Canto Talk Feb. 20th: Econo-Expert Charles Fettinger on Bitcoin

Dear Readers: I have a show this Thursday I am truly looking forward to doing – with fellow SLOB Charles Fettinger of Doo Doo Economics. Silvio and I will be asking him all about the new currency phenomenon, Bitcoin. (Click HERE this Thursday at 7 pm PST/9 pm CT/10 pm EST for the live show, or later for the podcast).

Charles has a nice synopsis: Bitcoin Trading Ten Commandments

Lets keep this short. Here are the Ten Commandments to make money trading in Bitcoin. Detailed explanations follow where needed.

1. Do not follow trollbox advice
2. Buy low, sell high OR sell high, buy back low
3. Know your break even number
4. Never let a Whale (big trader) buy cheaper than you, stack up on their position if necessary.
5. Look up and down the orders list and find the big orders
6. Cut loses or cost average when you make a bad trade, but let profits run
7. Be patient and do not be mastered by market sentiment
8. Buy when the market is selling, sell when the market is buying
9. Read the chart first
10. Do not trade to fiat

Where do you trade Bitcoin? You trade on one of the Bitcoin exchanges, but start small and work your way up to larger trades. Here are the “how to” details…

Also: When To Buy Bitcoin

Recently Overstock, Tiger Direct and many other online retailers have begun accepting the secure internet money known as Bitcoin (BTC or #). Bitcoin cannot be hacked like credit cards because you pay directly with encrypted money instead of entrusting others with credit card account information. It is more like using cash instead of a credit card which limits your vulnerability.

Merchants love Bitcoin for many reasons. There are less transaction fees involved with Bitcoin and unlike insecure credit cards, Bitcoin was designed for use on the internet. That means retailers like Walmart can use Bitcoin securely to purchase goods from anywhere in the world without wire fees and without exchange rate risk.

So, when should you purchase Bitcoin?

The answer is a couple days after a major retailer begins accepting purchases via Bitcoin.

We will also discuss the results of the San Diego Mayoral election, resulting in a rare Republican victory in California.

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Aug. 1, 2012: The Day AMERICA’S CHICKENS Came HOME to ROOST!

Dear Readers: Today is, indeed, a good day for civic activism. Tea Party backed senatorial primary candidate Ted Cruz beat the establishment candidate solidly (check out Texas talk host Silvio Canto for more details on the race) — and served Chick-fil-A during the victory party. Citizens around the country are mobbing Chick-fil-A’s everywhere to send a message to the political elite: You can’t target a businesses with fines, regulations, or other restrictions just because they don’t follow a certain set of political inclinations.

Here is a sampling of the stories from the San Diego area:

• Via CBS -San Diego Chick-fil-A supporters turn out for “Appreciation Day The walk-in line at the Chick-fil-A restaurant in the Sports Arena area stretched into and around the parking lot at lunchtime, with a back-up for the drive-through window. Several people said on their Twitter accounts that the wait was around two hours.
• San Diego Reader: Long Lines of Customers at Chick-Fil-A – By one o’clock today, a manager at the Chick-Fil-A on Grand Avenue in San Marcos California worried that they were going to run out of food.
• Fox5: Chick-fil-A supporters line up for ‘Appreciation Day’ – Charles Conklin, of San Diego, told FOX 5 that when he pulled up to the Chick-fil-A drive-through line at about 11:20 a.m., there were at least 100 cars in front of him and a pedestrian line snaked through the parking lot. At one point, the crowd broke out in applause and directed a group of uniformed troops to the head of the line so they wouldn’t have to wait.

And fellow SLOB Word Warrior describes his trip to a Chick-Fil-A in Temecula: FANATICS, FASCISTS, OR IGNORAMUSES(I say all three, but I am not going to quibble!)
Yet, Team Obama insist they are going to win the Nov. 6th election and the elite media palms-off ginned-up polls that show him in the lead. Today has plainly shown that  small government, liberty-loving Americans everywhere are inspired to support freedom of speech and freedom of spending, and the success of Cruz shows that Tea Party is very much alive.

Hat-tip: http://teresainfortworth.files.wordpress.com/ via Legal Insurrection

At this point, I need to thank a few citizen pundits for inspiration for today’s post: Hot Air’s Harbingeing for “Americaaaaaaa’s Chikinnnnns Coming Home to Roooooost!!!!!” and Legal Insurrection’s teresainfortworth for the photo above.

MUT Prophesy 1: Obama is going down in such flaming defeat that his name will become the verb-form describing bone-crushing, nuclear-scale landslide defeats.

MUT Prophesy 2: If we aren’t careful, Obama will sign an executive order placing chickens on the endangered species list.

One more time, for the benefit of lefties still deluded that today was about gay-hating: The buycott was a success because Americans don’t like government bullies, plain and simple. And bullying pretty much sums up the entire Obama Administration approach to governance. In fact, regular Americans went out of their way to show how much they despise this tactic, as described by Hillbuzz contributor, Tamminator:

After walking through this crazy mess, which took about ten minutes, I arrived at the beautiful Coffman Union. I was walking behind 2 guys that I was pretty sure were heading for Chik-Fil-A. One of them was wearing a military baseball cap with an eagle on it, and that kind of gave it away for me. I said, “You must be looking for Chik-Fil-A”, and the guy with the hat said, “How did you guess?” I said, “Oh, lucky hunch”. We walked into Coffman, and I told the two men that the restaurants were downstairs. You could already smell the chicken in the air. Mmmm, it smelled nummy.

I expected a lousy turn-out, as the streets were so messed up, and you couldn’t park anywhere close to the building. Boy, was I was wrong! There was a huge line leading into the tiny Chik-Fil-A, out the door, around the corner, and down a hallway.

You have to remember that school is out for the summer, so the campus was pretty empty. Maneuvering around that construction, and getting to this place was a pain in the buttocks, and yet, there were close to 150 people in line at 1:45 in the afternoon. Chik-Fil-A was supposed to close at 2 PM, but they didn’t. They stayed open to accommodate all of their customers. Talk about customer service! I can only imagine how many people were lined up to eat when they opened their doors at 11 AM.

While in line(for an hour) I chatted with a man named Vern, who’d driven in from the Minneapolis suburb of Blaine. That’s an hours drive, folks, and I’m not even counting the time it would take for Vern to find a place to park and then walk to the Chik-Fil-A.

And pictorial evidence shows that there are vast numbers of Americans just like Vern and the Tamminator.

Vast.

Do you think these people are going to lose their enthusiasm before Nov. 6th? Do you think they are going to fail to show up to the polls?  Do you think they are NOT going to donate, walk precincts, or otherwise promote their candidates and measures? If you do, you are deluding yourself as badly as the purveyors of these asinine polls.

Finally, last night a lovely Jewish gymnast wowed the crowd to Hava Nagila.After the International Olympic Committee acted like a much of balless asses by denying a memorial to the Israeli athletes slain in 1972 by terrorists and failing to eject the obviously racist Lebanese wrestling team, seeing her perform with the support of the crowd was MUT’s 2012 Olympic moment.

Truly, some chickens came home to roost at that moment, too!

I have a feeling Chick-Fil-A is going to have some big business Nov 6th, too — at victory parties across the country for those newly elected representatives who truly understand what the phrase “freedom of speech” really means.
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Shrine Friends

Captain Capitalism wanted to see my “big books”. 🙂

So, I wanted to oblige him —

My history book collection:

And some of my biggest books:

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Over 700 San Diegans Rallied for Religious Freedom: Elite Media Minimizes

Dear Readers: I attended the “Standing Up for Religious Freedom” rally today, held in front of the San Diego County Administrative Building by the harbor. I was joined by over 700 locals, who were keen on sending the following message: We are standing for our First Amendment protections of religious freedom, which are under assault from the Obama Administration.

Over 700 San Diegans at the local "Standing Up for Religious Freedom" event, one of over 140 nationwide.

The event was one of over 150 held nationwide (up from my initial report of 50). Before I get into the “meat of the message”, I would like to take a few moments to comment on the coverage.

Our opponents must be very worried. They sense they have “awakened a sleeping giant and filled it with a terrible resolve”. The elite media reports I am reviewing, with the jaundiced eye of a recovering reporter, are going out of their way to minimize this unification of religious faiths across this country in standing behind the Catholic Church in its defiance to implement the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate to offer contraceptive/abortion/sterilization coverage in health plans.

For example, NPR has taken the tack of using messaged poll questions to indicate that “Most Americans — including most Catholics — do not believe that the right of religious liberty is being threatened in America today.Perhaps the pollster contacted some beltway “cafeteria Catholics” with ginned-up questions that misdirect the nature of what the Catholic church is fighting (i.e., it denies no one access to any desired and option medical coverage; the Church, however, does not want to pay for procedures it views as evil and NOT essential to healthcare).  On the other hand, Mexican-born mother Anna Angeles brought her whole family down to send this message: “I am here to protect my Catholic faith and the holy Church.”

Anna Angeles and son: One of the many Catholics the elite media fails to inquire about.

As Anna notes: “When everything goes dark, the light of the saints is brighter.”

But apparently not the news coverage. I managed to locate the San Diego Union Tribune report on this event — not on the main page, but on a secondary one devoted to government and politics (despite the fairly significant size of the rally). Laughably, they use the term “hundreds”. Yes, I suppose technically “700” qualifies as “hundreds”, and I should be grateful they didn’t claim “dozens”. However, the is really a conservative estimate, as I overheard a security officer indicate 1000. Also, the number does not account for the steady stream of honks of support that were offered.

I met up with some other Ascension Catholic Parish members while I was down there, who seemed very concerned about the First Amendment (I guess NPR failed to poll them). My friend, Roger Jones, said the presence of he and his wife Angela sends the following message: “The Government cannot be the all-encompassing source of social services, especially at the expense of our faith and traditions”.

No, but it sure seems its going to try. I also met another Catholic, who is a veteran of four Tea Party events, named Bunnie Wells. I guess the NPR poll failed to take her views into consideration:

I finally had the chance to meet Nick Popaditch, the former Marine who is an award-winning author and popular speaker, who is running against Susan Davis for Congressional District 53 this year. He is not a Catholic, but wanted to stand in support, as he is a fellow Christian also concerned about the First Amendment implications. Nick indicates that he believes this is mandate is “an over-stepping of authority” by this Administration and that it ultimately will be rescinded.

Nick Popaditch with potential voter for CA-53 Congressional race.

I hope Nick is right, and wish him good luck in what promises to be a most formidable campaign. We were joined by Cheryl Perez, a follower of a Native American religion and who I had met at a previous citizen-oriented event.  She wanted her presence to underscore the fact that we Americans “have to show that we have eachother’s backs, in terms of protecting our freedom to worship as our conscience dictates. If the government can force Catholics into doing something that they feel is sacrilegious, then what will stop it from undermining other faiths with even more do-gooder policy dictates?”

At that point, the speakers began. I will hit a few of the highlights. One of the lead guests was Coadjuter Bishop of the San Diego Diocese, Cirilo Flores. The fact that the newly named Bishop was a keynote speaker should underscore how seriously the Catholic Church takes this threat to its teachings.

“Religious freedom is not a gift from politicians: It is a gift from God,” said Bishop Flores. “Today’s debate is not about the access to contraceptives…it is about the federal government forcing the Church to act against its teachings”.

I guess NPR failed to chat with the Bishop. NPR is going to be more than a little surprised about how much influence Flores, fellow bishops, and other clergy intend to use in the effort to fully inform their church members and parishioners. In fact,  a later speaker mentioned that every one of the Bishops in the 194 Diocese within this country wrote a formal letter of protest to the Obama Administration. The content of those letters is making its way to millions of American Catholics. Sadly for NPR, I suspect the opinion of Bishop Flores and other clergy (Catholic and Otherwise) will weigh more with the faithful than a rigged poll from an elite media group.

Father Anthony Saroki of Ascension Catholic Parish, who organized a carpool from my church.

Bishop Flores continued: “Who or what gives government the right to govern or mission or define our ministry. Our hospitals, charities, schools and university — thousands of institutions wold be impacted.”

Another speaker, Dr. George Delgado of Culture of Life Family Services (a Christ-centered medical group) expanded upon the potential of Obamacare implementation to bankrupt the country, and noted that “fertility was not illness but part of a normal physiological profile.” When he mentioned Sandra Fluke, the crowed expressed its displeasure most vigorously.

At that point, an audience member and I got into a quiet discussion on the Obama Administration and the elite media attempting to manipulate women. Claire Fadden said: “I hope women realize that they are being played. There is total access to contraception, and any other service a woman might want. However, people need to take care of themselves so that we have the resources to take care of the truly sick and needy.”

A great number of American women have figured out that you can get contraception for $9/month at Walmart, and clinics and other facilities may make it available at even less of a price. So why can’t a 30-year old Georgetown student? Which leads me to highlight the speaker of the day I enjoyed most: Dr. Jennifer Morse of the Ruth Institute.

Any regular reader knows I despise gender feminism with the flaming hot passion of 1000 suns. I think I met a women who detests them even more. “Feminists have sold women a bill of goods,” said Dr. Morse. “Young women are pressured to chemically neuter themselves to participate in the workforce”.

Frankly, I am tired of the elites in the Washington DC- New York Beltway, Hollywood, and in other supposedly esteemed enclaves assuming that women want to be treated as nothing more than vehicles of pleasure. However, instead of going on a rant, I will direct you to Dr. Morse’s far more entertaining view: How hedonism became America’s official religion

I suspect the “War on Women” is not going quite the way Team Obama, the elite media, or NPR planned.

Speaking of “war”, Joe Infranco of the Alliance Defense Fund, indicated that quite a battle was brewing over this HHS mandate. His organization has already set-up 2 lawsuits related to the this requirements, and offers free representation to any religious organization who refuses to comply.

When the event was over, I asked Father Anthony which statement most impacted him. He indicated it was a remark made by Chuck Limandri of the Thomas Moore Law Centerthat there has been a rich history of American pastors leading the charge for important moral change from the pulpit (e.g., the American Revolution, the End of Slavery, the Civil Rights movement). In fact,  one of the targets for several of the representative organizations in today’s rally is the rescinding of the 1954 Johnson Amendment that threatens churches with the loss of their tax-exempt status if pastors speak from the pulpit about political candidates. I believe that the Obama Administration will soon discover that their ham-handed HHS tactics had lots and lots of unintended consequences.

NPR really can’t quantify this sort of thing a poll. War really doesn’t translate well into statistics.

Which leads me to my pick for “SIGN of the DAY”:

One of my favorite prayers:

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host –
by the Divine Power of God –
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

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I would like to thank B-Daddy of the Liberator today, who I met at the event. It was fortunate, as I didn’t have access to my initial salvo of pictures. He has a report here: Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally San Diego.

Hat-Tip: The Liberator Today

I would also like to thank B-Daddy for his selections in the “Weekend Music Chill”, which takes a decided Catholic turn:

I had a great time at today’s “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” event at the county building in San Diego. My favorite line was about Obama uniting Christian denominations. To show a little solidarity with Temple of Mut and especially with the thoughts expressed in her blog Flight into Egypt, here I have some music today that is very different from what I normally post.

CHECK IT OUT!!!!

B-Daddy also said to me something profound that I wanted to share: That Americans need both groups — the fiscally oriented Tea Party groups and the socially conservative organizations focused on Constitutional matters — if we are going to prevail in curbing the excesses of government waste, fraud and abuse.
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OTHER “STAND UP” REPORTS AND EVENTS – As I find reports and articles about the other 140 events nationwide, I will post them here:

‘Religious Freedom’ is rally cry in Manhattan

WASHINGTON POST: Why we’re standing up for religious freedom By Mary Rose Somarriba

One thousand stand up for religious freedom in Detroit

March 23 Rally in Detroit, MI

Thousands of Pro-Life Advocates Rally for Religious Freedom: Thousands of pro-life Americans took to nearly 200 local rallies in cities and towns across the country to stand up for religious freedom and against the Obama mandate that requires employers to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions. The rally in Washington, D.C. was so large organizers had problems getting the entire crowd in one picture.

SEATTLE: Hundreds gather to “stand up for religious freedom” and protest health mandate

March 23 Rally in Washington DC

The Anchoress has a compendium of events: Best Rally Sign I’ve Yet Seen! UPDATES From the comments section:

• In Cincinnati we had between 800 and 1000 on the steps in front of our cathedral — and it poured for the entire hour.
• I attended the rally in Chicago today in the midst of a downpour. Estimates are that there were upwards of 2,000 people there–men, women, children, seniors and, yes, a handful of kooks. Still, it was an inspiring turnout. The local media mostly ignored it.
• In St Louis, we had 100-150 gather outside Sen. McCaskill’s office (who coincidentally is in the ad as I type this).

The Sarah Palin Information Blog also has a summary of events: Amidst Mainstream Media Blackout, Thousands Rally Nationwide for Religious Freedom. The blog includes some great video and graphics — check it out!!!!

Some of the items they list:

• Hundreds Attend Nashville ‘Rally For Religious Freedom’
• Courthouse crowd rallies for religious liberty (Allentown)
• I Stood For Religious Freedom in Norfolk, Virginia: Freedom Movement in America
• Hundreds attend a rally on Wall Street
• Hundreds rally in Goshen against Obamacare
• Protestors rally for religious freedom (Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids)
• Catholic bishop, opponents of contraception mandate rally at Birmingham federal courthouse (slideshow, video)
• Hundreds stand up at religious freedom rally downtown Orlando
• Buffalonians Rally for Religious Freedom
• Rally for Religious Freedom’ Takes Place In Tulsa
• Dozens rally in downtown Fort Wayne for religious freedom
• Havasu residents rally for Religious Freedom Day

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SLOB Stories:

For a more humorous war, check out Word Warrior: DOG AND CAT DIARIES. Also, check out Part 4 in his excellent “Age of Arthur” series.

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Tea Party WINS: Locally, State-wide, Nationally, and INTERNATIONALLY!

Dear Readers: My last post featured mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio, who initiated a sensible and well-developed SAN DIEGO PENSION REFORM Ballot measure in an attempt to stave off fiscal disaster for the city.

Therefore, I was delighted to hear LaDona Harvey report that, despite a union-backed attempted to remove the measure from the June election, a judge has ruled that the properly filed petition to place the roadmap in front of the voters can go forward. Details can be found here: Judge: Pension Reform Initiative Will Stay On June Ballot.

I don’t expect the union elites to just let this go, however: They will cheat, manipulate, and prevaricate to protect their power and perks.

Speaking of unions, let’s now feature a win for parents against the enormous behemoth that is the education bureaucracy! Mark Meckler reports on a new law:

Parent Trigger Laws Force Education Reform on Underperforming Schools

This is from the website, ParentRevolution.org: “What is the California Parent Trigger?

The California Parent Trigger is an historic new law that gives parents in California the right to organize and demand a real change at their child’s failing school. Under the Parent Trigger, parents at persistently low-performing schools can organize and transform their school based on what’s good for children, not adults. If they are able to gather 51% of parent signature at their school their district must implement one of four turnaround models (including in-district reforms such as staff changes and out-of-district reforms such as charter conversion).”

In other news, I am delighted to see some serious citizen-pushback against eco-activists. For example, KFMB-CBS-8 News tried to generate some faux outrage against the California Fish and Game President, who legally bagged himself a fairly sizable cougar. I was delighted to see so many comments supportive of the hunter’s legal right to hunt. I will also point out that mountain lions are becoming habituated to humans, and some of these powerful animals are stalking us as prey. Frankly, I like being at the pinnacle of the food-chain, and I am not inclined to let eco-activists persuade me otherwise. For a reminder that this threat is real, here are some news clips:

Mountain lion reported near schools
SAN DIEGO – Two schools and a Boys and Girls Club were locked down Monday after a mountain lion sighting was called into authorities, deputies said. The mountain lion was seen on Winecreek Road in 4S Ranch just before 1 p.m. causing Oak Valley Middle School and Stone Ranch Elementary School to keep students inside, according to the San Diego Sheriffs Department.

Big Bend mountain lion attacks boy, 6

A 6-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion while walking near the lodge at Chisos Basin in Big Bend National Park with his family Sunday night. The boy suffered non-life-threatening injuries — scrapes and puncture wounds to his face, according to park officials. His father was able to fight off the cat by stabbing it with a pocket knife.

I am second to no-one (well, perhaps KT) in my love of felines. But I personally want cougar hunts re-established in California. We need these animals to relearn their fear of us. They aren’t pets: They are high-end predators.I do not want any child sacrificed on the altar of eco-activism.

I am also bone-tired of reasonable fuel-policy being scuttled based on the theology of man-made global warming. It seems that the citizens of California got a break, as the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives authorized the Secretary of Interior to resume oil and gas leasing off the Santa Barbara/Ventura and Santa Maria coasts beginning no later than July 1, 2014. Hopefully, with a new Senate and new President in elected this November, this may actually reopening would re-employ Californians.

In related news, Shrine friend Roger Cohen is, again, featured in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece: Concerned Scientists Reply on Global Warming

In summary, science progresses by testing predictions against real world data obtained from direct observations and rigorous experiments. The stakes in the global-warming debate are much too high to ignore this observational evidence and declare the science settled. Though there are many more scientists who are extremely well qualified and have reached the same conclusions we have, we stress again that science is not a democratic exercise and our conclusions must be based on observational evidence.

The computer-model predictions of alarming global warming have seriously exaggerated the warming by CO2 and have underestimated other causes. Since CO2 is not a pollutant but a substantial benefit to agriculture, and since its warming potential has been greatly exaggerated, it is time for the world to rethink its frenzied pursuit of decarbonization at any cost.

This publication is especially timely, especially in light of recently uncovered Man-Made Global Warming Fraud. Blog-father Instapundit summarizes the latest installment of scientific quackery related to this — Global Warming Fanatic Blames Victims for His Abuse (Click Here for Glenn’s list of related links).

Finally, there are reports of a Worldwide Tea Party being planned (rumor has it April 14th). Caesar Charles has a report and a video featuring citizen activists working for fiscal sanity, smaller government, and personal liberty around the world.

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SLOB highlights!

• WC Varones: Devaluation is like the weather
• Left Coast Rebel: Rick Santorum Unveiled
• Beers with Demo:  Your Tax Dollars at Work
• B-Daddy:  Concerns over China

Two last notes:

1) I am sick of being viewed as a mobile pleasure vehicle by both of our national parties. I AM TOTALLY UNCONCERNED ABOUT NOT HAVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTIVES for a wide variety of reasons. See my list of concerns ABOVE! Lipstick Underground hits it out of the park with this piece: Quit Making Me Root for Romney.As the Final Four are gearing up for yet another debate, let’s hope they have balls enough to return the dialog to where it belongs: TRUE CRONY CAPITALISM and CORRUPTION, JOBS, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND SENSIBLE BUDGET POLICY.

I will be ranting more about this shortly.

2) After venting, I now direct you to Word Warrior for a little humor: NEW TERMS FOR AMERICAN WORKPLACE. A sample —

BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.

SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.

ASSMOSIS: The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.

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Bless me #ATTACKWATCH, for I have sinned.

Welcome to the Shrine, Legal Insurrection Readers! Thank you Professor Jacobson for the “Post of the Day” selection.
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Bless me #AttackWatch for I have sinned. It has been 5 min since my last tweet. I voted in the HotAir OOTW poll and enjoyed it.

I also enjoy Legal Insurrection tweet and bumper sticker pics and Constitution Day. I love HillBuzz and think Kevin Dujan should be President Palin’s WH Press Secretary. I also like being a TAM (Tammy Army Member). There; I think I have completely outed myself.

Dear Readers: I have been busy tweeting, and made several new friends on Twitter, including Dan Riehl of Riehl World View. Dan has been covering rightist Ruling Class pundit inanity, involving statements from the Grand Master of Good Taste – Mike Tyson — about Sarah Palin published on the Daily Caller. It has been an eye-opening experience, and invaluable for citizen activists who need to identify true friends from those who want to use our grassroots enthusiasm for their own purposes.

UPDATE: Left Coast Rebel, who writes for DC, is none too happy with the post, which he fisks in his “WOMBSHIFTER” post today.

And via The Other McCain, a tweet from a true Master of Wit — Iowahawk, that sums up the situation related to Team Obama’s new Gestapo site:

And how fitting that the Gestapo site has its own HITLER PARODY VIDEO! Click HERE for a few chuckles.Also, check out Beers with Demo’s Video pick of the day, featuring FORD!

Charles Caesar had an interesting find, related to Twitter: Twitter Hides #AttackWatch Trending – PROOF. His link provides graphic analysis and further details.

Charles’ analysis makes so much sense. I have never participated in a Twitter feed that had so much input so constantly and rapidly, yet I was surprised to discover this was not a trending topic. Have they failed to note that we tea partiers are savvy about social media?

Here is an #AttackWatch tweet from Tea Party favorite Chuck Devore, who is running for Orange County Supervisor.

B-Daddy noted it was Constitution Day yesterday. W.C. Varones celebrated with a Ron Paul money bomb (MUT Note: Ron Paul and Rick Perry were tied for the winner of the recent Beer Summit straw poll, though news like THIS from Left Coast Rebel means that the final results are still in flux).

MUT’S FLAMING CAPITALISM PROMOTION OF THE DAY. I am NOT sympathetic to workers who want to strike because they have to pay a mere $9 to fund quality healthcare, especially as my own family has to fund 100% of its own health insurance costs for catastrophic care. The grocery workers in the San Diego area seem like they are intending to strike.I am deciding between crossing the picket lines and spending MORE in the store, to support the grocery store owners, and checking out TARGET. The TARGET stores have a solid grocery selection, you get 5% off many items if you have the RED card, and no union leaders benefit from your purchases. Add this to the fact one of my staple items, V-8 Fusion (which my son loves) is half the cost at Target, and I think I may have to give the store a try.

MUT's Favorite Store -- Just ask Horemheb!

If you feel similarly, then you will enjoy Shane Atwell’s post: The Artifacts of Coercive, Collective Bargaining

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MY FAVORITE RIGHT: FREEDOM OF SPENDING

Dear Readers: I have a few news and notes today to share with you all before the busy weekend. As you may know, SONY is producing a movie about the heroic NAVY SEALs operation that lead to Osama Bin Laden’s Death. It is slated to help Obama’s re-election, as Team Sony and their Hollywood glitterati intend to release in in October 2012. They assert they have the Freedom of Speech.

I have a freedom, too. It is the Freedom of Spending. And their cinematic plans just cost SONY some money today.

How?

I went to Staples to by CDs for my profit-center business. I need high-quality ones for the documentation I do. I was grabbing for the SONY brand, but when I recalled the movie stunt, I bought MEMOREX.

SONY: Your money-gram as arrived. NO SALE! Change the intended release date until after the November 2012 election, otherwise I will encourage others to express their own freedom of spending in ways you don’t like.

The Goddess of Capitalism is most displeased. Sony shall feel her wrath!

Speaking of money, 2 local politicians (North County Councilmen) have been caught not declaring the gambling winnings, despite state requirements to do so. Rules are for the little people.

Transition from gambling to WILDCARDS: Carl DeMaio for Mayor. DeMaio stood up for California Citizens, challenging the airing of the odious union-backed ad that tries to undermine our state’s petition process by false claims of identity theft. Sadly, the (un)The Fair Political Practices Commission has dismissed a request. . MUT task of the day: Call 1-866-275-3772 and thank these union hacks personally. It is bureaucracy like this that is driving our entrepreneurs out-of-state.

I am the last of our SLOBs to come out in support, as I recall how much DeMaio disappointed me during the incipient stages of the Tea Party. However, Palin has disappointed me, too (i.e.g, backing Fiorina instead of DeVore). But she stands strong where it matters — as does Carl. His initiating the request shows a perception that the focus of San Diegans is on small government that is there to serve the people (not the other way around). Palin was smeared as a “rogue” candidate. I have learned people are smearing DeMaio as a “wildcard”. I say — embrace it!

Hey Carl — if you read this, Sarah will probably work up a suitable Wild Card logo you personally! 😉 I think come 2012, Wild Card will be the winning hand.

Donate to Carl’s campaign here.

Professor Athena wanted me to link to the million-dollar punditry of Charles Krauthammer today: THE SYSTEM WORKS. The Money Quote:

Notice how the loudest complaints about “broken politics” come from those who lost the debate. It’s understandable for sore losers to rage against the machine. But there’s no need for the rest of us to parrot their petulance.

Finally, some more money spending ideas:

* The campaigns for the GOP challengers for the WI Recall elections next week.
* Mad Men fashion from Banana Republic.

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PS. My thoughts on last night’s GOP debate?It was awful, and the biggest loser was the American public. I hold FOX partly responsible for the debate debacle. No questions on entitlement reform! No question on Social Security fixes! Romney got very little questioning about his late entry into the debate discourse and his “corporations are people” statement! And the focus was on the ever divisive social issue instead of the economy? And Byron York sounded like an elitist Beltway minion with his question to Bachmann about “submission”. If York gets anywhere in earshot of me today, I will teach him about “submission”.

Fellow SLOBs chime in. Beers with Demos has a plea to the media about their treatment of Hunstman. B-Daddy also seems unimpressed.

B-Daddy also has a review of Palin I utterly love.

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Palin’s Run: My Note to Larry Elder

Dear Friends: Larry Elder, the Sage from LA, is one of my favorite pundits. Among the many reasons is that he is very independent. However, I had to take exception to two assertions he made dialoging with a listener: 1) Sarah Palin won’t run. 2) Sarah Palin can’t win if she does. Here is my response to him:
*************************
Dear Larry:

I wanted to chime in with a different perspective on Sarah Palin, which counters the dialog on your June 3rd program. To give you some background, I am a Palin Democrat who helped co-found the San Diego-based Tea Party group: SOCAL TAX REVOLT COALITION.

While I don’t know if she is running for certain, I disagree with your assessment that she positively won’t run. I think the release of the movie (“The Undefeated”) and the bus tour, which she has referred to being “on the trail” in several recent interviews, both show she is seriously considering a run and is more likely to enter or not. Frankly, I am pleased by this — she would be unafraid to force debates and discourse on a lot of key issues. Win or lose, this is a win for all Americans.

Item #1 for your consideration: FNC’s Chris Wallace said this after his most recent — and challenging — interview with Palin: “I thought she was a boffo performance today. It was the first time that I ever saw her and thought ‘this woman is a serious – if she decides to run – candidate for President. And a serious possibility to be President.’”

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chris-wallace-after-palin-interview-first-time-i-ever-thought-this-women-is-a-serious-candidate/

If you listen closely to her most recent interviews, her voice is more modulated and she has a better delivery. Add to that, she has been very focused on policy issues.

Item #2: From NRO’s Byron York: “For those interested in her positions on issues, Palin’s Facebook page is filled with notes and commentary. Recent entries include titles like “New Afghanistan Development Dangerous to NATO,” “Obama’s Strange Strategy: Borrow Foreign Money to Give to Foreign Countries,” “Barack Obama’s Disregard for [Israel’s] Security Begs Clarity,” “Obama’s Failed Energy Policy,” and “Removing the Boot from the Throat of American Businesses.” They’re not think-tank white papers, but they are substantive statements on key issues.”

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/06/amid-media-circus-palin-lays-out-policy-positions#ixzz1OWC9ICtW

Finally: I think she would wipe the floor with Obama during a head-to-head debate. And I think anyone who prevails during the GOP primary has a good shot at winning the White House. You know who else agrees with me? Howard Dean!

Item #3: “Any time you have a contest — particularly when unemployment is as high as it is — nobody gets a walkover,” Dean said. “Whoever the Republicans nominate, including people like Sarah Palin, whom the inside-the-Beltway crowd dismisses — my view is if you get the nomination of a major party, you can win the presidency, I don’t care what people write about you inside the Beltway,” Dean said.

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/05/howard-dean-palin-could-beat-obama-in-2012/

I promise to nag you more on this subject unless you relent! 🙂

Best to you!

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Space did not permit me to note that Palin has won all the Hot Air Presidential polls, and describe how the number of comments related to on-line articles defending Palin from false accusations and slanders has dramatically increased. I plan to hit him with those later!

Unlike Tea Party Express, I don’t presume to speak for all Tea Party people. My fellow SLOBs each has a different perspective about 2012 — so I think what occurs during the debates, campaigns, and events close to the election will all play a role in how we deal with the campaign season. However, I am keen to see Palin — and all other serious candidates — be judged fairly on their records and positions.

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SAN DIEGO TEA PARTY 2011!! 6 pm, April 18, Midway Post Office!

Dear Readers: SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition’s own Sarah Bond will be chatting with LaDona Harvey today at 1:05 pm. The subject? Our third Tax Day Tea Party! (Note — if I can get the podcast, I will put it in an update).

MONDAY, APRIL 18
P.O. SAN DIEGO
2535 Midway Dr.
San Diego CA 92110
6:oopm-10:00pm

Dawn Wildman, SCTRC President, offers this statement: “More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, and other wealth-creating enterprises. Nearly half of many government budgets are the pay and benefits of so many employees. Is it any wonder that so California and its cities cannot pay their bills? We will be out on April 18th as a reminder that taxpayers cannot not be expected to continuously pay an unreasonable tab, nor be threatened with the cut-off of essential services.”

Sarah Bond, SCTRC Chief Executive Officer, offers this statement: “Tea Party activism is alive and well here in San Diego and all of California! We are going to have a very positive event, focused on fiscal responsibility and sensible budget ideas. Our goal is to inspire everyone to stay the course, and stay active, for our main efforts that will occur during the November election this year.”

Leslie Eastman, SCTRC Media Director, offers this statement: “We want to send the clear message that San Diego citizens are committed to staying involved in the political process. It is at tax time that Californians can express a sentiment once voiced by US Solicitor General Erwin N. Griswold — We have long had death and taxes as the two standards of inevitability; death is the preferable of the two. At least death doesn’t get worse every time the Assembly meets.”

And for those who like the more traditional date, April 15th, an offering from STOP TAXING US!

APRIL 15 – OCEANSIDE TAX DAY TEA PARTY
Host: Stop Taxing Us
Friday, April 15
Keynote speaker, Rick Roberts – AM 760, Ted Hayes & More!
(So Cal Tax Revolt Coalition will have a booth at this event, so come on down and join us!)

It seems that progressives are now wondering why the Tea Party is kicking their posterior! “ROMMEL, YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD, I READ YOUR BOOK!”

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SAN DIEGO: GROUND ZERO for Mail-In Election Manipulation

Dear Readers: One of the take-home messages from last weekend’s American Policy Summit was the enormous scope of vote fraud that is taking place across the country. It has become apparent that, as more citizens have become engaged in the full political process (e.g., becoming poll watchers), the legal process is being undermined so that the will of the Ruling Class and its Bureau-stocracy is enacted. To my mind, one of the most contemptible actions a politician can take is to make vote fraud easier. Winning an election by cheating is not honorable. No matter how noble the goal, the fruits of a tainted election are poisoned.

Sadly, I return to find out that San Diego is ground zero for Governor Brown’s tactics to force passage of the 5-year tax-rate extensions in his quest to save his union-buddies from having to cut back on all their perks. Most of my friends will recall that we citizen activists worked diligently to prevent a 2-year extension proposed in 2009, and we were successful.

Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition’s Sarah Bond has this information:

SB 304: Makes SAN DIEGO the test site for going to an ALL MAIL-IN BALLOT ELECTION which would be disastrous for vote integrity.

Please call the Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee where this Bill now sits and tell them San Diego does not want a mail in only ballot system. We have seen historically that these systems are rampant with fraud. They are trying to take away our right to monitor the voting system and structure!

CALL these members of the Committee and Just Say NO TO MAIL IN ONLY BALLOTS!

Senator Correa: 916-651-4034 and 714-558-4400 ( phone)
Senator LaMalfa: 916-651-4004 and 916-445-7750 fax
Senator DeLeon: 916-651-4022 and 213-612-9566
Senator Gaines: 916-651-4001 and 209-223-9140
Senator Lieu: 916-651-4028 and 916-323-6056 fax and 310-318-6994

SCTRC President Dawn Wildman notes: “I am shocked that Sacramento legislators would take such a bold step to de-legitimize the elections in this state. We know historically that the states with mail in only ballots see a massive increase in voter fraud. For the legislators to take away the voters ability to ensure integrity of the vote is reprehensible.”

Just to put it in perspective, True the Vote has some details on the corruption and problems rife within the absentee and early voting systems — and these bear strongly upon what can occur if mail-in only systems are allowed to proceed.

# The conspirator applies for an absentee ballot by forging a voter’s signature on the application or obtaining the signature through coercion, trickery, or bribery.
# The election official mails the absentee ballot and voter affidavit to the address listed on the application, either a real address or one controlled by the conspirator.
# Election officials usually post the names of voters who were sent absentee ballots and the dates they were mailed, making it easy for the conspirator to intercept them. Ballots may be also sent to addresses controlled by the conspirator.
# The conspirator completes the absentee ballot and forges the voter’s signature, or else the voter signs and completes the ballot as directed by the conspirator.
# The conspirator then mails or hand-deli ers the ballot to the election official.

One of the claims that will be made is that mail-in only will be “cheaper” and “easier”. How much, then is a real vote count worth to Californians? How valuable can election results be if it becomes easier to steal the vote of American citizens?

And, speaking of those tax-rate extensions, SCTRC’s Dawn Wildman notes that Republicans Tom Berryhill, Sam Blakeslee and Bill Emerson are ready to cave into the Governor’s request for a special election on this matter.

Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, declined to comment Thursday on a report in the Wall Street Journal that he and two other Republicans in Sacramento are trying to cut a deal with Gov. Jerry Brown to let voters decide on Brown’s tax extension proposal.

As Dawn notes: They need to have their office phones melted

1.) Tom Berryhill
Assemblymember.Bill.Berryhill@assembly.ca.gov
(916) 319-2026

2.) Sam Blakeslee
Senator.Blakeslee@senate.ca.gov
Capitol Office
State Capitol, Room 4070
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4015
Fax: (916) 445-8081

District Office
1104 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Phone: 805-549-3784
Fax: 805-549-3779

3.) Bill Emerson
Senator.Emmerson@senate.ca.gov
Capitol Office
State Capitol, Room 4082
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4037
Fax: (916) 327-2187

73-710 Fred Waring Drive, #108
Palm Desert, CA 92260
Phone: (760) 568-0408
Fax: (760) 568-1501

Riverside Office
5225 Canyon Crest Dr., Suite 360
Riverside, CA 92507
Phone: (951) 680-6750
Fax: (951) 680-6757

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SLOB-tastic News

Here are some news items from the SLOBs (San-Diego Local Order of Bloggers) that cover related topics:

B-Daddy: California budget driven by court orders.

A little known fact in the debate over California’s $27 billion budget shortfall is the role the judiciary has played in adding to the problem. The U-T had a decent article on the issue. Some nuggets of judicially mandated spending:

* Increase of $1.3 billion for prison health care.
* The legislature cut wages of in-home care workers, and restricted eligibility, but a judge reversed this.
* The state was enjoined from cutting Medi-Cal reimbursement rates by the 9th circuit.
* Some of the state workers have been exempted from furloughs.
* Judges have ordered school funding levels increased under Proposition 98.</blockquote

From W.C. Varones: Gas up 16 cents in four days. Stag-flation-tastic!

* Shane Atwell: “A ‘Right’ that Imposes a Burden is Not a Right“.

* Richard Rider: California’s Troubling Decline vs Other Nations

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San Diego “Rulers” Use Boy’s Death for Tax Grab

UPDATE: Our dear friend and fellow SLOB, Left Coast Rebel, was published in “The Daily Caller”. He was discussing the situation in Bell, CA (also mentioned in my piece below). This is an important story, so please check it out: Ringing the bell at the top: Paging Chris Christie

Dear Readers: In my 18-months of citizen activism, I don’t think I have been as angry as I was this morning after reading this story (which made the front page of the San Diego Union Tribune today). And I have been plenty angry.

Tragedy renews sales-tax debate
Rate hike would end policy of ‘brownouts’

A proposed sales tax increase for the city of San Diego was going nowhere just two weeks ago, but the tragic choking death of a 2-year-old boy has given city leaders a newfound sense of urgency and possibly enough support to put the proposal on the November ballot.

The City Council will decide Tuesday whether to ask voters if they want a half-cent sales-tax increase that would raise an estimated $103 million annually and erase a budget deficit that forced the city to cut many basic services, most notably the decision for “brownouts” that idle up to eight fire engines a day to save on overtime.

Bentley Do choked on a gum ball and died Tuesday night. City paramedics didn’t arrive at his Mira Mesa home until 9½ minutes after receiving the 911 call. Authorities said the delay in response was due to the city’s brownout plan although it’s impossible to know whether Bentley would have survived had paramedics arrived sooner.

While the boy’s death has brought renewed focus on firefighter and paramedic response times, it remains to be seen whether there are enough votes on the eight-member council — six are required — to place the sales-tax measure on the ballot.

I grieve for the loss of Bentley Do, and my prayers go for his spirit and my sympathies to his family. However, the assertion that we San Diegans are not paying enough in taxes for proper emergency services is contemptible, cynical, atrocious, and insulting. What we need is pension reform, enhanced efficiencies, and curtailing the bureaucratic waste in this city.

My fellow San Diegans — are we to be guilt-tripped by this accident into feeding more money to the government beast? Once again, “the children” are being used an an excuse to take more control of our lives.

Imagine if our city leaders showed so much aggressive initiative and imagination in actually resolving the city’s fiscal problems!

I find the timing of this very suspicious. The Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition, Richard Rider, Stop Taxing Us, and other citizen groups had successfully been pushing back on the sales-tax proposal for the past several weeks. In fact, Mayor Sanders recently backed off in pursuing this idea. But it seems public employee service union leadership and big government bureaucrats never rest in their desire to obtain more of our wealth.

We need to contact the San Diego City Council and Mayor, today, and inform them that we do not intend to be another Bell, California, where the top government workers earn close to one million dollars annually while the average citizen earns under $30,000/year. Here is the list:

San Diego City Council:

District 1 Councilmember Sherri Lightner
E-mail: sherrilightner@sandiego.gov

District 2 Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer
E-mail: kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov

District 3 Councilmember Todd Gloria
E-mail: toddgloria@sandiego.gov

District 4 Councilmember Tony Young
E-mail: anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov

District 5 Councilmember Carl DeMaio
E-mail: carldemaio@sandiego.gov

District 6 Councilmember Donna Frye
E-mail: donnafrye@sandiego.gov

District 7 Councilmember Marti Emerald
E-mail: martiemerald@sandiego.gov

District 8 Council President Ben Hueso
E-mail: benhueso@sandiego.gov

Mayor’s Office:

City Administration Building
202 C St., 11th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: (619) 236-6330
Fax: (619) 236-7228

Email the Office of the Mayor:
JerrySanders@sandiego.gov

One final note, which is related. In the Shirley Sharrod Show this week, I found the most disturbing aspect uncovered by Andrew Breitbart was her attitude that federal government employees could not be fired, and Sharrod made it seem that government jobs were easy money. She showed no evidence that she wanted to serve the public — she wants the public to serve her. I have news for all government employees — the only one entitled to my money is me. I don’t mind paying a fair amount of tax for sensible community services and national defense. However, we are now at confiscatory levels — with a promise of more taxes on the horizon. I refuse to be persuaded by the egregious use of tragedies that more of my blood, sweat and tears need to be confiscated by government.

Ultimately, Breitbart did us a service that may not have been his initial intention. The elite media has been decrying the lack of “context” in the tapes of Sharrod’s NAACP speeches — but failed to purse any “context” investigation in the lies about Tea Parties. The hypocritical double-standard the elite media uses has never been more transparently clear. I am sure Andrew Breitbart and his team would appreciate words of support, so please contact him here so that you can let him know how vital his efforts have been: CONTACT ANDREW BREITBART, click here.

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