New GGW video by Blaise Ingoglia with SHOCKING statistics exposing the biggest special interest of all!

Back when we were attending Millville Grade School, my old buddy Stinky Wilmont used to look forward to visiting his grandmother in Kentucky every summer. I don’t recall which part of the state she lived in, but I do recall that we didn’t have as many roads back then as we have nowadays, and I [...]

“I guess I was talked into the sorta view that when you see something that needs done, you ought to step up and do it.” Mark Grannis

Reason editors Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch introduce their new book, “The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong with America,” with a multimedia presentation in the Hayek Auditorium. “In a world where our [political] choices are limited to John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi, the survivors envy the dead,” they write. But [...]

Right-libertarian for Human Rights

From Eric Dondero:

Lest anyone accuse the right-wing Italian Freedom Party who sponsored the recent burqa ban, of being "racists," the very sponsor of the legislation is a Muslim woman from north Africa.

From the "LondonEveningStandard.com"Italy will be next EU state to ban Muslim burka and face veil":

The Bill was initially suggested by the anti-immigration Northern League. Italy's constitutional affairs committee said it would be debated next month.

The move is not supported by the opposition Democratic Left, but Mr Berlusconi's coalition has a majority in both the upper and lower houses of parliament and a ban is highly likely to pass.

The Northern League's proposal aims to amend a 1975 law, introduced amid concern over terrorism, that prohibits the wearing of anything that makes identification impossible.

Souad Sbai, a woman MP of Muslim origin in Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, said: "This is a decisive push for a measure promoting freedom and civilised values."

Sbai was quoted (Recurse Islamice - translated from Italian):

"We need to help women who are segregated and have no rights..."

It is estimated that in Italy there are about 3,000 women who wear the Islamic veil and she says that the law would help Muslim women to integrate into society.

Soubai has been an activist against fundamentalist Islam. She has been fighting against Muslim honor killings across Europe. She believes that the vast majority of Muslim women seen across Europe wearing burqas and hijabs are forced to wear them by Muslim men, including their husbands and clerics.

Boston-area Tea Party responds

As reported by Channel 22 News WWLP, "Sen. John Kerry slams tea party -
Kerry: Tea Party is taking country hostage" Aug. 4:

“There is a small group that has the ability in the last days to hold the entire country and our economy hostage and were willing to literally shoot the hostage,”

Statement released by Greater Boston Tea Party:

Tea Party activists are proud of the Tea Party Caucus in Congress standing up for sane fiscal policy during the debt ceiling debate ...If anyone is holding Americans hostage, it is ideologues on the left like Senator Kerry who continue to insist their vision of a big government nanny state will eventually solve all the world's ills, if only common sense would surrender.

GreaterBostonTeaParty.org

New York Special Election!

From Eric Dondero:

State Assemblyman David Weprin is the expected Democrat candidate for congress to face Republican Bob Turner in the special election to fill the Anthony Weiner seat in September.

From the NY Post:

The Democratic candidate seeking to fill the congressional seat vacated by randy ex-Rep Anthony Weiner distanced himself from President Obama today — by refusing to say whether he backed the president’s re-election.

“I’m running myself right now. On Sept. 14, I’ll be happy to address the president’s election,” State Assemblyman David Weprin said following a press conference at Queens Borough Hall.

And ironically, the statement came at a press conference in which Weprin was being endorsed himself from a number of female political leaders in NY.

Editor's comment - Remember back in 2009, this website reported on a slew of Democrat party switchers to Republican, from Maine to Georgia to Texas to South Dakota. A harbinger of the Republican wins of 2010. Weprin may be the first. But if we see more of this in the coming months heading into 2012?

"It looks like he's got the strongest campaign, he's raised the most money, and he's not part of the current morass in Washington." -- Top Democrat insider

From Eric Dondero:

The Hotline at National Journal recently conducted an interesting survey. Romney is clearly the far away best hope for a smooth victory for the GOP in 2012, according to some Democrat insiders.

With the economy sputtering, Democratic political operatives view former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the main Republican threat to President Obama‘s reelection, according to this week’s National Journal Political Insiders Poll.

Democratic Insiders see Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has not yet declared whether or not he will run for president, as the second strongest against Obama. A separate poll of Republican insiders, released Thursday, also showed Perry as Romney’s main GOP challenger.

Who would be the Republicans’ strongest presidential nominee in 2012?

Mitt Romney 48% 27%
Rick Perry 20% 5%
Jon Huntsman 16% 25%
Chris Christie 6% 11%
Tim Pawlenty 6% 20%

Interestingly, some favorites of the libertarian/Tea Party wing - Herman Cain, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Gary Johnson or even Michele Bachmann - did not place as serious contenders.

H/t Race42012

by Clifford F. Thies

One poll shows the center-right Peoples Party 14 points ahead, on the verge of a victory of historic proportion, while the other shows the Socialist Workers Party within 7 points, poised for a dramatic comeback. Que pasa?

Como se dice, follow the money. The poll showing the center-right party with a double-digit lead was commissioned by the newspaper El Pias of Madrid. In contrast, the poll showing the Socialist Workers with a chance of retaining its control of the government was conducted by a government-funded research institute.

When the Peoples Party wins the election, do you think one of the cuts in spending they will institute is government-financed polls? Quizas, mi amigo, quizas.

UPDATE! This just in: A third poll, released today (August 7th), confirms the findings of the private sector-comissioned poll discussed above. This poll, also commissioned by a newspaper, shows the Peoples Party with a 13-point lead over the ruling Socialist Workers Party, and on the verge of an absolute majority.

Canadian TV Follows-up

From Eric Dondero:

A rabbi visiting from Montreal is interviewed. He shakes his head, and sighs:

"symbols both of them extremely disturbing. The swastika obviously with connotations from WWII, frightening, chilling for any Jew."

CTV reports police are still investigating. Cameras installed on the building may provide clues as to the perpetrators.

Honor Killings increasing [because they were] "embracing Western lifestyles"

From Eric Dondero:

Many are speculating it was an honor killing. Police are looking for a "26-year-old Turk called Mehmet [Yemini], who fled the scene."

He was previously married to one of the victims. He shot three others, two who were sitting in the back seat, died from their injuries, and the former wife and another survived.

From the London Daily Mail "Bloodbath in Berlin as morning 'honour killing sees jilted lover shoot mother and sister of ex-wife dead’" Aug. 6:

A horrific scene unfolded in Berlin in broad daylight yesterday morning when a gunman fired a volley of shots into a car, killing two women and seriously injuring the man driving it.

The execution-style massacre was carried out in the busy Wedding district of the city and was witnessed by horrified shoppers and commuters.

Media reports suggest it may have been a so-called ‘honour killing’...

The Daily Mail notes that there have been an increasing number of "honor killings," across German in recent years:

They were killed by family members angry at their embracing of Western lifestyles.

Weiner on a smaller scale

by Eric Dondero

The news first broke Sunday night; yet another Democrat sex scandal ala Weiner-gate, and even juicier than Wu the teenage girl "Woo-er."

This guy - a big shot and quite powerful Cumberland County Commissioner - took photos of himself naked and sent them off to an on-line female acquaintance. Well, the predictable happened. The acquaintance just happened to have a Republican blogger friend. You can pretty much guess what happened after that.

A funny story no doubt. And all the more merrier cause it happened to a Democrat. But not necessarily of great interest to LibertarianRepublican.net, until now.

From the Trenton DailyJournal.com "Behind Magazzu's downfall, a bitter, longtime adversary":

For nearly three years, [Carl] Johnson waged a relentless and bitter cyberwar against Cumberland County political powerbroker Louis N. Magazzu. Johnson is a semi-reformed wild child, a graphic artist and a political activist -- in a libertarian/Republican kind of way. None of that has led to fame or fortune.

Magazzu is a veteran political operator, a serial victor in tough elections and a savvy Democratic Party insider with connections reaching to Trenton and Washington.
In this fight though, the victory went to the spoiler.

On Tuesday, The Daily Journal reported Johnson was posting on his website -- magazzuwatch.com -- nude photographs of Magazzu and a related cache of cooing emails between him and a woman that is not his wife. The postings disclosed an online relationship of at least a few years.

See the yucky photo of a naked Magazzu at Carl's website (which has been getting bombarded with hits the last few days), where you can also donate to his legal defense fund. No surprise Magazzu and his lawyers are coming after him.

MagazzuWatch.wordpress.com

Photo h/t for Weiner our friends at BigGovernment

From Eric Dondero:

ABC News reports that House speaker John Boehner reacted to the release of the Jobs Report on Friday, in a grim manner:

“While the American people are asking ‘where are the jobs?’ the Democrats running Washington are determined to punish small businesses with higher taxes and more red tape – including hundreds of new regulations last month alone – and to keep their spending binge going at all costs. Instead of more jobs, they’re creating more fear, more uncertainty, and more debt.”

But the stunner, Democrat Minority Whip Steny Hoyer agreed:

“unsatisfactory for the millions of Americans who remain unemployed and for the millions more waiting to feel the effects of economic recovery.”

“Clearly, we must do more. It is truly disappointing

From Eric Dondero:

Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann first out-of-the-gate with strong words for the administration on the Friday eve S&P downgrading of America's credit rating:

Our country has had a Triple 'AAA' rating since 1917. That rating has never been downgraded. It has endured the Great Depression, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Terrorist attacks on 9/11. This president has destroyed the credit rating of the United States, and failing to control the debt, and once again raising the debt ceiling. We were warned by all the credit agencies, that a failure to deal with our debt would lead to a downgrading of our credit rating.

Note - We are thankful to our friend Jim Hoft of the libertarian-conservative website Gateway Pundit for linking to our breaking story late last night.

UPDATE! Stacy McCain now has the Michele Bachmann video at the Iowa event, first calling for Geithner to resign, up at his site.

Opposition Right raises concerns over High Unemployment

by Clifford F. Thies

As expected, the ruling socialists have now called a snap election, for November 20th.

Being a minority government, the socialists relied on support from several smaller parties. One of these smaller parties, the Catalonian Convergence and Union Party, had signalled that it would not support the budget proposal that the government had to pass by the end of September.

Were the budget proposal to fail, a snap election would have had to be called. It appears that the socialists preferred to call a snap election prior to the bugdet vote, rtather than be forced by a failed budget vote, into a snap election. Now, the socialists will desperately try to win a new mandate from the voters of Spain or else to pass the hemlock of restoring order to the budget to the opposition party.

Recent public opinion polls indicate that the opposition People's Party, a center-right party, will crush the socialists in the upcoming election, following up on its enormous victories in recent regional and state elections. Both of the country's leading polls give the People's Party a double digit lead over the socialists, within reach of an absolute majority, complemented by strong support for regional center-right parties in Catalonia and the Basque region.

Under new leadership, the People's Party has shifted to more moderate positions on social issues and focused more sharply on economic issues. Prior to the call of the snap election, It was already readying an austerity package to immediately cut the national deficit in half from a U.S.-like level of about 11 percent of GDP, through spending cuts rather than tax increases. The plan is to spur economic growth so that growing revenues from a revived economy will close the ramaining gap in the budget and, by the way, reduce the catastrophic unemployment rate of 20 percent.

In the U.S., the official unemployment rate is 9 point something, but expanded definitions of unemployment (including people working part-time who want to work full-time and people who are so discouraged about the prospect of finding employment that they've stopped looking) approach the catastrophic level being suffered in Spain.

Following up on this spring's regional and state elections, the local governments that shifted over to the People's Party have been found to be in even worse condition than was being reported. By reason of budget gimmicks and outright misrepresentation, local deficits are actually much higher, requiring even more draconian fiscal measures.

Photo credit - Allianz.com Eco Forum Qwiki.com

Release...

Libertarians say 'no' to raising debt limit

WASHINGTON - As Republicans and Democrats in Washington continue chewing the scenery in their 'Debt Limit Theater,' Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle released the following statement today:

"Everything I've heard from Washington politicians about the debt limit is nonsense. I propose the simplest option: Do nothing. Don't raise the debt limit, period.

"None of the deals I've heard would do anything to cut federal spending. Some reduce the rate of growth a little bit, but I'm afraid that doesn't count.

"And of course, some of the proposals would increase taxes, which Libertarians are totally opposed to.

"The best outcome would be no deal at all. If the debt limit is not raised, then the federal government will have to cut its spending by over 40%. That would be the best outcome for the future of America, and it's certainly the preferred outcome for Libertarians.

"I'm actually shocked at how resistant both the Republicans and Democrats are to making cuts. I wasn't expecting much, but their proposals are downright embarrassing.

"For example, consider Speaker Boehner's plan. According to the Cato Institute, the Boehner plan doesn't cut spending. It just sets the spending increases slightly below the imaginary Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 'baseline.'

"According to the CBO report released yesterday, the Boehner plan has practically no effect on the deficit in 2012, the only year that really matters.

"Of course, the Reid plan largely takes advantage of massive errors in the CBO baseline to claim 'cuts.' (For example, the CBO predicts absurdly high levels of spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.)

"As usual, Republicans and Democrats are trying to create the illusion of a high-stakes game between two vastly different visions. In fact, their visions are practically identical. I hope Americans will see through all the smoke, and consider the Libertarian option to make real reductions in the size and scope of government, across the board."

http://www.lp.org

From Eric Dondero:

One of the top libertarian Republican members of the US House is still officially undecided on his vote over Speaker Boehner's debt relief bill. But he's hinting he may be moving in Boehner's direction, due to increased attention paid to his pet issue.

From the NY Times "Surprise Ending to Day of Strong-Arming, Head Counts and Meetings":

"It is the most refreshing thing in the world to see what is going on in there," said Representative Jeff Flake of Arizona, an ardent foe of earmarks, the pet projects of lawmakers. "This kind of negotiation a few years ago would have cost $20 billion" in pork barrel projects.

Another leading libertarian Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of California, is also still very much in the undecided camp.

From Eric Dondero:

Police officials found Al Qaeda magazines and literature in the hotel room of Pfc. Naser Abdo after his arrest on Wednesday on charges of plotting a terrorist attack near Ft. Hood, Texas.

And ABC News is now reporting "Fort Hood Bomb Plot Suspect: 'Inspired' by al Qaeda?":

one senior U.S. official told ABC News Abdo had also mentioned the name of one of the most high profile leaders of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), American-born Anwar al-Awlaki.

Al-Awlaki is considered by some U.S. security officials to be one of the most dangerous men in the world because of his ability to reach out through the internet to so-called "lone wolf" jihadis who would attempt to carry out attacks on behalf of al Qaeda, but without any actual material support from the terror organization. Al-Awlaki is believed to have inspired several terror plots in the U.S., from the deadly 2009 massacre at Fort Hood and the bungled Christmas Day airline bombing.

Police also found "Islamic extremist literature" in his backpack upon his arrest at a traffic stop in Killeen.

Ironically, according to USAToday:

Authorities were alerted to Abdo, who was stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, after he visited the same gun store in Killeen, Texas, where Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan obtained a gun prior to the 2009 attack at Fort Hood, one of the officials said.

Hasan ended up killing 13 US soldiers awaiting deployment to Iraq, including one pregnent female soldier.

From Eric Dondero:

Betsy Summers, described as always "outspoken," was the Libertarian Party candidate for State Senate in northeastern PA in 2010. Now she's planning a run for a much more local office.

From the (Luzerne County) CitizensVoice.com:

Betsy Summers laughed often Thursday as she talked about a possible foray in the Wilkes-Barre mayoral race. The city Libertarian, never shy of speaking her mind, hinted she'd make the campaign interesting.

"At least you're going to hear me," she said.

Summers will drop off her nomination papers at the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections today, she said. She'll decide Monday if she'll pursue the mayoral seat or county council.

One of her main motivations for running? The Republican in the race has just been too darn soft on the Democrat incument. Mayor Tom Leighton has been under fire lately for hiring his two kids to do summer jobs for the city. Continuing:

If Summers runs for mayor, she said she's in it to give residents a choice over two-term incumbent Tom Leighton, who Summers believes has allowed the city to deteriorate, and Republican Lisa Cope, who Summers said has been too quiet so far.

"But you know what, Lisa Cope isn't opening her mouth, and I think the city deserves better. They deserve a real race."

Photo credit - Times Leader

Busted by a Police Investigator posing as a 15-year old girl named "Molly"

From Eric Dondero:

Pfc. Naser Abdo before his arrest yesterday in a terrorist plot near Ft. Hood, Texas was sought by the US Army for being AWOL from Ft. Campbell, Tennessee, and additionally for the possession of 34 images of child pornography on his personal computer.

Background from WFAA - Dallas/Ft. Worth (Soldier accused in alleged Fort Hood attack plot grew up in North Texas):

Abdo, 21, reportedly of Palestinian descent, was raised by his Muslim father and non-denominational Christian mother in Texas.

Now, the Dallas Morning News breaks this story this morning ("Fort Hood plot suspect has deep Dallas-area roots"):

Abdo’s father, Jamal Rateb Abdo, and his mother, Carlisa Morlan, divorced years ago, according to documents.

Jamal Abdo was arrested in 2004, accused of soliciting sex from a Garland detective posing online as “Molly,” a 15-year-old girl, according to records.

Between 2002 and his arrest, Jamal Abdo asked “Molly” for sex 45 times, records show. He was arrested after he showed up at an apartment complex to have sex with “Molly.”

In 2006, records show, he was sentenced to five years in state prison.

DMN goes on to report that after his release from prison, Abdo was turned over to immigration authorities and deported back to Jordan.

Editor's note - Photos for depiction purposes only. Abdo did not get busted by the NBC show "To catch a predator," with Chris Hansen. But the bust seems eerily similar.