Category: Constitution

Bloomberg: Gingrich Sued for Using ‘Eye of the Tiger’ at Campaign Stops

From Bloomberg News:

Newt Gingrich, fighting for the Republican Party’s nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, was sued for unauthorized use of “Eye of the Tiger,” the Grammy-winning theme song from “Rocky III.”

Rude Music Inc., an Illinois corporation owned by Frank Sullivan, a co-author of the song, sued the candidate today in federal court inChicago, seeking a court order blocking Gingrich’s unauthorized use of the song at campaign rallies. Rude Music is also seeking unspecified money damages.

Newt 2012 Inc. and the American Conservative Union, a political advocacy group, are also named as defendants in the five-page complaint.

You mean you can’t just take anyone’s music and play it anywhere, particularly for the purpose of raising money for your own political campaign? What? What about the First Amendment.

Oh. Right.

That doesn’t apply in this case.

Yoi. Another ethical lapse for the former speaker?

And, yes, you can be sued for stealing music.

Is that what Newt did? The courts will decide.


Sh*t Homophobic People Say. No Kidding. (Video)

Commentary

Sh*t Homophobic People Say: no spoofing necessary, 100% real commentary by antigay public figures. Some, many, masquerading as Christians.

Lambda Legal fights for the rights of LGBT people and people with HIV.

Wow.


Ron Paul’s Views Finding Support Among White Nationalists

Ron Paul with white Supremacists Don and Derek Black

Ron Paul with white Supremacists Don and Derek Black

Ron Paul says he “wouldn’t be happy” with support from the white supremacists, survivalists and anti-Zionists who have rallied to his support, but he will not disavow their support, saying, “They’re endorsing what I do or say — it has nothing to do with endorsing what they say.”

So Ron Paul will accept support from Neo-Nazis. He simply won’t endorse anthing they say, except, of course, that, for whatever reason, they support Ron Paul.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The American Free Press, which markets books such as “The Invention of the Jewish People” and “March of the Titans: A History of the White Race,” is urging its subscribers to help it send hundreds of copies of Ron Paul’s collected speeches to voters in New Hampshire. The book, it promises, will “Help Dr. Ron Paul Win the GOP Nomination in 2012!”

Don Black, the director of the white nationalist website Stormfront, said in an interview that dozens of his members were volunteering for Mr. Paul’s campaign, and a site forum titled “Why is Ron Paul such a favorite here?” has no fewer than 24 pages of comments.

“I understand he wins many fans because his monetary policy would hurt Jews,” read one. Far right groups like the Militia of Montana say they are rooting for him as a stalwart against government tyranny.


MSNBC: Government Tested AIDS Drugs on Foster Kids Without Federal Law Protection

Incredibly disturbing news from MSNBC:

Government-funded researchers tested AIDS drugs on hundreds of foster children over the past two decades, often without providing them a basic protection afforded in federal law and required by some states, an Associated Press review has found.

The research funded by the National Institutes of Health spanned the country. It was most widespread in the 1990s as foster care agencies sought treatments for their HIV-infected children that weren’t yet available in the marketplace.

The practice ensured that foster children — mostly poor or minority — received care from world-class researchers at government expense, slowing their rate of death and extending their lives. But it also exposed a vulnerable population to the risks of medical research and drugs that were known to have serious side effects in adults and for which the safety for children was unknown.

Read more and weep for the children.


Paul Krugman on Things to Tax

Let me start with the end, and then you go read the entire piece: “The point I’m making here isn’t that taxes are all we need; it is that they could and should be a significant part of the solution.”

Gotta love Krugman. From the New York Times:

The supercommittee was a superdud — and we should be glad. Nonetheless, at some point we’ll have to rein in budget deficits. And when we do, here’s a thought: How about making increased revenue an important part of the deal?

And I don’t just mean a return to Clinton-era tax rates. Why should 1990s taxes be considered the outer limit of revenue collection? Think about it: The long-run budget outlook has darkened, which means that some hard choices must be made. Why should those choices only involve spending cuts? Why not also push some taxes above their levels in the 1990s?

I hope the President is listening to this man. When I met David Plouffe at a book signing a couple of years ago, I mentioned Paul Krugman. David responded, “He certainly has his opinions.”

Yes, David, he does. But they’re informed opinions and the man has a Nobel Prize in ECONOMICS.

Someone at the White House, someone in Congress, PLEASE! Page Paul Krugman! We need the conscience of a liberal today, not narrow ideologies!


Shall We Deregulate the Toaster Industry?

My friends, this is my post from another publication.

From ENEWSPF:

Shall we deregulate the toaster industry?

Seriously, wouldn’t the toaster industry be far better off if we just let toaster manufacturing companies make toasters without having to pay the extra costs associated with government-mandated “safety” laws and guidelines? Can’t we just trust the toaster industry to make safe toasters, and, if they don’t, and a few toasters actually catch fire or explode in people’s homes, then won’t the free market eventually put those toaster manufacturers out of business?

Read the entire article here.


The True Spirit of Thanksgiving (Video)

Thanksgiving.

Enjoy.


This Liberal Is Quite Pleased With President Obama

Barack Obama

We are not a patient people.

Liberals, conservatives, moderates: we want our pudding, and we want it now.

These past two years, I have been impatient, watching and waiting while my liberal dreams for the United States were postponed — or so I thought. Why did President Obama channel former President George W. Bush and simply push a liberal agenda through the United States Congress and let the conservatives be damned?

I held back, however, and refused to play along with the liberal cacophony screaming for everything and anything to happen yesterday. They collectively screamed "I told you so!" when Democrats lost seats in Congress, losing the House of Representatives. All this screaming in spite of the fact that such losses had long been predicted, indeed, from the moment President Obama was sworn in. That was an easy call. We may be impatient, but we Americans are quite predictable.

A wee bit more than two years into the Obama presidency, I have to say, I’m quite pleased with what the president has done.

Health insurance reform was a start. No, it did not go far enough. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: the best reform for the health of the country would be to simply forbid health insurance companies operating on a for-profit basis. Let them insure all the widgets they want to for profit, but hands off human lives.

Still, health insurance reform was long, long overdue. And over the past few weeks, we’ve seen some wonderful things happen. For one, "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" is on its way out. Next, today saw the near ratification of the START treaty, with a vote likely this week.

There’s more.

What do I appreciate most about President Obama?

His patience, a quality many of us in the media lack. From the insipid "Round Table" on ABC’s "This Week" to the endless drone of CNN, the media is so full of prognosticators who get it all wrong 99% of the time and more.

I’ve often said this in my elected life, and I’ll say it again here, "I don’t make predictions. I just work hard to achieve results."

President Obama is patient, looking, I’m convinced, two or three decades down the road. This is not a man likely to bark, "F— Saddam. We’re taking him out," as President Bush did in March 2002. If nothing else, the president is patient, weighing his decisions carefully because he knows — he knows — that everything he does has global repercussions.

I don’t know that he’s doing everything right, or wrong. I still remain careful. I remain critical. I still read Paul Krugman and hope for a Keynesian revolution in Washington.

But I like the President, even as I hope and pray for patience.


‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ Repealed, And The President Says, “Thanks.”

President Barack Obama

The following was sent from President Barack Obama after the United States Senate voted to repeal the infamous "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell" and allow our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to serve in our military with a clean conscience, no longer forced to hide or lie.

President Obama fulfills yet another campaign promise.

From the President of the United States:

Moments ago, the Senate voted to end "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."

When that bill reaches my desk, I will sign it, and this discriminatory law will be repealed.

Gay and lesbian service members — brave Americans who enable our freedoms — will no longer have to hide who they are.

The fight for civil rights, a struggle that continues, will no longer include this one.

This victory belongs to you. Without your commitment, the promise I made as a candidate would have remained just that.

Instead, you helped prove again that no one should underestimate this movement. Every phone call to a senator on the fence, every letter to the editor in a local paper, and every message in a congressional inbox makes it clear to those who would stand in the way of justice: We will not quit.

This victory also belongs to Senator Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and our many allies in Congress who refused to let politics get in the way of what was right.

Like you, they never gave up, and I want them to know how grateful we are for that commitment.

Will you join me in thanking them by adding your name to Organizing for America’s letter?

I will make sure these messages are delivered — you can also add a comment about what the repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" means to you.

As Commander in Chief, I fought to repeal "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" because it weakens our national security and military readiness. It violates the fundamental American principles of equality and fairness.

But this victory is also personal.

I will never know what it feels like to be discriminated against because of my sexual orientation.

But I know my story would not be possible without the sacrifice and struggle of those who came before me — many I will never meet, and can never thank.

I know this repeal is a crucial step for civil rights, and that it strengthens our military and national security. I know it is the right thing to do.

But the rightness of our cause does not guarantee success, and today, celebration of this historic step forward is tempered by the defeat of another — the DREAM Act. I am incredibly disappointed that a minority of senators refused to move forward on this important, commonsense reform that most Americans understand is the right thing for our country. On this issue, our work must continue.

Today, I’m proud that we took these fights on.

Please join me in thanking those in Congress who helped make "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" repeal possible:

http://my.barackobama.com/Repealed

Thank you,

Barack

I clicked and thanked Congress. Amen to that all day long.


G.O.P. U.S. Senate Candidate Joe Miller’s Security Thugs Handcuff a Journalist

Can you say "Bill of Rights?"

My teapot boileth over.

From the Alaska Dispatch:

Alaska Dispatch founder and editor Tony Hopfinger was grabbed and handcuffed by a private security detail working for U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller on Sunday while trying to ask the Fairbanks Republican questions following a town hall meeting at Central Middle School in Anchorage on Sunday.

Hopfinger was reportedly pressing Miller on whether the candidate had ever been reprimanded for politicking while working at the Fairbanks North Star Borough in 2008. Alaska Dispatch and other media have sued for the release of records related Miller’s time at the borough. Various accounts of what happened next generally agree on this course of events:

  • Two or three bodyguards told Hopfinger to stop asking questions and to leave the building.
  • Hopfinger continued to ask questions while apparently videotaping the candidate.
  • Bodyguards told him that if he persisted they would arrest him for trespassing, but refused to identify themselves to Hopfinger.
  • Hopfinger asked why he was trespassing, as the event was at a public school. Seconds later, he was then put in arm-bar and later handcuffed and sequestered at one end of a hallway for at least 30 minutes. He was told, "You’re under arrest." 
  • Anchorage Police arrived on the scene shortly after.

I watched Joe Miller on CNN this afternoon as he was interviewed by John King. He danced like I’ve never seen a pol dance, refusing to answer question after question, finally admitting that "he was disciplined for the misuse of local government computers."

Watch below:

Alaska, prove you are still Americans. Do not vote for this man.

Vote for the very, very moderate-to-conservative Democrat who will represent all Alaskans well.

Vote for Scott McAdams.

It’s about Alaska.