Is it twenty minutes to midnight in America?

That our republic is sinking like the Titanic with only twenty minutes left until midnight is the stark theme of an astonishing new book by citizen historian Joseph J. Breitfeller. Drawing a trenchant comparison with the ineptitude of leadership that allowed the magnificent ship Titanic to sink after the bridge ignored five iceberg warnings; the author says America is fast heading to a similar fate.

The Four Horsemen of America’s Apocalypse are the four progressive Democrat Presidents, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and now the worst, Barack Hussein Obama says Breitfeller whose book belongs in the stocking of every American patriot and conservative this Christmas!

As the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches on April 14, 2012, we need to give this book’s main premise careful consideration. Just as a flawed captain was unable to lead, even to directing deployment of life boats dropped into the icy Atlantic only 1/2 full, our current captain is destroying America’s life boats of Constitutional Governance, States Rights, and Smaller Federalism, thereby pulling us into the vortex of a sinking republic.

The author has created a remarkable analogy of the Titanic’s tragedy with what Progressives have done with their sea of liberal policies and governance. Only an 85% cut in the federal government (pg. 301) will bring us out of our sinking economy says Breitfeller who proposes cutting to the core Pentagon excesses such as the ski center in the Bavarian Alps and its over 200 golf courses, to closing the Departments of Education, Interior, Housing and Urban Development, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the NEA and NEH and the Farm Credit Administration. “Closed, Delegation withdrawn,” should be the fate of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Breitfeller proscribes!

A real step forward merits the closing of the Federal Reserve Banking System which is a big part of our problem because of its lack of audits, lack of transparency and its connection to the executive branch and financial markets.

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 Read More at Coach Is Right By Suzanne Eovaldi, Coach Is Right

Democrats are either lying or looney

Last week, Nancy Pelosi repeated the bizarre claim that an extension of unemployment benefits would create an uptick in employment.  This was not the first time we heard this insane logic.  We posted about President Obama’s similar claim on December 11 in which he also declared that an extension of unemployment benefits would result in job creation – more job creation than the proposed Keystone pipeline project!

Apparently Pelosi and Obama have no idea as to what the definition of “unemployment” is.   The head of the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, also chipped in when she said that unemployment did not increase under President Obama.  Well, we know that is not true.

My main concern is whether or not President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and other leading Democrats actually believe what they say when it comes to the economy.  If not, they’re lying again to the American public.  On the other hand, if they really do believe what they’re saying, then it must be safe to assume that they are simply not living in reality.  Either way, their statements on the economy reflect a severe disconnect with what is happening in the beltway (their universe) and what is really going on in the country.

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

House cybersecurity bill would establish federal overseer

Members of the House Homeland Security Committee introduced a cybersecurity bill on Thursday that would establish a quasi-governmental entity to oversee information-sharing with the private sector.

Like the other cybersecurity bills offered by the House GOP, the Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness (PrECISE Act) encourages private firms to share information on cyber threats but stops short of mandating new security standards for sectors deemed critical to national security.

“The risk of cyberattack by enemies of the United States is real, is ongoing and is growing,” said Chairman Pete King (R-N.Y.). “The PrECISE Act, in line with the framework set forth by the Speaker’s Cybersecurity Task Force led by Rep. [Mac] Thornberry [R-Texas], protects our critical infrastructure without a heavy-handed and burdensome regulatory approach that could cost American jobs.”
The bill would clearly delineate the cybersecurity functions of the Department of Homeland Security by requiring DHS to evaluate cybersecurity risks for critical infrastructure firms and determine the best way to mitigate them.

“Cybersecurity is truly a team sport, and this bill gives DHS needed authorities to play its part in the federal government’s cybersecurity mission and enables the private sector to play its part by giving them the information and access to technical support they need to protect critical infrastructure,” said House Cybersecurity subcomittee Chairman Dan Lungren (R-Calif.).

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 Read More at The Hill By Gautham Nagesh, The Hill

European Economic Crisis Highlights an Increasingly Important Reason to Oppose Gun Control

About a year ago, I spoke at a conference in Europe that attracted a lot of very rich people from all over the continent, as well as a lot of people who manage money for high-net-worth individuals.

What made this conference remarkable was not the presentations, though they were generally quite interesting. The stunning part of the conference was learning – as part of casual conversation during breaks, meals, and other socializing time – how many rich people are planning for the eventual collapse of European society.

Not stagnation. Not gradual decline. Collapse.

As in riots, social disarray, plundering, and chaos. A non-trivial number of these people think the rioting in places such as Greece and England is just the tip of the iceberg, and they have plans – if bad things begin to happen – to escape to jurisdictions ranging from Australia to Costa Rica (several of them remarked that they no longer see the U.S. as a good long-run refuge).

This was rather sobering. I’ve never been an optimist about Europe’s future, as I explain here and here, but is the situation really this bad?

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 Read More at Forbes By Daniel J. Mitchell, Forbes

Ron Paul now leads in Iowa

Newt Gingrich’s campaign is rapidly imploding, and Ron Paul has now taken the lead in Iowa.  He’s at 23% to 20% for Mitt Romney, 14% for Gingrich, 10% each for Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry, 4% for Jon Huntsman, and 2% for Gary Johnson.

Gingrich has now seen a big drop in his Iowa standing two weeks in a row.  His share of the vote has gone from 27% to 22% to 14%.  And there’s been a large drop in his personal favorability numbers as well from +31 (62/31) to +12 (52/40) to now -1 (46/47). Negative ads over the last few weeks have really chipped away at Gingrich’s image as being a strong conservative- now only 36% of voters believe that he has ‘strong principles,’ while 43% think he does not.

Paul’s ascendancy is a sign that perhaps campaigns do matter at least a little, in a year where there has been a lot of discussion about whether they still do in Iowa.  22% of voters think he’s run the best campaign in the state compared to only 8% for Gingrich and 5% for Romney. The only other candidate to hit double digits on that question is Bachmann at 19%. Paul also leads Romney 26-5 (with Gingrich at 13%) with the 22% of voters who say it’s ‘very important’ that a candidate spends a lot of time in Iowa.  Finally Paul leads Romney 29-19 among the 26% of likely voters who have seen one of the candidates in person.

Paul’s base of support continues to rely on some unusual groups for a Republican contest.  Among voters under 45 he’s at 33% to 16% for Romney and 11% for Gingrich.  He’s really going to need that younger than normal electorate because with seniors Romney’s blowing him out 31-15 with Gingrich coming in 2nd at 18%. Paul is also cleaning up 35-14 with the 24% of voters who identify as either Democrats or independents. Romney is actually ahead 22-19 with GOP voters.  Young people and non-Republicans are an unusual coalition to hang your hat on in Iowa, and it will be interesting to see if Paul can actually pull it off.

Follow Joe Miller at Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Read more at PublicPolicyPolling.com HERE.

The Ron Paul Newsletters

Yesterday, during a discussion on Ron Paul with Sean Hannity on the latter’s radio show, Hannity brought up with me the impossible-to-get around subject of the infamous Ron Paul Newsletters.

As Hannity quite correctly pointed out, with the other GOP candidates having received the political equivalent of an anal exam, somehow Ron Paul has escaped notice.

No more.

While I think the lack of attention has been due to the fact that many did not take him seriously, a justifiable complaint from his supporters, I have tried to do just that in this space. And in doing so launched a fusillade of angry response from Paul supporters that, peculiarly, never seems forthcoming when I criticize Gingrich/Romney/Perry/Huntsman etc etc.

But as we head into this last debate of the season, Hannity has raised an excellent point. The higher Ron Paul goes, as with his fellow candidates who have floated to the top previously, the scrutiny will intensify. And Ron Paul will have to seriously answer.

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 Read More at The American Spectator By Jeffrey Lord, American Spectator

More RINOs Against Impeachment…of Judges

When the subject of impeachment comes up, the RINOs come out of the woodwork to wag their fingers and insist the action would be unwise, impractical, and irresponsible — for anyone, anywhere, for virtually any reason. Last week, when Congressman James Sensenbrenner raised the possibility of impeaching Attorney General Eric Holder, George W. Bush’s Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he would not even want Holder’s deputy, Lanny Breuer, to be forced to quit. Now, more Bush-43 RINOs have come out against threatening politicians with the ultimate penalty. In this case, they oppose a plan by a Republican presidential candidate to impeach unwieldy judges.

Newt Gingrich proposed impeaching judges who regularly violate their duty to enforce the Constitution of the United States in his 28-page paper entitled “Bringing the Courts Back Under the Constitution.” That paper forwards the radical notion that “Judges who issue unconstitutional decisions or who otherwise ignore the Constitution and the legitimate powers of the two other co-equal branches of the federal government can be subjected to impeachment.”

This left two Bush-43 attorneys general, Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales, sputtering in disbelief. Fox News reports, in an exclusive, that were “not happy with the Gingrich call for the power to impeach judges or abolish judgeships following any ruling considered particularly outrageous.” Gonzales offered the strongest rebuke (on the record): “I would tread very, very carefully down the road with this notion that ‘okay, this judge has rendered a decision that we think is very unpopular and we’re not happy with it so we’re going to try to impeach this judge.’ I think that’s not healthy.”

Gonzales added, “I think we have a great government.”

The most potent reason pols leak “exclusive” stories to Fox News is an attempt to sway Republican voters on the eve of an important vote. Al Gore did it about George W. Bush’s drunk driving in 2000. Someone did it on the eve of tonight’s FNC debate. The story notes, almost in passing, “Mukasey has counseled Mitt Romney” — although he insists he would do the same for anyone else who wants his advice. (The last four words of that sentence could be turned into a pretty good question.)

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Read More at Floyd Reports By Ben Johnson, The White House Watch

Big Obama donor cashed in on ‘stimulus’. Energy company received hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds

The founder of an energy company that benefited from deals involving hundreds of millions in “stimulus” money made the maximum donation allowable to President Obama’s inauguration, WND has learned.

Peter L. Corsell, founder of GridPoint Inc., contributed $50,000 to the inauguration.

Corsell served as the Gridpoint’s chief executive officer from the company’s inception until transitioning to the position of non-executive chairman in October, 2010.

Yesterday, KleinOnline broke the story that an Obama adviser who played a key role in developing the energy provisions of the so-called stimulus bill serves on the boards of Gridpoint as well as several other companies that recently received government funds, including “stimulus” money.

TJ Glauthier served on Obama’s 2008 White House Transition Team. He is widely credited with helping to craft the energy provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the “stimulus.”

 Read More at Klein Online By Aaron Klein