Right Truth

SCANDAL and MORE SCANDAL

Susan North

 

Just when you think it cannot get any worst (or better depending upon your perspective), another scandal makes headlines.  It seems the Barack H. Obama Foundation (named for Barack H. Obama, Sr.), run by Malik (Roy) Obama, received a very prompt approval on an application to the IRS for tax-exempt status and Lois Lerner may have ignored the norms of approval by giving it a retroactive tax exempt status. Which is kind of curious seeing as the National Legal and Policy Center complained in May 2011 to the IRS that the foundation was soliciting tax deductible contributions and had not even applied for this IRS status.

 

What does this foundation do?  Interesting question - the truthful answer may be that it provides an income for Malik Obama., brother of Barack Obama, other than that it is pretty vague.  But you can see the website here http://barackhobamafoundation.org/about.html

 

If Lois Lerner’s name sounds familiar it probably is because she is a key player in another scandal at the IRS, the scandal of the IRS division responsible for approving applications for 501 c (3) status.  It seems that this IRS division targeted groups with words like “tea party,” and “patriot” in their name, as well as groups which want smaller government or teach the Constitution, and don’t forget the way the IRS has been targeting Jewish groups who do not agree with the current foreign policy regarding Israel.

 

The IRS apologized to the Tea Party, but common’on who doesn’t apology when they get caught?  So it seems that the Tea Party really was being targeted and is not just some whiney right wing group. Nor did this targeting start in 2012 as some are claiming, there is good evidence that this actually began at least as early as 2010 when True the Vote, a Houston based non-profit devoted to honest voting, first began to encounter problems. This is a clear abuse of power on the part of the IRS.

 

Everyone pretty much hates the IRS, even much of the left hates them, but the behavior of the IRS under the Obama Administration has obviously been abusive.  And because of the Obama IRS abuse of power even MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough used the word ‘lying’ in reference to the White House. Scarborough had Willie Geist on “Morning Joe” recently and Geist said, "There's been many overblown claims of tyranny and abuse of power from the government over the last few years . . .. This is tyranny. If this is the government, a nonpartisan agency coming after specific groups, this time it's real."  Furthermore MSNBC’s Lisa Myers and the ACLU agree with the sentiment.  And there have been others on the left who have from begun to criticize this administration.

 

Republican Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Scott Walker of Wisconsin have written to the White House in reference to the IRS’ attack on the First Amendment and asked Obama to appoint a special prosecutor.  I cannot image why they did this other than to bring attention to the issue, because special prosecutors under United States law are appointed by the Attorney General.

 

But the Attorney General is Eric Holder, who has just been caught red-handed approving subpoenas for two months of phone records for the Associated Press.   The Justice Department’s rules require that subpoenas of news organization records must be “personally approved,” by the Attorney General.  So serious is this matter, so outraged, that the Reporters Committee of Freedom of the Press, have signed a letter to Eric Holder regarding the government’s over reach.  The media outlets signing the letter included Atlantic Media, CNN, Cox Media, Forbes, Gannett, McClatchy, The New York Times, Politico, NPR, The Washington Post and many others. Folks, this is serious.  

 

 

I have not yet discovered if Eric Holder actually approved those subpoenas or if the subpoenas were approved by one of his underlings, but this will come out in the next few days. IF Eric Holder did approve the subpoenas then the AP needs to go after him big time for his role in this scandal as well as the government led gun running activities (created in his Department of Justice) on the southern border, an operation called Fast and Furious which resulted in the deaths of both Americans and Mexicans.   We have known for years that Eric Holder was not willing to uphold the law, ever since the New Black Panther case of voter intimidation came to light, so this is hardly a surprise.  I’m sure I’m not alone in looking forward to Eric Holder being thrown under the bus, or better yet behind bars.

 

In addition, the scandal surrounding events on the night of September 11, 2012 in Benghazi are as clear as they are likely to be regarding what happened on the ground in Libya. Four Americans are murdered that night, including the American ambassador. What is not clear, and Americans want to know the truth, is not just what happened at the scene, but why it happened at all, and who was responsible for not sending in a rescue team.  Americans especially want to know what Barack Obama was doing.  During the following two weeks Obama kept referring to a video, yet, he knew in real time the night of September 11^th that this had nothing to do with a video, and that there was no protest that got out of hand. He knew it was a terrorist attack.  But he could not afford to admit that truth, he had an election to win, and Lady Hillary McClinton wants to run in 2016 so in their cowardly fashion they lied, and lied, and lied.

 

Last week Congress began an investigation into what happened on September 11, 2012 in Benghazi with testimony from a few whistleblowers who were actually there that night. Obama insist it is a “political circus.” You have to give him credit for trying, but this won’t fly.  Four men died that night and it was almost certainly due to the actions, or lack of action, on the part of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.  This is not a circus, it is a Congressional investigation.

 

The “I” word is now being used more and more frequently in conjunction with Barack Obama.  A quick Google search as I write this gave me just over 3 million hits for the words “impeachment” and “Obama.”  Some of these hits are from the usual suspects, and some of them are from sites like the Huffington Post and other left wing mouthpieces.  But the mere fact that impeachment is even being discussed so widely is a signal that the man who makes Jimmy Carter look good is in big trouble. 

 

Impeachment is a two-step procedure which begins in the House with a simple majority passing a charge of impeachment. This should not be difficult as the GOP has control of the House.  However the second step requires the Senate to try the accused.  The Senate, consisting of 100 Senators, is controlled by the Democrat Party and it is up to the Senate to conduct a trial. It is too early to determine the position of the very astute (also sly, cunning, etc.) members of the Senate and how individual Senators will vote, for or against impeachment.  The outcome of such a trial will become more predictable in the coming months.

 

However, it does look like an impeachment trial (if not a conviction) is highly probable, and it seems pretty certain that all of these scandals will be investigated.  The political circus is just getting underway, and while it would be wise to focus on Iran (before they Nuke us), it is clear that we have several political scandals going at the same time.  I’m going to stock up on popcorn (to be nuked, lower case, in the microwave) because there is going to be a lot of exciting political theater in the near future, and something tells me that Barack isn’t going to be too happy about this circus either.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT’S ON-GOING WAR ON WOMEN

Susan North

 

Amazing!  The day before the House of Representatives investigation into the September 11, 2012 attacks in Benghazi which left the American ambassador and three other Americans dead due to the Islam’s ongoing hatred of America and the West, the White House has just named a new American ambassador to Libya.  President Obama’s nominee is Deborah K. Jones – a woman – a young woman – a young, blonde woman no less.

 

When will they ever learn?  The evidence could not be clearer. The Islamic world hates Americans and it hates women.  Some months ago, after the death of Christopher Stephens, the American Ambassador to Libya, I wrote about the problem of women diplomats and the Islamic world see here for “Reality, The State Department and the War on Women.” Now we have another female ambassador to the Islamic world.  This is so much more than merely the determination to prove we are not a ‘sexist’ country.  This is an outright determination to make things as bad as possible – for America, for this specific woman.

 

Deborah Kay Jones is a career diplomat who has served in Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey, and now she will, if she passes scrutiny from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, be our Ambassador to Libya, a post that has been open since September 11th of last year. Of course with the Democrat Party controlling the committee her nomination is almost guaranteed to be approved and passed onto the whole Senate.  However, there are a few Democrat Senators who are now willing to disagree with Obama so it is possible that she won’t pass their vote, but this is simply open to conjecture at this point.   

 

Ann Coulter who once wrote an article entitled “Patty Murray: The Stupidest Person in America.” At the time I agreed with her, now I’m not so sure.  Surely Deborah Jones, our new ambassador to Libya is a serious contender for the title. While being a female ambassador (from any nation) to any Islamic country is a very bad idea, being the American ambassador to Libya in the light of what happened to our previous ambassador seems positively suicidal.  So I knew she deserved the title, and now qualifies to be named as “The Stupidest Person in the World.”

Then I read that during a meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday Deborah Jones, was asked what she would do if she ever has doubts about security as the ambassador to Libya.  Her reply? She said she would make a call to Washington.  Seriously. That is what she said.

 

The Coyote Principle: Texas vs. California

 

By Susan North

Twenty years ago I lived in California. It is really a lovely place, but I was young and clueless and today think before moving somewhere. Along with sunshine I look for common sense and fiscal responsibility in a state. True California has a lot to offer, but what it offers is offset by the insanity of it all. 

I once heard that if you open a business in Los Angeles, it could require as many as 80 (yes, I said 80) inspectors prior to opening.  For example if you have an awning the awning inspector has to approve it, and the list goes on. Of course the owner of the awning has to pay for this, and he in turn passes the cost on to his customers. I once met a woman who could not leave the state because of custody issues but she was having a hard time finding work in her field, despite many years of experience, because companies in her field were leaving as quickly as they could.  And this was 20 years ago – things have only gotten worse. So recently I moved to Texas, and this is why:

Of all the new U.S. jobs created since 2008 70% were n Texas

Texas has no state income tax

Texs is a right to work state

Texas has the world’s 12th largest economy

Recently the governor announced that Texas has a $13 Billion (with a B) surplus, and that he would like to use 1.3 Billion on one-time only infrastructure improvements and return the rest to the taxpayers.  Yes, I said Billion. And yes he wants to return the rest, the problem is that state has no mechanism for doing this, therefore he has asked the state legislature to pass a bill which will make it possible.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation has published a good run-down with a lot more details on the reasons why Texas is better off than California. You can view it here www.sfgate.com/blogs/opinionshop. Or for a condensed version see here http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Texas-vs-California-myth-busting-time-4257744.php  The condensed version was published by the San Francisco Chronicle (amazing, but maybe they didn’t understand that California doesn’t come out well in this – LOL!).

And here is a little story, which explains it all:

THE COYOTE PRINCIPLE

CALIFORNIA

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor.

1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie 'Bambi' and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.

2. He calls animal control. Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

3. He calls a veterinarian....the vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.

5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now safe.

6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a 'coyote awareness program' for residents of the area.

7. The State Legislature spends $ 2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.

8. The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.

9. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.

TEXAS:

The Governor of Texas is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks his dog.

1. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $ 0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.

2. The buzzards eat the dead coyote.

And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Texas is not!!

Seersucker. Seriously.

Susan North

 

What is it with Democrats?  Thanks to The Daily Caller (4/26/2013), I just learned that Missouri state senator Ryan McKenna has submitted a handwritten (how quaint) amendment to a higher education bill which would ban Missourians over the age of 8 from wearing seersucker suits.  Seersucker.  Seriously. What business is it of the government to ban a type of fabric?  Who does Ryan McKenna think he is, Senator Patty Murray from  Washington State perhaps? (Ann Coulter once devoted an entire column to her called the “Stupidest Woman in America.”)

 

Now for whose lacking textile expertise seersucker is staple of the Southern wardrobe. It is generally made in two colors by a slack-tension weave, i.e. the stripes of one color are woven slackly, while those of the other color are woven tightly (the variables are endless, for example only one color might be used). When removed from the loom some of the warp (lengthwise) yarns crinkle while others do not due to the tension they received in the weaving.  It is a low profit, high cost fabric due to the slow weaving process.  This thin, cotton fabric is ideal for spring and summer wear. It is easily confused with pelisse fabric which is created by a chemical, not a woven method, but looks very similar.  Both men and women wear seersucker. 

 

It seems according to McKenna that about half of the Missouri state senate wear seersucker suits and not infrequently wear them on Wednesday due to some coordinated effort.  According to McKenna children are cute wearing the crinkly fabric while adults look ridiculous, hence his efforts to ban it.  He now has claimed that it was not ‘germaine” (sic) to the bill on higher education and was done as a joke.  A “joke?”  If this is a joke it is one that only little boys under the age of 8 would find funny.   

 

How did this lame brain get elected to anything?  Well, I checked his website and his biography explains it all. His father and his grandfather were both elected to the Massachusetts Missouri legislature.  His biography also explains that he has a degree in education (everywhere the easiest possible subject to study, for example Patty Murray studied education) at a Missouri university where, if he took English composition he didn’t learn very much.  Not only is his biography grammatically incorrect, but we are now at the end of April 2013 and his “goals for the 2010 legislative session” are included so it clearly hasn’t been updated in a while.

 

McKenna may think that adults look ridiculous in seersucker, but to my way of thinking Democrats look ridiculous, perhaps not for what they wear but for what they do and say.  While I oppose banning Democrats, the voters ought to ban voting for someone so completely silly as to wish to ban seersucker. The last time I checked state legislatures were elected to deal with real problems, not issues of style. Now excuse me, it is time to get out my summer wardrobe – I think I’ll wear a seersucker suit this week. 

 

WELL DONE, DEMOCRATS

Susan North

 

My friend Bill seems to be on a lot of lists as he forwards me quite of few interesting emails.  This one Well Done, Democrats congratulates the Democrats for their fine work in improving one manufactoring sector – gun manufacture, most of the following is from Guns and Ammo magazine, so in case you missed it you will want to read to the end.

 

 

WOW!!! Can you imagine Obama and  his regime stimulating US business like this and totally without stealing taxpayer's money for stimulus like as was the case with Solyndra, Fisker, GM, GE and many, many others adding billions to the national debt! Amazing talent!

I want the NRA to present Obama with a special citation for his dedicated and highly successful efforts to encourage gun ownership and training in the US.

I THINK WE OWE THE DEMS AN "ATTA-BOY" ON THIS ONE!

Guns and ammo-unbelievable:

My ammo re loader can’t get supplies. I talked to an agent at Ruffin Flag yesterday and she said they had unprecedented orders for pro 2nd Amendment items. Last week she sold 17,000 bumper stickers; one of the most popular (DUE TO THE SHORTAGE OF AMMUNITION, THERE WILL BE NO WARNING SHOTS).  WH

Ever think you would see anything like this in America?


REPORT  FROM GUNS & AMMO MAGAZINE:

S & W:
    Running at Full  capacity making 300+ guns/day-mainly M & P pistols. They are  unable to produce any more guns to help with the  shortages.

RUGER:
    Plans to increase from  75% to 100% in the next 90  days.

BOB BECKEL FINALLY MAKES SENSE

By Susan North

 

Bob Beckel is not one of my favorite people, in fact even Bob Beckel was not on the wagon he wouldn’t make my list of people to meet with for an “adult beverage.”  While the man has a certain charm and is obviously very smart, his consistent support of Democrat Party officials and the Democrat Party line along with his short fuse mitigate any sense that this guy has, well, any sense.

 

But yesterday on Fox News’ “The Five” he made a lot of sense, and I’d like to congratulate him for finally coming out and saying what needs to be said:

 

"In the Muslim communities around the world, they do not like us, I think we really have to consider, given the fact that so many people hate us, that we're going to have to cut off Muslim students coming to this country for some period of time so that we can absorb what we've got, and look at what we've got, and decide whether some of the people here should be sent back home or to prison."

 

The press has been silent on his statement, probably because he is a Democrat, although maybe because he was speaking on Fox, or maybe because what he said is considered outrageous by them (of course he has made other statements which even the right would consider outrageous).   But the mainstream media has also been silent on the fact that America now has a 500% increase in the number of students from Saudi Arabia over the number of Saudi students in the USA in 2001.  Is this nuts, or what?

Foreign Students
This is not the 1950s or 1960s.  Giving student visas to foreign nationals HURTS America.  A great many are studying in serious programs for degrees in science and engineering, but why should we train scientist and engineers for other countries? At the same time a high percentage of foreign students remain in the country, and many times they are given preference in hiring thanks to “diversity” laws.  This means they are taking jobs which might otherwise be available for Americans. 

 

Foreign students, to the best of my knowledge, have no requirements on the nature of their studies.  Which means that they can just as easily be studying fashion design, French literature, or drama as they could be studying one of the hard sciences.  Why should the American taxpayer subsidize their studies?  I can appreciate perhaps training medical personnel who come from 3^rd world countries. But there are too many fields where the student might use the knowledge gained in say, the engineering of bridges, to blow them up bridges in America.  And while I believe in sharing, and do not believe that the pie is only so big, for every successful foreign student, even in fashion design, they are taking a market share which might otherwise have been taken by an American citizen who upholds the Constitution.

 

We should want every country in the world to be successful, and for their citizens to succeed.  But it should not be done at the expense of the American taxpayer, or the American who cannot find employment in their field or a market for their products because it has been taken by a foreign citizen who may or may not stay in America, who may or may not assimilate. This makes no sense.

The Moslem Problem in America

 

There is a Moslem problem in America.  Moslems do not want the same things as America, contrary to what one so often hears.  Moslem culture, goals, and agenda are not just different from that of America and Americans – they are in opposition. Bob Beckel touched on this, they do hate us.  They are subject to Sharia law and Sharia law is in opposition to the American Constitution, in opposition to liberty. Sharia law is just one of the many forms tyranny takes, but it is the most aggressive. 

 

To return to the issue of foreign students, what they study is not the only problem.  A foreign student in an easy course (not the hard sciences) has more time to devote to extra-curricular activities.  When I was a student twenty years ago there were no Islamic student associations on campus – now they are everywhere.  While a few may be in the hard sciences, many are not and they and their families are there to provide numbers, to reinforce the base, and to proselytize, and that is a huge problem.  And unlike students from other cultures those from Islamic countries are organized and determined.  The student visa is an easy way for foreign countries to send quantities of their youthful citizens to this country.  Many Islamic countries, thanks to large birth rates 10-30 years ago (the birth rates are now declining) find sending their youth abroad to study serves two purposes:  it relieves the country of some otherwise unemployed  (and potential troublesome) youth and secondly it helps to spread Islam.

 

Europe and Japan have the oppose problem.  They have a shortage of youth between 10-30 years and need to keep them in their country. Besides it is easier to obtain a visa to study in the USA if you hold for example a  Saudi passport, than if you are for example Danish (thanks to Teddy Kennedy and his change in immigrate laws).  There are other countries and other cultures which do not much like us either, but by far the Islamic world is the worst.

 

Bob Beckel makes a lot of sense.  But what he said should have been said a LONG time ago, and it should have been enforced a long time ago.  Now that he has said it I hope the Bob Beckel will say more and say it more forcefully, and say it again, and again, and again. 

 

Margaret, Lady Thatcher – Savior of Britain

Susan North

 

David Cameron, the current Prime Minister, has said as much, he said that “she didn’t only lead our country, she saved our country.”  A seemingly good and decent man, would that he were cut of the same cloth.

 

I shall never forget my second trip to London.  Every evening near dusk the candle salesmen appeared on the streets, it was 1974, Edward Health, a Conservative, was Prime Minister, and there was a coal strike.  Coal created the electricity necessary to light the streets, homes, and businesses of England and no one knew how long the strike would last.  Hence one went without electricity for a certain number of hours every day, hence the candle salesmen.

 

Margaret Thatcher’s policies put an end to trade union control of the country, making it a prosperous country once again. The candle salesmen disappeared.  Her impact on Britain was profound.  Under her leadership 1 million renters in Council Housing (public housing) were able to buy their own units, something not previous possible because the council would not sell. This was all a part of her privatization efforts which included sale of nationalized industries thus creating a one-time boost to the national economy and long term success for the individual industries which were freed of government control.  In the process she removed the trade union’s stranglehold on the British worker and the British economy.  In short she saved Britain which had, since the end of World War II been in continual decline in large part thanks to the Labour Party and their failed policies.

 

Opposed to greater integration into the European Union at the time of her prime ministry she was roundly criticized for her position.  Yet, time has shown that she was right all along. And working with those other greats of the 1980s, Ronald Reagan and Pope John II, they helped to bring down communism in Poland which in turn brought about the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe.

 

Like the late, great Andrew Breitbart, Margaret Thatcher was a patriot from the ruled, not the ruling, class.  The two were so unlike, yet both so typically conservative with their determination to make their country great again, with their clear eyed realization that freedom is the answer, not government.  Or as Margaret Thatcher’s dear friend Ronaldus Magnus (Ronald Reagan) liked to say “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”  

 

She was known as “The Iron Lady.”  Although applied to other female heads of state, this title has mostly been applied to Margaret Thatcher who was first called that in 1976 in the Soviet newspaper Red Star.  That she was seen as an iron lady by Britain’s number one enemy (if you exclude the British radical left and the British Labour Party) three years before she became Prime Minister is evidence of the high profile she had already achieved by then.  She made things happen, she put the “Great” back in Great Britain.

 

WHERE THE TAXPAYERS MONEY GOES

By Susan North

If you want to know how Greece got in SO much trouble you need to look no further than Washington, DC, or the example below.  All those entitlements are the major cause, the lavish spending certainly accounts for a sizeable part of it. And recently I was reminded again government wastefulness which many people may not have heard about.

Due to my involvement in “Cultural Heritage” I managed to get on some interesting email lists (note I have actually been to a few conferences like this – bloody horror shows).  This particular email invited me to attend and submit a paper for the International Conference on “Changing Cities:  Spatial, morphological, formal & socio-economic dimensions.” To be held on Skiathos Island, Greece, it is being organized by the University of Thessaly (a government entity). In addition to the organizing university also being a sponsor, other sponsors include the municipality of Skiathos, three Technical Chambers (associations of university graduates in engineering), and a publisher.  The last one seems to be private and I could not tell about the Technical Chambers.  So it would seem, as there is a university and a city involved, that it is largely public funds being used to support this conference.  And while most attendees will be from Greece or some other European country, they are clearly spreading their net far and wide.  No doubt someone, from somewhere else, will attend if it doesn’t come out of their own pocket.

Now I’m sure that this is a very important subject to those who are concerned about urban planning and the like, but remember in the 1950s experts  thought deeply about new challenges and changing cities. Then they gave us buildings designed like boxes, destroyed neighborhoods to run freeways through them and so forth.  The mistakes of experts deserves a separate article, or perhaps a book.

This conference mentioned above is being used as an example for this article, but there are thousands of conferences, which are not too dissimilar. So, don’t get me wrong, I am all for bright people who are experts in their field getting together to discuss their research or the latest whatever.  It is just that somehow in my mind the socio-economic dimensions of changing cities isn’t quite on a par with say medical research, or cutting-edge computer whatever. 

While I never had responsibility for the budget for any of these conferences, they do cost money:  rental of space to hold it, food, staff time, and at many (but not all) conferences the main speakers (occasionally all the speakers) and invited guests have their hotel and transportation expenses paid for, and depending on the field and conference the speaker/s might also be paid.  I’ve been to many of these conferences in the United States and one time got sent abroad to a conference where I was treated to ‘free’ transportation and hotels, meals, etc. for three days.  During the conference I was forced to associate with “colleagues” who, had they lived next door, I would have avoided at all cost (as well as buying some extra dead bolts for the door and another gun) – not criminals in the classic sense, but it was pretty clear they were a bunch of dangerous lunatics.  

The ‘free’ part was not free to the taxpayers whose money had been taken from them to sponsor some noble cause which most had never heard of, probably would not care about, and furthermore they may have been tempted to “boil in oil” a few of the bureaucrats who came up with this idea, had they only known.  I suspect this conference is no different than the ones I have attended.  Those whose expenses are not paid by the hosting institution generally go to such conferences at the expense of their own institution, again this is usually the taxpayers’ money (as well as that of some poor drudges who are paying tuition as most conferences are university related).  These drudges generally believe that they are getting an education and that their degree will magically make things better – little do they realize that they will be paying for that piece of paper for years because the cost included a lot of ‘free’ trips for their professors who not infrequently canceled classes in order to attend those conferences.

The conference has, like most academic conferences these days, its own website: www.changingcities.prd.uth.gr

RIP Andrew Breitbart

By Susan North

 

America and the conservative movement lost one of our greatest champions – Andrew Breitbart, just one year ago today.  His death has left a hole in our hearts that remains even today.  Now tragedy has again struck the Breitbart family with the death of his mother Arlene.

 

While until today I did not know her name, and only know what I’ve read on the Breitbart website, clearly she and her husband did a remarkable job of raising Andrew. How did she do it? How did they do it? Andrew was an inspiration, a fearless leader, and in many ways something of a Churchill cut down in his prime.

 

As I reflect on the inspiration that was Andrew, of his impact on my life, and the impact his death had so many, a question comes to mind.  Do you remember hearing of the death of President Kennedy, or his brother Robert, or of Martin Luther King, or if you are younger do you remember President Reagan being shot, or perhaps some other momentous occasion?  I remember with perfect clarity where I was and what I was doing when I heard of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan.  So too, I remember exactly where I was sitting when I heard the news about Andrew Breitbart, and I remember the duration and numbness it caused.  That is the effect great men have on people.

 

We have all been shaken by the loss of Andrew Breitbart – but to honor his name we must not falter as we follow in his footsteps.  We must not flag in doing battle against the forces of evil and tyranny that we now face.  A great warrior has left the battle front, but in honor of the late, great Andrew Breitbart, we must never give up the fight.  As Andrew said, “#WAR.”

 

WORLD WIDE STATISTICS – DEATH BY GUNSHOT

Susan North

 

My friend Bill just keeps sending me great emails – here is something from the World Health Organization which I hope another friend (who was contemplating Honduras) will heed.

 

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html

 

I found it a little tricky to use (but then I’m not a big fan of Excel) so to find it summarized, check the link below.  I do not know how they found some of the countries, what I did verifiy is that it is pretty darn close.  We don’t have a gun problem in the USA – we have a mental illness problem.

 

http://badgerlakeobserver.blogspot.com/2013/01/world-health-organization-murder.html

 

From the World Health Organization 

 

The latest Murder Statistics for the world:

 

Murders per 100,000 citizens