<![CDATA[SeatStaysUp.com - Beer, Babes, Cars, Guns, Sports, Games! - Politics & Religion]]> http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/ en Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:56:13 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/images/styles/soness/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[SeatStaysUp.com - Beer, Babes, Cars, Guns, Sports, Games! - Politics & Religion]]> http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/ Our Dangerous CiC http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26661&goto=newpost Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:55:52 GMT http://www.statesmanjournal.com/arti...#ixzz0yzFCAQA1
Our dangerous, distracted commander in chief


WASHINGTON — Many have charged that President Obama's decision to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan 10 months from now is hampering our war effort. But now it's official.

In a stunning statement the other day, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway admitted that the July 2011 date is "probably giving our enemy sustenance."

A remarkably bold charge for an active military officer. It stops just short of suggesting aiding and abetting the enemy. Yet the observation is obvious: It is surely harder to prevail in a war that hinges on the allegiance of the locals when they hear the U.S. president talk of beginning a withdrawal that will ultimately leave them to the mercies of the Taliban.

How did Obama come to this decision? "Our Afghan policy was focused as much as anything on domestic politics," an Obama adviser at the time told The New York Times' Peter Baker. "He would not risk losing the moderate to centrist Democrats in the middle of health insurance reform and he viewed that legislation as the make-or-break legislation for his administration."

If this is true, then Obama's military leadership can only be called scandalous. During a recent four-day period, 22 Americans were killed in Afghanistan. This is not a place about which decisions should be made in order to placate congressmen, pass health care and thereby maintain a president's political standing. This is a place about which a president should make decisions to best succeed in the military mission he himself has set out.

But Obama sees his wartime duties as a threat to his domestic agenda. These wars are a distraction, unwanted interference with his true vocation — transforming America.

Such an impression could only have been reinforced when, given the opportunity in his Oval Office address last week to dispel the widespread perception in Afghanistan that America is leaving, Obama doubled down on his ambivalence. After giving a nod to the pace of troop reductions being conditions-based, he declared with his characteristic "but make no mistake" that "this transition will begin — because open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people's."

These are the words of a man who wants out. Most emphatically on Iraq, where from the beginning Obama has made clear that his objective is simply ending combat operations by an arbitrary deadline — despite the fact that a new government has not been formed and all our hard-won success hangs in the balance — in order to address the more paramount concern: keeping a campaign promise. Time to "turn the page" and turn America elsewhere.

At first you'd think that turning is to Afghanistan. But Obama added nothing to his previously stated Afghan policy while emphatically reiterating July 2011 as the beginning of the end, or more diplomatically, of the "transition."

Well then, at least you'd then expect some vision of his larger foreign policy. After all, this was his first Oval Office address on the subject. What is the meaning, if any, of the Iraq and Afghan wars? And what of the clouds that are forming beyond those theaters: the drone-war escalation in Pakistan, the rise of al-Qaeda in Yemen, the danger of Somalia falling to al-Shabab, and the threat of renewed civil war in Islamist Sudan as a referendum on independence for southern Christians and animists approaches?

This was the stage for Obama to explain what follows the now-abolished Global War on Terror. Where does America stand on the spreading threats to stability, decency and U.S. interests from the Horn of Africa to the Hindu Kush?

On this, not a word. Instead, Obama made a strange and clumsy segue into a pep talk on the economy. Rebuilding it, he declared, "must be our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as president." This in a speech ostensibly about the two wars he is directing. He could not have made more clear where his priorities lie, and how much he sees foreign policy — war policy — as subordinate to his domestic ambitions.

Unfortunately, what for Obama is a distraction is life or death for U.S. troops now on patrol in Kandahar province. Some presidents may not like being wartime leaders. But they don't get to decide. History does. Obama needs to accept the role. It's not just the U.S. military, as Baker reports, that is "worried he is not fully invested in the cause." Our allies, too, are experiencing doubt. And our enemies are drawing sustenance.


just ****ing nailed it. obama is about the biggest fool, and most malicious president weve ever had. he makes nixon look good... hell he makes nixon, carter, and lbj look good. ]]> Wnts2Go10O http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26661 Quran Burning on 9/11 http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26649&goto=newpost Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:29:21 GMT http://gawker.com/5632192/koran+burn...o-stop-for-now

There's a bunch more in the news. Can't believe this one had not poped up in here yet.

I for one am now going to be on high alert around Mosul here. This ****ing guy is going to cause all kinds of backlash here, America, and abroad. Most Muslims would not burn the bible since they consider it Holy as well. ]]> Richiec77 http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26649 Whats another 50 billion? http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26641&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:04:46 GMT http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_...FtYWFzc2FpbHM-




MILWAUKEE – A combative President Barack Obama rolled out a long-term jobs program Monday that will exceed $50 billion to rebuild roads, railways and runways, and coupled it with a blunt campaign-season assault on Republicans for causing Americans' hard economic times.

GOP leaders instantly assailed Obama's proposal, which is also likely to be met with reluctance by many Democrats to approve additional spending and higher federal deficits just weeks before elections that will determine control of Congress.

That means the plan has low odds of becoming law this year. Administration officials said that even quick congressional approval would not produce jobs until sometime next year, raising questions about what, if any, pre-election impact it would have beyond showing job-hungry voters that the White House is trying to ease unemployment.

In remarks prepared for delivery to a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee, the president said Republicans are betting that between now and Election Day on Nov. 2, Americans will forget the Republican economic policies that led to the current recession.

"These are the folks whose policies helped devastate our middle class and drive our economy into a ditch. And now they're asking you for the keys back," Obama said.

Republicans made it clear that Obama can expect no help from them.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the plan "should be met with justifiable skepticism" because it would raise taxes, while Americans are "still looking for the 'shovel-ready' jobs they were promised more than a year ago" in the $814 billion economic stimulus measure.

The House Republican leader, John Boehner of Ohio, added "We don't need more government 'stimulus' spending. We need to end Washington Democrats' out-of-control spending spree, stop their tax hikes, and create jobs by eliminating the job-killing uncertainty that is hampering our small businesses."

Administration officials said the initial $50 billion would be the beginning of a six-year program of transportation improvements, but they did not give an overall figure. The proposal has a longer-range focus than last year's economic stimulus bill, which was more targeted on immediate job creation.


this is just sad.. hopefully the blue dogs and entirety of the reds just flat out say no to this bs. the original stimulus money hasnt even been spent and they want more. ****ing useless, utterly useless wastes of air.

oh and for those that have seen this episode, it illustrates the point:

]]> Wnts2Go10O http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26641 Labor day... Lets celebrate ! http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26634&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:09:51 GMT In light of this upcoming labor day weekend, we should turn our collective heads to see what the messiah is up to lately.
He is our savior after all... You know..."Summer of Recovery"
Nonfarm payrolls fell by 54,000 last month, matching the level of revised losses recorded the previous month, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. The revision in July layoffs to 54,000 followed an original estimate of a 131,000 drop in payrolls.

The U.S. economy has shed jobs for three straight months, though the losses in August were about half the 110,000 predicted by economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey.

The unemployment rate, calculated using a separate household survey, edged up to 9.6%, as expected, after holding at 9.5% for previous two months.

..and the 'stimulus'.
You DO know the stimulus worked right?
Because Dunn told us so!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOyAV...layer_embedded
She wasnt orginally hired by the hussain regime for nothin' ya know.
(But..remember..unfortunately for her she told us that MAO was one of her greatest inspirations. Its sad when a libtard accidentally lets their mentors slip ya know..)

Anyway... With all that 'good news'...and hussain telling us we are doing so well...he is off to join hands with the unions this weekend.
Specifically AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
How nice...

Shall we review?

Michelle Malkin
Big Labor's Legacy of Violence

To mark Labor Day 2010, President Obama will join hands with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in Milwaukee and pose as champions of the working class. Bad move. Trumka's organizing record is a shameful reminder of the union movement's violent and corrupt foundations.

The new Obama/AFL-CIO power alliance -- underwritten with $40 million in hard-earned worker dues -- is a midterm shotgun marriage of Beltway brass knuckles and Big Labor brawn. Trumka warmed up his rhetorical muscles this past week with full-frontal attacks on former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. He indignantly accused her of "getting close to calling for violence" and suggested that her criticism of Tea Party-bashing labor bosses amounted to "terrorizing" workers.

Trumka and Obama will cast Big Labor as an unassailable force for good in American history. But when it comes to terrorizing workers, Trumka knows whereof he speaks.

Meet Eddie York. He was a workingman whose story will never scroll across Obama's teleprompter. A nonunion contractor who operated heavy equipment, York was shot to death during a strike called by the United Mine Workers 17 years ago. Workmates who tried to come to his rescue were beaten in an ensuing melee. The head of the UMW spearheading the wave of strikes at that time? Richard Trumka. Responding to concerns about violence, he shrugged to the Virginian-Pilot in September 1993: "I'm saying if you strike a match and you put your finger in it, you're likely to get burned." Incendiary rhetoric, anyone?

A federal jury convicted one of Trumka's UMW captains on conspiracy and weapons charges in York's death. According to the Washington, D.C.-based National Legal and Policy Center, which tracks Big Labor abuse, Trumka's legal team quickly settled a $27 million wrongful death suit filed by York's widow just days after a judge admitted evidence in the criminal trial. An investigative report by Reader's Digest disclosed that Trumka "did not publicly discipline or reprimand a single striker present when York was killed. In fact, all eight were helped out financially by the local."

In Illinois, Trumka told UMW members to "kick the s**t out of every last" worker who crossed his picket lines, according to the Nashville (Ill.) News. And as the National Right to Work Foundation, the leading anti-forced unionism organization in the country, pointed out, other UMW coalfield strikes resulted in what one judge determined were "violent activities ... organized, orchestrated and encouraged by the leadership of this union."

Trumka washed off the figurative bloodstains and moved up the ranks. As AFL-CIO secretary, he notoriously refused to testify in a sordid 1999 embezzlement trial involving his labor boss brethren at the Teamsters Union. No surprise. Thugs of a feather: Trumka's violence-promoting record echoes the riotous Teamsters strikes dating back to the 1950s, when the union organized taxicab companies to target workers with gas bombs, bottles and fists.

And now, Trumka is spearheading a Democratic Party get-out-the-vote campaign by far-left groups -- publicized in the revolutionary Marxist People's World -- to "energize an army of tens of thousands who will return to their neighborhoods, churches, schools and voting booths to prevent a Republican takeover of Congress in November and begin building a new permanent coalition to fight for a progressive agenda."

Take those as literal fighting words. The bloody consequences of compulsory unionism cannot be ignored.

LINK:http://townhall.com/columnists/Miche...nce/page/full/

Ah yes....would we expect anything less of hussain's 'friends'.

So..in reverence to THE ONE...
Remember kiddies:
This is summer of recovery...the 780+Billion has saved you...And unions are your friend.

So come on local libs!
Celebrate your messiah...afterall, look at all the fine work he has done!
I'm sure you'll be posting up 'shout outs' to your kenyan community organizer.

Liberalism: Its the new RETARD. ]]> dood http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26634 Another oil rig exploded http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26629&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:35:05 GMT CNN article (http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/02/rescue-efforts-underway-after-oil-rig-accident-in-gulf/?hpt=T1) ---Quote--- An oil production platform has exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana, with 12 people overboard and one missing, the Coast Guard said Thursday morning. Rescue... CNN article

Quote:
An oil production platform has exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana, with 12 people overboard and one missing, the Coast Guard said Thursday morning.

Rescue attempts are under way for at least 12 people, Coast Guard spokesman John Edwards told CNN. 13 people were on board the production platform total, Edwards said, noting 12 have been accounted for, but one person was missing.

The accident took place 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana on the Vermilion Oil production platform 380, which is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy.

The Coast Guard has multiple helicopters, an airplane and several Coast Guard cutters en route. It's unknown if there are any injuries.
Very strange timetable.... ]]> T A WS6 M6 http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26629 The stupid, it burns! http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26626&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:39:40 GMT http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/01/obama-administration-reverses-course-forbids-sale-antique-m-rifles/ The South Korean government, in an effort to raise money for its military, wants to sell nearly a million antique M1 rifles that were used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to gun... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010...ique-m-rifles/

The South Korean government, in an effort to raise money for its military, wants to sell nearly a million antique M1 rifles that were used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to gun collectors in America.

The Obama administration approved the sale of the American-made rifles last year. But it reversed course and banned the sale in March – a decision that went largely unnoticed at the time but that is now sparking opposition from gun rights advocates.

A State Department spokesman said the administration's decision was based on concerns that the guns could fall into the wrong hands.

"The transfer of such a large number of weapons –– 87,310 M1 Garands and 770,160 M1 Carbines –– could potentially be exploited by individuals seeking firearms for illicit purposes," the spokesman told FoxNews.com.

"We are working closely with our Korean allies and the U.S. Army in exploring alternative options to dispose of these firearms."

Gun control advocates praised the Obama administration for taking security seriously.

"Guns that can take high-capacity magazines are a threat to public safety," said Dennis Henigan of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "Even though they are old, these guns could deliver a great amount of firepower. So I think the Obama administration's concerns are well-taken."

But gun rights advocates point out that possessing M1 rifles is legal in the United States –– M1s are semi-automatics, not machine guns, meaning the trigger has to be pulled every time a shot is fired –– and anyone who would buy a gun from South Korea would have to go through the standard background check.

"Any guns that retail in the United States, of course, including these, can only be sold to someone who passes the National Instant Check System," said David Kopel, research director at the conservative Independence Institute. "There is no greater risk from these particular guns than there is from any other guns sold in the United States."

M1 carbines can hold high-capacity ammunition clips that allow dozens of rounds to be fired before re-loading, but Chris Cox, chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, noted that is true about any gun in which an ammunition magazine can be inserted –– including most semi-automatics.

"Anything that accepts an external magazine could accept a larger capacity magazine," Cox said.

"But the average number of rounds fired in the commission of a crime is somewhere between 1 and 2 … this issue just shows how little the administration understands about guns."

He called the administration's decision "a de facto gun ban, courtesy of Hillary Clinton's State Department."

Asked why the M1s pose a threat, the State Department spokesman referred questions to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF representatives said they would look into the question Monday afternoon, but on Wednesday they referred questions to the Justice Department. DOJ spokesman Dean Boyd referred questions back to the State Department.

According to the ATF Guidebook on Firearms Importation, it would normally be legal to import the M1s because they are more than 50 years old, meaning they qualify as "curios or relics." But because the guns were given to South Korea by the U.S. government, they fall under a special category that requires permission from the State Department before any sale.

Kopel said that he hopes the State Department spokesman's statement that it is working to "dispose" of the guns does not mean they want to melt them down.

"It seems to have this implication of destruction, which would be tremendously wasteful," he said. "These are guns that should be in the hands of American citizens for marksmanship and safety training."

Asked whether melting the guns down would be a good option, Henigan said: "Why let them into the country in the first place? If there is a legally sufficient way to keep them out, we think it's perfectly reasonable to do so."

Past administrations have also grappled with the issue of large-scale gun imports.

The Clinton administration blocked sales of M1s and other antiquated military weapons from the Philippines, Turkey and Pakistan. It also ended the practice of reselling used guns owned by federal agencies, ordering that they be melted down instead.

In contrast, 200,000 M1 rifles from South Korea were allowed to be sold in the U.S. under the Reagan administration in 1987.

A decision like that would be better for everyone, Cox said.

"M1s are used for target practice. For history buffs, they're highly collectible. We're going to continue to make sure that this backdoor effort that infringes not only on lawful commerce but on the Second Amendment is rectified."

Henigan disagrees.

"They clearly were used as military guns, and the fact that they likely can take high-capacity magazines makes them a special safety concern," he said.

The White House referred questions on the issue to the Pentagon, which referred questions to the U.S. Embassy in South Korea, which deferred back to the State Department.


wow.. just wow..:bang: how these people even know how to breath is mind boggling. ]]> Wnts2Go10O http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26626 Environmentalist Nutjob Takes Discovery Channel Building http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26624&goto=newpost Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:22:38 GMT BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ITS A SETUP! Hes not white, conservative, and carrying tea bags!

:jest:

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2042177
Police: Gunman inside Discovery building

SILVER SPRING, Md. - A gunman has entered the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring and has taken "a small number" of people hostage, Montgomery County Police say.

The gunman is on the first floor area of the Discovery Communications building.

"At this point, we are still negotiating with him. The negotiations have been going on for nearly an hour," Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger says.

Manger cannot confirm the identity of the suspect. There are no reports of any injuries.

Police say the man walked into the lobby around 1 p.m. Wednesday. He is reportedly carrying explosives.

The building has been evacuated. Most of the building's 1,900 employees are out, Manger says.

Montgomery County Police Cpl. Dan Friz tells Channel 7 that a tactical team is trying to get in touch with the gunman, who is being monitored on closed circuit TV.

The suspect has what he called "concerns" with the Discovery Corp., but he would not say if the man works there now or worked there in the past, Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks says.

WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green and CBS News reports the suspect's name is James Jay Lee.

Green reports Lee is about 40 years old and has been involved in protests near the Discovery Communications building for several years.

Lee was arrested in 2008 for disorderly conduct and littering on the grounds of the building. At the time, Montgomery County Police said they were concerned with his mental state.

Sources tell Green the suspect may have a list of demands on the Internet.

Law enforcement sources tell WTOP the suspect may have a propane tank strapped to him.

Sources are saying the suspect is allegedly upset about the documentary called "Whale Wars."

Starks would not say whether anybody has been hurt.

A daycare inside the building has also been evacuated. WTOP's Kate Ryan, who is on the scene, says children were being rolled out in cribs. The children were taken to a nearby McDonald's.

Multiple witnesses have reported shots being fired, WTOP's Brennan Haselton reports.

A person inside the building told The Associated Press says the man had something strapped to his chest and has hostages. The person refused to be identified, saying people inside have been told not to speak to the media.

SWAT teams are at the building, which is located on Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring, a police spokesperson tells WTOP.

Bomb technicians are also on the scene, Montgomery County fire department spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia says.

Faisal Afzal, a systems engineer at Discovery, tells WTOP he was heading back into the building after lunch at about 1 p.m. and was about 20 feet from the door when he heard a street vendor yelling.

"We heard a street vendor yelling, there's a guy with a gun, there's a guy with a gun. He's in the building. And I saw people lying down on the floor at the building. And we just ran away from the building and we heard a couple shots fired," Afzal tells WTOP.

"I saw at least four people lying sideways on the floor."

Adam Dolan, a sales director in Discovery's education division, told The Associated Press by phone that he was heading to lunch with a co-worker when he heard there was a situation in the building.

He was told to go back up to the top floor, the ninth, and lock the door and turn off the lights. Eventually the workers were herded down a stairwell and told to go home.

"Everyone was very scared, but at the same time ... I think people were calm and collected and responded as one would expect in this situation," said Dolan, 28.

When he got to the bottom floor, he saw shattered glass near the company's daycare and suspected it was broken to get the children out.

WTOP's Kate Ryan, who is on the scene, says there is an amazing police presence in the area.

"Police have absolutely saturated the area," Ryan says.

Roads in the downtown Silver Spring area are closed. Drivers are being urged to avoid the area, if possible.

The situation is not affecting Metro rail service. However, the Metro entrance on Wayne Avenue is closed, WTOP's Adam Tuss, who is on the scene, reports.

Metrobus routes are being affected.

(Copyright 2010 by WTOP and The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
SILVER SPRING, Md. - A gunman has entered the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring and has taken "a small number" of people hostage, Montgomery County Police say.

The gunman is on the first floor area of the Discovery Communications building.

"At this point, we are still negotiating with him. The negotiations have been going on for nearly an hour," Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger says.

Manger cannot confirm the identity of the suspect. There are no reports of any injuries.

Police say the man walked into the lobby around 1 p.m. Wednesday. He is reportedly carrying explosives.

The building has been evacuated. Most of the building's 1,900 employees are out, Manger says.

Montgomery County Police Cpl. Dan Friz tells Channel 7 that a tactical team is trying to get in touch with the gunman, who is being monitored on closed circuit TV.

The suspect has what he called "concerns" with the Discovery Corp., but he would not say if the man works there now or worked there in the past, Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks says.

WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green and CBS News reports the suspect's name is James Jay Lee.

Green reports Lee is about 40 years old and has been involved in protests near the Discovery Communications building for several years.

Lee was arrested in 2008 for disorderly conduct and littering on the grounds of the building. At the time, Montgomery County Police said they were concerned with his mental state.

Sources tell Green the suspect may have a list of demands on the Internet.

Law enforcement sources tell WTOP the suspect may have a propane tank strapped to him.

Sources are saying the suspect is allegedly upset about the documentary called "Whale Wars."

Starks would not say whether anybody has been hurt.

A daycare inside the building has also been evacuated. WTOP's Kate Ryan, who is on the scene, says children were being rolled out in cribs. The children were taken to a nearby McDonald's.

Multiple witnesses have reported shots being fired, WTOP's Brennan Haselton reports.

A person inside the building told The Associated Press says the man had something strapped to his chest and has hostages. The person refused to be identified, saying people inside have been told not to speak to the media.

SWAT teams are at the building, which is located on Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring, a police spokesperson tells WTOP.

Bomb technicians are also on the scene, Montgomery County fire department spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia says.

Faisal Afzal, a systems engineer at Discovery, tells WTOP he was heading back into the building after lunch at about 1 p.m. and was about 20 feet from the door when he heard a street vendor yelling.

"We heard a street vendor yelling, there's a guy with a gun, there's a guy with a gun. He's in the building. And I saw people lying down on the floor at the building. And we just ran away from the building and we heard a couple shots fired," Afzal tells WTOP.

"I saw at least four people lying sideways on the floor."

Adam Dolan, a sales director in Discovery's education division, told The Associated Press by phone that he was heading to lunch with a co-worker when he heard there was a situation in the building.

He was told to go back up to the top floor, the ninth, and lock the door and turn off the lights. Eventually the workers were herded down a stairwell and told to go home.

"Everyone was very scared, but at the same time ... I think people were calm and collected and responded as one would expect in this situation," said Dolan, 28.

When he got to the bottom floor, he saw shattered glass near the company's daycare and suspected it was broken to get the children out.

WTOP's Kate Ryan, who is on the scene, says there is an amazing police presence in the area.

"Police have absolutely saturated the area," Ryan says.

Roads in the downtown Silver Spring area are closed. Drivers are being urged to avoid the area, if possible.

The situation is not affecting Metro rail service. However, the Metro entrance on Wayne Avenue is closed, WTOP's Adam Tuss, who is on the scene, reports.


i hope a SWAT sniper gets a good LOS and the green light ;) ]]> Wnts2Go10O http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26624 <![CDATA[EPA's Shot at the 2nd Amendment]]> http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26604&goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:01:34 GMT http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/epa-reviewing-request-ban-led-bullets Reviewing Petition to Ban Lead Bullets Will the EPA infuriate gun owners--and seal the fate of Democrats on November 2? BY John McCormack August 27, 2010 9:57 AM Will Environmental Protection Agency Administrator... http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/epa-...an-led-bullets

Reviewing Petition to Ban Lead Bullets
Will the EPA infuriate gun owners--and seal the fate of Democrats on November 2?
BY John McCormack
August 27, 2010 9:57 AM

Will Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson make a back door move to ban lead bullets the day before the November 2 elections?

Several environmentalist groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) are petitioning the EPA to ban lead bullets and shot (as well as lead sinkers for fishing) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Although EPA is barred by statute from controlling ammunition, CBD is seeking to work farther back along the manufacturing chain and have EPA ban the use of lead in bullets and shot because non-lead alternatives are available. But here's the catch: the alternatives to lead bullets are more expensive. A ban on the sale of lead ammunition would force hunters and sport shooters to buy non-lead ammunition that is often double the cost of traditional lead ammunition. A box of deer hunting bullets in a popular caliber could be upwards of $55.


So a government agency is trying to make gun ownership prohibitively expensive. This should piss off even the flyover country democrats. ]]> Five-0 http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26604 Leaches get $0 http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26602&goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:54:29 GMT Not sure if this belongs in the politics & religion section but....

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...GebWQD9HRGKKG0

At least the jury got this one right!!!!! :judge:

The man had paid his kids over $9 million in support and these leaches take him to court asking for $134 million in back child support.

Entire damn case should have been throw out on it ass. ]]> wabmorgan http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26602 Gambling with welfare benefits http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26601&goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:31:37 GMT laugh myself to tears Gambling With Welfare Benefits: In the U.S., welfare payments are made electronically in the form of Electronic Benefits Transfer cards, which work similarly to debit cards. In two states, Michigan and California, controversy is brewing because many welfare recipients use... laugh myself to tears

Gambling With Welfare Benefits: In the U.S., welfare payments are made electronically in the form of Electronic Benefits Transfer cards, which work similarly to debit cards. In two states, Michigan and California, controversy is brewing because many welfare recipients use ATM machines at casinos to withdraw their welfare payments. As DailyFinance columnist Michael Kaplan explains, politicians in both states are crying foul and want beneficiaries' ability to access welfare funds in gambling establishments to end. ]]> astrochimp http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26601 YAY, Backdoor Amnesty! http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26594&goto=newpost Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:21:46 GMT http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7169978.html The Department of Homeland Security is systematically reviewing thousands of pending immigration cases and moving to dismiss those filed against suspected illegal immigrants who have no serious criminal records, according to several... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/7169978.html

The Department of Homeland Security is systematically reviewing thousands of pending immigration cases and moving to dismiss those filed against suspected illegal immigrants who have no serious criminal records, according to several sources familiar with the efforts.

Culling the immigration court system dockets of noncriminals started in earnest in Houston about a month ago and has stunned local immigration attorneys, who have reported coming to court anticipating clients' deportations only to learn that the government was dismissing their cases.

Richard Rocha, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, said Tuesday that the review is part of the agency's broader, nationwide strategy to prioritize the deportations of illegal immigrants who pose a threat to national security and public safety. Rocha declined to provide further details.

Critics assailed the plan as another sign that the Obama administration is trying to create a kind of backdoor "amnesty" program.

Raed Gonzalez, an immigration attorney who was briefed on the effort by Homeland Security's deputy chief counsel in Houston, said DHS confirmed that it's reviewing cases nationwide, though not yet to the pace of the local office. He said the others are expected to follow suit soon.

Gonzalez, the liaison between the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which administers the immigration court system, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said DHS now has five attorneys assigned full time to reviewing all active cases in Houston's immigration court.

Gonzalez said DHS attorneys are conducting the reviews on a case-by-case basis. However, he said they are following general guidelines that allow for the dismissal of cases for defendants who have been in the country for two or more years and have no felony convictions.

In some instances, defendants can have one misdemeanor conviction, but it cannot involve a DWI, family violence or sexual crime, Gonzalez said.

Massive backlog of cases

Opponents of illegal immigration were critical of the dismissals.

"They've made clear that they have no interest in enforcing immigration laws against people who are not convicted criminals," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for strict controls.

"This situation is just another side effect of President Obama's failure to deliver on his campaign promise to make immigration reform a priority in his first year," said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "Until he does, state and local authorities are left with no choice but to pick up the slack for prosecuting and detaining criminal aliens."

Gonzalez called the dismissals a necessary step in unclogging a massive backlog in the immigration court system. In June, there were more than 248,000 cases pending in immigration courts across the country, including about 23,000 in Texas, according to data compiled by researchers at Syracuse University.


'Absolutely fantastic'

Gonzalez said he went into immigration court downtown on Monday and was given a court date in October 2011 for one client. But, he said, the government's attorney requested the dismissal of that case and those of two more of his clients, and the cases were dispatched by the judge.

The court "was terminating all of the cases that came up," Gonzalez said. "It was absolutely fantastic."

"We're all calling each other saying, 'Can you believe this?' " said John Nechman, another Houston immigration attorney, who had two cases dismissed.

Attorney Elizabeth Mendoza Macias, who has practiced in Houston for 17 years, said she had cases for several clients dismissed during the past month and eventually called DHS to find out what was going on. She said she was told by a DHS trial attorney that 2,500 cases were under review in Houston.

"I had five (dismissed) in one week, and two more that I just received," Mendoza said. "And I am expecting many more, many more, in the next month."

Her clients, all previously charged with being in the country illegally, included:

An El Salvadoran man married to a U.S. citizen who has two U.S.-born children. The client had a pending asylum case in the court system, but the case was not particularly strong. Now that his case is terminated, he will be eligible to obtain permanent residency through his wife, Mendoza said.

A woman from Cameroon, who was in removal proceedings after being caught by the U.S. Border Patrol, had her case terminated by the government. She meets the criteria of a trafficking victim, Mendoza said, and can now apply for a visa.
Memo outlines priorities

Immigrants who have had their cases terminated are frequently left in limbo, immigration attorneys said, and are not granted any form of legal status.

"It's very, very key to understand that these aliens are not being granted anything in court. They are still here illegally. They don't have work permits. They don't have Social Security numbers," Mendoza said. "ICE is just saying, 'At this particular moment, we are not going to proceed with trying to remove you from the United States.' "

In a June 30 memo, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton outlined the agency's priorities, saying it had the capacity to remove about 400,000 illegal immigrants annually — about 4 percent of the estimated illegal immigrant population in the country. The memo outlines priorities for the detention and removal system, putting criminals and threats to national security at the top of the list.
Up to 17,000 cases

On Tuesday, ICE officials provided a copy of a new policy memo from Morton dated Aug. 20 that instructs government attorneys to review the court cases of people with pending applications to adjust status based on their relation to a U.S. citizen. Morton estimates in the memo that the effort could affect up to 17,000 cases.

Tre Rebsock, the ICE union representative in Houston, said even if the efforts involve only a fraction of the pending immigration cases, "that's going to make our officers feel even more powerless to enforce the laws."


so... not only does this admin not want to enforce the law, they want to stop anyone that will. explain this away. ]]> Wnts2Go10O http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26594 Fox News: Terror Funders? http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26586&goto=newpost Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:06:22 GMT Fox News manages to link itself to terrorist ties. I can imagine someone was fired over this :jest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/23/stewart-fox-prince-alwaleed_n_692234.html Fox News manages to link itself to terrorist ties. I can imagine someone was fired over this :jest:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_692234.html ]]> wannabess00 http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26586 Housing sales hits 15 year low http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26584&goto=newpost Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:16:37 GMT http://www.cnbc.com/id/38830968 Existing Home Sales Hit 15-Year Low; Housing Market Weakens Published: Tuesday, 24 Aug 2010 | 1:48 PM ET Text Size By: Reuters and AP Sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped more steeply than expected in July to their lowest pace in 15 years, an... http://www.cnbc.com/id/38830968

Existing Home Sales Hit 15-Year Low; Housing Market Weakens
Published: Tuesday, 24 Aug 2010 | 1:48 PM ET
Text Size
By: Reuters and AP

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped more steeply than expected in July to their lowest pace in 15 years, an industry group said Tuesday, implying further loss of momentum in the economic recovery.
AP

The National Association of Realtors said sales dropped a record 27.2 percent from June to an annual rate of 3.83 million units, the lowest level since May 1995. June's sales pace was revised down to a 5.26 million-unit pace.

The record drop in existing U.S. home sales in July showed that the country must still do more to improve the economy, White House spokesman Bill Burton said Tuesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected existing home sales to tumble 12 percent to a 4.70 million-unit pace from the previously reported 5.37 million units in June.

One reason the market is hurting is that buyers and sellers are in a standoff over prices. Many sellers are reluctant to lower their prices. And buyers are hesitating because they think home prices haven't bottomed out.

"It really is a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Aaron Zapata, a real estate agent in Brea, Calif. "If all buyers perceive that home prices are coming down, then they will stop making offers -- and home prices will come down."

The housing market is also being hampered by the weakening economic recovery. Unemployment remains stuck at 9.5 percent and many potential buyers worry they might not have a job to pay the mortgage.


Prices have fallen in part because foreclosures are running about 10 times higher than before the housing bust. Though the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage has sunk to 4.42 percent, many people can't qualify because banks have tightened their lending standards.

Home sales picked up in the spring when the government was offering tax credits. But the tax credits expired on April 30 and the market has been hobbled since.

The drop in July's sales was led by 35 percent plunge in the Midwest. Sales were down 30 percent in the Northeast, 25 percent in the West and 23 percent in the South.

The median sale price was $182,600, up 0.7 percent from a year ago, but down 0.2 percent from June.

Shares of big U.S. homebuilders reversed earlier losses during midday trading Tuesday after investors concluded the stocks had fallen enough to become attractive short-term buys.

The PHLX housing index, which contains homebuilders and others in residential construction, fell more than 3 percent at its session low, but was up 0.2 percent at midday.

"There's not much for the shorts to do here," said John Schlitz, chief U.S. market technician at Instinet in New York.

Shares of D.R. Horton, [DHI 10.07 0.09 (+0.9%) ] the largest U.S. builder, were up 2.7 percent at $10.25 while shares of the No. 3 builder, Lennar [LEN 13.01 0.29 (+2.28%) ] , were up 1.1 percent at $12.86 per share.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers [TOL 16.19 -0.01 (-0.06%) ] shares were up 1 percent at $16.37. Wall Street anticipates a loss of 14 cents per share when Toll reports its fiscal third-quarter results on Wednesday.

But the long-term demand for new homes and their builders remains bleak.

"You could argue we don't need a single home built in this country because we have tons of vacant homes," said Jody Kahn, of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which is based in Irvine, California and advises homebuilders.

"We don't have enough demand right now to be sustaining a dozen public builders."

how bout that recovery huh? who woulda thought that once govt money dried up, ppl would stop buying?:judge: ]]> Wnts2Go10O http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26584 Propagada Alert: Changing the HC message http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26573&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:59:59 GMT Just a helpful propaganda alert for the libs that missed any latest episode of the dramas we like to call cnn, msnbc nytimes et al...

Now then..we know you have STRUGGLED to defend the messiah on healthcare..
You 'true believers' fought hard to push the lies about the costs, how it was gonna 'save us all'...that it would actually be CHEAPER..then 'deficit neutral'...
But..as it goes with all lib plans..reality catches up..history repeats itself and yet another libtard plan crashes and burns.

WE know this..(You didnt)

But..as a 'courtousy' to you...I'm just letting you know that you dont have contort yourselves any longer to tell us that hussain care is cost efficient in any way shape or form.

Basically...follow your 'leaders' and...

DONT TALK ABOUT HEALTHCARE COSTS!!

*

New Dem message: 'Improve' health care, don't talk cost

Key White House allies are dramatically shifting their attempts to defend health care legislation, abandoning claims that it will reduce costs and deficit and instead stressing a promise to "improve it."

The messaging shift was circulated this afternoon on a conference call and PowerPoint presentation organized by Families USA — one of the central groups in the push for the initial legislation. The call was led by a staffer for the Herndon Alliance, which includes leading labor groups and other health care allies. It was based on polling from three top Democratic pollsters: John Anzalone, Celinda Lake and Stan Greenberg.

The confidential presentation, available in full here and provided to POLITICO by a source on the call, suggests that Democrats are acknowledging the failure of their predictions that the health care legislation would grow more popular after its passage, as its benefits became clear and rhetoric cooled. Instead, the presentation is designed to win over a skeptical public, and to defend the legislation — and in particular the individual mandate — from a push for repeal.

The presentation concedes that groups typically supportive of Democratic causes — people under 40, non-college-educated women and Hispanic voters — have not been won over by the plan. Indeed, it stresses repeatedly that many are unaware that the legislation has passed, an astonishing shortcoming in the White House's all-out communications effort.

"Straightforward ‘policy’ defenses fail to [move] voters’ opinions about the law," says one slide. "Women in particular are concerned that health care law will mean less provider availbality — scarcity [is] an issue."

The presentation also concedes that the fiscal and economic arguments that were the White House's first and most aggressive sales pitch have essentially failed.

"Many don’t believe health care reform will help the economy," says one slide.

The presentation's final page of "Don'ts" counsels against claiming "the law will reduce costs and deficit."

The presentation advises, instead, sales pitches that play on personal narratives and promises to change the legislation.

"People can be moved from initial skepticism and support for repeal of the law to favorable feelings and resisting repeal," it says. "Use personal stories — coupled with clear, simple descriptions of how the law benefits people at the individual level — to convey critical benefits of reform."

The presentation also counsels against the kind of grand claims of change that accompanied the legislation's passage.

"Keep claims small and credible; don’t overpromise or ‘spin’ what the law delivers," it says, suggesting supporters say, "The law is not perfect, but it does good things and helps many people. Now we’ll work [to] improve it.”

The Herndon Alliance, which presented the research, is a low-profile group that coordinated liberal messaging in favor of the public option in health care. Its "partners" include health care legislation's heavyweight supporters: AARP, AFL-CIO, SEIU, Health Care for America Now, MoveOn and the National Council of La Raza, among many others.

The presentation cites three private research projects by top Democratic pollsters: eight focus groups by Lake; Anzalone's 1,000-person national survey; and an online survey of 2,000 people by Greenberg's firm.

"If we are to preserve the gains made by the law and build on this foundation, the American public must understand what the law means for them," says Herndon's website. "We must overcome fear and mistrust, and we must once again use our collective voice to connect with the public on the values we share as Americans."
LINK: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmi...t.html?showall

So..you see..the 'word has gone out'....
The top libtards have finally caught up..a little bit..and realized that their BS wasnt working...
So..its on to a different tact of propaganda.

When another thread comes up dealing with costs...Now you can just take a deep breath..relax..point yourself east and bob down to hussain..and chant:
"We are only going to 'improve' healthcare"....

At which time we fully expect to remind you of the propaganda in the past while having no illusions that you will deny the past debates.
(This is a libtard 'rule' we understand: History for a libtard begins in the morning when they wake up)

You can thank me later...

Liberalism: Thanking the DooD for a heads up on their next talking...errr.. BS points. ]]> dood http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26573 The 99ers...WoW http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26572&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:42:01 GMT glenn beck criticizes 99ers (http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/glenn-beck-criticizes-99ers-on-fox-news/19600524?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl1|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fsurge-desk%2Farticle%2Fglenn-beck-criticizes-99ers-on-fox-news%2F19600524) i bet somebody in here is going blow... glenn beck criticizes 99ers

i bet somebody in here is going blow a gasket ]]> astrochimp http://www.seatstaysup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26572