Friday, November 11, 2011

Veterans Day

Source: PatriotsFile.org
I Am A Retired Veteran
By Norman E. Hooben
USAF, MSgt, Retired

I am a retired veteran of the United States Armed Forces
Now I am a member of We The People…just words

During my active duty years I’ve seen war and rumors of war
I protected We The People…just words


I fought for God and country Blessed by We The People…just words

The path I chose was
The road not taken by We The People….just words


They were the best years of my life
Unbeknown by We The People…just words


The hardships I endured  Will never be shared by We The People…just words

For over two score years in uniform
Now I dress as We The People….just words

Time moves on and I’m here to say
Freedom is not free for We The People….just words

When it was said that old soldiers never dieThey just fade away by We The People….just words

When the time has come and my years are spent I’ll be buried by We The People….just words
 


©️ Norman E.  Hooben 

___________________________ 
The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency. It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to an electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.
~ Author Unknown
__________________

Special thanks to Maggie's Notebook for the following:
On this day in 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed. The first colonists leading the way to America, as we know it today, signed a governing document for Plymouth Colony. The colonists crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Mayflower. At least half of those were Christians, seeking the freedom to practice Christianity, without the tyrannical direction of the the King James. The Compact clearly established that the Colony would be free of English law. “It was devised to set up a government from within themselves and was written by those to be governed.” The compact began “In the name of God, Amen.”
When creating the Mayflower Compact, the signers believed that covenants were not only to be honored between God and man, but also between each other. They had always honored covenants as part of their righteous integrity and agreed to be bound by this same principle with the Compact. John Adams and many historians have referred to the Mayflower Compact as the foundation of the U.S. Constitution written more than 150 years later.
America was indeed begun by men who honored God and set their founding principles by the words of the Bible. They lived their lives with honesty, reliability, and fairness toward establishing this country “for the sake of its survival.” A great many of America’s Founding Fathers have been quoted in regard to living by Biblical values.
God bless our Military.
_______________________

Photos by Norman E. Hooben
Cape Cod Massachusetts ~ November 2011

Is your 401(k) or IRA at risk? Seniors take heed !

Will your 401(k) support this person?

Warning! 
"...the retirement funds of every hard-working American dependent on a 401(k) for their retirement security would be nationalized and made subject to the whims and will of the executive branch."

The picture at left came in an email with the following message:
They Want To Loot, Control And Tax Your Retirement Accounts!
The Obama Administration is Planning to COMPLETELY Eliminate the Tax Deduction of 401(k)'s and IRA's.

Related...The Obama Administration's Secret Plan To Hijack Your 401(k)s and IRAs click link for pdf file

Obviously all the culprits are were not available with their smirky 'we're-gonna'rip-you-off-and-you-don't-have-the-intestinal-fortitude-to-stop-us' smiles.  But let me add just a few to make the picture more accurate (if I miss some please understand, I'm not going to put a whole lot of time into my collage):

 
The above warning certainly is not new news but why the complacency?  Why haven't the taxpayers revolted?  Here's an earlier post from NewAmerican.com:

Obama Administration Plans to Seize 401(k) Retirement Accounts
Written by Joe Wolverton, II
Wednesday, 05 May 2010

One aspect of a new and improved federal regulatory scheme is the seizure of 401(k) retirement plans and the subsequent government-administered disbursement of the funds.
In Chapter 3 of the Annual Report on the Middle Class released in February by Vice President Biden and the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, the Obama administration calls for enhancing the “retirement options” for the middle class by imposing “new regulations to improve the transparency and adequacy of 401(k) retirement savings.”
The plan, as sketched in the 43-page document, calls for the creation of something called “Guaranteed Retirement Accounts” (GRAs). Biden slyly shifts the onus for the idea through weasel words typical of the federal government: “Some have suggested the creation of Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs), which would give workers a simple way to invest a portion of their retirement savings in an account that was free of inflation and market risk, and in some versions under discussion, would guarantee a specified real return above the rate of inflation.”
These accounts would be “free of inflation and market risk” because they would be under the direct and absolute control of the federal bureaucracy. There would be no risk because the funds would no longer be moored to the free market and subject to the fluctuations thereof. Rather, the retirement funds of every hard-working American dependent on a 401(k) for their retirement security would be nationalized and made subject to the whims and will of the executive branch.
The current administration is practiced in the erection of such straw men to deflect their own socialistic and absolutist intent. The record is clear, however, and since the day of his inauguration, Barack Obama and his congressional co-conspirators have consistently and unapologetically set out to systematically nationalize the economy of the United States: first the banks; then the insurance companies; then the auto industry; then healthcare; and now the piece de resistance, the private savings accounts of millions of middle-class Americans. This is an unlawful usurpation of power unprecedented in the annals of American political history.
Coinciding with the publication of the report described above, the Obama White House, together with the Departments of Labor and Treasury, issued a so-called “Request for Information” calling for a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of the “annuitization” of individual 401(k)s. The scheme was set forth in a set of “Proposed Rules” published on February 2, 2010 in the Federal Register.
The document reads in part, “While defined contribution plans have some strengths relative to defined benefit plans, participants in defined contribution plans bear the investment risk because there is no promise by the employer as to the adequacy of the account balance that will be available or the income stream that can be provided after retirement.” And furthermore, “The Agencies are considering whether it would be appropriate for them to take future steps for them to facilitate access to, and use of, lifetime income or other arrangements designed to provide designed to provide a stream of income after retirement.”
The upshot of that clunky prose is that the Obama administration believes that employers cannot be relied upon to adequately manage the 401(k) retirement accounts it provides for their employees, therefore the federal government will relieve them of that responsibility and take sole discretionary control of those funds, thus eliminating the risk of mismanagement. In other words, the Obama administration is planning to divert the “stream of income after retirement” and channel it right through Washington, D.C.
Under the section of the Proposed Rules marked “Background,” the document declares that it is the intent of the agencies considering these changes to further “their efforts to promote retirement security for American workers.” And, to “provide wages that support families, and rise with time and productivity.” Since January 2010, it seems that the only thing rising with time is the likelihood that the economic wealth and might of our once enviable Republic will be methodically eradicated through the exercise by the executive branch of unconstitutional authority over every financial aspect of our nation’s people.
While the time for commenting on these Proposed Rules has passed (May 3, 2010 was the deadline), there is yet time for concerned citizens to contact their elected representatives and voice their opposition to President Obama’s proposed seizure of their 401(k) retirement accounts.
In response to the White House’s pronouncements, many Republicans in the House of Representatives, including GOP leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), have joined together to defend against the federal assault on the financial freedom of the middle class. Boehner and a cadre of colleagues known as the “House GOP Savings Recovery Solutions Group” (an organization founded by Boehner to, “help Americans protect and rebuild their hard-earned savings as quickly as possible while making sure the federal government does not hinder the process”) have written a memo to the secretaries of Labor and Treasury, imploring them to “take no action” to nationalize the retirement security of millions of Americans, representing trillions of dollars. The text of the letter is reprinted below:
Dear Secretaries Solis and Geithner:
As members of the Republican Savings Solutions Group, we write today to express our strong opposition to any proposal to eliminate or federalize private-sector defined contribution pension plans, such as 401(k)s, or impose burdensome new requirements upon the businesses, large and small, who choose to offer these plans to their employees.
In the Annual Report of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, Vice President Biden discussed at length the creation of so-called “Guaranteed Retirement Accounts, (GRAs)” which would provide for protection from “inflation and market risk” and potentially “guarantee a specified real return above the rate of inflation” — presumably at taxpayer expense. In the Report, the Vice President recommended “further study of these issues.”
The Vice President’s comments are troubling, insofar as they come on the heels of testimony before Congress from supporters of GRAs proposing to eliminate the favorable tax treatment currently afforded to 401(k) plans, and instead use those dollars to fund government-invested GRAs into which all employees would be required to contribute a portion of their salary — again, with a government subsidy. These advocates would, essentially, dismantle the present private-sector 401(k) system, replacing it instead with a government-run investment plan, the size and scope of which remain to be seen. This despite data showing that 90 percent of households have a favorable opinion of the existing 401(k)/IRA system.
In light of these facts, we write today to express our opposition in the strongest terms to any effort to “nationalize” the private 401(k) system, or any proposal that would dismantle or disfavor the private 401(k) system in favor of a government-run retirement security regime.
Similarly, and more recently, the Departments of Labor and Treasury have jointly issued a “Request for Information” regarding the “annuitization” of 401(k) plans through “Lifetime Income Options.” While we appreciate the Departments’ seeking guidance and information from all parties and stakeholders in advance of regulatory activity, we strongly urge that the Departments not proceed with any regulation in this area before they have carefully and thoroughly considered all of the information received.
More specifically, we urge that the Departments take no action to mandate that plan sponsors — often, small businesses — include a “lifetime income” or “annuitization” option if they choose to offer a 401(k) plan to their employees, or that beneficiaries take some or all of their retirement savings in such an option. Data shows that 70 percent of Americans oppose the concept of a mandated annuity or government payout of their 401(k) plan. On a more fundamental level, Congress should not be in the business of choosing “winners” and “losers” among retirement security stakeholders. Instead, we urge the Departments to make it easier for employers to include retirement income solutions in their savings plans and to help workers learn more about the value of their retirement savings as a source of retirement income. Finally, to the extent new mandates and bureaucratic red tape from Washington push small employers out of the business of offering these plans to their employees, we would submit such an effort weakens, rather than strengthens retirement security.
We appreciate your consideration of our views in these important matters and stand ready to work with you and the Administration to promote secure and adequate retirement savings for all Americans.
Sincerely,
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) 
Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) 
Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) 
Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) 
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) 
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) 
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) 
Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) 
Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) 
Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) 
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) 
Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA)
While the goal of Boehner’s group is noble and laudable, the tactics it uses to resist the administration’s attack on middle-class savings seems somehow to justify them, as well. If Congressman Boehner and his allies are genuinely committed to helping “Americans protect and rebuild their hard-earned savings,” then their interest, as well as that of our Republic and the citizens thereof, would be best served by a bold and relentless campaign to drive all branches of the national government to retreat to a place within the borders of their constitutional authority.
________________________


Brokaw may have been master of the universe but Cronkite sat with the devil...and was proud of it!

It isn't enough to read what Jonah Goldberg has to say regarding Tom Brokaw for the American people were coddled by the man that proudly said that he sat on the right hand side of the devil.  That man was Walter Cronkite.  There's an old saying that if you repeat the lie often enough people would begin to believe it...and Cronkite was the biggest lie that ever hit prime time news.  The most trusted man in America turns out to be a respected member of the cabal planning America's demise. Read about it here, World Federalism and Walter Cronkite: Sitting At The Right Hand Of Satan ~ Norman E. Hooben

The following from: Boston Herald
Brokaw enabled the nastiness he chides

By Jonah Goldberg | Wednesday, November 9, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Op-Ed
You know who I blame for the terrible tone in American politics? Tom Brokaw.  No, not the man himself, but what he represents.
Since Dan Rather famously beclowned himself, Brokaw stands as the last of the respected “voice of God” news anchors (CBS exec Don Hewitt’s phrase). These were the oracles who simply declared what was news and what wasn’t. Walter Cronkite, the prize of the breed, used to end his newscasts, “And that’s the way it is” — as if he were speaking not just with journalistic but also epistemological and ontological authority.
You can still find such hubris in The New York Times [NYT], which proclaims “All the news that’s fit to print” — a claim that would be subjected to truth-in-labeling laws were it not for the First Amendment.
Brokaw, an honorable and industrious man, is now playing the role of elder statesman while touting his book, “The Time of Our Lives.” He writes: “Slashing rhetoric and outrageous characterizations have long been part of the American national political dialogue . . . but modern means of communications are now so pervasive and penetrating they might as well be part of the air we breathe, and therefore they require tempered remarks from all sides. Otherwise, the air just becomes more and more toxic until it is suffocating.”
But blaming the new media environment for what ails us suggests that the old media, of which Brokaw was a master of the universe, played no part in losing the trust of so many Americans.
For starters, when the mainstream media complains about “tone,” it almost invariably means the tone to their right. After the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, the mainstream media reported, and liberal pundits raced to insist, that Republican rhetoric — particularly, a pictogram on Sarah Palin’s Facebook page — inspired the suspect. The evidence disproving all of that is voluminous; the record of retractions from those who reported it is scant.
At the same time, Democratic rhetoric has grown ever more extreme. Vice President Joe Biden recently insisted that the GOP’s refusal to pass the White House’s jobs bill would cause a surge in rapes and other crimes.
Meanwhile, violence, extreme rhetoric and wanton lawlessness have been prevalent in the Occupy Wall Street movement, but the coverage remains largely positive.
All too often it seems like the media cherry-picks positive examples from the left and negative ones from the right.
Brokaw and his heirs don’t understand that such double standards breed precisely the rhetoric they find so toxic. Because the new media Brokaw laments allows conservatives to see how much news the old media didn’t deem fit to print, they learn not to trust those who wag their fingers rightward about civility — or anything else.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1379490

California Governor Brown Approves 'Police State" Mentality

Source: Unelected.org
CA Governor Brown Approves Warrantless Cellphone Searches

By vetoing a bill that would force law enforcement officials to obtain search warrants before opening up and sifting through the cellphone of a person, Democratic, California Governor Jerry Brown has approved of warrantless searches and seizures of cellphones in the state. The searches, which are blatant violations of the 4th Amendment rights of US citizens, have been occurring throughout the state. Officers can go through call records, emails, text messages, and browsing history simply if they suspect you of any wrongdoing.
Your iPads, tablets, PDAs, and Kindles aren’t exempt from warrantless searches either. California cops can now legally see what websites you were browsing on your iPad, your notes from class, your personal calendar, and what ebooks you’re reading.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation started a campaign promoting California State Senate Bill 914, which would have stopped police officers from just stopping a person walking down the street and looking through their cellphone.
Modern smartphones are a candid window into the intimate details of our lives carrying everything from text messages to emails, from webpages we’ve browsed to our real time location, from lists of contacts to photo albums. But under California law, an arresting officer can reach into your pocket, pull out your cell phone, and thumb through everything on it regardless of whether your phone has anything to do with the arrest itself. -EFF
This is just the latest in Governor Brown’s attacks on the civil liberties of Californians. Recently, Brown also vetoed legislation that would legalize the production of hemp citing the absurd notion that federal hemp laws trump state laws. The 10th Amendment begs to differ on that. He also banned the open-carry of firearms, thereby trampling upon the 2nd Amendment rights of citizens of the Golden State.
Anyone in California who cares about their civil rights should start or join a campaign to recall Jerry Brown.