Captain Phil Suffers A Stroke On St Paul Island

I'll be the first to admit that I am a fan of the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" cable series. As a matter of fact, I have all of the seasonal DVDs.

The breaking story today, from the New York Daily News:

'Deadliest Catch' star Phil Harris is currently in hospital after suffering a stroke while unloading his boat.

The captain of the Cornelia Marie had a stroke while in port off-loading from his boat, a Discovery spokesperson told TMZ.

"He has been transported to a medical facility and is receiving the best care possible," the rep said.

According to the Discovery web site, Harris has been working in the fishing industry for 32 years.

For the past 18, he has been captain of Cornelia Marie, a crew that includes his two sons, both deckhands.

The F/V Cornelia Marie has a dedicated website here (more information is there, as well). If inclined, you may leave your thoughts and well-wishes. You may also leave messages here.

Yes, Captain Phil smoked like a London factory, drank Red Bull by the case, but he's one tough bastard; he'll be in my prayers tonight. Please recover to stand in the wheelhouse of the Cornelia Marie once again, Captain Phil Harris.

BZ

Fornicalia Sleight of Hand: State Private Option Healthcare PASSES!

From the Just When You Weren't Looking, Dept:

Katy Grimes at CalWatchDog writes:

On a vote of 22 to 14, the California State Senate today approved Senate Bill 810, which creates a government-run health care system, also known as single-payer health care.

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to create a single-payer health system in the state. In a party-line vote (6-3), Democratic senators pushed through the controversial proposal, even after the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said the bill would cost California taxpayers at least $200 billion more a year.

Right. Perfect. At a time when Fornicalia is about to, once again, go broke:

SACRAMENTO — State Controller John Chiang issued a stern warning Friday about California's cash reserves, telling legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger they must act on nearly $9 billion in budget cuts the governor is seeking by March — or the state will run out of cash to pay its bills.

Without making those cuts — which Chiang says will pump $1.3 billion into the state's checking account — California would be broke by April 1, no fooling.

So, what part of STOP SPENDING don't Fornicalia's Ruling Demorats "get"? Why, that would be: ALL OF IT. They do NOT have any intention whatsoever of cutting back. They refuse to leave spending at current levels, much less reduce spending. Oh no.

Their plan, in the midst of an actual Recession -- on the precipice of a Depression -- is to add, literally, BILLIONS of dollars to Fornicalia's debt. It would make private healthcare actually ILLEGAL.

No, they don't care about what's been happening nationally. No, they haven't a clue as to the Temper of the Times. No, they don't read newspapers, blogs, monitor the internet, consider various polls or even watch television.

No. What's the answer to Fornicalia's massive debt?

MORE DEBT.

All of you assholes who voted for this must be clinically insane. I can conjure no other logical explanation.

BZ

P.S.

The one potential "positive"? Governor Schwarzenegger has indicated he'll cast a veto here.

White House orders Justice Department to look for other places to hold 9/11 terror trial

Why?

Two reasons, I submit:

1. Holder and Obama are trying to mitigate the flak they've been taking with regard to this issue specifically and recent issues in general, in concert with

2. They are privy to information indicating there may be an act attempted at the venue, and other sites may be more defensible.

Or was it something this simple:

Meanwhile, a source told The News that Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was the driving force behind the push by Manhattan business leaders to change the mayor's mind on the trial.

Kelly made an "extremely powerful" speech to a roomful of 150 prominent business leaders about how disruptive and costly the trial would be for lower Manhattan at an annual police charity event on Jan. 13, the source said.

"What turned this around was when Ray made a presentation to the Police Foundation," the source said. "Everyone went from thinking, 'Justice will be served' to thinking 'We are screwed.'"

What followed was a barrage of complaints to the mayor from some of New York's most powerful tycoons - part of a tide of pressure that led Bloomberg to turn against hosting the trial.

Estimates put the cost of a multiyear terror trial in lower Manhattan at about $200 million a year. Leaders have suggested other venues for the trial, such as the Military Academy at West Point or Stewart Air National Guard Base in upstate Newburgh.

The federal government has said they would reimburse the city for the costs, most of which cover overtime for increased security, but they won't reimburse business owners for lost revenue during the chaos, said Steven Spinola, president of the heavyweight business group Real Estate Board of New York.

The idea of trying KSM and his minions in civilian courts is flawed on its face, as is Mirandizing and then trying Mr Fruit-of-the-Loom in a civilian venue as well.

BZ

Ain't Misbehavin' -- Leon Redbone

Enough of politics. I'm politicked out today. And I have had quite enough of listening to Mr Obama's voice which now, to my shell-like ears, is reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard.

BZ

Mr Obama To "Stop Spending" In His State of the Nation Speech, vs. Economics 101: Moral Hazard

Which Obama will show up for his first State of the Nation speech Wednesday?

Will it be Das HopenChange Obama?

Or will it be "ve shall neffer moof, ve shall neffer halt, Das HopenChange vill be ze mantra, ObamaKare Uber Alles!" -- ? Will it be "Nehmen Sie Keine Gefangenen" Obama?

Will it be contrite, understanding, all-encompassing, Mr Middle Class Obama -- who, to quote someone from the past -- "feels your pain" and is willing to take a new course tack?

Already, Our Hero, in "stage prep" for his Big Day intimates, from The Washington Post:

Under mounting pressure to rein in mammoth budget deficits, President Obama will propose in his State of the Union address a three-year freeze on federal funding that is not related to national security, a concession to public concern about government spending that could dramatically curtail Obama's legislative ambitions.

On the other hand, Our Hero specifically campaigned against any sort of spending freeze, at least four times.

How did we get here? Perhaps you might wish to spend a minute or so on this video:

(Thanks to cj at Angry American for a tip to the video below:)

Glenn Beck recently said that it's the "Progressives" inside the Demorat Party that are currently undermining and corroding its power, and that there are "Progressives" in the Republican Party as well -- and that the GOP is next in line for corrupting Progressive corrosion.

Is it an "amazing coincidence" that Our Hero seems to have changed his tune in, say, the space of less than two days?

You tell me.

Ladies and gentlemen: this is a Head Fake.

BZ

T.O.T.U.S.

Can you believe this invertebrate?

Is this not only the height of stupidity, but of arrogance as well?

In order to make an "impromptu" speech at an elementary school, Our Hero insists that a fleet of people set up an elevated podium, replete with his Standard Two Teleprompters and three monitors.

Also, Demorat Representative Hyphenate Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire said Congress could pass ObamaKare if all the damned MEN would just GO THE HELL HOME:



Under that video is the first comment:

Just another example as to why women should be at home taking care of the family, cleaning the house, washing dishes, doing laundry, cooking dinner etc…Allowing women to have a say in anything and allowing them to vote has been the number one downfall of America. Women take valuable jobs from men and make decisions based on emotions, have you ever known a man who could commit murder and blame it on that time of the month? Go home ladies and leave the real work to the men the way it should be!

Ms Hyphenate is wrong, and the first commenter is wrong. But this person hit the bullseye:

I am appalled! If a CongressMAN had made this comment, what would all the women's libbers do? As a women, I feel this idiot is a good example of why most men feel women have no place in politics. I disagree with her on the idea that the women would have gotten this bill passed. Were the Congresswomen the ones who decided that a Medical Panel would tell a women she could not have a mammogram because she was not in the "high-risk" age group? If they wrote this, these women are not "care-givers" of ill and infirm family members — they are ghouls!!!! God help us, if the Congresswomen, now in office, are writing legislation that removes the needs of the individual and replaces it with the need for saving money, can they truly call themselves women?

Once again, your idiot politicians at work.

BZ

Vikings: Not There

The NFC Championship game ended in overtime, 31 to 28, with the New Orleans Saints' kicker Garrett Hartley making, essentially, a perfect 40-yard field goal.

It was a game of large mistakes on both sides of the ball. It was a game of fumbles and interceptions. It was a game of yellow flags. And it was a game where Brett Favre got hit simultaneously by two NO defensive players and twisted like a pretzel, injuring his left ankle yet stepping right back into the fray.

At 40, Brett Favre is the elder statesman in the NFL. And I really don't want him to go out like this. Yes, fine, say what you will about "he's retired, no he's not, yes he is, no he's not;" he came back one year with the Jets, an interim shot where the fit wasn't good for both sides.

With the Vikings, I think the fit is just fine.

And here's what it came down to: Minnesota made more mistakes. Simple as that.

Another point of irony: in his last game with the Green Bay Packers, again for the NFC title, Favre's last play as a Packer was an interception. Favre's last play in this NFC title game was likewise an interception.

Favre's played some of his best ball, this year with the Vikes.

I'd like to see him back.

Finally: congratulations to the Saints: their first shot, ever, at the Super Bowl. They made fewer mistakes. They deserved to win.

BZ

Pushing The Envelope, Part IV: Train Wrecks

The human being has always pushed the envelope into and beyond the realms of danger. This is the fourth of various Sunday postings displaying how restless Man is with the mundane and how he purposely crosses the threshold into danger willingly -- and sometimes unwillingly.

The above video is taken from the window-cam of a diesel-electric locomotive. I am unable to tell if the engineer and conductor were still in the cab of this locomotive when the collision occurred. However, if you look closely at the oncoming locomotive, a BNSF engine, you'll notice that at around :40 you can see one of its crew leaping away onto the ground prior to the impact. This occurred at the Kismet Siding in California, 2006. The westbound (oncoming) train ignored signal indications. Below is a photo of the oncoming first unit. Amazingly enough, no one died in this collision.

At EVOC we have a theorem called the Lug Nut rule, which goes something like this: in an accident, 5 lug nuts beat 4, 10 lug nuts beat 6, cleated tracks beat all lug nuts and rail beats everything.

Here, you can see that, even with older diesel-electric locomotives of roughly 3,500 hp, any vehicle will lose to a train. Also, please note that, in these tests archived by Pentrex, the units involved were able to stop in remarkably short distances. An average unit train roughly 1 or 1.25 miles long (about 90 to 120 cars), for example, traveling around 55 mph will need at least a mile to stop with the braking systems in full emergency. Remember, the contact patch of a locomotive or car wheel (that portion of the wheel actually touching the rail) is the size of a dime.

Train vs. semi-truck? No contest.

The horrible results of not lining the switch back for the main, after having taken your train off on a siding:

Any time you potentially clash or cross paths with a train or a locomotive, you are most definitely pushing the envelope.

BZ

Brett Favre: Minnesota Vikings Push The Superbowl

Up front, I have to admit to a singular bias:

I am a Green Bay Packer fan, and have been so for many years. I wrapped my fan-dom around Brett Favre, an exquisite player who -- ahem -- may have made some mistakes in terms of premature retirements -- but certainly not in terms of his playing abilities. He's the first NFL player to win games against all 32 teams in the league!

After retiring from the Packers in 2008, he played one contentious year for the New York Jets.

He then ended up quarterbacking the Minnesota Vikings for the 2009 season.

He holds many NFL records including: most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career pass completions, most career pass attempts,most career interceptions thrown, most consecutive starts, and most career victories as a starting quarterback.^[5][6]

Now, on the way to the NFC championship, the Vikings killed the Cowboys this past weekend with a 34 to 3 score.

This Sunday, at 3:30 PST, the Vikings take on the New Orleans Saints.

For Brett, for the Elders, I'd really like to see the Vikings in the Super Bowl this year.

BZ

Air America?

Dead.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Yes, an agenda helps. But you also have to be entertaining and have a message that America wants to hear.

Timing, anyone?

BZ

The Silence of the Left

One year after the election of Barack Hussein Obama, the Demorats had their world rocked by the election of a Republican into the bluest of blue political appointments, in the bluest of blue states, ruled for more than half a century by the bluest of Liberals.

The people have made a statement and that is this: we don't much care for the path currently taken by those installed in power; we don't much care for the potential of ObamaKare and we don't much care for the incessant spending. We know the Republicans spent terribly; this current administration spends ever more. Mr Obama spent $1.7 trillion dollars in his first month alone.

There is a lot of anger. And the anger is with Washington, DC.

The Demorats are completely, unsparingly, unapologetically Tone Deaf. Their mantra still continues to be "we know better than you what you want, what you need." They believe: "you are the Great Unwashed. You are the Groundlings." The GOP has an amazing opportunity.

Further evidence? ONE day after the trouncing in Massachusetts, the Obama Administration announced:

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats on Wednesday proposed allowing the federal government to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion to pay its bills, a record increase that would permit the national debt to reach $14.3 trillion.

The unpopular legislation is needed to allow the federal government to issue bonds to fund programs and prevent a first-time default on obligations. It promises to be a challenging debate for Democrats, who, as the party in power, hold the responsibility for passing the legislation.

Ladies and gentlemen, how is it that I can see the Writing On The Wall, but no one in Washington can? We cannot keep spending as we do. Again, no more than 24 hours after the election in Massachusetts, Obama wants the Fed to take over national student debt. Is he insane?

One day, one fine day, China will step back. The world will step back. They will refuse to hold the American Dollar. Russia is already starting to diversify into the Canadian dollar.

So: what did the Demorats learn from yesterday? Words from Pelosi? Words from Reid? No. Stunning silence.

I submit: the Demorats learned mostly nothing at all.

BZ

P.S.
Scott Brown, the Keith Olbermann Anti-Christ:



Guess what, Keith: consider him SENT.

Brown:

Won!

Tol' ya.

See my logical extensions here.

BZ

Reflections Upon The Massachusetts Senate Race

1. Massachusetts:

In recent years, the two Massachusetts senators have been Edward Kennedy and John Kerry.

Massachusetts, historically, has had Demorats outnumber Republicans, within roughly the last 100 years, 3.5 - to - 1. Massachusetts is, frankly, the bluest of Blue States. It's why they're called Massholes.

Teddy Kennedy had a virtual lock on his senate seat for almost fifty years, starting November 7th of 1962. Kerry has been in place since January 2nd of 1985.

Massachusetts politicians literally bleed blue -- just like some vampires and all spiders, scorpions and horseshoe crabs. I think perhaps the Borg as well.

I suspect they're the source for the phrase "blue bloods" or sangre azuls -- the nobility or "of noble descent."

And that would certainly describe the arrogance, entitlement and inefficacy of the Demorats in this country.

That said, I'd care to post some observations I've noted within the past two years in terms of American politics.

2. 2008:

That was a landmark year for the Demorats. They literally "cleared the board" with national elections including our first black president. Demorats chirruped: "We have a mandate, we have a mandate!"

And I submit this:

3. Not A Mandate:

Demorats completely misinterpreted their so-called "mandate." The "mandate" was this: the nation was tired of President Bush. Period.

Couple this with those former Republicans or Conservatives who either refused to show up on election day or refused to vote for McCain -- and Mr Obama was the result. Thank you, detailed purists.

4. Boding Poorly For Mr Obama:

Precisely one year after his inauguration, Mr Obama faces a relativistic shock. Even IF Scott Brown fails to acquire Kennedy's senate seat and it is awarded to Martha Coakley, the Demorats will find themselves staggered. Despite there still being 150,000 dead persons on the Massachutsetts voting rolls, of which to take advantage. They made any number of arrogant and elitist assumptions. Even they could not see the true Writing On The Wall.

5. What IS The Writing On The Wall?

That is this: Demorat Nancy Pelosi actually plays to a specific minority of her own minor San Francisco district. She assumes she speaks for the millions when, in fact, she speaks for the loudest, the most strident, the most colorful, the most egregious, the most obstreperous, the most outrageous. She speaks for the Deluded, including herself.

6. Is The GOP Any Better?

In a word: NO. They don't understand the fundamentals and the machinations that have occurred within the past year. They think it involves mindset and philosophy. It doesn't.

7. If Not Philosophy, Then WHAT?

Both sides of the aisle fail to understand that the prevailing mood in the country is disenchantment with politicians in general. People want to see a stop to spending. People want to see a stop to entitlements. People want to see Politicians HURT. People want to see Politicians Hurt LIKE THEY ARE. And, instead, what do they see?

8. Politicians UNaffected.

So I say: is this necessarily, if he wins, a vote FOR Scott Brown? I posit: NO. I say it's a vote Against Incumbents.

9. Lessons For Republicans?

You have an opportunity here. If you're sufficiently intelligent and organized to take advantage. I believe that you are NOT. The Demorats have blown it. You are about to.

10. Immediate Future Votes?

The electorate is going to go this way: voting out ALL INCUMBENTS.

It's, at this point, as simple as that.

Wednesday evening will tell.

BZ

P.S.

Written Tuesday night, 5:30 pm PST.

Haiti: ENOUGH

On Haiti:

This is enough, United States.

Get out.

Provide CIVILIAN aid if you wish, provide it privately, if you wish. Provide some limited federal aid in terms of food, water, medicine, other provisions, construction material, if you wish. Then stop.

France has accused the US of "occupying" the country and, with "thousands" of our troops on the ground, I concur. It is estimated there will be 10,000 US troops in Haiti by Wednesday. Our soldiers do not belong there, not with this current administration in charge, not with the current mindset extant. US troops are already told "to be discreet" about how they physically hold their M4 rifles. They are told they may use deadly force if they see lives in danger, but only as a "last resort."

Let ONE incident occur with one US soldier in Haiti and we will be roundly excoriated not only globally but domestically as well, with every likelihood the involved soldier will face criminal punishment encouraged by the Obama DOJ.

The US plans to bring Haitian children into the country. This begs several questions: homeless only? How can you tell they're homeless? What if the parents exist and wish to be with their children? How can you confirm which parents belong to which children? And won't there be adults who will claim children in order to enter the US?

It doesn't stop there. Now there's been a 5.8 magnitude quake off the Cayman Islands. If another strikes or there is devastation, do we deploy our military as well?

Get out, US. This is enough.

BZ

Prediction: Brown Takes Massachusetts Senate

Polling Data

Poll	Date	Sample	Brown (R)	Coakley (D)	Spread
Politico/InAdv	1/17 - 1/17	804 LV	52	43	Brown +9
PJM/CrossTarget (R)	1/17 - 1/17	574 LV	52	42	Brown +10
PPP (D)	1/16 - 1/17	1231 LV	51	46	Brown +5
ARG	1/15 - 1/17	600 LV	52	45	Brown +7
Daily Kos/R2000	1/15 - 1/17	500 LV	48	48	Tie
InsideMedford/MRG	1/15 - 1/15	565 LV	51	41	Brown +10
PJM/CrossTarget (R)	1/14 - 1/14	946 LV	54	39	Brown +15
ARG	1/12 - 1/14	600 LV	48	45	Brown +3
Blue Mass Group/R2000 (D)	1/12 - 1/13	500 LV	41	49	Coakley +8
Suffolk/7News	1/11 - 1/13	500 LV	50	46	Brown +4
Rasmussen Reports	1/11 - 1/11	1000 LV	47	49	Coakley +2
PPP (D)	1/7 - 1/9	744 LV	48	47	Brown +1
Rasmussen Reports	1/4 - 1/4	500 LV	41	50	Coakley +9
Boston Globe	1/2 - 1/6	554 LV	36	53	Coakley +17
Suffolk	11/4 - 11/8	600 RV	27	58	Coakley +31
Western NE College	10/18 - 10/22	342 LV	32	58	Coakley +26
Suffolk	9/12 - 9/15	500 RV	24	54	Coakley +30

My prediction: Brown takes it (written Monday night @ 6:30 PST).

Followup: the Demorats do their best to ensure he is seated in sufficient time to NOT cast a vote regarding ObamaKare. Pushing ObamaKare is a priority; seating an enemy at the table -- what Mr Obama called non-partisanship -- is not.

Oh my, is this going to stir the pot. Particularly after Our Hero lobbied personally in the state.

BZ

Being "Politically Correct" WILL Be The Death Of This Nation

And, for once, the truth is starting to unfold. From The Washington Times:

Fear of offending Muslims or being insensitive to religion was likely a key factor to why Army supervisors missed signs that the suspect in the deadly Fort Hood shooting rampage was a Muslim extremist, according to national security experts.

Myself and numerous other bloggers knew, from the very beginning, that this was a major aspect of the US Army Major Nidal Hasan's ability to carry out his November 5th attack, which resulted in 12 soldiers and 1 civilian dead.

The review concluded that the Army is ill-equipped to deal with "insider" threats. Mr. West and Mr. Clark said several Army officers appear to have been negligent in assessing Maj. Hasan in personnel reviews and other incidents during his career and likely will be punished.

We can't be truthful to the public -- we must keep our thoughts secret because, my, the horrors that would occur:

Adm. Vernon E. Clark, a former chief of naval operations and the investigation's other co-leader, declined to answer when asked whether political correctness led to the Army security failures. He suggested that the matter is addressed in a secret annex to the report that he and Mr. West helped produce.

Even following 9/11, did Americans go on a wholesale shooting rampage with Arabs or perceived Muslims in our national sights? Did we create internment camps? No, we did not. I found many sites bleeding about "profiling" or "driving while Arab." There were isolated acts. But much fewer than, for example, blacks specifically targeting whites for violent acts.

The unaligned professionals know the difference:

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, a former military medical doctor, said political correctness is a major problem for the military and the government as a whole in dealing with Islamism.

"The culture in the military and the U.S. government is that you just don't touch religion," said Dr. Jasser, president of the Phoenix-based American Islamic Forum for Democracy. As a result, the military is ill-equipped to deal with the threat posed by radicalized Muslims, he said in an interview.

Steven Emerson, executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, said the military's failure to understand the problem of radical Islamism is the reason the Fort Hood shootings were not prevented.

"The military is still mired in this murderous political correctness," Mr. Emerson said, adding that religion, contrary to what Mr. West said, is "every part of the problem" in the shootings.

"Hassan's jihadist beliefs were that infidels should be killed in the military," Mr. Emerson said.

Mr. Emerson said the neglect of Islamist extremism "stands in sharp contrast to the military's decision to weed out white supremacists a few years back at Fort Bragg by throwing out any serviceman who supported the Ku Klux Klan."

This nation, ladies and gentlemen, I am telling you once again, continues to bend over for the elements that wish to do us harm -- Islam. Yes, fine, flap on, I am biased, Islam is a religion of peace, love, understanding, it's as wonderful or more so than Christianity, it's a small percentile of persons who are causing trouble. I reiterate: Islam is as Islam does.

Keep turning a blind eye America; but first, take a small trip to a neighboring continent and see what's occurring in Europe and the UK.

BZ

Church

I asked a few weeks ago on a Sunday, where do you hold your beliefs? Church or heart?

Now I ask:

Should church be a museum for saints, or a hospital for sinners?

BZ

New Sony Release!

This is how I feel about most of today's technology, Luddite that I am.

BZ

Obama: Tax The Banks

Of course. That makes sense. Tax the banks. From AP News:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mindful of soaring deficits and an anti-Wall Street mood, President Barack Obama wants a new 10-year tax on the country's largest banks to cover a projected $117 billion shortfall in the government's financial crisis bailout fund.

The president planned to propose Thursday a levy of 15 basis points, or 0.15 percent, on the liabilities of large financial institutions to make sure every dollar spent from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program to rescue Wall Street firms, auto companies and mortgage holders is either repaid or paid for. Congress would have to approve the tax.

Mr Obama, you are simply astounding in your ignorance and arrogance. After you threatened the banks if they didn't take your federal dollars, now you're going to tax American banks?

Mr Obama, are you aware that banks exist to make loans and hold assets? They don't make money over foreclosures. And whom do you think will pay these taxes? Surely not the banks; it will only be, once again, the American Taxpayer. You spout Populist Pap.

Demorat House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank takes the Audacity Cake for insanity when he said:

"Look, the financial institutions collectively, particularly the larger ones, caused problems by their errors - their errors of judgment, their irresponsibility, in some cases their skating around dishonesty. I think it is entirely reasonable to say that the industry that, A, caused these problems more than any other and, B, benefited from the activity, should be contributing."

However, Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas nailed it: "To think that banks will loan more money if you tax them is beyond economic ignorance."

It doesn't take a rapier-like wit to figure this out.

BZ

1. The Council of Governors; 2. The Rand Report: 3. Universal Voter Registration

1. Council of Governors:

From UPI.com on the 11th:

“President Barack Obama Monday established a panel of state governors to collaborate with Washington on a variety of potential emergencies, the White House said."

“Obama signed an executive order establishing a panel to be known as the Council of Governors, which will be made up of 10 state governors, to be selected by the president to serve two-year terms. Members will review matters involving the National Guard; homeland defense; civil support; and synchronization and integration of state and federal military activities in the United States, the White House said in a statement.

“The statement said the White House would seek input from governors and governors’ association (sic) in deciding which governors to appoint to the council, which will have no more than five governors from the same party.

“The secretaries of defense and homeland security will also sit on the council, as will presidential assistants for homeland security and counter-terrorism, intergovernmental affairs, the U.S. Northern Command commander, the commander of the East Coast Guard, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau.

“The panel was set up under a provision of the Fiscal Year 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, the White House said.”

Here is a PDF file of the White House press release.

Of course, you've not heard or read much of this in the American press. I had to check the Canadian press before I found something that would question the "why?" of this Executive Order:

Quietly—even stealthily—in the opening days of the New Year, President Barack Obama has set up a “Council of Governors”.

Like the 30-plus czars running America with neither the people’s nor the congress’s blessings, the Council of Governors is already a done deal.

“Is this a first step towards Martial Law, or a tie to the InterPol, RAND National Police Force stuff we’ve been hearing about,” asked a Texas patriot who tipped off Canada Free Press (CFP) after finding news of the new Council of Governors on Twitter. “Is this a sort of Homeland Security Politburo?

Even the -- gulp! -- LA Times questions this move.

And so I ask you, put on your Thinking Caps and answer this question: why a Council of Governors"? Why another bureaucratic body? Why now?

Then read:

2. The Rand Report: U.S. Needs a "National Stability Force":

From the Rand Report entitled "Reorganizing US Domestic Intelligence, Assessing The Options (PDF file available here):

Our analysis clearly indicates that the United States needs an SPF or some other way to accomplish the SPF mission. Stability operations have become an inescapable reality of U.S. foreign policy. Establishing security with soldiers and police is critical because it is difficult to achieve other objectives—such as rebuilding political and economic systems—without it.

The cost of not fixing this gap is significant. The United States will continue to experience major challenges in stability operations if it does not have this policing capacity. These challenges include creating the ability to establish basic law and order, as well as defeat or deter criminal organizations, terrorists, and insurgents. In some cases, allied countries may be able to fill this gap. Allies did this effectively in Bosnia and Kosovo, both of which were successful in establishing security. In other cases, the United States may not be able to count on allied support. The United States should not depend on allies to supply these capabilities, because doing so would limit U.S. freedom of action on the international stage. Consequently, the United States should seriously consider building a high-end police capacity.

Then please note this:

The ability of SPF personnel to act in a law–enforcement capacity while in the United States [my emphasis: BZ]. One important aspect of the return on investment from an SPF option is what SPF personnel do when not deployed. Given that an SPF will be deployed one out of every three years at most for active duty options and one out of six for reserve options, whether its members can perform law enforcement functions and so contribute to domestic tranquility and homeland defense when not deployed will have a major impact on whether an option is cost-effective. Two categories of options—military units and contractors—cannot do so under current statutes and regulations.

What would have to be repealed? Oh, that's right, American Constitutional law:

In particular, for the MP option to be as cost-effective as possible, relief from the Posse Comitatus Act [which forbids the US Army from being used in law enforcement in the United States] (again, my emphasis: BZ) would be required to permit its members to perform domestic law enforcement functions.

Others blogging this:
- Yid With Lid
- Goomba News Network

3. Universal Voter Registration:

The Nation, back in May of last year, wrote:

Between 2 and 4 million Americans were unable to vote in the last election because of problems with their registration. And that's just people who tried to vote; in 2006, there were more than 65 million who were eligible to vote, but weren't even registered. That's a third of potential voters.

It doesn't have to be this way. Registration rates in other countries frequently run upwards of 90 percent (both Canada and France hit that mark, for example, while Venezuela stands at roughly 94 percent, and Russia about 97). Now reformers are seizing the moment to use existing law to expand registration, as well as considering new laws that could finally put the United States on an equal footing with many of the world's other democracies.

So, what to do, asks Debbie at Right Truth?

The plan, as I understand it, is to use existing welfare rolls, state unemployment rolls, property tax rolls, driver licenses rolls, and who know what other lists. Next the Democrats will attempt to get amnesty for illegal aliens, get them covered under the government health care (if and when it passes), and they will be registered to vote.

In response, I say: interesting. Have the federal government overrule state law, mandate registration from the rolls of persons whose sole job is to demand more Free Cheese, just so the government can propagate and -- wait for it -- if the individual forced voter chooses, they can let the government vote for them by proxy!

It just doesn't get any better than that, does it?

BZ