Wednesday, April 6, 2016

National Archives Leak Dangerous Documents

Founders Fathers Online
The National Archives have launched Founders Online, a tool for seamless searching across the Papers of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton.

Through Founders Online you can now trace the shaping of the nation, the extraordinary clash of ideas, the debates and discussions carried out through drafts and final versions of public documents as well as the evolving thoughts and principles shared in personal correspondence, diaries, and journals. The beta version of Founders Online was funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) and contains over 119,000 documents. New documents will be added to the site on a continual basis.
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Your Wednesday Facts and Chicks

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Trump Decries Washington Insiders, Then Hires One to Save His Campaign


Throughout his presidential campaign Donald Trump has played the angry populist, railing against fat-cat donors, influence peddlers, and Washington establishment insiders who rig the system to the detriment of the American people.
"These people have hundreds of millions of dollars that they've given to these politicians, and these politicians are puppets for them.  With me, I'm going to do what's right for the country."
Yet when Trump needed a political operative to oversee his campaign's crucial delegate strategy—which could determine whether he wins the nomination at the Republican convention in July—he hired one of the most prominent Washington insiders: Paul Manafort, a veteran Republican lobbyist and consultant who has made millions of dollars working the system on behalf of corporations seeking government favors as well as Third World strongmen and kleptocrats.

Manafort, who was the Dole campaign's convention manager, led the effort to minimize the role at the convention of Patrick Buchanan, who had placed second in the GOP nominating contest. Hunting delegates was a side job for Manafort, who focused on lucrative work as a lobbyist for under-fire corporations and reviled political figures.

In 1985, for example, Manafort and an aide flew to Angola, which was then in the middle of a bloody civil war, to woo Jonas Savimbi, a onetime Maoist and brutal warlord who allegedly relied on blood diamonds to fuel his army. He managed to land a $600,000-a-year contract to represent Savimbi and his UNITA party in Washington, DC, and to try to help Savimbi win US funding.
For $600,000 a year, the firm has represented Angola's thuggish Jonas Savimbi, an alleged witch burner, and his guerilla group UNITA, helping promulgate his "freedom fighter" image and persuading Congress to approve more than $230 million in covert aid to Savimbi's rebel forces.
Though Trump has talked tough about confronting Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Manafort has links to the darkest corners of Putin's foreign policy world. In the mid-2000s, Manafort went to work for former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych, a Putin ally who was deposed in 2014 following mass protests over his administration's corruption and vote-rigging.

In another chapter of Manafort's long career, he pulled off a feat that epitomizes the kind of inside-the-Beltway cronyism that Trump rails against. In 1986, Manafort was paid more than $326,000 by a developer to lobby a Reagan administration official to approve a $43 million taxpayer-funded grant for a housing project in New Jersey that local officials didn't even want. His role in the deal became the subject of a congressional hearing, where Manfort told members of Congress that he shouldn't be faulted for knowing how to game Washington

How serious is Trump about his crusade to rid Washington of high-paid, system-rigging influence peddlers? By putting Manafort on his campaign payroll, he has demonstrated he certainly isn't against using these insiders if it benefits his own special interest. 

Baseless ad hominem attacks are not just a tool of the Left anymore

NoisyRoom 
There are quite a few rumors floating around in social media about Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz.
Americans are used to the mainstream media lying about Ted Cruz (see here & here for just some examples.) But it is particularly painful when the lies come from supposed truth-tellers. The largest culprits starting and perpetuating anti-Cruz falsehoods are Sundance of the Conservative Treehouse and Dianne Marshall of the Marshall Report. They blatantly lie, or tell cherry-picked half truths, which are promptly disseminated in social media by their army of bullies who are seemingly not interested in civil debate.
Why create false stories if the candidate is so bad?
The clearly coordinated effort is particularly disturbing because: 1.) it frankly smashes conventional wisdom that ad hominem baseless attacks are the tool of the left – not the principled right, and 2.) the social media bullies may serve to intimidate people from posting positive stories or opinions about Ted Cruz.
Here are some of the most persistent lies, myths and rumors about Ted Cruz:
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This has all become very tiring. It's a long time yet to the convention. If you have a candidate, then by all means promote him, and tell us why we should vote for him based on issues instead of lying about his opponents. If you're are going to take a shot at them, at least take them down with the truth. We are setting the table for the democrats, who you know will say, "They lied all the way through the primaries,why should you believe them now?"

Monday, April 4, 2016

Mark Zuckerberg's Solution to Global Islamic Terrorism:

"Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes he's found the solution to global Islamic terrorism: love and empathy. He has announced that, essentially, all we need to do is hug it out, that perhaps one Giant Hug will overcome the global jihadist network of maniacs who exist only to murder. ...
To have someone as engaged in the tech and information world as Mr. Zuckerberg propagate the nonsense that all the world needs is a hug, highlights the dramatic importance of rejecting this tripe, showing global leadership the door and elevating those who understand the worldwide threat. You won't be surprised to learn the solution is actually very kind -- introducing Islamists to Allah. As quickly as possible." — Tammy Bruce

A Good Monday Morning

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Breaking: Spokesperson From Progressive Insurance Detained By Trump Security


MFNS -Trump Tower N.Y. - After in-house security this morning found all the elevators in the Trump Tower apartments plastered with 'Bernie Sanders 2016' posters, MFNS has learned a few hours ago the actress from the Progressive commercials, Flo, was bodily dragged from her palatial apartment on the 16th floor of the Trump Towers and escorted off the premises to an undisclosed location.

Donald Trump is calling Flo a “person of interest in the case,” but has yet to explain why he plans to detain her indefinitely.
“Look, this is covered in the Patriot Act and I am the number one acting patriot.”  
Donald Trump also told reporters: 
“I'm not saying she's guilty, but she's very progressive. She's very progressive. She wears the word on her shirt, even when she's not on camera she wears it on her shirt. So is she worth questioning? I think she is, which is why she was detained by my people. Don't worry, I have the best people on this. I have Great people working for me. Tremendous people. They will get the truth out of her, one way or another." 
We were also able to learn Flo was able to get a message to the Amnesty International, but it was mostly garbled gasps for air with intermittent spitting sounds. When we contacted the Bernie Sanders Campaign headquarters about the posters, they denied any involvement and declined any further comment, but hilarious laughter was heard in the background. 

The Geico gecko, Benito Juarez, formerly known as the 'Frito Bandito' and the guys from the Sonic commercials are all publicly demanding her immediate release.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Here's Your Stop. Have a Good Day!

The Most Desired Attribute.....

The most desired attribute for a statesman in an authoritarian society is intelligence; because he is literally expected to solve all of the problems of the people. The most desirable attribute of a statesman in a free society is character; for he is simply a representative of the will of the people entrusted to vote and to act in their stead. Americans have traditionally been more interested in the story of their candidates than in their rhetoric. Who is he or she as a person? Is there a reason that they should be trusted to do as they claim? This concrete approach based on a candidates character and history is a source of security for a free society. In an authoritarian society the people lay under the emotional sway of rhetoric rather than reality. Rhetoric becomes reality. The statesman can paint any portrait of himself he likes with the instrument of rhetoric and a people desperate to embrace such a picture will do so, passionately. The scope and power of rhetoric is absolutely unlimited because it is merely language. It can excite the imagination without bounds. This is where the cult of personality comes from in an authoritarian context.

But where one’s opinion of a statesman or candidate comes from concrete facts and history such a cult is impossible. All that is possible here is an intelligent sober decision between two prospective candidates based upon their history.


Philosophical Conservatism