Archive for April 2011
71 Percent Of Illegal Immigrants Receiving Welfare
The Center for Immigration Studies has released an in-depth report on the use of welfare programs provided by the U.S. to immigrants living in the country.
Bypassing the number of immigrants living in the United States legally, although those numbers are far higher than native born Americans, I searched the report directly for the welfare use by those in the country illegally and the report indicates that 71 percent of illegal immigrants are receiving welfare benefits.
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Pastor Terry Jones and the Quran Burning
US legislators and others are condemning the burning of a Quran by a American pastor, Terry Jones. Back in September, Jones did not follow through on his threats to burn a number of Qurans, but now he has done so with one Quran. As a result, there have been killings and protests in Afghanistan and other places in the Middle East. There has also been a lot of discussion about free speech and the responsibility it entails.
The Apostle Paul stated that “all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient.” Is Pastor Jones responsible, at least in part, for the deaths of the UN workers who were killed because of the protests? Only God can say with certainty. I do know one thing for sure. God did not call upon us to burn Qurans, but to preach the Gospel. I think Pastor Jones would have a lot more positive, biblically based results if he stuck to his commission as a pastor to preach the Gospel as scripture teaches we are to do. Exposing the deeds of darkness is also a biblically based directive. Burning Qurans is neither.
I wonder…would Jones have burned the Quran if he were living in a Muslim country?
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Government’s Stealth Takeover of Food
Been to the grocery store lately? Prices are up and food packages are shrinking. Call it stealth inflation.
There’s no hiding the skyrocketing price of gas that hits you in the face every time you fill up the tank. But food? Last year’s steep rise in the price of wheat, corn, coffee, and chocolate is now rippling through the food chain, but the food industry is working overtime to mask food price inflation.
Last October, Obama’s Agriculture Department predicted food price inflation, indicating in a report that food prices would “accelerate” in the final months of 2010 and through 2011. The acceleration is here and has taken many forms.
Food packages, cans, and bottles have been downsized.
The “new” jar of peanut butter is still the same size (and price) as the old 9-ounce jar, but a new concave bottom means the jar only holds 7 ounces. A tortilla package that reads “Now New With 10 in a Package!” is the same price as the old 12-pack.
Sucker-Two Punch: What Next?
Excerpt:
Looking ahead, what is wrong with this picture? Would you need to be a highly-paid economist working on Wall Street to draw a correct conclusion?
* Food stamp usage in America continues to climb (with almost 50% more people qualifying for their use since the Fall of 2008).
* Long-term unemployment is at a record high.
* Sales in low-price stores such as Wal-mart are lagging … even declining on a same-store basis in some months. However, the sales of high-end retailers such as Saks and Macy’s are growing strongly.
* The U.S. labor market participation rate has declined sharply (by 2 percentage points). Does this normally occur in a recovery period?
* The sales of luxury goods manufacturers such Louis Vuitton, Burberry … etc. are strong and the auction prices of rare art never really having suffered a downturn.
* As mentioned, real income growth for the average U.S. household has turned negative in the past few months. The same is now true in the UK.
* Corporate profits are now higher (as a share of national income and partially at the expense of household incomes) than before the GFC began.
* The U.S. banking sector is now more concentrated than before (this being a major complication should bail-outs ever be required again).
* The FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization, a division of the United Nations) reports that food costs around the world have soared to all-time highs.
* Profits for the entire financial sector have returned to prior highs, and multi-billion dollar bonus payouts are at new highs.
* Many countries, including the U.S, are heading towards plutocracy (that meaning to be ruled and controlled by the rich). The top 1% of households now control over 44% of income … the highest since prior to the last Great Depression.
STALL, BABY, STALL
It’s unbelievable (literally) the rhetoric on “America’s Energy Security” coming from President Obama this week. This is coming from he who is manipulating the U.S. energy supply.
President Obama is once again giving lip service to a “new energy proposal”; but let’s remember the last time he trotted out a “new energy proposal” – nearly a year ago to the day. The main difference is today we have $4 a gallon gas in some places in the country. This is no accident.
This administration is not a passive observer to the trends that have inflated oil prices to dangerous levels. His war on domestic oil and gas exploration and production has caused us pain at the pump, endangered our already sluggish economic recovery, and threatened our national security.
Through a process of what candidate Obama once called “gradual adjustment,” American consumers have seen prices at the pump rise 67 percent since he took office. Meanwhile, the vast undeveloped reserves that could help to keep prices at the pump affordable remain locked up because of President Obama’s deliberate unwillingness to drill here and drill now.
We’re subsidizing offshore drilling in Brazil and purchasing energy from them, instead of drilling ourselves and keeping those dollars circulating in our own economy to generate jobs here.
The President said Wednesday (3/30), “There are no quick fixes.” He’s been in office for nearly three years now, and he’s about to launch his $1 billion re-election campaign. When can we expect any “fixes” from him? How high does the price of energy have to go?
So, here’s a little flashback to what I wrote one year ago on March 31, 2010:
Michigan: Police Search Cell Phones During Traffic Stops
ACLU seeks information on Michigan program that allows cops to download information from smart phones belonging to stopped motorists.
CelleBriteThe Michigan State Police have a high-tech mobile forensics device that can be used to extract information from cell phones belonging to motorists stopped for minor traffic violations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan last Wednesday demanded that state officials stop stonewalling freedom of information requests for information on the program.
ACLU learned that the police had acquired the cell phone scanning devices and in August 2008 filed an official request for records on the program, including logs of how the devices were used. The state police responded by saying they would provide the information only in return for a payment of $544,680. The ACLU found the charge outrageous.
Read more.