Pentagon’s Black Budget Tops $56 Billion
By Noah Shachtman

The Defense Department just released its king-sized, $708 billion budget for the next fiscal year. Much of the proposed spending is fairly detailed – noting exactly how many helicopters the Pentagon plans to buy and how many troops it plans on playing. But about $56 billion goes simply to “classified programs,” or to projects known only by their code names, like “Chalk Eagle” and “Link Plumeria.” That’s the Pentagon’s black budget.

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For some reason, it’s only exit polls in the US that the US press shrugs off.

MCM

Exit polls favor Yanukovych in Ukraine race
ASSOCIATED PRESS

KIEV, Ukraine — Exit polls showed pro-Russian opposition lead Viktor Yanukovych with a narrow lead Sunday in Ukraine’s presidential runoff — a result that could restore much of Moscow’s influence in a country that has labored to build bridges to the West.

But despite the polls, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a leader of the pro-Western Orange Revolution, declared she was still in the race as the vote count began.

“It is too soon to draw any conclusions,” Tymoshenko said. “A split of three percent is within the margin of error.”

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Flock Is Now a Fight Team in Some Ministries
By R. M. SCHNEIDERMAN

MEMPHIS – In the back room of a theater on Beale Street, John Renken, 37, a pastor, recently led a group of young men in prayer.

“Father, we thank you for tonight,” he said. “We pray that we will be a representation of you.”

An hour later, a member of his flock who had bowed his head was now unleashing a torrent of blows on an opponent, and Mr. Renken was offering guidance that was not exactly prayerful.

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BlackBoxVoting’s Bev Harris Tackles the Holt Bill

Freedom is a human right. In order to have freedom, the people must be able to choose their own governance. To choose our own governance, we must have public elections. The key word here is “public” — simply HAVING elections does not mean you get to choose your governance. If those who hold power huddle in a back room behind closed doors to count your votes and then come out and announce what they claim to be the results, these are not public elections. If votes are counted by concealed electronic processes controlled by insiders, these are not public elections.

If you are subjected to a system which is ultimately controlled by concealed processes you are not really free, because you cannot displace your governors unless a handful of insiders wish to allow it. Such processes violate your human rights. Not just civil rights. Not just voting rights.Your right to freedom is a highest level right, and as stated in our Declaration of Independence, “an inalienable right, endowed by our creator.”

BlackBoxVoting’s Bev Harris Tackles the Holt Bill, Part Two

Democracy was conceived of BECAUSE our founders understood full well that power corrupts, and that the people must at all times remain sovereign over, and vigilant towards, those who serve us as public servants. If we become inattentive, they warned us, our governors will become wolves.
Our form of government is based on DISTRUST of government insiders. It seems particularly insidious to call this election reform bill the “Voter Confidence Act,” since bestowing “confidence” and “trust” in our public officials is exactly the opposite approach as that envisioned by our founders.

FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited
by Declan McCullagh

WASHINGTON–The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes.

FBI Director Robert Mueller supports storing Internet users’ “origin and destination information,” a bureau attorney said at a federal task force meeting on Thursday.

As far back as a 2006 speech, Mueller had called for data retention on the part of Internet providers, and emphasized the point two years later when explicitly asking Congress to enact a law making it mandatory. But it had not been clear before that the FBI was asking companies to begin to keep logs of what Web sites are visited, which few if any currently do.

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Here’s an email from the right, marvelling at the wisdom of Charles Krauthammer.

MCM

Dr. Krauthammer is on Fox News. He is an M.D. and a lawyer and is paralyzed from the neck down. A friend went to hear Charles Krauthammer. He listened with 25 others in a closed room. What he says here, is NOT 2nd-hand but 1st. The ramifications are staggering for us, our children and their children.

Last Monday was a profound evening, Dr. Charles Krauthammer spoke to the Center for the American Experiment. He is a brilliant intellectual, seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has received a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post.

The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have summarized his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally.

Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not drunk the Kool-Aid, feel free.

Summary of his comments:

1. Mr.. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn’t show his emotions. It’s very hard to know what’s behind the mask. The taking down of the Clinton dynasty was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.

2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he’s on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!

3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can’t be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along.

He has a heavy hand, and wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada .

4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, and NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn’t care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada . God forbid!

5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can’t work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather he’s a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.

6. Obama doesn’t really see himself as President of the United States , but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America , as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!

7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He would like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Dr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.

8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. Republicans are pining for another Reagan, but there will never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage.. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious candidate in the future.. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and state’s rights.

9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We are spending trillions that we don’t have. This could lead to hyperinflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn’t work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama’s allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.

10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed, fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.

11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it’s under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it’s between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what’s happening in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we’re right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it’s far too late.

Do yourself a long term favor, send this to all who will listen to an intelligent assessment of the big picture. All our futures and children’s futures depend on our good understanding of what is really going on in DC, and our action pursuant to that understanding!! It really IS up to each of us to take individual action!! Start with educating your friends and neighbors!!!

And so the party’s “upset victories” this November will be all the more amazing!

New Poll Results Are Proof That Republicans Don’t Think
By Sara Robinson, Blog for Our Future
Posted on February 5, 2010, Printed on February 6, 2010

A village cannot revise village life to suit the village idiot. — Frank Schaeffer

On Tuesday, the Daily Kos published a new Research 2000 study showing the current state of belief in the GOP. Though the results aren’t anything new — indeed, the study just puts hard numbers to everything we already thought we knew about the right wing — the data also show, in sharp detail, just how far to the right the GOP has been dragged by its right wing…and how far out of step they are with the rest of America as a result.

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So maybe they should beef up the security at those sites….

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 5, 2010; 9:12 AM

The Department of Defense will begin making the morning-after pill Plan B available at all of its hospitals and health clinics around the world, officials announced Thursday.

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Spitzer’s Redemption Strategy
by Lloyd Grove

Eliot Spitzer is making fresh noises about running against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in New York. Lloyd Grove on how Client 9’s Colbert Report appearance was a big step in his return from political purgatory.

For a guy who insists he’s not plotting a comeback, Eliot Spitzer sure looks like he’s ready to run for something.
The 50-year-old former governor of New York, who quit in March 2008 after a federal investigation of a prostitution ring caught him patronizing the high-priced talent, has been working hard to repair his shattered image-this week making two back-to-back appearances in which he confronted his scandalous past head-on.

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What we have now is a de facto Jim Crow voting system, so what Tancredo wants is a return
to a de jure Jim Crow system.

Shocker: Tea Party Convention Opening Speaker Suggests a Return to Jim Crow Voting Laws
By John Byrne, Raw Story
Posted on February 5, 2010, Printed on February 5, 2010

The opening night speaker at the Tea Party convention suggested a return to a “literacy test” to protect America from presidents like Obama — a segregation-era method employed by southern US states to keep blacks from voting.

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