Stupid Stupak retires; now 7 states with anti-federal gun laws; US negotiates on behalf of Palestinians?

"Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government." --James Madison 1) Michigan's Dem. Rep. Stupak retiring after 9 terms MARQUETTE, Mich. – Rep. Bart Stupak, an anti-abortion Democrat (more like, anti-abortion in name only - an AINO) targeted for defeat by tea party activists for his role in securing House approval of the health care overhaul, said Friday he's retiring after 18 years in Congress now that his main legislative goal has been accomplished. Stupak said he believed he could have won a 10th term. (Bull!) He insisted he wasn't being chased from the race by the Tea Party Express, which is holding rallies this week in his northern Michigan district calling for his ouster. …His decision comes amid a string of recent retirements by Democrats, including Reps. William Delahunt of Massachusetts and Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, and Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota. Good riddance stupid Stupak! See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100409/ap_on_el_ho/us_stupak_retiring 2) Summer battle ahead for Stevens' court replacement WASHINGTON – The retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, the Supreme Court's leading liberal, touched off an immediate election-year political battle Friday over President Barack Obama's second high court pick. Republicans promised trouble for any activist nominee. Obama said he would quickly name a successor in the mold of Stevens, who he said was a voice for ordinary people rather than powerful interests. Eleven days before his 90th birthday, Stevens said he would step down when the court finishes its work for the summer in hopes that a replacement could be confirmed well before the next term begins in October. …A leading Democrat said the Senate, where Democrats control 59 seats, would follow the same pattern as last year, when Sotomayor was confirmed as the 111th justice in early August. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appealed for civility. "I hope that senators on both sides of the aisle will make this process a thoughtful and civil discourse," he said. Looking toward those hearings, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, "Americans can expect Senate Republicans to make a sustained and vigorous case for judicial restraint and the fundamental importance of an evenhanded reading of the law." …Jay Sekulow, chief counsel at the conservative American Center for Law and Justice, said, "President Obama is likely to name a nominee who will embrace an extremely liberal judicial philosophy." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100409/ap_on_go_su_co/us_supreme_court_stevens 3) Is Obama a socialist? The claim: No proof Barack Obama is a socialist The response: …College & Church *Admittedly sought out 'Marxist' professors (Link) *Admittedly attended 'socialist conferences' (Link) *Began attending a Marxist church - led by pastor Jeremiah Wright (attended for 20 years) (Link) Career *Tragedy of the Warren Court: No redistributive change (Link) *Voted for TARP (Link) *$787 billion stimulus redistribution bill *Healthcare bill admittedly about 'redistributing the wealth' *Single Payer Healthcare proponent (Link) *President Obama now also President of GM & Chrysler *President Obama seizes control of insurance giant AIG *President Obama is leading America to single payer healthcare *President Obama seized control of Student Loan industry in order to 'cut out middle man' *President Obama seizes control in massive land grabs *Repeatedly vilifies 'the rich' *Obama believes race problems can be solved through redistribution of wealth... he said "race is still an enormous factor in our society. But economics can overcome a lot of racial division." *Trying to regulate the Internet via FCC *Forces mortgage co's to cover people who aren't paying mortgage (Link) *Extends unemployment benefits to 99 weeks (Link) *Told Joe the plumber 'it's better when you spread things around' (Link) Family, Friends, Advisors & Administration *Wife Michelle Obama said “The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.” *Jim Wallis, Obama's spiritual advisor & forced redistribution of wealth advocate *Van Jones, disgraced Green Jobs Czar & Communist *Ron Bloom, Manufacturing Czar & anti-free market *John Holdren, pro-redistribution of wealth *Andy Stern, SEIU President & redistribution of wealth fan *Anita Dunn, fan of Chairman Mao *Mark Lloyd, FCC 'Diversity Czar' *Carol Browner, socialist *Robert Creamer, socialist See: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/38844/ 4) Obama: Interns for me but not for thee At a time when the unemployed are concerned about not only money but also loss of job skills, the Obama administration's top law enforcement officer at the Labor Department, M. Patricia Smith, is looking to come down on companies who give unpaid internships to young individuals. A Washington Times editorial on April 7 stated: "Basic economics teaches that if the price is raised, demand falls. If companies have to pay wages, they will take on fewer interns. If these youngsters were actually benefiting companies more than it costs to train them, companies would pay them. Profit-seeking companies compete against each other for employees. If untrained students were such valuable workers, firms would gladly offer money to beat out the competitor next door to get them." The New York Times reported that Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division said, “If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law.” The unemployment rate among teenagers and college students is at 26 percent reports Red State's Erick Erickson, and if companies are forced through government regulation to pay these interns, companies will look to re-work their budgets to be in compliance, and less students will be offered internships. This means less students can be brought in and gain valuable experience in a work place environment. The federal government is attempting to change the entire point of gaining work place skills and create yet another under-served demographic of victims falling prey to private sector companies. It is amusing to see the Obama administration creating the image of poorly treated unpaid interns, when Mr. Obama's Organizing for America offered internships to help elect the president during his presidential campaign and are still offering up unpaid internships today. In fact, the summer organizing program also does not even offer food, transportation, or housing stipends. See: http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2010/apr/10/obama-interns-me-not-thee/ 5) States exempting guns from rules now total 7 Idaho governor signs law based on 9th, 10th amendments Joining a nationwide effort to challenge Washington's authority, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter today made his state the seventh to exempt guns made and kept in the state from any federal regulations. House Bill 589 was listed today on Otter's website among legislation that had been signed into law. The governor added Idaho to the list of states that have adopted what has become known as "Firearm Freedom Acts." The movement began in Montana, where a court case was filed seeking affirmation that the state – and not bureaucrats in the nation's capital – has the right to manage in-state issues and actions. Idaho's legislation cites the Second, Ninth and 10th Amendments as justification for its exemption, as well as the Constitution's Commerce Clause. …Since then, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah and Arizona joined in the effort before today's result in Idaho. Marbut told WND today that officials are reporting that at least another 24 states are considering similar legislation. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=138317 6) State poised to punish free speech at schools Children with traditional values may get 'detention, suspension' The state of California is poised within days to adopt a resolution that schools be "discrimination-free" zones – a plan one critic asserts is designed "to stamp out the free speech of students and teachers with moral values or scientific ethics." ACR 82 already has gone most of the way through the legislative approval process and only awaits state Assembly approval of Senate changes. The resolution states "all public education institutes are encouraged to … identify themselves as 'discrimination-free zones' through placards, signs, notices of available services, and other appropriate identifications to create a campus climate that welcomes diversity and supports the tolerance of others." "While this may sound good," said a statement from an organization called Save California, "the devil is in the details. By including morally controversial lifestyles [homosexuality, bisexuality and others] in this resolution, ACR 82 would encourage schools to 'enact procedures' against 'acts of discrimination that occur on campus.'" Critics say the "procedures" could be enacted over something as basic as a statement that the Bible does not approve of homosexuality. …"Putting these anti-family values in children's heads is not enough," he said. The state is "figuratively cutting out their tongues if they disagree. "Children who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and that there are different roles for men and women in the family will be subjected to reprimand, detention, suspension, corrective counseling or other punishments in order to serve as a bad example to other children," he said. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=138681 7) White House Disputes Report That U.S. Stopped Issuing Visas to Israeli Scientists The White House is disputing a report from one of Israel's leading newspapers that claims the Obama administration is denying visas to Israeli nuclear scientists. The Israeli newspaper, Maariv, reported this week that the Obama administration has stopped issuing visas to scientists working at a nuclear research center in Dimona, citing a professor who doesn't work at the center. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said Saturday in an e-mail to FoxNews.com that "the story is wrong." Zeev Alfasi, the head of Nuclear Engineering at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, also told Maariv that the U.S. has stopped selling nuclear-related materials to the research center, forcing it to buy items, such as radiation detectors, from France. The report came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off his planned trip to Washington next week to attend a conference on the spread of nuclear weapons. …The Maariv report prompted the Republican Jewish Coalition to express concern and call on the Obama administration to "cancel any policy of discrimination against Israeli nuclear scientists and to restore the traditional friendship and cooperation that have characterized the U.S.-Israel relationship." "This would seem to be another example of the unprecedented, harsh, and hostile posture the Obama administration has adopted toward Israel," RJC Executive Director Matthew Brooks said in a written statement. "President Obama continues to extend a friendly hand to Mideast dictatorships like Iran and Syria, while slapping our most important strategic ally there – and fellow democracy – in the face." See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/10/white-house-disputes-report-stopped-issuing-visas-israeli-scientists/ 7a) Unprecedented: U.S. bargaining on behalf of Palestinians Instead of acting as intermediary, Obama administration 'assuming all PA positions' JERUSALEM – In an unprecedented move, the U.S. has been conducting negotiations with Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, according to a senior PA negotiator and sources in the Israeli government. The U.S. has been calling for the resumption of indirect talks, with Obama administration officials publicly proposing to serve as a go-between to facilitate dialogue between Israel and the PA. Sources in both the PA and Israeli government told WND talks are underway on a number of issues, including future borders and security controls for a Palestinian state. A senior PA negotiator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said rather than act as an intermediary, the U.S. has been negotiating with Israel on behalf of the PA, assuming all Palestinian positions and bargaining with Israel from the Palestinian side. The account was confirmed with sources in the Israeli government, who said such behavior by the U.S. government is unprecedented. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=137793 8) This week on 'The Hal Lindsey Report' The Muslims are screaming that Israel is preparing to desecrate Temple Mount by building a Third Temple there. Never mind the fact that the Muslims are the interlopers in this scenario! What is causing them to say this? Besides the fact that their hostility toward the Jews is being mightily encouraged by the way the President of the United States is treating Israel or hundreds of buses are tooling around Jerusalem with large signs on them calling for the rebuilding of the Temple (they're advertisements sponsored by a hard line orthodox Jewish group), the Muslims are keenly aware of 'the Hurva prophecy.' A respected Jewish sage once predicted that Jerusalem's main Ashkenazi synagogue -- now known as Hurva Synagogue -- would be destroyed twice and rebuilt twice. He prophesied that after it was rebuilt the second time, construction on the Third Temple would begin. Hurva ('the ruin') Synagogue was built in 1700 and destroyed in 1721. It was rebuilt in 1864 and destroyed again in 1948. In 2000, reconstruction began on the third incarnation of Hurva Synagogue. It was completed this year and rededicated on March 15, 2010. That's why the Muslims are nervous. Everyone is beginning to realize that President Obama harbors a distinct hostility for Israel, especially the conservative government of Benjamin Netanyahu. In fact, it's becoming obvious that the Obama Administration's "rage" over Israel's insult to Vice President Biden and the rest of the US by the announcement of the building project in the Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, is merely a trumped up excuse to exert pressure on Netanyahu's government in an effort to make it fall. However, a recent report by the head of the US Central Command, General David Petraeus, caught everyone by surprise. He declared that Israel's actions are causing the US to lose support among moderate Arab states. In fact, he said that American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are "bearing the consequences." I suppose this confirms the suspicions of the Israelis. A recent poll shows that 90% of Israelis believe that the Obama Administration is more pro-Arab than pro- Israel. Israeli - American relations are now at their lowest ebb since the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Folks, we need to pray earnestly that our leaders will not turn their backs on God's covenant people. If they do, it's bad news for America. …Finally, the mainstream media is absolutely giddy with delight. They really needed something or someone to come to President Obama's (and their) rescue. And the Hutaree Militia obliged. Actually, it wasn't the militia's idea, it was the idea of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and quite a collection of other law enforcement agencies. Last weekend, a massive force of government law enforcers launched raids in three states. When the rain-soaked dust cleared, the authorities had succeeded in capturing the entire Hutaree Militia -- all nine of them. I know I'll sleep better now. Seriously, though, the media is giddy because the Hutarees call themselves a 'Christian' militia. And in their effort to marginalize the rampaging mobs of citizens angry about the passage of ObamaCare, the Left needed "poster boys and girls" for those millions of out-of-control, heavily armed, hellbent-for-anarchy middle class mom and pop, grandma and grandpa American terrorists about to erupt in armed rebellion! Now they've got one (or nine; emphasis mine). But, somehow, I don't think the American public is buying it. Deep down, I believe most Americans know that we Bible prophecy teachers have never even INSINUATED that we should prepare to make an armed assault on the government. They know it's a diversionary tactic. See: http://www.hallindsey.com/the-hal-lindsey-report-492010/