudy)

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A Warning to Property Owners Regarding New Stormwater Ordinance

Beware of council’s new storm water ordinance, all you property owners

by Jerry Sternberg

published August 9, 2007 12:15 am

Attention, property owners — this is an alert. If you own property in the city of Ashe-ville or the one-mile extra- territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) adjacent to a river, stream, lake or have a creek as small as a garden hose running through your land, your property rights are in serious jeopardy.

Your City Council is preparing to pass an ordinance it calls the “Storm and Water Erosion Control Ordinance Revision,” with the stealth and secrecy that would make the CIA proud. This ordinance could render much of your land or house lot unusable and you have not been informed.

While council is big on citizen input, it has really kept this under the radar, as members know that if citizens understand what this will do to their property they will be at City Hall by the thousands screaming for redress.

The purpose of this act is to address storm water runoff and improve water quality in our rivers and streams, which is certainly desirable.

This is for the common good, but it penalizes only property owners who are affected — without compensation.

What it means

The ordinance mandates an undisturbed buffer of 50 feet on either side of any lake or running water.

This could mean that if you had a house and you wanted to add a porch, additional room, storage shed or even pave your driveway and it required construction of any kind in this restricted area, you would be prohibited from doing so.

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times
Hat Tip: PO and KR

Commentary

The ordinance mandates an undisturbed buffer of 50 feet on either side of any lake or running water.

I think that statement tells the story. Remeber when the state tried to stuff legislation down our throats that would have had a 100 foot buffer?

Land Confiscation is what it amounts to.

Folks, its the same song, second verse, this time sung by loacl greenie weenies because the state greenie weenies couldn't get it done.

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Public Access Database for Tracking Events

Read the following:

On the other hand, what if it wasn’t a coincidence? If a group of people wanted to cause havoc and destruction, and to have a good chance of getting away with it, what might they do? We’ve all been led to expect an apocalyptic attack one or more major cities, which would make the national news and launch an immediate manhunt. But what if they were to sabotage and burn dozens, or hundreds, of vehicles in rural areas instead? How would anybody connect the dots?

Since then, I’ve been searching for any mention of these fires in the local news, to no avail. As of this writing, I’ve yet to find any news story that I can associate with the date and location of these particular fires. That’s frustrating, but it tells me that we can’t rely on the mainstream media, or official sources, to recognize these dots, much less connect them!

This is where citizen journalism comes in, which means you and me. Use whatever tools are available to do the job. If you don’t have a video camera or a camera phone, at least get a phone with web browsing and text messaging capability, so that you can transmit the details of what you encountered.

How would a database or wiki help? The task of “connecting the dots” would be much easier if we had a database or wiki that everyone could use for reporting unusual events and local-scale disasters, and that everyone could search to find patterns and causes of events. In order to be useful, this would have to be a large-scale project that takes in and organizes detailed data from all over the U.S. It would take plenty of resources to start up such a database or wiki on a server that could handle the traffic, to launch and promote the project, and to sign up enough participants to give the project a good start. This is not a one-person job; clearly, it would take more funds and more time than I presently have at my disposal. Nonetheless, this is my proposal for the future, and if enough other people are interested, we could get it done!

Source: 1389 Blog Read the whole thing for context.

Hat Tip: Hillbilly White Trash

I think this sounds like a good idea, and will be pursuing options for the local area...perhaps by setting up (yet another) blog just to track these events, and make it a group blog so others could join in...using technorati tags to ease searching.

I already have cameras that do both video and still, a flash drive that reads my SD Cards, and two portable hard drives I always have with me.

Another thing to have in mind is to establish photo and video sharing accounts so that others might glean useful information from them (such as the same people showing up again and again, perhaps states away!)
It would also seem pertinent to see if the local fire or rescue dept posted pix or reports of their activities online and trying to tie data together from citizen journalists and public safety.
I think this thing could evolve into a high-tech "Neighborhood Watch," where the stakes are much higher.

If anyone is interested in helping out, or have suggestions, let me know in the comments, or here.

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Blog Talk Radio---The Gathering Storm This Week

One of my favorite Blog Talk Radio Shows, The Gathering Storm Radio Show, will have a couple of interesting guests today at 3pm Eastern Time.

Christine of the Center for Vigilant Freedom's 910 Blog will be on at 15 past the hour, and Vito Vaccaro at the bottom.

You can listen by clicking here, and download the show archives for the past few weeks as well.

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Tom Cryer v IRS

**Important Update posted at bottom...scroll down to see.**

I first heard about Tom Cryer earlier this week when a caller to the Quinn & Rose Show mentioned it to the substitute host.

Then, this morning, Mike (penzac?) interviewed the guy for an hour. After all the commercials and traffic reports and bumper music have been edited out...it runs a little over 25 minutes. Oh, and I missed recording the first few minutes of the interview while trying to get to a computer.



He has a website called Lie Free Zone, and referenced another called Truth Attack.


And here is a Newsbusters article on the guy:

Well boys and girls, for those of you who would like to challenge that we have to pay an income tax, Lawyer Tom Cryer was just acquitted on 2 counts of tax fraud, and one being not paying his income tax.

Quite simply, he proved that the definition of Income as defined by the supreme court is NOT income from our labor, but rather things like interest and profit. You CANNOT tax a persons labor because it is a God given right that we may work to support ourselves.

Other places the case is discussed:

Free Republic

World Net Daily

SCOTUS has yet to post the info.



The guy is also on You Tube discussing his batle with the IRS over Income Taxes.

Segment One


Segment Two


Segment Three


Segment Four




Update-- I also posted some of this info in a forum, and was directed to Quatloos, " a public educational website covering a wide variety of financial scams and frauds, including wacky “prime bank” frauds, exotic foreign currency scams, offshore investment frauds, tax scams, “Pure Trust” structures and more..."

I guess I got suckered in by this...Cryer case.

A Big Tip of the Hat goes to RR.

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Win $100,000 !!! Prove Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming,

CHALLENGE

$100,000 will be awarded to the first person to prove, in a scientific manner, that humans are causing harmful global warming. The winning entry will specifically reject both of the following two hypotheses:

UGWC Hypothesis 1

Manmade emissions of greenhouse gases do not discernibly, significantly and predictably cause increases in global surface and tropospheric temperatures along with associated stratospheric cooling.

UGWC Hypothesis 2

The benefits equal or exceed the costs of any increases in global temperature caused by manmade greenhouse gas emissions between the present time and the year 2100, when all global social, economic and environmental effects are considered.

Source: Ultimate Global Warming Challenge

Hat Tip: Atlas Shrugs

Okay, lefties...the CAGW X-Prize is out there, IF you can prove it with science, rather than "consensus of opinion"!!!

This outta be like watching hamsters on an exercise wheel!

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Meet John Kerry...A Useful Idiot

Today in the Opinion Journal, former KGB intelligence officer Ion Mihai Pacepa explained the propaganda tactics of the communists during the Cold War.
Here is a bit of what Pacepa had to say about the Soviet's propaganda campaign in the West:

During the Vietnam War we spread vitriolic stories around the world, pretending that America's presidents sent Genghis Khan-style barbarian soldiers to Vietnam who raped at random, taped electrical wires to human genitals, cut off limbs, blew up bodies and razed entire villages. Those weren't facts. They were our tales, but some seven million Americans ended up being convinced their own president, not communism, was the enemy. As Yuri Andropov, who conceived this dezinformatsiya war against the U.S., used to tell me, people are more willing to believe smut than holiness.

Does that remind you of anyone?
Here are the words of future democratic Senator John F. Kerry in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 22, 1971:

They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam...

John F. Kerry- Useful Idiot.

Source: Gateway Pundit

Commentary

Why is it that the left so easily falls in line with our enemies?

The rank and file may be useful idiots, or at least sdound like it, but I believe the thinkers on the left subscribe to Revolutionary Defeatism.

I have a whole section of my right hand sidebar called "Read These Posts" that I should probably rename "Understanding Leftism" because it contains some brilliant essays on the Socialists (i.e. Communists) that have been hiding out in the Democrat Party for some time now.


Their political war with Western Civilization is not over, and we must remain ever vigilant to slow their long march through our institutions. It is my hope that we can stop it, and eventually reverse it.

That process requires waking people up to what is happening. Perhaps that is why they hate Rush Limbaugh (and the medium he sired--Talk Radio), the Fox News Channel, and the Right-Side of the Blogosphere. Look for them to try to shut all three down because their totalitarian ideology will brook no comeptition.

I leave you with this:

"They call themselves democrats, but they yearn for dictatorship. They call themselves revolutionaries, but they want to make the government omnipotent. They promise the blessings of the Garden of Eden, but they plan to transform the entire world into a gigantic post office. Every man but one subordinate clerk in a bureau, what an alluring utopia! What a noble cause to fight for!"

----Ludwig von Mises, in "Bureaucracy." p 125

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Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst 080707

In this weeks "video" (inside joke, you'll understand when you watch)
we report the attack by communists and socialists on...us!



Previous coverage here,
here and here.
Bleg here.

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Difference between a Liberal and a Leftist

Paul Mirengoff at Powerline Blog has an excellent post on the difference between a Liberal and a Leftist. Go read it.

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The New Republic Beauchamp Stories---False!!!

Just another case of the Legacy Media spreading lies to turn the public against the battle for liberty in Iraq...

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned from a military source close to the investigation that Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp--author of the much-disputed "Shock Troops" article in the New Republic's July 23 issue as well as two previous "Baghdad Diarist" columns--signed a sworn statement admitting that all three articles he published in the New Republic were exaggerations and falsehoods--fabrications containing only "a smidgen of truth," in the words of our source.

Source: Gateway Pundit, who has links to many others covering this latest in Fake News Stories.

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Spruce Pine Fire on WNC Citizens Blog

I have links to coverage of the Spruce Pine Fire at WNC Citizens Blog.

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Phoenix on Path to Mars

Being a Space Buff from my childhood, I couldn't help but pass this along:

The Phoenix spacecraft has separated from the Delta II rocket and ground controllers at NASA's Deep Space Network have acquired its signal and begun assessing its health. The solar panels that will power the mission's cruise phase will be deployed and Phoenix will be pointed to best receive solar power and communicate with Earth.

The spacecraft has oriented itself to the sun as it was programmed to do. It will use solar panels to generate electricity during the nine-month coast to Mars. A separate set of solar arrays is attached to the lander itself.

The Phoenix Mars lander's assignment is to dig through the Martian soil and ice in the arctic region and use its onboard scientific instruments to analyze the samples it retrieves.

Source: NASA Phoenix Mars Mission

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Whack-a-Mole at Daily Kos: Shades of 1984

The Little Green Footballs have caught the Kos Kids at it again, complete with screen shots of the offending material before it gets deleted. Some stories just won't go away, will they?

Go take a look.

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VIDEO: House Erupts in Chaos

This is the best view of the NeoStalinist Democrats trying to steal a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Shuler's Chief of Staff has no problem with more taxes?

Check out WNC Citizens Blog for the story.

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Tensions Raised in Pakistan, Obama Responsible?

The jihadists have attacked Pakistan with renewed vigor after Obama's provocative remarks earlier this week, and the media tries to come to his rescue with an old story (two years ago) from someone not even running for President at the time.

2,000 tribesmen rally against troops

MIRANSHAH: Around 2,000 tribesmen rallied in North Waziristan on Friday calling on the government to withdraw troops from the region, Reuters reported. Holding black flags and wearing black armbands, the protesters chanted “Down with America” and demanded the government stop what they called unnecessary military operations in the region. “The government says it has sent troops to Waziristan to maintain peace and order but in fact the peace of the region has deteriorated since the army was deployed here,” Qari Mohammad Roman, an imam of a major mosque of Miranshah, North Wazirista’s main town, told protesters.

Source: Daily Times of Pakistan

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least 22 people were killed on Saturday in spiraling violence in northwestern Pakistan as international concern grew over the deteriorating security situation and al Qaeda threat along the Afghan border.
Soldiers repulsed an attack by pro-Taliban militants in North Waziristan, and a suicide car bomber struck in another tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

--SNIP--
How to make Pakistan do more to eradicate al Qaeda hideouts has become a hot topic in the U.S. election campaign, with Democratic hopeful Barack Obama talking of American forces conducting operations or strikes inside Pakistani territory.

During a telephone call to President Pervez Musharraf, U.S. President George W. Bush said this kind of talk was "unsavory," and assured the Pakistani leader Washington respected its ally's sovereignty, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

On the ground, in a pre-dawn attack on Saturday, militants bombarded a check post in the Dosali area, some 40 km (25 miles) south of Miranshah, North Waziristan's main town.

Troops repulsed the guerrillas when they launched a direct assault on the post.

"Militants fired about 50 rockets on a check post complex at around 0300 hours (6:00 p.m. EDT Friday) and then they carried out a physical attack on the check post," military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said.

Source: Yahoo! News

Obama touches raw nerve in Pakistan

Pakistan on Friday criticised US presidential hopeful Barack Obama for saying that, if elected, he might order unilateral military strikes inside this Islamic nation to root out terrorists.

Top Pakistan officials said Obama’s comment was irresponsible and likely made for political reasons related to the race for the Democratic nomination for next year’s US presidential election.

“It’s a very irresponsible statement, that’s all I can say,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khusheed Kasuri said. “As the election campaign in America is heating up we would not like American candidates to fight their elections and contest elections at our expense.”

Also on Friday, a senior Pakistani official condemned another presidential hopeful, Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo, for saying best way he could think of to deter a nuclear terrorist attack on the US would be to threaten to retaliate by bombing the holiest Islamic sites of Mecca and Medina.

Obama triggered anger in Pakistan, a key ally of the US in its war on terror, when he said in a speech on Wednesday that as president he would order US military action against terrorists in Pakistan’s tribal region bordering Afghanistan if intelligence warranted it.

Source: Hindustan Times


I'd like to note for the record, that Congressman Tom Tancredo made that statement in 2005. This should show you how far back the media will go to provide cover for one of their own.

Don't believe me? Check this out:

Tancredo: If They Nuke Us, Bomb Mecca

DENVER — A Colorado congressman told a radio show host that the U.S. could "take out" Islamic holy sites if Muslim fundamentalist terrorists attacked the country with nuclear weapons.

Rep. Tom Tancredo made his remarks Friday on WFLA-AM in Orlando, Fla. His spokesman stressed he was only speaking hypothetically.

Talk show host Pat Campbell asked the Littleton Republican how the country should respond if terrorists struck several U.S. cities with nuclear weapons.

"Well, what if you said something like — if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites," Tancredo answered.

"You're talking about bombing Mecca," Campbell said.

"Yeah," Tancredo responded.

The congressman later said he was "just throwing out some ideas" and that an "ultimate threat" might have to be met with an "ultimate response."

Spokesman Will Adams said Sunday the four-term congressman doesn't support threatening holy Islamic sites but that Tancredo was grappling with the hypothetical situation of a terrorist strike deadlier than the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Source: Fox News July 18, 2005



For the record, I believe we should let the Radical Muslims, and Moderate Muslims know that they will trigger a Berserker Rage should they set nukes off on American Soil. The Moderate Muslims should fear our response more than they fear the jihadists.

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QUIZ: Why is this man Grimacing?

Click here to find out.

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Terrorism Update: The Obama Edition

I think most of you are aware that Obama made a serious gaffe earlier this week, in declaring that he would invade Pakistan to go after terrorists hiding in that country. What a lightweight he is!

He obviously does not realize that Musharraf is literally hanging by a thread, and a move like that would likely result in Pakistani nukes going into the wild, where the highest bidder would get a working nuke (talk about proliferation!), and quite possibly a nuclear strike on our troops invading that country. I guess unilateralism works for Democrats, but not for evil Republicans, huh?

Here are events in the region that he is responsible for starting...not bad for a second-year Senator from Illinois!!

Pakistan needs no foreign aid to tackle terrorists: Musharraf

Obama terror vow angers Pakistan



Pakistani protesters burn a U.S. flag to condemn U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama's remarks in Karachi, Pakistan

(I guess the Kuhns share an angry Muslim tendency to do harm to our flag)

Bush reassures Musharraf over attack warnings

Bush criticizes talk of U.S. strike on Pakistan - govt


State Department Asks White House Candidates to Steer Clear of Sensitive Diplomatic Issues

Many Thanks to Jeffrey Imm of United States Action for the links.

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VIDEO: Why is the Left Opposed to Victory?

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Cable News Numbers for Augsut 1

The numbers via Drudge:

CABLE NEWS RACE
WEDS., AUG 1, 2007
VIEWERS

FOXNEWS..........8 PM BRIDGE ........................3,743,000
FNC...................HANNITY/COLMES.................3,382,000
CNN...................KING.....................................3,099,000
FNC....................GRETA..................................2,740,000
CNN...................COOPER................................2,604,000
CNN...................11 PM BRIDGE.......................1,883,000
FNC...................11 PM BRIDGE........................1,799,000
CNN...................8 PM BRIDGE..........................1,635,000
FNC...................SHEP SMITH............................1,502,000
MSNBC...............9 PM BRIDGE..........................1,003,000
CNN...................DOBBS......................................970,000
MSNBC..............10 PM BRIDGE............................954,000
MSNBC..............OLBERMANN...............................939,000

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Irony Alert: Union Hires Scabs To Walk Picket Line

The Fifth Column Lance Thompson
August 2, 2007

In the 28 July Idaho Statesman, Joe Estrella reported that a local union was hiring homeless people to walk its picket line.

"The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Local 635 is paying $12.50 an hour to anyone willing to walk picket lines," Estrella reports. "Mixed among a few union members and their spouses are homeless people." The non-union picketers are protesting the use of nonunion labor on a 26-unit condo project in downtown Boise. Evidently, there is so much highly-paid union construction work in the area that union members are too busy to protest the fact that some carpenters are working for less.

When asked about the practice of hiring homeless picketers for the union line, Local 635 representative Rob Robbins explained, "We’ll supplement with anybody who wants to work. I don’t ask their addresses." Local 635's grievance with Commercial Constructors, Inc., a Boise area drywall and steel stud framing business owned by Steve Packard, is low wages and health insurance. Robbins said, "I have evidence that his average payroll is $15 an hour and that only 20% of his workers have health insurance." Local 635 is paying its replacement picketers $12.50 an hour, and there was no mention of health insurance.

When an organization hires temporary replacement workers for less money and fewer benefits than their regular laborers are paid, don’t unions condemn such temporary workers as "scabs?" Aren’t such tactics by the organization known as "unfair labor practices?"

The temporary picketers hired by the union have no job security–the protest could end tomorrow, and they’d all be out of work. They have no right of collective bargaining–there is an endless stream of eager workers ready to step up if others tire of the conditions. Local 635 does not negotiate with the temporary workers–it’s $12.50 an hour, take it or leave it. The temporary picketers seem ripe for organizing, but, oddly, no one from the union has spoken to them about the benefits of forming or joining a union, the power of collective bargaining, or the exploitation they are suffering at the hands of an organization that enjoys a surplus of available labor to fill a small number of highly coveted jobs. Any company that employed such exploitive tactics would be excoriated by union spokesmen and labor activists.

Source: The New Media Journal

Read the rest of the article.

Commentary

Unions are not about worker conditions. Unions are about power. Power gathered into the hands of a few union bosses. Union Members make up only 12 percent of the workforce, and that number will continue to decline them into obscurity.

Unions once performed a useful service. No longer. The dustbin of history awaits them.

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Internet Coverage of I-35W Collapse

Noah Kunin of Blanked-Out lives very close to the bridge, and has uploaded photos to Flickr and has had to evacuate his apartment.

Ed Morrisey of Captain's Quarters was also close by, and live-blogged the local coverage.

Dole Carpenter, or Volokh Conspiracy, drove over the bridge a mere 15 minutes before it collapsed.

A local Internet Site, MN Talk, seems to be the place people are posting their thoughts and experiences. It also has links to the local media coverage, should you wish to dig deeper. There are also multiple links to local blogger coverage as well.

One of the better places to follow the collapse is at Little Green Footballs, where there are lots of reports in the comments section as well.
I've posted them in order here:

Massive Bridge Collapses in Minneapolis

Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - Update 1

Includes a Google Earth Image of an Intact I-35

Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - Update 2 - Blame Game Begins

Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - Update 3

The two major dailies are the Star-Tribune and the Pioneer Press.
Breit Bart Coverage.
Yahoo! News Coverage.
Minnesota Blogs Index.

My prayers are with the survivors, their families, and the families of the dead.

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Amber Alert Issued in Cabarrus County

Amber alert issued for Cabarrus child



Amber alert issued for Cabarrus child
Written by Lauren K. Ohnesorge
Wednesday, 01 August 2007
The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons has issued an AMBER Alert for 18-month-old Enrique James Lazo, allegedly abducted from Cabarrus County.
The child is 25 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a one-piece yellow suit and brown sandals with a leather strap. Lazo was reported missing from Drystone Drive in Huntersville.
Police are looking for 28-year-old Rene Rachelle in connection with his disappearance. Rachelle is a white female, possibly driving a maroon Geo Prizm with North Carolina license plate number WNC3856.

Anyone with information should call the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office at (704) 920-3016.
Also *hp or *47 on your cell phone will get you in touch with the Highway Patrol.

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Obama might send troops into Pakistan

Holy Cow! Now the Democrats are all gonna show how tough they are!!!

Just saw this via Drudge:

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would possibly send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists, an attempt to show strength when his chief rival has described his foreign policy skills as naive.

The Illinois senator warned Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that he must do more to shut down terrorist operations in his country and evict foreign fighters under an Obama presidency, or Pakistan will risk a U.S. troop invasion and losing hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.

"Let me make this clear," Obama said in a speech prepared for delivery
at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al-Qaida leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will."

Source: Yahoo! News

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John Armor Launches Exploartory Committee for NC-11

Exploratory Committee, Armor for Congress

Before reading this release, please visit “The Earth at Night”



Why Does this Political Brochure Start with a NASA Photo of the Earth?

If you understand this photo, you understand what is wrong with the domestic and foreign policies of the Democrats, including the current Congressman from the 11th District in Western Carolina.

This composite picture of “The Earth at Night” shows which parts of Earth are most developed, with the best educations, modern economies, and longest life spans. These are free market economies, with (mostly) governments freely elected.

The darker areas of the Earth are the communist, socialist and other dictatorial governments, which mismanage their economies and hold back their people.

Democrats in Congress favor the kind of policies to drag the US down like the sad average of most nations on Earth.

About Charles Taylor

Unlike other potential Republican candidates, I am not waiting for Charles Taylor to announce his intentions before I announce mine. As an incumbent, Taylor spent more money yet lost to a novice in 2006. Now Taylor is weaker and the novice, Heath Shuler, is stronger.

If Taylor runs again, he will lose again. That would be bad for him, bad for the Republican Party, and especially bad for the citizens of Western Carolina.

Therefore, I am announcing today, 31 July, 2007, the formation of an Exploratory Committee for Armor for Congress, and invite the support of all who believe that the 11th District needs and deserves an experienced, able, honest, and conservative Congressman who can win.

Where I Stand

For an introduction to what I believe and where I stand on the major domestic and foreign policy issues, go to any of these websites, and read as much as you choose:

Armor for Congress
Chron Watch
The American Civil Rights Union

John Armor
Box 243
Highlands 28741

John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
828.526-3149

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