Gov. Corbett WAMs PA Again

By Tim Potts of Democracy Rising PA

As he allowed 42,000 working poor citizens to lose their AdultBasic health insurance for want of $54 million, Gov. Tom Corbett quietly approved $48 million in WAMs (walking around money) for lawmakers’ pet projects. He also did not ask lawmakers to give up any of their $188.5 million surplus to help balance the budget. Corbett promised as a candidate to stop WAMs and get the legislature to return all but a fraction of its surplus.

Here is the WAMs story:

Gov. Tom Corbett OKs $48 million in legislators’ grants, WAMs, Harrisburg Patriot, March 11.

Let’s make this simple.

1.  WAMs are unconstitutional. See  Common Cause of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth, 668 A.2d 190 (1995).

The Commonwealth Court ruling, affirmed by the PA Supreme Court, said that the General Assembly may not, “…authorize, designate, allot, or set aside moneys, either directly or indirectly earmarked for specific entities not under the absolute control of the Commonwealth.”(emphasis in the original by the Court) Id. at 205. If the legislature wants to do that, the Constitution requires that each appropriation be in a separate bill that requires a two-thirds vote for passage. See Article III, Section 30.

Further, the court said that, “…such a designation would violate one of the central tenets of our system of government, separation of powers.” Id.

And, “…the legislative branch may not micro-manage the executive’s power to administer appropriated funds by earmarking the non-governmental recipients thereof.” Id.at 206.

WAMs earmark appropriated funds, after they are appropriated, for non-governmental recipients that are not under the absolute control of the Commonwealth. The funds are appropriated without separate bills that received a two-thirds vote for passage.

2.  All governors, all lawmakers, in fact all public officials, take an oath to “obey” the Constitution. See Article VI, Section 3.

The Constitution does not permit a new governor to disobey the Constitution because his predecessor did. The new governor himself is responsible for obeying the Constitution, including Common Cause of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth.

3.  Gov. Corbett could have refused to give away $48 million in WAMs.

Every WAM requires the approval of the governor. Corbett could and should have refused to approve the WAMs because they are unconstitutional, but he didn’t.

4.  Then there are his campaign promises to the voters who elected him.

Speaking of WAMs in his response to the 2010 Integrity Questionnaire by Democracy Rising PA and Rock the Capital, Corbett said:

• “The Office of the Governor, with the ability to blue-line legislation and control disbursements of state grants, can and will be effective in rooting out this wasteful spending under my administration.”
• “Essentially, the governor [referring to then-Gov. Ed Rendell] has been able to preside over the willful disbursement of WAMs because his explosive spending agenda has not faced meaningful checks and balances which would accomplish the needed elimination of wasteful spending.”

Click here to read Corbett’s entire questionnaire response. Approving WAMs isn’t the only promise Corbett has broken. Another was the promise to deal with the legislature’s surplus:

“…I will work with the General Assembly to cap the legislative accounts at a fraction of its current level. The current legislative surplus should be used to help relieve the pressure created for Pennsylvania taxpayers by the increasing spending in Harrisburg.”

Gov. Corbett’s budget proposal was business as usual with the General Assembly. Here are some stories:

Lawmakers not asked to sacrifice in Corbett’s budget, KDKA TV Pittsburgh, March 9
Legislative budget barely trimmed, Pottsville Republican-Herald, March 11
Lawmakers: Legislature should lead by example, The Sentinel, Cumberland County, March 11
Balancing the books, then reform, Allentown Morning Call, March 13
PA legislature’s cash bound by few rules, Centre Daily Times, March 13

Comment:

We take no delight in reporting this news for two reasons. First, citizens had every reason to expect Gov. Corbett to live up to his promises. He spent most of a year telling us so.

Second, it doesn’t have to be this way. Other states prove it.

Questions:

• When will our political leaders give us the highest standards of public integrity in America?
• If they don’t, when will we elect new political leaders who will?

Please support our work with a tax-deductible contribution. They hate it when you do that.
Click here or send a donation to Democracy Rising PA, P.O. Box 618, Carlisle, PA 17013.

Thank you!

The Tribal Update Brings You The Bibi-Beats And The Deportations At Ben Gurion Airport

Uploaded by LatmaTV on Mar 11, 2011

The Tribal Update Brings You The Bibi-Beats And..., posted with vodpod

Righthaven Hits Toronto Star With Infringement Suit

By Wendy Davis

Last year, when former Las Vegas Review-Journal publisher Sherman Frederick wrote that his company had "grubstaked" copyright enforcement outright Righthaven, he publicly urged other newspapers to join the new litigation initiative. At the time Righthaven had filed 22 copyright infringement lawsuits against bloggers, small publishers and nonprofits who allegedly reposted all or parts of Review-Journal articles.

Since then, Righthaven has filed more than 200 additional cases, but hasn't garnered many takers for its offer to represent other papers in copyright lawsuits. The most notable exception is The Denver Post, which has arranged for Righthaven to file dozens of lawsuits regarding a photo of a pat-down at an airport. Two other potential clients -- WEHCO, which owns a group of papers that includes the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; and the St. Louis Tribune -- have signaled that they might tap Righthaven, but don't appear to have done so yet.

Meanwhile, recent moves by Righthaven have called into question whether it still aims to enlist other news organizations as clients. Several weeks ago, Righthaven sued the big media company Citadel Broadcasting for allegedly running the now infamous pat-down photo. And this week, Righthaven hit the Toronto Star with an infringement lawsuit, also for allegedly publishing the now-infamous Denver Post pat-down photo.

For reasons that aren't yet clear, the Star attributed that photo to the Associated Press, instead of The Denver Post. The court filings seem to show that the Star ran the photo to accompany an AP story about the pat-downs.

Regardless, these lawsuits against media companies, presumably filed without advance warning or requests that the material be removed, don't seem like the best strategy for winning over major publishers as clients.

Read more insightful commentary from the Daily Online Examiner a Division of MediaPost Communications

(c) 2011 MediaPost Communications, 15 East 32nd St., 7th floor, New York, NY 10016

BO says “No Muslim Terrorists Anywhere, Only Christian and Jewish Terrorists” + More

The Patriot Post Chronicle

The Foundation

"To model our political system upon speculations of lasting tranquility, is to calculate on the weaker springs of the human character." --Alexander Hamilton

Editorial Exegesis

Maybe there's a reason for being aware of radical Islam

"Rep. Peter King, New York Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, will hold hearings this week on Muslim extremism in the United States. The Obama administration and other pro-Islamic activists argue that because the vast majority of American Muslims aren't violent extremists, Congress has no business examining the growing numbers who are. This redirection is tantamount to saying that because most people are law-abiding, the police should ignore the study of criminal psychology. Mr. King's planned hearings will shine a bright light on a challenge the Obama administration has studiously ignored, with fatal results. Overlooking the motives of Muslim terrorists has become an O Force obsession. ... The Obama administration persistently has stricken the concept of Islamic extremism -- whether foreign or domestic -- from U.S. public policy. In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security drafted a Domestic Extremist Lexicon that listed Jewish extremism as a threat and described various strands of purportedly dangerous Christian extremism but made no mention of any form of Muslim extremism. This document was pulled along with other questionable Homeland Security publications once their contents became public. The February 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review discussed terrorism and violent extremism but didn't refer to radical Islam in any context. Likewise, the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review avoids any terminology related to Islam. Mr. King's hearings are a useful step toward opening up the debate on the pressing problem of domestic Islamic extremism. Mr. Obama's inexplicable tendency to turn aside from the question has harmed the ability of the United States to deal with this threat." --The Washington Times

Upright

"In the context of federal spending that will total something like $3.8 trillion this year, $61 billion is a rounding error. Yet the Democrats resisting that amount in House-approved cuts say it will wreck the economy while leaving children unschooled, taking food from the mouths of the elderly and casting disabled people into the streets. ... The cuts represent less than 2 percent of the total budget, less than 4 percent of the deficit and less than 5 percent of discretionary spending, which rose in real terms by 75 percent from 2000 to 2010 and by about 9 percent in each of the last two fiscal years. If the House-approved reductions would be 'the largest one-year cuts in history,' as the folks at Every Child Matters say, that is a sad commentary not on Republican cold-heartedness but on the fiscal incontinence of both parties." --columnist Jacob Sullum

"That 'clean energy' is code for 'anti-warming' is obvious, given that even Environmental Protection Agency numbers show that virtually all emissions have dropped dramatically in recent decades -- except for greenhouse gases. ... Global warming is a dying cause because the costs of the favored 'fixes' for the problem vastly outweigh the supposed benefits -- and China and India aren't going to stop industrializing, and stay poor, simply to please Western elites. Republicans should wake up and not let Obama use the guise of clean energy to keep the anti-warming crusade alive." --Reason Foundation Senior Fellow Shikha Dalmia

"Today, we take universal literacy for granted. But literacy has not been universal, across all segments of the American population during all of the 20th century. Illiteracy was the norm in Albania as recently as the 1920s and in India in the second half of the 20th century. Bare literacy is just one of the things needed to make democracy viable. Without a sense of responsible citizenship, voters can elect leaders who are not merely incompetent or corrupt, but even leaders with contempt for the Constitutional limitations on government power that preserve the people's freedom. We already have such a leader in the White House -- and a succession of such leaders may demonstrate that the viability of freedom and democracy can by no means be taken for granted here." --economist Thomas Sowell

"In truth, President Obama couldn't send a proper naval display to Tripoli or Benghazi even if he could borrow enough courage from the typing pool to order it. The big warships have been diverted elsewhere ...      Read the rest here.

Hoyer Says Federal Budget May Not Be Balanced for 20 Years + More

Email  E-Brief from CNSNews.com

Hoyer Says Federal Budget May Not Be Balanced for 20 Years

Washington (CNSNews.com) House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Tuesday it may take as many as 20 years to balance the federal budget after years of deficit spending in Washington. Hoyer noted that even his 20-year estimate was based on a robustly growing economy.

Republicans Expose 'Legislative Fraud' in ObamaCare
(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is blasting Democrats for "legislative fraud of the highest order." She says the Democrats' health care bill contains baked-in funding to be used for implementing Obamacare, which will make the law even more difficult to repeal. She is demanding that Democrats give back the advance appropriations that were buried in the enormous bill.

Republican Lawmaker Accuses HHS Secretary of Budget Shenanigans: 'Youre Double Counting'
(CNSNews.com) - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted  at a House hearing last week that $500 billion in Medicare cuts contained in the Democrats health care law is being counted in two ways: both to shore up Medicare and to fund health-care reform. There is an issue here on the budget, because your own actuary has said, you cant double-count, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) told Sebelius. 

U.S. Treasury Drew Down Its Cash Balance by $81.6 Billion in Just First 4 Days of March
(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Treasury is depleting its cash at an accelerating pace, drawing down its cash balance by $81.6 billion in the just the first four days of March, leaving the federal government with only $108.9 billion on hand, according to the Daily Treasury Statement released Monday afternoon. Were the government to continue to draw down its cash balance at the $20.4 billion-per-day rate that prevailed in the first four days of March, it would spend its way through its final $108.9 billion in little more than five days.

DHS Caught and Released 369 Nigerians in 9 Months After Flight 253 Attack; 15 Became Fugitives
(CNSNews.com) - Because of the Homeland Security Department's practice of catching and releasing suspected Nigerian immigration violators, 52 Nigerian illegal-alien suspects ended up becoming fugitives in the United States in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 alone. These 52 Nigerian fugitives include 15 who DHS caught and released in the 9 months following Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day 2009.

Obama Administration Responding to 228 Proposals -- Some From Libya, Cuba, North Korea -- on Human Rights in the U.S.
(CNSNews.com) The United States human rights record will be back in the spotlight at the U.N. Human Rights Council next week, when the U.S. delegation provides its response to more than 200 recommendations made by other governments, ranging from liberal democracies to the repressive regimes ruling Libya, Iran, Cuba, North Korea and China. The recommendations cover a broad range of issues, from combating Islamophobia to scrapping Arizonas controversial immigration law.

Rep. Waxman: Climate Change is 'Moral Issue' Comparable to Civil Rights
(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Mich.) says climate change is a moral issue, and he criticized Republicans for their attempts to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agencys authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee said Republicans have adopted anti-science views and compared the climate change issue to the debate in America on civil rights.

Pakistan Government Not Expected to Challenge Blasphemy Laws
(CNSNews.com) Almost a week after Pakistans only Christian government minister was shot dead by Islamists angered by his opposition to national blasphemy laws, the U.S.-backed government has given no indication that it is willing to confront radicals determined to keep the laws in place. In a Washington Post op-ed,  Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari appealed for more understanding and patience from the international community as Pakistans confronts what he called the battle between extremism and moderation.

White House Avoids Comment on Botched ATF Project Gunrunner Operation, Wont Say If President Is Aware
Washington (CNSNews.com) The White House would not weigh in Monday on a brewing controversy over a botched sting operation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in which guns that the ATF funneled to smugglers in the U.S. ended up at crime scenes in Mexico where U.S. law enforcement agents were killed.

FDA Draft Report Says Menthol Cigarettes No Riskier Than Others
(CNSNews.com) After reviewing years of tobacco industry data and independent science, the Food and Drug Administration cannot find evidence that menthol cigarettes are any more harmful than any other type of cigarette. However, an FDA committee left a back door open to some sort of regulation, saying that because of their flavor, menthols may be harder to quit or may encourage people to begin smoking.

NPR Gets a Tremendous Amount of Criticism for Being Too Conservative, CEO Schiller Says
(CNSNews.com) - "Certainly we do get criticized about all manner of things, National Public Radio President and CEO Vivian Schiller said on Monday. She said she wishes that NPR's critics "could be in our editorial meetings and see what goes on and the care that our reporters and our journalists and other editors take to get it right." She admitted that when it comes to liberal bias, NPR has "erred in the past," but "we make corrections, and we always strive to do better.

Taxpayer 'Investment' in 'Public Media' Is Key to NPR's Success, CEO Says
(CNSNews.com) - The president and CEO of National Public Radio (NPR), Vivian Schiller, said federal funding is critical to NPRs success. The fact that we have four sources of revenue - listeners, philanthropy, corporate and government - helps ensure that public media is not beholden to any one source of revenue, said Schiller. Indeed, it is through this diversity of funding that we are able to maintain our journalistic independence.

Obama Reverses Position on Military Trials for Gitmo Terror Suspects

Washington (CNSNews.com) President Barack Obama has ended a two-year ban on military trials for terrorism suspects at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, signing an executive order Monday that reverses the policy he put in place shortly after he took office. Obama stressed that his administration still may try terror suspects in civilian courts, a point of major controversy.

CNSNews.com    325 South Patrick Street | Alexandria, VA 22314 US

Chairman Barack and the USSA

A little bit of reminiscing and Deja Vu.
What was predicted is now happening.
What was tried over the centuries and totally FAILED is now being implemented here; under a different name, of course.

Are you still wondering how we got here??? ---ed

Uploaded by CJKpi
With the coronation of Comrade and Chairman Barack Hussein Obama I have put together this video (set to the Anthem of the USSR) featuring Chairman Barack's greatest pieces of propaganda.




Chairman Barack and the USSA

YouTube - Kids For Cash Prison Too Good for Corrupt Judge Mark Ciavarella

Uploaded by policecrimescom

A former juvenile court judge in Pennsylvania could face more than 10 years in prison after being convicted in what prosecutors called a "kids for cash" scheme.

Prosecutors say former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella used children as pawns, locking them up unjustly in a plot to get rich. Ciavarella is accused of taking nearly $1 million in kickbacks from owners of private detention centers in exchange for placing juvenile defendants at their facilities, often for minor crimes. Ciavarella claims that the payment he received from a developer of the PA Child Care facility was legal and denies that he ever incarcerated kids for money.

"Absolutely never took a dime to send a kid anywhere," said Ciavarella.

Ciavarella, 61, was found guilty of 12 out of 39 charges on Friday, including racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy, in connection with the nearly $1 million payment from Robert Mericle, the developer of the PA Child Care center. He plans to appeal. Ciavarella was acquitted on charges of bribery and extortion in relation to additional payments from the center's builder and owner.

Families complain of Ciavarella's rapid-fire brand of justice and trials that lasted only minutes with even first-time offenders sent to detention centers.

In one reported case, Ciavarella sentenced a child to two years for joyriding in his mom's car. In another, he sentenced a college-bound high school girl to three months in juvenile detention for creating a website that made fun of her assistant principal. Some of the kids he ordered locked up were as young as 10.

In October 2009, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed 4,000 juvenile delinquency cases Ciavarella handled from Jan. 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008. The court said that it "cannot have any confidence that Ciavarella decided any Luzerne County juvenile case fairly and impartially while he labored under the specter of his self-interested dealings with the facilities," and called Ciavarella's actions a "travesty of juvenile justice."

NEVER talk to police officers know your rights http://policecrimes.com/police.html

YouTube - Kids For Cash Prison Too Good for Cor..., posted with vodpod

Some Energy and Environmental News-3/4/11

By John Droz, Jr.

Friends:

I promised that I would periodically send you an email when there was something of value. Today is the day...

This is a simply stunning admission about wind energy by the head of the giant utility company, National Grid. 

He says forget about the idea of electricity being available when you want it — that’s so yesterday!!!  (See attached.)

This is the type of ammunition that will resonate with ALL CITIZENS, ANYPLACE fighting wind energy. Print it out.

On a very related topic: wind makes grid guys nervous <<http://www.energybiz.com/article/11/02/wind-shortfalls-make-grid-guys-nervous?utm_source=2011_03_02&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=EB_DAILY&utm_term=Original-Member>>.

****************

My post about 1603 Grants outlines our position on several key claims by wind lobbyists. Contact your US federal legislators, as all budget matters are still on the table!

<<http://www.masterresource.org/2011/02/the-case-against-1603-grants-5-billion-easy-pieces/>>.

****************

Myth of Green Jobs <<http://www.aei.org/outlook/101026>>.

“Big Wind: Full of Sound & Fury, Signifying Nothing” is a great critique of the wind industry and AWEA in particular 

<<http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2011/01/25/big-wind-full-of-sound-and-fury-signifying-nothing/>>.

“The False Prophet of Green Energy” <<http://www.masterresource.org/2011/02/false-promise-green-energy-cato/>>.

A good article on Infrasound and turbines <<http://www.windturbinesyndrome.com/news/2011/infrasound-the-hidden-annoyance-of-industrial-wind-turbines-france/>>.

Myths and Facts about Nuclear Energy <<http://www.nei.org/newsandevents/nei-backgrounders/myths--facts-about-nuclear-energy>>.

“Spontaneous Order” is one of many insightful op-eds by John Stossel. This one pertains to the energy business 

<<http://www.creators.com/opinion/john-stossel/spontaneous-order.html>>.

Another good wind related newsletter I should have added to my list is from the friends of Maine’s Mountains. To get on their list, email them at “info@friendsofmainesmountains.com”.

The Putting Some Balance To It Department —

North Carolina was trying to be one of  the first states to impose rules and regulations on coastal communities due to projected sea level rise (supposedly mostly attributable to AGW). I was asked to weigh in on the science of a study that a state agency had done. The result is a comprehensive two part Report about sea level rise predictions <<http://tinyurl.com/4lns7wy>>. Part 1 is an overview observation about methodology used to solve our technical issues, and directly applies to wind energy as well. Note that Part 2 is not finalized yet, so please do not pass it on until I take off the “Draft” title.

A superior overview of the IPCC situation <<http://www.drroyspencer.com/2011/02/on-the-house-vote-to-defund-the-ipcc/>>.

“Shhhh... Don’t talk About The Science” <<http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2011/02/gillard-ignores-the-science>>.

An interesting project <<http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/feb/27/can-these-scientists-end-climate-change-war>>.

The Community Service Department —

Watch this different perspective about what is happening in Egypt <<http://tinyurl.com/64qrrge>>.

See the Sistine Chapel in three-D and zoom in to closely to examine every part <<http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html>>.

Sent to me by a friend. For those concerned about the cost of health care, there are these free services:

     Go to an airport — you'll get a free x-ray and a breast exam, and, if you mention Al Qaeda, you'll also get a free colonoscopy.

john droz, jr.

physicist & environmental advocate

Budget Pain - Not for Lawmakers, Corbett Staff

By Tim Potts

DR News: Budget Pain: Not for Lawmakers, Corbett Staff

On the day that 42,000 working poor in PA lost their health insurance because Gov. Tom Corbett and lawmakers couldn’t find money to pay for the Adult Basic health insurance program, a Pittsburgh TV station revealed that lawmakers have their own private doctor for the General Assembly.

In addition to paying Dr. Paul Grosh $170 per hour, up to $65,000 a year, lawmakers are using tax dollars to pay Dr. Grosh’s own health insurance, dental, vision and prescription drug costs plus his medical malpractice practice premium. There is no dollar value given for the benefits or malpractice insurance costs.

Here is the report by WTAE-TV’s Jim Parsons:   Taxpayer money used for legislators’ medical treatment.   Click here  to see the contract with Dr. Grosh.

Back to the working poor, the estimated cost of continuing the Adult Basic health care program is reported to be $54 million. The surplus in legislative leaders’ accounts is $188 million.

The legislature’s own health insurance costs taxpayers $19,633 per lawmaker per year, according to a column by John Baer in the Philadelphia Daily News: Gov. Corbett: Read your mail, save the health plan.  Senators have paid 1% of wages, or about $800 per year, for their health insurance since 2007. Representatives have paid nothing but will begin paying 1% in July.

Corbett pays top staff 11% more than Rendell

On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Gov. Corbett is paying his top staff significantly more than former Gov. Ed Rendell, an average of $129,303 for Corbett compared to $116,440 for Rendell, an increase of 11%. Corbett’s budget axe hasn’t taken swing at staff salaries,  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Feb. 27.

Corbett’s office points out that he so far has hired two fewer high-level staff than Rendell so that the total spending is less.

Some in legislature have convictions

As the trial of Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny, continues in Pittsburgh, one legislative staffer has joined the ranks of those sentenced for their crimes in the Bonus Scandal. Former House staffer Patrick Lavelle, Jr. was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to partisan fundraising at taxpayer expense. Lavelle, who cooperated with prosecutors, was sentenced to:

• Serve five years probation
• Pay $5,000 in fines
• Pay $22,000 in restitution to taxpayers for the bonus he received for his political work
• Perform 750 hours of community service

Lavelle worked for former Rep. Mike Veon, D-Beaver, who is currently serving a six to 14-year sentence for his role in the Bonus Scandal. Here’s the story: Bonusgate defendant PJ Lavelle, ex Veon aide, gets probation sentence,  Harrisburg Patriot, March 1

Still awaiting trial are former House Speaker Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, and former House Speaker John Perzel, R-Phila. Other former representatives who also await trial are Brett Feese, R-Lycoming, and Steve Stetler, D-York. Former senator Raphael Musto, D-Luzerne, awaits trial on federal charges unrelated to the Bonus Scandal, and former Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Lackawanna, is the target of another federal grand jury investigation.

Speaking of the Orie trial, jury deliberations were halted today when prosecutors alleged that key defense documents were altered. Orie trial halted over allegation of doctored documents,  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 3. Click here  to see the documents in question.

If we lived in other states…

Common Cause PA’s Barry Kauffman points out that if Sen. President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson, and Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Washington, lived in any of 35 other states, they could be facing criminal charges today. The two are among an unknown number of lawmakers treated to the Super Bowl by Consol Energy, a leading energy firm with an interest in Marcellus shale drilling and extraction. Here are two stories:

Perks from PA drilling interests,  The Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 13
Scarnati to pay back shale company for Super Bowl junket,  The Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 14

Two-thirds of PA voters want to prohibit public officials, not just legislators, from taking gifts from lobbyists and special interests. The other states prove it can be done.

Questions:

• Why can’t PA ban gifts as many other states have done and PA voters want to do?
• Why isn’t pushing public integrity a priority for the governor and legislative leaders?
• Why isn’t the generous package of salary and benefits that taxpayers provide enough for these people?

Please support our work with a tax-deductible contribution. Click here  or send a donation to Democracy Rising PA, P.O. Box 618, Carlisle, PA 17013.

Thank you!

MARCH 3 Press Conference

Warning of the threat of Shariah Law

PLEASE ATTEND IF YOU ARE ABLE.

MEDIA ADVISORY

For more information and to schedule an interview, contact

Dave Reaboi dreaboi@securefreedom.org (202) 431-1948
Andy Sullivan press@bluecollarcorner.com

Liberty Alliance Coalition to Hold DC Press
Conference Warning of Threat of Shariah Law to
the Constitution

Press Conference to be held at 12:00 noon Thursday,
March 3rd in Lafayette Park

WASHINGTON, DC--- On Thursday, March 3 in Lafayette Park, the Liberty Alliance will call for an end to false accusations of "bigotry" and "Islamophobia" designed to silence those voicing concern about the threat of Shariah law to the Constitution. The news conference will begin at 12:00 noon, March 3rd, at the southeast corner of Lafayette Park near the White House in Washington.

The news conference comes amid calls by Anjem Choudary, an advocate for the supremacism of Shariah Law, for a "Shariah For America" demonstration Thursday in front of the White House. While it is unclear whether Choudary and his followers will actually show up on March 3, Liberty Alliance coalition members will be present to speak out about the conflict between Shariah law and the U.S. Constitution.

Among the groups endorsing the press conference are the Center for Security Policy, Liberty Rocks, Blue Collar Corner, Women United International, the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero, and many other organizations.

W H A T

Press Conference:

Liberty Alliance Coalition to Hold Press Conference Warning of Threat of Shariah Law
to the Constitution

W H O

Final list of speakers to be announced Thursday morning

W H E R E

Lafayette Park, Southeast Corner

Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC

W H E N

Thursday, 3 March, 12:00 noon

For more information, contact: Dave Reaboi
dreaboi@securefreedom.org
Mobile: (202) 431-1948

and

Andy Sullivan press@bluecollarcorner.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765
Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.

Open the Koran Day

By Brigitte Gabriel, President, ACT! for America

It will be an historic event. An unprecedented event.

Last fall, in response to the pastor who wanted to have a “Burn the Koran Day” event, I said during an appearance on the Hannity radio program that, rather than burning books, let’s have an “Open the Koran Day” event and educate Americans about what exactly is in the Koran.

So I’m excited to announce ACT! for America’s 2011 “Open the Koran Day” national event.

Here’s our plan. During the weekend of September 23 – 25, ACT! for America chapter leaders and members will host “Open the Koran” informational tables all across America. These tables will be set up in front of post offices, public libraries, in churches and synagogues—wherever we can set them up where people will be walking by!

Our goal is to have at least 750 venues for these informational tables, from Alaska to Florida and Maine to California. At these tables we will provide 2,500 full-color, glossy handouts with verses from the Koran as well as passages from the hadith (sayings and traditions of Mohammed) that address topics including:

Jihad The treatment of women Dealing with “infidels” Muslim “apostasy” Blasphemy against Islam Slavery in Islam The treatment of gays and lesbians

We will promote this through our emails, website, TV program, and radio and TV interviews, reaching potentially millions of people. Nothing like this has ever been done before in America!

This letter to you today marks the kickoff of our 30 day campaign to raise the money needed to pull off an unprecedented effort like this.

THIS IS AN ENORMOUS ORGANIZATIONAL AND LOGISTICAL UNDERTAKING—BUT THE BENEFITS WILL BE WORTH IT !!

We estimate the costs for designing, printing and shipping materials and ACT! for America 3’ x 6’ banners will amount to only $125 per information table. That works out to nearly $94,000 for 750 tables.

Tens of thousands will get our handouts at the tables. Millions more will hear about the event or print off the handouts posted online. That’s a lot of “bang for the buck!”

If we’re going to pull off this historic, unprecedented event, we’re going to need the help of ACT! for America members like you.

You can help us make this historic event a reality by either making a monthly Patriot Partner contribution or making a single gift Contributing Member contribution.

If you prefer to make a single gift Contributing Member contribution with a check, you can print out this reply form and mail it in with your contribution.

When you make either a Patriot Partner monthly contribution or a single gift Contributing Member contribution, we’ll send you a special gift as our thank you, such as an autographed copy of my book They Must Be Stopped.

We need 300 Patriot Partners giving an average of $20 per month and 1,000 Contributing Members each making a single gift averaging $50 to achieve our goal. What can you do today?

Americans need to understand the supremacist political ideology embedded within the holy books of Islam that is the foundation for the rise of radical Islam we are witnessing today.

With your financial help we’ll be able to help many more Americans come to understand…

why “radicalization” of Muslims is increasing in America; why dozens of Muslim countries are pushing for international criminalization of free speech that criticizes Islam; why Islamic jihad is on the rise worldwide; and why demands for sharia law are dramatically increasing in countries across Europe and in the Muslim world.

But we can’t make this unprecedented, historic event a reality without your help.

So please respond today. Log on here to make your monthly Patriot Partner gift or Contributing Member gift.

Of if you prefer, print out this reply form and mail in the most generous gift you can.

Together we will make a GIANT leap forward in helping America understand what the Koran and Hadith teach.

Over the next 30 days we’ll be sending out email updates to keep you abreast of our progress. In the meantime, I thank you for taking action TODAY!

Always devoted,


Brigitte Gabriel

JunkScience's Facts Clears the Air vs. EPA's Smoke and Mirrors

Steve Milloy of JunkScience fame exposing "All the Junk That's Fit to Debunk" is now shining the light on the EPA in the following two articles.   --Al

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EPA's Clean Air Act: Saving millions and making trillions?

By Steve Milloy
March 1, 2011, JunkScience.com 

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claimed today that it is saving millions of lives and making the U.S. trillions of dollars through the Clean Air Act.

 

JunkScience.com has prepared a response to the agency's fanciful claims. Though it is still in draft form, we are posting "EPA's Clean Air Act: Pretending air pollution is worse than it is" early in response to the EPA's wild assertions.

 

 The full story with links is at JunkScience.com

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Shocker: EPA air chief ignorant of atmospheric CO2 levels

By Steve Milloy
March 1, 2011, JunkScience.com 

 

At today's House Energy and Power Subcommittee hearing on EPA's job killing greenhouse gas regulations, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) asked panel witness Gina McCarthy - chief of EPA's air programs, including the agency's greenhouse gas regulation - whether she had any idea of what the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide is, she responded that SHE DID NOT.

 

The full story is at JunkScience.com