Published on Aug 31, 2012 by OPSECTeam

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I wonder what it means for our country that Governor Sarah Palin was somehow obliged to stay away from this year’s RNC – and what the significance will be for us when she finally gives a keynote (or more) at a future one.

Published on Aug 30, 2012 by sarahnettoo

The domestic enemies of America who have hijacked the ship of state keep up the distractions as they wickedly steer it into the rocks. I mean, like, did you SEE Clint Eastwood’s rant at the RNC? It’s all the rage – as John Nolte sums up in this great commentary as well as here on Big Hollywood.

Daniel Hannan MEP is stunned that there is so little discussion of the national debt, now measured in the trendy trillions. Anything can become fashionable, so it seems. Here he is on Cavuto. Don’t miss it.

Apparently the only thing really unlimited about human beings is our capacity for taking things for granted.

That was quick. Hat tip Erin Anderson.

Published on Aug 30, 2012 by CrossroadsGen

Just keep banging that drum. The undecideds will believe it eventually.

One nation, two planets. And campaign season brings that condition upfront, its blurry lines on display for all to see. Is Mitt Romney loving, responsible and trustworthy? Or is he stiff and out of touch with the common people? It really depends on who you ask.

Daniel Greenfield has a great piece on this topic over at SultanKnishblogspot.com. Some excerpts:

“This is our shoddy virtual reality with a CNN or MSNBC logo planted on top. There is you still sitting on your same old couch, watching Chris Matthews yelling himself hoarse about racism, because racism is our virtual reality. It is the world that we are supposed to live in and Chris’ job, for which he receives some 5 million a year, is to convince us that we are living in it.

“Racism,” Chris yells at the screen, like the idiot shaman of some stone age tribe, and those dull-witted enough to believe him nod knowingly, because it makes them feel as if they know something. And in a world where nothing is real, knowing something makes them feel a little less confused. They don’t understand why the prices are suddenly so high and the bank won’t give them a loan– but they can understand that Republicans are bad people and somehow responsible for it.

Some 70 percent of Barack Obama’s Twitter followers may be fake, but why quibble at such numbers. The people who decided to make Obama popular did so through constant repetition that translated into the peer pressure of the trend. Obama became a trending topic and everyone followed along because in an unreal world, you follow the unreal leader.

Obama is fake, his popularity is fake, but it’s also real, because fake is now the ultimate reality. The purveyors of fakeness have demonstrated their ability to transform the unreal into the real through  manufactured consensus. By insisting that something unpopular was popular often enough, they made it popular. And by insisting that something popular is really unpopular, they did the opposite.

Keep reading Everything is Fake Now.

Reminds me of something that was just a quirky video back in the 90′s.  It’s as real as anything we’re seeing or hearing on the faux-news these days. Welcome to our new fake “reality” where seeing is no longer believing.

Virtual Insanity – Jamiroquai

Uploaded by 987654ang on Nov 12, 2009

A taste of the day … and night.

Published on Aug 29, 2012 by TexasInsiderTXTV

“How do you think this campaign is going?” And off they go. Listen.

Published on Aug 28, 2012 by sarahnettoo

Published on Aug 28, 2012 by sarahnettoo

Then it’s time for good people to speak out. It’s bad enough that there are those who turn “casual sex” into a serious business of making abortion cheap and easily available – and talking young women into it – but remember: Federal funding means YOU are paying for it. Via The Blaze:

This is the first video in a series that will take aim at Obama’s allegedly “extremist record on abortion.” SBA List may place similar ads in media markets in states like North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. The group has also launched a bus tour to speak out against Obama on his abortion stance. The five-state tour is called “Women Speak Out: Abortion is Not Health Care.” [Great VIDEOS at the link.]

This is one for which I was waiting with anticipation. Artur Davis gives an intense and sincere speech about buyer’s remorse that followed the 2008 election of Mr. Obama.

Published on Aug 28, 2012 by gopconvention2012

Hat tip Patriot Post. Watch Paul Ryan today on Right Scoop’s Live Feed from the RNC in Tampa.

You get to see what Radio Row and the rest looks like on the ground there.

Published on Aug 27, 2012 by Pajamasmedia

Published on Aug 28, 2012 by TexasInsiderTXTV

Winning this election is only the first step to restoring America. Please share this with your family and friends.

Published on Aug 27, 2012 by gopconvention2012

UPDATE*** Not.so.fast…

UPDATE #2*** Morning Examiner: Romney narrowly avoids floor fight on convention’s first day

If you wanted a preview of what a Romney administration’s relationship with the conservative base would look like, you got one yesterday in Tampa. MORE…

Republicans reach rules change deal to avert floor fight

by Jennifer A. Dlouhy on August 27, 2012 at 7:47 pm | Chron.com

Republican leaders moved Monday to quell an uprising by Texans and Ron Paul supporters that threatened to steal the spotlight from GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and expose rifts in the party right as its nominating convention got under way.

Under a compromise reached late Monday, Romney supporters and GOP leaders agreed to back down from a proposed rule change that effectively would have allowed presidential nominees to choose what delegates represent them at national conventions.

The proposed change was aimed at muting the power of insurgent candidates such as Tea Party favorite Ron Paul but prompted an uproar from Texas Republicans, who select their delegates through successive votes in conventions at precincts, then districts and finally statewide.

Butch Davis, a member of the RNC Rules Committee who fought off the proposal, said the existing Texas system often elevates grassroots activists and party faithful toiling in the trenches, but the proposed change would have instead allowed GOP leaders and presidential candidates to hand-select delegates and reward donors with delegate spots.

“We believe in Texas as a principle that no presidential candidate nor the RNC should be able to tell Texas who can or cannot be a delegate to the national convention,” Davis said.

“This isn’t Reagan versus Ford, Goldwater versus Rockefeller,” Davis added. “This is George Washington versus King George.”

And Texas Republican Vice Chairwoman Melinda Fredricks had flatly told RNC rules committee members Sunday night that the Lone Star State would stand its ground.

“The Texas delegation considers the new rule . . . an unacceptable infringement on our right to freely choose our delegates to the national convention,” she said in an e-mail to the committee members. “We realize not every state selects its delegates in the same manner we do, and perhaps you find it hard to understand what has us so worked up. Frankly, we find it hard to understand how your delegations would be willing to give away their rights.”

Republicans who sought the rule change had tried to quash the uprising by Texas, Louisiana, Virginia and other states, for fear of a damaging, public battle erupting on the convention floor Tuesday, just before the party formally names Romney its candidate.

Ultimately, they backed down.

There is more. Hat tip Donna Garner.

Related:

The Beginning of the End - Red State

Statement by Peggy Venable, AFP-Texas Director

August 27, 2012  AUSTIN -  Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Michael Williams as Texas Commissioner of Education.  This is an excellent selection as Williams is the individual to lead this important agency as the education delivery system is in need of modernization.

Williams has the leadership experience and a background in education.  He has served the U.S. Department of Education as Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights.  He was preceded in that position by current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who I worked with at the Department of Education.

He has also served in other top positions in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury.

A Midland native, both of his parents were teachers.

Williams is a fiscal conservative and has the distinction of being the first African American in Texas history to be elected state-wide as a Republican.   A former prosecutor and deputy district attorney, Williams is a no-nonsense administrator who would not hesitate to shut down bad charter schools.

Michael Williams will serve with distinction and I believe he will put Texas schoolchildren, parents and taxpayers ahead of special interests, while working to give teachers and schools greater autonomy and holding them accountable for results.

PERMALINK

8:15 am August 27 this video had 24,107 views. I give it a 10, it’s that good. Hat tip @68titan and IOwnTheWorld.com.

Bloggers got together for a conference call with Comptroller Susan Combs’ and an exclusive preview of a new resource - TexasTransparency.org.  

This website went live for the public Wednesday morning, but we got a sneak peek starting at 8am.

The website includes interactive maps that provide a close-up view of the local entities that assess property tax and sales tax in each of Texas’ 254 counties.  Ms. Combs also released a report entitled Your Money and the Taxing Facts that provides context for the Web tool, including trends in local taxation.  The report also proposes several recommendations to increase transparency for local taxation and offers tips to help residents exercise their rights as taxpayers.

What I Really Think

(sunglasses and asbestos suits required beyond this point)

I have heard many politicians in Texas tout the fact that there is no state income tax and that it is the best place in America to do business. Right. But then Comptroller Susan Combs tells us that the number of other “taxing entities” in the different counties has exploded. Get this:

Thousands of cities, counties, special purpose districts and transit authorities in Texas levy property or sales tax.  Many times taxpayers are unaware of the various taxes they are paying, and finding this information can be challenging. Texas Comptroller Susan Combs wants to change that.

Whether they call it taxes or fees or revenues, the money is taken from the producers and used for… whatever those inside the system can convince us is worthwhile. 

Excuse me but how did this happen? Does it go like this?

Watson calls for 5-cent tax increase for medical school

State Sen. Kirk Watson upped the pressure on the Central Health board today, calling for placing a 5-cent property tax increase for a medical school and other health initiatives on the Travis County ballot in November. Keep reading…

Watson wants property tax increase for Austin medical school

Who can say no to a medical school? Or a pre-K program? Or “women’s health”? Yet that is how they get us.

My question is how much kick back does Watson get and from whom?

So we Texans have a right, according to Ms. Combs, to be able to find out (on our own time if we so desire) who is taxing us without our knowledge, so that we can be “empowered.” I even heard her on the radio say, “You can kinda take control of your financial destiny.” Yeah. Kinda.

In other words we are on our own. Nobody in government, local or federal, ever has or is going to protect us from this kind of confidence game blood letting. And if we don’t like it we are the ones who have to do something. Great, huh?

Thank you Comptroller Combs. Much obliged.

I invite my reader to search “texas wants tax increase” and see the kind of stories that come up.

Related:

Special taxing districts cost Texans millions a year | Star Telegram