Why Americans are so angry with Washington

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

Are you already tired of the games? Bread and circuses as the world implodes.

David DeGerolamo

Posted in Domestic Enemies, Editorial | 2 Comments

Obama Blocks Navy from Sailing Near Disputed Chinese islands

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

This areal photo taken through a glass window of a military plane shows China's alleged on-going reclamation of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea Monday, May 11

The Obama administration has restricted the U.S. Pacific Command from sending ships and aircraft within 12 miles of disputed Chinese-built islands in the South China Sea, bolstering Beijing’s illegal claims over the vital seaway, Pentagon leaders revealed to Congress on Thursday.

“The administration has continued to restrict our Navy ships from operating within 12 nautical miles of China’s reclaimed islands,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) said in opening remarks criticizing the failure to guarantee safe passage for international commercial ships in Asia.

“This is a dangerous mistake that grants de facto recognition of China’s man-made sovereignty claims,” he said.

The South China Sea is a strategic waterway used to transport $5 trillion annually in goods, including $1.2 trillion in trade to the United States.

David Shear, assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific affairs, sought to play down the restrictions on Navy ship transits close to the islands. According to Shear, a regional freedom of navigation exercise took place in April and the tactic is “one tool in a larger tool box … and we’re in the process of putting together that tool box.”

More…

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on Obama Blocks Navy from Sailing Near Disputed Chinese islands

A “Constitution Day” message …

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Hans

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYru_QaoP4ymC3LFFALBKRv4dLoTwAZ3enXMzJoPjX_CX5AJ5Yqw

“Constitution Day is the annual homage to one of the most devilishly clever instruments to make a slave people think they are free in Western history.

“The political coup occurred a mere three years after the divorce proceedings from the United Kingdom in 1783 where thirteen separate nations sat across from the King’s legation in Paris. Imagine such a legation of vassal states today after fighting the central power in DC.  We can only dream.

“The land of the free and home of the brave under current Constitutional constraints solved the question of individual sovereignty at the individual and state level with Lincoln’s clarification on Constitutional totalitarianism in 1865 and further cemented it in the years to follow.

“The 13th Amendment removed chattel slavery and the 14th Amendment promptly put every human on the landmass in eternal slavery and obeisance to a strong central government. America is just one big happy plantation now.“

Read the complete essay posted on Zerogov

 

Just FYI … Bill Buppert did a nice comparison between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution back in 2009:

`

Articles of Confederation

Constitution
Levying taxes Congress could request states to pay taxes Congress has right to levy taxes on individuals
Federal courts No system of federal courts Court system created to deal with issues between citizens, states
Regulation of trade No provision to regulate interstate trade Congress has right to regulate trade between states
Executive No executive with power. President of U.S. merely presided over Congress Executive branch headed by President who chooses Cabinet and has checks on power of judiciary and legislature
Amending document 13/13 needed to amend Articles 2/3 of both houses of Congress plus 3/4 of state legislatures or national convention
Representation of states Each state received 1 vote regardless of size Upper house (Senate) with 2 votes; lower house (House of Representatives) based on population
Raising an army Congress could not draft troops, dependent on states to contribute forces Congress can raise an army to deal with military situations
Interstate commerce No control of trade between states Interstate commerce controlled by Congress
Disputes between states Complicated system of arbitration Federal court system to handle disputes
Sovereignty Sovereignty resides in states Constitution the supreme law of the land
Passing laws 9/13 needed to approve legislation 50%+1 of both houses plus signature of President

Link to this Comparison

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on A “Constitution Day” message …

5,600 Refugees Invade Croatia After Migrant Route Change

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

Now that Hungary’s border is for all intents and purposes closed, the next route to Germany is through Croatia.

As noted on Wednesday, the country was already making preparations for the influx and as Reuters reports, the flow of refugees into the country on Thursday was staggering. Here’s more:

More than 5,000 migrants have entered Croatia since Hungary sealed its southern border with Serbia, police said on Thursday, seeking new routes through the Balkans to western Europe.

With their path north from Serbia into Hungary – and the European Union – blocked since Tuesday, migrants have simply turned west to the Croatian frontier.

The influx, which Croatia says it will not halt, puts tiny Slovenia next in line to receive the thousands of migrants, many of them refugees from the Middle East, trying to reach Austria then Germany and other more prosperous countries of northern and western Europe.

“We are tired. We are exhausted. We have been traveling for ten days. We just want to pass to through Croatia and go to Germany,” said 19-year-old Salim from Syria who crossed at the Serbian border town of Sid.

Hungary’s crackdown has been decried by the United Nations and human right groups.

More…

Posted in Editorial, Immigration, Radical Islam | Comments Off on 5,600 Refugees Invade Croatia After Migrant Route Change

Scuffle in Japan upper house after panel approves military bills

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

Japan’s upper house of parliament is poised to pass the first major reinterpretation of the country’s pacifist constitution since the end of World War II, despite fierce and vocal opposition.

The historic vote marks the most dramatic shift in Japanese military policy in 70 years, and has triggered the largest protests seen in Tokyo in decades.

The controversial legislation reinterprets Article 9 of the Japanese constitution, which outlaws war as a means of settling international disputes.

The reinterpretation allows Japan to exercise collective self-defense, enabling the Japanese military, known as the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), to fight overseas and defend allies with limited conditions.

More…

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on Scuffle in Japan upper house after panel approves military bills

Morning Joe slams CNN for putting on Trump-obsessed debate

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

Posted in Domestic Enemies, Editorial | 2 Comments

And Yet People Will Still Vote for a Communist

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

obama, obama jokes, political, humor, cartoon, conservative, hope n' change, hope and change, stilton jarlsberg, bernie sanders, debate, taxes, college

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on And Yet People Will Still Vote for a Communist

Fiorina and Trump spar over immigration policy

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on Fiorina and Trump spar over immigration policy

Who Cares?

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

Image result for "federal reserve" evil yellen

By Robrert Gore

For the record, SLL has no clue whether the Fed will or will not raise its federal funds target rate by twenty five basis points (one quarter of one percent) this week. Goldman Sachs is far more plugged into the Fed than SLL. They have said for some time that the Fed won’t raise the rate and SLL will go with that. Our lack of insight about the imminent move is exceeded only by our disinterest.

Supposedly a hike will unleash Armageddon, while standing pat will stoke a monster equity rally. We’ll see, but keep in mind financial markets’ long history of responses contrary to consensus predictions. The intense preoccupation on the decision is unhealthy, like old people whose sole topic of conversation is their ailments and medications. It betrays all sorts of misconceptions, chief of which is that the economy and financial markets are puppets dancing on strings controlled by the Fed puppeteer.

It is true that the during the eighty months the Fed has held the federal funds rate at zero and instituted three quantitative easings, the stock market has rallied and the economy has staged a feeble recovery. That does not amount to Quod Erat Demonstrandum (QED), the Latin phrase denoting that the proposition—Fed omnipotence—has been demonstrated. Fed easing failed to prevent market crashes and economic contraction after stock market tops in 1929, 2001, and 2007. Similarly, there have been numerous instances when the economy and stock market have done quite well in the face of constrictive Fed policies. The Fed’s interest rate moves usually follow, rather than lead, moves in the Treasury debt market. Whether that is because markets are anticipating the Fed or are actually leading it is a discussion best left for another day.

More…

Posted in Domestic Enemies, Editorial | Comments Off on Who Cares?

Vatican States its Support for Iran Deal

Posted on September 17, 2015 by DRenegade

“The way to resolve disputes should always be that of dialogue and negotiation.”

The pHope (gives the title new meaning) has given his blessing for appeasement instead of fighting evil. While I agree with his sentiment, we must be realistic: you cannot appease someone or some country while they are threatening to kill you. Jesus was clear that there are times when we must protect ourselves, our families and our faith.

Luke 22:36

He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.

As we have seen before in the beginning stages of World War II, appeasement does not stop evil. And as we also saw in 1933, the Vatican made a Concordat with Hitler instead of following the Lord.

David DeGerolamo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a statement given to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday, the Vatican declared its support for the Iran nuclear deal, reports the Washington Examiner.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with the States and essentially the Catholic Church’s equivalent of a foreign minister, told the IAEA that the Vatican “values positively” the Iran nuclear deal because “it considers that the way to resolve disputes and difficulties should always be that of dialogue and negotiation.”

More…

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on Vatican States its Support for Iran Deal

Top Planned Parenthood Exec: Baby Parts Sales “A Valid Exchange,” Can Make “A Fair Amount of Income”

Posted on September 16, 2015 by DRenegade

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on Top Planned Parenthood Exec: Baby Parts Sales “A Valid Exchange,” Can Make “A Fair Amount of Income”

Glenn Beck vs. Breitbart

Posted on September 16, 2015 by DRenegade

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on Glenn Beck vs. Breitbart

Magnitude 7.9 – OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE

Posted on September 16, 2015 by DRenegade

Update:

The quake, originally measured at 7.2, has reportedly been upgraded to 8.3. 

Globe with Earthquake Location

Preliminary Earthquake ReportMagnitude7.9Date-Time

  • 16 Sep 2015 22:54:30 UTC
  • 16 Sep 2015 19:54:31 near epicenter
  • 16 Sep 2015 17:54:30 standard time in your timezone

Location31.577S 71.652WDepth8 kmDistances

  • 46 km (28 mi) W of Illapel, Chile
  • 68 km (42 mi) WNW of Salamanca, Chile
  • 104 km (64 mi) NNW of La Ligua, Chile
  • 116 km (71 mi) SSW of Ovalle, Chile
  • 228 km (141 mi) NNW of Santiago, Chile

Location UncertaintyHorizontal: 5.2 km; Vertical 0.9 kmParametersNph = 96; Dmin = 74.7 km; Rmss = 0.95 seconds; Gp = 31°
Version =Event IDus 20003k7a

Posted in Editorial | 1 Comment

Brandon Smith: The Real Reasons Why The Fed Will Hike Interest Rates

Posted on September 16, 2015 by DRenegade

For the past several months, the chorus of voices crying out over the prospect of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike have all been saying essentially the same thing – either they can’t do it, or they simply won’t do it. This is the same attitude the chorus projected during the initial prospects of a QE taper. Given the trends and evidence at hand I personally will have to take the same position on the rate hike as I did with the taper – they can do it, and they probably will do it before the year is over.

I suppose we may know more after the conclusion of the Fed meeting set for the 16th and 17th of this month. August retail sales data and industrial production numbers have come in, and they are not impressive even with the artificial goosing such stats generally receive. However, I do not expect that they will have any bearing whatsoever on the interest rate theater. The Fed’s decision has already been made, probably months in advance.

The overall market consensus seems to be one of outright bewilderment, so much so that markets have reentered the madness of “bad news is good news” as stocks explode on any negative data that might suggest the Fed will delay. The so-called experts cannot grasp why the Fed would even entertain the notion of a rate hike at this stage in the game. Hilariously, it is Paul Krugman who is saying what I have been saying for the past year when he states:

More…

Posted in Editorial | Tagged | Comments Off on Brandon Smith: The Real Reasons Why The Fed Will Hike Interest Rates

This Is The Satellite Image That Supposedly Proves The Presence Of Russian “Troops And Aircraft” In Syria

Posted on September 16, 2015 by DRenegade

In a day of diplomatic snafus by the Pentagon, which first admitted it had spec ops forces in Syria (remember when it was just “advisors” and the Obama administration was blaming Russia for escalating the conflict by daring to join the fight against ISIS and sending its own troops in Damascus) then promptly retracted, using the old “there was no Freudian slip” explanation, the US promptly needed another diversion to cast the blame back in Putin’s court.

Which brings us to our post from Monday in which “anonymous” US officials told Reuters that “Russia has positioned about a half dozen tanks at a Syrian airfield where it has been steadily building up defenses” with Reuters adding that “one of the U.S. officials said seven Russian T-90 tanks were seen at the airfield near Latakia, a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The two U.S. officials said Russia had also positioned artillery there” adding that “the two U.S. officials said Russia had also positioned artillery, which they said appeared.”

Our request was simple: “We can only hope the “anonymous” US officials will soon provide photographic evidence of their claims.”

Today, we got this “evidence” when Foreign Policy magazine released a satellite image which, according to the author Jeffrey Lewis “Leaves No Doubt That Russia Is Throwing Troops and Aircraft Into Syria.”

More…

Posted in Editorial | Comments Off on This Is The Satellite Image That Supposedly Proves The Presence Of Russian “Troops And Aircraft” In Syria