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Saturday, October 23, 2010
NPR Doubles Down on Juan Williams – Says He’s “Unethical”
First they said Juan Williams was crazy. Now they are saying he's unethical. It seems to me that NPR is guilty of projection. What is it with these leftists? When anyone disagrees with them they accuse them of being crazy. Then stupid. Then scared. It has become a familiar refrain. Except that it's usually directed at conservatives like the Tea Partiers. This time it's directed at one of their own.
The psychiatrist comment didn't go over well so Schiller walked it back. Here is her latest manifestation.
In the spirit of full disclosure, the source for this article is The New York Times. Ms. Vivian Schiller, CEO of NPR , was the senior vice president and general manager of NYTimes.com. before joining NPR in January 2009.
NPR's Schiller Says Juan Williams Was Fired Because of Ethics Guidelines
The timing might not have been perfect. But firing Juan Williams was the right decision, the NPR chief executive, Vivian Schiller, said in an interview Friday.
NPR found itself under fire on Friday for the decision, including from many conservatives who have resurrected their war against public broadcasting.
Mr. Williams's dual employment at NPR and the Fox News Channel had long been a source of tension at NPR, and it came to a head when he said on Fox on Monday that people identifying themselves "first and foremost as Muslims" made him nervous when he flew. He was fired on Wednesday.
In a telephone interview Friday, Ms. Schiller defended the decision to dismiss Mr. Williams and said it was not the product of political or financial pressures.
When asked why Mr. Williams was fired, she said:
The reason that we terminated his contract is because of our news ethics guidelines.
The guidelines are based on the same news ethics guidelines of the Society of Professional Journalists, and are very similar to that of The New York Times and many other news organizations.
He had several times in the past violated our news code of ethics with things that he had said on other people's air. I'm not aware of any problem with any things he has said on our air. In each of those instances, we called him on it; we had a discussion; we asked him not to do it again. It happened several times. What happened a few days ago was the latest in a series of incidents.
[...]
Asked about that, she reiterated, "This is not a First Amendment issue."
"We are a news organization that exists to serve the First Amendment," she said. "The issue, again, was, Juan Williams, on several occasions — with the thing that happened earlier this week being only the most recent — violated our news code of ethics, to which he is beholden as a news analyst. And it happened again and again. And this time, we decided that enough was enough. That is not a First Amendment issue."
[...]
Some critics of the firing have questioned whether NPR caved in to pressure from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR for short. The group, which advocates for Muslims, released a statement on Wednesday calling on NPR to address Mr. Williams's comments on Fox, and a few hours later the termination decision was announced.
"I have actually not seen the statement from CAIR," Ms. Schiller said Friday evening. "We don't make decisions like this based on influence. We don't make decisions based either on political pressure or financial pressure. That's not the way we make decisions like this. They're based on own ethics and our own news values at NPR."
Some critics have also tried to connect the dots between the firing and a recent donation to NPR by the Open Society Institute, which was founded and is supported by the liberal billionaire George Soros, a favorite target of conservatives. Ms. Schiller called that idea "nonsense."
Where in the world would anyone get such a preposterous idea?
I wonder if Ms. Schiller has ever heard of Media Matters?
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FBI informant to Congress: Investigate Ayers, Dohrn now!
Breaking News!
OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL
FBI informant to Congress: Investigate Ayers, Dohrn now
Warns that Weather Underground networks still could be operating
Posted: October 22, 2010
8:30 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
A former undercover FBI informant who once spied on 1970s anti-war radicals who bombed government offices is calling on Congress to set up a committee or task force to bring "terrorists" – including those who may be in high and influential positions today – to justice.
The request comes from Larry Grathwohl, whose book "Bringing Down America – An FBI Informer with the Weathermen" alleges Bill Ayers, a friend of President Obama, told Grathwohl that Bernardine Dohrn, who later became Ayers' wife, placed a pipe bomb outside a San Francisco Police Department building Feb. 16, 1970.
The shrapnel from the anti-personnel bomb's explosion killed Sgt. Brian V. McDonnell. Another officer, Robert Fogarty, was wounded in the face and legs and left partially blind.
What makes Barack Obama tick? Read about it in "The Roots of Obama's Rage"
Grathwohl's plan was outlined in remarks prepared for the Marxism in America conference sponsored yesterday by America's Survival in Washington.
Grathwohl also appears in a series of videos to explain his concerns over the still-open case along with Cliff Kincaid, president of America's Survival, and Max Noel, a former FBI agent and member of the Weatherman Task Force.
The first video of the series:
The remaining videos are posted on the Marxism in America conference website.
"My greatest fear today is that the Department of Justice (under Obama appointee Eric Holder) will protect these terrorists by blocking an attempt to bring them to justice," Grathwohl said. "Consider that President Obama held his first fundraiser at the home of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dorhn when he was running for the state Senate in Illinois.
"Do you think there might be some resistance to placing these two people on trial for the murder of Brian McDonnell? These are President Obama's friends. He and Bill served on a board and appeared at functions together."
Grathwohl said a resolution would be for Congress to act.
"I urge the new Congress to create a committee or subcommittee to facilitate the efforts of law enforcement in bringing terrorists to justice. For example, a new House Internal Security Committee can assist in that regard. The Senate could consider reinstating a Senate Internal Security subcommittee. Such committees should also investigate the groups that represent a current danger to the internal security of this country," he said.
 William Ayers |
"The Marxist terror threat has not gone away, as we have seen with the recent FBI raids on U.S.-based Marxist groups suspected of providing assistance to foreign terrorist groups in the Middle East and Latin America. Some Marxists are now openly supporting what they call 'revolutionary Islam.' Osama bin Laden is recommending anti-American books written by U.S. 'progressives,'" he said.
WND previously reported on the links that appear to connect Ayers and Dohrn to far more violence that they might be comfortable recognizing.
WND also has documented reports from the FBI that Dohrn built and planted the bomb that killed a San Francisco police officer in 1970.
WND reported last year when top law enforcement officers in San Francisco signed a letter accusing Ayers and Dohrn of being directly behind the bombing, but the Obama Justice Department then told them not to comment on the case.
At that 2009 press conference, directed by Kincaid, the leaders of the San Francisco Police Officers' Association made public a letter pointing a finger at Ayers and Dohrn that demanded those responsible for the bombing be brought to justice.
"There are irrefutable and compelling reasons to believe that Bill Ayers and his wife Bernardine Dohrn are largely responsible for the bombing of Park Police Station," the officers stated in the letter.
The San Francisco Chronicle then reported the police group members who signed the letter received calls from the Justice Department and a local police chief telling them to remain silent.
 Larry Grathwohl |
No one has been charged in the bombing. Ayers, a Weatherman founder, has denied involvement. In an interview with the New Yorker, Ayers said, "We killed no one and hurt no one."
Of the McDonnell bombing, Grathwohl has quoted Ayers saying, "It was a success. But it's a shame when someone like Bernardine has to make all the plans, make the bomb and then place it herself. She should have to do only the planning."
In the conference remarks, Grathwohl said, "The charges have not yet been brought in this 'cold case' but I can tell you that a law enforcement entity called the Phoenix Task Force is working to solve the murder of Sergeant McDonnell as well as other police officers who died in the line of duty during that period of Weather Underground violence and terrorism."
Grathwohl continued, "Justice can still be done. And that is why I am here today. I have recently met with the lieutenant in charge of the Phoenix Task Force. … He assures me that the effort remains focused and the motivation is to gather the evidence and bring the killers to justice. I should add that the murder of Sergeant John Young by the Black Liberation Army when they attacked the Ingleside Police Station in 1971 has been solved and successfully prosecuted."
He also suggested there reasonably could be a sense of urgency over the investigations.
"Let me say that we cannot rule out the possibility that remnants of the Weather Underground network still exist, protecting terrorists and facilitating their activities. It is significant that the FBI recently updated its 'Most Wanted' listing for Leo Frederick Burt, accused of bombing the University of Wisconsin, on August 24, 1970, killing a 33-year-old researcher and causing $6 million in damage to the building. He is still on the run. Burt was not a member of the Weather Underground but a spin-off group," he said.
The conference also addressed the work of Paul Kengor, whose new book "Dupes" shows how "progressives" have been manipulated by international communist concerns.
Kincaid also addressed what the Frank Marshall Davis archives at Washington University in St. Louis reveal about the communist connections and associations of Obama's childhood mentor.
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Government Motors brings Gangster Government, Bachmann says on House floor (Video)
RWB News: The federal government owns 61% of General Motors. For some reason, the American people don't seem to recognize that government ownership of private industry is blatant socialism. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minnesota, in pointing out the obvious on the House floor, provides an excellent example of what Socialism brings. It does not bring fairness or equality. It brings gangster government* with special favors, back-scratching, and all-out theft. This video was posted by The Kick Them All Out Project. You can join them at http://www.KickThemAllOut.com.
We Now Have A Total Gangster Government
Click here to view the embedded video.
We've seen the beginning of Gangster Government from the beginning of Government Motors. Congressman Ted Poe (R-Texas) gave an excellent speech pointing out the partisan bias permeating government-run business from the beginning.
Partisan Politics in Auto Dealership Closures?
As posted by Congressman Ted Poe, Washington, Jun 2, 2009
Mr. Speaker, just south of Houston, there is a town called Alvin, Texas, where a Chrysler dealership called Rogers Dodge is making a lot of money selling Chryslers; but on June 9, they are going to close down because the auto task force gang has notified them that they have to close.
Rogers Dodge is on the list of 789 Chrysler dealerships around the country that are being closed down under questionable circumstances. There are five in the Houston area alone. The question remains: What are the criteria for closing down these dealerships?
The auto task force gang picks winners and losers, but they refuse to tell America how those decisions are made. Well, neither they nor the administration is talking. The blissful silence makes us wonder what's going on. Some of these Chrysler dealerships being ordered to close are profitable–others are not–but according to some news reports, there's one thing they all have in common except for one single exception found so far: they all have connections in some manner to making campaign contributions to Republicans.
Chrysler, an American institution, is no longer being run as a private-sector company. It has been taken over by the auto task force tyrants appointed personally by the administration. These individuals tell Chrysler what to do, and they have to do it because Chrysler took all that bailout money before they went into bankruptcy. Now the auto task force gang gets to run the company.
By the way, Mr. Speaker, we still don't know where that wasted bailout money went.
According to the Federal Election Commission Web site, there are reporters and bloggers around the country who have been digging through lists of donations. They have been comparing donor names on the lists with the names of owners of the Chrysler dealerships that have been forced to close. Some of these reports say that campaign contributions went to GOP candidates or to political action committees from the Chrysler dealerships that are being forcibly shut down.
Did this group of auto task force individuals discriminate against Republican dealerships in Chrysler-style or in Chicago-style paybacks? We don't know. How in the world can we square that with the reports that only one dealership being ordered to close down so far contributed to the administration's campaign–and that was only for $200? Campaign contributions appear to be the common thread in all of these ordered closures. That's some coincidence.
Rogers Dodge in Alvin, Texas, is one of the more profitable dealerships. Newspaper reports say they have increased their new car sales by 50 percent in just the last 4 months. That's a big accomplishment in this economy. They paid cash for their brand-new $3.7 million building 3 years ago. Along with many other dealerships, they bought millions of dollars of inventory after being pressured by Chrysler to help the company's financial situation so that Chrysler wouldn't go bankrupt. Now all of these assets paid for by these dealerships will be worth mere pennies on the dollar. One report in the Houston Chronicle said this inventory of cars that the dealerships were pressured to buy now will have to be sold as used cars. Some of these dealerships are fighting back against the Auto Task Force with a lawsuit of their own. According to the Houston Chronicle article, Nicholas Parks, the president of Rogers Dodge and a lawyer, says he's fighting the closure because he doesn't think the bankruptcy court should be used to close these vendors, especially those that are making money. How can you use the bankruptcy laws to shut down a vendor who is making a profit for Chrysler? This is very interesting. The American people are starting to ask a few questions on their own.
Are these Auto Task Force tyrants picking the winners and losers based on campaign contributions? Does the administration have a Nixon-style enemies list? All these questions because the Auto Task Force guys aren't talking and aren't telling us why they closed down certain dealerships and why they let others remain open.
We are now living in a time where the government controls both Chrysler and GM, which we should call Government Motors. And the government alone, not the free market, decides who wins, who loses, who stays in business and who must be forcibly closed down. Meanwhile, 100,000-plus Chrysler workers at auto dealerships who did nothing wrong will be out of work on June 9 thanks to government control. So much for the promise of new jobs.
And that's just the way it is.
*The article by Michael Barone to which Bachmann refers follows as posted. He has indeed begun an entire series of Gangster Government columns.
*White House puts UAW ahead of property rights
By: Michael Barone, Posted May 6, 2009, at The Washington Examiner
Last Friday, the day after Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, I drove past the company's headquarters on Interstate 75 in Auburn Hills, Mich.
As I glanced at the pentagram logo I felt myself tearing up a little bit. Anyone who grew up in the Detroit area, as I did, can't help but be sad to see a once great company fail.
But my sadness turned to anger later when I heard what bankruptcy lawyer Tom Lauria said on a WJR talk show that morning. "One of my clients," Lauria told host Frank Beckmann, "was directly threatened by the White House and in essence compelled to withdraw its opposition to the deal under threat that the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight."
Lauria represented one of the bondholder firms, Perella Weinberg, which initially rejected the Obama deal that would give the bondholders about 33 cents on the dollar for their secured debts while giving the United Auto Workers retirees about 50 cents on the dollar for their unsecured debts.
This of course is a violation of one of the basic principles of bankruptcy law, which is that secured creditors — those who lended money only on the contractual promise that if the debt was unpaid they'd get specific property back — get paid off in full before unsecured creditors get anything. Perella Weinberg withdrew its objection to the settlement, but other bondholders did not, which triggered the bankruptcy filing.
After that came a denunciation of the objecting bondholders as "speculators" by Barack Obama in his news conference last Thursday. And then death threats to bondholders from parties unknown.
The White House denied that it strong-armed Perella Weinberg. The firm issued a statement saying it decided to accept the settlement, but it pointedly did not deny that it had been threatened by the White House. Which is to say, the threat worked.
The same goes for big banks that have received billions in government Troubled Asset Relief Program money. Many of them want to give back the money, but the government won't let them. They also voted to accept the Chrysler settlement. Nice little bank ya got there, wouldn't want anything to happen to it.
Left-wing bloggers have been saying that the White House's denial of making threats should be taken at face value and that Lauria's statement is not evidence to the contrary. But that's ridiculous. Lauria is a reputable lawyer and a contributor to Democratic candidates. He has no motive to lie. The White House does.
Think carefully about what's happening here. The White House, presumably car czar Steven Rattner and deputy Ron Bloom, is seeking to transfer the property of one group of people to another group that is politically favored. In the process, it is setting aside basic property rights in favor of rewarding the United Auto Workers for the support the union has given the Democratic Party. The only possible limit on the White House's power is the bankruptcy judge, who might not go along.
Michigan politicians of both parties joined Obama in denouncing the holdout bondholders. They point to the sad plight of UAW retirees not getting full payment of the health care benefits the union negotiated with Chrysler. But the plight of the beneficiaries of the pension funds represented by the bondholders is sad too. Ordinarily you would expect these claims to be weighed and determined by the rule of law. But not apparently in this administration.
Obama's attitude toward the rule of law is apparent in the words he used to describe what he is looking for in a nominee to replace Justice David Souter. He wants "someone who understands justice is not just about some abstract legal theory," he said, but someone who has "empathy." In other words, judges should decide cases so that the right people win, not according to the rule of law.
The Chrysler negotiations will not be the last occasion for this administration to engage in bailout favoritism and crony capitalism. There's a May 31 deadline to come up with a settlement for General Motors. And there will be others. In the meantime, who is going to buy bonds from unionized companies if the government is going to take their money away and give it to the union? We have just seen an episode of Gangster Government. It is likely to be part of a continuing series.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/White-House-puts-UAW-ahead-of-property-rights-44415057.html#ixzz13DwyzpLu
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Unemployment in Some States Near Record Highs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics data on regional and state unemployment for September shows jobless rates remain uneven. Nevada and Michigan have been particularly hard hit, with no relief in sight.
Continue reading Unemployment in Some States Near Record Highs
Unemployment in Some States Near Record Highs originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 23 Oct 2010 19:08:00.
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Are We Going Crazy? Another U.S City Considers Giving NON-U.S. CITIZENS Voting Rights
RWB News: I could not believe the Headline from the AP "Maine City Considers Giving NON-U.S Citizens Voting Rights"….I was not happy to say the least. I mean, this would be crazy, Right? There is actually a city here in the United States that is going to make a mockery of Citizenship by voting on a proposal to give Non U.S. citizens the right to vote in local elections, joining places like San Francisco and Chicago that have already loosened the rules or are considering it. , I mean this is Crazy!
Imagine my "pleasure" when I read the actual AP article and seen this was happening in more places than just a "Maine City" unlike what the headline would lead you to believe. They should of called the headline "Another City Gives 'OK' to ILLEGALS & Non Citizens to VOTE"? I mean Really?? Do Americans know this CRAZINESS is really going on? This can only happen here in this Country ….and only here. We can't make sure our American Soldiers get to vote but lets make it easier for Non Americans. Wow! Bizzarro World.
Sheriff Joe in Arizona recently did a raid at a plant with illegals and the next day Out of work Americans were standing in line.….Now we know what would help unemployment Right? Every Red Blooded American believes in immigration…we know what got us here but there has to be order and procedures. As you will see by some of the comments in the AP article this is another "Back Door Amnesty" ploy to get more quick votes for democrats.
There is one Non-US Citizen Abdirizak Daud, who hasn't been able to find a job since 2006. Some of his nine children have attended Portland schools, and he'd like to have a say in who's looking over the school system and the city, he said. "I like the Democrats. I want to vote for Democrats, but I don't have citizenship," he said………Really? I bet you do Abdirizak. We all know how dems would love to use Non-Citizens and Illegals to help campaign. We just seen the Democrats were using Illegals to go knock on doors for Candidates in Washington.
I do like what the Opponents of the measure are saying "immigrants already have an avenue to cast ballots — by becoming citizens". Allowing noncitizens to vote dilutes the meaning of citizenship, they say, adding that it could lead to fraud and unfairly sway elections…..No kidding! What do Dems call Illegal Immigrants? Unregistered Democrats.
Another Non-US Citizen in the article that says "We have immigrants who are playing key roles in different issues of this country, but they don't get the right to vote," said Rwaganje…..WTH??? We have a PROCEDURE. Yes it is flawed because it is ran by the Government but it still exist.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Like his neighbors, Claude Rwaganje pays taxes on his income and taxes on his cars. His children have gone to Portland's public schools. He's interested in the workings of Maine's largest city, which he has called home for 13 years.
There's one vital difference, though: Rwaganje isn't a U.S. citizen and isn't allowed to vote on those taxes or on school issues. That may soon change.
Portland residents will vote Nov. 2 on a proposal to give legal residents who are not U.S. citizens the right to vote in local elections, joining places like San Francisco and Chicago that have already loosened the rules or are considering it.
Noncitizens hold down jobs, pay taxes, own businesses, volunteer in the community and serve in the military, and it's only fair they be allowed to vote, Rwaganje said.
"We have immigrants who are playing key roles in different issues of this country, but they don't get the right to vote," said Rwaganje, 40, who moved to the U.S. because of political strife in his native Congo and runs a nonprofit that offers financial advice to immigrants.
Opponents of the measure say immigrants already have an avenue to cast ballots — by becoming citizens. Allowing noncitizens to vote dilutes the meaning of citizenship, they say, adding that it could lead to fraud and unfairly sway elections.
"My primary objection is I don't think it is right, I don't think it is just, I don't think it is fair," Portland resident Barbara Campbell Harvey said.
In San Francisco, a ballot question Nov. 2 will ask voters whether they want to allow noncitizens to vote in school board elections if they are the parents, legal guardians or caregivers of children in the school system.
Noncitizens are allowed to vote in school board elections in Chicago and in municipal elections in half a dozen towns in Maryland, said Ron Hayduk, a professor at the City University of New York and author of "Democracy for All: Restoring Immigrant Voting Rights in the United States."
New York City allowed noncitizens to vote in community school board elections until 2003, when the school board system was reorganized, and several municipalities in Massachusetts have approved allowing it but don't yet have the required approval from the Legislature, he said.
Read More at the Blaze.com
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WikiLeaks Reveals Troops Did Find Some WMD In Iraq
Not a lot, and probably not all that more than has already been publicized in rightwing media -- but some chemical agents were found. In August 2004, for instance, American forces surreptitiously purchased what they believed to be containers of...
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Wikileak’s Papers Reveal US Troops Did Find WMD in Iraq
Do you suppose this will make any headlines?
Anti-American crackpot Julian Assange revealed today in his leaked Wikileak's documents that US troops did indeed find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Ace reported on this from the Danger Room:
WikiLeaks' newly-released Iraq war documents reveal, U.S. troops continued to find chemical weapons labs, encounter insurgent specialists in toxins, and uncover weapons of mass destruction…
…In August 2004, for instance, American forces surreptitiously purchased what they believed to be containers of liquid sulfur mustard, a toxic "blister agent" used as a chemical weapon since World War I. The troops tested the liquid, and "reported two positive results for blister." The chemical was then "triple-sealed and transported to a secure site" outside their base.
Three months later, in northern Iraq, U.S. scouts went to look in on a "chemical weapons" complex. "One of the bunkers has been tampered with," they write. "The integrity of the seal [around the complex] appears intact, but it seems someone is interesting in trying to get into the bunkers."
Meanwhile, the second battle of Fallujah was raging in Anbar province. In the southeastern corner of the city, American forces came across a "house with a chemical lab … substances found are similar to ones (in lesser quantities located a previous chemical lab." The following day, there's a call in another part of the city for explosive experts to dispose of a "chemical cache."
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Shameless Obama Twists Lincoln’s Words to Support His Socialist Agenda
After two years of watching this guy are you really surprised by this?
It's like every time he opens his mouth about history or health care or shovels it's a complete lie.
Honest Abe he is not.
Obama twisted Abraham Lincoln's words the other day in Ohio to make it sound like Honest Abe was a socialist too.
Leave it to Hands Off Texas to catch this:
On Wednesday during a speech in Parma, Ohio, President Obama decided to quote a former President to help justify his policy initiatives:
"But in the words of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, I also believe that government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves".
I assume he was paraphrasing this actual quote from President Lincoln, but unfortunately he left out the most important part:
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves in their separate, and individual capacities. In all that the people can individually do as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere."
Obama doesn't get it. And he clearly doesn't get Abraham Lincoln.
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/10/obama-twists-lincolns-words-to-support-his-socialist-agenda/
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