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When Pelosi says we do not have a spending problem it is like a drunk saying he does not have a drinking problem, a dope addict does not have a drug problem, Pinocchio saying he does not have a veracity problem,
Pelosi is slick, she smiles all the while she lies - very good plastic surgery! (See 1 below.)
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This from someone I am very close to and who reads my memos: "Obama's comment, No one who works full time should be poor is right out of Brave New World.
What about no writer who writes full time should be rejected.
Every time minimum wage is raised, don't employers either fire or quit hiring?"
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Dr. Carson is under attack because he said what Liberals fear so they have started to demonize him. Liberals, who profess their love of black Americans, attack the selected ones and tag them as UncleToms when they espouse concepts Liberal's reject, ie. Thomas, Rice, Sowell, West and now Carson. They also attacked Powell before he turned more black.
Let's face it, Biden was telling it like it is when he said Obama was both light skinned and articulate enough to pass the bar that Liberal's set for black citizens they profess to love. (See 2 below.)
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My oldest daughter's book is being republished. Her son is the one who recently launched his social media "Unbucket" project Congrats! (See 3 below and/or go to DebraDarvick.com)
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President 'Withdrawal' validated my thinking that he wants America to withdraw from foreign involvements so he can re-channel more billions spent on defense to pet welfare programs in order to lock in more constituents whose focus is narrow.
Obama is slicing the social salami very thin for the benefit of his party not because it has anything to do with his sworn duty to protect and defend our nation. (See 4 below.)
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DickMy oldest daughter's book is being republished. Her son is the one who recently launched his social media "Unbucket" project Congrats! (See 3 below and/or go to DebraDarvick.com)
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President 'Withdrawal' validated my thinking that he wants America to withdraw from foreign involvements so he can re-channel more billions spent on defense to pet welfare programs in order to lock in more constituents whose focus is narrow.
Obama is slicing the social salami very thin for the benefit of his party not because it has anything to do with his sworn duty to protect and defend our nation. (See 4 below.)
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| The world's markets are beginning to go haywire. The world's money system – the scales upon which the world's market functions – is being deliberately destroyed. And so, the monetary signals that guide the markets – which are supposed to represent the supply and demand decisions of billions of people – have become distorted. You can see the signs everywhere… You could see it in the equity markets a year ago. Never before had stocks been so tightly correlated to each other and to currencies, commodities, and bonds. Not everything should move in the same direction at once… but it did. And you can see it now in the incredible bond bubble going on… Interest rates across all types of fixed-income products have never been so low. And junk bonds have never traded at such an average high price – a significant premium to par ($105). And until recently… you could have seen it in the prices of gold and platinum. Over the past 25 years, gold has almost never traded for more than platinum. And yet, from September 2011 until just last month, it did. But both gold and silver have doubled against the dollar since 2008. Platinum was hard-pressed to keep up… Any one of these examples, considered in isolation, seems harmless enough. But taken together, they clearly demonstrate that the markets are not working normally. These weird situations in the markets are linked. They are all warning signs. We believe the world's markets have gotten "out of whack." As a result, these aberrations will continue in size and scope until, at some point, they begin to seriously affect the world economy's ability to function. You see, central banks are inflating the world's money supply at an unprecedented pace. Never before has the entire world's monetary system been completely untethered from both gold and real rates of interest. Monetary theorists believe these manipulations can deliver the benefits of free markets – wealth, abundance, a cornucopia of choices – without any of the costs: savings, investment, labor, and interest. But we agree with Seth Klarman. The legendary value investor and head of the Baupost hedge fund described the situation like this in his annual letter:
The distortions in the markets are the result of the deliberate manipulation of currency values around the world by central bankers. The central bankers are responding to their political masters' demands for easier money and cheaper credit. There is now, around the world, a widespread belief that the symbol of wealth (paper money) alone can deliver all the benefits of the market. This is the great lie. It is the final modern delusion. Watching this tragedy unfold around the world is horrifying. The Baupost letter reminded us of the studies of Edward Gibbon, the great British historian who chronicled the rise and fall of the first great Western civilization:
Today… these words don't merely apply to my fellow Americans – a group of people I scarcely recognize anymore. They describe almost all of the free people living in the West. The drive for freedom and a better life through hard work, saving, and independence has been replaced by a craven need for the illusion of security. Rather than trying to leave our children in possession of a better world – with more financial security – political leaders around the world now bicker about how to change the rules so that still more debt can be stacked upon their grandchildren. You can see the result in the chart below.  This sea change in the culture of the West will have an appalling effect on our standard of living. The first changes are already being felt… real wages haven't risen in the U.S. since we left the gold standard in 1971. Much bigger declines are coming. We believe the world's economy is now entering a kind of blind alley. By willfully abdicating the responsibilities of the markets – by monetizing our debts, by deliberately inflating our currencies, by bailing out failed companies, and by promising to deliver more benefits than can be afforded – the major economies of the West (including America's) have chosen the path of socialism. We know there is no escape from this path, which will soon lead to massive dislocations, huge price increases, and poverty on a scale unseen during our lifetimes. Sadly, the best way to protect yourself from this looming catastrophe is to benefit from the same policies that are causing it. That means making sure you have your wealth not in paper money, but in blue-chip businesses, productive real estate, and gold. Make sure you buy them before it's too late. Good investing, Porter Stansberry ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2)Limbaugh: Dr. Carson's Refreshing Jolt of Good Societal Medicine  President Obama must have been stunned at the "audacity" of Dr. Benjamin Carson in challenging his core assumptions right to his face in front of thousands of people at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Obama is not used to being challenged, especially in public, even if indirectly and without being specifically named. From the look on his face, it was obvious Obama was none too pleased with Carson's message or with his "presumptuousness" in presenting it in that forum, while he had to sit still and -- remain silent.
I think we can best understand Carson's message in light of his opening statements, which laid the foundation for the thematic body of this speech.
He began citing scriptural passages that he said would put his upcoming remarks into context. Three of the passages were wisdom sayings from the book of Proverbs, admonishing that the godless destroy their neighbor with their mouths, that a man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor and that a generous man will prosper.
The final passage was God's promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that if his people will humble themselves and pray and seek his face and turn from their wicked ways, he will hear them, forgive their sins and heal their land.
Carson also decried the chilling effect of political correctness that makes people afraid to express certain opinions on important issues, lest they incur the wrath of society's thought and speech police -- those who presume to be the guardians of all moral and acceptable opinions. He then proceeded to boldly articulate a number of ideas that clearly fall in this category of disfavored speech.
Specifically, Carson offered a ringing endorsement of America's founding principles and its unique constitutional liberties. He decried the moral decay in our society and our government's grotesque fiscal irresponsibility.
He took aim on our ever-expanding welfare state, not only by championing hard work, self-reliance and personal responsibility but also in invoking his own personal experience as an example.
He related how his mother worked multiple jobs to provide for him and his brother and imparted critically important values to them. She made them read and improve themselves and absolutely refused to let them make excuses and claim victimhood for their plight.
Carson, I believe, was illustrating that we have a moral problem in this nation and that the instilling of good values begins in the home and is neither the responsibility nor the prerogative of a caretaker government.
He denounced the practice -- refined to an art form by President Obama -- of politicians employing class warfare to deride the wealthy with accusations that they don't contribute enough while treating the less fortunate as helpless and expecting no contribution from them at all. This, I think, is where he was dovetailing the scriptural texts warning against deriding one's neighbor. He was saying, in effect, that political demagogues who pit people against one another on the basis of income and wealth harm society, including the very people they pretend to help.
In a television interview, Carson expanded on some of these thoughts, explaining that the Founding Fathers were afraid of an out-of-control government that would "get to the point where it couldn't subsist without taking everything from the people." Next, he linked, though not expressly, the scriptural passage on generosity in challenging today's conventional wisdom that the wealthy are necessarily greedy. He pointed to the remarkable generosity of some of America's historically wealthiest individuals. America, he said, "has always been a very generous nation. Look at all the foundations that have been created for the purpose of taking care of people."
He also expounded on his comments on political correctness, apparently criticizing the president's selective assault on religious liberty. He said, "If the president would exercise anywhere near the sensitivity about religious freedom in this country as he does about Islam and offending them, we wouldn't even have these kinds of problems."
There is also no question in my mind that in citing the passage from 2 Chronicles, Carson was expressing his view that America has strayed from its godly roots and replaced God's absolute moral standards with those that seem right to a man but are wholly destructive of our moral fabric. We must turn back to God, reject this man-made ethic grounded in covetousness, envy and greed, and recommit ourselves to godly values and right living.
In his speech, Carson did not criticize President Obama by name, but he roundly condemned his philosophy of and approach to governance. He did so with abundant forcefulness but equally strong respectfulness.
It was an admirable display of forthrightness and courage and a virtual seminar in how President Obama's political opponents should boldly, directly and publicly dispute his wrongheaded message and block his destructive agenda.
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David Limbaugh is a writer, author and attorney. His latest book, "The Great Destroyer," reached No. 2 on the New York Times best-seller list for nonfiction. Follow him on Twitter @davidlimbaugh and his website at www.davidlimbaugh.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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3)A Second Life for My First Book  I am thrilled to share with you that my first book,This Jewish Life: Stories of Discovery, Connection and Joy, has just been rereleased by a new house – Read the Spirit Books, the publishing arm of ReadtheSpirit.com. As with weddings, there is something old (original favorites), something new (wonderful additions), something borrowed (joyful images dancing across a cover beautifully designed by illustrator Rick Nease) and something blue (my name at the bottom, although that leans a bit toward teal.)
David Crumm, former Religion Editor of the Detroit Free Press and the brainchild behindReadtheSpirit.com, has been a devoted friend and supporter of the book since he reviewed the first edition. I am grateful that his long-intentioned goal to breathe new life into This Jewish Life, sharing it with non-Jewish readers nationwide, has now come to fruition.
For those of you unfamiliar with the book, I interviewed Jews from across the country about their most transforming Jewish experiences, casting wide the net to include stories from all ages, both sexes, as well as a broad range of Jewish practice and non-practice. At the time the book-fairy tapped me on the shoulder and planted the idea in my head, I was raising my kids, creating a Jewish home into which I was constantly bring new traditions, customs and experiences. I thought it would be cool to read about other Jews’ positive Jewish encounters and found there was no such book around. Enter that book fairy mentioned above. At the time I had never written anything more than a 1700-word article, and quaked at the thought of what could be involved. Book fairies, I learned, are an insistent bunch, for which I am ultimately grateful. The writing of This Jewish Life, and now its republication, continues to bring wonderful people my way, Jews and non-Jews alike eager to learn about Jewish life and customs.
This Jewish Life now contains fifty-four stories organized around what I call the twin timelines of the Jewish calendar — life cycle events and holidays. Each section begins with an explanation of the holiday or life cycle event so that readers have some context for the stories that follow. You can read excerpts on my author’s page at ReadtheSpirit.com as well as learn more about many aspects of Jewish life and culture. The book is available in e-versions on Amazon; paperback available any day now. Send me a message via myFB Reading Room if you’d like to have, or give, an autographed copy.
Many thanks to Joe Lewis for reviewing the book so swiftly, candidly and praisefully.
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4)Top of the Agenda: Obama Sheds Light on Foreign Policy in State of the Union
In a State of the Union address dominated by issues including the economy, gun control, and immigration, U.S. President Barack Obama offered what analysts called a rough sketch of foreign policy initiatives for his second term. On Syria (FP), he pledged to "keep the pressure" on the regime and "support opposition leaders"--a contrast to his remarks on the regime from last year's speech. The president chastised North Korea (TIME) for its nuclear test earlier in the day, saying the move "will only isolate them further." And on Iran, Obama stopped short of calling for direct talks, deferring to a "diplomatic solution." He also annouced the drawdown of more than half of the remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan--some 34,000--by the end of next year.
Analysis
"This is the new American way of war: 'leading from behind' with smart bombs, surveillance, and logistical support in Libya and Mali; or 'advising and assisting' local armies waging their own fights against insurgents in Yemen and Uganda--but decidedly not sending tens of thousands of U.S. troops to launch an invasion or to rebuild societies afterward. In other words, no more Afghanistans," writes Fred Kaplan for Slate.
"Much of the foreign policy segment of the speech was defined by what he didn't mention: for the first time since the U.S. invasion a decade ago, a U.S. President did not mention Iraq in a State of the Union address. Obama was mum on the controversial Keystone-pipeline decision with Canada, Middle East peace, the pivot to Asia and closing Guantánamo. Most notably, he did not utter the words war on terror," writes Jay Newton-Small for TIME.
"President Barack Obama's speech Tuesday night further raised hopes that he is prepared to take action on climate change--but probably not right away. Instead, the president put most of the onus on an all-but-paralyzed Congress, with the threat that if lawmakers don't act, Obama will order agencies across his administration to come up with ways to address global warming 'for the sake of our children and our future,'" writes Darren Goode for Politico.
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