NYTimes: “Reckless” Obama has “lost all credibility”

Obama‘s “Transparency” pledge a vague memory

 “President Obama’s Dragnet” is the title of the recent and harshly critical 2-page editorial in the New York Times — the establishment press’ “newspaper of record” — as it expresses disgust with the Obama administration‘s surveillance operations to collect domestic phone records and Internet communications of American citizens and its extreme efforts to conceal the expansive overreaches. The editorial says “the administration has now lost all credibility on this issue,” concluding it was “reckless in its assignment of unnecessary and overbroad surveillance powers.”

And when the editorial page editor of the far left NY Times declares “the Obama administration moves beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news,” it can rightfully be called significant.

Read Taking Note, the editorial page editor’s blog. It must have pained Andrew Rosenthal to write “Obama’s Secret Habit.”

Just last year, as it had done in 2008, the newspaper not only endorsed Obama’s presidential bid, but did so “enthusiastically.” In fact, the last Republican the Times endorsed was Dwight Eisenhower — in 1956 – nearly 60 years ago!

When even the New York Times can take no more from the Democrat Imposter-in-Chief, it appears the love affair is finally over. The question to ask is, “What comes next?”

Limitations on ammo, guns, driving panic

As the Obama regime continues to advance restrictive gun-control legislation, average Americans are attempting to stock up on ammunition, which is in short supply. Ammo was the big seller this past weekend at the two-day Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Ontario Convention Center in southern California.  ”The line to purchase ammunition snaked around the exhibit hall,” said Bob Templeton, gun show owner. “It was taking nearly three hours for shoppers to make their way to the head of the line,” he said.

Not only are private individuals feeling the pinch, but law enforcement agencies nationwide are also affected, as firearms and ammunition fly off the shelves across the country, causing some dealers to limit sales.

Ammunition shortage continues to increase demand and prices, stripping some store shelves bare as gun owners rush to buy ammunition in anticipation of restrictive new gun laws.

CNS News runs a report, Ammo Manufacturers Scramble to Keep Up with Demand, Reassure Eager Customers, complete with information from various manufacturers.

As examples, here in Phoenix the disturbing news is that the Phoenix Police Department has stopped providing officers with 100 rounds of ammunition per month for practice. Tennessee’s Highway Patrol is still waiting for rifle and shotgun ammunition ordered in November.

Reports of government stockpiling of ammunition, and the lack of reasonable answers has increased public concerns. Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and 14 of his House colleagues, who signed onto his March 5 letter, have asked the Department of Homeland Security to explain its purchase of approximately 2 billion rounds of ammunition of various calibers over the course of the last year — a fact which is believed to be exacerbating the bullet shortages. In his letter LaMalfa asks, “Are these purchases being conducted in a manner that strategically denies the American people access to ammunition?”

Great question, Congressman.

Additionally, the Social Security Administration posted this notice requesting a quote for ammunition indicating its intent to purchase 174,000 hollow point bullets. Why does the agency that is charged with sending senior citizens their monthly social security checks need bullets? Click on the first link under RFQ and read page 4.

Watch as presidential candidate Barack Obama, at a 2008 campaign event, declared he will not take Americans’ guns away:

“When you all go home and you’re talking to your buddies and you say, ah ‘He wants to take my gun away.’ You’ve heard it here; I’m on television so everybody knows it. I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in people’s lawful right to bear arms. I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won’t take your handgun away.”

Maybe not.  But denying us the right to buy ammunition produces the same results, doesn’t it?

Feds amassing ammunition: Enough for “24-yr war”

“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” — Barack Obama, 2008

Both Breitbart News and WND are reporting on the fact that federal non-military agencies have bought two billion rounds of ammunition in the last 10 months. The Obama Administration says that federal law enforcement agents need the ammunition for “mandatory quarterly firearms qualifications and other training sessions.”

The Daily Caller has addressed the troubling issue. Investor’s Business Daily veteran foreign and national correspondent, Andrew Malcolm wrote that the Department of Homeland Security is amassing what he called “sufficient firepower to shoot every American about five times…”

Mark Levin, conservative host and legal advisor in the Reagan administration, is suspicious. He commented: “To provide some perspective, experts estimate that at the peak of the Iraq war American troops were firing around 5.5 million rounds per month. At that rate, the [Department of Homeland Security] is armed now for a 24-year Iraq war. A 24-year Iraq war! I’m going to tell you what I think is going on. I don’t think domestic insurrection. Law enforcement and national security agencies, they play out multiple scenarios. … I think they’re simulating the collapse of our financial system, the collapse of our society and the potential for widespread violence, looting, killing in the streets, because that’s what happens when an economy collapses. I suspect that just in case our fiscal situation, our monetary situation, collapses, and following it the civil society collapses, that is the rule of law, they want to be prepared. I know why the government’s arming up: It’s not because there’s going to be an insurrection; it’s because our society is unraveling.”

The Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General responded to concerns over the massive ammunition procurement in this release posted on its blog last August. In the response, the OIG referred to two previous posts that had little to do with the original concerns, but did raise questions as to why the Obama administration was using the Social Security division, most often  relegated to senior issues, to respond to citizen concerns about massive ammunition purchases by the federal government.

The Department of Homeland Security, though buying and storing vast amounts of ammunition in recent months, has been silent. But Barack Obama might have given us a glimpse into the future during this campaign speech in 2008:

“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”

Will they be armed with tanks, technology and advanced weapons? What uniforms will they wear?

The mainstream media has been conspicuously mute even as Obama warned us: “America must also balance and integrate all elements of our national power. We cannot continue to push the burden onto our military alone, nor leave dormant any aspect of the full arsenal of American capability. That’s why my administration is committed to renewing diplomacy as a tool of American power and developing a civilian national security capability.”

Threats of gun control mobilize buyers

Gun show sales reach record highs as Obama revs up control rhetoric

The first day of the Florida Gun Shows’ exhibition attracted record breaking crowds of nearly 8,000 people on Saturday in Orlando, according to event organizers. WKMG TV 6 has the video here.

The same scene was repeated in California, as gun owners flocked to the Ontario Convention Center this past weekend to stock up on ammunition. Over 6,000 people filled the center by Saturday afternoon, and more than double that number was expected to attend the event by the end of the weekend. The massive turnout is something even the Crossroads of the West Gun Show promoter didn’t expect. NBC TV 4 News has this report and video.

Around the country, gun store owners are finding it difficult to replenish their supply because most nationwide distributors are also out of stock. Many are reporting ammunition is becoming scarce.

Here was presidential candidate Barack Obama at a campaign event in Lebanon, Virginia in 2008, declaring he will not take Americans’ guns away:

“When you all go home and you’re talking to your buddies and you say, ah ‘He wants to take my gun away.’ You’ve heard it here; I’m on television so everybody knows it. I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe in people’s lawful right to bear arms. I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won’t take your handgun away.”

Over this past weekend, while nervous Americans were standing in long lines to purchase firearms and ammo, the Washington Post ran this report, detailing Obama’s plans for curbing gun ownership in the wake of the horrific school shooting perpetrated by a crazed killer, in Newtown, Connecticut.

Remember this. According to the FBI annual crime statistics, the number of murders committed annually with annually with hammers and clubs far outnumbers the number of murders committed with a rifle. For example, in 2011, there were 323 murders committed with a rifle but 496 murders committed with hammers and clubs. Another startling fact according to the FBI, nearly twice as many people are killed by hands and fists each year than are killed by murderers who use rifles.

White House aides have been in regular contact with advisers to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a committed gun control advocate (video) who is being positioned to emerge as a powerful surrogate for the Obama administration’s agenda — taking the heat off of Barack Obama, who as a candidate in 2008 vowed his unwavering support of the Second Amendment.

Did you believe him then? Do you now?

Stanton, wife, publication’s 1st “straight” honorees

The City of Phoenix is so broke it had to impose a 2 percent sales tax on the very food residents put in their mouths. It has a crime rate that is high enough for the city website to inform interested parties they have to file a public records request with the Police Department to obtain the information — although adding, that “increasing the availability of statistical information to anyone with an internet connection is something we are committed to improving.”

Our rates of identity and auto theft have been among the nation’s highest.  There is much to do in this city.

Surprisingly, in some quarters,  money still flows freely. Earlier this month, Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos became the lucky recipient of a 33% raise, which amounts to an extra $78,000 a year! He will now be pulling down a yearly base salary of $315,000, plus a $600 monthly car allowance, $35,000 a year in deferred compensation, and a $4,000 “longevity” bonus.

Amid all of this questionable taxation, out-of-control spending and crime, Echo Magazine, a homosexual publication, has found room in its heart to honor Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and his wife Nicole, as the 2012 Man and Woman of the Year — the first “straight” pair so warmly acknowledged.

Nicole Stanton has even been awarded the honor of “Outstanding Service by a Straight Ally.” Among numerous other activities within the LGBT community, the lawyer duo have marched in the Phoenix pride parade. Their liberal roots run deep. The Arizona Democrat Party named her as an elector for Barack Obama.

And hubby Greg?  Stanton is clearly feathering his nest for a run at something far more fulfilling than presiding over Phoenix City Council meetings.  He’s caught the eye of Barack Obama and is a longtime pal of Janet Napolitano, both of whom partnered in a congratulatory phone call when Stanton was elected mayor in November 2011

What Mitt Romney’s message should have included

The wisdom of Bill Whittle as seen on David Horowitz TV: “Our message is unbeatable”

 

Weekend reading guaranteed to make you smarter

Dr. Thomas Sowell does it again, cutting right to the chase in his hard-hitting analysis of the underpinnings of the recent presidential election — and those yet to come. His column, Is Demography Destiny? is not merely more Monday morning quarterbacking.

Sowell writes: “Conventional wisdom in the Republican establishment is that what the GOP needs to do, in order to win black votes or Hispanic votes, is to craft policies specifically targeting these groups. In other words, Republicans need to become more like Democrats.

Whether in a racial context or in other contexts, the supposed need for Republicans to become more like Democrats has long been a recurring theme of the moderate Republican establishment, going back more than half a century.

Yet the most successful Republican presidential candidate during that long period was a man who went completely counter to that conventional wisdom — namely, Ronald Reagan, who won back to back landslide election victories.”

Do yourself a favor today and read this cogent commentary. It will add clarity to your thoughts as you listen to the establishment types opine on our need to abandon principles for pandering and become Republican-lite.

John Shadegg: Sounding like a candidate again?

Weighing in on illegal immigration

Let’s take a step back in time to October 2008 when former Arizona Congressman John Shadegg was seeking his eighth term representing what was then the reliably Republican 3rd Congressional District. His previous undemanding campaigns were history as he found himself crushingly outspent by his Democrat opponent Bob Lord. During the pre-homestretch mid-Aug. to Sept. 30 reporting period, the Federal Election Commission report showed Lord spent $768,000 to Shadegg’s $545,000. Polls indicated a tight race.

So Shadegg, who reneged on his February retirement announcement, decided his best bet to victory was to insult the very people who had given him their steadfast loyalty. In this interview with the left-wing New York Times, he said Arizona’s “party leaders’ crusade against illegal immigration had damaged Republicans statewide and hurt their chances of drawing the growing body of Hispanic voters.”

“I believe the Republican Party in Arizona has been hurt very badly by the image created by those who have been most outspoken in their attacks on the illegal immigration issue, who have created the appearance that Republicans are xenophobic, that seem by their comments and are by their comments intolerant,” Shadegg said.

“Xenophobic” and “intolerant?” Those are harsh words for merely expecting that our laws and sovereign borders be respected. As we reminded him then, the operative word is ILLEGAL. Opposition to criminal incursions into the United States is neither “xenophobic” nor “intolerant.” Americans have every right to expect secure borders. Border security is national security

Fast forward to November 2012. Shadegg’s sounding mighty candidatey again. First clue?  He’s back to hurling slings and arrows at what he calls the “extremists in the Republican Party.”  That well might be you.

In this interview with Matt K. Lewis of the Daily Caller, Shadegg was right on cue: “I have long been of the position that the extremists in the [Republican] Party on the issue of illegal aliens are doing damage,” he said. “Their rhetoric is doing damage.” He takes a bold smack at the candidacy of Mitt Romney while he’s at it, opining that “the candidate we fielded” the “campaign we ran…were not up to the task.”

“I personally believe that Hispanics are not a threat to America. They believe in strong families. They are religious. They honor women. And they work hard.”  He continued, “If you want to worry about a threat from foreigners, go worry about radical Muslims.”

John Shadegg has a bit more time on his hands these days as he contemplates his future. He might take a few of those extra minutes and read this excellent election recap by the Examiner’s Rick Oltman, titled; Hispanic voters did not desert the Republican Party in 2012 election. 

Oltman does a fine bit of analysis on Shadegg’s buddy, John McCain. The 2008 pro-amnesty Republican presidential candidate who only narrowly carried his own home state by 8.48%, was the illegal-panderer-in-chief.  Nationally, he was trounced by Obama 67% to 31%.

Explain that, Mr. Shadegg.

Weekend reading guaranteed to make you smarter

Conservative blogger and satirist, John Hawkins, provides some food for thought in this post-election quarterbacking.

This column is our first introduction to Hawkins, and we like what we see.

Read 7 Things The GOP Needs To Do To Start Turning It Around, and see if any of his suggestions resonate with you.

2012 Election recap

Have we ever been more polarized as a nation in our lifetimes? The popular vote for President of the United States came down to a 49 – 49 percent split, with Barack Obama carrying 48,594,402 votes to Romney’s 48,728,463. CNN’s take was “President Barack Obama rode a wave of broad support from minorities, women and moderates to win re-election Tuesday by defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney in Democratic strongholds and key battleground states.”

That’s true.  But there is plenty missing from the overview. Regrettably, far too many Americans have willingly become part of the dependency class, losing the deeply engrained work ethic and self reliance that made our country great. The “Shining City on the Hill” which Ronald Reagan described with such eloquence, was populated by Americans who cherished our founding documents — because they knew the treasures they contained. Today, schools specialize in liberal indoctrination. Diversity, sustainability, moral relativism, secular humanism, and revisionist history — negative chapters of the past — take center stage, while teaching Al Gore’s theories of global warming rather than Western Civilization and American History. Our students can’t write in cursive, do basic math, or find Japan on a map, but their union teachers demand more pay, tenure and no accountability.

The minorities who provided that “wave of broad support,” to Obama voted for his implementation of the DREAM Act and non-enforcement of illegal immigration, in effect throwing out a red carpet for a greater invasion of our country. In the end, winning mattered more than the rule of law or national sovereignty. Racial politics cannot be ignored. In 2008, Obama won the black vote by 96%.

American citizens are unemployed in numbers unmatched since the Great Depression over 75 years ago. Record numbers of homeowners have seen their homes foreclosed and their savings depleted, yet talk remains of gifting green cards to “guest workers.” Missing from the dialogue is the fact that the unemployment rate under Obama has exceeded 8 percent for 43 months — the longest period of such high joblessness since the start of monthly records in 1948. Still Obama, a classic redistributionist, demonizes job creators as he fosters class warfare, even siding with the anti-Capitalist “Occupiers.”

Republicans will hold their majority in the U.S. House, as Democrats retain their majority in the Senate — ensuring another divided Congress. After four years in office and with Obama’s own party in control of the senate, it’s stunningly shameful that no budget was offered during the entire past four years, in which he spent an inordinate amount of time blaming his predecessor for every ill since the black plague.

Most importantly, Obama has had a complacent accomplice in the national press, which gave him a pass on the unfathomable national debt and wild spending. He was given a wink and a nod on the implementation of a costly and unsustainable government mandated health care scheme. The “Fast and Furious” scandal was swept away. The press went mum on the September 11 attack resulting in the murders of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens at our consulate in Libya, as lies mounted upon lies, and answers are still not forthcoming. Imagine the calls for his head, if a Republican Commander-in-Chief had acted in such a duplicitous and despicable manner.  Obama and his minions recoil from calling terrorism by it’s rightful name, instead laying blame on returning U.S. military vets.

Yes, the election news is difficult to take. And even with the facts staring us squarely in the face, it is even more difficult to comprehend how it happened. Our nation is beset by unsustainable debt and mired in a fiscal crisis for which Barack Obama must take responsibility. Our national debt was $10.6 trillion on Jan. 20, 2009, when he took office, and has added another $5.4 trillion since – more than Bush amassed in his two full terms.

Locally, there is good news. Despite the daily newspaper’s relentless attacks against him, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio handily won reelection and will be serving an unprecedented sixth term. Proposition 115 lost by a decisive 4-1 margin (a tinkering of judicial merit selection that the judges supported since it increased their terms and age of retirement). Prop. 121 (Top-2 primary, a liberal device for shackling GOP primary election gains) and Prop. 204 (a permanent extension of the temporary sales tax hike), supported by the newspaper both failed by 2 – 1 margins.

Proof is in the pudding as the old saying goes. The AZ República is not simply a paper tiger — it is a toothless one at that. How long it will last charging for its irrelevant content might be a good contest for our reader‘s amusement.